The Return of the Aeroflot Festival in Moscow By Geurt Gijssen After a break of some years there was again an Aeroflot Festval in Moscow, and again at the Hotel Cosmos, a large hotel with 1,700 rooms. The main organiser of the event is Alexander Bakh, who deserves praise for his efforts to revive the Festival. Without him it would not have been possible. There were again three tournaments: Tournament A was for players with a rating over 2549; Tournament B was for players with a rating higher than 2299 and lower than 2550; and Tournament C for those with a rating lower than 2300. Each tournament had a different time control: Tournament A: 100 minutes for 40 moves, then 50 … [Read more...]
Determining Candidate Move Safety
Determining Candidate Move Safety By Dan Heisman Quote of the Month: “Whenever you think you have lost the meaning of life, look around you for those in need of your help and you shall find it.” I consider the most important issue on a chess board to be safety (off the board it is having fun, but that’s another story...). Students often cite after a lost game: “...I lost because I missed a tactic...” ...whereupon I usually provide a follow-up question, which they did not consider... “That’s ambiguous: Did you mean that you missed, and thus allowed, a tactic for the opponent that won the game for him, or did you fail to see a tactic for you that would have won, or saved the … [Read more...]
Defending an Inferior Ending
Russian IM Mark Dvoretsky is one the most respected chess trainers in the world today. In his April 2015 column he presents the fourth of a six-part series dealing with positions in which Black opens the g-file after a trade of minor pieces. A new column is posted the second Tuesday of each month. Defending an Inferior Ending By Mark Dvoretsky Dvoretsky - Moiseev Moscow Championship 1973 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.Bb5+ Bd7 4.Bxd7+ Qxd7 5.0-0 Nf6 6.e5 de 7.Nxe5 Qd8?! (7...Qc8) 8.Nc3 Nbd7 9.d4 e6 10.Bg5 Be7 (10...cd!? 11.Qxd4+/=) 11.Nxd7 Qxd7 (11...Nxd7?! 12.Bxe7 Qxe7 13.d5+/=) 12.dc Qxd1 It's harder for Black to defend if he keeps the queens on: 12...Bxc5 13.Bxf6 gf? … [Read more...]
Power Strategy 1
A University Education Review by Davide Nastasio Power Strategy 1, by Mihail Marin, ChessBase, Video running time: 4 hours 52 min., $39.95 (ChessCafe Price $29.96) When I was in college I was frustrated with the education system because every year they would test us on what kind of learner we were (visual, auditory, or tactile), and then independently from the results they would just give us a heavy 2,000+ page book to read. I'm not against books, but as a tactile learner my brain is clearly dominated by movement, color, and geometric shapes. So, while one of the best books on the middlegame was written by Nimzowitsch, between his metaphors from a previous century and the translation, … [Read more...]
Proof Games: Back to Start
Proof Games: Back to Start By Jeff Coakley The task in a proof game is to show how a given position can be reached in a legal game. The puzzles in this column have a move stipulation. The position must be reached in a precise number of moves, no more and no less. With one exception, they are proof games in 4.0 which means four moves by each side. These games are devoid of any opening strategy. But the moves are legal. Proof Game 42 This position, with White to play, was reached in a game after each player made exactly four moves. Can you figure out how? Proof Game 43 This position was reached after Black’s fourth turn. What were the moves? The next … [Read more...]
Kasparov vs Karpov 1986-1987
Garry Kasparov on Modern Chess, Part 3 Kasparov vs Karpov 1986-1987 The day of the final trial arrived. That morning grandmaster Milunka Lazarevic phoned my mother from Switzerland and said: ‘Clara, tell Garry that only two people could win a decisive game to order: Alekhine, who failed to do this, and Fischer, who didn't need to. Tell Garry that he has to do it.’ But my mother didn't tell me this until after the game. Evidently, even she did not really believe in a miracle... On the way to the 24th game I saw an enormous crowd outside the Lope de Vega Theatre. Even on ordinary days the match drew big crowds, but never so many people as on that day. I said sadly to Litvinov: ‘I expect … [Read more...]
Chess Literature: A Question of Quality
Chess Literature: A Question of Quality By Tim Harding The founders of Quality Chess, back in 2004, were Swedish IM Ari Ziegler, Danish GM Jacob Aagaard, and Scottish GM John Shaw. In 2007, after Ziegler left to become president of the Swedish chess federation, the company moved to Scotland and two more Scottish titled players - IM Andrew Greet (previously known as a chess author for Everyman Chess) and GM Colin McNab - later joined the team. The output of Quality Chess is about evenly divided between openings and "improvement" books, the latter dealing with various aspects of chess, though not history or biography and there is little on the endgame. Possibly relevant to some readers, a … [Read more...]
Sicilian Repertoires and Unexplored Territory
Sicilian Repertoires and Unexplored Territory by Jim Rizzitano Reviewed this Month Sveshnikov vs. the Anti-Sicilians by Evgeny Sveshnikov Modernized: The Open Sicilian by Zhanibek Amanov and Kostya Kavutskiy The Killer Sicilian by Tony Rotella 1...b6 Move by Move by Cyrus Lakdawala This month I will review one title from New In Chess: Sveshnikov vs. the Anti-Sicilians, one title from Metropolitan Chess Publishing: Modernized: The Open Sicilian, and two titles from Everyman Chess: The Killer Sicilian and 1...b6 Move by Move. These four books should all appeal to a broad range of chess players. Sveshnikov vs. the Anti-Sicilians by Evgeny Sveshnikov, New In Chess 2014, Figurine … [Read more...]
Chess Mazes #383
Chess Mazes #383 There are two types of chess mazes: checking and mating. For bishop, rook, and knight mazes the play is to check the black king. For queen, pawn, and king mazes the object is to checkmate the enemy king; here checks are not allowed. The rules in common for each type of maze are as follows: Black never moves. Only the maze piece (in the case of pawns – the maze units) may move. A maze piece may never move to a square where it can be captured by enemy forces. A maze piece may capture undefended enemy forces. Plus we look for the shortest solution. Helpers in queen and king mazes are frozen to the diagram position, unable to move or be removed. In pawn mazes … [Read more...]
Sicilian Taimanov [B48]
Sicilian Taimanov [B48] By Abby Marshall 1.e4 For the springtime I am covering a main line in the Open Sicilian. I usually try to avoid covering heavy theoretical stuff because to know these lines you have to cover more than the basics, but this is a relevant line that is still unexplored enough so that knowing the ideas is more valuable than covering all the finer points. 1...c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nc6 5.Nc3 Black can still go in various directions from here, such as the 5...d6 Scheveningen or 5...Nf6. Here we are looking at the Taimanov variation. 5...a6 In the line we're looking at Black can also play 5...Qc7 first. 6.Be3 White prepares queenside … [Read more...]
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