This the very first book to focus exclusively on Hikaru Nakamura. the greatest American chess Also available: player since the legendary Robert James Fischer. The book features a prologue penned by Lubosh MtlCHAJ.CHISHIN STETSKO Kavalek, who was none other than Bobby's insider Adrian Mikhalchishin and supporter at the "match of the century" against and Oleg Stetsko Boris Spassky in 1972. Fighting Chess with Magnus Carlsen That up to now there have been no books on His Best Games annotated by Hikaru Nakamura is nothing less than astonishing, Adrian Mikhalchishin and Oleg given the fact that he is firmly established in the Stetsko. Translated and edited United States as the legitimate successor to the by Ken Neat. eleventh world champion. the great Robert James 280 pp with many diagrams. Fischer. At the very least, this has been the case ISBN 978-3-283-01020-1 since his sensational triumph at the traditional Wijk aan Zee chess festival -on 30 January 2011 in Boris Gelfand Holland, where he finished ahead of reigning world My Most Memorable Games 261 pages with numerous diagrams. champion Viswanathan Anand. · ISBN 978 - 3-283-00453-8 In this . book, grandmaster Karsten Muller from Hamburg and chess journalist Raymond Stolze Anatoly Karpov My Best Games from Berlin document the 24-year-old's fascin.a"t- With a Foreword by Igor Zaitsev. 295 pages with ing journey to the top of world chess. Interestingly, many diagrams. ISBN 978-3-283-01002-7 Hikaru was not a typical child prodigy, and at his first Junior World Championships didn't even make it onto the winners· podium . But he won a World Cup medal aged just 13 and since then he has been creating true miracles. Victor Korchnoi My best Games In ten chapters, the authors focus on the main rea- Updated and revised sons for the success of Nakamura, who, like arch- anniversary edition . rival Magnus Carlsen, was coached for nearly a Two volumes in one. year by Garry Kasparov. Translated and edited by Ken Neat. 435 pages with In addition to an exclusive interview, of special in- numerous diagrams. terest are contributions by prominent chess greats, ISBN 978-3-283-01019-5 such as three-time U.S. national champion Lubosh Kavalek. Kavalek has been following Hikaru's as- Victor Korchnoi cent to the summit of chess at close range. Which Chess is my Life is why he is ideally placed to deliver a reliable ver- With a Preface by Garry Kasparov and a Foreword by dict on this exceptional player. Many chess fans Sergey Ivanov. Including a CD-Rom with his complete admire Hikaru Nakamura's furious attacking talent, games (in ChessBase format) . 226 pages with and w ish him all the best for a successful career. numerous photos and diagrams. ISBN 978-3-283-00406-4 www.hikarunakamura.com EDITION OLMS ZURICH EDITION OLMS ZURICH www. e d iti o n-o I ms.com www. e d iti on-o I ms.com Muller/Stolze • Fighting Chess with Hikaru Nakamura ProgressiifCfiess Volume 32 of the ongoing series Editorial board GM Victor Korchnoi GM Helmut Pfleger GM Nigel Short GM Rudolf Teschner 2012 EDITION OLMS m Karsten Muller Raymund Stolze FIGHTING CHESS WITH HIKARU NAKAMURA An American Chess Career in the Footsteps of Bobby Fischer Prologue by Lubosh Kavalek Translated by Ian Adams and edited by Ken Neat 2012 EDITION OLMS m . For that reason in 2007 he was awarded the title of "Trainer of the Year" by the German Chess Federation. electrostatic. D-79104 Freiburg ISBN13: 978-3-283-01023-2 . photocopying. in 1963 he was junior champion of East Berlin. electronic. Picture credits: Ray Morris Hill./ZOrich. T his work is protected by copyright. S. detailed bibliografic data is available on the Internet at http://dnb.de.com Internet: www.Die Due/le der Schachwelt meister von Steinitz bis Kasparow (The fight for the throne . without prior permission of the publisher. T hus. Bibliographical Information published by T he Deutsche Nationalbibliothek T he Deutsche Nationalbibliothek lists this publication in the Deutsche Nationalbibliografie. D-49624 Loningen Cover: N iklas WeiB. D-14059 Berlin Printed by: Druckerei Friedr. No part of this publication may be reproduced. In addition he is much appreciated as a successful coach of up-and-coming young players. Switzerland E-mail: info@edition-olms. for example. Printed in Germany Printed on acid-free and ageing-resistant paper Editor: Ken Neat Translator: Ian Adams Typeset: Arno N ickel· Edition Marco. London Copyright © 2012 Edition Olms AG Willikonerstr. A former editor-in-chief of the renowned Sportverlag Berlin. Schmucker GmbH. the former trainer of World Champion Mikhail Tai. who developed and published a three-volume series of manuals with Alexander Koblencs.com All rights reserved.com.4 @ The authors: Karsten Muller (born 1970). 10 · CH-8618 Oetwil a.d-nb. in the mid-1980s and it became a best-seller and went through several editions. A doctor of mathematics. magnetic tape. A qualified economist. si nce 2003 he has been responsible for the chess book section of EDITION OLMS. he himself was a very successful chess player. recording or otherwise.edition-olms. Raymund Stolze (born 1945) wrote his first chess book Umkiimpfte Krone . he is an internationally recognised endgame expert. has played for Hamburg SK in the Bundesliga since 1988 and has twice taken third place in the German individual championships (1996 and 1997). stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means. who not only writes mainly English language books on this subject but who also authors training DV Ds for ChessBase and is responsible for the endgame columns in ChessBase Magazine as well as the internet site ChessCafe.duels of chess world champions from Steinitz to Kasparov). ..... ............M.. . . 18th January 2011. -V.. . ... 105 . Ponomariov 98 The tactical pro . (London 201 0) 71 [22] V... ... ... ... ......... . ............. ... ..... . 7 Prologue (Lubosh Kavalek) . .. 33 Wijk aan Zee. 97 O Chapter IV .. Howell (London 201 0) 77 ZWISCHENZOGE (Kris Littlejohn) .. ..Reminiscences of a chess game . . ........Hikaru's rise to the heights ..... . ... . .. ...... .... ... .. . ....... ... (Turin 2006) 21 (7] N..... ... ...... ........ .. .. 80 O Chapter 3 ..... . . (Seattle 200 1 ) 13 (3] N..... .. De Firmian (San Francisco 2002) 15 (4] N.. Anand-N.. Stellwagen (Oropesa d...-A..... ...... .. . ... ...........A.......... 16th January 2011........Anand-N..... -M..... .......... ........ ..... .......Endgame test . 84 Flying high with endgame skills ......... Kramnik ( Dortmund 201 1 ) 67 [20] V.... ..... ........ . ..... Grischuk 33 Apprenticeship or the American way to success .. .. 56 Wijk aan Zee..... .... ....... ...... . ... ... ..... 17th January 2011.......As Hikaru Nakamura's second .. .. 62 A) Developing a repertoire 62 B) His score in the openings 64 (1 8] N..... F. .... ... .... ..N.. .. (Wijk aan Zee 201 0) 74 [24] S...... ... .. .. ...... ........ 2000) 48 (1 5] N...E... ..... .... .... . ............. .... Samsonkin-N.. V itiugov.. ...... .. ..... ....M. .. Carlsen (Oslo 2009) 30 O Chapter 1 ..... ..... ....... . Tahi rov (Oropesa d.......... .. . lvanchuk. ................... ...... -N.. 1 999) 43 (1 3] N. ......... .... ...... .........N........... .. 98 Wljk aan Zee. ... ........N........... . .......... Aronian.. ........ ..... . . ......... ........... ct:J 5 Contents About this book . . ....... . ....Adams (London 201 0) 65 (1 9] N. 10 (1] N......D...... . .... ..-B.. 15th....... Karjakin (Cuernavaca 2004) 18 (5] N... ...... ........... ........ ..N............... .... Round 2 (1 6] L. . . Round 3 (1 7] N...... 53 O Chapter 2 .. .......... ..... ... ................ ... ... -S...... .... . Round 4 (2 7] A................. .......... 87 A) Pawn endings 89 B) Rook endings 90 C) Calculation 95 ZWISCHENZOGE ...... .. . Round 5 (28] N. ....... .... .......Tactics test .. ....... .. 84 Wijk aan Zee.. 100 ZWISCHENZOGE . ... . ....... 200 1 ) 50 ZWISCHENZOGE (Bettina Trabert) ... . ..... . Barron (Toronto 2009) 28 (1 O] N. ...................-M... .. ......... ...... . ............... .... .........-A... . ........N....... .-1. ( Reggio Emilia 201 1 ) 76 (26] N.. . .... . ....January 2011........ .. ..M. .......... (Toronto 2009) 27 [9] N.. ... ............ .... Predojevic (Oropesa d....... ... .M. (Sao Paulo/Bilbao 201 1 ) 70 (2 1 ] V.. . .. .. .......... ....N..... ............. ........ Macieja-N..... 36 (1 2] N... .... .. ...... .. .... ...... . ... ...... .. ...... Smirin ( Foxwoods 2005) 19 [6] B.......... 1 999) 45 (1 4] N... . . ..... . ..... .. -0.. . (Bazna 201 1 ) 75 C) Best novelties 76 [25] N.. .. ...... ... Tomashevsky (Oropesa d.. . ............ ... 20th January 2011........ Round 1 (1 1 ] N.. Smeets...... ........ . .. Giri ........ ....... ...... ..................... .. .... ( Reggio Emilia 201 2) 72 (23] J.. ..... . Karjakin.. .. .. ...... .......... . .... ....... Epishin (Gibraltar 200 7) 25 [8] A. .... . .. Shirov 58 The magic of openings .. ........ . .... .-V........ Adu (Washington 1 999) 11 (2] Ni Hua-N. .............. 56 Wijk aan Zee..-D.. .. . -M... ... ....... ...... ..... .. .. ... ... ....... .. .. lbragimov (San Diego 2004) 114 D Chapter 6 ... Gelfand-N.. Round 10 [39) N. .... Bisguier-N...... ...... 177 Wijk aan Zee... ... . ..... . .......... 215 Appendix Solutions . . .. .....In Bobby Fischer's footsteps ...a short repertoire a la Nakamura ... ... .... ... .. Kramnik-N.. .... ................. ...... ... . .... 228 Index of openings .. ..... (Barcelona 200 7) 198 [44) B.... ..... . .............. ...... ...... .. . .... ... Carlsen ... ... .... . ... 141 The sky's the limit . ........ ..... ......... .. ... .. .. . . ........ 223 Rating development and world ranking of Hikaru Nakamura ..... .. ...N... . .... .... . .. 125 Wijk aan Zee.. . 173 D Chapter 9 .. . . 30th January 2011. ....... ... 140 Wijk aan Zee.. . ... ............... .... 186 D Chapter 1 0 Hikaru Nakamura's best games .....-J. ... .... .... . .. .. .. .. ...... .... ...... ... .. . . . . ....... .. .....-V.... .. .... . ........... .... .. .. .. ..... .. ... 183 His great love the King's Indian .. ..... . ... ...... .... ... 144 [35) N. .... ............... . .. . ....... .. ........ .. Round 8 [34] M. . ..... ......... (New Jersey 1 998) 112 [32) N..Kramnik 181 Wijk aan Zee....... .... ... . . ............... Round 6 [29] E......... . . Round 13 [42) Wang Hao-N... .... . .. ........ . .. ..... ..... .... .. ....... ..... . (Wijk aan Zee 201 2) 154 D Chapter 8 .......Anand 158 Wijk aan Zee... ... ....... (London 201 1 ) 209 Epilogue .. .. .. Krasenkow-N.... ... .. ... ... . . ... ... Round 7 [33) N......... ............. .... ... .. (Amsterdam 2009) 203 [46) V. ............ ........ ........... .. .. .-A..... .. . ... ... ........... ...-M. . . . .... ... . .. ... .... .................. .......... . . .-V. .. ......... ..... ... .. Round 12 [4 1 ) N.. . . .. ..... .... ....... ........ Beliavsky-N... ........... ...... . .. ... .. . ..-A. . .. .. .. ....... ... .. . . 230 ..... 106 Wijk aan Zee.. . Aronian-N. .-J.... . .......... .......... ... ....... ... . . ..... ... . . ..6~ D Chapter 5 . ...Vachier-Lagrave 160 The Gambler .. ....... 109 [30) N.. .... ............. . ..... .. . .......... 157 Wijk aan Zee.. . (Bursa 201 0) 201 [45) A.. ..... ... . .. . ............. ..... 129 D Chapter 7 ... ... .... 21st January 2011. ... . ...... 106 No victory without a struggle ... ..... ...... .. ...... . . .... ..... .. ....Smeets 126 Hikaru Nakamura in an exclusive interview .. .... . ...... L'Ami ..... ...-1.... ....... .... Giri (Reggio Emilia 201 2) 151 [37) L........ ... .. ........ (London 201 0) 206 [4 7] V......... 198 [43) M.... . . ......... ....... 22nd January 2011. . ....... .. ..................... . ........ ... ....... ...... . .. .... .... .. Bonin (New York 1 99 7) 110 [31 ) A....... .... . ....... .... .. ... .... 219 Important Tournaments. Morozevich (Reggio Emilia 201 2) 150 [36) N. ..... ...Anand-N..... .... ....N........ ........ ..... .. .. .... .. .............. ....... ... .. ... ... ... ..... ...... .. . .. . Round 11 [40) l. .. . ... ..... . .... 227 Index of games .......... . ....... ..... . ... ..... .. .......... . .. . ... . .Nepomniachtchi -N... ... . ...... . 176 Wijk aan Zee. ...... . .......... ...... ..... .... ....... ... .......... . ... ... ...... ..... ... .. . .......... 29th January 2011.. . ... ............ ...... 229 Bibliography ... ........ .. . Matches and Team Competitions .. ..... .. . . .......... ...... 1 :58 ... ..... ..... ...... .. .. 28th January 2011... .. . 26th January 2011. . .. ..... ...Nakamura plays blitz ............... ........ 23rd January 2011. .. . .. .. . .. ..... . .. . ...... . ..... ..... .. ........ 25th January 2011.. . ........ ... . 164 ZWISCHENZUGE ...... ..... ..... ... Round 9 [38) N... ... .... .... dear president of FIDE Max Euwe.1 ordinary sporting career. Levon Aronian and Vladimir he plays to win". In it he sensationally stole the show did not appear.at that point. When in the spring of 2011 we began our After his triumph in Wijk aan Zee. Magnus Carlsen. we placed our trust of chess. ltJ 7 About this book "To be really good in chess you must love the game. at the Tata Steel Tournament 2011 in the stable chess development of our he is well on his way to storming the ap "hero" . T he challenger was even festival in the Netherlands in Wijk aan Zee in able to afford a loss in a game for which he 2011. ''The Spirit of Saint Louis''. because his "chess tech from the then top four players in the FIDE nique bordered on the miraculous.1 7 . 1 0. ment of the ex-world champion and then It must be made absolutely clear. On the Who is this new American hope. that Mecca research for this project. and of course nathan Anand. the world top ten for the first time. is his Boris Spassky the slightest chance in his magnificent victory in the traditional chess 12¥2-8¥2 victory. reader. For the first time has reached the very top of the chess world. He plays world ranking list. documenting the Our own most important goal was to be as 1 See New in Chess 7/201 1 . who at the century in Reykjavik in Iceland the 29-year age of two moved with his brother Asuka and old never gave the Russian title defender their mother from Japan to the USA. Viswa quite a simple game of chess." Robert James Fischer 3rd September 1972 is a truly historic date fascinating way in which the now 24-year-old in the history of chess. because Hikaru Nakamura him 1972 the same is being said increasingly self will certainly want to write that one day. we could not have been pre came to chess almost by chance at the age dicted the totally amazing events which of seven.Robert James Fischer. who other hand. for example his training col managed to be counted amongst the very laboration with Garry Kasparov. often about Christopher Hikaru Nakamura. was the enthusiastic com Kramnik. So what we are presenting about the first nine months of his coopera you with is an exciting chronicle of an extra tion with the 13th world champion. who published an in timate successor to the legendary Robert terview by Macauley Peterson with Nakamura James Fischer. and how has this youngster now would follow. pp. that you should not be expecting a Four decades after the Icelandic saga of biography. he was in any case in proaches to the chess summit. In the match of the discovery with Hikaru Nakamura. which was best players in the world? first reported in the autumn of the same year It comes as a great surprise that as yet by the editor-in-chief of New in Chess Dirk there is not a single book about this legi Jan ten Geuzendam. there is an American chess world champion The start and finish of this journey of . He is considered the greatest American chess hope since Bobby Fischer. .8 � About this book At Wljk aan Zee in 20 11 Hikaru Nakamura stole the show from the established world elite. Arno Nickel and Ken in Dortmund for the Sparkassen Chess Neat. About this book 9 authentic as possible. For this reason. To represent them. Fischer during the analysis of the adjourned It is a pleasure to mention some of the 13th game. Hamburg and Honow/Berlin Dr. this is Meeting. example. when he was then a small pest tournament organiser Laszlo Nagy nine-year-old boy taking the first steps on his helped us with some detailed facts about career in chess. was an absolute piece of good other comrades-in-arms. mention here the four times unofficial 'bullet' During our researches we discovered world champion Roland Schmaltz and Mar quite by chance that Bettina Trabert was the tin Fischer. as in fact Kavalek. but very than just a journalistic interest. for his commitment and were aiming for. haye read it. are extremely thorough. who like Hikaru is a three could never have achieved the quality we time US champion. The Buda 1997 on Hawaii. who not only since the 1970s and who has of course went through our catalogue of questions followed the rise of Nakamura with more during the conversation with Hikaru. Her score sheet that we Nakamura's tournament results in Hungary. and we hope that we questions were: when and where? And once will once more prove him correct. since in July however firmly convinced of this. But the all-important dence in this project. Zaubern wie Schach keen to have an interview with Hikaru Naka weltmeister Michail Tai. The problem of course was how to easier said than done. he also made contact with Kris choice of Lubosh. let us cooperation. publish therefore becomes a document of Our very special thanks are due to the inestimable value. who after the first It was also quite clear that we were very book we wrote together. who gave us considerable help first German to meet Hikaru. We are again chance came to our aid. had complete confi mura for this book. at a very early stage we requested And what if things were not working out for a prologue for this book from Lubomir Nakamura as well as he imagined. Once you professionally handled this dream interview.2 And of course we are extremely prompt answers and suggestions our project grateful to him. However. for get an appointment during the tournament. who has been extremely well happened? The solution was head press acquainted with the American chess scene officer Georgios Souleidis. publisher Manfred Olms. whom we have to thank for the overnight from World Championship re interesting viewpoints of an extraordinary porter in Reykjavik to the second of Bobby second. pp. without whose fortune. who was once promoted Littlejohn.. see in KARL 1/2012 the article .39 and 40. not least 2011 our much sought-after interviewee was because our editors. Karsten MOiier Raymund Stolze 2 For the cooperation between Lubomir Kavalek and Robert James Fischer. on 17th April with the chapter 'The gambler''. you will certainly agree that our In addition. .Eine tschechoslowakisch-amerikanische Biografie". The only one missing was the G e r The similarities are amazi ng.g. was able to decide the bl itz chess play-off But in any case why should anyone in his favou r by 2-0. Thus R uslan Pono If he does. the fi nal week. in the ter stroke of Capablanca and becom e last th ree rou nds Naka m u ra was si mply world champion i n 201 9 o r even earl ier? unable to avoid d raws. Ten years later he them were invited late o n . world. both made a would defeat Emanuel Lasker i n the World fast and furious start with five points out of Championship match in H avana and earn six games and both scored a mere 50% in for h i mself the m uch coveted world crow n . upstanding young man who world champion Anatoly Karpov. . Carl Schlachter and Siegbert Tarrasch. in 1 9 1 1 . Capablanca came in first i n a upward path i n the same coastal town in field consisti ng of the best players i n the the Basq ue country. the Cuban Jose Raul Capa received a special prize from Baron Roth blanca had undertaken the same journey sch ild for the most beautiful one in the in o rder to set his chess career on its real tou rnament. but Nakam u ra c rowning fi nish to an incredible story. Both of man world champion . Aaron N imzowitsch. but who neverthe- 1 Donostia is the Basque name for San Sebastian. 2 Originally the only players invited were those who had won an international master level tou rnament in the previous decade or who had at least occupied fou rth place on two occasions. Frank Marshall. 2 But the C u ban not only national all-play-all tou rnament i n San defeated h i m i n the very fi rst round but did Sebastian. The participants included e. He ended conveys the i mpression that chess is not up i n last place . Almost a hundred years previ so in such a brill iant manner that the game ously. as the worst tou rnament resu lt for ex easy-goi n g .10 <ti PROLOGUE Hikaru's rise to the heights Bv LusosH l<AvALEK I champion H i karu Naka m u ra crossed the n the early summer of 2009 the U S Capablanca had been i nvited to the 1 9 1 1 tou rnament despite the objections of Atlantic and won his fi rst i mportant inter Ossip Bernste i n . The organisers made an exception only for the Cuban. very important for him . that would nat u rally be the mariov caught up with him . Akiba Rubinstein. The 2009 Donostia 1 consider Naka m u ra to be the king of the Chess Festival also went down in history world of chess? Who is this self-confident. Whereas Capablanca was Will H i raku Naka m u ra repeat t h i s mas suffering from a high tempe rature . His family lived in which is u nclear according to Kasparov..txf& ! ? ( I CJ ) .. a h u man rights o rganisation . the q uickest rousing attacks. but we never met.tc6 . a chess master from Sri Lanka. . .. where his father Lucien worked in the I nternational Com mission of J u rists 1 2 .'ifg3 . Adu - After I left my native country (Czechoslo Eastern Open . I was invited by Sicilian Defence [882] Alois Nagler.te3 . His playing style is developing wel l . After the end of the Olympiad I was 1 o . . this agg ressive style of Su nil's. before he moved to the GAM E l States. I did this job for the first 9.tt:Jf3 d6 3. gxf6 1 3.d4 cxd4 4.tt:Jc3 a6 6. . . who lived with his family in Switzerland.te3 tt:Jf6 8. to take charge of the 1 .td6 1 4 . C .fxeS dxe5 1 3 . . 1 999 vakia) in August 1 968.. . Shortly after tu rning twelve he a marked will to win .te7 . . Su nil was also on that list. I n a sharp Najdorf striving for steadiness? Sicilian Hikaru b roke through with a Perhaps he e mbodies all of that and b reath-taking knight and queen sacrifice. in effi into victory? I s he a gambler o r is he cient and elegant style.'t!Vf3 "ikc7 piad in Lugano. G arry Kaspa legendary Estonian g randmaste r Paul rov also suggested the preparatory 1 O. a Nigerian interna transforms slight endgame advantages tional master who lives in the USA.f5 .txd4 . H . g 1 . l:. eS!? Swiss players . 1 2 . who would mercilessly h u nt down his Naka m u ra improved q uickly: in 1 999 at opponent's king? Or is he the man with the the ju nior world championships for u nder- first-rate backhand . Geneva. It is no wonder that the chess player in the world? Is he the young Hikaru appears to have in herited agg ressive player we saw in his youth. It would be hard to overstate Sunil's role. Hikaru's rise to the heights ctJ 11 less loves and lives this game which he loved to storm inexorably forward and to learned when he was still a small boy? sweep his opponents off the board with Is he the nimble a rtist.td7 1 0.0-0-0 .tc6 asked to look after some of the best young Black takes fright at the idea of 1 1 . Washington. who relentlessly defeated Oladapo Ad u . the patient tige r with 1 2s he was one of the players with the the sharp claws who beats off attacks and hig hest Elo rating and at the age of ten he lie s in wait for the fatal strike? O r is he the had al ready earned the title of USC F warrior who is in there for the long run with M aste r. Keres. reflected in the motto : "Never retreat!" He 1 2 . even m uch more . .f4 tt:Jc6 7 . . Sunil Weeramantry. . Su nil Hikaru i s planning t o work u p p ressu re later became one of the best school chess against the e6-pawn. D . White's game is trainers in the USA. It was about this tim e too that the phase For his g reat p rog ress in his early years began in which he would gain 200 Elo Hiraku can than k above all his step-father points within the subsequent two years ..e4 cs 2. .g4 ! ? week before the task was taken on by the Hiraku attacks immediately.tt:Jxd4 e6 Swiss national team at the Chess Olym s. Nakamura 0. tt:Jxd4 1 1 . the president of the Swiss Chess Federation .. . . c6 and b8 sim u ltaneously..c4! White wins.l:.exd7 'ifc6 36 . .tiJhS 'it'b7 ? ! Black h a s p roblems in a n y case.xf6 Willy-nilly Black m ust accept this sacrifice. Ji. as 1 e. queen is overloaded and can no longer 35 . . 'ti' h6+ 'it>g8 37.l:tg 1 l:lxg 1 1 5 .c4 :ca 20. 'iixf6 ! ! Ji.l:t. .i::tg 5 which was lin ked to it.'ii'd 2 .d5 ! .'ii'f 7 mate .'ii'g 7+ 'it> e7 33. but White 'ii'b 7 21 . .l:. 31 . 30 Ji. . the kingside.'ii' h 6..c4 b5 1 5 . 'iii>f B 29.xf6 27. 'iff7+! . . exd5 1 6 .litg 1 +.l:the1 l:tgS 23.e6 Ji.b3 An obvious pawn b reakth rou g h . .f6 he White has at his disposal the b rilliant m ust look on helplessly as White deci stroke of genius 30.xd5 1 6 . . b5 1 5. but this queen move allows a p retty combinatio n . .d7 •. 'ii'e 7? 1 4 .h4 :xg4 30. 25.fxg7+ 'it>xg7 34. Suddenly his king be 'it>f6 comes open to attack.Ji. This knight sacrifice rips the black position 32. Ji..exd7 . .'ii'e 2 :be 22.exf6+ 'iii>f 8 33.xh4 32. 'iie 6 .'ife5+ This p uts the bishop on the correct 'iii> f8 35.Ji. . Ji.4Jxf6+! 32.Ji.l:.xg 1 Ji.eS! 17 . h4 litxg4 29.12 � Prologue If 1 3 . exd5 28.'it'd6+ 'iie 7 36. If Black hides in the corner with 34 . 7d6 'ifc7 37. .4Jg3 29. 1 4 . The passive 3 1 . and he wil l go on to delive r mate . .the black sively advances his kingside pawns.Ji.f6 Ji. Ji.b3 b4 1 6. This p revents 25.:e7+ apart completely. 'it>b1 a4 1 9. .ha 35 ..a6 ! ! . . .h3 also had to see the p retty q ueen sacrifice 'ii'd 7 24.Ji.cs 33. 26 .e7 then he has no cou nterplay and after After 27 .g7 28 .. exd5 e5 1 7.ea 34. then p rotect e7.l:. exf7#. 'ifxe5 f6 o r comes under intense p ressu re after After 28 . .l:.Ji.. Black either loses after 1 5 .g7 P reventing any cou nterplay for Black on P revents 30. for example: 33 . Ji. 30.4Je4. .d 1 ! 1 4.l:. diagonal .. 31 .xf7 34.4Je2 e5 1 7.'ii'x d6 Ji. 'it> hB.fB leads to a nice mate : 26. . complicated for Hikaru. The alternatives 1 9 .l:t dxd7?? Hikaru in action . "No. 38 . Ni H ua steered an B lack resigned. a5 or after a major earthq uake on 28th Febru 1 9 .�d7+ 'it>f8 "Has he a trainer?" I asked his step 40. alone at perfecting his chess.tt:Jxd4 tt:Jf6 Hikaru to the lions.tt:Ja4 'i'a5 1 3.h4 b4 H ua. . 'it> e5 37.1 9 victory for China was N i Hua .. because he 37. 'it>f6 could trust completely. Seattle 200 1 philosopher Sun Tsu : "The opportu nity to defeat o u r opponent is p rovided by the Sicilian Defence [880] opponent himself. In March 200 1 the 1 3-year-old Hikaru played on the j u nior board for the USA in GAME 2 their s u mmit encounter with China.'iif3 36. in the form of the far 5. 3 Sun Tzu. 'it> b2 a3 mate . "He j u st has the computer. .g4 h6 more experienced and fou r years older Ni 9. 'it>f4 The variation was obviously still too 38.China. father.0-0-0 tlJbd7 1 1 . 'it> xf5 too Hikaru Nakam u ra worked more or less 37 . ..te3 e6 7. Nakamura provided more than 2500 years ago by the Match USA . bxa4 d5 1 7. which attempt to open ways through to the black su rprisingly was still completely intact king at any p rice . The Chinese player profited above 1 2.e5 tt:Jd7 team. f7+ 'it> e5 39 . 2008 and other editions. The script for the 2 1 . Penguin Classics.tb7 1 0.g5+ 'it>g7 39. .e7+ and 37 .f6. and White has woven a mating net." 3 The US team th rew 1 . was battling unsuccessfully in a tricky 35 . This was the first time I had seen Black... 'iie4? ! variation of the English Attack in the Scheveningen System of the Sicilia n . almost error-free course th rough various swamps.H .tt:Jf3 d6 3. I This hastens the e n d . H e defeated Hikaru three times and 1 8.f3 b5 8. After I had seen how he 'ii h 1 + 36 .lie7+.h4 'i'c3 book variation. b3 tt:Jcs 1 4..d4 cxd4 4.. but other q ueen wondered why a 1 3-year-old boy was moves do nothing to save Black in the long following such a long and complicated term .axb4 'i'c7 1 6. . . The Art of War.e4 c5 2.l:. .. he works on his own .a3 tt:Jxa4 all from the age difference and was the one to take the most points from the US 1 5.td3 o r 36 .g5+! 'it>xg5 Su nil ." Later Black loses his queen after 36 . h3 seem to be less dangerous for a ry. Hikaru's rise to the heights ctJ 13 Of cou rse White m ust avoid 35 .. " replied 36. (see next diagram) The match was staged on the 1 7th floor of the elegant Harbor C l u b with its splen This is Alexander G rischuk's courageous did view over the skyline of Seattle.i:!.f5 ! ? only conceded one d raw.l:t7d3 'li'e5 38 . . l:.'li'd2 . . . 37. for example: 35 .f4 tlJb6 1 9.l:tg4+. .tt:Jc3 a6 6 .�g 1 + found it difficult to find anyone whom he Wh ite wins the q ueen after both 37 . . . tt:'lc4 . . tt:'lxc7 i.xe7 25.a3 mate. I n the The usual move is 23. and Black 42 . but played 20. able a b ril liant but narrow route to a d raw: I n the game G risch u k-l b ragimov.e7 i. :!xh6 3 1 .xb4 23. But now White did not t ry the 24. Black played 25 . for exa m p l e i. . Nakamu ra was 27. The game means of 28.f8 28.<it>d 1 'ii'c 4 29.i.'ii'f 5 tt:'le4+ 27. .g7+.l:r.f8.gxh6 o r to 20. in which a d raw was ag reed after i.'i!Vxf7 2000. 20. l:txg6 i.tt:'le6+ <it'd? dangerous-looking 29.xc 1 38.b4. df1 +. . . . l:te6! 32 .d5 26. 'i!kc4+ 3 1 .xe4 dxe4 1 9 .:h2 'ii'd 4+ . d 6 . .e6? 'ikxd5 29 .xg6 33. l:. .<ifi'd 1 !? 'ika5 30. l:.l:td8! 1 999.tt:'le6 (29.. f8 ! ) 29 .l:. 'ili'e6+ <ifi>h7 'ii'a 1 + 37 . <it>e2 'i!Vc4+. .�e1 'ifc3+.'iff5+ <it>b8 27.'ii'd 2 'ii' g 3+ 4 1 . dxc4 2 1 .g5! White had a powerful attack.'ikxf1 l:. The plan is either opponent Dag u r Arngrimsson did not reply to open the kingside with 28. 'it>d 1 on account of <it>xg6 34 . but his I celandic A n idea of Alexei Shirov.1 4 championship in Spain .x d6+ 36.l:thf1 c3 22. which theory considers to be the lock in the black king as wel l as his rook by best. Black the black king can try to su rvive in the defended as fol lows : 27 .l:r. .'ii'f4! 26. hg8 30.d3 27 .a3+ 25.l::t.tt:'lb3 'ifb7 28. and after 34.<ifi>d 1 'i!Vd5+ 32 .l:.<ifi>d 1 ? fails to 40 . 40. . and White resigned. Batumi 3 1 .g6+ <ifi>d8 intending 25.exd6 26. i. ..tt:'lf5.d5 !? 28..<ifi>d 1 l:.<it>d2 tt:'le4+ ••.'it'g6 l::t hf8 30.df1 i. especially since resigned. i.xb4 23.g6. e3) 42 . .c4+ 35 . .tc 1 i. since Black still has avail 23 <it>g8 24.gS! ? successful with 1 9 . l:. . e3! 4 1 .gxh6 g6 d raw by 40.gxh6 mid d l e afte r 23 .l::t.fg 1 + <ifi>h7 35. h 5 i. . . .'ifxc1 'ikd4+ 29..b2. tt:'lxa4 I n 2000 in the ju nior world under. i.fxe& tt:'lc3 2 1 .'ifxg6+ 42.l:.c8?! i.xf 1 + is m et by 29 .l:.14 � Prologue 26. Syd ney 2000. . .xc4.'iVf5 i.tt:'lxg7! l:tg6 33 .'ife 1 !. which 39.�e2 3 1 .b4+ 28. after which game Shirov-Anand . <it>ea.i. . 'ii'd 5+ 30.'iff2+ An u nfortu nate novelty at that time.fg 1 . hxg6+ .fxe6 0-0-0 24. . It is an attempt to improve continued 20 . . . i.'iff2 on the game Anand-Gelfand. Shenyang i.'iff2 'ifc3+ 3 1 . and White must allow a he tu rned into a win : 29 .'ifxa6 . l:.. .ca 32 . . . .'ii'd 2 (but not 42 .%:lxd5 27.exf7 + <it>xf7 22. 'ifg3+. l:.laxfB+ @xf8 32. .l:..f8+ 34 .g6! with 29 . 'it> c5 a4 i.tLlc3 cs 4.ll'lxg7 with a big advantage .l:. xf5+ @e8 39 .Wxe4 aS to exploit his advantage in space.g6! Black will now find it very difficult to free his H . g6! . .xe7 40. but 3 4 . Of cou rse .and ended in be overrun by the three white pawns after a d raw as follows: 29 . H e p l u nged head over heels into incalculable 30.l:!.'it'b3+ 'ft'c4 35.i.@f2 "it'xf1 + 33.l:. hxg7 .cxdS d6 6.'iYxc4+ is of many decades later..l:. . . .c4+ GAME 3 32. .ll'lxe6+ complications and experimented with "all @e7 33. c 4+ G randmaster Nick De Fi rmian has played 33.@e2 l:. for example 29 . .dB Although he lost this game. i.a 1 "ifxa 1 39 ..l:txcB+ @xg7 38 .e7 50. His best try consists of shutting the rook in by means of 29. 29.c5 a5 46. wanti ng to tel l us that in chess perhaps then 30.Wg3 1 .d5. xf1 35.@d1 i. . .i. .g7 and wins .t.ii'xc4 mate nor early 1 960s and only popped u p again 34 .. .fa 40.laxf7.e6 ! �a1 + 31 . .llfB acter: he appears to be fearless .b 1 i. any help.xd4+ 43. San Francisco 2002 34 .ll'lxfS i.b6 48 . .fa 37.f4 i. cxb3 .@d 1 'ft'a 1 + 32 .l:. f8 36.xd4 43. and now neithe r the Modern Benoni all his life . l:. d 4 .dS 30. The l ittle combination 42 .l:!. S.'iie 3 i."ifcB+ i.cj.d4 ll'lf6 2. Hikaru's rise to the heights ctJ 15 42. 46.c6.l:r.da 39 .g a 3a.c1 45.Wd5 i.. in which White immediately tries 42.e6 . .d4 i.ll'lts+ cJ.. . b 2+ 44.ll'le7+ variation which had first appeared i n the i.xf1 . Su m m e r Olympic G ames . as though he was If Black replies t o 29..g7 a. WdB 47.l:.ll'lxg7+ @e7 41 . .dS exdS @f8 ! 37. c 3+ 30.. .'it>xf1 cj. . . e 5 49 . .cj.@e3 .. xf8 36.Wf4 'it'b4 Naka m u ra led him into the wild jungle of a 37. De Firmian king and his rook on h8.c7+. d8 or 29. x h1 33 . 'ifc4 White must not B lack resigned.. 'iic 3 35.l:!. "ifcB+ i. go in for 29.c7 !Jlxc7 . .fa 34. ."Yi'xfB+ was also playable.l:!.@e2 il. i. 'it> e2 i.l:. o r nothing openings".xh4 36 . but White should also win after 35 .l:!. After the tricky 28 .xg7 does not work.g7 28.'ii' e 6+ 'iYxe6 31 .@es l::t g a 4S. x d4 e3 32 . .cS a4 44. 'i'xb3 37 .c4 'lt>ea The very sharp Mikenas Variation in the 39.gxh6 . or 29 .l:tf8 .'iif7+ 'ii'xf7 31 .xf1 Modern Benoni Defence [A 66} Taking the exchange loses .. 34 . . . 46 . g .ll'lc6 �a3 38 .es 36. 30 . @g3.xd4 This rapid game was played d u ring the i.f7 ! .. as demonstrated a positive side to his char it were . Naka m u ra 30. .@f2 . Nakamura ..'iifS 'it'c3+ Black can no longer stop the white king from invading .chess was because the black king-bishop team will then a demonstration sport . l m re Konig Memorial Tou rnament.e4 g6 7. .xf8+ i.da Benoni.Wb7 cJ.laxfS+ 35. and White has. . e . . an extra rook in play.l:. . i. . 'iYc3+ 31 .c8 34. f 8 4 1 .cj. .e 1 'it'f4 with a win for Black. for example: really everything is playable.l:. 'i¥d7 does the job .c4 e6 3. 1:.i::!.bB 5 1 ..@b6 i.:!.xe6 36.xd4 3 1 .xf5 38 .N. . . .e2 Wg7 1 7 .i.i.g4 (but not 21 . since 1 9 .l:. .'ii' d 8!) 'ii' x d6 . e4.'ii' b 3 was an 24. . Wg8 the m ove After 1 7 . hf8 20.fxes Wf8 ? ! However.f4 c4 ! 1 8 . I was 22. .i. Vladas Mikenas played 1 3 .Wxf7..e6+ Wh8 .Wds lDb6) 1 8 .lDgS :e7 1 9 . 0-0 in the Czechoslovakian Championship in White has a strong initiative . instead of sprinting into the worst possible way against Jindrich Trapl corner with his king. lDxeS Wf8 9 . 1 4. 23 .i. . l'llx c8+ 1 7 . . lDh6+ Wh8 23. l'llfd7 9. After 1 6 . squared bishop.i. lDgs ( 1 8 . .'ii'f 7! . .e7 (23 . l'llb 5 with the same idea... hS 23 . 0-0 [ 1 -0). l'lld &+ We7 been considered equal .Wh 1 tDta 2 1 . l'llc 6 l ucky. and I won in 20. xta+ Wg7 26.lDf7 : ea .i. Moh ring-J Ottler.i.l'llf3 exf4 1 2 . . . . :e7 on account of 22. 1 3.l'llf 3 Wes 1 5 .'iff3 l:r. .'ii' b 3+ c4 22. 1 1 .l'llf3 :ea ••• White .g4 .'ii'xf8+! ! swered by 1 9 .l'lle4 ! ? John N u n n p roposes 1 2 . . . .. for example: P rague in 1 963: 1 1 . l'llx eS !? 1 4 . I mishandled it in the change. when the variation De Firmian decides to sacrifice the ex became popular.g4 1 5 .i.e& ! fxe6 1 5. .Wh 1 'ii'e a 2 1 . for example: 1 1 . Suat Atalik and Alexei Yermolinsky p refer 1 1 'ii' x ce 1 2. however. Wf8 is worse .'ii' h 3 too . . 39 moves. .gS!) 24.16 @ Prologue e .. and Black is clearly better.xe5 1 6 . F o r some years now questionable. .dxe6 ! 1 0 .d2 l:tab8 is the correct way) 20.:xt7 +! Wxf7 with an extremely dangerous attack.i.e2 Wee Almost 50 years ago.l'll e s . . .l'llxes 1 9 .d4+ 22 .d6+ Wf8 1 4 .'ii'x b7 Ji. c4 1 8 . .i. . .'ii'd 4 :ts has 9 . 0-0 l:.xf8 25 . Wg8 1 7. DOR 1 962 .i. . .l'llx c8+! 1 5 . .i. 2 1 . . . . .e6 is decisive) 22. whether this is worth a pawn is Playing with fire .xf4 l'llt 6 1 3 .i. dxes 1 o.i. . .bS lDbd7 1 5 . 'ii'e 7 24 .g4 'ii'cs+ 20. Corre and increases the scope of the light spondence . lDb6 1 8 . J::tes Wxc8 1 3.c4 'ii'e 7+ 1 4. . . . but De Firmian wants more . Wc7? ( 1 9 .i. l:. : ga+ Wf6 27 .h6+ Wxh6 (after 2 1 . This forces the black king out o f his house. xes 1 7 . 1 6. .Wb3 Anatoly Vaisse r's idea opens the position l'llf d7 1 6 . . . .:txe&+ 1 6 . . 0-0 l'llc 6 1 8 .i. for example: 22 . because it hinde rs the rook.fxeS? l'llx e5 1 2 .i. . 'ife3+ 27.ii. to the attention of the wider public. 'ilfc6 ment of 1 959 and catapu lted h i m amongst 28. . ber 2004 the customs official . 35. . 'ii'x c6 at the age of 23. . there are two further 'ii'd 4+ 30.txf8 naries of American chess as Reshevsky.l:. afte r notic 24. lLib6 21 . .a Scotch fifth place at the l nterzonal Tou rnament i n Game .lLixfB+ @gB 36.0-0 l:txe2 1 8. but 23 . : da+ and then mate .'i!Vc8+ winning) 28 . . . when Wh ite will have no prob i n Naka m u ra's l ife .lLif6+ @h8? records held by Fischer which no one has After 3 1 . M exico.ii.. the title si nce Fischer had done so at 1 4.f7 'i!i'd7 (27 . .t g7 26. xf6 b roken till this day: Bobby contested eight @g7 34. .@h 1 . U krai nian child prodigy Sergey Karjaki n . . On 9th December 2004 Naka m u ra Too m uch was made of the fact that turned 1 7 and started a match i n Cuer Hikaru beat Bobby Fische r's record as the navaca. 'i'xe2 23. l:. At 1 6 he was the you ngest to win 30. . but some It was bette r to close the long diagonal thing else happened which this time came with 22 .'if e6+ . .h4 . queenside pawns .t xb2 25.l:.d7 25 .:t. the new champion of Wh ite wins as fol lows : 29. agai nst the 1 4-year-old youngest U S g randmaster i n h istory. That was the year in lems winning.f7 3 1 .ad1 l:.:r. . This runs i nto a pin. Wh ite now and in 1 963 he even tri u m phed with the even picks up a piece . . . lhb6! 'ifxb6 29. Bisguier. Naka m u ra did not 1 7.'fidB+ lLifB 29. .©h 1 h5 31 .lLixe2 lLic6 manage the leap i nto the top 1 O of the 20 . Benko and Black resigned. Nobody has ever come even close to this leap i n performance . .'iWe7+ Evans. lLi a4 24 .'ifg4 lLi f6 the U SA. 'ikxc3 because H i karu Nakam u ra. Bobby was also favour and N akam u ra won convi ncingly by 1 5 when he was awarded the title.l:!ad 1 ! Kennedy Ai rport i n the middle of Decem is even worse .xfB+ @h7 34. bxc3 Bobby Fischer. 27.. the Byrne b rothe rs.xd7 lLixd7 28. lLi d4! ? .'ilfe1 lLie5 2600 poi nts for the fi rst time.lLid7+ ©h7 37.txe5 'ii' x e5 26. .t e3 . 23. Naka m u ra surpassed h i m by th ree months This t i m e t h e age difference was i n his at the age of 1 5 i n 2003.l::td 6 the rook will soon clear up the U S Championships and won all of them . perfect score of 1 1 -0 ahead of such lumi 32.ii. I n the i r fi rst encounte r .d7! ..td2 F I D E world ranking list u ntil January 201 1 20.lLid5 Nevertheless. But this time it was about Black cannot play 28 . Hikaru's rise to the heights ctJ 17 (23 .d8 22.lLid7! 'ii'c4 33 . 'ii'x h3 29. . 'ii' xf6 'ifxf6 33 . .xb6 axb6 27.bd 1 the n i n e best chess players i n the world.txc3 28.t f7! ) 24 .l:. said lLif6 to me: "The kid won it!" P reviously the only person they tal ked about l i ke that was After 26 .tc3 l:r. which he not only cleared the Elo h u rdle of 20. .'i!Vxb7 :ba 22. @g7 24 .t xf6 32 .H i karu demonstrated subtle Portoroz meant a t t h e s a m e t i m e his positional ideas such as timely exchanges.�ab 1 q ual ification for the Candidates Tou rna . .lLic3 ! ing that I earned my l iving from chess. .lLid4+ @g8 1 9. but his 4%-1 % . . 'ifh4 lLid5 On my arrival from E u rope at the John F. .l:. However.f4 would have been more Towards the end of 2004 things changed ac�u rate.'ii b 3+ ! @ha 2 1 . d3 d5 Black slowly concedes space . I n conj unction with c2-c4 t h i s g ives Wh ite the more pleasant game.d6 1 4.lbf4 d4 26.h6 1 2.bS 1 5. M exico 2004 The bishop controls a lot of important Scotch Game [C4 7] squares and neutral ises the blockade by the knight.litc3 i.18 � Prologue central outposts and a blockade on the The powerful centralised black bishop on weak squares.lbf3 lbc6 3.lbxc6 bxc6 7. whereas the black d4- pawn merely resembles a useless piece of wood .lbc3 i. 1 4 .b3 i. waiting t o see what Black is i ntending to do with the c8-bishop. After 8.xf6 2 1 . 1 s1 game.g3 :bes 24. . but it is not easy H.l:tfc 1 .xd5 After 1 6 .exd5 0-0 9.'ii'd 3 i.i. 22. Black does not have an easy game.lbcs i.c4! Wh ite to avoid.g5 c6 26 .c3 .ec8 White 1 1 .. which it is hard for 1 7..lbxd4 25. d5 m ust be exchanged. It was well worth considering the more active 29 .l:tc4! :xc4 28.lba4 ! ? cannot penetrate the black position . 'ife4 with the subsequent ex change of queens. i. lb cs :b4 1 8..ltc1 ! ? A useful move . Karjakin to make any p rog ress on the q ueenside.cxd5 i.c4 i.'ifes 29..xf6 i. .xd5 cxd5 GAME4 The situation is approximately leve l .i. g3 Wh ite fights for the dark squares. The wh ite pieces dominate the light sq uares. bxc4! • This exchange creates not only a danger ous passed pawn but also an outpost sq uare on d5. .e5 1 9.:tb1 i. 28 . .i.lbd3 i.h4 lite8 1 3. Wh ite can blockade the d-pawn. cxdS 1 7. .0-0 cxd5 1 O.l:. Nakamura S. b4 6.f4 1 8.e5 23. 1 7 i. which secu res h i m a slight i n itiative.c3 Cuernavaca.e6 1 6. - Challenge match .i.a5 ? ! lbf6 5. :cs 27. 2 7 .:tc2 'i'd6 ••• 20.d4 exd4 4. Although the advantage is not g reat. 1 . .i.i. .l:r... 1 1 .i. lb e2 'i'f6 28.e4 e5 2. 'ii'f 5 'ii'f8 35. .cS . as long as he can open 37.lll c 3 d6 4.f4 lllf6 33 :es . Garry Kasparov's reti rement from pro fessional chess i n March 2005 i n Linares came as a shock to many players .h5! cxd4 B lack resigned. . pawn starts its tri u mphal march.. �g2 :e 1 is wrong. lll x c3 dxc3 Pirc Defence [809] 34.'ii'f3 :ta 35 . H i karu req u i red sacrifice to be a mistake. as Black obtains play against the wh ite king.1'. After he has forced Black into passivity.c5 being destroyed. I n round fou r Nakam u ra defeated the 9. c5 8. In April at the traditional Foxwoods Open . he will bri n g H. B ronstein now played 9.e5 lll f d7 7. I n the stem theoretical duel in one of the sharpest game at the Chess Olympiad in M u nich variations of the Austrian Attack agai nst 1 958 against the Argenti nian Florentino the P i rc Defence . This victory over S m i ri n .xa7 . 'i'xc3 'ifd 1 + 35 .1'.b7! GAMES White not only attacks the a7-pawn.g7 3. bS confidence when it came to playing sharp Naka m u ra begins pushing back the black opening l i nes agai nst strong opponents .c6. But the 1 6-year old US champion m ust have q u ickly changed his mind. 'iVd& 32.'i!fxd4 o n e o f t h e best p repared o f g randmasters .llle4 7 .a3 38.1'.l:. 'ii'e a 36 . but also casts an eye on f7.t h e c Foxwoods O p e n 2005 pawn . his pieces positively came to life and he won his fi rst five games.. a n i ne-round Swiss tou rnament in the Casino Eldorado in Connecticut.h4! After 33 . in the hope of being able to swi ng over to m ust have enormously boosted H i karu's the h-fi le with his q ueen after 9 . 40.lll f3 0-0 6.J::tx cS g6 the h-fi le for his major pieces. for exam who explained it i n one word : "Attack!" ple: 35 .c7 .e4 g6 2. .. dxe5 .1'.d4 . Palmiotto .l:. 33.b4 36. O n t h e othe r h a n d .'ii'fS . a6 34.•. 1 .l:!.l:. .lll d S :es 33. When he heard about it. Wh ite does not worry about his centre 34. Nakamura .hxg6 ! ? top-rated g randmaster l lya S m i ri n from Some theoreticians consider this knight Israel in a d ramatic game. Smiri n i nto t h e battle his main tru m p . 5.1'...c5! the c An idea of the legendary David B ronstein.lll f 6+ �g7 41 . I. . 31 .xc5 39. Hikaru's rise to the heights ltJ 19 30J:tb7 :e7 3 1 . H i karu Naka m u ra said that chess was now dead . forces . but Naka m u ra only 22 moves to decide i n his favou r a has not been put off by that.. . l:.. 'ii' h S h6 for example.txb2 'Was+ 1 3. . e& 1 3. 'ii'g 3 exf4 1 3 . 0-0-0 'ikcs 1 7. . e4 is m et by 1 a .i.Wg7. With since now both 1 2 ..:ae1 es 18 . 'ii'b 3 'ii' a s 1 1.t°t:)gS+ @ha 1 9 .. t°t:)c6 and 1 7 .l:. Tsesh kovsky.cxb2 1 2 . .0--0 i.'iff?! is worse for Black) 1 4 . 1 6.t°t:)gS+ @ga ( 1 3 . . 1 1 . Wh ite remains i n the d riving 1 s .l:th4! ? .fS! exfS and Wh ite g ives perpetual check.c3 t°t:)xeS! 1 S .:Xf6 . @xf? si nce after 1 6 . . . 4 Otherwise the white attack can rapidly b reak th rou g h . force a d raw here with 1 2 . important tempo for the defence. dxeS 1 7 . . .e 1 'ikd3+ 1 9 .t>e8 28. .t xe6 and 1 2 .te2 .t d2 t°t:)c4.fa 24.tt:lgs i. .Wh4 Was 14. 9 dxc3 1 O.. Thus.txf4 tt:lf6 13. Yerevan 1 96S: 1 O . 1 4.l:.i ntendi n g The alternative 1 1 .'ilfh4 exd3 20 . (after 1 a . e6 1 1 ..xg?+ @xg7 20 .. and Black resigned i n view of 2S . 'ii' h s+ 'it'd? for Black to o rganise his defence . xg?+! @xg7 20 . .t°t:)e4 'ii' b 6 1 9 . @ea 1 4..h?+ @xf6 2a. as was So what had Naka m u ra p robably planned demonstrated in the game Nadyrhanov agai nst 1 S . l:tg3 e4 1 a.20 w Prologue 1 0 .t°t:)xf7 . .txe2 22.td2 t°t:)f6 1 S . 'ii' x h6+! . and 1 7 . . . 1 7. ...t xh6+ 1 2 . exf4. . d3.t xha 1 9 . Wh ite wins) 1 9 .. t°t:)bd7? is met by the 1 4..t xf4 'Was 1 4 . . xha+ @e7 20. xh6+ @g7 27 .da+ l:r.t't:)f?+ @h7 seat after both 1 7 . Now 1 S .exd6+ Wh ite wins. c3 t°t:)aS 20 .ts 1i'c7 ! .e3 Wc6 20.t°t:)f6+ @ha 2s.t°t:)f?+ @h7 20. . 1 a .t°t:)fS Black must play 1 S . e6 appears better. . . ..e4 Palmiotto played 10. . .'ilfh4 t°t:)hS 1 a . l:.t xh6+ 26.gxf7 + l:!xf7 1 1 .t e2 'ii'e 3 1 6 . . .t xh6+ 4 Instead of 1O.t g4 1 a . xf4 23 .tt:lce4 'iti>f8 24. e4. .. . .tbS Wc7 21.. exd3 1 9 .txf?+.t xh6 'i!fes+.l:.. .:txfa mate .t°t:)gS+.l:.�6 tt:lxf6 2S. .t°t:)gS! example 1 9. .• Agai nst Stuart Conquest in Reykjavi k 1 3 . The safest m ove here is 1 0 .. . .. and after 1 6 .tt:lh7+ �e7 27.t xf4 .. for 1 2. . . . i.hxg6 hxg6 12. . .l:td2 as 29.td3 tt:lbd7 16.t c4 t°t:)c6 1 6 ..t°t:)gS? and had to lay down his arms the main defence 1 3 .l:.g4 t°t:)f4 22 . . which cannot be recommended: 11.td2 Wes+ 19.'ii'xf6+ <. .g4 i t is d ifficult 1 3. 'ii' h a+! . . . . .l:. 'it'b3 'ilfcs 1 s .txeS. hxg6 fxg6 1 2 . @xf? 1 4.. . .l:ith3 dxes 1 7. . . 'ii'x h7+ @fa 1 a . . as for example i n the game Stei n-Liberzo n . t°t:)xh? 1 7.t c 1 'ii' g 3+ decisive 1 6 .cxb2?! 1 996 B ronstei n chose the less p recise An unsuccessful attem pt to i m p rove on 1 1 . H i karu goes for broke. 'ilfc? 1 a.t e2 h6 2 1 . h 6 ! ? .hS 17. 'it> d 1 . . . . . . .l::txe2 lUc8 23. t°t:)xeS ! . . .t xh?+. 'ii'f 7+ @ha 1 6 .g4 1S. . Wh ite can al ready and Black wins.. Krasnodar 1 999: 1 2 .txf6 26. 'ii'f2 .l:r. 'i' hS+ @ga after 11 . . h6 ? I would g uess 1 6 .tc4! . and Black resigned. . .t°t:)gS can his attack on the rook Black gains an be m et with 1 2 . meaning that its fate is sealed .'ifxa7 . 'ii'g 7 after which White's attack can no longer mate) 24. 9. "ifxf4+ loses .lllf3 lll c 6 7 .h 4 1 4. and Wh ite 'it> g7 23. s i n c e after 1 4 . has 1 6 . 'it>xf7 1 5.xc4 25. 'ifxd 1 + comes 24. .e6 frees the ii. 'ii'c 8 with 20. . . incredible finish with th ree out of three 1 7. .0-0-0 with decisive p ressure. 'iVh5+ 'it>g8 I n 2006 H i raku Naka m u ra played for the White wins after both 1 6 .te3 a6 8. . . 20 . The 1 8-year-old former US champion cranked u p the p ressu re with every move . Hikaru's rise to the heights ct) 21 'it> g8 2 1 .'ii'd 2 b5 Very strong play! White p rotects the l:. should win . introduced into tournament praxis i n the p revious year by the Russian wizard Alexander Morozevic h .'i!Vxd 1 ii. h6 is m et by 20.li:r. exd3 22 .'ifd4 1 9 . .c1 'ifxe5+ 23. His and also 1 6 . 'ifd2 23 .'ife8+ lllf8 (or be stopped and after 1 9 .ii.xd3 .l::t h 3 lll e 7 2 1 . 'it> e7 1 7.t>ta 22.l:th3 and then 2 1 . until it became u nbearable for the Polish player. Macieja H. 'it> h7 26.b2 and at the same time cuts (if 21 . . 1 .e4 e6 2. .g3. A well timed cou nter-attack was becoming N aka m u ra's trademark.ii. for example: 1 9. I n his victory over the former E u ropean champion Bartlomiej Macieja from Poland his choice was a sharp pawn sacrifice in the Classical Variation of the French Defence. 1 8 . �f 1 'it>xf7 1 6.ii...l::t. 'ii h 5+ 'it>g8 White B lack resigned. agai nst 23.xh7+ llld 7 28. 'it> e2 h6 20.e5 lll f d7 1 9.�h 1 ! ) 26. .exd6 ii. .f5 ! .. .c4! cxb2+ 23. resign) 22 .l::t bf1 B. ..ii. 'it> d 1 . .ii. exd6+ fi rst time i n the U S Olympiad tea m . lll c 6 he wins 25 ..1i'f7+ �h8 22. 'it> b 1 1i'f6 (after 1 9 .'ifxh7+ . Nakamura - 'ii'g 5 2 1 .. . . ii.xb2 22. wi n n i n g because of the th reat of 26.l:lg3+.ii. Tu rin 2006 and all five wh ite pieces are taki ng aim at French Defence [C1 1 ] the black king . GAME 6 because it opens u p lines against the black king.xf8 "iff7 27.a3 g5?! .'iixa8 lll xf8 29.d3 'iib 4 1 8J:tb1 ! secu red for his team the b ronze medals in Tu ri n behind Armenia and China. . ii. . .b 1 . 1 5. .xb2 'ii'a 5+ There is nothing more that can be done S m i rin tries to p revent queenside castl i n g .f4 cs 6. . .i:i.c4 5.0-0-0! (th is is t h e point ! ) 2 1 . . lll g 6 1 7.ii. and Black can the black q ueen off from the kingside.l::t.g 4.lll c 3 lllf6 4.txh7+ ll:ixh7 21 .d7 Taking the pawn with 1 8 .xe6+ ll:i xe6 25. Chess Olympiad. .d4 d 5 3. . g7 1 5 .l:.tl'ixe5 l:r. 1 8. tl'ixd3+ 1 3.i.g7 20 .z::!.fxe5 i. e2 and an attack 33. the dark squares.:tf1 l:!.e7 2 1 .g4 'it>h8 24. b7 24. on the other hand. Su rrendering the centre by means of 1 0 . i.. d 3! .:!.d3 0-0 1 7. i. tl'ig4! successes for Wh ite after 1 2 . . In addition the knight s upports the Turin in 2006 ended with some real opening of the position by means of 1 9 . e5 ! .'iix e3 'ii'b 6 20 .fxg5 cxd4 1 1 .22 @ Prologue Morozevich's fantastic idea. h3+ 24. 'ii'e 5 black pieces are participati ng in the attack. the game T. 0-0-0 fails to 1 4 .0-0 i. bxa3 i.tl'if3 llxf1 + 23.g8 23.tl'ixd4 tl'icxe5 has.fxe5 0-0 1 8 . resu lted i n some excellent 1 8 .i. . and Black resigned . but at the same time strengthens the black offensive.e7 is m et by 2 1 .tl'ixg5? ! M acieja takes the pawn and prepares to defend.• 30.d4 bxa3 28. b4 27. .tl'ig5 .tl'ig3 'ii'd 6 1 7.!ld 1 .. c 6 29.a e1 1 9.. e 3..f7+ .'ife2 tl'ixe5 22. l:!. . 'it> h 1 tl'ixe3 1 9 .. bishops and rooks by u nderm i n i n g the Black sacrifices a pawn i n o rder to control centre. 1 o .exf6 tl'ixf6 16.l::tx g5 25.'it>xf1 i.tl'ice2 tl'ig4 1 6 .xd4 tl'ixd4 1 2. since 1 4.'ii'd 2 'ii' b 6 ! ? After 22.l:.. .tl'if3 1 o.l:tf6 ! Afte r 20.g3 e5! 20. .xe3 22.'iie 2 i. For example . . which he the centre. xf6 2 1 . Kosintseva-Satons Black decides the struggle for the e3- kih at the women's Chess Olympiad in square .tl'id 1 f6 ! game the year before agai nst Anand at the Nakamu ra opens the position for his M elody Amber Tou rnament in Monaco... .'ii'g 2 1 3. 'ii' h 6 .. fireworks: 1 2 . .�xe6! fxe6 3 1 . on the d5-paw n ..a7 ! T h e rook not o n l y defends along t h e 7th rank.c5 21 . cxd4 1 1 .'ii x g5 llg8 26.. h3 23 . 'ii'e 5 'ii'x a3 32. gxf6 'it> h8 22 . i.cxd3 lll e 5 1 4.tl'ixe3 i. 'it> e 1 i.h 1 : af7 Black Black secu res h i s domination o n the dark wins. squares and keeps the wh ite king stuck in 22 .. !taf7 23. 1 5. conj u red u p over the board in a bli ndfold 1 4. 'ii' b 8+ . .1i'xd4 i.'iid 6 'ii'a 5 20 tl'ie3 . d 4 all the i. After 25. 'ii' h 6 ! 26.l:.gxf5 'ifxc2+ . played a hun 27 . Hikaru's rise to the heights ct:J 23 White could have tried to sound the 33 . f5 'ifc6 ! .ti:)g3 'ii'd 2+ 31 . d4 Clearing u p the white queenside with 25.g6 hxg6 26. 'ifxf2 g rab.h3 i. in 2007. Wh ite also loses after 37 . l:. e2 i. and the th reat is 28 . . 'ii'e 3+ 38.�e1 'ii' e 4 the passed d-pawn 29.�2 'iff4+ 35..ti:)d 1 �g7.. .l:lxf7 l:itxf7 27.�f1 24 d4 25.ti:)f1 'iif4+ 33.xg4 31.ti:)f1 ?! .'ifd2 'ifxa 1 + 37. i. h3 34 . . as a wonderful example of a failed pawn 26. g4 with the th reat of 39 . . . Naka m u ra's best performance i n the 29 .xf2 l:txf2 27.'ii' g 3 is met by 27 . . l:r. 'ii'x b2 is also good ..d1 ! then also retains the u pper hand by 24 .f 1 . m ust have left a lasting i m p ression on H i karu Nakamu ra. i.ti:)g3 then It is always a risky matter to snatch 34 .l::tc 1 easily b reak the blockade: 26.�e1 'ifc1 + cou nter-attack with 24. 'it> g 1 i. l::tf4 Black can 38.xc2 'ii'x c2 40. So there were echoes of Aaron N i mzowitsch whe n . i n order to render a Nimzowitsch. the former U S Wh ite should t ry to set up a fortress with champion sacrificed t h e same pawn as 29. 'ifh4+ 30. decides matters .f2+ Epishin i n G i b raltar.xf1 + 27. Naka m u ra kept on i m p roving his posi tion i n the team. 'iff3! Black wins. . b4 (if 34 . This brilliant game. although Black 36.• to overcom e Epish i n . he was playi ng on board two . 'ifxe5+ 34.xf2 28.�xf2 'ii' h 6 29. This victory was not only breakth rough by Black more difficult. .�f2 i.i.xc2 39. 'ii' h 6. .l:r. 28. . . i. I n order 27 l:. Val uable . b7 'iff5+ 27 . pawns. .4xf5 After 4 1 . . and two years later i n Khanty Mansiysk he finally made the move to top board . One can be s u re of doing someth ing right when one is compared with g reat players. . i. . .ti:)g3 i. Wh ite resigned .�e2 with 25 . In D resden i n November 2008 . . xg4 30. H i karu de feated the R ussian g randmaster Vlad i m i r 25 .ti:)e2 i.l::t h 1 'ii'g 5 G i btelecom Masters . This wins the q ueen .ti:)f3 'iff4 p resents his game against Semyon Alapin 28 .�e1 him to reach second place. b4 'ii'c 7 29 . but it also helped 32. d red years ago . Aaron N i m zowitsch 25 .. 'ife3 mates) 34 .ti:)d2 ••. it was even I n his iconoclastic manual My System.ti:)xf1 'ifa5+ 36 . xg4 . stronger to increase the p ress u re with published in 1 925. .. . .ti:)f3 i. . i. h3 mate . However. when his team once again took the b ronze medals.ti:)d2 . After 33.g5. . especial ly in the openi n g .ti:)xe3 'ifc3+ 30. for example after 1 2 ... but 1 9 1 3 .4Jc3 4Jf6 4.4Jb3 4Jc6 . A.4Jxd4 a6? ! 1 5 . A fantastic i ntroduction to the final attack.i. e3 The th reat of 1 5 . exd4 1 3 . A waste o f t i m e ! The phantom th reat of 1 6.. sto rm i n g attack. 4Jxc3 6. si nce he has 1 3 . .. .&t. . dxc5 4Jxc5 1 1 .24 @ Prologue time is lost and noth i n g is done for the 9 ."ife2. 'ii'd 7 mate .. 1 2..e4 e 6 2. Black rejects the wh ite forces i nto the attack. Wh ite is th reatening 8 .d7 8. . e3 and 9 . when Alapin played 5 . . This pawn g rab will soon have fatal But where and when was this friendly conseq uences.x d7+ 4Jxd7 1 2 . ii'xf6 1 S .. e7 1 0. e 2 ! it'xg2? powerfu l ..l::t. N i mzowitsch . . 4Jc6 1 4. .he1 + ile7 7 ..txd4 9 . 1 0 .exdS lLlxdS s..i.. 0-0 with advantage to Wh ite after both Wh ite's lead in development is now too 9 .4Jf3 cs This variation was also tested i n the St . .ii'd2 es it was in the town of Alapin's birth Vilnius If Black manages to d rive the knight away (Lithuan ia) i n 1 9 1 2.il. f6 ! ! p roblems with castl i n g .xc6+ �f8 5 In this we are following MegaBase 2012 published by ChessBase.. c4 g reat. ile6 runs i nto 1 6. Vilnius 1 9 1 2 5 French Defence [C1 1 } 1 . 4Jc6 9 . . tersbu rg i n 1 9 1 4.0-0-0! 6.d4 d S 3. . development of you r own pieces. itsch p u n ishes Alapin for his g reed with a 9. . which th rows all This exposes the queen.ii.. others suggest Nim from d4. Petersbu rg tou rnament of 1 9 1 4 .lLlxdS �xdS A b ri l l i ant knight sacrifice.il.e 1 + ile7 1 1 . take the bishop. ii.. i. then he can catch up in develop zowitsch's home town Riga (Latvia) and ment. game played? According to some sou rces 1 o.i. Alapin - Russian Championsh i p . exd5 7 . . i. . 6 . . Pe ing.bxc3 ile7 against N i mzowitsch and lost in 39 moves. 1 4 .f3 "YWg6 1 1 . dxc5 . played 5 . b 5+ ! ii. 7. It is also possible that it formed part N i mzowitsch has no i ntention of cooperat of thei r post-mortem analysis i n St.. N i mzowitsch S. . b6 with Black and defeated Alekh i n e i n 75 moves .ii'd8+ forces Black to This combi nes development and attack. 4Jb5 is best met by 8 . for his part. cxd4 8. . N imzow with good play..4Jb5 "ife5 . bxc6 then 1 7. Nakamura .exd5 'ii'x d5 This was Epishi n's move from the previ ous game which Nakamura had prepared for so wel l .lir. V.llea mate .xd8 20..e8 mate.'ii' d S+ ! . and although Development with gain of tempo. afterwards he did not fall victim to a furious 11 . but also his ki n g . 'ii'x d7+ 'it> f8 fails to 1 8. . he had After 1 1 . V. Black has to worry about not only his queen ."ii'd 8 mates. . Hikaru's rise to the heights tD 25 After 1 6 . but Black is in a s S. ltif6 mati ng attack as Alapin had done. 'ii'x e4) 1 3 . . phenomenon in the Paulsen Sicil ian - 1 7. ltixe4 1 3. Black can not defend his q ueenside.tcs 6.d3 . 'ii'd 4! Russian took the pawn . 'ii'd 8+! behind in development .f6 1 2 . Epishin.e7 7.te4 "ii' h 3 1 1 . xd8+ .l:.i.'ii'x g2? N akam u ra was able to prepare his pawn sacrifice in the Paulsen Sicil ian before the Like Alap i n .l:. .i. 'ii' a4+ .e4 c5 2. even if no pawn has been take n . . 0-0 with acceptable play. d7 1 7 . 1 2 . . . 1 3. . . Solsona Open. Epishin takes the pawn and game.i. Epishin's 2005 game i n a database. .ltixe4 (or 1 3 . 9 . Epish i n G i btelecom Maste rs .e3 d5?! 8.d7 1 3.d4 cxd4 4. . ..txd8 1 8 . All he had to do was find Vlad i m i r then gets i nto difficulties. i. .ltixd4 a6 5 . and 9. . 1 2.ltic3! the attempt to control the back ran k with In the spirit of N i m zowitsch! Black is far 1 6 . . ltibd7? ! Black misses the chance to simplify by 1 2 . .. G i b raltar 2007 Sicilian Defence [842] 1 ..ltib3 i.0-0-0 Wh ite completes his development and his pieces are radiating energy. Barrientos Chavarriaga . 'ii'b 4 problems with his exposed queen.xd8 1 9 .i.:hg1 g6? This loses i m mediately.i.a well-known . ..ltif3 e6 3. GAM E 7 H. 2005 (drawn after 27 moves). 6 The 1 o . . .'ii'd 5 lDxc5 After 23 . l:. . .lith 1 . I n April 2009 Nakamu ra took part i n the 1 7 es Foxwoods Open and the Toronto Open. 21 b5 22.t xb7 and White should wi n . . beat the U krai nian g randmaster Sergey 1 5 h6 1 6 . but not spectacular. 'ifxg5+ 1 7 Jbg5 prestigious Corus tournament at the D utch hxg5 is not sufficient to hold the game in coastal town of Wijk an Zee in January view of 1 8 . . . 'ifa4 e4 1 9.fxg3 exf3. . who was two years older. 20 . 1 8. . . 'ii' h 4 1 6 .lDe4.txe4 the kingside with 1 3 .dg 1 enables Wh ite to mount a and wins. 'ii' h 5 2 1 . .26 ct> Prologue bad way i n any case. After he black queen .lDcS! Wh ite now wins material . . . . ltJxe4 20 .�xd 1 . he was on cloud nine.t xb7! . playing i n On the othe r hand. . Naka m u ra.. . the i m m ediate 1 7 . . . If his king hides on 1 9 . . then 1 4 . stu mbling i n both events . travelled around North America.l:lg3 'ii' h 5 1 5 .txh 1 hxg5 would allow Black the best i n top-class events . . �fB is m et by 1 8.. h 1 on accou nt of 1 9 . B lack resigned. .'ii'x d7+ 'ii' h 4 1 5 . h 1 and wins.. 21. After becoming a g randmaster at 1 5 and winning the US championship at 1 6.l:r. 2009 ahead of Levon Aron ian and was 17. dangerous attack. 24 . .tf6 23.•.ltJxe4 N akamu ra carelessly i nvited a fu rious But not 1 9 .a7 White s i mply plays 24.l:. . for example: 1 5 .tg5! Naka m u ra was considered the best Amer D rawing the net more tightly around the ican p rodigy since Bobby Fischer.lith1 open tournaments instead o f chal lenging 'ii' x h 1 + 1 8 . .txc5 • And of cou rse Epishin had no desire to see the mate which was looming.t xb7 22.t xd4. In pawn .•. . . October 2008 H i karu c rossed the 2700 1 6 . . .t xb7 'ii'x d 1 + 22. 0-0. 'ii'x g3 attack by the Canadian IM Artiom Sam 20. 2 2. won the The queen sacrifice 1 6 . Everything is hanging . u n necessary counterplay. Karjaki n .ile3! then i nvited to other el ite tournaments . g6 20 . son kin in the Scheveningen Sicilian. Somehow.txh7+! �h8 1 8 . 1 4. 1 7 . . 'ii'x h2 threshold . 23. .g3 Th reatening 21 . . .l:th 1 winning the q ueen . Karjakin i n 2004. This th reatens 1 8 . meanti me.�c1 . l:. Forcing the black q ueen to take another His rise was steady. .t xg6! 'ii'x d4 1 7 .tf3 ! ••. .'ii'd 4 ..l:. f5 ! . . i.e5 tl'id7 1 6 . 'iii> f B 1 9 . th reatening to win .tl'ixd4 'ilfc7 6. tl'ixh5 2 1 .cxd3 tl'id7 .fxe5 tl'ixd3 1 5 . .f6 fi rst with 8 .i. gxhB'if+ 'it> d7 22 .l:txe6 'ili'f7 20. tl'ic6.f5 ! e5? could have driven away the central knight A blunder. Nakamura - 13 tl'ixd3 1 4. . cxd3 i.d4 cxd4 1 5 .tl'ic4 .•. 1 O. e 7 7.tl'ixe6 ! fxe6 1 9. A. Afte r a transposition o f moves t h e game has now reached the Scheveningen Varia tion of the Sicilian Defence . . On 1 8 . Wh ite has done every thing correctly and p repared the advance of his e-pawn. .fxg& tl'if6 20. tl'ib3 to be 1 7.fxe6! . consolidates his centre and opens the c-fi le. N evertheless things are not going so wel l . .. so as after 9 .l:. Hikaru's rise to the heights � 27 GAME S Wh ite chooses anothe r plan .fxe6+ it is mate after 20. a5 .f4 i.'ilfe2 d & m uch on the defensive . 1 9.i. followed by 20.tl'if3 e6 3. . i.tl'ib3 0-0 able to play 9 . Black 1 5 .b4 ! ? This double attack. d5? would in any case backfire: 1 . 1 7. Black should have tried 1 6 . . black pawns on the queenside.tl'ie&! The knight sacrifice wins material by force and forces Black to his knees.tl'ic3 a& 4. .'ilfxh7 White wins. Samsonkin H.d2 tl'ibd7 1 2.l:tae1 tl'ic5 The flexibil ity of the Sicilian Defence is really i m p ressive .g5 tl'if6 Wh ite wou ld l i ke to stop the advance of the 21 .i. b6 and thus p revent 1 O .c5 is advanta geous for Black. . The central ad Sicilian Defence [843] vance 1 4 .tl'id2. . . Toronto Open 2009 Black is hoping to be able to beat off all attem pts at an attack.c1 'ifd8 1 6.e5!? dxe5 1 4.l:. 21 . . .e3 e5.'iff2 'iff6 b6 1 8. tl'ixe5 1 7. and Black is i n difficul 5. 1 9.g7+ 'it>d7 After 20 . .'ili'f7! 1 3.'ifh5+ g6 ••.d3 i.a4 ties after both 1 6 . 'ilfxe5 1 7.b7 1 1 . although after 1 8. . . 1 7 fxe6 1 8.'iff7. .fe 1 and also 1 6 .0-0 tl'if& 8.e4 cs 2. For example 1 3. he is p retty 9. 28 � Prologue either the knight or the rook.t>xc7 25.lDc3 g6 4. .lDe3 Black Bent Larsen .t gs e6 9.t>xc7 change so as to h u nt down the black ki n g .'ii'x h5+ @ta 1 0.l::t a 1 + . After 22 . who very m uch l i ked to hardly has a move left. 1itga is m et by 22 . .'ii'x e7+ '. for example 23 . 23 bS.'i!i'xe6+ '>t>d8 27 .l:. 22 . Barron - 2 1 .. played i n the Berkeley M asters 2ooa..l:tc7! ..d4 f5 2.exf5 gxf5 a . and strongly approved of this pile-d river of an Wh ite wins. .li:!. lDf6 7.t>a7 2a. .0-0-0 . . . against which Black has no satis factory defence . B lack resigned. l:.c7+ '. 24 .'ii'x d6+ .'i!Vxd6+ '. l:.i c6 b u t he can not do so a t o n c e si nce after 2a.. ..igS 'ii'g 8 25 .gxhSlD Dutch Defence [ABS] This under-promotion is not the only way to w i n . is stronger GAME 9 than 2 1 ."i'xd6+ '>t>a7 31 .l::.l:txf7 .l:txa6+! @xa6 33. .lDe2 4 .l:txe7 2a. Toronto Open 2009 22. gs :.taa 26. xf6 'ii'xf7 23.axb5! ) 27. . . .ie3.l:. 1'.l:txf6 'ii'x g5 26. I:r.'ii'xts+ @ga 1 2 . . e4 0-0! Black would be well th reat of 29 .lDdS! with the th reat of 1 1 . .h5! lDxh5 6.'ii' d 2 'ii'e 7 1 0.t gs Wea+ 1 3.hga 1 . attack. . .t>ba 26.c7! 'ii'e 3+ 28. . . xh5 gxh5 7 . .c4 lDf6 3. would have 26 . 25 .'ii'c 7! With the th reat of 32 . c 1 + 'itt b a (26 . account of 7 . . I n the game Krush-Esserman . . . . . fxe4 Afte r 23 . axbS 24 ..lDd1 .'ii'as mate .txe7+ . .'ii'x e7+ '>t>b6 30.axb5 with the 6 . l:tta 24 .lDe7+ .aea 25.. Wh ite also wins.• 6 . 'ii'x h8 23. . Wh ite had good compensation for the pawn after 6 . placed . I n the final round i n Toronto Nakamu ra came back i nto the tou rnament by defeat ing M ichael Barron of Canada with a sharp Defending with 6 .e4! The spectacular 23.tg7 5. . '>t>f1 'itt x c7 29. @da 27 . c 7+ ! '. exf5 exf5 a . followed by 27 .gxha'ii' . l:t xf6 .h4!? 24 . Nakamura M . 21 •. e6 leads to disaster on exchange sacrifice i n the Len ingrad Sys tem of the D utch Defence.lDbS ! ? was also possi Wh ite is p repared to sacrifice the ex ble. .• 'i!i'ea H. for example: advance his rook pawns.li:!.xh5! gxh5 9 . 'ii'x e7 + lDd7 26 . . H i karu won the Chess 960 (a variation of Fische r. seconds.0-0-0 'ii'f6 22.c4! lZ'lc6 ! 1 9 .h6 1 8.lZ'lf7+ ! �h5 9 ... : e3! White breaks th roug h .'ifh4# coming. l:. and he used his bl itz skills to defeat his j u n io r by three years Magnus Carlsen 3-1 in the 1 2.'i'f4+ �ea 1 4. . which clears the way for the othe r pieces. : f3! with the th reat of 25. 'i'e5 �d8 1 6. .!:txg3 2 1 . H e won 1 4 .xe7+ �h6 22. .lleS+ ! dxe5 after 9 . .l:th6 1 -0 . Before that happened .lZ'lf3 'i' g7 1 6 . 'ii f 4+ �g7 1 6.lZ'lf6+ �f8 21 . 21 .lZ'lxd7+ . Black resigned. i. l:ldh 1 f4 20.'ii' h 4 mate . d6 1 o.'iff4+ �hS This simplifies Wh ite's task but Black 25. lZ'la6 1 5 . 24. 7.d5 lZ'lb4 1 2 . 'ii' g B honed his bl itz skills on the I nternet. . . i.'ii'x c7 lZ'lc6 Carlsen began the match wel l .e2 'i' g8 1 4.l:. The q u icker the pace on the chessboard . . 'i' dB+ �g7 This swaps off the only active black piece. .I:txg3 l:. the After 1 2 . hi mself has difficult days in front of h i m 23. 'it>f7 1 7.lZ'lf3 d6 1 9.'ii'x d6+ 'i'g6 24 .hS+ �f8 more he seems to enjoy playi n g .f7+ @f8 victory in the next. 'ii'f 7 1 6 .random) world championsh ip in Mainz in August. He at last began receiving i nvitations to el ite tou rnaments . fortunately. i. Naka m u ra is really very fast. e . perhaps the best Th reatening 1 7. h3 l:. i.xh6? ! 22 . havi ng 1 2 . 1 0.i.dxe6 lZ'lxe6 22. l2Jxe4. xh7 'ii'f6 � 3.'ifxh6+ �g8 1 1 .'ii'fS 'ii'f 7 23 .lZ'ld6+.g4 fxg3 1 9 .cS! lZ'lb4 1 8 .'ii g 3 with the winning pawn endgame and even lost. .i. 'i'f4+ �g8 'i'xf6 1 5. g6 20.'ii' h 4 �f8 1 7. This tu rned the match around. 20 . .d3 .lZ'ldS! and won in 23 moves: 1 1 . . i.lZ'lg5 �ea is met the fi rst game and was well on his way to by 1 7.i. . f6 1 7.lZ'lf3 the inventive and can set m u lti-move traps in white pieces are ready to attack. H i karu rapidly changed cou rse.'i!Ve5 'ifg7 1 9. and .'ii' g 5+ �f7 Wandering from one open tournament to another was not the way to go and.l:. .lZ'legS+ �g8 20.lZ'lxf6+ i. H e is 1 5 .lae1 ! won the third game.fxg3 lZ'lc6 22.xf6 After 1 7 .. th reat of 23 .li'xh5+ @f8 9. 'ti'f4 'ii'g 7 2 1 . es 1 8. played one in the whole matc h . 'ii'xf7 23.. 1 3.0-0-0 li'g6 1 6.lZ'lxe4 final of the B N bank Bl itz tournament in the Norwegian capital of Oslo. l:.. N akam u ra 1 5. H e won the 2009 U S championship in May i n Saint Louis and his victory i n San Sebastian in J uly b rought him onto the big chess stage. but blundered badly in a 20. lZ'ld4 1 8. Naka m u ra's novelty. g . .i. Hikaru's rise to the heights � 29 d6 1 1 . d6 1 3 .e2 0-0 1 4.lZ'lxh7+.xh5! g x h 5 8.xf6 1 3 . Seeing 24. xf6 22. he is sti l l not out of the ality.c4 g6 3. .txc3 1 2 .• H. 1 1 .30 � Prologue Carlsen was unable to decide the final with 1 3 .ie2 b6 1 o. ... 'ii'd 7 1 6 . 1 3. . Oslo 2009 e6 1 7 .d4 tbf6 2.. prepari ng an meet. but Wh ite's attacking chances g ive h i m and Black resigned. Nakamura M .'ii'x c4 tbd7 .i b2 B N bank-Bl itz Chess.dxe6 tbc6 2 1 .tg7 23. .d& ! 'ifc& 20 . 1 3 .exf& I:t. 'iVd6? ! . The alternative 1 2 . Carlsen - The othe r blockade with 1 5 .d7! ? I n a bl itz game this advance i s very hard to The most popular m ove .'ifd3 .e5 . attacking chances on the kingside.. tbd7 game i n his favou r.txc4 1 5.tbf3 c5 a.t a6. . U S Open 2009.'ii' b 2 D resden the p revious year. .th& f6 5. .tgs 'f/c7 1 9.tc4 .:b1 21 .'ife2 :tea 1 8.tbg5 tbf8 0-0 9 .e4 tbxc3 6.e7+. . White gains space and obtains woods.d5 Although Black has defended as wel l as This pawn sacrifice is an American speci possible here. l:tad8 22. The position is f6 1 9 . .tbxe5 the US team that went to the Olympiad in 'ifxe5 1 6 .:e1 a& 1 7.'ii' h 4 e6 1 7 .d6. It is an amusing attempt to ex exchange of the light-sq uared bishops change the d-pawn for the b6-pawn .tbc3 d5 4. .i h6 . .t xe5 1 5 .d6 tbc6 c reates a better i m p ression . 1 ..o-o .ta6 1 4.tg7 1 4 .l:. Grunfeld Defence [085] 1 s.ib7 1 1 . .e5 ! ? Alexander On isch uk a n d Yu ry S h u lman p referred to exchange the dark-sq uared GAME 1 0 bishops with 1 3 . d 1 difficult for a reg ular tou rnament game. . f6 is m et by 1 8.'ifxf6 ! ! exf6 24.e 1 'ii'd 6 1 7. .l:te6 'ii'x e6 20.cxd5 tbxd5 1 8 . has lost its shine.t ea 23. . Black chose Defence i n the th i rd game had been 1 2 . : d? .bxc3 . .tg7 7. . In the game Akobian The pawn sacrifice i n the G rO nfeld H i lton . l:. good chances i n a blitz game. and White won with a robust analysed and played by fou r members of attack: 1 3 . . .i b2. e5! 25. Moscow. 33. The is full of holes and weak pawn islands . 'ifa7 31 . Sammy Reshevsky. world's fou r top-rated players .lDg3 'ilff4 37.:xa6 round-robin tou rnament o r.l:te2 'ii'd 4 34.'ii' x h6 'ii'x d7? tournament ahead of the world champion . The year 201 0 was knocking at the door and losing to Spassky i n 1 970. two 'ii'd 4? single tou rnaments. ..:d4 32. he lost to both at Hasti ngs 1 895 for an American tou rna.'ii'e3 'ii'd 3 28.. xe5 'ifxd7 1 6. . and fin ished 30 . Fischer among the world's best players i n el ite had many other better resu lts .:xe6+ wins. . After He was second in Santa Monica. Carlsen's position 1 966 a n d won b y Boris Spassky.f3 g5? 40 . d rawing with M i khail Tai Black resig ned. of the m . Dortm und. i t is the more d ifficult o n e t o play shared sixth place with anothe r American . it allows Black chances to ment victory on a par with Nakam u ra's" . . The 1 962 tou rnaments such as London ..'ii' c 3+ �h6 Fische r was able to compete agai nst a 39. I n reigning world champion Tig ran Petrosian add ition. in a bl itz game. equalise. .�h2 'ife5+ It was the only tou rnament in which 36. Wijk aan Stockholm l nterzonal comes i mmediately Zee . 7Y2/9 . in which he scored an i ncredible Paulo. Hikaru's rise to the heights ttJ 31 However. :be1 'ii'd 4! the Kasparov obviously m eant "a reigning black position is ok. different at chess olympiads.. %1xf8 the move 4 1 . . Without and Naka m u ra would soon be seen Kasparov's "special condition". c4 27. l:. rated players and i n Wij k aan Zee he Although Pillsbu ry's and Naka m u ra's scored his g reatest tournament victory victories were form idable. . Bilbao and Sao to mind. ahead of M i khail Chigorin the New York Times. they were u na thus far. scored 3Y2/9 and "avoided" the last place 30. if you wish . I n the fi rst half Bobby 29 . This g ives Naka m u ra too much play. but it is not clear that he 25.lDe4 l::tf7 26.:xf8 ! reigning world champion.h3 'ilfa1 + 35. N akam u ra fin ished ahead of the ble to dominate the world's best players . . H e was referri ng to the Second Piatigorsky Cup played i n Santa Mon ica i n Despite his extra paw n . Garry Kasparov on 1 6 and the World Champion Emanuel wrote : "I think you can go back to Pil lsbu ry Lasker on 1 5Y2 .'ii'c 1 %1d8 29 .:xb6 was right. I n so doi ng.�ce �g7 38.xh6 24. world champion". and he added: "Fischer never won a 23 . i. In the second set of games This wins a pawn while retaining the better Fischer p rod uced one of his finest single pawn structure . His spec On the contra ry: Harry N elson Pillsbury tacular win was i m mediately compared to won the 1 895 Hasti ngs tournament with Fischer's successes.." 24 . but beat the fou r tailenders. 1 7Y2 poi nts out of a possible 2 1 and I n January 201 1 he made it i nto the fin ished 2Y2 poi nts ahead of the Russians select company of the world's Top Ten Efi m Geller and Tig ran Petrosian . Things were After 40 .. tournament results .:c& by a half point. . i n 1 960 and with M i khail Botvin n i k i n 1 962. Black is doomed to defeat. . In a contribution to 1 6Y2 out of 2 1 .'ii'x c4 . It was a double 26. where he m et th ree of them . :c? was a more resil ient defence.'ii'c 2 :a4 j u st a half point behind Spassky. seven times for the U SA) and in Post his legendary chess col umn was so doing he won one gold and five bronze stopped in 201 0 on grounds of cost. He was by the side of Robert H ubner was) and he repeated this success in in the latter's candidates match in 1 983 1 968. stabil ise his play. In 1 974 moment he is working for the i nternet and 1 980 the US grandmaster made it into newspaper The Huffington Post. 1 973 and 1 978) . Nowadays Lu bosh's ( 1 972. he left on his way to the World Championsh ip his native land . I n addition . but scoring th rough tou rnament roller-coasters. a second and a tou rnament organ champion of Czechoslovakia (as it then iser. born in Prag ue in 1 943. * * * Lubom ir (Lubosh) Kavalek was the top 1 0 of the F I D E world ranking l ist. At the medals with the American team. After the suppression of the Prague against Vasily Smyslov and of N igel Short Spring in August of the same year. (Elo average 2624) . beating the last fou r. . Kavalek took part main professional activity is that of a jour in nine chess olympiads (twice for Czecho nalist. Aronian becom e the world champion . After 23 years with the Washington slovakia. At fi rst he lived i n West candidates final i n 1 992 agai nst Anatoly Germany. but he has to and Kramnik). In 1 979 he was one of the initia the Solingen SG and won numerous Ger tors of the Challenge Cup i n Montreal . where he became a member of Karpov. . . in the In 1 970 he emigrated to the USA and was 1 980s Kavalek partici pated in the founding its national champion on three occasions of the World Cup.32 � Prologue Nakam u ra played s i m i larly in Wij k aan Lately. the man team championsh ip medals as wel l as fi rst ever category XV F I D E tou rnament that for the European Teams Cup in 1 976. match m i n u s one against the top fou r players in ing good resu lts with setbacks. At the age He has also known great success as a of 1 9 he became the youngest national trainer. H e may the world ran king list (a defeat agai nst sti ll follow i n Capablanca's footsteps and Carlsen and d raws with Anan d . N akam u ra has been going Zee. . Also in the field of 1 4 g randmasters is 23-year-old H i karu Naka m u ra.cxd5 exd5 6 . The year before the young American had made a cou rageous entry i nto this chess Mecca and taken fifth place.l:tc1 . who with his Elo rating of 275 1 occupies 1 0th place i n the list of the best players i n the world. Finally they met in a 'ili'a5 9.. where Naka. which lies approx. 20 kilometres from Amsterdam . pressure against c3 at this point. For D utch chess fans "De Moriaan" can be compared to "De Kuip" i n Rotterdam f o r t h e i r football fans . . 1 5th January 201 1 . In round 1 of the 73rd tou rnament he was about to face the stiffest of exami nations at the hands of Alexander G risch u k (Elo 2773) .d4 ll:if6 2. pp.c4 e6 3. World Champion Viswanathan Anand. . Of cou rse it had H.dxc5 Internet Chess Club. There is a back story to this encounter. .txc3+ serious tou rnament game at the 5th Tai Si nce Black should continue to exert Memorial in November 201 0. Levon Aronian and Vlad i m i r Kramnik.lllf3 d5 volved in a desperate blitz duel on the 5.the biggest sporting arena in the D utch town of Wij k aan the start of the 73rd ann ual chess tournament which is being supported for the fi rst time in its history by the I ndian steel fi rm Tata Steel and which now also bears the name of the latter concern . Grischuk - become for him a matter of honour and he Tata Steel Chess (A) . With its Elo average of 2740 it is a category XX event. But this time the American was to Provoke sacrifices.e3 c5 8.tg5 lll b d7 7.this Satu rday in January sees n the Dorpshuis de Moriaan . lll e4 is 1 According to D i rk Poldauf in SCHACH 3/201 1 . lD 33 C HAPTE R 1 Wij k aan Zee Saturday. . GAM E 1 1 m u ra had a totally winning position which he let slip into a draw. 1 but he did not manage to do so. announced that he would "smash G rischuk Wijk aan Zee 201 1 like a baby in the forthcoming word blitz Queen 's Gambit [038] championship". a n d so t h e i nterest i n the A-g roup o f t h e Tata Steel Chess Tou rnament is particularly high. take material gain more or less a "victory on demand" and win! following the motto "provoke sacrifices.lll c3 . For take material and win"! years the two opponents had been in 1 . 9 . 8ff. and if proof were needed of the class of the event then there is the fact that the organisers have secu red the participation of the top fou r in the F I D E ranking list i n the form of Magnus Carlsen . Round 1 I Zee .tb4 4. Nakamura A. He sacrifices a piece and specu lates on the draughty position of Nakamu ra's king.�3 2 Ibid.xb5 l2Jf6 etc. 1 4.. 9 .l2Jb5 'Wxc5 and did not choke on it. . of which G rischuk had been an eye-witness...f3 tt:Jf6 1 6. Rogozenco-Sjugirov. 1 5. bxc3 possible pawn storm on the kingside.0-0 l2Jb6 1 6.� tt:Jc4 1 8. Nakamu ra 21 .. �f2 tt:Je5 with equal commit the major pieces to the attack after ity.'ii'a4. But the Russian will not obtain enough com pensation .l:.g4 1 O. . � d 1 . as Vladimir Kramnik dem although the move cannot be criticised on onstrated against Ruslan Ponomariov in objective grounds. on the other hand.fxg4 tt:Jxg4+ 21 . . d 3 tt:Je4 1 3. . for Now White gets a specific target for a example after 1 0. although 1 4 h6 •.f4 king wi ll go to f2. i. the 2009 Tai Memorial ..i.'l!Vd4 'ti'xd4 1 7.. h5 1 9.i.txb5 1 9 . On the contrary.cxd4 i. Wh ite has only chooses a more flexible plan.'i'c2 ! ? After 1 8 . so as to be able to qu ickly l:te8 1 3. the opening of lines. Black more problems. I n his annotations SCHA CH editor Dirk 16 J1e8 1 7.. 'ii'x d5 tt:Jxc3 1 1 . . but rather went on to win the game with 1 4. x d7 1 8.. His 1 1 . .. tt:Je4 looks more convincing: 1 2 .• With only 25 minutes left on the clock. 'ii'xa2 1 2 .l2Jd4 'ti'xc5? ! With this Nakamura reveals his cards. xg4?! .• after it too White has good chances. 1 9.f4 l2Jb6 1 8 i. xc4 dxc4 20. . i. the white major pieces will be able to take advantage of the open files. .h4 •• Poldauf quotes the game Potkin-Toma shevsky from the Russian Championship of 201 0. . Aix-les-Bains 201 1 . G rischuk decides on a very radical step.'72 1 2..l:tb1 . which sets a minimal advantage..txc4 dxc4 I nstead o f simply castl ing. "when Black swallowed up a pawn with 1 1 . e2 'i'a3 1 3.i.f4 tt:Jea 1 5 .34 � Chapter 1 more the move which is indicated .. i.g5 l2Jd7 20 .f3 tt:Jexc5 1 4. p.bxc3 0-0 1 1 .txc3+ 1 2. t>ha! ? was well worth considering. 'fig2 'fies 30. also better) 29.'ifc2 'ii'a 1 + 36.t>f3 'ii'e 1 34.'ii'f3? ! The more active 33. and White is 36 .c.t>c2 B lack resigned. .l::t g 8 deeper invasion of white camp. .lLixd4 c. 1i'h2? attack.:r.t>c1 'ii'd 3 37.'ii'g 5±. . conducted with a steady hand by Nakamu ra. active play but he never got a chance..:txg7+! ! c.e4 26.t>f3!? 'ifd5+ 34.:txh4 28.t>xg7 29.t>t& After 39 . 32 . c.t>g7 37. xeS :txeS 23. g3 cramped for space and saw no other way the extra attacking potential would no out than to sac a piece for two pawns after doubt help Nakamura. for the attack. lLi xh4 bxc3 (after The diagonal retreat 33 . 'fieS+ 33. bxc3? 31 . for example: 35. absolutely no way for Black to avoid the 33 .lLie2 'fid6+ ?! The prophylactic 27 . so that the 33.g8 (28 . It was an effort to obtain formidable position . .'ii'e 4 'ifb2 35.l:th3 31 .t>ha 30. 'fibB was indicated .:!. . .f3 42 . .l:. lLixc4 f2 43. lLi e3.'ii'f3 'ii'd 6 30. After 30 . .i.:txg7+ c. White's advantage is clear) win after 34.'ifb8! enables a 30 .xe3 • Nakamu ra can captu re on c3 in the most :Xe3 favourable fashion . 40. 36.lLic6 a6 38. Wijk aan Zee ltJ 35 ltJeS+ 22.t>xe3 bxc3 32.'ifd 1 32 . f5 40. .t>ds 42.'ifg3 .t>d1 ? ! 26 b4 27. 'it>e7 is met by 36..• 34.lLic6 c. lLif5+ c..t>e3 is not yet totally cut 31 . who then has a only 1 8 moves.c. It . because there is centralises the white forces better. c. though in the long ru n Wh ite Once again 34 .c..a4 c.'ii'xc4 was more accu rate . lLic6 f4 4 1 . for example: 27 . so that 28. .:!.'ifg 1 too.c. lLixc3 'it'd8+ :Xg4 31 . .'ii'd 4 'it'xd4+ now Nakamura finds the decisive counter! 35 .'ii'f 4.'ii'f4.t>c2.t>g? Nakamura brings a l l h i s forces i nto position 35.t>e2?! bS 25. and Black is lost.:tg4 advantage. lLixa5 the white knight gets back in good time: 41 ... "It was a beautiful game.c. . 'ife5 31 . . and dried.t>e2 'ii'b2 37. but should be able to impose himself after here Wh ite al ready has quite a large 28.lLib8 as 39.Wca+ c. �2 :tae8 24..l:tf3 was more precise. c.t>e& 41 .c. . ." said grand master Ivan Sokolov. g6 29. .'ii'xg4 bxc3 32. lLi b1 h5 38. . "Grisch u k was technical endgame. lLif5+. . 27 :txe3?! •. who commented on the day's games for an audience of several hundreds of chess fans in a marq uee on Grischuk correctly seeks his salvation in a the vil lage commons. lLig2 .t>xg7 29.c.'ife4 ••• 27.'ii'f5 'ife7+ 33.c...cxb4 'ii' h 2+ 32. But 35.'ii'g4+ �8 30 .:tg1 .lLixaS c. 92nd place out of 1 37 chess federations. the source here is the appropriate report on each round on the internet site www. and his mother Carolyn. Japan with its more his work in the cotton fields and in doing so than modest Elo average of 2203 occupies demonstrates an incredible talent. now number 3 in exhausted U krainian Pavel Eljanov.36 @ Chapter 1 isn't often that G rischuk gets clobbered in the world ranking list. Apprenticeship or the America n way to success Life is like a box of chocolates. . com. Nakam u ra? The surname gives it away: his father is Well above all else coincidences have Japanese. which i ncluded his older h uman bei ng. When happen to be waiting there . tatasteelchess. but in the said tou rnament without defeat (+ 1 =8 round 2 he was to come up against the --0). who had shared such a way. is at present the best American chess When H i karu was two his family emi player since Robert James Fischer. . 3 As will be the case in futu re quotations in the diary notes for the Tata Steel Chess Tou rnament 201 1 . . In the fact that Forrest Gump. Forrest Gump Yquotation ou will certainly be asking just what this H i karu Nakamu ra came into this world from Forrest Gump. Ameri played a deciding role in the life of one who can . It was 9th based on the novel of the same name by December 1 987. His birth completed the Wiston G room about a totally un usual l ittle fami ly."3 victory in the afore-mentioned Tai Memorial So Nakamura had managed to get the (with Sergey Karjakin). With h i ndsight that is is also someth ing coincidental about the the fi rst far-reaching coi ncidence. There g rated to California. who in the film sits land of the rising sun the domi nating board on a bench at a bus stop and tells his game is Go and it was not only at that time moving l ife story to some people who just that chess was a peripheral sport. you never know what you will get. has to do with H i karu brother Asuka (born 4th February 1 986) . that on a Wednesday in H i rakata City i n the wonderful 1 994 fi l m by Robert Zemickis Japanese region of Osaka. In the original one compares the top ten players of book he plays chess i n the evenings after different nationalities. but won only a single game against the Armenian Levon Aronian. H i karu went through custom-made start he had hoped for. In any case the conditions to enable obligatory subject for all pupils from the talented up-and-coming young players to kindergarten through to the sixth g rade. where basketbal l . their 4th place was achieved with national school chess championships. U kraine) . September 200 1 . The FIDE master from Sri So now we have the land of unlimited Lanka was purely by chance a chess opportunities. although this is very surprising in view of For the Nakamu ra brothers. su rprise that fi rst of all Asu ka began to had long since left the country. good safety net for him . He successfully studied law in According to such facts. Gata a single g randmaster and only one player Kamsky ( 1 974). And even the fact that between One such was certai nly that their mother 2000 and 2005 Bobby Fischer mainly lived Carolyn found a new partner in Sunil in Japan has done nothing to change that. boxing and the U SA. Thus back in 1 979 he developed tennis set the standard for all things in for Hunter College Campus School in New sport. players whose origins all lie in the former At the age of six. Tennessee and to this day he holds rise l i ke a phoenix from the ashes. American teacher. 25th year Asuka won the fi rst national champi and 4 1 st places represented an all-time onsh ip for kindergarten children in Knox low. si nce in the same in 2000 in Istanbul and in 2002 in Bled. Russia) . H i karu would Brooklyn and had almost been forgotten presumably never have been able to make about on the international scene when at a name for hi mself in the world of chess if the end of 2004 he began a brill iant he had remained in the land of his birth. At the chess Olympiads And successfu lly so. This is of cou rse not Novi kov ( 1 962 . The former idol of the "Cold can inspire children . The fact . Alexander Shabalov ( 1 967. in which chess is an ily so. profession . U kraine) and Boris Gulko surprising since the country does not have (born in 1 947 in E rfurt. was now take a serious interest in the wonderful much older and had been excluded from world of chess after being introduced to the US Chess Federation on account of the fundamentals of the royal game in the his comments on the terrorist attack of 1 1 th spring of 1 992 by a kindergarten friend . Chess is possible. o n the other the boom in chess in China since the hand. the record of 4 1 victories in a row at the However. Weeramantry. . And so it came as no War" days with the Soviets. but Russian ) . The best active player born however withdrawn from professional chess in 1 987 occupied 22n d place in the national in 1 996 in order to take up a stable ran king l ist with an Elo rating of 2025. Possible because the circumstances there are work as a lawyer has of cou rse been a totally unsuitable for that to happen. Khanty-Mansiysk it logically occupied 9 5th Latvia) . Igor participating teams . . 1 990s . and moreover one of the best in footbal l . Bobby Fischer. U kraine) . but not necessar York a chess prog ram . baseball. comeback to professional chess. chance would determine thei r fate . place in the open category among 1 48 G regory Kaidanov ( 1 959. Alexander Goldin ( 1 964. ice-hockey. their best player had has the I M title. It reach the top of the world game were is understandable that such a step-father pretty modest. Apprenticeship or the American way to success ttJ 37 and at the chess Olympiad of 201 0 in 1 975. H i karu was not yet Soviet U n ion: Alexander Onisch uk (born taking part in competitive chess . Not till Calvia in 2004 did the U S team ville. al lowing h i m to try out whatever he wanted . simply take a look at th ree examples of the si nce i n his brother's school chess team fi rst i nternational appearance of the young they were short of a fourth player. Stanford . however. . But let us There would be another coincidence. His result (29 th place) is i n no way had a rating of 1 84 1 . case there is a common room where I n April of the same year the Nakamu ra analysis took place. and at the same time it above all is his uncompromising style: six was not certain that H i karu would actually wins. that the federation poi nts from six games and received his could do noth ing other than nominate him fi rst national rating of 684. he had become so strong and took 30 th place out of 62 boys with 3 in the Under. From then on he E rdene (born 1 988) .1 0 class at the J u nior World act of chance . contrary. H i karu had accompan ied the rating of 2048 on 1 st January 1 997. At that time for the J u n ior World Championsh ips in Asuka. any pressu re on 23 1 6) . The two seemed to a disappoi ntment. since he represented the USA . But the and thei r step-father took part i n the US development of thei r ratings. five months H i karu would finally make up Against the Mongolian player Ganzorig his mind for chess. especially since he was stil l clearly behind h i s brother in his level of performance . And the effect was long-lasting.38 w Chapter 1 that he even began to play is yet another in the Under. in which games. and thus American i n his World Championship in May 1 995 at the age of seven years and premiere . At that time Asu ka was more successfu l . he left the boy complete freedom in the way he played . while two of them to Concord . In August 1 995 his brother Championships in Spain i n 1 996. which H i karu (7/7) won their sections . five defeats . because he played his fi rst friendly pionships i n Knoxville Ten nessee . The older brother had a USCF participants . shows U SCF-Elo 2400) . 'it>cs. who won Section 3 with 6 out of 6.. which is a Open (in the section for those below totally objective measu re of levels. mean ing of the word "d raw".he does not know the stick with chess.. which was won by Sunil that the distance between them was and in which Asuka took 7th place out of 28 shortening. Cannes. .1 0 class. Both Asu ka (6¥2/7) and National School Chess Fou ndation. At 1 3 sections saw more than 4200 players in the Junior Chess Congress East of the the starting blocks . As is generally the H i karu was on 1 659. In the case of H i karu this seems to have been the correct motivation .some took place from 24th to 31 st January 1 995 in thing never seen before. he made his debut in Section 4 As for H i karu . And that was precisely brothers attracted great attention at the where the g reat adventu re of chess started Super Nationals Scholastic Chess Cham for h i m . who is nowadays one played in a lot of tournaments for young of the top 1 O playe rs i n his country (Elo players without. the fol lowing position was reached the part of Sunil Weeramantry. what catches the eye be worlds apart. Quite the after so . �xg2 i.:. Dj ukic - How did the ni ne-year-old American now Junior World U nder.:r. 'iii> f2 b 1 'ii' 2S . a b c d e f g h H . S3 �cs S4. G.'iii>f2 .f4 and he coolly sacrificed a 5 knight on move 24 for an attack on the king with 24.xg2+ 29. 'ilfd4 .'i!fa7+ �b4 60.�d3 �c1 73.'i!Vc3+ 'iti>a2 6S.. .'ii'h 3? . 'ii'x g6 llc3+? •.'iii>e2 'iii>a2 71 .. l:.tt:Jxb 1 l:.'fic4+ �d2 68. .l2Jd2! Nakamu ra finds the best move and the king remains in the firing range of the battery! 51 . 2S. 1 f4 :xh2+ 29.. 'iii> d 1 'iti>b4 53.'fie1 mate. and now it was up to Black to show by stubborn resistance that there was 2 stil l perhaps half a point in it for him .t ea 31 .. .t e6 with .f2+ The text move is unfortunately a mistake.�h2 l:.l i ke d raw with 54 .l2Jb1 + 'ii'x h2+ 30. .1 0 Championship.f1 + 6 1 .'iix b4 �xb1 Junior World U nder.xf5 SS.'ifxbS �c2 67.tt:Jc3 e6 3.l::t c3+ 52. 'iii>d 1 should also win in any case . .�f2.• He m isses the study.'i!fcS+ l:. xf6 . 'ifd6+ �as 54. Apprenticeship or the American way to success CD 39 H. 'iii> x h2 .tea 27. l:!.ext6 for that? .l:!. . cold-bloodedly fend off the attack by his Cannes 1 997 adversary? S1 .:r. b2 51 . .'ii'xf4+ �a3 31 .�c2 does not improve Black's situation either. 'ifg3+ �ha 2a. Nakamura S .b4 63.'ifc3+ �b1 70. S1 .'ifgS+ 'iti>b4 S7. 'ii'a 3? 57. xf5 a4 even backfires) 26 . .d3 55.'ii'd 4 l:.f1 + sa. 'ifxf4 b2 56. .�h 1 . . c2+ 55. Nakamura . 'iii> g 2 f3+ 59.td3 S6.'ii'd 4+ 'iii>a3 62. Things continued 24 gxf6 •. Erdene �b3 64. . S2. 60.. but who can whereas the counter-attack with 25 . .b3 S9. 66.1 0 Championship. . .l:.'fieS+ 'iii>c6 S3. 'iii> e 1 l:k1 + 56.l:.g2+ sa.'iib 3 �c1 Cannes 1 997 69.'iia S+ �b1 72.'ii'xg2 'i!Vxg2+ 30. .'ife8+? The time had come to get out of the X-ray attack from the bishop with 53.b2! criticise the n ine-year-old Mongolian boy 26.'ii'x h2 61 . 'iii> h 2 l::tf 2+.'ii'h 6.tbs 27.e4 6 cs 2. 8 Against the Serb Stefan Dj u kic's Sici lian 7 Defence H i karu chose the set-up which was typical of this early phase for h i m : 1 . 'iii> h 1 'ifd2 2a .:.'ii'b6+ .g3 (26.l2Jf6+. though as an amateur..'it'h4 which arose after Nakamu ra's 23 . A year after the 1 997 J u n ior World Championship in Can nes. .xgS ! the Dortmund-Brackel club and for a time A white attacking piece is simply removed to be looked after personally by G rand and in addition the exchange is sacrificed.'it'h4 'ifxd2 31 . his g reatest sporti ng success.'it'g3 . .xca lll xc8! ran kings ( U nder-20) until December 2006..i. the young Georgian who went on to 29. Clearing the way for the q ueen .fxg5? Black has the counter U nder.. he was cer tainly fortunate to be supported at fi rst by 23 . . .Slf4 l:!.exf6 1i'f8 27.l:tgS+ 'it'h8 28.gs 'ifh2+ 33. David Bara midze (born 1 988) emigrated to Germany with his fami ly. . Baramidze cause Black's light-squared bishop is still Junior World U nder. Although David re upper hand.xf4 27. moreover. Th us his second place i n the 25. As far as his fu rther chess development is concerned. winning.fe1 g5 30. I n the position l:!. holding its own house together. he never qu ite managed the leap to the very top. Stefan Dju kic is sti l l playi ng chess. 'iid 6 In Cannes in 1 997 two fearless attacking 25 .1i'e1 'ii'a6 28. e. g7 32. xf4+ wins on the spot.fxg5 .'it'xg3 .l!ac1 'i!i'xd3.'it'g4 lllts 34..1 0 Championship.d7 it 'ii'h 2+ 30. 25 .l:!.'it'h4 . .i.'it'f3 'ii'g 3+ 36. mained in the top 20 F I D E juniors world 24.hxg4 2004 J u nior World Championship i n the After 25. after 29.l:.'it'e4 l:te7+ 37.'it'xg6 1i'xf4 and then was now up to David to show that his mate. 'ii'x d3+ 30. be H. xf4 players met i n a Sici lian. but Black also wins do just that.ta 35.f3+ 31 . 26 .i.Si.i. Nakamura -D.'ii'e2 llld 6 see . who from 2000 till but it will be regained with interest. master M ichael Bezold.'ifxdS+ �U7 32. g3+ 2002 was j u n ior trainer for the German 24. 'it'g5 h6+ 31 .40 � Chapter 1 good drawing chances was forced .:lc7 also sees Black with the Chess Federation . .xf4..i.'ifda+ Si.1 6 class remains for the moment 25 .'it'd5 lll e3+ . .'ili'eS? take 4 th place in the final table managed to This is too optimistic.'it'g3 'ii'g 2+ 29. attack was the faster one! And as we shall 26.i. 23 . 29 .llxf4 1i'xb2+ 28. 'iid 6+ 26.h6 27. . . because with an Elo rating of 2256 he ran ks as nu mber 307 among the active players in his country.g.l:tg7 Black resigned.. Cannes 1 997 26. .gen uine prodigies. at the age of 1 O Hikaru could hard Just like Bobby Fischer.children who have achieved top per At the start his step-father was certainly formances as a result of early intensive a help. shortly after I for competitive sport among young Ger started to play chess. it is q uite understandable On the USCF ratings list of December that the author had not yet become aware 1 997 H i karu had further closed the gap on of the boy in America. s The column "Just Checking" in: New in Chess Magazine 8/2007. "An investigation and Anand which took place in the World of the career paths of world class players Trade Center. in 1 995. I did not nach dem goldenen Ki nd"4 ("The search have any specific person as a model. whose talent level. I watched the World man chess players Heinz Brunthaler con Championsh ip match between Kasparov siders this phenomenon . Apprenticeship or the American way to success ClJ 41 38. re types of prodigy: called H i karu in an i nterview. 106 . In his years he could find about chess and devoted of apprenticeship the "H-bomb". I n his article "Die Suche "When I started playing chess. Be for the golden child") the former consultant that as it may. wou ld name as the best chess player of all .presu med prodigies. 6 At that time he very talented but who have done an could not have suspected that in 201 1 he enormous amount of work on their own wou ld train regularly with his idol for al most which has brought them to the top. could no longer be overlooked . I n the spring of 2001 . but as a coach the latter did not trai ning. pp. among the p resumed to bring about successes at the highest prodigies is Bobby Fischer. issue 4/2001. 5 And in New in Chess Magazine he training and support. Wel l .'it>bS himself to the game with fantastic enthusi -1Jd4+ 41 . . a year. Hikaru owes his ly be characterised i n the truest sense of enormous leap in performance to the fact the word as a child prodigy who astonishes that he played chess independently. 26-27 5 The interview with Nakamura was conducted at the end of 2005 by Abdul Karim from Chess Chronicle. as Naka- 4 Heinz Brunthaler in: the culturally inclined chess magazine KA RL. with the world of chess with his spectacular out the hard and guiding hand of a trainer. as Laszlo Polgar had undoubtedly was originally not so overwhelming. . who are considered time Garry Kasparov. who at an early age gave to the Chess Chronicle at the age of played chess very well without special 1 7." White resigned. Astonishingly. p. although his talent Asuka and it now stood at 201 9-21 44. years which followed the J u n ior World especially since they had not yet faced Championsh ip in Cannes 1 997 were to each other in a game. when this article was publ ished . as the fou r though the brothers hardly saw it as a duel .'it>c4 tt'lc6+ asm . Approximately around this of the past and the present points to th ree time I began to emulate Kasparov". but managed in Hungary with his th ree daugh who over a number of years devou red all ters Zsusza.'it>c4 l:te4+ 40. Zsofia and J udit. which he . performances. attempt. prove.'it>xd4 tt'lf5+ 39. either with Asuka or with H i karu . the I ndian player Sunil Rangarajan. There was apprenticeship.42 @ Chapter 1 m u ra would later be called . Hikaru with Black brought about a techni because things can also later g rind to a cally winning position with a little combina halt at a very high level. And there was just as little things improved . His fi rst appearance in young in the pioneer palaces run by top the new U nder. was above all Hikaru . .saw a pretty Champion M i khail Botvi nnik in Moscow. ..where Teimour fo r example the one run by World Radjabov won the title . . But in the world champions Anatoly Karpov and following year at the 1 4th championships. . when at the age of 1 0 years and 79 days he received from the U S Chess Federation the title of national master. From Junior World Under. �f2 l:!c1 46.te 1 llxe 1 + terms of top chess performances .and Hikaru rose to it.it would remain sport stars. And it th ree years younger Norwegian Magnus should not be overlooked that his feeling Carlsen.1 2 Championship.3.g4 is by no means as con- . playing in tou rnament af no talent spotting and encouraging such ter tou rnament and representing the U SA as had been usual earlier in the Soviet another fou r times in the J u n ior World Union. Rangarajan H . . 45. . as for example agai nst way.txa6 ! .in weakness! which Sunil Weeramantry has the role of executive di rector . Quite certainly the tion .1 2 age g rouping in Oropesa class trainers or specialist chess schools . but they never received any special support. where though that is not necessarily the case. the youngest American chess player to have then done so. . lLie2+? 43 .c1 + 44 .. conti nued his cast upon his own resources. when N icholas Nip ( 1 0. Nakamura - engine for up-and-coming talent. then no more has been heard of him in 42 . modest performance . si nce he reached 1 3th opportunity to attend a school for el ite place at the same venue . finishing in 54th which had as its most promi nent students place with 51h out of 1 1 games. their very start the Nakam u ra brothers Oropesa del Mar 1 999 played under its aegis in numerous indi vidual and team competitions. such as that afforded to the the same for the next two years . del Mar in Spai n in 1 998 . 1 998) improved on it on a b C by becoming a USCF Master at the age of nine years and eleven months. which can also lead to success . for tactics would come to the fore just at I n the USA things are done in a different the right moment. but si nce 42 . His record stood until 2008. o n the other hand . Garry Kasparov. The motif is White's back rank National Scholastic Chess Foundation . with its development centres for the Championships. because he wanted to do so! One great moment for him was 26th February 1 998.txe2 l:.is someth ing like an S. al most a decade. "J ust do it!" is the challenge . d3 .xa6 %:lc1 + 44 .i.c1 a6 52.1 8. up in the U nder.i. who in the final table led a group 1 8... ..l:.l:. list. h3 . ters.. f4 1 1 . .'it>f2 %:la1 46.l:ta7 l:.'it'f1 tt'lxg2 49 . e3 the white position the top 20 players in the FIDE world rating would be preferable.tt'lf3 ile7 1 4. who however had 1 7.l:. Daniel Stellwagen (The Netherlands) Far 1 6. who is in 42 .f1 %:lc2+ 49. Oropesa del Mar 1 999 47 .'it'h1 .g. .1 2 Championsh ip. the pressu re agai nst which cost him a medal .il.g5 was indicated . so Evgeny Tomashevsky. g 1 %:txg 1 mate. and after success so far for Tomashevsky.d6 8.c4 e6 6. l:tf2 ! ? .. 1'. 44 .l:!.. %:la2+ 48. Black had to take the pawn that almost all of them are now grandmas with 1 5 . Tomashevsky - active 47.l:.d6? followed ..aS+ • Trompowsky Attack [DOO] There is no salvation after 49.i.. .1'. In the closing rounds 1 O and 1 7. developed steadily in the years which 18 .i::t g a. . e. l:txg4.c2 9. hxg6 2 1 .ths tt'le7 22. ..l:. .l:txc5 'ifd6 is sti ll ship.e6 53.fa 21 . .i.xg 1 .e7 5 1 . It is 55. 44 .i.xf6 gxf6 4.i.'it'g1 h 5 5 6.'it'h1 l:txf1 + 46. 'ii'e2 Wang Yue (Chi na) and Sudanto Megaranto l:txg 1 + 20 . Apprenticeship or the American way to success ltJ 43 vincing as the game continuation ..g6 1 9. . The 1 7 . 1'. xa2 lllf4. .l:!. 'i'c3 exerts more pressure.xe1 + 45. ri. Thus in 2003 he won the bronze After this the wh ite attack becomes too medal in the U nder. . 1 0 .xg6 .l:t.. as can be (Russia) . . . .%:la7+ 'it'd& 51 .l:.xg4.'it'g1 ri.a3?! 1 1 H i karu lost to the two players from Asia. He drew with one's opponent must be increased .. 1 . . tt'le2+ 45.0-0 %:tg8 1 5. . 1'.i.d4 tt'lf6 2 . in the long ru n but very aggressive.d3?! �g2+ 57.a7+ 'it'd& 60. the U nder. of players in sixth place on 7% points.f1 ?? loses at once on account of pion.a6+ 'it'cs the board. The H.e4 dxe4 1 2.1'.e3 c6 49 .gS d5 3 .i.c4+ ri.tt'lgs tt'lg6 23. Nakamura E. l:.1 6 world champion strong.l:tf7+ 'it'xf7 50.e1 • when he won the title of European Cham- 44 .h3?! Russian..tt'lc3 f5 7 .e7 50. (Philippines) .%:lb7+ 'it>fe GAME 1 2 47 . 20 .i.i. .d7? A glance at Nakamu ra's opponents shows This is too slow.l:tg1 h5?! 1 8. a lot of luck in the following game. Viktor Laznicka (Czech Republic).i.. was i n 2009 in Buvda (Montenegro) 43.dS ! es . .xg4 1 8. . c1 48. and in the following year was runner playable.laf7 tt'le3+ 5.'it'h1 .l::t a7 l::tg2+ 54. c1 ?? 43 .i. b4 1 9.l:.l::t x a7? • Now White becomes too greedy. The greatest individual 21 . a5 50.l:. Evgeny Romanov Now it is too late for 1 6 . .cxd5 cxd5 1 0.c5 puts up more resistance . . When attacking. .tt'lxe4 tt'lc6 1 3.'ii'd2 'ii'b 8 had Tahirov (Azerbaijan). .il.g4 ! ? Perhaps objectively speaking not t h e best One try here might be 54 .a6+ 'it'e7 59 .'it'g 1 Junior World Under.tt'lcs .xc5 20.'it'h1 %:ld2 very hard to rein in Wh ite's initiative over 58.c4 l:.1 2 world champion seen from 1 7.i. White resigned.. :g2 Wh6? ! 38 .g7 But not 29 .:h2 h6 32..Wxh2 'iie7 40 . but his move is also a strong one.fl)d& .44 � Chapter 1 24.'ii h s We7 46.'ii'x e5+ Wh7 57..'ifg4 .f3 'it'd7 35.Wf5 We7 36. 33. l:tc3 White is also superior. 44 .te7 47. �1 'ifh3+ 53.xg5? on account of 30.d6? What a pity. 9i.xh2+ 39.tg4 ! ! .:g2 'ifh1 + 54.. .txg4?! This opens up highways for the decisive attack.:g2 Wde 44... but in any case it is hard to suggest anything better.fl)f6+.. 'ii'd S 34.. . 45 .hxg4 9i. . hxg5 38.9i.txd6 a b c d e f g h 28 .Wh5 25 .Wf6 'iff8 32.. 30.l:tc4 25 .We2 'it'e7?! 55 ..fl)gs . : b3 b5 39..:c3 'ifd8 37. . :ca! ! l:txc8 34. Now Black can escape the pin.fl)xg5 l:r.. 37 . 9i.Wf2 Wh4+ 55. 'ii'h 1 ! ? 56.te7 42. 44 .h8 45.d2 leaves Black in a desperate position..g5 After 37.l:. : h2 mate.. 'ii'h S+ 46.'ii'd7 'ii'h 4 48..g5 l:.:te1 �8 25. 'ii'd 5 'ii'g3+ 52.fl)xh7+ 9i..fl)e4 We7 31 .'ii'd 1 is U nfortunately Nakamu ra misses the bril also good for White. so Hikaru should have continued the attack with 45. 35.'ii'd 3 33.txd6 50.:c2 Wf6 41 ..'ii'x h6+ Wg8 allows Black some counterplay.g1 .Wg2 f3+ 37.'ii'xd6 'ii'h 4 51 .'ii'f5+ Wh6 31 .g7 26.. .Wgs Wb1 does not change the fact that neither side . but it unnecessarily liant finish 33.g7 2s.c1 + 36..Wg2!? 'ife7 38.�4 'ii b6 43.fl)gs 'ii'h 8 27.:f2 Wh5 49. .'ifh3 l:. Wxf3 . 29.:d2? One inaccuracy is often followed by an other.:g1 Wee 21. but since then his chess career has not 23.hf8 20..lbxb5 'ilfa5+ 1 1 .xf7 1 9.'ittg S �e7+ 68. Nakamura F. ..'ittd 6 lLlf5+.g7 5. 'ii'e 2+? 8 ..'ilfc4 'iWb6 1 5. l2Jxe6 i. cxd4 1 2.'*fc7 'ii' h 2 64. The correct way was 1 1 . is an example of how a tage.. H. .'ittd3 '*ff6?! 59.'ili'd3 llg8 21 ..'ilfd7? ! An interesting try would be 59.fxe6 9 .lbc3 g6 4..gf8 .f2+ 1 2. i.0-0-0 l:.'ilfxd4 lbc6 66.�c4! .e3+ is a known drawing variation . 23 .af8 1 8.h3 lLlf6?! 69. On the other hand. i.'ittfS 'ilfe6+ 1 4.i. . whom lbd8?! our young American here defeats in good 1 9 . Apprenticeship or the American way to success lb 45 has an advantage. . . Draw agreed on White's proposal However..l:. l:!.e6 65.a4 b6 57.g1 'ilfh4 62.'ittxf4 fxg6 simply liquidates to a draw.'*fd6 Junior World Under. ii'h5 63.e4 d6 2.'itt g 4 16 . i. GAME 1 3 56.'ittf8 60.'ilfd4? After the text move Wh ite has unnecessary problems.U.d7 7.'itt g S 'i!Ve7+ 70.1 2 Championship.lLlf3 cs 6. when he was 1 5 20.he got his grandmaster title in 2002 .l2Jxd4 i. 65 .'ittfS '*fe6+ 67.l2Jxb5!?) 1 1 . 'ti'c2+ 66.exf7+ 'ittd 7 1 O..'it>b1 l2Je8?! progressed any further.b3 as 58.e5 lbg4 8.'itt d 5 lb e7+ 67. White i s probably better then too.d2 l:.lLlc3 have ended in a loss for Nakam u ra. .xd4 1 3.l:txg6 ii'c2+ 66.g4 sees White with an advan attacking style.i..d4 lbf6 3. ..l:. Tahirov - 59 . 1 7.xd4 him the game.te3 'ili'a5?! 22.'ilfxeS+ 'it>h7 Oropesa del Mar 1 999 Pirc Defence [809} 1 .lLlxd8 ( 1 1 .b5+ i. lb h6 is played much more often . . player can peak in early years . 'it>d2 65 . .xb5 Now Black goes wrong. but it does not cost 8 . .f4 i. l2Jg5 i. 65. l2Jc6 is more accu rate.xb5 1 o. and there is a high probability that it would 9.'ittc4! ? .he1 The Azerbaijani Farhad Tahi rov.'ilfe2 h5 1 6.'itte4 'itt g 7 61 .. and so Nakamu ra be better.lll b6+ �d8 36. . es 38 .c4 2 es 38.i. 31 . dxcS?..'ii'xa8 lll xg2 35.l:. %:.'ii'as+ �ca 28..'ii'xa7 lllc7 If 28 . and Black should be out of options.xeS 'ii' b S 39. . then 29.lllcS+ �c7 27. because 33 . 37 . 29. 33. l:tf2 was requ i red: 37. c3 (here 37. lll d S+.'ifaa+ �c7 31 . Jba8 34. 'ifa7 lllxf4 37..xe7 38. lll b4+.txf4 In the middle the black king is a fine target 'ii'x b6 34.'ii'xc8+ �xc8 40 . ..'ifaa+ �d7 38 . 6 34 .. 'ii'c7 25. sounds the decisive attack.llla 8+? . since Black misses the chance to set up a defensive line by means 8 of 33 . .'ii'a4+ 'ii'c6 26. gS turns out to for the white pieces. 24 . 33 �d7? .lll b6?! 31 .l:r.'ii'g 8 lllx e1 7 36.•. 39. 'ili' xd8 mate.'ii'xb6+ �xb6 35 . . . ..'ii'xf8 Black resigned. 'i¥a7 lllxf4? 33 . although all he is left with is hope. 'ii'c8 39. 'ii'a 8+ �d7 40. 'ifxa6+ 'ifxa6 42. 36 . The bluff works.txf4 ltxf4 35.l:txe 1 'ilff3.llle 4 This check is superfluous. which of cou rse Hikaru does not miss.xe7 in no way changes the outcome of the game. . lte7 + �c6 4 1 . .xf4 34. .t xf4 %:.lll xe7! Nakamura sweeps away the last pillar of the defence....llld S :4f7? And now Tahirov even runs into a combina tion .46 � Chapter 1 24. llle 6 32 . lllc3 is just as good for White) 37 . llle6 32.. .lll a4 lll a6 30. lll c3 is better: 31 .'ii'a8+ �c7 30 . . With fifth place in out of 6. But then apprenticeship were rapidly coming to an he met in Wang Yue a Chinese player who. Nakamura H. That happened at the boy sought salvation was one he could not Under-20 national championship in Tu lsa.f5 l:te5 1 7. �f2 !:!.f4 lt:Jc6 French player Lau rent Fressinet.�b4 �f7 26. conti nued one step at a time.. with 2%/3 made no difference. His strong final spurt Oklahoma. lt:Jxd4 lt:Jxd4 1 O . drawn thei r game in round five .1 2.h5 g5 2 1 .1 2 world face each other only one more time in a champion..txg4 24. who later in 2000 i. thing seemed possible for Hikaru with his 5 1 4 world championsh ips. on the J::!. his final round victory interesting and in which the difference in over the Dutch player Daniel Stellwagen.l:th5 . though the steps were becoming notice Seeded 1 oth for his fourth Junior World ably bigger. whereas Asu ka remai ned on took th i rd and fourth places. In any case.a3 c5 27.i.l:!. when they had different chess worlds (2464-2 1 98). A victory in the final round against the 1 . mate.g4 i.'iVxa7 .txd4 lt:Jxe4 1 1 . like the two Chinese players who 7% out of 9 . I n the meanti me his brother had with his Elo of 2440. 'ii'd 3 l:!. It was the end of J u ly 200 1 .'it'd2 �xe2 33.d7 1 6. who 5.ta2 35.h7 l1b1 other hand .e6 25. si nce The younger brother decided things in his although at the end Hikaru had eight favou r.te2 c3 29. Zhou Weiqi tenth and last place with a mere two points. Apprenticeship or the American way to success 4:J 47 Tahirov's compatriot Teimour Radjabov. was clearly stronger severely limited his competitive chess than Nakamu ra (on 228 1 ) and who in the activity. A.fxg6 hxg6 20. hold and the dreams of a medal for the 1 2- the second biggest town in the US state of year-old had burst. h4 �e7 1 9.his years of no way spoiled his brilliant start.e3 lt:Jf6 6.1 8 . and Zhao Jun.. .on the same nu mber of poi nts l:!.i. The rook ending in which the US serious game..e8 1 5 .a si lver one . On the i nternational stage he Championsh ip.�d2 e5 8. h6+ mate Rasul lbrahi mov and the Span iard �ha 22.1 2 with two Under. as he majestically won the title with points. 31 . is well worth seeing. .d3 4th place .lt:Jc3 i.g7 4.l:txf6 �e3+ 32.i. bxc3 'iVa7 30. his tie-break score was Here then is this game which is historically worse.d4 g6 3.lt:Jf3 exd4 became runner-up.'iVxb7 Francisco Vallejo Pons. and even his draw in the next 2000 and then his fi rst medal in the round against the Czech Jan Bernasek in fol lowi ng year . 'ii'd 2 c4 won the World Championsh ip crown in this 28 .1 0 age g roup.df1 f6 as the Cuban Lazaro Bruz6n. national ratings between the two was who had taken the World Championship al ready a reflection of two completely si lver in the Under.ta 23. would have brought 9. end . mean ing that the brothers would previous year had become Under. one year later Pirc Defence {806] made the jump up into the Under.b8 age group.e8 1 2.CH)-() l:txe4 1 3.e4 d6 2. but he only managed J::!.'it'xe2 Hikaru Nakam u ra's development. lt:Jxe4 him the gold medal.'tt>d 1 lig2 36. and fi rst place in 1 998 in Oropesa del Mar Tulsa 200 1 in the U nder. .xg7 'it>xg7 1 4. his team 1 8. Nakamura - who took second place in 1 997 in Cannes USA National Under-20 Championship.h3 0-0 7.xe2 34. at the half-way mark every followed up the U nder. 1'...xd8 sees White with the upper hand.d6 'ifd7 39 . ..a7. .l:.ll:lxc4 dxc4 Position after 29 .xd7?. 30 . .d3 !JJ. . Stel lwagen should a wild battle in time-trouble.b4 ll:la7 1 6. Nakamura D . .�h1 ll:lb5?! 39..l:. 33 h6 34. xc3.l:. Missing the chance to storm the black and Black has nothing to laugh about) stronghold at once.f1 e.'ii'e2 :ca 1 8.e5 ll:lfd7 5. .ll:le4 1'.l:.l':tf8+ �h7 43. .d8'ii' .f5 31 Jif3 . Necessary prophylaxis. There now began This is simply too slow.'ifg2 would be a mistake on account of 31 . 38 . .ll:lc5 'iff7 38. xf5 exf5 32 .g1 .ll:lc5 'iff7 36 .d7 ll:lc6 40 .ll:lxe6 'ii'xe6 (if (see next diagram) 4 1 . !JJ.c3 ll:lc6 7.48 � Chapter 1 GAME 14 H.d8 26. .xf4 36.l:.l:..c3? �gs 44 .xe3 .e4 e6 2.f1 'ii'g 8 4 1 . . then 42.0-0 1'.g. bring his knight into play immediately with 38 b6? •.d7 too.1'.ll:lb6 l:.l:.e6..• 36.xf4 :xt4 37.1'. . 'if c2+ g6 44.!JJ. 36.a3 a5 1 4.• 24 . Jixf4 37. ll:lb5 . tll b 5? ! 22.l:.tc6 23. .tt:Jxta �xf8 46.d7 1 3.• Nakamu ra wrongly turns up his nose at the pawn: 33 .d4 d5 3.xf4 1i'xf4 38. xe5 34. leading to unclear complications.:ac1 'iff7?! 27. 1'. .d4 40 . Stellwagen - Junior World U nder-1 4 Championship.l':tg 1 ! ? is an option. 25.ll:lxc3 ll:lxc3 32 ..l:.td3 ll:lb6 1 2. 25. c1 .e4 .f4 !JJ.'ifxg4 ll:lc4 21 .d4 41 .. xc6 'ifxc6 24.xe3 35 . .cf8 32. ..l:t. .ll:lc3 0-0 1 1 .ll:lxa4?! . xf4 35.b6+ 29.l:. and even prayer can no longer help Black) 31 .cxd4 f5 1 0.l:.'ii'x b6.l:. White has a splendid posi tion) 35J1c5 with a clear plus for the fi rst player. and Black has sufficient cou nterplay. . .l:.e1 ! 24 'ii'd 7? . 'iff4.d4 33.d7 .e3 !JJ. .1'. Oropesa del Mar 2000 French Defence [C 1 1] 1 .f4 42 . .�g 1 30.:ct1 ?! .d2 1'..l:.ll:lc3 ll:lf6 4.a8 27..b3 a4 1 5. .lt:Jxe6 'iff7 44..lhf4 .g4 fxg4 20.l:.. .•. .l:.xc4! ? !JJ.ll:ld2 'ifee 1 7. 1'. ll:ld4! 39. . .lt:Jf3 cxd4 9.l:.xd8 without problems after 30.l:.l:.l:.f6 (after 34 .ll:lce2 c5 6.'ii'xc6 bxc6 26.fa+ 'ikxta 45.f5 c3 (30 .e7 8.l:.xf4 'ifxf4 43. which comes about 42 .xf5? 45 .ll:lc5 c3 28.d5! 1'.b2 �he 1 9.l:.'ii'g 6 'ifa8+ 43.1'.&r. d 1 ? 28. although he only started to play chess seriously from the age of eight.. probably i n extreme time many of the representatives of this new trouble. year. but simply conti nued to work 201 2) "Magnus Carlsen . ..d4 41 .l:!xd4 lLixd4 42. he had 2005) that the explosion in the number of cranked up his Elo rati ng to 2466. computers. p. I work exclusively with the computer. 7 Thus the two authors Adrian Mikhalchishin and Oleg Stetsko chose as a It is good that H i karu did not get caught title for the introduction to their Fighting up in the "what would have happened if.d? l::txg2 41 . Chess with Magnus Carlsen (Edition Olms ?" question. org/jordan. . of computers. footnote 5. reading relevant specialist literatu re . That is grandmasters can clearly be attributed to an increase of 1 75 points i n a single year. . That was abso lutely not the case for H i karu . when the best up-and-coming players Hikaru Nakam u ra explained in his inter in the world once again met in Oropesa del view with Chess Chronicle (December Mar to decide thei r champions. qu ite i ndependently of his this method . powerfully increased techn ical possibil ities 40. but the situation oping exchange of information and the remains complicated . according to Dr. It works well. a direct comparison with his rival accessible to everyone. In the following computer age".d8'ii'+ generation owe the enormous progress in Ith? 42."8 1 Dr. Dirk J ordan. 43.for example Kaspa rov's series on his "great predecessors" - was an i mportant factor. http://karlonline. on Nakamura's interview with Chess Chronicle.. Dirk Jordan . A radical blunder. [Some remarks on the discovery and development of talent in top-level chess] a Cf.@xg2 bxc5 43.lLib7 • dependent on the ever-increasing spread Black resigned. "That makes it Magnus Carlsen shows that the Norwegian much easier to study the games of other chess prodigy at the same age of almost 1 4 players . .'ii'h 4 'fi'f5 Black may their playing strength to the rapidly devel even hold the better cards.Hero of the stubbornly on his chess. . .Einige Bemerkungen zur Erkennung u nd Entwicklung von Talenten im Spitzen schach". 'iig 8? And in fact. Apparently a lot of other players use certainly that. l1f2 ! 40. I normally use the computer a lot. ." 39 . Basically I study the openings of my oppo The most important reason for that is nents. For Magnus.d7 l:. since every game is made However. Apprenticeship or the American way to success � 49 extraordinary talent. . After 39 . had al ready reached 2581 . he simply trained dif ferently from Nakamura. In an inter view with chess journalist and author Howard Goldowsky j ust before the 2005 championships in San Diego he explained abcdefgh qu ite fran kly: "Recently I have not picked up any chess books. or what then? Many players do not want to analyse a loss. But the Hungarian was playing the tou rnament of his l ife and that is something one j ust has to accept in sport.tll b3 tll c6 7. I think that is in fact true. I agree with Hikaru that it is possible to learn a great deal from a defeat.tllf3 e5 1 2. although it was certainly more than annoying in view of the ratings gap of 200 points. Nakamura B.ll d 3 tllf6 6.50 � Chapter 1 Garry Kasparov's warning about this Two rounds before the end everything one-sided tou rnament preparation is inter seemed to be possible for H i karu again .. Two thing will come out of it. who scored his thi rd I M norm in "clienf' Susanto Megaranto (Elo 2234) an open tou rnament in the Hungarian town from the Philippines. The pure pragma years later he would become U nder.'ii'e2 J. e7 1 0.i. his seeding. and then he was nowhere to be seen in the refreshing play unable to win with Black against his old of Hikaru .1 6 tism of young players can be seen in many World Champion . In any case.b7 a bitter defeat?" And his step-father ex 9. In a win H. You J unior World U nder.1 4.tll 1 d2 d6 1 1 .tllxd4 a6 positive feel after a win or annoyance after 5 . "Winning feels real good." So at the Junior World Championships of 200 1 his defeat at the hands of the futu re champion Viktor Erdos (Elo 2265!) did not throw him. that is Oropesa del Mar 2001 clear".tllf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4. because he went for risks and did not change his combative style after losing a game. However. Hikaru of Eger in February 2001 and at the age of finished up with a World Championship 1 3 years and two months became the silver medal . . but you GAME 1 5 can learn more from you r losses. this results-orientated attitude is achieving this task.a4 plained: "I think one must be ready to learn 0-0!? from defeats. j ust as an ice and Herzegovina had two Eu ropean Cham hockey team pushes the puck into their pionship titles to his credit: i n 1 999 in the opponents' zone in the hope that some Under. . . if one is ready to take a critical look at it .1 2 and in 2001 in the U nder. a place which exactly matched youngest I nternational Master in the U SA.0-0 . .1 4 Championship definitely learn more from defeats. Nakam u ra had some difficulty Well . esting in this respect: "Nowadays most First he had to beat Borki Predojovic (Elo young players only make moves in the 2338). Predojevic you simply outplay the opponent or he - makes a mistake and you do not. but then stagnate in the games. was his reply to Howard Goldows Sicilian Defence [842] ky's question 'What affects you most? The 1 .f4 b5 8." 2600s.e4 c5 2. All's well that ends wel l . the young lad from Bosnia anticipation of a m istake. .xb2 1 8.xb2 32 .l:.l:. e. 'ii'b 4 27. lDxf4? Opens up highways for H i karu .c6 2 3 .l::.fa8.cxd6 'ifxd6 26.h3 lDf6 (after 23 . �h1 J.xes . .a2 28. 23.lDxe5 lDcxe5 21 . Apprenticeship or the American way to success ct:J 51 1 3 . on the other hand. 1 6.J. 26. . and Black has problems) 24.l:. 25 .J. .lDe6 fxe6 29..c5?! A good idea... 'ii'b 6+ wins back the piece with good play. .l:. .l:.lDd4 'ii'd 8 28. b2 . 26 .'ifxb2 'ifd3 33 .e5 20.h3 ..xf6 'ife2 30 .cS. . .J.tes 'ii'x h3+ 34 .xb5 'ifb6+ 1 9.axb5 axb5 1 7. .l:.txa8 1 5 .xeS lDxeS 27. lDxf4 26 . but Hikaru chooses the wrong move order to realise it. hxg4? would not be playable for White on account of 25 . since after 1 6.J. lDxe4 ! . J.xf4 J. is in no way worse off.. lDf6! Black. .c4 .axbS axbS 1 4 .•.fa8? ! 24 . After 25 . 23 dxc5 24. .b1 ..J. 23.cS . .txe4 31 .xaa . xt4? 'ifh6+.xe6+ �h8 30.::r.J.cS 'ilc7 25. Taking full control of the blockading square es..l:.d2 exf4 1 5.a2? ! there follows 24.c4 lD4e5 26. .'ii'd 4 'ifxbS 29.1i'b2 makes more of the running. 25. .txc6 'ifxc6 24. .g.a3 22.. a d1 J.te3 • The acceptance of the pawn sacrifice by 1 3. . .'ii'x g4 The way t o equality is 22 .txbS is met by 1 5 .g 1 . lDg6! Black solves the problem of the protection of his knights i n tactical fashion .'ii'xe4?! the move 1 6 . l:.l:. . On the other hand 25.t h2. . because this deprives White of the potential for exerting pressure.f6!? •.. so that Black cannot be worse.l:.J. 1 3 lDg4 1 4.lDd2? ! After 25.l:txb7 l::ta 1 the chances for both sides are relatively even.J. country. For him.txf7+ �h8 29 . xf7+ the world.lll xa3 l:. lllx h3! ! was the final positive influence of chess on my life". I did not set out to make 27 . eloquent chess teacher completed his apprenticeship.l:. and I had gained national �xf7 32 .xh3+ acclaim as the top scholastic player in the 34. .t a6.f8 28. . on the other hand.gxh3? ! on account of 27 .bd1 i. I wanted 30..lllc 4 decided that I would spend more time teaching chess. I'm merely trying to spread my lifelong Later he was never asked whether he passion to others. is met by character that clearly defined me as a 28 . 000 students in 26 states.l:. .txe6 is everyone a championship player .�g2. .t d7 . Sometimes winning doesn't mean his way was probably the correct one .l:. I began to realize stand better. the timeless art . also chosen the American way to success.l:. . everything.these were the Black resigned.. With its own program First Move. . i. c8? ! 31 . . I had made com p l i cated) 27 .'ikxf7+ l:txf7 30. i. . page 54: Since 1 986 there has been in N ew York a school chess program Chess in the Schools. and White may person . in which approximately 20..xf3 chess brings. requ i res a devotion g reater than many 27 . lll e6? I n July 2004 his brother Asuka published Mistakes rarely occur in isolation . . 'ikh6 special talent..52 � Chapter 1 26 . but the situation is still rather how much chess had given me. . c 8? . .xf7 'ii'xf7 31 . .tea °fic7 28 . the American Foundation for Chess annually reaches 50 . .t c4] 28 ..9 By the time I began high school. The an essay in the magazine Chess Life: "The surprising coup 26 . gxh3 l:. okay. After fou r chess player that my brother has become. The strategy. It was my (but not 27.xdB gxf4 34 . that's were he able to start all over again .. . As I grew older. ) would be the last appearance of H i karu I know I am not going to be the great Nakamu ra in j unior tournaments. . but he had my stepfather has gained recognition for. %:txb7+ �e6 33. ( . the thought 36 .. . .gxf3 l:.xca f3 35. ..'ii'f5 life since my memory can recall.000 students take part every year. ." 9 H ere there are two interesting facts which Stefan Loffler published i n the column "ABC des Schulschachs" in SCHACH 6/20 1 2 . c 4 'ikc7 many friends and acquaintances around 29. years at this level he had not only finally nor the charismatic.tea llld 8 young kids can summon.xa3 29 . i. And if the only thing I get wou ld have done everything differently is a toothy grin from a young face.that even better."iif4 "iixf4 32. Nevertheless White should also "Chess has been an integral part of my win through in the long run after 27.l:.td7+ process.. I 27. aspects of the game that I sought to bring This 200 1 Junior World Championship to the kids I taught. . "iic7 28. Instead . chance.xf4 g5 to spread the simple joy that the game of 33 . l:. the one aspect of my [27 . .. The great stars must be spotted early. Stefanova.i. won his game with a al ready rather dangerous. . Alex Yermolinsky. So I approached our game with body suspected that one day he would some respect. the participants of interest i nclude the future women's world champion Antoaneta Wh ite resigned. Of cou rse no nice attack. Nakamura B. I remember working out what was on h is name badge: Viswanathan Anand . who won it.lllf3 lll c 6 3.b2 lllxe2 1 6. .llld 2 0-0-0 1 O. and nine or ten is usually 1 . It is always In the fi rst round H i karu.'ile2 llld 5 8.b3 f6 1 1 . Wai kiki/Honolulu 1 997 a few years ago when looki ng through the Scotch Game [C45] database that I realised against whom I had been playing. Trabert . and ten-year-old Arianne Caoili.xf6 ltJg3+ young I ndian boy played unbelievably qu ickly and nevertheless kept up with the then all-powerful Soviets. Alexander Babu rin and Lev Psakhis. still remember this game well . who also played in it.b4 1 3. .d4 exd4 4. .exf6 'ilxf6 I n this context I also remember the Junior World Championship in 1 984 in Champigny 1 2J:tb1 1'.ta& 9. become so strong. With Anthony M iles. and actually it was only Hawaii Open.lll xd4 lllf6 early enough . As far as the tou rnament in Hawaii is concerned . Suat Atalik. He played relatively qu ickly . I something special playing against a child.lllxc6 bxc6 6. In them a completely unknown 1 5.i. ctJ 53 ZWI SC H E N jy Z O G E Rem i n iscences o f a c h ess ga me Bv BETTINA TRABERT H.e2 lllc3 sur-Marne. who surprisingly took 5 th place. the Open was a relatively strong one. .'ifd 1 l:tde8+ 1 4 .e5 'ile7 7.e4 e5 2. who was playing along with his brother Asuka and step-father and for his nine years little Nakamu ra was Sunil Weeramantry. From today's point of view.i. it took place in April 1 997 in Waikiki near Honolulu and was organised by the American Eric Schiller. 5.c4 . . C. 16~ A..J--1 rf"I... ~:: :...• oc...).> It" .1' 1 I th\ 41...t----+-------1 17" .. ·1 ":'.+ ..1.. · -. U tC ~.. .. ~.." D.p-(..... ' I -~>* 11 ~Dc. f l .:·~Bfadf ... ~ --------.. • - '. ~...._. 40'...l 3'... ( 1.·· ~ rs s. ~-... ." ·-·-~ ts. -:::r:>t.. ~ --- ~ • fl ....... lrlll lllek W.. 'z"" fl I _ ) lf1 ·.-tf'1 ~ •· J. fe: :rr·._ / tt1: p~ ... W. '€'I iec.. ---------- 1a 19. ·: .~ -...... · 14 I "'7 ~:~ .:-.{ ) C -0 -c !Sf: ..'! •.. . c__ ' ~ I L. .. 31 i.~ .l 1 C.. .-----1 12 '"'"i1"""... ~' L"'! .... ..+----+-------1 ~ 14: t=...~\ ' ~ ":·3• ..... :-. . .. :. (l ~ .. 1.·T 5·" .. ..54 @ Reminiscences of a chess game No• .. . .._" . Circle Correct Result: .. " ( IA£ Q i~~ t6 Cv f'L C . t)c'"l C_.. 80 ..: ·..... J..-----+--------1 U ' 86 ~-~-r------t-----.... ~ Z9 .... 12 -1 t.ft i..r... r_ -:D<... ..../.1 { o.. i---.. -. S:y~t.. . . because I lived for a his childish signature . who was awarded the WGM title by . At the early age of 1 4 she took Women's World Championship in Erlangen . Reminiscences of a chess game lD 55 but with concentration . But things did not long time in the USA. part in her first international tou rnament Nowadays Bettina Trabert has settled in and in the Junior World Championships in Freiburg/Breisgau . . Her g reatest nament game against Hikaru Nakamu ra. The qualified ethnolo is through her columns. two rounds later I lost to Hikaru's Ah well . gist. . where she lives with her 1 984 gained an excellent fourth place in family. However. counter of 1 ?'h April 1 997 with Hikaru I had come to Hawaii after finishing my Nakamura. positive draw. the FIDE in 2000. At present her main link with chess the U nder. success with the team was their 61h place was numbered in the 1 980s among the on her debut in Dubai 1 986. Distant corners of the go as he wished and after the very early planet have always interested me and an finish he appeared quite disappointed . At the bottom left you can see studies in ethnology.1 6 girls. The fol lowing greatest up-and-coming hopes in West year she won the zonal tournament for the Germany. excursion to this chess tournament was a I cannot remember any joint analysis. has represented Germany first German woman to play a tou r five times in chess Olympiads. (see page 54) * * * Bettina Trabert (born 1 969) . I have actually managed to find step-father and analysed the game with the score-sheet for this remarkable en him for some time. He gave up his favourite King's I ndian L. Nakamura - Defence. Hikaru's plan was extremely simple. One important pointer from the "master'' for H i karu was that i n any case he had to change his all-or-nothing style if he wanted to conti nue successfu lly on his path to the top. Armen ian under severe pressure two Wij k aan Zee 201 1 months before in Moscow. and certainly havi ng the opportun ity t o work with . ) . is sort of an opportun ity you can't turn down".d4. . If they are adversaries ultra-sound barrier of 2800 Elo points? without any fire in thei r bellies and devoid . rem inisced Nakamura in an excl usive interview with New In Chess (Volume 7/201 1 . with which he had put the Tata Steel Chess (A) . What in January 201 1 was known only to an absol utely i ntimate circle was that two months previously H i karu Nakamura had had a secret conversation with Garry Kasparov in the Saint Louis Chess Club.. Aronian H. GAM E 1 6 Wel l . This reminds one of a quote from the How does one play with Black against a legendary David Bronstein: "I choose this super-g randmaster such as Levon Aronian . "I knew right away that I would defin itely take up the offer simply because there are certain times . Boldly applying the brakes . After the close of the London Chess Classic on 1 5th December 20 1 0 at a private meal in Simpson's-in-the-Strand their cooperation was decided upon .56 @ C HAPTER 2 Wij k aan Zee Sunday. financed by the American chess patron Rex Sinquefield . That makes specific preparation easier and allows games to be plan ned tactical ly. I nstead he chose the Leningrad System of the Dutch Dutch Defence [A89] Defence as his weapon against 1 . It is not always about fighting down to the final bul let. page 1 O ff. 1 6th January 201 1 . but from time to time energy-saving draws are also a sensible alternative in super-tou rnaments . opening depending on who my opponent of who shortly before had broken th rough the the moment is.certain opportun ities you have in life just don't come around that often . . the greatest chess player ever. From that standpoint we must hope that the trad ition of Wij k aan Zee is uper-tou rnaments of 1 3 rounds plus th ree rest days are the absol ute exception preserved . for where else are there th ree whole chess weekends? But the thing that is n ice compared to an Open played according to the Swiss System is that right from the drawing of lots players know whom they will meet on each day and with which colour.. a t least what I consider t o be . Round 2 Snowadays. es 1 1 . 'ifa4 . the "ex 1 5. i t can b e found in t h e ex lessly mark time whilst Black conju res up cellent opening monograph Leningrad Sys attacking chances on the kingside.. e5? now fai ls As was to become clear. at the 2007 1 081h US Open in Cherry Hill.0-0 o-o 6. who allowed the game to peter out really qu ickly to fu l l equality. pawn. .. . able sixth place: 1 1 .b3 to put the breaks on his more fancied Aronian even allows the advance of the d opponent without any problem. . choice was spot on.lbc3 lbc6 8. c6 ( 1 5 . l::td 1 . ." Mikhail tem by g randmaster Stefan Kindermann. dS! 1 3.txe6 1 2.'it>xg2 lbc6 1 7.. is a very pretty trating on White against Shirov tomorrow". ltxd6 'ii'xd6 1 7. since he lost in only 29 moves.. Nakamu ra's to 1 1 .a3 peri ment" ended in a fiasco eleven moves After this the game peters out completely." d raw as follows: "A very comforting draw" The comment of Bent Larsen . lb d5 lbc6 1 3. 201h USSR Champion sh ip. For the 2 1 -year-old from Leningrad . Hikaru once tried the main move 8 . .t g5 . Botvinnik too. . lb e5 in his game agai nst Amon Simutowe. . because the freeing 1 O . Wa4! ? c5 1 0. e. who was more than 200 Elo points weaker than him.txe? 'ii'e 6 2 1 . Wc2 b6 1 7. Frequently they use many players".ds lbas 12 .tg7 after 1 2 . if. But Black also has no great worries 1 ..lbf3 .g.t a3 l:. himself is supposed to have said about the Dutch Defence: "You can only play the On Twitter Nakamura commented on the Dutch against patzers. c5 1 0. Moscow 1 952. lbd4.t d7 1 5 .lbxdS . 1 9. although in his fi rst appearance in the 1 5. 9. 'ii'xa5 b6 1 8. bxc3 llfe8 1 5 . c8 1 7.dxc6 lbxc6 1 1 .t d7 has a sl ight initiative .. . on the other hand.txd5 Presumably Nakamu ra's bold choice of opening came as a surprise to Aronian.. . .g3 lbf6 3 .lbd2 A main alternative is 9. but without success..i.d4 f5 2.txg2 1 6.c5 . 'ii'a3 lbe8 1 4 . certainly championship he would occupy a respect bring more tension into the position . . as well as Vladimir Kramnik 9 .a3!? is probably slightly more venom fans of this opening. belonged to the 1 O. . who had Black. b4. ..e4!? would.cxd6 lbxd6 1 6 .t e6 1 5.cxdS lbxd5 1 4.lbf3 22.c4 d6 7. 5. . and Black resigned . i.. 'ii'h 4 . later. as played in the game Keres-Korchnoi .l::t b 1 in his very young years. I take particular pleasure in one: "The Dutch brings out the 'chicken' i n playing the Dutch. ous. the great especially from the point of view of "concen Danish fighter and winner.dxe6 .tg2 g6 4.e6 1 6 . Korchnoi Draw agreed on Wh ite's proposal.t xc3 20 . because he managed 1 o . Wijk aan Zee ctJ 57 of fighting spirit. and in each case Wh ite 1 6 . lba5 1 2 ..a3. 'i'e2) 1 3 . lbf3 h6. . . but he moved his king pawn two squares forward. who in view of the fantasy in his style is often seen as a successor to the chess magician Mikhail Tai .but thereafter things did not go so well .'ii'd 3? ! tl'l h5 Black al ready had good . at the Tai Memorial in Moscow.tl'lxbS 1'. who moreover was meeting in Alexei Shirov an uncompro mising opponent. 1'. 1 4 . 1 5. xf3 tl'l g6 % . Of cou rse it is lost to Ruslan Ponomariov and Magnus Carlsen to Anish G i ri (in both cases with White) . is his speciality. and it was a Ruy Lopez. 1'.b3 it. trainer DVD in 201 0. So it was up to the American to put his stamp on the opening 1 4 'ifd7! ? •.g4 1 3. e2 exf3 s. had astounded the chess world at the start: five victories in succession . He did not choose the sharp Sicilian Defence as he had done the year before.g.1'. . The defeat of Smeets may have been expected.axbS axbS 1 5 . against Anand and. d3 e4 1 8.c2 • 1 6.c3 d6 8.a4 tl'lf6 'ife8 is more frequently played .bS a6 4.e4 es 2. 1'. . 1 711 January 201 1 . The task of saving White's honour on that Monday now fell to Hikaru . 1'.cs The Tkachiev Variation .. tl'l g6! ? . as it happened . Nakamura A.tl'la3 tl'lexdS 7. 1 i n the FIDE world rating list was something of a sensation. GAME 1 7 H. round 3 D easier said than done. e. e.g. but the victory of the 1 6-year-old young Dutch star over the No. the move played later.d4 1'. 1 6. 1'. because it was all over in 22 moves. Shirov - Tata Steel Chess (A) . And the explanation that it was Carlsen's worst performance of the last two years did not help. In the final position after 79 moves with otherwise only the bare kings he was ahead by a purely symbolic bishop. 1 S. the Dutch player Jan Smeets rawing with Black and winning with White is a totally plausible strategy.1'.b8 9.% (Shi rov-Ganguly. Nakamura. .i. g5 (after 1 4 .1'. 1 . We now have a n exciting new plan. the American had Black and in a lively Ruy Lopez was on the verge of victory over the older player. xe4 f5 1 7 . They were followed by six draws and two losses.o-o bS 6.dS tl'le7 even more dangerous.tl'lf3 tl'lc6 3.a4 l:. I n this third round. may be 1 1 . on which Shirov 1 9. The previous year the player from Riga. in any case. Wij k aan Zee 20 1 1 Ruy Lopez [C78] Alexei's knightmares The question as to what Shirov would play as Black this time was answered on the very fi rst move. Ed had even produced a ChessBase Fritz monton 2005) . And ten months later too.tl'la3 0-0 1 2.58 � Chapter 2 Monday. b6 1 0.c4 tl'l xe4 1 6. 'iii h2 equilibrium. (after 2 1 . 'ikfS! was objectively better.'ii'f6 is met by 35 .lllas :tea 26 .• 27 . .l:.gxh3 'it'xh3 1 8.bb8) 20 . after which .l:. .ll xf3 1 9. .l:.ll e4 27.b3 'ife4 34. . lll x b6 . 'iit g 3 offered better prospects of obtain ing an advantage. . 'ft'xe4 .l:. lll g S 'ii'g 3+ .l:.• 1 6 . . gS! Black has to become active and aggressive on the kingside.e4? •.fxe3 .•.g3 (see next diagram) 'figs in each case with good counterplay 35 . .ll xe3 21 .g4? ! . .'ii'c2 37.l:. Wg3! 36. . g3! .xes.fc1 ? • A very difficult decision . .gxf3 'ifxh3 22.c3 'ifes 33 . 'ft'f4 'iii h 8 23. .l:txb6 23 . lll h S? is thwarted by 1 7. . 201 1 . .ll g 6 31 . lll h 2 lll g 3 1 9 . or else the extra white pawn will be decisive in the long term .l:. .ll x h3 1 7. . for Black.l1f1 g4 29.e8 24. 'ft'xe2 'ifxgS that 35.ll e2 2 1 .gS! • This developing move is the correct reac tion. .'ikxf6+ 'iitg a Black has equality) 21 . .lle4 22 .l:..ll xe4 fS 1 8 .l:.f4 astonishing that Shirov did not seize the The unconventional 23.ll xe4 fS gives Black a very dangerous attack.a3 .xc2 23 . Wijk aan Zee ctJ 59 play in De Firmian-Aaron. Nevertheless.exdS e4 18 . ... Philadelphia also offers White certain winning chances.tg& 24.. 28. 'ikd2 .g. Prophylaxis with 31 . . hS 32 .c3 hS 33.llx h3 1 8.ll xe3 . it is .. lllxc2! ? gxf6 24.c4 1 9.i.l:.ll h 5 1 7. 'iii h 1 'if h4+ 20. from the position.ll xf6 (20. 'ft' es+ 22.h3 . . llle s dxeS 20. 1 6.llx g4 1 9.l:!.c3 • • 1 9 e3? ! .'ikf2 .lllc4 :as 2s. and Black maintains the lllxe4 25. 1 8. .i. llld 4 fleeting chance with 35 .b4?! This very committing move opens the second rank. h3 .l:. . .xf6 move can be criticised .e4 'ifes 22..i. h3? backfires on account of 23 . 'iii h2 'iit h 7 34 . . 1 8 .. It should be pointed out e.h4 'ife7 30. The bishop gets in the way here and the 20 . 'ifes 35 . On the other hand .l:. lll c4 . lll c 6 'ife4 32 . 1 6. . hxg4 lllxg4 21 . gxf6 2 1 . .fc1 'iitg 7 35.. lll c 4) 1 7 . tll h 3 fS) 1 6 . . Probably the Here Nakamu ra tries to extract too much alternative 1 9 . 31 .e 1 fS 20.t xe4 . lll xe4 ( 1 6 . 20 . 'iit g 2 lll h S 2 1 ..ll c2 e4 with unclear compli cations. . 'i'xeS . xg3 f5 46 . . and Black has noth ing to fear.l:!. 'ii'x g3 l:te4.l:!. . The only possibility of effectively activating 41 .'it>d4 l:[ g3 55 .cxd6 cxd6 57. .. . . on the other hand.l:!. 'iif d 4 l:. After 40 .a3+ 54. route on account of 58 .l:!. e4) 36 . .l:!.es 51 . l2ie4 c5+ 57.'it>c3 . . .l:t b7 .f1 l:.l2ib3 l:txa3 42 .cxd5? :xe3 44. .if7 8 40 . xf5 50 ..l:!.a2 55.eea 40 .e5? I n the long run this rook move tu rns out to a b c d e 1 9 h be a waste of a tempo.c5 . g6+ 59.l:!. .e4 �g4 45 .lZ'ld2 the knight. which is going to become a 43.g.l:i.exf5 :ta2 49 . Black gains a dangerous attack.l:!. g6 and then . xg2 56.a2 54.l:!.. . 48. lZ'lf3? is the wrong on account of the eternal pin on the knight.l:!. 'i¥g7 53 .. .b5±. which gives him good chances of a draw.'>t>e3 :a3+? This drives the white king in the direction it wanted to go anyway. e. Black is in no 58.60 � Chapter 2 43 .e8 47. .e3 l:.g3 39.lZ'lb3 ! ! way worse.. 'i¥f4 (36.g.�xe5 J:txe5 38 . .t2 l:ta8! Shirov activates his rook. .i. g4. l2i f3 l::t b2 56.xd5! 43. 58..g1 56.l:!.l:..d5 Si. l2i b3 merely 37.i. .l:!.d3 .l:!. 52 . a3+ 55.l:!.l:!.d1 55.. e.fa1 54. b5 .'it>c3 ..l:!. . 53. 53 . 54. bxc5 Position after 35. 'iit xc5 . .l:!. .a4! on the other hand takes advantage of the moment when the king cannot yet get involved on the queenside. 'iiff 1 '>t> g6 would be fatal nightmare for Alexei.a3 'lt>g7 54.a1 36 . . e4.c5 l:!.'it.i.lii.b5 :tc1 + 57. �e6 44. 36. . helps White's cause.l:tfc1 ? dxc5+ 58.:tg5+ 'it>h6 52.'i¥f4 g3 37.. 'ii'f3 'ti'g7 37. .xa3 . 'iif d 4 .'iifd 3 .l:!. 'it?d2 dS Nor is there salvation after 75 ..be 84.�f4 . l:. . Also after 73 . 68.tc2 • 88.es S9. G i ri and the 20-year-old 72 .xg4 l:. .:b1 89 .b2+ 69.'it?f4 llf1 + 87.• c5 (75 .tiJfS+ 'it?h7 63 . . and White If 58 .e7+! • Russian Ian Nepomniachtchi (born 1 990) .l:txh5+ than clear. 'it?f4 l:. . . 'it? d2 .e2+ 67. . 74. This game was not only the longest in the thi rd round. .b1 futu re with satisfaction .tfS •.fs+ � e6 70. . so that the game lasted seven hours rather than two.tiJxdS+ 'it?f7 •. 'it? e3 .tiJe3 . . . laf2 76.:r.hS 11 .xd5 71 J lxe2+ 'it? f5 72 .• J.:.l:.d 1 + 60. liJd4 wins) 76 .a4 . 'it? d3..l:.:.l:.:. d3+ 6 1 .:.gB+ 79. �g8 63. J::t xc4+ on 62.xbS 68.ttJxc7 lacs+ 7s . Now White has everything under l:. tiJ f5+ 'it? h7 62 . ..:.<it>c1 78.. tiJd2 72 'it?fS 73 . . tiJd4. 'it> e5.as 78. 91 .:.tiJdS+ 'it?e6 I:!.:r.f1 60.'it?g3 . For some reason half way th rough I began to play hesitantly.:gs+ • account of 76 .tiJf3 .�e2 :b1 60.tiJd4 . .:r.:. . half a point ahead of Anand .td3 68 .:..g4 . 'it? xc4 'it? g7 77. .:. "Naka" had made a good start in Wijk aan Zee.:xd5 74.:r..:.d6 �f7 92. but it also brought H i karu for the second time the 500 euro prize for the best game of the day.eB 'it? g4 73.g4 Black resigned.. European Champion in Rijeka . h5 75 .b2+ 66.tiJd4 . .ttJe2 �es 83 . .txc4+ 61 .l:.:.l:. .'it?e3 :ca � h5 (Atalik). Nakamu ra finds a precise tactical solution who had totally surprisingly become 201 O to the problem of the position.txc4+.b 1 6 1 .es J.a1 93.c4 S8 . c3 62.e4 White's advantage is more (Atalik) 60 . . With his 2% points the American occupied fi rst place.:.'it?d4 .:e4 .:r.tiJc3 l:. .l:.th7 81 . .:r. es . he answered self-critically: ''That was my own fault. .as+ �f6 86. . then 59.c4 . and Black can look to the e2. . 'it? d4 'it?g6 'it>f6 6S. .�c3 l:.�d2! control and the rest is a matter of tech nique . Asked afterwards why the encounter had gone on for so long. and White is better.xhS+ �g6 64 .laf4 'it?e7 77.liJd4 .:.f7.ae 80. l:th7 is met by 76 .d1 + •. 'it? f7 69 .bS 70." Well . Wijk aan Zee ltJ 61 . . tiJxd5+? would now be a mistake on account of 68 . ..'it?d1 i. . .a6+ 'it?g7 90. and not merely a good knowledge the strategic and tactical ideas of the of opening theory. erhaps at the start of the career of any opening repertoire. it is very important. Zu rich 2003 . "How to cope with the enormous and with the analysis of his or her own games ever-increasing volume of opening informa and the study of the classics being of tion? fundamental importance. But in understanding of book recommendations. and which systems accord best with you r one of the most important pre-conditions is style o f play? to acquire the ability to work independently. This can here. . on the basis very individual business in which everyone of a rapid acquai ntance with the opponent's has his own principles. to say 'good resulting position . Incidentally. whereas to are ready to solve the new problems facing achieve it is difficult. stage of the game is made up of many which of them understands more deeply factors . sooner fascinated by opening research and or later our 'book' knowledge will end and therefore I do not feel particularly confident we will have to act independently. as a child he "What are the principles of building an began with the completely normal move for 1 -2 M ark Dvoretsky. And Mark Dvoretsky. and to what extent they knowledge of theory' is easy. But to avoid this topic altogether is happen even at the very start of the game - not possible . our opponent has the right at any important a role in modern chess''. Numerous problems them .62 \t> The magic of openings A) Developing a repertoire P successful professional chess player. but also a creative treatment of able part of the available time in training is the information ." 2 immediately arise.objective evaluation and taken up by the study of openings. School of Chess Excellence 4 Opening Developments. a consider technical . And when methods for acquiring an open ing reper at a tou rnament we are preparing for the toi re. And it should also be clear that it is a next game. p. 1 wrote moment to deviate from familiar paths. There are no play. extent the two players have a mastery of "The mastery of a player in the initial the general principles of opening play. Starting from a "Required here is not only a purely certain level of performance .the opening plays too after all. to be able to guess which opening will patented recipes! be the most unpleasant for h i m . Edition Olms. one of the best trainers in here it is immediately revealed to what the world. practical terms how can one set about this? old and recently played games. As for Hikaru Nakamura. 9 . "I have to admit that I have never been "However well prepared w e are. how broad should it be. the search Naturally there are a great variety of for effective novelties and so on. s Quoted from the daily report of the website www. com u nder the heading "A Conversation with Hikaru Nakamu ra and his stepfather. I hope to break 2800 by the end of wants to play when he feels like playing it. Hikaru's opening preparation Nevertheless it i s unmistakable that the tended. . which gave to be one of his Achi lles' heels. 'Don't worry if you play As far as this dream was concerned. which he tried out in 2005 at the Sigeman Tou rnament. however. With Black he began by unpredictable."5 mean . My results Black. in an interview with Howard performance a s a result o f the cooperation Goldowsky. his step-father Sunil Weera with Garry Kasparov and access to the mantry described his training plan as latter's legendary database.d4 with the King's I ndian. 'ii'h 5 (in which he received a painful Sicilian Najdorf Variation and the Dragon lesson from Andrei Volokitin i n Lausanne in Variation . Now. 2005) and 1 ."3 distance . on a bad game and you look stupid . Hopefu lly. And I've tried to encourage him to have improved . It is not for nothing that the lines together with new computer-checked King's I ndian has remained his g reat love ideas and each game was prepared for till this day. . No more 2 . for a long time work with Garry Kasparov. pp. 4 He even wrote an article on the (in)famous Parham attack. however. 'ii'h 5. either as White or as no more crazy openings for me. There was a new leap i n In 2004. then early on he also tried out compared with that of world-class players. under the i nflu There is no disputing the fact that his bold ence of Kris Littlejoh n . I n the computer age this is for breadth than for depth . Schach ohne Scheuklappen. However. At the hour of victory play. probably imperative. The route to breaking through the or format early on. if you look at H i karu's games. 1 . � h5.e4 c5 theoretical opening systems such as the 2 . I this year.d4. and nowadays he is. I can keep it explore on his own . Sunil Weeramantry". which first fully follows: came to fruition in Wijk aan Zee 201 1 and "I think one of the things I tried to do was helped the young US grandmaster to a to let him play whatever it was he wanted to tri umphant success. e4. which. and 1 . Band 7. 1 38. 4 all of which aim for dynamic counterplay. The emphasis was and inventive choice of openings suits his then set above all on tried and trusted main character. Bosch. when it is Nakamu ra a much greater level of self- 3 The interview was published on 1 9th November 2004 on ChessCafe. so as not to be simply also gave him the advantage of being very predictable.com for the tou rnament in Wijk aan Zee 20 1 1 . He tried out a lot of things and went more ambidextrous. meticulously. . as he h imself said .1 42. This changed . Nakamu ra euphorically announced: "I now he's a pretty versatile player in terms of play more serious chess. tatasteel. in: J. The magic of openings ttJ 63 White 1 . 1 st January 201 2 H i karu took 1 2th place in this is the only way you can real ly progress. highly he even chose exotica such as 1 . and to play what he going. the F I D E world rating list with an Elo score It's bad if you get set i nto a particular mode of 2759.e4 e5 2 . as it were. ' You know. what he can play. In his experimental phase meeting 1 . I used to say.e4 with very ambitious. and you don't want to "sound barrier'' of 2800 still lay in the break out of it. 1 4 . which is nowadays versatility. training. prefers the Ruy Lopez and the Scotch. I n the Ruy Lopez he normally has only conceded a single draw against allows the Marshall Attack. not least when one had a very positive effect. Thanks to him I have that he varies his openings a lot with both made progress in this area. the advantages that players get in the meetings. at the end of 201 1 .d4. . 7 M agnus Carlsen in an interview with Evgeny Atarov for the R ussian website ChessPro. His score is especially impressive against though the latter occu rred for the last time the Sicil ian with 72 .the wi ndows of opportunity . i. regular conversations on Skype.c4. So. . but also his wins have been openi ngs things look as follows: rare. Against 1 . "9 .64 � Chapter 2 confidence in Wijk aan Zee ("I felt good way of working. who worked intensively words: ''When you look at chess these for a whole year with Garry . with which he has started 64 times. he is working inde have : open ing preparation .e4 201 2 H i karu has played 71 3 games with Against the Najdorf Variation Hikaru White with a score of 68% . 7/20 1 1 . g5. . 8th January 2 0 1 1 9 New In Chess Magazine." 8 during the whole tou rnament and that was It can be assumed that H i karu also the reason why I won the tou rnament. i. games . just because so many other . e3 till 2007 and since 257 1 . which says a lot about his then mainly 6. a sharper playing style. profited from this.e4 and always played 6. a systematic pendently in a more self-aware fashion . The next most frequent move is regarded as critical . e5 he 1 . he in 2009. in other words.7%. p . for example."7 And Kasparov colours and after his separation from Kas commented on this in an interview with parov he works out a route map for every FrankfurterAllgemeine newspaper: "I helped game with the help of his second Kris Little Magnus with something which he did not joh n . 6 Ibid. He has not yet the Dragon Variation. 330 1 .are joint analysis and games against each so much smaller. s Frankfurter Allgemeine. above all o n his considers his professional approach in opening preparation .made the following comments on openi ngs aren't playable or are considered this subject: "He showed me his methods to be very drawish nowadays . published in German on the ChessBase h omepage on 2nd April 201 2 . B) His score in the openings According to ChessBase Mega Database Wh ite with 1 ."6 ) .face-to-face days. for working on the opening and I am thank One visible result in Nakamu ra's play is ful to him for that. But let him express it i n h is own Magnus Carlsen . Against the main lost against it. 1'. but who wanted to take 1 7. 10 1 . . ". reason to fear both .l:te1 1'. Bell 1 920 .xdS .f4 the line 1 7 . which was fi rst em ployed by the legendary American Frank James Marshall at the double-round New York tournament i n the autumn of 1 9 1 8 1 7.lDf3 lDc6 3. 1'. R. which is meant to set Adams the invitation to enter the extremely sharp problems at the board . 1 3 . Capablanca. here this typical move is a Capablanca.d3 1 3.1'. 11 Mihail Marin i n ChessBase Magazin 140. p. .e4 es 2.a4 lDf6 9. to take the H. Nakamura M.lDd2 that my judgement and skill were being l:.bS a6 4.b3 0-0 8.exdS lDxdS 1 O.d6 1 3.fd8 22.tfS 1 4. cxdS Adams is one of the main protagonists of the Marshall Attack. . Adams - pawn and accept the challenge . 'ifxh3 1L xh3 20. 1 8 1 . 'ii'f3 'ifh4 1 5. of the fact of my being unfamiliar with a thing to which he had devoted many a night (see next diagram) 10 J. The Cuban boldly accepted novelty. The magic of openings ctJ 65 GAME 1 8 of toil and hard work. abbreviated t o CBM.g3 'ifh3 1 6. I felt 1L xf4 1 9. . London 201 0 words of the Cuban .1'.l:txeS c6 5.lDxeS lDxeS 1 1 .a4!? against future world champion Jose Raul Surprisingly.l:te1 b5 7.1'. variation which arose from it..gxf4 d4 2 1 .c4 l:td6 1 1 gives Black sufficient challenged by a player who had every counterplay.0-0 1Le7 6. are the London Chess Classic. 'ili'g2 battle had been aroused withi n me. ''The lust of After 1 7. 'ifxd5! is and probably remains the advantage of the element of surprise and critical test of the black system .d4 is the classical main variation . . so to speak. whose defence found Ruy Lopez [C89] over the board at that encounter is today still reckoned to be the best. . My Chess Career. I considered the position then and decided that I was in honour bound.c3 dS!? 1 2. 1L g4! 1 8 . . (see next diag ram) 1 8 i... 'ii'f3 i.cxb4 (22.. sufficient compensation for the pawn in the 1 8. . g4 27. e 3 i. x g3 23..c7 Mihail Marin's suggestion 1 7 . i. b4! ? 1 8.e3?! but probably tenable position for Black) After this Black can open up the wh ite king 1 9. .axb5 axb5 24.d4 •.'iWxdS l:. i.e6. . e.. .d8 20.ii. . but after 21 . axb4 23.d2! from Shirov-Karjaki n . l:. h3 26. xd3 20.. . llld 2 i. l:. c8 22. xd3 20. .. h 3 ( 1 9 . critical. bxc3 i. . and despite the big material deficit 'i'h5 25.aea •. x g3 24. 'ii'x h3 i. c7 22. i.g4 1 9. i.lll d 2 l:.a6! gives White a slightly improved version of the ending compared to that in the game. . . and in both cases Black ky-Jakovenko. "ifxg2+ 1 9 .l:. 'ii'g 2 i. ad8 looks very playable despite the two The black bishop pair now gave Adams missing pawns.°ifxh3 i. 'ii'd 5+ 'it> h8 23. g5 is met 1 998. f 4. e3 Position after 18. 20 . 'ii'g 2 'iWh5 Black gets his typical cou nterplay on the light squares. i. 'it>xg2 i. Marin's suggestion 2 1 .. . bxc3 22..• 20.'ii'g 2 i.axb5 axb5 2 1 . c8 23. . . 'ii'c6 is the alternative.. xh3 23. °ifxd5 24. (Marin) . b4 20 . This is one of the poi nts of H i karu's novelty.'ikb7 Black had certain compensation in Sutovs l:t c2 28.i. °ii'g 2 i. . Poikovsky 2008. xg3 2 1 . has a certain amount of compensation . J fad8 1 8. e 3 l:k8 (23 . 'ii'x d7 22 . 21 . Ugly but forced . b8) : d7 22. is the alternative) 20. l:r. a5 22. .bxc3 i. i. b6 by 22 . 'ii'h 1 f5 2 1 . 'ii'g 2 'if h5!? (the endgame after 1 8 .d6 . . x h3 25.!? Chapter 2 Analysis diagram 1 7 .66 <. .g.i. i.b3 i. results in a somewhat depressing 21 . 'ii'd 5 bxc3 24.• 21 . lll d 2 i. 'ifc6! is the correspondence game Odehnal-Zacek. lll d 2 b4! ? from position . Khanty-Mansyisk 2007..f5!?) 24..d2! typical style of the Marshall Attack. 1 7 l:.. . c4 e6 3.'ii'c4 g4 30. <it>fs g4 62.l:.c4 .axbS .tbxdS .tbb4 .exdS tbf6 good score with it. the latter. .tb4 4.h3 :cs 41 . .eS <it>d7 sa.e4 c6) after S1 . . .d4 c4 1 o . tb c3 es is worth In the 3 rd Chess Classic in London. but these are mainly blitz and rapid Hikaru showed that he is always good for a games which also do not make it into the surprise.tb3 cs a.6%.c4 33.'ii'c3 aS 1 a.ad1 l:tae7 GAME 1 9 21 .axb4 <it>ha 23.tb6 34. .cS b4 27 .tcs+ 36 .g3.td2 H.f4 exf4 3.'ii'c3 :ta 40.tbf4 .xda+ .d4 d S h e has al ready S.dS 3.e4 es 2.tb2 l:ta7 20 .txf2 SS.d 1 . .tf6 36. . 3.bS cxbS 26.i. °ii'd 3 0-0 1 3 .tc1 . . it appears that the 3S. .tbf3 cs Agai nst 1 . Nakamura .tbcs .fe1 b3 39. After 1 . "As expected .lle3 hS 43.le3 .<it>f3 <it>c6 S9.l:.l.<it>h 1 Vladimir Kramnik was able to draw the tbc6 9.c7 1 -0 1 . .d4 long-time rival Magnus Carlsen .tf2 .tas 39 .<it>g1 :ca Dortmund 20 1 1 34.0-0 .tbc2 <it>fa 44. tbc3 H.txe3+ Nimzo-lndian Defence [E20] 37.es.xbS Against the Caro-Kann ( 1 . . .te4 1 7.tb6 S3 .exdS S4 .tb7 37 .tf3 33. The experiment worked well and secu red second place for Nakam u ra ahead of his Wh ite with 1 . He with Kasparov.tbd4 l:.e1 against H i karu .ta4 . .tc4 tbxdS 6.te1 <it>fs 2. .e4 d6 2.fS 42.:xe3 'ii'b6 3a. noting.b4 axb4 22.txc6 bxc6 1 4.te3 .<it>xf2 <it>e6 S6. when facing the Nimzo lndian Defence 1 . with the critical 3.txdS 1 6.tdS his opponent.eS and 3. tb c3 is clearly his main 32.:e7 .<it>e4 probably being his main weapon and also <it>xb6 61 .l:.tbe4 .tas 27. .lid3 .de1 gs 29.l:. for example. .tf4 l:.tbc3 . 31 .<it>g2 h6 31 .f4 f6 S7.g3 tried 3.bS 3S.M.l:.l:.bS . the good score for Black after 1 . Since H i karu began to work however. e 6 2. The magic of openings ltJ 67 26.b7 24 .te6 2a .fxgS fxgS 60. this has become his main .e3 and 4. . He has not yet won with . s . .l:tda 30.d4. but 3.hxg4 hxg4 63. tbf6 2.txda French is in any case not a bad choice 3a.tbxg2 . . presumably under the influ ence of Kasparov. However. .a3 f6 1 9 . .d4 tbf6 2.xb7 . when in the final round agai nst Adams he unpacked the King's Gambit.txc3 49 .td6 1 1 .c1 <it>g6 SO. tbc3.c4. <it>xg4 the one he scores best with .tfa 2a. 4a .tb6 46 .c4 e6 3.t d3 or 4.tbf3 dS 4.c6 l:. Nakamura V.l:. Kramnik - .<it>h1 . From his score .d4 tbf6 3.�c2 in favour of King's Gambit [C36] 4.td2 gS 40.l:.dS fxg2+ 32.te6 7 .txd4 has "on ly'' scored S3.ta3+ <it>g7 47.l:. . he has not had a 1 .c6 varies the two knight moves according to 29.td2 .tbh4 f3 Sparkassen Chess Meeti ng.:ac1 . .b3 c3 teeth from it in Dortmund 201 1 : 1 2. tbf3 cs S.tbe6 b2 41 .d4 dS he plays both 3.b6 cxdS 4 . tbd2 and in the 3. London 201 1 variations 4. tbc3 .t b4 variation he 4S .tbxa6 . Mega Database. Thus.tc3 'ii'ba 2S. . 1h-1h Of other lines.txd4 weapon . for the last time in 2007. Adams .t b4 he has tu rned away from his old London Chess Classic.l:r.l:.tbxc3 :ea 1 S.f3 l:. tbd2 and 3.'ii'b3 .td4 S2 . with the computer and remembered that 1 2 .i. lost the game: "I had looked at this position Olympiad .fxe5 lll ac4..68 � Chapter 2 weapon against the N imzo-l ndian"." (Kramnik) 8 .. . b 1 . re 1 3 . e4 lllxc3 1 4 . World Championship rook move." (Issue 9/201 1 . .l:i.l:Ie1 1 6 .'ii'f3 Presumably one of the fruits of his coop According to Kramnik 1 7. but in the 1 4. Later in an i nterview for the match London/Leningrad 1 986) 1 3. Thinking about it for an hour 1 5..cxd5 lll a 5 1 1 . . Kramnik suggests the I was very shocked not to be able to find an pawn sacrifice 1 3.i. �xc3+ 9. . . ir'xc4! lllbxc4 eration with Kasparov.l:txd4 . lll b 3 lll xc4 1 6. l:f..i.d2 and 1 3 .the posi tion appears to be more or less balanced .i. who in his day 1 8 . 23) 1 3 .0-0 1 6. 0-0 magazine SCHA CH he self-critically recog � d7 1 4.'ii'xc3 marked Kramnik in CBM 1 44. But this is very slow.. . 'ii'c7 1 3. 'ili'xc3? 1 4. .... . 'i!Vc4 had not been its recommendation.i. lll e 7 1 4. Kasparov-Suba.e4 lll b6 1 5.d7 1 8 .. continued 1 2 .bxc3 lllc 6 1 O. . At present 8. In spite of the white bishop pai r . 'ti'c7! (1 2 .l:tab8 1 9 .0-0 l:Ica 1 5.e4 lll b 6 1 5. . � xb7 1 7 . Nakamura thought for a full hou r about this Kasparov-Karpov. d2 fail because of the hanging 5 .f4 e5 1 6.a4! Only now did Nakamu ra begin to think for a longer time. lllxc3? 1 4 . 1 2. 'ii°xc7 lllxc7 and considers the situation was probably a bit impractical..'ii'c2 lll xd5 1 5 . ir'b3 is fashionable. 'ti'd3: 1 2 .ir'd3 'iWc4 1 7..lll x d4 0-0 7 . b2 lll b5 advantage .in return for which Black has two mobile knights on the edge of the board . . .cxd5 lll x d5 9. "Almost forgotten these days.e4 l:I c7 1 7. things do happen... . . � d7? ! but one i n which Black should also be able was advantageous for White after 1 3. p.. cxd4 6. nised that was one of the reasons why he and Black has eq ualised.f4 is the critical variation.i.c6! . But such to be drawish. .eS 1 980s this continuation was employed se veral times by Kasparov.g2 d5 8. c4 to hold.i.. .'ii'b 3 knights. lllxd4 1 9 . Dubai 1 986. lllc6 1 8. � a6 on account of his bishops. lllxc3 1 5 . case he appears simply to have forgotten it However.g3. �e4 bxc3 40. hS 26 .i.a4 30. .h2 .fxe6 fxe6 White resigned.g4+ hxg4+ 38. a which will rapidly make for f5.d4? Hikaru has the very good score of 71 . recently it has no Now the white bishop is being dominated.cxd5 . . for some i nexplicable reason .txg2 22. l:. The endgame rule. l:txb6 l:.9% 27 . Vladimir's technique was very precise. but i n this specific probably be seen as his main weapon .�d3 c2 43.. is of cou rse well replied only 4.. I could have forced the draw. .i. ll:ic3 d5 since 2008 he has bishop without necessity. the game should now actually end in a 28 .hxg4+ �g6 39.i.t xa7 still leads to a draw.l:tf1 �xg4 47. e3! ? leads by force to a draw: 25 . xc3 26 . ll:if3 and against the Queen's I ndian either the Petrosian Varia tion 4.l:r. decides the game: 31 .�1 ?! .l:.i.. The magic of openings ttJ 69 The solution to the problem of the position.�f2 �g6 32. l:tc4 29. ll:ic3. .b1 l:tfc8 24.�c3 l:txa2 46. longer been seen agai nst him at the 28..l:. . "Yes.h3 bS 34.l:tc7 .lla4 41 .fS+ �gs 44 .�f3 b4 37.l:txcS+ l:txc8 2S.ab8 23. 27 .:b2 draw.c4 g6 3.a3 or 4.b2 ll:ib4+ 4S.e3 ll:idS • 30 . I really no longer know exactly what I wanted at that poi nt in time.f4?! h ighest level. .xf3 21 . never to put a pawn on Against the G runfeld Defence 1 ." 2S .d4 ll:if6 a square of the same colour as your own 2. c7 (Kramnik) . b6! King's I ndian. Perhaps I wanted to win.l:lb3 25 .l:txc4 . which can known to Nakamu ra.. at the Tai Memorial Tou rnament .l:tf2 as 42. �h7! And the penetration of Kramnik's king..l:tc2 l:ta3 33. H i karu also plays 3.i..l:tc2 �S 36.�xg2 l:. In addition to his main weapon 3.l:tb2 a6 3S. . against his own favou rite opening. 20. Hikaru also mentioned this in the afore mentioned i nterview for SCHACH. ll:if3 or 4.t xb6 axb6 27. . And then I wanted too m uch and paid the price for not having taken the draw. However. the 27 .. . tor example.l:. page 1 26).. .e6 1 3. . Olginka 201 1 : 20 .e7 1 1 .Malakhov. The white advantage is champion". 1 . x g5 1 5. be seen from the game Motylov .�xda+ 'itxda 9. .f7 27.f3 .d4 ll:id6 6.0-0 23 .e4 es 2.tf5 26. ll:i e8 28.g3 ii. .ll:it3 ll:ic6 3 . (see next diagram) "Thanks to Kramnik I was able to play 20.. followed by 1 .c 1 b6 26.tc3 <j. . .i..l:!. .f7 30.l:rh1 ll:ig7 V.g6 1 6. . ll:id 1 ! but also Ruy Lopez [C67] shows how Black can defend: 24 . . i.. to notch up a beautiful victory over Jan Smeets in Wijk aan Zee 201 1 (see Chapter 6.tb5 ll:it6 4......i. ll:i e3 World Champion Anand could not ach ieve ..h6 l:!.i. .ll:it4 @ea 3 4.ll:ig2 ll:ie6 27 .i..tt4 ll:ixh4 1 9.tts 24..g4 i... above all the Najdorf Variation.xhS :g7 2a . .t7 1 7. i. . ll:i e3 i.l:i.xda+ something as obscu re as the 'Berlin Wall' This novelty by the world champion does and get an easy draw against the world not change much.b3!? i.. i.e4 His main weapon is the Sicilian.ll:id1 i..h4 f6 ll:ixg5 33. Here against top-class players he recently Position after 19 J:tdS . Nakamura 23.. ) 25. Black against 1 .. 'itf2 bring much more.g7 l:!. x gS l:t. xc2 25. e6 (but not 24 . 20 ..l:tga+ It. and now it is White who is in much against the Berlin Wall in the charge .xa2 23 .l:!..i.xh5. H i karu goes into the Anti-Moscow Varia tion against the Queen's Gambit. d 2 G rand Slam Final .. Anand .ll:igs l:.a3 f5 32.. ll:i xd 1 ll:it5 22 . . e7 1 2 . h 1 .ad1 i. . ll:i g2 ! .l:!. With it he managed .gS! ? 1 4.l:!.x c2? on account of 25. as can against Vassily lvanch uk.H .Wf2 ll:its 22.d a Draw. e5.l:t. . In CBM 1 45 Romain E douard gives the Sao Pau lo/Bilbao 20 1 1 amazing 23.exf6 gxf6 1 a . and the point was GAME 2 0 shared . .. this game.xd 1 2 1 .ta 36..l::.dxe5 ll:if5 a.70 � Chapter 2 in Moscow 201 1 he suffered a painful defeat with it at the hands of Peter Svidler. These unbalanced fighting situations suit him well . d 3 ll:ixe4 5.. was Nakamura's conclusion on only minimal and can hardly be measured . tested with some success the sustainabil ity of the "Berli n Wal l" in reply to the Ruy Lopez. . . xc6 dxc6 7. b 1 31 .h6 29 . until things finally went wrong Nor does 20.l:. .ll:ie3 i.f4 ii.l:tg6 ll:i h 7 35. ll:i g2 following two games . Wxda 21 . .. ll:if4 :g5.ll:ic3 'itea 1 0.f5 24. ..h3 h5 26. . The magic of openings ctJ 71 GAME 2 1 20.gxf3 Ji.d6 21 .tbxe6 fxe6 22.1:1xe6 l:tf8 23 . .txg7 l:.fS 24 . .l:r.eS+ 'it>b7 2S . .l:.xa8 'it>xa8 26 .txh6 llxhS 27 . .te3 'it>b7 28.c4 • V. Anand H. Nakamura - 'it>c6 29.'it>g2 l:r.h2+ 30.'it>f1 .l:.h1 + 31 .'it>e2 London Chess Classic, London 201 O l:lxd1 32.'it>xd1 Ruy Lopez [C67] According to Kritz this endgame is now really easy for Black to hold: ''The black king 1 .e4 es 2.tbf3 tbc6 3 .tbS tbf6 4.0--0 • comes to f5, Black plays a6-c6-b5, ex tbxe4 S.d4 tbd6 6 . .txc6 dxc6 7.dxeS tiJfS changes a pawn , and afterwards can even 8.Wxd8+ 'it>xd8 9.tbc3 .td7 1 0.h3 h6 give up the c5-pawn - the white king will not 1 1 .b3 'it>c8 1 2 .tb2 b6 1 3.laad1 tbe7 • be able to i nvade the black position ." 1 4J:tfe1 cs 1 S.tbe2 tbg6 32 ...'it>d7 33 ..tgs 'it>e6 34.a4 c6 3S.aS!? 1 6.h4? ! 3S bxaS ! .•. This weakens the light squares, on which I n what follows Nakamura demonstrates White is in any case somewhat under his resilience in the endgame and makes a eq uipped . 1 6. tb g3!? .t e6 1 7. tb h5 !tg8 completely correct decision . On the other 1 8.g4 .t e7 is more resilient, according to hand , according to Kritz 35 . . . 'it>f5?? wou ld Leonid Kritz in CBM 1 40. have been a mistake on account of 36 . .tda 1 6 .te7?! •.. bxa5 37 . .t xa5 'it>f4 38.'it>e2, and "if the A novelty, but the main variation 1 6 ... .t g4! pawns are left on b3 and c4, the ending is is quite all right for Black: 1 7. tb h2 .t xe2 lost. If, on the other hand, they are on a4 1 8 . .l:.xe2 tbxh4 1 9 .l:le4 .t e7 20.g3 tbg6 and c4, then it is a draw" . 21 .e6 f5 22 . .l:.ee1 l:. g8, and Kritz even 36.'it>c2 a4! 37.bxa4 'it>fs 38 . .te3 a6 accords Black a slight advantage. After the 39.'it>d3 .te7 40.We2 Ji.ta 41 .'it>f1 .te7 followi ng move, on the other hand, White 42.Wg2 .td6 43.'it>h3 .te7 44.'it>g3 Ji.f6! gets a slightly superior endgame. 4S ..txcs Ji.dB 46 .te3 .te7 47.Wg2 Ji.dB • 1 7.e6 ! ? .txe6 1 8.hS! tbh4 1 9.tbf4 tbxf3+ 48.Wf1 .tc7 49.We2 Ji.dB SO.Wd3 Ji.as 72 � Chapter 2 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 The black fortress si mply can not be 1 2 .. ,j,, d 7? ! stormed , though White did not realise the H i karu's plan which follows looks a little senselessness of trying to do so till 24 slow. 1 2 . . . .1'. e6 is the main variation. moves later. 1 3.j,, g S :d& 1 4.tl'if4 j,, c8 1 S . .l:txd8+ Wxd8 S1 .Wd4 .tb6+ S2.Wd3 i.as S3.i.a7 i.e1 1 6.:d1 + We& 1 7.g3 :h7 1 8.j,, xe7 tl'ixe7 S4.i.b6 Wf4 ss.i.e3+ <ties S6.i.cs �4 1 9.tl'igs .l:.h6 20.h4 cs 21 .c3 as 22J:td2 S7.We2 i.aS S8.i.a7 �S S9.We3 i.e1 j,,e6 23.tl'igxe6 fxe6 60 . .tb6 i.c3 61 .i.c7 i.e1 62.i.d6 .1'.c3 63.f4 .1'.e1 64.j,, eS j,, a s 6S.i.d4 j,, b4 66.i.es i.cs+ 67 . .td4 j,, b4 6&.j,,a7 j,, c3 69.Wd3 j,,e 1 70 . .1'.e3 .tas 71 .Wd4 j,, b6+ 72.Wc3 i.aS+ 73.Wd3 .1'.c7 74.Wd4 Draw. GAM E 2 2 V. lvanchuk H . Nakamura - Torneo di Capodanno, Reggio Emilia 201 2 Ruy Lopez [C67] 1 .e4 eS 2.tl'if3 tl'ic6 3.i.bS tl'if6 4.0-0 "The specialists in the Berli n Wall are well aware which endings are drawn and which tl'ixe4 S.d4 tl'id6 6.j,, xc6 dxc6 7 .dxeS tl'ifS are dangerous for them . I am not sure 8.'ii'xd8+ Wxd8 9.tl'ic3 Wea 1 0.h3 hS whether I have al ready seen this endgame: 1 1 .:d1 .te7 1 2.tl'ie2 : + tl'i against : + tl'i. (see next diagram) "Nakamu ra defends well i n the subsequent phase of the game, but lvanch u k's play can The magic of openings ctJ 73 be improved upon in at least two ways, as 38 ... bxa4! ? gives Black more counterplay. Rainer Knaak has found out", according to 39.c4 lLih6 40. Wg5 lLif7 + 41 . Wg4 lLih6+ Mihail Marin in CBM 1 46. 42.Wh4 lLif7? I n an ending with rook and knight versus Black is only apparently in zugzwang , since rook and knight a slight initiative is often 42 . . . Wb7! is playable, whilst 43.:d7 can important, so Black's task should be very again be met by 43 . . . Wc6 (Marin). d ifficult. 43.fS! exfS 44. .l:.dS 24.Wg2 lL!c6 25.l:.e2 lL!d8 26. Wh3 The idea 26.�3 lLif7 27. :e1 We7 28. W e4 is more relentless, according to Rainer Knaak. 26 lLif7 27J�e3 Wd7 28.f3 b6 29.a3 Wc6 ..• 30.g4 hxg4+ 31 .Wxg4 Wd7 32.hS .l:.h8 33 ..l:.d3+ we& 34.lLig& nee 44 b3? •.. Nakamu ra now falls prey to nerves, since i n t h e long r u n this merely weakens t h e b pawn. He had to try 44 . . . lL!da 45. Wg5 lLie6+ 46.Wxf5 lL!d4+ 47.We4 (Marin), which leaves him with some practical drawing chances. 35.f4? 45.Wg3 lLig5 46.Wf4 lLie6+ 47.Wxf5 lLid4+ This deprives Wh ite of the important 48.We4 lLie6 49.:d3 lL!gS+ 50.We3 lLie6 manoeuvring square f4. 35 .a4 lLi h6+ (if 51 .:!xb3 lL!d4 52.:d3 l:.b8 53.b3! 35 . . . : ba? , then after 36. lLi e7+ Wb7 37.f4 l:.e8 38.:d7 Black has nothing to be happy (see next diagram) about. . . ) 36.Wf4 lLif7 37.l:.d2 lLi h6 38.We4 lLif5 39. : g2 Wd7 40. lL!f4 .i:r. e7 4 1 . lLi xe6! lLid6+ (but not 41 . . . Wxe6? on account of The final point. Now there is no more that 42. :g6+) 42 .exd6 :xe6+ 43.Wd3 .l:lxd6+ Black can do. 44.Wc4 with good winning chances accord 53 Wd7 .•. ing to Rainer Knaak. After both 53 . . . :xb3 54 . .l:.xb3 lLixb3 55. lLi f8! 35 bS 36.a4 lLih6+ 37.Wg5 lLif7+ 38.Wh4 •.. lL! d4 56.Wf4 (Marin) and 53 . . . lLi xb3? b4?! 54. lLi e7+! it's all over for Black . . . 76 � Chapter 2 22 ... .l:.a4! scored a strong 59.3%, will be treated Nakamura forces the liquidation to a level separately in Chapter 9. ending. The G runfeld Defence, the Len ingrad 23.'ti'xbS+ axb5 24.a3 c.t>d7 25.c.t>f2 �ca System in the Dutch Defence (see for 26.:cd1 f5 21.c.t>e2 :tge 28.c.t>d3 h5 example against Aronian in Wij k aan Zee 29.l:tde1 h4 30.i..f2 i..f6 31 . .l:!.h1 l:.h8 20 1 1 , Chapter 2, page 56) and 1 . . . d5 are Draw. also part of his repertoire, in which he earlier made use of the Slav Defence and Black against 1 .d4 at present has gone over to the Orthodox H i karu's favou rite opening, the King's Queen's Gambit ( 1 .d4 d5 2.c4 e6 or I ndian Defence, with which he has so far 2 . . . dxc4) . C) Best novelties Nakamu ra has put his stamp on whole 1 O.dxc5 ! ? ll'i xc5 1 1 . i.. e 5 forces Black into systems such as the King's I ndian , as you the isolated queen's pawn structure. wi ll be able to see in Chapter 9. Here we 1 0 ... c4! shall take a look at two specific i nnova A fascinating novelty, with which H i karu tions, which show that "the main sou rce of fundamentally changes the structure. What the fascination of chess lies in the richness he has realised is that his pawn majority on of the ideas", as Mark Dvoretsky aptly puts the q ueenside will become dangerous. it. After 1 0 . . . a6 1 1 .dxc5 ll'ixc5 1 2 . i.. e5 on the I n any case, both with Black i n a Queen's other hand, White can hang on firmly to a Gambit (1 O . . . c4!) against the Russian N i ki slight plus. ta Vitiugov, and against the English player 1 1 .b3 ll'ib6 1 2.bxc4 dxc4 David Howell with Wh ite in a G runfeld Defence ( 1 6.b3), Nakamu ra convincingly demonstrates the creative way in which he plays and understands chess. GAME 25 N . Vitiugov H. Nakamura - Torneo di Capodanno, Reggio Emilia 201 1 Queen 's Gambit [037] 1 .d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.ll'ic3 i.. e7 4.ll'if3 ll'if6 5.i.. f4 0--0 6.e3 ll'ibd7 7.i.. e2 cs 8.cxd5 The critical question goes: is the c4-pawn a ll'ixd5 9.ll'ixd5 exd5 1 0.0--0 trump card or a dead loss? Here it looks l:txd5 1 4.. Karjakin H .c3 32 . xc4 i. 'ii'x g5 ::lc2. .f4.c3 i. 'ilfxhB+ Wd7.i. xc4 li) xc4 22. . li)d5 i.f4 tempo by Nakam ura.li)xd4 li)f6 Strong prophylaxis.e5! 1 . b4 20.g5 h6 8.i. i.c4 e4! ? (20 . li)xc4 continuation) 2 1 . 'ii'xe4+ i.e3 li)c4 1 9.l'. :ca 1 8. 19 . . 'ii'a5 1 8.h3 i. . .'it>b1 1 4 . .e3 1 7.1 d3 i. That is really very impressive!" (Rogozenco). American G M". and Black has equal 23. li) xc4 1 8. 0-0 is the normal 20.e4 c5 2. . i. GAM E 2 4 ''Th is variation was stil l part of H i karu's S . li) e4 his king would have had problems 1 4. e5 22.l:. 'ii'f2 i. i. Monte Carlo to activate the bishop. 'ilxh6?? eve n backfi res : 21 .l:. .i. but it did not su rprise the Marin in CBM 1 35) .d4 cxd4 4.xd4 i. xd4! Draw.f2 have liked.l:.i. since even the pawn sacrifice 1 7.i.e6 1 3.g3 i. 'ii'd 3 22.l:.xd5! 1 9.0-0 i. 'i!Va5 1 5 .'ii'e2 'i!Vxe2 "All the previous moves were played at bl itz 26.i. 'ii'xd4 'ifxc4! 20.xe2 It. . Bazna 20 1 1 Sicilian Defence [890] 17 .'ii'd 3 . i. .xd5 1 9 . 1 9 .l:thd1 i. since 2 1 . whilst 20 .be 27.li)d5 zenco in CBM 1 43. Nakamura - home preparation .'ifd3 'ii'b5 22 . 0-0? would 5.g7 1 0. remarked Dorian Rogo 1 5.ac1 .'it>c2 i. c4 2 1 ..d1 i.exd5? ! can no longer be recom e. d4 li) ac6 1 8. i. blindfold. 'ii'b6 20. . .xf6 1 7 .li)dS finding a secure position (according to "A new move . 'it> b 1 0-0 is well worth considering so as ised .i.d3 f6 'ifxc4 23.li)c3 a6 6.tt:)f3 d6 3.e3 li)g4 7.li)ec3 i.a3 'it>e7 22.li)xf&+ i.e3 30.c4 is met by 1 7 .f4 33.xd5 1 6. e3 li)a5 1 9. Now 1 9. . 1 4 . 'it> b 1 li)a5 mended .e5.g5 28.h3 li)e5 1 1 .i. Leko-Gelfand. The magic of openings ttJ 75 1 7.h4 g5 have allowed 2 1 . The right move is 2 1 .exd5 'ii'c7 h5 23. li) b3 'ilfc7 1 6..i." ( Rogozenco) 29.i.b7 1 6.d1 'ilff2 25.c6 21 ...:fd3 1 7.:tf3 l:r. Kings Tou rnament.e2 h4 24. i.f4 31 . which White would 9.0-0-0 is the most frequently played .'ii'd 2 :ca 21 .xc4 lilxc4 20..i. li) xa5 i. li)xd4 1 5. .l:!.1 d3 i. 2007.g. 'fih7.f3 li)bc6 1 2.c5 34. Karpov Carlsen. It is known that he too was trained by Kasparov for a year starting from March 2009 and supported by.a5 ltJc4 1 6. . ltJcS? Magnus should have played the active 1 6 . serious problems. . ltJ d2 'ii b 6 20. ltJxaa i. 1 2.:. amongst 1 1 ltJb4 •.• • blitz match against Karpov in September But not 1 5 . 'ii'b 3 'ii'd 6.ltJa2 nothing for White in the fourth game of the 1 4.. So it may be that Hikaru's strong 1 6 . and Black wou ld have approach is based on Garry's database.xd4 cxd4 1 6.78 w Chapter 2 14 .lD1 a3.tbs 23. Valencia 2009) 1 5 . . . g4 is very dangerous for Black. 1 6 . exd5?.i. since it is met by the 2009 in Valencia. d7 1 7.exd5 1 2 . 81h game. xg2 25. ltJ 5a3 'ilxa5 1 8.exd5 i. ltJ b5! ? was tested in the following blitz Karpov-Kasparov bl itz match . on the other hand. xg2 ltJ xd5 %-% . and instead of the passive 1 6 . e5 ( 1 4 . ltJc4. On the contrary White lost the th read only able to achieve a minimal advantage: and later the game too . Valencia games. in which in each case White was 2009 . exd5 1 5..d4 1 3. xf1 24. . the relatively new 1 3. i. and now. achieved 1 4. .e3 i. . 'il xb6 axb6 2 1 .exd5 .xa2 es .i. the Norwegian Ministry of Culture . Moscow 2009. The old main variation goes 1 1 .. according to Krasenkow in CBM 1 40. ltJ dc4 ltJ xc4 22. ltJ xb6 i. ltJ xc4 . Blitz match.. others.tf5. . Kasparov introduced this idea during his 1 4 ltJxa2 1 s .t d7 1 6 . . .a5 . 'if xd4 ltJ d5 1 9.. . Karpov Kasparov.a5 ! .. FIDE Blitz World Championship. ltJd2 a5 1 7.b3! A strong novelty which leaves the knight on b6 looking stupid and which cements the slight advantage for White. txfS 3S. 21 .llfd1 l:. thanks to his queenside passed pawns.t c3 .g7 4 .•.xd8 l:.g3 i.:r. Nakamura D .xb7 lt:l b4 22. . i.i. lt:lxdS 2S. 'ii'b 1 'li'd5 37 . li:ldS 21 . � h2 c2 ! 32 Jhc2 lt:l b4 33. .exfS Another.xf4 �xd8 34. 'ii'e7 is more accu rate . l:. �f1 b4 40.t e4 lt:l b4 37. xb7 .d4 fS 27.lt:lgs . Thus his opening idea has triumphed all along the line.e3 After this it is hard to control the c-pawn .:.bc1 lt:lb4 24. i.t b3 38.a4 as 1 6. .d2 36 .i. . In CBM 1 46 Michal Krasenkow suggests He also loses after 35 .dS?! • This pawn sacrifice is too radical .. Howell - 'ii'f6 28.ab1 :ca 1 S. e3 � e7 35.'ii'xf6 gxf6 29. But in any GAM E 2 6 case Black is al ready clearly better. �f1 ::txa4.e4 lt:lb6 7.l:.t xh6 c2 36. attempt to save the game for White is 34. presents Hikaru with a winning endgame.fd8 26..0-0 advantage is obvious (Krasenkow) . after which the position is 3S c2 36.exf5 b5 39. .:r.lt:le2 0-0 8.t xa5 l:. 22 .as. i. .g4 . approximately level. ..b6+ �d7 38 . d4 . j ust as hopeless.e4?! GrOnfeld Defence [072] Also after 31 .d3 h6 31 lt:lf4! . h7 20.c4 g6 3.d4 20 .h3 �f7 30 .i.tg3 'fie7 23 .h4 c3 1 9. 24 ... London 201 O 31 . .l:tfc1 lt:l d5 21 . 23 . So even for computer programs the evalu ation of this position is a problem.txgs 17 . 'iii'es H .i.txas .tg2 dS • . .i. And that is exactly what Hikaru is striving for with his dynamic style.tc4 �e7 London Chess Classic.d4 lt:lf6 2.l:.'ii'c2 .a4 .l:txdB l:txd8 34. g4 i.txgs f6 1 8.. 32. because in the long run it is not easy to blockade it firmly.• A little combination which. xe6 lt:l xc2 35 . cs 9. i. ..lt:lec3 lt:la6 1 1 ..l:t a2 Black's S.t e4 'ii'a 2. 1 3.xa4 37 .te6 1 4. 'li'e4 'ili'd6? ! Wh ite resigned.t g7 � e7 38. b6 c2 36 .l:.cxdS lt:lxdS 6.l:. .te4 37.dS e6 1 O.xc4! 33. . 20 .tbS? 34 .txf5 1 . i. The magic of openings ltJ 77 more like an ace of trumps. . .. This was the first time in chess history that a computer had defeated the reigning world champion in a classical match. Always looking world was Kasparov's rematch with the IBM to try something different. I eleven years old I was building my own still regularly played blitz casually on the computers in an effort to save a bit of money ICC. had quit tournament chess years before I had always been interested in computer after hitting a plateau at . So. and came to really work together.but because of the idea of chess theory and more advanced concepts. At the somewhat to explain how it was Hikaru and I time. Hikaru was It is perhaps important to rewind the story al ready a major star in online chess. what had taken us years. losing one game. . the I nternet Chess Club ( /CC) . First col laborations clearly a promising junior player. Although he was only a little over 2600 FIDE at the time. Though I chess ever since I started playing. or even the interesting players at these variants. I dreamed he devou red almost instantly. I quickly bought Rebel 9. After that IBM set up a computer with even stronger hardware and improved the chess program considerably. but it was through downloaded the free engine Crafty. When I did Jason Doss. In 2004 there appeared a documentary film about the match by Vikram Jayanti entitled Game Over: Kasparov and the Machine. the Hikaru had mastered in a couple of days strongest engine I could find at the time.80 @ ZWI S C H E N jy z O G E As H i karu Naka m u ra 's second sv KR1s LmLEJOHN I 2004. but on guess you would say I fi rst "met" Hikaru in playing bughouse and crazyhouse that we became friends. and 1 In February 1 996 in Philadelphia Kasparov won his fi rst match against Deep Blue by 4-2. or and crazyhouse. taught him the games . Even had given up chess as any kind of serious before I played chess at all.not because of the result.1 800 Elo. which being a test of computing power. 1 This fascinated an interest in the chess variants bughouse me at the time . At the time it of some day having a computer as powerful was somewhat disheartening to see that as that. and more importantly. the biggest story in the chess tors and strong titled players. The version of Deep Blue in May 1 997 was able to calculate 200 million positions per second and it won the return match by 3Y2-2Y2 . winning three and drawing twice. drop of performance out of them . I was in my last year of university. by the time I was hobby in favor of concentrating on school. quite strong the controversies. Hikaru had taken supercomputer Deep Blue. who at that time was a sort of begin to play tou rnament chess in high unofficial liaison between ICC admin istra school in 1 997. Jason and I. We fi rst met not face to face. squeeze every last We met online through a mutual friend. d5+ �g7 fully tells us that computers will be unable to completely calculate the game of chess to a finish i n the near futu re. . 27 . These last two examples are an impres sive demonstration of how in the opening phase of a chess game there are sti ll 23. i.'ii'c8+ �g7 42.'ifc7 Draw. because Black cannot set .a5 lhc8 up a viable fortress.b4 :ts 37. xt8 .:.at2 'iie7 1 9.'iixa7+ lhf7 34.l:. . d3 (28 . i.d7 1 7.. .'iixd4 h5 33. purely mathematically there 23 .l:. The magic of openings ttJ 79 1 6 . 28 . e.xf8 28. in should be defensible for Black on account which Nakamura su rprised him with the of the strong blockading kn ight.l:.'i'xd5 bxa6 32. . i.c6 20.'iixeS+ l:. novelty 1 O . 27. . h4 lh h3+ 32.fxe5 'ii'xe5 21 . which hope 26 . .. 'ii'd 4) 30.c6! 28.'ife1 i.. .lht3! 'ii'xe4 29.i. .'iic7 �g8 41 .l:te2 ! u nsuspected opportunities for new ideas. � g2 in each case with practical winning chances.. l:r. 'ii'c 3 !ht? (29 .l:txfS I:txf8 29. 'ii'xd5 24.a6? After this Black can construct an impregna ble fortress.e 1 'ii'c3 game against N ikita Viti ugov alone..'ii'e7 �g7 36.h4 �ga 35.i.t4 t6 1 8.i.!he5 'ikxe5 25 . . 'ii'c 1 offered better chances. c4! .lhd2 lhd6 22. .xe5 txe5 are 1 0 1 5 possible positions.�g2 �gs 39.. ..Wxe5+ :ts 31 . 'ii'xd3 lh g5 31 .xd5 30. 'ii'x c6) 29. xc6 bxc6 30. lh xd4 'ii'e 3! 24. .'iicS+ �g7 40.f6 31 . I n the Krasenkow 23.'iic7 :ts 38.fS 30. Hikaru sets out to attack! According to And that should come as no surprise .g. 27 . xb3 63. In this 7 connection the parallels with Robert James 6 Fischer are interesti ng.l2Jg3 0-0 . lLi b3 is the main variation . Wijk aan Zee 201 0 H i karu displays his sense of danger. since in this way you are able to recogn ise better both its strengths and its weaknesses.tirT 57.lLif3 d6 3. 9. b7 1 6 .f4 i.lLic3 a6 6.74 � Chapter 2 1 .h4 'ili'c7 1 0.l:.c1 67. 'ii'c7. .l2Jd5 'ii'c 5! Corus-Festival (A) . 1 2.'itig4 l2Jd4 61 .'itih5 :.'itie4 c6 55.xg7 l:.l:r.l2Jxd4 lLif6 5.l2Jh4 'itie6 56.l2Jxd4 cxd4 62. It is most certainly a great advantage to be able to play both sides of an opening.e7 8. J . Black resigned.. .ng4 frequently played 8 . 1 2.'i1Vf3 8 6 5 5 4 4 3 2 Position after 53.xf6 lLixf6 1 4. However. in his active period he was j ust as keen a student of it with White. . as shown by his 1 22 games with it. After Sicilian Defence {898] 1 4 ... h6! ? l:r.. Bobby was an 5 ardent fan of the Sicilian Defence with Black.l:txd4 8 .0-0-0 l2Jbd7 1 1 .d7+ 'itie6 64.l2Jf5 l2Je6 58.exd5 i. l2Jxd5?! 1 5.'itif4 l2Je6+ 60.b4 65.d3 l2Jg5+ 59.l.b3! 54.h6 This scores better than the much more :xc4+ 66.l:tg3 c.d4 cxd4 4. as can be seen from his 1 1 3 games.i.l2Jde2!? A rare move but not without its venom.e4 c5 2.i. . to GAME 2 3 which H i karu has the antidote. b5 1 3.l:.g5 e6 7.i.f5 e5 In the Najdorf Sicilian Nakamu ra still often goes his own way and he does well thanks to his experience in the Sicilian 8 dating back to his earliest years. Nakamura - 1 2 . Smeets H . When I graduated was when a strong GM tried over and over.. com on 30th April 2005.d4 f5? ! .W h 5 i n round 7 o f t h e Sigeman Open i n Copenhagen/ Malmo 2005. and found that against tally.. to whom he lost by 2-3. such as 1 . and this applied heavily school. where inciden different openings. Schach ohne Scheuk/appen. the fi rst time my computer work we were doing had apparently some achieved the top spot on the ICC rating list how rubbed off on me. body else had gotten much worse! In a few Hikaru learned that as a junior. 2 so it did nothing to deter him tained a computer account at or near the top from seeking out new paths in open ing of the rating lists. and so Jason played the sequence 1 . New in Chess 2007). from university in 2005. in the chess deprived United was actually some rudimentary theory be States I had qual ified for the pseudo hind the opening beyond attempting to respectable national master title. he played it in al l his th ree games as White. In the fi nal of the 'Champion's Challenge' against Anton Filipow. lll e2 . theory. tou rnament play again. N akamura al so experimented further in 2005 with 2. offbeat ones often worked As an interesting side effect. To upgrade the a strong GM and exploring new openings speed of my computers any more often than quite enjoyable. "Not playing for Scholar's mate". some of the the best. .g4. he actually got a sizeable opening the ICC.'ifh5 lll c6 3 . I promptly reti red again from he remembered from his youth . . the only thing left for me to try ings. I tried lots of Chess Challenge in 2005. but if so then miracu lously every to his opening choices. Chapter 1 7. gaps Hikaru enlisted the help of me and my Skip ahead to 2007.e4 d6 2 . in wh ich the fi rst six moves were identical : 1 . As I have sworn that I had not improved at all mentioned. fast forward back to 2005. with which to improve my computer's playing strength he beat GM Perelshteyn at the HB Global was to tweak the opening book. 7.1 42. and since I found both working with prove playing strength . but either finding it disagree Sasikiran. I would Now. At some point. though he eventually lost the able or perhaps just unable to resist the call 2 Hikaru played t h e well known and infamous 2 .t g7 6. we fi rst met in person . and that there measurement. e4 e5 2. As Hikaru Nakamura's second ltJ 81 registered a computer playing account on game. just for fu n. I main advantage. From that time forward . Hikaru had taken a computer. pp.e4 e5 2 . I decided to try out in vain. d3 (see H i karu Nakamura. Having checkmate on the 4th move. So. humans especially. The outrageous been surprised to achieve even this. We I did al ready would have cost more money worked on many (mostly ridiculous) open than I had. for example on the server Playchess. I was happy to oblige.tc4 g6 4 . To fill in the competition . vol. Hikaru was always looki ng to try since qu itting competitive chess in h igh something different. °iff3 lll f6 5. our friend months I had gained 400 Elo points.1i'h5. 1 38 . In fact. to pun ish the opening 1 . brief hiatus from professional chess to try When Hikaru played 'ii'h 5 agai nst GM university life. To this end he would periodically At that time the chess engines had few contact me to help him work on his pet parameters that could be changed to im projects. and idea of playing this open ing at the 2600+ knowi ng that I had started my chess career level appealed to Hikaru and so Jason much too late to have any real ambitions as ag reed to show him the theory behind it that a player.'ikh5?! wh ile still a very bad player by any rational almost until he was a master. and he finished in clear fi rst opening under the sun. we seemed The primary duty. and sleeping dur chess learning from computers. of course. nothing is experiment. eating. All in all. Champion has gotten somewhat easier over time as we ship in St. making it an easy knowledge. I worked with unexpected new lines being introduced by him remotely again for the Cap d'Agde rapid opponents. major tournaments. or just mood and intuition. and my they can still be quite important. so the schedule of the ment. the plan can as much as anything that convinced him we change because of tournament standings. Louis. should keep working together. Since pared only solid mainstream lines. other than team events. something entirely new in a matter of hours. Fortunately in chess. to psychologist. Some what I do has to do with chess engines. ing with him online from home. but as is often the against my advice and play the King's I ndian case. Before a tou rnament begins. I have accompanied him to all different opponent years before. both of these responsibilities may seem trivial but their tremendous playing strength . is opening to work well together. I will come up before together would not work. when he decided to go ings for each opponent. I have a great deal of with 7/9 points. let alone a top ten preparing him to have the best chance of player. al ready a point and a half must be considered and narrowed down . he decided to offer me my fi rst role can range from personal assistant. It was perhaps that loss Often during a tou rnament. Where Hikaru was able to game-related concerns from distracting him. He finished the tournament freedom in trying to tailor individual open with only one loss. use the computer as a sparring partner and so if for example he needs some item from even a kind of role model to strive to emulate . to real job at preparing his openings. He won this too. Both helping him keep to a proper schedule of Hikaru and I derived a large portion of our working. to tech sup was doing the work remotely. my his time off. I knew that at this level preparation . I also try to keep non different paths. I have many responsi am probably the weakest second of any bilities that contribute towards a simple goal: strong grandmaster. have built up a larger and larger base of travel costs were low.82 � As Hikaru Nakamura's second of the chess pieces he retu rned to high level the supermarket. It worked Hikaru's repertoi re includes vi rtually every like a charm . Since it was in the country. I n 2009. S . and since then wasted since perhaps tomorrow we will to the present in 201 1 . What makes it possible for me to do winning each game and tou rnament. Perhaps seeking new inspiration after tournament routine stays intact. Carlsen . Though I travel agent. with only a couple of dredge up an idea or novelty prepared for a exceptions. I'll sometimes have to prepare lvanchuk. rubbish openings such as we had looked at weeks or months in advance. When tournament in 2008 which he won ahead of this happens. Radjabov and others. but with ing a tou rnament. such as strange path of chess development. relaxing. communicat port. but ment for the fi rst time at the U . as a player. I will go during his game chess at the Casino de Barcelona tou rna and get it for him. His as Black against the bottom seed in the wider repertoi re means more choices which seventh round. so I pre with an opening plan for each game. extra freedom requi res more work. I As Hikaru's second. ahead of the field . I travelled with him to a tou rna which is always risky and challenging. Computers i n chess preparation A second's d uties Many people have noted that. there are fewer fundamental break sure. which is distinguished by its She has written several books about compu numerous computer freaks and by the lack ter operating systems and networks and in of a football team . New methods of prepa As Hikaru has progressed from a 2650 ration and younger. to a top ten player today. If I am unsure about a position . can still provide a practical the end he will be the one sitting over the problem that an opponent has to solve over board with it. Of throughs that can change the evaluation of cou rse those things don't matter at all in a known positions in a radical way. and new ideas which . With the improving strength weaknesses are accu rate calculation of of computers helping to i ron out our knowl variations. In blindfold chess I am useless. but the answer is native intuition . As Hikaru continues to together. but when I do the solution is move orders. I can perhaps not an objective improvement over simply ask Hikaru for his opinion. sawier players create player when we began working seriously new challenges. Texas in Dallas. and tacularly against a 2600 may be unsuitable hopefully helping him reach the ultimate against a 2800. for example. Kris teaching chess. a knack for knowing when simple: everyone at the top al ready has the computer is wrong in its evaluation. Top players today are much more sophisti Every chess player has different strengths cated than in the past. works as a graduate of the Technical University of developer. his him seriously and successfully as a second . and performance u nder pres edge. the fi rst place. relationship with my engines. Today the emphasis is more This isn't to say that I don't ever have on finding nuances that can be exploited in difficulties. techrepublic. and these are things that goal of World Champion . I formed a sort of symbiotic have sometimes been learned the hard way. mother Debra Littlejohn Shinder is an ab- . both in their play and and weaknesses. and found them with their own computers. two years later he began to work for there were family members. His profession is the February 201 O also wrote a remarkable blog building of computer systems. I personally look forward to helping faced new challenges. What works spec him overcome the new challenges. Some of my biggest their preparation . advising entry on ''The role of computers in planning small fi rms on computer networks and chess strategy" (www. Many setting where a 3000+ Elo machine can amateu rs analyze positions at home and calculate for you and there is no clock ticking find strong novelties in mainstream open away you r time. technology adviser and trainer. while simple. Littlejohn grew up in a family Littlejohn's fi rst contact with Hikaru was in which had four times as many computers as 2005. who. the board . since in an old line.com). * * * Kristoffer " Kris" Littlejohn (born 1 983) is solute IT expert. Thus. we have improve. combi played by strong players. What I have developed ings and wonder why they don't see them instead is a strong positional sense. As H ikaru Nakamura's second ctJ 83 during a game. and a practicality about what positions are so thei r opponents won't play in to the line in playable for a hu man . All of it boils down to the continuing Going forward evolution of chess. 1 8th January 201 1 .. lll c7 .fd8 8. So now Anish is al ready the chess idol of the Dutch .c5 l:!d7 1 7. Giri H.l:.. b4+ 6.i c1 l:tac8 20. which is very late according to today's standards. GAM E 2 7 Karjaki n . 1 4 .e 3 with 1 5 . Rook endings are always drawn 1 3.. b6? ! level.g3 cs 4.cxb4 'ilxb4? fails to 1 7. l:t exd8 1 9 .ixd6 1 6. xc4 the game ended Nimzo-lndian Defence [E20] in a draw. on the 0-0 1 2. .e8 1 7. The previous year the new child prodigy had been the oday Nakamu ra is up against Anish G i ri . lllx b4 1 6. He became a grandmaster at the early age of 1 4 years. Nakamura . i.l:. . i.c5 lllc4 1 8. after scoring his third and final GM norm on 1 st February 2009 in Wijk aan Zee in the C-G roup. a3 i.. gaining almost 1 1 Elo points and taking him to a position close to the sound barrier of 2700.bxc3 i. lllas against Anand .i e6 1 5 .lll b5 lll c6 1 0.e7 9. like Hikaru ..lllc3 llle4 7. 'ii'xd8 l:tfxd8 1 8. because White has to concede the 1 3. which above all leads to a considerable increase in his self-confidence .0-0 d6 1 4.. but in our age of globalisation early changes are totally normal .. . e 6 1 5.. .. . G i ri . .. but after 1 3. g 2 d6!? other hand.l:.0-0 i.i. 1 5 . Petersburg .l:te1 Wijk aan Zee 20 1 1 h6 22. seven months and two days.x d6 . ..c4 a6 1 8.d4 lllf6 2. . fi rst took up chess at the age of seven. thus secu ring the i nvitation to the A-group. .c4 e6 3.i. For the 1 6-year-old this tou rnament is also an clear victor of the B-G roup ahead of the German No. i. i. a 3 'ii'as 1 4. a6 l:td6 23. At that time he was still playing for Russia.d 1 llla5 1 5. Round 4 Texamination of a special sort. c 1 1 6. lllx d6 A. Moscow 201 0.i. Born in St.. lllc3 l:!.and for his American adversary an opponent who needs to be taken most seriously. .ib4! 'ii'b 6 advantage for White in the game Aronian. This means the final breakthrough into the world elite for this son of a Nepalese hyd rologist and a Russian mother.84 � C HAPTER 3 Wij k aan Zee Tuesday. I n Monaco 201 1 Karjakin tried 1 2 . G i ri will finish on 50%. b 7 1 4 .lll x d4 i.xb7 l:txc5 2 1 . ad8. i.lllf3 cxd4 After this passive move White obtains an 5. xb7 lll x b7 open d-file to Black..0-0 1:td8? 1 .f4 e5 1 1 .. 'ifxd8 - Tata Steel Chess (A) . . 'ilxd6 .'ii'd3 lllxc3 enduring initiative. . 1 Arkadij Naiditsch. keeps the game more or less This is a novelty compared with 12 . i.i. i.. 1 6. 'ilxd7 lllc 5 1 7. a4! Giri bets on his strategic light-squared initiative. .. ll:i a3 is no Of cou rse this position is not simple for better) 23. ll:ixd6 ll:ia5 1 8 .db1 'ifc5 27. l:.• since after it we cannot see how White can 24. 27. ll:i d4. and White has an excellent position. :Z. 'ii'h 3 'it>f7 32 . 'if g4 'it>f7 (23 . . 'Wxc5 'ii'e 4 (if 28 .xe6 here.• Now White completely opens up the posi tion.i.e6 allows Black good play for the pawn .i. d5 24. 'ifc2 34.. 'i'xh7 a6 28. .i::r. 'ii'a 2 31 ..xaS 'ii'xa5 1 9 . .'it>f1 ?! 21 . d3 :cs 25.f6? black position is in any case extremely This pawn sacrifice is over-optimistic.'ifxes 'ii'b7 make any progress. 28 'ifc6 29.d4? ! 26. 23. . . fxe6 22. White is also in the driving seat after 27 . . since after it things become pretty unpleas ant for Black. . 'ii'e4 'ii'a6 (22 . whereas 1 6..e4±) 24.'ii'e4 :cs . 'ii'b6 of the passed c-pawn. 'i'h5+ 'it>g8 25.: b 1 'ifc2 36. ll:i d5.i. who must display his mastery of the 25.'iff3? ! 32 . 'i'c7 'ife6 29.l:. ll:i b5! ? would represent another plan..xc3 33. White better practical chances on account since after 2 1 . .i. 'iff5 . ll:i a3) 29. e8 34.i.i. .• 1 6 .. 'ifg4 'it>f7 24. . 1 6 tt::i a s •.l:.xb7 • • l:1ab8 20 . . 33 .l:tb1 . ll:i b4 gives Anish should have played 2 1 . ll:i c6 .xd6 1 7. though 7 that would unquestionably be the best way: 6 28.xdS 22J1xd5 'ii'a6 23.llb1 34.a5. 30 .d2 32 .:e1 'ii'd 2 32.ll:ixa7 'ii'xa4 30. ever.l:. : ad 1 art of defence.fd1 .i.i. . 30.f6 26. 21 ...i.'ii'f S? 8 G i ri does not dare to take the pawn. 'i' b6 �f6 is more active.cS :xc5 25. .i.e6 1 8 .cxb4 a6?? fails to 1 8. How uncomfortable. . .:xcS dxc5 26.e 1 'ii'd 2 the black position is al ready problematic. :c1 'ifxe2 (but not 5 29 . a6.i. 'ifxa4 on account of 30. ll:i xb4 1 7.c4. .dS l::t bc8?! This gives White a tactical option.cxd5 exd5 Black. But the 27 .'ii'e7 . 1 6.'ii'xcS •. . Wijk aan Zee � 85 l::tb 8? 1 8. ll:ic6 . . 35. ll:ixa7) 30. 'ii'f5 h4 33. :f1 'ii'x e2 33. 28. l:!. ll:i xa7 h5 31 . 1 7 . . 'i'd7 28. .i. there is the strong rejoinder 29. bd6?! .fd 1 . a7. .b 1 White has no protection The relief fol lowing an exchange of pawns against the checks. 'ifb6 was worth consider 4S l:. 3S . f6 38 .l:t bB 62.•• After 60. to avoid the exchange of q ueens.l:.'iii>fS :es 60. 45 :as 46. 'iii>f 1 g6 41 . .i.b7+ 'iii>g S At fi rst glance the black set-up looks suspect.gS l:.l:.'iii> g 6 .. .'iii>g 1 Was . and Black can breathe again.xfS l:. 66. but Nakamura resou rcefully man ages to ach ieve rel ief in time. 'iii> g 6 l:.d7 @gs 54.l:. :as 52.l:.f7 .bS+ 'iii> g 7 44.g4 l:. .xe4 59.xg5 51 J l d5 l:tg6 52. purely passive defence often leads to 63. then 45 .l:. 37. . So G i ri uses a sledgehammer approach .a3! 55.l:.g5. l:.f6 . .:r. After 63..xf4 62 .e7!? d isaster. .'ii'c4 is parried by 34 .:bs ! ? •• l:.a3+) 50 .l:. l:.h5 l:. rook endings.'iii> g 3 h6 47 .xh4 46.• ing.l:taB+ l:. 'iii> f4 37.d7 'iii>fs 57. l:.a7 @gs 5S.b6) .dS 37 Jlxas 3S. 39.fxg4 g5 50.l:.•.f8 also promises the fi rst player no advantage) 61 . After 48.c7 'iii>fs 53.e4 hxg4 49. 55 l:. .e4 42.'iii> g 4 White prevents t h e standard set-up f7-g6- h5. 'iii>xf6 White's activity is also insufficient: 60 .f4.86 � Chapter 3 34.l:. . .g7+ 'iii> h S 62.b7 4S.h4 :es 40.a4 43.f4 White can no longer make any prog ress with normal methods. ..f5 :t b6 leads to the famous Philidor position (White: 'iii> g 5. hxg5 34 �xa7 35.e4 g5 50. .e3! .g7+ 'iii> h S 64. l:.l:.. Black: 'iii>f8 .fB+ 6 1 .l:. 56.l:. The white pawns are paralysed .@14 .xa? 35. 45.hxgS l:txg5+ 51 . f5.• (50.l:. 'iii> g 5 (61 .xh5 49. l:.g4.f7 @gs 65.'iii>f2 If 45.'ii'xa7 'ii'd 5 36. 47 hS! ••.gxh5 'ii'd 5..l:.f3 l:.l:. . g6 can be met by 39.gxf6 l:. is important. . because in rook endings 60 fS 6 1 . ss l:.d7 ••.'ii'x aS 'iii> f7 the ending should also be tenable for On account of the high drawing tendency of Black. .h7+ 'iii> g S •. but still had to work on his physical scorer among the young stars was re form .xg7 stalemate. . 'it> g7 defends the key (Boris Gelfand.Wf6 . Mikhalchischin & 0. bojevic) played i n the Hotel Krasnopolsky 67 'iitf8 68.the ability to play the endgame. Since Hikaru and Anish of it World Champion Viswanathan Anand both scored six points out of ten games. youngster even before their encounter: 67. The generation of the "computer ment to match the world elite psychologi kids" won narrowly by 26-24. Fighting chess with Magnus Carlsen. Peter Heine squares: 70. Draw agreed on Black's proposal bloods" (Hikaru Nakamura. . outstanding qualities of the young Norwe which has invariably distinguished the gian star th rough his games. then Black simply liquidates to the pawn ending. Rising Stars' after 67 ." From 1 2 1h till 22nd August 201 O a team of "old hands" king move 69 . l:. 'it>f5 'iiif8! . 'it>xg5 the match in Amsterdam last year. but the latter was then also i nvited play for a win with Black. At the end Amber tou rnament. Wijk aan Zee ctJ 87 Even 66 . and it of one book.. At the opinion it is impossible to do justice to the present time his technique of converting an many aspects of his skill in the framework advantage resembles that of Fischer. Anish is in fact a very strong player. by the organisers. .'it>h6+ "Yeah . . "a very important indicator of playing and Oleg Stetsko try to demonstrate the strength . p . Anish G i ri and David Vladimir Chuchelov was able i n this tou rna Howell) .fS l:f6+ 69. specifically limited them. ." 1 1 A. .l:. . Fabiano Ca Anish G i ri . the could count himself more than lucky to ticket to the rapid and blindfold event in have saved the draw.l:. they have. 1 5 . who according to his trainer ruana. The highest cally.an indication of the serious their i ntroduction . .'it>hS 'iitf7 against a world select team of ''young •. Loek van Wely and Ljubomi r Lju game ends peacefu lly. Chess" must have been completely amazed The American defeated the young Dutch that right from the word go Anish set out to player. Peter Svidler. Wesley So.Wf6 'iii h8! ! 68 .xg5 69. . work he has done. Zu rich 201 2 . F lying high with endgame ski l ls I Carlsen the authors Adrian Mikhalchishin n thei r book Fighting Chess with Magnus selves to one aspect of his creative activ ity. . would face and pass his final exami warded with an invitation to the final Melody nation in the penultimate round. as pointed out i n rarely misfi res .g7+ 68. ''Tata Steel Monaco had to be decided i n a blitz duel.g7+? ! is playable in view of Nakamu ra too paid due respect to the 67. and the N ielsen. I have only beaten him once: in the blitz If White now plays 67.f6+ 'iitf7 71 .f5. Since in their great champions of the past.l:. Stetsko. M r. because tiebreak of the 'Experience vs. To my question he replied standing of the general principles of con that he knew the basic principles of playi ng ducting chess endings. ix. Studying endgames acquaints the theoretical endings it is sufficient to know beginner with the specific properties of the whether the ending is won or drawn. who cussed the question of how to study the back in 1 957 produced a remarkable book endgame. assuming that with the shevsky and Dvoretsky. Dvoretsky is a great expert theoretical knowledge. . Oxford 1 985. as upon his under on the endgame. there play". Dvoretsky considers it essential on this subject: Rook Endings. For him middlegames. p. The study of endings ought. although the prob Taimanov was adjourned . And his successes proved him ond of I nternational Master Mark Dvoretsky correct. who i n 1 976 was the sec training. "In one of the ability of such positions being repeated in a lines of analysis a rook ending with f.and h practical game is sl ight.wrote Shereshevsky in his volume fore. of young chess players many trainers lay was what the authors wrote in thei r preface. and to find general rules and princi a small number of pieces and pawns on the ples of play in complex endings. to precede the analysis of openi ngs Endgame Strategy. it occu rred during the tery of endgame play will also rise .88 <. only the most elementary conceptions of As for the cooperation between Shere the endgame. Dvoretsky referred to both approaches are a long way from the a book on rook endings. since Boris Spassky. Shereshevsky. and began study truth: the mastery of a player is directly ing the appropriate chapter. 3 Ibid. Viktor Korchnoi at the 44th U S S R Championsh ip (First and Gennady Sosonko are among his best League). It is evident that pawns was reached .t> Chapter 3 We know of cou rse that in their schooling and compl icated middlegame positions". p. Later read the opinion of the two grandmasters during the tournament we frequently dis G rigory Levenfish and Vasily Smyslov. 3 2 M . And in board . and to pieces and pawns and with the way they have a rough impression of the plan of interact. Endgame Strategy.ix. ''The endgame is always the chess development of children up to allotted very little time". I. Others Fi rst League tou rnament in Minsk 1 976 demonstrate long and complex analyses when Dvoretsky's game against Mark from reference books. great emphasis on the learning of numer Th is point was unconditionally shared in his ous opening systems and the rules which work by the Leningrad trainer of young proceed from these to the subsequent players Vladimir Zak ( 1 91 3-1 994) . I was sur dependent not so much upon his amou nt of prised : after al l . "Any correct to know the classics. wrote Mikhail the age of ten consisted of 90% endgame Shereshevsky. but did not even attempt to I n this connection it is also interesting to remember lengthy concrete analyses. "Some trainers give their pupils known students . the fol lowing epi general development of a player his mas sode is interesting." 2 such endings. to analyse compli method of teaching chess also demands cated practical rather than theoretical end fi rst of all the study of simple positions with ings. . All in all I can say that I invest more 54 . 'it>c6 ending would not be so easy to win. 1 29. than ao% of the time in openings. . cerned this is a slight exaggeration. . the queen 64 . 'ifxa2?.'iYf4+! look at a few endings from the Dvoretsky After 54 . on the other hand. gives away half a point: 64 .�2 has often demonstrated his mastery of Because the white pawn is still on a2 . but sometime I take a 54. .@d6 'iti>d8 66. Despite the two extra pawns. Philadelphia 2005 b c d e f g h 64."6 because he could otherwise resign on Probably as far as the endings are con account of 55.'i!Vd4? ! Black does not play book.. openings training.'iti>c6 as 6a. Hikaru 54 . Nakamura J.@d6 'iti>da 66.c? a6.'iti>d3 @cs 59. . But the best thing to do 5 6. but 54 . .aS @ca 67. and Black holds the draw. as White favou rably ing routine.'it>d6 @ca 66.c4 is to take a look at some practical exam @c6 60.@d4 'iti>d6 61 .'iYf2+.gxf4 'iti>xf4 56.Wc5! The a-pawn definitely must stay on its starting square.@e4 57. because they prove qu ite forcefully Wd7 63.Wb6 a4=.1 39 in this book . Benjamin - World Open. in order to win the duel of the reserve moves. @da 65.a3? .'iti>g2 'i!Va3.. Flying high with endgame skills ltJ 89 When we asked about his everyday train to a pawn ending.'iti>d5 ples.a4? @ca 65.c7 a6! 67. 64.'iti>e2 'iti>d5 58. . the technical endgames and his knowledge of game is now an easy win for Hikaru .c7+ 'it>c8 67. Nakamu ra replied: "It is usually exchanges queens. 64.c6+ 'iti>c7 that his rise can be quite substantially traced back to his strength in the endgame! A) Pawn endings A 1) The double move of the a-pawn H. 'ifxf4 55. 'i!Vc1 + 55.. @ca 65. pp. .. the contents of Mark Dvoretsky's excellent Endgame Manual.c5+ @c7 62. were it Now Wh ite wins because his a-pawn still not for the followi ng immediate liquidation has both options: 4 See Nakamura interview. WhS offers no consolation to Black either) 52 .Wxa4 Wg3 55.a4 winning zone a5-d5-d4-e4-e 1 ) 5 1 . .Wd7 change the outcome for Black. We6 puts up more stub A.�3 �6 By careful defence it is often possible to 50. 47.Wd6 as 69. . . but it will be broken by a l m re Konig Memorial .g6 Wb2 54.� WhB 55.gS+ Wh7 54.. Wf6 49. . .g6 Wg8 58.Wg3! We6 48. Cuernavaca/Mexico 2004 pawn proves Black's undoing: 62 .Wg4 h3 52.'ii'c 2. �6?! 81 ) Defence After this Black immediately ends up in zugzwang. Wg8 56.Wxh3 WfS (see next diagram) 53.g8'ii' a2 56. 46..Wxh4 Wf6 54. Black resigned.g6 Wb2 54.gS Wxa3 53.We4) 49. . 49. . .Wh3 wes 53. Wf6 does not help on account of master Alexander Baburin: 49 .'ii'd 4+ Wb1 59.g7 a3 70. B) Rook endi ngs 46 . Wg2 wes (47 .g7 Wf7 59. .'ii'c 1 #. .'ii'g 1 + Wb2 H. Wf6 48.Wb4 Wf4 54.90 � Chapter 3 67 a6•.WgS Hikaru's king has reached a key square. Karjakin - 58. and now the h Match. 82 � ! ? .aS.WhS Wg7 51 . Wc3 50.gs Wes 5 1 .Wg3 (the over-hasty 49.'ii'b4+ Wc2 60.Wh2! (the h.. . Wd4 52 .Wg6 Karjakin now terminated his resistance in view of 55 . .• . 51 . Wb3 Black resigned. ..We4 We6 5 1 . and White wins) 48. San Francisco 2002 manoeuvre involving triangulation: 47. Nakamura - born resistance.Wg3 Wg6 49. H i karu managed to save this lost 56.gS Wxa3 53. .g8'ii' a2 the white king is outside of the 68.'ii'b3+ Wa1 62. Baburin H.Wh6! Wh8 57. .Wb3 Wxh3 vou rable rook endings. . Wh7 52. h3 63.Wc4 wes save many valuable half points in unfa 53. since after 5 1 .'ii'g 7+ Wb1 57. .a4 Wxg4 57. .a3 a4 69. Nakamura S.�2 ! ? Hikaru shows that he understands this ending.Wf6 Wh6 53. 5 game. 55. as 68..�3 position against the experienced g rand Wd4 (48 . .Wh4 Wg6 would only be a draw) 49 .h4 gxh4+ 5 1 . Still only 1 4 years old . Wd6 Wb7 Wb3 52. h4? gxh4 so. .Wh7.Wxh4 �6 50.Wd4 Wd6 52.'ii'a3 Wb1 t h 61 .Wxh4? Nor does 67 .g7 a3 A2) Triangulation 55. (51 .h4 gxh4+ After 48 .hS the protected passed pawn is decisive . 46 .• pawn m ust be kept. or else he will not be able to shake off the pressu re from the black rook. position 1 04) the fol lowing study by Genri kh Kas parian can be found. J ust as in our game. It was not yet too late to activate the rook with 89. .Wf6 ::ta1 . . Here too there are some drawing positions.Wg4 l:r. and Analysis diagram White wins.f3 makes i t simpler for White.g1 1 2.We6 l:.Wd6 ::tg2 8. if. . .f6+ Wg6 1 3. We7 ::tf1 with a problems in finding a place to hide.::tf3+ We6 92.::taS++-) 87. White is two pawns up.::ta3 ! ? . 83.l:txg4 Now let us return to the game: 87.::tf4? After this Black achieves an impregnable fortress. g4 l:r.!td6 ::txg5 1 1 . : b3: 89 . keeps 83 Wf'& 84. .gS+-. ::tbS?! 83.Wh4 ::th&+ 88. 68. it is Black to move! 89.l:.hB+ •. 82 .::tf&+ Wg7 White is now forced into a pawn sacrifice. 1 0.WxhS �6 85.aB In the aforementioned book by Levenfish and Smyslov Rook Endings (p.Wd7 ::tg1 9. So these do not achieve anything for Black.We3 ::tg2 3. 86. . ::ta4+ 90. I n spite o f this.We4 ::tg2 6.g5. .!tg6+ Wf7 4.WxhS Black holds the draw.l:r.f2+ 2.g6+ Wh7 1 4.a8 93. 1 . . l:. on h5 the white king here has a refuge against horizontal checks. the rook more active. intending 83 . . the second player can stil l hold the draw.::ta6+ Wxf5 86. . 1 2 :11 1 3.g8+ 84.g4+ Wf4 (86 .We7 A good attempt to cause the white monarch Pointless is 1 2. the other a bishop's pawn.Wh4 l:r.Wg4 :as 87.Wd5 ::tg1 7.Wf'3 ••• ::tg1 5. and ••• 83. Flying high with endgame skills ltJ 91 Unlike in positions with a rook's pawn and knight's pawn. one of them a knight's pawn.l:.::tf3 ::tg8 ! ? 85. .::tf6+ Wes 88.. as in this case. draw.Wh5 Wxf5 91 . Ohrid 2009 a b C 8 • 6 .h8. . 92. Kings vs.'it>d4 a2! 93 :. .l:.e8 . . or account of 92 . But not 77 .and things can go no further.l:.e4 'it>c5 80. l:th2 8 1 . 78.f6?? would even total ly backfire on and a win is no longer possible.b3 94.l::ta 1 l:ta3 80.'it>b3 the position is level) 79. .11g8+ 'it>xf5 1 07 .l:.'it>e2 .l:.a3+ 93.b3 98. .f4+ 1 05. 82) Technique in rook endings 821 ) Cutting off the king 822) The rook belongs behind the passed pawn Cutting off the opposing king with you r own rook is one of the typical winning tech M.l:.'it>g2 . .:r. After 93 .l:. In the tive.l:ta8) . . l:ta3+. 'it>c3 pawn chain .'it>d3 92 .l:td4 .h8 'it>b4 80.• totally unimportant whether the passed This horizontal barrier is extremely effec pawn is your own or your opponent's. E.a3 95.92 � Chapter 3 89 . L.g4 'it>gs in no-man's-land .e3 . 81 . . 'it>d3 'it>b5 80.@f2 . there is no way for White to make any progress.• account of 79 .b3 1 02 .l:. 1 00. .l:. Nakamura - niques.c5 (th is barrier along the c-file is not nearly so effective on 92 .a3 99 ..l:.'it>cs l:ta4 White resigned. .l:.l:.@1'3 :as 91 .b2+ 1 03. I ndispensable precision.:t.@1'2 l:.. . Nakamura - Saint Louis 20 1 1 7.l:ta3+ 8 1 .gB+ 90.'it>c4 'it>a5! 11xg4 1 06.b4 1 04 . 'it>e3 79.a1 Now the king has occupied the hole in the ::ta5 (after 78 . . ' European Teams Cup. 'it>b5? would only be a draw on account of l:ta3 97. . . Fierro Baquero H. llb2 79.:. . si nce 78 . 77 . JellingH.· For this rule it i s important to know that it is 77 i1b3! •.l:. Draw. because the white king is now trapped present game Black is winning despite the .l:.l:.@1'2 .@1'3 .e3 l:ta4 94.b3 96. a2? 78 . 'it>e2 .l:. Queens 960 [rapid].l::te4 l:ta3 1 01 .'it>d3 . .•.i1xg4 'it>xg4 A fatal bodycheck.'it>c3 .b4 l:c3 79 . . 'it>a5? 78.. .l:.xa2.'it>b2 'it>b4 82 . .l:te6 l:lf4+ too. . 'it>xg3 'it>d5 drawing chances with 57. 63. Nakamura - Santo Domingo Open 2003 Analysis diagram Now Black wins by invading with his rook: 63 . however. h 1 :t b2+ 72 . l:tga 64. W h2 l:! g3 it is also all over) In view of 1 02 .•. .g3!? was more 1 oo . . . Socko H. 5a. xc3+ 63.Wf2 Wd5 60.l:lxg2 l:txg2 59 . .::t. Wf5 Wb5 1 07 .l:th3 l!a2+ 69. hxg3 60.xc5?. W g3 'itid4 1 05.@e3 l:tc4 59. 'it>xh4 62. .c6 66.•.h6 'it>b3 71 . If.Wh4 We4 64. l:.g. but it is doomed to failure on account of the passive white blockading rook. Wxc4 1 03.'it>xc3 'it>e4 64.Wg 1 @xa5 1 05Jib1 l:t.Wd2 l:lxh1 .h5 plays 56 .:r.g3 . l:t g6+ 65.Wxf5 l:. .Wg2 !ica 63..Wc1 l:.Wd3 no longer saves White either on (after 59.'it>g4 'it>d2 ends up with . 'it>d3 Wxc4 1 06 .h4 does not help either: 59 .. .Wd3 llxc5 60. Jbf4+ radiating much more power.g2 70. White is lost.Wf2.Wc1 .We3 1 03. l:txc6 60. because his rook is 57.Wg3 :le? 6 1 .l:. Black 59.c5+ 67.'it>f1 f4 67. . .'itig2 ••. winning of the white c-pawn..gxh4 Wh5 60. . . 'it>d2 Wxf4 65.l:th2 l:tg3+ 65. case cannot run away. l:tc1 + Wb5 1 04.Wh2 l:tc6 64.h5 l:ta1 6a .Wf2 (after 1 02.'it>g2 'it>e6 62 . M. .l:txc3 l:.'it>g5 Wd3 65 .Wb1 c2+ 74. l:txc5 5a. How ever. Wxg3 Wf6 61 . Wxd6 Wxb6 the lights are also extin guished for White) 1 02 . h6 (6 1 .Wf3 We6 62. W g&! zugzwang tech nique) 62. Hikaru won 5a. which in any 58 hxg3 59.'it>c2 Wc4 66.Wxc3 Wg5-+.'it>b1 l:r. J:tga 1 01 . But 57. .h4 l:t g 1 67.Wf3 account of 1 0 1 .a1 + 75. Wf4 'it>d5 63.c1 c2 57. We6 @xa5 1 oa.'it>g2 1 01 W d4 . .a2 73. .gxf3 'it>xf3.Wf2 also clearly loses : 57 . Wh ite obtains good :ca 6 1 .'it>g 1 f3 6a.Wf2 . .l:txc3 l:txc3+ with a typical zugzwang . .'it>d3 :ca (a typical 56 .We3 l:. 57 Wf& 58. .c7 'it>e6 59. A despai ring attempt to get some counter play.g4-+ Martha Fierro Baquero no longer has any chance of a draw. White resigned. Flying high with endgame skills ct) 93 material equality. ca 59.xc7 6 1 .Wxg2 wxe4 1 04.l:!. Wf3 resilient: 57 . .'it>e2 Wg3 I n this specific case the activation of the king is more important that the crude 66. 6 1 . e.Wf4. .Wf3 1 0 1 . c1 'it?b2 65 . 69 . 69 . . then on no account forget you r king! H.b6 •.l:.f1 + Normally one should not analyse blitz 74. 'it? g7! . ICC 2008 70 gS? •.l:.1 6 champion in 2005 and i n the following year won the under..1 8 world championship title in Yerevan .l:.g6 :ts+ 73. 'iit e 7 69.g4 'it?ee 69 .l:txg6 .xf4 67.a6 68 .l:. .xg6?! hardly holds any 66.l:.xc1 'it?xc1 68. and the point is White resigned.l:.l:. .e6?? 67 .h6 .l:. there is no way to win.l:. .h4 l:.l:.'it?h6 74.l:. . 'it? g7 'it? e7 75 . . 'it?d7 70. b u t H i karu thwarts it: plan is hard to counter. 67.l:. Nakamura S. . : g4 l:.hS •.d 1 72. 'it?g7 .c4 66. . but in view of Hikaru's outstanding 77.xg6+ 70.94 @ Chapter 3 the same resu lt for White) 61 .xh1 • 66 .xc6 62. 'it? gS 'iitf7 .�e3 hasty.l::t g 4 l::txg4+ skill i n this field we gladly make an 80. e.l:.hS .'it?ge :11 66. .'it?gS 'it?e3 70.l:.e4. 77 . 'it? gs l::t g 1 + 79. and the fails to 66 . 69.e4+ • • 'it?c4 63. Against 70 .l:!xe6 'it? xe6 68.hxgs :as 72.fS 'it?e4 71 .l:.. but this A final blitz trick. 'it?gS c1 'ii' 67 . 59 'it?e& 60.'it?xg3 'it?dS 61 .g7 l::t h 1 75. 'it? xg6 'it?f8. 'it?d3 .d6. 'it? g2 Black can only wait and must not be over 'it? xh6 63.g 1 + games. who was European under. . be cause the Armenian Sawen Andriasian .l:. .l:. ..h1 73. two years younger than him.e4+ 'it? d7 76.'it?h4 'it?b3 64 . .l:.�2 �6 65. : g4 . Thus the offer to exchange rooks . If you r game has reached a n endgame a n d you are looking for a plan. exception : 71 .l::t h 2 l::t h 1 The position is and remains drawn .l::te2 l::tf 1 76. 'it?xg4 'it?e 7 81 .h1 c2 • • Of cou rse. 'it? xc3 .'iitfs l::tf 1 + 78. Andriasian - Dos Hermanas I nternet [blitz] . but also to the king.l:. 'it? xg6 cutting off of the king is decisive. on the other hand.'iitf7 823) The king must be activated In rook endings activity is often of decisive importance. shared .• Hikaru's plan now becomes effective.g. and this applies not only to the major piece.xh6 . . 71 . now succumbs to panic. 'it? g6 62.• Black resigned.l:.'it?xfS 'it?d2 • promise of success on account of 69 . 'it?xg3 'it? g7 64. .d5 and 4 1 .. l:. 43. N.e4 b3 42 .Wxh2 � 43.l:.t d4 l:.h4 the black rook decisively pene trates the white position : 59 . White resigned. . . b6 l:.d6 Wf7 ( Ftacnik in CBM 1 35).d6 a5 47. 41 b3 42.e& •.Wd3 Wb2 62. l:.d7 a4 48.xd6 l:. Nakamura Corus Festival (A) . a1 l:. Nakamu ra C) Calculation Dos Hermanas I nternet [blitz] .xd4 44.d6+ 68.l:. .l:. 60. Wijk aan Zee 201 0 55 Wa3 ! 56. .l:. ICC 2007 Hikaru has a lot of energy and he calcu lates well .l:. l:.•. Short . bB 63.b 1 a5 46. White resigned.d6 :a2+ 44.Wg3 :Z.b8 b3 The situation after 44 .•• And now White is in a deadly zugzwang .d3 46.t d4 l:. l:.txh2 42.e7 c 1 'if 65.d2 45 . c6 60.l:. xa4 b2 also give Black the clearly superior position.l:. Now Short can stop the b-pawn only at the cost of great sacrifices.d8 Wxb3 61 .e6 c2 64. The alternative variations 41 .l:.H. Flying high with endgame skills ctJ 95 In the fol lowing blitz game H i karu's king 66. . 43 Wh7 . l:.t h2 . l:.l:. hxg5 hxg5 6 1 . Leon Hoyos .H.We3 h6 58.� ••• Wb2 59.dB'iV l:txd8 .Wc3 :c&+ 65. e5 l1c3 62.a4 l:.xd4 45.b7 Wa2 64.a7+ Wb1 67.d3 45. The point.Wd2 b2 l:.Wc3 Wc1 also pushes forward i rresistibly .. . as in the following two examples. l:.xc3 bxc3 63.e4 b4 57. 40 b4! 41 .eB'iV 'iff4+.b4! •.d8+ Black also has a decisive advantage after 43 . .We3 After 59. 59 Wc2 . which often helps him in the end game. M . and pawns on the queenside is unstoppable.aS criterion of truth . he nevertheless collapses be you . hopefully you will be able to improve it at the The black bishop especially plays the part same time.a7 . ll:\xf2 38.a7 ll:lh3+ 40. l:td8 41 . . aa 38. .96 � Chapter 3 49 . .l::I d 2 i.bxa6 35. 33. .ll:lxa6! 39.litds ll:lb7 43 .c2 39. b6 l:tb8 39 .l:.b7 ll:lxb7 45 .l:txb7 i. Black resigned...:. Saint Louis 2009 b c d e 37 .!:tb2 ll:\cs 39.. b6 make sure that you write down your l:td7 40. . . I n the following game .i.b6 ll:\cs 41 . But now it is you r move! of a tragic hero. there is no way of holding the game tor Alexander Shabalov. .:..aS ll:\xf2 38 .xf5 46 . ll:\e4 gin with an evaluation of each position and 36 . which. l:t d6 After other moves too.l:!. Nakamura A. l:tda 39. . .:tb8 a3 is too depressing for Short. time. . . .e4 40. aa 40.g4 42.d7 ll:lcs 44. 38.xa6 l:txa6 Since it is known that practice is the 36.played i n the fi rst round of the US Championship which Naka mura won for the second time after 2004 - H i karu also calcu lated everything exactly. 33 .xb6 40.l:txa6 is a futile thoughts.:!. as you solve them . and is guaranteed to pay off for you sooner 37.. . .g4 42 .b4 . Fi rstly another i mportant suggestion: be 36 .a7. bS ll:ld7 38.b8+.g. b6 i. l:ta7 37. . will enable cause his pieces are completely uncoordi you to check you r endgame technique nated and so the advance of the two wh ite against that of Hikaru Nakamura.b5! or later.l:ta3 the white bishop cannot intervene i n the defence in pawns run through to promote .a6 ll:\xa6 41 .a6 l:i. . e. because the black After 40 . 37 .�xh3 The winning move..a7 i. we have selected fou r Although Black is not at a material disad examples o n t h i s theme a s a little test for vantage. �xf2 or 37 . bxa6 i. This is a professional approach attempt to save the game.l:txd8 b2 50. l:tb6 34. Shabalov - USA Championship. H. . Nakamura .. . Wahls - Kings Tournament. H. H. Reno 2004 • How did Hikaru realise his advantage? How did Hikaru storm the black position? . .-D. ltJ 97 ZWI SC H E N JY Z O G E . Nakamura L. playchess. Medias 201 1 Mallorca Trophy [blitz]. Ponomariov H. B y the back door R. Kudri n - 1 st match game. Saint Louis 201 1 Western States Open . Nakamura M. Nakamura S.. Liqu idated . Nisipeanu .E N DGAM E T E ST A kn ight goes The kn ight wal kabout in the corner H.com 2004 How did Hikaru break open the black stronghold? How does the rook win against the pawn? . g3 tll c 6 6. But it is well known that the next opponent is always the most dangerous one.tllf3 cs ful play in this tournament.having access to Garry's data Tata Steel Chess (A) . Ponomariov - the work . pains strated this i n practice in numerous World taki ngly reached the haven of a draw is Championship struggles against his long unquestionably the positive message to be standing opponent Anatoly Karpov is Garry taken from th is game. system with 4. . . and the new theoretical knowledge which went with The question is: what is the best set-up it.c4 e6 3.d4 tllf6 2. tll e3! ? looks more natural. b4 4.it sti l l gives me somewhat Wijk aan Zee 20 1 1 of an edge to at least know that I ' m playi ng Nimzo-lndian Defence [E20] the best possible openings. having all H . On this first day. The fact that Nakamu ra finally. And the cooperation with h i m is certainly one key to Nakam u ra's success 1 . Naka mura remarked : But I think. is only one side of the coi n . and finally Magnus Carlsen. after four games Hikaru is tou rnament such as Wijk aan Zee.'ii'x d2 cxd4 9. g 2 tll e4 7.l ndian chess the real criterion of truth is practical Defence? Someone who has demon play. In the previously men GAM E 2 8 tioned interview in New in Chess. the two local heroes Erwin L' Ami and Jan Smeets. can surprisingly in fi rst place with 3 points. �h1 dealt i n particular with this opening and the 1 4.tll c3 !ii. base certainly . d 2 tll x d2 training session im mediately before the 8.!ii. 201h January 201 1 . especially si nce in itially all he can manage against "Pono" is a shaky draw." Salvation painstakingly achieved And yet the most intensive training.!ii. In thei r fi rst 5. justifiably called the "Wimbledon of chess". e7 Tata Steel Tou rnament the two of them 1 1 . Round 5 A afford the luxury of three rest days.0-0 o-o 1 2. It is far from certain that after this Hikaru will sti ll be sharing top place with World Champion Anand .tllx d4 'ii'b6 1 0.98 <t> C HAPTER 4 Wij k aa n Zee Thu rsday.:ab1 d6 1 3. tllf3. And between now and the second planned pause. Kasparov. sti l l . rou nds 5 till 8 wi ll see the US player face a strong quartet consisting of ex-FIDE world champion Rusi an Ponomariov. whereas the I ndian champion defeats Jan Smeets and goes into the lead with 4 out of 5. Nakamura R . as the seeding predicts . because in with which to combat the N i mzo. especially .tll c2 !ii.b4 :de 1 4. l:i.txc4 45 ..f8 47. . .xd4 l:txd4 but no more than that! 34.l:.'ii'e 1 g5 31 .f5 ! ? example: 36. 'i'd2 g 5 35.f8 1 6.l:Ifc1 . 3 1 .'iic 1 . lb cd5..te4 23. bS 20 .tf3 .l:td2 l:tdxc4 35.tea 2S. since 31 .'ii b2 Wigs 41 . d5!? also long-term trump.l:!.i..Il:d 1 exf4 33 .l. .:!.lbf2 g6 39 .e4 fxe4 28.l:!.f4 34.lbe4 'i'e7 43J:tf1 Wg7 And the game was agreed drawn . . l:tf2+ We8 49.llc3 estab 'iic7 1 8. With the text move Ponomariov loosens his control of the kingside too much .ac8 1 9. Wijk aan Zee � 99 since 1 4 . ..lbd1 Wie7 26. . 39 . .l:.xes after 44.g7 24 .fc1 . White does not have enough compensation for the sacrificed pawn . i. After 39 .xf8 'it>xf8 48...xe4 °iif6 28 .'ii'd 6 is complicated and better su its Nakamu ra. .tf7 30. lbg5 Ponomariov chooses the simple sol ution . . So continuing to follow a comes strongly i nto consideration . geously with 1 5. 'iics? The key moment.c5 Wif6 37.'it'd3 is more logical.. . b5 lbe5 1 6. b 6 20. 36 . . .Wib4 .'it>g1 i.lbe4?! lishes a better defensive position.d1 'ifes 38.. i.d7 1 S.ixc4 .lbg4 'it'g7 34.d3 es 42.d?? can then be met advanta when the opportunity presents itself. dxe5 32 . . 40.lLld3 i. i.xc4 46.. on the other hand.d4!? would certainly be an interest ing try..lbes i. ..Wid2 which secu res him an unmistakable advan Wh ite now has sufficient compensation - tage.te1 'iifS 19 . for light-squared strategy by means of 1 9. lb e3 gives a more harmonious set-up of the pieces. hs 3S.bS lbas 1 7. . 32.f1 fS 22.lLl1 f2? 30..fxeS 'ii'xeS 33.. 34 . 30 .l:i.Wie2 °ii'd 4 32. l:. Wid4! Ponomariov picks up the gauntlet.'it>g2 'iie 7.e1 'iYd4 37.lLlf2 'ii'es after which the bishop pair will prove to be a The immediate advance 35 .lbe3 i.�d1 ? ! 1 4 .l:tc7 27.g6 36.c2 h6 21 . who loves tactical compl ications and virtually provokes them . 29 . This allows Black to stabilise the position .l:. ..i.. 'ii'f 6.l:.. . Konopka. What is As a fi rst step you should set up the also interesting is his conclusion that an following position on your chessboard . p .and you will perhaps not believe it: in in 2007. 1 6. it's too big. In the you r own games.. strongly advises that constant this specific case the tactical solution was tactical training is necessary. 2007 .1 9. 2 Alexei Shirov. However. for many years invite you to take part in an experiment! coach of the Czech national team. so you end up using your his tactical competence. too much for our "electronic second". with in the constraints imposed by the rules Also i n a q uite special way the productive of chess. "The ability to find com words of Alexei Shirov: "When you are binations. whose best known to win the game. We too. Everyman 2005 . because the older associative i ntu ition .You will certainly The tactical pro is characterised above all by his creativity at the board. they th inking. And sometimes a they become the less accu rately they cal brilliant . you tend to choose moves accord correctly counts amongst the most impor ing to you r general knowledge of the game tant abil ities of all good players. as and who was a second to David Navara Alexei did several years previously. with the result that Shirov provided an incredible example performance inevitably declines. Part II. They may and you r pre-established method of logical have mastered openings brilliantly. sometimes you need to may know all about middlegame plans and go beyond you r usual frames. should proceed in order gressive one." 1 accord from tournament praxis. asked (born in 1985) for his debut in Wijk aan Zee Fritz . So allow us to ing to M ichal Konopka. You are still strictly limited calculate correctly they will not get far. .yet if they cannot less rational ly. pp. . Konopka.and mathematically correct! - culate and the more they rely on experi solution is the resu lt. sible in this specific position? How can 1 M. Fire on Board. Etwas zur Taktik" in: issue 1 /2007 of culturally oriented chess magazine KARL Frankfurt/M . but you can't absorb the whole age of any player can be measu red against game. Of I n this connection it is important to re course we can assume that it knows the member Mark Dvoretsky's conclusion that basic principles of the treatment of compli tactics play no less a role in the endgame cated endings such as the centralisation of than i n the middlegame.100 � The tactica l pro T have a constant reminder of this in actics win games! . But how can that really be pos character is different. to spot tactical motifs as quickly playing a tournament game and the clock is as possible and to calculate variations ticking. which at fi rst sight protege was Viktor Laznicka (born in 1988) appears to be impossible. a player who loves to attack or even an ag whose move it is. though their the king. to escape may also have assimilated the fundamen the confines of you r knowledge and think tals of the endgame . and excellent tactician need not necessarily be then ask you rself the question how Black. 1 4."2 ence and intu ition . cs @c4 53. usually involving sacrifices". So what is the key move? fol lowing position from a game. Topalov A. However. the black king is th reatening to penetrate the white position with gain of tempo. In this case it was the see for you rself. the white pawns are doubled. I had two decisive tempi for the king march? What extra pawns and felt that there should be was the role played by his combinative something to be done!".h3 ! ! ••• Shirov had lost to U lf Andersson seven "'What i s this? Black i s simply chucking years previously! 3 This is defined by Mark Dvoretsky in his manual School of Chess Excellence 2 .J. was how Shirov vision?3 described the situation. 51 . The tactical pro ltJ 1 01 Black actually land the great blow. start which needed to be called upon at the which however does not win.e4.xf6 d4 Only now does Fritz recognise the mes sage the bells had rung out for White - Position after 47. so he probably saw the text move as being a logical one: after all . wrote Dirk Poldauf in issue 3/ Linares 1998 1998 of SCHACH. which 47 J. ''The position seemed rather simple since. 1 0.J." The furious finale was equally forced.. . and from there it will coordinate the advance of the two passed pawns. were left on the board.J.far from obvious strong moves. only two m i nor pieces White resigned.e7 @d3 52.J.. Wel l .gxh3 Wf's 49. All the same. . simpl icity may often be misleading. Wf2 @e4 so.e7 @b3 apart from the kings..@g1 SOS. And he continued: "Yet things may not be so strange! Shirov has never suffered from any lack of creativity.J. Shirov - Linares".Tactical Play as "t he ability to quickly discover latent tactical ideas . 2002 p. our faithful It is the experiences mentioned at the Fritz suggests the normal move 47. Edition Olms. which away his bishop? Something is wrong with was at that time hailed as a stroke of genius the diagram . the d raw. but the wh ite ship will sink in very few seconds . I came to realise Natu rally you will ask: how did Alexei that any ordinary solution would lead to a Shirov reach this brilliant solution. as is often the case with opposite sacrifice of his bishop in order to gain the colou red bishops. 48. there must have been some i n the magazine SCHACH? thing on h3!' My fi rst thoughts ran along these lines when I came across the dia g ram position in a Span ish newspaper during my train jou rney from Mad rid to V. as you can decisive moment. . .th3!. but it takes some time to evaluate it from tournament praxis and above all from and further moves so as to see behind the his own games. I n the aforementioned issue of SCHACH Dirk Poldauf quotes a further example from Shirov's games.l:txe4 44 .. so as to find the correct horizon of the bishop sacrifice . . . A.. can assume that Nakamura too is continu As for Fritz. in which this tactical motif played a role. Shirov J. . it finds the text move quite ously mentally filing away such examples quickly.. Timman - Biel 1991 Wijk aan Zee 1998 Position after 44. White resigned. .�c2 e4 tactical solution . which enables him to centralise his old H i karu was aware of Shi rov's elegant king in decisive fashion so that the black solution to a "simple positional problem" passed pawns turn into an insoluble prob against Veselin Topalov.'it>xg4 Position after 14.1 02 � Chapter4 A.. And it can be qu ite simple motifs which lead to a 48.. Shirov U. In any case we lem for Alexei.�e1 �xc4 49..�f2 �d3 himself as a genuine tactical pro.. fortunately things innumerable bullet and blitz chess games continue like that i n human chess too..te& c4 demonstrate .�g3 �e4 47.�xh4 <Ms 46..tg4 a4 52 . A surprising "cudgel" found by the Swedish It is not known whether the then ten-year player. Andersson . as the next two examples 51 .txh4! Timman surprised Shirov with 14. will unquestionably help him to establish 45.but to the tactical idea. even though his opponent Jan Timman lost the game which had been played shortly beforehand.tf5 e3 53 .�d2 �b4 50. The fact that he plays best of our knowledge . e1 + 40. and White immediately resigned.. The tactical pro ltJ 1 03 B. the 201 2 challenger for You r fi rst glance at the diagram will the chess crown . then there is no way to ward off the terrible One round previously Hikaru gave him fate which awaits h i m .l:Ie4.h4 l::t h 2 and then .xf7 27. Nakamura . 'iii>x e3 cheeky steed with his queen. J ixa2 with an otherwise everything falls apart.l:. 'ii'x d8 'ifb1 + 34.fB Like it or not.'ii'f6+ 'ilkg6 30. . Of cou rse a d4. .�2 Black resigned. Next came 35 ..xf1 l:txf1 42.xd 1 !bd 1 38. l:. d 1 +. h 1 43.l:. self the chance of a typical knight sacrifice 2 5 'ifxh5 2 6 . %:.cB+ 'iii> g 7 39 .'iff1 'Wh5 the chess samu rai is merciless! 31 Jbb7 c4 32. . l:. Tata Steel Chess (A) . But even easy win. Navara - Tata Steel Chess (A) . . 'iii>e2 25. . e. Now all he has to do is divert no longer any sensible way to parry the the black queen . . cannot be a good idea here. I n this case the motif is pawn promotion and Boris Gelfand . after this little sidestep there is weak point f7. and in such cases 28. tactical pro like Nakamu ra does not miss As Martin Brautigam poi nted out in his such opportunities.•• against David Navara. . because . . made it extremely simple probably have convinced you that moving for H i karu notch up the point with his final the black h-pawn two squares forward mistake 35. especially since all his chess col umn in Tagesspiegel (291h Janu major pieces are al ready directed at the ary 20 1 2) .xf7+ 'iii> h 6 .l:.g. H . powerful th reat of 36 .l:. Wijk aan Zee 201 2 Wijk aan Zee 20 1 2 Position after 24 hS? . . 36.tt:'ixh5+! l:td 1 ! 37. Gelfand H . 'iii> d3 f1 W 4 1 . 'iff6+ 'ifg6 33.l:..l:tc6-c2??.'ii'f4+ g5 29. l:!. Black must now take the l:!. Nakamura D. .xf7+ . 4 but he was soak up h i nts from the games of the top very difficult to beat. You should simply look Finally. He was also victorious over Aaron Nimzowitsch (6th) and the 1 8-year-old Alexander Alekhine (8th). who and also the results you obtain in your was in fact peacefully inclined. decade. So we shall offer you fou r positions place finishes which enabled him to win the of H i karu Nakamura's. tactical finesses.. The key to In addition . was the bon mot you will clearly improve you r tactical abil ity of Richard Teichmann ( 1 868-1 925) . Even B u t o f cou rse there is nothing better than in training the "touch-move" ru le applies. or even better with thoughts i n your sub-conscious . are of cou rse To make it somewhat simpler for you . The Ger games.1 04 � Chapter 4 "Chess is 99% tactics!''. try to simulate real match success is diligent train i ng. because you will notice tactical models and motifs and then store how this method . composed studies are And something else: on no account must particularly usefu l .and it gives you a practical hi nt. your own games . set yourself a time books and treatises. dear reader. their level of diffi last prize earned him the n ickname "Rich culty varies and they all come from a single ard V". it is your move! 4 The event in question was the second Karlsbad Tournament of 1 91 1 . at last. so use a chess clock (even an more than enough exercises in the relevant alarm clock will suffice! ) . to remain in any way top secret. By a margin of one point. you absolutely m ust write down over those from the last three years for what you thought. The frequent fifth players. But since you.as was the case in the endgame test once reassu re you that tactics do not have . And in order to acqu i re limit and only then start to solve the task.will the help of a computer. . you move the pieces about aimlessly. Richard Teichmann relegated to second and third places Carl Schlechter and Akiba Rubinstein. You will find conditions.which stores important these in a card i ndex. these "post-mortems" within a short time But now. we can at ings . not worried about mere prize money but there is a code word in each o f t h e head wish to play chess successfully.. man chess master may only have won a In paral lel with this you should of cou rse single important tou rnament. J ust by carrying out improve your ability in a lasting fashion. both of whom he also defeated. H. Nakamura . Exposed king H.TACTICS TEST Clearance Pinning A.. Nakam ura . Nakamura H . lbf5xd4? Karpov? . Miller - . Karpov . Southampton 2003 a b c d e l g h {]> How did Hikaru beat ex-world champion How did Hikaru punish 1 2 ..com 2004 Has Hikaru anything better than 34Jba1 ? How did Hikaru exploit the exposed state of the king? .D. CCAS Trophee. ltJ 1 05 ZWISCHEN 1P z0GE . Intermediate move . Fridman Gjovik Aker CC [rapid] . Cap d'Agde 2008 Bermuda Open .. Lie H. playchess.K.. Gjovik 2009 Canarias en Red [blitz]. Nakamura B. who is completely out of form .and especially down the mobilisation of the minor pieces . around which the struggle in the Nimzo-lndian Defence [E32] Nimzo-l ndian Defence is often conducted. might be traced back to the fact that he is simply trying too hard .and not only because he catches Magnus Carlsen on the "wrong foot" and infl icts a stinging defeat on him. as far as the final results are concerned . so long as they are amongst the "royalty" of G roup A. Round 6 W achieving greater glory. if necessary a cat can sit and in addition its position on the c-fi le is for hours in front of a mouse-hole waiting frequently insecu re. is how Mark Taimanov ex mercilessly with its claws before killing it plai ned the characteristics of the opening with a final bite. Light-square strategy But the system also has its problems. This year. GAME 2 9 I n the present game Nakamu ra has to deal with the popu lar 4. there are always high expectations which have to be met. who meets Nakamura in round 6. In some variations it for the correct moment to catch its prey with also becomes notable that the d4-pawn is a single bou nd. The fact that Erwin L'Ami.1 06 � Chapter 5 Wijk aan Zee Friday. .olds. who in 2009/20 1 O was in Vesel i n Topalov's team of seconds . Only Alexei Shi rov.performs less wel l than expected .'ii'c 2 system . H . Looking ahead . Nakamura behind this system "consists in avoiding Tata Steel Chess (A) . 21 st January 201 1 . and Smeets (Elo 2662) wil l finish with 4Y2 each in places 1 2 and 1 3. and the action plans which are derived .including for the World Championship match against Viswanathan Anand . . L' Ami . in the form of Anish G i ri and the two 25-year. Jan Smeets and Erwin L'Ami. and to hang on to it unprotected". doubled pawns in the event of an exchange Wij k aan Zee 20 1 1 on c3 and exerting active influence on the e4-square. only Anish G i ri will be able to feel fully satisfied . with Black? Wel l . To be sure . will score half a point less and thus earn the "wooden spoon" for coming in last. the hosts have come up with a trio of young chess "musketeers" . and frequently leaves the board empty-handed because he will not manage to win any of his 1 3 games . The idea E. The How do you set out a game against a early development of the queen slows clearly weaker opponent . For a good two weeks they have the chance to make a ijk aan Zee offers the best up-and-coming Dutch players a unique platform for name for themselves by outstanding performances against world-class players from abroad . For L'Ami (Elo 2638) . . Sportverlag Berlin 1 983.'it'c7 ltJxg3 1 7. and. 1 32 2 6 b5!? was successfully introduced into tournament prax is by Alv is V itolins in a preliminary round of ..i.th2 'it>f8 22.ltJc2 'it>e7 25. to hang on to the gambit pawn indefinitely and so he often chooses the advantage of 1 7 . . which Nakamu ra comes up with two slight advantage in the encounter Wang moves later.g3? L' Ami would not be wanting to take any This is probably a key position i n this game. 24. 5." t h e Ameri 1 . .c4 e6 3.0-0 ltJbd7 22 .'ifc7 After 1 5.f3 f5! 1 4. ltJd2 23.ltJb4 ltJa5 28.l:r.'it>e2 ltJb3 27. xe4 i.xc3+ 6.'ifxc3 b5 ! ? As we shall see.h3 ltJe4 21 .'it>f2 ltJb6 26. 1 However.i. but his opponent declined.d3 d6 1 3. gains an enduring advantage.xc1 + 1 8 .i.fc1 "ii' b 6 Black's strategy on the light sq uares is now very effective.. .i.l:.ltJc3 i.Mamedyarov.:tea 1 9. xe4 7. .f2 g5 1 5. Taimanov. On the other White has still not found a favou rable way hand. ltJf6 2 1 . the pawn sacrifice 6 . ltJd2 is slightly better for White. 1 2 . Relieving t h e pressu re with 22.Wxd? ltJ hS 1 8.ac1 1 M. .fcS 1 6.l:.i.c2 ltJac4 29.a3 i.e3 i. Nimzowitsch·lndisch. as L'Ami did in the present 20. Moderne Eroftnungstheorie Bd. the Russian Championship in 1 982 in Severodonetsk aga inst Vilctor Gavrikov. h6 1 1 .'ifc2 0-0 can said after the game.ltJf3 23.i.i.ltJe1 ? ! game. was u nknown till then."ii'c 7 'ii'xc7 1 9. risks after his catastrophic defeat at the Nakamu ra offered a draw before White's hands of Carlsen on the previous day.i.h4 a6 1 2. Baku 2008. Wijk aan Zee ltJ 1 07 from it.b7 1 0. .. Ne move. somehow I ended up winning. now in fact it is Black who A popular pawn sacrifice a t t h e top level.'ii'x b6 ltJxb6 1 7. he himself did not harbour any ambitions of winning either.ltJd2 :tea White had only a very b5! ?..g5 cxb5 9.lbca+ ltJxc8 the bishop pai r.l:. g3 ltJ h5 1 6.cxb5 c6 8.Il. American started from the point of view that 1 5 .xc1 .ltJd3 a5 30.ltJ d2 is preferable.. p. 1 7.d4 ltJf6 2. "He felt we should play on .2 The Yue ..b4 4.l::t xc? l:t ab8 20.g3 ltJd5 31 . . vertheless. i n his own words.i. wel l .. 35.txc4.tllb4+ 'it>xd4 39 .txd3 39 ... . and thanks to 4 1 . yet have to give in. .'it> xa4 tllc 3+ the bishop eternally) 40 . 35.h4...'it>f2 the king can pursue 38.." 3 32 . 'it>e7! Nakamura cleverly hides his king.tf2+ 'it> e5 40 .te4 36..txh3? 35.tf1 4 1 .b4! 34.1 08 � Chapter 5 32. since he had respect for the opposing bishop pai r..tlld 7 3 6. L'Ami now The curtain also falls after 40.tllx b2!".tllx b2 a3) 34 .t b1 tl:\xe5 41 .t e4 tl:\xa3+ 42. e.dxe5 tllc4 and 38 .g. 37 ..'it>c3 tl:\xa3 39.t a6 38.t xd5 3 Schach-Magazin 64.t a7 . p..6. ...t b7 (after 39.. but the white position could hardly be saved. "At the start of the endgame Nakamu ra offered a draw..t d4 exd5 37...'it>xd3 tllx b2+.txd3 tll x b2+ 40.'it> d5? would be a mistake because Black then runs straight into a perpetual check: 38.tfS.'it> e 1 tllde3 4 0.. b8 tlld 5 39. ''The main threat is 33. . as is shown by the variations 38 .tll e 1 .'it> g3 .'it>d2 c3+ 36.e4 fxe4 34.'it> b4 tllb 1 40. whereas Nakamu ra u nobtrusively brought his pawns into position.'it>f2 .t g3+ 'it> d4 41 ..1'.d5! was his final This was the Dutch player's final opportu chance to perhaps reach a safe haven : n ity to apply the brakes with 32 .tllb 4 ... but in what followed he made no progress. and White should be his active bishops White certainly does not able to hang on.g4? ! which Black wil l i nvade.eS? 38 .'it>c3 tlld 5+ 43.. a4! Touching on a pai nful spot.'it>e2 ••• • White's play is very na"ive.txa4 (34.'it> b3 tlld 5 42.f2+. G randmaster Ian Rogers later remarked : 35 .t b3 a4 3 5.'it>d1 ? This loses on the spot..t g2 39.bxc3 tllb 6 37.txd5 33 .fxe4 tll d b6 37 .1'. On the other hand.axb4 tllx b2! 35. again according to Rogers.'it> c2 tll2 c4 opens up the light-squared routes along 41 . March 201 1 ....bxc4 34. 33. 38.exd5 . .t xd3+ 40. ..t es tlld 5 39. 33.exd&+ 'it>xd6 37 .. White relied on the said pai r and declined the offer..tg3+ •..c4 tl\xc4+ 40. .201 1 ).. his ability to lead his the day.t xc3 �xc3 45 . Wijk aan Zee � 1 09 exdS 44.'iti b4 �c2+ 45. leaving one of his queenside pawns to make the running?" (see next diagram) What is interesting about this victory for Nakamu ra is that it is not in fact easy to 43 . . A a Wednesday.4. . " M uhammad Ali good story is always one which catches us by surprise . � bd1 ! point to any particular mistake which cost That is what it is really all about. Helmut Pfleger to set an exercise i n his weekly chess column for DIE ZEIT (magazine supplement 26. � dS 4 1 . most refined manner.t d3 superficial play between moves 20 and 30. The main focus of interest was a game between H i karu Nakamu ra with a USCF rating of 201 9 . .'itic3 � e3 . since after his opponent the game. . His question to his readers was: "With which fine move did Nakamu ra as Black demonstrate the pow erlessness of the bishop pai r compared to the caval ry. " Dr. a two-storey building on 23 West 1 01h Street New York.@fa b4 43 . bxa3 46 . It was 3 1 51 December 1 997. .i. .t xc4 a2 47 . . In the venerable Marshall Chess Club. chess was of cou rse being played on that New Year's Eve.e4 �c3+ 42..t xa2 � xa2 costs the and that is also proof of the growing class bishop.. opponent astray and finish him off i n the Wh ite resigned. No victory without a struggle - I n Bobby Fischer 's footsteps "I keep fighting as long as my opponent can go wrong. But it is clear that 44.te1 The finish of this game i nspired Dr. whilst 44 . and the remaining a-pawn decides of the American .. 40 . I have the freedom to be anyone I want to be.axb4 a3 the black rook pawn runs Erwin L' Ami spoiled his position with his through. Emanuel Lasker "I do not want you to tell me who I should be. . .. 1 6. e7 is more accu rate.i::r. after being f3 3 2..xd4 cxd4 20..f1 .d 1 . New York 1 997 The alternative for Black was to exchange French Defence [C02] with 1 8 . .l:lc7+ <it>b6 Black could play for a win) tional Master Jay Bonin. But.txc4 dxc4 • 1 9 .tbxc4 lDfS 21 .e 2 3 3.tbs 7.l:ld8 1 8 . intending 1 7. h 1 in his favour with his 361h move.hg8 22 .tbxe3 l:ld8 and then to take over the initiative with 1 .g4 tbfd4 .e2 .O-O h6?! ••. this last day of the year he went into the 1 4 tbc6 1 S.c4 .hxg4 with 22... xg7 l:.:r.dB'ii' :xd8 30 .:xd 1 !? 1 9....tbe4! ?.i..lixg3 have been clear.. Things should 26 .d4 dS 3.'i'xdS tbe7 1 1 .lDfd2 hS 9.tes 23.i. player to defeat an i nternational master. h4 .. e7 1 7.d 1 + <it>c6 27.xc4 8 .tbxd6+ :xd6 24. <it>d5?! (afte r 25 .d7 f4 (after 27 ... Philadelphia 1 992.fxg3 l:.t g3 f5 24.l:.. tbe5+ to reply to 2 1 .. .. l1 e7+ 'itic6 21 .xhS 22.i. .. I n so doing. though j ust ten years 28..tbd6+ i.1:.. prom : xg2 23 .l:.l:.: h e 1 ?! i.f3. the boy surprisingly decided the game :xh2 29.tbf3 his queenside pawn majority. ... Bonin 1 6 0-0-0 1 7.b3 .i.tbed6+ i.. x d6 tbxe5 20..:xe6 <it>xe6 2s.e4 34 .c3 'ii'b6 s.'ii'xc4 'i!Va6 1 2. in a clearly worse position..i.•.t f2 Y2-%..i.i.. i.:xd 1 tbxe3 20.f4 tant is the fact that H i karu's king is rather tbc6 1 5.exd6+ <it>d7 1 9.exd6 <it>d7 25.t xe5 tbe6 21 .te7 1 8. and what will probably be more impor A novelty compared with the earlier 1 4. Nakamura -J.<it>d7 26.dS exdS 1 0.txdB l1xf2 31 .. e 3? ! 1 6.1 10 � Chapter 5 and the experienced 42-year-old I nterna 27. on Weeramantry-Bon i n .: e 1 + ised White more counterplay.d8 there is nothing on) 28 .e4 e6 2.0-0-0 tbfd4 1 6.:ad1 .i. h4 old.i. e 7 exposed.es cs 4.l:r.i. x d6 1 8. The active 2 1 .d7 6 .tba3 'i!Vxc4 1 3.gxhS? After this the white pawns are badly split 1 4. H. record books as the youngest US chess 1 5 .a4 up. b2 would GAME 30 have made Black's development consider ably more difficult.f4 .i.. gd4..c 6 35.. .l:tf2 ...l:!.l:!.tll x gs .@ g3 tlle 5 38.fxgS .:. .l:. l:tf4 <j.tllf3 g5 24.g 1 + 36 ... could retain good chances of a win. e. Black Championship (Lake Mohegan .. This tournament included his fi rst recorded 33.. When the latter Bonin's fi rst step down the wrong path.i. No victory without a struggle .l1f5 34.'iil> h 1 d3 28.xb3.h4 'it> b6 37.lll x d2 22 .l:!. Nakamu ra did not have 32 .l:.d3 35.xc4+ @ b6 33.. . although the white fortress can probably not be taken by storm. the rook ending should finish as a draw.<j.@ e3 ..e3 d2 32 . @ g2 (33 . in it Bobby conceded a d raw with .. @ g2 was certainly a better practical try.'iil>g 2 tlld 3 35.l:t df1 lll x d2 37 .xf6 25..l:!.. ..tllc 4 ..l:!..<j. Boni n now loses t h e th read in t h e confusion over the pin. on the other hand. 29 .c ? 30.<j. on the other hand .l:!...l:!. . .e3 tllg 4+ 36. After 35 .h3 :g5+ 39...c ? 34.fd4?? Probably in extreme time-trouble..t3+ 4 1 ..ng4 30J:He1 .l:!. The rook ending after 29. @xg 1 d 1 'i¥+ 38.l:!.l:!.l:!.exf6 . he took part in the US Amateur After 32 .tllx d3 game.tll b 2? This retreat is too passive.f4 33 . lllf3? the same sort of success.. xg 1 + 37. 23. l:t xf3 J::i.xd3 36. f6 The even more radical plan of 22. xf1 . Compared to Robert James Fischer at a comparable age .i.e2 35 . was twelve.tll c 4 . 36 .c1 + Black resigned.b4 a5) 33 .l:!.l:. In Bobby Fischer's footsteps ct::'i 111 .h4 l:!.g. .d5 31 .l:!. xf4 lll x f1 38 .lah5 37. g5!? was also wel l worth considering.b3 tlles 29.l:!. New York). @d7 36. . h5 31 . 33.f 3 . 34. fg5 35 . xg 1 ..xg5+ 27.@f2 should be
[email protected] <j.xg5 26.<j.@f2 lif4+ 40.. h3 'iil> c 7 34.@ g 1 tllxc4 32 . New York 1 955 25 participants with 5/1 O ( +2 6 .e4 d6 6. 4 Nakumura did not lose this US record till 29th September 2002 when it went to Fabiano Caruana. who was born in Miami but has since played for Italy.l:.ds bS 32.4Jf3 0--0 Hikaru .i. 'ii'd 2 • master. who is still an active player. 29.h3 4Jbd7 7.g4? fxg3 1 8 .xg4 'ii'g 7 26 .d4 4Jf6 2.2) was = King's Indian Defence [E90] rather modest.g3 i.xg3• Bisguier (born 1 929) and till this day he 'ii' h 6 1 9.'ii'c 2 ltJcs the headlines on 5 th April. It was a King's Championship.h5! 29.tf2 33.4Jd1 ? liJhS 20.d1 . Bisguier .g1 4Jf6 1 7..l:.l:.f6 23 . f6.H..l1g4 .ds as Year's Eve victory in 1 997 over Jay Bon in.0--0 4Je8 1 1 .111 g3? Chess Life there is a photo on the cover of the boy with the headline: "Hikaru Nakamura the Youngest Master Ever!" GAME 31 A. which Black accepted.4Jc3 i.txh3 21 . J .l:.f2 'ii'g S 1 S. New Jersey 1 998 King's Indian Defence [E70] 28 .f4 cs 7. once agai n hit 9.4Jc3 i.i. . Nakamura Somerset ACN Action Swiss. At the age of ten 1 2.g7 Here Black has no problems winning after Even then the King's I ndian was H i karu's 28.e3 es 8.c4 g6 3. and White offered a Hikaru chooses to transpose i nto the Volga draw. as was his fi rst official national rating of 1 830. .c4 g6 3. al Fischer's performance in the US Junior though he was clearly better. 20th place out of Lake Mohegan . Nebraska. which fol lowed in July in I ndian! Lincoln .�h 1 years and 1 1 7 days he defeated Arthur i. .d7 24. after his New s.:xf4 exf4 30.4Jfg4 player to have taken the scalp of a grand i. .liJh2 fS 1 3.xf4 .i.i.d4 4Jf6 2. Humphrey .4Jf2 i.l:.i.11 2 w Chapter 5 Black to a certain Albert Humphrey.e4 d6 s .R.:g1 .ag1 ..g7 4.af8? ! 1 .i.h3 'iff7 31 .f7 28. . . also did not arouse any suspicion that fou r years later Bobby would A.te7 27.i.l:.d7 1 6 .l:. xf4 i. joined the top 1 O of the world ranking list for the first time in March 201 2.e3 remains the youngest American chess 4Jf4 22.tgs 0--0 6.4 In the May issue of the magazine l:. who died on 1 4th July 2006 aged only 43.gg3 i. who at the age of 1 0 years and 6 1 days in a USCF tournament in the Marshall Chess Club defeated Grandmaster Aleksander Wojtkiewicz.xf4 30 .f3 f4 1 4. favourite opening.h4 4. the world championship. Fischer qualify for the Candidates Tou rnament for U S Amateur Championship.l:. Caruana. Gambit.xg4 2S . 1 .l:. on the other hand.. . .e2 b6 1 0. legend Arth u r Bisguier at the Rosenwald 1 2.fe8+ 1 7..g7 4. And also his ninth place 1 1 . c4 1 3.'ittg 1 This hammer blow lays bare th ree weak lll h 3+ 1 9. 1 4 .� D. he lost his lost..i.. Griinfeld Defence (097] 1 .. 'ifcs i.'iff2? clarity and brilliance.g4 1 1 . 'ittf 1 . J.xe7 Trophy in October 1 956 in New York .'iifa 3 ll:ixc3 1 3. xf6 i..i.'ii'x c4 c6 8. 1 4..c4 g6 3.lllf3 'iib 6 1 2. xf6 1 5.. exactly create a storm of enthusiasm.f4 dS 6.bxa6 i.e5 i.ll:ic3 i.c4 ll:ixc3 1 6. ll:i b4 Hans Kmoch would call his game against 1 4.e4 lll b d7 9.l!b1 ? ! with 4Y2 points from 1 1 games did not The whole white set-up i s not quite right. Byrne .xa6 1 O.'ii'e2? ! l:tfc8? ! can played ''the game of the century". No victory without a struggle . Perhaps at this point the game is al ready essentially As for Robert James Fischer.'iib3 dxc4 7.cxbS a6 9.'ittg 1 ll:ie4+ position of his king.i.i.he 'ii'b6 1 5. 'ii'e2 is also lost his first meeting with the chess i ndicated..cs l:. Fischer Bisguier castles i nto catastrophe.'itt h 1 ll:igf2+ 1 8.J 113 8. g7 1 6. llla 4! ! 1 6. and the vulnerable bishop on g5.'iie2 ll:ixe4+ 1 7.l!d1 ll:ib6 1 o. ll:ig4! With his killer instinct H i karu does not miss this: 11 .i.In Bobby Fischer's footsteps 4. ll:ics 1 s. as Somewhat slow.i. the weak pawn on e4 Wh ite resigned. but it was Rosenwald Trophy. Review. 'ii'f2 limits the damage. a game marked by incredible 1 4. And yet that is the tou rnament in which the young Ameri 1 2 .R.l!xf2 lll xf2+ nesses in White's set-up: the insecure 21 .'itt h 1 ll:ief2+ 20. He but this finally goes too far.d4 � 5.i...ll:id2 ll:i d3+ 1 5. i n any case Donald Byrne's position is fi rst encounter with the American chess more than suspect.lllf3 lllf6 2.gs? 1 5 .'ittf 1 'ii'd4 exerts more I nternational Master Donald Byrne in Chess pressu re.. 1 2..bxc3 ll:ixe4 1 4. New York1 956 already hard to advise anything better. ''titan" Samuel Reshevsky.xa6 ll:ixa6 was al ready 1 3. T h e d i rect 1 3 . he gave Fischer usually strives to refute his oppo him no chance and won the title as wel l as nent's ideas with interposed moves".�g1 lL!e2+ 22.e6 ! ! rapid play-off against Alexander Stripunsky.�g1 lL!e2+ 20.dS 31 .lL!xc6 bxc6 1 7. .l:.'ii'xb6 lL!xd 1 French Defence [C02] 26.f8 30.a4 25.'75 H. h6!? 21 . in the strictest sense of the term earned his fi rst national title on his 17th bi rthday. the only astonishing thing is that Fischer did not include it in his My 60 Me morable Games.l:. At the turn of the year (17th Decem ber 1957 to 7th January 1958) he won the national championship undefeated with 10% points from 13 games and qualified for the fi rst time for an interzonal tou rnament. who recalled the impression the game had made on him GAME 32 at the time: "After looking at it I was con vinced that the boy was devilishly talented .lL!c2 'ii'b6 32..d3 'fic7 20.�g1 axb6 24. h 3 l:.1'.i. �c1 lL!e2+ 40.lL!cxd4 fxeS 1 6.i..c3 ! ? i.1 14 � Chapter 5 summer in Portoroz in Yugoslavia.d2 0-0 1 3.d4 dS 3.g4 lL!fxd4!? 1'.cxd4 lL!f5 8.f4 23.d6 1 8 ..c3 lL!c6 s. He had to defeat the latter so as to reach the subsequent 1 7 . My Great Predecessors Part IV.l:.c2 mate. lL!xd4+ 21 . on 5th December 2004 in San Diego.h7 :ha 22.2 1 2/2 1 3 .ab8 1 9.b4+ 38.�f1 lL!c3+ San Diego 2004 23.e1 .lL!gS .�b1 lL!c3+ 41 .lL!a3 cxd4 7.h3 :xa2 27.'ii'g 6? Actually.h4 f6! 1 4.e4 e6 2.�h2 lLlxf2 28 .h4 hS 34. as can be seen from the dramatic last-round game against lldar l bragimov.�e1 i.cS+ 36.lL!f3 29.es cs 4.xb6 i. 'ii'd 8+ i.l:. the comment of Yu ry Averbakh .'ii'b S bS 33. lbragimov - 1 8.xe1 1 . Everyman 2004. i.lL!es �g7 35.'ii'c2 . although many years later he described it as the best game in his career. H is designated successor. in which he shared 5th_5th places in late s Q uoted from Garry Kasparov.�d1 1 5.�f1 USA National Championship. as Nakamu ra is seen by many and not only in the USA.�f1 lL!g3+ 37.�g1 1 2.l:. " I t is well known that in a tactical struggle who was twice his age.l:.b3+ 39. pp. However.'ii'b4 . was the prize money of $25.000. He was then 15 and finally a grandmaster. Nakamura I.i.lL!xe1 i.1'. The following year 1957 saw the 12 decisive months in which Bobby embarked on one of the greatest chess careers of all times.lL!f3 lL!e4 lL!ge7 6. �c1 i.xc4+ 1 9. . "but he battles on undaunted".@xg3 e3 44..52 The decisive "stirring up of a hornet's nest''..l::t c 1 .l::t b3! ? l::tx b3 34. p.@f3 a4 50.bxa3. .l::te7 @fe 4e.g7+! s SCHA CH issue 1 /2005. wrote G randmaster Larry Christiansen.xg3 41 . 52. 49. .tg3 @e7 3e.tee 27.axb3 .e1 c5 According to Christiansen.�f7+l::txf7 25.'ji't.• Lev Psakhis. .h5 d4 30.@g2 @fe 36.l:... .@f6 i.td6 33..g5 .1Wxc7 . since he stil l has to stop the powerful black pawn roller.t b5! 49. 23 Jlf6! ? 24.g6+ @he 2e..@xf4 e2 47. although White is the exchange up he is now objectively lost.@f2 a3 51 .ce e4! 40. Rge! i.. attached two question marks to this move.l:. In Bobby Fischer's footsteps l2J 1 15 "Nakamu ra is playing high-stakes poker.l:lf3 �ge 31 . 32. who annotated this decisive game in detail. 1 Q uoted from CBM 1 45.• 26. then 52 .f3! .l::txg7+ @fe 42.@f5 d3 50.'ifxf7 @xh7 .d2?? on account of 5 1 .l::tx e1 d2.t g8 @xg8 24.txc7 29. because lbragimov gives away an easy win which would have been possible tor him after 48.b4!? cxb4 39..td3 37 .. e7 e 1 'if 52.tb5+ 35.'ifxg7+ @ea he could not see a way to win"6 .bxa3 b3 If 5 1 . a4! ! (but not 50.e5 The duel between rook and bishop rests on a knife edge and Black could now have tu rned things in his favour.f4 exf4+ 46..l:.g7+ @g8 52Jlxb5) 5 1 .i. No victory without a struggl e .l::ta5 is decisive. 4e a5?? .l::tf7+ @ge 43. which turns the tables in favour of White. since after 23.'if hB+ @ e7 26.l::t d 7 e5 45..7+ 'ifi>f8 25.7 But now Nakamura's fighting spi rit reaps dividends . when his fi rst ru n at the chess crown 66. lixb2+ @xb2 64. ended with his Y2-1 Y2 defeat in his mini 64. @xe2 @c2 However.. CBM 1 45).50.aS'if Black resigned. p.l:. . l:. @c3 64J !b5+ @ c2 (Psakhis) . @12.a7 h5 61 Jlxb3 @d4 62. Kasi mdzhanov from Uzbekistan had the 65 h3 66.a6! . @ e3 64.i.. On the cover is: . although experts such as New Yorker Larry 56.l:tb7 . improve in the next few years.i. like it or not (Psakhis) . ..ie4 65. wou ld like to reach a rating of above 2700 .1 16 � Chapter 5 52 @xg7 53. . l:t b5 @c3 62 . If one compares the development of the After 54 . it is clearly to the 55.l:tbS h4 Whether I will set out on a professional 62 .a7 d2+ 67. l:te8+ . in any case Hikaru reached the last 1 6. and the question remains: can Hikaru really 55 . It was not too late to player. Psakhis. l::tb 5 @c3 62 .as . .a6 @ c2 ! 63. @xe 1 high-school student.i. .if7 advantage of Robert James Fischer.if3 60. . @xe2 lbragi mov could also have win he also displayed matu rity away from stopped the clocks. painful for Black. l:lxh5. .i. @ e5 58.b4 . when asked about not do anything to change the peaceful his futu re in chess said to Dirk Poldauf: "I outcome) 63 .@e1 ! retical knowledge he defin itely has the But not 58. revelations in the FIDE World Champion ship in Tripoli in June/J uly 2004. @f2 d 1 'if 68.l:tcS+ @d4 65.aB 'ilf d 1 'if+ 67. made it through spoil all his efforts with 65.xh5 ••• menal feeling for tactics and his enormous 57 . 59 . the board . The Engl ish Strong prophylaxis. @ xe2 . .. . was the judgement of the US grandmaster. l:txh5 b2 61 .a7 d2 65. . b5+ @d4 60. l:t b6+? @e5! 59.d8+ @c3 only just sixteen. two at this point in time.l:te7+ @f6 54. . b2 56. and the point would that previously the US boy was one of the have to be shared. 8 60. b2 61 .aB'if?? . .Hikaru Nakamura auf den Spuren Fischers?" (Hikaru Nakamura in Fisher's footsteps?). Together with im and White triumphs (L. powers of calculation . who was being home @c2 66 . 9 And the (63.a4 Ch ristiansen testified that after this fi rst title After 56. l:txaa @ e3 and a draw.xh5 59. l:tb5+? @ d4 60.aB 'if+..• better of it by 4Y2-3Y2 . was what step-father Sunil Weera greedy 59. issue 1 /2005 . where the outsider Rustam 66.l:. . @ d2 e 1 'if+ 65. .xb2 l:txb2 d3 57. proved technique and rapidly growing theo 58. . and Wh ite has achieved his goal . it should also not be overlooked 66. . l:xb2+! @xb2 64. Luck also plays its a SCHACH . l:t b5+ @ d4 potential to develop into a 2700 player". "He is characterised by a pheno 56 d3 57 .45/46 .ic4 •.1 0 SCHACH . on the other hand.ic2 there is a win with 55.a6 ." 1 0 63 . llxe4+ @xe4 Well.a6 @c2 63 J k5+ this explosion in his performance.@d2 ! match against Michael Adams. issue 8 /2004. . c6 is no alternative for Black on chess career depends on how far I can account of 63. @ e 1 is just as catch up this lead of almost th ree years. pp.. xa8 to the final. . After all. I am 63. l:txh5 fai ls to mantry then commented on the reasons for 60 . "Motivation 58 @es 59. @d2.aB'ii' does educated by his mother.• and self-discipline are highly developed in Precision is required right till the end! The him". e. No victory without a struggle ... 52 .f6. Zagreb 1959 with White reached the following dead drawn ending against the Chinese woman player Zhu Chen : H. which had been found in his night-time analysis by Larsen.bxa4 'it>a5 64 . however.. in the B-tournament in Wij k Candidates Tournament.g5! Benko reached his goal with this move: the pawns on the kingside disappear from the board . as Sunil Weeramantry l:.:t6 'it>a6 61 .:r....g5+ • The knight is known to be the king's best rl.:r. But Bobby wanted at all costs to unbounded love of chess and their exem squeeze a win out of the rook ending with plary fighting qualities. who was then Fischer's until the present day the best result of their second.fxg5 53. because . although it was obviously Fischer at this point in time are their drawn.R.ca �b7 6o.h3+ 62.rl... As for this will-to-win at almost any price.c7 59. .:r. J.l:xg4 rl. fight inevitably come about. Benko .Zhu Chen Corus-Festival (B).rl. until after Candidates Tou rnament of 1959.b2 a4 63. His tortu ring of Canadian Daniel Abraham we have selected two examples involving Yanofsky at the l nterzonal Tou rnament of Bobby Fischer. this can provoke some displeasu re in an opponent.:r.:r. aan Zee 2004 after his 122"d move H i karua 17th round.g6+ friend! But now another 60 moves were rl.. had to analyse the latter's ad chess career.. . journed position against Pal Benko all But what obviously links Nakamu ra and through the night.t5 g4 55 . in which Fischer's move 1 02 .. and the players reach the drawn ending of 3 v.f7 56.g6 played . and so he played on .e7 :he 54 . But Fischer is after all Fischer. From time to time.xe7 57 . . P.:r. In Bobby Fischer's footsteps � 117 part! For both of these players this remains Bent Larsen . his step-son had the Fischer accepted the draw.g7+ 'it>d6 58 . 2 pawns on the queenside. The first comes from the 1962 was even more merciless. Fischer For example. li)f5?! (102. It really was a case and never make short draws!" of love's labou r's lost. Wijk aan Zee 2004 52. feeling that his opponent would not choose the optimal defence. Nakamura .li)c 4 . and sought to explain. as Hikaru logically th ree pawns against two which would follows the advice of his father: "Play.. who opponent made a decisive mistake: played every game with total dedication ."he would then have to do the specific 1 1 1 . phone cal ls to prepare his 1 7-year-old 1 03. The Soviets. comprehension . was al ready 23.@e1 protege Jens Kotainy for the next round in @g3 1 os.this would not resigned. 1 1 And yet Robert James Fischer. Nakamu ra. and not just those which had led to his D. p. including 1 3 wins and no defeats!) Only Larry Evans had some input. but rather a total lack of ment (27th January till 5 th March 1962) . round 1 2. e4. the 11 Garry Kasparov. in preparation for the historic World nament. with as members ex-world circle of Russian grandmasters and won an champions Botvinnik. Whenever German A-trainer Bernd Rosen If White wants to retain real chances of a complains in the magazine Jugendschach draw.29 1 . what Garry Kasparov quoted from a news.i. Keres and Kotov. What is typical for both of them on their way to the world peak is that they basically managed to do so without a coach. p. A.118 � Chapter 5 1 03. out of 22.with just one difference. Fischer - greatest success so far in the Swedish l nterzonal Tou rnament. four years older than his former idol.llg4 @f3 1 1 2.i. Korchnoi. on the other time in succession for the Candidates Tour hand. since the that he was only able to give ten-minute black knight cannot simply go to d4. .. which . Everyman 2004 . the new hope of American chess. capital .xg2 @xg2 1 1 OJ:txf4 g3 .:c2 lbe5 is much more powerfu l ! ) . My Great Predecessors Part IV. What the "prodigy from Brooklyn" proved his became famous was his "red book" contain absolute world class three days before his ing all the games which Boris Spassky had 19th bi rthday and qualified for the second played until then . for the "Match Robert James Fischer then wrote a piece of of the century" in Reykjavi k his chess chess history. have provoked a wry smile from Robert As for the Stockholm l nterzonal Tou rna James Fischer.:b3+ lbe3 1 01 . Smyslov. J.:b2? :a1 1 04. I n addition. is a normal occu rrence in the peripheral sport that chess is in the USA. Hikaru's appearance 49 years later in Wijk aan Zee reminds us of Fischer's performance in Stockholm .4 . was and Tai as well as grandmasters Averbakh . 1 2 Quoted from Jugendschach 05/20 1 2.:ga :a1 +. his paper. "At last a chess player appeared in Championship match set up a consultative the West who broke through the magic committee. would need more than a decade to Stockholm 1962 make it to the title of world champion. he must now play 1 03.:b4 • the German Championships in March 2002 lbxg2+ 1 09 . and White preparation on his own" 1 2 . however.:b4 :a2+ 1 05. Petrosian important international tournamenf'. With his 2¥2 points lead ( 1 7¥2 preparation was largely done on his own .e4 @h2 1 oa. For example.i. Yanofsky R. he would easily be a GM . only a l ittle bit quicker "I think one of the big differences [at least with regard to overall opening between Garry and myself is that he views choice. who extremely sud I n an exclusive interview with Macauley denly found himself in a complicated and Peterson . Kris Littlejohn.if the result is good and I 've up with these l ittle extra ideas and refine it is found the right moves and I 've played well .tended to be on par with you gain a sense of the tense relationship Garry. Kasparov knew that ted to the fact that chess was then a con things were level. P." 1 4 1 3. if not a specific variation .M . His problems are don't you probably will get an advantage. on the other hand. They used all possible means against Vladimir Kramnik he followed an to prevent the American from conquering idea which finally backfired . years. . He knows what he is doing. stil l very helpfu l . then you won't be able to win eration with Garry Kasparov (which lasted . in the fi rst game playing style. but I think he would be a G M . the fact that a viable way to master the problems. the same concl usion .sure it's His problems are not coming up with ideas equal . sort of con move. In Bobby Fischer's footsteps ltJ 119 leading players i n the country were required the Sparkassen Chess Meeting in Dortmund to send in a written evaluation of Fischer's in July 201 1 for example. No victory without a struggle .1 4 Quoted from the interview by Macauley Peterson with Hikaru Nakamura.the opening ideas cooperation . I that he can't actually remember what he pre think at the end of the day what matters is pares. period . Hikaru spoke for the fi rst time tense situation : "I noticed with Kris gener about the fi rst nine months of this unusual ally his thought process . If or certain ideas which. finds the absol ute best moves .]. be chances. Garry can give me the generally there's not a problem . chess sort of like . But if they or being able to play them. "Kramnik found the chess crown. 1 0-1 7. it'll probably be a draw." 1 3 barely a year) in the greatest of secrecy.probably sort of where if you play it . but it's pares.nowadays games Since the 1 990s much has changed as are won by mistakes on the part of your far as the political climate is concerned. somewhat pessimistic .I'm the one playing -having someone who I trust.trying to come the game . they Kris cou ld actually remember what he pre might not be the absol ute best ideas. you have to find the best That. . he keeps that is the only reason why it was possible on finding the correct moves with the for Hikaru Nakamu ra to start serious coop correct ideas. pp. " reflected ideas but Garry's not able to put in the same Nakamura. w hich was included by Dirk Jan ten Geuzendam in his article "The Spirit of Saint Louis" in New in Chess 7/201 1 . However. objectively. It is also very interesting to hear Naka immediately before the tournament in Wijk mura's opi nions about his second of many aan Zee in 201 1 . And opponent. maybe more than anything.although it sounds tinuation of the "Cold War" by other means. he came up with . In fact I actually found that he reached between the teacher and his student. and I such efforts were made was above all rela gave the game away.if you r opponent a weak G M . If you read between the lines. but .things are as simple as that. Whereas I think I'm a l ittle bit cause it shows that he's not completely out more practical. . If. There's no room for taking vinced me that I should keep Kris on. where there's some openings in the woods. I just feel having a second set of eyes that it is my decision . who self-critically admits that at sort of work that Kris is able to do for me. When one gets positions. nicate very wel l and are very much in sync. It was only for the 1 972 World Champion whereas with Garry I feel we were never ship match that Bobby actually had a really on the same page. p. . his strength was the dynamics of complex positions . . . ) Nobody knows strength .. .1 20 <.com Naka world champion . that's why he lost his title to Kramnik. I believe that it was of the openings so that was his main also interesting for him. based on his own opinions were almost bound to cause experience. . and when he wasn't able to do what would have happened if we had that. 1 7. ( . which wants to test experience for me.1 e www. And there are also Carlsen's comments At the 3 rd London Chess Classic in on the end of his cooperation with the ex December 20 1 1 on chessbase.30. Quoted from the German language summary at the end of 20 1 1 . . like I said. Robert James " It's just very difficult to perform when you Fischer never had a strong partner by his have someone who is very demanding and side. 1 1 ." 1 7 itself and to take its own decisions . 1 s New in Chess 1 /201 2 . The diametrically opposed Carlsen." 1 8 more accu rate : As al ready mentioned.ru.. these reflect also a conflict more than I did . Magnus November 201 1 . but he was able to get advantages out he was being attacked . After the Tai Memorial 20 1 1 he i rreconcilable tension between the 48-year said in an interview: "He helped me to better old ex-world champion and the young understand a whole series of types of American of half his age .chesspro. It was sometimes difficult between generations .. who is just case: "Chess is my other self!" That hanging on you r back . concerning his work with Garry ship of convenience with Kasparov broke Kasparov." 1 5 continued to work together. has to say. You look at middlegames or which are tel ling: "Everything has its time . In the impressive documentary film really everything you do is never good Bobby Fischer against the World by the enough. American fil m-maker Liz Garbus he says at instead you have that 800-pound gorilla. . endgames and I'm quite convi nced there Kasparov and I separated o n completely are other players who are better than he friendly terms without anyone having to feel was. ."I have never seen the end of his cooperation with Garry anyone who has such a marked feeling for Kasparov: "No. You don't get the pat on the back. . From today's But when some time had passed Hikaru's point of view I consider that bringing the summing up became more objective and work to an end was the correct step. p. . to one point in an interview why that was the use the American expression . What can I say: it was a unique things over-seriously. It was clear that he knew a lot down to it. 1 in the world ran king list. " - in openings. it is interesting to hear what the up during the Tai Memorial in Moscow in No." 1 6 personal second in Will iam Lombardy. . whom he considers a mura made the fol lowing comments about fantastic chess player . But 1 s Quoted from SCHACH 1 /20 1 2 . but we were mostly on the same exuberance of youth which does not take wavelength. Kris and I commu explains everything . . .authoritarian behav to keep up with the speed and depth of his iour on one side and on the other the analysis.t> Chapter 5 It comes as no su rprise that this partner Finally. defeated Boris Spassky. Ev eryman 2004."20 played endings al most unerringly. without however falling apart. play in didn't leave a single pawn en prise! And at uncompromising style for an attack. and. That onship in Herceg Novi on 9t h April 1 970 in a evening I suggested to him that he could double round-robin. where he went to a disagreement between Fischer and Lom the Central Chess Club in Gogol Bou levard. which Bobby It should also be mentioned that Robert Fischer had not yet managed to do. Because he drove incredibly slowly own in the fi rst unofficial blitz world champi we took almost two hours to get there. "When I was against World Champion Mikhail Botvinnik. In Bobby Fischer's footsteps tt:J 1 21 the former ju nior world champion of 1 957 every phase of the game he always was more probably a psychological move in evaluated the situation totally rationally. H is 1 9 points from 22 phone me if he required help in the analysis games left second-placed ex-world cham of his adjou rned games" . who can then also Championship of 1 960 in Leningrad . There are also common factors in the As for the quality of Bobby's games. never happened. he lost about his surprising cooperation with Robert only one single game agai nst Viktor James Fischer. and Lubomir Kavalek taken on two whole weeks. 1 9 Korchnoi . The second was more or less to play bl itz there from morning till night for sacked. but in some games he King's I ndian Defence. The greatest of these bl itz in the same manner as in serious is that they both hate defensive positions games: qu ickly. the same time we blundered knights and for example. bardy. . and in It is very difficult to compare the playing 19 KARL 1 /20 1 2 . when possible. Thus in June game. in which Spassky was a pawn down 1 958 the 1 5-year-old Bobby travel led with but was exerting strong pressure. which a tional players certainly differ. 20 Quoted from Garry Kasparov. Fischer plays assu red appearance. throne showed that he was in a class of his away. the thri ller that was Reykjavik. wrote Kavalek pion Mikhail Tai trailing by 4Y2 points. there was his sister Joan to Moscow. p. During the entire tou rnament he initiative .40. where fai l brilliantly with the motto "al l or nothing" he scored 1 2/1 3 on fi rst board . but he also on his lips. I went bowling with Twelve years later. No victory without a struggle . James Fischer was a fantastic blitz player - I n the adjou rned and highly dramatic 1 3th as is Hikaru (see Chapter 8) .343. p. match in Reykjavik. The training match during the night by telephone. He drove me in his inimitable drivi ng can pretender to the World Championship style to the bowling al ley which was 60 km. confidently and practically and show great skill in hanging on to the faultlessly. These two excep employed theoretical novelties. the more matu re Ameri Bobby. My Great Predecessors Part IV. who took 3rd place. who give the word to ex-world champion Tigran are both characterised by an extremely self Petrosian : "In my opinion . Th us. Lombardy There is sti ll someth ing of the hidden not only shone in the Students World romantic in Nakamura. in their games with Black they bishops galore. reporti ng on the 1 972 World Championship who pol itely declined. Fischer avoided tactical give preference to the Sicil ian and the complications. let us playi ng style of Fischer and Nakamu ra. in that in his more cautious player would have kept for heyday the eleventh chess world champion serious events. who have even rating of 2807)". 5. 1 0.:t. 7. Robert a . followed by ex It is known that Nakamura gained the world champion Spassky (2660) and Tlgran grandmaster title 1 06 days earl ier than Petrosian (2645).lt:'ig5 d5 such an "eternal ratings l ist" would then 5. 1 1 months and 20 days. This time and then 2705. i nfo 22 111 Fabiao Caruana (born 30 June 1 992) received the GM title i n 2007 at the age of 14 years. Viswanathan Anand 2699. 22 splendou r on 2780. who on 1 st July 201 2 champion . As is wel l known . Wel l . From 1 973 till 1 975 the Fischer .lt:'ic3 0-0 1 0.exd5 ll'ia5 6. USA National Championship.000 bonus for a non was rated 7 th in the world. H is explosive final spurt highest Elo rating of 2778.32 . 2.000 for the Hikaru Nakamura.i. 2700 Lou is with a resu lt of 7 out of 9. H i karu re new and immediate pursuer Anatoly Karpov. "Nakamu ra played in Fischer's career best.c4 ll'if6 4. I n the following year Bobby reached his and we would do better to stick to the facts.another record which in turn was eleventh world champion also sat in sol itary taken from him by Fabiano Caruana. which math of three successive victories was a deciding ematically may be only 7 points behind factor in this success. whereas nowa pared to all his games. Garry Kasparov H i karu Nakamura.dxc6 bxc6 come in the following order: 1 . in order to indicate actual ratings by means of a simple calculation. Viktor Korchnoi decades ago. the 2759.i. but in his day the his usual self-assu red fashion. 2 3 See SCHACH 6/2009. If w e take t h e E l o rating a s a n 2692.td3 i. including Magnus Carlsen (2837) and on an impressive cake (with a performance Levon Aronian (28 1 6). in 1 971 Fischer headed Topalov 2683.ba 1 1 . 8. reached his shared fi rst place. . 9. Anatoly Karpov 2722 . ing role between 1 970 and 1 972. plus a $5. followed at a clear place with 2668. highest Elo rating of 2785. Nakamura J. The top 1 O in 1 .e4 e5 2. there was even a prize of $35. 6. Mikhail Tai eleventh world champion played a dominat 2700. that is fou r Vladimir Kramnik 2699.h3 2 1 See http://caissa.b5+ c6 7 . that is just playing with numbers. Veselin objective criterion. Such inflation of performances was not foreseen H. wrote Macauley Peterson. clearly ahead of his After his first national title. Friedel - when Elo ratings were introduced . Vassily lvanchuk 2682. 23 broken the sound barrier of 2800.0-0 . peated his success in May 2009 in Saint who was worki ng his way up via 2660. 3. whilst Hikaru Nakamura distance by Boris Spassky (2690) who in does not even make it into the best 50. won the latter was the only champion to break decisive encounters and came well pre through the 2700 barrier. the very fi rst FIDE world rating l ist of the top Magnus Carlsen wou ld only occupy 1 1 th 1 00 with a rating of 2760.1 22 � Chapter 5 strengths of Robert James Fischer and James Fischer 2787. Boris Spassky 2690.e7 9. 2 1 turn was ahead of Viktor Korchnoi (2670) . H is final round days there are 45 players who have done miniature against Josh Friedel was the icing so. One compromise would be to measure Saint Louis 2009 the ratings in relation to the very fi rst l ist of Two Knights Defence [CSBJ 1 97 1 . 4.ll'if3 lt:'ic6 3. p. No victory without a struggle . But his third title win with 8¥2/1 1 .ll:ixeS 'ii'f5 1 9. Certainly I hope to fi nal position . winning his fi rst US Championsh ip. the now champion.xd4 22 .000 was on offer for catch up with Fischer!"24 that feat. p. win it a few more times during my career. In Bobby Fischer's footsteps ltJ 1 23 cs 1 2. and Robert James Fischer is a challenge for him.e1 �b7 1 4 . but also every time he took part. Certainly. In an interview with Chess Chronicle after also without defeat. "Regarding the country 1 8.g3 l:.:t. you certainly want to win the .xd3 1 7 ."25 worth seeing. 1h 2 s Video interview on the homepage of the 54 Torneo di Capodonno in Reggio Emilia 201 1 /1 2 . H i karu came up with the very the inimitable endgame style of Bobby Fi modest: "Well.ll:if3 l:. the 1 1 /1 1 he achieved in the US 2 1 -year-old played down his performance Championship at the turn of 1 963/64 .d4 l:. is wel l cance compared with that. in which he returns at 1 4. 'ii'e 2 you grew up in. he also came out with an interest ing self-confident comment in an interview with the organisers of the 54th Torneo di (see next diagram) 24 Ibid. The final phase. firstly Fischer not only won it scher. Finally."26 This did not prevent H i karu Nakamura from once more throwing his hat i nto the ring in May 201 2. is very commendable.34 2s See interview for Chess Chronicle. and beyond that I certainly have aspi rations and some d reams of becoming world champion. Perhaps also because at the moment chess is exciting for him and he can take the opportunity to be the person he wants to be. but right now there are more important things to focus on.l:. in the strong round-robin i n When.d4 1 6.ta3 :t4 Capodonno in Reggio Emilia at the turn of 1 5.b3 l:. and his extra exchange. so as to then dominate at the age of 20 he achieved a perfect with his rook + bishop ( Fischer's favourite score .cxd3 'ii'x d3 the year 201 1 /1 2. I would like to find my place in the top ten . the day after the prize-giving Saint Lou is he did not manage t o equal the ceremony. Macauley Peterson congratu legendary best score of the eleventh world lated Nakam ura on his second title.b4 1 3. . December 2005 .d8 21 . . when Especially since he won the all-deciding he also became the youngest title-holder game in round 1 O against Gata Kamsky in since Fischer.ll c 1 Black resigned here is the - national championship.g4 'ii'f4 20. my eyes are on more important goals than the US Championship.a and drily replied: "Only another seven till I special prize of $64. My performance pales into insignifi piece!) the opposing rook + knight. To be sure . For that reason . d7 i. Nakamura - USA National Championsh ip. it must be poi nted out that the black a-pawn) 49 . His resulting resigned.l:!. ll:ic4 i.xaS 43 . ll:id8 'it>f8! story is one which su rprises us all .ll:ixf7+ @g7 Wh ite ately liqu idates to an ending. .. 41 . are also called "Fischer script on a black background "Nakamura in endgames". a7 can save sure and took his chance .@gS? rable Games!"27) .exdS .d? @ e7 ahead at this moment.. who after @xd7 52.i. although he never met This makes it relatively easy for Hikaru .ll:ie6+ The only way! Hikaru strongly and deliber Wh6 49. b 6 48. . tllxb6+ @e6) 5 1 ..d6 aS successes. Neither 45. Bobby Fischer's footsteps" .'iii>fS a3 47. ll:i d5+ is met simply by 51 . ll:i b4 @ e7 Hikaru absol utely had to win this decisive 51 . . It is probably because his a-pawn simply runs through. ll:i c6 [47. was half a point 48. the struggling and winning which uncon However. game.d7 @f6 46. 21 See interview for Chess Chronicle. :t ea l::tx b7 ably strong nerves he overcame this pres 47 . passed a-pawn will now be the decisive In the 3/201 1 issue of SCHACH the head trump.dS if+ i. .ll:igs a1 'ilf so. c 5 50.l:te7 . White from defeat. 'iii>xh? (5 1 . xa7 47.@xhS l:txdS 45 . x d8 50. in which the side with ure of all things" and in addition in white the bishop is better. . a4 46.i. the eleventh world champion. But with unbel iev 5 1 . I n spite of his 42.l:!.. .. . f5.dS 'ii'+ � xd8 48. and the 201 0 and 201 1 had a real chance of a hat situation is hopeless for Kamsky] 47 .. . But a good after the alternatives. December 2005 .b6 44.1 24 � Chapter 5 G. Such endgames with rook + bishop line was "Wij k aan Zee remains the meas versus rook + knight. tllx d8 a3 the lame white steed can no longer catch For a start. @ h6 (after 49. . ll:i xe5 a4 49. . Kamsky H. there was equally no salvation sciously links the two of them . because his opponent. . .xa7 i. Saint Louis 201 2 46 . l::txd8 . ll:ic6 a4 49. @g5 a3 nor 45.ll:id8 a2 48. Hikaru sti ll speaks of him with the greatest respect ("I think every chess (see n ext diagram) player should read Fischer's My 60 Memo 45. a3 50. � b6 trick of national titles. "I had to try and maxim ize my chances by winning this one . There is. The fi rst president of F I D E . 22nd January 201 1 . Round 7 O of The Netherlands and the third player from the host nation. As far as the Tata Steel Chess Tou rnament is concerned . A great role in the propagation of chess in this country and in the support of talent is being played nowadays by the Max Euwe Centre founded in 1 986 and the "Max Euwe" chess academy. of whom the greatest fame has been achieved by Jan Hein Donner and Jan Timman. " ." And in fact there is remarkable evidence of the interest in chess in the kingdom of The Netherlands. Reason enough for us n this Satu rday Nakam u ra is sitting opposite Jan Smeets. "We have been playing chess in Hol land since the 1 4th centu ry!" proudly said the mayor of Leeuwarden at the ceremonial reception in the town hall on the occasion of the Candidates Tou rnament of 1 956. which later became known as the Dutch Defence. Also the collection of more than 1 8 . I n 1 935 Dr. . After Euwe. which was for H i karu . Proof of the place in chess occupied by this nation can be found in important events such as the legendary AVRO Tou rnament in 1 938. in which Amos Burn took fi rst place in Amsterdam ahead of the futu re world champion Emanuel Lasker. for example. reigning national champion to take a look at the traces left on world chess by a numerical ly small but nevertheless great chess playing nation. the chess player El ias Stein ( 1 748-1 8 1 2) who gave his name to an opening.000 vol umes in the Royal Dutch Library in The Hague makes a val uable contribution to the development of chess cultu re. back to the Nakam ura vs. according to his own words. ttJ 1 25 Chapter 6 Wijk aan Zee Saturday. Ti lburg . Max Euwe was the sensational Dutch winner of the world championship title against Alexander Alekhine. But. the new I ndian sponsors have guaranteed its continuation until 20 1 3. the Chess Olympiad in 1 954 and also the traditional tou rnaments in Amsterdam . Alexander Rueb ( 1 882-1 959) . one of the most important in this tournament after the games against Carlsen and Anand . Beverwij k and of cou rse Wij k aan Zee. also came from The Netherlands. And then the 75th jubilee of this unique chess festival wi ll be celebrated in Wij k aan Zee. . Smeets encounter. it has produced numerous other world-class players and famous chess authors. "This is proved by the 700-year-old chess pieces found during excavations in our town. In 1 889 there was the fi rst international master tou rnament to be held on Dutch soil . It is part of the culture. the fi rst part of the match tournament for the world championship in The Hague in 1 948 . This short digression must have made it clear that chess is more than a mere board game in The Netherlands . strong G M does not mean you u nderstand "It is very hard to evaluate this position all the nuances of variations which engines correctly.a3 exd5 problem of the white approach.tc&? •.exf6 c5 1 4. 'ii'xf4 •.lDxg5 hxg5 1 o .• 9. 'ii'g4+ l:t he6! "I resolved with my second Kris Littlejohn 29.0-0 b4 1 6. If I was a computer. said the American in New In Chess easy for Black to play. h6 24. Wij k aan Zee 20 1 1 Queen's Gambit [044] The second's finest hour Concern ing the preparation for this meet ing.t e3 is the main variation.d4 d5 2. I felt that it was just too think!".th4 g5 • 21 .'ii'd 2 ! ? White in an Austrian Bundesliga game in The novelty prepared b y Nakamura and his 2008/09 against the German g randmaster second Kris Littlejoh n . though!". Nakamura and his second Kris Littlejohn paid very close attention to the fi rst round victory of Jan Smeets with Wh ite over Alexei Shirov. . because he suffered one of the worst defeats of his career with 1 9 .e4 b5 7 . the hour of the second. H i karu had brought White some good results.:r. . As this game shows. lDcS? 1 8.txe7 moves. l:t xa7 lD c6 28. 1 7. but it has hallmarks of Jan Gustafsson. For that reason alone this game 23. l:t fc1 lD es against Smeets was something special. 'ifd2!? in the razor-sharp Botvin n i k Variation . And so it arrived . every reason to pay attention to Jan 1 9 .th& 20. would happily go for this line. b3 l:t xe7 25. Smeets' second.t d6 . . according to Nakam u ra. .1 9).. lDxcS 'ii'xc5 23. .. l:tfe 1 l:td7 from Zahar- . .tfa 21 .c4 c 6 3. 2 1 . .. who had cooked u p in his analysis labora 20 . 'ii'd 4 . lDxe6 fxe6 which led to good chances of that we were going to bust his preparation equality for Black in G i ri-Smeets i n round at all cost. . (see n ext diagram) 1 .tf4 • preparation for that Ruy Lopez bore all the A relatively rarely-played move.e5 h6 e .txf4 21 .g3 . compared with in a Semi-Slav.txg5 lDbd7 1 1 .fxe7 .tb7 While taking a shower ten minutes before 1 2 .t e7 : ea 22. Nakamura J . lD cs c3 27.. and that after only 22 20 .tg2 'ifb6 1 3. Smeets - Tata Steel Chess (A) . pp.lDf3 lDf6 4.axb4 cxb4 22. . being a 2. and they noticed that the 1 9 .lDc3 e6 5 . 26. After looking at this the night come up with when you need to let them before the game.1 26 � Chapter 6 GAME 33 H .• tory 20. I (issue 2/20 1 1 .d5 0-0-0 the round Nakamu ra had noticed the 1 5.lDa4 'ii'b 5 1 7.tg5 dxc4 6. � xg2 "ilkc6+ 26. . for example: 26 . 'iixd4 � xg2 25. 1Wc5! of 24..f2 l:. l:. 30 .gxf4 :xt4) 3 2 . e.:..l:!. since when he took on d5 with 22 . . 'iib a reason to be afraid . for example: 22 . l:. 'i!ixf4 26. .g. e. though not as strong as i n the 3 1 .h4! mura).xa4 it'xd5 Smeets too should occupy the e-file.l:l. llld 5 'ii' h 5 (Naka the h-pawn . . .'iid 4? ! :xea 29. fc1 [23. 'iWg7 :xt7 32 .. 'iid4 'iic 7 (but not 23 .h4.l:!. "/J. g7 �b5 30. �g2±. l:I dea on account 26 . �xc6 slightly more accurate and leaves White lllxc6 36 .ta 32.l:i.Ug7 'ii'c 7 30. but 21 . . ga c3 37 . Wxf2 l:.in motion at once. llle 5 27. . J:[ e? (Krasenkow) is 33. G uben 201 1 is also wrong This gives Smeets the opportunity to unpin on account of 24. . 'i!Vt6+ � c6 35. l:txa4 'i!Vxa4 3 1 .. h4 (Nakamura) with lasting above water after 30.. 'ii't3+ 'it> ba 25. � d7? ! 29 .l:!. dea! 23 . . l:. : a5... with an advantage. 'ii'xd5 l:. lllc 3 'ii'e5 23. . 23. . l:txa7 : xt4 37.xa7+ (32. .:l. .l:!. Nakamu ra.f3 . 1:1.�xdS? tsov-Michalczak.l:. prevent the white rook from invading via e7: 22 . to 29. : bxa7. h6 (Krasenkow)] Black should also be able to keep his head 23 . Nakamu ra.Was 25. Wijk aan Zee lb 1 27 Position after 21. and Black has 22. : xea 22. e2+ 29 . . llle 5? 27.. should set his biggest trump � xb7 24.fe 1 ! is preferable. .e7 llld 3 2a. :xta 'i!Vxta. . . . 30 . . xe5 : exf7 35. b7+ � ca 2a . 'itibS? the bishop he had only reckoned on 26 .:e1 1i'd6 24. . who was in time Black equality. .f7 : ta 32. . �xd7 3 1 . 'iWxf7 lll x b2 33. :xa7+ game. . l:. 'ii'x a7 34. 24.l:.'iWxe5 llxf6?! . so 26. .xf7 �xa4 33.d7! Black good cou nterplay after 23 . b3! (Naka The text move came as a surprise to mura).e7 36. l:. ..l:!. �c7 pressu re.. . lllc 5! ) 24. : h6 24. Wt4+! ? �ca 25. : xd7 � xd7 34.. d4! ! gives immediately.g. e7 'iit'a5 25. : g5 :e7 33. � xb7+ trouble here. 22.�gs .�e4 . . xt2+ 2a.xd7 27 . .. Wxa7?! allows 27. : e?+ � d a 23J�fe1 :he8 24 . � b6 24. 'ii'f4+ llle 5 28. d4! 2a .f7 : ta 30... xd5 30. because the q ueen is already active. h5. ii. . . 'iit b 1 only White can win.ii. d 7 . as 38. After this White can quickly "unscramble" Nakamura gives 37 . the result of the variation S4 . i.ii. 'iit xe2 is no But not 39 . .l:!. . Wf3 @c3 S4. @c3 @ cs ..h7 :t h8 sa. � gS . but the for a d raw.hS l:!. .t xe2 S 1 .ii. on speed .hS.hS l:!.. e4 i. l:!. .'tt>e 1 'it>b5 49 . c2 46 . a4? on account of 40. c6 brings out the potential of the black pawns more clearly. . . 4 0.ca S2 .i:!. 46 . d 1 . .txc4 . .!{ Chapter 6 33 . i. @ a3 S3. d 3 .f 7 53.l:l. g8 S7.l:.. 'it>g2 a5 39 . .b3 .tg4? ending as in the game with th ree pawns I n pawn races like this everything depends against a rook.h6 42 . 39 .a1 'tt>d 6 passed pawns with 37 . c6! . 'it>c7 41 . :txb2+ @xb2 S3. and it better. :t b 1 @c3 SO. :txeS �xf6 35.. :txd 1 + S 1 . b 1 also does (see next diagram) promise Smeets salvation.b1 ! @cs 48. .hS b3 52. l:!.h4 Position after 41 . h4 b2 48.1 28 <. Jk 2+ S3.. .ii.eS . :t xaS @ b6 44.d2 After 42 . @ e4 it comes down to almost the same won 37 . �xg4 @cs 46. according to Nakamura. .c3 his position .ltd3 l:!. . .�xd1 :tc3 40 .cs+ 44.f4 @ c2 S2..�xd6+ l:txd6 35 . :t b2 is more tenacious.i. .l:l. and thinks that only but in the long run it should also not suffice White would have winning chances. 42 . :t h 1 . d S :ld2 51 . xf7 4S.c6 (Krasenkow) .:tc1 lif8 54. . . d7 43.l:l.:t xg3 S6.tf7! ? . .xas ii. l:!.l:.c2 49 . 1\VxeS! ? 34.tf7 :td2 36 . .. So Black should bet on his own 43 .ii.txd1 38. ..l:.f3 45. 34. @xd 1 @ a4 S2.l:!.bS+ After SO .l:..@d2 l:!. @c4 SO.d3?! 39 .'it>f1 .. h 1 @ d4 49. We3 b2 S4. 47.. is hard to offer Black any good advice. J l g8!? SS. 50. hS b3 47. g 6 as 40. 'tt> c2 Also possible here is 40 .xb2 37. .. . Jk 2 38 . . .ii. .l:!. h7 S 1 .l:!. . l:!. position is ''tricky" for both sides. .g4 l:!.f4 'tt> b 4 "After this move the ending is a question of A long and painful death for Black would be technique". e2 . 'iti>xb3 'ifi> d5 60.f5+ 'ifi>f6 67.g4 :ca 58.'ifi>e3 b2 57. . Your just around chess growing up. 'it> e4 : ea+ 64. 55. But my step -father certainly knows The first thing is that my brother (he started how to motivate kids to at least get interested in playing when he was five. .f5 'iti> c5 65. 'it>g5 'ifi>f7 69 . And his final comment on this game in Final Position after 61. Black has a rook against three pawns.f6 'ifi>d6 66.h6 'iti>c3 61 . strong at it. but the latter are unstoppable: 61 . 'ifi>f3 l:t ha 65. What did he then have to do to get the great little titbits about my first chess you enthusiastic about chess and what part tournament is that I lost all the games that I did he play in your early development? played.g5 Black resigned. : h4 'iti>f5 a 62. which readers and Botvi nnik. I was chance played your first friendly games.l:tb1 'it>a2 59. you accompanied the two of them tion because both he and my brother were and then in the common-room more or less by competing a lot when I was growing up. such messes are commonplace in the games like this one. 'iti> c3 'iti>e4 6 1 . Wijk aan Zee � 1 29 59. He really encouraged me to play as .g6 (Nakamu ra) . : h6+ 'iti>g7 6a.l:. 'it>e4 'iti>c4 64.g5 New In Chess went: "Altho u g h our middlegame play was far from perfect. . 'it>g4 'it> g6 66. California. It's actually a combina gust 1 994. and it makes for really exciting fans alike will enjoy!" "I never g ive u p and a lways try to wi n" H i karu Nakam u ra in an exclusive i nte rview your brother Asuka and your step tic chess tournaments in the US and my step father Sunil Weeramantry took part in father is actually a very prominent chess coach the US Open in Concord. that was when I was chess if not actually to try and become really three) was actually competing a lot in scholas. One of to see that.h1 'iti>a3 56.:xb2+ 'iti>xb2 60. I was certainly step-father must certainly have been pleased not a strong player when I began in fact. 'iti>f5 'iti> d7 67. 'ifi>d4 'ifi>f6 63.l: a6. : ea+ 62. in Au in the New York area. 'ifi>f3 : ha 63. She had a maj or in music. kids you have to make ends meet.I O World Championship was won in 1 996 in Cala Galdana on Menorca by the Indian Pentala Harikrishna ahead of Vugar Gashimov and Teimour Radjabov. . unlike a lot of next really strong player. all about the background. influence your chess development . but when you are passed by States she did become a teacher for a few years. Unlike a lot of other players I am I The Under. Firstly. you can certainly lose some because obviously as a single mother with two interest. He had the problem which every chess But I haven't considered it since then.she is after all a rating of approximately 2 1 00-2 1 50. There are university. but when she came back to the there was rivalry. I would Radjabov. I would not say that USA. but then stopped play that you want to explore.:o/Brazil. Without him I would never was in any case that he became good very have become so good. he could not get past that. How did his decision affect you? else is out there. It was a combination of both Did you also consider quitting chess? of those factors as to why I quit the first time.1 30 � Chapter 6 much as I could. I cannot really say that she has motivated me. In even stopped for a short time when I went to any case she did not try to put pressure on me university for six months. They just let me pursue it. . The second reason is that you are seeing the Of course that helped me a lot. . If I had not grown well-known grandmasters. the way they were. Perhaps I would not even be playing and Vugar Gashimov. did not do that. He was a What role has the fact that you are Ameri very talented j unior. It's unless you are right near the top of the game. My parents simply other sports it is very hard to make a living. When you go to to either play chess or not play chess. strong grandmasters. You cannot say that she is a teacher. player at some level comes across. you travel to a lot of the same places. His decision to stop also had If she could pursue her real passion she something to do with the fact that he was would be a musician. When you play chess it is very child will be the next world champion or the difficult for two reasons.g. your own brother. ? very close to master level. always the strongest player for his age in the maybe music appreciation. She certainly has a unique b ackground. quickly. I I also thought a lot about stopping chess. to up within the American chess culture. In that tournament he played several players who have become That is a tough question. At eleven or twelve he had an Elo How did your mother Carolyn. so he was teacher. So he was up against young players who have since become very chess at all. same people over and over again. So it has been very beneficial. In terms of chess. but he hit this wall where he didn't progress. He lost e. you want to see what ing chess. Boris Grachev won the title in 1 995 in Sao Lourem. However. He also played against Boris Grachev certainly not be the same sort of player I am 1 today. One problem for him certainly. till I passed him. it is very hard to study chess. That can become very Your brother Asuka played in three j unior repetitive and it is very much in human nature world championships. He played in the world can played for your chess development? youths in 96 in Menorca. In fact a lot of parents who will put a lot of pressure on I did not study chess for pretty much all those their children because they think that their six months. thing to do with Kasparov? Just look at Kramnik. The other player. who books j ust ceases to have practical value. But shortly thereafter almost all the top . the much attention in their own countries. I would always be on Mar.like in Ger modern day chess. American football. then the usefulness of a lot of a child. It is quite King's Indian as opposed to j ust about every difficult sometimes to reconcile that with the other opening is that computers consistently fact that these other really strong players get so get it wrong. though obviously I competing. players like Harikrishna or Radja never had the chance to see him play. of their field. Yes. while elimi hockey and basketball . coming player that I most followed. When I go back to me liking to play attacking chess. You have so least I don't think so. many really talented and really strong players Has your love of the King's Indian some that it is hard to distinguish one from the other. I think that it is simply to do with superstars. It It was long. At whereas say I came from Russia. He is the in four j unior world championships. when in fact I was completely winning. I am not anything special. then it is hard not to want to be around that time all the top junior players were like that. From that point onwards I wanted to see just how far I could go I have not really read any books from start to with chess. pretty much be no chess culture in the USA. who pretty players like Magnus Carlsen or Levon Aronian.baseball. Hikaru Nakamura in an exclusive interview ltJ 1 31 much more noticeable simply because there Bobby Fischer. I grew up with the computer. I remember the fourth in 200 1 in the Under. I got the master title would you recommend? when I was ten years old. I am essentially j ust an ordinary thing that I find incredibly unique about the citizen. Without him there would are not many strong players from the US. When you see someone who is so dominant at the top I also got second one of these years. The In the USA sport is dominated by the "big King's Indian requires a lot of human intuition.followed by golf and nating the effect that computers have on tennis. on you keep progressing. impressed you? In the first phase of your career you played I would have to say Kasparov by far. would be bov. And when you have all that knowledge at your Which role models did you have in chess as finger-tips. many. Was it not Kramnik. they are heroes. In many games which I won. many. the internet watching the games . not read books. The other the US. But goes. many years ago. I think that is more than anything why I beyond some basic stuff I j ust generally have kept playing. whom did you want to follow.1 4 in Oropesa del years from 1 999 to 200 1 . you keep going up in the his style. and of course rankings.especially Why? the ones from Wijk aan Zee and Linares. Chess is not popular . Afterwards you did not participate. Karjakin or Grischuk! They are all j ust really. So why did you stick with it? Which chess books did you read and which It is what I was best at. long before my time that he is also very frustrating when you see these played it. four" . It is j ust one of those things: when finish. I read some books on Nimzowitsch. ice your ability to calculate and play. much made him quit playing the King's People who in their countries are really Indian? No. You just would like to see where it also Fischer's My 60 Memorable Games. computers said that I was completely lost. really strong players. I think that is the reason why I and a games and the best team or the best player does lot of others stopped playing. But having strong American player ever in the chess said that. great. but if you was probably in 2009 when I had a really good know what you are doing. With all the information out there on the fact when you see the people who were around internet and technology.1 32 <. a year and a half and I put everything into the game the way you did hadn't really been going anywhere. to see them amount of work as people like Fischer did back hoping for a return to those days is probably when there were no computers and everything what inspires me more than Fischer himself had to be done by hand. if you play a lot and run. as you became the young it's been about proving people wrong. From the time I was very young a lot of people Bobby Fischer once said: "To be really good have compared me to Fischer. First when I in the past. You don't see the highest sports in the US. It's j ust a really enjoyable relaxing activity. databases. it will happen simply because he is really the only To a certain extent that is true. b aseball. Then you had to pour your whole heart and soul into When did you notice that you could get to chess. Growing est American grandmaster. so it was all on p ieces of paper. B ecause prior to that I had been around you work hard you do not necessarily have to 2700 for about a year. taking away his up I spent a large portion of my time playing record (on 4th February 2003 at the age of 1 5 blitz chess on the internet. motivating factor for me. rooting for someone. Of course that is in chess you must love the game:' How inevitable any time you have really strong important is this in your opinion? j unior players coming out of the US. It is more the more. And a lot of people years and 7 9 days . You didn't have and what he did inspired me.Bobby was exactly I 06 thought I was a really good blitz player but that days older) ! What did this mean to you. then I knew that . the American chess players actually have to love it and put in the same who still are actually around. The great thing about weaker young players. How did you manage to reach the top I 0 in the world? You are often compared to the l l th world I think for me it has always been about work. not always win. Right now I am much There is no particular value in playing against more into ice-hockey. I certainly like the game but I would not the very top? go so far as to say I love the game. That's what makes it really You did not belong to the chess prodigies. I was people wrong certainly has been a very large never compared to the European prodigies. won the American championship very con In your spare time do you actually follow vincingly and when I also won a very strong other sports? round-robin in San Sebastian. In fact it has On and offl follow pretty much all the major continued even now. I not sure that you during that time. Ameri ranking j uniors in their age-groups playing. I think that trying to prove all these It is like the question about prodigies. how I would never be such a strong classical chess did Fischer inspire you? player. champion Fischer.t> Chapter 6 j unior players stopped playing. watching it. at least in modern times. can football and hockey. Of course Yes. when was the first super-tournament? It you have to have a passion for it. basketball. I am not sure that is the case any world. not like playing in major sports much like chess is that you watch the events . reaching the fourth round in the thought they were j ust better than everyone match format before losing to Michael Adams . losing. he is certainly the best player when it comes to making sure that you are ready to play the just winning games. Certainly good result. had had good results but nothing was really Have you friends within the world-class that surprising. the worst against him right now and right now You have to put in a lot of effort into preparing. You also have to be serious about chess. That is extremely important. I do more. They But in Tripoli. certainly as a whole they are the best up as a professional career would depend on . You also have to really hate losing as Kramnik. some don't. then it is naturally hard to become could hold my own. That is perhaps to do with the background of growing up with chess in After the 2004 World Championship you the US. You certainly have to have a You first played in the world championship lot of confidence that you are going to beat the in Tripoli in 2004. I had played against lower 2600 some of the world champions such like and a lot of 2500 grandmasters and done well. You for you? do not go with the same mind-set or approach. When you are then. It all depends on the person. Even in the US a lot of the very strong were asked about your future in chess and you players I would play against were Russians. but even in that match I players. In terms of than even the other two traits. Some players do. Kasparov especially had very big egos.they always will Kasparov in a World Championship match. in my view he does not have that chance at least to be near the top. It would have to be around chess players in the world by far. Prior to that I much of an ego. Hikaru Nakamura in an exclusive interview ltJ 1 33 I had a chance. or do you talk to others regularly? shouldn't perhaps have lost the way that I did. I have a lot well. . 2009 early 20 1 0 when I started playing competing against them and trying to beat some really strong players and realised that I them. play it is certainly Magnus. If you look at all the strong players. It was important because it was the first time In terms of confidence. So that was a very important tournament for I'll talk to them. . . Yes. find the best defence even when they are Another player could hardly have done that. In terms of raw Do you think that a world class player has class and the ability to stay near the top it to be a little egoistic? would have to be Kramnik as well. friends with them. of respect for him. replied that you wanted to reach an Elo rating Certainly. else. I would probably have to easy to j ust throw it all away and not care any say when I play against Magnus Carlsen. though for other reasons. When things are not going right it is very In terms of results. but I do not know I played against really strong players and had a if that means you have a huge ego. more so including Anand in my opinion. but whether you would take it sians. If not. For that reason I have gone Which character traits must a world class my own way. it has a certain effect. You look at That was the first time that I knew I had a Anand . How important was that other players. but I would not say that I am my overall development! friends with them. He is the person who beat especially the top players . yes. somewhat. I don't have anything against Rus of over 2700. At the same time there is game. player have? For which of the present top players do you You certainly have to be very strong men have particular respect? tally. . because I That really depends on the game. If you lose a I started in the French league in 2008. It you are not motivated. . When you are Europe. I don't see the point in making draws. too do not want to see draws. great things How important is motivation and disci about European chess. I would probably be of lot of people never really thought that I was the same opinion today. fight and never make a Lately you have been playing much more in short draw!" Why basically do you follow this Europe. You j ust got outplayed. .1 34 � Chapter s how far you could improve in the years which I think it is very important. you are also trying to create a think that every tournament I play now is in work of art for the spectators.those In which leagues? games are probably the worst. In the US there still are some You only have so many games you are going to good players. but in terms of trying to reach times when it makes sense to draw games. there are a few very strong play in your life. If It is much in line with what I thought then. Firstly if you prepare some open tournaments. Why? and play fighting chess? I think that the best competition is in It's my general philosophy. then what's the point? is not enough to be one of the best players in Why are you playing chess at all? I have always the USA. . That is one of the great. when you are never in the game. that is really frustrating. there is nothing even resembling that in Then you j ust move on to the next game. You have to be followed. los e without ever being in the game . It really started for me in 2008 when I How do you deal with defeats? started playing in Europe more. That's why I get down to it. I don't mind so Bundesliga. No. Ultimately they Europe. to since you have invitations . To playing chess or doing anything for that improve you have to keep on playing against matter. . you forget something and you just continued. But when you play against the best to get there. What do you think about that now? very motivated to play well in tournaments. As soon as you become an adult you been very motivated. As professionals It also became somewhat more natural we owe it to them to play games to the end. Obviously. How is the situation in the USA? much those sorts of losses. Many play Games when your opponent plays very well ers play in many leagues like the German and you j ust get outplayed. Since then it has really j ust thing badly. important for chess professionals. Your step-father Sunil Weeramantry rec ommends: "Play. the best players are in Europe. If you play a game Austrian. going to get to where I have in chess and really just proving them wrong . the US. better players. there are certain tournaments. in the game you want to be able to say that your year after that in the Spanish one too and in the opponent outplayed you. I have kept on playing in Europe. There are started playing in leagues in addition to a few several categories. where j ust from the start you are much worse and you In Europe playing for a dub is often very really can't do much. There are a lot of pline for chess training? professional and semi-professional players who . more so by the fact that a have to make a living. because there was Do you play for a club? not much you can do. for the top and becoming the best then you have to example to win tournaments. play fighting chess instead of drawing games. So I became addicted to blitz chess. The thing then almost anyone else I know. you has no coach. you have to not feel At the end of July 2009 in Mainz you any pressure. they can both input moves on the However. A lot of people feel a bit of became for the moment the last Chess960 uneasiness or pressure and they can make a rapid chess world champion. have access to that level of competition it is a And when you play Chess 960. Obviously he can't do that when he about Chess960? plays. as in many other things. you understanding of chess. I played bullet the other night. You either win everything and On the one side people are saying that chess is life is great or else you don't win anything. but it is still quite fun to play. Now. have to calculate very well. is not a very strong player. There are a lot of cannot afford to use a lot of time trying to find players I know who are a lot weaker than I am the best move. I was j ust naturally exposed to a lot of blitz and would enjoy it a lot more. he has a very good When you are playing a quicker game. I do not only play on the ICC. actually playing before I played my game with the rise of computers especially. But the difference is they cannot put tion. What do you think together. It is fun. there isn't the lot easier to improve. you can't really prepare for it. the computer's evaluations. It is great that these computers away from the board. I like it a lot. Hikaru Nakamura in an exclusive interview ctJ 1 35 compete in these leagues and who can make a about Chess960 comes down to the two living. And so by virtue of that it seems that the best How do you explain that you like bullet so much? player should win the game of chess. . I was work with a very strong coach. You have to make moves based but who happen to know a lot more opening on instinct and intuition as opposed to calcula theory. You work with Kris Littlejohn and you are satisfied. There second category where if I could play chess are a lot of strong blitz players in New York. even though he chess I am always trying to find the best move. competing theories regarding chess right now. ''All or nothing". It is not easy because you be. I think it yesterday. You beat Levon mistake. however. In the US it is. but is more about ideas than anything. very different: when I play a classical game of What he has the ability to do . I think I fall into that chess in New York more than anything. It is a matter of putting all the pieces Aronian in the final. the problem for me now is that it is computer. All these really strong have the second group of people who think chess players are competing and when you that chess should be more about your skill. or a GM. someone like Kris who is master level (2400) I have played a lot on both those sites. amount of theory. Why? Do you still play bullet? I think that at least in the past you had to Yes. The major . If you have since 2008 I have also played a lot on Playchess. he is much better I had some great results in Mainz. It's more about your actual talent as opposed to your That is more j ust from growing up with ability to simply prepare. all about preparation. . . . I without everyone being able to prepare at all. it's all about work with That's the capitalist way. rapid chess when I was younger. it doesn't matter in that regard. It is not the same for me now as it used to everything together. I have always been It is surprising that a world-class player like naturally good at it. Then you leagues exist in Europe. But in terms of his ability to understand It is probably the future of chess. I don't re vast majority of the games.1 36 � Chapter 6 good example is my game against Jan Smeets in I grew up with computers. You lose playing the first one. you play a computer you lose every game. but in the game I actually played the computer on its strongest setting. Jan Smeets and his second Jan percent. For me nowadays it is more variation. When I had approx. Generally about two. Yes. one can come up with an idea. because there is and that speaks volumes about what he is able so much more that can be gained from that. Whereas third highest computer move as opposed to now it does not matter who you are. If to do. And how is the relation between openings Once you said that chess is about ideas and and other things? not about playing strength. then it is the Do you play against the computer from idea which counts. p. Wijk aan Zee. But of course there were also one or Gustafsson had looked at all the computer two games in which I managed to beat the choices. end of story! If you do not put the hitting the "space-bar" and following the computer on its highest setting. Ifhe had 2 See Game 33. I think at line of the B otvinnik System of the Slav that time it was Fritz 4. It came from Kris. I don't actually train every day. I used to. It is probably about 85 to 90 percent working with a strong grandmaster. then I played in Monaco. 2 We played a very theoretical 2300-2400 Elo. It was about move 19 . probably about 4 to 5 hours per day. I won't around. He does not have to play the time to time? Would you recommend this? game. No one likes losing. the openings that you did before they were When I have these really long periods. but some interpret that? times I will look at the Dvoretsky book on It comes back to the same thing as not endgames. So chess. I think. it is j ust kind of silly. probably 80 to 85 member exactly. I would still lose the D efence. and since you are going to lose every game no matter what you about training openings and endings? do. It is How do you train chess each day? How very hard to be serious about chess when that many hours do you spend on chess? What happens. two and ers the quality of the games is a lot higher. but my next It has taken away a lot of the creativity in serious classical tournament was in June. In this game I must admit that it was about using the computer for analysis as not my idea which I played. At the same time because of comput study every day. 1 26 . How do you It is almost all about openings. studying. then it can be computer's suggestions right to the end of the very beneficial. Especially now more so than in the past there What about the influence of computers in are long periods of time when I do not play. So a half weeks before a tournament I start it's also much more interesting in some ways. So it is not all about j ust every game. It is like in my game against Jan Smeets. It depends. It's a little bit of both. opposed to actually playing it. It has gone full circle. For general? Would it be better to make do instance I played a tournament in Wijk aan without them altogether? Zee. If some on openings and 1 5 percent on endgames. After all Kris Littlej ohn came up with the idea. I played against Fritz. You don't see the amazing novelties in that is almost five months without chess. I did spend a Once you named Kasparov as your idol. but they are not at that level yet. been decidedly non-classical. I am a professional player now in passing . Cer training programs on them that you can use tainly the openings. in terms of the level of play Kasparov playing against humans. . etc. Once you accept that some recommend to talented young players? thing isn't possible. You have quite a few of these Fighting ability is my strength. then you never will get there. comes up with the idea and I am the one who Do you give chess training. not giving up really strong players like Alexander Onischuk and always trying to play for a win. He not with the technology. My main weakness is tournaments and have what I would say are probably that my preparation in the openings bad results. Even when or Yury Shulman. ! and you have to be very serious about it. Certainly I much prefer tactical positions with But you can see that when they compete in a lot of possibilities. lot of time playing on the internet. instead of the way terplay: "Nakamura's education in chess has the way you normally would about a game. but from spending hours upon support. I am able to put all the "over the board" ? pieces together. It is simply no credit him with the opening revolution. There are a lot of was far and away the strongest player.? What would you it isn't possible. It's great to help and certain endgames I don't play particularly inspiringly. but who also coach chess quite a bit on the side. Did you only play or also solve combinations. tactics. That is What are your strengths and weaknesses? actually one of the problems with American chess right now. seeing where it will go and never accepting that do endgame training. You teach with a lot of space. where longer the same game it was 25-30 years ago. players to improve and to get them to a very strong level. kids that there are rules you should not break and that starts to get into your own head and Robert Desjarlais wrote in his book Coun you start thinking like that. You do not have to come up I have sometimes done it. Other people can j ust mention it recent years. chess has really evolved. Much of what he absorbed about chess early on came not Your way to the top was typically Ameri from studying the instructional games of the can. everyone puts so much time into their open- . Hikaru Nakamu ra in an exclusive interview lLJ 1 37 to play the game he would lose every time. not like in Russia where you have state great masters. The thing Why? Was he the strongest player of all time? about these sites you use is that it is not j ust Yes. You have to terms of the junior players. who are very strong players I am losing I try to find the best defence. How do you explain it then that you hours analysing and contesting positions on a made it to the top? computer?' What do you think about that? It is j ust a matter of keeping on playing. but not so much in with the idea. At How would you characterise your style? the same time when you are teaching weaker Very tactical. the preparation that went for endgames. That is a very accurate portrayal of my youth. middlegames. I like playing open positions players it can affect your own ability. It shows in their play. on the web or has to play the game. . just because isn't as good as some of the other top players they are teaching all the time. Every into games before he was around was very one's approach has somewhat changed now. Yes. in different from what it is now. Kasparov on the other It is possible. Anatoly Karpov of course also knew your own games. chess. Anyone can have a couple of Which are your ten best games and why? very bad results and slip out of the top ten Ten best games? Yes. same thought process and just play the game ! Which World Championship mode is the Of course it is great to win. but also Sergei a lot more pressure than I had ever felt before Karj akin and probably also Levon Aronian. Either I will or I hand won a lot of games based on his opening won't. and in Wijk aan Zee this year. He is defi nitely the best player in terms of what he has Yes. you hope that things sacced a queen for pretty much a pawn and happen and if they don't they don't. I'll worry I had come close to winning a lot of elite about becoming world champion as I get tournaments prior to that. The main thing is j ust Fischer is the player who brought the game to playing well. At the same time B obby it is not the main thing. But it is still chess. in any tournament. of course. You can't control whether your highlights. My King's Indian over Gelfand also . B efore him it was important You j ust have to focus on your own moves. two whatever happens. I don't know. It will be very clear in the next year or preparation alone. it would certainly be nice but right now done for the game. there is this game considering how many strong players there are against Krasenkow in Spain in 2007. since it Which are your main rivals on the road to is one of the most prestigious tournaments in the top? the world. That is definitely one of the you can do. great to win that tournament especially. He really changed the game. But it really wasn't all that different to me. you still These are probably the three players I consider have to go on with the same approach. It is all about playing good qualification cycle. isn't it? ! The main thing for me is to see what happens. Six ten before you reach the very top spot? game matches are a bit of a j oke. Of course it was closer to the top. The old candidates format with matches. Towards the end of the tournament I felt Magnus Carlsen for sure. because I am playing against the the public and made it popular the way no one absolute top players now as opposed to j ust else has. First A milestone in your career is your victory of all it is much harder to beat them. but it didn't change best in your opinion? the world for me.1 38 � Chapter 6 ings. his openings well. It is absolutely the most important thing opponent makes good moves or bad moves. very strong players and when you play against the absolute top players it's very different. Are you afraid of dropping out of the top certainly longer matches than in Kazan. But is this a goal for you? This hasn't happened since then. For 20 years he was number one in the world. when I at the top. games and endgames. If you play well. That's all maybe a knight. What did you feel secondly you also have to play very precisely after this triumph? not to lose against them sometimes. but many of the games he Do you think that you can become world won were very much in a positional style champion and break Fischer's record again? where he would outplay opponents in middle You would still have six years for that. I think j ust longer matches and there has to be a better I do not know. the my most serious competition. in chess right now. certainly trying to help improve things be my interests now. it feels like some p eople are more equal than others. They hold been at the top before. my win against something with finance. Considering the lack of At the moment you are a chess pro." (Riverfront Times. . ) And even if the quality of the that area already. Hikaru Nakamura in an exclusive interview ctJ 1 39 belongs in here. Winning that game was the US Championship there every year and very important because it is a matter of proving they also have a lot of scholastic activities for to yourself that you can beat these guys. such as the international Neckar international chess master and a re Open. though he was hardly enthused by it: "With chess. . it doesn't matter what background you are. 3 In this respect there is an interesting statement by Nakamura. in the King's Indian. 3 What about your plans for the chess in America. and I do quite a bit in long think. He is responsible staging of the strongest German grandmaster for press relations at the biggest German chess tournament in Dortmund in July 20 1 1 . kids in the area.de]. (At this point Hikaru has a If I had a choice now. . future? considering my role in the American chess I am surprised I said that. I would probably do game was not particularly high. Vladimir Kramnik in London last year was Why did you move to Saint Louis? 4 very important for me. Once interest in chess in general. Four of the total of 20 games (rounds 6 to 9) of the first "official" World Championship match took place here . also my win against Beliavsky and it's not easy as a professional chess player. He became known Meeting. That was the first game I moved there because there is a chess club I won against a really strong player who had and Scholastic Center in St. Trying to be a part of it. to have a place in you mentioned you might want to study law the US where chess is valued is very good for or psychology. . After his 1 0 .other venues were New York and New Orleans. You have to make a living is very important to me! * * * Georgios Souleidis (born 1 972) is an tournaments.5 success over Johannes Hermann Zukertort (the first to win ten games took the match) Wilhelm Steinitz was recognised as the first world chess champion. . who actually took six months out from chess in 2006 and studied for one semester at Dickinson College in Pennsylvania. Louis. the LGA-Open or the Sparkassen Chess nowned chess journalist. issue of 2 1 st July 20 1 1 ) 4 I n Saint Louis an important chapter in the history of chess was written between J rd and 1 0th February 1 886. Those would not world. . what age you are .everyone is equal. . to paraphrase Animal Farm. Saint Louis. With college. . The interview with Hikaru Nakamura through his work as the editor for the German was undertaken by Georgios Souleidis by th chess Bundesliga and his chess blog [http:// arrangement with the authors during the 39 entwicklungsvorsprung. I couldn't quite get used to the fact that. . . I n extrem e time-trouble . 23 rc1 January 201 1 . This cost Karpov a lot of t h i n king time rig ht i n the open i n g . when all you really need to do is share the point? And is it actually possible to gain a d raw on demand? P robably the best illustration of such a situation is the final game of the fou rt h World Championship m atch between the champion Garry Kasparov and his challenger Anatoly Karpov i n Seville 1 987. There h ave been fou r d raws . which strategy should you employ i n an i m po rtant game. To that was added the enormous nervous tension o f s i mply avoiding making a m istake . at least on this 23 rd January 20 1 1 . and instead he decided i n this decisive game to adopt a peacef u l . Karpov did not see what was perhaps the only possible way to a d raw. The "Mozart of chess". H owever. in their latest encounter i n the London C h ess C lassic i n December 20 1 0 H i karu Nakam u ra had to lay down his arms. Certainly t h i s g a m e i n Wij k a a n Z e e was not o f s u c h enormous sign ificance a s to outdo the d rama of the Sevil l e game.1 2 and he absolutely had to win the 24 1h game i n order to retain his chess crown . Even if he were to lose. The q u estion for h i m today is: when you h ave such a lead . a modest score for h i m. the title holder was losing 1 1 . For Garry Kasparov this may perhaps have been the most i m portant win i n his chess career. anyone who thought h e would attack come hell o r high water was mistake n . as he was once called by Lubomi r Kavalek i n the Washington Post. N akam u ra wou l d have enough chances to put this behind h i m in the five rounds which were to follow. a glance at the statistics shows that even with White this is no foregone conclusion.1 40 � Chapter 7 Wijk aan Zee Sunday. O n the billing in the Dorpshuis de Moriaan in Wij k aan Zee is the keenly-awaited duel between the title defender Magnus Carlsen and the sole leader from the USA with his 5Y2 poi nts. is al ready trailing by 1 Y2 poi nts after rou n d 7 and has only reached '+1 ' .Karpov had only two m i n utes left for his final ten moves - Kasparov then set h i m a n asty trap. so as to be once more i n contention for tournament victory! H owever. Kasparov came up with a psychological trick: h e deliberately avoided the exchange of blows which he knew his opponent was expecting. . So far the pai r h ave met a total of five times. Round 8 S undays also can someti mes be cru e l ! And that is the case for H i karu N akam u ra too. but flexi ble set-up. This clarifies the l i n es the duel m ust follow: Carlsen absolutely has to win this prestigious game. lost a pawn and i n the adj o u rned game was unable to find an effective defence. S u rprisingly. H owever. The imme not so familiar with the resulting positions. .. il.�b1 'ii'c7 But today Carlsen opens with the king's 1 6 .H. rathe r than someth ing which affected his self-confi dence . . xc4 lbxc4 1 9 . Carlsen . that Magnus su ited him as an opponent.'ii'd 2 lLi8d7 between the N o rwegian . lb bc4 ! ? .g4! il..e4 cs 2. lLif3 (Biel 2005) .h4 lLib6 1 2.. lt:J bc4 1 9..lLif3 d6 3.lt:Jc3 a6 6.. xf4 lLies 1 S. (London 2009 and 20 1 0) . . � c 1 'ii'c4 (Stohl). e6 example: 1 8. 1 3 exf4 1 4. Wijk aan Zee 20 1 1 A strong novelty. . for it then to take an active part i n with 1 . 1 .c4 White's attack on t h e king from f5 . 'ii'd3 lba3+ "Around here the su rprised Nakamu ra 20. does in the game. remarked I gor Stohl. 'ilfb6 20. e7 8 . And a remark by Naka m u ra . which immediately puts Black u nder pressu re. Nevertheless Hara-kiri with good results for White. GAME 34 M . Nakamura 1 3. diate 1 8. il..il. The does not get going q uite so qu ickly as it . .g4 in the Najdorf Sicilian is extremely rare nowadays. il. It can 1 8.il. The last encoun ter was the only one the American lost.�a1 ! be seen from Nakamu ra's play that he is A very nice prophylactic move. The idea of the text move is that after the exchange on f4 I n the th ree previous games with White White will bring his b3-knight back into play against his rival. and the combative U S star. and the white attack started thinking". � a 1 lLi c6.l:r. as some s. who has long been the idol of chess fans.d4 and 1 .f4!? Tata Steel Chess (A) . al ready the decisive 0-0 error! Nakamu ra should immediately sound 8 .lbxd4 li:Jf6 This is too slow and is probably. fact is that the line with 9.. will have tended to be a motivating factor for the latter. c 1 ?? lLi a3+ 2 1 . Magnus Carlsen opened via d4. 1 7. . lt:J bc4 ! ? would be worth a try.cB .gS lLifd7 1 1 .. e2 es 7.li:Jb3 il. lLid4? would on the other hand Probably that was precisely Carlsen's even backfire in view of 1 8 . At the end of January 201 2 (after the 74t h Wij k aan Zee) the sobering resu lt for H i karu would be -4 =7. Wijk aan Zee ltJ 1 41 It is obvious that there is a b u rn i n g rivalry 1 0.• when he brought out his Dutch Defence . . for 9.0-0-0 l:f.d4 cxd4 4. 'iVe1 cunning intention.hS . .0-0-0 had been tried . e 6 is the main variation. .fe8? 1 . . 1 6. U p till then only Sicilian Defence {892} 1 3. the counter-attack with 1 7 . pawn .lle3 commentators think. i." 21 . e 7 26.txc4 lLixc4 22.df1 . lLixb2? 25. g . d5?! 26.i. . . 1 9 . . position. 'ife5 27. ltJ xd 1 (Stohl). e . 'ifc5? After the game Nakam u ra suggested 1 9 . and White's position is points out here: "Nakam ura had ridden out clearly superior) 24 . but his q ueen got out of position.xe6 game. . . 7) the Australian grandmaster Ian Rogers . 20.t xe5 dxe5 (23 . 2 5 . lLixb2? 27. lLi xe6 .t e5 29.lLid5 This finally tu rns out to be too slow. rather obvious wave of the attack.xc3 is met by 28. i. . .. . . and in this the first. x h6 gxh6 30. lLi xe6 ll xe6 26 . 25. . 'ii'f5 'ii'x g6 32. ..t xg7 3 1 Jbg7 . But "better a bird i n the hand . .t xd5 27.xd4 lLi e5 3 1 . lLie5 26. 'it> xb2 i. . lLixe6 white attack. . g4 ll d6 24.. However.c1 'ii'a 5? ! 27.exd6 (Stohl) . 'ifxg6 lLixg6 33 . . . ful l . fxg6 2 1 . 1 9 . . i. g6? . 'ifd3 26.. lLid5 .l:. i. .'it'g3 'ii'b 6 'i'c5 28. 'iff2) 28.g7 + 24 . lLi xe6 l:1 xe6 (22 .hxg6 h6 24. 'ii'g 4 .l:.l:. . 20 .df1 ! 'ii' a 5 22.t xc4 lLi xc4 2 1 . .. things are simi lar after 26 .l:.t d6 28. 'ii'e 3) 23. . hxg6 hxg6 21 .. ..fxe6 is strongly met by 23. ".l:.1 42 <ii? Chapter 7 1 8 . . xc3 29. 'ii'xf8+. but White wins immediately with 20.t g4 (Stohl). ll xe5? would be a In SCHACH-MAGAZ I N 64 (March 20 1 1 . . alternatives are also u nconvi ncing.t xd4 30 . g 1 lLi e5 34.t fB 1 9. mistake on account of 24. lLi xd5 . ltJe5 23 .. . lLi bc4! 20 . x h6 things are even clearer for Carlse n . even in this case the wh ite 27.f8 32 . g4 p. .l:. even after the 'ifxc3 (27 .t xd5 27. which also gives White a winning attack looks very promising.c3 . 'it> xb2. But the Let us give the word back to Ian Rogers. .g6 h6 is an improved version of the This takes a bit longer than 26. 'ii'f4 'ifc7 25. . b8 26 . . h6 the black position does not l:!. case too Carlsen's position is preferable.lLid4 •.'ii'd 3 fxg6? ! • There is also the instructive analysis by This opens too many highways for the grandmaster Igor Stohl: 26 . . lLi d5. . After 25 .l:r. 'ii' h 2 llxd 1 + 25. I n any case .t xe5 dxe5 22. . .. and Black has his hands inspire a great deal of confidence. 'iff2 23. 'ifxc3 better 22 . . lLi b3+-. .exd5 . .i:r. .g6! lLiec4 thinks Carlsen . l:t hg1 'it> h8 29. hxg6 h6 22. Jbf8 32 .xf6+? is met by 35 . @ d? 38. 'ii'xd4 30. 'ii' h7 mate. . .e1 + •. 28 .xh6! ! badly . . Black resigned. lLif7++ @ ga 34 .t xg? 3 1 . 'iVxcS dxc5 34. page 24) So let us take a look at it together. c4 provides more of a defence.gS'iV+! The tempting 35.xga 36. . .•. This is what I needed 29. lLi f6+ . . @ e?. .) 32. e3 'ii'e4 (31 . a wrecking 31 .xh6 lLif7 32. for the likes of us the win remains equally effective and instructive. .l:. "For Carlsen mere child's play. ''That's more like it. Nakamu ra had to accept his only defeat in this high-class game.'i'h8+ @17 file is opened.:r. gxh6? on account of 32 .t xh6 'iVxd5 (but not 31 . ." . lLi f6+ (Stohl) does This runs straight into a powerful hammer not change the outcome of the game." Carlsen twittered h after the game. c7 32 . : xf8+ @ xf8 Mate follows after 29 . ltJ xea gxh6 35. l:t hS+ @ xh8 32. lLie6 l:tg4 30. .tf6 operation . . lLic7 'ii'c5 33. lLixh6+ @ h7 (if 27 . Wijk aan Zee � 1 43 who awarded an exclamation mark to the Carlsen opens the floodgates for the attack text move: ''The th reat is a combination which breaks through. . Wh3 29 gxh6 ••• : cea 30 . . . lLixe6 :xe6 29.exd5 'ii'x d5? . So the annoying knight must be got rid of. . . 'i!Ve? mate.'ii'xf6+ @ea 37 . hg1 ) 32 .xg6 3 1 .g7 .. . blow or. . . ha mate) 33. and he told reporters: "I am really very happy. l:r. after which either the h. 'ii'xh6+ and 3 1 . after the stupid draw I handed in With this resounding bishop sacrifice yesterday. along the lines of 28. 'iff2 l:!. . 'if h3+ @ ga 33.txd5 28. ." ( SCHACH 3/20 1 1 . 'ii'x h6 .te7 preventing that.'ii'g 6 lLixh6 33. 35. . 32 .l:r.t xh6! gxh6 3 1 . 35 . then 33. but should not be enough in the long run . . as Dirk Poldauf appositely calls it in his annotations for SCHACH.l:. as can be seen from the fol lowi ng variation: 29.l:!. lLig4+ @ga 34. ltJfS l:. And in view of 37 . away via e7 since the knight on d5 is 30. . .il.. il.l:r. 'ii'xe6+ etc.or the g 34." 30 . . because the black king cannot slip mate. @ ha. " 1 H i karu precisely the I ndian world champion who Nakamu ra acqu i red it on that Sunday in was waiting for h i m . after the second rest day. The sky's the l i m it "If you want to run. Nakamu ra. whose rise in the early 1 980s was breath-taki ng: junior world champion in Copenhagen in 1 982. because there was only one single hurdle remaining between the 1 I nterv iew with Jurgen Klopp: DER SPIEGEL ( N umber 1 1 /1 2. March 20 1 2) . And in Klopp: "You cannot learn about experi round 9.and in this case too never be excluded. USSR national champion i n 1 984. Yes. . Apart from Aronian and As was so aptly said by Borussia Dort Carlsen. and third in both the l nterzonal Tou rnament in Biel 1 985 and the Candidates Tournament in Montpellier the same year. The tempo of the 24-year old was breath-taking." Emil Zatopek T there is no guarantee that the goal will be reached . when. every his opinion Hikaru's Sicilian was the wrong thing had opened up for him again . You have to acquire it. who was left o n 5 ¥2 . was caught Especially since the previous year Naka by Anand after his draw with Levon mura had criticised Alexei Shirov for ex Aronian.and lost. the French player Maxi me Vachier out of 6 he had also chosen the Sicilian Lagrave . But if you want a new life. it was ence. But behind the two leaders l u rked actly the same thing. . Aronian and ex-world champion against him . Vladimir Kramnik . Pessimists among January 20 1 1 . Hikaru's fans were even predicting that Magnus Carlsen will have been addition their man was now facing a double loss. then run a marathon.a strong quartet on 5 poi nts each. even a sudden crash can he way to the chess summit can be compared to a marathon . Then in the q uarter-finals of the Candidates matches a clear 6-2 victory over Rafael Vaganian and in the semi-finals a fortunate but deserved 7Y2-6Y2 success against Artur Yusupov. strategy in terms of tou rnament tactics.1 44 � Chapter 7 I n the press centre he commented that in the leader board was concerned . As far as the situation on are hatched . then run a mile. Nakamu ra still had to play against mund's successfu l football trainer J u rgen the other two. ally pleased by the fact this 81h round game But it is not only in fai ry tales that you also earned for him the prize for the best should not count your chickens before they game of the day. as well as Anand. It is sufficient to recall the Russian Andrei Sokolov (born 1 963) . . leading by 5¥2 Carlsen. Carlsen (NOR) 15 +O = 1 0 -5 Championship match against Garry Kas 2. losing in If we take as our criterion the previous the fi rst round against local grandmaster two years. 3 See ChessBase Magazine 1 40. p. defeat in the tou rnament. Alex triumph in Wijk aan Zee 201 1 . Aronian (ARM) 5 +2 =2 -1 parov. S. Radjabov (AZE) 1 +O = 1 --0 bore the name of Anatoly Karpov. Kramnik (RUS) 11 +3 =6 -2 Sokolov failed this last challenge. M . V. F. as well as at least 2 tournaments 4 See ChessBase Magazine 1 46. without actually 15 +5 =8 -2 7. as can be seen I n the ChessBase rankings for 201 1 4 from the extensively annotated game in the Evgeny Tomashevsky ( Russia/2909/22/3) fi rst part of this chapter. T. Nakamu ra now comes gth with a top 1 O player2 against whom he has so far performance rating of 277 1 from 60 games had to pay so dearly. the followi ng survey (which incl udes the These resu lts indicate that H i karu Naka 40th chess olympiad in Istanbul 20 1 2) : mura has reached the world el ite and 2 F I D E world ran king list as of 1 st September 201 2. by inflicti ng his one and only Kramnik (2779/60/7). The sky's the limit ctJ 1 45 new Soviet chess star and a World 1 . European champion Vladimir serious games against the leader of the Potkin (Russia/2777/24/3) in 9t h and Vugar world ranking list since their fi rst meeting in Gashimov (Azerbaijan/277 1 /37/4) at num Biel in 2005. three years his jun ior. by a 6. Even at the American's greatest 6) . But the tactically gifted Andrei 3.8. games in six competitions) the strongest newcomer was Hikaru Nakamu ra in 9th Conti nuous prog ress is not always guar place (2776/57/6) . A. demonstrated Karjakin (2797/49/5).Hikaru Nakam ura has also had to experience this. a statistical evaluation by Chess Kevin Spraggett in the rapid-play tie-break. which 4. Caruana (ITA) 5 +1 = 4 --0 rating list with an Elo of 2645 (the same as 9. Anand (I ND) 6 +1 = 5 --0 rather clear-cut 3%-7% .9 . he later plunged down to earth like a comet in the Candidates matches in Saint John in Canada. L. Viswanathan Anand (291 3/49/5) . p. Hikaru has not managed to ber 10 are three new players to make it into notch up a single victory. Morozevich (RUS) 2 +O =1 -1 Karpov (27 1 0) . Of a total of 1 5 in 2nd place. V. anteed . as can be seen from in six top tou rnaments . And at present one rival Ahead of him in addition to Levon appears to be too strong for him: Magnus Aronian were Magnus Carlsen (29 1 5/54/ Carlsen . There is no other the top 1 0 . Shakh riyar Mamedya in impressive fashion where his present rov (Azerbaijan/2796/57/6) and Vladimir limits are . Sergei gian . Third in the world 8. Hikaru Nakam u ra occupied 5 th place . He was only a with a performance rating of 29 1 7 over 50 miler and no marathon runner. without blitz and rapid chess. V. the Norwe ander G rischuk (Russia/2906/4 1 /5) . Karjakin (RUS) winning a single game. Base3 shows that in the top tournaments of After that he played no further part in the 20 1 0 (player of the year was Levon Aronian battle for the chess crown. lvanchuk (UKR) 9 +1 =4 --4 Yusupov) behind Kasparov (2735) and 1 0. "6 the first one. And yet never quite u nderstand that you have to be the American can not have been happy able to criticize constructively. pp. especially have someone who is always on you r case after his success in Wijk aan Zee. not playing whole heap of pressu re on whoever lost the F I D E World Cup. but the pressu re which is put on you tant: in this situation is very strong. it just brings you down . that was q uite certainly the was really getting to the top-five. he' ll you have lost the fi rst one. . 201 3.t Chapter 7 maintained his position in it in 201 1 . at the knockout spectacu Garry were just not the right match. . . and I think it is due difficult to win the second encounter after i n a large part to his Soviet training. And you could Alexander G rischu k and veteran player see. The two Russians Peter Svidler and This sometimes happens.38/39 s New in Chess 1 /20 1 2 . there were at stake Besides all the positive things which three places in the Candidates Tourna Garry can give on the chess board . it was ment." was eliminated in the last sixteen . in the rapid tie-break Anand went on to win 1 %-%. as far as the conflict with lost his fi rst game against a 2300 player. 1 8 7 I bid 8 It was in the 1 st round of the Knockout World Championship 200 1 against Olivier Touzane (Elo 2368) . anybody can be l ucky in one have been wrong. but it seems to me that he and crown . companion" Vladimir Kramnik as expressed you lose confidence. After all . Not playing the U S game. is earl ier. I remember that Anand once I n the long run . p. with 1 28 participants. And as a chess player in an interview for New in Chess. That sounds whereas Gata Kamsky. And that and it's never good enough no matter how was also the view of his "critical travelling you win a game."7 of view a possible cause for it: As far as not taking part in the World Cup "In Wijk aan Zee he was showing very i n Khanty-Mansiysk in western Siberia is good chess and it seemed to me that he concerned . Nakamura's own conclusion about the A s for the way the World C u p was played . "Firstly a match of only two games also instructive: does not necessarily show who the better "I feel that many of my decisions this year player is. also a m istake. of cou rse . after they broke up H i karu started to Vassily lvanchu k seized this opportunity. you have to ex-world champion suggests from his point believe in you rself. very "One thing with Garry. Then in the second game there is a Championship on his advice. When you with the following twelve months. which is due to take place i n March probably not working on a human level . Maybe I biggest mistake on the way to the chess am wrong.1 46 . It is very. but it's true. The players s New in Chess 1 /201 2 . the best American. do better immediately (laughs). Of cou rse he won the second game with the following aspect is particularly impor Black. year 201 1 which was decisively marked by Nakamu ra al ready fou nd it problematic his cooperation with Garry Kasparov. like a joke.5 And the you have to be confident. Chess lar from 28t h August to 1 9t h September 201 1 wise Garry gave him a lot. 8 his "over-powerful" teacher is concerned. the London Chess Classic and victory in Wijk aan Zee. Born in Belorussia (in in Saint Louis and sponsors both establish 1 968) . more of a great chess spectacle. And he will have also noticed that who along with his wife Jeanne founded the World Championship chal lenger was the Chess Club and the Scholastic Center al ready over 40. is more success. i n had to make efforts to have the Candidates which he would certainly have aimed for Tournament staged in Saint Louis. The final staging of last but not least probably in Reggio Emilia the Melody Amber in Monaco in March with too . two back doors were open for the highest bidder has not always seen his Nakam u ra when he decided against the offer accepted . "lottery" of the World Cup. that would only have been ble through his own efforts . I think. Gelfand. Quality. produced the unexpected victor Boris We are not aware why Rex Sinq uefield . It known both for his extraordinarily good might well be that the breakdown of the chess and also mental and physical prepa- 9 See interv iew in Chess Chronicle. Who (blindfold 5 . ever hosts this high-level tou rnament has Nakamura probably kept a distant eye on at his disposal a wildcard entry for a local the candidates matches for the world grandmaster with an Elo rating of at least championship in Kazan. That is simply not good for the above all for an American businessman is qual ity of the chess. And finally was forced to risk everything . blindfold and rapid chess. which of more than 1 OY2 points from 22 games course would not have been cheap. did not become active i n this case. He would have players. which in May 2700 . ess is also not easy to calculate.and he lost FIDE's decision in such a tendering proc a second time. but then it is all cooperation between H i karu and Garry about blitzkrieg and rapid fire. In the past To be sure. he emigrated to Israel in 1 998 and is ments."9 that point i n time Nakamu ra could have Hikaru himself suffered this painful expe guaranteed emerging from the Candidates rience in November 2005 in rou nd 1 Tou rnament as victor and thus earning the against the I ndian player Surya Shekhar right to challenge the old and new world Ganguly. The sky's the limit ltJ 147 make it into the tie-breaks. It seemed rather unlikely that at important than quantity. (won by Levon The second option lay in the hands of his Aronian). like all the top sponsor Rex Sinquefield. Places 1 to 3 i n Wel l . the Tai prog ramme in a break after the tournament Memorial. was for H i karu . December 2005 .but in vain . After a defeat in the fi rst game he champion Viswanathan Anand. in any case Nakamu ra passionately t h e F I D E world rating list on 1 51 January tried all he could i n the aforementioned 201 2 would also have secu red qualifica super-tournaments to ach ieve the impossi tion. and about Kasparov put him off the idea of taking on who manages to blunder and who does not such a financial risk. rapid chess 5%) and 61h place. However. It possible with outstanding tou rnament vic might have been expected that he would tories in the Grand Slam finals. since what counts blunder. they would be "Making t h e difficult look easy is o n e o f the able to engage a real "chess samurai". Thus in Ju ly. on his "home" ground. which looked very promising trate on the World Series of Poker". Saint Louis. . had not ex-world managed to turn a mediocre result into a champion Kramnik.t> Chapter 7 ration. Teimour Radjabov and Vassi ly for thi rd place against Ruslan Ponomariov lvanchuk as well as the top local player with a score of 2%-1 % . But since the quote Leontxo Garcia took up in his tournament victory was already secu red . 1 in the finally confirm the brilliance of his perform world ran king list did not have to worry ance in Wijk aan Zee. i n report for SCHACH. p. However. And things could have even frustrated American wrote on Twitter: "I been relatively worse . addition to their regular guest Vladimir especially the ease with which his "nem Kramnik. 12 On the other Nakamu ra. not only in chess.a 10 See SCHACH 7/20 1 1 . on the stage of the theatre. the other fou r rivals were so in the Kings Tou rnament in . p. won 3%-2%. Christian name of Chris. the sobering one.46 11 Ibid. 1 0 risk. was from a practical point of view.1 48 <.8 in the world ranking list. was understandably eager to apart from Carlsen. The time has come to concen last round. who as No. his result of have welcomed the American's withdrawal 4%/1 0 (+1 =7 -2} was soberi ng for the from the World Cup. Bazna in there among the 1 28. Sergei cured the thi rd qual ifying place in the match Karjakin. short time has never been made clear. was what preceded the whose play is characterised by fight and comments on the game in SCHACH.48 1 2 Riverfront Times. With Magnus Carlsen. it could perhaps be true that after his gaining match experience in Saint Louis in unexpected col lapse in Bazna he decided a duel with Ruslan Ponomariov. marks of genius!". issue of 2 1 st July 201 1 . And he also has that sound self taken part in the opening round of the confidence which is indispensable for top World Series of Poker under his fi rst performances. complete disaster with a few well-timed made a surprising knight sacrifice in the blunders. this double round The organisers o f the 39th Dortmund robin event reached FIDE Category XXI Sparkassen Chess Meeting will of cou rse (Elo average 2757) . It was clear to Hikaru that his adventu re although Kelsey Whipple reported that in Dortmund would not be without its early in July 201 1 he is supposed to have consequences on the world rating list . who in the same month was hand. which he to give the World Cup a miss. Livi u-Dieter N isipeanu. who celebrated his tenth victory esis" Carlsen once more defeated h i m . and lvanchuk se Romania. in cu rrent No. Once more the result 4Y2/1 O (+2 =5 -3 After suffering his second defeat in the and second last place} must have been a final round at the hands of lvanchuk. And i n June ( 1 1 th _ about his place in the next Candidates 21 st} he had his fi rst real opportun ity to do Tournament. I n any case. 1 1 playing t o t h e gallery the Russian over Whether H i karu actually wandered off estimated his position and lost this really into the camp of the poker players for a entertaining game. strength . their with Magnus Carlsen must have been task consists of being active in many areas: greeted with some joy by Hikaru . who his chances because he too was striving was in really bad form with his 1 %/8. with 3/9 including th ree defeats ing the good times they let things slip". Svidler) and not a according to Baschab." them and in the negative sense. the reason for his the players logically and mercilessly out second place behind Kramnik. you'll have to reckon with "Only rarely was a win the result of one of me agai n!" However. Generally speaking. How ( +2 =6 -2) meant only a relative improve does the person consider the sport? How ment. As with its 3 rd place behind Carlsen and described by Thomas Baschab. who Classic in December with its +3 result was among other thi ngs was Alexander Moro certainly a positive turn of events for zevich's second. The sky's the limit ttJ 1 49 plunge to 1 2th place with an Ela rating of opponent out? Who can take more pres 2753. Hikaru was involved in th ree of motivation . the G rand Slam final in Sao Paulo I n top-level sport. 30/20 1 2. the win and whose help is used in particu lar by against Levon Aron ian and the two draws Bundesliga football professionals. training and games.45 1 4 Sportmagazin kicker. that are becoming ever more important!"1 3 Wel l . lvanch uk. in would get so bad . which is a rare guest in blow. Even the most pessimistic "Mental trai ning is one of many compo would never have expected that things nents needed by sportsmen and women. I n this respect the 3 rd London Chess In this connection. which wou ld make the leap to 3 rd sure? Who keeps a clear head at the place in the remaining top tournaments all decisive moment? These are the factors but impossible.76n7 . pp. Out of the ten decisive addition to talent. but ahead playi ng another. However. hard-working is he? How disciplined? How And the next collapse came immediately self-critical? Those who have failings there after that in November in Moscow at the 5th have no hope of making a career. This also makes it clear that psycho tou rnaments of this category. "In this for victory and opened himself up in the encounter the American tu rned to the heat of battle and overlooked a powerful King's Gambit. who is one lvanchuk was something along the lines of of the most consulted experts in Germany a rehabil itation . was a rather fortunate win over more a case of the loser over-estimating the English player M ichael Adams. but 5/1 0 "The basic condition is the attitude. in other words "Enormous talents can fail because dur last. it was of Carlsen. p. Vladimir Barsky. whose theory is: single win. it should 13 SCHACH 1 /20 1 2 . (Carlsen. drew some interesting Nakam ura and a clear warning along the conclusions in his report for SCHACH: lines of: "folks. This choice logical stabil ity is becoming increasingly strengthened the impression made in his important in modern chess. mental trainers have and Bilbao (26th September to 1 1 th October) long since ceased to be the exception . Who can sit his game against Anand.in particular."1 4 Tai Memorial : 1 oth place. . The main variation here is 8 .l:. Black cool ly played 1 1 .b1 'ii'a 3 .l:.txd4 .te2 . .'iixc5 'ii'a3- Morozevich. .f4 1 O. according to SCHA CH reporter Dirk Poldaut.te3 t'Lic6 8.. he began to stake everything in the following th ree games . 0-0 cxd4 French Defence [C 1 1 ] 1 2 . but is H. ' Porto Carras 201 1 .b5 axb5 1 6. 'ii'a5 know exactly what he is doing. who is once again back because it is not possible to make rapid among the world el ite after a lengthy enough use of White's lead in develop creative pause.Andreiki n .e4 e6 2. p .t'Lif3 'iib 6 7 .t'Lib5 'ii'xa2 1 1 Jlc1 in Ragger .t'Lib5. . .fxe6? ! 8 'ifxb2 9 .te2 .te7 1 2 .l:. 1 . t'Lia4.txe3 against an opponent of the cal ibre of 1 4.xc5 1 3.fS? such as the following one against Alexan This opening up of the position backfires. it is not clear whether Wh ite can even sti ll hope for sufficient compensation. GAME 35 Gaziantep 2008 .f5? .1 50 � Chapter 7 not be overlooked that Nakamura has suffered a relapse and has once again become the 'chess street fighter' he pre ferred to be before the start of his cooperation with Kasparov''. . .dxc5? ! a6 1 2 .• White reveals his cards too soon and limits his options.te2 i. as will become clear. 1 1 . l:!. 1 5 And unfortunately this ''fighting chess" was also continued in Reggio Emilia in Italy. This made Hikaru's choice +.b3 gave the German team an impor c5 6. ment. For example. .e5 t'Lifd7 5.d4 d 5 3. 54th Torneo di Capodanno. Nakamura A. .t'Lic3 t'Lif6 4.'ili'd2?! • tant victory on their way to winning the Whoever plays this pawn sacrifice needs to European Team Championsh ip: 1 o . 3 1 long run it should not be enough . When half-way through Nakamu ra reached 4/5.b8. after 1 o. . when White can prevent him from castling with 1 2 . .'ii'xd4 'ili'c5 Black can feel happy. 1 0. a6 1 1 .t'Lixd4 t'Lixd4 1 3 . . Reggio Emilia 201 2 The most usual move at this point is 1 O .'iit h 1 i.tc5 1 4. der Morozevich. and then also won against the Russian N ikita Vitiugov and drew with Fabiano Caruana. t'Lic7+ 'iitd 8 1 3.'ii'x e3 t'Lic5 1 5 . Moreover. especially 1 1 . but in the 15 SCHACH 1 /201 2. 1 0 a6 1 1 . and later 0-1 in Rombaldoni-Buhmann here very dubious.•.xd4 1 5. Morozevich - nevertheless two pawns behind. but after 10 . .and the resu lt was a series of three unnecessary defeats.0-0 offered somewhat more compensation . e7 1 3. h 4 .llJxd4? ! 1 5.l:.'ili'a2 'ifd6 32. White resigned.J.l::t b 8 30.i.e4 eS 2..J...xc8 23.lLixc6 lLixc6 1 9.l:txb8+ two types of Petroff players. xf1 'ifd6 .lLixeS d6 4. So "Moro" has no problems. e7 7. After having carefully checked that Black is not getting mated (at least not by force)..•.lLia4 bS 20. .J...l::t b 1 e4 2S.lLif3 lLif6 3. The sky's the limit ltJ 151 1 2. who belong to the first category. despite his bad French bishop and the associated lag in development.�h 1 cxd4 1 S.l::txf1 + 1 7. catapulting himself into fi rst place. lll c6) . Giri - 54th Torneo di Capodanno..e2 J. 8. While big guys like Kramnik and Gelfand And against the young star Anish G i ri . but there is also no doubting Black's advantage.c3 • long castling (after . but occasion ally got mated .0-0 0-0 GAME 36 H.. 1 8. ones that J. e3 Black has consolidated well and is simply a pawn up.J. 1 4.J.a4 bxa4 26.d3 . he got Usually my 'team' made d raws after some an unpleasant surprise with White. g 3 'ife6 . 1S lLidxeS 1 6J:tb3 . In fact there are a3 28. x d4 is the lesser evi l .xa6 ..J.'ifd2 0-0 9.l::te 8 1 1 .h4 . I previously made a classic bad start with 1 /4 but then belonged to the second. x b8 31 .lLixce . g 3 'ires castle short and others that castle long.lLif3 lLixe4 S.. Wang Yue and Li Chao..dxc3 J.0-o--0 c6 1 0.f4 es 22. suffering and Kramnik with Gelfand were having more exciting times. .J.•. d 6 29. I decided to try to play with fire as well"..lLib6 .J.J..l::t b 8 7 lLid7!? 21 . "Tiii this game I almost exclusively went for 24 . Nakamura A.J. according to Anish G i ri i n CBM 1 46.l:tf8 27. Reggio Emilia 201 2 Petroff Defence [C42] 1 .e 2 J. accompanied by took himself in hand and finished by Chinese experts..llJc3 lLixc3 6. . and the position didn't fully solve his problems it seemed to should be level. trying to regain that psychological advan Anish G i ri takes no risks.• (see next diagram) 20 ." (Giri) advantageous for Black. 1 7. . . is an improved version of H i karu's idea. . 'ii'd B 1 9. thereby admitti ng that the opening had not gone perfectly. 20. W'a5 and . .1 52 <ti Chapter 7 Position after 1 6 lL!e& 1 1 dS!? ••. h6! 1 8. . ll:if6..lL!f3 . as besides f6 it has an inter esting career on cs as well as on f8. them were played by none less than since White gets rid of his doubled pawns: Kramnik.xf3 1 6.i. h6 g6 1 8.:de1 •." (G i ri) 1 2. .'i'd3 lL!c5 ! ? •. although after tage that he had given me one move ago by 21 ... but after both of them .i. .g4 1 S.l:ihg 1 looks more natu "A very ugly move to me.fS lL!cS .hS �f6 1 4.fS?! 1 7.i. ..f4?! Too optimistic. played with a ral . I decided to wait with deciding where to 17 . Obviously now I use the flexibility of my knight " (Giri) 12 lL!fS! 1 3. Hikaru was probably 2 0 lL!a4 21 .gxf3 Hikaru offered a d raw. both of f5 . 1 6 lL!eS •.i. me.lL!gS? ! "Hikaru decided that there i s n o difference and that he can mate me by the usual scheme.'ii'd 1 lL!cs put my knight. ••• "A new move and a new idea.d2 d4 the position is also offering a draw. lL!xc3 22 . Black 1 8 .f4. . . . intending Black has played .a3 'ifas 1 9. visible confidence. Previously According to G i ri . �b1 c5 • This runs straight into a very strong 30.'ii'fS . .l:!.'ii'g 4 . . because it condemns White to passivity..'ii'd 1 ? ! 24. 3 2. whereas 22 ..l:.'iie 2? ! Here both players missed the brilliant 23.d2 l:!.�c1 i. ..l:r.l:[d 1 !? is more prudent. intending 23.xe4 :xe4 2 6.:ta l:!.xc4! 24.i. .i. The immediate 3 1 .i.:r. The sky's the limit � 1 53 22.ce4 33.d4 ! ! intending 23 . gives Black a slight but lasting advantage . .l:.intending 2 5 . . 23. 32 .e3+ 39. 36.�c2 f5! .l:.d4! 33.�c1 was the lesser evil . lt:Ja4? 24.'ii'xd4 'ii'c 7! (Giri).wou ld have been more precise.d1 ? 27 . lt:Jxc3?! 26.g3 �h8 28 .°iid 3 b6 exchange sacrifice.b3 dxe3! 35.• 32.xg7 .'i'xc4?! The fi rst step in the wrong direction.d4 i.'ii'd 1 'ii'b5? ! This runs into a n incredible counter.. . h g 1 l:!. 31 .c3 i. 23 . .l:!.:eg 1 �ta 27 .bxc4 (see next diagram) exf2 The passed f-pawn will decide the day.e6 28. b3 tt:Jxc3 25.i.xf6 ! ! lt:Jxd 1 26.. 2 4 lt:Je4 25. .eg1 'ii'c 4 29.l:. .i.:hg 1 lt:Je4 25.xd4 24.e1 37.hg 1 and then mate (Giri). i.xe6 fxe6 29.d4 38.ae8 .d3 lt:Je4 27.cxd4 cxd4 34.i. .. 'ii'a 4 31 . according to Giri . lt:Je4 ! . i. When- . ably still stood between him and absol ute reminding one of that chess magician world class.ltJc3 c6 8.ta3 a6 20 .g2 g6 4.txb7 %:tb8 2S . and the title defender was in special demand. Nakamura .%:tac1 f4 37 . Mikhail Tai .cS .dS cs 1 2. .%:tbS 'ii'g6 31 .c4 d6 7.txe6 23.i.xcS 'ii'xe6 33.liJf3 'ii'd 6 34. . Although this time H i karu did not steal the show on his own .1 54 � Chapter 7 Now Black is simply th reatening g7-g6.f6 39. .g3 liJf6 3 .liJxf4 Tata Steel Chess (A) . 26 .tca 'ifa7 38.liJe6 l:!.c7 "ifa4 L.exf4 gxf4 40. The chess festival in Wij k aan Zee was calling.dxe6 'ii'e 8 24 . J1xb1 27Jldxb1 g s 28. 26 .liJe6 . . 40.g7 S.txc3 which meant 61h place.b4 cxb4 1 3.'ii' b3 �h8 9. .e3 ltJcs 1 8. .ltJd4 �h8 GAME 3 7 3S.'ii'b 1 . . Aronian H .l:. And Aronian too must winner Levon Aronian indicated what prob have taken an intu itive decision to go for it.txg7+ �xg7 30.liJd4 ltJxa4 22.liJd2 'ifb6 1 7.liJbS :ca 1 6. b4 'ii'd 8 21 . . since no one was One can hardly believe that Nakamura expecting him to repeat his tri umph of could have worked out all the conse twelve months previously. .%:tb7 ltJg8 29 .txa6 ltJc3 (see next diagram) Aronian's army is cooperating well .l:.liJf3 .%:tc6 'ii'd 7 36. The pause to "lick his wounds" and to revive after Reggio Emilia was very short for Hikaru. Nevertheless.. Wijk aan Zee 201 2 Dutch Defence [ABB] 1 . creating the next passed pawn and the end draws nigh .%:td1 ltJa6 1 0.cS dxcS 32 .a4 'ii'a s 1 9 . . .'ii'a 3 ltJc7 1 1 .0-0 0-0 6.txcS White resigned.i.'ii'x b4 liJa6 1 4. who did after all finish thi rd . he could be quite content with his 7%/1 3 (+3 =9 -1 ) .a4 a S 41 .i.d7 1 S. 41 .d4 fS 2. quences of this far-sighted queen sacrifice his only defeat in round 2 to tou rnament by his opponent. . ..td3 Wg8 was 42 .llxe7 is interesting. After 42 . .Wh3 'iVeS? (Karsten Muller) .Wg2 'iVe5 47. The queen may 48 . .gxf4 'Yi'xf4 is too radical . J:txf4?! 47 .g.g. lbg8! . and White's domi nation is obvious.tc4 'i!Vc3 50 . . 5 1 . . Wg?? White can avoid the exchange of rooks by 43.l:tg6. "ii'e s 50 .lbe6+ Wg6.l:i..l:!..lbg6. but in the long run the the exchange of knights.l:!.Wg5? on account of 50 . .l:. . in order in both cases Black is still faced with an to reduce the strength of Aronian's forces unpleasant and tedious defence. 'it'e5 ! ? . . e. . ..xd1 °ii'x d1 + 44. 43 .tes l:td1 + ! Hikaru's last real chance to put up any Nakamu ra exchanges rooks to relieve his serious resistance. but Nakamu ra must exchange pieces.. 59 .f5 lbc6 58 .�7c5 lbf6 48 .h5 'it'b2 46. Wg7 was the alternative. and create targets for his queen. 45 .l:!.... ltJfS either.lle1 l:td7 51 . . 49 . e..f8+ Wh7 probably hold on.Wg2 49. ..Wh3?! with 42. was suggested by cost is too high si nce the white rooks will Baburin in Chess Today 4086. The sky's the limit t2J 1 55 ever a queen has to fight against a lot of tage of the pawn sacrifice is that White no pieces.xd7 lbxd7 52. .g. ii'e 1 46. so .llc7 Wf7 50.h4 h6 45 .l:!.f4 'ifd5+ 57.. 48 .�d5 and a b c d reg roup under the cover of his bishop. 'iVd6 does not help in the long run 44 . 8 43 .lbe6 lbe7 44 . °ii'b 2 49 .f3 'iVd4 opinion.tg4! But not 50. .td5 (45 . .tf3 'Wd4 49 . what is i mportant is whether or not it longer has a real attack and the black has targets. . . the advan.d6 ! ? fish in water) 45 .f7+ Wg8 Wxg8 46. 'ii'd 4 50 .txg8 56. in order to meet 48. queen can now act with all the freedom of a 41 . obtain possibilities after 43. In my 45.. . Baburin's suggestion of 41 ..xe7 'it'e1 46 . Black can 53.h3 48.. . .'�h5 h6 54.. .l:tg7+ Wh8 60. . 'i!Vb4 44.f7 'ife4+ 47. .. e.Wh4! The white king joins the attack with decisive effect. . .�b7 lbf6 44.. .tf5 lbd5 52. . lbh5! and thus reduce the pressu re by gain more options.�g4 'lii g 8 55 . position . ..l:!. . . . On the other hand . 1 6 As far as this challenge is 60. e.h3 'ifb1 ambitions. . the shadow of Robert James Fischer and 52. resign.f5 h5 56 .�xg4 'ii'd 3 62 . 55. h5 is refuted by 52 . and Black can Nakamu ra since then .xh5 �h7 Amsterdam. pp. 1 4/1 5 . . which is 52 .i. . was his reply to the Italian 5 4 .tg4 Nh6 59. . And .tbf4+ and 5 1 .f5 mate.f4 (Baburin) 53 . . . . .tf7 • . time will tell whether the sky will in 55 .ltxgB 'ii'f 1 + piece of architecture. . tbxg4? loses immediately on account of 5 1 . . when she asked about his 57. . Yes. Wel l . �h7 is now met by 60. admits: "Absolutely! Yes! Why else should someone with an Elo of over 2700 be 53.fB+ �g7 52. .g.1:::. nothing has changed for H i karu 63.te6 not only because he will be the oldest of the 'ffxe6 54. The knight is like a keystone in a lovely 59 . .�h3 'ii' a 1 ? ! playing chess?". .�h4.l:!f7+ �g8 64.ltfB mate. 55 �h7 56. he can still step out of tbxg4?? by 52.�h4 'i'b4+ 58 .Il. . 'i'b5 i s more tenacious but also not journalist Janis N issi in August 201 O in sufficient. 201 2 could be a really decisive year in 51 h6 the chess career of Hikaru Nakamura.tbe6+ 51 . .1 56 � Chapter 7 50 .fS+ tbg8 59 .•• 5 1 . nothing against it.l:If6 tbxg4 6 1 .f4 'ikb2 54. . �h7? fails to 53.th5! • fact be reached .tbxe6 �xf7 55.tbe6! Aronian closes the last mesh of a finely woven net. The game is over.l:r.i. . 1s Quoted from SCHACH 1 0/20 1 0. . It closes the ring of 61 . and nothing works any more! white pieces and Nakamu ra can simply do Black resigned.f7+ �h8 57 . . .:!fS+ tbg8 one day become world champion .tg6 tbf6 ••• 58 . "young stars". 'ii'c3? ! his declared goal as he self-assuredly 54 .tbf4 �g8 53 .qu ite the contrary.tbg5+ �g7 concerned .�h4. Zoltan Ribli and Gyula Sax) on his very fi rst appearance. the Dorpshuis de Moriaan is practically his own chess "living room". published a volume of nineteen short stories n 1 947 Wolfgang Borchert. Thus i n the 74th event. especially since it gives them certain rights when it comes to i nviting participants. Kramnik defeats L'Ami and Aronian beats Shi rov. whi lst Carlsen cannot manage more than a draw against the hitherto undefeated Maxime Vachier Lag rave. but that is another story. comes to an estimated half a million euros. However. But one might think that it is money well spent in Europe as a logical marketing exercise. His lightning start with 4/5 has been specific proof that the "Madras tiger'' is in excellent form . How seriously the biggest I ndian conglomerate (they also own . the main thing for young players is that this extremely high level event should continue to appear i n the annual calendar. 25111 January 201 1 . ttJ 1 57 Chapter 8 Wijk aan Zee Tuesday. prize fund and running expenses. And . Among the top players. because no other world-class player is better able than he is to prepare for any opponent. No one has won the Hoogovens/Corus/Tata-Steel chess tou rnament as often as "Vishy": five victories (th ree of them shared). and it makes hardly any difference to him which colour he has. it must be mentioned that Anand was among the winners (together with Predrag N i kolic. who have d rawn strength from thei r second rest day. for the fifth biggest steel producer in the world . However. is also from I ndia. as are three starters i n the C . the most admonitory and perhaps the most authentic voice under the title of "An diesem Dienstag" (''This Tuesday"). The question is: will thi ngs be decided in advance today in the game between Hikaru Nakam u ra and Viswanathan Anand? The 4 1 -year-old I ndian world champion clearly has experience in his favou r. the victor of the B group. for example. But what weight should be accorded nowadays to records from the past. In this connection . the last one in January. But of cou rse everyone's eyes are mainly on the encou nter between the top two on the leader board . with appearance money. the ann ual cost of running the tou rnament with its Open and three top-class groups of 1 4 players each. Round 9 I of the young post-war German writers. Pentala Harikrishna. There are two Tuesdays during the tou rnament in Wijk aan Zee and the ninth round is to be played on this one. and he appears to be almost out of the running. Air I ndia) is committed to Wijk aan Zee can be seen from their guarantee that it will continue until 201 3. after all. and 70 successive games without defeat. after which the state of the leader board should become clear. when there is a new generation of players? The managers of Tata Steel appreciate the sporting successes of their compatriot. 1'. was such a perfect master of the art of because he is a master of the "art of defence as Tigran Petrosian .1'. was not always understandable to the and so White really has to go for the main opponent) ." 3 H . This is GAME 38 my credo.1'. full of life. 1 was the description of the structure will be decisive in the long term . for a long time the young Tata Steel Chess (A) ." 2 variation 1 3.1'.g3 l2Je4 8.c4 e6 3.• mastery of the art of creating harmonious A rather questionable novelty and the positions.b7 9. p. years each of his defeats was hailed as a 1 . "For this truly legendary impreg 5. "Meanwhile. My Great Predecessors Part Ill. as otherwise the superior black chess th rone".1'. American is well and truly under pressu re Wijk aan Zee 20 1 1 in his key game against the favou rite - Queen's Indian Defence [E 13] although it would be going too far to say that he had his back against the wall .g5 h6 6.xc3+ 1 1 . than attacking. After 1 3.d4 lDf6 2. lDd4 l2Jac5 .h4 g5 7. apparent absence of dynamics was con since he does not have time for such cealed a colossal internal energy (the activity on the kingside. But in The art of defence this situation he shows that he is almost a As for the sub-heading: there was probably "student of Petrosian".lDf3 b6 sensation .l2Jc3 1'. where behind the cause of White's forthcoming difficulties. . Anand - As you will see.b4 4. which sation in Wang Yue-Adams. but who has demonstrated as can be seen from the examples of that defence is a less risky and dangerous Linares and also Mainz. And so he manages no player in the whole history of chess who to work his way out of the difficult situation. I believe only in logical . Baku 2008 . Nakamura V.1 58 w Chapter 7 group. which may have occupation than attack? And are there so possibly disappeared for ever. defence? What I value more than anything in chess is logic. . perhaps I like defending more impossible without heavyweight sponsors. I am firmly convinced that in chess there is nothing accidental. Such super-tou rnaments are quite chess: "Yes.7. 1 -3 Garry Kasparov.bxc3 f5 although on account o f h i s very distincive 1 2. In his best defence".'ifc2 nability he was nickhamed 'iron Tigran' .h4?! •. .e3 d6 1 0.1'. ninth world champion by Garry Kasparov.1\Vxe4 'fif6 Black had enough compen i nto account in the general strategy. Petrosian had a complete 1 2 ltJaS 1 3.d5 'passive' style it was hard to associate his Nakamu ra immediately takes the bull by name with the proud conquerors of the the horns.xe4 fxe4 slightest changes being immediately taken 1 4. few games that have found their way into But let us now tu rn to this fantastic pai ring the treasu ry of chess thanks to vi rtuoso on this final Tuesday in January. 'correct' play.d3 1'. Everyman 2004. I n any case the Tigran Vartanovich Petrosian ( 1 929-1 984) world champion was certainly unimpressed had this to say about his way of playing by Nakamu ra's experiment. was also well worth considering..�e2 pressure. 2s. l:!.:.c8?! 1 8.h7 an advantage clearly doesn't last forever.fxe4 �xe4 36. . the world 1 9. hxg5?. since after 1 a .'ii' xe4 ·ifxc3+ 32.. . I 23 . i.:e3 gxf3 "I think I was a l ittle bit worse out of the 29. after 24 . .exd4 lbd3 31 .aea said Anand ..exd4 :ea+ White should bad result. It wasn't the sort of game I wanted .xe4 35. . only a few pawns are "And it was clearly very unpleasant for left as winning potential .. 20 . But the immediate The black king is absolutely safe . Never than mine. since an advantage for Anand is 1 6.:aa i. a d raw is not a After 24 . :xd4 25. 26.i.'iVxf6+ �xf6 20.xb6 l:.a3 lbf4 33.f5 32. lbd3+! ? 23 .he8 couldn't find anything. Stil l . . . .g3 Draw agreed on White's proposal. however.fxe3 fxg2 3 1 .xd3 i.h2 :xe3+ 30.l:!.e2+?! is parried by 30.:hd1 exd5 i. .lbe4+! Now White secu res the liqu idation to a rook ending and finally a d raw. Wh ite is very active .b3 �xd5 41 . the white one. who qu ickly transposed into an After 22 .�g 1 . J::ta ea ! ? 2 1 .�d 1 'ii'x d5+ 20.l:.cxd6 cxd6 opening.. .xf4 lbxe6 was the alternative.lbe4+ is a vain attempt to win.�e1 33 . But. a6-f1 and the c-file.unlike 24 .gxh6 l2Je4 23.cxdS i.xe4 fxe4 1 5. . At the same time.d4 .a6+ 22. Wijk aan Zee � 1 59 1 3 . �fS. considering I had Black.d3+ 34.'ii'f 6+ champion could still have exerted some �ea 22. 'ii'f6! 1 4.�1 18 .:.. and the "dead" White because his bishop was much worse bishop on g3 has been resuscitated . i.�e2 :a1 40. .:!.lbd2 .g4 29. I had theless. 34 .'ii'g 6+ �e7! no longer apparent.xd4 Anand opens both the attacking diagonal 29 . 26. After But not 1 a. .ca :e4 24. �fS! ? deserved serious consideration.�e2 lbc5 1 7.'ii'b2 'ii'a s+ 24. .h7 Black al ready has a clear advantage.:. 1Vf6 1 9.�e1 :aga 2 1 .dxe6 30.i.hxgS+ hxg5 27.i.l:!.:xc7 :xd4 37 . . although I had a feeling I was close. . . on the other hand .dxcS g4 2a..xd3 24. i." manage to defend successfu l l y with Nakamura's comment echoed Anand's.cs �es 38.e2+ 35 ." 22 .l:tac1 After this the play totally peters out. who on the homepage of the Tata Steel Tou rnament expressed them selves as follows: "I was clearly better after the opening. .xa7 l:!.l:..i. 'ii'xc4+ 25 . And now let us give the word to the protagonists.8e7 28.eS+ �g6 27. .d1 + 39. �f2 l:!.�g 1 gxf4 36.. l:!.f3 i. . .�f2. l:thda Black has practical to do something pretty fast because such winning chances. :xc7 endgame while maintaining his advantage. 34. The prophylactic 22 .l:!.:!.. gxf4 21 . . i n this case it was a portentous one. An important clue in the Tata Steel Chess (A) . I players a t the top . he was even more successful as a junior. when he reached 2634 Elo points and exactly twelve months later. Also his increase in performance as mi rrored in his Elo development is impressive. In October 2000 he fi rst entered the F I D E lists with a rating of 2 1 86.txh6?! . .th6 . . considerations of how to make an impres Wijk aan Zee 201 1 sion on Maxime.1 4 and third in the U nder. Wednesday.with six points each. 25th January 201 1 . Nakamura de cides on a direct challenge. when he leapt over the final hurdle to stand at 27 1 6. Everything comes in good time . In any case their Elo ratings have not d rifted too far apart in that time with 275 1 to 27 1 0. So Maxime has a good chance. Vishy was The resu lts of this ninth round left fou r unable to come up with anything concrete . In it Which opening should one choose with White decided on 1 3 . Anand.tgS! ? and was White against a renowned expert on the slightly better after 1 3 . As for his encounter with Hikaru Nakamura. Vachier-Lagrave - Kris Littlejoh n . when he emphatically made the world aware of his talent. . Thus in 2009 i n Porto Madryn he became junior world champion. Other noteworthy stations in his ascension are October 2007.1 60 @ Chapter 7 to play at all but. Just one month older than the comet-like Magnus Carlsen. which above all means preparatory work for his second H." yet been decided . In April 2005 he broke through the 2500 barrier (2525) and at the age of 1 4 years and fou r months he gained the grandmaster title. . . He will finish on a shared 5th to 5th place with ex-world champion Vladimir Kramnik with th ree wins and only one loss. . and their Elo scores of 271 0 compared to 2703 were on much the same level. Nakamura M. Round 1 0 I French player Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (born 1 990) . with fou r rounds still to play nothing had d rew and didn't lose again. who has been playing for Grunfeld Defence {087] M U l h e i m Nord 1 93 1 in the German Bundesliga si nce 2007/08. especially since up ti ll now he has shown that he can keep up with the big boys and is so far undefeated . must admit it wasn't my most exciting game Kramnik and Aronian . but since then there has not been a serious game between them . 'ild7 1 4 . Maxime lost a Sicilian. of the tournament but I'm pretty happy I So. .Nakamu ra. after six and eight years previously being ru nner-up in the U nder.1 2 championsh ips in Oropesa del Mar in Spain. fortunately. who recently has been powerfully t can be said that u p to round 1 O the main su rprise of this tou rnament has been the pushing up into the world el ite. The fact that at this very highest of all levels he has not made any more leaps in performance must certainly be only a temporary business. GAME 39 G runfeld Defence? Well . At the fi rst great tou rnament victory of the American in San Sebastian in July 2009 he was also a participant. is the game The knight opens the way Gelfand-Kamsky from Bazna 2009 . . .tgs ! ? A clever "move" in both senses o f the word .l:t.f4 l:k8 1 8. A further argument for this principled choice of open ing is that Vachier-Lagrave played exactly that variation up til l the twelfth move in round 4 against Shirov.l:!. What is interesting is 5..d4 l2lf6 2.e5 (5th and 7th games) .l2lc3 dS 4.g8 Championship match between Anatoly Kar 26 .txe6 i¥c6 32 . .f6+ 1 .f4 d2 27.'ii'x h6 f6 1 6. the impor tant role played by the Seville Variation of Position after 23. 'ilfh4.b7 1 6 .. hxg5 hxg5 23 .cxd4. 1 7. th ree hou rs" trying to prove an advantage in which Karpov twice tried the pawn ad for Black. .l2lf4 g5 20. . according to 1 7..te3 0--0 1 0. . Wijk aan Zee 201 1 .. ..cxd4 exd4 1 6... .e5 l2lxf4 30.h3 . ..l:l.td?) . .e4 lbxc3 6..'ili'xc 1 l2lc6 20.txf?+ nxf? 1 3.f3 the G runfeld Defence in the 1 987 World 23 .l:tf4 is critical.f5 l:txc1 1 9.f5 'ili'e5 1 9.:r.'iit g 1 .l:.tc4 l2le5 'iii> g 8 2 1 . Remember. Did this have an impact on the vance 1 5.. where there is usually a continual discussion of opening ideas. ..tg4 1 1 .fxg4 :xt1 + 1 4.h3 .'iii> h 2 (see n ext d i ag ram) 'ili'c5 28.l2lxf6 'iii> xf6 25 . .itb7 . . .f4 f6 1 8. . for example. l:l'. exd4 1 5 .l:!. 24.f3 lba5 his preparation he had "senselessly wasted 1 2 . .f3 24 .txg? would have followed in the footsteps of the famous 1 st game of the World Championship match between chal lenger Topalov and title defender Anand : 1 4 . A tou rnament game is not like in a match. .f4 'ii'g 7 1 7.txg? 'it>xg7 day both of these are still the main moves.l2le2 lbc6 9 . . .g8! 23 .tg7 7 .:xc8+ 1 --0 Topalov 1 .tc4 c5 8.l2lg3? (22 . . l2le2 "Vishy" Anand's self-critical remark that in lbc6 9 . .tg7 7 .i¥g5 i¥d6 S.cxd5 lbxd5 Anand .. .c4 g6 3.ac 1 . . . from his preparation (the correct way is 1 3 .l:!.. . . h4 l2ld3 29. bxc3 .cc? 'it>d8 pov and Garry Kasparov after the moves 29 .0--0 ltJaS 1 1 .0-0 .th6 . . ii'd7 1 4 . Wijk aan Zee ttJ 1 61 1 5.h6+ 'it>f7 27. and so it would be the American who would choose the mo ment to spring a surprise. .. �f?? Anand mixes up the move order Vachier-Lagrave.l:th?+ @ea 28 .te3 0-0 1 0.l2lh5+ Vachier-Lagrave) 22 . before young French player? changing in the 1 1 th game to 1 5.. . .'i!i'd2 es 1 3 .'iii> xf1 'ili'd6.l2le4 lbe6 31 .c4 g6 3.i. �ac 1 'iYd6 22 . to this 1 4 .th6 cxd4 1 4..d4 l2lf6 2.l:!. 'iitx g? 1 5 .cxdS ltJxdS 'it>h8 2 1 .. Sofia 201 0.txf? d 1 i¥ 0-1 Shirov 23 . ..tb5 'iVxe4 30. .l2lc3 d5 4. . Vachier-Lag rave is taken away from the plan which had worked so well against Shirov in round 4: 1 3 . .bxc3 . h4 h6 22.e4 lbxc3 6.ta6 26 .tc4 cs 8. Here 1 4 .td3 b6 1 2.tb3 d3 25... 1 62 � Chapter 7 If Maxima Vachier-Lagrave continues as in his game against Shirov with 14 ... cxd4 1 5 .i.xg7 'it>xg7 1 6.cxd4 exd4 1 7.f4, then we can see the difference. The black queen is worse placed on d7, because it now exerts less control over the dark squares. According to Nakamu ra White could now swi ng his rook via f4 to h4, si nce the advanced f6-pawn is no longer being attacked by the black queen from d8. It is in fact a fine distinction and shows the mean ing of specific preparation at the highest of levels. This was precisely the reason why Position after 17.f3 H i karu and Kris had also gone deeply into the Gelfand-Kamsky game and looked for possible resou rces ! example: 1 9.g3 g5 20. gxf4 gxf4 2 1 .'iii> h 1 <t>ha 2 2 . .l:.g 1 'iVh3 23.ll'ld4! (Nakamu ra) , 1 5.i.xg7 <t>xg7 1 6.dS! and then follow the advice of I M Dirk The correct way to continue with the pres Poldauf, who suggested 23 . . J lg8 with sure. In the game Leitao-Sutovsky from unclear play. the 7th world team championsh ips, Bursa 1 8.exfS c4? 201 0, here Wh ite played 1 6.f4?, which Black met energetically with 1 5 .. .f5 ! . After Black fails to spot Nakamu ra's remarkable that Wh ite had to hit the brakes with an tactical idea, linked to the captu re on f5 . exchange sacrifice and he finally saved the Having his a5-knight out of play is now a big game by perpetual check: 1 7.d5 fxe4 handicap. Vachier-Lag rave had actually 1 8.i.xe4 ll'lc4 1 9.ifd3 'iVa4 20.f5 ll'ld6 planned 1 8 . . . 'ifxd5 1 9.fxg6 .lad7? ( 1 9 . . . hxg6 2 1 .ll'lg3 i.a6 22.'ii'e 3 i.xf1 23.l' hf1 .l:!f6 is the lesser evil), but to his horror he now 24.l:!.e 1 %:taf8 25.fxg6 hxg6 26.h3 'i'xa2 saw that after 20.'iVe3 'i'xd3 2 1 .'iVxe5+ he cannot take on g6 on account of the fork on 27.l:te2 'fi'c4 28.'ifg5 .l:!h8 29 . .l:!f2 ll'lxe4 f4. But 2 1 . . . 'it>ga does not solve Black's 30.ll'lxe4 l:txf2 31 .'ifxe5+ <t>h7 32 .'i'e7+ problems either, as can be seen from 'it>h6 33.'iVg5+ g7 34.'iVe5+ 'it>h7 35.'ii'e 7+ 22.'ife6+ 'iii> h 8 23.ll'lf4 'ii'd 6 24.g7+ @xg7 <t>h6 36.'ikg5+ %-% 25.llad 1 'iWxd 1 (25 . . . 'ilfxe6 is no better: 1 6 fS 1 7.f3 26.ll'lxe6+ <itf6 27.l:lxd7 Wxe6 2a.:xh7) ..• U nfortunately the captu re on f5 is impossi 26.ll'lh5+ 'iii>f8 27. 'fi'f6+ Wg8 2a . .:.xd 1 llxd 1 + ble, since after 1 7.exf5 'iVxd5 1 8 .f3 c4 29.Wf2 l::td 7 30.'ifg5+ @fa 31 .'ii' h 6+ <t>e7 Wh ite loses a piece. 32 .'iff6+ @ea 33.'iie 6+ <t>da 34.ll'lf6. (see n ext diag ra m ) 1 9.i.c2 gxf5 1 7 ... .l:tf7? 1 9 . . . 'ilfxd5?! is met by 20. 'ii'g 5 ii'c5+ In retrospect a bad error in calculation by 21 . .:.f2 'ii'e7 22.'ii'g 3 l:r.f6 23.f4 with an the French player. Black should instead advantage for White. shut up shop with 1 7 . . . c4 1 8 .i.c2 f4, for 20.litad1 f4?! 21 .g3! Wijk aan Zee ttJ 1 63 d5-d6, they are not actually lightened . But the text move accelerates his downfal l . 21 Vi'd6?! ..• After this Nakamu ra gets a strong attack. Cou ntering by 21 . . . �h8 22. gxf4 1i'h3 27.lt:Je6+! 23.�h 1 l:.g8 24.lt:Jg 1 'i!Vh5 25.fxes 'ifxe5 The knight opens the way for the long offered better chances of fishing in trou range pieces. bled waters, especially as after 26.'ifd4 27 .i.xe6 28.dxe6 "ilfxe6 ..• Vixd4 27. l:txd4 there is the move 27 . . . .1'.a6, Things look j ust as sad for Black after intending to move the knight away from its 28 . . . l:.xe6 29 . .1'.dS .l:.d6 30.:g8+ �xg8 off-side position via b7. White would have a 31 ..i.xf7+ �xf7 32 .Vi'xd6. very good ending after 2 1 . . . .l:.g8 22. gxf4 29 ..i.dS Vi'h3 30 . .i.xf7 Vi'xf3+ 31 . .l:.g2 �h8+ 23.�h 1 'ii h 3 24.l:r.f2 "ilfh4 25.'Yie3! �xf7 32.'i!Vd7+ �6 33.'i!Vg7+ exf4 26.Vi'd4+ Vi'f6 27.llg2 . Black resigned. 22.gxf4 exf4 23.�h 1 ! "I'm happy to be retied for first again", "Nakam u ra has outplayed his opponent: Nakamura said when asked how he rated the g-fi le is open, the bishop is aiming at his chances. "There are sti ll th ree rounds to h7, and the knight and queen can invade the go and I am taking it one game at a time. black position via d4. In contrast, Black's But I th ink I 've got good chances if I keep minor pieces are wasting away and the f4- playing the way I did today." pawn is weak", according to Dirk Poldauf, In fact after this 1 o•h round the ever who annotated for SCHACH (3/201 1 , p.8 combative American has alongside him ff.) th ree of Nakamu ra's six wins (against only Viswanathan Anand , who effortessly G rischu k and Vachier-Lag rave, as well as defeated Alexei Shi rov. Lurking behind this the one from round 1 1 against Ian Nepom duo, now on seven points, are Aronian and niachtchi), in order to analyse the American's Kramnik each with 6¥2. Magnus Carlsen, style of play. on the other hand , has to say goodbye to 23 ... l:Ie8?! 24.l:.g 1 + �f8 25 . .1'.e4 .i.c8 his title defence, since he went down to Ian 26.lt:Jd4 °ii'f6 Nepomniachtchi i n a high-class game. And It is obvious that Black is in great difficu lties the latter will be Hikaru's next opponent - and after 26 . . . J:tee7 27.lt:JbS, followed by with White . 1 64 <;t> The Ga m bler "When I approach the playing room and am still two rooms away, I almost get cramps as soon as I can hear the clinking of money being thrown on the table. . . " Fyodor M . Dostoevsky I narrator is describing not the imminent t is not difficult to recognise that here the a 24-hour bar with free beer for alcoholics", wrote Roland Schmaltz in his interesting thrill of a chess tournament hal l , but rather article "What you always wanted to know, the magic attraction of a roulette table i n a but never dared to ask" about playing casino, which he knew so wel l . I n 1 865 he chess on the i nternet. 4 lost his travel money at roulette i n the This man knows what he is talking about. casino in Wiesbaden . A year later, in only In any case, under his handle of "Hawkeye", 26 days, Fyodor M. Dostoevsky trans he has fou r times become u nofficial world formed the experience of his own addiction bullet champion 5 and is a legend on the to gambling i nto the novel T he Gambler. net. Without him H i karu Nakamu ra would Of cou rse, chess is not a game of have missed out on a decisive impetus to chance; it is not luck which decides suc his motivation, as he admitted at the age of cess, rather the result is decisively influ 1 8 in an interview during the chess festival enced by our abil ity. But which of you has in Biel in 2005: "In the meanwh ile I have never experienced that almost eerie si been almost exclusively playing bullet lence during a blitz tou rnament, which is chess. And doing so fi rst of all to prove that distu rbed only by the clicks when the clocks I am better than you r Hawkeye , in fact are pressed or from time to time by the exclusively for that reason." 6 noisy placing of pieces on the boards? But As for the online activities of Roland no sooner has the last round finished, than Schmaltz, over the years this professional this fascination loses its magic again . It is computer specialist, who started by study as though a light switch has been tu rned on ing economics in Mannhei m , has played in the darkness . . . around 1 00,000 games on various chess And yet the potential for addiction cannot servers. "I let my studies drop on account of be denied. "For chess players, chess internet chess. I am simply too lazy to get servers can soon become the equivalent of down to th ings properly and at that point I 4 SCHACH 212004, pp.44-5 1 . s All the title matches were played under the knockout format over 1 0 games with one minute per player, and the winner in the final had to score more than 1 O points. Schmaltz, who has been a grandmaster in over the board chess since 2001 , won four times in succession: 1 998, 1 999, 2000 and 2001 . s See SCHACH 9/2005, pp.66/67. The Gambler llJ 1 65 became a victim of the highly addictive states that he grew up with blitz and rapid natu re of internet chess." 7 chess and also tal ks about his love for One has to be pretty strong to withstand bul let chess. Since in classical chess he the contin ual temptation to play, which is always tries to find the best move, whereas constantly kept up by the ever-present one can no longer afford this luxury in a online availability 24 hours a day. Of course rapid game, he may have a problem. And one-minute bullet chess can be played on so, i n view of the ambition which H i karu has proper boards, but all the cunning tricks to win every possible game, internet chess which become possible on the i nternet i n is i ncreasingly becoming simply an amuse t h e hectic fight against time, where tenths ment for h i m . of a second are important, such as "pre This evaluation is also shared b y Martin moves" (moving before your opponent has Fischer, who is the main tournament replied) are then out of the q uestion. The d i rector and principal arbiter on the thrill which you knowi ngly seek is al most playchess server: "The main use of bullet is completely missing. In extreme time pres that, when you fancy it, it is fun. And after all sure, real chaos is u navoidable, as the that is the reason why we play chess. I think pieces are moved on the board . The bits of that it is u n l i kely to have a positive effect on wood often unintentionally never reach playing strength outside of bullet chess thei r i ntended sq uares and it is not unusual itself. Bullet is superficial chess, the con for i llegal moves to slip in as wel l . tinuous stress liberates adrenali n and It is understandable that prominent chess certainly leads to potential addiction. At the players, i n spite of thei r frequently warli ke same time this feeling has an i nfluence on user names - Nakamu ra is registered the capacity for thi n king and the suscepti u nder "Smallville" on the I nternet Chess bility to the charm of solving chess prob Club (/CC)8 and under "Star Wars" on the lems. Any effects on pattern recogn ition, playchess.com server9 - cannot forever which is scarcely a factor on account of the enjoy the desired advantage of anonymity. extremely short reaction times, are cer Thus H i karu alias Smallville is also duly tainly secondary. Bul let is fun if you l i ke it, mentioned in the book published in English no more than that. If you want to improve , by Roland Schmaltz i n 2004 The Complete you would be better spending the two Chess Server Guide: "Al ready has a killer minutes that a bullet game lasts on solving chess reputation at the age of 1 5 . " 1 0 a combi nation", he explained in answer to I n t h e interview for t h i s book Nakamu ra our question. 1 I nterview on http://de.pokerstrategy.com on 2 1 .2.2009. a The website of the American chess server can be found at www.chessclub.com . An actual case of addiction on the ICC, which has existed since 1 995, is an anonymous player with the pseudonym "A6648", who since 1 996 has completed the incredible number of more than 558,000 games, of which 240,000 in bullet chess alone. 9 On the ChessBase server (Hamburg) www. playchess.com (German name schach.de), which went online in October 200 1 there are more than 220,000 registered members. So far over 50,000 tournaments and also 600 million games have been played. (As of June 20 1 2) 1 0 Chapter 9 Famous People Who Play Chess on the Internet, p . 1 1 0. .24 1 s See exclusive interview. Berlin 1 991 . 1 4 You already execute a move on you r own board before you r opponent's answer has Nakam u ra. plays! So you should do without pre One of his favou rite clients was the moves.t g7." 1 1 "Pre-moving is in any case an advantage For him a one-minute bullet game i s actu when you have an advantage in material . p 1 3 5 . against There is a striking example of this which whom he scored 1 31 poi nts out of 1 46. this is what caused Roland Gashimov "is someth ing l i ke a god in the Schmaltz to come up with his original /CC' 1 5 .i. actually happened i n correspondence Agai nst Hawkeye Roland Schmaltz the chess. h6! . "Pre-moves have to follow you r insti nct or you r intui of cou rse contribute in a high degree to the tion . which are also possible in a even a special chapter on this subject "Pre game against a normal chess program. who according to Vugar arrived.. "In the very last seconds of are enough to del iver mate". 52-54-STOP . who has gained any 2 n d move. was the a bul let game it tends to be more important answer to our q uestion to Hamburg grand to make you r move in tenths of a second master N iclas Huschenbeth . there is "pre-moves". p. motifs and 3 rd move.txg7 i nternet player. . These are the so-called with Fl DE Master Bruce Harper.50 13 Fritz Baumbach .i. with a suggested score is 1 6%/27.Fernschach . p. I n this connection there remains another I n his book Bullet Chess . of all things." 12 the Fritz server. had the following comment and added for his part an i ronic possible about its useful ness: "Bullet is simply the follow-up.Tips und Tricks vom Weltmeister. moving Blu nders" . On playchess he has played a total the move you enter in advance does not of 1 869 bul let games. pp." French grandmaster Anthony Wirig . . 1 6 And that is something he has done speed . i. in which the regular rules down via pre-moves and even five seconds are respected.56-68 1 s See SCHACH 7/2008. ." 1 3 theory combined with rapid mouse skills. written by Nakamura in conjunction more explanation. .1 66 � Chapter 7 And Roland Schmaltz. winning 1 532 . ally the blindman's buff version of chess or because you can then simply run the game a mouse-race.d4 Black played On the ICC. . . but on the other hand they are often on both servers with great success over the the cause of horrible blunders.xh8. where between 1 61h October 1 . especially in the opening. g7 3 . who plays on rather than to find a good move.One Minute to featu re of bullet chess which requ i res some Mate. follow-up move: after 1 .58 14 See Chapter 5. g6 and offered the additional move: "On 200 1 and 1 3th May 20 1 1 (almost a decade 11 See Footnote 4 12 SCHACH 2/2004. . losing always fit in with the one you r opponent 262 and d rawing 75." White did not miss so m uch experience as a world class out on this opportunity: 2 . which this time worked: on any rattling off of learned structures. 2 . believes that in bul let chess you analogy with blindman's buff. p. Because years. 4. h3 . 5 . it's difficult to understand 1 2 . whose Sei rawan) . "It U nfortunately we cannot publish any rather demands the capacity to react to bul let games by H i karu Nakamu ra ("The changes at lightning speed and to be able Smallville phenomenon escapes normal to solve problems i n fractions of a second". Certai nly the 5. human u nderstanding". However ratings on different servers authors Nakamura & Harper reply u nani are not really di rectly comparable. Naka ute . R.txt2+ 1 4. e8 9. Har-Zwi 7 . " So that you can form that from the players alone.t b6 7. Nakam ura/B. Winning on time is as honorable as 3074) . 'ii'f1 g5+ 1 9 . T h e i n itiative is crucial i n bullet. If you're win n i n g .Bul let game. don't pick a fight. @ g4 lt:J d4 1 6.245-246. winning on the board . whose handle in the I nternet Chess The authors set out "Eight golden bul let Club is "I ndiana-Jones". Ti me is money. ll:lg3 why some people get upset about it.l:r. . And the two of them even have their 1 . ing: 3402 on playchess and 31 68 on the i.f4 exf4 1 0. @ xh4 . the duo of ICC. . @ h2 most profound is: "Since bul let is sup . Harper. in each mously: "Of cou rse not!" But it is also more case the rating protocols are very different. and in this "U nfortunately I was sitting on the wrong case we would not consider it right to get side of the board . The Gambler ctJ 1 67 of active play) . When the position is balanced . Vienna Game [C26] 8 . 6.0-0 0-0 8. as he says.2001 q u ickly and consistently. one must have the consent really must show you . though. 1a Ibid. Have fun.246 . [ . If you're losing. @f4 l:t xg3 Don't get mad when you lose . 03. Post-mortems are for losers ." 1 8 mura's highest Elo ratings are also interest As to the question they ask themselves. Mistakes are 1 8. the world u nder. because there is a legal prob "Immortal game" (in his own words) we lem. p. which are too interesting for us to ratings were 32 1 5 i n bl itz and 2947 in bu llet deprive you of them: 1 7 chess (compared to Hawkeye's 3359 and 1 . Bullet Chess . ll:l c3 es 3. play ICC . tant success of the Israeli grandmaster was 3. Chapter 20. according to Vasser according to Roland Schmaltz. Schmaltz . he played a total of 4029 part of bul let . whether bul let is still chess. e4 ll:l c6 2.One Minute to Mate. than m ucking about or time-wasting. @fS ll:lg7+ 11 H.fS l:t g6+ 1 7 . @ g3 ll:lf2 posed to be fu n . . Also in the an objective judgement we have deliber book of his which we mentioned even ately added no annotations! The German's usernames are not given and the players opponent was the I sraeli GM Ronen Har are simply referred to by Elo ratings. fight on ! R.e. ] l:te6 1 5 .1 6 junior championsh ip title in 1 992 in Duisburg (ahead of Peter 4 .be glad you can contrib bul let games (+3093 = 1 53 -783).07.fxg6 ll:l e6+ 20. Zwi .t cs 4 . . l:txf2 'ii' h4+ 1 3. H is highest ICC rules" . of at least one of the players. You see.g3 .gxf4 lt:J g4+ 1 1 . lt:Jge2 d6 6 . Svidler and Daniel Fridman).t g2 ll:lf6 thoughts about etiq uette. . pp. I n over-the-board chess the most impor 2 . i. e8# Vasser Sei rawan of 39¥2-26¥2. he led Alexander G rischu k 2 1 . b6 a n d he h a d a clear lead over his compatriot 24. @ e7 l:te6+ 23. It was only As well as his passion for bullet chess. i n July 2005 in an i nterview H i karu attacking player that he is. tou rnament. MEGAYARICK (GM Jaroslav Sinchenko) . blitz includes all games with 1 80 seconds or more (3+ 1 O) and ends at 900 seconds for the whole game. It is known that he made the blitz chess at the very highest level can be acquaintance of his second Kris Littlejohn seen from the game chosen and annotated on the ICC server. lost cow. 80. YaakovN (Yaacov played 5906 games. Game 1 0. 67 21 "On the ChessBase server. Teimour Radjabov and Magnus Carlsen As to the question whether frequent blitz may be remarkable.chessclub.306 rated games championship in November 2009 in Mos d u ring his membership he won 7503. it must have been ville (Nakamura) had a 3Y2-1 Y2 victory over attractive to play bl itz not only in the ICC. p. Adams the score was 1 4Y2-7Y2 . who on the ICC reached a the upper hand against Garry Kasparov highest rating of 34 1 9 (7 th May 201 O) had (time l i m it 4 m i n utes + 1 second or 5 mi just played 43. p.1 68 � Chapter 7 2 1 . according to main tournament director Martin Fischer. against Magnus Carlsen that he d rew the Nakamu ra has of cou rse also demon short straw by the close margin 1 0.1 7. Out of 1 5. played in March 201 0 online in but generally speaking bad for your chess. 22 See Prologue. however: "Bullet or bl itz the 1 st place in the 1 1 th Dos Hermanas blitz games are good for understanding tactics.com/aktivities/doshermanas201 O/ . see on the internet: http://www. 2 1 Among them he had Norowitz). 19 See Zwischenzuge "Hikaru Nakamu ra's second".1 0¥2 . lll d 5 l:. 1 9 Here too H i karu's level by Lubosh Kavalek in the prologue. that is 1 5 minutes".1 1 . 30/3 1 2a For the report and games. but it is hardly the play to this extent is not harmfu l to playing measure of things for the uncompromising strength . More like it was frankly admitted . @ d1 when the tactician n utes + 1 second) by 1 3-1 0. pp. ian. Between 1 st Our example comes from the round involv April 2003 and 1 3th May 20 1 O Nakamura ing the last 32 players. 23 I n the final Small by the then 1 7-year-old. @ d8 . strated his extraordinary class in blitz on The fact that Carlsen and he play even the internet. @f6 l:txg6+ 22. namely is gigantic: his highest Elo rating was an the final of the BNbank blitz Chess in Oslo incredible 3750 points on 1 4 th October 200922 • However. 20 SCHACH 9/2005."20 the I nternet Chess Club with a thinking time And despite the reservations expressed of 3 minutes per game. because 4th place behind Levon Aron 6320 and had 1 483 d raws. Against Michael started his i rresistible mating attack. but also on the Fritz server. Nakamura will not have 2009 (the comparable val ue on playchess such good memories of his only F I D E world was 3420) . against Shakh (see n ext diagram) riyar Mamedyarov by as much as 28¥2. because at the end of the blitz.e5 Wc3 36. Aronian .. hxg5 . 33 �?! . Kramnik. White mates: 37. . • 3 5 .i. . 1 st Game. Ponomariov The organisers of the 7t h Tai Memorial in Playoff. 'ii'g8+ � b7 5 1 . g6 allowed into the attack: 37 .'ii'g 3 g4? ! 35 .1'.l:. 'ii'g 3 'iic3 (34 . l:tg7 36. San S e basti a n 2009 Moscow had a very special idea for the d rawing of lots: on the previous evening the 1 0 participants played a blitz tou rnament. . It is wonderful to see how in the fi rst of two play-off games with White he opens the floodgates . . 'ii'f4 also loses. . The final classification on that 7th June 20 1 2 would then decide the starting num bers. . . . 1 9. 'iig 4+ is a draw.i. 'ii' b 8+ 1'.3.• and the white tsunami can no longer be The rook does a l ittle dance before being stopped) 35.'ikf6+ �ea 48. 'ii'f7+ �ca 50. Radjabov and Nakamu ra the top 5 i n the l ive-ratings list.exf6 .xh4 35. xf6 37. . 'ii'g4+ � e3 40 . h5+ � f8 34. The Gambler liJ 1 69 YaacovN [Y.201 O lutely on the ball with his tactics against Ruslan Ponomariov. l:t h8 34. 'ii'g 2 . . h5+ l:t g6 35 .f5+ � xe4 39. � e7? 47. 38 . �c 1 l:ta1 +. . .i. 43 l:!gS! .g5! hxg5 33. 32. 'ii'xe5 � g7 35. c8 38 . l:txf6.'ike3 . But once more Moscow would not turn out to be a specially happy h u nting ground for him. . because blitz happens to be one of his passions. Nakamura .t a4 with a clear advantage.f6+ � d7 48. fxe5? 34 .R.c6+ Wxc6 39.l:. . �xe6.1'.d3.'ii'g &+ �d7 36 . ICC. l:tg 1 � f8 37.i. xe4 36. .and Black is left totally exposed . 33 .. 'ii'g 1 l:lxa2 If 36 . 'ii'xg8+ � e5 52. Norowitz] .'ii' g 6+ �f8! 34.l:. with two defeats at the hands of the .'ii'xe5 Very spectacular. . 'ii'g3 also wins.'ii'g 3 l:tee2 46. 47. . However. � b 1 ll hb2+ 53. . 44. In the second play off game Nakamura was also victorious. . .i. Black resigned. Nakamura] H i karu also showed h imself to be abso 1 1 th Dos Hermanas blitz toum . For H i karu this event m ust have meant more than q uiet satisfaction .xg4 Wc5? ! 46 .xe6+ H i karu's king can now head for safety: 49..i. . Wh ite resigned.Smallville [H. l:td7 f5 39 . H. . with Carlsen .• The alternatives are 33 . c6+ �f7 38.l:.xg6 mate and 33 . .i.i.e8! 45. " 25 From traditional rapid Cup in Cap d' Agde i n then on the American had sufficiently France in November. He started classical chess Nakamu ra finished only with two defeats at the hands of Sergei eighth . who was playing chess Buenos Aires. But three games in succession . Aronian - tions.tiJf3 g6 3. things did not go sch uk (winner of the premiere in 2006) and so smoothly for Nakamu ra with his two Levon Aronian (20 1 0). his score of 5/9 was games in the preliminary round in the form only good enough for 61h place. After all. . form you r own opinion of the player. the techniques and the tactical pro cedu res as well as the whole realm of the endgame remain more or less unchanged. He had a Aronian. In the final on of cou rse that was not i n Chess960. in which he destroyed his colleague 2009. because it is no longer of decisive importance how wel l one is pre pared for one's opponent nor how many variations one has learned by rote. even though. In any case. Nakamura L . according to Dirk more importance to the creativity and talent Poldauf.tiJc3 c6? ! . 26 But. was introduced to the world Chess960.07. which was fi rst developed by encou nters . develop comprehensive new opening theory for the 960 different possible starting posi H .e4 e5 2. Mainz 30. where he defeated warmed up and on the next day he won Vassily lvanch u k in the final by 1 Y2-Y2 . Movsesian and title defender Levon Regarding Levon Aronian. with the exception for Chess960 rapid chess world champion changes involving castl ing. i n an exclusive interview for this book. The i ntention was to accord from a different un iverse". "Aronian simply could not han for the fi rst time on 1 9 th June 1 996 in dle this Nakam u ra. This 30 1h July he then won the fi rst th ree chess variant. finals. Nakamu ra had very positive comments on Chess960 and he sees this chess variant as perhaps being the futu re of the game. the usual rules ship.and became world champion in later modified . Nakamu ra had previously proved in the national team Varuzhan Akobian by that he is an excellent rapid player at the 1 7¥2-1 Y2 in front of 250 spectators. As IM Dirk Poldauf reported for really g reat moment against the Armenian SCHACH "Smallville spent a part of the in the final of the Chess960 rapid world night in a bl itz match on the I nternet Chess championship in Mainz at the end of J uly Club. 24 At the J'h and last but one world champi onships. most positional funda mentals. and in the of chess propagated by Bobby.2009 were retained? Although this is not exclu Starting position 666 ded in the long term . which from 200 1 to 2009 have always been one of the high points of the 1 . who could possibly because here is the decisive third game .the fou rth game ended in a world champion Robert James Fischer and draw .1 70 � Chapter 7 F I D E bl itz world champion Alexander G ri Chess Classic i n Mainz. . 1 5. .g3 d6 5. . It must be pointed out that the starting position for the pieces on the back rank .l:.the pawns remain in the usual position . .fS ••• 1 4. . 9.!iJ d5 1 4 ...!lJc5 1 1 .d3 on h8 is really remarkable.and it really h u rts.. (see n ext diagram) 1 2 .t e3 lLi h6 1 1 .eS ..!iJgS! • 1 3 . .!iJ b8 and the .. 2 s See SCHACH 9/2009.eS .exfS .!iJxd4 1 5.•• easily get in d2-cl4 and Black has problems After 1 2 .!iJa6 7. i. .txd4 .t xf6 1 6. 1 3 .0-0-0. 9 .d4 . .th6+ a .t xf5 1 3. p. 'fWxdS± the position of the black queen 4.dxe5 ! ? was somewhat more resolute: 9 .fS 1 2 .is drawn by lot immediately before each round.!iJxdS cxd5 with the .0-0-0 rt.a3 .d2 lLif6? • After this the black position looks a bit toothless..tg7 9 . h3 f5 1 2 . . .t ea..21 ...e.l:. . 1 1 . after 1 3.20-21 2 s Ibid. 0-0 1 3. White can . ...te3 . pp.c? creates more counterplay. liJge4 lLif5 24 See page 1 35.exf6 ..l:t.0-0-0 castling the king and rook always end up as they would in normal chess. The Gambler ltJ 1 71 Position after 11 tiJf6? This looks slightly artificial. One of the possible 960 positions is the normal starting position (position 5 1 8) .. dxe5 1 o .td2 . although after 1 2 !i:.. here the white .td7 6 . As Dirk Poldauf says: "In Chess960. a 1 simply leaps over the king which is al ready on c1 " . . 0-0-0? Hikaru creates an Achilles' heel for Aronian This Fischer castl ing leads to disaster. lLi e6 was the lesser evi l. exd4 1 0 . dxe5 1 8 . 'ii'xcB in the middle of the board .ta&!! which always represented a bridge between A powerful thunderclap which forces its way chess for the masses and for the elite. Nakamura was in fact due to defend his Chess960 World Championship title28 in 201 1 i n Mainz. of 2 1 . the latter organisation raised no objections to the match in Mainz which was billed as the World Championship. because the economic conditions were not there to continue a tournament of this enormous size. . .l:. . 'ifxc6 mate. ltJ b5+ � bB 25. 'ifb6+ � cB 26. 'ii'b6 . . ltJ xd6+? can be 20 . eats its way through to the black king.ltJxe6 . 'ii'bB+ .. Nakamura hammered out this blow on achieved his best rating on 7th July 201 O with the board faster than the operating pro 2480. . ibid.t xd5 28 .. .txe6 1 7. 'ii'g 1 bxa6 2 1 .t c5+ � ea 28. no desi re to be mated as follows: 22 . .t ea 29.txa7 ltJf6?! (22 . But unfortunately the optimism of tournament di rector Hans-Walter Schmitt regarding the future of this traditional tourna ment bu rst like a soap bubble. with only th ree 1 9 e4 . The rot rapidly mate. ltJ xd5 cxd5 ate player Nakamura. bxa6? is met by 20. 'ii'xc6+ � xa7 24. ltJxf6 'ii'xf6 1 8. .xd2 has a clear advantage. marked here: "According to information from In the I nternet Chess Club it can be seen the computer specialists among the organis· from Smallville's statistics that Hikaru ers. .!:.t b6+ � e7 26. p. since Black cannot bring defenders Since his "coronation" in Mainz the Ameri to the queenside quickly enough.f4 ltJe6 1 6." games . xd5+ is just as hopeless. � aB 1 7 . ltJd5 20. "Black falls apart .t d7 27 . and life really form a magical un ity. However. but beginning and an end even for that passion 1 9 .°ii'b6+ 1 4 ltJg4 1 5. 'ifc7+ The decisive undermining. . . ltJxd 1 1 4. with the total showing merely 82 grams could have shown it to him. ltJ d7 also does not save him on account parried by 1 9 . .t b6+ � e7 25 . . :xd5+ . of which he won 75 .!:.•• defeats and four draws.e5! bxa6 24.t b6+ � e7 29. 1 9.t xa7 also leads to a win. . ltJe4 'ii'e7 1 9.g4! White 20. l:lxd2+ ltJ d5 27. . Everything has a 1 9 . 'ii'b6 � d7 23 .'ii'g 1 ! . . 1 9 . 'ii'xc6+ � d8 25 . The 1 81h event in 201 1 did not take place. 'ii'c7 mate. 'ii'xc6+ � dB 24 . . xd6 0-0-0.. l:txd7 . . 21 Dirk Poldauf. ltJ xd5 mate) 23. for whom the game 22. . � cB 23. The can has never again taken part in an SCHACH reporter at the tou rnament re officially organised Chess960 competition . Black resigned."27 21 . It is quite understandable that Aronian had The immediate 1 7 .t c5+ � dB 26. .txb7+ �xb7 22.xd7 22. through.l:.1 72 � Chapter 7 1 7 . .xd 1 + 23. .h3 ••. ltJ xd6 20 .:Z. . .22 2a The title of "world champion" in Chess960 was never officially awarded by FIDE. Up till 7th May 201 2 the video had seen 1 46. lb 1 73 ZWISCH E N ]p zOGE l : 58 . another look at the clock while his opponent finds a new sitting posture. bishop on d7 and presses the clock. his mind to move . he takes the black pawn and immediately presses the clock.l'Llxb3 l'Llxd7 3. round 5 Taken from a video on You Tube 1 place and immediately re-immerses him self in the position . his hand goes mechanically under his chin and then falls back on to the table. looks less tense. a short glance at the clock which is running mercilessly. Akobian is leaning on his elbows . on which the eyes of plays with the captu red pieces. his right After roughly fou r seconds Akobian will hand then swoops down on Akobian's g make his fi rst move . His right hand front of the board . . I n the background one can hear Since Akobian's white bishop is not exactly the merciless ticking of the clocks and the on d7. his hands 1 . a raising of his eyebrows signals pure tension.xb3 2. Nakamu ra pushes it to its correct click when pieces are moved. Nakamu ra Both of them q uickly trot out these moves.l:!. On the linked video clock 32 seconds have 1 . Now he too has his arms folded in front of h i m . . His fingers claw together. He has apparently found his reply.�xd7 elapsed .558 hits.g3 folded in front of his mouth . but then he lets his right hand drop so as to continue to think. . . vulture descending on its prey. Finally. with Akobian 1 See http://www..youtube. his arms are folded in but now H i karu pauses. Like a both of them are completely concentrated . Nakamura plays blitz Dramatis personm: two chess players White: Varushan Akobian Black: H i karu Nakamu ra Location: Board 1 of the National Open Blitz Championship 2007.. after an Tshowi ng he players are sitting at the board eternity ( 1 7 seconds) Nakamura makes up the utmost concentration.com/watch?v=NZo80-p9qy4. suddenly a grimace crosses his face. .Now suddenly Nakamu ra practically and he gently moves it by a single sq uare. on the other hand. g 3 gs 1 s..'it>g2 lbes although h is passed pawn is sti ll only on d5.:as vagaries of the eq uipment. does not look 3 . vigorously.d6+ <j.. . 1 s. his 1 3. Then. Shortly after since there is no arbiter close by.lbd4 at his opponent but stares at the board .l:lc6 his mouth.lbe3 Wf7 •• pawn with his rook.H i karu wants to reply at once. as though fall over.'it>g2 h5 Akobian remains true to himself with his The black h-pawn has been pushed too provocatively uncertain placing of his pieces.. As though moved by magic.1 74 � 1 :58 Nakamu ra plays blitz using both hands.llc1 <j. he shoves his f left hand .. though he means to hypnotise him. . from his hand. 1 :05 .gxf4 llxf4 playing arm hovers over his rook on a2. steered by some ghostly agency. 1 4. fs 1 1 . but that the opponent. after which Nakamu ra presses pawn forward and demonstrates a self the clock a second time for safety's sake. We are in for some His opponent is not put off by this. especially sometimes d rops them too. and Nakamura the board is purely a side issue. since should I do?" is what he appears to be the black king briefly stumbles but does not thinking desperately. though that Akobian's left hand dives into the camp probably one would be unable to see things of captu red pieces next to Nakam u ra.f4 1 2. Akobian. it falls over and almost tumbles His rook is not clearly on c6. fxg3 4. his right calmly. It is straightened up with his not bother Nakamu ra.. crosses his hands so as to take the white f 5 Jlb2 6. Of cou rse the white king is not clearly on A common psychological trick. which he then juggles with i n his hands. 0:35 . .. Collateral damage on are obviously too l ight. one to take a piece and queen and he stares at his opponent as then quickly the left hand to press the clock. he too is havi ng to struggle with the same 1 0 . But that does off the board . You hear coming out of 9. . al lowed.:as h4+ 1 9. so as qu ickly as the two are movi ng and as to fish out in advance a white queen. Even if it hardly I n his haste Akobian sees his c6-rook d rop looks comprehensible to the spectators.."You This is common practice and is in fact also can't threaten me!" he may be thinking.. but whereupon Nakamu ra puts the black queen then he backs away from that...e7 1 o. The plastic pieces being played here . does not particularly bother Nakamu ra. the short encourage "fighting cocks" gives us the impression ment: "Let's go!" that they know what they are doi ng. H i karu's hand also reaches for a new since at last there is an opportunity to bring . confident will to win . acti ng. almost invol untarily as though The u nfalteri ng tempo of the play of the two for self-motivation. to i ntimidate the g2-sq uare and is touch ing h2. <j.hxg3 a4 5.lbc2 l:te4 8. because blitz chess . His demean down with a clicking sound on his left-hand our points to extreme tension : the elbow of side so as then to make his next move qu ite his left arm is folded on the table. es are staring intently at the board . hand is i n front of his mouth and his eyes 1 1 . "What Things become hectic at this point. and he places it safely on a6 serious and highly concentrated chess is at the second attempt.l:la1 l:lb4 7. :xa4 :ta up the starting position .sti ll at bl itz speed .d4 them as it were in a trance-like condition .lite4 �dS 23. After its climax . this hardly bothers the players. With one single Yet again a black rook moves across to f8 difference .l:.�g1 tt:Jd3 28.lt:Je1 + �g3 20. . 1 :58 Nakamura plays blitz ttJ 1 75 back to l ife the "sleeping kn ighr on d7.I:. Without any left hand must h u rry to his aid whi lst the reaction the pros start to collect the pieces.just one left before he can on d4 it starts to wobble th reateningly.after his final move Nakamu ra briefly Of cou rse the intruder is captu red by and unmistakeably points to the clock.�g1 �d4 25.d8 . He imme 24.xd8 1 :46 . it is al ready scratching at the door of d8! Perhaps such high-level bl itz chess puts 1 9. and if we look closely at the board However.tt:Je1 + �d2 31 .l:. which is a signal that both of them Obviously a success. right one is ready to hit the clock. again .d7 . in order . So the black king fal ls over before Then he pushes his d-pawn another safely reaching the dS-square. that the clock is pressed just as gently. since Akobian takes now have only a l ittle time left . so as not to let White start look on and wonder. anything. The f-rook is moved almost expres another world .l:.Nakamura is suddenly cal m personi so that they simply become immersed in fied .this time the white pieces are to stand by its man. as though completely nately we cannot make out exactly how astonished that Black stil l has a steed . and even square forward .l:r.u nfortu some time here.lt:Jg4 lt:Jd3 22. . promote.tt:Jc2 + �d3 rank without however replaci ng it with a 30.and we spectators can only sively to d4.to again set 21 . but that happens in a rather Akobian's time has run out .�g2 tt:Jt4+ diately moves his passed pawn to the back 27. It looks as though his right hand The time-trouble battle i rresistibly reaches is al most screwi ng it into the board .lt:Jg2 tt:Jg4 32.lild7+ �e2 new queen.tt:Je3 tt:Jxf2 29. 33. Things are hectic once on Nakamura's side.e7 lt:Jh3+ 26.it's all over! I n uncontrolled manner and in any case his any case h i s position i s lost. . Naka's rook. 22.e3 tt:Jt4+ Akobian's time is ru nning agai n . 1 : 1 9 . . .e7+ �f3 34. much. 1 2 champion (200 1 .36) In any case.1 76 w Chapter 9 Wijk aan Zee Friday. since it is represented by Magnus Carlsen. . Gyula Sax. This success simultaneously secured him an invitation to the Dortmund Sparkassen Chess Meeting. literature-loving family in the town of Bryansk. . we immediately think of 1 990.with his Elo rating of 2733 he is in 1 5 th place . You will Karpov. in March 201 O at the age of 1 9 in Rijeka in Slovenia he added the title of European champion to all this. but the chess fans were keen to see what would be the result of the Russia-USA duel. . Finally. Ian. he did not gain the grandmaster title until the age of 1 7. which at that time was the world's biggest Open . Zoltan Ribli. who grew up in an intellectual. th ree of the strongest of the 'wild bunch'. and in December 20 1 O the boy from Bryansk became champion of Russia for the fi rst time after a play-off agai nst Sergey Karjakin. this Friday nobody in the Dorpshuis de Moriaan was interested in the fact that Nepomniachtchi had previously blundered away a rook agai nst Aronian . which is almost 400 kilometres from Moscow. Anatoly here is always another series of g randmasters born i n a "golden year''. Despite this. gained numerous titles in junior chess: European under. and in particular whether H i karu Nakamura could manage to continue his mid-tournament spurt at the top of the table . "Piercing ideas followed by gross blunders" . Although at present the 20- year-old Russian is not in the top ten of the F I D E world rating list .U lf Andersson . Eugenio Torre and Rafael Vaganian . p. Round 1 1 T certainly remember immed iately the legendary year of 1 95 1 . Shortly after that he won the C hess Classic i n Mainz. in which he shared second place . 2002) as wel l as world under. 29th January 201 1 .the continuous improvement in his performances hints that there is still a lot to come.what great names who have left their mark on the history of chess! Looking at the cu rrent top-class field in Wijk aan Zee . It comes as no su rprise that the good and bad are so intermingled in a young player.1 2 champion (2002) and u nder.1 0 (2000) and under. Maxime Vachier-Lagrave and Ian Nepomniachtchi. Jan Timman.1 6 run ner-up (2005) . "What he will have left us with after this tournament are a few bold ideas and an impeccably played victory over Carlsen . . " (SCHA CH 3/20 1 1 . was how Dirk Poldauf aptly described the appearance of Ian among the big boys. and he demonstrated his prowess a year later in February 2008 with his victory in the Aeroflot Open in Moscow. There i s also a bit of background to this game: almost th ree years earlier (28th February . would Ian more 68 to his game against Adams in Tilburg frequently try out closed openings. Nepomn iachtchi H.h4 h5 5. Only later. . g5 'ii'b6 1 0. But this time .e4 c6 2. and secondly it ian and Karpov. it was not surprising that Nakamu ra turned to another open ing. In the 1 880s Simon unexpected bishop move: "A fantastic idea. Wijk aan Zee CiJ 1 11 ."we can do it!".i. ltJge4 (here Adams played 1 2 .a3 'ii'b3 Amsterdam by Peter Svidler. Petros from e2 with his bishop. . gets in the way of the ki ng's rook being When you take into account the fact that l ifted over to the queenside via h3. c1 ) . with just a in the meantime H i karu & Kris had done single d raw.i.. shall reap the whirlwind After his disaster with the Najdorf Sicil ian in round 8 against Carlsen. Dirk Poldauf. vation in Karpov's annotations in Informant in the cou rse of the year.ltJge2 GAME 40 I. 7 .i. Because the latter is badly development and has occupied an impor placed there for at least two reasons: fi rstly..l:!.ltJc3 ltJe7 7. the "defence of world any case enthusiastic and thus in SCHACH champions"! This plan was fi rst mentioned he made a really euphoric comment on this in the 1 5th centu ry. this game. Winawer occasionally employed it. cially since N epomniachtchi certainly knew which are to be found in the Big Database. . things would be different in normal chess . he employed the last rest day in taking a good look at the Russian's open ing repertoi re . c6 . Experience" match in 9 . p. 'ikd2 'ii'b4 1 1 . at fi rst sight 1 2 . . and Nakamu ra won 1 4 and lost 5. 78 . I n his preparations for this game with Kris Littlejohn . dxc4 8. 1 996 (p. The Caro-Kann Defence did their homework thoroughly. Since Black sacrifices a tempo to entice the white then the defence has enjoyed a majestic f-pawn to f3.i. . But chess is all about work. Wijk aan Zee 201 1 Caro-Kann Defence [8 12] They that sow the wind. . was an eye-witness to the event. 1 .e4 his choice this time was 1 . game 1 07).1 st March 2007) the two opponents his choice of opening appears risky. .and of 7 . tant place in the repertoires of world White can no longer attack the h5-pawn champions Capablanca. . Of the 20 games. g6 "Rising Stars vs.d4 d5 3. was in the Caro-Kann. espe played a bl itz match. Nakamura - Tata Steel Chess (A) . 1 3) the Caro-Kann in August 201 0 at the On the other hand .f5 4. once more not appear i n any of them . Botvinnik.g4 ! ? N cou rse betting on the fact that he would as Nakamu ra probably found t h i s strong inno usual open with the king's pawn. So." Hikaru was systematically ripped apart in ( SCHACH 3/20 1 1 . . who After 1 . ltJ g3 .e5 .c4 e6 6. Am ant for him. xd3 1 9.lt:Je2 ! ? 2 1 . lt:J xc1 after 1 8 .f5 9.t xe4 1 7.i. ..i. "Certainly not a game I plan on talking People may say I'm an agg ressive player about or ever mentioning again. once again 1 6 . apparently. .:!.g6 1 0 . Black would do better to play . it is 1 6 . . lt:Je2 ..f5 White has no problems. p. was less pleasant for Black. slightly gives Black a powerful initiative. . . sow the wind. . fxes 1 8. 1 2 .:I." (New In but it was clear ' Nepa' was the one out for a Chess 2/201 1 .t e7 the most he can hope for is a d raw. . d3 judgement. 'ii'xg7 Q-0-0-+ also in each case he has a defin ite.e4? Nepomniachtchi goes for broke a n d sacri "Right idea .i.a3? ! White has been fol lowing Svidler so far. 'i!i'xd2+ 1 9 . f6 1 3 . .. lt:J g3? ! . lt:Jd5 1 3 . h7 24. rejected the exchange of q ueens. 1 6.i. lt:Jb6 1 7. h3! . .exf6 gxf6 1 8 . 1 6 .d4? ! Objectively this is going too far. They that dangerous i nitiative for the pawn. .g4? ! tion of rapidly building up the pressure. shall reap the whirlwind . 22 . since after 1 9. . .lt:JxdS W'xd5! does not know the mean ing of fear! He This is clearly more aggressive than 1 5 . Logical but not good . .i. 0-0-0 0-0-0 1 8..fxe5 ( 1 6 .1 78 \t> Chapter 9 1 2 .i... since 1 7.wrong order''.:!. xc1 + 1 8. In any case. . . ca 1 7 . .fxg4 .cxd5 lt:Jxd5 1 5.t e7 23. sterdam 201 0.i. .:!.:I.i.dxeS 'ili'xe5! 1 9 . e. .'ili'd2 lt:Jd7 1 2.e3 'ili'b3! 1 7 . lt:J e4 i s more in line with White's i nten 19 . . was Nakamu ra's fices a pawn .lt:Jg3 . lt:Jxc3 . . Typical Naka! He 1 4.i. which leads to approximate equality. but the text move was also a su rprise for Naka mura. .. ifxg7 .hxg4 22.f3 . dB 20.:!.c1 ? ! according to Dirk Poldauf. c1 l:.. because cxd5 1 6.. xd2 0-0-0 20. 'it>f2 . .fxe4 'ii'xe4 1 8 .'ii'g S . Nakamu ra's d ry comment on this was: That is how Hikaru sees things too: "That was not enough for him. 1 9) kill today.. lt:Jf4 'ii'c2 . . 'ili'c2 and 2 1 . 0-0) 1 7. W' gB+ 'it> d7 . . 'ili'xd3 0-0-0 is equally unpleas. but from practical considerations the wh ite choice is understandable.i.'�c7 20. since 'ili' g4 1 9. 'ii'c3 'iVxc3 2 1 .i." 8.t e7 22...f5 21 . Svidler-Nakamura. . d3 al ready hard to know what to do.i. .g5 'iVb6 1 1 . ..g. :f6 lLid3+ only be rather u nclear.. ..i. i. e2 changes nothing on accou nt of in New In Chess on the text move.:xh4 .i. xh7 3 1 . g4 30. f5 29 .:xd4 34. � e?. xb6 l:. xc? � xc7 28.'ii'e s 23.gS "A serious mistake".d7+ �d8 41 .�e3 es 38Jlf7 .i.i. i. Wijk aan Zee ltJ 1 79 25.. 2s. 'ii'g5! is preferable. d6 29 . xb6 . .:xt3 the queens White is clearly able to develop If 33.. g2 i.xg8 26.lLig3 lLJd7 28. . 'ii'e3 i. i. i. more pressure and the position would then 33 .l:!.h3 lLies 3S .:d3+ Black is clearly better. e4.g4 30. 24. xg3+ 32. f3 29. 2S . . 'ii'x g7? 29.. xh2 offered better practical chances. i.fS lLixg& lose an important pawn after the exchange 42.:h7! As Nakamu ra points out in his annotations for New in Chess.g& . because White will 39. 28 . because thanks to i.d4? Presumably a tactical oversight..h5 i. i.h3 i. :c4 and 28.g5 i. of the opinion that 24. according to Nakamu ra.. Now i n any case 36. i.c? i. .f4 i. .g6 : hs 3 1 . xh4+! or 25. . d5 25. . . . i. . g6 29.xh4+ 27.:xg3 40. i. i. xc7 i. g2. .�e2 lLif4+ 37. i. 24 . commented Nakamu ra 29. xb6? i.. then 33 .:h& 31 .f3 33 . l::t x h7 i..g5 i.: h 1 i.. there is also a win here .l:.�e4 . xg5 (Nakamu ra).: h2 i.:c3 26. 'fixes 26.g7 :be! of q ueens..:xh2 33. xg3 .f3 ! "Everything q u ickly falls apart for Ian". g5 30.xeS i. i. Ian had not anticipated the next move .g7.:xh4 32 . i.e7 Things get much worse for White after 25.i. 'ii'g8+? � d7 26. He was 29 . Both 28.:xg8 27..i. David lonovich was so peak. The word Before the final two rou nds at the ''fear'' is not in his vocabulary.b4 b5 44.:r. Aronian 7." Wh ite resigned. Anand could not have been satisfied for the best game of the round.000 metre necessary victory. we spoke of at the start took the form of the Perhaps the most tragic one. who once again lost to Magnus Carl ably received the extra prize of 500 euros sen .g5 and I'll have White.�xg6 . with all the ex-world champion Vladimir Kramnik. But thanks to deficit meant that he had missed the boat. Wel l . The mou ntain is calling! And yet it is completely shattered after giving away the precisely during this last stage that even d raw that in the final 24 th game he was more prudence is called for. the challenger came including of cou rse Wijk aan Zee ( 1 998 up with the unfortunate idea (in view of his along with Viswanathan Anand) . :Xa8 tD e7 two rounds left and I'm not q uite there yet. Nakamu ra 8." Nakamua 1 . .1 0% lead) of winning a pawn. who tournament and it is a true tribute to his shared the point with Ruslan Ponomariov. .and of how the climber fails. struggle necessary to wrest back control of I n the history o f chess there are numer the match in his favou r. Botvinnik . "I played very well today. all that. so as to defeat with White on the previous day at decide his duel with the patriarch of Soviet the hands of Magnus Carlsen.000 metre peak step can be .sti ll be compared to that of a climber just before managed to wrest from his opponent the he storms the summit of an 8. pion M i khail Botvinnik. 3. ous examples of just how difficult this final On this Satu rday the 8. Saturday. said. Anand 7%. I 45 . but rather gather day and he is a former world champion and in the point safely. 29th January 201 1 . but there's 4-5.l:. the situation remained exciti ng. . weekend the leader board looked like this: "I'm happy with the result. . g3. � h3 .since after his weak efforts! Nakamu ra's starting situation on sealed move he no longer believed in a the final days in Wijk aan Zee can perhaps successful defence of his title . so as not to simply u nable to seek the uncompromising lose you r balance and fall . but he did not want to go into play ( Russia's Vladimir) Kramnik on Satur any more complications. who legends su rrou nding it. After his 1 1 %. his 1 % point chess before the final game. But I'm not concerned : I'm on form 43. because this was a black Friday for Kram For this performance the American j ustifi nik. . combative attitude to the game. This was with his d raw against Maxime Vachier al ready the third such award for him in this Lagrave. is that of the was the opponent of the "l ittle Japanese "cunning" David Bronstein. Round 1 2 W reach hat a special feeling it must be to a burst of energy and a good portion of you r goal through unaided luck. J l g5 43 . On move 35 tan k" (Boris Spassky) . Carlsen and Kramnik 6%.:r. In his career the 35- with Black in the 23 rd game of the World year-old Russian had won just about Championship match against the cham everything that could be won in chess. 2 .g8+ �c7 44.1 80 � Chapter 9 after 42 . nor could Levon Aronian. d4 cs d raw against Anish G i ri .xf6 il..l:. 'ii' e4 would have caused he is agreeable to a d raw against the u ltra- . A month before.d 1 (23. .bS l:f.i.lllf3 lll xe4 was all over.i.l:f. ) fighting against Giri. And at the 5 th Tai Memorial in Defence and i nvited the American to a Ruy November 201 0 he had no reason to be Lopez. Kramnik would not pieces. he inflicted on the ex-world cham have allowed another such temporary pion his only defeat in the 2 nd London dropping of his guard .e1 'ii'xa2 2S.0-0 account of 24.hxg6 h6 23. ..�b1 + Ruy Lopez [C67] 32. 20. and a draw by a th reefold repetition of the position. c4 Vishy.e8 (th is is actually day and was still possible.l:!.i.f3 With this choice Nakamura indicates that as 28J�d7 (28.e4 es 2.'ii' h 4 (the doubling of rooks on the seventh ran k with 29. Wijk aan Zee ttJ 1 81 but of cou rse there was no question of him problems for Black) 28 .e4 es 2. as we shall see. with the black again . Wijk aan Zee 201 1 pawn as a permanent th reat) 31 .'it>d1 (the double rook ending after 31 . l:. 'it> e2 b5 GAME 41 32 .xc4 'ifxb2+ 26. Nakamura V. �b1 + 30.xf6 1 S. 'it'xc4 bxc4 34.i. l:t xg7 �xc4+ 33. �as 24. move m ust have su rprised Black.lllf3 lll c 6 3.. of tournament victory. 29.'it>d1 'ii'b 1 + .. . si nce Kramnik has his passed a Tata Steel Chess (A) .'it>d2 'ii' b 4+ 33.i. e8) 23 .lllf3 lllf6 3.f8 1 8.d3 lllf6 1 2. .'it>d2 �b4+ 31 .and he himself lost only to he renou nced his tried and tested Petroff Carlsen. But on the other. h?+ is unwinnable for White despite the extra H.bS lllf6 4.�d2 llld 7 9.i. as the cou rse of the was his decision to neutralise his famous game shows: opponent so cleverly.lllxeS d6 4. as specialist Kramnik.e3 0-0 the storming of the peak was put off for a 8. here 23 .de1 dS 1 3. Kramnik - pawn.. who was really up 1 4.0-0-0 .. il. who had been u nder pressure 22. :ee7 seems more logical) 29 .lllc 3 lll x c3 6. but their j udgement of the position is totally because at the same time Anand would be u nemotional. l:. it is not important for them . a4 (here the giving anything away.lll g S g6 for it in this game and ready to show the 1 7. There were objective reasons for Hikaru the Nakam ura-Littlejohn team must have approaching this game with sound self thought of trying this Russian roulette confidence. The fact that Nakamu ra did not dissatisfied with a d raw against Petroff hesitate for long was understandable. short of time in a double rook ending. Cleverly neutralised I n view of such a safe sharing of the point. and else should Nakam u ra play?) 21 .l:i.xdS lllxe4 S. but what he missed an easy winning move . Especially since Gelfand's favou rite variation) 1 0. but a half point is a half point - s.hS! (the energetic text But. a6 would be a mistake on 1 .�g4 il. You could feel the engines see a clear advantage for White - tension in the Dorpshuis de Moriaan.. and. . retained his chances better. since there is now the threat of l:t e7.dxc3 il..'it>d1 'it>h8 27. .xc3 world champion what he was capable of.e6 1 6. he1 ! is certainly throughout the game.g7 21 .e7 7..�f4 i..lllxe6 fxe6 1 9J1xe6 il.I!. Chess Classic .i. After half an hour it 1 .h4 c6 Anand had great d ifficulty escaping with a 1 1 . i. It is sufficient to without a winner after 1 6 1 days. decided: why take the risk?" 5 tt:'id6 6.. with which 1 8. tt:'i h4 20. I n any positional advantage.dxe5 tl'if5 8. then had been supremely dominant." Sunday.l:txe5 •. where the 1 6-game match 1 9 'ii'xe2 20. as it is in chess. I have Black against Wang 0--0 9. .tf6 the chess crown from Garry Kasparov i n point was also shared . Kasparov found h imself the i nternational master gives advice on facing final elimination in the 3 1 st game on preparation and examples of game tactics.'ii'e2 . u ntil sport i n which a single error can be so 1 5 th February 1 985. "Tomorrow.d4 .. it numbers..f1 tt:'ixe5 8.l:txe2 concluded 8%-6% in his favou r.l:te1 Kramn i k had been successful i n many At this point. in round 1 0. Round 1 3 7th December 1 984.. leaving chance and the main was astonishing how the 2 1 -year-old Garry.td3 d5 1 4 . In any case . So I'll have 1 2. remember the first World Championship As far as decision in the final round is match between Anatoly Karpov and his concerned . . actors in this performance totally out of the with his back to the wall .'ifxe1 tl'if5 1 3 .c3 l:txe1 Hao.in particular this was the opening played 1 9. Jan Smeets battles . in fou r World afterwards.g3 . after this Sunday he could at least play Karpov was a pawn up with a clear give serious thought to the matter. who up till should Anand not defeat Nepomniachtchi. he's not Kramnik. but it is really playing with pov again th rew away the win . has published a book with a similar title. London in 2000. 'ii'x d8+ �xd8 is Draw agreed on White's proposal the principled line and there are undoubtedly more possibilities in the resulting well "No comment. Garry "Ask him" said Nakamu ra. . But the proximity of case. tt:'ixh4 .tf5 1 7 . 5. game. .i.1 82 � Chapter 9 solid Kramnik. In it Trailing by 0-5. Mind you . 'ifd3 against Kramnik.• 6 . the way things fall in the final round is the goal suddenly had a paralysing effect simple: all he has to do is not lose .f4 c6 some chances in the final round. At least.te7 7 .txf5 tt:'ixf5 5. Championship games with White. There can hardly be any other the moment and closed the gap to 3-5.tl'id2 tt:'ih4 1 6. the H ungarian Tibor Florian challenger Garry Kasparov i n 1 984/85. .tt:'ixe5 . One single move by Kar d ramatic. . since after two hou rs' I s 1 3 perhaps H i karu's favou rite number? Well . which would be repeated This all sounds simple and not very in the 4 1 st game.t xh4 2 1 . . but after that guaranteed his winning of the world 1 9 .tt:'if3 'ife7 1 9.tf6 1 o.d4 tt:'i d6 .:e1 :ea 1 1 . explain i ng that could not find a way to break through the he "had the choice to take a risk or not and Berlin Wall." Kramnik told reporters known ending.and on the play of the champion.t xc6 dxc6 7. He got then he has climbed this peak on the way to into time-trouble and was unable to win the fame. A d rama. He deliberately avoids (after 1 5. took advantage of equation . 30th January 201 1 .d4) the latter's Berlin Defence. . when the FIDE officials brutally decisive as regards victory and brought to an end this chess marathon defeat. tLlf3 e6 8.c4 g6 3. to play for a win Nakamura radically stops the planned with Black. .bxc3 tLld7 1 4.0-0 exdS participant i n the final round. he score the full point. tion in which a fortunate player with a half 1 .g7 4 .tLlc3 0-0 7. which he reaches by transposition.i.1'. because he appears to have nothing to 1 1 . bS 1 6.cxdS :ea situation Nakamu ra finds himself in on 30th By transposition we have reached a basic January 201 1 .xe4 1 3.g3 .b8 1 S.d4 tLlf6 2.i. .1'. 1 Florian investigates the situa stereotyped play. . tLl xe4 l:. if 11 tLle4! ••• circumstances demand it.e4 l:. since if tactical talent is no secret. 1 2 .1'. faced with the Chinese position of the Benoni Defence.:aa R ussian opponent.b4 Wang Hao H. l:. The latter could well be the case central advance.•. b4. but this opening has one u ncontested advantage . Against him H i karu will try to achieve tions. The 2 1 -year-old grand count of the asymmetrical pawn structure.c4 l:.axb& :xb6 1 7 .e1 fashion.it takes the opponent away from the usual paths and 1 Quoted from the German edition Entscheidung in der SchluBrunde. tLl d2 and 11 . Black takes certain risks.aS . GAME 42 1 2 tLixc3 1 3. if Anand should win as Black against his 1 2. The Modern Benoni 2 is quite a rare guest in major tou rnaments. On ac player Wang Hao. non point lead".. and that was a respectable score up till now and his also precisely Nakamura's plan . an active position and best of all to aim for a draw from a position of strength or.d2 Tata Steel Chess (A) .1'. Nakamura . Wijk aan Zee 201 1 Benoni Defence [A62] Reaching a happy ending with "the son of my sorrow" Nakamu ra makes the appropriate choice of the Benoni Defence. 2 The name Ben Oni comes from the Hebrew and means The son of my sorrow. This is the 9. This makes him very dangerous Wang Hao chooses a side variation. master from the M iddle Kingdom has made both sides can play for a win .a4 a6 1 1 . .f4 are the main contin ua lose. will be able to play in totally uninhibited 1 0. tLl d2 is met by 1 3 .l:. and the position is equal .f4 'iilc7 1 8. Stuttgart 1 987.dS point lead comes u p against a weaker d6 6.g2 cS S. Since he is in no Anand were to win he too wou ld have to way i nvolved in the tournament finish. 1 9.f1 as 20. . Wijk aan Zee 4J 1 83 including a chapter with the title "A half opens u p opportunities for creative. 2008) . because he did not even once totally unexpected to see it ending in a take part. I n addition there were his extravagant wishes concerning playing conditions. Garry Kasparov. . All's well that ends wel l ! But unlike Nakam u ra and most world champions in classical chess 3 .txe5 22 . . "It was aan Zee. 'ii'xea+ realizes that I am a potential th reat to the � g7 25. 'ii'a4 bxa3 24. whose fi rst place brought him a Black. ChessBase homepage. 4 When asked why Fischer had never taken part in the Wijk aan Zee tournament. Tigran Petrosian . I hope my proud. and Wang Hao accepted the follow in the footsteps of Bobby Fischer.lt)xeS . lDeS ! ? And a special tournament report in New In For t h e Benoni this is a typical exchange Chess printed the following statement by sacrifice which secures dynamic play for Nakamu ra. previous tou r nament director Piet Zwart replied on 1 8.td7 of Wij k aan Zee the 23-year-old American . 1 .t xb4?! cxb4 23.2008." (D. 1 9. M i khail Tai . Kohlmeyer. to tri umph in this is something completely different. but there is noth ing we can do to change it now. 1 ." he told the press. impressively demonstrated to the starting to look as if Anand would not win world of chess that he was now ready to his game. cannot remember the last time an Ameri This is something of which he can be really can won a major tournament. Quite i n the spirit of Petrosian or. because it was tank".. Vladmir Kramnik and Viswanathan Anand . Boris Spassky. "Fischer in Wijk". 4 draw. I was so Nakamu ra is the fi rst US grandmaster happy.t c3 tou rnament ahead of all the other top players in the world . However. " White. We could not pay the sort of fees which Fischer demanded .1 84 � Chapter 9 20 . 'ii'a4 . "I was sort of ju mp The anything but qu iet American Hikaru ing u p and down around the room . nice but winning an el ite tournament like who shared fi rst place in 1 980. But success.000 euros: choose a more modern example.. offer. For that reason nothing ever came of a visit to Wijk aan Zee by Fischer. the latter Nakamu ra was in h i s hotel room watch never appeared on the list of victors of Wijk ing his rival's game on the I nternet. also creates expectations for the chess back home in the States. It is certai nly a shame. ing the tournament as a "little Japanese Nakamura offered a draw. At that time we did not have the necessary financial means." future. Fortune favou rs the bold ! I n the 1 6 days 22 . to cheque for 1 0. Winning a tournament is always since Walter Browne and Vasser Seirawan.t b2 would be dangerous for European dominance of chess . The black position has more potential whom Boris Spassky had described in a because the white light-sq uared bishop telephone i nterview with ChessBase dur does not have good prospects.. I this Mecca of chess in The Netherlands . . Topalov! "Now that I have finally won a major 21 .. M i khail Botvinnik. . especially one like victory will make for greater interest in this. Anatoly Karpov. one day after Fischer's death : "The answer is quite simple. 3 These include Max Euwe. . I guess that everyone 22 . Erwin 1 Yi 2 2 2 2 '/i 3 3 3 3 '/z 4 4 '/z 13.Y. Ruslan 0 'Ii l 'lz 2 2 112 3 3 '12 4 4 5 5 112 6 6 112 9. Ponomariov. Wang. Viswanathan 1 l 'h 2 3 4 4'h 5 S'lz 6 7 7'/z 8 8 'h 3.1 Yil 7'h 2793 6. 1 4th . Shirov. Wijk aan Zee ctJ 1 85 Tata Steel Chess A Wijk aan Zee. Wang. Viswanathan I D 2810 y. Vachier-Lagrave. Grischuk. Erwin NED 2628 0 'h 0 'h 0 'h 'h 112 112 0 112 * 112 'h 4'h 2638 1 3 . Vladimir RUS 2 7 84 'h 'h O 'h * 'h 1 V.'hl Yil Y. Levon ARM 2805 'h'hYi* Y.30th January 20 1 1 Cat. H ikaru USA 275 1 * 'Ii 0 'h 'h 1 'h 'h 1 'h 1 1 1 1 9 2 8 80 2.Y. Maxime FRA 27 1 5 0 'h 'h 'h 'h * 'h 'h l 'h '/2 '12 1 7 'h 2798 7. Hao CHN 273 1 'h 0 0 'h 112 'h 0 1 0 * 1 1 112 'h 6 27 1 1 1 1 . Jan 1 l Yi l '/z 2 2 2 2 2 3 3 Yi 4 4 4 Yi 14. Alexander RUS 2773 0 'h 'h 0 112 112 'h 0 'h 0 * 'h 1 0 4'h 2627 1 2 . Ponomariov. Ruslan UKR 2 744 'h 0 'h 'h 'h 'h 'h * 'h 0 'h 'h 6'h 2739 9. I. Ian RUS 2733 0 'h 1 0 112 0 1 'h * 1 'h 112 0 'h 6 271 1 1 0. Nepomniachtchi.1 8 282 1 5. Smeets. Carlsen. Jan NED 2662 0 0 0 'h 'h 0 '12 0 1 'h 0 'Ii * 4'/z 2635 1 4 .1/. Giri. Kramnik. Alexei ESP 2722 0 0 'h 0 0 0 112 'h 'Ii 'Ii 1 'Ii 0 * 4 2600 Progressive Table Round 1 .: Ami. Anish NED 2686 'h 'h 1 'h 0 'h * 'h 0 1 'h 'h 'h 'h 6'h 2 744 8. Hao 'h 'h 1 1 2 2 'h 3 3 4 5 5'/i S'lz 6 11. Nakamura. Carlsen. Nepomniachtchi. Perf. Vladimir 'Ii l 'li 2 2 'h 3 '/i 4'/z 5 6 6Yi 6Yi 7 7 '/i 6. Shirov. Maxime 112 l 'h 2 'h 3 3'/z 4 5 5 '/z 5'/z 6 7 7 '/z 7. Giri. Anand. Alexei 0 'Ii '12 'Ii l 'lz 2 '/z 2 'h 2 'h 3 3 112 4 . H ikaru 1 l 'h 2'h 3 3'/z 4'h S'h S'h 6 7 8 8'/z 9 2. Anish 'Ii 2 2 112 3 3 3 4 4'/z s 5'/z 6 6 '/z 8. Alexander 0 Yi !Yi !Yi 2 2 2 2'/i 2 '/i 3 4 4 '/z 1 2. Magnus N OR 2814 1 'h * 'h 'h 0 '12 0 1 'h 1 1 'h 8 282 1 4. Nakamura. Anand. Aronian. Grischuk. Ian 'Ii l 'h 2 2 2 'h 3'/z 4 4'/z 4'/i S'li 5'h 5'h 6 10.1 3 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 1. Aronian. * 'h 'h '12 'h 'h 1 'h 'h 'h 1 1 8 '12 2844 3. 1. Smeets. I.11. Magnus 112 1 l 'lz 2 '/z 3 '/z 4 5 S 'li 5 'h 6 '/i 7 'h 8 4. Vachier-Lagrave. 2 0 (2740) l 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 I O 1 1 12 13 1 4 Pts.: Ami.1/. Kramnik.1/. Levon 'Ii l 'li 2'/i 3 3 '/z 4'/i 5 6 6'h 7 7'/i 8 5. .. fd 1 f5 1 6. lLic3 . Alvarez Marquez-Nakamura. i. l:. ttJ ce4 ttJ xe4 1 6. and to which he would remain faithful despite a defeat. .dxe6 fxe6 1 4. is how H i karu Nakamu ra explains his "love" of the King's I ndian in New in Chess Magazine ( 1 /20 1 2) . It's probably the only open ing. 1 . . Port of Spain 1 999. lLif3 tiJf6 2. ttJ xe4 j.. ab 1 ( 1 3. correct either. So in what fol lows we would like to show you how his King's I ndian repertoire has developed over time! 1 . that in many cases the computer gives evaluations and then when you run through the lines it tu rns out that you're right and the computer is wrong. lLi d2 c5 9.lt g7 4. a6 (as mentioned earlier.g3 0-0 chooses the Panno System: 6 .g3 0-0 5 .d4 lLi f6 2. i. g7 4. at the start of his career H i karu also played 7 . i. .0-0 a6 1 0.1 86 � H is g reat love the Ki ng's I nd ia n - a short repertoire a la Naka m u ra " W You don't know if you r moves are correct and the computer's moves aren't always hen you play the Classical King's I ndian. and that is anything but by chance. In his 1 993 book Best Lessons Of A Chess Coach (the co author was Ed Eusebi) the second lesson with the title "A Wonderful Knight" contains one of Nakamu ra's step-father's own games. g2 d6 6.c4 g6 3.a continuation attributed to the R ussian Vladimir Simagin. 'ilfc2 . .h3 i. That's one of the things I love in the King's I ndian .cxb5 axb5 1 5 .e3 j.d4 Against the Fianchetto Variation H i karu 1 . 7 .d5 ttJ a5 8. b8 1 1 . . Caribbean Open. In the game against Artem l ljin things continued: 8. And of cou rse Weeramantry chose the King's I ndian Defence. played in the US amateu r team championships in the summer of 1 992 against Larry Pugh . b2 e5 1 3. g2 d6 6. lLif3 ttJ c6 7. lLi h5 1 4.l:r. x b2 1 7. 'ii'xb2 i. l:. i. g4 here .d4 Or 7. and Black has no problems. b3 b5 1 2 . where the computer can be completely wrong and humans can be completely right. He has been faithful t o this defence for more than a decade.0-0 5. g4 led to exactly the same variation as H i karu chose six years later at the j unior world championship in Cannes against Artem l lj i n . 'li'd3 i.xg4 . h6 1 5 . .c4 g6 3. The player who comes up with the best plan wins". b7 is the most usual seq uence and should be approxi mately level) 1 3 . d 7. . the game is never going to be perfect.0-0 i. ttJc6 7. One decisive reason for this must have been that Su nil Weeramantry also has the King's I ndian i n his repertoire. lLic3 i. .e3 h4 1 1 .ll'ld2 tl:la6 does not bring main variation) 1 2 .d5 tl:la5 9.l:.'ii'c2 e6? ! ( 1 1 . h3 l:. Budapest 2000.ta6 1 3. b8 9. . . New York 2004] 9 .xf3 tl'ld7 1 O. .i.d7 1 7. M iton-Nakamura.i.. . Klei man-Nakamu ra. Aronian-Nakamura. Bermuda 2003) 9 .ll'lxb5 .b8 9 . 8 .l:tb 1 llb8 1 1 . Moscow 201 O.xg7 �xg7 1 4. rapid. . Andrianov-Nakamura.'ii'd 2 tl:ltd5 1 5.e5 tl'lb4 Wh ite any advantage.b2 i.g5 Hikaru transposes with 6 . . .d5) 8 ..tl:lc3 i.cxb5 9 .f4 a5 1 4. Aronian-Nakamu ra.exf5 axb5 1 1 . . e4 .:. 'ifc2 mantry's opponent now played 1 1 . Wh ite has no advantage . b3 b5 1 2.b2 (after 9. FIDE Blitz World Championship.i.i. but one which does not score badly.e2 tl'lh7 1 O.d5 h5 8.•• ll'lf6 2.e2 0-0 York 2004] 1 1 .e4 1 5 . Kaposztas-Naka 1 4. Reno 2003.fd 1 'ife7 1 7.ll'le3 'i'd7 1 6.i. and Black has equality. .g4 1 5. . . and Black has serious problems.gxf4 b5 1 3. a4 'ii'b6 with definite compensation . Tai Memorial Tou rnament. the main variation is 1 O . .b4 1 2. b) 8. . . slightly better.i.tl:le4.e4 d6 Analysis d i ag ram 1 O .t5 1 4.cxb5 axb5 1 2 .f3 i. King's I ndian short repertoire tD 1 a1 9.tl'lf4 tl:lxf4 1 2 .i.:1xd6.i. .h6 1 3.b7 5 ll'lf3 .i. rapid. b5 is the main variation) 1 0.cxb5 axb5.tl:lb4 is the gxf5 1 3. .c4 g6 3. .e4 i. Moscow 201 0.ll'la4 tl:la7 1 3. and whereas Weera. 1 4. New Against the Averbakh Variation 5 . c5 7. b5 (really risky and typical Nakamu ra.cxb5 axb5 1 2 .dxe6 fxe6 1 5.tl'lg3 e5 7.tl:lge2 0-0 6.te3 e6 (a rare move.i. Fridman 5.e3 e5. .d5 .c3 i.l::!. .d5 e5 6. and White was mura.ll'ld5 ll'lh5 1 O.c1 [ 1 1 .a1 i. b3 a) 8 . H i karu had to deal with 1 1 . c5? ( 1 5 .'ii'd 3 c5 1 O. c5 1 O.ll'ld1 i. b5 1 O.i. .g5 'ii'e 8! Nakamu ra.'ii'd 2 b5 1 1 .h6 b4 1 3. 9 .�h 1 i.ll'ld2 [9.b2 e6 1 1 . .e3+ 1 6 . l:tb8) 1 1 .g7 4.td7 1 3.ll'le2. tl:lb5 is preferable) 1 6.i.i.:tc1 l:tfc8 . 1 .ll'lf1 f5 1 2 . . .b7 1 5. and the position is balanced. 1 88 \ii Chapter 9 a6 8.'ii'c 1 'ii'as 9.i.d2 e6 into a Benoni Privman-Nakamu ra, rapid, New York 2003) structure: 1 O. i.d3 exdS 1 1 .exdS tl'ibd7 7 . . . dxcS 8.'ii'x d8 :xd8 9 . ..txcS tl'ic6 1 O.tl'idS 1 2 .f4 Taylor-Nakamu ra, Financial Concept e6 1 1 .tl'ie7+ tt:Jxe7 1 2 . ..txe7 l:td7 1 3.i.a3 Open, North Bay 1 999, and now 1 2 . . . 'ii'd B! b6 1 4.tl'ih3 ..ta6 1 S.eS tt:Jea 1 6.f4 f6 with 1 3.tl'ige2 bS 1 4.cxbS tl'ib6 would have good compensation in Karpov-Nakamura, been advisable. rapid, Cap d' Agde 2008; Against the Four Pawns Attack S.f4 0-0 S . h3 o-o 6 . ..tgs tl'ia6 7.tl'if3 'ii'e a 8.g3 es 6.tl'if3 Hikaru also plays 6 . . . cS and heads in 9.dS tt:Jcs 1 O.tl'id2 as and Black has equal i the di rection of a Benoni Defence: 7.dxcS ty, Miljkovic-Nakamura, blitz, playchess.com (here the q uestion is what does H i karu play 2004; against 7.dS? Does he try 7 . . . e6 seeking a s . ..td3 0-0 6.tl'ige2 tl'ic6 7.0-0 es 8.ds way to a Benoni, or does he strive fror a tl'id4 9.tl'ixd4 [9.tl'ibS cs (th is is Nakamu ra's transposition to the Volga Gambit with move. 9 . . . :ea is played more frequently) 7 . . . bS ?) 7 . . . 'it'as 8.i.d3 'ii'xcS 9.'iie2 tl'ic6 1 0.tl'ibxd4 exd4 1 1 .f3 tl'id7 1 2.f4 tl'if6 1 3. h3 1 o . ..te3 'ii'as 1 1 .0-0 .tg4 1 2. :ac1 tl'id7 bS (Hikaru likes transposing to the Volga 1 3. 'i!Vf2 ..txf3 1 4.gxf3 tt:Jcs 1 S.i.b1 tl'ia4 Gambit like this) 1 4.cxbS a6 with sharp 1 6 .tl'ixa4 'ii'xa4 1 7.�h 1 e6 1 8 . h4 tl'ie7 play, M iton-Nakamura, rapid, New York 1 9 .hS 'ii'b4 with good play for Black, as can 2004] 9 . . . exd4 1 0.tl'ibS l:.ea 1 1 .:e 1 tl'ig4 be seen from the game Arancibia Rodri 1 2.h3 a6 1 3. hxg4 axbS 1 4.cxbS 'ii'h 4 1 S.g3 guez-Nakamura, Linares 2002 ; 'ii'xg4 1 6. 'ifxg4 ..txg4 Against the Simisch Variation S.f3 0-0 6. i.e3 1 7 . ..tf4 (an interesting novelty by Aronian , but one which Hikaru combats well ; 1 7.�g2 Nakamura chooses the well-known pawn is critical) 1 7 . . . ..tf3 1 8. b6 gS! 1 9 . ..txgS l:teS sacrifice 6 . . . cs, in order to become active 20.i.h4 cxb6, and the black bishop on f3 straight away. (previously he also employed compensates for the weaknesses, Aronian 6 . . . eS) 7.dxcS (7.tl'ige2 tl'ic6 8.dxcS dxcS Nakamu ra, Melody Amber, rapid, Monte 9.'ii' x d8 :r.xd8 1 0 . ..txcs tl'id7 1 1 . ..te3 tl'ideS Carlo 20 1 1 . 1 2 .tl'ic1 tl'ib4 with good compensation i n 5 0-0 6.i.e2 •.• King's Indian short repertoire ttJ 1 89 match against Ruslan Ponomariov in St. Lou is 20 1 1 : 1 O .. .f6 ( 1 0 . . . 'ii'c7 1 1 .h3 exd4 1 2 .ltJxd4 'ii'b 6 1 3.i.. x g4 i.. x g4 1 4. hxg4 i.. xd4 1 5.i.. e 3 i.. x e3 1 6.l:!.xe3 ltJc5 with equality, Ponomariov-Nakamura, 5th match game, Saint Louis 201 1 ) 1 1 .i.. h 4 'ii'e8 1 2.c5 dxc5 1 3.dxe5 ltJxe5 1 4.ltJxeS 6 e5 ... This remains Hikaru's main weapon . But he has also experimented here: 6 . . . ltJa6 7.CHl e5 8.l:.e1 (8.i.. g 5? ! h6 9.i.. h 4 g5 1 O.dxe5 ltJh5 1 1 .i.. g 3 ltJxg3 1 2 . hxg3 dxe5 1 3.'ii'x d8 .l:!.xd8 1 4 . .l:.fd 1 i.. e 6 1 5 .ltJh2 ltJb4 1 6.ltJdS ltJc2 1 7.ktac1 ltJd4 1 8 .�1 l:!.d7, and Black was al ready slightly 1 4 . . . fxe5? ! (Hikaru goes all out and ac cepts a position which is rather full of holes. better in Krei man-Nakamura, Connecticut 2003) 8 . . . c6 (previously Hikaru also played On the other hand , after 1 4 . . . 'ii'x e5 1 5.i.. xa6 8 . . . i.. g 4, e.g. in Alekseev-Nakamura, Santo bxa6 1 6.'ii'a4 f5 1 7.'ii'xc6 l:!.b8 1 8.exf5 Domingo 2003. In general, however, he ap 'ii'xf5 Gavri lov-Shimanov, Moscow 20 1 1 , pears to have distanced himself somewhat the position is almost level) 1 5.i.. xa6 bxa6 from the i.. g4-systems) 9.i.. e 3 ltJg4 1 O.i.. g 5 1 6.'i'd6 ( 1 6.ltJa4!?) 1 6 . . . c4 1 7 . .l:tad 1 with a slight plus for White, Ponomariov-Naka mura, 3 rd match game Saint Louis 20 1 1 ; 6 . . . ltJbd7 7.i.. e 3 (7.CHl es 8.l:.e1 c6 9.i.. f 1 as 1 O.l:tb1 l:r.e8 1 1 .d5 ltJc5 1 2 .b3 i.. d 7 with equal ity, Fi negold-Nakamu ra, US Open, Cherry Hill 2007) 7 . . . e5 8.CHl l:!.e8 9.dxe5 dxe5 1 O.b4 c6 1 1 .c5 (see n ext diagram) 1 1 . . . ltJhS!? (a novelty by Nakamu ra, who often employs this knight manoeuvre; Wh ite may be slightly better, but the position is not an easy one to play) 1 2 .ltJd2 This position was twice discussed in the ltJf4 1 3.ltJc4 ltJxe2+ 1 4.'ii'xe2 'ii'e 7 1 5.l:!.ab1 1 90 � Chapter 9 Position after 1 1 .c5 9 . . . t"Libd7 (9 .. Jle8 is by far the most frequently played move, but the alterna tives are well worth considering; thus t"Lif8 1 6.t"Lid6 .:td8 1 7. t"Lia4 t"Lie6 1 8 .t"Lib2 bS King's I ndian expert Victor Bologan recom 1 9. a4 a6 20.l:.a1 l:.b8 2 1 .axbS axbS 22. l:.a3 mends 9 . . . l:.f8!?) 1 0.0-0-0 .l:tf8 1 1 .t"LidS c6 (Romain Edouard suggests 22 .t"Lid3! ? ) 1 2 .t"Lie7+ �h8 1 3 . .te3! l:.e8 1 4.t"Lixc8 2 2 . . . t"Lif4 23.'ild2 .te6 24.g3 l:!.axc8 1 5.g4 t"Lif8 1 6.t"Lid2 t"Lie6 1 7.gS t"Lid7 1 8. t"Lib3 ( 1 8 . .tg4 is the alternative) 1 8 . . . l:.c7 1 9 . .tg4 .tf8 20 . .txe6 l:.xe6 21 J :td3 cs, and White was somewhat better in Roussel Roozmon-Nakamura, World Open, Phila delphia 2006, but the black position is not 5 easy to break down . Now 22 . .l:r.hd 1 ! would 4 have been more accu rate than 22.t"Lid2 as in the game, when 22 . . .fS followed . 3 7.ds as 8 . .tgs h6 9 . .te3 t"Lig4 1 o . .tc1 fS 2 1 1 .exfS gxfS 1 2.g3 t"Lia6, and Black has equality, Wolski-Nakamura, Hawaii Open, Honol ulu 1 997; 7 . .te3 24 . . . t"LihS? ! , and now in Vallejo Pons Nakamu ra, World Cup Final, Sao Paulo/ (see next diagram) Bilbao 201 1 , Black should have forced a d raw with 24 . . . t"Lih3+ 25. �g2 t"Lif4+! 26.�h 1 7 . . . t"Lig4 [here too H i karu has an alternative (after 26.gxf4 the move 26 . . . 'ii' h 4 equal up his sleeve: 7 . . . t"Lia6 8.0-0 (8.dS t"Lig4 ises) 26 . . . t"Lih3 (Edouard). 9 . .tgs f6 1 0 . .th4 hs 1 1 .t"Lid2 .td7 1 2 .h3 7.0-0 t"Lih6 1 3.g4 hxg4 1 4. hxg4 'it'e7 1 S.t"Llf1 t"Lif7 7.dxes dxes 8.'ilxd8 l:.xd8 9 . .tgs 1 6.t"Lie3 .th6 1 7 . .td3 �g7 1 8.'ii'e2 l:.h8 King's I ndian short repertoire ctJ 1 91 Position after 7 .J.e3 Position after 1 3.c5!? 1 9.0-0-0 c5 20.a3 0ic7 2 1 .'it>b1 a6 22.f3 Vol kov-Nakamu ra, F I D E World Champi b5 with counterplay for Black, Volkov onship 1 st round, Tripoli 2004, but the black Nakamu ra, FIDE World Championship, 1 st position is not easy to breach) 1 4 . .txa6 round, Tripoli 2004) 8 . . . 0ig4 9 . .tg5 _.ea bxa6 1 5.'ii'a 4 0if7 1 6.l:.ad 1 l:tb8 1 7 . .tc1 1 O.dxe5 ( 1 O . h3 f6 1 1 . .tc1 0ih6 1 2 . .l:e1 c6 0id8 1 8.l:.d6 l:.f7 1 9.l:.fd 1 - 1 2 . . . 0if7 is the main variation - 1 3 . .tf1 0if7 1 4.l:r.b1 'ii'e 7 1 5 . b4 0ic7 1 6. b5 c5, and neither side has an advantage, Markus Nakamura, blitz, playchess.com 2005) 1 0 . . . dxe5 1 1 . h3 ( 1 1 .0id2 f6 1 2 . .th4 0ih6 1 3. f3 c6 1 4 . .tf2 .te6 1 5.a3 0if7 1 6. b4 .th6 1 7.0ib3 'ii'e 7 1 8 ...c2 l:.fd8 1 9. l:l.fd 1 was slightly better for White in Gustafsson Nakamura, blitz, playchess.com 2004; af ter 1 1 .'ii'c 1 c6 1 2 .l:.d 1 f6 1 3 . .td2 f5 1 4.h3 0if6 1 5.exf5 .txf5 1 6 . .th6 .txh6 1 7. 'ii'x h6 too, a slight advantage for Wh ite can be discerned , as in Carlsen-Nakamura, rapid, Gjovik 2009) 1 1 . . .f6 1 2 . .td2 0ih6 1 3.c5!? H i karu has had this position twice. En gines, however, consider it better for White (see next diagram) and here they could be correct: 1 9 . . . .te6 (after 1 9 . . . 0ib7, which was played in G us An extremely dangerous pawn sacrifice. It tafsson-Nakamu ra, bl itz, playchess.com would now be very risky to play 1 3 . . . c6 (a 2004, even 20.l:.xc6 i.. d 7 2 1 .l:.xd7 'ii'x d7 more solid move is 1 3 . . . 0ixc5: 1 4.'ii'c 1 0if7 22.'ii'xa6 is very i nteresting from White's 1 5 .0id5 0ie6 1 6. 0ixc7 0ixc7 1 7.'ii'xc7 0id8 point of view) 20 . .te3 a5 2 1 .l:.6d3 0ib7 1 8.l:.fc1 and White was minimally better i n 22.'ii'c2 .tfa 23.0ia4 g5 24.0id2 l:.g7 4:'if1 !Ida 26. . . .f4 l:lfba (see next diagra m ) 24. Mainz 200a] 9 . hxg4 4:'if7 1 5.4:'if5 and White is better.tf2 ! ? . .te3 .td7 1 a. dxe5 25.'ii'x d3 . .'it'c4+ 'ii'f7 37.h3 4:'ih6 Hikaru likes this set-up.cxd6 'ii'xc4 39. hxg4 1 4. Nevertheless.f5!?) 24 .0-0 ( 1 2.td3 .ta3 'ii' h 7 36.tc1 'ili'd7 35 . .te1 . . 4:'ig3 l:. Shabalov Nakamu ra. hxg4 4:'if7 1 6 .'ii' c4+ 'ii'e 6 33.l:.4Jdxc4 . . for example: 1 6 .tf2 . .4:'id6 .th6 1 9 . 4Jcd6 2 7 . lldh1 b5 1 9 .'ii'c3 h4 34 .fxe5? ! (in CBM 1 3a Michal Krasenkow suggests here 24.l:.tf3 4Jxd5 1 9 . .d7.txe3 20. Bhat-Nakamura. . rapid. bxc4 c5 40. . .txc4 4:'id6 32 .0-0-0 a6 1 7.�b1 :ba 20 .4:'id2 h5 1 2 .xd3 29.4:'id2 4:'ie6 1 7.txd6 3a.tc1 Hikaru was unable to achieve complete equality: 9 . .f3 c5 1 5. . .dxe5 dxe5 1 4.4:'ie3 (26 .xd3 2a . . 'ii'd 7 32.f5 1 3.'ii'c2 c5 9 . Yu Mingyuan-Nakamura.cxd5. followed by a6 and then b5. Mashantucket 2004.tg5 f6 1 3.b1 i. .te3 4:'if7 1 2. 4:'ic6 1 O . .4:'ixe4 4:'if4 1 a . Spanish team championsh ip. 'ii'x da 4Jcxda 1 5. .b3 l:.'iix e3 �g7 2 1 .b7 22. this game ended in a d raw. .tea 30.xd3 .tbs 29 .g4.xc4 30.g4 hxg4 1 5.g4 ( 1 3.Krasenkow) 26 . as follows: 3 1 . .l:lh2 . . . . h3 4:'ih6 1 1 .d5 4:'ie7 1 3.th4 [on two occasions against 9 . Sestao 20 1 0) 1 3 . .gd7 27.4:'ixc4 4Jxc4 31 .f3 l:!.1 92 w Chapter 9 25. .4:'id2 f5 1 4.'it'e2 4Jca 1 a . 4Jc6 1 O. Foxwoods Open . a .0-0-0 :tha was almost equal in Bacrot-Nakamura.l:.th4 bxc4 2a. . Budapest 2000) 1 2 .tg3 Wea 2 1 . .4:'id 1 4Jca 26.f3 c 5 1 4. .d5 4:'ie7 1 1 .'it>h2 h5 3 1 . .td7 1 7.4:'id5 fxe4 1 6.�a1 'i¥c7 23. td6 1 9 .l:.tl:ixe4 h6 1 7 .tfa 1 a.e1 .c3 g5 35. . tl:if6 1 2 .txf4 20 . . . a4 ( 1 1 .'ii' d 3 tl:ig6 a.f4.cxd5 f5 1 5. playchess. Dortmund Kramnik-Nakamura. Ji.e1 tl:id6 40.tg5 'ii'xd 1 1 0 .'ii'x ea :xea Y2-Y2 Gelfand 9 .txe4 . .tl:ixc6 bxc6 1 3 . h3 .th5 1 4.xe3 1 0 .g3 l:tfa 1 9 .'ii'd 2 b6 22. Amsterdam 20 1 0. . . . .tl:id2 A) 9. .tg5 tl:ih5 1 3. . . l:!. the main variation. :e1 g5 Financial Concept Open.txf4 exf4 1 6. . Previously he also employed 9 .tl:ig5 tl:if6 1 2. . .tg4 1 2 . USA critical) 1 1 .f4 ( 1 1 .tf3 National Championship. sleeve against 1 O.i:r.f3 tl:ih5 1 1 . . tl:ig4 1 a .txf4 exf4 1 2.tg4 1 5. 20 1 1 .g3. . .h3 . tt:iea up for discussion. King's I ndian short repertoire ttJ 1 93 'ii'd 7 33 .a4 f5 1 1 . . i.c5 tl:if4 1 1 . so probably the main variation a . Ji.Ji.d4 tl:ie3 1 6. .tl:id5 tl:ixd5 niachtch i-Nakamu ra. .tl:ig5 tl:if6 1 2 .tg4 was more pleasant for Black in Nepom 1 1 . .axb6 axb6 with equality.td2 and the bishops gave White a :xf4 1 a.tl:ixd4 .b4 tl:ih5. North Bay 1 999. or has he his own interpretation? 1 o . Saint Louis 201 O. .f3 tl:ib5 37.'ii'd 2 with a slight a) 1 O.xf4?! exf4 1 5. .tc4 fxe4 1 3.e 1 . should nowadays be Hikaru's choice) instead of 1 a .l:. a5 'it>ha 20.l::t a c1 fxe4 2007) 1 1 . f5 1 1 . . ..th5 1 7 . . bl itz. a5 7 .tl:if6 1 2 .dxe5 dxe5 9 . according to Yermolinsky. 1 2 .l:ta3 g5 1 6. b) We do not know what Hikaru has up his 8 . .Ji. . tl:id4 9. b3 tl:ig4 1 5 . . . tl:idxe4 tl:if5 risky. possibly to avoid Nakamu ra. b5 9. . Nowadays this is H i karu's main weapon against the Bayonet Attack.c5 h6 a .tc4 .txf3 1 2 .f5 1 2 .Ji.:hc1 . h3 .fxd 1 .:da . f5 1 1 .te5?! the move 1 a .txf3 tl:id4 1 3.te3 exd4 (this exchange is strategically 1 5 .llc1 fxe4 1 7. Ji.d5 .'ii'a4 :ca 3a. . a5. 36. 1 1 . After 1 o . tl:ie7 . and now. .:h h 1 Wea has turned away from that.'it>g2 :ba slight plus in Ponomariov-Naka m u ra .ba 1 4.tfa On the other hand. .g7 1 a .. . Gata Kamsky's preparation : 1 O.tl:id2 tl:if4 1 4.f3 c6 1 3. c6 and 1 2 . 1 3.f3 does he prefer one of the two main options.e1 . but he "The problem with this move is clear: Black . . Dortmund 20 1 1 .com 1 4. N H Hotels. .!:!.:tea 1 0.'ifd2! ? is was indicated in Kamsky-Nakamura. tl:ic6 8.te3 tl:if5 1 4. . 'it>f1 :f? 1 6. 2 1 . .:c1 Ji. not long ago he brought 39.txc3 1 1.te2 c4 34. Sparkassen Chess Meeting.:c1 is advantage for White in Hebert-Nakamura. . . i.tt:'ie1 tt:'id7 1 O .f4 24.:!.f3 f4 1 3..i. g 4. 'ifd2 'ii'c5 26 . f8 20 ...tt:'id3 f5 1 1 . xe2 tt:'if5 31 .c5 g5 1 4.a4 h5 (see next diagram) 1 9.tt:'if2 tt:'ig6 1 6 . d 2 tt:'if6 1 2.. ..1 94 � Chapter 9 has at his disposal a well-known drawish variation . . e 1 .l:. . 'ii'a S? ! (Hikaru aims very high .ac3 tt:'ih4 25. fxe4 1 34) 1 6 .f7 1 7 .xe5! (a followed . i. . ..b 1 'ii'c6 1 2 . B) 9.i. cs . a 3 dxe4 20. Pelletier-Nakamu ra... i.'ifc2 l:!. e 7 . instead Hikaru played typical and strong exchange sacrifice) the passive 26 .l:f. . and now in Aronian-Nakamu ra.l:ta3 a6 2 1 .i.cxd6 cxd6 1 5.i.. by Black.i..l:Xc1 + 28.i. .l:.l:.cxdS cxd5 1 9 .�g2 'ii'c4 29. Bursa 201 0. . .f5 1 1 . x es 2 1 . . .f2 g5 23. But at the start of this game my opponent looked even physically so up for it that he convinced me. However..�b4 l:g7 24 . h6 1 4.l:.i. .fxd8 2 1 . . e3 [ 1 O.l:.h3 i. d 7 22.. . g4 should have 1 8 . .tt:'ixe4 tt:Jxe4 1 7..i. x e7 b6 23. as the knight may help his king. . according to World Team Championsh ip.�as 1 9 . . 1 -0.. tt:'ie6 i..l:f.'iie 2 'ifxe2 30.xe4 d5 1 9. His superiority on the q ueenside should help him to tie down some of the enemy pieces. xe4 d5 1 8 .xe6 "leads to the afore 26 . Pelletier) 1 6.l:.fc1 tt:'ie8 1 8. xe6 1 5. 'ii'x d8 l:.i.i. i. a 1 ..i. b2 fxe4 1 7.g3! :c4 25.cxdS cxd5 20 . . . .. 1 5 . dxe6 Position after 1 8 h5 .. . Aronian's novelty is sensi ble.xb7 .i. .'ii'c3 i. . f6 g5? ! 27 . He would never go for a d raw!" (Yan nick Pelletier in CBM 1 08) 1 3 .tt:'ixe4 tt:Jxe4 the typical advance 26 ." was the comment by Lubomir Ftacnik in CBM 1 5 . tt:'icd 1 ("White has no waterproof method of preventing the impending kingside attack . 'ifb8] 1 O .e8 22. mentioned d rawn ending"..f3 f4 20 . . . x e5 'ifxb5?! 22 . Biel 2005. Nakamu ra has his own ideas about the King's I ndian Defence.'ii'b 3 1 5 . 1 3 . .a4 .b1 White must seek counterplay q uickly. . 1 7. because his play on the I ndian with . Dortmund 201 1 .l:.f7 1 6. . . .i. . . according to Georg Meier) . . .c5 lbg6 1 5. . . . . Saint Lou is 20 1 1 .lLid3 a) 1 3. lbxc5!?) 20 .f8 ( 1 6 . a4! ? ("A curious idea.l:.b4 f5 1 3. . lLif6 1 4.l:. .. . lbb6! 22 . .f3 f4 1 7 . axb4 b6 1 4. b4 axb4 1 3. 9 . lbb5 b6 1 5. 22 . b) Against the most frequently played 1 3.b6 instead of 22 .td7 2 1 .td2 .a4 it is not clear exactly how H i karu will continue. so his choice of the line could make a difference". as is H i karu's alternative: 1 O. 'ii'e 7? as in Meier-Nakamura.te6 with equa lity should have followed (Ftacnik) instead of 21 . .c5!? queenside q uickly picks up speed) 1 1 .�g2 c5 21 . Now after 22 . ..h3 l:. dxc5 1 9. King's I ndian short repertoire ttJ 1 95 1 3.lbxa7 .cxd6 cxd6 1 9. He likes playing the King's Barcelona 2007. a5 g4 is the main variation) 1 7.td3 . However. 1 5.a3 �h8 (1 0 . . gxh2+ 23.g4 h5 1 4. be lLid7 1 2 .b1 lbe8 1 2.lbb3 f5 1 6. .c1 l:.f3 f4 1 4.lbb5 g4 20.lbb5.l:. .�h 1 should have been played . .tc4+ �h7 2 1 . H i karu's novelty.td7 1 8.i.lbd3 l:r. .lbxc5 lLid4 ( 1 9 . lLif6? as in Ponomariov-Nakamura. and White was better in Vaganian-Nakamura. . Kasparov's database must have had a lot on this subject. 1 st match game. g3 (the typical way of getting counter play. c7-c5. I nstead of . .h6 1 6.dxc6 lbxc6 1 8. . . .lbb3 and now 21 . h5 1 7. 9 lbe8 .f6 (''This rather closed position has not at tracted the attention of strong players in the past.a1 g5 1 9.'ii'c2 fore the black advance on the kingside be comes too th reatening: 1 8 .a5 h5 1 8. was the appreciative j udgement of Ftacnik in CBM 1 42) . . c5 1 1 . bxc5 bxc5 1 5 . .cxd6 cxd6 Fischer also unconditionally trusted the 1 6.1 Kramnik-Nakamura. .lbbS fxe2 2 1 . which was 23 .txd6. p. . see Chapter 1 0.l:.ic 1 -a3. countless bullet. And it is certainly no coincidence wou ld have been more accu rate) .tb2 . 31 . ..g 1 a3 but has also developed this defence into 42 .l:. . Bursa 201 0.tg2 lbgs 2 1 .l:. Chapter 1 0.a4 f4 1 3." was M ichal Krasen kow's opinion on this move in CBM 1 42) 1 6.b6 g3 And the attacks roll forward on both sides as in Gelfand-Nakamura. Am sterdam 2009 .. .xh 1 33 . . The a4-pawn can be captu red but that will take a lot of time.txcS hS 1 8. lbg6 is the alternative) 1 5. .l:.'ite3 'ii'x g5+ 37.'ii'c3 g2 4 1 .f7 a3-a4 and .lbc4 gS 1 4. games on the internet must have played a 1 0. .'ifi>c1 l:. .'ifi>c2 successfully for his place in the world el ite . . H is 45 .f6 1 9 .tc3? ! (25. .l:. . :ea Paulsen. .tf1 0-.te2 f3 1 9.1 96 � Chapter 9 opening the a-file for White. h4 ! ? ) 26 .lbc4 g5 1 4 .he always presses boldly forward . 203. l:. l:. the move 2 3 .td6 25 . lbxe4+! (now H i karu strikes! ) 32 .'ifxe2 'ifd8 22.'ifi>xd2 .aS g4 1 9. Melody Amber.f4 1 3.ta3 .ta3 g4 (typical And a role was perhaps played by the H i karu .xh 1 f3 34.td7 29. In his statistics we axb6 20. Olympiad .xe2 40. p. . 'ilb2 (26 . Monte Carlo 20 1 1 .1'. introduced into tou rnament praxis by Louis Khanty-Mansiysk 2 0 1 O.g4 h5 1 8.'ifi>f2 lbt6 23. 201 .d1 g5 1 7.f3 large part in this process of development.c5 lbf6 1 2. 'itg7 26. fact that his great model Robert James 1 4 . . hxg5 1 6. dxcS 1 7 . blitz and rapid chess rapid.l:.h3 l:.:h1 .i::t h 6 20 . b6 King's I ndian with Black. .lbxb6 g3+! 35 .f2 39.bg 1 ? . that the first recorded game of Bobby . 1 2 .lbbxd6 find 1 09 games in which the eleventh world lbxd6 23 .tbs+ 38.lbbxd6 cxd6 30.txg4 'ifc7 1 8 .tta 22.bS For 1 6. 1 6 .'ifxd2 a2 44.f7? in Kramnik-Nakamura.'itxf3 Nakamu ra impressively demonstrates. over his chess career H i karu has not only fought . . b5 lbe8 1 7 .'ifi>d3 . .. .fxe4 As this short King's I ndian repertoi re of l:. .d2 .b4 fS 1 1 . Black prevents 1 2 . .c5! dxc5 24. . cxb4 27. h4! is critical for Black) 25 .ta+ 36. World Team Championsh ip.lbc4 .'itc2 'ifxd2+ one of his most dangerous weapons. h4 hxg4 31 .a4 lbg6 1 5 . axb4 'ii'e 7 28. a5 see Beliavsky-Nakamu ra.l:.xd2 43. and now instead of champion chose this defence.. 2009. 5 is probably today's most ardent and inno In the 1 990s the King's I ndian Defence vative fan of the King's I ndian at the very was en riched with numerous new ideas by highest level. after for a long period when time had the King's I ndian in thei r reper other I ndian openings such as the Queen's toi re are Victor Bologan . Alongside Veselin Topalov and Loek van Wely. J udit Polgar.The Career and Complete Games of the American World Chess Champion. must certainly have gained some valuable Alexei Shi rov. CT USA. the Nimzo-l ndian and the G runfeld Alexander G risch uk. Karsten MOiier. Boris Gelfand .. Nakamu ra Sergei Movsesian . I ndian . Inc. Peter Svidler. Milford . Alexander Moro During his barely one year of cooperation zevich (almost solely in rapid chess) . 5 Cf. the six months older Azerbaijani Championships in May 1 955 . Vassily lvanch uk. l lja Smiri n . Other world-class players Garry Kasparov and it experienced a who in the last 20 years have at least for a renaissance. Bobby Fischer .was also a Teimour Radjabov (born 1 2th March 1 987) King's l ndian . Russell Enterprises.played in the US Amateur H i karu . Defence attracted much more attention.35 . ideas in the King's I ndian . with the 1 3th world champion. p. Shakhriyar Mamedyarov. John Nunn. King's Indian short repertoire t2J 1 97 Fischer . Rights to the German edition were secured by the Kurt Rattmann Verlag in Hamburg . . Barcelona 2007 behind which are hidden deeply important Reti Opening [A 14] rules and inexhaustible possibilities. which appeared with brill iant introductory comments by grandmaster Larry Evans. After a thorough search we have added one more game to that quartet. as in the case of Robert James Fischer. At that time Hikaru mentioned at least the games against M ichal Krasen kow. . as by chance was Hikaru Nakamu ra in the year of his breakthrough in Wijk aan Zee! When in July 201 1 in Dortmund we asked our hero about his top 1 O games. the ex-world cham der Onischuk. Krasen kow H. "memorable" and "best" games are of course not the same thing . Sportverlag Berlin 1 986. But if he wanted to improve pion met the then 22-year-old American in further he really had to cross ''The Pond" 2009 i n San Sebastian i n the tournament and go to Europe to take part in tou rna mentioned in the Prologue by Lubosh ments there.3 in chess is what we find so tru ly beautiful the USA behind Gata Kamsky and Alexan about it. that which Anatoly Karpov wrote in another context about the beauty of chess is equally valid: M . Nakamura - "It is based on the subtlest of nuances.1 98 � CHAPTE R 1 0 H i ka ru Naka m u ra 's best games W games as the title to this chapter.259 . many more would follow it."2 Moreover. it would contain something "memorable and exciting". This eternal freshness of In 2007 the 1 9-year-old Hikaru was No. New York. step was taken. his answer was the slightly shocked : "Ten games?" Well . p. Linder: Faszinierendes Schach. At that point the futu re world champion was just 24. In 1 969 Robert e happily admit that we were sorely tempted to give 'memorable' as well as 'best' James Fischer published his collection of games under the title My 60 Memorable Games. where in 1 970 the first edition appeared with the title Meine 60 denkwiirdigen Partien. Thus A brilliant queen sacrifice something new can always be taken from every game. . were all played between 1 957 and 1 967. And there is a good reason for this. 2 I. The final one was from the l nterzonal Tou rnament in Sousse against Leonid Stein. In October Nakamu ra took 1 Publ ished by Simon & Schuster. 5 The games. In the autumn of 2007 that Kavalek .and lost. in that order. . Casino Tournament. with an important criterion for its choice being that. For H i karu Nakamu ra's five best games GAME 4 3 that we intend to show you . Boris Gelfand . Alexander Beliavsky and Vladimir Kramnik. .tZ'ixd4 . 1 8 . bxc4 l::t e d8 26.l:!. xf6 1Vxf6 23 . Nakamura's best games llJ 1 99 part in the Corsica Open in Bastia .td7 bxc4 25. 5. . one of the best Polish (formerly After 1 2 . since at the time the winner 1 2 1 ) with good compensation.i.. .c4 e6 3. c3 bxc4 1 8.i.tt:Jc3 c6 8. .tZ'ib5 i.l:.. 1 2. .i.ca did not appeal to him. tZ'id2 i...tt:Jxc4 . g 5 b5 20. 11 . .dxc5 d4 1 4. ably quotes: He had previously stopped off in Barce 1 2 .which he won . .c8 1 3 . i.i.e1 b5 1 6.g3 dS 4.x b5? 1 4..l:!.tZ'if3 tZ'if6 2.e1 c5 1 3... b4 a point ahead of the Cuban Perez 2 1 .tZ'ibS exdS he had ever played .e4 ila6 1 1 . xc5 ilxc5 1 6. h 3 !Iba (Elo average 2607) all-play-all tou rnament.i.bxc4 tt:Jc7 is preferable.0-0 0-0 6. xc4 1 9.. the point of Nakamu ra immediately picks up the gaunt.. . 1 3 . Allow you rself be 1 4 .a rapid let with this novelty and boldly seizes the tou rnament with 1 0 minutes thinking time initiative..tZ'id2?! 1 7. which he justifi Rustam Kasimdzhanov 1 %-% in the final.e8 9.l:!.tt:Jxe5 1 5. xc5 1 4.b3 as 7.l:. The 20.'ii'c 2 b6 1 0.ed 1 h6 22. said euphorically that it was the best game 12 . g 2 ile7 hands. c3 Dominguez (Elo 2683) .exdS 8/2007 h i s encounter with Michal Krasen kow.bxc4 i.ilxaa 1Wxa8 ( Ftacnik in CBM enchanted .cS! A strong intermediate move.. results with this set-up.l:.i.tZ'ia4 tt:Jxc5 lona. b5 ( 1 -0). but Nakamu ra 1 7.d4 tZ'ibd7 1 4. bxc4 1 8.ac1 i.. 'i!i'b6! 1 1 . b2 .dxe6! plays into White's 1 .i.1i'd3 e5 1 7.i.. . ... l:!.. cxd4 1 3. .tZ'if3 .. which is sti ll lying hidden beyond the . as each plus an increment of th ree seconds can be seen from the rapid game Renet per move .'ii'd 1 ? White may have managed a few good Wh ite does not have time for this retreat.l:.l:!..l:. Oviedo 1 992.dxc5? ! d4 1 3.d 1 1 7 . chose and annotated for New in Chess Vol . defeating Bronstein. alternative 1 1 .c8 15 .xc4 shows that it is in fact rather artificial .e8 1 9.... .tZ'ie2 .l:!.e5 Russian) grandmasters.'ii'd 2 would have limited the damage. on account of the Black happily gives up the exchange: brilliant queen sacrifice .e5 tt:Jea 1 2. where he won a F I D E category XV 1 5. At the time Hikaru 24 . 1 8 . 20 .. .200 � Chapter 1 0 horizon .'it>g4 ••• This runs into an incredible counter. Accepting the pawn sacrifice at saving the game. .'iii>f3 llf6+ 2a. . 22 . 26 f6 27 .Wg5 .tea 29. .xe 1 30.d4 .xe5+ 28. And now there i s no escape from Nakamura's mating net: 29.Wg5 f6#.l:!. .Wf4 lLid3+ 27.l:!xb6 l:!xb6.xd 1 + 27 .'iit g S 25 . 1 9 .Wg4 lbe5+ 26.lle2 compensation .tea ! An incredible q ueen sacrifice . . 23.l:. . and White has nothing more to laugh about) 22 ..g. ..h6+ 3 1 ".Wxg5 (30. . . l:.'Wf3 White resigned 'ilea . .i.xd5 30.'iii> h 1 'Wxf6 23 . Jhe7 22 .Wg2.tf3 l:.te3#.g&+ 26.txf6 (22 ..'ifxe 1 l:.l:.lLif5 .tf3 c3+ 20.'iii> g 2 lb6d7. and the wrong side wins!) 24.lbxc4 l:txc4 23 . . . .b1 dxc4! 20.txd 1 l:r.. out of nowhere.tcs+ 23.. lL!xf6 23. .l:. and 1 a . . .g4 l:.e1 + 2a. apparently •.xeS l:.xa6 l:tc 1 25. .Wh4 l:.tea ( Ftacn ik) .g4 (29 .'ii'd 2 allows White good 25..tc5 2 1 .WhS 26.txc6 'ilfxc6+ 24. . 24 . . The fantastic coordi nation of his rooks and bishops is impressive . 22. .l:!aa+ lL!fa 26 . there is no longer any way of .'it>g4 .'it>g5 .Wh4 .xf&+ 24.'iii> xf2 l:.tc3 'ii'c5 was the lesser evil. However. 'iii>f3 :f6#) 30 . but in the long run the black rooks should also retain the upper hand after 21 . 25.td5+ 22.Wh4 l:!h6+ 2a.Wf4 g5+ 30.tea+ 29.tf2+ 30. . 21 'ifxf2+! ! •.txf5+ 27. e. . . . .Wh3 l:!h6 mate.• Krasenkow's king tries in vai n to flee.xf6+ ?? on accou nt of 24 . or 23.xe5 . l:tf5 . Jbc6 21 .lbc6? 23 l:.Wf3 l:tf6+ backfi res.d3 is equally hopeless for Black also has a decisive advantage after White) 29 . lL!eS+! Nakamu ra brings all his pieces into the attack.l:t. . 'iii>f3 . 25.txc4?! 1 9 .tea+! 26.. 25 . lbc6 c2-+..txd4+ 24.ta3 c3 23Jhb6 cxd2 24.txf6? ! • From the practical point of view 2 1 Jhe7!? was preferable. 20 .'iii>f 1 c3+! (but not once with 1 a . dxc4? 1 9. l:tf2 gxf2 25. The method was extremely simple and has remained the same ti ll the present day. . to which a selection of 30 games was submitted . 23.b6 g3 and innovations in Openings Theory and 20. Gelfand H. Aleksandar Matanovic. .d5 lbe7 modern scientific methods in the endeavour 9. for example: . bxc??? maximum score of 1 0.@f2 lbh3#) 23 .d6 I n Chess Informant 1 09. annotated desliga 1 997. Yu ry Averbakh .xc5 h5 1 8. Lev Poluga evsky. lbh? points to each individual game .b4 f5 1 1 . though it did not .i.lbf3 0-0 6. Nakamu ra received the continuation 2 1 . In Bobby's best-seller My 60 Memo of 27. Jonathan Speelman and Jan Timman) 7th World Team Championship.e2 e5 7.tg7 4.ta3 :11 1 6.i.h3!? 23. Bun rable Games it is the final game.e4 d6 attempt in the application to chess of 5. Ognjen Cvitan members of the j u ry vote by allocating scored a nice victory with the trap 20 .a4 lbg6 1 5 . All games showing particular beauty dxc5 1 7. .lbc3 .@xg2 'ii' h 3+ 25. under the heading "When champions meef'. White resigned on account jurors. points out of a possible 80. .�1 g2+ 28. The total which each (23.0-0 lbc6 8.@g2 lbh4+. Ftacnik-Cvitan .xf2±. The fi rst winner was the game Fischer-Stei n from the 24.tf8 general concepts find a place in this publ ication'.'it>xh3 lbg5+ receive the highest mark from any of the 26. Larry Christiansen .@h 1 g2 mate. Lothar Schmid and Petar Trifunovic. Vasja Pirc. By the fourth issue a new section had been i ntroduced : ''The ten best games from the previous volume". The The main continuation. which was intended to bring out more clearly the creative element in chess.cs lbf6 1 2. the editors were able to call on grandmasters Max Euwe.i.'itixh3 lbg5+ 26. Bursa 201 O the second highest number of votes.d6 'ii' h 4 22 .@xg2 'ii'h 3+ ! ! 25. In older games we find against Boris Gelfand. 21 . ''The Chess Informant represents the fi rst 1 . Mikhail G u revich. Erich Eliskases.lbd2 lbea 1 0.d4 lbf6 2.l:le 1 ? i. 'i'xh3 game achieves decides its placing among 24.lbc4 g5 1 4.xg2+ the ten best performances.a5 g4 1 9.g1 . Nakamura's best games ttJ 201 GAME 44 from the j u ry (Alexander Beliavsky. was the claim made by the editors in the very fi rst volume in 1 966. For their ju ry. Nakamura - Ribl i .@h1 . .txg2+! 24.f3 f4 to study more efficiently the trends i n World 1 3. .i. Gedeon Barcza. . only King's Indian Defence [E97] six points (55 to 61 ) behind the fi rst-placed World Championship brilliancy from Sofia Like a hurricane between Topalov and Anand. for his game Gelfand's novelty.b5 Chess.@g2 l nterzonal Tou rnament in Sousse with 58 lbh4+ 27. . Zoltan B.tg1 i.with a 2 1 .gxh3! refutes the black plan : 23 . Adrian Mikhalchischi n .c4 g6 3. °ifd5+ .xf7 'it>xf7 29.'it>f2 g3+ 34.cxdB'ii'? fails to the wonderfu l 25 .lLif1 i.xa1 23. ..!Lig4 28.'iix e6 'ii h 3+ 33. .dxc7 (24. bxc7 . . 28.xh2 g3 29.i.'it>f1 i.l:. .l:.i.• 24.l:. . 26.xh2 h4) 24 .axb6 J::t xa 1 29. and the position is balanced .'ifxe1 25. .!Lie3 gxh2 'ii h 4+ 28.xf6 32 .llfxd 1 30.i. i nto a fatal h u rricane for White .'it>g2 hxg4 29.l:r.xg 1 'fixc7 23 .d4. fxg3 24.!Lixe5? 'ilfh3+ 3 1 .f4 i. last rights) 26 .i.xg4 hxg4 30 .!Lixe5 gxh2+ 26. .e6 Wh ite good play for the two sacrificed 32 .!Lixe4 0-1 .. Montreal 2008. . hxg3!? was well worth considering.h3? on account of 25.xg 1 + 31 .!:.i. f3+ 3 1 . and the storm has 23 .lLib5.d 1 Ftacni k in CBM 1 34: 24 .l:!.f1 with an advantage for White) 25. 'it>h 1 !! (after 26.i. . . . gxh2+ 26.. i. .fxg4 25. 24 .!Lixe5? is a mistake on account of abated.g1 gxh2 25.g1 'ifc8 26.!Lih4 ! ? . which tu rns Roozmon-P.'it>e3 Wxe6 pawns and does not fit in with the black Wh ite has surely been adm in istered the attack. . . .fxe5 . .h3! .g7 23 . .'it>xh2? .!Lixe5? gxh2+ 25. after which White can 22. . for example: 24.'it>xg 1 .e7 27.i. . .!Lie8.exf6+ 'it>h7. .g7 25. .•• petual check by 30 . This runs i nto a powerful storm .g1 hxg4 2 7 . ...e6 (Ftacnik).'it>h 1 .f7 23. . but 23. .g1 .dxc7 'ifxd 1 25.g5 . as shown by Lubomir too strong an attack.e 1 ? ! . . and Black has nothing better than per 22 .:l.'it>xh2 .i. on the other hand. 22 .e3 cxd6 (but not 24 .xh2 bxa5 24.i. hxg 1 'ii+ 27.i.!Lih4 22 .'it>f2 g3+ l:.!Lig6.'it>g 1 'iig 3+) Nakamu ra goes for broke a n d plays logi 25 . . gxh2 27.. . .!Lixd6+ 'it>g7 3 1 .f6+ i.!Lig4+ 27.!Lixe1 ! 25..Charbonneau .fxg4 'ifh4 26.!:.i.'it>xg2 ! i s forced.xc7 26.i.!Lixg2 23.xb6 (30 . 'ilh3+ 3 1 .dxc7? 24 .. i.xd 1 l:. 21 axb6 22.'it>g2 hxg4 29.fxg4 1i'h4+ 28.!Lixg2! 24.'iid 5+ 'it>h7 30.e1 28.!Lig4 ! ! (25 .202 � Chapter 1 0 2 1 .'it>xg2 . i. g2 mate.'it>f3 'ifh 1 #) 30 .axb6? l:!. What a mating pattern ! (see n ext diagra m ) . I n any case Black retains counterplay after 23 . 23 .l:.l:. .i.g. .. . . .!Lig4+ cal ly for an attack on the king. e. gives 32 .Wxa1 cxd6 allows Black probably j ust survive. .xd 1 30. Nakamu ra's best games ltJ 203 i.g2# or 29.i.xh3? 'ilfxf3+ 30.i.g2 'ilfxg2#. 29 i.xf1 30. 'ilfxf1 ••• 30.lDxd3? i.g2#. 30 .'ifxc3 31 .l:tc1 •• Boris did not feel like playing on after 3 1 .lDd3 'ii'x c7, since, being a knight down, the rest would be pretty hopeless for h i m . 31 ... 'ii'xe5 32.cS'iW l:txc8 33 .:!.xcS 'ii'e 6 • White resigned Analysis diagram after 25.cxdS 'iV? g2# And finally, it should be pointed out that in Bu rsa Nakamu ra not only played brilliantly 25 g2+! •.. against Gelfand , but he also scored the Nakamu ra logically opens attacking lines. best result on board 1 with 6 out of 8 and 26.�xg2 l:1g7+ 27.�h 1 thus achieved the best rating performance 27.�f2? i.c5+ 28 . �f1 l:.xg 1 mate. of 285 1 points. And he required only 30 27 i.h3 28.i.f1 ..• minutes thinking time for this masterpiece. 28.'ilff2 'iii'd 4 29 . .l:Id1 'ilfxf2 30.i.xf2 i.g2+ We say "hats off to him"! 3 1 .�g 1 i.xf3+ 32 .�f1 i.xe2+ 33.lDxe2 .l:.xc7 also does not save White, and after GAME 45 28.cxd8'ii'? he is simply mated: 28 . . . i.g2#. A . Beliavsky H . Nakamura - Match Experience - Youth, Amsterdam 2009 King's Indian Defence [E97] A deadly pawn fork Here we must fi rst of all pay tribute to Joop van Oosterom, whom we have to thank for twenty Melody Amber tou rnaments be tween 1 992 and 201 1 in his adopted country, Monaco. The twice world corre spondence chess champion ( 1 8th and 2 1 st championships) and sponsor from The Netherlands , who finished a respectable seventh in the fi rst junior world champion 28 ...'ii' d 3 ! ! ship of 1 955 in Antwerp, which was won by A powerful thunderclap, which announces Boris Spassky, has always shown himself White's demise. Moreover, for fou r moves to be open to new ideas. And so he also Hikaru's queen on d8 had been taboo for supports the NH-tou rnament, in which a the white pawn on c7. team of experienced g randmasters puts to 29.lDxeS the test the "rising stars", of whom the If the i.f1 moves, White is mated : 29.i.xd3? winner earns the right to take part in the 204 � Chapter 1 0 next Melody Amber Tournament. I n August 1 9.bxc7 l:.xc7 20.ll'ibS g3! ! 2009, in the luxurious five-star Krasnapolsky ''The prelude to the black sacrificial dance. Hotel in the centre of Amsterdam , this inter Active play is requ i red; if Black brings his esting confrontation saw youth represented rook to safety with 20 . . . l:.f7, after 2 1 .ll'ibd6 by the two Dutch players Jan Smeets (Elo White exchanges the most important black 2632) and Daniel Stellwagen (2630) , the attacking piece, the i.c8, and obtains an U SA-born Italian Fabiano Caruana (2670), overwhelming advantage."3 the 1 5-year-old ru nner-up in the women's 21 .ll'ixc7 world championship Hou Yifan (2584) from China and Hikaru Nakamu ra (27 1 0) . How- • The next day Beliavsky described this ever, partly due to illness H i karu did not live capture on c7 as the decisive mistake. But up to the high expectations, scoring only what else should or could he have played? 3Y2 points from 1 0 games. To no small ex In his analysis for Chess Informant 1 06/ tent, his negative resu lt was responsible for 2007 (game 1 68) he gives 2 1 .h3 i.xh3 the 22%-27% defeat of the youth team . 22.gxh3 (22 .'ii'b 3! ? ) 22 . . . 'ii'c8 23. tt:'ixc7 However, in round 3 on 22nd August he 'ifxh3 24 . .l:.f2 gxf2+ 25.�xf2 'ii'g 3+ 26.�f1 showed what he was capable of with his tt:'ixe4 27.fxe4 'ii' h 3+ 28.�e1 'it'c3+ 29.'ifd2 fantastic King's I ndian triumph over Alex 'ii'xa 1 + 30.i.d1 l::t b8 3 1 . i.xc5 with advan ander Beliavsky. In the choice of the ten tage for White . best games, he was to finish second in Chess Informant 1 07, only one point be hind Vladimir Kramnik (50 to 51 ) . 1 .d4 ll'if6 2.c4 g 6 3.ll'ic3 i.g7 4.e4 d6 5.ll'if3 0-0 6.i.e2 es 7.0-0 ll'ic6 8.d5 tt:'ie7 9.ll'id2 tt:'iea 1 0.b4 f5 1 1 .cs ll'if6 1 2.f3 f4 1 3.tt:'ic4 g5 1 4.a4 tt:'ig6 1 5.i.a3 l:.f7 1 6.aS 1 6. b5 is much more frequently played , for example in the previous game Gelfand Nakamu ra. 16 hS 1 7.bS dxc5 1 8.b6 ! ? ••• This very ambitious advance is a new idea of the Ukrainian player Beliavsky, who in the 1 980s was amongst the best players in 21 ... tt:'ixe4 ! ! the world. Since 1 996 he has been playing The point of Black's idea. for Slovenia. 22.ll'ie6?! 1 8 ... g4 Only 22.fxe4! offers any prospect of riding As usual , Nakam u ra goes for broke. out the black storm and finally emerging 18 ... i.f8 was the alternative. from the turbulence with an advantage: 3 According to Peter Daggers from The Netherlands in his game annotations for SCHACH Vol . 1 0/ 2009, p .37 Nakamu ra's best games ltJ 205 22 . . .'ifh4 23.h3 .txh3 24.gxh3 'ii'x h3 25 . .:!.f2 27 . . . 'ii'g s 28.i.xa7 b5 29 . .:!.a2 .:!.xa7 30.t"Lid6 gxf2+ 26.�xf2 'ii'g 3+ (but not 26 . . . i.f6? .:!.xa5 3 1 .t"Lixe4 i.d4+ 32.'ifxd4 .l:.xa2 27.'ii'h 1 .th4+ 28.�g 1 , and White is i n 33.t"Lif6+ �8 34.t"Lih7+ �g8. control) 2 7 .�1 . a n d Black cannot really capitalise on his attack, e.g. 27 . . . 'ilfh3+ (27 .. .f3 28.t"LixaB fxe2+ 29.�xe2 t"Lif4+ 8 30.�d2 'ifd3+ 3 1 .�c1 'ifxc4+ 32.'ii'c2 t"Lid3+ 33.�b1 'ii'x e4 34.d6) 28.�e1 'ii'c3+ 7 29.'ifd2 'ilfxa1 + 30.i.d 1 , and in each case 6 White is clearly better. 5 After 22.'ii'c 2? ! the line 22 . . . 'ii' h 4 23.h3 4 .txh3 24.gxh3 t"Llg5 gives Black enough of an attack in retu rn for the material, e.g. 3 25.i.xc5 (25.'ifxg6? would be a mistake on 2 account of 25 ... t"Lixh3+ 26.�g2 t"Lig 1 !!) 25 ... 'ifxh3 26.i.d1 t"Lih4 27.l:.a2 :ca 28.d6 e4 with a compl icated position , in which the chances should be equal. Of cou rse, the greedy 22.t"LixaB?? really backfi res after 28.i.xa7? 22 . . . 'ifh4 23.h3 i.xh3 24.gxh3 'ii'x h3. Beliavsky does not have time for this pawn 22 ... i.xe6 23.dxe6 grab. I nstead he should have sought 23.fxe4? 'i!t'h4 24.h3 i.xh3 25 .gxh3 'ii'x h3 salvation in counterplay by 28.e7 ! , which 26JU2 gxf2+ 27.�xf2 'ii'g 3+ 28.�1 f3 leads to incredible compl ications, e.g. 29.i.xf3 .l:tf8 30.t"Lid2 t"Lih4 leaves Black 28 ... t"Lixe7 (28 ... e3? fails to 29.t"Lixe3, but with a clear advantage. 28 . . . exf3! ? is a genuine alternative: 29.i.xf3 23 gxh2+! ••. t"Lixe7 30.i.xa7 b5 31 . .:!.b4 bxc4 32 . .:!.e1 i.c3 33J:lb1 'ii'h 1 + 34.�f2 'ifh4, and Black Black m ust tackle the white king straight can probably hang on in view of the away, since after 23 . . . 'ifh4? Wh ite can i nsecu re white king) 29.t"Lid6 exf3 30.i.c4+ secu re his position and Black is simply a rook down : 24.h3 t"Llg5 25 . .:!.a2 t"Lixh3+ �h8 31 .t"Lif7+. 26.gxh3 'ii'x h3 27.i.d3. 24.�xh2 'ifh4+ 25.�g1 t"Lig3 26.i.xc5 e4 27 . .:!.a4 :ca Nakamura continues in his typical style and is not put off by any risk. He had two alternatives, which more or less end in a forced d raw: 27 . . . .:!.dB 2 8 . e7 .:!.xd 1 29.eB'ii' + �h7 30 . .:!.xd 1 t"Lixe2+ 3 1 .�f1 t"Llg3+ 32.�f2 e3+ 33.t"Lixe3 t"Lie4+ 34.�g 1 'ii'f 2+ 35.�h 1 'ii' h 4+; Analysis diagram 206 @ Chapter 1 0 And now comes the i ncredible king move As far as the state of health of the victor 31 . . . 'i.t>gB ! ! [if 31 . . . 'i.t>h7? , then 32.i.d3+ on that 22nd August 2009 is concerned, he lll g 6 (after 32 . . .lt:\ef5 33.'ii'xf3 l:.xc5 34.'ii'xf4 must have been feeling wretched . ii'xt4 35 . .:!.fxf4 'i.t>g6 36. llld 6 lll e 2+ 37.i.xe2 "Nakamu ra was asked afterwards to lt:\xd6 38.l1f3 Black is also worse) 33.ii'xf3 explain on the demo board to the admiring l:txc5 34.i.xg6+ �xg6 35.'ii' d 3+ lt:\f5 spectators what had happened , but he had 36.l:.axf4 and White is better] 32.lt:\e5+ to excuse himself because he felt too 'i.t>h8 33.lt:\xf3 'iih 1 + 34.'i.t>f2 lll e 4+ 35 .'i.t>e1 unwell . He had even twice been sick during i.c3+ (35 . . . 1i'xg2 36.i.d4 'i!Vg3+ 37.i.f2 the game. He would not recover properly i.c3+ 38.'i.t>e2 'i!Vg2 39.i.e6 lll g 3+ 40.'i.t>d3 before the end of the tou rnament and even l:tc6) 36.lll d 2 'i!Vh4+ 37.i.f2 lt:\xf2 38.l:.xf2 had to consult a doctor on two occasions," l:td8 39 . .l:!.a2 lt:\f5 , and in each case Black according to eye-witness Peter Daggers, has dangerous counterplay. who is responsible for the internet portal 28 ... b5! ! www.chessvibes.com. The straw which breaks the camel's back. 29 . .l:.b4 GAME 46 In Chess Informant Beliavsky gives the variation 29.l:ta3 bxc4 30.fxe4 'iih 1 + 31 .'i.t>f2 V. Kramnik H . Nakamura - lt:\xe4+ 32.'iii>e 1 'iih 4+ 33.i.f2 "iie 7 with a 2nd London Chess Classic, London 201 0 decisive advantage for Black, which is Nimzo-lndian Defence [E20] clear after 34.°ii'a4 'ii'd 6. 29.fxe4 can be met by either 29 . . . 'ii' h 1 + 30.'iii>f2 lt:\xe4+ Cold-blooded defence 31 .'lii>f3 'iih 4 32 .i.d3 lt:\c3, or 29 . . . bxa4 From time to time the nicest bi rthday pre 30.e5 f3 31 . .l:.xf3 lt:\xe2+ 32 .�xe2 l:!.xc4. sents are the ones you give you rself. On 9th This does not change the evaluation . The December 2009, his 22nd bi rthday, Hikaru en passant captu re 29.axb6? shows the Nakamu ra took that opportunity for the fi rst point of the pawn fork: 29 . . . i.d4+ 30.'ii'x d4 time at the London Chess Classic, which lt:\xe2#. since that year has always taken place at 29 ... bxc4 30.i.xc4 the same time and which marks a real high 30 . .l:r.xc4 .l:!.d8 3 1 .l:.xe4 l:!.xd 1 32.l:!.xd 1 i.f6 point of the international tou rnament calen also does not promise salvation . dar. However, at the inaugural event in the 30 ... 'iih 1 + 31 .'lii>f2 e3+ 32.i.xe3 fxe3+ Olympia Congress Centre, things did not 33.'it>xe3 work out as desired against M ichael Adams, If 33.'iii> xg3?, then 33 . . . 'ii'h 4 mate. as he found himself a pawn down in a rook ending, and after seven hours' play only the 33 ... lt:\xf1 + 34.i.xf1 two kings were left standing. A defeat at the 34.1i'xf1 'ii'h 4 35.e7 + 'iii> h 8. hands of English player Luke McShane and 34 ... 1i'g1 + six d raws - including against the newly And this was enough for Al - he had no nominated No. 1 in the world ranking l ist desire to witness 35 .'iii>e 2 l:tc3 36.1i'd2 Magnus Carlsen and agai nst ex-world 'ii'c 5 . champion Vladimir Kramnik - did not repre White resigned. sent his d ream result in this F I D E category dxc5 'it'g6 1 7 .li.li.exf4 with a slight advantage was prob The text move again costs Black a lot of ably not enough for him.li..txc3 8. Nakamura's best games ttJ 207 XVI I I tou rnament (Elo average 2696) .tt)fS 'i'e6 Kramnik's plan is unconvincing.tb4 4.g2 0-0 6. But things were fine 1 2 months later when on his 23 rd bi rthday Nakamu ra won on demand over Kramnik thanks to his cold blooded defence. . I n any 1 4. .•• 1 3. es 21 .th6 tt)g7 1 6 .tt)h4 e5 1 3... . .l:tad1 ? ! minutes. . but it should not be (see next diagram) sufficient in the long run either. . less preferable. . but no human i n their right mind .l:td3?! like this. because he saw several alterna The alternatives 1 4.'ii'd 2? Kramnik is over-optimistic and wants to (see next diagram) punish Hikaru straight away. dxc5 1 O.f4 l:txd8 1 7.• Without the q ueens.'ifxdB+ tt)xd8 1 8.tt)g6?! is parried by 1 3 .txc5 tt)c6 may represent a lesser 9 . thought about this move for roughly 30 1 3 .:r.txe6 :txe6 1 8.c4 e6 3. Hikaru's fighting spi rit could only have been spu rred on by his previous unfortunate defeat to the Russian at the Corus Chess Festival in Wij k aan Zee in January 201 0. as the course of the game indicates.d8 tt)c6 tives .27-29) . and compared to the previous year he improved his placing in the final classification to fourth.• would play it.. tt)c6 - 1 6.li. .tt)es 'ilc7 11 .g4 'ilf7 20..dxe5 dxe5 1 5 .l:tab1 9.g3 cs Position after 11 tll h 5 .d7 none of which satisfied him.including 8 . . .tt)h6+ gxh6 case it is hard to see anything better.f4 is played more often and is probably evil . 5 .. Nakamu ra gives the 1 4 . 'ii'a5 and 8 . . but the investment is worth it. 'ii'xeS 1 4.tt)xfB New In Chess ( 1 /201 1 .f4 'i'h5 1 7 .. .li.ll e 7 l!e8 1 5 . pp. 1 2 gS! ..f4 tt)hS practical problems.g4!? tt)g7 1 5 .gxf4.. . 1 7 . slightly more resil ient. . .. and 1 4 .d6 fol lowing variation : 9 .0-0 d6 7. But see for yourself! 1 .li.. .fxe5 .ad 1 tt)d7.li. l'td8 1 0.li.'i!fg3 makes it harder for Black to adopt a defensive set-up and poses him more 9 . that he �xf8 1 5 . f6 1 5 .:tfd 1 l:te8 1 2.'ilb3 tt)bd7 • • :ea 1 8.'ilf4? ! 1 1 .li.bxc3 • 'ile7 1 3 . . 20 . "The Computers 1 8 tt)d7 1 9.ll x gS Nakamu ra points out in his comments in 1 3.. gxf4 1 4. .d6 'iff6 1 6.tt)c3 . but are in no way what Kramnik wants.e3 tt)xf4 21 'ifg6! .h3 exf4 1 6. but it is neverthe thinking time. White's two pawns are Hikaru boldly picks up the gauntlet. . 'ii'h 6 1 2.. insufficient compensation for the piece.tt)f3 tt)f6 2." 20. 1 2 . .d4 . i.cxdS .xc8 .eS+ Wf7 30. .h?+ .!Lig6 34 .l:. .e7 i. l:!.xf4 exf4 25.l:. . .i. .e4 33.Wg2 ltxc8 32 .l:. i.l:!.gS f5 kamu ra slightly reg retted not having played 29 . .. . .es .l:.l:!.b1 is met by 24 .!LixdS 28.l:!.h3 23.f4 .. l:!.l:!. . .gS lld8 and Black wins.l:lxf4 .!Lixd5 27...xbS axbS 27 .!Libs 25. However.l:!.exf4 25. 2S.!LieS 22.!Libs 25.df3 .l:. 38..f4 gS 32.!Lixd5 .!Libs 23.h3 .i.f4 ••• 24.e4 i.i.!Lies 30.h3 32 .:te4 .i.208 � Chapter 1 0 But not 2S.!Lib6 Hikaru self-critically attachs a question mark to this move. is objectively stronger: 27 .l:!.f4 ..xe2.l:.!Lixe8.'ii'xf4 30. gS (Nakamu ra points out the However. l:!.e2-+.g3 .l:!.!Lig7! the obvious contin uation 21 . .. 2 4.xcs .l:.d2 l:!. .b2 the white pawn Position after 21 . .!Life 29 .b8 29. . .d8 .d6 Wg7 31 .l:!.c4 29. .xb7 . Wg7! the defence suggested by the computer. 'ii'h 6 islands decide the struggle in Black's favou r) 27 . because it allows the black king's stronghold to be opened up. but i n fact he easily copes with the problems.i. ..dS l:tb1 + 3 1 . .l:Id6 23 Wf7 24. i.xes Wg7 35 .l:tf7+ Wh6 35.!Libs 29.l:!.a6! 36.!LibS 28. .!Lixd5 3 1 .xe8 .l:!.xg7 + WeS) 28. .i. 2S .2f6? is met by 35 .dS+ . 26 .!Lies 2S.!Lixf4 28.!Lies 26.i.xe2 37.!LibS and Black wins easily.i.!Lixf4 24.fS .xf6+ has no attack".!Lies 24. as White 27. in the post-mortem analysis Na following win for Black: 27 .xf4? on account of 2S .!Lie? 31 .cxdS .l:. .xds bS 28 .dS+ .i.i.e3 (after 27.xf4 38 i. "wh ich is easily winning. 'ii'x g6 hxg6 23. Wg8 30.xg4 3S.fxes fxe5 35.f2 b6 22. . l:!.xdS ••• Since his thinking time is running low.i.2f6 i.fxfS l:!.i. Hikaru frees himself from the bind in a .l:!. :r.a4 :th& 46.�f2 as.gS+ greetings from Tai ! -.d3 4 1 . .xdS 43. .l:. Nakamura's best games ttJ 209 radical way.l:txes t'Llxes 43 .g. . ..H .�f3 l'Llb2 48.fS can be. h4+ �6 4S. who in his day was influenced in the choice of his 60 favou rites by whether they contained some 4 Dirk Poldauf in SCHACH Vol .l:. example.f4 l:tg8 4S. reply SS .i. he much counterplay. p. Well .d3 52. 40. �es is hopeless on account of the 43.l:tfS �xh3 53. .xd5+ �h4 on 5th December .xe6+ l:tf6 46. London 201 1 King's Indian Defence [E97] 41 . As we know.l:tdd7 l'Llf8 41 .this time 39. because there is not much 42.31 thing memorable and exciting. originality. we took as our 41 l:teS! . and White can rejoice) 42.when Viswanathan • Anand was the chosen "victim".l:fS t'Lld3 44.l:.�f3 l:tes 43 . however.f6 White resigned.xa2? would be too greedy: 39..xgS+ �xg5 40 .l:td6+ l:te6 46.f3? Too passive and according to Nakamu ra a Hacker Neo sends his regards .axb4 a4-+ . i. new ideas and the �es 47.l:txe7 gxh4 42.h7+ the correctness of a cascade of sacrifices - �gs 44.•. l:tc6 c4 42.:r. bS! 39. h4 l:txe7 4 1 .d6 �g6 42. aesthetic impression. mistake. i.• guideline Robert James Fischer.l:r. As criteria one might tu rn to. .e6 44.�g3 t'Llxa4 49.�d3 t'Lld1 (40. level of the players. . 1 /20 1 2. �h2 l:th8 potential left on the board .hS t'Lle7. i.�e4 �g4 is no better) 40 . 4 The idea of this series being continued in 201 2 cannot be ruled out. 38 . i.b? i.l:txe6+ �xe6 48. On the oth e r hand.gS l:td6+ 54. for t'Llxg4 44 . GAME 4 7 V.�3.. e.�g2 as 47. hxg4 .l:tee6 i.�e3 a4 51 . . The win will become difficult.a3 b4 Now SS. I nstead Black White's play has been stopped and the rest should i mmediately break through on the is a matter of technique.l:. . l:tg8 40. Anand .%:.l:tee7.xg4+ 46. . i.l:. J�g6. . With his "provocative set-up" (in the words of Dirk Poldauf) in a King's I ndian he forced the reigning champion into "play and fight mode (for which Anand tu rned out to be un prepared)" .l:txes t'Llxe5 43. queenside in order to create a passed 45. Nakamura 3rd London Classic. The only remaining practical At the start of this chapter we indicated how chances were promised by 4 1 . This rips apart the mating net. and White has too kamura was mighty proud of having de feated a world champion .eS? fails to 42. .�g2 l:te2+ problematic the choosing of best games (41 .. wou ld repeat this one year later .e7+ i.c4 t'Llc3 50.xf8 l:tgxf8 After this "bi rthday present'' Hikaru Na 4S.:r.�4 pawn: 38 . . .lt'ibxd6 Nicholas' day.e2 f3 1 9. .l:. his 'ii'g 5 27.i.:xa 1 with of London". .lt'ixb6 i.l:. . 1 6 e New In Chess 1 /20 1 2 .d6 'i!Vxe4+ Naiditsch reckoned that me playing the 38.e4 d6 line while on vacation in Canada d u ring my s. . .a4 gs what the correct order/idea was. you can dodge the choice of the text move as fol lows: "A bullets.l:.'it>f1 "Vishy is not a natu ral d4 player and has lt'id2+ with equality."7 game. as in I n New in Chess Nakamura explained the this game.i.lt'if3 0-0 6.l:. .'itif1 lt'ixh2+ King's I ndian against Anand was some 4 1 .f3 Vishy's preparation . . thing akin to a samurai running at a Olympiad . German children receive early Christmas presents - Translator's note.e8 ! ? .l:. That game went 1 2 . Khanty-Mansiysk 201 0. 34 . does in the big finale when Nakamu ra later said on his Twitter account faced with an overwhelming number of that he was winning after 34 .lt'ic3 i. I have seen many descriptions of this couldn't care less.lt'ib5 fxe2 2 1 .g7 4.ed 1 lt'ic2 36 .b4 lt'ie8 1 0.0-0 lt'ic6 8.'ii'xe2 'ifd8 22 . H i karu explains it as follows: advantage for Wh ite) 38.'iife 3 round 3 against Magnus Carlsen .g3 'ilfxg7 28.f7 (23 . Kram nik-Nakamu ra.24 7 SCHACH 1 1 /20 1 0. . lt:Jxa 1 38. only picked it up since his World Champi In response to this Shipov variation Naka onship match agai nst Vladimir Kramn i k in mura tweeted: " . St.ac 1 'i!Vxa4 37. ll'lc2 35 . I had briefly looked at this 1 .d7 ll'lf3+ 40.�xb7 lt'if3+ 39. s New in Chess 1 /201 2.'it>g2 'ii'f8 34.e2 es 7. . when his simple "No" stops the hail of bullets in mid-ai r. and one stuck out in particular. . champion come hell or high water. according to Shipov. f4 s On the 6th December. film Matrix. b6 axb6 Anand whom H i karu Nakamu ra met on St.xd6 . ."8 of the 201 0 Olympiad . p.l:.xf3 32 . Just as As SCHACH editor-in-chief Raj Tischbierek the hacker Neo.'ifxf3 .i.lt'ic4 g5 1 4. from his game against Kramnik in round 4 (Warning! Not a recommended method) . .dS lt'ie7 summer hol idays.xg4 'iic7 1 8. agents.i. Nicholas' day. I 2008. However. Amateurs with Rybka .lt'ixaa fighting spi rit was of cou rse sti rred up to lt'ie2+ 30.Naka more or less collapsed the day before in mura) 24.lt'ic7 'iib 4! 36 .d4 ll'lf6 2. b5 Classic it just happened to be Viswanathan lt'iea 1 7.xg7 lt'if4 26.c4 g6 3. . GM 35 .'it>g 1 ll'ld4 (37 .f3+ 3 1 .'it>g2 i.g4 29.cs fS 1 1 .cxd6 cxd6 1 6.xe5 lt'ig6 25. if. so I simply At the board Nakamu ra decides to deviate played the moves that felt most natu ral .i.lt'ic4 h6 1 4.21 0 � Chapter 1 0 I t was quite special that at the 3rd London 1 3. like Neo.a3 g4 1 5. ll'lc2 . in the cult science fiction points out in his comments on this game.24 ."6 over the board.'it>g 1 ll'lf3+ Y2-Y2 . .i. 5 After the American had lt'ixd6 23.eb 1 'iixe4+ As for the choice of opening i n this "battle 37.:fe 1 'ii'xa8. I could not remember 9. 20. p. . machine gun with a sword . then you'll probably emerge victori relatively new try which I decided to go for ous at the end of the day. to avoid running into 1 3.'it>g 1 lt'id4 39.i. 'it>xf3 contest the game against the I ndian world ll'ld4+ 33.ll'ld2 ll'lf6 1 2. p. !Lie& .. ..• "A very committal move ..!Lig6 1 5 .txe6 28 . that he saw as his best chance against the world champion .l:la2 ! ! 'ii'h 4 25. But it was this plan.txcs l:.!Lic4? • 9 SCHACH 1 /201 2..tc4 J:tg7 27 . variation 22 .. ) and this is essentially the all-in th reatened knight sacrifice on e4 (d5) .fxe4 a6 as better for White. since with it Wh ite anticipates a pro ...!Lig6 intending ."9 concluded Poldauf.!LibS cxb6 21 .ta3 .!Lixaa is more tively bad . who evalu clearing the way for the black queen to h4.tc5 for defensive pu rposes) is not 29 . . All this was of cou rse known to the King's I ndian specialist Nakamu ra. 1 5 . ..aS h5 1 9.. . . .!Lic7 l:tb8 25 . .te3 .!Lias presents it to the world champion . . . .d& a6 24 . .. "So 1 4 .bS dxcs 1 7 .b6 g4 20 . variations it loses a tempo and vi rtually 22 .txe6 .txh3 26.. . . g3 1 4 f4? . move".axb6 g3 (see next diagram) 22.tb4 . I play poker (not a bad ..gxh3 'fixh3 Poldauf evaluates the text move as objec 27 . 'iii> h 8 26 ..!Lif4 1 6.tfB 23.'iii> h 1 This safety move (the g 1 -square is cleared for the .!Lig6-f4 should be pre gxh2 ferred . . .!Lig6 1 6. 'fic2 fxe4 But according to Nakamu ra the computer 1 7. according to Nakamu ra.!Lixb6 g2 29 . . p. SCHACH editor Dirk 24 . 1 6 . ates 1 4 .!Lib6 In his comments.!Lih4 28 .. .!Lid? 23 . . ... because compared to the usual forcefu l . only just on the edge of the possible. .f7 • 1 8.td3 .h3 . bxa?! . Nakamu ra's best games ctJ 21 1 Position after 21 . . xd7 34. it is not clear how Black should pursue the attack and Anand would then have had a comfortable position .i. i.'it>xh2 human player. tt:Jd7 34. . Not Vishy played this move very quickly...d4 was the best practical chance . but of cou rse there is no doubting Black's advan tage.. h4 31 . tt:Jh4 33..xc4 36.d7 l:f. . .. tt:Jh4 A computer is in its element in tactical wa ters. d 5? ! tt:Je7 ! ! .l:r.ab 1 1ifxd5 35. 33 . 30..a5? After this White runs out of defenders on the kingside. on the other hand.gxh3 .i. h 3. 32 . i.'ii'e 1 was the last real defensive chance for Anand.f2? According to the computer 3 1 . 8 7 33.d7 tt:Jxd7 32 .i. c 5 and tt:Jc4) 3 1 . ..i.a5 h3 32 .l:i. But human..l:!. commented Nakamura..exd5 is easier to play and therefore preferable.. h 3 1ifb5 (with a double 8 attack on i.c8 Once more the computer discovers a . 29 .i... 'ir'ee "An unexpected tactical motif'.gxh3 l:r. and White can simply resign.. but true. xfB tt:Jgxf8 33. b4 30. After 29. tt:Jh5 33.. after it the position is scarcely tenable for a 34.. Here Houdini ''finds" 33 . a 3 l:!. The relieving operation 33. 31 ..21 2 � Chapter 1 0 This relieves the potential pressure and there wil l soon be problems with the 8 protection of the white minor pieces. 34 .'it>xh2 tt:Jh4 34J1g 1 ) 33. xfB tt:Jxd5 35..exd5 l:.l:!..c8 (32 . . . tt:Jd7?! 32.'ir'e 1 . on account of the lack of defenders on the kingside.°ii'd 5 l::L g 6 34. Nakamu ra's a b c suggestion 30.l:r. h3! The battering ram is knocking at the gate. l:. .xa5? l:tg3 36.b6 l2Jxe4 51 J:bg6+ 'it>xg6 52. ll'if6 44.. .g2+ 46. d 1 ll'ig2 48.c3 on account of 38 .i.i.'it>d 1 'iff3+ 53. d 1 ll'id4 A calculation mistake in a complicated 44.i.exdS 41 .'ii'x g2 l:. .l:tdS! was the final chance to put up some more resistance.:tda+ 'it>g7 49.l:!. . 'i\¥xg2 as Nakamu ra later demonstrates in the .... as Nakamura pointed out when commenting on the text move: "Vishy's blunder. aS? 4 1 . i.i.i. xf2 44.i.. x b6 42J:tb5 i.'ilg2 'ild 1 it is finally all over for White and so Anand capitu lated .l:r.. which a com puter finds instantly but which do not come intuitively to the human brain.l:r.i.i. i. l:!.l1d3! had to .i. cs 41 . . ..d 6 'ii'h 6 46. be played : 40 ..d8+ 'it>h7 45 . i.d3 as.'it>d 1 'il¥f3+ with a d raw by perpetual check. e 6! ll'if6 42 . . b 6 ll'ig5 54. i..l:. and the white position is hopeless.i.l:txf3 l:txf3 46.. g 4 l2Jxg4+ 45.i. .xd4 exd4 47.'ii' g 1 + 'it>h5 53.. . ll'ixd6 White has no time for this. However in the long run Black should get there after 43 ...l:tb1 . Nakamura's best games � 213 quicker way to win: 3 4 . 'il¥xf7 4 1 .'ilf1 i. and White is lost) game after a transposition of moves.xg2+ 49.'ii'f 1 'ii' h 5 37. tl:ixc4 41 .. d 4? 'it>g8) 38 .i.'it>e2 'i\¥e4+ 52. .. xf3 "ii'xf3.i. After 37 . i. f2 'it>g8 the situation is approximately level . i. . .. . b4 l:tg3 36...J:. .'it>h 1 ll'ihxf3 45. xf2 ll'ixf3+ 44. litxc4 39.xg2+ 44..l:!.litxcS l2Jxc5 42 ..'ili'xg2 l2Jxg2 47. . . ltJxdS ! 35.. .. i.xb7 lt:'if6 48J:tb8+ 'it>h7 49 . d 1 ? Black is on the way to victory (Nakamura) .'it>c2 'ii'e4+ 54... e2 37 ..i.. l:!.i.. x c4 i.f7 (40..i. xd6 ! : 40 . xc4 H i karu missed Over-refined.fxg4 l:!.l:tc2 35.litxcs 'ifxe4+ 50...Karsten Muller) 48 .g6 47 . c5 4 1 . ..d3 ll'ie3 42 . 'it>xg2 (after 47.exdS 40 .. e 6 (but not l2Jxf3. 40 . . ll'ixb6! 38. .'ife2 'ii'g 5 44.i. It is i ncredibly hard to fault h i m . .i..i...d 4 49. . and 43.. as the d rawing variation re quires several 'only moves' .e2 ll'ib3 43. 38 .i..e1 litxc4 39. . 40. ll'ixdS 39.'it>f1 'ii'h 1 + 51 . x d6 42 .'ile2 'ili'g6 37..b7+ 'it>h6 After 50 .:r. .I.l:txe3 tl:ig2 ! ! 43.xe1 i. . Anand does not take advantage of this 38 .xg2 'il¥h5. The di rect route to the goal is the key move 39 . xf3 'if xf3 46.l:.f2 ll'ie1 48." 40 . i.g 1 43.l.a1 ll'ig2 (Nakamura) . . xd6 fresh inaccu racy. x d6 38.. l:txg2 fxe3. 43. . . .i. .l::!. . x d6 ll'ic4 42 . . xf3 position.a3 .g8 39. xf2 43.l:.l:!.l:. 43 . 'iig 6 49. xf2 l2Jxt3+ 45.i.l:r.. fou r to us 10. H . com). Nakamura . Nakamura . Cuernavaca/Mexico 2006 • H. This is also the reason why we devoted a special chapter with some practical exer cises to this absolute strength in the American's game . Grand Slam Final .H. We suggest Casino tou rnament. Poyatos. At that fateful moment did he also USA Nat.A. Aronian . Nakamura . 2005 • A Stripunsky . H . San Diego 2004 rise up like Hacker Neo. Championship. Nakamura . Browne. Nakamura . Bursa 2 0 1 O . deep breaths to just enjoy the moment".J. we nominated amongst the top ten games the following: H. before then Young Masters. And here are the top games of H i karu Nakamura in the order selected by Forney: • H. rising up i nto the skies? Sometimes one - would really like to be able to fly.S. San Francisco 2002 . Biel 2005 others. Nakamura . victor. Andrew Soltis. Nakamura . Muhammad. Stil lwater 2007 • H. Boston 200 1 "I had already known for a few moves • H. Persson. Cuernavaca/Mexico 2004 list of the 300 "best" chess games of all • J. Nakamura . W Loyte.S. Nakamura. van Wely. lmre Konig Memorial .A. Nakamura . the human masses on the street in the concluding scene of Matrix. Nakamura. Nakamura.L. Stillwater 2007 publ ications and recommendations by • H. chess games. Corus-Festival [A] . time (up to 2007).H. Nakamu ra managed to win almost half of them by clever and far-sighted endgame (!) play. Cheparinov.L. that I would beat the World Champion .W .H. Ti m Krabbe and Grandmaster tou rnament. Karjakin. compatriot Hikaru Nakamu ra. Nakam ura . Friedel . 1 02"d US Open. . Sasikiran . Nakamura . While researching the best games of Hikaru Nakam u ra. H. A few years ago he made a 5th match game. who himself pointed out 1 3th Sigeman Open. Shabalov. Additionally. who looked over • M. H. H . Sao Paulo/ Bilbao 201 1 . Bermuda [A] 2002. 7th World Team Championship.T. Young Masters. but Foxwoods Open.Y. Lesiege. Wijk aan Zee 201 0. Cuernavaca/Mexico 2006 • H. Nakamura I. Mashantucket 2005 once he resigned I had to take several • G Sagalchik . John Nunn.H. L. . 1 4 games in his list came from his • H. nian Timothy Glenn Forney (www. F. Buenos Aires 2003 was the final comment of the overjoyed • H. Barcelona 2007 10 We have added the win over Viswanathan Anand. Championship. Championship. White resigned .K.214 � Chapter 1 0 that you play through the twelve which have not been included in full i n this volume and where the names of his opponents are to some extent less well known . . Hoyos . basing hi mself on USA Nat. Nakamura. American Continental.J. Malmo/Copenh. Pelletier. we came across an interesti ng general su rvey put together by the Cal ifor USA Nat. Nakamura . deal with Garry Kasparov and in particular for example. H i karu not make that final step to the very summit Nakamura would take different decisions. And he did possible. But unfortu Yes.if that is what it was. lb 215 EPILOGUE "It is difficult to make predictions. si nce there are in the world sti ll has enough time to achieve his of chess these "eternal runners-up" such greatest sporting goal. the next fou r or five years may well decide And perhaps it is necessary to have that what will be his place in the history of inevitable good fortune which supposedly American chess. even though there were three places up played chess as a hobby. whether he will take his favours the brave . although Mark Twain. Accord ing to be elected as the fi rst coloured US Presi the invitation to tender for it. did not make too many predic Perhaps H i karu was secretly hoping that tions about the futu re . magnate . crown . f cou rse it is more of a hypothetical as M i khail Chigori n . especially about the future. that depends on whether H i karu Pillsbury. " Mark Twain O q uestion . H i karu Nakamu ra can ! There is a nately Nakamura lost this "game of poker" very real chance of him winning the chess .but he could also fail . They cou ld the opportunity to l ive his life again . the host would dent. the title of world champion. as can be seen from Rex Sinquerfield. out of the F I D E World Cup in Khanty-Man For the present everything appears to be siysk for inexplicable reasons. during a sea voyage with the 1 7-year-old which should now in all probabil ity take daughter of a stinking rich New York Sun place in London in March 201 3. Frank Marshall and Samuel Nakamu ra makes logical use of the chances Reshevsky. as he proved for grabs in the Candidates Tou rnament. David should he have Bronstein or Viktor Korchnoi. with his inspiring slogan "Yes. who never even had the chance to contest As far as his future career is concerned. who had arranged the his witty comment above. of chess. would bring the Candidates seriously thought that Barack Obama would Tournament to Saint Louis. whether. Paul Keres. to actually achieve a place in the national Hall of Chess Fame sporting goal such as world champion. or even be mentioned in the offered to him and does not let them slip. And in fact who. before 2008 would have had financed it. we have a wild-card for a player with an Ela can !". alongside greats such as Harry Nelson However. which would There is no doubt that the 24-year-old be no disgrace . who also so. if one takes a look at . And that is without even mention But it is perhaps a good thing that such time ing Akiba Rubinstein or Aaron Nimzowitsch. as same breath as Paul Charles Morphy and when in August/September 20 1 1 he opted Robert James Fischer. rating of over 2700 poi nts. machi nes do not (yet) exist. he will have to kin ( 1 990) and Caruana ( 1 992). is that we No. offered a plausible explanation for this separation of H i karu from Kasparov . and even Alexei Shirov (9/1 972) and of people are used to press a button and Nigel Short (9/1 965) continue to set stand see what the computer will say. from Nakam u ra (his designated successor) is this top ten of 1 5 years ago are ex-world increasingly often compared . He himself knows best Radjabov ( 1 987) . it G rischu k and Levon Aronian. and in doing so significantly along with Teimour Radjabov as a wild-card obstructed h i m . p. And from that point of view his them. larly disappear from the scene and take T h e "wild bunch" such a s Carlsen ( 1 990) . to name become more consistent at the very top only the most prominent quintet among level. you lose confidence.216 @ Epilogue the world ranking list of 1 st January 1 997. Vassily lvanchuk. but they have not Championship in May 201 2 in Saint Louis yet managed to displace the older genera with 8¥2/1 1 was a demonstration of both his tion . I nstead of th inking a lot ers." 2 to challenge reigning world champion Vlad i m i r Kramnik. is always on you r case and it's never good Boris Gelfand . who has closely Anand. Karja that. The only ones to regards Robert James Fischer. regu has reti red and Anatoly Karpov (3/1 951 ) . with whom have disappeared. who in May 20 1 2 at the And as a chess player you have to be age of 43 made it through for the fi rst time confident. and u nfortunately lost to him in observed Nakam ura's rise to the top of Moscow only in the rapid tie-break by 1 ¥2.e. 1 on the world ranking list) . the year in which the little boy from the is also one of the advantages of our US started to revolutionise the chess world . Boris Gelfand . generation . Veselin Topalov (6/1 975) . p. thei r World Championship match: " I think it i. like Bobby. one of the reasons why our 1 5 years later Viswanathan Anand (then generation is still doing wel l . it is highly champion Garry Kasparov ( 1 /1 963) who unlikely that Hikaru wil l . who apparently Norway will be there (on account of his would accept absolutely no dissent in their place as No." 1 As ards i n top-level chess. on the other hand. has a very realistic view of the 2¥2. Vassily lvanchuk we learned how to use computers in our (5/1 969) . 7 2 New in Chess 1 /201 2. The increas ment in 20 1 3 only the "boy wonder'' from ing differences with Garry. may well have been making em convincing victory at the USA National phatic claims for the lead . cooperation . world chess. appear finally to have been entry.2 behind Garry Kasparov I born 1 969) . Peter Svidler. while a lot of young players know Kamsky (7/1 974) and Boris Gelfand (8/ only how to use the computer and don't 1 968) are still absolutely world-class play have a good basis. And then Vladimir Kramnik (4/1 975) . Gata favou r. learned to play on a good basis. just brings you down . breaks from chess. Nakamu ra ( 1 987) . 1 8 . to face up to the "experienced stra overcome. "When you have someone who tegists" Vladimir Kramnik.not at a press conference i n Tel Aviv before only did he win the World Championship 1 Quoted from New in Chess 3/201 2. So at the next Candidates Tou rna playing and mental strength . you have to believe in you rself. on grounds of age. Alexander enough no matter how you win a game. and before his 20 1 O has been real ised : Nakamu ra. which a stronger player . sometimes it has remai ned intact over the years and has doesn't. [ . Hikaru Nakamura. chess fans enjoy my games.6 in 5th would simply like to play good chess and place of the world ranking list.com/ s In an interview with the Italian journalist Janis Nissi in SCHACH 1 0/201 o . I don't in the Candidates Tou rnament in 20 1 4. Even someone be prepared to make changes in his playing with an Elo of only 1 500 can have good style in order to be able to write his name ideas. For him this is about ideas and not about p l aying perhaps the most important but also the strength ." 3 would be the fi rst step on the way to One prediction which Kramnik hazarded achieving his u ltimate goal of one day after the Wijk aan Zee chess festival in becoming world champion.me for into history as the 1 5th chess world cham example . it just happens for the American super-grandmaster that sometimes. he must probably have to be a grandmaster. It is pion up to now since 1 886. One is qu ite certainly As far as that icon of American chess is the new FIDE G rand Prix cycle of 20 1 2/1 3.28/39 4 See Live Chess Ratings at http://www. chess. . . in the near futu re more than the miracle that Bobby Fischer once enough opportunities will be opening up for managed . not only catapulted h imself into enough for this. It's really n ice .can make use of in a game. most difficult challenge. "I time with a l ive Elo-rating of 2782. but also the 3 Ibid. And know who is to be blamed .htm . Nakamu ra. 1 5 s The conversation was published as a video on the tournament homepage: http://www. . it/tornei_capodanno/54/index. Europe a n d regularly against t h e best in H i karu is u n q u estionably motivated the world. sometimes also at any cost . who 29th bi rthday thereby finally emerge from since then has played almost exclusively i n the great shadow of Bobby Fischer. being so ments in the series (London. in order to achieve Wel l . still places his trust i n his second Italy at the tu rn of the year 20 1 1 /1 2. Berlin and Paris) . . and that is a who does not have a coaching team . will be given a coveted place to him. but Lisbon. Madrid. Epilogue lZJ 217 match against h i m in London in 2000. pp. 6 Kris Littlejohn : "To have ideas you do not And last but not least. He always wants to win - the top ten in the fol lowing twelve months. Nakamura would in no way like The two best players from the six tou rna to become like him: "Having a gift. . "5 . Tash kent. 4 hope that things turn out in my favour [ . Sometime that works.and to show but on 31 st May 201 2 he was for the fi rst his opponents that he is the better player. It is also important to me that perhaps become even stronger. of which he was also once in his team of seconds: fou r events are counted for each of the "Maybe at some point it became a burden participants. ippogrifoscacchi. great at chess. ] I H is self-confidence. p. concerned . which reason for me to play chess. Maybe he got too tense. he put on is however typical of the chess culture of record in the Reggio Emilia tournament in the USA. ]".2700chess. which is also reflected would like to play creatively and enjoy my in the fact that he is not afraid of defeats. S . S . It motivates that. today's greatest stars in me to be better at chess and to be better as world sport. Hikaru had achieved exactly 2786. But on that final Friday in August. Hopefully some of them will become a clear path for himself. Nakamu ra was in fact setting a new American record for the best ever Elo rating. to get into I n any case her younger son has chosen chess. according to Nakamura Formula 1 world champion Sebastian Vettel in his hour of victory in Wijk aan Zee 201 1 . really happy. Riverfront Times. Hikaru Nakamura won with White against the I ndian player Krishnan Sasi ki ran . 1 New In Chess 3/201 1 . . Louis. 7 and the three-times world footballer of the So the question is not whether Hikaru year Lionel Messi were. that year of giants. . like him. I also dreams . At a time when he was fifth in the world rating list. for example. .com announced . I t was only then that the honour was granted to the reigning champion Garry Kasparov to be the first player in the world to improve on that score by reaching exactly 2800. in the 4th round of the Olympiad in Istanbul. I'd like him to be words of the former Fi rst Lady of the USA. when Fischer posted his best ever rating he was al ready 29." said his mother Carolyn Eleanor Roosevelt: ''The futu re belongs to Weeramantry. p." 8 P.3 Elo points. . And he is perhaps really strong. 1 987. so Nakamura still has almost five years to press forward into totally uncharted waters . adding prophetically: "I don't those who believe in the beauty of their think he' ll be playing chess forever. However. He had replaced his compatriot Robert James Fischer. I feel that it's part of my role encouraged in living his dream by the fact now to be a role model for kids.2700chess. even if at fi rst this was only valid on the Live Chess Ratings site. " don't think he'll ever j ust quit chess. I n the apposite "Whatever he's doing. 9 As the internet site www. who in July 1 972 scored his highest ever Elo rating of 2785 . 2 1 st July 201 1 9 Bobby's "Elo world record" remained unequalled until January 1 990. Saint .218 <. .08. It may well be that this snapshot in time from 3 1 .20 1 2 will only represent a footnote in the chronicles of chess history. . . who with an Elo rating of 2707 is certainly no chess lightweight. born in Nakamura will be the next Bobby Fischer. such as the twice German a person every day". 1 4 a I n an article by Keiley Whipple "Hikaru Nakamura is the next Bobby Fischer ". But it was not the actual win that was important.!( Epilogue chance to inspire kids in the U . lbd2! A deadly intermediate check! On the other The point.'t>xe5 i. ~h3 i.lbxc4 a1 . Nakamura ..lbg4 i.e7 68.fS 70. Nisipeanu 80.h5?~g2 82. The knight will travel via d2-b1..lbf6+) 70. 67.l:f.'it>e4 i. Wahls Mallorca Trophy [blitz].:.'it>e4 ~ 69.xg6 66 .g8 does not help since the bishop is How does the rook win against the pawn? then dominated.ga h1'i' 83. and the b5-pawn falls first.lbxe5.lbd6 .lbb1 i.f6 71 .lbh2 i..e1 82...b5 cJile7 75.<it>b4 i.'it>b5 with an equally sad ending for Black.l:f..ic3+ 77.i..~f3 i..i..f1? ~g2 both give away the win.::tg5+! 67.. .b6+ ~b7 82. Black in zugzwang .~h4 a2 . .'it>a4 ~c7 81 .xg6+ 'it>xg6 68. 66 . Nakamura .h6 71.d2 73.lbxb5 81 . and 81. 1-0 Kings Tournament. i... forcing Black to promote his rook 75 .lbc2. i. 'it>d7 79.M..'it>b5 Black resigned.ixc3 74.~d4 (see page 97) i.b6 'it>d7 79.g3+ Endgame test 76 .L.. doesn't suffice for a draw!).. A knight goes 77.lbe3 Of course.h4 69.. e..96! This simple pawn move is Nakamura's skeleton key to unlocking the black fortress..l:tg5+~h1 (or82 .. 69.b7 i. playchess. 'LJ 219 SOLUTIONS 76. followed by Black's entire house of cards. Medias 2011 The knight in the corner H.-D. since there follows 76.g. hand 81.e1 78. i.if2+ 78.c1 72.~d4 .'it>f6.. mating threats are required to put i. i.a7 78..~f1) a3 to win the b5-pawn.b6 i.l:tha+.lba3 i. 81 .~f2! Black also cannot escape his fate with The point.e1 70.~c3 ~ca 81.~c3 walkabout And in view of 78 .e7 (69 .e1+ H.com 2004 How did Hikaru break open the black stronghold? 66..d4 pawn to a knight in the corner (even if it 77..~b4 'it>b7 82.f2+ 80. Black then simply closes the doors and there ined: how can he transform the material is no longer a win.Ponomariov re- Liquidated .1'. As for the specific position decisive tip. 42 .f4? even a passed pawn..'it>c6 c2 88. 1st match game.tes 80.'it>d6 . 'it>f3 'it>h2 42. After 41 . 83.. Saint Louis 2011 H. which c4 86.'it>xc7 This forces the exchange of queens... So for him there is only 'it>b7 80..l:r..... .'it>h4 If 83 . Kudrin Western States Open. both 79.. If 42. but the 'it>g4 84.1'.H....b6 41 . as poin- 84Jig8 and Black resigned... and Black puts an end to White's chances of holding the resigned. champion Ruslan Ponomariov and Hikaru 79.. 1-0 ted out by Ftacnik in CBM 143. signed.g3. 0-1 R. h1lb+ game..id4 would be wrong... because one strategic plan which needs to be exam. h1'iV 83. 'ii'e7+ 43. Nakamura . then 84. as the game continuation. the safety of The heading "By the back door" was our the king.b7 'it>d3 84.'it>h41i'e4+ 43....gB 'it>h3 queen check is not nearly as good for Black 84.bB'iV c3 87. 'it>h4 83 .d4 and 79.'ilff4.Kh3 1i'f5+. 'it>h4.'it>g3 'iVg5+ In view of 44. advantage into a won pawn ending? 79.c7 .Ith8+. and of course Hikaru did not pass from the match between ex-FIDE world up the invitation . Ponomariov .'iVe3+! 'it>xc4 83. passed pawns and threats of perpetual check.l:r.. Reno 2004 How did Hikaru realise his advantage? In queen endings there are in principle a few important criteria to be taken into account. 1i'e6 is decisive.idB+ 'it>b4 82.'it>d6? 1'.ixc7 85. the US grandmaster playing The king forces its way in from behind.l:txh1 or 82 .S....gs 'it>a5 81 ..'iVd3+? 42. 1-0 ..h5+ Nakamura would also be better. Nakamura By the back door .g4 Black also loses after 82 . then 42 .'it>cB! Nakamura. On the Black has an extra pawn which in addition is other hand.220 @ Solutions 82 .1'. How did Hikaru storm the black position? These include: whose move it is.l:tg8. 13. 14. lbxe5 14..0d5xd4? Karpov? Clearance sacrifices are a popular tactical Pins belong to the typical array of tactical motif.bxc4 h11i'.i. Nakamura H..lbxc2. and White re.e3.. on the other hand..H. Karpov .e2 .e3 ..d7 15.<itxb8 h2 38.. and Black decided he had seen enough .'i!fxc2.. then 16. Miller CCAS Trophee.'i!fd6.i.b7 20. puts up more resistance.b4! . And on this specific occasion ex-world motifs along with forks.i.. and Black has his back to the wall.1i'xc5 'ii'd7 22. Solutions ltJ 221 Tactics test (see page 105) Clearance Pinning A...i.bS+! which Hikaru used to punish Black's greedy pawn grab with 12.xb4 If 15. Cap d'Agde 2008 Bermuda Open..lbf5xd4: After this the h-pawn has the marshal's baton in its knapsack! 13. 16.1i'c2 b6 19. After the text move he goes down without a signed.B.l:tb1 1i'c7 18..i. Nakamura .xc51i'd8 17.....i. Southampton 2003 How did Hikaru beat ex-world champion How did Hikaru punish 12..i.lbb3 .lbxd4 ~c5 17. and in this position it was a pin 36. 0-1 fight.lbxc5 bxc5 21.i.c5 15. discovered attacks champion Anatoly Karpov is the victim: and skewers.i. 1-0 .lbfxd4 lbxd4? 37. ii'e3 35...llxa 1? How did Hikaru exploit the exposed state of the king? We must admit that the intermediate move We have deliberately saved for the end of you are looking for is really a "higher class" this tactical test a magical example of Hikaru piece of tactics and is often enough over.ii'h7+? backfires: 27 . 1-0 27.. 1-0 .fxg6? with 27. who found that the inventor of "la petite combinaison". Lie H... We are absolutely certain looked.:be1 ii'xe1 36 .com 2004 Has Hikaru anything better than 34. something better than 34 .. Fridman Gjovik Aker CC [rapid].. 27.ixd4+.l:!xe1 . it'ta 28 . After certainly pluck the little combination out of the automatic 34Jixa1? 1i'd4 Black would the hat just as inventively as Nakamura did have a clear advantage. <t>ta 28.K.it'hS+ <t>e7 29.it'h7 mate.ii'xta l2Jxd4 30... playchess. Nakamura .222 ~ Solutions Intermediate Exposed king move H.l:th1 l:bb8=.D.. would definitely 34JWh4! have enjoyed this one. Nakamura .it'xca And Fridman resigned.ih7+ <t>xh7 29.l:!xa1 here: Jose Raul Capablanca. l2Jxe6 35.id4 37. to stun Daniel Fridman: Black can still defend against 34. because his discov- ered checks with the knight achieve nothing. On the other hand.ii'xca . Not by Hikaru. Gjovik 2009 Canarias en Red [blitz].. though. Once again everything happens at lightning speed and you will A genuinely destructive zwischenzug. Nakamura's art.'ii'eS+! 34 . Lie admitted defeat on account of 34 . Event Place Points/Games + = 1997 SuperNationals: School Championships. lL) 223 Important Tournaments. Honolulu 49-51 3 out of 8 3 0 5 1998 Junior World U12 Championship. Oropesa del Mar 54 5% out of 11 5 1 5 1999 Junior World U12 Championship. Nevertheless that also requires of the young American grandmaster excellent performances so as to continue receiving the much-desired invitations to the elite tournaments. Budapest 2-3 8% out of 13 8 1 4 Chicago Open 15 5 out of 7 4 2 1 lmre Konig Memorial. Philadelphia 31-46 5% out of 9 5 3 First Saturday (IM Tournament). since the reader will not find such statistics particularly meaningful. Oropesa del Mar 2 8% out of 11 7 3 2002 Bermuda A Tournament 1-3 6 out of 9 5 2 2 First Saturday (GM Tournament). Oropesa del Mar 13 7 out of 11 6 2 3 2000 Esther Elekes Memorial (IM Tournament). New York 10 2 out of 9 o 4 5 US U20 Open. Budapest 6 6 out of 11 4 4 3 Junior World U14 Championship. Matches and Team Competitions 1. Cannes 29 6 out of 11 6 0 5 Hawaii Open. Eger 1 7Y2 out of 9 6 3 0 Bled Open 12-20 6 out of 9 6 0 3 Mayor's Cup. from the yearly increase of his activities in Europe it is possible to deduce that there is absolutely no other way for him to reach the very top than by taking part in such high level chess events. Knoxville 1 7 out of 7 7 0 0 Junior World U10 Championship. San Francisco 5 5 out of 9 3 4 2 . However. Tulsa 7% out of 9 7 1 Junior World U14 Championship. Budapest 4 6% out of 11 5 3 3 World Open. Oropesa del Mar 5 8 out of 11 6 4 2001 Europe Chess. Tournaments We have deliberately not included the results of numerous national junior and open tournaments as well as those of countless blitz and rapid chess duels in which Hikaru Nakamura participated not least on the internet. Stillwater 10-16 5 out of 9 4 2 3 Las Vegas National Open 1 5% out of 6 5 1 0 US Open. Cap d'Agde (rapid) 1 13 out of 17 10 6 1 Final v. Mainz 6 9 out of 11 8 2 Montreal 2-4 5% out of 9 3 5 lnternationales Turnier. Mainz 1-3 9 out of 11 8 2 Ordix-Open (rapid). San Diego 1-2 7 out of 9 5 4 0 Rapid-playoff v. Group A 4 6 out of 9 5 2 2 Foxwoods Open. lvanchuk 1% out of 2 1 1 0 . Barcelona 1 7 out of 9 6 2 1 2008 Gibraltar Masters 1-2 8 out of 10 7 2 1 Blitz-playoff v.224 ~ Important Tournaments. Biel 4 4% out of 10 2 5 3 6th Young Masters. Malmo/Copenhagen 3 6 out of 9 4 4 1 World Open. Philadelphia 3-6 7 out of 9 5 4 0 International Chess Festival. Bu Xiangzhi 2 out of 2 2 0 0 FiNet-Open Chess960 (rapid). Matches and Team Competitions Event Place Points/Games + = 2003 US Championship. Wijk aan Zee (B ) 4 7% out of 13 5 5 3 Reykjavik Open 23 5 out of 9 3 4 2 Foxwoods Open. Reno 5% out of 6 5 1 0 US Championship. Mashantucket 49-60 4% out of 9 4 4 World Open. Tournament. Lausanne 2 4% out of 8 4 1 3 Stepanakert (A) 2-3 5Y2 out of 9 3 5 1 2006 Cuernavaca/Mexico 3 6 out of 9 4 4 1 US Championship. Philadelphia 10-19 6% out of 9 6 2 2007 Gibraltar Masters 2-4 7 out of 9 6 2 US Championship. Mashantucket 5-9 6% out of 9 4 5 0 Santo Domingo Open 1 8 out of 10 6 4 0 Western States Open. Seattle 9-17 5% out of 9 3 5 1 Bermuda B Tournament 2 7Y2 out of 11 6 3 2 Santo Domingo Open 10-14 7 out of 10 6 2 2 Pamplona Cerrado 5-6 3 out of 7 2 2 3 2004 International Tournament. Stripunsky 2 out of 2 2 0 0 2005 Gibraltar Masters 6--10 7 out of 10 5 4 Sigeman Turnier. Cherry Hill 8-18 7 out of 9 5 2 1 Miami Open 1-8 6% out of 9 4 5 0 Casino Tournament. London 12 4 out of 11 2 4 5 * In these tournaments three points were awarded for a win and a single point for a draw. Matches and Team Competitions 'L) 225 Event Place Points/Games + = 2009 Aker International. Reggio Emilia 3 15 out of 10* 4 3 3 2012 International Tournament. London 7 6 out of 7* 0 6 1 2010 International Tournament. Saint Louis 8Y2 out of 11 6 5 0 Tai Memorial. Moscow 10 3 out of 9 0 6 3 Chess Classic. Wijk aan Zee (A) 1 9 out of 13 6 6 1 Melody Amber. Mainz 8 8Y2 out of 11 8 1 2 Rising Stars v. Amsterdam 6 out of 10 4 4 2 Blitz-playoff v. . Moscow 4-5 21Y2 out of 38 18 5 15 National Chess Open 3 5 out of 7 3 4 0 Chess Classic. Gjovik (rapid) 3 5Y2 out of 8 5 2 Gibraltar Masters 3-6 7Y2 out of 10 7 2 US Championship. Experience. Moscow 4-6 5outof9 1 8 0 FIDE Blitz World Championship. Wijk aan Zee (A) 6 7Y2 out of 13 3 9 1 Grand Pacific Open. Saint Louis: Preliminary 2 8 out of 7** 3 4 0 US Championship. London 2 15 out of 8* 4 3 1 Torneo di Capodanno. Orlando 1-8 7Y2 out of 9 6 3 0 Grand Slam Final. Experience. Dortmund 5 4Y2 out of 10 2 5 3 US Open.1st Tournament. Biel 3 16 out of 10* 4 4 2 FIDE Grand Prix 2012/13. Saint Louis: Final 3 1 out of 3 0 2 1 Rising Stars v. Monaco 6 1OY2 out of 22 5 11 6 Kings Tournament. Victoria/Canada 1 6 out of 6 6 0 0 US Championship. Medias 4 4Y2 out of 10 7 2 Sparkassen Chess Meeting. San Sebastian 1 6Y2 out of 9 4 5 0 Ordix-Open (rapid). London 4 10 out of 7* 2 4 1 2011 International Tournament. Moscow 9 4 out of 9 1 6 2 International Chess Festival. Important Tournaments. ** In the praliminary round of the US national championship of 2010 two points were awarded for a win and one fOf a draw. Giri 2 out of 2 2 0 0 Tai Memorial. Wijk aan Zee (A) 5 7Y2 out of 13 4 7 2 US Championship. Sao Paulo/Bilbao 3 12 out of 10* 2 6 2 Tai Memorial. Amsterdam 3Y2 out of 10 1 5 4 Chess Classic. Saint Louis 1 7 out of 9 5 4 0 Donestia Chess. Prel.226 <. Alexandrov (2nd Round) 11h-1h 1 1 0 Nakamura v.uschess. Round 4 out of 6 4 0 2 Nakamura v. Matches and Team Competitions Event Points/Games + = 2.orglassetslmsa_joomla/XtblMain. Board 1 7 out of 7 7 0 0 Austrian Bundesliga 2008/09 for Hussek Chess Club Vienna. Mainz. Board 1 51h out of 115 5 A complete listing of all the tournaments in Hikaru Nakamura's chess career in the USA can be found on the internet site of the US federation under:: http://main. Khanty Mansiysk 2010. Karjakin 2004 (classical) 41h-11h 4 1 Nakamura v.php? 199704246590-12650706 Clicking on Nakamura's name and then ''Tournament History'' shows you all of the player's US tournaments with his rating performance. Dresden 2008. in the case of Hikaru starting from 1995. Ohrid 2009 for Hussek Chess Club Vienna. Aronian (Final) 31h-1h 3 0 Other Matches Nakamura v. Adams (4th round) 1h-11h 0 1 FIDE World Cup••• 2005 Khanty Mansiysk Nakamura v. Turin 2006. Bursa 2010. Board 1 6 out of 9 4 4 1 World Team Championship. Matches FIDE Knock-out World Championshiop••• 2004 in Tripolis Nakamura v. Volkov (1st Round) 3-1 2 2 0 Nakamura v. Board 1 5 out of 7 4 2 1 Japan League 2007. Board 3 7 out of 11 4 6 1 Olympiad. . Team Events Olympiad. Board 1 6 out of 8 5 2 European Club Cup. Board 1 6 out of 10 4 4 2 Olympiad. *** When giving the overall result of these matches which regularly went beyond two games. Lastin (3rd Round) 11h-1h 1 1 0 Nakamura v. the scores from the tiebreaks (rapid and blitz chess) have also always been taken into account. Istanbul 2012. Ponomariov 2011 (rapid) 3-1 2 2 0 3. Ganguly (1st Round) 1h-11h 0 1 Chess960-Rapid World Championship 2009. Ponomariov 2011 (classical) 31h-21h 2 3 1 Nakamura v.t> Important Tournaments. Board 2 61h out of 115 3 2 Olympiad. Nepomniachtchi 2007 (blitz) 141h-51h 14 1 5 Nakamura v. 12. lb 227 Rating development and world ranking of Hikaru Nakamura (born o9.19a11 Year/Month ELO Place (Top 100) Year/Month ELO Place (Top 100) 2000 2007 January 2261 January 2651 53 July 2281 April 2663 38 October 2356 July 2647 70 October 2648 61 2001 January 2364 2008 April 2428 January 2670 46 July 2452 April 2686 34 October 2466 July 2697 31 October 2704 30 2002 2009 January 2430 April 2465 January 2699 32 July 2494 April 2701 30 October 2504 July 2710 26 September 2735 16 2003 November 2715 24 January 2520 2010 April 2561 January 2708 27 July 2568 March 2735 17 October 2565 May 2733 18 July 2729 19 2004 September 2733 15 January 2571 November 2741 14 April 2580 July 2601 2011 October 2620 83 January 2751 10 March 2774 8 2005 May 2774 8 January 2613 100 July 2766 10 April 2657 43 September 2753 12 July 2650 45 November 2758 10 October 2662 42 2012 2006 January 2759 12 January 2644 65 March 2771 6 April 2664 41 May 2775 7 July 2632 79 July 2778 7 October 2640 69 September 2783 5 . 1 77. A. (59) Kasparov. 187 Pelletier. (25) Humphrey. B. V. 1 9 1 Macieja. A. R. A. J. ( 1 4) . 92 Kramnik. 105. (20) Buhmann. 97. (75) . 1 05. 193. (84). (66) Djukic. 1 69. G. D. 221 De Firmian . M. 154. 89 l brahimov. M. P. S. (75) Andrianov. J. (20) Arancibia Rodriguez. A. 189 Alapin. B. 90 Nimzowitsch. ( 1 6) Keres. R. J. D. A. ( 1 6 1 ) Odehnal. 95 Andriasian. ( 1 6) Bhat. T. 77 Meier. Games in which Nakam u ra had Black are shown in italics. ( 1 1 2) Michalczak. D. B . (78) . 39 Korchnoi. M . R. 220 Anand. D. N. D. S. 1 50 Bisguier. 188 Giri. (20) . (202) (84). 0 . 1 1 Fischer. U . Nisipeanu . P. (78) . M . (57) Palmiotto. L. E. Esserman . 71. 189. M . M. 75. S. (24) Conquest. N. (66) Motylev. 195. S. 1 70. S. 209 L'Ami. I. 193 Markus. 221 Benjamin. 220 . A. (1 60) . (1 51 ) Nakamura. 30. 39 Kavalek. M. A. (201 ) ( 1 6 1 ) . V. 222 Krush. (59) Fierro Baquero. ( 1 4) . (30) Marquez. P. (66). 90 Hebert. V. 189 1 93. D. 187. R. 1 03 Kaposztas. Ftacnik. ( 1 67) Mamedyarov. J . 1 51 Lie. 92 Bronstein. 47 Byrne. ( 1 4) Miton. 106 Andersson. (1 50) Gavrilov. (57) Ponomariov. I . ( 1 1 2) . 1 05. V. ( 1 1 8) Kreiman. 192 Morozevich. 33 Aronian. K. ( 1 4) . J. 188 Baramidze. Gustafsson . Leon Hoyos. S. V. ( 1 9) Epishin. (1 02) Ganguly. ( 1 58) Finegold. 1 8. 112 Jakovenko. A. (1 1 3) Kamsky. 201 Liberzon. 97. 67. 1 73 ( 1 1 7). (29) Kosintseva. ( 1 26) . (30) . (78) . 222 Arngrimsson . D. 124. 194 Erdene. 28 Miljkovic. K. 2 1 0 Adu. R. 1 1 0. F. L. J . 191 Bacrot. G. (201 ) 1 58. 2 1 187. 188. 1 93. 97. B. The page numbers are indicated. 103. 188 Beliavsky. 25 Kleiman. S. ( 1 1 7) lvanchuk. Krasenkow. and games with detailed annotations are shown in bold. T. 187 Gelfand. 1 88. (68) . 192 Hilton. G. S. 1 96. 198 Akobian. M. A. 84. 193 Navara. (20) Karpov (68). 1 05. ( 1 07) Baburin.228 \t> I ndex of ga mes The index contains both games played by Nakamu ra and games between other players. (70) Bonin. L. 195 Barrientos Chavarriaga. A. (58) Leitao. E. D. 189 Friedel . V. 196. (70) Har-Zwi. L. ( 1 6 1 ) . 0. (34) . (1 89) Leko. (29) Alekseev. ( 1 1 0) Jelling. V. 1 81 . 1 1 4 Miller. M. (24) Fridman . 21 9 Cvitan. (22) 98. 65. (1 62) Andreikin. I. (1 1 3) . 72 Mohring. R. 1 93 Carlsen . 187. S. (34) . D. L. The latter are shown within brackets. 94 (1 60) . G. 40 Howell. (1 99) Juttler ( 1 6) Nadyrhanov. J. M . B. (25) . 1 96 [2]. 194 Malakhov. Y. (84). 1 5. 188 Benko. Adams. 70. 56. R. 1 9 1 Karjakin. M .-D. J . 1 22 Kudrin. V. 203 lbragimov. (1 9). E. 14 Grischuk. P. Aaron. 67. ( 1 27) Barron . 187 Nepomniachtchi. E. A. V. G. 206. S. 141. V. Ni Hua 13 Charbonneau. W. R. 24. J. A. [809] 1 9. [AB9] 56 French Defence [C02] 1 1 0. B.l ndian Defence [E20] 67. [DB7] 1 60. 206 [E32] 1 06 Petroff Defence [C42] 1 5 1 Pirc Defence [806] 47. 98. V. V. (20) Zhu Chen 1 1 7 I ndex of open i ngs I n each case you will find the ECO code (in square brackets) and the page numbers. 48 Wahls. [898] 74 Trompowsky Attack [D00] 43 Two Knights Defence [C5B] 1 22 Vienna Game [C26] 1 67 Chess 960: [Startposition 666] 1 70 . S. 190 Tahi rov. [E70] 1 1 2 . [E90] 1 1 2 . 203. A. Index of games ttJ 229 Potkin. F. ( 1 5 1 ) Sutovsky. S. ( 1 99) Stellwagen. (66) Shirov. 50 Sjugirov. 97. M . P. ( 1 0 1 ) . 1 1 4. L. [ABB] 1 54. J . [890] 75. 1 78 Weeramantry. [892] 1 41 . [880] 1 3. A. 96. [C7B] 58. ( 1 62) Wang Yue ( 1 07). M. 42 Stein. J. E. ( 1 58) Roussel Roozmon . N. 209 Nimzo. [DB5] 30. Svidler. F. 1 9 Vitiugov. (34) Short. B. [E97] 201 . 43 Yu Mingyuan 192 Shabalov. 48. ( 1 02) Yanofsky. (1 61 ) Shimanov. 882] 1 1 . [C89] 65. ( 1 50) Socko. (34) Vaganian . [843] 27. A. ( 1 1 0) (202) Wolski . 1 60. 71 . E. (1 67) Tomashevsky. T. M. 58. S. (34) Suba. A. ( 1 1 8) Schmaltz. (66) . 1 9 1 Rangarajan. (34). G. D. T. 74. [D44] 1 26 Queen's I ndian Defence [ E 1 3] 1 58 Reti Opening [A1 4] 1 9B Ruy Lopez [C67] 70. ( 1 02) . (66) . Smallville) 169 Satonskih. 190 Smirin. ( 1 89) Trabert. 84. 188 YaacovN (v. 1 8 1 . 1 50 G rOnfeld Defence [D72] 77. (68) Wang Hao 1 83 Rombaldoni. M . J. 45 Samsonkin. 190. R. ( 1 27) ( 1 0 1 ). (22) Timman. 195 Privman . 8enoni Defence [A62] 1 83. D. ( 1 6 1 ) Predojevic. S. 21 9 Rogozenco. Trapl. 1 26 Vallejo Pons. 95 Vachier-Lagrave. [A66] 1 5 Caro-Kann Defence [81 2] 1 77 Dutch Defence [A85] 28. [C1 1 ] 2 1 . B. (20) Renet. D. 1 88 Smeets. [D97] 1 1 3 King's Gambit [C36] 67 King's I ndian Defence 1 86-1 96. 192 Topalov V. ( 1 4) . 0. ( 1 6 1 ) Tseshkovsky. V. M. 45 Queen's Gambit [D37] 76. 76 Ragger. N . I . [D3B] 33. Scotch Game [C45] 53. 27 Taylor. A. [C47] 1 B Sicilian Defence [842] 25. 53 Zacek. ( 1 6) Zahartsov. 93 Volkov. 50. 72. J (Redaktion). Nettetal 20o5. 4.: Wunderjunge.54 . : Fischer . G.: Geheimnisse gezielten Schachtrainings. S. u. A: Board in Flammen 1 997-2005. Auflage. Edition Olms Krogius. I . Hollfeld 1 986. S .Tips und Tricks vom Weltmeister. Edition Olms Nunn. A. : Die gesammelten Partien von Robert J. Wie Magnus Carlsen der jiingste SchachgroBmeister der Welt wurde. Berlin 1 985. H . T. : Faszinierendes Schach. J .Schach ohne Scheuklappen Band 7. W. 4. Alkmaar 2007. Berlin 1 986. : Meine 60 denkwiirdigen Partien. Edition Olms Fischer. : Einfiihrung in die Schachtaktik. d4. Zi. ChessBase GmbH Dworetski . : Das Schachlexikon. Franckh-Schach Gligoric. A. Munchen 2002. Wilhelm Heyne Verlag Baumbach. Zurich 201 2./Smyslow. Mein Leben fiir das Schach. Berlin 1 988. Sportverlag Linder. : Angriff und Verteidigung./Jussupow. Auflage. Edition Olms Dworetski . Edition Olms Dworetski . Edition Olms Kindermann. : Das Schachgenie Capablanca. Wilhelm Heyne Verlag. : Positionelles Schach. SOS . Joachim Beyer Verlag Bosch. M. Zurich 2007. V. Sportverlag ChessBase [Hrsg. Alkmaar 2004. C. Zurich 2004. : Meine groBen Vorkampfer. Zi. Sportverlag Michaltschischin. London 2004. Miinchen 1972. W. Edition Olms Dworetski . M ./Jussupow.: 52 . E . : Geheimnisse der Schachstrategie. New in Chess Awerbach. M . a. J. M .: Erfolg im Endspiel. Kasparow. Auflage. Zi. Chessgate AG . J .irich 2005. : Forrest Gump. Hamburg 201 1 . Berlin 1 996. Das groBte Schach-Duell der Geschichte.Stop: Fernschach . Auflage. Berlin 1 983.irich 1 998. Berlin 1 99 1 .irich 2004. Stuttgart. Stuttgart 1 987. Hamburg 1 970. : Theorie und Praxis der Turmendspiele. Gambit Schereschweski .Eine Waffe gegen 1 . Hamburg.Fischer.: Die Russen lehren Schach. Schach verlag Rudi Schmaus Mednis. Sportverlag Bijl. 5. Schachmatch des Jahrhunderts.: Leningrader System . W. Zi. Munchen 1 994. : P sychologie im Schach. : Kampfen und Siegen mit Magnus Carlsen. Sportverlag Linder. N .: Moderne Schachtaktik. O'D .Spasskij.i rich 2006. : Wie schlagt man Bobby Fischer?. Eduard Wildhagen Florian. S. Sportverlag Lowenfisch . W. Zurich 2003. Heidelberg 1 985. Edition Olms Awerbach. Sportverlag Schirow. Berlin 1 987. Auflage. Zi.irich 2005.230 � Bibliog raphy German lang uage sources and secondary literature Agdestein. M . l . . A . Sportverlag Linder. : Spassky . A. M./Linder. J. F. Band 6. New in Chess Alexander. Munchen 1 972. 0 . Fischer.]: Mega Database 20 12. Edition Olms Dworetski . : Entscheidung in der Schlussrunde./Linder. l . : Strategie der Schachendspiele. Chessgate Kortschnoi. Berlin 1 988./Stetsko. M . Deutscher Bucherbund Grom. 4. Verlag Dr. Ch. 2. G. Milford.1 1 3/20 1 2 . Die GroBmeister des Schachs.: Da vid Bronstein . Alkmaar 2001 . Alkmaar. ChessBase GmbH KARL. E . .49-64.: Bullet Chess. 201 1 . Canton 2007 Doawood & Brighton. : Best Lessons of a Chess Coach. K. 4/2001 und 1 /201 2. Serbien Zeitschrift SCHACH. Jahrgange 2004 bis Heft 4/201 2. New York 1 993. Russell Enterprises Inc. Jahrgange 2004 bis Heft 6/201 2. : Counterplay: An Anthropologist at the Chessboard. Schmaltz. Ludwigshafen 2004.Die Kunst der Schachtaktik. where it makes sense and was possible the internet addresses are given! . Beograd . B. Berlin. One Minute to Mate. Schachzentrale Rattmann Sosonko. Jahrgange 2004 bis Heft 7/201 2.Nummer 69/1 997. MOiier. New in Chess Weeramantry. 1 982 Moewig Stolze. A. for their analysis of games and positions the authors made use of the following programs: ChessBase 1 O and 1 1 Fritz 1 2 and 1 3 Deep Rybka 4 Nalimov's Tablebases with five and six pieces The sources of quotations taken from articles on various websites are listed in the footnotes. Berlin-FOrstenwalde 1 996. Frankfurt Main I n addition. H . Berlin 1 986. Das kulturelle Schachmagazin. Russell Enterprises I nc. Hamburg. McKay Chess Library Periodicals Schachinformator. Sportverlag Suetin .: The Complete Chess Server Guide. Doawood & Brighton. Bremen. Milford. H. S. Bibliography ltJ 231 Schonberg. 1 08/2005. Carl Ed.1 47/20 1 2. CT USA 2009. Schunemann KG ChessBase Magazin. : Engaging pieces (pp. University of California Press Goldowsky. Verlag Bock & Kubler [Where citations from English versions of these books have been used. : Umkampfte Krone. Nakamura. Robert A . G. these are indicated in footnotes on the relevant pages ./Harper. Excelsior Verlag GmbH Berlin New in Chess Magazine.Editor's note] Foreign lang uage sources and secondary literature Desjarlais. H .The Career and Complete Games of the American World Chess Champion. A. CT USA 2009. Die Due/le der Schachweltmeister von Steinitz bis Kasparow. I nterview with Hikaru Nakamura and Sunil Weeramantry) . New in Chess Niederlande Schach Magazin 64. R ./Eusebi.: Bobby Fischer . : Russian Silhouettes. Progressincnm EDITION OLMS . Kavalek has been following Hikaru's ascent to the summit of chess at close range. the authors focus on the main reasons for the success of Na- kamura. of special interest are contributions by prom- inent chess greats. such as three-time U. who.Hikaru Nakamura: A chess career in the footsteps of Bobby Fischer This the very first book to focus exclusively on Hikaru Nakamura.S. national champion Lubosh Kavalek. was coached for nearly a year by Garry Kasparov. In addition to an exclusive interview. like arch-rival Magnus Carlsen. The book fea- tures a prologue penned by Lubosh Kavalek. the greatest American chess player since the legendary Robert James Fischer. and wish him all the best for a successful career. who was none other than Bobby's insider and supporter at the "match of the century" against Boris Spassky in 1972. In ten chapters. Which is why he is ideally placed to deliver a reliable verdict on this exceptional player. Many chess fans admire Hikaru Nakamura·s ·furious attacking talent. Documents Similar To Fighting Chess with Hikaru Nakamura - Progress in Chess - Karsten Müller, Raymund Stolze - Ed. 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