Linares 2009; Round 5; Ivanchuk - Anand

Ivanchuk,Vassily (2779) - Anand,Viswanathan (2791)
Linares 2009; Round 5; 24.02.2009

1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. Nc3 dxc4 5. a4 Bf5 6. e3 e6 7. Bxc4 Bb4 8. O-O O-O 9. Qe2 Nbd7 10. e4 Bg6 11. Bd3 Bh5 12. e5 Nd5 13. Nxd5 cxd5 14. Qe3 Re8 15. Ne1 Bg6 16. Bxg6 hxg6 17. Nd3 Qb6 18. Nxb4 Qxb4 19. b3 Rac8 20. Ba3 Qc3 21. Rac1 Qxe3 22. fxe3 f6 23. Bd6 a5 24.Bc7 fxe5 25. dxe5 b6 26.Rc3 Rf8 27. Rfc1 Rf5 28. g4 Rf7 29. Bd6 Nc5 30. Bxc5 bxc5 31. Rxc5 Rcf8 32. Rxa5 Rf3 33. Ra7 g5 34. Re1 d4 35. exd4 Rxb3 36. Rf1 Rd3 37. Rxf8+ Kxf8 38. a5 Rxd4 39. h3 Kg8 40. a6 Ra4 41. Kf2 Ra5 42. Kf3 Rxe5 43. Re7 Kh7 44. Re8 Ra5 45. Rxe6 Ra3+ 46. Ke4 Rxh3 47. Kd5 Rc3 brings us to a critical position;

White to move and win!



White continued with 48.Rb6? and missed the opportunity; the game continued with 48...g6 49. Kd6 Kh6 50. Rb8 Ra3 51. Ra8 Kg7 52. Kc5 Ra1 53. Kb6 Rb1+ 54. Ka7 Rb4 55. Rb8 Rxg4 56. Rb5 Ra4 57. Rxg5 Rb4 58. Rc5 Kh6 59. Rc6 Kh5 60. Rb6 Rf4 61. Rb5+ g5 62. Kb6 Rf6+ 63. Ka5 Rf7 64. Kb6 Rf6+ 65. Ka5 1/2-1/2

I believed that I had found a winning move for White but I first wanted to check it with Fritz. I loaded Fritz 10 for Windows on what I had available - an old IBM Z60m notebook with a 1.73 GHz Intel Pentium M processor and 500 megabytes RAM. I decided to go for the Shootout mode in which Fritz plays itself. I optimized its strength and gave it 20 minutes plus a 5 second increment which should be plenty of time for a position with minimal pieces.

Fritz set to resign early and draw late:
New game - Fritz 10
Shootout (Fritz 10, Blitz:20'+5")

position after 47... Rc3



48.Rc6! 3.32/19 53 48...Rg3 3.24/22 1:30 49.a7 3.24/20 24 49...Ra3 1.82/22 51 50.Rc7 1.82/22 1:01 50...Kh6 0.00/22 1:36 51.Kd6 0.00/22 1:04 51...g6 0.00/22 43 52.Kc6 0.00/21 40 52...Rc3+ 0.00/20 35 53.Kb6 0.00/22 1:12 53...Rb3+ 0.00/22 38 54.Ka5 0.00/22 36 54...Ra3+ 0.00/22 1:28 55.Kb6 0.00/24 35 55...Rb3+ 0.00/24 1:00 56.Kc6 0.00/23 51 56...Rc3+ 0.00/23 1:08 57.Kb5 0.00/21 48 57...Rb3+ 0.00/21 36 58.Kc5 0.00/21 47 58...Rc3+ 0.00/19 26 59.Kd6 0.00/23 46 59...Ra3 0.00/21 43 60.Kd7 0.00/21 32 60...Ra2 0.00/21 46 61.Rb7 0.00/21 29 61...Ra1 0.00/20 21 62.Kc8 0.00/22 43 62...Rxa7 0.00/23 37 63.Rxa7 0.00/24 25 ½–½

final position - stalemate



Fritz did not find a win in play against itself so I decided to challenge Fritz directly. If the position is really drawn, he should be able to demonstrate it against any opposition.

Here are the results:

Fritz set to resign late and draw early
Gitananda, Rama - Fritz 10
Blitz:20'+5" Phoenix, AZ, 24.02.2009

position after 47... Rc3

48.Rc6! 48...Ra3 2.01/9 1:05 49.Kd6!! This move is the only move I know of that insures the win - White aims for b7 - his rook will only go to c7 to block a check by Black on the 7th rank - otherwise Black can play for stalemate as Fritz has already demonstrated. 49...Ra1 2.18/8 39 50.Kc7 Ra4 3.25/13 1:21 51.Kb7 Rxg4 3.35/14 40 52.a7 Ra4 3.68/20 0 53.Ra6! With this move White forces Black to check twice in order to reach the 8th rank - those two checks bring the White king closer to the g file. 53...Rb4+ 4.02/20 1:36 54.Kc6 Rc4+ 5.50/19 28 55.Kd5 Rc8 6.12/21 1:23 56.a8Q Rxa8 6.50/22 13 57.Rxa8 Kg6 6.81/21 45 58.Ke4 g4 6.94/18 32 59.Kf4 g3 8.31/18 55 60.Kxg3 1–0

final position - Fritz resigns




In this line Black put up stiffer resistance:

Fritz set to resign late and draw early
Gitananda, Rama - Fritz 10
Blitz:20'+5" Phoenix, AZ, 24.02.2009

position after 47... Rc3

48.Rc6! Rg3 2.92/21 53 49.Kd6!! This move is the only move I know of that insures the win - White aims for b7 - his rook will only go to c7 to block a check by Black on the 7th rank - otherwise Black can play for stalemate as Fritz has already demonstrated. 49...Rxg4 2.67/21 43 50.Kc7 g6? 2.71/21 1:16 stronger is 50...Rb4+! 51.Rb6...Ra4 52.a7...Rxa7 53.Kxa7 and White must lose a tempo clearing his rook from the a7-h2 diagonal 51.a7 Ra4 3.18/22 37 52.Kb7 Rxa7+ (or else 53.Ra6! wins faster) 3.21/21 49 53.Kxa7 g4 5.50/20 1:03 54.Rc4 g5 6.12/20 55 55.Kb6 Kg6 6.31/21 33 56.Rxg4 Kf5 6.37/25 22 57.Rg1 g4 6.37/23 1:15 58.Kc5 Kf4 7.94/24 1:15 59.Kd4 Kf3 9.00/19 45 60.Kd3 g3 9.00/20 55 61.Rf1+! if now 61...Kg2 then 62.Rf7!...Kh2 63.Ke2...g2 64.Rh7+...Kg3 65.Rg7+...Kh2 66.Kf2 and wins 61...Kg4 12.59/19 53 62.Ke3 g2 if instead 62...Kh3 then 63.Kf3...Kh2 64.Re1!...g2 65.Kf2 and wins 8.87/17 19 63.Rg1 Kg3 9.00/17 23 64.Ke2! 1-0

final position - White wins



more on this game:

Annotations by GM Dorian Rogozenco
http://www.chessbase.com/newsdetail.asp?newsid=5239

Video Commentary by Grandmaster Larry Christiansen
http://webcast.chessclub.com/Linares09/Round5/GOTD.html

Endgame Challenge | Leko - Carlsen; Miskolc 2008

GM Peter Leko (2741) vs GM Magnus Carlsen (2765)
Game 5, Rapid Match; Miskolc, Hungary 2008


Position after 50...Rg6

White to move and win!



Leko played 51.Rxh3+? and could only draw.
What was the winning move that he missed?


Replay Game:

Susan Polgar - Karolyi, Hungary, 1990

White to move and win!



This position is from the essential book on tactics:
Chess Tactics For Champions
by Grandmaster Polgar

Lasker's Pin

This brilliant problem was conceived by Emmanuel Lasker,
the 2nd official World Champion of chess.


White to move and win!

White will manuever into a position which allows him to
sacrifice his rook for the sake of promoting his pawn.
Once this is learned, it will be easy enough to remember
should you ever manage to reach the initial position in a game.

1. Kb7 ...
White guards the c8 queening square,
forcing Blacks reply.

... Rb2+

2. Ka7 ... Rc2
also forced

3. Rh5+ ... Ka4
{if 3 ... Kb4?? 4. Kb7! wins immediately.}

4. Kb7 ... Rb2+

5. Ka6 ...
White's King and Rook act in concert to
push the Black king back to the 2nd rank.

... Rc2

6. Rh4+ ... Ka3

7. Kb6 ...
By guarding c7, White threatens to
sacrifice his Rook for the h pawn.

... Rb2+

8. Ka5 ... Rc2

9. Rh3+ ... Ka2
Black is now 'safe' from
checks by the White Rook.

position after 9 ... Ka2
..
White to move ...


10. Rxh2!! ...
The point! A horizontal pin on the
2nd rank ensures the promotion of
White's pawn.

1-0

This is where many authors say, "and wins" - but it isn't as easy as that.
Queen vs. Rook positions are among the most difficult wins to successfully
execute in chess.

After

... Rxh2,

Chessmaster 9000 saw a forced mate (in 20!) and blitzed
out the solution at lightning speed.

[Date "2-13-2008"]
[White "Chessmaster"]
[Black "Chessmaster"]

11. c8=Q ... Kb1
12. Qf5+ ... Rc2
13. Qe4 ..... Kb2
14. Kb4 ..... Rd2
15. Qc4 ..... Rc2
16. Qf4 ..... Re2
17. Qf3 ..... Rc2
18. Qf6+ ... Ka2
19. Qe5 ..... Rf2
20. Qd5+ ... Kb1
21. Qd3+ ... Ka2
22. Kc3 ..... Rb2
23. Qd1 ..... Rh2
24. Qb3+ ... Ka1
25. Qb8 ..... Re2
26. Qa7+ ... Kb1
27. Qb6+ ... Ka2
28. Qa6+ ... Kb1
29. Qxe2 ... Kc1
30. Qf1# .... 1-0

However in a competitive situation even a very strong human player would be hard-pressed to bring this game to a successful conclusion against best play (a computer program with endgame databases enabled).

Of course in a practical situation the task is not to find mate in 25 but the win of the Rook in 50! How difficult is that? Here's an idea - at a time control of 20 minutes with a 5 second increment added with each move, Chessmaster 9000 playing White with its endgame databases disabled had to settle for a draw (by 50 move rule) in play against its unaltered self defending with Black from the position after c8=Q.

[Date "2008.2.13"]
[White "Chessmaster with endgame databases disabled"]
[Black "Chessmaster"]
[TimeControl "20 min + 5 sec"]
[FEN "8/2P5/8/K7/8/8/k1r4R/8 b - - 0 1"]

1...Rxh2 2.c8=Q Kb1 3.Qf5+ Rc2 4.Kb4 Kc1 5.Kb3 Re2 6.Kc3 Re3+ 7.Kd4 Ra3
8.Qb5 Ra2 9.Ke4 Ra3 10.Qc5+ Kb2 11.Qb6+ Rb3 12.Qd6 Kc2 13.Qd4 Rc3 14.Qd5
Rg3 15.Qa2+ Kd1 16.Qf2 Rc3 17.Qb2 Rg3 18.Kf4 Rh3 19.Qg2 Rb3 20.Ke5 Rb4
21.Qc6 Kd2 22.Qc5 Ra4 23.Kd5 Rf4 24.Qd6 Ke3 25.Qh6 Kf3 26.Qe6 Ra4 27.Qe1
Ra8 28.Qe4+ Kf2 29.Kd6 Rd8+ 30.Ke7 Rd2 31.Kf6 Rd8 32.Kf7 Rd1 33.Kg6 Re1
34.Qf4+ Ke2 35.Qd4 Rf1 36.Kg5 Rd1 37.Qe4+ Kd2 38.Kh4 Kc3 39.Kh5 Rd3
40.Kg5 Rd4 41.Qe5 Kc4 42.Kf6 Rd5 43.Qe6 Kd4 44.Qe7 Rc5 45.Qb7 Rc3 46.Qg2
Re3 47.Qc6 Rc3 48.Qb7 Rc5 49.Qa8 Rc4 50.Qf3 Rc3 51.Qh1 Rc5 52.Qg2
1/2-1/2

So think twice before resigning a lost game -
nobody ever drew a game by resigning!

© 2008 RamaChess.com. All rights reserved.
This article may be reproduced in whole or in part
only if credit is given with a direct link to this blog.

Bobby Fischer with Dick Cavett - Video

A 1971 interview with Dick Cavett provides a revealing glimpse into Fischer's state of mind the year before his historic match win over World Champion Boris Spassky.



Was It Only a Game?
by Dick Cavett

Among this year’s worst news, for me, was the death of Bobby Fischer.

Telling a friend this, I got, “Are you out of your bloody mind? He was a Nazi-praising raving lunatic and anti-Semite. Death is too good for him.”

He did, indeed, become all that. But none of it describes the man I knew.

Towering genius, riches, international fame and a far from normal childhood might be too heady a mix for anyone to handle. For him they proved fatal.

I’m still sad about his death. In our three encounters on my late-night show,
I became quite fond of him.

http://cavett.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/02/08/was-it-only-a-game/


Chess Software, Books, Games, VHS & DVD's

Play better chess!

For those of you who are not familiar with the rating system in chess, I will start out by telling you that the International Master and the International Grandmaster titles both fall under the aegis of the International Chess Federation -aka-
FIDE (the acronym is based upon the French rendering). They use a system of weights and balances that was developed by a mathematician by the name of Professor Arpad Elo. This system is incidentally the same one used by the United States Table Tennis Association.

In the United States the rating categories are these:



2400 + = Senior Master

2200 - 2399 = Master

2000 - 2199 = Expert

1800 - 1999 = Class A

1600 - 1799 = Class B

1400 - 1599 = Class C

1200 - 1399 = Class D

1000 - 1199 = Class E


The rating system referenced above is managed by the United States Chess Federation (USCF) and you can get more information about them (and learn to play!) here: www.uschess.org

In addition to being able to play in nationally rated events, you also get a monthly magazine entitled Chess Life. If you are serious about improving at chess then I recommend that you get started in playing tournaments right away. It is the best way to learn provided that you carefully record the moves of your game and then find a stronger player to go over your game with you. Chess players are very kind to beginners and at any tournament you will find people who don't even know you that are willing to go over your game with you (after its completion of course) and give you some pointers for the future.

Many people think that a tournament is a big formal affair, but at the amateur level it is not like that. If you are a rank beginner, they even have a section just for you! As long as you know the basic rules of the game and how to record your moves with a pen or pencil then you are ready for tournament play.

However, be prepared to lose! If you have this attitude, you WILL have fun and it will be a great learning experience! You will have to lose dozens of games before you start to get good, so just be mentally prepared for that. Even if you consider yourself a decent or rather strong player - if you've never played in a rated tournament before you should be prepared for a shock! But that is the great thing about chess, it's often more profound than we imagine it to be.

My book recommendations would be anything by Susan Polgar, Reuben Fine, Lev Alburt or John Watson - in no particular order. Bruce Pandolfini and Jeremy Silman are also good, but I don't think that they are as good as the aforementioned. Here's the best way to decide for yourself - Read an excerpt from one of their books (just click on the link and 'look inside') and see which teaching style you like best.

Comprehensive Chess Course

Uses only materials and techniques that worked well in the former USSR.
Endorsed by (former) world champion Garry Kasparov as revealing
"the once-secret Russian method of chess training". - Chess Information & Research Center


volume 1
Learn Chess in 12 Lessons
by Roman Pelts and Lev Alburt


volume 2
From Beginner to Tournament Player in 12 Lessons
by Roman Pelts and Lev Alburt


volume 3
Chess Tactics for the Tournament Player
by Sam Palatnik, Lev Alburt, and Roman Pelts


volume 4
The King in Jeopardy:
The Best Techniques for Attack and Defense
by Lev Alburt and Sam Palatnik


volume 5
Chess Strategy for the Tournament Player:
Revised and Expanded Edition
by Lev Alburt and Sam Palatnick


volume 6
Chess Training Pocket Book:
300 Most Important
Positions and Ideas, Second Edition
by Lev Alburt


volume 7
Winning Chess Endgames:
Just the Facts!, Second Edition
by Lev Alburt and Nikolay Krogius


More books by Lev Alburt


Chess Software, Books, Games, VHS & DVD's

Test Your Chess IQ

Is the ability to make combinations something you are born with or can it be acquired by practice? Russian chess trainer Livshitz, who has had extensive experience teaching a wide range of players from novices to masters, presents here a course for developing your combinational skill, based on the recognition of tactical motifs. As you work your way through this carefully graduated series of tests, themes such as 'diversion', 'interference', 'X-Ray' and many more will become an integral part of your chess armoury, to be employed in your own games. Solving these positions will not only provide many hours of pleasure but will also enable you to test - and improve! - your chess IQ. This is a three-volume series, carefully graduated in order of difficulty. - Everyman Chess Publishing


Test Your Chess IQ: First Challenge
by August Livshitz


Test Your Chess IQ: Master Challenge
by August Livshitz


Test Your Chess IQ: Grandmaster Challenge
by August Livshitz


Chess Software, Books, Games, VHS & DVD's