This month we present a lightly edited excerpt from Chess Evolution Top GM Secrets Newsletter #164. Top GM Secrets is released every Friday of the week. The newsletter contains twenty-plus pages of great chess material written by top grandmasters Arkadij Naiditsch and Csaba Balogh, along with theoretical articles by GM Alexander Khalifman, puzzles, endgames, and more.A Nice Win by NakamuraBy Csaba BaloghTroff,Kayden W (2532) - Nakamura,Hikaru (2798)ch-USA 2015 Saint Louis USA (8.1), 09.04.2015Modern Benoni [A62]Nakamura has convincingly won the U.S. Championship. Let's examine one of his victories. 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 c5 4.d5 exd5 5.cxd5 d6 6.Nc3 g6 [FEN … [Read more...]
A Happy End For Both Players
This month we present a lightly edited excerpt from the Chess Evolution Newsletter #159. Top GM Secrets is released every Friday of the week. The newsletter contains twenty-plus pages of great chess material written by top grandmasters Arkadij Naiditsch and Csaba Balogh, along with theoretical articles by GM Alexander Khalifman, puzzles, endgames, and more. A Happy End For Both Players By Arkadij Naiditsch Bartel,Mateusz (2631) - Nepomniachtchi,Ian (2714) 16th ch-EUR Indiv 2015 Jerusalem ISR (11.3), 08.03.2015 Sicilian Moscow Variation [B51] We are in the last round of the ECC and both players are on a score of +4, which is enough to qualify for the World Cup, but knowing Bartel … [Read more...]
A Great Game by Anand!
This month we present a lightly edited excerpt from Chess Evolution Top GM Secrets Newsletter #156. Top GM Secrets is released every Friday of the week. The newsletter contains twenty-plus pages of great chess material written by top grandmasters Arkadij Naiditsch and Csaba Balogh, along with theoretical articles by GM Alexander Khalifman, puzzles, endgames, and more. A Great Game by Anand! By Csaba Balogh Anand,Viswanathan (2797) - Aronian,Levon (2777) 4th Zurich CC Classical SUI (2.3), 15.02.2015 Gruenfeld Defence [D97] Anand has a terrible personal score against Aronian, but in this game he takes a nice revenge. It would be very interesting to know how long his preparation … [Read more...]
Clash of the Titans: Fischer-Weinstein
This month we present a lightly edited excerpt from Chess Evolution Newsletter #150. CEWN is released every Friday of the week, the newsletter contains twenty-plus pages of great chess material written by top grandmasters Arkadij Naiditsch and Csaba Balogh. Clash of the Titans: Fischer-Weinstein by Kamil Miton Fischer,Robert James - Weinstein,Raymond Allen USA-ch New York (1), 18.12.1960 French Defense [C19] 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.e5 Ne7 5.a3 Bxc3+ 6.bxc3 c5 7.a4!? In general this move is very useful but in this concrete position White usually plays other moves: 7.Qg4 0-0 (7...Qc7 leads to very complex play after 8.Qxg7 Rg8 9.Qxh7 cxd4 10.Ne2 Nbc6 11.f4 Bd7 12.Qd3 … [Read more...]
Excellent Intuition
This month we present a lightly edited excerpt from Chess Evolution Newsletter #147. CEWN is released every Friday of the week, the newsletter contains twenty-plus pages of great chess material written by top grandmasters Arkadij Naiditsch and Csaba Balogh. Excellent Intuition by Csaba Balogh Jarmula,Lukasz (2307) - Sibashvili,Giorgi (2387) World Youth U16 Olympiad Gyor HUN (8.1), 19.12.2014 Blumenfeld Gambit [E10] 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 c5 4.d5 b5 Once again the Blumenfeld Gambit! It looks like it is a very popular weapon in youth tournaments. I must admit that I also employed this variation when I was younger. 5.e4!? A shocking move, but it looks extremely strong! … [Read more...]
Magnus Carlsen was Very, Very Lucky!
This month we present a lightly edited excerpt from Chess Evolution Newsletter #143. CEWN is released every Friday of the week, the newsletter contains twenty-plus pages of great chess material written by top grandmasters Arkadij Naiditsch and Csaba Balogh. Magnus Carlsen was Very, Very Lucky! by Arkadij Naiditsch Carlsen,Magnus (2863) - Anand,Viswanathan (2792) WCh 2014 Sochi RUS (6), 15.11.2014 Sicilian Kan [B41] We often hear people say that World Champions never blunder. In fact, World Champions blunder very rarely and even more rarely a one-move tactic. And what is even more rare is that after a blunder the opponent doesn't use the mistake, and this is precisely the case … [Read more...]
An Intuitive Exchange Sacrifice!
This month we present a lightly edited excerpt from Chess Evolution Newsletter #137. CEWN is released every Friday of the week, the newsletter contains twenty-plus pages of great chess material written by top grandmasters Arkadij Naiditsch and Csaba Balogh. An Intuitive Exchange Sacrifice! by Csaba Balogh Caruana,F (2844) - Gelfand,B (2748) Baku FIDE Grand Prix 2014 Baku AZE (2.2), 03.10.2014 Najdorf Sicilian [B90] Caruana and Gelfand continue their thematic opening discussion in the Sicilian Najdorf defense. 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.f3 White avoids the 6.Be3 Ng4 variation and starts with the 6.f3 move-order. This one also allows an extra option … [Read more...]
An Extremely Exciting Game
This month we present a lightly edited excerpt from Chess Evolution Newsletter #133. CEWN is released every Friday of the week, the newsletter contains twenty-plus pages of great chess material written by top grandmasters Arkadij Naiditsch and Csaba Balogh. by Csaba Balogh Svetushkin,D (2580) - Kryvoruchko,Y (2708) TCh-ESP Div Honor 2014 Linares ESP (3.1), 06.09.2014 Sicilian Defence [B40] An extremely exciting game was played in the Spanish team championship. It was not perfect, but both players found remarkable ideas in a very difficult middle game! 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 Black is ready to play a sharp Paulsen variation in the Sicilian, but White prefers to keep the position closed … [Read more...]
A Moment of Happiness!
This month we present a lightly edited excerpt from Chess Evolution Newsletter #129. CEWN is released every Friday of the week, the newsletter contains twenty-plus pages of great chess material written by top grandmasters Arkadij Naiditsch and Csaba Balogh. by Arkadij Naiditsch Carlsen, Magnus (2877) – Naiditsch, Arkadij (2709) 41st Olympiad Open 2014 Tromso NOR (7.1), 09.08.2014 It is never easy to comment on your own game and especially such an emotional one as against the current World Champion, but I will try to stay objective. I didn't play too well in the opening and was quickly a pawn down in a bad endgame, but strangely enough Carlsen started to give me chances and already … [Read more...]
Hou Yifan Commands Respect
This month we present a lightly edited excerpt from Chess Evolution Newsletter #125. CEWN is released every Friday of the week, the newsletter contains twenty-plus pages of great chess material written by top grandmasters Arkadij Naiditsch and Csaba Balogh. by Arkadij Naiditsch Hou, Yifan (2629) – Giri, Anish (2750) Hans Suri Mem 2014 Biel SUI (1.3), 14.07.2014 Sicilian Defense [B51] In the history of chess, only one woman has played on the highest level and this is Judit Polgar. At her best she even managed to enter the Top Ten. Hou Yifan, the current Women's World Champion and clearly the strongest female player after Polgar seems to do fine against men as well. Yifan is very … [Read more...]