Dortmund Round 3

Results:
Kramnik-Topalov, 1-0
Nielsen-Sutovsky, 1/2-1/2
Naiditsch-Leko, 1-0
Adams-VanWely, 0-1
Bacrot-Svidler, 1/2-1/2

Standings:
Naiditsch, Nielsen, Van Wely - 2.0
Adams, Kramnik, Leko, Sutowski, Svidler - 1.5
Topalov - 1.0
Bacrot - 0.5

Kramnik-Topalov
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. g3 Bb4+ 5. Bd2 Be7 6. Bg2 O-O 7. O-O c6 8.Bf4 b6 9. Nc3 Ba6 10. cxd5 cxd5 11. Rc1 Nc6 12. Nxd5 Qxd5 13. Ne5 Nxd4 14.Bxd5 Nxe2+ 15. Qxe2 Bxe2 16. Bxa8 Rxa8 17. Rfe1 Bb5 18. Rc2 Nd5 19. Rec1Ba6 20. Bd2 f6 21. Nc4 Rd8 22. a3 Kf7 23. Ne3 h5 24. Nxd5 Rxd5 25. Bb4 Bd826. Rc6 Be2 27. Rd6 Rxd6 28. Bxd6 Ke8 29. Bb8 a5 30. Bc7 Bf3 31. Rc3 Bd5 32. f4 Kd7 33. Bxd8 Kxd8 34. Kf2 Kd7 35. Ke3 e5 36. fxe5 fxe5 37. Rc1 a438. Rf1 Ke6 39. Rf8 b5 40. Rg8 Kf6 41. Rb8 1-0

Nielsen-Sutovsky
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 4. cxd5 Nxd5 5. e4 Nxc3 6. bxc3 Bg7 7. Bc4 c58. Ne2 Nc6 9. Be3 O-O 10. O-O Bg4 11. f3 Na5 12. Bxf7+ Rxf7 13. fxg4 Rxf1+14. Kxf1 Qd6 15. e5 Qd5 16. Bf2 Rd8 17. Qa4 b6 18. Nf4 Qf7 19. Nh3 Qe6 20.g5 Qf5 21. Kg1 Qd3 22. Rd1 Qxc3 23. dxc5 Rxd1+ 24. Qxd1 Bxe5 25. cxb6 axb626. Bxb6 Nc4 27. Bf2 Nb2 28. Qd5+ Kf8 29. Kh1 Bd6 30. Bd4 Qd3 31. Ng1 Nd132. Qf3+ Qxf3 33. Nxf3 Bb4 34. Kg1 Kf7 35. Kf1 Bc3 36. Ke2 Bxd4 37. Kxd1 Bb6 38. Ke2 Ke6 39. g4 Kd5 40. Kd3 Bc7 41. a4 Bf4 42. h4 Bg3 43. a5 e5 44.Nd2 Bxh4 45. Ne4 Kc6 46. Kc4 Be1 47. a6 Bh4 48. a7 Kb7 49. Kd5 Bxg5 50.Nxg5 h5 51. gxh5 gxh5 52. Kxe5 Kxa7 53. Nh3 Kb7 54. Kf5 Kc6 55. Kg5 Kd5 56.Kxh5 1/2-1/2

Naiditsch-Leko
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 g6 4. O-O Bg7 5. c3 Nf6 6. e5 Nd5 7. d4 cxd4 8.cxd4 O-O 9. Nc3 Nxc3 10. bxc3 d6 11. Re1 Qc7 12. exd6 exd6 13. Bf4 Bf5 14.Qa4 Rfd8 15. Qa3 a6 16. Bf1 Rac8 17. Nd2 Na7 18. Rac1 Nb5 19. Qb3 Na7 20.Ne4 Bxe4 21. Rxe4 Re8 22. Rxe8+ Rxe8 23. Rb1 Re7 24. h4 Nc6 25. Qd5 Rd7 26.Bxa6 Na5 27. Bf1 Bf8 28. g3 Rd8 29. c4 Nc6 30. h5 Bg7 31. Be3 Ra8 32. h6 Bf8 33. Qb5 Ne7 34. Bd3 Ra3 35. Rb3 Rxa2 36. Qxb7 Ra1+ 37. Kg2 Qa5 38. Qb4 Qh5 39. Rb1 Rxb1 40. Bxb1 d5 41. c5 Bxh6 42. Bxh6 Qxh6 43. Qb8+ Qf8 44. Qd6 Qe8 45. Ba2 Nc6 46. Bxd5 Nxd4 47. Bxf7+ Kxf7 48. Qxd4 Qc6+ 49. f3 Ke6 50.g4 Qa6 51. Qe4+ Kf6 52. c6 Qa2+ 53. Kg3 Qa7 54. g5+ Kf7 55. Qd5+ Ke7 56.Qe5+ Kf7 57. Qf6+ Kg8 58. Qe6+ Kf8 59. Qc8+ 1-0

Adams-VanWely
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 d6 6. g4 h6 7. Bg2 Nc6 8.h3 Bd7 9. f4 a6 10. Be3 Be7 11. Qe2 Qc7 12. O-O-O Rc8 13. Nxc6 Bxc6 14. Bd4 b5 15. e5 dxe5 16. Bxe5 Qb7 17. Rhg1 b4 18. Bxf6 Bxf6 19. Ne4 Bxe4 20. Bxe4 Qc7 21. Qf3 g6 22. Kb1 O-O 23. h4 Rfd8 24. h5 g5 25. fxg5 Bxg5 26. Bd3 Qc6 27. Qxc6 Rxc6 28. Rge1 Rcd6 29. Re5 Rd4 30. Rg1 R8d6 31. b3 Bf6 32. Ree1 Kg7 33. a4 a5 34. Ref1 Bg5 35. Rg2 Bf4 36. Rgf2 e5 37. Kb2 Kf6 38. Bf5 Kg5 39. c4 Be3 40. Rc2 Rd1 41. Rxd1 Rxd1 42. Re2 Kf4 43. Kc2 Rd6 44. Re1 Rd2+ 45. Kb1 Bd4 46. Kc1 Rf2 47. c5 Rf3 48. c6 Rc3+ 49. Kd2 Rxc6 50. Rf1+ Kg3 51. Be4 Rc3 52. Bd5 Kxg4 53. Bxf7 e4 54. Bc4 Be3+ 0-1

Bacrot-Svidler ended in a draw after 38 moves.

Dortmund Round 2

Leko and Adams drew in 21 moves. Games (and players) like that are absolutely killing our game! At least all the other games were well-fought. White again scored 4-1 for the round.

Standings:
Leko, Adams, Nielsen - 1.5
Naiditsch, Svidler, Topalov, Sutovski, VanWely - 1.0
Kramnik - 0.5
Bacrot - 0

Sutovsky-Kramnik
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. d3 d6 5. O-O g6 6. d4 Bd7 7. Re1 Bg7 8.d5 Ne7 9. Bxd7+ Nxd7 10. Be3 f5 11. Ng5 Nf8 12. exf5 gxf5 13. f4 Qd7 14. c4Neg6 15. Nc3 h6 16. Nf3 e4 17. Nd4 h5 18. Ncb5 Kf7 19. Ne6 Nxe6 20. dxe6+Kxe6 21. Qd5+ Ke7 22. c5 c6 23. cxd6+ Kf8 24. Qb3 cxb5 25. Rac1 Qf7 26.Qxb5 a6 27. Qb6 Kg8 28. Red1 Kh7 29. Rc7 Qf8 30. Bd4 Rg8 31. Qxb7 e3 32.Rf7 Rb8 33. Qd7 Rd8 34. Qxf5 Qxf7 35. Qxf7 Rxd6 36. Kf1 Nxf4 37. Qf5+ Rg638. Qxf4 Rf8 39. Qxf8 Bxf8 40. Bxe3 Re6 41. Kf2 Kg6 42. Rd5 Be7 43. Bc5 Bf644. b3 Be5 45. g3 h4 46. gxh4 Bxh2 47. h5+ Kh7 48. Kf3 Be5 49. Rd7+ Kh6 50.Kg4 Bg7 51. Rd6 1-0

VanWely-Bacrot
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6 5. Nf3 O-O 6. Be2 e5 7. O-O Nc6 8.d5 Ne7 9. b4 Nh5 10. Re1 a5 11. bxa5 Rxa5 12. Nd2 Nf4 13. Bf1 Ra8 14. a4 f515. Ra3 fxe4 16. Ndxe4 b6 17. Nb5 Kh8 18. g3 Nh5 19. a5 bxa5 20. Bd2 Bf521. Rxa5 Qd7 22. Qa4 Rxa5 23. Qxa5 Bxe4 24. Rxe4 c6 25. dxc6 Nxc6 26. Qa1d5 27. cxd5 Qxd5 28. Qe1 Nf6 29. Ra4 e4 30. Nc3 Qd7 31. Bb5 Qh3 32. Qf1Qxf1+ 33. Kxf1 Ne5 34. h3 Rb8 35. Be2 Nf3 36. Bf4 Rd8 37. Nxe4 Nd4 38. Bc7Rc8 39. Rxd4 Rxc7 40. Rd8+ Ng8 41. Nd6 Bf6 42. Ra8 Rc1+ 43. Kg2 Be7 44. Bc4h5 45. Rxg8+ Kh7 46. Rc8 Bxd6 47. Bg8+ 1-0

Topalov-Naiditsch
1. Nf3 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 d5 4. d4 dxc4 5. e4 Bb4 6. Bg5 c5 7. e5 cxd4 8.Nxd4 Bxc3+ 9. bxc3 Qa5 10. exf6 Qxg5 11. fxg7 Qxg7 12. Qd2 O-O 13. Bxc4 a614. O-O Rd8 15. Qf4 b5 16. Qc7 Qf8 17. Bd3 Rd7 18. Qf4 Bb7 19. Rae1 Qg7 20.Be4 Kh8 21. Re3 Bxe4 22. Qxe4 Rd5 23. Nxe6 fxe6 24. Qxe6 Rd7 25. Rg3 Qf826. Re1 Raa7 27. Qf6+ 1-0

Svidler-Nielsen
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nxe5 d6 4. Nf3 Nxe4 5. d4 d5 6. Bd3 Nc6 7. O-O Be78. Re1 Bg4 9. c3 f5 10. Qb3 O-O 11. Nbd2 Na5 12. Qc2 Nc6 13. b4 a6 14. a4Bd6 15. Ba3 Kh8 16. Qb2 Re8 17. b5 axb5 18. Bxb5 Qf6 19. Bxd6 cxd6 20. a5Reb8 21. Ra4 Qd8 22. Rea1 Nxa5 23. Qa3 Bxf3 24. Nxf3 Nc4 25. Bxc4 Rxa4 26.Qxa4 dxc4 27. Qxc4 Qc8 28. Qf7 Qxc3 29. Rf1 Qc8 30. Nh4 Qf8 31. Qxf5 Qxf532. Nxf5 b5 33. f3 Nc3 34. Nxd6 Ne2+ 35. Kf2 Nxd4 36. Ke3 Ne6 37. Rb1 b438. Ne4 g5 39. g3 Kg7 40. Kd3 Rd8+ 41. Ke3 Rb8 42. Kd3 Rd8+ 43. Ke3 Rb8 1/2-1/2

Dortmund Round 1

The Dortmund Super-Tournament started today. The participants are 2700 Club members #2 Topalov, #4 Leko, #6 Kramnik, #7 Svidler, #9 Bacrot and #13 Adams, together with #28 Sutovsky, #38 Nielsen, #48 Van Wely and Germany's fourth strongest player Naiditsch. The official website is here.

It proved to be an exciting first round. The first round produced four White wins out of five games. Hopefully, we will see more of this fighting chess. (Kramnik drew his game with Svidler in 25 moves.) The games are available in PGN format here.

• Leko - Van Wely 1-0
• Adams - Topalov 1-0
• Naiditsch - Sutovsky 1-0
• Nielsen - Bacrot 1-0

Naiditsch-Sutovski
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 e5 6. Ndb5 d6 7. Bg5 a6 8. Na3 b5 9. Nd5 Be7 10. Nxe7 Nxe7 11. Bd3 Bb7 12. Bxf6 gxf6 13. Qh5 d5 14. O-O-O d4 15. Nb1 Qa5 16. a3 b4 17. Qh6 Ng6 18. g3 Rb8 19. f4 b3 20. c4 dxc3 21. Nxc3 Rc8 22. f5 Ne7 23. Qxf6 Rxc3+ 24. Kb1 Rg8 25. bxc3 Qxa3 26. Qb6 Qa2+ 27. Kc1 Kf8 28. f6 1-0

Nielsen-Bacrot
1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. Nc3 a6 5. a4 e6 6. Bg5 a5 7. e3 Be7 8. Be2 Na6 9. O-O O-O 10. Qb3 Nb4 11. Rac1 b6 12. cxd5 Nfxd5 13. Bf4 Nxf4 14. exf4 Bd6 15. g3 Bb7 16. Bc4 c5 17. d5 Bxf4 18. Rcd1 b5 19. axb5 Bd6 20. Rd2 a4 21. Qd1 e5 22. Re1 a3 23. bxa3 Rxa3 24. Qc1 Qa8 25. Ng5 Rd8 26. Nce4 Ra5 27. Qb1 h6 28. Nxd6 hxg5 29. Nxf7 Kxf7 30. Qf5+ Kg8 31. d6+ Bd5 32. Bxd5+ Nxd5 33. Qe6+ Kh7 34. Rxd5 Rxb5 35. Rdxe5 Rf8 36. Rxg5 1-0

Leko-VanWely
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 g6 4. Bxc6 dxc6 5. d3 Bg7 6. h3 Nf6 7. Nc3 Nd7 8. Be3 e5 9. Qd2 h6 10. O-O Qe7 11. Nh2 Nf8 12. f4 exf4 13. Bxf4 Ne6 14. Bg3 Qg5 15. Qe1 Nd4 16. Qf2 O-O 17. Bd6 Bxh3 18. Bf4 Qxg2+ 19. Qxg2 Bxg2 20. Kxg2 Nxc2 21. Rad1 Rad8 22. Rd2 Nd4 23. e5 f5 24. exf6 Rxf6 25. Ng4 Re6 26. Bxh6 Bxh6 27. Nxh6+ Kg7 28. Nf7 Rf8 29. Ng5 Re5 30. Nce4 Rff5 31. Nf3 Nxf3 32. Rxf3 Rd5 33. Rdf2 b6 34. Kf1 Rxf3 35. Rxf3 c4 36. dxc4 Rd4 37. Nc3 Rxc4 38. Ke2 Rh4 39. Kd3 Rh2 40. Ne2 g5 41. Kd2 Kg6 42. Rd3 Rf2 43. Rd7 Rf7 44. Rxf7 Kxf7 45. Nd4 c5 46. Nb5 a6 47. Nc7 a5 48. a4 Kf6 49. Nd5+ Ke5 50. Nxb6 Kd4 51. b3 g4 52. Nc4 g3 53. Ke2 Kc3 54. Nxa5 Kb4 55. Nc6+ 1-0

Adams-Topalov
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. d4 Nxe4 4. Bd3 d5 5. Nxe5 Nd7 6. Nxd7 Bxd7 7. O-O Bd6 8. Nc3 Nxc3 9. bxc3 O-O 10. Qh5 f5 11. Re1 c6 12. Bg5 Qc7 13. c4 Be8 14. Qh3 h6 15. Bd2 Qf7 16. c5 Bc7 17. Rab1 Qd7 18. Qf3 Bg6 19. h4 Qf7 20. Bf4 Ba5 21. Rec1 Bh5 22. Qg3 b5 23. cxb6 Bxb6 24. c3 Kh7 25. Be5 Qg6 26. Qf4 Rae8 27. Re1 Kg8 28. f3 Qf7 29. Bd6 Rxe1+ 30. Rxe1 Re8 31. Rxe8+ Qxe8 32. Be5 Bg6 33. Bxf5 Qf7 34. Bc8 Qxf4 35. Bxf4 Ba5 36. Bb8 a6 37. Bxa6 Bb1 38. a3 Bxc3 39. Ba7 Bc2 40. h5 Kf7 41. Kf2 Bb2 42. Bc5 Bc1 43. Ke1 Bf4 44. Be2 Bb3 45. g4 Ba4 46. Bd1 Bg3+ 47. Ke2 Bb5+ 48. Ke3 Bc7 49. a4 Bc4 50. Bb4 Bh2 51. Kf2 g6 52. hxg6+ Kxg6 53. Be2 Bg1+ 54. Kxg1 Bxe2 55. Kf2 1-0

History of Dortmund Winners 1975-2004

1975 - Heikki Westerinen
1976 - Oleg Romanishin
1977 - Jan Smejkal, Alexander Kochiev
1978 - Ulf Andersson
1979 - Tamaz Georgadze
1980 - Raymond Keene
1981 - Gennady Kuzmin
1982 - Vlastimil Hort
1983 - Mihai Suba
1984 - Yehuda Gruenfeld
1985 - Vlastimil Hort, Stefan Kindermann, Yuri Razuvaev
1986 - Zoltan Ribli
1987 - Yuri Balashov
1988 - Smbat Lputian
1989 - Efim Geller
1990 - Alexander Chernin
1991 - Alexander Chernin, Igor Stohl
1992 - Gary Kasparov, Vassily Ivanchuk
1993 - Anatoly Karpov
1994 - Jeroen Piket
1995 - Vladimir Kramnik
1996 - Vladimir Kramnik, Viswanathan Anand
1997 - Vladimir Kramnik
1998 - Vladimir Kramnik, Michael Adams, Peter Svidler
1999 - Peter Leko
2000 - Vladimir Kramnik, Viswanathan Anand
2001 - Vladimir Kramnik, Veselin Topalov
2002 - Peter Leko
2003 - Viktor Bologan
2004 - Viswanathan Anand

FIDE Top Ten (well, eleven)

1 Kasparov, Garry g RUS 2812
2 Anand, Viswanathan g IND 2788
2 Topalov, Veselin g BUL 2788
4 Leko, Peter g HUN 2763
5 Ivanchuk, Vassily g UKR 2752
6 Kramnik, Vladimir g RUS 2744
7 Svidler, Peter g RUS 2738
8 Polgar, Judit g HUN 2735
9 Bacrot, Etienne g FRA 2729
10 Aronian, Levon g ARM 2724
10 Gelfand, Boris g ISR 2724

Some things to note:
* Kramnik continues his slide, dropping one more slot to #6 as Ivanchuk slipped past him.
* Topalov joins Anand in the #2 slot.

Other noteworthy Top 100 items:
* Karpov is tied for #31 at 2672.
* Korchnoi at age 74 is tied for #99 at 2615.
* The top USA player is Kamsky tied for #18 at 2700.

Topalov Wins First M-Tel Masters

With a score of 6.5/10, one full point over Anand (link to article).

Two Games

ALD-RMD [D21], 2005.5.21

1.d4 d5 2.c4 dxc4 3.Nf3 Nc6 4.Bf4 Bg4 5.e3 Nf6 {5...e5 6.dxe5 Qxd1+ 7.Kxd1 O-O-O+ 8.Kc1 b5 9.a4 Na5 10.Nfd2 Bb4 11.axb5 Bxd2+12.Nxd2 Nb3+ 0-1, Zsifkovits Robert 2121 - Kosztolanczi Gyula 2202, Zalakaros 2001} 6.Bxc4 e6 7.O-O Bd6 8.Bxd6 cxd6 9.Be2 O-O 10.Nc3 Qa5 11.Qb3 b6 12.Nb5 d5 13.Rfe1 Ne4 14.Nh4 Bxe2 15.Rxe2 Rac8 16.Na3 Nb4 17.Nc2? {17.Nf3} Rc4? {17...Qa6! 18.Rae1 Nxa2} 18.Nxb4 Rxb4 19.Qd3 Rc8 20.a3 Rbc4 21.h3 Rc1+ 22.Rxc1 Rxc1+23.Kh2 g6 24.f3 Nd6 25.g4 Nc4 26.Ng2 b5 27.Rc2 Qc7+ 28.f4 Rxc2 29.Qxc2 Qd6 30.Qe2 a5 31.Ne1 f6 32.Nf3 a4 33.Kg3? {33.Nd2} g5? {33...b4! 34.axb4 Qxb4} 34.Qf2 {34.Ne1} b4 {34...gxf4+ 35.exf4 b4} 35.axb4 Qxb4?{35...gxf4+! 36.exf4 Qxb4} 36.fxg5 Qxb2 37.Qxb2 Nxb2 38.gxf6 Kf7 39.g5 a3 40.Nd2? {40.Ne1!} a2? {40...Nc4!} 41.Nb3 Nd1 42.Kf4 Nf2 43.h4 Nd3+ 44.Kf3 Nc145.Na1 Nd3 {Elapsed times 0:27-0:21} 46.e4 Kg6 47.exd5 exd5 48.Ke3 Ne1 49.Kf4 Nd3+ 50.Ke3 Nb4 {At this point I was too short of time to continue writing the moves. Even though Black has sufficient counterplay to draw despite White's extra pawn, I eventually won this endgame. My wife played a great game as usual, but the endgame remains her weakness.} 1-0

RMD-ALD [B51], 2005.5.12

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 d6 4.Nc3 Bd7 5.d3 Nf6 6.O-O g6 7.Bc4 {An odd way to lose a tempo. - ALD; 7.Bg5} Bg7 8.Nd5 e69.Nxf6+ Bxf6 10.c3 Ne5 11.h3 b5 12.Bb3 O-O 13.c4 b4 14.Bf4 Nxf3+15.Qxf3 Bxb2 16.Bxd6 Bxa1 17.Rxa1! Qb6 {To prevent 18.Bxc5. - ALD}18.Be5 {The bishop is too valuable to part with by playing 18.Bxf8. - RMD; An interesting exchange sacrifice. With my dark-squared bishop gone, my wife's bishop on e5 remained a thorn on my side for the rest of the game. - ALD} f5 {18...f6} 19.exf5 exf5 {19...Bc6} 20.a3 a5? 21.axb4 Qxb4? {Here I had been about to play 21....axb4 when I realized that this would leave my rook en prise. However, this is just as bad. Better is 21....Qe6. - ALD} 22.Qd5+ Rf7 {22...Be6 23.Qxe6+ Rf7} 23.Qxa8+ Rf824.Qd5+ Rf7 25.Rb1! a4? {Better is 25...Qb6 not that my game could be saved in any event. - ALD} 26.Bc2 1-0

FIDE World Championship 2005-2007

A new announcement (30 April) explained that the Argentine event was the first in a series of events to replace the much maligned FIDE Elimination (Knockout) as a determinant of future World Champions. • 'The World Chess Championship cycle shall be organised in 2005/07 and will include the following events : National Championships, Zonals and Continental Championships, World Chess Cup (the 128 player knock out tournament), the Last Chance Super Tournament and the World Chess Championship matches.'

Regulations for the 2005-2007 World Chess Championship Cycle

Book Review: Chess Strategy for the Tournament Player

Like the previous two books in the Comprehensive Chess Course series, this book gives the impression of having been slapped together in a weekend.

The selection of ideas (good vs bad bishop, weak and strong squares, etc) is mundane. This book adds nothing in that area. Reshevsky's Art of Positional Play is much better.

The selection of games and positions to illustrate these ideas is also particularly uninspired. Pachman's Complete Chess Strategy does a much better job selecting material.

The lack of commentary and analysis borders on the obscene for a book that claims it will help one become a master. I've given games of speed chess more thorough analysis than this. Where the analysis seems particularly educational and/or thorough, you can be sure it is merely a recompilation of previously published analysis. As just a couple (of many) examples, the analysis of Botvinnik-Boleslavsky (p182) comes from Botvinnik's 100 Selected Games, and the analysis of Tarrasch-Lasker (p217) comes from Reti.

Worst of all, analysis from earlier sources is uncritically poached without the slightest attempt at verification. For example, the analysis of MilnerBarry-ZnoskoBorovsky is taken from Euwe's Judgment & Planning in Chess. In that book, Euwe ends with "if 24....fxe5, White plays 25.Qg6 Bf6 and the game is decided by the invasion of the rooks by means of 26. Rfc1 when nothing can be done about 27.Rc7." Alburt & Palatnik copy this sentence almost verbatim. What Euwe missed (and Alburt & Palatnik didn't even bother to look for) is that Black has 26....e4 27.Rc7 Qxd4+ as a perfectly good defense and White is down a bishop for nothing.

You will learn nothing from this book; save your money.

One parting thought: What are these "secret Russian training methods" of which they repeatedly speak? I found nothing particularly pedagogical about their approach and much to criticize.

The 2004 Chess Oscar

goes to Anand.

Chess Oscars 1967-2003

1967 - Larsen
1968 and 1969 - Spassky
1970, 1971 and 1972 - Fischer
1973, 1974, 1975, 1976 and 1977 - Karpov
1978 - Korchnoi
1979, 1980 and 1981 - Karpov
1982 and 1983 - Kasparov
1984 - Karpov
1985, 1986, 1987 and 1988 - Kasparov
(From 1989 through 1994 the Oscar was not awarded)
1995 and 1996 - Kasparov
1997 and 1998 - Anand
1999 - Kasparov
2000 - Kramnik
2001 and 2002 - Kasparov
2003 - Anand

Two Old Games

ALD-RMD [D55]

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 d5 3.Nc3 e6 4.Bg5 Be7 5.Nf3 O-O 6.e3 = Nc6 {My wife often plays this in this kind of position. I personally don't like it because it closes off the possibility of playing ...c5.} 7.Bd3 h6 8.Bxf6 {Better is 8.Bh4 since this bishop should not be traded off in the QGD.} Bxf6 9.cxd5 {Like my eighth move, this is a move which could have been ruled out on general principles without calculation. In the QGD White does not play cxd5; better is 9.O-O.} exd5 = 10.Qc2 {10.O-O -0.15 CAP} Nb4 11.Qd2 {11.Bh7+!? Kh8 12.Qb3 Nxa2 13.Qxa2 Kxh7 14.Nxd5 Bg4 -0.10d14 Tiger 2004} Bg4 12.Be2 Bf5 13.O-O Qd6 {13...Qd7} 14.Nb5 Qe7 15.Nxc7 Rac8 {15...Qxc7 16.Qxb4} 16.Nb5? {16.Rfc1 hangs on to the extra pawn.} Rc2 17.Qd1 Rxb2 {17...Rxe2 18.Qxe2 Bd3 19.Qd2 Bxb5} 18.a3 Nc6 {Too passive; 18...Nc2!?} 19.Bd3? {It wasn't immediately obvious to me, but this loses a piece. My wife saw it almost instantly; 19.Nc3} Bxd3 20.Qxd3 Qe4 21.Qxe4 dxe4 22.Ne5 {22.Rfb1 Rxb1+23.Rxb1 exf3 24.gxf3} Rxb5 23.Nxc6 {Why trade another piece when I'm already down? This made no sense; 23.a4} bxc6 24.Rfc1 Rb6 {24...c5!} 25.a4 a5 26.Rc5 Ra627.Rac1 Rc8 {27...Rb8! defends the pawn indirectly.} 28.g3 Be7 29.Re5 Ba3 30.Rc3 Bb4 31.Rc4 Kf8 32.Rxe4 Ra7 33.Kg2 Re7 34.Rxe7 Kxe7 35.d5 {Premature; 35.Kf3} Kd6 36.dxc6 Rxc6 37.Rf4 f6 38.Rg4 g5 39.Rd4+ Kc5 40.h3 Rd6 0-1 {Maybe I resigned just a bit too soon, but Black's win is a matter of simple technique. 41.Re4 Rd2 42.Re7 Ra2 43.Rf7 Bc3 44.h4 Kb4 45.h5 Kxa4 -4.22/d14 Tiger 2004}

RMD-ALD [C68]

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Bc4 Nf6 = 5.Nc3 {5.O-O} Bc5 6.d3 O-O 7.O-O d6 8.h3 {8.Bg5; 8.Nd5=} b5 9.Bb3 {-0.52 CAP} Bb7 {9...Na5 is probably best here; 9...h6 is the most commonly played move.} 10.Ng5 Qd7 11.Nd5 Nxd5 12.Bxd5 h6 13.Nxf7?! {My wife loves to make this exchange whenever she has the opportunity, but seldom manages to achieve an advantage with it.} Rxf7 14.Bxf7+ Qxf7 15.Qg4 {15.Be3} Rf8! {Correctly calculating that there is nothing to fear from 16.Bxh6.} 16.Bxh6 Kh7? {A complete waste of time. Better to continue my own plans with 16....Bc8.} 17.Bg5 {17.Be3 is still best.} Qg6 {17...Bxf2+} 18.Kh2 Rxf2? {This exposes Black to an extremely deep winning combination by White, which fortunately for me my wife did not find. That is hardly surprising since even in analysis, it took me a very long time to work through all the complications.} 19.Qh4+ {19.Rxf2! Bxf2 20.Rf1! Qf7 (if the bishop retreats, then 21.Rf8 wins instantly for White) 21.Kh1! (to get the White King out of reach of the dark-squared bishop) Nd4 after which Black has no saving move, for example 22.Bh4 Qe6 23.Qh5+ Qh6 24.Qxh6+ gxh6 25.Bxf2 +-} Kg8 20.Rxf2 Bxf2 21.Qxf2 Qxg5 22.Rf1 Qe7 23.h4 Nd4 24.h5 Ne6 25.Qa7 {An odd move, taking the White queen away from the main action.} Qh4+ 26.Kg1 Nf4? {26...Bc8 27.Qa8 Qd8} 27.Qxb7??? {27.Rxf4! exf4 28.Qxb7 =} Ne2#

Two Games

RMD-ALD, 2/12/2005 [B20]

1.e4 c5 2.e5 Nc6 3.Nf3 e6 4.Bb5 Qc7 5.Qe2 {5.Bxc6 Qxc6 6.O-O ...1/2-1/2, Koc Przemyslaw 2330 - Bus Mariusz 2370, Wisla 1998} d6 {5...Nge7 ...1-0, Kuindzhi Alexander - Keogh Eamon, Hague 1961} 6.d4!? cxd4 7.Nxd4 dxe5 8.Nxc6 bxc6 9.Ba4 {9.Qf3!?} Qa5+ {9...Bc5} 10.Nc3 Nf6?? 11.Bxc6+ Ke7 {I might as well just have resigned at this point.} 12.Bxa8 g6 13.O-O? {13.Bd2 Qb6 14.O-O-O} Ba6 14.Qf3 Bxf1 15.Bg5 {A very good in-between move, so White can recapture Rxf1 instead of Kxf1. However, 15.Qb7+ was even stronger.} Bg7 16.Rxf1 {16.Qb7+} h6 17.Bh4 g5 18.Bg3 Rd8 19.h4 e4 20.Bxe4 Nxe4 21.Qxe4 Bxc3 22.bxc3 Qxc3 23.Qh7 {23.Be5!} Rh8 24.Qd3Qc6?? {Of course, trading queens loses. However, not trading queens loses even faster.} 25.Qa3+! 1-0 {25...Kf6 26.Qb2+ Ke7 27.Qxh8 Qd5 28.Qxh6 g4}

ALD-RMD, 4/24/2005, [D06]

1.d4 d5 2.c4 Nf6 {My wife's standard response to the Queen's Gambit, but not altogether satisfactory.} 3.Nc3 Bf5 {3...dxc4} 4.Bg5 Ne4 {4...e6} 5.Nxe4 Bxe4 6.f3 {As I played this, I had second thoughts about whether this was best. However, post-mortem analysis seems to indicate that this was ok after all.} Bg6 7.e3 {7.Qb3 ...1-0, Suabedissen R - Fischer Jakob, Wewelsburg 1996} Nc6 8.Bd3 {8.Qb3} Qd6 {8...dxc4 9.Bxc4 f6 =} 9.Qb3 {I couldn't see this at the time, but this move unleashes a quasi-forced sequence that leads to the loss of pawn; 9.c5!} Qb4+ 10.Qxb4 Nxb4 11.Bxg6 hxg6 12.Kd2 {My wife criticized this move, but analysis bears it out. This is the strongest way to prevent ...Nc7. However, now White goes down a pawn with no compensation.} dxc4 13.Nh3 {Right after I played this I spotted the stronger 13.e4.} f6 14.Bf4 {14.a3 Nd3 15.Bf4 c5} Nd5 {14...O-O-O} 15.Rac1 b5 16.e4 Nb4!? {16...Rxh3! 17.exd5 (17.gxh3? Nxf4) Rh5 18.Bxc7 Rxd5 but not 16...Nxf4? 17.Nxf4} 17.a3? {17.Bxc7 is the only reasonable move here.} Nd3 18.Rc2? e5? {18...Rxh3 19.gxh3 Nxf4} 19.dxe5? {19.Be3 O-O-O 20.d5} fxe5? {19...Rxh3 20.gxh3 Nxf4 21.exf6 gxf6} 20.Bg3 O-O-O 21.Ke2 Bc5 {21...Be7} 22.Rd1 {22.Ng5} Bd4 23.Rb1 Rh5 {A very odd position for the rook; 23...a6} 24.f4 {24.b3 g5 =} a6 {24...exf4! 25.Nxf4 Nxf4+ 26.Bxf4 Rf8} 25.fxe5 Nxe5 {25...Bxe5! 26.Bxe5 Rxe5} 26.Nf4 Rh6 {An even odder move than 23....Rh5 since the pawn is already defended by the knight; 26...Rhh8} 27.Ne6 Ng4 {Black has dissipated her advantage. Now despite the extra pawn, this position is equal or even microscopically in White's favor; 27...Rd6} 28.Nxd8 Kxd8 29.Rd2 c5 30.h3 {I worried about this move after making it, but analysis confirmed my over-the-board instinct.} Ne3? {30...Nf6} 31.Kf3? {31.Bf4 Nxg2 32.Bxh6 gxh6} Ke7? 32.Bf4 c3 33.bxc3 Bxc3 34.Bxe3 {34.Rd3 is even stronger.} Bxd2 35.Bxd2 {The rest of the game is just a matter of technique.} Rh8 36.Bg5+ Ke6 37.Kf4 {37.Rd1} Rf8+ 38.Ke3 Rc8 39.Rd1 a5 40.Bf4 Rc6 41.Kd3 b4 42.axb4 cxb4! {42...axb4? 43.Kc4! letting the king in next to the pawns, so in this case the general principle of recapturing towards the center has to be violated. - RMD} 43.Rc1 Kd7? {43...Ra6! not just avoiding the exchange of rooks but placing the rook on a strong square behind the passed pawn.} 44.Rxc6 Kxc6 45.Kc4 Kd7 46.Be5 Ke6 47.Bxg7 Kd7 48.h4 Ke6 49.g4 Kf7 50.Bd4 Ke6 51.h5 Kf7 52.hxg6+? {Prolongs the game unnecessarily; 52.h6!} Kxg6 {With my next move I embarked on a totally wrong strategic plan, leaving my king to deal with Black's two passed pawns while the bishop tried to help my own pawns advance. This is completely backwards. I should have played 53.e5 and prepared to move my king forward to help the pawn queen while my bishop dealt with the Black pawns.} 53.Be3 Kf6 54.Bf4 Ke6 55.g5 Kf7 56.Bc7 Kg6 57.Bd8 {57.Bxa5 was a quicker win.} Kh5 58.e5 Kg6 59.Kb3 {59.e6! and the pawn cannot be stopped.} Kf5 60.Bf6 Ke6 61.Ka4 {I don't understand why I was playing such a slow game. This game could probably have been won in 15 moves fewer than it took me; 61.g6} Kf7 62.Kxa5 b3 63.Kb4 b2 64.e6+ Kxe6 65.Bxb2 {Black should have resigned here.} Kf7 66.Bf6 Kg6 67.Kc5 Kf5 68.Kd6 Kg6 69.Ke7 Kf5 {White: 0:37, Black: 0:41} 70.Kf7 1-0

January Tournament Games Analysis

My original off-the-cuff analysis written the day after the tournament can be found here. The following is slightly more thorough (but not necessarily more accurate) analysis, performed with the help of Tiger 2004.

Round 1: Ananya Roy (1018) - ALD (1499), Giuoco Piano [C50]

1.e4 e5 {I pondered whether to play my usual 1. ... c5, but decided that a kid learning the game now would probably be much more up on all the latest Sicilian theory than I could hope to be, so I decided on 1. ... e5 instead. Of course, this could have backfired if my opponent had taken me down obscure Ruy Lopez variations.} 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 {Boy, did I luck out. My wife and I play the Giuoco often. I felt like cheering when I saw this.} Bc5 4.d3 Nf6 5.Bg5 {5.c3, 5.Nc3 and 5.O-O are all more common, but the text move is OK too. However, it turned out to be more successful for White than she had any right to expect simply because I failed to notice that anything unusual had happenedand that the line we were in was very different from what you usually see inthe Giuoco. Two thoughts: (1) I know I am out of practice and that's why I hadproblems navigating through this opening correctly, but (2) back in my day a1000 rated player could not have successfully done so either. The times, they are a-changing.} O-O {This is incorrect and is the cause of Black's future problems. The correct plan is 5.... d6 followed by 6.... Be6 and later ...Qe7, preserving the option to castle queenside depending on how things develop. Also 5. ... h6 is very playable.} 6.Nc3 {Not just the natural move, but clearly the strongest move in this position, with the strong threat of 7. Nd5.} Bb4 {The best might be 6. ... Be7 relieving the pin. I didn't want to pull the bishop back, but moving it again this way is no good either, especially since White is obviously just going to castle so that the problem of Nd5 is still not solved. Either 6. ... d6 or 6. ... h6 is also still good.} 7.O-O Bxc3 {The bishop has had to move three times to prevent Nd5. A wonderful illustration of Nimzowitsch's chess principle that the threat is stronger than the execution. White never got to play Nd5, yet Black's position is already somewhat inferior.} 8.bxc3 d6 9.d4 {Not the strongest move here, it allows Black to equalize.} Bg4 {9...h6 10.Bxf6 Qxf6 11.d5 Ne7 12.Rb1 a6 13.a4 b6 -0.08/d16 Tiger 2004} 10.Bb5 {10.d5} Bxf3 {Not best; not only does it bring the queen to bear on f6, but it leaves Blackwith two bad knights against White's two good bishops. 10....h6 is still the move.} 11.Qxf3 exd4 12.Bxc6 bxc6 13.Bxf6 gxf6!? {13. ... Qxf6 is objectively better and I even thought so at the time, but I thought that keeping the queens on the board gave me better practical chances. Elapsed times at this point were White 0:12 and Black 0:15.} 14.Qg4+ Kh8 15.cxd4 Rg8 16.Qf5 Rg5 17.Qf3 Qe7 18.h4 Rg619.h5 Rg5 20.Rfe1 c5 21.e5 Rag8 22.exf6 Rxg2+ 23.Kh1 Qd8 {By this point something interesting psychologically had happened. I had been under pressure for so long that I failed to realize that I had managed to equalize and was maybe even microscopically better now. Elapsed times at this point were White 0:23 and Black 0:32.}24.Re7?? R8g5?? {24...R2g4!! with the threat of 25....Rh4+, which can only be stopped by 25.Qxg4 Rxg4, and Black wins instantly.} 25.Rae1 Qg8 26.Re8 Rg1+ 27.Kh2 R5g2+ {Elapsed times at this point were White 0:30 and Black 0:40.} 28.Kh3 Black Resigns??? {Of course all I had to do is play 28....Rxe1 29.Rxg8+ Rxg8! (all I had seen was 29....Kxg8?? 30.Qa8+ Re8 31.Qxe8#) with approximate equality. Because of the disheveled pawn structure the queen might be slightly stronger than the two rooks, but there is still everything for me to play for. If only I had played one more move before resigning, I would surely have seen 29....Rxg8. Ouch!}

Round 2: ALD (1499) - Christopher Roberts (893), QGD Semi-Slav Defense [D43]

1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nc3 e6 4.Nf3 Nf6 5.Bf4 {5.Bg5} Nbd7 6.e3 Qa5 {6...Be7} 7.a3 {7.Nd2} c5 {This move is inaccurate.} 8.Bd3 {But this fails to take advantage of it. 8.dxc5! Qxc5? (8...dxc4!) ...1-0, Jackova Jana 2331 - Decka Eliska 2069, Chrudim 1993} cxd4 9.exd4 Nb6? {9...dxc4 10.Bxc4 Ne4} 10.b4 Qa6? {White: 0:06, Black: 0:07. 10...Bxb4 11.axb4 Qxb4 is actually the lesser evil here.} 11.c5? {I thought this won the queen; I overlooked Black's strong (but in hindsight obvious) reply. The rust continues to show. 11.Nb5!! with the threat Nc7 wins immediately.} Nc4 12.Qb3 {12.O-O} b5 13.cxb6 {Continuing to dissipate my advantage. This was a very strong pawn, which in addition to being passed is cramping Black's queenside. Correct was still 13.O-O.} axb6 14.O-O Be7 15.Rfd1 b5 16.Ne5 O-O 17.Be2 Bb7 18.a4 bxa4 {White: 0:22, Black: 0:21} 19.Rxa4 Qb6 20.Rxa8 {20.Nxc4 dxc4 21.Bxc4 doesn't work because after 21....Rfd8 White can't hold on to the extra pawn.} Rxa8 21.Nxc4 dxc4 22.Bxc4 Qc6? {Now Black is down a pawn for nothing. 22...Qxb4.} 23.d5exd5 24.Bxd5 Nxd5 25.Nxd5 Bf8 {White: 0:31, Black: 0:26. 25...Bxb4 26.Be5 (26.Nxb4?? Qxg2#; 26.Qxb4?? Qxd5!) Bf8 27.Qg3 Qg6 =} 26.h3 Rd8 27.Ne3 Bxb4?? {First the in-between move 27...Rxd1+ 28.Qxd1 and only then 28....Bxb4.} 28.Rxd8+ Bf8 29.Qd5 {29.Qa3 is a much faster win.} Qb6 30.Qd4 Qe6? {This allows a textbook finish, but due to the material deficit Black is lost in any event.} 31.Rxf8+ Kxf8 32.Qd8+ Qe8 {White: 0:37, Black: 0:35} 33.Bd6+ 1-0 {33...Kg8 34.Qxe8#}

Round 3: Harrison Ling (1116) - ALD (1499), Sicilian [B45]

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 e6 6.Bd3?? Be7?? 7.O-O?? O-O?? 8.Re1?? d6?? 9.Be3 {Finally! The knight on e4 has been hanging for 3 moves. That's what happens when you play the opening by rote (both of us).} Bd7 10.Qf3 Rc8 11.Nxc6 Rxc6 {11...Bxc6} 12.Bxa7? {This pawn is poisoned. 12.Nb5 Ra6 13.a4 (13.Nxa7 Ra5) Qb8} b6 13.Bb5 {13.Nb5 is still better.} Rc5 {13...Rxc3! 14.Qxc3 Bxb5} 14.Bxd7? {14.Bxb6! Qxb6 15.Bxd7 Nxd7 16.Na4 Qb7 17.Nxc5 Nxc5 =} Nxd7 15.Qe3 {This position is deceptively complex. Navigating the thicket with the help of Tiger 2004, I found the following: 15.a4 Ne5 [15...Ra5 16.Nb5 Qa8 17.Qe3 Rxa7 18.Nxa7 Qxa7; 15...Qc7 16.Nb5 Qb7 17.Qe2 Ra8 18.b4 Rxb5 (18...Rcc8 19.a5 Rxa7 20.Nxa7 Qxa7) 19.axb5 Rxa7 (19...Bf6 20.Ra6 Bc3 21.Rb1 Rxa7); 15....Qa8 16.Nb5 transposes to the previous line] 16.Qe2 Ra5 17.Nb5 Nc6 18.c3 Bf6 (18...Nxa7? 19.b4 Ra6 20.Nxd6!) 19.b4 Rxa7 20.Nxa7 Nxa7 21.Ra3 Qc7 so that in all lines I ended up with B+N for R+P. A downright fascinating position!} Qa8 16.Na4 {16.b4} Ra5 {White: 0:05, Black: 0:10} 17.Nxb6 Qxa7 18.Nc4 Rxa2?? {18...Qxe3 19.Rxe3 Rc5} 19.Rxa2?? {19.Qxa7 Rxa7 20.Rxa7} Qxa2 20.Qc3 Rc8 21.b3 Qa6 22.Ra1 Qb7 23.f3? {23.Qe3} Bf6! {It's all over; or 23...d5! 24.exd5 exd5 25.Qe1 Bc5+ 26.Ne3 Re8} 24.Qe1 Bxa1 25.Qxa1 Ra8 26.Qb2 Qa7+ 27.Kf1 Qa1+ 28.Qxa1 Rxa1+29.Ke2 Ra2 30.Kd3 Nc5+ 31.Kc3 Nb7 32.Kb4 {32.b4} Kf8 {Not best (32...Rxc2!), but this is irrelevant. (White: 0:14, Black: 0:21)} 0-1

Round 4: ALD (1499) - Will Lugar (1115), QGD Slav Defense [D15]

{Going into round 4, I had 2 points and no other player in the Under-1500 category had more than that. So if I could win the last game, I would be assured of at least a portion of the prize.} 1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Nf3 a6 5.Bg5 Nbd7 6.e3 e6 7.Bd3 Be7 8.O-O O-O 9.Qc2 h6 10.Bh4 Re8 11.Rac1 b5 {11...dxc4} 12.c5 Qc7 {White: 0:06, Black: 0:07} 13.Bg3 {This wasted a tempo. Where is the queen threatening to go? a5! So why just push it along in that direction? Better to just lock up the queenside with 13. b4.} Qa5 14.a3 Qd8 15.b4 a5 16.Ra1 a4 {White: 0:13, Black: 0:15} 17.Rfe1 Bb7 18.e4!? {18.h3} dxe4 {18...Nxe4 19.Bxe4 dxe4 20.Nxe4 Nf6} 19.Nxe4 Nd5 {19...Nxe4 20.Rxe4 Nf6 21.Re2 Qc8} 20.Bd6 Bf6 {20...N7f6 21.Bxe7 Rxe7} 21.Nc3 Nxc3 22.Qxc3 Be7 23.Bf4 Nf6 {White has had a small but definite advantage all game. At this point, I pretty much thought I had the game strategically won. I was now headed to the hole at d6 with my knight, but the move I selected was absolutely horrible tactically.} 24.Nd2?? Nd5! 25.Bh7+ {This bishop is less valuable than the other one.} Kxh7 26.Qd3+ Kg8 {White: 0:26, Black: 0:26} 27.Be3? {Duh! I played 25.Bh7+ in order to preserve this bishop. Why allow it to be traded now? Better is 27.Be5! not that the game can be saved in any event.} Nxe3 28.fxe3 Bf6 {28...e5!} 29.Ne4 e5 {29...Be5} 30.Nd6 {30.d5!} Re7 31.Re2? {31.Rf1} exd4 32.exd4? {The end; 32.Rf1 dxe3 33.Rxe3 Rxe3 34.Qxe3 held out longer.} Rxe2 33.Qxe2 Bxd4+ {White: 0:35, Black: 0:35.} 1-0 {And that was that. No prize for me.}

What are they smoking at FIDE?

I'd like some...

FIDE is pleased to announce that the World Chess Championship Tournament 2005 will take place 27 September - 16 October in the city of San Luis, Argentina, under the aegis of the Province of San Luis. The ongoing bidding procedure concerning the World Championship 2005 has been resolved in favour of the Luis candidacy, whose negotiation team in Athens offered on 15 April a prize fund of USD 1,000,000 for the event. The offer is backed by a financial guarantee and an agreement concerning further organizing details has been signed by Governor of San Luis, Alberto Rodriguez Saa, and FIDE President Kirsan Ilyumzhinov.

FIDE is positive that the games will be held successfully in San Luis and this year's World Chess Championship will further establish the image of chess as a competitive and educational sport not only in Argentina but in whole geographical region of South America. Towards this aim, the attractive image and the positive reputation the province of San Luis are considered as valuable assistance to FIDE’s efforts.

The format of the tournament will be an 8-player double round robin. The total prize fund of USD 1,000,000 be distributed to the players according to the final standings, as described in the official regulations, with the World Champion receiving the valuable title and the amount of USD 300,000. The final list of the 8 world-class Grandmasters who shall contend this year for the ultimate title of World Champion will soon be announced, in accordance with the official regulations of the World Chess Championship Tournament 2005.

(I tried to link directly to FIDE's website, but their server is down now.)

The eight players have been announced: Knock-out world champion Kasimdzhanov and runner-up Adams, Classical world champion Kramnik and challenger Leko, and four top players according to Elo rating - Kasparov, Anand, Topalov and Morozevich.

Some thoughts:
(1) "valuable title"? Ha ha!
(2) FIDE continues to create events without consulting players, as well as hallucinating bank guarantees on desks.
(3) Hasn't FIDE heard? Kasparov retired! (Would Svidler be offered his place?)
(4) Just a double round-robin to determine the world champion?
(5) Why would Kramnik agree to this psychotic plan?
(6) What happens after this event? There's no plan for a new cycle? Will the circus continue? Who cares if the title is "unified" if there's no system in place for finding the next challenger.
(7) Of course, Mig points out on his website that the the tournament regulations state that "The four top players will automatically qualify for the knock-out matches of the next cycle." If the knock-out format is still FIDE's idea of a world championship, then what's being billed as a unification event is nothing more than just a cheap attempt to absorb Kramnik's classical title in order to destroy it.

Book Review: The King in Jeopardy

The King in Jeopardy is the fourth book in Alburt & Palatnik's Comprehensive Chess Course. This book is better than its predecessor in the series, Chess Tactics for the Tournament Player, which I reviewed previously. However, given the particularly low bar set by Chess Tactics, that still means King in Jeopardy is a pretty weak book. Some observations:

• The collection of games and positions was HIGHLY unoriginal. In fact, in 247 pages, there were only FIVE games that I had not seen previously.
• The book in general consists of a series of vague generalities. For example, on page 99, the authors pose all of the following incredibly interesting questions, "When should the attack involve pawns, and when should it be led without them? Can we determine the proper role of pawns in an attack with kings castled on the same side? Is there a strategic basis for determining correct attacking methods?" Their reply to all of these questions -- and I am quoting IN FULL here -- "The character of an attack is determined by the nature of the position." They even italicize this sentence for emphasis; apparently they think this is some brilliant insight. Duh! Very helpful, thanks.
• Comments are still ridiculously scarce for many of the games. Concrete variations are even more scarce. Several of the games lack even ONE variation or alternative move.
• Analysis is always superficial, and sometimes incorrect. For example, in Alekhine-Asztalos, Kecskemet 1927, we are told "42.Nxf7! 1-0 (42....Qxf7 43.Bd3+ Qg6 44.Qf8!)." Well, that evaluation appears to have been uncritically copied from Alekhine's Best Games book. But in fact, this analysis is incorrect. Chess Life (May 1993) showed that the correct move is 42.Nf3! and 42.Nxf7 merits a ? not a !.
• In some cases essential analysis is missing altogether. One of the most debated moves in chess (17....Rxf2 in Bird-Morphy, London 1858) is given a !? without comment or analysis.
• Commentary when provided is as vague as the rest of the writing. Page 128 rambles on for three paragraphs about the position after White's 28th move in the game Euwe-Keres (World Championship Tournament Round 1, The Hague 1948). The three paragraphs contain absolutely nothing of value. The three questions to take away from the position are: who stands better? (Black) why? (The square e4 is weak, Black can quickly mass all his pieces for an attack, and the White queen is out of play on c4) what should he do about it? (improve the position of his pieces to go on the attack). The authors attempt to answer only the third question and don't answer even that one particularly clearly.

Conclusion: Stay away. You will learn very little from this book.

Draws Verboten

A new tournament is on the horizon, one that is set to challenge the supremacy of Wijk aan Zee, Linares and Dortmund. The M-Tel Masters Super Tournament is part of the ten-year anniversary of the Bulgarian mobile phone company Mobiltel, and is set to take place every year. For the inaugural event, from May 11 to 22 this year, the participants will be six top GMs, who will play a double round robin at classical time controls.

• Viswanathan Anand India 2785 2
• Veselin Topalov Bulgaria 2778 3
• Vladimir Kramnik Russia 2753 5
• Michael Adams England 2737 7
• Judit Polgar Hungary 2732 8
• Ruslan Ponomariov Ukraine 2695 20

An interesting twist, and in my opinion a very long-overdue one, is that draws by agreement are forbidden. I would really love to see this one catch on at the grandmaster level. It would do so much to revitalize our game.

• A draw by mutual agreement between the players is forbidden.
• No player is permitted to speak to his opponent or offer him a draw
• A player can claim the draw only in case of perpetual check, threefold repetition and if the position is a theoretical draw.
• The draw offer is made to the arbiter, who is the only person who can decide the outcome of the game.
• The arbiter will be advised by a strong Grandmaster.

New FIDE Ratings List

The new FIDE ratings list is out. Here are the top 20...
1 Kasparov, Garry 2812
2 Anand, Viswanathan 2785
3 Topalov, Veselin 2778 (+21)
4 Leko, Peter 2763 (+14)
5 Kramnik, Vladimir 2753
6 Ivanchuk, Vassily 2739 (+28)
7 Adams, Michael 2737
8 Polgar, Judit 2732
9 Bacrot, Etienne 2731 (+16)
10 Svidler, Peter 2725
11 Grischuk, Alexander 2724 (+14)
12 Morozevich, Alexander 2717 (-24)
13 Shirov, Alexei 2714
14 Gelfand, Boris 2713 (+17)
15 Bareev, Evgeny 2709
16 Dreev, Alexey 2705
17 Akopian, Vladimir 2703
18 Bologan, Viktor 2700 (+17)
18 Kamsky, Gata 2700
20 Ponomariov, Ruslan 2695

Some quasi-random observations...

[1] The 2700 Club has four returns (Polgar, Kamsky, Gelfand, Akopian), one new member (Bologan) and one drop-off (Ponomariov).

[2] Kasparov picked up 8 points and Anand droped 1, increasing the gap between them to 27. But I guess if Kasparov really is retiring, Anand should inherit the #1 spot.

[3] Leko picked up 14 points and Kramnik dropped 1, so Leko comes up to 4th place (his highest spot ever) and Kramnik drops to 5th place.

Looking for a book

I am actively looking to buy Complete Chess Strategy, volume 3: Play on the Wings by Ludek Pachman. If anyone has, or can point me to, a used copy of this book, let me know.

ETA - FOUND IT! (5/28/2008)

Kasparov Retires!

September 24, 2004

Q: There has been some speculation that you may be thinking about retiring. What can you say about that?
Kasparov: Absolutely not! (laughter) That statement has absolutely no substance. I am eager to hear from BrainGames about the next plans and I’m still very much in business. I will prove that it (the match) was a very unfortunate slip in my career. I’ll be starting from the Wijk aan Zee tournament in January next year.

March 10, 2005

The world's strongest chessplayer, Garry Kasparov, has just announced his retirement from professional chess. His games in Linares are the last in his professional career, that has spanned thirty years, with twenty on the top of the ratings list. "I would like to make a short statement before the press conference. It could come as a surprise to many of you. But before this tournament I made a concious decision that Linares 2005 will be my last professional tournament, and today I played my last professional game. I hoped I could do better in my last game, but unfortunately the last two games were very difficult for me, to play under such pressure, because I knew it was the end of a career which I could be proud of."