The Spirit of the 'h' Pawn Demolished Not Only the Pirc-Ufimcev Defence but Also Humbled the World Champion
In my previous article, I looked at new perspectives on the role of the h-pawn. I asked who would be the first to pick up the gauntlet and write what would undoubtedly be a hefty tome about how, especially at the turn of the millennium, computers elevated this often modest pawn to the ranks of modern-day heroes... However, I chose the game for analysis for another reason as well: in my previous piece, ‚2033: 1.h2-h4!…‘, I ‚forgot‘ something fundamental. The h-pawn does not have to be ‚alive‘, it does not have to be present on the board. Its spirit can – perhaps together with Caïssa – hover above the board... Continue reading
2033: The Secret of the Best First Move Unveiled! Neural Network, Artificial Intelligence and Quantum Computer All Agree: 1.h2-h4!
This is more or less how we can imagine the chess world in 10 to 15 years’ time – nothing else really seems to fit, and… it’s not entirely a joke or even an attempt at one.
Why did the author choose the year 2033 for the title? I’m certainly not playing at being, nor do I have the abilities of, Nostradamus or Baba Vanga. After all, even George Orwell missed the mark in his (dystopian?) work 1984, written in 1949! Continue reading
Carlsenian Intuition or Mathematics
Of course, in this article we won’t be solving any mathematical equations. The discussion will be about playing style, thinking at the chessboard. In other words, the algorithm for finding the right move in a game. Why does Magnus Carlsen win such a high percentage of tournaments? Where does his quite remarkable dominance over his contemporaries come from? I’ve asked similar questions and tried to find answers, for example in the article ‚The Carlsen Phenomenon‘. Elsewhere, I’ve even compared his style to Capablanca’s and – admittedly with some exaggeration – mentioned the possible reincarnation of perhaps the most talented chess player of all time into Magnus Carlsen… Continue reading
Olympiad in Chennai and another rising star of the East
Before I started writing my previous article about the ongoing Olympiad, I hesitated whether to highlight the Uzbek youngster and World Rapid Champion Nodirbek Abdusattorov or the Indian star Dommaraju Gukesh. At that moment, both had achieved a 100% score after round 5, but as it turned out, it was mainly the Indian youngster who had no intention of ending his sprint and after round 8 had a phenomenal 8 points! The game the young Indian grandmaster played, for example in round 6, simply cannot be overlooked… Continue reading
A somewhat forgotten world champion
Battles at the top of the tournament, the amazing individual results of two young men from the East – that’s what everyone’s talking about at the Olympiad! But is the World Champion playing in Chennai? Of course! Carlsen deserves credit for regularly taking part in Olympiads. Here, he only sat out the first round, and then has been trying, both with a string of wins against much lower-rated opponents and by playing for Team Norway – his homeland – to help as much as he can. He beats his opponents in his typical style… Continue reading
Olympiad in Chennai – A Combination That Stayed Behind the Scenes Yet Will Circle the Globe
Originally, I had already prepared an article for readers about another young world super-talent who, at the time of writing, after round 7, can boast a perfect score. However, while following this round of the Olympiad, my attention was caught by a game and especially a possible combination that I simply have to share. In fact, dear readers, you’ll no doubt soon encounter it in all sorts of media… Continue reading
The Youngest World Champion Shines at the Olympiad in India
When the Uzbek chess prodigy, now 17-year-old Nodirbek Abdusattorov, won the World Rapid Championship at the end of last year, many probably thought it was just a fluke. If you don’t follow the career of this serious young man, I bet you haven’t heard about him for over half a year. This year’s Olympiad may be missing a whole host of strong players (the teams of China and the Russian Federation are absent, France is missing two super-grandmasters, etc.), but even so, ‚there’s plenty to watch‘. After round 5, Nodirbek has… 5 wins to his name and has crossed the magical 2,700+ barrier! And what’s more, even a star of Fabiano Caruana’s calibre has fallen to him… Continue reading
Dubov's Retrograde Study – Solution
Preview: Below you can mainly find the solution to the challenging problem I posted on the website a few weeks ago. In the text, I also reminisce about the fantastic retrograde problems of the brilliant German composer Werner Keym. For those of you, dear readers, who once again have the desire and time, are not currently persistently searching for goods we may need in autumn or winter, or are not following the chess Olympiad so intensely—an event marked by the absence of at least two not only chesswise extremely strong countries, thus reminiscent of the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles—you can immerse yourselves in solving. Continue reading
Decadence in Chess Too: Where Have All the Complex Calculations Gone? Circus in Biel. The Lazy World Champion
In this post, the author mainly wishes to share with readers the latest news from the chess world of the declining West, and invites the reader to check whether they can manage the calculation of variations where a super grandmaster (yet the winner of a strong tournament in Biel) failed. He also draws on the opinions of world greats – former world champions! What is happening to chess? Continue reading
Dubov's Retrograde Study
Holidays, vacations, plenty of tournaments. It seems that at least for a few months, even the chess world is returning to normal times. Those readers who followed the June Candidates Tournament for the World Championship could choose from a variety of websites and select live commentary to their liking. I personally preferred the Russian site Levitov Chess, where the games were commented on by perhaps the most qualified experts. Besides the 14th world champion Kramnik, we could also see other super grandmasters in the studio. One of the guests, several times, was Daniil Dubov… Continue reading
Diary from the Legends Tournament (2)
Are you searching for an aggressive opening with White in open games? Perhaps you are tired (or even disgusted) by the ‚Italian shuffling‘ with d3, c3, 0-0, Re1, Nd2-f1, etc., or the analogous development in closed Spanish games?! In 1987, the Dutch grandmaster John Van der Wiel introduced what was then a revolutionary tool for gaining the initiative in the Scotch Game, specifically in the Mieses Attack (3.d4 exd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nxc6 bxc6 6.e5 Qe7 7.Qe2 Nd5), by means of the then rather mysterious rook lift 8.h4! In the computer age of searching for ever new systems, the setup was revived a few years ago by Alexander Morozevich, and almost immediately, analysts with their engines pounced on the (again!) early advance of the h-pawn. Naturally, such a system could not escape the attention of a player like Jan Nepomniachtchi; already in the dramatic semi-final of the Legends tournament, in the blitz tiebreak at 2-2, it was an ideal challenge for a correct and strong positional technician—who, as it happens, is today also a Dutch grandmaster—Anish Giri… Continue reading
Diary from the Legends Tournament (3)
In the third and final game from the online Legends tournament, we cannot fail to look at one of the encounters between the world champion himself and Jan Nepomniachtchi. The game was played in the group stage, and Black had to win to level the mini-match score at 2-2 and allow it to continue… with an armageddon. How do you play for a win as Black in a rapid game against the world champion? Continue reading
Chess quote
Chess is the touchstone of intellect.
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Chess quote
Chess, like music and love, has the power to make a person happy.
Siegbert Tarrasch
Siegbert Tarrasch