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The recent Russian Team Championship can only be described as "awesomely strong". From among the many riches on offer we pick two games for you; a fiercely contested Najdorf between Ponomariov and Grischuk: 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Be3 e6 7.f3 b5 8.Qd2 b4
and a demolition job by Mamedyarov against Kharlov on board five: 1.d4 d5 2.Nf3 e6 3.c4 dxc4 4.e3 c5 5.Bxc4 a6 6.0-0 Nf6 7.Bb3 cxd4 8.exd4 Nc6 9.Nc3 Be7 10.Bg5 0-0 11.Rc1 Nd5 12.Be3 Nxc3 13.Rxc3 Nb4 14.Ne5 Nd5 15.Rc1 Bd7 16.Qg4 Bb5 17.Bh6 Bf6 18.Rfe1 Ne7 19.Bd2 Qd6
20.Nxf7!
We boast our own Four Nations Chess League in England, nowhere near as strong as the leagues in Russai, Germany and France, but not bad either. Check out the game Fressinet-Adams, played only two days ago, a brilliant technical display by Black in a Four Knights: 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bb5 Bb4 5.0-0 0-0 6.d3 d6 7.Bg5 Bxc3 8.bxc3 h6 9.Bh4 Bd7 10.d4 a6
There's the competition, and I offer a small tribute to Wofgang Unzicker, one of Germany's greatest players, who died recently. He will be remembered for his classic correctness and at his very best could beat anyone, as will see here with a magnificent performance against Tal!
Unzicker,Wolfgang (2535) - Tal,Mihail (2645) [B43]
Milan Milan (1), 20.08.1975
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 a6 5.Nc3 Qc7 6.g3 Bb4 7.Nde2 Nc6 8.Bg2 Nf6
9.0-0 Be7 10.Be3 Ng4 11.Bf4 d6 12.Nd4 Nce5 13.Bc1 Nf6 14.f4 Nc6 15.Nxc6 bxc6
16.e5 dxe5 17.fxe5 Nd7 18.Bf4 g5 19.Be3 Nxe5 20.Ne4 h6 21.Qh5 Ng6 22.Rf2 Qe5
23.Raf1 Rh7 24.Rxf7 Rxf7 25.Qxg6 Qg7 26.Nd6+ Bxd6 27.Bxc6+ Ke7 28.Rxf7+ Qxf7
29.Qxh6 Be5 30.Qxg5+ Kd6 31.Bxa8 Qc7 32.Qxe5+ 1-0.
E. L. Pogosiants, 1979
White to play and win
By far the most popular competition was the 'who said it ' set of questions from a few weeks back. So we are back for more and this time it is much tougher. You may even have to do some research!
A. "It's a terrible thing kid, killing a man. You take away all he's got......and all he ever will have."
B. "Ich spreche j'adoube"
C. "Pawns are the soul of chess"
D. '"Strip 'em of their titles, that's what I say; it's the only language these patzers understand."
E. "There were times, I'm sure you knew – when I bit off more than I could chew"
F. "Utter crap"
Answers to predictaresult@yahoo.co.uk as soon as you have recovered.
T.M. Brown: White to play and mate in two. Solution: 1.Qb7!!
I look forward to the pleasure of your company this Wednesday at 20:30h / 21:30h GMT/CEST.
The Andrew Martin Radio ChessBase lecture begins on Wednesdays at 21:30h CEST (European Central time = server time, which translates to 20:30h London, 3:30 p.m. New York, 05:30 a.m. Sydney (on Thursday). You can use Fritz or any Fritz-compatible program (Shredder, Junior, Tiger, Hiarcs) to follow the lectures, or download a free trial client. |
The
Andrew Martin Chess Academy opens today, March 1st 2006. The site
offers a personal game annotation service; a regular newsletter written by AMCA
staff; the best online tuition in terms of value and quality; a series of tournaments
for children aged under 14; all aspects of chess training, including specific
opening preparation; an AMCA room at PlayChess.com, where lessons may be held
in complete privacy with our expert tutors – all at a time that is best
for you at any time of day or night, anywhere in the world. The motto: "Join
us, Improve and enjoy your chess!"
He is not some unknown in the world of chess. Andrew Martin was the star commentator in the 2000 London match between Garry Kasparov and Vladimir Kramnik, and he gained recent international fame and popularity with his live audio commentary on Playchess.com during the FIDE world championship in San Luis.
Andrew is also a prolific chess trainer, not just live in British scholastic circles, but also in a series of training DVDs he has produced for ChessBase, taking full advantage of our Chess Media System. His lively, entertaining style, combined with a good dash of humour, makes any lesson with him a delight to follow.
Andrew Martin is 47 years old and lives in Sandhurst, England, with his wife and four children. His book King‘s Indian Battle Plans for Thinkers Press was an international best-seller.
Each week Martin will cast his eye over the contemporary chess scene, presenting a veritable pot-pourri of interesting topics. We look forward to the pleasure of your company.
