A Brilliant Tactic From The Chebanenko Memorial

It was only a rapid event, but the reduced time control didn't prevent German GM Arkadij Naiditsch from finding a stunning tactical idea:

It's Black to move (the leadup was 16.Ng3-f5 Be6xf5 17.g4xf5), and it looks like White is in good shape. Black's rooks are doubled on the d-file, sure, but with pawns on c2 and d3 there's nothing for them to do. The bishop on g7 would be great for pressure on b2, but there's a pawn on e5 and it's well-protected. The queen is doesn't coordinate with anything on b6, while the knight is good on d5 but without a job to do. So what did Naiditsch come up with? (Try to solve it before reading the next sentence.)

I'll give the first move with the hat tip, and the next question, whose answer can be found here (along with the rest of the game), is how White should - or perhaps instead, shouldn't - respond.

Happy analysis!

(HT: Chess Today [17...c4])

Two Excerpts from the European Rapid Championship

The European Rapid Championship took place in Warsaw this past weekend, and with tons of strong players there were many fine games and exciting moments. Not all the games were so impressive, however - witness this:

Tomasz Markowski (2625) - Radoslaw Wojtaszek (2726) (Round 8):

1.Nf3 d5 2.c4 c6 3.d4 Nf6 4.Qb3 dxc4 5.Qxc4 Bg4 6.Nc3 Nbd7 7.e4 Bxf3 8.gxf3 e5 9.Be3 Bd6 10.0-0-0

This line has fared pretty well for White, but Black's position is certainly playable.

10...exd4

This has only been played once before, by Boris Gelfand against Ruslan Ponomariov in the finals of the 2009 World Cup. Ponomariov recaptured with the bishop and eventually won a hard battle (though he lost the war, as Gelfand eventually won the match and the tournament), but Black was not in trouble at this point.

11.Qxd4

And now Wojtaszek, all 2726 rating points' worth of him, played 11...Qc7?? and resigned after 12.Qxd6. There's hope for us all...or is it that we're all hopeless, at least sometimes?

Here's another one:

(Position after 23...Bg7-h6 in Alexander Moiseenko (2670) - Artur Jussupow (2589), round 13)

White sees the threat of 24...Be3, evaluates it as no big deal, and plays 24.Rxc7. Or rather, 24.Rxc7?? White is only half right: ...Be3 isn't a big deal right now or immediately after a rook trade, but it is in fact a VERY big deal! It just needs a little setting up, that's all:

24...Qxf2+!!

Oops. White resigned after 25.Rxf2 Rb1+, because after 26.Rf1 Be3+ - now! - drives the king into the corner and forces mate in two more moves.

This Week's ChessVideos Show: Tactics in the Benoni

In this week's ChessVideos show, I take a look back at an old game of mine (from the 1980s, around the time dirt was invented). When rediscovering it for myself a week or so ago, it seemed that there were several very interesting moments in the game. I spent several enjoyable hours going through it before flipping on the silicon beast to check my findings, and I hope you'll find it both entertaining and a good workout as well. (And maybe instructive, too, if you play or face the Modern Benoni.)

Have a look here. The show is free (free registration is required) and will be available on-demand for the next month or so.

Müller & Meyer's The Magic of Chess Tactics, on DVD

Some years ago (in 2002) Russell Enterprises published The Magic of Chess Tactics by GM Karsten Müller and FM Claus Dieter Meyer. It's an excellent though advanced book, presenting complicated tactical positions that offer a great deal of aesthetic pleasure as well as a great workout for the serious and strong student. (At least 2000, I'd say, if you want to most profitably use this as a for chess training.) It's a fine work, but it can be a little difficult at times checking through all the variations on a set.

And now, you don't have to. Russell was good enough to allow Müller and Lamprecht to reissue an updated version on DVD with ChessBase. It contains all the material from the book, with a few recent additions and analytical updates, plus a pretty healthy number of the exercises presented in video format. (This is not instead of having them in game files, but in addition to it.) Müller presents 37 games/excerpts in video format, which makes for a really nice bonus. What you get, therefore, is an updated version of an excellent book with some terrific extras, so if you were inclined to get the book in the first place - or if you got it but underused it due to the perceived inconvenience - I can heartily recommend this DVD.

More info here.