exd5!

19.01.2010
– He is a well-known firebrand in the chess world. In Wijk he is currently playing at a 3500 level. But Alexei Shirov is also a prolific chess teacher, and his ChessBase DVDs are amongst the most popular. Take for instance one of his latest, on the Philidor Defence, a surprise opening that can give rise to extreme open and closed positions. Shirov's treatment is reviewed by a field biologist in the Yukon.

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Yasser Seirawan:
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Grandmaster Yasser Seirawan began playing chess in the summer of 1972 and by 1979 he had won the World Junior Championship and in January of 1980 earned his final Grandmaster norm. What had he learned in seven and a half years that propelled him so far so quickly?
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Alexei
Shirov: The Philidor Defence

Review by Kevan A. Cowcill

Not having seen a Fritztrainer DVD featuring GM Alexei Shirov, I was looking
forward to viewing this one, and Shirov does not disappoint, giving nearly six
hours of material on the opening, middlegames and even some of the endgames
that result from the Philidor. The DVD comes with 13 lectures: an introduction,
and 12 analyzed games. There is also a database containing the lecture games,
complete with all the lines and variations Shirov demonstrates.

The actual lecture contents of The
Philidor Defence are summed up accurately in the publisher's advertisement
blurb which states:

The modern form of the Philidor Defence arises via the move order 1.e4
d6 2.d4 Nf6 3.Nc3 e5. Then after 4.Nf3 Nbd7, Shirov
has introduced the pawn sacrifice 5.g4!? into practice -
and achieved excellent results with it. Accepting the sacrifice leads to a
very sharp position full of tactical possibilities. Shirov is one of the best
connoisseurs of this system, and although he has been very successful with
the white pieces in this line, he is always striving for objectivity and shows
the possibilities for Black’s counterplay as well. Who finds the gambit
5.g4!? too double-edged, can find an alternative in the tried and tested,
solid strategic approach 5.Bc4 Be7 6.0-0 0-0 7.Re1 c6 8.a4.
Also on this system Shirov presents many of his own games, discussing among
other things the difficult, but extremely important question whether and when
White can advantageously proceed in the centre with d4-d5. The third system
presented by Shirov arises after the traditional Philidor move order 1.e4
e5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4. Black tries to solve his problems by the radical
3... exd4 now, a move which was already played by Horwitz versus Staunton
in 1846 and which recently has come into fashion again. Analysing his game
against Nisipeanu, apart from Bacrot one of the experts of Black’s way
of playing, Shirov shows how White can fight for the advantage here. Video
running time: 5h 52m.

Shirov says he never tries to give complete theory, but rather aims to show
new insights mainly by presenting his own games. There is only one game he presents
that is not his own (a blitz game between Kasparov and Azmaiparashvili). The
first four lectures and games deal with the double-edge pawn sacrifice, 5.g4,
after 1.e4 d6 2.d4 Nf6 3.N3 e5 4.Nf3 Nbd7. The idea of 5.g4
originated with Paco Vallejo, and Shirov, familiar with the g4 pawn push in
the Slav, thought the idea may have validity in the Philidor too. He was able
to obtain some very satisfactory positions using 5.g4. In fact, so satisifactory
that Shirov’s original idea for the DVD was to say “…g4
and White wins”

Unfortunately, or perhaps fortunately, things are not that simple and during
the course of lecture, Shirov outlines both the strengths and weaknesses of
this move. Still, the sacrifice can lead to some sharp positions especially
against an opponent who is not prepared, or in a blitz game.

Shirov,Alexei (2737) - Azmaiparashvili,Zurab (2693) [C41]
EU-chT (Men) 14th Plovdiv (6.1), 17.10.2003
1.e4 d6 2.d4 Nf6 3.Nc3 e5 4.Nf3 Nbd7 5.g4 Nxg4 6.Rg1 Ngf6 7.Bc4 h6 8.Be3 c6
9.Qd3 Qc7 10.0-0-0 b5 11.Bxb5 cxb5 12.dxe5 dxe5 13.Nxb5 Qa5 14.Qc4 Rb8 15.a4
Qb4 16.Nxe5 Qxc4 17.Nxc4 a6 18.Nbd6+ Bxd6 19.Nxd6+ Kf8 20.f4 Bb7 21.e5 Ne8 22.Nxe8
Kxe8 23.Rxg7 Bc8 24.Rd6 Kf8 25.Rg1 Rg8 26.Rxg8+ Kxg8 27.Rxh6 Nf8 28.Rd6 Ra8
29.c4 Be6 30.b3 Kg7 31.Kb2 Kg6 32.h4 Kh5 33.Kc3 Ng6 34.b4 Nxh4 35.Bc1 Rc8 36.c5
a5 37.Rb6 Nf5 38.Ba3 Ne3 39.bxa5 Nd5+ 40.Kd3 Nxb6 41.axb6 Bd5 42.a5 Ra8 43.Kd4
Bc6 44.Bb4 Kg6 45.e6 f6 46.f5+ Kxf5 47.e7 Ke6 48.a6 Kxe7 49.b7 Rd8+ 50.Kc4 Kd7
51.Bc3 Rf8 52.Bxf6 ½-½. [Click
to replay]

One of the things I liked about this DVD (and the author himself) is that Shirov
does not shy away from his mistakes, but instead uses them to teach. In his
5 g4 game against International Master (at the time) John Shaw, Shirov sacrificed
his bishop (Fig. 2), but overlooked a strong response by Black after 11…Kxf7
12 Nxe5+. Shirov expected 12…Kg8, but Shaw had another move. This is one
of the good spots to stop the DVD to figure out what Shirov overlooked.

One of the things I liked about this DVD (and Shirov himself) is that Shirov
does not shy away from his mistakes, but instead uses them to teach. In his
5.g4 game against International Master (at the time) John Shaw, Shirov sacrificed
his bishop, but overlooked a strong response by Black.

Shirov,Alexei (2713) - Shaw,John K (2445) [C41]
Gibraltar Masters Caleta (1), 25.01.2005
1.e4 d6 2.d4 Nf6 3.Nc3 e5 4.Nf3 Nbd7 5.g4 Nxg4 6.Rg1 Ngf6 7.Bc4 h6 8.Be3
c6 9.dxe5 dxe5 10.Qd3 Nh5 11.Bxf7+

After 11…Kxf7 12.Nxe5+ Shirov expected 12…Kg8, but Shaw had
another move. This is one of the good spots to stop the DVD to figure out what
Shirov overlooked.

Shirov was disgusted with his play in this game, as he was down in material
(Q vs N, B, R) and behind in development. It is this type of position, though,
that highlights the creativity and resourcefulness of a GM of Shirov's standing
– he points out numerous dangerous variations that lurked if Shaw calculated
incorrectly.

Shirov,Alexei (2713) - Shaw,John K (2445) [C41]
Gibraltar Masters Caleta (1), 25.01.2005
1.e4 d6 2.d4 Nf6 3.Nc3 e5 4.Nf3 Nbd7 5.g4 Nxg4 6.Rg1 Ngf6 7.Bc4 h6 8.Be3 c6
9.dxe5 dxe5 10.Qd3 Nh5 11.Bxf7+ Kxf7 12.Nxe5+ Nxe5 13.Qxd8 Nf3+ 14.Kd1 Nxg1
15.Kc1 Nh3 16.f4 Bc5 17.Qc7+ Be7 18.Bc5 Re8 19.f5 Kf8 20.Bxe7+ Rxe7 21.Qd8+
Kf7 22.b3 Nf6 23.Kb2 Ng5 (23…Nxe4 24. Re1 Nhg5 25. h4)

Analysis diagram

We see just one of the fates that awaited Shaw if he didn’t tread carefully.
That Shaw managed to avoid these pitfalls speaks well of his abilities too.
[Click to replay]

The next set of games deal with the following set-up: 1.e4 d6 2.d4 Nf6 3.Nc3
e5 4.Nf3 Nbd7 5.Bc4 Be7 6.0-0 0-0 7.a4 a5. After showing why 7...a5 (or 8...a5
as in Shirov-Beliavsky, 2000) is a strategic mistake (White has good development
with easy plans like b3, Bb2, Qd2, see diagram below), he analyzes other moves
and provides better options for Black. These options lead to a lively game for
both Black and White, and those who like to see "fire on the board"
will not be disappointed here either.

 Shirov,Alexei (2751) - Beliavsky,Alexander G (2640) [C41]
Bundesliga 9900 Germany (12.1), 12.03.2000
1.e4 d6 2.d4 Nf6 3.Nc3 e5 4.Nf3 Nbd7 5.Bc4 Be7 6.0-0 0-0 7.a4 c6 8.Re1
a5 9.b3 exd4 10.Nxd4 Nc5 11.Bb2 Re8 12.Qd2 Bf8 13.f3 Qb6 14.Kh1

“I believe everybody would be happy to play with White,” says Shirov. [Click
to replay]

Shirov pauses a number of times to recalculate lines, or calculate new lines
suggested by a move he hadn’t thought about before. Not being used to this,
I thought my Chess Media Player window had frozen as sometimes Shirov just sits
staring at his computer screen, for instance when he loses his place and has
to review his notes in the Shirov-Cifuentes game. These long pauses could perhaps
be edited out both for the viewers sake, and for Shirov's sake, so he doesn't
need to feel apologetic about the delay.

On the other hand there are pauses which are instructive in that they highlight
how a GM might calculate variations. Shirov will pause, suggest other moves,
show them on the board and explain why they are or are not good. Then back to
the original position and a new variation is shown using the positional and
tactical insights gained from the first variation to improve the second variation.
As Shirov pauses to calculate this is an opportunity for the viewer to also
analyse variations to see if he or she can keep up with Shirov’s analysis (sadly,
I couldn’t, and in some instances Shirov's quick calculations and grasp of the
positions leaves mere mortals feeling a bit inadequate – or with renewed
determination to improve their own abilities).

The “extremely important question whether and when White can advantageously
proceed in the centre with d4-d5” is covered in the next set of games. All these
games are highly instructive as Shirov shows when to move d5 and when to avoid
it.

Kasparov,Garry (2830) - Azmaiparashvili,Zurab (2702) [C41]
Crete m rap Crete (1), 23.09.2003
1.e4 d6 2.d4 Nf6 3.Nc3 e5 4.Nf3 Nbd7 5.Bc4 Be7 6.0-0 0-0 7.Re1 c6 8.a4
b6 9.d5

It is difficult for White to gain an advantage as there are good chances on
both sides. He says that Black shouldn’t be afraid to play into this position
because there are numerous plans available. However, he recommends analyzing
the position after 10.d5 deeper as it is a good line in which to gain an advantage
as White. The above game continued:

9...cxd5 10.Nxd5 Bb7 11.b3 Rc8 12.Re2 Nxd5 13.Bxd5 Bxd5 14.Qxd5 Nf6 15.Qd1
d5 16.exd5 Qxd5 17.Qxd5 Nxd5 18.Nxe5 Rfe8 19.c4 Bd6 20.Bb2 Nf4 21.Ree1 Bb4 22.Red1
Ne2+ 23.Kf1 Nc3 24.Rd3 Ne4 25.Rad1 Bc5 26.Rf3 Rcd8 27.Rxd8 Rxd8 28.Rd3 Rxd3
29.Nxd3 Nd2+ 30.Ke2 Nxb3 31.Be5 f6 32.Bb8 Nd4+ 33.Kd2 Nc6 34.Nxc5 Nxb8 35.Nd3
Kf7 36.Kc3 Ke6 37.c5 Kd5 38.cxb6 axb6 39.Kb4 Kc6 40.Kc4 Na6 41.Nb4+ Nxb4 42.Kxb4
h5 43.f4 g6 44.Kc4 Kd6 45.Kb5 Kc7 46.Ka6 Kc6 47.h4 f5 48.g3 Kc5 49.Kb7 1-0.
[Click to replay]

Not being familiar with the Philidor I was slightly surprised that both extreme
open and closed positions can arise from the opening. For those who like closed
positional games, the Philidor offers it to them. If tactical melees on an open
board are to your taste, the Philidor has those as well.

The last game on the DVD is an original Philidor line: 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4
exd4 (in general giving up center so quickly not advisable, Shirov tells us)
4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 Be7 (looks like quiet development move but there are some tactical
ideas in mind). That’s not to say this is the only game that covers 3.d4 exd4.
Shirov often previews and reviews variations so by the end of the DVD you've
seen many of the ideas several times.

The last part of his final lecture summarizes what he’s covered in the other
lectures, and shows basic positions for those who like to fight for an opening
advantage. If you'd prefer smiple clear cut chess then he recommends 6.g3 followed
by 6…d5 7.e5 Ng4 8.Bg2. Shirov says that Black can equalize here, but needs
good home preparation in order to do that against White's fairly straight forward
plans.

Throughout the lectures, Shirov sprinkles general strategic hints such as “Difficult
to win a chess game if your opponent only has one weakness, you should try to
create a second weakness”, or: “Now I definitely cannot change queens because
then with Black’s bishop pair his chances will be better”.

Shirov has done a number of DVDs for ChessBase now, but he still seems a bit
shy and still doesn’t make much eye contact with the camera. His English is
heavily accented but mainly clear and most people shouldn't have difficulty
understanding him. Even though English is obviously not his first language Shirov
also does not fill his speech with nervous mannerisms such as “uhm” or “uhhhhhh”,
which can be distracting in many otherwise good trainers. His presentations
are modest, and he mentions a few times that his views are subjective, haven’t
been tested or analyzed extensively, and that students should not trust him
completely. He’s not afraid of showing his mistakes in a game, or pointing out
where he didn’t deserve to win, e.g. Shirov-Hamdouchi, 2000, “Victory definitely
not deserved starting at move 17”. This makes his other statements (e.g. White
is better here) more reliable, because if he wasn't sure he would tell you.

Overall, I found Shirov's low-key presentation, his self-effacing mannerisms,
and his honesty rather personable. The systems he presents are a decent start
to understanding some of the strategies for the opening and the middle-game
in both open and closed positions. There are even some study-like endgame positions
covered, which are also a strength of Shirov's. If you are already familiar
with the Philidor (e.g. you have GM Bauer's book, The Philidor Files)
you probably won't learn too much new material, as it is not possible in one
DVD to cover even a small percentage of the lines found in a book. Indeed, that
is not Shirov's stated goal. If you're still new to the Philidor or wish to
learn it, this DVD is a good beginning, and with Shirov as your guide, it is
an enjoyable start.

Answer to the second diagram

Shirov expected 12…Kg8, but instead there was the queen sacrifice: 12…Nxe5
13.Qxd8 Nf3+. If 14. Kf1 Bh3+ and White loses the queen to a discovered
check. If 14.Ke2 Nxg1+ 15.Rxg1 Bg4+, and again a discovered check takes the
queen, so Shirov continues the game with 14.Kd1 Nxg1 15.Kc1 Nh3 16.f4
Bc5 17.Qc7+ Be7 18.Bc5 Re8 19.f5 Kf8 20.Bxe7+ Rxe7 21.Qd8+ Kf7 22.b3 Nf6 23.Kb2
Ng5 24.Rg1 Rd7 25.Qh8 Re7 26.Qd8 Rd7 27.Qh8 Re7 ½-½. [Click
to replay]

• Order
  Alexei Shirov: The Philidor Defence now

About the author

Kevan A. Cowcill has worked as a contract field biologist
and as a university lab instructor as well as a college professor teaching biology,
zoology and ecology courses to some wonderful students. He has experience working
in both terrestrial and aquatic habitats from the Yukon in the north down to
Mexico in the south, and numerous places in between, especially the four corner
states in the U.S. He is a well-rounded well-traveled naturalist.

The above pictures was taken after Kevan got back from a windswept island off
the coast of British Columbia. Helicopter pulled his team off during a window
in the storm, after gale force winds came through the mountains and destroyed
a metereological tower, setting a new record before the tower was destroyed..

Kevan has a particular interest in birds, tidal pool invertebrates, arctic,
alpine and desert plants and critters, the pursuit of which have often left
him cold, wet, tired, foot-sore, dehydrated but happy. Currently he is back
in the north tromping around on snowshoes tracking carnivores and setting up
trail cameras to photograph the more elusive mammals of the north.

"A highly recommended hike," writes Kevan. "Eva Lake is just
500 m or so beyond here, Jade Lake another four km." Expect more reviews
and more spectacular nature pictures, from the Yukon in the future. The last
two pictures are from British Columbia.

Read Full Post »

13.01.2010
– When you are the world's number one player, and when your coach is the legendary Garry Kasparov, then you don't go into training camp just anywhere. Magnus Carlsen travelled to Morocco, took residence in a five-star garden hotel, and conducted intense preparation for the Wijk aan Zee super-GM. The two also played a double simul for their hosts. We have games.

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Yasser Seirawan:
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Grandmaster Yasser Seirawan began playing chess in the summer of 1972 and by 1979 he had won the World Junior Championship and in January of 1980 earned his final Grandmaster norm. What had he learned in seven and a half years that propelled him so far so quickly?
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Es Saadi Garden Hotel in Marrakech

This is where the two GMs trained. The hotel
blurb tells us: Es Saadi Gardens and Resort is set in the heart of the city
of Marrakesh in an eight hectares park with shaded pathways that lead you to
the Hotel, the Palace, the Villas, Restaurants, Swimming Pools and Spas and
on to the Casino de Marrakesh. A subtle mixture luxury and refinement with traditional
Moroccan hospitality makes Es Saadi guests wish to return year after year.

There is a large central swimming pool, two tennis courts, a health and
fitness centre
with exercise facilities, sauna, hammam, massage and a variety of beauty treatments.

A large terrace surrounds the pool where drinks and snacks can be ordered

A breakfast feast in the hotel. The gardens are colourful, their restaurant
is renowned
for its excellent cuisine and extensive wine list.

The lobby area of one of the hotel villas

The main hotel offers 150 air-conditioned rooms and suites all with balcony,
phone and TV. There are ten Villas, each one situated in its own exotic garden
with a swimming pool (heated in winter) and individually themed for a particular
architecture. If you need to book for your next training session at the Es Saadi
Hotel you can do so here

Simultaneous exhibition with Kasparov and Carlsen

On Saturday, January 9th, while wrapping up their playing session, Garry Kasparov
and Magnus Carlsen gave a double simultaneous exhibition in the Es Saadi Garden
Hotel in Marrakech. The opponents were local club players, many rated 2000 and
higher. Magnus won nineteen of twenty games, drawing one. Kasparov won all twenty
games, but took longer to do so: three hours and fifteen minutes, compared to
two hours and 15 minutes that Magnus required. Around five hundred dignitaries
and visitors watched the event. The Moroccan Chess Federation (Fédération
Royale Marocaine des Eches or FRME) was delighted with promotion it meant for
chess in Morocco, which is not yet listed in the FIDE
rankings.

Before the start of the event

Former World Champion Garry Kasparov

Kasparov at work: it took him 3 hours and 15 minutes to win all 20 games

Magnus Carlsen took 2 hours and 15 minutes to score 19½/20 points

Taoufik Bouchaâra, the only player to secure half a point

After the event we spoke to Garry (he sipping tea in the garden restaurant,
surrounded by palms and butterflies, we completely snowed in in a severe North
European winter) and he kindly dictated a couple of games for us.

Kasparov,Garry - N.N. [A45]
Simul Marrakech, 09.01.2010
1.d4 Nf6 2.Bg5. Kasparov plays the Trompowsky! 2...Ne4
3.Bf4 d6 4.f3 Nf6 5.e4 g6 6.Nc3 Bg7 7.Qd2 h5 8.0-0-0 a6 9.Qe1 0-0

Kasparov has diligently prepared a kingside assault, which can now begin. 10.e5
Nh7 11.h4 c6 12.g4 hxg4 13.h5 g5 14.h6 Bh8 15.Bg3 f5 16.fxg4 f4

17.Qe4! (threatening 18.Qg6+ and mate) 17...Qe8 18.exd6
exd6 19.Bc4+ d5 20.Nxd5 Be6 21.Ne7+

and because of 21...Qxe7 22.Qg6+ Black resigned. 1-0. [Click
to replay]

Kasparov,Garry - N.N. [C43]
Simul Marrakech, 09.01.2010
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.d4 Nxe4 4.dxe5 d5 5.Nbd2 Nxd2 6.Qxd2 c5 7.Qf4 a6
8.c3 Nc6 9.Bd3 Be7 10.Qg3 Kf8 11.0-0 Be6 12.Ng5 Bxg5 13.Bxg5 Qd7 14.Rad1 d4
15.Be4 Bd5 16.Bb1 Re8 17.f4 Qe6 18.Rde1 Bc4 19.f5 Qc8

20.e6 f6 21.Bf4 Ne7 etc. and 1-0. Garry tells us that he
had prepared for the defence 20...Bxf1 and had intended to continue 21.Bh6 gxh6
22.f6 Rxe6 (22...Rg8 23.Qd6+ Ne7 24.exf7) 23.Qg7+ Ke8 24.Qxh8+ Kd7 25.Qxc8+
Kxc8 26.Rxe6

which leaves White an exchange up with a pretty winning position. 1-0.
[Click to replay]

Addendum

One of the simutaneous opponents sent us the following game:

Kasparov,Garry - Morad,Cherigui [C43]
Marrakech, 14.01.2010
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.d4 Nxe4 4.dxe5 d5 5.Nbd2 Nxd2 6.Qxd2 c5 7.Qf4 a6
8.c3 Nc6 9.Bd3 Be7 10.Qg3 Kf8 11.0-0 Be6 12.Ng5 Bxg5 13.Bxg5 Qd7 14.Rad1 d4
15.Be4 Bd5 16.Bb1 Re8 17.f4 Qe6 18.Rde1 Bc4 19.f5 Qc8 20.e6 f6 21.Bf4 Ne7 22.Rf3
a5 23.cxd4 Bd5 24.Rc3 c4 25.Bd6 Qc6 26.a4 Kg8 27.b3 Nc8 28.Ba3 Nb6

29.Bc2! Preparing the queen sac on g7. 29...Rc8 30.Qxg7+
and Black resigned because of 30...Kxg7 31.Rg3+ Kh6 32.Bc1+ Kh5 33.Bd1+ Kh4
34.Rh3 mate. 1-0. [Click to
replay]

Video of the Kasparov-Carlsen Marrakech simultaneous

• Maroc-Echecs Website
  (Moroccan chess player voice, French and Arabic)
• Morocco Chess Federation web site
  (French and Arabic)

Chessbase.com

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06.01.2010
– The 2009-10 Hastings Masters ended in a fourway tie for first place, between Mark Hebden of England, British Champion David Howell, Andrei Istratescu of Roumania, and Romain Edouard of France. In the final round Hebden and Istratescu halved out in 11 moves, but Howell had to fight for a black victory. Our report on the last two rounds includes a big pictorial of lesser-known players.

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Reports by Steve Giddins

Round eight: De pilo pendet

I wandered into the Congress Office yesterday around mid-morning, and stood
chatting briefly with Pam Thomas, the Congress Publicity Officer, when suddenly,
from the next room, there emerged the dulcet East Ham tones of IM Andrew Martin.
I found him surrounded by a couple of boxes full of booklets, each of which
he was signing. I mentioned in my first round report that Andrew plays very
little tournament chess these days, concentrating instead on his career as a
writer and trainer. He is certainly one of the country's busiest junior trainers,
and has been heavily involved in the ECF's "Chess Sets for Schools"
project. This is a project, which started some 18 months ago, when a company
called Holloid Plastics approached the ECF, with a proposal to manufacture and
distribute up to 250,000 free chess sets, to be allocated amongst every school
in the country. Such a massive boost in school chess activity represents a unique
opportunity for English chess.

Andrew Martin

Unfortunately, the management of the project has not exactly been a model of
efficiency or effectiveness, and it has attracted a great deal of criticism.
However, it now appears that things are finally on the move. With a newly-constituted
ECF Management Board firmly behind the project, many thousands of sets are currently
in the process of being delivered to the approximately 9,000 schools which have
applied for them. Alongside the delivery of sets themselves, the ECF has developed
a Certificate of Merit scheme, which involves a multi-level online test, which
pupils can take, to improve their chess skill. Andrew has been heavily involved
in developing material for this scheme, and the booklets he was signing are
part of it. They complement an excellent DVD, which has been produced by Andrew,
in cooperation with Chessbase, the world's leading supplier of chess software.
Together, the materials add up to a first-rate beginners' course, and it is
hoped that as many pupils as possible will sign up to the Certificate of Merit
scheme. Ex nihilo, nihil fit, as they say – by working now to
develop a whole generation of children, who are familiar with the game, and
enjoy playing it, we can build a foundation for Britain's chess future, as well
as transforming the ailing finances of the ECF itself.

IM Jack Rudd, modelling the latest in ECF-approved chess education literature

But now ad rem. Yesterday's penultimate round of the 2009/10 Hastings
Masters saw two of the leading group win, and thereby assure themselves a half
point lead over the field, going into today's final round. Mark Hebden won the
longest game of the day against Christophe Philipe of France, whilst Andrei
Istratescu beat Simon Ansell in a model positional game. The latter's Kalashnikov
Sicilian soon led to a galloping case of what Hans Kmoch, in his classic book
Pawn Power in Chess, described as "leucopenia" (that's what
you and I call "weak white squares"), after which the Roumanian GM
sucked the blood from Black's position, with an efficiency that would have done
credit to his mythical Transylvanian countryman:

Istratescu,A (2624) - Ansell,S (2387) [B32]
85th Masters Hastings ENG (8), 04.01.2010
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 e5 5.Nb5 d6 6.N1c3 a6 7.Na3 b5 8.Nd5
Nf6 9.c4 b4 10.Nxf6+ Qxf6 11.Qd5 Bd7 12.Nc2 Rb8 13.Be2 Qd8 14.h3 Qc8 15.b3 Be7
16.Bg4 Be6 17.Qd1 0-0 18.0-0 Bxg4 19.Qxg4 a5 20.Rd1 Nd8 21.Ne3 Qxg4 22.hxg4

22...Nb7 23.Nd5 Bd8 24.Be3 h6 25.g3 Re8 26.Kg2 Rc8 27.a3 bxa3 28.Rxa3
Nc5 29.Nc3 Re6 30.f3 Kf8 31.Rd5 Bb6 32.Kf2 Rb8 33.Ke2 Ke8 34.Nb5 Kd7 35.Bxc5
Bxc5 36.Rxa5 Rc8 37.Ra4 Ke7 38.b4 Bb6 39.Ra6 Rb8 40.Rxd6 Rxd6 41.Nxd6 Kxd6 42.Rxb6+
1-0. [Click to replay]

Meanwhile, those following the live broadcasts had the unaccustomed experience
of seeing a novelty on move 2 of the Sicilian! Well, maybe it is not technically
a novelty, but I for one have not seen the move 2.Be2 played in a master game
before. Despite its exceptionally modest appearance, it yielded Greet a decent
position, but he had used too much time on the clock and lost the thread of
the position completely between moves 19-25:

Greet,A (2423) - Gormally,D (2479) [B21]
85th Masters Hastings ENG (8), 04.01.2010
1.e4 c5 2.Be2 Nc6 3.f4 d6 4.Nf3 Nf6 5.d3 Bg4 6.0-0 e6 7.Nbd2 Be7 8.h3
Bxf3 9.Nxf3 0-0 10.Be3 c4 11.Qd2 cxd3 12.cxd3 e5 13.Rac1 Rc8 14.a3 a6 15.b4
exf4 16.Bxf4 d5 17.e5 Nh5 18.Bh2 g6

19.Bd1 Ng7 20.Bb3 a5 21.Qa2 axb4 22.a4 Nf5 23.Bxd5 Ne3 24.Bxc6 Nxf1
25.Rxf1 bxc6 26.e6 Qd5 27.exf7+ Rxf7 28.Qxd5 cxd5 29.Rb1 Rc3 30.Ne5 Bc5+ 0-1.
[Click to replay]

Bates and Hawkins both had dubious-looking positions from the opening, but
survived and eventually made draws (in Hawkins' case, after pressing for the
win). Martin Mitchell has had a great tournament, and virtually wrapped up an
IM norm, by winning an extraordinary game against John Anderson, in which the
black king was chased from pillar to post, but somehow escaped the mates, and
eventually decided the game by helping himself to a whole rook in broad daylight:

Anderson,J (2209) - Mitchell,M (2195) [B06]
85th Masters Hastings ENG (8), 04.01.2010
1.e4 g6 2.d4 Bg7 3.Nf3 d6 4.Be2 a6 5.c4 Bg4 6.Ng1 h5 7.Nc3 Nc6 8.h3
Bxe2 9.Ngxe2 e5 10.Be3 exd4 11.Nxd4 Nxd4 12.Bxd4 Bxd4 13.Qxd4 Qf6 14.Qe3 Ne7
15.0-0-0 0-0-0 16.Qa7 Nc6 17.Qa8+ Kd7 18.Qxb7 Qxf2 19.Nd5 Qa7

20.Nf6+ Ke6 21.Qxc6 Kxf6 22.Rhf1+ Kg7 23.Rf3 Rhe8 24.Qd5 Rd7 25.Rdf1
Ree7 26.g4 hxg4 27.hxg4 Qc5 28.Qd3 Qg5+ 29.Rf4 Re5 30.Qd2 Rde7 31.Rh1 Re8 32.Qh2
f5 33.gxf5 Rxe4 34.f6+ Kf7 35.Qh7+ Ke6 36.Qh3+ Ke5

37.Qc3+ Kxf4 0-1. [Click
to replay]

Another untitled player who has had an excellent tournament is Bob Eames, and
he served up a game which will warm the cockles of every King's Gambiteer's
heart. Whatever the objective risks of the opening, there is no doubt that when
it works, it really works. The young Icelander, Gudmundur Kjartansson, has shown
repeatedly over the past couple of years that he is a very strong player indeed,
but he was caught out with his theory yesterday, and the result was brutal:

Eames,R (2276) - Kjartansson,G (2391) [C34]
85th Masters Hastings ENG (8), 04.01.2010
1.e4 e5 2.f4 exf4 3.Nf3 g5 4.d4 d6 5.h4 g4 6.Ng1 Bh6 7.Nc3 c6 8.Nge2
Qf6 9.g3 fxg3 10.Nxg3 Bxc1 11.Rxc1 h5 12.e5 dxe5 13.Nce4 Qe7 14.Bc4 f5

15.0-0 Nh6 16.dxe5 fxe4 17.Nxe4 Nd7 18.e6 Kd8 19.Qd4 Re8 20.exd7 Bxd7
21.Nc5 Kc7 22.Rcd1 Rad8 23.Rfe1 Qf8 24.Rxe8 Qxe8 25.Qd6+ Kc8

26.Ne6 1-0. [Click
to replay]

So Tuesday's final round sees the following leading pairings:

• Hebden (6.5) – Istratescu (6.5)
• Gormally (6) – Drozdovskij (6)
• Hracek (6) – Howell (6)
• Ansell (5.5) – Edouard (6)

Logic would suggest that the players on boards 2-4 need to play for a win,
so hopefully some fighting chess should be guaranteed. My message to the players
is: come on lads, remember what the Romans used to say – sic itur
ad astra!

Round nine: Nunc est bibendum

The 2009-10 Hastings Masters ended in a fourway tie for first place, between
Mark Hebden of England, British Champion David Howell, Andrei Istratescu of
Roumania, and Romain Edouard of France.

To nobody's great surprise, the two leaders, Hebden and Istratescu, halved
out in 11 moves. This left them safely ensconced in the clubhouse on 7 points,
from which they could observe the attempts of the various 6-pointers to catch
them up. Gormally-Drozdovskij never looked like ending in anything other than
a draw, but Romain Edouard defeated Simon Ansell with Black, to join the leaders.
Finally, in the last few minutes up to the first time-control, they were joined
by David Howell, whose opponent lost the thread in the time-scramble:

Hracek,Z (2624) - Howell,D (2597) [C84]
85th Masters Hastings ENG (9), 05.01.2010
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0-0 Be7 6.d3 b5 7.Bb3 0-0 8.a4
b4 9.Nbd2 d6 10.a5 Be6 11.Nc4 Qc8 12.h3 h6 13.Be3 Rb8 14.Nfd2 Nh7 15.Ba4 Nd8
16.f4 exf4 17.Bxf4 f5 18.exf5 Bxf5 19.Qe2 Ne6 20.Be3 Kh8 21.Nb3 Bg6 22.Rxf8+
Nhxf8 23.Nd4 Nxd4 24.Bxd4 Ne6 25.Ba7 Ra8 26.Be3 Bf6 27.Bc6 Nd4 28.Bxd4 Bxd4+
29.Kh1 Rb8 30.Rf1 Bf6 31.Qe3 Qd8 32.Qa7 b3 33.cxb3 Rxb3 34.Re1 d5 35.Ne5

35...Bxe5 36.Rxe5 Rxd3 37.Qc5 Qf6 38.Rxd5 Qf1+ 39.Qg1 Rxh3+ 40.gxh3
Qxh3+ 41.Qh2 Qf1+ 42.Qg1 Be4+ 43.Kh2 Qe2+ 44.Kh3 Bxd5 45.Bxd5 Qh5+ 46.Kg3 Qxd5
47.Qa7 Qb3+ 48.Kg4 Qc4+ 49.Kg3 Kh7 50.b4 h5 51.b5 Qxb5 52.Qxc7 Qg5+ 53.Kh2 h4
54.Qc4 Qg3+ 55.Kh1 Qf3+ 56.Kh2 h3 57.Qc2+ Kh6 58.Qc1+ Kh5 59.Qc5+ g5 60.Qc2
Qg2+ 0-1. [Click to replay]

Jonathan Hawkins won his last-round game, to secure his third IM norm and the
title, on which we offer our heartiest congratulations. Sadly, Bob Eames missed
out, after losing a must-win game against Natalia Zdebskaja, whose 3.5/4 finish
lifted her to a share of 5-8th places. Martin Mitchell also missed a norm, when
he lost to Andrew Martin, as did Elias Demac of Norway, who went down to Andrew
Greet. Lower down, young Peter Williams, who has been one of the stars of this
past week, capped an excellent performance, by beating the highly experienced
Petr Marusenko, after a dramatic struggle.

The £100 Horntye Park best game prize goes to Simon Williams, who produced
a stunningly imaginative queen sacrifice, to beat Andrew Green in the final
round. In all honesty, I (the judge of the prize) have had no time in which
to establish whether it is fully sound, but my reasoning is that if it is, it
certainly deserves the prize, and arguably it does so, even if not!

Williams,Si1 (2550) - Green,An (2151) [E76]
85th Masters Hastings ENG (9), 05.01.2010
1.f4 g6 2.Nf3 Bg7 3.c4 d6 4.d4 Nf6 5.Nc3 0-0 6.e4 c5 7.d5 e6 8.e5 dxe5
9.fxe5 Ng4 10.Bg5 Qa5 11.Be2 Nxe5 12.Nxe5 Bxe5 13.0-0 f6 14.Bh6 Rf7 15.Ne4 Bd4+

16.Qxd4?! [Fritz 12 gives this 4.80 in favour of Black, Rybka
3 thinks Black is better by 4.0] 16...cxd4 17.Nxf6+ Kh8 18.Ne8 Rf5 19.g4
exd5? [19...Qd8 or 19...Rxf1 were definitely preferable] 20.gxf5
Bxf5 21.Bf3 dxc4 22.Bxb7 Qb5 23.Nd6 Qb6 24.Rae1 d3+ 25.Kh1 Nd7 26.Bxa8 Nf6 27.Nxf5
gxf5 28.Rxf5 1-0. [Click to
replay]

Thus, another Hastings comes to an end, in many ways one of the most enjoyable
I ever remember. Many thanks to everyone involved in sponsoring and running
the event, and to all the players, for making it such a great 9 days of chess.

And now, as monk-copyists used to write at the end of manuscripts, Nunc
scripto totum pro Christo ta mihi potum – now that I have written
so much for Christ, give me a drink! In my case, it is Caissa rather than Christ,
but the sentiment remains the same! Ultimum vale.

• Full
  reports with annotated games here

Final top ranking (after nine rounds)

• All
  pairings and results

Picture Gallery from Hastings

By John Saunders

Zbynek Hracek – try pronouncing that after having a couple of
pints at Hastings' Pig in Paradise pub ... or even before

Zbrynek Hracek versus Bob Eames – White won a pawn but Black put up a
gutsy defence to hold the draw

Natalia Zdebskaja is a 23-year-old WGM from Ukraine. She is married to the
tournament top seed, Yuri Drozdovskij. They got married in July 2009. Natalia
was a member of the silver-medal winning Ukraine women's team at the 2008 Dresden
Olympiad.

French GM Romain Edouard wearing a very shiny shirt for his Hastings debut

Nicolai Getz made a name for himself (and a couple of thousand pounds) in Gibraltar
last year when beating the (literally) underrated Russian IM Oleg Kozlov in
the Challengers competition

Andreas Stripunski of Germany ... not to be confused with GM Alexander Stripunsky
of USA.

Jude Lenier, 14, is one of England's best young players at the moment

Young French player Hugo Devoille gets close and personal with his pieces.
But they didn't respond favourably, I'm afraid. Hugo was not a Victor.

Tarun Malhotra is the 2009 British Under-11 Champion and is a member of Richmond
Junior Chess Club. He beat a very experienced 2000+ rated player in the recent
London Festival Open at Olympia.

Ten-year-old Aryan Tari from Norway could be hot on the heels of another prodigy
from his country. He is already rated 1932 and could soon be A Tari 2000 (Atari
2000 – geddit? Oh, please yourselves)...

”Beam me up, Scottie!“ It's unclear if Ezra Kirk is a relative of
Star Trek's Captain Kirk.
Given that he is French, he is more likely to be related to Captain Picard...

Amy Hoare, from Sussex, is only 13 but did well to draw with...

James Jackson (2067) an opponent rated 270 points higher than Amy.

Links Official tournament site All games in PGN or zipped PGN The games are being broadcast live on the official web site and on the chess server Playchess.com. If you are not a member you can download the free PGN reader ChessBase Light, which gives you immediate access. You can also use the program to read, replay and analyse PGN games. New and enhanced: CB Light 2009!

Read Full Post »

05.01.2010
– According to the current FIDE rankings Magnus Carlsen is the strongest player in the world. But his rating of 2810 is not the highest ever. That was achieved by Garry Kasparov, who in the July 1999 FIDE list reached 2851 points. Two other players have at some stage had higher ratings than Magnus. Here's a list of all Super-GMs (over 2700) and their top ratings.

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More information...

Top Ratings of Super-GM

Three years ago Przemek Jahr of Pila, Poland, sent us a
list of all players who had reached a rating of 2700 or higher, giving their
highest ever ratings and the year and the FIDE list in which it was achieved.
Chess fan Kostantin Ikonomovski of Jankovec, Macedonia, has been updating this
list meticulously and sent us the latest version that incorporates all list
up to the January
1st 2010 FIDE rankings.

Konstantin is a member of the amater team of Alkaloid for many years; "That
meant that I used to have four extra vacations every year on company expences,"
he writes, "always in some wonderful places throughout the former Yugoslavia.
I carry beautiful memories of this."

Addendum: the publication of this list under the original
front page title "The strongest players of all time" has led to
some furious messages from readers who blame "rating inflation"
for putting Bobby Fischer in place nine. We have sought to placate them with
a title change ("highest rated players") and understand that we
will have to (sigh) come back to this subject again soon.

Addendum 2: We have made some corrections in the list.
Carlsen has switched places with Kramnik, whose highest rating was 2809, not
2811. Grischuk was corrected and is now one place lower, and Sergey Tiviakov
was removed from the list, since his 2700 rating in October 2005 was corrected
to 2699.

Top ten rated players of all time

The highest rating ever, by Garry Kasparov, is 38 points more than any other
player in history. Five players have crossed the 2800 mark, five players have
come within twenty points of it. Here's the complete table.

Super-GMs who achieved a 2700 or higher rating

#	Surname, Name	Nat.	Born	Max	When	01.10
1	Kasparov, Garry	RUS	1963	2851	1999.07	2812
2	Topalov, Veselin	BUL	1975	2813	2006.07	2805
3	Carlsen, Magnus	NOR	1990	2810	2010.01	2810
4	Kramnik, Vladimir	RUS	1975	2809	2002.01	2788
5	Anand, Viswanathan	IND	1969	2803	2006.04	2790
6	Morozevich, Alexander	RUS	1977	2788	2008.07	2732
7	Ivanchuk, Vassily	UKR	1969	2787	2007.10	2749
8	Aronian, Levon	ARM	1982	2786	2009.11	2781
9	Fischer, Robert	USA	1943	2785	1972.04	2785
10	Karpov, Anatoly	RUS	1951	2780	1994.07	2619
11	Svidler, Peter	RUS	1976	2765	2006.01	2744
12	Leko, Peter	HUN	1979	2763	2005.04	2739
13	Radjabov, Teimour	AZE	1987	2761	2009.01	2733
14	Gelfand, Boris	ISR	1968	2761	2010.01	2761
15	Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar	AZE	1985	2760	2008.01	2741
16	Jakovenko, Dmitry	RUS	1983	2760	2009.01	2730
17	Gashimov, Vugar	AZE	1986	2759	2010.01	2759
18	Shirov, Alexei	ESP	1972	2755	2008.01	2723
19	Adams, Michael	ENG	1971	2755	2000.07	2694
20	Movsesian, Sergei	SVK	1978	2751	2009.01	2704
21	Wang, Yue	CHN	1987	2749	2010.01	2749
22	Grischuk, Alexander	RUS	1983	2748	2009.04	2736
23	Kamsky, Gata	USA	1974	2745	1996.07	2693
24	Ponomariov, Ruslan	UKR	1983	2743	2002.04	2737
25	Bareev, Evgeny	RUS	1966	2739	2003.10	2643
36	Eljanov, Pavel	UKR	1983	2736	2010.01	2736
27	Polgar, Judith	HUN	1976	2735	2005.07	2682
28	Nakamura, Hikaru	USA	1987	2735	2009.09	2708
29	Karjakin Sergey	RUS	1990	2732	2008.01	2720
30	Bacrot, Etienne	FRA	1983	2731	2005.04	2713
31	Vachier-Laqrave, Maxime	FRA	1990	2730	2010.01	2730
32	Navara, David	CZE	1985	2725	2006.10	2708
33	Alekseev, Evgeny	RUS	1985	2725	2009.09	2703
34	Ni, Hua	CHN	1983	2724	2009.04	2657
35	Dominguez Perez, Lenier	CUB	1983	2721	2009.04	2712
36	Malakhov, Vladimir	RUS	1980	2716	2009.09	2716
37	Salov, Valery	RUS	1964	2715	1995.01	2644
38	Wang Hao	CHN	1989	2715	2010.01	2715
39	Van Wely, Loek	NED	1972	2714	2001.10	2652
40	Bu, Xiangzhi	CHN	1985	2714	2008.10	2682
41	Akopian, Vladimir	ARM	1971	2713	2006.07	2700
42	Cheparinov, Ivan	BUL	1986	2713	2008.01	2660
43	Short, Nigel	ENG	1965	2712	2004.04	2707
44	Sasikiran, Krishnan	IND	1981	2711	2009.01	2664
45	Vellejo-Pons Francisco	ESP	1982	2711	2009.11	2711
46	Beliavsky, Alexander	SLO	1953	2710	1997.07	2657
47	Motylev Alexander	RUS	1979	2710	2009.07	2697
48	Almasi Zoltan	HUN	1976	2710	2010.01	2710
49	Tomashevsky Evgeny	RUS	1987	2708	2009.11	2705
50	Nisipeanu, Liviu-Dieter	ROM	1976	2707	2005.10	2681
51	Kasimdzhanov, Rustam	UZB	1979	2706	2001.10	2702
52	Sokolov, Ivan	BIH	1968	2706	2004.01	2649
53	Tal, Mikhail	LAT	1936	2705	1980.01	2705
54	Dreev, Alexey	RUS	1969	2705	2003.10	2650
55	Milov, Vadim	SUI	1972	2705	2008.07	2644
56	Jobava Baadur	GEO	1983	2704	2010.01	2704
57	Rublevski, Sergei	RUS	1974	2703	2009.07	2697
58	Krasenkow, Michal	POL	1963	2702	2000.07	2656
59	Smirin, Ilia	ISR	1966	2702	2001.07	2668
60	Khalifman, Alexander	RUS	1968	2702	2001.10	2616
61	Azmaiparashvili, Zurab	GEO	1960	2702	2003.07	2637
62	Bologan, Viktor	MDA	1971	2700	2005.04	2692
63	Naiditsch Arkadij	GER	1985	2700	2008-04	2687

Colour codes: Veteran active, Retired,
Deceased

See also articles by Jeff Sonas

• The Greatest
  Chess Player of All Time – Part I
• The Greatest
  Chess Player of All Time – Part II
• The Greatest
  Chess Player of All Time – Part III
• The Greatest
  Chess Player of All Time – Part IV
• What was the
  strongest tournament of all time?
• Rating inflation
  – its causes and possible cures

Copyright
ChessBase

Read Full Post »

05.01.2010
– According to the current FIDE rankings Magnus Carlsen is the strongest player in the world. But his rating of 2810 is not the highest ever. That was achieved by Garry Kasparov, who in the July 1999 FIDE list reached 2851 points. Two other players have at some stage had higher ratings than Magnus. Here's a list of all Super-GMs (over 2700) and their top ratings.

Andrew Martin:
The Trompowsky - The easy way - 2nd Edition
Thirty years ago the Trompowsky opening was almost totally unknown. It took a few spectacular games by Rafael Vaganian to bring 2.Bg5 into the limelight, and after that, the die was cast. Today 1.d4 Nf6 2.Bg5 is used by many of the best players in the world and a whole body of complicated theory has built up.
More information...

Top Ratings of Super-GM

Three years ago Przemek Jahr of Pila, Poland, sent us a
list of all players who had reached a rating of 2700 or higher, giving their
highest ever ratings and the year and the FIDE list in which it was achieved.
Chess fan Kostantin Ikonomovski of Jankovec, Macedonia, has been updating this
list meticulously and sent us the latest version that incorporates all list
up to the January
1st 2010 FIDE rankings.

Konstantin is a member of the amater team of Alkaloid for many years; "That
meant that I used to have four extra vacations every year on company expences,"
he writes, "always in some wonderful places throughout the former Yugoslavia.
I carry beautiful memories of this."

Top ten players of all time

The highest rating ever, by Garry Kasparov, is 38 points more than any other
player in history. Five players have crossed the 2800 mark, five players have
come within twenty points of it. Here's the complete table.

Super-GMs who achieved a 2700 or higher rating

#	Surname, Name	Nat.	Born	Max	When	01.10
1	Kasparov, Garry	RUS	1963	2851	1999.07	2812
2	Topalov, Veselin	BUL	1975	2813	2006.07	2805
3	Kramnik, Vladimir	RUS	1975	2811	2002.01	2788
4	Carlsen, Magnus	NOR	1990	2810	2010.01	2810
5	Anand, Viswanathan	IND	1969	2803	2006.04	2790
6	Morozevich, Alexander	RUS	1977	2788	2008.07	2732
7	Ivanchuk, Vassily	UKR	1969	2787	2007.10	2749
8	Aronian, Levon	ARM	1982	2786	2009.11	2781
9	Fischer, Robert	USA	1943	2785	1972.04	2785
10	Karpov, Anatoly	RUS	1951	2780	1994.07	2619
11	Svidler, Peter	RUS	1976	2765	2006.01	2744
12	Leko, Peter	HUN	1979	2763	2005.04	2739
13	Radjabov, Teimour	AZE	1987	2761	2009.01	2733
14	Gelfand, Boris	ISR	1968	2761	2010.01	2761
15	Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar	AZE	1985	2760	2008.01	2741
16	Jakovenko, Dmitry	RUS	1983	2760	2009.01	2730
17	Gashimov, Vugar	AZE	1986	2759	2010.01	2759
18	Shirov, Alexei	ESP	1972	2755	2008.01	2723
19	Adams, Michael	ENG	1971	2755	2000.07	2694
20	Movsesian, Sergei	SVK	1978	2751	2009.01	2704
21	Grischuk, Alexander	RUS	1983	2750	2009.04	2736
22	Wang, Yue	CHN	1987	2749	2010.01	2749
23	Kamsky, Gata	USA	1974	2745	1996.07	2693
24	Ponomariov, Ruslan	UKR	1983	2743	2002.04	2737
25	Bareev, Evgeny	RUS	1966	2739	2003.10	2643
36	Eljanov, Pavel	UKR	1983	2736	2010.01	2736
27	Polgar, Judith	HUN	1976	2735	2005.07	2682
28	Nakamura, Hikaru	USA	1987	2735	2009.09	2708
29	Karjakin Sergey	RUS	1990	2732	2008.01	2720
30	Bacrot, Etienne	FRA	1983	2731	2005.04	2713
31	Vachier-Laqrave, Maxime	FRA	1990	2730	2010.01	2730
32	Navara, David	CZE	1985	2725	2006.10	2708
33	Alekseev, Evgeny	RUS	1985	2725	2009.09	2703
34	Ni, Hua	CHN	1983	2724	2009.04	2657
35	Dominguez Perez, Lenier	CUB	1983	2721	2009.04	2712
36	Malakhov, Vladimir	RUS	1980	2716	2009.09	2716
37	Salov, Valery	RUS	1964	2715	1995.01	2644
38	Wang Hao	CHN	1989	2715	2010.01	2715
39	Van Wely, Loek	NED	1972	2714	2001.10	2652
40	Bu, Xiangzhi	CHN	1985	2714	2008.10	2682
41	Akopian, Vladimir	ARM	1971	2713	2006.07	2700
42	Cheparinov, Ivan	BUL	1986	2713	2008.01	2660
43	Short, Nigel	ENG	1965	2712	2004.04	2707
44	Sasikiran, Krishnan	IND	1981	2711	2009.01	2664
45	Vellejo-Pons Francisco	ESP	1982	2711	2009.11	2711
46	Beliavsky, Alexander	SLO	1953	2710	1997.07	2657
47	Motylev Alexander	RUS	1979	2710	2009.07	2697
48	Almasi Zoltan	HUN	1976	2710	2010.01	2710
49	Tomashevsky Evgeny	RUS	1987	2708	2009.11	2705
50	Nisipeanu, Liviu-Dieter	ROM	1976	2707	2005.10	2681
51	Kasimdzhanov, Rustam	UZB	1979	2706	2001.10	2702
52	Sokolov, Ivan	BIH	1968	2706	2004.01	2649
53	Tal, Mikhail	LAT	1936	2705	1980.01	2705
54	Dreev, Alexey	RUS	1969	2705	2003.10	2650
55	Milov, Vadim	SUI	1972	2705	2008.07	2644
56	Jabava Baadur	GEO	1983	2704	2010.01	2704
57	Rublevski, Sergei	RUS	1974	2703	2009.07	2697
58	Krasenkow, Michal	POL	1963	2702	2000.07	2656
59	Smirin, Ilia	ISR	1966	2702	2001.07	2668
60	Khalifman, Alexander	RUS	1968	2702	2001.10	2616
61	Azmaiparashvili, Zurab	GEO	1960	2702	2003.07	2637
62	Bologan, Viktor	MDA	1971	2700	2005.04	2692
63	Tiviakov, Sergei	NED	1973	2700	2005.10	2662
64	Naiditsch Arkadij	GER	1985	2700	2008-04	2687

Colour codes: Veteran active, Retired,
Deceased

See also articles by Jeff Sonas

• The Greatest
  Chess Player of All Time – Part I
• The Greatest
  Chess Player of All Time – Part II
• The Greatest
  Chess Player of All Time – Part III
• The Greatest
  Chess Player of All Time – Part IV
• What was the
  strongest tournament of all time?
• Rating inflation
  – its causes and possible cures

Copyright
ChessBase

Read Full Post »