The Uganda Chess Federation is for the first time in history set to send a Ladies team of five alongside the Men�s team to participate in this year’s World Olympiad to be held in Khanty Mansiysk, Russia from 19th September to 4th October 2010. Confirmation of Uganda�s participation follows UCF�s successful acquisition of US$10,000 from well wishers towards purchase of air tickets for the team. The entire Ugandan contingent will comprise of 13 people including five female players, five male players and three officials (two captains for the male and female contingents and one Delegate to attend FIDE Congress meetings).

The team line-up is as follows:

Men
1. Harold Wanyama
2. Patrick Kawuma
3. FM Stephen Kawuma
4. Shadrack Kantinti
5. Bob Bibasa
6. Stephen Kisuze (Captain � Official)

Ladies
1. Ivy Claire Amoko
2. Phiona Mutesi
3. Joan Butindo
4. Grace Kigenyi
5. Rita Nsubuga Nansove
6. Godfrey Gali (Captain � Official)

The Federation�s Chairman, Joe Kaamu is accompanying the team as a Delegate to attend the 81st FIDE Congress.

This is also the first time in many years that Uganda�s participation at the World Olympiad is guaranteed with sponsorship in place well in advance ahead of the event.

Both teams are currently undergoing intensive training in preparation for the Olympiad. The on-going National Chess League is also being used as a competitive platform to keep the Olympiad bound players in good shape.

Uganda�s best performer at the last Olympiad held in Germany, FM Moses Kawuma is the most notable absentee on Uganda�s team after having failed to make it in the qualifiers for this year�s participation.

Vianney Luggya
PUBLICITY SECRETARY

Michael Song getting set to play Joshua Colas. Justus Williams on top board against William Graif. Photo by Guy Colas.

Justus Williams and Joshua Colas recently returned from their first international trips to Brazil and Trinidad, respectively. Both had credible results and were intent on using the experience as preparation for the World Youth Championships in Greece later on this year. However, the families of both stars decided that the North American Youth Championship in Montreal, Canada would also afford the two players a training ground for the upcoming tournament in October. Darrian Robinson, already an international traveler, had also joined the tournament.

Justus and Joshua were seeded #1 and #2 in the under-12 section and started well. As fate would have it, the two were paired against each other in the penultimate round six. Justus won the game and set up a battle against Michael Song with white. The game started with a customary 1.Nf3, but then descended into a weird Blumenfeld Counter Gambit reversed after 1…d5 2.c4 d4 3.e3 c5 4.b4!? Justus attacked swiftly, but overextended his center which collapsed. Black picked off more pawns and won comfortably. Justus had to be content with the bronze medal with 5.5/7.

Joshua was in the hunt after five rounds with an undefeated four points. However, he faced his friend Justus in round six. Guy Colas told The Chess Drum that both players played the game too cautiously. It appeared at one point that they would repeat moves, but Joshua played 19…h6?! and went astray shortly thereafter. On 25.Nd4 Bc5 white played 26.Nc6 forking the queen and rook. Black possibly miscalculated that he’d have an attack after 26…Bxf2+ 27.Kxf2 Rd2+ but on 28.Ke3 Qd6 white simply has 29.e5… another fork. Joshua couldn’t get enough compensation for the sacrificed material and eventually had to resign. Joshua then played a Sicilian-turned French in the last round and missed opportunities to snatch the initiative. In a crucial moment, Joshua walked his king to the edge of the board and was facing mate or massive material loss. Thus, he ended on 4/7.

Darrian Robinson played in the depleted under-16 section for girls which had only seven players. She ended on 5.5/7 and lost only to gold medalist Anna Matlin. One wonders if Darrian would have been challenged more playing in a tougher section such as the under-16 Open. As she works toward National Master, she will need stiffer competition to rise to that level. Nevertheless she took home the silver medal and will add to her impressive collection of accolades.

Results: http://monroi.com/2010-north-american-youth-championship-results.html

From time-to-time there is a question raised about the presence of Black players in the chess world. Players in this demographic can be seen at tournaments around the world and are seemingly enthusiastic about competition. However, those who have found success at the highest level have been few.

As of this date, there are three Grandmasters of African descent (Maurice Ashley-USA, Pontus Carlsson-Sweden, Amon Simutowe-Zambia). Each of these players met unique challenges in their rise toward Grandmasterdom. No other player of African descent is close to making their third GM norm. Why is this? There are a number of challenges things that continue to inhibit this rise. In this brief essay, we will look at a few of the challenges that often come up.

Intelligence

Let’s address this straight-on. I was once asked by a Latin American whether Blacks were intelligent enough to be Grandmasters. The question was not posed with any malice or ill-will; it was a person asking a genuine follow-up question about the small number of Black Grandmasters I had named for him.

However, there are other forums that make it a contentious issue. There was once a debate on a White supremacist website stating that it is unlikely that a Black person can be a chess Grandmaster. That was until one of the posters found an article on The Chess Drum about Ashley! Debate ended immediately. First, let’s ask the question, “Is chess really an adequate measure of requisite intelligence?” One studied showed,

Chess is not necessarily a game reserved for people with IQ scores on par with Einstein. In fact, chess strategy may rely more heavily on spatial processing than on logic and computational skills. (see article)

Of course, there are all types of historic racial stereotypes about the intelligence of Blacks, or people of African descent. There have been crackpot race theories, specious experiments about cranial size and other notions taken from religious interpretations. All of these have been debated and while largely dismissed, the debate rages on. Incidentally, out of the small cadre of Black Masters in the world, many are involved in the analytical fields such as computer science, physics, mathematics, finance and medicine.

That chess players are necessarily smarter than the next person, appears to be a misnomer. There simply is too much variation in the socioeconomic background of chess players to make that assertion. Many chess players (of all backgrounds) share some degree of skill in pattern recognition and analytical ability, but if raw intelligence was the only prerequisite, many elite thinkers would master chess without difficulty.

Financial

Perhaps the biggest of challenge for Black players seeking higher heights in chess has always been obtaining the financial wherewithal to travel and earn the required norms for FIDE titles. To play chess is a choice, but what may inhibit a player from pursuing a dream is the lack of resources. While Black players living in the U.S. or Europe may have more norm opportunities than players in Africa, Latin America or the Caribbean, there is still the high costs associated with training and traveling.

Granted these are barriers that all players face, but Blacks tend to face greater financial hardship (on average) for a multitude of socioeconomic and historical reasons. Thus, the opportunity costs for focusing on chess remain exceedingly high. Since the payoff is usually not commensurate with investment of time and money, the focus on chess becomes an afterthought. Many promising players have left the game for better economic opportunities and have relegated chess as a weekend hobby, or have quit altogether.

Opportunities

The issue of adequate opportunities is another issue. For those on the African continent, the chances are rare as there are few tournaments offering the competition needed to raise the level of one’s play. Thus, talented players like IM Watu Kobese (South Africa), IM Kenny Solomon (South Africa) and IM Robert Gwaze (Zimbabwe) have had to scramble for opportunities and raise thousands of dollars to travel on long and tortuous flights up the length of Africa and into Europe or to the U.S. In the Caribbean, there are a few more international tournaments being offered and perhaps the tourist venues can attract foreign players so that locals can get more experience.

IM Kenny Solomon of South Africa has been spending
a lot of time in Europe in search of GM norms.
Photo by Daaim Shabazz.

In the U.S., there are more chess opportunities than five years ago, but with the economy reeling, the cost of living being high and returns from chess low, most players choose to put their chess ambitions on the back-burner, or make an honest living elsewhere. While Ashley is still a chess professional he no longer makes his income primarily from chess tournaments. He once explained to me how impractical such a situation could be. He has not been consistently active since 2003. Most chess professionals in the U.S. make their living on training, lecturing and writing books.

Race and Class

Race is always a controversial subject when discussing merit-based activities like chess. There has been no empirical research conducted to show that systematic racism has prevented Black players from excelling in chess. U.S. players like Walter Harris was certainly excluded from certain opportunities in the 60s, but one may argue that the issue is more of class than race. That does not mean instances of discrimination don’t exist. They do.

Walter Harris (left), the first Black National Master in the U.S.

In current events, there are some systematic notions that can ultimately impede growth of chess in Black nations such as changing FIDE’s “one-nation, one-vote” system. This would render all smaller federations as less relevant thus relegating them to a secondary class. It would then be hard to gain leverage for aspiring players. This is a point of great contention in the current campaign for FIDE President.

Changing the number of qualifiers in the FIDE knockout would also be a blow to African players. One famous Grandmaster was quoted as saying that Africans did not rightfully deserve of six slots because they had lower ELO ratings. In another controversial issue, the idea of awarding IM titles to players at subzonals is still up for debate. African and Caribbean players are often singled out in the debate despite the fact that the practice occurs in other regions.

Perhaps singling out these regions may show that race may be an underlying factor, but this is clearly a class issue since it affects all weaker federations. In other board sports like draughts (international checkers), Africans are among the game’s top competitors and thus, widely-respected. One problem with this issue is that one gains respect with a strong presence and apart from Carlsson, Simutowe, Solomon and legendary International Master Emory Tate, Black players are largely absent in international chess.

Talent

There is one other factor… talent. How does one measure talent in chess? There are always the age-based accomplishments, but they are imprecise and predictions are often not linear. For example, because a player made Grandmaster (2500) at age 15 does not mean that a player has to be 2000 by age 10 and improve 100 ELO every year.

Talent is not measured in a linear progression. Nevertheless talent can be more accurately measured by the quality of play. With someone to accurately assess this talent will be important in development. Unfortunately, there is not always the coaching available and most players of African descent are self-taught and do not have any formal coaching. Simutowe earned a Grandmaster title without a trainer and few resources. He mentioned that he would have been a lot more efficient if he could have hired the services of a trainer… even for a short span.

One of the problems I have seen in the Black chess world is too much emphasis placed on five-minute or “blitz” chess. The gambling marathons and meaningless grudge matches proliferate in these circles. All of this means nothing in terms of overall quality of play. The problem is that blitz prowess has come at the expense of comprehensive training… of which blitz should only play a part. Talent cannot be measured merely by who has the strongest game in blitz. It merely amounts to “fast food” chess, not a quality meal for chess nourishment.

In conclusion, there must be three main ideas to confront the challenges of chess.

First, there has to be more of a collaborative effort between players. That can be attained through deeper networking. Joint analysis, sharing of data and collaboration should be intensified. The legend of the “Black Bear School of Chess” was a novel idea of collaboration amongst Black players in New York. Maurice Ashley and several strong masters were raised from this organization. They were serious, focused, had study sessions and training matches. When Ashley became the first African-American Grandmaster in 1999, this served as its best example of harnessing talent. There is no reason these groups cannot function even through the use of online servers.

Second, there has to be a plan of mentorship for juniors. Scholastic chess is booming and features several talented players of African descent. The question with these players may be finding the right guidance to keep them motivated. There is also a need for the presence of role models and mentors for younger players. Typically, the impressions from a player with whom you share a commonality are deeper and perhaps more familiar. However, most of the top Black Masters are either not active or playing very little.

Lastly, there is a dearth of norm tournaments organized by players of African descent. This will be one way of ensuring more opportunities for aspiring GMs or IMs. Of course these events require sponsorship and logistical support. There has to be a concerted effort to organize these tournaments or talent will continue to waste away without been realized. The question is, “Who make the sacrifice?”

Note: When I asked GM Maurice Ashley about his personal challenges, he mentioned five of them:

1. Traveling for international events
2. Finding good training
3. Having strong training partners
4. Having a family
5. Starting late

(read entire response)

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Karpov: I think talent accounts for 20 percent of success and up to 80 percent is training hard and gaining experience from your own games.

Q: To develop chess, which conditions does a country need?

Karpov: The prerequisite condition is a broad chess movement. Then chess players must show their professionalism. In addition, the assistance of the government and businesses is very important.

Q: What do you know about Vietnam�s chess?

Karpov: You have Le Quang Liem, who has played at world leading tournaments. I believe that Vietnam has many talents and it will be the home to many world chess champions.

Q: Chess players have good mathematical thinking. Is it better if you don�t play chess, but research mathematics?

Karpov: I don�t know, but chess helps life a lot. Through chess, people can train their discipline and logical thinking ability to perfect themselves and improve their memory.

Q: How does chess playing benefit students?

Karpov: Chess playing has really developed in the last two decades. More masters and grandmasters of chess have appeared. In many countries, chess is taught at schools. That�s the nursery to discover who will become grandmasters of chess and excellent mathematicians.

Q: If you are elected as FIDE Chair, what will you do to further develop chess?

Karpov: If I�m elected, I will exempt appointment fees for grandmaster and master titles and I will do my best to support chess playing movements in developing countries.

Developing chess must originate from mass movements, so I will set up at least one chess club for each age in nations with chess movements.

In Vietnam, I have thought of building two chess clubs, one in HCM City and one in Hanoi.

Source: Tuoi Tre

Chess daily news from Susan Polgar

You’re searching for a way to escape everyday stress? You’re looking forward to finally get to do some chess in your holidays, but you don’t necessarily feel like playing a tough nine round open with chess only?

Photo report and analyses by IM Merijn van Delft

You like fresh air, but you hate loud commercial / touristic camping sites and beaches? The perfect solution may well be Camping La Rochade, a camping site in Naujac sur Mer, a village north of Bordeaux, France. Together with my wife Evi and a bunch of friends I stayed for a few weeks in Naujac sur Mer for the fifth year in a row now.

La Rochade is a very relaxed place to stay: in the woods, 10 km from the beach. It is founded and run by the charming Armas family: IM Jules Armas, WIM Rike Wohlers-Armas with the help of their daughters Lara and Lena.

Camping La Rochade

Highlight of the chess summer at Naujac sur Mer is the Open des Vins (Wine Tournament), but since there are all sorts of blitz and rapid tournaments, chess trainings, lectures and a whole variety of other events all summer long, you can stop by whenever is best for you.

The playing venue of the Wine Tournament

This year, the Wine Tournament was held from June 27th until July 4th. The special thing about the wine tournament is that the winner gets his weight in high quality wine. The number two half of his weight, and so on, until the number six one sixth. And, of course, the winners are weighted live at the prize giving ceremony. Besides, there are many category and special prizes.

IM Colovic is weighted at the prize giving ceremony

An aggressive approach in my games – combined with some luck with the pairings – made me the proud winner of the 13th edition. My early loss against Sebastian Siebrecht was compensated by six Sicilian wins. The key games were my wins in round 6 and 9 against young dangerous opponents:

Game viewer by ChessTempo

Demuth and Van Delft analysing their game

Second place was shared by Macedonian IM Aleksandar Colovic, the Germans GM Sebastian (’Sebi’) Siebrecht and Christian Koepke, as well as Frenchmen Michel Saucy and IM Kevin Terrieux. But as you can see, there were lots of other things going on besides chess!

Impressions from Naujac sur Mer

Watching the Football World Cup

Camping barbeque

Ch�teau Tour de By, famous for its excellent wine

Links

• Official website
• Camping La Rochade

Giovanissimi Time! 23? Camp. Italiano Under 16

L'Associazione Quadrifoglio Arte, con il supporto tecnico dell'Accademia Scacchistica Monrealese, organizza il XXIII? Campionato Italiano Giovanile 2010. Il Campionato si svolge dal 3 (primo turno il 4)?al 10 luglio e, come nella splendida edizione del 2007, si torna alla Citt� del Mare di Terrasini, indubbiamente una ?delle strutture pi� adatte per ospitare una manifestazione ormai imponente e che forse chi � al di fuori del nostro mondo stenta a immaginare. 800 giovanissimi che giocano a scacchi, provenienti da tutta Italia e in rappresentanza delle diverse migliaia che hanno partecipato alle fasi di qualificazione! Resta, come?� gi� stato negli ultimi anni, uno dei biglietti da visita pi� belli del nostro movimento e della sua crescita.?

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Dopo l?edizione 2007 la mamma di Riccardo Zito (che, ora 13enne,?partecipa anche quest?anno) scrisse un bel commento, di cui riporto uno stralcio, quasi un racconto in anticipo dell?esperienza che tanti ragazzi e genitori stanno per fare:

?All?atterraggio al Falcone-Borsellino di Palermo, nell?aria si sente odore di competizione invece che di salsedine e Citt� del Mare � la cornice perfetta per l?impeccabile organizzazione. In poche ore, 656 ragazzi con al seguito genitori, istruttori e amici, invadono pacificamente lo spazio del superbo villaggio, il XX Campionato Italiano UNDER16, il pi� numeroso, sta per iniziare. Le prime partite sono vittorie annunciate, soprattutto per Riccardo e Giacomo che, sentendosi invincibili, capitolano proprio il marted� mattina con due ?ChessMate?. Ma gli scacchi sono per antonomasia il gioco che insegna a gestire le sconfitte e, con l?aiuto di Alberto Collobiano, istruttore di Riky, ma che a Terrasini ha supportato il gruppo, tornano a vincere immediatamente. Superato il delirio di onnipotenza dei due, ci accorgiamo che, nel frattempo, la brigata si � allargata, dopo ogni partita, attorno al pc portatile per l?analisi a bordo piscina, il gruppo di testoline diventa sempre pi� fitto e, tra un tuffo in acqua e un gelato, non ci sono vincitori n� vinti, ma ragazzi che vogliono stare insieme e, l?entusiasmo della vittoria o la delusione della sconfitta durano il tempo di una granita, poi, di nuovo al lavoro, l?avventura continua. Cos� di questa settimana ci rimarranno i loro occhi, a volte colmi di lacrime, altre pieni di gioia; gli sguardi di
questi meravigliosi piccoli grandi uomini che, forse, non riusciranno a cambiare il mondo, ma sicuramente hanno dato un segno tangibile che la vera competizione non � mai combattimento.?

Paola Zito

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PROGRAMMA 2010

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A differenza dei precedenti, a mia memoria, nell?assoluto quest?anno � l?under 14 e non l?under 12 il torneo con pi� partecipanti (tra le ragazze l?under 12 mantiene il primato). Se si trattasse di un trend e non di un caso, forse significa che qualche giovanissimo in pi� continua a giocare? Vedremo il prossimo anno!

Come sempre, diamo una rapida occhiata ai singoli tornei.

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Under 16

Albo d?oro - 2000: Giorgio Berni 2001: Ivan Tomba 2002: Emanuele Lo Curto 2003: Remigio Fossati 2004: Denis Rombaldoni 2005: Niccol� Ronchetti 2006: Damiano Locci 2007: Axel Rombaldoni 2008: Axel Rombaldoni ?2009: Adriano Testa

Non sembra partecipino i primi 3 del ranking azzurro (i primi 4 con Marina Brunello), De Filomeno, Caprio e Adriano Testa, campione in carica, e?mancano anche altri ragazzi di talento come Davy Marguerettaz e Maximilian Spornberger. Al comando del tabellone troviamo il bravo Nicola Altini, che ormai appare pronto per il salto verso il titolo di Maestro e si pone sicuramente come il favorito. Tuttavia, e come sempre, competizione difficile da decifrare, dato che il talento � superiore al training ed � difficile prevedere del tutto i progressi di tanti ragazzi. Mi aspetterei prima o poi una ulteriore crescita da parte di Nicholas Paltrinieri e, tra i tanti che possono emergere, citerei anche Davide Di Trapani, che sta dando segnali di progresso.

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UNDER 16 FEMMINILE

Albo d?oro - 2000: Laura Costantini 2001: Laura Costantini 2002: Ilaria Clappa 2003: Maria De Rosa 2004: Maria De Rosa 2005: Giulia Tonel 2006: Roberta Brunello 2007: Sabrina Reginato? 2008: Chiara Palmitessa? 2009: Rosa Maria Casolino

Notevolissimo vantaggio di Elo ed esperienza per Elisa Chiarion, che negli ultimi campionati giovanili non sempre ha trovato la giusta vena ma �, ovviamente, favoritissima. Oltre a Marina Brunello, mancano altre ragazze che sicuramente avrebbero detto la loro in chiave podio, come Deborah Pavei, Sharon Rombaldoni ed Eleonora Pes. Per ?tradizione? l?under 16 femminile � il torneo con meno partecipanti, diverse ragazze riducono via via il loro impegno negli scacchi e non sembra che il trend stia cambiando.

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UNDER 14

Albo d?oro - 2000: Alberto Pulito 2001: Emanuele Lo Curto 2002: Denis Rombaldoni 2003: Niccol� Ronchetti 2004: Daniyyl Dvirnyy 2005: Axel Rombaldoni 2006: Axel Rombaldoni 2007: Guido Caprio 2008: Simone De Filomeno? 2009: Federico Boscolo

L?anno scorso la vittoria di Federico Boscolo sorprese un poco, data la presenza del favoritissimo Simone De Filomeno e di altri 1995 di punta. Quest?anno Federico � al comando del tabellone e appare in buona crescita, anche se il ruolo di favorito non � mai facile da sostenere. Forse un discorso a due con Luca Stella, che pu� balzare in avanti in qualunque momento, e solo in agguato il leader dei 1997 in gara, Lorenzo Pescatore, ottimo al recente Festival di Roseto. Tra gli assenti di maggior rilievo ovviamente Marco Codenotti, insieme a Alessio Gattafoni e a Paolo Formento. Molta curiosit� per dare un?occhiata ai progressi di tanti ragazzi.

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UNDER 14 FEMMINILE

Albo d?oro - 2000: Erika Pili 2001: Eleonora Ambrosi 2002: Eleonora Ambrosi 2003: Fulvia Castellano 2004: Roberta Brunello 2005: Roberta Brunello 2006: Roberta Messina 2007: Roberta Messina 2008: Deborah Pavei? 2009: Daniela Movileanu

Si tenta il bis del 2009 anche in questo torneo, con situazione analoga per Daniela Movileanu, oggi chiaramente la favorita. Tra l?altro Daniela disput� poi un ottimo Europeo, dando bei segnali di talento! Filli Balzano ha un po? rallentato la sua crescita dopo molti buoni risultati, un discorso che pu� sicuramente riprendere. Ovviamente da tenere d?occhio la n? 2 del tabellone Annarita De Somma e curiosit� per i progressi di Laura Gueci, capofila delle 1997, che penso valga pi� del suo Elo attuale. Buon talento tra le scacchiere, e fa piacere scriverlo!

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UNDER 12

Albo d?oro - 2000: Elia Messina 2001: Niccol� Ronchetti 2002: Antonio Lapenna 2003: Axel Rombaldoni 2004: Axel Rombaldoni 2005: Diego Puleo 2006: Simone De Filomeno 2007: Simone De Filomeno 2008: Marco Codenotti? 2009: Marco Codenotti?

Al comando del tabellone Fulvio Zamengo, gi� campione under 10 due anni fa. Gli anni passano troppo velocemente: la prima volta che ho notato il nome di Fulvio � stato nell?under 10 del 2005, tra i pi� piccoli in gara ma gi� in grado di farsi rispettare! Nell?under 12 l?Elo comincia a dipendere in misura maggiore dal punteggio di ingresso e risulta talvolta meno affidabile. Dall?altro lato, non solo il talento pu� portare a improvvise performance eccellenti ma siamo gi� in una fascia di et� in cui anche qualche nome nuovo potrebbe emergere. Battaglia da decifrare con gli avversari degli anni passati, Alex Dobboletta, Gabriele Mazzeo, Oscar Abbatantuono, e con i 1999 che non staranno a guardare, a partire da Luca Cafaro e Diego Forno. Tra gli assenti Andre Spornberger e il leader della fascia di et� Francesco Rambaldi, campione under 10 lo scorso anno, del quale avremo sicuramente modo di parlare in futuro!

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Albo d?oro - 2000: Maria De Rosa 2001: Isabel Scharrer 2002: Marianna Chierici 2003: Sabrina Reginato 2004: Elena Costariol 2005: Marina Brunello 2006: Marina Brunello 2007: Elisa Chiarion 2008: Filli Balzano? 2009: Noemie Joudelat

Bellissima crescita per l?undicenne Tea Gueci, campionessa under 10 lo scorso anno! Probabilmente lotta a 3 con l?agguerrita coppia pugliese Alessia Santeramo e Gaia Paolillo. Alle loro spalle diversi nomi che abbiamo imparato a conoscere ei campionati degli scorsi anni, come Vanessa Fermani, Noemi De Grandi e diverse altre. Manca Ivanna Pelyushenko, leader per Elo della categoria.

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UNDER 10

Albo d?oro - 2000: Alessandro Bonafede 2001: Matteo D?Apa 2002: Axel Rombaldoni 2003: Lorenzo Visentin 2004: Nicholas Paltrinieri 2005: Alessandro Fagnani 2006: Andrea Muccini 2007: Lorenzo Pescatore 2008: Fulvio Zamengo? 2009: Francesco Rambaldi

Magari ci stiamo abituando, ma un campionato under 10 con un prima nazionale, tre seconda e diversi terza?? ...?Valerio Carnicelli � parso ulteriormente migliorato nel recente periodo, continuando una crescita decisamente importante, ma anche la concorrenza non scherza, con un Luca Moroni che mostra costanti progressi, il buon ingresso in lista Fide per Francesco Maggiore e Daniele Carabell�, il campione under 9 del 2009 Lorenzo Ramundi, diversi altri ragazzi gi� competitivi nei campionati precedenti. Segnalo anche Francesco Claudio Agnello, piccolo bel talento siciliano.

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Albo d?oro - 2000: Marianna Chierici 2001: Sabrina Reginato 2002: Giuana Prugger 2003: Chiara Fustini 2004: Marina Brunello 2005: Elisa Chiarion 2006: Edith Tittarelli 2007: Olga Pelyushenko 2008: Alessia Santeramo? 2009: Tea Gueci

Non siamo ancora alla pari

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We formulated ten questions related to Developing Chess Talent and every Monday we’ll ask them to an interesting personality in the chess world.

1. Please introduce yourself (name, age, nationality, etc.)!
Sebastian Siebrecht, 37 years old but still feeling young, from Essen (Germany). Young, dynamic and always radiant with joy. Probably the world’s tallest (2.02 m) grandmaster.

2. What is your role in the chess world?
I love chess, I can become highly enthousiastic about chess and feel like a chess ambassador. My promotional activities include show matches, simuls, blindfold games, training sessions, blitz handicap games and all sorts of commentary. I’m trying to install chess at elementary schools in my home region. At some point I was probably the most active player of the tournament circuit with 220 rated games in one year. Besides my chess activities I run a small event agency.

3. How did you develop your chess talent as a kid?
I watched my dad and my brother playing and was very interested. Then I started playing with my dad. When I entered highschool I was lucky that they had an active chess group. The guy sitting next to me in school was just as enthousiastic about chess as me and we played blindfold chess during mathematic lessons. We pushed eachother forward from age 13 until 15, this was essential for my chess development. Lateron I started reading a lot, books and magazines. And of course I played a lot.

4. Who had a profound influence on your chess development?
Definitely my dad, since he always supported me. School notes were relatively unimportant and even when I graduated from university (law) he was perfectly happy with the fact that I focused on chess from that point on (see question 6).

5. What are your favourite sports besides chess?
I used to be a good basketball player, used to be in the regional (NRW) U17 selection. Lateron I focused more on individual sports because of a lack of time. Recently I took part in my first triathlon, which actually was a fantastic event to be part of.

6. What would be your advice for young people?
Do whatever you enjoy most. For the simple reason that when you enjoy something you will be able to achieve most.

7. What has your main concern in life besides chess?
My family and the people I care for are very important for me. Seven weeks ago I became a father, which was a life-changing experience.

8. What is the best chess game you played?
I find this a very hard question to answer, since I have a lot of respect for my opponents. I am especially happy when I manage to create something new.

9. What’s your connection with ‘Developing Chess Talent’?
I’m playing for the Apeldoorn team in the Dutch League for about six years now. I play in eight different leagues (Germany, Austria, Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, France, Spain, Greece) and the atmosphere is best in Apeldoorn/The Netherlands. I agree with many of the ideas in the book about creating a chess culture (see also next question).

10. What question do you miss and what would be your answer?
What are your goals? How do you see the future? I want to live life very intensively and do as much as possible. Brilliant games are nice and fantastic, but indeed, the most important is, to build something more then a chessgame. I have deep respect for all people who are involved in social matters without selfish reasons. So I guess to make chess more popular and involve everybody in the party should be great. Chess ist a teamsport Yasser Seirawan once said, and I agree completely. Everybody has his role and that is the goal. Let us celebrate it!

Background information

These interviews are produced for the Facebook Group Developing Chess Talent

Chessvibes is hosting them here and they will be linked to from the Facebook Group

The book Developing Chess Talent is written by Karel van Delft and Merijn van Delft and can be ordered via www.chesstalent.com

FIDE is holding a seminar from July 5th-10th which will serve as administrative training for federation management. Each federation is having their flights and lodging paid for the five-day seminar. The seminar will take place at the Taj Pamodzi Hotel, a five-star establishment.

There is an extensive agenda with the guest speakers including FIDE VP candidates Ali Nihat Yacizi and organizer Lewis Ncube, current FIDE VP. The agenda appears to be filled with useful activities and includes topics like: Chess-in-Schools, Federation-Government strategies, Federation Financing and Tournament Organization.

This seminar may provide federations with an opportune moment for delegates to raise questions about the FIDE agenda for Africa. The organizers should be well-equipped to address these questions.

Note: Each federation should send his/her application along with passport scans by 30th June 2010 to lewis.ncube@zamnet.zm, lewisncube@live.com, cfz@zamnet.zm or Chanda.Nsakanya@total.co.zm. Full details can be read in the invitation letter here.

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Le belle giornate di Roseto

Roseto, sabato 12 giugno, ore 14, il torneo si � appena concluso. Per il caff� del dopopranzo ci sediamo al bar con Oleg Mikhajlovhic Romanishin: � il momento della promessa intervista. Romanishin parla ?un inglese fluente, come gi� dimostrato nel magnifico stage tenuto mercoled� sera. Per fortuna Scacchierando � presente in forze, con LightKnight e Stefano Bellincampi che se la cavano molto meglio di me.

Per una ventina di minuti si � seduto con noi ad ascoltare anche Lorenzo Pescatore, alle prese con un gelato. Giovanissimo speciale Lorenzo, scacchisticamente e non solo! Il clima della chiacchierata � immediatamente piacevole e cordiale: non si parte con una domanda ma parlando di scacchi azzurri.

Romanishin: Gli scacchi in Italia stanno sicuramente crescendo e si disputano molti tornei. Ho incontrato molti giocatori italiani: ho giocato con Mariotti, a Leningrado nel 1977, un giocatore molto creativo, molte volte con Godena, giocatore interessante, sempre molto solido, e con tanti altri. Ho anche avuto modo di tenere un breve training con Vocaturo e Piscopo, organizzato da Nicola Pienabarca.

Scacchierando: Che impressione ha di Caruana?

Romanishin: con tutta evidenza un giovane di talento, ma non saprei dire di pi� senza conoscerlo direttamente, giocarci e analizzare con lui.

S. : Qui ha giocato con Axel Rombaldoni.

Romanishin: S�, l?avevo gi� incontrato a Bratto. Ho vinto entrambe le volte, anche se � un giovane con buone qualit� e potenzialit�. Forse, per ora, tende a sbilanciarsi troppo in attacco. Ho incontrato due volte anche Denis.

S. : Quando � venuto per la prima volta in Italia?

Romanishin: Nel 1978, a Genova, in occasione di una Festa dell?Unit�, tenendo diverse simultanee. Sono tornato nel 1984, sempre per delle simultanee, in varie citt�. Il primo torneo � stato quello di Reggio Emilia 1984 / 85 . Da allora sono venuto molte volte e mi trovo sempre benissimo in Italia, mi piace molto la cucina e adoro il caff�. Durante il Torneo di Frascati, nel 2006, ho avuto modo di passeggiare per Roma con la mia famiglia e di prendere un caff� a Piazza di Spagna: ho un magnifico ricordo di quella giornata. Prima di ripartire (per un torneo in Ungheria, a Heviz, sul lago Balaton) mi fermer� un giorno?a passeggiare per Roma, citt� che mi piace moltissimo.

S. : Ha imparato a giocare a 5 anni.

Romanishin: S�, con mio padre, che era un forte giocatore, ha vinto anche un Campionato di Leopoli (Lvov), la nostra citt�. Mio padre aveva molti libri e a casa c?era una bella atmosfera scacchistica. Io sono l?ultimogenito: anche i miei fratelli giocavano ma con minor dedizione.

S. : C?era grande spazio per gli scacchi nell?Unione Sovietica di allora.

Romanishin: Ah, s�, erano il gioco pi� seguito dopo il calcio! Il governo promuoveva il gioco, che era davvero molto diffuso. Si parlava di scacchi sui giornali, non solo su quelli specializzati ma anche sui quotidiani, e c?erano delle trasmissioni alla radio. Durante il match tra Botvinnik e Petrosjan, nel 1963 (Romanishin aveva allora 11 anni - ndr), c?era un aggiornamento ogni ora, con le mosse giocate. Io e mio padre seguivamo le partite alla scacchiera, analizzando e in attesa delle mosse successive.

S. : Poi ha studiato con Viktor Kart. Oltre che un ottimo istruttore, Kart era un forte giocatore?

Romanishin: Non proprio allora, era un buon Candidato Maestro (ricordando che un CM sovietico dell?epoca corrisponde almeno a un forte FM di oggi - ndr), in un certo qual modo � cresciuto anche lui con noi, il suo primo gruppo di allievi, con me, Alexander Beliavsky e Adrian Mikhalchishin. I successi di Stejn, buon amico di Kart, avevano entusiasmato l?ambiente scacchistico di Lviv. Nel 1973 io vinsi il titolo europeo dei giovani e Beliavsky vinse il mondiale. Viktor si dedicava con passione e capacit�. Invitava forti giocatori per un periodo di allenamento con noi, ad esempio Korchnoj, nel 1976. Oggi vive in Germania, ha 80 anni, siamo ancora in contatto.

Beliavsky, Viktor Kart e Romanishin a Lviv in occasione del festeggiamento dell'80? compleanno di Kart (foto Chessbase - segnalo il bell'articolo http://www.chessbase.com/newsprint.asp?newsid=5548?)

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S. : La sua crescita � stata rapida?

Romanishin: Abbastanza, sono diventato Candidato Maestro a 14 anni e Maestro a 16. Ho avuto il titolo di Maestro Internazionale con la vittoria all?europeo e sono arrivato a quello di GM nel 1976 (dopo aver gi� partecipato a due finali del Campionato Sovietico, con un fantastico secondo posto nel 1975, con Tal, Vaganjan, alle spalle di Petrosjan? Altri tempi e altri titoli! ? ndr).

S. : Come giovane promettente fu affiancato a Tal.

Romanishin: No, questo non � esatto. Sono stato mandato a giocare un torneo insieme a Tal. Poi, nel 1975, abbiamo giocato di nuovo insieme e siamo diventati ottimi amici. Abbiamo svolto tre periodi di training insieme. Nel 1977 abbiamo vinto a pari merito il torneo di Leningrado, davanti a Karpov, Smyslov, Vaganjan, Taimanov, Ribli, Balashov, Beliavsky? Io sono stato fortunato, ho avuto modo di giocare e lavorare con grandissimi campioni.

Mikhalchishin, Romanishin e Beliavsky?(foto Chessbase)

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S. : Il suo stile � stato ispirato da qualcuno in particolare?

Romanishin: Non direi? Si apprende da tutti, da tanti diversi stili. Era la forza dell?Unione Sovietica di allora, c?erano tanti fortissimi giocatori, una grande diversit� di idee e di fermenti. Ho sempre dato molto valore alla molteplicit� dei punti di vista. Ho giocato con quasi tutti, anche con Leonid Stejn (detto con un sorriso, nel ricordo del grande campione ucraino, prematuramente scomparso). Oggi i giovani lavorano molto con i database ma hanno minori opportunit� di allenarsi con i grandi campioni. Gli scacchi sono cambiati, sono diventati pi� veloci, forse troppo, i giovani hanno l?energia giusta per gli scacchi di oggi. Io dopo una partita di 5 ? 6 ore sono esausto, per non parlare di un doppio turno.

S. : Lei � un attaccante e un grande teorico delle aperture.

Romanishin: Era maggiormente possibile proporre novit� teoriche una volta, se lavoravi molto alla scacchiera. Oggi giochi una novit� e dopo poche ore � conosciuta in tutto il mondo. Io ho sempre giocato cercando la vittoria, senza calcoli rispetto al torneo. Quando ho usato prudenza non sempre � andata benissimo. Nel 1975 giocai un torneo ad Olot, in Spagna. Ad un certo punto della gara ero in testa con 7,5 insieme a Csom e Filip. Il turno dopo giocavo con il bianco contro Csom, che usava spesso una sorta di ?Riccio?. Pensai poco prima della partita a una novit� nella sequenza 1.Cf3 Cf6 2.c4 e6 3.Cc3 b6 4.e4 Ab7 , giocando Ad3 al quinto tratto (la mossa era stata gi� sperimentata da Huebner contro Johannessen a Oslo, l?anno precedente, ma allora non c?erano i database e Romanishin non conosceva quella partita - ndr). Tuttavia non volli rischiare, giocai in modo diverso e persi malamente. Ci restai malissimo e passai tutta la notte ad analizzare la partita e la nuova variante. Alla fine dello stesso anno, al Campionato Sovietico disputato a Yerevan, giocai con Petrosjan e stavolta utilizzai Ad3: vinsi una bella partita! ( http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1107067?) Il giorno dopo Lev Polugaevsky gioc� allo stesso modo contro Boris Gulko, poi � stata una variante giocata anche da Tal e da molti altri. In quel Campionato giocai un?altra buona novit� contro Geller. Ricordo che Petrosjan mi disse che potevo anche giocare due buone novit� a torneo ma che poi dovevo anche giocare tutte le altre partite! C?� una piccola curiosit� successiva: nel 1996, 21 anni dopo, durante le Olimpiadi di Yerevan, andai in una farmacia e l?uomo dietro il banco esclam�: ?Io la conosco! Lei ha distrutto il nostro grande Petrosjan nel Campionato del 1975!?. Mi sono trovato in una situazione simile al penultimo turno di Groningen, nel 1993, in una partita con il nero contro Beliavsky, decisiva per la qualificazione al Torneo dei Candidati della PCA. Due ore prima della partita pensai ad una novit� nella variante Capablanca della Nimzoindiana, con Donna f5 (1.d4 Cf6 2.c4 e6 3.Cc3 Ab4 4.Dc2 d5 5.cxd5 Dxd5 6.Cf3 Df5 ). Stavolta, a differenza di Ad3, la giocai e vinsi! ( http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1105910?) All?ultimo turno affrontai Benjamin, non feci calcoli, giocai per vincere e and� bene, chiudendo con 7 su 11.

S. : Ha giocato con molti campioni del mondo.

Romanishin: Si, molte volte. Sono in vantaggio con Tal, Petrosjan, Spassky, anche con Kasparov, anche se ho giocato con lui solo quando era molto giovane, prima che arrivasse al titolo mondiale. Ho uno score tremendamente negativo con Karpov. Parlando della molteplicit� degli approcci, Karpov ha una visione della scacchiera molto globale: di fronte a una posizione tende a valutare quali pezzi cambiare, quali valorizzare, a formulare un piano generale pi� che varianti. All?estremo opposto c?� Ivanchuk, con il quale ho svolto un periodo di training. Ivanchuk si affida alle sue eccezionali capacit� di memoria e di calcolo, con varianti profondissime, anche di una quindicina di mosse!

S. : Ha vinto qui a Roseto!

Romanishin: Oh si, ho vinto, ma gli avversari mi hanno aiutato!

S. : Ha vinto molti tornei, ricorda quanti?

Romanishin: No, assolutamente! Poi bisogna distinguere tra i diversi tornei. Un secondo o terzo posto in una gara di valore mondiale ha un peso rilevante. Ho vinto tornei importanti, come a Odessa 1974, Hastings 1976, il gi� citato Leningrado 1977, Jurmala 1983, Mosca 1985, ma ricordo anche con piacere, ad esempio, il secondo posto a Tilburg 1979, a mezzo punto da Karpov e precedendo tanti grandissimi giocatori, come Portisch, Larsen, Spassky, Timman, Smyslov, Huebner, Hort, Sax, Sosonko e Kavalek? Un torneo durissimo!

S. : C?� una partita a cui � maggiormente legato?

Romanishin: Tutte! Forse di alcune sono particolarmente orgoglioso, come quella con Tibor Karolyi, a Tbilisi nel 1986, con un bel sacrificio, una partita incredibile (?http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1118572 ). Anche quella con Amador Rodriguez, nel 1977, una partita particolare,?con tantissime mosse consecutive di pedone. Poi sicuramente la vittoria con Spassky a Tilburg (?http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1118162 ), le gi� citate partite con Petrosjan e Beliavsky.

S. : Ha giocato alle Olimpiadi sia con l?Unione Sovietica che con l?Ucraina.

Romanishin: Nel 1978, a Buenos Aires, venni convocato in quanto mancava Karpov, impegnato per il match con Korchnoj. Sono stato vicino alla convocazione altre volte ma quella fu l?unica occasione olimpica con l?URSS, mentre ai Campionati Europei ho vinto sei medaglie d?oro. Con l?Ucraina alle Olimpiadi ho vinto due argenti e due bronzi. Non mi piace molto il sistema attuale delle Olimpiadi, con i punti squadra. Soprattutto non mi piace la tolleranza zero nell?arrivo alla scacchiera, una regola idiota, in particolare alle Olimpiadi, con migliaia di persone in sala. Basta nulla per un ritardo. E? una regola insensata per gli scacchi. Nel tennis, e il tennis ha grandi esigenze televisive, � ammesso un ritardo di un quarto d?ora! E nel tennis e in molti altri sport il riscaldamento pre - gara si svolge in campo, a scacchi non � cos�! A Wijk Aan Zee si paga una penale per il ritardo, pi� alta per il torneo A. E? gi� un buon compromesso.

S. : Gioca a scacchi da 50 anni, ha ancora la stessa passione?

Romanishin: Da giovane ero pi� motivato, avevo molte ambizioni. Oggi vivo di scacchi, e si, comunque, li amo molto tuttora.

S. : C?� un campione del passato che le piace particolarmente?

Romanishin: Tutti! E? come ho accennato per la scuola sovietica, la molteplicit� di punti di vista e di stili � un valore. Mi dispiace non aver mai giocato con Keres, lui ha disputato il suo ultimo Campionato Sovietico nel 1973 e io il primo nel 1974. Ma l?ho conosciuto! (con un sorriso molto simile a quello fatto ricordando Stejn, con un segnale di stima, e di affetto per il ricordo ? ndr).

La premiazione, con l'Assessore al Turismo di Roseto, Dr. Antonio Porrini?

Qui si conclude l?intervista, durata ben due ore, ma non il pomeriggio con Oleg! Ci offriamo di dargli un passaggio per la premiazione, che si svolger� nella piazza del comune; nell?attesa ci troviamo davanti a una scacchiera della sala analisi e Stefano chiede a Romanishin delle valutazioni su alcune varianti minori della Nimzoindiana. Ne esce fuori una diversa sequenza di mosse, naturalmente segreta!! Si va alla premiazione e dopo accompagniamo Romanishin a fare il biglietto per il pullman, verificando in albergo la possibilit� di essere accompagnato l?indomani mattina presto alla stazione. Alla compagnia si aggiunge il Maestro Internazionale Pap. In macchina si chiacchiera, non solo di scacchi. Si parla di Roma e risulta evidente l?interesse che susciterebbe un bel Festival nella citt� eterna. Romanishin trova un interesse in comune con Stefano nel tennis, sport che ha scoperto tardi ma che gli piace molto. Oleg ha anche una figlia sedicenne che � una buona promessa del tennis?e disputa gi� tornei internazionali giovanili. Dopo il torneo sul Balaton, Romanishin giocher� un open in Germania e il suo carnet di impegni � gi� pieno fino ai primi di settembre, senza la previsione per ora di altri tornei in Italia.

Si torna al Villaggio?e dopo cena ci salutiamo con grande cordialit�. In macchina verso Roma io e Stefano commentiamo le belle giornate di Roseto e lo splendido pomeriggio. E? stato davvero un grandissimo piacere conoscere Oleg Mikhajlovhic Romanishin!

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Le belle giornate di Roseto

Dopo tante giornate di pioggia il sole ha deciso di intervenire sin dall?inizio del torneo qui a Roseto, ponendo l?ultimo tassello per una manifestazione davvero bella, che fruisce dei pregi??di un villaggio sul mare, dalle ottime attrezzature e dagli spazi ampi, a partire dalla sala di gioco, situata nella sala congressi dell?hotel. Ci si incontra, si rinnovano o instaurano conoscenze ed amicizie, e gli scacchi sono un po? dappertutto, dai tavolini della struttura a quelli delle verande delle villette che compongono la zona residence.

Un bel clima per un ottimo festival, che verr� con ogni probabilit� riproposto, incrementando con apposite iniziative quell?aspetto di cittadella degli scacchi che gi� quest?anno sta affascinando i partecipanti.

Avevo sperato di intervistare Sveshnikov gi� a Cesenatico 2008 ma sapevo che il grande campione e teorico non parla molto l?inglese?(nemmeno o, peraltro...)?e il mio russo non � particolarmente fluente? ?Qui ho la fortuna di essere aiutato da Sandra, una splendida ragazza lituana, e Sveshnikov accetta subito di essere intervistato, specialmente sentendo che si tratta di un blog amatoriale, che ha come unico fine la promozione del gioco.

Scacchierando: Lei � nato a Cheliabinsk e vive a Riga.

Sveshnikov: S�, a Cheliabinsk, nel 1950. Ho 60 anni (segnalo il bell'articolo di Chessbase in occasione del?suo 60mo compleanno www.chessbase.com/newsdetail.asp?newsid=6124?)?ma nel mio cuore e nella mia mente non li sento! Lo specchio mi restituisce un?immagine che faccio fatica a riconoscere? (per tutta l?intervista Sveshnikov sorride con piacere, a volte quasi con fare sornione, con gli occhi che brillano di acume, di chi guarda con passione e interesse a ogni aspetto della vita). Sono tuttora diviso tra Cheliabinsk, dove vivono le mie due figlie, e Riga, dove abitano anche i miei due figli maschi. Mi sono sposato due volte. A 33 anni ho avuto una gravissima malattia e durante questa il mio primo matrimonio � fallito. Due donne russe, una bruna e una bionda (detto con un largo sorriso, di chi ha sempre ammirato molto l?universo donna).

S. : A che et� ha imparato a giocare?

Sveshnikov: A due anni giocavo con una scacchiera e le pedine della dama! A 5 anni mio padre mi ha insegnato le regole degli scacchi. Giocavo con lui e con mio nonno, e abbastanza presto sono arrivato a batterli entrambi, anche se gli scacchi restavano solo un passatempo familiare. Le cose sono cambiate quando avevo 8 anni, partecipando ad un campeggio estivo, con ragazzi di tutte le et�. Venne organizzato un torneo di scacchi e lo vinsi! Lo considero il primo dei 93 tornei che ho vinto fino ad oggi. Il premio era una grande targa di legno con inciso ?Il vincitore? e lo conservo tutt?ora! E quanto alle vittorie spero di arrivare a quota 100.

S. : Poi, ha giocato nelle Case dei Pionieri, ha avuto dei maestri?

Sveshnikov: S�, ho cominciato a giocare pi� assiduamente. Ho avuto un unico maestro, un candidato (non ci si inganni, un candidato maestro russo dell?epoca corrisponde a un MF o IM di oggi! - ndr), Leonid Aronovitch Gratvol, che oggi ha 73 anni e vive in Israele, siamo ancora in contatto. Non sono mai stato comunque un bambino prodigio. La mia crescita � avvenuta lentamente, studiando con impegno grazie alla mia passione per il gioco.

S. : Oltre agli scacchi ha portato avanti anche gli studi?

Sveshnikov: S�, mi sono laureato in ingegneria a 22 anni e ho iniziato a lavorare. Non avevo ancora fatto il servizio militare e a 24 anni mi fu chiesto se volevo svolgerlo normalmente o, in quanto Maestro, se volevo giocare a scacchi. Scelsi gli scacchi, diventando rapidamente Maestro Internazionale e Grande Maestro a 27 anni. Da piccolo adoravo la geografia e sognavo di vedere tutto il mondo; gli scacchi mi hanno aiutato a farlo e sono pochi i luoghi dove non sono stato!

S. : Ha avuto da subito l?interesse per l?approfondimento teorico? Ho letto che ha lavorato molto con Gennadi Timoshchenko.

Sveshnikov: Non proprio. Anche Timoshchenko viveva a Cheliabinsk e dopo una nostra partita, in cui vinsi, mi chiese delle mie idee e degli sviluppi strategici su cui ero impegnato, lavorando insieme per un po?. Sono sempre stato interessato dal lavoro teorico e peraltro ho iniziato molto presto, a 30 anni, ad insegnare.

S. : Pensavo che come lettone e grande attaccante avesse avuto dei legami con la grande scuola di Riga, ma mi sembra di capire che non sia stato cos�?

Sveshnikov: No, in effetti no, Gratvol � stato il mio unico insegnante.

S. : Quale successo della sua carriera ricorda pi� volentieri?

Sveshnikov: Forse nessuno in particolare, da un lato amo il gioco nel suo insieme, dall?altro sono a volte legato pi� alle singole partite, alla creativit�, alle belle combinazioni, momenti del gioco che mi entusiasmano. Botvinnik ha lavorato molto per una visione scientifico?matematica degli scacchi, anche come pioniere della ricerca informatica, influenzando la scuola russa e lo stesso sviluppo moderno degli scacchi. Io ho sempre preferito una visone pi� artistica e creativa.

S. : Quindi dovrebbe apprezzare particolarmente i grandi attaccanti creativi, come Tal, Nezhmetdinov?

Sveshnikov: Certamente. Ho conosciuto bene Nezhmetdinov, dividendo con lui la stanza per un mese durante una fase di training. Un uomo interessante e geniale, l?unico che conoscessi capace di eccellere sia nella dama che negli scacchi. Con Tal ho uno score positivo, 4 a 3 per me, mi sembra.

In prima fila, all'estrema sinistra, il 15enne Karpov. Alle sue spalle, sempre all'estrema sinistra, Sveshnikov, qui 17enne (foto Chessbase)

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S. : Ha incontrato molti campioni del mondo?

Sveshnikov: Tanti! Il mio punteggio complessivo contro i campioni del mondo � quasi alla pari, 22 a 23. Otre a Tal ho giocato con Smyslov, Petrosjan, Spassky, Karpov, Kasparov, Kramnik, Anand. Non considero tra i campioni del mondo i vincitori dei tornei knock-out della Fide, per me il titolo � passato da Kasparov a Kramnik ad Anand.

S. : Che ricordo ha dell?Olimpiade di Torino?

Sveshnikov: In generale non amo particolarmente le Olimpiadi. Ho giocato in molte competizioni a squadre, in particolare agli europei, anche con risultati lusinghieri. Di Torino ricordo particolarmente la sala di gioco, davvero splendida. Ho giocato molte volte in Italia, la prima occasione fu a Marina Romea, nel 1977. Mi piace molto la Sicilia, dove ho vinto anche un torneo. Mi sembra di aver vinto sei tornei in Italia.

S. : Gli scacchi richiedono molto tempo e grande impegno. Prendono pi� di quello che danno?

Sveshnikov: Ognuno cerca qualcosa negli scacchi e gli scacchi offrono molto. Io ho sempre avuto una grande passione e li trovo sempre meravigliosi.

2 vittorie e 1 sconfitta per Evgeny contro il grandissimo Smyslov

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S. : Lei sostiene che sarebbe necessario introdurre delle regole per tutelare i grandi giocatori, dando loro i diritti sulle partite che giocano.

Sveshnikov: Assolutamente. Le partite in pochi istanti sono disponibili in tutto il mondo. Basterebbero pochi centesimi da parte di chi segue le partite in diretta per cambiare le cose. E i database rendono molto difficile giocare, innovare. Oggi � troppo facile diventare GM e troppi Grandi Maestri si limitano a ?muovere i pezzi?. Lo spazio per creare si � troppo ridotto.

S. : Gli scacchi 960, il Fischer random, possono essere una frontiera?

Sveshnikov: Non mi piacciono gli scacchi 960, molte posizioni iniziali sono troppo innaturali o sbilanciate (qui e in qualche altro punto abbiamo avuto qualche difficolt� a capire e speriamo di aver interpretato bene il pensiero di Sveshnikov, dato che la nostra interprete non conosceva affatto gli scacchi - ndr).

S. : Un?ultima domanda, il campione del passato che ha amato di pi�?

Sveshnikov: Ah, amando gli scacchi, tutti! Forse, ho una grandissima considerazione non tanto, o non solo, per i campioni del mondo quanto per i grandi innovatori. Mi vengono in mente Paulsen, Chigorin, Nimzowitsch, soprattutto. In epoca pi� moderna citerei Boleslavsky, Geller, lo stesso Polugaevsky. Sono uomini che hanno intrapreso un viaggio pi� profondo di conoscenza, che non hanno esplorato solo la partita ma il gioco nella sua interezza. Forse, come grandi esploratori, sono i veri vincitori della storia degli scacchi.

Qui si � chiusa l?intervista, una passeggiata per oltre un?ora nella storia e nella visione degli scacchi di un grande come Evgeny Sveshnikov. E parlando di grandi innovatori? Mark Taimanov ha definito la variante Sveshnikov della Siciliana come l?ultima grande acquisizione della teoria delle aperture.

Ieri sera, 8 giugno,?lo stage. Sveshnikov ha parlato delle aperture, partendo da concetti semplicissimi e noti a tutti gli scacchisti. Pian piano, per�, continuando ad utilizzare come guida l?occupazione del centro, lo sviluppo dei pezzi e la sicurezza (non solo del re), il fascino della visione della scacchiera del grande giocatore e ricercatore si � fatto strada nella percezione dei partecipanti. E Sveshnikov l?ha sentito, spendendosi con passione per tre ore, fino all?una di notte! Una considerazione dell?apertura molto legata all?occupazione del centro con i pedoni, coerente con le linee di apertura da lui sviluppate. Un ultimo dettaglio: parlando con loro della spinta e5, Petrosjan e Karpov gli dicevano che non poteva giocare cos�, che non poteva essere giusto. ?Ma credo che la storia abbia detto il contrario?, ha concluso Evgeny Ellinovic Sveshnikov!

Igor Khmelnitsky (col Nero) impegnato contro Alex Yermolinsky nella finale del Campionato USA 1996

Dopo un’assenza di ben sei anni dai tornei avevo deciso di riprendere gradualmente il gioco attivo soprattutto in vista delle modifiche apportate alla fase di qualificazione per la finale assoluta del Campionato USA. Infatti, a differenza delle precedenti edizioni in cui solo i top 14 o gi� di l� maturavano di diritto l’ammissione alla pi� prestigiosa manifestazione scacchistica degli Stati Uniti, grazie a questa revisione qualunque giocatore meritevole poteva guadagnare coi propri risultati sul campo la partecipazione alla finalissima. Ovviamente mi sentivo alquanto arrugginito dato che la mia vera attivit� scacchistica era interamente dedicata alla crescita dei miei allievi e a qualche sporadica partitina lampo su Internet, cadenza 3 minuti a partita, nonch� ovviamente alla gestione del progetto online www.IamCoach.com. Ma per fortuna la ruggine accumulata non era tantissima e, senza neanche troppa fatica, son riuscito ad ottenere un discreto score di +1=4-2 contro i 7 GM con cui ho giocato e +2 contro i non-GM. In questa partita che vi vorrei presentare mi son trovato ad affrontare un vecchio amico le cui prime frequentazioni risalgono ai tempi dei nostri primi tornei giovanili in Ucraina. Ma sulla scacchiera questa � stata la nostra prima battaglia. Nel turno precedente� Avevo sconfitto il GM Ivanov e pertanto mi sentivo gi� abbastanza appagato in� qaunto a condizioni di spirito ma appena la partita ebbe inizio le cose cambiarono drasticamente: debbo dire che � stata vera guerra fino alla stretta di mano conclusiva.

IM Igor Khmelnitsky (2479) � GM Alexander Stripunsky (2542) �-�

Seattle, US 2002 Championship

1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Cc3 Ab4 4.Da4+ Cc6 5.Cf3 Ad7

[5...Cf6 6.Ce5 Ad7 7.Cxc6 Axc3+ 8.bxc3 Axc6 9.Da3 Ce4 = Paehtz 2450 - Dizdar 2500 1/2:1/2 (20) Halle 1987]

6.Db3 N

6.Qc2=

6…Cf6 7.Ad2 De7 8.a3 dxc4 9.Dxc4 Ad6 10.Cb5

Con lo scopo di ottenere la coppia degli Alfieri ed anche di aprire un varco per la Donna.� D’altro canto il Bianco non si pu� dire che appaia riluttante alla “perdita” del suo Alfiere “cattivo” in d2 in cambio del Cf6.

10…O-O 11.e3 Ce4 12.Ad3 Cxd2 13.Cxd2 Tac8

Il Nero si prepara a giocare per il controllo della colonna c, da aprire al pi� presto.

14.Dc2 g6 15.f4!

Posizione dopo 15.f4!

Cambio di rotta! Il Bianco cerca adesso di giocare contro il pericoloso Ad6 [15.Cxd6?! cxd6 16.Dd1 Tc7 e il Nero sta leggermente meglio!]

15…a6 16.Cc3 Ca7 17.Cde4 Ab5

Il Nero si disfa del suo Alfiere “cattivo”,� ma questo a scapito del suo Cavallo passivo e di una struttura pedonale indebolita

18.Cxb5 axb5 19.Cxd6 cxd6 20.Db3!?

Decisione alquanto difficile da prendere. Ero davvero soddisfatto della mia posizione dal punto di vista strategico,� tuttavia l’aggressiva e6-e5 ha un peso enorme. La mia decisione � quella di sacrificare un Pedone e di entrare in un mediogico complicato dove il mio Alfiere potesse rivelarsi pi� forte del Cavallo avversario. [20.Dd2 e5]

20…e5 21.fxe5

Il Bianco guadagna spazio

21…Dh4+ 22.g3 Dg5 23.Ae4

[23.exd6? Dxe3+ 24.Rf1 Df3+ 25.Rg1 Cc6]

23…dxe5 24.Axb7

[24.dxe5!? Ero ancora propenso a non deviare dal mio piano originale e a non prendere in considerazione questa interessante mossa! 24...Dxe5 [24...Cc6 25.O-O Dxe5 26.Ad5] 25.Ad5 Tce8 26.e4 Cc6 � Il mio Re appare alquanto in bilico!]

24…Tc7 25.Ad5 exd4 26.O-O

[26.e4!? Tc1+ 27.Txc1 Dxc1+ 28.Dd1 Dxb2 oltrepassando il punto di non ritorno!! [28...De3+ 29.De2 Dc1+ 30.Dd1 De3+ =]]

26…dxe3!?

Posizione dopo 26...dxe3!?

Il Nero sceglie di non cambiare� le Donne. Alcuni finali che possono derivare sono favorevoli al Bianco a causa della superiorit� dell’Alfiere sul Cavallo in posizioni aperte con strutture pedonali asimmetriche. Nondimeno in questo caso, per via della presenza sulla scacchiera ancora di tutte e quattro le Torri ed anche a causa della vulnerabilit� dell’Alfiere in d5, la cattura della Donna in e3 appare oltremodo promettente! [26...Dxe3+!? 27.Dxe3 dxe3 28.Tae1 Te8 29.Tf4! La Torre punta alla casa b3 da dove attaccherebbe la casa b5, quella e3 e difenderebbe anche b2 [29.Tf3 Tce7 30.Rf1 e2+ 31.Rf2 Td8 �] 29…Te5 30.Af3 Tc2 31.Tb4 � Cc6 32.Axc6 Txc6 33.Te2 Rg7 34.Tb3 Tce6 35.Rg2 h5 36.Rf3 =]

27.Tae1 Te7 28.Tf4

Per via della posizione passiva del Cavallo e del Pedone e3 sentivo di avere un compenso sufficiente.

28…Cc8

Il Nero cerca di portare in gioco il Cavallo. Per esempio via d6 da dove proteggerebbe i Pedoni deboli in b5 e in f7.� Tali Pedoni sembrano “avvelenati”. Quello in b5 a causa dell’inchiodatura. Quello in f7 per via della Donna Bianca “sovraffaticata” dal doppio compito di� attaccare il Pedone e3 e di dover contemporaneamente difendere l’Alfiere in d5.

29.Txe3!

Posizione dopo 29.Dxe3!

Be’, di fatto solo uno dei due Pedoni era davvero “avvelenato”! [29.Dxb5? Te5 30.Txf7 Txd5 [30...Txf7? 31.Axf7+ Rxf7 32.Dc4+ Rg7 33.Dxc8 �] 31.Txf8+ Rxf8 -+]

29…Cd6

[29...Txe3? 30.Axf7+ +- L'intermedia! 30...Rg7 31.Dxe3 Txf7 32.Txf7+ Rxf7 33.Dxg5]

30.Txe7

La pressione sul Pedone arretrato f7 si fa via via maggiore [30.h4!? La transizione al finale appare promettente. Alfiere e Torre sono superiori a Cavallo e Torre.� Di contro il Nero ha del controgioco per via del Pedone debole in g5. 30...Txe3 31.hxg5 Txb3 32.Axb3 Tc8 [32...Te8?! 33.Tf6 Te1+ 34.Rf2 Tb1 35.Ad5 Txb2+ 36.Rf3 Cc4 37.Axf7+ Rg7 38.Ad5 �] 33.Rg2 Tc5 34.Td4 Cc4]

30…Dxe7

La posizione si fa sbilanciata.� I Pezzi del Bianco sono senza dubbio in posizione attiva ed i Pedoni del Nero in b5 e f7 sono di fatto deboli. Tuttavia questo � compensato per il Nero dalla posizione esposta del Re Bianco. Infine l’Alfiere in d5 ha bisogno di supporto adeguato.

31.Db4 De3+ 32.Rg2 Cf5 33.Dxb5 Td8

Posizione dopo 33...Td8

A corto di tempo mi sfugge questa replica e la mia giocata per� giunta � alquanto fiacca. Mi son reso conto che il mio Re aveva una casa di fuga in h3 ma la combinazione mi � sfuggita lo stesso. Semplice “profilassi” e sarei rimasto con le prospettive migliori!

34.Aa2??

[34.Rh3! �]

34…Td1? �

[34...Td2+! Al mio avversario non sfugge la combinazione ma sottovaluta il finale di Donna e Cavallo contro Donna e Alfiere. 35.Rh3 Txh2+! 36.Rxh2 Dxg3+ 37.Rh1 Dxf4 38.De8+ Rg7 39.Dxf7+ Rh6 � Pur con materiale pari, il Bianco appare senza speranza contro le minacce di matto del Nero cos� come di fronte all'attacco di Re e Pedoni. 40.Db7! Cg3+ [40...Ce3 41.Ag8 Df1+ 42.Rh2 Cg4+ 43.Rg3 Cf6 44.Ad5 Rg5 �] 41.Rg2 Ce4 42.Db6 Rh5]

35.Rh3 Td2 36.Db8+ Rg7 37.Dc7

Difendendo la Torre in f4

37…Rh6 38.Txf5

[38.Axf7 De2! 39.Th4+ Rg5 [39...Cxh4?! 40.Df4+ Rg7 41.Ac4 Dxh2+ 42.Rg4 -+] 40.Df4+ Rf6 -+] [38.Dxf7 Txh2+ 39.Rxh2 Dxg3+ 40.Rh1 Dxf4 Cfr. sopra per 34...Td2+ e 35...Txh2]

38…gxf5 39.Dxf7

Posizione dopo 39.Dxf7

Il Nero deve ora forzare la patta

39…Txh2+ 40.Rxh2 De2+ �-�

Il Re non riesce a sfuggire agli scacchi! Una partita davvero densa di emozioni e di capovolgimenti!

Scarica qui la partita in formato pgn

il MI Igor Khmelnitsky

Igor Khmelnitsky ha ottenuto il titolo di Maestro Internazionale nel 1990 a seguito della brillante vittoria nella prima edizione del Memorial Leonid Stein a Lvov, in Ucraina.
Igor ha vinto numerosi tornei in Russia, Bulgaria, Ucraina, Germania, Yugoslavia e negli Stati Uniti. Tra gli innumerevoli avversari sconfitti si annoverano nomi del calibro di: Alburt, Alterman, Aseev, Bologan, Brodsky, Golod, Golubev, Dimitry Gurevich, Dlugy, Michalchishin, Romanishin, Sveshnikov, Shabalov, Wolf, Yermolinsky e molti altri ancora.
Igor si dedica da tempo all’attivit� di trainer, campo nel quale � altamente apprezzato. Le sue prime esperienze di coach ad alto livello risalgono al 1986, anno in cui ha seguito la nazionale giovanile Ucraina. Diversi giocatori di quella squadra sono poi diventati Grandi Maestri di spicco nello scenario internazionale (tra essi Vassily Ivanchuk e Boris Alterman).
Dopo essersi trasferito negli Stati Uniti nel 1991, Khmelnitsky si � dedicato quasi esclusivamente a tempo pieno all’insegnamento, riuscendo a seguire, sia di persona che su Internet, allievi pressocch� di ogni nazione del mondo e di ogni et� e livello, dai principianti ai Maestri.
Il primo libro scritto da Igor “ESAME DI SCACCHI – Conoscere le proprie potenzialit� e scoprire dove migliorare” � stato fin dalla pubblicazione un grande successo, salutato positivamente sia dalla critica che dai lettori. L’opera ha vinto nel 2005 il Cramer Award, premio assegnato dall�associazione dei giornalisti di scacchi americani al miglior libro dell�anno. Negli Stati Uniti � giunto alla quarta edizione ed � stato tradotto in Francia, in Italia ed in Russia!
Nel 2007, appare in libreria il secondo libro di Khmelnitsky nella serie “Esame di Scacchi”:� il titolo �: “Chess Exam and Training Guide: Tactics” (IamCoach Press), titolo anch’esso divenuto un immediato bestseller scacchistico e che speriamo presto di veder tradotto anche in italiano.
Nel 2009 un altro nuovo libro: “Chess Exam Matches against Chess Legends – You vs. Bobby Fischer” (IamCoach Press), testo nel quale ha presentato il suo innovativo approccio didattico in un nuovo formato tipo “match” in cui il lettore � chiamato a cimentarsi direttamente addirittura contro il leggendario Bobby Fischer.
Khmelnitsky ha anche contribuito, in qualit� di coautore, alla stesura del bestseller “Masters of Success” di Ivan Mizner. E’ inoltre uno dei tre autori di “Teaching Chess Step by Step” il testo scolastico in tre volumi pubblicato nel 2006 dalla “Garry Kasparov�s Chess Foundation”.
Khmelnitsky ha inoltre scritto innumerevoli articoli e contributi pubblicati su numerose riviste internazionali di successo quali: Chess Informant, New in Chess, ChessBase, 64, Chess Life e Chess Today.
Igor segue direttamente i suoi due progetti internet dedicati agli scacchi: www.IamCoach.com e www.ChessExam.com.
Chi fosse interessato a contattarlo pu� farlo direttamente qui

Sometimes, I get a little tired of reading about the big names in chess all the time. Another super tournament with seven players out of the top 10; another huge open featuring dozens of well-known GMs fighting hard for serious money prizes; another great exhibition rapid match between two former World Championship candidates. In such cases, reading something from Genius in the Background, is the perfect remedy for me.

Genius in the Background by Tibor K�rolyi and Nick Aplin (published by Quality Chess) is a book about, well, geniuses in the background. As K�rolyi writes in the preface:

Most of the people featured in this book have recorded significant achievements, yet they remain virtually anonymous to the great majority of chess fans. A few of them are known amongst certain segments of the chess world, but none are known widely as I believe they deserve to be. (…) Your author, who is first of all a junior trainer who desires to pass on knowledge, believes that getting acquainted with these remarkable chess personalities will deepen anyone’s understanding of our game.

In other words, the presentation of these unknown heroes is not only interesting, but also useful. For me, they shed some special light on the development and choices of such great players as Topalov and Kasparov that have in my view so far not been emphasized. In the chapter about Topalov’s former coach, Petko Atanasov, the choice of openings for the young Veselin is discussed. It turns out that Atanasov, rather surprisingly, taught Topalov the Old Indian Defence against 1.d4 and the French against 1.e4. Atanatov adds that at some point Topalov “refused to play it and started to play the Sicilian Defence instead.” Quite telling if you ask me.

Karolyi gives some interesting, excellently annotated examples from Atanasov’s own games, showing how his preference for exchange sacrifices influenced Topalov:

Atanasov-Ilievski
Ruse 1978

27.Rd5!! This is another lovely exchange sacrifice. White needs to play like this in order to invade.

27…Bxd5 In the long term Black cannot avoid taking the rook. For instance: 27…Qb4 28.Kc2 (White is also better after 28.Qc2 Bb8 29.Ne1) 28…Bb8 (28…a4 29.bxa4) 29.Ra1 Black cannot avoid the type of position he gets in the game.

28.Rxd5! Taking back this way really chokes Black.

28…Qc6 29.Ne1! Atanasov improves all his pieces.

29…Bb6 30.Qd1 Ke7 31.Rb5 Forcing Black to decide where to put the bishop. (…)

Despite the obvious achievements of these geniuses in the background, there’s often more than a touch of melancholy in the words of the former trainers. Asked about his current relationship with Topalov, Atanasov embarks on a somewhat bitter personal story:

“In 1991 there were big changes in Bulgaria and in my life too. Sport societies were cleared away and I was thrown out of work. At the same time I built my own appartment and the problems grew every day. Exactly at this critical moment Silvio Danailov made an offer to Vesko [Topalov] to leave for Spain. From this moment it was clear that there was no future for our partnership. (…) Unfortunately, I have not been a coach for a long time. In 1993 the sport society ‘Dunav’ was closed. Since that I have had many jobs of various types in different places. Now I’m unemployed.” (…)

Do they invest money into junior chess or just the big Sofia event?

“No one gives money for junior chess in Bulgaria! Only some people with bigger financial opportunities try to support chess, but this is unprofitable for them and they give up very soon. (…) I personally evaluate the big changes – economical and political – as negative. Thousands of Bulgarians, most of them young people, left the country. There is widespread unemployment, small salaries, corruption and criminality. This is what we have after the changes up to now. (…) I’m already 61 years old. Looking back and considering my life, I see that there are many things to regret. But most tragic is that my future promises to be very hard.”

Such extreme honesty, almost painful to read, makes for fascinating background information on both Topalov’s chess career and his country’s current efforts to promote chess and is a valuable contribution to chess literature. However, not all of the book’s interviews with former trainers, are quite so compelling. In the chapter on Alexander Shakarov, one of Kasparov’s earliest trainers, questions are often answered in such a brief way that they one raise more questions than they answer:

What does chess mean to you?
“Chess for a long time was the most important thing for me. I was a fanatic, then it became my profession.”

Can you recall when you first met Garry?
“The first time was in January 1972 when he played at the schoolboys’ championship where I was an arbiter.”

When did you start training him and how long did you train him?
“Officially in September 1976, unofficially from 1973.”

Obviously not satisfied with these short answers, the interviewer tries again, but Shakarov prefers to stay on the surface:

Could you explain it in a more detailed way?
“In the years 1973-1975 I worked with Garry unofficially, and it was not that regular. There were even some weeks when we did not do anything. There were two groups and Garry officially was in the other one. The trainer of the other section was Oleg Privorotsky who was his first trainer. However, from 1973 onwards Garry was selected for the national teams of Azerbaijan. I was senior trainer of these national teams.”

Did you follow any plan when you trained him?
“The main plan was constructed by Botvinnik.”

Once again, the interviewer feels there must be more to it than this, but he’s in for another disappointment:

Could you please say a few words about what a session was like?
“I no longer remember well what themes we worked on – you know, three decades have passed. In our sessions we usually followed Botvinnik’s and Alexander Nikitin’s plan. And in addition sometimes we analysed very tough and complicated opening positions. I recognized the ‘tracks’ of our work in Garry’s play only in the openings.”

Reading this interview, I’m left with the feeling that Shakarov didn’t exactly have a huge role in this period, and I wonder how important he actually was to Kasparov’s development. How close was he to Kasparov, anyway? According to K�rolyi, he and Kasparov analysed and annotated about two dozens of games together, but I can’t help wondering whether this was perhaps Botvinnik or Nikitin delegating the analyses and Kasparov doing most of the work? When asked if he was present during the final game of the 1985 World Championship match against Karpov, Shakarov only says “No, I was not in the tournament hall during that game.” It’s all a little puzzling, if you ask me.

On the other hand, the book convincingly shows that Alexander Shakarov was a truly great chess player himself, and the games section of the chapter dedicated to him is one of the highlights of the book. Here’s an example of what K�rolyi calls Shakarov’s influence on Kasparov’s ability to “execute brilliant attacking ideas on the edge of the board”.

Rubin-Shakarov
Corr. 1975

18…Rd2!! It is thematic to get to the opponent’s second rank; however, it is extraordinary to achieve it so early, especially with Black. The text also creates a strong aesthetic impression by placing the rook en prise.

19.e4 The rook is immune because of 19.Qxd2 Ne4!, with terrible mating threats along the g-file. And if 19.Rad1 Rxe2 20.Rxe2 Qxf3 Black forces mate. (…)

19…Rfd8! 20.Kh1 Nh5 21.Rab1 There are many alternatives, but Black prevails in all lines (…).

21…Qg6 22.Rg1

22…Rxe2! Black keeps playing on the second rank. The loss of the queen is a small price to pay for the wonderful attack he obtains.

23.Rxg6 hxg6 24.f4 After 24.Rg1 Rdd2 25.Bc1 Rc2 26.Qe5 Rxf2 27.Be3 Bg2+ 28.Rxg2 Rxg2 29.Bxc5 Rgd2 White’s king is caught. (…) Finally, in the event of 24.Qb3 Rxf2 25.Be5 b6 26.a4 Rdd2 27.a5 Bg2+ 28.Kg1 Rxf3 Black simply has too many pieces surrounding the enemy king.

24…Red2! This clever switchback with the rook was tough to anticipate; it looks more natural to look for a way to double on the second rank. However, upon closer inspection, White’s position is bleeding as the back rank is so weak. The damage is irreparable. It takes a little preparation but Black invariably succeeds in every variation. (…)

In this fragment, K�rolyi shows his great annotation skills (the analyses are much more elaborate than they are reproduced here) and his ability to see patterns in games and player’s qualities. K�rolyi is always looking for comparisons between teacher and pupil, trying to make connections between past and present and linking skills and sometimes lack thereof.

Genius in the Background isn’t about chess trainers only. It’s a much more ambitious project than that. There’s a chapter on the development of chess culture in Singapore. It features elaborate and loving portraits of endgame study composers Yochanan Afek and Karsten M�ller. And indeed much, much more. One of the most fascinating chapters is about the remarkable Laszlo Lindner (1916-2004), a Hungarian chess player and endgame composer who survived the Nazi concentration camp Bor, now part of Serbia. Lindner actually recorded some chess games he played in the camp against the later Hungarian chess champion Tibor Florian.

The games were played on a small chess set Florian managed to bring inside the camp. The player hid behind their barracks and the moves were scribbled in a notebook by Lindner, a picture of which is reproduced in the book. I can’t help quoting one game in full.

Florian-Lindner
Bor 1944

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.a3 Bxc3+ 5.bxc3 b6 6.f3 d5 7.cxd5 exd5 8.Bg5 Nbd7 9.e3 0-0 10.Bd3 h6 11.Bh4 Re8 12.Bf2 c5

13.Ne2 The early moves tell us that the two players were quite well educated in opening theory.

13…c4 14.Bc2 Nf8 15.g4! This is a modern approach. Even today world-class grandmasters use the same idea, although nowadays Black will usually have exchanged the light-squared bishops on a6. The most famous game involving this central structure was the immortal encounter Botvinnik-Capablanca, Avro 1938.

15…Qc7 16.Ng3 Ng6 17.h4 Nh7

18.Qb1?? The presence of such a blunder indicates that our heroes were already in very bad shape.

18…Nhf8? 18…Rxe3+! wins instantly.

19.Nh5 Rb8 20.Kf1! On the other hand this is a subtle move.

20…b5? 21.e421…dxe4 22.Bxe4

22…Bxg4?? This is a bluff, but it does the trick.

23.Nxg7? After the simple 23.fxg4 Qd7 24.Bf3 Black is a piece down with no compensation.

23…Kxg7 24.fxg4 Qf4 0-1 Though White has a reasonable position, he resigned. Probably his physical state no longer allowed him to see things clearly.

Replaying these games, knowing in which circumstances they must have been played, is a weird sensation. Who knows what might have caused Florian to resign in this position? And this is only the beginning of an utterly haunting chapter on a truly extraordinary character in 20th century chess history.

Genius in the Background is a unique book, a one-of-a-kind experience in chess literature. It’s beautifully published and extremely well-researched and annotated. Sure, some chapters are more interesting than others, but the overall concept is so gripping that that’s easily forgiven. If you are interested in more than – or from time to time even a bit bored by – the constant stream of daily chess news, then this is the right book for you. Personally, I think everyone should read it.

Links

• Get yourself a copy of Genius in the Background
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This is what reviewers had to say about Jesus de la Villa’s Dismantling the Sicilian.

“A total knockout” – Arne Moll, ChessVibes

“Also usable as a reference work. Very well presented.” – Max Euwe Centrum

“Impressive and highly recommended to those who need help choosing their lines, and I will certainly use it for training purposes.” – Glenn Flear, Yearbook 94

If you can stand more praise, please click here.

Besides his team of seconds in Sofia, Viswanathan Anand was helped by some big names before or during his World Championship match against Veselin Topalov. Magnus Carlsen, Anish Giri, Garry Kasparov and Vladimir Kramnik all contributed to Anand’s victory in Sofia. The World Champion Monday revealed this in an interview on Playchess.

Right after the end of the World Championship match, Viswanathan Anand revealed his team of seconds. As it turned out, the same names as two years ago in Bonn worked for the Indian: GMs Surya Ganguly, Rustam Kasimdzhanov, Peter Heine Nielsen and Radoslaw Wojtaszek. However, this week Anand revealed another, quite interesting list of helpers: Magnus Carlsen, Anish Giri, Garry Kasparov and Vladimir Kramnik.

In a remarkable interview with Frederic Friedel and GM Jan Gustafsson, held last Monday on Playchess, Anand first tells about his cooperation with world’s number one Magnus Carlsen, who worked with Anand before.

Basically I had him as a sparring partner. We did check some openings together, but the basic idea was that I would get to play a lot with him. Very few people can simulate a real tournament situation like Magnus can. We played a lot of blitz, and I felt good, because I was able to test a lot of areas I was unfamiliar with before. With Magnus you can test almost any position, because he can play almost any position, and play it reasonably well. In that sense his practical skills are very helpful.

Carlsen worked with the retired, 13th World Champion Garry Kasparov last year and in fact Kasparov also offered his help to Anand himself. The Indian said about him:

Garry got in touch and said he wanted to help a little bit. I sent him some details about what we were planning to play� (…) I sent him some questions and he said he would check them against his own notes and let me know if it was okay.

Frederic Friedel, one of the founders of Chessbase and the editor of the English news page, then reveals that he put Anand in touch with Vladimir Kramnik, his opponent in the previous World Championship match. Anand about Kramnik’s assistance:

He actually started participating actively. He was also very understanding � he knew I would go to sleep once in a while, so he was happily speaking to the other team members as well, especially Rustam. They started getting in touch with each other and he gave us quite a few heavy-duty ideas, so that was nice. Actually he got in touch consistently over the next few days, and I cannot think of anyone who was more relieved than him when I stopped playing the Elista ending. He said �it�s an awful ending, why do you keep defending it every day?�

The fourth name on Anand’s ‘remote seconds list’ is the Dutch super-talent GM Anish Giri:

Anish also did a couple of days of training with me. It was very similar to what I was doing with Magnus � I got to test a lot of things. There were a lot of areas I had no practical experience with, like the Catalan which I was playing almost the first time, the Elista ending and so on. Anish also sat and went through that.

We recommend reading one of the most remarkable and revealing interviews we’ve ever seen on Chessbase. Part 1 is here, and part 2 here. In the interview several times “Topalov’s computer cluster” is mentioned, and in fact today we received a brief interview with Topalov, from the World Championship organizers, in which this is explained:

1. Grandmaster Topalov, regardless of the outcome, during the match between you and Viswanathan Anand we watched your dominance in the openings when you played with the white pieces. What caused this fact?

- During my preparation for the match, me and my manager Silvio Danailov, we decided to approach something non-standard and to seek additional resources to increase the advantage over my opponent.It turned out that there is such a possibility, we found that in Bulgaria is installed and running one of the most powerful supercomputers in the world – Blue Gene / P of IBM. And because the computers and the chess software are a necessary component of the preparation of the modern grandmasters, we decided to use the vast computational power of this machine. The IBM�s Blue Gene/P has 8192 processors and you can imagine for how huge possibilities we are talking about.

IBM Blue Gene P supercomputer | Photo Argonne National Laboratory, licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license

The problem was the fact that in the world currently there is not any chess software whose source code is written to work with such a multiprocessor platform. However, me and Silvio, we did not gave up and he managed to gather an international team of leading experts who have created a project for a chess program that can use the computing power of this extraordinary supercomputer. And now is the time to express my great thanks to the General Manager of IBM Bulgaria Mr. Alexander Rakov and the IT architect of the company Mr. Yovko Lambrev for the access to the resources of Blue Gene / P they provided to us and that they have made enormous efforts that our idea become a reality. I want to thank to the Prime Minister of Bulgaria Mr. Boyko Borisov too, who allowed us the access to the supercomputer, which as you know is state owned.

So ultimately, even though I lost the match, I managed to achieve a dominance over Anand in the openings in all games, in which I played with the white pieces. This advantage was demonstrated very clear especially in the first game, when I won fast and with decisive priority.

What�s next for gm Veselin Topalov from now on?

- Short break and chess again. In my closest plans, however, it�s included an initiative to increase young people’s interest in relation of the high technologies and the artificial intelligence, which will be held under my patronage in cooperation with IBM Bulgaria.

I will do it because of my direct experience I know how important are and will be the computers and high technologies for our future and the career development of the young people.

In a few days we will announce an essay contest among high school students from Sofia concerning a topic in the field of high technologies. First five best students will form a representative team which will play a mini chess tournament / three games / against the IBM�s supercomputer Blue Gene / P.
After each of the games I’m going to comment the game and will give my advices to the young players. IBM Bulgaria will arrange for the finalists meetings with its leading experts to get them acquainted with the vast world of high technologies.

If all goes as we imagined it, the initiative will become annual.

We formulated ten questions related to Developing Chess Talent and every Monday we’ll ask them to an interesting personality in the chess world.

1. Please introduce yourself (name, age, nationality, etc.)!
Hi, I am Jan Gustafsson from Hamburg, Germany. 30 years old and slowly coming to terms with it.

2. What is your role in the chess world?
Chess player! I like to play for my club Baden-Baden and the german national team. Planning to play more than I used to this year, somehow I decided now is the time to become a bit better. In the past I have worked as a second for the likes of Loek van Wely, Jan Smeets and Peter Leko. Sadly, at some point they all figured out the extent of my lazyness.

3. How did you develop your chess talent as a kid?
By reading whatever chess book I could get my hands on. Basically I liked studying and disliked losing, so I felt the former might help the latter.

4. Who had a profound influence on your chess development?
My first coach, the late Vincent Kolanoske. While he was not a strong player, he always made me look forward to going to chess training on Friday afternoon.

5. What are your favourite sports besides chess?
Football! Currently I am bitterly disappointed by the failure of HSV on european level in both football and handball

6. What would be your advice for young people?
Don’t ever start smoking! Seriously, don’t.

7. What has your main concern in life besides chess?
The question what should have my main concern in life besides chess.

8. What is the best chess game you played?
Somehow I never liked looking at my own games (Yes, I know I should!). Therefore I can’t give a qualified opinion.

9. What’s your connection with ‘Developing Chess Talent’?
I was fortunate enough to be a member of the Apeldoorn Chess club since the mid-90s and could therefore enjoy the stimulating chess atmosphere created by the Van Delfts first hand.

10. What question do you miss and what would be your answer?
As a professional player, I am sure you watch a lot of TV series during tournaments to relax. Any recommendations?
I am glad you asked! Check out “The Big Bang Theory” and “Curb your Enthusiasm”, they are both hilarious. If you want drama, “Sons of Anarchy” and “The Wire “are great. Oh, and “True Blood” is so good that I watched 2 seasons while playing Inarkiev in the World Cup. You do the math how that turned out…

Background information

These interviews are produced for the Facebook Group Developing Chess Talent

Chessvibes is hosting them here and they will be linked to from the Facebook Group

The book Developing Chess Talent is written by Karel van Delft and Merijn van Delft and can be ordered via www.chesstalent.com

Peru's Deysi Cori to face world chess champion Alexandra Kosteniuk in Machu Picchu

Lima, Apr. 23 (ANDINA).- Peru's U-16 world champion Deysi Cori Tello announced she will play reigning women's world chess champion Alexandra Kosteniuk in the Inca citadel of Machu Picchu.

�I�ll have a match against women�s world champion Alexandra Kosteniuk in Machu Picchu within a month. It�s going to be very interesting. I�m already training,� Daysi told RPP radio.

Deysi Cori, the only female player from Peru to hold the Grandmaster title, said she just spent three months in Europe together with her brother Jorge training for the upcoming international chess competitions, such as the Chess Olympiad in Russia and the World Junior and Girls U20 Chess Championships in Poland.

In November 2009, Daysi and Jorge Cori obtained the title of chess International Grandmasters in the U-16 and U-14 categories respectively at the last World Youth Chess Championship 2009 in Turkey.

The siblings were honored by the government in December 2009 for their accomplishments, and each of them received a check for 15,000 soles and a laptop; as well as US$ 22,000 for their trips during 2010.

• Fantasy Variation Analysis by Marcus Schmuecker at ChessBase Magazine Online
  Analyzes the innovative 1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.f3!? dxe4 4.fxe4 e5 5.Nf3 Bg4! 6.Bc4 Nd7 7.c3! (instead of 7.O-O first).  This is probably the most important line to know since it is widely recommended for Black, including by Jovanka Houska in Play the Caro-Kann.
• Fantasy Variation EICC from ChessBase
  A collection of games featuring the line from the recent European Individual Championships.
• Analysis by Alfredo Cueva at ChessBase
  A reader's analysis of the line1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.f3 dxe4 4.fxe4 e5 5.Nf3 Bg4 6.Bc4 Nd7 7.c3 b5 8.Bd3!
• Nepomniachtchi-Jobava by Knaak at ChessBase
  An interesting recent game from the European Ch that began with 3...Qb6 4.a4.
• Winning Moves in the Caro-Kann, Fantasy Variation by W.T. Harvey
  A collection of puzzles from fantasy variation games might make for good tactical training.  Also available in a more interesting form at Chess.com.
• Preview: Gambit Guide: Caro-Kann, Fantasy Gambit by Boris Alterman
  A good introduction to the basics of the line, especially for amateurs.  You can see the complete series online at ICC if you are a member.
• The Fantasy variation with 3.f3, Parts One, Two and Three, by kingscrusher
  Uses three videos to discuss a particularly intricate game arising from the Caro Kann Fantasy variation with 3...e6 4.Nc3 Bb4 5.Be3.
• Confusing Names by Sverre Johnsen
  Discusses one of the author's losses as Black after 3...e6 4.Nc3 Bb4 5.Bf4 Nf6 6.Qd3 Qa5!?
• Fantasy (Opening Lanes #13) by Gary Lane
  Lane is a big fan of the Blackmar-Diemer, so he is naturally interested in the line as White.
• Gibraltar Chess Festival with annotations by Sunil Weeramantry
  You will find annotated the game Vachier-Lagrave-Zatonskih from the Gibraltar Chess Festival.  Identical content available at Chessville.
• Morozevich - Bologan, Russian League 2004 annotated by Boris Schipkov
  Features 1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. f3 e6 4. Nc3 Bb4 5. Bf4 Ne7 6. Qd3 b6.
• NJKOs Lose to New York Knights by Michael Goeller
  Annotates the game Benjamin-Kacheishvili, USCL 2009 with 3...Qb6!?
• Canning the Caro, The Milner Barry Gambit, Part One and Part Two by Tim Mcgrew
  Covers the 1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 dxe4 4.f3!? gambit originated by British GM Milner-Barry, which can transpose. 
  

• US Chess Online article
• Tournament standings
• Official rating report
  

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In the 1970s GM Anatoly Lein was a most feared competitor in US Swisses (along with his compatriot ex-patriot GM Leonid Shamkovich).� This dynamic duo ran rampart tearing up the field in many a major event.� It’s funny that back home, these feared emigres would not be favored to place in the upper half of a Soviet championship; it showed the difference in training very well.

The Man!

Lein had an imposing aura at the chessboard and was a burly, weight-lifting fellow. Here are some Lein games from the 1976 US Open in Fairfax, VA.� I learned, from ChessBase, that Denker’s middle name was Sheldon!� Imagine that.

[Event "US op"]
[Site "Fairfax"]
[Date "1976.??.??"]
[Round "12"]
[White "Lein, Anatoly"]
[Black "Denker, Arnold Sheldon"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "E27"]
[WhiteElo "2515"]
[BlackElo "2325"]
[EventDate "1976.??.??"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "12"]
[EventCountry "USA"]

I am not exactly sure how the lowly rated Denker finagled a GM title eventually but perhaps it was a homage to his lifetime contributions to chess in a general� sense as opposed to specific results.� I recall in the 70s and 80s there were a fair amount of “trade deals” going on between Federations where various players without enough norms (or any norms!) would get reciprocal titles to satisfy both parties.� If I am not mistaken, I think Mednis and Soltis got a title like that (with deficient and/or insufficient norms), but I need to check that.� Mednis was the quintessential journeyman although one cannot forget he managed to beat Bobby Fischer (Fischer often had freak-outs vs the Winawer before he righted his own ship in the Fischer-Larsen candidates match, where his treatments of� Winawers were on a higher plane). Deals were possible because often a USSR title contender simply had no chances to play in norm-creation events yet had an absurdly high ELO rating.� (I once played Bareev before he was a GM and his ELO was 2585!).� Thus the USSR would have their guy and we would have our somewhat deficient guy and a deal was struck. On the other hand, some candidates of ours were rock solid such as Jim Tarjan who proved himself by winning a strong US Championship. The FIDE back-room deals were frequent and hard to follow.� And, in a perverse turn of events, sometimes the USCF leadership (inept and/or corrupt) would neglect to apply for a legitimate title if they had personality problems with the applicant!

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. a3 Bxc3+ 5. bxc3 O-O 6. Bg5 d6 7. f3 c5 8. e4 Qa5 9. Qd2 cxd4 It’s really not good to undouble the white c-pawns like this in a Saemisch, giving white the bishop pair for free.� Too much respect?

10. cxd4 Nc6 11. Ne2 h6 12. Be3 Bd7 13. Nc3 Rfc8 14. Be2 e5 15. d5 Nd4 16. Bxd4 exd4 17. Qxd4 b5 Coffeehouse play… white, as befits a solid USSR player, calmly develops and black runs out of steam.

18. O-O bxc4 19. Rfc1 Qc5 20. Qxc5 Rxc5 21. Rcb1 Kf8 22. Kf2 Rac8 23. Rb7 Ra5 24. a4 Be8 25. f4 Nd7 26. Bg4 Rb8 27. Rxd7 Bxd7 28. Bxd7 Rb2+ 29. Kf3 Ra6 30. a5 Rb3 31. Bb5! Splat!

Ut oh

31…Rxc3+ 32. Ke2 Rc2+ 33. Ke3
1-0

Did you enjoy the rather sadistic entombing of black’s rook on a6? I did, Lein did, probably his opponent did not.� This game was a complete walk-over and not a real test for Lein although it did, according to the database, occur in the last (money) round.

Moving right along to 1977, here is how Lein derailed my red-hot start at the World Open.� This game is not in conventional databases (somebody feel free to add it!).

[Event "World Open"]
[Site "Philadelphia, PA"]
[Date "1977.07.03"]
[Round "7"]
[White "Ginsburg, Mark" 2212]
[Black "Lein, Anatoly" 2507]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "A07"]

The ratings are given as a historical curiosity.� Note that in 1977, Lein’s rating of 2507 was absolutely astronomical.

1. g3 d5 2. Bg2 Nf6 3. Nf3 e6 4. O-O Be7 5. d3 O-O 6. Nbd2 a5 7. e4 a4! An exclam for weirdness.� I could not predict any of his moves around here.

8. a3 Nc6 9. e5 Nd7 10. Re1 b5 11. Nf1 Na5 12. Nd4 c6 13. f4 Qb6 14. Be3 c5 15. Nf3 Nb8 16. g4 Nbc6 17. Ng3 f6 18. Qe2 fxe5 19. fxe5 Bd7 20. h4 b4 21. Kh2? Nd4!� Oops! Now white has a very bad game.� Typical of juniors, though, I just battled on and soon I got my chance!

22. Nxd4 cxd4 23. Bg5 Bxg5 24. hxg5 b3 25. Rac1 bxc2?! (25… Qd8! is cleaner) 26. Rxc2 Qd8 27. Nf5 Qxg5 28. Bxd5! (28. Rc7 Rad8 and black wins.� The text move is a very good practical try and at this point I had taken 82 minutes; the time control was the strange 40 moves in 110 minutes.� Black, on the other hand, spent 14 minutes on his reply moving him up to 87 minutes.� He also had a bit of a freak-out, demanding that the TD move us to a board far away from the stage (he said the stage was too noisy).� I didn’t object to this request. So off we moved and the game continued.

28… Qf4+? It’s not totally easy to see, but 28…Rac8! wins.

29. Kh3 exd5 30. e6?? A hallucination.� After the correct intermezzo 30. Rf1! Qg5 31. e6 Bb5 32. e7!� the excelsior e-pawn saves the day.� For example, 32…Rfe8 33. Qe6+ Kh8 34. Nd6 Qxe7 35. Nf7+ Kg8 36. Nh6+ Kh8 37. Nf7+ and a perpetual check.

30… Rxf5 This wins.� To show how bad white’s move was, 30… Rae8! won too.� But one must see 31. Rf1 Qb8! (only!) 32. Nxg7 Re7 33. Rxf8+ Qxf8 and wins.

31. exd7 Rff8 32. Qe8 Rd8 33. Rc8 Look at me, I have a lot of heavies on the 8th rank.� But it’s not enough, and I succumb to zugzwang and a slowly advancing black g-pawn!� Oh no!

Not....enough....

33…Nb7! Basically white can give up already.� No more ideas!

34. Re7 g5! Come on, resign!� 35. Re5 Qf3+ 36. Kh2 Qf2+ 37. Kh3 Qh4+ 38. Kg2 Qxg4+ 39. Kh2 Qf4+ 40. Kh1 Qf6 41. Re6 Qf1+ 42. Kh2 Qf7 43. Re5 Qf4+ 44. Kh1 g4 45. Qe6+ Kh8 46. Qe8 Qf1+ 47. Kh2 Qf2+ 48. Kh1 g3 49. Qxf8+ It’s rather sad that I didn’t know how to resign at this point.

49…Qxf8 50. Re8 Kg7 51. Rxf8 Kxf8 52. Rc7 Nd6 53. Rc5 Ke7 54. Rxd5 Ke6 55. Rxd4 Rxd7 56. Rxa4 Nf5 57. Re4+ Kf6 58. a4 Rxd3 59. Re1 Rd2 60. b4 Nh4 61. Rf1+ Kg5 62. Kg1 Rg2+ 63. Kh1 Rf2 64. Rg1 Rh2#
0-1

Another victim of the Anatoly Lein chamber of horrors!� I dropped off the leader board. As a digression, to show how I got *on* the leaderboard, here is my interesting Round 6 win over Canadian IM Lawrence Day.

[Event "World Open"]
[Site "Philadelphia, PA"]
[Date "1977.07.03"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Day, Lawrence"]
[Black "Ginsburg, Mark"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "A04"]

1. Nf3 c5 2. g3 Nc6 3. Bg2 g6 4. O-O Bg7 5. e4 d6 6. d3 e5 7. c3 Nge7 8. a3 O-O 9. b4 b6 This setup for white isn’t bad, but over the next few moves he starts playing passively.

10. Be3 h6 11. Ne1 Be6 12. Nc2� Rc8 13. bxc5? (An inexplicable choice. 13. b5 Na5 is double-edged and certainly not worse for white)

13… dxc5 This is just very pleasant for black.

14. c4 f5� 15. Nc3 f4 16. Bc1 Qd7� 17. Nd5 g5?! The computer likes 17…Bh3 best.

18. Rb1 Bh3 19. f3 h5 19… Nxd5 20. exd5 Nd4 21. Nxd4 Bxg2 22. Kxg2 exd4 23. Re1 is pretty much zero for black.

20. Bb2 Rf7 Now it’s about equal again.

21. Rf2 Nxd5 22. cxd5 Ne7 23. Bxh3 24. Qf1 24… Qd7 (24… Qxf1+ 25. Kxf1 is level)

25. gxf4 exf4 26. Bxg7 (26. d4 Ng6 27. dxc5 bxc5 28. Qa6)

26… Rxg7 27. Kh1 (27. d4 is playable but also about equal)

27… Ng6� 28. Qe2 g4� 29. Rg1 Ne5 30. fxg4 f3� 31. Rxf3? White freaks out.� Correct is 31. Qd2 equal.�� However it’s a fairly harmless freak-out because black’s advantage in the subsequent position should not be large.

31… Nxf3 32. Qxf3 Rf8 33. Qe2 Rxg4 34. Ne3? This obvious move is in fact inaccurate.� Best is 34. Re1 and black is only a little better.

34… Rxg1+ 35. Kxg1 Qg7+ 36. Kh1 Qe5 37. a4� Kh7? What a terrible move!� Simply 37… Rf7 wins as white’s king is just too uncomfortable.

38. Nc4 Qg5 39. e5?? White spent 3 of his remaining 5 minutes of this losing lemon.� Correct was� 39. Ne3 and there is work left to be done.

39…Qc1+ Not the fastest. I must have been playing against his clock, a typical youthful indiscretion. The easiest win was 39…h4 forming a mating net.� 39… Rg8 also won.�

40. Kg2 Qg5+ 41. Kh1 Not 41. Kh3?� Rf4 and white has to give up right away.

41… h4! I see it!� Black wins now.

42. Qe4+ 42. h3 Qg3 wins after a few white queen checks.��

42… Kh8 43. Ne3 Rg8 {White Resigns.}

0-1

If 44. Ng2 (forced)� h3 45. Qh4+ (forced) 45… Qxh4 46. Nxh4 Rg4 47. Nf3 Rf4 48. Ng1 Rf5 and black cleans up white’s pawns and wins.� A very satisfying win for me.� Only, as you see above, to be rudely brought back to earth by Mr. Lein.

Lawrence Day, these days

When I played Day he had a head full of black, curly hair.� Tempus fugit!

Last week, in an important team match, my opponent played an innocent sideline against my pet-opening. I had prepared quite well for this encounter, but had not looked at this particular variation since it is so rarely played. Over the board, I knew I had once looked at this line in detail, and had also found a nice way of dealing with it – but to my chagrin I couldn’t remember it now.

Slighly altered version of the Homunculus Objection adapted by Dave Cantrell, originally published in Smithsonian 16 (1) (April 1985):97.

For some minutes I tried to retrieve the lost knowledge from the depths of my memory, but to no avail, so I decided to be practical and play a natural move instead. Further on in the game, in a normal middlegame position, instead of just playing some natural move, I suddenly saw a funny little intermediate move, weakening my kingside but weirdly complicating the position. I briefly started calculating the consequences of the move and I started to like it more and more. After some time, since I couldn’t find a clear refutation, I played it.

The funny thing is that all the time while I was contemplating this crazy little move, I was totally aware of its ‘ugliness’, of how utterly ‘unnatural’ it looked and how unpositional its foundations really were. Despite this, I decided it was worth the risk and offered interesting fighting changes. Unfortunately, it turned out the move was rather easily refuted and I was left with a wrecked kingside, resulting in a zero for the team. (Though we did win the match.)

These situations are examples of a phenomenon called metacognition, or ‘knowing about knowing’: I knew I knew a particular opening line, but I just couldn’t remember it. Likewise, in the middlegame, I knew my weird idea was against all positional rules, but I played it anyway.

A famous chess-related anecdote involving metacognition was once described by Tim Krabb� is his story A Walk with Kasparov. In this story, Krabb� describes how Garry Kasparov, having just lost to Jeroen Piket in the last round of the VSB tournament in Amsterdam, starts talking to him after the game. Kasparov tells Krabb� he had prepared the novelty he played in the game, but then to his horror couldn’t remember the lines:

I ask him: ‘Do you mean to say that Re4 might be in your computer and you forgot about it?’
‘Maybe, maybe,’ he says. ‘I’m just curious to know. Are you curious too?’
‘Yes I am.’
‘Then come to my hotel and we’ll check.’

Krabb� joins him and Yuri Dokhoian to Kasparov’s hotel room, and watches as Kasparov opens his laptop, expecting to find the idea behind the novelty 19…Re4 hidden in his database. But even now, Kasparov can’t find his forgotten home preparation, which Piket refuted with the reply 20.Bg3!

He is desolated, but he cannot find 19.Na4, let alone 19…Re4. He’s absolutely sure Na4 is in one of his computers somewhere, but it doesn’t seem to be in this one.

Garry Kasparov in September 2009 in Valencia

Interestingly, Krabb� kind of suggests that Kasparov may have been confusing lines and that he never analysed the move 19…Re4 in this position in the first place. Put differently, Kasparov was wrong about being sure he’d forgotten what he once knew! Of course, the interesting question is why, if he didn’t remember the exact line, Kasparov had played the move anyway? When he played 19…Re4 he obviously felt the idea behind it must have been ‘at the tip of his fingers’, but how could he be sure he would retrieve this lost knowledge during the game?

There are several possibilities. Perhaps Kasparov had some experience in retrieving lost knowledge (after all, he does had a photographic memory) within reasonable thinking time. Or he just had to remember the precise move order and everything would be allright again. Or maybe a little distraction by walking around would be sufficient to get his mind back on track again. In my own experience, such ‘aha!’ moments usually come only days or even weeks after the actual event – not minutes.

In a recent blogpost on metacognition, Johan Lehrer of The Frontal Cortex describes the familiar ‘tip-of-the-tongue’ moment when you just can’t think of the name of an acquaintance:

What’s interesting about this mental hiccup is that, even though the mind can’t remember the information, it’s convinced that it knows it, which is why we devote so many mental resources to trying to recover the missing word. (…) But here’s the mystery: If we’ve forgotten a person’s name, then why are we so convinced that we remember it? What does it mean to know something without being able to access it?

The larger question is how the mind decides what to think about. After all, if we really don’t know the name – it’s nowhere inside our head – then it’s a waste of time trying to find it. This is where metacognition, or thinking about thinking, comes in handy. At any given moment, we automatically monitor the flux of thoughts, emotions and errata flowing in the stream of consciousness. As a result, when a name goes missing we immediately analyze the likelihood of being able to remember it. Do we know the first letter of the name? Can we remember other facts about the person? Are we able to remember the first names of other acquaintances from high school? Based on the answer to these questions, we can then make an informed guess about whether or not it’s worth trying to retrieve the misplaced memory.

The interesting thing in the Kasparov example is, in my view, that Kasparov did not remember correctly. As said, he was sure of something he shouldn’t have been sure about. He was too confident of himself, perhaps: after all, someone like Kasparov has to remember such an awful lot of variations that inevitably, something goes wrong in his head from time to time. Maybe he would have been helped by something Jonathan Rowson describes in his book Chess for Zebras (2005): unlearning. Say what?

Jonathan Rowson in November 2008 at the Dresden Olympiad

Unlearning is really a way of of constantly looking at the baggage you bring to chess positions ans trying to work on the baggage that is most obviously problematic. It is also a way of trying to look at chess positions with fresh eyes, as free as possible from prejudices. When you succceed in doing this, you start to see the prejudices as prejudices, and not as absolute truths, and that’s when real improvement becomes easier.

Basically, according to Rowson, Kasparov should have looked at the position after 19.Na4 with ‘fresh eyes’ and realized that even if he had once analysed 19…Re4, he didn’t like it after 20.Bg3. He should have unlearned what he thought he had learned, so to say. He should have ignored the voice in his head telling him to play the ‘analyzed’ move Re4.

But wait a minute … does ignoring the voice in your head also imply that in my own above mentioned game, I was actually right in playing that ugly-looking move’, ignoring my intuition and going for concrete, ‘fresh’ complications? Stubbornly, consciously going against your intuition and your natural sense of reality was often subject of the chess writings of J.H. Donner. Here’s how he described his thoughts during a game against Milic in 1950:

Until this moment I hadn’t used much time to think, just fifteen minutes on my 19th move. Everything went fine, I saw everything and felt contempt for my opponent. But now a paralysing doubt overwhelmed me. Suddenly, I saw white pieces coming from all sides, while I was clearly aware that White didn’t have a realistic chance. ‘Stay calm,’ I said to myself. ‘You’re winning.’ But it didn’t help. I couldn’t calm down. I did see the best move in the position, h5, and I wanted to play it, but I touched my rook and played Rg8.

J.H. Donner (6/7/1927 - 27/11/1988)

Whenever I read fragments like this (Donner describes many of them), or whenever I experience them myself, I become very pessimstic about books teaching you how to play chess. If even players like Donner and Kasparov (occasionally) couldn’t handle the metacognitive voices in their heads telling them to play moves they only thought they remembered, or something they knew was bad, how does improving your chess knowledge by reading chess books actually help during a game?

During a game, you may be perfectly aware that a certain move violates some deep positional principle, but if another voice in your head tells you to ‘unlearn’ that learned principle and look at the position without preconceived knowledge (a phenomenon John Watson calls ‘rule independence’), the result is the exact opposite. How to decide which voice is right? How to decide when to follow a rule and when to violate it? The problem of improving chess players is not that they don’t know the definition of a weak square, but when the weak square is relevant and when not.

And even if, like me, you know that you’re vulnerable to this kind of metacognitive confusion, it isn’t easy to ’switch off’ this mode of thinking just like that: after all, this only hands the question over to the next meta-level. Now you’re ignoring the fact that you’re ignoring that voice in your head telling you that you know a certain move must be played… And once you become aware of this, it starts all over again. How to avoid an infinite regress of metacognitive levels, leading straight to insanity?

I’m sure you’ll say that the answer is to simply stop worrying about these different levels of cognition. Just focus on the chess! Does a super talent like Anish Giri think about metacognition? Of course he doesn’t! He just plays the right move and that’s the end of it! But most chess players are not super talents, and even a self-conscious grandmaster like Donner found it easier said than done. Heck, even Kasparov sometimes couldn’t avoid this confusion in his head. At least for some of us, the problem is real.

Jonathan Rowson wrote that “if you want to become a better player, you need better habits, and you cultivate better habits through training”, echoing Harvard psychologist Jerome Bruner’s observation that “knowledge helps only when it descends into habits.” Maybe they are right. Maybe training is the key to everything. Big like most chess players, I have never received any formal form of training, nor do I have time for it now. How to compensate this? Will we amateurs ever be able to make up for this lack of excercise? Or will any chess improvement book we read only increase o