exd5!

Did you guess who the (future) grandmaster was?

admin — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0000

12.03.2010 – A week ago we published a picture of a very young chess player who was destined to become a world class grandmaster. Most of our readers guessed intantly who this player was especially the lips gave him away. But going through the clues we unhelpfully provided many a doubt was created in their minds. Read about it in our selection of feedback and find out what Nigel Short was doing in Hamburg.

Nigel Davies: French Defence Strategy
The French Defence is one of the best choices a player can make for his opening repertoire, especially older players with limited study time. The solid construction of Blacks game puts the onus on positional understanding and makes it immune to sharp and tricky variations. The longer you play the French the better youll play it. On this DVD Nigel Davies explains the strategy behind the French Defence by examining typical pawn structures and explaining the plans and ideas for both sides. More information...

Who is this grandmaster?

We asked you to guess who the cute young child in the photo is.

Once again we provided you with some more or less helpful clues:

He started playing chess at an early age – in fact the photo above is probably the first of him with a chessboard. It is. The earliest one we could find in his family album.
He became an IM at fourteen and a grandmaster at the sensationally young age of nineteen. Until very recently he was the top player in his country. Actually he had been eclipsed for a decaded by Michael Adams, but at the end of last year he overtook his younger rival. In the March 2010 FIDE list Mickey is back on first in the UK.
He is from Europe, and in spite of the fact that his compatriots speak a different language he is perfectly fluent in English. He live in Greece, although he still has his English citizenship. People around him, whom we somewhat carelessly called his "compatriots" (many thanks for the precise definitionthat some readers sent us) do not speak English as fluently as he does.
He has travelled extensively as a chess grandmaster, visiting a total of 89 countries. He counted them. Really: eighty-nine in all! Only surpassed by Florencio Campomanes.
He has played against and beaten twelve world champions: Smyslov, Tal, Spassky, Petrosian, Karpov, Kasparov, Khalifman, Ponomariov, Kasimdzhanov, Anand, Kramnik and Topalov. He beat Viktor Korchnoi in 1976, Tigran Petrosian in 1978 and drew Sammy Reshevsky in 1986. He beat Korchnoi at the age of ten in a simultaneous exhibition, and Petrosian at the age of twelve, also in a simul. All the others were in classical one-on-one over-the-board play.
He has received training from Boris Spassky and Garry Kasparov. Boris is an old friend who has occasionally trained him. Garry gave him the lesson of a lifetime in 1993. Their training session was generally billed as a World Championship match. Sorry for that one, Nigel, but it threw Garry Kimovich off. He recognised the rest in milli-seconds, but stumbled over this fake clue.
Last summer he retired to a plantation where he grows fruit for commercial produce. Actually he has a summer house near a beautiful beach in Greece. There are olive trees in the garden, and the fruit is harvested every year to produce olive oil. He retires to the summer house for a holiday from chess a couple of times a year.

Well, almost all readers guessed who the future grandmaster was. Nigel Short of England. We must confess that this was not the first time we used him to puzzle our readers. And probably not the last.

Nigel Short – Greatest Hits

Nigel spent a week in Hamburg, recording two DVDs for ChessBase, and getting up-to-speed in Playchess lectures. Yes, you can expect to see him regularly on our chess server, commenting on the events in the chess world.

One of the first duties of a prominent visitor of ChessBase in Hamburg...

... signing one of the posters that decorate the walls of the offices

Before the DVD recordings: a little preparation on his new HP notebook

Nigel just before the start of a recording in the ChessBase studio in Hamburg

On Friday evenings we have TV ChessBase – with André Schulz and IM Oliver Reeh

Nigel was one of the most popular guests in the TV show

Certainly one of the funniest and most animated

The ChessBase DVDs "Nigel Short – Greatest Hits" will appear in the near future.

Reader feedback

Once again we can only bring you a selection of the hundreds of letters we received in reaction to our "who is this future GM" puzzle. The selection is done semi-automatically, so if you do not find your letter amongst those given below it does not reflect on our opinion of the quality. Unless your letter was gratuitously rude, marred by adventurous orthography or – always an immediate deal-breaker – written entirely in CAPS.

Kajetan Wandowicz, Wroclaw, Poland
I would think it's Short, if not for a small detail. He was a prodigy, GM at 19, is now English No. 2, has played in many countries, beat Korchnoi as a child in a simultaneous exhibition... Even the boy in the photo looks Short-ish. Since I heard Short had an olives plantation, I could even make sense from "Last summer he retired to a plantation where he grows fruit for commercial produce.", which, given Frederic Friedel's gift for riddles, could simply mean that he spent holidays at his plantation. However, unlike the verb "retire", the noun "compatriot" is not known to me to have a second meaning and that's where I must admit defeat: Short's compatriots speak very fluent English, and his living in Greece doesn't change that. Still, I'll assume my far-from-perfect English is to blame and the sentence actually can mean the Greeks, so I'll go for Short, but I won't bet a penny on it. Waiting for the answer next week!

Gerardo Vázquez, Mexico City, Mexico
It's Nigel Short! He became IM at 14, GM at 19 and beat Petrosian as a 12-year-old! (Apparently, Petrosian got pretty angry)

Jan Olderdissen, Simi Valley, USA
Bah – too easy. The lips are a dead give-away. Also the reference to being a top player in an English speaking country until recently. Just a simple matter to check Wikipedia to confirm that Nigel Short did indeed make GM at the ripe old age of 19. And everybody knows his Greek countrymen don't speak English as well as he does.

Susan, US Virgin Islands
At first glance the picture was a young image of Nigel Short. What threw me for a few moments was your sentence: He has received training from Boris Spassky and Garry Kasparov. But, I suddenly realized that even I have received such training through analysis of their games. Nigel, you were such an adorable child.

Vernon Walker, Canada
Sneaky clues indeed! I'm pretty sure that's Nigel Short. The slightly misleading hints: Until very recently he was the top player in his country – Mickey Adams had surpassed him in rating a while back, but Short's rating briefly rose past Adams' last year. I take it from the clue that Adams has recently regained the lead. He is from Europe, and in spite of the fact that his compatriots speak a different language he is perfectly fluent in English - Well, being English of course he has a perfect command of the English language! The tricky thing is that he has been living in Greece (if I'm not mistaken) for some time, so his "compatriots" are his fellow Greeks. He has received training from Boris Spassky and Garry Kasparov - Had no idea about training from Boris Spassky, and I don't believe him and Kasparov ever collaborated. I'm guessing the "training" received from Kasparov refers to their World Championship match!

Vinod Vishwanath, Bangalore, India
The answer, I think, is GM Nigel Short. It is no surprise he speaks fluent English, despite living in Greece, since he is an Englishman! The clue was a clever one, though.

Kevin Cotreau, Merrimack, NH USA
I know who it is, but when I first looked at the question and picture, I immediately thought "Judit Polgar". Nigel, you made such a cute little girl. :)

Fred Lucas, Netherlands
Hi Frederic, is it this guy?

Photo by Fred Lucas

Osvaldo Téllez Almirall, Edomex, Mexico
I have no doubts, the future grandmaster appeared on photo is Nigel Short, english born and currently living in Greece. btw, a nice man and a gentleman. I respect him as a great player and is always instructive to study his matches.

Stein Kulseth
Surely it is Nigel Short. The misleading fact about his compatriots not speaking flawless English is explained by the fact that Short is currently residing in Greece. (Although, come to think of it, as we are comparing with Short's mastery of the English language, it might apply if he still lived in the UK.)

Bhalchandra Thatte, Oxford, U.K.
Nigel Short? But I must admit that a few of your clues puzzle me. Trained by Kasparov – did Short work with Kasparov for a match with someone? Retired to a plantation, win over Smyslov in 1976 – perhaps in a simul? Short must have been about ten in 1976. But this kid does seem to have the style of Nigel Short.

Brian Hayden,Ireland
Easy peasy (should I say "easy olivesy" instead?) - step forward (what's the Greek word for Mr?) Nigel Short.

Rajesh V, Seattle, USA
compatriot: – noun 1.a native or inhabitant of one's own country; fellow countryman or countrywoman. – adjective 2.of the same country. "As you probably know by now we are a bit sneaky with our hints. Naturally they are all true, but sometimes a little bit misleading." Well, in this case, it is NOT true. Interesting hints, nevertheless. Isn't the picture itself a big give-away? Nigel Short. And "Last summer he retired to a plantation where he grows fruit for commercial produce". Is that retire-retire or a vacation/break at the plantation? And thanks for the great puzzles! Very enjoyable.

Geir Sune Tallaksen Østmoe, Kongsberg, Norway
Recognized primarily by his mouth in the picture: Nigel Short. Knowing he was a prodigy strengthened my suspicion, and I became 100% certain when googling and learning about the exact ages he became IM and GM, and learning that he defeated Korchnoi at the age of ten – in a simultaneous. Sneaky misleading hint about his Greek compatriots!

Ramón Jiménez, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
Nigel Short, of course :) Great set of clues there – someone who hasn't fully enjoyed your reports on this colorful GM may forget that he actually lives in Greece these days, growing olives and stunning the world with his penchant for unusual English words, uncompromising comment on the chess world and its inhabitants, and of course, quite enjoyable chess. Everything else failing, the very particular curvature of his upper lip has not changed a bit in all this time (I'm saying this quite literally - no reference to any kind of English saying about upper lips here).

Jonathan Paxman, Perth, Australia
All the obscure clues in the world won't help you when Nigel Short has such distinctive lips! I assumed it was him even before looking at the clues! IM at 14, GM at 19, he defeated Korchnoi in a simul aged 10. I can only assume that the comment about his being "perfectly fluent in English" is a remark about his command of some of the more obscure corners of the English language, and perhaps his impeccable accent.

Casper Dahl Rasmussen, Copenhagen
My guess is Nigel Short. The picture clearly says "Nigel" to me, but the "helpfull clues" were rather disturbing... Beating Korchnoi in '76 was simul I guess, and "training" with Kasparov was the match in '93???

Seena Daneshvar, Tehran, Iran
You guys really think you are clever, huh?! He's Nigel Short! And I don't think the fact that he lives in Greece makes the Greeks his compatriots. He plays with the British flag in tournaments and on the Internet...

Duncan Vella, Swieqi, Malta
Well, it's pretty obvious that it's Nigel Short. The pic was enough of a clue. Although I didn't know that he retired to concentrate on plantation. I hope he is not quitting chess as he is quite a character for the chess scene.

Derek Jones, Aylesbury, England
Too easy. Nigel Short is one of those people whose appearance changed remarkably little between childhood and manhood. You should have produced a photo of Nigel as a baby to make it more difficult. I remembered Korchnoi's 1976 simultaneous exhibition but had forgotten Petrosian's in London in 1978. The comment about Nigel speaking English would have fooled only those who do not know he lives in Greece.

Navin Sawalani, Madison, WI, USA
It's Nigel Short!

Lionel Laffranchise, Bray en Val, France
I guess it is Nigel Short. Thanks for the puzzle.

M Jagadish, Pune, India
Nigel Short, of course! You could add a couple more hints ;)

Wade Caughlin, Grande Prairie, Canada
I think it might be Nigel Short??

Shiv Mathur, Mumbai, India
Surely Nigel Short? After all, he DOES speak fluent English !!

Steve Goodman, Falls Church, VA, United States
This has to be Nigel Short.

Peter Ballard, Australia
Nigel Short?

Ramesh Vakharia, India
sorry sir very sorry but I think it is of Ivanchuk that cheater and drug addict Chucky the cheater.

Elvin Solomon, Australia
Surely, None other than Nigel Short.

Ralvin, Manikam, Selangor, Malaysia
Haha, its unmistakable, Nigel Short, surely!!

John Moncada, Pto cabezas, Nicaragua
Is the picture of Nigel Short

John Moncada, Pto cabezas, Nicaragua
Is the picture of Bent Larsen.

Royce Campbell, Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA
Well, this is obviously a "short" note.

Lu Tahmazyan, Los Angeles
My guess would be Nigel David Short.

Mark Vogan, Houston, TX, USA
This kid so clearly looks like Nigel Short that I will not even research the clues. It must be Short.

Ted Teodoro, River Ege, USA
Nigel Short, kinda obvious...

Alok Nagdev, Los Angeles
He was the top grandmaster in his country for the last but one FIDe list... did I say that was for a very short period of time? He is eloquent in Queens English and contrary to his name has had a long lasting impression on the chess world.

Danny Ramos, Paranaque, Philippines
I would like to guess whose picture it was. It was GM Nigel Short when he was still a kid. Do I get a prize if I got it right? Just asking.

Bobby Bower, Nassau, Bahamas
It's obviously Nigel Short. Our champ!

Zhigen Lin, Melbourne, Australia
The player in "Can you guess who this (future) grandmaster is?" is Nigel Short! I could see the resemblance in facial features.

Wendel Lopez, San Pedro Sula, Honduras C.A.
El nino es Nigel Short de Inglaterra. Espero no equivocarme esta vez... Saludos!!

Benjamin, Brandt, Saginaw, USA
It is Short, but didn't you already do him before? By the way, great site! I check it almost every day.

Aben Rudy, Scottsdale, Arizona, USA
That's Nigel Short. No doubt about it!

Colin Reed, Birmingham, England
You asked us to guess who the child is in the photo? I say it is Nigel Short.

Nick Beqo, Vancouver, Canada
Nigel Short?

Markus Bindig, Reinsdorf
Hello there! Your clues are pretty obviously pointing to Nigel Short. Will that insight earn me an autograph?

Shanker Raman, Calgary, Canada
Nigel Short.

Pat Parimi, Boston, USA
No clues are necessary for this puzzle. The boy in the photo is Nigel Short. He hasn't changed much since his childhood.

Jonathan Kenny, Virginia, USA
It's Nigel Short.

Ivan Smilianov, Peshtera, Bulgaria
This is the photo of Nigel Short. Now he is maybe 100 kg, but his mouth is the same as on the photo. :)

Karlo Bala Jr., 21000 Novi Sad, Serbia
Looking at eyes and mouth, I think it is Nigel Short ;)

Lawrence Henderson, Nevada USA
It is Nigel Short

Carsten Hansen, Hackensack, USA
From the text it seems like and from the picture it looks like, it can only be Nigel Short.

Khondakar Dhaka, Bangladesh
He is GM Nigel Short

John Moncada, Pto Cabezas, Nicaragua
Is the picture of IVANCHUCK

Béla János, Putyinger
Short

Flemming Høgh, Frederiksberg Copenhagen
I guess its Nigel Short.

Andra Cimina, Athens, Greece
If it is not Nigel Short it should be his twin brother:)

Alexei Kulashko, Auckland, New Zealand
Alexandr Belyavskiy

Sundararajan Ganesan, Pudukkottai, India
The child in the photo is Nigel Short, former challenger to Kasparov. Nigel now mostly lives in Greece with his family. Greece is after all in Europe and Nigel, being an Englishman, speaks flawless English!

Ed Zator, Toronto, Canada
Nigel Short?

Brian Karen, Levittown, USA
That is GM Ivan Sokolov.

Juan Carlos Rodriguez, Buenos Aires
I think he is Yasser Seirawan...

Fenisevic Dragan, Croatia
Nigel Short

Bona Dilo, Botswana
It looks more like Nigel Short. In fact, it should be Nigel Short. He was top rated Brit before he was surpassed by Adams. Has he retired? This is definitely the misleading part.

Gerald Aycardo, Cebu City, Philippines
That cute short boy is Nigel Short!

Johan Geyser, Johannesburg, South Africa
The photo of the youngster who became a grandmaster and beat 12 world champions must be Nigel Short. I guess he speaks flawless English in Greece!

Yigal Nochomovitz, Ph.D., New York, NY
Appears to be a young Nigel Short

Samuel Stolpe, Falls Church, VA, USA
Mr. Friedel, it is the same GM who you told me last week complained of losing to "some Azeri punk" on Playchess, who later turned out to be Gashimov. You can tell by the shape of his upper lip: it's Short.

Kieran Delamotte, France
Very nice quizz! The boy is in fact Nigel Short who is certainly as outstanding in chess as in English! However, he's still at the top :-) Please keep on providing us with his comments!!

Dag Standnes, Bergen, Norway
I guess the boy on the picture is GM Nigel David Short from England.

William Taylor, Bridgwater, England
I think it must be Nigel Short – although I've never seen pictures of him that young I recognised him. The "fact that his compatriots speak a different language" puzzled me for a moment, before I remembered that he lives in Greece. A quick google revealed that he became a GM at 19, so I'm confident that I'm right without investigating the other clues.

Johan Hut, Baarn, Holland
The child in the photo is Nigel Short. He hasn't changed much, only his hair is shorter now.

John Kunz, Watetown, NY USA
Nigel Short

Alfred Acaling III, Cadiz City
Its easy even if w/o hints, the first time I saw the pic (2sec) I knew that it was Nigel Short, the lips is a giveaway.

Rico Moreno, Honolulu, HI, USA
Nigel Short ...

Gerry Smith, Dublin
Nigel Short, he has not changed a bit!

Manny Balidio, Waipahu, Hawaii (USA)
I would like to guess the name of the grandmaster prodigy pictured as a child in your article. I believe that child is Nigel Short as a child!

Thiamhee, Lai, Penang, Malaysia
The lips, at least, looks like Nigel Short, though the hints of him getting trained by Kasparov is very dubious to say the least.

Pedro Silva, Coimbra, Portugal
It's definetely Nigel Short. The clue that gives it away is the one about his compatriots' language. And after a few reaearch, you can find the simul where he beat Korchnoi and so on. Nice puzzle.

Bolivar Gonzalez, Brazil
GM Nigel Short (ENG)

Cosmin Cretu, Romania
Nigel Short

Jon Crumiller, Princeton New Jersey USA
Nigel Short.

Jamshid Begmatov, Tashkent, Uzbekistan
The photo is enough to identify Nigel, don't you think?

Jacob, Portukalian, Los Angeles, CA
It is clearly Nigel Short. I identified him immediately from the photo. His compatriots are now Greeks, even though he was born in England. All the other facts line up with his wikipedia page.

Natan, Estivallet, Porto Alegre, Brazil
I think he is Nigel Short. The picture very much looks like one that can be found in the book "Play better chess", Leonard Barden, 1980.

Woody Jackson, Kent, UK
Nigel Short

John Rose, Media, USA
Either Nigel short has dual citizenship or his witty vocabulary enables him to fit your description. Such a British face.

Ilya Krasik, Boston, USA
Undeniably the boy on the picture is Nigel Short. The "speaks perfect english" clue sealed the deal there, but anyhow he looks like Short 100%.

Andre, Cardon, S. Paulo, Brazil
Nigel Short is the child grandmaster!

Juan, Beserra, Brazil
He looks a lot like Artur Yusupov! Am I right about my guess?

Rijeka: Two ahead, two behind, and the masked rider

admin — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0000

12.03.2010 – No one was spared on the top boards in the European Championship, and exciting, uncompromising games were the result, to the delight of chess fans. Both top boards featuring Efimenko and Jobava against Nisipeanu and Timofeev leave two ahead and two playing catch-up. Also find out about the untitled Belarussian who is +1 against 2600+ competition. Round six report.

This event is taking place from March 6th to 18th 2010 in Rijeka, Croatia. Top players include Almasi, Bacrot, Movsesian, Navara, Vallejo, Motylev, Adams, Tomashevsky, Alekseev, Baadur, Naiditsch, Akopian, Volokitin, Bologan and Caruana.

Round four + five report

By Albert Silver

Round five started with a quick draw on top board between tournament leaders GM Baadur Jobava and Zahar Efimenko, and others seeking to rejoin them. Both Timofeev and Nisipeanu did exactly that, though Nisipeanu’s game was undoubtedly the game of the round. The Romanian was paired against Canadian GM Yannick Pelletier, and the opening made it clear that he had carefully prepared for the duel.

Nisipeanu,LD (2661) - Pelletier,Y (2611) [E15]
11th EICC Men Rijeka CRO (5), 10.03.2010
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 b6 4.g3 Ba6 5.Qc2 Bb7 6.Bg2 c5 7.d5 exd5 8.cxd5 Nxd5 9.0-0 Be7 10.Rd1 Nc6 11.Qf5 Nf6 12.e4 d6 13.e5 Qd7

White has consistently exchanged queens with 14.Qxd7+, as in Carlsen-Pelletier (Biel, 2008). Nisipeanu's novelty 14.Qc2N has his queen hopping around like a Mexican jumping bean. Is it genuinely sound or simply a bold gamble? 14...Nb4 15.Qe2. 15.Qb3? Bd5 16.Qa3 dxe5! 17.Nxe5 Qf5 18.Qa4+ Kf8 19.Bxd5 Nbxd5 20.Re1 Bd6 21.Nc4 Bc7-/+ and Black is simply up a pawn. 15...Ba6. Until now, the game looks more like the Romanian is playing Russian roulette with himself, as he alone appears to be in constant danger of losing quickly and badly. Still, since the prepared novelty is his, one must presume his plan goes beyond simply astounding the audience with his death-defying acts. 16.Qe1. 16.Qd2? Ne4 17.Qe3 d5. 16...Nc2 17.Qd2 Nxa1 18.exf6 Bxf6 19.Re1+ Be7 20.Nc3

Pelletier had managed to acquire some material, but now it was starting to look as if he were the one on a tightrope. He was no doubt anxious to get his king to safety and bring some sanity to the game, however the natural looking 20...0-0? was a mistake, allowing White to exploit the various gaps in his position. Better was 20...0-0-0 as White has no immediate threats, and will need to take the time to capture the knight, allowing Black to consolidate, e.g. 21.Qd5 Bb7 22.Qd3 Rhe8 23.Bd2 Bf6 24.Rxa1. 21.Ne5 Qc8 22.Nc6! Bd8 23.Nd5! White's knights have become shameless bullies, and shape an attractive geometric motif. 23...Qg4 [23...Qxc6?? 24.Ne7+ Bxe7 25.Bxc6] 24.b3 Bb7 25.h3! Qh5 26.Nce7+ Kh8 27.Nf4 1-0. [Click to replay]

A few boards down, top German GM Naiditsch, only a whisper away from also being the first German to break the 2700 barrier, was able to avenge his repeated choice of an opening line.

Rodshtein,M (2609) - Naiditsch,A (2691) [E04]
11th EICC Men Rijeka CRO (5), 10.03.2010
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.g3 dxc4 5.Bg2 Nc6 6.Qa4 Nd7 7.Qxc4 Nb6 8.Qb5 a6 9.Qd3 e5 10.Nxe5 Nb4 11.Qd1 Qxd4 12.Qxd4 Nc2+ 13.Kd1 Nxd4 14.Be3 Nf5 15.Bxb6 cxb6

The German GM has reached this position twice before, against no less than Kramnik and Eljanov, losing both games. For those relying on stats for their opening choices, this would lead it to be buried for good. But the truth is the line wasn't to blame, and, as the saying goes, third time's a charm. 16.Nc3 Bc5 17.Nd3N. Kramnik chose 17.e3 though achieved nothing from the opening after 17...0-0 18.Ke2 Re8 19.Nd3 Rb8. 17...0-0 18.Ne4 Be7 19.e3 Bd7 20.Ke2 Bc6 21.Rhc1 Rfe8 22.g4?

On the surface this might look like a good move as it forces the knight to h6 and restricts its movement. Unfortunately for White, this concept is illusory as it lasts no more than 3 moves and does nothing to improve his position. Better was 22.Ne5 Bb5+ followed by 23.Nc4 Rac8 and 24.b3. 22...Nh6 23.Bf3 Rad8. The idea of 23...Nxg4 planning 24.Bxg4 Bxe4 fails to the zwischenzug 24.Rxc6! bxc6 25.Bxg4. 24.h3 f5 25.gxf5 Nxf5 26.Ne5 Bb5+ 27.Nc4 Bh4 28.Bh1 Rf8?! [with the idea 28...Bc6 29.Ncd2 Rf8] 29.a4 Nd6 30.axb5 Nxe4 31.f4 Ng3+ 32.Kf3 axb5 33.Ne5 Rd5 34.Ng4 Rd2 35.Rc7 Rxb2 36.Rg1 h5 37.Ne5 Nf5 38.Ke4 Rd2 39.Rd7 Nd6+ wins the exchange since 40.Kf3 allows 40...Rf2 mate. 0-1. [Click to replay]

One very strange development was in the game between Bareev and Stocek. Bareev is an odd bird in the world elite in that his positional play and understanding of the game are deservedly ranked among the best, yet he has also been on the receiving end of some of the shortest miniatures in history, and is extremely erratic tactically. Consider the crushing position he set up against GM Stocek.

Bareev,E (2667) - Stocek,J (2591) [A29]
11th EICC Men Rijeka CRO (5), 10.03.2010
1.c4 Nf6 2.Nc3 e5 3.Nf3 Nc6 4.g3 Bc5 5.Bg2 d6 6.0-0 0-0 7.e3 a6 8.a3 h6 9.b4 Ba7 10.d3 Be6 11.Bb2 Qd7 12.Qc2 Ne7 13.Rfd1 Bh3 14.Bh1 Nf5 15.c5 Rfe8 16.e4 Ne7 17.d4 exd4 18.Nxd4 Ng6 19.Nf5 Ne5 20.Nd5 Nxd5 21.Rxd5 Bxf5 22.exf5 Qe7 23.Rxe5 dxe5 24.Bxb7 Rad8 25.Bxa6 Qg5 26.Re1 Qd2 27.Qc3 Rd4 28.Bb5 Rb8 29.Rxe5 Qxc3 30.Bxc3 Rd1+ 31.Bf1 Rc1 32.Bd4 Rd8 33.Be3 Ra1 34.Kg2 Rxa3 35.Re7 Bb8 36.f6 Ra4 37.b5 Kf8 38.c6 gxf6 39.Bc5 Kg7 40.Rd7 Rc8 41.Be2 Re4 42.Bd3 Ra4 43.Be3 Rb4 44.Be2 Kg6 45.Bc5

White's winning plan is to position one bishop to hit on f7 and the other to attack f8, preventing the rook from protecting the f7 pawn. Black's sole rook in the battlefield can only delay this but not prevent it, and black will be forced to return an exchange, sealing his fate. 45...Ra4 46.Rd5. This move, taking the rook away from its dream post, is a sure sign Bareev has lost the thread of the position. 46.Bf3 Rc4 47.Be3 Rc3 (47...Rb4 48.Bd5 Rxb5 49.Bxf7+ Kf5 (49...Kh7 50.Bc4+) 50.Kf3 threatening g4+ and Bf4 mate. 50...h5 51.h3 and the mate is unstoppable.) 48.Bd5 Rf8 49.Bd2 followed by Bb4. 46...Kg7 47.Bh5 Re4 48.Bd4 Rce8 49.Rd7 Rxd4 50.Rxd4 Re5 51.g4 Kf8 52.f4 Re2+ 53.Kf1 Ba7 54.Ra4 Rf2+ 55.Ke1 Bb6 56.Ra8+ Ke7 57.f5 Rxh2 58.Rh8 Rb2 59.Rh7 Kd6 60.Rxf7 Ke5 61.Re7+ 1/2-1/2. [Click to replay]

Round six

The sixth round had the four leaders with 4.5/6 playing each other, followed by no less than 23 players with four points. Under the circumstances, it was clear there was no room for a quiet draw as had been the case in round five, and the round did not disappoint, with many a grandmaster’s blood spilled over the board.

In the lead: Georgian GM Baadur Jobava

Timofeev,Artyom - Jobava,Baadur [B12]
11th EICC Men Rijeka/Croatia (6), 11.03.2010
1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.f3. This line that had yielded him a quick victory in last year's European Championship. 3...Qb6 4.Nc3 dxe4 5.Nxe4 Bf5. As he knew Jobava had to know the previous game, and undoubtedly smelling a rat, he deviates first with 6.c3

Play proceeded normally, with no edge on either side. 6...Nd7 7.Bd3 e5 8.Ne2 exd4 9.cxd4 Bb4+ 10.Bd2 Ne7 11.0-0 0-0 12.Kh1 Bxd2 13.Qxd2 Rad8 14.Rac1 Bg6 15.Bc4 Qc7 16.b4 Nb6 17.Bb3 Nbd5 18.b5 Qb6 19.bxc6 Nxc6 20.Rc5 Ndb4 21.Qc3 Na6 22.Rd5 Nc7 23.Rxd8 Rxd8

Until now, both sides had played solidly and consistently, but Timofeev is the first to go astray with 24.Qc5. Better was 24.a4 Qa5 25.Qxa5 Nxa5 26.Ba2=. 24...Qxc5 25.Nxc5 Na5 26.Kg1 b6 27.Ne4 Nxb3 28.axb3 f6 29.Kf2 Kf8 30.Rc1 Nd5 31.g4 Ke7 32.h4 Bf7 33.g5. The position continued to degrade and by 33...a5

White was in serious trouble, having to face Black's queenside 2-1 majority and better placed pieces. Jobava never let go and won after 34.gxf6+ gxf6 35.Rc6 Be6 36.Nd2 Rc8 37.Rxc8 Bxc8 38.Nc4 Ba6 39.Nc1 Kd7 40.Ne3 Nxe3 41.Kxe3 Bb7 42.Kf4 Ke6 43.Kg4 Kd5 44.Kf5 Kxd4 45.f4 Kc3 46.Kxf6 Kd2 47.Ke5 0-1. [Click to replay]

Efimenko,Zahar - Nisipeanu,Liviu-Dieter [B04]
11th EICC men Rijeka/Croatia (6), 11.03.2010

On board 2, with Efimenko playing Nisipeanu, opening preparation took an even more radical direction. Right on move one, Efimenko was no doubt taken aback when his Romanian opponent answered his 1.e4 with 1...Nf6 The database says this is the first time Liviu has ever played the Alekhine in a tournament game. Nisipeanu is known to be a loose cannon, and this often works to his advantage, but can this really be the best approach to such a crucial game? Efimenko's opponent-specific preparation may have gone out the window, but that doesn't mean he isn't equipped to handle the Alekhine as a rule. On the other hand, Nisipeanu will be playing an opening with which he has zero experience. Even if he has been secretly readying it to be included in his repertoire, there are better moments to unleash it. The surprise effect doesn't work as hoped, and after 2.e5 Nd5 3.d4 d6 4.Nf3 dxe5 5.Nxe5 c6 6.Be2 Nd7 7.Nf3 g6 8.0-0 Bg7 9.c4 N5f6 10.Nc3 0-0 11.Bf4 Nh5 12.Bg5 h6 13.Be3 Qc7 14.Qd2 Kh7 15.Rad1

Black is already in trouble with a knight offside, and an underdeveloped position. Efimenko turns this into a huge attack and ten moves later, after 15...Rd8 16.g4 Nhf6 17.Bf4 Qb6 18.g5 Nh5 19.gxh6 Bf6 20.Ne4 Nxf4 21.Qxf4 Rf8 22.c5 Qxb2 23.Bc4

Black's pieces have barely moved off their squares, yet is facing an imminent mate, and calls it a day after 23...Kh8 24.Nfg5 Bxg5 25.Nxg5 f6 26.Nf7+ Kh7 27.Rfe1 Re8 28.Ng5+ Kh8 29.Ne6 b5 30.Bb3 a5 31.Nc7 a4 32.Bf7 e5 33.Qg3 1-0. [Click to replay]

Caruana,Fabiano - Salgado Lopez,Ivan [B04]
11th EICC men Rijeka/Croatia (6), 11.03.2010

Interestingly enough, young Caruana also faced an Alekhine in his game today, and in a black day for the opening, he too put together a devastating attack as can be seen after 1.e4 Nf6 2.e5 Nd5 3.d4 d6 4.Nf3 dxe5 5.Nxe5 c6 6.Bc4 Nd7 7.Nf3 N7b6 8.Be2 Bg4 9.0-0 e6 10.h3 Bh5 11.Ne5 Bxe2 12.Qxe2 Be7 13.c4 Nf6 14.Rd1 0-0 15.Nc3 a5 16.Bf4 a4 17.Rd3 Re8 18.Rad1 Nbd7 19.Qf3 Qa5 20.g4 h6 21.h4 Nxe5 22.dxe5 Nh7 23.g5 a3 24.b3 Rad8

25.gxh6 g6 26.Rd7 Rxd7 27.Rxd7 Bxh4 28.Rxb7 Rf8 29.Ne4 Qe1+ 30.Kg2 Qb1 31.Be3 f5 32.exf6 Nxf6 33.Nxf6+ Bxf6 34.h7+ Kh8 35.Bh6 1-0. [Click to replay]

On an interesting side note, another player drew attention due to both his result and unusual circumstances. Down the list, one will find an untitled Belarusian, rated 2502 no less, who has scored +1 in his five encounters with 2600+ grandmasters. Today he played the experienced Vladimir Belov, rated 2619, who tried as he may to beat the unknown player, but to no avail. The game was nothing any engine would recommend, that is for certain, but it certainly made for some extremely entertaining chess. Except for his opponent that is...

Belov,Vladimir (2619) - Podolchenko,Evgeniy (2502) [A30]
11th EICC men Rijeka/Croatia (6), 11.03.2010

The game started rather normally after 1.Nf3 Nf6 2.c4 c5 3.Nc3 e6 4.g3 b6 5.Bg2 Bb7 6.0-0 a6 7.Re1 d6 8.e4 Be7 9.d4 cxd4 10.Nxd4 Qc7 11.Be3 Nbd7 12.f4 0-0 13.Rc1 Rac8 14.f5 e5 15.Nb3

11.03.2010 – ChessBase Light is a program you can download on the right of this newspage. It is completely free and you have most of the functions of a full database program. In the latest ChessBase Workshop installment Steve Lopez shows you how you can analyse games with the standard unregistered version of CB Light, which comes with an older but very efficient chess engine. Streaming video.

Chessbase.com

The fortress breaker

admin — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0000

11.03.2010 – It is frequently anything but easy to make the material superiority of a rook over a bishop tell when all the pawns are on one side of the board. Last month we showed you a game with reduced material in which zugzwang brought about the decision. Today we follow that with an example with more pawns, in which White has to find access to a black fortress that is hard one to storm. The siege had already lasted for over twenty moves before White turned to radical measures with 55.f5!? GM Karsten Müller demonstrates how the game was decided and what additional defensive resources Black had. ChessBase Magazine Online.

Tactics, Openings, Endgames - Visit ChessBase Magazine Online

White turned to radical measures with 55.f5!? Karsten Müller demonstrates how the game was decided and what defensive resources Black could still have availed himself of.
Analysis McShane-Danin.

Chessbase.com

Postny wins Nancy Chess Festival Group A

admin — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0000

10.03.2010 – 168 players took part in the biggest chess festival of closed tournaments in France, with seventeen groups, from the A Group (ten players, average 2526 Elo) all the way to the last group with an average Elo of about 1300. Israeli GM Evgeny Postny won first place with 6.0/9. The venue, the Conseil General, is normally reserved for local government meetings. IM Christophe Philippe reports.

8th International Chess Festival of "Meurthe et Moselle"
in Nancy (France) – 22nd - 28th February 2010

Report by IM Christophe Philippe

This chess event could not have been organised without the strong support of four main sponsors: The “Conseil General”, where the tournament takes place, the French Chess Federation, the bank “Populaire Lorraine Champagne” and the cultural product shop “FNAC”.

The A tournament contained four strong GMs: Postny (Elo 2648), Granda Zuniga (2635), Pelletier (2602) and Solodonivchenko (2578). And six International Masters: the Bulgarian Ninov (who qualified last year by winning group B), the French players Charnushevich, Wirig, Mullon, Brunner, and the special guest Sophie Milliet, reigning French Women's champion.

The strong Israeli GM Evgeny Postny won first place with 6.0/9, and Julio Granda Zuniga and Nikolai Ninov (who scored his first GM norm by winning his last round against Pelletier) finished equal second with 5.5/9.

In group B, Ukrainian IM Dmitry Stets won easily with 6.5/9, and Xavier Bedouin of France finished second with 6.0/9, scoring his third and final IM norm which bings him the precious title.

Picture gallery

The playing hall, with groups C and D on the outside, groups A and B inside the circle

Normally this is the assembly room for voting on laws and budgets

The chess week began with a traditionnal simul in the “FNAC” shop, this year by
Peruvian legend Julio Granda Zuniga, who scored 16 wins, 2 draws and 2 losses.

Some days later, Granda Zuniga at work in the Group A tournament

A round eight clash in Group A: Yannick Pelletier vs Evgeny Postny (draw in 52)

Granda Zuniga against local IM Nicolas Brunner, who almost made a GM norm

Postny won the tournament, but also crushed his 20
opponents in a final simul before closing ceremony

Reigning French champion IM Sophie Milliet could not avoid last place, despite good fighting spirit

An IM norm for Xavier Bedouin with 6.0/9 in Group B

Ukrainian WIM Svetlana Fomichenko finished fourth in group C with 5.0/9

French number nine Laurie Delorme (from Marseille) finished 6th in Group C with 4.5/9

GM Pelletier from Switzerland finished 4th in the A Group with 5.0/9

Easy victory for Dmitry Stets in group B with 6.5/9

23 young players took part at the rapid tournament for children on Wednesday

The I Group playing in a different section of the complex

French IM Anthony Wirig (originally from this region Lorraine) failed to scored his
third and final GM norm, which would have brought him the title

View of analysis and resting area

Spectators watch the very last game of the 2010 festival, Granda Zuniga vs Solodonivchenko (draw in 61)

The organisation team: Stephane Dupré from “Conseil General”, arbiters Nadir Bounzou and Florence Schlotter, tournament director and creator IM Christophe Philippe, and specialist for Internet broadcast and also talented video interviewer IM Etienne Mensch.

At the prize giving ceremony, with Postny winning group A