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ContentsEditorial ....................................................................................................................4Malcolm Pein on the latest developments in the game

60 Seconds with...Maria Emelianova ..........................................................7We catch up with the leading chess photographer and streamer

Enter the Dragon .................................................................................................8Top seeds China proved too strong in FIDE’s Nations Cup

How Good is Your Chess?..............................................................................12Daniel King examines Yu Yangyi’s key win for China

Dubov Delivers ...................................................................................................16Lindores went online, with rapid experts Carlsen, Nakamura & Dubov

It’s All in the Timing .........................................................................................22Amatzia Avni shows why it’s vital to time the key idea just right

Peter the Great ..................................................................................................25David Smith discusses the online chess boom with Peter Svidler

Chess and the Dance of Death....................................................................26Tim Wall has found The Seventh Seal an appropriate watch of late

Checkmate Covid-19......................................................................................30Danny Rosenbaum reports on the ECF’s Red Cross fundraiser

Why I Quit my Chess Club.............................................................................31An enjoyable short story from Julian Corfield

Stay Home! Save Lives! Play Chess! ........................................................32CV19 and the Government send Steve Firth to ‘Chess Boot Camp’

Donald Macfarlane ...........................................................................................34Barry Hymer on the Pride and Sorrow of South African chess

Remembering A. R. B. .....................................................................................40Bob Jones picks up ARB Thomas’s chess career after the war

Study the Classics! ..........................................................................................44Lockdown hasn’t been easy, but Carl Strugnell has used it well

Never Mind the Grandmasters... ................................................................46Carl reflects on the future of the chess book and his own collection

Find the Winning Moves.................................................................................48Can you do as well as the players in the Nations Cup and 4NCL?

Home News ..........................................................................................................52Chessable White Rose topped the group stage of the 4NCL Online

Overseas News ...................................................................................................53Wesley So won the first outing of Maurice Ashley’s ‘Clutch Chess’

Solutions ...............................................................................................................54

This Month’s New Releases ..........................................................................55Sean Marsh looks back to the Match of the Century

Saunders on Chess............................................................................................58John has fond memories of playing chess at school

Photo credits: Chess24 (pp.17, 19-21, 28), FIDE (pp.9-10), norwaychess.com (p.12), Brendan O’Gorman

(p.31), Lennart Ootes (p.21).

ChessFounding Editor: B.H. Wood, OBE. M.Sc †Executive Editor: Malcolm PeinEditors: Richard Palliser, Matt ReadAssociate Editor: John SaundersSubscriptions Manager: Paul Harrington

Twitter: @CHESS_MagazineTwitter: @TelegraphChess - Malcolm PeinWebsite: www.chess.co.uk

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Born: Yekaterinburg, Russia is what it’s callednow, but back in 1987 it was Sverdlovsk, USSR.

Place of residence: I spend the majority ofmy free time in Yekaterinburg and in London,but otherwise I follow the professional chesscircuit around the world.

Occupation: Chess photojournalist andTwitch Partner streamer.

Enjoyable? Very much – I love travelling,taking photos and making content with mycommunity.

And home life? It’s nice to sit back andreflect on life sometimes, recharge, read abook and start generating new ideas. When Iam at home, I do a lot of streaming in chess,chatting, Lego and video games, and connectwith chess fans and other streamers.

But sometimes good to escape to: In mycase both travelling for work and returninghome is an escape in a way, but when I go fora proper vacation it’s usually to northern Italy,by the sea or a lake.

Sports played or followed: I became aWFM at 16, but then decided to put things onhold, if while still playing club and universitychess, and later on followed the game closelythrough my work as a photographer. Now Iam back in chess, taking lessons from GMVladimir Dobrov, and hoping to play forEngland in the future having recently changedfederation. As a spectator, I enjoy watchingtennis and winter sports, especially figure

skating and biathlon.

A favourite novel? Tolstoy’s War and Peace.

Piece of music? Rachmaninoff’s ‘Four Pieces’.

Film or TV series? Star Wars (originaltrilogy) and Black Mirror.

What’s the best thing about playing chess?The ability to speak the same language withpeople from all parts of the world, just like itis in photography. That’s why I love both.

And the worst? Not being able to get over ablunder, especially when you need to sleep.

Your best move? My best move was to goto the Chess Olympiad 2010 where I foundout my passion for photography, but – ah,you meant a chess one! I am solving a lot ofpuzzles on my streams and even docompetitive solving matches with otherstreamers. Recently in an online game thathelped me to spot this pretty tactic.

Black’s bishop is pinning my knight on f3,but the undeveloped kingside of the opponentimmediately gave me an idea: 8 Ìxe5!. Nowthe best move for Black was 8...dxe5 andafter 9 Ëb3 I would have a strong initiative.Instead, 8...Íxd1? 9 Íb5+ Ìd7 10 Íxd7+Ëxd7 11 Ìxd7 Êxd7 12 Êxd1 left mewith an extra knight.

But less memorable than your worstmove? Worst moves are usually not movingat all. I am a terribly slow thinker; think theGrischuk school, but nowhere near as good intime trouble.

And a highly memorable opponent? Irecently played a hand-and-brain match withAlexandra Kosteniuk against Pia Cramling andher daughter Anna on stream, where

Alexandra’s reaction to my moves waspriceless. Both Pia and Alexandra are suchlegends I’ll never forget that day.

Favourite game of all time? Probably the‘Opera Game’ by Paul Morphy. I oftensacrifice many pieces the same way, but itdoesn’t always work out that beautifully.

The best three chess books: GarryKasparov’s My Great Predecessors series, My60 Memorable Games by Bobby Fischer andmy favourite book as a child, Journey to theChess Kingdom by Averbakh and Beilin.

Is FIDE doing a good job? It’s going in theright direction, but it’s difficult in the givencircumstances. They have started to workwith online chess platforms, and we nowhave more tournaments for all levels. Thereare challenges, but I hope they can moderniseand ride the ‘chess boom’ which only seemsto be accelerating.

Or your National Federation? Both theRussian and English Chess Federations havedone a lot of fundraising events recently,which makes me happy to be able to help andbe part of both.

Any advice for either? Greater modernisationand more transparency from FIDE would bewelcome. Compared to the previous admin-istration, Dvorkovich’s is a breath of fresh air.I’d also love to see English Chess thrivingagain, but it’s probably hard to do withoutgovernmental involvement. The Russianattitude towards chess, especially for didacticpurposes, is something many chess playingcountries could benefit from.

Can chess make one happy? Probably not.Chess is just a tool and a waste of time unlessyou really throw yourself into the game.

A tip please for the club player: Work onall aspects of the game and don’t only play,but analyse! And if you are learning anopening, don’t try it out in blitz or bullet, butplay slower games and, again, always analyseand search for improvements afterwards.

Ed. - To find out more about Maria, do justvisit photochess.com or follow her viatwitch.tv/photochess.

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July 2020

It was arguably the greatest cliff-hangerthe chess world had ever seen. After 24 hoursand 9,872 games, with 459 players competing,the Checkmate Covid-19 tournament in aidof the British Red Cross all came down to thevery last second and just one point. It was The Crucible 1985 all over again.When an almost endless battle saw DennisTaylor pot the final black to snatch the WorldSnooker Championship from the seeminglyinvincible Steve Davis. Fast forward nearly 35years to the Checkmate Covid-19 chessmarathon on Chess.com organised by the ECF,and it is FM Harry Grieve who is metaphoricallythe one with his spectacles upside down. With just 30 seconds to go he wins to levelthe standings with GM Danny Gormally at thetop of the table. The seconds tick by and he ispaired with Ben Purton (who also had afantastic tournament, finishing fifth). If thegame remained unfinished in the half a minuteleft for the event it would abort with noadditional score for either player. As the tournament clock ticked inexorablydown, Grieve wanted a draw. Rather, heneeded a draw. Operating on no sleep andpure adrenaline, it felt like he was fighting forhis life as he had to overcome one major

obstacle to him achieving a draw andtherefore outright victory: you can’t offer adraw before 20 moves. Amazingly, with one second left Grievemanaged to get the draw he needed. He hadspent just eight seconds on his 21 moves. To onlookers like myself, already spinningfrom a lack of sleep, it had the feel of a strangeoptical illusion as Grieve’s score changed, justa blink of an eye before the tournament resultwas declared: Harry Grieve – 517 points;Danny Gormally – 516 points; and back inthird on 444 points was FM David Haydon. It was now 5pm on Sunday 24th May. 24 hours earlier and nobody knew whatlay ahead. Hundreds of fresh, well-fed andrested players, armed with water, coffee andmaybe other beverages, arrived at thestarting line ready for the chess marathon.Top players had worked out their tournamentstrategy. Not whether to play the Spanish orthe Italian, instead it was whether to try tostay up the whole night to keep amassing thepoints; or whether to get in a well-timed napand hope for more efficient scoring to makeup for the lost hours. It was an Arena tournament which meantthat players could leave and rejoin whenever

they wanted. They simply had to play five-minute-a-side games as often or as little asthey liked. Among the players were eightgrandmasters: Matthew Sadler, MichaelAdams, Gawain Jones, Simon Williams, DannyGormally, Keith Arkell, Luke McShane, andJohn Emms. It was wonderful to see them allparticipating. Many not entering to competefor a prize, but simply to support the BritishRed Cross and at the same time enable otherplayers, whether juniors, club or even thosewho have never played over the board, therare chance to play against the top flight. Chess.com has around 38 million membersand the figure has been growing by around40,000 a day since lockdown. Many of thenew enthusiasts have never seen a grand-master before except perhaps Yoda in StarWars. However, who knows, inspired by eventslike this, some of the many unrated or lowly-rated players who joined the tournament maythemselves become a grandmaster of thefuture. As Irving Chernev put it: “Every chessmaster was once a beginner.” There were also numerous streamerscovering the tournament. Many of them,including Dagne Ciuksyte, Maria Emelianova,

The ECF’s fundraiser for the British Red Cross went right to the wire. Danny Rosenbaum reports on a lot of chess

Checkmate Covid-19

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Simon Williams was one streamer who helped cover the whole 24 hours of the marathon. It must have been late at night as Harry is still on h2!

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Gawain Jones, Thomas Rendle, MatthewSadler and Natasha Regan, Simon Williams,ChessPitPod (Phil Makepeace), andChesspatzerUK (Jacques Tivillier) raised largesums for the British Red Cross, cumulativelyin the thousands of pounds. They alsomanaged between them to cover the whole24 hours of the tournament. Checkmate Covid-19 raised over£11,000 for the British Red Cross and theiractivities during the pandemic working withthe NHS, providing for the vulnerable, andsupporting those in emotional need. Chess.com not only provided a hugeamount of support, but also donated $500of prizes and $500 directly to the fundsraised. As well as organising the event, theECF donated £300. A list of ‘thank-yous’ andprizes appears on www.englishchess.org.uk.Even that already long list of gratitude shouldbe longer, with numerous people within theECF, such as Nigel Towers and this magazine’svery own Malcolm Pein, being most helpful inmaking the event such a success. It was wonderful to see the number ofpeople who donated. One anonymous donorgave £500. Just as striking was the quantity ofdonors. Literally hundreds of people contributed.Most donated through the ECF Tiltify page orthe registration form for the tournament, butothers like the Blue Coat School in Liverpoolhad their own fundraising pages. Having mentioned the top three and thefifth player, I should name check the fourthplace, Keith Arkell, not least because he hadthe excellent taste to choose a subscriptionto CHESS as his prize. The full tournamentstandings and all the games can be accessedat: tinyurl.com/yc8gtu3u. It was heartening to see the positivefeedback afterwards the tournament,whether it be messages on chess.com, emailsor the Twittersphere. There were numerous funny and peculiargames, often due to imbalances in rating, orsimply time trouble, but this game fromBritish Champion Michael Adams was onethat stood out for me aesthetically.

M.Adams-‘Killerm3000’Checkmate Covid-19 Blitz

Trompowsky Attack

1 d4 Ìf6 2 Íg5 Ìe4 3 Íf4 e6 4 f3 Ìf65 e4 d5 6 e5 Ìfd7 7 c3 c5 8 Íe3 Ìc6 9 f4 b6 10 Ìf3 Íb7 11 Íb5 h5 12 0-0Ìe7 13 Íf2 Ìf5 14 a4 h4 15 a5 Îc8 16 axb6 axb6 17 Îa7 Ëc7 18 Ìa3 c419 Ëa4 Îd8 20 Ía6 Îb8 21 Ìb5 Ëc822 Îa1 Íxa6 23 Ìc7+ Êd8 24 Ìxa6

Black, who thus far had played a goodgame against the British Champion, nowdecided to also put something on the a-file.24...Îa8? What did Mickey Adams play here asWhite to gain a devastating advantage?Other moves do work, but it is by far thestrongest and most attractive.25 Ëxd7+! Ëxd7 26 Îxa8+ Êe7 27 Ìb8Ëb5 28 Î1a7+ Êd8 29 Ìc6# 1-0

These days there are as many games playedonline in one day as in the whole of the last 10years of over-the-board chess put together. Thechallenge, as I see it, is to build on the growingpopularity of the game to secure a healthyfuture, both online and over the board. It ismy genuine hope that events like this one willnot just help wonderful causes like the BritishRed Cross, but will, en passant, attract newenthusiasts to all levels of the game of chess.

Why I Quit my Chess Club

by Julian Corfield

It was the last round of the LittleBrockhampton Club Championship and I wasplaying Blenkinsop. As every year, at stakewas which of us was to occupy last place andwho the second-to-last. Now, our first teamhas a 14 year old by the name of MaximusTalson: he is both an outstanding player and anobnoxious little brat. Having won his game in a miniature,Maximus wandered around the hall, castingsmug looks as he surveyed the other games.When he reached our game he burst intolaughter and claimed that we had set up theboard incorrectly at the start. Now I’ve never seen that it matters whatthe colours of the corner squares are: after all,64 squares are 64 squares, either way. Ratherthan restart the game, we thought it simplerjust to turn the board through 90 degrees andcarry on. In doing so we inadvertently knockedsome of the pieces on to the floor and weren’tquite sure how to reconstruct the position. Bythe way, Blenkinsop had earlier unnecessarilypromoted a pawn to a bishop rather than aqueen, which just goes to show what a weakplayer he is. We had reached the following position andreluctantly agreed to have the gameadjudicated by Maximus as the caretakerwanted to lock the hall and get home.

As Black, I claimed a win as I had a mate inone with 273...Îa1#. To my amazement,Blenkinsop also claimed a mate in one bypromoting his a-pawn. So the result dependedupon whose move it was and upon this wecouldn’t agree. To my disgust Maximus instantly declaredit as a win for White, whoever was to move,meaning that, yet again, I occupied last placein the championship. On hearing of thisoutrageous travesty of justice, I got up andstormed out of the club, never to return. What could Maximus have been thinking?

He must have been rather tired by 5pm Sunday afternoon, but Harry Grieve had triumphed - just!

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48 July 2020

Find the Winning Moves24 puzzles to test your tactical ability, with, as ever, the positions grouped in rough

order of difficulty. The games come from various recent events, including the

FIDE Chess.com Online Nations Cup and the successful 4NCL Online League, and

should help to keep you sharp for any blitz and until over-the-board chess returns.

Don’t forget that whilst sometimes the

key move will force mate or the win

of material, other times it will just

win a pawn. Solutions on pages 54.

(1) L.Webb-J.Rogers4NCL Online 2020

Black to Play

(2) F.Berkes-K.KristensenGilleleje 2020White to Play

(3) P.Hampton-P.RobersonEnglish Online Blitz Championship 2020

Black to Play and Draw

(4) D.Zhang-R.MakarianChess.com (rapid) 2020

Black to Play

(5) P.Harikrishna-J.CoriOnline Nations Cup (rapid) 2020

White to Play

Warm-up Puzzles

(6) P.Gayson-G.Moore4NCL, Daventry 2020

White to Play

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(7) I.Novikov-J.PolasekWorld Senior Team Ch., Prague 2020

White to Play

(8) F.Caruana-Wang HaoOnline Nations Cup (rapid) 2020

White to Play

(9) M.Donnelly-R.BucklerCoventry 2020White to Play

(10) T.Munkhzul-A.FierChess.com Titled Tuesday (blitz) 2020

Black to Play and Draw

(11) V.Sivuk-C.KrishnaMoscow 2020Black to Play

(12) C.Palmer-P.HopwoodInternet 2020Black to Play

(13) L.Ftacnik-M.HebdenWorld Senior Team Ch., Prague 2020

Black to Play and Draw

(14) R.York-Weaving-K.Smallbone4NCL Online 2020

White to Play

(15) E.Van Haastert-T.WarakomskiAmsterdam 2020

Black to Play

Intermediate Puzzles for the Club Player - Solutions on page 54

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50 July 2020

(16) Xiphos-rofChadeTop Chess Engines Competition 2020

Black to Play and Draw

(17) V.Anand-I.NepomniachtchiOnline Nations Cup (rapid) 2020

White to Play

(18) L.Supi-M.CarlsenChess.com (blitz) 2020

White to Play

(19) A.P.Lewis-T.Wall4NCL, Daventry 2020

White to Play

(20) S.Ansell-D.GormallyECF Red Cross Online Fundraiser (blitz) 2020

White to Play

(21) D.Wilson-J.SantosChess England Online (blitz) 2020

Black to Play and Draw

(22) I.Smirin-A.GivonIsraeli League 2020

Black to Play

(23) M.Bluebaum-L.Van ForeestGerman Bundesliga 2020

White to Play

(24) Lc0-StockfishTop Chess Engines Competition 2020

White to Play and Draw

Harder Puzzles for the Club Player – Solutions on page 54

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July 2020

1) Webb-RogersAfter 1 Êf4-f3! Ëh5+ 2 Êe4 Black wouldhave had no more than a draw, but after 1 Êf4-e4? he was able to win: 1...Ëg2+ 2 Êd4 Íe3+! 3 Êc3 (or 3 Êxe3 Ëxc2)3...b4+! 0-1

2) Berkes-Kristensen1 Ëc4+! Íd5 2 c7! was a key intermezzo,White’s mighty passed c-pawn quickly provingdecisive: 2...Ëd7 (or 2...Íxc4 3 Íxc4+ and4 cxd8Ë) 3 Ëxd4 Ëf7 4 Ëc5 b6 5 Ëd6Íb7 6 Îe7 Ëd5 7 Ëxd5+ Íxd5 8 Ía61-0

3) Hampton-RobersonWhite had just blundered with 1 Íe6-d5?,allowing Black to save himself thanks tostalemate: 1...Ëxh3+! (or 1...Ëg3+!, and if2 Êg1 Ëe1+ 3 Êh2 Ëg3+) 2 Êg1 Ëxg2+!3 Íxg2 !-!

4) Zhang-MakarianAny move wins, apart from the game’s1...gxf1Ë? !-! and 1...gxf1Î, as well aspromoting the pawn on g1 and 1...Îf3?. Thequickest win is 1...gxf1Ì+! 2 Êg1 Îa2!,and if 3 Êxf1 h2 or 3 Êh1 Ìg3+ 4 Êg1 Îg2#.

5) Harikrishna-Cori1 Ìxe5! 1-0 Black’s queen is fatally over-loaded, as if 1...dxe5 (or 1...Ëxe5 2 Ëxf8+)2 Îxd7 Ëxd7 3 Ëxf8+. 1 Ìxf6! also works,and if 1...Îxf6 2 Îxf6 Ëxf6 3 Îf1 Ëg7 4 Îf8+.

6) Gayson-Moore1 Îh1! (threat: 2 Îh6#) 1...gxf4 2 gxf41-0 2...Êg6 3 Îch7 mates, while 2...Îg8 3 Îh6+ picks up the black bishop for starters.

7) Novikov-Polasek1 Îb5! (always examine all checks, capturesand forcing moves!) 1...Ëe6 2 Îb8+ Îf8 3 Îxb3! 1-0 The potential skewer on thea2-g8 diagonal decides.

8) Caruana-Wang Hao1 Íxh7+! Êh8 (1...Ìxh7? 2 Ëxf7+ Êh8 3 Ëh5 forces Black to part company with hisqueen) 2 Íf5 Íxf5 3 Ëxf5 Êg8 4 h5!left White a pawn up and still with a virulentinitiative. Caruana was quick to wrap upproceedings: 4...Ëc6 5 Ìxf7! Êxf7 6 g5Ëd7? 7 Ëg6+ 1-0

9) Donnelly-Buckler1 Îxb4! (preparing to activate the queenthus is the simplest way to win, although 1 Ëe2Íxa4 2 h4 should also be an easy enough winin the long run) 1...axb4 (White has toomany extra pawns after 1...Îd1 2 Îxb6+

Êc7 3 Ëxd1 Îxd1+ 4 Êf2) 2 Ëxb4 Îxe33 a5 (the queen is rampant; Black can’t hangon to his loose rooks and bishop) 3...b5 (if3...Íe8 4 Ëxb6+ Êc8 5 Ëxe3) 4 cxb5 1-04...Îd1+ 5 Êf2 Îed3 6 a6+ Êb6 7 bxc6+Êxc6 8 Ëb7+ is totally hopeless, as is4...Íe8 5 Ëe7+ Êc8 6 b6 Íd7 7 Ëc5+.

10) Munkhzul-Fier1...Íb7! (the game’s 1...e5? might have beenpunished by 2 Ía6) 2 Íd7 e5 3 Íxc8 Íxc8is an easy draw, since Black can always, ifnecessary, give up his bishop for the c-pawn.

11) Sivuk-Krishna1...Íxh2+! 2 Êh1? (2 Êxh2? Ìf3+ 3 Êg3Îg8+ mates, and even after 2 Êf1 Îb8 3Ëa5 Ìg6 White shouldn’t survive) 2...Îb8(or just 2...Îg8) 3 Ëc4 Íe5 (winningfurther material, in view of 4 Îxh4? Ëd1+)4 g4 Ìxg4 5 Ëxe6 Ìf3+ 6 Êg2 Ëh2+!0-1

12) Palmer-Hopwood1...Ëe3+! 2 Êh1 Ìf2+ (2...Ëxg3! is evenquicker, and if 3 hxg4 Ìxg4 4 Êg1 Ìe3) 3 Êh2 Ìeg4+! 4 hxg4 Ìxg4+ 5 Êh3Îe5 6 Íc1 (it’s also going to be mate after6 Ìf3 Îh5+ 7 Ìh4 Îxh4+! 8 Êxh4 Ìf6 9 Íc1 Ëxe2) 6...Îh5+! 7 Êxg4 Îg5+ 8 Êh4 Ëxg3# 0-1

13) Ftacnik-Hebden1...Ëd3! (and not 1...Ëg7? due to 2 Êh4!when it’s surprisingly hard to find a move forBlack, as shown by 2...Îd7 3 f5 gxf5 4 Ëxf5+Êh8 5 Îe8+ and 2...Ëg8 3 Îe7 Ëg7 4 Îxf7 Ëxf7 5 f5!, which is winning) 2 Êh4Ëc2! (waiting with 2...Êg7 will also do) 3 Êh3 Ëd3 4 Êh4 Ëc2 5 Êh3 !-!

14) York-Weaving-Smallbone1 d6+! Êc6 2 Îxc5+! Êxc5 3 Îd5+ Êb64 Ía4 Îxd6 (now White wins a piece; 4...h55 c5+ Êa6 6 Íxd7 Îxd7 7 a4 is also quitehopeless for Black, while 4...Êa6 at leastmakes White find 5 Íb5+! Êb6 6 a4! andonly then 7 c5+) 5 c5+ Êa5 6 Îxd6! 1-0

15) Van Haastert-Warakomski1...Îh1+! 2 Êxh1 Ëh6+ 3 Ëh3 (or 3 Êg1Ëe3+ 4 Êf1 Îh8 when there’s nothing goodto be done about the threat of 4...Îh1#)3...Ìf2+ 4 Êg1 Ìxh3+ 0-1 The extraqueen would quickly prove too strong after 5 gxh3 Îg8+ 6 Êf2 Ëh4+ 7 Êe2 Îg3.

16) Xiphos-rofChade1...Îd3+! (Black would by no means beassured of a half-point after 1...Ëd6+ 2 Ëxd6Îxd6 3 h4) 2 Êh4 (and not 2 Êf4?? Îa4+3 Îe4 Îxe4+ 4 Êxe4 Ëd5+ 5 Êf4 Îf3#)

54

2...Îxh3+! (stalemate will save the day) 3 Êxh3 Îh2+! 4 Êg3 Ëg1+ (4...Îg2+also works, and transposes after 5 Êf4 Îf2+6 Íxf2 Ëxf2+) 5 Êf4 Îf2+ 6 Íxf2Ëxf2+ 7 Êg5 (7 Êe5 Ëd4+ 8 Êe6 Ëd5+would force an immediate draw) 7...Ëh4+!(another only move, but thanks to his need tokeep his queen defended, White can’t dodgethe checks) 8 Êg6 Ëh5+ 9 gxh5 !-!

17) Anand-Nepomniachtchi1 f5! Íxc4 (1...gxf5 2 Ëg5+ Êh8 3 Ëf6+Êg8 4 Ìg5 is absolutely crushing too) 2 e5Ëd7 (after 2...Íxf1 White can even go 3 Îxf1)3 f6 1-0 3...Êh8 4 Ëh6 Îg8 prevents mateon g7, but fails, as so often, to 5 Ìg5.

18) Supi-Carlsen1 Ëc6! 1-0 The less aesthetic 1 c5! alsowins, and if 1...Íxc5 2 Îa8+ Êd7 3 Îxd8+Êxd8 4 Íxc7+ or 1...Ëxc5 2 Íxd6 Ëxd6 3 Ëg4+ Ëe6 4 Îa8+ Êd7 5 Ëxd4+ Ëd6 6 Îxd8+ Êxd8 7 Ëxg7 Ëf6 8 Îa8+. Afterthe Brazilian GM’s 1 Ëc6! Black resigned aseven 1...bxc6 2 bxc6 Ëb1+ 3 Îxb1 leaveshim unable to avoid mate down the a-file.

19) Lewis-WallAfter 1 Ëc8 Ëxh2! 2 Ëxf8+ Êh5 Whiterealised he had nothing better than perpetualcheck: 3 Ëe8+ (or 3 Êe1 Ëg1+ 4 Êd2Ëxf2+ 5 Êc1 Ëf1+ 6 Íd1 Ëxc4+ 7 Êb1Ëd3+ when there’s no good way for White tododge the checks) 3...Êh6 4 Ëf8+ Êh5 5 Ëe8+ !-!. However, 1 h4! would havewon, and if 1...gxh3 2 Ëc8 Íg7 (Black’sproblem is that 2...h2 runs into 3 Ëxf8+ Êg64 Ëf6#, while 2...Íe7 3 Êg1! decisivelyhalts the onrushing h-pawn) 3 Íxg7+(3 Êg1 h2+ 4 Êh1 Íxb2 also wins, withcare, such as 5 Íxe4! Ìxe4 6 Ëf8+)3...Êxg7 4 Ëd7+! (4 Êg1? h2+ 5 Êh1Ìh3! saves the day for Black) 4...Ìf7 (or4...Ëf7 5 Ëxf7+ Ìxf7 6 Êg1 Ìd8 7 Íxe4), when 5 Êg1 is an only move, butalso one which leaves Black helpless toprevent the b-pawn from deciding matters.

20) Ansell-Gormally1 Îd1? Íc8 was merely very unclear in thegame, but 1 Îxh7! would have won, and if1...Ìxh7 (1...Ëd4 2 Îd1 and 1...Íc8 2 Îh8+ Êxf7 3 Îxc8 are no improvement)2 d7 Ëd4 (or 2...Êe7 3 Îxh7) 3 Îxh7Ëxd7 4 Îh8+! Êxf7 5 Îh7+ Êe8 6 Îxd7Êxd7 7 f4 with an easily won endgame.

21) Wilson-Santos1...Ëf4! 2 Îxf3! Îb1+! (an only move andone White had been relying on, as he wouldforce mate if 2...Ëxf3? 3 Ëxe5+) 3 Êg2Îb2+! (White’s far more active king and d-pawn should decide in the event of 3...Ëxf3+?4 Ëxf3 Ìxf3 5 Êxf3 Îc1 6 Êe4 Îxc4+ 7 Êe5) 4 Ëxb2 Ëxf3+ 5 Êh2 and now5...Ëf4+ would have forced perpetual check,since after 6 Êg2 Ëf3+ 7 Êg1 Ëg3+ 8 Êf1 (and not 8 Ëg2?? Ìf3+) 8...Ëf3+ 9 Ëf2 Ëh1+ 10 Êe2 Ëe4+ White mustreturn with his king to f1, not allow 11 Ëe3??Ëxe3+ 12 Êxe3 Ìxc4+ and 13...Ìxd6.

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22) Smirin-GivonAfter the game’s 1...a4? White would havebeen OK had he found 2 bxa4! Îxa4 3 f4.However, 1...Îxe5! 2 Îxe5 Îa6!, as pointedout by Michael Roiz in his ChessPublishingcolumn, would have won: for example, 3 Êb2(3 Íe2 Îxd6 4 Îd1 fails to 4...Ìc3+ and 3 Ìf3Îxd6 4 Íe2 to 4...Íxf3, intending 5 gxf3Îd2 6 Îe3 Îxe2! 7 Îxe2 Ìc3+ or 5 Íxf3Ìc3+ followed by 6...Ìd3+ or 6 Êa1? Îd2)3...Îxd6 4 Ìb1 (4 Îe2 Ìd3+! 5 Êxa2Ìc1+ 6 Êb2 Ìxe2 7 Êc2 Ìd4+ 8 Êc3 e5should also be winning in view of White’s stillundeveloped kingside) 4...Îd1 when White

is the exchange up, but has absolutely no goodway to untangle, as shown by 5 Îe3 Ìc1 6Ìc3 Ìcd3+ 7 Íxd3 Ìxd3+ 8 Êc2 Îxh1.

23) Bluebaum-Van Foreest1 e4!! Ëe7 (1...dxe4? 2 Îg3+ Êh8 3 Ëh5Ëe8 4 Ëh6 gives White an attack which willresult in mate, and even after 1...Íxf1 2Îg3+ Êh8 3 Ëh5 Black is defenceless, asshown by 3...Ëe8 4 Ëh6 Ëe7 5 Ìg6+ and3...fxe5 4 Íxd8 Îaxd8 5 Ëh6 Îf7 6 exf5exf5 7 dxe5 Íc4 8 e6) 2 Îg3+ Êh8 3 Ëh5Íe8 (to deal with the threat of Ìg6+, since3...Îg8? fails to 4 Ìf7+) 4 Ëh6 Ìc6(4...fxe4 5 Îg6 also fatally overloads the

defence) 5 Ìxc6 Íxc6 6 e5 1-024) Lc0-Stockfish1 Êd2!! (only this will do; after 1 Ëc8+?Êb5 2 Ëb7+ Êa4 the black king runs up theboard to safety, and 1 Êd4? b1Ë 2 Ëc8+fails to 2...Êd6 3 Ëd8+ Êe6 4 Ëe8+ Êf5when it’s impossible to prevent the king fromedging round to the rear of the d-file) 1...b1Ë 2Ëc8+ Êd6 (naturally Black cannot stray on tothe b-file) 3 Ëd8+ Êc5 (after 3...Êe5 4Ëe7+ White will either keep checking the king,which can no longer reach d2 or d1, or win onthe spot with 4...Êd4?? 5 Ëe3#) 4 Ëf8+Êd4 5 Ëf4+! (stronger than 5 Ëg7+ as, ofcourse, it’s stalemate if the queen is taken)

Match of the Century: USSR vs. WorldTigran Petrosian & Aleksandar Matanovic,

260 pagesChess Informant

RRP £28.95 SUBSCRIBERS £26.05

Given the strangeness of the year, it wouldbe quite understandable to forgetanniversaries for something as trivial aschess. Fortunately, this new book, a ‘50thAnniversary Edition’, managed to fight its waythrough in good time to commemorate one ofthe most notable events of the last century. When the match was agreed, the mightySoviet Union, with its stockpile of worldchampions (and David Bronstein as anultimately unused reserve), were favouritesto beat the team comprised of the bestplayers from the Rest of the World. The latterreceived a substantial boost when it seemedBobby Fischer had decided to play after theusual questions about his special conditionsplus his request for “A picture of the lightingin the tournament hall, a list of the prizes, theauthority of team captain Euwe, etc.” In fact Fischer kept everyone guessinguntil the eve of the first round. Bent Larsenfelt he should play on board number oneinstead of Fischer. This may sound strangegiven Fischer’s undoubted brilliance, but hehad hardly played for the two years beforethe match and this was still before heresumed his chase for the ultimate title; thePalma de Mallorca Interzonal and record-breaking Candidate’s matches were still aheadof him – as was another contest to bedubbed the Match of the Century, Fischer’smatch against Spassky. There was a danger of losing both of theRest of the World’s top players in 1970 if bothwere upset, but remarkably Fischer decided toplay on board two and everything was finally

ready for the match itself. It wasn’t particularlyharmonious on the Soviet side either. MikhailBotvinnik was offended at being placed onboard eight (he thought anything lower thanboard four was unsatisfactory). He alsorefused to be photographed with the rest ofthe team just before they set off to Belgrade,with the words: “No! I will not be photographedwith this...gang!” Four memorable rounds of chess werethen played over 10 boards. The USSR teamfinally emerged victorious to the tune of20!-19!. This book is a revised version of theoriginal Chess Informant book, with severaladditions by editors Douglas Griffin and IgorZveglic. The player biographies have beenexpanded, and the original notes by theSoviet players have been translated intoEnglish, as have some other articles about thematch. There are also some post-matchcomments from the players at the end of thebook and brief summaries of what happenedto them after 1970. The newly translated notes are veryinteresting. Botvinnik’s no-nonsenseapproach manifests itself again when hisopponent, Matulovic, dares to play the Dutchagainst the former champion in the fourthround. “Clearly, Matulovic ought not to haveplayed the Dutch Defence, knowing that I aman expert in it. If he wanted to avenge himselffor the defeat in the first round he ought tohave chosen another opening.” The game wasdrawn after 63 moves. Some of the games have left a deepimpression on the chess world. These includeFischer’s sensational use of the ExchangeVariation to beat Tigran Petrosian’s Caro-Kann in the first round and Boris Spassky’sextraordinary crush of Larsen’s own openingin round two, with the highly memorable

14...Îh1! sacrifice (Larsen resigned after justthree more moves). There are plenty of other games thatdeserve to be remembered. When Spasskyducked – or was not allowed to play in – thefinal round, Larsen played a beautiful gameagainst the reserve player, Leonid Stein;Najdorf played in excellent style to beat Tal inround two; Keres and Ivkov contested afascinating minor piece ending, also in roundtwo; Matulovic found a stunning way toachieve a draw having stood worse for mostof the 93 moves of his third round encounterwith Botvinnik. See if you can find it too.

M.Matulovic-M.BotvininkUSSR vs Rest of the World

White to play and draw

The book is beautifully presented, withnumerous photographs, a sturdy hardcoverand ribbon bookmark. However, there aresome editorial blips. For example, the spellingof Korchnoi’s name is inconsistent on page173; Ivkov’s 3...Íg4 has become 3...Ìg4

This Month’sNew Releases

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July 2020

on page 241. The closeness of the final score will havebeen a shock to some and wake-up call forothers. As the book points out, it was a meresix months later that a young Anatoly Karpovshared first place with Leonid Stein at theAlekhine Memorial tournament in Moscow.Yes, the Fischer storm was still coming, thetitle would be lost, but ultimately the futurewas in safe, Soviet hands. I enjoyed revisiting the past and readingthe twin sets of notes for all of the games.This event really was an extraordinarymoment in chess history and I canrecommend this book to anyone seeking alittle escapism from our current times andchallenges. It may even come as a shock tosome people to see that the world’s topplayers were more than capable of playingexcellent chess half a century ago.

Sean Marsh

On the Origin of Good MovesWilly Hendriks, 432 pages

New in ChessRRP £26.95 SUBSCRIBERS £24.25

Subtitled ‘A Skeptic’s Guide to GettingBetter at Chess’ (pardon the Americanism),this new book is from an established andsuccessful author. Willy Hendriks’ previousbook, Move First, Think Later (New in Chess)won the English Chess Federation Book of theYear award in 2012 and his follow-up hasbeen eagerly anticipated. Where does the scepticism come in? Theblurb offers guidance, as we learn of a agendaagainst the first world champion of chess: “Willy Hendriks agrees that there is muchto be learned from the pioneers of our game.He challenges, however, the conventionalview on what the stages in the advancementof chess have been. Among the variousarticles of faith that Hendriks questions isWilhelm Steinitz’s reputation as thediscoverer of the laws of positional chess.” The title is a deliberate attempt tosummon up a vision of Charles Darwin and heeven makes an appearance towards the endof the book, when the author discusses thequestion of ‘revolution or evolution’, while theintroduction details the author’s intention:“The game of chess has a rich history. Of allthe different interesting aspects of thishistory, this book will focus on thedevelopment of our knowledge of the gameand our capability to play it well.” This exploration examines the games ofgreat players from Greco onwards, and manyexcellent games (and snippets) are given asevidence of their prowess. Despite the largepage count, there is no room to offer morethan the briefest biographical coverage for

the giants from history. Stylistically, despitethe potentially weighty subject matter, theauthor tries to keep the prose light. In somecases it crosses the line; there is a significantamount of times when “I guess” is used,which is sloppy. There is, indeed, an agenda againstWilhelm Steinitz, but claiming the styles of hispredecessors and rivals (including LaBourdonnais, Howard Staunton, AdolfAnderssen and Paul Morphy) are moremodern than is generally considered to be thecase is nothing new. Even Bobby Fischer paidhomage to Staunton and found his games“completely modern”. Emanuel Lasker defeated Steinitz in twoworld championship matches and replacedhim at the top of the chess world. It is quitenatural for champions to play down theachievements of their predecessors, butLasker’s Manual of Chess (1925) adopted adifferent approach to the situation, with thesecond champion of the world freelyacknowledging the greatness of the first. Hendriks analyses some of Lasker’s proseon the subject of Steinitz and uses hisobservations to build up his claims of retrocontinuity, which in the author’s eyes hasseen the parts of Steinitz’s play and attendanttheories with the greatest longevity survivein the man’s legacy (the sound positionalideas), while the more eccentric elements ofhis play (such as his wandering king in theSteinitz Gambit – 1 e4 e5 2 Ìc3 Ìc6 3 f4exf4 4 d4 Ëh4+ 5 Êe2 – to choose an easyexample) have been swept under the carpet. Another Steinitz original which didn’t quiteallow itself to be swept away was this unusualidea in the Two Knights’ Defence, whichformed a centrepiece in his ongoing battlesand debates with Mikhail Chigorin.1 e4 e5 2 Ìf3 Ìc6 3 Íc4 Ìf6 4 Ìg5 d55 exd5 Ìa5 6 Íb5+ c6 7 dxc6 bxc6 8 Íe2 h6 9 Ìh3

The king’s ability to look after himself istested in this line, as opposed to the standard9 Ìf3, as after castling on the kingside he willhave to endure a draughty residence after...Íxh3, one of the points being Steinitz’sgreat belief in the bishop-pair. Incidentally,Fischer, another fan of the bishop-pair,brought the idea back to life in 1963.

Blame is laid at Lasker’s door for theperception of the cherry-picked legacy ofSteinitz: “Instead of recognizing the slowevolution of positional knowledge,conventional chess history sees in Steinitz’stheory – or what gets presented as such – asudden revelation and revolutionary breakwith the past. Others contributed to thisversion of history as well but, thanks to thesuccess of his Manual, Lasker seems to be themain perpetrator.” Elsewhere, we are told: “The averagemaster of today would surely stand a goodchance against Steinitz or Chigorin.” This fallsinto the trap of not comparing like with like.Any average master travelling back throughtime would be shocked by the playingconditions. If Steinitz and Chigorin managedthe reverse trip and had access to modernmaterials and good conditions then anygames against average masters would beinteresting indeed. As entertaining as the games are, thecentral premise lacks the strength to convertthe series of essays into a narrative of chessevolution and the book falls somewhat shortof the mark.

Sean Marsh

A Modern Guide to Checkmating Patterns Vladimir Barsky, 256 pages, paperbackRRP £22.95 SUBSCRIBERS £20.65

Vladimir Barsky is well known as a chesswriter, but this IM was once a a pupil of ViktorKhenkin (1923-2010), and now explainsKhenkin’s classification of the most commoncheckmating patterns. Using 150 examples,Barsky’s explains how to identify potentialmating nets and key attacking line-ups before850 puzzles reinforce the material learnt.

Chess Informant 143Aleksandar Matanovic (ed.),

336 pages, paperbackRRP £32.99 SUBSCRIBERS £29.69

All the latest novelties and leading gamesagain appear in the latest ‘Informator’. Thereare also columns from the likes of Gormally,Navara and Sokolov, while once more if youprefer your coverage on a CD, that is availablefor £9.99 (Subscribers – £8.99), or you canhave the material in both journal and CD formfor £42.99 (£38.69 for Subscribers).

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Emanuel Lasker Volume 2 Richard Forster, Michael Negele & Raj

Tischbierek, 452 pages, hardbackRRP £54.95 SUBSCRIBERS £49.45 The most detailed ever biography ofEmanuel Lasker continues to appear in a fullyrevised and updated English edition. In thisvolume the second world champion is verymuch seen as a games player, as we learn allabout his love of, and ability at, bridge andGo. Chess too features, not least one ofLasker’s greatest successes, his ‘comeback’victory at New York, 1924. If you’re yet to obtain Emanuel Lasker Vol. 1,both volumes are available to purchase fromChess & Bridge for the special price of£99.95 or just £89.95 for Subscribers.

In the Zone: The Greatest WinningStreaks in Chess History

Cyrus Lakdawala, 400 pages, paperbackRRP £24.95 SUBSCRIBERS £22.45

As ever, Lakdawala provides entertainingbut also instructive coverage of a great manyfine games in his latest work. He also exploresjust how such winning streaks, by the likes ofCarlsen, Kasparov, Morphy and Pillsbury,arose and why they came to an end. If youfancy overpowering your next opponent orjust improving your creativity, a study of someseriously impressive winning streaks in Lakda-wala’s company might just come in handy.

Komodo Chess 14 64 Bit Multiprocessor version,

ChessBase PC-DVDSPECIAL PRICE £79.99

Presented once again within the latestFritz-style interface, Mark Lefler and LarryKaufman’s engine continues to go fromstrength to strength. The ‘Monte Carlo TreeSearch’ version of Komodo learns as it goesalong, while last year the program becamethe World Chess Software Champion. Clubplayers may also be interested in the seven‘personalities’ Komodo can now adopt whenbeing used as a sparring partner.

Mastering Positional Sacrifices Merijn van Delft, 320 pages, paperback

RRP £22.95 SUBSCRIBERS £20.65 The popular and successful Dutch coachbelieves that mastering positional sacrifices isa vital skill. He is certainly quite an expert onthem, presenting a wide range of inspirationalexamples, while revealing how deadly theycan be and exactly how to identify when themoment is right to be brave and make thatpositional sacrifice.

Mind MasterViswanathan Anand, 286 pages, hardback

RRP £19.99 SUBSCRIBERS £17.99 Subtitled ‘Winning Lessons from aChampion’s Life’, this new work from Indiafollows hot on the heels of Quality Chess’ TheAnand Files. Anand writes candidly and withthe wit and warmth that has made him such apopular figure in the chess world. He looksback on and tells some fine stories from hischess career, in this largely biographical work.Notably Anand tries to help the reader learnas he goes along, addressing a great array ofpractical topics and revealing how he himselfhas studied.

My Chess WorldDavid Navara, 616 pages, paperbackRRP £33.95 SUBSCRIBERS £30.55

We are truly spoilt for best gamecollections this month, as the popular Czechno.1 reveals himself, like Vishy Anand, to bean excellent author. Navara sets the scene foreach game, but the main beauty lies in hisoften rather detailed notes, in which there isvery much an emphasis on textualexplanation, not long variations, even if theytoo do have their place at times. Navarafocusses almost solely on games played witha classical time control and is far from afraidto explore in depth his losses as well as winsagainst the world’s elite.

The Best I Saw in ChessStuart Rachels, 416 pages, paperbackRRP £26.95 SUBSCRIBERS £24.25

Stuart Rachels won the 1989 U.S.Championship at the age of just 20 andappeared destined for the top, but just threeyears later would quit chess to pursue acareer in philosophy. Like with so many whostop playing, Rachels didn’t cease followingchess and we can now enjoy the full storybehind his early retirement, as well as histhoughts on the chess world since then. Thebulk of this work, however, covers Rachels’career, including games with the likes ofAnand and Kasparov. A gripping readthroughout, Rachels concludes by presenting110 principles of play, guidelines whichshould help all strengths of reader.

The Modernized Grünfeld DefenseYaroslav Zherebukh, 304 pages, paperback

RRP £28.95 SUBSCRIBERS £26.05 The Ukrainian-American Grandmaster hasspent plenty of time over the past five yearsanalysing his favourite dynamic opening, theGrünfeld. Zherebukh has now checked andupdated all that work, turning it into arepertoire for Black and Thinkers Publishing.Throughout he draws heavily on variationsand assessments, but is most certainly notafraid to explain the key ideas in clear English. Thinkers Publishing have certainly beenbusy of late. We’ve also recently receivedcopies of The Grandmaster Mindset byAlojzije Jankovic (200 pages, paperback,£21.95, or just £19.75 for Subscribers), inwhich the Croatian Grandmaster takesreaders inside his thought processes, aimingto deepen the club player’s mindset, so thatyou, for instance, counterattack rather thandefend when next attacked. Also just in stock at Chess and Bridge isAlexander Ipatov’s UnconventionalApproaches to Modern Chess Volume 2 (348pages, paperback, £29.95 or £26.95 forSubscribers), in which various unusual ideasfor White are explored, be they in the mainlines after 1 d4 or something less regular,including the Jobava-Prié Variation, a coupleof surprises in the English and a look at 1 b3.

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