
Monday, July 19, 2010
Garry Kasparov - Corso di Scacchi (SPAGNOLO)

Garry Kasparov
https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=1-kx_-oWmnVtOI3I-NAs-aWCLHQKCxNWEThursday, July 8, 2010
Among Bobby Fischer's many mysteries
Among Bobby Fischer's many mysteries: Chess champ's own father
(CNN) -- Bobby Fischer was a master chess player, a man who once seemed the epitome of control. But Fischer's personal life was often chaotic and marked by mystery.
One of those mysteries seems of particular relevance this week. His body was exhumed in Iceland to satisfy a paternity suit a woman has filed claiming that Fischer fathered her 9-year-old daughter.
Fischer was 64 when he died in January 2008.
Los Angeles Times reporter Peter Nicholas and his wife, Clea Benson, also a reporter, spent years researching Fischer's life, digging through public records and conducting dozens of interviews with people who knew the Fischer family, discovering, among other things, that Bobby was lied to most of his life about who his real father was.
Last year, Nicholas wrote a comprehensive story about Fischer in the Times detailing the genius' complicated and controversial life.
"He was a star when I was a kid, Fonzi and John Travolta rolled into one," Nicholas told CNN. "I loved chess, and he embodied the game. When I became a journalist, I knew I had to use my skills to take a closer look at him."
Taking on the Soviets and God
The reporter recalled the euphoria that swept America in 1972 when Fischer wrested the World Championship from Russian Boris Spassky. The win earned the young and handsome kid from Brooklyn international fame, a notoriety that sometimes puffed an already large ego.
Fischer remarked to Shelby Lyman, chess commentator of that 1972 match, that he would like to play against God.
"He joked that it would probably end in a draw," Lyman told CNN. Bobby said he'd just explain to God, 'Look you have your domain, and I have mine.' "
Joking aside, Fischer was acutely uneasy with stardom. A shy eccentric given to oddball statements, he preferred to be buried in a book than featured on a magazine cover.
"He hated journalists," recalled Lyman. "He hated the spotlight."
Though Fischer resided in New York City at the height of his celebrity, when every experience was his for the taking, he preferred to eat at chain restaurants and fade into the easy anonymity of Greenwich Village.
Lyman once spent an entire day walking in the Village with Fischer. At one point, Fischer asked Lyman: "Should I go to college?"
"I was amazed. This is one of the most brilliant minds in history, and he was worried about a degree," said Lyman. "I went to Harvard, and it didn't make me a world champion.
"I think Bobby was always looking for someone to help guide him, a father figure maybe."
Raised by a single mother
Fischer was raised by a single mother, Regina Fischer. She was an internationally traveled physician who had worked in Moscow. For the era, that meant she might likely be an investigative target of J. Edgar Hoover's FBI, which was constantly on the hunt for communists in America.
Reporter Nicholas realized this and filed a Freedom of Information Act request with the FBI.
It was a shot in the dark.
It paid off. Big time.
The journalist and his wife's personal pet project netted almost 1,000 pages of FBI documents about Regina Fischer.
A European Jew who had immigrated to the U.S. as a child, Regina Fischer was suspected by the bureau of being a spy for the Soviets. Because of a lack of evidence, the FBI closed its file on her in the 1970s, according to the reporters.
"They were reading her mail. They confronted her on the street," said Nicholas. "They harassed her. They interviewed her neighbors."
The documents shed a fantastic light on Bobby's upbringing.
Regina tried to create a loving home for her children. She raised Bobby and his older sister, Joan, in a sparse Brooklyn apartment. It was Joan who taught Bobby how to play chess.
Mysteries of Bobby Fischer's paternity
Regina told her children that their father was a German biophysicist, Gerhardt Fischer. She divorced Gerhardt and he disappeared from the picture when Bobby was a toddler. FBI documents, according to the Los Angeles Times story, suggest Bobby Fischer's real father was Paul Felix Nemenyi, a Jewish Hungarian physicist, the journalists found.
Regina got pregnant with Bobby when Gerhardt was out of the country, the documents showed. And Regina was studying in Colorado the same time Nemenyi was teaching there, though at a different school.
Regina never acknowledged publicly that she had been untruthful about Bobby's biological father. Neither Nicholas nor his wife were able to determine for certain why she appeared to have lied.
"It may have been because she felt embarrassed for the world to know that she had gotten pregnant by a man she was not married to," said Nicholas. "In that era, that carried a tremendous stigma."
Regina's relationship with her son was complex, the journalists reported in the Times.
She was concerned, as any parent might be, that he was far too focused on one thing. She wanted her son to succeed at chess, but not at the cost of other pleasures in life. Her son had a peculiar temperament, and his passion for chess could descend into erratic volatility.
"When he was 16, she and Bobby got into a fight, and Bobby told people he kicked her out of their apartment," the journalist said. "It was a sad scene. She left him with the dirty dishes and ants."
Joan was by this time married and not living at home. Bobby was feeling his power. He was already famous. At 13, Fischer won against one of the best players in the United States, American professor Donald Byrne, in a match that was coined "The Game of the Century."
He conquers chess world, then drops out
"Chess is a struggle, a drama. It involves space and time and force, and these are quintessentially human interests," said Lyman. "A whole life is a series of multiple-choice questions, and that is what chess is. Here was a boy showing this to adults."
Starting at 14, Fischer won eight U.S. Championships. At 15, he became the youngest Grandmaster of the game.
In 1972, he won against Spassky.
"He was seen as the ultimate Cold War weapon against the Russians," said Lyman.
Next comes a large black hole in Fischer's biography. He dropped off the scene for the next 20 years and stopped playing competitive chess entirely. No one is really sure why.
He came out of retirement in 1992 for a rematch against Spassky.
Fischer won. The rematch was held in Yugoslavia.
Fischer never returned to the United States, living in numerous countries, including Hungary, Japan and the Philippines. When he made headlines in his later years, it was for making bizarre and anti-Semitic statements, including denying the Holocaust and praising the terror attacks of September 11.
"He had outbursts. People can focus on some of the things he said which were upsetting," said Lyman. "But Bobby Fischer was more than chess; his originality went far beyond the game.
"The Bobby Fischer I knew was a very happy guy, a man who beamed," he added. "There will never be another one greater, a figure from a musty past.
"If I had to say something to him, I guess I'd tell him, 'We miss you, Bobby. You were one of a kind.' "Wednesday, July 7, 2010
Chess: Laznicka Wins World Open
Lubomir Kavalek
On his first journey to America, Viktor Laznicka won the traditional World Open at Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, and the $20,000 first prize on Monday. Grabbing pawns and sacrificing Exchanges (rooks for light pieces), the 22-year-old Czech grandmaster showed a great fighting spirit and was very comfortable on his risky path to victory. He played the Swiss open strategy to perfection. With a rocket start, winning the first six games, he coasted to victory with three draws. Laznicka scored 7,5 points in nine games, edging grandmasters Pentala Harikrishna of India, Ilya Smirin of Israel and Luke McShane of England by a half point.
Played over the Independence Day weekend, the World Open is the premier open tournament in the United States. It attracted nearly 1200 players this year, competing in 10 sections. The top Open section with 119 players included 35 grandmasters.
Laznicka played his most dramatic game against IM Bryan Smith, who won the Philadelphia International tournament just prior to the World Open. It was a see-saw battle in the Sicilian Najdorf with Smith sacrificing a pawn for powerful pressure. The Czech GM didn't back off with the black pieces and accepted every challenge thrown at him. What began as innocent firecrackers quickly turned into a mine field where every step could have been the last. It was a great game for the spectators, watching both Kings under fire. Each player had a few chances to win the game and Smith was the last to err. The win was encouraging for Laznicka. He began playing with a lot of energy, kept winning and never looked back.
Smith - Laznicka
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Bg5 (One of the most critical lines against the Sicilian Najdorf is making a comeback.) 6...Nbd7 (A fresh recent trend to replace the usual 6...e6.) 7.f4 (The main variation used to be 7.Bc4 Qa5 8.Qd2 e6 9.0-0-0 b5 10.Bb3 Bb7 11.Rhe1 and here some American players, led by GMs Sammy Reshevsky and Bill Lombardy, turned the long castle 11...0-0-0 into a short one by shifting the King and the Rook one square. For example, the game Westerinen-Lombardy, Helsinki 1961, continued: 12.a3 Be7 13.Kb1 Kb8 14.f3 Rc8 15.Ba2 Rhd8 and black was ready for the middlegame battle. Different approach is sought today: 7.Bc4 Qb6 8.Bb3 e6 9.Qd2 Be7 10.0-0-0 Nc5; or 7...e6 8.Bb3 Nc5 with a playable game.)
7...Qb6 (Black can also turn the solid 7...Qc7 into an interesting gambit 8.Qf3 h6 9.Bh4 g5!? 10.fxg5 hxg5 11.Bxg5 Qc5! 12.Nf5 [12.Be3 Ne5 13.Qe2 Neg4 14.Bg1 Bh6 gives black plenty of play.] 12...e6 13.Be3 Qb4 14.0-0-0 exf5 15.Qxf5 Rh5 16.Qf3 Be7 17.Be2 Ne5 18.Qf4 Bg4 19.Bxg4 Nc4 20.Rd3 Qxb2+ 21.Kd1 Qa1+ 22.Bc1 Nb2+ 23.Ke2 Nxd3 24.cxd3 Qxc3 25.Bxh5 Nxh5 26.Qh6 Qg7 0-1 Kanovsky-Navara, Ostrava 2010.) 8.Qd2 (This version of the poisoned pawn may have more venom.) 8...Qxb2 9.Rb1 Qa3 10.Bxf6!? (The sharpest. In the game Fernandez-Van Wely, Las Vegas 2009, white tried 10.Be2 g6 11.Bxf6 Nxf6 12.e5 dxe5 13.fxe5 Bh6 14.Qd3 Ng4 15.e6 Ne3 16.exf7+ Kxf7 17.Rb3 Qc5 18.Rf1+ Kg7 19.Ne4 Qa5+ 20.c3 Rd8 and Black won.) 10...Nxf6!? (Laznicka has done his homework. For many years, Black tried only 10...gxf6 11.Nd5 Rb8 12.Rb3 Qa4 but after the discovery of the late Latvian IM Alvis Vitolins 13.Bxa6! Black has problems, for example 13...bxa6? 14.Qc3! threatening 14.Rxb8, White wins because Black can't defend the back rank; or 13...Qxa6 14.Nc7+ wins; and after 13...e5 14.fxe5! dxe5 [14...fxe5 15.Rb4 Qxa2 16.Qg5 Qa5 17.Nb5 wins.] 15.Nxf6+ Kd8 16.Nxd7 Qxd7 17.Nc6+ wins.)
11.e5 dxe5!? (An improvement on previously played 11...Ng4 12.Nd5 Qc5 13.Nb3 Qc6 14.Na5 Qc5 [14...Qd7 15.Nb6] 15.Nxb7 Bxb7 16.Rxb7 and white should win.) 12.fxe5 Ng4 13.Nd5 Qc5 14.Nb3 Qc6 15.Na5 (White misses two dazzling possibilities: 15.Qa5!? b6 and now either 16.Nd4!? bxa5 17.Nxc6 e6 18.Nc7+ Kd7 19.Nxa8 Kxc6 20.Rb6+ with an advantage; or 16.Bb5!? axb5 17.Qxa8 Qxa8 18.Nc7+ Kd7 19.Nxa8 Kc6 [19...Bb7 20.Rd1+ Kc6 21.Rd8 Nxe5 22.0-0] 20.Nd4+ Kb7 21.Nxb6 Kxb6 22.Rxb5+ Kc7 23.0-0 with the edge.) 15...Qd7 16.Nc4 (One can see the importance of the exchange on e5. Black is able to exchange Queens 16.Nb6 Qxd2+ 17.Kxd2 Rb8 and survive.) 16...e6! (Laznicka made it a great habit, giving up Exchanges at the World Open.)
17.Ncb6?! (It is tempting to win the Exchange, but White could have played for a steady edge with 17.Ndb6 Qxd2+ 18.Kxd2 Rb8 19.Be2 Nf2 20.Rhf1 Ne4+ 21.Kd3 Nc5+ 22.Kd4 Nd7 [22...f5 23.Bf3!] 23.Nd6+!) 17...Qc6 18.Nxa8 exd5 (Black will get a pawn and more fluid pieces for the Exchange.) 19.Be2 (After the Bishop move, the chances begin to tilt in Black's favor. 19.h3!? is more forceful to equalize the game, for example, 19...Nxe5 20.Qxd5 Qc3+ 21.Qd2 Qxd2+ 22.Kxd2 Bd6.) 19...b5 20.Qa5 (After 20.Qxd5 Qc3+! 21.Qd2 Qxe5 22.Rd1 f5 Black has the edge.) 20...Ne3 21.Nc7+ Kd7 22.Nxb5 (The Knight escapes, but Black is still better. His chances are preferable even after 22.Rb3 Nc4; or after 22.Rf1 Nxf1 23.Bg4+ Ke7 24.Bxc8 Ne3.) 22...Bc5?! (Black could have increased his advantage with a pin 22...Qc5! , for example 23.Qa4 axb5 24.Rxb5 Qa3! 25.Rb7+ Kd8; or 23.Rf1 axb5!) 23.Nd6! Bd4 (After 23...Bxd6 24.exd6 Qxd6 25.Bf3 the white King is safer.)
24.c4 (24.Rb3 seems to be a better way of coping with the threat 24...Bc3+ , for example 24...Ke7 25.Nxc8+ Rxc8 26.Qa3+ with White's edge.) 24...dxc4 25.Bf3 (Playing for a better endgame 25.Rf1!? Nxf1 26.Kxf1 Ke7 27.Bxc4 Qc5 28.Qxc5 Bxc5 29.Nxc8+ Rxc8 30.Rb7+ Kd8 31.Rxf7 Bd4 32.Bxa6 Rc1+ 33.Ke2 Bxe5 34.a4 was a way to go. Laznicka gets some play now.) 25...Nxg2+ 26.Bxg2 Qxg2 27.Rf1? (White collapses and makes a blunder. He could have stayed in the game with 27.Qa4+, for example 27...Qc6 28.Qxc6+ Kxc6 29.Rb8 [After 29.Nxf7? Rf8 30.Rf1 Kd5 31.Nd6 Rxf1+ 32.Kxf1 Be6 Black wins.] 29...Bc3+ 30.Kf2 Bd4+ 31.Ke1 Bc3+ repeating the moves; or 27...Ke7 28.Nf5+! Kd8 [Not 28...Bxf5 29.Qb4+ Ke8 30.Qb8+ and White wins.] 29.Qa5+ Kd7 30.Qa4+ Kd8 with a perpetual check.) 27...Ke6? (Laznicka could have turned the tables with 27...Qc2! 28.Rxf7+ Ke6 29.Rb4 Bc3+ 30.Kf1 Qc1+ 31.Kg2 Qd2+ 32.Rf2 Bxb4 33.Qc7 Qd5+ 34.Kg1 Bc5 35.Qf7+ Kxe5 36.Nxc4+ Kd4 and Black wins.) 28.Qb4 (Smith missed the opportunity to attack with 28.Rb6! Bxb6 29.Qxb6 Kd5 30.Nxc4! Qe4+ [After 30...Kxc4? 31.Rf4+ and White mates soon.] 31.Ne3+ Kxe5 32.Rxf7 Re8 33.Ke2 and the black King is not out of the woods yet.) 28...Qd5 29.Nxc4? (Keeping the Queens on the board may backfire. After 29.Qxc4!? Qxc4 30.Nxc4 Bd7 the position is roughly in balance.) 29...Rd8! 30.Nd2 Qxe5+ 31.Kd1 (Threatening to pin with 32.Re1.)
31...f5? (A blunder that almost cost Laznicka the game. He should have gone out of the possible pin along the e-file: 31...Qd5! 32.Re1+ Kf6 33.Qe7+ Kg6 Black wins; or 32.Rb3 Bc5 33.Re1+ Kf5 34.Rf1+ Kg6 35.Rg3+ Kh5 and the King escapes.) 32.Re1 Be3 33.Qb3+ Kf6 34.Rxe3 (White is a Rook up, but 34.Qxe3 was more efficent to win.) 34...Qxh2 35.Qc3+ Kf7 36.Qb3+ (White could have played 36.Kc2! immediately, for example 36...f4 37.Qc7+; or 36...Bd7 37.Rb7 and White wins.) 36...Kf6 37.Qc3+ (37.Rd3 wins easily.) 37...Kf7 38.Kc2! (Finally!) 38...f4 (Trying to open up his Bishop, but Black is still lost.) 39.Rf3? (Giving away the win. It was achievable either with 39.Qc7+ Bd7 40.Rd3; or with 39.Rb7+ Bxb7 40.Qc7+ Kg6 41.Re6+ Kh5 42.Re5+ Kh6 43.Qxd8.) 39...Bf5+ 40.Kc1 Rc8? (The wrong move before the time control. 40...Rxd2! was objectively best, for example 41.Qxd2 Qg1+ 42.Qd1 Qxd1+ 43.Kxd1 Bxb1 44.Rxf4+ Ke6 45.Ra4 Bd3 with equal chances; 40...Qe2 was another good possibility, e.g. 41.Rb7+ Ke8 42.Rxg7 Qe1+ 43.Kb2 Qxd2+ [Not 43...Rxd2+? 44.Ka3!] 44.Qxd2 Rxd2+ 45.Kc3 Rxa2 46.Rxf4 Bg6 and Black should be able to make a draw.)
41.Nc4? (Losing. After 41.Rb7+ Kf8 42.Rc7 White wins. What a turnabout!) 41...Qg1+ 42.Kd2 Rd8+ 43.Ke2 Qxb1 44.Ne5+ Ke6 45.Qc6+ Kxe5 46.Qc7+ Rd6 47.Qxg7+ Kd5 (After 48.Qg8+ Re6+ wins.) White resigned.
For those interested in the opening played in this game, IM James Rizzitano's new book Play the Najdorf Sicilian is a great guide. The New England master was able to keep the defense up- to-date, highlighting the important points as well as the pitfalls. He chose the illustrative games with great care and his research is remarkable. The book was recently published by Gambit Publications and could be extremely handy for club players.
Note that in the replay windows below you can click on the notation to follow the game.
Photo by Vladimir Jagr
Monday, June 28, 2010
Magnus Carlsen: King Among Chess Kings
Imagine Usain Bolt, the fabulous Jamaican sprinter and world record-holder, running a 100 meter dash against some of the world's best contenders and winning by 20 meters. This is how the Norwegian chess superstar Magnus Carlsen dealt with the opposition at the elite Kings tournament in Medias, Romania, last week. Undefeated, with five wins and five draws, Carlsen left his nearest rivals two full points behind, scoring 7,5 points in 10 games. It was an amazing display of chess dominance.
Photo by Chessbase.com
Carlsen, 19, is the world's top-rated player and his new rating is projected at 2826, some 23 points above the second-placed Veselin Topalov of Bulgaria. Nobody, except Garry Kasparov, ever climbed that high. It could soon be lonely up there. Every time he plays, Magnus is expected to win, often by big margin.
Carlsen began the event in Medias slowly with three draws, but accelerated the pace with four consecutive wins, leaving the other players a mere spectators. They finished as follows: Teimour Radjabov of Azerbaijan and Boris Gelfand of Israel, both 5,5 points; Ruslan Ponomariov of Ukraine, 4,5 points; Liviu-Dieter Nisipeanu of Romania, 4 points; Wang Yue of China, 3 points.
Appropriately, Carlsen honored the Kings tournament by playing the King's gambit for the first time in his life. The opening evolved over the years. The old romantic masters loved fireworks as presented, for example, in the analysis by the Italian master Gioacchino Greco (1600-1634). To some chess historians, Greco was the first chess professional. Others thought of him as the first chess hustler. Whatever you call him, Greco was a very talented player who made a living by teaching chess to wealthy patrons, including a few kings. In 1619 he wrote a manuscript on openings, consisting of games, probably fictitious, full of combinational fantasy and clarity. Here is Greco's take on the King's gambit.
Greco-N.N.
1.e4 e5 2.f4 exf4 3.Nf3 g5 4.Bc4 g4 5.Bxf7+?! (Speedy assaults on the black King, with sacrifices like this one, flourished in Greco's time. Often not completely correct, they succeeded because they did not meet strong defense.) 5...Kxf7 6.Ne5+ Ke6 (Greedy. Modern theory prefers to refute White's adventurous play with 6...Ke8 7.Qxg4 Nf6, but that is not much fun.) 7.Qxg4+ Kxe5 8.Qf5+ Kd6 9.d4 Bg7 10.Bxf4+ Ke7 11.Bg5+ Bf6 12.e5 Bxg5 13.Qxg5+ Ke8 14.Qh5+ Ke7 15.0-0 (Black is clearly in trouble. His emperor has no clothes.) 15...Qe8
16.Qg5+ (White can shorten the outcome with 16.Qh4+! Ke6 17.d5+ Kxe5 [or 17...Kxd5 18.Nc3+ Ke6 19.Rf6+ Ke7 20.Nd5+ Kd8 21.Rf8+ Ne7 22.Qxe7 mate] 18.Nc3! Kd6 19.Qb4+ c5
20.Nb5+ Kxd5 21.Rad1+ Kc6 [or 21...Ke5 22.Qe1 mate] 22.Rd6 mate.) 16...Ke6 17.Rf6+ Nxf6 (After 17...Ke7 18.Rf4+ Ke6 19.d5+! Kxd5 20.Nc3+ Kc5 21.Rc4+! Kxc4 22.Qh4+ Kc5 23.b4+ white mates soon.) 18.Qxf6+ Kd5 19.Nc3+ Kxd4 (19...Kc4 prolongs the game by a move 20.Qf1+ Kxd4 21.Qf4+ etc.) 20.Qf4+ (20.Rd1+! speeds up the end 20...Kc4 21.Qf1+ Kb4 22.Qb5 mate; or 20...Kc5 21.Rd5+ Kb4 22.Qh4 mate.) 20...Kc5 21.b4+ Kc6 22.Qc4+ Kb6 23.Na4 mate.
Note that in the replay windows below you can click on the notation to follow the game.
By contrast, Carlsen's treatment of the King's gambit was purely positional. It has been done before, for example, by Akiba Rubinstein and Richard Reti at the beginning of the last century. William Steinitz and Boris Spassky were the finest King's gambit connoisseurs among the world champions. It is possible that Magnus turned to the gambit to avoid the solid Petroff defense the Chinese GM Wang Yue employs regularly. In any case, it worked.
Carlsen -Wang Yue
1.e4 e5 2.f4 (The King's gambit is one way to avoid the dreaded Petroff defense 2.Nf3 Nf6.) 2...d5 (In 2004, when he was making his first steps toward stardom, Carlsen as Black played against GM Alexei Fedorov in Dubai 2...exf4 3.Nf3 g5 4.h4 g4 5.Ne5 d6 6.Nxg4 Nf6 7.Nxf6+ Qxf6 8.Nc3 Nc6 9.Bb5 Kd8 10.Bxc6 bxc6 11.d3 Rg8 12.Qf3 Bh6 13.Qf2 Rb8 14.Ne2 Rxb2 15.Bxb2 Qxb2 16.0-0 Qxc2 17.Nxf4 Qxf2+ and the players agreed to a draw since the forced variation: 18.Rxf2 Bg7 19.Rc1 Bd4 20.Rxc6 Rg4 21.Nd5 Bb7 22.Rc4 Bxf2+ 23.Kxf2 Rxh4 24.Nxc7 Rh5 does not give much to either side.) 3.exd5 exf4 (A popular way to defuse the tension in the center.) 4.Nf3 Nf6 (In his new book Starting Out: Open Games, published by Everyman Chess, GM Glenn Flear brings back the move 6...Bd6. It was played in the famous game Boris Spassky-David Bronstein, Leningrad 1960, and the final few moves were reproduced in the James Bond movie "From Russia with Love." The game went 4... Bd6 5.Nc3 Ne7 6.d4 0-0 7.Bd3 Nd7?! 8.0-0 h6? 9.Ne4! Nxd5 10.c4 Ne3 11.Bxe3 fxe3 12.c5 Be7 13.Bc2! Re8 14.Qd3 e2? 15.Nd6!? Nf8?! 16.Nxf7! exf1Q+ 17.Rxf1 Bf5 [17...Kxf7 18.Ne5+ Kg8 19.Qh7+! Nxh7 20.Bb3+ Kh8 21.Ng6#] 18.Qxf5 Qd7 19.Qf4 Bf6 20.N3e5 Qe7 21.Bb3 Bxe5 22.Nxe5+ Kh7 23.Qe4+ and Black resigned since after 23... g6 24.Rxf8! wins. It was one of Spassky's finest achievements and a disaster for Black. For years nobody touched it, but Flear is convinced that after 4...Bd6 5.Nc3 Ne7 6.d4 0-0 7.Bd3 Ng6 8.0-0 c6; or after 4...Bd6 5.Bb5+ c6 6.dxc6 Nxc6 7.d4 Nge7 8.0-0 0-0 9.c4 Bg4 Black has active piece play against White's center.) 5.Bc4!? (The Bishop move is now preferable to 5.Bb5+ or 5.Nc3.) 5...Nxd5 6.0-0 Be7 (Black can invite an interesting gambit with 6...Be6 7.Bb3 Be7 8.c4 Nb6 9.d4 Nxc4, but White seems to have good compensation for the pawn. The game Shulman-Onischuk, Kansas 2003, continued 10.Nc3 c6 [10...Na5 is not bad either.] 11.Bxf4 0-0 12.Qe2 b5 13.a4 Qb6 with roughly equal chances.)
7.Bxd5!? (Why would White give up this wonderful Bishop, which did great damage in many King's gambit games? The answer is: speed in development. White gets his pieces quickly into play, dominates the center and, in general, enjoys more space.) 7...Qxd5 8.Nc3 Qd8 (The Queen moves like a yo-yo, but it is the safest retreat. By protecting the pawn on c7, Black will have more time to develop his light pieces. Holding onto the pawn seems dangerous and definitely not the style of the Chinese grandmaster. It could get wild after 8...Qf5 9.d4 0-0 10.Ne5 g5 11.Nd5 with a possible piece sacrifice on f4.) 9.d4 0-0 10.Bxf4 Bf5 (Wang develops his Bishop and takes the square d3 from the white Queen. But 10...c6 11.Qd3 Na6 12.Rae1 Be6 is a good, playable alternative.) 11.Qe2!? (Carlsen connects the Rooks and Black has to be aware of a timely 12.Qb5. In the game Fedorov-Svidler, Smolensk 2000, Black was able to secure the light squares after 11.Qd2 c6 12.Kh1 Bb4 13.a3 Bxc3 14.Qxc3 Qd5 15.Qd2 Nd7 16.b3 b5 17.Rac1 Nb6. He later outplayed his opponent and won in 41 moves.) 11...Bd6?! (Exchanging pieces in a worse position is a common ploy of good defenders, but here it leads to more yo-yo moves by the black Queens and helps Carlsen to improve his position. Wang probably didn't like 11...c6 12.Rae1 Re8 13.Bg5 with White's edge.)
12.Bxd6 Qxd6 13.Nb5! (Improving the "marriage" between the c-pawn and the white Knight. David Bronstein believed that the Knight behind the pawn is a good marriage and in front of the pawn - a bad one.) 13...Qd8 (The safest retreat. After 13...Qb6 14.Qe5 Bxc2 15.Nxc7 Nd7 16.Nxa8 White should win; and after 13...Qd7 14.Ne5 Qc8 15.Rxf5! Qxf5 16.Rf1 Qc8 17.Qc4 the attack is decisive.) 14.c4 a6 (Black doesn't want to engage his c-pawn too soon, but 14...c6!? 15.Nc3 Re8 16.Qd2 Nd7 is a better defensive set-up.) 15.Nc3 (Now the Knight is behind the pawn and Bronstein would be happy. White controls most squares in the center and can turn it into a space advantage.) 15...Nd7 16.Rad1 Bg6 17.Qf2 Re8 18.h3 Rc8 19.Rfe1 Rxe1+ 20.Rxe1 c6 (Preventing the unpleasant 21.Nd5.)
21.d5! (Crossing the equator, the line that splits the board in half horizontally, dividing both armies. Carlsen intends to advance the passed d-pawn as far as he can.) 21...Nf6 (Black should have exchanged the pawn immediately to keep more pieces in play. After 21...cxd5 White has to retake with the pawn 22.cxd5, since 22.Nxd5?! allows 22... Rxc4.) 22.Qd4 cxd5 23.Nxd5! (Threatening 24.Ne7+, White forces the knight exchange, eliminating one blocker.) 23...Nxd5 24.cxd5 Qd6 (The Queen is usually a poor blocker, but Black doesn't have anything else handy.) 25.Ne5 Re8 (The immediate 25...Rd8 was possible, but Black had a reason to lure the white Rook on e3. However, Wang should have clarified the position with 25...f6! 26.Nxg6 [26.Nc4? Qb4! loses.] 26...hxg6, for example 27.Re6 [Otherwise Black plays 27...Rd8.] 27...Rc1+ 28.Kf2 Rc2+ 29.Kf3 and now after either 29...Qd7; or even 29...Qh2 30.Qg4 Kf7! Black can equalize.) 26.Re3 Rd8 27.Nc4 Qf6 28.Re5!? (Carlsen decides to keep the Queens on the board. After 28.Qxf6 gxf6 the White Rook can't protect the d-pawn since the square d3 is taken and after 29.Re7 Bb1! 30.a3 [or30.a4] 30...b5 Black has good drawing chances.) 28...h6 (The computers want to play 28...b5 29.Na5 h6, but after 30.Nb7 Rb8 31.Nc5! Qd6 32.b4 the position looks better for White. With the help of tactical tricks Carlsen is now able to march his d-pawn forward.)
29.d6! (Did Black overlook this advance?) 29...Bf5 (After 29...b5 30.d7! bxc4 31.Re8+ Kh7 32.Qxf6 gxf6 33.Rxd8 wins.) 30.Nb6! Be6 (Black still can't touch the d-pawn: after 30...Qxd6 31.Re8+ wins outright and after 30...Rxd6 31.Nd5! Black has to surrender the Exchange since 31...Qg5 32.Rxf5! Qxf5 33.Ne7+ Kf8 34.Nxf5 loses a piece. Black could have considered to maneuver his Bishop to the diagonal h1-a8: 30...Bd3 31.d7 Bb5 32.a4 Qf1+ 33.Kh2 Bc6 with some hope to survive.) 31.d7! (Black is in a terrible squeeze and Carlsen has time to improve his pieces.) 31...Kh8 32.a4 g6 33.Qc3 Kg7 34.a5 h5 35.h4 Rxd7!? (This could be Black's best practical chance to avoid a slow death. After 35...Kg8 36.g3 Kg7 37.Rc5 Qxc3 38.Rxc3 Kf6 39.Rc7 White has excellent winning chances, for example 39...Ke7 40.Rxb7 Bxd7 41.Ra7+- Ke8 42.Rxa6 Bb5 43.Ra8 Rxa8 44.Nxa8 Kd7 45.Kf2 Kc6 46.Ke3 Bf1 47.Kd4 Kb5 48.Nc7+ Kxa5 49.Kc5 and the b-pawn runs to victory.) 36.Nxd7 Bxd7 37.Qd4 Bc6 38.b4 Bb5 39.Kh2 Ba4 40.Rd5 Bc6 41.Qxf6+ Kxf6 42.Rc5 Ke6 43.Kg3 f6 44.Kf2 Bd5 45.g3 g5? (Allowing a pretty breakthrough. Black should have waited, not allowing the white Rook to penetrate to the back rank. If the white King begins to cross to the square b6, Black can push his g-pawn, hoping to create a passed pawn on the kingside. It could be close.)
46.g4! hxg4 47.h5 Be4 48.Rc7! (Supporting the passed h-pawn and not allowing the black King to come closer.) 48...f5 49.h6 f4 50.h7 g3+ 51.Ke1 f3 52.h8Q f2+ 53.Ke2 Bd3+ 54.Ke3 (After 54...f1Q 55.Qe8+ Kf5 56.Rf7+ wins.) Black resigned.
Note that in the replay windows below you can click on the notation to follow the game.
For Gambit Fans
Marco Saba has created the Encyclopedia of Gambits
The monumental work covers more than 700 gambits played in 450 years, since 1560, the date of Ruy Lopez book, till this year. The web site is in Italian and partly in English but can be followed easily. Many interesting statistics, lists of players, games and even evaluations are included. Some of the gambit names look funny, but it is worth a visit.
Friday, June 25, 2010
Carlsen wins Kings Tournament
Carlsen wins Kings Tournament
Chess Vibes, 25 June 2010, By Peter Doggers
Magnus Carlsen finished the Kings Tournament in Bazna, Romania in style. The Norwegian beat Wang Yue with Black in the last round to finish with a 7.5/10 score, two points ahead of the rest of the field. Ponomariov and Radjabov defeated Nisipeanu and Gelfand respectively, also with the black pieces. For now the games, later more.
The fourth Kings Tournament takes place in Medias, Romania from June 14 till 25. Against it’s a 6-player, double round-robin, with two rest days. This year Carlsen, Gelfand, Nisipeanu, Ponomariov, Radjabov and Wang Yue play. The rate of play is 2 hours for the first 40 moves, one hour for the next 20 moves and then 15 minutes plus an increment of 30 seconds per move.
The rounds start each day at 15.30 which is 14.30 CET and 08.30 EDT. They can run well into the evening, as we won’t see ultra-short draws in this tournament – no draw agreement by the players are allowed before move 30, except for cases of a triple-repetition, a perpetual or a theoretically drawn position.
The event is organized by Romgaz and the Chess Club Society “Elisabeta Polihroniade”. This year the tournament is officially part of the Grand Slam, substituting the cancelled MTel Masters. Venue is the brand new Romgaz Center in Medias (near Bazna), but the organizers are considering to move back to Hotel Complex Balnear Expro in Bazna, where everyone is staying.
ChessVibes will be at the tournament from start to finish, providing videos for the official website:
Videos
Source files: (for iPhone users and others)
Round 10 games
Game viewer by ChessTempo
Links
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Il segreto del successo di Kasparov
Il segreto del successo
Da enfant prodige degli scacchi in un paese che per gli scacchi va pazzo come l’Unione Sovietica, dovetti abituarmi molto presto ai discorsi in pubblico e alle interviste. Le domande che mi venivano rivolte allora, a parte alcune sugli hobby e le ragazze, riguardavano però solo la mia attività di scacchista. Ma il modo di intervistarmi cambiò radicalmente nel 1985 quando, a ventidue anni, diventai il più giovane campione del mondo di ogni tempo. Alla gente non interessavano più gli incontri e i tornei: tutta la curiosità era rivolta a quell’incredibile risultato e al modo in cui lo avevo raggiunto. Come ero riuscito a impegnarmi tanto? Quante mosse ero in grado di visualizzare in anticipo? A che cosa pensavo mentre giocavo? Avevo una memoria fotografica? Che cosa mangiavo? Che cosa facevo la sera, prima di andare a dormire? Insomma, qual era il segreto del mio successo?
Mi accorsi subito, però, che le risposte che davo non convincevano il mio pubblico. Riuscivo a impegnarmi in quel modo perché me lo aveva insegnato mia madre. La quantità di mosse che ero in grado di anticipare dipendeva dalla posizione.
Durante una partita cercavo di sfruttare la mia preparazione e di calcolare le possibili varianti. Avevo una memoria buona, ma non fotografica. In genere, prima delle partite mi concedevo un generoso spuntino a base di salmone affumicato, bistecca e acqua tonica (purtroppo, quando mi avvicinai alla quarantina, il mio allenatore mi impose di relegare questa «dieta» al passato). Ogni sera prima di andare a letto mi lavavo i denti. In effetti non si può dire che fossero dettagli entusiasmanti.
Sembrava che tutti si aspettassero da me un metodo preciso, una ricetta universale che garantisse sempre ottimi risultati. Agli scrittori famosi si chiede che tipo di carta e penna usino, come se gli strumenti impiegati potessero influenzare il loro modo di scrivere. Domande di questo genere non considerano che ognuno di noi è il prodotto unico di milioni di elementi e di trasformazioni che si sono susseguiti dalla formazione del suo DNA fino a oggi pomeriggio. Ciascuno di noi crea la formula irripetibile del proprio processo decisionale: il nostro obiettivo è identificarla, valutarne le modalità, trarne il meglio e possibilmente migliorarla.
Gli scacchi, la vita racconta come sono arrivato a definire la formula valida per me, da quando ero un ragazzino fino all’epoca attuale che mi offre il vantaggio di poter guardare indietro con il senno di poi. Lungo il cammino mi soffermerò su alcune persone che, in modo diretto o indiretto, mi hanno aiutato a crescere:
Aleksandr Alekhine, che fu il mio primo eroe e la più grande fonte di ispirazione della mia carriera, trova una sua collocazione accanto a Sir Winston Churchill, che ancora oggi, con i suoi discorsi e i suoi scritti, rappresenta per me un costante riferimento.
Spero che questi e altri esempi possano aiutare i lettori a diventare più consapevoli dei propri procedimenti decisionali e della possibilità di progredire ulteriormente.
Quando ci si valuta e si analizza come si è sfruttato il proprio potenziale bisogna farlo con molta onestà. Non esistono regole fisse: il mio libro non propone suggerimenti e trucchi, ma sviluppa temi come l’autoconsapevolezza e la sfida a se stessi e agli altri, fondamentali per poter prendere le decisioni migliori.
Ho pensato di scrivere su tali argomenti quando ho capito che, invece di inventarmi risposte intelligenti all’eterna domanda «Cosa ti passa per la testa?», mi sarebbe servito di più scoprirlo davvero. Ma i ritmi di un giocatore di scacchi professionista, rigorosamente scanditi da viaggi, partite e preparazione, non mi concedevano molto tempo per l’introspezione filosofica. Solo dopo essermi ritirato, nel marzo del 2005, ho trovato finalmente il tempo e la prospettiva giusta per analizzare le mie esperienze passate e cercare di impiegarle in modo utile.
Sarebbe stato un libro molto diverso se lo avessi finito prima del mio clamoroso passaggio dalla scacchiera alla politica. Innanzitutto, avevo bisogno di tempo per assimilare la lezione appresa durante i lunghi anni trascorsi nel mondo degli scacchi.
In secondo luogo, la mia nuova dimensione mi sta costringendo a capire chi sono e di che cosa sono capace. Non basta essere appassionati sostenitori della democrazia: per creare coalizioni e organizzare congressi devo applicare in un modo del tutto nuovo la mia visione strategica e le altre doti scacchistiche. Per venticinque anni ho vissuto al riparo di competenze saldamente acquisite: ora mi trovo a dover analizzare le mie capacità per costruirmi e ricostruirmi in vista delle nuove sfide.
Una carta geografica della mente
Il giorno del mio sesto compleanno mi aspettava al risveglio il più bel regalo che abbia mai ricevuto in vita mia. Vicino al letto c’era un mappamondo così grande che dovetti stropicciarmi gli occhi per essere sicuro che fosse vero. Gli atlanti e la geografia mi hanno sempre affascinato: la passione era iniziata quando mio padre mi aveva letto il libro di Stefan Zweig su Magellano e ascoltavo rapito le storie sui viaggi di Marco Polo, Colombo e, appunto, Magellano che lui mi raccontava.
Ripercorrere sul mappamondo i viaggi di quel grande esploratore divenne il mio gioco preferito.
In breve arrivai a conoscere le capitali di tutti i paesi del mondo, i loro abitanti e ogni dettaglio che avevo potuto scoprire. Le avventure della vita reale mi attraevano molto più di qualsiasi favola. Anche se mio padre non si era soffermato sulle terribili difficoltà che comportava la navigazione nel passato, intuivo che intraprendere un viaggio del genere per la prima volta doveva aver richiesto un coraggio straordinario.
Quelle storie infiammavano i miei sensi di spirito pionieristico, e così sognavo di avventurarmi per vie sconosciute, anche se allora ciò significava, al massimo, non percorrere la solita strada per tornare a casa. Dall’inizio alla fine della mia carriera di scacchista non ho mai smesso di cercare nuove sfide, tentando cose che nessuno aveva mai tentato prima.
Ormai il tempo dei grandi esploratori e degli imperatori famosi è passato, ma sono ancora rimasti alcuni preziosi territori da scoprire: possiamo esplorare i nostri confini e quelli della nostra vita, oltre ad aiutare gli altri a fare lo stesso, magari regalando a un bambino per il compleanno un mappamondo o il suo equivalente digitale.
È fondamentale possedere una carta geografica di se stessi: in questo libro cerco di indicare in modo approssimativo le tappe di osservazione e analisi necessarie per tracciarla. Non vorrei sembrare troppo radicale, ma il minimo comune denominatore non serve a niente: da ciò che è ovvio o identico per tutti non possono derivare né vantaggi né miglioramenti. Dobbiamo guardare più in alto e scavare più a fondo, andare al di là di ciò che è scontato e universale. In teoria, chiunque può imparare a giocare a scacchi in mezz’ora, e le regole sono uguali per uomini, donne e bambini:
ma solo quando ci spingiamo per la prima volta al di là di esse, oltre quel primo livello in cui siamo concentrati esclusivamente sulle mosse consentite, cominciamo a dar forma alla struttura che ci rende diversi da chiunque altro abbia mai mosso una pedina.
Tali modelli acquisiti e la logica che li regola si combinano con le nostre qualità intrinseche per creare un individuo unico nelle proprie modalità decisionali.
Esperienza e conoscenza si definiscono attraverso il prisma del talento, anch’esso manipolabile, modificabile e coltivabile: un insieme che è la fonte dell’intuizione, strumento assolutamente unico per ciascuno di noi. Così iniziamo a scorgere nelle nostre decisioni quello che definiamo lo «stile» di uno scacchista, cioè l’influenza della psicologia individuale e della struttura emotiva. Gli scacchi sono uno strumento ideale per esaminare queste influenze perché, per dare il meglio di noi stessi nel gioco, siamo obbligati ad analizzare le nostre decisioni e il processo che a esse ci conduce. Le persone che mi intervistavano, in realtà, non avevano bisogno di informazioni sulle mie abitudini di tutti i giorni, ma di un’altra cosa: di autoanalisi.
Dato che non si tratta di un software da scaricare e installare, lo stile personale non si può scegliere: possiamo solo individuare quello che sentiamo più adatto e poi, attraverso sfide e tentativi, sviluppare il nostro metodo personale. Quali sono i miei punti deboli? E quelli forti? Che tipo di sfide devo cercare di evitare e perché? Il metodo per raggiungere il successo è un segreto, in quanto può essere scoperto solo da ciascuno di noi, attraverso lo studio delle proprie decisioni personali: nessuno può insegnarci a migliorare i meccanismi decisionali, però possiamo imparare a farlo da soli.
In tutto questo c’è qualcosa che, a prima vista, sembra contraddittorio: bisogna diventare consapevoli dei propri processi decisionali perché questi, con la pratica, potenzieranno le nostre azioni intuitive, inconsce. È un procedimento non spontaneo ma necessario perché, in quanto adulti, abbiamo modelli di comportamento già formati, nel bene e nel male. Per correggere quelli negativi e rafforzare quelli positivi dobbiamo assumere un ruolo attivo nell’acquisire una maggiore consapevolezza di noi stessi.
Per cercare di aprire le porte a questa consapevolezza farò uso di aneddoti e analisi. La prima parte del libro valuta gli ingredienti fondamentali, le capacità essenziali e le doti che entrano in gioco nel processo decisionale: strategia, calcolo e preparazione sono gli elementi essenziali che dobbiamo comprendere e trovare in noi stessi. La seconda parte considera la fase della valutazione e dell’autoanalisi, studiando i metodi e i vantaggi del nostro modo di esaminarci: quali cambiamenti sono necessari e perché? La terza parte studia i sottili meccanismi attraverso i quali combiniamo tutti questi fattori per migliorare le nostre prestazioni: la psicologia e l’intuizione influenzano ogni aspetto delle nostre decisioni e dei loro risultati. È necessario sviluppare le nostre capacità per riuscire a contemplare il quadro d’insieme, affrontare le crisi e trarne insegnamento.
I momenti decisivi in cui, a un certo punto del nostro cammino, scegliamo una strada piuttosto che un’altra, consapevoli del fatto che non potremo tornare indietro, sono vere e proprie svolte. Dobbiamo vivere per quei momenti che determinano la nostra vita, imparare chi siamo e che cosa conta veramente per noi. Il «segreto», allora, consiste nell’andare incontro alle sfide invece di evitarle: è il solo modo per scoprire e sfruttare tutte le nostre risorse. Lo sviluppo del nostro modello personale ci consente di prendere decisioni migliori, di avere la fiducia sufficiente per dare ascolto al nostro istinto e sapere che, indipendentemente dal risultato, ne usciremo più forti.
E questo è l’unico segreto del successo che vale veramente per tutti.
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
Chess Puzzles: Even the Champions Get It Wrong
Lubomir Kavalek
In ice hockey, a two-goal lead is the worse to have. Two good shots and the game is tied. It is worse in chess: one small slip and you can not only turn a winning advantage into a draw -- you can lose the game. Nobody is immune to blunders, not even the champions.
It is a common theme in John Nunn's excellent new book Nunn's Chess Endings, Volume 1. The English grandmaster gives plenty of examples where the mighty falter during play or in their analysis and judgment. The endgame virtuoso, the late world champion Vasily Smyslov, comes to a wrong conclusion about his own game. The world championship candidate and one of the foremost chess endgame experts, Yuri Averbach, avoids a winning line because he wrongly thinks it only leads to a draw. The world champion Garry Kasparov walks the wrong way with his King and throws away all his previous hard work.
Averbach did not convert a two pawn advantage against the Slovakian IM Jan Sefc in the tournament in Dresden 1956. The Russian GM avoided a variation, leading to a position of our first puzzle.
John Nunn
White to play and win
The future looked bright for the 13-year-old Etienne Bacrot in 1995. His coach, GM Iossif Dorfman, even thought the French boy was born to dethrone Kasparov. At 27, Bacrot is one of the top French grandmasters, but never played a match for the world title. Kasparov won brilliantly against Bacrot in Sarajevo 2000 and was close to victory in Moscow 2004.
From Kasparov-Bacrot
How can White win?
(The solution to the puzzles will appear on Monday, June 28. Just revisit this column.)
John Nunn shows in his new book that magical twists and turns can be found in real games and does not include any endgame studies. He points out important ideas which occur often in practical play. As an excellent attacker in his prime, Nunn stresses the importance of precise play and tactics in the endgames. The first volume includes everything without the rooks. The all-rook volume two is scheduled to come out in the fall. Both volumes build on Nunn's previous book Understanding Chess Endgames, a wonderful presentation of 100 key endgame ideas. Nunn's trilogy is published by Gambit Publications and should be a perfect addition to the library of any tournament player.