Monday, June 13, 2011

The New in Chess-Huffington Post Chess Puzzle Contest

Lubomir Kavalek
Lubomir Kavalek The Huffington Post, 06/ 6/11

The New in Chess-Huffington Post Chess Puzzle Contest


Today's contest is done in cooperation with New In Chess. It consists of three parts: a trivia question, a chess study and a chess problem. Try to solve all three puzzles and you may win one-year subscription to the excellent New In Chess magazine.

2011-05-02-20110426_newinchess.jpg

There is also a bonus puzzle that may improve your chances of being among the three winners. You will have until June 21 to e-mail your solution to:
nic.huffpost@newinchess.com


We will publish the correct solutions and the winners after June 25.

TRIVIA

He predicted the opponent and the outcome with these words: "It will by Short and it will be short." He also likes the movies Casablanca, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest and The Godfather. Who is this grandmaster?

STUDY


2011-06-05-nic1.jpg
White plays and wins


PROBLEM


2011-06-05-nic2.jpg
White plays and mates in three moves


BONUS PUZZLE
2011-06-05-nic3.jpg


White plays and can force a win. Can you find how?


New In Chess is the premier chess magazine in the world. Subscribers in 97 countries receive 8 issues a year with more than 850 pages of chess delight: on-site tournament reports from all over the world, annotations by top grandmasters such as the world champion Vishy Anand, Magnus Carlsen and Hikaru Nakamura (and dozens of others), in-depth interviews, opening surprises, personal essays, full color pictures, honest book and dvd reviews, juicy gossip and Garry Kasparov's exclusive column.

It's Anand vs. Gelfand for the World Chess Crown

Lubomir Kavalek
Lubomir Kavalek The Huffington Post, 05/25/11

It's Anand vs. Gelfand for the World Chess Crown


Boris Gelfand of Israel won the Final FIDE Candidates Match, defeating GM Alexander Grischuk of Russia 3.5 to 2.5 in Kazan, Russia, on Wednesday. It is a culmination of his successful chess career. With the victory, he earned the right to challenge the world champion Vishy Anand of India for the world title next year.

2011-05-25-Gelfand.jpg


At 42, Gelfand was the oldest participant in the Candidates matches, but he showed a steady hand and good nerves in difficult positions and prevailed against the American GM Gata Kamsky and Grischuk. His match against Anand, 41, could be interesting. Both players have vast opening knowledge, strive for initiative, can defend well and love to play dynamic chess. It could be the last time players over forty play for the championship. The young players such as Magnus Carlsen of Norway or the American Hikaru Nakamura are knocking on the door. Nakamura defeated the former FIDE world champion Ruslan Ponomariov of Ukraine in an exhibition match in St. Louis. He won the classical match 3.5 to 2.5 and prevailed in the rapid match as well.

Gelfand's match victory came in the sixth game in the Grunfeld Fianchetto. We covered this facinating opening in January. Gelfand stuck with a long-term positional strategy of slowly unleashing his central pawns. Grischuk threw most of his pieces against the white king. Gelfand blunted the attack and his powerful positional pressure decided the game.

Gelfand - Grischuk
Final Candidates Match, sixth game
Kazan, Russia 2011

Fianchetto Grunfeld

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nf3 Bg7 4.g3 d5 5.cxd5 Nxd5 6.Bg2 Nb6 7.Nc3 Nc6 8.e3 0-0 (This dynamic line in the Fianchetto Grunfeld, with the black pieces combating white's pawn center, attracted many top grandmasters, including Garry Kasparov.) 9.0-0 Re8 (A high-class waiting move postpones the advance e7-e5, taking advantage of white's inability to develop the queenside smoothly. It has been in the repertoire of the top Czechoslovakian players for several decades and it could be called the Czech variation of the Grunfeld defense.)

2011-05-25-GG0.jpg

10.Re1 (The main point of black's idea is 10.b3 e5 11.d5 e4! quickly turning the tables.) 10...a5 (The former world champion Vassily Smyslov used this plan in similar positions. Black runs his pawn to a4, moves his rook to a5 and controls the center vertically as Grischuk is about to do.) 11.Qe2 (Reshuffling his heavy pieces and planning 12.Re1-d1.) 11...Bg4 (The idea is to provoke h2-h3. The immediate 11...Be6 has been played more frequently.) 12.h3 Be6 13.b3 (Denying black the square c4.) 13...a4 (So far so good, but Gelfand plays a new idea on his next move.)

2011-05-25-GG1.jpg


14.Rb1!? (Gelfand gives away the a-file and the square b4, but keeps the tension. He is following a long-term strategy to put his central pawns into motion.) 14...axb3 15.axb3 Qc8 (Hitting the square b4 with 15...Nb4 16.Rd1 [Or16.Bd2 c6.] 16...c6 17.e4 h6 is another way to hold the center.) 16.Kh2 (After16.Ng5 comes 16...Bd7.) 16...Ra5 17.Rd1 Rh5 (Grischuk throws as many pieces as possible against the white king, but Gelfand remains calm.) 18.Nh4 (Gelfand had to play this move. After 18.h4 Bg4 black is ready to strike with e7-e5.) 18...Bf6 19.f4 Rd8 (Sacrificing the exchange 19...Bxh4 20.gxh4 Rxh4 21.Kg3 Rxh3+ [21...Rh5 22.d5+-] 22.Bxh3 Bxh3 does not work. White simply plays 23.d5 with advantage.) 20.Qf2 Bxh4? (Strategically doubtful, but Grischuk has an amazing defensive idea in mind: he wants to sacrifice the exchange and take over the light squares. But he should have kept the dark bishop and retreat with his rook to the queenside: 20...Ra5 21.Nf3 Nd5 with a playable game. Another version of the positional sacrifice is 20...Nd5 21.Nxd5 Rdxd5 [21...Bxd5 is met by 22.e4] 22.Bxd5?! Bxd5.) 21.gxh4 Nd5 22.Nxd5 Rhxd5!?


2011-05-25-GG2.jpg

23.Bb2! (Gelfand ignores the sacrifice and is ready to squeeze black by marching the central pawns.) 23...Rb5 24.Qe2 (Chasing the unstable rook.) 24...Rh5 (The rook has to stay on the fifth rank. For example, after 24...Rxb3 25.d5 white wins a piece.) 25.e4! (The pawns are beginning to roll. Black may soon regret the exchange of his dark bishop.) 25...Bxb3 26.Rdc1 Na5 (Black wants to protect his bishop, but his pieces are scattered. It was better to soften the blow with 26...e6 27.Bc3 Ba4.) 27.d5 b6 (After 27...Ba2 28.Ra1 Nb3 29.Rxa2 Nxc1 30.Bxc1 the bishop pair should prevail against the rook.) 28.Be5 c5 (After 28...Rd7 29.Qb5 Ba2 30.Rb2 f6 31.Qxb6 fxe5 32.Qxa5 wins.) 29.dxc6 f6

2011-05-25-GG5.jpg

30.Ba1 (White could have included 30.c7! for example 30...Rd7 and now white wins either with 31.Rxb3 Nxb3 32.Qc4+ Kg7 33.Qxb3 fxe5 34.Qxb6 exf4 35.Qb8 ;or with 31.Qg4 fxe5 32.Qxd7! Qxd7 33.c8Q+.) 30...Rc5 (Trying to isolate the pawn on c6, but 30...b5 31.c7 Rd7 32.e5 Rxc7 33.Qxb5] 31.Rxc5 bxc5 32.Qb5

2011-05-25-GG4.jpg

32...Qc7? (Grischuk misses his best chance: 32...Ba2 33.Rb2 Qc7 34.e5! [Not 34.Rxa2? Qxf4+ 35.Kg1 Rd1+ 36.Bf1 c4 and black wins.], although after 34...Be6 35.Qb6 Rc8 36.Qxc7 Rxc7 37.Rb7! white should win.) 33.Rxb3 Nxc6 (Black is a piece down now, but after 33...Nxb3 34.Qxb3+ Kf8 35.e5 white should win anyway.) 34.e5 Nd4 35.Qc4+ Black resigned.

Note that in the replay windows below you can click either on the arrows under the diagram or on the notation to follow the game.


How to Cook in Chess

Lubomir Kavalek
Lubomir Kavalek The Huffington Post, 05/19/11

How to Cook in Chess


Actually, "to cook" in chess has nothing to do with culinary pleasures. It is a dreaded word chess composers don't want to hear. A chess composition is cooked when there is a different solution unintended by the composer -- a dual solution. But a composition can be also cooked when someone creates a sound problem or study from an unsound work and eliminates the dual solution. You can also have it both ways as our story shows.

Last year we published a chess study composed by Ladislav Prokes and Oldrich Duras, but as pointed out by Prof. Noam Elkies, the study was "cooked." Recently, we learned that a Slovakian player, Ivan Novak, discovered the same dual solution already in 2008. Both Elkies and Novak composed new sound versions of Prokes's study, removing the black pawns and eliminating the original solution. But prof. Elkies took it further: he resurrected Prokes's solution, kept all pawns on the board and just moved the white king one square. His elegant creation is published here for the first time.


Here is the original Prokes/Duras version. The white queen chases the black king counter clockwise around the board and creates a mating net with a quiet pawn move. But there is a problem....

Ladislav Prokes, Oldrich Duras
Casopis cs. sachistu 1921


2011-05-18-Elkies1.jpg
White wins


1.f4+ Kg4 2.Qg3+ Kf5 White uses the mill to get rid of the pawn on e5. 3.Qg5+ Ke4 4.Qxe5+ Kf3 5.Qe3+ Kg4 6.Qg3+ Kf5 Without the black pawn on e5, white has time for a quiet move, threatening mate. 7.f3! (However, both Ivo Novak and Noam Elkies discovered a dual solution: 7.Qxd3+ Kf6 8.Qc3+ Kf5 9.Qe5+ Kg4 10.Qg5+ Kf3 11.Qg2+ Kxf4 12.Qg3+ Ke4 13.Qe3+ Kxd5 [13...Kf5 14.Qf3+ wins.] 14.Qb3+ wins.) 7...Qxd5 (7...Qf6 8.Qg4 mate.) 8.Qg5+ Ke6 9.Qxg6 mate.


By moving the black pawn from d7 to h5 and removing the pawn on g7 from the original work, Elkies was able to swing the windmill in the opposite direction as well:


Noam D. Elkies

Huffington Post 2010
2011-05-18-Elkies2.jpg


White wins

1.f4+ Kg4 2.Qg3+ Kf5 3.Qg5+ Ke4 4.Qxe5+ Kf3 5.Qe3+ Kg4 6.Qg3+ Kf5 7.Qxd3+! (Preparing to spin the windmill the other way.) 7...Kg4 (After 7...Kxf4 white wins the black queen either with 8.Qg3+ Ke4 9.Qe3+ Kxd5 10.Qb3+; or with 8.Qe3+ Kg4 9.Qg3+ Kf5 10.Qf3+. Trying to escape with 7...Kf6 8.Qc3+ transposes to the main line two moves early.) 8.Qg3+ Kf5 9.Qh3+! Ke4 (Again 9...Kf6 10.Qc3+ Kf5 [On 10...e5 11.Qxe5 mates.] 11.Qe5+ transposes to the main line.) 10.Qe3+ Kf5 (After 10...Kxd5 11.Qb3+ wins) 11.Qe5+ Kg4 12.Qg5+ Kf3 13.Qg2+! Kxf4 14.Qg3+ Ke4 (On 14...Kf5 15.Qf3+ wins.) 15.Qe3+ Kxd5 16.Qb3+ wins.

In 2008 in Bratislava, a former Slovakian champion, Ivan Novak, decided to solve a collection of 623 Prokes's studies. It was a formidable task because Novak could not use his sight. He is legally blind. When he came across the Prokes/Duras study, he solved it the same way as Noam Elkies did two years later. He didn't consider Prokes's 7.f3 and came up with 7.Qxd3+. To eliminate Prokes's version, Novak removed the black d-pawn and swang the windmill in two directions.
His idea was published in the Pravda newspaper.

Ivan Novak
Pravda 2008


2011-05-18-Elkies3.jpg


White wins

1.f4+ Kg4 2.Qg3+ Kf5 3.Qg5+ Ke4 4.Qxe5+ Kf3 5.Qe3+ Kg4 6.Qg3+ Kf5 7.Qxd3+! [The Prokes/Duras solution 7.f3? does not work because of 7...Qxd5 8.Qg5+ Ke6 9.Qxg6+ Kd7 and the black king escapes.] 7...Kf6 8.Qc3+ Kf5 9.Qe5+ Kg4 10.Qg5+ Kf3 11.Qg2+! Kxf4 12.Qg3+ Ke4 13.Qe3+ Kxd5 [13...Kf5 14.Qf3+ wins] 14.Qb3+ wins.

The Slovakian GM Jano Plachetka, who pointed out Novak's work, asked an interesting question: Is it possible to save Prokes's original solution?
Prof. Elkies had the answer before the question was asked. He did it simply and elegantly by moving the white king one square to the right, from f1 to g1, creating another Huffington Post original study.

Noam D. Elkies
Huffington Post, 2011
2011-05-18-Elkies4.jpg
White wins


1.f4+ Kg4 2.Qg3+ Kf5 3.Qg5+ Ke4 4.Qxe5+ Kf3 5.Qe3+ Kg4 6.Qg3+ Kf5 7.f3! (7.Qxd3+? doesn't work now because the black king escapes after a precise defense 7...Kf6! 8.Qc3+ Kf5 9.Qe5+ Kg4 10.Qg5+ Kf3 11.Qg2+ Ke2! and white can't win.) 7...Qxd5 8.Qg5+ Ke6 9.Qxg6 mate.

Note that in the replay windows below you can click either on the arrows under the diagram or on the notation to follow the game.

Chess Champ Kamsky Marches On

Lubomir Kavalek
Lubomir Kavalek The Huffington Post, 05/11/11

Chess Champ Kamsky Marches On



2011-05-11-kazan0106.jpg

The top-seated Armenian grandmaster Levon Aronian was the heavy favorite to emerge as the winner of the 2011 FIDE Candidates matches in Kazan, Russia, and challenge Vishy Anand of India for the world chess title in 2012. According to the same scenario, Aronian's opponent in the Candidates Final was supposed to be the Bulgarian grandmaster Veselin Topalov. But both grandmasters are gone now, having lost the Candidates quarterfinal matches. Topalov was eliminated by the U.S. champion Gata Kamsky, Aronian lost to Alexander Grischuk of Russia.

The semifinals - Kamsky vs. Gelfand and Kramnik vs. Grischuk - resume Thursday and can be followed life on the FIDE web site or on Playchess.com.

Here is the quarterfinal wrap-up.

Alexander Grischuk - Levon Aronian 4.5 - 3.5

The match began in earnest with the rapid games after the first four regular games were drawn.
Grischuk won the match with an excellent victory in the last rapid game. He came into prominence during the 2000 FIDE knockout world championship in Delhi, qualifying for the semifinals where he lost to Alexei Shirov. In 2002, I talked to Grischuk after the Prague agreement was signed in the Czech capital. The agreement was a clumsy attempt to bring Garry Kasparov back to big chess and to unite the two world championship titles, but it left Vishy Anand and Grischuk out in the cold. "I don't mind," the 19-year-old Grischuk said. "I still have time, but I feel sorry about Vishy." Time heals all wounds. Anand, 41, is the world champion. Grischuk, 27, is going to meet the former world champion Vladimir Kramnik in the semifinal in Kazan. Could this be his year?

Vladimir Kramnik - Teimur Radjabov 7:5

For years, Radjabov tried to succeed in the elimination events by betting on the blitz games. The shorter the time limit, the better for him. It almost worked against Kramnik. After drawing four regular and four rapid games, Radjabov won the first blitz game. Kramnik needed a win in the next game and got only a small edge in the endgame when the game clock stopped working. When the game resumed, Radjabov's position collapsed quickly. Kramnik, who in his youth could match Garry Kasparov move by move in blitz games, clinched the victory in the match by triumphing in the last two games.


Boris Gelfand - Shakryiar Mamedyarov 2.5 - 1.5

Gelfand made his victory look easy by drawing three and winning one game, leaving his opponent without chances. The Israeli grandmaster knows the Najdorf Sicilian with the black pieces inside out and Mamedyarov played right into it in the only decisive game. Gelfand blunted white's attack with a thematic exchange sacrifice and grabbed many pawns, forcing the Azerbaijani GM to resign. Gelfand will meet Kamsky in the semifinals.

Gata Kamsky - Veselin Topalov 2.5 - 1.5

Despite winning the U.S. championship last month, Kamsky was not given much hope against Topalov. After all, the Bulgarian grandmaster beat him 4.5 - 2.5 in the World Chess Challenge in Sofia in 2009. For the match in Kazan, Topalov as white prepared a few novelties against the Grunfeld defense and twice gained some advantage from the opening. But Kamsky has always been a terrific fighter, not to be brought down easily. In the game he won, Kamsky played creatively and neutralized white's initiative rather quickly. Topalov's initiative stalled, he could not find a good plan and succumbed to Kamsky's fiery attack (see below). In the last game, Kamsky needed a draw to clinch the match. He was in the same situation at the U.S. championship. His opponent, Yuri Shulman, opened the game too early and Kamsky equalized handily and won the title. "He should have built up the game more slowly and put pressure on me," Kamsky advised. And it was precisely what Topalov did. In time trouble, Kamsky blundered and it seemed Topalov could win as he pleased. But he picked the wrong way and Kamsky found a way out.

2011-05-11-kazan0114.jpg
Topalov (left) conceding the quarterfinal match to Kamsky.

Topalov - Kamsky
Game Two
World Championship Candidates - Quarterfinals, Kazan 2011

1.Nf3 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 (White's move order was adopted by the world champions Alexander Alekhine, Anatoly Karpov, Garry Kasparov, Vladimir Kramnik and many others who tried to make life of the Grunfeld defense players more difficult.) 3...d5 4.cxd5 Nxd5 5.Qb3 (In the last game of the match Topalov came up with 5.Qc2 Bg7 6.e4 Nb6 7.d4 0-0 8.Be3 Bg4 9.Ne5 Bxe5 10.dxe5 Nc6 11.h3 Be6 12.Rd1 Qc8 13.f4 Rd8 14.b3 Nb4 15.Rxd8+ Qxd8 16.Qb1 f5 17.exf6 exf6 18.Be2 Qe7 19.0-0 and with a bishop pair and the pawn control in the center white had a lasting advantage.
The most popular move 5.Qa4+ was played by Alekhine against Rellstab in Kemeri already in 1937. In the absence of the white pawn on d4, the queen can roam along the fourth rank. The game continued: 5...c6 6.Qd4 Nf6 7.Qxd8+ Kxd8 8.d4 b6 9.e4 and the strong pawn center gave white a clear advantage.)

5...Nb6 (Black's position after 5...Nxc3 6.Qxc3 Rg8 does not inspire confidence.) 6.d4 Bg7 7.Bf4 Be6 8.Qa3 (Since the great Ukrainian GM Vasily Ivanchuk played it twice, the queen move should not be dismissed. On the other hand, Ivanchuk is capable of making almost anything work. Still, the queen is out of play and may remain there.) 8...Nc6 (Developing and hitting the center is not a bad idea.)


2011-05-10-TopaKams1.jpg

9.0-0-0 (Topalov's novelty. White is threatening to win a piece with d4-d5. Both Ukrainian grandmasters, Eljanov and Ivanchuk, played 9.e3 against Kamsky and he was able to survive.)
9...Nd5!? (Blocking the dangerous d-pawn is the best choice. After 9...a6? 10.d5! White wins either after 10...Bxd5 11.e4 or after 10...Nxd5 11.Nxd5 Bxd5 12.e4. After 9...f5 10.e3 black's position is uncomfortable.) 10.Bg3 (Black has to deal with the king-pawn strike e2-e4 and Kamsky tackles the problem rather originally.) 10...Bh6+ (After 10...Bf5 comes 11.Qc5!) 11.e3 a5 12.h4 (White tries to take advantage of black's dark bishop by attacking along the h-file. Topalov could have renewed the threat of e3-e4 with 12.Kb1 and now 12...Ncb4!? 13.e4 c6 a tricky computer move, preventing 14.exd5? Bf5+ and black wins; another idea is 12...Bf5+ 13.Bd3 Nxc3+ 14.bxc3 [14.Qxc3 Qd5!] 14...Bxd3+ 15.Rxd3 0-0 16.Rhd1 with white's edge.)

12...Ncb4 (Sometimes it is a good idea to reflect into the past. The game Korchnoi-Spassky, Candidates match 1968, comes to mind. Spassky had a knight on b4, Korchnoi attacked it with a pawn (a3) and black "protected" it with a cool move a7-a5.


2011-05-10-TopaKams1a.jpg

12... a5! 13.axb4 axb4 The piece sacrifice worked well and Spassky was soon winning. 14.Nb1 [After 14.Nce2 c5 15.Nh3 c4 16.Qe3 Nb6 black has a powerful attack. ] 14...c5! 15.g4 c4 16.Qe3 Ra2 17.h4 Qa5 18.Rh2 Ra1 19.Bd3 b3 20.Ne2 [Black gets back the piece a should win. Mikhail Tal recommended 20...cxd3 21.Qxd3 h5!] Spassky played 20...Bb4 and later misplayed the position and lost:
21.h5 0-0 22.hxg6 fxg6 23.Rdh1 cxd3 24.Qxd3 Qc7+ 25.Nec3 Nb6 26.Qxg6+ hxg6 27.Rh8+ Kf7 28.R1h7+ Ke8 29.Rxf8+ Kxf8 30.Rxc7 Nc4 31.Rxb7 Bxc3 32.bxc3 b2+ 33.Kc2 Ke8 34.Bg5 Ra6 35.Nd2 Bc8 36.Re7+ Kf8 37.Nxc4 dxc4 38.Kxb2 Rb6+ 39.Kc2 Bb7 40.Rxb7 Rxb7 41.f4 Rh7 42.Kb2 1-0

But Topalov is unable to attack the knight on b4 with a pawn, because his queen stands in the way.)


2011-05-10-kazan0108.jpg

While Kamsky (in blue shirt) and Topalov think, the Russian commentators discuss the knight leap 13.Ng5.

13.h5 (Instead of marching forward, Topalov could have used the h-pawn to plug in his knight: 13.Ng5 Bg4 14.Rd2 f6 15.Nge4 with a playable game.) 13...c6 (Kamsky makes a solid choice. The computers are begging for 13...Nxe3 14.fxe3 Bxe3+ 15.Rd2 (15.Nd2 Qxd4) 15...0-0 with roughly equal chances.) 14.hxg6 hxg6 15.Rd2 (Topalov begins to lose the thread. He is defending against 15...Bxe3+, but the simple 15.Be2 ,connecting the rooks, was better.) 15...f6 16.Ne4 b6 (With the last two pawn moves, Kamsky protected important dark squares in his camp and assumed the command in the center.) 17.Be2


2011-05-10-TopaKams2.jpg


17...Qc8! (Black would have loved to open the c-file and this is the first step. It was also possible to connect the heavy pieces with 17...Kf7, for example 18.Rdd1 Nxa2+ 19.Qxa2 Nxe3 20.Qa3 Nxd1+ 21.Kxd1 with black's edge.) 18.Rh4 Kf7 (18...Bf5 19.Nc3 Qe6 20.Qb3 b5 was a good alternative.) 19.Rd1 g5 (Obviously, Kamsky has the break c6-c5 in mind, but he could have reshuffled his pieces decisively with 19...Bf5!, for example 20.Nfd2 [20.Bc4 g5+-] 20...Qe6 21.Rdh1 Bxe3 22.fxe3 Rxh4 23.Rxh4 g5 and black should win.) 20.Rh2 g4 (20...Nxa2+?! 21.Qxa2 Nc3 22.Qxe6+ Qxe6 23.Nxc3 does not look too great for black.) 21.Nfd2 c5! (Earlier, Kamsky could have played the combination Nxa2+/Qxa2 Nxe3, but opening the c-file has a devastating effect on the white king.)


2011-05-10-TopaKams3.jpg

22.dxc5 f5 23.Rxh6 (The exchange sacrifice is rather forced, but it does not save white. After 23.Rdh1 fxe4 24.Rxh6 Qxc5+ 25.Bc4 Rxh6 26.Rxh6 Nf6 27.Qc3 Bxc4 28.Qxc4+ Qxc4+ 29.Nxc4 Rc8 black wins.
And after 23.Nc3 Qxc5 24.Kb1 f4 white may not solve the problems along the b1-h7 diagonal.) 23...Rxh6 24.Ng5+ Kf8 25.Nxe6+ Qxe6 26.Bc4 Rc8! 27.Bf4 (After 27.Kb1 Rxc5 28.Qb3 b5 29.Bd3 Qc8 30.a3 Rhc6! black finishes the game triumphantly on the c-file.) 27...Rf6 28.e4 (The last attempt to confuse black, but Kamsky finds a pretty refutation.)


2011-05-10-TopaKams4.jpg

28...Rxc5! 29.exd5 Qxd5 (The queen sneaks in decisively.) 30.b3 (After 30.Qc3 Rxc4! black wins either after 31.Qxc4 Rc6; or after 31.Nxc4 Nxa2+ 32.Kc2 Qe4+ 33.Qd3 Nb4+ winning the queen. And after 30.Qb3 b5 wins.) 30...Qd4 31.Be3 (Black wins either after 31.Kb1 Qxf4; or after 31.Qb2 Nd3+.) 31...Qc3+ (After 32.Kb1 Qc2+ wins.) White resigned.

Note that in the replay windows below you can click either on the arrows under the diagram or on the notation to follow the game.



Images from the official site.2011-05-11-banner_kazan2011.jpg

Encyclopedia of Chess Gambits (symbolic notation)

Encyclopedia of Chess Gambits

THE INTERNATIONAL EDITION IN SYMBOLIC NOTATION
700+ gambit lines with thousand of transpositions, 676 gambit lines really played

Collected games are as of December
31, 2010 (from a database of 4.4 M), there are 10,699 pdf pages when printed (A4 format).

On 8 June 2010: GM Lubomir KAVALEK called this opera "The monumental work..." on the newspaper The Huffington Post
.

You can buy it here by donating 15 euros (PayPal or Credit Card):








As soon as we receive your payment, we will send to you the link to download the pdf (87 MB).
Preview
(sample):
http://www.scribd.com/doc/57739065/Encyclopedia-of-Chess-Gambits-Sample


1560 - 2010: 450 anni di gambetti
(+ di 700 linee uniche di gambetto con migliaia di trasposizioni, 676 realmente giocati)
a cura di Marco Saba

Materiale aggiornato al 31 dicembre 2010

Il 28 giugno 2010 il GM Lubomir KAVALEK ha definito quest'opera "The monumental work..." sul quotidiano The Huffington Post.

Estratto dell'enciclopedia, con notazione simbolica: [scarica il draft in formato pdf,]

Potete comprarla qui donando 15 euro (PayPal o Carta di Credito):







Riceverete via email il link da cui scaricarla (circa 87 MB).

*** Un consiglio: studiate le varianti gratis usando come interfaccia SCID ed il motore di scacchi ROBBOLITO (ELO circa 3300, per Linux/Unix/Ubuntu) o Fire 1.5 (ELO circa 3300, per Windows), scaricate il database gratuito Icofy


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Saturday, June 11, 2011

Motori di scacchi: per Unix usate Robbolito !

RobboLito



RobboLito is an extremely strong open-source UCI chess engine by:
Yakov Petrovich Golyadkin, Igor Igorovich Igoronov, and Roberto Pescatore

description:
RobboLito is a UCI windows 'console' application, meaning that it has no GUI (graphical user interface). there are several free programs that provide a GUI, along with a rich set of user-friendly features. three of the most popular free GUIs are: winboard, chess-gui, and arena

note:
RobboLito does not yet support: multiPV, own book, egbbs, tablebases, multiple CPUs/cores, or chess variants

rating:
~ 3300 ELO

downloads
:
RobboLito 0.085g3 w32

(optimized windows 32-bit executable and source code)

RobboLito_0.085g3_w32_no_SSE2
(optimized windows 32-bit executable - for older CPUs that don't support Intel SSE2 instruction set)

RobboLito 0.085g3_x64
(fast windows 64-bit PGO executable
compiled by peterpan)

RobboLito 0.085g3l_x86
(optimized linux 64-bit executable and source code
ported to linux by unisky)

RobboLito 0.09
(optimized windows 32-bit and 64-bit executables and source code)

RobboLito
has been completely translated from Italo-Albanian to English, and it does not include any of RobboLito's original tablebase code (v. 0.084). these tablebases are not needed, as RobboLito demonstrates extremely strong endgame play without them. the engine recognizes many draws and solves endgame positions that even Rybka 3 and other commercial programs miss.


RobboLito UCI Options:
MPH (Move on Ponderhit) -> Never, Sometimes, Always ...if predicted move is played by opponent, make move
default = 'Sometimes'...if move = EASY (i.e. when it's a no brainer!)
RobboLito is not a 'clone' of Rybka 3, as some may like you think...it's very different.

please click here for a detailed comparision
note:
there have been many RobboLito versions released which are not associated with the 'ChessLogik RobboLito' development effort, and have not been tested and released by myself (kranium). many of these versions are simply leaked betas, experimental tries, or rogue individual efforts. some have being incorrectly attributed to me.

some work fine, but others may crash or have bugs and/or other issues. for informational purposes and clarity...all (non-kranium versions) that i'm aware of are listed here:

RobboLito 0.084
RobboLito 0.085
RobboLito 0.085c
RobboLito 0.085c1
RobboLito 0.085c2
RobboLito 0.085c3
RobboLito 0.085
d
RobboLito 0.085
d1
RobboLito 0.085f
RobboLito 0.085f1
RobboLito 0.085F1
RobboLito 0.085f1a
RobboLito 0.085d3t
RobboLito 0.085d8t
RobboLito 0.085TA01
RobboLito 0.085TA02
RobboLito 0.085TA03
RobboLito 0.085et4
RobboLito 0.085g4
RobboLito 0.085g5
RobboLito 0.085gt3
RobboLito 0.085gt3B
Tankist all versions

for a complete list of official stable/tested Chesslogik versions, see
the "detailed history/major changes" section below.
detailed history/major changes:

RobboLito 0.085g3
bishop/knight evaluation fix
ponder bug fixed
time management changes
BTF removed
code cleanup
code translation

RobboLito 0.085e4
TM reduced to OTM
OTF -> BTF (Blitz Time Factor)
exponential scale-factor replaces less efficient blitz if/else clause from e1

RobboLito 0.085e3
MOPH 'sometimes' bug fix

RobboLito 0.085e2
32-bit executable optimization
SSE2 enabled, floating point model -> fast
speed increase +10%
default time management improved
OTF default = 22

RobboLito 0.085e1
UCI Ponderhit Move -> Move on Ponderhit
is now combo box: Never, Sometimes, Always
Sometimes = default (if move is EASY, i.e. a recapture, etc.)
no longer loses lightning/blitz no increment games

RobboLito 0.085e
1st release of 'e' series, baseline version
will be starting point for multiPV and SMP implementation enhanced time management is 'on' by default (this seems to be a more conservative/safer TM than OTM)

RobboLito 0.085d12
OTM now 'really' true by default

RobboLito 0.085d11
OTM default
OTF default = 25

RobboLito 0.085d10
CPU load
time now uses timeGetTime()
upperbound/lowerbound info printing
pondering improved
UCI option for Move on Ponder Hit
Move on Ponder Hit -> Ponderhit Move
slight code re-organization

RobboLito 0.085d9
NTM (Normal Time Management) -> OTM (Original Time Management)
NTF (Normal Time Factor) -> OTF (Original Time Factor)
default OTF changed from 30 -> 22
enhanced time management algorithm updated
Igorovoich -> Igorovich
copyright updated -> 92nd and 93rd year


RobboLito 0.085d8
Ponder -> permanent brain
PR Ponder Ratio added
(default = 1.5)
MOPH UCI option removed

RobboLito 0.085d7
hanging 'mate' bug fixed
UCI boolean vars
NTM (Normal Time Management)
NTF (Normal Time Factor)
ETF/NTF default = 30

RobboLito 0.085d6
shredder gui compatibility
cleanup, bugfix
MOPH, ETM default = 'off
ETF default = 25

RobboLito 0.085d5
ponderhit
MOPH (Move on Ponderhit)
ETM (Enhanced Time Management)
ETF (Enhanced Time Factor)

RobboLito 0.085d4
name changed from RobboLite to RobboLito,
ponder implemented, time control improved
source code cleanup and translation improvements
date/time stamp added, robbo.txt removed, GPL added
default hash = 128 Mb

RobboLite 0.085d3
tournament time control fixed
UCI id var/version constant combined, robbo.txt changed

RobboLite 0.085d2
UCI info depth/timing changed, currmove delayed
robbo.txt implemented, white/black minors revalued

RobboLite 0.085c5
source code migrated to w32, cleanup, translation from
Italo-Albanian to common chess programming terms, robbobase code removed

Motori di scacchi: è uscito Fire 1.5 xTreme !!!



Fire -
don't get burned ...try it yourself, it's free!




Fire 1.5 xTreme

Fire 1.5 xTreme x64 PP
(4 optimized windows 64-bit executables and readme files,
includes normal & PopCnt compiles for both Win7 & Win XP
expertly compiled by Peterpan!)

Fire 1.5 xTreme w32 NS
(optimized windows 32-bit executable and readme files,
compiled by
NS)

Fire 1.5 xTreme w32 no SSE2 NS
(optimized windows 32-bit executable and readme files,
for older systems that don't support SSE2 instruction set
compiled by
NS)

Fire 1.5 xTreme source code
(c++ source code
)


If you appreciate Fire, please consider a contribution to the effort...


Fire logos by Dave Dahlem:




others:


Fire 1.5 xTreme (for Windows) by Kranium
is UCI only, extremely strong, fast, and stable

rating:
~ 3300 ELO

features:
magic bitboards
true SMP parallel search
configurable pawn hash
ponder
searchmoves
multiPV
benchmark and drawboard utilities
multi positional gain (for each CPU/core/thread)
multi history (for each CPU/core/thread)
robbobase support (up to 6 piece endings)
70+ UCI/fire.cfg options
random configuration generation
loadable historic piece values

optional timestamped I/O log file
and much more...


major changes:
1.5 xTreme
Triplebases (TBHit) fixed
Historic Piece Values can now be changed 'on-the-fly
Ahmed default piece values implemented:
100, 320, 335, 515, 1000
Top Min Depth min/max values inversion
option Draw Weight added
5 TM options added:
AbsoluteFactor
BattleFactor
EasyFactor
EasyFactorPonder
NormalFactor
TM algorithms from 1.4 beta
SMP up to 16 cores


1.4 xTreme beta 2
Historic Piece Value bug fixed
Aspiration Window option added
Min Trans Move Depth option added
Positional Weight added
Static Weight->PST Weight
Time Management from Fire 1.32
some code cleanup

1.4 xTreme beta
extreme user configurability:
all system, search, eval, and material parameters available via an external config file or GUI UCI option dialog box
support for 6-piece Robbobases
ELO increase
random fire.cfg generation
21 historic piece value sets

1.32
maintenance release
fixes UCI and fire.cfg piece value change issue
(thx to Matt Weaver for identifying this)
knight = 320
bishop = 330
queen = 980
tr and col changed to rank and file for improved source code readability/consistency
the above changes are mainly functional and likely do not affect overall strength (ELO)

1.31
maintenance release
with Fire 1.2 and 1.3, Totalbases and Triplebases can be configured to autoload on engine startup only via the fire.cfg file, so i've added 2 new UCI options, and associated code, which enables configuration of 'autoloading of Robbobases' via UCI GUIs:
Autoload Totalbases
Autoload Triplebases
id name and id author are now placed outside of 'if
(CfgFound)' statement in static void uci()
this was causing Fire 1.3 to not load in Fritz and CB
Hash size wasn't being read properly if using fire.cfg
this has now been fixed

1.3
new/faster bitboard LSB/MSB routines
mutually exclusive fire.cfg/UCI GUI options
phase-scaled piece values improved
QSearch fix/improvement
MaxThreads = 256
several new/improved eval routines
phase multiplier fix
code cleanup
speed improvement
MultiPV now automatically disabled in 'game' mode
several small bugfixes

UCI options added:
Lazy Eval 1
Lazy Eval 2
UCI_EngineAbout
AspirationWindow
Split At CN
Split At EN
ANSplitDepth
ENSplitDepth
PVSplitDepth
Contempt
Material Weight
Positional Weight
UseRobboBases
Low Depth PVs
Time Info
Verbose UCI
UCI_EngineAbout

UCI options removed:
NMR Smooth Scaling
Extra Info

no ELO improvement announcement here...
but i'm quite sure that 1.3 is better than 1.2 in this regard...
please test yourself to determine engine strength!

1.2
SMP improvements/changes
major RobboTripleBase bug fix
support for new RobboTriple/Total Blocked (Z) bases added
improved hash functions
UCI options added: UCI_AnalyseMode, CPU Load Info, Current Move, Depth Info, Hash Full Info, TB Hits Info, Time Info
UCI options removed: Analysis Mode, Extra Info, Multi History, Multi Positional Gain
NMR Smooth Scaling renamed NMR Scaling
(Null Move Reduction Scaling)

1.1
support for RobboTripleBases and RobboTotalBases added
reads Fire.cfg parameters file on startup
writes (optional) time-stamped I/O log file
NMR Smooth Scaling now 'off' by default

1.01 (maintenance release)
bug fix:
major changes to SMP (to prevent occasional exception error/timeout)
changes to NMR Smooth Scaling
Null Move verification default = true
verification reduction default = 7
GetNumberOfConsoleInputEvents ->_kbhit

1.0
several minor bugs fixed:
no longer occasionally displays score of 0.01
no longer drops a thread after ~16 hours in analysis mode
engine now initializes at 128 Mb hash
movelists enlarged to accommodate really long games
pawn hash set to 32 Mb by default
improved time management

new UCI options:
Get FEN
Analysis (Fritz) Mode
Move on Ponderhit (Never, Sometimes, Always)
NMR Smooth Scaling (Null Move Reduction Smooth Scaling)
Pawn Value
Knight Value
Bishop Value
Rook Value
Queen Value
Bishop Pair Value
Null Move Verification
Verification Reduction
Move on Ponderhit
Extra Info

UCI options removed:
MultiCentiPawnPV
RandomCount
RandomBits
Enhanced Time Management

CPU Load implemented
ETM has been improved and is now used by default
new and improved SMP routines
MultiPV now works in 'game' mode as well as 'Analysis' mode

Fire is based on IppoLit engines
by Yakov Petrovich Golyadkin, Igor Igorovich Igoronov, Roberto Pescatore, Yusuf Ralf Weisskopf, Ivan Skavinsky Skavar and all Decembrists
for more info: http://ippolit.wikispaces.com

this chess ship is a truly glorious achievement of the October Revolution and Decembrists movement!

UCI and Fire.cfg options:
Hash, System, UCISpin, 1, 65536, 128,
Pawn Hash, System, UCISpin, 1, 1024, 8,

Max Threads, System, UCISpin, 1,
MultiPV, System, UCISpin, 1, 250, 1,
AN Split Depth, SMP, UCISpin, 10, 20, 10,
CN Split Depth, SMP, UCISpin, 10, 20, 10,
PV Split Depth, SMP, UCISpin, 10, 20, 10,
Pawn, Eval, UCISpin, 50, 200, 100,
Knight, Eval, UCISpin, 150, 500, 320,
Bishop, Eval, UCISpin, 150, 500, 330,
Rook, Eval, UCISpin, 300, 700, 500,
Queen, Eval, UCISpin, 500, 1600, 980,
Bishop Pair, Eval, UCISpin, 1, 150, 50,
Piece Value Set, Eval, UCISpin, 0, 21, 00,
Draw Weight, Eval, UCISpin, 50, 200, 100,

King Safety Weight, Eval, UCISpin, 50, 200, 100,
Material Weight, Eval, UCISpin, 50, 200, 100,
Mobility Weight, Eval, UCISpin, 50, 200, 100,
Pawn Weight, Eval, UCISpin, 50, 200, 100,
Positional Weight, Eval, UCISpin, 50, 200, 100,

PST Weight, Eval, UCISpin, 50, 200, 100,
Lazy Eval Min, Search, UCISpin, 1, 300, 150,
Lazy Eval Max, Search, UCISpin, 1, 600, 300,
Aspiration Window, Search, UCISpin, 1, 100, 8,

Delta Cutoff, Search, UCISpin, 20000, 30000, 25000,
Depth Red Min, Search, UCISpin, 2, 24, 12,
Height Multiplier, Search, UCISpin, 2, 128, 64,
History Threshold, Search, UCISpin, 2, 100, 50,
Min Depth Multiplier, Search, UCISpin, 2, 96, 48,
Min Trans Move Depth, Search, UCISpin, 2, 32, 16,

Null Reduction, Search, UCISpin, 1, 16, 8,
Prune Pawn, Search, UCISpin, 1, 300, 150,
Prune Minor, Search, UCISpin, 1, 1000, 500,
Prune Rook, Search, UCISpin, 1, 1600, 800,
Prune Check, Search, UCISpin, 1, 30, 10,
QS Alpha Threshold, Search, UCISpin, 50, 400, 200,
Search Depth Min, Search, UCISpin, 2, 40, 20,
Search Depth Reduction, Search, UCISpin, 2, 12, 6,
Top Min Depth, Search, UCISpin, 2, 28, 14,
Undo Count Threshold, Search, UCISpin, 2, 30, 15,
Value Cut, Search, UCISpin, 1000, 30000, 15000,
Verify Null, Search, UCICheck, 0, 0, true,
Verify Reduction, Search, UCISpin, 1, 16, 2,
Split at CN, SMP, UCICheck, 0, 0, true,
Ponder, Other, UCICheck, 0, 0, false,

Time Easy Factor, "Time", UCISpin, 10, 100, 15,
Time Easy Factor Ponder, "Time", UCISpin, 10, 100, 33,
Time Battle Factor, "Time", UCISpin, 10, 500, 100,
Time Normal Factor, "Time", UCISpin, 10, 500, 75,
Time Absolute Factor, "Time", UCISpin, 10, 100, 25,

CPU Load Info, Other, UCICheck, 0, 0, false,
Current Move Info, Other, UCICheck, 0, 0, false,
Depth Info, Other, UCICheck, 0, 0, false,
Hash Full Info, Other, UCICheck, 0, 0, false,
Low Depth PVs, Info, UCICheck, 0, 0, false,
NPS Info, Other, UCICheck, 0, 0, false,
TBHit Info, Info, UCICheck, 0, 0, false,
Verbose UCI, Info, UCICheck, 0, 0, false,
Extend In Check, Other, UCICheck, 0, 0, false,
Write Log, Other, UCICheck, 0, 0, false,
Use Robbobases, RobboBases, UCICheck, 0, 0, false,
TripleBase Directory, RobboBases, UCIString, 0, 0, 0,
Unload TripleBases, RobboBases, UCIButton, 0, 0, 0,
TotalBase Directory, RobboBases, UCIString, 0, 0, 0,
Deregister TotalBases, RobboBases, UCIButton, 0, 0, 0,
TotalBase Cache, RobboBases, UCISpin, 1, 1024, 1,
Dynamic TripleBase Cache, RobboBases, UCISpin, 1, 65536, 1,
TripleBase Hash, RobboBases, UCISpin, 1, 4096, 1,
Verbose RobboBases, RobboBases, UCICheck, 0, 0, false,
Bulk Load Directory, RobboBases, UCIString, 0, 0, 0,
Bulk Load Name, RobboBases, UCIString, 0, 0, 0,
Bulk UnLoad Directory, RobboBases, UCIString, 0, 0, 0,
Bulk UnLoad Name, RobboBases, UCIString, 0, 0, 0,
Get FEN String, Other, UCIButton, 0, 0, 0,

About:
my goal with Fire is to combine all the best ideas, features, and strengths from the IppoLit family of releases...IppoLit, RobboLito, Igorrit, and IvanHoe.
in addition i have added all the best ideas that Sentinel and i came up with during the development of Robbolito 0.085g3. with enormous beta testing help from the Decembrists and Robbolito comrades, we posted more than a dozen public betas on Immortal223 during the last four months of 2009
(for details, please see the RobboLito page)