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03-03 Contents_Chess mag - 21_6_10 21/11/2021 19:04 Page 3

Chess Contents
Founding Editor: B.H. Wood, OBE. M.Sc † Editorial....................................................................................................................4
Executive Editor: Malcolm Pein Malcolm Pein on the latest developments in the game
Editors: Richard Palliser, Matt Read
Associate Editor: John Saunders The Firouzja Show ...............................................................................................8
Subscriptions Manager: Paul Harrington The French no.1 dazzled at the FIDE Grand Swiss in Riga
Bringing Norms to Newcastle......................................................................14
Chess Magazine (ISSN 0964-6221) is published by:
Tim Wall was delighted with the Northumbria and EJCOA events
Chess & Bridge Ltd, 44 Baker St, London, W1U 7RT
Tel: 020 7486 7015 Near Death Experiences in Paradise.........................................................18
Email: [email protected], Website: www.chess.co.uk Terry Chapman survived and ultimately prospered in Sardinia

Twitter: @CHESS_Magazine Ten Days That Shook the World .................................................................20

Twitter: @TelegraphChess - Malcolm Pein David Gilbert reports from the ACO World Seniors in Crete
Twitter: @chessandbridge
Wide Battlefield.................................................................................................24
Subscription Rates: Mike Basman enjoyed a fine attack and ponders how to help seniors

United Kingdom The Avid Old Swan Crossword ....................................................................25

1 year (12 issues) £50
2 year (24 issues) £90 Find the Winning Moves.................................................................................26
3 year (36 issues) £125 Can you do as well as the elite and those at some recent congresses?

Christmas Stocking Fillers ............................................................................30

Europe
Unsure what to request for Christmas? Let Sean Marsh guide!
1 year (12 issues) £60
2 year (24 issues) £115 60 Seconds with...Ken Neat.........................................................................33
3 year (36 issues) £165 We catch up with the leading chess translator
Rest of World (Airmail) How Good is Your Chess?..............................................................................34
1 year (12 issues) £75 Daniel King takes a detailed look at Carlsen vs Nepomniachtchi
2 year (24 issues) £145
3 year (36 issues) £210
A Heretical View about ‘Cheating’............................................................37
Wymondham’s Neil Hickman wonders if the club player need worry
Distributed by:
LMPI (North America)
Guildford’s 25 Years in the 4NCL: Part III .............................................40
8155 Larrey Street, Montreal (Quebec), Roger Emerson and Nigel Povah conclude their fine coverage
H1J 2L5, Canada - Tel: 514 355-5610
Never Mind the Grandmasters...................................................................44
Views expressed in this publication are not Carl features a remarkable game involving a running king
necessarily those of the Editors. Contributions to
Readers’ Letters ................................................................................................48
the magazine will be published at the Editors’
discretion and may be shortened if space is limited.
Contributions from two Woods, as well as on Lasker and Olafsson

Home News ..........................................................................................................49

No parts of this publication may be reproduced
without the prior express permission of the publishers.
The Bury St Edmunds, Hull and Scarborough Congresses were all a hit

Forthcoming Events.........................................................................................51
All rights reserved. © 2021
The London Chess Classic and Hastings are happening
FRONT COVER: Overseas News...................................................................................................52
Cover Design: Matt Read Major success for So and Vitiugov, and two dazzling Tal-like attacks
Cover image: FIDE/Anna Shtourman
Solutions ...............................................................................................................54
US & Canadian Readers – You can contact us via our
American branch – Chess4Less based in West Palm This Month’s New Releases ..........................................................................55
Beach, FL. Call toll-free on 1-877 89CHESS (24377). Sean Marsh examines books on Nepomniachtchi and Carlsen
You can even order Subscriber Special Offers online
via www.chess4less.com Saunders on Chess............................................................................................58
John was always going to write about the world championship match
Printed in the UK by The Magazine Printing Photo credits: Paul Charlton/Forest Hall Chess Club (pp.14, 16, 25), Chess.com (pp. 4, 34), CHESS Magazine
Company using only paper from FSC/PEFC archive (p.58), ECU Press (p.7 - all), FIDE/Mark Livshitz (pp.9, 11-12, 52), Lisburn Chess Club (p.50 bottom),
suppliers www.magprint.co.uk Brendan O’Gorman (p.50, top), Lennart Ootes (pp.31-32), Anna Shtourman (pp. 5-6), John Stubbs (p.51).

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24-25 Basman Battlefield & Crossword_Chess mag - 21_6_10 21/11/2021 18:49 Page 24

Wide Battlefield
The old and the young were in action at the Forest Hall IM tournament, causing
Mike Basman to ponder how to help the former, as well as marvel at a fine attack

In late October I played in an international Here Comes the Knight! have transpired if White had played her knight
event organised by the new high priest of to f3 earlier, which would have blocked the f-
Northumbrian chess, Tim Wall (taking over pawn. Now the knight on g1 will head to e5,
from Paul Bielby), at the Forest Hall Social T.Kanyamarala-R.McKay a magnificent outpost. Usually in the
Club in Palmersville, Newcastle upon Tyne. Newcastle upon Tyne 2021 Stonewall variation, White ends up with a
This was a hugely successful event, which Slav Defence stone-dead bishop on c1, blocked by its own
resulted in a decisive victory for Tarun centre pawns, but here she has skilfully
Kanyamarala of Ireland, who scored an IM 1 d4 d5 2 c4 c6 3 cxd5 cxd5 4 Íf4 Ìc6 managed to swap it off. Trisha’s strategy has
norm, as did Jonah Willow from Nottingham. A harmless looking variation of the Slav been a resounding success.
Northumbria is becoming a beacon of has arisen. 10...0-0 11 Ìf3 Íd7
excellence for chess, echoing the early days of 5 e3 Ìf6 6 Ìc3 a6 In this case it is Black who has the bad
England when, in the 7th and 8th Centuries, Black moves his edge pawn to ward off bishop.
the Venerable Bede and scholar Alcuin carried any plans white might have to play Ìb5, but 12 0-0 Ìe7 13 Ìe5
the torch of enlightenment aloft. 6...e6 is quite adequate (if 7 Ìb5 Íb4+). And here it comes – here comes the
A curious feature arises when we look at 7 Íe2 Knight. Did Trisha realise she was playing
the table of participants (see crosstable below). A move loaded with Irish cunning. White is homage to another legendary Irish citizen,
If you look at the ages of the bottom four delaying the development of the g1-knight, the singer Van Morrison (aka Them of the
players, the average age is 55 years. In and tempts 7...Íf5 8 g4!? Íe4 9 f3 Íg6 1960s)?
contrast, if you take the ages of the top six 10 h4 h6 11 h5 Íh7 12 Íd3 with a bind. 13...Îfc8 14 Íd3 Íe8 15 Îf3 b5 16 Îh3
players the average is 22 years old; in fact, 7...e6 8 Îc1
four of the top six players are still teenagers. Another high-class waiting move; Black replies
This is clearly a declaration of war. What is with a natural, but mistaken exchange offer.
to be done about this? 8...Íd6? 9 Íxd6 Ëxd6 10 f4!
I have initiated a series of awards, to
improve the status of older players. There are
now prizes for: over 60 years old (senor), over
75 years old (super senor), over 85 years old
(mega senor), over 100 years old (giga senor),
and over 120 years old (tera senor).
In the Forest Hall event, Roddy McKay
captured the over 60 prize, and I was clear
winner in the over 75 section. There were no
participants in the higher ranges.
I will finish with a spectacular game from
the Forest Hall International event, by the
sole female participant, 15-year-old Trisha The first direct threat: 17 Íxh7+ Ìxh7
Kanyamarala, who scored a very creditable 18 Ëh5 with a mating attack.
4½ points out of 9. 16...g6
Black’s position looks rock solid. True he
Miraculously we have transposed into the has weaknesses on the dark squares, but
historic Stonewall variation, which could not surely they won’t be that easy to exploit?

Player Country Rating 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Pts.

1 FM Tarun Kanyamarala IRL 2309 * ½ ½ ½ 1 1 1 1 1 1 7.5
2 FM Jonah Willow ENG 2353 ½ * ½ ½ 1 1 1 ½ 1 1 7
3 IM David Fitzsimons IRL 2334 ½ ½ * ½ ½ 1 0 1 1 1 6
4 FM Yichen Han NED 2306 ½ ½ ½ * 1 0 1 1 ½ 1 6
5 Thomas Eggleston ENG 2175 0 0 ½ 0 * ½ 1 1 1 1 5
6 WIM Trisha Kanyamarala IRL 2082 0 0 0 1 ½ * ½ ½ 1 1 4.5
7 Sedykh Mikhail ENG 2120 0 0 1 0 0 ½ * 1 0 ½ 3
8 Steven Jones ENG 2231 0 ½ 0 0 0 ½ 0 * 1 ½ 2.5
9 IM Michael Basman ENG 2273 0 0 0 ½ 0 0 1 0 * 1 2.5
10 IM Roderick McKay SCO 2243 0 0 0 0 0 0 ½ ½ 0 * 1

December 2021
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24-25 Basman Battlefield & Crossword_Chess mag - 21_6_10 21/11/2021 18:49 Page 25

The Avid Old Swan

C r o s s w o r d
Once Carlsen-Nepo is over for the day, why not enjoy
this chess-themed composition? Solution on page 55.

IM Mike Basman could only be impressed as

WIM Trisha Kanyamarala simply demolished
an eight-time Scottish Champion’s defences.

17 Ëe1 b4 18 Ìe2 Íb5

With two sharp blows Black takes the
initiative on the queenside. Trisha reacts
strongly on the other wing.
19 Ëh4!
Now if Black continues 19...Íxd3 he is in
trouble after 20 Ëxf6 because the pawn at
f7 is undefended. So he plays the natural
move...
19...Êg7

...Acquiescing in a draw by 20 Ëh6+ Êg8

21 Ëh4 Êg7 22 Ëh6+, etc. But a draw is
not on offer:
20 Ëxf6+!! 1-0
An explosive conclusion. After 20...Êxf6
White continues with 21 Îxh7 with two
threats of mate: 22 Îxf7# and 22 Ìg4#. If
Black then bales out with 21...Ëxe5, a third
mate appears: 22 dxe5#. Black did not wait
to see these variations demonstrated, but
resigned after 20 Ëxf6+.
As long as chess is played, this game by
15-year-old Trisha Kanyamarala will be
celebrated, both for its devastating finish and
for the subtle strategy that preceded it. We
shall name it The Hesperides Encounter.

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30-32 StockingFillers_Chess mag - 21_6_10 21/11/2021 19:27 Page 30

Sean Marsh's
Are you still unsure about what you would
like to see in your Christmas stocking this
year? After nearly two full years of
weirdness, surely you deserve a treat – and
here are some helpful hints to give you more

Christmas
of a chance of getting it.
It would be folly to present a selection of
recommended chess books without including
the four which were shortlisted for the 2021
English Chess Federation Book of the Year. I

Stocking Fillers
have already reviewed three of them in
earlier editions of CHESS.
Masterpieces and Dramas of the Soviet
Championship Volume 1 (1920-1937) by
Sergey Voronkov (Elk and Ruby) was the very
worthy winner of the toughest contest I have
judged since the start of my tenure on the
panel. The second volume is coming soon too
and I am sure it will be worth the wait.
Winning by Nigel Short (Quality Chess)
received an honorary mention and I think his
next book – if it comes to fruition – will be
even better.
Smyslov, Bronstein, Geller, Taimanov and
Averbakh by Andrew Soltis (McFarland) is the
tributes from a whole range of people. Nor opponent, 47 years earlier.
author’s best book to date and a must for
are the accolades just from chess players; the This is an excellent book which will
anyone interested one of the most golden of
thoughtful foreword is provided by none undoubtedly provide many hours of instruction
all chess eras.
other than the President of Iceland, Gudni and entertainment. It came close to winning
This brings us to the only one of the
Thorlacius Jóhannesson. the Book of the Year award and was, perhaps,
quartet I didn’t review earlier in 2021.
Ólafsson was more than capable of beating unfortunate to appear at the same time as such
the best of players on his day. Here he is, other powerful candidates. Still, it would make
outfoxing a future champion of the world. an excellent Christmas present.

F.Ólafsson-R.Fischer
Candidates Tournament, Bled 1959

The Chess Saga of Fridrik Ólafsson

Øystein Brekke, 288 pages
Norske Sjakkforlag Eight Good Men
RRP £32.95 SUBSCRIBERS £29.65 Dorian Rogozenko, 340 pages
Elk and Ruby
This really is a beautiful book and one RRP £22.99 SUBSCRIBERS £20.69
which serious collectors will not want to be
without. Fridrik Ólafsson, now 86, had a rich Do you remember the days of tournament
and varied chess career. He was a Candidate books? They helped to cement great events
for the World Chess Championship, President into our race memories. These include New
of FIDE and six-time Icelandic Champion. He York 1924, Nottingham 1936, Curacao
is also a perfect gentleman. 1962 and Santa Monica 1966, to name but
Our paths crossed once, very briefly. This four. It sometimes seems that elite
was back in 1982 when our local White is the exchange up, but Fischer has tournaments come and go so quickly that
Middlesbrough Chess Congress coincided counterplay, as always. The next move makes they blur in the modern mind. Analysing top
with a double-round match between England the result very clear. games played just a week ago feels like a
and Iceland. I watched attentively as Ólafsson 37 Îa1! tardy exercise, never mind chess battles from
drew one game with John Nunn, but he lost What a great move! Now “37...Ëxa1 was many years ago.
the other. Ólafsson, in his capacity of the not possible because of 38 Ëxg5 and mates. Elk and Ruby are doing an excellent job of
President of FIDE, signed the certificates of Or 37...Ëd2 38 Îd1 and Black cannot avoid unearthing and then preserving the past, but
all of the players in the junior section. Such the exchange of queens.” this time they have stepped away from older
acts always have left an impression on me. In the game, Fischer played 37...Ëf4+, times to focus on a much more recent event.
When I started running my own junior but after the exchange of queens there was Indeed, the last Candidates tournament –
tournaments, just a few years later, I always not much more hope of offering successful Nepomniachtchi’s great triumph – has
made sure that all of the players received a resistance (1-0, 45). perhaps remained in the public’s
certificate, no matter how many points they consciousness rather longer than most
had earned. Other victims include Tal, Karpov, Korchnoi modern elite events, simply because it went
This book is, unashamedly, a celebration of and Larsen. Indeed, Ólafsson contested an on for over a year.
Ólafsson’s life and games. It boasts a sturdy eight-game match with Larsen as recently as Covid brought an enforced hiatus at the
hardback binding, enjoys quality paper, and is 2003. The former won 5-3, thus gaining half-way point, only for the tournament to
replete with excellent photographs and revenge for a match defeat against the same resume over a year later. It must have been

December 2021
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30-32 StockingFillers_Chess mag - 21_6_10 21/11/2021 19:27 Page 31

one is no exception.
Typically, such books offer bite-sized
chunks of chess wisdom, with each one
offering a mini-lesson, of sorts. This time, the
reader is given various questions to ask
themselves, with the idea that the checklist
will enable stronger moves to be found and
played. The questions include: What Is His
Weakest Point?, How Can I Improve My
Pieces? and several more.
This high-profile example can be found in
the very first chapter, entitled ‘What Does He
Threaten?’, under the subheading ‘Alarm
Shut-Off’.
“Even if you have a good sense of danger
you can inadvertently turn this alarm system off.
This often happens when you can’t imagine how
your unprotected pieces can be attacked.”

M.Carlsen-A.Giri
The elite may be rivals, but can also get on very well, as shown by Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, Magnus Carlsen Invitational
and Ding Liren who both feature in Eight Good Men, Rogozenko’s full account of the Candidates. (online rapid) 2021
very difficult for the players to maintain and we don’t have the space to give them
focus, motivation and perspective as the justice here. Despite being hit by such bombs,
months rolled by. Imagine seeing some secret Vachier-Lagrave still managed to put up very
novelties being found and played between stubborn resistance before going on to lose
the two parts of the tournament, and how it on move 77.
would feel to have missed the one and only
chance to uncork them. Despite Caruana’s glittering showcase of
This book offers round-by-round excellent preparation at the start of the
commentary of the tournament, complete second half of the event, Nepomniachtchi’s
with excellent annotations and a very fine extreme determination eventually saw him
selection of photographs. win the tournament with a round to spare,
Was Nepomniachtchi’s success a surprise? thus qualifying for a shot at the ultimate
Possibly, as Fabiano Caruana was, for most title.
people, the pre-tournament favourite and his Looking at the games, round-by-round,
preparation was clearly very deep, as really brings home the struggle for
evidenced by his fabulous demolition of supremacy and the fluctuations experienced
Maxime Vachier-Lagrave’s Sicilian Najdorf at by all of the players. The number of potential Various candidate moves offer some
the very start of the second half of the winners is steadily reduced as the rounds are safety. “But why does White need safety? All
tournament. used up; there is a genuine sense of of his pieces are protected except his rooks.
excitement. After studying the book, readers And they can’t be attacked, can they? This led
will, however, be left in no doubt that the world champion to play 25 f3. It gave him
F.Caruana-M.Vachier-Lagrave Nepomniachtchi thoroughly deserved his options such as launching a kingside attack
Candidates Tournament, sensational success. with Îf2, fxg4 and Íe2. But he didn’t look
Yekaterinburg 2021 A sterling effort all round by Elk and Ruby. for a threat. He was lost after 25...Ìxd3+
Yes, let’s have more tournament books! 26 Ëxd3 Ëc1+ and 27...Ëxb2.”

As usual with Soltis’ Batsford books, this

one is great for dipping in and out of it, and
has plenty of good material for improving
club players.

The Chessmaster Checklist

Andrew Soltis, 256 pages
Batsford
RRP £16.99 SUBSCRIBERS £15.29

Soltis remains a prolific author (although it Caruana’s Ruy Lopez

Vachier-Lagrave is the world’s leading is unlikely he will ever overtake Cyrus Fabiano Caruana, 208 pages
expert on the Sicilian Najdorf, but this time he Lakdawala), but his books for Batsford are New in Chess
had his fingers burned on the fire of Caruana’s very different to his books for McFarland. The RRP £26.95 SUBSCRIBERS £24.25
extraordinary preparation. latter volumes are deeply researched
18 Íc4! Ëxc4 19 Íd6!! historical tomes, whereas the Batsford books This book has been gathering excellent
The book analyses the variations very well are aimed at average club players – and this reviews and it would be remiss of me not to

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30-32 StockingFillers_Chess mag - 21_6_10 21/11/2021 19:27 Page 32

with the first game in the book being number

195. Thematic topics include material on defence,
attack, openings and endgame technique.
Yes, of course, modern computers will
expose the primitive nature of some of the
moves and calculations of players from
another era, but it would make for rather a
miserable and mean-spirited task to spend
time doing so. Instead, I recommend immersing
oneself in a thrilling chess world from a bygone
age, to experience some real chess.
Here is a tactical snippet from
Bogoljubov’s 1941 match with Euwe.

M.Euwe-E.Bogoljubov
?th matchgame, Carlsbad 1941

Fabiano Caruana enlightens the spectators at the London Chess Classic and now you too can
learn directly from him in the shape of Caruana’s Ruy Lopez, recently released by New in Chess.

ention it here. I was heavily involved in the White has a natural way to attack the pawn,
writing and editing of this one, and I learned a lot with Íc4. Right now, of course, the pawn is
about the Ruy Lopez along the way. The content over-defended. But more often than not, it
is based on the 2019 three-volume DVD set becomes a weakness.”
Navigating the Ruy Lopez from ChessBase. This idea fascinated me. The more I delved
I believe it is selling well, but suspect it would into the book, the more the same theme popped
be doing even better in that department if up, with the a6-pawn stopped in its tracks and
Caruana had qualified again to play Magnus looking weaker as the game progressed.
Carlsen in the world championship match. Still, Caruana shares many such insights in this
it is a very accessible guide to one of the most very interesting book, which Ruy Lopez “This is a case when the queen and knight
popular of all openings. Despite being one of players will definitely find to be of great pair is inferior to the queen and bishop tandem.
the world’s top players, Caruana is more than interest. Of course, despite the subtitle Black needs to find salvation, and Bogoljubov
able to explain both the basic points and the saying that is a ‘A White Repertoire for Club finds a tactical solution to the problem.”
grandmaster subtleties of the opening and its Players’, anyone facing the Ruy Lopez as 44...Ìd5!?
associated plans. Black will no doubt want to know what is in “By sacrificing the knight, Black makes it
One recurring theme which struck me as store for them when they play against impossible for the white queen to come to
important is the number of times White plays someone who has studied the book carefully. the aid of her king.”
a2-a4 and then a4-a5, leaving Black’s a6- Either way, it is an essential purchase for 45 exd5 Ëd2+ 46 Êh3 Ëh6+ ½-½
pawn as a permanent liability for the second anyone interested in the Ruy Lopez.
player. Here is an early example of White I learned a lot from this two-volume set,
setting out that particular stall. He has just which has excellent annotations throughout.
played 9 a5. Think you know Bogoljubov? Think again –
and buy the two books to help you ponder!
Will we still be writing about contemporary
title challengers a century from now? Find
out, in my review column for December 2121.

The Creative Power of

Bogoljubov Volume II
Grigory Bogdanovich, 402 pages
Elk and Ruby
RRP £34.99 SUBSCRIBERS £31.49

I have enjoyed a lot Elk and Ruby books

this year. As we know, they won the ECF Batsford’s Chess Bible
Book of the Year award this year, after several Sean Marsh, 208 pages
years finishing as runners-up. It is a tricky Batsford
It certainly doesn’t look like much, but choice, but if push came to shove I would say RRP £14.99 SUBSCRIBERS £13.49
imagine being even slightly worse against a I have enjoyed the two-volume work on
player who is fully armed with the correct ways Bogoljubov most of all. A reappraisal of the Now look, you may or may not choose to
to increase the advantage. As Caruana puts it: man who challenged Alexander Alekhine for believe me, but I firmly believe this to be a
“It just fixes the weakness on a6. Of the title twice had been long overdue. good book (although not the Good Book,
course, right now, it might sound a bit funny I reviewed the first volume earlier in the despite the titular evidence to contrary).
to call this a weakness. But in a lot of year and the follow-up is equally good. It picks Don’t take my word for it; just buy it and see
endgames, this weakness will start to tell. up immediately where the first volume left off, for yourself!

December 2021
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33-33 60SecondsKenNeat_Chess mag - 21_6_10 21/11/2021 19:23 Page 33

And the worst? Not being able to forget about

a game afterwards, when trying to sleep.

Your best move? When I was 18, I beat Michael

Haygarth in a National Club Championship
match, just two years before he became
British Champion [Ed. – See this month’s pgn
download for Ken’s crushing 26-move win].

But less memorable than your worst move?

A game where on the last move before the
time control I had three possible checks, two
of which gave instant mate. Alas, I chose the third:

15...Íxd2 16 Ìg6+ Êg7 17 Ìxf8 Êxf8

K.Neat-D.Curnow 18 Ëxh7 Ìc6 19 Ëh8+ Êf7 20 Íe2
Hastings Challengers 1975 Êe7 21 Îab1 Ëa5 22 Îb3 Ìd4 23 Íh5
Êd7 24 Îg3 Íb7 25 Ëh7+ Êc6 26 Îb1
Ìb5 27 e5 fxe5? 28 Íf3+ d5
Born: York, a long time ago (March 1944).

Place of residence: Durham, for the past 50

years.

Occupation: Semi-retired translator.

Enjoyable? I like being my own boss.

And home life? Married with two daughters,

and now a delightful 3-year-old granddaughter.

But sometimes good to escape to: The

hills – all my life I’ve loved hill-walking (and
rock climbing when I was younger). Just 40 Ëd8+?? Êe6 and Black won on move 67.
29 Íxd5+! Êxd5 30 Ëxb7+ Êc4 31
yesterday I enjoyed a seven -mile walk in the Îg4+ Êc3 32 Îb3+ Êc2 33 Ëe4+ Êd1
North Pennines with my younger daughter. And a highly memorable opponent? When
34 Ëb1+ Íc1 35 Îd3+ Ëd2 36 Ëb3+
Nigel Short first qualified for the British
Êe1 37 Îe4+ Ëe2 38 Ëd1# 1-0
Sports played or followed: We moved to Championship at the age of 11, I was paired
Sunderland when I was four, and I’ve against him in the very first round. The game
The best three chess books: Grandmaster
supported the football team ever since. The was adjourned after 40 moves (my friend Jim
Preparation by Lev Polugaevsky, School of Future
team’s results strongly affect my mood (ask joked, “You’re keeping the kid up past his
Champions (5 volumes) by Mark Dvoretsky, and
my wife) – at the moment I’m a bit down... bedtime”), and we agreed a draw 10 moves later,
Kasparov on Kasparov (3 volumes). But I may
with Nigel signing my scoresheet ‘English Rot’!
be a little biased, as I translated all of them
A favourite novel? I’m not a great reader of [Ed. – Ken was also the translator of the recently
fiction, so if you don’t mind I’ll opt for Favourite game of all time? Perhaps a
published Kupreichik: The Maestro from Minsk].
Mountaineering in Scotland by W.H. Murray – game I played a few years ago in a weekend
I’ve read some chapters so many times, that I congress against David Oswald, a very Is FIDE or your national federation doing
almost know them off by heart. pleasant young man from Edinburgh. After a a good job? Sorry, but I’ll have to pass on
king hunt he generously allowed me to these questions – I’m not in a position to
Piece of music? So difficult to chose, but it checkmate his (black) king on the square e1. judge. Mind you, I could offer some thoughts
has to be something Russian, so I’ll go for on the state of British politics...
Rachmaninov’s 2nd Piano Concerto (with his
K.Neat-D.Oswald Can chess make one happy? “Chess, like
3rd not far behind).
Chester-le-Street Open 2013 love, like music, has the power to make men
Film or TV series? The BBC4 French crime Benko Gambit happy”. Yes, I think Dr. Tarrasch was right.
series Spiral – during the Covid lockdown my
wife and I binge-watched several dozen episodes. 1 d4 Ìf6 2 c4 c5 3 d5 b5 4 cxb5 a6 5 b6 e6 A tip please for the club player: ‘Always
6 Íg5 Ëxb6 7 Íxf6 gxf6 8 e4 Ëxb2 9 Ìd2 check, it might be mate’. Not true, of course,
What’s the best thing about playing chess? Íh6 10 Ìgf3 0-0 11 Íc4 Ëb6 12 0-0 but it’s surprising how often a check can be a
Forgetting about everyday problems. d6 13 Ìh4 Êh8 14 dxe6 fxe6 15 Ëh5! very effective move.

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49-51 HomeDecember_Chess mag - 21_6_10 21/11/2021 19:15 Page 49

Home News
4NCL – The 4NCL Online League and Junior threat of ...Ëb6+.
League continue apace on Lichess, with five M.Czopor-T.Fodor 15 Êh1 Ëxd5
and four divisions, respectively, and matches Hull 2021 Otherwise, the e-pawn would be loose,
held every other Tuesday. With one round left French Defence but now White’s pieces spring to life.
to play in the preliminary all-play-all stage, 16 Ìe4 Íd4?
Division One had seen favourites Chessable Missing a bolt from the blue. As such,
White Rose and Guildford Young Guns, for 1 e4 e6 2 d4 d5 3 Ìd2 c5 4 Ìgf3 16...Ìxe4 17 Íxe4 Ëc4 was necessary,
whom Mark Hebden has 5/5, win all six This remains a fairly popular way to avoid sub-optimal though Black’s position would
matches in their respective groups. The 4 exd5 Ëxd5 and then the trendy 5 Ìgf3 have been after 18 Íd3 Ëb4 19 Íd2! Ëxb2
remaining groups were closer, with cxd4 6 Íc4 Ëd7!?. (or 19...Ëb6 20 Ëxe5 0-0 21 Íc3) 20 Îab1
Brentwood a point ahead of Anglian Avengers 4...cxd4 5 Ìxd4 Ìc6 6 Íb5 Íd7 7 Ëd4 21 Íb5+ Êf8 22 Îfd1 with a very
in Group A, while Alba and Chessable White Ìxc6 bxc6 8 Íd3 Íd6 9 Ëe2 e5 10 strong initiative for White.
Rose II were both on 10/12 in Group D. exd5 cxd5 11 c4! 17 Íh6!!
Clearly if he wants to be better, White
BURY ST EDMUNDS – Alan Merry made a must chip away at Black’s strong centre and
welcome return to the board as he defeated now 11...f5!? 12 cxd5 e4 probably wouldn’t
fellow IM Richard Pert en route to triumphing have offered quite enough compensation in
at his local Bury St Edmunds Congress Xiong-Shimanov, Internet (blitz) 2021, had
(October 23-24). White calmly gone 13 0-0 Ìf6 14 Ìc4.
Open: 1 Alan Merry (Bury St Edmunds) 11...Ìf6 12 0-0 Íg4
4½/5, 2-8 Richard Pert (Brentwood), David Forcing the pace and a potential weakness.
Haydon (Brentwood), Martin Walker 13 f3 Íe6 14 cxd5
(Norwich), David Spence (Suffolk), Dan
Waller (Cambridge), Russell White
(Chelmsford), Alfie Onslow (Ealing) 3½.
Major: 1 Max Pert (Brentwood) 4½/5, 2-4
Nathan Barnes (Colchester), Stuart Nelson
(Braintree), Jerzy Cholewinski (Ipswich) 4.
Minor: 1-3 Steven Ashworth (Ely), Colin
White (Chelmsford), Richard Dickinson (Bury Already there just isn’t a satisfactory
St Edmunds) 4. defence, in view of 17...gxh6?? 18 Ìxf6+
and 17...0-0 18 Ìxf6+ gxf6 19 Ëe1!
HULL – Stephen Greep combined with Mike followed by Ëg3+ or Ëh4.
Truran to stage the Hull 4NCL International 17...Ìxe4 18 Íxe4 Ëc4 19 Íd3 Ëxd3!?
Congress, which included a GM event at the This was always likely to come up short,
University of Hull (October 20-24). The top but 19...Ëc5 20 Íxg7 Îg8 21 Îac1 Ëa5
section looked pretty competitive on paper, 22 Íf6 would have been pretty hopeless,
and so it proved. Only 17-year-old Polish FM with White’s light-squared bishop ruling the
Maciej Czopor came close to making a norm, 14...Íc5+? roost.
racking up 4/5 before Matthew Turner ended This was presumably over-the-board 20 Ëxd3 gxh6 21 f4! Îd8 22 fxe5 Îg8
his norm chances with a powerful attack in inspiration. A couple of months earlier 23 Îad1 Îg4 24 h3 Îh4 25 Ëg3 Îh5
the penultimate round. That enabled Czopor’s 14...Ìxd5 15 Íb5+ had been seen in 26 Ëa3
first round victim, Hungarian GM and fellow Kilpatrick-Haria, Gateshead 2021, when The extra queen begins to make her
London resident Tamas Fodor, to catch him up 15...Íd7! 16 Ìe4 Íe7 (Pein) may well presence rather felt.
and tie for first on 6/9. equalise, since White must deal with the 26...Îd7 27 Ëb4 Îh4 28 Ëe1! Îh5 29 Ëe4

2021 Hull 4NCL GM International - Wed 20th to Sun 24th October (Category 7, average rating = 2414)
Player Title Country Rating 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Pts TPR
1 Maciej Czopor FM POL 2411 # 1 ½ 0 ½ 1 ½ 1 ½ 1 6 2539
2 Tamas Fodor GM HUN 2524 0 # ½ ½ 1 ½ ½ 1 1 1 6 2527
3 Conor Murphy FM IRL 2428 ½ ½ # 1 0 ½ 1 0 1 1 5.5 2493
4 Matthew Turner GM SCO 2471 1 ½ 0 # 0 ½ ½ 1 1 1 5.5 2488
5 James Jackson IM ENG 2386 ½ 0 1 1 # 0 ½ ½ ½ 1 5 2460
6 Brandon Clarke IM ENG 2442 0 ½ ½ ½ 1 # 0 1 0 1 4.5 2411
7 Nigel Davies GM WLS 2475 ½ ½ 0 ½ ½ 1 # ½ ½ 0 4 2364
8 Matthew Wadsworth IM ENG 2425 0 0 1 0 ½ 0 ½ # 1 1 4 2370
9 Jonah Willow FM ENG 2353 ½ 0 0 0 ½ 1 ½ 0 # 1 3.5 2341
10 Shreyas Royal FM ENG 2226 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 # 1 2084

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continues to be staged on a frequent basis,

with teenager Connor Clarke enjoying a fine
result as he tied for first with IM John Pigott
on October 23rd.
Open: 1-2 IM Peter Large (Epsom), Connor
Clarke (Harrow) 5½/6, 3-4 Ganesh Viswanath
(Australia), Alexander Cherniaev (Hackney) 5;
rating prizes: Peter Koiza (Linton) 4½, Stanley
Badacsonyi 4½, Julie Oh (both Barnet) 3½.
Under-1450: 1 William Lawrence (Muswell
Hill) 6, 2 Magnus Borissow (Guildford) 4½, 3-
4 Elliot O’Donnell (Harrow), Dmitry Nikityuk
(Hampstead) 4.
It was then the turn of the rapidly-
improving Peter Finn to win on November 6th
and how, as he racked up a perfect score.
Open: 1 Peter Finn (Cambridge) 6/6, 2-3
Peter Large (Epsom), John Pigott (Little
Heath) 5; rating prizes: Frankie Badacsonyi
(Muswell Hill) 5, Samvrit Subin (Richmond)
3½, Oleg Verbytski (Charlton) 4.
Adam Raoof also staged a Muswell Hill
Rapidplay on October 26th, which was
especially popular, with it being half term, and in
which Alexander Cherniaev (Hackney) picked up
the top prize of £100 with 5½/6, finishing half
Successful chess coach and Hungarian GM Tamas Fodor didn’t have to face anyone as strong a point ahead of Kai Rundall (Golders Green).
as Gawain Jones on his return to Hull as he tied for first with Maciej Czopor in a competitive APA.
SCARBOROUGH – The Scarborough
Îxe5 30 Ëxh7 Îed5 31 Îde1 Êd8 32 (Leicester), Keith Arkell (Paignton), Marco Congress returned to the Scarborough Spa,
Ëg8+ Êc7 33 Îc1+ Êb6 34 Ëc8 Î5d6 Gallana (London), David Maycock proving popular as it attracted some 275
35 Ëb8+ Êa6 (Richmond) 4. players. As ever the event was very well run,
Under-2000: 1 Tim Spanton (Hastings) 4½, but was hampered by the strange decision to
2-4 Ben Rich (York), Ovidiu Angheluta make the Major under-1850, which resulted
(Romania), Sam Coates (Oban) 4. in some 92 players taking part in the Open.
Under-1700: 1 Joseph Catto (Hull) 5, 2-5 We can’t remember the last time a weekend
Dave Patterson (South Shields), Andrew open saw two players reach 5/5.
Zigmond (Harrogate), Michael Carroll That happened here as Andrew Ledger
(Hoylake), Adam Nilsson (Scunthorpe) 4. continued his fine form from the British
Championship, defeating Brandon Clarke in
LONDON – The Golders Green Rapidplay the final round, while David Zakarian kept up

Fodor has done his best to stay on the

board, but his hapless king position is still
going to cost him the game.
36 Îf3! Íb6 37 Ëc8+ Êb5 38 a4+
38 Îf5+! would have been even more
clinical, and if 38...Íxf5 39 Ëc4+ Êa5 40
b4+ Êa4 41 Ëa6+ Êxb4 42 Îc4#.
38...Êb4 39 Îf4+
Plenty good enough, as would have been
39 Ëc3+! Êxa4 40 Ëa3+ Êb5 41 Îb3+!
Íxb3 42 Ëxb3+ Êa6 43 Ëc4+ with mate
next move.
39...Îd4 40 Ëc6 Êb3 41 Ëc2+ Êb4 42
Ëc6 Êb3 43 Îf3+ 1-0

There was also a weekend congress, in

which Mark Hebden overpressed against John LISBURN – The Lisburn Chess Rooms, pictured above, were officially opened on 6th November
Cooper, while Marco Gallana impressively by not just the Deputy Mayor of Lisburn, Tim Mitchell, but also the First Minster of Northern
ground down Keith Arkell ahead of drawing Ireland, Paul Givan, which was fitting considering the scope and ambition of the new home of
with both eventual winners on the final day. Lisburn Chess Club at 60-62 Longstone Street. The club currently has 17 permanent chess
Open: 1-2 Peter Wells (Swindon), Steven boards, a chess library and also a teaching room. We’re certain that it won’t be at all long
Jones (Basingstoke) 4½/5, 3-6 Mark Hebden before it is open much more than just on Thursday evenings and 10.00-13.30 on Saturdays.

December 2021
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with a win over Jon Nelson, who had earlier

drawn with Danny Gormally. Notable too was
that the Intermediate was won by an ungraded
player, 14-year-old Ted Filby from Eastbourne,
who only started playing in January after
being inspired by The Queen’s Gambit.
Open: 1-2 Andrew Ledger (Sheffield), David
Zakarian (Oxford) 5/5, 3 Danny Gormally
(Alnwick) 4½, 4-9 Brandon Clarke (Ely), Paul
Townsend (York) Tim Wall (Newcastle upon
Tyne), Nathanael Paul (Newport), Samuel
Milson (Louth), Zoe Varney (Durham) 4.
Major: 1 Robert Kane (West London) 4½, 2-
4 Graham Wiliamson (Liverpool), Joseph
Bradey (Sheffield), Randolph Donahue
(Leeds) 4.
Intermediate: 1 Ted Filby (Eastbourne) 4½,
2-6 Owen Robson (York), Luke Gostelow
(Hampton), Keith Marsh (Bradford), John
Merry (Salford), Benedict Weis (Uckfield) 4.
Minor: 1-2 Jason Boutsias (Sheffield),
Patrick Coleman (Lytham St Annes) 4½, 3-4
Andrew Nettleship (Sheffield), David Scorer
(Clitheroe) 4.
Foundation: 1-2 Elliot Kent (Newcastle upon
Tyne), Dylan Whitney (Newcastle-under-
Lyme) 4, 3-5 Jenny Porritt (Sheffield),
Michael Simmons (Sheffield), Thomas Hynes
(Urmston) 3½.

TORQUAY – Everyone must hope that things

will be fully back to normal by next summer
when we’re certain that the British Chess
Championships will prove especially popular,
as they return to the Riviera Centre at
Torquay. There will be all the usual sections,
with the event scheduled for the slightly later
than normal time of August 8-21, with the
Championship and Major Open set to run
from the 13th until the 21st, although that
Andrew Ledger has been back to his best of late, impressing at the British Championship may change to avoid any scheduling clash
then racking up 5/5 at Scarborough, but most unusually that was only enough to tie for first. with the 2022 Olympiad.

Forthcoming
Events December 18
rjcc.org.uk
Rik Thomas Memorial Richmond

Dec 29 - Jan 9 Hastings International Congress

December 3-13 London Chess Classic hastingschess.com
https://londonchessclassic.com/

December 4 Golders Green Rapidplay And for the Online Connoisseur:

goldersgreenchess.blogspot.com or call 07855 036537 Nov 26 - Dec 15 World Chess Championship, Dubai
fideworldchampionship.com; it’s the big
December 12 Greenisland Christmas Shopping one, Carlsen vs Nepomniachtchi!
Recovery Rapid
ulsterchess.org/events or call 07934 177350 December 3-13 London Chess Classic
https://londonchessclassic.com/
December 12 Renfrewshire Allegro Chess Congress Adams, Gelfand, Jones, Lagarde, McShane, Vitiugov
chessscotland.com/events/ or call 0741 553 9523
December 26-30 World Rapid & Blitz Championships,
December 17-21 2nd EJCOA Forest Hall IM Nur-Sultan Watch at fide.com;
northumbriamasters.com
Congress organisers – Don’t forget to email [email protected] to
December 18 Golders Green Rapidplay ensure your event is listed, or if you really want to guarantee a good
goldersgreenchess.blogspot.com or call 07855 036537 entry, contact [email protected] to discuss having it advertised.

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followed by 8...Îg7+ or 8 Ìxf3 Ëg4+) 24) Onischuk-Ali (2...0-0 3 Íxg5 Ëxg5 fails to 4 Ìe7+! Ëxe7
4...hxg4 (the immediate 4...Îe8!? also 1 Ìg5! (1 Ìh4! is also strong, since Black’s 5 Íd5+ and wins) 3 Îxe4+ Êf8 (of course,
works, neutralising all White’s tricks) 5 Ìe3 loose pieces, light-square weaknesses and not 3...Êd7? 4 Ëg4#, and 3...Êf7 4 Íxg5
Îe8! is crushing, in view of 6 Îxa6 Ëh4 exposed king will soon see him shedding material, Ëxg5 5 Ëf3+ will transpose to the game)
7 Îxa7 g3! 8 fxg3 Ëxg3+ 9 Êh1 Ëh3+ as after 1...Íxh4 2 Íxe4 0-0 3 Íg2 Íf6 4 4 Íxg5 (continuing to force the pace) 4...Ëxg5
10 Êg1 Êh8! when White’s offside queen Ìxf6+ Ëxf6 5 Íxc6 Ìxc6 6 Ëd5+) 1...Íxg5 5 Ëf3+ Êg8 6 h4! Ëd8 (6...Ëxd5 7 Îe8+!
proves particularly problematic in the event (there just isn’t anything else; 1...0-0 can be also cleans Black up) 7 Îe7 Ëf8 8 Ëb3 1-0
of the possible finish 11 Îxf3 Ëxf3 met by 2 Ìe6 or even 2 Ìxe4 fxe4 3 Íxe4, Powerful play from Onischuk. Black is
12 Ìg2 Ìd4!. threatening 4 Ìxe7+ and 4 Ëh5) 2 Íxe4! fxe4 completely undone on the light squares.

August’s Studies Competition 1...Ìf6+! 2 Ìxf6 Îh8+ 3 Ìg8! 8...Êg6

And not 3 Êe7? Îa8 4 h5+ Êg5! 5 f8Ë Of course, if 8...Êxh6 9 Ìg8+.
Miles Patterson from Canberra wins a £30 Îxf8 6 Êxf8 Êxf6. 9 h7
voucher from Chess & Bridge. The solution: 3...Êh7 4 Êf8 Êg6 5 Êe7 Îh7 6 h5+ Êg5 First, and now White will queen, unlike
6...Êxh5 7 Ìf6+ is also winning. after 9 Ìg8? Îh7.
7 Ìf6 Îh8 9...Êg7 10 Ìg8
Jean Carf & Jaroslav Polášek
Hon. mention, Šachová Skladba, 2017-18
Solution to Crossword Competition

8 h6!
White to play and win Further precision, and not 8 Êe6? Îb8!
when White is unable to win after 9 Ìe8
1 Ìg8 Îb6+ 10 Êd7 Îb7+ 11 Ìc7 Îb8 12 Ìe8
1 f8Ë? Ìxf6+ 2 Êe7 Êh5 only draws. Îb7+ 13 Ìc7 Îb8.

This Month’s
New Releases
Nepomniachtchi: Move by Move Carlsen and Nepomniachtchi after the match observation is that “his name is unbelievably
Cyrus Lakdawala, 430 pages is that sales of the books featuring the difficult to memorize for spelling purposes.”
Everyman Chess defeated player are likely to suffer. Therefore, Chess writers have been getting away with
RRP £19.99 SUBSCRIBERS £17.99 it has to be acknowledged that it is a difficult this ever since Nepomniachtchi joined the
balance for publishers. world’s elite group of players. The ubiquitous
It was predictable that chess publishers As far as the challenger is concerned, Elk abbreviation to ‘Nepo’ is a symptom of
would time the release of their books about and Ruby were first out of the traps with their extreme laziness and another brick in the wall
Magnus Carlsen and Ian Nepomniachtchi to interesting Nail it Like Nepo!, which we of the dumbing down of literature. One
coincide roughly with the 2021 world chess reviewed in October. Everyman soon dreads to think how the internet crowd would
championship match. followed, not far behind at all, and it should have shortened the name of Botvinnik if they
There is one obvious problem with this come as no surprise that the task of writing had been around during his mercurial reign.
approach; the name of the winner is unknown the book fell to Everyman stalwart Cyrus Unfortunately, we are reduced to
at the time of publication and therefore Lakdawala. I have no idea how he manages to observations such as this: “Perhaps
marketing opportunities are, to some extent, write so much each year, especially as his influenced by the Buddha, Nepo stylishly
reduced. The timing also leads to some output is not confined to a single publisher, wears his hair in a man-bun.” Let’s face it; this
convoluted blurbs, such as: “Nepo is one of and once again the page count is high. is all rather lazy. Lakdawala does, however,
the very few players in the world to hold (at The introduction shows it is not so easy to provide an interesting comparison of the
least prior to the match) a plus score (four write about Nepomniachtchi’s life to date. He challenger and the champion over 19 key
wins to one with six draws) against Carlsen in tends to do his talking over the chess board, points. Carlsen comes out on top in most of
classical chess.” “loud and clear”. Lakdawala presents a small these, but the author favours
The problem with releasing books on number of basic facts, but his first Nepomniachtchi in matters such as attack

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and the initiative. In fact, he goes as far to The Magnus Method

say: “Nobody in the world is more lethal with Emmanuel Neiman, M.Carlsen-T.Radjabov
the initiative.” 320 pages, New in Chess Cap d’Agde (rapid) 2008
Nepomniachtchi’s chess career is covered RRP £24.95 SUBSCRIBERS £22.45
in the first three parts of the book (Prodigy: There have been numerous books on
2003-2009; Gathering Power: 2010-2018; Magnus Carlsen in recent years. What does
The Road to Magnus: 2019-2021), and then this one, with its extra-long streamline of
there is a chapter of puzzles from his games ‘The Singular Skills of the World’s Strongest
followed by a final chapter of well-annotated Chess Player Uncovered and Explained’, bring
solutions. to the table?
Readers should be familiar with the We find that “Emmanuel Neiman has been
Everyman Move by Move approach by now. studying Carlsen’s games and style of play for
Here, there are 61 annotated games, complete many years. He now presents his findings that
with questions to – and exercises for – the will surprise, delight and educate every
reader along the way. Lakdawala’s annotations player, regardless of their level.”
fluctuate between impressive and bizarre. Furthermore, “My goal as a trainer is to use
Commenting on an Exchange Queen’s Gambit Carlsen’s games, especially the areas in which
with 7 g4!?, he writes: “It was Jane Austen he is exceptional, to enable readers to use them
who pointed out that manners are the glue for themselves. I try to answer two questions:
which holds society together. If you aren’t 1. What does he bring to the game? 2. What 55 Ìxf4!
familiar with this line, then get prepared for a are the specific tools he uses?” “White falls for the trick and allows a small
Queen’s Gambit Exchange version like you There are 12 main chapters in the book, combination that wins a knight but loses the
have never seen it before.” with “each of them dealing with a specific game. The active king is no match for the
Nevertheless, the games are, indeed, ‘Magnus’ approach to one of the main phases opponent’s poorly-placed pieces. Magnus
instructive and the annotations keep of the game. In each chapter, we start with an loves to sacrifice a knight in the endgame,
everything accessible. I liked the 52-puzzle explanation of Magnus’ approach to the because he anticipates positions where the
‘What Would Nepo Do?’ chapter. We would all theme at hand. Next (with the exception of proud horse is just worth a pawn, as it has to
wish to play in similar style to a title the first two chapters), a series of diagrams is be sacrificed against a lone passer.”
contender and here is the chapter’s very first given. These diagrams show positions in Sure enough, after 55...Îe8+ 56 Ìe6+
position for you to try. which I recommend that you first try to find Îxe6+ 57 Êxe6 Ìf4+ 58 Êd6 Ìxd3
the required move yourself – what would you 59 Êc6 Ìc5 60 Êxb6 Ìxb3 61 c5
play here if you were Carlsen?” Black resigned.
H.Jonkman-I.Nepomniachtchi Some of the prose reads like it needed a In conclusion, the material is indeed
Wijk aan Zee 2007 polish, such as this woolly statement, extolling instructive, but one more stint polishing the
the vultures of Carlsen’s strength: “He is prose would have been appreciated.
probably the most dominant chess champion Sean Marsh
ever, together with Capablanca, Alekhine and
Karpov at their best – with the exception of
Kasparov, who stayed at the top for fifteen
years (1985-2000).” Of course, calling
someone “the most dominant” becomes diluted
immediately by adding four exceptions.
Here is another case in point: “Carlsen’s
chess culture is enormous, and he knows
practically everything about chess, having A Complete Opening Repertoire for
learned it mainly from books.” Does the Black after 1.d4 Ìf6 2.c4 e6!
author really mean “everything about chess” Volume 1: Nimzo-Indian
or is the inference that he means a couple of Dariusz Swiercz, 352 pages, paperback
specific aspects about chess? RRP £27.95 SUBSCRIBERS £25.15
The next quote shows up an element of This new repertoire from the Polish-
Work out Black’s forced mate in five laziness: “There are some experts, notably American GM begins in the first volume by
Botvinnik, Petrosian and Karpov, who have mapping out a repertoire for Black with the
I am sure you can sort this one out without developed concepts of how to play with Nimzo-Indian. The coverage is quite
needing me to quote the answer here. pawns in this or that structure (for example, theoretical at times, but Swiercz is also keen
the Spassky-Petrosian World Championship to discuss all the key strategic ideas. He does
Summing up, there will, no doubt, be books Match 1966, the Torre Attack).” Why not so in some depth at times, not least at the
offering a deeper examination of Nepomni- look up the game number (game seven) in start of each chapter, making this new work
achtchi’s life and games at some point in the order to make a more succinct reference? for Thinkers Publishing fully accessible to the
future. The appeal of this one is the accessibility The main material is what really matters, average club player.
and the fact that the book’s format will of course. Here, we find a plethora of very
definitely be familiar to most readers. Think of it interesting subject matters, presented as
as the ‘comfy slippers’ approach. neatly and instructively as you would imagine
Sean Marsh by a chess trainer.
Carlsen’s ability to work on the slightest
endgame opportunity is perhaps his career-
defining characteristic and there are plenty of
such examples to be found in this book,
including this one. It is Never Too Late to
Become a Grandmaster
Vladimir Okhotnik, 320 pages, paperback
Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê RRP £29.95 SUBSCRIBERS £26.95

December 2021
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Thinkers Publishing are always busy, but a number of new and forgotten ideas for studied all Bronstein’s games ahead of their
have been especially so of late, these pages Black in what is likely to be indispensable world championship match, experienced
featuring no fewer than six new releases from coverage for all serious Alekhine practitioners. grandmaster Colovic decided to examine the
them. Former Ukrainian Champion Okhotnik play of six rising American stars. By looking at
now plays under the French flag and won the the games of the Sinquefield-supported
2011 World Senior Championship, so clearly generation, he aims to reveal how they
knows something about staying sharp and improved, as well as the preferences and
even improving at chess late in life. In this strengths of each player. Along the way
very personal account, Okhotnik’s love of Colovic provides plenty of practical pointers
chess shines through, with the majority of the whilst uncovering much of interest in the play
book devoted to his most memorable games, of John Burke, Akshat Chandra, Awonder Liang,
all of which are annotated in some detail and The Modernized Open Ruy Lopez Sam Sevian, Andrew Tang and Jeffery Xiong.
many of which are quite inspirational. Milos Pavlovic, 160 pages, paperback
RRP £21.95 SUBSCRIBERS £19.75
Regular readers will be aware of the
creativity of Milos Pavlovic and, like in so
many of his books and articles, here he strives
to uncover new paths in the Open Lopez.
Pavlovic’s coverage only really begins after 1
e4 e5 2 Ìf3 Ìc6 3 Íb5 a6 4 Ía4 Ìf6 5
0-0 Ìxe4 6 d4 b5 7 Íb3 d5 8 dxe5 Íe6 The Vienna Gambit for the Club Player
The Best Endgames of the World Colin Payne & Mike Read,
and is pretty theoretical at times. This work
Champions Volume 1: from Steinitz to Tal 216 pages, paperback
should be of interest to all fans of the Open
Karsten Müller, 236 pages, paperback RRP £11.99 SUBSCRIBERS £10.79
Lopez, as well as stronger players who find
RRP £24.95 SUBSCRIBERS £22.45 This self-published work sees club player
themselves having to fight against this both
German Grandmaster Karsten Müller Colin Payne take a detailed look at his favourite
forcing and unbalanced choice.
remains arguably the world’s leading expert Vienna Gambit. Written with a view to both
on the endgame. Here he focusses on those presenting some interest new ideas from the
particular endgame skills with which he engines and introducing other club players to 1
associates each of the world champions. As e4 e5 2 Ìc3 Ìf6 3 f4, Payne’s enthusiasm is
such, the reader gets to see Steinitz making clear and much of the analysis of interest. The
fine use of the bishop-pair, Alekhine attacking book even suggests that after 3...d5, White can
even late in the game and Botvinnik consider 4 exd5, as well as the standard 4 fxe5,
impressing with his long-range planning. In while each chapter contains an illustrative game
Müller’s company it is hard not to enjoy the annotated in some depth by the strong
many classic endgames within, some of which The Silicon Road to Chess Improvement
correspondence IM Mike Read.
may be new even to fans of each world Matthew Sadler, 560 pages, paperback
champion. Usefully there are also a number of RRP £26.95 SUBSCRIBERS £24.25
exercises to solve in this new work from Any work by Matthew Sadler is likely to be
Bavarian publishers Joachim Beyer Verlag. notable, as well as prove popular, and his latest
There is also a companion work, which is highly work is arguably his most interesting yet. Since
recommended too, The Best Endgames of the becoming involved with AlphaZero, Sadler has
World Champions Volume 2: from Petrosian to become quite an expert on the leading chess
Carlsen. This runs to 236 pages, while retailing engines, most of which these days are, of
at £24.95 or just £22.45 for Subscribers. course, now at least part built on deep-
learning techniques. In short, Sadler has Your Jungle Guide to
channelled his vast experience of the TCEC and Unbalancing Your Opponents
working with most of the top engines into this Dorsa & Borna Derakhshani,
fascinating book. There is much to learn from 408 pages, paperback
Sadler and the engines, not just from a training RRP £28.95 SUBSCRIBERS £26.05
and opening perspective, but also on the Both FM Borna, in the UK where he plays
middlegame. Chapters include ones on how for Wood Green in the 4NCL, and WGM
the engines handle closed structures, as in the Dorsa, in the USA where she studies at Saint
French, their use of rooks along the third rank, Louis University, are popular players who
The Modernized Alekhine Defense
pawn sacrifices and especially the advance of have made a name for themselves. They are
Christian Bauer, 544 pages, paperback
the rook’s pawn, as made famous by not just both quite dynamic in style and also great
RRP £30.95 SUBSCRIBERS £27.85
Simon Williams, but also AlphaZero. We’ll have fighters at the board, perhaps unsurprisingly
The strong French GM Christian Bauer
a full review next month. considering how they’ve had to relocate from
clearly likes being provocative with his
their native Iran. The siblings combine to
knights, having previously penned The
present a number of useful “Tips & Tricks” in
Modernized Nimzovich Defense for Thinkers
their debut and often highly original work.
Publishing. Here his attention is on a different,
Practical as well as often neglected subjects
famous early knight development, 1 e4 Ìf6.
tend to dominate, including very handy
Bauer clearly enjoys playing the Alekhine and
advice offered on how to prepare, when to
presents pretty detailed coverage of it,
grab material, how to find ways to keep
examining along the way more than one way
grinding and on the psychology of the game.
for Black to handle White’s critical lines. As
such, both 5...exd6 and 5...cxd6 are analysed The Sinquefield Chess Generation:
in the Exchange variation, while after 2 e5 Young Guns at Work
Ìd5 3 d4 d6 4 Ìf3 pretty much every Alex Colovic, 274 pages, paperback
option receives some coverage, not least RRP £26.95 SUBSCRIBERS £24.25
4...g6, 4...dxe5 and 4...Íg4. Bauer uncovers Inspired by the manner in which Botvinnik

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