Vugar Gashimov – could he stand up to the world champion?
On 24 July 2019, the prematurely deceased Azerbaijani grandmaster Vugar Gashimov would have celebrated his 33rd birthday. Our next lesson is dedicated to this exceptional young grandmaster who, despite a serious illness which he eventually succumbed to five years ago, managed to break through to the very top of today’s super grandmasters. The article goes even further! The author believes that today it could be precisely him who could stand up to the currently extraordinarily dominant world champion… Continue reading
Wijk aan Zee 2019: a triad of horrors in endgames, a delightful combination, a genuine study and Carlsen's triumph
No, Caissa's beauty has not faded! The goddess just raises her eyes in disbelief... more and more often. Personally, I have long since lost any illusions about the level of play of today's players as such, especially the super-elite rated over 2700, when comparing their performances, for example, with those from 40 to 60 years ago. The recently concluded supertournament in the Netherlands provides sceptics of the same kind – that is, history was better – with ideal and explosive material... Let us first look at the true triad of horrors in endgames that the super grandmasters created in Wijk... but not only that... Continue reading
Limes inferior or a glimpse into chess Mensa
We believe that after the previous months of battles for the highest world peaks, which we could watch in live broadcasts, and the subsequent pleasant rest of the Christmas holidays, readers might want to think about our beautiful game a little differently...
The first part of the article’s title, which very loosely follows the previous one, i.e. tests and fun, we borrowed from the eponymous utopian (or dystopian?) novel by Janusz A. Zajdel. Why? The society of the future described by him is divided into layers according to individuals‚ mental abilities. The most intelligent naturally enjoy various advantages. But beware! Everyone, even those at the very bottom of the imaginary caste hierarchy, always has the chance to move up... if they successfully pass the presented tests... The main character, who makes a living by a sophisticated technical method of cheating during tests (the so-called Lifter), gradually discovers that ‘everything is different‚. He passes the highest life tests, sees through and enters a kind of utopian ‘Mensa'... Will you, dear readers, succeed in the same? Test your wit differently (not in a direct encounter at the chessboard), under extraordinarily difficult conditions... Continue reading
Saint Louis 2018 – question marks over Nakamura's fortress
In the lesson Analyse, we will take a close look at the mysterious endgame from the last round of the Saint Louis supertournament, Carlsen vs. Nakamura. What was the cause of the American's hopeless play in the rook ending (RE)? Faith in a fortress, which he actually did not have to build on the board at all? Today, Carlsen has no equal in endgames (he saw the winning fortress-breaking scheme 25-30 moves ahead!), but the patent for its destruction is held by... Polish grandmaster Gajewski!... The iron (computer) in fortresses certainly does not ‚fail‘ and does not wander... Why does the world champion arrive at tournaments rested, while the competition travels frantically from place to place?
In the lesson, we will also get acquainted with techniques for playing rook endings with pawns in a 4 to 3 ratio, explain the concept of the Achilles‚ heel of pawn structures, and there will also be a ‘nourishing' calculation test! Continue reading
Children love them, adults (at worst) tolerate them
What is it about? Well, chess quizzes, problems, humorous tasks. Younger children love them even more when a king is involved in the task and, of course, in the solution, and the task relates to chess; older ones like to ponder other types, including often more difficult retrograde analyses. And adults? I think most of them also enjoy a good puzzle... Continue reading
Jan Bílek – Professional biography
The first fully professional chess coach, theoretician and analyst in the Czech Republic since the early 1990s. The most successful coach of children, youth and juniors in the Czech Republic in terms of the results of his pupils, whom he has guided from the very first steps of their chess careers. Continue reading
For coaches – another way to diagnose the talent of pupils
Dear colleagues, do you sometimes wonder how else to be sure whether something will grow out of your pupil? We offer an original, fresh possibility to try to get to the truth. Let us find out whether our pupil ‚knows‘ how to think deeply about problems, how to tackle tricky puzzles. The presented logical task awaits anyone who wants to think differently and more deeply than they have to every single day... Continue reading
Chess d'Artagnan
In May this year, the first Belarusian grandmaster Viktor Davidovich Kuprejchik passed away. He meant a lot to me! I devoured his games, attacks, combinations; eagerly awaited his new discoveries in openings that immediately appealed to me and, of course, tried to replicate them in my own games. The story of the valiant fighter, nicknamed for his fearlessness, persistence, and record number of consecutive tournament wins as the chess d'Artagnan, is supplemented by the author not only with examples of his work but also with an analysis of three now forgotten Sicilian Defence systems. Viktor Davidovich's name has the privilege of being borne by a currently unjustly neglected variation: 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 e5!?, which we can now also see as a gauntlet thrown down to the somewhat tastelessly long-reigning Najdorf system: ‘Why actually play 5...a6?„ Let's try Kuprejchik's invention! Continue reading
Competition – Entertainment (4) – Solutions
The holiday competition has its winners! Solvers and other readers can view the solution to a brilliant study by Vitalij Alexandrovich Chekhover, which chess engines find challenging. At the same time, we also present the solution to a lesser-known humorous problem by Paul Lamford... Continue reading
Competition – Entertainment (5)
The fifth part of our competition focuses especially on one tactical device that you have certainly used countless times in your games, although probably with less drastic effects than in our two examples here... Continue reading
Let's analyse (12) - Bow before the Princess, super grandmasters
..., bow deeply and tremble, adds the author.
Many readers surely know the name of the current twenty-three-year-old best female chess player in the world, the chess princess, who has a huge performance lead over her female rivals, as well as at least two sisters from the Polgár family before her. She too logically quickly came to the conclusion that ‚wasting time‘ in women's tournaments (including the World Championship) is completely pointless. Continue reading
On the Pillory (5) – You're failing history, Mr Editor!
In the first part, we analyse and criticise another gem from the editor of Chess Weekly, who – as is nowadays common not only in chess – apparently rewrites history to suit himself, until he begins to believe it himself. Primarily, however, we will focus on the origin and analysis of gross errors! Why do they occur? How to classify them? How to try to defend against them? Is it possible that there is a connection between blunders on the chessboard and... time travel into the future?... 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