The Chess Mind

When I’ve talked about our game with non-chess players, sometimes they’ll ask me what formations are best. For those of us who know the game, this may sound like a naïve question – there is no set formation we can use, because it depends on what our opponent does. Yet there may be more to it than this quick dismissal might suggest. For beginners, there’s that old standby, what we might call the Scholar’s Mate Attack, going for mate on f7. Moving up a few notches in sophistication, White can often make 20 moves or more mindlessly against the Sicilian Dragon, play h4-h5, sac, sac and mate! (At least that’s what Fischer claimed 40 years ago. Dragon players might tell their own story about …Rxc3, sac, sac and mate right back.) And there are other formula approaches too.

One we’ll take a look at in this week’s show is also a White option, and like the Yugoslav Attack against the Dragon it’s used against a kingside fianchetto. The plan includes the moves Qd1-e1-h4, Bc1-h6, Ng5, f2-f4-f5 and hopes to culminate with something like 1.Bxg7 Kxg7 2.fxg6 hxg6 3.Rxf6 exf6 4.Qxh7#. It occurs in the Grand Prix Attack, in the 6.f4 line against the Najdorf (when Black follows up with …g6), in the Austrian Attack against the Pirc and elsewhere. It can be devastating, as I know from both sides of the board (mostly the white side, happily), and even very strong GMs can fall prey to this attack (as we’ll see).

But having given the non-chess player his due, and having acknowledged that there’s more to his question than our initial reaction might allow, there’s something to be said for our initial trepidation, too. A one-size-fits-all attacking approach might work against weaker players, but thoughtful, experienced opponents will see the big punch coming a mile away and take suitable precautions. And this leads us to our game of the week, a short, bloody battle between Alexei Fedorov, a strong and very aggressive grandmaster from Belarus, and one Garry Kasparov, almost indisputably the greatest player of all time. In their game from the Corus 2001 tournament in Wijk aan Zee, Fedorov decided to go head-hunting on the white side of a Closed Sicilian, constructing the aforementioned kingside pileup while neglecting just about everything else.

Fedorov has mauled many strong GMs in his career, and many lesser players might panic in the face of this all-out assault. Not Kasparov, however. The “boss” understood exactly how dangerous White’s attack was, knew how much time he’d have to make things happen elsewhere, and with extreme efficiency took advantage of the sectors his opponent had neglected. The game concluded quickly – as Fedorov had probably intended – and with a mating attack – again as Fedorov had intended. The only problem was that it was Fedorov’s king that was getting mated.

The game offers a fine model of an efficient, well-planned counterattack from Black’s point of view, and also a model of what not to do when attacking. Both aspects are extremely useful to reflect on, and the specific knowledge the game provides about the attacking formation with Qh4, Bh6 etc. is also valuable. With Kasparov as our model, how can we pass up this week’s show? If you agree, and I hope you do, then please join me this Thursday night at 9 p.m. ET. See you then!

(Directions for watching the show - free - are here.)

Of all the players slated for the upcoming world championship in Mexico City, the only one I haven’t yet profiled on my show is Alexander Grischuk. This surprising omission will now be rectified. The reason it’s odd is that his lively attacking style makes him an ideal candidate for the show. Grischuk burst onto the scene in 2000, when as a mere 17-year old he reached the semi-finals of the FIDE world championships, losing narrowly in a very tough, brilliant match with Shirov. Since then he has underperformed a bit, given his great promise, but his qualification through the Candidates might mark a turn to its fulfillment.

Let’s hope so, because we’ll want to see more games like the ones we’ll look at this Thursday. Our main game is a charming King’s Gambit massacre against Valeri Yandemirov, and, time permitting, we’ll have a second, bonus game as well. Both games reveal his attacking prowess, and prove that even GMs can be devoured in the opening – even when preparation isn’t involved. Very entertaining chess, and you’ll want to see it for yourself this Thursday night at 9 pm ET.

(As usual, directions for watching the show - it's free, btw - are here.)

Frank Marshall was the strongest American player the first third of the 20th century, and one of the world’s best players for a good chunk of that time. He was a great opening innovator (as we’ll detail during the show, his famous gambit against the Ruy Lopez was just one of many significant contributions to theory), and the swashbuckling play of his youth and lifelong penchant for swindles made him a legendary figure in the history of the game. (Another contribution, less glamorous but possibly even more important, was his – and his wife, Caroline’s – cultivation of sponsors for American chess.)

We’ll do a two-fer this week (to be frank, marshalling multiple games seems a fitting tribute to a player who once held the record for the largest simul): we’ll look at his game against Salwe from Vienna 1908 and the third game of his third match (of four!) with Janowsky. Both games demonstrate his gift for the attack, his magnificent tactical eye, and his prowess as an opening innovator. Come, watch, learn and be entertained! The show starts Thursday night at 9 p.m. ET. (Directions for watching - it's free - are here.)

I mentioned them during the show last night, but I'm happy to give them credit a second time for their help. So, thanks to Roman Dzindzhichashvili for taking a few minutes to answer some questions I had about his game with Tseshkovky, and thanks to Brian Karen for setting it up. My understanding of that game, especially in the opening and early middle game, was greatly enhanced as a result of that conversation, and the show was better as a result.

Thanks again!