21.01.2010 – Many books have been written about the American chess genius and world champion Bobby Fischer. But now there is a remarkable new one, by German GM Karsten Müller, whom you will know from his articles and multimedia lectures in ChessBase Magazine. This book contains almost 1000 Fischer games, all of them annotated by GM Müller a monumental task. Interview with the author.
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Yasser Seirawan:
My best games 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?
Karsten Müller: Bobby Fischer –
The Career and Complete Games of the American World Chess Champion
The years after the Second World War saw international chess dominated
by the Soviets Botvinnik, Smyslov, Tal, Petrosian and then Spassky held
the world crown, treating it as if it were almost an integral part of
their country's heritage. Then, in the mid-1950s, a lone genius from Brooklyn
emerged. Obsessed with chess, all his waking hours became devoted to finding
truth on the 64 squares. It was an unrelenting, sometimes frustrating
quest, but he persevered, eventually emerging as perhaps the greatest
natural chess talent ever: Bobby Fischer.
Now, for the first time, every single one of his tournament and match
games is presented with insightful explanations and analysis. German GM
Karsten Müller annotates each game – almost 1,000 of them –
supplemented by crosstables of every major tournament and match in which
Fischer participated, dozens of archival photographs, along with brief
comments and observations putting the play of the great champion into
historical perspective.
Karsten Müller: Bobby Fischer – The
Games and Career of the American World Chess Champion, Russell
Enterprises 2009, 408 pages. You can buy the book from Chess
Cafe, New
in Chess, or order it from .
An interview with the author
By Johannes Fischer
Johannes Fischer: Hello Karsten. You have just published
a new book about Bobby Fischer. Bobby Fischer: The Career and Complete Games
of the American World Chess Champion. The book traces Fischer’s career
and contains all known games by Fischer – all of them annotated by you.
The book has a fine design and a pleasant layout, it contains a lot of nice,
partly unknown, pictures. But still: do we need another book about Fischer
– after Agur’s book about Fischer’s style, Hübner’s
ChessBase DVDs and Kasparov’s book, not to mention all the other works
about Fischer?
GM Karsten Müller: The publisher Hanon W. Russell convinced
me that after Fischer’s death a book with all his tournament and match
games was due. He provided a lot of photos and won Larry Evans to write the
foreword and Andy Soltis to discuss Fischer’s contributions to opening
theory.
GM Carsten Müller, endgame expert and ChessBase Magazine commentator
What distinguishes your book from all the others about Fischer?
My book looks at really all known tournament games, which leads to a comprehensive
picture of Fischer’s chess. It allows us to follow Fischer’s entire
career from Wunderkind to World Champion.
You played through and annotated all games of Fischer. I could imagine
that doing the same with some of today’s leading players might be rather
boring. How about Fischer?
Well, it was definitely not boring, because there are virtually no short draws
or games without content. What made things even more interesting was to compare
the analyses of Fischer, Hübner and Kasparow. Their views often differed
and I had to take sides.
Fischer was a “Wunderkind”: at 14 he became the US Champion,
at 15 the youngest grandmaster ever, a record that lasted 34 years. At 15
he was already one of the world’s best players, but it took him twelve
more years to become World Champion. Where do you see the crucial moments
in Fischer’s career? And was he really that much better in the beginning
of the 70s than in the beginning of and in the mid-60s – and if so,
why?
One could briefly sketch Fischer’s chess career as follows: from 1955
to 1962 first the rise from Wunderkind to extended world class. That was followed
by the setback at the Candidates tournament in Curacao, where he was one of
the top favorites but only finished in the middle of the field. As a result
he played much less and mainly in the US. He did not play in the Interzonal
in Amsterdam 1964 and he left the Interzonal in Sousse 1967 prematurely even
though he was clearly in the lead – one of the most mysterious moments
in his entire chess career.
Because of heightened political cold war tension, Fischer was unable
to obtain a visa to participate in the 1965 Capablanca Memorial. He played
by telex from the Marshall Chess Club in New York.
In this photograph, the tournament referee in New York, J.F. Reinhardt,
makes White's second move in the Lehmann-Fischer game. [Photo: Al Lawrence]
He again goes into reclusion and does not play a single tournament game in
1969. In hindsight this phase seems to be crucial. He trains intensively and
in 1970 he returns with added strength to the tournament arena to take part
in the match USSR against the Rest of the World and to begin the strongest phase
of his career. From 1970-1972 he achieved one of the best, if not the best,
result that has ever been achieved. He lost only 5 of 102 games, won two candidate
matches (against Taimanov and Larsen) 6-0, and before the match in Reykjavik
he led World Champion Spassky by 125 Elo points on the world ranking list, making
him the clear number one. In this phase he was stronger than before: his chess
was more mature, he played the openings more flexibly and his opponents had
developed a kind of Fischer-fear. Before the match in Reykjavik even Spassky
was not sure whether he was better than Fischer.
Fischer brought many people to chess. What is fascinating about his play
and what fascinates you about it?
Clarity and fighting spirit.
What distinguishes his play, what are his strengths, what are his weaknesses?
As far as strength is concerned, his endurance and his will to fight down to
the bare king and to subordinate everything to chess. Moreover, he was particularly
strong in endgames, in which he had a slight initiative, and when transforming
advantages. In matches he was often able to seize the psychological initiative
and to impose his will on the opponent. Naming weaknesses is much more difficult.
In the beginning sticking stubbornly to certain openings was a weakness, but
he managed to overcome that almost completely in the period 1970-1972. His desire
to keep things under control made him sometimes shy away from risks. However,
due to his enormous fighting spirit this did not lead to many draws. Further
weaknesses lie certainly more in the realm of psychology. Such problems led
to his departure in Sousse, but between 1970 and 1972 they did not affect his
chess very much. Afterwards they arguably became more intensive.
Let’s assume you were coach and had to prepare one of your charges
against Fischer: What would you recommend, which opening should he play, what
should he aim for, what should he avoid?
Bobby always believed that staying physically fit was very
important to playing chess well. [Photo: Frank Brady]
Obviously this depends partly on the person who had to play against Fischer.
With White one might try to attack aggressively in the Najdorf or one might
play 1.d4 with the idea of keeping things under control, as Spassky often did
in the return match in 1992. With Black, Caro-Kann is a serious option –
Fischer tried a lot of things against this opening, but nothing could fully
convince. One should definitely avoid positions, in which Fischer has things
under control and a slight initiative.
And what do you have to do if you want to play chess like Fischer?
Subordinate everything in life to chess – but whatever its advantages,
such an approach definitely also has disadvantages.
How current is Fischer’s way of playing chess nowadays? Which heritage
did he leave?
As far as Fischer’s openings are concerned, the Najdorf and the King’s
Indian in particular are as popular as ever. As far as his style is concerned,
many players gained a lot from studying his games. Even in the Soviet Union
Fischer’s masterpiece My 60 Memorable Games was very popular. In general
his heritage is so large that I cannot comprehensively deal with it here.
The book contains a lot of nice photos and biographical sketches, but
refrains from exploiting or evaluating the many controversial issues which
mark Fischer’s career. Still, here’s a question about Fischer’s
biography. As a person Fischer was difficult and eccentric, as a chessplayer
he liked clarity and control. Do you have to separate Fischer’s chess
and his biography or is Fischer’s dedication to chess a reaction to
his emotional instability?
I am not the one to ask that question, and that is one reason why I try to
avoid such questions in my book.
Your book is more or less neutral – controversial issues in Fischer’s
career, such as his charge the Soviets had manipulated the tournament in Curacao
are mentioned but not evaluated. Why?
If you start digging in that garden, you will never hit the bottom. At any
rate, not within the scope of 400 pages and that’s how long the book was
planned to be. I also believe that I am not the right author for such a topic.
I therefore tried to focus almost exclusively on chess matters.
At the peak of his career Fischer withdrew from tournament chess and
there has been lots of speculations about his reasons for doing so. What do
you think?
Of course, I, too, can only speculate. After Fischer had reached the aim of
his life, to become World Champion, he presumably fell into a hole and went
into complete reclusion. Before the match against Karpov in 1975 he might have
been afraid to lose and felt that he had nothing to win because the crucial
step had already been taken in 1972. In 1992 he played again because he knew
Spassky whereas Karpov in 1975 raised a lot of uncomfortable questions for Fischer.
But the whole issue obviously remains a mystery.
Fischer was a self-taught person and had no trainer. He still developed
into a universal player. Would he have been even better with a trainer?
I think from 1970 to 1972 he really played extremely well and it is unlikely
that he could have been better in this time. However, after winning the title
in 1972, things look differently. But presumably he would not have needed a
chess trainer in the classical sense, just a good friend to work with, someone
Fischer trusted and listened to.
Fischer’s fighting spirit is legendary. Is this a myth or do his
games indeed reflect this will to win?
That is no myth and Fischer’s will to win can indeed be seen in his games.
He almost never made quick draws but simply played on and continued to create
pressure. Tal for example said that he would have agreed to a draw in the adjourned
second game of the match against Taimanov. But Fischer just played on. And then
the miracle occurred. With 81...Ke4? Taimanov went wrong and lost.
Fischer played many famous games. Which one do you consider to be particularly
typical for his style?
Well, that’s difficult to say. For a start, I think his candidates match
against Taimanov is quite characteristic. Here one can see a lot of Fischer’s
strengths. Obviously, his weaknesses did not come much to the foreground in
this match.
Fischer playing world champion Mikhail Tal at Leipzig 1960 [Photo: Frank
Brady]
Do you have a favorite Fischer game?
That’s another difficult question. But his endgame with rook and bishop
against rook and knight in the fourth game against Taimanov never fails to be
instructive and impressive.
Occasionally it is said that Magnus Carlsen plays like Fischer. What
do you think?
That’s an interesting thesis, which on first sight seems rather fitting.
Magnus has a strong fighting spirit and only starts complications when he can
control them. However, I haven’t thought much about the subject. Maybe
I should tackle this question sometime...
Of course you knew Fischer and his games before starting to work on the
book. How did your approach to Fischer change during writing?
I became even more aware what a feat it was to wrest the highest crown from
the powerful Soviet chess empire. As far as chess is concerned my respect for
Fischer became even greater. However, on the human side things look different.
But as I said, I focused on chess in the book.
Was there anything particularly surprising for you in his games, did
you have to correct prejudices or preconceived notions?
Yes, I had thought that Fischer had sacrificed more often and occasionally
strived for unclear positions. However, I realized that he valued control quite
highly.
Garry Kasparov wrote in his book about his predecessors that Fischer
may well be the best player of all time. What do you think?
I agree – as I explain in the book. The main argument here is not his
outstanding performance between 1970 and 1972, but the effect he had on the
game at large. During the match against Spassky chess made headlines in the
news and the mass media of the US and Western Europe. Fischer triggered a chess
boom all over the world and the game was simply no longer the same. If you look
at the effect of a World Champion in pure chess terms, Kasparov is obviously
a hot candidate, who even surpasses Fischer in regard to this – and he
still continues to work hard on chess. He is my number two choice.
Whose games will you analyze next?
I analyzed a couple of games by Lasker and Tal for book projects, but obviously
only a selection. Fischer seems in fact to be the ideal World Champion for analyzing
all games. The other champions simply played too many tournament games for a
single book. Fischer’s clear style also lends itself to such a project
because you need to give less variations, comments and analyzes.
Good luck for your next project and thank you for the interview!
14.12.2009 – Round four of the London Chess Classic saw two decisive games today: Luke McShane defeated Hikaru Nakamura, and Magnus Carlsen stretched his lead to three points after beating Ni Hua with black. In the post-game press conference Magnus charmed everyone to the degree that John Saunders wishes that Britains over-zealous passport authorities will not let him out of the country.
Adrian Mikhalchishin:
Winning Structures Great players always had and still have more than just broad theoretical knowledge. Every of them has some favourite methods, which simply help to score more points. The greatest even have favourite pawn structures! And they immediately exploited the knowledge of others - Alekhine invented some interesting structures, which were copied by his opponent in that game (Rubinstein), and later exploited by Botvinnik and then by Kramnik!
Round five report
Round
5: Sunday, December 13, 2009
David Howell
½-½
Vladimir Kramnik
Hikaru Nakamura
0-1
Luke McShane
Ni Hua
0-1
Magnus Carlsen
Michael Adams
½-½
Nigel Short
There were two decisive games in an exciting round at the London Chess Classic
today. Magnus Carlsen stretched his lead to three points over Vladimir Kramnik,
while Luke McShane won again to move into third place.
Before moving onto a blow-by-blow account of round five, let’s clear
up a couple of errors from round four. One was in the original issue of the
press release, where we tried to tell you that Short-Ni Hua was the round four
best game winner. I hope neither of those gentlemen nipped out to spend their
500 euros (each) on Christmas presents on the strength of this comment because
it was wrong. The best game winners of round four were Carlsen and Nakamura
(shared). The other error was by the aforementioned Carlsen and (to a lesser
extent) Nakamura.
At yesterday’s press conference Carlsen told the audience that he regretted
playing 32 Qe2 and wished he had played 32 Re2. Nakamura backed him up and the
opinion was related to a packed commentary room. Nobody present spotted that
32 Re2 had a huge flaw and would have lost instantly (we’re assuming that,
at the chessboard, Hikaru would have found what he missed during commentary),
but all our computers found it instantly. You can find it mentioned in yesterday’s
game annotations.
After his game today, and before commenting on his round five, Magnus Carlsen
came to the commentary room and delivered rather a delightful little speech,
owning up to the unsoundness of the line he advocated at yesterday’s commentary
session and advising us against taking anything he said in his post-round comments
as gospel. It went down very well with the audience. Magnus has remarkable poise
for a young man of tender years and he’s made a big hit with the London
chess audience. You’ll remember that Big Vlad had some problems getting
into the country; I’m rather hoping that Britain’s over-zealous
passport authorities will take similar action when Magnus tries to get out of
Britain after the tournament. We’d like to keep him.
In today’s round, Carlsen was soon out of the ‘book’ (as
he admitted afterwards) and the watching grandmasters were not too convinced
about the safety of his position for the first part of the game. It is possible
that Ni Hua could have made more of some early attacking chances but the Norwegian
soon consolidated and, slowly but surely, outplayed his opponent. The game seemed
to hinge on a couple of judgement calls; in particular, compare and contrast
the trajectory of the two kings in the final phase of the game.
Ni Hua (2665) - Carlsen,Magnus (2801) [B51]
London Chess Classic London (5), 13.12.2009 [John Saunders]
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.Bb5+ Nd7 4.d4 a6 5.Bxd7+ Bxd7
6.dxc5 dxc5 7.Nc3 e6 8.Bf4 Ne7 9.Ne5. This sort of thing has been played
before but not in this exact position. Magnus admitted that he was soon out
of his theory. 9...Ng6 10.Qh5!? This sort of move is easily overlooked. 10...Bc6. 10...Nxf4?? allows mate in one, while 10...Nxe5? 11.Bxe5 makes
it very hard to develop Black's kingside. 11.Bg3 Nxe5 12.Bxe5 c4 13.0-0. Magnus said he was wasn't so concerned about this move. He had expected
13.f4 which is a bit more aggressive. 13...Qa5. Magnus's view given in
the commentary room was that most of his problems were over around this point.
But to the less sophisticated eye (i.e. virtually everybody else on the planet),
he doesn't seem to be out of the wood yet. 14.Qg5
It is not obvious where Black can stow his king in this position but Magnus
comes up with what looks like a very risky solution. 14...h6 15.Qg3 f6. This
looks like a self-inflicted wound: the horrid weakness on g6 most chessplayers
would find repellent. But chess geniuses can assess a position on its merits. 16.Qg6+ Ke7. The previous day Ni Hua had gone in for a similar ugly king
move which blocked his own bishop on f8. 17.Bf4 Be8. This patches up
the light square weakness but does nothing to help develop the pieces or connect
the rooks. 18.Qg3 Kf7 19.Rad1 Bc6 20.Rd2. Magnus thought 20.a3 was better
and, for once, it is possible to understand fully what he has in mind. It stops
the black bishop coming to b4 where it causes some annoyance. 20...e5 21.Be3
Bb4. This line is not without risk for Black as White can try to open up
lines against his king. 22.f4 Rhe8! A key defensive move. Carlsen had
calculated that his king should be reasonably safe from attack after this. 23.f5
Bc5 24.Rfd1 Rad8 25.Rxd8 Bxe3+ 26.Qxe3 Rxd8 27.Rxd8 Qxd8. Once the rooks
are off, the position starts to turn inexorably in favour of Black. 28.Kf2
Qd6 29.a3. Otherwise Qb4 will be a nuisance. 29...a5
This looks like a fairly balanced position and your chess engine will probably
pronounce it equal, or perhaps slightly better for Black because he has bishop
for knight. That is probably about right and yet the position soon swings markedly
in favour of Black. One crucial aspect over the next few moves is what the players
do with their kings. Keep a watchful eye on the monarchs as the game unfolds... 30.Kf3. Here the game gets very grandmasterly. Carlsen felt that 30.Ke2
was more precise though he did not articulate this sentiment in such a way that
that we chess mortals could fully appreciate the difference. 30...Kg8. Carlsen
chooses to move his king backwards to safety. He wants it to have the option
of hiding on h7 should a white queen attack it along the back rank. Another
motive was possibly the provision of a square for the bishop to occupy and put
pressure on the a2-g8 diagonal. 31.g3 b5 32.Ke2 b4 33.axb4 axb4 34.Nd1 Ba4
35.b3?! Magnus thought the text was inferior. We looked at 35.Qd2 Qd4
and Black certainly gets a lot of pressure but nothing absolutely decisive.
35 b3 opens up the f1-a6 diagonal and this exposes the white king to danger. 35...cxb3 36.cxb3 Qa6+ 37.Kd2?! In time trouble, Ni Hua starts to make
a few slight errors which, when added together, make a big one. 37 Ke1 is better. 37...Bb5 38.Qc5 Qa2+ 39.Qc2? The final error. 39.Kc1 is better, though
Black still has problems after 39...Be2 . That said, 40.Ne3!? Qxb3 41.Qd5+ Qxd5
42.exd5 might just be OK for White. 39...Qa7! Black's command of the
two diagonals catches the eye. 40.Qc8+ White reaches the time control
with a check. There doesn't seem to be anything significantly better for White
since 40.g4 Kh7 41.h3 Qd4+ 42.Kc1 Bd3 wins the e4 pawn, with a very comfortable
positional plus. 40...Kh7. Black's king finds a safe haven but its adversary
remains horribly exposed. Notice that the e8 square, where White would dearly
like to post his queen to threaten perpetual check, is controlled by the bishop. 41.Kc1 Qa1+ 42.Kc2 Qd4. The e4 pawn cannot be saved and, without any
hope of positional compensation, White decides he has had enough. 0-1. [Click
to replay]
Immediately after his game Magnus Carlsen is interviewed by a batrachian
camera team
The above fairly impolite joke was examined and authorised by GM Robert Fontaine,
who is anchoring the video reports for Europe Echecs in London. It was instigated
by Nigel Short, a leading collector of obscure words.
Magnus and Ni Hua analyse for the spectators in London and on Playchess
The young Nowegian advised people against taking anything he said in his post-round
comments as gospel
Some months ago Nigel Short took back the title of England number one from
Michael Adams; surprisingly so, perhaps, since Nigel is 44 to Michael’s
38 and we have become accustomed to other leading players fading in their forties.
So their meeting today was a chance for Michael to regain his crown. The opening
was a Open Ruy Lopez, which Nigel has only recently started playing for Black
but with some success. He has evidently hit upon a system which suits him well
as he seemed to have an edge for much of today’s game with Michael. Just
before the time control he may have slipped up slightly with 39...g5 as he admitted
he had completely overlooked Michael’s reply 40 e6, threatening to queen
a pawn. In the commentary room Nigel confessed he was relieved to find he had
one saving move which led to the draw.
Trying to get back to number one in Britain: Michael Adams
Top slot at 44: former world championship challenger Nigel Short
Nigel and Mickey – the two top Brits analyse their game in the commentary
room
The queue of GMs: Magnus Carlsen and Ni Hua wait for their turn to analyse
Next up, a mouth-watering pairing between Hikaru Nakamura and Luke McShane:
Hikaru never fails to entertain and Luke is once again fully focused on chess
so this was a sure-fire winner as far as the crowd was concerned. Luke decided
to stick with his Na6 variation of the King’s Indian Defence with which
he lost to Magnus and his bravery was rewarded, not just with his second win
but with the round’s best game prize of 1,000 euros. Well done, Luke,
but also credit to Hikaru for a battling performance.
Nakamura,Hikaru (2715) - McShane,Luke (2615) [E94]
London Chess Classic London (5), 13.12.2009 [John Saunders]
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.Be2 0-0 6.Nf3 e5 7.0-0 Na6 8.Be3 Ng4
9.Bg5 Qe8 10.c5!? This imbalances the position and ensures that it will
not be a stereotypical KID game. 10...exd4 11.Nd5 Be6. 11...Nxc5 12.Nxc7
Qxe4 13.Re1 Rb8 14.Bc4 Qf5 15.Be7 was played in Navara-McShane, Gothenburg 2005,
and White eventually won. 12.Be7!? [Another bold decision by Hikaru.
He probably looked at 12.Bxa6 Bxd5 13.exd5 bxa6 14.cxd6 cxd6 15.Nxd4 Qd7 and
decided it didn't offer him enough. Chess engines seem to like it but it is
not clear that White has sufficient play.] 12...Bxd5 13.Bxf8 Qxf8 14.exd5
dxc5
Black has two pawns and a knight for the rook, so the material situation is
fairly balanced. 15.Qb3 Rb8 16.Rfe1 Qd6 17.h3. White has to be wary
of all those black pawns on the queenside. For example, 17.Bc4? b5! and if 18.Bxb5
c6! 19.dxc6 Nc7 20.a4 a6 and the bishop is lost; 17.Qa4!? may be a canny move
to restrain a queenside advance. 17...Nf6 18.Bxa6. After this, Black
seems to be slightly in the ascendant. Perhaps something less committal, such
as 18 a3, was called for. 18...Qxa6 19.Rac1 Bf8 20.Ne5 Qb6 21.Qf3 Qd6
22.g4?! Too gung ho. 22.Nd3!? was more cautious, restraining Black's
queenside pawns: 22...b6 23.b4 Nxd5 24.bxc5 bxc5 25.Rxc5 Nf4 26.Rec1 looks playable. 22...Bh6! Grabbing some important dark squares. Black even has dreams
of advancing a pawn to d2 one day. 23.Rc2 Re8 24.Rce2 Rf8 25.Nc4 Qxd5 26.Qxf6
Bg7!? Probably better than the immediate 26...Qxc4 27.Re8 when, for example,
the pawn grab 27...Qxa2? runs into 28.g5! Bg7 29.Rxf8+ Bxf8 30.Re8 and Black
finds he has no defence to 31 Qe7 and mate. 27.Qh4. 27.Qf4 may be better
but Black still has 27...Qxc4 28.b3 Qd5 29.Qxc7 d3 30.Re7 Bc3 with a probable
win in sight. 27...Qxc4 28.Re8 Qd5 29.Rxf8+ Bxf8 30.Re8 Kg7
31.g5. It's beginning to look very difficult for White. He could try
31.Qd8 Qxd8 32.Rxd8 but that may be quite similar to the text in the long run. 31...Qd6. Black has now completed his king's defensive set-up and can
turn his attention to march his queenside pawns down the board. 32.Kf1 b5
33.Ke1. White wants to use his king to block the advance of the pawns. 33...c4
34.Qe4 c5 35.h4 c3 36.bxc3 dxc3 37.Qe5+. A difficult decision but probably
best. 37...Qxe5+ 38.Rxe5 a5 39.Kd1 a4 40.a3 b4 41.Kc2
White appears to have stymied the pawn advance but Black has one more trick
in his locker. 41...h6! The idea behind this move is simply to give his
king a square on h7 so that he can put the bishop on g7 and play b3+. 42.Rd5? 42.Re8 Bd6 43.Ra8 gives Black a lot more problems than the text. 42...hxg5
43.hxg5 Kh7 44.Rd7
44...Bg7! The loss of the f7 pawn, and what is effectively a self-pin,
matter far less than the opportunity to advance the b-pawn another square. 45.Rxf7
b3+ 46.Kb1 Kg8 47.Ra7 Bd4 48.Rxa4 Kf7 49.Ra6. If 49.Ra7+ Ke6 50.Rb7 c4
and the phalanx of black material is invulnerable, e.g. 51.Rc7 Kd5 52.Rd7+ Ke4
and the black king sets up a mating finish. 49...Be5 50.Ra4. The rook
has to stop the big threat of c2+ and Bf4+ and so lets the black king in. 50...Ke6
51.Rh4 Kd5 52.a4 c4 53.Rh1 c2+ 54.Kc1 c3 55.Rh4 Bd6. Mate follows in only
two moves. 0-1. [Click to
replay]
Luke analyses while Lawrence Trent, Jon Rowson, Malcolm Pein, Stephen Gordon...
... and a young crisp-chewing chess fan look on.
After the lecture Luke poses with chess fans Thea-Lina and Veronika from Germany
The final game to finish was Howell-Kramnik. Watching this game brought back
memories of 1 March 2002 when the 11-year-old David Howell played a short exhibition
match, sponsored by Einstein.tv, against world champion Vladimir Kramnik in
London. Take a look at the photo I took then...
David Howell drew
a game against Vladimir Kramnik in 2002 [photo John Saunders]
Was that only seven years ago? David was just a little boy then but he’s
a tall young man these days (though not as tall as Big Vlad – few people
are). David got a draw in the fourth of four games in 2002, setting a record
for the youngest player to draw with a world champion. Of course, that was just
a bit of fun – let’s say that Vlad may not have been playing at
full throttle. But he certainly was today and he couldn’t overcome England’s
top teenager.
The game featured an early repetition but it was David who stopped the sequence.
That is not to say that Vlad would not have desisted from a possible threefold
repetition himself next move. This is favourite psychological trick of many
grandmasters. At move 20 there came a tactical trick from the ex-world champion
and it looked as though Howell’s defences might have been seriously breached.
But, not for the first time in the tournament, Howell showed resourcefulness
under pressure to reach a fairly decent middlegame position where he had bishop
and knight for rook and two pawns. Kramnik huffed and puffed but couldn’t
blow his house down. He went out on a limb rather and even seemed at risk of
losing at one point. It ended in a draw but was a splendid game which is worthy
of study.
Another great round, with huge numbers of spectators watching in person and
online. The current scores are Carlsen 11/15, Kramnik 8, McShane 7, Adams, Howell
5, Nakamura, Short 4, Ni Hua 3. It is curious to note that just three of the
eight players have wins to their names as yet, but all three of them have at
least two of them. Magnus and Vlad are two of the three but the third is home-town
boy Luke McShane who is showing how to exploit the 3-1-0 scoring system, as
he is two points up on the two other players who, like him, have a 50% score.
Colleagues comparing notes in the VIP room: Marie-Laure Kramnik writes op-eds
for
Le Figaro in Paris, Dominic Lawson for The Independent and The Sunday Times
in London
Pictures by Frederic Friedel in London
About the author of the London reports
John Saunders started playing competitive chess at school in High Wycombe
and was lucky enough to join the Cambridge University Chess Club when
it was the strongest club in the UK. He studied law and classics at university
and had a 20-year career as a public sector IT specialist before becoming
editor of
in 1999. As well as being editor, typesetter and webmaster for the magazine,
he writes articles and takes photos. He is the regular webmaster/journalist
for the Gibtelecom Chess
Festival, and performed a similar function for the 2001-2007 Monarch
Assurance Isle of Man Congresses and the 2008 European Union Championship
in Liverpool. He writes the chess page for BBC TV’s Ceefax service.
John plays hardly any chess these days but, when he did, he reached a
FIDE Rating of 2255 and represented Wales in the 1997 European Team Championship.
He is married, with two cats, and lives in Kingston-upon-Thames, Surrey.
Video report from
Standings
No.
Player
wins
draws
losses
points
Perf.
1
Magnus Carlsen
3
2
0
11
2913
2
Vladimir Kramnik
2
2
1
8
2747
3
Luke McShane
2
1
2
7
2718
4
Michael Adams
0
5
0
5
2691
5
David Howell
0
5
0
5
2719
6
Hikaru Nakamura
0
4
1
4
2625
7
Nigel Short
0
4
1
4
2586
8
Ni Hua
0
3
2
3
2590
Scoring System:
3 - Points per win
1 - Point per draw
0 - Points per loss
12.12.2009 – Tournaments like the current one in London give us great chess and allow us to see some of the world's finest players up close. But they are also social occasions that bring together a multitude of interesting personalities. Too many to present all in one report. So here is a selection, ranging from players to authors, editors and successful traders. Photo impressions by Frederic Friedel.
Adrian Mikhalchishin:
Winning Structures Great players always had and still have more than just broad theoretical knowledge. Every of them has some favourite methods, which simply help to score more points. The greatest even have favourite pawn structures! And they immediately exploited the knowledge of others - Alekhine invented some interesting structures, which were copied by his opponent in that game (Rubinstein), and later exploited by Botvinnik and then by Kramnik!
The London Eye (also known as the Millennium Wheel), 135 metres (443 ft) high
and the largest Ferris wheel in Europe, is visited by over three million people
a year. It was erected in 1999 and is located at the western end of Jubilee
Gardens, on the South Bank of the River Thames.
Before the start of the London Chess Classic, two of the participants, Nigel
Short and Luke McShane, went head to head in a game of blindfold chess in the
London Eye.
In the background you can see Parliament and Big Ben
People and personalities
By Frederic Friedel
The Howell family in front of a portrait of the chess-playing son
Martin, Julia, David and Angeline – a really cool family we reported
about
Two of the world's most successful chess players (financially) playing blitz
in the VIP room
David Robert Norwood, 41, is a grandmaster writer and businessman who joined
the city investment bank Banker's Trust in 1991 and became the director of Special
Projects at IP Group plc. Today he lives on an island far away from the mainstream
of chess, business, or in fact society in general.
IM Ali Mortazavi, 2372, is a former chess player who made his fortune as a trader
Tara Adams, wife of Mickey, who works on her Eee netbook in the VIP area
The life of the VIP room: Viktor Korchnoi, who provides most of the animation
to the discussion
Wife Petra Korchnoi, who at 82 accompanies and looks after Viktor all over the
world
Espen Agdestein, rated 2382, brother of GM Simen, business advisor of Magnus
Carlsen
Dominic Lawson, who writes for the Independent and the Sunday Times
Dominic is the son of a former Conservative Chancellor of the Exchequer Lord
Lawson. He was educated in Westminster School and Christ Church, Oxford, and
married Rosamond Mary Monckton, daughter of the 2nd Viscount Monckton of Brenchley.
He joined the BBC as a researcher, and then wrote for the Financial Times. From
1990 until 1995 he served as the editor of The Spectator magazine. From 1995
until 2005 Lawson was editor of The Sunday Telegraph, and currently he is an
Editorial and Opinion writer for The Independent, where he usually takes lines
contrary to the newspaper's general political position. For example he does
not believe global warming is caused by increased greenhouse gas emissions,
attributing it to solar radiation. Also he writes a weekly column for The Sunday
Times. He is the author of the book "The
Inner Game: Short V. Kasparov", which Robert Harris called "perhaps
the most intimate portrait of a chess genius ever written." One of the
more interesting people we have met in London.
The Chinese delegation with Li Wenliang and Crystal Zhu
GM Li Wenliang is the second of GM Ni Hua
Crystal Zhu is a second year PhD student who lives in England. She is doing
research on how post colonialism theory is reinterpreted in the Chinese literature
of the 80s. She is also a 2100 chess player.
Raymond Keene, the second English player (after Tony Miles) to become a
grandmaster.
Raymond or "Ray" retired from competitive play in 1986 and is now
better known as a chess organiser, columnist and author. He was involved in
organising the 1986, 1993 and 2000 World Chess Championships, all held in London.
He was awarded the Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for services
to chess in 1985. Keene is a controversial figure in the chess world, and has
had disputes with figures such as Miles, Viktor Korchnoi, John Donaldson and
David Levy. His business dealings, and the quality of his chess books, have
also been criticised. More about that in a separate report.
GM Jonathan Rowson, who helps out with the commentary
Diego Rasskin-Gutman, who presented his book "Chess Metaphors"
Diego Rasskin-Gutman is Ramón y Cajal Research Associate and Head of
the Theoretical Biology Research Group at the Institute Cavanilles for Biodiversity
and Evolutionary Biology, University of Valencia, Spain. He is the coeditor
(with Werner Callebaut) of Modularity: Understanding the Development
and Evolution of Natural Complex Systems (MIT Press, 2009). We will
provide you with a review of his chess metaphors book at a later date.
IM Malcolm Pein, who put this whole event together
The games will be broadcast
live on the official web site and on the chess server .
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!
05.12.2009 – As
some weeks ago, Marilyn young, Bobby Fischer's "Filipina live-in partner",
is claiming rights to the late champion's estate for their common daughter Jinky.
The claim has been filed with Icelandic courts, and during their visit
a blood sample was drawn from Jinky and submitted for DNA ananlysis. Marilyn's
lawyer Samuel Estimo sent us the following report from Reykjavik.
Sam Collins:
1.e4 Repertoire Grandmaster lines explained for club players Constructing an opening repertoire is one of the chess players most difficult and time-consuming tasks. Turned off by masses of theory, many players shy away from critical lines and concentrate on trappy lines, universal systems, or variations which concede the advantage of the first move in order to get a playable position.
The following report was sent to us from Iceland by Marilyn Young's lawyer
Samuel Estimo, with whom we have been subsequently communicating. One matter
of central importance that we have clarified: the blood samples of taken from
Jinky Young will be sent, together with available specimens from Bobby Fischer
from the hospital where he died, to DNA specialists abroad for examination.
The process will take at least two months before the final result will be known.
Samuel Estimo has assured us that these results will be made available to us
independent of what the outcome is. We will be expected to press for them at
the beginning of February.
One more note for this preamble: we are not sure of the intestacy (death
without a will) laws in Iceland, but in most countries we know they are patterned
after the common law of descent. Property goes first or in major part to a spouse,
then to children and their descendants. The status of Fischer's wife, Miyoko
Watai, appears to have been cleared
in her favour, though this decision by Icelandic courts has been appealed
by Fischer's nephews, who also lay claim to his estate. At the bottom of this
page you will find links to all the ChessBase reports pertaining to the subject
at hand.
Fischer's child visits he father's tomb
By Samuel Estimo
On a snowy and windy afternoon last December 1, Jinky Young, the late Bobby
Fischer's Filipino child, finally linked up with her father in a small cemetery
in front of the Laugardaelir church in Selfoss town, southwest Iceland.
Marilyn and Jinky Young at Fischer's grave in Iceland
Braving the distance from far-away Philippines and the minus 8 weather of Iceland,
Jinky took leave from school to visit her father's tomb with her mother, Marilyn
Young. The last time they saw Fischer was in September 2005 in Reykjavik, when
the chess legend had a three-week rendezvous with them. Fischer took mother
and daughter around central Reykjavik, and rode with them in buses, his preferred
means of transportation. Jinky had a grand time with her dad after she missed
him during Fischer's eight-month stay in a Japanese airport prison.
Fischer was taking a flight to the Philippines in 2004 to be with a waiting
Jinky and Marilyn at the airport, but he was stopped from boarding his plane
because of an allegedly cancelled passport.
Marilyn recalls that their parting was hard when they returned to the Philippines.
"There was not a day that Bobby didn't call us, sometimes three to four
times, except when I was in school. He would always ask for Jinky, who would
say, ' I love you, Daddy'," said Marilyn.
GM Eugene Torre, who accompanied Jinky and Marilyn to Fischer's tomb, also
found time to reunite with his close friend. It was Torre who acted as Bobby's
chief second during his return match with Boris Spassky in 1992 in the former
Yugoslavia. This match earned for Fischer the ire of the U.S. government, who
pursued him no end until he was placed behind bars in Japan.
Lawyer Estimo, Jinky, Marilyn, GM Eugene Torre
Torre accompanied Fischer in various destinations in Europe after the U.S.
indictment to the point of even risking his own safety for the sake of his friend.
It was also Torre whom Fischer called for a series of radio interviews while
he was in prison to drum up worldwide sympathy for his cause.
Samuel Estimo, Jinky's lawyer, had already made arrangements with an Icelandic
law firm who will handle Jinky's claim to the estate of her father, which consists
of around 1.5 million Euros and gold deposited at the Landsbanki Islands.
On December 2nd, Estimo and a lady Icelandic lawyer accompanied Jinky to a
Reykjavik hospital where her blood samples were taken for DNA testing. It turned
out that it was the same hospital where Fischer died of renal failure on January
17, 2008.
Estimo and Thordur Bogason of the law firm who will handle the claim, are optimistic
about Jinky's chances of getting her due to the estate of her father. "The
Magistrate of Iceland will uphold Jinky's claim, which means that she will get
two-thirds of Fischer's estate," said Bogason.
"That is on the assumption that Ms. Miyoko Watai's supposed marriage to
Bobby Fischer will be affirmed by the Icelandic Supreme Court. Otherwise, Jinky
will collect the whole of Bobby's estate," concluded Estimo. Fischer's
nephews had appealed their suit against Watai, and now pends before the Supreme
Court of Iceland.
Marilyn, Jinky, Philippine Consul Maria Priscilla Zanoria, Estimo
Jinky and her group are staying at the Reykjavik house of Philippine consul
Maria Priscilla Zanoria, who had graciously offered her services to her countrymen.
The four will fly to London on December 5 for the shoot of a BBC-HBO documentary
on the life of Fischer.
Related ChessBase reports
Bobby Fischer dies in Iceland 18.01.2008 One of the world's greatest chess
geniuses, Bobby Fischer, has died at the age of 64. A spokesman for Fischer
said the former world chess champion passed away in a Reykjavik hospital
yesterday. The US-born former world chess champion, who became famous
around the world for beating the Soviet Union's Boris Spassky in 1972,
had been seriously ill for some time. Rest
in Peace, Bobby.
Bobby Fischer his final weeks 25.01.2008 One of the greatest chess legends,
the eleventh world champion Robert Bobby Fischer, passed on January 17,
2008. The cause of death was renal failure. He was quietly buried by his
closest friends at a cemetery in the countryside he loved. Controversy
is arising due to the secrecy of the burial, but we are convinced it was
conducted according to his personal wishes. Report
and tributes.
Bobby Fischer buried in Iceland 22.01.2008 Chess legend Robert James Fischer,
eleventh world champion, was laid to rest in the cemetery of Laugardalur
Church outside the town of Selfoss, 60 km south of Reykjavik. Fischer,
who died of kidney failure, had requested that only a handful of people
be present at the funeral amongst them Fischer's companion, Miyoko Watai.
We bring you the wire reports and a statement
by Garry Kasparov.
First anniversary of Bobby Fischer's death 17.01.2009 Exactly one year ago a great chess
legend died, at the age of 64. Bobby Fischer was buried without ceremony
in a private cemetery in southern Iceland, which now has a simple headstone
a reader sent us a picture. In a commemorative article we remember Bobby
with an inspiring story from his childhood "The Sicilian Vespers" and
with links to his Sixty
Memorable ChessBase Reports.
Iceland: Fischer's estate, his final resting place 10.11.2009 The chess legend Bobby Fischer
died in Iceland on January 17, 2008. He was buried in the compound of
a church in Selfoss, 60 km from the capital Reykjavik. Since then there
has been a battle over his estate, which is claimed by his nephews Alexander
and Nicholas Targ. Now the Reykjavik Discrict Court has ruled in favour
of Fischer's lawfully wedded wife, Miyoko Watai. Pictorial
report.
Fischer's daughter Jinky files claim to his estate 11.11.2009 Yesterday we published a report
on an Islandic court awarding Fischer's estate to his lawfully wedded
wife Miyoko Watai. Today we received a message from Marilyn Young, Fischer's
"Filipina live-in partner", who is seeking justice for her and Fischer's
eight-year-old daughter Jinky. The two are on their way to Iceland to
file their claim. Marilyn has sent us some fairly
compelling photographic evidence.
On Fischer and Miyoko Watai
'Fischer and Miyoko were indeed married' 27.01.2008 Did Bobby Fischer marry the president
of the Japan Chess Association, Miyoko Watai, with whom he lived for some
years in Japan? This question moves out of the gossip columns and requires
serious investigation as questions are raised in the press about the legality
of Fischer's "secret burial" and the fate of his estate, estimated at
about £1.5 million. We have received a letter
from a close associate.
'We want to live together forever' 01.09.2004 She collected pictures of her
chess hero after his match with Boris Spassky in 1972. One year later
they met in Tokyo the start of a romance spanning decades. Since four
years the two have lived together in downtown Kamata in Tokyo's Ota Ward.
In an exclusive interview for ChessBase Miyoko Watai tells us the story
of her life
with Bobby Fischer.
'Bobby Fischer and I have decided to marry' 17.08.2004 Bobby Fischer, the former world
chess champion, plans to marry the president of the Japan Chess Association
(and four-time Japanese women's champion) Miyoko Watai. This was reported
in newspapers and wire services last night. Now Watai-san has sent us
a statement explaining the background of her
personal relationship with Fischer.
30.11.2009 – In a recent FIDE
interview in Khanty-Mansiysk Vassily Ivanchuk, devastated by a loss to 16-year-old
Filipino GM Wesley So, announced that he was giving up professional
chess. We received a lot of feedback on this decision, some urging the great
chess player to reconsider, other calling him a sore loser. Now
Ivanchuk has acted, and it will please the first set. Feedback and retraction.
:
ChessBase Magazine 133 Four highlights and a new number one. That is the summary of the autumn of 2009 in chess. It ran from the Pearl Spring Tournament in Nanjing with the triumphal success of Magnus Carlsen via the European Club and National Championships to the major high point of the year, the Tal Memorial in Moscow, which Vladimir Kramnik was able to take with half a point of a lead. The new (unofficial) number one in the FIDE world ranking list is now Magnus Carlsen, whose second place in Moscow was sufficient for him to push Topalov from the top spot.
Reader feedback
In his original
interview Vassily Ivanchuk announced that he had "gone crazy"
in his first game against Wesley So, and an inadequate estimation of the situation
had led to a tragedy. In the second game, Ivanchuk said, "I was trying
to keep a balance, but I missed something. My opponent, by the way, played very
badly." As a consequence of this result and the knockout from the World
Cup he took the following decision: "I should leave professional chess.
Chess will become hobby for me from now on. I will become just a chess fan and
follow chess, follow the games of my ex-colleagues. Chess is killing me. Chess
is playing against me! Chess is destroying me!I"
The interview and announcement spawned a large number of feedback letters from
our readers. Here is a selection, in roughly chronological order, with the rudest
naturally left out.
Marcel Baartz, Spain
Please tell Ivanchuck that without him chess will loss a great idea constructor.
I cannot imagine the evolution of chess for the past fifteen years without him.
He should take a rest before taking such a incisive decision that would be bad
both for chess and for himself.
Alf Olsen, Oslo, Norway
I'm sure you people have some way of contacting Ivanchuk. Next time you talk
to him, please tell him he is at least for me one of my very top favorite people
in the chess world, as much for his colorful character as his chess play. We
(me and others like me – there must be many!) gives full support to him!!
Ted Teodoro, River Edge, New Jersey
I cringed reading Ivanchuk's excuses for his loss to Wesley So. All this dust
that he has kicked up points to only one thing – he's a sore loser. Be
a man, and admit that you played badly and give credit to those who made better
moves.
Johnathan Rothwell, Southport, England
I am saddened to read your recent article on Ivanchuk's decision to retire,
it is a shame for all chess fans and perhaps the game itself. I hope his fellow
colleagues urge him to reconsider. Top level chess will lose some of its colourful
lustre without him. I wish him well-being and happiness in the rest of his life.
Bruce Mubayiwa, Johannesburg, South Africa
It is with sadness that I read about Vassily planning to quit chess. Vassily
is indeed a genius. He lost to an unknown player in the World Cup. So what!
This is nothing new in the world of chess. Even Vassily was once an unknown
player and had to start somewhere.
Amongst the top players Vassily has the widest repertoire on both sides, given
his encyclopaedic knowledge of the openings and his games are most interesting.
He is a living legend in the game. I think one of the big challenges for Ivanchuk
is that he simply plays in too many tournaments during the year even though
he does not see this as an issue. While other players focus on the big or Super
GM tournaments Vassily plays in just about everything. Sooner or later something's
going to give. Playing in more tournaments than anyone else means he is probably
not at his best during the big tournaments. It also means there are more games
from him in the databases which other players can study at leisure. More games
played against weaker opposition means he is more prone than most to defeat,
losing valuable rating points. Weaker players are known for unorthodox play
and can actually be more difficult to beat than higher ranked players who play
familiar lines.
Vassily does not get enough time to recover from tournaments. Magnus Carlsen
had to cancel his participation at the recent European Championships because
he felt it might affect his results at the Moscow Super GM tournament that came
soon after. I would compare Ivanchuk to the Russian tennis player Nikolay Davydenko.
Davydenko is one of the most consistent tennis players and one of the very best.
However, he plays more tournaments than any other top player. The result is
that in the really big tournaments, the Grand Slams, he has not been able to
fulfill his true potential. I have no doubt that if Davydenko trimmed his calender
and focused solely on the big tournaments he would win a Grand Slam.
I look forward to more games from Vassily and hope he will reconsider his decision
to quit professional chess.
Roberto Lampertico, Lugano, Switzerland
Please tell Ivanchuk that there are millions of fans who support him, even when
he loses. He is the best player around. Other players have better results because
their approach to chess is cynical: they play rarely and only in the most important
tournaments, to preserve a high Elo rating. Ivanchuk plays a lot and plays competitive
chess.
Al Jablan, SSM Good for Wesley So. As far as I am concerned Ivanchuk had a hissy fit
when he was beaten by an obvious up-and-coming youngster, and instead of generously
offering him congratulation, offers to quit chess and insults his opponent.
A great man rejoices in the future greatness of his successors, but a small
man, a insignificant contemptible niemann, goes berserk. At least Gata didn't
go nuts he accepted his loss like a man.
Rene Almario, Filipino residing in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
All of a sudden my respect and admiration for Vasily Ivanchuk as a professional
chess player has banished into thin air. He lost to a hardworking teenager chess
player Wesley So, 16 years old, and Chucky just could not take it. His comments
that Wesley played badly is uncalled for, This would mean that if Wesley played
well, it could have been 2-0 which would be more embarassing. I wonder what
Chucky's comment were after Wesley downed the great Kamsky?
Mr. Ivanchuk, you are very well respected in the chess circle but with your
tirade against our very own Wesley So, I am sure you lost all the respect of
all Filipino and perhaps majority of all Asian chess players in general. Your
defeat is because of your poor preparation and your arrogant under-estimation
of an Asian GM. Wesley played very well and totally prepared for that encounter.
Randy Bennett, Canada
I am SO glad that So took Ivanchuk down!
Ivanchuk reconsiders
Today we found the following letter on the chess news page :
Translation: "I ask the forgiveness of my supporters, friends, colleagues
in arms, and numerous chess lovers, for the emotional interview. I was very
upset after losing, but am not in any circumstances planning to give up chess!
And I wish to contradict the reports on SMI regarding my departure from the
game....
Yours with respect, Vassily Ivanchuk"
Whew! So we are not going to lose another great player before he has finished
doing what he does best: play imaginative, creative chess, crush
everyone like bugs, climb
to place three or drop
to place 30 in the FIDE world rankings. We will also be entertained by his
and quirks, which we would not miss for anything int he world.
