The Chess Mind

In the greatest series of matches in chess history, the most dramatic was probably the fourth between Garry Kasparov and Anatoly Karpov. Played in Seville, Spain in 1987, Karpov took the lead with one game to go by winning in game 23, only to have Kasparov break his heart yet again by winning the final game. The result was a pity for Karpov, of course; not only for the obvious reason, but because he had the most interesting theoretical contributions and the match initiative much of the way. While history only remembers the winners (or in this case, the "draw-er" who kept the title, Karpov's best efforts in the match are worth another look.

One such effort was his win in game 16. The players had a vigorous battle in the English in that match, and in the variation 1.c4 e5 2.Nc3 Nf6 3.Nf3 Nc6 4.g3 Bb4 5.Bg2 0-0 6.0-0 in particular. Karpov won with Black in game 2 and Kasparov avenging the defeat in game 4, and afterwards one side or the other avoided this position until game 16. In the earlier games Karpov played 6...e4, but now he chose 6...Re8 - a variation that continues to be tested at the highest levels to this day. The game quickly grew tense, with both sides enjoying their trumps: White a mobile pawn center and the bishop pair, Black the better pawn structure and strong blockading knights. On this occasion, Karpov handled the strategic complications better and won - and this despite the painful memories of game 16s past.

We'll say more about that, and much more about the game itself, when we present it on the Playchess server this Wednesday night at 9 p.m. ET (= 3 a.m. CET Thursday morning). It's free to watch; just log on to the server at the relevant hour, go to the Broadcasts room, find and select Kasparov-Karpov under the Games tab, and you're good to go.

Hope to see you then, especially as this will be our last show for several weeks. (We aim to resume regular service on September 17.)

I was informed yesterday that the next time ChessBase reboots the Playchess server, the archived shows will once again be available. As it is now, they're all in the correct directory (unfortunately, still with my last name uncapitalized), and the last two shows are currently available. (They cost a couple of ducats each to watch; a ducat runs 1/10 of a Euro or roughly $.15 in American money, so watching these programs won't exactly break the bank.)

For those who haven't watched any of the shows there, what you do (after purchasing some ducats from ChessBase) is this: log on to the Playchess server and work your way in the Rooms list through to the following: Audio/Video Training on Demand - Radio ChessBase - Great Games with Dennis monokroussos [sic]. Then find the game you want to watch under the Games tab, double-click on it, and respond to the request to chip in a couple of ducats once the prompt comes. It's not quite as simple as watching the ChessVideos shows, but it's not difficult.

The 2009 Arctic Chess Challenge recently finished in a four-way tie for first, and one of the four winners was 14-year-old American IM Ray Robson. In the process he achieved his first grandmaster norm, and it is games like the one we'll examine this week that show his considerable promise. His game with GM Stig Allan Rasmussen was a success in every way.

First of all, it looks like a triumph of preparation. Rasmussen played an idea that had not been seen in practice, though it had been advocated in a recent, important theoretical work. The result? No problem: Robson found an interesting idea that wasn't discussed in that work, and it turned out that he was not the surprisee but the surpriser. We'll see if White's idea can be rehabilitated, but in the game Rasmussen made a series of natural moves, only to be hit by a truly brilliant idea that won Black the game.

The game is thus of theoretical significance, attractive, and offers an unusual concept we can add to our general understanding of the game. Want more details? You'll have to tune in! It's easy: just log on to the Playchess server at 9 p.m. ET Wednesday night (that's 3 a.m. Thursday morning, CET), go to the Broadcasts room and find Rasmussen-Robson in the games list. It's free, and that's all there is to it. Hope to see you then!

I noticed when ftp'ing tonight's show to the Playchess server that all the games had been moved to the "Great Games with Dennis monokroussos" [sic] directory, which looks like a big step in the right direction. To my surprise, when I tried logging on to that directory none of the games appeared, except the one I presented today. So while most of the shows are apparently unavailable, you can at least watch tonight's.

The Grünfeld Defense is a very popular chess opening, and with good reason. It's fundamentally sound, yet dynamic, which means that Black gets fairly good winning chances without doing anything too insane.

This is not to say that there are no risks, of course. White typically enjoys a big center, and one of the main ways in which he can use it is to provide cover for his pieces as he builds up a kingside attack. Black will often gain counterplay on the queenside and against his opponent's center, and then the race is on. On this occasion, in our game for this week, it's the attacker who wins the race.

More specifically, we'll examine the game Alexander Riazantsev - Valeri Yandemirov, played in an open tournament in Moscow last year. Yandemirov chose a sideline he had used before, with success, but Riazantsev found a different way to pursue the attack. With the committal move 15.e5, White put all his eggs in one basket: mate or else be positionally lost. After Black's reply, White was desperately weak on the queenside and on the light squares, but none of that would matter if he could deliver mate. You already know what happened, of course, but seeing the "how" of it is well worth watching - especially because it's an attacking idea you can use in your own games.

So: To watch the show live, log on to the Playchess.com server at 9 p.m. ET tonight (Wednesday night)/3 a.m. CET Thursday morning, go to the Broadcast room and click on Riazantsev-Yandemirov in the Games tab. It's free to watch, and a good time will be had by all.