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British Chess Magazine April 2017
British Chess Magazine April 2017
APRIL
2017
CHESS IS IN
DANGER OF
BECOMING
A SUPERIOR
CROSSWORD
PUZZLE
Lennox Lewis would
make a great
FIDe president
AROUND THE WORLD:
ShArjAh MASTerS:
Six emirs rule in the
emirates
SheNzheN MASTerS:
visit WWW. The triumph of
britishchessmagazine.
co.uk Ding Liren
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BRITISH CHESS MAGAZINE, the Worlds Oldest Chess Journal
www.britishchessmagazine.co.uk
Editors
Milan Dinic and Shaun Taulbut
249
Prepress Specialist Milan Dinic
Milica Mitic
So becomes
Photography new US champioN
Harald Fietz, Andreas Kontokanis,
Mihajlo Antic, Zachary Snowdon Smith 197 41st Blackpool Chess Conference
Sharjah Chess Masters Oicial/ Peter Wells triumphs
Maria Emelianova, Tata Steel 2017, By IM Shaun Taulbut
US Chess Championship Oicial
201 BCM Interview: GM Raymond Keene
Advertising Chess is in danger of becoming
Stephen Lowe a superior crossword puzzle
We need a champion
Enquiries who can take on the computers
editor@britishchessmagazine.co.uk By Milan Dinic
ISSN 0007-0440 207 Sharjah Masters 2017
The British Chess Magazine Limited Six Emirs Rule in The Emirates
By GM Aleksandar Colovic
Company Limited by Shares
Registered in England No 00334968 216 Shenzhen Masters 2017
Ding Lirens triumph and Michael
Postal correspondence: Adams missed opportunities
Albany House, 14 Shute End By GM Aleksandar Colovic
Wokingham, Berkshire RG40 1BJ
226 The brilliancy of the
Subscription 135th Varsity Match
support@britishchessmagazine.co.uk By BCM editors
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233 4NCL weekends two and three analysis
Guildford and Cheddleton
Printed in the UK: by Lavenham Press Ltd at the top!
By Tom Rendle
Cover photography:
GM Raymond Keene, Photo BCM
241 At the birth of a Gambian
chess culture
By Zachary Snowdon Smith
5.dxc5 c6 5...e6 is the alternative aiming 13...d3 14.d1 f5 Black opens the long
to recapture on c5 as soon as possible. diagonal and also allows the Queen access
to the kingside.
6.c3 White aims to hold onto the pawn
on c5 with b4 at the expense of a delay in 15.a4 After 15.bd2 g7 16.b1 xa2
development. 17.b5 d5 with advantage to Black but this
may be the best try.
6...e6 7.b4 White has an extra doubled
pawn but Black has good compensation. 15...g7 Strongest was 15...d5 16.bd2
(16.h1 c4 17.bd2 xb4 with a
7...a5 Logical aiming to break up the winning advantage) when 16...g7 is
queenisde pawn chain. very strong eg: 17.a3 b2 18.b3
xa4 19.b1 xb3 20.xb2 c4 with a
8.b5 White has to pin the Black knight winning advantage.
to shore up the defence of the pawn on b4.
16.a3 e5 Threatening the White
8...d7 9.f3 g8 10.00 Castling is King; after 16...f6 17.xd3 (17.b5 e4
logical but Black has counterplay down the 18.xd3 xd3 19.xd3 gives White good
open g-file which leads to a rapid attack. play for the sacrificed exchange) 17...xa4
18.d2 b5 is slightly better for Black.
10...axb4 11.xc6 xc6 12.cxb4
XIIIIIIIIY 17.b5 17.g3 Qd5 18.b5 is best; Not 17.xd3
xg2+ 18.xg2 g5+ 19.h1 h5 wins.
9r+-wqkvlr+0
9+p+-+p+p0 17...xh2+ 18.xh2 18.h1 e4
19.bd2 c7 20.b6 b8 with advantage
9-+l+pzp-+0 to Black was the only way for White to stay
9+-zPp+-+-0 in the game.
9-zP-+-+-+0 XIIIIIIIIY
9+-+-zPN+-0 9r+-wqk+r+0
9P+-+-zPPzP0 9+p+-+p+p0
9tRN+Q+RmK-0 9-+l+p+-+0
xiiiiiiiiy 9+PzP-+p+-0
Already the game has reached a critical 9P+-+-+-+0
stage.
9tR-+pzPN+-0
12...d4 A good move sacrificing a pawn to 9-+-+-zPPmK0
open up the Bishop against f3 and g2.
9+N+Q+R+-0
13.e2 After 13.exd4 d5 14.Kh1 xiiiiiiiiy
(14.bd2 h6 is very strong for Black 18...xg2+ Another sacrifice strips the
simply aiming to take on d2 (not the White king of the protective pawn cover.
flashy 14... xg2+ 15.xg2 a3 when
16.b5 is good) ) 14...c4 15.a3 xf3 19.h1 19.xg2 g5+ 20.h1 h4+
16.gxf3 (not 16.xf3 xf1#) 16...000 21.g1 g4+ 22.h2 xf3 23.xf3
17.d2 xd4 18.e4 Qe5 gives a slight xf3 wins for Black.
edge for White. Now Black is able to gain
a tempo. 19...xf3 20.xf3 g4 Threatening
...h4+ and mate.
XIIIIIIIIY XIIIIIIIIY
9r+-wqk+-+0 9r+lwq-trk+0
9+p+-+p+p0 9+p+-zppvlp0
9-+-+p+-+0 9p+nzp-snp+0
9+PzP-+p+-0 9+-zp-+-+-0
9P+-+-+r+0 9-+P+P+-+0
9tR-+pzPQ+-0 9+-sNP+-zP-0
9-+-+-zP-+0 9PzP-+NzPLzP0
9+N+-+R+K0 9tR-vLQ+RmK-0
xiiiiiiiiy xiiiiiiiiy
21.h2 g5 22.c6 h4+ 23.h3 xh3+ Black prepares to expand on the queenside
24.xh3 e7 Threatening to bring the with ...b5 rather than playing in the centre.
rook to g8 so White resigned.
01 9.h3 b8 10.a4 White chooses to prevent
Black from expanding with ...b5 at a cost of
leaving a hole at b4.
Alan Merry played a brilliant attack in the
following game. 10...d7 11.e3 e8 Black repositions
his knight also allowing himself to answer
Philip J Crocker - Alan B Merry f4 with ...f5.
41st Blackpool Conference Blackpool ENG (5.2) 12.h2 c7 13.d4 White changes tack
expanding in the centre before Black brings
1.c4 f6 2.g3 g6 3.g2 g7 4.c3 00 his knight to e6.
5.e4 c5
XIIIIIIIIY 13...cxd4 14.xd4 e6 15.de2 White
9rsnlwq-trk+0 opts to keep the knight; both knight
exchanges left Black with adequate
9zpp+pzppvlp0 counterplay.
9-+-+-snp+0
15...a5 Black targets the White pawn on
9+-zp-+-+-0 c4 allowing him to achieve the break ...b5
9-+P+P+-+0
9+-sN-+-zP-0 16.b3 b5 17.cxb5 axb5 White now plays to
create a passed pawn.
9PzP-zP-zPLzP0
9tR-vLQmK-sNR0 18.b4 c4 19.a5 xe3 20.fxe3 White has
a ruined pawn structure but has a passed
xiiiiiiiiy a-pawn in compensation and the position is
A heavyweight English opening where slightly better for White.
White often plays on the kingside with f4.
20...c7 20...c8 looks best trying to
6.ge2 c6 7.00 d6 8.d3 a6 disrupt the White position.
Raymond Keene, OBE, is one of the most established figures in British and world chess. The second
Englishman to be awarded the title of GM (after Anthony Miles), Keene has won over 50 tournaments
and represented England in seven Olympiads. A chess author and columnist for The Times and The
Spectator, he is a well-known chess organiser who, among other events, had a pivotal role in arranging
the 1993 London match for the World Champion between Kasparov and Nigel Short. As in the case of
all people who aim high Raymond Keene's career has also been linked to controversy and disputes
with some of the leading English and world players, including Anthony Miles and Viktor Korchnoi.
BCM interviewed Ray Keene at his house in Clapham. Among books about modern art, medieval
history of Britain, works of Shakespeare and, of course, chess books, we discussed chess politics,
the future of the game in Britain and the world and what characteristics make up the profile of a
world champion.
The romance and the great heroes of chess
are now harder to identify. Chess players do
not have such a heroic status as Fischer and
Spassky did. We all know that a computer is
better than people. Even the Go world champion
has been beaten by a computer
British Chess Magazine: On the way to your as it was before. The decisive thing in the FIDE
house I read the April-fools story about elections are how much can small countries be
Malcolm Pein running for FIDE president. mobilised for support. The key is in the small
Would that be a good or a bad thing? countries. And that is where Malcolm may
Raymond Keene: It is an April fools joke but have an advantage because I do not see him
it is not such a bad idea. Recently released alienating any of the small countries.
correspondence from previous meetings shows BCM: And what are the chances of Karpov
FIDE is in turmoil. Malcolm has done wonderful or Kasparov running again?
things for international chess, for education and R.K: In both cases it is hopeless because they
all of these achievements certainly qualify him are viewed as too elitist in the chess community.
for a FIDE president candidate. He also has Also, both of them failed to get the backing of
a lot of international contacts and has more smaller countries. For example, I went to the
advantage than Karpov and Kasparov who Bunratty tournament recently and the Irish
managed to get a lot of enemies. If Malcolm Chess Federation were not very positively
decides to run for FIDE president, we should all disposed to Kasparov. He was meant to have
support him. a meeting with Irish government ministers about
BCM: And who else do you see potentially chess, but they alleged he did not turn up. I am
running for FIDE president and opposing not aware of other aspects of the story, but they
Pein? clearly did not appreciate this.
R.K: Ilyumzhinov himself has certainly not given BCM: You were involved in a FIDE
up and might try to defend his position. The presidential race yourself. What does
Greek deputy-president Georgios Makropoulos someone need to win the FIDE presidential
certainly has his eyes on the presidency. Apart election?
from them I cannot think of anybody else who R.K: When Lincoln Lucena tried to become
has a reasonable chance. FIDE president in 1986 I offered myself as
BCM: In a race for FIDE president, do you a candidate for the General Secretary. You
envision a split between countries along the need a lot of money to travel and visit all the
lines of East vs the West, i.e. those which countries. Also, you preferably need a block of
would be leaning more towards Moscow countries which are not against you. One of the
and those more pro-Western? reasons I did not stand a fair chance in 1986
R.K: I do not think it will be an East-West thing is because we just had a war with Argentina.
Six Emirs
Rule in The Emirates
by GM Aleksandar Colovic
Photos by: Sharjah Chess Masters Oicial/ Maria Emelianova
The 1st Sharjah Masters took place from Nodirbek Abdusattorov (FM, 2429). These
23rd to 31st of March 2017 and assembled an are probably the names we should try to
impressive field of 57 GMs from a total of remember as they are currently the worlds
230 players, making it one of the strongest brightest prospects.
opens in the world. The Middle East has Open events are always a bit of a lottery,
become a very popular destination not only but the winners are never undeserved.
for the strong GMs, but also for the elite as And the more players a tournament has,
the venue of the World Rapid and Blitz and the more points need to be scored in order
the Qatar Masters in Doha. to win. At the end 7/9, as it is usual in
In such a big open it is difficult to follow all opens, was enough for a shared first for
the action, simply because theres too much 6 players: Wang Hao, Adhiban, Kravtsiv,
going on. Additionally, the tournament had Kryvoruchko, Sethuraman and Salem.
an abundance of young talent, particularly First on tiebreak was Wang Hao, and
Indias 11year old Praggnanandhaa perhaps rightly so because he managed to
(youngest ever IM in the history of chess, beat two of the players with whom he shared
rated 2455) as well as 12year old Nihal first place (Sethuraman and Adhiban). The
Sarin (FM, 2386), Uzbekistans 11year old combination he played against Sethuraman
Javokhir Sindarov (2374) and 12year old was very beautiful.
balanced.
18.h4?!
XIIIIIIIIY
Hao Weng - Sethuraman P Sethuraman
9l+-wq-tr-mk0
9+-zp-sn-zpp0
1st Sharjah Masters 2017 Sharjah UAE (3.1)
9-+n+-zp-+0
1.e4 e5 2.f3 c6 3.b5 a6 4.a4 f6 9+-+-zp-+-0
5.00 e7 6.e1 b5 7.b3 00 8.a4 This 9-vlNzP-+-tR0
variation to avoid the Marshall Gambit
became incredibly popular after Kasparov 9+L+-+N+-0
used it to great success in his match against 9-zP-+-zPPzP0
Short in 1993.
9+-vLQ+-mK-0
8...b7 Short played this twice in the xiiiiiiiiy
match, but lost on both occasions. 8...b4 Piling up the pressure, by sacrificing the
is considered more reliable nowadays.; pawn on d4 but the engine doesnt like it.
8...b8 is the third alternative, rarely It easily finds a refutation, but easy for an
played today. engine is rarely so for a human.
9.d3 d5 The modern way is the Marshall 18.g4 is what the engine evaluates around
way. 9...e8 10.bd2 f8 11.c3 10 (59) 0.00 18...exd4 19.xd4 g6 20.e3 with
Kasparov,G (2805)-Short,N (2655) London unclear play.
m/3 1993; 9...d6 10.bd2 d7 11.c3 10
(36) Kasparov,G (2805)-Short,N (2655) 18...f5 19.h3 cxd4 20.xd4 exd4
London m/7 1993. 20...xd4 was possible, leading to a forced
draw after:
10.exd5 xd5 11.bd2 11.xe5 d4
12.c3 xb3 13.xb3 and at first the A) 21.xe5.e4 (21...fxe5? 22.xh7+
engine doesnt believe much in Blacks xh7 23.h5#) 22.e3 fxe5 23.xe4
compensation, but at greater depth it gives c5 24.e3 is equal, the strong knight
13...b6 14.axb5 axb5 15.xa8 xa8 on d4 compensates for Whites pair of
16.f3 h4 17.g3 f6 and here Black bishops.;
should have enough for the pawn.
B) 21.d3 e4 22.xh7+ xh7 23.h3+
11...f6 12.axb5 axb5 13.xa8 xa8 g8 24.d6+ xb3 25.e6+ h7
14.c4 White is looking for more direct 26.h3+ is a perpetual.
confrontation. 14.c3 is a more positional
move, after 14...h8 15.e4 a5 16.c2 21.g4 h6??
c5 17.g3 the position is dynamically
to fight for the top prizes, but a last-round Gelfand-Kramnik, Monaco 2007.
loss to yet another Chinese player, 18-year The latter demonstrates how the weaker
old IM Xu Xiangyu (rated 2503), from a side should defend such an endgame.
strategically dominating position ruined his 69.b1 (69.f1?? loses after 69...g4
tournament. 70.b1 a3 71.c1 g3 72.hxg3 xg3
Gawain played a very instructive rook 73.g1 a2 74.b1 f3 75.c1 g2+
endgame against 11-year old Mittal Aditya 01 (8) Garcia,G-Smyslov,V Havana
(rated 2183), who gained 89 points in Sharjah 1965) 69...e2 (69...g4 70.f1+ e4
beating WGM Abdumalik, GM Neverov and 71.a1 and Black cannot make progress,
drawing with GM Lazarev. The endgame similar to the game) 70.g2 g4 71.a1
is objectively a draw, but the weaker side d1 72.a2+ d2 73.a1 b2 74.g1
needs to avoid quite a few pitfalls. f3 75.c1 d2 76.a1 e3 77.a3+
f4 78.a4+ g5 trying to get to h3,
Mittal Aditya - Gawain Jones but that is not very realistic here. 79.a8
g2+ 80.h1 c2 81.g1 e2 82.g8+
1st Sharjah Masters 2017 Sharjah UAE (4.3) f4 83.f8+ e3 84.e8+ d2
XIIIIIIIIY 85.a8 g2+ 86.h1 e2 87.g1 d3
88.d8+ e3 89.e8+ d2 90.a8
9-+-+-+-+0 Gelfand,B (2733)-Kramnik,V (2766)
9+-+-+-+-0 Monte Carlo 2007.
9-+-+-+-+0 68...h3 -+ Now its over.
9+-+-+-zp-0
9-+-+-zpk+0 69.b5 if 69.a1 g4 70.b1 g3 71.hxg3
xg3 is the winning method from the
9+-+r+-+-0 game Garcia-Smyslov.
9-+-+-+-zP0
69...d1+ 70.f2 d2+ 71.f1 g2
9tR-+-+-mK-0 72.f5 xh2 73.a5 h3 74.a3+
xiiiiiiiiy g3 75.a4 f3+ 76.g1 g3 77.a2
67...d3 Black has two winning plans g4 78.g2+ h4 79.h2+ h3 80.f2
here - either to penetrate to h3 with the g5 81.a2 b3 82.a5+ h4 83.a2
king, in which case the h2pawn will fall, g3 84.a4 h3 85.xf4 b1+ 86.f1
or push ...g3 when the white rook in on xf1+ 87.xf1 h2
the first rank and the other black pawn is 01
on f3. Then an elementary rook endgame
arises, as demonstrated in the game Garcia-
Smyslov below. Gawains best play was in the wild game
against Argentinian GM Alan Pichot where
68.b1?? White misses Blacks threat he had to defend against a sacrificial attack
of 68...h3, after which he is lost. It was by his opponent.
necessary to prevent it and White had more
than one way to do it. Gawain Jones Alan Pichot
1st Sharjah Masters 2017 Sharjah UAE (3.3)
68.a8! is thematic, using the rook
from behind to annoy the king. 68...f3 1.e4 c5 2.f3 c6 3.c3 Gawain has
(68...h3 69.h8+ is the idea) 69.a1; been a proponent of the sidelines in the
68.g2 is also good; 68.a5 latching Sicilian when playing White - the Grand
onto the g5pawn is also good enough.; Prix Attack, the Rossolimo and the Alapin
68.-- f3 is a position reached in two have all served him well over the years.
games, Garcia-Smyslov, Havana 1965, and His usual choice here is the Rossolimo,
FINAL STANDINGS
Rk SNo Ti. Name FED Rtg Pts TB rtg+/-
1 5 GM Wang Hao CHN 2683 7,0 47,0 12,0
2 6 GM Adhiban B. IND 2682 7,0 44,0 11,4
3 21 GM Kravtsiv Martyn UKR 2641 7,0 44,0 14,3
4 2 GM Kryvoruchko Yuriy UKR 2708 7,0 43,0 4,5
5 23 GM Sethuraman S.P. IND 2629 7,0 42,5 10,6
6 18 GM Salem A.R. Saleh UAE 2652 7,0 41,0 -1,9
7 4 GM Naiditsch Arkadij AZE 2702 6,5 46,5 -1,0
8 16 GM Fressinet Laurent FRA 2662 6,5 45,0 2,6
9 17 GM Amin Bassem EGY 2660 6,5 44,0 3,5
10 1 GM Wojtaszek Radoslaw POL 2745 6,5 43,5 -3,8
Ding Liren, the winner of Shenzhen Masters 2017, Photo by Mihajlo Antic
The 6player double round robin tournament in Shenzhen consisted of players of the
highest caliber Giri, Svidler, Adams, Harikrishna and top two Chinese players, Ding
Liren and Yu Yangyi. All exceptional and capable of excellent chess, but put together the
solidity of each one of them coupled with their inclination towards positional play meant
that this was going to be a slow and grinding tournament. Thats what I thought before the
tournament started. But when it finished I was surprised by the amount of exciting games
that were on display in China.
The tournament was won by Ding Liren with three wins and seven draws. Svidler and
Giri shared the second and third places with 5.5 points. The prize fund was $90,000 with
$20,000 for first place. Players received 90 minutes for 40 moves, followed by 30 minutes
to the end of the game, with a 30 second increment from move one.
Draws were a major feature at the tournament. Out of ten games played by each of the
players, Giri and Yangyi had nine draws, while all other players had between five and
seven games which ended in an even result.
If instead 11...xe3 12.fxe3 d6 13.xf6+ 23...a5 24.d2 d4 25.b3 and the game
xf6 14.00 e7 15.c4 and now the goes on.
advantage of having a pawn on a5, fixing
a6, are quite obvious. 22...d4 Black continues the manoeuvring
game, but this favours White. 22...c4!?
12.xc5 dxc5 13.e3 e7 14.00 d8 was possible and probably more practical,
15.e1 Black seems to be doing OK here, to return the material but obtain a free
but in fact his ruptured structure needs more game and get rid of the doubled c-pawns.
care. White can also manoeuvre as much as 23.xc4 xc4 24.dxc4 d4 is about equal.
he likes and this is the type of position in
which Adams excels. 23.b3 xb3 24.xb3 d5 25.e2 f4
26.d2 xf5
15...e6 15...d4 16.c4 g6 with the idea XIIIIIIIIY
to slowly play ...g7 and maybe ...c6 was
probably better as it takes control of d5 and 9-+-+r+k+0
f5. 9+-+-+pzp-0
16.a4! Immediately attacking the 9p+pwq-+-zp0
undefended c6 and e5. 9+-zpnzpr+-0
16...xa5 17.f5!?
9-zp-+-+-+0
XIIIIIIIIY 9+-+P+-+P0
9-tr-tr-+k+0 9-zPPsNQzPP+0
9+-zp-wqpzp-0 9tR-+-tR-mK-0
9p+-+lsn-zp0 xiiiiiiiiy
White is two pawns down at the moment
9sn-zp-zpN+-0 and Black has all his 8(!) pawns on the
9Lzp-+P+-+0 board, but not for long as both c5 and a6
9+-+P+N+-0 are hanging after Whites next move.
9-zPP+-zPPzP0
9tR-+QtR-mK-0
xiiiiiiiiy
A very creative idea, continuing to play
on the white squares. Alas, the simple
materialistic approach was superior.
17.xe5! d6 18.f4 c4 19.f3 cxd3
20.cxd3 c5 21.c2 and Whites central
preponderance will result in a strong
kingside attack after g3 and f5.
it was possible to continue. 43.g2 xd2 36.xb5 and here Black will play
hxg3+ 44.xg3 h4 45.h3 xg3+ for eternity. With a slightly different pawn
(45...hxg3 46.g2 d4 47.f4 xc2 structure for the weaker side Carlsen
48.e7 keeps the knight under control.) managed to get a winning position against
46.xh4 g2 47.b7 xc2 48.xb4 and Karjakin in the second rapid game of their
White can safely continue to push for a World Championship tie break even though
win. he failed to spot the win.
What a pity! A wonderful game by Adams, Even so, it still wasnt over! Adams got
spoiled only on move 40! But Adams was yet another winning position in Round 8,
still pushing and in the next round he got but it transpired that Harikrishna was his
another chance when Giri misplayed the bete noire in this tournament.
position.
Pantala Harikrishna - Michael Adams
Anish Giri - Michael Adams
Du Te Cup 2017 Shenzhen CHN (7.3)
Du Te Cup 2017 Shenzhen CHN (6.2)
XIIIIIIIIY
XIIIIIIIIY 9-+r+-trk+0
9-+Q+-vlk+0 9zpQ+-vlpzp-0
9+-+n+pzp-0 9-zp-+-+q+0
9-zp-+-+-zp0 9+-+-vL-+-0
9tr-+-+-+-0 9-+-+-+P+0
9q+-+-+-+0 9zP-+-+-+P0
9+-+-vLlzPL0 9-+-+-+L+0
9-+-+-zP-zP0 9+-tR-+n+K0
9+-+-tR-mK-0 xiiiiiiiiy
xiiiiiiiiy 35.xc8 b1? Again the mistake comes
29.xd7 Black is a clear pawn up and just before the time control. This time its
White doesnt have much to show for it. an obvious miscalculation.
The simple retreat should win for Black
29...b5?! Making things difficult for - he is a pawn up and has the safer king.
himself. 29...b3 was more practical, After 35...e3 White cannot even create a
defending b6 and threatening ...a8 to get threat here. 36.f3 b1+ 37.h2 e1.
rid of the pin along the 8th rank.
36.xe7 xc8 37.g5 Black cannot defend
30.b8 a8?? But this is very difficult g7 and the knight on f1 simultaneously.
to explain. Did Adams forget that b5 was
hanging after the rook moves? 37...e3+ 38.h2 g6? But this looks
like panic. It was still possible to draw the
30...c2 this was already the only move game.
to play for a win now, based on a nice
tactic after 31.xb5 b2 32.f4 b4! 38...f6 39.xf6 c7 40.e5 f1+
33.xb4 xb4 34.b1 xb5 35.d2 41.xf1 (41.h1 g3+ 42.h2 f1+
17.xh2 h8 18.xh8+ xh8 19.fxe5 best results of his career, if not the best. A
xe4! an incredible exchange of blows! full point ahead of the second placed Giri
First the white queen was sacrificed and and Svidler, he played really impressive
now the black one follows suit! 20.xe7 chess. He seemed to be in control for the
g3+ 21.h2 xf1+ 22.h1 xe7 whole tournament and was able to survive
(22...g3+ is a perpetual) 23.d4 b6 his only difficult moments in the games
24.exd6 cxd6 25.a4 with a very unclear against Giri (see below) and Adams. A
position. smooth victory in a tournament of this
caliber shows Dings potential at the age
11...a7 12.bd2 a5 13.c2 h5 of 24 he has already been ranked number
14.h1 8 in the world with an imposing rating of
XIIIIIIIIY 2783. Its very tight at the top of world
chess right now, but the Chinese player can
9r+lwq-trk+0 become a regular up there.
9vl-zp-+p+-0 The following game against Svidler was an
eye-opener for me. I have always thought
9p+-zp-+-zp0 that knights were better than bishops when
9snp+-zp-zpn0 play was on one wing. But the small detail
9-+-+P+-+0 here is that Black suffers because of the
instability of his second knight, which
9+-zPP+NvL-0 cannot find a safe square. The presence of
9PzPLsN-zPPzP0 a pair of rooks also made things difficult
for Black because f7 was always a potential
9tR-+Q+R+K0 target. A fantastic technical achievement by
xiiiiiiiiy the Chinese player.
A new move, the idea is to take on g3 with
the f-pawn. 14.b4 xg3 15.hxg3 c6 16.a4 Peter Svidler Liren Ding
has been played before. Du Te Cup 2017 Shenzhen CHN (3.3)
14...c6 14...g4?! 15.h3 now this is XIIIIIIIIY
possible as the king isnt pinned and the 9-+r+-trk+0
g3 doesnt hang. If instead 14...f6
15.b4 c6 16.a4 with complex play.
9+-+-+pzpp0
9-sn-+-sn-+0
15.b3 Whites problem is that he is rather 9+-+-+-+-0
tied up and doesnt have many constructive
ideas. 15.a4 b4; 15.b4 a5. 9-+-zp-+-+0
9+-+-vLL+-0
15...a5 16.c2 c6 17.b3 a5
18.c2 c6
9-+-+-zPPzP0
9tR-+-+RmK-0
xiiiiiiiiy
22.xd4 c4 22...bd5 is the engines
Svidlers last round win over Adams put suggestion, with the idea to play ... c7
him in shared second place with Giri, who e6, putting both knights on safe squares.
after beating Harikrishna with black in 23.fc1 xc1+ 24.xc1 f4 25.g3 e6.
Round 3 went on to draw all his remaining 23.fd1 fe8 24.g3 h6 25.g2 e5
games. He had his chances to win several 26.e2 Both sides have consolidated and
more, but as we have seen too often from I thought this would end in a draw soon.
Giri, he failed to convert them. 26...e6 An inaccuracy according to the
The winner Ding Liren scored one of the
Thethbrilliancy of the
135 Varsity Match
By: BCM editors
The match was held at the Royal Automobile Club in Londons Pall Mall area. Oxford
won the match by 43. The overall result is still in favour of Cambridge however,
having won 59 matches, lost 54 (including this one) and with 22 draws.
Although Howard Staunton suggested the match in 1853, it was not until 28th March 1873
(allegedly with the help of Steinitz) did the first official overtheboard Varsity match take
place. Since then it has been the oldest continuous fixture in the chess calendar, interrupted
only by the war years. The winning team is traditionally awarded a handsome gold cup
(originally presented in 1953) to hold for a year.
In 1978 a womans board was introduced, to determine the results in the event of a drawn
match. However, since 1982 the matches comprise of 8 boards with at least one woman
player in each team, the board ranking being solely determined by playing strength.
Many of the great British players took part in the Varsity match: H. E. Atkins, William
Winter, Alan Phillips, Hugh Alexander, Raymond Keene, Jonathan Mestel, Bill Hartston
as well as BCMs Shaun Taulbut, who all played for Cambridge.
On the Oxford side there were strong British players like Jonathan Speelman, John Nunn,
Peter Lee among others.
The following game won the brilliancy prize at this year's Varsity Match (analysis by Shaun Taulbut).
7.axb5 axb5 8.xa8 xa8 9.d3 20.f4 White aims to undermine d5 and play
White has a positional advantage as against the pawns on d4 and e6 and b4.
the b-pawn is slightly weak and not
easily defended unless Black plays 20...c4 On 20...c8 21.b3 a2 22.b1
the horrible....c6 leaving the bishop c4 23.xd4 xb2 24.xb2 xb2 25.e4
entombed. dxe4 26.xe4 with an edge for White.
9...b4 After 9...c6 10.g5 bd7 11.bd2 21.f5 e5 This piece sacrifice is hard to meet
leaves White with the edge because of the over the board and leads to Black having
poor position of the Black queen bishop. good practical chances.
28.h4 xh4 29.1xe3 g5 30.e7+ f7 he friendly rivalry between the two clubs
31.xf7+ xf7 32.f5 e8 33.f2 c5 extended over a century and many strong
34.g3 f3 35.dxc5 e5 36.e2 players participated: Blackburne, Amos
Burn, Rev Owen, Victor Wahltuch, Rev
XIIIIIIIIY Palmer, Edmund Spencer, Gerald Abrahams,
9-+-+r+-+0 Andrew homas, William Fairhurst,
9zpp+-+k+-0 Reginald Broadbent , Alan Phillips to name
only the most distinguished
9-+-+-zp-+0
9+-zPpsnPzpp0
9-+-+-+-+0
9+-+-+-zPR0
9PzP-+LmK-zP0
9+-+-+-+-0
xiiiiiiiiy
This part of the game is well played by
White, opined Lowenthal who seems to
have been annotating by result.
After 8 rounds of the 2016/17 4NCL season the Division 1 table has a familiar feel to
previous years Guildford 1 are on top! This season, however, they are being matched by
Cheddleton, the only other team on a 100% record. This puts us on course for a good old
fashioned Championship decider between the two teams in the final round such as we
used to see when Wood Green were in their prime. Meanwhile 3Cs are also having a fan
tastic season and will be looking to secure a very creditable 3rd place at the final weekend.
In the Demotion Pool both Barbican 2 and Blackthorn Russia are already safe, with Ox
ford 1 almost certain to stay with them. On the other hand Anglican Avengers will need
a miracle to recover as they have yet to secure a match point. Three of the remaining 4
teams will also be relegated with Celtic slight favourites to survive, especially if they win
against Anglican Avengers.
In this article we will examine the most important and exciting games from rounds 36 and
next time we will cover the rounds 711 as the season builds to its climax!
After 8 rounds of the 2016/17 4NCL season the
Division 1 table has a familiar feel to previous
years - Guildford 1 are on top! This season,
however, they are being matched by Cheddleton,
the only other team on a 100% record
Division 1a
1
2 3 4 5 6 7 8 GP Pts
1 Cheddleton 1 5-7 6-2 5-3 7-1 7- 8- 7- 46 14
2 3Cs 1 2-5 5-24-33-46-1 6-1 8-1 36 10
3 Guildford 2 2-6 2-5 4-35-25-2 7- 8-0 35 10
4 Barbican 4NCL 1 3-5 3-43-4 5-3 6-1 6-1 5-233 8
5 Blackthorne Russia 1-7 4-32-5 3-5 5-3 4-35-2 26 8
6 Celtic Tigers -7 1-62-51-6 3-5 4-32-5 16 2
7 South Wales Dragons --8 1-6 1-71-63-43-4 5-115 2
8 Kings Head -7 -1-8 0-8 2-52-55-21-5 11 2
Division 1b
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 GP Pts
1 Guildford 1 5-3 7-1 7- 7- 7-1 7- 47 14
2 White Rose 1 3-5 5-3 4-4 7- 7-1 7-1 5-2 39 11
3 Wood Green HK 1-7 3-5 5-3 6-2 5-2 6-2 7-1 33 10
4 Grantham Sharks 1 -7 4-4 3-5 5-3 4-35-2 5-3 27 9
5 Barbican 4NCL 2 -7 -7 2-6 3-5 6-2 6-2 5-223 6
6 Oxford 1 1-7 1-7 2-53-4 2-6 5-26-1 22 4
7 North East England -7 1-7 2-6 2-5 2-6 2-5 5-2 16 2
8 Anglian Avengers 1 2-6 2-5 1-7 3-5 2-51-62-5 15 0
Championship
1 2 3 45 6 7 8 GP Pts
1 Guildford 1 5-3
7-1 6-1 7- 26 14
2 Cheddleton 1 5-2 6-2 5-3 5-2 22 10
3 3Cs 1 2-5 4-35-24-3 17 10
4 White Rose 1 3-5 5-3 4-4 4-4 16 8
5 Wood Green HK 1-7 3-4 3-5 5-3 12 8
6 Guildford 2 1-6 2-6 2-5 4-3 10 2
7 Barbican 4NCL 1 3-5 3-4 4-4 3-4 14 2
8 Grantham Sharks 1 -7 2-5 4-4 3-5 10 2
POOL A
XIIIIIIIIY
In Pool A its Cheddleton leading the 9r+lwqk+-tr0
charge to the Championship as expected
with 6/6 match wins. After brushing 9+-zpnzppvlp0
aside 3Cs 5.52.5 in round 4 their closest 9-+-zp-+p+0
match to date was against Barbican 1.
Here we see a particularly aggressive 9zp-+nzP-sN-0
game from Simon GingerGM Williams 9Pzp-zP-zP-+0
against the usually solid Peter Sowray. 9+-+L+-+-0
Simon K Williams - Peter J Sowray 9-zPP+N+PzP0
4NCL Division 1a Northampton, ENG (6.14) 9tR-vLQ+RmK-0
xiiiiiiiiy
1.d4 g6 2.e4 d6 3.c3 g7 4.f4 a6 5.f3 11.f5!? also looks dangerous here for
b5 6.d3 d7 7.a4 b4 8.e2 a5 8...c5 example 11...gxf5 12.xf5 dxe5 13.g5
should be more critical here. e6 14.e4 with a strong attack.
11...h6?! Far too provocative - there is
9.00 gf6 10.e5 d5 11.g5 no way this horse is turning back! 11...
e6 was absolutely necessary when after to Stephen Gordon providing the only
12.c4 bxc3 13.bxc3 00 White retains a decisive result with a win over the up-and-
comfortable advantage but Black is still coming Alan Merry.
solid and in the game. Guildford 2 and Barbican 1 will join
12.e6! I dont know how long it took for Cheddleton and 3Cs in the championship
Simon to play this sacrifice but I would pool. Guildford 2 have a very flexible team
imagine is wasnt very long! as many of their players can play for the
12...fxe6 13.xg6+ f8 14.g3 14.f5 first team as well. Yang-Fan Zhou is one
immediately was also very strong. who regularly switches in search of strong
14...g8 15.h5 h7! Peter finds the enough opposition for a potential GM
most stubborn defence but hes already norm. Here he plays top board for the 2nd
in trouble. 15...f8 also defends against team in helping them to an 80 whitewash
the threat of f7+ but now 16.f5 7f6 of Kings Head.
17.exf6 xf6 18.e2 and White has
regained material equality with an Yang-Fan Zhou John C Pigott
overwhelming position.
16.xh7+ Kxh7 17.f5 f8 18.f7! 4NCL Division 1a Northampton, ENG (5.31)
XIIIIIIIIY XIIIIIIIIY
9r+lwq-sn-+0 9-+-wq-trk+0
9+-zp-zpQvlk0 9+-snlvlpzp-0
9-+-zpp+-zp0 9-+nsNp+-zp0
9zp-+nzPP+-0 9+-zp-zP-+-0
9Pzp-zP-+-+0 9r+p+-+-zP0
9+-+-+-sN-0 9+-+-+NzP-0
9-zPP+-+PzP0 9-+-vLQzPL+0
9tR-vL-+RmK-0 9+-tRR+-mK-0
xiiiiiiiiy xiiiiiiiiy
The attack just doesnt stop! 18...d7 22.xc4 White has some pressure for
19.xh6! g8 20.g6+ h8 21.fxe6 the pawn, especially with such a strong
f8 21...xe5 22.xg8+ xg8 23.dxe5 knight on d6 but Black should be holding
xe5 24.f8+ is also hopeless for Black. on for the moment. Unfortunately John
22.xg7+ xg7 23.xf8+ xf8 24.f1 chooses this moment to enter into some
Blacks king has no cover and with his complications that dont quite work out
bishop and rook are taking no part in the in his favour...
defence Sowray decides its time to throw 22...xe5?! Removing the knight from
in the towel. d6 must have come as some relief but
10 Whites rook on d1 is now lining up
Blacks pieces on the open file. Safer
was 22...xc4 23.xc4 d5! 24.xc5
With wins from Vladimir Hamitevici and b8 and chances are about even - Black
Ezra Kirk, a fine win from Barbicans is now threatening to take on e5 in
Alan Merry was only a consolation as relative safety.
Cheddleton ran out 53 victors. 3Cs are 23.xe5 xd6 24.xh6! d5 or
also having an impressive season, only 24...b5 25.g4 f6 26.xa4 xe5
losing to Cheddleton. After defeating 27.g5 g6 28.a7 and White is an
Guildord 2 surprisingly easily at the first exchange up with excellent winning
weekend they edged out Barbican 1 thanks chances. 25.xd7 xd7 26.xg7!
XIIIIIIIIY POOL B
9-+-+-trk+0 In Pool B defending champions Guildford
9+-+q+pvL-0 1 are making serene progress, crushing
most teams - they have three 7.50.5
9-+-vlp+-+0 victories but are yet to manage the full 8
9+-zpn+-+-0 this season - and only being tested at all
9r+R+-+-zP0 by White Rose in round 3. Paul Townsend
and Svetlana Sucikova pulled off surprise
9+-+-+-zP-0 victories for White Rose on the bottom
9-+-+QzPL+0 two boards (against Mark Hebden
and Sophie Milliet respectively) but
9+-+R+-mK-0 Guildfords top 6 were just too powerful.
xiiiiiiiiy Peter Wells drew an interesting game
I suspect this final detail is what Black against Matthew Sadler on top board, but
missed. 26...xc4 26...xg7 27.g4+ Robin Van Kampen was too strong for
wins the rook and the game. Colin McNab on board 2:
27.xf8 c3 28.xc4 xd1 29.h6 The
final trick - Black cannot defend against Robin Van Kampen Colin A McNab
mate on g7 and the knight on d1.
29...e5 30.g4+ h8 31.h5 d4 4NCL Division 1b Northampton, ENG (3.52)
32.d2+ g8 33.xd1 g7 34.c1 XIIIIIIIIY
10
Finally, Barbican 1 are set to push 9-+-+ktr-+0
Blackthorne Russia into the demotion 9zpp+-+p+-0
pool after beating them 5-3 in round
4 with wins from Brian Tarhon and
9-+rzpp+p+0
Alan Merry who is having an excellent 9+-wq-+-+-0
season. 9-+n+PzP-+0
9+-sNR+-+Q0
9PzPP+R+PzP0
9+K+-+-+-0
xiiiiiiiiy
24.d1 As we join the game we see
Robin a pawn up but under a bit of
pressure, however with control of the
centre he should be clearly better. Colin
decides to attack on the queenside before
White can fully coordinate.
24...b6 25.b3 a3+ 26.c1 b5
27.a4 a3+ 28.b1 xa4!? A very
inventive idea but unfortunately this
sacrifice falls just short of working, but
it was worth a try since other moves
offer little hope. For example, 28...c7
29.c3 c5 30.ed2 c6 31.b2 e7
32.e5 d5 33.e4! and White is easily
winning (if now 33...dxe4? 34.d7+
e8 35.d8+ e7 36.2d7#).
Problem
World
by Christopher Jones
cjajones1@yahoo.co.uk
Grandmaster of Chess Composition
Solutions are given on page 254
1 2
XIIIIIIIIY
9-+Lsn-+-+0
9+-+-+-+R0
9-+-+-mkP+0
9+-+-+-+K0
9-+-zP-+-+0
9+p+-+n+-0
9-+-+-+-+0
XIIIIIIIIY
9-+-+-+l+0
9wq-+-zp-+-0
9-+-+r+-zp0
9+-+-+-+-0
9pvL-+N+QmK0
9sN-+kzP-+R0
9-+-+-+-+0
9+-vL-+-+-0 9+-+-+-vl-0
3 4
xiiiiiiiiy xiiiiiiiiy
Colin Russ (Folkestone) David Shire (Canterbury)
Mate in 2 Mate in 2
ORIGINAL ORIGINAL
XIIIIIIIIY XIIIIIIIIY
9-+-+-+-+0 9-+l+-+-+0
9+-+p+-+-0 9+-zp-+-+-0
9-vL-zp-+-+0 9-+-+-+-+0
9+p+-+-+p0 9+n+-+-+-0
9-zPpzPp+-+0 9-+k+-zPp+0
9mK-zP-zP-+P0 9+-+-+-zP-0
9-+-+-+-+0 9p+P+K+-+0
9mkl+R+-+-0 9tr-tr-+-vLL0
xiiiiiiiiy xiiiiiiiiy
Paul Michelet (London) Michael McDowell (Westcliff on Sea)
Mate in 9 Helpmate in 3 - 2 solutions
ORIGINAL ORIGINAL
BCM exclusive
How a new game from America is changing the
culture and life of young people in Africa
At the birth of a
Gambian
chess culture
by Zachary Snowdon Smith
BRITISH CHESS MAGAZINE | 241
04/137
The Gambia is no stranger to residents of the British Isles, as we were there as early
as 1588, paying the Portuguese for rights in the area. Then in 1660s, in pursuit of
economic and trade interests, we got hold of James Island where we build Fort James.
The territory was a source of many things for the British, but that did not include chess
players!
The Gambia is a relatively new country in the chess world. According to information
published by the English Chess Federation, Gambia ceased to be a member of FIDE 25
years ago. They rejoined at the 2012 FIDE Congress held in Turkey.
Upon receiving this piece about chess in this small country on the West African coast,
many of us at BCM wondered: Do we remember ever seeing a Gambian player at a
chess event? A quick look the latest FIDE rating list showed that Gambia has only four
rated players. The highest rated player is Ebrima Bah, a FIDE master with a rating of
2078 points. Further research has shown that this West African country, which gained
independence from Britain in 1965 and with a population 1.8 million, held its first (and
only, as far as we know) chess national championship in 2016. So, it seems that the
Gambian chess scene is in its infancy. However, as the following article shows, chess in
Gambia is gradually taking hold and gaining in popularity with the most dynamic and
talented part of any countrys population, its young people.
BCM Editors
West Africa has its own favourite board game and its called Damm. The game is actually
like checkers played on a 10x10 or 12x12 board. The piecesare generally rough-cut chunks
of wood. Most of the boards are blue-and-red colour. More recently, however, chess is
taking over from damm as the main game in town thanks to the work of chess enthusiasts
from the United States Peace Corps.
People in the West African village of Ballen have been playing damm for as long as the
villages oldest residents can remember. The culture of damm is strongly masculine. Very
few women play it. In this fast-paced game you are expected to exchange taunts as you
play, and you dont just place a piece onto the board: you slam it down.
Today, theres a new game in Ballen, a town on the west coast of Gambia. Its played on a
checkered board, like damm, but the pieces move differently. Whats more, players of this
game manoeuvre slowly and deliberately, and the streams of friendly insults only begin
after particular decisive moments. Unlike damm, this game is played by women as well.
The boy who brought this game to Ballen called it the new game from America.
The Gambia is an often-overlooked nation about half the size of Wales. I arrived here in
June 2015 as an education volunteer with the United States Peace Corps. After two months
technical and language training, I arrived in the bush village of Kapa. My first ideas for
projects in Kapa were conventional: a reading club, music classes and so on. I had come
with a travel chess set in my pack, but it took almost a year for me to bring it out and ask
the other residents of my compound if they wanted to learn to play.
My 14-year-old host brother, Abdou Badjie, was the first to crack the secret of chess: that the
player who pauses before moving is more likely to make a winning move. In this game, you
have to think, he told the other children. Soon, the teenagers who wanted to beat Abdou began
to imitate his deliberate playing style, and the raucous damm culture became moderated a little.
After two months of constantly being passed around, half the pieces in my chess set had
lost their magnets, so I went to Banjul, the capital of Gambia, and bought Abdou his own
chess set. This set was crafted by a woodworker named Omar Jallow and the pieces were
in West African designs: knights were gazelles, rooks were huts and the bishops looked
distinctly unclerical. Omar told me that he had been carving chess sets to sell to tourists
for eight years, but that hed never known how to play the game himself.
The male teachers at Kapa Basic Cycle School were enthusiastic damm players, and
when one of them caught sight of Abdou playing chess, he was curious. I brought my
increasingly battered chess set to school, and it was soon being passed around. None of the
pieces had gone missing yet. I wondered how long my luck would hold out.
At the school, I saw a kind of village chess culture beginning to take shape. This wasnt the
frantic, macho atmosphere of damm, but nor was it sterile and silent. There was still banter
across the board, mixed with the occasional laugh of triumph or exclamation of disbelief
that everything had somehow gone wrong.
Damm is a game, but this chess is like a real war! says Babucarr Mbaye, a teacher. You
cant make even one small mistake. Even a small move at the beginning can make a big
difference later.
Gambian village culture is thoroughly conservative. Power still derives from the alkalo,
a hereditary village chief. Jobs are given out to friends and family as a matter of course.
Boys and girls rarely work or play together. Men might play damm or football; girls play
lampant, a game that could be very approximately described as cricket using a shoe rather
than a ball. Girls are expected to spend their time outside of school cooking, washing
clothes and running errands.
The new game from America helped open the tiniest seam in this wall between the
genders. Abdou accepted challenges from the girls in our compound, and no one seemed
to think it was unusual. It appeared that the assumptions about damm and gender had not
carried over to chess. Abdous female cousin, 14yearold Hawa Jarju, played against male
teachers at school and sometimes won.
One night in my hut I watched as 7yearold Babucarr Tamba checkmated his 17yearold
cousin Muhammed. Muhammed asked me how Babucarr had tricked him. Babucarrs
trick was, simply, the fact that he had practiced more. These boards with their 32 figures
were, in subtle ways, inverting traditional hierarchies of gender, age and status.
I have mostly been an observer of this process and not an instigator. When Abdou
introduced chess to Ballen I knew that I needed more equipment our two sets were not
enough to share between two villages. I applied for and received a $2,700 grant from Let
Girls Learn, an initiative of the US State Department. With that money we were able to
buy enough sets to supply dozens of villages. Other Peace Corps volunteers in Gambia
have also used these supplies to start their own village chess clubs.
In Kapa and Ballen, at least, there is now a distinct way of going about chessplaying.
Quiet, but never silent, many games are crowded by onlookers who hunch and follow
each move. Village life is highly communal, and Western assumptions about privacy and
personal space are not recognized. Therefore, most players dont mind having observers
leaning so close around them that they almost block view of the board. Gambian chess is
a young persons game, and it gives girls a way to assert themselves.
If two women are playing damm, the men will always make a comment like its a good
thing a woman is playing against a woman, because theyre not on my level, said Kristen
Foos, a Peace Corps volunteer.
Over the past month, Kristen has introduced chess to her 14yearold host sister, Amie
Mendy. Amies progress has been slow but steady, and she has never been discouraged by
losing, Kristen says.
Ive seen her gaining confidence, said Kristen. There was a moment when we were
sitting and playing, and one of the men who was brewing attaya [tea] nearby said You
cant play against me. Youre not on my level. He had never played chess before, so Amie
beat him and got to laugh about it: Now what level am I on? she asked
As I write this article at the Peace Corps Banjul office, one of a handful of places in
Gambia with reliable Internet Im preparing for what will be Gambias first youth chess
tournament. Peace Corps volunteers will assemble 20 young Gambians from all regions of
the country to compete with one another and make new connections over three days. The
encouragement we have received from figures like Nazi Paikidze, the 2016 US Womens
Chess Champion, make us optimistic that we will be able to raise money for the equipment
and venue. Twenty competitors will make a small tournament, and the prizes are modest.
But, as a teacher told me, even a small move at the beginning can make a big difference later.
1 XIIIIIIIIY
9-+-+L+N+0
9+-+-+-sn-0
9-+-+-+-+0
9+-+-+-zp-0
9-+-+-+kzP0
9+-+-+-+-0
2 XIIIIIIIIY
9-sN-+-+-+0
9mk-sn-+-sn-0
9-+R+-+-+0
9wqL+-+-+-0
9P+-+-+-+0
9+-+-+-+-0
9-+-+-mK-+0 9KtR-+-+-zp0
9+-+-+-+-0 9+-+-+-+-0
xiiiiiiiiy xiiiiiiiiy
H Aloni Y Hoch
Sahs 1960 WCCT 1972
3 4
win Win
XIIIIIIIIY XIIIIIIIIY
9-+-vL-+-+0 9-+-+-+k+0
9+-+-+-+-0 9+-+-+r+q0
9-+-+-+P+0 9-+l+R+-+0
9+-tr-+-+-0 9+-+-+-zP-0
9-+-+P+k+0 9-+-+-+K+0
9+-+-+-+-0 9+Q+-+-+-0
9-zp-+-+-mK0 9-+p+-+-+0
9+-+-sN-+-0 9+-+-+-+-0
xiiiiiiiiy xiiiiiiiiy
J Roche O Pervakov
Phenix 1988 Moscow Ty 1992
win draw
Spring study
solving test
These four studies were set to solvers first one quickly to save up time for the
in the Finnish and Dutch Open Solving others. You should use a chess set to help
Championships in February and March this you - the competitors are also allowed to
year. Your task is, of course, to beat those use sets.
solvers!
As usual, there are five points for each
There are national solving championships study, and with the solutions Ill show you
in many countries, and they are often how the points were allocated. You need
Opens, meaning that foreign solvers can to find the composers main line; you can
take part (although of course they dont also write down sidelines if youre not sure
become the national champion even if what the main line is, but only the main line
they win). The Finnish event was won by moves earn points. So, look for the most
the Russian junior Aleksey Popov, but the artistic, elegant line.
Dutch event was won by the French senior
Michel Caillaud - at solving, you dont The first two are from the Finnish event;
have to be young to do well! Most of the Popov got the full five points for both of
compositions that the competitors have to them. The Aloni is quite easy and all of the
solve in these events are problems, such as top twelve competitors in the event got it
mates in 2 or more, but each event includes right. Only two, however, got full points
endgame studies and Ive picked these out on the Hoch. In the Dutch event, Solving
for you. Grandmaster Caillaud got full marks on the
Roche, and no other competitor did. Indeed,
Solving in these events is against the clock, Caillaud correctly solved every one of the
so to compare yourself with the competitors, compositions in the event (twelve of them)
give yourself a total of one hour for these except for the Pervakov study. None of the
studies. The four are arranged in ascending competitors got more than two points on it.
order of difficulty, so youll need to do the Can you do better?
CHESSBOARD THuNDERBOLTS
by Colin Russ
Youve been there. The game is flowing ado. Or could there be a perpetual check
along, gently and agreeably. The old there or some other pleasant swindle? No.
fashioned analogical clocks tick is not You must offer your hand and put the best
threatening but soporific. You see nothing in face on it all, trying to appear a good loser,
the position. Perhaps offer a draw? Do you even if you are livid. However, you do not
do that before or after moving? Annoying tip your king: that would be going too far.
that you can never remember. Then the
opponent moves and gazes at you. Slap,
bang, wallop! A thunderbolt! Horrified,
you realise that you must resign without
Se dominated the first rapid game. Playing Asked if he is ready to take on Carlsen, So
with white pieces and having better time replied: I never feel ready to take on anyone.
control, So was victorious after 31 moves. I go into each game just hoping for the best
He forced a draw in the second game, no matter who Im playing! Sometimes lower
sealing his title. rated players can pull unpleasant surprises.
Sometimes higher rated players arent in
After the victory, So had this to say for the form. Anything can happen on any day.
Star Tribune: I really wanted to win this
one this year because its the strongest It seems that Monday, 10th April 2017, was a
national competition in the world. All the great day for So, with the promise of many more
great players have won this one. to come.
(The full analysis of the US Chess Championship will be available in BCMs May issue)
Openings
for Amateurs by Pete Tamburro, ptamburro@aol.com
This position is akin to the All-Purpose of f6-e8-d6 with a lock on e4 is the idea,
Defence position we talked about in a although in the game Benko shows an equally
previous column (The Janowski - Lasker critical thought.
game, analysed in the previous issue of BCM
- note by the editor). Most players know to 8...e8 9.e5 White can try two queen
get to this position, but havent a clear plan moves: 9.e2 cxd4 (9...d6 10.e4 cxd4 11.e5
what to do next. Before this game, I usually dxc3 12.bxc3 (12.exd6 b6+ 13.Kh1 cxb2)
went with 8...b6 with the idea of b7, 12...e8 13.a3 (13.e6 b6+) 13...b6)
which is OK, but not nearly as sharp as what 10.exd4 d6 11.e5 f6 12.g4 fe4
Benko does. Hes going to retreat his knight 13.xe4 dxe4 14.xe4 xe4 15.xe4 f6
to e8. The game doesnt show the idea, but 16.c4 f5! 17.gxf5 xf5 18.e3 (18.xb7
it became really clear as I studied it. Hes d3) 18...b5 19.e5 c8 20.b3 xe5 21.fxe5
switching the knights on f6! The knight path a5 22.f4 d7 (22...e6) or he can go Dutch
Pal Benko
Source: Wikipedia
13...xf6 Also possible right away was 13...e5. Thus, one of the worlds top grandmasters
at that time gave us two excellent ideas to
14.h4 Offering a queen exchange was remember rather than a host of variations.
possible:14.g3 xg3 15.hxg3 b6 16.e4
cxd4 17.cxd4 dxe4 18.xe4 g4, but, again Next time, well look at how it turned out
Black is better. The d-pawn is doomed. against the London System.