\t\c\C..

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

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

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

I.

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

6. Blumenfeld Gambit 8. Dutch 9. Sicilian Dragon

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

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

4.t:..d2!?

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

Shock your opponent with an 50S!

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 Free Chess Broadcast \vith Live Rybka 3 Analysis

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

NEW CHF5S
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-

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

6 NIC's Cate

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

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

20 Naka in Capa's Footsteps

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

34 Kramnik on Cloud Nine in Dortmund

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

52 Maxime to the Max

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

64 Another Silent Estonian

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

Shabalov and Corrales Shared First in Sao Paulo 84

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

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

est prizes.

Beyond the Illusion of 'Talent' 92

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

In the Style of Tal and Fischer 96

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

Just Checking 106

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

CONTRIBUTORS TO THIS ISSUE

Levon Aronian, Joel Benjamin, Fidel Corrales,
Jaan Ehlvest, Alexandr Fier, Anish Giri, Rustam
Kasimdzhanov, Vladimir Kramnik, Peter Leko, Gilberto
Milos, Alexander Morozevich, Evgeny ajer, Hikaru
Nakamura, Yannick Pelletier, Ruslan Ponomariov,
Jonathan Rowson, Peter Svidler, Jan Timman, Maxime
Vachier-Lagrave, Giovanni Vescovi, Alex Yermolinsky
PHOTOS AND ILLUSTRATIONS
Torsten Behl, Biel International Chess Festival, Chris
Bird, Dagobert Kohlmeyer
COVER PHOTO
Hikaru Nakamura: New In Chess

Time Flies
For some it remains a normal part
of the game, for others it's the
curse of professional chess. Yes,
we're talking short d raws. Par­
ticularly in these lean days when
sponsors are hard to come by, no
organizer likes to see games end
prematurely. And that's not even
mentioning the spectators. An in­
creasingly popular countermeas­
ure against short and tepid games
is a ban on early draws, for instance
as phrased in the Sofia Rules. In­
evitably, these r ules create a new
species of players well versed in
finding move repetitions where
we never expected them, but all in
all they seem to work. They cer­
tainly would have prevented what
happened in the third round of the
Dortmund tournament, much to
the horror of everyone present,
with the possible exception of the
players. The round took place on a
Saturday and the theatre was filled
with fans that had paid to be en­
tertained. The fun didn't last long.
After three quarters of an hour and
19 moves, Kramnik and Carlsen
left the stage, soon followed by
Bacrot and Yakovenko, who had
worked for 22 moves. About one
hour later Naiditsch and Leko also
drew their game after 29 not over­
ly exciting moves, leaving the au­
dience no other choice than to go
home. For tour nament d irector
Stefan Koth it was an embarrass­
ing moment, and he indicated that
for next year he might consider
anti-drawing measures.
6 NEW iN CHESS
Let's hope he made a note of his
intention, because one year pass­
es quickly. Last year Mr. Koth
was asked why on earth he had re­
peated the I s-minute delay in the
transmission of the live games. Af­
ter all, this anti-cheating measure
made no sense if it was not com­
bined with other measures. With
admirable honesty he replied that
they had mainly copied the script
of last year and that it might be a
good idea to abolish the delay for
next time. So what happened this
year? Right, faithfully copying the
script of last year, the games were
again broadcast with a I s-minute
delay. And were they delayed be­
cause additional measures had
been introduced? Not really. The
players were not frisked, phones
and radio signals were not blocked
and the players' seconds were al­
lowed to sit in the hall. But you're
right, at least some of the viewers
A live photo of the stage in Dortmund.
at home may have got the impres­
sion that that third round lasted
T 5 minutes longer than it did.
Matter of Principle
As might be expected, the eco­
nomic crisis is also leaving its mark
on the chess world. A conspicu­
ous victim of the disappearance
of unimaginable amounts of mon­
ey in all spheres of society is the
Grand Slam Final in Bilbao, to be
held from September 5 to 12. Al­
though one might also say that
the event is partly the victim of
its huge success of last year, when
a prize-fund of 400,000 euro was
splurged on six privileged play­
ers, with the winner, Veselin To­
palov, cashing 150,000 euro. For
this year such figures could only be
Veselin Topalov: unhappy with
2009 Bilbao prize-fund.
dreamed of, and a first signal that
the fund-raising was an uphill en­
terprise was the reduction of the
number of participants from six to
four. Only the four winners of the
Grand Slam tournaments in Nan­
jing (Topaloy), Wijk aan Zee (Kar­
jakin), Linares (Grischuk) and So­
fia (Shirov) were invited, robbing
the organizers of two wildcards,
which no doubt had been intend­
ed for public darlings Anand and
Carlsen. But that was not the last
setback. The new prize-fund was
not yet re\'eaIcd, but a sneak pre­
view compelled Veselin Topalov
and his manager Silvio Danailov
to decide on the withdrawal of the
number one in the world rankings.
The Bulgarian will be replaced by
Levon Aronian, who was runner­
up in Nanj ing. Asked for a reac­
tion, Mr Danailov explained the
decision of his protege. 'The idea
of the Grand Slam Final was that it
should be something special. With
a seriously reduced prize-fund it
is not special. I t is also a matter of
principle. Topalov has always been
fighting for better conditions for
himself and for the other top play­
ers. He cannot ask for special con­
ditions in Nanjing, Wijk aan Zee or
Linares and then play for less mon-
NIC'S CAFE
ey in Bilbao because it's the Grand
Slam Final. That would be unfair
towards the other organizers. ' It's
difficult to judge the decision of
Danailov and Topalov, not know­
ing the Bilbao prize-fund, but we
can only hope that the Grand Slam
Final in Bilbao will nevertheless
become a tradition, which was the
original plan.
Another Classic
A trad ition that o n l y seems to
groll by the year is the Chess
Classic i n Mainz. at entirely
impervious to the crisis but expe­
rienced and resourceful enough
to weather the storm, the Chess
Tigers team led by Hans-Walter
Schmitt could look back on an­
other smooth l y r u n event that
set several new records. The Or­
dix Open, the s t ro n gest rap­
id open i n the wor l d , attract­
ed 6940) participants, including
67 GMs. And n o fewer than 50
GMs took part in the increasingly
popular F i et 960 Open, which
ended i n a victory for Russia's
Alexander Grischuk. In the Or­
dix Open Grisch uk was also the
top-seed but here, in his third at­
tempt in Mainz, Shakhriyar Ma­
mcdyarov snatched victory with a
rccord score of 1 0 out of I I (two
draws). The game the Azeri GM
liked best was his win over Evge­
ny Najer.
Mamedyarov-Najer
position after 1 8 . . . �a6
19.1::ld g1 White is piling up on the
g-file, but in fact it's f7 that Black
NIC'S CAFE
Shakhriyar Mamedyarov set an
incredible new record by winning the
Ordix Open with 10 out of 1 1 .
has t o protect first with I 9 . . :� e7 .
1 9 ... 1txd3? 20.ttJxf7 ! Ouch. Ob­
viously the queen cannot be tak­
en, because of mate. 20 ... ttJe6
21 .ttJh6 + c;t>h8 2Vt:Jf7 + c;t>g8
2 3.ttJxd8 1txc2 24.ttJxe6 l:txe6
25.l:txg1 + 'Ot>h8 26.l:bc1 l:txe2
21.l:txc6 l:txf2 28.'Ot>xc2 And with
two pawns up, White won easily.
As in previous years, the condi­
tions were superb for spectators
and players alike. With so many
participants it was truly amaz-
The sensation in Mainz was the failure
of World Champion Vishy Anand to
even reach the final.
ing to see how little time the ar­
biters needed between rounds to
collect all results and publish the
new pairings o n giant screens.
In the evenings the top acts wcre
scheduled, the '960 world cham­
pionship' and the ' GrenkeLeas-
ing rapid world championship',
two invitationals of four players
each. The 960 championship was
a h uge success for Hikaru aka­
mura. The American Champion
started with l out of 3 in the pre­
liminary stage, bounced back with
313 on the second night and next
demolished defending champion
Levan Aronian 3 V2-V2 i n the final .
In the 'rapid world champion­
ship' the biggest sensation was the
failure of World Champion Vishy
Anand. Having won the event an
unbelievable I I times, the I ndian
was the clear favourite, but after
losing his first two games (when
did that ever happen ? ) he didn't
even q ualify for the final. Except
for bad form he failed to provide
a real explanation, but bad form it
certainly was. It's not an everyday
experience to see one of the best
rapid players in the world (if not
the best) win only one game out
of 10. I n the uninspired fight for
third place Anand drew all four
games against Arkady aiditsch.
The final was contested by Levon
Aronian and I an Nepomniacht­
chi, the winner of the Ordix Open
last year. The young Russian had
won a fine game against Anand in
the preliminaries, but in the final
he got a 3 Yl- V2 drubbing. The re­
sult might have been even more
one-sided if Aronian had kept a
clear head in the fourth game.
KP 2 . 1 1 - C22
Ian Nepomniachtchi
Levon Aronian
Mainz 2009
1 .e4 e5 2.d4 exd4 3.�xd4 ttJc6
4.�e3 ttJf6 5.ttJc3 �b4 6.�d2
0-0 1 .0-0-0 l:te8 8.�g3 l:txe4 9.
a 3 l:Ig4 1 0.�e3 �f8 1 1 .13 l:Ig6
1 2.�f2 d5 1 3.�d3 d4 14 .. .bg6
hxg6 1 5.�g5 'iHe8 1 6.�xf6 g x J6
1 1 .ttJ b 5 � h 6 + 1 8 . c;t>b1 �e3
1 9.�g3 �f5 2 0.ttJxc1 'iHd1 21.
ttJxa8 �xc2 + 22.c;t>xc2 �f5 +
23.�b3 'ifd5 + 24.c;t>c2
NEW iN CHESS 7

And at this point Aronian went
for the perpetual with 24... 'Ii'f5 +
After the game the Armenian ex­
plained why: 'He was playing so
fast and determined that I be­
lieved all this was known. I was
thinking deeply to find various
only moves, only to d iscover af­
ter the game that I was playing
the theory. But as he was playing
so fast, I thought all this must be
known and he must think that I am
a patzer for not knowing all this.
This is why I took the draw and
didn't prod deeper.' Had he prod­
ded deeper he might have found
that Black can go for mate with:
24 ... ttJ aS! 2s· 'Ii'e I 'tWb3+ 26.�bI
ttJ q 2 7 . 'Ii' e2 ttJ xa3+ 2 8 . Wa I
ttJ C2+, and now, if White doesn't
give up his queen, he will be mated
after 29.'�bI ttJ b4 30. 'Ii'xe3 'li'C2+
3 I .�aI 'iYXd I + . 25.�b3 Draw.
That would have been a suitable
end to an impressing perform­
ance. The game Aronian liked
best follows below, with notes by
the winner.
NOTES BY
Levun Arunian
RL 7 . 1 - C65
Ian Nepomniachtchi
Levon Aronian
Mainz 2009
1 .e4I won the first game in an ex­
citing time scramble, and in this
game I knew that Ian would go
for it.
1 ...e5 2.ttJf3 ttJc6 3.�b5 ttJf6
8 NEW iN cum
4.'Ii'e2 By character Ian is a chess be cunning. 6 . . . 0-0 allows 7.�gS,
player who seeks adventures, and which is not really dangerous, but
it is probably this that explains his it demands extra care. With this
rare choice. move I as though gave my oppo­
4.. �c5 Here I thought for a cou­
. nent the move, preparing if 7 .
ple of minutes. I imagined that 5 . ttJ bd2 t o play 7 . . . 0-0 followed by
�xc6 was good for White, b u t it . . . ttJ q-ttJ g6, or i f 7 .0-0 - 7 . . .0-0,
i s well known that both S . . . dxc6 since with the white king o n the
6. ttJ xes 'li' d4 7 . ttJ d3 �b6 and 5 . . . kingside 8 . .Q.gS is not at all dan­
bxc6 6. ttJ xes 0-0 give Black good gerous. 7 .h3 Ian is also cunning.
compensation for the lost pawn.
.1..1..1..1. .1..1..1.
:i .a�* .E
� �
£l:,
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t2J
f'::,f'::,f':f':
:, :,ViJlf'::,£l:,f'::,
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7 ... �d7 Since in this set-up the
5.d3 To me this seemed illogical. exchange of the light-square bish­
And indeed, if after +d3 the best ops is usually advantageous to
move is 4 . . . �cS, why is the queen Black, I decided to threaten it.
Hans-Walter Schmitt not only handed Levon Aronian the winner's cheque,
but also presented him with the traditional Black Jacket.
needed here at e2? S .c3 0-0 6.d3 B.ttJbd2 Ian decided to exchange
seems more logical, with the idea of his bishop. After the attempt to
pinning the knight at f6 by 7 .�g5, retain it by 8.�a4 he may not haye
or S .C3 0-0 6.0-0 with the idea by 7· liked the position after 8 . . . ttJ e7 9.
J:!.d I of playing d4 in one go. �b3 ttJ g6, where B lack is com­
5 .. d6 Of course, S . . . ttJ d4 was pos­
. pletely alright.
sible, with an acceptable game, but B ... ttJe7 9.�xd7 + 'li'xd7 1 D.ttJc4
why relieve the tension? ttJg6 The two sides have achieved
6.c3 .Q.b6 With this move I tried to a harmonious arrangement of
NIC'S CAFE
their forces, and the position i s
roughly e q u a l . The n e x t move
slightly surprised me.
11 .h4 The only p l us feature of
this move is that it changes the
pattern of the play.
11 ... h6 1 l . . .h 5 was also possible,
but I was attracted by the idea of
luring the pawn to h5, and then by
the illusion of capturing it.
12.g3 Another waiting move.
12 ...�e6 I also decided to wait.
1 3.a4 The strongest is probably
[ 3 .�e3, equalizing.
13 ... e6 1 4.a5 Not the best deci­
sion, since in any case the bishop
wants to go to C7. 1 4.�e3 was still
acceptable.
14 ... �e7 1 5.lOe31Oe7 Now Black
is in control of the situation.
:!
i: * i
i i .t � i i
i i 'iV � i 'fi �
� i
� �
� 1'3:,0Jfj �
� 'iV1'3:,
� � W :g
1 6.h5 A continuation of White's
strategy, which leads to d isaster.
1 6.lOd2 was preferable, but, as is
well known, the hardest thing is to
admit one's own mistakes.
16 ... d5 1 7 .l:i.a4 This move looks
artificial, but others are no better.
17 ... 0-0-0 Here the king is secure.
1 B .lOh4 Logical, but bad . The
king should have been safeguard­
ed by 1 8.'it'fI . 1B ... �d7
* i: i:
i i .t 'iV � i i
i � i �
:a:
� i i � SALES AND ADVERTISING:
1'3:, tLJ
1'3:,
� � tLJ � 25.lOefs lOxfs 26.'&lYxfs lOxb3 was
'iV �
� W :g
NIC'S CAFE
1 9.'it'f1 This is now a serious mis­ 25 ... d3 26.'&lYd1 lOe4 27.a6 After
take. After 1 9 .0-0 dxq 20.dxe4 2 7 . �d 2 the most r uthless was
'lWd3 2 1 .'lWf3 White stands worse, 27 . . . g5, which after 28.hxg6 fxg6
but there is still fight in the posi­ opens lines for an assault 011 the
tion. white king.
19 ... e5 Unexpectedly it transpires
that White has to give up a pawn,
or allow the fatal destruction of
his centre.
20.b3 Since after 20.'lWC2 lOxhS
White simply loses a pawn, Ian
chooses another continuation.
20 ... e4 20 . . . lOc6 is also strong, but
the move in the game suggests it­
self.
:!
II i .t 'iV � i i
* i:
27 ... d2 2B.axb 7 + �bB The rest is
altogether simple.
1'3:,
� i 2 9 . � b 2 101 5 3 0 . � g 1 lOxl2
:g
� i i 31 .�xf2 �b6 + 3 2 .lOe3 lOxe3
1'3:, tLJ 33.�e5+ �xb7 34.'lW13 + 'lWe6
8 � 8 tLJ 8 The d2 pawn will cost a rook, �
and therefore Ian resigned. �
Ii' � W :g
21 .dxe4 A fter the more tenacious
2 1 .a6 the strongest was 2 1 . . . cxb3 COLOPHON
22.axb7+ 'it'b8 2 3 ·l:i.b4 dxe4 24·
dxq 'lWc6, with the subsequent
PUBLISHER: AllerdHoogland
EDITO A S·IN· CH IIF:
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gathering of the white pawns. £ 0 ITOAS: Rene Olthof, Peter 80el
21 ... lOxe4 Now Black creates a AAT·DIRECTION: Steven Boland
PADDUCTION: Joop deGroot
passed pawn. 22.'lWe2 Things are TRANSLATORS:
also bad for White after 2 2.�b2 Sarah Hurst, Ken Neat,Piet Verhagen
SALES ANa ADVERTISING: CasperPleters
lOcs 23·l:i.a3 d4·
22 ...lOe5 23.l:i.a2 d4 24.exd4 exd4 ICl No part of thiS magazme may be reproduced, stored In retneval
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II
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NEW iN CHESS 9

Adequate Explanation
I enj oyed t h e i nterview w i t h
Miguel I lIescas i n N e w I n Chess
2009 / 5 . M i guel was not only a
popular and productive mem­
ber of the Deep Blue team, but
taught me a lot about proper chess
preparation. I was able to win the
the computer always played moves
from its assigned book right away,
but could play other moves pret­
ty quickly if their score was clearly
better than other moves. Database
moves that were played in almost
all games received a big bonus for
Deep Blue to incorporate into its
assessmen t.
However, my recollections con­
cerning Game 6 are a bit d iffer­
ent. It's true that our grandmas­
ters had l i ttle to do during the
match but input a few moves in
garbage openings here and there.
But I think 8.lDxe6 had been pre­
pared well before the match. lick
de Firmian was given the task of
I remembered Kasparov tricking
us in the opening before. I think
Miguel was in the office at the time
and that's how he remembers.
After so many years I 'm not
100% confident about my mem­
ories, but that's how I described
events i n the Deep Blue chapter
of my book Americflll Grandmas­
ter. Miguel's version is certainly a
better story.
Miguel is correct that Deep Blue
did not like 8.lDxe6, though with
the large bonus the move would
have received, it possibly could
have played it on its own . Within
a few moves Deep Blue evaluated
White's position as favorable. I ' m
n o t convinced that Kasparov re­
lied entirely on the programmers

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

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

1 0 NEW iN CHESS YO U R MOVE


In New In Chess 2009 / 5 Miguel
IlIescas analyses the most interest­
ing endgame between Carlsen and
Wang Yue in Leon 2009. Mr. Illes­
cas comes to the conclusion that
36.'!:!:a l was a mistake. I disagree,
I think that move was the easiest
way for White to win the game.
Carlsen's mistake comes later with
39·l:!:b8?
Carlsen-Wang Vue
Leon 2009
position after 35 .. .l:Xxa2
36Jh1 ? J::!:x a1 + ! 37 .�xa1 �d5!
38.�xf6 gxf6 39J:tb8?
He could have reached an easily
won pawn ending by: 39JIx d5 !
exd 5 40.Wf2, and the rest i s j ust
a technical problem for White, be­
cause his king is much stronger
than the black one.
Bragi Halld6rsson
Reykjavik, I celand
Ouestionable Point
In his article 'Enthralling Battles'
i n New I n Chess 2009 / 4 Hans
Ree, commenting o n the match­
es between Botvinnik and Smys­
lov, concludes: 'So all i n all Smys­
lov scored one more point, which
doesn't mean much . ' I think this
last point is somewhat questiona­
ble. Just to sum up and remember:
1 95 1 : Botvinnik-Bronstein: 1 2- 1 2 .
1 954: Botvinnik-Smyslov: 1 2- 1 2
195T Smyslov-Botvinnik: 1 2Yl-9Y2
1 9 5 8 : Botvinnik-Smyslov: 1 2Y2-
IDYl (thanks to the so-called 're­
turn match')
1 960: Tal-Botvinnik: 1 2Y2-8Y2
1 96 1 : Botvinnik-Tal: 1 3-8 (once
YO U R MOVE
NEW iN CH� and I
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again thanks to a 'return match'
with Tal seriously ill)
1 964: Petrosian-Botvinnik: 1 2Y2-
9'/2 (the 'return match' had been
abolished)
I think these results speak for
themselves: Botvinllik never won a
single first match. At best he drew,
at worst he lost. Without the in­
glorious 'return match', Botvinnik
would have lost his title i n 1 95 7
and would have had to play the
Candidates' cycle from the start.
Thosc are the facts.
How easy it is when one can cre­
ate the 'rules' for oneself! As Hans
Ree rightly observed when he cit­
ed Botvinnik speaking of ' ... my
1I10St wlIl1illg invention'.
We should not forget that Bot­
vinnik's reign lasted 13 years thanks
to the 'return matches'.
But this is not all: Karpov re­
i ntroduced the right of the 're­
Ulrn match' against Kasparov. But
Kasparov was deprived of such
a 'right' against Kramnik (Lon­
don, 2000). But Kramnik obtained
such a 'right' after losing his title
(Mexico, 2007) and . . . got a 'return
match' (Bonn, 2009). And Topa­
lov, too, obtained the privilege of
an 'indirect return match' (for not
having played in Mexico) after los­
ing against Kramnik (Elista, 2006)
and beating Kamsky (Sofia, 2009).
Let's not forget that Anand never
had such a 'right' and maybe never
looked for it.
And now we hear that F I D E
h a s introd uced a 'wildcard' i n the
World Championship c ycle, to
invite 'selected' players i f neces­
sary. In contrast, the old Candi­
dates' cycle, albeit long and heavy,
clearly had its merits. I t was a true
selection.
Indeed, how easy it is when one
can create one's own 'rules'!
This is why I think, contrary to
Hans Ree, that it does matter a lot
alld meal1S much more!
Philippe Briffaut
Loreto, Italy
NEW iN CHESS 1 1
 t the back of the large reception room of the San
A Sebastian town hall, Hikaru Nakamura stood
talking to his friend and second Kris Littlejohn. A f­
ter the fierce and successful eruption in the two blitz
games against Ruslan Ponomariov it was time to un­
wind, and they were all smiles. The smile got wid­
er when Nakamura accepted my congratulations,
and yeah, he also believed this tournament win was
a good moment for an interview. The only problem
1 2 NEW iN CHtSS
was to find a good time to talk. In a few minutes' time
we'd be leaving for the closing dinner, and knowing
the customs in this part of E urope, we knew that
desert wouldn't be served till well past midnight.
The solution proved simple, or so i t seemed. As it
happened, we would be on the same flight to Ma­
drid the next day and we would surely be able to
talk on the plane or at the Madrid airport of Bara­
jas while we waited for our connecting flights. The
I N T E R V I EW
 If you r
He's changed. He's left behind an

want to
unhappy period in his life and got rid

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

where he never wants to go back again.

become He's also playing different openings.

The new Hikaru Nakamura, who in

better you
Saint Louis won the US. Championship

for the second time, no longer seeks

offbeat sidelines but plays mainline

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

to compete with the very best. His new

approach seems to be working. He

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

proved in the Category 1 8 round-robin

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

old American shared first place with

Ruslan Ponomariov, only to demolish the

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

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

remains focused like this, he has no doubts

, done' that a world championship match may be

waiting on the horizon. In San Sebastian

Dirk Jan ten Geuzendam had a

\
frank talk with Hikaru Nakamura 2.0 at

an unusual hour.

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

I N T E R V I EW NEW iN CHESS 1 3
sense anymore, so he and his second decided to lei­
surely pack their suitcases, play some games on ICC
and empty the mini-bar.
As Nakamura and Littlejohn quietly sit down at
a table in the departure hall, I follow the example of
most passengers and go to the bar to order a coffee and
freshly squeezed orange j u ice. I am secretly pleased
that I got at least some sleep, as I feel fit. But success
is a huge energizer, I realize when I see Nakamura
walk over. Nothing betrays his lack of sleep when he
tells me matter-of-factl)" 'Why don't we do the inter­
view now?' Yes, why not? We quickly find a quiet cor­
ner and I switch on the voice-recorder. At 7 .30 in the
morning. I can't remember the last time I did this.
'It had to do with girls obviously,
----
things hke falling in love
----
and so forth, and just working
through that, the heartbreak
---
and all tha t stuff. '
- When I was watching you a t Ihe board it struck me
that you 'd regularly hold yOU," right hand in suell a way
as to show the spectators and your opponent your Ameri­
can champion 's ring like a kind o/statement. Does the
ring give you self-confidence? Is it something you 're
particularly proud 0/01' something you feel you have to
honour?
'I don't think it has so much to do with something
I am specifically proud of. I see it more as a vindica­
tion of all the work I have put in and of having figured
out how to play well again after having had a very bad
spell from last summer till March . It's a kind of re­
minder of where I was before the U.S. Champion­
ship and where I am now, a reminder that I am capa­
ble of playing great chess. That, if anything, is what
it symbolizes.'
- Do you see it asyour duty to honour the/Mt o.(yollr be­
ing the champion?
'Absolutely. With Gata (Kamsky) having suffered
a bit of a setback, as the number one in America defi­
nitely I feel a lot of responsibility to perform, because
obviously as the number one player there are a lot of
people in the country watching. There is a signifi­
cance to it. I try to represent the country as well as I
can. That's the bottom line.'
14 NEW iN CHESS
- You say lliatyou/ollnd oul hO/l) 10 play Ivell again a.f
tel' a bad patch. What was il thai you discovered that you
were doing /l)rong or should improve?
'Without getting into specifics, there were a lot of
personal problems in my life, and now I have kind of
sorted it all out. It's j ust eliminating all the distrac­
tions. Having eliminated all that and haying played
so well over the past two months, you could say that I
have in the back of my mind where I was two months
ago and am trying to remember never to go back to
that place ever again. So far it's working out for me. I
am playing extremely well '
- Without going into details, were these p roblems con­
nected with the/aci thai a l a certain point you had to
start alld live 011 your OWI1?
'I don't think it had to do with living on my own.
( Hesitates only briefly) I t had to do with girls ob­
viously, things like falling in love and so forth, and
just working through that, the heartbreak and all
that stuff. I f you look at my performances in January,
February, March, I think I dropped about 1 9 FIDE
points, which is quite a lot given where I was at that
time, 270 1 or 2699, in this range. I t was not a very
happy period i n my life. To close that chapter and
move on is q uite an accomplishment. Between the
French league and the United States Championship
I recovered all the losses and gained quite a bit with
this tournament in San Sebastian. It's j ust remem­
bering that point and hoping never to get back there
ever again, but to keep on improving '
- 0/ late you 've been accompanied at tournaments by
Kris Littlejohn. Did he play a specific role in gelling you
back on the right track?
'We've worked on and off for the past few years;
this was not the first time. Obviously at the U. S.
Championship he prepared me more or less for every
round. Having a second to prepare you eliminates a
lot of the issues you are having to deal with. If you're
just one person and you have to prepare on your own,
it takes a lot of energy, and then if you have to play the
game, which can go five or six hours as well, that's a
huge load to bear. For me, since I play such aggres­
sive chess, it's probably too much. So to have him
here definitely balanced out my lifestyle and the way
I played. It definitely helped .'
- You say thai he prepares you. How should I see this?
Does he actively help you in your opening preparation or
is he he/ping you menially?
'Both, more or less. It's preparing as well as the
general assessment, the psychology of what the op­
ponents will play. Anel it's been working very wel l .
We have this running joke that I've never actually lost
a game when he's prepareel me. This is over the past
few years. So far it's working out and hopefully we'll
I N T E R V I EW
continue. Between the U.S. Championship and San
Sebastian I definitely cannot complain about the re­
sults. It's been absolutely fantastic.'
- The tlVO o.{you decide nlhich opening you are goillg to
play agaillst mhich oppollellt, mhich strategy to choose...
'Yes, based on the situation we decide which open­
ings I will play. If you look at my game against Ruslan
Ponomariov, for instance, or the game against Sergey
Movsesian, in both these cases if the situation had
been different, I would probably have played differ­
ent variations. I would not have played lines that lead
more or less straight to a draw. It's j ust a matter of
concluding what is the best choice based on the situ­
ation. Here it worked out, for instance, because the
draws were not the worst things i n the world. In oth­
er situations we would definitely have come up with
something more aggressive.'
- He also helps YOII in a psychological sense. Does he
have a specific pro.fessiol1al background ill this?
'No, not particularly. Coming from America it's
interesting, to say the least, that I work with him. Ob­
viously you have a lot of Russian immigrants who
have come from the Soviet Union, but it's been well
documented I don't generally trust them that much.
It's great to have someone who is capable of prepar­
ing me so well as well as being a friend on top of eve­
rything else. Really, the chemistry we have is j ust
great. I f you look at a lot of the players who are here,
I think the most obvious example is Maxime Vach­
ier-Lagrave and Arnaud Hauchard, when you look
at them together, they prepare very well, they are
friends, they seem to generally have a jovial attitude
towards the game. I think that as long as you can get
along so well with your second and have great chem­
istry, it's definitely a good thing.'
- You 're a Iso /oolillg a roulld...
'Yes, absolutely. Before the rounds, when we're
walking to the playing hall, we usually didn't even
discuss lines that we had just been looking at, but j ust
joked about the beach that we passed or about play­
ers, keeping that generally positive attitude.'
- Alld thell the lIIoment you come to Ihe board, you
smitdl onji"l colltrol. . .
'Yes, o f course. When you're i n the game, you're
in the moment, you have to focus. In a tournament as
important as this one you really can't afford to forget
anything. When I get to the board, it's all very seri­
ous, and I j ust try to play the best that I can .'
- Do YOli have any lIlelltal tricks to get YOlirsel/ colII­
pletely focused?
'I wouldn't say I have any tricks. Maybe if you look
at some of my games, you'll see that I trick my oppo­
nents in the sense that I look unhappy or I move too
quickly and look happy, but in general when you've
I N T E R V I EW
prepared something, you play what you've prepared.
I don't think there's a whole lot to it. It's just a matter
of who's prepared better in general.'
- Your gestures at the board, the jClees you pull, is thaI
sOlllething that collies alltomaticall),? Has it become pari
of),ollr may o/playillg?
'I think that in general it's become part of the way
I play, the whole style in general, where sometimes I
look unhappy, sometimes I look happy. It's j ust that I
am so used to it now that 1 don't think about it con­
sciously anymore. When I am at the board I may make
faces, but if a player picks up on it that's great for them,
but I haven't figured it out myself, it's j ust automatic.'
- For people 011 this side o.{the ocean sl/ch behaviour may
seem Ameriwn, remindillg liS a/champions like lvIuhalll­
iliad Ali. Are there exalllplesji'olll American sports that
inspired YOll?
'As for the attitude at the board, I can give a very
recent example. In football there's the q uarterback of
the Tennessee Titans, Steve McNair, who recently
died (on July 4th of this year Steve McNair was shot
to death by his girlfriend, who then killed herself -
DJtG). I think the whole attitude of toughness and
fighting through injuries is the same in chess. When
push comes to shove I will always try to win, fighting
on regardless of whether it's a good position or a bad
position, always trying to find the best possibilities. I f
I had t o think of o n e recent example, that definitely
would be the best one. He was always fighting. He got
injured quite frequently and played through the pain
and led the team to the play-offs and the Super Bowl
in one particular year.'
- Would it lIIake yOI/ happy i{you became a hero lor
younger American chess players?
'Well, I think that in some way I've already become
a bit of a hero for the younger generation of the up
and coming chess players, but I think it's far too ear­
ly to discuss the legacy of what I\'e done for Ameri­
can chess. I-laving this conversation now is really not
worth it, maybe in 10, 20 years, when maybe I've ac­
complished something realistic, then it will be worth
it. For now I have to sce where my career will take me.
Hopefully, it takes me to loftier heights than where I
am right now. We'll see.'
- This sOllnds quite lIIodest lTJitIT 1/ viem to tITe/iltllre. Is
this the reI/SOli mITy YOII 've decided to concelltrate II/ore
Oil the European cirCliit to jimher ill/prove yoursel(l/lld
to eSlablisli your IIl/lI/e here?
'Let me give you a simple example. In bullet chess,
which I used to play q uite a lot of, there's a simple
mathematical equation. For every game I won I gained
one point, for every game I lost I lost thirty points. Be­
cause of my high rating I'd have to win thirty to break
even if I lost one. It's more or less the same when YOLl
I'iEw iI'i CH� 1 5
play in the U.S. Swisses. You have to play a certain
style. There is no guarantee that you will always beat
the 2500 grandmaster when you're Black. You have to
take big risks and in reality you have to perform maybe
80 or 90 per cent all the time to gain rating points as
opposed to losing them. It j ust becomes a little bit too
d ifficult. There's also the issue that in Europe there's
so many more grandmasters. The competition is quite
a bit tougher than in the U.S. And always, to become
the best you have to play against the best, so that's why
I am focusing on playing over here right now.'
- People are sayillg that you 've malllred, thai you 're no
longer playing thisjimny stu/]; lveird openings. Maybe they
are oversimplifying things, but is Ihere some truth ill this?
54t the level I am at right n017J
---
it 's very hard to outplay players
---
when you play ojjbeat theory,
---
especially from positions where
you are slight�Jl 1TJorse. '
'There is definitely a lot of truth in it. I mean, when
you look at the way I was playing six months to a year
ago, there's really no comparison. Now a lot of lines I
play have been heavily analysed and are very mainline
theory, whereas six months or a year ago I would try to
avoid the theory and go a little bit in an offbeat direc­
tion. Yeah, I have to agree that there is definitely a dif­
ference. Right now I am playing mainline theory, and
being very well prepared makes a difference. I really
have to attribute that to having a second along who can
prepare me adequately for the job.'
- Does this new style give you similar pleasure or is il
something entirely different?
'It depends on your whole philosophy of chess. In
the past, when I played slightly offbeat openings, I
would have said that it was a little bit more chess per
se. You're simply playing the game, you don't have
to worry about the theory so much. It's j ust a matter
of who's the better player, who can manoeuvre bet­
ter in the middlegame. But at the level I am at right
now it's very hard to outplay players when you play
offbeat theory, especially from positions where you
are slightly worse. That's more or less why I started
playing mainline theory, and it's working out right
now.'
1 6 NEW iN CH5S
- The ultimate pleasure is simplY llJinning the game, 1/0
matter hon) this is allailled?
'Obviously the goal, whether it's me or anyone else
near the top, is to play the perfect game. Where you
don't make any blunders. Winning is a major part,
but in the end you j ust want to play the best moves.
Of late, when I analysed the games, I have fel t that
I didn't make many blunders in most of the games
that I played. This really gives me great satisfaction,
and it shows that I am playing a lot more consistently
than I used to.'
- Over the pastfew years I 've lIoliced that many strong
players have become overly crilical of their olvn games.
They play a great game, check il with the computer and
Ifthere 's one lapse sOIl1e1vhere theyfeel thai the game is
nothing special. Isn 't that exaggerating things a bit?
'I don't know if it's exaggerating. Any very good
player always wants to get better. If you look at a game
and you see a slight mistake, you always want to im­
prove on it. I think that if you don't want to improve
on it, it's a sign that you're satisfied with what you've
accomplished. But you should always try to achieve
more. For me that's definitely true. I mean, I look at
this tournament that I played here and I am happy with
the result overall, but I am still very upset with myself,
because in the game against Granda, for instance, I was
considering playing . . . a6 on move 9 and I ended u p
playing ... b6. B u t if I had played ... a6, which was the
correct move, I would have been simply better in the
game. So the bottom line is if you want to improve, if
you want to be the best in the world, you really have to
keep looking for the best moves in the position. To be
satisfied with a slightly inaccurate move is just being
complacent. I f you want to become better, you should
never be satisfied with what you have done.'
- This was the second time you 11)011 Ihe A mericall
ChampiollShip. How does it compare 10 lhejirsl lime?
'There's a huge and fundamental difference. The
first time I won it, I was sixteen. I'm still young now,
but at the time I was very young. To win at that time
was a h uge achievement. I t really shot me into the
category of the best players in the country. This time
around it was still an achievement, but it really pales
in comparison. Because when I won it then, there
were certain expectations, whereas now at 20, 2 1 ,
everyone knows that I am sort of established as one
of the top players in the country. I don't know what it
was this time, because as I was saying, I had had very
bad results prior to this tournament. So for everyone
who was watching it was great to see me come back,
while for me it was a kind of rebirth, in the sense that
I was coming back from the depths of playing very
bad chess in the past months and final l y returning
to form.'
I N T E R V I EW
 well and then, in the last three
to four rounds, I stopped trying,
whereas it was actually quite
the other way aroun d . I defi­
nitely was trying to start well
but I wasn't expecting to get
off to a fast start. Coming into
the tournament I didn't have a
clear plan. Getting to plus four
was nice, but actually, after five
rounds I said to Kris that plus
four might not be enough to win
the tournament outright. And it
turned out that it wasn't. The
interesting thing was that when
I had my two blacks against
slightly weaker p layers, that
was when I tried most to win. It
didn't quite turn out that way,
but I think that overall I tried
to play fighting chess. And even
though some games ended i n
draws, I think that t h e fans ap­
preciated that. With black espe­
cially I didn't take quick draws.
Overall I was definitely happy
with my performance. Obvi­
ously, I have my own personal
'Actually, after five rounds I said to Kris that plus four might not be expectations, but i t was just a
enough to win the tournament outright.' very solid resu l t and I cannot
complain about any part of it.'
There was admiration for your win, but at the same To what extent was the game in thefirst round against
time the/'e was thisfeeling of, well, hejust won. It wasn 'L Karpov a crucial game? You were pressing for a long
cleM that you played all that brilliantly. . . time, then in the end it became drawish and Karpov even
' I n t h e end, whether y o u like i t or not, t h e U.S. claims that he was winning. . .
Championship comes down to more or less a round­ 'Well, at the very e n d h e was definitely n o t win­
robin, where all the top players have to play each n ing. I'm pretty sure that I was winning by force,
other. I think I played the numbers two, three, fou r, mate in about 60 or 70. The thing is when Kris and I
five, six and seven, and maybe the ninth and l oth were looking at the pairings before the tournament,
ranked players. I mean I played everyone who fin­ it was clear that I had got a lot of good pairings. I got
ished at the top. They were the best players in the white against the right opponents, I got black against
country and based on the rankings I felt that I played the slightly weaker opponents. The only pairing I
very well . You can say that I won, but the reality is think I would have switched was getting white against
that I performed better than Gata did, or Alexander Karpov and black against Svidler. I woul d proba­
Onischuk. When you compare the performances of bly have preferred black against Karpov and white
the other top finishers, my performance was better, against Svidler. Obviously, playing one of the greatest
and in the end that's what matters. You can say it was players of all time is definitely nerve-wracking. I felt
j ust another win, but I fel t that my play in terms of that this contributed to the way I misplayed the end­
opening preparation and general play was a lot bet­ game against him. Finding a way to break through
ter than in 2005 . ' his solid style i n that first game was definitely a huge
- Seen ji-om this perspective, h O IV do you assess your min boost for me. '
here in San Sebastian? - I remember how happy you were when you first won a
'This tournament was interesting, because a lot of rapid game against Karpov. You 're not known to think in
people have the misguided notion that I started really terms oflegends, but I guess this one counts. He is up there.

INTERVIEW NEW iN CHESS 17

 'Regardless how old he is and how badly he played
in this tournament unfortunately, he is still Karpov.
In his heyday he would have beaten any one of us
in this tournament, so you have to respect him, be­
cause he is a great player and one of the best who ever
played the game. I can't really complain, but the thing
is, once you get past that and you start to actually play
the game i tself, you let the game evolve. Obviously,
I misplayed it, I missed this very simple knight g6,
knight e7 trick which would have won very easily. In­
stead I had to win the game on time when it wasn't
even completely clear at the end that I would have
won . The pressure caught up with me, but it's j ust
the way the game is and you have to let it all flow, and
followillg a ritual. PUlling your rvatch all Ihe table, lak­
'In his heyday Karpov would
---
have beaten any one ofus , so you
have to respect him, because he is
a great player and one ofthe best
who ever played the game. '
this happened to work out for me in this case.'
- You mon the touma11lent in the hlitz play-ofT Didyou
have allY douhts Ihere or did you tltillR this is familiar
territol]/?
'Having played in Cap d' Agde last October gave
me a lot of experience, beating Vachier, beating Kar­
POI', beating I vanchuk. This really helped me to gain
more confidence. So I wasn't necessarily worried. The
thing that surprised me most was that Ruslan man­
aged to get to plus four. That surprised mc. For him
to get there was grcat sport by any measure; it was im­
pressive. But I wasn't worried about playing the blitz.'
- You werejid()I cOlljide1ll ihal YOit could lI)in Ihis.
' I felt about the same as when I played Ivanchuk in
October, when I felt a bit nervous. But in the end you
j ust have to play the game. I was nervous beforehand
and obviously I talked to Kris a lot, discussing the situa­
tion. Once you begin to play, it becomes so much easier.
- Were there allY specific things that Kris said 10 you
Ihal helpedyou?
'I don't think there was anything he said that helped
me. Most of his preparation for this tournament un­
fortunately didn't completely pan out. People avoided
or side-stepped lines we had prepared. But thcn Rus­
Ian surprisingly played the Schevcningen against me,
1 8 NEW iN CHESS
which I had prepared for Movsesian. So I played the
Keres Attack with g� and it just worked out perfectly
for me. Just get a normal position and play. And I felt
that when the time started ticking down I was just as
good as anyone in the world . '
- Because you actually crushed hilll. . .
'Yeah, I got a better position in the first game and
once he started getting low on time he panicked and
blundered. That gamc worked out. In the second
game he forgot the theory. I t's very tricky, because
when you're playing blitz and you make one slight
blunder, especially when you're down a whole point
and you have to win with white, one slip makes the
damage more difficult. So it j ust happened and it
worked out for me. '
- You n)ere very cOlluntrated alld almost seemed 10 be
ing your rillg off, your shades. . .
' I won't call i t a ritual. I 've only been wearing
this ring since I played in the World Open. But now
I 've won the World Open, I 've won this, I'm on two
out of two. It had more to do with what I was actu­
ally wearing. I was wearing a dress shirt and a tie,
whereas normally when I play blitz I don't wear a
suit or anything remotely resembling it. So I j ust got
rid of everything, forget about it. Not having to wor­
ry about it, let's say. When getting down to a time­
scramble I don't want to think about wearing a watch
or wearing a ring. Just forget about it and go from
there, really.'
- It remillded lIIe ofKasparov taRirig oJJhis IIH/ teh and
putting it all again, 'Phell you 'd Rllom that the game l77as
almost ove,:
'Yeah, I kind of had this ritual in the first game
against Karpov. The only problem was that when I
started doing this I missed the forced win with knight
g6 and knight e7 and everything became complicated
again . So I did not try to do that again (laughs).'
- Is Ihal the ol1l)1 l/Jay ill mhich you 're a member of the
Kasparo'l! sdlOol or are there other thillgs?
'There havc been comments about me shaking my
head during certain games, being displeased with the
position . Maybe there are other similarities, but in
gcneral you j ust want to play the best mo\"es. Maybe
the watch and the head-shaking. . . Other than that 1
cannot say I subscribe to the Kasparov theory.'
- Didyou enjoy matching him Ivheu he mas doing that?
'When I was younger I definitely watched it, that's
for sure. When you're a young player and growing
up you look at the games of the greats and obviously
I saw videos and so forth. Maybe I've incorporated it
in a sense. But I just tr) to be me, and once you get
past certain imitations you play the game and you do
as well as you can. That's really all I try to do.'
INTERVIEW
- This tournament mas organized mith a possible cen­
Wilt I]! event for the San Sebaslian toZimament 0/1911
ill miur!. There, the great revelatio11 mas the young Ca­
flab/aura, IIl/zO dominated the field. Did you have any
thoughts about that mhell you came here, crossing the
ocean 10 go to San Sebastian?
'Generally speaking I am not a huge chess histo­
rian, but I looked up the tournament of 1 9 1 1 with
Capablanca and Rubinstein. At the start of the tour­
nament I didn't think about it, but towards the end,
whether I liked it or not, there were people who start­
ed making certain comparisons. The bottom line is
that there are a lot of similarities. In general I tend to
prefer knights to bishops and I also tend to be a pret­
ty good blitz player. There are these similarities, but
throughout most of the tournament I was not trying
to think of this, I was j ust trying to play my game. In a
sense maybe it's a fai r comparison, we will see. When
Capablanca came across the sea, he was only one year
older than me, it means something. But let's see in 1 0
or 20 years how i t turns out.'
- Whenyou mere speaking about all the detailsyou have
10 pay a t1ention to, YOll said that this is the only may to
go ifyoll 17Jant to be the best player in the Ipor/d. You 're
on a mission, you want to be the best player in the morld.
'Absolutely. I think my play has been very strong
recently. I don't make as many blunders as I used to.
That's really my goal right now. My priorities in the
past few months have demonstrated that I am defi­
nitely capable. Whether I can maintain that level con­
sistently, well, we'll j ust have to see. But in general I
am definitely going to try, that's for sure.'
'I don't think that bothers me. I think that Mag­
nus is actually one of the players that I have managed
to get into the head of a little bit. I tend to play pretty
well against him . OK, there's rapid as opposed to a
few classical games, which we drew a few years ago,
but even so I beat him in a rapid game in Norway, and
then he got a bit l ucky in the blitz game when I was
beating him with white. He managed to win because
I blundered. I'm not really concerned about anyone.
It's between him and Levon Aronian, because I think
both of them have great potential. I am going to try
to play as well as I can, and whether I am as good as
them, well, time will have to tell. I can't influence the
tournaments they play or the results they score, not
right now anyway. So I am j ust going to see where the
invitations and the results will take me. '
- Bul seaetly YOll mllst have thought about a world
championship match at some time. Lying awake at night,
and there you are playing that morld championship
match. Against who mere you playing?
'Obviously I have thought about this. If I can play
at the level that I think I am capable of playing, it will
be against Magnus or Aronian. I mean, they are the
two players who are young enough. I think once you
get past the Anand and Topalov generation, who I
think will be retired in five to 1 0 years, they're the
two players who definitely will still be there. Obvi­
ously, I think of those two, but right now I j ust want
to keep scoring good results, that's the most impor­
tant thing really.'
- Your attempt 10 be the best is a 5 to 10 year project?
'Oh, I'll worry about the best later on. Right now I

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

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

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

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

INTERV I E W NEw lN CH� 1 9

Dirk Jan ten
Geuzendam
For lovers of chess history
San Sebastian has a magic
ring to it. It was here that
Jose Raul Capablanca
made his European debut
in I 9 I I , and his splendid
tournament victory
encouraged the 22-year-
old Cuban to challenge
World Champion Emanuel
Lasker to a match (which
would only take place I O
years later). A s part of the
preparations for a centenary
tournament in 20 I I ,
Basque GM Felix Izeta
organized a chess festival in
exactly the same luxurious
hall in which 'Capa'
triumphed in I 9 I I . And as
if history wanted to have it
this way, the top group was
won by another young and
aspiring grandmaster who
had crossed the Atlantic
to try his luck in Europe.
U.S. Champion Hikaru
Nakamura got off to a flying
start, and when he was
caught in the final round by
Ruslan Ponomariov, 'Naka'
was merciless in the blitz
play-off: 2-0.
SAN SEBASTIAN
he story of the 1 9 1 I San Se­
Tbastian tournament is one of
the great classics of chess histo­
ry. The Gran Casino in the lux­
urious seaside resort at the foot
of the Pyrenees staged a chess
tournament to which o n l y the
very best players had been invit­
ed. The invitees should be able
to boast at least two fourth plac­
es in international tournaments,
which doesn't sound too impres­
sive these days, but was quite a
feat in an era when such tourna­
ments were rarities. The only ex-
Naka in
Ca pa ' s
footsteps
ception that was made was for
the young Cuban g e n i u s Jose
Raul Capablanca. He had not yet
played any international tourna­
ment, but had stunned the chess
world with a sweeping match vic­
tory over American champion
Frank Marshall ( + 8 , = q, - I ! ) .
Capa's seeming lack o f experience
tempted Osip Bernstein to object
to his participation, a h istorical
faux-pas that was d u ly punished.
Not only did Capablanca win the
tournament, ahead of Rubinstein
and Vidmar, but in the first round
he routed Bernstein i n a game
that won the soo-franc brillian­
cy prize donated by Baron Albert
von Rothschild.
Such stories should be cher­
ished, and it's understandable
that plans to celebrate the l ooth
a n n i versary of the 1 9 1 1 tour­
nament are in the making. To
show the local a u thorities the
way, San Sebastian resident Fe­
lix Izeta brought together a pool
of sponsors to organize the Do­
nostia Chess Festival, comprised
of an attractive invitational p l us
three closed tournaments, one of
them for ladies o nly. To foreign
ears, Donostia may sound l i k e
t h e name of a sponsor, but in ac­
tual fact it's the Basque name for
San Sebastian. The name of the
festival was further testimony of
I zeta's deep-rooted feelings for
the Basque country. At the start
of Round 8, no one looked sur­
prised anymore when he handed
each player a Basque flag, a pelote
ball, and a CD of Mikel Laboa,
a legendary Basque singer. After
all, caps with the words 'Basque
national team' on it had been pre­
sented at an earlier occasion.
NEW iN CHESS 21
As in 1 9 1 1 , play took p lace in
the building of the 'Gran Casi­
no', which these days houses the
City Hall. The players stayed in
the Hotel de Londres, the same
hotel where Capablanca slept 9S
years ago. For the rest, a number
of changes had been made. The
games started at 5 p. m . , as op­
posed to 1 .30 p.m . in 19 [ 1, and the
time-control had been speeded
up from IS moves per hour to 90
minutes for the entire game, with
a 30 seconds increment per move.
This time-control proved espe­
cially vexing for Anatoly Karpov.
The former World Champion had
a rough time of it in his first 'clas­ Cricket fan Peter Suidler quickly got attached to his pelote ball.
sical' closed tournament in almost
two years and posted a dramatic Judging by his material advantage in hospital with serious stomach
result, drawing three games and o nly, White should be winning, problems. Against his doctor's
losing the other six. ot only was but here he also has an immedi­ orders he still insisted on show­
he rusty after a period of inactiv­ ate win. 46.�d2? Missing that af­ ing up for his game against Svid­
ity at the chess board, he also got ter 46. �cS+ �h7 .p. ttJ f8+ �hS ler (he had been advised to stay
into terrible time-trouble in every 4 S . ttJ g6 + ! � h 7 .J.9. ttJ q Black i n hospital for a couple of days).
game. According to his own esti­ cannot stop the mate on gS. 46 ... To make matters even worse, he
mate, he blew at least four win­ l:ta 1 4 7 .ttJxf4? Missing anoth­ mixed up moves in the opening,
ning positions. Most dramatic was er chance. It's still mate i n a cou­ which might not have had dramat­
an excellently played game against ple of moves after .J.7. �dS+ �h7 ic consequences against anoth­
Movsesian i n which he missed 4S. ttJ f8+ WhS .J.9 · ttJ g6+ �h7 50. er opponent, but proved suicidal
several immediate wins and then ttJ e7. 47 ...Wh7 White is still bet­ against a well-prepared Svidler.
hung a ful l piece. His problems ter, but he needed a helping hand
started in Round I , when he lost from Karpov's bad time manage­ RL 1 7 . 6 - CB9
on time against Hikaru Nakamura ment to win on time on move 65. Maxime Vachier-Lagraue
in a game that would have serious Peter Suidler
consequences for the final stand­ Nakamura continued to play well San Sebastian 2009 (4)
ings. However, it must be said that and set a breath-taking pace. Af­
in this encounter it was Nakamura ter five rounds he topped the table 1 .e4 e5 2.ttJf3 ttJc6 3.�b5 a6 4.
who had been missing the wins af­ with 4V2 points, thanks to further �a4 ttlf6 5.0-0 �e7 6J:te1 b5
ter building up a winning position wins over Maxime Vachier-La­ 7 .�b3 0-0 8.c3 d5 9.exd5 ttlxd5
with strong and determined p lay. grave, Paco Vallejo and Pablo San 1 0.ttJxe5 ttJxe5 1 1 .J:[xe5 c6 1 2.d4
Segundo, and a soli d draw with �d6 13.J:[e1 �h4 1 4.g3 �h3 1 5.
� black against Peter Svidler. J:[e4 g5 16.�f1 �h5 1 7 .ttJd2 f5

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

22 NEW iN CH� SAN SEBASTIAN

18J�e1 A fter a long string of
moves of Marshall Gambit theory,
Vachier-Lagrave commits an in­
accuracy that meets with a harsh
punishment. White should have
played I S . jL d I � h6, and only
then, after the retreat of the black
queen, 1 9 J:t e l , after which the
play continues with 1 9 . . . f4. 18 ...
f4 1 9.�d1 Now, of course, Black
would have been able to transpose
ifhe had played 19 . . . �h6, but why
should he if there's a much strong­
er move at hand: 19 ... f3! Sadly
for Vachier-Lagrave, Svidler had
studied the following tactics some
time ago, and, double bad luck,
had refreshed his memory before
this game. 2o.tLle4 �h3 21 .�d3
J:!.ae8 22.�d2 J:!.xe4! 23.�xe4
.i .
� bridge the one-point gap with Na­
� � .t
� � ��
8 'li'
8 � 8 .t
£3:, 8 � 8 8
l:r � l:l � With Nakamura and Po noma­
23...�xg3!
A fine piece of home preparation
- the defences around the white
king are torn to shreds. 24.�xf3
.txh 2 + 25.Wxh2 Less d ramat­
ic but equally lost was 2 S . W h l
J:!. xf3 26. � eS+ 'i' xeS 27. J:heS+
Wf7 2S.Wxh2 WxeS. 25 ...�g4 +
26.Wg1 �xf3 Apparently it's mate
in I I . 27 .'i'e 6 + Wg7 28.'i'e5 +
J:!.f6 29.�h2 J:!.h6 White resigned.
In Round 6, Nakamura contented
himself with a short draw against
Ponomariov to keep a one-point
lead with three rounds to go. I n
those final three rounds the Amer­
ican kept looking for his chances,
but had to content himself with
three draws. Contrary to expecta­
tion, Svidler could not profit from
Nakamura's slowdown. The Rus-
SAN SEBASTIAN
Nakamura is pulling faces after he's played 33.'iVxe5! in the first play-off blitz game.
sian had some respiratory prob­
lems and, lacking energy, finished
with three uneventful draws. But
Ponomariov was more ambitious,
and fighting hard he managed to
kamura. In Round 7 he defeated
Vachier-Lagrave and in the final
round he had no doubts, as he ex­
plains in his illuminating notes to
that game, in the must-win clash
with Paco Vallejo.
riov tying for first, a blitz play­
off had to decide on the winner
of San Sebastian 2009. At S . I S
p. m . the p layers sat down for
their first blitz game. Nakamura
had the white pieces. He took off
his watch, his American champi­
on's ring and his shades, and lay­
ing them on the table next to the
board he immersed himself in to­
tal concentration. When the game
was about to start, a huge centi­
pede crawled across the floor in
the area between the players and
the spectators, who were watching
in deadly silence. When I told him
about the centipede after the tour­
nament, akamura said that he
had not seen it - he had only seen
the fly that was circling around
his king. That fly hadn't bothered
him either and he won the first
game in great style.
SI 20.4 - 881
Hikaru Nakamura
Ruslan Ponomariov
San Sebastian 2009 (play-off 1 )
1 .e4 c5 2 .tLlf3 d 6 3.d4 cxd4 4.
tLlxd4 tLlf6 5.tLlc3 e6 ot a Naj­
dorf, as Nakamura had expected.
6.g4 No problem, he happily went
for a' Keres Attack, as he had pre­
pared this 'in vain' for his game
against Movsesian . 6 ... h6 L �.g2
tLlc6 8.h3 a6 9 . .b3 tLle5 1 o.�e2
g5 1 1 .f4 gxf4 1 2 .jLxf4 tLlfd7
1 3.0-0-0 b5 14.�f2 �b7 1 5.Wb1
�b6 1 6.J:!.hf1 jLe7 17 . .te3 �c7
1 8.tLlf3 J:!.h7 1 9.�d4 b4 2o.tt:J a 4
tLlc4 21 .tLld2 J:!.c8 22.tLlxc4 �xc4
23.b3 'i'b5 24.tLlb2 tLle5 25.�xe5
dxe5 26.tLlc4 Black should be fine,
but White's position is easier to
play. Ponomariov decides to elim­
inate the strong knight, but fails to
take the sting out of White's ini­
tiative.
.i •
.t .t � .i
� � �
� �
£3:,
� ttJ 8 8
8
8 £3:, 'iV �
� l:r l:r
NEW iN CHffiS 23
 Four groups, four winners: Hikaru Nakamura, Eric Prie, Sophie Milliet and Jordi Magem.
26 ... nxc4 27 .bxc4 �xc4 2B. 'lI¥b6 36.�xe6 + A nice finishing touch.
�c6 29.'lI¥a5 f6 30.h4 ng7 3 1 . In view of 36 . . . <;t> xe6 3 7 . 'lI¥ xg8+
�f3 ngB 32.g5 hxg5 33.'lI¥xe5! <;t> es 3 8 . n fS + <;t> x q 3 9 · 'lI¥ g-++
I
<;t>e3 40. n d3 mate, Black resigned.
� and relaxed atmosphere. Let's see
In the second game Nakamu­
.t .t
ra equalized without problems
� � � � and struck again when Ponoma­
'if � riov sidestepped move repetition
� 8 8 and fell for a killing tactic. And so
� Hikaru Nakamura won the main
group, whose official name was
8 8
the San Sebastian European Cul­
� M l:l tural Capital 20 r 6 tournament,
as the city hopes to be European
That must have been a good feel­ Cultural Capital seven years from
ing. The queen is untouchable be­ now. The second group, the Kutxa
cause of �h 5 + , and mate. Now tournament, was won by Catalan
B l a c k 's position q u i c k l y fal l s GM Jordi Magem, the Diputa­
apart. 33 . . .<;t>f7 ? H is o n l y move cion Foral de Gipuzkoa women's
was 33 . . . n h 8 . 34.'lI¥g3 g4 3 5 . group by French 1M Sophie Mil­
�xg4 'lI¥c5 tiet and the Euskal Xake Eskola by
French GM Eric Prie.
.i
We can only hope that the Donos­
.t .t � tia Festival will become a return­
� � � ing fixture on the chess calendar,
at least till 201 I , as it was a won­
derfully organized and highly en­
joyable tournament. It certainly
was the first grandmaster tourna­
ment in years in which the specta­
tors could move freely between the
24 NEW iN CHESS
playing tables. Perhaps this prox­
imity was not always appreciated
by the players, but it certainly con­
tributed to the generally friendly
what will happen next year. As Fe­
lix Izeta put it: 'I hope there will be
a tournament next year, but I don't
want to make promises. It's not
like in Spain, where people make
all kinds of promises, but don't
care very much about what they
say. I n the Basque Country, i f you
make a promise, you stick to it.'
NOTES BY
Hikaru Nakamura
SO B. 1 1 - B1 7
Hikaru Nakamura
Paco Vallejo
San Sebastian 2009 (4)
Looking back on my result in San
Sebastian, the energy and focus
which I brought to the board i n
t h e fi r s t h a l f of t h e tournament
come to mind. When the colors
were drawn before the tourna­
ment and I ran through the pair­
ings, I figured that they favored
me and I would definitely have
SAN SEBASTIAN
chances. That being said, I got off
to a flying start with wins against
Karpov and Vachier-Lagrave and
I thought + 2 from three games
was great. However, it was only
after this fourth round victory
over Vallejo Pons that I truly start­
ed believing that the tournament
would be something special.
1.e4 d5
The first surprise! Prior to the
game, my second and I had looked
at the wide variety of openings
that Vallejo frequently plays. This,
however, was certainly not one of
them!
2.exd5 'tlY x d5 VtJc3 'tlYd6 4.d4
tiJf6 5.tiJf3 c6
Although Val lejo t hrew me o ff
with this opening, I was not too
worried, as I had looked at this
variation a few times before.
6.tiJe5 tiJbd7 7 .�f4?!
Although this move doesn't do
anything particularly bad, the rea­
soning behind it was flawed. I as­
sumed that Paco would not be
prepared for all variations in this
opening and took a gamble.
7.tiJC4 is more common and bet­
ter, according to the theory.
7 ... ttJd5
Right about now I was extreme­
ly displeased, as Paco played this
move relatively quickly. Luckily,
the position is fairly easy to play
and still quite balanced.
8.ttJxd5 ttJxe5 9.�xe5
The alternative variation after 9 .
dxe5 does n o t offer White any­
thing special either: 9 . . . 'lIV x d s
1 0 . � x d S c x d S 1 1 . 0-0-0 e 6 1 2 .
SAN S E BASTIAN
C4 d xC4 1 3 · ..It xC4 �d7, and here
B l ack has achi eved com p l e te
equality.
9 .. :�xd5
1 D.c4
I spent about I S minutes on this
move, as I really wanted to play
something much more a ggres­
sive, like I o . �e2. Fortunately,
I kept my wits and practical i t y
about me a n d went for t h e sim­
plest variation.
A fter 1 0 .�e2 ! ? 'lIV Xg2 I 1 . ..It f3
� g5 1 2 .h4 'lIV fs I kept lookin g
at all sorts of lines w i t h 'lIVe2 and
l:t g l , but felt that Black can go . . . .
..Itd7 and . . . 0-0-0 very quickly. Af­
ter these two simple developing
moves I couldn't come up with a
good plan for keeping the initia­
tive alive.
1 D . . . 'lIV a 5 + 1 1 . 'lIV d 2 � xd 2 +
1 2.'it>xd2 ..1tf5
"
:i *A .i
,
' i i '
-
.i A
8 8
:g
8 8 W 8 8 8
.i M
At this point Paco offered me
a draw and then got up to take a
stroll. I think he was definitely
surprised when I more or less im­
mediately played my next move
wi thout any real thought. Al­
though the position is equal, I
fel t that it was possible to create
some play on the queenside. As it
turned out, I made the right de­
cision by instantly rejecting the
draw!
1 3.'it>c3
The alternative was 1 3. Jtd3 ..It xd3
1 4.�xd3 l:t d8 I s . l:t he I f6 I 6 . Jtg3
'it>h 1 7 · � c3 e6 1 8 . l:t ad l . Curi­
ously enough, this l i ne has been
played before, and by one of my
previous opponents no less! At
this point Sutovsky-Karpov end­
ed in a draw i n Tilburg 1 996.
13 ... e6 1 4.Jte2 0-0-0 1 5.l:tad1 f6
Although I was not aware of it,
this position was still part of the
theory. Here 1 5 . . . f6 is a new move.
However, I don't think this is a
particularly big improvement, as
all lines should be roughly equal.
After 15 . . . l:t g8 1 6. �f3 ..It d6 1 7 ·
l:t heI cJJq 1 8.�xd6+ l:t xd6 1 9.b3
l:t gd8 Black has ful l equality, as in
Sideif Zade-Bagirov, Baku 1 983.
16 ...Itf4
1 6 ... g5
The start of a bad plan. If Black
j ust goes 1 6 . . . ..It d6 right away, I
don't see how White can really
progress at all. The text move al­
lows me to make some long-term
kingside plans and pawn struc­
tures which could favor me.
17 ...Ite3 h5 1 8.h3 Jtd6 1 9.b4
Crea t i n g more space on t h e
queenside. I suspect . . . a s might
have been possible a little earlier
to prevent this.
19 ... �c7 2D.a4 Continuing with
the plan. 2D ... a6 2V �'b3
A simple but pragmatic waiting
NEW iN CHESS 25
move. This prepares e i ther b S
o r d S at t h e right moment, a s it
would avoid pesky bishop checks
on as and es.
I
E �
j. j. -
.a j. j.
21 ... �g6
A passive move which I do not
understand at all. If Black was
really worried about the h-pawn,
it would have made more sense to
go 2 1 . . . h4.
22J:rhf1 e5
This move seems pretty provok­
ing and somewhat unnecessary. I
am sure Paco was concerned about
the break with f�, but I was not ac­
tually thinking of playing it. Es­
sentially I laid down a bluff and he
fell for it.
22 . . . l::r hg8 makes more sense, as it
gives Black a lot of flexibility and
options.
23.dxe5 it,xe5
24.b5 axb5 25.exb5 exb5 26.axb5
�b8 27 .it,e4
This position still remains rough­
ly equal, but now it is not quite so
easy to play, as many endgames
can become unfavorable due to the
pawns on bS/b6 and b7 ·
27 ... J:!.e8
26 NEW iN CHESS
�E I i.
j.
j. .a
8 .a j. j.
w � �
8 �
a: a:
28.wb4 Avoiding a tricky little
check on C2.
28 .. J:!he8 29.b6 g4
After 29 . . . it,q 30. f3 it,c2 3 1 . J:!. d 2
J:!. c6! is a completely com puter­
like move to preserve the balance.
30.hxg4 hxg4 31 .J:!.fe1
� i. E J:!.h8 38.ite6 + We6 39.b7
j.
8 j. .a
.a
w� j.
� ing Paco.
8 �
a: a:
31 ... l:!.e6?
After this blunder Black gets into
a world of trouble. I suspect that
Paco had overlooked a certain sac­
rifice after my next move.
A better try was 3 1 . .. it,C2 32. J:!.d2
it,q 3 3 .it, cS fS 34· J:!.e3· Although
this is slightly better than the text­
move, Black still has a lot of prob­
lems and can look forward to noth­
ing but suffering for some time yet.
32.ite5 We8
The only move that did not lose
outright was 32 . . . it fS, when af­
ter 33. J:!. e3 J:!.ec8 3�· J:!.xes fxeS 3 S .
�d6+ J:!.xd6 36. J:!.xd6 J:!.f8 37. itdS
White once again has a huge ad­
vantage due to the b-pawns.
After 32 . . . J:!. ec8 3 3 · l:!. x e s ! fxes
3�·�d6+ J:!. xd6 3 S ·J:!.xd6 Black is
once again facing a long and ardu­
ous journey before he will be able
to salvage the game.
33.J:!.e3!
After this tricky move Black is in
complete zugzwang. This move is
extremely potent, as it stops any
. . . it c3+ tricks and makes �bS
completely unpreventable.
33 . . . J:!.d8 34Jbd 8 + Wxd8 3 5 .
it, d 5 � d 7 36.Wb5 J:!.e8 37 .it,xb7
Black resigned. I find it very fit­
ting that in the end the b-pawn
decided the outcome, as I figured
the queenside play was where I
might have a chance of outplay­
NOTES BY
Peter Svidler
RG 2.2 - C43
Peter Svidler
Anatoly Karpov
San Sebastian 2009 (5)
1 .e4 e5 2.t2Jf3 ttJf6 3.d4
A couple of rounds earlier, Ana­
toly Evgenyevich met 3 . ttJ xeS
with 3 · · ·d6 4·ttJf3 ttJ xq S .d4 d S 6 .
� d 3 .9l.e7 7 .0-0 ttJ d 6 in his game
against Vachier-Lagrave, and his
subsequent loss had nothing at all
to do with the opening. I won't say
I spent the whole morning (and
I use the term loosely here, since
the 5 pm start meant I had more
time than I knew what to do with)
looking at this position - the cov­
erage of the I st Ashes Test cer­
tainly occupied a fai r share o f
my attention - b u t t h e time I d i d
spend on it convinced m e that it is
SAN SEBASTIAN
an eminently playable, if slightly
passive, set-up. Unable to decide
what to do with this knowledge, I
told myself that my opponent will
play anything these days (he did
play two different Sicilians against
me at the ACP Rapid World Cup
in Odessa) and settled on a 'cross­
ing that bridge when I come to it'
policy. Of course, the Petroff duly
appeared on the board.
3...ttJxe4 4.�d3 d5 5.dxe5
A totally spur-of-the-moment
choice. I have alway s believed
Black is fine in this line - but at
least the ensuing positions look
enticingly random.
5...ttJc6 6.0-0 �g4
7.ttJc3
White is spoilt for choice of pawn
structures here: Emil S utovsky
tried 7 .h3 � xf3 S . gxf3 ttJ CS 9 · f4
in a recent game against Motylev,
but without much success.
7 ... ttJxc3 8.bxc3 �e 7
A bit of welcome caution from my
opponent - the bishop is much
more active on cs.
9.�f4
I played this almost instantly, al­
though it is, in fact, less than obvi­
ous that White will need this more
than 9 J;[e 1 . Later on, this bishop
will get in the way in more than
one line.
9...�d7 1 0.1:!.b1 ttJd8
10 ... 0-0-0 is not as bad as it looks,
but I thought it unlikely that Black
would go for this option - he does
not have to commit on the issue of
castling j ust yet.
SAN SEBASTIAN
1 1 .h3 �h5
1 2.g4
An approach somewhat lacking in
subtlety. It was too early for 1 2.c4
ttJe6 1 3 .�g3 0-0-0, and Black is
doing very well.
But the strange-looking 1 2 . � h2!?
also has merits: White tucks the
bishop safely away, wanting to
push C4 at an appropriate point.
12 . . . c6 ( 1 2 . . . b6? is very bad here:
1 3 . g4 � g6 1 4.e6! fxe6 1 S · ttJeS
� cS 1 6 . � xg6+ hxg6 I 7 . � d 3
.!l h 6 I S . ttJ x g 6 ttJ h 1 9 . 1:!. be 1 ,
with a considerable advantage
for White) 1 3 . C4 dxC4 ( I 3 .. · d4
runs into a very pretty idea: 1 4 .
e 6 ! ttJxe6 1 S .ttJeS �Xd 1 1 6.ttJxd7,
and White seems to be on top after
1 6 . . . 0-0-0 1 7·ttJeS �h S 1 S . g4 �g6
1 9 · �xg6 fxg6 20. ttJ h ) 1 4 . �XC4
� Xd 1 1 S . .!l fxd 1 �xf3 1 6.gxf3 bS
I 7 . �d3 ttJ e6, with a very double­
edged endgame.
1 2...�g6 1 3.�g3
White could have gone 1 3 .ttJd4
immediately, but Black i s well­
prepared for it: 13 . . . � xd3 1 4 .cxd3
� C S ! 1 s · � e 3 ! ? hS 1 6. Wg2 hxg4
1 7 .hxg4 ttJc6, with unclear play. I
did not want to show my hand so
early - as the game will show, the
knight can sometimes be deployed
differently.
1 3...�xd3
1 3 · · ·c6 1 4 · ttJd4 � x d 3 1 S · cxd3
ttJe6 1 6 .ttJ fS is an ideal scenario
for White - the positional liberties
White took earlier seem j ustified
once the knight arrives on f5 .
1 4.cxd3
1 4 . �xd3 ttJe6 is totall y u nap-
pealing - Black is ready to cas­
tle queenside and start picking at
White's numerous weaknesses.
1 4 ... h5
The most principled continua­
tion. A case could be made for
1 4 · ·b6 1 S · ttJ d4 ttJ e6 ( 1 S . . . g6 [ 6.
f4) [ 6.ttJfS 0-0-0 - the pawn on C7
makes Black's position safer com­
pared to the position after 1 3 . . . c6
1 4· ttJ cl4.
1 5.e6!
The next day Loeky ( Van Wely
- ed . ) remarked that I went back
to my coffee-house roots in this
game, whieh is a valid point - but
it happened later on in the game,
w h i le this decision is not only
completely j ustified - it is, i n my
view, almost forced, since r s . ttJ d-1-
h xg4 r 6 . hxg-1- � C5 is j ust plain
wrong.
E �� E
i i i 'iV A i i
b
i i
b
Cjj � b
b
:�
1 5 ... ttJxe6
An i mportant decisio n . I n the
post-mortem, we a g reed that
r s . . . � xe6 was a safer way to
equality, but even there Black will
have to work quite hard : r 6 . 1:!. e r ,
and now:
NEW iN CHESS 27
 Peter Svidler on his game against Anatoly Karpov: 'Of course, the P etroff duly appeared on the board.'
ANALYSIS D IAGRAM
A ) I 6 . . . �CS:
A I ) 1 7 . � a4+ only leads to
equality: 1 7 · . · � d 7 I S . � x d 7 +
c;tl xd7 I 9·�xq c;tl xq 20 J he7+
c;tl d6 2 I . J:[ be l hxg4 22. hxg4 l::t cS
23. ttJ d4 l::t c S, and Black holds;
A2) I 7 · �e2 ttJ e6 JS. ttJ d4 hxg4
I 9. ttJ xe6 ( we thought I 9 . � xg4
was very strong, but i n fact a f­
ter 1 9 . . . ttJ xd4 2 0 . � xd4 c;tl fS !
2 I . � x d S - 2 I . l::t X q does not
work: 2 I . . . c;tl xq 2 2 . � xg7 � e6!
- 2 I . . .c6 2 2 . �e4 � d7 the posi­
tion is q uite unclear) 1 9 . . . � xe6
2 0 . l::t x b 7 l::t x h 3 2 I . � x e 6 ( 2 I .
l::tx q? J:[ xg3+) 2 I . . . fxe6 22. J:[ xe6
l::tcS 23. c;tl g2 c;tl d7 24. l::t g6 �f6 2 S ·
l::t x g4, a n d White will have some
pull in the endgame;
A3) 1 7 .�h4!? deserves atten­
tion here as well : 1 7 . . . ttJ e6 I S .
2 8 NEW iN CHESS
�xq c;tl xe7 1 9 . ttJ eS, and White's
initiative is very dangerous;
A4) 1 7 . ttJ d 4 ! ? ttJ e6 I S . ttJ xe6
fxe6 T 9 . gxhS 0-0 20.�g4 l::t fS 2 I .
C4! ?, and Black i s not entirely out
of the woods yet, e.g. 2 I . .. d XC4
22.h6 � f6 23. � xC4 l::t d s 24· l::t q,
with continued pressure.
B) I 6 . . . � a 6 . We altogether
missed the idea of I 7 . �h4! ( fo­
cussing on 1 7 .�e2 ttJ e6 l S . ttJd4
0-0-0 I 9 . ttJ xe6 fxe6 2 0 . � xe6+
� xe6 2 I . l::t x e6 �f6, with equal­
ity) 1 7 . . . ttJ e6 I S . � xe7 c;tl xq 1 9 .
ttJ eS, and once again Black's cen­
tralized king will be a source of
constant worry, as witness this
sample line: 19 . . . l::t a fS 2 0 . 'iV f3
hxg4 2 I . hxg4 c6 22.gS, and Black
is reduced to waiting passively for
a strike that is sure to come soon.
1 6 ttJ e5 �c8
. constant refrain - there is no de­
� iV * �
i i i .t i i
� crashes through) 1 9 . fS ttJ cS 20.
i tD i l::tb e r c;tl f8 2 I . l::t e3 c;tl gS 2 2 . l::t fe l
1'3:,
f'!:, f'!:, il l'3:,
1'3:, f'!:,
:a: 'iY :a: �
1 7 .f4?!
The red mist was descend i n g.
M uch better was 1 7 . gx h S ! , and
Black has to be extremely care­
ful : the machine suggests 1 7 . . .
�f6 ( 1 7 . . . 0-0 I S.h6! i s ill-advised:
I S . . . gxh6 I 9 . 'iV h S is extremely
scary) 1 S . l::te l c;tl f8 (once again it is
wrong to leave the h-file unattend­
ed: I S . . . O-o 1 9 .h6 gxh6 20. � f3
�g7 2 I .�xdS c6 2 2 . � g2, with
excellent prospects for W h i te)
1 9.'iVg4 c;tl gS, and Black is hang­
ing on, but there is no doubt that
most people would choose to be
White here.
1 7 ...h4
Correctly closing the gxhS option
forever. Apparently, q . . . hxg4
was also playable: I S . � xg4 � f6!
( r S . . . ttJ dS? 1 9 . fS 0-0 20. � hS is a
fence against ttJ g6; 1 S . . . 0-0 is also
very risky: 1 9. fS ttJ CS 20.�h4 l::teS
2 I . � h S �xh4 2 2 . '1W X f7 + c;tl h 7
2 3 · f6! �xf6 24. ttJ g4, a n d White
� f8, and Black has everything
covered for now.
The text-move is much more
practical, however.
1 8.�h2
SAN S E BASTIAN
 2 3 . � h S ) 2 3 · � h S il f6 24· .!:l: xfS, to be doing too badly - but as long
and White wins. as White manages to avoid trad­
i n g q ueens, his various threats
.i � should prove too much for Black

i. , to weather.

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

SA N SEBASTIAN NEw lN CHfSS 29

 NOTES BY
Ruslan Ponomariov
TO 2.9 - 041
Ruslan Ponomariov
Paco Vallejo
San Sebastian 2009 (9)
This game was played in the last
round, and in order to fight for
first place I needed to win, as I was
half a point behind. Possibly this
may seem rather strange and easy
to say, when the result of the game
is already known, but in fact I was
in little doubt that the outcome
would be successful. The score
against my opponent in our clas­
sical chess games was 4-0 i n my fa­
vour, I was on form in San Sebas­
tian, and I had the white pieces in
the last round - what more could I
want? My mood also seemed to be
sensed by my opponent. At lunch
on the day of the game he looked
rather tired, as though worn out
by preparations for the inevitable. . .
1 .d4
In my first white game in this
tournament I chose this move and
won a good game against Gran­
da. After this it was hard to force
myself to play something d iffer­
ent and in fact I scored 3 Vz out of
4. Although, I very much wanted
also to try the open games, but un­
fortunately I had only four games
with white. Fortunately, my col­
leagues, with the exception of Na­
kamura, allowed me to try both
the Grlinfeld Defence and the Si­
cilian with black.
1 ...tLlf6 2.c4 e6 3.tLlf3 d5 4.tLlc3
.i
.i � .t i¥ 0 .t
i i i i i i
i�
30 NEW iN CHESS
4 ... c5 A surprise for me. I think
that my opponent had never previ­
ously played this in his life. Against
me before this in rapid chess he had
twice chosen the O!-Ieen's Gambit,
and in Linares the Anti-Meran oc­
eurred. The Tarrasch Defence De­
fen'ed is not especially popular: it is
hard for me to remember which of
the strong modern players employs
it nowadays. Nevertheless, things
are not so simple - it has been em­
ployed in matches for the world
championship, and there people do
not play bad openings.
5.cxd5 tLlxd5 6.e4 tLlxc3 7 .bxc3
cxd4 8.cxd4 �b4 + 9.�d2 �xd2 +
1 0.�xd2 0-0 1 1 .�c4 tLlc6
1 2.0-0
Of course, I knell' the famous
games Spassky-Petrosian, World
Cham pionship, Mosco\\' 1 969,
and Polugaevsky-Tal, 37th USSR
Cham pionship, Moscow 1 969,
where White gained brilliant victo­
ries. However, my opponent made
his moves instantly, without think­
ing for a second, which gave me
food for thought. He surely knew
these games and had prepared
some improvement: in our com­
puter era even the most dangerous
positions may be called into ques­
tion, and sometimes a reapprais­
al occurs. Therefore at the board I
wanted to try and find some other
interesting possibilities, in order to
force my opponent to think with
his head, and not play from his
computer notebook. For example,
1 2. J:l:C I was interesting, preventing
Black's normal development as in
the game. But I was not convineed
that I stood well after 1 2 . . . � as
[ 3 · � x a s tLl x a S I 4 · � d 3 � d 7
[ S . 'it> d2 J:l: fcS. T h e pawn struc­
ture in this endgame resembles the
Grlinfeld Defence, but here the
absence of the dark-square bishops
probably favours Black.
1 2 ... b6
It is curious that four years after
his brilliant win against Tal, Polu­
gaevsky decided to take Black's
side, played 12 . . . � d6, and fairly
easily gained a draw: 1 3. J:l: fd 1 J:l: dS
I 4 · J:l: ac l � d7 I s · � e2 J:l: acS 1 6 .
dS exdS 1 7 .�xdS �e6 I S.�xc6
J:l:xc6 1 9. J:l:b I J:l:b6, '/z-Vz POI·tisch­
Polugaevsky, Portoroz Interzonal
1 973. At any event, at the present
moment no one has demonstrated
a clear advantage for White.
1 3.J:l:fe1 �b7
1 4.d5
The normal and natural move is,
of course, q. J:l: ad I, as Spassky and
Polugaevsky played. And only af­
ter q . . . J:l:cS - [ S ·dS tLl aS [ 6. �d3
exdS I 7 .es tLl q I S.�f+ I don't
know exactly what Vallejo was in­
tending to play. Possibly with his
computer he had found a defence
in the positions with an extra piece
after I S . . . tLl b2 1 9 .�xh7+ WXh7
20. tLl g5+ 'it> g6 2 1 .h4. As I later
discovered from a games database,
such attempts have not been aban­
doned, and one of the compara­
tively recent attempts was made
by Artur ]ussupow, although not a
very successful one - 2 1 . .. �C7 22.
.i:!.d2 J:l:q 23. �g3 Wh6 24. J:l: xb2 f6
25.tLlf3, and White gradually won
SAN SEBASTIAN
 Ruslan Ponomariov feels perfectly at ease in the Basque Country. It may help that his girlfriend Inez is from Bilbao.

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

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

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

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

SAN S E BAST I A N NEW iN CHESS 31

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

32 NEW IN �
course, White has compensation
for the pawn after both 2 r . l:l e3
tiJxd4 22.'iYxd4, and 2 I . tb bS �e6
22. tiJ d6, aiming to retain as many
pieces as possible. But there would
still have been all to play for, and
Black does not stand worse.
21 .�f5
Of course, exchanges are advan­
tageous to Black. But specific cal­
culation shows that for the sake
of obtaining a knight at fS one
does not have to stick to dogmatic
principles.
21...l:leB 22.l:ld3
..9..'iV K
i
� �
�I.t. .t.:i
,I\, i,
i i
i
" ttJ 'iV � The game was played with a time
hll:
� � �
M �
22 ... tbd6?
This simply loses by force. The
only possibility of ayoiding mate
or loss of material was 22 . . . � h8
23. l:lg3 f6 2+'iYg-l l:!.q 2s ·e6 l:lee7
26.'iYg6 'iYg8. The black pieces
are very clumsily placed, but life
goes on.
23.�xcB 'iYxcB 24.l:lg3
'iV K �
i i i
i " i�
i: i �
ttJ 'iY � �
J:r
� � �
I M � i: i �"
24... l:le6
In his preliminary calcula­
tions Vallejo had thought that he
would haye the defence 2-l . . . l:l c3,
but only now did he notice that
this loses a piece after 2 S . l:l xc3
SAN S E B A S T I A N
'iYxc3 26. l:l c l . The attemp t to This weakens the black king's po­
run with the king from the king­ sition, which makes things much
side by 2-l . . . �f8 i s also hopeless easier for me. Correct was 27 . . .
- 2 s . l:l ee3 tbq 26. l:l xg7! �xg7 tb e7 28· 'if g3 tb fS 29· 'if h3 ttJ d4
2 7 . tb fS + . I n this variation the 3 0 . l:l c3 'iY x h 3 3 I . l:l x h 3 tb c6,
strength of White's coordinated when the win for White i s still a
pieces is clearly seen. long way off. Possibly I would
25.tbxe6 'iYxe6 have had reason to seriously re­
gret my 26th move.
� 2B.h5 l:lc4 29.l:lf4
i i i
i " 'iV i �
K i � i i
'iV � i 'iV i i
i �" �
• M
� � K M iV
26.'iYg4?
M �
control of I V2 hours for the entire 29 ... l:lxf4
game + 30 seconds a move, and it 29 . . . bS was more tenacious, but
had now entered a rather nervy here too, after 30. hxg6 fxg6 3 r .
phase, where neither of u s had l:lb r a6 3 2 . l:l xq bxC4 3 3 . l:l b8+
much time for thought. I sensed �f7 34. l:l b7+ White should win
that after 24 . . . l:le6 there should be without any problems, i n view of
something for White. the terrible position of the black
At this moment a large number of king.
spectators were l i terally crowd­ 3�. 'iYxf4 gxh5
ing around my board, and I over­
looked the simple 26.exd6! 'iYxe r + �
27.�h2, when Black's counterplay
i
27 . l:lC1 is not at all dangerous, be­
i 'iV i
..
cause of 28. l:l e3. As a result, the
logical finish to the game was rath­ i �" i
er spoiled, and it all reduced to the 'iY
banal conversion of the exchange
advantage.
26 ... tbf5 27 .l:lf3
� �
� �
Black now has two pawns for the
i i i
exchange, which in a normal situ­
i 'iV i ation is more than sufficient com­
pensation. But here his pawns are
WII � isolated, his king is weak, and his
M knight has no strong points. Be­
cause of this the game concluded
� � � fairly quickly.
d3 34.'iYd2 tbe7 35.'iYxd3 'iYe6 �
M � 31 .l:ld1 d4 32.l:ld3 'iYd7 33.l:lf3!
�
27 ... g6? 36.'iYd6 Black resigned.
NEW iN CHm; 33
 Wladimir Kramnik I
Kra m n i k on Cloud
N i ne in Dortm u n d
The 37th Sparkassen North Rhine-Westphalian Kramnik also earned

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

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

resounding victory for amazing feat that invited Sebastian Siebrecht,

Vladimir Kramnik. The comparisons with Garry one of the commentators

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

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

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

34 NEW iN CHESS DORTMUND


fter his loss to Vishy Anand in
Athe world championship match
in Bonn last autumn, Vladimir
Kramnik took a break. He repre­
sented Russia at the Olympiad in
Dresden, but otherwise the pub­
lic chess activities of the current
number six in the world rankings
were restricted to rapid tourna­
ments in ice and Baku. Instead,
he chose to spend time with his
wife and their new-born daugh­
ter and to rest and prepare for new
challenges. In Dortmund he ap­
peared well-rested and relaxed,
but also excel l e n t l y prepared
and brimming with ideas. Here I
should immediately make a con­
fession. Despite his tremendous
achievements, I was never euphor­
ic about Kramnik's play. I found
his pragmatic style somewhat bor­
ing. But things can change, and
since I've watched him closely in
DORTMUND
Dortmund, where I was commen­
tating on the games for the audi­
ence, together with GM Klaus
Bischoff, I can tell you that I am
a fan ! Why the sudden change,
you may wonder? I cannot really
tell you. Perhaps you should also
see him in action, live, as I had the
privilege to!
The format for this year's edition
was a s ix-player double round­
robin. Of these six players four
were members of the tOP- 1 0 elite.
Top-seed was Magnus Carlsen,
currently ranked third, followed
by Dmitry Yakovenko, who, in
fifth place, is the highest ranked
Russian at the moment, one( ! )
precious point ahead of Vladimir
Kram n i k . The fo u r t h tOP- 1 0
p layer was Peter Leko, number
seven i n the world and a famil­
iar face i n Dortmund. The field
was completed by Etienne Bacrot,
the winner of the 2009 Aeroflot
Open (who traditionally qualifies
for Dortmund), and local favour­
ite and Germany's number one
Arkady Naiditsch.
A t the centre of attention was
I 8- year-old M a gn u s Carlsen
from Norway, who finished his
school on June 12 and therefore
played his first chess tournament
as a professional ! Just imagine, a
schoolboy who is ranked third in
the world. Respect!
A fter h i s u n fo r t u nate last­
round loss to Alexey S hirov in
Sofia, which brought the Span­
iard tournament victory, Carlsen's
fans were eager to see him notch
up this super-tournament. He got
off to a good start, when in the
first round he kept putting pres­
sure on Yakovenko's Berlin Wall
and finally tore it down.
RL 7.4 - C67
Magnus Carlsen
Dmitrv Yakovenko
Dortmund 2009 ( 1 )
1 .e4 e5 Vt:J f 3 tLlc6 3.�b5 tLlf6
4.0-0 tLlxe4 5.d4 tLld6 6.�xc6
dxc6 7 .dxe5 tLlf5 B:�xdB + WxdB
9.tLlc3 WeB 1 o . h 3 h5 1 1 .tLl e 2
� e 7 1 2.iLg5 � e 6 1 3.tLlf4 �d5
1 4.jLxe7 Wxe7 1 5 . tLl g 5 tLld4
1 6Jhd1 tLle6 17 .tLlgxe6 �xe6
1 B.h4
�
�� �
.a
£::, �
ttJ £::,
£::, �
l:r w
1 B ... a5
A new move in this position. Fel­
gaer-Neubauer, Turin Olympiad
2006, saw 18 . . . g6.
NEW iN CHESS 35

The 'also-rans' in Dortmund: Dmitry Yakovenko, Magnus Carlsen, Peter Leko, Etienne Bacrot and Arkady Naiditsch.
1 9.a3 a4 2o.l:Ue1 g6 21 .f3 :i:!.a5
22.c3 :i:!.b5 23.:i:!.e2 :i:!.a8 24.:i:!.d4
:i:!.aa5 25.cJ;lf2 :i:!.xe5 26.:i:!.xe5 nxe5
27.:i:!.xa4 :i:!.b5 28.b4!
Suddenly the black rook has few
squares at its disposal!
28 ... c5 2UIa7 cxb4 3o.cxb4!
Ignoring the rule of taking back
towards to the centre. Carlsen
has his eyes set on a future passed
a-pawn!
30 ... cJ;ld7 31.ttJe2
The white knight is redirected. In
this position the knight is superior
to the black bishop. Besides, Black
is still stuck with the problem of
finding good squares for his rook.
31 .. J:tb6 32.We3 �c4 33.ttJd4
Wd6
36 NEW iN CHESS
s s e � 09
s p a r\<.a etl
M e
Ch e ss -
Prevents the freeing . . . cs.
36 ... hxg4
As 36 . . . cS is met by 3 7 . gx h S ! !
cxd4 + 3 8 . Wxd4, and the black
bishop cannot stop the w h i te
passed pawn.
3 7 .fxg4 cJ;l e 5 3 8 . ttJ c 6 + Wf6
39.'i£tf4 We6 4o.h5! gxh5 41.gxh5
34J:ta5!
Black must be stopped from play­
ing the life-saving . . . cs.
34..J:ta6 35.:i:!.xa 6 + bxa6
White also keeps a clear advantage
after 35 . . . � xa6 36.bS cs 3 7 ·bxa6
cxd.j.+ 38.Wxd4.
36.g4!
Black fails to solve his problems.
Thanks to h i s passed h-pawn
and the threat of creating anoth­
e r passed pawn o n the queen­
side, White totally dominates the
position.
41 ...�d3 42.'i£te3 �f1 43.h6 'i£tf6
44.ttJe5!
W h i te controls a l l i m portant
squares. Obviously the k n i gh t
cannot b e taken because of 45 .h7.
DORTM U N D
44...�b5 45.Wd4 .ia4 46.h7 ! 1 7 ... �xe5 1 8.dxe5 :!.txe5 1 9.f3
Now, in an impressive manner, :!.tae8!
White wins forcibly.
� �
.i� 1 � 1 1
1 .
1 � 1
8 1 �
8 �
� � £::, ..t
8 'iV ttJ £::,
The structure that has arisen looks :s :s �
pleasant for Black. The black at­
tack on the kingside looks more Magnificent! All Black's pieces are
real than White's possible attack­ in play. As Yasser Seirawan once
46 . . . W g 7 4 7 . ttJ x f 7 W x h 7 ing chances on the queenside. The said: 'Chess is a team sport!'
48.ttJg5 + Wg6 49.ttJe6 normal moves here are I o . �b3 or 2o.�f4 :!.th5 21 .fxe4 dxe4 22 ..ic4
The last black pawns fal l . Black I O. ttJ c3· �xg2! And not 22 . . . � g4 23 . ttJ g3
stands no chance, so he resigned. 1o ... jLc7 1 1 .ttJc3 ttJd7 1 2.�c2 :!.t h4 24· :!.t fI , when White sudden­
A fter 1 2 . ttJ xe4 d X C4 1 3 · �XC4 ly wins. 23.ttJg3
Carlsen is a veritable crowd-pull­ �XC4 I 4 Jh q ttJ xC5 the pawn
er. Every round up to 50,000 peo­ on d4 will u ltimately become a � �
ple followed the live games on the weakness.
1 2 .. .l::t e8 1 3 ..b3
1 1 � 1 1
Internet. Dortmund is rightly fa­
mous for the facilities for specta­ After I 3 . ttJ xe4 the following line 1 � 1
tors at the venue, and every day shows the attacking potential of 8 �
some 350 en th usiasts would come Black's pieces: I 3 . · · dxe4 I4.�xC4 8� 1�
to the City Theatre to see the stars VJii e7 I S . ttJ d2 ttJ f6 I 6 . f3 ttJ xC4
ttJ
live. I 7 . fxC4 �xh2+, and Black wins.
Black also has a big advantage af­
8 'if ..t
After five rounds, halfway through ter I 3 ·�xe4 dxe4 1 4· ttJ XC4 �e7 M M �
the event, Carlsen was in the sole I S . ttJ fdz ttJ f6.
lead on plus-2, thanks to a further 1 3 ... h6 1 4.b4 23...�f3!!
demolition job on the Berlin Wall, A pseudo-active move. I nstead, The rook cannot be taken.
the victim this time being Nai­ W h i te should have p u lled the 24. VJii b 3 Tak i n g the rook with
ditsch. Kramnik and Leko were emergency break with I 4. ttJ dz. 24. ttJ xh5 leads to disaster, as the
half a point adrift . The Hungar­ 1 4 ... ttJdf6 1 5.h3 �d7 1 6.ttJe2 following line shows: Z4 . . . ttJ xhS
ian grandmaster won a fine game 2S.�h2 �g4+ 26.WfI e3 27· :!.tacI
against Bacrot, which he anal­ E E � ttJ g3+ 28 . ..Q.xg3 � h 3 + Z 9 · W g I
yses i n his usual lively manner 'iYh I mate.
1 1 ..t � 1 1
elsewhere i n this issue. Kramnik
scored a dashing win with the 1 � 1
.i �
Petroff against Naiditsch. 8 1 ..t
1 1 � 1 1
8 8�
1 � 1
RG 4.8 - C42 � � ttJ £::,
Arkady Naiditsch 8 i:
8 'iV ttJ 8 8
Vladimir Kramnik 8� 1�
M :s �
Dortmund 2009 (4)
'iY ..t ttJ
1 .e4 e5 2.ttJf3 ttJf6 3.ttJxe5 d 6 1 6 ...�xh3! 1 7 .ttJe5!
£::,
4.ttJf3 ttJxe4 5.d4 d5 6.�d3 �d6 His best chance. White tries to M M �
7.0-0 0-0 8.c4 c6 9 J:t e1 �f5 muddy the water. A fter I 7 . gxh3
1o.c5?! � xh3 Black's attack is too strong. 24 ... :!.th4

DORTMUND NEW iN CHESS 37

Black could even win more quick­
ly with 24 . . . � h3 2 S . � x f3 (or
2 S . � x f7 + <;£;> h S 2 6 . � C 2 , and
Black mates in three) 2 S ... exf3
26. J:!. xeS+ ttJ xeS.
25.�d6 �h3 2 6.�xf7 + <;£;> h 7
27.�b2
g
i i .i i �
i .i � i
g
�
£::, i 1 8.f5!
.t t2J �
£::' 'iV
Ii M �
27 ... ttJg4
White resigned. A slightly quick­
er route to mate was 27 . . . � xg3+
2 S . � x g 3 J:!. 11 I + 2 9 . <;£;> f2 ttJ g.j.
mate, but this doesn't detract from
Kramnik's superior performance.
But all in all, the first half wasn't too
inspired and there were numerous
draws, some of them without too
much of a fight. Fortunately, there
was more excitement in the second
half, when particularly Kramnik
had warmed up. In Round S he
demonstrated once again that this
is his tournament, when in a direct
encounter he defeated Carlsen and
moved into the sole lead. The Nor­
wegian made one slip, and never got
a chance to repair the damage.
Qo 4.3 - 037
Vladimir Kramnik
Magnus Carlsen
Dortmund 2009 ( 8 )
1 . d4 d 5 2 . e4 e6 3.ttJf3 ttJf6
4.ttJe3 jLe7 5 .�f4 0-0 6.e3 e5
7 .dxe5 jLxe5 8.a3 ttJe6 9. �e2
�a5 1 o.J:!.d1 jLe7 1 1 .jLe2 dxe4
1 2 . � x e 4 ttJ h 5 1 3 . 0 - 0 ttJxf4
14.exf4 g6 1 5.g3 J:!.d8
A new move in this position. In a
game Epishin-Atalik, Bratto 2005,
Black played 1 5 . . . jL f6.
38 NEW iN CHESS
1 6.J:!.xd8 + �xd8 1 7 .J:!.d1 �d7
A fine idea. The transfer of the
queen to the kingside is prepared.
1 8 ... gxf5 1 9.�d2 �b6
If 19 . . . ttJ aS then 20.�a2 (20. Vi' xd7
ttJ xq 2 I . �xb7 ttJ d6 22. �a6 �q
would probably be OK for Black)
20 . . . jLeS 2 1 . Vi' h6 �q 22 .�xe6
fxe6 23.Vi'xe6+ ii.f7 2+ ttJdS would
give White a clear advantage.
2 0 . 'if h 6 ii.e8 2 1 . ttJ g 5 � x g 5
2 2 .�xg5 + <;£;> f 8 23.�h6 + �g8
24.�g 5 + <;£;>f8
E .t �
i i i i
�� i 36.�xd7+ � q 3 7 . �b S + 'if b6
i 'iV
.i
� �
t2J
� � � resigned.
� �
25.J:!.d6!
Kramnik continues to play, as the
repetition of moves will not run
away. Now Carlsen replied too
quickly, and after his unfortunate
queen move the game is essential­
Iy over.
2 5...�e7?
The right move was 2 5 . . . J:!. dS,
when a ft e r 2 6 . � h 6 + � gS
27. J:!. xe6 � d.j.! (27 . . . fxe6 loses to
2 S . � x e6+ Wg7 2 9 . � gS+ ..t> f6
30.�f8+ ..t> es 3 1 . ttJ b S ! ) 2S. J:!. f6
� x q 29. J:!. xc6! the position i s
equal.
26.�h6 +
ow B lack is lost. The tables
would be turned dramatically af­
ter 26. J:!. xe6? fxe6 27 ·�xe6 � g7;
or 2 6 . ttJ d S exdS 2 7 . J:!. h6? d x q
2S. J:!. xh7 � e s ! , and White can
resIgn.
26 ... <;£;>e7
Or 26 . . . W g S 2 7 . J:!. x e 6 fx e 6
2S.�xe6+ �f7 29. ttJ dS, and wins.
2 7 .� h 4 + <;£;>f8 28.�h6 + �e7
29.ttJb5!
And once again all pieces are i n
play!
29 ... �a5 3o.b4 ttJxb4 31 .J:!.xe6 +
fxe6 32.�xe6+ <;£;>d8 33.�f6+
I nstead, 3 3 . ttJ d 6 w o u l d o n l y
lead t o a d raw after 3 3 . . . � d 7 !
3.j.· ttJ xb7+ ..t> q 3 S ·�d6+ �xb7
3S. � d7+.
3 3 . . . <;£;> e 8 3 4 . 'if x f 5 + <;£;> d 8
35.�f6+ <;£;>e8 36.axb4
Wonderful, everything fits. Black
Carlsen finished the tournament
with two draws and was clearly
dissatisfied with his play. In the
final standings he shared second
place with Leko and Yakoven­
ko. Leko delivered a stable per­
formance, and one gets the feel­
ing that with a little bit of luck or
some more perse\'erance 111 games
where he still seemed to have eve­
rything to fight for he might have
scored better.
Yakovenko worked hard and
was involved in the longest games
(62 and 70 moves and even S I
against Bacrot). I n the penulti­
mate round he had to fight hard to
DORTM U N D

The turning point. With a fine attacking win against top-seed Magnus Carlsen
in Round 8 Vladimir Kramnik took over the lead.
save the draw in a gripping game
against Kramnik and successful­
ly did so. Every day Yakovenko
painstakingly prepared with his
second Dennis Khismatullin, lit­
erally almost till the game started.
As a result, he came close to losing
his game against Naiditsch. This
year, instead of the old one hour,
the players could come I S min­
utes late before they were forfeit­
ed. And this is what Yakovenko al­
most managed to do on that day.
Or, in fact, that's what he did. He
had to be grateful to event man­
ager Gerd Kolbe, who knew that
the young Russian had left the ho­
tcl too late and postponed the start
of the round by enthusiastically
lengthening his daily welcoming
speech to the audience. Still, the
fact that Yakovenko came late to
almost all rounds, didn't make a
really good impression.
But, as said, the clear winner,
one point ahead of the rest, was
Vladimir Kramn i k . With black
he could play his beloved Petroff
and from what he showed it seems
clear that Anand had good reason
to avoid this territory in Bonn .
With white Kramnik played im­
pressively, even though he failed
to fully exploit his chances against
Bacrot and Yakovenko. His best
DORTMUND
game was his last-round effort
against Naiditsch, when a draw
sufficed to end clear first. But he
got so engrossed in the position
that he kept playing for a win. On
his return home he deeply ana­
lysed this game. I warmly recom­
mend his notes to the reader, as
they are impressive both in their
depth and in their clarity. Most
readers have not had the privilege
to see Kramnik in action, as I did,
but it's certainly another privilege
to be granted a peek into his pro­
found thoughts and calculations.
NOTES BY
Vladimir Kramnik
N1 1 7 . 1 6 - 039
Vladimir Kramnik
Arkady Naiditsch
Dortmund 2009 (1 OJ
I hadn't played for a while and had
got out of the routine of working
so many hours during' a tourna­
ment, so at the end of the event
I was pretty tired. Fortunately it
didn't affect my play. I felt from
the beginning that I was in good
shape, but somehow I was unable
to show it. It's a very tough field
and most players are very solid, so
it's not only difficult to win a game
but even to get a game. In the first
half of the tournament my head
was working well but I couldn't
show it, because the games were
lacking content . I cou ldn't get
mueh with white, while with black
I made a few forced draws out of
the opening. Then I beat Nai­
d i tsch, which was quite a nice
game, but he was not playing so
well . The result was OK: +1 with
fOUf rounds to go. Yet I was un­
happy with the Icvel of play. The
tournament was a bit 'slow' for
all players, not only for me. For­
tunately this changed in the final
fou r games, when we finally saw
some excitement.
I chose to annotate my last-round
game against Naiditsch, which
was the most interesting one. Of
my victories, my wins against Nai­
ditsch with black and the game I
won a gainst Carlsen were may­
be more spectacular for the pub­
lic, but this one was much richer
and tenser. Almost till the end the
situation was not entirely clear. As
for quality, I think this was my best
game, because after analysing it
I came to the conclusion that my
play was close to perfect. I didn't
even play a single inaccurate move.
Certainly, if he had played the
right moves, at the end it would
have been a draw, but what can
I do' Chess is a drawish game. I
posed the maximum of problems
to my opponent and in the end he
collapsed.
At the start of the game I knew
that a d raw would basical ly be
enough for me for at least shared
first place and, as it turned out,
even for clear first place. But I was
White and I felt I should try to
play for a win and see what hap­
pened. During the game I got into
the fight, and although I could
ha\'e forced draws in various pret­
ty unclear positions, I kept playing
for a win. This proved to be the
right decision.
NEW iN CHESS 39
1 .d4 tLlf6 2.c4 e6 3.tLlf3 d5 4.tLlc3
dxc4
It was not difficult to predict this
opening, as it is almost the only
thing Arkady plays against r .d+.
Which is a serious minus i n his
p lay. It's a very sharp line and i f
this is your only serious weapon it
can work in an open tournament,
but at this level it is very risky. In
general he was doing fine open­
ing-wise, but I still don't think
it's a good thing to have the Vien­
na as your only opening in such a
tournament.
5.e4 ..tb4 6 ...tg5 c5 7 .�xc4 cxd4
8.tLlxd4 �xc3+ 9.bxc3 'lWa5
1 0.il.b5+
The most fashionable line these
days.
1 0".�d7 1 1 .�xf6 gxf6 1 2.�xd7 +
tLlxd7 1 3.0-0 a6 1 4..!::r b 1 �c7
All this is theory. Of late there has
been some raised interest in this
line and q u ite a few important
games have been played with it.
1 5.�h5 tLlc5 1 6 ..!::r b 4 �e5
i: � i:
i i i
,. '+W
i i i
'if
l:: CiJ �
�
� � � �
l:: �
1 7 .�h6
Before the tournament I thought
40 NEW iN CHESS
that the only game for which I was
very well prepared was my white
game against Naiditsch, because I
had already spent quite some time
before my match with Anand an­
alysing this position. But then,
when I was playing Car/sen, I saw
that exactly this position arose in
the game Leko-Naiditsch. And
Leko played this novelty, I 7 . �h6,
which I had prepared for Nai­
ditsch. I was a bit disappointed,
as I believed that I would proba­
bly have to prepare something dif­
ferent, but then I decided to go
for this line anyway, as I had no
time or energy to prepare some­
thing else after the tough game
against Yakovenko the day before.
I thought it was an extremely dan­
gerous idea for one game, but once
your opponent has checked it with
the computer it becomes consid­
erably less dangerous.
The point of the text-move i s
that before t h i s t i m e , p e o p l e
played I 7 . � h+, w i t h quite good
results. At first Black would try
1 7 . . . � g5 and White would go
l S . � h 3 . Most of these games
ended i n draws, but i t was clear
that Black was suffering. But then
there was the i m portant game
Gelfand-Aronian i n Nalchik, in
which Black played the novel­
ty 17 . . . .!::r d S, which I had already
checked long before this game
and of which I k new it equal­
ized . And indeed, Aronian equal­
ized easily and made a draw. This
is why I was already concentrat­
ing on 1 7 . �h6 in this position six
months ago.
.i �.i
i i i
,. '+W
i i i 'iY
l:: CiJ �
�
� � � �
l:: �
1 7 .. . .!::rc 8
This is what Arkady also played
against Leko after a long think
of maybe 30 minutes. I knew that
this was an interesting way to meet
I 7 .�h6. With the queen on h4,
playing the rook to cS is not such a
good idea in view of the manoeu­
vre I played in this game: tLl f3,
. . . � xc3, .!::r d +, and the queen is
much better placed on h4 than on
h6. With the queen on h6 the situ­
ation is not so clear.
One idea behind r 7 . �h6 was that
if Black goes 1 7 . . . � gS, White will
go 1 S. �h3, transposing to the fa­
vourable line mentioned i n the
previous note.
But the main idea is that if Blaek
tries to play as i n the game Gel­
fan d - A r o n i a n w i t h 1 7 . . . .!::r d S ,
White has t h e very i m portant
option of 1 S . h4 1 , covering the
gs-square and blocking . . . 'iV g S .
With t h e h e l p of t h e com puter
it's quite easy to determine that
Black is almost in zugzwang; he
doesn't have any useful moves.
The best move here is 1S . . . .!::r f8 ,
which doesn't look l i ke a good
sign . Then maybe White's best
is 1 9.a+, a strange move, but now
the zugzwang is almost complete.
I don't see any productive move
for Black and I think he is in seri­
ous trouble.
1 8.tLlf3
T h i s new and q u i te strai ght­
forward move was what I had
planned against 17 ... .!::rC S. There
are other options, but this i s the
most dangerous one.
Strangely enough, Peter ( Leko)
was not prepared for I7 ... .!::rcS, and
after a long think he came up with
[ S .a4, which in this position is not
a great move, because Black can
simply play I S . . . � xe4 1 9 . � xf6
ngS 20. 'i' f3 � xf3 2 I .tLlxf3 W e7,
and Black has no problems. Per­
haps he can even play for a slight
advantage.
1 8".�xc3
What now follows is pretty forced.
DORTMUND
Kramnik vs. Naiditsch: 'I came to the conclusion that my play was close to perfect. I didn't even play a single inaccurate move.'
But of course I very much would
have preferred my opponent to
think over all of his moves instead
of blitzing them out like he did.
19JId4 We1 2D.e5 tLld1 21.'�'h4
;i ;i
��i i immediate.
i i
� Also possible play 2 I . . .bS, but this
l:t 'if
'iH tiJ
8 � � �
:g �
This is the critical position. In my
preparation I was sure that in a
practical game Black would not be
able to find the best move, because
Black's correct response looks
completely illogical. But of course
Arkady came fully armed, and to
my slight disappointment he im­
mediately went:
21 . l:t hg8
..
The most logical move i n the
position is 2 1 . . . l:t hdS, but here
Black has serious problems after
DORTMUND
the rather forced line 2 2 . ex f6+
tLlxf6 2 3 . l:tf4 threateni n g tLl d4,
so he will have to go 2 3 · · · l:t gS 24.
tLlgS l:t g6 2 S · tLle4 'i' es 26.tLlxf6
l:t x f6 2 7 . l:rx f6 'i' x f6 2 S . � b4+
W eS 29. 'i' xb7 l:tC2 30. 'i'xa6, and
White is simply a pawn up. I don't
know if it will be enough for a win,
but it's clear that Black is seriously
suffering here.
isn't a move that you would easily
make over the board either.
I now it looks as if Black has sim­
:i ;i
i �� i i
i i i -
� this is really the case, and here it
l:t ViI
'iH tiJ
� � � �
I l:t �
22.Wh1
This is the only move to keep the
game going. Fortunately, after
this move he finally started think­
ing, which gave me hopes that the
game would not end i n a q uick
draw. From here on in he was out
of his preparation. So was I, since
I could not remember my analy­
sis. The only thing I remembered
was that objectively speaking the
position was still a draw, but that
after 2 2 . W h T this draw was not
The move 2 1 . . . l:t h gS looked il­
logical because the first thing that
comes to mind is that White can
play 22. l:t fd I , when Black's only
acceptable reply is 22 ... l:t gdS!, and
ply wasted a tempo, as it is hard
to understand why the rook would
be better on fI than on d I . But
seems that White has nothing bet­
ter than to force a perpetual with
2 3 . l:t xd7+ l:t xd7 24. 'i' xf6+ WeS
2 S . 'i' hS+ We7 26. 'i' f6+ WeS.
22 b5
...
A good move played after long
reflection . Black i s starting to
think about . . . l:tC4, which is very
important.
The computer s uggests 22 . . . h S ,
with t h e idea that after 2 3 . h 3 i t
NEW i N CHESS 41
continues 23 . . J h g2 ! ? , because
with . . . hS Black has taken control
of the g4-square. It doesn't seem
very likely to me that a human
would find this over the board,
and I also think White may stil l
b e slightly better after 2 4 . W xg2
l:I gS+ 2 S . W h2 'iY x f3 2 6 . ex f6 +
tO x f6 27. l:I g r l:I x g r 2S. W x g r es
29. l:I q. This is probably a draw,
but White can still try for a while.
If Black plays 22 . . . l:I cdS, White
keeps the initiative with 23. l:Iq.
I wouldn't say that White is bet­
ter, but his position is easier to
play. He can create all kinds of
threats against the king i n the cen­
tre and Black's extra pawn is not
of much significance. For exam­
ple, 23 · · .'iYaS 24. l:I b4 'iYds 2SJ H 4
l:I g6 26. l:I d� 'iYxa2 27 . l:I fd r , and
Black's position is very danger­
ous. He is badly pinned on the d­
file and it doesn't look as if the two
pawns are sufficient compensation
for his problems.
23.h3
White doesn't have too many use­
ful moves, but this is a useful pro­
phylactic one.
After 2 3 . l:I fd r Black plays 23 . . .
l:I gdS, and the fact that W h r and
. . . bS have been played doesn ' t
m a k e m u c h d i fference. I d o n ' t
t h i n k White has anything better
than to force a draw with 24. l:I�d3
'iY c7 2 S . l:I xd7+ l:I xd7 26.'iYxf6+
WeS 27.'iYhS+ W e7.
After 23.h3 White is threatening
to play l:I fd r, but of course Black
is not going to let that happen.
23 ... l:Ic4
The best move, which I had ex­
pected . The only thing that puz­
zled me was that he was surprised
when I replied with the exchange
sacrifice, as I didn't see what else
I could do.
The only reasonable alternative
to 23 . . . l:IQ was 23 . . . l:I gdS, which
looks pretty dangerous, but in fact
Black holds pretty easily: 24.exf6+
(at the board 2+ l:I f4 l:I q 2 S . tO d�
looked very appealing to me, but
the computer shows an incred­
ible resou rce: 2 5 . . . �eS 26.exf6
tO f8 ! , and already it's White who
has to look for equality: 2 7 . tO e2
l:I xf4 2S. � xf4 tO g6 29. �e4 �x f6
30. �c6+ �f8 3 I . �xa6 'iWb2, and
this looks like a draw) 24 . . . tO xf6
2 S · l:I f� l:I q ! 26. tO d� � xd� 2 7 .
l:I xd4 l:I dxd4 2S. � g3, and I don't
think Black is any worse.
24.l:Ixd7 +
I t's obvious that after 2�. � xh7
only Black can be better: 24 . . .

The ideas & plans behind ALL chess openings

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

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III ,\ 1'1f(' Iflnl'\" (\ TIl(' Irlm., d·
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42 NEW iN CHESS DORTMUND

1:[ xd� 2 S . � xg8 1:[ d s 2 6 . e x f6+
tLl xf6 2 7 . � a8 � a3, and White
should be a bit worried.
24...�Kd7
He thought for about two minutes
before taking back the rook.
25.�xf6
1 01
, ,
� to go for the perpetual sooner or
,
� later.
,
' 'iV
8 but in fact the computer gives 27.
� 1:[ g l 1:[ c8, with the idea of 28. �a7,
� t2J 8
8 8 8
I � �
The position is becoming sharp­
er, although in fact it had already
been sharp a while.
25...�d3
An understandable decision, and a
good one. I thought that 2s . . . �e8
was very dangerous, but what you
think at the board is one thing,
but the computer claims that af­
ter this move Black w i l l be able
to hold as well : 26. 1:[ d I (26. tLl gS
1:[ xgS 27. � xgS �d3 28. l1it gI 1:[ C2)
26 . . . 1:[c8 27. tLl gS �q (after 2 7 · · ·
1:[xgS 28. � xg5 a s White has a free
hane\. He can always give a perpet­
ual, but he can also strengthen his
position with 29·�h2 b4 30. J:!: d6
and sec what happens), and now:
ANALYSIS DIAGRAM
A ) White can make a draw with
28. tLl xe6 fxe6 2 9 . � xe6+ � f8
30. � f5 + <;.t> e8 3 1 . �e6+ I1it f8
32. � fS+ <;.t>e8, of course;
DORTMUND
B ) 2 8 . tLl e4 was my intention,
and it looks incredibly dangerous,
but Black holds after the cold­
blooded 28 . . . �f8, because after
29. tLl d6 J:[ b8 30. 1:[ d� 1:[ g7 there
is no way to make progress, e.g.
3 1 . 1:[ g4 1:[ xg� 32.hxg� �g8, and
White has nothing better than
26.�Kf7 + <;.t>c6 27 .�Ke6 +
I didn't hesitate to take this pawn,
to go for the a6 pawn: 28 . . . b�
29· � xa6+ �d7, and so follow­
ing the computer's recommenda­
tion some commentators called
my move an inaccuracy. But I dis­
agree; the e6 pawn is very impor­
tant and the position remains very
complicated.
27 ...�b7
'
� ways after me with his rook. Black
1_
,
28.1:[e1
Intending to push the e-pawn. I
had the option of 28. � xg8, but I
don't think it will yield anything
after 2 8 . . . � xfT + 29. <;.t> h2 � xf2,
when a draw looks like the logi­
cal outcome, as my e-pawn is not
going to queen: 30. � xh7+ <;.t> b6
3 1 .�g6+ <;.t> as 32.e6 �b6.
A fter my move 2 8 . 1:[ e I Arkady
sank into thought, and while he
was thin k ing, rather than cal­
culate, tried to understand the
position. Because it was so un­
balanced, I wanted to know con­
ceptually what was going on. I
think that in the end I managed
to grasp its essence. Once White
manages to push his e-pawn, or
indeed his f-pawn, he will ha\'e a
large advantage. Swapping queens
will only favour White if he man­
ages to push his f-pawn. And once
he manages to push his f-pawn, he
can even sacrifice his a-pawn, as
the two passed pawns in the cen­
tre will decide the issue, even an
exchange down. And Black's main
purpose now is to prevent White
from consolidating, because then
White would be winning.
28 ... 1:[g6
A concrete and quite decent move.
I also thought that 28 . . . 1:[ gc8 was
OK, which is true. Black wants to
play . . . 1:[ C l at some point. He also
has . . . 1:[ C2, when I think the po-
sition is in dynamic equilibrium:
29· � f6 1:[ C l (29 . . . �e2 can also
be interesting) 3 0 . 1:[ X C I 1:[ xc r +
3 I . <;.t> 112 1:[ c6 3 2 . � f� 1:[ q, and
now, if I managed to push my f­
pawn I'd be fine, but I doubt i f I
would be able to, since he is al­
should hold.
No good was 28 . . . �g6?! 29. �d7+
�b8 30.g� (strangely enough, the
white king is much safer with the
pawn on g� than on g2) 30 . . . 1:[ f8
:3 r . 1:[ e3 l:t q 32.�dS, and White is
fully in control and the e-pawn is
ready to start marching.
29.�f7 + l:tc7
,
,
� i: 'iV
,
i:
_ 8
� t2J 8
:
8 8 8
I I �
My problem is that he keeps at­
tacking my q ueen . I f I want to
win, I will have to get my q ueen
away from the rooks and put it on
h+ That is not a perfect place, but
otherwise I do not see how I can
make progress.
NEW iN CHESS 43
30.�f4
After 30.�b3 J:!.C3 3 1 . �b4 J:!.q I
don't see a good square, and I have
to play 3 Z . � f8, transposing to the
game.
30 ... J:!.c4
This was the plan . Let me give an
example that proves my gener­
al assessment of the situation . I f
h e plays 3 0 . . . � q, 1 continue 3 1 .
tDd4, and after 3 1 . . . � d S 3z.�e4
� xe4 3 3 . J:!.xC4 I am practically
winn ing, as my f-pawn i s ready
to start moving. Black cannot do
much and White is winning. For
example: 33 . . . J:!.C I + 34.Whz J:!.fl
3 5 . J:!.ez, preventing the rook from
coming to fz. Now, sooner or later,
1 will push f4 and Black is helpless
against the passed pawns.
31 .�f8
1 could have forced a d raw, o f
course, but I h a d t h e feeling that
although the position is pretty un­
clear I was not risking very much.
31 ... J:!.c8 32.�e7 + J:!.c7 33.'tiYh4
� :i
, .i
, t!,
'i!I t2:l
t!, t!, t!,
I .a:
33 ... 'tiYc4
This is not the best move, but it
doesn't throw away the draw yet.
Another possibility, which would
44 NEW iN CHESS
lead to a very complicated posi­
.i
I
tion, was 33 . . . 'tiYdS 34.'tiYd4 'tiYxaz
35 ·tDdz J:!.gc6 36.tDe4, and the sit­ i
uation is not completely clear, but I ,� .i
would definitely prefer White here. , t!,
Black's best move was 33 . . . J:!.cgi,
which should lead to a draw. I had
'i!l t2:l 'ii
overlooked one little thing in my 8
calculations: 34·'tiYd4 'tiYxd4 3 5 . 8 t!, 8
tD x d 4 J:!. x gz 3 6 . e6 J:!. x fz 3 7 . Q l::r �
J:!.ggz ! . I had seen this move, but ANALYSIS DIAGRAM
without real izing that i t would
make for an even easier draw for
Black (in my calculations I had ( I had seen this move, b u t while
him play 3 7 . . . J:!.g8, which in fact I was calculating I thought that
is also good enough for a draw: 36.tDb3 'iYxC4 3 7·llxq would be
38.e8� J:!.xe8 39. J:!.xe8 J:!.xaz 40. even easIer.
J:!.C7+ Wb6 4 1 . J:[ xh7 as, or 41 . . .
b4, and it's clear that White can­
not win here, because his king is
:i ,
cut off and the h-pawn is still very
t!,
far from promotion): 38.e8'iY (be­ ,� .i
cause here I had seen 38.tDf3, be­ ,
lieving it was winning. But Black l::r
plays 38 . . . J:!.g8!, after which he is t2:l t!,
better, even) 38 . . . J:!.hz+ 3 9 . � g r
J:!. fg z + 40. �fr J:!. fz + 4 1 . � g r
8 t!, t!,
J:!.hgz+ 4z.�h r , with a perpetual. �
34.tDd4! ANALYSIS DIAGRAM
Now the knight becomes very
strong, and from a practical point And now I wanted t o push m y f­
of view the situation is getting un­ pawn, but I ' d missed the strong
pleasant for Black because finally I defence 37 ... J:!.c6! - with the idea
managed to coordinate my pieces. that after 38.f.j. he has 38 . . . J:!.q, at­
tacking my f-pawn. Now the most
logical line would be: 38 .J:!.ez as
39·f4 a4, and suddenly my knight
� .i ,
is in danger. But I give it up: 40.e6
t!,
, :i J:!. d r + 4 1 . � hz axb3 .j.z .axb3 J:!.d8
,
I -
43 · fS J:!.e8 ++· �g3 � C7 .j. 5 · � f.j.,
, 'i!l t2:l Vi' and a l t h o u gh t h i s i s probably
8 a draw, it's still totally unclear)
3 6 " . � d S (or 3 6 " . � xaz 3 7 · f4
8 t!, 8 �d 5 38.'iVez) 3 7 . � xd5 J:[ xdS 38.
iV l::r � f4 ng8 39.e6, and now the com­
t!, puter begins to understand that
34 ... �xa2 White is winning. After 39 . . . J:!.f8 I
A brave decision, but there was play 40. g3, and slowly but surely
� little else to do. my pawns will queen.
The only interesting alternative 35.�e4+
was 34 .. J l d 7 , but then W hite I spent a lot of time on the tempt­
has quite a large advantage after ing 3S .e6, but without finding an
3 S . �e4+ ( 3 5 · tD fS could also be advantage after 3S . . . 'iYdS, when
interesting) 3S . . . �b6 36.J:!.d r ! the computer shows 36.f3 ( 1 main-
DORTMUND

Vladimir Kramnik has sacrificed the exchange and, watched by an interested
Magnus Carlsen, Arkady Naiditsch sits thinking before he takes back the rook.
ly concentrated on 36. �q, calcu­
lating the endgame after 36 . . . �xe4
37Jh q, which looks promising;
but all of a sudden Black i s doing
fine after 37 . . . l:rc4! 3S.e7 l:tgS 39·
f4 �eS 40. fS l::txd4 4 1 .l::tx d4 l:t xe7,
and in this endgame Black is cer­
tainly not worse. It looks draw ish,
but it's not White who is playing
for a win, e.g. 42 · g4 as 43 · f6 l:t f7
4HS <;t>c6 4S. l:tq �d6) 36 . . . l:tgS
37.C7 l:teS 3S. � f6, which doesn't
seem totally clear to me.
I
-j
� .i j.
j. .i
j. 8 fact only this is the decisive mis­
tLl 'if
8 Black could have saved himself
8 8
:g � 3S.tLlf4, when it looks as if White
35... <;t>b6
The difficult thing after 3 s . �e4+
was to find the right continuation
after 3S . . . �bS, but then I found
36.e6 � x f2 3 7 . l:t d 1 ! , and now
White is threatening 3S .tLlc6+,
and it seems that Black has no de-
DORTMUND
fence, e.g. 3 7 · · ·l:rcg7 3S.�es+ l:tc7
39.tLlc6+ �aS 40.�e4, and wins.
36.�e3
36 ... <;t>b1?
During the game I though t that
I was already winning, b u t in
take. After the game I found that
with 36 ... �d S ! . We both stopped
calculating after 3 7 . tLle6+ <;t>b7
will get back the exchange. He
is a pawn up, the e-pawn starts
marching and it's time for Black
to resign, but after 3S . . . �CS Black
miraculously holds the draw: 39.
tLlxg6 � xe3 40. l::t x e3 hxg6, and
now the main l ine i s 4 1 .e6 l:t q
42.f4 <;t>c6 43 · g4 <;t>d6 44· fS gxfS
4S· gxfS as 46.�g2 b4, and Black
is just in time in all lines: 47. f6 (af­
ter 47. <.t>f3 he has 47·· .a4 4S.�e4
a3, giving up another pawn but
drawing pretty easily: 49 . � xb4
l:ra7 50. l:tb 1 a2 5 1 . l:ta 1 <;t>e5 52.e7
l:t x q 5 3 . l::t x a2 <;t> x f5 ) 47 . . J h e6
4S. l:t d3+ <;t>c6 49 · h � f6 50. l::t f3
�xf7 5 dhf7 b3 5 2 . h4 a4 5 3 · h 5
b 2 54·�f1 a 3 5 5 . h 6 a 2 56.h7 a 1 � ,
and it's just a draw.
37.�f3 + 37.tLlb3 �a3 3S.e6 was
also possible, but I don't see much
difference with the game.
37 ...�b6
This i s better than 37 . . . �a7 3S.
c6 � d2 39· � e3 � xe3 40Jhe3,
and it's very important that the
king i s on a7 and not on b6, as
this deprives him of the resource
40 . . . <;t>CS, and after 40 .. J1gS 4 1 . f4
White is probably winning.
L-
.i j.
j. � .i
j. 8
tLl
'if 8
8 8
M �
38.tLlb3!
This is a move I am proud of, as
it was very difficult to find from a
psychological point of view. The
knight is so well positioned on d4
tbat it is bard to even start consid­
ering removing it from there. Not
only does it leave its strong posi­
tion, but it even looks shaky on b3,
as it is not well protected. But in
this position it is very important to
cut off the black queen. The com­
puter doesn't see a way for White
to get an advantage except with
3S.tLlb3 ! ·
T h e immediate 3S.e6 would lead
nowhere after 3S . . . � d2 3 9 . �d 1
l:r C 1 4 0 . � XC 1 � XC 1 + 4 I . � h 2
�C7+ 42· g3 l:l: gS.
NEW iN CHESS 45
38 .. J:tc2 1 .d4 ttJf6 2.c4 e6 3.ttJf3 b6 4.g3 ttJc6 1 1 .'iVa4 ttJf6 1 2 .ttJh4
Taken unawares by the unexpect­ �a6 5.'iVc2
ed 38.lt:Jb3, m)' opponcnt immedi­ I have a lot of experience in this � �� �
ately blunders. line as Black, but it's always tricky
The only way for Black to de­
i .t i .t i i i
if you try to play the same line
fend was to try to get his queen with both colours. You simply i� �
back into the game, but then, too, don't know who to root for! Since i

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

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

� i
i � �
i

t2J 'iV �
� � �
1:[ �

41 .'iVe4+ Wb6 42.'iVd4+

Black resigned.

NOTES BY

Peter Leko

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

This year the Dortmund organ­

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

46 NEW iN CHESS DORTMUND

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

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

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

DORTMUND NEW iN CHESS 47

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

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

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

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

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

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

K K � .t
,� , 8

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

'if
,
K f'::,
-

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

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

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

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

just illusory. 22.tiJd2 Now �x i6 is

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

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

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

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

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

DORT M U N D NEW iN CHESS 49

31 ... .!:!:a1 !
Black's defensive resources were
based on this intermediate move!
As promised, if the bishop has
to move from f6 the position col­
lapses a utomatical l y : 3 r . . . � e7
3z.ttJeS! .!:!:fB 33 . .!:!:xd7, and now
33 ... 'iVxb4? loses to 34.ttJc6!.
32 . .!:!:xa1 �xa1
At this point, r u n n i n g slowly
short on time, we both hallucinat­
ed. Or rather, we kept on playing
like humans.
I was surprised when after the
game somebody told me tha t
Black missed an easy draw by not
playing 3z . . . 'iVxa r + . I answered:
'Hey, but that simply loses.' But
before I finished my sentence I al­
ready understood what he meant.
Indeed correct was 3z . . . 'iVxa r + !
33 'it>g2 �es 34·'iVq!.
.! �
a
i i i i
'if
i .a 8 noying from a human perspective,
8 but things are not as promising as
8 CiJ
8�
ANALYSIS DIAGRAM
Originally I thought that White
just wins here, but after 34 . . . �xd6
3 5 . 'iVxeS+ Black has 3S . . . �fB ! .
This move simply slipped through
my calculations for some reason. Or
maybe I missed it because I consid­
ered that once the bishop is kicked
out of f6, the game is over anyway.
But still, speaking about an easy
draw, j ust let me show you some
lines: 36.g6! (this is not Rybka's
first choice, but it is enough even
to confuse the monster itself! The
alternative is 36.ttJeS 'li'az 37.g6 -
37.ttJxd7 'li'dS+! 3S.'ii' h 2 'iVd6+!
was Rybka's original saving idea! -
37 . . . 'iVdS+! - this check saves the
game - 3S.fJ fxg6 39.ttJxd7 'iVd2+
- somehow there is always a saving
50 NEW iN CHfSS
check! - -J.o.'ii'h 3 'iVxb4, and Black
holds) 36 . . . �a2! (the only move!
36 . . .'iVf6 10ses in a very instructive
pawn ending one pawn down ! : 37.
ttJeS! fxg6 3S.ttJxd7 'iVg5+ - first
forcing the white king to the first
rank - 39. 'ii' fr 'iVe7 40.'iVxfB+
'i'xfB 4 1 .ttJxfB 'ii' x fB -J.z.'ii' ez, and
the pawn endgame is won even like
this, thanks to the passed e-pawn:
-J.2 . . . 'ii'q - -J.2 .. ·gS 43 .f3 - -J.3 ·'ii' d 3
<;.t>d6 44.<;.t>d4 'ii'c6 4S.e4, and the e­
pawn decides the battle)
ANALYSIS D IAGRAM
37. 'Ii'xd7. This still looks very an­
they look: 37 . . . fxg6 3S.ttJg5 ! . The
black king does not seem to feel
very comfortable, but: 3S . . . 'iVq!
3 9 · C-J. � x b 4 ! 4 0 . 'iV e S + � fS
4 I .'iVxg6 �e5 ! 42.ttJe6 (42 .'iVh7+
'ii' fB n'li'hS+ 'ii' e 7 44·'iVxg7+
'ii' e S) 42 ... � fB, all holding easily
according to our friend. Who am
I to disagree?
33 . .!:!: xd7
It was difficult to digest that 33.g6
fxg6 34 . .!:!:xd7 is not only not win­
ning, but after 34 . . . 'iVa2 it is not
even better for White.
33 ... .!:!:f8!
Dortmund 2009
1 Vladimir Kramnik IGM RUS 2759
2 Peter Leka IGM HUN 2756 V. V.
3 Magnus Carlsen IGM NOR 2772
4 Omitry Yakavenka IGM RUS 2760
5 Etienne Baerat IGM FRA 2721
6 Arkady Naiditseh IGM GER 2697
I think that this was a good prac­
tical choice. I was expecting the
'more logical' 33 . . . �a2, but then
I was ready to follow u p with
34·'iVf5 ! , attacking the bS pawn ,
and after 3-J. . . . a6 I got to push
3 S . g6 ! fxg6 36.'iWxg6 and I think
Black can't defend this position.
White slowly builds up decisive
threats: 36 ... .!:!:fB 37.'ii' g2! �q 3S.
q! (the advance of the e-pawn is
decisive) 3S ... 'iVe2 39.'iVe6+ <;.t> hS
4o.'iVg4, and it's j ust a question of
time when Black collapses.
E�
i � i i
i 8 -
'iV 8 if
8 CiJ
8
.a �
I I
34.'iVd6
Finally, with about seven minutes
on the clock, I made this routine
move. My intuition was telling me
that something must be in the po­
sition and I kept searching in the
ttJh-J. direction, but missed a very
deep idea.
As it turns out, the knight sortie
was strong: 34.ttJh-J.! g6 3 s . � e4!
(I was disappointed that the di­
rect 35 .ttJxg6 is not winning: 35 . . .
fxg6 36.'iVq �g7 ! 37·'iVxg6, and
now that the a i -square is vacated
37 . . . 'iVa I + ! comes and saves the
game) 3 S . . . �g7, and now comes
the amazing idea. I nstead of any
d i rect sacrifice W hite plays for
cat.XX
6 TPR
.. ..
v. v. V. 1 v. Y. v. v. 1 1 6V. 2851
.. ..
v. v. V. % 1 % Y2 % 5% 2771
V. 0 .. .. 1 V. Y. Y. 1 V. 5V. 2774
v. v.
.. ..
%% %% 0% V. 1 1 Y2 5% 2771
Y. Y. O v' V. V. y. O .. .. V. V. 4 2616
D O V. V. 0 % O v' V. V. .. .. 3 2604
DORTMUND
 -1-0. gxf6 'iYg-1-+ 4 1 . W fr looks like
mate, but Black has -1- l . .. � q+
-1-2.J:td3 � C T + ! , which is easy to
miss with little time! Now per­
petual check is inevitable: 43 . J:t d r
- 43.�g2' loses t h e f 6 pawn after
-1-3 . . · �c6+ ! - -1-3 . . · �xd I + H· W g2
'iYg-1-+, and perpetual check) 37 . . ·
�xb4 3S.tLih6+ rJiJg7 39· J:txa7 ·

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

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

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

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

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

DORTMUND NEW iN CHESS 51

 The year 2009 may

well be considered a

milestone in Swiss chess

history. In August, the

Schachgesellschaft

Zurich, the main chess

club in Zurich, will

celebrate the 200th

year of its existence

with various attractive

events. Meanwhile, the

traditional chess festival in

Bie! attracted worldwide

attention by staging

the strongest closed

tournament ever held in

the country. First place

was sensationally claimed

by Maxime Vachier­

Lagrave, the I 8-year-old

French promise, who

posted the greatest success

in his burgeoning career.

Yannick Pel letier

reports.

M III M E TI TIE

52 NEW iN CHESS BIEl

 nviting players whose style war­ renowned opponents and unwill­
I rants exciting chess has always ing to fight with the white piec­
been a priority for the organiz­ es. Perhaps he wanted to save his
ing crew in Biel. This year the energy for the next FIDE Grand
field was composed of a mixture Prix tournament, which would
of experienced grandmasters and start around a week after Biel?
rising stars. Last-year's winner Well, luckily enough, these cir­
Evgeny Alekseev, as well as Max­ cumstances did not prevent Vasily
ime Vachier-Lagrave and Fabiano Ivanchuk and Boris Gelfand from
Caruana, represented the younger looking for tense positions. As to
generation. Of the relatively older the latter, I have the feeling that he
half of the field, all representatives was generally unlucky in this tour­
had been successful in Biel before: nament. He failed to convert a defi­
Alexander Morozevich won all nite advantage in the starting round
three times he came to Biel (2003, against Caruana, hung a piece the
2004 and 2006), Boris Gelfand be­ next day versus Morozevich (albeit
came the winner of what turned in a difficult position), and subse­
out to be the last Interzonal in the quently lost the self-confidence
history of chess in 1 993, and Vasi­ he usually plays with. He eventu­
Iy Ivanchuk won Biel as far back as ally sank to a -2 score in Round 7
I 989, when Caruana and Vachier­ after losing again to Morozevich.
Lagrave had not even been born! This time, the Israeli grandmaster
The d rawing of lots present­ emerged from the opening with an
ed Alexander Morozevich with edge that kept increasing until he
a double white in the first two blundered material. He then free­
rounds. After he had won these wheeled to the end of the tourna­
games, against Alekseev and Gel­ ment, hoping for the Grand Prix
fand, pretty convincingly, many event to cheer him up.
people believed he was going to Vasi l y Ivanchuk's unpredicta­
clinch his fourth victory in Biel. bility had scaled new heights be­
And his opponents may have al­ fore Biel. After losing some 80 rat­
ready seen the phantom of his ing points in less than a year, but
bouncing back with
The best of both worlds? Eighteen-year-old Maxime a nice victory in Baz­
Vachier-Lagrave studies mathematics in Paris, na last June, nobody
but that didn't stop him from winning the knew what to expect.
Diel Chess Festival. A s i t was, every­
thing went smoothly
usual monster score of about + s ! for the Ukrainian . . . perhaps too
B u t something threw a span­ smoothly. Did he try to avoid any
ner in his works. . . In Round 4 he swings i n his mood or his play?
reached a promising position with Despite some original opening
black against Caruana, but mis­ ideas, most of his games followed
calculated some complicated lines their logical course without great
after the time-control and lost. ups and downs. Not that Ivanchuk
Bis l'epetita two days later against can be reproached in any way for
Alekseev, where he blundered in not trying his best in all his en­
an advantageous position. counters! It simply seemed as i f
Speaking about Evgeny Alek­ both he a n d his opponents played
seev, his games versus Moroze­ music from the same score and
vich were his only two decisive were loath to break the harmony
encounters in the tournament. As emanating from their work of art.
if in doubt about his own strength, I would not want you to misin­
he often seemed impressed by his terpret this description, though.
BIEl
I vanchuk fought hard for first
place throughout the event ! He
convincingly won his two encoun­
ters with Caruana and was de­
feated only by Morozevich (him
agai n ! ) i n the last round but one.
He eventually shared second place
with his nemesis at SVz points.
Many chess fan s were impa­
tiently waiting for Caruana's debut
in one of the world's top tourna­
ments. ot that the young Italian
had never defeated a 2700+ play­
er, or that winning Wijk-B was
an easy task of course! But facing
such adversaries 10 days in a row
is without a doubt the real test.
Caruana varied his openings a lot,
which means that he had prepared
thoroughl y for h i s opponents.
True, he was caught twice by Ivan­
chuk in this phase of the game, and
against Vachier-Lagrave his open­
ing choice backfired. But these ac­
cidents are unavoidable at such a
young age, when experiments are
made to try and define one's chess
style. Caruana's play shows that he
competed on at least equal terms
with his opponents in the middle­
game. He found resources in sev­
eral difficult games and seized his
chance to beat Morozevich when
the Russian went astray. I n other
words, we can look forward to his
next tournaments, as he'll certain­
ly have learned a lot in Biel.
Maxime Vachier-Lagrave came
to Biel directly after San Sebastian.
Playing two tournaments in a row,
however tough, should usually not
exhaust such a young player. But
the Frenchman had suffered from
gastroenteritis in Spain, which def­
initely took away some of his ener­
gy. The two events took completely
opposite courses for him. Where­
as he alternated victories and de­
feats in San Sebastian, he started
Biel with six hard-fought draws.
Then he awoke to destroy Carua­
na's Berlin Wall. At this point he
was sharing first place with Mo­
rozevich and Ivanchuk. The key
NEW iN CHISS 53
game of the tournament was to be
played in Round S. In a breathtak­
ing Najdorf, Morozevich sacrificed
a piece to launch a devastating at­
tack on the black king. He could
have finished the game at sever­
al points, but kept missing these
chances. Still a piece up but under
strong pressure, Vachier-Lagrave
found the most amazing move of
the tournament, an idea which will
certainly stay in the memory of
many chess lovers. His rook on h7
remained en prise for 2.j. moves be­
fore finding its way out of the cellar
to force a study-like win. You will
find this thrilling game analysed in
detail by the winner further on.
Although Maxime Vachier-La­
grave has already proven himself
to be an incredible talent on other
occasions, this tournament victo­
ry certainly came as a surprise to
many. One should not forget that
the I S-year-old studies mathemat­
ics in Paris and has never played
chess professionally! San Sebas­
tian and Biel were his first two
top tournaments. Imagine where
Caissa will lead him, when he'll
have more time to devote to chess!
The organizers were once again
delighted with Alexander Moro­
zevich' appearance. Even though
An instructional masterpiece with
theoretical novelties!
Paperback • 446 pages • € 29.95 • available at your local (chess)bookseller or at newinchess.com
54 NEW iN CHESS
he was not in the best of forms this
time, he remained faithfu l to his
fighting spirit and highly original
style. Zealous statisticians will re­
member that he was involved in no
less than seven of the 10 decisive
games of the tournament! Even
though he may have been con­
sidered the main actor, the other
five players contributed heavily to
make this year's edition a success.
Not to mention all participants in
the numerous events that formed
the .j.2nd Biel chess festival.
Despite the difficult times of the
worldwide economical crisis, Biel
has managed to improve the lev­
el of its main tournament. Let us
hope that 20 1 0 will be even better!
NOTES BY
Maxime Vachier-Lagrave
81 1 9. 1 6 - BBo
Alexander Morozevich
Maxime Vachier-Lagrave
Biel 2009 (8)
Many things have already been
said about this game, but fortu­
nately all its secrets have not yet
been unveiled ©.
1 .e4 e 5 Vbf3 d6 3.d4 exd4 4.
tLlxd4 tLlf6 5.tLle3 a6 6.13 e6 7 .
------ 4I§GIHIt ------
• 2nd Edition, revised and updated (1st ed. 200 1 )
• a complete defense against l .e4
• packed with surprise weapons
• important ideas and positions in color
• with lesson previews and memory markers
�e3 b5 8 . 'fUd2 tLl b d 7 9.g4 h 6
1 0.0-0-0 b4
I chose to deviate from my recent
game against Nakamura in San
Sebastian, which went Io . . . �b7
I 1 . h4 b.j. I 2 .tLla.j. 'fUas I 3 .b3 tLlcS
q.a3 J:!:cS.
11 .tLlee2 'fUe7 1 2.h4 d5
So far, nothing new under the
sun, but nevertheless Morozevich
started to think . . . I thought that
probably this was j ust bluff, given
the fact that I had already played
this variation and that it would be
suicide to enter this ultra-complex
variation unprepared . . .
1 3.tLlf4!
And this move proved that my
d o ubts were j us t i fied . . . T h i s
stro n g novelty d o e s not seem
to close a variation where Black
doesn't seem to be i n any difficulty
otherwise, but it's very unpleasant
BIEl
to face it over the board without
any real preparation. I n fact, at
this point I prepared myself psy­
chologically for a possible heavy
defeat, which almost came about . . .
1 3 ... e5!
Clearly the best practical choice,
which 1 decided o n after some
thought to make sure that I had
various choices for the rest of the
game in case one variation would
turn out to be bad .
ow I seem to remember that I
had planned to play 1 3 . . . dxC4 1 4 .
tLlfxe6 fxe6 I s.tLlxe6 'iYc6 1 6.tLlxfS
tLlxfS ( 1 6 . . . J:l.xfS?! gives White an
attack after I 7 .gS! tLl h S r S. gxh6
gxh6 1 9.�xh6) I 7 · � xb+ exf3 if
someone were to play 1 3 .tLlf4, but
I had not taken the move serious­
ly and had not looked more deep­
ly into the \·ariation . And it was
only at the board that 1 realized
that this position was dangerous,
e.g. I S.jLf2!? .Q.e6 (White also at­
tacks after I S . . . tLldS 1 9.'iYd4 tLlC7
20.'iYxg7 .l:!.gS 2 1 . �es .l:!.xg+ 2 2 .
jLd3) I 9 · .l:!.d6 'i' q 20 . .l:!. d + �es
2 I .jLd3. All the white pieces are
aimed at the black king, which
has no safe place to hide. In ad­
dition, there are black pawns that
may drop off any moment. So,
even though, objectively speaking,
the position is probably equal, it is
very difficult to play for Black.
.a� .a
E E
�� 1 1
1 � 1
1 1
1 CiJ � CiJ 8 8
Jl, �
l:I
� � 8 'iV
w l:I Jl,
14.tLlfe6!
The obvious continuation. The
knight will reveal itself as a true
pest in the rest of the game.
Bad is J 4. tLl x d S ? tLlxdS r s · exds
exd+ I 6.�xd4 jLd6!, and White
BIEl
has bungled things u p and re­
mains a piece down . . .
1 4. . .fxe6 1 5.tLlxe6 �a5 1 6.exd5
'iYxa2 1 7 .'iYd3
Here I plunged into deep thought,
having seen that my original idea
wasn't working. But . . . it was!
1 7.....t>f7?
1 didn't like I 7 . . . q because of
r S . � d+! (if r S . fx q ? then IS . . .
tLleS, and suddenly all my pieces
become active, resulting in an at­
tack on the white king ©) l S . . . jLd6
1 9 . .Q.C4 b 3 ! 20.f4 �a I + 2 I . � d2
�as+ 22.C3 'i'a2 23.'it>e2! .
ANALYSIS DIAGRAM
A n d here o n e feels that things
don't work out for me. My queen
is exclu ded from the game and
my king is not at all safe. The po­
sition threatens to collapse after
the pawn advance on the kingside
starting with gS.
I7 . . . �e7? was a wild idea 1 had
(thinking that 1 7 . . . �b7 wou ldn't
work), but my enthusiasm rapid­
ly vanished after seeing I S . d 6 + !
�xe6 r 9 . �C4+ � xC4 20.jLxC4+
tLldS 2 I .�xdS + � xd6 22.�xaS+,
and White wins.
So, I7 . . .�bi was my original idea,
and probably the strongest! But
in the end 1 j udged the position
wrongly after I S. � g6+ ( I S.g5 ! ? is
an interesting idea, but probably it
also only leads to a draw, e.g. IS . . .
q ! 1 9.tLlQ+ ! ? �dS 20.tLle6+ �eS
2 1 .'iYd4!? hxgS 22.tLlxfS tLlxfS 23.
�C4 � as 24·.Q.xgS tLlSd7 2S·fXC4
�a l + ! 2 6 . � d 2 � a s , renewing
the threat 27 . . . 'lWcS . I think that
White has no other choice but to
accept the perpetual after 27.�C I
�a l + 2S . ..t>d2 �as) l S . . . W e7
-
1
ANALYSIS DIAGRAM
1 9.d6+! 'ii> x e6 20.�h3 !, thinking
1 was lost after this move, but af­
ter the tranquil 20 . . . � a l +! ( I had
calculated 20 . . . �dS? 2 1 .gS+ �xd6
22.gxf6 tLlxf6 23 . .l:!.xd S + ! , and in­
deed this loses by force: 23 . . . � xdS
2+.l:!.d r ) 2 I .�d2 � as! White has
to repeat moves: 2 2 . � C I 'iYa I + ,
because 22.�e2? is wrong, as after
22 . . . 'iYbS+ 23·93'f2 jLd5! 24·gS+
�xd6 2 S.�xd7 �xd7 26.gxf6 gxf6
there suddenly no longer is an at­
tack; he's simply a piece down.
1 8.g5
The logical follow-up, which I had
expected.
r S.tLldS+? didn't work, and I had
even managed to find the best
c o n t i n u a t i o n : a ft e r r S . . . 'it> q !
1 9 .tLlc6+ �d6! 20.tLlxb4? (after
20.tLldS! 20 . . . 'it>q, with a d raw,
i s probably wisest, even i f there
are other possibilities for Black)
20 . . . �a l + 2 I .93'd2 �xb2 22. �C4
�b7 2 3 .'it>e l .l:!.cS 24.tLlc6 W q ! ,
and Black is clearly on top.
1 8 ... tLlxd5 1 9.�h3!
NEW iN CHESS 55
 �xa8. Initially the computer took
the perpetual, as here White loses E .t 'iY .t E
a rook . . . But it's mate after

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

And it was here that I realized that

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

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

56 NEW iN CHESS BIEl

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

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

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

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

i
after this sacrifice the threat of

i t3:, i
�e6+ is devastating:

.i l:r � �
I

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

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

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

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

BIEl NEW iN CHESS 57

!Looki ng for a cool chess T-sh i tt ?
/
a better option would have been
32 . . .'ifa3 + ! 3 3 · <;i;>Q 'iV a 5 , and
suddenly Black has counterplay!
33.'iVc8?
After this tempting move (in time­
trouble) I'm finally out of the red
zone! Still winning was 33.f4!, for
example: 33 . . . �f2 34·<;i;>e2! 'iVa3
3 S · <;i;>xf2 'iVxh3 36.l:txe5 'iVh4+
n<;i;>e2 'iVd8 3 8 . 'iV f7 'iVc8 3 9 .
l:te8, and mate is inevitable.
33 ... 'iVa3 + 34.<;i;>e4 b3 35.cxb3
35 ... a4! Perhaps the move that I
am most proud of in this game,
found in raging time-trouble. . .
36.l:tb1 A very dangerous move,
probably brought about by fear
that 36.bxa4 might lose.
After 36. bxa4 36 . . . 'iVb4! reveals
the point of 35· .. a4: 37.l:tCI �c5+!
(now 3 S . l:t q is not possibl e ! )
3 S . � d 5 'iV d 4 + 39· <;i;>c6 'iV d 6 +
40.<;i;>b5 'iVb6+, with a perpetual.
36 ... 'iVb4 37.'iVc4! 'iVb7 + 38.'iVd5
'iVb4 It wasn't yet too late to go
wrong: 3 S . . . 'iV x d 5 + ? ? 3 9 . <;i;>xdS
a3 40.l:tc r ! a2 4 I . l:tcS, and White
wins.
39.'iVc4 'ifd2!?
A winning try, as I thought that
there was a perpetual anyway.
� �
' I
8 '
, 8
, 'iV .t �
8 8 � of the game I would undoubtedly
� hxg6 h 5 White cannot take both
BIEl
40.�g4?
And here's the decisive mistake . . .
on move 40! Now the tables have
been completely and irrevocably
turned.
The correct move was 40. 'if cS!
� e2+ 4 I . <;i;> d 5 'if b 5 + 4 2 . <;i;> q ,
and I have t o force a draw because
of the incessant threats against my
king and my buried alive rook!
40 ... a3! 41.'ii' f 7 'ifc2 + 42.<;i;>d5
'iVc5 + 43.We4 a2 44.l:tc1 a1 'if!
45.l:txc5 �xc5
Now, w i t h an extra rook and
knight and the attack having van­
ished, everything is clear - even
though the rook is lost, right'
46.'iVd5!? 'iVe1 + 47 .<;i;>d3 'iVd1 +
48.<;i;>c4 'iVxd 5 + 49.<;i;>xd5
� �
' I
� ,
.t � , 8 5 2 ... tDh7 !
� Wrong was 52 . . . tDxg6?? 53 .�xg6
8 8
49...�a3?!
And I decided that things were not
that clear! With this move I caused
completely unnecessary complica­
tions for myself. If I had only tak­
en 1 / 1 00th of the time I had used
to calculate variations i n the rest
have seen that after 49· · ·tDxg6! 50.
the rook and the bishop! : 5 r .�h3
l:th6 5 2 . <;i;>xc5 l:t xg6 5 3 .b4 l:tg3,
and this wins easily, for even if
the rook is lost for the b-pawn, the
three black pawns supported by
the king will make the difference,
as the white king will be pushed
away far from the kingside.
50.�f5! Bad is 50.Wxe5? tDxg6+ !
5 r . hxg6 h5, and wins.
50 ... <;i;>g8 51 .Wxe5
Of course he doesn't take the rook,
as the win would be easy with an
extra knight and freed pieces. . .
51 ... l:th8
And in the end the buried rook
is still alive after haying been en
prise for only 24 moves, and it will
be this rook that will deal the fi­
nal blow!
52.<;i;>d5!
And it was here that I realized
that I could only free my king and
my rook by allowing a \'ery strong
passed pawn on h7 . . .
<;i;>f8 5+<;i;>e6, and even without the
pawns on f3 and b3 White easily
draws, since neither my king nor
my rook can free itself.
53.gxh7 + <;i;>f7 54.�g6 + <;i;>f6
NEW iN CHESS 59
Despite everythi n g I was pret­
ty sure that the position was still
winning, as the winning plan was
relatively easy to find, if not so
easy to carry out: I woul d have
to control the white king, so that
the i11. g6 would have to move, af­
ter w h i c h . . . g S ! w i n s by free­
ing the rook from protecting the
hS-square.
All this worked out perfectly in
the game, and in fact the win was
pretty simple.
55.f4 i11. c 1 !
I prefer to have the pawn on f5 to
have the es-square for my king.
56.f5
S6.b4 ! ? was perhaps the most in­
teresting try, but clearly i nsuffi­
cient after S 6 . . . i11.x f4 S7.bS J::!. b S!
S S . �c6 �q S9·b6 i11. h 2 60 .b7
l:!.hS, and White is forced either
to let the black king get to the b7
pawn or to allow . . . gS, for exam­
ple. : 6 1 . �b6 (or 6 1 .i11.b I gS! 62.
hxg6 � f6) 6 J . . . �d6 6z.i11. fs g S !
6 3 · hxg6 i11. e s 64· i11. c S ( 6 4 · � a 7
<i;; q , a n d wins) 6 4 . . . i11. d 4+ ! , and
WInS.
56 ... i11. d 2 57 .�d6 i11. e 1 58.�d7
�b4!
Cutting off the white king from
the g7 pawn before taking the king
to the queenside to capture the b3
pawn.
5 9 . <i;; c 7 � e 5 6 0 . � d 7 � a 3
6 1 . � c 6 cJl d 4 6 2 . � c 7 � c 3
63.�d7 Wb4
A small s ubtlety that changes
nothing but allows me to avoi d
calculating t h e fol lowing varia­
tion: 63 . . . �xb3 64·�f7+ cJlc3 65·
i11.gS �d4 66.We6 �e4 67 . f6 gxf6
6S.�xf6 �f4! 69· �g6 i11.b 2. This
also wins, but it was not necessary
to calculate this.
64.�d6 �xb 3 + 65.cJld5 �b2
66.�d6
Going over to the kingside doesn't
prevent the basic plan, as at the
end there i s always the decisive
intervention of the rook : 66. �q
i11. f6 67 .i11. f7+ <i;; c3 6S.i11. g 6 �d2
69·�f3 �d3 70.�f2 �e4 7 1 . �ez
J::!.d S! 72. � f2 l:l d2+ 73. �e I i11.c 3!
74.f6+ �f3, and wins.
66 ... i11. f 6 67 .<i;; c 5 �c3 68.�d6
�d4 69.�c6
69.<i;; e 6 <i;; c s 70.cJlf7 , with stale­
mate ideas, unfortunately doesn't
wor k : 7 0 . . . �c6! 7 1 . �e6 l:!. d S !
7 2 · � h ( 7 2 · i11. h .ll d 6 m a t e )
72 . . . � d 6 . T h i s i s almost stale­
mate, but after 73.hS'iV J::( x hS the
disappearance of the pawn o n h7
allows one move: 74.i11. h 7 l:!.xh7,
and wins.
69 ... l:!.d8! 7 0.Wb6 Wd5!
Zugzwang!
7 1 .�c7

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

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

"A great historical document."

Lubos Kavalek, The Washington Post

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

John Donaldson, ChessToday

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

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

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

60 NEW iN CHFSS BIEL

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

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

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

BIEL NEW iN CHESS 61

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

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

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

62 NEW iN CHESS BIEl

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

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

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

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

�
2S .\t>g2 tLle6 26.�e5 d+ 27.�xd+ vcry much want to find some ac­
j. i: j. j.
White has the advantage. tivity, but therc isn't any.
After 22 . . . b6 Black may not have j. 30.1:: d 4
cared for 23.l:rc3 ! ? M j. A fter this simple reply it tran­
23.�xa7!? 8 i: spires that the knight has to re­
23 .C3 would ha\'e retained a stat­ 8 turn homc. After 30 . . . tLlf6 3 [ .as
i, 8
ic advantage, but I thought that in followed by 1:: b s-cs and b3-b+­
view of the material balance - ' I
8 8 bS White has a technical win. A
have a bishop and h e has a knight' � W time-trouble blunder speeds up
- it \\'ould be useful to add some the process.
dynamism to the position.
23 ... l:txc2
28.14!
This does not look very acsthet-
30 ... 1:: d 6? 31 .1:: xe4
Black resigned. !
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special today:
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I 25th
Anniversary! I
BIEl NEW iN CHESS 63
 Ten years ago the life of Lembit all

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

body of the Estonian grandmaster was found next to the apartment

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

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

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

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

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

his native Estonia in countless international events. At his peak

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

Jaan E h lvest shares his memories of Lembit all.

He is j oined by Alex Verm a linsky, who

encountered the lamented Estonian

in a wondrous variety of places.

Le m b it a l l
another silent Estonian

E stonia was the smallest member

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

64 NEW iN CHESS LEMBIT aLL

Lembit Uil learned to play chess at the age of six. It didn't take long before the prodigious talent was giving simuls.
had been playing bridge the day
before with some Estonian chess
friends. They confi r med that
he had not been himself, to the
point that they stopped playing
at some point and left his apart­
men t. Lembit was married and
had two sons, but he was living
alone. Once a person is dead noth­
ing matters anymore. Unfortu­
nately everybody dies as he comes
into the world - alone. When you
are entering you have some hopes,
but unfortunately when you are
leaving there is no hope left. We
will never know what Lembit was
thinking, and however much we
want to find someone to blame for
his tragic end, it wouldn't change
anything. Yet I want to mention
one thing: people who are very
open, honest, and probably a lit-
LEMBIT O LL
tie na'ive in real life are sometimes
used by others. I am sure that the
people who did this are well aware
of it, and they may be aware that
others are aware of them as well .
Now let's change the subject to
some more light-hearted stories.
Estonian Shores 1 982
(AY) A few years earlier, d ur­
ing my endless travels across the
nine time zones of the good old
USSR from one obscure tourna­
ment to another, I became friends
with then Master of Sports of
the USSR, Alexander Veingold
of Tallinn, Estonia. There were
many things to admire in Alex­
ander, b u t the most o u tstand­
ing was his Clark Kent-like abil­
ity to instantly transform from a
bookish bespectacled intellectual
to a wide-shouldered brutal bar
room brawler. In short, Alexander
was the Superman of our chess
underground.
I t was through his efforts that I
was invited to play in a team event,
even though it was supposed to
only feature players from the Bal­
tic republics. I, a 24-year-old Len­
ingrader, was defending the col­
ours of the Paul Keres Chess Club
Team.
Everything went more or less
the usual way - and I ' l l spare the
readers the detail s of our night
life - until I noticed one school
kid from the Estonian team, who
was pretty much beating every­
body in the tournament. Besides
being unknown as a chess player,
he appeared so different from the
Estonian stereotype - which is, of
NEW iN CHESS 65
course, blond, blue-eyed, and at
least 1 . 9 meters tall - that it was
hard to take him seriously. I said to
myself, I got to stop him because
nobody gets a Master norm on my
watch. That or some other macho
bullshit - doesn't matter now, but
let's see what happened.
S1 2 . 1 - B53
Alexander Yermolinsky
Lembit 011
Piirnu Baltic Sea Championship 1 982
1 . e4 c5 Vt:Jf3 d 6 3 . d 4 cxd4
4.'iYxd4 �g4!?
The marks are awarded for origi­
nality. I expected him to be put off
by my sideline, but instead the kid
came prepared . This was to be­
come Lembit's trademark: he was
always prepared in the opening.
5.t2Jc3 �xf3 6.�b5 + t2Jc6 7 .
gxf3 'lIVd7 B ..ibc6 bxc6 9.�e3
e5 1 0:iVa4 t2Je7 1 1 .f4 exf4 1 2.
�xf4 t2Jg6 1 3.�g3 �e7 1 4.h4 h5
1 5.0-0-0 1:1dB 1 6.f4
I thought I was about to put him
away in a few moves, but young
Lembit s urprised me with his
The Latest
Chess Ne-.N's
O ..li .. e
66 NEW iN OftSS
sharp reply. I never thought Black
could give away a pawn with check.
16 ... 'lIVg4!? 1 7 .'lIVxc6 + 'it>fB 1 B.f5
t2Jxh4 1 9.1:1hg1?
1 9.�xh4 �xh4 20.es was more to
the point, but Black can s urvive
that too.
1 9 . . . 'lIVg5 + 20.'it>b1 t2Jf3 21 .f6
gxf6 22.1:1g2 t2Je5 23.�c7 h4 24.
t2Jd5 1:1d7 25.'lIVcB+ 1:1dB 26.'lIVb7
J:!.d7 2 7 .'iYbB + 1:1dB 2 B:�xa7
1:1d7 29:ii'bB + 1:1dB 30.'lIVb7 1:1d7
31.'lIVbB + 'it>g 7
:i
:i .i. i *
i i
t2J � 'i¥
8 i
� II
� about politics, but he was definite­
Well, guess what, Black is playing
for a win.
3 2 . 'lIV b 3 t2J g 6 3 3 . t2J e 3 h x g 3
3 4 . t2J f 5 + 'it> f B 3 5 . 1:1 x g 3 'iYf4
36:iVbB+ 1:1dB 37.'lIVb7 'lIVe5 3B.
a4 1:1eB? 39.1:1c3 �a5 40.1:1c7
1:1h5
With the timely threat of 41 . . .
1:1xfS·
41 .t2Jxd6 1:1dB
42.b3
With nothing left to lose, White
might have tried 42. 1:1c8, hoping
for 42 ... �xd6 43.b4!, with messy
comp l ications. O f course, the
stronger reply would be 42 . . . 1:1cS,
ending all hopes.
42 ... 1:1xd6 43.1:1xd6 1:1h1 + 44.'it>a2
'lIVe 5
White resigned.
This win effectively clinched the
Master's title for Lembit. Not
an easy feat for a schoolboy back
then .
UE) I never heard Lembit talk
ly concerned about his national­
ity. Nobody made remarks about
Lembit's nationality, and to us he
was an Estonian. Lembit himself
had some notions of being Jewish.
His wife was calling him a gypsy
during their fights.
Tune in at WWW.chelivibel.com
LEMBIT OLL

Lembit 011 casts another look at his position after he's just castled kingside.
Red Army Chess, 1 986
(AY) Being conscripted into the
Soviet Army was a blessing in dis­
guise for many second-tier play­
ers of my generation. It provided
us with a shield from the unem­
ployed/social parasite stigma and
offered some financial support.
There was a caveat though : one
needed to go through a few weeks
of hell before being cal led up to
Sports Troop, when your chess
career would resume.
I remember I was glad to see
Lembit at a big Army team tour­
nament. He was wearing civilian
clothes and didn't seem much the
worse for his Army experience.
Sti l l , being torn away from his
roots must have been hard on the
young Estonian.
One day, for reasons long for­
gotten, Andrey Kharitonov, Lem­
bit and I were riding a crowded
city bus. Unable to reach a tick­
et dispenser, Lembit i n his then
heavily accented Russian asked
a guy next to him to pass out the
money and return the tickets - a
common practice in those days.
To our horror the guy t ur ned
lEMBIT Dll
vV hite's opening treatment may
not be the most solid, but there
are pitfalls for Black to avoid . For
example, 1 1 . . . � C7 loses to 1 2 .
�b5 + ! axb5 1 3 · ttJ xb5 � e7 1 4·
ttJ d6+. Lembit finds a way to min­
imize the damage.
1 2.ttJg4 �g1 1 3.�c4 0-0 1 4.0-0
�d1 1 5.�h3!
tv
�� E�
.i. .i. i
i i i i i
Ji, t!J
�
tLl
t!J tLl 'iV
Ji,
t!J t!J t!J t!J
1:1 1: W
1 5 .. .I5!
T h e o n l y defence. Other op­
around, measured poor Lembit tions would turn out badly: , 5 . . .
with an unfriendly stare and said ttJ c6? [ 6.�xd5 exdS q . ttJ xf6+;
something about dirty Jews invad­ I S · · · ttJ xC3 ? 1 6.�xe6+ � xe6 1 7 ·
ing the Russian Heartland . I guess ttJ h 6 + ; I S . . . h S ? ! 1 6 . ttJ e3 ttJ f4
to his car anybody who spoke with I 7 · 'iV g 3 � x d 4 I 8 . l:I d I � e 5
an accent must have belonged to 1 9 · ttJ g..j. ! .
that hated tribe. Knowing what After the text I had t o switch to
could follow, Andrey and I quick­ more positional territory.
ly moved i n and defused the sit­ 1 6.ttJe5 �d6 1 1 .�xd5! exd5
uation by shaming the guy about I had hoped for 1 7 . . . �xdS 1 8.�f..j.
his ignorance of Baltic people. � d 8 1 9 JIaC 1 , with the idea of
When we got off the bus, a few meeting 1 9 . . . ttJ c6 with 20. ttJ xdS
stops before our destination, we ttJ xe5 2 I . ttJ C7.
asked Lembit to never ever open 1 8 . iL h 6 ttJc6 1 9 .iLxg1 Wxg1
his mouth in public again until we 2 0 . ttJxc6 iLxc6 2 1. .l:!:fe1 l:Ife8
got out of that place. 22.�d3 a5 23.l:Iac1
Our game was very interesting
and showed Lembit's maturity, as
he averted a terrible threat with an � �
energetic defence. �i
i .i. tv i
QI 1 . 1 - E1 4
Alexander Yermolinsky
i i i
Lembit 011 t!J
t!J t!J t!J t!J
Novosibirsk Army Team Championship t!J tLl 'iV
1 986
1: 1:[ W
Vt:Jf3 ttJf6 2.c4 c5 3.ttJc3 b6 4.
e3 �b1 5.d4 cxd4 6.exd4 e6 1.
a3!? d5 8.ttJe5 a6 9.cxd5 ttJxd5 23 ... f4!?
1 0.�h5! g6 1 1 .�f3 f6 White was slightly better, but
NEW iN CHESS 67
there was nothing decisive after
23 .. Jh e r + 24 JheI l:teS.
24.tLlb1 ! l:txe1 + 25.l:txe1 l:teB 26.
l:txeB �xeB 27 .tLld2 �c7 2B.�b1
�d7 29.'fk'e1 �f5 30.h3
'iV ��
.t
� �
!::,
� �
� Draw.
!::, !::,
!::, ttJ !::, !::,
'iV �
30.. .'�h6?!
An interesting concept: Black is
hiding the king from checks to
free up his queen. Even better was
30 . . . 'ii> f6 3 I .tLlf3 �e4 3 2.tLleS gS,
planning �C2.
31 .tLlf3 �e4 32.tLle5 g 5 33.f3
�f5 34.h4 'ii> h 5!
The k i n g is marching u p the
board? I could never think of any­
thing like that.
35.hxg5 �c2 36.tLlf7 �xb2?
An unfortunate slip. Lembit could
have done better by swapping the
queens: 36 . . . � b T ! , when in the
endgame White has some win­
ning chances, but I think Black
can hold.
37.�e5 �g6
3B.'ii> h 2??
I had a win right there: 3S. � g7
<;i;>h+ 3 9 · � h 6 + k h s 4 0 . � e 6
�xd4+ + I . 'ii> h I , mating on the
68 NEW iN CHFSS
next move. After my mistake Lem­ QO 1 1 .4 - 035
bit completed his defensive gem. Alexander Yermolinsky
3 B . . . � f 2 ! 3 9 .'ih f 4 � h 4 + Lembit 011
40.�xh4 + Wxh4 41.g3 + 'ii> h 5 Imperia 1 989
42.tLle5 b5 43.f4 �f5 44.tLlc6 b4
The passed pawn will neutralize 1 .c4 e6 2.d4 d 5 3.tLlc3 tLlf6 4.
the knight. The two extra pawns cxd5 exd5 5.kg5 c6 6.e3 �f5? !
are useless. 7 .tLlge2?!
45.axb4 a4 46.b5 kd7! 47 .tLlb4 By then Lembit had become an
kxb5 4B.tLlxd5 a3 49.tLlb4 �c4 acclaimed opening expert, and I
50.tLlc2 a2 5 1 .'ii> g 2 �b3 52.tLla1 didn't fancy following the theo­
�d5 + 53.<;t>g1 'ii> g 4 54.'ii> f 2 �e4 retical lines: 7 . � f3 �g6 S.�xf6
� xf6 9 . �xf6 gxf6, etc.
7 ... tLlbd7 B.tLlg3 kg4 9.�e2 h6
III 10.�f4 �xe2 1 1 .�xe2
:i 'iV � .t :i
GE) Lembit always had money,
but he did not often spend it in the
usual ways that people do. When
� � .. � �
his wife left him, he asked one of
his friends, 'What kind of ads are � .. �
these in the newspaper - Beauti­ �
ful girl invites bachelors to have a � �
cup of coffee. ' He got the explana­ ttJ !::, ttJ
tion, but he was not a ladies' man .
He liked to gamble in casinos, but
!::, !::, 'ViIi !::' !::' !::'
he never went bust. His strategy M � M
at the blackjack tables was the fol­
lowing: after losing a hand he dou­ 1 1 ... �e7 ! ? An unusual way to
bled the bet and continued to do meet the white knight invasion to
so till he won. fS . 1 2.�c2 �e6 1 3.�b3 b6
It's nice for Black to trade off the
Sunny Italy, 1 9B9 light-sq uared bishops i n most
( AY ) After abandoning my Moth­ Queen's Gambit positions, but
erland for good I had an unforget­ here he is somewhat inconven­
table summer in Italy. One town ienced by the attack on the b7
followed the other. Tournaments pawn. Of course, 1 3 . . . 0-0-0? i s
won everywhere, a new-found ce­ bad on account of 1 4 · tLl b S ! cxbS
lebrity status, perfect weather, I S. l:tC I + ..ltcs 1 6.dxcS.
girls and football (it was yet to be­ 1 4.tLlge2 ke7 1 5.0-0 0-0 1 6.l:tfd1
come soccer for me then) on T V
every n i g h t . Cloud Nine is one
way to describe it.
When I continued my tour to a
small coastal town not far from the
French border I was greeted by old
acquaintances: Lembit and GM
Sergey Tiviakov. While I got off to
a slow start, Lembit was tearing off,
and with two rounds to go he was
a full point ahead. I didn't rate my
chances of beating him too high­
ly when we met in Round S. The 1 6 ... tLl h 5 ! ? The right way was
game turned out to be a nervous af­ probably to accept one structural
fair, but mostly on Lembit's part. weakness: r6 . . . cs 1 7 .d xcS tLlxcs
lEMBIT Oll

Tallinn 1983. Together with Rafael Vaganian, 1 6-year-old Lembit 011 watches Mikhail Tal, who is about to beat Peter Szekely.
1 8 . � C2 '!:!:ac8, to get freer play.
1 7 . .!:!:ac1 .!:!:ac8 1 8.'iVa4
I kept on probing and probing to
provoke weakening pawn moves.
Lembit obliged, because he disliked
the passive position after the logi­
cal 18 . . . ttJxf4 1 9 . ttJ xf4. There isn't
much Black can do then except for
keeping the c6 pawn defended.
18 ... g 5 ! ? 1 9.�g3 a5 20.'!:!:e1 ! f5
21. 'iVb3! ttJhf6?
The idea was to keep White's �g3
a target, but safer was 2 I . . . � h 22.
f3 ttJxg3· Obviously, Lembit had
missed my next move.
22.f3!
lEMBIT Oll
M. T \L r ::- : l
Upon noticing that 22 . . . 'iVxe3+?
leads Black into trouble after 23.
�f2 � d3 24.ttJxd S ! , Lembit be­
came visibly dejected. In retro­
spect, stubborn defending was
never Lembit's forte, and in lat­
er stages of his career he became
a bit impatient in worse positions.
The following three pawn moves
brought about the collapse o f
Black's position.
22 ... b5!? 23.�f2 b4? 24.ttJa4 c5?!
2 5 .dxc5 ttJxc5 26.ttJxc5 �xc5
27 .�d3 ttJd7?! 28 . .!:!:cd1 ttJb6 29.
b3 �f6 30.ttJd4 .!:!:f7 31 .�b5! a4
32.bxa4 .!:!:a7 33.a5 ttJc4 34.ttJb3
'fid6 35.ttJxc5 .!:!:xa5?!
� I \.
36.�xb4?
Well, 36.'fixC4 was more convinc­
ing. ow White j ust gets a won
ending.
3 6 ... 'fixc5 3 7 . 'fixc5 .!:!:cxc5 38.
e4 .!:!:cb5 39.exd5 '!:!:xd5 40 . .!:!:xd5
'!:!:xd5 41 . .!:!:c1 ! ttJb2 42.<�f1 �f7
43 . .!:!:c5 �e6 44 . .!:!:c6 + !? �e5 45.
.!:!:xh6 ttJd3 46 . .!:!:h8! .!:!:b5
46 . . . ttJxf2 47 . .!:!:e8+ 'i£tf6 48.'i£txf2
.!:!:d2+ 49 . .!:!:e2 would be no help.
4 7. . � e 3 ! f4 4 8 . � d 2 .!:!: b 1 +
4 9 . � e 2 ttJ c 5 5 0 . h 4 gxh4 5 1 .
.!:!:h5 + wd4 5 2 . .!:!:xh4
Black resigned.
Having scored an important vic­
tory (my first and only one over
Lembit) I q ui c k l y returned to
my hotel to rest up before the last
round. There were a lot of scenar­
ios to ponder, as Sergey, Lembit
and I shared first place. Before I
could turn in, Lembit appeared
at my door. He showed no sign
o f fru stration after the deba­
cle. I n his usual precise manner
he told me that h e had the last
NEW iN CHESS 69
round pairin gs all figured out. I
was to play Tiviakov with black,
and Lembit, as Whitc, would face
a Yugoslav guy, who was trailing
us by half a poin t . Lembit then
said he had spoken with Tivia­
kov, and Sergey had agreed to
make a draw, since Lembit him­
sclf would offer a draw to his op­
ponent. This way we would pre­
serve our tree-way tie for top
prizes. I was surprised to hear
that, since it was obvious to mc
that normally Lembit would have
a grcat chance of beating his op­
poncnt and takc top honours all
for himself. I mentioned this to
Lembit, but he would have nonc
of it. Hc added that it would only
be fair i f we all shared the money,
even if the tie-breaks clearly fa­
voured him . Regardless, he said,
we throw the money into a pool
to be shared equally. And that was
thc way it ended.
IV
GE) Lembit was a chess theore­
tician and workcd hard . There
was a joke that h i s knowledge
was slightly behind I vanchuk's
becausc the lattcr kncw all blitz
games p layed by Piket as wel l .
Lembit knew all m y games, and
the joke was: if you want to be­
come a strong playcr, choose the
right opponent to study. I did not
have a very good relationship with
the Estonian chess aut horities,
and they pushed Lembit against
mc. This was not Lembit's cup
of tea. He left the fighting to the
chess board. It was symbolic that
we won the 1 994 New York Open
together. Lembit bought a nice
bottle to celebrate, but he hardly
had a drop himself
Back in New York City, 1 995
(AY ) I could ncvcr understand
why E u ropean g r a n d m asters
would cver bother to play i n U S .
open tournaments. Bcsides a large
first prize, which by thc way is cx-
70 NEW iN CHESS
tremely hard to win, there is noth­
ing attractive. Onc has to push
one's way through crowds of am­
ateurs j ust to get to the pairing
sheet, to carry one's own chess set
to the games, to deal with time­
scrambles w i thout any arbitcrs
present, and, on top of all that, to
do this twice a day. I guess some
players j ust wanted to visit thc
United States, did it once and nev­
er came back.
Lembit was one of the few he­
roes who kept on coming back.
His star tournament was the 1 994
New York Open, where hc shared
first place with his compatriot
Jaan Ehlvest. In later years Lem­
bit played many more events in
the U S . Generally he did well,
but all in all the prize-money hc
won hardly covcred his expens­
cs. Why do it, then? I guess, be­
ing a modest man, Lcmbit appre­
ciatcd the anonymity of American
Chess. He didn't havc to contact
thc organizers long in advance to
ask for conditions because there
were none anyway, and he was
OK with that.
M y dear fr iend D r Danny
Olim, a famous chess maven, tclls
me a story about how he once met
Lembit in the ew York subway
during one of those GM norm
tournaments organized for thc
benefi t of America's darlings
Josh Waitzkin and Maurice Ash­
ley. Those cvents were known for
modest financial conditions of­
fcred to grandmasters, along with
a breezy attitudc towards such
outdated things as picking visi­
tors up at thc airport or helping
them to get rooms in a decent ho­
tel. Sign up to play and get a feci
of rugged Amcrican individual­
ism. Lembit, as a true Marlboro
Man of chess (although he never
smoked) and someone who never
asked others to take care of him,
didn't mind that one little bit.
Danny asked Lembit abo u t
t h e tournament, w h i c h by thcn
was about half"'ay through . Hc
wanted to know i f there were
any important theoretical novel­
ties played . Lembi t smiled and
said, no, it's j ust bad chess here in
America.
I played Lembit a few times
during his visits. I remember him
crushing my Sicilian i n the 1 997
Chicago Opcn, but the fol low­
ing game somehow seems more
representative o f ' bad chcss in
America'.
51 25.8 - 856
Lembit 011
Alexander Yermolinsky
New York Intel GP Qualifier 1 995
1 .e4 c5 Vbf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.
ttJxd4 ttJf6 5.ttJc3 ttJc6 6.g3 ttJxd4
7 .�xd4 g6 8.�b5 + !?
Rapid chess has its own rules, and
playing the opening fast and sim­
ple is one of them. Confronted by
my unusual move order Lcmbit
made an attempt at an immediatc
refutation.
8 ...�d7 9.�xd7 + �xd7 1 0.jLg5
�g7 1 1 .ttJd5 ttJh5 1 2.�d3
� :i
� .l .l .t .l
.l .l
ttJ ��
8
'iV
8 8 8
l:r
1 2. . .�xb2!
This daring capture had eluded
Lembit's attcntion when he was
contemplating his choice on movc
cight.
1 3. . !:!: b 1 �f6 1 4 .�xf6 ttJ x f 6
1 5.�c3 �c8!
Black wisel) 3\'oi d s 1 5 . . . 0-0 ) )
T 6. � xf6!'
1 6.�xf6 exf6 1 7 .ttJxf6 + cJ;; e 7 18.
ttJxd7 �xc2
LEMBIT Oll

.t. .t. ttJ � .t.
.t. .t.
8 sometimes changes itself and be­
:i
8 comes a lege n d . Lembit won a
8 8
II <;it
19.0-0
Any crazy irrational stuff, such as
1 9 . J:!. xb 7 J:!.C l + 20.We2 J:!.Xh l 2 1 .
tLleS+ Wf6 22.tLlxf7 J:!.cB here, was
alien to Lembit Oil's scientific ap­
proach to the game.
19 ... WKd7
1 9 . J:!.dB 20.tLlb6 wouldn't change
..
a thing.
20.J:!.Kb7 + J:!.c7 21 .J:tb5 J:!.e8
And the game was event u a l l y
drawn.
The last time we met at the board
was at the Keres Memorial in June
1 99B. The tournament was strange­
ly split between Tallinn and Parnu,
which, along with rainy weather
and the concurrent Football World
Cup, somehow made the players
(except the eventual winner, Nigel
Short) appear listless.
In the early stages Lembit and
I played a colourless draw, after
which we, together with Alex­
ander Khalifman, went to watch
football in Lembit's place. The flat
was located in a bad part of town
fu ll of dru nken Russian d udes,
and despite Lembit's being a gra­
cious host, it left a gloomy impres­
sion of a lonely man's lair. But I
don't want to speculate on what
transpired one year later.
The Aftermath
(JE) You stick to chess when you
have high hopes and the talent and
other qualities regarded as neces­
sary to become one of the strong­
est players. The problem is if you
do not succeed: then what do you
LEMBIT OLL
lose because of chess' Lost op­
E portunities are not worth talking
.t. about when you are not here any
more. But probably others can
think and learn from your story.
The story of what really happened
8 nice game against Azmaiparash­
1:[ viii in Groningen 1 993. In the re­
cently published monograph, the
position where the incident oc­
curred is not listed correctly. As
I recall, the point at which Lem­
bit could not suppress his laugh­
ter happened in the position after
White's 1 7th move.
81 30.2 - 867
Lembit 011
Zurab Azmaiparashvili
Groningen 1 993
1 .e4 c5 2.tLlf3 d6 3.d4 cKd4 4.
tLlKd4 tLlf6 5.tLlc3 tLlc6 6.�g5 e6
H i'd2 a6 8.0-0-0 �d7 9.f3 J:!.c8
1 0.Wb1 �e7 1 1 .h4 tLle5 1 2.g4 b5
1 3.�d3 0-0 1 4.�e3 Wh8 1 5.h5
J:!.c7 1 6.g5 tLlg8 1 7 .f4
.t.
1 ..-
I�
.t.
I Chief Arbiter mumbled something
I think around here Lembit stood
up and could not hold his breath,
making noises like 'tss, tss ' . Az­
mai's reaction was the loud re­
ply: 'Po morclc stoli zakhotelos?'
( Do you want to be smacked in
the face' - ed.). Anyway, the game
was fully under Lembit's control.
1 7 ...tLlc4 1 8.�KC4 J:!.Kc4 1 9.f5 b4
20.tLlce2 e5 21 .f6 �Kf6 22.gKf6
tLlKf6 23.h6 g6 24.�d3 �c7 25.
b3 J:!. c5 26.tLlf3 J:!.c6 27 .�g5 d5
28.eKd5 �f5 29.dKC6 �Kd3 30.
�Kf 6 + �g8 31 .tLlKe5 .b e2 32.
J:!.d7 �b6 33.tLlKg6
:i �
1:[ .t. .t.
.t. 'iV 8 il ttJ 8
.t.
�
� � .i.
<;it 1:[
33 ... J:!.a8 34.�d4 'iYb5 35.tLle7 +
'it'f8 36.J:!.g1 f6 37 .J:!.g8 + 'it'f7 38.
J:!.xa8 �g4 39.tLlf5 + <;t>g6 40.c7
Black resigned.
Las Vegas, Nevada, 1 999
(AY) Due to his high rating, Lem­
bit was seeded to begin the World
Championship Knockout in Las
Vegas from Round Two, which
guaranteed him at least a $9,600
payday. Lembit had signed and
returned his contract, but t\\'o
months later he was not to ap­
pear in Vegas. During the open­
mg ceremony I sat in the back
watching some of his former col­
leagues pushing and shoving to get
bumped into the second round in
Lembit's stead. It was truly a dis­
gusting sight. I got up and suggest­
ed that F I D E should honour its
end of the deal and make a $9,600
check to Lembit's widow. An un­
easy silence fell in the room. The
about not having the authority to
make such decisions. My plea fell
on deaf ears, and that was Lembit's
send-off from the chess world.
These days I have a lot of time
on my hands to sit around and re­
member the chess players I will
ne"er meet again. Going over some
old battles kept in my database I
see them in my memories. Sergey
Gorelov, Tony Miles, Konstantin
Wojtkiewicz and Lembit 0 1 1 . �
Aseev, Alexey Vyzhmanavin, Alex
Rest easy, my brothers-in-arms. �
NEW iN CHESS 7 1
 Joel Benjamin
If you want to win the
The L o n g and
World Open, it might
take you seven days.
Or three . . . make that
the S h o rt of it
two. Evgeny Najer and
Hikaru Nakamura took
very different paths to
arrive at the winner's
circle ahead of thirty­
two other hungry
ikaru found a way. Half-point
grandmasters. H byes are routine i n American
tournaments, but it may surprise
While waiting in the St.
foreigners that they are general­
Louis airport for our ly permitted in any round . Naka­
mura locked in byes for Round 8
flight home from the
and 9 and entered the three-day
U. S. Championship, schedule, playing five fast games
(45 minutes per game, no incre­
Hikaru Nakamura
ments) before joining the general
and I had a chat about population in Round 6.
There is some precedent for
upcoming tournaments. Hikaru's feat. Once, rather noto­
He told me about an riously, I tied for first in the seven­
round Chicago Open with a 'one­
excellent tournament in day' schedule: Four fast games
San Sebastian, Spain, (from which I scored 3 12 points)
and one slow game i n the evening
beginning on July 7th. ( I more point) followed by two
byes in the last day. B u t no one
I told him I was taking
had ever tried to pull off the 'two­
the plunge in the World day' schedule in the World Open
before.
Open this year. 'Yeah,
I 've reported before about the
maybe I ' l l play, too', parallel universes of all the differ­
ent schedules in the World Open.
he said. I told him the
They are sure to produce pair­
tournaments were too ing anomalies, un predictable as
they may be. This year the four­
close together, as the day schedule in the Open section
World Open concluded drew a grand total of three play­
ers. Two of them were John Fe­
July 5th. He would be dorowicz and Nick de Firmian,
crazy to try. who had traveled to Philadelphia
on the train together. They played
in the fi rst round (short d raw)
while John received the first ful l
point bye o f h i s pro career i n the
72 NEW iN CHfSS
second round (his reward for the
lazy day was six hours on the rack
with Gata Kamsky before holding
a draw).
The three-day schedule often
draws a bunch of grandmasters.
I've seen several knocked out of
contention before the slow games
begin . But this year only two -
Nakamura and Leonid Yudasin -
opted for this schedule. So Na­
kamura posted 4'/z/ 5 rather more
easily than he could have in the
other groups.
Hikaru made a quick draw with
lIya Smirin i n Round 6, only to re­
ceive black again against Evgeny
Najer. He emerged victorious in a
game featuring Naka's typical luck
and pluck. Curiously, Najer asked
to annotate this game in prefer­
ence to his several wins. Here is
what he had to say about it.
NOTES B Y
Evgeny Najer
FR 7 . 5 - C1 0
Evgeny Najer
Hikaru Nakamura
Philadelphia 2009 (7)
I made my first mistake even be­
fore the first move, by arriving 1 0
minutes late for the game. I f the
reason for this had been a desire
to eat, have a sleep, or something
P H I LA D E L P H I A

Just like last year Russian GM Evgeny Najer finished first in the World Open,
but he suffered a 'vexing defeat' against co-winner Hikaru Nakamura.
like that, for which in a schedule
of two games a day there may in­
deed not be sufficient time, then
this would have been excusable. In
fact I was feverishly trying to pre­
pare, although it is obvious that
the chances of guessing the open­
ing in a game with Hikaru are
minimal. On the other hand, in
games with him the time factor i s
highly important. I can recall nu­
merous games won by the Amer­
ican against strong players in the
opponent's time-trouble.
1 .e4 e6
P H I LA D E L P H I A
According to my database, Naka­
mura hadn't played this at all over
the past two years.
2.d4 d5 3.lud2
A surprise in reply. I always play
3 tU c3, but the factor of my op­
.
ponent and my favourable tour­
nament position ( + -t by Round 7)
prompted a more cautious choice.
3 ... dxe4
The considerable time spent by
my opponent, and the variation
chosen by him, indicated that, at
the least, my third move was psy­
chologically well-founded.
4.tUxe4 �d7 5.tuf3 �c6 6.�d3
tUd7 7 .0-0 �xe4
The main theoretical continuation
is 7 . . . tUgf6.
8.�xe4 c6 9.c4 tU gf6 1 0.�c2
�c7 1 UWe2 0-0-0
A shocking move, which great­
ly surprised me during the game,
since even to a beginner it is ob­
vious that one cannot make such
a move. I think that Nakamura
was guided by what in poker ter­
minology are called 'pot odds'. I t
was obvious that +4 would not be
sufficient for a share of first place,
which meant that he had to take
a risk.
1 2J:tb1
For the moment White's play does
not demand any mental exertion.
1 2 ... h6 1 3.b4 g5
Nothing better for Black is appar­
ent, but it is obvious that his pawn
offensive is merely a seizure of
space, whereas the advance of the
white pawns may develop at any
moment into a mating attack.
1 4J:tb3!?
At first sight this move may seem
excessively abstract, but in fact it
NEW iN CHESS 73
has a very specific basis. Since af­
ter 1 4.bS cS it is not possible to
open lines, it is obvious that ide­
ally White should begin with c s .
ture in view of q . . . . ttJdS I S . ..Q.d2
B u t the immediate T 4.CS is prema­
g-1-, with counterplay. Therefore
it is sensible first to cover the e3-
square, and the choice between T 5 .
..Q.d2 and the move in the game is
an obvious one.
14 ... g4 1 5.ttJd2
I was already fully seized by the
lust of battle. There i s no other
way I can explain this move. Of
course, initially I was intending
to play I S .ttJeS, and after the pos­
sible l S . . . ttJxeS 1 6.dxeS ttJd7 1 7 ·
J::i: e J �g7 [ S. �f4 h S 1 9 .cS, with
the idea of establish ing the rook
on d6, White has an enormous ad­
vantage. But the main thing is that
the degree of complexity in the
position is not great, and it was
hard to imagine that even here it
1 5 . . . h5
was possible to go wrong.
Of course, the reason for Black
castling queenside was not in or­
der to defend the unpromising
endgame after ' S . . . es 1 6. d xeS
'iYxes ' 7 . � xes ttJxeS T S . � fS+
�bS 19 . ..Q.b2 �d6.
1 6.c5 ttJd5
I t was this position that attracted
me, since it appeared that after the
inevitable bS a rout was unavoida­
ble. Black is indeed in great danger,
but his position now has its first
real trump - the fine knight at dS.
1 7 .ttJe4!
On closer examination it turned
74 NEw lN CHESS
o u t that the immediate 1 7 . b S
did n o t work: 1 7 . . . ttJ f4 r S. 'iYq?
( r S.'lIHe3) T S . . . ttJeS 1 9 . dxeS J::i: d -1-
and unex pectedl y the q ueen i s
trapped ! It w a s more difficult to
refrain from the planned I 7 .ttJq,
but I managed to guess what was
awai ting me: I 7 . . . b S ' ! r S .cxb6
axb6. The point is that the file
opened here is not at all the one
that White needs. Three of his mi­
nor pieces are on the c-file, and it
will be some time before my rooks
are able to get to the c6 pawn!
�E
I. I. � �
I. I.
8�
8 CD
1 7 ... ttJb8!?
This looks ridiculous, but i n fact it
is the only defence against bS. The
computer recommends the ultra­
cool I 7 . . . �q r S . b s ( r S . a4 es)
J S ... cxbS 1 9 . 'iYxbS ttJbS, thinking
that Black's position is acceptable.
But for a human it is obvious that
Black will not hold out for long.
To j udge by the further course of
the game, White should avoid any
version of winning the exchange.
�� �
I. I. � 1. 1.
I.
'i¥ 8 �
8 CD
ANALYSIS DIAGRAM
Now best is 2 0 . ..Q.e3! (after 2 0. ..Q.a3
a6 2 1 .'iYe2 ttJc6 22.ttJd6+ ..Q.xd6
23 .cxd6 J::i: x d6 2-1-. ..Q.xd6 'iYxd6 2 S .
jL q fS 26 . ..Q. x d S 'iYxds Black's
achievements are evident), for ex­
ample 20 . . . fS (or 20 . . . ttJc6 2 I .J::i: f br
fS 22.'iYa-1-! fxq 2 3 . J::i: x b7 � xb7
2-1-. J::i: x b7 Wxb7 2 S . 'iY b S + Wq
26.jLa-1- ttJcb4 27·a3 and wins) 2 1 .
J::i: fb r ! fxq 22.'iYxb7+ 'iYxb7 2 3 .
J::i: x b7, and White should win.
18.�g5?!
An obvious move, and the first line
given by Rybka, but nevertheless a
strategic mistake. During the game
I realized in principle that the ex­
change of several pieces, even with
the win of the exchange, could
not be considered an achieve­
ment. But in the event of the nat­
ural [ S .a-1- I was concerned about
rS . . . ttJf-1-, when the queen has no
good square, and the position after
1 9 .jLxf4 'iYxf4 20.J::i: d r h-1- 2 l .bS
J::i: d 7 is not altogether what White
wants. After the exchange of his
dark-square bishop, the weakness
on d4 restricts White's pieces.
Therefore d u ri n g the game I
looked exclusively at tempo-gain­
ing moves, although it is obvious
that after 17 . . . ttJbS I have time for
several prophylactic moves in suc­
cession . In fact it was sufficient to
make j ust one: r S . J::i: d r ! , followed
by a-1- and bS.
1 8 ... jLe7 1 9 ..be7 ttJxe7
19 . . . 'iYxq is answered by 20.bS.
20.ttJd6+ J::i: x d6 21 .cxd6 'iYxd6
�� �
1. 1. � I.
-,
I. � I.
8 8 I.
r.1
8 � VJii 8 8 8
r.1 �
22.J::i: d 1?
But here it was now essential to
hurry, since with such a materi­
al balance on no account should
Black be allowed to block the po­
sition. However, to be objective, I
P H I LA D E L P H I A
 out of control and three results are
now possible, even if for the mo­
ment a defeat for White seems the
least likely.
'
2 6 . . . ttJf4 ! 2 7 . � c 2 f5 2B . .Q.d3
wb7 29.�f1 ttJa6 30.'ti'd2 ttJd5
31 .l:te1
With the idea o f playing 'ti'gS.
The i mm e d i a te 3 I . � gS does
not promise anything because of
3 I . · · �C7·

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

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

i
23 ... b5!

�i�i

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

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

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

76 NEW iN CHESS P H I LA D E L P H I A
� h 7 1 8 . J:!: e 1 J:!: c 8 1 9 . � d 2
J:!:ed8 2D.h5 �e8 21 .hxg 6 + fxg6
22.�b2 ttJa5 23.�b5 cxd4 24.
�xd4 b6 25.�xg7 �xg7 26.e5
�xb5 27 .axb5 J:!:d5 28.J:!:bd1 ttJc4
29.�b1 llcd8 3 D. J:!:d4 J:!:xd4 3 1 .
cxd4 J:!: c 8 32.�e4 �f7 3 3.J:!:d1
�g7 34.d5 exd5 35.J:!:xd5 �e6
36.ttJd4 �e8 37 .e6 J:!:d8 38.J:!:xd8
�xd8 39.e7 �e8 4D.ttJe6 + �f6
41 .ttJc7 �d7
I
, �"
�ll tLl � 8
8 1 1 .ttJb3
� 'iV
42.e8ttJ + �f7 43.�xc4 + �e7
44.ttJd5 +
Black resigned.
Ah, the Swiss system. Stocek had
lost his first game and drawn his
second, defeating no one of con­
sequence until the last day. But his
6'/2 points netted him about two
grand, while Mikhalevski's take
home pay totaled $57. 1 5 .
Akobian and Smirin took the
conservative route with a short
draw, a bit surprising when you
consider how much money a win
would have garnered . Perhaps
they thought Ehlvest and Najer
would do the same.
RE 26. 1 2 - AD?
Jaan Ehluest
Eugeny Najer
Philadelphia 2009 (91
1 .ttJf3 d5 2.g3 �g4 3.�g2 c6 4.0-
o e6 5.d3
At this point in his career, Ehlvest
is a jack-of-all-trades in the open­
ing. He may have hoped to frus­
trate his aggressive opponent with
P H I LA D E L P H I A
q uiet play, or perhaps wanted to score. Either way, Najer wins on
try to keep the draw in hand. the kingside.
5 ...ttJf6 6.ttJbd2 �e7 7 .h3 �h5 8. 22 ... J:!:ad8 23.J:!:c1 �e7 24.ttJf1
e4 0-0 9.�e1 ttJa6 1 D.a3 ttJc7
�
i: i: �
" � .t " ,
, ,�
1-
,
8
8 8 tLl 8 8
8 8 tLl 8 Jl,
11 Jl, � 11 �
24 .. .f5! 25.exf5 �xf5 26.g4 �f7
�
27 .gxh5 �xh4 28.�e4 �xh5
Black hasn't really sacrificed any­
- This looks q uite awkward to me. I thing and his pieces are sure to
don't think White can improve on flood i n . One has to feel a bit sad
the tried and true 1 1 .b3. for the knight on a l .
11 ... ttJd7 1 2.�f4 �e8 1 3 .J:!:c1 29.�g4 �xf2 + 3D.�xf2 �f7 3 1 .
�f6 1 4.J:!:b1 e5 1 5.�d2 ttJe6 1 6 . ttJ c 2 ttJ f 6 3 2.�h4 ttJb3 3 3.J:!:d1
ttJ h 2 dxe4 1 7 .dxe4 c5 1 8.h4 e4 34.ttJce3 exf3 35.�xf3 ttJe4+
This j ust loses the option of block­ 36.�g2 ttJbxd2 37 .ttJxd2 �g6 +
ing out Black's bishop with ttJhz­ White resigned.
g4. White can at least keep the Black will take the knight on dz
game nearly equal with 1 8 . ttJ aS for starters. A smooth finish for
ttJd4 1 9·ttJg4· ajer, b u t E h l vest's play was
18 ... h6 1 9.c4 �b6 2D.ttJa1 ttJd4 shockingly below the standard of
the first eight rounds.
:i :i �
I So Najer took home $ 1 5,000, and
" � " Nakamura would eventually find
, the same amount in his mailbox.
� .t
Najer was declared World Open
, , .t Champion for the second year in a
8�8 8 row, because his opponent wasn't
8 8 present for a blitz play-off.
8 Jl, 8 Jl, tLl You rarely see ajer in major
round-robi n events, which isn't
tLl 11 'iV 11 �
unusual considering how com­
m o n p l ace z 6 7 0- i s h GMs are
Black's pieces are dominating the these days. It's hard to stand out
board now. If Ehlvest thought he with so many higher rated players
had time to get a knight to dS, his back home in Russia. Still, many
watch must have stopped. of those guys would be envious
21 .f3 �e6 of his success in big money open
Najer could have grabbed a pawn tournaments.
with z I . . .� a6 ZZ . J:!:CI ttJ b6.
22.J:!:f2 The following game from Round
I'm not sure if Ehlvest is desper­ 5 ended in a draw. Despite a lot of
ate enough to concede his c-pawn mistakes, I'm proud of the way I
or the moves are transposed in the took it to my esteemed opponent.
NEW iN CHESS 77
 QI 1 B. B - E1 5 I don't know if Gata noticed the probably maintain the pin o n
Gala Kamsky weird tactic 2 2 . ttJ X q fxq 2 3 . t h e knight. Gata suggested 27 . . .
Joel Benjamin k xq. I was willing t o chance i t �h4, though 2 7 . . . �d6, with sim­
Philadelphia 2009 (5) because 23 . . . dxq 24. � C4+ � h8 ilar ideas, might be even stronger.
2 S · ttJ xb4 � gS looks extremely White is hard-pressed to find use­
1 .d4 dangerous for White. ful moves, and Black might well
Gata played 'left-handed' in Phil­ 22 ... �d6 23.h3 take his time, e.g. 28.J::[ e 2 a4! ? , as
ly. In St. Louis he was strictly I .e4. Gata wanted to p lay 2 3 . f3 b u t Gata proposed.
1 ...ttJf6 V Llf3 e6 3.c4 b6 4.g3 felt Black could grab t h e e-pawn 2B.�h5 J:lfB
�a6 5.b3 and survive the pin: 23 . . . ttJ xC3
So not everyone has j umped on 24. �xc3 ttJxe3 2 S . � f2 c S . The
the S . � C2 bandwagon. knight is safe enough, but White
5 ... �b4 + 6.�d2 �e1 1 .�g2 d5 is okay, too. 26J:te2 (26.f4 ! ? ) 26 . . .
B.cxd5 exd5 9.0-0 0-0 1 o.ttJc3 C 4 27 .�ce l cxd3 28.�xe3 with a
�b1 1 1 .�c2 probable draw.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

P H I LA D E L P H I A NEW iN CHESS 79
Worn out by the young whipper­
snapper, I lost to Jacek Stopa in
only twenty-one moves in Round
7. Happy I n dependence Day,
Joel! I decided to watch the ac­
tion the next morning before get­
ting an early start on the trip home
through holiday traffic.
Bill Goichberg tinkers with the
formula in the World Open, with
each change bringing about sub­
tle but distinct effects. The estab­
lishment of an under-2400 section
drove most of the class players out
of the Open section and made it
much more top-heavy. I t wasn't
unusual to see grandmasters play
each other in early rounds, and
this slugfest from the seven-day
schedule caught my eye.
SL 4 . 1 - 0 1 7
Jesse Kraai
Evgeny Bareev
Philadelphia 2009 (3)
1.tbf3 d5 2.d4 tLlf6 3.c4 c6 4.tLlc3
dxc4 5.a4 �f5 6.tLlh4 kd7 7 .e4 e6
8.tLlf3 b5 9.�g5 h6 1 0.kxf6 �xf6
1 1 .�e2 �b4 1 2.0-0 0-0 1 3.�c2
Somewhere along the line Evgeny Bareev picked up a rather low 2556 U.S. rating,
considerably lower than his unusually low current Elo of
80 NEW iN CHESS
a6 1 4JHd1 J:t a 7 1 5 . b 3 kxc3 45. �cS with White well on top;
1 6:iYxc3 cxb3 1 7 . �xb3 J:td8 B) 37·.· �d6 3S.Q .¥Ld7 and now:
1 8.'lWe3 J:tb7 1 9.e5 �e7 20.kd3
ke8 21 .'lWe4 g6 22.�e3 <Jig7 23.
ke4 bxa4 24.h4 J:tb3 25.�f4 c5
� 1. �
26.dxc5 J:txd1 + 27 .J:txd1 a3 28.
h5 g5 29.�d2 J:tb5 30.kb1 tLld7 � �� �
etJ
31 .c6 J:td5 32.tLld4 tLlxe5 33.�c2 �� �
�c5 34.'iYh7 + <Jif6 3 5.�xh 6 +
<Jie7 36.�xg 5 + f6 � 'iV
� 8
� M �
ANALYSIS DIAGRAM
39.f4! Wins for White: 39· · · tLl q
4o.tLlfS+ J:txfS 4 r .cstLl+! <JidS 42.
tLlxd6 tLlxe3 43 .tLlxfS tLlxd r 44.h6.
37 ... kf7 38.c7
I
� � 1. 'iV
37.'iYg7 + ?
� � �
Crazy complications would have I-
etJ
ensued after 37.'iYe3 : ��� 8
A ) 3 7 . . . � x h S 3 8 . J:tC I 'iYxd4
(38 ... J:txd4 39.J:txCS J:td r + 40.<Jih2 �
tLlg4 + 4 1 . <Jig3 tLlxe3 42.C7 and
White wins) 39 ·'iYxa3+ <Jif7 40.
� �
q tLlg4 4 r . � f3 J:tc 5 42. cS� J:txcS � M �
43 - � b7+ <JifS 44· � xCS+ <Jig7
38 ... tLlf3 + ! Oof! Black is winning
now, though there are still a few
more nice touches.
39.gxf3 J:tg5 + 40.�xg5 �xg 5 +
41 .<Jif1 �c5 42.h6 �xc7 43.h7
�h2 44.tLlc6 + <Jif8 45.J:td8 +
�e8 46.kg6 <Jig7 47.J:txe8 <Jixg6
White resigned.
Bareev fielded difficult pairings
because of his u nusual seeding.
The World Open is conducted by
U.S. ratings. Somewhere along
the line Bareev picked up a rather
low 2SS6 rating, considerably low­
er than his unusually low current
Elo of 2636. Meanwhile, Vladimir
Potkin, Elo 2620 with no previous
U.S. rating, had r oo points added
to his rating for seeding.
Bareev's adventures continued in
2636. Round 6.
P H I LA D E L P H I A
 1 B �xf2 + 1 9.<;¥;>h1
•••

Suddenly Black's queen is i n big

trouble.

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

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

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

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

Che s s C aft · com

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H o nest, i n - d e p th b o o k reviews.
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The Best in Chess

Af( the Time

S i n ce 1 9 9 6

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

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

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

Continental

Championship was held

in Sao Paulo, the largest

city of the American

continent. With 268

players, including 27

GMs and 30 IMs, it

was by far the strongest

Swiss tournament

ever held in Brazil. In

absolute numbers it was

a record, as FIDE had

allowed the participation

of many low-rated and

even unrated players,

a decision that was not

welcomed by everybody.

On the other hand, with

such a contingent of

players, tough competition Shabalov and

Corrales
prevailed till the very last

round, and the GMs had

no easy life. If in previous

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

points out of I I (Cali

Sao Paulo
2007) were needed to get

the trophy, this year the

winners, Alex Shabalov

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

84 NEW iN CHFSS SAO PAU LO

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

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

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

SAO PAU LO NEW iN CHESS 85

 1
I
Ships
September 9
2009

With answers to urgent questions like:

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

• Can White take on b7 in the Marshall Petroff?

• Does Pavel Elianov's move-ordering line cause Black enough trouble in the
Blackbume QGD?
• How unpleasant a surprise is 3.ttJbd2 against lovers of the King's and the
Gri.infeld Indian?
• Are Black's problems over in the Capablanca Variation of the Reti Opening?
And much more ...
28.'iVb4!
This is very unpleasant for Black.
Now White has a clear edge.
2 8 . . . 'iY x g 3 2 9 . e x d 6 'iV x d 6
30.'iYxb7
Now q-eS is coming, and Black
has to watch out for J:!.gr as well.
30 .. .l:U8 31 .11g1 g6 32.'iYb3 i.e8
33.'iYe3 Wf7
�
.t .I
tv
, ,
, ,
b b •
b
b �
��
a:
34Jlh1 !? It is important to weak­
en the g-pawn.
34 ... h5 35J:H1 + We8 36Jbf8 +
'iYxf8 37 .'iYxe7 i.d7 38.'iYb6?!
Here I missed a good opportu­
nity: 38.'iYb8+! Wh (if 3 8 . . . We7
39·'iVeS+ W d8 40. i. d4) 39.'iYeS,
and the g-pawn falls with check.
38 ... 'iYf1
Now Black has some counter­
play, not to mention my m i l d
time-trouble.
3 9 . 'iY x g 6 + W d 8 4 0 . 'iY b 6 +
We8 41 .'iYe5 + Wb7 42.e5 i.b5
43.Wb3
43 ... 'iYd1 +
43 . . . h4!! leads to a draw, as White
cannot improve his position.
44.Wb4! 'iYa4 + 45.We3 'iYxa5 +
46.'iYb4
Now there is no perpetual check
SAO PAU LO
The early leader, Alexandr Fier.
and White can hope for more
agaIn.
46 ... 'iYe7 + 47.Wb3 'iYh7 48.il4!
Not afraid of ghosts.
48 ... 'iYd3 + 49.Wa2 'lIUxd 5 +
.j.9 · · · 'iV q + S O . W a 3 'iY x b 4 +
5 I . Wxb.j. i s a n easy win .
5 0 . W il 3 'iY d 3 + 5 1 .it.. e 3 We6
5 2 . a xb 5 + ilxb5 5 3 . 'iY a 5 W b 7
54.'iVb4 We6 55.'iYb3
55 ...'iYe4??
My opponent s uccumbs to the
pressure. I t is hard to say whether
White is winning or not. I was ex­
pecting SS . . . 'iY d s S 6 . 'iYC2 'iYc S +
S7·Wb2.
56.'iYxe4+ bxe4 57.it.. d 2
Black resigned.
As usually happens with youn g
players in good form, they some­
times lose their sense of danger
and spoil good tournaments after
an unexpected defeat. For Fier the
turning point came in Round 6.
Milos-Fier
position after 31 .J:H5
Black had been pressing through­
out the game, but now White cor­
rectly sacrifices a pawn to create
enough counterplay.
32.We4! J:rf2
On 32 . . . l::t f4+ W h i te continues
3 3 ·<.t>es ll h4 3 4 · J:!. d3
·
3 3 . J:r d 6 llxe2 + 34.'It>f5 J:rf2 +
35.We5 h5 36.11h6
�
, .I.
, a:
b � , .I.
b
b b
.I
36 ... h4?
Fier's play is driven by emotion.
He i s still trying to w i n . Now
Black i s probably lost by force.
Typical self-destruction.
36 . . . g.j., with a draw, was sounder.
3 7 . l:l h 7 + w d 8 B a d i s 37 . . .
J:rf7 ? ? 3 8 . l::!. x f7 + Wxf7 3 9 · W fS ,
a n d White w i n s . 38.11xb7 llf3
3 9 . 11xa7 llxh3 40.Wd6 lld3 +
41 .Wxe6 h3 42.11h7 g4 43.b5 g3
44.11xh3 We7 45.J:rh1 11xa3 46.b6
llb3 47.b7 Black resigned.
NEW iN CHESS 87
A fter this lucky win the tourna­
ment saw a new, and fully moti­
vated, leader. The second leg was
dominated by Milos. With a better
opening choice and sounder prac­
tical decisions, Milos could have
finished off Ehlvest and Shabalov
in Rounds S and 9. This is how he
let Shabalov off the hook.
NOTES BY
Gilberto Milos
S1 1 8 . 6 - 878
Gilberto Milos
Alex Shabalov
Sao Paulo 2009 (9)
1 .e4 c5 V Llf3 d6 3 . d4 cxd4 4.
ttJxd4 ttJf6 5.ttJc3 g6
I usually play 6.�e2 here, but I
felt he was prepared for this and
decided to change.
6.�e3 �g7 7 .f3 0-0
This was a surprise. Recently he
had been playing ... h s here, and I
had some ideas against this move.
B.�d2 ttJc6 9.�c4 �d7 1 0.0-0-
o l:icB 1 1 .�b3 ttJe5 1 2.'lt>b1 l:ieB
I � 8 �
i i
I was on my own by now, with­
out theoretical knowledge, but the
main ideas are simple.
1 3.�h6 �hB
1 3 · ··�xh6 14.'iV xh6 l:ixc3 I s .bxc3
as is the main line and probably
Black's best option.
1 4.h4 Now Black cannot play
... h s . 1 4. . .ttJc4 1 5.�d3 b5 1 6.h5
�b6 Or 1 6 ... ttJ xhs 1 7 . g4 ttJ f6 I S .
ttJ dxbs, with a better position for
White.
1 7 .hxg6 hxg6 1 B.g4 e6 1 9.�f1 !
88 NEW iN CHESS
The second leg was dominated by Gilberto Milos 11.1. The Brazilian grandmaster
spoiled his chances in Round 9 when he let Alex Shabalov off the hook.
To control the f6-square in case Goddess Caissa doesn't forgive
Black plays . . . ttJ xg4. 19 ...ttJd5 missed opportunities. The punish­
i. i.
ment was immediate, and Round
�A 1 0 saw the last turning point in the
standings. A tired Milos failed to
i A i
put up a stubborn enough defence
� i i i� against the very practical Cuban
i � GM Fidel Corrales.
� lLl � �
� lLl � To win such a tournament a play­
er must have stamina, self-confi­
dence and, of course, some luck.
� a: 'if 1:[ For instance, this happened in the
game of the tournament winner
20.exd5 against the very talented 1 4-year­
I spent all my time analysing 20. old Peruvian 1M Jorge Corio
.i �
ttJ ce2 ttJ de3 2 I . � h3 ttJ xd I 2 2 .
�e3 ! , w h i c h i s winn ing. I d i d .i �
n o t play it in view of 22 . . . ttJ d2+,
A � iAi
but the simple 2 3 .WC 1 ttJ xb3 +
24.Wxd I is winning for White. i i i �i
20 ...�xd4 2UI:Vh3 ttJxb2 22.l:ixd4 i
My last chance for an advantage 8 �
was 22.dxe6! �xe6 23·l:ixd4 �xd4 8 lLl
24· ttJ xbS � hS 2 S .�gS � xh3 26.
� lLl 8 � 8
l:ixh3 fS 27· ttJ xd6 ttJ C4 2S. ttJ XCS.
22 ... �xd4 23.�c1 Now it is too 1:[ � � 1:[ � �
late for the same idea as above. A f­ Cori-Shabalov
ter 2 3 .dxe6 Black keeps the bal­ position after 1 2 .. ,e5
ance with 23 . . . l:ixe6 ! . 23 .. Jbc3
24.�h7 + WfB 2 5.�h6 + We7 White plays a few natural and
26.�g5 + WfB Draw. careless moves, just to find out
that the pressure on e4 is quite
unpleasant.
SAO PAULO
1 3.�b2?! I 3 .dS is about equal. 1 8 .. :�xe8 1 9.tLlxd4 �e5
1 3 ... exd4 1 4.�xd4 l::!. e 8 1 5.'ifc2?! And White resigned. A I 9-move
tLlc5 1 6 .e5 tLlg4 1 7 .exd6 �xd4 win with the black pieces is a good
sign.
A group of six players scored 8'/2
points. As there were only s i x
qualifying spots for the Wor l d
Cup i n Khanty-Mansiysk, a
round-robin rapid tie-breaker
took place, and although there is
always some tension in this kind
of situation, what we saw was the
dominance of the more experi­
enced players. At 3 a.m. Granda,
1 8.l::!. xe8 + ?? Milos, Flores and Ivanov stamped
White would have a clea r ad­ their passports to Russia.
vantage a fter I 8 . tLl x d 4 l::!. x e I
( I 8 . . . 'ifxd6 is the best option . Let's finish with two games select­
Black has a pleasant position, al­ ed by the winners.
though after I 9.tLl4f3 there are no
fireworks) I 9 . l::!. x e I tLl x h z ? ! zo. NOTES BY
b4! tLl xfr Z I .bxcS bxcS Z Z .tLl4b3 Alex Shabalov
tLlxdz Z3.'iYxdz.
SI 40.3 - 847
Sao Paulo 2009 Alex Shabalov
Felipe EI Debs
1 Shabalov IGM USA 2580 9 Sao Paulo 2009 (6)
2 Corrales IGM CU8 2602 9 7. 'ifxd4 a6 8.�e3 b5 9.0-0-0 �b 7
3 Milos IGM BRA 2589 ay. 1 .e4 c5 2.tLlf3 e6 3 . d4 cxd4 4.
6 ... tLlxd4
This move has the reputation of a
solid defence, based on the game
Radjabov-Pe l l etier, Biel zo06.
However, i t does not e q ualize
completely.
6 . . . a6 seems to be the only other
choice (6. . . �b4? 7 .tLlbS �b8 8.a3
�e7 9.eS was terrible in Vachier­
Lagrave-Novi kov, B u n d e s l i g a
Z007/08, a n d 6 . . . d6 doesn't make
too much sense after 7.tLlxc6).
Now White has a few pleasant
choices: the complicated 7 .�e3
bS 8.�d3 (Smirin's choice. 8.�ez
or even 8.'iff3 ! ? are good ways to
deviate) 8 . . .i.b7 9.'ifdz tLlf6 I o.es
tLlg4 I r .�gI tLlxd4 I z .�xd4 �cS
I 3 .�ez, eventuall y with a better
endgame for White in Smirin-J.
Polgar, Israel blitz z009.
And the 'simple' 7 .tLl xc6. After
7 . . . 'ifxc6 (in response to 7 . . . bxc6,
White has a bunch of good lines:
8 .�d3, 8.es or even 8.'iYez ! ? ) 8.
�d3 bS 9·'ifez �b7 I O.�dz �cs
I 1 . 0-0-0 tLlq a critical position of
this line arises.
1 0.�d3 l::!. c 8 1 1 .'lt>b1

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

SAO PAU LO NEW iN CHESS 89

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

.A
25.fxe6 fxe6

A , ,. , , ,
� �

, , 'A "
• :i

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

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

.A
was the game, with an extra tempo

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

90 NEW 1N CH� SAO PAU LO

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

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

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

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

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

not enough after 30. �c8.

30.'lt>e3 c;t>hB 31 .ttJe5 �gB 32.g4!
h6 33.ttJg6+ Wh7 34.h4 �a2 35.
ttJe5 + 'It>gB 36.ttJd3 l:rb1 37.g5
1 B.l:rxd5! ttJe4 1 9.�f4 ttJb4 20.
axb4
�g3
Black resigned. =1
SAO PAU LO NEW iN CH� 91
 Beyond the I l l usion
of 'Talent'
I n the summer of 2002, after a
hard day's analysis, I was intro­
d uced to the film Amadeus, con­
cerning Salieri's murderous envy
of Mozart. I watched it alone in
Artur Jussupow's home in south­
ern Germany, where I was staying
for a week to improve my calcula­
tion. My delightful hosts had gone
to a parents evening at a school
nearby, and Amadeus was the only
English-language film in the house
to keep me out of trouble. Before
leaving, Artur remarked that the
theme of the movie, the inequali­
ty of talent, was a very important
one, especially for chess players.
For those who haven't seen it,
the plot concerns the competent
and erstwhile esteemed composer,
Antonio Salieri, who is consumed
by resentment at the unmistaka­
ble chasm between Mozart's blos­
soming musical genius, which he
craves, and his own mere ability,
which looks mediocre by compar­
ison . The story is told retrospec­
tively by Salieri, from an insane
asylum.
The Mozart/Salieri story, however
apocryphal, reminds us to be care­
ful when comparing ourselves to
others. I have never felt envy with
such intensity, but I do know the
feeling of coming into contact with
somebody who does what I love to
do well, only seemingly much easi­
er, and several orders of magnitude
better. I have felt this way when an­
alysing with, for instance, Moroze­
vich, Grischuk, Adams, Aronian,
92 NEW iN CHESS
and Carlsen, all of whom seemed
to move between accurate varia­
tions, sophisticated j ud gements
and effective decisions with supe­
rior grace and fluency. Somewhat
like Salieri with Mozart, I feel close
enough to these elite players to rec­
ognize just how far away I am.
W hen I think about such ex­
periences, I am reminded of lines
from the song 'The Whole of the
Moon' by The Waterboys:
J spoke about wings. Youjustjlew.
J IlJondered, J guess that J tried. You
just knew.
Beautiful lyrics, and resonant of
the idea that talent is not distrib­
uted equally, but there are unex­
amined assumptions i n the use
of 'just' in these lines, similar to
'he'sjust a better player', 'he'sjlls!
more talented' . Our tendency to
use ' j ust' on such matters is re­
lated to the fact that people seem
to be rather attached to the idea of
talent, and resist strongly when
you try to reduce it to other fac­
tors, like parental support, cul­
tural context, available opportuni­
ties, or hard work. It seems that we
l1Jal1t some people to have extraor­
dinary innate talent.
It is comforting to think that we
are all born to do or be something
in particular, and this is perhaps
why many speak of 'finding them­
selves' rather than 'creating them­
selves'. Perhaps we cling to the idea
of talent because we need to believe
that if we could find the elusive vo-
cation that we are 'destined' to pur­
sue, our lives would suddenly take
off. Less mystically, perhaps we
also need the idea of talent to feel
that the gaps in ability we see in the
world are not our responsibility. If
some people are 'just' better than
others at certain things, then there
is nothing we can do about it.
Outliers: The Story oJ Success
by Malcolm Gladwell (Penguin)
is another runaway bestseller from
one of America's greatest living
storytellers. At the risk of over­
simplifying, G ladwell suggests
that success is not primarily a mat­
ter of talent, but more a question
of luck and available opportunities,
in particular when and where you
are born and the expectations and
resources of the people around you
(if Anand's family hadn't moved
to the Philippines soon after the
Kortchnoi-Karpov match . . . i f
Fischer didn't play in the context
of the Cold War. . . if Carlsen hadn't
met Agdestein, etc etc).
For instance, he points to ev­
idence showing that in certain
sports the dates of birth of major
stars are not evenly distributed, as
one might expect, but are heavily
skewed towards the first part of the
year. So if you are born in January
or February, you are more likely to
succeed in certain sports than if
you are born in September or Oc­
tober. This curious fact has noth­
ing to do with astrology, and every­
thing to do with the cut-off dates
for different age group categories.
ROWSON'S REVIEWS
 If you are relatively old for your
age group, you are likely to be a
bit more mature and physically
stronger so you will generally out­
perform the relatively young mem­
bers of your group. You might as­
sume they would simply catch up,
but it's not that simple because
there are 'multiplier effects' i.e.
small initial differences that grow
at compound interest. The slight­
ly older kids are more likely to be
selected for teams, more likely to
get coaching, more likely to travel
to interesting events, and so they
improve much q uicker. As Glad­
well puts it: 'The small initial ad­
vantage that the child born in the
early part of the year has over the
child born at the end of the year
persists. It locks children into pat­
terns of achievement and undera­
chievement, encouragement and
discouragement, that stretch on
and on for years.'
I don't know how well this age­
related point applies to chess, but it
should at least open up a different
way of thinking about early chess
development. With respect to age,
G ladwell argues that ' teachers
are confusing maturity with abil­
ity', which may often be the case
with young chess players too. So
the first major point is that we are
guilty of personalizing success, of
imagining that it is all about incli­
vidual giftedness and application,
when much of it is related to so­
cietal structures and demographic
fortune: 'We make rules that frus­
trate achievement. We premature­
ly write off people as failures. We
are too much in awe of those who
succeed and far too dismissive of
those who fai l . And, most of all,
we become much too passive. We
overlook j ust how large a role we
all play - and by "we" I mean so­
ciety - in determining who makes
it and who doesn't.'
And yet, s u rely individual tal­
ent is stil l a major factor? Surely
ROWSON'S R EVI EWS
some people j ust have a 'natural'
aptitude for mathematics, or mu­
sic or chess? This point contains
some truth, but a lot depends on
how you define 'talent'. If we take
it to mean 'natural endowment' or
something that cannot be learnt,
talent is much less significant than
you might think. As Gladwell in­
dicates: 'The closer psychologists
look at the careers of the gifted,
O u t l i e rs
e Overrated: Wha t Really Sepa­
Outliers: The Story of Success
Malcolm Gladwell
the smaller the role innate talent
seems to play and the bigger role
preparation seems to play.'
'Preparation' is a word familiar
to chess players, but it is becom­
ing clearer that it is not merely a
matter of hours of application. As
Gladwell puts it: 'Practice isn't the
thing you do once you are good .
I t's the thing you do that makes
you good.'
Studies of expertise suggest that
it takes approximately ten years, or
ten thousand hours of practice to
become an expert in a field, but it
is generally practice of a very par­
ticular kind. The expression used
to describe the work you need to
do is 'deliberate practice', which
amounts to trying hard to do what
you cannot currently do.
Deliberate practice is not mere­
ly osmosis, of hanging around
the chessboard of stronger play­
ers and hoping to somehow im­
bibe rating points from the air like
some sort of plant.
Nor is it about repeating what
you know again and again, because
there is a huge difference between
having ten years of experience and
having one year of experience re­
peated ten times! In this respect
the expression 'practice makes
perfect' has a lot to answer for. It
is more accurate to say that prac­
tice makes permanent, in the sense
that we tend to settle for whatever
works for us, even if it is not actu­
ally the very best we can do.
This idea of deliberate practice
is fleshed out in detail in anoth­
er book about talent: Ta lent is
rates Wo rld Class Perform ers
from Everybody Else by Geoff
Colvin ( Nicholas Brealey Pub­
lishing). Deliberate practice ba­
sically means practicing the hard
bits, spending hour after hour, day
after day, trying to do the things
you can't quite do yet. A medio­
cre figure skater is happy with her
double loop j ump and does it over
and over to feel good about her­
self, but a world class skater tries
assiduously to master the triple
loop, even though i t inevitably
means that her bum lands on cold
hard ice several times a day!
Similarly, a weak chess player
rehearses the opening trap that has
worked several times before, while
a strong player tries to overcome
the most stubborn responses to
his favourite lines, even if it means
'working harder for a smaller ad­
vantage', as Tibor Karolyi in NeJl)
In Chess Yearbook 74 described
White's task in the main line Slav.
Colvin uses Tiger Woods and
Mozart as examples of people we
assume to be massively 'talented',
but who turn out to have received
at least as much from father nur­
ture as mother nature. Mozart's
father Leopold was a highly com­
petent composer and a renowned
music teacher who ed ucated his
son at home and trained him in­
tensively in music from the age of
NEW iN CHESS 93
three. Tiger Woods was taught to
play golf at the age of tmo. He had
professional trainers by the age
of fOllr. His father, Earl Woods,
supported his career intensely so
that by the time Woods won The
Masters at the age of twenty-one
he already had much more than
ten thousand hours of deliberate
practice under his belt.
It certainly helps that Ti ger
Woods and Mozart had a passion
for their chosen work, but as most
chess players are all too aware,
many are passionate without being
any good! Woods and Mozart only
got good because of their contin­
ued deliberate practice, which was
only possible because they had
enormous levels of emotional and
financial support . In this respect,
attributing their success to 'talent'
does violence to language.
Deliberate practice is the equiv­
alent of the kinds of macho moti­
vational signs you sometimes see
in gyms like 'If it's not hurting, it's
not working' or 'No pain, no gain'.
In a physical sense these sayings
may not be true, but the spirit is
correct. In Chess for Zebras I sug­
gest that 'improvement begins at
the edge of your comfort zone'
and I think this is a good way to
think about it, because your chal­
lenge should be difficult but at­
tainable. It is the edge for a reason.
My experience of workin g with
]ussupow was certainly deliberate
practice, and involved solving po­
sitions that were j ust slightly be­
yond me for hours on end. It was
painful to see that I could barely
calculate beyond a three-move ra­
dius without blundering, and yet
largely because of this experi­
ence of stretching myself I gained
about fifty ratin g points soon af­
terwards. In all cases, regardless of
the phase of the game, what mat­
ters is that you are forcing yourself
to work things out, and going be­
yond what feels easy.
Computers are the reason that ten
years are no longer necessary to
acquire chess expertise, and why
the world top one hundred looks
increasingly youthful. They also
make deliberate practice easier in
three main ways: first, computers
make finding challenging oppo­
nents easier, even if it is largely in
the form of online blitz, second­
ly, they make information readi­
ly available in one place that was
previously distributed over hun­
dreds of books and magazines, and
thirdly, and probably most impor­
tantly, feedback from analysis en­
gines, though certainly imperfect,
is nonetheless h u gely usefu l in
improving the efficiency of work,
thereby correcting errors that
might otherwise have gone un­
detected, and hastening improve­
ment. Rybka may lack charm, in-

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94 NEW iN CHESS ROWSON'S REVIEWS

sight and reassuring eye contact,
but when it comes to the murky
waters of chess, the 'little fish' cer­
tainly knows holY to swim.
Having a human coach or trainer
also makes deliberate practice eas­
ier, because you are more likely to
be challenged and stretched be­
yond your comfort zone, but more
generally it means you have to be
willing to make lots of mistakes
Ifyou sense that the boring work
will take you to exciting places,
the boredom is subsumed by
the excitement.
and feel confused on a regular ba­
sis. It doesn't sound like much fun
though.
So why do people do it? This is
where your level of opportunity
and the multipl ier effect comes
in again, because we are typically
motivated to do deliberate prac­
tice when we can quickly see its
positive effect. I f you work really
hard to learn a new opening and
then have a chance to win with
that opening, ) our motivation
to deepen your u n derstanding
of that opening increases. If you
sense that the boring work will
take you to exciting places, the
boredom is subsumed by the ex­
citement. On a related point, the
e\'idence suggests that most high
achievers eventually reach a point
where they begin to feel their de­
liberate practice is intrinsically re­
warding; no longer a means to an
end, but an end in itself.
So Gladwel l ' s second main
point is that so-called 'young tal­
ents' do lots of deliberate practice,
and they remain motivated to do
ROWSON'S REVIEWS
so because they have opportuni­
ties to swiftly experience the fruits
of their labour.
Many feel that to become a strong
chess player you also have to have
an excellent memory and a high
IQ, but Gladwell argues that in al­
most all spheres, there are thresh­
olds for memory and intelligence,
which means you merely ha\'e to
be 'intelligent enough' to keep im-
proving, and beyond that differ­
ences in intelligence won't corre­
late with chess ability. I find this
point quite compelling, which is
one of many reasons why Jonathan
Levitt's talent equation (Elo rating
approximately equals IQ mul ti­
plied by ten, plus a thousand), cited
in his book Gellills ill Chess, strikes
me as an engaging provocation, but
also completely misguided.
Gladwell also makes a strong case
for the fact that although we like
to believe in the solitary genius,
railing against the system , ver)
few people actually make it on
their own . Most have forms of
support, whether friends, family
or financial. Fischer comes imme­
diately to mind as a counter-exam­
ple, but he did have some helpers
on the way, and to the extent that
he succeeded by himself, this may
have been why his success proved
to be sadly short-lived.
Gladwell also speaks of the 'con­
certed cultivation' shown by par­
ents of successful children, which
means tak i n g a pro-active ap­
proach to their growth and de­
velopmen t. When I read this I
thought of Magnus Carlsen's fam­
ily arranging for him to have time
off school, and travelling around
the world as a group.
Finally, and perhaps most specula­
tively, Gladwell seems to think that
success is also partly due to what
he calls 'cultural legacies', which
is a set of behaviours and attitudes
that are deep-rooted in a culture
across generations. On this ac­
count, countries with a good chess
tradition are more likely to produce
good players, not merely because
chess continues to be esteemed and
supported, but because people are
more likely to have the right kinds
of temperament and character to
succeed in games that their cul­
tures have endorsed over the years.
So when you take away demo­
graphic fortune, deliberate prac­
tice, opportunities to gain feed­
back, social and parental support
and cultural legacies, what is left
of talent?
I suggest that talent is j ust the
word we usc for learning process­
es that we don't adequately under­
stand. Our 'natural endowment'
does circumscribe how well we
can learn, and how likely we are
to make the most of our opportu­
nities, but there is never any con­
vincing way to separate out nature
and nurture in this way, so talent
. .
remal1ls an e111gma.
Perhaps we simply want to say
that talent is what superstars like
Carlsen or Nakamura or Karjakin
have? And yet if you look closely at
the biographies of such talents you
will invariably find many essential
factors that have nothing to do with
'talent', including supportive par­
ents, quite a few lucky breaks, and
a gritty process called deliberate
practice. As Forest Gump might �
put it, talent is as talent does. �
NEW iN CHESS 95
 Giri i n the footsteps
of Tal and Fischer
I .i
saw the motif for the first time in
Tal-Mohrlock, Varna 1 962.
Tal-Mohrlock, Varna 1 962
position after 14 ... b5
Black's play has been hesitant in
this Rauzer Variation, allowing
White to break open the kingside
with a pawn sacrifice.
1 5.g6!
This was played for the first time
by Tal in a training game against
Koblentz in 1 957. Black took the
pawn with his h-pawn, after which
White could start an attack. I an­
notated this rather unknown game
in New In Chess 1 992 / 5 .
1 5 ... fxg6 1 6.h5 gxh5 1 Ulxh5 ttJf6
1 8J:tg5 ttJe5
Afterwards Tal indicated 1 8 . . . b4
as better, intending to meet 1 9.
ttJa4 with 1 9 . . J1b8. This chang­
es the character of the play, since
White cannot now deploy both his
knights in his attack.
1 9:tlYg2 �fB 20.�e2
The first new move. In Spassky­
Boleslavsky, Soviet Championship
Riga 1 958, White had played 20.f4,
which is slightly more committal.
20 ... ttJc4 21 .jLxc4 bxc4 22.ttJd4
96 NEW iN CHESS
.i �
l:!:bB 23.l:!:h1 l:!:b7 24.l:!:h6!
A beautifu l move to increase the
pressure against the enemy king. .t � .t 1 1 1
24 ... Wf7 25J:{h4 �b6 1 1 1
Looking for counterplay. One of
8
the suggestions of the computer is
2 s . · .es 26.ttJfS Wg8, which looks
� 8 8
very risky, although I do not see a ttJ ii 8 ii
direct refutation. 8 8 'if
26.ttJd1 �c7 27.f4 �M M
Giri-Brandenburg, Dieren 2009
position after 1 8 . . . tilb4
1 9.96!
N o more than in Tal-Mohrlock
is this one of the five first moves
indicated by the computer. But
White should hurry, because after,
for example, 1 9 .hS �a5 20. W b r
l:!:ac8 h e would b e forced t o defend
first. And incidentally, the pawn
sacrifice is far stronger in this sit­
27 ... h6? The decisive error. Black uation, because all White's pieces
should have withdrawn his king are now fully deployed.
with 27 . . . Wg8. Now White has no 1 9 ... hxg6 20.h5
.i .i �
way of launching a decisive attack,
as witness the following variation:
28.es ttJdS 29· �h3 C3 30.b3 g6 3 1 .
ttJxe6 �g7! ! (the only defence) 32.
.t � .t 1 1
ttJxg7 jLxh3 33 .l:!:xh3 jLxg7, and 1 1 1 1
the endgame is roughly equal. 8
After the text the white rook gets � 8
a terrific foothold on g6, which ttJ ii 8 ii
makes the rest of the attack a piece
of cake.
8 8 'if
2B.l:!:g6 l:!:eB 29.f5 e5 3 0 . ttJ c 3 �M :g
� d B 31 .ttJc6 And Black resigned.
20 ... �f6
Fast forward to almost 50 years Black is looking for a counterat­
later: I s-year-old Anish Giri i s tack, but this idea is summarily
following in t h e footprints of the refuted. Alternatives were:
young Spassky and Tal. A) 20 . . . gxhS . It goes without
JAN TIMMAN
saying that accepting the second
pawn sac is too risky, although the
computer does approve of it initial­
ly. The refutation is interesting and
thematic: White now plays 21 .�d4,
and now both 2 I . ..g5 and 2 I . . .es are
met by the beautiful bishop move
22.�f5 ! . The attack strikes home;
B) 20 .. .'�Va5. Clearly the best
move. 2 I .Wbl would now run into
2 I .. .gS, which would seriously slow
down the white action on the king­
side. The main line now continues
as follows: 2 J .hxg6 'lWa I + 22.ttJ b l ,
and now the play forks again:
ANALYSIS DIAGRAM
There are times that I am very
happy with the existence of such
strong computer programs. I n
former years, it would have been
exceedingly d i fficult to analyse
such a sharp position properly.
These days, the computer imme­
diately throws up the most magnif­
icent combinations.
B I ) 22 . . . J:i.aeS 23 . .ixe6! J:i.xc2+
24·'lWXC2 ltJXC2,
ANALYSIS DIAGRAM
and now the surprising rook move
25 .J:i.d2! leads to great advantage for
JAN TIMMAN
White. His first threat is 26.J:i.dh2,
and mate, while 25 ... �f6 is met by
26.gxf7 + J:i.xf7 27 .J:i.xc2, and the
white king is completely safe. But
would 2S.J:i.h2 not be equally strong
then? The answer is no, because
then Black can escape with 25 . . .
ltJa3!, e.g. 26.gxf7+ J:i.xf7 27.bxa3
dS, and now, after 2S.�d4, Black
has the counter-check 2S . . . �g5 + .
With the rook on d2, he does not
have this option;
B 2 ) 2 2 " . � f6 2 3 . C3 ltJ a 2 +
24.WC2 J:i.abS 2 5 . Wd 3 ! . The king
moves up the board to escape
from the black attack. The threat
is 26.�xe6, but Black can still go
for a counter-attack with 2 s . . . as,
threatening a devastating check
on a6. What now follows is a prob­
lem move:
:i ��
1. 1 1
1 1 1. b
1 Anish Giri
8
b W� 8 � QI 7 6 - E1 7
�b 'iY
� ttJ n n
ANALYSIS DIAGRAM
26.�b6! ! . Vacating square e 3 for
the king, while at the same time
blocking the b-file, which means
that the white attack strikes home
first, although the variations re­
main interesting. Black's best de­
fence is 26 . . . J:i.feS, vacating square
f8 for the king. After 2 7 . gxf7 +
Wxf7 2S.We3! White has the an­
noying threat of 29. ltJ a3, winning
a piece. Play might continue with
2S . . . ltJCI 29.ltJa3! (stronger than
29.J:i.XC I i.a6 30. ltJ a3 'lWa2, with
some counter-chances) 29 . . . i.a6
30.J:i.xd6, and wins.
It i s a pity that Brandenburg
did not play 20 .. .'it'as, because it
would have been interesting to see
whether Giri would have found
his way in the ensuing com plica-
tions. After the text everything be­
comes a lot more prosaic.
21 .hxg6 �xc3 A miscalculation,
but even after 2 I . . . J:i. feS 22.gxf7+
Wxf7 2 3 .�d4 White would be
better. 22.�xe6! Winning in all
lines. 22...J:i.fb8 After 22 . . . �xb2+
23.Wxb2 Black is finished as well.
2 3 . J:i. h 8 + P layed for the gal­
lery, as they say. The prosaic 2 3 .
gxf7+ WfS 24.bxc3 was also more
than enough. 23 ... Wxh8 24.i.xf7
�xb 2 + 25.Wb1 Black resigned.
It is mate in six.
This was Giri's third victory in
the Open D utch Championship,
but it wasn't the last of the series:
in Rounds 4 and S he beat Erwin
l'Ami and Nijboer, two important
rivals for the title.
Giri himself has annotated his
game against I' Ami.
NOTES BY
Anish Giri
Erwin l'Ami
Dieren 2009 [4)
I started the tournament with five
wins in a row, although in the sec­
ond round I was totally outplayed
and only a blunder of my oppo­
nent helped me to win . However,
after the rest day my next four
rounds were not convincing at all.
I agreed a draw i n both Games 6
and 7. In that sixth game I was
only slightly worse w i th white,
whereas in Game 7 I was possibly
lost towards the end. In the pen­
ultimate round, I lost against F M
M iedema. Things w e n t totally
wrong, beginning with my prepa­
ration and ending with all my mis­
calculations. My last game was a
comedy of errors as wel l . After
good preparation I easily achieved
a winning position with black, but
then, in my opponent's time-trou-
NEW iN CHESS 97
ble, I totally misplayed the posi­
tion and had to look for some tiny
chances in a drawn queen ending.
Luckily my opponent made a mis­
take, and with precise play I fin­
7 Jle1 !? 8 . <1:Jh.j.! c6 9 · cxdS <1:JxdS I o . <1:J fS
Not the main move, but in my <1:Jq I I .q dS, with a complicat­
opinion the most ambitious one. ed position and chances for both
In this game I was looking for a sides.
fight, so this choice was very logi­ 7 . . d5
.

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

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

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

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g reat chess a t ICCF

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www . i c .

98 NEW iN CIUSS JAN TIMMAN

9 ... ttJe4!?
A rare and very strong move,
which took me out of my prepa­
ration . It is actually q uite a logi­
cal move and was found by Erwin
(who was quite surprisingly out of
book already after 7 . J:!:e I ) over the
board.
9 . . . CS, 9 . . . ttJ a6 and 9 . . . ttJ bd7 were
the moves I knew.
1 0 . ..Q.f4
A typical move for this line, which
I made without much thinking.
However, I O. �C2 is slightly more
common - even Vladimir Kram­
nik played it back in 1 995.
10 ... c5
Black continues his aetive play in
the centre, and what is important
is that his knight on bS is still flex­
ible, as it can go to c6 or d7 (de­
pending on the circumstances).
This flexibility of the knight is ba­
sically the whole idea behind 9 . . .
ttJq!.
i i
8 "�
8 8
t2J t2J 8
8 8�8
tr 'iV tr � then I can no longer play my I S .
1 1 .dxc5
Here I thought for a long time,
trying to decide between r I .dxc5
and 1 r .J:!:c r .
1 1 .J:!.C I was a decent alternative:
I I . . .ttJC6!' ( r r . . . ttJd7 or I I . . . ttJa6
would transpose to 9 . . . ttJd7 or
9 . . . ttJa6 respectively) 1 2 . d xcS !
ttJxC3 ( I 2 . . . �XCS ?! T 3 .ttJxq! - the
move I missed in my calculations
- f 3 . . . d xq q.ttJgS, with an ad­
vantage for White) 1 3 . J:!:xC3 (the
i dea behind [ I .J:!:C I ) 1 3 . . . bxc S ! ,
and White i s probably better, al­
though Black will get play with a
well-timed . . . d-l!.
1 1 .....Iixc5 1 2.e3
JAN TIMMAN
I n this posi tion T 2 .ttJxe4 i s not
strong at all, because of 1 2 . . . dxq
r 3 .�xdS J:txdS q.ttJgS J:!:eS!, and
Black is quite OK.
12 ... ttJxc3 1 3.bxc3
1 3 ...ttJd7
I n this structure White should be
slightly better, as somehow it is
easier to protect the C3 pawn than
Black's dS pawn, and the C3 pawn
is also of much less importance.
With his last move, Black wants to
solve all his problems with the ma­
noeuvre . . . ttJ f6-q, making both
White's bishops look stupid.
1 4.ttJd4
I spent really a lot of time to find
the right plan, which was to play
r s .� g s ! right a fter the black
knight gets to f6.
1 4 ... ttJfS
I was a bit worried about the very,
very ugly move [ 4 . . . h6, because
..IigS. But obviously q . . . h6 can't
be good, as it not only loses a tem­
po but also creates a weakness. Af­
ter r S .ttJb3! White is better, as he
answers I S . . . gS with [ 6.ttJxC5, and
the bishop will go to d6 or es.
1 5 . ..Q.g5!
i i i-
� 'iV :I �
,.
i 1.
I
i than to suffer in the endgame aris­
1. i � ing after [ S . . . h6 1 9·ttJxq+ �XC7
8 8
t2J
8 J:!:eb l bs 23 ·a-l ..Q.c6 2+axbS ..Q.xbS
8 8�8
tr 'iV tr �
Now I will exchange my rath­
e r useless bishop for the black
knight, which was heading to e4.
1 5 ... ..Q.e1 ?!
A positionally good, but tactically
bad move.
The only move I considered was
1 5 . . . h6 r 6 . ..Q.xf6 'if x f6, and here
I have a simple plan: r ) double
rooks on the d-file; 2) provoke
.. ·gS by playing ttJ e2!-f-l; 3 ) re­
turn my knight, try to exploit the
weakness of Black's kingside, and
attack the d S pawn.
In mo\'es it looks like this: J 7 . �b3
J:!: a d S [ S . J:!: a d [ l:!: d 7 1 9 . J:t d 3
J:!: fdS 20J1ed l � es 2 r .ttJe2! gS
22.ttJd-l! .
1 S . ..Q.xfS?!
Of course I saw the correct and
natural move [ 6. ttJ fS ! , but having
something like 30--l0 minutes for
2-l moves I decided not to go for
the complications: r 6. ttJ fs ! l:l cS!?
( 1 6 . . . h6 1 7 .ttJxq+ � xq JS . ..Q.xf6
�xf6 1 9.q! was the first move I
missed) J 7 . � a4! (I saw this idea,
but only connected to stuff like
I S. � h-l, 1 9 . f-l, etc.) 17 .. ·a6
ANALYSIS DIAGRAM
T S .'tlYd-l ! . This w a s t h e second
move I missed . The idea is that,
haying provoked . . . a6, I can now
attack the b6 pawn in some lines.
Ile re Black has nothing better
20 . ..Q.xf6 'tlYxf6 2 1 . � x f6 gxf6 22.
2 S ·..Q.xdS J:!:xC3 26 . ..Q.b7 ..Q.d3 ! 27·
J:!:b4 l:!:q 2 S . ..Q.xa6 J:!:aS 29Jib,q
J:!:xa6 (29 . . . ..Q.C2 is another pos-
NEW iN CHESS 99
sibility) 30. l::!. x a6 � xa6 3 1 . J:!.xa6
�g7, and whether this i s lost or
not, we should ask someone like
Dvoretsky.
1 6 .....bf6 1 UWb3
Now, with the bishop on f6, Black
has some counterplay against the
C3 pawn with .. J Ic8-c5, etc. On
the other hand, now the b6 pawn
becomes vulnerable after a4-a5 ! .
1 7 ... l::!. c8
Here Erwin offered a draw, but I
had the feeling that I could play
on without risk, and secondly I
played 7 . J:re r not to agree a draw
on move 17 ©.
18.a4! !tc5
I was a bit worried about 1 8 . . .
� C7 ! ? A fter 1 9.ttJbS ( I 9·J:lec I ! '
I didn't like because o f 1 9 . . . � xd4
20.exd4 � d7, although after 2 1 .
as! b S 22.a6! � c6 23.l::!.e r White is
better) 19 . . . � d7 20.l::!.e d T White
keeps some pressure, altho ugh
Black is still solid.
1 9.a5 �c8
1 9 . . . ,iit,a 6!? was another possibil­
ity: 20.axb6 �C4! 2 1 .�b4 �xb6
22.� xb6 axb6 23.l:!.a7, and White
is very slightly better.
20.axb6 llxc3
if I: �
i .t i i i
� • .t
i ural 2 5 . f4.
t2J
'iV 1: � �
���
n n �
1 00 NEW iN CHESS
21 .�b2
2 1 . � b I ! was a bit more precise.
Now 2 1 . .. a6 was the move I was
scared of, but after 22. �b2! I get a
large advantage.
21 ... �xd4
2 I . . .axb6 is less precise because of
22. �xb6.
22.exd4 nc2!
A usefu l i n te r m e d i a te move,
provi n g that 2 1 . � b r was more
accurate.
23.�b1 axb6
24.�xb6
24. l::!. a 7 is the move the compu­
ter likes, but it merely leads to a
draw after 24 . . . l:!.c6 2 S .�xdS l:!.q
26. 11xb7 lhb7 2 7 ·�xb7 � xb7
28. �b5 g6 29·dS �C7 ! .
24. �h 3 ! ? was an interesting move
I considered during the game, but
after 24 . . . � c3 2 5 . � fS l::!. d 2 26.
�xh7+ Wh8 27. � fS �c6! White
can 't make any real progress, al­
though there are still some ideas
left here.
24. J::t q l:i:q (24 . . . � a6! ?) 2 S . J:I eS
J:tc6! is also harmless for Black.
24 ... �f5 25.l:!.f1
2 S . f4- looked too scary, though
it was not so bad : 2 S . . . � c8 i s
the w a y to pl ay, and Black i s
fine. 2 5 . . . � d 3 ? ? 26. � xb7 � d2
2 7 . � xd 5 ! , defe n d i n g g2, was
what I m issed i n my very very
brief consideration of the unnat­
25...�c6
Black maybe had some more accu­
rate moves here, and later as well,
but generally his only mistake was
on move 37.
I
I: �
i i i
'iV .t
i if
�
�
I: 8��
n n�
26.l:i:ac1
26. �b I was another tricky move
t h a t I c o n s i d e re d : 26 . . . � d 3
(26 . . . �g6 i s more natural but less
precise: 27.J:ras J:rd2 28. �b4!, and
the dS pawn falls) 27 .l:!.as �d 2 .
This move was the reason I didn't
play 26. �b l . The position is OK
for Black here.
26 ... J:rxc1 26 . . . l::!. c 8 2 7 . �h 3 ! and
26 . . J:re8 27. �b I were lines I cal­
culated with pleasure.
27 .J:rxc1 �d7! I had totally missed
this idea of transferring the bish­
op to e6. 28.l::!. e1 Luckily enough r
still had some ideas left.
28...�e6 29JIe5 �d3
30.,iit,x d5 Finally I win the pawn!
30 ... ,iit, h 3 31 .l:!.e1 �d2
B lack got some obvious coun­
terplay, but I knew that I always
would have � b I if needed, so
I went for this position without
thinking. But I like to look for
chances in marginally better po­
sitions (it gave me some points in
other games, too, by the way ©,
e.g. my last game in this tourna­
ment against the Indian player
Babu Lalith).
JAN TIMMAN

At 15 Anish Giri is an incredibly strong player and
a wonderfully lucid and entertaining annotator.
32J�b1 This was the idea I found.
32 .. J�e8 3 2 . . . J:!. c8 was the move I
considered to be morc precise, but
here I have 33.�C4! , keeping the
pawn, although Black is still fight­
ing with his actiYe pieces.
33.�g2!
JAN TIMMAN
The whole point. Now after the
'mate in three', 33 . . . J:!.e r + White
has 3+�fr ! , and Black still suffers
from his back rank problems.
33 .'I1lYb8! ? was another tricky idea,
but I didn't really consider it, be­
cause I already had another idea:
33 . . . 11e8! is the way for Black to
play (33 . . . Wf8? 3{.'I1lYd6+ Wg8
3 S .'I1lYe7 ! ! was an idea suggested
by last year's Open Dutch Cham­
pion Ali Bitalzadeh during our af­
ter-the-game-analysis with Erwin.
But 3S . . . �d r + ! is still possible, al­
though White remains a pawn up
and is probably winning). 34.'iYf4
'I1lYxf� 35.gxf{, and although White
is a pawn up, looking at the position
I can't believe he can win it.
33 ... J:!.e1 + 34.�f1 ! The idea.
34 ... h6
Most probabl y 3{ . . . g6 was also
possible: 3 s . J:!. xe r 'I1lYxeI 36.'I1lYb8+
Wg7 37.'I1lYeS+ � xes 38.dxeS, and
again I miss Dvoretsky, but my
feeling tells me that it is a draw af­
ter 38 . . . f6 39.f{ fxes {o. fxes, and
then putting the pawns on gS, h6
and the king on C7 should be a
fortress.
35.l:Ixe1 Wixe1 36.�b8 + !? Just
for some future checks on d3 . . .
36 ... �h7 37 .'I1lYb5
This was what I saw when playing
32. J:!.b r . I didn't really care wheth­
er it was winning or not, but I was
j ust proud that I had found this
winning attempt ©.
37 ...Wg6?
My opponent spent a lot of time
during the last five moves, and
now he makes a blunder.
37 . . . g 6 ! was the way to draw,
which I saw only after I had played
37. � bS and calmed down: 38.dS
Wg7 39·d6 � XfI ! (39 . · ·'I1lYxfl + ' ?
{O.'I1lYXfl �xfr { L d ? ! , a n d wins,
hehe . . . ) {O.'I1lYxfl 'I1lYXfI + { I . �XfI
Wf6, with a draw.
NEW iN CHESS 1 01
38.�e2! fI will occur later again: -1-0 . . . Wf6 Here I suddenly realized that
I felt something should be there -1- I .'iVeS+ Wg6 42.llYfs mate. things are not that simple at all,
after 37 . . . Wg6, and I immediately 4D.�e6+ Wh7 41.�xf5+ because after the natural 43 . d S
saw the idea of g-1-! . Now I win the second pawn, and B l a c k has 43 . . . £. x f T H . � x fr
38 ...� c1 also got an extra hour. � d-1-, and I have to give up my
The only square not to exchange 41 ... <;t>h8 Otherwise, my q ueen dS pawn. But now it's time for 'g­
queens. goes to e2, protecting fI and g4. move number two'!

� �
& &
& &
'iY
� 8 � �
� .t .t .t

� �
'iY � � � � 8 �
�� � �� ��

39.g4!! 42.�b5! 43.g5!! �e6

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

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1 02 NEW iN CHESS JAN TlMMAN

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

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

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

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

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

JAN T1MMAN NEW iN CHESS 1 03

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

�
� !Jl � i i
�

i
i t::,
'i¥

t::,
t::, � t::,
�

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

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

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

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

i 8
i i i
.t i: .t �
!Jl
-

�
And so Giri got to S out of S, a

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

1 04 NEW iN CHESS JAN TIMMAN

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

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

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

his opponent. This result netted �

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

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

JAN TIMMAN NEW iN CHESS 1 05

 Rustam Kasimdzhanov

iJ.
J U S T
�
OATE

PLACE
E L O · R AT I N G ,

OF

OF
BIRTH,

BIRTH,
2672

December 5 , 1 979

Tashkent, Soviet Union

CHECKI NG
PLACE OF RESIOENCE, Ruppichteroth, Germany

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

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

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

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

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

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