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As I have mentioned in a prior post, one of the things I’ve been working on lately is my White lines against the French.
One of the main ways in which I have been doing this is to play through a couple of hundred games between strong players and construct pgn files from those games.
In doing so I do come across some amazing games. Here’s one which features a beautiful and precise knight ending.
Although the game is recent, it looks like it belongs in a classic work on endings. Enjoy!
One of the issues I’ve always had in chess is an overattachment to material. For the last couple of years I’ve been trying to alleviate it, but it’s not such an easy thing.
It’s one thing to know that you should sacrifice material, but quite another to know how to sacrifice it.
Lately I’ve been reading the book Beyond Material by Croation GM Davorin Kuljasevic in an effort to free myself from such material attachments.
To start the book off he shows several examples designed to show players that material isn’t always the deciding factor. This example is particularly concrete.
The game is between Yuri Solodovnichenko and Valerij Fillippov from 1999. Here is the position that opens the example:
White is in serious trouble. Not only down a pawn, but also with quite a loose king. He finds a brilliant drawing idea.
31.Re1 and now Black correctly takes on a2 with 31…Bxa2. Now after 32.b3 Bxb3 33.c4 Black goes wrong by taking the pawn on c4 as well. A move such as 33…Rf8 and Black has an overwhelming advantage.
So why the problem with taking on c4? Well, in this position there is an amazing concrete way to draw:
Here is a position from Tarrasch theory that has been fascinating me for a bit:
Here White takes on h7 with check as after 16.Bxh7+ Kxh7 17.Nxe6 Black can’t exchange queens due to the intermezzo of taking on f8 with check by White.
What fascinates me about this line is that White does something we’re generally taught not to do in an opening. We learn early on that exchanging two minors for a rook and pawn in an opening is bad. Of course here White gets a second pawn as well. Fascinating ideas here.
Here are a couple of games in this line…
Til Next Time,
Chris Wainscott
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Sometimes I see a position and I think that if only I could understand some aspect of it that I would be closer to understanding chess on a much deeper level.
Take this position for instance. The game is Radjabov-Mamedov from Shamkir 2018
Here White has just played 15.Ng5 which seems tantamount to offering a draw. So mentally I’m thinking “OK, 15…Bxg5 16.Qxg5 Qxg5 17.Bxg5.” However, after 15…Bxg5 16.Qxg5 Mamedov plays 16…Bg6
OK, now this I can puzzle through and understand. If Black would have continued through with my idea then he would have been developing White’s dark squared bishop for free.
So after 17.Qxd8 Rxd8 18.Be2 Nb8 19.Be3 Nc6 20.Rfc1 this position is reached:
Here Mamedov plays 20…Rdc8.
This is one of those “which rook” positions that drive me nuts. My first thought is that maybe there’s a problem with 20…Rac8 21.Bg5 Rd7 22.b4, but as I looked at the position I realized there was an immediate tactical refutation after 21.Bg5
Here Black would simply play 21…Nxd4 as the rook on d8 is impervious to capture due to the fork threat on e2.
So this leaves me wondering…what is the real difference. Clearly there is one, but what?
Food for thought and something to work on.
Here is the entire game:
Til Next Time,
Chris Wainscott
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One of the nice things about the way that the Gibraltar tournament has morphed into an event where numerous top flight players compete is that it gives us chess fans chances to see what they can really do.
You can go through every game from an event like the Sinquefield Cup, and if you’re really lucky you get one game that features a brilliant attack.
Yet at an event like Gibraltar, where it’s common to see 2770’s facing 2300-2400’s in the early rounds we get a chance to really see them shine.
Take a look at this game from round one, where MVL easily blows former Webster student Irine Sukandar off the board with a sparkling attack against her Accelerated Dragon.
These games are real treats.
Til Next Time,
Chris Wainscott
If you like this blog, please consider becoming a Patreon supporter. Any money I raise will go towards lessons and stronger tournaments.
If you can spare it, please click here and become a supporter. Even $1 a month can help me achieve my dream.
On day two of the Tata Steel Masters group in Wijk an Zee. Vladislav Artemiev showed that not only does he belong in the top group, but that he can contend as well.
On the White side of the English the young Russian ground down his more experience countryman Nikita Vitiugov.
Here is a position that shows some things I’m really trying to refine in my own games:
How often would a club player either trade or not trade queens almost automatically as a matter of personal preference? Well here Artemiev trades queens, but for a specific reason.
After 16.Qxd8+ Rxd8 17.Be3 0-0 18.Bb6 it becomes clear that White will now control the d file as Black has difficulty challenging that control since White controls the d8 square.
At the same time, should Black recapture the queen with a move such as 16…Bxd8 then after 17.Bf4 White has a much better position:
Here is the entire game:
All in all a good performance by Artemiev and proof that he’s a got a bright future.
Til Next Time,
Chris Wainscott
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In 2009 two elder statesmen met in Elista to rekindle their rivalry when Boris Spassky face Viktor Korchnoi in an eight game match.
Boris had arrived several days in advance, while Viktor rushed to arrive from London where he had just been guest of honor at the London Chess Classic.
As the 78 year old Korchnoi was exhausted after his last minute arrival, Spassky proposed limiting the match to six games instead of the scheduled eight and giving Korchnoi an additional rest day.
Viktor refused and managed to take the first game from the 72 year old Spassky, who had played his last serious game seven years prior.
Nevertheless, Spassky fought back and the match ended in a draw. These are to date (and presumably for all time to come) the final professional games of Spassky to appear in the database.
And so Boris the Tenth rode off into the sunset…
Til Next Time,
Chris Wainscott
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In the recently concluded World Rapid and Blitz Championships Super GM Hikaru Nakamura represented his home country of the USA quite nicely taking home the bronze (on tiebreaks as he finished in a tie for second) in the Rapid and the silver (on tiebreaks as he finished in a tie for first) in the Blitz.
In this game against Russian GM Alexander Riazantsev he shows relentess technique in grinding his opponent down.
Til Next Time,
Chris Wainscott
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