For past entries, please check out the Chess Blog archive.
As 2003 draws to a close, permit me to thank you all for your support here at Chess is Fun. Many of you have expressed your appreciation in the guestbook. I am heartened by your thoughts and I thank you for them.
Our web site statistics show a healthy web site. At the main Chess is Fun instructional site, more than 2,000 different users are requesting about 30,000 pages and more than 75,000 "hits" on average every day! And at our queensac site (the game archive, chess BLOG, chess stamp exhibit, and store), more than 1,200 different people are daily examining about 6,000 pages and generating on average 45,000 hits! It's clear here that chess really is fun ... and alive and well.
Of course, I also thank you for your purchases here during the year. Amazon, Chess House, and The Chess Piece are our chess partners. As many of you have discovered, they offer great prices on chess books, sets, clocks, and other merchandise (and really good service too). The small commission I receive helps to pay the bills here. Of course, this web site is still mostly a labor of love, but my family and I really do appreciate your support!
A special thank you to a kind gentleman from Sweden who noticed that our incorrect coding made it impossible for him to make a voluntary donation! This may explain why I've received no donations all year (smile). I've fixed the problem so, by all means feel free to contribute. Of course, there's no obligation, but every small $3 payment will help to keep the Chess BLOG and the free chess archive alive and kicking.
Finally, with the new year upon us, it's time for resolutions. Here, more of a hope to finally get a Chess is Fun message board up and running. It would be great to promote discussions on strategy, instruction, opening play, and so on and so forth. Anyone out there willing to volunteer some expertise to help make it go?
Happy New Year!
Jon Edwards (Chess is Fun)
In this age of computers, we chess players have come to expect that all new books are checked by a chess engine or two. Of course, such was not always the case. The classics of chess literature were analyzed by hand, and, while many contain errors of various sorts, I think of those errors as part of the charm.
One of the great classics of human analysis is Jan Timman's The Art of Chess Analysis. The Dutch GM was one of the world's strongest players during the 1970s and this collection of 24 games dates from that period. There are three games from the 1972 Fischer-Spassky match, four Timman games, and a slew from players such as Karpov, Spassky, Hort, Kortchnoi, and Portisch. More important than the great players and great games is Timman's readable analysis.
Here are all 24 of the games in the book and here are some quick notes on one of my favorites. In this game, a young Gary Kasparov essays a speculative attack. Is it sound? Even Kasparov didn't think so after the game, but his effort leaves us with a wonderful struggle and some great notes from Timman. As a small bonus, here are the games that were played in the same line after Kasparov introduced the new move. As you will see, the results are mixed.
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 a6 5.Nc3 Qc7 6.Be2 b5 7.Bf3 Bb7 8.0-0 Nc6 9.Nxc6 dxc6 Diagram
Mikhail Gurevich won the 1985 Soviet Championship on an interesting technicality. He tied for first place with Gavrikov and Chernin, and the organizers held a playoff. But all of the playoff games ended in a draw, and so Gurevich obtained first on tiebreak points. There were so many drawn games in the event that Gurevich won with only a +3 score (11-8). One competitor, Razuvayev, finished with 18 draws in 19 games!
Despite the plethora of draws, the chess was hard fought as the next game illustrates. Gurevich wins using a wonderful knight sacrifice that has few precedents. Here's the game and and are some similar games.
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.e3 0-0 5.Bd3 c5 6.a3 Bxc3+ 7.bxc3 Nc6 8.Ne2 d5 9.cxd5 exd5 10.0-0 b6 11.f3 Re8 12.Ra2 Na5 13.Ng3 Bb7 14.Re2 Rc8 15.Kh1 cxd4 16.cxd4 Nc4 17.e4 Nd7 18.e5 g6 19.f4 Qh4 20.Ref2 Rf8 Diagram
Born in 1911 in a small Polish village, Sammy Reshevsky played well enough to give simultaneous exhibitions throughout Europe (Berlin, Vienna, Paris, and London) at just 8 years of age. His chess was fantastic as the following game, played during that early tour, well demonstrates.
1.e4 e5 2.f4 exf4 3.Bc4 Be7 4.Nf3 Bh4+ 5.g3 fxg3 6.0-0 gxh2+ 7.Kh1 Nh6 8.d4 Qe7 9.Bxh6 gxh6 10.Ne5 Bf6 11.Qh5 Rf8 Diagram
Reshevsky went on to tour the United States for a year at the age of just 9. He drew huge crowds and and substantial interest to chess in America. He is also well known, of course, for winning the US Championship five times and holds what must be an unbeatable record: 76 consecutive tournament games without a loss!
I am pleased to have on my shelf Reshevsky's Best Games of Chess. The book is well out of print, but the games are timeless. Here they are.
On December 16, I mentioned two of Graham Burgess's books. His 1998 The Mammoth Book of THE WORLD's GREATEST CHESS GAMES may be the best of the three. I'm sorry to see that it is currently out of stock at Amazon, but check back later if you are interested.
How to select the 100 greatest games ever? Burgess, John Nunn, and John Emms selected 180 of the best games ever played... and then voted themselves on the best. Given the quality of the games and their annotations, I would love to see a book with the 80 games they decided not to include! The annotations are of high quality and, perhaps most important, like Burgess's other books, these are great values. This collection is available for under $12, a pretty good price for a 550+ page book!
Here are the 100 games they picked. I was pleased to see that the selection included THREE correspondence games including my favorite, the 5th World Championship game between Berliner and Estrin.
And here's one fun game from the volume with my quick annotations. It is interesting to see how Spassky energetically pressed the opening, but Petrosian, the great defender, held on and then pressed the counter-attack through Spassky's exposed kingside.
1.Nf3 Nf6 2.g3 g6 3.c4 Bg7 4.Bg2 0-0 5.0-0 Nc6 6.Nc3 d6 7.d4 a6 8.d5 Na5 9.Nd2 c5 10.Qc2 e5 11.b3 Ng4 12.e4 f5 13.exf5 gxf5 14.Nd1 b5 15.f3 e4 16.Bb2 exf3 17.Bxf3 Bxb2 18.Qxb2 Ne5 19.Be2 f4 20.gxf4 Bh3 21.Ne3 A strong exchange sacrifice [21.Rf2 Rxf4 22.Rxf4 Qg5+] 21...Bxf1 22.Rxf1 Ng6 23.Bg4 Nxf4 Diagram
The 1999 World Chess Championship in Las Vegas had a new knock-out format and a surprise winner, Russian Grandmaster Alexander Khalifman. Khlaifman had been competing successfully in the highest levels of chess for years so his win should not have come as a complete shock. He has a broad opening repertoire and a distinctive style, a willingness to sacrifice a pawn or more for long term positional compensation.
In 2000, Gennady Nesis wrote Khalifman: Life and Games, a book that includes 100 well annotated games. Here are most of the games in the book, and here is one of Khalifman's early efforts.
1.e4 c5 2.c3 d5 3.exd5 Qxd5 4.d4 e6 5.Nf3 Nf6 6.Bd3 Be7 7.0-0 0-0 8.c4 Qd7 9.dxc5 Rd8 10.Ne5 Qd4 11.Qe2 Nbd7 12.Nf3 Qg4 13.h3 Qh5 14.c6 bxc6 15.Nc3 Bb7 16.Qc2 [16.Ne4 c5 17.Bf4=] 16...c5 17.Be2 Ne5 18.Ng5 Qh4 19.Be3 [19.g3 Qh6 The weaknesses on the white kingside are more significant than the cramping of the Black queen.] 19...Nxc4 20.Qa4 Rd4! 21.Qb5 Diagram
May this holiday
Bring world peace
and to every home
The harmony of chess pieces!
Good chess everyone!
Jon Edwards at Chess is Fun
Something special today in honor of the holiday season.
In 1914, Thomas Dawson produced an amazing chess composition. To me, it looks a bit like a Christmas tree and so the theme for the day. Of course, Dawson, the author, thought that it looks like a chandelier, but that won't lessen my enthusiasm for his effort.
It's white to move and mate in two. If you have not seen it before, you will quickly realize that there's no conventional mate in two. The knights surely cannot do the job, and what else could. If you want to try to solve it, here's one key hint: What was black's last move!
...f7-f5 must have been the last move! The white pawns have made ten captures, and ten Black pieces (and pawns) are off the board. Hence, all of Black's pieces were captured by the white pawns... So we know that the Black Bc8 moved out earlier to be captured by a white pawn (The Black Bc8 was NOT captured on c8). Because we know that Black moved the d-pawn at an earlier time (to let the Bc8 out to be captured by a white pawn), Black's last move must have been f7-f5.2.gxf6 And mates with f6-f7 on the next move *
A tall, handsome American from Somerville, Massachusetts, Harry Nelson Pillsbury was an instant chess legend. He learned the moves late at age sixteen, but mastered the game quickly. Although he had no international experience, he gained an invitation to the Hastings Tournament of 1895.
The lineup included the greatest players of the day, including the new World Champion, Emanuel Lasker, the former champion Steinitz, Tarrasch, Burn, Mieses, and many others.
Here is Pillsbury's game against Amos Burn, a memorable attack. Pillsbury won the event, 1/2 point ahead of Tarrasch and a full point ahead of Lasker!
1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bg5 Be7 5.e3 0-0 6.Nf3 b6 7.Rc1 Bb7 8.cxd5 Nxd5 9.Bxe7 Qxe7 10.Nxd5 Bxd5 11.Bd3 Rc8 12.e4 Bb7 13.0-0 Nd7 14.Qe2 a6 15.Rc3 c6 16.Rfc1 b5 17.Qe3 Rc7 18.Qf4 Rac8 19.e5 c5 Diagram
Here are all of Pillsbury's games at Hastings.
One of my young students, Rahul Swaminathan, had a good run at the US Nationals, finishing 12th but having a great shot at more. He had many memorable games, including one that looked quite a bit like the following. It wasn't quite the same, actually. Rahul was well acquainted with this "English Attack." I showed it to him as a nice, easy-to-understand weapon against the Najdorf Sicilian.
But here, Rahul faced the Sozin Sicilian and, rather than play the active lines I had shown him, he fell back upon the English attack. Not a bad reaction from a youngster. His opponent permitted white to pursue his set-up and, as is clear, it can be quite a formidable weapon indeed.
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.f3 e6 7.Be3 Be7 8.Qd2 Nc6 9.0-0-0 0-0 10.g4 b5 11.h4 Bb7 12.h5 Qc7 13.g5 Nd7 Diagram
In honor of his fine win in the game and his wonderful showing at the tournament (with a trophy bigger than my US Championship win!), I offer a collection of English Attacks, all wins for white. What's really neat about this collection is that these games from a whole range of different move orders. So you can see how to get these great positions, and then see how to convert the point!
There's an African saying: "When two elephants fight, it's the grass that suffers." Bobby Fischer and Mikhail Botvinnik played only once, in Varna, 1962. The Game appears in several publications, notably as game 39 in Fischers' My 60 Memorable Games and as game 82 in Botvinnik's Half a Century of Chess.
Botvinnik follows analysis prepared for his match against Smyslov but soon runs into an extraordinary improvement. As it turns out, Black's 17th move is not a winning shot, but white's subsequent play permits Fischer to win a clear pawn. That ought to have been enough, but this battle of titans should serve as an inspiration to all who may find themselves a pawn down. Rather than give up, Botvinnik defended as precisely and vigorously as possible.
The game is worth your study. Perhaps you can find where Fischer went wrong.
1.c4 g6 2.d4 Nf6 3.Nc3 d5 4.Nf3 Bg7 5.Qb3 dxc4 6.Qxc4 0-0 7.e4 Bg4 8.Be3 Nfd7 9.Be2 Nc6 10.Rd1 Nb6 11.Qc5 Qd6 12.h3 Bxf3 13.gxf3 Rfd8 14.d5 Ne5 15.Nb5 Qf6 16.f4 Ned7 17.e5 Diagram
Try to imagine confronting a theoretical novelty on move 5 against one of the strongest players in the world. Hard to believe? Soviet expansion into the Baltic states in 1939-40 meant that Paul Keres from Estonia and Vladimir Petrov from Latvia were now playing in the Soviet Championship. It is interesting to note that Petrov was denounced during the war for derogatory comments against the Soviet Union and and died in a a Gulag. Life was such that Petrov became a non-person and this game, a real beauty, was never mentioned in Keres's Russian language autobiography.
1.e4 e5 2.f4 d5 The Falkbeer Countergambit 3.exd5 e4 4.d3 Nf6 5.Nd2 At the time, this was the novelty 5...exd3 Imagine having to face a novelty on move five against Paul Keres! [5...e3!? 6.Nc4 Nxd5 7.Qf3! Bb4+ 8.Kd1 0-0 9.c3 Bc5 10.d4 Re8 11.Bd3=] 6.Bxd3 Qxd5 [6...Nxd5 7.Qf3 Nc6 8.a3 Bc5 9.Ne2 0-0 10.Nb3 Bb6 with roughly equal chances] 7.Ngf3 Bc5 8.Qe2+ Qe6 9.Ne5 0-0 10.Ne4 Nxe4 [10...Nbd7 11.Bc4 Qe7 12.Nxf7+/-] 11.Qxe4 g6 12.b4 Be7 [12...Bxb4+ 13.Qxb4] 13.Bb2 Bf6 [13...Qb6!; 13...Nc6? 14.0-0-0 Nxb4 15.Bc4 Qf5 (15...Qb6 16.Nxf7 Bf6 (16...Rxf7 17.Rd8+ Bxd8 18.Qe8#) 17.Nd6++-) ] 14.0-0-0 Nc6 [14...Qxa2 15.Bc4 Qa4 16.Bb3 Qe8 17.h4] 15.h4 h5 16.g4 [16.Bc4 Qf5 17.Qxf5 Bxf5 18.Nxc6 Bxb2+ 19.Kxb2 bxc6 20.Rhe1+/-] 16...Bxe5 17.fxe5 Qxg4 18.Qe3 Nxb4 19.e6 Nd5 [19...Nxd3+ 20.cxd3 fxe6 21.Rdf1 Rf5 22.Rhg1 Kf7 23.Qh6 Ke7 24.Rxg4 Rxf1+ 25.Kd2 hxg4 26.Qg7+ Kd8 27.Bf6++-] 20.exf7+ Rxf7 Diagram
Curious about what happened in this line after the game? Here are the games.
Many of you are familiar with the following endgame composition by Richard Reti, but you may not have been aware of the three other compositions that follow it. All are White to move and draw and, if you have not seen them before, you are in for a treat. How is it possible that White can save any of these positions?
The final problem may have the most surprising solution of all. To capture the black pawn, the white king must begin its journey in the wrong direction!
In 1957, Tal won the 24th USSR Championship in only his second appearance in the event. Botvinnik and Smyslov were absent, getting ready for the world championship match. But here were Bronstein, Keres, Spassky, Kortchnoi, Petrosian, Taimanov, and many others. One look at the crosstable reminds us of what a great event this was. The games were of such high quality that the British Chess Magazine brought out a special tournament book, the first of its well known BCM Quarterlies. Peter Clarke was the author and the book is now long out-of-print, but I wanted to show off two of Tal's wins from that event.
In the 7th round, Tal missed a win against Aronsin. Study the diagram and see if you can find the correct continuation.
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0-0 Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 d6 8.c3 0-0 9.h3 Nd7 10.d4 Nb6 11.Be3 exd4 12.cxd4 d5 13.Nc3 dxe4 14.Nxe4 Bf5 15.d5 Na5 16.d6 cxd6 17.Bxb6 Qxb6 18.Ng3 Be6 19.Bxe6 fxe6 20.Rxe6 Bf6 21.Rxd6 Qb8 22.Nh5 Bxb2 23.Rb1 Nc4 24.Rd7 Ra7 25.Rxb2 Nxb2 26.Qd5+ Kh8 27.Qd4 Rxd7 28.Qxd7 Rg8 29.Ng5 h6 30.Nf7+ Kh7 Diagram
Going into the final round, Tal and David Bronstein were tied at 10 1/2 points. Bronstein tried hard to win, but was held to a draw by Kholmov. That meant that Tal would win the 24th USSR CH with victory in this game:
1.c4 Nf6 2.Nc3 g6 3.e4 d6 4.d4 Bg7 5.f3 e5 6.Nge2 Nbd7 7.Bg5 c6 8.Qd2 0-0 9.d5 c5 10.g4 a6 11.Ng3 Re8 12.h4 Qa5 13.Bh6 Nf8 14.h5 Qc7 15.Bd3 b5 16.0-0-0 bxc4 17.Bb1 Bh8 18.Rdg1 Rb8 19.Nf5 N6d7 20.Bg5 Bg7 21.Nxg7 Kxg7 22.Bh6+ Kg8 23.f4 exf4 24.Qxf4 Qd8 25.hxg6 Nxg6 26.Qh2 Nde5 27.Bf4 Nf8 28.Qh6 Neg6 29.Bg5 f6 Diagram
For those who pine for more, Bernard Cafeerty and Mark Taimanov combined to produce a wonderful history of The Soviet Championships [Cardogan, 1998], with annotations of many of the greatest games from 1920 through 1991.
In 1997, Graham Burgess wrote The Mammouth Book of Chess, a substantial value for the beginner through intermediate player. Just last year, he added another volume, Chess, Tactics and Strategy, an under $10 520 pp hardcover chock full of interesting material. Starting with an introduction to the simple mates and tactics, some simple endgames, and a summary of chess openings, there's a useful section on strategy.
Here are two games from that section to give you a flavor of what the book offers:
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 g6 5.Be3 Bg7 6.Nc3 Nf6 7.Bc4 0-0 8.Bb3 Qc7 9.f3 a6 10.Qd2 b5 11.0-0-0 Bb7 12.h4 Rad8 13.h5 e5 14.Nde2 Na5 15.Bh6 Nxb3+ 16.axb3 Bxh6 17.Qxh6 d6 18.Ng3 Qe7 19.Rh3 Ne8 20.Rdh1 Rd7 Diagram
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 g6 6.Be3 Bg7 7.f3 0-0 8.Qd2 Nc6 9.Bc4 Bd7 10.0-0-0 Ne5 11.Bb3 Rc8 12.h4 Nc4 13.Bxc4 Rxc4 14.g4 Qa5 15.Kb1 Rfc8 16.h5 Diagram
So many chess players study the openings; few unfortunately study the endgames. There's a rich literature on endgames, but I confess that I didn't spend much time really studying them until I played serious correspondence chess. Then, I might arrive at a certain rook and pawn endgame, and I was motivated to learn all that I could.
Of course, strong player know that the real secret isn't simply the understanding of endgames but rather the TRANSITION from the middlegame to the endgame. Fred Reinfeld's book Reinfeld on the Endgame in Chess was my first exposure to such transitions. Here are two examples used in the book with my annotations.
1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Bg5 Be7 5.e3 Nbd7 6.Nc3 0-0 7.Qc2 b6 8.cxd5 exd5 9.Bd3 Bb7 10.h4 c5 11.0-0-0 cxd4 12.Nxd4 Re8 13.Kb1 a6 14.g4 b5 15.Bxf6 Nxf6 16.g5 Ne4 17.Nxe4 dxe4 18.Bxe4 Bxe4 19.Qxe4 Bxg5 20.Ne6 Qe7 21.hxg5 h6 22.gxh6 Qxe6 23.Qd4 Qe4+ 24.Qxe4 Rxe4 25.hxg7 Kxg7 26.Rdg1+ Kf6 27.Rh6+ Ke7 28.Rc1 Ra7 29.Rcc6 a5 30.Ra6 Rxa6 31.Rxa6 a4 32.Rb6 Re5 33.Kc2 Rc5+ 34.Kd3 Kd7 35.a3 Rf5 36.f4 Kc7 37.Rh6 Rd5+ 38.Kc3 f5 Diagram
1.e3 d5 2.f4 c5 3.b3 Nc6 4.Bb2 Nf6 5.Nf3 e6 6.Bb5 Bd7 7.0-0 Bd6 8.Nc3 a6 9.Bxc6 Bxc6 10.Ne5 h5 11.Nxc6 bxc6 12.Na4 h4 13.Be5 h3 14.g3 Rh6 15.Qf3 Qc7 16.Nxc5 Bxe5 17.fxe5 Qxe5 18.Qf4 Qxf4 19.Rxf4 e5 20.Ra4 Nd7 21.Rxa6 Rxa6 22.Nxa6 e4 23.d4 exd3 24.cxd3 Ne5 25.d4 Ng4 26.Nc5 Rf6 27.Nd3 Nxe3 28.Re1 Re6 29.Nf4 Re7 30.Nxh3 Nc2 31.Rxe7+ Kxe7 32.Kf2 Nxd4 33.Ke3 c5 34.Ng1 Kd6 35.Nf3 Nc6 36.a3 f5 37.Kd3 d4 38.h4 g6 39.Ke2 Kd5 40.Kd3 Na5 41.Nd2 Diagram
Following on the heels of yesterdays's Blog, here's an introduction to the French Winawer.
1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Bb4 Diagram
1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.e5 c5 5.a3 Bxc3+ 6.bxc3 Ne7 7.Qg4 Qc7 8.Qxg7 Rg8 9.Qxh7 cxd4 10.Ne2 Nbc6 11.f4 Bd7 12.Qd3 dxc3 13.Rb1 I favor Nc3 today because the threat of Nc3-b5 usually motivates Black to play a6, when Rb1 leads to favorable in which black seems to have insufficient compensation for the pawn. 13...0-0-0 14.Nxc3 Na5 15.g3 Kb8 16.Ne2 An important move, to protect g3 and especially the key d4 square. 16...Nf5 17.Bh3 d4 Diagram
Finally, here's a group of games from this interesting line.
Every once in a while, I'll use the blog to introduce a different opening variation. Today, the Classical variation of the French Defence. Here are the basic moves.
1.e4 1.d4 has the threat of 2.e4. After 1.e4, the threat is 2.d4 1...e6 There's no immediate effort to counter in the center or to prevent white from playing 2.d4 2.d4 No reason to avoid this move. White establishes control over the key squares in the center of the board. 2...d5 This is the main idea. On 3.exd4? black will recapture with exd4 gaining a presence in the center and good potential movement for both bishops. 3.Nc3 There are other moves for white here, notably 3.e5 and 3.Nd2, but this is the move I have always used. White adds to the tension in the center, adding an attack to the d5-pawn and depending the e4-pawn. 3...Nf6 Diagram
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Armed with that information, you will have an easier time understanding the following game, a win of mine from the 10th United States Correspondence Chess Championship.
1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bg5 Be7 5.e5 Nfd7 6.Bxe7 Qxe7 7.f4 0-0 8.Nf3 c5 9.dxc5 Nc6 10.Bd3 f6 11.exf6 Qxf6 12.g3 Nxc5 13.0-0 Bd7 14.Qd2 Nxd3 15.cxd3 e5 16.Rae1 Bh3 17.Rf2 exf4 18.Nxd5 Qd6 19.Nxf4 Bg4 20.Qe3 Rae8 21.Qxe8 Rxe8 22.Rxe8+ Kf7 23.Re4 h6 24.Nh4 Diagram
Finally, here are some additional games in the same line.
I'm currently playing about a dozen correspondence games. That's a modest load compared with 50+ just 5 years ago. My sanity matters to me. I've never shared games in progress on this site (or off this site, for that matter) and I'm not about to start now, but one current position has inspired an interesting piece of research that I can legally share.
In my analysis, I reached a position with a significant material imbalance. So I searched through my databases for positions with similar imbalances. Lo and behold, I found some very interesting games! Here are two dozen extraordinary games that are well worth a look. And here are my two favorites:
1.Nf3 d6 2.d4 g6 3.e4 Nf6 4.Nc3 Bg7 5.Be2 0-0 6.0-0 c6 7.a4 Nbd7 8.Re1 e5 9.Bf1 Re8 10.dxe5 dxe5 11.a5 Qc7 12.Be3 Nf8 13.h3 Ne6 14.Ra4 Nh5 15.Nb1 Rd8 16.Nbd2 Bf8 17.b4 Nd4 18.c3 Nxf3+ 19.Qxf3 Be6 20.Rea1 Rd7 21.Nc4 Nf4 22.Nb6 axb6 Diagram
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1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nxe5 d6 4.Nf3 Nxe4 5.d4 d5 6.Bd3 Bd6 7.0-0 0-0 8.c4 c6 9.Re1 Re8 10.Nc3 Bf5 11.Qb3 Na6 12.cxd5 Nec5 13.dxc5 Nxc5 14.Rxe8+ Qxe8 15.Bxf5 Nxb3 16.axb3 cxd5 17.Be3 Be5 18.Re1 Bxc3 19.bxc3 Qc6 20.Rc1 a6 21.Nd4 Qe8 22.Bg4 Rd8 23.Bf3 Rd7 24.g3 g6 25.Rd1 b5 26.Nc6 Qe6 27.Nb4 d4 28.Bxd4 a5 29.Nd3 Qf5 30.Kg2 b4 31.Ne5 bxc3 32.Nxd7 c2 33.Nf6+ Kf8 34.Re1 Qb5 Diagram
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One of the most fun ways to improve in chess is to play through the games of great players. Many of the historic greats are in the archive here, but of course, there are many great players playing today!
Find a player whose style seems compatible with your own, or whose style you might want to emulate, and you're off and running. It helps, of course, to take a look at players who are succeeding. So today, let's focus a bit on two games just played by GM Koneru Humpy. Both use the Avant Garde, an unassuming structure that you will see can be reached in response to just about anything that white can try. Of course, that doesn't necessary mean that it's the best opening, but it can be very effective in the hands of a strong player. I am sorry only to add that Ms. Humpy lost her 9th round game, placing her now in second place but only 1/2 point behind the leader.
Truth is, the Avant Garde can be effective against nearly anyone. Even if you are a relative beginner, structures like the Avant Garde or the Hedgehog are excellent ways to make sure that you're actually in the game for more than 20 moves.
1.e4 g6 2.d4 Bg7 3.Nf3 d6 4.h3 Nd7 5.Be3 e6 6.Bd3 Ne7 7.Qd2 h6 8.0-0 b6 9.Ne1 Bb7 Diagram
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1.e4 g6 2.d4 Bg7 3.Nc3 d6 4.Be3 a6 5.a4 b6 6.Bc4 e6 7.Nf3 Bb7 8.d5 e5 9.Qe2 Nd7 10.Bd3 Ne7 Ms. Humpy tries the Avant Garde again. 11.h4 h6 12.Nd2 0-0 13.h5 f5 14.f3 f4 15.Bf2 g5 16.Na2 a5 17.Bb5 Nf6 18.0-0-0 Nc8 19.Nf1 Na7 20.g4 fxg3 Black captures the pawn, perhaps hoping to activate the bad Bg7. However, the en passant capture permits white to make inroads on the kingside. Better, perhaps, to keep the kingside sealed and transfer forces to the other wing. 21.Nxg3 Nxb5 22.axb5 Bc8 23.Be3 Ne8 24.Nc3 Bf6 25.Rdg1 Ng7 26.Nd1 Be7 27.Nf2 Bd7 28.Ng4 Kh7 29.Kb1 Qc8 30.c4 Rf7 31.Nf1 Qf8 32.Nd2 Qd8 The attack will proceed at white's pace. The black pieces can make no further progress. 33.Kc2 Rf8 34.Qg2 a4 35.Kb1 Be8 36.Rh3 Bf7 37.Rg3 Qd7 [37...Bxh5 38.Nxh6 Kxh6 39.Rxg5 Bxg5 40.Bxg5+ Kh7 41.Bxd8+-] 38.Nxh6! Nxh5 39.Rxg5 Bxg5 40.Qxg5 Be8 41.Nf7 1-0
Perhaps these two games have interested you in this structure. Here is a small collection of other Avant Garde games, all wins by black!
When I last wrote about Indian GM Koneru Humpy, she had just won 11 straight games in her successful victory in the Women's Chess Championship of India. It was a great run, but there were undoubtedly folks who discounted her accomplishment because it was in the women's division.
I am pleased to report that Ms. Humpy is now battling in the men's championship, the only woman in the field. And, after 8 rounds, she is all alone ... in first place!
Here are the games from 7 of the first 8 rounds.
Finally, take a special look at the first game in yesterday's short collection of David Bronstein's games. Many of us are willing to sacrifice a pawn for positional compensation, perhaps for a good square for a knight and for an open file for our rooks. But how many of us would be willing to sacrifice a knight simply for clear control over the center of the board?
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Ng5 d5 5.exd5 Na5 6.d3 h6 7.Nf3 e4 Diagram
About 10 years ago, David Bronstein visited our home for about 4 days. For those who may never have heard of him, David came as close to gaining the world championship as was possible, achieving a 12-12 tie in 1950 that permitted Botvinnik to retain his title. Bronstein remains one of my chess idols, an intensely creative genius of chess who leaves us with many works of chess art, and more.
One night over warm milk with a touch of salt, he showed me how he teaches chess. He swept all the pieces from the board except for the following small diagram.
The Nb1 and the c-pawn, he explained, are married. Move Nc3 immediately and you have a bad marriage, because the c-pawn first belongs on c4. More than than that, it is sometimes also possible to play c3 and Na3-c2.
You may have figured out the rest. The Bishop and the b-pawn are married, not simply because the bishop defends it, but also because white has the opportunity to fianchetto the bishop with b3 and Bb2.
And yes, the rook is married to the a-pawn, not only because it defends it, but because if the first rank becomes congested, white can swing the Ra1 out with a4, Ra3-d3.
Finally, here's a short sample of great Bronstein games. Enjoy
In 1967, Bobby Fischer demolished a strong field in Monte Carlo. The surprise of the tournament, however, was his late round loss to Yefim Geller, who took on Fischer in the American GM's own favorite defense, the Poisoned Pawn variation of the Najdorf Sicilian. Here's the game. Some even concluded at the time that Fischer lost the game on purpose to avoid showing off his own secrets.
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Bg5 e6 7.f4 Qb6 8.Qd2 Qxb2 9.Rb1 Qa3 10.f5 Nc6 11.fxe6 fxe6 12.Nxc6 bxc6 13.e5 Nd5 14.Nxd5 cxd5 15.Be2 dxe5 16.0-0 Bc5+ 17.Kh1 Rf8 18.c4 Rxf1+ 19.Rxf1 Bb7 Diagram
As he started the post-mortem analysis with Geller, Fischer pointed to the diagram position and stated "It is a crushing position!" Indeed, it is. Black's king is exposed. Despite the material deficit, white does indeed have a crushing attack. Several months later in a match between the Soviet Union and Yugoslavia, IM Bogdavovich chose this critical variation against none other than Mikhail Tal. The result was a classic game although, as the following notes show, Tal missed the most convincing win.
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Bg5 e6 7.f4 Qb6 8.Qd2 Qxb2 9.Rb1 Qa3 10.f5 Nc6 11.fxe6 fxe6 12.Nxc6 bxc6 13.e5 Nd5 14.Nxd5 cxd5 15.Be2 dxe5 16.0-0 Bc5+ 17.Kh1 Rf8 18.c4 Rxf1+ 19.Rxf1 Bb7 20.Qc2 [20.Bd1!! N: Lilienthal. The threat is Rf3 and Ba4+ 20...Bb4 a)20...e4 21.Qc3+-; b)20...Be7 21.Bxe7 Qxe7 (b)21...Kxe7 22.Qg5+) 22.Ba4+ Kd8 23.Qa5+ Kc8 24.c5+/-; c)20...Rc8 21.Qe2 Be7 22.Qxe5 Rxc4 23.Qxg7+-; 21.Qb2+- (21.Qd3+-; 21.Qf2+-; 21.Qe3+-; 21.Qc2+-) ] 20...e4 21.Bg4 Be7 22.Qf2 0-0-0 23.Bf4 Bd6 24.Bxe6+ Kb8 25.Qb6 Bxf4 26.Qxd8+ Ka7 27.Rb1 Qd6 28.Bxd5 Bxd5 29.Qxd6 Bxd6 30.cxd5 1-0
That was 1967 and the verdict on the Poisoned Pawn variation has not yet been written. If you have the nerve to play it, here are the key games to study!
"Ich mache Fehler - also ich existiere!" (I make errors, therefore I am!) – Dr. Sawielly Tartakower.
Born in Russia, Sawielly Tartakower (1887-1956) left in 1899 to study in Switzerland and Austria. With a law degree, he became an Austrian citizen and fought with distinction in the infantry in World War 1.
After the war, he became a chess professional. He is well known for his prolific writings on chess, notably including My Best Games of Chess 1905-1954, 500 Master Games of Chess (with J. du Mont), and The Hypermodern Game. Modern writers estimate his strength in the 2600 range and, indeed, he had many impressive firsts, including Paris 1929, 1940, and 1947, Liege 1930 (several; points ahead of Nimzovitch, Rubinstein, Marshall, and Colle), Hastings 1945-6, and Venice 1947.
Though not one of its practictioners, Tartakower coined the expression "hypermodern" to describe the new approach used by Breyer and Reti. By contrast, his approach was eclectic, empracing many forgotton lines and, through throrough study, catching his opponents with new ideas.
Here are the games from his "My Best Games of Chess, 1905-1954."
And here is one of his minatures from the book.
1.e4 c5 2.c3 d5 3.exd5 Qxd5 4.d4 cxd4 5.cxd4 Nc6 6.Nf3 Bg4 7.Be2 e6 8.Nc3 Qa5 9.0-0 Nf6 10.Ne5? Bxe2 11.Nxc6?? Diagram
"Sacrifices only prove that someone has blundered" – Dr. Tartakower.
What's coming soon? Over the course of the next months, I expect to add many more games to the archive, bringing the collection at least through the mid-1980s. Time permitting, I expect to add games all the way through to the present day.
In the Chess on Stamp exhibit, I am working on an amazing article with Prof. Djukanovic on the Yugoslavia chess stamp on 1950. His writings (and exhibits) on that subject are among the finest contributions to chess philately, and I am proud to be able to assist those efforts with copious illustrations.
Thanks to "Djuka," as he likes to be known, I have also acquired an amazing collection of 63 photographs taken at the Dubrovnik Chess Olympiad in 1950, the event for which the stamps were issued. The pictures were all taken by a professional photogapher and include wonderful shots of a very young Larry Evans, Arthur Bisguier, S. Gligorich, and even a picture of an aged Tartakower. I intend to include many of those photos (as well as all of the games from the Olympiad) in the exhibit, but I am also content to sell some of the photos. That probably means Ebay, but anyone with interest should get in touch.
The Games of the 9th Chess Olympiad in Dubrovnik
I conclude today with a 50% scan of one of the photos, a remarkable (never before published) image of former World Champion Max Euwe at the 1950 Olympiad during his first round game against American Sam Reshevsky.
Why do masters resign? It's quite a puzzle to beginners. Surely it's best to play until checkmate.
Masters, of course, have pride. There's a certain etiquette. When there's no hope left, resignation is in order.
Still it can be a puzzle to determine just why they give up. Every once in awhile, it's a mistake. Here's a special game from my past. I played this in the mid to late 1980s... a very aggressive game by me. A quick resignation on move 22 with a somewhat cryptic comment: "This is just too complicated" wrote my opponent.
Complicated indeed. And quite a shock. I thought that I might be winning, but there was surely a lot of play left. I include my analysis at the time, but I remain unconvinced. There are at least two lines that appear to be unclear. Is there a moral in all of this? Sure! Play aggressively! Your opponent may crumble under the complexities of the complications!
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 c5 3.d5 b5 4.cxb5 a6 5.f3 e6 6.e4 axb5 7.dxe6 fxe6 8.Bxb5 Ba6 9.Qe2 Bxb5 10.Qxb5 Nc6 11.Be3 Nb4 12.Qe2 c4 13.Nh3 Nd3+ 14.Kf1 Qb8 15.Bd4 e5 16.Bc3 d5 17.exd5 Nxd5 18.Nf2 Bc5 19.Nxd3 Ne3+ 20.Ke1 cxd3 21.Qxd3 0-0 22.Nd2 e4 Diagram
I'm well known today as an advocate of the Hedgehog, but such was not always the case. Here's one of my correspondence games from the late 1980s. This encounter was memorable for an interesting reason. Around the time that the game ended, a Spanish province offered a prize for the best game played in this variation, the Catalan. So I sent in the game, hoping that the nice combination at the end of the game might attract the attention of the judges. Unfortunately, I never received a response, but the game remains a pleasant one. Enjoy!
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.g3 d5 4.Bg2 Be7 5.Nf3 0-0 6.0-0 Nbd7 7.Qc2 c6 8.Nbd2 b6 9.b3 Bb7 10.Bb2 Rc8 11.Rac1 Qc7 12.cxd5 exd5 13.Nh4!? Rfe8 14.Nf5 Bf8 15.e4 dxe4 16.Nxe4 Nxe4 17.Bxe4 Nf6 18.Bf3?! c5 19.Bxb7 Qxb7 20.dxc5 Rxc5 21.Qb1 Ne4 22.Rxc5 Diagram
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At the National Chess Congress, Ildar Ibragimov (2578) and Igor Novikov (2706) draw quickly in Rd 6 to tie for first place at 5-1.
Here are two of the most exciting games from the just concluded Bali Stars. Check out especially the nice combination from the champion, Bulgarian grandmaster Veselin Topolov, over the world's youngest GM, Sergey Karjakin of the Ukraine.
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Be3 e5 7.Nf3 Qc7 8.Bg5 Nbd7 9.a4 h6 10.Bh4 g5 11.Bg3 Nc5 12.Nd2 Be6 13.Be2 0-0-0 14.0-0 h5 15.h4 Bh6 16.Ra3 g4 17.Bd3 Kb8 18.Re1 Bf4 19.Nf1 d5 20.exd5 Nxd5 21.Nxd5 Bxd5 22.Ne3 Bc6 23.b4 Nxd3 24.cxd3 Qd6 25.Qb1 Rhe8 26.Kh2 Bxe3 27.fxe3 f5 28.Rf1 Rf8 29.Qc1 Qxb4 30.Bxe5+ Ka8 31.Bg3 Qe7 32.Rc3 Qe6 33.a5 Qd5 34.Rf2 Rf6 [ 34...Qxa5 35.Rxc6 bxc6 36.Qxc6+ Ka7 37.Rb2 Rb8 38.Qd7+ Ka8 39.Bc7+-] 35.Qa3 Re8 36.Rc5 Qd7 [ 36...Qd8] 37.e4 Ref8 38.Rcxf5 Rxf5 Diagram
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1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.Nc3 Nbd7 5.cxd5 exd5 6.Bf4 c6 7.h3 Nb6 8.Qc2 g6 9.e3 Bf5 10.Qb3 Bg7 11.Be2 0-0 12.0-0 Re8 13.Ne5 a5 14.Rfc1 a4 15.Qd1 Nfd7 16.Nd3 Nc4 17.Nxa4 b5 18.Nc3 Bxd3 19.Qxd3 Nxb2 20.Qb1 Nc4 21.a4 bxa4 22.Rxa4 Rxa4 23.Nxa4 g5 24.Bh2 Nxe3 25.fxe3 Rxe3 26.Bf3 Bxd4 27.Kh1 Qa5 28.Nb2 Qb4 29.Bg1 Rb3 30.Qf5 Bxb2 31.Rxc6 Ne5 Diagram
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Ildar Ibragimov has the lead at the National Chess Congress. Here are the games from rounds 4 and 5.
I have finally (after just 12 years) put up some introductory material in the openings section on Queen Pawn openings. Thank you all for your extreme patience. More coming soon.
One of my young students has been playing 1.e4 c6 2.Nc3 d5 3.Qf3 in the Caro-Kann. There are a few obvious traps. More important, it's a lesser known approach that has still some impressive followers. Here's a collection of games to view.
Finally, for those who pine for tougher tactics to tackle, I'm having fun with the challenges of a new book, The Magic of Chess Tactics.
Here's an example from the book. It's white to move and win. And it's more challenging than the chess puzzles you usually face.
1.Nxd7 Qxd7 2.Qe5 f6 3.Qxf6! Bxf6 [3...Bf8 4.Rxg6+ hxg6 5.Qxg6+ Kh8 6.Nf6+-; 3...Bd8 4.Rxg6+ hxg6 5.Qxg6+ Kh8 6.Bg7+ Kg8 7.Be5+ Kf8 8.Bd6+ Re7 (8...Qxd6 9.Qg7#) 9.Qg7+ Ke8 10.Nf6#] 4.Nxf6++- *
For past entries, please check out the Chess Blog archive.
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since November 6, 2003
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