Adolf Hitler visits Paris with architect Albert Speer (left) June 23, 1940
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
U.S. Marines raising the flag on Iwo Jima [1945]
Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima is a historic photograph taken on February 23, 1945, by Joe Rosenthal. It depicts five United States Marines and a U.S. Navy corpsman raising the flag of the United States atop Mount Suribachi during the Battle of Iwo Jima in World War II.
The photograph was extremely popular, being reprinted in thousands of publications. Later, it became the only photograph to win the Pulitzer Prize for Photography in the same year as its publication, and ultimately came to be regarded as one of the most significant and recognizable images of the war, and possibly the most reproduced photograph of all times.
A Champion Who Has Grown Into His Title
Hikaru Nakamura won the United States Championship in December 2004, just before he turned 17. He was the youngest person to hold the title since Bobby Fischer, but his play was often too speculative or adventurous, evidence of an iIn April 2005, playing White against Krishnan Sasikiran of India in the elite Sigeman & Company tournament, he trotted out 1 e4 e5 2 Qh5?!, a move he dubbed “the H-bomb.” He pushed too hard and lost.
Five months later, Nakamura, again playing White, dropped the H-bomb on Andrei Volokitin of Russia in the final of the Lausanne Young Masters event in Switzerland. The game started 1 e4 c5 2 Qh5, and Nakamura was flattened in 23 moves.
Nakamura seemed to believe that his purpose was to entertain more than compete. But chess fans and tournament organizers want to see well-played games between great players. Although he placed second at Lausanne and third at Sigeman, tournament invitations, especially in Europe, dried up.
At 21, Nakamura is now a more mature player, which has led to better finishes — and more invitations.
In May, he won the United States Championship again. This month, he tied for first at the World Open in Philadelphia, despite taking half-point byes in the last two rounds so that he could leave for the Donostia Chess Festival in Spain. He led that tournament from the start but was caught in the last round by Ruslan Ponomariov of Ukraine. Nakamura then beat Ponomariov in a playoff.
Nakamura’s unofficial world ranking is now No. 17, a career best. He has been invited to play in the London Chess Classic in December with Magnus Carlsen of Norway, No. 3, and Vladimir Kramnik of Russia, No. 4. And in January, Nakamura will play in the Corus tournament in the Netherlands, one of the top events of the year.
In Spain, Nakamura beat Maxime Vachier-Lagrave of France, 18. They followed a well-known but complex variation of the Najdorf Sicilian through more than 15 moves.
Vachier-Lagrave erred with 28 ... Be4; he needed to play 28 ... Bd7, though after 29 Nf4 Bg4 30 Rd4 ab4 31 ab4, White would have still have had the advantage.
Nakamura’s 32 Nb5 forced the win of a pawn. Playing 32 ... Rc6 would not have helped after 33 Re3 Re6 34 Nc7 Rc6 35 Rd7 Bd8 36 Re4 Rc7 37 Rc7 Bc7 38 Bc4, and White’s passed queenside pawns are too dangerous.
Though Vachier-Lagrave could win a pawn with 44 ... Re3 45 Ke3 Bg4, he resigned because after 46 b5, one of White’s pawns will queen while Black’s pawns cannot advance quickly enough.mmaturity.
Five months later, Nakamura, again playing White, dropped the H-bomb on Andrei Volokitin of Russia in the final of the Lausanne Young Masters event in Switzerland. The game started 1 e4 c5 2 Qh5, and Nakamura was flattened in 23 moves.
Nakamura seemed to believe that his purpose was to entertain more than compete. But chess fans and tournament organizers want to see well-played games between great players. Although he placed second at Lausanne and third at Sigeman, tournament invitations, especially in Europe, dried up.
At 21, Nakamura is now a more mature player, which has led to better finishes — and more invitations.
In May, he won the United States Championship again. This month, he tied for first at the World Open in Philadelphia, despite taking half-point byes in the last two rounds so that he could leave for the Donostia Chess Festival in Spain. He led that tournament from the start but was caught in the last round by Ruslan Ponomariov of Ukraine. Nakamura then beat Ponomariov in a playoff.
Nakamura’s unofficial world ranking is now No. 17, a career best. He has been invited to play in the London Chess Classic in December with Magnus Carlsen of Norway, No. 3, and Vladimir Kramnik of Russia, No. 4. And in January, Nakamura will play in the Corus tournament in the Netherlands, one of the top events of the year.
In Spain, Nakamura beat Maxime Vachier-Lagrave of France, 18. They followed a well-known but complex variation of the Najdorf Sicilian through more than 15 moves.
Vachier-Lagrave erred with 28 ... Be4; he needed to play 28 ... Bd7, though after 29 Nf4 Bg4 30 Rd4 ab4 31 ab4, White would have still have had the advantage.
Nakamura’s 32 Nb5 forced the win of a pawn. Playing 32 ... Rc6 would not have helped after 33 Re3 Re6 34 Nc7 Rc6 35 Rd7 Bd8 36 Re4 Rc7 37 Rc7 Bc7 38 Bc4, and White’s passed queenside pawns are too dangerous.
Though Vachier-Lagrave could win a pawn with 44 ... Re3 45 Ke3 Bg4, he resigned because after 46 b5, one of White’s pawns will queen while Black’s pawns cannot advance quickly enough.mmaturity.
Sunday, July 26, 2009
First photograph [1826]
Actually this is the earliest surviving photograph, c. 1826. It required an eight-hour exposure, which resulted in sunlight on both sides of the buildings.
First X-ray [1896]
In 1901 Wilhelm Konrad Roentgen was the first recipient of the Nobel Prize for Physics, and he truly deserves his place in history because his discovery revolutionized the medical world. A series of experiments helped him notice that barium platinocyanide emits a fluorescent glow. Combining his observation with a photographic plate and his wife’s hand, he made the first X-ray photo, and thus, made it possible to look inside the human body without surgical intervention.
Robson, 14, wins national title
July 26, 2009 Position No. 6065: Black to play and win. From the game Vachier Lagrave-Svidler, Donostia 2009. Solution to Position No. 6064: White wins with 1 e5+! Kxe5 2 Re6+ Kf5 3 Bc2, setting up
Position No. 6065: Black to play and win. From the game Vachier Lagrave-Svidler, Donostia 2009.
Position No. 6065: Black to play and win. From the game Vachier Lagrave-Svidler, Donostia 2009.
Solution to Position No. 6064: White wins with 1 e5+! Kxe5 2 Re6+ Kf5 3 Bc2, setting up 4 d4+. If 1 . . . Kc3, then 2 Rxf8 Rxf8 3 exd6 foresees 3 . . . Kxb3 4 dxc7 Rc8 5 d6, soon promoting a pawn.
International Master Ray Robson of Florida scored 6-1 to win the 2009 U.S. Junior Championship, an invitational tournament featuring eight of the country's top players under age 20. Robson, 14, was the youngest competitor in the round robin, which ended July 17 in Milwaukee. He will represent the U.S. in the World Junior Championship in Argentina in October, and he earns an invitation to the 2010 U.S. Championship.
Robson and IM Sal Bercys of New York, who finished second at 5-2, went undefeated. Others: IM Alex Lenderman (New York), 4-3; Michael Lee (Washington) and IM Sam Shankland (Orinda), each 3 1/2 -3 1/2 ; Joel Banawa (Eagle Rock) 3-4; Elliott Liu (Encinitas), 2 1/2 -4 1/2 ; and Maxx Coleman (Kansas), 1/2 -6 1/2 .
The generation born in the early 1990s appears exceptionally promising. This year's field was the strongest since the 1970s, even without GM Robert Hess of New York and John Daniel Bryant of Tehachapi.
International news
Hikaru Nakamura, the U.S. champion, and Ukraine star Ruslan Ponomariov tied for first in the grandmaster round robin in Donostia, Spain. Each scored 6 1/2 -2 1/2 , and Nakamura won a speed chess playoff to officially claim first prize.
Nakamura, only 21, is already a legend for his skill at speed chess. In Donostia, he showed a mature style, winning most games after trading Queens. He plans to compete in two more elite tournaments this year.
Peter Svidler of Russia finished third at 5 1/2 -3 1/2 . Others: Rustam Kasimdzhanov (Uzbekistan) and Francisco Vallejo Pons (Spain), each 5-4; Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (France) and Movsesian (Slovakia), each 4 1/2 -4 1/2 ; Julio Granda Zuniga (Peru), 3 1/2 -5 1/2 ; Pablo San Segundo Carrillo (Spain), 2 1/2 -6 1/2 ; and former world champion Anatoly Karpov (Russia), 1 1/2 -7 1/2 .
Karpov suffered almost certainly the worst performance in history by any of the all-time greats.
Richard Riordan, a former mayor of Los Angeles, sponsored the chess portion of the 18th Maccabiah Games in Israel. Evgeny Najer of Russia, who won the World Open this month, took first prize with a score of 9 1/2 -2 1/2 in the most prestigious event, a 15-minute tournament featuring 13 leading grandmasters.
Local news
Grandmaster Melikset Khachiyan scored 5 1/2 - 1/2 to win the 14th Pacific Coast Open last weekend in Agoura Hills. Next at 4 1/2 -1 1/2 were IM Andranik Matikozyan and IM Emory Tate.
Other sections of the 217-player Continental Chess Assn. event were won by Jay Stallings, Vinzent Davies, Marek Jankowski, Alejandro Ruiz, Joe Russell, Bud Stamper, Joshua Rose, Timothy Abadilla, Rodrigo Casiano, Leo Creger and Dylan Pearson.
The free monthly tournament at the Exposition Park Chess Club takes place at 1 p.m. next Sunday in the public library, 3900 S. Western Ave. in Los Angeles. See chess.expoparkla.com for more information.
Today's games
GM Ruslan Ponomariov (Ukraine)-GM Francisco Vallejo Pons (Spain), Donostia 2009: 1 d4 Nf6 2 c4 e6 3 Nf3 d5 4 Nc3 c5 5 cxd5 Nxd5 The Semi-Tarrasch Defense to the Queen's Gambit. 6 e4 Most direct, although some prefer 6 e3. Nxc3 7 bxc3 cxd4 8 cxd4 Bb4+ Fischer introduced 8 . . . Nc6 9 Bc4 b5. 9 Bd2 Bxd2+ 10 Qxd2 0-0 11 Bc4 Nc6 12 0-0 b6 13 Rfe1 Bb7 14 d5!? Na5 15 Bd3 A standard pawn sacrifice, anticipating 15 . . . exd5 16 e5. White's pieces would be poised to attack on the Kingside, while the extra d-pawn blocks Black's Bishop and Queen. h6 Declining, for the moment. 16 Qf4 Rc8 17 Rad1 Rc5 Inviting 18 dxe6 fxe6 19 Qg4 Qf6, which may favor White slightly, but Ponomariov insists on the speculative pawn sac. 18 Nd4 exd5 19 e5 Bc8 The plausible 19 . . . Qg5 runs into trouble after 20 Qxg5 hxg5 21 e6, as 21 . . . Nc6 loses the exchange to 22 exf7+ Kxf7 23 Ne6 or 22 . . . Rxf7 23 Re8+ Rf8 24 Rxf8+ Kxf8 25 Ne6+. 20 h4 Nc4 21 Bf5 Trying to get his Knight safely to f5. Re8 All right, but 21 . . . Qc7 22 Rd3 f6! is the easiest way to maintain equality. 22 Rd3 Nd6?? Black's first mistake is fatal. Only 22 . . . f6! hangs on. Chances remain about even after 23 Rg3 Kh8 24 Qg4 Rc7. 23 Bxc8 Qxc8 24 Rg3 Creating deadly threats to g7 and h6. Black cannot stand 24 . . . Ne4 25 Rxe4! dxe4 26 Qxh6 g6 27 h5, while 24 . . . Kf8 and 24 . . . Kh8 lose the Queen to 25 Ree3 Ne4 26 Rxg7! Kxg7 26 Nf5+, as 26 . . . Kg8 leads to mate by 27 Rg3+! Nxg3 28 Qg4+. Re6 25 Nxe6 Qxe6 26 Qg4?! White could end it quickly by 26 exd6! Qxe1+ 27 Kh2 Qe6 28 Re3 Qc8 29 Re7 Qf8 30 Qe5, intending 31 Re8 or 31 d7. Nf5 27 Rf3 g6 28 h5 Rc4 29 Rf4 Rxf4 30 Qxf4 gxh5 31 Rd1 White is still winning. He plans 32 Qf3. d4?! Black can put up more resistance with 31 . . . Ne7. Nevertheless, White makes progress by 32 Qf6 Nc6 33 Rc1! Nxe5 34 Qxe6 fxe6 35 Re1 or 33 . . . Qxf6 34 exf6 Nb4 35 a3 Na6 36 Rc8+ Kh7 37 Ra8. 32 Rd3! Another powerful Rook lift. Qd7 33 Rf3 d3 No better is 33 . . . Ng7 34 Qxh6. 34 Qd2! Qe6 35 Qxd3 Ne7 36 Qd6!, Black Resigns.
GM Vladimir Kramnik (Russia)-GM Magnus Carlsen (Norway), Dortmund 2009: 1 d4 This eighth-round encounter knocked Carlsen out of the lead. d5 2 c4 e6 The reliable Queen's Gambit Declined. 3 Nc3 Nf6 4 Nf3 Be7 5 Bf4 A bit fresher than the routine 5 Bg5. 0-0 6 e3 c5 The approved response. 7 dxc5 Bxc5 8 a3 Nc6 9 Qc2 Qa5 10 Rd1 Cautious. Brawlers risk 10 0-0-0. Be7 11 Be2 dxc4 A small concession. However, 11 . . . Rd8 12 0-0 a6 13 cxd5 would saddle Black with an isolated pawn, by 13 . . . exd5, as 13 . . . Nxd5 14 Nxd5 Rxd5 15 Bd3! h6 16 Bh7+ Kh8 17 Be4 is too awkward for Black. 12 Bxc4 Nh5 13 0-0 Nxf4 A beneficial trade, if Black manages to develop his Queenside. 14 exf4 g6 15 g3 Rd8 16 Rxd8+ Qxd8 17 Rd1 Bd7 Also satisfactory is 17 . . . Qc7 18 Nb5 Qb8, as 19 Qd2 a6 20 Nd6 Bxd6 21 Qxd6 Qxd6 22 Rxd6 Kf8 should draw. 18 f5!? A well-judged pawn sacrifice enlivens a dull position. gxf5 Best, although it exposes his King. White can use the open center after 18 . . . exf5?! 19 Qb3 Qc8 (White would gain a pawn by 19 . . . Qe8? 20 Bxf7+! Qxf7 21 Qxb7) 20 Bxf7+ Kg7 21 Qd5. 19 Qd2 Qb6 Relying on the Queen trap 20 Qxd7?? Rd8. Another way is 19 . . . Be8 20 Qh6 Qa5! 21 Ng5 Qe5! 22 Qxh7+ Kf8, when . . . Qe5-g7 nullifies White's threats. 20 Qh6 Be8 21 Ng5 Bxg5 22 Qxg5+ Kf8 Avoiding 22 . . . Kh8? 23 Rd6 Qc7 24 Qf6+ Kg8 25 Rxe6! fxe6? 26 Bxe6+ Bf7 because 27 Nd5 Qd8 28 Qxf7+ Kh8 29 Bxf5 Qg8 30 Qxb7 gets too much for the exchange. 23 Qh6+ Kg8 24 Qg5+ Kf8 25 Rd6! One more try before acquiescing to the draw. Qc7?? And Black goes wrong! After 25 . . . Qc5! 26 Qh6+ Kg8, White has nothing better than 27 Qg5+ Kf8 28 Qh6+, repeating. Note that 26 . . . Ke7?? would lose to 27 Nd5+! exd5 (or 27 . . . Kxd6 28 Qf8+) 28 Rxd5 Qxc4 29 Qd6 mate. 26 Qh6+ Ke7 Now 26 . . . Kg8 loses to 27 Rxe6! fxe6?! 28 Bxe6+ Bf7 29 Nd5 Qe5 30 Nf6+. 27 Qh4+ Kf8 28 Qh6+ Ke7 29 Nb5! Qa5 Even the tougher 29 . . . Qc8 loses to 30 Qxh7 (threatening e6) Nd8 31 Qh4+ Kf8 32 Rd4, intending 33 Nd6 or 33 Qf6 and Rd4-h4-h8. 30 b4 Anticipating 30 . . . Qb6 31 Rxe6+! fxe6 32 Qxe6+ Kd8 33 Qd6+ Bd7 34 Be6. Nxb4 31 Rxe6+! fxe6 32 Qxe6+ Kd8 33 Qf6+ Kc8 Or 33 . . . Kd7 34 Qd6+ Kc8 35 Be6+. 34 Qxf5+ Kd8 The Queen falls after 34 . . . Bd7 35 Nd6+. 35 Qf6+ Kc8 36 axb4, Black Resigns. White refutes 36 . . . Qd8 by 37 Be6+ Bd7 38 Qc3+ Kb8 39 Bxd7 Qxd7 40 Qh8+ Qc8 41 Qe5+.
Friday, July 24, 2009
First Flight [1903]
December 17, 1903 was the day humanity spread its wings and rose above the ground - for 12 seconds at first and by the end of the day for almost a minute – but it was a major breakthrough. Orville and Wilbur Wright, two bicycle mechanics from Ohio, are the pioneers of aviations, and although this first flight occurred so late in history, the ulterior development was exponential
Kent State [1970]
The news that Richard Nixon was sending troops to Cambodia caused a chain of protests in the U.S. colleges. At Kent State the protest seemed more violent, some students even throwing rocks. In consequence, The Ohio National Guard was called to calm things down, but the events got out of hand and they started shooting. Some of the victims were simply walking to school, and, more dramatically, one wasn’t even a student, but a 14 year old runaway. Mary Ann Vecchio was sent to her family in Florida and her death was commemorated in a TV movie and a Neil Young song
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Michael Dukakis [1988]
Michael Dukakis was the Democrat’s proposal for Presidency and so, George Bush’s opponent in the 1988 elections. The picture below was taken at a General Dynamics plant in Michigan, hoping that it would consolidate the Democrat’s public image, but he was no match for the World War II pilot George Bush, so his plan didn’t quite work.
Chess
H Nakamura v A Karpov, San Sebastián 2009. The US champion (White, to move) ground down the all-time No3 by 1 Qd2 Ra1 2 Nxf4. Can you find a faster route?
The chess battle of the moment is Magnus Carlsen's fight to equal and surpass the established trio of Vishy Anand, Vlad Kramnik and Veselin Topalov who have held the world crown since 2005 but are all 15-20 years older than the 18-year-old Norwegian.
Carlsen is consistently in the top five in the rankings and is virtually sure of a place in the next world title candidates event in 2010 or 2011. This year, too, he scored significant individual victories against Anand at Linares and against Topalov on the Bulgarian's home patch.
Kramnik has proved tougher and has a large overall plus against the teenager. So last week, when Carlsen led Kramnik by half a point with three rounds left at Dortmund, it seemed a pivotal moment was near. But then the often pacific Muscovite rose to the occasion and scored with the brilliant attack below, and Kramnik rubbed it in with his post-match comments which criticised Carlsen's fast play at the decisive moment. Black's 25...Qc7? (Rd8) foresaw a rook sac at e6 but missed the subtle prelude 30 b4! which made White's threats decisive. At the end 36...Qb6 37 Be6+ Bd7 38 Qf8+ Qd8 39 Qc5+ Kb8 40 Bxd7 Qxd7 41 Qf8+ Qc8 42 Qd6+ and mates. Kramnik won Dortmund with 6.5/10, a point ahead of Carlsen
V Kramnik v M Carlsen
1 d4 d5 2 c4 e6 3 Nf3 Nf6 4 Nc3 Be7 5 Bf4 O-O 6 e3 c5 7 dxc5 Bxc5 8 a3 Nc6 9 Qc2 Qa5 10 Rd1 Be7 11 Be2 dxc4 12 Bxc4 Nh5 13 O-O Nxf4 14 exf4 g6 15 g3 Rd8 16 Rxd8+ Qxd8 17 Rd1 Bd7 18 f5 gxf5 19 Qd2 Qb6 20 Qh6 Be8 21 Ng5 Bxg5 22 Qxg5+ Kf8 23 Qh6+ Kg8 24 Qg5+ Kf8 25 Rd6 Qc7? 26 Qh6+ Ke7 27 Qh4+ Kf8 28 Qh6+ Ke7 29 Nb5 Qa5 30 b4! Nxb4 31 Rxe6+! fxe6 32 Qxe6+ Kd8 33 Qf6+ Kc8 34 Qxf5+ Kd8 35 Qf6+ Kc8 36 axb4 1-0
1 d4 d5 2 c4 e6 3 Nf3 Nf6 4 Nc3 Be7 5 Bf4 O-O 6 e3 c5 7 dxc5 Bxc5 8 a3 Nc6 9 Qc2 Qa5 10 Rd1 Be7 11 Be2 dxc4 12 Bxc4 Nh5 13 O-O Nxf4 14 exf4 g6 15 g3 Rd8 16 Rxd8+ Qxd8 17 Rd1 Bd7 18 f5 gxf5 19 Qd2 Qb6 20 Qh6 Be8 21 Ng5 Bxg5 22 Qxg5+ Kf8 23 Qh6+ Kg8 24 Qg5+ Kf8 25 Rd6 Qc7? 26 Qh6+ Ke7 27 Qh4+ Kf8 28 Qh6+ Ke7 29 Nb5 Qa5 30 b4! Nxb4 31 Rxe6+! fxe6 32 Qxe6+ Kd8 33 Qf6+ Kc8 34 Qxf5+ Kd8 35 Qf6+ Kc8 36 axb4 1-0
3096* 1 Qc8+ Kh7 2 Nf8+ Kg8 3 Ng6+ Kh7 (if Kf7 4 Qxf5+ wins quickly) 4 Ne7! h5 5 Qg8+ Kh6 6 Qh8+ Kg5 7 Qxg7+ Kh4 8 Nxf5 mate.
Albert Einstein [1951]
Albert Einstein is probably one of the most popular figures of all times. He is considered a genius because he created the Theory of Relativity, and so, challenged Newton’s laws, that were the basis of everything known in physics until the beginning of the 20th century. But, as a person, he was considered a beatnik, and this picture, taken on March 14, 1951 proves that.
CHESS
W.J. Baird (1859-1924) was the most prolific chess composer among women, not only in her native England but in the world. She created more than 2,000 problems in her lifetime. Her work "700 Chess Problems," published in 1902, took her 14 years to complete. In one of the problems (White: Kb2,Qf3,Nb3,Nd3; Black: Kc4,Nf6,P:b5,d6), white mates in two moves. (Solution next week.)
In Capablanca's Footsteps
Can Hikaru Nakamura become the world chess champion in the next 10 years? Looking back into history, the answer is: Why not? Only twice in a span of a century has a chess player crossed the Atlantic Ocean, arrived in the Basque city of San Sebastian and won his first major round-robin tournament. In 1911, the 22-year-old Jose Raul Capablanca of Cuba finished first in a field of the world's best players. Only the world champion Emanuel Lasker was missing. In 1921 Capablanca defeated Lasker in the world championship match in his native Havana. The U.S. champion Nakamura, 21, won the elite San Sebastian tournament last week. It is up to him to match Capablanca's feat in the next decade.
The San Sebastian tales of Capablanca and Nakamura are full of other remarkable coincidences. Both were the last players invited to the event. (In 1911, Capablanca was admitted over the objection of several players led by Osip Bernstein of Russia. The Cuban redeemed himself early, defeating Bernstein in a sparkling first-round game that was awarded the Rothschild Prize for the tournament's most brilliant game.)
Both Capablanca and Nakamura had a fast start, scoring five points in the first six games. Both ended with only 50 percent in the last week of play. Capablanca was slowed by a high fever, but edged Akiba Rubinstein and Milan Vidmar by half a point in the end. Nakamura was caught in the last round by Ruslan Ponomariov, the winner of the 2001-02 FIDE knockout world championship. They each scored 6½ points in nine games, but Nakamura won the title, smashing the Ukrainian grandmaster, 2-0, in the playoff. Several of the world's top players were missing in this year's tournament, but the event was not easy. For example, the legendary world champion Anatoly Karpov finished last. He did not win a single game, managing only three draws and losing six games. It must be the worst result of his marvelous career.
The San Sebastian tales of Capablanca and Nakamura are full of other remarkable coincidences. Both were the last players invited to the event. (In 1911, Capablanca was admitted over the objection of several players led by Osip Bernstein of Russia. The Cuban redeemed himself early, defeating Bernstein in a sparkling first-round game that was awarded the Rothschild Prize for the tournament's most brilliant game.)
Both Capablanca and Nakamura had a fast start, scoring five points in the first six games. Both ended with only 50 percent in the last week of play. Capablanca was slowed by a high fever, but edged Akiba Rubinstein and Milan Vidmar by half a point in the end. Nakamura was caught in the last round by Ruslan Ponomariov, the winner of the 2001-02 FIDE knockout world championship. They each scored 6½ points in nine games, but Nakamura won the title, smashing the Ukrainian grandmaster, 2-0, in the playoff. Several of the world's top players were missing in this year's tournament, but the event was not easy. For example, the legendary world champion Anatoly Karpov finished last. He did not win a single game, managing only three draws and losing six games. It must be the worst result of his marvelous career.
Ongoing Enigma
Peter Svidler, the five-time champion of Russia, finished third in San Sebastian with 5½ points. His victory against the young French grandmaster Maxime Vachier Lagrave, 19, presents a new challenge in a fashionable line of the Marshall Attack in the Spanish opening. Ever since Frank James Marshall used it against Capablanca in New York in 1918, the Marshall Attack has baffled the best chess minds. The fact that it still survives 90 years later shows the perplexing nature of the variation. Even the most able players were not able to solve the Marshall Attack riddle. The sharp, complex variation ¿ its tactical nuances and fine strategical points ¿ was subject of many books. The latest is a useful repertory work, "Fighting the Ruy Lopez" by Milos Pavlovic, a Serbian grandmaster and former champion of Yugoslavia. It was recently published by Everyman Chess. Although Pavlovic plays the Marshall Attack with his heart, he tries to be objective in his writing. The result is a wonderful book, inspiring many discussions.
Vachier Lagrave-Svidler
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0-0 Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 0-0 8.c3 d5 (The Marshall Attack, one of the few correct gambits.) 9.exd5 Nxd5 10.Nxe5 Nxe5 11.Rxe5 c6 12.d4 Bd6 13.Re1 Qh4 14.g3 Qh3 15.Re4 (The old rook shuffle, first played more than 60 years ago, has been revitalized mainly by Vishy Anand. White threatens 16.Rh4.) 15...g5!? 16.Qf1 (16.Bxg5? Qf5 hits two white pieces at the same time.) 16...Qh5 (Svidler refrains from 16...Qxf1+, a queen exchange that led him to a fighting draw against Anand in San Luis in 1975. Pavlovic believes that black should play 16...Qh6!?, creating a lively play either after 17.Re1 Kh8 18.h4 Nf4! 19.hxg5 Nh3+ 20.Kg2 Qg6 21.f4 h6 22.gxh6 Rg8! with powerful pressure; or after 17.f3 f5! 18.Re2 f4 19.g4 Bxg4! 20.fxg4 f3 21.Rf2 Rae8 with a fierce attack for the piece.) 17.Nd2 f5 (In the game Vachier Lagrave-Kosteniuk, Paris 2008, black tried 17...Bf5 and after 18.f3! Kh8 19.Re1 Nf4 20.Ne4 Bh3 the spectacular queen sacrifice 21.Bxf4 Bxf1 22.Bxd6 was successful after 22...Bc4 23.Be5+ f6 24.Nxf6 Rxf6 25.Bxf6+ Kg8 26.Re5. But black should have played 22...Qxf3! 23.Rxf1 Qxe4 24.Be5+ Kg8 25.Rae1 Qd3! with equal chances.)
18.Re1?! (Vacher Lagrave chooses an inferior move. It remains a mystery what Svidler prepared against Motylev's 18.Bd1!, considered to give black some trouble.) 18...f4 19.Bd1 (One move too late. In the game Sambuev-Khruschiov, Moscow 2006, white tried 19.Ne4, but was overwhelmed by 19...Bh3! 20.Qd3 Rae8 21.Bd2 Bf5 22.c4 Ne3 23.c5+? Kg7 24.Bxe3 Bxe4 25.Bd1 fxg3 26.fxg3 Qh3 and black won.) 19...f3 (An unpleasant thorn in white's position.) 20.Ne4? (Going in the wrong direction. After 20.Nxf3 Rxf3 21.Bxf3 Qxf3 22.Bxg5 Qh5 23.h4 Bg4 white has plenty of pawns, but black dominates the light squares.) 20...Bh3 21.Qd3 Rae8! (Bringing the last piece into action.)
22.Bd2? (A losing move, giving Svidler the opportunity to finish the game with a beautiful two-move combination. Giving up a bishop with 22.Bxg5 was the only way to continue, although after 22...Qxg5 23.Bxf3 Qf5! black is clearly better.) 22...Rxe4!! (Eliminating a useful defender.) 23.Qxe4 (After 23.Rxe4 Bxg3! 24.hxg3 Bg2 black wins.) 23...Bxg3! (Breaking through.) 24.Bxf3 (After 24.fxg3 f2+ 25.Kh1 f1Q+ 26.Rxf1 Rxf1 mates, and after 24.hxg3 Bg2 black wins.) 24...Bxh2+! 25.Kxh2 (It does not help to play 25.Kh1, since after 25¿Rxf3 26.Qe8+ Qxe8 27.Rxe8+ Kf7 28.Rae1 Rxf2 black should win.) 25...Bg4+ 26.Kg1 Bxf3 (Threatening 27...Qh1 mate.) 27.Qe6+ Kg7 28.Qe5+ Rf6 29.Qh2 (After 29.Qxg5+ Rg6 black mates soon.) 29...Rh6 (After 30.Qe5+ Nf6 31.Qe7+ Qf7 white gets mated.) White resigned.
18.Re1?! (Vacher Lagrave chooses an inferior move. It remains a mystery what Svidler prepared against Motylev's 18.Bd1!, considered to give black some trouble.) 18...f4 19.Bd1 (One move too late. In the game Sambuev-Khruschiov, Moscow 2006, white tried 19.Ne4, but was overwhelmed by 19...Bh3! 20.Qd3 Rae8 21.Bd2 Bf5 22.c4 Ne3 23.c5+? Kg7 24.Bxe3 Bxe4 25.Bd1 fxg3 26.fxg3 Qh3 and black won.) 19...f3 (An unpleasant thorn in white's position.) 20.Ne4? (Going in the wrong direction. After 20.Nxf3 Rxf3 21.Bxf3 Qxf3 22.Bxg5 Qh5 23.h4 Bg4 white has plenty of pawns, but black dominates the light squares.) 20...Bh3 21.Qd3 Rae8! (Bringing the last piece into action.)
22.Bd2? (A losing move, giving Svidler the opportunity to finish the game with a beautiful two-move combination. Giving up a bishop with 22.Bxg5 was the only way to continue, although after 22...Qxg5 23.Bxf3 Qf5! black is clearly better.) 22...Rxe4!! (Eliminating a useful defender.) 23.Qxe4 (After 23.Rxe4 Bxg3! 24.hxg3 Bg2 black wins.) 23...Bxg3! (Breaking through.) 24.Bxf3 (After 24.fxg3 f2+ 25.Kh1 f1Q+ 26.Rxf1 Rxf1 mates, and after 24.hxg3 Bg2 black wins.) 24...Bxh2+! 25.Kxh2 (It does not help to play 25.Kh1, since after 25¿Rxf3 26.Qe8+ Qxe8 27.Rxe8+ Kf7 28.Rae1 Rxf2 black should win.) 25...Bg4+ 26.Kg1 Bxf3 (Threatening 27...Qh1 mate.) 27.Qe6+ Kg7 28.Qe5+ Rf6 29.Qh2 (After 29.Qxg5+ Rg6 black mates soon.) 29...Rh6 (After 30.Qe5+ Nf6 31.Qe7+ Qf7 white gets mated.) White resigned.
Afghan Girl [1984]
And of course the afghan girl, picture shot by National Geographic photographer Steve McCurry. Sharbat Gula was one of the students in an informal school within the refugee camp; McCurry, rarely given the opportunity to photograph Afghan women, seized the opportunity and captured her image. She was approximately 12 years old at the time. She made it on the cover of National Geographic next year, and her identity was discovered in 1992
Monday, July 20, 2009
With Nine Wins, a Russian Dominates a German Event
There may not be a home-field advantage in chess, but some players have triumphed at the same tournaments over and over.
Skip to next paragraph
Garry Kasparov, the former world champion, has won the annual super tournament in Linares, Spain, nine times. Viswanathan Anand, the current world champion, has won the rapid chess tournament in Mainz, Germany, 11 times. He has also won the Magistral Ciudad de León in Spain seven times. And Bobby Fischer won all eight United States championships in which he competed.
Those tournaments may have suited the champions’ styles. Anand has been among the best at rapid chess (where players have 20 or 25 minutes per player per game) for 20 years, and that is the format of the Mainz and León tournaments. Fischer, on the other hand, was just plain better than any players in the United States when he won his titles in the 1950s and 1960s.
Some players have placed more emphasis on certain events, as Kasparov did on Linares.
That is one reason Vladimir Kramnik of Russia has dominated the annual Sparkassen Chess-Meeting in Dortmund, Germany. Last weekend, Kramnik, a former world champion, won the event for the ninth time.
•
He trailed through the first seven rounds, but in Round 8 he beat Magnus Carlsen of Norway, who had led until then.
Kramnik’s 11 Be2 was unusual; more common is 11 Nd2 which can lead to a complicated position after 11 ... e5 12 Bg5 d4 13 Nb3 Qd8 14 Be2 Ng4 15 Be7 Qe7. But that is not Kramnik’s style. He prefers less tactical positions. After 12 Bc4, White had a small edge based on his freer development.
Kramnik’s 18 f5 was a nice idea, but it should not have led to victory. After 19 ... Qb6, White could not play 20 Qd7 because 20 ... Rd8 wins White’s queen.
Carlsen blundered with 25 ... Qc7. Instead, 25 ... Qc5 26 Ne4 Qc4 27 Nf6 Ke7 28 Rd1 Nd4 29 Ne8 Ke8 30 Qg8 Ke7 31 Qa8 Qd5 32 Rd4 (the only way to defend the weaknesses around White’s king) Qd4 33 Qb7 Kf6 gives Black good prospects to draw. Or 25 ... Rd8 26 Qh6 Kg8 27 Re6 Qd4 28 Rf6 Qc4 29 Rc6 Qd3, and Black should survive. In this line, Black cannot play 27 ... fe6 because of 28 Qe6 Kg7 29 Qg8 Kf6 30 Qf8 Ke5 31 Nb5 Qb5 32 Bb5.
After 28 Qh6, Black could not play 28 ... Kg8 because of 29 Re6 fe6 30 Be6 Bf7 31 Nd5 Qd8 32 Nf6 Qf6 33 Qf6 is an easy win for White.
Carlsen resigned because mate was inevitable.
Skip to next paragraph
Garry Kasparov, the former world champion, has won the annual super tournament in Linares, Spain, nine times. Viswanathan Anand, the current world champion, has won the rapid chess tournament in Mainz, Germany, 11 times. He has also won the Magistral Ciudad de León in Spain seven times. And Bobby Fischer won all eight United States championships in which he competed.
Those tournaments may have suited the champions’ styles. Anand has been among the best at rapid chess (where players have 20 or 25 minutes per player per game) for 20 years, and that is the format of the Mainz and León tournaments. Fischer, on the other hand, was just plain better than any players in the United States when he won his titles in the 1950s and 1960s.
Some players have placed more emphasis on certain events, as Kasparov did on Linares.
That is one reason Vladimir Kramnik of Russia has dominated the annual Sparkassen Chess-Meeting in Dortmund, Germany. Last weekend, Kramnik, a former world champion, won the event for the ninth time.
•
He trailed through the first seven rounds, but in Round 8 he beat Magnus Carlsen of Norway, who had led until then.
Kramnik’s 11 Be2 was unusual; more common is 11 Nd2 which can lead to a complicated position after 11 ... e5 12 Bg5 d4 13 Nb3 Qd8 14 Be2 Ng4 15 Be7 Qe7. But that is not Kramnik’s style. He prefers less tactical positions. After 12 Bc4, White had a small edge based on his freer development.
Kramnik’s 18 f5 was a nice idea, but it should not have led to victory. After 19 ... Qb6, White could not play 20 Qd7 because 20 ... Rd8 wins White’s queen.
Carlsen blundered with 25 ... Qc7. Instead, 25 ... Qc5 26 Ne4 Qc4 27 Nf6 Ke7 28 Rd1 Nd4 29 Ne8 Ke8 30 Qg8 Ke7 31 Qa8 Qd5 32 Rd4 (the only way to defend the weaknesses around White’s king) Qd4 33 Qb7 Kf6 gives Black good prospects to draw. Or 25 ... Rd8 26 Qh6 Kg8 27 Re6 Qd4 28 Rf6 Qc4 29 Rc6 Qd3, and Black should survive. In this line, Black cannot play 27 ... fe6 because of 28 Qe6 Kg7 29 Qg8 Kf6 30 Qf8 Ke5 31 Nb5 Qb5 32 Bb5.
After 28 Qh6, Black could not play 28 ... Kg8 because of 29 Re6 fe6 30 Be6 Bf7 31 Nd5 Qd8 32 Nf6 Qf6 33 Qf6 is an easy win for White.
Carlsen resigned because mate was inevitable.
Saturday, July 18, 2009
U.S. Chess Federation Lawsuit Becomes Criminal Issue
A dispute among board members of the United States Chess Federation that has prompted several lawsuits has now become a criminal matter.
A member of the federation was arraigned Friday in Federal District Court in San Jose, Calif., and charged with identity theft and breaking into the e-mail account of a federation board member.
According to the indictment, the accused, Gregory Alexander of Everett, Wash., accessed the e-mail account of the board secretary, Randall Hough, at least 34 times.
The federation has alleged in a lawsuit that Mr. Alexander read messages between Mr. Hough and an outside counsel hired by the federation, the governing body of chess. The counsel, Karl S. Kronenberger, had been hired to investigate accusations that two federation members posted thousands of obscene and defamatory messages on Internet bulletin boards under the name of a board member in order to get themselves elected to the board.
A woman who answered the phone at Mr. Alexander’s residence declined to comment early Friday evening.
The two members, Susan Polgar and Paul Truong, who are married, were elected in July 2007. Ms. Polgar, who was the women’s world champion from 1996 to 1999, is the oldest of three highly successful Hungarian-born chess-playing sisters. The youngest, Judit, is the only woman ever to be ranked in the top 10 players in the world.
Many of the messages were posted in the name of Samuel H. Sloan of the Bronx, who lost in his bid for re-election to the board in 2007.
Mr. Sloan filed a lawsuit over the postings in 2007, naming Ms. Polgar, Mr. Truong, the federation and others as defendants. That case was dismissed in August 2008. But before it was, the federation hired Mr. Kronenberger to look into Mr. Sloan’s claims. Mr. Kronenberger concluded that Mr. Truong was responsible for the Web postings.
The federation subsequently filed a lawsuit to have Ms. Polgar and Mr. Truong removed from the board. Ms. Polgar filed her own suit against the federation last August, claiming libel, slander and “business disparagement.”
In the course of Mr. Kronenberger’s investigation, Ms. Polgar quoted on her chess Web site some of the e-mail messages he exchanged with other board members.
In an interview last year, Ms. Polgar said, “the messages were public knowledge; they were on the Internet.”
In June 2008, the federation, contending that the e-mail messages had been stolen, filed yet another lawsuit seeking to force Internet service providers to turn over the protocol addresses that had been used to gain access to the board’s e-mail accounts.
Based on the responses it received to the subpoenas, the federation amended its suit in October, naming as defendants Ms. Polgar and Mr. Alexander, who has managed Ms. Polgar’s chess discussion Web site.
A member of the federation was arraigned Friday in Federal District Court in San Jose, Calif., and charged with identity theft and breaking into the e-mail account of a federation board member.
According to the indictment, the accused, Gregory Alexander of Everett, Wash., accessed the e-mail account of the board secretary, Randall Hough, at least 34 times.
The federation has alleged in a lawsuit that Mr. Alexander read messages between Mr. Hough and an outside counsel hired by the federation, the governing body of chess. The counsel, Karl S. Kronenberger, had been hired to investigate accusations that two federation members posted thousands of obscene and defamatory messages on Internet bulletin boards under the name of a board member in order to get themselves elected to the board.
A woman who answered the phone at Mr. Alexander’s residence declined to comment early Friday evening.
The two members, Susan Polgar and Paul Truong, who are married, were elected in July 2007. Ms. Polgar, who was the women’s world champion from 1996 to 1999, is the oldest of three highly successful Hungarian-born chess-playing sisters. The youngest, Judit, is the only woman ever to be ranked in the top 10 players in the world.
Many of the messages were posted in the name of Samuel H. Sloan of the Bronx, who lost in his bid for re-election to the board in 2007.
Mr. Sloan filed a lawsuit over the postings in 2007, naming Ms. Polgar, Mr. Truong, the federation and others as defendants. That case was dismissed in August 2008. But before it was, the federation hired Mr. Kronenberger to look into Mr. Sloan’s claims. Mr. Kronenberger concluded that Mr. Truong was responsible for the Web postings.
The federation subsequently filed a lawsuit to have Ms. Polgar and Mr. Truong removed from the board. Ms. Polgar filed her own suit against the federation last August, claiming libel, slander and “business disparagement.”
In the course of Mr. Kronenberger’s investigation, Ms. Polgar quoted on her chess Web site some of the e-mail messages he exchanged with other board members.
In an interview last year, Ms. Polgar said, “the messages were public knowledge; they were on the Internet.”
In June 2008, the federation, contending that the e-mail messages had been stolen, filed yet another lawsuit seeking to force Internet service providers to turn over the protocol addresses that had been used to gain access to the board’s e-mail accounts.
Based on the responses it received to the subpoenas, the federation amended its suit in October, naming as defendants Ms. Polgar and Mr. Alexander, who has managed Ms. Polgar’s chess discussion Web site.
Ronan Bennett & Daniel King on chess: Jansa-Rublevsky, Ostrava 1992. Chess has long been used as a metaphor in literature. Here are two of the best examples. Click on the arrows to see the final move
Buzz up!
Digg it
Ronan Bennett, Daniel King
The Guardian
, Friday 17 July 2009
Article history
Jansa-Rublevsky, Ostrava 1992. White to play and draw.
DK Many novels feature chess: a game can be a metaphor for almost any situation in life, but most clearly for a struggle between good and evil. That's certainly the case with the two books I'm recommending here, both set during the second world war.
Stefan Zweig's Schachnovelle, usually translated into English – with some irony – as The Royal Game, is rich with ideas. On a cruise ship bound for South America, a wealthy passenger challenges the world chess champion – in the middle of an exhibition tour – to a game. The champion gets more than he bargained for when an enigmatic kibitzer intervenes for the challenger. Schachnovelle is a tense psychological drama with excellent characterisation. Czentovic, the young world champion, is an idiot savant in a fashionable suit with airs and graces but few manners and no formal education. With prescience, Zweig has come close to describing Bobby Fischer – as well as several modern-day chess professionals. Zweig's prose style in the original German is lucid. The same cannot be said for the first English translation I bought. Make sure you get the Penguin Red edition entitled Chess: a Novella, translated by Anthea Bell.
Stalemate by Icchokas Meras, set in a Jewish ghetto in Lithuania during the holocaust, is no less gripping. The language is poetic, spare and sometimes biblical in tone, and that's fitting for a story in which Abraham Lipman, one of the elders of the Jewish community, is forced to offer the life of his son Isaac as part of a horrific deal. The Nazi commander, Schoger, challenges Isaac to a game of chess. If Schoger wins, Isaac's life will be spared, but the children in the ghetto will be taken to a concentration camp. If Isaac wins, he will be killed, but the children will be spared. The story speaks of cruelty, courage, dignity and hope, and is beautifully told. Stalemate is published in the US by Other Press and I ordered my copy online.
In the diagram White's position looks desperate – his remaining kingside pawn is about to fall when Black's two passed pawns, supported by the king, will win easily. But there is a miraculous defence: 1 Ra2. Black's rook must capture and the White king is stalemated.
chess@guardian.co.uk
Buzz up!
Digg it
Ronan Bennett, Daniel King
The Guardian
, Friday 17 July 2009
Article history
Jansa-Rublevsky, Ostrava 1992. White to play and draw.
DK Many novels feature chess: a game can be a metaphor for almost any situation in life, but most clearly for a struggle between good and evil. That's certainly the case with the two books I'm recommending here, both set during the second world war.
Stefan Zweig's Schachnovelle, usually translated into English – with some irony – as The Royal Game, is rich with ideas. On a cruise ship bound for South America, a wealthy passenger challenges the world chess champion – in the middle of an exhibition tour – to a game. The champion gets more than he bargained for when an enigmatic kibitzer intervenes for the challenger. Schachnovelle is a tense psychological drama with excellent characterisation. Czentovic, the young world champion, is an idiot savant in a fashionable suit with airs and graces but few manners and no formal education. With prescience, Zweig has come close to describing Bobby Fischer – as well as several modern-day chess professionals. Zweig's prose style in the original German is lucid. The same cannot be said for the first English translation I bought. Make sure you get the Penguin Red edition entitled Chess: a Novella, translated by Anthea Bell.
Stalemate by Icchokas Meras, set in a Jewish ghetto in Lithuania during the holocaust, is no less gripping. The language is poetic, spare and sometimes biblical in tone, and that's fitting for a story in which Abraham Lipman, one of the elders of the Jewish community, is forced to offer the life of his son Isaac as part of a horrific deal. The Nazi commander, Schoger, challenges Isaac to a game of chess. If Schoger wins, Isaac's life will be spared, but the children in the ghetto will be taken to a concentration camp. If Isaac wins, he will be killed, but the children will be spared. The story speaks of cruelty, courage, dignity and hope, and is beautifully told. Stalemate is published in the US by Other Press and I ordered my copy online.
In the diagram White's position looks desperate – his remaining kingside pawn is about to fall when Black's two passed pawns, supported by the king, will win easily. But there is a miraculous defence: 1 Ra2. Black's rook must capture and the White king is stalemated.
chess@guardian.co.uk
Friday, July 17, 2009
Chess
Two tie in bizarre World Open
International Master July 12, 2009
Two tie in bizarre World Open
International Master July 12, 2009
Position No. 6063: Black to play and win. From the game Phil Chase-Eugene Yanayt, SCCF Candidates, Garden Grove 2009.Solution to Position No. 6062: Black wins a Rook neatly with 1 . . . Bc4!, threatening 2 . . . Rf1 mate. If 2 Rxc4, then 2 . . . Rd1+ wins.Grandmasters Evgeny Najer of Russia and Hikaru
Nakamura of New York tied for first place in the 37th World Open, which ended last Sunday in Philadelphia. There were 34 GMs in the Open section of the $250,000 event.Najer, who shared first place also in 2007 and 2008, accumulated his 7-2 score in the traditional manner. However, Nakamura chose the abbreviated three-day schedule, scored 4 1/2 - 1/2 in fast games on his first day of play, drew GM Ilya Smirin of Israel and defeated Najer on his second day, then left the tournament and received half-point byes for his last two rounds. Before you laugh, consider that Nakamura netted nearly $15,000.California's top player, GM Varuzhan Akobian, tied for third place at 6 1/2 -2 1/2 with GMs Smirin, former U.S. champion Gata Kamsky, Jiri Stocek of the Czech Republic and Leonid Yudasin of Israel.
International newsNakamura had a good excuse for leaving the World Open. He is one of nine grandmasters facing Anatoly Karpov, world champion from 1975 to 1985, in an intriguing round robin that began Tuesday in Donostia, Spain.The 58-year-old Karpov, now ranked 98th in the world at 2644, occasionally participates in exhibitions and team events, but he has played in only two serious tournaments since 2004. His ranking suggests he will struggle against the younger generation. Will he confound expectations?For the latest results, see donostiachess.com/en.
Chess
Lucky Break Helps a Russian Defend His World Open Title
It takes skill to win the biggest open tournament in the United States, but to win it twice might require a bit of luck, too.Last weekend, Evgeniy Najer of Russia won the World Open in Philadelphia. The tournament attracts top players from all over the world because it has the biggest prize fund of any open competition.
Najer, ranked No. 67 in the world, won last year’s open in a playoff. This year, Najer won by default after tying for first with Hikaru Nakamura, the reigning United States champion. There was no playoff because Nakamura had to leave early for an elite invitational in Spain.
If there had been a playoff, it would have been an Armageddon game, which relies on speed. And Nakamura is one of the best speed chess players in the world.
Najer had lost to Nakamura in Round 7, leaving him a point behind. But Nakamura, by leaving early, was forced to take byes in the last two rounds, which counted as a half-point each. That allowed Najer, who won his last two games, to catch up.
Those final two victories came over the grandmasters Alexander Shabalov and Jaan Ehlvest.
Najer was Black against Ehlvest, but be took the initiative after Ehlvest played too passively. Ehlvest adopted the King’s Indian Attack in the Reti Opening. White’s usual plan is to push his pawn to e5 and bring his queen knight around to the kingside, via f1 and h2 and g4.
Najer’s 9 ... Na6 was uncommon; usually Black plays 9 ... Nbd7. It temporarily left Black’s knight off to the side, but it left d7 open for his other knight, in case White pushed his e pawn.
That did not happen. Instead, Ehlvest misplaced his knight on b3, then put his dark-squared bishop on the vulnerable f4 square.
Ehlvest played 20 Na1 rather than 20 Qe3 to slow Black’s development. The point was to keep a Black rook off of d8 because of the threat of Ba5. But putting the knight on a1 was too big a concession.
Najer’s 24 ... f5 was a clever idea. Ehlvest had to trade pawns, but he should then have tried 26 Nh2 or 26 Qd1.
Ehlvest’s blundered with 31 Nc2; 31 Be3 was better. After 32 ... Nb3, White had to lose material. Ehlvest soon resigned.
•
A follow-up to last week’s column about the American teenagers Alex Lenderman and Samuel L. Shankland, who both had a chance to earn the grandmaster title at the World Open: Lenderman tied for eighth, fulfilling the requirements for the title.
Lucky Break Helps a Russian Defend His World Open Title
It takes skill to win the biggest open tournament in the United States, but to win it twice might require a bit of luck, too.Last weekend, Evgeniy Najer of Russia won the World Open in Philadelphia. The tournament attracts top players from all over the world because it has the biggest prize fund of any open competition.
Najer, ranked No. 67 in the world, won last year’s open in a playoff. This year, Najer won by default after tying for first with Hikaru Nakamura, the reigning United States champion. There was no playoff because Nakamura had to leave early for an elite invitational in Spain.
If there had been a playoff, it would have been an Armageddon game, which relies on speed. And Nakamura is one of the best speed chess players in the world.
Najer had lost to Nakamura in Round 7, leaving him a point behind. But Nakamura, by leaving early, was forced to take byes in the last two rounds, which counted as a half-point each. That allowed Najer, who won his last two games, to catch up.
Those final two victories came over the grandmasters Alexander Shabalov and Jaan Ehlvest.
Najer was Black against Ehlvest, but be took the initiative after Ehlvest played too passively. Ehlvest adopted the King’s Indian Attack in the Reti Opening. White’s usual plan is to push his pawn to e5 and bring his queen knight around to the kingside, via f1 and h2 and g4.
Najer’s 9 ... Na6 was uncommon; usually Black plays 9 ... Nbd7. It temporarily left Black’s knight off to the side, but it left d7 open for his other knight, in case White pushed his e pawn.
That did not happen. Instead, Ehlvest misplaced his knight on b3, then put his dark-squared bishop on the vulnerable f4 square.
Ehlvest played 20 Na1 rather than 20 Qe3 to slow Black’s development. The point was to keep a Black rook off of d8 because of the threat of Ba5. But putting the knight on a1 was too big a concession.
Najer’s 24 ... f5 was a clever idea. Ehlvest had to trade pawns, but he should then have tried 26 Nh2 or 26 Qd1.
Ehlvest’s blundered with 31 Nc2; 31 Be3 was better. After 32 ... Nb3, White had to lose material. Ehlvest soon resigned.
•
A follow-up to last week’s column about the American teenagers Alex Lenderman and Samuel L. Shankland, who both had a chance to earn the grandmaster title at the World Open: Lenderman tied for eighth, fulfilling the requirements for the title.
Russian chess grandmaster Kramnik sets Guinness world record
13 Jul, 03:13 PM
Russian chess grandmaster Vladimir Kramnik has set a Guinness world record for winning the Sparkassen Chess Meeting in Dortmund for the ninth time, Russian website NewsRu.com reports.
Kramnik won the 2009 Sparkassen Chess Meeting by beating Arkadij Naiditsch in the last round. The Russian, who clinched his 9th title in Dortmund, finished a full point ahead of Carlsen, Leko and Jakovenko.
The Sparkassen Chess Meeting took place July 2-12 in Dortmund, Germany. Carlsen, Jakovenko, Kramnik, Leko, Bacrot and Naiditsch played a double round-robin. The rate of play was 40 moves in 100 minutes + 50 minutes for 20 moves + 15 minutes to end the game with 30 seconds increment per move from the start.
What started as a dreary tournament eventually finished with three very entertaining rounds. In the last match Vladimir Kramnik beat 2005 winner Arkadij Naiditsch to finish a full point ahead of his rivals, as the Carlsen-Bacrot and Leko-Jakovenko matches both ended in draws.
Kramnik has shown excellent preparation at this tournament and in the last round showed innovative gamesmanship against Naiditsch. It was a slight improvement over Leko’s play of just two days ago which should technical prowess, although it did not pose too great a threat to Kramnik.
The former World Champion played another strong game, took the full point and showed that he was the strongest in Dortmund this year - again, for the 9th time.
Leko, last year's winner, was the only other player to finished undefeated. He did so in unspectacular fashion, in eight games that finished in a draw before move 30. He beat Bacrot but later could not manage anything better against Jakovenko.
Jakovenko recovered well from his first-round loss against Carlsen by scoring +1 in the last nine rounds and so finished second equal with Leko and Carlsen, who played a good, solid tournament with just one big mistake - the Qc7 move against Kramnik - and with two fine wins against the Berlin Wall.
Bacrot, who qualified as the winner of this year’s Aeroflot Open, finished on -2 despite showing some good chess. Naiditsch was the only player clearly off form.
Kramnik is the first player in the world to win one of the three super tournaments Corus, Linares or Dortmund nine times. Until now he had shared the record with Kasparov who won Linares eight times. Not a fair comparison, since Dortmund was a single round-robin for many years. Kramnik said afterwards, “The new goal in my chess career is to win Dortmund for the 10th time.”
Chess notes
July 13, 2009
Ever since Bobby Fischer dropped out of chess, American players have been looking for a new hero in the Royal Game. Gata Kamsky played superlative chess in winning the 2007 World Cup and in contesting Veselin Topalov in the semifinals of the World Championship, but has had difficulties of late. He came here at the age of 15.
Hikaru Nakamura came to this country at the age of 2, and has always been considered to be an American player. His stepfather and early coach was Sunil Weeramantry, one of the most prominent chess coaches in this country. Nakamura early on broke records for being the youngest US chess master and the world’s youngest grandmaster. But he also became known as a reckless combinational player, active on the Internet with blitz play. He plans publication of a book “Bullet Chess, One Minute to Mate’’ later this year. In Denmark, Nakamura shook the world by playing as White 1.e4, e5 2. Qh5! against Indian grandmaster Krishnan Saskiran. He lost that game but had the better of the opening. In defying established chess wisdom that best play reserves the queen for active play in the middle game, Nakamura earned the sardonic disapproval of Garry Kasparov.
Surely Nakamura, 2009 American Champion, takes first place as an American hero with substantial chances against the world grandmasters. Another candidate for popularity is Robert Hess of New York, a grandmaster in high school this year, who came in second to Nakamura in the United States Championship. But getting back to Nakamura, it appears that he has been biding his time in Dickinson College with only occasional forays to Europe. In 2005, he was knocked out in the first round of the World Cup. Since then he has entered the Gibraltar tournaments, placing first, second, and joint third in three tournaments.
Now, it seems that Nakamura is ready to make a serious bid in Europe. The big news is that he has been invited to next year’s Corus “A’’ event held in Wijk aan Zee, Holland. He has also been invited to a super-tourney in Spain this month and the London Chess Classic in December. He left the World Open early to play in Spain, and so took two byes and tied for first place. Sergey Karjakin, who lost a match to Nakamura in 2004, won Corus in 2009. Competitors this year included Magnus Carlsen, Alexander Morozevich, Vassily Ivanchuk, and Levon Aronian, who can be expected to be reinvited. Missing in 2009 were Viswanathan Anand, Topalov, and Vladimir Kramnik, but it is conceivable one of them might be present.
Brevity: Janowsky v. E. Bogoljubov (1914) 1.d4 d5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.c4 e6 4.Bg5 Be7 5.e3 Nbd7 6.Nc3 0--0 7.Bd3 dxc4 8.Bxc4 a6 9.a4 c5 10.0--0 cxd4 11.exd4 Nb6 12.Bd3 Nbd5 13.Re1 Bd7 14.Ne5 Rc8 15.Qf3 Nxc3 16.bxc3 Rc7 17.Re3 Bc8 18.Bxf6 Bxf6 19.Bxh7+ (1-0; since if 19,,, KxB., then 20.Qh5+ Kg8, 21. Rh3 wins)
Winners: Worcester 9th June Knights: 1st, J.Curdo 3.5/4, 2d Predrag Cicovacki 3/4, 3d, Alonzo Ross 2.5/4; Metrowest. Summer Solstice: Tied for 1st-3d. Igor Foygel, Denys Shmelov & Charles Riordan, 4/5.
Coming events: Wednesday, BCC Early Bird Quick Play; Saturday, BCC Summer Open, Boylston Chess Club, 240B Elm St., Somerville. www.BoylstonChessClub.org. Free Chess Instruction: Every Thursday, July 16-Aug. 13. Wellesley Free Library, 6:30-8:30 p.m. www.WellesleyFreeLibrary.org
July 13, 2009
Ever since Bobby Fischer dropped out of chess, American players have been looking for a new hero in the Royal Game. Gata Kamsky played superlative chess in winning the 2007 World Cup and in contesting Veselin Topalov in the semifinals of the World Championship, but has had difficulties of late. He came here at the age of 15.
Hikaru Nakamura came to this country at the age of 2, and has always been considered to be an American player. His stepfather and early coach was Sunil Weeramantry, one of the most prominent chess coaches in this country. Nakamura early on broke records for being the youngest US chess master and the world’s youngest grandmaster. But he also became known as a reckless combinational player, active on the Internet with blitz play. He plans publication of a book “Bullet Chess, One Minute to Mate’’ later this year. In Denmark, Nakamura shook the world by playing as White 1.e4, e5 2. Qh5! against Indian grandmaster Krishnan Saskiran. He lost that game but had the better of the opening. In defying established chess wisdom that best play reserves the queen for active play in the middle game, Nakamura earned the sardonic disapproval of Garry Kasparov.
Surely Nakamura, 2009 American Champion, takes first place as an American hero with substantial chances against the world grandmasters. Another candidate for popularity is Robert Hess of New York, a grandmaster in high school this year, who came in second to Nakamura in the United States Championship. But getting back to Nakamura, it appears that he has been biding his time in Dickinson College with only occasional forays to Europe. In 2005, he was knocked out in the first round of the World Cup. Since then he has entered the Gibraltar tournaments, placing first, second, and joint third in three tournaments.
Now, it seems that Nakamura is ready to make a serious bid in Europe. The big news is that he has been invited to next year’s Corus “A’’ event held in Wijk aan Zee, Holland. He has also been invited to a super-tourney in Spain this month and the London Chess Classic in December. He left the World Open early to play in Spain, and so took two byes and tied for first place. Sergey Karjakin, who lost a match to Nakamura in 2004, won Corus in 2009. Competitors this year included Magnus Carlsen, Alexander Morozevich, Vassily Ivanchuk, and Levon Aronian, who can be expected to be reinvited. Missing in 2009 were Viswanathan Anand, Topalov, and Vladimir Kramnik, but it is conceivable one of them might be present.
Brevity: Janowsky v. E. Bogoljubov (1914) 1.d4 d5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.c4 e6 4.Bg5 Be7 5.e3 Nbd7 6.Nc3 0--0 7.Bd3 dxc4 8.Bxc4 a6 9.a4 c5 10.0--0 cxd4 11.exd4 Nb6 12.Bd3 Nbd5 13.Re1 Bd7 14.Ne5 Rc8 15.Qf3 Nxc3 16.bxc3 Rc7 17.Re3 Bc8 18.Bxf6 Bxf6 19.Bxh7+ (1-0; since if 19,,, KxB., then 20.Qh5+ Kg8, 21. Rh3 wins)
Winners: Worcester 9th June Knights: 1st, J.Curdo 3.5/4, 2d Predrag Cicovacki 3/4, 3d, Alonzo Ross 2.5/4; Metrowest. Summer Solstice: Tied for 1st-3d. Igor Foygel, Denys Shmelov & Charles Riordan, 4/5.
Coming events: Wednesday, BCC Early Bird Quick Play; Saturday, BCC Summer Open, Boylston Chess Club, 240B Elm St., Somerville. www.BoylstonChessClub.org. Free Chess Instruction: Every Thursday, July 16-Aug. 13. Wellesley Free Library, 6:30-8:30 p.m. www.WellesleyFreeLibrary.org
Monday, July 13, 2009
Polgar: Breaking through the barriers in the world of chess
Lubbock Avalanche-Journal
Sunday, July 12, 2009Story last updated at 7/12/2009 - 1:32 am
This week's column is a continuation from last week. The question of the week is what were some of the breakthrough games in my career. Here is another one.
Susan Polgar - Grandmaster Ljubomir LjubojevicBilbao, 1987
There is a special story connected with this game. Legendary grandmaster Ljubojevic was one of the greatest chess grandmasters in modern time. He was ranked among the top five to 10 in the world for a long time.
However, he has voiced his view with the organizers that they should not be inviting female participants (former Women's World Champion Chiburdanidze and me) in such a prestigious event. He claimed that the tournament was too strong for women!
I have fought all kinds of discrimination such as gender, religious, and age, since I was 4 years old, and I would never back down to this kind of intimidation. Therefore, his comment gave me the extra motivation to beat him. And I did! Ironically, he lost against both women!
In 1991, I became the first woman in history to earn the men's grandmaster title through traditional FIDE requirements. In 1996, I became the first and only person in history (male or female) to win the chess triple crown (world rapid, blitz, and classical chess championships). I broke through many more barriers.
So the message that I would like to give to all the young boys and girls is they will likely face barriers, obstacles, and difficulties in life. Don't use this as an excuse to fail. Use these challenges as a motivation to succeed and do better.
1.d4 In the mid to late 1980's, I started most of my games with this move.
1...Nf6 The Queen's Pawn openings (1.d4 d5) are considered more peaceful.
">style="bold">2.Nf3 One of the ideas of this move order is to avoid the Benko Gambit which I have used as Black against F. Portisch (see Game 1).
2...d6 This is a less often used setup than 2...e6 followed by 3...b6 to play the Queens Indian or 2...g6 to play the Gruenfeld or Kings Indian defense.
3.g3 At that time of my career, I had a special liking to fianchetto my Bishop(s). Naturally 3.c4 is also possible with more focus on play in the center.
3...Bg4 Black still has the option to transpose to the King's Indian defense with 3...g6.
">style="bold">4.Bg2 Developing and preparing to castle.
4...Nbd7 With this move, Black prepares e7-e5. Another interesting plan is 4...Qc8 with the idea of trying to trade Bishops with Bg4-h3. If White answers with 5.h3, Black could play Bd7 and White would have some difficulties castling (without losing the h3 Pawn).
5.c4 Now that Black is about to approach the center with e7-e5, I have to prepare to deal with it.
5...e5 With this Pawn advance, Black prepares to develop the Bishop on e7.
">style="bold">6.Nc3 Developing move to control the central d5 and e4 squares.
6...c6 This is a typical move that makes sense in this position. It takes control of the d5 square and also reduces the potential power of White's Bishop on g2.
7.0-0 In most of my games it is my first priority to me to put my King in safety.
7...Be7 Now after 7...e4 8.Ng5 d5, I planned to open the e file with 9.cxd5 cxd5 followed 10.f3 and white is better devoleped
8.h3 After this move, Black cannot keep his pair of Bishops.
8...Bxf3 After 8....Bh5 White would continue with 9.Nh4 followed by g4 or Nf5 trading the Knight for one of the Bishops.
9.exf3 The normal recapture of course would be with the Bishop. I do not think that what I played is bad. However, if I have the same position today, I probably would choose the more conservative way.
9...exd4 There was no need to rush with this trade. I would prefer 9...0-0.
10.Qxd4 Now, White's target is quite obvious: the weakened d6 Pawn on the half open d file.
10...Qb6 Black would like to trade Queens and then after 11.Qxb6 Nxb6 12.b3 play 12...d5 and get rid of the weakness.
11.Qd2! At first, this looks like a weird place for the Queen, being right in front of the Bishop. However, this is an exception from the rule. In this position, Black cannot take advantage of the temporary awkwardness of White's position. My next move would be 12.b3 to develop the Bishop along the c1-a3 diagonal.
11...0-0 It is time for Black to castle. Castling on the Queenside would be far too risky because the Black c7 Pawn already moved to c6. White would start a Queenside attack after 11...0-0-0 with 12.Rb1 and then b2-b4.
12.b3 Preparing for the development of the Bishop.
12...Nc5 12...Ne5 would not make sense as after 13.f4, the Knight would need to leave.
">style="bold">13.Re1 Occupying the open file by attacking the Bishop.
13...Rfe8 Naturally, the Bishop did not have to move.
">style="bold">14.Bb2 Finally, both sides are fully developed and the strategic middlegame phase starts. After the immediate 14.Ba3 I did not like 14...Qa5 15.Bb2 and 15...d5!
14...a5 A good idea! The threat is a5-a4 to destroy White's healthy Pawn structure on the Queenside.
">style="bold">15.Ba3 This now works better because the Black Pawn on a5 prevents the Queen from going there. The idea of the move is to meet 15...a4 with 16.b4.
Perhaps 15.Ne4 right away is even more accurate. For example, 15...Nfxe4 16.fxe4 a4 17.b4 and now 17...a3 loses because of the pin with 18.Bd4.
15...Bf8 Getting away from the cute threat of 16.Rxe7! Rxe7 17.Qxd6.
">style="bold">16.Ne4! This forces the trade of Knights which enables me to get rid of my doubled Pawns on the f file.
16...Nfxe4 If Black would trade with the other Knight then the d6 Pawn would be under pressure right away.
">style="bold">17.fxe4 No more doubled Pawns! That is certainly an achievement for White.
17...Rad8? This is the most obvious looking move but it leads to long term passivity. Black was better of sacrificing the d6 Pawn with 17...g6 18.Bb2 and now 18...Bg7 19.Bxg7 Kxg7 20.Qxd6 Rad8 21.Qf4 Nd3. White can escape from the fork by playing 22.Qe3. However, Black has decent compensation after 22...Qd4. Black will get control of the d file and some important dark squares like d4, c5 and b4.
">style="bold">18.Bb2! The Bishop has fulfilled its mission on a3, time to get back to the long diagonal.
18...Qc7 Now 18....g6 is too late as 19.Qd4 would get Black in big trouble.
After 18...a4, 19.b4 is next.
19.Rad1 White is centralizing the Rook. The nice part about these types of positions is White has all the time in the world to slowly improving the position without needing to worry much about Black's counter play.
19...Rd7 Getting ready to double the Rooks on either the e or d files!
20.Bc3 Provoking further weakening of the Queen side.
20...b6 In this position, I had to make perhaps the most difficult decision of the game. I had to find a plan to open up the position. To my biggest surprise, my world famous opponent offered a draw here. Normally, I would consider a draw against someone his caliber acceptable. However, I felt that my position was already too good to accept a draw. After some thought, I decided to continue the fight and go for the win.
This move protects the a5 Pawn but weakens the one on c6. As ugly and passive as it looks, it maybe better to play 20...Ra8.
">style="bold">21.Kh2 My plan was to prepare f2-f4 and eventually breaking through with e4-e5 at the perfect moment. That is why the reason why I wanted my King out of the g1-a7 diagonal.
21...Qc8 Black has no productive plan.
">style="bold">22.Re3 To double the Rooks on the e file and improving my position.
22...Rde7 Putting pressure on the e4 Pawn.
23.Rde1 Protecting the e4 Pawn. It would be a blunder to take the Pawn with 23.Qxd6 because Black can do a skewer with 23...Rd7.
23...Qc7 Protects the d6 Pawn.
24.f4 In the last few moves my goal was to slowly but surely improve the positions of my pieces. The first step of the plan has been accomplished.
24...f6 Black is trying to prevent the e4-e5 plan. By doing so, Black has considerably weakened the light squares on the Kingside. If Black would have played 24...g6 instead then the natural 25.Qd4 would be a mistake because after 25...f6 26.Qxf6 Bg7 27.Qh4 Bxc3 28.Rxc3 Nxe4 29.Rce3 d5 Black is OK! However, with 25.Qb2 and not letting the Black Bishop to get to g7, I could still keep the advantage.
25.Qf2 Relocating the Queen to f3 to keep one eye on the c6 Pawn as well as on the Kingside.
25...Re6 Black is just making waiting moves.
26.Qf3 Following up on the plan of the previous move.
26...Kh8 After 26...Qe7, 27.f5 would suffocate the Rook on e6. If Black plays 26...R6e7, White would have a choice between the immediate 27.e5 or to continue similarly to the actual game.
">style="bold">27.Kh1 To get out of the second rank while keeping it available for the Rooks as you will see why in the next few moves.
27...Kg8 Here, my opponent was already under time pressure. He made some "waiting moves" to get closer to the time control. But no matter what, Black is in a difficult position.
28.h4! A multipurpose move! It prepares the activation of the Bishop via h3-f5 as well as the h4-h5-h6 advance of the h pawn.
28...Kh8 When these are the best moves (moving the King back and forth between g8 and h8) one can safely say that it usually is a bad sign.
Finally, the up to now modest light squared Bishop gets an important role.
29...R6e7 There is no other place for the Rook to go.
30.h5 This Pawn advance of h3-h4-h5 greatly improved White's position.
30...Rf7 Continuing to wait since there is really nothing better.
Threatening with the beautiful combination of 32.Bg6! hxg6 33.hxg6 and then checkmating on the h file with the Queen.
31...Rd8 By moving away from the h5-e8 diagonal, 31.Bg6 lost its threat as the Rook on f7 can simply move away without losing the Rook on e8.
32.Rd1 Perhaps not necessary but I just wanted to kill even the idea of a possible counter play by a breakthrough with d6-d5. I did not want to give Black any chances.
32...Be7 Black had to be careful which waiting move to make. For example 32...Re7 would leave to f6 Pawn weak and the 33.h6 gains strength.
The Rook is a lot more flexible on the second rank. It can have potential on the d, g or h files.
33...Rff8 Black had seven more moves to make to reach the time control (move 40) when he would have more time to think again. Therefore, he just tried to make a logical, obvious and safe move.
34.Rh2 At this point I was also short on time. Therefore, I made moves that may not be the most energetic or aggressive but would still allow me to maintain the advantage until I have more time to calculate deeper.
34...Rfe8 Clearing the f8 square for another piece.
35.Rhd2 I still was not comfortable with allowing d6-d5. Although looking at it some years later, perhaps 35.Qg4 was more accurate. Then if 35...d5 36.exd5 cxd5 37.cxd5 Ne4. The game would have ended in spectacular manner with 38.Qg6!! hxg6 39.hxg6+ Kg8 40.Be6+ Kf8 41.Rh8 checkmate.
35...Nd7 Bringing the Knight to f8 for defense.
I was hoping that the g7 and f6 Pawns will be gone (from their current positions) and I can get some mating threats along the a1-h8 diagonal with Qc3.
36...Nf8 Now, at least the h7 and g6 squares are covered. But the problem comes on the dark squares.
37.h6! Finally! "Action time"!
37...g6 After 37...gxh6 38.Qh5 Black is in even more trouble.
A temporary retreat.
38...Kg8 Getting out of the pin.
39.g4! It is crucial to open the a1-h8 diagonal. Therefore, I need to get rid of Black's f6 Pawn.
39...Ne6 On most other moves, 40.g5 would be the answer anyway.
40.g5 With a discovered attack on the Knight.
40...Nc5 Trying to put pressure on the e4 Pawn.
41.gxf6 is much better than 41.Bxf6. The Bishop on b2 is the jewel of White's position. It would be a waste to trade it off.
41...Bf8 A discovered attack on the e4 Pawn and on the h6 at the same time.
42.f7+! A very important sacrifice! I wanted to get rid of the Pawn on f6 to open up the deadly a1-h8 diagonal.
42...Kxf7 After 42....Qxf7 43.Qc3 and the White Queen is unstoppable on the a1-h8 diagonal.
43.f5 Now all the files and diagonals opened up to expose the weakness of the Black King. There is no hope left for Black.
43...Kg8 The King is trying to run to safety.
to further opening up the position. It is better than 44.Qc3 Re5.
44...hxg6 After 44...Bxh6, White would play 45.Rg2.
45.Qf6 White is threatening 46.Qh8+ Kf7 47.Qh7+ Bg7 48.Qxg7 checkmate.
45...Qh7 Protecting the h8 square and the g6 Pawn.
46.Rg2 Black resigned due to the deadly threat on g6 (1-0). I am very proud of this game.
This and many other annotated games, as well as my life story, can be found in my best-selling chess book "Breaking Through."
Local Chess Activities:
• Atrium Chess Club: Meets 5-6:30 p.m. Wednesdays at the Science Spectrum: 2579 S. Loop 289
• SPICE Chess Summer Camp: July 19-24; Texas Tech.
For more information, go to http://www.spice.ttu.edu/; call 742-7742; e-mail spice@ttu.edu; or go to http://www.chessdailynews.com/.
Keep questions and comments coming by e-mailing me at susan.polgar@ttu.edu. See also http://www.susganpolgar.blogspot.com/.
There is no puzzle this week due to the long instructional game.
SUSAN POLGAR is a professional chess player, champion and founder of the Susan Polgar Institute for Chess Excellence at Texas Tech, susan.polgar@ttu.edu
Lubbock Avalanche-Journal
Sunday, July 12, 2009Story last updated at 7/12/2009 - 1:32 am
This week's column is a continuation from last week. The question of the week is what were some of the breakthrough games in my career. Here is another one.
Susan Polgar - Grandmaster Ljubomir LjubojevicBilbao, 1987
There is a special story connected with this game. Legendary grandmaster Ljubojevic was one of the greatest chess grandmasters in modern time. He was ranked among the top five to 10 in the world for a long time.
However, he has voiced his view with the organizers that they should not be inviting female participants (former Women's World Champion Chiburdanidze and me) in such a prestigious event. He claimed that the tournament was too strong for women!
I have fought all kinds of discrimination such as gender, religious, and age, since I was 4 years old, and I would never back down to this kind of intimidation. Therefore, his comment gave me the extra motivation to beat him. And I did! Ironically, he lost against both women!
In 1991, I became the first woman in history to earn the men's grandmaster title through traditional FIDE requirements. In 1996, I became the first and only person in history (male or female) to win the chess triple crown (world rapid, blitz, and classical chess championships). I broke through many more barriers.
So the message that I would like to give to all the young boys and girls is they will likely face barriers, obstacles, and difficulties in life. Don't use this as an excuse to fail. Use these challenges as a motivation to succeed and do better.
1.d4 In the mid to late 1980's, I started most of my games with this move.
1...Nf6 The Queen's Pawn openings (1.d4 d5) are considered more peaceful.
">style="bold">2.Nf3 One of the ideas of this move order is to avoid the Benko Gambit which I have used as Black against F. Portisch (see Game 1).
2...d6 This is a less often used setup than 2...e6 followed by 3...b6 to play the Queens Indian or 2...g6 to play the Gruenfeld or Kings Indian defense.
3.g3 At that time of my career, I had a special liking to fianchetto my Bishop(s). Naturally 3.c4 is also possible with more focus on play in the center.
3...Bg4 Black still has the option to transpose to the King's Indian defense with 3...g6.
">style="bold">4.Bg2 Developing and preparing to castle.
4...Nbd7 With this move, Black prepares e7-e5. Another interesting plan is 4...Qc8 with the idea of trying to trade Bishops with Bg4-h3. If White answers with 5.h3, Black could play Bd7 and White would have some difficulties castling (without losing the h3 Pawn).
5.c4 Now that Black is about to approach the center with e7-e5, I have to prepare to deal with it.
5...e5 With this Pawn advance, Black prepares to develop the Bishop on e7.
">style="bold">6.Nc3 Developing move to control the central d5 and e4 squares.
6...c6 This is a typical move that makes sense in this position. It takes control of the d5 square and also reduces the potential power of White's Bishop on g2.
7.0-0 In most of my games it is my first priority to me to put my King in safety.
7...Be7 Now after 7...e4 8.Ng5 d5, I planned to open the e file with 9.cxd5 cxd5 followed 10.f3 and white is better devoleped
8.h3 After this move, Black cannot keep his pair of Bishops.
8...Bxf3 After 8....Bh5 White would continue with 9.Nh4 followed by g4 or Nf5 trading the Knight for one of the Bishops.
9.exf3 The normal recapture of course would be with the Bishop. I do not think that what I played is bad. However, if I have the same position today, I probably would choose the more conservative way.
9...exd4 There was no need to rush with this trade. I would prefer 9...0-0.
10.Qxd4 Now, White's target is quite obvious: the weakened d6 Pawn on the half open d file.
10...Qb6 Black would like to trade Queens and then after 11.Qxb6 Nxb6 12.b3 play 12...d5 and get rid of the weakness.
11.Qd2! At first, this looks like a weird place for the Queen, being right in front of the Bishop. However, this is an exception from the rule. In this position, Black cannot take advantage of the temporary awkwardness of White's position. My next move would be 12.b3 to develop the Bishop along the c1-a3 diagonal.
11...0-0 It is time for Black to castle. Castling on the Queenside would be far too risky because the Black c7 Pawn already moved to c6. White would start a Queenside attack after 11...0-0-0 with 12.Rb1 and then b2-b4.
12.b3 Preparing for the development of the Bishop.
12...Nc5 12...Ne5 would not make sense as after 13.f4, the Knight would need to leave.
">style="bold">13.Re1 Occupying the open file by attacking the Bishop.
13...Rfe8 Naturally, the Bishop did not have to move.
">style="bold">14.Bb2 Finally, both sides are fully developed and the strategic middlegame phase starts. After the immediate 14.Ba3 I did not like 14...Qa5 15.Bb2 and 15...d5!
14...a5 A good idea! The threat is a5-a4 to destroy White's healthy Pawn structure on the Queenside.
">style="bold">15.Ba3 This now works better because the Black Pawn on a5 prevents the Queen from going there. The idea of the move is to meet 15...a4 with 16.b4.
Perhaps 15.Ne4 right away is even more accurate. For example, 15...Nfxe4 16.fxe4 a4 17.b4 and now 17...a3 loses because of the pin with 18.Bd4.
15...Bf8 Getting away from the cute threat of 16.Rxe7! Rxe7 17.Qxd6.
">style="bold">16.Ne4! This forces the trade of Knights which enables me to get rid of my doubled Pawns on the f file.
16...Nfxe4 If Black would trade with the other Knight then the d6 Pawn would be under pressure right away.
">style="bold">17.fxe4 No more doubled Pawns! That is certainly an achievement for White.
17...Rad8? This is the most obvious looking move but it leads to long term passivity. Black was better of sacrificing the d6 Pawn with 17...g6 18.Bb2 and now 18...Bg7 19.Bxg7 Kxg7 20.Qxd6 Rad8 21.Qf4 Nd3. White can escape from the fork by playing 22.Qe3. However, Black has decent compensation after 22...Qd4. Black will get control of the d file and some important dark squares like d4, c5 and b4.
">style="bold">18.Bb2! The Bishop has fulfilled its mission on a3, time to get back to the long diagonal.
18...Qc7 Now 18....g6 is too late as 19.Qd4 would get Black in big trouble.
After 18...a4, 19.b4 is next.
19.Rad1 White is centralizing the Rook. The nice part about these types of positions is White has all the time in the world to slowly improving the position without needing to worry much about Black's counter play.
19...Rd7 Getting ready to double the Rooks on either the e or d files!
20.Bc3 Provoking further weakening of the Queen side.
20...b6 In this position, I had to make perhaps the most difficult decision of the game. I had to find a plan to open up the position. To my biggest surprise, my world famous opponent offered a draw here. Normally, I would consider a draw against someone his caliber acceptable. However, I felt that my position was already too good to accept a draw. After some thought, I decided to continue the fight and go for the win.
This move protects the a5 Pawn but weakens the one on c6. As ugly and passive as it looks, it maybe better to play 20...Ra8.
">style="bold">21.Kh2 My plan was to prepare f2-f4 and eventually breaking through with e4-e5 at the perfect moment. That is why the reason why I wanted my King out of the g1-a7 diagonal.
21...Qc8 Black has no productive plan.
">style="bold">22.Re3 To double the Rooks on the e file and improving my position.
22...Rde7 Putting pressure on the e4 Pawn.
23.Rde1 Protecting the e4 Pawn. It would be a blunder to take the Pawn with 23.Qxd6 because Black can do a skewer with 23...Rd7.
23...Qc7 Protects the d6 Pawn.
24.f4 In the last few moves my goal was to slowly but surely improve the positions of my pieces. The first step of the plan has been accomplished.
24...f6 Black is trying to prevent the e4-e5 plan. By doing so, Black has considerably weakened the light squares on the Kingside. If Black would have played 24...g6 instead then the natural 25.Qd4 would be a mistake because after 25...f6 26.Qxf6 Bg7 27.Qh4 Bxc3 28.Rxc3 Nxe4 29.Rce3 d5 Black is OK! However, with 25.Qb2 and not letting the Black Bishop to get to g7, I could still keep the advantage.
25.Qf2 Relocating the Queen to f3 to keep one eye on the c6 Pawn as well as on the Kingside.
25...Re6 Black is just making waiting moves.
26.Qf3 Following up on the plan of the previous move.
26...Kh8 After 26...Qe7, 27.f5 would suffocate the Rook on e6. If Black plays 26...R6e7, White would have a choice between the immediate 27.e5 or to continue similarly to the actual game.
">style="bold">27.Kh1 To get out of the second rank while keeping it available for the Rooks as you will see why in the next few moves.
27...Kg8 Here, my opponent was already under time pressure. He made some "waiting moves" to get closer to the time control. But no matter what, Black is in a difficult position.
28.h4! A multipurpose move! It prepares the activation of the Bishop via h3-f5 as well as the h4-h5-h6 advance of the h pawn.
28...Kh8 When these are the best moves (moving the King back and forth between g8 and h8) one can safely say that it usually is a bad sign.
Finally, the up to now modest light squared Bishop gets an important role.
29...R6e7 There is no other place for the Rook to go.
30.h5 This Pawn advance of h3-h4-h5 greatly improved White's position.
30...Rf7 Continuing to wait since there is really nothing better.
Threatening with the beautiful combination of 32.Bg6! hxg6 33.hxg6 and then checkmating on the h file with the Queen.
31...Rd8 By moving away from the h5-e8 diagonal, 31.Bg6 lost its threat as the Rook on f7 can simply move away without losing the Rook on e8.
32.Rd1 Perhaps not necessary but I just wanted to kill even the idea of a possible counter play by a breakthrough with d6-d5. I did not want to give Black any chances.
32...Be7 Black had to be careful which waiting move to make. For example 32...Re7 would leave to f6 Pawn weak and the 33.h6 gains strength.
The Rook is a lot more flexible on the second rank. It can have potential on the d, g or h files.
33...Rff8 Black had seven more moves to make to reach the time control (move 40) when he would have more time to think again. Therefore, he just tried to make a logical, obvious and safe move.
34.Rh2 At this point I was also short on time. Therefore, I made moves that may not be the most energetic or aggressive but would still allow me to maintain the advantage until I have more time to calculate deeper.
34...Rfe8 Clearing the f8 square for another piece.
35.Rhd2 I still was not comfortable with allowing d6-d5. Although looking at it some years later, perhaps 35.Qg4 was more accurate. Then if 35...d5 36.exd5 cxd5 37.cxd5 Ne4. The game would have ended in spectacular manner with 38.Qg6!! hxg6 39.hxg6+ Kg8 40.Be6+ Kf8 41.Rh8 checkmate.
35...Nd7 Bringing the Knight to f8 for defense.
I was hoping that the g7 and f6 Pawns will be gone (from their current positions) and I can get some mating threats along the a1-h8 diagonal with Qc3.
36...Nf8 Now, at least the h7 and g6 squares are covered. But the problem comes on the dark squares.
37.h6! Finally! "Action time"!
37...g6 After 37...gxh6 38.Qh5 Black is in even more trouble.
A temporary retreat.
38...Kg8 Getting out of the pin.
39.g4! It is crucial to open the a1-h8 diagonal. Therefore, I need to get rid of Black's f6 Pawn.
39...Ne6 On most other moves, 40.g5 would be the answer anyway.
40.g5 With a discovered attack on the Knight.
40...Nc5 Trying to put pressure on the e4 Pawn.
41.gxf6 is much better than 41.Bxf6. The Bishop on b2 is the jewel of White's position. It would be a waste to trade it off.
41...Bf8 A discovered attack on the e4 Pawn and on the h6 at the same time.
42.f7+! A very important sacrifice! I wanted to get rid of the Pawn on f6 to open up the deadly a1-h8 diagonal.
42...Kxf7 After 42....Qxf7 43.Qc3 and the White Queen is unstoppable on the a1-h8 diagonal.
43.f5 Now all the files and diagonals opened up to expose the weakness of the Black King. There is no hope left for Black.
43...Kg8 The King is trying to run to safety.
to further opening up the position. It is better than 44.Qc3 Re5.
44...hxg6 After 44...Bxh6, White would play 45.Rg2.
45.Qf6 White is threatening 46.Qh8+ Kf7 47.Qh7+ Bg7 48.Qxg7 checkmate.
45...Qh7 Protecting the h8 square and the g6 Pawn.
46.Rg2 Black resigned due to the deadly threat on g6 (1-0). I am very proud of this game.
This and many other annotated games, as well as my life story, can be found in my best-selling chess book "Breaking Through."
Local Chess Activities:
• Atrium Chess Club: Meets 5-6:30 p.m. Wednesdays at the Science Spectrum: 2579 S. Loop 289
• SPICE Chess Summer Camp: July 19-24; Texas Tech.
For more information, go to http://www.spice.ttu.edu/; call 742-7742; e-mail spice@ttu.edu; or go to http://www.chessdailynews.com/.
Keep questions and comments coming by e-mailing me at susan.polgar@ttu.edu. See also http://www.susganpolgar.blogspot.com/.
There is no puzzle this week due to the long instructional game.
SUSAN POLGAR is a professional chess player, champion and founder of the Susan Polgar Institute for Chess Excellence at Texas Tech, susan.polgar@ttu.edu
Sunday, July 12, 2009
Chess legends to play again 25 years after famous battle
2 days ago
MOSCOW (AFP) — Chess legends Garry Kasparov and Anatoli Karpov are to relive their epic 1984 world championship duel 25 years on by contesting a new match this September in the Spanish city of Valencia.
"It will be 25 years since the start of the matches (against Karpov), there is nostalgia about this unique event," Kasparov, now a Russian opposition politician and Kremlin critic, told AFP. "This is where modern chess began."
The September 21-24 match is not expected to reflect the suspense of their first encounter and will be more of "a ceremonial tournament", Kasparov said, explaining there would be a time-limit on moves.
The five-month 1984 match marked the first battle between the famous chess rivals. At the time the world champion Karpov was 33 years old and the challenger Kasparov just 21.
The match was ended without result by World Chess Federation chief Florencio Campomanes on alleged health grounds, a decision that was controversial, as both players said they wanted to continue.
Kasparov later defeated Karpov narrowly. He won the world championship in late 1985 and defended his title the following year. The last time he played Karpov was in 1990 when he narrowly won.
Kasparov has been active in the political opposition to Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin since announcing in 2005 he was withdrawing from competitive chess and creating his own political party.
Karpov was undisputed world chess champion from 1975 to 1985 and FIDE world chess champion from 1993 to 1999. Both Karpov and Kasparov are considered among the greatest chess players ever.
2 days ago
MOSCOW (AFP) — Chess legends Garry Kasparov and Anatoli Karpov are to relive their epic 1984 world championship duel 25 years on by contesting a new match this September in the Spanish city of Valencia.
"It will be 25 years since the start of the matches (against Karpov), there is nostalgia about this unique event," Kasparov, now a Russian opposition politician and Kremlin critic, told AFP. "This is where modern chess began."
The September 21-24 match is not expected to reflect the suspense of their first encounter and will be more of "a ceremonial tournament", Kasparov said, explaining there would be a time-limit on moves.
The five-month 1984 match marked the first battle between the famous chess rivals. At the time the world champion Karpov was 33 years old and the challenger Kasparov just 21.
The match was ended without result by World Chess Federation chief Florencio Campomanes on alleged health grounds, a decision that was controversial, as both players said they wanted to continue.
Kasparov later defeated Karpov narrowly. He won the world championship in late 1985 and defended his title the following year. The last time he played Karpov was in 1990 when he narrowly won.
Kasparov has been active in the political opposition to Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin since announcing in 2005 he was withdrawing from competitive chess and creating his own political party.
Karpov was undisputed world chess champion from 1975 to 1985 and FIDE world chess champion from 1993 to 1999. Both Karpov and Kasparov are considered among the greatest chess players ever.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
