A Sharp Assault on The Sicilian Defence. (Anderssen vs Morphy)

A school teacher, later professor of mathematics, Adolph Anderssen had to fit this now-historic match into the Christmas holidays. In some cases, two games were played in one day. This game and many others in the series give lie to the myth that Anderssen was interested only in attacks on the King. Here he answers a sharp assault on the Sicilian - repeated by Fischer more than a century later - with equal energy. The result is a violent miniature.} 

1. e4 c5

2. d4 cxd4 3. Nf3 Nc6 4. Nxd4 e6 

5. Nb5 d6 6. Bf4 e5 7. Be3 f5 

{So far, a modern line. Anderssen's move is adventurous and not easy to refute.} 

8. N1c3 f4 {But Nf6 was surely more logical.} 

9. Nd5 fxe3 10. Nbc7+ Kf7 11. Qf3+ Nf6

12. Bc4 

{A wonderful attacking move, keeping options open and threatening a variety of things.} Nd4 {An aggressive try, instead of running with 12...Kg6.}

13. Nxf6+ d5 14. Bxd5+ Kg6 15. Qh5+ Kxf6 

16. fxe3 {At last!} Nxc2+

          17. Ke2 

{ The Black King is now bare on the f-file. Black resigns.} 1-0

Oldest Grandmaster Alive : Yuri Averbakh

A very Happy Birthday to Yuri Averbakh. Yuri Lvovich Averbakh ( born February 8, 1922) is a Soviet and Russian chess player and author. As of 8 feb 2017, he is the oldest living chess grandmaster. He was born in Kaluga, Russia. He was chairman of the USSR Chess Federation from 1973 to 1978.

    Yuri Averbakh

His first major success was on first place in the Moscow Championship of 1949, ahead of some very strong players including Andor Lilienthal, Yakov Estrin and Vladimir Simagin. He became an International Grandmaster in 1952. In 1954 he won the USSR Chess Championship ahead of players including Mark Taimanov, Viktor Korchnoi, Tigran Petrosian, Efim Geller and Salo Flohr.His solid style was very difficult for many attacking players to overcome.

Averbakh is also a great endgame study theorist. He has published more than 100 studies, many of which have made notable contributions to endgame theory. In 1956 he was given by FIDE the title of International Judge of Chess Compositions and in 1969 he became an International Arbiter. 

     We Wish him  a very Happy Birthday again.

Contests between the Current and Former World Champions are always Bitter.

This is the game played between Gary Kasprov and Anatoly Karpov in 1992.In this game Kasprov had white pieces and he starts with;

1.e4 c6

and we have Caro Kann defence on the board

2. d4 d5 3. Nd2 dxe4  4. Nxe4 Nd7

5. Ng5 Ngf6 6. Bc4 e6 7. Qe2 {Threatening 8.Nxf7.} Nb6 {Not 7...h6? 8.Nxf7 winning at once.}

8. Bb3 h6 {The grab 8...Qxd4? 9.N1f3 Bb4+ 10.c3 Bxc3+ 11.Kf1 is suicidal for Black.}

9. N5f3 c5 10. Bf4 

{An important wrinkle in this line. Black has no problems after 10. dxc5 Nbd7, intending the recapture ...Nd7xc5, with a comfortable game.Kasparov aims for maximum mobilization of his pieces and there isn't a more active square for the Bishop.} Bd6 

11. Bg3 Qe7 12. dxc5 Bxc5 13. Ne5 

{ White has emerged with a model position against the Caro. White's last move touches

the very heart of White's strategic aims in the opening. It is well known that White tries to control the e5-square and that a Knight is best placed here.} Bd7 

14. Ngf3 {If 14.O-O-O, then Black should not play 14...O-O-O?  15.Nxf7! Qxf7 16.Qe5, rather 14...a5.} Nh5 

15. O-O-O {Unsound is 15.Nxf7?! Nxg3  16.fxg3 Kxf7 17.Ne5+ Ke8 18.Qh5+ Kd8 19.Ng6 Qg5+ 20.Qxg5 hxg5 21.Nxh8 Ke7 22.Ng6+ Kf6 with a large advantage to Black.} Nxg3 {Not 15...O-O-O 16.Nxd7 Nxd7 17.Be5 with a much better position for White.}

16. hxg3 O-O-O  17. Rh5 

{A brilliant move! The Rook controls the fifth rank.} Be8 {If 17...g6, then 18.Rh4.}

18.Rxd8+ Kxd8 {Not 18...Qxd8? 19.Nxf7 winning.}

19. Qd2+ Bd6 {A nice move to have provoked. Though a target on c5, the Bishop was gunning on the f2-pawn and now that concern is over. In reality Black had no choice, as 19...Kc8  20.Nd3 Bd6
21.Qc3+ picks up the g7-critter. It's for such reasons that Black's King
belongs on b8 or a8.}

 20. Nd3

{Taking time to sidestep Black's ...f7-f6 threat.} Qc7 {Not 20...Kc8? 21.Qc3+ followed by          22.Qxg7.} 

21. g4 {Threatening 22.g5.} Kc8 {If 21...f6, then 22.Nd4.}

22. g5 Bf8 23. Rh4 Kb8 

24. a4 {White switches his attack over to the queenside.} Be7 {Better was 24...Nc8.}

25. a5 Nd5 {If 25...Nc8, then 26.a6 is strong.}

26. Kb1 {Threatening 27.c4.} Bd8 27. a6 Qa5

28. Qe2 {Threatening 29.Qe5+.} Nb6

29. axb7 Bxg5 30. Nxg5 Qxg5 

31. Rh5 Qf6 {If 31...Qxg2, then 32.Nc5 is strong.}

32. Ra5 {Black will be unable to defend his King.} Bc6 

33. Nc5 {Threatening 34.Qa6.} Bxb7 34. Nxb7 Kxb7 35. Qa6+ Kc6

36. Ba4+ Kd6 37. Qd3+ Nd5 38. Qg3+ Qe5 39. Qa3+ Kc7 40. Qc5+ Kd8 41. Rxa7 

{ and Black  Resigns.} 1-0

When Polgar Crushed Karpov's Caro Kan Defence

One trend that emerged in the 90s was Active Chess where each side is alotted 25 to 30 minutes to complete the entire game instead of standard 40 moves in 2 or 2 1/2 hour followed by a sudden death. Quality obviously suffers, clock forces error, but chess marches on.This is second game  out of the 8 exhibition games played between Judit Polgar and great Anatoly Karpov in 1998, In which Judit Polgar won with the score 5-3.

In this game Judit Polgar had white and she started with the move

 1.e4 c6

and we had seen Caro Kan defence on the board, one of the favourite opening of Anatoly Karpov with black.

2.d4 d5

3. Nd2 eⅹd4

the classical variation of Caro Kan defence...

 4. Nxe4 Nd7 5. Ng5 Ngf6 6. Bd3 e6 7. N1f3 Bd6 8. Qe2 h6

{Inviting 7. Nxe6?! fxe6 8. Bg6+ Ke7 followed by Nf8 when White doesn't have enough
compensation for the piece.} 

9. Ne4 Nxe4 10. Qxe4 Qc7 11. Qg4 Kf8

{Best Blacks want to avoid weakening a pawn by pushing it and if 11...O-O? 12. Bxh6
wins.}

12. Be3 c5 13. dxc5 Bxc5 14. O-O-O Nf6

15. Qh4 Bxe3+ 16. fxe3 Bd7

17.Rhf1 Rc8 18. Kb1 Bc6

19. e4 Kg8 20. c3 Nd7

21. Bc2 Ne5 22. Nxe5 Qxe5 23. Qf2 f6

24. Qxa7 Qxh2 25. e5 Qxe5

{White also keeps the initiative on 25...f5 26. g4.}

26. Rfe1 Qc7 {Black should try to get the queens off by 26...Qb8!  27. Qxb8 Rxb8 28. Rxe6 Kf7 breaking the attack.}

27. Rxe6 Kf7  28. Bb3 Kg6

29. Qd4 Rhd8 { Finally the rook is free but the king is in trouble.}

30. Qg4+ Kh7 31. Bc2+ Kg8

32. Rxd8+ Rxd8 {Hoping for 33. Rxf6? Qe5.}

33. Re1 Kf8 34. Bg6 Qd6 35. Qc4 Qd5

36. Qe2 Qd7 37. c4 Qd6 38. a3 Qd7 39. g4 Kg8

{Is the king safer here? More tenacious is 39...Qd6.}

40. Bf5 Qd6 41. Qc2 Re8 42. Rd1 Qc5

43. Bg6 Ra8 44. Qd3 Qe7 45. Qd4 Be8 46. Be4 Bf7

47. c5 {Correct is 47. Bd5!} Rc8 48. Bf5 Rxc5

49. Qd8+ Qf8 {A gross blunder in extreme time pressure. The only hope is 49...Qe8.}

50. Bh7+ {Timber! The queen falls. Black Resigns.} 1-0

and This is how final position looks like

Why "World Women Chess Champion" Hou Yifan Resign after only Five Moves.

On 2 Feb 2017 Strange thing happened in 15th edition of Tradewise Gibraltar Chess Festival, when 22 year old  current women world champion Hou Yifan Resigned after only five moves in the tenth and last round of the tournament against Indian Grandmaster Lalith Babu. This strange resignation by the Hou Yifan stunned everyone. This strange game also broke the record previously held by Vishwanathan Anand for the shortest game by a Grandmaster.

In the final round Hou Yifan playing with the white pieces arrived 25 minutes late and started the game with strange move g4, and from their game lasted for only 5 moves.

Here is the full game 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Mob0ToQdjI

In a post game interview with International Master Tania Sachdev, she apologized to all the chess fans for creating such a game. Further she told that  she was not happy and dissatisfied with, not only her personal pairings but also with the pairings of other women players. So the pairings was the reason for her strange resignation and she played such a game to show some kind of  protest.

GM Lalith Babu

In a post game interview with  Indian GM Lalith Babu, he said that he thought Hou Yifan might skip the game and will not come. Further he added that when  after 25 minutes she came and play g4 he was really scared after seeing the move and he thought it might be some kind to preparation and he responded with the move d5 and in response when she quickly played the move f3 he realized that something was wrong with her and may be she didn't want to play the game.Further he said that the rest of the game was not so important and he didn't know anything that why she was playing like this, he also said that he was still in shock that he won the game in just five moves in such a manner.