The Chess Mind

At Wijk aan Zee each year, it is the A-group that gets the most attention, featuring as it does many of the world's absolute best players. Yet sometimes, depending on who is playing or the games that are produced, it is the "sideshow" that gets top billing.

Such a case occurred in the 1995 version of the event, when it was a game in the Open tournament that received the most press. Roberto Cifuentes is a good GM and had the White pieces against the young (then 18) Russian GM Vadim Zvjaginsev, but it didn't matter. Zvjaginsev won a brilliant game, replete with sacrifices, and that put him on the chess map.

Zvjaginsev is an exceptionally original player, and although he hasn't quite made it into the world's absolute elite, he is a very strong player chess fans should keep their eyes on. This week's show offers viewers a chance to get acquainted with this player's signature game, and I hope you'll take advantage!

For directions for watching the show live (9 p.m. ET), please click here (directions for watching archived shows is also included therein), while a list of games covered in previous shows is available here.

Ratmir Kholmov's skill in repulsing enemy aggression led to his receiving the nickname "the central defender", but this strong Russian grandmaster had his brilliant attacking days, too.

One of his most famous efforts came against the great David Bronstein in the 1964 USSR championship. Bronstein's aggressive play on the Black side of a Najdorf Sicilian left Kholmov in a position where his obvious attacking ideas failed and retreat left Black with an edge. (Don't ask the computer; it doesn't know either! At least mine doesn't; those of you with souped-up multi-processor machines might find something different, but I doubt it. [If you do, please let me know!])

Where even Bronstein (and even more noteworthy, the computer) failed, Kholmov succeeded, producing a deep, correct tactical idea refuting his opponent's over-aggressive play. We'll break the idea down, and in that way realize that even the most ingenious tactics can be discovered by thoughtful reflection on the logic of a position.

Curious? I hope so! Join me this Monday night at 9 pm ET; directions for watching (live and archived shows) are here, and a list of games covered in past shows can be found here.

The now-15-year old Maxime Vachier Lagrave is the seventh-youngest GM of all time, yet while he represents (part of) the future of chess, fellow French GM Anatoli Vaisser demonstrated that at 56, he is still very much part of its present.

Our chief exhibit is their game from the 2005 French Championship. Vachier Lagrave opted for a risky pawn-grabbing line in the 8.Rb1 Gruenfeld. The players followed old theory for many moves before the youngster produced his novelty. Black enjoyed an extra piece, White a dangerous passer and active heavy pieces, but the result was in doubt until a Vachier Lagrave error permitted Vaisser to execute a brilliant zugzwang idea that won him both the game and the informal award for the best game in ChessBase Magazine 109.

A theoretically important game with rich tactics and a deep zugzwang idea: what more could one reasonably want from one game? Join me this Monday night at 9 pm as we explore the ins and outs of this contemporary gem; instructions for watching the show can be found here, while a list of past shows' games can be found here. (Directions for watching archived shows can be found in the preceding link.)

Estonian GM Jaan Ehlvest was among the world's best about 12-15 years ago (once breaking into the top five), and is a familiar sight at large American Swisses. Despite his successes and his recognizability as a person, I suspect that his chess is far less well-known to the average player.

We'll take a first stab at remedying this in our show this week, as we examine his game with Leonid Yurtaev from the 1983 USSR Championship semi-final in Volgodonsk. Yurtaev, with White, employed the King's Indian Attack (KIA) against Ehlvest's Sicilian, and the traditional race ensued: White going for Black's king; Black ripping open queenside lines. Ehlvest played a nice line against the KIA (thus if you play the KIA or hate facing it, this is a game worth seeing), but Yurtaev's imaginative sacrificial barrage created a real mess on the board. Ehlvest escaped and even won, but to see how, you'll have to tune in this Monday night at 9 p.m. ET!

As always, directions for watching my shows, whether they are new or in the archives, can be found here, while a list of games covered in past shows is available here.