British Chess Magazine - October 2023

Volume 143
OCTOBER
2023
THE HIDDEN EMOTIONS OF CHESS:

HOW GRANDMASTERS
HANDLE WINNING
AND LOSING
THE
EUROPEAN
SENIOR TEAM
CHAMPIONSHIPS
A SUCCESSFUL
PERFORMANCE
BY ENGLAND
NORTHUMBRIA MASTERS:
KJARTANSSON AND
GORMALLY SHARE
FIRST PLACE
BCM EXCLUSIVE
HENRIK CARLSEN FOR BCM ON HIS SON'S IMPACT AND FUTURE
IMPRESSUM
Contents
BRITISH CHESS MAGAZINE
Founded 1881
www.britishchessmagazine.co.uk
Chairman Shaun Taulbut

Director Stephen Lowe
599
Editors
Milan Dinic and Shaun Taulbut The rise of China
as a chess power
Photo editor
David Llada
Prepress Specialist 592 The hidden emotions of chess:

Milica Mitic How Grandmasters handle
winning and losing
Photography
By GM Aleksandar Colovic
David Llada,
FIDE Official - Mark Livshitz,
chinahorseclub.com, 594 The European Senior Team Championships
Shutterstock, Wikipedia A successful performance
by England
Advertising By IM Shaun Taulbut
Stephen Lowe
Enquiries 605 Northumbria Masters 2023:
editor@britishchessmagazine.co.uk Kjartansson and Gormally
share first place
ISSN 0007-0440
© The British Chess Magazine Limited
By IM Shaun Taulbut
Company Limited by Shares 610 BCM EXCLUSIVE Interview:

Registered in England No 00334968 Henrik Carlsen for BCM on
his son's impact and future
Postal correspondence: By Milan Dinic
Albany House, 14 Shute End
Wokingham, Berkshire RG40 1BJ 614 Jewish Chess Grandmasters
and the Culture of Cancellation
Subscription
support@britishchessmagazine.co.uk
By Grandmaster Raymond Keene OBE
12 monthly issues
UK: £55 | RoW: £85 625 How intuition works in chess
By GM Aleksandar Colovic
Printed in the UK: by Lavenham Press Ltd
630 Openings for Amateurs
Cover photography: The Capablanca Approach
Shutterstock By Pete Tamburro
578 | BRITISH CHESS MAGAZINE

October 2023
ENGLAND 1 S65
England scoops medals at

World Senior Team Championship
By GM Aleksandar Colovic; www.alexcolovic.com; Photo: FIDE Official
With a large English contingent that The surprise of the match was that
dominated the scene, the championship on board one Michael Adams (2662)
showcased exceptional chess prowess couldn’t overcome Granat (2171) with the
white pieces.
The World Senior Team Championship
was held from 19-28 September in Hotel There was big resistance on boards two
Izgrev (meaning sunrise in Macedonian) and three, where Emms (2448) won a long
on Lake Ohrid, a few kilometres from the rook endgame against Crocker (2161) with
town of Struga. Black and Arkell wove his magic in his
favourite Carlsbad structure to suffocate
The English contingent was the most Frostick (2112).
numerous one. It had four teams in the
S50 (Over-50) section, one of which was On board four Davies (2354) won easily
a women’s team. In the S65 (Over 65) against Hewson (2023), partly because
section it had two teams. of a successful opening surprise. Playing
the Benoni he obtained an advantageous
The tournament in S50 was very exciting position early in the game, which he
until the last moments. In the S65 section, converted in convincing fashion.
after the decisive match in round four
between Germany Lasker Schachstiftung Italy beat England W50 (Women’s over 50
GK and England 1, the favourites kept team), which was perhaps expected, but
winning the matches and the first two one game really stood out.
places were basically decided.
Lexy Ortega (2410) obtained an advantage
The first round in the S50 section saw the after the opening against Sheila Jackson
duel of the English teams, England 1 faced (2034), but then interesting things started
England 3. to happen.
BRITISH CHESS MAGAZINE | 579

10/143
Here 33.£f5 was decisive, as the king

can hide on f4 in case of checks. Instead,
Ortega went for the insane queen sacrifice
33.£xg4? ¦g1 34.¢xf3 ¦xg4 35.¢xg4
¥xc3, which landed him in a lost position!
White (Ortega) obtained a winning position and

here 27.e5! (freeing the e4-square for the knight)
would have been decisive. Instead, after 27.b3?
¤e5 Black was suddenly not worse at all!
Several moves later, which included imprecisions White has only rook for queen, but perhaps
by both sides, saw White winning again. White was counting on 36.¦xb7, with the idea
¦b8, which creates threats against the black
king and also plans for b7. In order to prevent
¦b8 Black now had to play 36…£e8!,
but instead he erred with 36…£b5? when
37.¢f5 would have been best.
However, following his plan, White played

37.¦b8? and now after 37…£e2 Black
was winning again!
Ortega went boldly ahead with 38.¢g5, when

38…¥d2 would have led to a forced mate,
though the move played 38…¥f6 was also
sufficient to win. White sent his king all the way
to h7, creating a mating threat of ¦f8 and Jackson
correctly sacrificed the bishop with …¥g7.

October 2023
THE ENGLISH S50 TEAM
However, instead of winning with before drawing with Shabalov of the USA.
41…£xc2 or 41…£e1, Black took the fatal In round three the direct matches between
pawn on f2 and suddenly after 41…£xf2?? the favourites began.
42.¤f5 White was winning!
USA, who were the first rating favourites,
met North Macedonia Alkaloid. After
Nedev (2465) destroyed Ehlvest (2530) with
the black pieces on board two, it appeared
that the match would be drawn as USA
was winning on board four as Yermolinsky
(2419) had a decisive advantage against
Stanojoski (2351), while the other two
boards were headed for a draw.
It was still early on in the tournament, but

my impression was that it was exactly in
this match that USA got their lucky break.
White hides from the checks with ¤h6 and

the b-pawn will promote.
An amazing game, but an unfortunate result

for the English women!
In the S65 section England 1, led by the

reigning S65 World Champion John Nunn
(2569), beat Austria 1 3-1.
In round two England 1 beat Poland

3-1 and in this round we saw the start of
Adams’s winning streak of three in a row.
After Gdanski in this round, he went on to White (Yermolinsky) was winning, but his
beat David of Italy and Olafsson of Iceland last move. 29.h4?? was a big blunder. It

10/143
gave Black a chance to turn things around Here best was 29…¥f2, blocking the
with the not-that-difficult tactic 29…¦xf3! f-file and attacking the bishop on f8.
as the rook is taboo in view of 30.¥xf3 Also good was 29…£c5 or 29…£b5,
¤h3, winning the queen. This would have intending …£c6. But Lanc went for
given Black a winning position and a win 29…¦d4? which allowed 30.£xd4!
in the match 3-1. ¥xd4 31.¦xf5 gxf5 32.¥xd6. White
won a pawn and the bishop endgame was
In spite of spending more than two minutes easily winning with the outside passed
on his reply, Black missed this tactic and pawn on the a-file.
took the pawn on a3, after which White
assumed control and won the game, thus In round four in the S50 section England
drawing the match 2-2. 1 drew their match with Iceland. Adams
beat Olafsson with the black pieces. In the
In this round England 1 beat one of the post-game interview Adams showed one
favourites, Italy, thanks to Adams’s win line that he calculated that is too beautiful
over David (2523) on board one. not to show.
Adams prepared a recent, but still rare, line

against the Taimanov and the surprised
David decided to sacrifice a pawn in search
of compensation. He obtained it, but in the
critical moment he wasn’t precise. When he
missed this chance, Adams was merciless.
The Italians missed their chance on board

four, where Borgo (2333) obtained a
winning advantage against Arkell (2352),
but allowed his opponent to slip.
In the S65 section both Germany Lasker

and England 1 won their matches. This position arose in Adams’s
calculations. White’s last move 29.£d6 is
It appeared that Slovakia would hold bad (he realised this and in fact calculated
England 1 to a 2-2 draw, but on board four 29.¤d6) and he saw why: Black has the
Chapman (2254) took full advantage of spectacular 29…£xf3!! 30.¢xf3 ¤d4
Lanc’s (2236) miscalculation in a relatively 31. ¢f4 ¤d2 mate! The final position
simple position. deserves a diagram.

October 2023
You don’t get this types of mate too often,

even in lines that are not likely to appear
on the board.
Iceland levelled the score thanks to

Petursson’s (2396) win over Flear (2405)
on board three.
In the S65 section the derby on table one

between Germany Lasker Schachstiftung
GK and England 1 was decided by the
only decisive result on board three.
On board one a tense King’s Indian

between Knaak (2438) and Nunn Any normal move by Black would have kept
(2569) ended in a draw on move 24 in the equilibrium, but Baker lashed out with 21…
a position where there was still some f5? 22.exf5 ¤xd3 23.£xd3 e4, but this only
play left, but objectively Black was landed him in a lost position a few moves later.
past his troubles.
On board four Povah (2229) was lucky

to escape with a draw against Koehler
(2189) after blundering badly in
the opening.
On board three Baker (2222)

successfully improved his dubious
position after the opening to obtain
a satisfactory middlegame against
Kalintschew (2377). However, then he
became too ambitious.

10/143
Black lost a pawn and weakened his

position for nothing. White didn’t have
problems converting.
England should have drawn the match as

on board two Kosten (2352) obtained a
winning advantage against Meister (2439).
Unfortunately, in the critical moment he
chose an impractical way to convert his
advantage.
JOHN NUNN IN PLAY
The most technical solution would have

been to bring the king to the queenside first,
to guard against possible queen incursions
on the a-file. Kosten’s choice of 38.£d8
was objectively winning, but it required
calculation as after 38…£a7 the black
queen penetrated along the a-file.
This put too much pressure on Kosten’s

calculations and when he had to find the
only move to win he failed, thus missing
the chance to save the match for his team.
This win for Germany turned out to be

decisive for the gold medal. Both Germany
and England 1 continued to win their France was winning by one point and this
matches until the last round, which meant was the last game to finish. Ftacnik (2450)
that Germany kept the two-point advantage tried unsuccessfully to win this position for
over their closest competitors. In the last some time, with Legky (2357) showing the
round they drew with the other German correct drawing method with side checks.
team, thus securing gold, while England However, in this position something
beat Switzerland 4-0 to end on a high note unbelievable happened. Instead of sticking
and win silver. to the tested defence, Legky played the
horrible 95…¦f1?? and after White’s
Bronze in the S65 section was won by 96.¢e6 he could just resign as without
Slovakia, who had to rely on miracles to do so. side checks White reaches the Lucena

October 2023
position, builds a bridge and brings bronze Emms started with 52…¢g7? but this
to Slovakia. allowed White to take the pawn on g4 and
this was winning for White after 53.¢xg4
In the next round England 1 suffered their ¦xf2 54.¢g5.
only loss.
Playing the number one favourites USA the

match was rather even. The only board where
USA could exert pressure was board three
where Kaidanov (2549) played Emms. White
won a pawn in the opening, but Black had good
compensation for it. The game soon transposed
to a theoretically drawn rook endgame.
White wants to walk with his king to

b7, but there is another threat and that
is ¦b7-c7 and b7, followed by ¦c8
and b8£.
Black tried to prevent the second threat and

played 54…¦b2, but after 55.¦b7 ¢f8
56.¢f6
Emms defended well for a very long

time and after many moves the following
position was reached.
The threat of mate meant that the

black king needs to move. Going to g8
allows the white king to come to the
queenside, but he can only postpone
that as, after 56…¢e8 57.¢e6, the
The position is a fortress, but Black needs black king cannot continue to d8 in
one last precise move too keep it unbreakable. view of ¦b8 mate.
The correct move was 52…¦b4! defending
the pawn on g4 and only in case of 53.b7 This allowed White to get his king to
playing53…¢g7. Then the game and the the queenside and win by reaching the
match would have been drawn. Lucena position.

10/143
The last round for Engalnd in S65
In retrospect, this win proved pivotal for

both teams, as they eventually finished first
and second, with only a point difference
between them. There was still a lot of
drama ahead before that, though.
In round six England faced the host team of

North Macedonia Alkaloid.
On board one Adams surprised Georgiev

(2542) in the opening and quickly took
the initiative with the black pieces. The
initiative was transformed into an extra
pawn that Adams carefully nurtured to a
win in 60 moves, without allowing a single Black won a piece and should have been
chance. easily winning as White has nothing for the
lost material.
There were two relatively calm draws Somehow, Arkell seemed to relax and failed
on boards two and four, where neither to press on with his advantage, allowing
could Emms pose bigger problems to Stanojoski to consolidate and put up some
Bogdanovski (2385) nor Davies create resistance. Black was still winning, but it
much against Kutirov (2274). was becoming increasingly difficult.
All the drama happened on board three in When the momentum swings in this way
the game between Stanojoski and Arkell. it’s difficult to stop it, let alone reverse
it. So the position drifted to one that was
Thanks to a neat trap Arkell trapped his already drawn. Unfortunately for England,
opponent’s bishop on b8! the momentum didn’t stop there…

October 2023
Wales vs Scotland
On board one Adams outplayed Dishman

(2304). On board two, something very
strange happened.
Black’s last move 45…¦e7? was a mistake

that allowed White to win by the beautiful
sacrifice 46.£xe7! when the a-pawn cannot
be stopped after 46…¥xe7 47.a7 £d5
48.¦b8 followed by a8£ (this was played Lewis (2238) prepared against Flear’s (2405)
in the game) or after 46…£xe7 47.¦b8 Triangle Slav by choosing the sharp Marshall
¢g7 48.¦b7. Gambit with 4.e4. Theory ended a move earlier
and here White played the difficult to explain
With an extra exchange White won the 14.¤g5?? Black took on g2 with the queen,
game, completing a most improbable attacking the rook on h1 and the knight on g5,
turnaround for a final result of 2-2. winning a piece. White resigned six moves later.
England 1 returned to their winning ways by The other two games were drawn without
beating their compatriots England 2 by 3-1. much action.

10/143
By round eight the favourites had all played Italy and USA were leading with 13
each other, so they were playing lower rated match points ahead of England and
teams. England faced Montenegro and beat Iceland on 12.
them 3-1.
USA faced Poland and beat them 4-0.
Adams beat Nikcevic (2358) on the black side
of a Queen’s Gambit Declined after obtaining Italy faced Montenegro.
an advantage in the endgame. Nikcevic
missed his only chance to keep afloat, after As co-leaders, a win for Italy meant a
which there was no coming back. shared first and a guaranteed medal.
Emms outplayed Pajkovic (2412) and was Things started well for Italy. David
winning, though nobody expected the game displayed exemplary technique to win a
to end as abruptly as it did. favourable double-rook endgame against
Pajkovic (2412).
His win was followed by a win by Godena

(2429) who pounced on a big blunder by
Podlesnik (2289).
On board three Ortega was winning

quickly after the opening. In a King’s
Indian, he prepared well and obtained a
decisive advantage by move 20 against
Miljanic.
Instead of defending the pawn on e5 by

43…£c7, Black just abandoned it with
43…¦f8 and after 44.¦xe5 just resigned!
Flear didn’t have problems drawing against

Miljanic (2331) while Arkell misplayed
his compensation against Nikac (2275)
and made the best move in the position by
offering a draw.
This small “gift” to Nikac was heartily

repaid in the next round when the White had to switch the attack to the f-file
Montenegro player brought the crucial with 26.¦f1 ¤f7 27.£f2, winning a piece
victory over Italy, which brought in view of the tactic 27…£d8 28.£xf6!
England silver. But let’s not get ahead £xf6 29.¤e8.
of ourselves.
Instead of that, he played a move out
In round nine all the favourites, USA, Italy, of character for the dynamic nature of
England 1 and Iceland, were expected the position: 26.a3?? when after the
to win their matches and then the medals simple 26…¤f7 Black regrouped and
would have been decided on tie-break, was unexpectedly already winning as
which was board points. White no longer had a breakthrough

October 2023
China ShenZhen W50 vs England in the last round
while Black was up in material. Black In the Exchange Ruy Lopez Adams
went on to pick up the pawns on e4 and (2662) as Black outplayed Liu Shilan
d6 and won the game. (2083). Emms (2448) beat Chunhong
Ning (2266) by breaking down the
From this moment, after missing an Fort Knox in the French Defence. Flear
opportunity that was there to be taken, (2405) won a brilliant miniature against
momentum started to swing in favour of Yun Guo (2244) and Davies (2354)
Montenegro. suffocated Yanfeng An (2259) on
the white side of a Fianchetto King’s
On board four Borgo was winning Indian Defence.
against Nikac, but first he misplayed
it and then unnecessarily transposed Iceland also won, beating England 2,
to a rook endgame, where he missed a but only by 2.5-1.5. The resilience of
chance to draw. the second English team meant that
they only allowed their opponents 2.5
This dramatic turnaround meant that Italy board points, something which turned
could only manage 2-2 and could only hope out to be vital in view of England 1’s
England 1 and Iceland would fail to win win of 4-0 – by outscoring Iceland by
their matches. a 1.5 points England 1 overtook them
on the table and, by a mere half point,
However, both these teams won and this won silver!
left Italy fourth.
England’s 4-0 win directly affected
England beat the Chinese women’s the winners of the Women’s teams.
team China ShenZhen W50 4-0. It was England’s W50 team beat Finland 2.5-1.5
a dominating performance as on all and overtook China ShenZhen W50 also
four boards the English grandmasters by a mere half point, just like the men’s
didn’t leave a single chance to the team, to win gold and retain the title of
Chinese ladies. World Champions!

10/143
Apart from the team medals, silver in

both S50 and S65 and gold for the S50
ladies, the English players also won
individual medals.
Adams won gold on board one, Flear won

bronze on board three as did Davies on
board five.
In the S65 section Nunn won bronze on

board one, Kosten won gold on board two,
Chapman won silver on board three and
Povah won silver on board five.
All in all, a very successful raid by England

in the World Senior Teams. They seemed
to be having a very good time together
and this strong team spirit certainly helped
them achieve wonderful results. With this
experience, I expect the haul of medals to Keith Arkell won the Blitz event
continue next year as well.
WORLD SENIOR TEAM CHESS CHAMPIONSHIP 2023 S50

Rk SNo Team Games + = - TB1 TB2 TB3
1 1 USA 9 7 1 1 15 26 0
2 2 England 1 9 6 2 1 14 24.5 0
3 5 Iceland 9 6 2 1 14 24 0
4 3 Italy 9 6 2 1 14 23.5 0
5 4 North Mecedonia Alkaloid 9 5 2 2 12 22 0
6 12 Canada 9 4 2 3 10 21 0
7 6 Montenegro 9 4 2 3 10 19 0
8 8 England 2 9 4 1 4 9 19.5 0
9 7 Poland 9 4 1 4 9 19.5 0
10 9 Slovakia 9 4 1 4 9 19 0
11 18 Uruguay 9 4 1 4 9 18.5 0
12 17 Wales Silures 9 4 1 4 9 18 0
13 14 England W50 9 3 3 3 9 17.5 0
14 10 China ShenZhen W50 9 4 1 4 9 17 0
15 16 Sweden 9 2 4 3 8 17 0
16 11 Austria 9 2 3 4 7 16.5 2
17 15 USA 5 Brothers 9 2 3 4 7 16.5 0
18 13 England 3 9 3 1 5 7 13.5 0

October 2023
THE WINNERS: USA S50 TEAM
WORLD SENIOR TEAM CHESS CHAMPIONSHIP 2023 S65

Rk SNo Team Games + = - TB1 TB2 TB3
1 1 Germany Lasker Schachstiftung GK 9 8 1 0 17 25.5 0
2 2 England 1 9 8 0 1 16 26 0
3 3 Slovakia 9 6 1 2 13 21 0
4 5 Italy 9 5 1 3 11 21.5 0
5 7 Germany 9 4 3 2 11 20.5 0
6 6 France 9 5 1 3 11 20 0
7 4 Israel 9 5 1 3 11 19.5 0
8 10 Belgium 9 5 0 4 10 19 0
9 11 Netherlands Orange 9 3 4 2 10 19 0
10 12 Switzerland SG RIEHEN 9 4 2 3 10 16 0
11 8 Finland 1 9 4 1 4 9 20 0
12 18 N.Macedonia 9 4 1 4 9 18.5 0
13 20 England 2 9 4 1 4 9 15.5 0
14 15 Austria 1 9 3 2 4 8 19 0
15 9 Kosovo* 9 4 0 5 8 17.5 2
16 14 Switzerland 9 3 2 4 8 17.5 0
17 13 Austria Steiermark 9 4 0 5 8 17 0
18 22 Latvia W65 9 3 2 4 8 16 0

10/143
THE HIDDEN EMOTIONS OF CHESS:

HOW GRANDMASTERS HANDLE
WINNING AND LOSING
By GM Aleksandar Colovic; www.alexcolovic.com
In the chess world, where intellect and strategy reign supreme, emotions run deep
beneath the surface. It's a realm where victory and defeat are not merely outcomes but
profound experiences that shape the psyche of Grandmasters
In a recent interview, former World Champion Viswanathan Anand was asked if he hated
losing as much as Kasparov did.
He said: “To me, it seems he isn’t even close to me, but I admit I can’t see him from the
inside, and he probably can’t see me from the inside. When I lose, I can’t imagine anyone
in the world who loses as badly as I do inside.”
You wouldn’t think this of Anand, who usually appears calm and composed. But:
“I’m not a good loser. I’m a good actor. I know how to stay composed in public.
I can even pretend for five minutes, but I can only do it for five minutes because
I know that once the press conference is over, once I can finish talking to you, I
can go back to my room and hit my head against the wall because that’s what I’m
longing to do now.
In fact, it’s got even worse because, as you get on, you think, “I should have known that.
I should have known that. I should have known not to do that. What is the point of doing
this a thousand times and not learning anything?’ You get angry with yourself much more.
I hate losing much more, even than before.”
I am certain that all the best players in the world are similar. The more you invest
in chess, the more you cannot stand losing. And the best have invested all their
lives, so, when a loss happens, they feel as if their whole life has been wasted, the
effort gone in vain: “I should have known that” being the idea that won’t leave
them at peace.
When John McEnroe was losing his first match against Brad Gilbert, he was furious,
as only McEnroe can be. “Gilbert, you don’t deserve to be on the same court with
me!” he told his opponent while changing sides on the court. After the match, which
Gilbert won in three sets, McEnroe announced he would take a sabbatical because
“when I start losing to players like him [meaning Gilbert] I’ve got to reconsider what
I’m doing even playing this game.” (From the book Winning Ugly by Brad Gilbert and
Steve Jamison.)
This is the type of emotion chess players suffer when losing, especially to someone they
consider inferior. To the best players in the world, that is pretty much everybody else, since
the whole world is inferior to them. They cannot stand it.

October 2023
“Don’t even mention losing to me. I can’t

stand to think of it,” is what Bobby Fischer
said on the topic. It’s the end of the world,
at least until they win the next game.
Winning in chess is different, but not in

a way you would imagine. The problem
lies in the fact that chess players feel
that winning is something that is
natural, something that is how things
should normally be. They don’t consider
winning as something out of the ordinary.
They expect to win and winning is in a
way preserving the status quo.
Compare that to the agony of the loss

described above and you come to realise
that in chess the agony of defeat is
incomparably more intense to the joy of
a victory. It is asymmetrical and this is a
major psychological problem for the vast
majority of players. Losing is like death,
winning is status quo.
When it comes to winning, I always

remember watching Michael Schumacher
in Formula 1 when he was winning
races. He won a lot of them and I could
never understand how he was so happy
after each win. He was radiant, smiling
all the time, hugging everybody on his
team, jumping and spraying around
the winning champagne. I could never
understand how winning never be taken
for granted for him, how he was able
to celebrate and enjoy every victory as
something special, something that is the
result of tremendous effort, something
that indeed deserves to be celebrated.
Ever since then I have thought that chess

players should be more like Michael
Schumacher. Every win deserves to be
celebrated and enjoyed. It should not be
a status quo. Chess players work so hard
to win a game of chess and they definitely
deserve to enjoy the fruit of their efforts.
Winning should be the best feeling in chess.

Chess players shouldn’t forget that.

10/143
THE EUROPEAN SENIOR TEAM CHAMPIONSHIPS (POLAND, JULY 2023)
A SUCCESSFUL
PERFORMANCE BY ENGLAND
By IM Shaun Taulbut
England had a very successful tournament, We will look at two very interesting games
winning two team Gold Medals, one Silver from the event, starting with a Mark
and one Bronze Hebden win based on opening theory.
The England 50+ 1st team of Mark Hebden, Wojciech Kowalczuk – Mark Hebden
John Emms, Keith Arkell, Glenn Flear and
Chris Ward won the 50+, defending their TCh-EUR Senior +50 2023 Swidnica POL (3.4)
title from last time.
1.e4 e5 2.¤f3 ¤c6 3.d4 exd4 4.¥c4 ¤f6
Mark Hebden scored a brilliant 7.5/8 on 5.e5 d5 6.¥b5 ¤e4 7.¤xd4 ¥c5 8.¥e3
top board. The England 50+ Women’s
team of Susan Lalic, Sheila Jackson, Ingrid
Lauterbach, Petra Nunn and Natasha Regan
also took the Gold Medal.
The England 50+ second team of Graeme

Buckley, Steve Dishman, Richard
Holmes, Phil Crocker and Bob Noyce
took the team bronze.
England’s third team of Jonathan Hill,

Haran Rasalingam, Paul Dupre and Mark
Hogarth finished 8th.
xiiiiiiiiy
In the 65+ the 1st team of John Nunn, If White captures with 8.¤xc6 ¥xf2+
Tony Kosten, Peter Large, Chris Baker 9.¢f1 bxc6 10.¥xc6+ ¢f8 is satisfactory
and Tony Stebbings took the Silver medal, for Black as 11.¥xa8 loses to 11...¥a6+.
with John Nunn and Chris Baker winning
individual Gold medals for the best score 8...¥d7 9.¥xc6 bxc6 10.0–0 £e7
on their Boards.
Mark Hebden is very well versed in
Financial support for the England teams opening theory and this move, indirectly
came from the ECF, Chess Trust, Friends attacking the white bishop on e3, allows
of Chess, Nigel Povah, Ian Reynolds and Black retreat squares for his knight on e4 in
Natasha Regan. certain variations.

October 2023
Black forces the exchange of queens and

has a winning endgame with his extra
pawn; Mark uses his king actively to
protect his pawns.
20.£xd6 cxd6 21.c3 ¥b6 22.¥g3 ¤e5

23.h3 f5 24.¥f4 ¥c7 25.¦e3 c5 26.¤c2
¢f7 27.¦d1 ¥c6 28.¦f1 ¢e6
xiiiiiiiiy
11.f3 ¤d6 The knight is most effective here.
12.¥f2 ¤c4 Also playable is 12...¤f5

13.¤c3 ¥b6.
13.b3 ¤xe5 Capturing the pawn looks

dangerous for Black as the e-file is open.
xiiiiiiiiy
29.¤f3 ¢d7 30.¦fe1 ¤xf3+ 31.gxf3
¦xe3 32.¦xe3 ¥b6 33.¢h2 a5 34.¥g5
¦f7 35.¢g3 ¥b5 36.¦e1 d4 37.cxd4 cxd4
The pawn starts to roll forward and

White has no defence against the activity
of the bishops.
xiiiiiiiiy
14.¦e1 g5 Also good is the piece sacrifice
14...f6 15.f4 0–0 16.fxe5 fxe5.
15.¤d2 0–0 16.f4 gxf4 17.£h5 ¦ae8

18.£h6 £d6 19.£xf4 ¤g4
xiiiiiiiiy
38.¦d1 ¥e2 39.¦d2 d3 40.¤e1 [40.¤e3
¦g7 41.¢f4 ¦xg5]
40...¦g7
0–1
xiiiiiiiiy
10/143
John Nunn was also in good form, using 8.0–0 ¤d7 9.¤h4 ¥g6 10.c3 A key
the Advance variation against the Caro- move, aiming to open the queenside
Kann as before: with b3 to take advantage of the superior
development of the white pieces.
John Nunn -
Peter Jorgen Dam Mikkelsen 10...¦c8 11.¤xg6 hxg6
TCh-EUR Senior +65 2023 Swidnica POL (5.2)
1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.e5 ¥f5 4.¤f3 e6 5.¥e2
xiiiiiiiiy
12.b3 cxb3 Black has little choice here
as if 12...b5 13.a4 b4 (13...£xc3 14.axb5
xiiiiiiiiy is good for White; 13...cxb3 14.¤xb3
White develops quickly and Black often £xc3 15.¦c1 is winning) 14.cxb4
lags behind in development in this variation. ¥xb4 15.bxc4 with advantage to White;
or 12...£xc3 13.¦c1 £b2 14.¦c2 £a3
5...c5 Attacking the centre at the cost of a 15.bxc4 ¤e7 16.cxd5 ¦xc2 17.£xc2
tempo is logical but Black has to be careful. exd5 18.¦b1 b6 19.¥b5, when White
is winning.
6.¥e3 £a5+ 7.¤bd2 7.¤c3 is also good
for White. From d2 the knight can go to b3 13.axb3 £xc3 14.¦xa7
at some point.
7...c4
xiiiiiiiiy
White is much better with his lead in
development and the Black pawn on b7 is
xiiiiiiiiy open to attack.
Black blocks the position, aiming to use
his space on the queenside, but White has a 14...£b4 If 14...£c7 15.£a1 ¤e7 16.¥b5
good plan against this. is strong for White.

October 2023
15.£a1 ¤e7 16.¦a4 16.¦a8 ¦b8 17.¦c1 19.£a8 ¤cb6 After 19...£c7 20.¤f3 £b8
is also good. 21.¦a1 £xa8 22.¦xa8 ¤db6 23.¦b8 wins
a pawn and the game.
16...£b6 17.¦a8
20.£xb7 ¥b4 21.¥b5 0–0 22.¥xd7
¥xd2 23.¥xd2 ¤xd7 24.¦c1
xiiiiiiiiy
17...£d8 After 17...¦b8 18.¦xb8+ ¤xb8
19.b4 £xb4, 20.¦b1 is strong. xiiiiiiiiy
Black resigned; he has no good defence to
18.¦xc8 ¤xc8 18...£xc8 19.¦c1 ¤c6 the threat of ¦c7 and ¥b4 when f7 will fall
20.¥b5 ¥e7 may be better here.
1–0
THE EUROPEAN SENIOR TEAM CHAMPIONSHIPS - THE 50+ STANDINGS:
M-sce Name 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 TB2 TB3

1 ENG England 50+ 1 2½2½2½ 4 3 3 4 4 4 18 29.5
2 SVK Slovakia 50+ 1½ 2½3½3½2½2½ 3 3½ 4 16 26.5
3 ENG England 50+ 2 1½1½ 3 2½2½3½ 4 4 3½ 14 26
4 DEN WriteUpp 50+ 1½1½ 1 1 3 3 2½2½3½ 10 18.5
5 ENG England 50+ Women 0 1½1½ 3 1½2½3½2½2½ 10 17.5
6 SCO Scotland 1 1½1½ 1 2½ 2 1½2½ 3 7 16.5
7 ENG Polish Amateurs 1 1½1½ 1 1½ 2 2 3½3½ 6 16.5
8 ENG England 50+ 3 0 1 0 1½ ½ 2½ 2 1 3 5 11.5
9 LTU Lithuanian Women 0 ½ 0 1½1½1½ ½ 3 2 3 10.5
10 POL Swidnica Team 0 0 ½ ½ 1½ 1 ½ 1 2 1 7

10/143
THE EUROPEAN SENIOR TEAM CHAMPIONSHIPS - THE 65+ STANDINGS:
M-sce SNo Name Batches + = - TB1 TB2 TB3

1 2 SVK Slovakia 65+ 9 9 0 0 18 248.5 26.5
2 1 ENG England 65+ 1 9 8 0 1 16 229.5 25
3 10 POL Lower Silesia 1 9 5 1 3 11 165.5 18.5
4 6 FRA Cercle d'Echecs de Strasbourg 9 5 0 4 10 172 22.5
5 4 HUN Hungary 9 3 4 2 10 169.5 19
6 3 GER Germany I 65+ 9 4 2 3 10 168.5 18.5
7 8 SWE Sweden 1 9 4 2 3 10 134.5 23
8 12 ENG England 65+ 2 9 4 2 3 10 112 18.5
9 5 ISR Israel 65+ 9 3 3 3 9 177 20
10 7 GER SC Kreuzberg e.V. 9 3 3 3 9 158.5 17.5
11 9 DEN SK2023 9 4 1 4 9 147.5 19.5
12 11 GER Germany Women 65+ 9 3 3 3 9 105.5 18.5
13 14 POL Warsaw 9 3 2 4 8 112.5 18
14 16 ENG England 65+ 3 9 3 2 4 8 78 15
15 15 WLS Wales Cymru 9 2 3 4 7 88.5 17
16 13 DEN SK 2012, Danmark 9 1 3 5 5 73.5 13.5
17 17 POL Lower Silesia 2 9 1 1 7 3 54 11
18 18 CRO MURSKO SREDISCE 9 0 0 9 0 19.5 2
Hardinge Simpole
is delighted to announce
the publication of
Fif y Shades
of Ray
Chess in the year of the
Coronavirus Pandemic
Raymond D. Keene
With an Introduction
by CJ de Mooi
October 2023
By Milan Dinic
10/143
China's ascent as a global chess In a culture where tradition, resourcefulness

powerhouse has been nothing short and taking a long view of life make up
of extraordinary. From its humble important elements of identity, chess would
beginnings, China has now emerged seem like a natural choice for a national
as a dominant force in the chess world. sport. Still, it is their own version of board
The unfolding of China’s path to chess games – Chinese chess and go – that are
dominance is something which should be most prominent in China. In fact, not until
looked at carefully and studied the start of the second part of the 20th
century did chess begin to gain a foothold
If the youth represent the future, then the in the country of the Red Dragon.
world has a lot to expect from the country
of the Red Dragon when it comes to chess.
China’s chess success continues to captivate

attention as they clinched a resounding victory
at the FIDE World Youth U16 Olympiad Chess was initially not well received
hosted in Eindhoven, the Netherlands. Turkey in China. Because of this, it was first
was second, Armenia third while the English recognised as a small part of the huge
team finished in 32nd place. The Chinese Chinese Xiangqi Association, when it was
team demonstrated unwavering dominance founded in November 1962. With small
throughout the competition, amassing 17 out chess projects in schools and national
of 18 match points. Only the team of Armenia tournaments, as well as four friendly
was capable of holding them to a draw. matches with the Soviets (who did not send
their top players), chess was making small
Out of 36 games played, China scored 31 steps. However, the game was pushed to
board points. Noteworthy was WIM Miaoyi the margins during the Cultural Revolution
Lu’s exceptional performance, emerging as when it was included in the list of activities
the leading scorer for the Chinese team with an considered “decadent”. Still, it survived.
unblemished record on the fourth board. Her
assertive and aggressive playing style garnered Fortune smiled on chess in China in the 1970s
admiration from both chess enthusiasts and – with restrictions easing. A 1974 meeting in
experts alike. Tong(Qd) Xiao, positioned on the Kuala Lumpur, where the question of raising
second board, and Xiangrui Kong, on the third the profile of chess in Asia was discussed,
board, both achieved 7.5 out of 9. Meanwhile, made China the focal point of the push.
Haowen Xue, playing on the top board, scored This effort involved not only providing
seven points. The triumphant performance more outside support for the game, but also
underscores China’s growing influence on the getting the Chinese authorities on board and
global chess stage, cementing its status as a getting more State support.
formidable force to be reckoned with.
By 1975, the Chess Association of China
According to the June 2023 FIDE rating list, had officially joined FIDE, and the
of the top 20 chess players in the world in following year Chinese players started
the open section China has two. However, taking part in international events.
in the women’s section, China has five
players (three of which occupy the top five A crucial role in the development of chess in
positions). China currently comes in third the Country of the Red Dragon was played by
place in the countries’ rank of average Dato – Tan Chin Nam – a chess philanthropist
ratings for the top ten players. This is even from Malaysia, who lit the torch that spread
though it has notably fewer Grandmasters the chess flame across China and set it on a
than India, Ukraine or Germany, all of which path to become a major world power on the
are behind China. How did this happen? 64-squared checkerboard.

October 2023
Dato – Tan Chin Nam – a chess philanthropist from Malaysia,

who lit the torch that spread the chess flame across China; Source: chinahorseclub.com

Hou Yifan
Photo: David Llada
in 2010, 2012 and 2014, while the men’s

team won gold at the 2014 Olympiad and
repeated that success in 2018 and at the 2021
Olympiad (the last one being held online due
Having won second place in the 1977 to the COVID-19 pandemic at the time).
Asian Championship, China announced its
entrance to the chess world with confidence During all this time, State support for
at the 1978 Chess Olympiad in Buenos chess was increasing, on the national and
Aires – the first chess Olympiad it took regional/local level.
part in. With an average ELO of 2273, the
Chinese team first stunned Iceland (which
had the later FIDE President Frederic
Olafsson on board one) in the first round
and also managed to hold to a draw the
team of Netherlands, then featuring the Somewhat surprisingly, the Chinese started
now legendary players Jan Timman, Gena making giant leaps in women’s chess.
Sosonko and Johannes Donner (who lost to
a Chinese player in 20 moves!). In the 1980 Chess Olympiad, when the
Chinese women’s team made its first
Then, gradually, successes came about: appearance, they captivated the chess
second place at the Asian Team Chess world by drawing with the Olympic title
Championship in 1979, 1981, its first holders from the USSR and finishing in
gold in 1983, then again n 1987, 1989, sixth place ahead of the traditionally strong
and 1991. From 8 th place at the 1984 women’s teams from Yugoslavia and
Olympiad China progressed to sixth Bulgaria. The ascent of the women’s team
place in 1990. In addition, Chinese in the chess realm continued, culminating
players started winning numerous in a remarkable tie for 3rd place at the 27th
events across Asia and were beginning Chess Olympiad held in Dubai, UAE.
to be better noticed globally. As chess
progressed in China so the State warmed The Chinese women players officially
up and provided more support. asserted their chess dominance after the
As of 2010, China started becoming more break-up of the USSR in 1991, when Xie
dominant in chess team events – the women’s Jun won the title, which she held until 1996
team won silver medals at the Olympiad and again between 1999 to 2001. She was

Ding Liren
Photo: David Llada
then succeeded by another Chinese, Zhu and several super strong GMs all in their
Chen who held the title till 2004. After a 20s and 30s, China is a dominant chess
short break, Xu Yuhua returned the crown power today.
to China for the period of 2006-2008.
The crown and the highest point (so
In 2010 another Chinese woman, Hou far) in this Chinese chess march was the
Yifan, won the crown, becoming the 2023 victory of Ding Liren in the Match
youngest Women’s World Champion. She to determine the new World Champion
defended the title three times (in 2011, in chess. Currently, China holds b the
2013, 2016) and even today is ranked as crowns in both open and women’s chess –
the world’s number one woman player, a unique success only achieved before by
despite not being very active as a player the Soviet Union.
since 2019. Her crown was taken over by
another Chinese - Tan Zhongyi (2017- As chess is becoming dominated by ever
2018) and another, Ju Wenjun (as of younger players, the resources of young
2018) who has just won her fourth world talent which China has at its disposal are
championship match. almost impossible to match by anyone,
except maybe India. Given the vast number
The parallel between Soviet and Chinese of students that China can rely on, it comes
dominance in women’s chess is striking. as no surprise that these schools produce a
Both share a foundation built on robust multitude of exceptional talents.
government support and a well-established
system where seasoned players mentor Ding Liren’s recent success has not only
emerging talents. made him a hero in his own country
but has also given impetus to chess in
a nation where tens of millions already
play the game.
The women’s match in China, played by

With players in the 2700+ club, featuring two Chinese players, attracted a lot of
world champion Ding Liren, Yu Yangyi, interest both in China and abroad. The
Wang Hao (the winner of the inaugural hope is that there will be more chess events
Grand Swiss in 2019, the world’s strongest taking place in the Far East and that there
Swiss-system tournament) and Wei Yi, will be more investment in the game.

THE WORLD’S OLDEST GRANDMASTER,
ALEKSANDAR MATANOVIC,
DIES AT 93
The renowned Yugoslav/Serbian Grandmaster Aleksandar
Matanovic passed away in Belgrade on 9th August, two months
after celebrating his 93rd birthday. Following the passing of
Yuri Averbakh in May of 2022, Matanovic was the world’s oldest
living Grandmaster
A journalist by training and a highly Yugoslavia. After
successful player, Matanovic has left an retreating from
indelible mark on the chess world, both actively playing
with his games and with his writing. chess, Matanovic
Alongside Svetozar Gligoric, Borislav continued to write
Ivkov and Milan Matulovic – he formed and promote the
the backbone of the second superpower game – with books
in the chess world, marking the golden (aimed at children and chess enthusiasts),
era of Yugoslav chess from 1950 to 1980. articles and public appearances.
Matanovic was also the vice president of
FIDE from 1990 to 1994 and the director In May this year, to commemorate his
and editor of the esteemed Chess Informant 93rd birthday, the oldest newspaper in the
(Šahovski Informator) publishing house Balkans – Serbian daily Politika – asked
which he co-founded in 1966. Matanovic to write a biographical article.
He finished it with the following lines:
Aleksandar Matanović was born on the 23rd
of May 1930 in Belgrade, Yugoslavia. He “Chess is a game. Games [are a way
learnt chess at the age of six from his sister. to] determine the values of the various
He became the Youth Champion of Serbia factors in sport. Not just human versus
in 1947 and then the Youth Champion of human. The chess player is the one side
Yugoslavia in 1948. He won the title of and chess is the other. When a chess
National Master in 1949, became IM in player discovers all the secrets of chess,
1951 and a Grandmaster in 1955. He won and that is in progress, chess will lose.
the Yugoslav chess championship thrice – When a violinist completely masters his
in 1962, 1969 and 1978. instrument, or when a doctor discovers
what causes a disease - they will win. The
His first appearance in the Yugoslav team game is a conflict. Conflict, in anything,
was in 1950 when he defeated Albert leads to progress. In chess, for example,
Pinkus 2:0 in a radio match between the events on the board today are different
Yugoslavia and the US (which ended with from those of the previous era - they are
an 11,5:8,5 victory for Yugoslavia). From on a higher level.
1954 to 1978 he was a permanent member
of the Yugoslav Olympic team winning “When you set out on a journey of no
five silver and four bronze medals, as return, who and what you are depends on
well as five individual medals (one gold, what you leave behind. When my time
three silvers and one bronze). Altogether, comes, I will leave behind my wife, son,
Matanovic played in 11 chess Olympiads three grandchildren, three daughters-in-
and was undefeated in four of them. In law, four great-grandchildren, the chess
five European championships, between language, and countless games played...
1957 and 1977, he won four silver and one
bronze team medal. And the hope that everything that directed
our lives will be better than it was”.
In 1980 he was the coach of the national
team that won the final Olympic medal for Milan Dinic

October 2023
NORTHUMBRIA MASTERS 2023:
KJARTANSSON AND GORMALLY

SHARE FIRST PLACE
By IM Shaun Taulbut
The successful Congress featured the
Northumbria Masters, a GM tournament and
an IM tournament with several title norms
being achieved. The Congress Director
was Tim Wall and there was sponsorship
for title norms from Mark Jordan. In the
Masters Gudmundur Kjartansson and
David Gormally shared first place.
In the GM tournament Rajat Makkar won
with 7.5/9 and made a grandmaster norm
and in the IM tournament Krzysztof Raczek
of Poland won with 7.5/9. xiiiiiiiiy
This is slow and White has a good lead in
We look at two games from the GM Pool development better is 6...¤c6 7.c4 ¥c5
starting with a sparkling win by Daniel 8.¤b3 ¥e7 9.cxd5 ¤xd5 with a slight
Fernandez advantage for White.
Dan SIN Fernandez - Jonah B Willow
7.c4 e5 7...¥e7 is safer as the Black pawns
Northumbria GM Pool 2023 become vulnerable.
Newcastle upon Tyne ENG (1.1)
8.¤f3 e4 9.¤fd2 Now the Black pawn
1.d4 ¤f6 2.g3 e6 3.¥g2 d5 4.¤f3 chain in the centre will be removed so Black
decides to sacrifice the pawn to disrupt.
9...e3 After 9...dxc4 10.£a4+ ¥d7 11.£xc4

¥e6 12.£b5+ £d7 13.£xd7+ ¤bxd7
14.¤xe4 White has a sound extra pawn.
10.fxe3 dxc4 11.¤xc4 £c7 After

11...£xd1 12.¦xd1 ¤c6 13.¤c3 with a big
advantage to White.
12.¤ba3 ¥xa3 13.¤xa3 ¥d7 13...0–0

14.b3 ¦d8 15.£c2 £xc2 16.¤xc2 ¤c6
17.¤d4 ¤xd4 18.exd4 ¦xd4 19.¥xh6 gxh6
20.¦xf6 ¢g7 21.¦f4 ¦d2 22.¢f2 ¦b8
xiiiiiiiiy 23.¢e1 ¦c2 24.¢d1 ¦c7 25.¦c1 ¦xc1+
The Catalan; a solid choice for White and 26.¢xc1 White has a good extra pawn.
difficult for Black to meet.
14.b4 White is opening up the position for
4...c5 5.0–0 cxd4 6.¤xd4 h6 his dark squared bishop.

10/143
14...¥c6 14...£c3 15.¦b1 ¥c6 16.¦b3 If Black plays 25...¦xd6 26.¦fxb7 ¦xe6
£e5 17.¥b2 with a big advantage. (26...¤e3+ 27.¢h3 ¤f5 28.e4 ¤c6
29.exf5 ¤xa7 30.¦xg7+ ¢f8 31.¦xa7 ¦g8
15.¥b2 ¥xg2 32.¥a3 wins) 27.¦xg7+ ¢f8 28.¥a3+
¢e8 (28...¦e7 29.¦gxe7) 29.¦a8#.
26.¤xf7
xiiiiiiiiy
Now White has an intermezzo.
16.¤b5 £b6 If 16...£c6 17.¤d6+ ¢f8 xiiiiiiiiy

(After 17...¢e7 18.¤f5+ ¢f8 19.b5 £d5 26...¦e8 26...¦d2 27.¦a8+.
20.¥a3+ ¢e8 21.¤xg7+ ¢d7 22.¦xf6
White is winning) 18.¦c1 £d5 19.¦c8+ 27.¤xh8 ¢xh8 28.¦xb7 ¦xe6 29.¥xg7+
¢e7 20.¥xf6+ gxf6 21.¦xh8 £xd6 ¢g8 30.¥d4 Black resigned as he cannot
22.¢xg2 White is the exchange ahead. take on e2 because of 31.¢f3.
17.¤d6+ ¢f8 18.¢xg2 ¤bd7 After 1–0

18...£xb4 19.¥xf6 gxf6 20.£d5 ¦h7 21.¦xf6
the attack on f7 is decisive, but now White
continues with the attack with the e-pawn. Now a very good win by the winner of the
GM Pool Rajat Makkar.
19.e4 ¦d8 20.e5
Matthew J Wadsworth - Rajat Makkar
Northumbria GM Pool 2023
Newcastle upon Tyne ENG (2.1)
1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.¤f3 ¤f6 4.¤c3 e6

5.£d3
xiiiiiiiiy
20...£xb4 21.£b3 Very good is 21.¦b1
¤xe5 22.¥xe5 £c5 23.¦xb7 £xe5
24.¦xf7+ ¢g8 25.¦7xf6 gxf6 26.£b3+
The white queen comes to f7 with mate.
21...£xb3 22.axb3 ¤g4 23.¦xf7+ ¢g8

24.e6 ¤de5 25.¦xa7 ¤xf7
xiiiiiiiiy
October 2023
White aims for a quick e4.
5...dxc4 6.£xc4 b5 Black gains a tempo by

this pawn thrust allowing the bishop to go to b7.
7.£d3 ¥b7 8.e4 b4 9.¤a4
xiiiiiiiiy
18.dxc5 After 18.¤xc5 ¤xc5 19.¦xc5
£xa2 20.f3 h6 and Black has a decisive
advantage.
18...¤dxe5 19.¥e2 ¥xg2 20.¦g1 ¥c6

xiiiiiiiiy
After 9.e5 bxc3 10.exf6 cxb2 11.¥xb2 gxf6
is slightly better for Black with his extra
pawn but now the White knight is rather
awkwardly placed.
9...¤bd7 10.¥e3 £a5 11.b3 ¦d8 A strong

move aiming at the White queen and also
the White pawn on d4.
12.¦c1 ¥e7 13.e5 ¤d5 14.¥g5 0–0
xiiiiiiiiy
21.f4 ¤d7 22.¤xe6 fxe6 23.£xe6+ ¢h8
24.¦xg6 If 24.£xc6 ¤xf4 25.£a6 £c7
26.£d6 £xd6 27.cxd6 ¦fe8 28.¦c2 ¤f6
29.¢f1 ¦xd6 Black has a sound extra pawn.
24...¥xa4 25.¦g5 Not 25.bxa4 b3+ with a

winning advantage but now Black attacks
down the e-file.
25...¦de8 26.£d6 ¥b5 27.¦c2 ¥xe2

xiiiiiiiiy 28.c6 £xg5 29.£xf8+
15.¥xe7 ¤xe7 16.¤g5 ¤g6 17.£e3 If
17.£h3 h6 18.¤xe6 (18.¤e4 £d5 19.¤d6 If 29.fxg5 ¦f1+ 30.¢d2 ¦d1#.
¥a8 20.£e3 f6 21.¥c4 £xg2 22.¥xe6+
¢h7) 18...fxe6 19.£xe6+ ¢h7 20.¥d3 29...¤xf8
¤dxe5 is winning for Black.
0–1
17...c5

10/143
Results for the Masters Tournament:
NORTHUMBRIA MASTERS 2023 NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE ENG 24TH - 28TH AUG 2023
LEADING FINAL ROUND 9 STANDINGS:
Rk SNr Namr Ti FED Rtg TB1
1 1 Kjartansson, Gudmundur GM ISL 2458 7
2 Gormally, Daniel W GM ENG 2447 7
3 8 Jones, Steven A ENG 2197 6.5
4 3 Arkell, Keith C GM ENG 2373 6
5 13 Storey, Charles H FM ENG 2138 5.5
28 Chopra, Manmay IND 1899 5.5
7 5 Walker, David J FM ENG 2253 5
6 Boswell, Jacob Connor ENG 2226 5
9 Hobson, Kenneth CM ENG 2166 5
23 Chan, Sheng Liang Bernard MAS 2051 5
11 10 Villiers, Thomas CM ENG 2163 4.5
11 Sowray, Peter J FM ENG 2151 4.5
18 Steadman, Michael V R FM NZL 2100 4.5
24 Yoon, Jacob D ENG 2050 4.5
25 Forster, Matthew ENG 2045 4.5
16 12 Brewer, Callum D ENG 2144 4
17 Saunders, Aron ENG 2113 4
20 Kett, Timothy J FM WLS 2072 4
22 Shearsby, Jude ENG 2053 4
26 Banerjee, Supratit SCO 2016 4
21 15 Henderson, David ENG 2113 3.5
19 Archibong, Ubong Samuel SCO 2085 3.5
21 Khoury, Theo ENG 2066 3.5
27 Ethelontis, Alexandros N ENG 2015 3.5
25 16 Modi, Shyam Jagdish ENG 2113 3
26 4 Montilli, Vincenzo ITA 2282 2.5
14 Willmoth, Robert F CM ENG 2125 2.5
28 7 Eggleston, Thomas A ENG 2215 0

NORTHUMBRIA GM POOL 2023 NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE ENG 24TH - 28TH AUG 2023
LEADING FINAL ROUND 9 STANDINGS:
Rk Team Namr Ti RTG 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Pts Prize
1 GM Maksimenko Andrei GM 2428 - - - = = = = = = = = = 4.5
2 GM Zhang Pengxiang GM 2554 - - - 1 1 1 = = 0 = 1 1 6.5
3 GM Fernandez Daniel GM 2529 - - - = 0 1 = = 0 1 1 1 5.5

Results for the GM tournament:
4 ENG Wadsworth Matthew J IM 2445 = 0 = - - - = 1 0 0 1 = 4

IMs
5 ENG Jackson James P IM 2390 = 0 1 - - - 0 = 0 0 0 1 3
IMs
6 ENG Willow Jonah B IM 2414 = 0 0 - - - = = = = 1 3.5
IMs
7 FMs Chopra Tanmay FM 2377 = = = = 1 = - - - 1 = = 5.5 IM Norm
8 FMs Trost Edvin 2442 = = = 0 = = - - - 1 1 = 5 IM Norm
9 FMs Makkar Rajat FM 2417 = 1 1 1 1 = - - - 1 = 1 7.5 GM Norm

10 IMs Panjwani Raja IM 2469 = = 0 1 1 = 0 0 0 - - - 3.5
11 IMs Wachinger Nikolas IM 2446 = 0 0 0 1 1 = 0 = - - - 3.5
12 IMs Kanyamarala Tarun IM 2344 = 0 0 = 0 0 = = 0 - - - 2

October 2023
BCM exclusive interview (Part three):
HENRIK CARLSEN FOR BCM

ON HIS SON'S IMPACT
AND FUTURE
By Milan Dinic; Photo: Henrik Carlen, BCM
This is the third and final part of the interview with Henrik Carlsen in which he
talks about his son’s chess path – from early days to what the future holds
for the great Norwegian
In the previous two issues of BCM we have success while the parents are still in the
published parts of the interview with Henrik prime of life.
Carlsen, the father of Magnus Carlsen.
While the first two parts focus on Magnus’ ‘I find it interesting that people ask that’. A
early days and his path to stardom, the third say of relief came from my end, as I wasn’t
– and final - part of the interview looks at the sure how he would take this question.
future. What Henrik Carlsen thinks about
his son’s future after giving up the World ‘I have a lot of ego, probably like most
Crown and how will history remember the people, but I don’t have that issue. The fact
great champion from Norway? that my son is/was the world champion is just
fantastic. That’s so positive for me as a father
Of parents and children and the fact that I am an average club player
without any significance is just a fun fact’.
And what about Henrik? Even before his
son became a chess superstar, Henrik was ‘You have to grow up as a person’, he
a successful, established person – he had says. At this point Henrik Carlsen reflects
a career, a family, a good income and on his own childhood and upbringing: ‘In
stability, which are not easy to achieve in retrospect, I think my mother was a bit
life despite this all seeming ‘normal’. of a modern parent in the way that she
cushioned the children a bit too much. But
‘Life is full of coincidences. You can be when I spent a year in the military as an
lucky, you can be unlucky. Personally, I feel engineer, that was very useful. Because,
I have been lucky in general.’ in the military, you grow up. I was 22
and I was stationed in Norway, on regular
Magnus was 22 when he became world service. It was kind of like this: you have to
champion. Henrik has for years acted get up in the morning, do certain stuff, be
as his manager and is also employed at disciplined and understood that everything
Magnus’ company. is more important than yourself.’
I asked Henrik how he dealt with being I wondered – did Henrik ever think he could
overshadowed by his son. While surely become world chess champion?
every parent’s dream is for their children
to achieve more than they have, it’s not ‘No, not at all. In fact, it’s such an interesting
quite the same when a child achieves stellar story in the background’.

October 2023
Henrik learnt chess thanks to his father. ‘I kids discouraged me from chess years ago,
played some chess with my father when I I find that a bit amusing’.
was a kid. I think I was quite talented as
an eight-year-old but it really didn’t lead
anywhere because my father spent so much
When there are no more
time thinking about his moves that it was a mountains to climb
bit boring as well’.
For Magnus and his entire family every
Henrik and his brother then decided to join match was a difficult decision, his father
the chess club. notes.
‘I think I was 15 and a half. I thought I was ‘Because it took too much space in life and
good. However, we played with some of it was not about achieving something but
the kids in the club a few of them beat me! about avoiding losses, which is a different
They were 11, 13, and 14 – younger than mentality’.
me – and I was surprised. It seemed they
understood chess theory more intuitively ‘During his young years he always wanted
than I did. So, the thoughts of my having to climb up and reach something: he was
some quality went out the door in that reaching upward, it was intellectually and
period. It turned out that among these kids mentally challenging and fun, and the
there was Simen Agdestein’. opposite wasn’t’, Henrik says.
As it transpired, the history of the Carlsen has won almost everything in

Carlsen and Agdestein families was quite chess there is to win, more than once. If
intertwined: ‘It turned out that my father we just look at his world crowns, he has
had studied with Agdestein’s father. And 15(!) altogether: five in classical chess,
later Simen offered coaching to my son at four in Rapid and six in Blitz. At the
his school and became his coach later. It’s official interview following his victory
interesting when I think back at it that these in both the World Blitz and the Rapid in

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Almaty (Kazakhstan) in December 2022, Henrik Carlsen sums it up in the following

I asked him which of his world crowns way: ‘A world championship match is
is his favourite. Somebody later pointed something that you both miss and hate.
out – ‘imagine just having to answer Whenever it ends, it’s perfect.’
such a question!’. Until recently, Magnus
Carlsen was missing just one trophy - that
of the Winner of the World Cup. In Baku,
On Magnus’ place in history
where the most recent World Cup was If you are like most ‘normal’ people, it’s
held, he ticked that one off as well, after an interesting experience to meet someone
a great performance! who is a celebrity, even locally, let alone
globally. What has always fascinated me
So, how do you stay at the top and why, if about some of the people I have met in
you have already reached it? this category is the fact that they will be
remembered in history, a long time after
This ‘Top of the Mountain problem’ we’re all gone. I always wondered what
has been a subject of many debates and was it like for someone to realise that about
analyses, particularly in business but also themselves. I asked Magnus about this in
in sports. A quick Google search of this Almaty – he brushed the whole issue aside,
topic doesn’t seem to give a clear-cut telling me that he plans ‘to stick around for
answer, but the most common suggestions a bit longer’. It fits well with his father’s
seem to be about finding ways to balance earlier point in this interview, about all the
and to look for inner strength, through glitter being nothing more than ‘noise’.
personal growth and development.
Ultimately, how to deal with this is a When I asked Henrik about his son’s place
question only the likes of Magnus Carlsen in history, his first response is to laugh
can answer. about that and go down a less serious route.
No parent can stand and watch idly as ‘I have a bit of a playful approach to life.
their child struggles, without thinking or Some people talk about how maybe we live
trying to help them. While everyone has in a simulation. Elon Musk is propagating that
to carry their own cross, and Magnus sometimes. Many things point in that direction.
‘always makes a decision on his own’ as I think that it’s the same as with religion: you
his father says, I wondered if Henrik ever interpret it your way. I don’t believe we live
regretted his son deciding to play in one in a simulation but it’s a fascinating thought
of the matches, given how much pressure and it’s a fascinating process. If you think
and challenges it brought. Did he ever that way sometimes, it takes away some of
think that for Magnus and his peace, it was the seriousness and creates a logic between
better not to do that? things that otherwise are illogical, serious and
difficult’, Henrik says.
‘That wasn’t up to me. Sometimes he
has asked questions or discussed things He then sums up his response: ‘I think we
with Peter Heine Nielsen [the Danish have a very objective understanding about
Grandmaster and his Second - note, what Magnus has achieved as a chess player.
BCM] and me. I do not doubt that he That’s something fairly robust and relevant.
has reached mature decisions throughout The consequences of that are not significant.
his career on what he wants and doesn’t Magnus gets a lot of trophies and awards. We
want to do. And I don’t think he’s had have them in the cellar. But that’s just glitter.
a moment of regret since July last year It relates to the core but the core is what he
when he decided not to defend his title. has achieved as a chess player and what he
Again, I’m happy if he is happy and has done for chess, and that we take seriously.
that’s it.’ The other stuff is curious, fun noise’.

October 2023
‘What’s the biggest thing Magnus has done

for chess?, I asked.
‘It’s very difficult to say. That depends on

whether you consider chess a sport, art or
science. But he has definitely brought an
element of sport that was not there to the
same extent when he started.’
The diversity in openings is the second

thing has Magnus contributed to, according
to his father.
And the third – ‘although I don’t have

the data to support it’ – is that he has
contributed significantly to chess becoming
more mainstream and better known in the
world.
‘I don’t know if it’s true. I think it’s

important because chess as an educational
tool for kids is brilliant. Chess tricks
children into using and training their
faculties in a very useful way. Discipline, bit of poker recently. He’s done that in the
memory, visualisation, decision, respect past, so we’ll see. He has interests in areas
for the opponent. Playing some chess is where you have large amounts of data such
good training for a kid. In that sense, by as Fantasy football or poker. I think finance
popularising it, Magnus has helped chess would be a choice if he was interested in
become even more an important part of this.
culture and history’
He has to decide for himself. I think he still
What now for Magnus? wants to be a top chess player. He clearly
enjoys winning and dislikes losing and
When he announced his abdication from chess comes before all.
the world chess crown in July 2022,
Magnus Carlsen said that his new goal He’s just 32. Chess is a lifetime passion
would be to pass the 2900 ELO threshold, for most people. To what extent he will just
which has never been done before. He is play chess remains to be seen.’
still to succeed in that, but since then it has
become noticeable that he is more relaxed To start something new from scratch at 32
and enjoys chess more. is difficult in life. Then again, we’re talking
about Magnus Carlsen.
However, at 32, Magnus has a whole life
ahead of him. His father is cautiously ‘That’s difficult’, Henrik says. ‘But he’s a
optimistic about his son’s plans and curious person and I’m sure he will find his
mentioned some possible career routes. way in life, as he has done so far. Magnus
wants to be the best despite not playing the
‘We’ll see what Magnus wants to do, world championship match. He’s played
whether he wants to spend more of his time five of those!’
in chess or whether he wants to do other
things. People have noted he’s played a END.

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JEWISH CHESS GRANDMASTERS

AND THE CULTURE OF
CANCELLATION
By Grandmaster Raymond Keene OBE
Aron Nimzowitsch (1886-1935), author the hallowed Praeceptor. Nimzowitsch’s
of the chess players’ strategic bible My lexicon of strategic discoveries and theories
System, emerged from a 19th-century included the blockade, overprotection, and
tradition of great Jewish players of the “the mysterious rook move”. His most
game. Much like Marx for economics and telling dictum? “The beauty of a chess move
Freud for psychology, they tried to explain lies not in its appearance, but in the thought
chess in a formulaic fashion that enabled behind it.”
them to plan ahead.
This pronouncement struck a peculiar
Wilhelm Steinitz, world chess champion resonance with me on a recent trip to
from 1866 to 1894, sought to extract Venice, where I took the opportunity to
rules of positional play from the chaotic visit a dual exhibition by the distinguished
tactical struggles of most of his forebears. Jewish potter and author of The Hare with
Dr Siegbert Tarrasch, who was at least Amber Eyes, Edmund de Waal. In two
Steinitz’s equal as a player, though never venues, the Hebraic Museum in the old
himself world champion, went further. Venetian Ghetto, and the Ateneo, adjacent
Tarrasch codified, or sought to codify, the to La Fenice, the Venetian opera house,
lessons which Steinitz had distilled, while De Waal sets out a series of broken white
purging some of his great predecessor’s shards. They are suffused with gold leaf,
more opaque beliefs. He became known and all encased in vitrines, wherein are
as the Praeceptor Germaniae, the “chess concealed writings and sacred texts in
teacher of Germany”. the languages of the Ghetto: Hebrew, of
course, Italian, Turkish, German, Spanish
Where Tarrasch erred, the fault lay in his and others. The shards and texts evoke
dogmatism. Thus, having successfully the common currency of trade, literature,
employed the line 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nd2 worship and daily discourse in a long-
against the French Defence on numerous vanished community.
occasions, Tarrasch suddenly encountered
the riposte 3… c5. He promptly declared I was more profoundly struck by the smaller
the whole variation “refuted” from White’s of the exhibits, that in the Ateneo, dedicated
point of view, because Black can now obtain to lost libraries and forbidden books. It
an isolated queen’s pawn by force. Tarrasch includes not only De Waal’s hermetic, pale
actually used the German verb, widerlegen, and ghostly shards, but shelves of books,
which literally means to refute. selected by virtue of their having been
suppressed, banned or even burned at some
This is dogmatism run riot. Tarrasch naturally point in their literary existence. Guests are
attracted excoriation from a third Jewish invited to write their own message inside
grandmaster, the ambitious and iconoclastic any book they choose.
young Nimzowitsch, who offered his
own smorgasbord of chess theories, I selected a volume by Stefan Zweig,
while energetically undermining those of the Austrian-Jewish émigré author of

October 2023
Schachnovelle (variously translated as Steinitz? I suggest that the new dispensation,

The Royal Game or Chess: A Novel) and concerning the formal existence of a World
Sternstunden der Menschheit (Decisive Title, was, at least in part, bound up with
Moments in History), which I had first the increasing ease, safety and frequency of
read at the age of 17. It felt particularly transatlantic travel. Under sail, the voyage
poignant to inscribe on the flyleaf of a could take over sixty days. With the advent
Zweig masterpiece a message about the of steam in the mid-19th century, this trip
suppression of writers. He was one of many was reduced to eight. The New World no
whose opinions and style have unexpectedly longer seemed so far away.
fallen foul of those controlling the levers of
publication, and, potentially fatally, those Steinitz and Zukertort also represented
of government and power. a new era in chess leadership, in that
both men were representatives of the rich
Readers may observe from continuing Central European, specifically Jewish,
derogatory remarks which still continue cultural heritage. They were not alone. As
about Nimzowitsch from well-known we shall see, the next Titan to claim the
Grandmasters (no names, no pack drill) world chess crown was Emanuel Lasker,
that much prejudice still haunts this great who hailed from the same cultural milieu as
Jewish chess writer and player. Zukertort and Steinitz. Meanwhile, waiting
in the wings, was Dr Siegbert Tarrasch, the
For example, Nimzowitsch is accused of talented but erratic Jacques Mieses, and
being unable to beat strong opposition. And then the next generation of Jewish maestros,
this of a man who did, in fact, inflict defeat including Rubinstein, Nimzowitsch and
on the world champions Lasker, Alekhine Spielmann.
and Euwe, as well as title challengers such
as Tarrasch himself, Frank Marshall, Karl Back to 1886, when both Zukertort and
Schlechter and Efim Bogolyubov. Perhaps Steinitz had claimed the title before the
one detects, even here, the lingering match even started. Steinitz argued his own
influence of those forces which destroyed case as early as 1874, when he wrote about
much of Nimzowitsch’s culture (and that of himself, in glowingly flattering terms, in
De Waal) and which burned the books. his chess column in The Field magazine:
“Steinitz, who has not yet lost any set
Although five of the great early masters match on even terms, and who has come
of the art and science of chess (Philidor, out victorious in the last two international
Labourdonnais, Staunton, Anderssen and tournaments, London 1872 and Vienna
Morphy) might claim to have been world 1873, could claim the title of champion.”
chess champion, the first official World For those further interested in following
Championship match was contested in 1886. Steinitz’s career, in 2020, Dr Tim Harding
It took place in the cities of New York, St PhD, an expert on 19th-century chess,
Louis and New Orleans, between Johannes published his latest monumental piece
Zukertort and Wilhelm Steinitz. There had of research: Steinitz in London: A Chess
been no official title until that time, but Biography with 623 Games.
now there was no ambiguity. The match
was announced as being “for the chess While Steinitz was the complete chess
championship of the world“ and the stakes professional, Zukertort cut a more
of $2,000 were the highest hitherto offered. flamboyant figure, claiming to be an
accomplished soldier, pianist and linguist.
What brought about this new globalist His reputation had been made in 1883 at
perception — apart, perhaps from the the great London tournament, where he
modesty of the five proto-champions, or the had finished no fewer than three points
unabashed ambition and self-confidence of ahead of his arch-rival Steinitz. In spite of

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this devastating victory, there were already held and the enthusiast could catch up on
disturbing signs of Zukertort’s future the latest games and publications. Indeed,
mental and physical deterioration. Towards the Immortal Game, between Anderssen
the end of the gruelling London tournament and Kieseritsky, published last month in
he admitted that he was taking opium to this column, was played in Simpson‘s as a
calm his nerves. It was widely believed casual game in 1851. Simpson’s very much
that, as a result, the Prussian lost his final resembled a chess version of the London
three games to inferior opponents. gentlemen’s clubs of the day.
Zukertort started brilliantly in the 1886 In terms of social history this was not the
showdown for the inaugural World Chess sort of milieu which would attract female
Championship with Steinitz, but was the less players; moreover, despite the Victorian
resilient of the two and ultimately suffered a example of a queen regnant, women were
humiliating loss, winning five, drawing five, heavily discouraged from entering male
but losing ten games. The Oxford Companion professions throughout that era. We should
to Chess describes the terrible effect this look to the historical development of a
defeat had on the loser: “His spirit crushed, professional body of male chess players in
his health failing, Zukertort was advised to the mid- to late-19th century for a partial
give up chess, but there was nothing else explanation, at the very least, of why
he could do. ‘I am prepared‘ he said, ‘to women have seemingly been held back as
be taken away at any moment‘. Seized by exponents of the chess playing art.
a stroke, while playing at London’s famous
coffee house, Simpson’s Divan, he died next Steinitz, although a foreigner, suffered no
day, aged 46.” comparable disadvantages in the London
chess scene of his time, and he rapidly
Thus the first man to become official World became a denizen of Simpson‘s, where
Chess Champion was Wilhelm Steinitz, challenges from amateurs helped to augment
who held the title from 1886 to 1894. Born in his income. Once in London, Steinitz
Prague, he moved to Vienna, where he tried dominated British chess. In 1866 he won a
to make a living as a journalist. The lure of match against Anderssen, the victor of the
chess, however, proved too strong and he tournament in London in 1851, and he went
eventually became a chess professional. In on to crush both Bird and Blackburne, two of
his first international tournament, played in the leading English masters, in set contests. In
London in 1862, he represented Austria. He 1872 Amos Burn recognised Steinitz as “now
subsequently decided to make his home in probably the strongest living player”. The
London, which had become the capital of Field invited Steinitz to contribute regular
world chess. columns from 1873 to 1882 and he also
wrote for the French newspaper Le Figaro
Great tournaments were frequently held during the same period. His main journalistic
there after Staunton‘s pioneering efforts effort was as proprietor and editor of the
in staging the first ever international International Chess Magazine from 1885-91,
tournament held in London, 1851. a controversial and distinguished publication
Moreover, London’s chess centres were that is now a collector‘s item.
renowned as meeting places for the world’s
leading players. Simpson‘s, the most In 1886, as we have seen, the issue between
famous of these centres, was a natural Steinitz and Zukertort was settled in the
extension of the chess playing coffee first World Championship Match, held in
houses of the 18th century. It was known America, and won overwhelmingly by
as a “Chess and cigar divan“, and there Steinitz. The demoralised Zukertort was
amateurs could challenge the great masters now broken in health and died two years
for a stake, matches and tournaments were later. Steinitz succeeded in sweeping aside

October 2023
challenges from powerful rivals, such Lasker’s play always fascinated the public,
as Tchigorin and Gunsberg, but in 1894 as he overcame outstanding Grandmasters
Steinitz suffered a painful defeat at the in droves. Some even accused him of
hands of the youthful Emanuel Lasker, hypnotising or bewitching his hapless
who at the age of 25 wrested the World opponents. In reality he was one of the
Championship from his veteran opponent. first players to apply psychology to the
A return match was held in Moscow two chessboard, deploying moves which may
years later, but it would have been better for not have been the strongest, but which
Steinitz if he had never played. He lost 10 he felt were unpleasant for an individual
games, drew five and won only two. opponent. He was the perfect fighter,
rejoicing in the struggle for its own sake,
This stinging humiliation caused a mental never afraid of risks and possessed of an
breakdown, with Steinitz insisting he could amazingly intricate understanding of the
make telephone calls without the need for game. His special skills centred on the
any apparatus. He was briefly interned in the middle game, where he created incredible
Moscow Morossov asylum. The full account complications. If his adversaries survived
of his brutal maltreatment can be read in these, then they were remorselessly
Ludwig Bachmann’s book Schachmeister ground down in the endgame. If chess
Steinitz. Mercifully he recovered and was is, as I maintain, a mirror of intellectual
detained at Morossov for just a month before developments in other spheres, it is
his release. For some years Steinitz continued fascinating to observe that Lasker’s
to play, quite successfully, in tournaments, but reliance on psychological warfare,
in 1900 he died in utter poverty in New York probing the weaknesses of his opponents’
aged just 64, and was given a pauper‘s burial chessboard psyche, was developed at
at the Evergreen Cemetery, Brooklyn. The approximately the same time that Sigmund
memory of his final destitution has haunted Freud was analysing the subconscious
masters of the game ever since and had bitter mind in Vienna.
echoes in the death of Alexander Alekhine,
the fourth man to hold the World Title. Lasker was born, also in Prussia, in 1868 and
established his reputation in tournaments
Steinitz, however, left a legacy of profound and matchplay, in Germany, England and
influence on the strategic development the United States in a burst of activity from
of the game. Indeed, he displayed a deep 1889 to 1893. His astounding breakthrough
understanding of defensive play, which came in the world championship match of
included the accumulation of small 1894 against the old warhorse Steinitz. At
advantages, and the creation of weaknesses the outset Lasker, aged 25, was regarded as
for the opponent, such as isolated and an inexperienced contender, but his mastery
doubled pawns. His ideas are published in developed as the match progressed.
his book Modern Chess Theory in 1889.
The following year, Lasker played in
Steinitz’s successor, Emanuel Lasker, the inaugural Hastings tournament, the
held the World Championship title for a strongest chess competition ever held up
record 27 years from 1894 to 1921. No one to that time. With three rounds to go the
since has ever equalled this achievement. young World Champion led the field,
Not only did he defend the title regularly which included Steinitz and Tchigorin.
against powerful opposition, he also won Lasker was, however, recuperating from
nearly every tournament that he entered a severe case of typhoid fever and was
during his long reign. Even after he lost overtaken by Harry Pillsbury, a young
the title, he continued to notch up first American who was making his first
class tournament victories and he was still appearance on the international circuit.
competing successfully at the age of 67. No one had ever won such an event at

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their first attempt. The fact that Lasker Tarrasch, Janowski and Schlechter, a
could only come in third place at Hastings string of formidable opponents. His last
encouraged his successful rivals, Pillsbury great tournament win as champion came
and Tchigorin, to believe that they could when he returned to St Petersburg in 1914.
demonstrate their superiority even more World War I served to undermine Lasker’s
clearly over a man who was beginning to financial resources and his health, and in
look like a stop-gap champion. 1921 he lost the title to the young Cuban
star Capablanca in a match held in Havana.
Accordingly, Tchigorin invited the winners Sadly, Lasker failed to win a single game
from Hastings to participate in a multi- in this, his last championship appearance.
round tournament in St Petersburg, the
cultural capital of Czarist Russia. Pillsbury Nevertheless, he continued to best his
and Tchigorin were regarded as the likely younger rivals in tournament play, including
victors, because Steinitz was nearing 60 taking first prize at New York in 1924
and Lasker was erroneously believed to ahead of both Capablanca and the Russian,
be too frail. Indeed, at the halfway stage, Alekhine. It was here he demonstrated
Pillsbury was a point clear of the field, that in certain circumstances a lone knight
but around this time it is believed that he can draw against the opponent‘s rook and
had contracted syphilis and his morale pawn, an amazingly complex discovery.
collapsed. Lasker played in brilliant
form to take the victory in this event, The advent of the Nazis in Germany
clearly confirming his right to the World forced Lasker, a Jew by birth, into exile,
Championship. This was the true test for and he travelled the tournament circuit
Lasker. He faced the victor of Hastings once again in order to make a living. His
1895, and had to prove that he, and not results were still outstanding. He died in
Pillsbury, was the real World Champion. New York in 1941.
His opponent, Pillsbury, was capable of So, the scene is set. A corpus of Jewish
astonishing feats of mental exertion. One masters had established a significant
of his specialities was to play 12 games presence in the global halls of chess fame.
of chess, six games of draughts and a Meanwhile, the greater ease and safety
hand of duplicate Whist simultaneously. of transatlantic travel, combined with the
He would also memorise a series of 30 peripatetic, cosmopolitan inclinations of
incredibly obscure words, then write them the Central European Jewish giants of
out and repeat them verbally in sequence, the game, led naturally to the perception
first forwards and then backwards. The list of the entire world as their natural arena,
included words such as “antiphlogistine”, thus reinforcing the novel concept of a
“staphylococcus” and “salmagundi”. Many championship in chess, which embraced
congratulations to any readers of The BCM the entire planet. There was, however, to be
who know what these words mean without a backlash: Armageddon.
needing to google them!
Chess Grandmaster and author, Jacques
After St Petersburg, Lasker continued to Mieses, on arriving in England during
record a sensational series of firsts: in the 1930s, as a refugee from Nazi
Nuremberg that same year, in London Germany, was greeted with the sentence,
1899 and Paris 1900. Perhaps he now are you Mister Mises? To which he shot
found chess too simple and withdrew back: ‘Nein, ich bin Meister Meeses!’
temporarily from active play to the study Mieses had sensibly fled from a regime
of mathematics and philosophy, but in which had just cancelled his name
1908 he returned to the fray, defending as an author, and was on the point of
his World Title against in turn Marshall, cancelling him, period.

October 2023
Cancel Culture is nothing new. The Pharaoh an intense period of flux. For example,
Rameses II famously erased the ceremonial foreign words, so called Fremdwörter,
cartouches of less favoured predecessors, were phased out. Thus Telefon was
in order to replace them with his own. The replaced by Fernsprecher, and the easily
Roman Senate obliterated the traces of bad comprehensible Kandidatenturnier, or
emperors, such as Caligula and Nero, with qualification tournament, gave way to the
the merciless phrase Damnatio Memoriae; clumsy, if purely Teutonic, Anwärtertreffen.
the Spanish Conquistadors destroyed the
literature of pre-Hispanic Aztec and Incan As words began to translate into actions,
indigenous tribes, while the Inquisition German chess writer and official, Max
was proceeding with much the same work, Blümich, was entrusted with revising the
at much the same time, with its Index of celebrated chess primer, Kleines Lehrbuch
banned European writing. des Schachs. This concise chess manual
had been authored by none other than the
Bova is a small village situated on a high aforementioned Jacques Mieses, a brilliant,
peak in Italy. Amazingly, the local language ingenious, but erratic player, but also a most
is not Italian, but Greek, in fact ancient lucid and reliable author, whose writings
Classical Greek, not even the Greek now had nurtured generations of pre-Nazi era
spoken in Athens. This can be explained German chess enthusiasts.
by the surprising survival of Greek culture
via the establishment in Italy of Greek Irritatingly for the Gauleiters of grammar,
colonies, from the days of Socrates, Plato spelling and the written word in general,
and Aristotle. An inhabitant of Bova, when Mieses was Jewish. Blümich’s solution was
quizzed about this rare linguistic longevity, brutal. He simply eliminated the original
replied: when you lose a language, it’s author’s name from the book, and for good
like somebody dying. To paraphrase Roger measure, in the editions of 1941 and 1943,
Scruton, and with a nod to George Orwell’s Blümich went on to cancel the names of
1984, as the Communists and Nazis such Jewish chess Titans as Dr Siegbert
realised, to control language is to control Tarrasch, the famed Praeceptor Germaniae,
not just thought, but also the possibilities and even eliminated that of Dr Emanuel
of thought. The common stream to emerge Lasker himself, the world record holding
from these truths about the suppression of world chess champion from 1894-1921.
truth, is that words, and the obliteration of
words, evolve into actions, even though Mieses himself was fortunate. For
the initial verbal transactions might at first many years a resident of Leipzig,
seem harmless enough. Mieses escaped to England, where he
continued to create the ingenious tactical
I have dwelt at length on the efflorescence masterpieces which had made his name
of Jewish chess masters from the second on the battlefields of European chess.
half of the 19th century and well into the
20th. Famous names abound, imbued with And what of his colleagues? Lasker too
the rich cultural heritage of the Central spotted the danger and also fled, first to
European Jewish environment, names such Moscow, then to New York, where he
as: Johannes Zukertort, Wilhelm Steinitz, survived for a while in genteel poverty,
Emanuel Lasker, Siegbert Tarrasch, before passing at the age of seventy-two.
Jacques Mieses, Akiba Rubinstein, Aron Nimzowitsch, having had the courage
Nimzowitsch and Rudolf Spielmann. to forcibly eject a uniformed SS officer
The last six of these continued to play from the press room of the 1934 world
chess actively well into the 1930s, a championship, died in the Hareskov
time when the German language, not to Sanatorium, Copenhagen, 1935, most
mention German politics, were entering probably of cancer.

10/143
Then there is the wretched story of the the cancelled author of his own book,
mighty Akiba Rubinstein. Rubinstein had would have recognised the warning signs.
once trained to become a Rabbi in the
Orthodox Jewish faith, but succumbed Most poignant of all, perhaps, that
instead to the lure of chess, emerging chessboard chevalier, sans peur et sans
as victor of numerous elite tournaments reproche, Rudolf Spielmann, fled to
and vanquisher also of Capablanca, Sweden to avoid the concentration camps.
Alekhine and Lasker himself, all in There in 1942 he perished, friendless and
classic masterpieces of the art of chess. depressed, in a Stockholm garret. A tragic
As the 1930s dawned, Rubinstein’s once end for a valiant warrior of the mind who
magisterial mind began to cloud. He had numbered Capablanca, Alekhine and
withdrew from chess to a care home, where Euwe amongst his victims — between
he silently and patiently awaited the arrival them, the three World Champions who
of the Gestapo. held the World Title from 1921 to 1946.
In fact, Spielmann was one of very few
When the Myrmidons of the Third Reich grandmasters to have an even score against
did finally appear, they found a once genius Capablanca, almost unbeatable in his prime.
chess master descended into a vacant
victim of a syndrome first described by A new book details Spielmann’s magnificent
Alexander Pope, a man lost in the eternal career and proves a worthy companion
sunshine of the spotless mind. Whether volume to his own masterpiece, The Art of
impelled by compassion, or confronted Sacrifice in Chess. A Chess Biography of
with the utter pointlessness of dragging Rudolf Spielmann by Russian International
off a prisoner, whose mind was no longer Master Grigory Bogdanovich, also author
capable of comprehending his fate, the of biographies of Bogoljubow and Winawer
Geheime Staatspolizei retreated, leaving in the outstanding Elk and Ruby series, is
their intended sacrifice in peace, a peace a must for any chess aficionado. Amazing
which endured until 1961, when Rubinstein games, all deeply annotated.
passed tranquilly at the aged of eighty.
If I have any criticism it is that the book
The moral of the story is clear. Cancel lacks match and tournament tables of
culture may start with single words, but then Spielmann’s greatest triumphs, such as
it spreads to literature, culture, opinions his 1932 match victory against two times
and finally living targets. If tolerance world title challenger Bogoljubow and
cannot be maintained for opposing or his shattering first prize at Semmering
simply inconvenient points of view, then 1926, ahead of every star in the prevailing
the life of the intellect becomes untenable. chess firmament, apart from the somewhat
In the 1930s chess literature became the elusive champions, Lasker and Capablanca.
weathervane, the canary in the mine, Also, beware an index failure (game 191)
indicating the stirrings of one such lethal which accidentally reverses the colours of
intolerance to come, an intolerance, which, Spielmann’s classic defeat of Capablanca
from a frightening multiplicity of instances, at Carlsbad 1929.
we are now in grave peril of repeating.
Black and White are not yet controversial As I point out above, Cancel culture may
terms in chess, but the direction of start with single words, but then it spreads
discourse on climate change, gender, whose virally to encompass literature, opinions,
lives matter, museums, memorials, statues, society in general and finally living targets. If
and even the mentions of tea, cotton tolerance cannot be maintained for opposing
and sugar in the oeuvre of Jane Austen or simply inconvenient points of view, then
threaten to become ever more toxically reasoned debate and the life of the intellect
authoritarian. Grandmaster Jacques Mieses, become untenable. “Reason requires that

October 2023
a diverse range of ideas be expressed and “What’s sad is that I was not only expelled
debated openly, including ones that some from Austria, my homeland, but also lost
people find unfamiliar or uncomfortable. the opportunity to move freely. Almost all
To demonize a writer rather than address countries that have a chess life in them
the writer’s arguments is a confession that have closed their borders to emigrants and
one has no rational response to them.” refugees. I can’t enter any of them now with
This sentiment was from the incisive minds my worthless Austrian passport.
of Steven Pinker and Rebecca Goldstein,
who were protesting against the American For six months now, I have been sharing
Humanist Association’s recent cancellation suffering with people who have lost their
of Richard Dawkins’ Humanist of the Year home through no fault of their own and are
Award from 1996. wandering without receiving absolutely
any financial assistance. The only thing
JK Rowling, the world-famous author of that keeps me in this world is the hope that
the Harry Potter books and films, has I will eventually find some kind of chess-
recently been written out of the Potter related job. Would you be able to find
exhibit at the Seattle Museum of Pop something like this for me in Stockholm
Culture, which ostensibly celebrates her of somewhere else in Sweden? Not
works. The museum’s project manager necessarily a permanent job. I could spend
Chris Moore, a self-identifying trans some time in Sweden to restore my spirit
person, expressed their disapproval of and my chess abilities and to gain strength
Rowling’s views in an extended blog for future activities. Perhaps later I will be
‘explaining’ the Museum’s decision. able to emigrate to England or America. I
beg you not to leave me in trouble. I will
Rowling has become well-known for her agree to any conditions, just to be busy
views that non-biological females should with something. The main thing for me is
be excluded from female physical sport. to get out of Hell in the centre of Europe.
The 18th century French genius Voltaire, Anti-Semitism is becoming increasingly
once said that he might disagree with an noticeable in Prague, which deprives me
opinion, but would fight to the death for the of any means of livelihood. Our 30-year
right for it to be expressed! A wonderful acquaintance gives me the opportunity to
sentiment. As the 1930s progressed, chess, hope that I will get an answer from you,
both tournaments and literature, together so that I can learn what fate awaits me…”
became an early weathervane, a speluncular
caged bird in the mineshafts, indicating Spielmann did indeed manage to flee to
the presence of an invisible poisonous Sweden with the help of his friend. He
gas, stirrings of a lethal intolerance to hoped to reach England or the USA and
come —an intolerance which, from a eked out money for the overseas passage,
frightening multiplicity of instances, we by playing exhibition matches, writing
are now in serious danger of repeating. chess columns and an autobiography.
Grandmaster Rudolf Spielmann, the chess
genius cancelled and starved through Nazi However, pro-Nazi members of the
prejudice, whose best game I celebrate this Swedish Chess Federation disliked
month, would doubtless, like Mieses, have Spielmann because he was Jewish.
recognised the warning signs. Memories of a Chess Master was repeatedly
delayed. Despairing of its publication,
I close with a heart-rending letter he wrote the impoverished Spielmann became
to a supportive friend, while seeking refuge withdrawn and depressed.
in Sweden. The friend reacted positively,
but on his friend’s passing, Spielmann ran In August 1942, he locked himself in his
out of road. Stockholm garret and did not emerge

10/143
for a week. On August 20, neighbours 13...¦c8 14.¥xf6 £xf6 15.£b3 ¦c7
summoned police to check on him. They 16.¤e1?! Mieses: Better was 16.¤d4.
entered and found Spielmann dead. The *** Tartakower: If 16.¤d4, then, as
official cause of death was ischemic heart in the text, 16...¤c5 17.£b4 f4, etc. If
disease, but it is generally accepted that 16.e3 e5.
he had followed established chessboard
practice in a hopeless position and resigned, 16...¤c5 17.£b4 f4!
by intentionally starving himself to death.
18.¤d3
The Swedish epitaph on his tombstone reads:
“Rastlösflykting, hårt slagen av ödet” (“A
fugitive without rest, struck hard by fate”)
The following masterpiece is not only

testament to the genius brought to bear on
the 64 squares by our protagonists, Akiba
Rubinstein and Rudolph Spielmann, but
is further enhanced by the extraordinary
annotations by the tournament director and
another hero of our expedition, Jacques
Mieses, with Savielly Tartakower.
Akiba Rubinstein - Rudolf Spielmann xiiiiiiiiy

Tartakower: If 18.¦xd6 fxg3 19.fxg3
San Sebastian, ESP (10), 02.03.1912 £f2+ 20.¢h1 £xe2 21.h3 (21.¦d2
Dutch Defence: Rubinstein Variation ¦f1+ followed by mate) 21...¤e4
and wins.
1.d4 Notes by Jacques Mieses and Dr.
Savielly Tartakower. 18...fxg3 19.fxg3 ¤xd3 20.¦xd3 £f2+
21.¢h1 ¥c6 !
1...e6 2.c4 f5 3.¤c3 ¥b4 4.¥d2 ¤f6 5.g3
0–0 6.¥g2 d6 7.a3 ¥xc3 8.¥xc3 ¤bd7 22.e4 ¦cf7 23.¦e1
9.£c2 c5 10.dxc5 ¤xc5 11.¤f3 ¤ce4
12.0–0 ¥d7 13.¦fd1?
xiiiiiiiiy
Tartakower: If 23.¦xd6 £e2 24.£e1 (still
parrying the triple threat ...¦f1+ or ...¥xe4
xiiiiiiiiy or ...¦f2) 24...£xb2 25.¦xe6 ¦f2, etc.
Mieses: White should play 14.Rad1. As the
game shows, the f2-pawn must be protected. 23...a5! 24.£c3 £c5 25.b4 ¥xe4!

October 2023
30...£xh2+ 31.¢g4 £h5+ 32.¢f4 £h6+

33.¢g4 g5! Tartakower: A splendid point,
establishing a mating net at one stroke.
34.¦xe6 Tartakower: If 34.¦f8+ ¢xf8

35.¢f3 axb4 36.axb4 ¢f7 with 37...£f6
to follow.
34...£xe6+ 35.¦f5 h6
xiiiiiiiiy
Mieses: Brilliant and correct!
26.¦xe4 Mieses: The queen cannot be

captured because of mate in two moves.
After 26.¥xe4 the following winning
continuation for Black is shown:
26...¦f1+ 27.¦xf1 ¦xf1+ 28.¢g2
¦g1+! 29.¢f3 £h5+ 30.¢e3 £xh2,
etc. But, as pointed out in "Deutsche xiiiiiiiiy
Schachblaetter", playing 26.¦f3! Mieses: Enough to win, but here was also a
White has the opportunity for strong quicker solution: 35...£e4+ 36.¢xg5 h6+
resistance with big drawing chances; 37.¢f6 (37.¢g6 £e8+) 37...¦e1! 38.¢g6
for example: 26...¦xf3 27.£xf3! ¦xf3 £g4+.
28.bxc5, or 26....£c6 27.b5! ¦xf3
28.£xf3 ¥xf3 29.bxc6 ¥xc6 30.¥xc6 36.£d3 ¢g7 37.¢f3 ¦f1+ !
bxc6 31.¦xe6, etc.
38.£xf1 £xf5+ 39.¢g2 £xf1+ 40.¢xf1
26...¦f1+ 27.¥xf1 ¦xf1+ 28.¢g2 £f2+ axb4 41.axb4 ¢f6 42.¢f2 h5
29.¢h3 ¦h1 30.¦f3!
0–1
xiiiiiiiiy
Tartakower: If 30.¦f4 £xh2+
31.¢g4 £h5+ mate, and if 30.¦xe6
£xh2+ 31.¢g4 £h3+, followed by
32...£xe6.

10/143
BCM columnist
Pete Tamburro named
Chess Journalist of the Year
Our monthly Openings for Amateurs
columnist, Pete Tamburro, was named
Chess Journalist of the Year at the
annual meeting of the Chess Journalists
Association at the U.S. Open Championship
in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
His nominator, Josip Asik, Editor-in-Chief

of American Chess Magazine, noted in
the nomination: “He has not lost his love
nor his devotion to chess journalism even
after 50 years of doing it. What is unique
this year is that his record in this past year
shows not only achievement but a diversity
in all aspects of chess journalism: openings
columnist, puzzle columnist, book producer,
award winner, Facebook page editor,
chess research helper to fellow journalists
and even taping to be interviewed for a Pete Tamburro, Josh Koehler and
documentary, interviewer for our magazine, Franklin Rivers; Photo: Gail V. Haines
historical writer, editorialist, humorist, Since its launch in 2016 ACM has stood
game annotator, public relations person to shoulder to shoulder with the very best chess
promote local community chess culture and publications in the world, with outstanding
continually finding young stars of chess to content and striking design and presentation.
bring them into the field of chess journalism.
Finally, his contributions to the production The awards for Pete and ACM lift the
of our magazine are critically important. You spirits, and demonstrate that quality and
would be hard-pressed to find someone with talent will always shine through. In a world
this variety of accomplishments in a single where print is struggling under pressure
year and his youthful energy." from escalating costs and the technology
enabled supply boom, and where standards
We wholeheartedly agree with Josip’s of journalism in many fields seem to be
tribute to Pete who for many years has been in decline, it’s simply great that talented
one of BCM’s stalwart writers. writers and creators like Pete Tamburro
and the American Chess Magazine team
Pete’s talents are by no means limited to achieve high recognition from their peers.
chess. Alongside his three chess books he has
written a book on history, written speeches From BCM we offer Pete and ACM our
for political candidates, and has been listed warmest congratulations, and we feel
in Who’s Who in America for over 20 years. sure that the whole chess community is
grateful for their significant contributions
We were also delighted to hear that to our chess heritage. Hats off and high to
American Chess Magazine, our US partner, them both, and may they continue to write,
won the awards for the Best Chess Magazine publish and prosper!
Cover and for the Best Overall Magazine
in Print, ahead of the excellent Chess Life. Editor

October 2023
HOW INTUITION WORKS IN CHESS
By GM Aleksandar Colovic; www.alexcolovic.com

It is widely believed that strong chess example with a rating around 1800, also
players have good intuition. This is mostly mostly have good intuition. In their case,
true, but not always however, the tendency not to trust it is
more pronounced, simply because of lack
I know of strong players who don’t trust of confidence.
their intuition at all, so all they do is
calculate as much as they can, trying to How intuition helps in a game of chess is not
arrive at the decision in a mathematical a secret. The description that follows is not
way. Since this is not possible, they are just what I do during a game, but it is also
more or less successful, depending on the the same for players like Michael Adams
quality of their calculation. and Magnus Carlsen, who have described
the process in more or less the same way.
Nevertheless, the majority of strong
players trust their intuitions. It makes sense When the player sees the position in front
to do so: after all, this intuition is a result of them, a move or idea would instantly
of decades of work, thus accumulating flash before their eyes. The intuition would
patterns and methods. immediately suggest something, based on
prior knowledge or experience. The player
While the above is logical and usually feels the position well; this is also
understandable, I have been surprised to part of intuition, so the main task is to
discover that even weaker players, for follow this feeling.

10/143
When a move comes forward not as result 18.b4 The move stops ...¥c5 ideas, but
of sheer calculation, but rather as result of perhaps more importantly, I saw the
a feeling, this move should be considered trick that happened in the game and had
and calculated. This is the process –intuition a strong feeling that he would fall for it.
shows the way; calculation makes sure that Additionally, he was seriously running
it is the correct one. low on time, with around 5 minutes left to
reach move 40. The alternatives I looked at
This is the reason why intuitive players weren’t very appealing; for example:
often play fast – they don’t waste time
considering many candidate moves: 18.¤b4 ¤xb4 19.¥xb4 ¥xb4 20.£xb4
they trust their intuition, calculate the ¦ac8 looked comfortable for Black;
consequences of the intuitive move and,
if everything is OK, they play it. A very 18.b3 b4 19.¥b2 ¦ad8 with ideas like
simple game plan! ...¥c5, ...d4 and ...¤h4 didn’t look great
for me;
Sometimes the intuition works in relation
to the opponent. During a game there 18.a3 a5 threatens ...b4.
is an invisible connection between the
players, so attuning to the opponent’s 18...a5 Being low on time, he played the
thoughts and feelings is a very important following moves quickly, something I was
skill to have. hoping for.
To give you an example of this I will use 19.a3 axb4 20.axb4 ¦a2??
one of my games.
Colovic - Wurzel
Bundesliga, 2023
xiiiiiiiiy
And he falls into the trap, just as I had
hoped and felt!
20...¦a4 was better. White is under pressure

xiiiiiiiiy here.
Black has obtained very good play after
I played in a lazy way after the opening. A) 21.¦e2?! ¦d8 threatens ...d4;
White’s bishop pair is not doing much and
all Black’s pieces are well placed. Here I B) I intended 21.¦b1?! d4! 22.¥xc6
spent a lot of time trying to find something (22.¥a1 ¤xb4! 23.¤xb4 £a5 is better for
constructive, but this wasn’t easy as all my Black.) 22...dxc3 23.£d7 and we looked
pieces are centralised, and yet to improve at this in the post-mortem, but it’s bad for
them doesn’t seem possible. Eventually I White after 23...¦a6! when the queen is
played the move: trapped after 24.¥e4 ¦d8;

It´s
C) 21.¥g4! is White’s best. 21...¢h8
now
(21...d4?! now doesn’t work in view of even easier
22.¤xd4 ¤cxd4 23.¥xd4 £xd4 24.£xd4 to subscribe to
¤xd4 25.¦xd4 ¥xb4 26.¥xe6+ when British Chess Magazine
White emerges a pawn up.) 22.g3 is An exclusive chess magazine!
unclear, when neither side can make
much progress.
21.¥xd5! This is the trick I saw when Great news, BCM just got better! More
thinking over my 18th move. content, more pages, more GM and IM
writers (including top UK grandmasters),
21...¦xc2 And here, upon seeing that I outstanding photography and design, and
can take on e6 with check, he resigned. He the regular features which have long been
must have been shocked, as the game is not part of BCM’s tradition.
over in spite of Black’s blunder.
BCM offers more high class, authoritative
Things aren’t entirely clear, as he could and in-depth coverage of major
have continued after 21...¦xc2 22.¥xe6+ international and British chess events and
¢h8 23.£xc2 ¤cd4! 24.¥xd4 ¤xd4 leading players, a brand new look,
when Black gets most of the material and of course
back. 25.¦xd4 £xd4 26.g3 ¥xb4 and our much loved regular articles.
though White should win, the game
would go on after 27.¦e4 £c5 28.¦e2
and so on. Purchase or renew your subscription
and have BCM delivered to your door:
1–0
On-line: visit our website
www.britishchessmagazine.co.uk
It is important to note that this type of Email:
“feeling for one’s opponent” shouldn’t support@britishchessmagazine.co.uk
be abused. It is not advisable to play By post:
bad moves that set up traps just Albany House, 14 Shute End,
because you have “felt” the opponent Wokingham, Berkshire, England RG40 1BJ
would fall in them. Sometimes they
won’t. Sometimes the intuition is
wrong. In the game above I managed printed magazine
to win because I played a move that
was in accordance with the demands
of the position, with the trap being the
welcome bonus. The demands of the
£55 UK
99
position always come first. $114
12 issues per year
Non-UK
postage included
Intuition is an inseparable part of the
player’s thinking and it manifests itself
both on the board, suggesting moves
and ideas, and as a psychological tool,
allowing the player to tune in to the
opponent’s thoughts and feelings. It
should be used whenever possible, but
don’t forget that the more chess work you
do, the better intuition you will have.
BOOK REVIEW
Chess in the Year of the King,

by Ray Keene
(Harding Simpole, 2023)
As my review of Raymond Keene’s admirable ‘Fifty Shades of Ray’ (quoted at the

back of this new book) stated in its conclusion:
‘Provocative, challenging, colourful, spicy, here is a menu of delights: a meze table

or tapas board where piquant flavours jostle for attention. It even looks as good as it
tastes, with elegant chess diagrams a most pleasing feature. You will not necessarily
like or agree with anything, but you will leave the board with your mind buzzing with
the sheer verve and ebullience of this vivid evocation of the game of life.’
If this was a fair summary of that book, it is certainly true – a fortiori – of its successor,
which will have been eagerly awaited by the many who enjoy Ray’s inimitable and
[grand]masterly – not to say apparently effortless – capacity to move between so
many cultural and intellectual worlds. Not only that, but to incorporate so many
absorbing chess games, annotated skilfully and illustrated beautifully, means that
those whose principal love is the ‘royal’ game will share the feast.
The visual presentation of the book is, indeed, one of its greatest joys. Readers can enjoy
delightful portraits of characters as diverse as Judit Polgar (among a galaxy of great
players) and the late Tony Buzan (co-founder of the Mind Sports Olympiad and author
of many books exploring mental creativity and intelligence), as well as sumptuous
illustrations including such delights as historic maps, panels from The Garden of Earthly
Delights and Dürer woodcuts. There is also an unmissable picture of Moorish women
playing chess, from the extraordinarily wonderful Libro de Los Juegos (Toledo, 1283).
Chess playing should surely always be accompanied by a skilled lute-player!
It is hard to pick favourite articles from such a cornucopia – the contents of which
are richly varied and fascinating, although not all, naturally, will appeal equally to all
readers. As one who shares strongly, in particular, Ray’s love of poetry, the classical
world and food and wine, I found my eye irresistibly drawn to ‘2. Feasting with
Grandmasters’, with its mouth- and eye-watering menus and delicious anecdotes,
and to ’23. Norse Code’, which included the bonus of a highly-digestible miniature
game by ‘the Master Birdman’. But selecting just two examples would be invidious,
if it were taken to imply that the others (41 in all) are of any less interest and
quality: there is, for example, great generosity of spirit in the pieces (nos.12 and
18) on the – equally sui generis – Michael Basman and the wonderfully iconic
Howard Staunton. I could go on. Is there an occasional tendency to narcissism?

BOOK REVIEW
Well, some might feel it to be so, and
surely a writer and player of such radiant
accomplishments has less need than we
mere mortals of self-aggrandisement.
An unusual feature of the book is the

contribution of a ‘co-writer’, Adam Papier
Black, who at various points writes
tailpieces, called ‘postscript: reviews’, at
the end of the Keene articles. This, to my
mind, works unevenly, especially in book
format, although there are some deft
touches, especially on Bobby Fischer. I
do, however, wonder whether on occasion
it might have been preferable to let each
article speak for itself eloquently (as they
all do). But that is a very minor quibble, as
is my predictable wish that proof-reading
had been more consistently reliable – a
quibble which will not surprise those who
know that your reviewer is BCM’s own
sub-editor and something of a proof-
reading fanatic. Many book reviews
record instances of typos and other
errors: to do so is, to my mind, somewhat
self-seeking and distracting. But some mistakes there certainly are, alas. Perhaps
we should reflect with humility that lovers of the big picture are at times notoriously
indifferent to minutiae, and that lovers of minutiae often miss the big picture.
This review, however, should emphatically not end with minor carping and cavilling.
This book is a real treasure-house, in so many ways. To return to Shakespeare and
Roman history, two of Keene’s pet themes, it was said of Julius Caesar that ‘he
doth bestride this narrow world like a Colossus’. Raymond Keene bestrides not
one but many interlinked worlds. For his verve, eclecticism, polymathy, stylistic
effervescence and sheer joie de vivre, this collection is a dazzling kaleidoscope
calling to mind Damien Hirst’s mind-blowing images in the visual cosmos.
And had the book been compiled by his many admirers it would surely merit the
term festschrift – as a scholar of German literature and language I know Ray would
enjoy that term.
I would say in conclusion that, as a richly-stacked treasure trove, this is a work to

be sampled repeatedly, offering endless joy and enlightening jewels.
David Taylor

10/143
Openings
for Amateurs
THE CAPABLANCA APPROACH
By Pete Tamburro; ptamburro@aol.com
J. Raul Capablanca - Salwe plus Allies
Lodz Lodz, 1913
1.e4 e5 2.¤f3 ¤c6 3.¥b5 a6 4.¥a4 ¤f6

5.0–0 ¤xe4 6.d4 b5 7.¥b3 d5 8.dxe5 ¥e6
xiiiiiiiiy
Here we are, at White’s decision point.
In 1921, Jose Capablanca wrote a classic We covered 9.£e2. Capa is playing
work, Chess Fundamentals. It was not a what is still the most popular move.
thick work. Even Capa couldn’t explain It makes sense in that it follows the
everything in one book. He did, however, closed variation idea of providing
explain some key concepts an average a spot for the bishop at c2. It also
reader could take away from the examples prepares support for White to play a
given and apply in their play. One of the knight to d4 for a hopeful exchange and
lessons he spent several pages on was his a resulting pawn pressure on c5 to deter
explanation of how to take advantage of a c5. A pawn exchange would then make
backward pawn and how to convert it to a the d5 pawn isolated.
win. He used the Open Defence to the Ruy
Lopez and quoted an ‘anonymous’ non- 9.c3 ¥e7 The Dilworth Attack,
tournament game he played. I went digging popularized by the English player
for it and found it. Vernon Dilworth, is a very aggressive
and dangerous line. Both sides have
We’ll look at the game and the related to memorise a great deal of theory and
example he provided. It’s an excellent probably had better get some engine
example of his approach to evaluating a help. 9...¥c5 10.¤bd2 0–0 11.¥c2 ¤xf2
position and mapping out a plan. 12.¦xf2 f6 13.exf6 ¥xf2+ 14.¢xf2

October 2023
£xf6 15.¢g1 ¦ae8 16.¤f1 ¤e5 and,

along with possible earlier departures is
likely to go in all sorts of directions from
this point.
10.¤bd2 In Chess Fundamentals, Capa

gives this game through move 13 and then
adds two of his own and starts talking
about how it was similar to a game he had
played. 10.¦e1 ¤c5 11.¥c2 ¥g4 12.¤bd2
0–0 13.¤b3 ¤e6 (Janowski-Lasker, Paris,
1912) 14.£d3 g6#.
At this point, he visualises how the game xiiiiiiiiy

in general should proceed from here. He Sure! He virtually forces the exchange of
sees that he has to exchange the knights, the bishops because of the f4–f5 threat.
most likely using the d4 square to bring That will accomplish 3/4 of his minor piece
that about, and then exchanging the bishops exchange plan.
to bring about a heavy piece ending with
concentrated pressure along the c-file on 17...¥xc1 18.¦xc1 0–0 19.f4 ¥xc2
that poor c7 pawn. Our game shows how 20.¦xc2 g6 21.¤c5 Not only about to get
he carries that idea out. that last minor piece exchange, but the rook
will become the first step in the doubling
10...¤c5 Black doesn’t want to exchange and even tripling on the file.
because after 10...¤xd2 White can cleverly
play 11.£xd2! and after 11...0–0 White 21...¦e8 22.£d3 ¤xc5 Why take now?
triples on d5 with 12.¦d1 ¤a5 13.¥xd5. Black can see g4 and f5 coming, so he
might as well exchange now rather than
11.¥c2 ¥g4 Carlsen and Mamedyarov deal with the knight on e6 when f5
favour 11...d4 12.¤b3 d3 13.¥b1 ¤xb3 is played.
14.axb3 ¥f5 but Caruana has beaten
Mamedyarov twice by surrounding the 23.¦xc5 £d7 24.g4 c6 25.¦ec1 ¦ac8
pawn with 15.¥e3. 26.£c3 ¦e6 This is the position Capa
envisioned. He writes that any first-
12.h3 A multi-purpose move: encourage class master would win this. Why?
the exchange, drive the bishop back for a Here are the factors in White’s favour:
possible g4 at some point and provide a luft 1.The space advantage. 2.The kingside
for the king without really losing a tempo. pawn threat 3.The threat on the c6 pawn
4.The easy White mobility behind the
12...¥h5 13.¦e1 ¥g6 14.¤d4 ¤xd4 lines. Remember the Cayford game and
15.cxd4 ¤e6 16.¤b3 ¥g5 A general rule Alexander the Great? Interior lines. This
is that if Black gets c5 in, he’s got a good allows White to move back and forth to
chance to free his game. Does that work create awkward threats while Black’s
here since White can’t prevent it? 16... pieces, restricted in their movement, will
c5 17.dxc5 d4 18.¥d3 0–0 19.f4 ¥xd3 find it difficult to respond to threats on
20.£xd3 ¤xc5 21.¤xc5 ¥xc5 22.f5 ¥b6 both sides.
23.¥f4² and White has some prospects
against the d4 pawn and even an advance 27.¢h2 ¢h8 28.£a3 £b7 29.£g3 It is
of his two pawn front. curious why Capa didn’t play the decisive
29.f5 gxf5 30.gxf5 ¦ee8 (30...¦h6
17.g3! 31.¦5c2) 31.f6.

10/143
29...f5 30.£f3 £d7 31.¢g3 ¦f8 32.£a3 41.¦f1 Since it was an informal game, it’s
¦a8 33.£c3 ¦c8 possible Capa wasn’t working read hard.
Better was 41.¦xc6 ¦xf4 42.£xd5+ ¢h8
43.e6 £f6 44.£e5 £xe5+ 45.dxe5 ¦c4
(45...¦f3+ 46.¢d4 ¦8f4+ 47.¢c5+–)
46.¦1xc4 bxc4 47.g5 ¢g8 48.¦xc4 ¦e8
49.¢e4 ¦xe6 50.¢d5+–.
41...¢h8 42.£c2 £e8 43.£h2 £e7
44.¦f3 ¦e6 45.¢f2 a5 46.f5 Finally!
Black should resign here and maybe even
before move 40.
46...gxf5 47.gxf5 £g5 This is disrespectful

and useless. Get an autograph and a camera
xiiiiiiiiy shot and go home.
I got the feeling Capa realizes he missed an
opportunity on move 29 and is now fishing 48.£f4 ¦xf5 49.£xf5 £d2+ 50.¢f1 ¦g6
for a new plan. He comes up with one based 51.£f8+ ¦g8 52.£f6+ ¦g7 53.¦g3 The
on his ability to reposition his queen, rook - final blow. Black resigns.
and king! Black has to just sit there and wait.
1–0
34.£c2 ¢g8 35.¢f3 Naturally not 35.gxf5
gxf5 36.£xf5 ¦g6+.
Ignore the wasted time in the game.
35...fxg4+ 36.hxg4 £f7 37.¢e3 ¦f8 Remember the plan of restraining c5,
Black makes a desperate display easily met. exchanging minor pieces, working on the
backward pawn and using your advantage
38.¦f1 £d7 Whereas the Black queen has to in mobility to make threats on both sides
move back, the White queen on c2 is operating of the board.
on both wings with real threats at the same time.
Remember the early caution in all these
39.£g2 A nasty indirect threat on the king. Ruy Lopez games presented these last
few months. They were games to whet
39...£e7 40.¦fc1 White keeps going back your appetite and to familiarise yourself
to remind Black about the c6 pawn. with some key concepts. If the games did
that, then go buy one or two of the books
40...¦ef6 mentioned and start some serious study!
xiiiiiiiiy
Problem
World
by Christopher Jones
cjajones1@yahoo.co.uk
Grandmaster of Chess Composition
Solutions are given on page 638
xiiiiiiiiy xiiiiiiiiy
Steven B. Dowd and Luis Echemendia Christopher Jones (Bristol)
(USA / Cuba)
Mate in 4 Helpmate in 3 - 2 solutions
Original Original
Stanislav Hudak (Slovakia) Ljubomir Ugren (Slovenia))
Helpmate in 3 - 3 solutions Helpmate in 3 - 5 solutions
Original Original
10/143
QUOTES AND QUERIES

REZSO
CHAROUSEK By Alan Smith
6238 Eagle-eyed readers will spot 12.¤xf7 £xd4+ 13.¢g2 g6 14.£xh4

that in past columns I have referred to ¥xf7 15.¥g7! £xg7 16.£xe4+ ¢f8
Rudolf Charousek. I now prefer Rezso 17.£xb7
Charousek, which was his byline when
conducting the chess column of Pesti Black is losing a rook without compensation.
Hirlap. Those columns for 1899 are
available at www.chessarch.com 1-0
Westminster Budget, 15 January 1904
th
6239 There have been several
collections of Charousek’s games.
Vlastimil Fiala’s collection in Quarterly Wollner – Charousek
for Chess History volume 1 contains
games and positions as well as cross Kaschau, 1893
tables. He gives eight games and a
position played against Jakab Wollner. 1.e4 e5 2.¤f3 ¤c6 3.¥c4 ¥c5 4.c3
Here are four more. Wollner was not ¤f6 5.d3 d6 6.¥e3 ¥b6 7.h3 Hoffer
in Charousek’s class, but the games are castigated this as ’useless’. In another
still instructive. game between the two Wollner tried
7.¤bd2 but after 7...d5 8.¥b5 0-0
Rezso Charousek - Jakab Wollner 9.¥xc6 bxc6 10.¤xe5 £e8 11.d4 ¥a6
Kaschau, 1892 Charousek won in 19 moves.
1.e4 e5 2.f4 exf4 3.¥c4 ¥e7 4.¤f3 7...d5 8.exd5 ¤xd5 9.£d2 9.£e2 intending
¥h4+ 4...¤f6 is the modern approach. 10.¤bd2 was Hoffer’s preference.
5.g3 Steinitz preferred 5.¢f1. 9...0-0 10.0-0 ¢h8 11.¦e1 ¤xe3 12.fxe3
f5 13.¢h1 Hoffer advocated 13.d4, but
5...fxg3 6.0-0 ¤h6 6...gxh2+ 7.¢h1 d5 black is better after 13...f4!
8.¥xd5 ¤f6 9.¥xf7+ ¢xf7 10.¤xh4
Hoffer. 13...£f6 14.d4 e4 15.¤g1 ¥d7 16.¤a3
¦ae8 17.¤e2? Hoffer recommended 17.g3
7.d4 d5 8.¥xd5 c6 8...¥h3 puts up more followed by doubling rooks on the f file.
of a fight, 9.¥xh6 gxh6 10.¥xb7 ¦g8.
17...g5 18.¦f1 £h6 19.¤g1 f4
9.¥xh6 cxd5 10.¤e5 ¥e6 10...0-0. 20.exf4 gxf4 21.¥d5 ¦f5 22.¥xc6
¥xc6 23.¤c4 e3 24.£e2 ¦g8 25.¤f3
11.£h5 dxe4 11...0-0 was necessary.

October 2023
28.¢xg2? 28.£xg2! ¦xh3+ 29.¢g1 12.f5 f6 13.e6 ¤d6 14.¥d3 £e7 14...£e8
¦g3 30.cxd5 ¦xg2+ 31.¢xg2 and 15.g4.
white is winning. 29...¥g8 is no better
as white has 30.¤g5! 15.£h5 g6 fxg6 hxg6 17.£xg6+ £g7
18.¥h6 £xg6 19.¥xg6 ¥xe6 19...¦d8
28...¦xh3 29.¦g1 ¦g3+ 30.¢f1 £h3+ 20.e7.
31.¢e1 ¥xf3 32.¤xf3 ¦xf3 33.£g2
¥a5+ 34.¢d1 £xg2 35.¦xg2 ¦f1+. 20.¥xf8 ¦xf8 21.¥d3 ¢f7 Wollner makes
a fight of it, but he does not have enough
0-1 compensation for the exchange.
Westminster Gazette, 12th October 1901 22.¦ae1 ¦g8 23.¤e2 ¥e3 24.¤f4 d4
25.¤xe6 ¢xe6 26.g3 c5 27.b3 f5 28.¢g2
¢e5 29.¦e2 a5 30.a4 ¤e4 31.¥xe4
Wollner – Charousek fxe4 32.h4 ¥h6 33.¢h3 e3 34.g4 ¥f4
Kaschau, 1894 35.g5 ¢e4 36.¢g4 ¥e5 37.¦f3 ¥d6
38.¦f6 ¦e8 39.g6 d3 40.cxd3+ ¢xd3
1.e4 e5 2.¤f3 ¤c6 3.d4 exd4 4.¤xd4 ¥c5 41.¢f3 ¥g3 42.g7 42...¦g8 43.¦xe3+
5.¥e3 £f6 6.c3 ¤ge7 7.¥e2 An insipid ¢d4? 44.¦f7 ¥xh4?? 45.¦d7#
move which achieves little.
1-0
7...d5 8.f3 White might hang on with
8.¥f3. Evening Standard, 4th October 1904
8...0-0 9.0-0 ¦d8 10.exd5 ¤xd5 11.¥f2

¤f4 12.¥c4 ¥h3! 13.gxh3 £g6+ 14.¥g3 6240 A poser for readers. Emanuel
¤xd4 15.cxd4 ¦xd4 16.£b3 ¦d3+ Lasker was the second world chess
17.¢h1 ¦xb3 18.¥xb3 ¤e2 19.¥xc7 ¦c8 champion, who won the majority of
20.¥e5 ¦e8 21.¥c7 £c6 22.¥g3 ¤xg3+ tournaments he contested. Three players
23.hxg3 £c7 24.f4 £c6+ 25.¢h2 ¦e2+. won events, outright, ahead of him and
defeated Lasker in the process. Who
0-1 were they? (Answers below)
Evening Standard, 8th April 1902
Charousek – Wollner
Budapest, 1897
1.e4 e5 2.d4 exd4 3.¤f3 d6 4.¤xd4 ¤f6

5.¤c3 ¥e7 6.¥e2 0-0 7.0-0 ¤c6 7...
c5 is better and dates back to Lowenthal -
Morphy mg1 London 1858.
8.¤xc6 bxc6 9.f4 9.b3 Leonhardt -

Nimzowitsch San Sebastian 1912.
9...d5 10.e5 ¥c5+ 11.¢h1 ¤e8 11...¤d7

Makovetz at Graz 1890.
Hoffer, has the merit of restraining white’s
1934, Capablanca at Moscow 1936, Gyula
pawn charge.
Answer to poser Alekhine at Zurich

10/143
Endgame Studies
by Ian Watson
ian@irwatson.uk
A. Sarychev V. Hergert
USSR Championship 1978 WCSC 2023
draw draw
D. Gurgenidze M. Minski
The Problemist 1986 (version) 64 2023
draw win

October 2023
TEST-SOLVING
Your task this month is to pit your solving out of 90 overall. Kacper Piorun of Poland
skills against the world’s best solvers. Our did solve it, did get the full five points,
four studies were used in the congress but no-one else got 5/5 and indeed almost
at Batumi, in Georgia, where many of everyone else got zero on it. If you get any
the finest solvers gathered in September points on it at all, consider entering some
for the annual World Chess Solving major solving tournies.
Championship. The first two studies were
used in the WCSC itself and the third and As these are such toughies, you might like
fourth were used in the Open, which serves a few hints. If, however, you want to solve
as a warm-up competition for the WCSC. them unaided, then "Look away now."
The new World Champion is in fact also (Sarychev) You need to get the Black king
the old World Champion. Well, maybe not boxed in by his own pieces, and you can
"old" - Danila Pavlov is only twenty years invest your queen to achieve that.
old - but he has already proved himself the
greatest-ever chess solver. This was his (Hergert) You need to get the h-pawn
third consecutive World Champion title. going, and it needs to be supported by the
Juniors are rapidly taking over the top king, but before either, you need to distract
rankings in solving: six out of the top ten Black’s rook.
in the Championship were juniors. Most
of those six were Russians solving under (Gurgenidze) Keep Black’s queen under
the FIDE flag; they are allowed to take threat.
part as individuals, but not as a team. The
team event is for national teams of three (Minski) The clever moves are all about
solvers, and it works by using the scores pinning and unpinning on the d-file.
from the individual solving to compile a
team score. Russian solvers’ scores were The usual solving procedures apply: You’ll
not eligible for this, and so the winners need to set up these positions on a board. In
were Poland, followed by Lithuania and solving events, you can use a chess set and
the United Kingdom. Jonathan Mestel and you can move the pieces to try and help you
David Hodge came 14th and 17th in the solve. You solve against the clock; for these
individual, and Kamila Hryshchenko, our four studies give yourself an average of 30
newest solver, came 48th, all three of them minutes for each one, so 120 minutes in
gaining Elo points for their performances total. Points are awarded according to how
and moving higher up the international much of the composer’s solution you find,
rankings. Their combined scores enabled with five points available for each study if
the team to take the bronze medal, just you find it all. In the answers, I’ll show you
ahead of Georgia and Germany. Go to where the points were awarded. You need
wfcc.ch for the full results. to find the composer’s main line; you can
also write down sidelines if you’re not sure
All these studies are difficult, but the most what the main line is, but only the main line
difficult of all was the Hergert. Pavlov moves earn points. So, look for the most
scored zero for it, and those five missed artistic, elegant line.
points were the only points he dropped in
the whole Championship - he scored 85 The solutions are on page 639.

10/143
Solutions to Problems (See page 633)

This month’s problems
The emphasis this month is on helpmates in three. In three of our problems you are looking for
collaborative bwbwbw# sequences of moves. In each of these problems there are a number
of such sequences from the diagrammed position. When I started off trying to solve original
problems in BCM some forty years ago my eye was taken by originals by the late American
composing GM Toma Garai, who believed that three moves was the best length for helpmates –
long enough for plenty of interesting play to be packed in, but not so long that the risk of ‘cooks’
(unintended extra ‘solutions’) reduced the amount of material that could be put on the board and
hence diminished the richness of the play. See what you think after looking at this month’s three
contrasting examples! But first of all you are asked to solve a good old-fashioned mate in four
problem in which one of your main concerns is to avoid stalemating Black.
An old time problem… In Stanislav’s problem, the emphasis is on

constructing three pretty mating positions,
…is how Steven describes his joint each of them a model mate (all potential
composition with Luis Echemendia, whom flight squares either occupied by Black
we are very pleased to welcome to the or guarded by just one white piece). The
pages of BCM! We’d like to play 1.¤b6, solutions unfold as follows – 1.¦c5 f3
guarding d5 and d7, but that move alas 2.¢d5 ¢e7 3.¦c4 ¦f5;
gives stalemate. So we have to resort to
the sort of attractive key move of which 1.¢c5 ¦f7 2.¢b5 c4+ 3.¢a5 ¦a7 and 1.¢e6
composers are fond, the sacrificial 1.¦c2. ¦xd4 2.¢f6 f4 3.¦f5 ¦d6. A neat problem,
Now after 1…bxc2 we can play 2.¤b6, in which no moves are repeated in other
whereupon Black promotes at c1 with solutions: eighteen different ‘half-moves’.
check, leading to 3.¢xc1 b3 4.d5#. Or
if 1…¢d5 then again 2.¤b6, this time Neatness and complete avoidance of
with check, leading to 2…¢xd4 3.¤g6, repeated moves aren’t the primary goal of
and now, whether Black makes a delayed the composer of our final problem, who has
acceptance of the sacrifice, 3…bxc2, or an amazing ability to mine the possibilities
plays 3…¢e3, 4.¥g1 is mate. of a matrix of pieces in order to explore
the potential for a wide variety of mating
Three helpmates in three sequences. Here we have two mates by the
white rook, two by the white bishop, and
Usually in such helpmates featuring a white even one by the humble white pawn. Even
rook and a white bishop you find that in the possibility of castling (in problems
one solution one of those white officers always assumed to be possible unless retro-
mates, supported by the other, and in the analysis shows that it isn’t) is invoked –
other solution vice versa. Not so, though, in 1.¥f6 ¦xh2 2.¢e7 exf6+ 3.¢f8 ¦xh8;
the first of these helpmates, where it is the
bishop that is the star turn in both solutions, 1.¦xe2+ ¢xe2 2.¢f5 ¢f3 3.¢g5 ¦h5;
in each case illustrating the same motif of
having to move down a diagonal initially to 1.¦f2 ¦h6+ 2.¢e7 ¥h5 3.¦f8 exd6;
the square beyond the one from which it will
administer mate – 1.¥a5 ¥a4 2.¤c6 ¦f1 1.¦h5 e4 2.¦xe5 ¦h7 3.¥f6 ¥xd7;
3.¥d2 ¥b5 and 1.¥g3 ¥d7 2.¥f2 ¥h3
3.¤f5 ¥g4. (We follow the convention – at And 1.¢f5 0-0+ 2.¢g4 ¦f4+ 3.¢h3
first sight potentially confusing – of giving ¥xd7. Well done if you found at least some
moves in their BWBWBW order.) of these solutions!

October 2023
Solutions to Endgames (See page 636)

Sarychev Gurgenidze
1.£e2+ ¤e5 2.£xb2 (2 points) ¤f7+ 1.d7+ ¢d8 2.£xb7 (1 point) ¤d5+
3.¢c7 (+1 point = 3) £xb2 4.e8£+ (+1 3.£xd5 (+1 point = 2) ¦e4+ 4.£xe4 (+1
= 4) ¥xe8 5.¤f4+ (+1 = 5) and ¢e5 = 3) g2+ 5.¢f2 gxh1¤+ 6.¢g1 £f1+
6.¤d3+ or 5...¢e7 6.¤g6+ draws. 7.¢h2 (+1 = 4) £h3+ 8.¢g1 (+1 = 5).
1...¢f7 2.e8£+ ¥xe8 3.£xe8 mate. In the If instead you gave 6...£g3+ 7.£g2 £e1+
main line, 2.¤f4+? ¢f7 3.g6+ ¢g8; and 8.¢h2 £h4+ 9.¢g1 ¤g3 10.£a8+ you
(2.£xb2) ¤c6+ 3.¢c7 £xb2 4.e8£+. got a total of four points. That line continues
10...¢xd7 11.£b7+ ¢e6 12.£c8+ ¢f7
1.¤f4+? ¢d6 2.¤g6 £xg6 3.£g3+ ¢e6. 13.¢g2 f4 14.¢f3 drawing, and has the
1.¤f8+? ¢d6 2.£g3+ £e5. sideline 10.£c6? £d4+ 11.¢h2 ¤f1+
12.¢g2 £d5+.
Hergert
Minski
1.c7 ¦c8 2.¢g5 (1 point) ¦xc7 3.h6 (+1
point = 2) ¢f7 4.e6+ (+1 = 3) ¢xe6 1.¢e2 d1Q+ 2.¢xd1 ¤c7 3.d6 (1 point)
5.¥c4+ (+1 = 4) ¦xc4 6.h7 ¦c1 7.h8Q ¦d8 4.¦h3+ (+1 point = 2) ¢g8 5.¦h8+
¦g1+ 8.¢h6/¢h4 ¦h1+ 9.¢g5 (+1 = 5) (+1 = 3) ¢xh8 6.¥d4+ (+1 = 4) cxd4
Rxh8 stalemate. 7.dxc7 (+1 = 5) ¦c8 8.b6 wins.
If instead you gave 3...¦c1 4.h7 ¦xf1 The transpositional line 1...¤c7 2.d6 ¦d8
5.h8£ ¦g1+ 6.¢h6/¢h4 ¦h1+ 7.¢g5 ...... 6.dxc7 was also accepted for the full
you got a total of three points. Not the main five points.
line, but the tournament organisers were
being untypically generous! (As they also The main line sidelines are 3.b6? ¤xd5;
were in the following two studies.) 3...¤xb5 4.d7; and 5.¦g3+? ¢f8
6.¥xc5 ¤xb5.
1.¥g2? ¥xh5 2.¢xh5 ¦h8+ 3.¢g5 ¦g8+
4.¢h4 ¦xg2, or 1.¥c4+? ¢e7 2.¢g5
¥xc6 3.h6 ¦a1.

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Volume 143

THE HIDDEN EMOTIONS OF CHESS:

Chairman Shaun Taulbut

Prepress Specialist 592 The hidden emotions of chess:

Company Limited by Shares 610 BCM EXCLUSIVE Interview:

578 | BRITISH CHESS MAGAZINE

England scoops medals at

BRITISH CHESS MAGAZINE | 579

Here 33.£f5 was decisive, as the king

White (Ortega) obtained a winning position and

However, following his plan, White played

Ortega went boldly ahead with 38.¢g5, when

580 | BRITISH CHESS MAGAZINE

THE ENGLISH S50 TEAM

It was still early on in the tournament, but

White hides from the checks with ¤h6 and

An amazing game, but an unfortunate result

In the S65 section England 1, led by the

In round two England 1 beat Poland

BRITISH CHESS MAGAZINE | 581

Adams prepared a recent, but still rare, line

The Italians missed their chance on board

In the S65 section both Germany Lasker

582 | BRITISH CHESS MAGAZINE

You don’t get this types of mate too often,

Iceland levelled the score thanks to

In the S65 section the derby on table one

On board one a tense King’s Indian

On board four Povah (2229) was lucky

On board three Baker (2222)

BRITISH CHESS MAGAZINE | 583

Black lost a pawn and weakened his

England should have drawn the match as

JOHN NUNN IN PLAY

The most technical solution would have

This put too much pressure on Kosten’s

This win for Germany turned out to be

584 | BRITISH CHESS MAGAZINE

Playing the number one favourites USA the

White wants to walk with his king to

Black tried to prevent the second threat and

Emms defended well for a very long

The threat of mate meant that the

BRITISH CHESS MAGAZINE | 585

The last round for Engalnd in S65

In retrospect, this win proved pivotal for

In round six England faced the host team of

On board one Adams surprised Georgiev

586 | BRITISH CHESS MAGAZINE

On board one Adams outplayed Dishman

Black’s last move 45…¦e7? was a mistake

BRITISH CHESS MAGAZINE | 587

His win was followed by a win by Godena

On board three Ortega was winning

Instead of defending the pawn on e5 by

Flear didn’t have problems drawing against

This small “gift” to Nikac was heartily

588 | BRITISH CHESS MAGAZINE

China ShenZhen W50 vs England in the last round

BRITISH CHESS MAGAZINE | 589