Carlsen Dominates Paris: While So Raises From The Ashes in Leuven

Volume 137
AUGUST
2017
THE GRAND CHESS TOUR 2017
CARLSEN
DOMINATES
PARIS
WHILE SO
RAISES FROM THE
ASHES IN LEUVEN
BCM INTERVIEW:
DOMINIC LAWSON
JOURNALIST AND
PRESIDENT OF THE
ENGLISH CHESS
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IMPRESSUM
Contents
BRITISH CHESS MAGAZINE
Founded 1881
www.britishchessmagazine.co.uk
Chairman Shaun Taulbut

Director Stephen Lowe
Editors
Milan Dinic and Shaun Taulbut
Carlsen
Prepress Specialist
Milica Mitic
Photography
453 Dominates in
Paris and Leuven
Lennart Ootes, Dominic Lawson,
Valera Belobeev / Fide Grand Prix 2017 oicial, 453 The Grand Chess Tour 2017
Grand Chess Tour 2017 oicial
Carlsen Dominates in Paris
Advertising
By GM Aleksandar Colovic
Stephen Lowe 465 Stage two Leuven
Wesley So’s rise from the ashes
Enquiries
editor@britishchessmagazine.co.uk
476 Interview: Dominic Lawson
ISSN 0007-0440 If newspapers were as interested
© The British Chess Magazine Limited in chess as they are in football,
FIDE would not survive
Company Limited by Shares
Registered in England No 00334968
By Milan Dinic
484 Third FIDE Grand Prix – Geneva
Postal correspondence: The comeback of Teimour Radjabov
Albany House, 14 Shute End
Wokingham, Berkshire RG40 1BJ
Subscription 494 Openings for Amateurs

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By IM Shaun Taulbut
Cover photography:
Magnus Carlsen,
508 Think ahead about potential threats
Grand Chess Tour 2017 oicial
Long term king safety
By Theo Slade

August 2017
The Grand Chess Tour 2017
Carlsen
Dominates
in Paris and
Leuven
Photo: Grand Chess Tour 2017 official
08/137
The Grand Chess Tour - a series of five chess tournaments held throughout the year and across
the globe bringing together top players - started with the events in Paris and Leuven.
About the event: A total of nine players were selected as full 2017 Grand Chess Tour participants.
Three spots were awarded to the top finishers in the 2016 GCT, another three to the top players
by average 2016 rating and the final three were determined by the GCT advisory board as tour
wildcards. Tour participants will play both classic events and two of the three rapid and blitz
events. Unlike last year, every result will count toward a player’s final GCT standing. In total
the Grand Chess Tour boasts an impressive $1.2 million (£920,000) prize fund.
Both Paris and Leuven started with a rapid followed by a double-round-robin blitz. This
was probably good news for the World Champion Magnus Carlsen. In the previous issue
I touched upon the topic of confidence and the problems he had in Norway. Carlsen
admitted it himself when he said that he lacked confidence in his ability to win games, but,
curiously enough, he added that this only affected classical chess. The results in Paris and
Leuven fully supported his words.
The rapid in Paris saw Carlsen dominate from start to finish. He won comfortably with
7/9, without a loss. Here are two examples which illustrate his persisting dominance.
Magnus Carlsen - Veselin Topalov 6.cxd5 ¤xd5 7.0–0 ¤b6 8.¤c3 ¤c6 9.d5
GCT Rapid Paris 2017 Paris FRA (5.5) This is considered OK for Black, but he
needs to know some forced lines. Probably
1.d4 ¤f6 2.c4 g6 3.¤f3 ¥g7 4.g3 0–0 Topalov did not expect this, since soon
5.¥g2 d5 Topalov goes for the more enough he mixes the move-order.
dynamic variation in the Grunfeld,
compared to the more solid 5...c6 followed 9.e3 is considered the main line.
by ...d5.
9...¤a5 10.e4 c6 11.¥f4
Topalov’s dynamic choices were no

XIIIIIIIIY
match for Carlsen’s mood for dominance 9r+lwq-trk+0
9zpp+-zppvlp0
9-snp+-+p+0
9sn-+P+-+-0
9-+-+PvL-+0
9+-sN-+NzP-0
9PzP-+-zPLzP0
9tR-+Q+RmK-0
xiiiiiiiiy
11...¤ac4 11...cxd5 is a bit more precise
as after 12.exd5 (12.¤xd5 is a good
alternative) 12...¤ac4 13.£e2: now Black
has the option of 13...Nb2, apart from 13...
Bg4 13...¤xb2!? (13...¥g4 14.h3 ¥xf3
15.¥xf3 leads to the position from the
game) …14.£xb2?! (14.¤e5) 14...¤a4.

August 2017
12.£e2 ¥g4 It was high time to take on 18...g5 18...£e7? 19.¤d5 ¤xd5 20.¥xd5
d5, as this allows White an extra possibility. loses material; 18...¤a5 19.¤b5 is close to
lost for Black - the difference in the activity
12...cxd5 13.¤xd5 (13.exd5 allows of the pieces is telling.
13...¤xb2 as we saw in the comments on
Black's 11th move.) 13...¤xd5 14.exd5 with 19.¦fd1 19.¦cd1 £e7 20.¥c1 was
unclear play. probably more precise.
13.h3 Transposing to the main line, but 19...£e7 20.¥d2 ¦d8

White had a choice here. XIIIIIIIIY
13.dxc6!? bxc6 14.e5 looks pretty promising 9-+-tr-+k+0
for White. 9zpp+-wqpvlp0
13...¥xf3 14.¥xf3 cxd5 15.exd5 ¦e8 9-sn-+r+-+0
XIIIIIIIIY 9+-+-+-zp-0
9r+-wqr+k+0 9-+n+-+-+0
9zpp+-zppvlp0 9+-sN-+LzPP0
9-sn-+-+p+0 9PzPQvL-zP-+0
9+-+P+-+-0 9+-tRR+-mK-0
9-+n+-vL-+0 xiiiiiiiiy
20...¤xd2 was natural and was probably
9+-sN-+LzPP0 better: at least Black eliminates the
9PzP-+QzP-+0 bishop pair, even though White keeps
the domination after 21.£xd2 ¦e8
9tR-+-+RmK-0 (21...¤c4 22.£c2 threatening ¤d5.)
xiiiiiiiiy 22.b3 limiting the (b6. There is nothing
This is premature. concrete here for White, but he has easy
play against b7 and the weakened Black
5...¤d6 had already been played against kingside.
Carlsen and was better: 16.¦fe1 ¦e8
17.¦ac1 a6 18.b3 ¦c8 with typical play for 21.¤d5! ¤xd5 22.£xc4 ¦ed6 Perhaps
this structure - Black is very solid and without Topalov hoped to base the defence on the
weaknesses and White finds it difficult strong ¤d5.
to take advantage of the bishop pair and
the space advantage. ½–½ (60) Carlsen,M 23.¦e1 £f6 24.£g4 h6 25.¦c8! This is
(2855)-Wei,Y (2696) Bilbao 2016. aimed at weakening the ¤d5 by exchanging
one of its defenders.
16.¦ac1 e5?! This must have been the idea
behind Black's last move but the opening of
the position favours White. In Paris,
16...¤d6 allows 17.¤b5! and White forces Carlsen dominated
a favourable exchange of the blockading the rapid,
knight, but it was still the better option. in Leuven
17.dxe6 ¦xe6 18.£c2 The pawn on b7 he destroyed
is hanging and in order to defend it Black the competition
must weaken his kingside. in blitz
08/137
25...¥f8 26.¥xd5 ¦a8 31.£b7 wins the pawn on a7 with a

technically winning position.
XIIIIIIIIY
9-+Rtr-vlk+0 28...¦xe8? Returning the compliment.
9zpp+-+p+-0
28...¦d1+! 29.¢g2 ¦xe8 30.¦xe8 £d3!
9-+-tr-wq-zp0 This is why it was important to give the check
9+-+L+-zp-0 on d1 first - now Black creates threats against
White's king 31.¥e1 ¢g7 and Black is safe.
9-+-+-+Q+0
9+-+-+-zPP0 29.¦xe8 £b1+ Now there was no check
9PzP-vL-zP-+0 on d1 because the £g4 controls the square.
9+-+-tR-mK-0 30.¢h2 £f1 31.¥e1 Black’s threats by
xiiiiiiiiy the lone queen are easily parried while
A human solution. Black's king cannot defend both the ¥f8
and himself. The immediate threat is £g4.
26.¦e8 required calculation of some non-
trivial lines 26...¦xc8 27.¦xc8. 31...¢g7 32.£f3 32.£f3 ¦d6 33.¥b4
£b5 34.¦xf8 wins on the spot.
A) 27...£xb2 28.£e4!...£xd2? (28...¤b6 1–0
29.¦xf8+ ¢xf8 30.¥b4 £f6 31.£xb7+–)
29.£e8+–;
The following game also shows what a
B) 27...£e5 28.¦a8 liberating c8 for high level of play Carlsen demonstrated.
the queen 28...b5 29.¥xd5 £xd5
30.£c8 £xa8 the only move 31.£xa8 Magnus Carlsen - Etienne Bacrot
¦xd2 and this will require a lot of work
from White. GCT Rapid Paris 2017 Paris FRA (9.3)
26...¦xd5 27.¥c3 £g6 1.e4 e5 2.¤f3 ¤c6 3.¥c4 The Giuoco

XIIIIIIIIY Piano was one of the most popular opening
in Paris and Leuven. It avoids the Berlin
9-+Rtr-vlk+0 and is still relatively less explored than the
9zpp+-+p+-0 alternatives like the Scotch.
9-+-+-+qzp0 3...¥c5 4.0–0 ¤f6 5.d3 d6 6.c3 a6 7.a4
9+-+r+-zp-0 This is all the rage lately. White expands
9-+-+-+Q+0 on the queenside and will generally base
his play on the space advantage and the
9+-vL-+-zPP0 possibility of advancing in the centre.
9PzP-+-zP-+0
7...0–0 8.¦e1 8.b4 was played in the 5th
9+-+-tR-mK-0 game of the match in New York, but has
xiiiiiiiiy been more or less abandoned ever since.
8...¥a7 9.¦e1 ¤e7 10.¤bd2 ¤g6 11.d4
28.¦e8?! Carlsen’s only imprecision in c6 ½–½ (51) Carlsen,M (2853)-Karjakin,S
the game. This move allows Black to save (2772) New York USA 2016.
himself.
8...h6 8...¥a7 is a major alternative, not wasting
28.£f3! ¦xc8 29.£xd5 b6 30.£d7 time and aiming for ...¤e7–g6, a plan frequently

August 2017
A total of nine players were selected as full

2017 Grand Chess Tour participants. Tour
participants will play both classic events and
two of the three rapid and blitz events. Unlike
last year, every result will count toward a
player's final GCT standing.
used by Nakamura. This was also played by 9...¥a7 was played by Carlsen in the
Carlsen in a game analysed in the previous issue blitz against Vachier and Karjakin.
of BCM: 9.h3 ¤e7 10.d4 ¤g6 11.¤bd2 c6 10.¤bd2 ¦e8 (10...¥e6 will transpose
12.¥d3 1–0 (40) Kramnik,V (2808)-Carlsen,M to 9...¥e6) 11.b4 ¥e6 12.¥xe6 ¦xe6
(2832) Stavanger NOR 2017. 13.¤f1 (13.£c2 ¤e7 14.¤f1 ¤g6 1–0
(86) Karjakin,S (2781)-Carlsen,M (2832)
9.h3 ¥e6 Paris FRA 2017) 13...¤e7 14.¤g3 ¤g6
XIIIIIIIIY 15.d4 £d7 16.d5 ¦ee8 17.a5 c6 1–0 (71)
9r+-wq-trk+0 Vachier Lagrave,M (2796)-Carlsen,M
(2832) Paris FRA 2017.
9+pzp-+pzp-0
9p+nzplsn-zp0 10.¥xe6 fxe6 11.b4 ¥a7 12.¤bd2 12.¥e3
was Karjakin's choice in the blitz 12...¥xe3
9+-vl-zp-+-0 13.¦xe3 ¤e7 14.¤bd2 ¤g6 15.£b3 £e7
9P+L+P+-+0 16.g3 1–0 (76) Karjakin,S (2781)-Bacrot,E
9+-zPP+N+P0 (2708) Paris FRA 2017.
9-zP-+-zPP+0 12...¤e7 12...¤h5 was played by Carlsen
9tRNvLQtR-mK-0 himself when he arrived at this position
against Anand in Stavanger. 13.¦a2
xiiiiiiiiy
08/137
£f6 14.¤c4 b5 15.¤e3 ¥b6 ½–½ (34) 17...£f6

Anand,V (2786)-Carlsen,M (2832) XIIIIIIIIY
Stavanger NOR 2017.
9r+-+-trk+0
13.¤f1 ¤g6 14.¦a2 A typical move in 9+pzp-+-zp-0
these structures - the rook protects f2 and is
ready to be deployed where needed. 9p+-zppwqnzp0
9+-+-zp-+-0
14...¤h5 15.¥e3 White usually exchanges 9PzP-zPPsn-+0
the strong ¥a7 in Giuoco Piano.
9+-zP-tRN+P0
15...¥xe3 16.¦xe3 The rook protects the 9R+-+-zPP+0
¤f3 against some threats like ...£f6 and
...¤hf4–h3. 9+-+Q+NmK-0
xiiiiiiiiy
16.¤xe3 was an alternative, but Black 17...exd4 18.cxd4 £e8 19.¢h2 …g3.
seems to be fine here anyway.
18.¢h2! Threatening to chase away the
16...¤hf4 17.d4 The advance in the centre ¤f4 by g3. Black now has no choice
is White's main trump. but to sacrifice a piece in order not to

August 2017
be pushed back, but he obtains good game move his position collapses. 28.exd5
compensation for it. ¤xd5 29.¤e4 £f5 30.£e2 ¦c6.
18...exd4 19.cxd4 e5 20.d5 c6 21.g3 cxd5 28.¤xf4 exf4 29.¤h5 £g5 30.¦xd3 30.£xg5
22.gxf4 d4 23.¦ea3! The rooks defend the hxg5 31.¦xd3 dxe4 32.¦d7 was an alternative.
kingside splendidly from afar.
30...dxe4 31.¦d6 £xg4 31...¦f5 32.£xg5
23...¤xf4 24.¤e1! hxg5 33.¦ad2 ¢h7 34.¦d7 ¢g6 35.¤xg7.
XIIIIIIIIY 32.hxg4 ¦f7 33.¦e6 ¦cf8 34.¦d2
9r+-+-trk+0 XIIIIIIIIY
9+p+-+-zp-0 9-+-+-tr-mk0
9p+-zp-wq-zp0 9+p+-+rzp-0
9+-+-zp-+-0 9p+-+R+-zp0
9PzP-zpPsn-+0 9+-+-+-+N0
9tR-+-+-+P0 9PzP-+pzpP+0
9R+-+-zP-mK0 9+-+-+-+-0
9+-+QsNN+-0 9-+-tR-zP-mK0
xiiiiiiiiy 9+-+-+-+-0
Carlsen controls the position by removing
the pieces from the possible attacks. xiiiiiiiiy
Objectively, the position is unclear, White has everything under control so he
but if White is careful he can hope to will prepare the capture of the e4–pawn by
consolidate and use the extra piece. bringing the other rook on to the sixth rank.
Black's problem is that he does not have
a clear target to attack. 34.¦xe4? g6.
24...d5 It is natural to advance in the centre. 34...¢h7 35.¦dd6 Black is in a sort of

zugzwang:
24...¦f7 the tripling on the f-file is useless
25.¤g3 ¦af8 26.£g4; 24...¦ac8 25.¤g3 35...e3 35...¢h8 36.¦xe4; 35...¦c8
g6 26.¤e2 ¢h7 27.¦f3 g5 28.¦fa3! §g3– 36.¦xe4.
f5 (28.¤g3? £e6 hits both a2 and h3).
36.fxe3 f3 36...fxe3 37.¦xe3 g6 38.¤g3.
25.¤g3 ¦ac8 26.¤g2 White's position is
geometrically pleasing and usually this is 37.¤f4 The final touch.
a good sign.
37.¤f4 g5 38.¦xh6+ ¢g8 39.¦dg6+ ¦g7
26...¢h8 26...¦c4 was perhaps better, but 40.¦xg7+ ¢xg7 41.¦g6+ ¢h7 42.¦xg5
even here White has excellent chances is the simplest.
27.b5 axb5 28.axb5 £e6 29.£g4 £xg4 1–0
30.hxg4 ¦b4 31.f3 ¦xb5 32.¤xf4 exf4
33.¤f5 dxe4 34.¤d6! ¦d5 35.¤xe4.
27.£g4 d3 27...g6 prevents ¤h5 but it

weakens the king so it's understandable
Bacrot did not want to play it. But here
Black can at least play on, while after the

08/137
Faster time = big mistakes

Faster time controls inevitably lead to big
mistakes. I found the following one the
most incredible:
Sergey Karjakin - Alexander Grischuk

GCT Rapid Paris 2017 Paris FRA (6.2)
XIIIIIIIIY
9R+-+-+k+0
9+-wq-+pzp-0
9-+-+p+-+0
9+l+-+-+L0 Not so fast! Or, rather – not fast enough:
Sergey Karjakin
9-+r+-+-zP0
9+-+-+-zP-0
9-+-+QzP-mK0 When rules
9+-+-+-+-0 don’t favour justice
xiiiiiiiiy Carlsen’s misfortunes in the blitz started
57...¢h7 White was pressing for a long when the following happened:
time, not because he was better, but
because Grischuk was playing inhis last Magnus Carlsen - Alexander Grischuk
five seconds (there were no increments,
but a delay of five seconds before a GCT Blitz Paris 2017 Paris FRA (5.1)
move is played). And now when there is XIIIIIIIIY
nothing more to play for he overlooks the 9-+-+-+-+0
simplest thing.
9+k+-+-+-0
58.¥f3?? 58.¥g4 would have been a draw. 9-+-zP-+-+0
58...¦xh4+ 9+-+-mK-+-0
0–1 9-+-+-+-+0
9+-+-+-+-0
Vachier-Lagrave 9-+-+-sN-+0
shines in blitz
9+l+-+-+-0
Moving onto the blitz in Paris it was xiiiiiiiiy
another player’s turn to shine. The local 0–1
boy Vachier-Lagrave was incredible and
won it with 13/18, two full points ahead of No, it isn't a typo!
Nakamura and, guess who, Caruana!
White lost on time here. Since a theoretical
An amazing turn of fortunes for the latter mate for Black is possible (for example he
after his miserable performance in the promotes a bishop, puts it on b8, the king
rapid. Carlsen shared fourth place with on a8, the knight somewhere on h2 and a
10/18 and only a last-round win against Black king on b6 and a bishop on e4) the
So enabled him to force a tie-break. result is in accordance with the rules...

August 2017
Even though this happened as early as Etienne Bacrot – Magnus Carlsen

Round 5, Carlsen’s play was far from
the steadiness he showed in the rapid. He GCT Blitz Paris 2017 Paris FRA (2.4)
suffered three losses in a row in Rounds
15-17 when he lost to Karjakin, Vachier 1.e4 c5 2.¤f3 d6 3.¥b5+ Bacrot plays
and Nakamura. In the tie-break, though, Carlsen's favourite variation against the
fuelled by that last-round win against So, man himself. Carlsen's reaction was a
he was again his confident self and he won bit surprising.
comfortably by winning the first game and
drawing the second. 3...¥d7 4.¥xd7+ £xd7 5.c4 e5 This isn't
considered very good for Black even after
I found the following game very impressive the curious bishop manoeuvre.
especially because it was played in blitz:
6.¤c3 ¤c6 7.d3 ¥e7 8.a3 ¥d8!? This
has been played before, but it seems like
a perfect weapon for blitz - not entirely
sound, but with a surprise value.
Caruana’s nightmare
9.0–0 ¤ge7 10.b4 10.¦b1 is better, as there
The biggest surprise in the rapid wasn’t is no need to sacrifice the pawn.
Carlsen’s victory, but rather the player
who ended up last! With only 3 draws 10...cxb4 11.axb4 ¤xb4 12.¥a3 ¤bc6
from 9 rounds (unbelievable as it may 13.d4 exd4 14.¤xd4 ¤xd4 15.£xd4 0–0
sound) it was Fabiano Caruana who had 16.e5 16.¥xd6 ¦e8 17.e5 ¤c6 is OK for
a nightmare in Paris. Black.
It is difficult to explain how that 16...¤c6 17.£xd6 £xd6 18.exd6 ¥f6

happened, but in fact there was a fair 19.¦ac1 ¥xc3! The ¤c3 was very dangerous
share of volatility when it came to the because it threatened to come to d5.
players. Not a single player managed to
keep it steady throughout, even though 20.¦xc3 ¦fd8
some managed it better than others. XIIIIIIIIY
9r+-tr-+k+0
9zpp+-+pzpp0
9-+nzP-+-+0
9+-+-+-+-0
9-+P+-+-+0
9vL-tR-+-+-0
9-+-+-zPPzP0
9+-+-+RmK-0
xiiiiiiiiy
This is the moment from where my
amazement begins. White's pawns are
going nowhere, so he needs to be patient.
What I find very instructive here is how
Black manages to outplay White from
this position.

08/137
21.¦b1 ¦d7 22.¦e3 By removing the rook 29.¢e3 ¢e6 It is apparent that Black has
from the c-file White allows the ...b6 break. improved his position tremendously but
That would draw the game for Black, but White is not worse - yet! However, in such
it seems Black wasn't playing for a draw! situations it is the momentum that counts
rather than the objective evaluation and the
22.c5. momentum has been firmly in Black's favour.
22...f6 23.c5 ¢f7 23...b6! 24.cxb6 axb6 30.¦5b4 This allows a further activation of
25.¦xb6 ¦xd6 is an immediate draw. the Black king, building Black's momentum
even more. But, bear in mind, the position
24.¦eb3 is still equal.
XIIIIIIIIY 30.f4 was still safe for White 30...¦c4
9r+-+-+-+0 31.¦d3 ¤c6 32.h4 and Black's progress
9zpp+r+kzpp0 has come to a halt.
9-+nzP-zp-+0 30...¦xb4 31.¦xb4 ¢d5 32.¦e4?
9+-zP-+-+-0 XIIIIIIIIY
9-+-+-+-+0 9-+-sn-+-+0
9vLR+-+-+-0 9zpp+r+-zpp0
9-+-+-zPPzP0 9-+-zP-zp-+0
9+R+-+-mK-0 9+-zPk+-+-0
xiiiiiiiiy 9-+-+R+-+0
24...¤d8! The start of a wonderful plan to
improve the position of his pieces. This is 9vL-+-mK-+-0
the exact moment when Black starts to do 9-+-+-zPPzP0
something constructive and improves his
position and this turns the momentum in 9+-+-+-+-0
his favour. xiiiiiiiiy
And here comes the mistake. In spite of the
25.¢f1 ¦c8! 26.¢e2 ¦c6! 27.¦b5 ¦a6 objective evaluation, White must have felt
28.¦1b3 ¦a4! like the inferior side here, witnessing Black's
XIIIIIIIIY original and aesthetically pleasing plan.
It takes quite a strong will not to succumb
9-+-sn-+-+0 to these impressions and keep playing
9zpp+r+kzpp0 according to the objective evaluation as if
nothing had happened.
9-+-zP-zp-+0
9+RzP-+-+-0 32.¦d4+! ¢c6 33.¦e4 takes away both c6
9r+-+-+-+0 and e6 from the ¤d8.
9vLR+-+-+-0 32...¤c6 Now Black's pieces are perfectly
9-+-+KzPPzP0 placed. He only needs to activate the rook
and then start pushing on the queenside.
9+-+-+-+-0
xiiiiiiiiy 33.¦h4 It is difficult to suggest something
An incredible manoeuvre - the ¦a8, as constructive for White.
if jumping over the a7–pawn, magically
appeared on a4! 33.f3 ¦d8 34.¦g4 g6 35.¦e4 f5 36.¦a4 b5

August 2017
37.cxb6 axb6 with excellent winning chances Shakhriyar Mamedyarov -

for Black in view of his superior activity. Hikaru Nakamura
33...h6 34.¦h5+ This only helps Black as GCT Blitz Paris 2017 Paris FRA (16.1)
the ¤e5 will threaten ...¤c4 once unpinned. XIIIIIIIIY
9-+-+-+-+0
34...¤e5 35.f4 35.¢d2 g6 36.¦h3 ¤c4+
37.¢c2 ¤xa3+ 38.¦xa3 ¢xc5 39.¦xa7
9+-+-+-+-0
¢xd6. 9-+-+-+-+0
9+-+-tR-+P0
35...g6 The only move, but it suffices.
9-+-+-+-+0
36.fxe5? 9+-+K+p+r0
XIIIIIIIIY 9-+-+-+-+0
9-+-+-+-+0 9+-+-+k+-0
9zpp+r+-+-0 xiiiiiiiiy
9-+-zP-zppzp0 75.¦f5 Black is winning here, but it is not
as straightforward as the engine's -15 would
9+-zPkzP-+R0 suggest.
9-+-+-+-+0
75...¢g2? Now it is a draw.
9vL-+-mK-+-0
9-+-+-+PzP0 75...f2+ 76.¢d2 ¦h2! Threatening to play
9+-+-+-+-0 ...¢g1 and cover the checks by ...¦g2
77.¦g5 ¦h1! Zugzwang! 78.¢d1 ¦g1
xiiiiiiiiy 79.¦f5 ¢g2+ and wins.
Throwing in the towel.
76.¢e3 f2+ 77.¢e2 And now the most
36.¦h3 was the only move 36...¤c4+ absurd thing happens.
37.¢e2 a5 there is no rush to enter a rook
endgame just yet. (The rook endgame after 77...f1¤??
37...¤xa3 38.¦xa3 ¢xc5 39.¦xa7 ¢xd6
is also very promising for Black.) 38.¦c3 XIIIIIIIIY
¤xa3 39.¦xa3 ¢xc5 40.¦xa5+ b5!µ 9-+-+-+-+0
with a better version of the rook endgame
- the pawn is more advanced and the rook
9+-+-+-+-0
from d6 will defend the kingside pawns 9-+-+-+-+0
and cut off the White king. 9+-+-+R+P0
36...gxh5 37.exf6 ¦f7 38.¥b2 ¢xc5 9-+-+-+-+0
0–1 9+-+-+-+r0
9-+-+K+k+0
9+-+-+n+-0
BIZARRE MISTAKES xiiiiiiiiy
I would say that bishops are stronger than
There were even more mistakes in the blitz. knights, so it was better to promote to a
The events in the following game definitely bishop.
rank among the most bizarre ones I have
ever witnessed. 77...f1¥+ 78.¦xf1 ¦xh5 and they could

08/137
have played a few more moves from this

position if they wanted.
78.¦f2+! Definitely missed by Black, but

did he think he could win by promoting a
knight? Or did he want to show his sense
of humour? Or, maybe, he just grabbed the
wrong piece to put on f1?
78...¢g1 79.¦xf1+ ¢g2 80.¦f2+ ¢g1

81.¦f5 What a transformation! From a lost
position to this one! This is still a draw
though, and relatively simple at that, but as
in the Carlsen game above the momentum
is clearly in White's favour.
81...¦a3 Why let the h-pawn advance?

This does not make any sense at all.
81...¢g2 was the simplest, as White's king

cannot cross the 3rd rank.
82.h6 ¦h3 83.¦f6 ¢h2 84.¢f2 ¦h4

84...¢h1 is the same draw as before. Now
White's king advances one rank forward.
Still a draw though...
85.¢f3 ¢h3 86.¦g6 ¦a4? This loses,

but Mamedyarov does not take the
first chance. Here we see a copy of the
mechanism from move 81 when Black
allowed White's pawn to advance.
86...¢h2 and White cannot make progress.
87.h7? Mamedyarov advances according

to the mechanism, but this misses the win.
87.¦g1! ¢h2 88.¦g4 and White wins.
87...¦h4 88.¦g7 ¦h6??
Nakamura never understood the importance

of not letting the White king advance forward.
88...¢h2 is still a draw, in spite of all the

progress White has made.
89.¢f4 ¢h4 90.¢f5 ¦h5+ 91.¢g6 ¢g4

92.¢f7+
1–0

August 2017
STAGE TWO: LEUVEN (28th June to 2nd July)
Wesley So’s
rise from the
ashes of Paris

08/137
After a dominating rapid and a wobbly blitz Carlsen was still the best player in Paris. A
few days later in Leuven the scenario would be reversed...
The second stage of the 2017 Grand Chess Tour was held in the Belgian town of Leuven,
from 28th June to 2nd July. The event was sponsored by Your Next Move, a non-profit
organisation promoting chess as an educational tool. The rules: 9 rounds of rapid chess
(25 minutes with a 10-second delay) were played on the first 3 days, with wins worth 2
points. Then 18 rounds of blitz (5 minutes with a 3-second delay) followed on the final 2
days, with wins worth 1 point.
The Leuven rapid was dominated by Wesley So, who finished with an appalling 6/18 in
the Paris blitz. Just like Caruana, after a very bad tournament he managed to pick himself
up and show his best in the next one. With 7/9 and without a loss he was a full point ahead
of Vachier and a point and a half ahead of Carlsen. Their game from Round 3 turned out
to be decisive.
Magnus Carlsen - Wesley So

GCT Rapid YourNextMove Leuven BEL (3.2) 25...hxg4 26.£xg4
XIIIIIIIIY XIIIIIIIIY
9-+r+-+k+0 9-+r+-+-+0
9zpp+-+p+p0 9zpp+-+pmk-0
9-+-+-+p+0 9-+-+-+p+0
9+-+-+-+-0 9+-+-wq-+-0
9-wq-+p+-+0 9-+-tRp+Q+0
9+P+-zP-+P0 9+P+-zP-+P0
9P+-+QzPP+0 9P+-+-zPK+0
9+-+R+-mK-0 9+-+-+-+-0
xiiiiiiiiy xiiiiiiiiy
21...h5 The position is equal, but White White finally managed to attack the over-
tries to take advantage of the fact that extended pawn twice, but this came at a
the pawn on e4 can turn out to be over- price - his king is exposed now and he has
extended. had to allow a penetration on the second
rank.
22.g4 Gaining space on the kingside. This
does weaken the king, although for now 26...¦c2 27.£xe4 £g5+! Now Black
Black is nowhere near to exploiting it. But shows that he plays for more than a draw! A
this also introduces the element of risk in very incisive decision by So, who correctly
the position and it will be White who will judged that the weakened king can give
need to be more careful later on. him chances.
22.¦d4 ¦c1+ 23.¢h2 £e7 24.g3 h4 25.g4 27...£xe4+ 28.¦xe4 ¦xa2 would have
¢g7=; 22.£d2 £xd2 23.¦xd2 h4=. been an easy draw.
22...£c5 23.¢g2 £e5 24.¦d4 ¢g7 28.¢f1 ¦xa2 The material is equal but
25.£d1 Threatening ¦d5. Black has the safer king. It is clear that
White's idea on move 22 has failed.

August 2017
29.¦a4 ¦d2 35...£g4+ 36.¢d3 36.¢d2 is better, but

XIIIIIIIIY probably would not have changed the result.
9-+-+-+-+0 36...£d1+ 37.¢c3 £c1+ 38.¢d3 a4?
9zpp+-+pmk-0 This lets the win slip.
9-+-+-+p+0 38...axb4 39.¦xb4 ¦a5 wins.
9+-+-+-wq-0
9R+-+Q+-+0 39.¢e2 a3 39...¦f6 40.¦d8 £b2+
(40...£c6 41.£e5 and with a pinned rook
9+P+-zP-+P0 Black cannot hope to win) 41.¦d2 with the
9-+-tr-zP-+0 idea to return to d8.
9+-+-+K+-0 40.¦d2? 40.¦d8! saves the game 40...a2
xiiiiiiiiy 41.£d4+ ¦f6 42.¦a8 just in time!
29...¦xa4 30.bxa4 £f6= is a draw.
40...£g1? Again allowing the saving
30.¢e1 30.¦xa7! was possible and resource.
better, but it definitely looks dangerous
for White 30...£f6 (30...£h5 31.¢g2; 40...¢h7 getting away from the sensitive
30...£b5+ 31.¢g2) 31.£f4 £c6 diagonal would have won.
(31...£e6 32.¢g2 £xb3 and in addition
to the weak king now White has to be 41.£c4?
careful about the passed b-pawn. That XIIIIIIIIY
is what a human would think, while the
engine finds a draw after 33.¦a8! with 9-+-+-+-+0
the idea of £h4) 32.£e5+ ¢h7 33.e4 9+p+-+pmk-0
£c1+ 34.¢g2 ¦d1 35.¦a8! in cold
blood White creates a mating threat of 9-+-+-+p+0
his own as Black has nothing more than 9+-+-+r+-0
a perpetual 35...¦g1+ 36.¢h2 ¦h1+ 9-zPQ+-zP-zP0
37.¢g3, the only move, 37...£g1+
38.¢f3 £d1+=. 9zp-+-zP-+-0
9-+-tRK+-+0
30...¦d5 31.¦d4 31.¦xa7? Now this isn't
possible: 31...£g1+ 32.¢e2 £d1#. 9+-+-+-wq-0
xiiiiiiiiy
31...¦b5 32.b4 a5 Creating a passed pawn 41.¦d8!= a2 42.£d4+ ¦f6 43.¦a8.
and the proverbial second weakness (the
weak king being the first; White will have 41...¦f6 42.£d4 a2 Now the rook is not
to defend against both). on d8 so White cannot control the a-pawn.
33.h4? This allows further weakening of 43.¦d1 £g2+ 44.¢d3 44.¢e1 was more
the king. resilient, but should have lost anyway after
44...£h2 45.¦a1 £xh4+ 46.¢d2 ¢h7
33.bxa5 ¦b1+ 34.¢e2 £h5+ 35.£g4 with ...¦a6 to follow 47.¦xa2 ¦c6! With
£xa5 continues to be very unpleasant for a mating attack.
White.
44...£c6 White is lost because he cannot
33...£g1+ 34.¢e2 ¦f5! 35.f4 Forced! defend against everything - the a-pawn and
the threat to include the ¦f6 in the attack.

08/137
45.h5 ¢h7 46.hxg6+ ¦xg6 47.b5 £xb5+ The second game was perhaps Giri’s
48.¢c2 ¦g2+ 49.¢c3 £b2+ 50.¢c4 best game in both tournaments. An
¦c2+ 51.¢d5 £b3+ early novelty followed by a crushing
0–1 sacrificial attack is every player’s
Carlsen did not break down this time: he secret wish!
did not lose another game in the rapid, and
beat Kramnik and Jobava, finishing sole Anish Giri - Levon Aronian
third.
GCT Rapid YourNextMove Leuven BEL (3.4)
1.c4 ¤f6 2.¤c3 e5 3.¤f3 ¤c6 4.g3 ¥b4

Leuven rapid novelties 5.¤d5 e4 6.¤h4 0–0 7.¥g2 d6 8.b3!
The Leuven event led to quite a few XIIIIIIIIY
novelties being produced. From the rapid, 9r+lwq-trk+0
I would like to draw your attention to two
interesting opening ideas. Both games
9zppzp-+pzpp0
featured Anish Giri. 9-+nzp-sn-+0
9+-+N+-+-0
Anish Giri – Vladimir Kramnik
9-vlP+p+-sN0
GCT Rapid YourNextMove Leuven BEL (9.4)
9+P+-+-zP-0
1.c4 e6 2.¤c3 ¥b4 3.£c2 Black's idea 9P+-zPPzPLzP0
can be employed even after 3.£b3 c5 4.a3 9tR-vLQmK-+R0
¥xc3 5.£xc3.
xiiiiiiiiy
3...c5 4.a3 ¥xc3 5.£xc3 £f6! The novelty, most probably inspired by
Nakamura's play.
XIIIIIIIIY
9rsnl+k+ntr0 8.a3 was Nakamura's choice in the
Candidates against Anand 8...¥c5
9zpp+p+pzpp0 9.0–0 ¦e8 10.e3 g5 11.b4! 1–0 (26)
9-+-+pwq-+0 Nakamura,H (2790)-Anand,V (2762)
9+-zp-+-+-0 Moscow 2016.
9-+P+-+-+0
Giri floated some interesting opening
9zP-wQ-+-+-0 ideas in Leuven
9-zP-zPPzPPzP0
9tR-vL-mKLsNR0
xiiiiiiiiy
A novelty on move 5! Even though White
will have the bishop pair in the endgame,
the closed character of the position and the
possibility of putting his pawns on dark
squares give Black good game.
6.£xf6 ¤xf6 7.b4 b6 8.¤f3 ¤c6 9.¦b1

d6 10.e3 e5 11.bxc5 bxc5 12.d3 ¥f5 With
equality.
½–½

August 2017
8...g5 Taking up the gauntlet, but it was XIIIIIIIIY

perhaps wiser not to.
9r+l+-mk-+0
8...¤xd5 9.cxd5 £f6 10.¦b1 ¥c5 11.0–0 9zppzp-wqp+L0
¤d4 12.e3 g5 is double-edged; 8...¥c5
9.¥b2 ¥d4 was probably the simplest.
9n+-zp-+-+0
9+-+Ptr-+-0
9.¥b2 ¤xd5 10.cxd5 ¤b8? 9-vl-+-wQ-zP0
XIIIIIIIIY 9+P+-+-+-0
9rsnlwq-trk+0 9PvL-zPPzP-zP0
9zppzp-+p+p0 9tR-+-mK-tR-0
9-+-zp-+-+0 xiiiiiiiiy
9+-+P+-zp-0 17...¦xe2+ 17...¥xd2+ 18.¢xd2 ¦xd5+
19.¢e1 and White has an attack, being a
9-vl-+p+-sN0 pawn up!
9+P+-+-zP-0
9PvL-zPPzPLzP0 18.¢d1 ¦xd2+ 19.£xd2 19.¢c1 ¦c2+
20.¢xc2 £e2+ 21.¢b1 also wins.
9tR-+QmK-+R0
xiiiiiiiiy 19...£xh4 20.¦g8+ ¢e7 21.£e3+ ¥e6
The decisive mistake. 22.dxe6 £h5+ 22...¦xg8 23.exf7+ ¢xf7
24.¥xg8+ ¢xg8 25.£e8+ ¢h7 26.£h8+
10...¤e5 11.f4 ¤g4! (11...gxh4 12.fxe5 ¢g6 27.£xh4.
e3 13.0–0 looks dangerous for Black;
11...gxf4 12.¥xe4 is a mess) 12.fxg5 23.¢c1 ¦xg8 24.exf7+ ¢xf7 25.£f4+
£xg5 13.¥xe4 (13.0–0 £xd2) 13...¦e8 ¢e8 26.¥xg8 White is a rook up. A
14.¥f3 ¤xh2! 15.¦xh2 £xg3+ 16.¦f2 beautiful attack by Giri.
£g1+ is a perpetual.
26...¤c5 27.¥c4 d5 28.¥b5+ c6 29.£xb4
11.£c2! Now White's attack is irresistible. £g5+ 30.£d2
1–0
11...gxh4 11...f5 12.g4! and White will
manage to take the e4–pawn 12...gxh4
13.gxf5 ¥xf5 14.¦g1 ¥g6 15.¥xe4 is Carlsen like Fischer
crushing.
Then came the blitz and here Carlsen
12.¥xe4 ¦e8 12...f5 13.gxh4! ¦f7 shone. Carlsen’s triumph in the blitz
14.¥f3 £xh4 15.a3! This is crucial, to reminded me of Fischer’s triumph
kick the bishop in order to obtain control in Herceg Novi blitz in 1970. Let’s
over c3 15...¥a5 16.b4 ¥b6 17.£c3! compare: Carlsen scored 14.5/18,
¥xf2+ 18.¢d1 ¥d4 19.£xd4 £xd4 losing only one game in the process.
20.¥xd4 with a winning endgame. He finished 4.5 points ahead of second-
placed Giri and Vachier. Fischer
13.¥xh7+ ¢f8 14.£c4 ¤a6 15.gxh4 scored 19/22, losing only one game
Opening the g-file and threatening g1. in the process and finishing 4.5 points
ahead of Tal. Equally impressive, I
15...¦e5 16.£f4 £e7 17.¦g1 would say!
In Paris, Carlsen dominated the rapid,

08/137
in Leuven he destroyed the competition

in the blitz. The moment it appeared
that somebody else had a chance to win
the tournament Carlsen pulled himself
together and won on demand. Such
effort and character cannot be matched
by any other player and are among the
reasons why Carlsen is the best player
in the world. I now remain hopeful
that this confidence will filter through
to his classical chess and that he will
return to his best there as well.
The game against Jobava shows

Carlsen’s creativity in solving
middlegame problems.
Photo by Lennart Ootes
Ba Jobava – Magnus Carlsen Carlsen’s triumph
GCT Blitz YourNextMove Leuven BEL (8) in the blitz reminded me
of Fischer’s triumph
1.e4 c5 2.¤c3 d6 3.¤ge2 ¤f6 4.g3 g6 in Herceg Novi blitz
5.¥g2 ¥g7 6.d3 ¤c6 7.0–0 0–0 8.h3
Jobava played this system in the Closed
in 1970. Let’s compare:
Sicilian three times, but he lost all the Carlsen scored
games (the other two against So and 14.5/18, losing only
Vachier). one game in the
8...e5 8...¦b8 was chosen by both Vachier process. He finished
and So 9.f4 ¥d7 (9...¤e8 10.a4 ¤c7 4.5 points ahead of
11.f5 e6 0–1 (65) Jobava,B (2707)-Vachier second placed Giri
Lagrave,M (2796) Leuven BEL 2017)
10.g4 b5 11.¤g3 b4 12.¤ce2 a5 0–1 (37) and Vachier. Fischer
Jobava,B (2707)-So,W (2812) Leuven scored 19/22, losing
BEL 2017. only one game in the
9.f4 ¤d4 10.f5 process and finishing
XIIIIIIIIY 4.5 points ahead of Tal
A new move and quite a promising one.
9r+lwq-trk+0
9zpp+-+pvlp0 10.g4 has been played before.
9-+-zp-snp+0
10...b5 Striving to start his own play on the
9+-zp-zpP+-0 queenside as soon as possible.
9-+-snP+-+0
11.¤xd4 cxd4 12.¤e2 After this Black's
9+-sNP+-zPP0 play is justified.
9PzPP+N+L+0
9tR-vLQ+RmK-0 12.¤xb5 was critical 12...d5 13.exd5
¥xf5 14.¥g5! (14.g4 ¥c8 15.£f3 ¥b7
xiiiiiiiiy 16.c4 dxc3 17.¤xc3 ¤e8 …f5 with unclear

August 2017
the piece but the ¥c1 is a prisoner and it

will be Black now to start attacking on the
kingside.
17.¥e4 ¥g5 17...¥h4 was an alternative

18.£f3 (18.£g4 ¢h8 …gf,¦g8) 18...£g5
19.¢h2 £xg3+ 20.£xg3 ¥xg3+
21.¢xg3 gxf5 22.¥xf5 e2! 23.¦e1 ¥xf5
24.¦xe2 ¦fe8µ with a clear pawn up for
Black.
18.b4 Trying to get the bishop out, but it

won't be much more active on b2.
18...¦b6 Transferring the rook over to the

kingside.
play) 14...h6 15.¥xf6 ¥xf6 16.¤a3 ¥d7
and the engine does not believe in Black's 19.a4 ¢h8 20.¥b2 ¥f4?
compensation for the pawn, but things are XIIIIIIIIY
not at all clear.
9-+lwq-tr-mk0
12...d5 13.g4 dxe4 14.¤g3 ¦b8 15.g5 9zp-+-+p+p0
Probably missing Black's next move.
9-tr-+-+p+0
15.dxe4 h6 16.g5 hxg5 17.¥xg5 £b6 9+p+-zpP+-0
with an unclear position.; 15.¤xe4 9PzP-zpLvl-+0
¤xe4 16.¥xe4 £h4 17.£f3 ¥d7 is
approximately equal. 9+-+Pzp-sNP0
9-vLP+-+-+0
15...e3!
9tR-+Q+RmK-0
XIIIIIIIIY xiiiiiiiiy
9-trlwq-trk+0 Allowing White a chance to finally liberate
9zp-+-+pvlp0 the bishop, but he surprisingly fails to take
it. Carlsen's only mistake in the game, fully
9-+-+-snp+0 forgivable in blitz.
9+p+-zpPzP-0
9-+-zp-+-+0 20...¥h4! 21.£f3 £g5 22.¢h2 ¦f6
23.¦g1 gxf5 24.¤xf5 ¦xf5 25.¥xf5 £xf5
9+-+Pzp-sNP0 26.£xf5 ¥xf5 27.axb5 ¦c8 should win for
9PzPP+-+L+0 Black.
9tR-vLQ+RmK-0 21.£g4? 21.¦xf4! exf4 22.¤e2 and from
xiiiiiiiiy a prisoner the bishop is transformed to a
beast!
A creative solution to the problems.
21...h5 Now Black wins.
15...¤e8 16.dxe4 will see Black's ¥g7
imprisoned after f6. 22.£f3 gxf5 23.¤xf5 £g5+ 24.£g2
24.¢h1 ¥xf5.
16.gxf6 ¥xf6 Black has two pawns for

08/137
24...¦g8 25.¤xd4 £xg2+ 26.¥xg2 have been more prudent, but Carlsen was
¦bg6 27.¦xf4 ¦xg2+ 28.¢h1 exf4 obviously in a creative mood.
29.axb5 ¢h7 Threatening ¦2g3–h3
with mate. 7...£xg5 8.d5 ¤d8 8...¤a5 is an
0–1 alternative.
9.d6
“Energy and flow” XIIIIIIIIY
In his own words, blitz is all about “energy
9r+lsnk+ntr0
and flow.” Carlsen undoubtedly had both 9zppzpp+pzpp0
in abundance. The win against Vachier was 9-+-zP-+-+0
an incredible game showing the energy that
went with the flow. 9+-+-zp-wq-0
9-+P+-+-+0
Magnus Carlsen - Lagrave,M Vachier 9+-zP-zP-+-0
GCT Blitz YourNextMove Leuven BEL (12) 9P+-+-zP-zP0
1.c4 e5 2.e3 ¤f6 3.¤c3 ¤c6 4.g4 This has 9tR-vLQmKLsNR0
been tried by Rapport and Short before, but xiiiiiiiiy
is probably too extravagant... This was White's idea, playing against the
bishop on c8. Perhaps a recurring theme in
4...¥b4 Carlsen's games, bearing in mind his game
XIIIIIIIIY against Jobava above.
9r+lwqk+-tr0 9...c6 Keeping control over d5, although
9zppzpp+pzpp0 the engine prefers 9...c5.
9-+n+-sn-+0 10.¤f3 £f5 11.¦g1 ¤e6 12.e4!! A
9+-+-zp-+-0 fantastic move! Everything in the name of
9-vlP+-+P+0 development!
9+-sN-zP-+-0 12...£xe4+ 13.¥e3 £f5 14.¤g5
9PzP-zP-zP-zP0 Threatening to take on e6 and g7.
9tR-vLQmKLsNR0 14...¤f4 15.¥xf4 £xf4 16.¦g4 £f6
xiiiiiiiiy 16...£f5 17.¥d3.
A novelty, but this is not surprising in such
a rarely played line! 17.¤e4 £h6 18.£f3 White's developmental
advantage is huge, but Black's position is
4...h6 5.¥g2 d6 6.h3 ¥e6 (6...¤e7 difficult to breach.
7.d4 ¤g6 8.¤f3 ¥e7 9.£c2 ½–½ (29)
Rapport,R (2676)-Aronian,L (2795) 18...¤f6 18...g6 19.£g3 £g7 20.¦g5 f6
Germany 2014) 7.¤d5 e4 0–1 (21) 21.¦f5 ¢f8 22.¦f3 is a crazy line leading
Rapport,R (2716)-Pavlovic,M (2478) Basel to the inevitable 0.00!
2015; 4...d5 5.g5 d4 6.gxf6 dxc3 7.fxg7
cxd2+ 8.¥xd2 ¥xg7 9.¥c3 1–0 (30) 19.¦xg7! Only forward!
Short,N (2683)-Docx,S (2468) Caleta 2014.
19...£xg7?
5.g5 ¥xc3 6.bxc3 ¤g8 7.d4 7.h4 would

August 2017
XIIIIIIIIY
9r+l+k+-tr0 Finally all White's pieces are in the attack
while all Black has left are the hopeless ¥c8
9zpp+p+pwqp0 and ¦b8.
9-+pzP-sn-+0
9+-+-zp-+-0 29...¥a6 30.£g4 ¦d8 31.¦g3 e4 32.£xe4
¦e8 33.£g4 ¥c8 34.¢g2 £g5 After a
9-+P+N+-+0 move like 34...a5 apparently 35.¥f5 leads
9+-zP-+Q+-0 to a mate in 20 for White.
9P+-+-zP-zP0 35.£f3 £d5 36.£xd5+ cxd5 37.¥xh7
9tR-+-mKL+-0 The endgame is easily winning for White.
xiiiiiiiiy
And Black finally cracks. Not surprising in 37...¦e5 38.f4 ¦e2+ 39.¢f1 ¦xh2
the least. 39...¦d2 40.¢e1.
19...¢f8 was the only move 20.¦g3 ¤xe4 40.¥g8+ ¢f8 41.¥xd5 The domination
21.£xe4 £xd6 22.£h4 ¢e8 23.¦d1 with continues, forcing Black's next move as the
compensation for the two pawns in a very only one to prevent mate.
murky position.
41...¦h8 42.¢f2 ¥a6 43.¢e3 ¢e8
20.¤xf6+ ¢d8 21.£f5 Threatening the 44.¢d4 ¢d8 45.¦g7 ¥c8 46.c6 dxc6
simple £e5. 47.¥xc6 a5 48.¢c5
1–0
21...¦e8 The only move.
A blitz disaster
22.¤xe8 ¢xe8 23.c5 It is understandable
that White wished to bury the bishop. Leuven had its own share of blitz disasters.
Perhaps looking at these we can be less hard
23.0–0–0! with the straightforward idea or on ourselves when similar things happen in
e1 and f4 would have won faster. our own games.
23...b5 24.¥d3 f6 25.¢e2 Together with Welsey So – Viswanathan Anand
White's next two moves, a rarely seen idea
to occupy an open file. GCT Blitz YourNextMove Leuven BEL (2)
25...¢f7 26.¦h1! ¦b8 27.¢f1! (¦g1). The event also saw a miss by Annand
which can hardly be explained by rational,
27...£g6 28.£f3 £h6 29.¦g1 chess factors...
9-trl+-+-+0 9-+rtr-+k+0
9zp-+p+k+p0 9zpl+-vlpzp-0
9-+pzP-zp-wq0 9-wq-+-+-+0
9+pzP-zp-+-0 9+-zpp+-+p0
9-+-+-+-+0 9-+-+-+-+0
9+-zPL+Q+-0 9+P+-zPNzP-0
9P+-+-zP-zP0 9PvLRwQ-zPP+0
9+-+-+KtR-0 9+-tR-+-mK-0
08/137
20.¦fc1 Black is perfectly OK, but his next Ba Jobava - Lagrave,M Vachier
move is a one-move blunder.
GCT Blitz YourNextMove Leuven BEL (16)
20...¦c7?? 21.¥c3 And ¥a5 wins XIIIIIIIIY
material.
9-+-+-+-+0
21...d4 22.exd4 cxd4 23.¥a5 9+p+-+k+-0
1–0 9p+-+-zp-+0
9zPl+R+K+-0
Viswanathan Anand – Vladimir Kramnik 9-+p+-+-+0
GCT Blitz YourNextMove Leuven BEL (4) 9+-zP-+-+-0
XIIIIIIIIY 9-+-+-+-+0
9-+-+-mk-+0 9+-+-+-+-0
9+-+-sn-+-0 xiiiiiiiiy
64...¢e7 The question here is - White to
9-+-+-+-vl0 move and lose in 1 move. Jobava finds the
9+-+-+-tR-0 only way.
9-zP-+N+-+0 65.¦c5?? ¢d6 And the rook is lost after
9+-zP-+-zP-0 the check on d7.
9-+r+-vLKzP0 0–1
9+-+-+-+-0
xiiiiiiiiy
45.¦e5 How is it possible that Anand did
not win this?
½–½
Mind
Ann contro
a
Wha nd – ch l over
teve eck!
won r
’t wi I do he
n in
the e
nd!
The Grand Chess Tour will continue with

the Sinquefield Cup in St. Louis at the end
of July, the first of the two classical events
in the tour (the second one is the London
Classic in December).
The field includes Carlsen, Caruana,

Nakamura, So, Karjakin, Vachier-Lagrave,
Anand, Nepomniachtchi and Aronian. It
will be a blast and we will be sure to cover
it here in BCM!

GCT Rapid Paris 2017 Paris FRA (FRA), 21-25 vi 2017 cat. XXII (2783)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
1 Carlsen, Magnus g NOR 2832 * ½ ½ 1 1 1 ½ 1 1 ½ 7 2997
2 Grischuk, Alexander g RUS 2761 ½ * 0 ½ 1 ½ 1 1 1 1 6½ 2951
3 Nakamura, Hikaru g USA 2785 ½ 1 * 0 ½ ½ ½ 1 1 1 6 2908
4 Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime g FRA 2796 0 ½ 1 * 0 ½ 1 1 1 ½ 5½ 2861
5 Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar g AZE 2800 0 0 ½ 1 * ½ 1 1 ½ 1 5½ 2861
6 So, Wesley g USA 2812 0 ½ ½ ½ ½ * 0 ½ 1 1 4½ 2780
7 Karjakin, Sergey g RUS 2781 ½ 0 ½ 0 0 1 * ½ 1 ½ 4 2740
8 Topalov, Veselin g BUL 2749 0 0 0 0 0 ½ ½ * ½ 1 2½ 2621
9 Bacrot, Etienne g FRA 2708 0 0 0 0 ½ 0 0 ½ * 1 2 2571
10 Caruana, Fabiano g USA 2808 ½ 0 0 ½ 0 0 ½ 0 0 * 1½ 2507
GCT Blitz Paris 2017 Paris cat. XXII GCT Blitz YourNextMove Leuven cat. XXII
(2783) (2778)
1 Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime FRA 2796 13.0 2947 1. Carlsen, Magnus NOR 2832 14.5 3022
2 Nakamura, Hikaru USA 2785 11.0 2863 2. Giri, Anish NED 2771 10.0 2821
3 Caruana, Fabiano USA 2808 11.0 2860 3. Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime FRA 2796 10.0 2818
4 Karjakin, Sergey RUS 2781 10.0 2826 4. Kramnik, Vladimir RUS 2808 9.5 2795
5 Carlsen, Magnus NOR 2832 10.0 2820 5. Aronian, Levon ARM 2793 9.5 2796
6 Grischuk, Alexander RUS 2761 9.0 2785 6. Nepomniachtchi, Ian RUS 2732 9.0 2782
7 Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar AZE 2800 9.0 2781 7. Ivanchuk, Vassily UKR 2738 8.5 2760
8 Topalov, Veselin BUL 2749 6.5 2685 8. So, Wesley USA 2812 8.5 2752
9 So, Wesley USA 2812 6.0 2655 9. Anand, Viswanathan IND 2786 8.0 2733
10 Bacrot, Etienne FRA 2708 4.5 2598 10 Jobava, Baadur GEO 2707 2.5 2476
GCT Rapid YourNextMove Leuven BEL (BEL), 28 vi-2 vii 2017 cat. XXII (2778)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
1. So, Wesley g USA 2812 * ½ 1 ½ ½ 1 1 1 ½ 1 7 2993
2. Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime g FRA 2796 ½ * ½ ½ 1 0 ½ 1 1 1 6 2900
3. Carlsen, Magnus g NOR 2832 0 ½ * ½ ½ 1 1 ½ ½ 1 5½ 2851
4. Giri, Anish g NED 2771 ½ ½ ½ * 0 1 ½ ½ 1 ½ 5 2821
5. Nepomniachtchi, Ian g RUS 2732 ½ 0 ½ 1 * 1 ½ 0 0 1 4½ 2782
6. Aronian, Levon g ARM 2793 0 1 0 0 0 * 1 1 ½ 1 4½ 2775
7. Kramnik, Vladimir g RUS 2808 0 ½ 0 ½ ½ 0 * 1 1 1 4½ 2774
8. Anand, Viswanathan g IND 2786 0 0 ½ ½ 1 0 0 * 1 1 4 2733
9 Ivanchuk, Vassily g UKR 2738 ½ 0 ½ 0 1 ½ 0 0 * 1 3½ 2701
10 Jobava, Baadur g GEO 2707 0 0 0 ½ 0 0 0 0 0 * ½ 2341
08/137
Interview: Dominic Lawson, jour

By Milan Dinic
If newspapers
were as
interested
in chess as
they are in
Dominic Lawson, Photo: Daily Mail

football,
FIDE
would not
survive
One of the youngest editors on Fleet Street, heading The Spectator magazine (1990−
1995) and the Sunday Telegraph (1995−2005) as well as being a columnist for leading
newspapers, Dominic Lawson is also a strong chess player who has played for Oxford
University. With varied success, Lawson sat across the board and faced the likes of
Kasparov, Hou Yifan, Carlsen but also Lennox Lewis and Piers Morgan…
Arguably the strongest chess player among British newspaper editors and the strongest
editor among British chess players, Lawson is the author of The Inner Game - the
inside story of the 1993 World Chess Championship, praised by the novelist Robert
Harris as “a remarkable book with all the compulsion of a good thriller”. In 2014 he
was elected president of the English Chess Federation and he is also the presenter of
the BBC Radio 4 “Across the board” series, where he interviewed famous faces over
a game of chess.
Bearing in mind the developments and challenges chess is going through both globally
and in Britain, it seemed important to speak to the top English chess official himself.
The interview was conducted in the obviously most fitting place - the fashionable new
Chess Club in London’s Mayfair, where we sat surrounded by chess sets.

August 2017
nalist and President of the ECF

British Chess Magazine: How would you Pete Davies funding not just Chess in Schools
assess the current situation chess is in both but also the London Chess Classic which
globally and in the UK? includes events where literally thousands of
Dominic Lawson: When it comes to the UK, children queue up to play!
we clearly are not the power that we were in One of the difficulties, however, is the availability
the 1980s, which is a time I remember well. of chess coaching in the UK. Across the former
We had the very young Nigel Short who was USSR and Eastern Europe, you have very
rapidly progressing towards the top, and of strong chess coaches - and also a deep chess
course Miles, Nunn, Speelman... They were culture which does not exist to anything like
the beneficiaries of the imaginative promotional the same extent in the UK. That has been a
idea of Jim Slater who in the 1970s offered problem which British chess talents have felt
a prize of £5,000 (over £50,000 in today’s through their career. Occasionally, we managed
money – Ed.) for the first British Grandmaster to get coaches from Eastern Europe and that
and £2,500 for each of the next four. Over the has been of significant help.
next few years, Great Britain progressed from BCM: As the President of ECF, what have you
having no Grandmasters to twenty, with one of personally done to increase the popularity
the strongest teams of young chess players in of chess in the UK?
the world. D.L: I have done three radio series for BBC
In the meantime, however, the real terms value Radio 4 called “Across the board”, and I hope to
of rewards for chess players has gone down. do a few more… This was the first time you had
The possibility of earning good money from a chess on the radio since the 1960s and it was
weekend tournament is much lower today than very popular: quite often, when the BBC has
it was in the 1980s or early 1990s. an unexpected gap in the schedules, they use
BCM: What about current concrete the “Across the board” series to fill the space
challenges ECF is tackling? because they are timeless. We had Carlsen,
D.L: We are trying to get more funds and are Kasparov, Lennox Lewis, Piers Morgan,
also thinking of how to use the capital we have in historians, public figures…
a better way. I have managed to get Tradewise BCM: What are your thoughts about the
Insurance to save the traditional Hastings developments around FIDE?
Chess Congress and we also managed to get D.L: Obviously, the state of FIDE is disastrous.
the company “Jupiter” to sponsor the English I think the person needed at the head of FIDE
Olympiad team. But we need to do more. is someone who does not see that as a chance
On the bright side, there is the “Chess in Schools for his own political aggrandisement but seeks
and Communities” programme which is doing purely and solely to benefit chess players.
amazing things! We have great individuals like We are very privileged to live in a country
I remember talking to Karpov after he
lost the battle to replace Ilyumzhinov.
I asked him why he lost and he said
sardonically that he had learned that,
unless you are prepared to hand over a
lot of brown envelopes you don t have
much of a chance at the FIDE assembly
08/137
which is not corrupt. But the vast number of the number of paying members of the national
countries are corrupt at the top to a greater or chess federations. The problem is that it would
lesser extent. You can’t expect organisations to be very easy to game those sorts of figures,
behave better than to reflect the societies they but then again such a system would help
come from. I remember talking to Karpov after better represent countries like Germany and
he lost the battle to replace Ilyumzhinov. I asked the Netherlands, and indeed Russia and India
him why he lost and he said sardonically that which give so much to chess.
he had learned that, unless you are prepared The situation we have now is that the tiniest
to hand over a lot of brown envelopes you don’t country has the same weight in determining
have much of a chance at the FIDE assembly. decisions as, for example, India or Germany.
And Karpov was being backed by people in Sadly, the same situation in chess exists in
the United States where if you do pass brown football, and that is why we had the ludicrous
envelopes around to such voters—even in outcome of having the World Cup in Qatar!?
foreign countries - you end up in jail. One could look at the way the UN is organised:
When Kasparov stood he was backed by a sum yes, all are equal but you also have the Security
of ten million US dollars. It was openly done and Council which helps give the leading powers
he said all that money from Rex Sinquefield will due weight.
go to chess – not to delegates. He was laughed BCM: Why is it such a problem for chess
at and Ilyumzhinov said he could give the to be recognized as a sport in the UK? The
chess world twice that easily, but of course, he great majority of European countries have it
couldn’t and didn’t… recognized as a sport.
So we are now in an absurd situation where D.L: Yes, Recognising chess as a sport would
the only place prepared to sponsor the be quite significant for the status of the game
Woman’s World Championship was Tehran but also in practical terms as events would be
where players were obliged to cover their exempt from VAT, for example.
heads in the Islamic style. This is not a The former Chancellor of the Exchequer
comfortable thing for many of the women of George Osborne did try, at my request, to help
different culture and it may also not have been chess be recognized as a sport. Interestingly,
comfortable for them to play chess in such he himself ran into the same problems we have
conditions. Even so, the tournament went on been running into for years. The Department
and FIDE put a tiny amount of money in and for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport, which was
even that did not get delivered to the players the sponsoring government department, dug
in the way promised. It was an absolute fiasco, in their heels on this. I don’t know anyone in
but that was the best they could do. Government now who is interested in chess…
Sadly, corruption is not peculiar only to chess. Part of the problem lies in the fact that chess is not
If you look at many international sporting perceived as a part of the British culture. People in
organisations, they almost invariably stink of the sporting bodies are into athletics and physical
corruption. Look at what happened in FIFA. If sports, and when it comes to chess – if they think
mainstream newspapers were as interested in
chess as they are in football, FIDE would not John Nunn was
survive the scrutiny. fundamentally
BCM: Who do you see as the best
replacement for Ilyumzhinov? right in
D.L: I have no idea, honestly! Sometimes I predicting the
wonder should there be a different system, but
I don’t know which. decline of British
BCM: Any ideas? chess in his 1991
D.L: Some have proposed a system where the article
voting rights of countries were weighted on
August 2017
about it at all – they look at it with contempt. They
Photo: Dominic Lawson and Princess Diana. Dominic Lawson's private archive
probably have no understanding what professional
chess is like and they can’t appreciate it.
Also, to be crude about it, there is a pot of
money provided by the government and certain
sports have access to it and they do not want
another kind of sport cutting into their share.
These people are not frightened specifically of
chess. In fact, they are concerned that if chess
is recognized as a sport, other organisations will
come up – other board games, e-sports, cards
etc… How would all that be regulated then? So,
it seems to me that they do not want to open
what they see as a Pandora’s box by allowing
chess into the arena of recognised sports. That
is why there has been adamantine resistance.
BCM: In the previous issue of BCM we Princess Diana
interviewed GM John Nunn who wrote the
famous article from 1991 about the decline and chess
of British chess. Reflecting on his claims
from almost 27 years ago he said all that he On 31st of August, it will be 20 years since Lady
pointed out in that article has come to pass. Diana died in a car accident. Her life story has
What is your view? been portrayed in numerous books, articles
D.L: Fundamentally he was right and, as we and TV pieces. It should also be known that
played for the same team at Oxford University in Dominic Lawson tried to get the late princess,
the 1970s I know him and his views quite well. who was a close friend of his wife, to take an
His article has been proved to a substantial interest in chess.
extent correct. I would make one proviso which is
the factor of randomness. If you compare chess - I persuaded her to come along to watch one
in India before Anand and after you will see a of the games of the 1993 World Championship
tremendous difference. Then we have a world match between Nigel Short and Garry
champion from Norway – out of all the countries Kasparov at the Savoy Theatre. Obviously,
in the world did anyone ever imagine that would I thought it would raise public interest in the
happen? And now chess is huge in Norway. So, match if the world’s most famous woman
we must also consider the fact of randomness. attended – and it did. But it didn’t help Nigel:
Bearing that in mind and as we have the Chess the game she attended was the seventh one,
in Schools and Communities programme, which Garry won brilliantly to go into a 5.5-1.5
imagine if a young British player emerged lead…
who is of world-class calibre and achieved
remarkable things – that would have an BCM: Did she know how to play? Did she
immense impact on the popularity of chess in have an opinion about the game?
Britain. What would have happened if Nigel D.L: No, she did not. That was not the sort of
Short had won the match against Kasparov in mind she had. But she was keen to support a
1993? I wrote a book about it and I was given a British challenger who happened to be a friend
large advance, more than I deserved because of mine and I took her to see Nigel privately
publishers thought – what happens if Short during that match. He played the guitar for
becomes world champion, what impact will her, funnily enough. I think it also pleased
that have on the popularity of chess in Britain? Nigel very much that she made the effort. She
That is why it is important we invest in chess always made an effort.

08/137
Deep Blue versus Garry Kasparov, Source: Youtube

Computers have almost destroyed the
respect for top players
BCM: What is your view on the evergreen issue of computers and chess?
D.L: Computers have taken away much of the mystique from chess. I remember being in Moscow
for the 1984-1985 rematch Karpov-Kasparov. I was in a room next to the playing hall, and it
was full of Russian grandmasters engaged in heated discussions about which moves should
be played. There was a sense of mystery because there wasn’t anyone to definitively prove
something right or wrong. Today, however, everyone has a computer programme which they use
to analyse games.
Take the famous Rubinstein – Capablanca game from 1911. Rubinstein won – which was a
sensation – but it turned out that Capablanca had a rook sacrifice in the ending to create two
passed pawns which would have saved the game for him. The debate around this position went
on for decades. Nowadays a computer resolves the debate in a second!
The computers have brought about one other negative aspect – they have almost destroyed the
proper respect for top players in the eyes of the public. The public look at the game while running
computer analysis and when there is a mistake many say “how obvious”, but it is far from obvious
when you are at the board! Some of these commentators with computers criticizing the players
on the board seem to me like a very weak man with a gun in his hand. And a very weak man with
a gun in his hand feels very powerful and even stronger than a tall athletic man without a gun in
A very weak man with a gun in his hand feels
very powerful and EVEN stronger than
a tall athletic man without a gun in his
pocket. The players do nOt have a gun
in their pocket, they are using their
mind at the board
August 2017
coaches and the programme Chess in Schools

his pocket. The players do not have a gun and Communities, where Malcolm Pein has
in their pocket, they are using their mind done such an amazing job.
at the board. And this phenomenon is sad BCM: As a journalist and someone very
because diminishes the proper respect due familiar with the media, what would it take to
to the best players. get chess back into the focus of the public?
D.L: The computer vs humans is a fantastic thing
BCM: GM Ray Keene said that thanks to for chess but the heyday of that was in 1997 with
computers chess runs a risk of ending the Kasparov – Deep Blue computer match. Now
like a superior crossword puzzle. Do you we know that battle is completely over. What is
agree? the next one? If there were a genuine competition
D.L: It seems to me as if the game is being between a female and a male that would have an
attacked by the machines from both ends. amazing impact and draw attention all over the
On the opening side, you have analysis world. Or it would be fantastic if China produced
which reach up to move thirty and more, a world champion. Most people don’t realise that
and we see this in grandmaster play. At the the local Chinese version of chess is way more
end of the game you have got tablebases popular in China than chess as we know it…
which are getting bigger and bigger. So, I doubt politics could transform it… Yes, the
the computers are, in a way, squeezing the 1972 match between Spassky and Fischer
game from both ends. Still, when you are at was A tremendous metaphor for the Cold War
the board you are on your own, so the actual struggle between East and West, but today an
game the grandmasters play is fantastic! To equivalent is unlikely, unless [laughs] ISIS or Al
take John Nunn’s point – if chess is about Qa’eda produce an amazing player… But I am
the accumulation of our understanding of the afraid the Islamists regard our game as haram…
game the computers are, of course, marvels. BCM: What is chess for you personally?
If you are interested in chess from a purely Why do you play it?
scientific perspective than computers are the D.L: AS in the case of many people in the UK,
most wonderful thing possible. I was attracted to chess largely because of the
I have also noticed that computers have been buzz around the Fischer-Spassky match in
hugely significant in speeding up the ability 1972. I was about fifteen and, at the time, quite
and the knowledge of young people. If you interested in politics.
take the position of Anders Eriksson who in But like all chess fans, the appeal to me is
1983 wrote a highly influential paper arguing fundamentally aesthetic. We find it beautiful and
that 10,000-hours of study are enough to we have an unceasing appetite to see a new
become an expert in something, the computer beautiful position. I enjoy the aesthetic of it but also,
squeezes that into a much lesser period of partly, the excitement of new ideas. There is some
your life. If you are a child living in a remote special delight when you see a new and beautiful
part of the world or even of Britain, where geometrical position, it creates unique pleasure in
your access to chess-playing partners and the mind.
coaches is limited and, suddenly, there is When we play chess, ultimately, we want to
a chess programme, then you will develop create something elegant and beautiful. If you
so much faster. That is why we have these win a game and it’s ugly and full of errors, you’d
amazing youngsters popping out of nowhere rather forget about it. But if you win a game and
playing at a remarkably high level. I am almost it is beautiful, or at least contains something of
sure this is only due to one thing – computers. elegance, you really enjoy it.
Many of these children live normal lives and BCM: Does anyone else play chess in your
go to school and so on, therefore, chess family?
programmes have helped squeeze the time D.L: No, although my late stepfather – the
needed to master the game. philosopher Freddie Ayer – was very keen on
08/137
Dominic Lawson playing Nigel Short (left) and at Bangkok Opening (right).
Photo: Dominic Lawson's private archive
My father, Nigel,
has an economist s
attitude towards
chess
BCM: And your father Nigel, the former
Chancellor of the Exchequer, does he play
chess?
Nigel Lawson, Source: Wikipedia
D.L: I did play with him but I pretty much had

to force him… He was not very interested
in the game. I think he has an economist’s
attitude towards chess, which is – what is
the output from all of this? I think he sees
it as wasteful.
I think he would argue that, if you have
already decided to devote yourself to deep
thought, shouldn’t you be solving problems
which would be of use to society? I suspect
that would be his view.

August 2017
chess and I played quite a few games with him. He

wasn’t that strong but we had good games. By then Western
I was already playing in weekend tournaments, but
he was the only person in my family circle.
disadvantage over
BCM: In your BBC chess series you played the East in the
some famous people like Magnus Carlsen, appeal of chess
Lennox Lewis, Kasparov… How would you
assess the experience of playing with them? - A typical problem nowadays is: if you have a
D.L: What tended to happen is that I managed to child who is very talented in chess, it is likely he
beat almost all the famous amateurs but then I or she will also be talented in a more commercial
lost to the professionals. That’s how it was. I was area such as computer programming. What will
very privileged to play Carlsen one on one. Yifan you encourage your child to do? Also, children
Hou beat me in 46 moves and I remember playing can’t go to tournaments on their own, they
very solidly against her. After that game, I went need to be accompanied by someone and that
back home, put the engine on and saw that I had costs parents time and money… And that is the
a very strong move early on which would have case not just in the UK but across the Western
been devastating for Yifan… That shows that world. On the opposite side are places like India
even in such a relaxed game, where you expect a or China where local rewards for computer
strong master like Yifan to see everything against excellence are not so great, so there one could
a player like me, the computers see more… more reasonably see chess as a career to
Of course, it was a difficult format for her being match others. I, therefore, think we in the West
interviewed while simultaneously making moves. are in a way disadvantaged in terms of the
I was interviewing Carlsen on the BBC and appeal of competing opportunities.
simultaneously playing our game when This is a problem for us and it has been for a
suddenly he paused and said “you played a long time.
move which I was worried you might play but did
not expect you to play, and now I have to think
Osborne about it”, so he stopped talking or answering my
questions and stared intently at the position. Of
was course, he won, but if I managed to make the
keenest world champion stop to think for even a bit, I
took this to be a minor success.
on the In another of the interviews, I had a winning
game position but lost to Natan Sharansky, the former
Israeli deputy-PM. He was a chess prodigy who
George Osborne, Source: Wikipedia
won the championship of his native Donetsk as

a child and later beat Kasparov in a simul in a
- The person who was keenest in the British truly spectacular way. I interviewed him because
Government was the former Chancellor he’d been a famous Soviet dissident. One of the
George Osborne. When the Candidates things he told me was, while he was kept in the
tournament was in London in 2013, Osborne infamous Lubyanka building, he managed to
was very happy to agree to my request to have keep his sanity by playing thousands of games
all the top chess players like Kramnik, Carlsen with himself in his head. It was so interesting to
and others down at Number 11 Downing play someone like that…
Street. That was a message that chess was I also managed to lose to Demis Hassabis, who is
highly respected in the country. In fact, there now known as the founder of Google DeepMind, but
was a chess set there on display dating from who as a thirteen-year-old was second only to Judit
that occasion. I don’t know if it is there now… Polgar in the ELO ratings of players of such an age.
08/137
Third FIDE Grand Prix – Geneva 6th to 16th July
The comeback of
Teimour Radjabov
Photo: Valera Belobeev / Fide Grand Prix 2017 official
The third FIDE Grand Prix was stassged Grand Prix in the series (every player
in Geneva from 6−16 July. It followed the takes part in three of the total of four
Sharjah Grand Prix in February and the tournaments - the last one is scheduled for
Moscow Grand Prix in May. The Azeri November in Palma de Mallorca). Two of
grandmaster Teimour Radjabov won the these participants were Mamedyarov and
Geneva tournament, establishing himself Grischuk. The former was leading the series
at the top of the pack early on. The and the latter was close second. A victory
second and third place were shared by Ian could have secured their qualification for
Nepomniachtchi and Alexander Grischuk next year’s Candidates.
of Russia, with 5.5 points both.
It was, however, another Azeri who stole
It’s a first major win for Radjabov in a the show. Starting with a black win in
decade. Considered one of the strongest Round 1 against Giri, it was Radjabov who
players in the world, he apparently lost his firmly established himself at the head of the
form after the 2012 Candidates Tournament. pack. His Round 2 win against Eljanov was
a demonstration of a knight dominating a
For several participants this was the last bishop in an open position.

August 2017
Teimour Radjabov - Pavel Eljanov eighth rank this idea does nott work in the
game.
Geneva Grand Prix 2017 Geneva SUI (2.1)
XIIIIIIIIY 27.a4 £e6 28.¦g4 ¢h8 28...£e2? does
not work now in view of 29.¤f6+ ¢h8
9r+-wq-trk+0 30.£xe2 ¦xe2 31.¦d8 g6 32.¦xf8+ ¢g7
9zp-+-+pzpp0 33.¦e8 and White remains a piece up.
9-zp-+-vl-+0 29.¦f4 ¢g8 30.h4 ¦c2 Further proof that
9+-+N+-+-0 Black's 26th was a waste of time.
9-+-+-+-+0 31.¢g2 h6 32.h5 Black has no counterplay
9+-+-+-zP-0 so White just improves the position to the
9PzP-+-zP-zP0 maximum.
9+-tRQ+RmK-0 32...¦cc8?
xiiiiiiiiy XIIIIIIIIY
21.b4 The bishop is considered stronger in
open positions, but here in fact the knight 9-+r+rvlk+0
dominates because it cannot be chased 9zp-+-+pzp-0
away from the d5–square.
9-zp-+q+-zp0
21...£d6 22.£f3 ¦ac8 23.¦cd1 ¦fe8 9+P+N+-+P0
24.b5 ¥e7 25.¦d4 Black's position does 9P+-+-tR-+0
not have weaknesses, so White swings the
rook along the fourth rank in order to attack 9+-+-+QzP-0
on the kingside. 9-+-+-zPK+0
25...¥f8 26.¦fd1 ¦c5?! 9+-+R+-+-0
Curiously enough, the moves of the rook
9-+-+rvlk+0 along the c-file were decisive in this game.
9zp-+-+pzpp0
32...£e2 loses a pawn, but at least activates
9-zp-wq-+-+0 the bishop after 33.¦xf7 £xf3+ 34.¦xf3
9+PtrN+-+-0 ¥c5, even though White should have
9-+-tR-+-+0 excellent winning chances after 35.¤f4,
with the idea of ¦d7; 32...f6 solves
9+-+-+QzP-0 the problem of the f7–pawn, but fatally
9P+-+-zP-zP0 weakens g6 33.¦g4 ¢h8 34.¤f4 £f7
35.¤g6+ ¢g8 36.¦e4 ¦xe4 37.£xe4 ¦c8
9+-+R+-mK-0 38.£f5, threatening ¦d7 38...¦c5 39.£f3
xiiiiiiiiy ¦c8 40.¦d3, and Black is doomed to wait
Black cannot dislodge the knight and after until White rearranges his pieces for the
White's next that defends the b5–pawn incursion on d7.
White can proceed with the attack. This
move also fails tactically. 33.¦dd4! Now all White's pieces will be
included in the attack.
26...£e6! still allowed Black to keep things
relatively balanced, 27.¦g4 £e2! being the 33...¥c5 34.¦de4 £d7 35.¦g4 ¢f8
main idea. Due to the c8 abandoning the 35...¢h8 36.¤f6!

08/137
36.¦ef4 36.¦xg7 wins, but Black will

have two rooks for the queen after For several
36...¦xe4 37.¦g8+ ¢xg8 38.¤f6+ ¢g7 participants
39.¤xd7 ¦e6 and perhaps this wasn't
entirely clear to Radjabov, even though this was the last
the engines gives +5 after 40.£b7 ¦ee8 Grand Prix in
41.£xa7.
the series (every
36...¥d6 37.¦d4 player takes part
XIIIIIIIIY in 3 of the total
9-+r+rmk-+0 4 tournaments
9zp-+q+pzp-0
9-zp-vl-+-zp0 – the last one is
9+P+N+-+P0 scheduled for
9P+-tR-+R+0 November in Palma
9+-+-+QzP-0 de Mallorca).
9-+-+-zPK+0 Two of these
9+-+-+-+-0 participants were
xiiiiiiiiy Mamedyarov and
37.¦xg7 ¢xg7 38.¦g4+ ¢f8 39.¦g8+
¢xg8 40.¤f6+ ¢g7 41.¤xd7 ¦e6 Grischuk
42.£g4+ ¢h7 43.¤f6+ ¢h8 44.£d4 His smooth technical win in Round 7
¥e5 45.£d7 is also a win in a typical against Svidler wrapped the event for him
engine line. as +3 proved to be unreachable for the
chasing pack. It was also his best effort in
37...£b7? The final mistake as now it's Geneva.
easier to calculate the sacrifice on g7.
Teimour Radjabov - Peter Svidler
37...¦c5 was more resilient. Yes, the rook
indeed had a very strange fate in this game. Geneva Grand Prix 2017 Geneva SUI (7.2)
38.¦ge4! ¦xe4 39.£xe4 ¢g8 40.¤e3
£e7 41.£xe7 ¥xe7 42.¦d7 ¦e5 43.¤g4 1.¤f3 The usual way to avoid the Grunfeld.
¦e4 44.¢f3 ¦e1 45.¦xa7 winning a pawn.
1...¤f6 2.c4 c5 This has been Svidler's
38.¦xg7! Played with 1 second left on the choice of late.
clock!
2...g6 3.¤c3 d5 led to a crushing loss
38...¥e5 38...¢xg7 39.¦g4+ ¢f8 for Mamedyarov because he failed
40.¦g8+ ¢xg8 41.¤f6+ ¢f8 42.£xb7 to analyse the ensuing sharp line
¦c7 (42...¦ed8 43.£xa7) 43.£d5 ¦e6 precisely: 4.cxd5 ¤xd5 5.£b3 ¤b6
44.£a8+ ¢g7 45.¤e8+ wins more 6.d4 ¥g7 7.e4 ¥g4 8.¥b5+ c6 9.¤g5
material for White. 0–0 10.¥e2 ¥xe2 11.¤xe2 ¤a6. This
allows White a dangerous attack. (11...
39.¦g8+ ¢xg8 40.¤f6+ ¥xf6 41.¦g4+ c5!? is an interesting alternative; 11...
e5 is also possible and has been played
1–0 by Svidler and Caruana.) 12.£h3 h6
(12...h5 13.¦g1 or 13 g4 immediately,

August 2017
with a strong attack) 13.¤f3 h5 XIIIIIIIIY

(13...£d7 14.£h4 h5 15.h3! is very
dangerous for Black) 14.¦g1! ¤b4 9rsn-+kvl-tr0
(14...¤d7 is no less dangerous 15.e5!, 9zpp+-zppzpp0
preventing ...(f6 15...¤b4 16.g4!) 15.g4!
£d7 16.£h4 ¤c2+ 17.¢f1 with a
9-+-+-+-+0
devastating attack: 1–0 (31) Wojtaszek,R 9+-zp-+l+-0
(2745)-Mamedyarov,S (2772) Shamkir 9-+-+-+-+0
AZE 2017.
9+-zP-zPN+-0
3.¤c3 3.d4 cxd4 4.¤xd4 ¤c6 5.¤c3 9PzP-+-zPPzP0
e6 is another major main line. It led
to a curious repetition recently: 6.g3
9tR-vLK+L+R0
£b6 7.¤db5 ¤e5 8.¥g2 a6 9.¤a3. xiiiiiiiiy
Grischuk's attempt to freshen things up The idea is to prevent e4. Nepomniachtchi
is met convincingly. (9.£a4 is the main tried the other two moves, but he failed to
move here) 9...¥xa3 10.bxa3 ¤xc4 11.0–0 equalise:
£c5! preventing ¥g5 (11...0–0 12.¥g5
gives White compensation) 12.¤a4 £b5 7...¤c6 8.e4 b6 9.¢c2 ¥b7 10.¥f4 f6
13.¤c3 £c5 14.¤a4 £b5 15.¤c3 ½–½ 11.¦d1 e5 12.¥c1; thanks to the hole on d5
(15) Grischuk,A (2750)-Svidler,P (2755) White is slightly better here. ½–½ (37) Vidit,S
Moscow RUS 2017. (2669)-Nepomniachtchi,I (2740) Baku 2016;
3...d5 4.cxd5 ¤xd5 5.e3 ¤xc3 6.dxc3 7...b6 8.e4 ¥b7 9.¥b5+ ¥c6 10.a4 a6
XIIIIIIIIY 11.¥xc6+ ¤xc6 12.¢c2: White's space
advantage in the centre and Black's weakened
9rsnlwqkvl-tr0 queenside make this position awkward
9zpp+-zppzpp0 for Black to play. ½–½ (47) Wang,Y
9-+-+-+-+0 (2728)-Nepomniachtchi,I (2719) Moscow 2016.
9+-zp-+-+-0 8.¤d2 Now e4 cannot be prevented but
9-+-+-+-+0 White was forced to place the knight on d2
in order to achieve it, thus slowing down
9+-zP-zPN+-0 his development.
9PzP-+-zPPzP0
9tR-vLQmKL+R0 8...¤c6 9.e4 ¥e6 A novelty, but not a
convincing one.
xiiiiiiiiy
Radjabov was leading the tournament at 9...¥d7 was played in an old game between
this point so he goes for the safest and two of the leading players of the time:10.¢c2
simplest option. The ensuing endgame is 0–0–0 11.¤b3 e6 12.¥e3 b6 13.¥a6+ ¢c7
slightly better for White, so his choice was 14.a4 ¤e5 15.f3 ¥d6 16.¥e2 ¥c6 17.¤d2
fully justified. f5 with some counterplay for Black. Still,
it feels that White is somewhat better in
6.bxc3 g6 7.¥b5+ ¥d7 8.¥e2 ¥g7 this endgame. ½–½ (42) Andersson,U
9.0–0 0–0 10.d4 £a5 with a typical (2560)-Browne,W (2540) Banja Luka 1979.
Grunfeld position: ½–½ (47) Gelfand,B
(2724)-Svidler,P (2747) Zurich SUI 2017. 10.¢c2 g6 The bishop will be passive on
g7, but there is no other option to develop it
6...£xd1+ 7.¢xd1 ¥f5 once the other one prevented the movement
of the e-pawn.

08/137
11.¥c4 Starting with

XIIIIIIIIY a Black win in
9r+-+kvl-tr0 Round 1 against
9zpp+-zpp+p0 Giri, it was
9-+n+l+p+0 Radjabov who
9+-zp-+-+-0 firmly established
9-+L+P+-+0 himself at the
9+-zP-+-+-0 head of the pack
9PzPKsN-zPPzP0
9tR-vL-+-+R0
xiiiiiiiiy 16...e6 The bishop will not come out to g7
11...¥d7 11...¥xc4 exchanges usually after all. In that case the d6–square will be
help the weaker side, but here not much. hopelessly weak.
12.¤xc4 b5 (12...¥g7 13.a4 ¤e5 14.¢b3
doesn't bring relief either) 13.¤e3 ¥g7 17.¦hd1 0–0–0 18.¤d2 The knight is
14.a4 b4 15.¤c4 looks pretty good for transferred to the ideal c4–square.
White, which means that Black cannot
easily create counterplay. 18...¥e7 19.¤c4 ¢b7 19...¢c7 20.¥f4+
¢c6 21.¥d6!
12.¤b3 b6 13.a4 ¤e5 13...f5!? was a more
direct way to create counterplay. 14.a5 20.a5! Typical softening of the Black
¦c8 15.axb6 axb6 16.¥f4 e5 17.¥g5 ¥e7 structure as Black cannot play ...b5.
18.¥xe7 ¢xe7 19.¥d5 definitely looks
airy for Black, but at least he can breathe 20...¦hf8 20...b5? 21.¤d6+ ¥xd6
more easily 22.¦xd6 wins for White as Black is
completely tied down: he cannot defend
14.¥b5 a6 14...0–0–0 15.¥f4 ¥g7 a6, c5 and (d7. 22...¦he8 23.¦ad1 ¦e7
16.¥a6+ ¢c7 17.¤d2 with ideas like a5 24.¥g5.
and ¤c4.
21.axb6 ¤xb6 22.¤a5+ ¢c7 23.¥f4+
15.¥xd7+ ¤xd7 16.¥e3 So Black did ¥d6 24.¥h6 ¦fe8 25.¤b3
not manage to avoid the weakening of XIIIIIIIIY
the queenside by ...a6 and he is still
lagging behind with the development 9-+-trr+-+0
of the ¥f8. It can be concluded that 9+-mk-+p+p0
his opening wasn't a success, but it
is difficult to pinpoint where exactly 9psn-vlp+pvL0
Black went wrong. I would say that it is 9+-zp-+-+-0
an accumulation of minor inaccuracies 9-+-+P+-+0
coupled with the general character of
the position - it is simply easier to play 9+NzP-+-+-0
with White. What follows is a very 9-zPK+-zPPzP0
good illustration how to improve your
position by playing natural moves. In 9tR-+R+-+-0
other words, White's position plays by xiiiiiiiiy
itself. White systematically attacks Black's

August 2017
weaknesses until Black cannot manage to attacks both the ¥d6 and a6.) 31.¦d1
defend everything in time. An engine can ¢c7 32.¤c4 ¥f8 33.¦a5 does not inspire
perhaps defend this for a long time, but a confidence.
human often cracks relatively quickly as
he cannot keep up with all the threats and 30.¤a5! ¥e7 30...¢c7 31.¤c4 ¤b8
sooner rather than later he tires and makesa 32.¦d1 ¥e7 33.¥f4+ ¢c6 34.¦a3!
mistake. other moves also win, but this is the most
ruthless, moving the rook from a possible
25...¦a8 26.¥e3 ¤d7 27.¦a5 ¢c6 attack by ...¢b5 and maintaining all
28.¦da1 ¢b6 29.¦5a4 ¦ec8? threats. The position clearly shows the
XIIIIIIIIY difference in the degree of harmony of
both armies.
9r+r+-+-+0
9+-+n+p+p0 31.¦b4+ 31.¦b4+ ¢c7 32.¦b7+ ¢d8
33.¦d1 ¦c7 34.¤c6+ loses a piece.
9pmk-vlp+p+0 1–0
9+-zp-+-+-0
9R+-+P+-+0
9+NzP-vL-+-0 Mamedyarov was lucky
9-zPK+-zPPzP0 Geneva will not be remembered as the most
9tR-+-+-+-0 memorable event for Mamedyarov. He was
lucky to score an undefeated +1. In several
xiiiiiiiiy games he was clearly lost, while his win
Weakening the defences along the d-file. against Inarkiev was a nice miniature.
29...¢b7 30.¤a5+ forces the king on to Shakhriyar Mamedyarov -
the eighth rank and, although he is still not Ernesto Inarkiev
lost by force, the position after 30...¢c8
(30...¢b6? 31.b4; 30...¢c7? 31.¤c4 Geneva Grand Prix 2017 Geneva SUI (2.4)
XIIIIIIIIY
Not the most brilliant of performances for
Mamedyarov, but he did managed to get 9-+r+k+-tr0
away with +1 9+l+n+pzpp0
9p+-+psn-+0
9zPNwq-+-vL-0
9-vl-zp-+-+0
9+P+-zPN+-0
9-wQ-+LzPPzP0
9tR-+-+RmK-0
xiiiiiiiiy
17.exd4 £f5?! the queen will see no end
of trouble here.
17...£e7 would have kept the position

playable for Black.
18.¥d2 ¥e7 19.¤c3 0–0??

08/137
XIIIIIIIIY Pavel Eljanov - Alexander Grischuk

9-+r+-trk+0
Geneva Grand Prix 2017 Geneva SUI (5.3)
9+l+nvlpzpp0
9p+-+psn-+0 1.c4 ¤f6 2.¤c3 e5 3.¤f3 ¤c6 4.g3 d5
9zP-+-+q+-0 5.cxd5 ¤xd5 6.¥g2 ¥c5!? 6...¤b6 is
played almost automatically.
9-+-zP-+-+0
9+PsN-+N+-0 7.0–0
9-wQ-vLLzPPzP0 XIIIIIIIIY
9tR-+-+RmK-0 9r+lwqk+-tr0
xiiiiiiiiy 9zppzp-+pzpp0
Black has huge problems, but it was not 9-+n+-+-+0
necessary to lose in one move. A peculiar
blunder by Inarkiev. 9+-vlnzp-+-0
9-+-+-+-+0
19...e5 20.dxe5 ¤xe5 21.¤xe5 £xe5
22.¦fe1 and Black cannot survive with
9+-sN-+NzP-0
the uncastled king without suffering 9PzP-zPPzPLzP0
material losses.; 9tR-vLQ+RmK-0
19...¤e4 20.¥d3 £g6 21.¤e2 still xiiiiiiiiy
haunting the queen (21.¦fe1 f5) 21...£h5 7.¤xe5 is a critical test, but Grischuk must
22.¤f4 £h6 23.¥xe4 ¥xe4 24.¦fc1 have analysed it carefully. Here is a brief
¦xc1+ 25.£xc1 ¥xf3 26.£c8+ ¥d8 overview of the possibilities: 7...¤xc3.
27.gxf3 £g5+ 28.¢h1 £b5 29.d5 should
still be winning for White. A) 8.¤xc6?? £f6;
20.¤h4 B) 8.¥xc6+ bxc6 9.dxc3 (9.bxc3

1–0 £d5 10.¤f3 ¥h3 with compensation)
9...£xd1+ 10.¢xd1 ¥xf2;
The most important game for Mamedyarov;
the one he could not afford to lose was in C) 8.bxc3 ¤xe5 9.d4 ¥d6 10.dxe5 ¥xe5
the penultimate round against Grischuk. and Black has no problems.
In the first Grand Prix in Sharjah
Grischuk managed to beat him in that 7...0–0 8.d3 ¥b6 9.¤a4 ¦e8 10.¥g5
same penultimate round. Although clearly XIIIIIIIIY
worse for most of the game, Mamedyarov 9r+lwqr+k+0
survived and the shared 4th place kept him
in the lead in the Grand Prix series. 9zppzp-+pzpp0
9-vln+-+-+0
9+-+nzp-vL-0
Grischuk’s novelty 9N+-+-+-+0
Grischuk shared 2nd, half a point behind 9+-+P+NzP-0
Radjabov. He introduced the most 9PzP-+PzPLzP0
important novelty in the tournament – a
surprising new direction on move 6 in the 9tR-+Q+RmK-0
well-trodden paths of the English Opening. xiiiiiiiiy
August 2017
10.a3 was played by Gelfand in the next with a wild game: ½–½ (29) Caruana,F
round. Again Black did not have problems: (2823)-Anand,V (2779) Saint Louis 2016.
10...¤d4 11.e3 ¤xf3+ 12.£xf3 c6 13.b4
(13.¤xb6 axb6 14.¥d2 ¥e6 Black's strong 8.¤d2 ¥e6 9.a4 The start of a very original
central position and the weak pawn on plan and the reason why I am showing this
d3 compensate for White's bishop pair.) game.
13...¥e6 14.¥b2 £d7 15.£e2 ¥g4
16.£c2 ¥h3 with equality 17.¥xh3 £xh3 9...0–0–0 10.a5
18.¤xb6 axb6 19.e4 ¤f4 20.f3 ¤g6 21.a4 XIIIIIIIIY
h5 22.d4 £e6 23.¦ad1 h4 24.dxe5 ½–½
(24) Gelfand,B (2728)-Adams,M (2736) 9-+ktr-+-tr0
Geneva SUI 2017. 9+pzp-wqpzpp0
10...£d6 11.¤d2 £g6 12.¤e4 ¥g4 13.h3 9p+pvllsn-+0
¥e6 14.¥d2 ¦ad8, with an excellent 9zP-+-zp-+-0
position for Black who even went on to win 9-+-+-+-+0
the game.
0–1 9+P+PzP-+-0
9-vLPsNNzPPzP0
9tR-+QmK-+R0
No tolerance
for creativity
xiiiiiiiiy
White cannot realistically hope to attack
the king, but that is not the point of the
From the many interesting games in move - by moving the a-pawn he actually
Geneva I chose the following one as it is lengthens the a-file, thus making space for
quite different from what we are used to the rook and afterwards for the queen.
seeing from the élite players. In the March
issue of BCM when I wrote about Sharjah 10...h5 11.¦a4 h4 12.h3 ¤d7 13.£a1
a similar game was played under the title White stays put in the centre and develops
“Creativity shall not be tolerated”. Here too his pieces laterally. Black uses a traditional
Rapport’s creative efforts fell short. central strategy. What will prevail? The
engine already gives Black a considerable
Richard Rapport – Alexander Riazantsev advantage, but over the board things are not
Geneva Grand Prix 2017 Geneva SUI (6.8) that straightforward.
1.b3 In spite of obvious lack of success 13...¤c5 14.¦a2 No choice but to go back,
against the world's best, Rapport stays true but only temporarily.
to his usual repertoire.
14...¦h5 Perhaps inspired, Black also
1...e5 2.¥b2 ¤c6 3.e3 ¤f6 4.¥b5 ¥d6 develops his rook in a less traditional manner.
One of the many decent replies to the
Nimzo/Larsen's Opening. 15.¥c3 ¦g5 16.¦g1 No other option as
White wasn't going to castle anyway.
5.¤e2 5.¤a3 is the other main move, to
which Black most often replies 5...¤a5 16...f6 Blunting White's battery along the
preventing ¤c4. long diagonal.
5...a6 6.¥xc6 dxc6 7.d3 £e7 7...0–0 was 17.¦b2 Getting out of the pin and preparing
Anand's choice in a blitz game 8.¤d2 ¦e8 b4. The rook's manoeuvres in this game are
9.h3 c5 10.g4 b5 11.¤g3 ¥b7 12.¦g1 ¦e6 a rare sight and they are far from finished!

08/137
17...£f7 18.b4 ¤d7 19.¤e4 ¦g6 20.£a3 25.¦xh4 f5 26.¦h5! The rook continues its
White managed to push back some of journey.
Black's pieces and got some space on the
queenside. 26...¢b8 27.g4! fxg4 27...¥c8 was better:
28.gxf5 ¦xg1+ 29.¤xg1 e4!, but this is
20...£f8 21.¤c5 Probably a dubious not so easy to find; 30.dxe4 £d6 31.£c1
sacrifice, but White continues to play in the g6!, with a strong initiative.
same enterprising and original style, with
the aim to further activate the rook and pick 28.¦xe5
up the h4–pawn. XIIIIIIIIY
21.¤xd6+ £xd6 22.e4?! f5 is better for 9-mk-tr-wq-+0
Black in view of White's disorganised 9+pzp-+-zp-0
pieces. It is therefore better that White does
not instigate central play. 9p+-+l+r+0
9zP-zp-tR-+-0
21...¤xc5 22.bxc5 ¥xc5 23.¥b4 ¥xb4+
24.¦xb4 Now White would like to play
9-+-+-+p+0
¢d2 and ¦gb1 and suddenly all his play 9wQ-+PzP-+P0
would become logical! 9-+P+NzP-+0
24...c5 9+-+-mK-tR-0
The rook's glorious career culminates with
9-+ktr-wq-+0 the capture of the pawn that Black moved
9+pzp-+-zp-0 on move 1.
9p+-+lzpr+0 28...£f6 29.£xc5 gxh3 30.¦xg6 £xg6
9zP-zp-zp-+-0 31.£e7 ¦e8 32.£h4 ¥c8
9-tR-+-+-zp0 XIIIIIIIIY
9wQ-+PzP-+P0 9-mkl+r+-+0
9-+P+NzPP+0 9+pzp-+-zp-0
9+-+-mK-tR-0 9p+-+-+q+0
xiiiiiiiiy 9zP-+-tR-+-0
Giving back material, but preventing 9-+-+-+-wQ0
White's plan.
9+-+PzP-+p0
24...£c5 25.£a4 (25.¢d2 ¥d5 26.¤c3 9-+P+NzP-+0
¦xg2 27.¦xg2 ¥xg2 28.£b3 ¥d5
29.¤xd5 cxd5 30.¦xb7 £xa5+ 31.¢e2 9+-+-mK-+-0
¢d7 and the two pawns should suffice, xiiiiiiiiy
although there is still sharpness left in Black should still be better here, in view
the position .) 25...¥d5 26.¦xh4 ¦xg2 of the far-advanced h3–pawn, but that can
27.¦xg2 ¥xg2 28.£g4+ ¢b8 29.£xg2 quickly be turned around if White manages
£xc2: now White's pieces are stranded to move his central mass or round up the
on the kingside, again in disarray. 30.f4 pawn.
defending the extra knight 30...¦xd3
31.fxe5 £d2+ 32.¢f1 fxe5, with a mess 33.£h5 £xh5 33...¦e6! 34.£xg6 ¦xg6
where Black should be better. 35.¢f1 b6! was much better as Black

August 2017
creates a second passed pawn before White England’s Michael Adams scored 5/9
can consolidate. (six draws, two wins and a loss against
Rapport) which landed him at 7 th place.
34.¦xh5 g6 35.¦g5?
XIIIIIIIIY Who will qualify for the Candidates?
The question will be decided in
9-mkl+r+-+0 November. Even though Mamedyarov
9+pzp-+-+-0 and Grischuk lead, they will sit out the
last tournament where several other
9p+-+-+p+0 players can overtake them. The ones
9zP-+-+-tR-0 with the best chances are Radjabov,
9-+-+-+-+0 Ding Liren and Vachier-Lagrave.
9+-+PzP-+p0 It has been a long time since Radjabov
9-+P+NzP-+0 won an event of this calibre and it is
good to see him back. It will definitely
9+-+-mK-+-0 be hot in Palma this November…
xiiiiiiiiy
Letting the h-pawn advance.
FIDE GRAND PRIX GENEVA
35.¦h7 ¦e5; 35.¦h6 was the only move: TOURNAMENT
35...¦e5 36.¦xg6 ¦h5 37.¢d2 (37.¤g3
¦xa5 and Black will still win the knight for Rk. Name
the h-pawn) 37...h2 38.¤g3 h1£ 39.¤xh1 1 Teimour Radjabov 6/9
¦xh1 40.e4, with decent drawing chances 2 Ian Nepomniachtchi 5.5/9
as the mass starts to move.
3 Alexander Grischuk 5.5/9
35...h2 36.¤g3 ¦h8 37.¤h1 ¦h5! 38.¦g2 4 Alexander Riazantsev 5/9
38.¦xg6 ¦xa5; 38.¦xh5 gxh5 39.f4 b6!
and the a-pawn will decide. 5 Pentala Harikrishna 5/9
6 Peter Svidler 5/9
38...¦xa5 39.¢d2 39.¦xh2 ¦h5 again 7 Li Chao 5/9
forcing the exchange of rooks when White
cannot fight against both a- and h-pawns. 8 Shakhriyar Mamedyarov 5/9
9 Anish Giri 5/9
39...¦h5 40.¦xg6 The a1 is still alive,
but even such a heroic figure cannot fight 10 Michael Adams 5/9
against both passed pawns. 11 Boris Gelfand 4.5/9
40...a5 41.¢c1 ¦h4 42.f3 ¦h3 43.¦f6
12 Levon Aronian 4.5/9
c5 44.¢b2 ¢c7 45.e4 ¥d7 46.¦f7 ¢d8 13 Dmitry Jakovenko 4.5/9
47.f4 c4 48.d4 c3+ 49.¢a3 b5 50.f5 ¦e3 14 Pavel Eljanov 4.5/9
51.¦h7 ¦xe4 52.¦xh2 Finally destroying
one of the pawns, but now the other one 15 Ernesto Inarkiev 4/9
proves decisive. 16 Yifan Hou 2.5/9
52...b4+ 53.¢b3 ¦xd4 54.¤g3 ¥c6 17 Richard Rapport 2.5/9
55.¤e2 a4+ 56.¢a2 ¥d5+ 57.¢b1 ¦d1+ 18 A R Saleh Salem 2/9
58.¤c1 a3
0–1

08/137
Openings
for Amateurs by Pete Tamburro, ptamburro@aol.com
Along with Blackburne, Frederick Dewhurst

Yates is one of those British players
whose openings signal clear middlegame
plans. Someday, some publisher will put
his “One−Hundred−And−One of My Best
Games of Chess” into algebraic along with
Frederick Yates, Source: Wikipedia

an appreciation of this creative master’s
work...
Yates could also do more than clear plans.

He could come up with highly complex
and sophisticated games that dazzle to this
day. His win with the King’s Indian over
Alekhine is stunning and well−known. A
lesser−known game versus Vidmar at San
Remo is another classic. In both games,
Yates had the black pieces.
He was a fighter without fear. Where

Blackburne would play the exchange lines
against the Winawer, Yates showed that you The theme, although there are variations on
could still get piece play by playing 1.e4 e6 it, is fairly simple.
2.d4 d5 3.¤c3 ¥b4 4.e5 c5 5.¥d2, a move
introduced by Bogoljubov in 1928. The line In “Chess Openings for White, Explained”,
attracted even Lasker. Dr. Lasker did not Alburt and company made this explanation
care for long lines of analysis, either! Lajos for making it their recommendation
Steiner would pick it up in the 1930s as against the Winawer: “We recommend this
would Fine at AVRO, and Nezhmetdinov system rather than the more common 5.a3
beat Tal with it in 1957. In our era, Timman because it gives White simple, logical, and
and Perelshteyn would use it. strategically sound play. The main idea of
5.¥d2 is to exchange dark−square bishops,
Years ago, Sunil Weeramantry came up leaving White with a superior light−square
to me and asked me to watch his little lad bishop and control over the dark squares.”
play as he was very proud of him. I walked Yates used it for active piece play, and not
over to see the little fellow play, and there necessarily a kingside attack.
was Nakamura playing 5.¥d2! It is a fine
opening line for amateurs, and not only The following game is very instructive in
because you do not have to study long lines that regard. Curiously, the game was not in
or be too knowledgeable of position play. my Chessbase database.
August 2017
F.D Yates – E.G Sergeant 1927. Theo Slade's commentary in the June
British Championship, Worcester, 1931 BCM on the importance of knowing older
games came in handy for me 30 years ago!
1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.¤c3 ¥b4 4.e5 c5 5.¥d2 White is clearly better.) 7.£xd2 ¤c6 8.f4
¤ge7 9.¤d6+ ¢f8 10.¤f3 ¤f5 11.¤xf5
XIIIIIIIIY exf5 12.¤xd4 was Rellstabe-Berg, Kemeri,
9rsnlwqk+ntr0 1937, 1–0 in 55;
9zpp+-+pzpp0 5...a6 6.£g4 g6 7.a3 ¥xc3 8.¥xc3
9-+-+p+-+0 cxd4 9.£xd4 ¤c6 10.£f4 is Spielmann-
9+-zppzP-+-0 Apscheneck, match, Riga, 1934.;
9-vl-zP-+-+0 5...¤h6 has been tried by Short against
9+-sN-+-+-0 Hector in 2013, with Hector going for
6.¤b5. Other considerations are 6.¤f3
9PzPPvL-zPPzP0 (6.¥xh6!? gxh6 7.a3 ¥xc3+ 8.bxc3 ¤c6
9tR-+QmKLsNR0 9.¤f3 cxd4 10.cxd4 £a5+ 11.£d2 £xd2+
xiiiiiiiiy 12.¢xd2 ¥d7 13.¥d3 ¢e7 14.¦ab1 ¤a5
5...¤c6 The model game advanced by 15.¦b4=) 6...¤c6 7.a3 ¥xc3 8.¥xc3 b6
Alburt for their book was E. Perelshteyn-E. 9.¥d3 0–0 10.¥d2 c4 (10...¤xd4 11.¤xd4
Berg, Bermuda Open, 2003, as 5...¤e7 cxd4 12.¥xh6 gxh6) 11.¥xh6 cxd3 12.¥e3
had become the move of choice for the dxc2 13.£xc2 ¥b7 14.¤g5 g6 15.h4 ¢g7
defence: 5...¤e7 6.¤b5 (Both Steiner and 16.h5 and White has a nice attack.
Nezhmetdinov won brilliant games with
6.a3 ¥xc3 7.¥xc3) 6...¥xd2+ 7.£xd2 0–0 6.¤b5 ¥xd2+ 7.£xd2 ¤xd4 8.¤xd4
8.f4 a6 9.¤d6 cxd4 10.¤f3 ¤bc6 11.¥d3 cxd4 9.¤f3 ¤e7
f6 12.0–0 fxe5 13.fxe5 ¦xf3! 14.¦xf3 ¤xe5 XIIIIIIIIY
15.£f4 ¤xf3+ 16.gxf3 ¤c6 17.£f7+ 9r+lwqk+-tr0
¢h8 18.¢h1!! g6 (A better defence noted
in the book was 18...£g8 19.£f4 ¤d8 9zpp+-snpzpp0
20.¦g1 e5! 21.£xe5 ¤f7 22.£xd5 ¤xd6 9-+-+p+-+0
23.£xd6 ¥e6 24.£xd4 ¦d8 25.£h4
¥d5 and White is a pawn up, but it will 9+-+pzP-+-0
require patience as this white king position 9-+-zp-+-+0
is also compromised, and the f-pawn will 9+-+-+N+-0
be a constant headache. White must defend
his king's area and somehow mobilise the 9PzPPwQ-zPPzP0
queenside pawn majority. With the heavy 9tR-+-mKL+R0
pieces on the board, it will be arduous;
however, it is better to be a pawn up than xiiiiiiiiy
a pawn down!) 19.¥xg6 £e7 20.£f4 e5! Yates is in no hurry to pick up the pawn.
21.¤f7+ ¢g8 22.¥xh7+ ¢f8 23.¤xe5+ Development is key. The bishop attacks h7
¢e8 24.¥g6+ ¢d8 25.¦e1 ¤xe5 26.¦xe5 in full knowledge that the black king will
£d6 27.£g5+ ¢c7 28.¦xd5 £f8 be castling shortly.
29.£e5+ ¢c6 30.¥e4 ¢b6 31.£xd4+;
5...cxd4 6.¤b5 ¥xd2+ (6...¥c5 7.b4 A fighter without fear,
a6 8.bxc5 axb5 9.£g4 ¢f8 10.¤f3 is Yates used the Winawer
P. Tamburro- I. Rothman, U.S. Open,
Somerset, NJ, 1986 and, coincidentally, in a way a player like
Bogoljubov-Sir George Thomas, London, Blackburne feared
08/137
10.¥d3 ¥d7 11.¤xd4 ¤c6 12.¤f3 XIIIIIIIIY

XIIIIIIIIY 9r+-+-+k+0
9r+-wqk+-tr0 9zppwql+-zpp0
9zpp+l+pzpp0 9-+-+ptr-+0
9-+n+p+-+0 9+-+ptR-+-0
9+-+pzP-+-0 9-+-+-+-+0
9-+-+-+-+0 9+-+LwQ-+-0
9+-+L+N+-0 9PzPP+-zPPzP0
9PzPPwQ-zPPzP0 9tR-+-+-mK-0
9tR-+-mK-+R0 xiiiiiiiiy
xiiiiiiiiy Yates has taken control of e5 in the
Black wants to exchange pieces off and use opening and now uses e5 as a jumping-
the half-open c-file for counterplay. Yates is off spot. What is fascinating about his
keeping his pieces on the board because he next move is that its task is simple: force
has more space and black's kingside castled a pawn structure weakening and then
position has no defenders. The missing go back to e5! There was no kingside
king’s knight in French Defence positions attack, but it helped White's overall
is often quite awkward. plan.
12...0–0 13.0–0 Some more aggressive types 18.¦h5! He could also have played 18.g3;
might go with 13.0–0–0 a5 14.h4 but Yates 18.f4; 18.b3.
calmly castles kingside to pursue another
plan that unfolds before our eyes. 18...h6 A bit better would have been 18...g6
19.¦e5 ¦af8 20.f3 ¦f4 21.¦c1 but White
13...f6 14.¦fe1 fxe5 15.¤xe5 ¤xe5 is still the one with better opportunities to
16.¦xe5 make something of the position with an
appropriately timed c4.
XIIIIIIIIY
9r+-wq-trk+0 19.¦e5 ¦af8 20.f3 Club players are
sometimes reluctant to make weakening
9zpp+l+-zpp0 moves like this, but Yates sees that it
9-+-+p+-+0 solves the doubled rook problem and frees
9+-+ptR-+-0 all his pieces to get on with the plan to
play c4.
9-+-+-+-+0
Yates could also do
9+-+L+-+-0 more than clear plans.
9PzPPwQ-zPPzP0 He could come up with
9tR-+-+-mK-0 highly complex and
xiiiiiiiiy sophisticated games
If you are familiar with the 3.¤d2 ¤f6
lines in the French, this pawn structure will that dazzle to this day.
be very familiar. How Yates approaches it His win with the King’s
can help those players of the white pieces Indian over Alekhine is
in that line.
stunning and
16...¦f6 17.£e3 £c7 well-known
August 2017
20...b6 hapless black pieces are mired in defence

XIIIIIIIIY of e6, and Black can ill afford to capture
the c-pawn.
9-+-+-trk+0
9zp-wql+-zp-0 23...¦c8 24.cxd5 exd5 25.¦xd5 ¥e6
Sergeant may have thought this would
9-zp-+ptr-zp0 provide the necessary counterplay.
9+-+ptR-+-0
9-+-+-+-+0 26.¦de5 ¥xa2 27.¦a1 ¥f7? A mistake.
Better was 27...¦e6 28.¦xe6 ¥xe6
9+-+LwQP+-0 29.¦xa7 ¦d8 30.¥g6 ¢f8 31.¦b7 where
9PzPP+-+PzP0 White is a pawn up, but the endgame will
be a long one.
9tR-+-+-mK-0
xiiiiiiiiy 28.¦xa7 c4 29.¥e4 ¦b8 30.¦ee7
21.¦e1! Also possible was 21.c4 dxc4 XIIIIIIIIY
22.¦c1 ¦f4 23.b3 b5 24.bxc4 bxc4
25.¥e4! £d6 26.¦c5. I do, however, 9-tr-+-+k+0
believe Yates set a psychological trap 9tR-+-tRlzp-0
here! Sergeant's play has been focused on
exchanges to relieve the pressure. Thus, 9-+-+-tr-zp0
b6 was an obvious preparatory move for 9+-+-+-+-0
£c5. Yates sees further along and decides 9-+p+L+-+0
to encourage the move.
9+-+-+P+-0
21...£c5 21...¦f4 22.b3 b5 23.c4 9-zP-+-+PzP0
(23.¦xe6 ¥xe6 24.£xe6+ £f7 25.¥xb5
£xe6 26.¦xe6 ¦8f6 27.¦e5) 23...dxc4 9+-+-+-mK-0
24.bxc4 bxc4 25.¦c5 £d6 26.¦xc4 xiiiiiiiiy
¦xc4 27.¥xc4. A picture is worth a thousand words. Black
now knows why he should have exchanged
22.£xc5 bxc5 23.c4! a pair of rooks.
XIIIIIIIIY 30...¢f8 31.¦ec7 ¦xb2 32.¥d5 ¥e8
9-+-+-trk+0 33.¦xg7 ¦g6 34.¦xg6 ¥xg6 35.¥xc4
9zp-+l+-zp-0
9-+-+ptr-zp0 1–0
9+-zpptR-+-0 Black is in no mood to defend this.

9-+P+-+-+0 White's rook has the Black king hemmed
in. White's king is not similarly trapped
9+-+L+P+-0 by Black's rook. Once the king makes
9PzP-+-+PzP0 his way out through his kingside pawns,
he will advance them up the board and
9+-+-tR-mK-0 bring home the win. Yates gives us a real
xiiiiiiiiy chess lesson here in handling that type
The culmination of White's play right of pawn structure. Do remember, though,
from the opening. He centralised, took that he started with active piece play and
advantage of Black's pawn structure in centralisation, which allowed him to
the centre and, then, when the moment shift from a possible kingside attacking
was right, undermined it with c4. The plan to attacking Black's centre.

08/137
THE MYSTERY BEHIND THE DEATH OF THE 6−TIME BRITISH CHAMPION
Did F.D. Yates kill

himself?
F.D. Yates was born in Birstall on 16th January had probably been too modest to ask British
1884. He started a career in accountancy, but chessplayers for help.” That comes from
in 1909, abandoned it in favour of becoming page 338 of Chess Secrets I Learned from
a professional chess player and journalist. the Masters by Edward Lasker (New York,
He won the British Chess Championship on 1951), a book which has helped spread a
six occasions. He had some very impressive number of myths. Even at first glance, the
results at tournaments which involved the passage above fails to impress, with its
strongest world players of his era, beating “apparently” and “probably” and, above
Alekhine, Tartakover, Maroczy, Reti, all, its curious reference to “during the last
Vidmar, Nimzovwitsch, Tarrasch... His best war” (given that Yates died in 1932).
results included first equal with Tartakower As reported in C.N. 780 (see pages 118−
at Kecskemét (B Final, 1927) and fifth at San 119 of Chess Explorations), when ‘Assiac’
Remo (the strongest tournament of 1930), (Heinrich Fraenkel) repeated the suggestion
when he finished ahead of Spielmann, that Yates had killed himself, page 24 of
Vidmar and Tartakower. He was second at the January 1963 BCM had an implacable
Ghent in 1926, after Tartakower, but ahead rebuttal by that exceptional writer D.J.
of Colle and Janowski. Morgan.
His career lasted until his death on 11th Another author who wrote forcefully on
November 1932 in London. the subject was William Winter, in his
posthumous memoirs on page 148 of
Chess historian Edward Winter researched CHESS, 23 February 1963: “An exhaustive
the story behind the news of Yates’ death enquiry was held by one of the most
and the theory that he gassed himself. experienced coroners in London, and it was
In 2008 Winter published an article on conclusively proved that death was due to a
ChessBase debunking many of chess faulty gas fitting. Wynne−Williams, Yates’
mysteries: pupil whom he had been teaching on the
very night of his death, gave evidence of
“It made me very sad to learn, some time his cheerful demeanour, and the coroner
during the last war, that Yates had committed went out of his way to state categorically
suicide, apparently for financial reasons. He that this was a case of a tragic accidental
Yates’ financial circumstances had
unquestionably been piteous, and a dispute
about the lack of support for British
chessplayers broke out in the Chess World
# Yates died at the age of 48. On page 525 of the
December 1932 BCM P.W. Sergeant presented the
facts in a way that seemed to preclude any
possibility of suicide
August 2017
death. In spite of all this some of the vile

calumniators I have mentioned before, who
are always seeking for slime to throw at
their betters, sank so low as to suggest that
Yates committed suicide. I have even heard
the report quite recently. No fouler lie could
possibly be invented to smirch the memory
of a courageous and noble man.”
Yates died at the age of 48. On page 525

of the December 1932 BCM P.W. Sergeant
Edward Lasker, Source: Wikipedia

presented the facts in a way that seemed
to preclude any possibility of suicide:
“The circumstances of his end were tragic.
On the night of Tuesday, 8 November he
gave a very successful exhibition at Wood
Green, only dropping one half−point in 16
games. On the following night he was in the
company of a chess friend until fairly late,
and then went back to his room in Coram
Street, Bloomsbury. He was never seen alive
again. It was not until Friday morning that
anxiety was felt at Coram Street as to what
he might be doing; for he was in the habit of
secluding himself for many hours at a stretch
when busy with work. On Friday, however, Edward Lasker:
when no answer could be got to knocks on “It made me very
the door of his room, which was locked, and a
smell of gas was noticed, the door was at last sad to learn, some
broken open, and he was found dead in bed. time during the last
war, that Yates had
It came out at the inquest before the St Pancras
coroner on 15 November that, though the gas− committed suicide,
taps in the room were securely turned off, there apparently for
had been an escape from what a gas company’s financial reasons. He
official described as an obsolete type of fitting
attached to the meter in the room. The meter, it
had probably been too
appears, was on the floor, and the fitting must modest to ask British
have been accidentally dislodged. A verdict chessplayers for help.”
was recorded of Accidental Death; and the 313−315; May−June 1933, pages 363−364).
coroner directed that the gas−pipes from the For instance, his friend W.H. Watts, the
room should remain in the custody of the chess writer and publisher, noted that the
court. The body was conveyed to Leeds for death was ‘purely accidental’ but wrote
burial on the morning of 16 November.” on page 185: “... we were so infatuated by
our own pettifogging antics over the chess
Yates’ financial circumstances had board that we failed to see our Champion
unquestionably been piteous, and a dispute was starving. We could not see that poor
about the lack of support for British timid Yates was literally dying in our midst,
chessplayers broke out in the Chess World too proud to tell us so himself. The very
(1 January 1933, pages 185−186; 8 March name Yates will be for ever a shameful
1933, pages 275−276; 8 April 1933, pages memory in the annals of British Chess.”

08/137
Kings Place Fesival

8th July 2017
▪ 338 players ▪ £4000 in prizes ▪ 6 Grandmasters ▪ 9 Internaional Masters ▪ 10 FIDE Masters ▪
A trio shares first place!

By IM Shaun Taulbut XIIIIIIIIY
The fifth Kings Place Festival in London 9r+lwq-trk+0
attracted more than 330 players, with many 9+p+nzppvlp0
left without a chance to play because the
place was packed. 9-+p+-snp+0
9zp-+p+-+-0
The tournament was won jointly by Luke
McShane, Stephen Gordon and Richard
9P+-zP-vL-+0
Bates with 5.5/6. Richard Bates beat the 9+-sN-zPN+P0
top seed David Howell. There were six 9-zPP+LzPP+0
grandmasters playing and a record entry of
338 battling for a top prize of £1000 and 9tR-+QmK-+R0
total prize money of £4000. xiiiiiiiiy
9.0–0 b6 10.¤e5 ¥b7 11.¥h2
Luke McShane has won the event
for the last three years and will be 11.£d2 ¤xe5 12.¥xe5 ¤e8 13.¥xg7
playing in the British Championships ¢xg7 14.f3 with an equal position is
in Llandudno. Here is one of his very logical but White hopes for more.
nice wins!
11...e6 12.¤xd7
Mark,L Hebden – Luke, J McShane Again if 12.£d2 ¤xe5 13.¥xe5 ¤e8 is

equal as the black knight has a good square
5th DeMontford Bell Kings Place Festival on d6 in some lines.
London (4.2)
12...¤xd7
1.d4 ¤f6 2.¤f3 g6 3.¤c3 A trademark
opening from Mark Hebden, White After 12...£xd7, 13.¦a3, with the idea of
develops very quickly aiming to control the ¦b3, is slightly better for White.
dark squares.
13.e4 White chooses to open the centre but
3...d5 Preventing White from transposing Black has few weaknesses.
into a Pirc with e4 and reaching a
symmetrical pawn position. 13...dxe4 14.¤xe4 c5 Opening up the long
diagonal forces the following sequence.
4.¥f4 c6 5.h3 ¥g7 6.e3 0–0 7.¥e2
¤bd7 8.a4 White probes the queenside 15.¤d6 ¥c6 16.¥b5 After 16.c3 £g5
threatening to cramp Black with a5, so 17.¥g3 ¦ad8 is equal.
Black chooses to prevent this advance.
8...a5 16...¥xb5 17.¤xb5 £g5

August 2017
XIIIIIIIIY 23...axb4 24.cxb4 e4 25.¤d4 £d7

Black wins material because of the pin on
9r+-+-trk+0 the White knight.
9+-+n+pvlp0
9-zp-+p+p+0 26.¤b5 ¥xa1 27.£xa1 ¦fb8 28.¤c7
9zpNzp-+-wq-0 The other try 28.¥a5 is well met by

9P+-zP-+-+0 28...¤xb4 29.¥xb4 ¦xb5 30.¦d1 ¦d5
31.¦xd5 £xd5 32.a5 ¦b8 33.a6 (If
9+-+-+-+P0 33.¥c3 e3 34.¥h8 (34.fxe3 £d3 35.¢h2
9-zPP+-zPPvL0 ¦b1 36.£a2 £d6+ 37.g3 £d3 38.a6 ¦c1
39.£g2 ¦c2 wins) 34...f6 35.£xf6 exf2+
9tR-+Q+RmK-0 36.£xf2 (36.¢xf2 ¦f8; 36.¢h2 £f7)
xiiiiiiiiy 36...¢xh8 winning) 33...¦xb4 34.a7 £a8
Black has equalised and has pressure wins.
against the White centre pawn on d4.
28...¦xa4 29.£f6 ¦xb4 30.¥a5 ¦c4
18.c3 cxd4 19.¤xd4 ¤c5 20.¥c7 e5 31.¥c3 ¦xc3 32.£xc3 ¦c8 33.¤d5 ¦xc3
34.¤f6s+ ¢g7 35.¤xd7 ¦b3
A double-edged move; 20...¥xd4 21.cxd4
¤a6 22.¥d6 ¦fc8 23.£f3 ¤b4 24.¥xb4
XIIIIIIIIY
axb4 25.£b3 £e7 is also playable but 9-+-+-+-+0
maybe Luke did not want to give up his 9+-+N+pmkp0
dark-squared bishop.
9-+-+-+p+0
21.¤f3 9+-+-+-+-0
21.¤b5 is best when White is better due to
9-+-+p+-+0
pressure against the b6 pawn. 9+r+n+-+P0
9-+-+-zPP+0
21...Qf5 22.¥xb6 ¤d3 23.b4
9+-+-+RmK-0
The alternatives were unattractive eg. 23.¤h4 xiiiiiiiiy
£e4 24.£f3 £xf3 25.¤xf3 ¦fb8 26.¥e3 f5 The white knight is trapped on b7 and
with advantage to Black; 23.g4 £e4 24.¤g5 Black will capture the steed with ....¦b7 so
£d5 25.£f3 £xf3 26.¤xf3 ¦fb8 27.¥e3 White resigned.
¦xb2 28.¦ab1 f5 again with advantage to Black. 0–1
KINGS PLACE FESTIVAL - 8th July 2017
GM MCSHANE Luke J 2686 ENG Wood Green 5½ 1st=£584.00 plus trophy on tb
GM GORDON Stephen 2432 ENG 5½ 1st=£584.00
IM BATES Richard A 2410 ENG Hackney 5½ 1st=£584.00
IM GHASI Ameet K 2552 ENG Grantham Sharks 5
GM HEBDEN Mark L 2494 ENG Syston 5
GM WILLIAMS Simon K 2511 ENG 4½
IM RENDLE Thomas E 2414 ENG Drunken Knights 4½
IM D`COSTA Lorin A R 2367 ENG 4ncl Barbican 4½
IM BUCKLEY Graeme N 2324 ENG Wimbledon 4½

08/137
QUOTES AND
QUERIES By Alan Smith
Gösta Stoltz, Source: Wikipedia
6097 The King’s Gambit and the Queen’s G.STOLTZ - A.BRINCKMANN

Gambit both offer a bishop’s pawn to obtain
a 2-1 central pawn majority. Whereas 1.d4 Swinemunde 1932
d5 2.c4 e6 has a distinguished pedigree
the same cannot be said of 1.e4 e5 2.f4 d6. 1.e4 e5 2.f4 d5 3.exd5 c6 4.¤c3 exf4 5.¤f3
Conversely 1.e4 e5 2.f4 ¥c5 is a reputable ¤f6 6.d4 ¤xd5 6...¥d6 is better.
try; the same cannot be said of 1.d4 d5 2.
c4 ¥f5, when White gets a clear edge with 7.¤xd5 £xd5 8.¥xf4 £e4+ Forcing the
3.cxd5 ¥xb1 4.£a4+! exchange of queens. White’s queenside
pawn majority proves to be the key factor.
One neglected aspect of the King’s Gambit
is that White’s opening initiative can persist 9.£e2 £xe2+ 10.¥xe2 ¥e7 11.0-0 ¥e6
into the endgame. Stoltz provided a good 12.c4 0-0 Black would do better to prevent
illustration of this at Swinemunde 1932. White’s next move with 12...h6.
He adopted the gambit four times and on
each occasion the queens were exchanged 13.¤g5! Interfering with Black’s
early on. He scored +3 =1 in these games, development.
which contributed to an overall +6 =3 and
saw him win first prize by a point and a 13...¥xg5 14.¥xg5 The surrender of the
half margin. Here is one of those games. bishop pair has left Black with a passive
game.

August 2017
14...¤d7 15.¦fd1 ¤b6 16.b3 f6 17.¥f4

¦fd8 18.a4 ¤c8 19.a5 a6 20.¥f3 ¤e7
21.¥c7 ¦d7 22.¥b6 Keeping control
of d8.
Akiba Rubinstein, Source: Wikipedia

22...g5 23.g3 f5 24.¦e1 ¢f7 25.¦e2
g4 26.¥g2 ¦g8 27.¦ae1
¦g6 28.¥c5 Threatening 29.¥xe7
followed by 30.d5.
28...¤c8 29.¦e5 Renewing the threat of

d5.
29...¦d8 30.d5 ¥d7 30...cxd5 is met

by 31.¥xd5! ¥xd5 32.¦xf5+.
31.dxc6 bxc6 31...¥xc6 leaves f5 loose.
32.¦d1 ¦e6 33.¦xe6! ¢xe6 34.¥xc6 6.d4 ¥b6 7.0-0 Rubinstein and Salwe
h5 35.b4 contested this position in two later
1-0 games. In 1907 Rubinstein preferred
7.d5 and won in 51 moves. In 1911
Swinemunde 1932 A.J.Gillam he varied again with 7.fxe5 dxe5 8.d5
¤b8 9.¥d3 £e7 10.¤a3 ¤f6 11.¤c4
Stoltz switched to the Queen’s Gambit for and 1-0.
his round 8 game with Mieses. He won that
game and secured first prize with a round 7...¤f6 8.fxe5 dxe5 9.¥xc6 ¥xc6 10.¤xe5
to spare... ¥xe4 11.¥g5 £d6 12.¥xf6 gxf6 13.¤c4
£e6 14.¤bd2 f5 15.¤xe4! fxe4 16.£a4+!
¢e7
6098 Akiba Rubinstein was a devotee
of the Queen’s Gambit and enriched Blocking the check loses material: 16...
the opening with many new ideas. Less c6?? 17.¤xb6 or 16...£d7? 17.£xd7+
known is that he was also an aficionado ¢xd7 18.¦xf7+ or 16...£c6 17.£xc6+
of the King’s Gambit. Here is an example bxc6 18.¦f4.
of his virtuosity in that opening.
17.£a3+ ¢e8 18.£b3 ¢e7 18... ¦f8 is
better.
A.RUBINSTEIN - G.SALWE
Lodz 1906 19.¦f4 ¦hg8 20.£b4+ ¢e8 21.£b5+
c6 22.£e5 £xe5 23.¤xe5 ¥c7
24.¦xe4 ¥xe5 25.¦xe5+ ¢d7 Black
1.e4 e5 2.f4 ¥c5 3.¤f3 d6 4.c3 has little hope in the endgame, but
¤c6 5.¥b5 ¥d7 Chasing the bishop Rubinstein’s technique is artistic.
away turned out no better in the game
Rubinstein - Shories Ostend 1907: 5... 26.¦ae1 ¦af8 27.¦e7+ ¢c8 28.¦1e3
a6 6.¥a4 b5 7.¥c2 ¥b6 8.d3 ¤f6 9.a4 h6 29.¢f2 ¦g6 30.¦f3 f6 31.¦g3 ¦g5
¥d7 10.axb5 axb5 11.¦xa8 £xa8 12.¤a3 Exchanging on g3 leaves bBack a pawn
and White won in 39 moves, without down with a passive position.
moving his queen’s bishop!
32.h4 ¦b5 33.b3 c5 34.d5! ¦a5 35.¦gg7!

08/137
Going for the king.
35...¦xa2+ 36.¢f3 ¦c2 37.¦c7+ ¢d8

38.¦xb7 38.¦xc5 also wins but the text is
more incisive.
Harry Golombek, Source: Wikipedia

38...¦xc3+ 39.¢f4 ¢c8 40.d6!
1-0
There is no answer to the threat of

41.¦gc7+ ¢d8 42.¦b8#
Akiba Rubinstein : Uncrowned King

Donaldson and Minev 1994 edition,
game 64
6099 Harry Golombek was another

unlikely fan of the King’s Gambit. He
was more at home in the English and
the Catalan but here he plays some
fine chess in less familiar territory.
The game was played on board 3 in an
inter-city match.
21...f6 22.¦b6 ¦c6 23.¦b7! Black’s pieces
on a8 and b8 cannot move without being lost.
H.GOLOMBEK - H.E.PRICE
London - Birmingham 1937 23...¢f8 24.¥f4! ¦c8 25.exf6 gxf6
An unhappy concession but 25...¥xf6
is met by 26.¤e5! when Black lacks
1.e4 e5 2.f4 ¤f6 3.fxe5 ¤xe4 4.¤f3 ¥e7 good moves; exchanging on e5
This attempt to wrest the game away from weakens g7, 26...¤c6?, losing the
theory does not work too well. exchange to 27.¤d7+ and 28.¤b6, and
the pawn grab 26...¦xc3? is refuted by
5.d3 ¤c5 6.d4 ¤e4 7.¥d3 d5 8.0- 27.¦xb8+.
0 0-0 9.c4 c6 10.¤c3 ¤xc3 11.bxc3
¥e6 12.£b3 b6 Black cannot have 26.¤h4 ¤c6 27.¤f5 a5 28.¦a1
liked the look of 12...dxc4 13.£xb7! This wins easily enough as does
¤d7 14.¥e4. 28.¤xe7! ¤xe7 29.¥d6 ¦e8 30.¦a1
a4 31.¥a3! when Black is powerless to
13.¥e3 dxc4 14.¥xc4 ¥xc4 15.£xc4 reinforce e7.
£d5 Trying to improve his pawn structure.
28...¦a6 28...a4 is no better.
16.£b3! b5 Black was not keen to take on
b3, but did want to prevent c4. 29.¦e1 ¥a3 29...¦e8 is met by 30.¥h6+
¢f7 31.¤d6+
17.£xd5 cxd5 18.¦fb1 a6 19.a4
bxa4 20.¦xa4 ¦c8 21.¥d2 White’s 30.¦xh7 ¤a7 31.¤h6
pawn structure is rock solid, while 1-0
Black has two isolated pawns.
Times 20th December 1937

August 2017
Problem
World
by Christopher Jones
cjajones1@yahoo.co.uk
Grandmaster of Chess Composition
Solutions are given on page 511
1 2
XIIIIIIIIY
9-+-+-+-+0
9+-+-+-+-0
9qzp-+-+K+0
9+r+-tRp+p0
9-sNLzP-mkp+0
9tr-+-+-zpl0
9-+pzP-+-sN0
XIIIIIIIIY
9-+-tR-+q+0
9vL-+-+-+-0
9pzP-zP-+-+0
9+Nmk-+-tr-0
9-+-+-+-+0
9+L+-+-+-0
9-+-+N+-+0
9+-vl-wQ-+-0 9+-+-+K+-0
3 4
John Rice (Surbiton) Christer Jonsson (Sweden)
Mate in 2 Mate in 2
ORIGINAL ORIGINAL
9r+-+k+-tr0 9-vl-+-+-+0
9+-+-zp-+p0 9+-+-+psN-0
9-+-+-+p+0 9-+-+-mK-+0
9+-+-zPpzP-0 9wq-+-+-+-0
9-+-+-vL-+0 9-+k+-+-+0
9+-+P+-mK-0 9+-+-+-+l0
9-+-+-+-+0 9-+-+-+-+0
9vlL+-+-+-0 9+-+-+-+-0
Mihaiu Cioflanca (Romania) Jorma Pitkanen (Finland)
Helpmate in 3 - 2 solutions Helpmate in 6
ORIGINAL ORIGINAL

08/137
Endgame Studies The answers are given on page 510
by Ian Watson ian@irwatson.demon.co.uk
1 XIIIIIIIIY
9-+L+-+-+0
9zpR+-+-+-0
9-+pzP-mk-+0
9+-+-+-+-0
9-+-+-+Kvl0
9+-+-zp-zP-0
2 XIIIIIIIIY
9-+-+-+L+0
9+-+-+-+l0
9-+-+-+pmK0
9+-+-+kzPp0
9-+-+-+-zp0
9+-+-+-zP-0
9-+-+-zp-+0 9-+-+-+-+0
9+-+-+-+-0 9+-+-+-+-0
V. Korolkov V. Korolkov
3 4
Trud 1935 Shakhmaty v SSSR 1950
Win wIN
9-+-mk-+-+0 9-mk-+-+-+0
9+-zp-zp-+-0 9+-+-+-zp-0
9-+-zpp+-+0 9-zP-+-+-+0
9+-vLR+-+-0 9zP-zpR+-+-0
9-+-+-+K+0 9-+p+-+r+0
9+-trL+-+-0 9zpp+P+-+-0
9-+-+-+-+0 9-+-+-+P+0
9+-+-+-+-0 9+K+-+-+-0
V. Korolkov V. Korolkov
All−Union Ty 1953 Kommunist 1973
wIN wIN

August 2017
The King of Russia?
Russian dominance of chess, over the at why the White moves are forced, so:
last century or so, has not only been 1.¦f7+? ¢xf7 2.¥a6 ¥d8 3.¢f4 ¥b6
over the board, it has been paralleled in 4.¢f5 e2 5.¥xe2 a5 6.¥c4+ ¢e8 7.¢e4
the study field. a4 8.¢f3 ¢d7 wins for Black. In the
main line, reversing the order of moves
In recent columns, we have looked at does not work - 2.d8£+? ¢xd8 3.¦b8
the father of the endgame study, Alexei ¥xg3 4.¦a8 ¥b8 5.¥a6 ¢c7 6.¢h3
Troitsky, and the modern master Oleg f1£+ 7.¥xf1 ¢b7 and because Black
Pervakov. During the Soviet era, the has not had to sac his e−pawn, the main
dominance was at its peak, because the line method does not work. In the main
other Soviet republics also had many line, 2…f1£ 3.d8£+ ¢xd8 4.¥a6+
strong composers, including - perhaps ¢c7 5.¥xf1 ¢xb8 6.gxh4 and White
the greatest study composer of all - can force his h−pawn home. Again in the
Genrikh Kasparyan from Armenia. Near main line, 3.¢xg3? f1£ 4.d8£+ ¢xd8
in stature to Kasparyan, however, was 5.¥a6+ ¢c7 6.¦b7+ ¢c8 and White
the Russian Vladimir Korolkov, and they can’t both save his rook and capture the
were close contemporaries - 1910−1995 queen, e.g. 7.¦b6+ ¢c7 8.¦b7+ ¢c8
and 1907−1987 respectively. Kasparyan 9.¦xa7+ ¢b8. Black can’t rush either:
was the Supreme Soviet, but Korolkov if instead of the main line move 3…
was the Russian Ruler, and indeed the f1£, he plays 3…¥b8 then 4.¥a6 wins.
first part of the name Korolkov means On move seven, there is another White
‘king’ in Russian. He started composing attempt: 7.¥e2? defeated by 7…¢b7
early in life and in 1929 won the first 8.¥f3 e2. So Korolkov succeeded not
USSR study−composing championship; only in creating a marvellous solution,
he continued to be active in study but also managed to avoid there being
composing for over half a century. any ‘duals’ (alternative solutions) even
though at first sight it looks as if there
Our first study may well be familiar to would be some.
you, but if not you will be astonished by
it. Even if you have seen it several times, The other three studies should be
it is worth looking at again: 1.d7 ¢e7 less familiar, and are for you to solve.
2.¦b8 ¥xg3 3.¦a8 f1£ 4.d8£+ ¢xd8 Your easy starter is the 1950 study; the
5.¥a6+ ¥b8 6.¥xf1 ¢c7 7.¥a6 e2 1953 composition shows a ladder−like
8.¥xe2 ¢b7 9.¥f3 ¢xa8 10.¥xc6 mate. manoeuvre of all the rooks and bishops,
That is impressive, steadily building up and in the 1973 work the rooks find
the excitement to the superb mate, but themselves immobilised in a strange
you get more from studies if you look stand−off in the centre of the board.

08/137
Think ahead about potential threats
Long-term
king safety
By Theo Slade
Many players have emphasised the is in any immediate danger, and if it is not,
importance of long−term king safety. My then they do not think any more about how
old coach GM Lars Bo Hansen stresses that vulnerable their king is. However, many
a lot of players, when considering a move, players overlooked how exposed their king
look to see if their king is in any immediate could be in the future.
danger and, if it is not, then they do not
think any more about how vulnerable their To illustrate this, I would like to show a
king is. However, many players, including game by Paul Keres. He is arguably the
myself until recently, overlooked how strongest player never to become World
exposed their king could be in the future, Champion, but he was no stranger to
ignoring the importance of long−term mistakes. In this particular game against
king safety as opposed to short−term king Botvinnik in 1941, Keres jeopardised his
safety. He says that a lot of players, when long−term king safety, which led to a very
considering a move, look to see if their king quick loss for him as White.

August 2017
Paul Keres - Mikhail Botvinnik 10.¥g3 cxd4 All very logical, opening the
c-file, where White's king resides.
URS Absolute-ch Leningrad/Moscow (3),
26.03.1941 11.£xd4??
1.d4 ¤f6 2.c4 e6 3.¤c3 ¥b4 4.£c2 d5 XIIIIIIIIY
5.cxd5 exd5 6.¥g5 h6 7.¥h4 c5!? So 9rsnlwqk+-tr0
far so good, and now the main line runs
8.dxc5! g5 9.¥g3, when White may be able
9zpp+-+p+-0
to claim a slight advantage. 9-+-+-sn-zp0
However, Keres instead made a dubious
9+-+p+-zp-0
move! 9-+-wQ-+-+0
9+-+-+-vL-0
8.0–0–0?
9PzP-+PzPPzP0
XIIIIIIIIY 9+-mKR+LsNR0
9rsnlwqk+-tr0 xiiiiiiiiy
9zpp+-+pzp-0 Very natural, but this was the last moment
9-+-+-sn-zp0 where the game could have been saved!
11.£xd4?? allows Black to gain a tempo.
9+-zpp+-+-0
9-vl-zP-+-vL0 11.£a3! is the best move, as pointed
out by the engine, but this goes to show
9+-sN-+-+-0 how poor White's position is, that it is a
9PzPQ+PzPPzP0 blunder for him to recapture a pawn. The
9+-mKR+LsNR0 idea behind 11.£a3! is to prevent Black
from castling kingside. 11...¤c6 12.¤f3
xiiiiiiiiy £b6 However, White cannot hang onto
Keres castles onto a half-open file, where the pawn. 13.e3 dxe3 14.£xe3+ £xe3+
Botvinnik can easily attack, and where 15.fxe3 Black is clearly better because he
Keres does not have many defenders. has an extra pawn.
Indeed, his whole kingside is undeveloped,
so it is difficult to understand this move. Of
course, Botvinnik punishes him ruthlessly A lot of players,
for this. when considering a
move, look to see if
8...¥xc3! The dark-squared bishop was
not that important for the queenside attack,
their king is in any
so Botvinnik removes one of White's immediate danger,
queenside defenders with it. and if it is not, then
9.£xc3 9.¥xf6 does not help White.
they do not think
Usually it is not advisable to capture a any more about how
pinned piece and this is no exception. vulnerable their king
9...£xf6 10.£xc3 c4 Black is a lot better is. However, many
as it will be difficult for White to find a
purpose for each of his pieces. players overlooked
how exposed their king
9...g5 Unpinning the f6–knight. could be in the future
08/137
11...¤c6 This is extremely important because XIIIIIIIIY

on the next move Black can cut White's king off
with ...¥f5, followed by ...¦c8 and it is easy to 9-+r+k+-tr0
see that White's king is not long for this world. 9zpp+-+p+-0
12.£a4 ¥f5 13.e3
9-+n+-+-zp0
XIIIIIIIIY 9+-+p+qzp-0
9r+-wqk+-tr0 9Q+-+n+-+0
9zpp+-+p+-0 9+-+R+-vL-0
9-+n+-sn-zp0 9PzP-+-zPPzP0
9+-+p+lzp-0 9+K+-+-sNR0
9Q+-+-+-+0 xiiiiiiiiy
Now it is all over because not only does
9+-+-zP-vL-0 Black have a raging attack, but he is a pawn
9PzP-+-zPPzP0 up to boot, so the long-term advantages
also lie with Black. The rest is agony.
9+-mKR+LsNR0
xiiiiiiiiy 18.¢a1 0–0 19.¦d1 b5 20.£xb5 ¤d4
Botvinnik suggests 13.f3 £b6 14.e4 dxe4 21.£d3 ¤c2+ 22.¢b1 ¤b4
15.¢b1, but after the simple 15...0–0 Black
is easily winning. Keres resigns.
0–1
13...¦c8 14.¥d3 14.¤e2 0–0 15.¤c3 ¤e4
16.£a3 £b6, with numerous threats, was In conclusion, this game illustrates the
not much better for White. importance of carefully assessing long-term
challenges to the king. Although your king may
14...£d7 15.¢b1 Keres tries desperately look safe in the here and now, that does not
to evacuate his king, but it is to no avail. mean that it will not be exposed in the future.
15...¥xd3+ 16.¦xd3 £f5 Pinning and If such a strong player as Paul Keres forgot
winning. If White tries to defend the rook this simple principle, and paid the price in such
then ...¤b4(+) wins. dramatic fashion, then let that be a lesson...
Better than learning it to your own cost.
17.e4 ¤xe4
Endgame Studies (See page 506)
Korolkov 1950
1.¥e6+ ¢xe6 2.gxh4 ¥g8 3.¢g7 ¥f7 manoeuvre is called a systematic movement.
4.¢f8 wins.
Korolkov 1973
2...¢e7 3.¢xh7 ¢f7 4.¢h6. In the main 1.a6 ¦d4 2.dxc4 ¢a8 3.a7 a2+ 4.¢a1 g6
line, 3...¢f5 4.¢xg8 ¢g4 5.¢g7 ¢xh4 5.g3 g5 6.g4 ¢b7 7.¦xd4 cxd4 8.c5 wins.
6.¢xg6 ¢g4 7.¢f6. 2.a7+? ¢b7 3.dxc4 a2+ 4.¢a1 ¢a8. In
the main line, 3...¢b7 4.¦xd4 cxd4 5.c5
Korolkov 1953 d3 6.c6+.
1.¥b4 ¦b3 2.¦d4 e5 3.¥c2 ¦b2 4.¦c4 d5
5.¥a3 ¦a2 6.¦c3 d4 7.¥b1 ¦a1 8.¦b3 wins. Other alternatives in the main line are: 4.¢b2?
¦xd5 5.cxd5 c4 6.d6 c3+; and 4...¦xd5
7...¦g2+ 8.¢f3 ¦g1 9.¦c1. This type of 5.cxd5 c4 6.d6; and 6...¦xd5 7.cxd5.

August 2017
Solutions to Problems (See page 505)
Wide-ranging possibilities... an experience. 1.axb5 ¤d4 2.b4 b7; and

1.£xb3 (not 1.£c4+!) ¤ec3 2.£b4 ¦c8.
I hope you had a chance to try to decide Maybe I should have added the a7 bishop
in our first problem which move uniquely to the function-changing pieces, since it,
forces mate next move. There are several actually, gives mate in one solution!
possibilities, involving a number of possible
pieces and a number of different threats. If Castling into danger
we play 1.¦d5, the threat is 2.£e5, and
we meet 1...¦xd5 and 1...¦e3 respectively We welcome Mihaiu upon his first
by 2.¤xd5 and 2.£xe3; but we have no contribution to this column. A first glance
mate after 1...gxh2! The try 1.d5 threatens at his diagram leads us to suspect that the
2.¦xf5 but fails to 1...£c8! The rook two solutions will involve Black castling
retreat 1.¦e3 yields another new threat, on either side and coming under fire from
2.£xg3, and if 1...¦xe3 2.£xe3; but 1... the white bishops. He contributes further to
h4! refutes. Next, another pawn move – 1.d3 his downfall in each solution by capturing
threatens 2.£xc1 and there are queen mates a white pawn in order to give White the
also after moves of the c1 bishop (and after chance to mobilise the bishop that he would
1...gxh2) but there is no mate after 1...¦a1! not otherwise have time to activate within
Eventually we arrive at 1.¥d3, threatening the number of moves stipulated. This sort
2.£e3, and meeting 1...¦xd3/¥xd2/¦xe5 of reciprocity between the strategy in the
by 2.¤xd3/£xd2/£xe5; and that is indeed two solutions is a characteristic strength
the key. of good 3-move helpmates. 1.0-0-0 e6
2.¦xd3+ ¥xd3 3.¦d8 ¥a6. 1.0-0 ¥a2+
Hemming in the black king 2.¢h8 ¥f7 3.¥xe5 ¥xe5.
Our remaining problems this month are Hemming in the black king (part 2)
helpmates – Black plays first and does
all he can to facilitate mate. In Christer's Another new contributor – welcome, Jorma!
2-mover, the white force is doing a good Long single-solution helpmates like this one
job of controlling most of the potential are a real test of the solver's imagination. At
flight squares of the black king – apart from the moment, all eight squares adjacent to
b4. It is not feasible to arrange for b4 to the black king are vacant. We have to look
be guarded, so instead it must be occupied for a way in which to have four squares
by Black. It turns out that both the ways of occupied by black units, three guarded
doing this involve the capture of a white by the white king and one guarded by the
officer, so White's task then is not only to mating white knight. Experienced solvers
attack the black knight but also to make would probably see quickly that this must
up for the loss of control of flight(s) that entail a trek east by the black king in order
had been guarded by the captured white to make use of the f7 pawn. As you become
officer. It turns out that there are changes more versed in solving helpmates you
of function involving four white officers discern more readily the possible set-ups
– both knights, the d8 rook and the b3 for mate. As usual, the mechanism forcing
bishop. Good composers have the knack a unique move-order in the solution gives
of effecting radical transformation of pleasure; see the reasons why the moves
the diagram position, even over a short cannot be played in any other order – 1.¥e6
number of moves, that makes the process ¤f5 2.¢d5 ¢g7 3.¢e5 ¢h7 4.¢f6 ¤e7
of solving such a creative and so rewarding 5.£f5+ ¢h6 6.¥e5 ¤g8.

Carlsen Dominates Paris: While So Raises From The Ashes in Leuven

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Volume 137

THE GRAND CHESS TOUR 2017

GM Bassem Amin, Chess Olympiad 2016

A ine old gentleman, the granddaddy

It´s now even easier to subscribe

An exclusive chess magazine!

BRITISH CHESS MAGAZINE | 451

Chairman Shaun Taulbut

Subscription 494 Openings for Amateurs

452 | BRITISH CHESS MAGAZINE

The Grand Chess Tour 2017

Topalov’s dynamic choices were no

454 | BRITISH CHESS MAGAZINE

13.h3 Transposing to the main line, but 19...£e7 20.¥d2 ¦d8

25...¥f8 26.¥xd5 ¦a8 31.£b7 wins the pawn on a7 with a

26...¦xd5 27.¥c3 £g6 1.e4 e5 2.¤f3 ¤c6 3.¥c4 The Giuoco

456 | BRITISH CHESS MAGAZINE

A total of nine players were selected as full

£f6 14.¤c4 b5 15.¤e3 ¥b6 ½–½ (34) 17...£f6

458 | BRITISH CHESS MAGAZINE

24...d5 It is natural to advance in the centre. 34...¢h7 35.¦dd6 Black is in a sort of

27.£g4 d3 27...g6 prevents ¤h5 but it

BRITISH CHESS MAGAZINE | 459

Faster time = big mistakes

Sergey Karjakin - Alexander Grischuk

460 | BRITISH CHESS MAGAZINE

Even though this happened as early as Etienne Bacrot – Magnus Carlsen

It is difficult to explain how that 16...¤c6 17.£xd6 £xd6 18.exd6 ¥f6

BRITISH CHESS MAGAZINE | 461

462 | BRITISH CHESS MAGAZINE

37.cxb6 axb6 with excellent winning chances Shakhriyar Mamedyarov -

BRITISH CHESS MAGAZINE | 463

have played a few more moves from this

78.¦f2+! Definitely missed by Black, but

78...¢g1 79.¦xf1+ ¢g2 80.¦f2+ ¢g1

81...¦a3 Why let the h-pawn advance?

81...¢g2 was the simplest, as White's king

82.h6 ¦h3 83.¦f6 ¢h2 84.¢f2 ¦h4

85.¢f3 ¢h3 86.¦g6 ¦a4? This loses,

86...¢h2 and White cannot make progress.

87.h7? Mamedyarov advances according

87.¦g1! ¢h2 88.¦g4 and White wins.

87...¦h4 88.¦g7 ¦h6??

Nakamura never understood the importance

88...¢h2 is still a draw, in spite of all the

89.¢f4 ¢h4 90.¢f5 ¦h5+ 91.¢g6 ¢g4

464 | BRITISH CHESS MAGAZINE

STAGE TWO: LEUVEN (28th June to 2nd July)

BRITISH CHESS MAGAZINE | 465

Magnus Carlsen - Wesley So

466 | BRITISH CHESS MAGAZINE

29.¦a4 ¦d2 35...£g4+ 36.¢d3 36.¢d2 is better, but

BRITISH CHESS MAGAZINE | 467

1.c4 ¤f6 2.¤c3 e5 3.¤f3 ¤c6 4.g3 ¥b4

6.£xf6 ¤xf6 7.b4 b6 8.¤f3 ¤c6 9.¦b1

468 | BRITISH CHESS MAGAZINE

8...g5 Taking up the gauntlet, but it was XIIIIIIIIY

In Paris, Carlsen dominated the rapid,

BRITISH CHESS MAGAZINE | 469

in Leuven he destroyed the competition

The game against Jobava shows

470 | BRITISH CHESS MAGAZINE

the piece but the ¥c1 is a prisoner and it