Kenilworth Intra-Club Match
May 21, 2009
G/60
Karpovs 4.5 – Kortchnois 3.5
? = white… ? = black
I have made no secret in these pages that I am a big fan of the “Secrets of Opening Surprises” series from New in Chess, edited by Jeroen Bosch. I own every volume and expect I’ll be adding many more to my collection in the years to come. Its short article format has a strong appeal, since it allows you with relatively little effort to pick up an unusual opening line to try out in blitz or in a critical game situation. Only Everyman’s “Dangerous Weapons” series comes close to offering such an interesting collection of offbeat opening lines. But even Everyman doesn’t offer such a variety of authors and openings. I recently picked up “SOS #10” and thought it was about time I wrote a review.
Recent SOS volumes have featured 17 articles, and this one is no exception. Here are its contents:
Of course, as with most opening manuals, only a portion of the chapters have much relevance to my own repertoire. But I find that where it is relevant, it is usually very relevant indeed.
I was especially pleased to see Bosch’s article on the surprisingly good Lewis Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Bc5 3.d4!?) which fits perfectly with my interest in the revived Max Lange Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.O-O Nf6 5.d4 Bxd4 6.Nxd4 Nxd4 7.f4 d6 8.fxe5 dxe5 9.Bg5). In my view, the Lewis Gambit is playable precisely because it offers some tricky transpositions, chiefly to the Max Lange Gambit itself following 1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Bc5 3.d4 Bxd4 4.Nf3 Nc6 (probably best as 4…Nf6 5.Nxd4 exd4 6.e5! d5 7.Bb5+ favors White, while 4…Qf6?! was convincingly refuted in Cochrane – Staunton, London 1841) 5.Nxd4 Nxd4 6.O-O and it’s not clear that Black can avoid getting into known lines. Meanwhile, I think White can also transpose to familiar territory following 1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Bc5 3.d4 exd4 with 4.Nf3!? (4.Bxf7+ is Bosch’s only recommendation) when 4…Nc6 5.c3 transposes to the Scotch Gambit or Giuoco Piano while 4…Nf6 gives us a line from the Urusov Gambit which is quite good for White after 5.e5. A perfect fit with my repertoire! And very little effort to adopt.
I also appreciate that Bosch offers a long aside regarding MacDonnell’s 1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Bc5 3.b4!? Bxb4 4.c3 which I have analyzed at some length as part of my Bishop’s Opening site. I had concluded that White generally does best to transpose to the Evans Gambit after 4…Be7 5.Nf3! or 4…Bc5 5.Nf3! while using the opportunity to get into some fascinating gambit territory following 4…Ba5 5.f4! In my view, the only reason to play 3.b4!? is if you want to transpose to the Evans Gambit while side-stepping the more difficult 4…Ba5 lines; otherwise you might as well play 3.Nf3 when the natural 3…Nc6 4.b4!? gets you where you want to go anyway. Here I have to say I am a little disappointed with Bosch’s discussion, which adds only two recent games (Heil – Podolnyy and Kurenkov – Tishin) to my analysis from seven years ago. In fact, he even makes an error in suggesting that White can reach the Evans Gambit via 4…Bc5 5.d4!? exd4 6.Nf3?! when I show that 6…Nf6! throws a monkey wrench in that plan. Similarly, White cannot reach standard Evans lines after 4…Ba5 5.Nf3?! due to 5…Nf6! 6.d4 0-0 7.0-0 d6 8.Ba3 Nxe4 9.dxe5 Nxc3 10.Qd3 Nxb1 11.Raxb1 Nc6 12.exd6 cxd6 13.Bxd6 Re8 =+ Paulsen–Asbeck, Dusseldorf 1863. I think Bosch would have been aided by a little more research here (or just a look at my analysis, which any Google search would have turned up). Nevertheless, I do appreciate that he offered this little extra idea for fans of the Evans Gambit.
The next chapter by Dimitri Reinderman on “The Retreat Variation” (1.e4 Nf6 2.e5 Ng8!?) went well beyond an article I had written that called this line The Brooklyn Defense. In the key recent game Kotronias – Sandipan, Gausdal 2008, White improved on the Gruchacz – Benjamin game of my article with 8.Ng5!? Qd7 9.Qe2 e5 10.d5! (I gave only 10.dxe5 dxe5 as playable for Black) 10…Nf6 11.Bg2 when Black had real problems to solve. Reinderman suggests that Black try 11…c6!? to weaken White’s grip on e6 or to develop interesting counterplay following 12.c4 cxd5 13.cxd5 Na6! heading for the weak d3 square. He also does not sidestep the toughest line: 1. e4 Nf6 2. e5 Ng8 3. d4 d6 4. Nf3 Bg4 5. h3 Bh5 6. g4 Bg6 7. e6 fxe6 8. Bc4! when Black’s position starts to look ugly to me. However, Reinderman convinces me that Black might survive following 8…Bf7N 9. Ng5 d5 10. Bb5+! c6 though I still prefer White after 11.Bd3 or 11. Nxf7!? Kxf7 12. Bd3.
The annoying line with 8.Bc4! is the main reason I had looked closely at 3….d5!? –which Reinderman dismisses. As he notes, 3…d5 simply does not compare well to the Advance Variation of the Caro-Kann that arises after 1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.e5 Bf5 4.Be3. He writes: “The same position would arrive after 1.e4 Nf6 2.e5 Ng8 3.d4 d5 4.Be3 Bf5 (what else?), but then with a pawn on c7 and White to move! Surely this must be good for White. Therefore in this article I will stick with 3…d6″ (34). I’m still not convinced that 3…d5 is not playable, and the recent game Bajt – Guid, Murska Sobota 2008 suggests Black can hold his own here, even with some highly unusual play.
Looking through the lines on offer in “SOS #10″ you would be convinced of the modern theory that playing by principle is not as correct as assessing specific positions. This is especially the case with Steinitz’s Anti-French 1.e4 e6 2.e5, which is exactly the kind of move we are apt to reject “on principle.” But White reaches some interesting positions, and at least avoids those annoying closed French lines, forcing play instead toward more semi-open channels that might not be to Black’s liking. Similarly, you would not expect Black to do so well after 1.e4 c6 2.Nc3 d5 3.Nf3 Nf6! 4.e5 Ne4!? (author Igor Khenkin also suggests 4…Ng8!?) when White is hard pressed to find an advantage. I had similar trouble meeting 1. e4 c6 2. Nc3 d5 3. Nf3 d4 4. Ne2 c5 5. Ng3 (perhaps 5. c3!?) 5…Nc6 6. Bc4 Nf6! (see Goeller – Brandreth, USATE 2009), and Khenkin’s article combined with my own experience is putting me off the Two Knights Caro-Kann lately. Finally, there is a wonderful article on the “Petroff for Beginners,” focusing on the popular line at club level 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nxe4 Nxe5!?/?! which is one of those lines that is “supposed to be refuted” but is not quite so “refuted” as it should be, as I discussed in my article on the “Symmetrical Petroff.”
All in all, another wonderful volume from Jeroen Bosch — and I’ve only touched on the small portion that interested me most.
Bulgarian chess trainer Valeri Lilov gives live online training on the Playchess server. On Mondays at 20:00h CEST (7 p.m. London, 2 p.m. New York) he presents practical chess problems and interesting themes based on games taken from recent super-tournaments. There is live audio commentary, so come and improve your chess while having a lot of fun! Take a look, it’s free!
The YouTube “chess in film” compilation videos of Lucio Etruscas, which have received prominent notice from ChessBase and The New York Times, are definitely worth a look. If nothing else they present a high speed trivia challenge to the chess in film enthusiast — though it would be nice to have a filmography for each, and ChessBase will probably succeed in compiling that. Perhaps Bob Basala, author of Chess in the Movies, could help (see my reviews and discussion here, here and here).
The second stage of the ACP World Rapid saw Peter Svidler knocking out fellow-Russian
Alexander Grischuk with a win and a draw. Israeli GM Boris Gelfand went all
the way against Dmitry Jakovenko, defeating the Russian GM in the final Armageddon
game. The final starts at 12:00h and 18:00h on Sunday and will be broadcast
on Playchess. More lovely pictures in our second pictorial report.
Spanish GM Alexei Shirov defeated leader Magnus Carlsen of Norway in just 30 moves to take sole victory in the Sofia GM tournament. His performance: 2864. Carlsen was second, together with Veselin Topalov, who drew his final game against Chinese GM Wang Yue. Vassily Ivanchuk scored his first victory in this tournament against Cuban GM Leinier Dominguez. Final report.
This rapid chess knockout event, sponsored by the PIVDENNY
Bank and organised by the ACP,
has 16 grandmasters participating. It lasts from May 22 to 24 and is being staged
in the Odessa National Academy of Law. The prize fund is US $57,000. The games
last from 12 noon to 9 p.m. and are being broadcast on Playchess.com. We bring you a
first big pictorial report.
Another great event in the north-eastern Hungarian town of Miskolc. After playing Adams, Karpov, Kramnik and Carlsen in previous editions, this time Hungary’s top GM Peter Leko faces World Champion Vishy Anand in an eight-game rapid chess match in the beautiful National Theater, from June 2nd to 7th. We will bring you pictorial reports from Miskolc and live coverage of all the games.
How can older players catch up with the youth? Is there
compensation for energy and free time? On this DVD Nigel Davies argues that older players can remain competitive, if
they use guile and common sense. William Frost, a fan of the Fritztrainer series
and a senior player himself, hafter watching Davies’ new DVD says: “bar sales to anyone under
thirty-five!”.
Buy it now or read his review.
In round nine Norwegian Magnus Carlsen defeated Wang Yue in 33 moves, while Veselin Topalov took 81 moves to beat Vassily Ivanchuk. Leinier Dominguez Perez drew a 50-move game against Alexei Shirov. Carlsen leads alone ahead of Topalov and Shirov. In the final round on Saturday Carlsen and Topalov have black against Shirov and Wang Yue respectively. Games and standings.
How can older players catch up with the youth? Is there
compensation for energy and free time? On this DVD Nigel Davies argues that older players can remain competitive, if
they use guile and common sense. William Frost, a fan of the Fritztrainer series
and a senior player himself, hafter watching Davies’ new DVD says: “bar sales to anyone under
thirty-five!”.
Buy it now or read his review.
We all know what a chess combination is, or do we? How best to define it? C.J.S. Purdy examined the matter at some length, and the Editor of Chess Notes has pursued the discussion, incorporating contributions from a number of correspondents. In particular, there is the tricky question of whether a combination must contain a sacrifice.
Opinions vary…
I had a friend once that had many chess sets. He never played with it though. I even doubted if he know how to play. It served as decoration for him; just a pick of furniture to the left of his fireplace. The darn thing was beautiful though.
The individual pieces were so elegant and [...]
The calendar for women’s events is not full: still the first Women’s Grand Prix collided with the European Championship, and it looks like the second one will collide with the European Club Cup. On behalf of the ACP Elmira Mirzoeva appeals to FIDE to stop this happening. We include a lengthy exchange between the reigning women’s world champion and FIDE in these open letters on women’s chess.
All three games of round eight in Sofia, Bulgaria, were drawn. Vassily Ivanchuk of Ukraine drew against Norwegian GM Magnus Carlsen in 41 moves. Cuban GM Leinier Dominguez drew against Bulgarian GM Veselin Topalov in the same number of moves, and Alexei Shirov of Spain drew Chinese GM Wang Yue in 44 moves. Carlsen and Shirov lead. Games and standings.
Chess in the movies and on television – how often we have seen fleeting snippets or thematic scenes. But now an Italian chess fan has put together a large number of them as four “rhapsodies”, elegantly edited and set to music. They run, in chronological order, from 1925 to 2008. The music, truly beautiful, is by the exceptional Croatian pianist Maksim Mrvica. Take the time to enjoy this treat.
Norwegian GM Magnus Carlsen beat Leinier Dominguez of Cuba in 43 moves. Veselin Topalov of Bulgaria drew with Spanish GM Alexei Shirov in 30, while Chinese GM Wang Yue drew against Vassily Ivanchuk of Ukraine in 34 moves. Carlsen and Shirov lead with 4.5/7 points. Shirov’s performance is 2865, Carlsen’s is 2857. Games and standings.
Leonid Stein (1934-1973) was one of the great players of his day. He won three
Soviet championships, two super-tournaments, twice earned entry into the Candidates
cycle, and had an overall plus score against world champions.Our
Playchess lecturer Dennis Monokroussos
shows us an exceptional and exciting game by this great and not forgotten master.
Be there to watch at 9 p.m. ET.
Nakamura-FriedelI have annotated Nakamura – Friedel, US Championship 2009, where GM Hikaru Nakamura used a 19th Century variation of the Two Knights Defense to win the crucial last round game that secured him the championship.
The surprising 8.Bd3, which blocks the d-pawn, was first played by Isidor Gunsberg but recently revived by Daniel Stellwagen, who presented an article on it in “Secrets of Opening Surprises, Volume #9.” Nakamura played a nearly flawless game with the line, ending in a neat little move that traps Black’s queen nearly in the middle of the board (see diagram below). Not only did this near-miniature secure Nakamura sole possession of the $40,000 first prize, but also (I predict) will bring him $275 more in the “SOS competition,” for the best game played with a variation written about in Secrets of Opening Surprises!
Nakamura-FriedelThere are lots of great resources online for those interested in learning more about the US Chess Championship or this final round game. Here are some links worth exploring:
In our previous report the UEP President Josef Resch harshly criticized the negotiations with FIDE. The President of the World Chess Federation reacted immediately with his own somewhat different take on the matter. Kirsan Ilyumzhinov describes the course of events and how the negotiations collapsed. In this Sport Express interview he provides a number of other interesting tidbits. Must read.
Josef Resch is the President of UEP, the company that organised the 2008 World Championship in Bonn, a successful businessman from Mukachevo in Western Ukraine. In recent months UEP was bidding for the organisation of the 2010-2011 cycle – with a four million Euro budget. But negotiations with FIDE broke down. Now Josef Resch explains why. Sport Express interview.
Ukrainian GM Vassily Ivanchuk suffered his fourth loss in six games, when he was defeated in 49 moves by Alexei Shirov from Spain. Bulgarian GM Veselin Topalov drew his game against 18-year-old Norwegian GM Magnus Carlsen. Cuban GM Leinier Dominguez Perez drew with GM Wang Yue from China. Shirov leads with 4.0/6 points and a 2875 performance. Games and standings.
In the final round of the event, staged by the International Computer Games
Association in Pamplona, Spain, the US-Czech program Rybka beat its closest
rival, Junior from Israel, to take the title with a point and a half to spare.
Junior, Shredder and Deep Sjeng shared 2-4th. You probably know that you can
buy the World Champion in the ChessBase
shop. Actually Rybka won three titles.
Bulgarian FIDE Master Valeri Lilov, rated 2411, has a weekly show on Playchess.com. On Mondays at 20:00h CEST (7 p.m. London, 2 p.m. New York) he presents practical chess problems and high quality analysis of games from recent super-tournaments. There is live audio commentary, and visitors can forward their questions on the material at the end of each broadcast. Take a look, it’s free!
