Do You Play Chess? If Yes, You are a Genious!: Check out this game by Albert Einstein!
It is well-known that chess can be instrumental in developing analytical and logical thinking skills. Napoleon, Einstein, Lenin and many other great historical figures were known to be passionate chess-players. You do not believe me, do you? In this case check out an interesting game by Albert Einstein below. By the way, Robbert Oppengeimer (Einstein's opponent) was also a very famous person in his own right. He was the "father" of the attomic bomb.
Einstein- Oppengeimer (Princeton, 1933)1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 b5 5.Bb3 Nf6 6.O-O Nxe4 7.Re1 d5 8.a4 b49.d3 Nc5 10.Nxe5 Ne7 11.Qf3 f6 12.Qh5+ g6 13.Nxg6 hxg6 14.Qxh8 Nxb315.cxb3 Qd6 16.Bh6 Kd7 17.Bxf8 Bb7 18.Qg7 Re8 19.Nd2 c5 20.Rad1 a521.Nc4 dxc4 22.dxc4 Qxd1 23.Rxd1+ Kc8 24.Bxe7 1-0
World Champion Blunders Mate in One!!!!
Do you really believe it happened? Well It did happen!!!! It does not mean that we should bag Kramnik for his boo-boo. It only shows that chessplayers are human! Even the world's top grandmasters do blunder every now and then.
Fritz10 - Kramnik Man Vs. Machine Match, Game 2. (2006)
W. Kh1, Qe4, Nf8, pp. b2, e5, g2, h2.B. Kh8, Qa7, Bc1, pp.a4, b4, g7, h6.The position is quite complicated. However, after 34...Kg8 it can be assessed as equal. Unfortunately, Kramnik played 34...Qe3?? missing 35. Qh7x 1-0.
Sad finish for the human. Or well, sh...t happens.
Can You Beat a Top GM in 17 moves as Black? Well, Boris Spassky Could!
Larsen - Spassky (Belgrade, 1970)
1. b3 e5 2. Bb2 Nc6 3. c4 Nf6 4. Nf3!? Bent Larsen was always known for his unortodox, provocative style of play. Here, he invites Spassky to enter the uncharted territory and Boris accepts the challenge!
4...e4! 5. Nd4 Bc5 6. Nxc6 dxc6 7. e3Bf5 8. Qc2 Qe7 9. Be2 O-O-O 10. f4 Ng4 11. g3 h5 12. h3 h4!! God, what a blow!!
13. hxg4 hxg314. Rg1 Rh1 15. Rxh1 g2 16. Rf1 Qh4+ 17. Kd1 gxf1=Q+ 0-1.
Chatting with GM Bageri: Chess Life in France and Syd International
Here is an extract from my chat with GM Bagheri. Also, I am planning to publish his thoughts about "how to get good in chess" shortly.
MichaelBaron: did you email Brian?
Bagheri(GM): yes I did
MichaelBaron: l left a message for brian now
MichaelBaron: i hope he replies soon
Bagheri(GM): plus skype message
Bagheri(GM): something else I wanted to ask
Bagheri(GM): for visa application } need to have something
MichaelBaron: i think visa will not be a problem
Bagheri(GM): that prove I am going to Sydney for that tournament
MichaelBaron: cause other GMs are from Russia, yugoslavia etc
Bagheri(GM): ok
MichaelBaron: if russians can get visa..you can get one in france for sure
Bagheri(GM): how many GMs now?
MichaelBaron: i think 6
MichaelBaron: Australian 2 GMs
MichaelBaron: plus Shipov, Stojanovic, Bakre and Chandler
MichaelBaron: Brian was initially planning to invite up to 10 GMs i think
Bagheri(GM): and guess what I may convince someone
MichaelBaron: he got sponsorship for 10 people so still some places
Bagheri(GM): well } am talking to a good friend of mine at the moment he is a GM too
MichaelBaron: what is friend's name?
Bagheri(GM): Bacrot
MichaelBaron: orh
MichaelBaron: :)
MichaelBaron: Bacrot would be great
MichaelBaron: he is 2700
MichaelBaron: i think he can get some money for playing
Bagheri(GM): knew that was gonna be your reaction
MichaelBaron: of course....
Bagheri(GM): yes I tpld him 3 days ago
MichaelBaron: he is in top 20 in the world
MichaelBaron: was in top 10
Bagheri(GM): yes
Bagheri(GM): I know he play in my club
Bagheri(GM): he is my captain
Bagheri(GM): lol
Bagheri(GM): we both play for NAO
MichaelBaron: wow.. you play for Nao
Bagheri(GM): yes
MichaelBaron: you must be board 11 there ;-)
Bagheri(GM): 5 th board though
Bagheri(GM): lol
MichaelBaron: Grishuk, Svidler, Bacrot, Rajabov
Bagheri(GM): hey I ws closed to 2600 once
Bagheri(GM): lol
MichaelBaron: unless your madam Onje runs out of money you will be champion forever
MichaelBaron: ya ..i remember i was following
MichaelBaron: Capell la grande once
Bagheri(GM): dont go there
MichaelBaron: you were beating everyone..2800 performance
Bagheri(GM): lol
Bagheri(GM): 7//8
MichaelBaron: see..i gave up chess when i was 16 :)
MichaelBaron: ever since i just study and work..and run my business
Bagheri(GM): last last round to an IM
MichaelBaron: so are you chess professional?
Bagheri(GM): you know I was 64th seeded
Bagheri(GM): yes
Bagheri(GM): but now 2480 you know why?
MichaelBaron: too many lessons?
Bagheri(GM): 3/0 games and 1/0 games
MichaelBaron: most chess players have to teach..more than they play
Bagheri(GM): true
MichaelBaron: some of my friends back in russian have not given up chess....they are professionals now
MichaelBaron: all they do is give lessons
MichaelBaron: no chance to study
Bagheri(GM): well etienne is my coach and friend
MichaelBaron: wow..Etienne is great
Bagheri(GM): yep
MichaelBaron: i hope he gets back into form and returns to top 10
Bagheri(GM): yes
Bagheri(GM): lautier is always there
MichaelBaron: :)
MichaelBaron: Lautier is a business person now i think
Bagheri(GM): we have a new comer in our club now
Bagheri(GM): 15 year old GM Vacher Laugrave
By the way GM Bagheri is not just a strong chess player but is an experienced chess coach. I have no problem promoting my "competitors" as long as they are as good as him!
What is The Real Meaning of "Beautiful" Chess?
What is the real meaning of "beautiful" chess?
For 1200-1600 rated players, the concept of beautiful chess is all about sacrificing numerous pieces for a mating attack, driving your opponent's king right in to the center of the board and playing openings that lead to unbalanced positions.
However, as the playing strength goes up it is good to learn to appreciate the beauty of:
- Positional sacrifices and manoovers
- Precise endgame play
- Accurate defensive play
Beauty lies in the eye of the beholder. Spectacular does not always mean beautiful! Another question is "is it worthy to opt for a beautiful sacrifice that gives you a chance to attack your opponent's king when there are other, less spectacular moves available that lead to a clear advantage without any risk being taken?" My answer to this question is NO! When a spectacular sacrifice is required - go for it but do not neglect simple but yet powerful moves. When you are playing a tournament game, your are not there to impress the spectator. Your objective should be - to play the best chess possible!
Tal's Little-Known Crazy Game: Tal-Koblenc (1960)
Here is a relatively unknown game by Tal. You can not find even in some of the most comprehensive collections of Tal's best games. However, this short game is simply facinating!
Tal - Koblenc (Riga, 1960)1. e4 c6 2. Nc3 d5 3. Nf3 Bg4 4. h3 Bxf3 5. gxf3?! 5. Qxf3 is a more common and objectively stronger move but Tal is in his usual naughty mood :) !
5...e5 Koblenc also tries to be naughty (5..e6 is obviously safer) and the fireworks start
6. f4 dxe4 7. fxe5 Qd4 8. Qe2 Qe5 9. d4 Qxd4 Black is happy to grab all the pawns White sacrifices
10. Ne4 Be7 11. Bf4 Qb2 12. Rd1 Nf6 13. Nd6+ Kf8 14. Qxe7!? According to Tal, sacrificing a queen to keep an attack going is not a big deal
14...Kxe7 15. Nf5+ Ke8! 16. Nxg7+ Kf8 17. Bd6! Kg7 18. Rg1 Ng4! Koblenc finds the only defence. All the other moves are losing for Black.
19. Rxg4+ Kf6 20. Rf4+ Kg7 21.Rg4+ Kf6 1/2 - 1/2. Draw. The players get half-a-point each to take home for their creativity.
Chess Titles, The Australian Chess Scene and More...
In Europe, 2300+ players were rewarded back in the 1990's. I believe it was possible to get free accomodation, free entry etc at the tourneys in Spain and Italy for FMs. However, now due to the improvements to the overall standards of chess and inflation of the titles, FMs get few priviledges there in individual events. It is still possible for them to pick up some money for playing in team events though. I was talking to my German friend (Henrik Tabatt) some time ago and he was telling me that being FM in Germany is not a big deal. 2300+ rated FMs can get "only" 100 Euros or so per game when they play for the club. "Only".....sigh .Another problem is that there are a lot of FMs in Aus now (and that takes us back to the debate myself and Brian Jones were having about the soft titles). Who have never been 2300! Imagine organisers giving free entry to FMs etc....and ending up with FM Stawsky etc....Another example is use of the titles to promote "chess related activities" Not long ago, there was an ad in the TWIC promoting chess seminars in Malaysia by FM Brian Jones. In Queensland, there is FM Stawsky giving chess lessons. It makes it harder for someone like White Elephant to compete for 1600+ students because he has not got the title (even though he is about the same strength as Stawsky). Another intersting example..During Elwood open I was talking to Chris Wallis - one of the most talented Vic Juniors. He told me that his coach was FM Jeff Saw. In order to fulfill his talent, Wallis needs to be coached by someone who is a strong chess player as well as an experienced coach (e.g. Sandler). It is not essential that the trainer is a stronger chess player than his students. However, to coach strong players one has to be at least a Master-level player. Once the student's understanding of chess catches up with yours - you can become his second/assistant rather than coach . Chris Wallis is still at the stage when he needs a coach rather than a second...And why do you thank David Cordover is calling himself "Chess Guru" and claims that he has 3 national titles? Once again the answer is....titles are not meaningless alltogether .Regarding rewarding and encouraging FMs: I think we should focus on developing our chess scene and this will reward and encourage everyone! Right not, what are the incentives for FMs to become IMs? Fulfilling personal ambissions? free entries into the tourneys?. Next question, what are the incentives for IMs to become GMs? I may become an IM one day (very unlikely though) but i will never be a GM. Goldenberg,Bjelobork and Xie will become IMs for sure! Reilly, Canfell etc all have chances to become IMs (and not from zonals only).But lets be honest. Noone from our generation can become a GM!!!!!! So where do we look for future GMs? The answer is - in the junior ranks! In order to become a GM, a talented junior needs a) natural talent b) good coach 3) to be a hard worker and 4) PROFESSIONAL APPROACH TO HIS CHESS CAREER.I have published a piece in my blog about life of professional players in Australia. In Europe, profi can play for the clubs to earn the living. In Australia, if you become a professional player you will be "playing" for the Centerlink team .In the meantime, I will feel honoured if someone offers me free entry or any other little priviledge on the basis of my FM title. This Weekend, "Best in the West" weekender is taking place and organisers offer FMs free entry. Unfortunately i am not able to play due to other committements (including work commitements since i am not a chess pro). But if I only had the time, I would play simply to support the tournament and out of gratitude for this gesture.
__________________
My Favorite Chess Books
Please Find the list of my favorite chess books below:
1. Nimzovich "My System"
2. Kotov "Think Like a Grandmaster"
3. Hort, Jansa "Together with Grandmasters"
4. Bronstein "Zurich 1953"
5. Dvoretsky's Books
6. Shereshevsky "Endgame Strategy"
7. Nunn 'Simple Endgames"
8. Karpov "My 100 best games"
9. Kasparov "Test of Time"
10. Kasparov's "My Great Predecessors" series
11. Botvinnik "My Best Games" Volumes I-IV
Where Did White Go Wrong?: T. Ly - Baron (2007)
The following game is quite interesting. White appears to be doing nothing wrong as he plays natural developing moves. Yet, he finds himself in the lost position after 15 movies only!
T. Ly (2070) - M. Baron (2319)
Elwood Open, 2007
1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e5 b6!?4...b6 leads to the Petrosian variation. It is not as common as 4...c5 but it is also a very solid continuation.
5. Qg4 Bf8At first, retreating the Bishop appears to be a very strange decision. Generally, its best not to move the same piece in the opening more than once and it is certainly not advisable to move your pieces back and forth. However, White played Qg4 with the sole aim of putting some pressure on the g7 pawn. Now that the pawn is protected, white's queen appears to be out of play and can become an easy target for the Black's pieces. It would be a mistake for Black to play 5...g6?! because it would weaken his dark squares but another interesting alternative to Bf8 was 5...Kf8!?.
6. Bb5+ c6 7. Ba4 a5!?Now white has to be careful not lose his light-square bishop. Another purpose of a5 is to prepare Ba6.
8. a3 Nge7 9. Nge2 Ba6 10. o-o Nf5 11. Rd1 h5!White is starting to "feel the heat" already.
12. Qf3 g5 13. g3 g4and now 14.Qf4 loses a queen to 14...Bh6 so white is forced to give up some material.
14. Qg2 b5 15. Bb3 b4 16 axb4 axb4 17. Rxa6In order to save his piece, White is forced to sacrfice an exchange. However, he obtain no compensation ad from here onwards, White's position goes downhill quickly.
17... Nxa6 18. Nb1 Qb6 19. Be3 Be7 20. Nd2 c5 21. Ba4+ Kf8 22. c3 Rc8 23. Bc2 cxd4 24. cxd4 Nxd4 25. Nxd4 bxc3 0-1.So where did white go wrong?
Is It Possible to Earn your Living as a Professional Chess Player in Australia?
I have a chess student - a 8yo boy. He is an extremely gifted kid who seems to be improving pretty quick. Since he appears to be so keen on chess, his parents keep asking me if they should consider a "professional chess career" for him.
What am I supposed to say? The reality is - opportunities for playing chess professionally are few and far between. It is extremely difficult for chess players rated outside the World's top 100 list to earn their living by playing chess tournaments worldwide. There is simply not enough prize-money going around :).
In Australia, being a professional chess player is absolutely impossible. That is why majority of our strong players prefer to have stable careers rather than waste their time on the chess circute. A few months ago, the ACF (Australian Chess Federation) recieved an invitation to send a representative to the Commonwealth Games. The representative would be entitled to free accomodation and board throughout the tournament. In the end, the ACF recieved only one "expression of interest". None of the countries top players have applied!
So my advice to the aspiring young players is "Do work hard to imrove your chess...but not at the expense of your studies"!
Kramnik-Fritz10: Who Will Win?
The "Grand-Battle" between Mr Kramnik and Mr Fritz is about to start. It is interesting to see what is going to happen. My money is on Fritz since I believe that computers have already surpassed humans with their chess skills.
So does Kramnik have a chance? In my opinion, he does! If he manages to prepare well and consistently achieve closed positions throughout the match - anything can happen.
1.c4 Can Lead to a Wild Tactical Game!: Botvinnik- Portish (1968)
Some people believe that it is only 1.e4 that leads to wild tactical complications and enable players to display their talent and flair for tactics. Well, the game below proves them wrong :).
Botvinnik-Portish, Monte-Carlo (1968)
1. c4 e5 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. g3 d5 4. cxd5 Nxd5 5. Bg2 Be6 6. Nf3 Nc6 7. 0-0 Nb6 8. d3 Be7 9. a3 a5 10. Be3 0-0 11. Na4 Nxa4 12 Qxa4 Bd5 13. Rfc1 Re8 14. Rc2 Bf8 15. Rac1 Nb8 And here, the fireworks commence!
16. Rxc7! Bc6 17. R1xc6! bxc6 18. Rxf7!! h6 19. Rb7 Qc8 20. Qc4+ Kh8 21. Nh4! Qxb7 22. Ng6+ Kh7 23. Be4 Bd6 24. Nxe5+ g6 25. Bxg6+ Kg7 26. Bxh6+! 1-0.
Tal Memorial: The Strongest Blitz Tournament Ever?
One of the strongest blitz tournaments ever has just finished in Moscow. Vishi Anand was the deserving winner 2 points clear of Mamedyarov and 2.5 points ahead of Radjabov and Svidler.
Full Final Standings: 1 Anand, Viswanathan IND 2779 23.0 2 Aronian, Levon ARM 2741 21.0 3 Radjabov, Teimour AZE 2729 20.5 4 Svidler, Peter RUS 2750 20.5 5 Ponomariov, Ruslan UKR 2703 19.5 6 Morozevich, Alexander RUS 2747 18.0 7 Grischuk, Alexander RUS 2710 18.0 8 Gelfand, Boris ISR 2733 18.0 9 Carlsen, Magnus NOR 2698 17.5 10 Karpov, Anatoly RUS 2668 17.5 11 Karjakin, Sergey UKR 2672 17.0 12 Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar AZE 2728 17.0 13 Polgar, Judit HUN 2710 17.0 14 Leko, Peter HUN 2741 16.5 15 Jakovenko, Dmitry RUS 2671 15.5 16 Bologan, Viktor MDA 2659 10.5 17 Timofeev, Artyom RUS 2662 10 18 Jobava, Baadur GEO 2650 9.0
Developing an Opening Repertoire: Case Study 1: Evgeny Sveshnikov
GM Sveshnikov was born in Russia, in 1950. He is well-known for his active positional style as well for his authorship of the Sveshnikov Variation in Sicilian Defence
(1.e4c5 2.Nf3Nc6 3.d4cxd4 4.Nxd4Nc6 5. Nc3e5!?).
Back in the late 1960's, Sveshnikov identified the opening lines that he felt were best-suited to his playing style and he has been faithful to these lines ever since!
As white, Sveshnikov always starts his games with 1.e4.
His White openings are as follows:
- 1.e4c52.c3!? against the Sicilian
- 1.e4e62.d4d53.e5 against the French
- 1.e4 c62.d4d53.exd5cxd54.c4 against the Caro-Kann
- The Scotch Opening against 1...e5
He also plays the same lines consistently versus the Alekhine's Defence, Pirc, Scandinavian etc.
As Black, Sveshnikov is also consistent with his opening preferences.
Against 1.e4, he always opts for the Sveshnikov Variation of the Sicilan (surprise :) ).
Against 1.d4, he always plays the Slav defence.
Sveshnkov's opponents find it very easy to prepare against him. After all, he always plays the same lines as both Black and white. However, the openings are perfectly suitable for his playing style (active-positional) and he obviously managed to master them over all these years.
Good and Bad Openings
I was at MCC last friday and I was approached by an "aspiring beginner" who started taking his chess seriously only a couple of months ago. The guy was looking seriously worried. His problem was, he was not sure which openings he should be playing. He was wondering if I could show him "the good openings" as well as tell him what openings he should be avoiding at all costs.
So how does one answer such a question? First of all, it is important to understand that there are no good and bad openings. There are good and bad chess-players!
When deciding on your opening repertoire you should consider the following factors:
- How much time have I got at my disposal to study openings?
- What is my playing style and what openings are suitable for a player of my style?
- Do I have books/coach available to help me out with these particular openings?
It is really funny to watch some Club player running around a Chess Club in circles screaming "Orh This bloody stupid Gruenfeld Defence, I will never play such a stupid opening again". Do not blam the opening, my friend! Blame yourself and your lack of understanding of the opening instead!
My Upcoming Tournaments
If you want to catch-up with me to discuss chess coaching arrangements or to simply "talk about life" - I am going to play quite a bit of of chess for the rest of 2006 so catching up with me is going to be easy.
Friday nights and Saturday afternoons - you can find me at MCC (Melbourne Chess Club) playing allegro and blitz tournaments.
Next Weekend - I am planning to take part in the "Best in the West" tournament in Footscray"
In December, I I am planning to take part in the "Christmas Swiss" weekender at MCC.
See ya there.
How to beat Anand in 6 moves?
Do you know how to beat Anand in 6 moves only? Well it is possible :).
Zapata-Anand (Biel, 1988)
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nxe5 d6 4. Nf3 Nxe4 5. Nc3!? By the way, in 2006, this move has become fashionable once again.
5...Bf5?? 6. Qe2! 1-0 - Black is losing a piece so the "Indian magician" was forced to resign.
Chess Victoria (CV) What Does the Future Hold?
CV elections are around the corner. Amiel Rosario's exellect Closet Grandmaster Blog
http://closetgrandmaster.blogspot.com/ published a short but a very interesting interview with Gerrit Hartland. Gerrit is currently in the running to become the next president of CV. It was great to see Gerrit tackle all of the critical questions that are currently being discussed but the Victorian Chess Community. However, I would like to comment on some of the points that he has made. Please find extracts from the interview below (in Bold) together with my comments
"GH: I wanted to present a program of change to CV and I needed a committee with me that agreed with the program. It would be counterproductive to have a program and then elect a committee that does not agree with it.http://closetgrandmaster.blogspot.com/""GH: The people on the ticket were selected because they liked the reform proposals, and have worked with me before. They are my friends and believe me when you get to my age you do need a little help from your friends http://closetgrandmaster.blogspot.com/."
I am coming from a country (USSR/Russia) where "Ref0rm" is not just a word. It is obvious to me that to turn over a new leaf and to undergo a major change successfully, new people with fresh ideas have to come on board. Right now, all i can see is talk about "some change happening" but it is not clear to me how the proposed "changes" are going to a)increase the number of chess clubs/tournaments in Victoria b) improve the infrastructure of the CV c) make the Victorian chess scene a better place.
"GH: It is a misconception to think that the proposed rent from CV would reduce the rent to BHCC It is increased rental for the whole building allowing CV The Box Hill Ches Club and Canterbury Junior Chess club unlimited and unrestricted access to the venue. It will not reduce the rent to the latter 2 organisations. The venue will make an excellent chess centre with storage for CV equipment. There is no conflict of interest in proposing an arrangement which willl benefit all of Victorian Chess. Conflict of interest is usually shouted by Bulletin [board] (Gerrit is referring to Chess Chat, Australia's most popular online discussion form - TCG) afficionadi who have nothing useful to say. http://closetgrandmaster.blogspot.com/"
Ok, I got a better proposal. Why does not CV rent a house for me that can also serve as its official headquaters/storage area. :) In Melbourne, we already have MCC (Melbourne Chess Club) that is open 7 days a week/24 hours a day. More importantly, the Club is fully owned by the chess community. Has MCC been considered as the CV headquaters or not at all? Have any offers/proposals been made to the MCC committee. If yes, please let the chess community know about it. What about the new Noble Park CC? I am sure that with the CV's money they could also keep their doors open 7 days a week.
"GH: Gary is a meticulous administrator who has a tendency to cross all his tees and dot every i. He is also an excellent arbiter and I was most surprised when he made that embarrassing mistake at Elwood. He usually stuck to his decisions. He decided, for instance, never to read the bulletin board or post on it or read Amiel's blog. And stuck to it. I wish I could do that, I am a bulletin board junkie .http://closetgrandmaster.blogspot.com/ "
"GH: Gary Wastell has been president of Chess Victoria for well over 20 years and any self respecting organisation would honour a president after such long and loyal service. Those who oppose this proposal should be ashamed of themselves.http://closetgrandmaster.blogspot.com/"Well, since i was one of the people affected by the "exellect arbiter Gary Wastell" and his total incompetence as an arbiter, I would rather not comment on what has happened at the Elwood Open. Enough has been said...
Now to "honourary memebership":
1)Just because someone was leading an organisation for 20 years, it does not automatically qualify the person for being honoured. Here is a challenge for the Wastell's supporters. Put together a list of Gary's achievements in his 20 years of CV presidency and I will happily pubish it here on my Blog. But what are those achievements?
2) The second point is actually much more critical than the first one. By becoming the CV's "honorary memeber" Wastell will be able to remain a "power-broker" of Victorian chess and his influence on the Victorian chess scene will continue. It will make any kind of reforms (other than the reforms the he personally got no objections to) impossible.
"GH: There is indeed a lack of that representation and the team hopes that during the year people from other districts will come to us with help and new ideas. There is plenty more that needschanging http://closetgrandmaster.blogspot.com/"It is good to see that Gerrit is prepared to work with representatives of clubs other than Box Hill!
Was the draw "prearranged": Gelfand-Aronian (2006)
Gelfand-Aronian game from the Tal Memorial appears to be rather strange to me.
Gelfand-Aronian (Moscow, 2006)
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.g3 d5 4. Bg2 Bb4+ 5. Bd2 Be7 6. Nf3 0-0 7. 0-0 c6 8. Bf4 b6 9. Nc3 Bb7 10. Nd2 Nh5 11. Be5 Nd7 12. e4 Nxe5 13. dxe5 dxc4 14. Bf3 g6 15. Bxh5 gxh5 16. Nxc4This is the final position of the game. White appears to be having some advantage here. Besides, by winning this game, Gelfand could catch up with Ponomarev and Aronian and tie for first. However in this position...a draw was agreed. It is not clear to me why Gelfand decided not to play on.
Any thoughts?
Carlsen makes a Boo Boo!: Aronian-Carlsen, 2006
These days, any "patzer" is familiar with the famous "Filidor/Lucena" R &P vs. Rook positions. However, when the clocks are ticking, it is not always that easy to pick a correct move. In the following example, Magnus Carlesen - the Norweigian wonderkid makes a tragic boo boo.
Aronian - Carlsen (Moscow, 2006)
W. Ke7,Rd6,pe6
B. Kg7, Ra8
Black to Move......
The position is dead drawn. However, some accuracy is still required. Poor little Magnus continued with
73....Ra7+? and after
74.Ke8! he resigned 1-0. Can you see the path to the draw?
Christmas Special on Chess Lessons!
Santa is around the corner! :)
It means it is time to introduce a "Christmas Special" on chess lessons. Book your lesson before December 23d, and you can get get at 2-hour lesson for $40 only (normally $60). So book early and save $40! You can also get an introductory 1-hour lesson for $30 (normally $40). The offer is valid till December, 23d and while "stocks" last! :)
Beautiful Endgame: Ponomarev-Morozevich (Moscow, 2006)
The endgame below is extremely cute. Please take a note that it has occured between the 2 2700+ rated GMs.
Ponomarev-Morozevich (Moscow, 2006)
W. Ke4, Rd6, Bf3, pawns: a2, b3,c4,e5, g5 h6.
B. Kc5, Rd7, Bc8, pawns: a5,b4,e6,f7,g6, h7.
At first sight, the position appears to be drawn. Once the rooks are swapped off, there is in way that white can possibly break through the bastion of black's defence. Yet, the exchange appears to be inevitable. However, Pono found a beautiful path to victory.
To quote Chessbase "To the abject horror of the chess engines kibitzing on the Playchess server he plays
46.Kf4! threatening 47.Rc6+ and 48.Rxc8.
46...Rxd6 47.exd6 Kxd6 All of this is forced. It looks like White simply dropped a pawn, but here comes the punchline:
48.c5+! Kxc5 (48...Ke7 perhaps offered chances of survival)
49.Ke5 Ba6 50.Kf6 Kd6 51.Be4 Be2 52.Kxf7 Bg4 53.Bxg6 1-0."
Stalemate!!!!! Morozevich-Mamedyarov (Moscow, 2006)
You may think that Stalemate occurs only on the "patzer" games. Well, the following example will prove you wrong:
Morozevich-Mamedyarov (Moscow, 2006)
W: Kf5, Qh5, Ne4.
B: Kg1, Qe3
Q+N vs Q is supposed to be a draw. However, defending for many moves is a rather unpleasant task that occasionally even GMs fail to achieve. Moro appears to be close to converting his material advantage. Black King is stuck in the corner and mating threats are about to become real. On top of it, black is out of checks. However, Mamedyarov finds a cute way to achieve a draw immediately. Can you find the cute stalemate that he has found?
Chess Lessons Available!
Yes, I am available for chess lessons!
Interested, please email
webbaron@gmail.com or call (61-3) 9578 4362
The price is $40/hour. Discounts available for intensive coaching sessions (e.g. if you are interested in having more than 1 hour of coaching/per week)
Welcome To My Chess Improvement Blog!
Welcome to my Chess Improvement Blog!
I will try to update my Blog on a regular basis (can not promise though :) ) With new chess exercises, annotated games and news digests from the Australian and international tournaments. Please help me outby emailing me your articles, games and other materials that you believe are worthy of publishing.
