How can I be like Alexei Shirov and also play the Fried Liver Attack? Peter Osborne from the UK has spotted the infamous Fried Liver Attack being used at the Olympiad and wants to know if it is just winning for White? The first thing to say is that the Fried Liver Attack is another name for the Fegatello Attack, which was popular with sixteenth century Italian masters, and the name is apparently Italian for a piece of liver. Well, I have to admit that I was rather shocked to see a grandmaster playing Black would dare tempt such an attacking genius to force your king to e6 in the opening and hope to get away with it. I can only suspect that Black thought Shirov would shy away from the … [Read more...]
The Classical Nimzo-Indian Defense [E38]
This month we examine a variation from the Classical Nimzo-Indian Defense, 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Qc2 c5 5.dxc5 Na6, for Olivier Mathieu of France, who after a thirty year absence from chess wants to know whether it is still playable. He writes, "Indeed, after 6.a3 Bxc3 7.Qxc3 Nxc5 8.b4 Nce4 9.Qb2 Black's position looks difficult. Is there any hope with 9...Nd6 or should I forget the 5...Na6 move?" I am grateful for the request because the variation leads to very interesting positions with plenty of tactics. 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 The Nimzo-Indian Defense, named after the great Aron Nimzowitsch, is extremely popular. The immediate 4.e4 is not possible and throughout this … [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...]
A New Opening Repertoire
I am back from an interesting bus tour around Ireland. It is a beautiful country with many nice people. During the trip I learned how to make limericks; so now I have a new talent. Over the past few months I started many new games in several tournaments. I used new openings in all of them, even though I previously stated that such changes should be made gradually. This is still my advice, so perhaps I will regret my decision as the games progress and I realize how little I know about these new positions. For about fifteen years I specialized in queen pawn openings as white. At first in Kramnik-style with 1.Nf3 and later in Avrukh-style with 1.d4. It served me well, but lately I have … [Read more...]
When There is a Rook You Better Look
It is claimed that about fifty percent of all endgames have rooks on the board. If accurate, that is a staggering percentage. The implication is clear: knowledge of rook endings can be a tremendous advantage. With true understanding of such endgames, there is a greater chance to save games we would lose, and win games we otherwise would not. A lot of the theory of rook endings concerns converting an extra pawn into a win. But there is a complicating factor. The rook is also a deadly weapon that can deliver mate, just like that. So today's block of ten examples goes right to the heart of the matter. It offers positions of rook vs. rook, with one side having an extra pawn on the seventh … [Read more...]
Henry Chadwick: Friend of Chess
by John S. Hilbert Not long ago Edward Winter featured Henry Chadwick, "the Father of Baseball," in one of his Chess Notes. (C.N. 8697, released June 27, 2014) Several interesting images of Chadwick and his publications appear there, as well as Chadwick's remarks on the eccentricities of chess players, a group he generally admired and among whom he fondly included himself – at least, when writing about those he respected. Mentioned too is Andrew J. Schiff's "The Father of Baseball": A Biography of Henry Chadwick (McFarland 2008), a work worth reading for anyone interested in a curious figure whose presence on the American scene advanced not only what became the nation's national pastime, … [Read more...]
Another Casualty Report on the Opening Disasters of 1998
From Inside Chess, 1999/3 by Nikolay Minev Always Risky Development is of the fullest value when it is harmonious. It is always risky when an opening variation is based, first and foremost, on full development of only one of the wings. And it is especially dangerous when only the queenside is developed, while the pieces of the kingside stay frozen, as in the following two instructive debacles. Alexander Ianovsky - Sergey Perun Kiev 1998 Sicilian Closed [B24] 1.e4 c5 2.Nc3 e6 3.g3 Nc6 4.Bg2 Rb8 Theory recommends 4...Nf6 followed by ...d7-d5, with an equal game. The idea for early action with only the queenside forces is strategically very risky in this particular case, because … [Read more...]
What is a Push Counter, and What is a Standard Game?
Question Dear Geurt, In light of new regulations taking effect from 1 July 2014, I have a question regarding the flag fall in a Rapid or Blitz game. In article A.4.c it is written: To claim a win on time, the claimant must stop the chess clock and notify the arbiter. For the claim to be successful, the claimant must have time remaining on his own clock after the chess clock has been stopped. However, the game is drawn if the position is such that the opponent cannot checkmate the player's king by any possible series of legal moves. According to this rule, it is obvious that a player having a right to claim a win on time is obliged to stop the chess clock and summon the arbiter, and he … [Read more...]
Piece Evaluation vs. Position Evaluation
Quote of the Month: Evaluation tells you how valuable something is. I have devoted many Novice Nooks to the suggestion that the main chess skill is analysis. I have also stated the companion thought process skill to analysis, and thus "second in command," is evaluation. My definition for evaluation of a position is determining which side stands better, how much better, and why? It is also important to differentiate between static evaluation and dynamic evaluation: Static evaluation occurs by considering the static elements of the position, e.g., what material is on the board, positional factors like weak pawns, open files, etc, and "visual" king safety – the apparent ability of the … [Read more...]
The Sharp Endgame Weapon Zugzwang
Ordinarily pure opposite-colored bishop endings have a very large drawish tendency, but in chess there is no rule without exceptions. I want to highlight one attacking method in particular: 156.01 J.Nunn The position is based on an endgame, which John Nunn played in a simultaneous display in 1977. He analyzes it in detail in his excellent Secrets of Practical Chess, 2nd edition, Gambit 2007 and I use his analysis in the following: 1...Be1 2.Kf6 Bh4 3.Kf5 Kd6 4.g3!! fxg3 4...Bxg3 is met by 5.Kxg5 Be1 A) Of course not 6.Kxf4? Ke7 7.Kg5 (7.c7 Kd7=) 7...Bg3 8.h4 Kf7 9.h5 Kg7=. B) 6.h4 Ke7 7.h5 Ba5 8.Kg6 Kf8 And now 9.Bd5! f3 10.h6 f2 11.h7 f1Q 12.h8Q+ Ke7 13.Qe5+ Kf8 … [Read more...]