\t\c\C..

�
The earl y;ae
viations in SOS Volume 11
No time to study chess opening theory?

Chapter 1. The SOS files: 18 pages of updates & examples

2. Anti-Evans 3. French AdvJI1Cl' '1. ClassicJI rirc

I.

l\+e. A A
.,*,� �: l:Fil
5.g3!? A Jumpy Knight 6 . ..an!?

6. Blumenfeld Gambit 8. Dutch 9. Sicilian Dragon

6. . . a6!? Playing for ...c5!?

10. Slav II. Caro-Kann 12. Qut'cn's Indian 11. King's rianchctto

4.t:..d2!?

5..d3!? 3...Jib4!? 3...e'1!?

Shock your opponent with an 50S!

Paperback. 144 pages. € 19.95 • available at your local (che )bookseller or at newinchess.com
 Free Chess Broadcast \vith Live Rybka 3 Analysis

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Illy 3 _ IJ'-.u __ .... lhetOO1 of2

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rO.n:!
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 -
-
- 2009 Issue 6
-

NEW CHF5S
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-

' .. linn Allard Hoogland ll"IU·III·UIU Dirk Jan ten Geuzendam. Jan Timmsn

6 NIC's Cate

10 Your Move
12 Interview: Hikaru Nakamura
He's changed. lie' left behind an unhapp� period in his
life and gotten rid of 'the dimaction<,'. The ne \l I likaru
akamura, \\ho in aint Loui� \Ion the L.S. Champion­
ship for the second tim ,no longer �eeks offbeat sidelines
but pla� s mainline theor�. Hi. ne \\ approach seems to be
\lorking, a' he prO\ed again in an 'ebasli:!n.

21
1'0110\1
Dirl. Jan ten Geulendam had a frank lalk \\ith Ilikaru
:\akamura 2.0 at an unullual hour.

20 Naka in Capa's Footsteps

.h parr of the preparations filr a Centenaf) toufnament in
2011, Baque G�l Fcli, l7eta organized a hes festival in
e\actl� the same lu'\urious hall in \Ihieh Jose Raul Capa­
blanca triumphed in an Sebastian in 191 l. "nd as if his­
tor) wanted to hale it this Il a), the top group lIas lIon b�
another � oung and aspiring grandm�tef \I ho had crossed
Ihe \t1�lntic to tf) his luck in Europe.

34 Kramnik on Cloud Nine in Dortmund

The 37th parJ..ls'>en Chess-\ leeling in Dortmund ended
in a resounding I ictor) f(lf \ Iadimir l-..ramniJ.. The Rus­
sian G\l \\on the elent for the ninth time,an am;ving feat
that im ited comparison� IIith Garr� kaspar()\ '<; nine II in'
in the I .inares .,uper-tournaments.

52 Maxime to the Max

The traditional chellS feSlil al in Bid �taged the strongest
closed tournamcnt eler held in 'IIit/crland. First place
1\01., sen. ationall� claimed b) .\J.nime Vachier-Lagralc,
the III )ear-Qld French promise, \\ho po�ted the gre-atest
uccess in his burgeoning L':Ireer. )annick Pelletier reports.

64 Another Silent Estonian

Ten )ears ago the life of Lembit 011came to an end. In the
murning of �\;I) 17, (999, Ihe bod) of the Estonian G \1
lias f(lUnd ne\t to the apartment building IIhere he had
been li \ ing alone after the eparation from hi, 1\ife. In a
mo \ing tribute, Jaan Ehhesl shares his memories of Lem­
bit DILlIe is joined b) \Ie\ )ermolinsk), \\ho enmuntered
the IJmentcd Estonian in a \\undrous \ arict) of pl.lces.
 72 =
':'
The Long and the Short of It COLOPHON p.9
If you want to win the World Open, it might take you SUBSCRIPTIONS p.102 �
seven days. Or three. . . make that two. Evgeny Najer and
Hikaru akamura took very different paths to arrive at the
winner's circle ahead of thirty-two other h ungry grand­
masters. Joel Benjamin tells the story.

Shabalov and Corrales Shared First in Sao Paulo 84

This year's American Continental Championship, held
in Sao Paulo, boasted 268 participants, including 27 GMs
and 30 IMs. I n absolute numbers it was a record, as FIDE
had allowed the participation of many low-rated and even
unrated players, a decision that was not welcomed by eve­
rybody. I f in previous editions 8'12 or even 8 points out of
I I were needed, this year Alex Shabalov and Fidel Cor-

rales had to score an impressive 9 points to share the high-

est prizes.

Beyond the Illusion of 'Talent' 92

Talent is a word we easily use to describe extraordinary
players. 'But, when you take away demographic fortune,
deliberate practice, opportunities to gain feedback, social
and parental support and cultural legacies, what is left of
talent?' Jonathan Rowson wonders.

In the Style of Tal and Fischer 96

Jan Timman presents highlights from the Dutch Open,
where the world's youngest grandmaster Anish Giri was
the crowd-puller. The highly gifted youngster also proves
to be a consummate annotator.

Just Checking 106

Guess who's Rustam Kasimdzhanov's favourite chess
player of all time?

CONTRIBUTORS TO THIS ISSUE

Levon Aronian, Joel Benjamin, Fidel Corrales,
Jaan Ehlvest, Alexandr Fier, Anish Giri, Rustam
Kasimdzhanov, Vladimir Kramnik, Peter Leko, Gilberto
Milos, Alexander Morozevich, Evgeny ajer, Hikaru
Nakamura, Yannick Pelletier, Ruslan Ponomariov,
Jonathan Rowson, Peter Svidler, Jan Timman, Maxime
Vachier-Lagrave, Giovanni Vescovi, Alex Yermolinsky
PHOTOS AND ILLUSTRATIONS
Torsten Behl, Biel International Chess Festival, Chris
Bird, Dagobert Kohlmeyer
COVER PHOTO
Hikaru Nakamura: New In Chess
 Let's hope he made a note of his splurged on six privileged play­
intention, because one year pass­ ers, with the winner, Veselin To­
es quickly. Last year Mr. Koth palov, cashing 150,000 euro. For
was asked why on earth he had re­ this year such figures could only be
peated the I s-minute delay in the
transmission of the live games. Af­
ter all, this anti-cheating measure
made no sense if it was not com­
bined with other measures. With
admirable honesty he replied that
they had mainly copied the script
of last year and that it might be a
Time Flies good idea to abolish the delay for
For some it remains a normal part next time. So what happened this
of the game, for others it's the year? Right, faithfully copying the
curse of professional chess. Yes, script of last year, the games were
we're talking short d raws. Par­ again broadcast with a I s-minute
ticularly in these lean days when delay. And were they delayed be­ Veselin Topalov: unhappy with
sponsors are hard to come by, no cause additional measures had 2009 Bilbao prize-fund.
organizer likes to see games end been introduced? Not really. The
prematurely. And that's not even players were not frisked, phones dreamed of, and a first signal that
mentioning the spectators. An in­ and radio signals were not blocked the fund-raising was an uphill en­
creasingly popular countermeas­ and the players' seconds were al­ terprise was the reduction of the
ure against short and tepid games lowed to sit in the hall. But you're number of participants from six to
is a ban on early draws, for instance right, at least some of the viewers four. Only the four winners of the
as phrased in the Sofia Rules. In­ Grand Slam tournaments in Nan­
evitably, these r ules create a new jing (Topaloy), Wijk aan Zee (Kar­
species of players well versed in jakin), Linares (Grischuk) and So­
finding move repetitions where fia (Shirov) were invited, robbing
we never expected them, but all in the organizers of two wildcards,
all they seem to work. They cer­ which no doubt had been intend­
tainly would have prevented what ed for public darlings Anand and
happened in the third round of the Carlsen. But that was not the last
Dortmund tournament, much to setback. The new prize-fund was
the horror of everyone present, not yet re\'eaIcd, but a sneak pre­
with the possible exception of the A live photo of the stage in Dortmund. view compelled Veselin Topalov
players. The round took place on a and his manager Silvio Danailov
Saturday and the theatre was filled at home may have got the impres­ to decide on the withdrawal of the
with fans that had paid to be en­ sion that that third round lasted number one in the world rankings.
tertained. The fun didn't last long. T 5 minutes longer than it did. The Bulgarian will be replaced by
After three quarters of an hour and Levon Aronian, who was runner­
19 moves, Kramnik and Carlsen Matter of Principle up in Nanj ing. Asked for a reac­
left the stage, soon followed by As might be expected, the eco­ tion, Mr Danailov explained the
Bacrot and Yakovenko, who had nomic crisis is also leaving its mark decision of his protege. 'The idea
worked for 22 moves. About one on the chess world. A conspicu­ of the Grand Slam Final was that it
hour later Naiditsch and Leko also ous victim of the disappearance should be something special. With
drew their game after 29 not over­ of unimaginable amounts of mon­ a seriously reduced prize-fund it
ly exciting moves, leaving the au­ ey in all spheres of society is the is not special. I t is also a matter of
dience no other choice than to go Grand Slam Final in Bilbao, to be principle. Topalov has always been
home. For tour nament d irector held from September 5 to 12. Al­ fighting for better conditions for
Stefan Koth it was an embarrass­ though one might also say that himself and for the other top play­
ing moment, and he indicated that the event is partly the victim of ers. He cannot ask for special con­
for next year he might consider its huge success of last year, when ditions in Nanjing, Wijk aan Zee or
anti-drawing measures. a prize-fund of 400,000 euro was Linares and then play for less mon-

6 NEW iN CHESS NIC'S CAFE

ey in Bilbao because it's the Grand ing rapid world championship',
Slam Final. That would be unfair two invitationals of four players
towards the other organizers. ' It's each. The 960 championship was
difficult to judge the decision of a h uge success for Hikaru aka­
Danailov and Topalov, not know­ mura. The American Champion
ing the Bilbao prize-fund, but we started with l out of 3 in the pre­
can only hope that the Grand Slam liminary stage, bounced back with
Final in Bilbao will nevertheless 313 on the second night and next
become a tradition, which was the demolished defending champion
original plan. Levan Aronian 3 V2-V2 i n the final .
In the 'rapid world champion­
Another Classic ship' the biggest sensation was the
A trad ition that o n l y seems to Shakhriyar Mamedyarov set an failure of World Champion Vishy
groll by the year is the Chess incredible new record by winning the Anand. Having won the event an
Classic i n Mainz. at entirely Ordix Open with 10 out of 1 1 . unbelievable I I times, the I ndian
impervious to the crisis but expe­ was the clear favourite, but after
rienced and resourceful enough has t o protect first with I 9 . . :� e7 . losing his first two games (when
to weather the storm, the Chess 1 9 ... 1txd3? 20.ttJxf7 ! Ouch. Ob­ did that ever happen ? ) he didn't
Tigers team led by Hans-Walter viously the queen cannot be tak­ even q ualify for the final. Except
Schmitt could look back on an­ en, because of mate. 20 ... ttJe6 for bad form he failed to provide
other smooth l y r u n event that 21 .ttJh6 + c;t>h8 2Vt:Jf7 + c;t>g8 a real explanation, but bad form it
set several new records. The Or­ 2 3.ttJxd8 1txc2 24.ttJxe6 l:txe6 certainly was. It's not an everyday
dix Open, the s t ro n gest rap­ 25.l:txg1 + 'Ot>h8 26.l:bc1 l:txe2 experience to see one of the best
id open i n the wor l d , attract­ 21.l:txc6 l:txf2 28.'Ot>xc2 And with rapid players in the world (if not
ed 6940) participants, including two pawns up, White won easily. the best) win only one game out
67 GMs. And n o fewer than 50 of 10. I n the uninspired fight for
GMs took part in the increasingly As in previous years, the condi­ third place Anand drew all four
popular F i et 960 Open, which tions were superb for spectators games against Arkady aiditsch.
ended i n a victory for Russia's and players alike. With so many The final was contested by Levon
Alexander Grischuk. In the Or­ participants it was truly amaz- Aronian and I an Nepomniacht­
dix Open Grisch uk was also the chi, the winner of the Ordix Open
top-seed but here, in his third at­ last year. The young Russian had
tempt in Mainz, Shakhriyar Ma­ won a fine game against Anand in
mcdyarov snatched victory with a the preliminaries, but in the final
rccord score of 1 0 out of I I (two he got a 3 Yl- V2 drubbing. The re­
draws). The game the Azeri GM sult might have been even more
liked best was his win over Evge­ one-sided if Aronian had kept a
ny Najer. clear head in the fourth game.

KP 2 . 1 1 - C22
Ian Nepomniachtchi
Levon Aronian
Mainz 2009
The sensation in Mainz was the failure
of World Champion Vishy Anand to 1 .e4 e5 2.d4 exd4 3.�xd4 ttJc6
even reach the final. 4.�e3 ttJf6 5.ttJc3 �b4 6.�d2
0-0 1 .0-0-0 l:te8 8.�g3 l:txe4 9.
ing to see how little time the ar­ a 3 l:Ig4 1 0.�e3 �f8 1 1 .13 l:Ig6
biters needed between rounds to 1 2.�f2 d5 1 3.�d3 d4 14 .. .bg6
Mamedyarov-Najer collect all results and publish the hxg6 1 5.�g5 'iHe8 1 6.�xf6 g x J6
position after 1 8 . . . �a6 new pairings o n giant screens. 1 1 .ttJ b 5 � h 6 + 1 8 . c;t>b1 �e3
In the evenings the top acts wcre 1 9.�g3 �f5 2 0.ttJxc1 'iHd1 21.
19.1::ld g1 White is piling up on the scheduled, the '960 world cham­ ttJxa8 �xc2 + 22.c;t>xc2 �f5 +
g-file, but in fact it's f7 that Black pionship' and the ' GrenkeLeas- 23.�b3 'ifd5 + 24.c;t>c2

NIC'S CAFE NEW iN CHESS 7

 4.'Ii'e2 By character Ian is a chess be cunning. 6 . . . 0-0 allows 7.�gS,
player who seeks adventures, and which is not really dangerous, but
it is probably this that explains his it demands extra care. With this
rare choice. move I as though gave my oppo­
4.. �c5 Here I thought for a cou­
. nent the move, preparing if 7 .
ple of minutes. I imagined that 5 . ttJ bd2 t o play 7 . . . 0-0 followed by
�xc6 was good for White, b u t it . . . ttJ q-ttJ g6, or i f 7 .0-0 - 7 . . .0-0,
i s well known that both S . . . dxc6 since with the white king o n the
6. ttJ xes 'li' d4 7 . ttJ d3 �b6 and 5 . . . kingside 8 . .Q.gS is not at all dan­
bxc6 6. ttJ xes 0-0 give Black good gerous. 7 .h3 Ian is also cunning.
compensation for the lost pawn.
And at this point Aronian went

.1..1..1..1. .1..1..1.
for the perpetual with 24... 'Ii'f5 + :i .a�* .E
After the game the Armenian ex­
plained why: 'He was playing so
fast and determined that I be­ � �

£l:,
lieved all this was known. I was �.a .I.
thinking deeply to find various
only moves, only to d iscover af­ t2J
ter the game that I was playing
the theory. But as he was playing
f'::,f'::,f':f':
:, :,ViJlf'::,£l:,f'::,
so fast, I thought all this must be M t2J � � M
known and he must think that I am 7 ... �d7 Since in this set-up the
a patzer for not knowing all this. 5.d3 To me this seemed illogical. exchange of the light-square bish­
This is why I took the draw and And indeed, if after +d3 the best ops is usually advantageous to
didn't prod deeper.' Had he prod­ move is 4 . . . �cS, why is the queen Black, I decided to threaten it.
ded deeper he might have found
that Black can go for mate with:
24 ... ttJ aS! 2s· 'Ii'e I 'tWb3+ 26.�bI
ttJ q 2 7 . 'Ii' e2 ttJ xa3+ 2 8 . Wa I
ttJ C2+, and now, if White doesn't
give up his queen, he will be mated
after 29.'�bI ttJ b4 30. 'Ii'xe3 'li'C2+
3 I .�aI 'iYXd I + . 25.�b3 Draw.

That would have been a suitable

end to an impressing perform­
ance. The game Aronian liked
best follows below, with notes by
the winner.

NOTES BY

Levun Arunian Hans-Walter Schmitt not only handed Levon Aronian the winner's cheque,
but also presented him with the traditional Black Jacket.
RL 7 . 1 - C65
Ian Nepomniachtchi needed here at e2? S .c3 0-0 6.d3 B.ttJbd2 Ian decided to exchange
Levon Aronian seems more logical, with the idea of his bishop. After the attempt to
Mainz 2009 pinning the knight at f6 by 7 .�g5, retain it by 8.�a4 he may not haye
or S .C3 0-0 6.0-0 with the idea by 7· liked the position after 8 . . . ttJ e7 9.
1 .e4I won the first game in an ex­ J:!.d I of playing d4 in one go. �b3 ttJ g6, where B lack is com­
citing time scramble, and in this 5 .. d6 Of course, S . . . ttJ d4 was pos­
. pletely alright.
game I knew that Ian would go sible, with an acceptable game, but B ... ttJe7 9.�xd7 + 'li'xd7 1 D.ttJc4
for it. why relieve the tension? ttJg6 The two sides have achieved
1 ...e5 2.ttJf3 ttJc6 3.�b5 ttJf6 6.c3 .Q.b6 With this move I tried to a harmonious arrangement of

8 NEW iN cum NIC'S CAFE

their forces, and the position i s 1 9.'it'f1 This is now a serious mis­ 25 ... d3 26.'&lYd1 lOe4 27.a6 After
roughly e q u a l . The n e x t move take. After 1 9 .0-0 dxq 20.dxe4 2 7 . �d 2 the most r uthless was
slightly surprised me. 'lWd3 2 1 .'lWf3 White stands worse, 27 . . . g5, which after 28.hxg6 fxg6
11 .h4 The only p l us feature of but there is still fight in the posi­ opens lines for an assault 011 the
this move is that it changes the tion. white king.
pattern of the play. 19 ... e5 Unexpectedly it transpires
11 ... h6 1 l . . .h 5 was also possible, that White has to give up a pawn,
but I was attracted by the idea of or allow the fatal destruction of
luring the pawn to h5, and then by his centre.
the illusion of capturing it. 20.b3 Since after 20.'lWC2 lOxhS
12.g3 Another waiting move. White simply loses a pawn, Ian
12 ...�e6 I also decided to wait. chooses another continuation.
1 3.a4 The strongest is probably 20 ... e4 20 . . . lOc6 is also strong, but
[ 3 .�e3, equalizing. the move in the game suggests it­
13 ... e6 1 4.a5 Not the best deci­ self.

:!
sion, since in any case the bishop

II i .t 'iV � i i
wants to go to C7. 1 4.�e3 was still * i:
acceptable. 27 ... d2 2B.axb 7 + �bB The rest is
14 ... �e7 1 5.lOe31Oe7 Now Black altogether simple.

1'3:,
is in control of the situation. � i 2 9 . � b 2 101 5 3 0 . � g 1 lOxl2

:! :g
� i i 31 .�xf2 �b6 + 3 2 .lOe3 lOxe3
i: * i 1'3:, tLJ 33.�e5+ �xb7 34.'lW13 + 'lWe6
8 � 8 tLJ 8 The d2 pawn will cost a rook, �
i i .t � i i
and therefore Ian resigned. �
i i 'iV � i 'fi �
� i Ii' � W :g
� �
� 1'3:,0Jfj � 21 .dxe4 A fter the more tenacious
2 1 .a6 the strongest was 2 1 . . . cxb3 COLOPHON
� 'iV1'3:, 22.axb7+ 'it'b8 2 3 ·l:i.b4 dxe4 24·
� � W :g dxq 'lWc6, with the subsequent
PUBLISHER: AllerdHoogland
EDITO A S·IN· CH IIF:
Dirt. Jan tenGeuzendam, Jan Tlmman
gathering of the white pawns. £ 0 ITOAS: Rene Olthof, Peter 80el

1 6.h5 A continuation of White's 21 ... lOxe4 Now Black creates a AAT·DIRECTION: Steven Boland
PADDUCTION: Joop deGroot
strategy, which leads to d isaster. passed pawn. 22.'lWe2 Things are TRANSLATORS:

1 6.lOd2 was preferable, but, as is also bad for White after 2 2.�b2 Sarah Hurst, Ken Neat,Piet Verhagen

SALES ANa ADVERTISING: CasperPleters

well known, the hardest thing is to lOcs 23·l:i.a3 d4·
admit one's own mistakes. 22 ...lOe5 23.l:i.a2 d4 24.exd4 exd4 ICl No part of thiS magazme may be reproduced, stored In retneval

:!
II

system or trIInsmltted In any form or by any means. recOrding ar

16 ... d5 1 7 .l:i.a4 This move looks othelWlse, WIthout the prior permission of the publISher
artificial, but others are no better. * .1 NEW IN CHESS
17 ... 0-0-0 Here the king is secure.
i i .t 'iV � i i P.O. BOX 1093
1 B .lOh4 Logical, but bad . The 1810 XB ALXMAAR
king should have been safeguard­ i THE NETHERLANDS

ed by 1 8.'it'fI . 1B ... �d7 � � 1'3:, WE A TR IE B: asv vertnebs gmbh

8 i tLJ Siiderstre6e 77

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EDITO AS: [email protected]

:a:
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[email protected]

1'3:, tLJ 25.lOeg2 Parting with a pawn by

1'3:,
BANK DETAILS:

� � tLJ � 25.lOefs lOxfs 26.'&lYxfs lOxb3 was I BAN: NL41ABNA 0589126024

unpleasant, but it would have giv­ ABNANL2A In mvour of Interchess BV,
'iV �
B Ie:
Alkm88r, The Netherlands
en more chances of continuing the
� W :g fight. WWW.NEWINCHESS.CDM

NIC'S CAFE NEW iN CHESS 9

 the computer always played moves I remembered Kasparov tricking
from its assigned book right away, us in the opening before. I think
but could play other moves pret­ Miguel was in the office at the time
ty quickly if their score was clearly and that's how he remembers.
better than other moves. Database After so many years I 'm not
moves that were played in almost 100% confident about my mem­
all games received a big bonus for ories, but that's how I described
Deep Blue to incorporate into its events i n the Deep Blue chapter
assessmen t. of my book Americflll Grandmas­
However, my recollections con­ ter. Miguel's version is certainly a
cerning Game 6 are a bit d iffer­ better story.
ent. It's true that our grandmas­ Miguel is correct that Deep Blue
Adequate Explanation ters had l i ttle to do during the did not like 8.lDxe6, though with
I enj oyed t h e i nterview w i t h match but input a few moves in the large bonus the move would
Miguel I lIescas i n N e w I n Chess garbage openings here and there. have received, it possibly could
2009 / 5 . M i guel was not only a But I think 8.lDxe6 had been pre­ have played it on its own . Within
popular and productive mem­ pared well before the match. lick a few moves Deep Blue evaluated
ber of the Deep Blue team, but de Firmian was given the task of White's position as favorable. I ' m
taught me a lot about proper chess n o t convinced that Kasparov re­
preparation. I was able to win the lied entirely on the programmers

NEW iN CHESS
U.S. Championship later that year preventing Deep Blue from play­
Readers can send their opinions to:
largely because of study methods I ing 8 . lDxe6. We later found out
learned from him. that Fritz had been involved in a
P.O. Box 1 093
I would have to agree with al­ published training game in this
1810 KB Alkmaar
most everything Illescas said about variation . Though he made many
The Netherlands
the match. We did prepare �e2 demands for explanations of Deep
or e-mail: [email protected]
against the Najdorf, and I, too, was Blue's moves, Kasparov has never
Letters may be edited or abridged
more concerned about Kasparov given an adequate explanation of
playing his normal openings than • his role in Game 6 .
•
the i ll-fated anti-computer strat­ Joel Benjamin
egy. The description of our open­ inputting lines in openings we Waldwick, NJ, US
ing strategy, combining database weren't expecting, like the Caro­
moves, our home analysis, and Kann. When we got to this posi­ Chinese Wall
Deep Blue's over-the-board calcu­ tion, I stuck in 7 . . . h6 8.lDxe6 'fIVe7 Congra tu la tions on y o u r fin e
lations, is pretty accurate. I think 9.0-0, just to be thorough, because magazine, which I enjoy greatly.

"There's lots of cool new stuff compared to the first edition."

Arne Moll, ChessVibes

"One of the most original and delightful chess books to appear

in recent years."
William Hartston, The Independent

"There are many tips for the non-genius and it is a very useful
book for those who want to improve."
Angus Dunnington, CHESS Magazine

"This revised and expanded edition contains a lot of new

material ( .. ) It belongs in every chess player's library."
1M John Donaldson

Paperback • 384 pages • € 29.95 • available at your local (chess)bookseller or at newinchess.com

1 0 NEW iN CHESS YO U R MOVE

 NEW iN CH� and I
In New In Chess 2009 / 5 Miguel again thanks to a 'return match'
IlIescas analyses the most interest­ with Tal seriously ill)
ing endgame between Carlsen and 1 964: Petrosian-Botvinnik: 1 2Y2-
Wang Yue in Leon 2009. Mr. Illes­ 9'/2 (the 'return match' had been
cas comes to the conclusion that Your contribution to the 25th abolished)
36.'!:!:a l was a mistake. I disagree, Anniversary Issue can win an I think these results speak for
I think that move was the easiest attractive prize themselves: Botvinllik never won a
way for White to win the game. single first match. At best he drew,
Carlsen's mistake comes later with New In Chess IS rapidly approaching a at worst he lost. Without the in­
39·l:!:b8? memorable and joyful landmark. W ith glorious 'return match', Botvinnik
our 2009/7 issue we will celebrate the
would have lost his title i n 1 95 7
25th anniversary of our magazine.
and would have had to play the
Candidates' cycle from the start.
For a Quarter of a century the best
Thosc are the facts.
players and the finest writers of the
How easy it is when one can cre­
chess community have been filling our
pages. These days we have subscrib­
ate the 'rules' for oneself! As Hans
ers in 97 countries and our ever-grow­ Ree rightly observed when he cit­
ing readership seems to be a clear sign ed Botvinnik speaking of ' ... my
that New In Chess enJoys popularity all 1I10St wlIl1illg invention'.
around the globe . We should not forget that Bot­
D! course, our magazine could nev­ vinnik's reign lasted 13 years thanks
Carlsen-Wang Vue er have been what it IS today without to the 'return matches'.
Leon 2009 you, our readers. We are very grate­ But this is not all: Karpov re­
position after 35 .. .l:Xxa2 ful for your continuing enthusiasm and i ntroduced the right of the 're­
support. Ulrn match' against Kasparov. But
36Jh1 ? J::!:x a1 + ! 37 .�xa1 �d5! Kasparov was deprived of such
38.�xf6 gxf6 39J:tb8? Therefore we would like to inVite you a 'right' against Kramnik (Lon­
to jOin the party that our 25th An­ don, 2000). But Kramnik obtained
He could have reached an easily
niversary Issue will be and enter our
won pawn ending by: 39JIx d5 ! such a 'right' after losing his title
NEW iN CHESS and I contest.
exd 5 40.Wf2, and the rest i s j ust (Mexico, 2007) and . . . got a 'return
a technical problem for White, be­ match' (Bonn, 2009). And Topa­
Your contribution can be anything that
cause his king is much stronger lov, too, obtained the privilege of
is printable: a story about how your
than the black one. husband decided to marry you when he
an 'indirect return match' (for not
Bragi Halld6rsson discovered you subscribed to New Jn having played in Mexico) after los­
Reykjavik, I celand Chess, a picture of your dog reading the ing against Kramnik (Elista, 2006)
magazine hanging from a parachute, a and beating Kamsky (Sofia, 2009).
Ouestionable Point brilliant game that you played after you Let's not forget that Anand never
In his article 'Enthralling Battles' studied the latest issue, you name it. had such a 'right' and maybe never
i n New I n Chess 2009 / 4 Hans looked for it.
Ree, commenting o n the match­ The only limitation IS that written con­ And now we hear that F I D E
es between Botvinnik and Smys­ tri butIOns should be In English and h a s introd uced a 'wildcard' i n the
lov, concludes: 'So all i n all Smys­ should not exceed 500 words. World Championship c ycle, to
lov scored one more point, which invite 'selected' players i f neces­
doesn't mean much . ' I think this We Intend to publish the best entries sary. In contrast, the old Candi­
last point is somewhat questiona­ In our Anniversary Issue The three dates' cycle, albeit long and heavy,
best entries will be rewarded with
ble. Just to sum up and remember: clearly had its merits. I t was a true
vouchers of £ 1 DO, £ 75 and £ 50
1 95 1 : Botvinnik-Bronstein: 1 2- 1 2 . selection.
respectively to be spent In our web­
1 954: Botvinnik-Smyslov: 1 2- 1 2 Indeed, how easy it is when one
shop (see www. newlnchess.coml.
195T Smyslov-Botvinnik: 1 2Yl-9Y2 can create one's own 'rules'!
1 9 5 8 : Botvinnik-Smyslov: 1 2Y2- This is why I think, contrary to
Please send in your contributions
IDYl (thanks to the so-called 're­ before October 1 , 2009, to Hans Ree, that it does matter a lot
turn match') [email protected] alld meal1S much more!
1 960: Tal-Botvinnik: 1 2Y2-8Y2 Philippe Briffaut
1 96 1 : Botvinnik-Tal: 1 3-8 (once Loreto, Italy

YO U R MOVE NEW iN CHESS 1 1

 t the back of the large reception room of the San was to find a good time to talk. In a few minutes' time
A Sebastian town hall, Hikaru Nakamura stood we'd be leaving for the closing dinner, and knowing
talking to his friend and second Kris Littlejohn. A f­ the customs in this part of E urope, we knew that
ter the fierce and successful eruption in the two blitz desert wouldn't be served till well past midnight.
games against Ruslan Ponomariov it was time to un­ The solution proved simple, or so i t seemed. As it
wind, and they were all smiles. The smile got wid­ happened, we would be on the same flight to Ma­
er when Nakamura accepted my congratulations, drid the next day and we would surely be able to
and yeah, he also believed this tournament win was talk on the plane or at the Madrid airport of Bara­
a good moment for an interview. The only problem jas while we waited for our connecting flights. The

1 2 NEW iN CHtSS I N T E R V I EW
 If you r
He's changed. He's left behind an

want to
unhappy period in his life and got rid

of 'the distractions' . He's past a point

where he never wants to go back again.

become He's also playing different openings.

The new Hikaru Nakamura, who in

better you
Saint Louis won the US. Championship

for the second time, no longer seeks

offbeat sidelines but plays mainline

should never
theory. That's the only way if you want

to compete with the very best. His new

approach seems to be working. He

be satisfied continues to play 'extremely well', as he

proved in the Category 1 8 round-robin

with what
in San Sebastian, where the 2I-year-

old American shared first place with

Ruslan Ponomariov, only to demolish the

you have
Ukrainian in the play-off How far he can

go we will see in the years ahead, but if he

remains focused like this, he has no doubts

, done' that a world championship match may be

waiting on the horizon. In San Sebastian

Dirk Jan ten Geuzendam had a

\
frank talk with Hikaru Nakamura 2.0 at

an unusual hour.

flight to Madrid left at a relatively early hour, but slept for only three hours - which still sounds like
that shouldn't be a problem either. a good night's sleep to Nakamura, who hasn't slept
at all. On their return to the hotel at 2 a.m., a group
And so, here we are at the small airport of San Sebas­ of ehess players and their companions conceived of
tian the next morning. The hour certainly feels ear­ the brilliant idea of going for a swim in the sea j ust in
ly. A minivan has picked us up at the hotel at 7 a.m., front of the hotel. Tempting as it was, I quickly de­
which is not dramatically early in itself, but the night clined the invitation, but being in a festive mood Na­
had been short. The dinner i n a restaurant at the out­ kamura had joined in. When he finally returned to
skirts of the city was wonderful and long and I've his room, going to sleep didn't seem to make much

I N T E R V I EW NEW iN CHESS 1 3
sense anymore, so he and his second decided to lei­ - You say lliatyou/ollnd oul hO/l) 10 play Ivell again a.f
surely pack their suitcases, play some games on ICC tel' a bad patch. What was il thai you discovered that you
and empty the mini-bar. were doing /l)rong or should improve?
As Nakamura and Littlejohn quietly sit down at 'Without getting into specifics, there were a lot of
a table in the departure hall, I follow the example of personal problems in my life, and now I have kind of
most passengers and go to the bar to order a coffee and sorted it all out. It's j ust eliminating all the distrac­
freshly squeezed orange j u ice. I am secretly pleased tions. Having eliminated all that and haying played
that I got at least some sleep, as I feel fit. But success so well over the past two months, you could say that I
is a huge energizer, I realize when I see Nakamura have in the back of my mind where I was two months
walk over. Nothing betrays his lack of sleep when he ago and am trying to remember never to go back to
tells me matter-of-factl)" 'Why don't we do the inter­ that place ever again. So far it's working out for me. I
view now?' Yes, why not? We quickly find a quiet cor­ am playing extremely well '
ner and I switch on the voice-recorder. At 7 .30 in the - Without going into details, were these p roblems con­
morning. I can't remember the last time I did this. nected with the/aci thai a l a certain point you had to
start alld live 011 your OWI1?
'I don't think it had to do with living on my own.
( Hesitates only briefly) I t had to do with girls ob­
viously, things like falling in love and so forth, and
'It had to do with girls obviously, just working through that, the heartbreak and all
----

that stuff. I f you look at my performances in January,

things hke falling in love
----
February, March, I think I dropped about 1 9 FIDE
points, which is quite a lot given where I was at that
and so forth, and just working
time, 270 1 or 2699, in this range. I t was not a very
through that, the heartbreak happy period i n my life. To close that chapter and
--- move on is q uite an accomplishment. Between the
and all tha t stuff. ' French league and the United States Championship
I recovered all the losses and gained quite a bit with
this tournament in San Sebastian. It's j ust remem­
bering that point and hoping never to get back there
- When I was watching you a t Ihe board it struck me ever again, but to keep on improving '
that you 'd regularly hold yOU," right hand in suell a way - 0/ late you 've been accompanied at tournaments by
as to show the spectators and your opponent your Ameri­ Kris Littlejohn. Did he play a specific role in gelling you
can champion 's ring like a kind o/statement. Does the back on the right track?
ring give you self-confidence? Is it something you 're 'We've worked on and off for the past few years;
particularly proud 0/01' something you feel you have to this was not the first time. Obviously at the U. S.
honour? Championship he prepared me more or less for every
'I don't think it has so much to do with something round. Having a second to prepare you eliminates a
I am specifically proud of. I see it more as a vindica­ lot of the issues you are having to deal with. If you're
tion of all the work I have put in and of having figured just one person and you have to prepare on your own,
out how to play well again after having had a very bad it takes a lot of energy, and then if you have to play the
spell from last summer till March . It's a kind of re­ game, which can go five or six hours as well, that's a
minder of where I was before the U.S. Champion­ huge load to bear. For me, since I play such aggres­
ship and where I am now, a reminder that I am capa­ sive chess, it's probably too much. So to have him
ble of playing great chess. That, if anything, is what here definitely balanced out my lifestyle and the way
it symbolizes.' I played. It definitely helped .'
- Do you see it asyour duty to honour the/Mt o.(yollr be­ - You say thai he prepares you. How should I see this?
ing the champion? Does he actively help you in your opening preparation or
'Absolutely. With Gata (Kamsky) having suffered is he he/ping you menially?
a bit of a setback, as the number one in America defi­ 'Both, more or less. It's preparing as well as the
nitely I feel a lot of responsibility to perform, because general assessment, the psychology of what the op­
obviously as the number one player there are a lot of ponents will play. Anel it's been working very wel l .
people in the country watching. There is a signifi­ We have this running joke that I've never actually lost
cance to it. I try to represent the country as well as I a game when he's prepareel me. This is over the past
can. That's the bottom line.' few years. So far it's working out and hopefully we'll

14 NEW iN CHESS I N T E R V I EW
continue. Between the U.S. Championship and San prepared something, you play what you've prepared.
Sebastian I definitely cannot complain about the re­ I don't think there's a whole lot to it. It's just a matter
sults. It's been absolutely fantastic.' of who's prepared better in general.'
- The tlVO o.{you decide nlhich opening you are goillg to - Your gestures at the board, the jClees you pull, is thaI
play agaillst mhich oppollellt, mhich strategy to choose... sOlllething that collies alltomaticall),? Has it become pari
'Yes, based on the situation we decide which open­ of),ollr may o/playillg?
ings I will play. If you look at my game against Ruslan 'I think that in general it's become part of the way
Ponomariov, for instance, or the game against Sergey I play, the whole style in general, where sometimes I
Movsesian, in both these cases if the situation had look unhappy, sometimes I look happy. It's j ust that I
been different, I would probably have played differ­ am so used to it now that 1 don't think about it con­
ent variations. I would not have played lines that lead sciously anymore. When I am at the board I may make
more or less straight to a draw. It's j ust a matter of faces, but if a player picks up on it that's great for them,
concluding what is the best choice based on the situ­ but I haven't figured it out myself, it's j ust automatic.'
ation. Here it worked out, for instance, because the - For people 011 this side o.{the ocean sl/ch behaviour may
draws were not the worst things i n the world. In oth­ seem Ameriwn, remindillg liS a/champions like lvIuhalll­
er situations we would definitely have come up with iliad Ali. Are there exalllplesji'olll American sports that
something more aggressive.' inspired YOll?
- He also helps YOII in a psychological sense. Does he 'As for the attitude at the board, I can give a very
have a specific pro.fessiol1al background ill this? recent example. In football there's the q uarterback of
'No, not particularly. Coming from America it's the Tennessee Titans, Steve McNair, who recently
interesting, to say the least, that I work with him. Ob­ died (on July 4th of this year Steve McNair was shot
viously you have a lot of Russian immigrants who to death by his girlfriend, who then killed herself -
have come from the Soviet Union, but it's been well DJtG). I think the whole attitude of toughness and
documented I don't generally trust them that much. fighting through injuries is the same in chess. When
It's great to have someone who is capable of prepar­ push comes to shove I will always try to win, fighting
ing me so well as well as being a friend on top of eve­ on regardless of whether it's a good position or a bad
rything else. Really, the chemistry we have is j ust position, always trying to find the best possibilities. I f
great. I f you look at a lot of the players who are here, I had t o think of o n e recent example, that definitely
I think the most obvious example is Maxime Vach­ would be the best one. He was always fighting. He got
ier-Lagrave and Arnaud Hauchard, when you look injured quite frequently and played through the pain
at them together, they prepare very well, they are and led the team to the play-offs and the Super Bowl
friends, they seem to generally have a jovial attitude in one particular year.'
towards the game. I think that as long as you can get - Would it lIIake yOI/ happy i{you became a hero lor
along so well with your second and have great chem­ younger American chess players?
istry, it's definitely a good thing.' 'Well, I think that in some way I've already become
- You 're a Iso /oolillg a roulld... a bit of a hero for the younger generation of the up
'Yes, absolutely. Before the rounds, when we're and coming chess players, but I think it's far too ear­
walking to the playing hall, we usually didn't even ly to discuss the legacy of what I\'e done for Ameri­
discuss lines that we had just been looking at, but j ust can chess. I-laving this conversation now is really not
joked about the beach that we passed or about play­ worth it, maybe in 10, 20 years, when maybe I've ac­
ers, keeping that generally positive attitude.' complished something realistic, then it will be worth
- Alld thell the lIIoment you come to Ihe board, you it. For now I have to sce where my career will take me.
smitdl onji"l colltrol. . . Hopefully, it takes me to loftier heights than where I
'Yes, o f course. When you're i n the game, you're am right now. We'll see.'
in the moment, you have to focus. In a tournament as - This sOllnds quite lIIodest lTJitIT 1/ viem to tITe/iltllre. Is
important as this one you really can't afford to forget this the reI/SOli mITy YOII 've decided to concelltrate II/ore
anything. When I get to the board, it's all very seri­ Oil the European cirCliit to jimher ill/prove yoursel(l/lld
ous, and I j ust try to play the best that I can .' to eSlablisli your IIl/lI/e here?
- Do YOli have any lIlelltal tricks to get YOlirsel/ colII­ 'Let me give you a simple example. In bullet chess,
pletely focused? which I used to play q uite a lot of, there's a simple
'I wouldn't say I have any tricks. Maybe if you look mathematical equation. For every game I won I gained
at some of my games, you'll see that I trick my oppo­ one point, for every game I lost I lost thirty points. Be­
nents in the sense that I look unhappy or I move too cause of my high rating I'd have to win thirty to break
quickly and look happy, but in general when you've even if I lost one. It's more or less the same when YOLl

I N T E R V I EW I'iEw iI'i CH� 1 5

play in the U.S. Swisses. You have to play a certain - The ultimate pleasure is simplY llJinning the game, 1/0
style. There is no guarantee that you will always beat matter hon) this is allailled?
the 2500 grandmaster when you're Black. You have to 'Obviously the goal, whether it's me or anyone else
take big risks and in reality you have to perform maybe near the top, is to play the perfect game. Where you
80 or 90 per cent all the time to gain rating points as don't make any blunders. Winning is a major part,
opposed to losing them. It j ust becomes a little bit too but in the end you j ust want to play the best moves.
d ifficult. There's also the issue that in Europe there's Of late, when I analysed the games, I have fel t that
so many more grandmasters. The competition is quite I didn't make many blunders in most of the games
a bit tougher than in the U.S. And always, to become that I played. This really gives me great satisfaction,
the best you have to play against the best, so that's why and it shows that I am playing a lot more consistently
I am focusing on playing over here right now.' than I used to.'
- People are sayillg that you 've malllred, thai you 're no - Over the pastfew years I 've lIoliced that many strong
longer playing thisjimny stu/]; lveird openings. Maybe they players have become overly crilical of their olvn games.
are oversimplifying things, but is Ihere some truth ill this? They play a great game, check il with the computer and
Ifthere 's one lapse sOIl1e1vhere theyfeel thai the game is
nothing special. Isn 't that exaggerating things a bit?
'I don't know if it's exaggerating. Any very good
player always wants to get better. If you look at a game
54t the level I am at right n017J and you see a slight mistake, you always want to im­
---

prove on it. I think that if you don't want to improve

it 's very hard to outplay players
---
on it, it's a sign that you're satisfied with what you've
accomplished. But you should always try to achieve
when you play ojjbeat theory,
--- more. For me that's definitely true. I mean, I look at
especially from positions where this tournament that I played here and I am happy with
the result overall, but I am still very upset with myself,
you are slight�Jl 1TJorse. ' because in the game against Granda, for instance, I was
considering playing . . . a6 on move 9 and I ended u p
playing ... b6. B u t if I had played ... a6, which was the
correct move, I would have been simply better in the
'There is definitely a lot of truth in it. I mean, when game. So the bottom line is if you want to improve, if
you look at the way I was playing six months to a year you want to be the best in the world, you really have to
ago, there's really no comparison. Now a lot of lines I keep looking for the best moves in the position. To be
play have been heavily analysed and are very mainline satisfied with a slightly inaccurate move is just being
theory, whereas six months or a year ago I would try to complacent. I f you want to become better, you should
avoid the theory and go a little bit in an offbeat direc­ never be satisfied with what you have done.'
tion. Yeah, I have to agree that there is definitely a dif­ - This was the second time you 11)011 Ihe A mericall
ference. Right now I am playing mainline theory, and ChampiollShip. How does it compare 10 lhejirsl lime?
being very well prepared makes a difference. I really 'There's a huge and fundamental difference. The
have to attribute that to having a second along who can first time I won it, I was sixteen. I'm still young now,
prepare me adequately for the job.' but at the time I was very young. To win at that time
- Does this new style give you similar pleasure or is il was a h uge achievement. I t really shot me into the
something entirely different? category of the best players in the country. This time
'It depends on your whole philosophy of chess. In around it was still an achievement, but it really pales
the past, when I played slightly offbeat openings, I in comparison. Because when I won it then, there
would have said that it was a little bit more chess per were certain expectations, whereas now at 20, 2 1 ,
se. You're simply playing the game, you don't have everyone knows that I am sort of established as one
to worry about the theory so much. It's j ust a matter of the top players in the country. I don't know what it
of who's the better player, who can manoeuvre bet­ was this time, because as I was saying, I had had very
ter in the middlegame. But at the level I am at right bad results prior to this tournament. So for everyone
now it's very hard to outplay players when you play who was watching it was great to see me come back,
offbeat theory, especially from positions where you while for me it was a kind of rebirth, in the sense that
are slightly worse. That's more or less why I started I was coming back from the depths of playing very
playing mainline theory, and it's working out right bad chess in the past months and final l y returning
now.' to form.'

1 6 NEW iN CH5S I N T E R V I EW
 well and then, in the last three
to four rounds, I stopped trying,
whereas it was actually quite
the other way aroun d . I defi­
nitely was trying to start well
but I wasn't expecting to get
off to a fast start. Coming into
the tournament I didn't have a
clear plan. Getting to plus four
was nice, but actually, after five
rounds I said to Kris that plus
four might not be enough to win
the tournament outright. And it
turned out that it wasn't. The
interesting thing was that when
I had my two blacks against
slightly weaker p layers, that
was when I tried most to win. It
didn't quite turn out that way,
but I think that overall I tried
to play fighting chess. And even
though some games ended i n
draws, I think that t h e fans ap­
preciated that. With black espe­
cially I didn't take quick draws.
Overall I was definitely happy
with my performance. Obvi­
ously, I have my own personal
'Actually, after five rounds I said to Kris that plus four might not be expectations, but i t was just a
enough to win the tournament outright.' very solid resu l t and I cannot
complain about any part of it.'
There was admiration for your win, but at the same To what extent was the game in thefirst round against
time the/'e was thisfeeling of, well, hejust won. It wasn 'L Karpov a crucial game? You were pressing for a long
cleM that you played all that brilliantly. . . time, then in the end it became drawish and Karpov even
' I n t h e end, whether y o u like i t or not, t h e U.S. claims that he was winning. . .
Championship comes down to more or less a round­ 'Well, at the very e n d h e was definitely n o t win­
robin, where all the top players have to play each n ing. I'm pretty sure that I was winning by force,
other. I think I played the numbers two, three, fou r, mate in about 60 or 70. The thing is when Kris and I
five, six and seven, and maybe the ninth and l oth were looking at the pairings before the tournament,
ranked players. I mean I played everyone who fin­ it was clear that I had got a lot of good pairings. I got
ished at the top. They were the best players in the white against the right opponents, I got black against
country and based on the rankings I felt that I played the slightly weaker opponents. The only pairing I
very well . You can say that I won, but the reality is think I would have switched was getting white against
that I performed better than Gata did, or Alexander Karpov and black against Svidler. I woul d proba­
Onischuk. When you compare the performances of bly have preferred black against Karpov and white
the other top finishers, my performance was better, against Svidler. Obviously, playing one of the greatest
and in the end that's what matters. You can say it was players of all time is definitely nerve-wracking. I felt
j ust another win, but I fel t that my play in terms of that this contributed to the way I misplayed the end­
opening preparation and general play was a lot bet­ game against him. Finding a way to break through
ter than in 2005 . ' his solid style i n that first game was definitely a huge
- Seen ji-om this perspective, h O IV do you assess your min boost for me. '
here in San Sebastian? - I remember how happy you were when you first won a
'This tournament was interesting, because a lot of rapid game against Karpov. You 're not known to think in
people have the misguided notion that I started really terms oflegends, but I guess this one counts. He is up there.

INTERVIEW NEW iN CHESS 17

 'Regardless how old he is and how badly he played which I had prepared for Movsesian. So I played the
in this tournament unfortunately, he is still Karpov. Keres Attack with g� and it just worked out perfectly
In his heyday he would have beaten any one of us for me. Just get a normal position and play. And I felt
in this tournament, so you have to respect him, be­ that when the time started ticking down I was just as
cause he is a great player and one of the best who ever good as anyone in the world . '
played the game. I can't really complain, but the thing - Because you actually crushed hilll. . .
is, once you get past that and you start to actually play 'Yeah, I got a better position in the first game and
the game i tself, you let the game evolve. Obviously, once he started getting low on time he panicked and
I misplayed it, I missed this very simple knight g6, blundered. That gamc worked out. In the second
knight e7 trick which would have won very easily. In­ game he forgot the theory. I t's very tricky, because
stead I had to win the game on time when it wasn't when you're playing blitz and you make one slight
even completely clear at the end that I would have blunder, especially when you're down a whole point
won . The pressure caught up with me, but it's j ust and you have to win with white, one slip makes the
the way the game is and you have to let it all flow, and damage more difficult. So it j ust happened and it
worked out for me. '
- You n)ere very cOlluntrated alld almost seemed 10 be
followillg a ritual. PUlling your rvatch all Ihe table, lak­
ing your rillg off, your shades. . .
'In his heyday Karpov would ' I won't call i t a ritual. I 've only been wearing
---

this ring since I played in the World Open. But now

have beaten any one ofus , so you
I 've won the World Open, I 've won this, I'm on two
out of two. It had more to do with what I was actu­
have to respect him, because he is
ally wearing. I was wearing a dress shirt and a tie,
a great player and one ofthe best whereas normally when I play blitz I don't wear a
suit or anything remotely resembling it. So I j ust got
who ever played the game. ' rid of everything, forget about it. Not having to wor­
ry about it, let's say. When getting down to a time­
scramble I don't want to think about wearing a watch
or wearing a ring. Just forget about it and go from
this happened to work out for me in this case.' there, really.'
- You mon the touma11lent in the hlitz play-ofT Didyou - It remillded lIIe ofKasparov taRirig oJJhis IIH/ teh and
have allY douhts Ihere or did you tltillR this is familiar putting it all again, 'Phell you 'd Rllom that the game l77as
territol]/? almost ove,:
'Having played in Cap d' Agde last October gave 'Yeah, I kind of had this ritual in the first game
me a lot of experience, beating Vachier, beating Kar­ against Karpov. The only problem was that when I
POI', beating I vanchuk. This really helped me to gain started doing this I missed the forced win with knight
more confidence. So I wasn't necessarily worried. The g6 and knight e7 and everything became complicated
thing that surprised me most was that Ruslan man­ again . So I did not try to do that again (laughs).'
aged to get to plus four. That surprised mc. For him - Is Ihal the ol1l)1 l/Jay ill mhich you 're a member of the
to get there was grcat sport by any measure; it was im­ Kasparo'l! sdlOol or are there other thillgs?
pressive. But I wasn't worried about playing the blitz.' 'There havc been comments about me shaking my
- You werejid()I cOlljide1ll ihal YOit could lI)in Ihis. head during certain games, being displeased with the
' I felt about the same as when I played Ivanchuk in position . Maybe there are other similarities, but in
October, when I felt a bit nervous. But in the end you gcneral you j ust want to play the best mo\"es. Maybe
j ust have to play the game. I was nervous beforehand the watch and the head-shaking. . . Other than that 1
and obviously I talked to Kris a lot, discussing the situa­ cannot say I subscribe to the Kasparov theory.'
tion. Once you begin to play, it becomes so much easier. - Didyou enjoy matching him Ivheu he mas doing that?
- Were there allY specific things that Kris said 10 you 'When I was younger I definitely watched it, that's
Ihal helpedyou? for sure. When you're a young player and growing
'I don't think there was anything he said that helped up you look at the games of the greats and obviously
me. Most of his preparation for this tournament un­ I saw videos and so forth. Maybe I've incorporated it
fortunately didn't completely pan out. People avoided in a sense. But I just tr) to be me, and once you get
or side-stepped lines we had prepared. But thcn Rus­ past certain imitations you play the game and you do
Ian surprisingly played the Schevcningen against me, as well as you can. That's really all I try to do.'

1 8 NEW iN CHESS INTERVIEW

- This tournament mas organized mith a possible cen­ 'I don't think that bothers me. I think that Mag­
Wilt I]! event for the San Sebaslian toZimament 0/1911 nus is actually one of the players that I have managed
ill miur!. There, the great revelatio11 mas the young Ca­ to get into the head of a little bit. I tend to play pretty
flab/aura, IIl/zO dominated the field. Did you have any well against him . OK, there's rapid as opposed to a
thoughts about that mhell you came here, crossing the few classical games, which we drew a few years ago,
ocean 10 go to San Sebastian? but even so I beat him in a rapid game in Norway, and
'Generally speaking I am not a huge chess histo­ then he got a bit l ucky in the blitz game when I was
rian, but I looked up the tournament of 1 9 1 1 with beating him with white. He managed to win because
Capablanca and Rubinstein. At the start of the tour­ I blundered. I'm not really concerned about anyone.
nament I didn't think about it, but towards the end, It's between him and Levon Aronian, because I think
whether I liked it or not, there were people who start­ both of them have great potential. I am going to try
ed making certain comparisons. The bottom line is to play as well as I can, and whether I am as good as
that there are a lot of similarities. In general I tend to them, well, time will have to tell. I can't influence the
prefer knights to bishops and I also tend to be a pret­ tournaments they play or the results they score, not
ty good blitz player. There are these similarities, but right now anyway. So I am j ust going to see where the
throughout most of the tournament I was not trying invitations and the results will take me. '
to think of this, I was j ust trying to play my game. In a - Bul seaetly YOll mllst have thought about a world
sense maybe it's a fai r comparison, we will see. When championship match at some time. Lying awake at night,
Capablanca came across the sea, he was only one year and there you are playing that morld championship
older than me, it means something. But let's see in 1 0 match. Against who mere you playing?
or 20 years how i t turns out.' 'Obviously I have thought about this. If I can play
- Whenyou mere speaking about all the detailsyou have at the level that I think I am capable of playing, it will
10 pay a t1ention to, YOll said that this is the only may to be against Magnus or Aronian. I mean, they are the
go ifyoll 17Jant to be the best player in the Ipor/d. You 're two players who are young enough. I think once you
on a mission, you want to be the best player in the morld. get past the Anand and Topalov generation, who I
'Absolutely. I think my play has been very strong think will be retired in five to 1 0 years, they're the
recently. I don't make as many blunders as I used to. two players who definitely will still be there. Obvi­
That's really my goal right now. My priorities in the ously, I think of those two, but right now I j ust want
past few months have demonstrated that I am defi­ to keep scoring good results, that's the most impor­
nitely capable. Whether I can maintain that level con­ tant thing really.'
sistently, well, we'll j ust have to see. But in general I - Your attempt 10 be the best is a 5 to 10 year project?
am definitely going to try, that's for sure.' 'Oh, I'll worry about the best later on. Right now I

ing the way I do right now. If! keep doing that I don't �
- When people speak about .!itture World Champions just want to keep improving my rating and keep play­

see any reason why I couldn't be World Champion. ' :i:

Ihese days, they invariably narne Magnus Car/sen, and
in (ao rarely someone else. Does that bother YOll?

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Paperback • 400 pages • € 25.95 • available at your local (chess)bookseller or at newinchess.com

INTERV I E W NEw lN CH� 1 9

Dirk Jan ten he story of the 1 9 1 I San Se­ that won the soo-franc brillian­

Geuzendam
Tbastian tournament is one of cy prize donated by Baron Albert
the great classics of chess histo­ von Rothschild.
For lovers of chess history ry. The Gran Casino in the lux­ Such stories should be cher­
urious seaside resort at the foot ished, and it's understandable
San Sebastian has a magic of the Pyrenees staged a chess that plans to celebrate the l ooth
ring to it. It was here that tournament to which o n l y the a n n i versary of the 1 9 1 1 tour­
very best players had been invit­ nament are in the making. To
Jose Raul Capablanca ed. The invitees should be able show the local a u thorities the
made his European debut to boast at least two fourth plac­ way, San Sebastian resident Fe­
es in international tournaments, lix Izeta brought together a pool
in I 9 I I , and his splendid which doesn't sound too impres­ of sponsors to organize the Do­
tournament victory sive these days, but was quite a nostia Chess Festival, comprised
feat in an era when such tourna­ of an attractive invitational p l us
encouraged the 22-year- ments were rarities. The only ex- three closed tournaments, one of
old Cuban to challenge

World Champion Emanuel

Naka in
Lasker to a match (which

would only take place I O

years later). A s part of the

preparations for a centenary

Ca pa ' s
tournament in 20 I I ,

Basque GM Felix Izeta

organized a chess festival in

exactly the same luxurious

hall in which 'Capa'

triumphed in I 9 I I . And as

if history wanted to have it

footsteps
this way, the top group was

won by another young and

ception that was made was for them for ladies o nly. To foreign
aspiring grandmaster who the young Cuban g e n i u s Jose ears, Donostia may sound l i k e
had crossed the Atlantic Raul Capablanca. He had not yet t h e name of a sponsor, but in ac­
played any international tourna­ tual fact it's the Basque name for
to try his luck in Europe. ment, but had stunned the chess San Sebastian. The name of the
U.S. Champion Hikaru world with a sweeping match vic­ festival was further testimony of
tory over American champion I zeta's deep-rooted feelings for
Nakamura got off to a flying Frank Marshall ( + 8 , = q, - I ! ) . the Basque country. At the start
Capa's seeming lack o f experience of Round 8, no one looked sur­
start, and when he was
tempted Osip Bernstein to object prised anymore when he handed
caught in the final round by to his participation, a h istorical each player a Basque flag, a pelote
faux-pas that was d u ly punished. ball, and a CD of Mikel Laboa,
Ruslan Ponomariov, 'Naka'
Not only did Capablanca win the a legendary Basque singer. After
was merciless in the blitz tournament, ahead of Rubinstein all, caps with the words 'Basque
and Vidmar, but in the first round national team' on it had been pre­
play-off: 2-0.
he routed Bernstein i n a game sented at an earlier occasion.

SAN SEBASTIAN NEW iN CHESS 21

As in 1 9 1 1 , play took p lace in
the building of the 'Gran Casi­
no', which these days houses the
City Hall. The players stayed in
the Hotel de Londres, the same
hotel where Capablanca slept 9S
years ago. For the rest, a number
of changes had been made. The
games started at 5 p. m . , as op­
posed to 1 .30 p.m . in 19 [ 1, and the
time-control had been speeded
up from IS moves per hour to 90
minutes for the entire game, with
a 30 seconds increment per move.
This time-control proved espe­
cially vexing for Anatoly Karpov.
The former World Champion had
a rough time of it in his first 'clas­ Cricket fan Peter Suidler quickly got attached to his pelote ball.
sical' closed tournament in almost
two years and posted a dramatic Judging by his material advantage in hospital with serious stomach
result, drawing three games and o nly, White should be winning, problems. Against his doctor's
losing the other six. ot only was but here he also has an immedi­ orders he still insisted on show­
he rusty after a period of inactiv­ ate win. 46.�d2? Missing that af­ ing up for his game against Svid­
ity at the chess board, he also got ter 46. �cS+ �h7 .p. ttJ f8+ �hS ler (he had been advised to stay
into terrible time-trouble in every 4 S . ttJ g6 + ! � h 7 .J.9. ttJ q Black i n hospital for a couple of days).
game. According to his own esti­ cannot stop the mate on gS. 46 ... To make matters even worse, he
mate, he blew at least four win­ l:ta 1 4 7 .ttJxf4? Missing anoth­ mixed up moves in the opening,
ning positions. Most dramatic was er chance. It's still mate i n a cou­ which might not have had dramat­
an excellently played game against ple of moves after .J.7. �dS+ �h7 ic consequences against anoth­
Movsesian i n which he missed 4S. ttJ f8+ WhS .J.9 · ttJ g6+ �h7 50. er opponent, but proved suicidal
several immediate wins and then ttJ e7. 47 ...Wh7 White is still bet­ against a well-prepared Svidler.
hung a ful l piece. His problems ter, but he needed a helping hand
started in Round I , when he lost from Karpov's bad time manage­ RL 1 7 . 6 - CB9
on time against Hikaru Nakamura ment to win on time on move 65. Maxime Vachier-Lagraue
in a game that would have serious Peter Suidler
consequences for the final stand­ Nakamura continued to play well San Sebastian 2009 (4)
ings. However, it must be said that and set a breath-taking pace. Af­
in this encounter it was Nakamura ter five rounds he topped the table 1 .e4 e5 2.ttJf3 ttJc6 3.�b5 a6 4.
who had been missing the wins af­ with 4V2 points, thanks to further �a4 ttlf6 5.0-0 �e7 6J:te1 b5
ter building up a winning position wins over Maxime Vachier-La­ 7 .�b3 0-0 8.c3 d5 9.exd5 ttlxd5
with strong and determined p lay. grave, Paco Vallejo and Pablo San 1 0.ttJxe5 ttJxe5 1 1 .J:[xe5 c6 1 2.d4
Segundo, and a soli d draw with �d6 13.J:[e1 �h4 1 4.g3 �h3 1 5.
� black against Peter Svidler. J:[e4 g5 16.�f1 �h5 1 7 .ttJd2 f5

t2J
Top-seed S v i d l e r fo l lowed
,
one point off the pace, together � i. i: �
, with Ruslan Ponomariov. Russian
, � , champion Svidler won two games
,
i: , from his fi rst five, an excellent , ' i.
� 'if win against Karpov and a vicious ,� " 'if
'iV �
Marshall Attack with the black � 1:[
pieces against Vachier-Lagrave. k� �
k� The young Frenchman could not
Nakamura-Karpov have been unluckier, i n fact. The
� � t2J � �
position after 45, .. J:!a4 evening before the game he was 1:[ k 'iV �

22 NEW iN CH� SAN SEBASTIAN

18J�e1 A fter a long string of
moves of Marshall Gambit theory,
Vachier-Lagrave commits an in­
accuracy that meets with a harsh
punishment. White should have
played I S . jL d I � h6, and only
then, after the retreat of the black
queen, 1 9 J:t e l , after which the
play continues with 1 9 . . . f4. 18 ...
f4 1 9.�d1 Now, of course, Black
would have been able to transpose
ifhe had played 19 . . . �h6, but why
should he if there's a much strong­
er move at hand: 19 ... f3! Sadly
for Vachier-Lagrave, Svidler had
studied the following tactics some
time ago, and, double bad luck, Nakamura is pulling faces after he's played 33.'iVxe5! in the first play-off blitz game.
had refreshed his memory before
this game. 2o.tLle4 �h3 21 .�d3 sian had some respiratory prob­ SI 20.4 - 881
J:!.ae8 22.�d2 J:!.xe4! 23.�xe4 lems and, lacking energy, finished Hikaru Nakamura
with three uneventful draws. But Ruslan Ponomariov
.i . Ponomariov was more ambitious, San Sebastian 2009 (play-off 1 )
and fighting hard he managed to
� bridge the one-point gap with Na­ 1 .e4 c5 2 .tLlf3 d 6 3.d4 cxd4 4.
� � .t kamura. In Round 7 he defeated tLlxd4 tLlf6 5.tLlc3 e6 ot a Naj­
� � �� Vachier-Lagrave and in the final dorf, as Nakamura had expected.
8 'li' round he had no doubts, as he ex­ 6.g4 No problem, he happily went
8 � 8 .t plains in his illuminating notes to for a' Keres Attack, as he had pre­
that game, in the must-win clash pared this 'in vain' for his game
£3:, 8 � 8 8 with Paco Vallejo. against Movsesian . 6 ... h6 L �.g2
l:r � l:l � With Nakamura and Po noma­ tLlc6 8.h3 a6 9 . .b3 tLle5 1 o.�e2
riov tying for first, a blitz play­ g5 1 1 .f4 gxf4 1 2 .jLxf4 tLlfd7
23...�xg3! off had to decide on the winner 1 3.0-0-0 b5 14.�f2 �b7 1 5.Wb1
A fine piece of home preparation of San Sebastian 2009. At S . I S �b6 1 6.J:!.hf1 jLe7 17 . .te3 �c7
- the defences around the white p. m . the p layers sat down for 1 8.tLlf3 J:!.h7 1 9.�d4 b4 2o.tt:J a 4
king are torn to shreds. 24.�xf3 their first blitz game. Nakamura tLlc4 21 .tLld2 J:!.c8 22.tLlxc4 �xc4
.txh 2 + 25.Wxh2 Less d ramat­ had the white pieces. He took off 23.b3 'i'b5 24.tLlb2 tLle5 25.�xe5
ic but equally lost was 2 S . W h l his watch, his American champi­ dxe5 26.tLlc4 Black should be fine,
J:!. xf3 26. � eS+ 'i' xeS 27. J:heS+ on's ring and his shades, and lay­ but White's position is easier to
Wf7 2S.Wxh2 WxeS. 25 ...�g4 + ing them on the table next to the play. Ponomariov decides to elim­
26.Wg1 �xf3 Apparently it's mate board he immersed himself in to­ inate the strong knight, but fails to
in I I . 27 .'i'e 6 + Wg7 28.'i'e5 + tal concentration. When the game take the sting out of White's ini­
J:!.f6 29.�h2 J:!.h6 White resigned. was about to start, a huge centi­ tiative.
pede crawled across the floor in
In Round 6, Nakamura contented the area between the players and .i •
himself with a short draw against the spectators, who were watching
.t .t � .i
Ponomariov to keep a one-point in deadly silence. When I told him
lead with three rounds to go. I n about the centipede after the tour­ � � �
those final three rounds the Amer­ nament, akamura said that he � �

£3:,
ican kept looking for his chances, had not seen it - he had only seen � ttJ 8 8
but had to content himself with the fly that was circling around 8
three draws. Contrary to expecta­
tion, Svidler could not profit from
his king. That fly hadn't bothered
him either and he won the first
8 £3:, 'iV �
Nakamura's slowdown. The Rus- game in great style. � l:r l:r
SAN SEBASTIAN NEW iN CHffiS 23
 Four groups, four winners: Hikaru Nakamura, Eric Prie, Sophie Milliet and Jordi Magem.

26 ... nxc4 27 .bxc4 �xc4 2B. 'lI¥b6 36.�xe6 + A nice finishing touch. playing tables. Perhaps this prox­
�c6 29.'lI¥a5 f6 30.h4 ng7 3 1 . In view of 36 . . . <;t> xe6 3 7 . 'lI¥ xg8+ imity was not always appreciated
�f3 ngB 32.g5 hxg5 33.'lI¥xe5! <;t> es 3 8 . n fS + <;t> x q 3 9 · 'lI¥ g-++ by the players, but it certainly con­

I
<;t>e3 40. n d3 mate, Black resigned. tributed to the generally friendly
� and relaxed atmosphere. Let's see
In the second game Nakamu­ what will happen next year. As Fe­
.t .t
ra equalized without problems lix Izeta put it: 'I hope there will be
� � � � and struck again when Ponoma­ a tournament next year, but I don't
'if � riov sidestepped move repetition want to make promises. It's not
� 8 8 and fell for a killing tactic. And so like in Spain, where people make
� Hikaru Nakamura won the main all kinds of promises, but don't
group, whose official name was care very much about what they
8 8
the San Sebastian European Cul­ say. I n the Basque Country, i f you
� M l:l tural Capital 20 r 6 tournament, make a promise, you stick to it.'
as the city hopes to be European
That must have been a good feel­ Cultural Capital seven years from
ing. The queen is untouchable be­ now. The second group, the Kutxa NOTES BY

cause of �h 5 + , and mate. Now tournament, was won by Catalan Hikaru Nakamura
B l a c k 's position q u i c k l y fal l s GM Jordi Magem, the Diputa­
apart. 33 . . .<;t>f7 ? H is o n l y move cion Foral de Gipuzkoa women's SO B. 1 1 - B1 7
was 33 . . . n h 8 . 34.'lI¥g3 g4 3 5 . group by French 1M Sophie Mil­ Hikaru Nakamura
�xg4 'lI¥c5 tiet and the Euskal Xake Eskola by Paco Vallejo
French GM Eric Prie. San Sebastian 2009 (4)

.i
We can only hope that the Donos­ Looking back on my result in San
.t .t � tia Festival will become a return­ Sebastian, the energy and focus
� � � ing fixture on the chess calendar, which I brought to the board i n
at least till 201 I , as it was a won­ t h e fi r s t h a l f of t h e tournament
derfully organized and highly en­ come to mind. When the colors
joyable tournament. It certainly were drawn before the tourna­
was the first grandmaster tourna­ ment and I ran through the pair­
ment in years in which the specta­ ings, I figured that they favored
tors could move freely between the me and I would definitely have

24 NEW iN CHESS SAN SEBASTIAN

chances. That being said, I got off C4 d xC4 1 3 · ..It xC4 �d7, and here fel t that it was possible to create
to a flying start with wins against B l ack has achi eved com p l e te some play on the queenside. As it
Karpov and Vachier-Lagrave and equality. turned out, I made the right de­
I thought + 2 from three games 9 .. :�xd5 cision by instantly rejecting the
was great. However, it was only draw!
after this fourth round victory 1 3.'it>c3
over Vallejo Pons that I truly start­ The alternative was 1 3. Jtd3 ..It xd3
ed believing that the tournament 1 4.�xd3 l:t d8 I s . l:t he I f6 I 6 . Jtg3
would be something special. 'it>h 1 7 · � c3 e6 1 8 . l:t ad l . Curi­
1.e4 d5 ously enough, this l i ne has been
The first surprise! Prior to the played before, and by one of my
game, my second and I had looked previous opponents no less! At
at the wide variety of openings this point Sutovsky-Karpov end­
that Vallejo frequently plays. This, ed in a draw i n Tilburg 1 996.
however, was certainly not one of 13 ... e6 1 4.Jte2 0-0-0 1 5.l:tad1 f6
them! Although I was not aware of it,
2.exd5 'tlY x d5 VtJc3 'tlYd6 4.d4 1 D.c4 this position was still part of the
tiJf6 5.tiJf3 c6 I spent about I S minutes on this theory. Here 1 5 . . . f6 is a new move.
Although Val lejo t hrew me o ff move, as I really wanted to play However, I don't think this is a
with this opening, I was not too something much more a ggres­ particularly big improvement, as
worried, as I had looked at this sive, like I o . �e2. Fortunately, all lines should be roughly equal.
variation a few times before. I kept my wits and practical i t y After 15 . . . l:t g8 1 6. �f3 ..It d6 1 7 ·
6.tiJe5 tiJbd7 7 .�f4?! about me a n d went for t h e sim­ l:t heI cJJq 1 8.�xd6+ l:t xd6 1 9.b3
plest variation. l:t gd8 Black has ful l equality, as in
A fter 1 0 .�e2 ! ? 'lIV Xg2 I 1 . ..It f3 Sideif Zade-Bagirov, Baku 1 983.
� g5 1 2 .h4 'lIV fs I kept lookin g 16 ...Itf4
at all sorts of lines w i t h 'lIVe2 and
l:t g l , but felt that Black can go . . . .
..Itd7 and . . . 0-0-0 very quickly. Af­
ter these two simple developing
moves I couldn't come up with a
good plan for keeping the initia­
tive alive.
1 D . . . 'lIV a 5 + 1 1 . 'lIV d 2 � xd 2 +
1 2.'it>xd2 ..1tf5
Although this move doesn't do

"
anything particularly bad, the rea­ :i *A .i
,
soning behind it was flawed. I as­
' i i '
sumed that Paco would not be 1 6 ... g5

-
prepared for all variations in this The start of a bad plan. If Black
opening and took a gamble. .i A j ust goes 1 6 . . . ..It d6 right away, I
7.tiJC4 is more common and bet­ 8 8 don't see how White can really
ter, according to the theory. progress at all. The text move al­

:g
7 ... ttJd5
Right about now I was extreme­
8 8 W 8 8 8
lows me to make some long-term
kingside plans and pawn struc­
ly displeased, as Paco played this .i M tures which could favor me.
move relatively quickly. Luckily, 17 ...Ite3 h5 1 8.h3 Jtd6 1 9.b4
the position is fairly easy to play At this point Paco offered me Crea t i n g more space on t h e
and still quite balanced. a draw and then got up to take a queenside. I suspect . . . a s might
8.ttJxd5 ttJxe5 9.�xe5 stroll. I think he was definitely have been possible a little earlier
The alternative variation after 9 . surprised when I more or less im­ to prevent this.
dxe5 does n o t offer White any­ mediately played my next move 19 ... �c7 2D.a4 Continuing with
thing special either: 9 . . . 'lIV x d s wi thout any real thought. Al­ the plan. 2D ... a6 2V �'b3
1 0 . � x d S c x d S 1 1 . 0-0-0 e 6 1 2 . though the position is equal, I A simple but pragmatic waiting

SAN S E BASTIAN NEW iN CHESS 25

move. This prepares e i ther b S 33.J:!.e3!
o r d S at t h e right moment, a s it �E I i.
would avoid pesky bishop checks j.
on as and es. j. .a
I
8 .a j. j.
E �
w � �
j. j. - 8 �
.a j. j. a: a:

28.wb4 Avoiding a tricky little

check on C2. After this tricky move Black is in
28 .. J:!he8 29.b6 g4 complete zugzwang. This move is
After 29 . . . it,q 30. f3 it,c2 3 1 . J:!. d 2 extremely potent, as it stops any
21 ... �g6 J:!. c6! is a completely com puter­ . . . it c3+ tricks and makes �bS
A passive move which I do not like move to preserve the balance. completely unpreventable.
understand at all. If Black was 30.hxg4 hxg4 31 .J:!.fe1 33 . . . J:!.d8 34Jbd 8 + Wxd8 3 5 .
really worried about the h-pawn, it, d 5 � d 7 36.Wb5 J:!.e8 37 .it,xb7
it would have made more sense to � i. E J:!.h8 38.ite6 + We6 39.b7
go 2 1 . . . h4.
22J:rhf1 e5
j. Black resigned. I find it very fit­
ting that in the end the b-pawn
This move seems pretty provok­ 8 j. .a decided the outcome, as I figured
ing and somewhat unnecessary. I .a the queenside play was where I
am sure Paco was concerned about w� j. might have a chance of outplay­
the break with f�, but I was not ac­ � ing Paco.
tually thinking of playing it. Es­
sentially I laid down a bluff and he
8 �
fell for it. a: a: NOTES BY

22 . . . l::r hg8 makes more sense, as it Peter Svidler

gives Black a lot of flexibility and 31 ... l:!.e6?
options. After this blunder Black gets into RG 2.2 - C43
23.dxe5 it,xe5 a world of trouble. I suspect that Peter Svidler
Paco had overlooked a certain sac­ Anatoly Karpov
rifice after my next move. San Sebastian 2009 (5)
A better try was 3 1 . .. it,C2 32. J:!.d2
it,q 3 3 .it, cS fS 34· J:!.e3· Although 1 .e4 e5 2.t2Jf3 ttJf6 3.d4
this is slightly better than the text­ A couple of rounds earlier, Ana­
move, Black still has a lot of prob­ toly Evgenyevich met 3 . ttJ xeS
lems and can look forward to noth­ with 3 · · ·d6 4·ttJf3 ttJ xq S .d4 d S 6 .
ing but suffering for some time yet. � d 3 .9l.e7 7 .0-0 ttJ d 6 in his game
32.ite5 We8 against Vachier-Lagrave, and his
The only move that did not lose subsequent loss had nothing at all
outright was 32 . . . it fS, when af­ to do with the opening. I won't say
ter 33. J:!. e3 J:!.ec8 3�· J:!.xes fxeS 3 S . I spent the whole morning (and
24.b5 axb5 25.exb5 exb5 26.axb5 �d6+ J:!.xd6 36. J:!.xd6 J:!.f8 37. itdS I use the term loosely here, since
�b8 27 .it,e4 White once again has a huge ad­ the 5 pm start meant I had more
This position still remains rough­ vantage due to the b-pawns. time than I knew what to do with)
ly equal, but now it is not quite so After 32 . . . J:!. ec8 3 3 · l:!. x e s ! fxes looking at this position - the cov­
easy to play, as many endgames 3�·�d6+ J:!. xd6 3 S ·J:!.xd6 Black is erage of the I st Ashes Test cer­
can become unfavorable due to the once again facing a long and ardu­ tainly occupied a fai r share o f
pawns on bS/b6 and b7 · ous journey before he will be able my attention - b u t t h e time I d i d
27 ... J:!.e8 to salvage the game. spend on it convinced m e that it is

26 NEW iN CHESS SAN SEBASTIAN

an eminently playable, if slightly 1 1 .h3 �h5 pealing - Black is ready to cas­
passive, set-up. Unable to decide tle queenside and start picking at
what to do with this knowledge, I White's numerous weaknesses.
told myself that my opponent will
play anything these days (he did
play two different Sicilians against
me at the ACP Rapid World Cup
in Odessa) and settled on a 'cross­
ing that bridge when I come to it'
policy. Of course, the Petroff duly
appeared on the board.
3...ttJxe4 4.�d3 d5 5.dxe5
A totally spur-of-the-moment
choice. I have alway s believed 1 2.g4
Black is fine in this line - but at An approach somewhat lacking in
least the ensuing positions look subtlety. It was too early for 1 2.c4
enticingly random. ttJe6 1 3 .�g3 0-0-0, and Black is 1 4 ... h5
5...ttJc6 6.0-0 �g4 doing very well. The most principled continua­
But the strange-looking 1 2 . � h2!? tion. A case could be made for
also has merits: White tucks the 1 4 · ·b6 1 S · ttJ d4 ttJ e6 ( 1 S . . . g6 [ 6.
bishop safely away, wanting to f4) [ 6.ttJfS 0-0-0 - the pawn on C7
push C4 at an appropriate point. makes Black's position safer com­
12 . . . c6 ( 1 2 . . . b6? is very bad here: pared to the position after 1 3 . . . c6
1 3 . g4 � g6 1 4.e6! fxe6 1 S · ttJeS 1 4· ttJ cl4.
� cS 1 6 . � xg6+ hxg6 I 7 . � d 3 1 5.e6!
.!l h 6 I S . ttJ x g 6 ttJ h 1 9 . 1:!. be 1 , The next day Loeky ( Van Wely
with a considerable advantage - ed . ) remarked that I went back
for White) 1 3 . C4 dxC4 ( I 3 .. · d4 to my coffee-house roots in this
runs into a very pretty idea: 1 4 . game, whieh is a valid point - but
e 6 ! ttJxe6 1 S .ttJeS �Xd 1 1 6.ttJxd7, it happened later on in the game,
and White seems to be on top after w h i le this decision is not only
7.ttJc3 1 6 . . . 0-0-0 1 7·ttJeS �h S 1 S . g4 �g6 completely j ustified - it is, i n my
White is spoilt for choice of pawn 1 9 · �xg6 fxg6 20. ttJ h ) 1 4 . �XC4 view, almost forced, since r s . ttJ d-1-
structures here: Emil S utovsky � Xd 1 1 S . .!l fxd 1 �xf3 1 6.gxf3 bS h xg4 r 6 . hxg-1- � C5 is j ust plain
tried 7 .h3 � xf3 S . gxf3 ttJ CS 9 · f4 I 7 . �d3 ttJ e6, with a very double­ wrong.
in a recent game against Motylev, edged endgame.
but without much success. 1 2...�g6 1 3.�g3 E �� E
7 ... ttJxc3 8.bxc3 �e 7 White could have gone 1 3 .ttJd4
immediately, but Black i s well­
i i i 'iV A i i
A bit of welcome caution from my
opponent - the bishop is much prepared for it: 13 . . . � xd3 1 4 .cxd3 b
more active on cs. � C S ! 1 s · � e 3 ! ? hS 1 6. Wg2 hxg4 i i
9.�f4 1 7 .hxg4 ttJc6, with unclear play. I b
I played this almost instantly, al­ did not want to show my hand so Cjj � b
though it is, in fact, less than obvi­ early - as the game will show, the
ous that White will need this more knight can sometimes be deployed
b
than 9 J;[e 1 . Later on, this bishop differently. :�
will get in the way in more than 1 3...�xd3
one line. 1 3 · · ·c6 1 4 · ttJd4 � x d 3 1 S · cxd3 1 5 ... ttJxe6
9...�d7 1 0.1:!.b1 ttJd8 ttJe6 1 6 .ttJ fS is an ideal scenario An i mportant decisio n . I n the
10 ... 0-0-0 is not as bad as it looks, for White - the positional liberties post-mortem, we a g reed that
but I thought it unlikely that Black White took earlier seem j ustified r s . . . � xe6 was a safer way to
would go for this option - he does once the knight arrives on f5 . equality, but even there Black will
not have to commit on the issue of 1 4.cxd3 have to work quite hard : r 6 . 1:!. e r ,
castling j ust yet. 1 4 . �xd3 ttJe6 is totall y u nap- and now:

SAN SEBASTIAN NEW iN CHESS 27

 Peter Svidler on his game against Anatoly Karpov: 'Of course, the P etroff duly appeared on the board.'

�xq c;tl xe7 1 9 . ttJ eS, and White's 1 7 .f4?!

initiative is very dangerous; The red mist was descend i n g.
A4) 1 7 . ttJ d 4 ! ? ttJ e6 I S . ttJ xe6 M uch better was 1 7 . gx h S ! , and
fxe6 T 9 . gxhS 0-0 20.�g4 l::t fS 2 I . Black has to be extremely care­
C4! ?, and Black i s not entirely out ful : the machine suggests 1 7 . . .
of the woods yet, e.g. 2 I . .. d XC4 �f6 ( 1 7 . . . 0-0 I S.h6! i s ill-advised:
22.h6 � f6 23. � xC4 l::t d s 24· l::t q, I S . . . gxh6 I 9 . 'iV h S is extremely
with continued pressure. scary) 1 S . l::te l c;tl f8 (once again it is
B) I 6 . . . � a 6 . We altogether wrong to leave the h-file unattend­
missed the idea of I 7 . �h4! ( fo­ ed: I S . . . O-o 1 9 .h6 gxh6 20. � f3
ANALYSIS D IAGRAM
cussing on 1 7 .�e2 ttJ e6 l S . ttJd4 �g7 2 I .�xdS c6 2 2 . � g2, with
0-0-0 I 9 . ttJ xe6 fxe6 2 0 . � xe6+ excellent prospects for W h i te)
A ) I 6 . . . �CS: � xe6 2 I . l::t x e6 �f6, with equal­ 1 9.'iVg4 c;tl gS, and Black is hang­
A I ) 1 7 . � a4+ only leads to ity) 1 7 . . . ttJ e6 I S . � xe7 c;tl xq 1 9 . ing on, but there is no doubt that
equality: 1 7 · . · � d 7 I S . � x d 7 + ttJ eS, and once again Black's cen­ most people would choose to be
c;tl xd7 I 9·�xq c;tl xq 20 J he7+ tralized king will be a source of White here.
c;tl d6 2 I . J:[ be l hxg4 22. hxg4 l::t cS constant worry, as witness this 1 7 ...h4
23. ttJ d4 l::t c S, and Black holds; sample line: 19 . . . l::t a fS 2 0 . 'iV f3 Correctly closing the gxhS option
A2) I 7 · �e2 ttJ e6 JS. ttJ d4 hxg4 hxg4 2 I . hxg4 c6 22.gS, and Black forever. Apparently, q . . . hxg4
I 9. ttJ xe6 ( we thought I 9 . � xg4 is reduced to waiting passively for was also playable: I S . � xg4 � f6!
was very strong, but i n fact a f­ a strike that is sure to come soon. ( r S . . . ttJ dS? 1 9 . fS 0-0 20. � hS is a
ter 1 9 . . . ttJ xd4 2 0 . � xd4 c;tl fS ! 1 6 ttJ e5 �c8
. constant refrain - there is no de­
2 I . � x d S - 2 I . l::t X q does not fence against ttJ g6; 1 S . . . 0-0 is also
work: 2 I . . . c;tl xq 2 2 . � xg7 � e6! � iV * � very risky: 1 9. fS ttJ CS 20.�h4 l::teS
- 2 I . . .c6 2 2 . �e4 � d7 the posi­ 2 I . � h S �xh4 2 2 . '1W X f7 + c;tl h 7
i i i .t i i
tion is q uite unclear) 1 9 . . . � xe6 2 3 · f6! �xf6 24. ttJ g4, a n d White
2 0 . l::t x b 7 l::t x h 3 2 I . � x e 6 ( 2 I . � crashes through) 1 9 . fS ttJ cS 20.
l::tx q? J:[ xg3+) 2 I . . . fxe6 22. J:[ xe6 i tD i l::tb e r c;tl f8 2 I . l::t e3 c;tl gS 2 2 . l::t fe l
l::tcS 23. c;tl g2 c;tl d7 24. l::t g6 �f6 2 S · 1'3:, � f8, and Black has everything
l::t x g4, a n d White will have some covered for now.
f'!:, f'!:, il l'3:,
pull in the endgame; The text-move is much more
A3) 1 7 .�h4!? deserves atten­
1'3:, f'!:, practical, however.
tion here as well : 1 7 . . . ttJ e6 I S . :a: 'iY :a: � 1 8.�h2

2 8 NEW iN CHESS SAN S E BASTIAN

 2 3 . � h S ) 2 3 · � h S il f6 24· .!:l: xfS, to be doing too badly - but as long
and White wins. as White manages to avoid trad­
i n g q ueens, his various threats
.i � should prove too much for Black

i. , to weather.

,
, ttJ � �
,
� � 8
� �
1B ... 0-0?! l::r 'iY l::r �
Not the decisive mistake - but
coupled with the impending zeit­ 21 .f6!
not, this is the root of all Black's This is what Anatoly Evgenyevich
problems. As my opponent cor­ had missed. It wasn't my first idea
rectly p o i n t e d o u t a fter t h e either - while considering this po­ 29 ... .!:l:agB
game, h e should have played the sition before playing I g . gS I tried, 2g . . . .!:l: e8 30 . .!:l: f4! i s an i l l ustra-
calm 18 . . . c6! here. White's posi­ in vain, to make 2 I . � g4 work tion of the case i n point: sud­
tion looks very nice, but in fact - but once I 'd spotted this, it all denly White has a mating attack:
it is very hard to create concrete fel l into place. Black's problem is 30 . . . �b6 (or 30 . . . gxf4 3 I . .!:l: xh4+
threats. He has equality i f he wants that it will be utterly impossible to �g8 32. � h2, and mate to follow)
it: I g. fS ltJ gS 20.�g2 0-0 2 I .�f4 keep the knight on gs. 3 I · .!:l: g4, and the facade is about to
�f6 22 .�d2 .!:l:e8 23.�xgS �xgS 21 ...�d6 22.�d2 crumble.
2.j.. �xg5 .!:l: xes 2 S · � xh4 steriliz­ Forcing the knight forward. 30 . .!:l:e3 c6
es the game quite effectively - but 22 ... ltJxh 3 + 23.Wh1 �xe5 24. A waste of a tempo, but 30 . . . g.j.
whether there is anything better is �xe5 �h7 25.�g2 3 I .�f4! 'iY xf6 32.l:!.es is hardly an
not at all obvious. improvement.
19.95 31 .�e2
It goes without saying that I did Now the e-file can no longer be
not play T s . e6 and 1 7 . f4 to win defended .
back the b7 pawn: I g . �b3 .!:l: d8 (or 31 ... g4 32.�c7 'iYcB 33 . .!:l:e7
Ig . . . b6 20. � xd5 �f6) 20. � xb7 -
ltJ cS 2 I . �xc8 .!:l:axc8 would make
� .i
Black's life much easier.
1 9 ... g6?
" � �, �
After this natural move Black is in a , � .i
lot of trouble. He should have gone ,
Ig . . . �d6!, to which I was planning � "
to reply 20. ltJ g.j.! ? .!:l: e8 2 I . l:!. b2 �
�d7 22 . .!:l: g2, and while Black has Black is three pawns up, but the
a lot of defensive resources left, knight is doomed. To make mat­
� 'iY
White attacking potential should ters worse, my opponent was at l::r �
not be underestimated. this stage playing solely on the
20.f5 30-second increments. 33 ... .!:l:g5
It would be ridiculous to play 25 ... g5 This loses o n the spot, but af­
20. � g4 ltJ g7 2 I . 'iYxh4 ltJ fS , of Avo i d i n g the faster end after ter 33 . . . .!:l: f8 3 4 · � e s �g8 3 5 .
course - to quote a sadly missed 2 5 · · · � e6 26 . .!:l: b4! gS 27 . .!:l: xh4+ .!:l: f4 Black can't move and will be
legend, the bishop on h2 would �g6 2 8 . d.j. ! , and 2 g . � C 2 + i s mated soon: 3 5 · · · h 3 3 6 . � h 5 g3
not thank me for this. unstoppable. 37·'iYxg6+ fxg6 38· .!:l: g7+ �h8 39.
20 ... ltJxg5 26 . .!:l:f3 .!:l:gB 27 . .!:l:xh3 .!:l:g6 2B . .!:l:f1 .!:l: h4 mate.
20 . . . gxfS 2 I .g6 is clearly very bad: �e6 29.d4 34 . .!:l:xf7 + �g6 35.�d 3 +
2 I . . . fxg6 22. ltJ xg6 .!:l: f7 (22 . . . .!:l: e8 At first glance Black does not seem A n d Black resigned.

SA N SEBASTIAN NEw lN CHfSS 29

 NOTES BY 4 ... c5 A surprise for me. I think the game. But I was not convineed
Ruslan Ponomariov that my opponent had never previ­ that I stood well after 1 2 . . . � as
ously played this in his life. Against [ 3 · � x a s tLl x a S I 4 · � d 3 � d 7
TO 2.9 - 041 me before this in rapid chess he had [ S . 'it> d2 J:l: fcS. T h e pawn struc­
Ruslan Ponomariov twice chosen the O!-Ieen's Gambit, ture in this endgame resembles the
Paco Vallejo and in Linares the Anti-Meran oc­ Grlinfeld Defence, but here the
San Sebastian 2009 (9) eurred. The Tarrasch Defence De­ absence of the dark-square bishops
fen'ed is not especially popular: it is probably favours Black.
This game was played in the last hard for me to remember which of 1 2 ... b6
round, and in order to fight for the strong modern players employs It is curious that four years after
first place I needed to win, as I was it nowadays. Nevertheless, things his brilliant win against Tal, Polu­
half a point behind. Possibly this are not so simple - it has been em­ gaevsky decided to take Black's
may seem rather strange and easy ployed in matches for the world side, played 12 . . . � d6, and fairly
to say, when the result of the game championship, and there people do easily gained a draw: 1 3. J:l: fd 1 J:l: dS
is already known, but in fact I was not play bad openings. I 4 · J:l: ac l � d7 I s · � e2 J:l: acS 1 6 .
in little doubt that the outcome 5.cxd5 tLlxd5 6.e4 tLlxc3 7 .bxc3 dS exdS 1 7 .�xdS �e6 I S.�xc6
would be successful. The score cxd4 8.cxd4 �b4 + 9.�d2 �xd2 + J:l:xc6 1 9. J:l:b I J:l:b6, '/z-Vz POI·tisch­
against my opponent in our clas­ 1 0.�xd2 0-0 1 1 .�c4 tLlc6 Polugaevsky, Portoroz Interzonal
sical chess games was 4-0 i n my fa­ 1 973. At any event, at the present
vour, I was on form in San Sebas­ moment no one has demonstrated
tian, and I had the white pieces in a clear advantage for White.
the last round - what more could I 1 3.J:l:fe1 �b7
want? My mood also seemed to be
sensed by my opponent. At lunch
on the day of the game he looked
rather tired, as though worn out
by preparations for the inevitable. . .
1 .d4
In my first white game in this
tournament I chose this move and
won a good game against Gran­ 1 2.0-0
da. After this it was hard to force Of course, I knell' the famous
myself to play something d iffer­ games Spassky-Petrosian, World
ent and in fact I scored 3 Vz out of Cham pionship, Mosco\\' 1 969,
4. Although, I very much wanted and Polugaevsky-Tal, 37th USSR 1 4.d5
also to try the open games, but un­ Cham pionship, Moscow 1 969, The normal and natural move is,
fortunately I had only four games where White gained brilliant victo­ of course, q. J:l: ad I, as Spassky and
with white. Fortunately, my col­ ries. However, my opponent made Polugaevsky played. And only af­
leagues, with the exception of Na­ his moves instantly, without think­ ter q . . . J:l:cS - [ S ·dS tLl aS [ 6. �d3
kamura, allowed me to try both ing for a second, which gave me exdS I 7 .es tLl q I S.�f+ I don't
the Grlinfeld Defence and the Si­ food for thought. He surely knew know exactly what Vallejo was in­
cilian with black. these games and had prepared tending to play. Possibly with his
1 ...tLlf6 2.c4 e6 3.tLlf3 d5 4.tLlc3 some improvement: in our com­ computer he had found a defence

.i
puter era even the most dangerous in the positions with an extra piece
.i � .t i¥ 0 .t positions may be called into ques­ after I S . . . tLl b2 1 9 .�xh7+ WXh7
tion, and sometimes a reapprais­ 20. tLl g5+ 'it> g6 2 1 .h4. As I later
i i i i i i
al occurs. Therefore at the board I discovered from a games database,
i� wanted to try and find some other such attempts have not been aban­
interesting possibilities, in order to doned, and one of the compara­
force my opponent to think with tively recent attempts was made
his head, and not play from his by Artur ]ussupow, although not a
computer notebook. For example, very successful one - 2 1 . .. �C7 22.
1 2. J:l:C I was interesting, preventing .i:!.d2 J:l:q 23. �g3 Wh6 24. J:l: xb2 f6
Black's normal development as in 25.tLlf3, and White gradually won

30 NEW iN CHESS SAN SEBASTIAN

 Ruslan Ponomariov feels perfectly at ease in the Basque Country. It may help that his girlfriend Inez is from Bilbao.

in Dreev-JussuPow, Mainz zo03. 1 5 ... h6?! and play on with equal material?
In the third volume of My Creal My idea was that after I S . . . cxdS But then I wasn't sure how to ex­
Predecessors Kasparov analyses r 6.es ttJq 1 7 .'iYf+ Black no long­ ploit the weakness on e6, and the
18 . . . h6, I S . . . g6 and I S . . . 1:r c6, and er has a fork on bz, and it will be black pieces would become much
nowherc are things completely possible to attack without making more acti ve.
clear. Also interesting slightly ear­ any great material sacrifices. But 1 6 ... .!:!. c8
lier, by analogy with my game, is Black's reply somewhat surprised
16 . . . .!:!. c S ! ? (instead of I6 . . . exdS), mc and I took it to be a m inor
not hurrying to capture the pawn. opening victory on my part . Did
This, strangely enough, has not my opponent really want to de­
yet been played . I think that the fend in advance against the com­
move made by me is also not bad. bination with the bishop sacrifice
The fact that for the moment on h7? But in any case after I S . . . h6
his rook is at a I does not prevent Black's kingside is weakencd and
White from beginning an attack other attacking possibilities are
on the kingside with the rest of his crea ted. J\101'eover, as yet Black
pieces. has not fully completed his devel­
14...ttJa5 1 5.�d3 opment or created counterplay.
In Black's place I would have pre­ 1 7 . .!:!.ad1
.i 'iV i: • fen'ed ' 5 . . . 'iYe7 ! ? or simply I S . . . I think that this natural moye can
.!:!. cS. I n any case, I S . . . h 6 could no longcr be dcferred, since after,
i .t i i i
definitely have been delayed, since for example, r 7 . ttJ d+ J:I c5 I S .h+

�
i i for the moment thc light-squared .!:!.e8 the white pieces are hanging
t:, bishop's b r -h7 d iagonal is still on the d-file and the rook is simply
t:, closed. needcd on d I . But in the light of
� ttJ 1 6.'iYf4 later events it would have been in­

£!, 'iV £!, t:, t:, My fi r s t t h o u g h t w a s t h i s :

shouldn't I spoil thc opponent's
tercsting to change the initial plan
of an attack on the kingside and
J!t J!t W pawn structure by I 6.dxe6 fxe6 try ' 7 .d6!?, not giving up a pawn

SAN S E BAST I A N NEW iN CHESS 31

 San Sebastian 2009 cat.XVIII 20.h4
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 TPR 20. l:t e3 'iV gS is now good for
1 Hikaru Nakamura IGM USA 2 7 1 0 0 Y. % % 1 % 1 % 1 1 &% 2845 Black, since es-e6 is no longer a
2 Ruslan Ponomariov IGM UKR 2727 % 0 %% 1 1 1 1 % % 6% 2843 danger.
3 Peter Svidler IGM RUS 2739 Y. Y. 0 Y. % % 1 % % 1 5% 2755
4 Rustam Kasimdzhanov IGM UZB 2672 % % % 0 %% 0 1 % 1 5 2726
.t -e' E�
5 Paeo Vallejo IGM ESP 2693 0 0 % % 0 Yo % 1 1 1 5 2723
i i i
6 Sergei Movsesian IGM SVK 2 7 1 6 % 0 % %% 0 %% % 1 4% 2678
7 Maxime Vaehier-lagrave I G M FRA 2703 o 0 0 1 Y. % 0 % 1 1 4% 2&79
i i
8 Julio Granda Zuniga IGM PER 2647 % 0 % 0 0 % % 0 1 % 3% 2606 � .I i �
9 Pablo San Segundo IGM ESP 2570 o Yo Yo Yo 0 Yo 0 0 0 Y. 2Yo 2528 ttJ 'iV �

!'3:,
10 Anatolv Karpov IGM RUS 2644 o Yo 0 0 0 0 0 Yo Yo 0 1Yo 2413
.i
� !'3:,
and at the same time creating a knight must on no account be al­ : : �
protected passed paw n . Things lowed to go to fS . These are the
are not so easy for Black, for ex­ d i ffi c u l ties w h i c h could have 20 ... ttJ c4?
ample: I 7 . . . � f6 I B . � g3 � C3 awaited Black i f, for example, he A serious mistake, and one made
1 9 Jhd I l:t fdB 20.es ttJ C4 2 I .�C4 had played 19 .. · ttJ c6 20. ttJ fS � g5 after quite a long think. Black pre­
�xC4 22. l:t xC4 and White retains 2 I . � f3 �cB 22.h4 �dB vents the switching of the white
all the advantages of his position. rook to the kingside via e3. But
1 7 ... l:tc5
I .t -e' .I � W h i t e also has another rook,
If I 7 . . . 'iV f6, then simply I B . � g4, which can go via d3. The defend­
i i i
and the black queen at f6 merely ing side should aim for exchanges,
comes under attack by the white i� � in order to reduce the opponent's
pieces. .I i � ttJ attacking potential. Therefore
1 B.ttJd4 � 20 . . . ttJ c6 suggested itself, to ex­
It would seem that l i ttle was .i 'iV change one of the most dangerous
changed by I B. h4 exdS I 9.eS �cB, white pieces. For some reason my
when White hardly has any bet­
� � � opponent imagined that after 2 1 .
ter plan than ttJ d4 and l:te3. Now a: a: � ttJ b3 his rook would be trapped,
Black must finally capture the ANALYSIS DIAGRAM but this is not so:
pawn, but he is already prepared
for White's activity. O n e more move a n d W hite's .t -e' E�
1 B ... exd5 1 9.e5 knight will be eliminated, but this
i i i
Nothing is given by a premature little instant is sufficient for him:
attack - I 9 . ttJ fS � g S ! 20. � XgS 23. ttJ xh6+ ! gxh6 2+�g3+ �hB ,_ i � i
hxgS 2 I . ttJ q + �hB 2 2 . e x d S 2 S · � f4 �g7 26. l:te3 f5 27· l:t g3+ I�
i: i �
�xdS 2 3 . l:t e3 g 6 24. �xg6 �e6, �h7 2 B . � g4 l:t gB 2 9 · � x fS + 'iV �

!'3:,
and White's hopes are dashed. �xfS 30.�xfS+ �hB 3 I . l:t xgB+ ttJ .i
� xgB 3 2 . l:t d 3 , with a terribly
� �
-e' .I � strong attack. To avoid the worst,
: : �
Black has to return the piece: 32 . . .
i .t i i ttJ e7 33·�f6+ 'iV g7 34· l:t g3 �xf6 ANALYSIS DIAGRAM

i i 3 S . exf6 ttJ fS 3 6 . f7 l:t C I + 3 7 . �h2

� i: i � l:tcB 3B. l:t f3, but then an unpleas­ 2 I . . . l:tc3 22. � d2 d 4 23 . � f4 �e6
ttJ 'iV a n t e n dgame awaits h i m after 24.�q d3 or 2 2 . l:t

!'3:, !'3:, !'3:, !'3:,

.i 3B .. · �g7 39· l:t xfs �f8 40 . l:t xdS
l:t c2 4 I . �g3 l:t xa2 42. l:t h s �xf7
43 . l:t xh6 and I think that White
: a: � should win.
N o better is I9 . . . � gS 20. � xgS
1 9 ... �cB! lugS 2 I .e6!, when it is not clear
At j ust the right time. White's how Black can defend.

32 NEW IN �
course, White has compensation 'iYxc3 26. l:l c l . The attemp t to This weakens the black king's po­
for the pawn after both 2 r . l:l e3 run with the king from the king­ sition, which makes things much
tiJxd4 22.'iYxd4, and 2 I . tb bS �e6 side by 2-l . . . �f8 i s also hopeless easier for me. Correct was 27 . . .
22. tiJ d6, aiming to retain as many - 2 s . l:l ee3 tbq 26. l:l xg7! �xg7 tb e7 28· 'if g3 tb fS 29· 'if h3 ttJ d4
pieces as possible. But there would 2 7 . tb fS + . I n this variation the 3 0 . l:l c3 'iY x h 3 3 I . l:l x h 3 tb c6,
still have been all to play for, and strength of White's coordinated when the win for White i s still a
Black does not stand worse. pieces is clearly seen. long way off. Possibly I would
21 .�f5 25.tbxe6 'iYxe6 have had reason to seriously re­
Of course, exchanges are advan­ gret my 26th move.
tageous to Black. But specific cal­ � 2B.h5 l:lc4 29.l:lf4
culation shows that for the sake
i i i
of obtaining a knight at fS one
i " 'iV i �
does not have to stick to dogmatic
K i � i i
principles.
21...l:leB 22.l:ld3 'iV � i 'iV i i

..9..'iV K
i �" �
• M

i
� � � � K M iV

�I.t. .t.:i
,I\, i,
i i
i
26.'iYg4?
M �

" ttJ 'iV � The game was played with a time

control of I V2 hours for the entire 29 ... l:lxf4

hll:
game + 30 seconds a move, and it 29 . . . bS was more tenacious, but
� � � had now entered a rather nervy here too, after 30. hxg6 fxg6 3 r .
M � phase, where neither of u s had l:lb r a6 3 2 . l:l xq bxC4 3 3 . l:l b8+
much time for thought. I sensed �f7 34. l:l b7+ White should win
22 ... tbd6? that after 24 . . . l:le6 there should be without any problems, i n view of
This simply loses by force. The something for White. the terrible position of the black
only possibility of ayoiding mate At this moment a large number of king.
or loss of material was 22 . . . � h8 spectators were l i terally crowd­ 3�. 'iYxf4 gxh5
23. l:lg3 f6 2+'iYg-l l:!.q 2s ·e6 l:lee7 ing around my board, and I over­
26.'iYg6 'iYg8. The black pieces looked the simple 26.exd6! 'iYxe r + �
are very clumsily placed, but life 27.�h2, when Black's counterplay
i
goes on. 27 . l:lC1 is not at all dangerous, be­
i 'iV i
..

23.�xcB 'iYxcB 24.l:lg3 cause of 28. l:l e3. As a result, the

logical finish to the game was rath­ i �" i
'iV K � er spoiled, and it all reduced to the 'iY
banal conversion of the exchange
i i i
advantage.
i " i� 26 ... tbf5 27 .l:lf3
� �
i: i � � �
ttJ 'iY � �
J:r Black now has two pawns for the
i i i
exchange, which in a normal situ­
� � � i 'iV i ation is more than sufficient com­
I M � i: i �" pensation. But here his pawns are
WII � isolated, his king is weak, and his
24... l:le6 M knight has no strong points. Be­
In his preliminary calcula­ cause of this the game concluded
tions Vallejo had thought that he
� � � fairly quickly.

d3 34.'iYd2 tbe7 35.'iYxd3 'iYe6 �

would haye the defence 2-l . . . l:l c3, M � 31 .l:ld1 d4 32.l:ld3 'iYd7 33.l:lf3!

�
but only now did he notice that
this loses a piece after 2 S . l:l xc3 27 ... g6? 36.'iYd6 Black resigned.

SAN S E B A S T I A N NEW iN CHm; 33

 Wladimir Kramnik I
Kra m n i k on Cloud
N i ne in Dortm u n d
The 37th Sparkassen North Rhine-Westphalian Kramnik also earned

Chess-Meeting in city and won the event himself a new fan,

Dortmund ended in a for the ninth time, an German grandmaster

resounding victory for amazing feat that invited Sebastian Siebrecht,

Vladimir Kramnik. The comparisons with Garry one of the commentators

Russian grandmaster Kasparov's nine wins in in the Dortmund City

once again demonstrated the super-tournaments in Theatre and our man on

his strong ties with the Linares. In the process, the spot .

34 NEW iN CHESS DORTMUND

 was completed by Etienne Bacrot,
the winner of the 2009 Aeroflot
Open (who traditionally qualifies
for Dortmund), and local favour­
ite and Germany's number one
Arkady Naiditsch.
A t the centre of attention was
I 8- year-old M a gn u s Carlsen
from Norway, who finished his
school on June 12 and therefore
played his first chess tournament
as a professional ! Just imagine, a
schoolboy who is ranked third in
the world. Respect!
A fter h i s u n fo r t u nate last­
round loss to Alexey S hirov in
Sofia, which brought the Span­
iard tournament victory, Carlsen's
fans were eager to see him notch
up this super-tournament. He got
off to a good start, when in the
first round he kept putting pres­
sure on Yakovenko's Berlin Wall
and finally tore it down.

RL 7.4 - C67
Magnus Carlsen
Dmitrv Yakovenko
Dortmund 2009 ( 1 )

fter his loss to Vishy Anand in Dortmund, where I was commen­ 1 .e4 e5 Vt:J f 3 tLlc6 3.�b5 tLlf6
Athe world championship match tating on the games for the audi­ 4.0-0 tLlxe4 5.d4 tLld6 6.�xc6
in Bonn last autumn, Vladimir ence, together with GM Klaus dxc6 7 .dxe5 tLlf5 B:�xdB + WxdB
Kramnik took a break. He repre­ Bischoff, I can tell you that I am 9.tLlc3 WeB 1 o . h 3 h5 1 1 .tLl e 2
sented Russia at the Olympiad in a fan ! Why the sudden change, � e 7 1 2.iLg5 � e 6 1 3.tLlf4 �d5
Dresden, but otherwise the pub­ you may wonder? I cannot really 1 4.jLxe7 Wxe7 1 5 . tLl g 5 tLld4
lic chess activities of the current tell you. Perhaps you should also 1 6Jhd1 tLle6 17 .tLlgxe6 �xe6
number six in the world rankings see him in action, live, as I had the 1 B.h4
were restricted to rapid tourna­ privilege to!
ments in ice and Baku. Instead, �
he chose to spend time with his The format for this year's edition
�� �
wife and their new-born daugh­ was a s ix-player double round­
ter and to rest and prepare for new robin. Of these six players four .a
challenges. In Dortmund he ap­ were members of the tOP- 1 0 elite. £::, �
peared well-rested and relaxed, Top-seed was Magnus Carlsen, ttJ £::,
but also excel l e n t l y prepared currently ranked third, followed
and brimming with ideas. Here I by Dmitry Yakovenko, who, in
should immediately make a con­ fifth place, is the highest ranked
£::, �
fession. Despite his tremendous Russian at the moment, one( ! ) l:r w
achievements, I was never euphor­ precious point ahead of Vladimir
ic about Kramnik's play. I found Kram n i k . The fo u r t h tOP- 1 0 1 B ... a5
his pragmatic style somewhat bor­ p layer was Peter Leko, number A new move in this position. Fel­
ing. But things can change, and seven i n the world and a famil­ gaer-Neubauer, Turin Olympiad
since I've watched him closely in iar face i n Dortmund. The field 2006, saw 18 . . . g6.

DORTMUND NEW iN CHESS 35

 s s e � 09
s p a r\<.a etl
M e
Ch e ss -
The 'also-rans' in Dortmund: Dmitry Yakovenko, Magnus Carlsen, Peter Leko, Etienne Bacrot and Arkady Naiditsch.

1 9.a3 a4 2o.l:Ue1 g6 21 .f3 :i:!.a5 Prevents the freeing . . . cs.

22.c3 :i:!.b5 23.:i:!.e2 :i:!.a8 24.:i:!.d4 36 ... hxg4
:i:!.aa5 25.cJ;lf2 :i:!.xe5 26.:i:!.xe5 nxe5 As 36 . . . cS is met by 3 7 . gx h S ! !
27.:i:!.xa4 :i:!.b5 28.b4! cxd4 + 3 8 . Wxd4, and the black
bishop cannot stop the w h i te
passed pawn.
3 7 .fxg4 cJ;l e 5 3 8 . ttJ c 6 + Wf6
39.'i£tf4 We6 4o.h5! gxh5 41.gxh5

34J:ta5!
Black must be stopped from play­
ing the life-saving . . . cs.
34..J:ta6 35.:i:!.xa 6 + bxa6
Suddenly the black rook has few White also keeps a clear advantage
squares at its disposal! after 35 . . . � xa6 36.bS cs 3 7 ·bxa6
28 ... c5 2UIa7 cxb4 3o.cxb4! cxd.j.+ 38.Wxd4.
Ignoring the rule of taking back 36.g4!
towards to the centre. Carlsen Black fails to solve his problems.
has his eyes set on a future passed Thanks to h i s passed h-pawn
a-pawn! and the threat of creating anoth­
30 ... cJ;ld7 31.ttJe2 e r passed pawn o n the queen­
The white knight is redirected. In side, White totally dominates the
this position the knight is superior position.
to the black bishop. Besides, Black 41 ...�d3 42.'i£te3 �f1 43.h6 'i£tf6
is still stuck with the problem of 44.ttJe5!
finding good squares for his rook. W h i te controls a l l i m portant
31 .. J:tb6 32.We3 �c4 33.ttJd4 squares. Obviously the k n i gh t
Wd6 cannot b e taken because of 45 .h7.

36 NEW iN CHESS DORTM U N D

44...�b5 45.Wd4 .ia4 46.h7 ! 1 7 ... �xe5 1 8.dxe5 :!.txe5 1 9.f3
Now, in an impressive manner, :!.tae8!
White wins forcibly.
� �
.i� 1 � 1 1
1 .
1 � 1
8 1 �
8 �
� � £::, ..t
8 'iV ttJ £::,
The structure that has arisen looks :s :s �
pleasant for Black. The black at­
tack on the kingside looks more Magnificent! All Black's pieces are
real than White's possible attack­ in play. As Yasser Seirawan once
46 . . . W g 7 4 7 . ttJ x f 7 W x h 7 ing chances on the queenside. The said: 'Chess is a team sport!'
48.ttJg5 + Wg6 49.ttJe6 normal moves here are I o . �b3 or 2o.�f4 :!.th5 21 .fxe4 dxe4 22 ..ic4
The last black pawns fal l . Black I O. ttJ c3· �xg2! And not 22 . . . � g4 23 . ttJ g3
stands no chance, so he resigned. 1o ... jLc7 1 1 .ttJc3 ttJd7 1 2.�c2 :!.t h4 24· :!.t fI , when White sudden­
A fter 1 2 . ttJ xe4 d X C4 1 3 · �XC4 ly wins. 23.ttJg3
Carlsen is a veritable crowd-pull­ �XC4 I 4 Jh q ttJ xC5 the pawn
er. Every round up to 50,000 peo­ on d4 will u ltimately become a � �
ple followed the live games on the weakness.
1 2 .. .l::t e8 1 3 ..b3
1 1 � 1 1
Internet. Dortmund is rightly fa­
mous for the facilities for specta­ After I 3 . ttJ xe4 the following line 1 � 1
tors at the venue, and every day shows the attacking potential of 8 �
some 350 en th usiasts would come Black's pieces: I 3 . · · dxe4 I4.�xC4 8� 1�
to the City Theatre to see the stars VJii e7 I S . ttJ d2 ttJ f6 I 6 . f3 ttJ xC4
ttJ
live. I 7 . fxC4 �xh2+, and Black wins.
Black also has a big advantage af­
8 'if ..t
After five rounds, halfway through ter I 3 ·�xe4 dxe4 1 4· ttJ XC4 �e7 M M �
the event, Carlsen was in the sole I S . ttJ fdz ttJ f6.
lead on plus-2, thanks to a further 1 3 ... h6 1 4.b4 23...�f3!!
demolition job on the Berlin Wall, A pseudo-active move. I nstead, The rook cannot be taken.
the victim this time being Nai­ W h i te should have p u lled the 24. VJii b 3 Tak i n g the rook with
ditsch. Kramnik and Leko were emergency break with I 4. ttJ dz. 24. ttJ xh5 leads to disaster, as the
half a point adrift . The Hungar­ 1 4 ... ttJdf6 1 5.h3 �d7 1 6.ttJe2 following line shows: Z4 . . . ttJ xhS
ian grandmaster won a fine game 2S.�h2 �g4+ 26.WfI e3 27· :!.tacI
against Bacrot, which he anal­ E E � ttJ g3+ 28 . ..Q.xg3 � h 3 + Z 9 · W g I
yses i n his usual lively manner 'iYh I mate.
1 1 ..t � 1 1
elsewhere i n this issue. Kramnik
scored a dashing win with the 1 � 1
.i �
Petroff against Naiditsch. 8 1 ..t
1 1 � 1 1
8 8�
1 � 1
RG 4.8 - C42 � � ttJ £::,
Arkady Naiditsch 8 i:
8 'iV ttJ 8 8
Vladimir Kramnik 8� 1�
M :s �
Dortmund 2009 (4)
'iY ..t ttJ
1 .e4 e5 2.ttJf3 ttJf6 3.ttJxe5 d 6 1 6 ...�xh3! 1 7 .ttJe5!
£::,
4.ttJf3 ttJxe4 5.d4 d5 6.�d3 �d6 His best chance. White tries to M M �
7.0-0 0-0 8.c4 c6 9 J:t e1 �f5 muddy the water. A fter I 7 . gxh3
1o.c5?! � xh3 Black's attack is too strong. 24 ... :!.th4

DORTMUND NEW iN CHESS 37

Black could even win more quick­ 1 6.J:!.xd8 + �xd8 1 7 .J:!.d1 �d7 ow B lack is lost. The tables
ly with 24 . . . � h3 2 S . � x f3 (or would be turned dramatically af­
2 S . � x f7 + <;£;> h S 2 6 . � C 2 , and ter 26. J:!. xe6? fxe6 27 ·�xe6 � g7;
Black mates in three) 2 S ... exf3 or 2 6 . ttJ d S exdS 2 7 . J:!. h6? d x q
26. J:!. xeS+ ttJ xeS. 2S. J:!. xh7 � e s ! , and White can
25.�d6 �h3 2 6.�xf7 + <;£;> h 7 resIgn.
27.�b2 26 ... <;£;>e7

g
Or 26 . . . W g S 2 7 . J:!. x e 6 fx e 6
2S.�xe6+ �f7 29. ttJ dS, and wins.
2 7 .� h 4 + <;£;>f8 28.�h6 + �e7
i i .i i � 29.ttJb5!
i .i � i

g
�
£::, i 1 8.f5!
.t t2J � A fine idea. The transfer of the
queen to the kingside is prepared.
£::' 'iV 1 8 ... gxf5 1 9.�d2 �b6
Ii M � If 19 . . . ttJ aS then 20.�a2 (20. Vi' xd7
ttJ xq 2 I . �xb7 ttJ d6 22. �a6 �q
27 ... ttJg4 would probably be OK for Black)
White resigned. A slightly quick­ 20 . . . jLeS 2 1 . Vi' h6 �q 22 .�xe6
er route to mate was 27 . . . � xg3+ fxe6 23.Vi'xe6+ ii.f7 2+ ttJdS would
2 S . � x g 3 J:!. 11 I + 2 9 . <;£;> f2 ttJ g.j. give White a clear advantage.
mate, but this doesn't detract from 2 0 . 'if h 6 ii.e8 2 1 . ttJ g 5 � x g 5 And once again all pieces are i n
Kramnik's superior performance. 2 2 .�xg5 + <;£;> f 8 23.�h6 + �g8 play!
24.�g 5 + <;£;>f8 29 ... �a5 3o.b4 ttJxb4 31 .J:!.xe6 +
But all in all, the first half wasn't too fxe6 32.�xe6+ <;£;>d8 33.�f6+
inspired and there were numerous E .t � I nstead, 3 3 . ttJ d 6 w o u l d o n l y
draws, some of them without too lead t o a d raw after 3 3 . . . � d 7 !
i i i i 3.j.· ttJ xb7+ ..t> q 3 S ·�d6+ �xb7
much of a fight. Fortunately, there
was more excitement in the second �� i 36.�xd7+ � q 3 7 . �b S + 'if b6
half, when particularly Kramnik i 'iV 3S. � d7+.
had warmed up. In Round S he .i 3 3 . . . <;£;> e 8 3 4 . 'if x f 5 + <;£;> d 8
demonstrated once again that this � � 35.�f6+ <;£;>e8 36.axb4
t2J
is his tournament, when in a direct Wonderful, everything fits. Black
encounter he defeated Carlsen and
� � � resigned.
moved into the sole lead. The Nor­ � �
wegian made one slip, and never got Carlsen finished the tournament
a chance to repair the damage. 25.J:!.d6! with two draws and was clearly
Kramnik continues to play, as the dissatisfied with his play. In the
Qo 4.3 - 037 repetition of moves will not run final standings he shared second
Vladimir Kramnik away. Now Carlsen replied too place with Leko and Yakoven­
Magnus Carlsen quickly, and after his unfortunate ko. Leko delivered a stable per­
Dortmund 2009 ( 8 ) queen move the game is essential­ formance, and one gets the feel­
Iy over. ing that with a little bit of luck or
1 . d4 d 5 2 . e4 e6 3.ttJf3 ttJf6 2 5...�e7? some more perse\'erance 111 games
4.ttJe3 jLe7 5 .�f4 0-0 6.e3 e5 The right move was 2 5 . . . J:!. dS, where he still seemed to have eve­
7 .dxe5 jLxe5 8.a3 ttJe6 9. �e2 when a ft e r 2 6 . � h 6 + � gS rything to fight for he might have
�a5 1 o.J:!.d1 jLe7 1 1 .jLe2 dxe4 27. J:!. xe6 � d.j.! (27 . . . fxe6 loses to scored better.
1 2 . � x e 4 ttJ h 5 1 3 . 0 - 0 ttJxf4 2 S . � x e6+ Wg7 2 9 . � gS+ ..t> f6 Yakovenko worked hard and
14.exf4 g6 1 5.g3 J:!.d8 30.�f8+ ..t> es 3 1 . ttJ b S ! ) 2S. J:!. f6 was involved in the longest games
A new move in this position. In a � x q 29. J:!. xc6! the position i s (62 and 70 moves and even S I
game Epishin-Atalik, Bratto 2005, equal. against Bacrot). I n the penulti­
Black played 1 5 . . . jL f6. 26.�h6 + mate round he had to fight hard to

38 NEW iN CHESS DORTM U N D

 it's not only difficult to win a game
but even to get a game. In the first
half of the tournament my head
was working well but I couldn't
show it, because the games were
lacking content . I cou ldn't get
mueh with white, while with black
I made a few forced draws out of
the opening. Then I beat Nai­
d i tsch, which was quite a nice
game, but he was not playing so
well . The result was OK: +1 with
fOUf rounds to go. Yet I was un­
happy with the Icvel of play. The
tournament was a bit 'slow' for
all players, not only for me. For­
The turning point. With a fine attacking win against top-seed Magnus Carlsen tunately this changed in the final
in Round 8 Vladimir Kramnik took over the lead. fou r games, when we finally saw
some excitement.
save the draw in a gripping game game was his last-round effort I chose to annotate my last-round
against Kramnik and successful­ against Naiditsch, when a draw game against Naiditsch, which
ly did so. Every day Yakovenko sufficed to end clear first. But he was the most interesting one. Of
painstakingly prepared with his got so engrossed in the position my victories, my wins against Nai­
second Dennis Khismatullin, lit­ that he kept playing for a win. On ditsch with black and the game I
erally almost till the game started. his return home he deeply ana­ won a gainst Carlsen were may­
As a result, he came close to losing lysed this game. I warmly recom­ be more spectacular for the pub­
his game against Naiditsch. This mend his notes to the reader, as lic, but this one was much richer
year, instead of the old one hour, they are impressive both in their and tenser. Almost till the end the
the players could come I S min­ depth and in their clarity. Most situation was not entirely clear. As
utes late before they were forfeit­ readers have not had the privilege for quality, I think this was my best
ed. And this is what Yakovenko al­ to see Kramnik in action, as I did, game, because after analysing it
most managed to do on that day. but it's certainly another privilege I came to the conclusion that my
Or, in fact, that's what he did. He to be granted a peek into his pro­ play was close to perfect. I didn't
had to be grateful to event man­ found thoughts and calculations. even play a single inaccurate move.
ager Gerd Kolbe, who knew that Certainly, if he had played the
the young Russian had left the ho­ right moves, at the end it would
tcl too late and postponed the start NOTES BY have been a draw, but what can
of the round by enthusiastically Vladimir Kramnik I do' Chess is a drawish game. I
lengthening his daily welcoming posed the maximum of problems
speech to the audience. Still, the N1 1 7 . 1 6 - 039 to my opponent and in the end he
fact that Yakovenko came late to Vladimir Kramnik collapsed.
almost all rounds, didn't make a Arkady Naiditsch At the start of the game I knew
really good impression. Dortmund 2009 (1 OJ that a d raw would basical ly be
But, as said, the clear winner, enough for me for at least shared
one point ahead of the rest, was I hadn't played for a while and had first place and, as it turned out,
Vladimir Kramn i k . With black got out of the routine of working even for clear first place. But I was
he could play his beloved Petroff so many hours during' a tourna­ White and I felt I should try to
and from what he showed it seems ment, so at the end of the event play for a win and see what hap­
clear that Anand had good reason I was pretty tired. Fortunately it pened. During the game I got into
to avoid this territory in Bonn . didn't affect my play. I felt from the fight, and although I could
With white Kramnik played im­ the beginning that I was in good ha\'e forced draws in various pret­
pressively, even though he failed shape, but somehow I was unable ty unclear positions, I kept playing
to fully exploit his chances against to show it. It's a very tough field for a win. This proved to be the
Bacrot and Yakovenko. His best and most players are very solid, so right decision.

DORTMUND NEW iN CHESS 39

1 .d4 tLlf6 2.c4 e6 3.tLlf3 d5 4.tLlc3 that the only game for which I was 1 7 .. . .!::rc 8
dxc4 very well prepared was my white This is what Arkady also played
It was not difficult to predict this game against Naiditsch, because I against Leko after a long think
opening, as it is almost the only had already spent quite some time of maybe 30 minutes. I knew that
thing Arkady plays against r .d+. before my match with Anand an­ this was an interesting way to meet
Which is a serious minus i n his alysing this position. But then, I 7 .�h6. With the queen on h4,
p lay. It's a very sharp line and i f when I was playing Car/sen, I saw playing the rook to cS is not such a
this is your only serious weapon it that exactly this position arose in good idea in view of the manoeu­
can work in an open tournament, the game Leko-Naiditsch. And vre I played in this game: tLl f3,
but at this level it is very risky. In Leko played this novelty, I 7 . �h6, . . . � xc3, .!::r d +, and the queen is
general he was doing fine open­ which I had prepared for Nai­ much better placed on h4 than on
ing-wise, but I still don't think ditsch. I was a bit disappointed, h6. With the queen on h6 the situ­
it's a good thing to have the Vien­ as I believed that I would proba­ ation is not so clear.
na as your only opening in such a bly have to prepare something dif­ One idea behind r 7 . �h6 was that
tournament. ferent, but then I decided to go if Black goes 1 7 . . . � gS, White will
5.e4 ..tb4 6 ...tg5 c5 7 .�xc4 cxd4 for this line anyway, as I had no go 1 S. �h3, transposing to the fa­
8.tLlxd4 �xc3+ 9.bxc3 'lWa5 time or energy to prepare some­ vourable line mentioned i n the
thing else after the tough game previous note.
against Yakovenko the day before. But the main idea is that if Blaek
I thought it was an extremely dan­ tries to play as i n the game Gel­
gerous idea for one game, but once fan d - A r o n i a n w i t h 1 7 . . . .!::r d S ,
your opponent has checked it with White has t h e very i m portant
the computer it becomes consid­ option of 1 S . h4 1 , covering the
erably less dangerous. gs-square and blocking . . . 'iV g S .
The point of the text-move i s With t h e h e l p of t h e com puter
that before t h i s t i m e , p e o p l e it's quite easy to determine that
played I 7 . � h+, w i t h quite good Black is almost in zugzwang; he
results. At first Black would try doesn't have any useful moves.
1 7 . . . � g5 and White would go The best move here is 1S . . . .!::r f8 ,
l S . � h 3 . Most of these games which doesn't look l i ke a good
1 0.il.b5+ ended i n draws, but i t was clear sign . Then maybe White's best
The most fashionable line these that Black was suffering. But then is 1 9.a+, a strange move, but now
days. there was the i m portant game the zugzwang is almost complete.
1 0".�d7 1 1 .�xf6 gxf6 1 2.�xd7 + Gelfand-Aronian i n Nalchik, in I don't see any productive move
tLlxd7 1 3.0-0 a6 1 4..!::r b 1 �c7 which Black played the novel­ for Black and I think he is in seri­
All this is theory. Of late there has ty 17 . . . .!::r d S, which I had already ous trouble.
been some raised interest in this checked long before this game 1 8.tLlf3
line and q u ite a few important and of which I k new it equal­ T h i s new and q u i te strai ght­
games have been played with it. ized . And indeed, Aronian equal­ forward move was what I had
1 5.�h5 tLlc5 1 6 ..!::r b 4 �e5 ized easily and made a draw. This planned against 17 ... .!::rC S. There
is why I was already concentrat­ are other options, but this i s the
i: � i: ing on 1 7 . �h6 in this position six most dangerous one.
months ago. Strangely enough, Peter ( Leko)
i i i
was not prepared for I7 ... .!::rcS, and

,. '+W
i i i after a long think he came up with
.i �.i
'if [ S .a4, which in this position is not
i i i
l:: CiJ � a great move, because Black can

,. '+W
i i i 'iY simply play I S . . . � xe4 1 9 . � xf6
�
ngS 20. 'i' f3 � xf3 2 I .tLlxf3 W e7,
� � � �
l:: CiJ � and Black has no problems. Per­
l:: � haps he can even play for a slight
�
advantage.
1 7 .�h6
� � � � 1 8".�xc3
Before the tournament I thought l:: � What now follows is pretty forced.

40 NEW iN CHESS DORTMUND

Kramnik vs. Naiditsch: 'I came to the conclusion that my play was close to perfect. I didn't even play a single inaccurate move.'

But of course I very much would the rather forced line 2 2 . ex f6+ game would not end i n a q uick
have preferred my opponent to tLlxf6 2 3 . l:tf4 threateni n g tLl d4, draw. From here on in he was out
think over all of his moves instead so he will have to go 2 3 · · · l:t gS 24. of his preparation. So was I, since
of blitzing them out like he did. tLlgS l:t g6 2 S · tLle4 'i' es 26.tLlxf6 I could not remember my analy­
19JId4 We1 2D.e5 tLld1 21.'�'h4 l:t x f6 2 7 . l:rx f6 'i' x f6 2 S . � b4+ sis. The only thing I remembered
W eS 29. 'i' xb7 l:tC2 30. 'i'xa6, and was that objectively speaking the
;i ;i White is simply a pawn up. I don't position was still a draw, but that
know if it will be enough for a win, after 2 2 . W h T this draw was not
��i i immediate.
but it's clear that Black is seriously
i i suffering here. The move 2 1 . . . l:t h gS looked il­
� Also possible play 2 I . . .bS, but this logical because the first thing that
l:t 'if isn't a move that you would easily comes to mind is that White can
'iH tiJ make over the board either. play 22. l:t fd I , when Black's only
acceptable reply is 22 ... l:t gdS!, and
8 � � � I now it looks as if Black has sim­
:g � :i ;i
ply wasted a tempo, as it is hard
i �� i i
to understand why the rook would
This is the critical position. In my i i i -
be better on fI than on d I . But
preparation I was sure that in a � this is really the case, and here it
practical game Black would not be l:t ViI seems that White has nothing bet­
able to find the best move, because 'iH tiJ ter than to force a perpetual with
Black's correct response looks 2 3 . l:t xd7+ l:t xd7 24. 'i' xf6+ WeS
completely illogical. But of course
� � � � 2 S . 'i' hS+ We7 26. 'i' f6+ WeS.
Arkady came fully armed, and to I l:t � 22 b5
...

my slight disappointment he im­ A good move played after long

mediately went: 22.Wh1 reflection . Black i s starting to
21 . l:t hg8
.. This is the only move to keep the think about . . . l:tC4, which is very
The most logical move i n the game going. Fortunately, after important.
position is 2 1 . . . l:t hdS, but here this move he finally started think­ The computer s uggests 22 . . . h S ,
Black has serious problems after ing, which gave me hopes that the with t h e idea that after 2 3 . h 3 i t

DORTMUND NEW i N CHESS 41

continues 23 . . J h g2 ! ? , because 23.h3 23 ... l:Ic4
with . . . hS Black has taken control White doesn't have too many use­ The best move, which I had ex­
of the g4-square. It doesn't seem ful moves, but this is a useful pro­ pected . The only thing that puz­
very likely to me that a human phylactic one. zled me was that he was surprised
would find this over the board, After 2 3 . l:I fd r Black plays 23 . . . when I replied with the exchange
and I also think White may stil l l:I gdS, and the fact that W h r and sacrifice, as I didn't see what else
b e slightly better after 2 4 . W xg2 . . . bS have been played doesn ' t I could do.
l:I gS+ 2 S . W h2 'iY x f3 2 6 . ex f6 + m a k e m u c h d i fference. I d o n ' t The only reasonable alternative
tO x f6 27. l:I g r l:I x g r 2S. W x g r es t h i n k White has anything better to 23 . . . l:IQ was 23 . . . l:I gdS, which
29. l:I q. This is probably a draw, than to force a draw with 24. l:I�d3 looks pretty dangerous, but in fact
but White can still try for a while. 'iY c7 2 S . l:I xd7+ l:I xd7 26.'iYxf6+ Black holds pretty easily: 24.exf6+
If Black plays 22 . . . l:I cdS, White WeS 27.'iYhS+ W e7. (at the board 2+ l:I f4 l:I q 2 S . tO d�
keeps the initiative with 23. l:Iq. After 23.h3 White is threatening looked very appealing to me, but
I wouldn't say that White is bet­ to play l:I fd r, but of course Black the computer shows an incred­
ter, but his position is easier to is not going to let that happen. ible resou rce: 2 5 . . . �eS 26.exf6
play. He can create all kinds of tO f8 ! , and already it's White who
threats against the king i n the cen­ has to look for equality: 2 7 . tO e2
tre and Black's extra pawn is not l:I xf4 2S. � xf4 tO g6 29. �e4 �x f6
of much significance. For exam­ 30. �c6+ �f8 3 I . �xa6 'iWb2, and
ple, 23 · · .'iYaS 24. l:I b4 'iYds 2SJ H 4 this looks like a draw) 24 . . . tO xf6
l:I g6 26. l:I d� 'iYxa2 27 . l:I fd r , and 2 S · l:I f� l:I q ! 26. tO d� � xd� 2 7 .
Black's position is very danger­ l:I xd4 l:I dxd4 2S. � g3, and I don't
ous. He is badly pinned on the d­ think Black is any worse.
file and it doesn't look as if the two 24.l:Ixd7 +
pawns are sufficient compensation I t's obvious that after 2�. � xh7
for his problems. only Black can be better: 24 . . .

The ideas & plans behind ALL chess openings

C l l t'ss ( ) I H' l l i l l g
ESS('l l l i a l s
lI/f"'H,"l0/.ti,· /· 1/.1/' l/(' ll.PI.Ul/.\l
1 1I""i. l/(' 1'/(/1/.'1
/lt-hi.
1
' '

I I
III ,\ 1'1f(' Iflnl'\" (\ TIl(' Irlm., d·
III • 11.1. •
( 'I/Ct, UI'(//(/I{" � (/1(" ' � ( //C," �

1 1 - -
1
• \ "I � \11 I " 1 1 11 I "\11'1 I It I p 1 I oil ,n I ,I , \ ,," '.'u. ,
. r...
'
II " 40.11,,1,11 ..

• helps beginners to develop a solid understanding of fundamental opening play

• gives casual players the ability to choose the opening that suits their style and taste
• is a tool for club players to test and review their opening repertoire

Is your rating < 1900? Get these books before you buy ANY other opening book!

42 NEW iN CHESS DORTMUND

1:[ xd� 2 S . � xg8 1:[ d s 2 6 . e x f6+ B ) 2 8 . tLl e4 was my intention, indeed his f-pawn, he will ha\'e a
tLl xf6 2 7 . � a8 � a3, and White and it looks incredibly dangerous, large advantage. Swapping queens
should be a bit worried. but Black holds after the cold­ will only favour White if he man­
24...�Kd7 blooded 28 . . . �f8, because after ages to push his f-pawn. And once
He thought for about two minutes 29. tLl d6 J:[ b8 30. 1:[ d� 1:[ g7 there he manages to push his f-pawn, he
before taking back the rook. is no way to make progress, e.g. can even sacrifice his a-pawn, as
25.�xf6 3 1 . 1:[ g4 1:[ xg� 32.hxg� �g8, and the two passed pawns in the cen­

1 01
White has nothing better than tre will decide the issue, even an

, ,
� to go for the perpetual sooner or exchange down. And Black's main

,
� later.
26.�Kf7 + <;.t>c6 27 .�Ke6 +
purpose now is to prevent White

,
from consolidating, because then
' 'iV I didn't hesitate to take this pawn, White would be winning.
8 but in fact the computer gives 27. 28 ... 1:[g6
� 1:[ g l 1:[ c8, with the idea of 28. �a7, A concrete and quite decent move.
� t2J 8 to go for the a6 pawn: 28 . . . b� I also thought that 28 . . . 1:[ gc8 was
29· � xa6+ �d7, and so follow­ OK, which is true. Black wants to
8 8 8 ing the computer's recommenda­ play . . . 1:[ C l at some point. He also
I � � tion some commentators called has . . . 1:[ C2, when I think the po-
my move an inaccuracy. But I dis­ sition is in dynamic equilibrium:
The position is becoming sharp­ agree; the e6 pawn is very impor­ 29· � f6 1:[ C l (29 . . . �e2 can also
er, although in fact it had already tant and the position remains very be interesting) 3 0 . 1:[ X C I 1:[ xc r +
been sharp a while. complicated. 3 I . <;.t> 112 1:[ c6 3 2 . � f� 1:[ q, and
25...�d3 27 ...�b7 now, if I managed to push my f­
An understandable decision, and a pawn I'd be fine, but I doubt i f I
good one. I thought that 2s . . . �e8 would be able to, since he is al­

'
was very dangerous, but what you
� ways after me with his rook. Black

1_
think at the board is one thing,

,
should hold.
but the computer claims that af­ No good was 28 . . . �g6?! 29. �d7+
ter this move Black w i l l be able �b8 30.g� (strangely enough, the
to hold as well : 26. 1:[ d I (26. tLl gS white king is much safer with the
1:[ xgS 27. � xgS �d3 28. l1it gI 1:[ C2) pawn on g� than on g2) 30 . . . 1:[ f8
26 . . . 1:[c8 27. tLl gS �q (after 2 7 · · · :3 r . 1:[ e3 l:t q 32.�dS, and White is
1:[xgS 28. � xg5 a s White has a free fully in control and the e-pawn is
hane\. He can always give a perpet­ ready to start marching.
ual, but he can also strengthen his 29.�f7 + l:tc7
position with 29·�h2 b4 30. J:!: d6 28.1:[e1

,
and sec what happens), and now: Intending to push the e-pawn. I

,
had the option of 28. � xg8, but I
don't think it will yield anything
� i: 'iV
,
after 2 8 . . . � xfT + 29. <;.t> h2 � xf2, i:
when a draw looks like the logi­ _ 8
cal outcome, as my e-pawn is not
going to queen: 30. � xh7+ <;.t> b6 � t2J 8

:
3 1 .�g6+ <;.t> as 32.e6 �b6.
A fter my move 2 8 . 1:[ e I Arkady
8 8 8
sank into thought, and while he I I �
was thin k ing, rather than cal­
culate, tried to understand the My problem is that he keeps at­
ANALYSIS DIAGRAM position. Because it was so un­ tacking my q ueen . I f I want to
balanced, I wanted to know con­ win, I will have to get my q ueen
A ) White can make a draw with ceptually what was going on. I away from the rooks and put it on
28. tLl xe6 fxe6 2 9 . � xe6+ � f8 think that in the end I managed h+ That is not a perfect place, but
30. � f5 + <;.t> e8 3 1 . �e6+ I1it f8 to grasp its essence. Once White otherwise I do not see how I can
32. � fS+ <;.t>e8, of course; manages to push his e-pawn, or make progress.

DORTMUND NEW iN CHESS 43

30.�f4 lead to a very complicated posi­

.i
I
After 30.�b3 J:!.C3 3 1 . �b4 J:!.q I tion, was 33 . . . 'tiYdS 34.'tiYd4 'tiYxaz
don't see a good square, and I have 35 ·tDdz J:!.gc6 36.tDe4, and the sit­ i
to play 3 Z . � f8, transposing to the uation is not completely clear, but I ,� .i
game. would definitely prefer White here. , t!,
Black's best move was 33 . . . J:!.cgi,
which should lead to a draw. I had
'i!l t2:l 'ii
overlooked one little thing in my 8
calculations: 34·'tiYd4 'tiYxd4 3 5 . 8 t!, 8
tD x d 4 J:!. x gz 3 6 . e6 J:!. x fz 3 7 . Q l::r �
J:!.ggz ! . I had seen this move, but ANALYSIS DIAGRAM

without real izing that i t would

make for an even easier draw for
Black (in my calculations I had ( I had seen this move, b u t while
him play 3 7 . . . J:!.g8, which in fact I was calculating I thought that
is also good enough for a draw: 36.tDb3 'iYxC4 3 7·llxq would be
38.e8� J:!.xe8 39. J:!.xe8 J:!.xaz 40. even easIer.
30 ... J:!.c4 J:!.C7+ Wb6 4 1 . J:[ xh7 as, or 41 . . .
This was the plan . Let me give an b4, and it's clear that White can­
example that proves my gener­ not win here, because his king is
al assessment of the situation . I f
:i ,
cut off and the h-pawn is still very

t!,
h e plays 3 0 . . . � q, 1 continue 3 1 . far from promotion): 38.e8'iY (be­ ,� .i
tDd4, and after 3 1 . . . � d S 3z.�e4 cause here I had seen 38.tDf3, be­ ,
� xe4 3 3 . J:!.xC4 I am practically lieving it was winning. But Black l::r
winn ing, as my f-pawn i s ready plays 38 . . . J:!.g8!, after which he is t2:l t!,
to start moving. Black cannot do better, even) 38 . . . J:!.hz+ 3 9 . � g r
much and White is winning. For J:!. fg z + 40. �fr J:!. fz + 4 1 . � g r
8 t!, t!,
example: 33 . . . J:!.C I + 34.Whz J:!.fl J:!.hgz+ 4z.�h r , with a perpetual. �
3 5 . J:!.ez, preventing the rook from 34.tDd4! ANALYSIS DIAGRAM

coming to fz. Now, sooner or later, Now the knight becomes very
1 will push f4 and Black is helpless strong, and from a practical point And now I wanted t o push m y f­
against the passed pawns. of view the situation is getting un­ pawn, but I ' d missed the strong
31 .�f8 pleasant for Black because finally I defence 37 ... J:!.c6! - with the idea
1 could have forced a d raw, o f managed to coordinate my pieces. that after 38.f.j. he has 38 . . . J:!.q, at­
course, but I h a d t h e feeling that tacking my f-pawn. Now the most
although the position is pretty un­ logical line would be: 38 .J:!.ez as
clear I was not risking very much. 39·f4 a4, and suddenly my knight
31 ... J:!.c8 32.�e7 + J:!.c7 33.'tiYh4
� .i ,
is in danger. But I give it up: 40.e6

t!,
, :i J:!. d r + 4 1 . � hz axb3 .j.z .axb3 J:!.d8
,
I -
43 · fS J:!.e8 ++· �g3 � C7 .j. 5 · � f.j.,

� :i , 'i!l t2:l Vi' and a l t h o u gh t h i s i s probably

8 a draw, it's still totally unclear)
, .i 3 6 " . � d S (or 3 6 " . � xaz 3 7 · f4
, t!, 8 t!, 8 �d 5 38.'iVez) 3 7 . � xd5 J:[ xdS 38.
iV l::r � f4 ng8 39.e6, and now the com­
'i!I t2:l t!, puter begins to understand that
34 ... �xa2 White is winning. After 39 . . . J:!.f8 I
t!, t!, t!, A brave decision, but there was play 40. g3, and slowly but surely
I .a: � little else to do. my pawns will queen.
The only interesting alternative 35.�e4+
33 ... 'tiYc4 was 34 .. J l d 7 , but then W hite I spent a lot of time on the tempt­
This is not the best move, but it has quite a large advantage after ing 3S .e6, but without finding an
doesn't throw away the draw yet. 3 S . �e4+ ( 3 5 · tD fS could also be advantage after 3S . . . 'iYdS, when
Another possibility, which would interesting) 3S . . . �b6 36.J:!.d r ! the computer shows 36.f3 ( 1 main-

44 NEW iN CHESS DORTMUND

 4S· gxfS as 46.�g2 b4, and Black
is just in time in all lines: 47. f6 (af­
ter 47. <.t>f3 he has 47·· .a4 4S.�e4
a3, giving up another pawn but
drawing pretty easily: 49 . � xb4
l:ra7 50. l:tb 1 a2 5 1 . l:ta 1 <;t>e5 52.e7
l:t x q 5 3 . l::t x a2 <;t> x f5 ) 47 . . J h e6
4S. l:t d3+ <;t>c6 49 · h � f6 50. l::t f3
�xf7 5 dhf7 b3 5 2 . h4 a4 5 3 · h 5
b 2 54·�f1 a 3 5 5 . h 6 a 2 56.h7 a 1 � ,
and it's just a draw.
37.�f3 + 37.tLlb3 �a3 3S.e6 was
also possible, but I don't see much
difference with the game.
37 ...�b6
This i s better than 37 . . . �a7 3S.
c6 � d2 39· � e3 � xe3 40Jhe3,
and it's very important that the
king i s on a7 and not on b6, as
Vladimir Kramnik has sacrificed the exchange and, watched by an interested this deprives him of the resource
Magnus Carlsen, Arkady Naiditsch sits thinking before he takes back the rook. 40 . . . <;t>CS, and after 40 .. J1gS 4 1 . f4
White is probably winning.
ly concentrated on 36. �q, calcu­ fence, e.g. 3 7 · · ·l:rcg7 3S.�es+ l:tc7
lating the endgame after 36 . . . �xe4 39.tLlc6+ �aS 40.�e4, and wins.
37Jh q, which looks promising; 36.�e3 L-
but all of a sudden Black i s doing .i j.
fine after 37 . . . l:rc4! 3S.e7 l:tgS 39·
j. � .i
f4 �eS 40. fS l::txd4 4 1 .l::tx d4 l:t xe7,
and in this endgame Black is cer­
j. 8
tainly not worse. It looks draw ish, tLl
but it's not White who is playing 'if 8
for a win, e.g. 42 · g4 as 43 · f6 l:t f7 8 8
4HS <;t>c6 4S. l:tq �d6) 36 . . . l:tgS
M �
37.C7 l:teS 3S. � f6, which doesn't
seem totally clear to me.
38.tLlb3!
I
-j 36 ... <;t>b1?
This is a move I am proud of, as
it was very difficult to find from a
� .i j.
During the game I though t that psychological point of view. The
j. .i I was already winning, b u t in knight is so well positioned on d4
j. 8 fact only this is the decisive mis­ tbat it is bard to even start consid­
tLl 'if take. After the game I found that ering removing it from there. Not
8 Black could have saved himself only does it leave its strong posi­
with 36 ... �d S ! . We both stopped tion, but it even looks shaky on b3,
8 8 calculating after 3 7 . tLle6+ <;t>b7 as it is not well protected. But in
:g � 3S.tLlf4, when it looks as if White this position it is very important to
will get back the exchange. He cut off the black queen. The com­
35... <;t>b6 is a pawn up, the e-pawn starts puter doesn't see a way for White
The difficult thing after 3 s . �e4+ marching and it's time for Black to get an advantage except with
was to find the right continuation to resign, but after 3S . . . �CS Black 3S.tLlb3 ! ·
after 3S . . . �bS, but then I found miraculously holds the draw: 39. T h e immediate 3S.e6 would lead
36.e6 � x f2 3 7 . l:t d 1 ! , and now tLlxg6 � xe3 40. l::t x e3 hxg6, and nowhere after 3S . . . � d2 3 9 . �d 1
White is threatening 3S .tLlc6+, now the main l ine i s 4 1 .e6 l:t q l:r C 1 4 0 . � XC 1 � XC 1 + 4 I . � h 2
and it seems that Black has no de- 42.f4 <;t>c6 43 · g4 <;t>d6 44· fS gxfS �C7+ 42· g3 l:l: gS.

DORTMUND NEW iN CHESS 45

38 .. J:tc2 1 .d4 ttJf6 2.c4 e6 3.ttJf3 b6 4.g3 ttJc6 1 1 .'iVa4 ttJf6 1 2 .ttJh4
Taken unawares by the unexpect­ �a6 5.'iVc2
ed 38.lt:Jb3, m)' opponcnt immedi­ I have a lot of experience in this � �� �
ately blunders. line as Black, but it's always tricky
The only way for Black to de­
i .t i .t i i i
if you try to play the same line
fend was to try to get his queen with both colours. You simply i� �
back into the game, but then, too, don't know who to root for! Since i

38 . . . 'iVa3 3 9 · e6 l:t:gg7 +0. � e3+

White will have a fairlv easY win: Etienne had j ust recently changed
'
to the Queen's Ind ian, I guessed
W b7, and now I was thinking of that he must have worked hard on
+ 1 . f+ 'iVbz +z.l:t:ez 'iVc3 +3 .'iVxc3 this fashionable line, and I was cu­
l:t:xc3 H.fS l:t:xb3 +5.f6, and White rious to find out what he had been
wins because the pawns queen. working on.
39.�e3+ Wb7 40.e6 l:t:xf2 Now 5 ... �b7 6.�g2 c5 7.d5 exd5 8. This mo\'e was i n troduced by
I only had to take care of the trick cxd5 ttJxd5 9.0-0 �e7 1 0.l:t:d1 Aronian in our rapid game at this
. . . l:t:fr +, which I managed to do.

� i
i � �
i

t2J 'iV �
� � �
1:[ �

41 .'iVe4+ Wb6 42.'iVd4+

Black resigned.

NOTES BY

Peter Leko

Q1 1 4 .7 - E1 5
Peter Leko
Etienne Sacrot
Dortmund 2009 (5)

This year the Dortmund organ­

izers changed the format to a six­
player double round-robin tour­
nament. Having drawn number I ,
I had the privilege o f starting with
two white's. However, after two
unsuccessful opening battles and
quick draws against Kramnik and
Carlsen I got to know the dark side
of the draw. It meant four blacks
from the next five games! Facing
such a dark period I really wanted
to respect my only one white game Peter Leko: 'It's always tricky if you try to play the same line
in between! with both colours. You simply don't know who to root for!'

46 NEW iN CHESS DORTMUND

year's Amber tournament ( see already had more than I wished ture. However, when we reached
ew In Chess 2009/3), and when for in this tournament: 16 . . . 0-0 this position I already understood
you see that game I guess it's easy I 7 . tZ'lc3 l:!. fe8 (a nice preparato­ that it is not such a big deal.
to understand why I wanted to try ry move; I7 . . . .tCS 1 8 .'&'d3 tZ'lg+ If 1 9.tZ'lc3 then after 1 9 . . . l:!.fe8 it
it myself is answered by 1 9.tZ'lq and now is hard to s uggest any move for
12...�c8 the beautiful 19 . . . �xq? does not White.

.i .! �
My opponent blitzed out this nov­ work because of 20. � xe4 tZ'lxfz
elty and made it clear that he has 2 I . � f3 ! tZ'lXd I + 22.e3!, and the
drawn his own conclusions about
this line.
knight i s trapped) 1 8 .� f4 ( 1 8 .
tZ'l d s tZ'lxds 1 9 ·�xd5 � xds 20.
i� 1 �' i i i
13.tZ'lf5 tZ'ld4! l:!.xds .tf6 is a d raw) 1 8 . . . �cS �
This is the idea behind Black's 1 9 · � d3 dS, and here, too, Black i .t
last move. First the white knight is very active, so White can hardly 8 iV
is allowed to j ump to fS , but im­ avoid simplifications. 1:( 8
.i � .i
mediately it gets questioned by its
colleague.
8 8 8 8
14 ..ihb7 n ttJ � w
i� i .t i i i
q.tZ'lxg7+ looks attractive only
for a moment, because after see­ i � 19 ... �b6?
ing 14 . .'i#Jd8! it's easy to under­
. The first move that my opponent
stand that Black will take over the iY 1:( had to think about is already a se­
initiative. 8 rious m istake. Up to this point
14 ..:�xb7 1 5.tZ'lxd4 cxd4 Etienne had basically blitzed out
8 8 8 8 8 all his moves. Now, faced with
1:( ttJ � W a d i fficult c hoice, even despite
thinking for about half an hour
1 6 ... .tc5! he chose the wrong direction. A
This precise move was played in­ common problem for the mod­
stantly. Black does not give White ern player, and we all have expe­
the chance to consolidate that eas­ rienced it I guess, is that as long
ily. 1 6 . . . 0-0 would allow the dream as you are j ust relying on your
set-up for White: I 7 .tZ'lc3 �c5 1 8 . preparation your brain is not yet
l:!.d3 l:!.fe8 1 9 . .tgS ! , and suddenly sharp! When you suddenly face a
all White's pieces are in their best problem it is very hard to get your
places. brain to work properly without
Let's draw a quick conclusion. 1 7 .l:!.d3 b5! any warm-up. This is a 'natural

.i � .i
Black voluntarily ga\'e back the process' ever since the globaliza­
pawn and spoiled his pawn struc­ tion of chess engines has taken ef­
ture, but in return he has ex­ fect in the chess world!
i� i i i i
changed White's two most dan­ Strangely enough, the paradoxi­
gerous pieces and is clearly ahead � cal and 'passive' looking 19 . . . �e7!
in development. The situation is i .t was the key to the problem. Af­
simple: if White manages to con­ � ter White had played b+, Black
solidate, then Black will have a 1:( 8 should have changed plans to cre­
hard time. But consolidation i s ate counterplay on the queenside
still very, very far away.
8 8 8 8 8 instead of playing for actiyity in
1 6.l:!.xd4!? n ttJ � w the centre: 20.�b2 a s ! , and be­
An artificial move and it took me fore White can consolidate Black
a lot of time to even consider it. The point. The white queen is already opens up the queenside.
But after a long thought only this chased away from its ideal position. I don't see any way for White to
looked interesting. 1 8.�f4 0-0 1 9.b4! avoid a total liq uidation in the
I had the feeling that the standard Only when I discovered this possi­ next few moves. I am sure that the
1 6.'&'xd+ would lead nowhere, or bility before playing 1 6.l:!.xd+ did I reason Etienne thought for so long
to another short draw, of which I get attracted to this whole adven- was that he understood that 19 . . .

DORTMUND NEW iN CHESS 47

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§i..e 7 might be a good move, but fi­ 24 ... §i.. xf6 25.a3 lowing sharp and forced lines, but
nally convinced himself to stick to Another interesting idea was to I could not control my hand.
the 'original plan'. mobilize the knight via b3 to cs A fter the ' p r i mi t i ve' 2 7 . l::!. xd7
20.�b2 The white bishop is ready with 2 S . tiJ b3 ! ? , but Black has a l::!. xa3 2 8 . 'iY fs White will soon
to do his job on the long diagonal. very important intermediate move win a pawn automatically due to
20 .. JHeB in 2s . . . �es!, and after 26.'iYfs 26 . . . domination.
The dangerous-looking 20 . . . tiJq d6! is t h e k e y defence: 2 7 .l::!. x d6 27 ... h6 2B.h4

.i �
is met by 2 I . e3 ! , and sudden­ �xd6 28.'iYXC2 �xb4, and White

"
ly Black no longer has any activ­ has j ust too little, if anything at all.

.t
ity, but is confronted with tiJd2
or 'iYg4, after which he will soon
25 ... l::!. a 2!
Black can't allow 26.tiJb3.
, ,
� ,
.i �
have serious problems.

'if f'::, f'::,

,
' "
21 .e3 l::!. a cB

K K � .t
,� , 8

" A .i
f'::, tr f'::, tLl
.t �
,� , f'::,
f'::,
,
tr
f'::,
�

'if
,
K f'::,
-

f'::, f'::, 2B ... l::!. x a3!

f'::,
tr f'::, f'::, �
Again the best move! Black also

8 1i. f'::, h a d the s o l i d-looki n g o p t i o n

28 . . . 'iY e 6 29. l::!. x d7 ( n o w t h e the­
tr tLl � 26.tiJf3! matic 29.gS is too early because
Actually, by playing 2s .a3 I pre­ of 29 . . . �es! 30.tiJxeS 'iYxes, and
Black has activated all his piec­ pared an expansion on the kingside. Black survives) 29 .. · l::!. xa3 30.gS
es, but after White's next move it My plan was to combine the pres­ (now is the moment) 30 . . . hxgS

just illusory. 22.tiJd2 Now �x i6 is

becomes clear that this activity is sure on the d-file with the advance 3 1 .hxgS §i..q 32. W g2! (a very im­
of the g-pawn. Once the black bish­ pOl'tant preparatory move; on 32.
a threat. 22 ...�dB A sad necessi­ op is kicked away from f6, the black l::!. l ds 3 2 ... 'iYh3! is strong!) 3 2 . . .
ty and a clear sign that something king will be in big trouble. l::!. a4, and just when it looks a s if
has gone wrong. 23.l::!. d 1 White It was also tempting to go for the Black is in time, there comes 33.
has coordinated all his forces and technical solution with 26.tiJb3 l::!. r d S ! , and after 3 3 .. · l::!. xb.j. 3.j..
has a serious adyantage. All Black l::!. x a3 2 7 · l::!. xd7 ( 2 7 . tiJ c S l::!. x d 3 ) tiJd4! Black's position collapses.
can do is pose as many practical 27 . . . 'iYb8 28.'iYxb8 l::!. x b8 29.tiJaS, 29.l::!. d 6
problems as possible by playing with advantage, but I could not re­ Following the plan that I had had
strictly only moves. sist going for a direct attack. in mind since 2s.a3.
26 ... 'iYa6! Etienne keeps on play­ The normal continuation 29.
ing the best moves. l::!.x d7 did not even cross my mind,

.i �
but it was perfectly sound: 29 . . .

' "
l::!.a I 30.l::!. x ar 'iYxa I + 3 1 . W g2, and

.t
, , gS is coming next.
29 ... 'iYa4 30.g5 hxg5 31 .hxg5
�
:i �
f'::, 'if
,
fl1 "
I

f'::, .t
,
:i
tr 8 tLl f'::, tr -
f'::, f'::,
'if
, f'::,
K
23 ... l::!. c 2! The only way to force n � � f'::,
matters. 24.�xf6 f'::, tLl
White gives up his bishop, but now
the d-file and the weak d7 pawn
27.g4!?
A c t u a l l y, objectively speaki n g .-
f'::,
become much more vulnerable. there was n o need to g o for the fol- � -'-
�

DORT M U N D NEW iN CHESS 49

31 ... .!:!:a1 ! check! - -J.o.'ii'h 3 'iVxb4, and Black I think that this was a good prac­
Black's defensive resources were holds) 36 . . . �a2! (the only move! tical choice. I was expecting the
based on this intermediate move! 36 . . .'iVf6 10ses in a very instructive 'more logical' 33 . . . �a2, but then
As promised, if the bishop has pawn ending one pawn down ! : 37. I was ready to follow u p with
to move from f6 the position col­ ttJeS! fxg6 3S.ttJxd7 'iVg5+ - first 34·'iVf5 ! , attacking the bS pawn ,
lapses a utomatical l y : 3 r . . . � e7 forcing the white king to the first and after 3-J. . . . a6 I got to push
3z.ttJeS! .!:!:fB 33 . .!:!:xd7, and now rank - 39. 'ii' fr 'iVe7 40.'iVxfB+ 3 S . g6 ! fxg6 36.'iWxg6 and I think
33 ... 'iVxb4? loses to 34.ttJc6!. 'i'xfB 4 1 .ttJxfB 'ii' x fB -J.z.'ii' ez, and Black can't defend this position.
32 . .!:!:xa1 �xa1 the pawn endgame is won even like White slowly builds up decisive
At this point, r u n n i n g slowly this, thanks to the passed e-pawn: threats: 36 ... .!:!:fB 37.'ii' g2! �q 3S.
short on time, we both hallucinat­ -J.2 . . . 'ii'q - -J.2 .. ·gS 43 .f3 - -J.3 ·'ii' d 3 q! (the advance of the e-pawn is
ed. Or rather, we kept on playing <;.t>d6 44.<;.t>d4 'ii'c6 4S.e4, and the e­ decisive) 3S ... 'iVe2 39.'iVe6+ <;.t> hS
like humans. pawn decides the battle) 4o.'iVg4, and it's j ust a question of
I was surprised when after the time when Black collapses.

E�
game somebody told me tha t
Black missed an easy draw by not
playing 3z . . . 'iVxa r + . I answered:
i � i i
'Hey, but that simply loses.' But
before I finished my sentence I al­
ready understood what he meant. i 8 -
Indeed correct was 3z . . . 'iVxa r + ! 'iV 8 if
33 'it>g2 �es 34·'iVq!. 8 CiJ
.! �
8
.a �
a
ANALYSIS D IAGRAM I I
i i i i
37. 'Ii'xd7. This still looks very an­ 34.'iVd6

'if
i .a 8 noying from a human perspective, Finally, with about seven minutes
8 but things are not as promising as on the clock, I made this routine
8 CiJ they look: 37 . . . fxg6 3S.ttJg5 ! . The move. My intuition was telling me
black king does not seem to feel that something must be in the po­
8� very comfortable, but: 3S . . . 'iVq! sition and I kept searching in the
3 9 · C-J. � x b 4 ! 4 0 . 'iV e S + � fS ttJh-J. direction, but missed a very
ANALYSIS DIAGRAM 4 I .'iVxg6 �e5 ! 42.ttJe6 (42 .'iVh7+ deep idea.
'ii' fB n'li'hS+ 'ii' e 7 44·'iVxg7+ As it turns out, the knight sortie
Originally I thought that White 'ii' e S) 42 ... � fB, all holding easily was strong: 34.ttJh-J.! g6 3 s . � e4!
just wins here, but after 34 . . . �xd6 according to our friend. Who am (I was disappointed that the di­
3 5 . 'iVxeS+ Black has 3S . . . �fB ! . I to disagree? rect 35 .ttJxg6 is not winning: 35 . . .
This move simply slipped through 33 . .!:!: xd7 fxg6 36.'iVq �g7 ! 37·'iVxg6, and
my calculations for some reason. Or It was difficult to digest that 33.g6 now that the a i -square is vacated
maybe I missed it because I consid­ fxg6 34 . .!:!:xd7 is not only not win­ 37 . . . 'iVa I + ! comes and saves the
ered that once the bishop is kicked ning, but after 34 . . . 'iVa2 it is not game) 3 S . . . �g7, and now comes
out of f6, the game is over anyway. even better for White. the amazing idea. I nstead of any
But still, speaking about an easy 33 ... .!:!:f8! d i rect sacrifice W hite plays for
draw, j ust let me show you some
lines: 36.g6! (this is not Rybka's Dortmund 2009 cat.XX
first choice, but it is enough even 6 TPR
.. ..
to confuse the monster itself! The 1 Vladimir Kramnik IGM RUS 2759 v. v. V. 1 v. Y. v. v. 1 1 6V. 2851
.. ..
alternative is 36.ttJeS 'li'az 37.g6 - 2 Peter Leka IGM HUN 2756 V. V. v. v. V. % 1 % Y2 % 5% 2771
37.ttJxd7 'li'dS+! 3S.'ii' h 2 'iVd6+! 3 Magnus Carlsen IGM NOR 2772 V. 0 .. .. 1 V. Y. Y. 1 V. 5V. 2774
v. v.
.. ..
was Rybka's original saving idea! - 4 Omitry Yakavenka IGM RUS 2760 %% %% 0% V. 1 1 Y2 5% 2771
37 . . . 'iVdS+! - this check saves the 5 Etienne Baerat IGM FRA 2721 Y. Y. O v' V. V. y. O .. .. V. V. 4 2616
game - 3S.fJ fxg6 39.ttJxd7 'iVd2+ 6 Arkady Naiditseh IGM GER 2697 D O V. V. 0 % O v' V. V. .. .. 3 2604
- somehow there is always a saving

50 NEW iN CHfSS DORTMUND

 -1-0. gxf6 'iYg-1-+ 4 1 . W fr looks like
mate, but Black has -1- l . .. � q+
-1-2.J:td3 � C T + ! , which is easy to
miss with little time! Now per­
petual check is inevitable: 43 . J:t d r
- 43.�g2' loses t h e f 6 pawn after
-1-3 . . · �c6+ ! - -1-3 . . · �xd I + H· W g2
'iYg-1-+, and perpetual check) 37 . . ·
�xb4 3S.tLih6+ rJiJg7 39· J:txa7 ·

At the prize-giving Etienne Bacrot was happy to hand some tournament

souvenirs to his father Stephane and his wife Nathalie.
ANALYSIS DIAGRAM

zugzwang! : 36.�g2 ! �a2 37. �C7! is j ust in time: 37.tLif6+ �xf6 38.
(the key move) . White threatens gxf6 �xb-1-!, protecting the rook Now Black i s completely paralysed
tiJ xg6 and also simply J:txa7, and on f8! ) 36 . . . a S ! 3 7 ·bxaS 'iYC4 + ! and White will get a 3 vs. 2 pawn
37 . . . � ez is refuted by the cool 3 8 . �h3 b4!, a n d Black is j ust in endgame with J:t+tLi vs. J:t+�, with
38.�g3!, and White wins a pawn. time with his counterplay: 39.'iYds good winning chances, but also
34 ... g6 35.tiJh2! � xdS 40. J:txdS b3 4 I. .l:[bS bz -1-2. with chances to survive for Black:
In time-trouble I p referred the tiJg4 J:taS ntLif6+ �xf6 44. gxf6 3 9 · · .�d6 40.J:td7 �C5 -1- r .J:tb7 b-1-
human tLi h z-g4 p l a n , w h i c h nxas -1-S.J:tXb2 J:ta6, and draws. -1-2.rJiJfr �d6 n 'it>e2 b3 H l:!.xb3
looked good enough. 36.tLig4 �C7 -1- S · f-1- f6, and Black breaks
White's strong structure. After 46.
.I � :i � gxf6+ �xf6 47 .tLig4 White still has

'it' 'it'
chances, but Black should be able
i n i i :g i
to hold this endgame. 37 .tLif6 +
i i �xf6 38.gxf6 Now Black can't
i � i � stop the mating attack. First of all
�� �� ttJ 39.� xf8+ is a threat. 38...J:tc8 Af­
� .t � ter 3S . . . J:teS 39. �C7 ! wins: 3 9 . · .
J:txC7 -1-o.fxC7 �a I + -1-I .<;t>g2, and
� ttJ � there is no perpetual.
.t W W

35...�c3? 36...�g7?
The natural reaction, and during With less than a minute on his
the game I was convinced that it clock, my opponent panicked, or
was the only move. But it's a seri­ maybe he realized that he should
ous mistake! have played . . .�g7 before.
Only now, while analysing the I t looks very scary, b u t a fter
game seriously, did I notice that 36 ... � xb4 there is no forced win,
Black had the saving 3 S . . . �g7 ! : because White has to settle for a
3 6 .� g z ( o r 3 6 J 1b7 - d irected good endgame with 37. � xb4, but
against . . . as - 36 . . . �a l + 37·�g2 it is not clear whether it's enough
�es ! , fo llowed by taking the for a win ( a fter 3 7 . tLif6+ W g7 39.J:txf7!
knight; or 36.tLig4, when 36 . . . aS! 3 S . � h 2 � x f6 3 9 . � h 6 + �gS And Black resigned.

DORTMUND NEW iN CHESS 51

 The year 2009 may

well be considered a

milestone in Swiss chess

history. In August, the

Schachgesellschaft

Zurich, the main chess

club in Zurich, will

celebrate the 200th

year of its existence

with various attractive

events. Meanwhile, the

traditional chess festival in

Bie! attracted worldwide

attention by staging

the strongest closed

tournament ever held in

the country. First place

was sensationally claimed

by Maxime Vachier­

Lagrave, the I 8-year-old

French promise, who

posted the greatest success

in his burgeoning career.

Yannick Pel letier

reports.

M III M E TI TIE

52 NEW iN CHESS BIEl

 nviting players whose style war­ renowned opponents and unwill­ I vanchuk fought hard for first
I rants exciting chess has always ing to fight with the white piec­ place throughout the event ! He
been a priority for the organiz­ es. Perhaps he wanted to save his convincingly won his two encoun­
ing crew in Biel. This year the energy for the next FIDE Grand ters with Caruana and was de­
field was composed of a mixture Prix tournament, which would feated only by Morozevich (him
of experienced grandmasters and start around a week after Biel? agai n ! ) i n the last round but one.
rising stars. Last-year's winner Well, luckily enough, these cir­ He eventually shared second place
Evgeny Alekseev, as well as Max­ cumstances did not prevent Vasily with his nemesis at SVz points.
ime Vachier-Lagrave and Fabiano Ivanchuk and Boris Gelfand from Many chess fan s were impa­
Caruana, represented the younger looking for tense positions. As to tiently waiting for Caruana's debut
generation. Of the relatively older the latter, I have the feeling that he in one of the world's top tourna­
half of the field, all representatives was generally unlucky in this tour­ ments. ot that the young Italian
had been successful in Biel before: nament. He failed to convert a defi­ had never defeated a 2700+ play­
Alexander Morozevich won all nite advantage in the starting round er, or that winning Wijk-B was
three times he came to Biel (2003, against Caruana, hung a piece the an easy task of course! But facing
2004 and 2006), Boris Gelfand be­ next day versus Morozevich (albeit such adversaries 10 days in a row
came the winner of what turned in a difficult position), and subse­ is without a doubt the real test.
out to be the last Interzonal in the quently lost the self-confidence Caruana varied his openings a lot,
history of chess in 1 993, and Vasi­ he usually plays with. He eventu­ which means that he had prepared
Iy Ivanchuk won Biel as far back as ally sank to a -2 score in Round 7 thoroughl y for h i s opponents.
I 989, when Caruana and Vachier­ after losing again to Morozevich. True, he was caught twice by Ivan­
Lagrave had not even been born! This time, the Israeli grandmaster chuk in this phase of the game, and
The d rawing of lots present­ emerged from the opening with an against Vachier-Lagrave his open­
ed Alexander Morozevich with edge that kept increasing until he ing choice backfired. But these ac­
a double white in the first two blundered material. He then free­ cidents are unavoidable at such a
rounds. After he had won these wheeled to the end of the tourna­ young age, when experiments are
games, against Alekseev and Gel­ ment, hoping for the Grand Prix made to try and define one's chess
fand, pretty convincingly, many event to cheer him up. style. Caruana's play shows that he
people believed he was going to Vasi l y Ivanchuk's unpredicta­ competed on at least equal terms
clinch his fourth victory in Biel. bility had scaled new heights be­ with his opponents in the middle­
And his opponents may have al­ fore Biel. After losing some 80 rat­ game. He found resources in sev­
ready seen the phantom of his ing points in less than a year, but eral difficult games and seized his
bouncing back with chance to beat Morozevich when
The best of both worlds? Eighteen-year-old Maxime a nice victory in Baz­ the Russian went astray. I n other
Vachier-Lagrave studies mathematics in Paris, na last June, nobody words, we can look forward to his
but that didn't stop him from winning the knew what to expect. next tournaments, as he'll certain­
Diel Chess Festival. A s i t was, every­ ly have learned a lot in Biel.
thing went smoothly Maxime Vachier-Lagrave came
usual monster score of about + s ! for the Ukrainian . . . perhaps too to Biel directly after San Sebastian.
B u t something threw a span­ smoothly. Did he try to avoid any Playing two tournaments in a row,
ner in his works. . . In Round 4 he swings i n his mood or his play? however tough, should usually not
reached a promising position with Despite some original opening exhaust such a young player. But
black against Caruana, but mis­ ideas, most of his games followed the Frenchman had suffered from
calculated some complicated lines their logical course without great gastroenteritis in Spain, which def­
after the time-control and lost. ups and downs. Not that Ivanchuk initely took away some of his ener­
Bis l'epetita two days later against can be reproached in any way for gy. The two events took completely
Alekseev, where he blundered in not trying his best in all his en­ opposite courses for him. Where­
an advantageous position. counters! It simply seemed as i f as he alternated victories and de­
Speaking about Evgeny Alek­ both he a n d his opponents played feats in San Sebastian, he started
seev, his games versus Moroze­ music from the same score and Biel with six hard-fought draws.
vich were his only two decisive were loath to break the harmony Then he awoke to destroy Carua­
encounters in the tournament. As emanating from their work of art. na's Berlin Wall. At this point he
if in doubt about his own strength, I would not want you to misin­ was sharing first place with Mo­
he often seemed impressed by his terpret this description, though. rozevich and Ivanchuk. The key

BIEl NEW iN CHISS 53

game of the tournament was to be he was not in the best of forms this �e3 b5 8 . 'fUd2 tLl b d 7 9.g4 h 6
played in Round S. In a breathtak­ time, he remained faithfu l to his 1 0.0-0-0 b4
ing Najdorf, Morozevich sacrificed fighting spirit and highly original I chose to deviate from my recent
a piece to launch a devastating at­ style. Zealous statisticians will re­ game against Nakamura in San
tack on the black king. He could member that he was involved in no Sebastian, which went Io . . . �b7
have finished the game at sever­ less than seven of the 10 decisive I 1 . h4 b.j. I 2 .tLla.j. 'fUas I 3 .b3 tLlcS
al points, but kept missing these games of the tournament! Even q.a3 J:!:cS.
chances. Still a piece up but under though he may have been con­ 11 .tLlee2 'fUe7 1 2.h4 d5
strong pressure, Vachier-Lagrave sidered the main actor, the other So far, nothing new under the
found the most amazing move of five players contributed heavily to sun, but nevertheless Morozevich
the tournament, an idea which will make this year's edition a success. started to think . . . I thought that
certainly stay in the memory of Not to mention all participants in probably this was j ust bluff, given
many chess lovers. His rook on h7 the numerous events that formed the fact that I had already played
remained en prise for 2.j. moves be­ the .j.2nd Biel chess festival. this variation and that it would be
fore finding its way out of the cellar Despite the difficult times of the suicide to enter this ultra-complex
to force a study-like win. You will worldwide economical crisis, Biel variation unprepared . . .
find this thrilling game analysed in has managed to improve the lev­
detail by the winner further on. el of its main tournament. Let us
hope that 20 1 0 will be even better!
Although Maxime Vachier-La­
grave has already proven himself
to be an incredible talent on other NOTES BY

occasions, this tournament victo­ Maxime Vachier-Lagrave

ry certainly came as a surprise to
many. One should not forget that 81 1 9. 1 6 - BBo
the I S-year-old studies mathemat­ Alexander Morozevich
ics in Paris and has never played Maxime Vachier-Lagrave
chess professionally! San Sebas­ Biel 2009 (8)
tian and Biel were his first two 1 3.tLlf4!
top tournaments. Imagine where Many things have already been And this move proved that my
Caissa will lead him, when he'll said about this game, but fortu­ d o ubts were j us t i fied . . . T h i s
have more time to devote to chess! nately all its secrets have not yet stro n g novelty d o e s not seem
The organizers were once again been unveiled ©. to close a variation where Black
delighted with Alexander Moro­ 1 .e4 e 5 Vbf3 d6 3.d4 exd4 4. doesn't seem to be i n any difficulty
zevich' appearance. Even though tLlxd4 tLlf6 5.tLle3 a6 6.13 e6 7 . otherwise, but it's very unpleasant

An instructional masterpiece with

theoretical novelties!
------ 4I§GIHIt ------
• 2nd Edition, revised and updated (1st ed. 200 1 )
• a complete defense against l .e4
• packed with surprise weapons
• important ideas and positions in color
• with lesson previews and memory markers

Paperback • 446 pages • € 29.95 • available at your local (chess)bookseller or at newinchess.com

54 NEW iN CHESS BIEl

to face it over the board without has bungled things u p and re­ So, I7 . . .�bi was my original idea,
any real preparation. I n fact, at mains a piece down . . . and probably the strongest! But
this point I prepared myself psy­ 1 4. . .fxe6 1 5.tLlxe6 �a5 1 6.exd5 in the end 1 j udged the position
chologically for a possible heavy 'iYxa2 1 7 .'iYd3 wrongly after I S. � g6+ ( I S.g5 ! ? is
defeat, which almost came about . . . an interesting idea, but probably it
1 3 ... e5! also only leads to a draw, e.g. IS . . .
Clearly the best practical choice, q ! 1 9.tLlQ+ ! ? �dS 20.tLle6+ �eS
which 1 decided o n after some 2 1 .'iYd4!? hxgS 22.tLlxfS tLlxfS 23.
thought to make sure that I had �C4 � as 24·.Q.xgS tLlSd7 2S·fXC4
various choices for the rest of the �a l + ! 2 6 . � d 2 � a s , renewing
game in case one variation would the threat 27 . . . 'lWcS . I think that
turn out to be bad . White has no other choice but to
ow I seem to remember that I accept the perpetual after 27.�C I
had planned to play 1 3 . . . dxC4 1 4 . �a l + 2S . ..t>d2 �as) l S . . . W e7
tLlfxe6 fxe6 I s.tLlxe6 'iYc6 1 6.tLlxfS
tLlxfS ( 1 6 . . . J:l.xfS?! gives White an
attack after I 7 .gS! tLl h S r S. gxh6 Here I plunged into deep thought,
gxh6 1 9.�xh6) I 7 · � xb+ exf3 if having seen that my original idea
someone were to play 1 3 .tLlf4, but wasn't working. But . . . it was!
I had not taken the move serious­ 1 7.....t>f7?
-
ly and had not looked more deep­ 1 didn't like I 7 . . . q because of 1
ly into the \·ariation . And it was r S . � d+! (if r S . fx q ? then IS . . .
only at the board that 1 realized tLleS, and suddenly all my pieces
that this position was dangerous, become active, resulting in an at­
e.g. I S.jLf2!? .Q.e6 (White also at­ tack on the white king ©) l S . . . jLd6
tacks after I S . . . tLldS 1 9.'iYd4 tLlC7 1 9 . .Q.C4 b 3 ! 20.f4 �a I + 2 I . � d2 ANALYSIS DIAGRAM

20.'iYxg7 .l:!.gS 2 1 . �es .l:!.xg+ 2 2 . �as+ 22.C3 'i'a2 23.'it>e2! .

jLd3) I 9 · .l:!.d6 'i' q 20 . .l:!. d + �es 1 9.d6+! 'ii> x e6 20.�h3 !, thinking
2 I .jLd3. All the white pieces are 1 was lost after this move, but af­
aimed at the black king, which ter the tranquil 20 . . . � a l +! ( I had
has no safe place to hide. In ad­ calculated 20 . . . �dS? 2 1 .gS+ �xd6
dition, there are black pawns that 22.gxf6 tLlxf6 23 . .l:!.xd S + ! , and in­
may drop off any moment. So, deed this loses by force: 23 . . . � xdS
even though, objectively speaking, 2+.l:!.d r ) 2 I .�d2 � as! White has
the position is probably equal, it is to repeat moves: 2 2 . � C I 'iYa I + ,
very difficult to play for Black. because 22.�e2? is wrong, as after

.a� .a
22 . . . 'iYbS+ 23·93'f2 jLd5! 24·gS+
E E �xd6 2 S.�xd7 �xd7 26.gxf6 gxf6

�� 1 1 there suddenly no longer is an at­

ANALYSIS DIAGRAM

tack; he's simply a piece down.

1 � 1 A n d here o n e feels that things 1 8.g5
1 1 don't work out for me. My queen The logical follow-up, which I had
1 CiJ � CiJ 8 8 is exclu ded from the game and expected.
Jl, � my king is not at all safe. The po­ r S.tLldS+? didn't work, and I had

l:I
sition threatens to collapse after even managed to find the best
� � 8 'iV the pawn advance on the kingside c o n t i n u a t i o n : a ft e r r S . . . 'it> q !
w l:I Jl, starting with gS. 1 9 .tLlc6+ �d6! 20.tLlxb4? (after
I7 . . . �e7? was a wild idea 1 had 20.tLldS! 20 . . . 'it>q, with a d raw,
14.tLlfe6! (thinking that 1 7 . . . �b7 wou ldn't i s probably wisest, even i f there
The obvious continuation. The work), but my enthusiasm rapid­ are other possibilities for Black)
knight will reveal itself as a true ly vanished after seeing I S . d 6 + ! 20 . . . �a l + 2 I .93'd2 �xb2 22. �C4
pest in the rest of the game. �xe6 r 9 . �C4+ � xC4 20.jLxC4+ �b7 2 3 .'it>e l .l:!.cS 24.tLlc6 W q ! ,
Bad is J 4. tLl x d S ? tLlxdS r s · exds tLldS 2 I .�xdS + � xd6 22.�xaS+, and Black is clearly on top.
exd+ I 6.�xd4 jLd6!, and White and White wins. 1 8 ... tLlxd5 1 9.�h3!

BIEl NEW iN CHESS 55

 �xa8. Initially the computer took
the perpetual, as here White loses E .t 'iY .t E
a rook . . . But it's mate after

.:r
, , ,
'iV .t E ,�
, , �
, , ��
� � �� 8 ttJ
, 8 � 1:[ a:
�� ANALYSIS DIAGRAM

And it was here that I realized that

my problems were only starting. and I thought that I 'd get away
1 9...ttJxe3 ANALYSIS DIAGRAM with a draw, which I would not
Doubtlessly the best practical have minded ©. But 28.�d4!! was
choice, even though objectively 27·· ·'ti'aI + 28.�d2 ttJ q+ 29.�e2 the point that I had missed, and
this move loses by force. 'ti'Xh I 30.'iYd7 + ! �b6 3 I . �b8+ ! Morozevich probably too. The
19 . . . ttJ7f6 had been my idea when �cs (or 3 I . . .�as 3 2.�bs + ! ! axbs double threats of 29.tLlg3 , mate,
I played I 7 . . . �f7, and after 20. 33 ·'ti'a7 mate) 3 2 . �c8+ �b6 3 3 . and 29.�f4+ exf4 30.'iYq, mate,
ttJd8+ �g8 2 I .gxf6 ttJ xf6 I had � c 6 + � a s 34.'iYq + . Of course are too strong.
seen that 2 2 . �fI ! was the only I had not seen all variations, but I 22...�gB
move. The only smaIl detail that was absolutely convinced that the 22 . . . �f6? is a blunder because of
I had missed was that this practi­ position was lost . . . 23·'iYd6+! �xd6 24.�xd6+ 'iYe6
caIly wins by force because of the 21 .ttJc6 + �f1 2s .�xe6 mate.
threat 2 3 . 'iYq+ . . . For example, 23.'iYxe3 .Q.c5 24.'iYe4!
22 . . . �fS (or 22 . . . Jlq 2 3 .ttJc6!) Simplest and in any case the move
23.'iYxfS 'iYa r + 24.�d2 �xd8+ E .t .t E I expected.
2 S .Jld3, with a simply hopeless � �, Another spectacu l a r w i n was
position: inactive pieces, a mating , ttJ , 24·�e6+ ! 'iYxe6 2 S . 'iYXCS Jlb7
attack to defend against and only 2 6 . tLl q + � f8 2 7 · � x d 7 'iYxd7
one extra pawn . . .
, � 28.tLlc6+ �g8 29·'iYq+ �f8 30.
20.ttJdB + �el! , � �d r ! 'iYc7 3 I .'iYcS+ �e8 32.�d6.
A c c o rd i n g t o t h e c o m p u t e r 'iV � 8 � 24 ...tLlfB 25.�dB Jlbl
20 . . . � e 8 w a s t h e 'most resist­ �� 8 The final m istake. This m ove
ing' and this was also the opinion loses on the spot, but i f I don't
� 1:[ I 1:[
of the people commenting on the play it, I may as well resign, as
game live ©, but this move loses a fter 2S . . . .Q. x h 3 2 6 . � xa8 Jle6
almost automatically and very sim­ 22.g6 + ! 2 7 . 'iY x e S ! 'iYds 2 8 . �e I ! 'iYxc6
ply: 2 1 .�xd7+ � xd8 22.�xc8+! The simplest and possibly most 29.'iYxe6+ 'iYxe6 30.�xe6 I don't
(the move missed by the compu­ efficient move. There was a spec­ stand a chance, since I'm effec­
ter because i nitially it thinks this tacular win that would have been tively playing a rook and a king
will only draw. . . ) 22 . . . �xc8 (after a worthy conclusion to the game. down . . .
22 . . . ttJ d S 2 3 ·Jle6 �b8 24·'iYe4! But it was well hidden!
is simplest. You let the rook join H ere it i s : 2 2 .Jle6+ ! ! � x e 6 E 1:[ ��E
i n and the mating attack cannot ( 2 2 . . . 'iY x e 6 2 3 . ttJd 8 + �q 24.
.t ,
be far away: 24 . . . 'iYa I + - 24 . . . ttJxe6 �xe6 2 S .'iYxe3 is also win­
�bS 2 s · � xes! - 2 S . �d2 'iYxb2 ning, but some technical obsta­ , ttJ 8 '
26. �e2!, and the black king is cles remain. But given the lack of .t ,
practically on its own against the coordination of the black pieces , 'iV �
sligh t problem of an attack by there is little doubt about the out­ � �

.:r
three major pieces and a bishop. . . ) come) 23.'iYg6+ ttJ f6 24.gxf6 gxf6
2 3 · 'ti' d 8 + �b7 2 4 . � d 7 + �c6 2 s 'l!,fe8+ �fS 26.ttJd4+! �f4 27·
�� 8
2S .�q+ �b6 26.�c8+ �bS 27· tLle2+ � fS, �

56 NEW iN CHESS BIEl

 'Many things have already been said about this game, but fortunately all its secrets have not yet been unveiled ©.'

26.l::t xa8? This was probably the simplest 29.'iYxc6 �d4

Here Morozevich misses a rela­ win that Morozevich missed in
tively easy win - so simple that I this game. But the position re­
had also missed it! mains winning for him!
26.l::t x fS+! is both a natural move 26 ... �xa8 27 .h5!
(to remove a defender from the The strong and logical follow up.
key square e6) and not a natural I play with a material deficit al­
move at all (to sacrifice a rook for though I am a piece up!

A � � .i
a pinned piece). But it's a fact that

i
after this sacrifice the threat of

i t3:, i
�e6+ is devastating:

.i l:r � �
I

A i �
CiJ
A i
i
i � i
30.Wd2?!
'iV M u c h s t ro n ge r was 3 0 . Wd I !

A i
CiJ
'iiI � �
t3:, � �xb2 3 1 .�fS �C3 3 2 .We2 ! , as

i 'it' �
W l:r
after 3 2 . . . �x e I 3 3 . 'iYcB! threat­

t3:,
ens 3 4 . gx h7 + , w i n n i n g o n the
� spot : 3 3 · . · '1t>hB 34·'iYxf8+ � gB
3 S .'iYxgB+ WxgB 3 6.gxh7+ WhB
27...l::t h 7! 37.Wxe l , and Black can resign.
A strong defensive resource played 30 ... 'iYxb2 31 .'iYc4+ Wh8
ANALYSIS DIAGRAM out of necessity, as I had to free the The l::t h 7 is buried alive and will
hB-square for the king. Fortunate­ remain so for some time. Indeed,
2 6 . . . � x fB ( b o t h 2 6 . . . W x fB ly, time-trouble was fast approach­ why hasten to take it back and de­
27. � f5+ ! WgB 2B. � xes and 26 . . . ing, which gave me some hope! prive yourself of mating threats?
lhfS 27. �xes �cB 2B.�xcB l::tx cB 28.l::t e 1 �xc6 32.Wd3! a5
29. 'iVxc5 lose as well) 2 7 . � xes Forced, u n fo r t u n a t e l y. A fter An i nteresting try i n time-trou­
§LcB 2B.'iYeB. 2B . . . WhB White has 29.'iYxeS ! . ble, forcing White to react, but

BIEl NEW iN CHESS 57

!Looki ng for a cool chess T-sh i tt ?
/
a better option would have been 40.�g4? l:th6 5 2 . <;i;>xc5 l:t xg6 5 3 .b4 l:tg3,
32 . . .'ifa3 + ! 3 3 · <;i;>Q 'iV a 5 , and And here's the decisive mistake . . . and this wins easily, for even if
suddenly Black has counterplay! on move 40! Now the tables have the rook is lost for the b-pawn, the
33.'iVc8? been completely and irrevocably three black pawns supported by
After this tempting move (in time­ turned. the king will make the difference,
trouble) I'm finally out of the red The correct move was 40. 'if cS! as the white king will be pushed
zone! Still winning was 33.f4!, for � e2+ 4 I . <;i;> d 5 'if b 5 + 4 2 . <;i;> q , away far from the kingside.
example: 33 . . . �f2 34·<;i;>e2! 'iVa3 and I have t o force a draw because 50.�f5! Bad is 50.Wxe5? tDxg6+ !
3 S · <;i;>xf2 'iVxh3 36.l:txe5 'iVh4+ of the incessant threats against my 5 r . hxg6 h5, and wins.
n<;i;>e2 'iVd8 3 8 . 'iV f7 'iVc8 3 9 . king and my buried alive rook! 50 ... <;i;>g8 51 .Wxe5
l:te8, and mate is inevitable. 40 ... a3! 41.'ii' f 7 'ifc2 + 42.<;i;>d5 Of course he doesn't take the rook,
33 ... 'iVa3 + 34.<;i;>e4 b3 35.cxb3 'iVc5 + 43.We4 a2 44.l:tc1 a1 'if! as the win would be easy with an
45.l:txc5 �xc5 extra knight and freed pieces. . .
51 ... l:th8

35 ... a4! Perhaps the move that I

am most proud of in this game, Now, w i t h an extra rook and
found in raging time-trouble. . . knight and the attack having van­ And in the end the buried rook
36.l:tb1 A very dangerous move, ished, everything is clear - even is still alive after haying been en
probably brought about by fear though the rook is lost, right' prise for only 24 moves, and it will
that 36.bxa4 might lose. 46.'iVd5!? 'iVe1 + 47 .<;i;>d3 'iVd1 + be this rook that will deal the fi­
After 36. bxa4 36 . . . 'iVb4! reveals 48.<;i;>c4 'iVxd 5 + 49.<;i;>xd5 nal blow!

� �
the point of 35· .. a4: 37.l:tCI �c5+! 52.<;i;>d5!

' I
(now 3 S . l:t q is not possibl e ! ) And it was here that I realized
3 S . � d 5 'iV d 4 + 39· <;i;>c6 'iV d 6 + that I could only free my king and
40.<;i;>b5 'iVb6+, with a perpetual. my rook by allowing a \'ery strong
36 ... 'iVb4 37.'iVc4! 'iVb7 + 38.'iVd5 � , passed pawn on h7 . . .
'iVb4 It wasn't yet too late to go .t � , 8 5 2 ... tDh7 !
wrong: 3 S . . . 'iV x d 5 + ? ? 3 9 . <;i;>xdS � Wrong was 52 . . . tDxg6?? 53 .�xg6
a3 40.l:tc r ! a2 4 I . l:tcS, and White 8 8 <;i;>f8 5+<;i;>e6, and even without the
wins. pawns on f3 and b3 White easily
39.'iVc4 'ifd2!? draws, since neither my king nor
A winning try, as I thought that my rook can free itself.
there was a perpetual anyway. 53.gxh7 + <;i;>f7 54.�g6 + <;i;>f6

� �
49...�a3?!

' I
And I decided that things were not
that clear! With this move I caused
completely unnecessary complica­
8 ' tions for myself. If I had only tak­
, 8 en 1 / 1 00th of the time I had used
, 'iV .t � to calculate variations i n the rest
8 8 � of the game I would undoubtedly
have seen that after 49· · ·tDxg6! 50.
� hxg6 h 5 White cannot take both
the rook and the bishop! : 5 r .�h3

BIEl NEW iN CHESS 59

Despite everythi n g I was pret­ 66.�d6
ty sure that the position was still Going over to the kingside doesn't
winning, as the winning plan was prevent the basic plan, as at the
relatively easy to find, if not so end there i s always the decisive
easy to carry out: I woul d have intervention of the rook : 66. �q
to control the white king, so that i11. f6 67 .i11. f7+ <i;; c3 6S.i11. g 6 �d2
the i11. g6 would have to move, af­ 69·�f3 �d3 70.�f2 �e4 7 1 . �ez
ter w h i c h . . . g S ! w i n s by free­ J::!.d S! 72. � f2 l:l d2+ 73. �e I i11.c 3!
ing the rook from protecting the 74.f6+ �f3, and wins.
hS-square. 66 ... i11. f 6 67 .<i;; c 5 �c3 68.�d6
All this worked out perfectly in �d4 69.�c6
the game, and in fact the win was 69.<i;; e 6 <i;; c s 70.cJlf7 , with stale­
pretty simple. 5 9 . <i;; c 7 � e 5 6 0 . � d 7 � a 3 mate ideas, unfortunately doesn't
55.f4 i11. c 1 ! 6 1 . � c 6 cJl d 4 6 2 . � c 7 � c 3 wor k : 7 0 . . . �c6! 7 1 . �e6 l:!. d S !
I prefer to have the pawn on f5 to 63.�d7 Wb4 7 2 · � h ( 7 2 · i11. h .ll d 6 m a t e )
have the es-square for my king. A small s ubtlety that changes 72 . . . � d 6 . T h i s i s almost stale­
56.f5 nothing but allows me to avoi d mate, but after 73.hS'iV J::( x hS the
S6.b4 ! ? was perhaps the most in­ calculating t h e fol lowing varia­ disappearance of the pawn o n h7
teresting try, but clearly i nsuffi­ tion: 63 . . . �xb3 64·�f7+ cJlc3 65· allows one move: 74.i11. h 7 l:!.xh7,
cient after S 6 . . . i11.x f4 S7.bS J::!. b S! i11.gS �d4 66.We6 �e4 67 . f6 gxf6 and wins.
S S . �c6 �q S9·b6 i11. h 2 60 .b7 6S.�xf6 �f4! 69· �g6 i11.b 2. This 69 ... l:!.d8! 7 0.Wb6 Wd5!
l:!.hS, and White is forced either also wins, but it was not necessary
to let the black king get to the b7 to calculate this.
pawn or to allow . . . gS, for exam­ 64.�d6 �xb 3 + 65.cJld5 �b2
ple. : 6 1 . �b6 (or 6 1 .i11.b I gS! 62.
hxg6 � f6) 6 J . . . �d6 6z.i11. fs g S !
6 3 · hxg6 i11. e s 64· i11. c S ( 6 4 · � a 7
<i;; q , a n d wins) 6 4 . . . i11. d 4+ ! , and
WInS.
56 ... i11. d 2 57 .�d6 i11. e 1 58.�d7
�b4!
Cutting off the white king from
the g7 pawn before taking the king
to the queenside to capture the b3 Zugzwang!
pawn. 7 1 .�c7

"Botvinnik's comments ( . . ) are still just great. His famously clear,

logical approach of the game is highly instructive ( .. ) What I found
B O TV I N N I K even more interesting are the psychological comments Botvinnik
S M YS L O V (1957
makes. But the real treat of the book are the two notebooks
and 1958) in which Botvinnik wrote down his opening ideas for
these matches."
Arne Moll, ChessVibes

"A great historical document."

Lubos Kavalek, The Washington Post

"A complete record of one of the greatest rivalries in chess history."

John Donaldson, ChessToday

"What a wave of nostalgia swept over the reviewer as he looked

through this excellent work."
Bernard Cafferty, British Chess Magazine

Paperback • 288 pages • € 28.95 • available at your local (chess)bookseller or at newinchess.com

60 NEW iN CHFSS BIEL

 Boris Gelfand was victorious in Biel in 1 993, Alexander Morozevich in 2003, 2004 and 2006.
This time neither won, but the Russian scored 2-0 in their direct encounters.

Or 7 I .�f7+ �d6 72.�g6 J:!.b8+, NOTES BY 4.tDf3 d5 5.iiLb3 iiLd6

.i
and wins. Alexander Morozevich
71 ...�c5 72.�f7 g5 73.fxg6 J:!.d6 .I � 1. � �
74.�e8 �e5 7 5 . W b 7 l:!: b 6 + IG 4 . 1 6 - C24
i i i i i
76.'it>c8 �d6 Alexander Morozevich
White resigned. Boris Gelfand i 1. �
A very exciting game, but also one Biel 2009 (2) i i
that took a lot out of me. I went �
through the whole gamut of emo­ 1 .e4 e5 2.�c4 � � t2J
tions d u ring this game, and al­ After looking at the Kamsky-Gel­
though I was certainly lucky, I also fand game, Bazna 2009, it seemed
� 8 � 8 � 8
think that I found good moves to to me that Black had not answered ::r t2J � 'iV � ::r
stay in the game. The toll it took all the questions, and in view of
on my nervous system was such the fact that all the same I had 6.exd5
that i t took me a whole day to nothing prepared for Boris, it was Probably the only way to play, if
recover. . . decided to play this. White wants something. It is hard
A l l in a l l I a m very satisfied with 2...tDf6 3.d3 c6 to believe in the 'impotent' 6.tDc3
the tournament and my level of In our game from Astana 200 1 dXC4 7.tDgS.
play in Biel. I am happy that I won (does anyone remember this tour­ 6 ...tDxd5
this strong tournament and would nament?) Boris played 3 . . .tDc6, and I n the afore-mentioned game with
like to thank the organizers for after interesting play things ended Kamsky the far more critical 6 . . .
inviting me. Last but not least, I in a draw. But for some reason 3 . . . cxdS was played . The choice of
would like to thank my second Ar­ tDc6 has been discarded, and i n re­ the inert 6 . . . tD x d S rather s u r­
naud Hauchard for his invaluable cent times the Gelfand/ Khuzman prised me, in view of the regular
help during the event. duo has been upholding 3 . . . c6. employment by my opponent of

BIEL NEW iN CHESS 61

 Biel 2009 cat.KIK
2 3 6 TPR
00
1 Maxime Vachier-Lagrave IGM FRA 2703 V. 1 v. v. v. v. v. v. V. 1 6 2790
" "
2 Alexander Morozevich IGM RUS 2751 V. O V. 1 1 0 11 0 V. 5V. 2745
0 0
3 Vasily Ivanchuk IGM UKR 2703 V. V. V. O V. V. V. V. 1 1 5V. 2754
4 Evgeny Alekseev ""
IGM RUS 2 7 1 4 V. V. 01 V. V. V. V. V. V. 5 2716
5 Boris Galfand DO 00
IGM ISR 2755 V. V. V. V. V. V. V. V. 4 2636
""
6 Fabiano Caruana IGM ITA 2670 V. O 1 V. 00 V, V. V. V. 4 2653

one and the same variations of the en prise, and was trying to decide mediate 1 4 . . . �g4, after which
Petroff Defence! which developing move was more White is slightly better.
7 .0-0 0-0 8.ne1 ttJd7 accurate: 1 2. ttJ C3 or 1 2 .�g5. 1 5.ttJa4 'iVc6 1 6.ttJxc5 'iVxc5 1 7 .
Shiro" likes playing a pawn down 1 2...'Ii'b6 1 3.ne2 ttJf6 1 4.ttJc3 �e3 'iVc4 1 8.nd2
after 8 . . . �g.j., but other players,
for some reason, do not.
9.d4 .i
This leaves the position rather & &
barren, but since i n my express
preparation (one hour before the
game) ' somehow' only 6 . . . cxd S
was considered, and I didn't know
any theory after 8 . . . ttJ d7, in such
circumstances there didn't seem
to be any alternative to 9.d.j..
9 ... exd4 1 0.�xd5 cxd5 1 1 .�xd4
�c5
The critical position for the evalu- 18 ...1l¥xd3?

.i
ation of the entire variation with An instant decision, taken with
-t � .i � 9·d.j.. inexplicable haste. I t would ha\'e
& & � & & & 1 4 ...�g4 been better to defer the exchange
q . . . ttJ g.j. l S . ttJ x d S is clearly in on d3 until c3 was played, block­
White's favour, since after I S . . . ing the third rank for the white
-t & - ttJ xf2 r 6 . n x f2 �xf2 + 1 7 . W fI rook. After r S . . . nfeS or r S . . . n fcS,
'iV � cS, apart from r 8 . b4, i t tran­ with loss of time and mental effort
tLl spires that almost any move wins. White has to seek a possibility of
8 � � � 8 � Black's problems would have been obtaining a \'ariety of the endgame
solved by the simple q . . . �d7! that was so charitably granted by
n tLl � n �
and after 1 5 . ttJ es ( I 5 .il.. gS ? ! ttJ q! Black in the game.
i s better for Black, and I S .il..e 3 1 9.nxd3 �xf3 20.gxf3 nfe8 2 1 .
1 2 .�d3!? �xe3 1 6. n xe3 'iVxb2 I 7.nb I 'iVa3 nb3
I considered the capture on dS only r 8.ttJxds �xd3 1 9·ttJxf6+ gxf6 is White's advantage is now quite
for a minute - Black's initiative af­ equal) he would have had to see appreciable. H is plan is to com­
ter I 2.'iWxds � b6 1 3 . �e2 ttJ f6 I S . . . il..g4, which h umans are not bine an attack on the dS pawn with
q. �b3 �a6 I S . ttJ C3 �e6 r 6.'iVa4 always capable of doing ©. White pressure on the queenside. Black
'iVb6 more than compensates for is slightly better after r 5 . . . �c6, has no counterplay, and he also has
the pawn, and although in the com­ while the brilliancy after 1 S . . . ttJ g.j. no clear way of holding firm.
paratively old game Tiviakoy-Ste­ 1 6. ttJ xd7 �xf2+ I 7 .�h I 'iVq I S . 21 ... ne7
fanova, Wijk aan Zee 200.j., in the ttJ es ttJ xeS 1 9 .�f.j. leads t o a win 21 . . . b6 would ha\'e given White a
end White won, this in no way af­ for White. I n the main line, after target for a.j.-as .
fects the assessment. In retrospect r s · · ·�g.j.! r 6 . ttJ xg.j. ttJxg.j. I 7 .'iVf3 22.nd1
my r 6-minute think at this point ttJ xfz ! l S . n xf2 naeS it is White It was only at this point that Boris
seems all the more mysterious. It is who must concern himself with had a long think, and to all appear­
probable that at some point I forgot how to equalize. ances the position ceased to appeal
about the fact that my queen was In the game Black chose the im- to him.

62 NEW iN CHESS BIEl

 �
ic, and in this way White seems
to give Black counterplay. In fact
i, j. i: j. j. j. White radically suppresses Black's
� only real play with dS-d4, whereas
j. other attacks do not cause him any
particular harm.
28 ... 1:: h 5
M 8 After 28 . . . 1:: g+ + the bold emer­
8 8 'S. 8 8 gence of the king proves deci­
a: W sive: 29. �fl 1:: h 4 30.Wg2 1:: g ++
3 1 .Wh3! 1:: C 7 32. 1:: d xds J:!. g r 3 3 ·
1::d 8+ \t>h7 3+.�d4.
22...1:: c8 24.�e3 29.\t>g2
Such a move, after a 20-minute The bishop is better placed here White has no reason to hurry, and
think, is the best i n d icator of than at d4 - it blocks the e-file and this prophylactic move avoids any
B lack's problems - i n Black's controls the important squares C I unnecessary tactics.

! �
place I would have found it hard and f+ White's immediate plan is
to decide on the exchange of the to advance his queenside pawns,

�
a7 pawn for the one on C2. with the prospect of creating an
j. i: j. j.
Although many other participants outside passed pawn on the a-file.
in the Biel tournament would not 24 ... 1:: d 7 25.1:: b 5 h6 26.a4 1:: c4 j.
have been shy about accompany­ The rook manoeuvre to h+ wors­ M j. i:
ing this move with an offer of a ens Black's position, but in ap­ 8 8
draw. proaching time-trouble it is easier 8 i,
If 22 . . . a6 23 .�gS 1::c 8 24.C3, and to make 'active' moves, than wait
it is not clear whether the dS pawn passively (and at the same time
8W8
can be held. avoid blundering!). M
22 . . . h 6 ! ? 2 3 .jLd4 tLlh7 seemed 27.b3 1:: h 4

�
to me to be the most sensible, 29 ... tLle4??
but here too, after 2+. 1:: b s tLlgS Onc of those situations where you

�
2S .\t>g2 tLle6 26.�e5 d+ 27.�xd+ vcry much want to find some ac­
j. i: j. j.
White has the advantage. tivity, but therc isn't any.
After 22 . . . b6 Black may not have j. 30.1:: d 4
cared for 23.l:rc3 ! ? M j. A fter this simple reply it tran­
23.�xa7!? 8 i: spires that the knight has to re­
23 .C3 would ha\'e retained a stat­ 8 turn homc. After 30 . . . tLlf6 3 [ .as
i, 8
ic advantage, but I thought that in followed by 1:: b s-cs and b3-b+­
view of the material balance - ' I
8 8 bS White has a technical win. A
have a bishop and h e has a knight' � W time-trouble blunder speeds up
- it \\'ould be useful to add some the process.
dynamism to the position.
23 ... l:txc2
28.14!
This does not look very acsthet-
30 ... 1:: d 6? 31 .1:: xe4
Black resigned. !
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Anniversary! I
BIEl NEW iN CHESS 63
 Ten years ago the life of Lembit all

came to an end . In the morning of May 1 7 , 1 999, the

body of the Estonian grandmaster was found next to the apartment

building where he had been living alone after the separation from his wife.

S u ffering from depression he had committed suicide by j umping from his

window. all was a highly talented player with an encyclopedic knowledge of

openings. In 1 982 he was j unior champion of Estonia, two years later he

won the j unior championship of the Soviet Union. all represented

his native Estonia in countless international events. At his peak

he was rated 265 5 . In a moving tribute to his countryman,

Jaan E h lvest shares his memories of Lembit all.

He is j oined by Alex Verm a linsky, who

encountered the lamented Estonian

in a wondrous variety of places.

Le m b it a l l
another silent Estonian

E stonia was the smallest member

of the Soviet Union. Armenia
was even smaller by territory, bu t
memories of Lembit feels left out
in this article, but you can always
attend the Lembit 011 Memorial,
crossed Lembit's. I was his fellow­
countryman, and despite our nev­
er-ending fight for the number one
they had a bigger population. As which is held every year in Piir­ seat I supposedly have some first­
Lembit once pointed out to me, nu, and play chess to his memory. hand information about Lembit.
small countries have less luck. To Also, any secret fan can have a si­ Below you may find some lines
my knowledge Lembit was not a lent drink on certain dates. Enjoy. written by myself OE) and by Alex
believer, but he somehow knew A monograph in Lembit's mem­ Yermolinsky (AY).
that God is with the big battalions. ory was issued this year by the Es­
Lembit was born on the 23rd of tonian chess master and enthusiast
April, [ 966, in the northeastern Ular Lauk. Lembit was not a chess OE) When Lembit died I was far
region of Estonia. His father was celebrity by the standards of today, away i n Asia, i n Indonesia. I got
an Estonian and his mother, Ka­ when books about future stars are the news from Shabalov. Lem­
zimira, was of Belorussian origin. written immediately at the begin­ bit was supposed to travel to the
Lembit started his chess career ning of their careers. Still, he de­ U.S. to attend the Chicago Open.
like so many of us did, learning the serves an article to remember him I nstead, h e was found dead in
moves by the age of six. Later he by. Lembit was not a very open the early morning on the ground
moved alone to Tallinn to be clos­ person, so it was difficult to decide near his apartment. Lembit had
er to the Paul Keres Chess House, who to ask to share some memories a medical h istory, so no possibil­
and probably also to h i s c los­ with. When I was talking to Alex ity other than that he had j umped
est chess friend, Alex Shabalov. I Yermolinsky, I was surprised to out of his apartment was consid­
apologize if somebody with special hear how many times his road had ered by the authorities. Lembit

64 NEW iN CHESS LEMBIT aLL

Lembit Uil learned to play chess at the age of six. It didn't take long before the prodigious talent was giving simuls.

had been playing bridge the day tie na'ive in real life are sometimes to a wide-shouldered brutal bar
before with some Estonian chess used by others. I am sure that the room brawler. In short, Alexander
friends. They confi r med that people who did this are well aware was the Superman of our chess
he had not been himself, to the of it, and they may be aware that underground.
point that they stopped playing others are aware of them as well . I t was through his efforts that I
at some point and left his apart­ Now let's change the subject to was invited to play in a team event,
men t. Lembit was married and some more light-hearted stories. even though it was supposed to
had two sons, but he was living only feature players from the Bal­
alone. Once a person is dead noth­ Estonian Shores 1 982 tic republics. I, a 24-year-old Len­
ing matters anymore. Unfortu­ (AY) A few years earlier, d ur­ ingrader, was defending the col­
nately everybody dies as he comes ing my endless travels across the ours of the Paul Keres Chess Club
into the world - alone. When you nine time zones of the good old Team.
are entering you have some hopes, USSR from one obscure tourna­ Everything went more or less
but unfortunately when you are ment to another, I became friends the usual way - and I ' l l spare the
leaving there is no hope left. We with then Master of Sports of readers the detail s of our night
will never know what Lembit was the USSR, Alexander Veingold life - until I noticed one school
thinking, and however much we of Tallinn, Estonia. There were kid from the Estonian team, who
want to find someone to blame for many things to admire in Alex­ was pretty much beating every­
his tragic end, it wouldn't change ander, b u t the most o u tstand­ body in the tournament. Besides
anything. Yet I want to mention ing was his Clark Kent-like abil­ being unknown as a chess player,
one thing: people who are very ity to instantly transform from a he appeared so different from the
open, honest, and probably a lit- bookish bespectacled intellectual Estonian stereotype - which is, of

LEMBIT O LL NEW iN CHESS 65

course, blond, blue-eyed, and at sharp reply. I never thought Black a4 1:1eB? 39.1:1c3 �a5 40.1:1c7
least 1 . 9 meters tall - that it was could give away a pawn with check. 1:1h5
hard to take him seriously. I said to With the timely threat of 41 . . .
myself, I got to stop him because 1:1xfS·
nobody gets a Master norm on my 41 .t2Jxd6 1:1dB
watch. That or some other macho
bullshit - doesn't matter now, but
let's see what happened.

S1 2 . 1 - B53
Alexander Yermolinsky
Lembit 011
Piirnu Baltic Sea Championship 1 982

1 . e4 c5 Vt:Jf3 d 6 3 . d 4 cxd4 16 ... 'lIVg4!? 1 7 .'lIVxc6 + 'it>fB 1 B.f5

4.'iYxd4 �g4!? t2Jxh4 1 9.1:1hg1?
1 9.�xh4 �xh4 20.es was more to
the point, but Black can s urvive 42.b3
that too. With nothing left to lose, White
1 9 . . . 'lIVg5 + 20.'it>b1 t2Jf3 21 .f6 might have tried 42. 1:1c8, hoping
gxf6 22.1:1g2 t2Je5 23.�c7 h4 24. for 42 ... �xd6 43.b4!, with messy
t2Jd5 1:1d7 25.'lIVcB+ 1:1dB 26.'lIVb7 comp l ications. O f course, the
J:!.d7 2 7 .'iYbB + 1:1dB 2 B:�xa7 stronger reply would be 42 . . . 1:1cS,
1:1d7 29:ii'bB + 1:1dB 30.'lIVb7 1:1d7 ending all hopes.
31.'lIVbB + 'it>g 7 42 ... 1:1xd6 43.1:1xd6 1:1h1 + 44.'it>a2
'lIVe 5
:i White resigned.
This win effectively clinched the
:i .i. i *
The marks are awarded for origi­ Master's title for Lembit. Not
nality. I expected him to be put off i i an easy feat for a schoolboy back
by my sideline, but instead the kid t2J � 'i¥ then .
came prepared . This was to be­ 8 i
come Lembit's trademark: he was � II
always prepared in the opening. UE) I never heard Lembit talk
� about politics, but he was definite­
5.t2Jc3 �xf3 6.�b5 + t2Jc6 7 .
gxf3 'lIVd7 B ..ibc6 bxc6 9.�e3 ly concerned about his national­
e5 1 0:iVa4 t2Je7 1 1 .f4 exf4 1 2. ity. Nobody made remarks about
�xf4 t2Jg6 1 3.�g3 �e7 1 4.h4 h5 Well, guess what, Black is playing Lembit's nationality, and to us he
1 5.0-0-0 1:1dB 1 6.f4 for a win. was an Estonian. Lembit himself
I thought I was about to put him 3 2 . 'lIV b 3 t2J g 6 3 3 . t2J e 3 h x g 3 had some notions of being Jewish.
away in a few moves, but young 3 4 . t2J f 5 + 'it> f B 3 5 . 1:1 x g 3 'iYf4 His wife was calling him a gypsy
Lembit s urprised me with his 36:iVbB+ 1:1dB 37.'lIVb7 'lIVe5 3B. during their fights.

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66 NEW iN OftSS LEMBIT OLL

 vV hite's opening treatment may
not be the most solid, but there
are pitfalls for Black to avoid . For
example, 1 1 . . . � C7 loses to 1 2 .
�b5 + ! axb5 1 3 · ttJ xb5 � e7 1 4·
ttJ d6+. Lembit finds a way to min­
imize the damage.
1 2.ttJg4 �g1 1 3.�c4 0-0 1 4.0-0
�d1 1 5.�h3!

tv
�� E�
.i. .i. i
i i i i i

Ji, t!J
�
tLl
t!J tLl 'iV
Ji,
t!J t!J t!J t!J
1:1 1: W
Lembit 011 casts another look at his position after he's just castled kingside.
1 5 .. .I5!
T h e o n l y defence. Other op­
Red Army Chess, 1 986 around, measured poor Lembit tions would turn out badly: , 5 . . .
(AY) Being conscripted into the with an unfriendly stare and said ttJ c6? [ 6.�xd5 exdS q . ttJ xf6+;
Soviet Army was a blessing in dis­ something about dirty Jews invad­ I S · · · ttJ xC3 ? 1 6.�xe6+ � xe6 1 7 ·
guise for many second-tier play­ ing the Russian Heartland . I guess ttJ h 6 + ; I S . . . h S ? ! 1 6 . ttJ e3 ttJ f4
ers of my generation. It provided to his car anybody who spoke with I 7 · 'iV g 3 � x d 4 I 8 . l:I d I � e 5
us with a shield from the unem­ an accent must have belonged to 1 9 · ttJ g..j. ! .
ployed/social parasite stigma and that hated tribe. Knowing what After the text I had t o switch to
offered some financial support. could follow, Andrey and I quick­ more positional territory.
There was a caveat though : one ly moved i n and defused the sit­ 1 6.ttJe5 �d6 1 1 .�xd5! exd5
needed to go through a few weeks uation by shaming the guy about I had hoped for 1 7 . . . �xdS 1 8.�f..j.
of hell before being cal led up to his ignorance of Baltic people. � d 8 1 9 JIaC 1 , with the idea of
Sports Troop, when your chess When we got off the bus, a few meeting 1 9 . . . ttJ c6 with 20. ttJ xdS
career would resume. stops before our destination, we ttJ xe5 2 I . ttJ C7.
I remember I was glad to see asked Lembit to never ever open 1 8 . iL h 6 ttJc6 1 9 .iLxg1 Wxg1
Lembit at a big Army team tour­ his mouth in public again until we 2 0 . ttJxc6 iLxc6 2 1. .l:!:fe1 l:Ife8
nament. He was wearing civilian got out of that place. 22.�d3 a5 23.l:Iac1
clothes and didn't seem much the Our game was very interesting
worse for his Army experience. and showed Lembit's maturity, as
Sti l l , being torn away from his he averted a terrible threat with an � �
roots must have been hard on the energetic defence. �i
young Estonian. i .i. tv i
One day, for reasons long for­ QI 1 . 1 - E1 4
gotten, Andrey Kharitonov, Lem­ Alexander Yermolinsky
i i i
bit and I were riding a crowded Lembit 011 t!J
t!J t!J t!J t!J
city bus. Unable to reach a tick­ Novosibirsk Army Team Championship t!J tLl 'iV
et dispenser, Lembit i n his then 1 986
heavily accented Russian asked
1: 1:[ W
a guy next to him to pass out the Vt:Jf3 ttJf6 2.c4 c5 3.ttJc3 b6 4.
money and return the tickets - a e3 �b1 5.d4 cxd4 6.exd4 e6 1.
common practice in those days. a3!? d5 8.ttJe5 a6 9.cxd5 ttJxd5 23 ... f4!?
To our horror the guy t ur ned 1 0.�h5! g6 1 1 .�f3 f6 White was slightly better, but

lEMBIT Dll NEW iN CHESS 67

there was nothing decisive after next move. After my mistake Lem­ QO 1 1 .4 - 035
23 .. Jh e r + 24 JheI l:teS. bit completed his defensive gem. Alexander Yermolinsky
24.tLlb1 ! l:txe1 + 25.l:txe1 l:teB 26. 3 B . . . � f 2 ! 3 9 .'ih f 4 � h 4 + Lembit 011
l:txeB �xeB 27 .tLld2 �c7 2B.�b1 40.�xh4 + Wxh4 41.g3 + 'ii> h 5 Imperia 1 989
�d7 29.'fk'e1 �f5 30.h3 42.tLle5 b5 43.f4 �f5 44.tLlc6 b4
The passed pawn will neutralize 1 .c4 e6 2.d4 d 5 3.tLlc3 tLlf6 4.
the knight. The two extra pawns cxd5 exd5 5.kg5 c6 6.e3 �f5? !

'iV ��
are useless. 7 .tLlge2?!
45.axb4 a4 46.b5 kd7! 47 .tLlb4 By then Lembit had become an

.t
kxb5 4B.tLlxd5 a3 49.tLlb4 �c4 acclaimed opening expert, and I
� �

!::,
50.tLlc2 a2 5 1 .'ii> g 2 �b3 52.tLla1 didn't fancy following the theo­
� � �d5 + 53.<;t>g1 'ii> g 4 54.'ii> f 2 �e4 retical lines: 7 . � f3 �g6 S.�xf6
� Draw. � xf6 9 . �xf6 gxf6, etc.
!::, !::, 7 ... tLlbd7 B.tLlg3 kg4 9.�e2 h6
!::, ttJ !::, !::, III 10.�f4 �xe2 1 1 .�xe2

:i 'iV � .t :i
GE) Lembit always had money,
'iV �
but he did not often spend it in the
usual ways that people do. When
� � .. � �
30.. .'�h6?! his wife left him, he asked one of
An interesting concept: Black is his friends, 'What kind of ads are � .. �
hiding the king from checks to these in the newspaper - Beauti­ �
free up his queen. Even better was ful girl invites bachelors to have a � �
30 . . . 'ii> f6 3 I .tLlf3 �e4 3 2.tLleS gS, cup of coffee. ' He got the explana­ ttJ !::, ttJ
planning �C2. tion, but he was not a ladies' man .
31 .tLlf3 �e4 32.tLle5 g 5 33.f3 He liked to gamble in casinos, but
!::, !::, 'ViIi !::' !::' !::'
�f5 34.h4 'ii> h 5! he never went bust. His strategy M � M
The k i n g is marching u p the at the blackjack tables was the fol­
board? I could never think of any­ lowing: after losing a hand he dou­ 1 1 ... �e7 ! ? An unusual way to
thing like that. bled the bet and continued to do meet the white knight invasion to
35.hxg5 �c2 36.tLlf7 �xb2? so till he won. fS . 1 2.�c2 �e6 1 3.�b3 b6
An unfortunate slip. Lembit could It's nice for Black to trade off the
have done better by swapping the Sunny Italy, 1 9B9 light-sq uared bishops i n most
queens: 36 . . . � b T ! , when in the ( AY ) After abandoning my Moth­ Queen's Gambit positions, but
endgame White has some win­ erland for good I had an unforget­ here he is somewhat inconven­
ning chances, but I think Black table summer in Italy. One town ienced by the attack on the b7
can hold. followed the other. Tournaments pawn. Of course, 1 3 . . . 0-0-0? i s
37.�e5 �g6 won everywhere, a new-found ce­ bad on account of 1 4 · tLl b S ! cxbS
lebrity status, perfect weather, I S. l:tC I + ..ltcs 1 6.dxcS.
girls and football (it was yet to be­ 1 4.tLlge2 ke7 1 5.0-0 0-0 1 6.l:tfd1
come soccer for me then) on T V
every n i g h t . Cloud Nine is one
way to describe it.
When I continued my tour to a
small coastal town not far from the
French border I was greeted by old
acquaintances: Lembit and GM
Sergey Tiviakov. While I got off to
a slow start, Lembit was tearing off,
and with two rounds to go he was
a full point ahead. I didn't rate my
3B.'ii> h 2?? chances of beating him too high­
I had a win right there: 3S. � g7 ly when we met in Round S. The 1 6 ... tLl h 5 ! ? The right way was
<;i;>h+ 3 9 · � h 6 + k h s 4 0 . � e 6 game turned out to be a nervous af­ probably to accept one structural
�xd4+ + I . 'ii> h I , mating on the fair, but mostly on Lembit's part. weakness: r6 . . . cs 1 7 .d xcS tLlxcs

68 NEW iN CHFSS lEMBIT Oll

 M. T \L r ::- : l � I \.

Tallinn 1983. Together with Rafael Vaganian, 1 6-year-old Lembit 011 watches Mikhail Tal, who is about to beat Peter Szekely.

1 8 . � C2 '!:!:ac8, to get freer play. Upon noticing that 22 . . . 'iVxe3+? 36.�xb4?

1 7 . .!:!:ac1 .!:!:ac8 1 8.'iVa4 leads Black into trouble after 23. Well, 36.'fixC4 was more convinc­
I kept on probing and probing to �f2 � d3 24.ttJxd S ! , Lembit be­ ing. ow White j ust gets a won
provoke weakening pawn moves. came visibly dejected. In retro­ ending.
Lembit obliged, because he disliked spect, stubborn defending was 3 6 ... 'fixc5 3 7 . 'fixc5 .!:!:cxc5 38.
the passive position after the logi­ never Lembit's forte, and in lat­ e4 .!:!:cb5 39.exd5 '!:!:xd5 40 . .!:!:xd5
cal 18 . . . ttJxf4 1 9 . ttJ xf4. There isn't er stages of his career he became '!:!:xd5 41 . .!:!:c1 ! ttJb2 42.<�f1 �f7
much Black can do then except for a bit impatient in worse positions. 43 . .!:!:c5 �e6 44 . .!:!:c6 + !? �e5 45.
keeping the c6 pawn defended. The following three pawn moves .!:!:xh6 ttJd3 46 . .!:!:h8! .!:!:b5
18 ... g 5 ! ? 1 9.�g3 a5 20.'!:!:e1 ! f5 brought about the collapse o f 46 . . . ttJxf2 47 . .!:!:e8+ 'i£tf6 48.'i£txf2
21. 'iVb3! ttJhf6? Black's position. .!:!:d2+ 49 . .!:!:e2 would be no help.
The idea was to keep White's �g3 22 ... b5!? 23.�f2 b4? 24.ttJa4 c5?! 4 7. . � e 3 ! f4 4 8 . � d 2 .!:!: b 1 +
a target, but safer was 2 I . . . � h 22. 2 5 .dxc5 ttJxc5 26.ttJxc5 �xc5 4 9 . � e 2 ttJ c 5 5 0 . h 4 gxh4 5 1 .
f3 ttJxg3· Obviously, Lembit had 27 .�d3 ttJd7?! 28 . .!:!:cd1 ttJb6 29. .!:!:h5 + wd4 5 2 . .!:!:xh4
missed my next move. b3 �f6 30.ttJd4 .!:!:f7 31 .�b5! a4 Black resigned.
32.bxa4 .!:!:a7 33.a5 ttJc4 34.ttJb3
'fid6 35.ttJxc5 .!:!:xa5?! Having scored an important vic­
tory (my first and only one over
Lembit) I q ui c k l y returned to
my hotel to rest up before the last
round. There were a lot of scenar­
ios to ponder, as Sergey, Lembit
and I shared first place. Before I
could turn in, Lembit appeared
at my door. He showed no sign
o f fru stration after the deba­
cle. I n his usual precise manner
22.f3! he told me that h e had the last

lEMBIT Oll NEW iN CHESS 69

round pairin gs all figured out. I tremely hard to win, there is noth­ was about half"'ay through . Hc
was to play Tiviakov with black, ing attractive. Onc has to push wanted to know i f there were
and Lembit, as Whitc, would face one's way through crowds of am­ any important theoretical novel­
a Yugoslav guy, who was trailing ateurs j ust to get to the pairing ties played . Lembi t smiled and
us by half a poin t . Lembit then sheet, to carry one's own chess set said, no, it's j ust bad chess here in
said he had spoken with Tivia­ to the games, to deal with time­ America.
kov, and Sergey had agreed to scrambles w i thout any arbitcrs I played Lembit a few times
make a draw, since Lembit him­ present, and, on top of all that, to during his visits. I remember him
sclf would offer a draw to his op­ do this twice a day. I guess some crushing my Sicilian i n the 1 997
ponent. This way we would pre­ players j ust wanted to visit thc Chicago Opcn, but the fol low­
serve our tree-way tie for top United States, did it once and nev­ ing game somehow seems more
prizes. I was surprised to hear er came back. representative o f ' bad chcss in
that, since it was obvious to mc Lembit was one of the few he­ America'.
that normally Lembit would have roes who kept on coming back.
a grcat chance of beating his op­ His star tournament was the 1 994 51 25.8 - 856
poncnt and takc top honours all New York Open, where hc shared Lembit 011
for himself. I mentioned this to first place with his compatriot Alexander Yermolinsky
Lembit, but he would have nonc Jaan Ehlvest. In later years Lem­ New York Intel GP Qualifier 1 995
of it. Hc added that it would only bit played many more events in
be fair i f we all shared the money, the U S . Generally he did well, 1 .e4 c5 Vbf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.
even if the tie-breaks clearly fa­ but all in all the prize-money hc ttJxd4 ttJf6 5.ttJc3 ttJc6 6.g3 ttJxd4
voured him . Regardless, he said, won hardly covcred his expens­ 7 .�xd4 g6 8.�b5 + !?
we throw the money into a pool cs. Why do it, then? I guess, be­ Rapid chess has its own rules, and
to be shared equally. And that was ing a modest man, Lcmbit appre­ playing the opening fast and sim­
thc way it ended. ciatcd the anonymity of American ple is one of them. Confronted by
Chess. He didn't havc to contact my unusual move order Lcmbit
IV thc organizers long in advance to made an attempt at an immediatc
GE) Lembit was a chess theore­ ask for conditions because there refutation.
tician and workcd hard . There were none anyway, and he was 8 ...�d7 9.�xd7 + �xd7 1 0.jLg5
was a joke that h i s knowledge OK with that. �g7 1 1 .ttJd5 ttJh5 1 2.�d3
was slightly behind I vanchuk's M y dear fr iend D r Danny
becausc the lattcr kncw all blitz Olim, a famous chess maven, tclls
games p layed by Piket as wel l . me a story about how he once met � :i
Lembit knew all m y games, and Lembit in the ew York subway � .l .l .t .l
the joke was: if you want to be­ during one of those GM norm .l .l
come a strong playcr, choose the tournaments organized for thc
right opponent to study. I did not benefi t of America's darlings
ttJ ��
have a very good relationship with Josh Waitzkin and Maurice Ash­ 8
the Estonian chess aut horities, ley. Those cvents were known for 'iV
and they pushed Lembit against modest financial conditions of­ 8 8 8
mc. This was not Lembit's cup fcred to grandmasters, along with
l:r
of tea. He left the fighting to the a breezy attitudc towards such
chess board. It was symbolic that outdated things as picking visi­
we won the 1 994 New York Open tors up at thc airport or helping 1 2. . .�xb2!
together. Lembit bought a nice them to get rooms in a decent ho­ This daring capture had eluded
bottle to celebrate, but he hardly tel. Sign up to play and get a feci Lembit's attcntion when he was
had a drop himself of rugged Amcrican individual­ contemplating his choice on movc
ism. Lembit, as a true Marlboro cight.
Back in New York City, 1 995 Man of chess (although he never 1 3. . !:!: b 1 �f6 1 4 .�xf6 ttJ x f 6
(AY ) I could ncvcr understand smoked) and someone who never 1 5.�c3 �c8!
why E u ropean g r a n d m asters asked others to take care of him, Black wisel) 3\'oi d s 1 5 . . . 0-0 ) )
would cver bother to play i n U S . didn't mind that one little bit. T 6. � xf6!'
open tournaments. Bcsides a large Danny asked Lembit abo u t 1 6.�xf6 exf6 1 7 .ttJxf6 + cJ;; e 7 18.
first prize, which by thc way is cx- t h e tournament, w h i c h by thcn ttJxd7 �xc2

70 NEW iN CHESS LEMBIT Oll

 lose because of chess' Lost op­ �Kf 6 + �g8 31 .tLlKe5 .b e2 32.
E portunities are not worth talking J:!.d7 �b6 33.tLlKg6
.t. .t. ttJ � .t. .t. about when you are not here any
.t. .t. more. But probably others can :i �
think and learn from your story.
The story of what really happened
1:[ .t. .t.
8 sometimes changes itself and be­ .t. 'iV 8 il ttJ 8

:i
8 comes a lege n d . Lembit won a
8 8 8 nice game against Azmaiparash­ .t.
II <;it 1:[ viii in Groningen 1 993. In the re­ �
cently published monograph, the
position where the incident oc­
� � .i.
19.0-0 curred is not listed correctly. As <;it 1:[
Any crazy irrational stuff, such as I recall, the point at which Lem­
1 9 . J:!. xb 7 J:!.C l + 20.We2 J:!.Xh l 2 1 . bit could not suppress his laugh­ 33 ... J:!.a8 34.�d4 'iYb5 35.tLle7 +
tLleS+ Wf6 22.tLlxf7 J:!.cB here, was ter happened in the position after 'it'f8 36.J:!.g1 f6 37 .J:!.g8 + 'it'f7 38.
alien to Lembit Oil's scientific ap­ White's 1 7th move. J:!.xa8 �g4 39.tLlf5 + <;t>g6 40.c7
proach to the game. Black resigned.
19 ... WKd7 81 30.2 - 867
1 9 . J:!.dB 20.tLlb6 wouldn't change
.. Lembit 011 Las Vegas, Nevada, 1 999
a thing. Zurab Azmaiparashvili (AY) Due to his high rating, Lem­
20.J:!.Kb7 + J:!.c7 21 .J:tb5 J:!.e8 Groningen 1 993 bit was seeded to begin the World
And the game was event u a l l y Championship Knockout in Las
drawn. 1 .e4 c5 2.tLlf3 d6 3.d4 cKd4 4. Vegas from Round Two, which
tLlKd4 tLlf6 5.tLlc3 tLlc6 6.�g5 e6 guaranteed him at least a $9,600
The last time we met at the board H i'd2 a6 8.0-0-0 �d7 9.f3 J:!.c8 payday. Lembit had signed and
was at the Keres Memorial in June 1 0.Wb1 �e7 1 1 .h4 tLle5 1 2.g4 b5 returned his contract, but t\\'o
1 99B. The tournament was strange­ 1 3.�d3 0-0 1 4.�e3 Wh8 1 5.h5 months later he was not to ap­
ly split between Tallinn and Parnu, J:!.c7 1 6.g5 tLlg8 1 7 .f4 pear in Vegas. During the open­
which, along with rainy weather mg ceremony I sat in the back
and the concurrent Football World watching some of his former col­
Cup, somehow made the players leagues pushing and shoving to get
(except the eventual winner, Nigel bumped into the second round in
Short) appear listless. .t.
1 ..- Lembit's stead. It was truly a dis­
In the early stages Lembit and I�
.t. gusting sight. I got up and suggest­
I played a colourless draw, after ed that F I D E should honour its
which we, together with Alex­ end of the deal and make a $9,600
ander Khalifman, went to watch check to Lembit's widow. An un­
football in Lembit's place. The flat easy silence fell in the room. The
was located in a bad part of town I Chief Arbiter mumbled something
fu ll of dru nken Russian d udes, about not having the authority to
and despite Lembit's being a gra­ I think around here Lembit stood make such decisions. My plea fell
cious host, it left a gloomy impres­ up and could not hold his breath, on deaf ears, and that was Lembit's
sion of a lonely man's lair. But I making noises like 'tss, tss ' . Az­ send-off from the chess world.
don't want to speculate on what mai's reaction was the loud re­ These days I have a lot of time
transpired one year later. ply: 'Po morclc stoli zakhotelos?' on my hands to sit around and re­
( Do you want to be smacked in member the chess players I will
The Aftermath the face' - ed.). Anyway, the game ne"er meet again. Going over some
(JE) You stick to chess when you was fully under Lembit's control. old battles kept in my database I
have high hopes and the talent and 1 7 ...tLlc4 1 8.�KC4 J:!.Kc4 1 9.f5 b4 see them in my memories. Sergey
other qualities regarded as neces­ 20.tLlce2 e5 21 .f6 �Kf6 22.gKf6 Gorelov, Tony Miles, Konstantin

Wojtkiewicz and Lembit 0 1 1 . �

sary to become one of the strong­ tLlKf6 23.h6 g6 24.�d3 �c7 25. Aseev, Alexey Vyzhmanavin, Alex

Rest easy, my brothers-in-arms. �

est players. The problem is if you b3 J:!. c5 26.tLlf3 J:!.c6 27 .�g5 d5
do not succeed: then what do you 28.eKd5 �f5 29.dKC6 �Kd3 30.

LEMBIT OLL NEW iN CHESS 7 1

 Joel Benjamin
If you want to win the

The L o n g and
World Open, it might

take you seven days.

Or three . . . make that

the S h o rt of it
two. Evgeny Najer and

Hikaru Nakamura took

very different paths to

arrive at the winner's

circle ahead of thirty­

two other hungry

ikaru found a way. Half-point second round (his reward for the
grandmasters. H byes are routine i n American lazy day was six hours on the rack
tournaments, but it may surprise with Gata Kamsky before holding
While waiting in the St.
foreigners that they are general­ a draw).
Louis airport for our ly permitted in any round . Naka­ The three-day schedule often
mura locked in byes for Round 8 draws a bunch of grandmasters.
flight home from the
and 9 and entered the three-day I've seen several knocked out of
U. S. Championship, schedule, playing five fast games contention before the slow games
(45 minutes per game, no incre­ begin . But this year only two -
Hikaru Nakamura
ments) before joining the general Nakamura and Leonid Yudasin -
and I had a chat about population in Round 6. opted for this schedule. So Na­
There is some precedent for kamura posted 4'/z/ 5 rather more
upcoming tournaments. Hikaru's feat. Once, rather noto­ easily than he could have in the
He told me about an riously, I tied for first in the seven­ other groups.
round Chicago Open with a 'one­ Hikaru made a quick draw with
excellent tournament in day' schedule: Four fast games lIya Smirin i n Round 6, only to re­
San Sebastian, Spain, (from which I scored 3 12 points) ceive black again against Evgeny
and one slow game i n the evening Najer. He emerged victorious in a
beginning on July 7th. ( I more point) followed by two game featuring Naka's typical luck
byes in the last day. B u t no one and pluck. Curiously, Najer asked
I told him I was taking
had ever tried to pull off the 'two­ to annotate this game in prefer­
the plunge in the World day' schedule in the World Open ence to his several wins. Here is
before. what he had to say about it.
Open this year. 'Yeah,
I 've reported before about the
maybe I ' l l play, too', parallel universes of all the differ­
ent schedules in the World Open. NOTES B Y
he said. I told him the
They are sure to produce pair­ Evgeny Najer
tournaments were too ing anomalies, un predictable as
they may be. This year the four­ FR 7 . 5 - C1 0
close together, as the day schedule in the Open section Evgeny Najer
World Open concluded drew a grand total of three play­ Hikaru Nakamura
ers. Two of them were John Fe­ Philadelphia 2009 (7)
July 5th. He would be dorowicz and Nick de Firmian,
crazy to try. who had traveled to Philadelphia I made my first mistake even be­
on the train together. They played fore the first move, by arriving 1 0
in the fi rst round (short d raw) minutes late for the game. I f the
while John received the first ful l reason for this had been a desire
point bye o f h i s pro career i n the to eat, have a sleep, or something

72 NEW iN CHfSS P H I LA D E L P H I A
 4.tUxe4 �d7 5.tuf3 �c6 6.�d3
tUd7 7 .0-0 �xe4
The main theoretical continuation
is 7 . . . tUgf6.
8.�xe4 c6 9.c4 tU gf6 1 0.�c2
�c7 1 UWe2 0-0-0

A shocking move, which great­

ly surprised me during the game,
since even to a beginner it is ob­
vious that one cannot make such
a move. I think that Nakamura
was guided by what in poker ter­
minology are called 'pot odds'. I t
was obvious that +4 would not be
sufficient for a share of first place,
which meant that he had to take
a risk.
1 2J:tb1
For the moment White's play does
not demand any mental exertion.
1 2 ... h6 1 3.b4 g5
Nothing better for Black is appar­
ent, but it is obvious that his pawn
offensive is merely a seizure of
Just like last year Russian GM Evgeny Najer finished first in the World Open, space, whereas the advance of the
but he suffered a 'vexing defeat' against co-winner Hikaru Nakamura. white pawns may develop at any
moment into a mating attack.
like that, for which in a schedule According to my database, Naka­
of two games a day there may in­ mura hadn't played this at all over
deed not be sufficient time, then the past two years.
this would have been excusable. In 2.d4 d5 3.lud2
fact I was feverishly trying to pre­ A surprise in reply. I always play
pare, although it is obvious that 3 tU c3, but the factor of my op­
.

the chances of guessing the open­ ponent and my favourable tour­

ing in a game with Hikaru are nament position ( + -t by Round 7)
minimal. On the other hand, in prompted a more cautious choice.
games with him the time factor i s 3 ... dxe4
highly important. I can recall nu­ The considerable time spent by
merous games won by the Amer­ my opponent, and the variation
ican against strong players in the chosen by him, indicated that, at 1 4J:tb3!?
opponent's time-trouble. the least, my third move was psy­ At first sight this move may seem
1 .e4 e6 chologically well-founded. excessively abstract, but in fact it

P H I LA D E L P H I A NEW iN CHESS 73
has a very specific basis. Since af­ o u t that the immediate 1 7 . b S jL q fS 26 . ..Q. x d S 'iYxds Black's
ter 1 4.bS cS it is not possible to did n o t work: 1 7 . . . ttJ f4 r S. 'iYq? achievements are evident), for ex­
open lines, it is obvious that ide­ ( r S.'lIHe3) T S . . . ttJeS 1 9 . dxeS J::i: d -1- ample 20 . . . fS (or 20 . . . ttJc6 2 I .J::i: f br
ally White should begin with c s . and unex pectedl y the q ueen i s fS 22.'iYa-1-! fxq 2 3 . J::i: x b7 � xb7

ture in view of q . . . . ttJdS I S . ..Q.d2

B u t the immediate T 4.CS is prema­ trapped ! It w a s more difficult to 2-1-. J::i: x b7 Wxb7 2 S . 'iY b S + Wq
refrain from the planned I 7 .ttJq, 26.jLa-1- ttJcb4 27·a3 and wins) 2 1 .
g-1-, with counterplay. Therefore but I managed to guess what was J::i: fb r ! fxq 22.'iYxb7+ 'iYxb7 2 3 .
it is sensible first to cover the e3- awai ting me: I 7 . . . b S ' ! r S .cxb6 J::i: x b7, and White should win.
square, and the choice between T 5 . axb6. The point is that the file 18.�g5?!
..Q.d2 and the move in the game is opened here is not at all the one An obvious move, and the first line
an obvious one. that White needs. Three of his mi­ given by Rybka, but nevertheless a
14 ... g4 1 5.ttJd2 nor pieces are on the c-file, and it strategic mistake. During the game
I was already fully seized by the will be some time before my rooks I realized in principle that the ex­
lust of battle. There i s no other are able to get to the c6 pawn! change of several pieces, even with
way I can explain this move. Of the win of the exchange, could
course, initially I was intending �E not be considered an achieve­
to play I S .ttJeS, and after the pos­ ment. But in the event of the nat­
I. I. � �
sible l S . . . ttJxeS 1 6.dxeS ttJd7 1 7 · ural [ S .a-1- I was concerned about
J::i: e J �g7 [ S. �f4 h S 1 9 .cS, with I. I. rS . . . ttJf-1-, when the queen has no
the idea of establish ing the rook 8� good square, and the position after
on d6, White has an enormous ad­ 8 CD 1 9 .jLxf4 'iYxf4 20.J::i: d r h-1- 2 l .bS
vantage. But the main thing is that J::i: d 7 is not altogether what White
the degree of complexity in the wants. After the exchange of his
position is not great, and it was dark-square bishop, the weakness
hard to imagine that even here it on d4 restricts White's pieces.

1 5 . . . h5
was possible to go wrong. Therefore d u ri n g the game I
1 7 ... ttJb8!? looked exclusively at tempo-gain­
Of course, the reason for Black This looks ridiculous, but i n fact it ing moves, although it is obvious
castling queenside was not in or­ is the only defence against bS. The that after 17 . . . ttJbS I have time for
der to defend the unpromising computer recommends the ultra­ several prophylactic moves in suc­
endgame after ' S . . . es 1 6. d xeS cool I 7 . . . �q r S . b s ( r S . a4 es) cession . In fact it was sufficient to
'iYxes ' 7 . � xes ttJxeS T S . � fS+ J S ... cxbS 1 9 . 'iYxbS ttJbS, thinking make j ust one: r S . J::i: d r ! , followed
�bS 19 . ..Q.b2 �d6. that Black's position is acceptable. by a-1- and bS.
1 6.c5 ttJd5 But for a human it is obvious that 1 8 ... jLe7 1 9 ..be7 ttJxe7
Black will not hold out for long. 19 . . . 'iYxq is answered by 20.bS.
To j udge by the further course of 20.ttJd6+ J::i: x d6 21 .cxd6 'iYxd6
the game, White should avoid any
version of winning the exchange. �� �
1. 1. � I.

-,
�� � I. � I.
I. I. � 1. 1.
I. 8 8 I.
'i¥ 8 � r.1
8 CD 8 � VJii 8 8 8
I t was this position that attracted r.1 �
me, since it appeared that after the
inevitable bS a rout was unavoida­ 22.J::i: d 1?
ble. Black is indeed in great danger, ANALYSIS DIAGRAM But here it was now essential to
but his position now has its first hurry, since with such a materi­
real trump - the fine knight at dS. Now best is 2 0 . ..Q.e3! (after 2 0. ..Q.a3 al balance on no account should
1 7 .ttJe4! a6 2 1 .'iYe2 ttJc6 22.ttJd6+ ..Q.xd6 Black be allowed to block the po­
On closer examination it turned 23 .cxd6 J::i: x d6 2-1-. ..Q.xd6 'iYxd6 2 S . sition. However, to be objective, I

74 NEw lN CHESS P H I LA D E L P H I A
 out of control and three results are
now possible, even if for the mo­
ment a defeat for White seems the
least likely.
'
2 6 . . . ttJf4 ! 2 7 . � c 2 f5 2B . .Q.d3
wb7 29.�f1 ttJa6 30.'ti'd2 ttJd5
31 .l:te1
With the idea o f playing 'ti'gS.
The i mm e d i a te 3 I . � gS does
not promise anything because of
3 I . · · �C7·

Evgeny Najer has finally arrived to play Hikaru Nakamura. 'I made my first
mistake even before the first move, by arriving 10 minutes late for the game.'

have to admit that I simply did not pattern of the position, and espe­
see Nakamura's brilliant defen­ cially the play with the pawns away
sive idea. The only way to j ustify from the king, strongly resembled
my I Sth move was by the energet­ the famous Kasparov-Petrosian
ic 22.bS! � xd-l. Here I terminat­ game from Tilburg 1 9S 1 . Unfor­ 31 .. .f4
ed my calculation, since I did not tunately, the result also turned out Objectively a mistake, since now
see any decisive continuations. to be the same. . . White's rook becomes very active
But when the position is opened 24.h4 and seriously threatens the black
up, the poor placing of the black In the future an escape square for king. 3 I . . . ttJ axb-l 3 2 ·'ti'gS ttJ q
pieces is felt, especially the knight the king will be needed, and in this was stronger, when the chances
on bS. It is sufficient simply to way also Black's only real weak­ are roughly equal.
build up the pressure: 2 3 . l:t d J ness is fixed. 32.l:te5 ttJaxb4 33.'ti'e1 l:th6 34.
'ti' cs 2+.Q.q l:tdS 2 S . l:t bd3 ! ttJ d S 24 ... ttJd5 25.axb5 l:tg5 �b6 35.�b1
26.bxc6 ttJ xc6 ( 2 6 . . . bxc6 27.'ti'b2) Of course, I didn't want to play At this moment I was again full of
27. �d2!, with a winning position. this, but to calculate on every optimism - the knights are crip­
22 ... a6! 23.a4 move the capture of a pawn with pled, and the possibilities of mov­
I realized that this move would gain of tempo is somethi n g that i n g the other black pieces are
probably cost me my b-l pawn, but only a computer can permit itself! slight.
I was hoping that I would be able 25 ... axb5 26 ..Q.e4 35 ... g3!
to exploit the insecure position of
the black king.

i
23 ... b5!

�i�i

t::,
i � :g i
�i
� i t::,
i i�i
:g i
i i
t::, !j
!j t::, t::, i
"fjf ��
:g
� "fjf t::, !j t::, Not the best choice, but which The best chance in time-trouble.
:a: � move is the strongest is not obvi­ Now I have to play very accurately.
ous to me, even after analysis. It is 36.fxg3 fxg3
Here it occurred to me that the clear only that the battle has gone I lere I had -l m i nutes left for 4

P H I LA D E L P H I A NEW iN CHESS 7 5
moves - seemingly not the most
terrible ti me-trouble, but the
position, alas, proved to be too
complicated.
37 Ji:e5?
The pawn cannot be eliminated
immediately: 37J:tbxg3? ttJ C3.
The most annoying thing is that
I wanted to take control of the
f4-square by 37.'iYC I ! , but in the
variation 3 7 . . . J:!: f6 3 8 . J:!: bxg3 J:!:f4
I did not notice the elementary
39· 'iYcS+ 'iYxcs 40. dxcS + �xcs
4 1 .J:!:xhS . White has the advantage
in this complicated endgame and,
most important, the time control
would have been reached without
losing material.
37 ... J:!:f6 38.J:!:xg3 J:!:f4
It is very obvious that White's po­
sition has become extremely dan­ On a tragic final dav Victor Mikhalevski saw his chances evaporate.
gerous, but, of course, it was not
essential to lose in one move. Nakamura went on his way as the
clubhouse leader at seven points.
Victor Mikhalevski had six points
and two rounds to pass him, while
everyone else could only hope to
tie!
� � iV �

" 1'3:, .! 8
Mikhalevski's first chance went
� "M � by the boards when he lost to his
countryman, Ilya Smirin. Najer
M bounced back against Alex Shaba­
1'3:, lov, Varuzhan Akobian knocked off
50 .. Jbf1 ! Jacek Stopa, and Jaan Ehlvest de­
'iY ��
A fter so . . . b3?? White would un­ feated Alexander Ivanov. Thus first
expectedly have saved himself by place would be decided by three
39.'iYd1?? S I .gxf4 bz sz.'it>dz! b r 'iY S3· �d3· games: Ehlvest-Najer, Akobian­
The safest was 3 9 .'iYbz, w hen 51 .'it>xf1 b3 52.J:!:g8 'it>c5 53.J:!:b8 Smirin, and Stocek-Mikhalevski.
White's resources s h o u l d s u f­ ttJb4 54.J:!:d8 b2 55.J:!:d1 'it>c4 Mikhalevski was surely disheart­
fice for a successful defence, for White resigned. ened to receive another black. Jiri
example: 39 . . . ttJ f6 40.J:!:g6 ttJ g4 A vexing defeat, but probably a Stocek used a pet line to cap off the
4 I .J:!:gxe6 J:!:xfI + 4Z . 'it>xfI 'iYf8+ deserved one. Throughout prac­ Israeli's tragic day.
4 3 (� g r 'iY f4 4 4 · g 3 ! 'iY x g 3 + tically the entire game I used my
4S·'iYgZ . time extremely uneconomical­ GI 4.B - DB5
39 ... ttJf6! ly, by trying to find the best con­ Jiri Stocek
Nakamura does not miss such tinuation, which in the m aj or­ Victor Mikhalevski
chances. Now my position in­ ity of cases simply did not exist. Philadelphia 2009 (9)
stantly collapses. Whereas, after his badly p layed
40.'iYe1 ttJ g4 41 .J:!:xg4 'iYxd 4 + o p e n i n g, Nakamura defended 1 .d4 ttJf6 2.c4 g6 3.ttJc3 d5 4.ttJf3
4 2 . � h 2 h x g 4 4 3 . J:!: x e 6 g 3 + bri l l iantly and set me problems �g7 5.cxd5 ttJxd5 6.e4 ttJxc3 7 .
44.'it>xg3 J:!:xh4 45.'iYe5 'iYg4+ on every move, for which in the bxc3 c 5 8.�e3 'iY a 5 9.�d2 0-0
46.'it>f2 'iYf4 + 47 .'iYxf4 J:!:xf4 + end he was rewarded. 1 0.�e2 ttJc6 1 1 .0-0 e6 1 2 .a4
48.'it>e2 ttJc2 49.J:!:g6 b4 50.g3 �d7 1 3 .J:!:b1 'iYc7 1 4.�g5 J:!:fe8
A final trap. 1 5.h4 h6 1 6.�e3 J:!:ad8 1 7 .'iYc1

76 NEW iN CHESS P H I LA D E L P H I A
� h 7 1 8 . J:!: e 1 J:!: c 8 1 9 . � d 2 q uiet play, or perhaps wanted to score. Either way, Najer wins on
J:!:ed8 2D.h5 �e8 21 .hxg 6 + fxg6 try to keep the draw in hand. the kingside.
22.�b2 ttJa5 23.�b5 cxd4 24. 5 ...ttJf6 6.ttJbd2 �e7 7 .h3 �h5 8. 22 ... J:!:ad8 23.J:!:c1 �e7 24.ttJf1
�xd4 b6 25.�xg7 �xg7 26.e5 e4 0-0 9.�e1 ttJa6 1 D.a3 ttJc7

�
�xb5 27 .axb5 J:!:d5 28.J:!:bd1 ttJc4

i: i: �
29.�b1 llcd8 3 D. J:!:d4 J:!:xd4 3 1 .
cxd4 J:!: c 8 32.�e4 �f7 3 3.J:!:d1
�g7 34.d5 exd5 35.J:!:xd5 �e6 " � .t " ,
36.ttJd4 �e8 37 .e6 J:!:d8 38.J:!:xd8
, ,�
�xd8 39.e7 �e8 4D.ttJe6 + �f6 1-
41 .ttJc7 �d7
,
8
8 8 tLl 8 8
I
8 8 tLl 8 Jl,

, �"
�ll tLl � 8 11 Jl, � 11 �
24 .. .f5! 25.exf5 �xf5 26.g4 �f7
�

27 .gxh5 �xh4 28.�e4 �xh5

8 1 1 .ttJb3 Black hasn't really sacrificed any­
� 'iV - This looks q uite awkward to me. I thing and his pieces are sure to
don't think White can improve on flood i n . One has to feel a bit sad
the tried and true 1 1 .b3. for the knight on a l .
11 ... ttJd7 1 2.�f4 �e8 1 3 .J:!:c1 29.�g4 �xf2 + 3D.�xf2 �f7 3 1 .
�f6 1 4.J:!:b1 e5 1 5.�d2 ttJe6 1 6 . ttJ c 2 ttJ f 6 3 2.�h4 ttJb3 3 3.J:!:d1
ttJ h 2 dxe4 1 7 .dxe4 c5 1 8.h4 e4 34.ttJce3 exf3 35.�xf3 ttJe4+
42.e8ttJ + �f7 43.�xc4 + �e7 This j ust loses the option of block­ 36.�g2 ttJbxd2 37 .ttJxd2 �g6 +
44.ttJd5 + ing out Black's bishop with ttJhz­ White resigned.
Black resigned. g4. White can at least keep the Black will take the knight on dz
game nearly equal with 1 8 . ttJ aS for starters. A smooth finish for
Ah, the Swiss system. Stocek had ttJd4 1 9·ttJg4· ajer, b u t E h l vest's play was
lost his first game and drawn his 18 ... h6 1 9.c4 �b6 2D.ttJa1 ttJd4 shockingly below the standard of
second, defeating no one of con­ the first eight rounds.

:i :i �
sequence until the last day. But his
6'/2 points netted him about two I So Najer took home $ 1 5,000, and
grand, while Mikhalevski's take " � " Nakamura would eventually find
home pay totaled $57. 1 5 . , the same amount in his mailbox.
� .t
Akobian and Smirin took the Najer was declared World Open
conservative route with a short
, , .t Champion for the second year in a
draw, a bit surprising when you 8�8 8 row, because his opponent wasn't
consider how much money a win 8 8 present for a blitz play-off.
would have garnered . Perhaps 8 Jl, 8 Jl, tLl You rarely see ajer in major
they thought Ehlvest and Najer round-robi n events, which isn't
tLl 11 'iV 11 �
would do the same. unusual considering how com­
m o n p l ace z 6 7 0- i s h GMs are
RE 26. 1 2 - AD? Black's pieces are dominating the these days. It's hard to stand out
Jaan Ehluest board now. If Ehlvest thought he with so many higher rated players
Eugeny Najer had time to get a knight to dS, his back home in Russia. Still, many
Philadelphia 2009 (91 watch must have stopped. of those guys would be envious
21 .f3 �e6 of his success in big money open
1 .ttJf3 d5 2.g3 �g4 3.�g2 c6 4.0- Najer could have grabbed a pawn tournaments.
o e6 5.d3 with z I . . .� a6 ZZ . J:!:CI ttJ b6.
At this point in his career, Ehlvest 22.J:!:f2 The following game from Round
is a jack-of-all-trades in the open­ I'm not sure if Ehlvest is desper­ 5 ended in a draw. Despite a lot of
ing. He may have hoped to frus­ ate enough to concede his c-pawn mistakes, I'm proud of the way I
trate his aggressive opponent with or the moves are transposed in the took it to my esteemed opponent.

P H I LA D E L P H I A NEW iN CHESS 77
 QI 1 B. B - E1 5 I don't know if Gata noticed the probably maintain the pin o n
Gala Kamsky weird tactic 2 2 . ttJ X q fxq 2 3 . t h e knight. Gata suggested 27 . . .
Joel Benjamin k xq. I was willing t o chance i t �h4, though 2 7 . . . �d6, with sim­
Philadelphia 2009 (5) because 23 . . . dxq 24. � C4+ � h8 ilar ideas, might be even stronger.
2 S · ttJ xb4 � gS looks extremely White is hard-pressed to find use­
1 .d4 dangerous for White. ful moves, and Black might well
Gata played 'left-handed' in Phil­ 22 ... �d6 23.h3 take his time, e.g. 28.J::[ e 2 a4! ? , as
ly. In St. Louis he was strictly I .e4. Gata wanted to p lay 2 3 . f3 b u t Gata proposed.
1 ...ttJf6 V Llf3 e6 3.c4 b6 4.g3 felt Black could grab t h e e-pawn 2B.�h5 J:lfB
�a6 5.b3 and survive the pin: 23 . . . ttJ xC3
So not everyone has j umped on 24. �xc3 ttJxe3 2 S . � f2 c S . The
the S . � C2 bandwagon. knight is safe enough, but White
5 ... �b4 + 6.�d2 �e1 1 .�g2 d5 is okay, too. 26J:te2 (26.f4 ! ? ) 26 . . .
B.cxd5 exd5 9.0-0 0-0 1 o.ttJc3 C 4 27 .�ce l cxd3 28.�xe3 with a
�b1 1 1 .�c2 probable draw.

:i � 'ill :i �
I was a bit afraid of the pin and
wanted to hack away with 23 . . .

�
ttJ xh2 ! ? , e.g. 2+.fxq fxe4 2S.ttJf+
i .t i .t i i i ttJ f3 + 26. � x f3 exf3 2 7 . � f2 gS
i (27 · · · J::[ f8 ! l ) 28. ttJ d3 ka6 29. ttJ eS
i �xes 30.dxeS 1:[fS with an unclear
� position. 29J:.t:f1?
b Cjj Cjj � M y clock ticked down to the last
few mi nutes with my previous
b VJiI � b � � b move, which may have prompted
M M� Gata to rush out this error. I was
expecting 29.ttJg+ g6 (29 . . . a+! ? )
1 1 ...ttJbd1 3 0 . � h6 I US a n d n o w 3 J . ttJ eS
I was always taught to put the saves the queen. B lack still has
k night on a6 i n this structure, compensation, but in the absence
but if it's headed to e6 this square of direct threats White probably
could serve just as welL has the edge.
1 2J:tad1 �eB 1 3.�f4 c6 1 4.�c1 29 ... g6 3o.�h6 �a6

:i :i �
�b4 1 5.kb2 �e1 1 6.e3 �a6 1 1 .

.t 'ill
�fe1 ttJe4 1 B.J::[ c 1 �b1 23 ... ttJgxf2
I 'm not sure this retreat is neces­ Black of course has a n ice posi­
i
sary, but I felt it sensible to keep tion after 23 . . . ttJ gf6 but I don't
c6 protected and to prevent White think he can crack through with­ .t i i i VJil
from playing a2-a3. out a sacrifice, and the time will i i
19.J::r e d1 f5 2o.ttJe1 ttJdf6 21.ttJd3 never be better for one. H o w­ � i
ttJg4!? ever, the other sacrifice I consid­ b b �
ered was stronger: 23··· ttJ exf2 ! 24.
�� Cjj �
ttJXf2 (24· hxg4 ttJ xg4 2 S · ttJ f4 gS
26. ttJ fxdS �e6! is good for Black) M M�
24· · · ttJ xe3 2 5 · � e2 �gS 26. ttJfq
( 26 . ttJ h r f4) 26 . . . fxq 2 7 · � xe3 This is a good move, but later I
� xg3 with clearly more than wondered if I had missed 30 .. JHS
enough for the piece. 3 I . ttJ g+ l:!.hs, which could con­
24.ttJxf2 �xg3 2 5 .ttJcxe4 fxe4 tinue 32. ttJ f6+ � xf6 3 3 . � xh7+
26.�e2 a5 At least the computer Wxh7 34J.:hf6 lifS with a big ad­
likes this move. vantage. Gata was ready with 32.
21 .�g4 �c1 �a3 !, but Black is still on top after
I was enthralled with the idea of 32... �d8! 33·�f8 �xfS 34· �xfS+
22J:le1 mating on h2, but Black should �xfS 3S.ttJf6+ J::tx f6 36Jhf6 J::[ fS .

78 NEW iN CHtSS P H I LA D E L P H I A
31 .J:txc6
The computer says White should
accept a worse position with 3 I .
tDg4 �XfI 3 Z . �xfI , but some­
times you have to take a chance in
the time scramble.
31...�xf1 32.�a3

'+JH
.i .i �
.i. �
� l:r � 'iV
1 "11 �
8 �
�8 8 8
8 ttJ �
.i. �

32 ... "fgf1 Joel Benjamin's tournament 'crashed and burned in two parts, beginning with a
Obsessed as I was with the f-file, I failed attempt to squeeze out a six-hour endgame against Ray Robson.'
didn't notice the simple 3Z . . . "fgd?!
3 3 .�xf8 J:t x f8 3 .j. . J:txg6+ h xg6 35..."fgxf6 rush to give away pieces. Threats
3S ·"fgxg6+ 'iVg7 36.'ihg7+ �xg7 3 5 · · ·�h8 36. J:txC7 would hurt for to the c-pawn will keep White
37.�xfI , where Black should win a long time. from any progress.
without any trouble. 36.J:txf6 1M6 31 .�xg2
33.�xfB ];IxfB Kamsky's hopes for first wcre
I had a feeling there could be a � dashed by a Rou n d 7 loss to
trick on 33 . . . �xgz ? , and I was M i k h a l ev s k i . M y tournament
.i. �
right: 3.j..'iVg7 + ! turns the tables. crashed and burned in two parts,
34.tDg4 � .i � 'iY beginning with a failed attempt to
� � sq ueeze ou t a six-hour endgame

'+JH
E� 8 � against Ray Robson . I felt a cold
8 8 8 coming on, and my throat was so
.i. �
d ry I had to drink lots of water.
� l:r � 'iV 8 � This in turn precipitated multiple
� � trips to thc bathroom, which one
8 � ttJ simply needs to avoid at all costs
8 8 8 31 ... J:tf5 in the World Open. The organiz­
37 . . . �d8 almost wins, but White ers set up the top boards in a cor­
8 � can play 3 8 .'�'h.j.!. doncd off area in the corner of a
.i. � 3 B . "fg h 4 � d 6 3 9 . "fg d B + �fB large room , and seal off the side
4D."fgxb6 �b4 41."fgb5 doors. This measure works won­
34 ...�xg2? Draw agreed. I banged out the last ders for noise control, but turns
Smirin spotted 3.j. . . . �d8!, which few moves with seconds on my a trip to the toilets into a death
Gata hadn't feared because of clock . Yly frustration ebbed as I march, traversing the length of
3 S ."fgf.j.. However, after 3 S · · ·"fgxf.j. realized it could have been worse. the great room, the width of a
3 6 .exf4 I can win, as long as I Still I was surprised when Gata bu ffer rOOI11, and a final leg past
don't trade bishops: 36 . . . �b5! 37. offered a draw. I t's not a fortress the milling spectators. I t was not
J:td6 �c?! 38.J:txdS �c6. for Black if he gives the bishop unusual to see grandmasters en­
3 5.tDf6 + I had only reckoned and a-pawn to eliminate White's gaged i n a full-out sprint, often
with 3 5 . J:tf6 "fge7 36.J:txf8+ "fgxf8 queenside pawns; White can ulti­ elbowing aside hotel guests wait­
3 7 · "fgxf8+ Wxf8 3 8 . <;i;> xgz We7 mately g·ive his queen to win in the ing for the minimally functional
and Black wins the ending easily. pawn ending. However, there's no elevators.

P H I LA D E L P H I A NEW iN CHESS 79
Worn out by the young whipper­ a6 1 4JHd1 J:t a 7 1 5 . b 3 kxc3 45. �cS with White well on top;
snapper, I lost to Jacek Stopa in 1 6:iYxc3 cxb3 1 7 . �xb3 J:td8 B) 37·.· �d6 3S.Q .¥Ld7 and now:
only twenty-one moves in Round 1 8.'lWe3 J:tb7 1 9.e5 �e7 20.kd3
7. Happy I n dependence Day, ke8 21 .'lWe4 g6 22.�e3 <Jig7 23.
Joel! I decided to watch the ac­ ke4 bxa4 24.h4 J:tb3 25.�f4 c5
� 1. �
tion the next morning before get­ 26.dxc5 J:txd1 + 27 .J:txd1 a3 28.
ting an early start on the trip home h5 g5 29.�d2 J:tb5 30.kb1 tLld7 � �� �

etJ
through holiday traffic. 31 .c6 J:td5 32.tLld4 tLlxe5 33.�c2 �� �
�c5 34.'iYh7 + <Jif6 3 5.�xh 6 +
Bill Goichberg tinkers with the <Jie7 36.�xg 5 + f6 � 'iV
formula in the World Open, with
each change bringing about sub­
� 8
tle but distinct effects. The estab­ � M �
lishment of an under-2400 section ANALYSIS DIAGRAM

drove most of the class players out

of the Open section and made it 39.f4! Wins for White: 39· · · tLl q
much more top-heavy. I t wasn't 4o.tLlfS+ J:txfS 4 r .cstLl+! <JidS 42.
unusual to see grandmasters play tLlxd6 tLlxe3 43 .tLlxfS tLlxd r 44.h6.
each other in early rounds, and 37 ... kf7 38.c7
this slugfest from the seven-day
schedule caught my eye. I
� � 1. 'iV
SL 4 . 1 - 0 1 7 37.'iYg7 + ?
� � �
Jesse Kraai Crazy complications would have I-
etJ
Evgeny Bareev ensued after 37.'iYe3 : ��� 8
Philadelphia 2009 (3) A ) 3 7 . . . � x h S 3 8 . J:tC I 'iYxd4
(38 ... J:txd4 39.J:txCS J:td r + 40.<Jih2 �
1.tbf3 d5 2.d4 tLlf6 3.c4 c6 4.tLlc3 tLlg4 + 4 1 . <Jig3 tLlxe3 42.C7 and
White wins) 39 ·'iYxa3+ <Jif7 40.
� �
dxc4 5.a4 �f5 6.tLlh4 kd7 7 .e4 e6
8.tLlf3 b5 9.�g5 h6 1 0.kxf6 �xf6 q tLlg4 4 r . � f3 J:tc 5 42. cS� J:txcS � M �
1 1 .�e2 �b4 1 2.0-0 0-0 1 3.�c2 43 - � b7+ <JifS 44· � xCS+ <Jig7
38 ... tLlf3 + ! Oof! Black is winning
now, though there are still a few
more nice touches.
39.gxf3 J:tg5 + 40.�xg5 �xg 5 +
41 .<Jif1 �c5 42.h6 �xc7 43.h7
�h2 44.tLlc6 + <Jif8 45.J:td8 +
�e8 46.kg6 <Jig7 47.J:txe8 <Jixg6
White resigned.

Bareev fielded difficult pairings

because of his u nusual seeding.
The World Open is conducted by
U.S. ratings. Somewhere along
the line Bareev picked up a rather
low 2SS6 rating, considerably low­
er than his unusually low current
Elo of 2636. Meanwhile, Vladimir
Potkin, Elo 2620 with no previous
U.S. rating, had r oo points added
to his rating for seeding.

Somewhere along the line Evgeny Bareev picked up a rather low 2556 U.S. rating, Bareev's adventures continued in
considerably lower than his unusually low current Elo of 2636. Round 6.

80 NEW iN CHESS P H I LA D E L P H I A
 1 B �xf2 + 1 9.<;¥;>h1
•••

Suddenly Black's queen is i n big

trouble.

1 9 ... tLlh5!
An ingenious continuation, though
the less imaginative 1 9 . . . �cS 20.
fxe4 J:!:ae8 looks about equaL
20.�d4 tLlhxg3 + 21 .hxg3 tLlxg3 +
'Still, I have to wonder, after all these years living in New York, 2 2 . <;¥;> h 2 �xe2 2 3 .tLle7 + <;¥;>hB
shouldn't Yudasin have learned the word "withdraw" by now?' 24.�c3
ot 24·tLlg6+ hxg6 25. � xg6 tLlfS
N1 24. 1 6 - E32 J:!: fe8 20 .�b2 J:!:e7 Black i s j ust 26.J:!:h r W g8! and Black wins.
Evgeny Bareev holding. Of course, if White had 24 ... tLlf5 25.tLlxf5
Leonid Yudasin a rook on f2 and a king on g I , he 2 5 .1:I:e l tLlxd4 clearly favors Black.
Philadelphia 2009 (6) could just take on d S here. Still, 25 ... J:!:xf5 26.J:!:e1
Bareev's move is clearly asking Now the game is concluded by a
1 .d4 tLlf6 2.c4 e6 3.tLlc3 �b4 for it. most unusual repetition!
4.�c2 0-0 5.tLlf3 d6 6.g3 b6 7. 17 ...tLlce4
�g2 �b7 B.O-O �xc3 9.�xc3 a5 Afterwards Yudasin lamented not
1 0.b3 tLlbd7 1 1 .�b2 tLle4 1 2.�c2 playing 1 7 . . . tLl fq. After r 8 . fxe4
f5 1 3.d5 tLldc5 1 4.tLld4 �g5 1 5. fXC4 1 9 · tLl f3 exf3 20.exf3 tLl d 3
f3! Black wins the exchange. The best

i: I
for White seems to be 1 9 .J:!:afr
J:!:xf2 20.J:!:xfz J:!:f8 2 r . � f3 ! exf3
22·81! � X81 23 .exf3 � e3 with
.t i
perhaps a minimal edge for Black.

:i .i �
i i i
i �8 i ii'
8 ttJ � .t i i i
8 8 8 26 ... �xa2 27 . J:!:a 1 �e2 2B.J:!:e1
i 8� �a2 29.J:1a1
8 �� 8 �8 i Draw agreed.
U U \t> 8 ttJ �
8 ii' 8 8 Games like this bring great joy
1 5 ... tLlf6 to the eternally cheerful Yuda­
I s . . . �e3+ 1 6 . W h l tLlf2+ 1 7 Jh f2
8 � 'i¥ 8 U � 8 sin, who later found himself at
� Xf2 J 8. �d2 f.j. 1 9 . tLl C2 and the U \t> the center of the tournament's
door clamps shut on the queen. one minor controversy. Blame it
1 6.dxe6 �e3 + 1 UU2? 1 B.tLlxf5! ! Amazing! Bareev gives o n the reduction of prizes. Not
White has a strong position with­ a full rook with check. only did the first prize drop from
out risk after q . <;¥;>h l , though af­ 1 8 . fx q tLlg4 1 9 . J:!: f I tLl x fz 20. $30,000 to $20,000, but half of the
ter 1 7 . . . g6 1 8. �C I � xc r r 9 .�xc I J:!:xf2 fxC4 was not an option. twenty place prizes disappeared

P H I LA D E L P H I A NEW iN CHESS 81
as well . Though there were few­ drawing, and Yudasin seemed to all these years living in ew York,
er high scores than usual, every­ answer in the affirmative. shouldn't Yudasin have learned
one understood before the last day The next morni ng, Yu dasin the word 'withdraw' by now?
that six points would receive vir­ could not find his name o n the
tually nothing, especially after the pairing chart, and was surprised 'Are these guys really a hundred
deducted $200 GM entry fee. So to find out why. So the staff need­ points better than me?' Fedorow­
when grandmasters started drop­ ed to find an opponent for him, icz mused. 'I still seem to be able
ping out, the directors took it in and eventually settled on Rob­ to make a draw with them. '
stride. ert Lau, a teenager from Hawaii. Indeed , w e are a l l adj usting to
Chris Bird did a fine job coor­ Lau's opponent in the under-2.j.oo seeing the teenagers Robert Hess
dinating the use of the MonRoi section had forfeited , and the and Alex Lenderman so high on
devices and game display, but he young man was up for a free game the wallchart. Hess did not re­
wishes he never spoke to Yudasin with a grandmaster. The fou r peat his recent successes, though
after the seventh round. Bird in­ hundred-point differential, need­ he did play the following curious
quired about Yudasin's game. Yu­ less to say, was a lot greater than game.
dasin told him it was a draw, but Yudasin could have expected with
Bird thought he heard 'withdraw'. his proper pairing. 81 4 1 . 6 - 840
Yudasin had four '12 points, still But Lau didn't roll over, and Robert Hess
in contention for, as i t t urned Yudasin had to sweat o u t an Yuri Lapshun
out, third place. Bird thought it a eighty-move queen ending to win. Philadelphia 2009 (4)
bit strange to drop out, but then I n the last round Yudasin played
again Fedorowicz had left the Georgi Kacheishvili, this time 1 .e4 c5 Vbf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.
tournament with the same score with black. Wouldn't you know tLlxd4 tLlf6 5.tLlc3 iVb6
(Fed, however, had a put in for a it? Another queen ending, another I've seen many forms of an early
last round bye). So Bird asked Yu­ win for Yudasin, and a tie for third . . . iVb6 in the Sicilian, but never
dasin to confirm that he was with- place. Still, I have to wonder, after this one. It turns out to have been

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82 NEW iN CHESS P H I LA D E L P H I A
played nearly one hundred times gauntlet of grandmasters, includ­ Philadelphia 2009
to date. Often White plays it safe ing Mi khalevski, Gareev, Najer,
with 6. ttJ b3. Fedorowicz, and Ramirez, to score 1 Nakamura IGM USA 2 7 1 0 1
6.e5 �c5 6-3 . In the last round, Gareev 2 Najer IGM RUS 2663
And here 7 . �e3 ttJ d S 8 . ttJ x d S workcd hard to try to haul in a de­ 3 Kamsky IGM USA 2 7 1 7 6%
e x d S i s most comm o n . That cent prize, but Lenderman j ust 4 Smirin IGM ISR 2650 6%
doesn't look too impressive for shufAed his pieces for 82 moves. 5 Stocek IGM CZE 2584 6%
Black either, but there have been Title first, money later. 6 Akobian IGM USA 2626 6%
some successes for the second A fter the last round, Alex was 1 Yudasin IGM ISR 2554 6%
player. coaxed into repeating his celebra­ 8 Ehlvest IGM USA 2614 6
7 .ttJdb5! tion from the Copper State I nter­ 9 Mikhalevski IGM ISR 2631 6
national . I recommend the read­ 10 Gareev IGM UZ8 2603 6
ers search YouTube for a clip of 11 Lenderman 1M USA 2504 6
the Lenderman dance, a quite re­ 12 Kudrin IGM USA 2578 6
markable cross between break­ 13 Perelshteyn IGM USA 2534 6
dancing and falling' down. 14 Bareev IGM USA 2634 6
15 Potkin IGM RUS 2 6 1 9 5%
Jerry Hanken has played in and 1 6 Shulman IGM USA 2648 5%
reported on the World Open for 11 Kacheishvili IGM GEO 2606 5%
many years, and is something of 18 Ramirez IGM CRC 2547 5%
an unofficial mascot. He managed 19 Ivanov IGM USA 2527 5%
to prod uce a pretty spectacular 20 Kraai IGM USA 2498 5%
game against a young and strong 21 Zapata IGM COL 2523 5%
This game is only the third ex­ opponent. 22 Sharavdorj IGM MGL 2430 5%
ample of 7 . ttJ dbS I could find, but 23 Gerzhoy 1M CAN 2409 5%
they have all been blowout wins ED 49.3 - A30 24 Hungaski 1M USA 2401 5%
for White. Jerry Hanken 25 Hess IGM USA 2560 5
7 ... a6 Daniel Yeager 26 Shabalov IGM USA 2580 5
Lapsh u n at least avoid s going Philadelphia 2009 (7) 21 Robson 1M USA 2491 5
down in Aames: 7 ... �xfz+ 8. W e2 28 Stopa 1M POL 2471 5
ttJ g.j. 9.h3 ttJ xeS I o. � d6 ttJbc6 I ! . 1 .c4 c5 2.g3 g6 3.�g2 �g7 4.e3 29 Gurevich IGM USA 2485 5
ttJq+ �d8 I 2 .jLgS+ f6 1 3 · ttJ xe6+ d 6 5.ttJe2 ttJc6 6.ttJbc3 e5 7 .0- 30 Bhat IGM USA 2473 5
�e8 q . ttJ xg7+ W f7 1 5 · � xf6+ o ttJge7 BJ:1b1 0-0 9.d3 �e6 1 0. 98 players, 9 rounds
W g8 1 6 ttJ h S ttJ d .j. + T 7 . W x f2
. ttJd5 l:rbB 1 1 .h3 a6 1 2.f4 b5 1 3.b3
ttJ e6+ r 8.jLe3 � xb2 T9. �e7 1 -0, �xd5 1 4.cxd5 ttJ b4 1 5.e4 ttJxa2
Zenklusen-Bozinovic, Bie1 2007. 1 6.�d2 a5 1 7 .15 f6 1 B.h4 ttJb4 33.�xh6 �xh6 34.�h5 �e7 35.
B.exf6 axb5 9.ttJe4 �a4 1 o.�f3 1 9.1:tf3 �aB 2o.fxg6 hxg6 21 .�h3 �c3 �h7 36.�f5 f 3 + 3 7 . �xf3
�xe4 + 1 1,'{i'xe4 �xf2 + 1 2.We2 a4 22.�e6 + 'it'h7 23.g4 a3 24.g5 �f7 3B.�xh6 + 'it'e7 39.�xg 5 +
�d4 1 3 .�e3 �xe3 1 4.fxg7 �gB fxg5 25.�h3 g4 26.�xg4 ttJgB 27. WfB 4o.�h1 Black resigned.
1 5 .�xe3 �c7 1 6.�d2 �xg7 1 7 . h5 g5 2B.h6 ttJxh6 29.'it'g2 �f4
� d 1 ttJ c 6 1 B.�c1 b 4 1 9 .�b1 3o.ttJxf4 exf4 3 1 .�f5 + �gB 32. On a final note, I noticed that half
� e 5 2 0 . 'lWxe5 ttJxe5 2 1 . � d 4 �e6+ 'it'fB the teenagers in the tournament
�g4 22.�xg4 ttJxg4 23.�e2 ttJe3 listened to music d u ri n g their
24.�e1 b6 25.�f3 ttJc4 26.�c1 games (though not, conspicuous­
f5 27 .g4 fxg4 2B.�xg4 �b7 29. ly, Lenderman, Hess, or Robson).
�h5 + �e7 3o.�f1 �e4 31 .�e2 I'm guessing this is an American
ttJe3 32.�f4 �xc2 3 3.�f3 ttJf5
34.Wxc2 ttJ d 4 + 3 5 .wd3 ttJxf3
I. .i phenomenon, and thus FIDE has
had no reason to consider the is­
36.�xf3 d5 37 .We3 h6 3B.h3
1. 1. 8 sue. With all the concern about
Black resigned. ,. 8 1. electronic cheating these days
1. 8 8 (some of the devices are also cell
Lenderman, on the other hand, .i phones), perhaps the rules, at least
continued his hot streak, earn­
11 'iY in the U. S., should address this -i
_

ing his final GM norm. He ran a ma tter. _

P H I LA D E L P H I A NEW iN CHESS 83
 This year's American

Continental

Championship was held

in Sao Paulo, the largest

city of the American

continent. With 268

players, including 27

GMs and 30 IMs, it

was by far the strongest

Swiss tournament

ever held in Brazil. In

absolute numbers it was

a record, as FIDE had

allowed the participation

of many low-rated and

even unrated players,

a decision that was not

welcomed by everybody.

On the other hand, with

such a contingent of

players, tough competition Shabalov and

Corrales
prevailed till the very last

round, and the GMs had

no easy life. If in previous

Shared First in
editions 8 1/2, or even 8,

points out of I I (Cali

Sao Paulo
2007) were needed to get

the trophy, this year the

winners, Alex Shabalov

and Fidel Corrales, had he stage of the battles was Sao so Villares de Freitas, managed to
to score an impressive 9
TPaulo's Chess Club, located in create some light at the end of the
a four-storey building in the heart tunnel. In a proactive initiative,
points to share the highest of the city. In 2005 the club cel­ the club started a social project
ebrated its I Ooth anniversary. A t in Heliopolis, a slum in the sOllth
prizes. Brazilian GM
that time it was already experienc­ area of the city, with the sponsor­
Giovanni Vescovi ing financial difficulties and things ship of Semp Toshiba. The times
didn't improve much till this year, when people would gather for a
reports.
when its new President, Mr. Cel- few chess games at the end of the

84 NEW iN CHFSS SAO PAU LO

day have gone - especially in big Kramnik, Amber 2009, deserves I was very tempted to grab this
cities like Sao Paulo or New York attention. pIece.
- and with the existence of the B.d5 ttJd4
Internet it is not very likely that Here my opponent had a long
these good old days will retur n . think, but I believe that other op­
Therefore, such out-of-the-club tions are worse. Now we have a
initiatives may become a necessary more or less forced continuation.
solution for non-profit organiza­ 9.ttJxd4 exd4 1 0.a3 il.a5 1 1 .b4
tions like chess clubs. dxc3 1 2.bxa5

!. .t 'i¥ !. �
The first round was scheduled
to start at 2 p.m . on a rainy and
cold Saturday July 25th but, as
� � � � � �
usual, the traditional Latin Amer­
ican two-hour delay tired and an­ � �
noyed many players. The bad f::, f::, 1 B.�d4
weather was not exactly what first­ f::, £3:, A fter another l e n gthy t h i n k I
time visitors had hoped for, so it f::, �� was sure that after I S . fxg4 �xg4
was not such a bad thing that Sao 1 9 . W d 2 J:!: e S 2 0 . � d 4 'iY h 6 +
Paulo is famous for its night l i fe
'iY f::, £3:, f::, 2 I . WC3 J:!: x q 2 2 . 'iY x e4 J:!: f3 +
and gastronomy. While waiting for a: � � a: 2 3 · � x f3 �xf3 2 4 · J:!: h e l B lack
the games to start, the members of would have no problems.
the U. S. delegation kept telling me 1 2 ... ttJg4!? 1B ... ttJf6 1 9.0-0-0 ttJxe4 20.fxe4
about their experience at the chur­ An interesting idea. More usual �g2 21 .J:!:hg1
rascaria, a typical Brazilian grill is I 2 . . . c6. During the game I was An interesting but hard-to-assess
house, where basically you take a very optimistic about my position: alternative was 2 I . J:!:h fl !? � xfl
seat and the waiter keeps bringing an extra pawn and the bishop pair. 22.J:!:xfl J:!:xfl + 23 .Wd2 J:!:f7 24.cS.
as much meat as you want. A para­ But it turned out to be more com­ 21 ...�xh2
dise for sinners. plicated than that. Here my opponent offered me a
Basically, the tournament had 1 3.�xc3?! draw. I still believe that White has
three phases. The first leg was Careless. Actually, I hadn't seen better development and more ac­
dominated by Brazilian GM Al­ my opponent's idea of a piece sac. tive pieces, but objectively speak­
exandr Fier, who started with 5 1 3 · f3 ttJ e5 1 4. 0-0 fS I S · � xc3 f4 ing, the position may be level.
wins, which in itself is not so im­ I 6.�e2 would probably have been 22.J:!:gf1 'iYh6 + 23.Wb1 J:!:xf1 24.
pressive, but becomes remarkable a more accurate move order, when J:!:xf1 �g6 25.Wa2 �h3 26.J:!:e1

�
if you consider that his fifth win I think I would have the u pper
was his 1 9th win in a row. Let's hand.
see a hard-fo u ght win against 13 ... f5 1 4.f3
� �
!. .t 'i¥ !. �
Venezuelan star GM Iturrizaga.
� 'i¥
f::, f::,
� � � � �
f::, .t
f::, W/ f::,
r--=
NOTES BY
�
Alexandr Fier f::,
f::, £3:, �
��
N1 24. 1 3 - E32 £3:, £3:, �
a:
Alexandr Fier
f::, 'iV � £3:,
Eduardo Iturrizaga
Sao Paulo 2009 (5)
£3:, f::, Whi te's plan is clear: to break
a: � � a: through with the e-pawn advance.
1 .d4 ttJf6 2 .c4 e6 3 .ttJc3 �b4 26...�g4!? 27 .c5 a6?!
4.'tlfc2 0-0 14 ... fxe4! A very interesting idea. An i m portant moment. Rybka
A first surprise, as I was expect­ I4 . . . ttJ eS transposes to the line doesn't mind playing the strange
ing 4 . . . d6. above. 1 5.�xe4 � h4 + ! 1 6.g3 2 7 · · .�g2 2 S . J:!:e2 � f3 2 9 . J:!:e3
5.e4 d6 6.�d3 ttJc6 7 .ttJe2 e5 �h3 1 7 .�b2 J:!:f7 �h I ) which could indeed be a
7 . . .�a5, as was played in Carlsen- Here I had to really rack my brain. good alternative.

SAO PAU LO NEW iN CHESS 85

 1
I
Ships
September 9
2009

With answers to urgent questions like:

• How did Alexander Motylev surprise in the heavily-analysed Anti-Moscow Slav?
• Why does Anish Giri prefer the English Attack to the Keres Attack?
• Is Anand busted in the Poisoned Pawn Variation?
• Why doesn't Andrey Volokitin trust Rybka in the Evans Gambit?
• Does Rombaldoni's 13.�b6 sound the death knell for the Exchange Griinfeld?
• Is Fischer's move ...�c4 also a good weapon in the 6.�g5 Najdorf?
• Is the Catalan-like 6.g3 the move of the future against the Chebanenko Slav?
• What bizarre move is the latest craze against the Perenyi Attack?
• With what move does Caruana like to stir up the Exchange Alekhine?
• What is Viktor Moskalenko's try at a refutation of the Benko Gambit?
• Can Black attack in the KI with 9 . . ttJe8, the move picked up by Radjabov?
.

• Can White take on b7 in the Marshall Petroff?

• Does Pavel Elianov's move-ordering line cause Black enough trouble in the
Blackbume QGD?
• How unpleasant a surprise is 3.ttJbd2 against lovers of the King's and the
Gri.infeld Indian?
• Are Black's problems over in the Capablanca Variation of the Reti Opening?
And much more ...
28.'iVb4! As usually happens with youn g
This is very unpleasant for Black. players in good form, they some­
Now White has a clear edge. times lose their sense of danger
2 8 . . . 'iY x g 3 2 9 . e x d 6 'iV x d 6 and spoil good tournaments after
30.'iYxb7 an unexpected defeat. For Fier the
Now q-eS is coming, and Black turning point came in Round 6.
has to watch out for J:!.gr as well.
30 .. .l:U8 31 .11g1 g6 32.'iYb3 i.e8
33.'iYe3 Wf7

�
.t .I

tv
, ,
, ,
b b •
b
b �
Milos-Fier
�� position after 31 .J:H5
a:
The early leader, Alexandr Fier. Black had been pressing through­
34Jlh1 !? It is important to weak­ out the game, but now White cor­
en the g-pawn. and White can hope for more rectly sacrifices a pawn to create
34 ... h5 35J:H1 + We8 36Jbf8 + agaIn. enough counterplay.
'iYxf8 37 .'iYxe7 i.d7 38.'iYb6?! 46 ... 'iYe7 + 47.Wb3 'iYh7 48.il4! 32.We4! J:rf2
Here I missed a good opportu­ Not afraid of ghosts. On 32 . . . l::t f4+ W h i te continues
nity: 38.'iYb8+! Wh (if 3 8 . . . We7 48 ... 'iYd3 + 49.Wa2 'lIUxd 5 + 3 3 ·<.t>es ll h4 3 4 · J:!. d3
·

39·'iVeS+ W d8 40. i. d4) 39.'iYeS, .j.9 · · · 'iV q + S O . W a 3 'iY x b 4 + 3 3 . J:r d 6 llxe2 + 34.'It>f5 J:rf2 +
and the g-pawn falls with check. 5 I . Wxb.j. i s a n easy win . 35.We5 h5 36.11h6
38 ... 'iYf1 5 0 . W il 3 'iY d 3 + 5 1 .it.. e 3 We6

�
Now Black has some counter­ 5 2 . a xb 5 + ilxb5 5 3 . 'iY a 5 W b 7
play, not to mention my m i l d
time-trouble.
54.'iVb4 We6 55.'iYb3
, .I.
3 9 . 'iY x g 6 + W d 8 4 0 . 'iY b 6 + , a:
We8 41 .'iYe5 + Wb7 42.e5 i.b5 b � , .I.
43.Wb3 b
b b
.I

36 ... h4?
Fier's play is driven by emotion.
He i s still trying to w i n . Now
55 ...'iYe4?? Black i s probably lost by force.
My opponent s uccumbs to the Typical self-destruction.
pressure. I t is hard to say whether 36 . . . g.j., with a draw, was sounder.
White is winning or not. I was ex­ 3 7 . l:l h 7 + w d 8 B a d i s 37 . . .
43 ... 'iYd1 + pecting SS . . . 'iY d s S 6 . 'iYC2 'iYc S + J:rf7 ? ? 3 8 . l::!. x f7 + Wxf7 3 9 · W fS ,
43 . . . h4!! leads to a draw, as White S7·Wb2. a n d White w i n s . 38.11xb7 llf3
cannot improve his position. 56.'iYxe4+ bxe4 57.it.. d 2 3 9 . 11xa7 llxh3 40.Wd6 lld3 +
44.Wb4! 'iYa4 + 45.We3 'iYxa5 + Black resigned. 41 .Wxe6 h3 42.11h7 g4 43.b5 g3
46.'iYb4 44.11xh3 We7 45.J:rh1 11xa3 46.b6
Now there is no perpetual check llb3 47.b7 Black resigned.

SAO PAU LO NEW iN CHESS 87

A fter this lucky win the tourna­
ment saw a new, and fully moti­
vated, leader. The second leg was
dominated by Milos. With a better
opening choice and sounder prac­
tical decisions, Milos could have
finished off Ehlvest and Shabalov
in Rounds S and 9. This is how he
let Shabalov off the hook.

NOTES BY

Gilberto Milos

S1 1 8 . 6 - 878
Gilberto Milos
Alex Shabalov
Sao Paulo 2009 (9)
The second leg was dominated by Gilberto Milos 11.1. The Brazilian grandmaster
1 .e4 c5 V Llf3 d6 3 . d4 cxd4 4. spoiled his chances in Round 9 when he let Alex Shabalov off the hook.
ttJxd4 ttJf6 5.ttJc3 g6
I usually play 6.�e2 here, but I To control the f6-square in case Goddess Caissa doesn't forgive
felt he was prepared for this and Black plays . . . ttJ xg4. 19 ...ttJd5 missed opportunities. The punish­

i. i.
decided to change. ment was immediate, and Round
6.�e3 �g7 7 .f3 0-0 �A 1 0 saw the last turning point in the
This was a surprise. Recently he standings. A tired Milos failed to
i A i
had been playing ... h s here, and I put up a stubborn enough defence
had some ideas against this move. � i i i� against the very practical Cuban
B.�d2 ttJc6 9.�c4 �d7 1 0.0-0- i � GM Fidel Corrales.
o l:icB 1 1 .�b3 ttJe5 1 2.'lt>b1 l:ieB � lLl � �
� lLl � To win such a tournament a play­
I � 8 �
er must have stamina, self-confi­
dence and, of course, some luck.
i i � a: 'if 1:[ For instance, this happened in the
game of the tournament winner
20.exd5 against the very talented 1 4-year­
I spent all my time analysing 20. old Peruvian 1M Jorge Corio

.i �
ttJ ce2 ttJ de3 2 I . � h3 ttJ xd I 2 2 .
�e3 ! , w h i c h i s winn ing. I d i d .i �
n o t play it in view of 22 . . . ttJ d2+,
A � iAi
but the simple 2 3 .WC 1 ttJ xb3 +
24.Wxd I is winning for White. i i i �i
I was on my own by now, with­ 20 ...�xd4 2UI:Vh3 ttJxb2 22.l:ixd4 i
out theoretical knowledge, but the My last chance for an advantage 8 �
main ideas are simple. was 22.dxe6! �xe6 23·l:ixd4 �xd4 8 lLl
1 3.�h6 �hB 24· ttJ xbS � hS 2 S .�gS � xh3 26.
� lLl 8 � 8
1 3 · ··�xh6 14.'iV xh6 l:ixc3 I s .bxc3 l:ixh3 fS 27· ttJ xd6 ttJ C4 2S. ttJ XCS.
as is the main line and probably 22 ... �xd4 23.�c1 Now it is too 1:[ � � 1:[ � �
Black's best option. late for the same idea as above. A f­ Cori-Shabalov
1 4.h4 Now Black cannot play ter 2 3 .dxe6 Black keeps the bal­ position after 1 2 .. ,e5
... h s . 1 4. . .ttJc4 1 5.�d3 b5 1 6.h5 ance with 23 . . . l:ixe6 ! . 23 .. Jbc3
�b6 Or 1 6 ... ttJ xhs 1 7 . g4 ttJ f6 I S . 24.�h7 + WfB 2 5.�h6 + We7 White plays a few natural and
ttJ dxbs, with a better position for 26.�g5 + WfB Draw. careless moves, just to find out
White. that the pressure on e4 is quite
1 7 .hxg6 hxg6 1 B.g4 e6 1 9.�f1 ! unpleasant.

88 NEW iN CHESS SAO PAULO

1 3.�b2?! I 3 .dS is about equal. 1 8 .. :�xe8 1 9.tLlxd4 �e5 6 ... tLlxd4
1 3 ... exd4 1 4.�xd4 l::!. e 8 1 5.'ifc2?! And White resigned. A I 9-move This move has the reputation of a
tLlc5 1 6 .e5 tLlg4 1 7 .exd6 �xd4 win with the black pieces is a good solid defence, based on the game
sign. Radjabov-Pe l l etier, Biel zo06.
However, i t does not e q ualize
A group of six players scored 8'/2 completely.
points. As there were only s i x 6 . . . a6 seems to be the only other
qualifying spots for the Wor l d choice (6. . . �b4? 7 .tLlbS �b8 8.a3
Cup i n Khanty-Mansiysk, a �e7 9.eS was terrible in Vachier­
round-robin rapid tie-breaker Lagrave-Novi kov, B u n d e s l i g a
took place, and although there is Z007/08, a n d 6 . . . d6 doesn't make
always some tension in this kind too much sense after 7.tLlxc6).
of situation, what we saw was the Now White has a few pleasant
dominance of the more experi­ choices: the complicated 7 .�e3
enced players. At 3 a.m. Granda, bS 8.�d3 (Smirin's choice. 8.�ez
1 8.l::!. xe8 + ?? Milos, Flores and Ivanov stamped or even 8.'iff3 ! ? are good ways to
White would have a clea r ad­ their passports to Russia. deviate) 8 . . .i.b7 9.'ifdz tLlf6 I o.es
vantage a fter I 8 . tLl x d 4 l::!. x e I tLlg4 I r .�gI tLlxd4 I z .�xd4 �cS
( I 8 . . . 'ifxd6 is the best option . Let's finish with two games select­ I 3 .�ez, eventuall y with a better
Black has a pleasant position, al­ ed by the winners. endgame for White in Smirin-J.
though after I 9.tLl4f3 there are no Polgar, Israel blitz z009.
fireworks) I 9 . l::!. x e I tLl x h z ? ! zo. NOTES BY And the 'simple' 7 .tLl xc6. After
b4! tLl xfr Z I .bxcS bxcS Z Z .tLl4b3 Alex Shabalov 7 . . . 'ifxc6 (in response to 7 . . . bxc6,
tLlxdz Z3.'iYxdz. White has a bunch of good lines:
SI 40.3 - 847 8 .�d3, 8.es or even 8.'iYez ! ? ) 8.
Sao Paulo 2009 Alex Shabalov �d3 bS 9·'ifez �b7 I O.�dz �cs
Felipe EI Debs I 1 . 0-0-0 tLlq a critical position of
1 Shabalov IGM USA 2580 9 Sao Paulo 2009 (6) this line arises.
2 Corrales IGM CU8 2602 9 7. 'ifxd4 a6 8.�e3 b5 9.0-0-0 �b 7
3 Milos IGM BRA 2589 ay. 1 .e4 c5 2.tLlf3 e6 3 . d4 cxd4 4. 1 0.�d3 l::!. c 8 1 1 .'lt>b1

K
4 Flores IGM ARG 2587 a% tLlxd4 tLlc6 5.tLlc3 �c7
5 Granda IGM PER 2647 ay. � .i. � K
6 RiDS 1M CHI 2482 a%
.i. 'i¥ i i i i
1 Friedel IGM USA 2547 ay.
a Ivanov IGM USA 2527 a%
i i
9 Felgaer IGM ARG 2564 a i
1 0 Iturrizaga IGM VEN 2555 a
1 1 Fier IGM BRA 2604 a
12 Mareco 1M ARG 251 5 a
13 Vescovi IGM BRA 2631 a
14 Cori FM PER 2424 a
15 Hernandez IGM CU8 2573 a
1 6 Blanco 1M VEN 2361 8 1 1 ... 'ifc5
11 Ehlvest IGM USA 261 4 lV. 6.f4 This is the keystone of Black's de­
18 Lafuente IGM ARG 2562 1% I was quite surprised to find out fensive strategy. I r . . . tLle7 fails to
1 9 Leitao IGM BRA 261 0 1% that this move i s not j ust a seri­ I z .�xbS, and I l . . . tLl f6 leads to
20 Barrientos 1M COl 2474 1% ous alternative to the mainstream a grim position after I z .es tLl d S
21 Zapata IGM COL 2523 1% 6.�e3 or 6.�ez, but a whole new 1 3 · tLl e4 tLl x e 3 I 4· 'if x e 3 �xe4
22 EI Debs 1M BRA 2467 1% 'subculture' (new for me at least) l S .'iYxe4, with an attack for free
23 Tsuboi FM BRA 2399 lY. led by Michael Adams and Ilya for White.
24 Liascovich 1M ARG 2444 lY. Smirin. Also, at least visually, I pre­ 1 2 .l::!. h e1
25 Kudrin IGM USA 2578 lY. fer the resulting positions here to Technically speaking, this is a nov­
268 players, 1 1 rounds the uncontrollable mess of Moro­ elty. Radjabov went for the far more
zevich's I I . . .tLle8 in the �e3 line. conceptual I Z . 'ifXCS �XcS 1 3 .

SAO PAU LO NEW iN CHESS 89

.ixcs �xcs q ..es, but the strong ttJq �b7 2 1 . �d3 .ibS) I 9 · · ·$..b 4 31 ... �a2 + 32.<;t>b3 �xg2 33.�a1
I4 . . . fS ! kept Black in the game, 20.�e2, followed by 2 1 .'i:t>b2, 22. �e7 34.�xa6 �d7 35.�a7 + <;;t> d 8
which eventually ended in an ex­ C3, etc.
citing draw. But Yannick men­ 19 ... .ie6?! This loses, but Black's
tioned this move in his comments, position is already very unpleasant
of course: 'White gains time with anyway. 19 . . . jLb4 is met by 20.C3
the exchangcs, but Black keeps his fie? 2 1 . <;;t>C 2.
dark-squared bishop. After: 20.$.. g 3 �b7 21 .ttJe4 �b5 22.�b3
1 2...'iVxd4 13.$..xd4 ttJe7 22.�C3! was even stronger.
his position is satisfactory.' 22 ... .ie6 23.�f3 $.. b 4 24.e3 jLe7

.A
25.fxe6 fxe6

A , ,. , , ,
� �

, , 'A "
• :i

, A ,
1_ '
�
36.$.. e 7 +
36.�a8+ <;t>d7 37.J:i:h8 h6 38.�g8
(38.�h7 jLf8) 38 . . . g5 39.�h8 �C2
ttJ 8 .j.o.c5 would have won a pawn, but
8 :a: � I did not want to block my bishop.
Now Black misses a nice chance to
8 8 8 punish my indecisiveness.
� :a: 36 ... �e8 37 .�e5 '>t>d8 38. '>t>e4
14.a4! This ncw version of Radja­ h5 39.�d4 �d2 + 40.�e3 jLg5 +
bov's idea is another test of Black's 26.ttJa5!? 41 .�f4 $..x f4+ 42.<i:t>xf4 �xh2 43.
set-up, which Felipe did not pass White doesn't want to deal �xg7
in this gamc. 14 ... ttJe6 q . . . b.j. w i t h the possible opposite-col­
would soon sec the white knight ou red bishop issuc, but obj ec­

, ,
on b3 and leave the problcm of the tively speaking, 26.ttJd6+ jLxd6
d7 pawn unresolved. 27 . .ixd6 �b6 28. �cS J:i:bs 29.b.j.
1 5.$.. f 2 bxa4 It was too late to W d 8 3 0 . C4 �b7 3 T .lIa3 would
change his mind. J S . . . b4 runs into have won faster.
I 6.ttJclS. 1 6.ttJxa4 ttJb4 26 ... �b5 2 7 .ttJxe6 dxe6 28. <i:t>e2
Going after the two bishops is a �a5 29.�d1?
correct defensive idea, but it wid­ This inexplicable waste of tempo
ens the gap in development. complicates White's win.
1 7 .ttJb6 ttJxd3 1 8.�xd3 lIe 7 29.b.j. �a2+ 30.�b3 �Xg2 3 1 .�a l

.A
was the game, with an extra tempo

A� '
� for Whitc. 43 ... �e2?
29 ... �f8 30.�xf8 + �xf8 Felipc makcs good my terrible
i i '
pre-control play.
, ttJ , .j.3 . . . �h3 would draw the game:
44· �g3 e s + ! (the m ove I had
misscd) 4S.<i:t>f3 J:.th r .
44.�g3 h4 45.�h3
Now it is all over. . . again.
45 ... <i:t>e7 46.�e5 �e1 47 .�xh4
�xe3 48.�h7 + '>t>f8 49Jlb7 �h3
Or 49 . . . CS so.bS �b3 S I . �xe6 q
19.f5! 52.e5 C3 5 3 ·�f6 <i:t>g8 5.J.. e 6 C2 5 5 .
The most straightforward op­ �C7 �xb5 56. �XC2 �b6 57·�c8+
tion. White could have also built �h7 S8.<;;t>f7, and White wins.
up slowly with 1 9 . b3 (the tricky 31 .b4?! Again I missed the nice 50.<it>d6 e5 51 .�xe6 �d3 52.b5
I 9 .�b3, with the idea 20.ttJa8!, 3 1 . �C7 �a4 32.�e I , threatening <;;t> e8 53.b6
docsn't exactly work: T 9 . . . $..c6 20. to trap the rook with <;t>b3. Black resigned.

90 NEW 1N CH� SAO PAU LO

 20.l:rd3 ttJ XC2 2 1 . l:r C I looked in­
teresting for White.
20 ... �xd5 21.�xf5 �xc2?
Better was 2 I . . . g6! 22. � f� �xb4
23·�d3 f5, and Black still holds.

i: *
.t i i i
i L-
i .t t!:, if
t!:, �
� t2J
t!:, 'i¥ � � t!:,
I�
M�

22.ttJd4?!
S t r o n g e r was 2 2 . �d 3 ! , e . g.
Collecting an impressive 9 points from 11 rounds, Cuban grandmaster 22.. .�c6 23 .ttJd4 �b7 2+e6 ttJf6
Fidel Corrales became American Continental co-champion. 2 S · exf7+ �xf7 26·�gS �f8 2 7 ·
ttJe6+, with a clear advantage for
NOTES BY 14.�e1 White.
Fidel Corrales q.fS does not work, in vie\\' of the 22...�c7 23.e6
strong reply q . . . ttJq! (after q . . . Now 23 .�d3 runs into 23 . . . g6!
FR 4,4 - C1 1 ttJ x e S ? I S · ttJ xeS � xes 1 6 .�d4 24· �h3 �xb4, and Black is fine.
Fidel Corrales �C7 1 7 · f6 White is clearly better) 23 ... ttJf6 24.�f3 �c4 25.exf7 +
Julio Granda I S . ttJXq dxq, with an advantage Julio accepts an endgame with a
Sao Paulo 2009 (8) for Black. rook and a bishop for the queen,
14 ... l:racB with some compensation.
1 .e4 e6 Putting the rook on a good fi le. 2 5 ... �xf7 26.l:rc1 �xc1 + 2 7 .
A surprise! I never expected Gran­ 1 5.�g3 l:rfdB �xc1 l:rxc1 + 2B.�f2 �xb4
da to play the French against me. Better was I S . . . ttJq 1 6 . ttJ xe4
2.d4 d5 3.tt:J c 3 ttJf6 4.e5 ttJfd7 5. dxq q .ttJd2 l:rfd8 1 8.C3 ttJaS 1 9· *
f4 c5 6.ttJf3 ttJc6 7 .�e3 a6 B.�d2 fS exfs 20. l:r xfS �C5 2 I .b4, with
.t i i
b5 9.�e2 �e7 1 0.0-0 0-0 an unclear position.

'it'
So far everything is very natural. 1 6.f5 exf5 17 .ttJxd5 llxd5 i �
1 1 .a3 After 1 7 .. ·ttJq 1 8.ttJXC7 ttJ xg3 1 9 . i
Or r r , ttJ d r ! ? b4 T 2 , ttJ f2 as 1 3 . hxg3 l:rxC7 20.�b6 White has the .t ttJ
ttJ d 3 ( I 3 . dxcS) 1 3 . , q q , ttJ f2 ,
. initiative. �

E
with good play for White.
11 ... �b7 1 2.dxc5 ttJxc5 1 3.l:rad1
t!:, � t!:, t!:,
i: *
�c7
.t 'i¥ .t i i i
i � 29.ttJc6!
i � i: t!:, i A very important move.
29 ... �e1 +
29 . . �f8 was better, but probably
.

not enough after 30. �c8.

30.'lt>e3 c;t>hB 31 .ttJe5 �gB 32.g4!
h6 33.ttJg6+ Wh7 34.h4 �a2 35.
ttJe5 + 'It>gB 36.ttJd3 l:rb1 37.g5
1 B.l:rxd5! ttJe4 1 9.�f4 ttJb4 20.
axb4
�g3
Black resigned. =1
SAO PAU LO NEW iN CH� 91
 Beyond the I l l usion
of 'Talent'

I n the summer of 2002, after a

hard day's analysis, I was intro­
d uced to the film Amadeus, con­
and Carlsen, all of whom seemed
to move between accurate varia­
tions, sophisticated j ud gements
cation that we are 'destined' to pur­
sue, our lives would suddenly take
off. Less mystically, perhaps we
cerning Salieri's murderous envy and effective decisions with supe­ also need the idea of talent to feel
of Mozart. I watched it alone in rior grace and fluency. Somewhat that the gaps in ability we see in the
Artur Jussupow's home in south­ like Salieri with Mozart, I feel close world are not our responsibility. If
ern Germany, where I was staying enough to these elite players to rec­ some people are 'just' better than
for a week to improve my calcula­ ognize just how far away I am. others at certain things, then there
tion. My delightful hosts had gone W hen I think about such ex­ is nothing we can do about it.
to a parents evening at a school periences, I am reminded of lines
nearby, and Amadeus was the only from the song 'The Whole of the Outliers: The Story oJ Success
English-language film in the house Moon' by The Waterboys: by Malcolm Gladwell (Penguin)
to keep me out of trouble. Before is another runaway bestseller from
leaving, Artur remarked that the J spoke about wings. Youjustjlew. one of America's greatest living
theme of the movie, the inequali­ J IlJondered, J guess that J tried. You storytellers. At the risk of over­
ty of talent, was a very important just knew. simplifying, G ladwell suggests
one, especially for chess players. that success is not primarily a mat­
For those who haven't seen it, Beautiful lyrics, and resonant of ter of talent, but more a question
the plot concerns the competent the idea that talent is not distrib­ of luck and available opportunities,
and erstwhile esteemed composer, uted equally, but there are unex­ in particular when and where you
Antonio Salieri, who is consumed amined assumptions i n the use are born and the expectations and
by resentment at the unmistaka­ of 'just' in these lines, similar to resources of the people around you
ble chasm between Mozart's blos­ 'he'sjust a better player', 'he'sjlls! (if Anand's family hadn't moved
soming musical genius, which he more talented' . Our tendency to to the Philippines soon after the
craves, and his own mere ability, use ' j ust' on such matters is re­ Kortchnoi-Karpov match . . . i f
which looks mediocre by compar­ lated to the fact that people seem Fischer didn't play in the context
ison . The story is told retrospec­ to be rather attached to the idea of of the Cold War. . . if Carlsen hadn't
tively by Salieri, from an insane talent, and resist strongly when met Agdestein, etc etc).
asylum. you try to reduce it to other fac­ For instance, he points to ev­
tors, like parental support, cul­ idence showing that in certain
The Mozart/Salieri story, however tural context, available opportuni­ sports the dates of birth of major
apocryphal, reminds us to be care­ ties, or hard work. It seems that we stars are not evenly distributed, as
ful when comparing ourselves to l1Jal1t some people to have extraor­ one might expect, but are heavily
others. I have never felt envy with dinary innate talent. skewed towards the first part of the
such intensity, but I do know the It is comforting to think that we year. So if you are born in January
feeling of coming into contact with are all born to do or be something or February, you are more likely to
somebody who does what I love to in particular, and this is perhaps succeed in certain sports than if
do well, only seemingly much easi­ why many speak of 'finding them­ you are born in September or Oc­
er, and several orders of magnitude selves' rather than 'creating them­ tober. This curious fact has noth­
better. I have felt this way when an­ selves'. Perhaps we cling to the idea ing to do with astrology, and every­
alysing with, for instance, Moroze­ of talent because we need to believe thing to do with the cut-off dates
vich, Grischuk, Adams, Aronian, that if we could find the elusive vo- for different age group categories.

92 NEW iN CHESS ROWSON'S REVIEWS

 If you are relatively old for your some people j ust have a 'natural' you know again and again, because
age group, you are likely to be a aptitude for mathematics, or mu­ there is a huge difference between
bit more mature and physically sic or chess? This point contains having ten years of experience and
stronger so you will generally out­ some truth, but a lot depends on having one year of experience re­
perform the relatively young mem­ how you define 'talent'. If we take peated ten times! In this respect
bers of your group. You might as­ it to mean 'natural endowment' or the expression 'practice makes
sume they would simply catch up, something that cannot be learnt, perfect' has a lot to answer for. It
but it's not that simple because talent is much less significant than is more accurate to say that prac­
there are 'multiplier effects' i.e. you might think. As Gladwell in­ tice makes permanent, in the sense
small initial differences that grow dicates: 'The closer psychologists that we tend to settle for whatever
at compound interest. The slight­ look at the careers of the gifted, works for us, even if it is not actu­
ly older kids are more likely to be ally the very best we can do.
selected for teams, more likely to
get coaching, more likely to travel This idea of deliberate practice
to interesting events, and so they is fleshed out in detail in anoth­
improve much q uicker. As Glad­ O u t l i e rs er book about talent: Ta lent is
well puts it: 'The small initial ad­ e Overrated: Wha t Really Sepa­
vantage that the child born in the rates Wo rld Class Perform ers
early part of the year has over the from Everybody Else by Geoff
child born at the end of the year Colvin ( Nicholas Brealey Pub­
persists. It locks children into pat­ lishing). Deliberate practice ba­
terns of achievement and undera­ sically means practicing the hard
chievement, encouragement and Outliers: The Story of Success bits, spending hour after hour, day
discouragement, that stretch on Malcolm Gladwell after day, trying to do the things
and on for years.' you can't quite do yet. A medio­
I don't know how well this age­ the smaller the role innate talent cre figure skater is happy with her
related point applies to chess, but it seems to play and the bigger role double loop j ump and does it over
should at least open up a different preparation seems to play.' and over to feel good about her­
way of thinking about early chess 'Preparation' is a word familiar self, but a world class skater tries
development. With respect to age, to chess players, but it is becom­ assiduously to master the triple
G ladwell argues that ' teachers ing clearer that it is not merely a loop, even though i t inevitably
are confusing maturity with abil­ matter of hours of application. As means that her bum lands on cold
ity', which may often be the case Gladwell puts it: 'Practice isn't the hard ice several times a day!
with young chess players too. So thing you do once you are good . Similarly, a weak chess player
the first major point is that we are I t's the thing you do that makes rehearses the opening trap that has
guilty of personalizing success, of you good.' worked several times before, while
imagining that it is all about incli­ Studies of expertise suggest that a strong player tries to overcome
vidual giftedness and application, it takes approximately ten years, or the most stubborn responses to
when much of it is related to so­ ten thousand hours of practice to his favourite lines, even if it means
cietal structures and demographic become an expert in a field, but it 'working harder for a smaller ad­
fortune: 'We make rules that frus­ is generally practice of a very par­ vantage', as Tibor Karolyi in NeJl)
trate achievement. We premature­ ticular kind. The expression used In Chess Yearbook 74 described
ly write off people as failures. We to describe the work you need to White's task in the main line Slav.
are too much in awe of those who do is 'deliberate practice', which Colvin uses Tiger Woods and
succeed and far too dismissive of amounts to trying hard to do what Mozart as examples of people we
those who fai l . And, most of all, you cannot currently do. assume to be massively 'talented',
we become much too passive. We but who turn out to have received
overlook j ust how large a role we Deliberate practice is not mere­ at least as much from father nur­
all play - and by "we" I mean so­ ly osmosis, of hanging around ture as mother nature. Mozart's
ciety - in determining who makes the chessboard of stronger play­ father Leopold was a highly com­
it and who doesn't.' ers and hoping to somehow im­ petent composer and a renowned
bibe rating points from the air like music teacher who ed ucated his
And yet, s u rely individual tal­ some sort of plant. son at home and trained him in­
ent is stil l a major factor? Surely Nor is it about repeating what tensively in music from the age of

ROWSON'S R EVI EWS NEW iN CHESS 93

three. Tiger Woods was taught to in gyms like 'If it's not hurting, it's to work things out, and going be­
play golf at the age of tmo. He had not working' or 'No pain, no gain'. yond what feels easy.
professional trainers by the age In a physical sense these sayings
of fOllr. His father, Earl Woods, may not be true, but the spirit is Computers are the reason that ten
supported his career intensely so correct. In Chess for Zebras I sug­ years are no longer necessary to
that by the time Woods won The gest that 'improvement begins at acquire chess expertise, and why
Masters at the age of twenty-one the edge of your comfort zone' the world top one hundred looks
he already had much more than and I think this is a good way to increasingly youthful. They also
ten thousand hours of deliberate think about it, because your chal­ make deliberate practice easier in
practice under his belt. lenge should be difficult but at­ three main ways: first, computers
It certainly helps that Ti ger tainable. It is the edge for a reason. make finding challenging oppo­
Woods and Mozart had a passion nents easier, even if it is largely in
for their chosen work, but as most My experience of workin g with the form of online blitz, second­
chess players are all too aware, ]ussupow was certainly deliberate ly, they make information readi­
many are passionate without being practice, and involved solving po­ ly available in one place that was
any good! Woods and Mozart only sitions that were j ust slightly be­ previously distributed over hun­
got good because of their contin­ yond me for hours on end. It was dreds of books and magazines, and
ued deliberate practice, which was painful to see that I could barely thirdly, and probably most impor­
only possible because they had calculate beyond a three-move ra­ tantly, feedback from analysis en­
enormous levels of emotional and dius without blundering, and yet gines, though certainly imperfect,
financial support . In this respect, largely because of this experi­ is nonetheless h u gely usefu l in
attributing their success to 'talent' ence of stretching myself I gained improving the efficiency of work,
does violence to language. about fifty ratin g points soon af­ thereby correcting errors that
Deliberate practice is the equiv­ terwards. In all cases, regardless of might otherwise have gone un­
alent of the kinds of macho moti­ the phase of the game, what mat­ detected, and hastening improve­
vational signs you sometimes see ters is that you are forcing yourself ment. Rybka may lack charm, in-

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94 NEW iN CHESS ROWSON'S REVIEWS

sight and reassuring eye contact, so because they have opportuni­ means tak i n g a pro-active ap­
but when it comes to the murky ties to swiftly experience the fruits proach to their growth and de­
waters of chess, the 'little fish' cer­ of their labour. velopmen t. When I read this I
tainly knows holY to swim. thought of Magnus Carlsen's fam­
Many feel that to become a strong ily arranging for him to have time
Having a human coach or trainer chess player you also have to have off school, and travelling around
also makes deliberate practice eas­ an excellent memory and a high the world as a group.
ier, because you are more likely to IQ, but Gladwell argues that in al­
be challenged and stretched be­ most all spheres, there are thresh­ Finally, and perhaps most specula­
yond your comfort zone, but more olds for memory and intelligence, tively, Gladwell seems to think that
generally it means you have to be which means you merely ha\'e to success is also partly due to what
willing to make lots of mistakes be 'intelligent enough' to keep im- he calls 'cultural legacies', which
is a set of behaviours and attitudes
that are deep-rooted in a culture
Ifyou sense that the boring work across generations. On this ac­
count, countries with a good chess
will take you to exciting places, tradition are more likely to produce
good players, not merely because
the boredom is subsumed by chess continues to be esteemed and
supported, but because people are
the excitement. more likely to have the right kinds
of temperament and character to
succeed in games that their cul­
tures have endorsed over the years.
and feel confused on a regular ba­ proving, and beyond that differ­
sis. It doesn't sound like much fun ences in intelligence won't corre­ So when you take away demo­
though. late with chess ability. I find this graphic fortune, deliberate prac­
point quite compelling, which is tice, opportunities to gain feed­
So why do people do it? This is one of many reasons why Jonathan back, social and parental support
where your level of opportunity Levitt's talent equation (Elo rating and cultural legacies, what is left
and the multipl ier effect comes approximately equals IQ mul ti­ of talent?
in again, because we are typically plied by ten, plus a thousand), cited I suggest that talent is j ust the
motivated to do deliberate prac­ in his book Gellills ill Chess, strikes word we usc for learning process­
tice when we can quickly see its me as an engaging provocation, but es that we don't adequately under­
positive effect. I f you work really also completely misguided. stand. Our 'natural endowment'
hard to learn a new opening and does circumscribe how well we
then have a chance to win with Gladwell also makes a strong case can learn, and how likely we are
that opening, ) our motivation for the fact that although we like to make the most of our opportu­
to deepen your u n derstanding to believe in the solitary genius, nities, but there is never any con­
of that opening increases. If you railing against the system , ver) vincing way to separate out nature
sense that the boring work will few people actually make it on and nurture in this way, so talent
. .
take you to exciting places, the their own . Most have forms of remal1ls an e111gma.
boredom is subsumed by the ex­ support, whether friends, family Perhaps we simply want to say
citement. On a related point, the or financial. Fischer comes imme­ that talent is what superstars like
e\'idence suggests that most high diately to mind as a counter-exam­ Carlsen or Nakamura or Karjakin
achievers eventually reach a point ple, but he did have some helpers have? And yet if you look closely at
where they begin to feel their de­ on the way, and to the extent that the biographies of such talents you
liberate practice is intrinsically re­ he succeeded by himself, this may will invariably find many essential
warding; no longer a means to an have been why his success proved factors that have nothing to do with
end, but an end in itself. to be sadly short-lived. 'talent', including supportive par­
So Gladwel l ' s second main ents, quite a few lucky breaks, and
point is that so-called 'young tal­ Gladwell also speaks of the 'con­ a gritty process called deliberate
ents' do lots of deliberate practice, certed cultivation' shown by par­ practice. As Forest Gump might �
and they remain motivated to do ents of successful children, which put it, talent is as talent does. �

ROWSON'S REVIEWS NEW iN CHESS 95

 Giri i n the footsteps
of Tal and Fischer

I .i .i �
saw the motif for the first time in l:!:bB 23.l:!:h1 l:!:b7 24.l:!:h6!
Tal-Mohrlock, Varna 1 962. A beautifu l move to increase the
pressure against the enemy king. .t � .t 1 1 1
24 ... Wf7 25J:{h4 �b6 1 1 1
Looking for counterplay. One of
8
the suggestions of the computer is
2 s . · .es 26.ttJfS Wg8, which looks
� 8 8
very risky, although I do not see a ttJ ii 8 ii
direct refutation. 8 8 'if
26.ttJd1 �c7 27.f4 �M M
Giri-Brandenburg, Dieren 2009
position after 1 8 . . . tilb4

Tal-Mohrlock, Varna 1 962 1 9.96!

position after 14 ... b5 N o more than in Tal-Mohrlock
is this one of the five first moves
Black's play has been hesitant in indicated by the computer. But
this Rauzer Variation, allowing White should hurry, because after,
White to break open the kingside for example, 1 9 .hS �a5 20. W b r
with a pawn sacrifice. l:!:ac8 h e would b e forced t o defend
1 5.g6! first. And incidentally, the pawn
This was played for the first time sacrifice is far stronger in this sit­
by Tal in a training game against 27 ... h6? The decisive error. Black uation, because all White's pieces
Koblentz in 1 957. Black took the should have withdrawn his king are now fully deployed.
pawn with his h-pawn, after which with 27 . . . Wg8. Now White has no 1 9 ... hxg6 20.h5

.i .i �
White could start an attack. I an­ way of launching a decisive attack,
notated this rather unknown game as witness the following variation:
in New In Chess 1 992 / 5 . 28.es ttJdS 29· �h3 C3 30.b3 g6 3 1 .
1 5 ... fxg6 1 6.h5 gxh5 1 Ulxh5 ttJf6 ttJxe6 �g7! ! (the only defence) 32.
.t � .t 1 1
1 8J:tg5 ttJe5 ttJxg7 jLxh3 33 .l:!:xh3 jLxg7, and 1 1 1 1
Afterwards Tal indicated 1 8 . . . b4 the endgame is roughly equal. 8
as better, intending to meet 1 9. After the text the white rook gets � 8
ttJa4 with 1 9 . . J1b8. This chang­ a terrific foothold on g6, which ttJ ii 8 ii
es the character of the play, since makes the rest of the attack a piece
White cannot now deploy both his of cake.
8 8 'if
knights in his attack. 2B.l:!:g6 l:!:eB 29.f5 e5 3 0 . ttJ c 3 �M :g
1 9:tlYg2 �fB 20.�e2 � d B 31 .ttJc6 And Black resigned.
The first new move. In Spassky­ 20 ... �f6
Boleslavsky, Soviet Championship Fast forward to almost 50 years Black is looking for a counterat­
Riga 1 958, White had played 20.f4, later: I s-year-old Anish Giri i s tack, but this idea is summarily
which is slightly more committal. following in t h e footprints of the refuted. Alternatives were:
20 ... ttJc4 21 .jLxc4 bxc4 22.ttJd4 young Spassky and Tal. A) 20 . . . gxhS . It goes without

96 NEW iN CHESS JAN TIMMAN

saying that accepting the second White. His first threat is 26.J:i.dh2, tions. After the text everything be­
pawn sac is too risky, although the and mate, while 25 ... �f6 is met by comes a lot more prosaic.
computer does approve of it initial­ 26.gxf7 + J:i.xf7 27 .J:i.xc2, and the 21 .hxg6 �xc3 A miscalculation,
ly. The refutation is interesting and white king is completely safe. But but even after 2 I . . . J:i. feS 22.gxf7+
thematic: White now plays 21 .�d4, would 2S.J:i.h2 not be equally strong Wxf7 2 3 .�d4 White would be
and now both 2 I . ..g5 and 2 I . . .es are then? The answer is no, because better. 22.�xe6! Winning in all
met by the beautiful bishop move then Black can escape with 25 . . . lines. 22...J:i.fb8 After 22 . . . �xb2+
22.�f5 ! . The attack strikes home; ltJa3!, e.g. 26.gxf7+ J:i.xf7 27.bxa3 23.Wxb2 Black is finished as well.
B) 20 .. .'�Va5. Clearly the best dS, and now, after 2S.�d4, Black 2 3 . J:i. h 8 + P layed for the gal­
move. 2 I .Wbl would now run into has the counter-check 2S . . . �g5 + . lery, as they say. The prosaic 2 3 .
2 I .. .gS, which would seriously slow With the rook on d2, he does not gxf7+ WfS 24.bxc3 was also more
down the white action on the king­ have this option; than enough. 23 ... Wxh8 24.i.xf7
side. The main line now continues B 2 ) 2 2 " . � f6 2 3 . C3 ltJ a 2 + �xb 2 + 25.Wb1 Black resigned.
as follows: 2 J .hxg6 'lWa I + 22.ttJ b l , 24.WC2 J:i.abS 2 5 . Wd 3 ! . The king It is mate in six.
and now the play forks again: moves up the board to escape
from the black attack. The threat This was Giri's third victory in
is 26.�xe6, but Black can still go the Open D utch Championship,
for a counter-attack with 2 s . . . as, but it wasn't the last of the series:
threatening a devastating check in Rounds 4 and S he beat Erwin
on a6. What now follows is a prob­ l'Ami and Nijboer, two important
lem move: rivals for the title.
Giri himself has annotated his
:i �� game against I' Ami.

1. 1 1
1 1 1. b NOTES BY

ANALYSIS DIAGRAM 1 Anish Giri

8
There are times that I am very b W� 8 � QI 7 6 - E1 7
happy with the existence of such Anish Giri
strong computer programs. I n
�b 'iY Erwin l'Ami
former years, it would have been � ttJ n n Dieren 2009 [4)
exceedingly d i fficult to analyse ANALYSIS DIAGRAM

such a sharp position properly. I started the tournament with five

These days, the computer imme­ 26.�b6! ! . Vacating square e 3 for wins in a row, although in the sec­
diately throws up the most magnif­ the king, while at the same time ond round I was totally outplayed
icent combinations. blocking the b-file, which means and only a blunder of my oppo­
B I ) 22 . . . J:i.aeS 23 . .ixe6! J:i.xc2+ that the white attack strikes home nent helped me to win . However,
24·'lWXC2 ltJXC2, first, although the variations re­ after the rest day my next four
main interesting. Black's best de­ rounds were not convincing at all.
fence is 26 . . . J:i.feS, vacating square I agreed a draw i n both Games 6
f8 for the king. After 2 7 . gxf7 + and 7. In that sixth game I was
Wxf7 2S.We3! White has the an­ only slightly worse w i th white,
noying threat of 29. ltJ a3, winning whereas in Game 7 I was possibly
a piece. Play might continue with lost towards the end. In the pen­
2S . . . ltJCI 29.ltJa3! (stronger than ultimate round, I lost against F M
29.J:i.XC I i.a6 30. ltJ a3 'lWa2, with M iedema. Things w e n t totally
some counter-chances) 29 . . . i.a6 wrong, beginning with my prepa­
30.J:i.xd6, and wins. ration and ending with all my mis­
It i s a pity that Brandenburg calculations. My last game was a
ANALYSIS DIAGRAM did not play 20 .. .'it'as, because it comedy of errors as wel l . After
would have been interesting to see good preparation I easily achieved
and now the surprising rook move whether Giri would have found a winning position with black, but
25 .J:i.d2! leads to great advantage for his way in the ensuing com plica- then, in my opponent's time-trou-

JAN TIMMAN NEW iN CHESS 97

ble, I totally misplayed the posi­ 7 Jle1 !? 8 . <1:Jh.j.! c6 9 · cxdS <1:JxdS I o . <1:J fS
tion and had to look for some tiny Not the main move, but in my <1:Jq I I .q dS, with a complicat­
chances in a drawn queen ending. opinion the most ambitious one. ed position and chances for both
Luckily my opponent made a mis­ In this game I was looking for a sides.
take, and with precise play I fin­ fight, so this choice was very logi­ 7 . . d5
.

ished in shared second place. I am cal. The idea of 7 . l:t e r is that first The main move. Black tries to ex­
quite happy with this result, espe­ of all it is a useful semi-waiting ploit the position of 7 . l:t e l , since
cially considering the great play move and secondly, White already that rook will not be all that useful
of the winner, who had 7/8, with has the threat of playing 8 . <1:Jc3 there in the positions now arising.
only a loss to me. I was also very <1:Jq 9. � d3! (or 9.<1:JgS ! ?), and af­ 8.cxd5
pleased to get invited to the closed ter 9 . . . <1:J xc3 then r o .<1:Jgs! gives Here 8.<1:Jc3 would not be so pre­
Dutch championship, and I am White an advantage, because ro . . . cise - even though Keres himself
looking forward to it. <1:Jxe2+ doesn't work here d u e to played it against Botvinnik in 1 938
1 .d4 <1:Jf6 2.c4 e6 3.<1:Jf3 b6 4.g3 J r . l:t xe2, which is only possible - because of 8 . . . dxq!.
�b7 5.�g2 �e7 6.0-0 0-0 with the rook on e r . 8...exd5 9.<1:Jc3
I have already made a couple of

.i � iV J: � draws after the main continuation

7.<1:Jc3· Now 7 . . . <1:JC4, fighting for
i .t i i .t i i i
the q-square, gives Black a rock
I_ i i� sol id position, as 8 . <1:J g S ? <1:J xc3
9 . � d3 doesn't work here due to i
88 9· . . <1:Jxe2 + ! . 8
7 . d S i s another try, w h i c h was ttJ
quite popular in the old days, but
modern players know how to neu­
88 8 8 Ji 8
tralize White's initiative: 7 . . . exdS :r Ji � :r �

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98 NEW iN CIUSS JAN TIMMAN

9 ... ttJe4!? I n this posi tion T 2 .ttJxe4 i s not Now I will exchange my rath­
A rare and very strong move, strong at all, because of 1 2 . . . dxq e r useless bishop for the black
which took me out of my prepa­ r 3 .�xdS J:txdS q.ttJgS J:!:eS!, and knight, which was heading to e4.
ration . It is actually q uite a logi­ Black is quite OK. 1 5 ... ..Q.e1 ?!
cal move and was found by Erwin 12 ... ttJxc3 1 3.bxc3 A positionally good, but tactically
(who was quite surprisingly out of bad move.
book already after 7 . J:!:e I ) over the The only move I considered was
board. 1 5 . . . h6 r 6 . ..Q.xf6 'if x f6, and here
9 . . . CS, 9 . . . ttJ a6 and 9 . . . ttJ bd7 were I have a simple plan: r ) double
the moves I knew. rooks on the d-file; 2) provoke
1 0 . ..Q.f4 .. ·gS by playing ttJ e2!-f-l; 3 ) re­
A typical move for this line, which turn my knight, try to exploit the
I made without much thinking. weakness of Black's kingside, and
However, I O. �C2 is slightly more attack the d S pawn.
common - even Vladimir Kram­ In mo\'es it looks like this: J 7 . �b3
nik played it back in 1 995. J:!: a d S [ S . J:!: a d [ l:!: d 7 1 9 . J:t d 3
10 ... c5 J:!: fdS 20J1ed l � es 2 r .ttJe2! gS
Black continues his aetive play in 1 3 ...ttJd7 22.ttJd-l! .
the centre, and what is important I n this structure White should be 1 S . ..Q.xfS?!
is that his knight on bS is still flex­ slightly better, as somehow it is Of course I saw the correct and
ible, as it can go to c6 or d7 (de­ easier to protect the C3 pawn than natural move [ 6. ttJ fS ! , but having
pending on the circumstances). Black's dS pawn, and the C3 pawn something like 30--l0 minutes for
This flexibility of the knight is ba­ is also of much less importance. 2-l moves I decided not to go for
sically the whole idea behind 9 . . . With his last move, Black wants to the complications: r 6. ttJ fs ! l:l cS!?
ttJq!. solve all his problems with the ma­ ( 1 6 . . . h6 1 7 .ttJxq+ � xq JS . ..Q.xf6
noeuvre . . . ttJ f6-q, making both �xf6 1 9.q! was the first move I
White's bishops look stupid. missed) J 7 . � a4! (I saw this idea,
1 4.ttJd4 but only connected to stuff like
I spent really a lot of time to find I S. � h-l, 1 9 . f-l, etc.) 17 .. ·a6
the right plan, which was to play
i i r s .� g s ! right a fter the black
8 "� knight gets to f6.

8 8
t2J t2J 8 1 4 ... ttJfS
I was a bit worried about the very,
8 8�8 very ugly move [ 4 . . . h6, because
tr 'iV tr � then I can no longer play my I S .
..IigS. But obviously q . . . h6 can't
1 1 .dxc5 be good, as it not only loses a tem­
Here I thought for a long time, po but also creates a weakness. Af­
trying to decide between r I .dxc5 ter r S .ttJb3! White is better, as he
and 1 r .J:!:c r . answers I S . . . gS with [ 6.ttJxC5, and ANALYSIS DIAGRAM

1 1 .J:!.C I was a decent alternative: the bishop will go to d6 or es.

I I . . .ttJC6!' ( r r . . . ttJd7 or I I . . . ttJa6 1 5 . ..Q.g5! T S .'tlYd-l ! . This w a s t h e second

would transpose to 9 . . . ttJd7 or move I missed . The idea is that,

i i i-
9 . . . ttJa6 respectively) 1 2 . d xcS ! � 'iV :I � haying provoked . . . a6, I can now

,.
ttJxC3 ( I 2 . . . �XCS ?! T 3 .ttJxq! - the attack the b6 pawn in some lines.
i 1.
move I missed in my calculations Ile re Black has nothing better
- f 3 . . . d xq q.ttJgS, with an ad­ I
i than to suffer in the endgame aris­
vantage for White) 1 3 . J:!:xC3 (the 1. i � ing after [ S . . . h6 1 9·ttJxq+ �XC7

8 8
i dea behind [ I .J:!:C I ) 1 3 . . . bxc S ! , t2J 20 . ..Q.xf6 'tlYxf6 2 1 . � x f6 gxf6 22.
and White i s probably better, al­ 8 J:!:eb l bs 23 ·a-l ..Q.c6 2+axbS ..Q.xbS
though Black will get play with a 2 S ·..Q.xdS J:!:xC3 26 . ..Q.b7 ..Q.d3 ! 27·
8 8�8 J:!:b4 l:!:q 2 S . ..Q.xa6 J:!:aS 29Jib,q
well-timed . . . d-l!.
1 1 .....Iixc5 1 2.e3 tr 'iV tr � J:!:xa6 (29 . . . ..Q.C2 is another pos-

JAN TIMMAN NEW iN CHESS 99

sibility) 30. l::!. x a6 � xa6 3 1 . J:!.xa6 21 .�b2 I
�g7, and whether this i s lost or 2 1 . � b I ! was a bit more precise. I: �
not, we should ask someone like Now 2 1 . .. a6 was the move I was i i i
Dvoretsky. scared of, but after 22. �b2! I get a 'iV .t
1 6 .....bf6 1 UWb3 large advantage. i if
Now, with the bishop on f6, Black 21 ... �xd4
has some counterplay against the 2 I . . .axb6 is less precise because of
�
C3 pawn with .. J Ic8-c5, etc. On 22. �xb6. �
the other hand, now the b6 pawn 22.exd4 nc2! I: 8��
becomes vulnerable after a4-a5 ! . A usefu l i n te r m e d i a te move, n n�
1 7 ... l::!. c8 provi n g that 2 1 . � b r was more
Here Erwin offered a draw, but I accurate.
had the feeling that I could play 23.�b1 axb6 26.l:i:ac1
on without risk, and secondly I 26. �b I was another tricky move
played 7 . J:re r not to agree a draw t h a t I c o n s i d e re d : 26 . . . � d 3
on move 17 ©. (26 . . . �g6 i s more natural but less
precise: 27.J:ras J:rd2 28. �b4!, and
the dS pawn falls) 27 .l:!.as �d 2 .
This move was the reason I didn't
play 26. �b l . The position is OK
for Black here.
26 ... J:rxc1 26 . . . l::!. c 8 2 7 . �h 3 ! and
26 . . J:re8 27. �b I were lines I cal­
culated with pleasure.
27 .J:rxc1 �d7! I had totally missed
24.�xb6 this idea of transferring the bish­
24. l::!. a 7 is the move the compu­ op to e6. 28.l::!. e1 Luckily enough r
ter likes, but it merely leads to a still had some ideas left.
18.a4! !tc5 draw after 24 . . . l:!.c6 2 S .�xdS l:!.q 28...�e6 29JIe5 �d3
I was a bit worried about 1 8 . . . 26. 11xb7 lhb7 2 7 ·�xb7 � xb7
� C7 ! ? A fter 1 9.ttJbS ( I 9·J:lec I ! ' 28. �b5 g6 29·dS �C7 ! .
I didn't like because o f 1 9 . . . � xd4 24. �h 3 ! ? was an interesting move
20.exd4 � d7, although after 2 1 . I considered during the game, but
as! b S 22.a6! � c6 23.l::!.e r White is after 24 . . . � c3 2 5 . � fS l::!. d 2 26.
better) 19 . . . � d7 20.l::!.e d T White �xh7+ Wh8 27. � fS �c6! White
keeps some pressure, altho ugh can 't make any real progress, al­
Black is still solid. though there are still some ideas
1 9.a5 �c8 left here.
1 9 . . . ,iit,a 6!? was another possibil­ 24. J::t q l:i:q (24 . . . � a6! ?) 2 S . J:I eS
ity: 20.axb6 �C4! 2 1 .�b4 �xb6 J:tc6! is also harmless for Black.
22.� xb6 axb6 23.l:!.a7, and White 24 ... �f5 25.l:!.f1
is very slightly better. 2 S . f4- looked too scary, though 30.,iit,x d5 Finally I win the pawn!
20.axb6 llxc3 it was not so bad : 2 S . . . � c8 i s 30 ... ,iit, h 3 31 .l:!.e1 �d2
the w a y to pl ay, and Black i s B lack got some obvious coun­
if I: � fine. 2 5 . . . � d 3 ? ? 26. � xb7 � d2 terplay, but I knew that I always
2 7 . � xd 5 ! , defe n d i n g g2, was would have � b I if needed, so
i .t i i i
what I m issed i n my very very I went for this position without
� • .t brief consideration of the unnat­ thinking. But I like to look for
i ural 2 5 . f4. chances in marginally better po­
t2J 25...�c6 sitions (it gave me some points in
'iV 1: � � Black maybe had some more accu­ other games, too, by the way ©,
rate moves here, and later as well, e.g. my last game in this tourna­
��� but generally his only mistake was ment against the Indian player
n n � on move 37. Babu Lalith).

1 00 NEW iN CHESS JAN TIMMAN

 33 ... J:!.e1 + 34.�f1 ! The idea.

34 ... h6
Most probabl y 3{ . . . g6 was also
possible: 3 s . J:!. xe r 'I1lYxeI 36.'I1lYb8+
Wg7 37.'I1lYeS+ � xes 38.dxeS, and
again I miss Dvoretsky, but my
feeling tells me that it is a draw af­
ter 38 . . . f6 39.f{ fxes {o. fxes, and
then putting the pawns on gS, h6
and the king on C7 should be a
fortress.
35.l:Ixe1 Wixe1 36.�b8 + !? Just
for some future checks on d3 . . .
36 ... �h7 37 .'I1lYb5
This was what I saw when playing
32. J:!.b r . I didn't really care wheth­
er it was winning or not, but I was
j ust proud that I had found this
winning attempt ©.

At 15 Anish Giri is an incredibly strong player and

a wonderfully lucid and entertaining annotator.

32J�b1 This was the idea I found. The whole point. Now after the
32 .. J�e8 3 2 . . . J:!. c8 was the move I 'mate in three', 33 . . . J:!.e r + White
considered to be morc precise, but has 3+�fr ! , and Black still suffers
here I have 33.�C4! , keeping the from his back rank problems.
pawn, although Black is still fight­ 33 .'I1lYb8! ? was another tricky idea,
ing with his actiYe pieces. but I didn't really consider it, be­
cause I already had another idea:
33 . . . 11e8! is the way for Black to
play (33 . . . Wf8? 3{.'I1lYd6+ Wg8 37 ...Wg6?
3 S .'I1lYe7 ! ! was an idea suggested My opponent spent a lot of time
by last year's Open Dutch Cham­ during the last five moves, and
pion Ali Bitalzadeh during our af­ now he makes a blunder.
ter-the-game-analysis with Erwin. 37 . . . g 6 ! was the way to draw,
But 3S . . . �d r + ! is still possible, al­ which I saw only after I had played
though White remains a pawn up 37. � bS and calmed down: 38.dS
and is probably winning). 34.'iYf4 Wg7 39·d6 � XfI ! (39 . · ·'I1lYxfl + ' ?
'I1lYxf� 35.gxf{, and although White {O.'I1lYXfl �xfr { L d ? ! , a n d wins,
is a pawn up, looking at the position hehe . . . ) {O.'I1lYxfl 'I1lYXfI + { I . �XfI
33.�g2! I can't believe he can win it. Wf6, with a draw.

JAN TIMMAN NEW iN CHESS 1 01

38.�e2! fI will occur later again: -1-0 . . . Wf6 Here I suddenly realized that
I felt something should be there -1- I .'iVeS+ Wg6 42.llYfs mate. things are not that simple at all,
after 37 . . . Wg6, and I immediately 4D.�e6+ Wh7 41.�xf5+ because after the natural 43 . d S
saw the idea of g-1-! . Now I win the second pawn, and B l a c k has 43 . . . £. x f T H . � x fr
38 ...� c1 also got an extra hour. � d-1-, and I have to give up my
The only square not to exchange 41 ... <;t>h8 Otherwise, my q ueen dS pawn. But now it's time for 'g­
queens. goes to e2, protecting fI and g4. move number two'!

� �
& &
& &
'iY
� 8 � �
� .t .t .t

� �
'iY � � � � 8 �
�� � �� ��

39.g4!! 42.�b5! 43.g5!! �e6

Let's call it 'g-move number one'. I was very happy with this move Here I spent q uite a lot of time
Later you will see why ©. too. Now the g4 pawn is indirectly calculating things until the end.
39 .. .15 protected as after 42 . . . �xg4 I have 43 . . . � x fJ is a g a i n not w i t h
Basically the only move. 39 . . . �xfI -1-3 · �e8+ Wh7 44. � C4+, with a check . . . : 44. � e8+ Wh7 4 S · g 6
is not check . . . : -1-0. � e4+ ! . This nasty double attack. mate. This i s t h e whole point of
motif of ignoring the bishop on 42 ... 'iVa1 'g-move number two'.

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1 02 NEW iN CHESS JAN TlMMAN

-1-3 . . . g6 was the only move, as I saw over the board was 49 . gxh6 1 6.�g5
thought d u ri n g the game, but g x h 6 5 0 . d 7 ! �gS ( ot h e r w i s e The computer prefers r 6.g4 hxg3
I easi l y win h i s bishop with �bS+ and dS� ) S I .dS� ! ! �xdS r 7 .4Jxg3 g6 r S . h-1- in order to cre­
44·'tWeS+ <;t> g 7 ( o r H . . . <;t>h7 S 2 . � C 3 + ! Wh7 S 3 . �d 3 + , and ate counterplay on the kingside as
-1- s · 'tW h + '.ii h S -1- 6 . 'tW fS+ <;t> h 7 wins. Nice, isn't it?! quickly as possible.
-1-7 . 'tWx h 6 + '.ii gS -1-S . � xg6+ - 49.�d3 The point. Now Black 1 6 ... 4Jd7 !
hmm, let's pick it © 4S . . . Wf8
- has no check on g4.
-1- 9 . 'tW h 6 + WgS s o . � x h 3 , and Black resigned, as after 49 . . �f6.

wins) 4S · gxh6+ Wh7 46. � C7+ 50.d7 'tWdS S I .'tWd6 White is eas­
Wxh6 47. �e3+, and wins. ily winning.
44.d5
H . gxh6?! leads to an ending that i �
is not so clear in fact: 44 . . . � xd4 Against Nijboer, Giri showed that i 8 i
-1- 5 · � g5 � g4+ 46. � xg-1- � x M he can also attack with the black � 8 8
-1-7 . h xg7+ W x g 7 . I f Black man- pieces i n the Sicilian.
ages to give up his bishop for the
8 8 8 ttJ 'iV 8
f-pawn he draws, because White SI 40.2 - B4B � M M
has the 'wrong bishop'. Actually, Friso Nijboer
I saw a plan here for White, but Anish Giri And here Giri follows in Fischer's
I was not sure, because Black has Dieren 2009 (5) footsteps.
his own resources, and after all
I had an alternative on move 44. 1 .e4 c5 Vt:Jf3 e6 Vt:Jc3 4Jc6 4.
You probably already know who to d4 cxd4 5.4Jxd4 �c7 6.�e3 a6
ask about this endgame ©. 7 .'tWd2 4Jf6 8.0-0-0 �e7 9.f3 h5

:i :i
44 ...�g8 45.d6!
4S.gxh6 gives Black the g7-square .t. �
for his queen.
i 'iV i .t. i i
45...�d4 46.�d3! -

The queen behind the pawn, as in i � i�

rook endings.
46 ... �g4+ 47.'tWg3 'tWd4
And now the final trick . . . Matulovic-Fischer, Vinkovci 1 968
A fter 4 7 . . . 'iYd r I saw the nice trick position after 1 2 .. J:!bB
4 S . g x h 6 gxh6 4 9 . 'iY c3 + ! Wh7
so. �d3+, and wins. T here now fol lowed r 3 .�xC7
<;t>XC7!, and Black is better in view
.t. � A relatively new move thought up of his more solid pawn structure.
by Pia Cramling. Black prevents In the present game, too, Black
i
the white expansion on the king­ has such a solid structure that he
8 i side, but is now left with a prob­ can afford to keep his king in the
8 lem with his king. Giri will find an middle.
'iV interesting solution for this. 1 7 .�xe7 Wxe7 1 8.�e3
'iV 1 0.'tWf2 Too slow. Better was r S . f-1-.
It is doubtful whether this move is
8 8 really needed. I O.Wbr looks like a
�� good alternative.
10 ... d6 1 1 .h3 b5 1 2 .4Jxc6 �xc6
48.h3! 1 3 .i!.d3 Now White is threaten­
I was very happy with this move. ing Q.g4 after all. i
Although it is not the only way to 13 ... h4 14.Wb1 b4 1 5.4Je2 e5 i 8 i
win, it is the most convincing. Black has made many pawn moves, � 'iV 8 8
48 ... hxg5 but this is strategically j ustified, as
4S . . . �dS was the other move I the white minor pieces find it dif­
8 8 8 ttJ 8
considered, and now a nice line I ficult to get active. � M M

JAN T1MMAN NEW iN CHESS 1 03

 With the devastating threat of
H.l:i.b6, forcing Black to take the
b-pawn.
43 ... l:i.xb7 44.l:i.xb7 ttJxb7 45.�c7!

�
� !Jl � i i
�

i
i t::,
'i¥

t::,
t::, � t::,
�

Playing solid and effective chess, Erwin l'Ami won the Dutch Open. Black resigned . After .j.5 . . . 'tIYxc6
.j.6.dxc6 l:i.xd l .j.7 .cxb7 White re­
1 8 .. .'�Yc5! Black is not afraid Dieren, winning the event with a mains a piece up.
of the check o n g S · 1 9 ·'tIY g 5 + pretty high score. My rivals that
would simply b e met b y 1 9 . . . ttJf6. time were older masters, all of In this round, Giri played quite
1 9 .'/i'd2 ttJf6 2o.l:i.hf1 �e6 21 .f4 whom have long since died. Now hesitantly against Sipke Ernst.
a5 22.fxe5 dxe5 23.'tIYg5 A shot in I had to cross swords wi th excel­ He failed to create an advantage as
the dark. 23 ... l:i.h5! With the point lently prepared youngsters, but I White, so that the game ended in a
that White will lose his queen after was still highly motivated to re­ draw relatively quickly.
2.j..'tIYxg7 ttJe8 2S ·'tIYg8 f5 ! 26.'tIYg6 peat my success of decades ago. As a res u l t , the pairing for
�f7. 24.'tIYd2 l:i.d8 2 5.'tIYc1 a4 After Round 5 we had a rest day. Round 7 pitted the youngest par­
With simple means, Black has in­ I prepared conscientiously for my ticipant against the oldest one. A
creased the pressure to a decisive game against I konnikov, hoping herd of journalists had taken up
level. 26.l:i.f3 l:i.d6 27 .l:i.e1 "",f8 to meet Giri if I managed to beat position at the table at the start of
28.b3 ttJd7 29.l:i.ef1 f6 30. '/i'e1 him. Initially, everything went ac­ the game. I t is a long time since I
..t>f7 31 .l:i.g1 l:i.h8 And this rook is cording to plan. saw such a thing during a Dutch

i: �
deployed in the attack as well. 32. tournament.

� i i 'I-
g3 This counter-offensive comes � After Black's 25th move a criti­

�
too late. 32 ... l:i.c8 3 3.gxh4 axb3 cal moment arose.
8
34.'tIYg3 J:txd3 White resigned.

i 8
i i i
.t i: .t �
!Jl
-

�
And so Giri got to S out of S, a

!Jl i t::,
full point ahead of his rivals. The
Dutch press usually pays scant at­ 'lW t::,
!Jl
tention to the Open Dutch Cham­ ttJ
8 � t::,
t::,
pionship, because it is seen as just
� �
t::, t::,
one link in the open summer tour­
naments in Holland: Leiden, Die­ Timman-Ikonnikov, Oieren 2009
ren, Vlissingen. position after 41 .. J:lbB
8
Ir
This time, howe\'er, there was � �
no lack of attention, also from the If White were to swap his bishop Timman-Giri, Dieren 2009
national newspapers. The hero­ for the knight, the win would still position after 25 . . . l:tdB
ic exploits of the 1 5-year-old boy present him with some techni­
were made much of. cal problems, but I found a study­ Giri has sacrificcd a pawn in hopes
But the battle wasn't over yet. I like win in which the white bishop of acti\"e counterplay. I now played
was one of Giri's pursuers. It was plays a leading part. 26.ttJe3 ttJxf4 27 .gxf4 �d6 28.
39 years ago that I had played in 42.'tIYb6 l:i.ed8 43.'tIYc6! kc6 �xf4 29.l:i.c1 but after 29 ...

1 04 NEW iN CHESS JAN TIMMAN

 Dieren 2009 Yet B l a c k has good d ra w i n g I I o'clock in the morning. I had to
TPR chances after 2 9 . . ·.l:i.q 30.f3 �g7! think of Spassky, who used to con­
1 rAmi NED 2593 7% 2732 3 I .b3 �c3 32.l:!.e2 l:!.xd7l 33 ·.l:i.xd7 gratulate players on completing a
2 Giri NED 2 5 1 8 7 2689 .l:i. x f3 3 4 · l:!. e 8 + Wg7 3 S · .l:i. x fS tournamen t . The game against
3 Timman NED 2569 7 2624 �d I , and miraculously, White is l'Ami ended in a draw after 1 0
4 Miedema NED 2432 7 2673 unable to keep his b-pawn . This moves, which made l'Ami the de­
5 Brandenburg NED 2463 6% 2566 means that he must force a bishop served winner of the champion­
6 Ernst NED 2598 6% 2547 swap with 36.Wg2! �xb3 37.l:!.e3 ship. He played a solid and effec­
7 Dotes NED 2261 6% 2596 � d 5 + 38 .�e4, which leads to a tive kind of chess.
8 Lalith INO 2472 6 2496 technical position with practical
9 Visser NED 2464 6 2531 chances. M iedema made a draw not long
1 0 Ikonnikov RUS 2556 6 2497 after and d rew level for second
11 A.Vovk UKR 2506 6 2456 Because of my failure to win, the place. And Giri? Giri played the
12 Bitalzadeh NED 2434 6 2484 fight for first place was mainly a longest game of the tournament.
1 3 Burg NED 2422 6 2530 matter between Giri and I ' Ami He started by turning the screws
1 4 Bezemer NED 2332 6 2456 who, after his Round 4 loss, had on his opponent, but on the noto­
15 Nijboer NED 2552 5% 2447 won three games on the trot. rious 40th move he miscalculated.
1 6 Adhiban INO 2481 5% 2446 Round 8 brought a sensation:
17 Reinderman NED 2565 5% 2427 Giri, as White, lost to Roi Mie­
18 Swinkels NED 2 5 1 6 5V, 2433 dema, who generally gave a good
1 9 Wohl AUS 2387 5% 2506 account of himself in this tourna­
20 Pruijssers NED 2401 5% 2372 ment. L' Ami profited fully from
21 Van Delft NED 2360 5% 2483 this slip by defeating a blundering
22 Hoeksema NED 2309 5% 2397 Yge Visser.
23 Tondivar NED 2372 5% 2333
24 Karthikeyan INO 2478 5% 2354
25 Motoe ROU 231 5 5% 2297
26 Haast NED 2 1 58 5% 2393
27 Harini INO 1986 5% 2287 Lalith-Giri, Dieren 2009
28 V.Vovk UKR 2567 5 2433 position after 40.bxa3
93 players, 9 rounds
At this point Black could have re­
tained his advantage with .J.O . . .
. c6 30.dxc6 �d6 White had j ust �cS ·
too little advantage for the win. However, the play continued as
An interesting alternative was 26. Visser-I'Ami, Dieren 2009 follows:
d6. It looks as if Black now has an position after 31 . . . �xb6 4o .. :iYf3? 41.'iYc7 Wg7 42.'iYxb7
easy game after 26 . . . ttJxf4 27 .gxf4 Now White turns out to have suf­
g6, but he runs into a nice finesse: Black may be slightly better, but ficient counterplay, as .J.2 . . . �f2? is
28.d7 gxfS 29 J:te I , and the threat after 32.l:!.f3 White has sufficient met by .J.3.g4!, and White wins.
of 30. l:!.e8 is going to cost Black a play. But White now played 42 .. h5
.

rook. 32.ttJf3?? ttJd6 There is nothing better.

after which he could resign. 43.�xa7
At this point, Lalith o ffered a
I won my game as well, and had draw.
to play l'Ami with black in the last Objectively spea k i n g, n o t h i n g
round. I was half a point adrift, m u c h is happening in t h e queen
and a win would still make me the ending that now arises, but Giri
sole winner. showed the correct attitude by
'A d ream fi nal', the website refusing the offer and ending up
announced. victorious after I 17 moves, helped

his opponent. This result netted �

I did not agree. At 57 years of by a number of gross blunders by

.i.
age it is anything but easy to face
ANALYSIS D IAGRAM a strong and solid GM as Black at Giri a shared second place.

JAN TIMMAN NEW iN CHESS 1 05

 Rustam Kasimdzhanov

iJ.
J U S T
�
OATE

PLACE
E L O · R AT I N G ,

OF

OF
BIRTH,

BIRTH,
2672

December 5 , 1 979

Tashkent, Soviet Union

CHECKI NG
PLACE OF RESIOENCE, Ruppichteroth, Germany

What is yourJavourite colour? Who is yourJavourite chessplayer ojall time aud why?
Blue. Judit Polgar, for her courage.

What kind oJJood lIlakesyou happy? Is there a chess book that had a profound illjluCllce 011 YOIl?
Japanese. My System by A. Nimzowitsch.

Aud what driuk? What mas the most exciting chess game you 've ever seen?
Black tea. Johner-Nimzowitsch, Dresden I 926.

What llJaS the most interesting book you 've ever read? Do chess players have typical shortcomings?
Franny and Zooey by JD. Salinger and The Master oj We often tend to forget what reality is.
Go by Yasunari Kawabata.
Do you have any superstitions l'Ollcerning chess?
What is your all-time Javourite movie? I try not to.
Mulholland Dr. (200 1 ) directed by David Lynch.
What do you dislike 1II0st?
Wha t isyourJavourite TV series? Hearts ful l of hatred.
The Simpsons by a huge margin.
Who wouldyou like to be iJyou weren 't yourse((?
Do you have a Javourite actor? I wonder what it feels like to be Roger Federer ©.
Johnny Depp, especially unforgettable in Fear and
Loathing in Las Vegas . Is there something you 'd love to learn?
To do something very well besides chess.
And aJavourite actress?
Juliette Binoche. What is your greatestfear?
Fear.
What mllsil' do you like to listen to?
All kinds really, but I remember being deeply moved What mould you save from your hOllse ifit mere 011 jire?
by the 2nd movement of Beethoven's 7th Symphony . Once my family is safe, I might as well watch it burn.

Do you have aj(lVourite painter or artist? IJyou could l'hange one thi11g in the chess world, mhat
Canaletto. mould il be?
I would get myself invited to Melody Amber.
Who are the three greatest chess phUlers ojall time?
Capablanca, Fischer and Anand. Is a kllomledge ojchess usejid in everyday life?
The qualities we acquire playing chess - yes, they are
Wha t do yOll see as YOllr best result ever? very useful.
Tripoli 200.j..
Wha t is the best thing that IIJas ever said about chess?
What was the best game you 've ever played? Frank Marshall, after being one of the world's
Fritz-Kasimdzhanov, Bilbao 2005, ended in a draw strongest players for many years, once discovered
after a full-blooded fight. that 'chess is a difficult game'.

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