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Magnus' mighty knights
15.10.2009
– Magnus Carlsen's victory in Nanjing belongs to the twenty best tournament
results of all time; with white he even succeeded in winning all games (5). His
encounter with Wang Yue resulted in a complicated endgame in which, due to
the reduced material, a draw seemed more than probable. However,
Magnus' knights managed to lay so many pitfalls that finally Black
stumbled after all. GM Karsten Müller has annotated this impressive endgame
for ChessBase Magazine Online, explaining among other things what importance
the Troitzky line has here.
Endgame analysis of Carlsen-Wang Yue.
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The king as an attacking piece...
09.10.2009
– ... on enemy territory. That was the theme in this game where White, a piece down, after
49....Be8 (diagram) was facing a difficult choice. Which evaluation of the position is correct?
A) the first player must give perpetual check;
B) he decides the game with 50.Qe4;
C) he wins, but with another move.
The solution is here,
but first ponder over it with a
larger diagram.
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From theory to praxis
07.10.2009
– Mihail Marin's opening articles are amongst the
most thorough that ChessBase Magazine has to offer. In CBM 128 the Romanian GM
investigated 3...d6 against the Giuoco Piano, a move which is aimed at
carrying out the fianchettto with ...g6. In it he came to the conclusion, "that
3...d6 followed by ...g6 is basically sound". Now he has had occasion to employ
in praxis his own suggestion, where his opponent chose the most frequently adopted
plan with queenside castling. But you can see for yourself in
the annotated game Lupulescu-Marin or get the full contents of ChessBase Magazine 128 in the shop
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The passed pawn on the seventh rank
06.10.2009
– Whenever an opposing passed pawn reaches the seventh rank, the highest level of
alarm is appropriate. But if it is possible to neutralise all possible dangers,
such a passed pawn can even turn out to be a decisive weakness. In the fourth
round of the Pearl Spring Tournament in Nanjing precisely this subject was up
for discussion in the game between Jakovenko and Carlsen. (Diagram, White to
move). Thanks to some inaccuracies on the part of his opponent, Magnus Carlsen
was able to gather in both the opposing passed pawn and the full point. GM
Karsten Müller has analysed the endgame Jakovenko-Carlsen
for CBM Online.
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Two unprotected pieces...
02.10.2009
– ... in his own camp White had allowed by playing 33.Nxc4 (diagram
position), intending to parry the double attack on Nc4/Rf7 after 33...Qd1+ and ...Qd5 with 34.Ne5. How would you assess the
situation?
A) Black still wins material;
B) White has the advantage;
C) the position is balanced.
The solution is here,
but first ponder over it with a
larger version of the diagram.
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A match decided in an endgame
30.09.2009
– In the Short-Efimenko
match, which finished last Saturday in
Mukachevo, the young Ukrainian player went straight into the lead in round one,
but saw Short catch up immediately in the next round. The match was finally
decided in round five - in a rook ending, in which the experienced English
player demonstrated his faultless technique to secure the win. In the
position in the diagram Short (White) was on the move and held on to his
advantage with an accurate manoeuvre. Can you work out his 38th move? Our ChessBase
Magazine endgame expert GM Karsten Müller has analysed the
decisive phase of this game.
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Faster, nicer, stronger: ChessBase Magazine 132
27.09.2009
– The next great innovation in CBM is here. The new issue #132 will be shipped in a week,
in a completely new design. It will be with you much faster than ever,
presenting the recent top-events in Bilbao, Jermuk, and
Biel, analyses by Gelfand, Vachier-Lagrave, and others, video lectures on the
Scandinavian, the Chebanenko Slav, and the Najdorf. Order
CBM 132 now, or read this
preview.
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The natural move...
25.09.2009
– ... is a continuation which immediately springs to mind in a position - if, for example, a piece can be developed to an active square in the opening with tempo. In the diagram, playing
16.Rad1 White occupied the d-file with his rook and at the same time attacked the opponent's queen. What is your judgement on this?
A) simple and strong, the move maintains a powerful initiative;
B) here nature is against White, Black gets the advantage;
C) neither nor, with a precise reaction the position is kept in balance.
The solution is here,
but first ponder over it with a
larger version of the diagram.
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Secret tip for use against the Petroff
24.09.2009
– The Petroff is reputed to be a really safe
opening, and there is no doubt that Boris Gelfand is one of the top experts in
it. And yet the Israeli recently succumbed in only 16 moves. The variation
chosen by Vugar Gashimov (4.dxe5) is a sort of secret tip, although of course
Gelfand was not surprised by it. In CBM 132 (available from 1st October) Alexey
Kuzmin will be be revealing a few secrets of this very promising variation.
Gashimov-Gelfand with
annotations
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The eternal duel between bishop and knight II
22.09.2009
– At the Grand
Slam Masters in Bilbao Alexander Grischuk took second place behind Levon
Aronian. Whereas he had good results with white and won two of those games, he
had to submit to two defeats as black. GM Karsten Müller has annotated for ChessBase
Magazine Online Grischuk's pretty endgame success against Alexei Shirov
from round two. In it, it is once again the bishop which triumphs over the
knight.
Analysis of the ending
Grischuk-Shirov
Endgame
DVDs
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'Without major pieces...
19.09.2009
– ...there wouldn't be any weak back ranks,' says an old German chess wisdom which once again hits the mark in the following position, where Black added fuel to the fire with
33...e3. How would you assess the situation now?
A) White achieves victory by deflecting the black queen with 34.a4;
B) advantageous is the rook swap on e8 followed by 35.Qxb6 (despite the rejoinder 35...exf2);
C) the position is dynamically balanced.
The solution is here,
but first ponder over it with a
larger version of the diagram
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A 2700 première
17.09.2009
– The
position in the diagram is full of traps. You will find four games in the CD-Rom
"1000
Opening Traps". In three cases White falls into the trap (with 8.f3?, 8.Qd2?
and 8.Nb3?), and the only way for Black to go wrong is, after 8.0-0, to play
8...Qb4?! 9.Bb3 Nxe4?. Even grandmasters have been victims of this trick, but
when a 2700 grandmaster falls into a known opening trap it is generally speaking
a first.
Nakamura-Ljubojevic with
annotations
4 Opening traps in B35
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