How to Beat Korchnoi in 13 moves: Morozevich-Korchnoi (2004)
Even the greatest chess players have their "days off". It is hard to imagine someone as great as Korchnoi losing in 13 moves only at a prestigious team event. However, "sh..t happens" :(.
Morozevich - Korchnoi
Calvia, 2004
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. d3 b5 6. Bb3 Bc5 7. Nc3 d6 8.Nd5 Ng4 9. O-O Na5 10. Bg5 f6 11. Bd2 Nxb3 12. axb3 c6 13. Ba5 1-0.
Melbourne Chess Club Championship 2007: The Battle of the Generations!
MCC championship has passed the half-way mark. It is extremely pleasing to see both "the young and the old" contesting the championship. After 5 rounds, the tournament is led by a teenager (Jesse Jager) and a 60 yo pensioner (Mirko Rujevic) and they are breaking away from the middle-aged participants. Thus, the tournament results prove once again that chess tournaments can be contested (successfully!) at any age!
Julio Granda-Zuniga Turns 40!
Julio Granda-Zuniga the strongest Peruvian chess-player ever is turning 40 today. Julio is arguably one of the greatest chess talents ever born! He was raised on a farm and never got any formal chess schooling. However, it has not prevented him from becoming the strongerst South American player of the 1990's.
Happy Birthday, Julio!
Morelia-Linares 2007: Anand and Carlsen are sharing the Lead.
The first half of the Morelia-Linares tournament is over. Now the participants are moving from Mexico to Spain. Surpisingly, young Magnus Carlsen is still in the lead (it is indeed surprising given that he is the bottom seed). Anand managed to catch up with him after his hard-fought victory over Leko (at one stage, Leko held a clear advantage).
Progress scores after 7 rounds:1-2. Carlsen, Anand 4.5/7. 3. Ivanchuk -4/7 4-5. Aronian, Svidler - 3.5/7 6-7. Topalov, Leko 3/7 8. Morozevich - 2/7.
My Student's Chess Blog
Chess Blogging is becoming a popular passtime. I guess it is not only the chess skill that i am passing on to my students but also passion for blogging.
One of my students has just started a chess blog of his own:
http://tamang902.blogspot.com/. Lets wish him good luck with it. Hopefully, his blog will develop at the same fast pace that his chess is developing at!
Playing to your opponent's strength: Smyslov - Tal (1964)
When you meet an opponent whose chess style is contrasting to yours, you should be prepared to fight on the "enemy's territory". When you see the following game, you will probably feel that there was a mistake with the players' names. Tal (a tactical genious) gets Smyslov (endgame guru) into a "boring" endgame and outplays him comprehensively.
Tal - Smyslov
Moscow, 1964
1. c4 g6 2. Nc3 Bg7 3. g3 c5 4. Bg2 Nc6 5. b3 e6 6. Bb2 Nge7 7. Na4Bxb2 8. Nxb2 O-O 9. e3 d5 10. Nf3 Nf5 11. O-O b6 12. Na4 Bb7 13. cxd5exd5 14. d3 Qf6 15. Qd2 Rad8 16. Rfd1 Rfe8 17. Rab1 Nd6 18. Ne1 d4 19.e4 Qe7 20. Nc2 f5 21. exf5 Ne5 22. f4 Nf3+ 23. Bxf3 Bxf3 24. Re1 Qe225. Rxe2 Rxe2 26. Qxe2 Bxe2 27. Nb2 gxf5 28. Re1 Bh5 29. Nc4 Nxc4 30.bxc4 Re8 31. Kf2 Rxe1 32. Kxe1 Kf8 33. Kd2 Ke7 34. Ne1 a6 35. a4 a536. Kc2 Be8 37. Kb3 Bc6 38. Ka3 Kf6 39. Kb3 Kg6 40. Ka3 Kh5 41. h3 Kg642. Kb3 Kg7 43. Ka3 Kf6 44. Kb3 Be8 45. Ng2 Bh5 46. Kc2 Be2 47. Ne1 Bf148. Nf3 Bxh3 49. Ng5 Bg2 50. Nxh7+ Kg7 51. Ng5 Kg6 52. Kd2 Bc6 53. Kc1Bg2 54. Kd2 Kh5 55. Ne6 Kg4 56. Nc7 Bc6 57. Nd5 Kxg3 58. Ne7 Bd7 59.Nd5 Bxa4 60. Nxb6 Be8 61. Nd5 Kf3 62. Nc7 Bc6 63. Ne6 a4 64. Nxc5 a365. Nb3 a2 66. Kc1 Kxf4 67. Kb2 Ke3 68. Na5 Be8 69. c5 f4 70. c6 Bxc671. Nxc6 f3 72. Ne5 f2 0-1.
Aeroflot Open 2007: Alekseev wins
Aeroflot Open proved to be a major break-through for young chess starts from developing countries.
The tournament's top division was won by 2006 Russian champion Evgeny Alekseev who finished on 7/9, half-point ahead of 4 other young players - 2 from Russia and 2 from China.
Australia's David Smerdon scored respectable 4.5/9 in the A2 division.
Planning Chess Lessons: Who is the Boss?
I had a very interesting discussion with one of my online (he is based in USA) students. He was a little bit worried about the rate at which his chess is progressing and he was suggesting his own "study schedule" for us to follow. So who should determine the study areas for chess lessons? Is it the students' job or is it something the coach needs to look into?
In my opinion, there are two aspects of the problem:
A) Identifying the weaknesses to work on - this is something the student and the coach need to work together on
and
B) Establishing the "action plan" to address those weaknesses/training needs
The question is, should the coach determine what the action plan should focus on or should the student develop his "action plan" by himself and ask the coach for validation and support?
Capablanca's Last Great Victory: Capablanca - Golombek (1939)
Capablanca - Golombek
Margate, 1939
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Qc2 d5 5. cxd5 exd5 6. Bg5 c67. e3 Nbd7 8. Bd3 h6 9. Bh4 O-O 10. Nf3 Re8 11. O-O Be712. Bg3 Nf8 13. h3 Be6 14. Rab1 Nh5 15. Bh2 g6 16. Ne5 Ng717. b4 Bf5 18. Na4 Bxd3 19. Qxd3 Nd7 20. Rfc1 Nxe5 21. Bxe5Bd6 22. Bxd6 Qxd6 23. b5 cxb5 24. Qxb5 Ne6 25. Nc3 Red826. Qxb7 Qa3 27. Nxd5 Qxa2 28. Nb4 Qa4 29. Nc6 1-0.To quote Golombek:
" It was a unique feeling of helplessness. Of course, I knew very well I was outclassed not only by him but also by all the other seven world champions against whom I have played. But at least when I played them I had the feeling (often illusory) that there was at least a chance for me, possibly to draw and even, on rare occasion, to win. In the game with Capablanca there was no such feeling. Even my first move looked a little suspect to me!"
Who is the strongest chess player of all times?
There have been an ongoing debate about the relative strength of chessplayers coming from different generations. No wonder! It is hard to compare Tal's tactical jenious with Capablanca's endgame technique. Besides, every single world champion has been a 'giant of thought" in his own right.
Majority of the chessplayers believe that the two greatest chess-players ever are Garry Kasparov and Bobby Fisher. As far as I am concerned, Kasparov and Alekhine (at his best) are the greatest. After all, Their domination over their contemporaris has been simply amazing.
Chess and Meditation
I have been practicing meditation for some time now and i feel that it really helps me to "pull myself together" and concentrate. I wonder if I could improve my chess results by meditation during tournament games. I do not see any reason why it should be disallowed so i will try it next time I am playing a tournament game.
So if you are my next opponent, Beware!
Morelia-Linares 2007: Anand and Ivanchuk are in the Lead.
Vishi Anand and Vassily Ivanchuk are sharing the lead with 2/3. Topalov is (surprisingly) on 1/3 only. Despite the large number of draws, few of the games have been boring.
Scores after 3 rounds:1-2. Anand, Ivanchuk - 2/3 3-6. Aronian, Leko, Svidler, Carlsen - 1.5/3. 7-8. Morozevich, Topalov - 1.
What is the Worst Chess Book you have ever read?
Some time ago, I have published a list of book that I feel are essential for all the chess players to read. Today, i would like to go to another extreme and talk about chess books that are completely useless (and yes - there are many of those).
The book I am holding in my hands right now is "Basic Chess" by David Clemence. The books is written very poorly and lacks clear logic as well as good games (most of the games that the author uses to illustrate his points have been selected rather poorly) but surely it is not the worst chess book ever!
Aeroflot Open 2007: Change of Guard
And Surprises continue! After 5 rounds, the main section is led by Stanislav Novikov - a little known Moscow Grandmaster. Stanislav's Fide rating is 2535 only and he is seeded 75th! It is hard to imagine him holding on to his lead..but you never know.
Leading Scores after 5 rounds:
1. Novikov - 4.5/5 2-4. Jakovenko, Alekseev, Tomashevsky - 4/5.It is worth noting that all 4 of the leaders are representatives of the "new wave" of the Russian Chess School. It is good to see the new generation of Russian chess players replacing the old guard successfully.
The Echo of Linares 1: Karpov - Topalov (1994)
Now that Morelia-Linares tournament has started, it is about time we recall some of the great games played in Linares over the years!
Karpov - Topalov
Linares, 1994
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 c5 3. Nf3 cxd4 4. Nxd4 e6 5. g3 Nc6 6. Bg2 Bc5 7. Nb3Be7 8. Nc3 O-O 9. O-O d6 10. Bf4 Nh5 11. e3 Nxf4 12. exf4 Bd7 13. Qd2Qb8 14. Rfe1 g6 15. h4 a6 16. h5 b5 17. hxg6 hxg6 18. Nc5 dxc5 19. Qxd7Rc8 20. Rxe6 Ra7 21. Rxg6+ fxg6 22. Qe6+ Kg7 23. Bxc6 Rd8 24. cxb5 Bf625. Ne4 Bd4 26. bxa6 Qb6 27. Rd1 Qxa6 28. Rxd4 Rxd4 29. Qf6+ Kg8 30.Qxg6+ Kf8 31. Qe8+ Kg7 32. Qe5+ Kg8 33. Nf6+ Kf7 34. Be8+ Kf8 35. Qxc5+Qd6 36. Qxa7 Qxf6 37. Bh5 Rd2 38. b3 Rb2 39. Kg2 1-0.
Linares Starts Tonight!
The innagural Linares supertournament is starting tonight. The event is 8 player double round-robin featuring Anand, Topalov, Svidler, Leko, Aronian, Ivanchuk, Morozevich and Carlsen. I hope that Topalov (my sentimental favorite) is going to do well!
Melbourne Chess Club Allegro: 2007 Season has started!
The first Allegro of the 2007 has taken place today.
The results are:
1. Baron 6.5/7 2. Pecak 6/7 3. D. Lindberg 5.5/7.
Phillippines Open: Another strong Asian event
The $40,000 Philippine International Open and Philippine International Challenge are scheduled 10-20 April 2007 in Subic, Olongapo City, National Chess Federation of the Philippines (NCFP) president Prospero Pichay (photo) announced. The resort venue gives participants the chance to combine a chess and beach holiday.
I guess it is a good tournament for Auzzie chess tourists to consider. It is taking place shorty after completion of the Thailand Open. I am very pleased to see that number of good tournaments in Asia is increasing.
Aeroflot Open 2007: 7 joint leaders on 2/2
Aeroflot Open, the world's strongest open tournament is taking place in Moscow. The depth of the field is simplying amazing! Vallejo is on 0/2 and he is playing Lahno! Many 2600+ GMs are under the 50% mark.
The 7 joint leaders so far are: Predojevic, Areshnenko, Tomashevsky, Ganguly, Novikov, Minasian and Hou Yafan 2/2. We should particularly admire Hou's performance. This little Chinese girl crushed two 2600+ GMs! Hopefully, her impressive play will continue throughout the tournament.
What's a Queen Between Friends: Tal - Hecht (1962)
Games involving qeen sacrifice are always special, arent' they?
Tal - Hecht
Varna, 1962
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 b6 4.Nc3 Bb45.Bg5 Bb7 6.e3 h6 7.Bh4 Bxc3+ 8.bxc3 d69.Nd2 e5 10.f3 Qe7 11.e4 Nbd7 12.Bd3 Nf813.c5 dxc5 14.dxe5 Qxe5 15.Qa4+ c6 16.O-O Ng617.Nc4 Qe6 18.e5 b5 19.exf6!! - A generous and spectacular queen sacfice!
19... bxa4 20.fxg7 Rg821.Bf5 Nxh4 22.Bxe6 Ba6 23.Nd6+ Ke7 24.Bc4 Rxg725.g3 Kxd6 26.Bxa6 Nf5 27.Rab1 f6 28.Rfd1+ Ke729.Re1+ Kd6 30.Kf2 c4 31.g4 Ne7 32.Rb7 Rag833.Bxc4 Nd5 34.Bxd5 cxd5 35.Rb4 Rc8 36.Rxa4 Rxc337.Ra6+ Kc5 38.Rxf6 h5 39.h3 hxg4 40.hxg4 Rh741.g5 Rh5 42.Rf5 Rc2+ 43.Kg3 Kc4 44.Ree5 d445.g6 Rh1 46.Rc5+ Kd3 47.Rxc2 Kxc2 48.Kf4 Rg149.Rg5 1-0.
Happy Valentine's Day to all the Chess Players and "Chess Widows'!
Happy Valentine's day to all chess players and their partners! My thoughts are with the "chess widows" who tolerate their partners' obsession with chess!
Saturday Allegro is Back!
Good news for the speed chess affectionados! Melbourne Chess Club Saturday Allegro is back! The tournaments will take place every saturday at 2pm. The Entry fee is $5 for MCC members and $10 for non-members. The top 3 prizes ($30, $20 and $10 respectively).
See ya there!
Online Lessons: My highest "Performance Rating" Ever!
This week, I have 12 online lessons scheduled! If all of the lessons go ahead, it is going to be my "personal best" in online lesson delivery! Let the productivity grow!
Aeroflot Open Starts in Moscow Today!
Aeroflot Open starts in Moscow today. You can follow the even (including live game transmissions from top boards) at
www.aeroflotchess.com. There are 3 Australians participating in the event (including David Smerdon) so lets wish them Good Luck...and title norms. Aeroflot Open is well known for its title norm opportunities. In the past 5 years, 97 players managed to score title norms at this wonderful event! It must be the most "norm-productive" event in the history of chess!
Rooks Do not Matter! : Gaprindashvili - Servati (1974)
In the following game is a good example of "punishing chess". Black got carried away with his plan and comletely missed White's mating attack!
Gaprindashvili - Servati
Dortmund, 1974
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 g65.c4 Bg7 6.Be3 Nf6 7.Nc3 Ng4 8.Qxg4 Nxd49.Qd1 e5 10.Nb5 O-O 11.Be2 Qh4 12.Nxd4 exd413.Bxd4 Qxe4 14.Bxg7 Qxg2 15.Qd4 Qxh1+ 16.Kd2 Qxa117.Qf6 1-0.
Wow, That was quick, wasn't it?
Turkey: The Chess Capital of the World!
From January 28 to February 3rd the Turkish Youth Championship with 1300 participants was held in Antalya. We could only wish for 1300 participants at Australian Junior Championships! I wonder if this was an absolute record for junior tournaments! Well done, Turkey!
MCC Thursday Night Tournaments
Check this out: there is a new even on the Melbourne Chess Club Calendar!
Where: 66 Leicester Street, Fitzroy 3065 ( Melways Map 2C, A5)Time Control: 60 minutes + 60 seconds\move
Schedule of Play
Thursday 22nd FebruaryEntries close: 6.30 pmRound 1 7.30 pm
Thursday 1st MarchRound 2 7.30 pm
Thursday 8th MarchRound 3 7.30 pm
Thursday 15th MarchRound 4 7.30 pm
Thursday 22nd MarchRound 5 7.30 pm
Entry fee: $45 working, $35 non-working, less $10 MCC members
Contact: Melbourne Chess Club on 9416 3149 or
Club Secretary, Malcolm PykePhone: 0408 150196
email:familypyke@optusnet.com.au
I am still deciding whether i should be participating in this event or not.
Fide to Investigate Topalov?
There have been some accusations made against Veselin Topalov (the world's highest rated grandmaster) that he somehow (not clear how) communicates with his coach and Manager IM Silvio Danailov and recieves some valuable help :). These accusations bring a smile on my face. To me, it looks like Kramnik and Co, (and Fide is fully on Kramnik's side these days) are simply trying to eliminate an important competitor in their quest to maintain the Chess Crown!
Averbakh in Australia
It has been brought to my attention that GM Averbakh who celebrated his 85th birthday earlier on this week has in fact visited Australia back in 1960 and has taken part (off contest) in the Australia championship.
In the following game, he crushed one of our top players.
Averbakh - Geus
Australian Championship, 1960
1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bg5 dxe4 5.Nxe4 Be7 6.Bxf6 Bxf67.Nf3 Nd7 8.c3 O-O 9.Qc2 b6 10.O-O-O a5 11.h4 Qe7 12.Nfg5 g613.f4 Bb7 14.h5 Bxe4 15.Nxe4 c5 16.hxg6 fxg6 17.d5 exd518.Rxd5 Rae8 19.Bc4 Kg7 20.Bb5 Rd8 21.g4 Qe6 22.Rd6 Qxg423.Bxd7 Rxd7 24.Rxf6 Re8 25.Rxb6 Qxf4+ 26.Nd2 Re2 27.Rxh7+Kxh7 28.Qxg6+ Kh8 29.Qh5+ Rh7 30.Qxe2 1-0.
Yuri Averbakh - 85
Yuri Averbakh - a well known endgame specialist, chess author and grandmaster is celebrating his 85th birthday anniversary!
Averbakh was one of the participants in the famouse Candidates Tournament in Zurich in 1953. However, his biggest success came a year later when he won 1954 USSR championship 1.5 points clear of Korchnoi and Taimanov and 2 points clear of Korchnoi!
In the 1956 USSR championship, Averbakh managed to tie for first with Spassky and Taimanov ahead of Tal, Korchnoi, Polugoevsky, Boleslavsky and many other strong players.
Despite his outstanding health (he is still a very active person), Averbakh retired from compatitive chess relatively early in order to focus on writing books as well as chess administration duties. It turned out to be a very wise move that brought him a lot of recongition in the chess community. Today, GM Averbakh is running his own internet School of chess and he is editor-in-chief of "Chess in Russia" - on of the world's best know chess journals!
My Personal Best!
Today I have played 69
2/0 games against
Rook37 at the UsChessLive chess server. The result was +67 = 2 - 0. Given that my opponent's blitz rating i around 2000, this is my best blitz performance ever!
How strongly could a 10 yo boy possibly play: Kasparov - Muratkuliev (1973)
In the following game, 10 yo Garry Kasparov has not given his seasoned opponent a single chance!
Kasparov - Muratkuliev
Baku, 1973
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.d4 exd4 6.e5 Ne4 7.O-O Be7 8.Re1Nc5 9.Bxc6 dxc6 10.Nxd4 O-O 11.Nc3 Ne6 12.Nf5 Bg5 13.Qg4 Nd4 14.Bxg5 Bxf515.Qg3 Qc8 16.Rad1 Nxc2 17.Re2 Qe6 18.Bf6 Bg6 19.Bxg7 Kxg7 20.Rxc2 Rad821.Rcd2 Qe7 22.h4 Kh8 23.Qg5 Qxg5 24.hxg5 Rxd2 25.Rxd2 Bf5 26.f4 Kg7 27.Kf2 h5 28.gxh6+ Kxh6 29.Kf3 Rg8 30.Ne4 Bg4+ 31.Ke3 Kg6 32.Nf6 1-0.
Not bad for a 10-year old :).
How to Make your Chess Club more Attractive: How to encourage member loyalty?
My attitude to loyality is simple. People should be encouraged to spend more time at the club, by providing them with a nice, enjoyable environment. If a club is full of friendly people who shower every day and are generally nice ppl to interact with. I am sure the membership list is going to grow on an ongoing basis.
So why reward loyalty? If I am having a great time at a Club it is a reward in itself. As for memebers who do make extraordinary contribuitions, I guess its nice to give them at least a mention on the club honour board.Some time ago, there was a certain official at a certain club who was "harassing" memebers into making donations to that club. Luckily, he is no longer involved in the Club's administration and the club is now under significanlty better management. There is something that many people fail to understand: If you keep running around asking ppl for $10 donation etc., it is not going to make the chessclub sustainable! Instead of asking memeber to provide them with a fish, the club should learn how to fish!A much simpler strategy for achieving sustainability is to run various events and to ensure that say 20% of all entry fees collected goes towards the club!One thing that amazes me is lack of chess related activities in most clubs. I think Canterbury CC is currently the only chess club (please correct me if I am wrong, cause I may be (and I sincerely hope it is the case) wrong) that runs chess lecture series! This could be a great event as well as a great fundraiser. I am sure that many of the stronger players would not mind delivering some lectures to the fellow club memebers for a nominal fee (in fact, that fee they could also donate to the club if they are in a good mood on the day) as long as they are asked nicely.To sum things up: I am loyal to my local swimming pool, because i love swimming there. I am local to the local VegieBar because i love the food there. I am also very tempted to make some sarcastic comment about being loyal to a girl/guy and the reasons ppl are loyal but i would rather not say it since it is a family-friendly server So why would someone be loyal to a chessclub? Is it because the Club occupies the important place in their lives, or because it is their "social responsibility" to support it?
Najer wins Moscow Open
Evjeny Najer won Moscow Open on tie-break from Vassily Emelin. Both players scored 7.5/9. Svetushkin, Malakhov, Smirnov, Vorob'jev, Kazhgaleev, Dobrov and Alexandrov finished half-a-point behind.
Ilya Nizhnik - The new superstar from Ukraine
Moscow Open - one of the world's biggest Open events finished in Moscow last night. The biggest suprise of the event came in the group B of the competition. The U2300 event was won by Ilya Nizhnik - 10 year old Ukranian boy who managed to finish in front of many FMs and even a couple of IMs. His 8/9 score gave him outright first place!
Congratulations, Ilya!
Noble Park Allegro: Sales and Pecak tie for first
The allegro took place Noble Park CC this afternoon.
Final Scores:1-2. M.Pecak, J.Sales 6 3. M.Rujevic 5 4-5. S.Stojic, D.Dragicevic 4.5 6-8. D.Stojic, D.Partsi, Z.Pehar 4 9-11. A.Rashid, M.Dizdarevic, M.Kudric 3.5 12-16. S.Ferris, R.Voon, M.Sucevic, E.Tionko, N.Szuveges 3 17-19. S.Jago, E.Toro, M.Savic 2.
Rubinstein's Last Victory: O'Kelly - Rubinstein (1946)
The following game was played at a ...retirement village for mentally sick! While Rubinstein's health (mental health in particular) was declining, he was still capable of playing nice endgames!
[Site "Brussels, Belgium"]
[Date "1946.02.??"]
[White "O'Kelly de Galway, Alberic"][Black "Akiba Kiwelowicz Rubinstein"]1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Bc5 4.c3 Nf6 5.d3 Qe7 6.O-O O-O 7.Qe2 d6 8.Nbd2 Nd8 9.b4 a6 10.bxc5 axb5 11.cxd6 cxd6 12.d4 Bd7 13.Re1 Nc6 14.Nf1 Ra4 15.Bb2 Na5 16.N3d2 Nc4 17.Nxc4 bxc4 18.Qd2 Rfa8 19.a3 R8a6 20.Rad1 Rb6 21.Bc1 Ra8 22.Qe3 Rba6 23.Ng3 exd4 24.Rxd4 b5 25.h3 Re8 26.Qg5 h6 27.Qh4 Nd5 28.Qxe7 Nxe7 29.Red1 Nc8 30.Nh5 f5 31.Ng3 fxe4 32.Rxe4 Rxe4 33.Nxe4 Bf5 34.Rd4 Bxe4 35.Rxe4 Kf7 36.h4 d5 37.Re5 Re6 38.Bf4 Rxe5 39.Bxe5 h5 40.f3 Ne7 41.Bd4 Nf5 42.Bf2 d4 43.g4 d3 44.Kf1 hxg4 45.fxg4 Nh6 46.g5 Ng4 47.Be1 g6 48.Bd2 Ke6 49.Kg2 Kf5 50.Kg3 Ne5 51.Be3 Nf7 52.Kf3 Ne5+ 53.Kg3 Nf7 54.Kf3 Nd6 55.Bd4 Ne4 56.Bg7 Nd2+ 57.Ke3 Nb1 58.Bd4 Nxa3 59.Kd2 Nc2 0-1.
How many World Champions Do we Need?
According to the Russian Newspaper "Sport-Express" Danailov and Topalov are really annoyed with FIDE because it is failing to organise the Topalov-Kramnik match, despite all the legal requirements being satisfied by the Bulgarian team. Danailov is now threatening to run his own world championship cycle.
Or well, lets wait and see what happens!
No Game is Easy: Raine - Baron (2007)
In the following game, Markus gave me a run for my money! It is only in the very end that Black managed to get on top (despite extremely successful opening).
Raine - Baron
Australian Day Weekender, 2007.
1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. e3 e6 5. Nf3 Nbd7 6. Bd3 dxc4 7. Bxc4 b5 8. Bd3 a6 9. a4 b4 10. Na2!? - apparently (according to Markus) this idea belongs to Kramnik.
10...c5 11. Bd2 Qa5 12. Nc1 cxd4 13. Nxd4 Bb7 14. f3 Bd6 15. 0-0 Qh5 16. g3 0-0 17. Rf2 Rd8 18. Be2 Rc8 19. Ncd3 Qa5 20. Nc3 Ne5 21. Nxb4 Qb6 22. a5 Qa7 23. Nd4 Nc4 24. Bxc4 Rxc4 25. Qb3 Rdc8 26. Nd3 Bd5 27. Qb6 Qd7 28. Qxa6 e5 29. Nb5 Bb8 30. Nc3 Bxf3 31. b3 Rxc3 32. Bxc3 Rxc3 33. Ne1 Bb7 34. Qb6 Nd5 35. Rd2 Nb6 36. Rxd7 Nxd7 37. a6 Ba8 38. b4 Ba7 39. Ng2 Rc2 0-1.
How to Crush the Sicilian: Savige - Baron (1991)
In the following game, it has taken black 14 moves to achieve a completely winning position. Obviously, it would be impossible without God's grace as well as some help from the opponent.
C. Savige - M. Baron
Australia Day Weekender, 2007
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Bg5 e6 7. f4 b5!? - a supersharp Polugaevsky variation. 8.e5 dxe5 9. fxe5 Qc7 leads to extremely wild positions.
8. Qf3 Bb7 9. Bd3 Nbd7 10. 0-0-0 Be7 11. g3? - this move does not seem to serve any purpose. It also restricts black-square bishop's mobility.
11...Rc8 12. Rhe1 h6 13. Bh4 b4 14. Na4? Qa5 - now black simply wins a piece. 15. b3 will be followed up by 15...g5!
15. f5 e5 16. b3 exd4 17. Qf2 Nc5 18. Qxd4 0-0 19. e5 dxe5 20. Rxe5 Rfd8 21. Qg2 Rxd3 22. Rxe7 Rxd1+ 23. Kxd1 Qd8 + 0-1.
