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Back at the chessboard we begin this weeks show with a Classical French.
Inarkiev,E (2628) - Nepomniachtchi,I (2545) [C11]
ch-RUS Superfinal Moscow RUS (9), 13.12.2006
1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.e5 Nfd7 5.f4 c5 6.Nf3 Nc6 7.Be3 cxd4 8.Nxd4
Bc5 9.Qd2 0-0 10.0-0-0 a6 11.Kb1 Nxd4 12.Bxd4 b5 13.Qe3 Bxd4 14.Rxd4 Qe7 15.Bd3
b4 16.Ne4 a5 17.Nd6
I wonder whether Nepomnlatchtchi saw 17.Nd6!
Mitkov-Huerta features what looks like the innocuous 2.Bf4
Mitkov,N1 (2565) - Huerta,Da (2338) [D00]
XIX Carlos Torre Mem Merida MEX (3), 15.12.2006
1.d4 d5 2.Bf4
But Kovacevic has been winning games for years using precisely this move and latterly Jonathan Rowson has employed the London System as an effective surprise weapon. We investigate.
Our third game features a little known line of the Morra Gambit.
Martin,Andrew D (2330) - Muir,Andrew J (2200) [B21]
Lloyds Bank op London (8), 08.1979
1.e4 c5 2.d4 cxd4 3.c3 dxc3 4.Nxc3 Nc6 5.Bc4 d6 6.f4
Can 6.f4!? be any good ? Whether yes or no, I can't say that thought bothered me too much.
And finally, Villamayor-Bancod sees an outing for 1.g3, Benko's move. White deserved a better fate than the one dished out here.
The puzzle... well, I am sure you can solve it without any assistance.
Marusenko,P - Logdahl,D
Newport PUZZLE 20 Dec Wales, 2001
The ability to recognise tactical patterns and act on them is the hallmark of the strong player. Here, White has a golden opportunity to win the game. How? Please try and then send your entries to andrew@andrewmartinchessacademy.com by 20:00h GMT / 21:00 CET on Wednesday, 20th Dec.
This week's competition should appeal to all budding detectives. Here are the first six moves of a perfectly ordinary tournament game: 1.d4 d5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.c4 c6 4.Nc3 dxc4 5.Ne5 e6 6.e3 Nbd7
The remaining moves were jumbled, and you had to try to deduce the correct score of the game. It was 7.f4 Bb4 8.Bxc4 Ne4 9.0-0 Nxc3 10.bxc3 Bxc3 11.Rb1 Nf6 12.f5 Nd5 13.fxe6 Bxe6 14.Rxb7 0-0 15.Qb3 Qc8 16.Ba3 Re8 17.Nxf7 Nxe3 18.Bxe6 Qxe6 19.Nh6+ Kh8 20.Rf8+ Rxf8 21.Bxf8 Rxf8 22.Nf7+ as played in Lebedev-Gonak Tulsk 1938 1-0.
The radio show starts this week at the normal time of 20:00h GMT / 21:00h CET. See you there!
The Andrew Martin Radio ChessBase lecture begins on Wednesdays at 21:00h CET (European Central time = server time, which translates to 20:00h London, 3:00 p.m. New York, 05:00 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.
