CHESSBOOK REVIEWS
Latest book
reviews of 1 December 2021
Wilhelminalaan 33
7261 BP RUURLO
The Netherlands.
John
Elburg
ChessBase Magazine issue 204
November/ December 2021
ChessBase
http://www.chessbase.com
E-Mail
info@chessbase.com
ISSN 1432-8992
Euro 19.95
System requirements:
Minimum: Pentium III 1 GHz, 1 GB RAM, Windows Vista, XP
(Service Pack 3), DirectX9 graphic card with 256 MB RAM, DVD-ROM drive,
Windows Media Player 9, ChessBase 12/Fritz 13 or included Reader and
internet connection for program activation. Recommended: PC Intel Core
i7, 2.8 GHz, 4 GB RAM, Windows 8.1 or Windows 10, DirectX10 graphic
card (or compatible) with 512 MB RAM or better
On the cover we see the strongest female chess player of all time,
Judit Polgar, besides some background information about here, there are
also 23 heavy analysed games from here on this DVD.
One of my favourites is: McShane,Luke J (2713) - Polgar,Judit (2705)
[A37]
London Classic 4th London (8), 09.12.2012
[Baskaran, Adhiban]
1.c4 g6 Black wants the option to go Kings-Indian, while also keeping
all her other options flexible. 2.g3 Bg7 3.Bg2 c5 Looks like this was
Judit's intention, to aim for the Symmetrical English. 4.Nc3 Nc6 5.Nf3
b6!? An interesting line with the intention to do double fianchetto.
6.0-0 Bb7 7.d3 Luke is trying to keep it simple. [White could try to
prepare d4 with 7.e3 Arguably this is White's most challenging attempt
to fight for an advantage. 7...Nf6 8.d4 Na5 9.Qe2 0-0 10.Rd1²
White was slightly better and went on to win in (Portisch-Keene
Moscow 1977)] 7...Nf6 [Another way to develop the knight is 7...Nh6
8.Bd2 Nf5 The knight is looking very proud on f5, helping to control
the d4-square. 9.Rb1 0-0 10.a3 d6 11.b4 Qd7 Black had fully equalized
and soon drew the game in (Gulko-Miles Las Palmas 1996)] 8.Bg5 I really
don't understand the point of this move. 8...h6 9.Bd2 Not the best
idea... [It was better to give up the bishop pair and prepare d4.
9.Bxf6 Bxf6 10.e3 0-0 11.d4 e6! Fighting for the center control. 12.Ne4
cxd4 13.Nxf6+ Qxf6 14.exd4 Ne7 with an equal game.] 9...d5 Black has
already achieved a slight edge. 10.Qc1 I guess this is the point :), to
stop Black from castling. [10.cxd5 Nxd5 11.Nxd5 Qxd5 12.Bc3 0-0 Black
is more preferable due to the extra space and potential outpost on d4
for the knight.] 10...Rc8 Judit just continues developing her forces
and slowly is starting to indirectly put pressure on the queen via the
c-file. 11.Rb1 [The other option was 11.e4 dxc4 12.dxc4 Qd3³ Black
is also better here.] 11...Qd7 12.b3 d4 Gaining more space and
dominating the knight. 13.Nb5 h5! Now Luke might have been wishing that
he should have just allowed Judit to castle :). 14.b4 cxb4 15.Bxb4 a6
The knight is not at all sure what he should be doing in this game :).
16.Na3 Nxb4 17.Rxb4 Nd5 Black is just cruising towards a big advantage,
the deep plan behind Judit's Rc8 is now seen! 18.Rb3 Nc3µ 19.Qd2
Bxf3 [Stronger was 19...Na4! Protecting the only weakness on b6 and
then continuing the kingside assault with h4.] 20.Bxf3 h4 21.g4 This
looks the lesser of the evil, otherwise Black might create a mating
attack along the h-file. 21...b5 Now the b6-pawn which was originally a
weakness is turned into a strength! 22.h3 0-0 23.cxb5 axb5 White's
position is very depressing and the knight on c3 is a monster and cuts
into White's activity. 24.Nc2 Rc5 25.Ne1 Bf6 The bishop will be nicely
placed on g5. 26.Ng2 Bg5 27.Qb2 Rfc8 28.Kh1 It is hard to give White
any good advice here. 28...Qd6 29.Ra3 Na4! and suddenly it becomes
clear that White's funny piece setup on the kingside only allows a back
rank mate type finish :). 30.Rxa4 bxa4 The rest is simple. 31.Ne1 Rc1
32.Qb7 Rb8 33.Qa7 Bd2 I think this line with b6 which Judit played
could be an interesting direction for Black and also it was very
instructive to see how she slowly built up her position and demolished
White's defenses. 0-1.
The main file is good for 1226 entries where a small 28 of them are
more than excellent analysed,again a fine example: Fedoseev,Vladimir1
(2696) - Carlsen,Magnus (2847) [E60]
FIDE World Cup Krasnaya Polyana (8.1), 04.08.2021
[Giri, Anish]
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.h4!? Magnus has chosen the Grunfeld (or, less
likely, a King's Indian) and Vladimir in his turn also shows readiness
for a full fledged fight. White has a ton of safer options, but no guts
no glory and so 3.h4!? was essayed. The system has been somewhat of a
joke for a while, continued to be so after Topalov did it against me in
what has been a terrible Candidates tournament for him in 2016, but it
was only after Grischuk has reintroduced it in the Grand Prix 2019,
when people have realized that it is there to stay. The computers are
surprisingly optimistic for White in the ensueing lines, but at the
same time, Black does have a choice between a good King's Indian, a
good Volga and a good Benoni. 3...Bg7 4.Nc3 d6 5.e4 Nc6!? A cunning
move order by Magnus, played after some thought. It is likely he was
choosing from the plenty of options Black has at his disposal. The idea
of Nc6 this early is that Black is ready to strike with e5, while the
usual d4-d5 push is slightly less of an issue, as we will later see.
6.d5 Principled, but developing the g1 knight first is also sensible.
6.Nge2 happened in Shankland-Svidler, which ended Peter's tournament
after he lost a complex game, but Vladimir has chosen another path,
which seems critical as well. 6...Ne5! The point. The knight sits
extremely well on this square, thanks to the far advanced h-pawn. Now
f4 will always be met with Neg4. Note that this wouldn't be the case if
white had the h2-h3! push, or if you could move pawns backwards in
chess. 7.Be2 h5 8.Bf4?! In a position as complex as this one, every
move is very critical and the smallest nuances can have serious impact.
This feels very normal, but since White has no better next move than
Nf3 anyway, he should have started with that instead and chosen a
better destiny for the bishop later. [8.Nf3 is just a smarter move
order in any case. 8...Nxf3+ 9.gxf3 0-0 and now that the pawn structure
has clarified, it is easier to pick a good square for the c1 bishop.
Placing it in front of the mobile f3 pawn looks unharmonious and
instead Bg5 or Be3 is clearly to be preferred. As I understand such
pawn structures, the position revolves around the f4-f5 push which
White wants to time well. It isn't going to be easy, with Black having
c6 break, followed by another break eventually, be it e6 or f5, or
perhaps a queenside expansion with b5. White has a strong pawn center,
but no clear shelter for his king, even in the long term.] 8...0-0
9.Nf3 What else, but now the placement of the dark squared bishop is
very questionable. 9...Nxf3+ 10.gxf3 c6 it is good to get c6 and cxd5
trade in, to have the c-file open, better control over the b5 square
and some room for the d8 queen to play with. 11.Qd2 cxd5 12.cxd5 Kh7
Classy. The kingside is now just a little bit more tight, the h6 square
guarded and if Black pushes f5 the soft g6 pawn is guarded, which can
gain Black time. 13.a4?! Often when you try preventing counterplay on
the side where you are weaker, you only delay the inevitable and weaken
urself further. Black was eventually going to push b5, likely, but the
cure is worse than the disease, and now the b3 square is weakened and
when b5 will eventually happen, Black will have more files and
diagonals open for his queenside play. 13...Nd7 14.a5 White gains some
space, but it is not very useful and Black can already start
considering b5 push, with or even without the preparatory a7-a6.
14...f5! Magnus hits on the kingside first. The weakened g6 pawn is out
of reach, while Black's pressure along the f-file is the primary factor
here. 15.Ra3 Ne5 [15...b5!? was very timed here, as well and after the
game, Magnus has mentioned this motif as well.] 16.Be3?! The bishop
moves to a more harmonious square, not in the way of the f3 pawn, but
this allows a strong positional pawn sacrifice. 16...f4! Black gives up
the f-pawn, but gains ultimate control over the f4 square, which is
crucial, as that will guarantee the eternal outpost for the monster
knight on e5. 17.Bxf4 Bd7 Setting up a beautiful positional exchange
sacrifice. Instead, there was a more laconic solution to the problem of
the f4 square. [17...Rf7!? is less spectacular than what Magnus has
done in the game, but at the very least just as effective. Qf8 is a
huge threat, and White has no better option than to give up the f4
bishop for the knight, giving Black the ultimate dark square control at
the cost of just one pawn.] 18.Nd1 White guards f3 and is ready to move
the f4 bishop. Obviously Magnus has anticipated exactly this.
18...Rxf4! Beautiful and even though objectively the computers say the
position is around equal, it was very clear to me, that Black will be
having all the fun from now on. The evaluation of the computer is meant
to estimate the computer's own chances in a game against itself, which
doesn't always correspond to how the chances between the two human
players are actually split. 19.Qxf4 Bh6 20.Qg3 Qf8! Gaining control
over the f4 square- the whole point of the sacrifice. 21.Ne3 Bf4 22.Qg2
Rc8 Rooks are meant for open files. 23.Rc3 Trading the potentially
active c8 rook is very sensible. The engine offers the bold Rb3!? as an
alternative, estimating the position as around level, but it is pretty
scary to just ignore Rc1+. 23...Rxc3 24.bxc3 Qc8 Now the queen switches
to the queenside. White's pieces are in disharmony, though from a point
of view of defense, he does still have a very solid, although
depressing, setup. 25.c4 b5!? Opening files and keeping the Bh3 idea,
in case White castles short. 26.axb6 This is called en passant, noobs.
:) 26...axb6 27.Qg1?? White basically needs to get the king to the
right, so the rook can go to the left. Here he is preparing Kf1-Kg2,
but he is just not in time. [27.Kf1! first would achieve the goal of
regrouping the pieces the right way. White can follow it up with Kg1
Qf1 if needed, or Qg1 Kg2, depending on the situation. 27...b5 This
wins Black an important pawn, but White can defend if he continues with
the right plan. 28.Qg1! bxc4 29.Kg2! Qc5 30.Qa1 White just has to make
sure the h1 rook gets to participate. 30...Bxe3 31.fxe3 Qxe3 32.Re1 and
surprisingly White is actually alive. He has given up a bunch of pawns,
but got some coordination and with Qc1 incoming Black's active queen
will have to give up some ground.;
27.0-0!? would in my opinion be a very practical way to try and setup a
defense. The rook is now directly ready to get into the game and if
Black chooses to take it, which he should, then the position simplifies
a lot and the drawing tendencies rise. 27...Bh3 28.Qh1 Bxf1 29.Kxf1
Black can just take on e3 and regain the c4 pawn as well, but that will
mean that the material balance is only restored and if Black cashes out
all of his positional compensation back into material, we are likely
see the game end peacefully.] 27...Qa8! 28.Kf1 Qa2! The key. Stopping
the much needed Kg2 move, which would release White's heavy pieces that
are stuck in the cage. Now all of a sudden white is totally paralyzed.
29.Ng2 Qa1+ this works out more than perfectly, but objectively the
clean win was starting with 29...Qb1!+ [29...Qb1+! 30.Ne1 b5! well
timed shot. Computers always do that well. 31.cxb5 Bxb5 and Black keeps
White stuck, as 32.Bxb5? loses to Nxf3+! intermezzo. White doesn't have
a move here and is just lost.] 30.Ne1 Qb2 The queen is methodically
coming closer. Fedoseev had his last chance here. 31.Ng2? Playing
along, but White can't afford that any longer. [31.Nd3! barely looks
more fun, trading the only piece that can actually attack something,
ever, but at the same time, this would rid Black of some horsepower,
pun intended. 31...Nxd3 32.Bxd3 Qc3 33.Be2 Qc2 White is almost in
zugzwang. 34.Rh2! But almost. Without the knights, Black actually
doesn't have a clear way to win, as White just stands, but at the same
time, to say that White is fine here, would be a gross exaggeration.]
31...Qc1+ 32.Ne1 Qd2 now White is truly stuck, as 33.Ng2 is losing to
Nd3!. White now has to shuffles his queen and rook, inside a cage,
waiting for the finishing blow, that Black inevitably will come up
with. e6 is a resource to soften up white's pawn formation in the
center and in the long run, the e5 knight is also free to roam around.
33.Qg2 Kg7 34.Rg1 Kf8!? taking the time and moving away from any Nd3
Nxd3 Qxg6 tricks. 35.Qh1 e6! Gains Black some extra squares. 36.Rg3
exd5 37.exd5 Bf5 The bishop is better placed here and the e5 knight is
now free to embark on a finishing journey. 38.Rg1 Kf7 39.Rg3 Nd7 40.Rg5
Bxg5! In a dominating position, it is very important, at some point to
just start cashing it out. The rook can and should be picked up now.
41.hxg5 Ne5 the threat was stronger than the excecution and White is
just dead lost here. White has to move his queen and then Qc1 will
create a deadly threat of Nd3. White has resigned. His position is
helpless and he has been demolished and demoralized, but as it is often
the case in chess, it didn't have to happen (28.0-0!/28.Kf1!). It did
though. 0-1.
The opening video’s: Markus Ragger: Sicilian with 3.Bb5+ Nd7
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.Bb5+ Nd7 4.d4 cxd4 5.Nxd4
Daniel King: Queen's Gambit Exchange Variation
1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.cxd5 exd5 5.Bg5 c6 6.e3 h6 7.Bh4 Be7 8.Bd3
0-0 9.Nge2 Re8 10.Qc2 Nbd7 11.f3 b5
Mihail Marin: Ruy Lopez Breyer Variation
with 15.b3 d5 16.Bg5 h6 17.Bh4.
The opening surveys hold: Spyridon Kapnisis: Larsen Opening 1.b3 e5
2.Bb2 Nc6
Krisztian Szabo: English Botvinnik System with 6.e4 f5
Petra Papp: Caro-Kann Advance Variation 8...Qxb2
Andrey Sumets: Sicilian Paulsen 6...Qb6 7.Nf3 (Part III)
Robert Ris: Sicilian Four Knights with 9.Bd3
Imre Hera: Sicilian Najdorf 6.Be2 e5 7.Nf3 Be7 8.Bg5
Martin Lorenzini: French Rubinstein Variation 7.Be3
Evgeny Postny: Vienna Game 3.Bc4 Nxe4 4.Qh5 Nd6
Alexey Kuzmin: Queen's Gambit 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Nc3 h6!?
Sergey Grigoriants: Gruenfeld with 5.Na4 e5
Roven Vogel: King's Indian Fianchetto Variation 8.Na3.
Other contributions are: All in one,Ris move by move,Rogozenco The
classic,Marin Judit Polgar the strategist,Reeh
Tactics,Müller:Judit’s Polgar’s endgame highlights and Knaak
topical opening traps.
Plus an eye-catching booklet in two languages!
Conclusion: This is must have
material!