Archive: UNCUT! 40

The Sean Marsh Chess Column
UNCUT!
*Column 40*
* *August 2005* *

Respect! That’s what we chess players lack. If we practiced the piano for as many hours as we do chess we would earn respect and not derision. Piano players often boast about reaching grade 7 and the like….7!? I used to be in the mid-190s, walking with the Gods! Did a piano maestro ever have to get up and answer the phone? (…especially when only one minute remains on the clock…!)

The distractions incurred during an online blitz session are surely enough to drive a chap to murder. A 30-year stretch as punishment would be little deterrent; in all these years, I’ve never managed to finish a sentence yet.

Sometimes, however, people see chess players as something rather more than we are. Quite a few years ago, I received an anonymous letter (well, sort of…). Quite what I was expected to do in my capacity of chess correspondent for the Cleveland Advertiser is anyone’s guess. However, as a curiosity from the fringe world of chess, I present to you the story of…

TUKA
The letter was hand-written in red ink. I have corrected a couple of spellings but retained the unusual use of punctuation and brackets in the interests of historical accuracy.


Sean Marsh,
I would like to introduce myself to you as (TUKA). I am an individual artist who has walked on not only the streets of London (Britain) but Sydney, Melb (Australia) and many more. The one thing all these countries have in common, no matter where it is are (people who live on the streets) which unfortunately is no new news. As you know, like everyone, these people are deprived of even the basic necessities. I think – I know, it’s about time – something was done about it, to help those less fortunate than ourselves. I know steps are being taken, I just think things are taking a little long. (Please hear me out).
I would like to set forth a request, to organise an appeal to all those artists in the (Pop/music & television world) to – paint, sketch, draw on t-shirts, jeans, trainers, any artistic or (non artistic) design so that it can with a lotta help be auctioned off and give all the proceeds to charity.
‘It would be good to see art for once working for the people’
I don’t seek fame not fortune, that’s the reason for the name I have (T.U.K.A.) it simply stands for (The Un-Known Artist). I know it’s a difficult task to undertake and organise something of this scale, that’s the reason why I’m writing to someone like yourself. I’ve just got to get it through to the media and most of all to reach the people who can help do this. I am for real – serious, I do mean what I write/say and I do hope you can help.
All it takes are people to help push the wheel, once the wheel starts rolling, it will keep on rolling.
Well, you can throw this away and not give it another thought, but the fact of the matter is, these people who are deprived don’t go away, they just keep on growing! I know it can be done, all I need is a helping hand.
Thanks for reading these words. Again, if you can help, please do.
Sincerely,
The Un-Known Artist,
TUKA

I wonder what happened to TUKA and his campaign. Did he exist at all? Is he still wandering the streets dreaming of a better world? Or did he end up like the majority, with a bald head, glasses and paunch? Perhaps he regenerated into Bob Geldof and lived his dream after all. Perhaps we’ll never know. Whatever his fate, he is surely a rare example of someone according chess and its players with rather more respect than we are used to.

Grades
From approximately the era, I chanced upon an old grading list. The list wasn’t done on computer in those days (surprisingly few things were) but arrived via lots of hard work by the then-grader, Mike Creaney, who wrote everything out by hand.
This list includes only those players above 140.

Grades 1989/90
Richard Hall 212
David Smith 208
Norman Stephenson 202
Morray Vincent 199
David Wise 193
Robert Akehurst 184
Robert Shaw 184
Steve Dauber 182
Glen Bowen 180
James Akehurst 180
Paul Gregory 179
Trevor Glass 177
Ken Glass 175
Sean Marsh 174
Jeff Glass 169
Mike Closs 169
Mark Suscens 163
Joe Spayne 162
And Barker 160
Jason Glass 158
Graham Marshall 159
Howard Turner 158
Stan Horkan 155
Steve Rodgers 153
Howard Cockerill 151
John Marshall 151
Stuart Morgan 151
Richard Moore 150
Dave Redman 150
Robert Harding 148
Steve McCormack 147
Brian Myers 145
Jason Benham 146
Ron Stather 149
David Baillie 145
Steve Tighe 148
Steve Cole 142

A good number of the players on the list are either no longer in the area (America, Cuba and Australia are the last recorded sightings of three of them) and/or are not active in chess any more.

For others, it’s a case of ‘the more things change, the more they stay as they are’. What is noticeable is that we haven’t had anyone graded over 200 for some time and the dizzy heights of 212 now seem almost impossible to aim for. Just look at how many locals we had above 140 – almost 40! The real problem we have to match such a number these days is the brain drain, taking away our conveyor belt of promising juniors to pastures new. A pity; we enjoyed a strength in depth we rather took for granted at the time and we would welcome with open arms a return to such stability and solidity.
Snippets

A couple of game fragments from my recent battles are hereby presented for your perusal.
The first came at the end of a long game, but shortly after my first column of book reviews, in which the same theme was explored. Black had held an edge throughout the game but White brought things to a swift conclusion with:

62 Rh7+ Kxh7 63 Qc7+ Qxc7 ½-½


The next position could almost be inspired by the thousand s of cookery shows to grace our screens. Instead of the delights of the Cheese Melt and Tuna Melt, I present the Long-Diagonal Melt

27…a3 28 Ra4 Qxa4! 29 Bxa4 axb2 30 Rb1 Nxc3

0-1
Hmmm...nice!

Sean Marsh
August 2005

Chess Reviews: 2

Greetings, readers! This time we have three books from Batsford to peruse. All are interesting but I’ll start with the pick of the bunch…..

Najdorf: Life and Games

by Lissowski, Mikhalchishin & Najdorf

It is surprising that such a colourful life as that enjoyed by chess hero Miguel Najdorf has never been well documented. I suspect we’d be inundated with books about this fascinating man if he’d been a World Champion but more often than not he’s been relegated to the sidelines of chess history and reduced to walk-on parts in the life stories of others. I am delighted to see Batsford reverse the trend with this excellent new book .

Najdorf was far more important than his superficial legacy suggests; i.e. the naming of one opening variation after him. His chess career was lengthy to say the least, stretching more than six decades.

Originally Polish, Najdorf remained in Argentina after the Second World War broke out during the 1939 Chess Olympiad. This was one of 15 Olympiads the great man would play in. Tragically, his family and friends back in Poland didn’t survive. Najdorf was alone in a foreign country with only $320 to his name. Such circumstances would have been the end of most people, but Najdorf was made of sterner stuff. and somehow survived.

In order to draw attention to the fact that he was still alive, and try and establish some sort of contact with people back home in Poland, Najdorf conducted lots of simultaneous displays. In 1943 he broke the world record for blindfold play, taking on 40 players at the same time (+36, =1, -3). Four years later he broke it again, with a +39, =4, -2 score after an exhibition that lasted an astonishing 23 hours. These feats certainly grabbed the headlines!

After the war, his tournament results continued to impress. When Fine dropped out of the World Championship tournament of 1948, Najdorf was the obvious replacement, but FIDE didn’t see things that way and just went ahead with five players instead of six. A pity; Najdorf’s famous victory over Botvinnik two years earlier at the Groningen tournament proved he was capable of upsetting the odds.

The full story of Najdorf’s life can be found in the first 50 pages of the book, and it is followed by several pages of his tournament and match results, stretching from 1928 too 1996. The bulk of the book covers 131 great games with notes, a lot of which are by Najdorf himself. Here we find wins over the likes of Botvinnik, Spassky, Tal and Fischer. He played all the World Champions from Capablanca through to Kasparov, which is quite an achievement in itself.

The book concludes with some examples of Najdorf’s fluctuating fortunes in the endgame, some puzzles from his games and several anecdotes.

Verdict: A highly recommended book and one which fills a significant gap in our literature. Please, Batsford…let’s have some more like these!


The next volumes continue the impressive ‘Revealed!’ series. As with the Modern Benoni book (reviewed in issue 1), the standard series formula is continued. This takes us through the ‘Introduction’, ‘First Moves’, ‘Heroes and Zeros’, ‘Strategy’, ‘What’s Hot?, ‘Tricks and Traps’ and ‘Test Positions’. I think this formula works very well, especially if the books are read from start to finish instead of just being dipped into randomly.

The Queen’s Bishop Attack Revealed

by GM James Plaskett

The lines examined in this book have never been as popular as the Trompowsky, and probably never will be. The average player will find it hard to understand what is achieved by 1 d4 d5 2 Bg5. Indeed, the theory of this Pseudo-Trompowsky is still very much in its infancy and this is the first book on the subject.

It’s not easy to avoid huge icebergs of theory as early as the second move, but White manages it with 2 Bg5. The Slav and Queen’s Gambit lines are ruled out and playing Albin Gambit style with 2 ...e5 is rendered somewhat undesirable. Ironically, after 1 d4 d5 2 Bg5 c5 3 e4, White can a reversed Albin with an extra move if he wants it. The Heroes are the usual free spirits such as the late Tony Miles, Julian Hodgson, Ian Rogers et al.

The games in the book are fantastic and extremely unusual. There is so much scope for experimentation with vast areas of uncharted territory to explore. Any player adopting this opening could easily stamp their own ideas onto it and rack up a number of speedy victories. It should certainly keep you well ahead on the clock as the poor opponent has to try and navigate the alarming number of un-trodden, dangerous paths. Some will seek to exploit the weakened squares on the Queenside, but after …Qb6 will be faced with one of the eternal gambit questions: b2, or not b2? That is the question…..

GM Plaskett is an interesting writer. He admits from the start that this opening is by no means a forced win for White and he tries to be objective throughout.

Verdict: The Queen’s Bishop Attack could well be one the last great unmapped openings. If such things appeal to you, or even if you just want a fresh surprise weapon tucked away for that special occasion, then you could do a lot worse than give this one a try.

The Sicilian Bb5 Revealed

by GM Neil McDonald

This particular Anti-Sicilian has continued to grow in popularity and is seen at all levels. Local yokels may remember that it was a mighty weapon in the hands of David Mooney, who thrashed all-comers with it on the local tournament circuit. Even closer to home, Norman Stephenson used it to defeat reigning British Champion Michael Hennigan in 1994.

One of the appealing aspects of Bb5(+) is that it cuts down the amount of theory one needs to learn to take on the Open Sicilians. Dragons and Najdorfs are all good fun, but we can’t all keep up with the latest wrinkles. Even the very best players in the world resort to it for the same reason, as did Ivanchuk against Kasparov at Linares 1991. He didn’t have time to prepare for his first round game so played 3 Bb5+ and went on to score a famous victory. One year later, Bobby Fischer resorted to this opening and produced one of the most memorable games of his ‘World Championship’ comeback against Spassky. Ironically, Cozio first mentioned Bb5 back in 1740, so as GM McDonald points out it predates all the main lines of the Sicilian Defence.

It’s hard for Black to generate the same sort of play against such a solid rejoinder and facing these lines can be a very frustrating experience. Yet the opening has in some ways become a victim of its own success and those wishing to take it up will find that there are a number of books and even a couple of DVDs already out on the subject.

I have yet to see a piece of writing by GM McDonald that I couldn’t recommend. He is a natural author and chess coach who always seeks to explain his subject carefully. He is particularly strong on outlining the strategy, which takes up a good chunk of the book. White can call the shots, with plans of all types at his disposal. The ‘Tricks and Traps’ chapter is also essential reading and will save – or gain – many points over the board.

I rarely play 1 e4 but with such lucid explanations and tempting lines found in this book I might be tempted to give it the odd whirl this coming season…

Verdict: An excellent introduction to a popular opening, but one which also contains plenty of meat for the established Bb5(+) player.

For details of this and all other Batsford chess books, please visit:

http://www.chrysalisbooks.co.uk/

Happy reading!
August 1st 2005

Archive: UNCUT! 39

The Sean Marsh Chess Column
UNCUT!
*Column 39*
* *June 2005* *

New Adventures in the Dutch!

Dear Readers,

A recent thread in the forum, regarding various aspects of the Dutch Defence, brought some memories back to me of how I became involved in this interesting – yet very demanding – opening. So I thought I’d bore you all with them….

I was first able to watch top-quality players in the early 1980s. I’d started to play in the local league for Guisborough and would go along to the Middlesbrough and Redcar chess clubs just to watch games and matches in progress.

It was interesting to see what openings the top players were adopting. Most were the usual suspects, with the Sicilian, Spanish and King’s Indian all clearly in evidence. Younger players were keen to adopt the Centre Counter with 2…Nf6, long before the current trend, under the guidance of junior coach Stuart Morgan. U-11 British Champion Jason Glass had modelled the unusual opening into an extremely potent weapon. However, lesser-known openings were few and far between.

At around the same time, I bought a copy of Botvinnik’s ‘100 Selected Games’, which is an excellent selection of well-annotated games from the early part of the great champions’ career. Several of the games that attracted my attention on the first read-through featured the Stonewall Variation of the Dutch Defence, culminating in typical Kingside attacks.

Flohr – Botvinnik, 1933

The 10th game of a very famous 12 game match; Botvinnik completed his recovery from –2 and went on to tie the match, drawing the last two games.

Yudovich – Botvinnik, Leningrad Championship 1934
With this final round victory, Botvinnik secured a decisive half-point lead over his rivals.

Steiner – Botvinnik Groningen 1946

Botvinnik won this famous tournament by half a point and put himself well and truly on the path to the World Championship.

The age of the games, in conjunction with the fact that I didn’t see any local top players using the Dutch, convinced me that such ideas were outmoded. My opinion changed when I set about watching some games in the Open section of the Middlesbrough Congress in between my own games There, before my very eyes, was a classic example of a Stonewall Dutch, with Kingside pawns charging down the board in the Botvinnik style! Black won; the game impressed me and I felt I had to take a much closer look at the Dutch Defence.

RJ Harding v Norman Stephenson
Middlesbrough Open 1984


Every other week I used to pop along to Redcar Library, which was noted for its amazing number of chess books. This was due to the fact that Ray Hyde, a member of Redcar chess club, worked at the library and was therefore able to fill up the shelves to his heart’s content. Before Ray left the area there were three shelves full of high-quality chess books. I used to take out four of them every fortnight and plumb their depths for chess wisdom. Shortly after the Middlesbrough Congress I went along to find a book on the Stonewall Dutch. The closest I could find was a book on ‘The Leningrad Dutch’ by Tim Harding, so I took up that defence instead.

I tired to learn enough variations to enable me to unleash it as soon as possible. My chance came in a county match. This was at a time when to play 1…f5 was considered an extremely risky venture and I remember getting some funny looks from players either side of me. Nevertheless, the game was drawn after a sharp struggle and as my opponent was graded in the mid-180s – and I was still in the 150s - I saw this a very successful Dutch debut.

D. Firth v SM
Cleveland v Yorkshire 1984


Black is fine here. White forced the draw with 22 Bxg6 hxg6 23 Qxg6+ Kh8 ½-½

I kept playing the Leningrad Dutch against all the closed openings (1 Nf3, 1 c4 and 1 d4). Opponents usually confessed afterwards that they hated playing against it.

Eventually I was able to broaden the repertoire a bit when I got hold of a book on ‘The Classical Dutch’ (including the Stonewall) by Bellin. The various forms of the Dutch served me well but there were the inevitable setbacks.

As I got to know more the local players I discovered that the Dutch was slightly more popular than I initially thought. Richard Hall, David Wise and Ernie Lazenby were all extremely successful with its various forms.

Shortly after that period, I dropped out of local chess for 10 years. When I returned I had to cobble together an opening repertoire after years of disuse. The Stonewall Dutch was one of the old weapons I successfully dusted off and, playing it against all-comers, had great success.

The Foxy Openings video on the subject (now on DVD, of course) by GM Nigel Davies was particularly useful and in my opinion is one of the very best of the whole range.

I suppose the pinnacle of its successful outings was a game against the man who had (inadvertently) inspired me to play it.

Norman Stephenson v SM
County Championship 1999

Times change, people change; several years have now passed since I played my last Dutch A painful defeat to David Wise in the final round of the county championship, which meant that once again the title had eluded me, put me off it for a while and I went in search of other weapons against 1 d4. I also lost my inspirational video on the opening ('lost' as in 'foolishly lent out', never to be seen again) so preparation was more difficult.

Anyone thinking of taking up the Stonewall might care to take on board two observations. Firstly, things have moved on just a little since Botvinnik’s time. Back then, it was considered vitally important that the Black Queen slipped to e8 and then out to h5 to take part in the big attack against the White King. Now there is a more subtle approach, with Black playing Bd6 instead of Be7 and following up with Qe7 (to prevent - or at least delay – the exchange of dark-squared Bishops by an b2-b3 and Ba3).

Secondly, Black players must investigate the critical line leading to this position….


….which is currently giving Black some difficult problems to solve, and is the one which David Wise played against me in the aforementioned game.


Since then, there has been a rash of new books on the various forms of the Dutch and it seems only a matter of time before I am tempted to try it again.

Adventures with the Dutch come in two colours. As White I had a fair bit of success with the highly unusual 1 d4 f5 2 Qd3!?, which isn’t as ridiculous as it looks.


The basic idea is to meet 2 …e6 or 2 …g6 with 3 e4 fxe4 4 Qxe4 Nf6 5 Qh4! when White can build up a fast attack with Bh6/g5, Bd3 etc. Traditionalists would be appalled by such an early Queen move, but there is no denying it has its merits. Black’s best reply is undoubtedly 2 …d5, persuading White not to play 3 e4, but then the first player can switch to another gambit with 3 g4, and Black now has a reduced number of ways to meet this idea. For example, plans with …d6 and …e5 are ruled out. I also tinkered with the move order on occasion, varying with 2 g4 and even 2 h3 with 3 g4 to follow, all in conjunction with a slightly delayed Qd3.


SM - I. Robertson
Irvine Open 1994

When it all goes well, White can develop a very strong attack just out of the opening. It should come as no surprise that White played 11 Rxh5! in this position (1-0, 23)

SM - G. Murphy
Durham Quickplay Championship 1999

It is clear that after just 13 moves White has a wonderful position (1-0, 21).


The idea is also playable as Black against certain variations of the Bird Opening, eg. 1 f4 d5 2 b3?! Qd6!? and 3 …e5, when b3 might end up being superfluous at best. Anyway, it’s certainly food for thought and my winning percentage with 2 Qd3 is very high. Why not give it a try, especially at Quickplay?

Have fun with your new adventures in the Dutch!

Sean Marsh
June 2005

Chess Book Reviews: 1

Take Me To Your Reader!

Welcome to the new series of book reviews. We have several fine volumes to talk about so without further ado let’s open the pages and get stuck in to a bit of reading…


Pitching chess books for young juniors is no easy task. The style of the book has to be easy on the eye and easy to navigate; the contents have to be instructive without being too difficult. Three titles I can heartily recommend are the following…

Chess For Children
by GM Murray Chandler and Dr. Helen Milligan
illustrated by Cindy McCluskey
(Gambit)

Chess for Children starts with the very basics, with Kirsty the alligator teaching his friend George how to play. George threatens to flush his friend down the toilet unless he teaches him properly so Kirsty sticks to the task (despite some outrageous name-dropping along the way) and by way of lucid explanations and several Terribly Tough Tests, George gradually learns the game of chess. Kirsty is a good teacher and helps George understand not only the basic moves, but also the toughies such as castling, en-passant and basic tactics. By page 101 George knows enough to play Kirsty in the Big Match.

This is an attractive book and the authors do an excellent job of bringing the first steps to life. The illustrations keep things lively, although one can’t help but feel sorry for the young moose on page 9.

Improving juniors will need to start building up their recognition of standard patterns. Murray Chandler uses that as his starting point for…

How To Beat Your Dad At Chess
by GM Murray Chandler
(Gambit)

This book concentrates on 50 Deadly Checkmates, using a very clear style. All of the old favourites are there, from Anastasia’s Mate to Philidor’s Legacy and Murray also takes the opportunity to introduce some new names to standard ideas. Thus we get Taimanov’s Knight Check, The Petrosian Draw and Korchnoi’s Manoeuvre. The book concludes with a page of examples of what to do if your Dad is Garry Kasparov!

Karpov v TaimanovLeningrad 1977

This is the position from which the name The Taimanov Check is taken. Can you see how Black can win quickly?

The World Champion of the time resigned after 1 …Ng3+! as after 2 hxg3 Ra8! the Rook’s journey to h8 will be decisive.

For an example of Korchnoi’s Manoeuvre see my UNCUT! 22 column in the site archive and to see what The Petrosian Draw is all about you’ll just have to buy this book!

Chess Tactics For Kids
by GM Murray Chandler
(Gambit)

…is identical in style and layout. It takes the reader through 50 Tricky Tactics, starting with Forks and running a glittering array of potent chess weapons from checkmating Queen sacrifices to Stalemate traps.

Gambit’s production values are extremely high. These three junior books are all very attractive hardbacks, which should last for years – even in the hands of juniors. In fact, I believe a lot of club players would benefit from reading through the examples of the latter two books.

Pattern recognition is a very important method of chess development. What should White do in this hopeless looking position?

Garry Kasparov’s Greatest Chess Games Vol. 1
by GM Igor Stohl
(Gambit)

Igor Stohl has taken on a very tough task in trying to distill the best games of the world’s best player into two books. It’s very brave and, given the recent retirement announcement, very well timed. It is strange to think that there has not been a proper collection of Kasparov’s games for such a long time. In fact, the benchmark is still one of the later editions of ‘Fighting Chess’. Part of the problem is knowing where to start. Kasparov has played literally hundreds of superb games and narrowing them down is never going to be easy.

The short introduction provides some biographical information and puts the games into historical context, but this is hardly comprehensive and it is clear from the outset that this book is here to concentrate almost purely on the games themselves and not to try and write a complete life story.

Stohl typically gives four pages to each game and his analysis is of a high standard. Rather than just dumping variations on the poor reader, there is plenty of verbal explanation too. In fact, those annoying long variations that tend to overrun chess books are very much in the minority

Stohl’s first volume starts off with a game from an U-18 championship in 1973 and ends 20 years later with Kasparov’s famous title defence against Nigel Short. All the favourites are there as we see Kasparov battle with such chess heroes as Korchnoy, Petrosian, Polugaevsky, Portisch and many others. There’s also the odd game from Kasparov’s clock simuls. Not all of the games are wins for Kasparov; for example, the last game in the book is a remarkable save at the end of a fascinating battle with Short.

14 of the featured games are against his permanent rival, Anatoly Karpov. In these days of World Championship chaos, it is nostalgic to think we used to be spoiled by having a proper title match on a very regular basis. In fact, I’d say reading this book is a very nostalgic experience. Some of the great players featured are no longer with us and neither are such events as Interzonals and Candidates Matches. To think that Kasparov is now himself part of history is still a disturbing thought. The best we can do is to enjoy his fine legacy of great games. This book is great place to start. With an RRP of £22.50 for a 320 page hardback, I’d say this was excellent value for money and a recommended addition to your library.

Here’s a reminder of how Kasparov could tie the world’s top players in knots…

Kasparov – PetrosianBugojno 1982

Petrosian never lost many games but he could find nothing better than resigning in this position. After 24 …Qxc5 25 Rxd8+ Qf8 26 Rxf8+ Kxf8 27 Rc7 his position will be totally dominated.

Hubner – Kasparov
Brussels 1986
38 …Nh2! and White resigned due to the impending doom of a Knight landing on f3.

The full stories of these games and 72 others are to be found in GM Stohl’s excellent new book.
For further details regarding Gambit chess books, please visit:

http://www.gambitbooks.com/



Focus On Hocus-Pocus
by Erwin Brecher PhD and Danny Roth BSc
(Panacea Press)

This is the third book in a Hocus-Pocus trilogy. The first two volumes combined bridge puzzles with logic and IQ tests and this one combines bridge with the greatest of all mind sports. Over 200 pages we are treated to 100 puzzles from both worlds. I have seen lots of chess puzzle books over the years and was very pleasantly surprised to see plenty of examples that were new to me. The first few examples are from 2003 and feature modern stars such as Luke McShane and Alexandra Kostenuik. Soon we meet up with the likes of Botvinnik, Bronstein, Spassky and Tal. This a great book for taking on a journey or to take out and read in the garden over the summer months. You can promise to cut the lawn and trim the hedges after the next puzzle and then suddenly get stuck and have to read on for a while longer.

Unfortunately, I am in no position to comment on the bridge puzzles as my card days are long behind me.

However, here’s a taster from the chess department…

Schlechter v MeitnerVienna 1899

This looks good for Black but White can force a quick win. Can you find it?

For further details, please visit:

www.panaceapress.net/




The Modern Benoni Revealed
by IM Richard Palliser
(Batsford)

There have moves afoot over the last couple of years to target club players who wish to take up new openings. Rather than lead readers up the garden path and into sub-variation 1243256B, just like the old days, the modern emphasis is more gentle introductions aimed at building up new repertoires. ‘Everyman’ started the ball rolling with their ‘Starting Out’ range and now Batsford are hitting back with their ‘Revealed’ series. The latest one tackles one of the most combative defences at Black’s disposal.

Anyone who has seen the marvelous book ‘Play 1d4!’ will already know how good a writer Richard Palliser is. This book is packed with lucid explanations and sound advice aimed at getting you up and running with the Modern Benoni as soon as possible.

Starting with 11 pages of explanation about the ‘First Moves’, the book then moves on to take a look at the Benoni ‘Heroes and Zeros’ which include Tal, Fischer and Topalov.

The superb ‘Strategy’ section details how to handle the various nuances of the defence, from the opening to the endgame and this is followed by ‘What’s Hot?’ This is an especially important chapter because we find out which lines are currently fashionable and/or particularly dangerous, meaning some extra work will need to be applied to avoid a string of defeats. Needless to say, the so-called ‘Flick-Knife Attack’ – or Taimanov Variation - is given pride of place here. After 1 d4 Nf6 2 c4 c5 3 d5 e6 4 Nc3 exd5 5 cxd5 d6 6 e4 g6 7 f4 Bg7 8 Bb5+ Richard places special emphasis on the 8 … Nbd7 variation, which has often been given as ‘dubious’ in other sources. Play gets chaotic for a while before we reach this critical position.

Richard devotes several pages to this intriguing position. For those who would rather not put their trust in 8 …Nbd7, he also covers 8 …Bd7 and the more popular 8 …Nfd7.

The book moves on to give a ‘Theoretical Overview’, followed by instructive ‘Tricks and Traps’ and then concludes with some puzzles to test your new Benoni skills.

I always have more faith in an author’s choices when he is prepared to practice what he preaches, so I was pleased to see examples from Richard’s own games in this book. And here’s another one, which he demonstrated live when he came up earlier in the year for an excellent coaching event for our Chess Links Project…



Tozer - Palliser

Doncaster Open 27.02.2005
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 c5 3.d5 e6 4.Nc3 exd5 5.cxd5 d6 6.e4 g6 7.f4 Bg7 8.e5 Nfd7 9.Ne4 dxe5 10.Nd6+ Ke7 11.Nb5 Na6 12.d6+ Kf8 13.Nf3 e4 14.Ng5 h6 15.Nxe4 Nf6 16.Ng3 Bd7 17.Nc3 Qb6 18.Bc4 Re8+ 19.Nge2 Ne4 20.Nxe4 Rxe4 21.Bd5 Re8 22.0-0 Nb4 23.Bc4 Bf5 24.Nc3 Nc2 25.g4 Bd4+ 26.Kh1 Qc6+ 27.Bd5 Qxd5+ 28.Nxd5 Be4+ 29.Rf3 Bxd5 30.Kg2 Re1 0-1

This is an excellent book and the best introduction to this tricky opening I have seen. Highly recommended!

For details of this and all other Batsford chess books, please visit:

http://www.chrysalisbooks.co.uk/



Answer to Schlechter v Meitner
1 Qxh6+!! Qxh6 2 Kh2 and Bf2 follows

Answer to Karpov v Taimanov
The World Champion of the time resigned after 1 …Ng3! as after 2 hxg3 Ra8! the Rook’s journey to h8 will be decisive.

Answer to hopeless looking position
White can draw by sacrificing the Queen 1 Qg4+! Kh6 2 Qg6+! and after the forced capture a draw is obtained because of the stalemate. I once saw Mike Closs draw a very similar position the same way in an important match v Bradford in the National Club Championship. Without the half-point, we’d have been KO’d.

Sean Marsh

June 2005

Archive: UNCUT! 38

The Sean Marsh Chess Column
UNCUT!
*Column 38*
* *April 2005* *

Dear Readers,

It's a funny thing, communication. Why is that an ever-increasing number of people have to say 'yeah?' after every little bit of story they tell us?

For example: 'I was walking down the street - yeah? And I went into this shop - yeah?' etc . The plot thickens when you take into account that foreign people do exactly the opposite, eg. 'So, this is your great English weather - no? This is the way to Trafalgar Square, to see the lions - no?' etc.

Throw into the mix the fact that, whenever giving directions to anybody blatantly non-English, the average person feels the need to shout, as if that makes the message easier to understand. Eg. 'NO MATE, YOU TAKE A LEFT TURN AND THEN A SECOND RIGHT AND KEEP GOING TILL YOU SEE THE PIGEONS, YEAH?' and it is clear that so much is lost in translation. I had trouble the other day trying to explain to a Chinese gentleman (who habitually mixes up his ‘r’s and ‘l’s) that we were soon going to have a ‘general election’. But that’s another story…

Yet the recent news of the chess retirement of Garry Kasparov rang out loud and clear over the whole of the chess world. It was hard to believe what we were all hearing. Surely it was another case of a message being lost in translation? But no – it soon became apparent that it was absolutely true. The Boss had retired!

20 years at the top, he steps down with his name still proudly holding the Number 1 spot in the world rankings.

His achievements after a tumultuous period in chess history should leave no room for any doubt that he is the strongest player the world has ever seen.

Memories light the corner of my mind.

Misty water colour memories

Of the way we were ...

There are hundreds of games and special moves from Kasparov’s career which stick in the memory. Even as a very young man, his play was notable for its dynamic qualities, with a sudden tactical thrust shattering the opponent’s position. Look up the examples in this column on your databases; they are included here as little tasters.

Kasparov - Pigusov 1977

30 Rf6!

Kasparov’s reign as World Champion started just a couple of weeks after my first ever chess column in the Teesside Advertiser (later renamed The Herald & Post). So for the last 20 years, every time I have written a column, The King of chess has never changed. He has made big mistakes, both on and off the board but he has never lacked the courage for his convictions. Breaking with FIDE in 1993 might have seemed like a good idea at the time but ultimately led to the complete disintegration of world chess, giving us the lamentable state we now suffer.

The lack of a World Championship cycle is the most damaging of all. Without the attraction of regular Interzonals and Candidates matches, potential new sponsors are at best confused and at worst totally disinterested. Kasparov himself was able to demonstrate his early promise was being fulfilled when he swept through the cycle.

At a time when Anatoly Karpov seemed unbeatable, the two Ks clashed in contest in the unforgettable world title match of 1984. Karpov started off like a runaway train and raced to an early lead. Clawing back from the brink of defeat, Kasparov survived a 0-5 deficit to pull back to 3-5 before the match was stopped after the 48th game.

In the rematch, Kasparov famously triumphed, winning the final game with his beloved Scheveningen Sicilian in one of the most dramatic games in history.

Scattered pictures of the smiles we left behind,

Smiles we gave to one another

For the way we were...

There was a time when it felt like there would always be a Kasparov v Karpov match either being played or about to be played; it just seemed to be the way things were and always would be. I’m sure that both players will have many bitter-sweet memories of all the games they have played against each other.

Kasparov v Karpov Games 11 1985


23 Qxd7!!


He thus broke yet another record by becoming, at 22, the youngest champion in history. He had already been the youngest title challenger, the youngest USSR Champion…etc…he clearly had talent and time very much on his side. Further matches with Karpov followed in 1986, 1987 and 1990. Each one was very close, with lots of twists and turns. It is so rare, in the history of the world championship, to have two players at the height of their powers battling it out for the ultimate crown.


Can it be that it was all so simple then,

Or has time rewritten every line?

The immense energy waves created by Kasparov’s fiery brand of play made the demolition of established Grandmasters look almost too easy.

Kasparov v Polugaevsky Spartakiad 1979

29 f6!



Kasparov v Andersson Tilburg 1981


24 Nxf6!


If we had the chance to do it all again,

Tell me~ would we? could we?


Then came the infamous split with FIDE. Kasparov defended his title against Short (1993) and Anand (1995 - September 11th on the 107th floor of the World Trade Centre!) before finally losing to Kramnik in a match which still carries a lot of unanswered questions. I always found it strange how Lasker lost his match against Capablanca in 1921 with out scoring a single win. Kasparov matched this curious feat. The lack of a rematch ended up being one of the big factors in Kasparov’s retirement decision. Kramnik has done his image no favours at all by continually avoiding Kasparov.

Memories may be beautiful and yet,

What's too painful to remember

We simply choose to forget.

What a heavy blow that must have been for Kasparov. Knocked off the throne after 15 years! Was Lasker’s 27-year record reign on his mind? If he’d held off Kramnik in 2000, he would still be seven years off the record at this current time. We will never know if he could have added this record to his extremely long and impressive list. Despite the loss of the title and the painful memories that must have provoked he still kept his place as the Number 1 rated chess player (and highest rated in history).

So it suddenly ended at Wijk aan Zee. Despite his last round loss to a resurgent Topalov, Kasparov still took the trophy on tiebreak and played a generally extremely high standard.

There is no doubt, that out of all the games broadcast live on the internet, Kasparov’s are the ones which always attract the most viewers. His play was always so entertaining as well as being extremely strong. I had the great pleasure of being to watch Kasparov play live several times. Not over the internet, but actually at the match venues. (How ‘olde worldy’ that idea seems now!). I saw game 6 of the 1986 match with Karpov, the first two games of his 1993 match with Short and finally the fateful 11th game with Kramnik in 2000. His personality and presence shine out throughout the largest of playing halls. He has that rare star quality, that certain extra something that sets him apart from others and at once demands attention, interest and respect.

He was a champion of chess in every sense of the word. He was always taking on national teams in simultaneous displays, playing in strange places and battling, seemingly endlessly, with the latest top chess computers.

He has now retired from serious chess but we look forward to seeing him in action once again, possibly in the Quickplay events he hinted at. He cannot be replaced. We shall not see his like again.

Kasparov’s excellent series of books, ‘My Great Predecessors’, continues to sell well and sets a new benchmark for this kind of work. The good news is that the number of volumes will now be 10. In addition to the already published first four volumes, we will see (with provisional publication dates):

November 2005 Vol 5: Karpov v Korchnoy
October 2006 Vol 6: Karpov v Kasparov
March 2007 Vol 7: An anecdotal view of the World Championship
October 2007 Vol 8: Man v Machine
February 2008 Vol 9: Kasparov’s Best Games vol. 1
October 2008 Vol 10: Kasparov’s Best Games vol. 2

Plenty to look forward to there.

So it's the laughter

We will remember

Whenever we remember

The way we were….

So let us conclude with three more snippets from happier days; times when the smiling face of The Boss used to shine from every chess magazine. And no wonder, when he could play chess like this…

Kasparov v Portisch, Niksic 1983

21 Bxg7!



Kasparov v Ljubojevic Brussels Blitz 1987


37 Qg6!!




Kasparov v Karpov 1990 Game 20

34 Qxh6+!

Sean Marsh

April 13th 2005

(Kasparov’s birthday!)

Archive: UNCUT! 37

The Sean Marsh Chess Column
UNCUT!
*Column 37*
* *March 2005* *

Dear Readers,

Consider this month’s offering as a sort of sequel to UNCUT! 36 as we ask more Fischer-related questions…


When Botvinnik proposed a match with Fischer in 1970, it was an interesting idea and I believe it would have given us some very hard-fought games. Of course, the plan came to nothing as Fischer wouldn't play 'just' 18 games and insisted on the usual 'play to six wins'. Botvinnik is quoted as saying '...I assumed I would probably lose. Objectively this match would have brought Fischer more benefit than me...'

I was thinking about this recently and it struck me as odd that Botvinnik would want to end his career (the proposed match would have been his chess finale) with a probable match defeat. He has never come across as a sentimental character and I can't really see him as wanting to play the match just as a high-profile goodbye to chess. So was there anything else behind his desire?

My theory is that he wanted to play the match so he could use his great experience to get deeply inside the mind and chess of Fischer. In preparing and playing against Fischer for 18 games he would surely be able to subject his play to great scrutiny. Then, as Fischer was clearly on a collision course with the Soviet grip on the world title, Botvinnik would be able to present his findings as a parting gift to his countrymen, who could have taken advantage of his 'sacrifice' to try and stop the threat in its tracks.

Indeed, if Fischer had lost the match it would surely have been a severe personal setback. If he'd won, I'm not sure if the result would have enhanced his reputation all that much. After all, Botvinnik was beyond his best years and even he expected to lose. Does anyone think Fischer would have lost the 18 game match? Does anyone believe that the match would have been of real benefit to Fischer?

Botvinnik's tremendous match experience would have made him a tough customer for Fischer in 1970. Still, Botvinnik's last great match was nine years earlier, in the rematch with Tal (I think Petrosian was clearly the better player in 1963) and was, in his words, rather living off old research fat in his latter years.

I think he would have worked harder to prepare for Fischer and this work would have been of great benefit to the worried people back in the USSR. Also, I think that Botvinnik would have been as immune to all extra Fischerisms as Karpov no doubt would have been. It is entirely possible that the match would have been terminated prematurely with a 'called bluff' and Fischer's path to the official title would have sidelined indefinitely. Either way, it seems to me that Fischer had more to lose than Botvinnik, in the great scheme of things.

Of course there are several more matches which - much to the chagrin of the chess world - never took place. I don't mean the 'fantasy dream matches' such as Korchnoy - Fischer or Tal - Fischer, which we'd all loved to have seen, but rather the ones which were a distinct possibility and somehow never materialised.

Staunton v Morphy: big frustration for Morphy. Would Staunton have had a chance or was he wise to keep away from the American genius?

Steinitz v Tarrasch: Tarrasch left it too late to challenge for the title and was eventually crushed by Lasker. If he had challenged Steinitz, would he have been successful? The form of Tarrasch towards the end of the 1800s was extremely impressive and he won lots of tournaments.

Lasker v Maroczy: Maroczy is a bit of a forgotten man. We all know his 'bind' but he deserves to be known for more than that. A match with Lasker seemed a distinct possibility (contracts were signed) but for some reason never actually happened.

Capablanca v Lasker rematch: Capablanca crushed a reluctant Lasker in 1921, but the latter wasn't finished as a force in world chess. What if they'd had a rematch around 1924, when Lasker was on great form?

Alekhine v Capablanca rematch: In some ways, the most annoying omission of all. Capablanca had lost his air of invincibility after the 1927 match and he would have had to work harder than ever if he was to have a realistic chance of taking the title back. Would he have managed to sufficiently change his habits?

Kasparov - Shirov: Shirov once qualified for a match with Kasparov by beating Kramnik in a match. For one reason or another, the match never took place and, incredibly, Shirov was replaced in the pecking order by...Kramnik! The score between Kasparov and Shirov is very one-sided, but would Shirov have shown more in a proper match? Has he been holding things back when he plays Kasparov?

Kramnik v Kasparov rematch: This one is looking increasingly unlikely. I can see a few parallels with the Lasker - Capablanca match. How is it possible that the champion can lose a match without notching up a single win? How did the challenger make things look so comfortable throughout what should have been a much closer match?

Archive: UNCUT! 36

The Sean Marsh Chess Column
UNCUT!
*Column 36*
* *February 2005* *

Dear Readers,

I urge chess players everywhere to go out and buy one – or all – of the four volumes of Gary Kasparov’s ‘My Great Predecessors’. In fact, you don’t even need to go out to do it – just a couple of internet clicks and you can buy them from the comfort of your own home.

There is little doubt the Kasparov books will go down in history as milestones, crammed full of expert analysis and stimulating views.

I have no doubt that Volume 4 will be the most popular volume to date, as it covers the great Bobby Fischer.

It will probably be the one most people scrutinise in depth and I’d be surprised if it didn’t end up being the best selling one of the whole series and should go on to become one of the best selling chess books of all time.

It is hard to escape the cult of the Fischer personality even now, so many years after he first of all quit serious chess and then turned away forever from classical chess as we know it. Reading the Kasparov book brings several unanswered questions with the usual quota of mystery and intrigue normally to be found surrounding the most enigmatic of all chess champions.

Kasparov hints several times that Fischer had a genuine fear of Karpov, who was improving at a terrifying pace. It is correctly pointed out that Karpov would have been completely immune to all of the standard Fischer tricks, all the mind games regarding the lighting, the carpets, the cameras etc.

This is borne out by the way the 12th World Champion coped with his incredible title defences with Korchnoy in 1978 and 1981. It is very hard to appreciate, more than 20 years on, how intense those matches were and how vital it was for Karpov to uphold the honour of the USSR against the dreaded, outspoken defector.

Against Fischer, Karpov would have followed the letter of the FIDE law to the first dotted ‘i’ to the last crossed ‘t’. He would have quite happily stood his ground and claimed the match if Fischer had found an excuse to threaten to quit the match ‘unless…’. It seems a little strange that Fischer would later negotiate with Karpov for a match, having conceded his FIDE title and defaulted his Candidates’ place, especially as with each passing year Karpov gained in strength. He was making tournament success look a little too easy and it was a sensation when he lost any game at all.

Maybe part of Fischer still loved chess and desperately wanted to be back where he belonged - playing for the ultimate title. Yet pride was never going to allow him to drop back into the Candidates cycle which left only one route - a straight match with Karpov. If he was reluctant to play him in 1975, he would have even more reason to avoid him in the latter part of the decade. Perhaps everyone involved in the negotiations knew - albeit subconsciously - that there would ultimately be an insurmountable point of dispute.

It is very sad that Fischer’s later comments regarding Karpov (and Kasparov) should be ludicrous ramblings about ‘Fixing every move of every game’.

A final point. It is a fact that the might of the whole Soviet chess machine was working for Spassky in the run up to the 1972 match (see the wonderful book: ‘Russians v Fischer’) but it is also known that Spassky was very lazy and didn’t put the work of others to good use.

There is no doubt whatsoever that Karpov would have embraced the work of the team and this would have given him excellent chances of success. Fischer would have realised this - was it another factor in his withdrawal from the scene? What do readers think on the subject of Fischer v Karpov? How about a little debate in the forum of this very site?