Anand Victorious in Linares, with Morozevich and Carlsen second.
Vishy Anand scored his second victory at Linares, the first was in 1998 and became the world number one in the process as Veselin Topalov recorded a rare failure. Anand scored a fighting +3 or 8.5/14 as teenage sensation Magnus Carlsen made another giant leap forward to finish second half a point behind.
The sixteen year old recorded his first victories in an elite event after a couple of events without a win at the Tal Memorial and Wijk aan Zee.
Teimour Radjabov who just turned 20 and was victorious at Wijk aan Zee withdrew from the tournament days in advance after his laptop was stolen prior to the first leg of the tournament at Morelia in Mexico. Radjabov’s replacement Vasily Ivanchuk started superbly but then tired in the second leg in Spain. Peter Svidler started with ten draws and a win but lost badly in the last round to Alexander Morozevich who won his last three games and ended equal second.
Cambridge cause an upset in the 125th Varsity Match
Cambridge University were victorious in the 125th annual Varsity Match, the world's longest running regular chess fixture. With GM Luke McShane on top board and Women IM Olena Boytsun of Ukraine on board two Oxford out-rated Cambridge by over one hundred points per board but Cambridge ran out winners by 5-3 to bring the overall score to Cambridge 56 wins, Oxford 51 with 18 drawn. A full match report was included in Malcolm Pein's Daily Telegraph column.
This book is the first in a brand new series that follows on from My Great Predecessors and sees chess legend Garry Kasparov reflecting on a pivotal time in chess history. Bobby Fischer's spurt towards the chess summit (1970-1972) marked the approach of a new era affecting all aspects of the game and opening theory in particular. Fischer demonstrated the need for deep preparation with both colours, expanded the range of openings knowledge, and laid the foundations for present-day professional chess.
The leader of the new generation, Anatoly Karpov, fully reaped the benefits of the Fischer revolution by mastering the lessons of his great predecessor. Of the players of the older generation, only Victor Korchnoi was able to achieve such a high level of professionalism.
Alas, Fischer then left the chess stage. However, the tectonic shifts he had brought about led to the beginning of a genuine revolution in opening theory and a revolution that overturned traditional impressions about many typical positions. Between 1972 and 1975 alone, progress in the field of opening theory was more significant than in the entire preceding decade! Under Fischer's influence chess was radically regenerated, a process which then continued to accelerate. As a result, from the 1972 Fischer-Spassky world championship match to 1984 and the Kasparov-Karpov matches, the overall picture of chess openings changed almost beyond recognition.
This fascinating book tells the story of this opening revolution. This story is told not only with the insight of Garry Kasparov, but also as seen through the eyes of the leading players who were at the forefront of the development of chess theory during those key years. The reader will witness at first hand how rapidly and inexorably chess development approached the coming computer era.
They say that bishops and fixed pawn centres don't mix, and this certainly seems to be the case here. Black's g7 bishop is a spectator, whilst the g2 bishop seems to be 'biting on granite'. The trick here is to exploit White's pressure against the king whilst allowing the light-squared bishop something more appetising to chew on. Bon appetit!
Solution below
TWIC Puzzle - Hard
White to play and win
In this position White is facing the prospect of a queen exchange into an endgame a pawn down. However the Black king isn't safe from harm yet, and White found an effective way of exploiting this. Can you do the same?
Solution below
The Sharpest Sicilian –
by Kiril Georgiev & Atanas Kolev. The book proposes a repertoire for Black after the moves 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6, based mostly on the Najdorf. Both authors are strong grandmasters and coaches of Bulgarian national teams. Secrets of Practical Chess- by John Nunn.
What is the best way to improve your chess results? Memorizing an opening encyclopaedia, learning endgame theory, solving puzzle positions ... there must be an easier way. How about making the most of your existing talent? In a new and enlarged edition of a highly popular work, John Nunn helps you to do precisely that.
The Philidor Files - by Christian Bauer.
In this book Christian Bauer, himself a renowned Philidor expert, uncovers the secrets behind this intriguing opening. Using his own experience and other top-class Philidor games, Bauer identifies both the critical main lines and the tricky sidelines.
Beating Unusual Chess Openings- by Richard Palliser.
Do you fall to pieces if your opponent plays something strange in the opening? Here's some good news... Beating Unusual Chess Openings is a godsend to those chess players fed up with struggling against all opening moves other than White's main two: 1 e4 and 1 d4
Endgame Virtuoso- by Tibor Karolyi. Anatoly Karpov's reputation as a master of the endgame is well warranted as this new book from New in Chess illustrates. Improve your endgame play whilst appreciating Karpov's incredible endgame strength.
Chess Monthly - published since 1935. March issue out now
Subscribe now to Chess Monthly. All of the latest games are annotated, news from around the world as well as puzzles and tips to help you improve your game - all on your doorstep. Contributors include Boris Gelfand, Nigel Short, Sergei Tiviakov, Jacob Aagaard, Andrew Greet, Daniel King, and Chris Ward. As a subscriber, you also get a 10% discount on all orders (excluding already discounted items), which means the subscription could pay for itself!
Details of how you can subscribe can be found here
Malcolm Pein writes for
the Daily Telegraph (telegraph.co.uk) and you can read his chess
columns along with those of Michael Adams at their Chess
Club.
Game commentary from IM Malcolm Pein
The Sicilian Najdorf English Attack is the number one battleground for top players nowadays. Many play it with both colours. Svidler wins the theoretical battle and outplays Leko who gets into time pressure at the end.
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Be3 e5 [6...e6 was often played by Kasparov but the current defender of the Najdorf faith Veselin Topalov has switched to 6...e5 recently White continues 7.f3 Qd2, g4 and 0–0–0] 7.Nb3 7.Nf3 was played with success by Ivanchuk against Topalov in round 2 7...Be7 8.f3 Be6 9.Qd2 0–0 10.0–0–0 very popular position White is about to play g2-g4, g4-g5 and control d5 while storming the kingside 10...a5!? A funny move to play after a6 but its not easy to meet. [Black also plays 10...Qc7 ; 10...Nbd7 11.g4 b5] 11.Qe1 To meet a4 with Nc5 [If White tries to block the pawn with 11.a4 Nc6 The knight comes to b4 and covers d5] 11...Qc8! [11...a4?! 12.Nc5 a3 13.b3 is good for White.] 12.a3 [12.Bb5 Na6 Nc7 followed by b5!] 12...a4 13.Nd2 Nbd7 14.Kb1 Rd8! White's position is contorted, the knight on d2 being particularly badly placed and Black cannot be prevented from playing d6-d5! which liberates his pieces 15.Bb5 d5 16.exd5 Nxd5 17.Nxd5 Bxd5 18.Qe2 Qc7 19.Ne4 Be6
20.Nc3 Rather than just defend Leko decides to grab a pawn [20.Ng5 was the alternative] 20...Nb6 21.Rxd8+ Rxd8 22.Nxa4 Nc4 23.Bxc4 Bxc4 Black has very active pieces and lots of open lines. Combined with the poorly placed knight on a4 this gives him more than enough for the pawn 24.Qf2 Qc6 25.Nb6 [25.Nc3 looks safer and is met by 25...Be6 26.Rd1 Rc8! with Bxa3 coming] 25...Be6 26.Qe2 f5 27.Re1 Bf6 28.g3 h6 29.Bf2 Leko started to get into into time trouble and so Svidler complicates the game. He could have prepared what follows but his enterprise is rewarded 29...e4!? 30.fxe4 fxe4 31.a4?
[31.Qxe4?? Qxe4 32.Rxe4 Rd1#; 31.c4! was the only chance 31...Bd4 32.Nd5 Bxd5 33.cxd5 Rxd5 34.Bxd4 Rxd4 when the passed pawn gives Black the edge but White has good chances to defend if only because Black has to watch out for perpetual check against his king whcih has only two pawns to protect it] 31...Qd6! 32.c4? Now this loses 32...Qb4 33.Nd5 Bxd5 34.cxd5 Rxd5 35.Qc2 [Rd2 cannot be prevented, if 35.Be3 Bxb2 36.Qxb2 Qxe1+] 35...Rd2 36.Qc8+ Kf7 0-1
Final position after 36...Kf7
Trivia Question #123: Statistically, Garry Kasparov's favourite opponent is Alexei Shirov. Who would be his least favourite?
Answer in the next issue of Chess Express.
Trivia Question #122: Annotating a game between two World Champions, Reuben Fine gave two question marks to Black's third move. Which game was he referring to? – Fischer - Petrosian, Buenos Aires 1971, which began 1 e4 e6 2 d4 d5 3 Nc3 Nc6(??). Fine commented 'Every beginner (even those who have not read my books) knows that Black should not block his QBP. Why Petrosian does so is incomprehensible.'
TWIC Theory is an electronic monthly magazine
with high quality articles delivered in ChessBase, PGN or PDF format.
You can still get the back issues.
Number 26 NovemberIM Andrew Martin on the mainline King's
Indian-Korchnoi's 9 a4!? : 1 d4 Nf6 2 c4 g6 3 Nc3 Bg7 4 e4 d6 5
Nf3 0-0 6 Be2 e5 7 0-0 Nc6 8 d5 Ne7 9 a4!?
Number 27 December GM Bogdan Lalic on the resilient Double Fianchetto Hedgehog, a set up including ...b6, Bb7 g6, Bg7, ...d6.... and c5.
IMPORTANT:
To ensure your privacy you will receive a confirmation message you
must reply to in order to be added to the mailing list.
Make sure to add chessexpress@chesscenter.com
to your list of approved addresses (whitelist) in your spam filter.
Many mail services and ISPs will put mail with links and images into
the "junk" or "spam" filter automatically.
Vishy Anand scored his second victory at Linares, the first was in 1998 and became the world number one in the process as Veselin Topalov recorded a rare failure. Anand scored a fighting +3 or 8.5/14 as teenage sensation Magnus Carlsen made another giant leap forward to finish second half a point behind.
