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Volume 141

JULY 2021

THE PRAGUE MASTERS

SAM SHANKLAND AN AMERICAN VICTORY IN PRAGUE

GRAND CHESS TOUR

044000 770007 9

ISSN 0007-0440

02107

A TALE OF TWO AZERIS IN BUCHAREST

A NEW CHESS RECORD: ABHIMANYU MISHRA YOUNGEST-EVER GRANDMASTER

CLUSTERING IN CHESS: THE LATVIAN LESSON

IMPRESSUM Credit: Facebook/abhimayumishrachess

Contents BRITISH CHESS MAGAZINE Founded 1881 www.britishchessmagazine.co.uk Chairman Shaun Taulbut Director Stephen Lowe

Editors Milan Dinic and Shaun Taulbut Photo editor David Llada Prepress Specialist Milica Mitic Photography David Llada, Wikipedia, Prague International Chess Festival, Facebook, Shutterstock Advertising Stephen Lowe Enquiries editor@britishchessmagazine.co.uk ISSN 0007-0440 © The British Chess Magazine Limited Company Limited by Shares Registered in England No 00334968 Postal correspondence: Albany House, 14 Shute End Wokingham, Berkshire RG40 1BJ Subscription support@britishchessmagazine.co.uk 12 monthly issues UK: £55 | RoW: £85

425

US teen Abhimanyu Mishra becomes youngest-ever Grandmaster

400 Grand Chess Tour A tale of two Azeris in Bucharest

By GM Aleksandar Colovic 413 he Great Iconoclast: Michael Basman

By Grandmaster Raymond Keene OBE 416 A US chess legend at Prior Park College 417 Gibraltar Abdumalik dominates, Lagno qualifies for the Candidates

By GM Aleksandar Colovic 422 Power Outage in Playas

By Alexis Levitin 426 Openings for Amateurs The Caro-Kann with 1.e4 and 2.c4, Part V

By Pete Tamburro 432 NOVEL CHESS ENGINES Neural Nets to a Computer Near You

By Jon Edwards

Printed in the UK: by Lavenham Press Ltd Cover photography: BCM, Shutterstock

386 | BRITISH CHESS MAGAZINE

439 CLUSTERING IN CHESS: THE LATVIAN LESSON

By Peter O'Brien

July 2021

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The Prague Masters (14th – 20th June)

Sam Shankland An American victory in Prague

By GM Aleksandar Colovic / www.alexcolovic.com Photo: Prague International Chess Festival 2021 Official The organisers of the Prague Masters (14−20 June) didn’t want to limit themselves to only an eight−player round robin. They also organised a Futures event and an open, boldly insisting on a return to normality (a term so often quoted by politicians and certain media for the past year) in the face of the virus.

The Masters comprised of a mix of young and ambitious players who do not often get a chance to play the elite events. There were no clear favourites and any player winning the tournament would not have been considered a surprise - it all depended on the current form of the participants.

In the end, it was the American Sam Shankland, who emerged victorious, scoring an impressive 5.5 out of seven. Four victories in seven rounds is a very rare occurrence at any level, but curiously enough we had the completely opposite picture on the other end of the standings, with Navara scoring 1.5 out of seven, with four losses in a row (!) in the first four rounds.

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Shankland is an ambitious player: he firmly believes that he belongs to the 2700+ category and works very hard to achieve this aim. With this win he gained almost 20 rating points and returned to the 2700 club. One curiosity about Shankland is that he beat both Vladimir Kramnik and Judit Polgar in their last official games.

This was Carlsen’s try in the second game in which this line was played. In the first, he tried 9.¥d2 but got nowhere.

The game between the eventual winner and tail-ender clearly showed the difference in form.

9...¤xc3 9...£d7!? was recently tried against Caruana. After 10.¦c1 ¥f8 11.a3 h6 Black was doing fine, though this being an online rapid game both players missed that after 12.¥d2 ¤xc3 13.¥xc3 ¤d4? a neutral move like 13...a5 would have kept the balance. 14.¤xe5! was the refutation.

(14.¥xd4? exd4 15.¤d2 a5 was better for Black in the game: ½–½ (76) Caruana,F (2835)-Nepomniachtchi,I (2784) Chess. com INT 2020) After 14...¦xe5 15.e3 c5 16.¦e1 White will regain the piece with better play thanks to his more active bishops and Black’s undeveloped queenside.

David Navara - Sam Shankland 3rd Prague Masters 2021 Prague CZE (3.4) 1.c4 e5 2.¤c3 ¤f6 3.¤f3 ¤c6 4.g3 d5 5.cxd5 ¤xd5 6.¥g2 ¥c5 Grischuk’s innovation instead of the more common 6...¤b6 got the highest seal of approval when it was used by Caruana as his mainstay defence in the English Opening in the World Championship match against Carlsen in 2018.

7.0–0 It has long been established that the tactical try 7.¤xe5 brings nothing in view of 7...¤xc3 8.¥xc6+ bxc6 9.bxc3 £d5 10.¤f3 ¥h3 11.£b3 ¥g2 12.£xd5 cxd5 13.¦g1 ¥xf3 14.exf3 d4 with an equal endgame as White’s extra pawn is a doubled one. ½–½ (37) Artemiev,V (2704)-Carlsen,M (2847), Goldmoney Asian Rapid 2021 7...0–0 8.d3 ¦e8 9.¥g5!?

XIIIIIIIIY 9r+lwqr+k+0 9zppzp-+pzpp0 9-+n+-+-+0 9+-vlnzp-vL-0 9-+-+-+-+0 9+-sNP+NzP-0 9PzP-+PzPLzP0 9tR-+Q+RmK-0 xiiiiiiiiy

9.¥d2 ¤xc3 10.¥xc3 ¤d4 11.b4 ¥d6 was comfortable for Black in: ½–½ (35) Carlsen,M (2835)-Caruana,F (2832) London m/4 2018.

10.bxc3 f6 11.¥c1 ¥e6 12.¥b2 ¥f8 Deviating from the 9th game of the match in London.

Caruana chose 12...¥b6 and after 13.d4 ¥d5 An alternative is 13...¥c4!?. 14.£c2 exd4 15.cxd4 ¥e4 16.£b3+ ¥d5 17.£d1 White had a small pull in ½–½ (56) Carlsen,M (2835)-Caruana,F (2832) London m/9 2018.

13.£c2 £d7 14.¦fd1 £f7

The Prague Masters was a category 18 event with an average rating of 2677.

Nowadays this type of closed event is rare (and I’m not even mentioning lower-category events like category 14 or 15), as the organisers and sponsors chase after the highest average rating and the most famous players BRITISH CHESS MAGAZINE | 389

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Black has a very compact and safe position as he is well entrenched to meet White’s planned central advance.

15.e4 White wants to build a strong pawn centre after d4.

With 15.c4 White’s plan would be to play on the queenside with ¥c3, ¦ab1, a4–a5.

15...¤b4!? Black intends to play ...c6 to limit the scope of the bishop on g2. 16.£b1 c6 17.¥c3 ¤a6 18.a4 ¦ad8 19.a5 ¤c5 with a complex middlegame ahead. White has no targets on the queenside and Black wants to start activity in the centre and on the kingside with ...¥g4, ...e4 etc.

queenside structure and prevent the creation of the connected passed pawns.

23...bxc4 24.¥xa1 exd4 25.¤xd4 ¦ad8 the engine claims Black is better here, but things look rather unclear to the human eye.

16.¤d2 White covers the c4–square before pushing d4.

The direct 16.d4 was also possible. After 16...¤c4 17.¥c1 c6 18.¤d2 b5 Black has good counterchances, though White is also fine after 19.¤xc4 ¥xc4 20.¥e3.

16...¦ad8!?

XIIIIIIIIY 9-+-trrvlk+0 9zppzp-+qzpp0 9-+-+lzp-+0 9sn-+-zp-+-0 9-+-+P+-+0 9+-zPP+-zP-0 9PvLQsN-zPLzP0 9tR-+R+-mK-0 xiiiiiiiiy

15...¤a5 A normal, human move. Black’s knight on c6 liberates the path for the c-pawn and anticipates White’s d4 when the c4–square would be a good one to hop on to.

An interesting move from a psychological perspective. Black could have stopped White’s central advance by playing 16... c5, but he invites it in order to attack White’s centre and obtain more chances for counterattack.

15...¥xa2!? is an insane move that only an engine could consider, let alone play.

Still, the lines are very interesting. Have a look: 16.c4 ¤b4 17.£a4 a5 18.¦xa2 b5! this is the key move, White cannot take with either piece. 19.£a3 a4! a curious case of domination on the queenside! 20.d4! the only move for White! (20.¦aa1? loses to 20...¤c2 21.£a2 ¤xa1 22.¥xa1 b4 and the connected passed pawns decide the game.) 20...£xc4 21.¦aa1 ¤c2 22.£a2 ¤xa1 23.£xc4+! this was the idea of 20.d4, so that White can spoil Black’s

16...c5 was, of course, perfectly fine. 17.c4!? an idea that is often seen in this structure White wants to transfer his knight to d5.

(17.f4 is less effective now. After 17...¦ad8 White has no obvious plan to go forward.)

17...¤c6 18.¤f1 ¦ab8 with the idea of undermining White’s central grip by ...b5.

19.a4 ¤d4 20.£b1 White cannot eliminate the knight because after ...cxd4 the knight from f1 won’t be able to come to e3 and then d5. 20...¥g4 21.¦e1 £h5 with a strong initiative for Black; the threat of ...¤f3 prevents White from executing his knight transfer.

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Sam Shankland is an ambitious player: he firmly believes that he belongs to the 2700+ category and works very hard to achieve this aim 17.d4?! Playing into Black’s hands. This natural move worsens White’s position because his pieces are not optimally placed to support the central advance, while Black’s are ready to attack White’s centre. This move is indicative of Navara’s bad form: after starting with 0 out of 2 he wants to win at all cost and disregards the requirements of the position.

17.¤f1 was more restrained. After 17...b6 18.¥c1 c6 (18...c5 is possible, though after 19.¤e3 White’s knight is ready for c4 and ¤d5.) 19.¤e3 ¥c5 with unclear play.

17...c6 18.f4?! White goes forward, in accordance with his decision on the previous move, but this weakens his position even more and is exactly what Black hoped for with the provocative 16th move - more weaknesses to counterattack.

18.¤f1 was again better. After 18...¤c4 19.¥c1 ¥g4!? 20.f3 ¥e6 21.¤e3 b5 Black is somewhat better, but White’s centre cannot easily be attacked.

18...exf4 19.gxf4 f5!

XIIIIIIIIY 9-+-trrvlk+0 9zpp+-+qzpp0 9-+p+l+-+0 9sn-+-+p+-0 9-+-zPPzP-+0 9+-zP-+-+-0 9PvLQsN-+LzP0 9tR-+R+-mK-0 xiiiiiiiiy

Black wants to fix White’s central pawn mass on dark squares as he has excellent control over the light squares in front of them, allowing for an effective blockade.

20.e5 c5 Now the structure in the centre and the nature of play resemble the Grunfeld Defence.

21.¤f3 Covering the pawn on d4 and threatening ¤g5.

21...¥e7 It was possible to play 21...h6, but Black uses the opportunity to place BRITISH CHESS MAGAZINE | 391

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his dark-squared bishop on a slightly more active square.

threats of ...¥xf4, ...¥xf3 and ...¤xb2 Black is winning.

22.¢h1 Generally a useful move, but there was no immediate need for it in this position.

29...bxa6 30.£xa6 ¥d5

22...¤c4 23.£e2 Preventing ...¤e3.

23...£h5 Activating the queen. Black is active on both sides of the board.

24.a4 Preventing expansion.

Black’s

queenside

24.¥c1 was an alternative, as the bishop does nothing on b2. 24...cxd4 25.¦xd4!

The pawn on c3 is weak and backward, but it doesn’t give Black a queenside majority.

(25.cxd4? b5 gives Black easy play, the blockade in the centre remains while the queenside pawns can move forward.)

25...£f7 26.¥e3 ¤xe3 27.£xe3 b6 Black is better, but White is compact in the centre and can resist successfully.

24...¤b6 Black reroutes his knight to d5.

XIIIIIIIIY 9-+-tr-+k+0 9zp-+-+-zpp0 9Q+-+-+-+0 9+-+lzPp+q0 9-+n+-zP-+0 9+-zP-vlN+-0 9-vL-+-+LzP0 9tR-+-+-+K0 xiiiiiiiiy

The difference in the activity of the two armies is evident. Black threatens to take on b2, f3 and f4, against all of which there is no defence.

31.¦d1 Threatening ¦xd5.

31...¥d2 Covering the d-file, as the knight on f3 still hangs.

25.dxc5? A really bad move that only a player in bad form can make. Navara must have miscalculated something because strong players play bad positional moves only if they hold tactically.

32.¥c1 ¢h8! Avoiding a possible check on the a2–g8 diagonal, for example after ...¥xf3.

25.¥c1 was better, defending the f4– pawn in advance. After 25...¥c4 26.£f2 cxd4 27.a5 ¤d5 28.cxd4 b5 29.axb6 axb6 30.¥e3 Black has a passed b-pawn, but White defends his centre and can control the advance of the b-pawn rather easily.

33...¤xd2 34.£a5 ¦d7 White loses a lot of material, so he resigned.

25...¥xc5 26.£b5? 26.a5 was better, though still pretty bad for White after 26...¥c4 27.£e1 ¤d5 28.¥c1 h6 when White is completely dominated.

26...¥e3 The pawn on f4 is falling and White is already lost.

27.¦xd8 ¦xd8 28.a5 ¤c4 29.a6 29.£xb7 ¥d5 30.£c7 ¦e8 with the 392 | BRITISH CHESS MAGAZINE

33.¦xd2 33.¥xd2 ¥xf3 wins a piece.

0–1 While Shankland played natural and sound positional chess, Navara’s decisions were certainly a sign of a player who had lost his inner peace.

His tournament was a disaster that was plagued with bad decisions, blunders and time-trouble issues. For example, in the round following the game with Shankland he was winning against Abasov, only to miss the win and lose on time in an equal position!

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A disappointing performance at home: David Navara

Nijat Abasov - David Navara 3rd Prague Masters 2021 Prague CZE (4.3)

XIIIIIIIIY 9-+-wqr+-mk0 9zpR+-+-zp-0 9-+p+-sn-zp0 9+-zP-tR-+-0 9-+p+-+P+0 9+-wQl+PmK-0 9-zP-+-+-zP0 9+-+-+-+-0 xiiiiiiiiy Black is winning here as he has a decisive material advantage. He needs only to neutralise White’s activity, though that is not very easy.

34...£c8?! Probably missing White’s next move.

34...¤d7 successfully exchanges one pair of rooks, thus drastically decreasing

White’s potential to create threats. After 35.¦xe8+ £xe8 36.£d4 ¤f6 White doesn’t have anything and Black can continue either with ...£e1 to harass White’s king, or simply to advance his a-pawn with the idea of creating a passed pawn on the queenside by pushing it to a3.

35.¦be7?! Allowing Black an extra possibility.

35.¦ee7! was more precise, avoiding the extra option Black had after the other rook moved to e7.

35...¦xe7?! Black misses the chance, though this should also be winning.

35...£b8! would have effectively taken advantage of White’s abandoning of the b-file. After 36.¦xe8+ ¤xe8 37.¢g2 ¤f6 38.¦e7 £f4 Black will soon start the decisive attack.

36.¦xe7 £d8?

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The winner of this year’s edition of Wijk aan Zee, Jorden van Foreest, was another player with a disappointing tournament.

This is the mistake that lets the win slip.

36...£b8+! again it was crucial to take control over the h2–b8 diagonal. After 37.£e5 (37.¢g2? £f4 transposes to the note to Black’s 35th move, which is winning for Black rather easily.) 37...£xe5+ 38.¦xe5 a5 the endgame is winning for Black though it will take some time to convert it.

37.£e5! Now White is safe as his domination prevents Black from activating his pieces.

37...¥h7 38.£d6

XIIIIIIIIY 9-+-wq-+-mk0 9zp-+-tR-zpl0 9-+pwQ-sn-zp0 9+-zP-+-+-0 9-+p+-+P+0 9+-+-+PmK-0 9-zP-+-+-zP0 9+-+-+-+-0 xiiiiiiiiy

Jan-Krzysztof Duda – Jorden Van Foreest 3rd Prague Masters 2021 Prague CZE (5.3)

XIIIIIIIIY 9r+-wq-trk+0 9+-zp-+p+p0 9p+-vll+p+0 9+-+-tR-+-0 9-+-zPQzP-+0 9zpPsN-+-+-0 9P+P+-+PzP0 9tR-vL-+-mK-0 xiiiiiiiiy Black has compensation for the pawn in view of his pair of bishops and good control over the light squares. The rook on e5 is taboo, but Black should’t hurry to clarify the situation in the centre as he has as simple way to continue.

And here Black lost on time. The position is equal and playable.

A sample line can be 38.£d6 £c8 39.£e5 a5 40.h4 ¥g8 41.g5 ¤h5+ 42.¢g2 £d8 with a sharp position.

1–0

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As in Wijk he was well-prepared in the openings and showed interesting ideas, but the follow-up play was not up to the same standard. For example, his technique let him down as early as in the first round when he obtained a big advantage against Abasov’s Dragon, but failed to convert.

Here is another example, where his decision-making was sub-optimal:

17...¥f5?! Objectively the move is OK, but from a practical perspective it is not the optimal choice. After White takes on f5 he will have easier play in view of Black’s wrecked pawn structure, an advantage he will maintain even in the event of an exchange of queens.

Obviously 17...¥xe5? 18.fxe5 switches the importance of the colour of the squares now the dark squares are critical and the unopposed bishop on c1 reigns supreme, especially in combination with the weak

July 2021

king on g8. 17...£d7! was the easiest move to make, preparing the move ...¥f5.

It also connects the rooks and generally improves Black’s position. 18.d5 ¥f5 19.£d4 ¦ae8 leads to unclear play, but Black is fully mobilised and can now take on e5 followed by ...f6, when he can counterattack White’s advanced pawns.

18.¦xf5 gxf5 19.£xf5 The engine gives 0.00 here, but it’s clear that White’s position is easier to play with the safer king and the better structure. Eventually it was the better structure that decided the game deep into the endgame.

1–0 Coupled with his last-round loss to Shankland van Foreest finished on a miserable -2 and dropped out of the 2700club. The rush from the victory in Wijk has ended and things are more difficult for the young Dutchman now that everybody is taking him seriously.

A relatively less-known young player who got a chance in Prague was Nijat Abasov. Four years older than van Foreest, Abasov is a player who has improved consistently over the years. I can say this from experience, because I happened to play him in 2013 when he was rated 2492. With the support ofhis family he managed to achieve the rating of 2665 and is not intent on stopping there. In Prague he had a great start with three out of four, admittedly aided by the lucky win on time against Navara. This is his other win:

Nijat Abasov – Nils Grandelius 3rd Prague Masters 2021 Prague CZE (2.1) 1.e4 c5 2.¤c3 d6 3.f4 g6 4.d4!?

Modern players are trying all possible ways to avoid the Najdorf and obtain a fresh position. However, this attempt is not new.

4...cxd4 5.£xd4 ¤f6 6.¤f3 6.¥d3 is an alternative move-order with the same idea.

The moves 6...¤c6 7.£f2 ¥g7 8.h3! with the idea of ¤f3 (to avoid the possibility of ...¥g4) were played in one of the first games in this system. Unfortunately, it was my game against Cuban GM Holden Hernandez in the Havana tournament in 2007. I couldn’t figure out the best set-up for Black over the board and lost ignominiously.

6...¥g7 7.¥d3 0–0 8.£f2

XIIIIIIIIY 9rsnlwq-trk+0 9zpp+-zppvlp0 9-+-zp-snp+0 9+-+-+-+-0 9-+-+PzP-+0 9+-sNL+N+-0 9PzPP+-wQPzP0 9tR-vL-mK-+R0 xiiiiiiiiy White’s set-up is quite a harmonious one. He develops similarly to one line in the Austrian Attack against the Pirc Defence or some lines in the 6.f4 variation against the Najdorf. His plan is to castle, play £h4, f5, ¥h6 with a strong attack.

8...¤bd7 The knight wants to go to c5 to keep an eye on the bishop on d3 and the pawn on e4.

9.h3 ¤c5 10.¥e3 This move allows forcastling long.

10...b6 11.0–0–0 With the long castle White also has the option of a pawn storm on the kingside.

11...¤xd3+ 12.¦xd3 ¥b7 13.¥d4 The bishop on the long diagonal successfully neutralises the fianchettoed one on g7.

13...b5 14.¦e1?!

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Centralising the last piece and defending the pawn on e4, but this is imprecise as it allows Black to take over the initiative.

14.e5 was direct and better. After 14...dxe5 15.¥xe5 £a5 the position is with mutual chances as Black’s pair of bishops cannot be felt thanks to the strong central position of the bishop on e5.

14...£a5?! 14...b4! was natural and better, continuing with the idea of the pawn push.

15.¥xf6 this is forced. (15.¤d5? ¤xe4!

16.¦xe4 ¥xd5 wins a pawn.) 15...¥xf6 16.¤d5 ¥xd5 17.¦xd5 (17.exd5 £c7 with the simple plan of ...a5–a4–a3 is pretty depressing for White.) 17...£c7 18.e5 the only way to shut out the bishop, otherwise Black has simple play on the queenside aided by the strong bishop. 18...¥g7 19.£d2 a5 with an unbalanced position.

15.¢b1 15.e5! was stronger. The point is that after 15...dxe5 16.¦xe5! the centralised rook is very strong: both pawns on e7 and b5 are hanging. After 16...£a6 threatening ...b4. 17.a3 e6 18.¦c5 White’s central preponderance gives him the better chances.

15...b4 16.¤d5?! 16.¥xf6 was safer, securing the d5–square for the knight.

After 16...¥xf6 17.¤d5 ¥xd5 18.¦xd5 £c7 19.e5 ¥g7 20.£d2 we have the same position to the one in the comments to Black’s 14th move, except that the white king is better on b1.

16...¦ae8?

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This is bad, but the correct move required some precise calculation and evaluation.

16...¤xd5! was natural, but Black had to see that after the forced 17.exd5 ¥xd5 18.¥xg7 £xa2+ 19.¢c1 he has the move 19...¦fc8! (19...¢xg7? loses to 20.£d4+ and White wins the bishop on d5.) 20.¥d4 ¦c7 with strong attack as compensation for the piece after ...¦ac8, ...a5–a4 and so on.

17.¥xf6 exf6 18.¤d2?! With the idea of ¤c4.

The engine prefers 18.£d2! - attacking the pawn on b4 and doubling on the d-file, and thus defending the knight on d5. Now after 18...f5 19.exf5 the knight on d5 is protected, so White can take on f5. 19...¦xe1+ 20.¤xe1 ¦e8 21.¤f3 White is better as his knights are successfully matching the bishops and he has the better structure.

18...f5!

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Opening the space for the dormant bishop.

Now things are unclear.

19.¤b3 £d8 20.exf5 a5 The knight is not very stable on b3 so Black intends to harass it.

21.f6? It’s natural to exchange the powerful bishop, but the move order is wrong.

White had to insert 21.¦ed1! first, as after 21...a4 22.f6 ¥xf6 23.¤xf6+ £xf6 he can now take on d6 24.¦xd6 with a transposition to the game, but without allowing Black the extra possibility on the next move.

21...¥xf6? Black misses his chance. Now the position is balanced.

21...¦xe1+! was the way to take advantage of White’s moveorder. 22.£xe1 ¥xd5 23.fxg7 ¦e8 24.£f2 £a8 when Black is practically winning as his pieces are better than White’s and there are the threats of ...a4 and ...¥xg2.

22.¤xf6+ £xf6 23.¦ed1 a4 24.¦xd6 ¦e6 25.¦xe6 fxe6?!

XIIIIIIIIY 9-+-+-trk+0 9+l+-+-+p0 9-+-+pwqp+0 9+-+-+-+-0 9pzp-+-zP-+0 9+N+-+-+P0 9PzPP+-wQP+0 9+K+R+-+-0 xiiiiiiiiy

Banking on dynamism thanks to the open f-file, but there was no need for it.

The simple 25...£xe6 26.¤c5 £b6 gives Black enough compensation as his bishop is stronger than the white knight and Black’s aggressive position on the queenside prevents White from trying to convert his extra pawn.

Struggling in Prague: Nils Grandelius

26.¤c5 ¥d5?

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This allows White to stabilise the position.

26...a3! was the only way to inject more dynamism in the position by weakening the position of White’s king. After 27.¦d4 ¦d8! 28.¦xd8+ £xd8 29.¤d3 ¥e4 Black’s activity again compensates for the pawn.

27.g3 Now Black has nothing. With the pawn on f4 protected White threatens both ¤xa4 and £d4.

27...¦c8 27...a3 28.£d4 kills off any attempts at counterplay.

28.¤xa4 £f5 29.¦d2 £xh3 30.b3 With the safer king and the hopelessly weak dark squares around Black’s king White is winning.

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30...£h1+ 31.¢b2 £e4 32.¤c5 £f5 33.£d4 £g4 34.¤d7 £xg3 35.¤f6+ ¢f7 36.¤xd5 exd5 37.£xd5+

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26.¦c3? After this Black swarms White’s position from both sides of the board. First, he starts with the queenside:

Black loses the rook after a few more checks.

1–0 As it can also be seen from this game, Abasov’s wins were more a result of his better resourcefulness (and time management) in those games than a result of better play. This type of uneven play can easily lead to opposite results and, in fact, when he faced Shankland and Wojtaszek in the next two rounds he was outplayed and lost both games. Still, I think that Abasov will learn a lot from this rare opportunity to play a very strong round robin.

Duda had a good tournament, finishing with 3 wins in a row. Here is the aesthetically pleasing finish to his game with Grandelius.

Nils Grandelius - Jan-Krzysztof Duda 3rd Prague Masters 2021 Prague CZE (6.4)

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Black is much better here as he has a commanding position on both wings.

Still, White could have tried to resist after 26.¦c5. With this move he allows a surprising wave-like crescendo on both wings - starting on the queenside and ending on the kingside with a mating attack.

26.¦c5 ¥b6 27.¦ac1 offered better practical chances, as taking the exchange with 27...¥xc5? 28.bxc5 suddenly allows White excellent chances on the b-file after £b4 and ¦b1.

26...¦xc3 27.£xc3 ¥b6 28.¤f3 ¦c8 The rook will be ready to come to c2 now.

29.£e1

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29...¥f2! Now he penetrates White’s position by switching to the kingside.

30.£b1 ¥c2 En route to e4.

31.£b2 ¥e3 32.a4 ¥e4 Beautiful domination, threatening both ...¦c2 and ...¥xf4.

33.£e2 ¥xf4 34.a5 ¦c2 35.£d1 35.£e1 prevents ...£f2 but allows 35...¥xf3 36.gxf3 ¦h2# 35...£f2 A picturesque position.

July 2021

The Prague Masters was a category 18 event with an average rating of 2677. Nowadays this type of closed event is rare (and I’m not even mentioning lower-category events like category 14 or 15), as the organisers and sponsors chase after the highest average rating and the most famous players. And yet there were no Berlin draws in Prague and almost all the games were hard-fought.

36.a6 ¥e3

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With the inevitable threat of ...¥xf3 followed by ...£g1# White resigned.

0–1

PRAGUE MASTERS - FINAL STANDINGS Rk Name ELO FED 1 GM Sam Shankland 2691 USA 2729 POL 2 GM Jan-Krzysztof Duda 3 GM Radoslaw Wojtaszek 2687 POL 4 GM Thai Dai Van Nguyen 2577 CZE 5 GM Nijat Abasov 2665 AZE 6 GM Nils Grandelius 2670 SWE 7 GM Jorden Van Foreest 2701 NED 7 GM David Navara 2697 CZE

They also provide the young and promising players with a plank from which to make the jump to the Wijks and Dortmunds of the professional chess circuit. Perhaps the organisers and the sponsors will see the benefits of having events like Prague and we will have the much-needed respite from the unending punishment of the so-called grandmaster draws.

1 0 ½ ½ 0 ½ 0 0

2 3 1 ½ 1 0 ½ ½ ½ 0 0 ½ 0 ½ 0 0

4 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½

5 1 ½ 1 ½

6 ½ 1 ½ ½ 1

7 1 1 ½ ½ ½ ½

8 Pts. 1 5½ 1 5 1 4 ½ 3½ 1 3½ 0 ½ 2½ ½ ½ ½ 2½ 0 ½ ½ 1½

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Grand Chess Tour THE 2021 SUPERBET CHESS CLASSIC

A tale of two Azeris in Bucharest

By GM Aleksandar Colovic/ www.alexcolovic.com; Photo: David Llada

TEIMOUR RADJABOV

SHAKHRIYAR MAMEDYAROV

With OTB chess slowly returning as the situation in the world improves, the Grand Chess Tour held its first classical tournament in Bucharest, from 5 to 16 June.

Called after the sponsor, the Superbet Chess Classic included the usual players of the Tour in addition to two locals, the second of whom, Bogdan−Daniel Deac, got lucky after the cancellation of Richard Rapport.

It was interesting to see whether “the usual players”, after a whole year of constantly playing online against each other, would alter their ways and demonstrate a renewed spark and desire for OTB chess.

400 | BRITISH CHESS MAGAZINE

Generally speaking, the tournament was notable for the performances by the two players from Azerbaijan.

One of them won the event, the other one showed more courage on Twitter than on the chess board

July 2021

The start of the tournament clearly answered that question in the negative. In the first three rounds, the only games that were not dull draws included the local players: Caruana beat Lupulescu, Deac beat Vachier (and he was close to beating Giri too) and Lupulescu beat Giri.

Fabiano Caruana, F Constantin Lupulescu Superbet Classic 2021 Bucharest ROU (2.1) 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.¤c3 ¤f6 4.¥g5

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I think we will start to see a bit more of this move. In the past it was at least as popular as Steinitz’s move 4.e5, but in recent years it was almost non-existent as everybody was going for the space-grab à-la Steinitz.

10...£a5+ 11.c3 cxd4 12.¤xd4 ¥e7 13.0–0–0 0–0

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Taking the pawn invites trouble 13...£xa2?

14.£b5+ ¥d7 (14...¢f8 15.¦he1 gives White total domination as Black will never get to see his king to safety and finish development.)

15.£xb7 ¦d8 16.¤b3! with the threat of ¦xd7.; 13...¥d7!? was a good alternative, still being flexible with the king’s placement.

The point is that after 14.¥xb7 ¦b8 15.£a6 £c7 16.¥c6 ¦b6 17.¥xd7+ £xd7 18.£c4 0–0 Black has great compensation for the pawn in view of the easy play along the semi-open b and c-files.

14.¢b1 ¦d8 15.¥c2 Simple play - White wants to go £e4 and £h7.

15...¥d7 16.£e4 g6 17.h4

4...dxe4 The alternatives are to insist on a closed position after 4...¥e7 or to sharpen things up with the MacCutcheon Variation, with 4...¥b4.

5.¤xe4 ¤bd7 Black can also opt for 5...¥e7, when after 6.¥xf6 he can recapture both ways.

6.¤f3 h6 7.¥xf6 Again there are options.

White can insert 7.¤xf6 ¤xf6 and then decide whether to take again on f6, or to withdraw to h4 or to e3.

7...¤xf6 8.¥d3 ¤xe4 9.¥xe4 c5 10.£e2 White’s play is simple: he wants to castle long and then attack the black king along the b1–h7 diagonal.

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The attack continues. Black would even stand better with his pair of bishops if he could manage to extinguish White’s initiative, but that is far from easy.

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17...¥a4?! Black’s wish to eliminate the attacking bishop on c2 is understandable, but the price of a full pawn is a bit too high.

bishop and the pressure on the central files make it difficult for White to go forward and convert his extra pawn.

17...e5!? is the engine’s sharp solution.

18.h5!? (18.¤b3 is an alternative. 18...£c7 19.h5 ¥f5 20.£f3 ¥xc2+ 21.¢xc2 gxh5 22.£xh5 ¥g5 with an unclear position.)

18...exd4 19.hxg6 (After 19.£xe7 ¥e6 20.a3 g5 Black manages to stabilise the position on the kingside.) 19...£g5 20.f4 £xg6 21.£xe7 ¥f5 22.¥xf5 £xf5+ 23.¢a1 ¦e8 24.£b4 dxc3 25.£xc3 £xf4, with a double-edged position where White has good compensation for the pawn in view of Black’s weakened king. 17...h5 18.g4 looks very dangerous for Black, but things are far from clear, for example 18...¥c6 19.¤xc6 bxc6 20.b4! forcing the queen off the 5th rank so that White can take on h5 and wreck Black’s kingside structure. 20...¦db8!? a sharp counterattack. 21.¥b3 ¥xb4! 22.cxb4 ¦xb4 23.£xc6 ¦ab8 24.¦h3 hxg4 with a mess, where Black’s safer king and two pawns are a good compensation for the bishop.

21.£c6! This forces the exchange of queens and even though Black regains the pawn in the endgame White’s domination is decisive.

21...£xc6 21...£c4 avoids the exchange, but after 22.¤b3 ¦dc8 23.£f3 Black’s coordination is much worse when compared to the line after 20...¥f6.

22.¤xc6 ¦xd1+ 23.¦xd1 ¥xf2 24.¦d7 Black is paralysed, especially his rook on a8 that cannot get into the game.

24...f6 After 24...a6 25.b4 White wins by simply pushing his queenside pawns.

25.¤d8 White could have also just pushed his queenside pawns, but Caruana goes for piece play, taking immediate advantage of Black’s last move that weakened the 7th rank.

25...¥b6

18.¥xa4 £xa4 19.h5! Weakening Black’s king before collecting on b7.

19...g5 20.£xb7 ¥c5?

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26.¤f7! 26.¤xe6?! ¦e8 would have allowed Black to breathe.

The decisive mistake, but only in view of Caruana’s precise play that follows.

26...¦f8 27.¤xh6+ ¢h8 28.¢c2 Black resigned in view of the total hopelessness of his position. He can only watch the queenside avalanche advance.

20...¥f6 was a better square for the bishop. 21.£f3 ¥g7 22.g4 ¦ac8 with compensation for Black, as his strong

1–0

402 | BRITISH CHESS MAGAZINE

July 2021

An even more surprising débacle from an elite player was Vachier’s performance.

He also lost two games, but didn’t win any, thus ending in shared last place

Constantin Lupulescu – Anish Giri Superbet Classic 2021 Bucharest ROU (3.5)

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Black has won a pawn, but sidetracked his rook. White’s central concentration bursts to life after his next move and gives him good compensation.

28.e4 £xf3 Giri sharpens the game with the clear intention of trying to win against one of the rating outsiders.

28...h6 was safer, opening a luft for the king. After 29.exf5 ¦f8 30.¦e7 £g5 31.f4 £xf5 32.£xf5 ¦xf5 with an equal doublerook endgame.

29.£f7 ¦g8 30.exf5 £c6?!

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30...h6 again a luft was the safer choice.

After 31.£xc7 £xf5 32.£xb6 ¦d3 play is sharp, but objectively equal.

31.¦f2! A nice move - the rook on the second rank gives way to the colleague on the first in order to invade on the 7th rank.

31...£c5? The decisive mistake. It is rare to see the elite players crack under pressure: usually it’s their opponents who do so.

31...a4! was the only way to create counterplay. However, the lines are not obvious even for an elite player. After 32.¦e7 axb3 33.axb3 £a8! is the only move. 34.f6 ¦g6 with ideas like ...£a1 BRITISH CHESS MAGAZINE | 403

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and ...¦h6 gives Black enough for equality, for example 35.£xg6!? hxg6 36.¦f3 threatening mate and forcing Black to sacrifice his own queen.

36...£xf3 37.gxf3 gxf6 38.¦xc7 with an equal rook endgame.

32.¦e7!

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Forcing Black’s next before coming to the 8th rank.

The immediate 32.¦e8? allows Black to draw after 32...¦xg2+! 33.¢h1!

(33.¢xg2? £c6+ with ...£xe8 next was Black’s idea.) 33...¦h2+! 34.¢xh2 £xf2+ with a perpetual check.

32...£d4 33.¦e8 Now the sacrifice on g2 doesn’t work.

33...¦xg2+ 34.¢xg2 £g4+ 35.¢h2 £h4+ 36.¢g2 £g4+ 37.¢f1 £h3+ 38.¢e1 £c3+ 39.¦d2

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The checks end soon and Black will be mated.

1–0 The tournament started to turn in Round Four when the leader Caruana lost to So. So’s comment after the game implied possible external help during the duel: "I would like to apologise to Fabiano Caruana ... The game was very interesting, he got very ambitious. And also, again, I’d like to thank the Lord Jesus because I don’t think I’m capable of beating guys like Fabiano, personally...".

This was the beginning of an unexpected downward spiral for Caruana. He lost to White against Mamedyarov in Round Seven and finished on a minus score, something that hasn’t happened to him since Wijk aan Zee in 2018.

An even more surprising débacle from an elite player was Vachier’s performance.

He also lost two games, but didn’t win any, thus ending in shared last position.

After this performance the player who was one of the candidates to qualify for the match with Carlsen is ranked 16th in the world.

Generally speaking, the tournament was noted for the performances by the two players from Azerbaijan. One of them won the event, the other one showed more courage on Twitter than on the chess board.

Mamedyarov won the tournament thanks to winning three games in a row, against Lupulescu in Round five, Aronian in Round six and Caruana in Round seven.

The game with Aronian was particularly interesting as the players went into what’s known as a drawn variation.

July 2021

Superbet Classic 2021 Bucharest ROU (6.1)

5...¤c6 6.e3 0–0 7.¥d2 The main alternative is the move 7.£c2 - the queen achieved the aim of forcing the black knight in front of the c-pawn and drops back to prevent the doubling of the pawns on the c-file.

1.d4 ¤f6

7...dxc4 8.¥xc4 ¥d6

Shakhriyar Mamedyarov – Levon Aronian

2.c4 e6 3.¤f3 d5 4.¤c3 ¥b4

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The Ragozin Defence has proved to be a reliable defence at top level. Almost all elite players employ it, often in combination with the Nimzo-Indian for a very compact repertoire against 1.d4.

5.£a4+ One of the many options for White, who can also go 5.cxd5, 5.¥g5, 5.g3 or 5.e3, with a transposition to the Nimzo-Indian.

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The main plan for Black in the Ragozin.

Instead of seeing his knight on c6 as a nuisance because it blocks the c-pawn, Black uses it to execute the ...e5 push, thus freeing his play by opening the h3–c8 diagonal for the light-squared bishop.

9.£c2 e5 Black achieves his aim, but now some concrete play happens in the centre.

10.dxe5 ¤xe5 11.¤xe5 ¥xe5 12.f4

It’s interesting to note that Mamedyarov posted on social media that in spite of winning and bringing joy and pride to his country, he did not receive any formal congratulations from the officials

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Forcing Black to concede the pair of bishops.

Mamedyarov deviates from an earlier game

by Aronian from the same tournament.

12.0–0–0 is an alternative, one that Aronian had already faced 5 days earlier, in Round 2. 12...£e7 13.¢b1 ¥e6 14.¥xe6 £xe6 15.f3 ¦ad8 with comfortable play for Black, who didn’t have any problems holding the draw in: ½–½ (30) So,W (2770)-Aronian,L (2781) Bucharest ROU 2021.

12...¥xc3 12...¥d6? retreating is bad, as after 13.0–0–0 followed by e4–e5 White has a big advantage.

13.¥xc3 ¤g4! Black must create counterplay before White consolidates, as in that case White would be strategically winning with the pair of bishops and the mobile central majority.

14.¥d4

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14...c5! Energetic play, sacrificing a pawn and luring the bishop onto an undefended square, at the same time preventing long castling by opening the d-file.

15.¥xc5 ¦e8 16.0–0 White gets his king to safety but loses both advantages in the process - the pair of bishops and the extra pawn.

16.£e2 is an attempt to keep the extra pawn, but Black has excellent compensation, for example 16...¤xe3! (or 16...£h4+ 17.g3 £h3; or even 16...£c7 17.¥d4 ¤xe3!

18.¥xe3 ¥g4 19.£xg4 ¦xe3+ 20.¢f2 ¦e4 with the double threat of ...¦xc4 and ...¦xf4.)

17.¥xe3 ¥g4! 18.£xg4 ¦xe3+ 19.¢f1 £d4 and White cannot avoid a repetition after 20.¥b3 £d3+ 21.¢g1 £d4.

16...¤xe3 17.¥xe3 ¦xe3 18.¦fe1

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The position is symmetrical and equal, though White keeps some minimal 406 | BRITISH CHESS MAGAZINE

July 2021

advantage in view of the fact that Black still hasn’t developed his queenside. This means that some precision is still required from Black and the fact that even Carlsen lost a game from here just confirms that Black shouldn’t relax just yet. This approach, of entering drawn variations that require precise knowledge from the opponent, is quite typical of modern opening preparation. If the opponent is precise a draw is soon agreed, but if he isn’t, then a safe advantage is obtained with very little effort.

18.£f2 is an alternative that doesn’t change the essence that the position is equal. However, after 18...¦e8 (18...£b6 is a good alternative 19.¦fe1 ¦xe1+ 20.¦xe1 £xf2+ 21.¢xf2 ¢f8 with a transposition to the comment to Black’s 19th move.) 19.¦ad1 £c7 20.¦c1 £d6 21.f5 White put some pressure and even the World Champion couldn’t hold it in the long run in the blitz game: 1–0 (54) Andreikin,D (2724)-Carlsen,M (2872) Moscow 2019.

18...¦xe1+ 19.¦xe1 ¥d7?

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A surprising blunder by Aronian in a stillknown position, wonderfully justifying Mamedyarov’s approach in the game described in the comments to White’s 18th move.

19...£d4+ has been played before 20.£f2 £xf2+ 21.¢xf2 ¢f8 22.¥d5 (or 22.¦c1 ¥f5 ½–½ (30) Abasov,N (2632)-Anand,V

(2765) Douglas 2019) 22...¥d7 23.¦e3 ¦c8 24.¥xb7 ¦b8 25.¦b3 ¥a4 26.¦a3 ¦xb7 27.¦xa4 ¦xb2+ 28.¢f3 ¦b7 with a drawn rook endgame: ½–½ (38) So,W (2770)-Nepomniachtchi,I (2792) Paris FRA 2021.

20.£b3 The double attack on f7 and b7 wins a pawn.

20...£f6 21.£xb7 £d4+ 22.¢h1 ¦e8?

Another blunder, losing a second pawn.

22...¦f8 was more resilient, though after 23.b3 White is a clear pawn up.

23.¦xe8+ ¥xe8 24.¥xf7+! A nice tactic.

24...¢f8

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The point is that after 24...¥xf7 25.£b8+ Black is mated 25...¥e8 26.£xe8#.

25.¥b3 Black’s problem is that he cannot take on f4 or b2 nor can he take advantage of the weakness of White’s back rank.

25...£c5 25...£xf4 26.£xa7 the queen covers the g1–square, 26...£c1+ 27.£g1 £xb2 allows cute 28.£c5#; 25...£xb2 allows immediate 26.£b4#.

and and the the

26.£d5 £c1+ 27.¥d1 £xf4 Again the pawn on b2 is taboo: 27...£xb2 28.£c5+ ¢g8 29.¥b3+ ¥f7 30.£c8#.

28.£c5+ ¢g8 29.£xa7 BRITISH CHESS MAGAZINE | 407

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The following game is typical of what is commonly referred to as difference in class.

The rating outsider boldly chose a fighting line against Grischuk, but it was an expected choice and the elite player prepared well, not to obtain an advantage, but to give the game a direction that he is more familiar with.

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Alexander Grischuk – Constantin Lupulescu Superbet Classic 2021 Bucharest ROU (6.3)

White is two protected passed pawns up and the rest is rather easy.

29...h5 30.h3 ¥c6 31.¥b3+ ¢h7 32.£f7 Mamedyarov uses the weaknesses around Black’s king to force either further simplifications or concessions.

32...£c1+ 33.¢h2 £c5 34.£xh5# is another mate.

33...£xb2

34.£g8+ ¢h6 35.£e6+ g6 36.£f6 ¥d7 37.h4 Threatening mate on h8.

37...£c7+ 38.g3 £c8 39.£f4+ ¢h7 40.£f7+ 40.£f7+ ¢h6 41.£g8 forces the exchange of queens in view of the mate on h8.

1–0 This victory is an important one for Mamedyarov, who after a mediocre “online season” strengthens his position in the Top 10.

Perhaps it’s interesting to note that he posted on social media that in spite of winning and bringing joy and pride to his country, he did not receive any formal congratulations from the officials. Mamedyarov has expressed similar feelings before, of not being appreciated enough and lamenting lack of sponsorship, so it’s safe to conclude that things are far from smooth for him in his native federation.

408 | BRITISH CHESS MAGAZINE

1.e4 c5 2.¤f3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.¤xd4 ¤f6 5.¤c3 ¤c6 The Classical Sicilian is a common choice for Lupulescu and it is a courageous decision to employ it against one of the best players in the world, knowing that he will be very well prepared.

6.¥g5 ¥d7 The more common move to reach the position after White’s 9th move is 6...e6, but Black probably had some ideas about the move-order.

7.£d2 a6 8.0–0–0 e6 Now we are back into the usual Rauzer territory, with White having the principled choice of playing with f4 or f3.

9.f4

XIIIIIIIIY 9r+-wqkvl-tr0 9+p+l+pzpp0 9p+nzppsn-+0 9+-+-+-vL-0 9-+-sNPzP-+0 9+-sN-+-+-0 9PzPPwQ-+PzP0 9+-mKR+L+R0 xiiiiiiiiy Grischuk chooses the plan with f4. Slightly more popular is the plan with 9.f3, resembling the English Attack.

9...b5 An important alternative is the move 9...¥e7.

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10.¥xf6 gxf6 11.¢b1 £b6

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Black would like to exchange queens on d4, as the endgame is favourable for him with the pair of bishops and the strong central pawn mass.

12.¤xc6 One of the possible ways to avoid the exchange of queens.

Two rounds later, having had the time to prepare, Radjabov opted for the alternative 12.¤ce2 b4 13.f5 ¤xd4 14.¤xd4 e5 15.¤f3 h5 16.¥c4 and obtained some advantage, though he failed to make more of it. ½–½ (41) Radjabov,T (2765)-Lupulescu,C (2656) Bucharest ROU 2021.

12...¥xc6 13.f5 b4 Forcing the knight to move from e2 so that Black can play ...e5, not fearing a knight jump to d5.

This is Grischuk’s slight deviation from the main lines with 16.¤h5 or 16.¥d3.

The idea of the move is to allow for ¥c4, This is how the elite prepare when they have a clear target in the opening. Even if the line against which they are preparing is super-solid and it’s impossible to obtain an advantage against it, they will find a rare idea they will analyse in some depth and will feel more familiar with it than their opponent.

16...h5 Black prevents ¤h5 with this typical move.

17.h4 Fixing the pawn on h5 as it can become a target after ¥e2 or £e2.

17...¥b5? Grischuk’s rare opening idea pays off immediately as Black errs two moves after it.

17...¢e7 has been played before, but this is how it usually happens - the player caught in his opponent’s preparation fails to remember the way to continue in the lesser-known lines. 18.¥c4 ¥h6 19.£e2 ¥b5 20.¤xh5 ¥xc4 21.bxc4 £e3 with compensation for the pawn in view of White’s weakened king and loose pawns on c4 and e4.

18.£e1!

14.¤e2 e5 15.¤g3 £c5 The alternative is 15...h5, to prevent ¤h5, but this is still theory and therefore a matter of choice.

16.b3!?

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Threatening ¦d5.

18...¦c8 19.¥xb5+ axb5 19...£xb5 20.¦d5 £c6 21.£e2 is positionally BRITISH CHESS MAGAZINE | 409

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winning for White: a typical good knight vs bad bishop position with total domination and lack of counterplay.

20.£e2 Defending the pawn on c2 and intending ¦d5.

20...¦a8 21.¦d5 £a7 22.£xb5+ ¢d8 23.a4 bxa3 24.¦hd1 White is winning his king is safer, the bishop is hopeless on f8, tied down to the defence of the pawn on d6 and the rook on h8 is tied to the defence of the pawn on h5.

24...¥e7 25.£e2 Immediately targeting the pawn on h5 that cannot be saved.

25...¦c8 26.c4 ¦g8 27.¤xh5 a2+ 28.¢a1 ¦b8 29.¦5d3 White has won a pawn and keeps control.

29...£a3 30.£c2 ¦g4 31.c5 Reminding Black that his king is still in the centre.

31...¦c8 32.¦c3 d5 33.¦xd5+ ¢e8 34.g3 £b4 35.¦c4 £e1+ 36.¦d1 £e3 37.£d3

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After the exchange of queens White will be three pawns up, as the pawn on a2 will also fall.

1–0 The story of the other Azeri in the tournament is no less interesting. Radjabov has received a lot of flak for his online 410 | BRITISH CHESS MAGAZINE

“performances” of short and theoretical draws so I was curious to see whether he would play real chess if he got physically to move his pieces. He answered that question in the negative.

Radjabov had nine draws – of these only two were actually played, against Giri and Lupulescu. It seems more and more apparent that he doesn’t like having to play chess, that he is just going throughthe motions and does it because he doesn’t know anything else to do.

When pushed, he is still a phenomenal player, but he is rarely pushed and never pushes himself.

Perhaps it will be of interest to follow Radjabov’s career and then understand why it has come to this. A prodigy, he made the headlines in 2003 when as a 15-year-old he beat Garry Kasparov with the black pieces in the Linares tournament, Kasparov’s first loss with White in seven years.

The whole world predicted his future as a world champion and it seems he also believed it. A sparkling player with a fantastic feel for the initiative, playing the King’s Indian and the Sveshnikov Sicilian with Black for the ultimate counter-attacking repertoire, he gained the sympathy of the chess public. For 10 years after that fateful Linares he kept growing, slowly pushing his rating towards the 2800 bar. He reached his peak at 2793 and 4th in the world, but then came another fateful tournament in Radjabov’s career.

The London Candidates in 2013 gathered an incredibly strong field to select a challenger for the then World Champion Anand. In view of Anand’s bad form in those years, it was considered that the winner of the Candidates would be a clear favourite against the 44year old Champion. Thanks to his high rating Radjabov, who joined the event as a wild card, was considered among

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the favourites, together with Carlsen, Kramnik and Aronian.

The tournament was a complete disaster for Radjabov. He lost half of his games, seven in total, while winning only one.

He finished last with a miserable score of 4 out of 14. This tournament destroyed his lifelong dream of becoming a World Champion and a long crisis ensued.

After London Radjabov slowly drifted into obscurity. His rating was constantly declining, reaching 2693 in November 2016.

Some signs of revival were seen after he won the Geneva Grand Prix in 2017, but the real comeback was his surprise win of the FIDE World Cup in 2019. This result saw him book a place in the Candidates 2020 and all of a sudden Radjabov was back in the limelight.

However, there were in fact two Radjabovs: one who fights and shows the ability of the former prodigy, and the other, who prefers to make short draws and not play. In the World Cup, with knock−out matches, one must fight, so he did and won. Unfortunately, after securing his spot in the Candidates 2022

(FIDE decided to grant him the wild card spot after he withdrew from the 2020 edition because of the pandemic) the latter Radjabov took over.

Radjabov made draws online, he made draws in OTB chess. Carlsen’s opinion is that he doesn’t really want to play the Candidates, while the impression his games give is that he is just going through the motions.

In Bucharest, Radjabov finally decided to explain himself. He did it via social media, with defiant and arrogant tweets like “Don’t forget it! I am part of chess history, like it or not!” He also explained why he made draws and this is where it gets funny.

He said that he made draws because of his tough schedule (too many online draws are perhaps too taxing?), which meant that he didn’t have the time to prepare and come up with opening ideas (he has a team of seconds who work for him). He further said that he didn’t want to “just play” and have exciting games that would be praised by the public because if he lost then he would lose rating points and then he wouldn’t be invited to the best events.

I cannot say for certain whether Radjabov really believes his explanations, because the logic is that he makes these draws to keep his rating, in order to be invited to elite events where he will draw again i n order again to keep his rating

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To prove his point, with his nine draws in Bucharest Radjabov remained in the Top 10, at the number 10 spot, a gigantic 0.1 rating point ahead of Richard Rapport at number 11. This crucial difference in the rating will undoubtedly assure him of many more invitations ahead of the young and uncompromising Rapport.

I cannot say for certain whether Radjabov really believes his explanations. Because the logic is that he makes these draws to keep his rating in order to be invited to elite events where he will draw again in order again to keep his rating. I wonder which organiser will buy this logic.

I played Radjabov in 2001, at the open tournament in Saint Vincent in Italy. He was higher rated than me and played with the white pieces. And yet he offered me a draw on move 19 in a position that I considered somewhat uncomfortable for me. I was surprised and accepted. I understood that the kid had a bright future ahead and I followed him ever since. I would really like to see the old Radjabov, one of the best King’s Indian players of all time. Even more so, I’d love to see him play it at next year’s Candidates.

It’s a long shot, but who knows?

SUPERBET CHESS CLASSIC - FINAL STANDINGS Pos. Name 1 GM Shakhriyar Mamedyarov T-2 GM Levon Aronian T-2 GM Wesley So T-2 GM Alexander Grischuk T-5 GM Teimour Radjabov T-5 GM Anish Giri T-7 GM Bogdan-Daniel Deac T-7 GM Fabiano Caruana T-9 GM Constantin Lupulescu T-9 GM Maxime Vachier-Lagrave

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Current Score 6.0 5.0 5.0 5.0 4.5 4.5 4.0 4.0 3.5 3.5

July 2021

THE GREAT ICONOCLAST:

MICHAEL BASMAN

By Grandmaster Raymond Keene OBE A new book by Michael Basman and Gerard Welling brings to mind two quotations from great minds, one a chess Grandmaster, the other an author and satirist Aron Nimzowitsch once wrote: “Ridicule can do much, for instance embitter the existence of young talents; but one thing is not given to it, to put a stop permanently to the incursion of new and powerful ideas”.

Meanwhile, the French wit and thinker Voltaire allegedly opined: “I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it”.

The book is U Cannot Be Serious! Avant Garde strategy in Chess, published by Thinkers Publishing. It amounts to an anthology of Basman’s best games with the extraordinary flank strategies which he has developed, with illustrious victims, including Nunn, Speelman, Miles, Velimirovic, Savon, Ulf Andersson, Planinc, Mecking, Tisdall and Plaskett.

I say that I recall the two quotes, since BRITISH CHESS MAGAZINE | 413

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on the one hand I doubt the ultimate soundness of Basman’s more extreme concepts, yet, on the other, I absolutely defend his right both to deploy and explain his outré ideas.

A) 4...¤ge7 then Basman suggested the semiendgame 5.c4 5.¤c3!? would have been Grob’s own choice. 5...dxc4 6.dxc4 £xd1+ 7.¢xd1 but this does not give the Christmas feeling (Welling) after 7...¥e6 and ...O-O-O.

Indeed, amongst much contumely heaped upon Basman’s eccentricities, I am mentioned in despatches in the book as a lone voice crying in the wilderness, lauding his adventurous spirit. See my article “Basmania at the Benedictine” in the Journal Modern Chess Theory, 1982.

B) 4...¥e6

This month’s game, an extract from the book, shows Basman’s original and creative skills in devastating action.

Michael Basman - John Nunn Oxford, 1978, Grob / Basman Opening

B1) 5.¤f3 f6 6.c3 ¤ge7 and now maybe 7.£b3 Or 7.¤a3 or follow the line of the game against Ravikumar.

Notes based on those in the book.

1.g4 d5 2.h3 e5

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3.d3 3.b3?!? is a suggestion by Mike Basman that is untried “as far as I am aware” according to Welling in the book.

The text move postpones the development of the bishop on f1 which has pros and cons as we will see. Sometimes White would have preferred not to have committed the bishop at an early stage (but sometimes the pawn as well), in order to play d4 in one go. It is probably a matter of taste.

3...¥d6 Instead, 3...¤c6 transposing to 3.¥g2 ¤c6 4.d3 414 | BRITISH CHESS MAGAZINE

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4.¥g2,

B2) The analysis of 5.¤d2 ¤ge7 6.c4 ¤g6 7.cxd5 ¥xd5 8.¥e4 does not inspire confidence after 8...¥b4!?

B3) 5.c3 ¤ge7 6.¤f3 f6 7.£a4 £d7 Basman-Ravikumar, Torquay 1982 and now maybe 8.¤bd2.

4.c4 c6 5.¤c3 ¤e7 6.¤f3

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6...h5 I don’t like this sort of reaction against g4 (or indeed ...g5) systems. More often than not the g file proves to be more useful than the h file. Perhaps that can be

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explained by its closer proximity to the enemy king. Alternatively, 6...¤d7 7.¥g2 h6 8.£c2 ¤b6 9.c5 ¥xc5 10.¤xe5 was the course of the game Basman−J. Houska, Torquay British Championships 1998, when White had an extra central pawn but Black had little to worry about.

7.gxh5 ¦xh5 8.¥d2 a6?! 9.e4!

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9...dxc4 9...d4 is more or less refuted by a sacrifice: 10.¤xd4! exd4 11.£xh5 dxc3 12.¥xc3, with a strong attack for a small investment. Basman would have been in his natural element.

10.dxc4 White has the better chances as Black has surprising difficulties mobilising properly.

10...¤d7 11.¤g5 ¤f6 12.£f3 ¤g6 13.0–0– 0 £e7 14.¢b1 ¤f4 14...b5!?

15.¦g1 ¢f8 16.¤e2?!

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Maybe 16.c5!?; this move gives Black his chance to create decent counterplay.

16...¤e6 17.¤xe6+ ¥xe6 18.¤g3 18.¥g5 is strong at this time: 18...¦xg5 19.¦xg5 ¤xe4 does not halt White’s initiative after 20.¦h5.

18...¦h8 19.¥g5 ¦d8

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20.¥e2 20.¤h5.

20...¦xh3 21.£g2 ¥c7 22.¤h5 ¦xd1+ 23.¦xd1 ¦xh5 24.¥xh5 White now crashed through after the following move.

24...£b4 25.¥e2 ¥xc4 26.¥xc4 £xc4 27.¥xf6 gxf6 28.£g4 £e6 29.£xe6 fxe6 30.¦d7 1-0 A spectacular win against an illustrious opponent.

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A US chess legend at Prior Park College IM James Sherwin, one of the ascending stars of US chess in the 1950s who played alongside Bobby Fischer, recently gave a simul at Prior Park College Chess Club in Bath James Sherwin has been one of the top US players in the 1950s. He played - alongside Bobby Fisher − at the 1958 Porotoroz Interzonal, where he faced the likes of Tal, Gligoric, Petrosian, Bronstein. He not only knew Bobby Fischer (perhaps the greatest chess player of all time) as a friend, but played against him regularly, and even beat him on occasion. Fischer also included their duel at the 1957 New Jersey Open Championship in his masterpiece “My 60 Memorable Games”.

As a young man, Sherwin was Intercollegiate Champion and New York State Champion in 1951 and went on to become President of the American Chess Foundation, United States Speed Chess Champion (twice!), and earned the title of International Master in 1958. His later career was mostly dedicated to business, but he never left chess.

So, when James offered to come into college to play a simul match against “up to 20” of our student club members, everyone was thrilled. After all, James Sherwin lived through the era of The Queen’s Gambit Netflix series for real.

The first issue was where to get 20 identical tournament standard chess sets and boards at such short notice? The answer was, of course, our local chess suppliers: The Regency Chess Company in Frome whose chess supplies range from high−end luxury sets worth several hundred pounds each, down to the sort of plastic tournament club sets we needed in bulk and quickly.

The 20 chess sets, and boards, arrived at college in plenty of time and at a great price. The students at Prior Park College 416 | BRITISH CHESS MAGAZINE

Chess Club (whose chess tradition dates back to at least 1887!) were soon setting up our new chess sets in the school’s Academy Hall ready for James Sherwin to take on all the members of our student team at the same time!

The event started at 5.00pm and (with a break for dinner in hall at 6.30pm) went on until 8.00pm. Needless to say James Sherwin’s talent and experience eventually won out in every game, but he was kind enough to say that some of our best players gave him a strong contest, and that the chess skills our students showed were a real encouragement for the future of this fascinating game.

On Board No 1, Milena Apostu (L6th), a very talented young player from Romania, played a fantastic attacking game. Kira Tenk and Hugh Roberts were also singled out for praise after the game, while our “last−minute substitute” Mr. Maxwell (called to a board because one student had double−booked himself and was on the cricket pitch playing against the M.C.C.) put in a shrewdly defensive performance to remain the “last man standing” in his game before James secured a win at the end of the match.

Prior Park College Chess Club is looking forward to a return visit from James Sherwin next term, as well as organising and hosting future chess competitions for the South West.

AWT

July 2021

GIBRALTAR: FIDE’s disrupted Women’s Grand Prix

ABDUMALIK DOMINATES, LAGNO QUALIFIES FOR THE CANDIDATES

By GM Aleksandar Colovic / www.alexcolovic.com FIDE’s disrupted Women Grand Prix finally finished with the last leg held in Gibraltar from 22 May to 2 June, almost a full year after its intended last leg in Sardinia in May 2020.

There were many problems with the organisation of this tournament - first because of the postponement of the January dates and then with the inability of some players to come to Gibraltar. There were some very strong players who couldn’t come, such as Koneru, Ju Wenjun and Sebag. If the World Champion didn’t need to qualify for anything, Sebag was already out of contention, Koneru was leading the general standings of the Grand Prix (formally she was second, behind Goryachkina, but the latter already had a spot in the Candidates 2022 as the loser of the last World Championship match). However, Koneru was by no means guaranteed a spot. Since she couldn’t come, she risked her qualification for the Candidates Tournament if somebody were to overtake her in the Grand Prix standings.

Luckily, none of these problematic situations occurred because Zhansaya Abdumalik dominated the field from the start and won the tournament with a round to spare. With a final score of 8.5 out of 11, the 21-year old from Kazakhstan also managed to surpass 2500 and, since she already had three norms, Abdumalik obtained the Grandmaster title.

There was fierce competition for the one remaining place for qualification for the Candidates Tournament between Lagno, Maria Muzychuk and Dzagnidze. Eventually it all came down to the last-round game between Lagno and Maria Muzychuk with White needing a draw while, if Muzychuk won, she would qualify.

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THE GAME OF MISSED OPPORTUNITIES

Both sides are safe in this reversed Carlsbad structure, but let’s not forget that White needs a draw and Black needs a win.

Kateryna Lagno – Mariya Muzychuk

9...¥d6 10.c3 £c7 Bearing in mind the situation, Black prepares to castle long in order to sharpen the game.

Gibraltar WGP 2021 Caleta ENG (11.3) 1.e4 c6 Muzychuk’s usual choices against 1.e4 are the Sveshnikov Sicilian and 1...e5, so the choice of the Caro-Kann in a mustwin situation must have been dictated by psychological considerations.

2.¤c3 d5 3.¤f3 The Two Knights variation guarantees White against any theoretical surprises.

3...¥g4 3...dxe4 4.¤xe4 ¤f6 has gained some traction recently, when White has the choice of 5.¤xf6+ (or 5.£e2) 4.h3 ¥xf3 5.£xf3 e6 6.d4 6.d3 is a major alternative, still popular after Bobby Fischer’s struggles with it in the 1959 Candidates Tournament.

6...¤f6 Taking on e4 is an alternative, when Black banks on his solidity against White’s pair of bishops and space advantage.

7.exd5 White chooses a simple solution.

7.¥d3 is the main move, but perhaps Lagno feared that Black might take the pawn after 7...dxe4 8.¤xe4 £xd4 when White has compensation, but a pawn is a pawn.

7...cxd5 8.¥d3 ¤c6 9.¤e2

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11.¥g5 ¤d7 12.0–0 h6 13.¥d2 Not allowing any provocation.

13.¥h4 g5 14.¥g3 ¦f8 with ...0–0–0 next would suit Black, in spite of the engine’s assessing this in White’s favour.

13...¤f6 14.¦fe1 0–0–0 Black castled long, but it is White who can start play on the queenside faster than Black can do the same on the kingside.

15.c4 dxc4 16.¥xc4 ¢b8 17.¦ac1

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White has activity on the queenside and now Black will try to extinguish it in order to be able to play against the isolated queen pawn (IQP) on d4.

17...£b6 18.¥e3 £a5 19.¤c3 Usually a good rule of thumb is that if the possessor of the IQP has good control of the square in front of it, she has good play. Here we see such a case, so White shouldn’t worry.

19...a6 20.a3 Preparing b4.

20...¤e7? Black tries to increase the control over the d5–square, but this is a tactical mistake.

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20...¥c7 was a better way to control d5, even though after 21.¦ed1 White is still better.

21.¦ed1?

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A natural-looking move, but one that lets all the advantage slip away!

Instead, 21.d5! is indicated by the engine as practically winning for White. After 21...¤exd5 22.b4! the queen on a5 is short of squares. 22...£c7 (22...£xa3?

23.¤xd5 ¤xd5 24.¥a7+ wins the queen on a3.) 23.¥xd5 exd5 24.¤xd5 £d7 25.¤xf6 gxf6 26.£xf6 when White is a pawn up with a winning position.

21...¦c8 21...¤f5 was a good alternative. 22.b4 £c7 (22...£xa3?

23.b5 gives White a strong attack.)

23.¥f1 ¤xe3 24.fxe3 £e7 leads to an unclear position where Black can have her chances.

22.¥d3 ¤ed5 22...¤f5 was somewhat better, but after 23.¥f4 ¥xf4 24.£xf4+ £c7 25.£xc7+ ¦xc7 26.d5 White doesn’t risk losing.

23.¥d2 ¤xc3?

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This gives White a close-to-winning advantage.

23...£b6 was better, though 24.¤xd5 exd5 was forcing, as the pawn on f7 hangs if Black takes with the knight.

25.¦b1 gives White a safe advantage as Black has nothing to show for White’s pair of bishops. Still, it was better than the game move.

24.bxc3 Now the central pair is ready to advance.

24...£h5 Seeking exchanges as otherwise the attack on the queenside, helped by the central advance and the open b-file, would be devastating.

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Black cannot take the pawn for now, but White will always have to think about it.

25...¤xh5 26.¥e2 Transferring the bishop to f3.

28.¦b1 was better, if only because it was simpler. After 28...b5 (or 28...¤d5 29.¥e2 ¦xc3 30.¥xa6 ¦c7 31.¥a5 ¦e7 is a playable position where Black’s central blockade is compensated with White’s pair of bishops.) 29.¥xf4 going for opposite-coloured bishops is the easiest way for White to secure a draw.

29...¥xf4 30.d5 and even if White loses a pawn the opposite-coloured bishops should secure a draw.

26...¤f4 26...¤f6 27.c4 with ideas of ¦b1 and ¥f3.

28...¦hc8 28...¦xa4? 29.c4 with the idea of ¦b1 is dangerous for Black.

27.¥f3? Now it’s White’s turn to err.

White had to be a bit more patient with this transfer, as now Black obtains access to the c4–square.

29.¦b1 29.¦a1 ¤d5 30.¦db1 ¦8c7 and Black takes on c3 next, though the engine insists this is nothing and evaluates it at 0.00 after 31.¢f1 (or 31.¥xd5 exd5 32.¢f1 looks very depressing for White, but the king comes to d3 and the engine is happy (read 0.00)?!) 31...¤xc3 32.¦b6 ¦d7 33.¥xc3 ¦xc3 34.¦ab1 and White takes on b7 when again he is safe thanks to the opposite-coloured bishops.

24...£xa3? 25.¦a1 £b2 26.¦db1 wins immediately, as there is mate on b7 after 26...£xd2 27.£xb7# 25.£xh5 White could have kept the queens on the board, but she needed only a draw, so this exchange is understandable.

27.¥f1! with the idea of playing c4 and then g3 and ¥g2, which would have given White a big advantage.

27...¦c4 Black is fine now and, what is even more important, she can start entertaining thoughts of winning - the blockade on the light squares, coupled with the weak a-pawn, can easily give Black winning chances if White is not careful.

28.a4?!

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29...¤d5 30.¥e2??

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The momentum of the game changed some moves ago, as White was forced on the defensive, but this is a blunder and the moment Black had been waiting for since the start of the game.

30.a5 ¦8c7 31.¥e2 (31.¥xd5 exd5 32.¦a1 is again the engine’s preference, though White would have suffered a long game in this case.) 31...¦xc3 32.¥xa6 ¢a7 33.¥e2 ¦c2 with an unclear position where Black certainly has her trumps in view of the better structure and White’s weak pawns on a5 and d4.

30...¤xc3?

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Now Black returns the favour – missing a good chance! Now it’s a simple draw.

30...¦xa4! 31.c4 ¦axc4! was the correct way and after 32.¥xc4 ¦xc4 Black has two connected passed pawns on the queenside that should decide the game in her favour.

31.¥xc3 ¦xc3 After 31...¦xc3 32.¥xa6 ¦8c7 33.d5 simplifies the position and a draw is inevitable. ½–½ It’s incredible how winning chances appear on both sides, even in games which develop very unfavourably for one side. But one needs to be well-attuned to take advantage of these moments, otherwise they pass and do not happen again, just as in the game we saw.

With this draw Lagno shared 3rd place with 6.5 out of 11 and this sufficed for her qualification in the Candidates Tournament.

Apart from Abumalik, it is worth noting the shared 3rd place of Gunay Mammadzada, born in the same year 2000 as Abdumalik. She had three wins in a row in the middle of the tournament, beating Kashlinskaya, Gunina and Lagno before losing to Anna Muzychuk.

As is usual in Gibraltar, the organisation was superb and everybody was content.

Let’s hope we can enjoy the traditional open on the Rock in January next year!

GIBRALTAR - Final Standings 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

Player Abdumalik Z. Muzychuk M. Mammadzada G. Lagno K. Paehtz E. Dzagnidze N. Muzychuk A. Kashlinskaya A. Stefanova A. Gunina V. Saduakassova D. Bulmaga I.

Score 8½ 7 6½ 6½ 6 6 5½ 5 4½ 4½ 4 2

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July 2021

Power Outage in Playas For Roger and Carmen

By Alexis Levitin In the shabby beachside town of Playas, no one played chess. I advertised on the radio, I went to the local high school, I asked every gringo I bumped into, but no dice. Back in Guayaquil, the largest city in Ecuador and shabby in its own way, I had found several good players.

One of them was the son of the GermanEcuadorian Master Paul Klein, who had been the head arbiter at the 1981 World Chess Championship between Anatoly Karpov and Viktor Korchnoi at Merano, in the Italian Tyrol. Another was a professional guitar maestro. But an hour and half away, in this thoroughly unpretentious town of crab shacks, fish chowder stalls, a Middle Eastern Shawarma restaurant, a solitary coffee shop and three ice cream joints, chess was meaningless and my love for the game unrequited.

Of course, though presumably on vacation, I had my laptop with me to keep up with news back home and vague possibilities of work down there in Ecuador. And so, despite my tremendous resistance to all things technological, all things cybernetic, despite my profound fear of the worldwide web and all it contained, one day, I dared to type the word “Chess” into my search engine. And fairly soon, after stumbling here and there, I fumbled my way into a membership at Chess.com.

For a week, I was surprisingly happy.

For a week, I won every game I played, working my way up from a shameful starting point to a decent rating.

Finally, I was playing some pretty solid opponents. With long swims in the tepid Pacific, ice cold coconut water from a street vendor on the way home, and that seemingly endless string of victories, life had picked up a bit. Then came the crucial night, a night that has stuck in my craw for over a decade.

My unknown opponent was a Scotsman with a decent ranking, higher than mine.

Playing white, lulled, perhaps, into overconfidence by the disparity in our ranking, he made an early sacrifice of his white bishop for the crucial pawn at F7, launching a dramatic attack on my kingside. My king, having taken the sacrificed bishop, was drawn into the open. Wherever he went, he was pursued with yet another check, either by my opponent’s queen or his black bishop or by one of his high energy knights. Searching the board for possible salvation on the distant queen side, I saw that I was helpless to prevent four more checks. But I also saw that after a zigzag horizontal flight across the board, I would finally be safely ensconced behind pawns and a minor piece or two on the quiet, relatively untouched, queen side of the playing field. The onslaught would temporarily be over.

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I also saw what he had failed to see: the moment he ran out of checks, the moment I had the opportunity to take the initiative, he would find himself in a childishly simple mate, involving merely one knight and my queen.

Two moves and it would all be over.

To swerve from near disaster to an elegant triumph against a solid player would be an exciting reversal and I sat hunched over my computer, almost salivating. It was at that moment that the lights went out.

When the downtown generator restarted, my dead computer came back to life, along with the lights. And my screen, flickering alive, said to me: “We see that you have resigned.

Would you like to request a rematch?”

I was dumb-founded. Fate and the vagaries of modern technology had stripped me of a glorious victory.

Desperate, I contacted my brother in New Jersey, a man at home in the world of computers. He contacted Chess.com, but they said there was nothing they could do about my loss, it was just one of those technical glitches that occurred automatically with a power outage. They were sorry, but I wasn’t the first to suffer the indignity of such a mechanical failure. I tracked down my opponent in Scotland and told him that I had not resigned, only run out of juice in a broken-down beachside town in southern Ecuador.

He was not terribly sympathetic and simply pointed out that he had no way to reconstruct the position we had been in when the lights went out. I had no recourse. I was helpless and outraged.

But all I could do was take a long swim in the darkness of the utterly indifferent Pacific Ocean, sullen and 424 | BRITISH CHESS MAGAZINE

eternal, just a couple of hundred yards from my door.

The following week I continued to play on Chess.com. I was still furious and, as a result, I lost every game for the entire week, and my ranking plummeted. Finally, having hit rockbottom, I turned off the computer and went for a walk in the stillness of the tropical night. I was face to face with my own weakness of character and I didn’t like the guy I was seeing. As I returned from my disgruntled stroll, I noticed that the cactus to the side of our gate was suddenly blooming, glorious white, in the fragrant, heavy, nighttime air. It was good to see that beauty still existed, even if not within myself. I realized my pettiness, but it was a long time before I ever played chess on the computer again.

Alexis Levitin's work as a translator of poetry has carried him repeatedly to Portugal, Brazil, and Ecuador, where this story took place. He began playing chess with his father and his step-father, both solid Russian chess players, at the age of six. He has played in cafes, restaurants, and on beaches around the world, but rarely enters tournaments. His only trophies are for a high school championship in 1956, a second place at the Polgar Chess Authority in 1999, and the Plattsburgh Chess Club Championship in the year 2000.

July 2021

A new chess record:

US TEEN ABHIMANYU MISHRA BECOMES YOUNGEST-EVER GRANDMASTER IN THE HISTORY OF CHESS

By BCM Staff The chess world has a good reason to be excited! Sergey Karjakin’s 2002 record, when he became the youngest GM in the world at the age of 12 years and seven months, has been broken.

The new holder of the title of youngest GM is Abhimanyu (Abhi) Mishra, who achieved this at 12 years, four months and 25 days, beating Karjakin’s 19−year record for 66 days

Karjakin’s reaction

In recent years we have become accustomed to chess records set predominantly by computers. From how many variants and moves they can calculate in a second, to how “smart” and superior to humans they are. But, in chess as in life, it is still the effort and the success of humans that really excites the world. Abhimanyu Mishra has excited a lot of people with his records and ambitions!

“Somehow I am quite philosophic about this because I felt like it has been almost 20 years and it is really too much! It had to be broken. Sooner or later I was sure that it will happen. I was completely sure that one of the Indian guys would do it much earlier. Somehow I was very lucky that it didn’t happen.

Having spent several months in Hungary playing tournaments back to back aiming to score the three GM−norms needed for the title, the record−braking moment was achieved when Mishra defeated the 15−year− old Indian GM Leon Luke Mendonca with the black pieces at an event in Budapest.

The former record holder, and once challenger for the title of World Champion, Sergey Karjakin, had this to say for chess.com:

Yes, I am a little sad that I lost the record, I don’t want to lie, but at the same time I can only congratulate him and it’s no problem. I hope that he will go on to become one of the top chess players and it will be just a nice start to his big career.

I wish him all the best.”

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The record-breaking game: Leon Mendonca - Abhimanyu Mishra Vezerkepzo GM Mix Budapest HUN (9), 30.06.2021 1.d4 ¤f6 2.c4 g6 3.¤c3 d5 4.¥f4 ¥g7 5.e3 0–0 6.¦c1 c5 7.dxc5 ¥e6 8.¤f3 ¤c6 9.¥e2 £a5 10.¤g5 ¤d8 11.¥g3 dxc4 12.¤xe6 ¤xe6 13.£a4 £xc5 14.¥xc4 £b6 15.£b3 £xb3 16.¥xb3 ¤c5 17.¢e2 ¤xb3 18.axb3 [Diagram XIIIIIIIIY 9r+-+-trk+0 9zpp+-zppvlp0 9-+-+-snp+0 9+-+-+-+-0 9-+-+-+-+0 9+PsN-zP-vL-0 9-zP-+KzPPzP0 9+-tR-+-+R0 xiiiiiiiiy

18...¦fd8 19.¦hd1 ¤e8 20.¦xd8 ¦xd8 21.¦d1 ¦xd1 22.¢xd1 ¤f6 23.¢c2 ¤d7 24.b4 f5 25.¤b5 a6 26.¤c7 ¢f7 27.b5 a5 28.¤d5 ¤c5 29.¥c7 a4 30.f3 ¢e6 31.¤c3 ¥xc3 32.¢xc3 ¢d5 33.¥d8 e5 34.¥e7 ¤b3 35.h3 e4 36.fxe4+ fxe4

37.¢b4 ¤d2 38.¥f6 h5 39.¢xa4 ¢c4 40.¢a5 ¤b3+ 41.¢b6 ¤c5 42.¥d4 ¤b3 43.¥f6 ¢b4 44.¢xb7 ¢xb5 45.¢c7 ¢c4 46.¢d6 ¢d3 47.¥g5 ¤d2 48.¢e5 XIIIIIIIIY 9-+-+-+-+0 9+-+-+-+-0 9-+-+-+p+0 9+-+-mK-vLp0 9-+-+p+-+0 9+-+kzP-+P0 9-zP-sn-+P+0 9+-+-+-+-0 xiiiiiiiiy

48...¤f3+ 49.gxf3 exf3 50.¥h4 g5 51.¥f2 ¢e2 52.b4 ¢xf2 53.b5 ¢xe3 54.b6 f2 55.b7 f1£ XIIIIIIIIY 9-+-+-+-+0 9+P+-+-+-0 9-+-+-+-+0 9+-+-mK-zpp0 9-+-+-+-+0 9+-+-mk-+P0 9-+-+-+-+0 9+-+-+q+-0 xiiiiiiiiy

0–1

This is not the first record set by Abhi. The boy from Englishtown, New Jersey in the US, was already both the youngest master in US history at 9 years and two months, and the youngest ever international master at 10 years and nine months.

Mishra learned to play chess at two−and−a− half, having been introduced to the game by his father.

"My ultimate goal is to become a world champion but my next intermediate goal is to become a super grandmaster and I am hoping to do that before the age of 15”, he said.

savings to fund his son’s chess ambitions.

The family then turned to crowdfunding via gofundme.com and by early July they have raised 16 and a half thousand US dollars.

As is the case with many other chess talents, Mishra struggled to get funding so he could travel and compete. His father Hemant, a data management professional, used his

Speaking live on the Meltwater Champions Chess Tour broadcast, the 12−year−old said he has put everything into earning the title. “My next goal is to become a super

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TOP 10 YOUNGEST CHESS GRANDMASTERS Player Country Age Abhimanyu Mishra

USA

2 Sergey Karjakin

UKR

1

Gukesh Dommaraju Javokhir 4 Sindarov Praggnanandhaa 5 Rameshbabu Nodirbek 6 Abdusattorov 3

IND UZB IND UZB

7 Parimarjan Negi

IND

8 Magnus Carlsen

NOR

9 Wei Yi

CHN

10

Raunak Sadhwani

IND

12 years, 4 months, 25 days 12 years, 7 months, 0 days 12 years, 7 months, 17 days 12 years, 10 months, 5 days 12 years, 10 months, 13 days 13 years, 1 month, 11 days 13 years, 4 months, 22 days 13 years, 4 months, 27 days 13 years, 8 months, 23 days 13 years, 9 months, 28 days

grandmaster, 2700 — I’m hoping to get there before 15!”

Asked if he does anything outside chess, Mishra pointed out that he was only fully focused on the game. “It’s taking up so much time that there isn’t any left,” he said.

“All day is chess.” This practice of doing nothing else in life but playing/studying chess, which has become a norm for all young people aspiring to be professionals, will probably raise a few eyebrows.

The story of Abhimanyu Mishra’s record, however, was not met with unanimous praise, with some controversy sparked by the Challenger for the title of World Champion, Ian Nepomniachtchi (see boxout above), who raised doubts about the current process for getting a GM title.

World Champion Challenger Nepomniachtchi “dazzled” Not all comments about Abhimanyu Mishra’s record were filled with praise.

Russian Ian Nepomniachtchi, who will later this year challenge Magnus Carlsen for the title of World Champion, took to Twitter to express his view.

“I’m dazzled with the new record, so I’d like to suggest some changes to the order of conferring titles. For example, one of the norms must be fulfilled in an open tournament, and the participation of 2400 GM luminaries in stamping new titles should be finally limited”, Nepomniachtchi said and tagged FIDE, the World Chess Federation, in his post.

This post started a debate in chess circles on social media about the process of getting a GM title, with some supporting and other’s attacking Nepomniachtchi.

The comment obviously hurt the feelings of Abhimanyu Mishra or whoever runs the 12−year−old’s Twitter handle, and they posted this reply, directly to Nepo’s profile: “Thanks. I am very positive guy and would take that as compliment to dazzle world champion challenger. On a lighter note it would have made more sense to suggest these awesome suggestions when you were approaching your GM title.”

FIDE got involved by saying it is “always open to suggestions” and are that they are happy to invite Nepomniachtchi and all interested parties “to attend two open Zoom meetings discussing proposals to change FIDE’s rating and title regulations, organized by FIDE Qualification Commission”.

Mishra is currently considered as one of the biggest young chess talents and we will likely hear more about him. He is currently playing at the FIDE World Cup in Sochi from July 10.

So, another chance to set a record!

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Openings for Amateurs

The CARO-KANN with 1.e4 and 2.c4, Part V

By Pete Tamburro; ptamburro@aol.com We now have to consider what happens when Black doesn’t wish to cooperate by going into a wide open game and heads for a more closed position, likely to be more comfortable for Caro players.

There are two moves Black choses along these lines. The first one we’ll look at is 2...e5, which has an ability to morph into other opening lines.

3...d6 Black heads for a Hanham-like formation with the white pawn on c4. In the note to move 4, you will see that Black responds with a King’s Indian approach because of this.

Jonathan Speelman – Bent Larsen

4.d4

Louis D. Statham Masters Tournament Lone Pine, California (1), 1978 1.e4 c6 2.c4 e5 3.¤f3 For some reason a couple of aggressive players like 3.d4. Tal-Garcia Gonzales in 1986 went 3.d4 ¤f6 (Gulko-Maksimenko, Bern, 1994 went 3...¥b4+ 4.¥d2 ¥xd2+ 5.£xd2 d6 6.¤c3 ¤d7 7.f4 ¤gf6 8.¤f3 0–0 9.0–0–0 ¦e8 10.dxe5 dxe5 11.¤xe5±) 4.¤c3 ¥b4 (For reasons best known to Tal, he didn’t seem to mind this possibility: 4...£a5! 5.dxe5 ¤xe4 6.£d4 ¤xc3 7.bxc3 ¥c5 8.£d2) 5.dxe5 ¤xe4 6.£d4 d5 7.cxd5 £a5 8.£xe4 ¥xc3+ 9.¢d1 cxd5 10.£c2 d4 11.bxc3 dxc3 12.¤e2 0–0 13.£xc3 £a4+ 14.¢e1 ¥e6 15.¤d4 ¦c8 16.¥b5 1–0. A quick miniature from a fellow who thrived in open positions.

Black could have defended better, but that’s easy to say when you don’t have Tal sitting across from you! It seems 428 | BRITISH CHESS MAGAZINE

best to play a developing move first and wait to see what Black is up to. You can play d4 at a proper moment.

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Now that Bb4 is not an option for Black, it is the proper moment to play d4.

4...¥g4 Motwani-Sugden, British Ch., 1989 went 4...¤d7 5.¤c3 g6 6.g3!?

(Rather than take the bishop off the diagonal protecting c4, White also had 6.¥e2 and; 6.d5 It is an open game of sorts, so simply taking a space advantage is a reasonable strategy.)

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6...¥g7 7.¥g2 ¤e7? (It would have been better to exchange right away with 7...exd4 8.¤xd4 ¤e5 and White has to seriously consider sacrificing the c-pawn for unclear compensation.)

8.0–0 0–0 9.b3 exd4 10.¤xd4 ¤c5 11.¥b2 f5 12.£d2 fxe4 13.¤xe4 ¤xe4 14.¥xe4 d5 15.cxd5 ¤xd5 16.¥g2 ¤c7 17.£b4 £f6 18.¦ae1 a5 with an edge for White.

5.¥e2 ¤d7 6.¤c3 ¥e7 7.0–0 ¤gf6 White should be happy here. Black is cramped, but solid, and White has a choice of good moves like 8.h3 or 8.¥e3. White picks another good move as he plans support for an eventual b4.

8.¦b1 0–0 9.¦e1 ¦e8 10.¥e3

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This reminds me of the game with Levenfish we looked at. White just makes good developing moves, improves his position by finding excellent posts for his pieces and doesn’t make any rash moves.

Patience is a virtue in positional chess.

10...¥h5 11.¤d2 ¥g6 Isn’t the rule that you exchange pieces in a cramped position so as to ease the pressure? Not if you want to complicate things! After 11...¥xe2 12.£xe2 exd4 13.¥xd4 ¤f8 White has a lot of decisions to make: put a rook on d1, play f4 at some point, find some other square for the knight on d2, get the queen off the indirect attack by the rook. An interesting position worthy of study. It’s a game with equal chances.

12.d5 a6 13.b4 h5!? Back in 1974, at the Canadian Open in Montreal, I had a nice breakfast conversation with Larsen. One of the topics he brought up was that he was writing a book about the role of rook pawns. When I saw this move, it brought me right back to that moment. At least I understand the motivation! I wonder what ever happened to that book project?

14.a4 h4 15.h3 Tarrasch once wrote that when your opponent’s rook pawn reaches your fourth rank in front of your castled position, it’s time to play h3 (h6).

15...£c7 16.¦b3

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Speelman continues with logical development, building up behind his pawn front. The rook lift allows for a later slide over to the kingside (as opposed to b2) if needed and gets it off the indirect attack from the bishop so he has another option to recapture on d5 should Black exchange there. Black’s position is defendable, but most people are far more comfortable with the white position. Larsen was not most people!

16...a5!? Mixing it up to create more decisions for White, who makes the right decision because it adds to his space advantage and prevents counterplay by Black along the a-file by next playing axb4.

17.b5 cxd5 18.¤xd5! White goes for the two bishops and a nice outpost or an open c-file if Black exchanges.

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18...¤xd5 19.cxd5 ¦ec8

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It’s difficult to find a satisfactory move for Black here. One engine suggestion demonstrates this: 19...¦eb8 20.¥f3 £d8 21.¤c4 ¦c8 22.¦c3 ¤c5 23.£c2 b6 24.¤d2 ¦ab8 25.¥xc5 ¦xc5 26.¦xc5 dxc5 27.£c3 ¥d6 28.¤c4 and it’s still an arduous game, but now White has a passed pawn, with a black bishop turning itself into a pawn to block it and defend e5 and a nicely posted knight keeping a major piece busy. Looming also is a threat of an eventual f4 because capturing that pawn would allow e5. It’s a big "if", but it’s an idea Black has to contend with.

20.¥g4 Very annoying! The problem with cramped positions is that little things like this pin just add to the problems of setting up a defence. Now Larsen moves back to where he was, having lost two tempi.

20...¦f8 21.£c1!

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21...¤c5 The queen exchange doesn’t help at all: 21...£xc1 22.¦xc1 ¤c5 23.¥xc5 dxc5 24.¦e1 ¦fd8 25.¤c4 f6 26.¥e6+ ¢f8 27.f3 ¥e8 28.¦d1 ¥d6 29.¦c3 ¢e7 30.¦dc1 ¥c7 31.¤e3 b6 (31...g6 32.¦xc5) 32.¤f5+ ¢f8 33.¤xh4 A great lesson on building up pressure slowly but surely. White will convert the extra pawn for the win.

22.¥xc5 dxc5 23.b6!

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The positional coup de grace. It isolates two black pawns at once, and, with the knight headed back to c4 to support the passed pawn advance, it really is over.

23...£d8 24.¤c4 ¥xe4 Pretty much as good or bad as anything at this point.

25.¦xe4 f5 26.¥xf5 ¦xf5 27.d6 Taking to e-pawn to lose the d-pawn makes no sense, and the fact that the bishop can’t afford to take the d-pawn is a nice touch.

27...¥f6 28.£d1 £d7 29.£g4 ¦d8 30.¦b5 £c8 31.¦xa5 When a GM resigns is a matter of curiosity at times.

31...¦f4 32.£xc8 ¦xc8 33.¦xf4 exf4 34.¦a7 ¦e8 35.¦xb7 ¢h7 36.¦e7!

July 2021

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Speelman annotated this game in great detail in the 1978 BCM, pages 370-373.

Very interesting notes that I studiously avoided looking at until I was done. It pays to keep your old BCMs!

A piquant finish! That wretched bishop can finally take a rook, but the lowly b6 pawn will get its coronation. This whole game is a superb positional demonstration

by Speelman.

1-0

Does this mean Black’s e5 defence to the e4/c4 Caro−Kann loses? Of course not! It does mean that if you are to play this system as White, you have to be prepared to play a patient game with your space advantage. Also, remember the Motwani game in the notes. You have to be comfortable with being White in King’s Indian−related positions. Caro− Kann players might very well prefer these lines because it suits their preference for manoeuvring positions rather than the open positions we’ve seen in the early d5 lines. There is another option for Black to keep the position closed. We will cover the e6 option next.

Hardinge Simpole is delighted to announce the publication of

Fifty Shades of Ray Chess in the year of the Coronavirus Pandemic

Raymond D. Keene With an Introduction

by CJ de Mooi

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international competitions across five

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NOVEL CHESS ENGINES

NEURAL NETS TO A COMPUTER NEAR YOU Over the past decade, the evolution of chess engines has advanced tremendously, reaching a completely new level of evaluating positions.

Here we present two of the latest versions, with the expectation of more stunning results in the future.

BY JON EDWARDS The main news in recent months is the release of two new chess engines. The first is the new Stockfish 13 engine which incorporates Alpha–Zero neural net technology into its evaluation function. The result is a downloadable, free engine that everyone can use and test. I have been working with the engine now for more than a month and I am already convinced that it provides an opinion well worth considering.

Here is one of its games in which the new version of Stockfish responds to a novelty in the Sicilian Dragon with an impressive blend of positional understanding and precise calculation.

B78

Stockfish NNUE – Stoofvloss II 1.e4 c5 2.¤f3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.¤xd4 ¤f6 5.¤c3 g6 6.¥e3 ¥g7 7.f3 0–0 8.£d2 ¤c6 9.¥c4 ¥d7 10.0–0–0 ¦c8 11.¥b3 ¤xd4 12.¥xd4 b5 13.a3

XIIIIIIIIY 9 +rwq trk+0 9zp +lzppvlp0 9 + zp snp+0 9+p+ + + 0 9 + vLP+ +0 9zPLsN +P+ 0 9 zPPwQ +PzP0 9+ mKR+ +R0 xiiiiiiiiy 432 | BRITISH CHESS MAGAZINE

13...b4 A novelty from Stoofvless II, a dangerous pawn sacrifice that would likely succeed against most human opponents.

14.axb4 The pawn must be taken to prevent disastrous captures on c3 or a3.

14...a5 Offering a second pawn in an effort to open the a–file.

15.b5 Stockfish declines the second offer in an effort to prevent Stoofvless from opening the position.

15...a4 Offering up the pawn yet again.

16.¥a2 Once again preferring to prevent the position from opening up. Now upon 16.¥xa4, with the idea of securing the

From our partners at ACM

July 2021

queenside with b3, Black could continue with 16...£a5 17.b3 e5 and White’s position is collapsing.

19...¤e8 19...dxe5 20.¦xe5 ¤e8 21.¦d5 with pressure down the d–file and even reinforcing White’s b–pawn.

16...a3 Offering up Black’s pawn for the third time!

20.exd6 ¤xd6 21.¥xg7 ¢xg7 22.£d4+ ¢g8 23.¥b3 ¥xb5 24.¤d5 With an ideal attacking position, convincingly demonstrating that Black’s king is far less safe than White’s.

17.¦he1!! An extraordinarily refined reaction in the middle of a storm. Capturing on a3 is too dangerous, For example, 17.bxa3 £a5 18.¢b2 ¦a8 19.a4 ¥xb5

XIIIIIIIIY 9r+ + trk+0 9+ + zppvlp0 9 + zp snp+0 9wql+ + + 0 9P+ vLP+ +0 9+ sN +P+ 0 9LmKPwQ +PzP0 9+ +R+ +R0 xiiiiiiiiy

A) 20.axb5 £b4+ 21.¢a1 ¦fc8 22.¦b1 ¦xa2+ 23.¢xa2 (23.¤xa2 £xd2) 23...¦a8+;

24...¦e8 Or 24...¤f5 25.¤xe7+ ¤xe7 26.£xd8 ¦bxd8 27.¦xd8 ¦xd8 28.¦xe7.

25.¦xe7 ¦xe7

XIIIIIIIIY 9 tr wq +k+0 9+ + trp+p0 9 + sn +p+0 9+l+N+ + 0 9 + wQ + +0 9+L+ +P+ 0 9 mKP+ +PzP0 9+ +R+ + 0 xiiiiiiiiy

26.¤f6+! 26.¤xe7+ £xe7 27.£xd6.

B) 20.¤xb5 £xa4 21.¤c3 £a3+ 22.¢a1 e5 23.¥e3 ¦fc8-+.

17...axb2+ 18.¢xb2 Relying upon ¥b3 for the king’s protection, and confident in that safety on the queenside, directing all of the action along the central files.

18...¦b8 19.e5

XIIIIIIIIY 9 tr wq trk+0 9+ +lzppvlp0 9 + zp snp+0 9+P+ zP + 0 9 + vL + +0 9+ sN +P+ 0 9LmKPwQ +PzP0 9+ +RtR + 0 xiiiiiiiiy

26...¢f8 27.¤xh7+ ¢g8 28.¤f6+ ¢f8 29.¤d5 Down a rook but with threats on the ¦e7 and on h8.

29...f6 30.£xf6+ ¤f7 31.¤f4 ¥d7

XIIIIIIIIY 9 tr wq mk +0 9+ +ltrn+ 0 9 + + wQp+0 9+ + + + 0 9 + + sN +0 9+L+ +P+ 0 9 mKP+ +PzP0 9+ +R+ + 0 xiiiiiiiiy

31...£xd1 32.¤xg6+ ¢g8 33.£xe7 mate.) 33.£h8 mate.

(32...¢e8

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JON EDWARDS is an ICCF Senior International Master living in Pennington, NJ. He won the 10th US Championship and is now competing in the World Correspondence Candidates.

He has written more than 40 chess books, notably The Chess Analyst (1999), Sacking the Citadel (2010), and ChessBase Complete (2014), which has recently received its 2019 Supplement Covering ChessBase 13, 14 & 15.

He is regular columnist for Chess Life for Kids.

His web site, Chess is Fun, provides free chess instruction.

32.¦d2!! Preventing Black’s counterplay before capturing on g6. 32.¤xg6+ ¢e8 33.£g7 ¦xb3+! 34.cxb3 ¦e2+.

32...¦xb3+ 33.cxb3 ¦e8 34.¤xg6+ ¢g8 35.£xd8 ¦xd8 36.¦d4 ¢g7 37.¤f4 ¢f6 38.¤d3 ¥b5 39.¦xd8 ¤xd8 40.¢c3 ¤e6 41.g3 ¥a6 42.b4 ¤g7 43.f4 ¤f5 44.¤c5 ¥b5 45.¤b3 ¥d7 46.¤d2 ¥b5 47.¤f3 ¥a6 48.¤d4 ¤d6 49.¢d2 ¥f1 50.¢e3 ¤c4+ 51.¢f3 ¤d2+ 52.¢g4 ¤c4 53.h4 ¤b6 54.¢f3 ¤d5 55.b5 ¤c3 56.b6 ¥a6 57.g4 ¤a4 58.g5+ ¢g6 59.¢g4 ¤xb6 60.h5+ ¢f7 61.f5 ¤d5 62.g6+ ¢f6 63.h6 ¥c8 64.¢h4 ¥d7 65.h7 ¢g7 66.¢g5 ¥c8 67.¤c6 ¥d7 68.¤e7 ¤xe7 69.f6+ ¢h8

XIIIIIIIIY 9 + + + mk0 9+ +lsn +P0 9 + + zPP+0 9+ + + mK 0 9 + + + +0 9+ + + + 0 9 + + + +0 9+ + + + 0 xiiiiiiiiy 434 | BRITISH CHESS MAGAZINE

70.f7 It must be easy for a computer to avoid 70.fxe7? ¥e8 71.¢f6 ¥xg6 72.¢xg6= 70...¤xg6 70...¢g7 71.h8£+ 72.f8£+ ¤g8 73.£f7.

¢xh8

71.¢xg6 ¥c8 72.f8£ Mate.

Assuming that you are interested in acquiring this new engine, here are some straightforward instructions for integrating it into ChessBase.

STEP 1: DOWNLOAD THE ENGINE Go to

https://stockfishchess.org/download/ and download and then save the relevant version. You will likely need to open your File Explorer to locate the saved file and then use the extract function, which should be readily apparent when you click on the new file. Save the extracted files to a location that you can easily find.

July 2021

STEP 2: INSTALL THE NEW ENGINE WITHIN CHESSBASE Open a board within ChessBase and then go to: Home tab Create UCI Engine (See image 1) Click on the box with the three dots to open up a dialogue window in which you will select the new engine file you just saved. After that step, Stockfish 13 will join the list of engines available to you when you select “Add Kibitzer”.

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FAT FRITZ 2 The second “new” engine is Fat Fritz 2 from ChessBase. In most respects, it is not a new technological achievement at all. At its core, it is the code from Stockfish 13 with the addition of weights honed by Albert Silver. Think of Silver not as a programmer of an engine, but rather as an informed trainer of Stockfish 12’s neural net technology. In head–to–head matchups, Fat Fritz 2 appears to be besting its parent Stockfish, a testimony to the trainer.

I put Fat Fritz 2 to the test in a line I have been exploring, the Glek variation of the Vienna/ Four Knights. Here is a screen shot of that early investigation (See image 2):

You will note that the evaluations may appear unusual at first glance. We learn that the main line with 9.¦e1 gains an evaluation of 0.10, but more, that it has a slightly higher win expectation than does 9.d3. In my view, this evaluation is correct and useful.

And so, you gain a choice. You can download, setup, and work with Stockfish 13 for free, or purchase Fat Fritz 2 and put Albert Silver’s weights to the test.

STREAMING CHESS Under the heading of “Chess Finds a Way,” chess is the latest craze on Twitch. Think of this experience as a chess–streaming experience, watching GMs or even young beginners playing and studying the game for hours on end. Here’s a snapshot of Golddusttori, a young player who has raised her rating from 200 to 1600 all in front of an adoring Twitch following. (See image 3)

436 | BRITISH CHESS MAGAZINE

July 2021

GM Hikaru Nakamura is notably there, practicing tactics, reviewing games, and playing against others. It’s not just a flash-in-the-pan fad. He has more than 400,000 followers, and enough paid subscribers to provide a reliable six-figure income stream! (See image 4)

The US Chess Federation is now embracing the technology. You can check it out at twitch. tv/chess/videos or at twitch.tv/uschess.

I confess that I am too busy with my World Final games to watch all this for hours, but I can easily fathom its addictive quality. For those so inclined, it’s also a way to onetize your passion in the game, even if you don’t have Hikaru’s skills. Starting now will make you late to the Twitch party, but it’s a fun way to share your genuine passion for the game.

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BRITISH CHESS MAGAZINE | 437

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Problem World

by Christopher Jones cjajones1@yahoo.co.uk Grandmaster of Chess Composition

Solutions are given on page 446

1

XIIIIIIIIY 9-vl-+rsN-+0 9+Pzp-zPp+-0 9-+pmk-+-+0 9+-tRN+-vL-0 9-mK-+R+-+0 9+-+-+-+-0 9-+-+-+n+0 9+-+-+-+-0 xiiiiiiiiy David Shire (Canterbury)

2

Mate in 2

XIIIIIIIIY 9-+-+-+-+0 9+-+-+-+-0 9-+-+-wQ-+0 9+-+-+-zp-0 9-+-+-+-+0 9+-zp-mk-+-0 9-+Lzp-+-+0 9+-+K+-+-0 xiiiiiiiiy Kurt Keller (Germany) and Christopher Jones (Bristol)

Original

ORIGINAL

XIIIIIIIIY 9Q+-+-+-+0 9snpzpr+l+p0 9L+p+-zp-+0 9vLn+-+N+-0 9-+-+-+p+0 9+r+-+kzP-0 9-+-+-+-+0 9+N+-tRK+-0 xiiiiiiiiy Paul Michelet (London))

XIIIIIIIIY 9-+-+-+-vl0 9+p+-+-+-0 9q+p+-+-+0 9sn-zp-+-+-0 9K+p+-+-+0 9+-+-+-+-0 9Lmkpzp-+-+0 9trl+r+-+-0 xiiiiiiiiy Ljubomir Ugren (Slovenia)

Mate in 5

Helpmate in 6 - 2 solutions

Original

Original

3 4 438 | BRITISH CHESS MAGAZINE

Mate in 5

July 2021

CLUSTERING IN CHESS THE LATVIAN LESSON

By Peter O'Brien

Usually viewed as a game where the individual finds their own way, is there evidence of clustering in chess? The recent publication in English of two classic books originally published in Latvian provides a clue.

Social theories of how to encourage innovation and the growth of skills abound in spatial concepts. A clustering of talented imaginative people in a small geographic space does wonders for fruitful inbreeding. Proximity engenders passion, passion propels prolific production, and profits are there for all. The cluster can arise spontaneously, or it can be created artificially (science parks, technology parks and their like have long since been staples of public policies and recipients of public money across the globe).

The spontaneous cases are world−famous and have existed throughout history. Medici Florence was a magnet for artists (and the magnetism consisted in the largesse of the Medici family and other prominent merchants); Amsterdam and the Flemish region of modern−day Belgium arrived soon after (with art−loving merchants again the pull). Jumping to contemporary times, Silicon Valley, Bangalore, Bollywood define forms of invention and not just places.

Can we find any such cases in the development of chess? Usually viewed as a game where the individual finds their own way, is there evidence of clustering? Certainly the “Soviet School”, as exemplified by Botvinnik, was a deliberate creation to bring about a critical mass of top players who could work together to innovate in the game.

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This pushed aside the efforts of earlier theorists who had largely worked apart from each other (Steinitz and Tarrasch are obvious instances), even if there was communication at a distance.

The great leap forward of Chinese players, women and men, over this century has likewise benefited from ongoing State support. In the USA, the St Louis Center, affiliated with the University at Minneapolis and generously supported by private funding, offers high−level training and has truly succeeded in lifting chess into the curriculum, on a par with multiple other scholarship−earning sports and games.

It is, though, currently more focused on the The seven-time Latvian champion: teaching and the artistic side of the game than Alvis Vitolins; Source: sahafederacija.lv on innovation as such (of course that may come).

The recent publication in English of two classic books originally published in Latvian (“The Livonian Knight - Selected Games of Alvis Vitolins” and “Mikhail Tal - The Street Fighting Years”) might well provide us with a cluster case. And one where “spontaneous combustion”, in more senses than one, seems to have occurred. The country, and in particular its capital Riga, did have an important history in chess well before the Soviet period in which these books are set. The famous composer of endgame studies, Mattison, had already attracted attention to Latvia and Riga in the 19th century. Such was his richly deserved fame that regular publications were emanating from Riga and tournaments for composing were established.

Overlapping the pre−Soviet and Soviet periods, Aaron Nimzowitsch settled In Riga and introduced highly innovative patterns of play into praxis at the highest level . Indeed, there is a good case to be made for ranking both Mattison and Nimzowitsch as top−grade innovators in their fields.

The two books cited, as well as Alexei Shirov’s famous autobiography “Fire on the Board”, switch the emphasis onto another type of innovation - that which comes from the clustering of people driven by love of the actual game as a contest, and a determination to push its creative limits as far as they might go. There can be little question that Tal had an enormous influence - one person can create a cluster. The title of the Koblenz work says it all. The great champion was ready to wade in against all and sundry, anywhere, any time, and to do this in a way that encouraged those he met to do even better. Theories of innovation in the economic and social fields, in fact, almost always end up by emphasising “learning by doing, and creating by learning”. The slogan DLC (Do, Learn, Create) drives the cluster. ‘Praxis leads to progress’ is the motto. Experiments, trials, failures, and then the cycle starts over.

Even a supreme talent (Tal) can only flourish when he is constantly challenged. Among the numerous fellow Latvians who provided the challenge (and pointed to many new paths), Vitolins occupies a very special place. That place is depicted by Genna Sosonko in his introduction to the book on the seven times Latvian champion. Sosonko notes that in the 1960s he travelled frequently to Latvia to work with Tal. “Several times, a tall young man showed up at 34 Valdemar (then Gorky) Street, the apartment building where Misha used to live and which now bears a memorial plaque for the great champion. Vitolins’s appearance and gait looked somewhat similar to Bobby Fischer’s. Tal had a plus score in the endless blitz games they played, but Alvis still managed to beat his famous opponent numerous times, usually with quick, crushing attacks worthy of Tal himself. VItolins was 440 | BRITISH CHESS MAGAZINE

July 2021

“With his cap askew and his coat fluttering in the wind, he would walk about the Riga streets with his friends, who were chess lovers as passionate as him”

a brilliant blitz player, able to defeat anyone when he was in the mood. As I watched the games, I saw exactly what Tal meant when, during analysis, he would sacrifice material for an initiative and, rubbing his hands together, said ‘And now let’s play like Vitolins’…”.

Like any innovator, Vitolins introduced all sorts of ideas which he developed incessantly and which have left a mark on all subsequent players. They have been taken up in Latvia and across the chess−playing world. Those ideas emphasise attaching creativity; they are emblematic of a style. And the Latvian cluster, more than anything else that I know, can claim that style. The ability to allow free flow to the artistic imagination, yet at the same time give it an iconic shape, is an attribute that I have always admired.

As some of my earlier contributions to the BCM have indicated, I find countless linkages between chess and art. Vienna and Brussels, two cities where I live, are world−famous as centres of Art Nouveau. So why was I surprised when, on my first visit to Riga, I discovered that the splendid city is in fact the third pedestal of the Art Nouveau triangle.

The Latvian chess cluster should have told me that imagination and the search for beauty would be at the heart of things.

Although Tal and Vitolins both died in their 50s, the beating heart of creativity has continued to produce Latvian players, women and men, who give so much to the game. And what they give is always in the same spirit of encouraging others to explore themselves, the game and the frontiers. Shirov, in his foreword to the Koblenz book, quotes it to highlight the very Parisian student style of things when he, Shirov, was a young kid hoping to meet Tal: “After playing a tournament game, he would stay in the Riga chess club until late evening, giving improvised simultaneous displays and playing innumerable casual games. Leaving the club late, Misha was full of excitement. With his cap askew and his coat fluttering in the wind, he would walk about the Riga streets with his friends, who were chess lovers as passionate as him. ‘Of course, you should have played knight f3 to e5; if he captured that knight, a sacrifice on f7 would decide things….’ The words, intelligible only to other chess players, rang in the air. The occasional passers−by would stop, look at those oddballs, and shake their heads in confusion…”

Shirov later underlines the bridge of emotions that kept the Latvian cluster together, and which I guess is the glue for ongoing creative adventure. Maybe it’s that which the solvers of Enigma felt in their mammoth endeavour. With Alan Turing at the centre, surrounded by a number of excellent chess players and others, the collective effort succeeded. If the game of chess is to keep raising what Shirov indelibly called “Fire on the Board”, then fire in the belly is a prerequisite. Latvia has supplied that a−plenty.

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QUOTES AND QUERIES

THE EARLY

GIUOCO PIANO

By Alan Smith 6199 The The Giuoco Piano is not played out. Just look at Dubov’s innovative treatment of the opening against Karjakin in the Russian Championship of 2020!

Here is an early game in the line. Walker found good counterplay for a pawn: his loss was down to some sloppy play on moves 28-31, which presented Horwitz with a better rook and pawn endgame.

Bernhard Horwitz – George Walker London 1846 1.e4 e5 2.¤f3 ¤c6 3.d4 exd4 4.¥c4 ¥c5 5.c3 ¤f6 Another way to reach a Giuoco Piano.

15.¤c6 £d7 16.£xd5 £xd5 17.¤e7+ ¢h8 18.¤xd5 ¦ad8 19.¤a3! ¦xd5 20.¥xb6 cxb6 20...¤xc3 21.¥xc7.

21.¦xe4 ¦c8 Black has counterplay.

22.¦a4 ¥e2 23.¦xa7 ¦xe5 24.¦xf7 ¢g8 25.¦a7 ¦xc3 26.f4 ¦a5 26...¦ee3 27.¢f2.

27.¦xa5 bxa5 28.¦e1 ¥d3? The wrong plan. Walker suggested 28...¥a6! in his notes, 29.¤b1 ¦c2 30.a3 ¥b7 favours Black.

29.¤b1 ¥xb1? This is where Black really comes unstuck, 29...¦c2! and all three results are still possible.

30.¦xb1 ¦c2 31.a3 ¦a2? Again a slip 31...¦c3 Walker 32.¦a1 ¢f7.

32.¦b3 a4 33.¦e3 ¢f7 34.h3 ¢f6 35.¢h2 ¢f5 36.¢g3 ¦b2 37.¢f3 ¦b3 38.g4+ ¢f6 39.¢e4! Bringing the king within the square and threatening to exchange on b3.

39...¦b5 40.¦c3 ¦a5 41.¦c6+ ¢e7 42.¢d4 h5? One last blunder.

43.¦c5 ¦xc5 44.¢xc5 hxg4 45.hxg4 ¢e6 46.¢b4 ¢d5 47.¢xa4...

1-0 Bell’s Life in London, 9th August 1846

6.b4 ¥b6 7.e5 d5 7...¤e4 8.¥d5 was Dubov-Karjakin, cf BCM January 2021.

8.¥b5 8.exf6 dxc4 9.b5 ¤a5 10.£e2+ led to a quick white win in the game Romero Holmes – Estremera Panos Leon 1989, but Jeremy Silman’s suggestion 9...0-0!? is a promising piece sacrifice.

8...¤e4 9.¤xd4 0-0 10.¥xc6 bxc6 11.¥e3 c5 11...¥d7 (Walker).

12.bxc5 ¥xc5 13.0-0 ¥a6 14.¦fe1 ¥b6 14...¥xd4 15.cxd4 avoids what follows, but White has a comfortable edge.

442 | BRITISH CHESS MAGAZINE

A game like that does not do Walker justice.

The same year he contested 12 games with Harrwitz, winning a 7-5 majority.

---6200 William Alfred Butler (1879 – 1938) was a strong county player in the early years of the twentieth century. He won the Cumberland championship five times: 1901, 1906, 1913, 1915 and 1916. When his county struggled to put out teams in the NCCU championships he moved to Manchester and in 1908 won the championship of the prestigious North Manchester CC.

July 2021

Butler represented the NCCU in seven matches against Scotland, including winning his game on board 3 in 1905.

6201 There are several lines of the Queen’s Pawn games where Black sacrifices a piece for two pawns. Here is one of them:

G. Safonov – Fedor Bohatirchuk Moscow ch, 1940

George Walker between William Lewis and Augustus Mongredien

Here is a game for his native county. His opponent was the first individual champion of the NCCU.

William Alfred Butler – Rhodes Marriott Cumberland – Cheshire, Manchester 1905 1.e4 e5 2.¤f3 ¤c6 3.¥c4 ¥e7 4.d4 ¥f6?

This is a blunder which loses a pawn 4... exd4 and 4...d6 are better moves.

5.dxe5 ¤xe5 5...¥xe5 avoids the coming combination but Black is struggling after 6.¤xe5 ¤xe5 7.¥b3 6.¤xe5 ¥xe5 7.¥xf7+ ¢xf7 8.£h5+ g6 8...¢e6 9.£f5+ ¢d6 10.f4 and White regains his piece.

9.¥xe5 ¤f6 10.¤c3 ¦e8 11.£f4 d6 12.00 ¢g8 13.¦e1 ¦f8 14.£g5 ¥e6 15.e5 dxe5 16.£xe5 ¥c4 16...¥f5.

17.¥g5 £d6 This meets the threat of 18.Rad1, but the resulting endgame is hopeless.

18.£xd6 cxd6 19.b3! ¥a6 20.¦e6 ¤e8 21.¦ae1 ¦c8 22.¤d5 ¤g7 23.¦xd6 ¦xc2 24.¤f6+ ¢h8 24...¢f7 25.¦d7#.

25.¦d7 ¦c6 26.¥h6

1.d4 ¤f6 2.c4 g6 3.¤c3 d5 4.¥f4 ¥g7 5.e3 0-0 6.cxd5 ¤xd5 7.¤xd5 £xd5 8.¥xc7 Accepting the Grunfeld Gambit is a crucial theoretical line.

8...¤c6 9.¤e2 ¥g4 10.f3 ¥xf3!? This speculative sacrifice was a new idea at the time and must have come as a real surprise.

Black might also try 10...¦c8 11.¤c3 £e6.

11.gxf3 £xf3 12.¦g1 £xe3 13.¥f4 £e4 14.¥g2 £f5 15.£d2 15.¥xc6 bxc6 16.¦g5 £h3 17.£d2 is slightly better for White, according to MCO 9.

15...e5 16.¥xc6 exf4 17.¥f3 ¦fe8 18.¢f2 ¦e3 19.¦g4 ¦ae8 20.¦ag1 20.¦xf4 is the critical try. 20...£h3 keeps up the pressure as 21.£xe3 £xh2+ 22.¥g2 ¦xe3 23.¢xe3 £xg2 does not work out well for White.

20...¥h6 21.¦h4 ¦d3 22.£b4 22.£xd3 £xd3 23.¦xh6 loses to 23...¦xe2+ 24.¥xe2 £e3+ 25.¢f1 f3.

22...¦xf3+ 23.¢e1 23.¢xf3 £d3+ 24.¢g2 ¦xe2+ and mate follows.

23...¦xe2+ 24.¢xe2 £d3+ 25.¢e1 ¦e3+ 26.¢f2 £e2# 0-1

Melbourne Weekly Times, 8th February 1941

1-0 Dunedin Evening Star, 20th May 1905 BRITISH CHESS MAGAZINE | 443

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Endgame Studies

by Ian Watson ian@irwatson.uk

1

XIIIIIIIIY 9-+-+K+-+0 9+-+-+-+-0 9-+-mk-+-+0 9+-+-+-+-0 9-+P+-+-+0 9+-zP-+-+p0 9L+-+-+-+0 9+-+-+-+-0 xiiiiiiiiy M Minski

Greek Solving Champ. 2021

2

XIIIIIIIIY 9-+-+-+-+0 9+-vL-+-+-0 9-+-zp-+-+0 9zp-+N+-+-0 9n+-+-+-+0 9+-+-+-zp-0 9p+-+-+-+0 9mk-mK-vl-+N0 xiiiiiiiiy O Pervakov

Shakhmaty v SSSR 1987

3 4 draw

win

XIIIIIIIIY 9-+-+-+-+0 9+-+-+-wQ-0 9-+-+-+-+0 9+R+-+-+p0 9-+-+-+-+0 9+-+-tr-+-0 9-+-+-+-+0 9+K+kwq-+-0 xiiiiiiiiy

XIIIIIIIIY 9-+-+-+-vl0 9+-+-+l+-0 9-+-+-+-+0 9sn-+-+P+-0 9k+-+-+-+0 9+-zp-sN-+-0 9-+-tr-+-+0 9mK-sN-+-wQ-0 xiiiiiiiiy

Shakhmaty v SSSR 1986

Israel Ring Ty 2015

win

draw

O Pervakov

444 | BRITISH CHESS MAGAZINE

S Nielsen

July 2021

Online - Ongoing Online events have spread everywhere now, in all branches of chess. The pace of proliferation has picked up, because the pandemic is so protracted. When we do finally return to normality, we won’t − the new world is too firmly installed now. Online is the new normal. As indeed in non−chess life − many people have recently been offered the option of being permanent home−workers, even though their employers would not have considered allowing it before.

In chess solving, you could spend every weekend in an online tournament; there were many solving events pre−pandemic too, but now they are all accessible to everyone on the planet. Looking through the compositions used in recent tourneys, I noticed several by the composers I wrote about in my last two BCM columns - by Pervakov, Minski and Nielsen.

Here are four of them; two were used in the Greek Solving Championship in June, one in the Tula event in May, and one in the Moscow Championship in April.

Minski composed the first study especially for the Greek Solving Championship. Composers are often asked to compose a study for a solving event - it has the advantage that there is no risk that any of the solvers will recognise the position, which they sometimes do with previously−published compositions.

The usual solving advice now. You’ll need to set up these positions on a board. In solving events, you can use a chess set and you can move the pieces to try and help you solve. You solve against the clock; for these studies give yourself an average of 30 minutes for each one, so 120 minutes in total. Your solutions are marked by the competition’s supervisor.

Points are awarded according to how much of the composer’s solution you find, with five points available for each study if you find it all. In the answers, I’ll show you where the points were awarded. You need to find the composer’s main line; you can also write down sidelines if you’re not sure what the main line is, but only the main line moves earn points.

So look for the most artistic, elegant line.

The solutions are given on page 447.

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Solutions to Problems This month’s originals You may have a good idea which piece must make the key move in David’s 2−mover, but the fun begins when you start to figure out to which square it should move! There follow two 5−movers, in contrasting styles - Paul’s builds up to a spectacular demonstration of a favourite theme of longer problems. And finally, another of Ljubomir’s characteristic long helpmates. As I always say, there is no indignity in giving up on this one and reading on in order to enjoy the two solutions. (Remember, when we get there, that in the solutions Black leads the way and so we have BWBWBWBWBWBW# move sequences.)

Finding the right square… …for the white knight is the challenge in David Shire’s 2−mover. It appears that any move from d5 will prepare the way for 2.¦d4, but when we consider 1.¤c3 we see that although we’re forearmed against defences 1…f6 (by 2.¦e6) and 1…¤e3/¤f4 (by ¥[x]f4) we are thwarted by 1…¦xf8, which prepares a flight square (e6) for the black king. So we correct this (correction is a popular theme in 2−movers, and David is very adept at showing it) by trying 1.¤f4, which, placing a further guard on e6, rules out 1…¦xf8 as a successful defence.

Furthermore, we do still have 1…f6 2.¦e6 and 1…¤xf4 2.¥xf4; but we don’t now have a mate after 1…¤e3!. Finally, we go to 1.¤f6!. Here we see another type of correction. Because this knight intercepts the line g5−e7 2.¦d4 is no longer a threat.

We’ve corrected the threat - now it’s 2.¤xe8. Any move of the rook from e8 will of course meet the threat. However, an interesting thing happens when we look at 1…¦xe7: this move would have led to 2.¥xe7 in the diagram position but now is met by 2.¦d4, the very move that was the threat in the first two phases of play.

And moves to c8/d8/f8 are all met by pawn− promotion captures.

A tricky 5-mover?

Last month I confessed to difficulties in attempting to solve 3−movers with light material, so I suspect that I’d find the first of our longer problems, a 5−mover, 446 | BRITISH CHESS MAGAZINE

especially tricky if I hadn’t had a (minor, subsidiary) role in its composition! As with many of Kurt’s problems, a deft touch is required to round up the black king. It turns out that we must play quite a delicate key move - 1.£f5!. Now there are two lines of play - 1…¢d4 2.£xg5 (this capture had to be delayed) ¢c4 3.£e5 ¢b4 4.£d5 ¢a3 5.£b3 and 1…g4 2.£xg4 ¢f2 3.£h3 ¢g1 4.£g3+ ¢h1/f1 5.¥e4/¥d3. Kurt skilfully created a matrix in which the two lines of play take place at different sides of the board.

A spectacular 5-mover Initially we see that in Paul’s diagram the white rook and knights are in menacing positions, but the white queen and bishops are out of play. We can assume that they will all play an active part in Black’s downfall, so I think that an experienced solver may start by trying to find a role for the out−of−play officers. (It’s also the case that distant white officers, both in direct− mate and in helpmate problems, often turn out to be important sacrificial victims.)

Said experienced solver may also, looking more closely at the configuration of the immediately menacing white pieces, muse on whether there is a way to make something of the potential for mate by ¦e3 or ¤d2, each of which at present is prevented only by one of the black rooks. Thinking along these lines, this perspicacious solver may recognize the

July 2021

(See page 438)

possibility of counteracting the defensive lines of the black rooks by placing a white officer on their intersection - in problem parlance, the Plachutta theme. And so the solution unfolds: threatening moves by the out−of−play white officers lead to the vital interference on d3 - 1.£e8 ¥xe8 2.¥xc7 ¤xc7 3.¥d3! and now the black rooks are overloaded: 3…¦bxd3 4.¤d2+ ¦xd2 5.¦e3 or 3…¦dxd3 4.¦e3+ ¦xe3 5.¤d2.

I like it when clear−cut problem themes are buried deep within the position like this, but I realise that some might differ, notably those struggling to find the well− concealed solution!

Return to the murky world of helpmates As hinted above, Ljubomir’s helpmate is a tough nut to crack. I’ve saved on typing by carrying over text from the last issue! − but it is very much true again, especially as this time you were asked to find two solutions. As we expect from composers as skilled in long helpmates as Ljubomir, we have two entirely distinctive and attractive lines of play - 1.¢c1 ¢a3 2.¦e1 ¢a4 3.¢d1 ¢a3 4.¥b2+ ¢xb2 5.c1=¤ ¥xb1 6.¤e2 ¥c2; and 1.¢c3 ¢a3 2.c1=¥+ ¢a4 3.¥a3 ¥xc4 4.¢b2 ¥xa6 5.¢a2 ¢xa5 6.¥hb2 ¥c4.

Solutions to Endgames Minski 2021 1. c5+ (1 point) ¢xc5 2.¥b1 ¢d5 3.c4+ (+1 point = 2) ¢e5 4.c5 h2 5.¥e4 (+2 = 4) ¢xe4 6.c6 h1£ 7.c7 (+1 = 5) £h3 8.¢d8 £h8+ 9.¢d7 £d4+ 10.¢e8 £a4+ 11.¢d8 £a5 12.¢d7 £a7 13.¢c6 draws.

White has to shed his extra pawn; otherwise the usual drawing motif in c−pawn against queen (play your king into the corner for stalemate) doesn’t work. 1.¥b1? ¢e5 2.c5 h2 3.¥e4 ¢xe4 4.c6 h1£ 5.c7 £h8+.

There are also 3.¥d3? h2 4.¥a6 ¢c6 or 3.¥f5? h2 ¥c8 ¢c6.

Pervakov 1987 1.¥d8 (1 point) g2 2.¥f6+ ¤c3 3.¤xc3 ¥h4 4.¥d4 (+1 point = 2) ¥g5+ 5.¢c2 ¥e3 6.¥f6 (+1 = 3) ¥g5 7.¥g7 ¥h6 8.¥h8 ¥g7 9.¥xg7 g1£ 10.¤g3 (+1 = 4) £xg3 11.¥d4 (+1 = 5) £d3+ 12.¢xd3 ¢b2 13.¤b5+ ¢b1 14.¤a3+ wins.

1.¥xd6? ¥d2+ 2.¢c2 g2 3.¥e5+ ¤c3 4.¤xc3 ¥f4 5.¥f6 ¥g5 6.¥g7 ¥h6 7.¥h8 ¥g7 8.¥xg7 g1£ 9.¤g3 £xg3 10.¥d4 £c7.

(See page 444)

4.¥g7? g1£+; 4.¥h8? ¥g5+ 5.¢c2 gxh1£.

8…g1£ 9.¤e2+ ¥g7 10.¤xg1 ¥xh8 11.¤e2 a4 12.¤f2 d5 13.¤d3 ¥g7 14.¤c5 d4 15.¤c1 d3+ 16.¤1xd3 ¥f6 17.¤c1.

10…£c5 11.¤f5 £c4 12.¥d4 a4 13.¢c1 a3 14.¤e3 £xd4 15.¤c2 mate.

Pervakov 1986 1.£g2 (1 point) ¦e2 2.¦d5+ ¦d2 3.¦d8 (+2 points = 3) h4 4.£g4+ £e2 5.£a4+ Ke1 6.£xh4+ Kd1 7.£h1+ £e1 8.£f3+ £e2 9.£c6 (+1 = 4) £e3 10.£a4+ Ke2 11.¦e8 (+1 = 5) ¦d1+ 12.£xd1+ wins.

6…¢f1 7.£h1+ ¢f2 9.£g1+ £g2 10.¦g8+.

8.¦f8+

Kg3

Nielsen 2015 1.f6 (1 point) ¥xf6 2.¤c2 (+1 point = 2) ¦xc2 3.£d1 (+1 = 3) ¤b3+ 4.¤xb3 ¦c1+ 5.¢a2 (+1 = 4) ¦a1+ 6.£xa1 ¥xb3+ 7.¢b1+ ¢b4 8.£b2 (+1 = 5) cxb2 stalemate.

BRITISH CHESS MAGAZINE | 447

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