Monday, March 7, 2011

Today's attacking finish

SPRAGGETT ON CHESS


KNIGHT-MARES


The young Ukrainian Alexander Ipatov earned his final GM norm in the Cappelle tournament, scoring a very respectable 7 points out of 9 points.  Last summer I wrote on this blog of the curious fact that Alexander plays for the Spanish chess federation.  Even so, he remains one of the top young players that the Ukraine has produced in recent years.


In the position  below Ipatov has built up a strong attacking position against the Black King.  Every one of White's pieces is pointed in the same direction.  It is for this reason that it is not surprising that White breaks thru the Black defences with a series of brutal moves.  In particular, pay attention to the White Knight:  Zhigalko will not soon forget the destructive force of this beast...


GM  ZHIGALKO
GM  IPATOV

24.Nf6 -ch!



A stock sacrifice with the sole purpose of tearing open the King position. Taking the Knight loses immediately:24...gxf6 25.Rxg6! (rip!) fxg6 ( 25...Kf8 26.Qxf6 is immediately decisive ) 26.Rxg6 Kf8 27.Qxf6 Ke8 ( 27...Qf7 28.Qxe5 ) 28.Rg8 Kd7 29.Rg7 etc


24...Kf8!? Trying to hold on to dear life 25.Rxg6!


A picturesque position with both White's Rook and Knight enprise.  Now Black has no choice but to recapture one of them
25...fxg6   26.Nd5-ch!


This Knight is a real hero, terrorizing the Black monarch with each move.

26...Qf7 27.Qa3-ch c5  
Ofcourse 27...Ke8 is answered by the crusing 28.Bxg6
28.Qxc5-ch Kg8


Now the White Knight sells its charmed life for the Black Rook

29.Ne7-ch! Kh8 30.Qxe5


The devastation to Black's position is complete.  Now White needs only bring in his Rook for the Black monarch to be snared.  The game lasts just a couple more moves

30...Qxe7 31.Bxg6 Qh4 32.Rg5


Black resigns.  After 32...Qh6  33.f4! and Rh5 is unavoidable.
[1:0]







Posted by at 3:09 AM Links to this post

Sunday, March 6, 2011

Nigel Davies chess blog

SPRAGGETT ON CHESS





Grandmaster Nigel Davies (born 1960) has one of the most interesting chess blogs out there.  Or atleast I think so!  Nigel's blog is not just about chess, but offers a spectrum of perspectives that is both thought provoking but also insightful.

(Nigel's chess credentials in a nutshell:  • IM since 1982 • GM since 1993 • Author of the famous Power Chess Program, as well as a slew of other books, including: The Chess Player's Battle Manual, Kasparov v Kramnik, London 2000, Alekhine's Defence, The Grunfeld Defence, and Taming the Sicilian. • Columnist at Chess Cafe: Let's Take A Look... • Professional chess coach for 13 years, with many successful students including IM-CC John Rhodes, GM Matthew Saddler, and 1992 World Under 14 Champion (now) GM Ronen Har-Zvi. • Visit another of his websites, Tiger Chess, loaded with instructional articles.)
_______________________________________________________________________
''The Why Of Chess Improvement''
--by Nigel Davies

Perhaps this should have been my very first post but better late than never. Why should someone want to go through the sometimes arduous and mind bending process of improving their chess game?

There are many different perspectives on this but I think they can be divided into three basic categories; some external benefits such as money, ego gratification and self cultivation. The former might apply to players who wish to have a professional relationship with playing, for example young and highly talented players who may have the potential to get into the World’s top 20. Ego driven motivation might range from bragging rights to the humiliation of a significant other. This leaves the area of self cultivation, which in my view is the most interesting and worthy of the three.

The most obvious reasons why someone may wish to cultivate their chess include the brain related issues of helping the young develop (there have been numerous studies linking chess involvement to improved academic performance) and preventing alzheimer’s in older people (studies have shown that board games shine here too). But besides these I believe that a chess offers an opportunity for character development by placing a person in a uniquely challenging situation; do it properly and it feels like a fight for survival.

In such difficult and stressful situations you can learn a lot about yourself, especially when your moves are objectively analysed afterwards. Anyone making a series of decisions, that can then be categorised as good or bad, is unable to indulge in the excuses and justifications that characterise so many human affairs.

In this light the act of playing chess and being honest with yourself about how you played becomes an act of great personal courage. It strips away the ego’s armour and forces us to confront ourselves.
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Posted by at 11:23 PM Links to this post

How long do world champions live?

SPRAGGETT ON CHESS



How long do World Chess Champions live?



Bobby Fischer, one of the two World Chess Champions to die at 64


Wilhelm Steinitz (Prague, May 17, 1836 – August 12, 1900) – 64

Emanuel Lasker (December 24, 1868 – January 11, 1941) – 72
José Raúl Capablanca (19 November 1888 – 8 March 1942) – 53
Alexander Alekhine (October 31, 1892 – March 24, 1946) – 53

Max Euwe (May 20, 1901 – November 26, 1981) – 80

Mikhail Botvinnik (August 17, 1911 – May 5, 1995) – 83

Vasily Smyslov (24 March 1921 – 27 March 2010) – 89

Mikhail Tal (November 9, 1936 – June 28, 1992) – 55

Tigran Petrosian (June 17, 1929 – August 13, 1984) – 55

Bobby Fischer (March 9, 1943 – January 17, 2008) – 64


Now let's take a look at the numbers: 89, 83, 80, 72, 64, 64, 55, 55, 53, 53.  The median life duration for a World Chess Champion is 64! (The mean average is 66.8 - also quite close).
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SPRAGGETT ON CHESS
Posted by at 11:22 PM Links to this post

Chess portrait of the day

SPRAGGETT ON CHESS

SPIRITUALITY AND CHESS




The Chess Players by Moritz Retzsch (1779-1857). The devil is playing a young man for his soul – and despite having the white pieces – the young man is lost! The devil looks impatient to claim him and the angel ready to weep.     (via aladerei)



SPRAGGETT ON CHESS
Posted by at 11:22 PM Links to this post

Very unusual commercials and other potpourri

SPRAGGETT ON CHESS














Spider infestation leads to recall of 65,000 Mazdas




Mazda is recalling 52,000 Mazda6 cars because they attract cobwebs:


The recall of 2009 and 2010 Mazda6s is due to "a certain type of spider" that "may weave a web in the evaporative canister vent line and this may cause a restriction in the line," the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says on its website. Another 13,000 of the cars sold in Puerto Rico, Canada and Mexico are also being recalled

http://content.usatoday.com/communities/driveon/post/2011/03/spider-infestation-recall-web-mazda6-mazda/1
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WANT TO BUY A 25-TON BOLDER??



Christchurchian auctions off the boulder that destroyed his building
Cory Doctorow
An enterprising fellow in Christchurch is auctioning off the 25-tonne boulder that destroyed his building as a "landscape feature" with proceeds going to the ChCh Earthquake Relief Fund. He calls the rock "Rocky."

He is in pristine condition (just a little bit of concrete dust). Suitable for garden feature, or as in our case a magnificent addition to your living area.

Rocky will enhance your "indoor outdoor" flow considerably, especially if you load him in through the garage roof like we did.

Sorry, but we are unable to deliver Rocky but would be happy for you to pick him up and roll him away (please mind our neighbours when you do)
http://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/Listing.aspx?id=357989041
(via boingboing)

POST SCRIPT:  The bolder was sold for a shade above $10,000 !  (I wonder if that includes transportation costs?!)
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WTF   ?!


Very original indeed!  Substitute an egg with ....(what else?) an egg!
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SPRAGGETT ON CHESS
Posted by at 1:36 PM Links to this post

Sunday's quote

SPRAGGETT ON CHESS




“You must not lose faith in humanity. Humanity is an ocean; if a few drops of the ocean are dirty, the ocean does not become dirty.”


GANDHI
Posted by at 11:54 AM Links to this post

Making the kill

SPRAGGETT ON CHESS

The game between GMs Yuri Vovk and Krishn Sasikiran at the recently concluded Cappelle tournament attracted a lot of attention.  Vovk's surprise  attack featured a 2-piece sacrifice.



THE POSITION AFTER 20 MOVES


GM  SASIKIRAN
GM  Y.VOVK

Arising from a Grunfeld Opening, White has managed to place all of his pieces on active squares.  Combined with the mobile pawn phalanx in the centre, the position is ripe for active operations.


21.Ne6!

Clearly Black can not take the Knight as the opening up of the d-file will activate the White Rook and immediately recover the material.

21...Bxc3!?  It is hard to recommed better.  22. e5!  Qb6




Up to now White has played energetically.  Now comes a real surprise


23.Bxg6!!



Ouch!  White threatens an immediate mate and Black has no choice but to accept the gift.


23...fxg6 (taking with the h-pawn is met the same way)  24. Qh6!



Black can only prevent the mate by giving up his Queen!  Saskiran fought on bravely for 36 moves but could not prevent the Queen dominating over 2 pieces.






_____________________________________________________________



Yuri Vovk  is a Ukrainian chess player. He was trained by Vladimir Grabinsky, coach of the Ukrainian youth team. He became a Grandmaster in 2008, at age 20.His major success has been the victory In February 2009 of the colossal Cappelle-la-Grande open in France, above 106 Grandmasters and 76 International masters (610 players), with 7.5 points out of 9. (wiki)

Krishnan Sasikiran (born January 7, 1981) is an Indian chess Grandmaster. Among Indians, he is second, after Viswanathan Anand in FIDE rating as on march 1 2010."Sasi", as he is sometimes called, comes from Chennai in Tamil Nadu in south-eastern India. He earned the Grandmaster title at the 2000 Commonwealth Championship. In 2001, he won the prestigious Hastings International Chess tournament.

In 2003, he won the 4th Asian Individual Championship as well as the Politiken Cup in Copenhagen. Sasikiran tied Jan Timman for first place in the 2005 Sigeman Tournament in Copenhagen/Malmö Denmark. In 2009, he tied for 2nd-3rd with Étienne Bacrot in Antwerp. (wiki)


Posted by at 7:35 AM Links to this post

Returning home

SPRAGGETT ON CHESS





Well, the tournament ended with a very well deserved defeat in the final morning round!  I got plenty of sleep the night before, did my usual routine including preparation.  I felt motivated.  But during the game my brain stopped functioning normally:  at one move I saw the correct move, but then started to think 10 minutes, then 20 minutes, then 30 minutes and finally 40 minutes without seeing anything special!  Simply, I froze up...a morning round problem with many players.  It is not surprising that I not only messed up a good position and even lost a piece in 1 move!

Overall I am satisfied with my performance from a creative point of view.  I can not complain about bad luck (or good luck!) since it seemed to even out over the 9 round tournament.  I gained a bit more than 4 ELO rating points.

I am heading back home today (or tomorrow) and I promise to give some tidbits from the tournament.  A lot of interesting chess was played!
--------------------------------------------------------------------

Here is a flash back to the past!  I found this old interview of when I participated in the Candidates Tournament in 1985.  Apparently there is more to come from this source, and it seems a website dedicated to the Montpellier super-tournament is just about completed.  More later!





GMI SPRAGGETT Kevin -Tournoi des Candidats Montpellier 1985
envoyé par BALICHAT. - Regardez plus de vidéo de sport et de sports extrêmes.
Posted by at 2:04 AM Links to this post

Friday, March 4, 2011

Cappelle: Round 8 madness

SPRAGGETT ON CHESS



It is difficult to describe what happened in my game today.  Mutual madness comes to mind.  First I was winning --easily it seemed to me--and then I walked into every trick that my opponent laid for me!  Then he was winning--for one move.  When time control was reached (move 40) it seemed as though a draw was the likely result--but White could try.  And he did...a fascinating game in many ways.  But to be honest, if I don't play another game like today for the next few years then I will not miss it!



SPRAGGETT
TIKKANEN

I have recently taken up this line of the Kings Indian.  I have noticed that the Serbian GMs specialize in this line.  Black is very solid, especially where it counts: on the Queenside.  Unlike most lines in the Kings Indan, White has to work to get something going over there. 

This pawn structure (c5-d6-e5) is how they used to play the Kings Indian in the 1950's until the ...Nc6 lines became all the rage.  I believe the line was abandoned for no good reason up until recently...


12.Ne1 Nh6 13.f3 Nf7 14.Nd3 Qe7 15.a3 Bd7 16.b4 b6


I suggest the readers to take a look at GM Damljanovic's games in this line.  He has scored very impressively with the Black pieces.  Now probably White should maintain the tension on the Queenside with Qb3, like Kramnik did recently in a similar position.

17.bxc5 bxc5!


This is the correct way, even though it is at first illogical.  Black voluntarily keeps his Knight on a6.  When I first studied this opening system, I realized that the Knight on a6 performs many important functions: it prevents the sacrifice on c5; it protects the b8 square, allowing for Black to oppose Rooks should White double on the file; and should Black ever play Qa4 the vulnerable a-pawn is shielded.Simply trading off the Black Knight would facilitate White's chances of penetrating on the Queenside.

That being said, I agree that the Knight is offside.  But (and this is important) Black has many other pieces on the board to do important work.  Chess is a dynamic game and one should learn that not all bad pieces are infact bad!



18.Rb1 Rfb8 19.Nb5 Bh6 20.Qa4 Bc8!


All according to plan!  White has also invested a lot of pieces on his Queenside play and they have run into an impasse.  In the meantime, I will angle for a timely ...f5 to get some counterplay.  It is not a lot of counterplay, but sometimes a bit of counterplay is quite sufficient to maintain chances.


21.g4 Rb6 22.Kh1 Bd7 23.Be1?! Nc7 24.Ba5? Ra6


I could not believe my eyes that a 2550 GM would jumble all of his pieces on the Queenside like this!  Black now has serious threats.  What is White to do?  Bad are both 25.Nb4 cxb4 26.axb4 Nxb5 27.cxb5 Qe8! etc and  25.Nc1? Bd2 .  INSTEAD , my opponent calmly sacrificed his Queen for Rook and Knight, like it was the most natural move on the board!  (After the game I asked him if he was a poker player!)


25.Nxc7 Bxa4 26.Nxa6 Rc8 27.Rb2 f5! 28.gxf5 gxf5 29.Rfb1 Be3! 30.Rb7


Now the simplest is 30...Qh4 31.Be1 Qh5 with threats

30...Qf6 31.Nc7 Kh8?! 32.Rb8


Last chance now to keep a winning game is 32...Bd7! 33.Rxc8 Bxc8 34.Rb8 Qg6  and  now White's Rook must defend the mate threat.


32... Rxb8?? 33.Rxb8 Kg7 34.Ne6 Kh6 35.Rg8!


ONLY NOW DID I REALIZE THAT I WAS IN TROUBLE!






My intended 35...fxe4 would be answered by the stunning 36.Bd2!! Bxd2 37.Nf2 (Diagram right)  and White is threatening to win!  I have the to bail out with 37...Qg6 ! leading to a roughly equal ending. 






INSTEAD, I REFUSED TO BE RATIONAL AND CONTINUED TO TRY TO WIN

35...Bd7?! 36.exf5 Qxf5?? [36...e4 ] 37.Nf2!! Bxe6



Now White has his chance to win:  38.dxe6!  (simply there is no defence to the Ng4 threat) 38... Ng5 39.Ng4 Kh5 40.Nxe3 etc.  I would be able to resign with confidence.

WHITE--IN SEVERE TIME TROUBLE--MISSES HIS CHANCE TO WIN!


38.Ng4??.Kh5 39.Nxe3 Qb1 40.Rg1 Qb2 41.dxe6 Qxe2



It is still a wild position!  White can not win with 42.e7 because after 42... Qxe3 43.e8=Q Qxf3 there is a perpetual check.



42.exf7 Qxf3 43.Rg2 Qxf7 44.Kg1


Material is about equal and White's pawns are weak and easy to attack.  Ofcourse, my King is on the wrong side of the board and White has some chances of winning should he be able to manoeuvre his minor pieces to start checking my King.  But, I don't think he can do it.  I was pretty confident that I had reasonable  chances to draw , provided I did not blunder (again!)

44...Qf4 45.Bd2 Qd4 46.Kf1 a5 47.Ke2 a4


Black's a-pawn is an important source of counterplay.  In the end it saves me.  I could have avoided what now happens in the game, but I did not see too much wrong with my move


48.Rg5!? Kxg5 49.Nc2


We now have an ending where Black has 2 pawns and a very active King.  If there is a win for White somewhere here , then it is certainly no obvious and with the fast time control (30 seconds per move) it would be unlikely that most GMs would find the win.

49...Qxd2! 50.Kxd2 Kf4 51.Ke2 Ke4 52.Ne3 Kd4 53.h4 Kc3


I did not really have to calculate here, as my moves are all forced.

54.h5 Kb3 55.Kd3 Kxa3 56.Kc3 Ka2 57.Kc2 Ka3 58.Nf5 [58.Nd5 e4 59.h6 e3 60.Nxe3 Kb4 etc ] 58...Kb4 59.Nxd6 a3 60.h6


Black saves the game by just move

60...e4! 61.Nxe4 Kxc4 62.Ng5 Kd4!!


This is where studying theoretical endings where one side is a piece up comes in handy! 

63.Nxh7 Ke5 64.Kb3 Ke6 65.Kxa3 Kf7 66.Ng5 Kg6 67.h7 Kg7


A theoretically drawn ending.  Black does not even know the c-pawn. The Black King just goes to h8 and g7 and all White can do is stalemate

68.Kb3 c4 69.Kxc4 Kh8 70.Kd5 Kg7 71.Ke6 Kh8 72.Kf7


STALEMATE! 

SOME GAMES SHOULD BE WORTH MORE THAN ONE POINT....










Born in 1985. IM in 2007. Hans Tikkanen was one of Sweden's strongest juniors. He is qualified for the strongest group, which he has played in before, in the Swedish Championship 2008.  He is currently rated 2550

Posted by at 11:55 AM Links to this post

Cappelle

SPRAGGETT ON CHESS




Once more I must apologize for not updating the blog more recently, but the difficult schedule of the Cappelle tournament--rounds starting right after lunch and taking place some 10 kms from my hotel-- combined with the hotel's wifi problems has made it impossible for me to be a more loyal blogger...

In coming days I will have everything updated and back at the usual state of affairs.  Here is an excerpt from my game from yesterday.  (I have corrected the pgn-viewer and now the correct game score is there)




GM  TESKE
GM    SPRAGGETT


The position after 21 moves.  White had refused a draw offer the move before and played the aggressive 21.g4, starting serious Kingside operations, and planning to play Nf5.  Black's last move was 21...Rf8, threatening to blow things open at some point with ...f5.


Here I thought a bit.  My first idea was to play 22.Nf5, and if Black takes the Knight I will open the g-file and later play Rg1 with strong attacking pressure.  What I thought was the principal line was  22...Nxf5 23.gxf5 Bxf5? which loses to 24.Bxd5! Rg6 25.Kh2  and Black has nothing for his piece.

Here my opponent was very quiet at the board and I began to become suspicious. I was just about to move my Knight to f5 when it dawned on me that perhaps Black might take the Knight on f5 with his Bishop (instead of his Knight).  It was here that I began to realize that my opponent had set a deep trap for me!

After 22.Nf5 (?) Bxf5! 23.gxf5 Nxf5 24.Bxd5! Nh4! ( perhaps 24...Rg6 is just a transposition ) 25.Qh1!  (I need to stay on the long diagonal because of the tactic on d5.  If 25.Qh5 then Rg6 is crushing) 25... Rg6 26.Kf1  moving the Queen to the g-file loses to ...Rg6 (and if 26.Kh2 Rg2! wins, as White must give up the Queen and will end up down a lot of material)




Here Black has a brilliant winning idea: 26...Qxd5!! (falling into my trap!)  27.Nf6 Rxf6 28.Qxd5 Rxf2! 29.Kg1 Nf3! winning as White must give back the Queen to avoid mate! 






Realizing all of this, and having to deal with Black's threat of opening the f-file, I played the very strong 22.Be3! (neutralizing the pressure on my f2 square).  White has a small positional advantage and in the next half dozen moves I built up a very strong advantage.  I missed a win right before the time control on move 40, and instead the game continued for another 40 moves or so...all very unclear, complex and messy.  With the fast time control and 30 seconds a move, both players missed better moves.  I eventually prevailed.  A very passionate struggle!







GM Henrik Teske was born in East Germany in 1968 and is one of Germany's best known players and journalists.

Posted by at 3:49 AM Links to this post
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