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Charming Grandmaster Alexandra Kosteniuk, winner of numerous European and world girls' championship titles, invites you to join her on an exciting trip to the magical world of chess. This book will help complete novices get started and also aid more experienced players in their quest for improvement. Autobiographical accounts by Alexandra and her family are presented alongside of the instructional materials.
The narrative is supplemented with articles by Grandmaster Evgeny Sveshnikov, Grandmaster Aleksey Korotylev, and Russian National Master Evgeny Bebchuk.
The author is very eager to hear readers' thoughts about this book. Please e-mail your comments to Kosteniuk @yahoo.com
No part of this book may be reproduced in electronic, printed or any other form without prior written consent of the author.
How I Became a Grandmaster at 14
Compiled by V. Barskiy Original Russian text edited by E. Kopeleva Cover design by D. Levin Page layout by 0. Sklyar Translated from Russian by V. Rubinchik English text edited by F. Del Rosario
Photographs featured in this book were provided by B. Dolmatovsky, K. Kosteniuk, R. Knezevich, 0. Feshina, V. Barskiy, 0. Schweizer, the archive of "64 Chess Review" magazine, and the Kosteniuk family archive.
ISBN 5-8293-0043-5
©Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2001 © liJJlaTeJibCTBo"MIKC", 2001 Evgeny BEBCHUK Rector of the Moscow Chess Academy Chess master
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When the number of years My experiences with fe male you've spent on this earth be chessplayers, however, are not as comes greater than the number broad. Ever since my childhood, of years you're <
* Throughout this book, Alexandra Kosteniuk is called Alexandra, Sasha and Sa shenka. Alexandra is her full name, Sasha is an informal name, and Sashenka is a pet name. This is similar to referring to a person as Stephen, Steve and Stevie. How I Became a Grandmaster at 14
players, I've met more that were young players of today remem beautiful and charming, magnif ber all of the theory by heart. icent and even insanely astound 2.d4 d5 3.e5 it.f5 4.l2Je2 e6 ing (I hope they won't take of 5.lbg3 it.g6 6.h4 h5 7 .it.e2 it.e7 fe nse to my words!) than those 8.it.xh5 i.xh5 9.l2Jxh5 g6 lO.ltJf4 who were endowed with a chess Rxh4 ll.Rxh4 it.xh4 12.'ii'd3 talent from above, so to speak. The moves were relatively And that is why when I was first well-known and understandable introduced to the 9-year-old until this point, so the game went Sashenka, who looked so cozy, quickly. Before making her 12'h so homely if you will, I did not move, the girl thought fo r a bit completely understand why I and then fo und the most precise should think her to be a great reply. Now I can't play 12... it.g5 player. My first impression was because of 13.lbxe6! But does she also influenced by her fa ther who know that this position was an stood nearby, trying to hide his alyzed many years ago by the nervousness without much suc great Nimzovich? I pretend to cess. And a couple of years lat ponder the position and then er, I was even surprised to find commit a <
become a candidate master at The reply came in an instant . . . such a young age. After several 13.g3 months had passed, I got an Now I am going to show her opportunity to play her in blitz. that she's caught in a trap. How What' opening should an old will she handle it?! and experienced - even if age worn - master choose against a a b c d e f g h girl who hasn't even reached the age of 12? And so we began ... 7 6 A. KOSTENIUK - Y. BEBCHUK Moscow 1996
Nimzowitsch Defense BOO 4 l.e4 l2Jc6! 3 3 This is not what I usually play, 2 but I needed to somehow take 1 my opponent out of book. The a b c d e f g h Is not Sashenka Simply a Marvel? 5
13... �f5 ! 14.gxh4 l2Jfxd4 utes, and ended up losing after 15.l2Ja3 'iixh4 the natural 17.�e3. I offe red a So far, I've spent less than a draw, and immediately realized minute, while Sashenka has used that she would not have taken up twice that time� it had she had more time left 16.1ih3 'ii'g5!? on the clock. Sashenka has a strong character! But most in a b c d e f g h terestingly, she didn't see the 8 .X • 8 winning 20 ... l2Jb3!! in the line 7 '' ' 7 that I mentioned earlier, but 6 � ' ' 6 instead saw 20 ... l2Jf3!! as win 5 ·� if 5 ning fo r Black. 4 � l2J 4 I apologize to the less <
even blatantly chuckled at the Sashenka will soon turn 17 - parent who had <
• Calling Russians by their first and middle names is the most formal way of addressing them. The English equivalent of Mikhail lvanovich Chigorin would be Mr. Mikhail Tchigorin. Vladimir BARSKIY International Master
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In Zamoskvorechye, a central one. She regularly occupies one part of Moscow that once used of the top boards, so it is very to be occupied by merchants, convenient (and interesting!) to there is a cramped little base observe her games. ment that has made a big name Alexandra's opponent is an fo r itself in the chess world, both experienced master, who has within and fa r beyond the Rus long ago irreversibly changed his sian borders. For where else can focus to speed chess. He has an one observe Grandmasters Alex excellent awareness of all the ander Morozevich, Sergei tricks of the <
It is precisely due to their characters in this unique book. dad 's efforts that the Kosteniuk As fa r as we know, this is the sisters grew fo nd of chess and to first time ever that a grandmas one degree or another made the ter (and especially such a young game their lifelong companion. and pretty grandmaster!) offe rs Back when Konstantin was a you to make a journey to her young boy, he fe ll in love with childhood, and then helps you the magical world of wooden in your quest for chess improve pieces and later succeeded in ment by retracing her steps from passing this passion on to his the «chess sandbox» to the daughters. And then he became present day. Garry Kasparov, a coach, an agent, a secretary, a while pondering whether it was webmaster ... For brevity's sake, worthwhile to begin a work of let's just say he became an irre an autobiographical nature at placeable helper and advisor to the age of 24, wrote the fo llow grandmaster Kosteniuk. At ing: << Of course, with age we times, the girls' young and love become more objective, and ly mother Natalie, a pedagogue more cautious with our judge both by profession and by call ment. But do we become more ing, also appears on the chess sincere? I think that age has a <
*Ksyusha is an informal way to call Oksana. Compiler's Introduction dra has no difficulty recalling and mother-pedagogue Natalie, (she simply hasn't lived long and help your child become a enough to fo rget!) what her own grandmaster! reaction to the <
\][;]� lll}f:l(g[](Sf:l[1 W®lllC1[!) ®rJ It only opens its doors to the how much more there still is to person who loves this mysteri discover. Perhaps, abilities of the ous game, and fo r some part of human mind are limited, but it's her life fu lly devotes herself to hard fo r me to accept that. The the service of Caissa, the capri mountain climber who reaches cious goddess of chess. a new height gets to see a more For me, chess is more than scintillating view of the sur just a game or a sport. It is a roundings, and achieves an en part of my life with its own in lightened understanding of mis terchanging light and dark mo takes he made and the dangers ments, joys and fa ilures, wins and he exposed himself to; I am sim losses. I fe el very much indebt ilarly charmed by the magical ed to this game, despite the nu ascension up the mountain of merous sacrifices that I had to chess mastery, and strive to reach make fo r its sake. Believe me, the sun and stars without stop what I received from chess has ping on the way. proven to be well worth what I've So, what helps this unceasing given up, and I am hardly done upward climb? The answer is receiving! simple - a goal. A goal is some Life goes on, and my views thing that everyone should have on life change, but chess con in life. Whether it will ever be tinues to become more and more achieved is not as important: fo r prominent in my inner world. a human, a goal setves as an eter With every new year and with nal motivator that fo rces her to every new accomplishment, I go fu rther and fu rther. come to a deeper understanding I was lucky: when I began of how truly little I know and studying chess, I had a helper The Magical Wo rld of Chess and teacher who showed me the competitive mindset that did not way into the black-and-white tolerate (and still doesn't really kingdom. Dad taught me how tolerate) losses, or even a thought to play just before I turned 5. I about the possibility of someone can't say that the idea of study being better than me. ing appealed to me from the very I hope, dear readers, that this start. At first, I only did what I book will help you find the short was told to do. Only later, quite est path to the shining peaks of recently in fact, did I begin to the chess kingdom; and with you reach fo r the top on my own, by my side, I will gladly recall trying to improve with every step my first steps along the 64 of my chess career. And back squares as well as my recent bat then, perhaps, I was ruled by my tles against titled opponents . • & �®Ulr;]C!J[]]!jlr;]� ® [])[])®[ll r;]C!J[]] f]r;]tf << And now fo r best individual The 33rd World Chess Olym results by boards... The silver piad was a dream of mine that medal fo r the second board goes was destined to come true. to Alexandra Kosteniuk.>> The Though things hardly looked announcer's voice called out my very good fo r me at the begin name. < [!)®)J®C!J �0�[] U!J®\!7[][]0� I had caught the closing cere Chuguyev, in which my father's mony of the 33rd Olympiad on military garrison was located. videotape. From time to time, Grandpa, my father's father, was we'll watch this solemn event also an officer, and also a spe and experience it as though it cialist in weapon technology, but was still unfolding, impatiently he served in the artillery rather anticipating that unforgettably than aviation. Grandpa had joyous moment when the an- fo ught in the Great Patriotic War nouncer calls out Alexandra's from the beginning to the very name and the entire square ex end, and died two years afterthe plodes with applause. And some victory. Ukraine was struck with times, watching the tape makes a famine in 1947, and he didn't my mind drift to images from a survive it. His widow, my grand movie I saw in my childhood: mother, traded his war medals the band playing the national fo r bread, and saved her chil anthem of our great Motherland, dren from starvation that way. the red flag slowly rising, and My mother had amazing pride radiating from the gleam mathematical abilities, she would ing faces of the legendary Soviet often grasp very difficult con grandmasters that have just be cepts before they were even com come Olympic champions ... pletely explained to her.. Perhaps, I was born in a fa mily of a I had inherited some of that tal military officer, a technician of ent. In my youth and childhood, aviation weaponry. In Ukraine, I most of all enjoyed assembling there is a major industrial city and inventing various things. And called Kharkov, and in the vi living in the military camp, I had cinity, there's a small town called more opportunities to do that Do Yo u Like Movies than other kids who lived in cit special assignment to Aden, the ies and villages. I made fowling capital of Southern Yemen. And pieces and other types of guns. I was taken to a village in the Procuring bullets and cartridge suburbs of Vinnitsa (this is also was not difficult either, and the in Ukraine, not too fa r from aviation labs always had numer Kharkov) to live with Grand ous tubes, and devices with phos ma, my father's mom. Back phorus. Conditions for invent then, Southern Yemen was at ing were indeed excellent, and I war with Northern Yemen, and think that the availability of a curiously, there were Soviet < I could do a maximum of fo ur At the military college, my pull-ups, and on the entrance love fo r inventing didn't cease, test, I ran a kilometer in four and even continued to develop. minutes and fo ur seconds. But in In my third year of studies, I the military college, everyone had applied to get a patent for my to meet specific standards, and first invention. Alas, it turned out the rules stated very explicitly: if that I << reinvented the wheel>>, you don't pass, you don't go on only three or fo ur years ago the vacation. And that's why only six French had already copyrighted months later, Officer Cadet Ko the same idea. But there was no steniuk ran a kilometer in 3 min way that I could have known utes and 15 seconds (wearing 3- that, so I wasn't too disappoint kilogram boots made of juft, not ed. I finished my studies with tennis shoes like during the en perfect grades, graduating with trance test). And on the highbar, a secondary education and the he was able to do 15 - no, not rank of Lieutenant. The salaries just regular pull-ups; he pulled his of military officers were gener legs up and over the bar and even ally high, and after only two did 360 degree swings. That fe el years, you could receive the rank ing of flying through the air is of Senior Lieutenant and enroll completely incomparable to any into the Academy to continue thing else! your studies. littk�first Sosha "chestboard" Do Yo u Like Movies The commandant of the Perm Irkutsk. He accidentally noticed Military college General Boris me and ordered: Ivanovich Rozhkov wanted me < Nobody did anything, no one ways find amateurs going at it could care less about anything, over the chessboard. There I and complete chaos was every fo und an opponent fo r Alex where. At that point, my work andra's training games: a young required so little that skipping boy of about 10 years old who it would have made very little was a little better than she. We difference. It was enough to just studied very hard all summer, show up, give any kind of in and finally started to beat him struction and leave after din with ease in the fall. That sum ner. And this utter disorder still mer, we only part with the continues to be the norm in our board and pieces when I had country, and in the military too. to go to work. Working with Alexandra was From the very first lessons, I very interesting, but agonizing directed Alexandra's attention to questions were always in the the visualization of the board. I back of my head. What if I explained the names of the don't succeed? What if Alex squares: on one side there's a andra doesn't achieve any letter, on the other side a num thing? ber. < Perhaps, she was not too in master and... as a beginning chess terested in studies at first, as coach that passes her knowledge she seemed to respond my ex to students on the Internet Chess periments with some caution. Club! (www.chessclub.com) But I was a person whose words We are confident that by Sasha valued very highly, and closely fo llowing our recommen she heroically withstood the dations, you will be able to sig rigorous lessons. And I in turn nificantly elevate your level of tried hard to create the great chess understanding, and also est variety of exercises that I confidently teach this game to a could. child, even if she or he is not But I'll let Alexandra describe yet familiar with the ABCs of this her first steps herself. For now game. she can evaluate my methods And so, let's begin our jour from three different perspectives: ney, dear readers! We'll follow as a student that reached first Alexandra's first steps on her category strength*, as a Grand- road to a grandmaster title. *While the strength of professional chessplayers from all countries of the world is measured by one single international rating system called the ELO, the way of measuring the skills of beginner and intermediate players varies from nation to nation. In Russia, all untitled tournament players are divided into five categories. The fifth category is the lowest and includes beginners whose ratings in the United States would roughly range from 600 to 1100. The first category is the strongest and includes players whose US ratings would range from about 1800 to as high as 2100. Alexandra KOSTENIUK 0 W!i.'liiJfl 11® (!}® fll®U!J� !i.'liiJ[!) 01JC!)[!) l7 �fll�00 W[]flfll [!)fi.'l[!) For as long as I can remem that time. As I worked on this ber myself, I was always playing book, I embarked on a kind of chess. I was told that we were an excursion to my childhood. going to study and we began I think that I was a pretty so studying. I never argued with cial and lively child. I liked go this, fo r chess never made me ing to kindergarten and playing fe el uncomfortable. I never saw with other kids. I remember how chess as a toy either, it was al we once had a push-cycle relay ways a game fo r me. race there. I competed better Memory retains certain than everyone else, (a very re chunks of our experiences. I re vealing side note! V.B.) but our member that when I was 5 years team still lost. I was literally hys old, I went to the park to play terical, I cried very bitterly, how chess. I played some boy who could we have ever finished sec always had a ball with him; ond?!!! Perhaps, this is how my sometimes I beat him, other competitive character was man times he beat me. Dad and I ifesting? I don't know. Mom was studied chess quite a lot, certain calming me down fo r a very long lessons I still remember vecy well, time, but it wasn't helping - I while others, especially those I was still very disappointed. I just dido 't have to spend too much wanted to be the best at every time on, are less ingrained in my thing. memory. But it's amazing: Perhaps, because of my max whenever Dad reminds me of imalism, I also don't like draws some long-forgotten example or in chess. I may lose, but at least some key phrase, I start to re I'll know that I lost in a fair fi ght. member many other details from In order to play well, one must I Wa nt to Go Home and Study Chess with Dad possess a strong will and char what else was there to do? I be acter. You have to work on de gan to bug everyone, begging veloping those qualities, fo r you them to play me in chess. can not achieve much in life Grandpa could play a little bit, without them. Sometimes you but I beat him. That wasn't in want to go outside, but you need teresting. Others just shooed me to keep on studying. away, and finally I broke into I've played chess since very tears and exclaimed: < Grandma, my mother's mom. 3 3 There we went to the garden and 2 12 ate some tasty berries. We went 1 1 to a cabin, then visited all the a b c d e f g h relatives, that was great too. But How I Became a Grandmaster at 14 The chessboard is a large edge of the board facing us are square divided into smaller called ranks. The squares of the equally-sized squares with alter same color that touch in the nating dark and light shading. comers also fo rm straight lines, What's the total number of which are called diagonals. The squares on a chessboard? 64. files are labeled with letters a, b, How many light ones, and how c, d, e, f, g and h. And the ranks many dark ones? That's right, 32 are labeled with numbers: first, of each. And an illustration de second, third, etc., until we reach picting the board (whether with the eighth rank. or without chess pieces) in a a b c d e f g h book is called a diagram. 8 8 When you place a chessboard 7 7 in front of you, the square in the lower left-hand corner should 6 6 5th rank always be dark. Dark squares al 5 5 � � ternate with light ones to fo rm 4 � �I 4 � straight lines, each of them eight 3 3rd rank � 3 1 squares long. The vertical lines 2 2 going away from us are called 1 1 fl les, and the lines parallel to the a b c d e f g h you'vefinished ploying, the with After goover games your coach. Abide by thisnde, ll1ld good resultswiU fo Uow! I Wa nt to Go Home and Study Chess with Dad 29 Every square on the chess like how Snow White played board also has a unique name: chess against the seven dwarves, fo r example, the square located a child's thoughts can wander off on the intersection of the c-file in a completely wrong direction. and the 5th rank is called c5 and From the very first lesson, you so on. Can you find g7, d4, and should try to visualize the board b8 on your own? What color are blindfo lded: what's the color of they? a particular square, which squares are located next to each a b e f c d g h other, and so on. Of course, I 8 8 b8 c8 d8 e8 f8 g8 h8 8 didn't memorize everything in 7 a7 b7 c7 d7 e7 f7 g7 b7 7 stantaneously, but Dad contin 6 6 b6 c6 d6 e6 f6 g6 h6 6 uously quizzed me before each 5 5 b5 c5 d5 e5 f5 g5 h5 5 lesson: << What color is h3? How 4 4 b4 c4 d4 e4 f4 g4 h4 4 about d5? And f8?>> He even 3 3 b3 c3 d3 e3 f3 g3 h3 3 designed the following game to 2 a2 b2 c2 d2 e2 f2 g2 b2 2 help me learn: he wrote all the names of squares from a 1 to h8 1 at bl cl dl el fl gl hl 1 on index cards, gave me one a b c -a e f g h minute on the clock, showed me Of course, all children love one of the cards, and then start hearing stories, and I did too ed my time. After I answered and when I was 5 years old. (Even pressed the clock, he showed me today, I 'II still gladly listen to a new card and started my clock something fu n and interesting!) again. I had to answer all 64 Chess instruction manuals fo r questions correctly in just one youngsters often offer captivating minute. If I got even one wrong, and richly illustrated tales to their I lost the game; if my time ran readers. But Dad tried to avoid out, I lost as well. Sounds harsh? these colorfu l narratives as much It certainly is, but such are the as possible when he taught me laws of chess: they don't fo rgive chess. Recently, I asked him why. sluggishness or mistakes. He explained that learning new A real chessplayer should vi and abstract material is already a sualize the board with utmost very hard task fo r such a young precision, with an eye so sensi person, and if you < a b c d e f g h but only along the diagonals. If 8 8 the bishop is located on a light 7 7 square, it will never be able to 6 /-!- � s 1 �� � · move to any of the dark squares, 5 � � 5 and vice versa. This is why chess 4 i 4 players often use the terms < 2 7 when referring to bishops. � Unlike the king that can only 1 1 a b c d e f g h move one square at a time, the bishop can move as far as it wants If the white king is on e2, and to as long as its path is not ob the black pawn on e4, can the king structed by other pieces. It can capture the enemy piece? No, not move one, two, or three squares right away. The king would first at one time; the longest trip it have to come closer, (for exam can ever make is seven squares, ple, to e3) and take the pawn only from al to h8, or from hl to a8. on the fo llowing move. And what squares does the king need to go a b c d e f g h through to capture the pawn ifthe 8 8 fo rmer is on c8 and the latter on 7 7 b5? How about when the king is 6 on g6, and the pawn is on h5? 5 Try to solve the fo llowing prob 4 4 lem without looking at the board. 3 The white king is on f5 , and the 2 2 black is on g6. squ pawn Are these 1 1 ares adjacent to one another? Can a b c d e f g h the king capture the pawn? Even when there is no chessboard aro Incidentally, the a8-hl and und, you should assign similar prob h8-al diagonals are termed << long lems to the child (or to yourselfl) diagonals>> because they both continuously throughout the day. consist of eight squares. And which diagonal is the shortest? LESSON 3. THE BISHOP There are four of them: a2-b 1, The bishop is a linear piece that a7-b8, h2-gl, and g8-h7. They moves fo rwards and backwards, are all only two squares long. How I Became a Grandmaster at 14 Let's assume that our bishop and f3. How can our bishop cap is on d4, how can it get to b8? It ture all of these pawns? can get to its destination in two a b c d e f g h moves, either through d4-a7-b8 8 or through d4-e5-b8. 7 a b c d e f h g 6 6 r ' 1: 8 � 8 5 t5 7 ji 7 4 ..t '\. 4 6 6 3 3 5 5 II1 4 4 �I i� 3 3 a b c d e f g h 2 2 It should first take ffi, then h4, 1 and then g3. But the pawn on f3 a b c d e f g h can never be captured because Our next challenge is called f3 is a light square, and our bish < The Kosteniuk sisters get ready to start their games, Moscow, 2000 Dad is always the best helper! Alexandra at the Eiffel To wer, 1995 Russia 's Juniors at the Wo rld Quick Chess Championships. From left to right: Johann Duhin, Pavel Anisimov, delegation heaCJ Konstantin Kosteniuk with Oksana and Alexandra, Paris, 199� "Hmm ' Grandmaster Peter Svid/er's game looks interesting!" Alexandra plays in a short match against Vasiliy lvanchuk at the "Hussar fr om Riga" chess club in Moscow, 1996 First tournament game against the great Maya Chiburdanidze, Shenyang, China, 2000 Th e happy cacti of Minorca, Spain, 1996 Alexandra gives a joint simul with Va siliy Smys/ov, Moscow, 1997 Alexandra at the XXXIII International Chess Olympiad, Elista, 1998 Alexandra with president of FIDE and Kalmykiya Kirsan 1/yumzhinov Elista is like a second home! (Alexandra at the monument of Russia 's famous chess-playing literary character Ostap Bender) "I just love posing tor the camera!" Switzerland, 2000 Yugoslavian journalist Radko Knezevich (second from the left) wa tches Alexandra 's game against Honorary Trainer of Russia Abram Hasin, Moscow, 1997 Alexandra plays two-time USSR Champion Lev Psakhis, Isle of Man, 1999 Flo wers look especially pretty in a Grandmaster's hands! I Wa nt to Go Home and Study Chess with Dad 33 fo llowing position: the white bish Now we have a question that op is on b 1, white pawns are on you should answer without look d3, d5 and f5 , and black pawns ing at the chessboard: if the bish are on c2, a4, e4, and h5. Captur op is on c3, can it get to e 1 in ing our own pieces is not allowed, one move? so we'll have to go around them. These types of assignments are In order to complete all captures, very easy to create, and it's cru our bishop will have to embark on cial to give them to the child a long trip: bl-c2-a4-e8-h5-f3-e4. throughout the day, not only a b c d e f g h during the chess lessons. This will 8 8 be helpful also because it devel 7 7 ops spatial imagination. 6 6 5 � � 5 LESSON 4. THE ROOK 4 ' 4 The rook is a very powerful 3 � 3 " •, / piece. It moves and captures 2 2 only along ranks and files (that 1 � 1 is, straight lines), fo rwards and a b c d e f g h backwards, to the left and to 3-4965 34 How I Became a Grandmaster at 14 the right, to any number of 1) :e3-a3-a5-b5-g5-h5-h4- squares at one time as long as e4-e6-e7 its path is not obstructed by 2) :e3-e6-e7-e5-b5-g5-h5- other pieces. h4-h3-a3 a b c d e f g h The Labyrinth 8 8 Don't fo rget that you can only 7 7 capture enemy pawns, and have 6 6 to go around your own. 5 5 a b c d e f h 4 4 g 8 8 3 3 --- � ....< - --�')11 7 =-+i 7 ! 6 � � 6 5 5 a � b c d e f h � '1 g � � 1 +-i+.i 4 � · � · 4 3 : � 3 The Chain 2 t J 2 Your assignment is to find a 1 1 way to capture all the pawns, just a b c d e f g h like in the last lesson. But this time, you must do it with the Here is one possible solution: rook rather than the bishop. :e3-b3-b5-b7 -c7 -f7-f6-f 5-e5- g5-f5 -f4 -f5 -d5-d2-h2-h4. a b c d e f g h 8 8 7 7 LESSON 5. THE QUEEN 6 t 6 The queen is the strongest 5 · piece on the chessboard, it 4 r�• t � �� : moves and captures like the 3 • : 3 bishop and rook put together - 2 2 vertically, horizontally, and di agonally. Like the rook and 1 1 a b c d e f g h bishop, it can move to any num ber of squares at one time as Here are two out of the nu- long as its path is not obstruct- merous possible solutions: ed by other pieces. I Wa nt to Go Home and Study Chess with Dad a b c d e f g h The queen's obstacles are not 8 8 I insurmountable, one way to ac 7 7 complish the given task is this: 6 6 �g4-e2-c2-d3-c4-c6-c7-d6-f6-g6. 5 5 LESSON 6. THE PAWN 4 �c------> 4 3 3 The pawn is the weakest of all 2 2 chess pieces, but it's very crafty. While other pieces can all move 1 1 a b c d e f g h fo twards and backwards, to the left The Chain and to the right, the pawn can only a b c d e f g h move fo rward vertically, and is never 8 8 allowed to tum back. Only when 7 7 moving from its starting position (in 6 6 the beginning of the game, White 5 5 pawns are lined up on the second rank, while Black ones are located 4 on the seventh) can a pawn move 3 two squares. And ifthe pawn doesn't 2 take advantage of this opportunity, 1 by advancing only one square in its a b c d e f h g fl l'St move, then its < 8 8 6 � 6 7 7 5 � 5 6 6 4 5 5 3 4 4 2 3 3 1 a b c d e f g h 2 2 1 1 Let us look at all of the legal a b c d e f g h squares that each of the white How I Became a Grandmaster at 14 pawns can go to. Here are all the possible pawn << a2)> - a3, a4. captures: < pawn or piece can be captured if 3 3 it's located diagonally one square 2 �l '-4� I 2 ahead of our pawn. 1 1 a b c d e f g h a c d e f h b g & 8 7 7 If our pawn moves to e3, then the Black pawn can capture it 6 ji 6 if it so chooses. But since pawns 5 5 can move two squares from their 4 4 original spot, our pawn can also 3 • 3 1 go to e4, where it seems to be 2 � 2 safe. However, because our 1 _j1 pawn passes through e3, a a b c d e f g h I Want to Go Home and Study Chess with Dad square that is attacked by gins to celebrate because it Black's pawn, our opponent has can now turn into any piece the option - but only on the of the same color! Most of next move! - to take our pawn ten, pawns turn into queens in the same way she'd take it (you 'II sometimes hear chess had it been on e3. Upon com players talk of << queening>> pletion of this < 3 3 and ends with just two kings, 2 2 there is never a third . 1 1 a b c d e f g h a b c d e f g h 8 . a I But if our opponent doesn't 7 88 • 7 take our pawn en passant on 6 6 the very next move, she'll nev 5 5 er be able to take it again. The 4 4 d4-pawn will have to wait un 3 3 til White moves her pawn 2 ii i 2 from c2 to c4, and then cap 1 1 ture en pass ant immediately, a b c d e f g h without hesitating this time around! b7-b8'ti' And what happens when a f7-f8l:t pawn makes it to the very last g7-g8� rank (first rank fo r Black, h2-hl� eighth rank fo r White)? The e2-e 1 'if persistent fo ot soldier then be- d2-dl'ti' 38 How I Became a Grandmaster at 14 LESSON 7. From a light square, the knight THE KNIGHT can only move onto a dark square, then it has to move back While other knights gained to a light square on its next turn, world renown through their and so on. It is neither like a honest and cordial ways, the bishop nor a rook, but something chess knight is most known for in between. It's also unique in its trickiness. All other pieces - that its path can not be obstruct kings, queens, rooks, bishops ed by other pieces, fo r it can sim and even pawns - move only ply < a b c d e f g h a b c d e f g h 8 8 8 8 7 1 7 7 7 6 6 6 6 5 5 5 5 4 4 4 i i 4 3 i 3 3 i i 3 2 i 2 2 tLJ 2 1 tLJ 1 1 j_ j_ 1 a b c d e f g h a b c d e f g h On c I , the number increases The knight is most powerful , to four: a2, b3, e2, and d3. however, when it is at the very center. We will need the entire a b c d e f g h set of black pawns to show all of 8 8 the knight's possible captures 7 7 from d4: b3, b5, c2, c6, e6, e2, 6 6 f5 , and f3. Notice how the pawns 5 5 around the knight look like a 4 4 pretty flower with eight petals! 3 i i 3 a b c d e f g h 2 i i 2 8 8 1 tLJ 1 7 7 a b c d e f g h 6 i i 6 5 5 If we continue to move the i i 4 4 knight along the first rank to the tLJ 3 h-file, the eighth rank and fi 3 i i 1 nally the a-file, we will see that 2 i i 2 the maximum number of 1 1 squares that a knight can cover a b c d e f g h from the edge of the board is Now try the fo llowing exer fo ur. Let us now move the cises without looking at the knight towards the center. From board. List the moves that the e2, fo r example, the knight can knight will need to make in or go to six squares: cl, c3, d4, f4 , der to travel from al to cl. How g3, and gl. about from al to hl? How I Became a Grandmaster at 14 LESSON 8. The bishops and knights are RELATIVE VALUE called << minor pieces)> and the OF PIECES. NOTATION rooks and queens are some times referred to as << major Now that we've learned the pieces.)> When both you and way all pieces move, it's both your opponent lose some of interesting and important to your army in a series of moves, compare them in strength. Oth this series is called a trade. erwise, we'll never know wheth When you lose fewer relative er it's beneficial fo r us, fo r ex value points in a trade, you're ample, to let our opponent take said to acquire a material ad our queen in exchange fo r us vantage. For instance, if you taking his bishop and knight, or trade your bishop or knight fo r whether it's worth to lose three your opponent's rook, you are of our pawns in order to win said to have << won the ex his rook. A pawn is the accept change)>.A rook is worth about ed unit fo r measuring relative the same as a minor piece and value of all chess pieces. As we two pawns, while two minor already mentioned, the pawn is pieces are stronger than a rook. the weakest of all pieces, it The queen's strength is about moves very slowly and only in the same as that of a rook, a one direction. Of course, at the bishop and a pawn put togeth end of its path, the humblest of er, but two rooks are generally pawns can turn into a beautiful stronger than a queen. queen, but only very few pawns In games between beginners, will ever experience such tri the queen is often so powerful umph. that it can annihilate half the According to theory that's army of an inexperienced lead been tested over millions of er. As soon as you stop giving games, the bishop and knight are the queen more respect than it both worth around three pawns, truly deserves, you will have the rook is worth five, and the made a big step in your chess queen is worth nine. The king development. But let's not get does not have a relative value ahead of ourselves. because it plays a very special Chess pieces speak their own role in chess, which we will speak unique language that is called about in the next chapter. chess notation. Many thousands I Wa nt to Go Home and Study Chesswith Dad of master games from the past And how should you write or and present are recorded in this notate the pieces' moves? You language, and this lets us study should write down the fo llowing the priceless legacy of our pre fo ur things in this specific or decessors. We already know the der: move number, the abbrevi names of all 64 squares, and the ated name of the piece, its ori names of pieces are abbreviated gin, and its destination. Some in the fo llowing way: times, the piece's origin is King - K-� omitted. For example, if the king Queen - Q - 'if moves from e 1 to e2, we would Rook - R-: write << 1.�e l -e2>> or <<1. Black has to get out of check! a b c d e f g h A king that's in check has 8 • • 8 three options: 7 iV 7 1.) It can move << out of 6l � � 6 check.>> (For example, by rJ;e7 5 5 or a b c d e f g h 8 • • 8 T. VA SILEVICH - A. KO STENIUK 7 � � 7 Yugoslavia 2000 6 a b c d e f g h ture the << kamikaze» queen. I Wa nt to Go Home and Study Chess with Dad Again, a very disappointing though, has a resource in her draw .. But I was taught a good arsenal that is truly unique and . lesson: even in positions where amaztng. you have many more pieces than I.i.gl!1i'g4+ IO.cli>h2 1fxf3. your opponent, you still have to If Black chooses not to take remain alert! the rook on f3,White sudden In the aforementioned games, ly becomes a more likely fa the side that has no legal moves vorite to win, but after the cap only had a king, but it's quite ture , none of the three white possible fo r a side to be stale pieces (king, bishop, and pawn) mated if it still has pawns or has a legal move. And since the even other pieces. Let 's analyze white king is not in check, the the final moves of the solution game ends in a stalemate and a to a study written by the won draw. derful chess composer Genrikh Kasparian. a b c d e f g h 8 8 G. KASPARIAN, 1949 7 7 6 6 a b c d e f h g 5 5 8 B 4 4 7 7 3 if 3 6 6 2 � � 2 5 5 1 1 4 4 iL 1 a b c d e f g h 3 : a b c d e f g h a draw is automatically declared. We will analyze those in detail a Black is threatening to check bit later, but fo r now we'll just mate in one move by placing her mention that it's impossible to queen on g4. If the white king fo rce checkmate when one side moves back to g2, then Black has a king and two knights can play 1fe4, pinning the rook, against the opponent's lone king fo llowed by cli>g4 and 1fxf3, win if the player with the lone king ning White's rook. White, plays correctly. 46 How I Became a Grandmaster at 1 4 a b c d e f g h if Black mistakenly plays 8 • 8 l ... a b c d e f g h i¥ 7 iV 7 6 � 6 5 !5 4 WI if4 3 3 2 2 1 � 1 a b c d e f g h Here's an exercise. In the fo l lowing position, try to find ev 'Jilt World Champion Vas iliy Smyslov ery legal way to deliver a check plays against Alexandra and other mate in one move, and then talented youngsters in a simul write down all of your answers. I Wa nt to Go Home and Study Chess with Dad a b c d e f g h I. �d2 We5 2. We3 We6 3. 6 6 cl;a8 9.'iib5 (but not 9. 5 5 which would result in a stale 4 4 mate) 9 ...Wa7 IO.Wc6 Wa8 ll.'iib7#. 3 3 2 2 LESSON 11. 1 CHECKMATING a b c d e f g h WITH TWO ROOKS. (LINEAR MATE) 1. 'iib2#. 1. 'iibl#. If both your king and your two 1. jfa5#. rooks are still on the board, while 1. 11a6#. your opponent only has a king, 1. 11a7#. you might as well let your royal And what happens when the piece rest until the end of the enemy king is still in the center? game. The rooks can do a fine Because it obviously won't go to job by themselves! First, you the comer on its own accord, you should decide which corner you must < 2 2 l.l:g4! eMS 2.l:a4 Did you see how well the In this position, it is Black to rooks worked together? With move. She would really love to each move, they took a whole keep the king in the same spot file away from the enemy and skip a turn, but the rules do monarch. And when the king not allow this. Black is fo rced to came too close to one of the retreat her king to the corner of rooks, the latter instantly the board (there are no other transferred itself over to another places to go!). side of the board. The rooks are 1 ... �a8 2.l:c8#. just too fa st, there's no way a In all situations like this, king could ever catch up to where all of one player's legal them! moves only help the opponent, the side that is fo rced to make an unwanted move is said to be LESSON 12. . In zugzwang. CHECKMATING And what if it is White to WITH THE KING move in the same position? It's AND ROOK very important to resist the This mate is somewhat more temptation to check the king difficult to deliver than the two with l.l:.b6+. This would allow previous ones. It's the first time the enemy king to escape to we encounter a concept called the center, and good luck zugzwang, which translated from catching it there! Remember German means < a b c d e f g h White is a waiting move that 8 8 would make it Black's turn . 7 7 For instance, we can play l.�b6 or take the rook to any 6 � 6 square on the c-file (except, 5 5 of course, the c7 or c8 squares 4 4 where the rook can be simply 3 3 captured!). The black king is 2 2 then fo rced to go to the corner, 1 1 which as we analyzed earlier, a b c d e f g h results in our victory. I Wa nt to Go Home and Study Chess with Dad a b c d e f g h a b c d e f g h 8 : 8 8 8 7 7 7 7 6 � 6 6 'it 1 6 5 5 5 • 5 4 4 4 : 4 3 3 3 •3 2 J12 !2 1 11 _j1 a b c d e f g h �l a b c d e f g h The king and rook must 9.l:ld4! (a typical maneuver, work << hand in hand)> when try fo rcing the opponent to make an ing to expel the opponent's unwanted move) 9 ...Wb6 10. king from the center. Observe l:b4+ Wa5 ll.Wc5 I.�e2 We4 2.l:g4+ �5 3. �f3 We5 4.l:e4+ �f5. LESSON 13. CHECKMATING The king can also run in a WITH TWO BISHOPS different direction, but will soon run out of board space: 4 ...�d5 This exercise is similar to 5. �f4 a b c d e f g h 8 8 a b c d e f g h 7 7 8 6 6 7 7 5 5 6 6 4 4 5 �� 5 3 3 4 4 1 2 2 3 3 1 � w� 1 2 2 a b c d e f g h 1 1 f l.ii.b2+ Vasi liy Smyslov looksfor a wayto disrupt thepltms of seven -year oldAlexandra I Wa nt to Go Home and Study Chess with Dad move away from each other. It's Each side has two bishops, two also possible to checkmate the lone knights, two rooks in the cor king with the king, knight and bish ner, and a set of eight pawns, op, but it's much more difficult to one in front of each piece. In do that, it takes about 35 moves. order to avoid confusing the orig There is a rule that checkmating a inal positions of the king and lone king should take no longer queen, try to remember that than 50 moves; if you take more, queens < a b c d e f g h Russian chess circles, a refer a J. * K a ence to << two zeroes>> or «three 7 '·� ' ' 7 zeroeS>> may not be understood 6 ' '' 6 in other parts of the world. < a b c d e f g h castling queenside, but a king 8 .I • X 8 side castle is illegal because the 7 ,,. ' ' 7 g8 square is attacked by the white 6 '' .i, 6 bishop . 5 5 Again, we'd like to remind the readers that our discussion of 4 j_� � 4 legality of castling in the above positions is only valid if neither the two kings nor the fo ur rooks ever left their original positions. a b c d e f g h And now, please answer with In this position, White is in out looking at the board. What check, and therefore cannot square does the white king end castle in either direction. Black up on after a kingside castle? can only castle queenside since What about the black king after a kingside castle would have the a queenside castle? king castling through f8 , a LESSON 15. GENERAL square that is attacked by the OPENING PRINCIPLES white bishop. Now we know that both sides J.a b c d e f g h have large armies of 16 pieces. 8 How should you begin the game, 7 what should you aim fo r? In my 6 6 very early game, like all begin ners, I tried to deliver the infa mous Scholar's Mate. SASHA (5 years old) - NN (A 7 year-old boy) Moscow 1989 a b c d e f g h l.e4 e5 2.-h5. Here White cannot castle A move that sets a trap. The queenside, since d l is under at white queen has attacked the tack by the black bishop on f3. pawn on e5. And if Black now Kingside castling is legal fo r attempts to kick the intruder out White, however. For Black there with 2 ... g6, then White plays 3. is nothing to prevent her from -xe5+. 54 How I Became a Grandmaster at 14 a b c d e f g h Here my opponent exclaimed: 8 -�.tiV•.t�•8 < 5 5 3 ...ltJf 6?? 4.'ilxf7#. 4 4 a b c d e f g h 3 3 8 K .i. u.t K 8 7 2 8888 8882 7 iii �i i :tltJia \t>ialtJ: 6 � � 6 1 1 a b c d e f g h 5 i 5 4 ia 8 4 3 ... 'iie7 4. 'ii'xh8, and White 3 3 wins a rook. As a rule, this trick works only in the games of begin 2 8888 8882 ners, and gives White a great deal 1 :ltJ� � ltJl:[1 of satisfaction, but ifyou start im a b c d e f g h mediately teaching the << correct>> This is what we call the Schol openings (like the Giuoco Piano ar's Mate in its purest fo rm. My or the Ruy Lopez), they never get opponent was able to see my to experience the fe eling of joy, threat, but just could not defend and of certain romanticism from against it. setting up similar traps. So how does one effectively 2 ... ltJc6. counter the fe arsome Scholar's Protecting the pawn on e5. Mate? Here is one well-tested . 3.ii.c4. rectpe. l.e4 e5 2.1Wh5 ltJc6 3.ii.c4 g6! a b c d e f g h 8 K .t .i.�K 8 7 iii i i 7 6 � i 6 5 i if5 4 � 8 4 3 3 28888 8882 1Lrf. ltJJ.. W C}J:t 1 a b c d e f g h I Wo nt to Go Home and Study Chess with Dod 55 4. 'ii'f3. mit that all of your previous ef- White renews the threat of fo rts were in vain. checkmating on f7. By the way, 6 ... a b c d e f g h ginners in a state of complete a K .i.it' .t I. 8 shock. 7 iii ii 7 6 ... 5 ...ltJd4 or 5 ...b5!? instead. After 7 ...q;e6 8.ltJc3 lLlcb4 9.0-0 White has a strong attack a b c d e f g h on the king, but at least Black 8 I A * -*- • 8 gets to keep the extra knight. 7 ii i i 7 8.�xd5+. 6 � 6 Now White is up a pawn and 5 �i 5 continues to attack. When I was 4 j_ 4 5-6 years old, I played a count 3 3 less number of games that fo l- • 28888 8882 lowed this precise move order. 1 liltJi.iVcJt : 1 The fo llowing game has also re a b c d e f g h peated quite a few times. l.e4 e5 2.ltJf3 f6 ? 6.ltJxf7!? Not only does the pawn oc Speaking from a purely ob cupy the square that is usual jective standpoint, 6.d4! is a ly saved fo r the knight, but it stronger move, but the knight also weakens Black's king po sacrifice on f7 usually puts be- sition. I Wa nt to Go Home and Study Chess with Dad 57 a b c d e f g h a b c d e f g h �.t.'it' • .t.�.I 8 8 Z&.t'if .t�•8 7a rl iii ii7 7 iiii i 7 6 i 6 6 6 5 i 5 5 iY i 5 4 8 4 4 i.. 88 4 3 tZJ 3 3 3 2 8888 8882 2 888 8882 1 : tZJJL1V�i.. .: 1 1 : tZJ i.. � l:. 1 a b c d e f g h a b c d e f g h 3.lLlxe5. 9.h4! 'ii'e7 lO. .txg5+, winning The simple 3.d4 is also good. Black's queen. 3 ...fxe5 4. 'ii'b5+ rJi;e7. 4 ...g6 5.'ii'xe5+ rj;f7 6.1i'xh8. And this game of mine looks 5.1ixe5+ a b c d e f g h l.e4 e5 2.f4. 8 .. &.t.'it' .*.&.X 8 This opening is called the 7 i i 7 King 's Gambit. White sacrifices 6 6 the pawn on f4 in order to cre ate a pawn pair (e4 and d4) at 5 5 the center of the board. 4 4 3 3 a b c d e f g h 2 �888 8882 8 .l&.t.•• -*-•.X 8 1 .:tZJ i.. 5 5 6 ...'ifa>g6? 4 4 The only saving move was 3 3 6 ...d5!, allowing the c8-bishop to 2 �888 882 take control over f5 . But even 1 : tZJi.. if Black declines the offe r of a 7. 6 6 own pieces, and try to prevent 5 5 your opponent from developing 4 4 hers.>> With every move, you should tcy to put a new piece into 3 3 2 2 play, starting with knights and ���� �� bishops (as we've seen from our 1 :ttJJL ��ttJ : 1 Scholar's Mate example, moving a b c d e f g h the queen out too early will only 5 ... a b c d e f g h squares and attack them with 8 -�.i. .t�ifa pieces. The best first move is e2- e4. Protected by a strong, well 7 Iii i • i 7 defended pawn center, you can 6 i 6 set your army up in a convenient 5 5 way, and begin an attack on the 4 i¥4 enemy king. Don't keep your king 3 3 in the center fo r too long, do tcy 2 ���� ��2 to castle. By doing this, you'll 1 :ttJi.. cJi>i..ttJ .:tl1 make it safer fo r your king, and a b c d e f g h also bring your rook into play. I Wo nt to Go Home and Study Chess with Dod A. KO STEN IUK - A. CHILOV useful to spend the same time Greece 1998 playing another game. Like we already said, the game l.e4 b6 2.d4 it.b7 3.ltJc3 g6 can be declared a draw because 4.lt.e3 !Lg7 5.'ii' d2 d6 6.0-0-0 of stalemate. A draw also occurs lLlf6 7 .f3 lbbd7. when each side has just a king White has acquired control of left, or in any other position the center with her pawns, and where checkmate is theoretical made sure that these pawns are ly impossible. Chessplayers can well protected. She also has more also agree to draws: one player space - White pieces control may verbally offer a draw to her four ranks while Black pieces opponent, and the latter then has only control three - so her the option of either accepting or chances in the upcoming battle declining the proposal. are clearly to be preferred. There are also more compli- As we said earlier, the main cated cases of draws such as a objective of the game is to check- three-fold repetition of the same mate our opponent's king. But position (It also has to be the this is something we rarely same player's turn all three achieve immediately, and fa r times). A frequent cause of a from always. If your opponent three-fold repetitions is some- turns out to be inattentive and thing called perpetual check. allows his pieces to be captured, don't refuse his offers, and take A. KO STENIUK - I. KAZAROVA the material (of course, you Sochi 1998 should always consider the pos sibility that he is setting up a a b c d e f g h fiendish trap by making his move 8 • 8 look like a blunder). The game 7 ii i 7 does not have to continue until 6 � i 6 one side is checkmated. If your 5 5 opponent's army outnumbers 4 � i ltJ 4 yours by a significant amount, 3 � 3 you can voluntarily acknowledge 2 if 2 your defeat. It's not advisable to �� 1 1 play in situations that you already if Black is up a pawn, but her hours. And starting on June I, king can 't escape continuous we began going to a nearby park checks from the white queen. to play with different people. 28.iie8+ 'it>h7 29.'ife4+ �g8 Dad tried to select opponents 30.'ii'e6+ 'it>h7 3l.'iff5+ 'it>g8 32. that were just a bit better than I 'ii'e6+ �h7 33.'ii'g6+ �g8 34. was. That's how we spent our -e6+ - There are great chess clubs in many western cities - our game is certainly popular all over the world! - and in those clubs, a novice player will sure ly find equal, or better yet a slightly superior opposition. Don't rush into immediately playing a master, this won't be of much help. Also, it's better And now, I suggest that you to play without clocks at first, test yourself by finding the they always tend to distract inex checkmates that occurred in my perienced players. games. How I Became a Grandmaster at 14 LESSON 16. SELF-QUIZ Positions from Sasha's practice With this test, we conclude our textbook material fo r beginners. The supplemental lessons and exercises that fo llow are designed fo r more experienced chessplayers. Instructional materials alter nate with biographical chapters. 6 - white to move; � - black to move. CHECKMATE IN l MOVE 1 . 3. � abcde f g h � a b c d e f g h 8 E • .i. 8 8 8 : 7 '' if7 7 ' 7 6 •.t.t 6 6 • .t. 6 5 ' 5 5 5 � · I ' ' 4 �· ' 4 4 �· i. 4 3 � 8 3 3 � � j_�3 2 �� i.i. � 2 2 � 8 i.if � · 2 1 l:iV 1 1 1 :� a b c d e f g h a b c d e �f g h 2. 4. � a b c d e f g h a b c d e 1. 8 8 8 a j_ .1. z 7 7 7 ' 7 ''' 6 •ii.t.• 6 6 ' � 6 5 � · ' 5 5 8 5 4 �' ' 4 4 4 3 � � 3 3 • 3 2 � 8 i.i.� � 2 2 � 8 � � 2 1 1 _ l:.iV :w 1 � 1 , : � a b c d e f g h 6 a b c d e f g h 1 I Wa nt to Go Home and Study Chess with Dad 63 5. 8. a b c d e f g h a b c d e f g h 8 K K 8 8 X j_ K 8 7 ' 7 7 : l:.ii 7 6 �·�·if6 6 ' 6 5 5 5 • 5 4 4 4 � 4 3 3 3 �j_ 3 2 �� �� 2 2 � � 8 2 1 n : � 1 1 i. cJ; 1 a d e f h a b c d e f h b c g � g 6. 9. a d e f g h a b c d e f g h b c T 8 K j_ X 8 8 K 8 7 ' ' 7 7 '' ' ' 7 6 ' 6 6 iV. 6 5 �· � 5 5 • 5 4 �· i. w 4 4 ltJ ' 4 3 3 3 �� � � 3 2 � if � 2 2 � if i.8 2 1 : : � 1 1 : : � 1 d e f g h a b c d e f g h a b c 7. 10. a d e f g h a b c d e f g h b c T 8 X •x 8 8 • I 8 7 iii' ''7 7 ,,,. ' 7 6 ' .i.i ' 6 6 6 5 ·� 5 5 5 4 � 8 tv4 4 8 8 'iV4 3 ltJ n 3 3 8 8 X 3 2 8 8 i. 88 2 2 8 8 2 1 : � 1 1 : :� 1 a b c d e f g h a b c d e f g h How I Became a Grandmaster at J 4 11. 14. a b c d e f g h a b c d e f 8 :1:1 � 8 8 x• 7 i .t i 7 7 .t i 7 6 i i • 6 6 i it'ltJ 6 5 iiltJ 5 5 i 5 4 i 4 4 • 4 3 il_8 8 3 3 Ji.. ltJ8 8 3 2 88 88 2 2 888 8 2 1 1:1 w 1 1 : w 1 6 a b c d e f g h 6 a b c d e f g h 12. 15. a b c d e f g h a b c d e f g h 8 KK 8 8 •• I 7 l iV.i. � 7 7 i 7 6 • 6 6 llJ i 6 5 l 5 5 ll if 5 4 i 4 4 • 4 3 8 8 3 3 �ltJ 8 8 3 2 8 8 88 2 2 888 8 2 1 1:1 w 1 1 : w 1 6 a b c d e f g h 6 a b c d e f g h 13. 16. a b c d e f g h a b c d e f g h � - I 8 8 X 8 :�• I • .�. 7 .t l 1 7 7 ill i 7 6 i • 6 6 • 6 5 i 5 5 .i.\i'8 i 5 4 ltJ 4 4 Ji.. ii 4 it' I 3 Ji.. 8 8 3 3 ttJW 3 1 1 2 8 8 8 8 2 2 8 8 8 8 8 2 I 'i' 1� 1 7. 20. a b c d e f g h a b c d e f g h 8 K .t 8 8 8 7 i 8 7 7 i :: 7 6 i .t 6 6 K 6 5 5 5 X i 8ii5 4 8il/ i 4 4 8 8 4 3 if 3 3 8 \t> 3 2 88 'D8 2 2 8 2 1 : lJ:j : 1 1 1 � - 6. a b c d e f g h 6. a b c d e f g h 18. 21. T a b c d e f g h T a b c d e f g h 8 8 8 8 z z z ... . 7 i .t 7 7 '' .t ''7 6 i i. 6 6 � i 6 5 i¥ A8 8fl/5 5 5 4 8 i. 4 4 8'D � 4 3 � 8 3 3 8'D 8iV3 2 8 8 2 2 8i. ill 8 8 2 1 \t> : : 1 1 ::� 1 a b c d e f g h a b c d e f g h 19. 22. a b c d e t g h T a b c d e f g h 8 z 8 8 8 7 7 7 : 7 6 i i 6 6 i 8 : 6 5 • 5 5 • 5 4 ..t 8 4 4 � 4 3 8 8�3 3 8 3 2 8 2 2 8 X 2 1 1 1 K i. 1 6. a b c d e f g h a b c d tt f g h 4-4965 How I Became a Grandmaster at 14 23. 26. a b c d e f g h • a b c d e f g h 8 I. z 8 8 I 8 7 '' 7 7 .t '''7 6 & iii6 6 ' .i. 6 5 'iki 5 5 1V 5 4 iltJ 4 4 8 i 8 4 3 1:. 3 3 3 2 888 882 2 8 882 1 : <;t; 1 1 : : <;t; 1 � a b c d e f g h a b c d e f g h 24. 27. • a b c d e f g h a b c d e f g h 8 z 8 8 • 8 7 • & ' 7 7 ' .t ' 7 6 it' 8.*- 6 6 ' 6 5 ' ' 8 5 5 ' & ' 5 4 .t&8i iL 4 4 8 it'iV i [j 4 3 8 8 3 3 8 3 2 • l2J8 2 2 iL 88 2 1 �: : 1 1 :<;t; 1 a b c d e f g h � a b c d e f g h 25. 28. • a b c d e f g h a b c d e f g h 8 z • 8 8 • .t • 8 7 : iL 7 7 'if ''7 6 it' 8.i. 6 6 ' ' 6 5 ' ' 8 5 5 iltJiV5 4 8i � 4 4 4 3 &8 3 3 8 8ll 3 2 l2J8 2 2 8 8 8 8 2 1 <;t; : 1 1 : � 1 - a b c d e f g h � a b c d e f g h I Want to Go Home and Study Chess with Dad 67 29. 32. � a b c d e f g h � a b c d e f 8 8 8 8 7 7 7 l l 7 6 6 6 lit' � l 6 5 l 5 5 5 4 l 4 4 4 3 8 8 .t.'iW8 3 3 iJ/8 3 2 8 8 2 2 8 8 8 2 1 1:\it1 1 1:. 30. 33. a b c d e f g h � a b c d e f g h 8 K j_ K 8 8 8 7 l �� ··� 7 7 7 6 l l 6 6 l 8 : 6 5 .t.l'iW . 8 5 5 81 l 5 4 4 4 8 4 3 � 3 3 81.�� 3 2 888�iJ/88 2 2 2 1 1:. : 31. 34. a b c d e f g h � a b c d e f g h 8 8 8 K.t z 8 7 liJ/ lll7 7 � lll7 6 l 6 6 l l 6 5 if 5 5 1V 18 5 4 8 4 4 j_ i. 8 4 3 8 3 3 8 8 � : 3 2 8 8� 2 2 35. 38. f h b c d e f h a b c d e g a g 8 z 8 8 K .t I. 8 7 7 7 � 7 6 i i 6 6 �i iiL 886 5 i 5 5 i i 5 4 8:8 8 8�4 4 ii 88 4 3 8 3 3 8 3 2 : 2 2 888 ttJ 2 E �: ttJ 1 1 1 - 1 a b c d e f g h 6 a b c d e f g h 36. 39. h c e f h a b c d e t g � a b d g 8 8 8 I 8 7 ii i 7 7 i 8 7 6 i 6 6 i 6 5 5 5 i 5 4 4 4 4 3 � 8 3 3 8 8 iV8if 3 2 8.8 8 2 2 8 8 2 1 : � 1 1 : 'it> 1 a c d B f h a d e f g h 6 b g b c 37. 40. f h b f h � a b c d e g � a c d e g 8 8 8 K z. 8 7 if .t. 7 7 i i i 7 6 ii6 6 .i. 6 iV 1 5 i i 5 5 .t 8iil 5 4 8 4 4 4 3 3 3 3 81. ttJ 8 1 \t> 2 i c1t> 8 + 2 2 88 8 8 2 1 : : 11 1 llttJJL _]1 a b c d e f h a c d e f g h g b I Want to Go Home and Study Chess with Dad 41. 44. � a b c d e f g h a b c d e f g h 8 KK 8 8 K K· 8 7 ' ,_ 7 7 i if.i. : 7 6 ' 6 6 ' ····� 6 5 8 .t 5 5 ' � 5 4 8 4 4 8 88 4 3 8. 3 3 'D 8 3 2 8 � 882 2 88 882 1 li'Dj : 1 1 : \it 1 a b c d e f g h 6. a b c d e f g h 42. 45. a b c d e f g h a b c d e f g h 8 � .t K 8 8 z z 8 7 il: '' ' 7 7 ''' 8i7 6 ' 6 6 • 6 5 8 ' 5 5 • .t. ltJ 5 4 .t'ii' 4 4 ' 8 4 3 8 8 3 3 : 'ii' 3 2 8 88 2 2 888 8 2 1 � 1 1 :t \it� 1 - 6. a b c d e f g h 6. a b c d e f g h 43. 46. a b c d e f g h a b c d e f g h 8 • 8 8 � .t 8 7 ' 'if.ti 7 7 '' ' 7 6 � 6 6 1. ·� 6 5 ' .t8ii5 5 i 'D 5 4 8 4 4 8 4 3 3 3 8 8 3 2 88 : 2 2 8 8�2 1 l:t � 1 1 1 6. a b c d e f g h 6. a b c d e f g h How I Became a Grandmaster at 14 47. 50. a b c d e f g h a b c d e f g h 8 8 8 • K 8 7 ''7 7 ' .i. ' 7 6 K 6 6 ' 8i 6 5 ' 5 5 if ttJ i 5 4 ' 4 4 � �8 8 4 3 8 .. 8 3 3 fi 3 2 ttJ:Z. 48. 51. a b c d e f g h a b c d e f g h 8 .1. I 8 8 8 7 ' ' 7 7 7 6 i if.t ' iY6 6 ' •:•• 6 5 • 5 5 if i8 8 5 4 8 4 4 8 8 4 3 �ltj : 3 3 8 <;!; 3 2 888 88 2 2 2 1 49. 52. a b c d e t g h a b c d e f g h 8 • I. 8 8 X 8 7 ' '''7 7 a ' 7 6 ' .t 6 6 J.. 8 : 6 5 .t l:t 5 5 5 4 .i. 8 8ltJ4 4 i. 4 3 88 if3 3 8 3 2 : 8 if 2 2 8 8 2 1 � cJ;; 1 1 � 53. 56. T a b c d e f g h a b c d e f g h 8 i. I. 8 8 if 8 7 tZJ: • ' 7 7 lZJi 7 6 ''6 6 ' i.i.6 5 � 5 5 ·�·lZJ 5 4 �.i. 4 4 ' � 'ii'4 3 if � 3 3 3 2 if � 2 2 Z 8 �� 2 1 : iL � 1 1 l:. :� 1 - a b c d e f g h 6 a b c d e f g h 54. 57. a b c d e f g h a b c d e f g h 8 K i¥ .t.• x 8 8 *-*- X 8 7 .t ' 7 7 '' ' 7 6 ' ··� 6 6 • 6 5 � � 5 5 ' 'iV5 4 4 4 lZJ � 4 3 ' 3 3 � � 3 2 �� ��8 2 2 � � 2 1 1:1 iV:t � 1 1 : 1 6 a b c d e f g h 6 a b c d e f g h 55. 58. a b c d e f g h a b c d e f g h 8 • .lZJ8 8 K 8 7 .i. it' 7 7 1Y.t. � 7 6 6 6 6 ' ' ' • 5 • iL 5 5 iii il:5 4 .i. 4 4 ' 4 3 ' if3 3 � 3 2 �� ��� 2 2 z � 2 1 : � 1 1 :� 1 6 a b c d e f g h 6 a b c d e f g h 72 How I Became a Grandmaster at 14 59. 62. a b c d e f T T a b c d e f g h 8 8 8 .t 8 7 : ''7 7 ''7 6 iE 6 6 ttJ 6 5 ' 5 5 ' 5 4 4 4 8 4 3 8 3 3 8 8 3 2 8� 2 2 X .. 2 1 K 1 : 60. 63. a b c d e f g h a b c d e f g h 8 8 .I 8 8 7 '' 7 7 'iW ' 7 6 � .. 6 6 ' ttJx•• 6 5 .t.: � 5 5 8 ' 5 4 4 i. 4 4 3 ttJ 3 3 883 2 888 888 2 2 88 2 1 � : 1 � a b c d e f g h 1 1 6 6 1:[a b c d e f g h 61. 64. a b c d e f g h T a b c d e f g h 8 8 8 8 7 il:. 7 7 7 6 8 6 6 ' 6 5 ' 5 5 ' 5 4 8 4 4 ttJ.8 4 3 8 3 3 8 E 3 2 2 2 88i_ 'i/82 1 - 1 1 � a b c d e f g h 1 6 a b c d e f g h I Want to Go Home and Study Chess with Dad 65. 68. a b c d e f g h T a b c d e f g h 8 a a 8 8 8 7 ii 7 7 7 6 ' 6 6 ' .li 6 5 � [s [s 5 5 ' 5 4 i. if [s 4 4 [s [s 4 3 ttJ 3 3 i. �-3 2 ct;ts 2 2 [s • [s 2 1 : 1 1 : cJ;; 1 a b c d e f g h a b c d e f g h 66. 69. a b c d e f g h T a b c d e f g h 8 z 8 8 .t 8 7 .tii ' 7 7 ii '' 7 6 ii 6 6 6 5 its [s 5 5 [s 5 4 .t ttJ� [s 4 4 [s •ts 4 3 i.i. 3 3 [s 3 2 [s 2 2 : 2 1 : : 1 1 67. 70. a b c d e f g h a b c d e f g h - 8 • K 8 8 x : 8 7 : -*-'' 7 7 ·� .t 7 6 ' ttJ 6 6 ·� ' 6 5 Ztsi 5 5 ' 5 4 £s l4 4 4 [s I ttJ 3 ii [s 3 [s[s ' [s a 2 [s[s 2 8 [s[s 2 1 a b c d e f g h a b c d e f g h 8 • XX 8 8 X • 8 7 :.tit¥ ii 7 7 i i i 7 6 i i � i 6 6 i Ki i 6 5 5 5 5 4 !iJ8i.. 4 4 88 8 � 4 3 88 3 3 8 : 3 2 8 882 2 �8 8 2 1 � :� 1 1 :� 1 6 a b c d e f g h 6 a b c d e f g h 72. 75. T a b c d e f g h T a b c d e 8 • K 8 8 8 7 i � i 7 7 : ii7 6 i ·� i 6 6 iZ 6 5 5 5 i 5 4 8 i.. 8 K 4 4 4 3 8 !iJ � 3 3 8 8 3 2 8 i..� : 2 2 X 8 2 1 : � 1 1 � 1 a b c d e f g h a b c d e f g h 73. 76. a b c d e f g h a b c d e f g h 8 K 8 8 X 8 7 j_ .: 7 7 � i.t 7 6 .t 8 6 6 i i 6 5 •• 8 5 5 K 8 8 5 4 4 4 i i.. 4 3 � j_ 3 3 8 8 : 3 2 8 8 2 2 88 � 2 1 1 1 .:. 1 - 77. 78. a b c d e f g h a b c d e f g h 8 if 8 8 .. .. 8 �· 7 7 7 � � ' 7 6 ' ' ' 6 6 ' ii i 6 5 8 8ii ' 5 5 .i 5 4 � 4 4 88 8 4 3 1.. 88 3 3 8i3 2 8 2 2 � : � 2 1 if 1 1 : � 1 --- a b c d e f g h � a b c d � f g h CHECK YOUR SOLUTIONS 1) 1 ...1i'xh2#. 23) t.'ii'h7#. 2) 1 .•.1i'h2#. 24) 1 ...'ii' a1#. 3) 1 ...'ifh1#. 25) 1 ...'ii' a2#. 4) 1.ikxg7#. 26) 1 ... .i.xg2#. 5) 1.'iig7#. 27) 1.'ii'xg7#. 6) 1.ilxh7#. 28) 1.'ii'xh7#. 7) 1.'ii'xh7#. 29) 1 ...'ii'xh3#. 8) 1.llfc7#. 30) 1.g4#. 9) 1 ...exh3#. 31) 1.'ii'xc8#. 10) 1 ...:111#. 32) 1 ... 'ii'xg2#. 11) 1.l?Je7#. 33) 1 ....i.e4# . 12) l.'ii' h6#. 34) 1 ... 'ii'xa3#. 13) 1.ibxf6#. 35) 1 ... 1lh8#. 14) 1. 'Wxh6#. 36) 1.lle8#. 15) l.'irh7#. 37) 1 ...1lc2#. 16) 1 ...ti)b4#. 38) t.g7#. 17) t.'Wd8#. 39) 1 ...'ii' xg2#. 18) t ...llb1#. 40) 1 ...'ii' g4#. 19) 1.g4#. 41) 1 ... l2Jf2#. 20) l.lth7#. 42) l.'ii'd7#. 21) 1 ... 'iWxh2#. 43) l.'ii'h8#. 22) 1 ...lld2#. 44) 1 . .i.xg6#. How I Became a Grandmaster at J 4 45) 1.'ifxh7#. 62) l ..•l:ae2#. 46) l.'ifxf8#. 63) l.'ifxf7#. 47) l ...'ifhl#. 64)l ...l:el #. 48) l.l:g3#. 65) 1.'ifxg6#. 49) l ... l:dl#. 66)l. g6#. 50) 1.l£Jxe7#. 67) l.l:a7#. 51) l.l:f8#. 68)1 ..•'ifhl#. 52) l.l:xh6#. 69) 1 ... 'ifh1#. 53) l ... 'ifgl#. 70) l.l:le7#. 54)l. d6#. 71) l.lta8+ .llxa8 2.'ifxa8#. 55) l.f4#. 72) l ...'ifgl+ 2.l:xgl l:xgl#. 56) l.'ifxh6#. 73) l.a4+ • 60) l.l:xh5#. 77) l ..•gS+ 2. Vladimir BA RSKIY: Alexandra will now take a short break, and in the meantime, we 'II listen to her mom. Was she not alarmed by the amount of time her 5-year-o/d child spent at the chessboard? Did she ever try to talk Konstantin out of working with Alexandra fo r so many hours in a row? Th ey 're very different: Ko nstantin is an emotional man with an explosive temper, while Na talie is calm, reasonable, and invariably well-wishing. She is a young, beautiful woman, and a caring mother of two grown-up daughters. Natalie KOSTENIUK W[I]L:lt1 WL:l0 llil®llil tl[I][] [llIT![] [ll ®� Ever since my childhood, I've school education. This major dreamed of becoming a peda wasn't available in my native gogue in pre-school education. Kamensk-Uralsk, so I went to This dream started through my the city of Shadrinsk, where as experiences as a kindergartener. it turned out, my destiny was to At first, I didn't enjoy going there be revealed. at all, and Mom still remembers Konstantin had big plans - he how she almost had to fo rce me studied English very arduously to to go, while I cried and protest prepare fo r the next step in his ed. But one fine day, everything education, and visited our dorms changed. In order to make me to work with students majoring stop crying, a new pedagogue in foreign languages. His fe llow methodologist took me to her officer was courting my room office, and there I fo und an en mate, and Kostya (Shortfo r Kon tire ocean of toys and books. I stantin) would come to our dorm instantly fe ll in love with that room to pick up his friend and place, it made me calm down leave fo r the military camp .. and I began to play. From that When I first saw Kostya, he time on, I went to kindergarten was literally too fast for me to with pleasure. I knew that if I fo llow with my glance. I thought: wanted to take a break from oth who is this guy that keeps flash er kids and rest by myself, I could ing in my eyes like speeded up always come to this wonderful video fo otage? I lead a calm and office. measured life. I recall how I After graduating from high came to my room to do house school, I decided to enroll into hold chores. Then suddenly, like a teachers' college to study pre- some wind that came from no- How I Became a Grandmaster at J 4 where and lifted me into the air, married!>> Kostya then respond Kostya entered into my life, and ed with reason and conviction its pace became absolutely co in his voice: << No, no, you mis lossal! understood! We will continue to Konstantin always makes de study. She will continue to cisions very quickly. His friends study, and I too will go to Mos were completely amazed when cow to enroll into the military he told them about his plans to academy. Our education is our get married. What suddenly topmost priority!>> He seemed to happened, how could he have have convinced them, but they found find himself a bride so still asked: << Can't you at least quickly?! It seemed like he wait until summer?>> wasn't too interested in women We met in October, and on when he was at school, didn't the first of November, we turned go to discotheques with other in our application to the mar officer-cadets, and spent his riage licensing agency to take our evenings at the library. And place in the queue.* Then sud now, all of the sudden, he comes denly Konstantin moved to an out with this! other city because he was ordered To be honest, I was also back to Perm. But closer to New somewhat shocked when he Years, he returned and said: proposed to me so soon after < *In the fo rmer Soviet Union, one had to wait in line to get many things, and official registration of marriage applications was one of them. In our case, we had to wait about six months fo r our application to be processed. What Wa s Mom Thinking? 79 come up with different ideas on When Konstantin comes up how to raise the child. Back with an idea, he tries to realize then, he was really into studying it with incredible enthusiasm, English, and came up with a never stopping halfway. He's a plan: <> But then he emy, he began to channel all of pondered it a little more: < *The two scholarships, named after the leader of the Russian revolution and a well-known Russian mathematician respectively, were highly prestigious awards granted to no more than two Academy students. How I Became a Grandmaster at J 4 fe red him a teaching job at the with bite marks from Sasha's and faculty upon graduation. This Ksyusha's little teeth. was very prestigious. Meanwhile, After mastering the index I was occupied with raising our cards, we took books and child. searched through them fo r fa I was offered a job as a meth miliar letters. Sasha caught on odologist, and enrolled Sasha to everything very quickly. Then into my kindergarten. We'd I bought a magnetic ABC-kit, spend our mornings there and and we started studying syllables. in the evenings, we would study On the magnetic board, we the alphabet. Today, there are would put together letters: «k)> thousands of various methods fo r and << O)> make < *Children in English-speaking countries are probably not taught in this fashion because English words are harder to divide into syllables. What Was Mom Thinking? 8 1 How I Become o Grandmaster at 14 << Sashenka, come on, you hard. All the other children shouldn't do that!>> And she re came out of class with tears in plies: < remembered about Sasha. Aha, something too. He began think I actually have a daughter too, ing: what do I already know how don't I? What does she know to do? And after thinking how to do? Dad saw that she through a number of options, read books to her dolls, and he decided to give her chess les loved playing parent with them. sons. He showed her how the So he decided to teach her pieces move and began to study 84 How I Became a Grandmaster at 14 chess literature himself. But, of Of course, I too was worried, course, Kostya could never do the zeal with which Kostya anything halfway, and always dived into their studies con buried himself completely in cerned me. But by that time whatever he did. They started we've been together fo r so working together in April, and many years that I knew it was by summer, he was already talk useless to argue with him on ing about some grandiose plans this issue. He tried to convince of climbing to the peaks of the me, saying: << If you want to chess Olympus. achieve something in life, you At first, Sasha approached have to devote a great deal of Dad's lessons cautiously, partly time to it.>> because she didn't even know And Sasha's attitude towards him too well. He didn't notice the lessons switched back and her all those years, and then fo rth: sometimes she liked them, suddenly started to make her do and sometimes she didn't. When things! But she didn't especial she won, it was definitely fu n; ly object to the new activities when she lost, it naturally either - when told. to study, she wasn't. At 7 years old, Sasha obeyed and studied. became the champion of Mos In the summer, we went to cow among girls under 10 years visit my parents fo r a vacation, of age, and an article with her and Kostya spent his entire days picture was fe atured in Mosk at the chessboard with Sasha. ovskaya Pra vda *. Of course, The relatives were very worried: that greatly lifted up her spirits. how can such a small child She received a medal and a cer spend all day learning chess? tificate at the tournament, and Kostya was trying to calm them Dad and I bought her some gifts. down: << Look at how the neigh But when something didn't go bors' children are running the right way, she naturally cried around all day. How do they and came complaining to me. I even get this energy fo r chasing calmed her down, gave her sup each other around the whole day port, and did the same fo r her through?>> dad also. •one of Moscow's main daily newspapers. My first Moscow champion make an error. But chess has ship is very well ingrained in my nothing to do with it, I am the memory. There were eight one who's playing, so it's me that rounds, and girls played in the messes up. same section with the boys. I I got fo ur points out of eight won my first and last games, and the next year, and six out of eight lost the other six. But after six the year after that. An article with straight losses, thoughts like my picture then appeared in << that's it, I'm quitting chess!>> Moskovskaya Pra vda. They didn't even come to mind. Of wrote: < I was learning how to write them planation is very clear and easy correctly. Very neatly and slow to understand. ly, I spelled out: << from Alexan The first thing to remember is dra Kosteniuk>> and then put the that the king of the defending side date and my signature below - it should not just be pushed to any was a long and complicated pro corner, but to one of the corners cess! I also brought a copy of the that can be attacked by the bish newspaper to school, my class op. In other words, if you have a mates were very nice - they con dark-squared bishop, you should gratulated me and shared my joy. fo rce the enemy king to al or h8, and if you have a light-squared 17. LESSON bishop, you would want to make CHECKMATING it go to hl or a8. Additionally, WITH THE BISHOP the king of the attacking side AND KNIGHT should be located a < . . mtnor pteces. a b c d e f 9 h Dad tried to get me to a point 8 • • 8 where I could mechanically de 7 i. 7 liver this mate. He set up a ran 6 1J�i. � 6 dom position with a king, bish 5 · 5 op, and knight against a lone 4 i. 4 king, gave me a minute on the 3 ltJ the time I had the second cate 1 I gory, was already able to mate a b c d e f 9 h him within the set time limit. I studied the method of mat In the fo llowing positions, ing with a knight and bishop White is just a few fi nishing from a book called Step by Step * touches away from accomplish by N. Zhuravlev, where the ex- ing her goal. * Unfortunately, this book was never translated into English. First Autographs a b c d e f g h to be. All that's left is one more 8 • 8 little push. 7 .t 7 a b c d e f g h 6 'lt> 'lt>.t 6 8 • 5 ltJ ltJ 5 7 ltJ .t 4 4 3 6 'lt> 1:6 13 5 5 2 2 4 4 1 1 3 3 a b c d e f g h 2 2 1 1 1) 1.ltJa6+ '1ta8 2.i.c6#. a b c d e f g h 2) 1.i.g7+ (but not l.Ci:Je7?? with stalemate) 1 ... my them. At pointthis of life , /11111 more usedto osldngfor lllltographsdum givingto (12"- WorldCluunp ion Anato1y onKllrpov is theright) How I Became a Grandmasterat 14 4 ...�b8 5.l2Ja6+ �a8 6.i.c6#. king don't require much expla The method of fo rcing the nation: both pieces try to take lone king into the necessary cor control of the squares around the ner was suggested by the great black king in order to prevent French chessplayer F. Philidor the enemy monarch from escap (1726-1795), and the method fo r ing. The knight's route is less teaching this procedure was de obvious, it looks somewhat like veloped by Polish master D. the letter W. Pshepyurka (1880-1940). a b c d e f g h a b c d e f g h 8 118 8 8 7 ltJ ltJ ltJ 7 7 ltJ 7 6 \I\ 6 6 � 6 5 ltJ ltJ 5 5 � 5 4 4 4 4 3 3 3 3 2 2 2 2 1 1 1 1 a b c d e f g h a b c d e f g h Until the king is pushed offto This will be our key position. It the a8 corner, the white knight is fairly easy to remember because should not go to any other all fo ur pieces are located on one squares lest the king escapes from single file, and the knight controls its guards. the black king's < op is light-squared, her goal is to 1 . .. �e8 2.l2Je5. fo rce the black king into the light The knight begins its prepared corner. And Black, seeing that his route. 2.�e6 is a bit premature king was denied the h8 corner, because after 2 ... light squares, and the knight cov ers the dark ones. 5 ... �c7 6.i.e4 �d8 7 .�d6! �e8 8.i.d5 (8.i.g6+) 8 ... 7 •.. �c8 8.l2Jc5 �d8 9.lbb7+ should strive to achieve the fo l <&t>c8 10.�c6 B) 2 ... The king tries to run away 6 6 to al ... 5 3. The way to reach this type of B) 11••• �f3 12.citeS citfe2 13. position is shown in the fo llow i.c2! �f3 14.i.d1+! a b c d e f g h � 21. A) 11••. �g5 12.i.d3 a b c d e f g h left fo r the battle front!!>> and 8 K .t.iV • K 8 went on to receive checkmate a 7 ' ' iL 7 few moves later. 6l 6 The fo llowing year, the Rus sian Junior Championship reg 5 1 � Is I 4 4 ulations already had a clause stat I ing that the winner would be sent 3 lb 3 1 to the World Championships 2 � � � � 2 I while the silver medallist would 1 : � . , qualify fo r the European cham a b c d e f g h pionships. But back in 1991 they 13... xf7?? told us: << Oh, we just recently Black doesn't take advantage fo und out about these interna of a big break I unwittingly gave tional tournaments, we should her. After 13... c5! 14.\i'x c5+ d6 hold one more qualifier fo r 15.'ili'd5 l2Jxf3+ 16.gxf3 i.f�, my them.>> Dad and I prepared long opponent would be the one and hard, but I still perfo rmed marching on to victory. From poorly at the 1992 St. Petersburg this point on, I didn't give Black qualifier. I was probably burnt any more opportunities, and out, and my opponents also be soon checkmated her king. gan to prepare against me more The win over a first category seriously after the Lipetsk tour player in the first round natural nament. ly increased my confidence. My Upon my return to Moscow, overall performance was pretty I persistently continued to study. strong, I scored six points out of And Dad persistently invented nine. My loss in the last round more and more new exercises fo r was very disappointing though: me. I especially liked the one we with two extra pawns and a win called < fa mily arrived at the tournament second by tiebreaks. It appeared location a day before the event. We that I would have another op rented a room at one of the down portunity to play in the Europe town hotels, and found a cafe that an Championships. I also final served delicious home-cooked ly received my first category, and fo od. Only after making sure that continued to study intensively. all the everyday necessities were The great Capablanca taught taken care of did Mom and Ksy that it's very important to deep usha return to Moscow. ly annotate your games, especial ly the losses. And I tried to fo l Konstantin KOSTENIUK: low his recommendation. - Sasha was playing very con- fidently, winning game aft er game. A. KO STENIUK - NN, 1993 I remember an incident that oc French Defense C02 curred the night befo re her im In my notebook for annota portant game in the penultimate tions, I carefully drew diagrams round. I put my daughter to bed, to all critical positions. The an and then suddenly I heard ex notations listed below are cop tremely loud clamor coming fr om ied verbatim from my old notes, the hallway. «God fo rbid they save fo r some minor changes in wake Sasha up!» I th ought. I ran grammar and spelling ... to complain to the hotel manager, l.e4 c5 2.c3 e6 3.d4 d5 4.e5 then started arguing with the ltlc6 5.ltlf3 'iib6 6.i.d3 cxd4 noisemakers. It went almost as fa r 7.cxd4 i.d7 8.0-0 ltlge7 9.ltlc3 as a figh t with one guy. But in the ltJb4 lO.i.bl ltlg6 ll.a3 ltlc6 end, I got what I wanted - the 12.tiJa4 'iic7 13.b4 b6. noisy crowd was transfe rred to a a b c d e f g h different floor. Later, we fo und out a .I_ .1. 8 that the guy I almost had a figh t • .t. with was the lead singer of a very 7 1iV.t. •••7 popular Russian band. They came 6 •• • • down to Ya roslavl as a part of their 5 £8 tour, and just couldn 't settle down 8 aft er the concert. 2 Just like a year ago, I tied fo r 1-2nd places, and again became a b c d e f g h Short Stops 9 5 14.i.d3. 25.ltJe2 The plan with 14. .i.d3 and I think the attack would have i.e3, l:cl was bad because Black best been continued with the can defend from all the threats advance of the g-pawn (g2-g4- by playing l5... 11fb7. g5), not with the move I made 14 ...i.e7 15.i.e3 'iib7 16.l:c1 in the game. 0-0 17 .ltJc3 a6 18.ltJg5 h6 19. 25 ... ltJf5 26.ltJg3 li:Jce7. ll:Jxf7 ll:Jh4. a b c d e f g h a b c d e f g h 8 K 8 8 K .!* 8 7 � .t••ii¥7 7 if .t.tltJi 7 6 i il. 6 6 ii. i 6 5 i • 5 5 i � 5 4 � � 4 4 � � 4 3 � � ltJ 3 3 � lD � iL 3 2 � � �. 2 2 � � � 2 1 i.l: :w 1 1 :tit' : � 1 a b c d e f g h a b c d e f g h Black is now threatening 20.ltJd6? 27 ...ltJg6 and 28 ...l:h8 trapping I think that's a bad move. It the queen. I think that 27 .ltJh5 was better to play 20.ltJxh6+ is the only move. If Black now gxh6 2l.i.xh6 l:f7 22.'ii'g4+ �h8 plays 27 ...l:h8, then 28.'ii'xg7+ 23.'ii'h5 with an attack. fo llows, but it's bad to take the 20... i.xd6 21.exd6 liJfS 22.i.b1 rook because of 28 ...l:h8 . lbxd6 23.'ii'd3 l:f6 24.'iib7+ �- 27.ltJh5 l:g6 28.i.xf5. a b c d e f g h a b c d e f g h 8 K 8 8 K 8 7 iV .t iii7 7 if .t• iii7 s ii•• i.! 6 6 i i .I 6 5 i 5 5 i � ltJ s 4 � � 4 4 � � 4 3 � lD i. 3 3 8 � 3 2 ���2 2 ��� 2 1 i.:t : � 1 1 : : � 1 a b c d e f g h a b c d a f g h 96 How I Became a Grandmaster at 14 Black played 28 ...exf5? here I mistakenly played 42. 'ii'd8 and allowed me to give up two and didn't see that Black could pieces fo r a rook and two pawns. reply with 42 ...f3! I should have I think that she needed to play probably prevented this move by 28 ... ltJf5 instead. playing 42. f3 myself. 29.i.xb6 l:.g8 30.i.xg7 l:8xg7 a b c d e f g h 3l.ltJxg7 lhg7 32:ifh5+ ltJg6 33. a! it' ja l:c3 �g8 34.1lg3 �c6 35.�g5 f4 7 K 1 7 36.'iid8+ AlexJIIUira competesatthe Mikhail Ta l Memorial blitz t0U17Ul111ent. Mosc� 1993 Short Stops have played 44.l:e1, followed by 56.fl.xa6 1ih4+ 57.�g2 �g5. l:g5 and 'ii'g3. a b c d e f g h 43... l:g8! 44. 'ii'xg8+ a b c d e f g h a b c d e f g h 8 53... �h5 . Pointless move, 53 ...�g5 was 7 better. 54.l:b7 'ii'e3 55.l:xb6. a b c d e f g h 8 8 7 7 6 6 5 ' i. 5 a b c d e f g h 4 8 8 4 3 8 WJ/8�83 60.l:a5?? 1 This position was already 2 2 lost fo r White, though,� could 1 have continued fighting fo r a a b c d e f g h while longer. But after 60. 55 ...ii'xd4 . l:a5??, things are hopeless, of It was better to play 55 ...1ix a3, course. protecting the pawn on a6. 60 ... 1ic2+ 61. Resigns 5-4965 98 How I Became a Grandmaster at 14 LESSON 18. SOLVE IN YOUR HEAD! (FOR PLAYERS RATED BETWEEN 1500 AND 2000) One of my first chess books was a wonderful textbook by Ni kolay Zhuravlev called Step by Step. My sister Ksyusha and I solved most out of the total of over 800 tactical problems in this book. And we solved them all blindfolded too. Dad would dictate the position to us, then document the date of the lesson, and the amount of time it took us to solve each problem (his notes are provided in the Answers Section). You too should try to proceed in a similar fashion: look at the diagram, memorize the location of the pieces, and then solve the problem in your head. Precisely because we'd like you to get practice solving these problems blind fo lded, we provide diagrams fo r just the first nine problems, and give only the piece placement fo r all the remaining ones. ®- This symbol indicates that the problem was solved blindfolded. IT IS WHITE TO MOVE IN ALL PROBLEMS UNLESS OTHERWISE SPECIFIED 1. M. MARANDYUK, 1969 2. V. DUENKER, 1975 Checkmate in two moves Checkmate in two moves a b c d e f g h a b c d e f g h 8 I:. a 8 8 7 7 7 � 7 6 6 6 l2J 6 5 5 5 .i. 5 4 4 4 4 3 3 3 3 2 2 2 2 1 � if 1 1 if I 1 a b c d e f g h a b c d e f g h Short Stops 99 3. 1 KARDOSCH, 1974 6. W. SHINKMAN, 1877 Checkmate in two moves Checkmate in three moves a b c d e f g h a b c d e f g h 8 ..t 8 8 : 8 7 if 7 7 7 6 6 6 6 5 5 5 5 4 4 4 4 3 • 3 3 3 2 2 2 if 1 � 1 1 � � a b c d e f g h a b c d e f g h I� 4. A PFANNKUECH, I. SCHULZ_ 1976 7. W. SHINKMAN, 1877 Checkmate in two moves Checkmate in three moves a b c d e f g h a b c d e f g h 8 8 8 8 7 ' 7 7 7 6 � 6 6 6 5 � 5 5 5 4 ' 4 4 \t 4 3 ' 3 3 : 3 2 �� 2 2 • 2 1 \\V 1 1 1 a b c d e f g h a b c d e f g h 5. H. GOKEL, 1981 8. W. SPECKMAN, 1976 Checkmate in two moves Checkmate in five moves a b c d e f g h a b c d e f g h 8 8 8 8 ..t •• � • 7 ·�· 7 7 7 6 � 6 6 6 5 5 5 5 4 4 4 4 I I 3 3 3 3 2 2 2 2 1 1 1 1 a b c d e f g h s• How I Became a Grandmaster at 14 9. I. JESPERSEN, 1883 1 0. W. SPECKMAN, 1977 Checkmate in six moves Checkmate in three moves a b c d e f g h a b c d e f g h 8 8 18 7 7 7 7 6 6 6 6 5 5 5 5 4 4 4 4 3 3 3 3 2 2 2 2 1 1 1 � 1 a b c d e f g h a b c d e f g h 11. G. MAllEUS, 1981 1 6. V. MASSMAN, 1973 Checkmate in two moves Checkmate in three moves w. 1if7' i.b3, l:b2, p. g5 w. �d6, 'ii'b7' l1h4 B. �h8, i.b5, p. g6 B. �g3 12. W. SPECKMAN, 1982 1 7. W. SPECKMAN, 1973 Checkmate in two moves Checkmate in three moves W. 13. M. EUWE, 1927 18. H. HULTBERG, 1983 Checkmate in two moves Checkmate in three moves W. 14. I. JESPERSEN, 1 880 19. P. TERNGREN, 1928 Checkmate in two moves Checkmate in three moves w. �f4, 'iWf3, l:b5 W. �a7, l:b6, l:d4 B. �g6 B. �c5 15. K. JUNKER, 1975 20. E. BRUNNER, 1907 Checkmate in three moves Checkmate in three moves W. 21. W. SPECKMAN, 1975 29. W. SPECKMAN, 1975 Checkmate in two moves Checkmate in three moves W. 22. A. JAKAB, 1922 30. W. SPECKMAN, 1973 Checkmate in two moves Checkmate in three moves W. �d3, 'ii'f6 , ltJcl W. �c4, p.p. b2, d7 B. �bl, p. f7 B. �a4 23. S. LOYD, 1859 31. I. GRANDE, 1964 Checkmate in two moves Checkmate in three moves W. �c3, 'ii'gS, l:le4 W. �cS, l:hS, p.p. eS, g3, g7 B. �n, i.n, p. f3 B. �as, p. e6 24. T. KARDOSH, 1974 32. G. FLUEGGE, 1973 Checkmate in two moves Checkmate in three moves W. �h3, 'ii'c7, ltJb3, .i.f4 W. �cS, l:h4, p. c2 B. �e4 B. �a5, p. e7 25. G. CARPENTER, 1873 33. W. SPECKMAN, 1975 Checkmate in two moves Checkmate in three moves W. �el, 'ii'e6, ltJdS, ltJf5, i.e8 W. �c2, l:b2 B. �e4, p. eS B. �al, p. aS 26. A. FERRANTA, 1 859 34. G. GLASS, 1903 Checkmate in three moves Checkmate in four moves W. �d3, 'iif7, ltJc7 W. �el, l:c4, p. e2 B. �e5 B. �e3 27. W. SPECKMAN, 1975 35. W. SPECKMAN, H. RUMM Checkmate in three moves Checkmate in four moves W. �e4, l:g8, p. d7 W. �b4, l:bS, p. a4 B. �f7 B. �a7 28. W. SPECKMAN, 1975 36. A. H., 1 868 Checkmate in three moves Checkmate in two moves W. �f4, 'ii'bl W. �a2, 'iih4, i.b4 B. �hS, l:d6 B. �a4, .i.d2, p.p. a5, bS How I Became a Grandmaster at 14 37. P. MORPHY 45. A. GULYAEV, 1944 Checkmate in two moves Checkmate in three moves W. 38. K. GRUENEWELD, 1985 46. Checkmate in two moves Checkmate in two moves W. �g3, 'iie7 W. 39. S. LOYD, 1880 47. E. COOK Checkmate in two moves Checkmate in three moves W. �e4, 'iig4, l:c8, liJd5 w. 40. E. HASSBERG, 1945 48. P. PRAVNIK, 1964 Checkmate in two moves Checkmate in two moves W. �b8, 'iic8, l:gl, l:g7 W. 4 1. Z. MAX, 1 904 49. M. HAVEL, 1900 Checkmate in two moves Checkmate in two moves W. �el, 'ii'hl, l:c4, l:e4 W. 42. G. LENER, 1923 SO. Y. GARTONG, 1948 Checkmate in two moves Checkmate in two moves w. �b3, 'iib8, l:d5 w. 43. S 1. Y. GARTONG, 1948 Checkmate in three moves Checkmate in two moves w. �g5, 'iif5 W. 44. 52. W. SPECKMAN, 1975 Checkmate in three moves Checkmate in three moves W. �d4, 'iic4, p. c6 w. 53. R. COLLIN, 1940 60. Checkmate in three moves Checkmate in three moves w. CHECK YOUR SOLUTIONS 1) 1.:ta8! d3 (1... :txa8 9) 1.:tb5! �a3 2.�a5! �a2 2.1i'xa8#) 2.1i'h8#. 3.�a4 �a1 4.�b3 �bl 5.:tc5! Alexandra (A) - ® - 2. 12.94 �a1 6.:tc1#. (day/month/year) - 30 sec A-® - 3.1 2.94 - 1 hour 2) l.ii.e2! �e6 ( 1 ...�c5 10) I. �b2 �a6 ( 1 ...�a8 2.1i'f 5#) 2.ii.c4#. 2.�c3 �a7 3.�c4 �a6 4.�c5 A-® - 2.1 2.94 - 45 sec �a7 5.ct>c6 �a8 6.�c7 �a7 7.:ta3#) 2.�c3 �a5 3.�c4 �a6 3) l.lbc4! �d4 (1... �b3 (3 ...�a4 4.:te3 �a5 5.:te6! �a4 2.1i'a3#) 2.1i'e3#. 6.:ta6#) 4.�c5 �a7 5.�c6 �a8 A-®- 2.1 2.94 - 3 min 6.�c7 �a7 7.:ta3#. A-®- 2.1 2.94 - 20 min 4) 1.a3! bxa3 (1... �a5 2.axb4#) 2.1i'xa3#. 11) l.ii.f5! �h7 ( 1 ...gxf 5+ A-® - 2.1 2.94 - 10 sec 2.:txh5#) 2.:txh5#. A-�- 30.11.94 - 3 sec 5) 1.Wie1! c5 (1... e6 2.Wih4#) 2.1i'a5#. 12) l.:tg6! hxg6 (1... h5 A-® - 2.1 2.94 - 30 sec 2.:th6#) 2.llh4#. A-® - 30. 11.94 - 1 min 6) 1.:tb8+! �c3 (1... �xa 1 2.�c2 16) 1. 21) 1.'ifd7! b6 (1... b5 2.-xb5#; 30) 1.d8l:! ( 1.d8-?? - stale 1 ... 32) l.l:e4! 33) l.l:b5! a4 2.l:a5 34) 1. 38) 1.ife4! 39) 1. 40) 1.ifc2! l:xc2 ( 1 ...l:xg7 2. 48) 1.'ii' e8! 0 - 7. 1 2.94 - 22 min 0 - 27. 10.94 - 2 hours Short Stops 1 07 49) l.l:g4! �xg4 (l... �b3 58) l.l:e2! d5 (l... �d5 2.'ii'xdl#; l ... �d3 2.1fe4#; 2.�g2#; l ...<&t>b5 2.l:c2#) l ...�c l 2.l:c4#) 2.1i'bl#. 2.l:e6#. 0 - 27.1 0.94 - l hour A-® - 10.12.94 - 5 min 50) 1.1i'al! g5 (l... e5 2.'iia3#) 59) t.�g4! .:.n+ (I... �d3 2. 2. 'ii'h8#. 'iie6#; 1 ...�f 5 2.ltJf3#; l . ..l:f6 2. 0-27. 10.94 - 7 min 'ii'c5#; I ...�a2 2.ltJg6#; I ...l:e7 2 .ltJf3#) 2 .ltJxf3#. 51) I. \ib4! f5 ( l ...d6 2.'ii' a4#) A-® - 10.12.94 - 7 min 2.'ifh5#. 0 - 27. 1 0.94 - I minute 60) l.l:c7 (1.i.f2 �b8 2.�c6 �a8 3.l:f8#) l ... �b8 2.�b6 �a8 52) 1.1i'g2! �h5 (l... g5 2.�h6 3 . .:.c8#. g4 3.'ii'h2#) 2.'iig3 g5 3.'ifh3#. A-® - 10.12.94 - 4 min 0 - 27.10.94 - 10 minutes 61) l.l:h8! g6 (l... g5 2.h3 g4 53) 1.� f4 2.ltJn f3 3.ltJg3#. 3.hxg4#) 2.h4 g5 3.hxg5#. 0-27. 10.94 - I min A-® - 10.12.94 - 8 min 54) 1.'ifa5! blif ( 1 ... �xb3 2. 62) l.l:g8! �xg8 ( 1 ...�a2 �d l#; l ...blltJ 2. 'ii'a2#; l ...�b 1 2.l:b8! �a3 3.a8'ii#) 2.a81f+ 2.�g6#) 2.'ii'c3#. �a2 3.'iih8#. A - ® - 9.12.94 - 4 min A-® - 10.12.94 - 20 min 55) l.l:g3! fxg3 ( 1 ...�d4 63) l.l:xb7! l:xb7 2.g4! �b8 2.'ii' d5#; 1 ...�f 6 2.'ii' xf4#) 3.�xb7 �xb7 4.g5+-. 2.ltJc6#. A - ® - 18.04.95 - 6 min A-®-9.12.94 - 3 min 64) l ... l:el!, and White re 56) 1.1Wd5! ltJe3 (1... ltJb2 2. signed in view of 2.�c 1 l:xd1 + l:c1 #; 1 ...a3 2. 'ii'd1#) 2.1fa2#. 3.�xd l l:e 1 + 4.'ii'xe 1 �xe1 5. A-® - 9.1 2.94 - 10 min �xe l bxa3. A - ® - 18.04.95 - 2 min 57) l.ltJa3! exd2 (I.. . e2 2. 'ifc2#) 2.1ff3#. A-®- 10.12.94 - 2 min []C!JfJl®�[]£� ®®�� My growth as a chessplayer was ended up visiting three coun greatly aided by a computer pro tries: Yugoslavia, Romania and gram called < - Alexandra with Yugoslavian chesfplayer Ye lenll the fifth round, I lost to Popovich. Baile Herculane, Romanitl, 1994 German girl Elisabeth 110 How I Became a Grandmaster at 14 Paehtz and our rivalry continued stronger. However, let's not have until the very end of the excessively high demands fo r girls tournament. Going into last who haven't even reached the round, I was ahead of Paehtz by age of 10! a fu ll point, and even if I lost WGM. I've played this varia my last game, I would have still tion fo r some time. Black's plan become the champion by is rather strange - it involves tiebreaks. Dad knew that, but creating a pawn chain on h7, g6, kept it to himself so that I f6 , e5, d6, and c6, and then wouldn't lose my concentration. transferring the knight from g8 Elisabeth and I played our games to h6. But if White plays accu on adjacent boards, first and rately, this can't be successfully second, and she lost. As soon as achieved, of course. I saw that and realized that no 5 ... l2Jh6 6.0-0 f6 7 .:et l2Jf7 one could catch up to me, I was 8.d4. no longer able to concentrate on White ended up losing time ... my game. I quickly dropped 8 ...d6. something, got a < WGM. A strange move - 23 ...f3! 24.g4 nothing was threatening the king WGM. The decisive weaken on g8. Perhaps it was time fo r ing of the kingside. Black to start a pawn storm on 24 ... 1i'h4 25. 1i'fl l2Jf6 26.g5 the kingside. .txh3 2 7. Resigns 19.1i'e2 l2Jg5 20.�hl l2Jxf3 Several years later, we again 21.'iixf3 �g8. found ourselves in Romania, and GM. Naively marking time, on our way to a tournament in but do not judge too harshly. Eyforia-Nord, we dropped by (See the annotation to White's Baile-Herculane to visit the own fifth move) ers of the flat we stayed at in 22.b5? 1994. We were all very pleased GM. By locking up the queen to see each other again. side, White condemns herself to A couple of months after the defeat as the looming avalanche victory at the European Cham on the other side of the board pionship, we traveled to Szeged, proves to be fatal. Hungary fo r the World Cham 22 ... a5! 23. ii'd3?! pionship. I tied for first with WGM. White should not have Ukrainian Sveta Cheredichen allowed 23 ...f3. ko, but finished second on tie breaks because of a draw in an earlier round*. And in my match against the fu ture champion, I missed a simple win and over looked a mate in two moves in the end. *The winner was determined by comparing the sums of the two players' cu mulative scores fr om each round. When this method is used, early draws or losses tend to decrease a player's tiebreaks. For example, a loss in the first round and a win in the second round give us 0 (the cumulative score after the first round) + 1 (the cumulative score after the second round) = l, while a win in the first round and a loss in the second give us 1 (first round cumulative score) + 1 (second round cumulative score) =2 How I Became a Grandmaster at J 4 A. KOSTENIUK - li.g6+ Szeged 1994 37 .•.-xfl + 38. 2. KOSTENIUK, Alexandra (RUS) - KISONOVA, Katarina (SVK) Szeged (Hungary) 1994 World Championship (Cadets, girls under 1 O) Bishop's Opening C23 37 .f8if? The fo llowing relatively sim Annotations by GM Korotylev ple line lead to a win: 37.'ii' g8+ and WGM Kosteniuk 'it>h6 38. ifh8+! Ji.xh8 39 .f8if+ GM. One of the reasons why �g7 40.'Wf4+ g5 (40 ...�h7 41. this game is especially notable is lbg5+) 4l.Wfd6+ �h7 42.Ji.d3+ that it made the En cyclopedia of �g8 43.-e6+ �f8 44.ifc8+ After themllt ch inBelgrade, Alextuulra visited thecity of Furog, where sheplllyed arwo game quick time controlmatch againstNenumje Vukovich andwon with the score of 1.5 to 0. 5 European Gold 113 l.e4 e5 2.i.c4 i.c5 3.c3. WGM. 3. 'ifg4 is also interest- • ii tng. i 3 ... lbf6 4.d4 exd4 5.cxd4 i.b4+ 6.ii.d2 ii.xd2+ 7 .lbxd2 d5 8.exd5 lt:Jxd5. WGM. ECO recommends 8 ... 0-0. 9. 'ifb3 c6 10.i.xd5 'ifxd5 ll.ifxd5 cxd5. GM. White has achieved a 28.ti)h4! �f8. small but solid opening advan GM. 28 ...i.g6 was a much tage. more stubborn way to resist. 12.lbgf3 ti)c6 13.0-0 0-0 29.ti)f5 l:e6 30.lbe3 b6. 14.l:fe l i.g4 15.l:acl f6 . GM. Here and at later points of the game, Black unwi sely ignores the opportunity to exchange her relatively inactive bishop by playing 15... i.f3 . 16.l:c5 l:ad8 17.h3 i.h5 18.a4. GM. 18. a3 caused more prob lems fo r Black. 18 ...l:f e8 19.l:e3 �17?! 20.b4! 3t.li)bt! GM. White's advantage begins GM. Unfo rtunately, 31.a6 to become more and more pal doesn't work because of 31... pable. i.e8. The text move decisively 20 ... l:d7 2l.b5 ti)d8 22.l:c8 tips the balance in White's favor. l:ee7 23. �fl lbe6 24.a5 l:d8 31... bxa5 32.lbc3. 25.l:c l l:c7 26.l:xc7+ lbxc7 WGM. Both knights are now 27.l:b3 l:d6. in position to attack the pawn GM. Black misses the last op on d5. portunity to play 27 ... i.f3, which 32... l:d6 33.l:a3 i.g6. allowed her to maintain realistic GM. Unbelievably, Black drawing chances. could have still saved the game How I Became a Grandmaster at 14 with the fo llowing amazing GM. Using the powerful out continuation: 33 ...a6 34.l:xa5 post on e5, White undertakes axb5 35.lill:b5 tbxb5 36. .:.Xb5 i.f7 aggressive actions on the kingside. 37.l:b8+ i.e8+. However, there is a possibility 34.l:xa5 that 12.l:abI was more precise. GM. White achieves a very 12 ... tbe6 13.i.g3 tbc7. competent piece arrangement GM. This chivalrous warrior has from the technical standpoint, traveled all around the chessboard, and the 10-year old girl must be but managed to impress no one. given due credit. 14.lbe5! i.d6 15.f4 i.e6 16.b3. 34 ...cJJ> e8 35. cJJ>e 1 a6 36.bxa6 GM. This move is too passive tbxa6 37 .lbcxd5 cJi>d7 38. �d2 rs and also shows an undue amount 39.tbc4 of confidence. 16.i.h4 increased GM. This puts the last finish White's pressure and her advan ing touch on the game. tage. 16.lba4 also looks promising. 39 ... i.f7 40.tiJxd6 �xd6 16... c5. 41.l:xa6+ �xd5 42.�e3 g6 This is Black's only chance fo r 43.l:a7 i.g8 44.l:g7 Resigns. counterplay. 17.1Wf2 c4 18.i.bl b5 19.a3 a5 3. KOSTENIUK, Alexandra (RUS) 20.f5. - PKHAKADZE, Natia GM. The threat of Black at Szeged (Hungary) tacking on the queenside is high 1994 World Championship ly unpleasant, and the measures White takes to defend against it (cadets, girls under 1 0) must be concrete. Queens Gambit 036 WGM. I decided to deal with Annotations by GM A. Koroty Black's looming queenside threats lev and WGM A. Kosteniuk in a very concrete manner. 1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.lbc3 lbf6 20 ... i.d7 2l.e4 dxe4 22.tbxe4 4.cxd5 exd5 5.i.g5 i.e7 6.e3 0- i.e7 23.lbxf6+! 0 7 .i.d3 c6 s:ii'c2 tiJbd7 9.tiJf3 GM. A series of confident and l:e8 10.0-0 h6. precise moves has made White's GM. This move is a typical continuously growing initiative error: it deprives Black's queen more palpable. side knight of an important base 23 ... i.xf6 24.tbxd7 iixd7 25. on g6. i.e5! l:a6 26.ifg3 tiJd5 27 . .i.e4. 11.i.f4 tiJf8 12.l:ae1. GM. Most likely, this is the European Gold 11 only way fo r White to keep her Back then, Dad accompanied advantage. me to almost all of my tourna 27... l:ld8. ments. But in 1995, the Under 12 Junior Championship was held in Brazil. My trip was paid for by the Federation, but Dad didn't have the money to buy a ticket. I flew by myself, caught a cold, and lost my first round game. I went on to win six straight games after that, but then I became ill again and lost twice more. 28.i.xd5! 4. KOSTENIUK, Alexandra (RUS) GM. Unlike his fe llow clergy - KRUSH, Irina (USA) men, the chess bishop should not San lorenzo (Brazil) be treated with any special rev 1995 World Championship (cadets) erence. When the time is right, Sicilian Defense 85 7 it's not a sin to get rid of him. 28... -xdS 29.l:lf4! ._,c6. Annotations by GM A. Korotylev GM. After 29... i.g5 , the simple l.e4 c5 2.l2Jf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 30. h4 wins the game. 29 ... i.e5 4.lbxd4 l2Jf6 5.l2Jc3 lbc6 6.i.c4 also proves to be fu tile after 30 . 'iWb6 7.lhde2 e6 8.0-0 i.e7 9.ltJg3. .:te5 'Wc6 31. f6 g6 32. l:lh5+-. A more logical plan was chosen 30.l:g4 i.xe5 3l.dxe5 by Fischer in a well-known game GM. A huge fist composed of he played against Benko (Yugo white pawns and pieces is ready slavia, 1959). After 9.i.b3 0-0 to pound on Black's kingside and 10. In the early '90s, there was a period when it was easy to re sign from the army, and Kostya left. Of course, the fa mily began to struggle financially. Kostya would do anything to earn some additional income, declining no offe rs. He unloaded trains, fixed appliances, guarded a bank... Before leaving fo r work, he would leave an assignment fo r Sasha: she had to fi nd a combination, fo r example, or learn an opening variation. Upon returning, he would ask: << How did it go? Did you get it?>> < Konstantin is himself very honest!>> And he really won prone to letting his impulses di $1500, the exact amount we rect his actions. One time Sasha needed to make the trip. needed money to go to a tour But Sasha, on the other hand, nament, and we had no fu nds approaches games of chance with fo r the trip. Kostya went to con apprehension. She says it's in sult with Radko Knezevich. The teresting but dangerous, y.o u can Yugoslav journalist had recently lose a lot of money. She has opened a club called << Hussar learned the importance of every from Riga>> in Hotel Minsk on penny very early in her life, and Tverskaya street. Our fa mily was knows how hard it is to win even friends with Radko - we even the smallest of prizes. celebrated New Years at his club For several years we were once. helped by sponsors, but they re Knezevich says: «Well, what cently began to go through hard can I do to help you? I don't times. Such moments just hap have any money seither. You pen in our lives. Kostya is search know what, let's go to the casino ing again, coming up with one that one of my Yugoslav friends idea after another. He senses a owns. They raffle off lots of great amount of unrealized prizes, and I've won many times. personal potential. A fe eling of Maybe you'll get lucky too.>> So being dissatisfied with himself is Kostya took our last fa mily always present. He works day savings and went to the casino. and night, I don't even know I later got a call in the middle of when he rests. Nothing comes the night: < Annotations by GM A. Korotylev l.e4 c5 2.�f3 �c6 3.d4 cxd4 4.lbxd4 lbf6 5.lbc3g6. Black has picked a risky move order: after 6. ltJc6 be 7. e5, her chances fo r a smooth voyage were by no means excellent. 6.g3?! i.g7 .li)7 de2 d6 8.i.g2 21... li)xb2! 22.li)xe7+ �h8 i.d7. 23.iif3. The placement of Black's There doesn't seem to be a sound queenside bishop did not have to be alternative to this move. determined right away; this decision 23 ... l:xc2 24 . .i.xb2 .ixb2 could have been postponed until 25. 'iib3 i.a4 26.ifd3. after castling. It seems that White is just a tiny 9.0-0 0-0 10.h3 li)e5 ll.g4 h5 bit away from catching the elusive 12.g5 �h7 13.f4? specter of the diagonal check. In Such pawn advances always have chess, however, a tiny bit is not a to becare fullyprepared. In this case, small quantity. 122 How I Became a Grandmaster at 14 31.l:b3 i.xe3 32.l:xe3 i.dl 33.l:xc2 i.xc2 34.l:e2 i.d3 35. l:d2 i.xe4 36. Resigns. 6. KOSTENIUK, Alexandra (RUS) - JAVAKHISHVILI, Lela (GEO) Cola Galdana, Spain 1 996 World Championship (cadets, girls under 1 2) 26 .. .'6b5! Pirc Defense B06 This move nicely sums everything up. Now White can't avoid the loss l.e4 g6 2.g3 i.g7 3.i.g2 tlJc6. of material. For example: 27.tiJcl The first three moves by both ltJxg5! 28.fxg5 i.e5+ 29.�gl ._,xb l sides were so original that the 30.ltJxg6+ fxg6 31. l:xf8+ �g7. current position cannot easily be 27.1Wxb5 i.xb5 28.l:f2 l:e8 ascribed to any known opening. 29.ltJd5 i.xe2 30.ltJe3 .i.d4! 4.tiJe2 e5 5.c3 tiJge7 6.d4 d6 White wasttying to winsomething 7.0-0 0-0 8.f4. back, but all of her attempts turned Of course, such hasty moves are out to be completely futile. avoided by more experienced players, but it's not unusual to see them inthe practice of 12-year-olds. 8 ... i.g4. White would have fe lt much less comfortable had her opponent played 8 ...ed 9.cd i.g4. If play now continued with IO.i.e3, then 10... d5! ll.e5 tiJf5would have given Black a clear advantage. 9.d5 tiJb8 IO.i.e3 c6. Here 1 O ...ef l l .gff5 looked more energetic. When a whole series of great opening opportunities is squandered, adverse consequences will always fo llow. ll.dxc6 bxc6 12.'ii'c2 tiJd7 13.b3 i.e6 14.ltJd2 f5 15.l:adl. Odds and Evens Because Black has more 20.fxe5 dxe4 21.ttJd4 ttJf8. vulnerable squares in her position If 21 ...ttJc5, then 22.ttJa4! than White, the latter's chances should be favored. 15... ilc7 l6.c4 l:ab8 17 .b3 l:fd8. 17... l:bd8 was much more . prectse. 18.ttJf3! h6 19.ltJc3 d5. Afterthis move, White untangles the web of central pawns in a way that benefits her. For that reason, it was better fo r Black to play 19... fe 20.ltJe4 d5 21.ttJc5 ttJc5 22.ii.c5 e4 22.tillce4! (22 ...ef 23.ile2!). This excellent tactical shot leads to a fa vorable endgame. 22 ...fxe4 . The line 22 ...�d4 23.ttJffi+! i.xffi 24.exfli�d l 25.�dl -xg3 26. -c l! WdS alsoWhite in 's favor. 23.:xt'8+.i.xf8 24.tillce6 lhdl + 25. ilxd1 ilxe5 26 . .i.f4 'ii'xe6 2 7.ii.xb8 ttJf5 28.ii.xa7 Intending to counter 28 ... �3 with 29.ilg4!+. 28 ...e3 29.ile2 h5 30.g4 hxg4 31.hxg4 ltJh4 32.ilxe3 ilxg4 33. 'Wh3 'ii'd1+ 34.ii.fl ltJfJ+ 35.�fl ltJd4 36.ild3! Afterthe queen trade, White can fe el completely confident about the game's final outcome. 36 ... ilc2+ 37.ilxc2 ttJxc2 38. ii.b6 i.a3 39.ii.d3 ltJb4 40.ii.b1 �f7 41.�f3 ttJa6 42.ii.e4 c5 43. i.b7 lbb8 44.ii.d8 �e8 45.i.g5 �d7 46. ii.e4 ttJc6 47 .i.f4 Cf:Je7 1 24 How I Became a Grandmaster at 14 48.�g4 �e6 49.�g5 cM7 50 . .i.d3 White is voluntarily walkinginto �g7 5t.ii.d2 �n 52 . .i.f4 �g7 a trap, which she won't notice until 53.ii.e4 rJ;f7 54.ii.d5+! it's too late. Finally, White succeeds in 16... ii.c7 17.ltJe2? breaking into her opponent's fo rtress. 54 ... �e8 55.�f6 �d7 56. ii.e6+ �d8 57.�f7 ltJc6 58.ii.e3 ltJe5+ 59.�f6 ii.b2 60.�g5 �e7 6l.ii.d5ii.a3 62 . .i.e4 �f7 63.ii.f4 �e6 64.ii.d5+ �d6 65.�f6 ii.b2 66.a4 g5 67 .ii.g3 ii.c3 68.a5 Resigns. 7. ZHAO, Xue (CHN) - KOSTENIUK, Alexandra (RUS) 17... i.g4! 18.1Wh4 g5 19.1Wg3 Cola Galdana, Spain 1Wd7. 1996 World Championship In order to rescue her queen, (cadets, girls under 12) White must now allow a weakening of her pawn structure that will be Queen's Gambit 035 demonstrated as fa tal by Black's Annotations by strong 21stmove . GM A. Korotylev. 20.f4 1We6 21.�fl �! 22.l:bel l.c4 e6 2.ltJc3 d5 3.cxd5 exd5 i.xe2 23. • resagns. instructed/or the game to continue, AlextuulraTeceives the medalgold for winningthe Under12 Section of the GirlsWorld ' Cluunpionship. Mm oTCil, Sp ain, 1996 1 6 How I Became a Grandmaster at J 4 and Pa ehtz eventually lost on time. tournament: «Some may point out Sasha and I went fo r a walk that all of the impressive titles won outside, and then called Grandma by Sasha Kosteniuk were acquired to tell her about the tournament in games against girls who haven 't victory. But later in the evening, we yet reached the age of 12. How suddenly discovered that the would the young champion be able German delegation filed a protest, to compete against adult masters and Paehtz was retroactively given and Grandmasters ? Th e question is a draw. Th e head of the Russian a legitimate one, and was probably delegation decided to save himself asked by many before the start of the stress and didn 't even say a the tournament. But as more and word in objection to the ruling. more rounds passed, Alexandra Instead, he started to berate us fo r Kosteniuk was still holding the very protesting too vociferously. Such an top sp ot on the crosschart, and injustice can even make an adult go scoring one win af ter another. She off track fo r the rest of the won it all: the first place, the first tournament, much less a child. But prize, the admiration of the fa ns, fo rtunately, Sasha pulled herself and a fu ll recognition that in fa st together and scored a decisive win chess at least, she can play on the with Black in the last round. same level with the strongestfe male chessplayers in Russia. In quick The Wo rld Championship in chess, it 'Svery hard to manage your Minorca was in October, my victocy time correctly. If you carelessly at the Rapid Championship soon «blitz out» your moves, you risk fo llowed in November, and in fa lling into a lost position where not December, I won the Rapid Russian evesn a big time advantage can get Cup. That's some performance over you out of the hole. And ifyou fa ll just three months! The last of these into aJ0-20 minute daydream, tournaments was the most trying to calculate everything out in challenging, fo r it was attended by the opening, you 'II soon discover five Grandmasters and over ten that you have no time left fo r a masters. And just in general, it's complex middlegame. However you harder to play against adults than approach it, the consequences will your peers. Here 's how ICCF always be most grave. It seems that Grandmaster and a well-known Sasha was able to successfu lly coach Lyudmila BELAVENEZ resolve that dilemma of time described her impressions of the management. She never let her time Odds and Evens 1 27 1 8 How I Became a Grandmaster at 14 get too low, and used her intuition to 12.ii.e3 l2Jc6 13.:bt :b8 14.a4 b6 judge when it was worth to look at the 15.�2 ltJd4 16.liJxd4 cxd4 17 .ii.d2 position fo r a bit longer. She also f5 ts.:et :es 19.g4 .Jlb7 20.exf5 knew when to repeat the position and exf5 21.gxf5 gxf5 22.'ft5 i.xg2+ allow her opponents ' clocks to run, 23. From left to right: Konstantin Kosteniuk, Georges Bertola, Juan Antonio Samaranch, Alexandra Kosteniuk, Paul Ouwehand, Berik Balgabaev 11Gens una Sumus!" (11We are one family", the motto of FIDE) Same fate for all opponents! Alexandra turns in a perfect score in a simul against re aders of "Sport-klub" magazine, Moscow, 2000 Alma mater - The Russian Academy of Physical Education and Sport. From left to right: Chess Faculty Chairperson Evgeny Linovizkiy, Kazbek Akbaev, Alexandra Kosteniuk, Irina Stepanzeva, Vladimir Dobrov, Aleksey Khrushev, Irina Zakudrya eva, Artur Gabrielyan, Alexander Grischuk, Vladimir Potkin, Head Instructor Sergey Grabuzov Lausanne, 200 1 A daring dive ! Alexandra at the match again young French International Master Marie Sebag, Cannes, 200 1 St. -Petersburg, 200 1 Nigel Short, Alexandra Kosteniuk and Jonathan Rowson, Isle of Man, 200 1 Wijk Aan Zee, Holland, 2000 Lausanne, 2000 Lausanne. 200 1 Paris, 200 1 Alexandra in a tournament with the best lady chessplayers of Iran, Te hran, August, 200 1 Alexandra with the Vice President of Iranian Women's Chess Association Ms. Ta khavi Alexandra with Ya bloko leaders Gregory Ya vlinskiy and Sergey /vanenko Alexandra with Ya bloko party Congressmen Sergey Don and Aleksey Melnikov Alexandra at the Tretyakov Art Gallery, Moscow, 200 1 31.%Ixf5 h6. Black resigned, deciding not to 3l ...l:te7 32.11g5+ 'ith8 33.l:tg8# wait fo r 32. 'iff6+. 7 -- 4965 G!Jtl 11W® [!)[;l[2[1[)[I)® Kostya also gave chessinstruction fo r her sister. One time, Ksyusha to our youngest daughter, but achieved a good position, and her because most of his was time was opponent, an older girl, immediately spent on Sasha, Ksyusha's studies offered a draw. Ksyusha of course were less intensive. Whenever Sasha accepted, and that made Sasha very and her Dad left town fo r distressed. < • In order to become a candidate master (the next step up from first category), one has to score three candidate master norms. My Two Darling Chess Players 1 3 1 while she had to do hard work. own interests, and she had hers. Sasha also wanted to stay home For example, the girls at school with Mom like Ksyusha, but she could decide to hang out after had to travel to tournaments with classes were over, but Sasha didn't Dad, who brought her up in a have time fo r that. Whom could stricter fashion. she then share her girl secrets with? But now, she and Ksyusha are That's why Sasha and Ksyusha are liketwo bestgirlf riends. Sasha really very close now, and miss each other hasn't had any true fe male friends a lot when Sasha's at tournaments. in life. In sports, people may chat Ksyusha will gladly stay up fo r as and smile, but the bottom line is long as necessary to meet her sister that they're competitors, and close at the airport or the train station. relationships just don't develop. And Sasha always brings her Sasha didn't spend too much time younger sibling presents. attending school. By the time A fe w years ago, both sisters she'd return from a tournament, became vecyinterested injournalism. her classmates would already have They attend ajournalism club, where an established circle of friends. a great instructorteaches young men They did treat her well and were and women to pay closer attention to proud of her, but they had their the world around them, to look at .KsyuslulKosteniuk contemplates hernext move 1 ,. 2 How I Became a Grandmaster at 14 their actions in greater detail, and of legendary poet. Ksyusha also plans course to express their thoughts on to attend the Moscow Academy of paper in an interesting and Physical Education and Sport, but professionalway. Sasha has long been wants to specialize in sports drawn to creative writing: she began journalism. writing poetry at a very young age. I don't know, perhaps when Sasha Though because Sasha is always out looks back on her life, she will say: of town, they were hesitant about < Alexandra at the "Petrositm club " in MoscowwithfeUow chessplayers Albert Gurvich andGadir Guseynov JJC!J011 ®�� [10fJ� ��[!.) 0® llil��tl ®®�[10 11® � Dad was my first coach, and lines like 3. i.b5 in the Sicilian. remains my best helper to this day. With Black, I tried the Scan He knows me very well, gives me dinavian Defense which turnedout support when things get rough, to be totally out of tune with my always cares about me, and worries style. And so I had to return to my fo r my well-being. Thanks to him, original repertoire. Currently, I am I gradually rose to a higher level being assisted by young Muscovite and became in need of a stronger Grandmaster Aleksey Korotylev, chess consultant. and our studies are beneficial to But my dealings with coaches both of us. hired << from the side>> weren't When critically evaluating the simple. Their attitude towards my games I've played over the years, I progress was oftentoo nonchalant. notice certain gaps in my chess When they heard that their student education. When I was a child, we had a poor performance, they'd say mostly concentrated on tactics, something like: << That's too bad, but solving numerous problems in books oh well. Hope you do better next and on the computer. But now I time!>> We tried to study with realize that I have serious problems numerousmast ersand grandmasters, with strategic understanding of yet my results not only didn't positions. I recommend that all improve , but in fa ct became worse. young chessplayers (and not just the For example, I spent a year training young ones) carefully study anno with one strong master. Originally, tated classical games - it's both my opening repertoire consisted of important and helpful. open games and sharp modern If any boy or girl is burning with variations. Then after a year of a desire to become a grandmaster, studying with him, I began trying they should understand that they 1 36 How I Became a Grandmaster at 14 will have to devote practically all of What were the players' thoughts? their time to chess in order to Or sometimes, the solution will say achieve that goal. I studied a great something like < Alexandra 's first visit to Elista. Coach Jlictor Chyomiy ison theleft; fe llowplayers Elizoveta Zhurina andEleiUl Lopatskaya are on the right. May, 1997 1 38 How I Became a Grandmaster at 14 naturally, this is only a test. For with an extra rook and an exchange. instance, I can get around an Upon the game's completion, unfamiliar city pretty well - ifI have Ye vgeniy said: << That game was a map with me, of course! incredibly interesting! Do you maybe After fm. ishlng a game, I usually want to go over it?>> I replied: << I'd love analyze it twice while it's still fresh to, but right now I am awfullytired .» in my brain, first with my opponent Though when you analyze a game and then with my coach. Then I look in the tournament hall, big crowds at it again with my coach some time of people start to gather around the afterthe tournament. That way I get board, hands obstruct the view by what I call < Theyoung Grandmaster givessimul a to test the strength of thenext generation Just One Life and So Many Goals to Achieve/ 1 v9 at during the game. It's also everything if you succeed in necessary to come back to your organizing yourself. games a while after the tournament Up until 7th grade, school was ends, when the passions hadtime to very easy fo r me, but then I started cool down. to have problems with algebra and Unfortunately, I didn't devote as geometry. I was able to overcome much time to such work in my them, of course, but still couldn't childhood as I should have. Right do better than Bs. And in 9th grade, now I have a separate database of things began to get really difficult. my games fo r classical, rapid, and There were a lot of tournaments: blitz time controls*. I rarely write first 1 went to play in the verbal annotations to my games, Yugoslavian league, and then only if asked to by a magazine. traveled to the Olympiad in Elista There was a point when I started immediately thereafter. And upon writing detailed annotations to my my arrival back in Moscow, my games, but then quickly stopped fo r << beloved>> chemistryhomework was some reason. waiting fo r me. There was also a big I only do sports when I am not change in the school staffthat year, at tournaments, fo r I believe it's and the new pedagogues were very best to conserve energy during antagonistic towards my missingso competitions. Though occasionally, much class. I basically had to leave I will go to the pool afterthe game school. One teacher was always and swim at a leisurely pace to calm giving me Bs despite the fa ct that I my nerves. I've attended several knew the subject better than the A sportsclubs: swimming, karate and students. One time I asked her why body-shaping. (I've also learned she wouldn't give me an A. < *Traditionally, a player gets 5 minutes for the entire game in blitz chess, 30 minutes in rapid chess, and at least 90 minutes in classical time controls. 140 How I Became a Grandmaster at 14 external examinations to get my of what you do, there's no need to secondacy education diploma. rush it. People often question the Unfo rtunately, I never had a choices they've already made. I graduation ball. I watched gradua thinkthat most ofthe time, we know tions on TV, and it made me kind why we've done what we've done, of sad. All the girls were preparing but chase the truth away as it can fo r the big night, sewing their often be scary. I am confident that dresses, choosing their hair styles ... people's actions come from within Though I passed my exams two themselves, not from their years before my classmates, so I surroundings. may still go to their graduation. But If a person can believe in I am surely not going to sew a dress something, she should do so. Life is just fo r that occasion! basically based on fa ith at its Chess is the only thing I fo undation: a child believes what the associate my near fu ture with. If adults tell him. There are things not chess, then what else? By the which we can not ascertain, so we time I am 21 years old, I will have trust that they're true. graduated from the Academy of There are times during a tour Physical Culture with a higher nament game when you see a education. I like all of the subjects strong move fo r your opponent and that we study at school, and begin to worry: << Oh, God fo rbidhe whenever I am not at a tournament, finds it!>> But going to higher I try to attend class. Recently, I've powers fo r help, like << Oh please, I become really interested in really need this victory!>> isn't philosophy; I've always held this something I ever allow myself. very word in high regard, and now Where do I get my energy? I we also have a great instructor who don't even know. Mostoften, I don't makes it really interesting. The leave my board during a game. But meaning of life is something I often there are also times when I simply think about. can't remain sitting in one place. When I was little, I always tried When I went to the Tchigorin to make time go faster, especially Memorial in St. Petersburg, I when I eagerly awaited some event. strictly told myself: < *The original Russian word is defined as best performance achieved in a competi tion or in a field of work. Hence, other various meanings of the English word << record>> wo uldn't apply here.) 1 42 How I Became a Grandmaster at 14 talking non-stop. Dad then asked simuls). I really enjoy teaching me: < But my < There are times when I want to I haven't done it yet, but I want to! be leftalone. On other occasions, I So I couldn't really say that I am a really fe el like talking to someone total stranger to impulsiveness. But - it all depends on my mood. But I when I fe el like I am losing my head, really dislike loud gatherings with I try to keep at least 50% of myself a lot of people, they give me chills. fm nly on thegrou nd. I like being in the company of Otherwise , such things will people whom I know very well. engulf you like chess. Chess is I am often asked whether I am definitelya type of a << hard drug>>, impulsive or prone to gambling. I fo r at some point, you no longer wouldn't say that I am. One time fe el like yourself without a regular there was a holiday blitz tournament dose of the game. It's a pity: held at a casino, and I received a there's only one life, and we chip that couldn't be exchanged fo r gradually get older, but there are money. I quickly lost it, but didn't so many things we want to try! It's really have a desire to continue. impossible though - once you When you lose at chess, you at least chose something, you have to know the reason fo r your fa ilure, stick with it. How I Became a Grandmaster at 14 LESSON 19. SCORE 155 POINTS! And now, I suggest that you test your strength by solving the problems that were given to me by my coach A. Korotylev throughout the past year. For every challenge, I have indicated how many points you 'II receive if you find the correct solution in the given period of time. L - white to move;� - black to move. 1. A. SHIROV - L. YUDASIN 3. S. GLIGORICH - B. LARSEN Moscow 1994 Havana 1967 6 points, 15 min 5 points, 1 0 min �& � i.t.ii ' ' ��· � � � � lb ��� : � :� 2. J. HJARTARSON - A. KARPOV 4. E. GELLER - L. PORTISCH SeaHie 1989 Moscow 1967 5 points, 15 min 4 points, 15 min .t. Just One Life and So Many Goals to Achieve/ 145 5. P. SVIDLER - A. SOKOLOV 8. A. KO ROTYLEV- V. SAVON Elista 1994 Alushta 1998 4 points, J 5 min 5 points, J 0- J 5 min 6. I. GREENFELD - L. POLUGAYEVSKY 9. V. ANAND - G. LAUTIER Riga 1979 Biel 1997 J 0 points, 30-40 min 6 points, 20 min .i. .I '' • • � 7. B. GELFAND - V. ANAND 1 0. L. POLUGAYEVSKY - M. TAL Shenyang 2000 37th USSR CHAMPIONSHIP, 1969 7-8 points, 20-25 min 8 points, 30 min 1 46 How I Became a Grandmaster at 14 11. A. DREEV- Y. SEIRAWA N 14. E. LASKER- A. NIMZOVICH Wiik ann Zee 1992 Zurich 1934 8 points, 25 min 4 points, 1 0 min '' 12. S. DOLMATOV - A. BELIAVSKY 15. A. MILES - A. ADORJAN USSR 1989 Riga 1979 5 points, 20 min 6 points 20 min 13. B. SPASSKY - L. PORTISCH 16. M. ADAMS - V. KRAMNIK Geneva 1977 Moscow 1994 4 points , J 5 min 7 points, 25 min Just One Life and So Many Goals to Achieve I 1 47 17. M. SADLER - NIKOLOV 20. V. SMYSLOV - P. KERES Elista 1998 Moscow 1941 1 0 min, 4 points 4 points, 1 0 min 1 8. SKEMBRIS - A. BELIAVSKY 21. R. RETI -A. ALEKHINE Yugoslavia 1 994 Baden-Baden 1925 4 points, 1 0 min 8 points, 30 min. 19. M. BOTVINNIK - M. TA L 22. V. ANAND - V. IVANCHUK Moscow 1960 Las Palmas 1996 7 points, 25 min 6 points, 20 min .. I. .tiV •• '' -*-' ' ''' ' i '' � .t ltJ ., i.a 88: .t 88 888 : + 23. N. SHORT - B. GELFAND 26. T. PETROSJAN - S. GLIGORICH Brussels 1 991 Zagreb 1974 4 points, 1 0 min 8 points 20-25 min 24. V. IVANCHUK - L. PORTISCH 27. A. KARPOV - G. KAMSKY Linares 1990 Linares 1993 6 points, 25 min 5 points, 15 min 25. V. ANAND - V. KRAMNIK las Palmas 1996 CHECK 4 points, 1 0 min YOUR SOLUTIONS: 1) 20 . .i.xa4! .i.xa4 21.lhe6 l2Jg6 22.b4! 22.'iWxd5 l2Jf4; 22.l2Jxd5?! .i.b3. 22 .••1ia7 23.b5 'iia5 24.b6 i.e8 25.l2Jxd5!? 25.b7 l:tb8 26.l:b6+. 25 •.•.i.f7 26.l:xg6!? .i.xg6 27.c6oo l:ae8 28.b7 .i.f7. Just One Life and So Many Goals to Achieve/ 1 49 28 ...l:e l 29.h3! l:xfl+ 30.�xfl Draw agreed, although Black l:e8 3l.�gl+-. already had the upper hand. For 29.liJb6 �e6. instance, 33.'ii'g3 ..tg7 34.f4 i.xb2. 29 ...:e 1 30. 'ii'b4! l:xfl+ Themes: calculation, evaluation of 3l.�xfl 1ia6+ 32.�gl+-. position, the art of a"anging pieces 30.h4. harmoniously. 30.a4 l%d8 3l.'ifb2. 30 ...'ii' xa3 31.l:b1 l:d8? 3) 11... l:f5 ! 3l... 'ifa7 32.'ii'd6! 'ifb8 33.ltJc8! The exploitation of the light :Xc8 34.1i'xe6+ �h8 35.bxc8'ii'+ squares is consistent with Black's ; 31... \Wa2 32.l:b4+. plan. This move allows him to 32.'ii'xd8 :Xd8 33.c7+-. counter 12.lbxe4? with 12... h5! The Theme:posit ional sacrifice game continued: 2) 24 ...c4! 12.d5!? .:g5 13.'ii'f4 exd5 14. cxd5 Because White was threatening ..txd5 15.c4 ..tc6! 16.ltJxe4 l:g6 25.liJb3 and 25 . ..tf5, Black didn't 17. ..tb2 ltJa6 18.f3? liJb4! 19 . ..tc3 have a choice. The move in thegame ltJd3 20.1i'f5 'ft4! 21. ltJf6+ gxf6 is fo rced, but also quite sufficient. 22. 'ii'xd3mt6 23.h3 26 ..•cxd3 27 .:Xd3 :Xe5! Naturally, this sacrifice was 4) 14.dxe5! dxe5. calculated in advance. Othetwise, After 14... ltJxe5 15.ltJxe5 dxe5 Black would just be down a pawn. 16.'ii'f3,White would still retain the 28.l:xd4 l:xe1+ 29.�h2 l:xc1 initiative. 30.ltJf3?! 15.ltJh5! 'ii'e7 16.ltJh4 ltJxh5 17. 30.ltJb3 would have given White _.xb5 lba5 (17... ltJd8 18.M!+) 18. approximate equality. ..tg5! 'ifd7 19.lladl ..td6 20 . ..txh6 30 ...l:c5! gxh6 (20 ...lbxb3 21 . .i.xg7 rf;xg7 22. An excellent maneuver that ltJ5+ winsfo r White) 21.'ii'g6+ d allows Black to achieve ideal piece 22. 'ii'f6 cwt>g823.l:e3 Resigns. coordination. Strategy and tactics in the Ruy 31.l:d7 ..txf3 32.'ii'xf3 :rs. Lopez. 150 How I Became a Grandmaster at 14 '� 5) 16.i.c4! 29 .i.xc6+�e7 + or 26.i.xc6 :Xe1 27. Thisbishop manemer overprotects i.xd7+ � 28.'iWffi l:e3+ 29. �g4 the d5square , and takesaway Black's (29.�f2? l:xe5+ 30.�g3 l:e3+ hopes fo r counterplay at the same 31.� l:e4+ 32.� i.d6+ 33.�h3 time. :xh4#) 29 ...lle4+ 30.�h3 :xh4+ 16... l:f e8 17.i.b3. 31.�3 :h7 32. 'iid8+ (32.i.xe6?! White can't play 17.lbxe7+ :Xe7 llf4 33.'iid8+ �g7 34.i.g4TM llh8 18.he6 :Xe6 19.:Xd6? because of 35.'iid7 i.f2+ 36.�h3 h5-+) 19... 'ii c7 20.:hd1 ltJd4!! 32 ...�g7 33.'iif6+�g8 34.1id8+ 17... 1ic5 18.lld3! �7 (34... i.f8?! isrisky) with a draw. White not only doubles his 21... ltJ&S! 22.lld4 llc8 23. lledl rooks, but also underscores the g5! 24.i.xc6+ 'iWxc6+. vulnerable position of Black's Ta ctical vision, calculation. queen. Black now has to keep the potential lld3-c3 in mind. 7) 30 ...llc2 ! 18... b5 19.:bdl ltJa5 20.lbxe7+ 30 ...:Xb2 was insufficientbeca use :Xe7 21.:Xd6 lbxb3 22.lld8+ lle8 of 3l.c7! llb1+ (31 ...ltJf2+ 32.�g1 23.:Xe8+ :Xe8 24.axb3+. ltJg4+ 33.'iixd4+ cxd4 34.c8'ii Strategy, improving piece placement. l:b 1+ 35.�f1 ltJe3 36.'iia6+-) 32.i.fl:xt1 + 33. �g2 l:gl + 34. 20 ..•gxh6 ? c1!fb8 35.ltlb4 f5 36.ltlg6+ c1!fg8 The result would remain the 37 .:x&7 Resigns. same after 20... g6 21.i.xg6! 'ii'xd1 Ta ctical vision, calculation. 22.:Xe6+ <&tf8 23.l:xf7+ ll... i.e7? 12.liJc7+ %lxc7 13. almost equal position. But now i.xc7 1kxc7 14.i.xa6 i.xa6 15. 18... bxa4 19.bxa4 d5 doesn't work :Xc6 1Wd7 16.liJe5. ( 18... i.g7!oo was better), and after 12.liJc7+. the immediate 18... d5? White still 12.ltJd6+?! i.xd6 13.i.xd6 played 19.i.xf8 12 ..• :Xc7 13. .ba6! now 23.a5! %le7 24. ifb2+ leads to 13.i.xc7? 1Wxc7 14.i.xa6 ltJdb8 a clear advantage. 15.i.xb7 'ii'xb7 and b5. Strategy in the Ruy Lopez. 13•.. i.xa6 14.i.xc7 1Wxc7 15. :Xc6 ifb7 16.lbe5 i.e7 17.b4! f6 13) 20.liJh2! i.g7 21.%lf1 h5 ( 17... i.c4 18.liJxc4 dxc4 19.b5!+) 22.f3 1We7?23.i.g5! 1Wts 24.f4 exf4 18.b5 i.xb5 19.1Wxb5 fxe5 20. 25.%lxf4 liJfd7 26.%lafl liJe5 0-0! (20.l:xe6 exd4 21.0-0 54 ...g3 55.l:fl + �g4 56.�e3 18) 18..• lLlc7 g2 57.l:gl �g3 58.l:bl �h2 Planning to play lLlc7-b5-d4. 59. 55 . ..<&t>a 56.l:e2+! 26.%1c3 _.g5 27.1Wa2 f5 28.exf5 21) 26 ••.l:e 3!! Wxf5 29. ..tg2 lLlf6. White can't play 27.fxe3? Wxg 3+ Threatening h7-h5-h4. 28.i.g2 l2Jxe3 and checkmate 30.llc7? ..txf3 31.l:xb7 ltJg4 fo llows soon thereafter. (31 ...1Wc8) 32.ltlxg4 ..txg4 33. ltlfl 27 .ltJf3?! ltle2+34. c:;h1 i.f335. ltld2 lbxg3+ It's better to play 27. 2.1Wxh4 lbxh4 3.ltJb6 :lb8 4 . ..tf4 3.dxe5 dxe5 4.1Wxd7lbxd7 5.lbxt7! ltJf5 5.d5col:e8. c4. Intending to counter 6.g4? with 5 ...l&J7 6 . ..te6+- . 6 ...:e4. 6.lbxd8 .:Xd8 7 . ..tc2. 6. 8.h3 i.e5 9.:te3. 15... ..txb2 l6.l:g3..te5 17. l:aa3 9.hxg4 1Wxg4+ 10. ®Ul&rn[!)lU\&0U'I] Ul0a C3�W&al�9 I first met Sasha Kosteniuk six ticeable players on the field. One years ago. She and I were both can't help but to recall the spe playing in a blitz tournament at cial fo ndness held fo r soccer and the Mikhail Tal club, located at other sports by fo rmer World hotel Minsk in Moscow. The 10- Champion Nona Terentyevna year-old girl looked quite good Gaprindashvili. I won't make in her matches against masters any more comparisons, but I and grandmasters. I was amazed simply couldn't resist! by her practical strength in I became closer acquainted 5-minute games as well as her with Sasha and her father-coach firm competitive character. (As Konstantin at an international I fo und later, the latter trait is tournament in Bled (Slovenia) evidently from her dad). in 1999. Before every round, I Later, I would often hear would spend 1-2 hours helping about Sasha's successful perfor her prepare fo r the games, and mances at the European and then assisted her in the post World Junior Championships. mortem analysis. And in 1996, I personally wit I recall that Sasha performed nessed Sasha sealing one of her very well and won the ladies' European titles among girls un prize, but the shortcomings in der the age of 12. My 10-year her play could nevertheless be old son was playing in the boys' seen with a naked eye. To start section of the under 10 cham pi with, she only had a limited set onships that year, and every of familiar middlegame positions evening the kids would get to in her arsenal. And that resulted gether to play soccer. Sasha was in her making incorrect strategic definitely one of the most no- decisions, especially when 1 8 How I Became a Grandmaster at 14 transferring into an endgame. the ideal. The next time I saw Her endgame play was also her was in 2000, at the Chigorin somewhat weak, but that's Memorial in St. Petersburg. To perfectly natural fo r a player her be honest, I fe lt like I was age. Nevertheless, it didn't take observing a totally different too long to spot her tremendous chessplayer. Her play was much potential, and it was clear that if more solid, and confidence Sasha's interest in chess did not radiated from her decisions. She wane, the world would in time fo ught on the same level with see a very strong chessplayer. In masters and grandmasters even addition to her excellent when the positions were competitive character, her unfamiliar. Her opponents were strengths included being able to beginning to be scared of her. use the computer in her game Sasha's victory over strong master preparation (a skill that's Y. Shaposhnikov shows that she's absolutely essential to a chess getting even better at the things professional of today) as well as she does best. She masterfully the ability to take the coach's realized her advantage in a very advice concretely. The latter skill complex Scheviningen Sicilian usually got her good positions out middlegame, where hardly all of the opening. On top of that, grandmasters would have played she was already very good at sharp so competently. Now she must and concrete opening variations. learn to play equally strongly in (The game against Helmit closed games. Sasha also acquired Waeller in the Scandinavian an ability to hold tough positions Defense is a good example of against high-rated opponents. that.) But while she was already (For example, games with a master in this type of game, Nadyrhanov and Sulkis). Sharp there was still much she had to and concrete play remains her learn about other types of play. specialty (the game against I remember that because of the Sutovsky), but poor evaluation of limited time we spent studying positions when transferring into together, 1 only gave Sasha a few an endgame still lets her down. recommendations fo r building her This observation is a call to opening repertoire and provided action! Alexandra has clearly her with some guidelines on how progressed in her study of to gradually advance it towards openings, especially on the white Grandmasters, Beware/ 159 side. She always selects the most It's very helpful when you're uncompromising theoretical familiarwith typical endgames that lines, and that's a sign of arise from a specific opening continuous intensive work. I variation. Then you'll know in would also recommend fo r her which pawn structure it's better to add more flexibility to her to keep certain pieces on the repertoire in order to be able to board, and when it's better to tmde take psychological fa ctors into them. Basically, one must learn consideration when choosing to play the endgame << like a what to play against a specific human>> - basing decisions on opponent. Unfortunately, there is general evaluations and not on the still a lack of precision when brutal computer-like fo rce of playing with Black, and that's memorizing and calculation. unacceptable on a grandmaster Overall, Sasha's play in St. level. When playing with White, Petersburg made a good you can make a small mistake and impression on me. She needs to still avoid a loss, but you can't keep up her interest in chess and affo rd the same luxury when try to make a small leap because playing with the black pieces. young women usually have less It's necessary to study the time than men. This is the only endgame, not only through circumstance that makes me hold improving your ability to calculate off on grandiose predictions. I with precision (by solving studies), don't think that asceticism fits but more importantly, by well with Sasha's nature, and increasing your general knowledge. sacrificing everything fo r the sake This can be done by reading books of chess perhaps isn 't too wise. by Panchenko, Shereshevsky and This is a very hard and complex Smyslov (on rook endgames), and issue that has nothing to do with Portisch and Scharkosi. And once the game itself! you get to the next level, you And now I would like to should check out wonderful present you with several of Al studies by Grigoriev. It's important exandra's games played in the to pay attention to the transition period between 1999 and 2000. between the middlegame and the By analyzing them, you will not endgame. You should keep the only see the strong and weak possible endgame in mind even sides of her play, but also notice when you'reanalyzing an opening! the quick progress that she 160 How I Became a Grandmaster at 14 achieved by working on her mis takes. I hope that the brief an notations and summaries will assist all young chessplayers in their quest fo r improvement. A KOSTENIUK - 0. ROMANISHIN Bled 1999 Sicilian Defense B40 l.e4 c5 2.ltJf3 e6 3.c4 ltJc6 37 ...hxg4 38.hxg5 l:txh2 39. 4.ltJc3 ltJf6 5.i.e2 'iib6!? 6.0-0 �xh2 l:th8+ 40.�gl ltJh3+ 41. i.e7 7 .d3 d6 8.h3 i.d7 9.i.e3 �n l:th4! 42.gxf6+ H. WA ELLER - A. KOSTENIUK Bled 1999 17.1ixb4?! (17.1ie2) 17... axb4 Scandinavian Defense BO 1 18. .ib3 b5 19.f4 bxc4 20.i.xc4 g6 21.ltJf3 l:ta5 22.ltJe2 ltJh5 l.e4 d5 2.exd5 'ji'xd5 3.ltJc3 23.fxe5 dxe5 24.g4 ltJg7 25.l:tf2 1ia5 4.d4 ltJf6 5.ttJf3 i.g4 6.h3 i.e6 26.i.xe6 lbxe6 27 . .:tal l:tfa8 i.h5 7 .g4 i.g6 8.i.g2 ltJc6 9.0-0 28.ltJcl f6p 29.ltJd2 ltJf4 30.l:tf3 0-0-0 10.i.d2 'iib6 ll.ltJa4 'iib5 g5 31.tLlc4 l:t5a6 32.b3 �g7 12.b3 ltJxd4 13.c4 1ie8 14.ltJxd4 33.l:tbl h5 34.l:tb2 l:th8 35.l:th2 lhd4 15.'ii'f3 i.e4 16.1ie3 e5 17. :h7 36.l:tg3 :as 37 .h4. i.c3 i.xg2 18.�xg2. Good position from the open ing, active play - not a bad game overall. A. KOSTENIUK - I. BALl NOV Bled 1999 Sicilian Defense B40 l.e4 c5 2.l2Jf3 e6 3.c4 ltJc6 4.ltJc3 liJf6 5 • .i.e2 .i.e7 6.0-0 1ib6 7 .d3 d6. 18•.• ltJxg4! 19.hxg4 l:xg4+ 20. 8.l2Jel! Not repeating the incorrect 8.h3/9 . .i.e3 maneuver from the game with Romanishin. 22 ... 15.e5! ..tc6 16.tbe4 dxe5 17. hxg4 0-0-0 18.g5 ..tg7 19.fxe5 ..txe5 20 . ..tf4 ..tg7 21.1ie2 h4 22. ttJd6+ llxd6 23 . ..txd6 h3 24.I:xf7 hxg2 25.1ixe6+ �d8 26 . ..te7+ �c7 27 . ..txc5+ �b8 28 . ..txb6 l:bl+ 29.�f2 axb6 30.l:tgl. Re- signs.• Everything went White's way! The opening was well-known, tactics were in great shape as 17... b6 18.b4 ..tb7 19.�d2 h6 usual, and there was no endgame 20.I:hgl ..tf6 21.l:tg2 l:hg8 this time. 22.I:agl I:g7 23.e3 l:td8 24.b3 ..tc8 25.I:at a6 26 . ..te2 ..tb7 27.%th2 �e6 28.l'iJel l:a8 29.l'iJf3 K. WILHELMI - A. KOSTENIUK �d6 30.l:g2 c5 31.bxc5+ bxc5 Bled 1999 Dutch Defense AS 1 32.lla5 c4 33.b4 ..tc6 34.l:al �e6 35 . ..tdl �n 36 . ..tc2 e6 l.d4 f5 2.g3 l2Jf6 3 ..i.g2. g6 37 .l:tggl l:tgg8 38.l:ta2 ..i.b5 4.c3 ..tg7 5.1ib3 c6 6.l'iJd2 d5 39.llgal l:ab8. 7 .l'iJh3 ii'b6 8.l'iJf4 l'iJa6 9.h4. K K � i i.tii .t i i 8i8 8 8 8 81:tJ : �� 8 : 40.i.a4 l:b7 41.�e2 l:gb8 42 . ..txb5 axb5 43. �d2 l:c8 44. �c2 9 ... W'xb3 IO.axb3 l'iJc7 ll.l'iJf3 l:cc7 45.�b2 l:e7 46.l:a6 l:ed7 l'iJe6 12.l'iJd3 l'iJd8 13. ..tf4 l'iJn 47 .l:tla5 �e7 48.l:tc6 l:d6 49. 14.l'iJg5 ttJh5 15.ttJxn �xn l:c5 l:tdb6 50.l:c8 �f7 51.l:aa8 16. ..tf3 l'iJxf4 17. gxf4. ..tg7 52.l:g8 l:c7 53.l2Je5+ i.xe5 Grandmasters, Beware/ 1 ( 3 54.dxe5 l:a7 55.l:af8+ ct;e7 ct;e8 34.l:hbl l:c7 35.l:bdl 1if7 56.l:f6 l:tba6 57 .l:g7+ Resigns. 36. ilh6± ilh7. This game was completely dominated by Sasha's opponent. • She lost all of the endgames in ..... 'i' that tournament, and drew the one � ..t�.-. where she played best But the &8& opening preparation is great, and • the continuous work is apparent. 8 8 8 8� A. KOSTENIUK - N. BOJKOVIC Bled 1999 ll Sicilian Defense B22 37.ilxb7? (37.'ii'f4 +) 37... l.e4 c5 2.c3 l2Jf6 3.e5 ltJd5 l:xb7 38. 112 8• 164 How I Became a Grandmaster at J 4 7.i.c4 i.g4 8.b3 i.h5 9.lilc3 'ii'd7 'ii'e8 42.b5 i.e7 43. A. KOSTENIUK - N. PRAZNIK Bled 1999 French Defense C 1 1 1.e4 e6 2.l2Jf3 d5 3.ttJc3 lilf6 4.e5 lilfd7 5.d4 c5 6.dxc5 ttJc6 7 .i.f4 ltJxc5 8.i.d3 i.e7 9.h4 h6 IO.h5 'ii'b6 ll.l:bl i.d7 12. .t ·K iiif .tXi ii i 8.\ ii 8 8 ltJ .\8 88 iV 8 8.1. 8 iVttJ: 8 8 :\it 36.c5 'ifd7 37.ii'c4 :r4 38.g3 35.e5 'ifxe5 36.'ifa8 .t .! studied openings is rather small, and there is no clear direction iV •• in opening study. It was those i i very problems that Sasha and I ii iii 8 addressed when we worked to iltJ gether in Bled. 8 : K 8 A. KOSTENIUK - E. SUTOVSKY :� England 2000 Sicilian Defense 857 40.ltJg5+ hxg5 41.h6 Alextuulra withIsraeli Grandmaster Emil Sutovsky 8-4965 166 How I Became a Grandmaster at J 4 a tactical struggle, Sasha can fight on the same level with a strong grandmaster. S. NADYRHANOV - A KOSTENIUK St.Petersburg 2000 Sicilian Defense B3 1 1.e4 c5 2.ltJf3 ltJc6 3 . .i.b5 g6 4 . .i.xc6 dxc6 5.d3 .li.g4 6.lbbd2 18. ..i.e2 exd5 19.ltJd4 iig5 .i.g7 7 .h3 .i.xf3 8.-xf3 ltJf6 9. 20.lbxc6 ..i.h3 21.f4 -f6 22.l:f3 0-0 0-0 10.iie2 ltJe8 11.a4 ltJc7 l:tfe8 23.l:d3 l:ac8 24.ltJd4 l:c4 12.ltJc4 ltJe6 13.f4. 25.ltJf3 l:ce4 26 . ..i.fl ..i.g4 27 .h3 .i.f5 28.:Ixd5 l:e3 29.l:xd6 iic3. K ii a i i.: i.ti i : � lZJ �� .t. � � � �� iV � iV KlZJ�� : � : � 13... b5!? 14.ltJe3 ltJd4 15.ii'd1 iV ia� f5 16.c3 ltJe6 17.e xf5 gxf5 18. axb5 cxb5 19.iib3 -b6 20.g4 Draw. �h8 21.gxf5. Sasha played the opening in an interesting way and achieved K K • an advantage. I think that it was i i .ti too early to take a draw in such iV • a sharp position. White could ii � have tried to play on, fo r exam � ple: 30.l:b3 iixc2 31.ii'xc2 .i.xc2 iJI�� ltJ � 32.l:xe3 :Ixe3 33.:Id8+ .i.f8, and � now 34. ltJe5!?, 34. �f2 or 34. ltJd4 : ia :� with slightly superior chances. In Grandmasters, Beware/ White offered a draw, and Sasha accepted. Opponents were beginning to fe ar her. Afterencountering a new situation, she didn't play too con fidently at first, but didn't wait fo r her pieces to get tied up and begun counterplay with 13... b5!? And a year earlier, she would have gone completely on the defen sive in a position like this. 25.1:0? (25.l:.al .:ta8 26.l:bl +) 25 ...ltJe4+ 26. �e3 .:xn 27 . ..txn A. KOSTENIUK - A. BERELOVICH ltJf6 28.i..h3+ S. SULKIS - A. KOSTENIUK St. Petersburg 2000 (7 .0-0 or 7. iie2 were 7 .e5!? larsen Opening AO 1 also possible) 7 ••.c5 8.dxc5 dxe5 9.fxe5 liJd7 10.e6 fxe6 11.ii.e3 1.b3 e5 2.ii.b2 ltJc6 3.e3 g6?! ltJe5 12.l2Jxe5 ii.xe5 13.'iig4 ltJf6 4.f4 i..g7 5.ltJf3 d6? 6.fxe5? (6. 14.-xe6 i.xc3+ 15.bxc3 ii.xg2 ii.b5+) 6 ..•ltJxe5 7 .ltJxe5 dxe5 16.l:.g1 1i'd5 17.iixd5 ii.xd5 18. 8.ii.c4 ii'h4+ 9.g3 'iie7 10.e4?! a4 bxa4 19• .:txa4 ii.c6 20.l:.xa6 ltJf6 11.'ji'fJ i..g4 12.'iie3 h5 l:xa6 21.ii.xa6 ltJd5 22.ii.d4 l:.f8 13.h3 i..d7 14.i..a3 -d8 15.ltJc3 23. �f5 55. iff3+ �e6 56.1ic6+ �5 57.�f3+ 17. .txf7+ Wxf7 18.ii'c4+ Wf6 19.h4 .tfB 20.0-0+ Wg7 2t.:f7+ Wh6 22.-tc1 .tg7 23.d4+ Wh7 24. .tg5 g8'ii' 25.:an exd4 26.l2Jd5. 69 •••d3 70.iff8+ 26 . . . :rs 27.l?Je7 :xn 28.:xt7 had an ELO of over 2500! lt'·s 1ie8 29.lbxc6 bxc6 30.l:e7 1if8 clear that her defensive tenacity 3l.l:xd7 ii'f3 32.ii'd3 ii'g4 has grown immensely. 33.l:f7 l:f8 34 . .:xts .txfS 35. Wg2 it.d6 36 . .tf6 c5 37.e5 .tf8 38. iff3 A. KOSTENIUK - 'ii'd7 39.ii'e4 ii'e6 40.Wf2 c6 41. Y. SHAPOSHNIKOV d6 IO.iiel 0-0 ll.it'g3 i.d7 : .i. • 12.�hl b5 13.a3 ltJxd4 14.i.xd4 iii i.c6 15.l:tael ltad8 16.i.d3. i • i i � �� j_ �� : 32.l:txc8! Itxc8 33.iixa6 Itxc3 34.ltJxc3 iixc3 35. iixb5 g6 36. i.g4 l2Jg5 37.iid5 i.f8 38.h4 h5 39.i.d7 ltJf3 40.i.e8 Resigns. 16... e5? 17.fxe5 ltJh5 18.iif2 Sasha played well in the open dxe5 19.i.b6 ifd6 20.i.xd8 ing, won an exchange, but couldn't i.xd8 2l.ltdl 'ii'g6 22.i.e2 ltJf4 achieve a decisive advantage. She 23.i.f3 'iie6 24.ltd2 i.b7 25. proved herself to be practical l:fdl i.b6 26.1fg3 ..i.d4 27.lLJbl though, and confidently used her i.xb2 28.c3 it'b3 29.iif2 i.xa3 opponent's time trouble to her ad 30.iia7 i.c8 3l.ltd8 l2Je6. vantage. This quality comes in vecy handy in Open Swiss tournaments! CIIIUieS, 2001 0���@11�[!) �&[Ul�0 [J[ll®[Ul [ll�@��11 t7�&Ql0 9. KOSTENIUK, Alexandra (RUS) White's intentions are quite clear - BAIKOV, Vladimir A (RUS) - to checkmate her opponent's Moscow (Russia), king. F. Pripis Memorial, 1997 17... i.c6?! Sicilian Defense 882 17... -d7 with the idea of 18... d5 19.e5 d4 20.ef i.f6 was worth Annotations by GM. A. Korotylev considering. l.e4 c5 2.ltJf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 18.l:g3 ltJxh7 26.f6 l:lg8 (26... i.xe3+? 41 •.. i.t7 42.�tn :xn 43. The option of immediately GM. 7. iie2 enjoys greater playing 61. g5 suggests itself here. popularity. 61 ... �g8 62.g5 fx g5 63.hxg5 7 ...ltJbxd7 8.0-0 i..e7 9.:et 0- cj;fl 64. rescue. GM. 10. ..c4 could be countered 67. White to part with her material advantage in order to restore the d 1 knight's mobility: 4l.liJe3 l:xh2 42.l2Jd5+. 41 ...'i;d7? GM. Had the Black king moved to f7,the game's result would have still been uncertain. Grabuzova's mistake allows White to eliminate this uncertainty in a simple and 22.�xd5! �bxd5 23.:xe4 straightfoiWard fa shion. l2Jxe4. 42.Ah3 h5 43.f5! 'i;e7 44.fxg6 GM. When Black played 21 ... hxg4 45.:b7 'i;f8 46.l2Je3 l:cl+ :c8, she most likely overlooked 47.rj;e2 f5 48.llh8+ 25•.. :c6 26.liJe5l:a6 27.f3 liJd6 rj;eS 54.:dt :c3 55.�d2 :b3 28.c4 rj;e7 29.c5 liJf5 30. l2Jg4 g6 56.:et l2Jd4 57 .ltJc2+ Opening reference books The major-scale attack put in recommend 7 ... �d4. motion by thispawn 's advancement 8.i.b3 c6 9.1We2 liJxb3 10.axb3 portendsma jor difficultiesfo r Black. bS?! 26 ...f6 27 . .ie3 1Wc7 28.dxe5. It isn't clear what Black is tcying This was the most appropriate to accomplish by creating a moment to open up the position - backward pawn on an open file the lack of coordination between that's controlled by her opponent's Black's pieces, as well as the rook. numerous weaknesses on her side ll.i.e3 i.b4 12.0-0 liJg4?! of the board, will quickly be fe lt. This overly ambitious warrior 28 ... dxe5 29.i.xb6 1Wxb6 will have to retreat without ever 30.'iig3 'ilc7 3l.l:ed2. ' getting a chance to participate in Pokorna is no longer able to any heroic exploits. defend against White's 13.i.d2 i.cS+ 14.'it> hi 'ilc7 continuously growing threats. 15.h3 h5 16.'ilel liJf6 17.1Wg3. 31 ...l:e7 32.liJh4! :n 33.liJg6 White has achieved a solid l:h6. advantage. It's hard to imagine that there 17... 1:tg8 18.l:ael. have been chess pieces with an even But now she too commits a more tragicfa te than that of Black's slight error. A more energetic kingside rook. plan was the immediate 18. i.g5 or 18. it'h4 fo llowed by 19.i.g5. & 18 ...i.b7 19.i.g5 0-0-0 20. .t.iV Ki 'ilh4 'ile7 21.l:e2 l:h8 22. i i liJdl. ltJK Because Black's position is so i ·� i incredibly passive, White can afford � to spend all the time that she wants �� iii � on rearranging her fo rces. � : lb � 22 ...:de8 23.c3! i.b6 24.liJf2 : 34.•. ltJe7 35.ltJc5 lbxg6 36. l2Je6 This is fa r too cautious and timid. Wd7 37 .:Xd7 l:xd7 38.lhd7�d7 Had Black played the thematic b5, 39.1Wd3+ Resigns. she would have at the very least The fo llowing game is from the acquired sufficient counter second round of the 3 Jrd chances in the upcoming battle. International Chess Olympiad. 15.i.xg7 1Wxg7 16.a4. Naturally, I really wanted to win Prophylactic moves are not often and prove that I was rightfully seen in the practice of fe male selected to the youth chess team. chess players (especially young ones) - all the more credit to 12. OVOD, Evgeniya (RUS) White's decision! - KOSTENIUK, Alexandra (RUS) 16... l2Je4! ( ) A worthyreply, fo r it maintainsthe Elista (Russia), Olympiad w , 1998 Dutch Defense A87 struggle's high intensity. 17.lbb5 ltlxb5 18.axb5 :n 19. Annotations by t2Jd2 ltbfB 20.lbxe4 fxe4 21. i.xe4. GM A. Koroty/ev Thisan is errorcaused by White's 1.l2Jf3 f5 . overestimation ofher chances. 21.b3, The Dutch Defense is one of followed by 22. Alexandra's main replies to the 1We3 lead to a roughly even game. closed openings. 21 ... i.xh3 22.i.g2 i.d7 23.e4. 2.d4 lbf6 3.g3 g6 4.i.g2 i.g7 By committing yet another 5.0-0 d6 6.c4 0-0 7 .l2Jc3 1i'e88.d5 positional error, White builds a a5 9.1Wc2. virtually insurmountable wall of This move is by no means the problems around herself. best continuation. White had to choose between 9.ltld4,9.l2J el, and possibly also 9.i.e3. 9 ...l2Ja6 10.i.e3 i.d7 11.:adl c5. Black wins back space on the queenside, and the b5 push will now be much more effective. 12.h3 llb8 13.iic1 l2Jc7 The immediate 13... b5 should have been looked into. 14.i.h6 1Wf7 23 ...g5! 1 76 How I Become a Grandmaster at 14 This move extends Black's GM A. Korotylev influence tothe dark squares on the l.e4 c5 2.c4. kingside. This is a rare and rather toothless 24.11d2'ife5 25.f3h5 26.-el h4! setup, which appeared inAlexa ndra's By playing 25. f3,White was gamesfrom 1996 to 1999. apparently expressing a desire to 2 .••t2Jc6 3.l2Jc3 g6 4.g3 i..g7 5. bring the game to a quicker �g2 e66.ltjg e2 ltjge7 7.d3 d6 8. 0- conclusion - a wish that was 0 0-0 9.:bl :b8 IO.i..e3 lbd4. graciously granted by her Black is not as much trying to opponent. occupy an important central 27. 27 •••g4. 12 ..•i..d7 13.'ifd2 'ifc7 14.l:fcl Naturally, 27 ... 'ifg3 also lead to l:fc8 15. 'ii'el. . a wtn. White finds an interesting 28.gxh4 gxf3 29.�e3 .tg4 resource fo r improving her position: 30.i.xf3 :xn+ 31.�e2 1Wxe4+ the dark-squared bishop now has White Resigns. more mobility, and the queen can be Before the start of an open transferred to f2if necessary. 15.i.f2 tournament in Greece, I played in was another possibility. a small blitz side event. I performed 15 ...e5. very poorly, which came as a surprise because I like 5-minute games and generally play them well. One of my defeats was at the hands of a Greek grandmaster, with whom I was paired again in the second round of the main tournament. 13. KOSTENIUK, Alexandra (RUS) - NIKOLAIDIS, Konstantinos (GRE) lcaria (Greece), It (open), 1998 16.�d2. A36 English Opening White is preparing the capture that fo llows. Annotations by 16 ...a6. Selected Games from Recent Ye ars 1 77 Just in case, Black takes control With the loss of major material of the b5 square. being imminent, Black should have 17.�d4 exd4!? consideredan immediateresignation. The solid 17... cd would have 35.dxe6 cxd3 36.l:tdl l:tc3 guarded Black from difficulties. But 37 .l:f8+ :xrs 38.i.xf8 17••• l:le8 18.ltJe4 liJd7 19. liJxf6 + -xf6 20.�e3. GM. Due to the bishop's disorderly dash around the chessboard, White's advantage has somewhat decreased. 20 •••ltJxe3 2l.'ii'xe3 e4 22.liJd4 'ii'e5 23.c5!? GM. In quick chess, it's helpful to pose a fe w tactical problems fo r your opponent in order to take her 27 .f4! 'ii'f5 28.g4 'ii'd7 29.15 �h7 offthe right track. 30.�c4. 23••• liJf6 . GM. The position is overwhel GM. In case of 23 ...'ii' d5 24. mingly in White's favor. Indeed, if �b5, White's plans would be one tried to use fingers to count all successfully fulfilled. But just one o�te'sadvanta,ges, more tluun ten move later, this happens anyway. would be needed! 24.liJb5. 30 •.• ltJe8. WGM. The safety of White's center and her position as a whole rests entirely on tactical nuances. 24..• l:lad8? GM. The only sound continua tion was 24 ...liJd5 25.l:ld5 'ii'd5 26.ltJc7 'ii'e5 27.ltJa8 l:la8, which allowed Black to eliminate some of the flaws in his position. The text move, however, completely buries all Black's hopes. 3l.liJe6! 25.d6 c6. GM. A sweet and elegant joke. GM. In case of 25 ...cd 26.liJd6 Though it's doubtful that Black l:le7, White can play 27.ltJt7!+-. fo und it to be funny... 26.liJc7 :rs. 3l•.• h5 32.ltJxf8� 33. 'ii'xe4 liJf6 34.'ii'e7+! Resigns. 1 80 How I Became a Grandmaster at 14 1 5. GUTOV, Andrey 19... a4! 20.jjxb4?! a3 2I.jjc4. - KOSTENIUK, Alexandra 2l.b3 was bad because of Moscow 1999 2l... liJd5. Sicilian Defense 866 21... -as 22.i.e3 d5 23.jjb5 jjxb5 24.i.xb5 l:fb8! Annotations by After 24... l:ab8 25.i.a4! :Xb2+ GM A. Koroty/ev 26.�a l i.b4 27.i.d2 i.xd2 l.e4 c5 2.l2Jf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 28.l:xd2, White can always play 4.liJxd4 l2Jf6 5.l2Jc3 l2Jc6 6.i.g5 e6 i.a4-b3 and defends successfully. 7.'ii' d2 a6 8.0-0-0 h6 9.i.e3 i.d7 25.i.c6 l:txb2+ 26.�al l:ta6 10.f4 jjc7 11.i.d3 b5 12. �bl i.e7. 27.i.xd5 i.b4 28.i.c4. Black could have also played There was no alternative, White 12... l2Ja5, andsaved a tempo on the couldn't move his rook away development of the king-side because of 28 ...i.c3. bishop. 28 ...i.x el. 13.l:hel. And now 28 ...i.c3 wasn't Plans that began with 13.l:hfl or especially strong fo r Black because 13.h3 were more dangerous fo r of 29.i.d2 (and possibly 29.l:d3). Black. 29.:Xel l:c6 30. .i.b3! 13... liJxd4 14.i.xd4 b4 15.l2Je2 The rook finds itself in a trap, e5 16.i.gla5 17.l2Jg3 0-0. and that means the battle will Asthe opening stage of the game continue. reaches its end, Black has no reason 30 ...e4! to fe ar the future. This dangerous passed pawn is 18.l2Jf5 i.xf5 19.exf5. destined to decide the outcome of the game. 31.-i.cl l:bxc2 32.i.xc2 l:txc2 33.i.xa3 :Xg2 34.i.b2 l2Jd5 35. a4 e3 36.i.d4. Against 36.a5, 36 ...l2Jb4 37.�bl l2Jc2 was most decisive. 36 ...l2Jb4 37.�bl l2Jc2 38. :Xe3 l2Jxe3 39.i.xe3 l:txh2 40.a5 l:th5 41.a6 l:xf5 42.a7 l:a5 43. �c2 h5 44.�d3 h4 45.�e2 h3 46. Resigns. Selected Games from Recent Ye ars 1 � 1 16. KOSTENIUK , Alexandra White errs at a point where her - KUDRIN, Sergey advantages could have been Isle of Man 1999 consolidated in several ways. She Sicilian Defense B5 3 could have played 17. i.e3 i.g7 18.lbd4 or 17.:e1, overprotecting Annotations by the e3 square that may have been GM. A. Korotylev soonneeded fo r the bishop. l.e4 c5 2.ltJf3 d6 3.i.b5+ lbc6 17... e6 18.i.e3. 4.d4 cxd4 5.-xd4 i.d7 6.i.xc6 The doubled pawns that occur i.xc6 7 .c4 ltJf6. after 18.ltJc3 e5 19.i.e3 i.xe3 7 ...f5 is a more sharp and resolute 20.fxe3 wouldn't make White's continuation that underscores the position very pretty. fact that Black's light-squared 18... i.g7 19.ltJc3 d5! 20.cxd5 bishop doesn't have a counterpart. exd5 2l.i.d4 dxe4 22.i.xg7 exf3? 8.lbc3 g6 9.0-0 i.g7 10.'ii'd3. Kudrin begins to make overly Perhaps, it is precisely this move high demands of himself and his that leaves Black with the least position. After the normal amount of tactical opportunities. 22 ...ctJxg7 23.lbxe4 i.xe4 24.-xe4 10... lbd7 ll. .i.e3 ltlcS 12• ._.c2 ltlc5!, a peaceful resolution of the 0-0 13.i.d4. game wouldn't be too far away. It was tempting to offer a trade 23.i.xfB -xfB. of the dark -squared bishops, but 13.ltJd4 was nevertheless the most precise reply because it took the advancement of Black's f-pawn out of the question. 13 ... i.h6. It appears that the American grandmasterhopes to achieve success without too much effort. OtheiWise, he would have seriously considered 13. .. f5, which offered Black pretty good counterplay. 24.llJe4! 14.l:fd l b6. Black is now unable to prove the 14... lbe6 could be answered with correctness of his idea. 15.i.e5. 24 ...._e7 25.ltJd6 'ii'g5 26.g3 15.lbd5 :cs 16.a4 ltJd7 17.b3. ._g4 27.-c4! 'ii'xc4. 182 How I Became a Grandmaster at 14 Having no other alternative, the (The average ELO rating of black queen hangs its head and participants in an VIII category leaves the board without ever tournament ranges fr om 2426 to having helped its army in battle. 2450.) Th e organizers made no 28.ltJxc4 ltJc5 29.b4. secret of the fa ct that the event 's Not giving her opponent any primary goal was to give our old chances. acquaintance Elisabeth Paehtz an 29 ... ltJxa4 30.ltld6 :c7 opportunity to score her second 3l.l:dcl. WGM norm. Not long before the This is much stronger than 3l.b5 Dresden tournament, the mighty ltJc3! 32.bxc6 lt:Jxd l 33.:xd l :xc6. Garry Kasparov himselfde igned to 3l... b5 32.lbxb5 Resigns. play Paehtz in an exhibition game. Asfa r as I am aware of, his attitude towards young Russian lady WITH EXAMINATIONS OUT chessp layers is quite different. He OF THEWAY doesn 't even allow them to play in his annual Junior Cup - a sortof a Konstantin KOSTENIUK: private event where the participants are selected by gender. Actual chess - Alexandra 's schedule was strength has nothing to do with who very difficult in 1999. She passed gets to play. In the first Kasparov external examinations fo r three Cup of 1996, Alexandra had the top grades at once: 9h, J(Jh and ]]1hf score among ladies and scored over And immediately after the school 50% overall, but neither she nor tests were over, she had to take other fe male chessp/ayers were ever entrance tests to get into the chess again invited to complete along with section of the Russian Physical the males. But let 'Snot get distracted Education Academy. Wh en all by this blatant discrimination exams were finally over, the 15- against women in chess. year-o/d graduate breathed a sigh Elisabeth Paehtz is always very of relief and departed fo r the cheerful and sp ontaneous. During international women 'Sgr andmaster the op ening proceedings, she made tournament in Dresden. Th is such an inimitable fa ce to the traditional competition has been photographers that the entire hall held since 1992. simply exploded with laughter. She Th e round robin event was an studies Russian in school, and her VIII category FIDE tournament. fa vorite word is «pravil 'no ?» (« Is Selected Games from Recent Ye ars 183 this right?>>) She s also the undisputed centuries-oldpark. While Alexandra ice cream eating champion: 13 scoops was playing, I went to that park and in one sitting, and I don 't even think gathered a whole bucket fu ll of boleti that s her limit. mushrooms. I presented this treasure Theaver age age of the participants to our guide, a charming elderly was 20, and every promising Gennan German lady who gave us an /ady-chessp layer attended. Th e excellent tour of the city, although organization of the tournament was her narrative was in German. exemplary, as it usually is the case in Alexandra had no difficulties in that country. All guests stayed at a 4- that event and assured herselffirst star hotel. And even though the place two rounds befo re the end of tournament site was on the opposite the tournament. Th at's why her side of Dresden, the comfortable bus game against Pa ehtz in th e provided by the organizers made the penultimate round didn 't have too 30-minute ride seem much shorter. much action. Elisabeth, who played Thegames were played at a beautiful with Wh ite, was likewise in a estate that was surrounded by a peacefu l mood. 1 84 How I Became a Grandmaster at 14 17. DAVID, Gundula After 31... ltJx c4?, White may - KOSTENIUK, Alexandra have even had winning chances in Dresden 1 999 the pawn endgame. Scandinavian Defense BO 1 32.a4 ltJc3 33.ltJd2 ll••• it.xf3 12. Wxf3 'ili'd5 13. a6 38.h4 f5 + 39. gxf5+ gxf5+ 'iid3 c5 14.:dl i.d6 15.i.f4 it.xf4 40.�d3 �d5. 16.ltJxf4 'iid6 17.1i'f5+ 24 ••.l:xe5 25.ltJxe5 ltJc6+ �d7 27 .l[)a5 l[)d6 28. �n 3 . ..ltJc6 4.ltJ c3 ltJf6 5 . .i.e2d5 c6 29.�e2 �c7 30. This trade signals the end of 16•.. ltJf8 17.ltJc4 l:d8 18.1ic3 White's quest fo r an opening l:d4? advantage, which could have If Black still planned to fight been continued with 9.i.g5 i.xc3 back, 18... f6 was absolutely IO.i.xf6 gxf6 ll.bxc3. necessary. Having her rook 9 ..• dxc6 10.1id3. trapped in the enemy territory Now the black rook will sooner will be nothing but a nuisance for or later move to d8 and win an the Georgian chessplayer. important tempo. That's why 19 .lbd6 ltJe6. 10.1ic2was clearly more precise. 10... e5 11.ltJd1. Sasha has an unexplainable affection fo r knight retreats of that sort. But unfortunately, they're hardly always correct positionally, as in this case. 11••. 0-0. Perhaps all chessplayers subconsciously choose castling over all other moves, but here Black could have eliminated all of 20.f4! f6. her worries by playing 11... i.c5! 20 ... ltJxf4 2I.:xf4 l:xd6 12.i.e3 ltJd7. 22.cxd6 1Wb6+ 23.l:f2 was losing Black doesn't even try to take for Black, and Lomineishvili was advantage of White's error on the fo rced to allow the lethal opening lOth move. It was better to play of the f- file. 12... :d8 . 21.i.c4 9-4965 1 86 How I Became a Grandmaster at 14 19. KULISH, Irina l2Ja4 �d3! 19.-xd3 'ii'xa4 20. l:e2 - KO STENIUK, Alexandra l:fe8 21.0. Elista 2000 Sicilian Defense 83 1 a ii Annotations by GM A. Korotylev i 1.e4 c5 2.l2Jf3 ltJc6 3.i.b5 g6 4. 0-0 i.g7 5.c3 lbf6 6.l:.e1 0-0 7.h3. This continuation is long considered to be insufficient fo r achieving an opening advantage. 7 ..•e5. This move fi rst occurred in 21 ...{5 . Galdunts - Dreev (St. Petersburg The automatic 2l... l:ad8 22. 1993), when after 8.i.xc6 dxc6 'ii'c2 didn't promise Black very 9.ltJxe5 lte8 lO.f4 liJh5 ll.d4 'ii'h4 much. Black attained the initiative. 22.exf5? 8.d4. The decisive error. White's only 8.d3 was a more cautious move real hopes rested on 22.i.g5, not that initiated a Ruy Lopez-type of allowing Black to get control of the struggle. d-file with tempo. 8 ...cxd4 9.cxd4 exd4 10.l2Jxd4. 22 ...l:ad8 23 . ._b3+ ._xb3 Black's chances are somewhat 24.axb3 gxf5 . better after 1 O.e5 lbd5 l l.i.g5 Wlc7 The more aesthetically pleasing 12.i.xc6 dxc6 13.'ii'xd4 h6! 24... :xe3 also lead to a win after 10... 1Wb6. 25.:xe3 i.d426.l:.ae l l:.e8 27. The 2000 M. I. Tc higorin job», he told me. «She's got her Memorial in St. Petersburg was a whole fu ture ahead of her.» surprise addition to my But Sasha had already lived tournament calendar. I had hoped through many hard experiences in to spend my early November life, and approached the team 's playing fo r the Russian women's decision philosophically. Sh e just team at the Olympiad in Istanbul. made one comment after the But during the pre-Olympic team Olympiad was over: «See, they took training sessions, it became clear Grischuk into the men 's team, that I wouldn't be included on the fo rtified th eir roster with youth and team roster. To be honest, I don't won th e gold. And the women barely know what our other lady got third place!>> chessplayers thought about my presence at those training sessions. 20. VOROBIOV, Evgeny Evidently, they saw me as their - KOSTENIUK, Alexandra competition, but I didn't fe el any St. Petersburg (Russia), Chigorin hostility from them. Memorial, November 2000 The fa ct that I didn't go to Sicilian Defense 866 Istanbul wasn't actually that disappointing. I wanted to test my Annotations by GM A. Korotylev abilities, of course, but competing and WGM. A. Kosteniuk for medals on your country's top l.e4 c5 2.ltJf3 ltJc6 3.d4 cxd4 team is a huge responsibility. If you 4.l£lxd4 l£lf6 5.l£lc3 d6 6.i.g5 e6 lose, you fe el twice worse because 7.ii'd2 a6 8.0-0-0. you let the team down. GM. White's choice of the Richter-Rauzer Attack caught Natalie KOSTENIUK: Sasha by surprise, as her opponent, - Sasha figured th at they a strong Muscovite grandmaster, wouldn 't accept her to the team when had never used this line in practice she was still at th e training sessions. prior to this game. Though she was the only who ran in 8 ...h6 9.li)xc6 bxc6 10.�f4 d5 the mornings while everyone else ll.'ii'e3. was sleeping and beat all th e other WGM. This variation has players in blitz. But before the recently been very popular and is offi cial decision was even made, rather unpleasant fo r Black. Coach Y. Ya kovich was already ll. . . �e7 12.�e2 0-0. consoling me: «Sasha s doing a great GM. This is a topical position of 1 88 How I Became a Grandmaster at 14 today, in which Black often 16.exd5 cxd5 l7.Ad4 ltJe8 18.i.d3 experiences difficulties. i.ffi 19.l:tel i.d7 20.l:tg4 i.xe5 21. 13. 'ii'g3. :xeS l:tb8 22.b3 l:tc8 23.'iih4 f5 WGM. I believe that the plan 24:iie7 �g8 25.l:tb4 'iic7 26. :Xe6 starting with 13. h4 poses more l:tf7 27.ltJxd5 l:txe7 28.ltJxc7 i.xe6 dangers for Black. 29.ttJxe6 :xe6 30.i.xf5 l:tcc6 13•.. 14 .••'iid7 15.i.e5 lbe8?! aforementioned game. 17... i.ffiand WGM. This move begins a rather 17 ...i.d6 also merited consideration. dubious regrouping of my pieces. The continuation chosen by Sasha GM. A different course of events is incredibly risky, but very took place in one of the games interesting and concrete at the same played by V. Ivanchuk at the 1999 time. The subsequent battle required Wo rld Championship playoffs in utmost concentration and a great LasVe gas. In what was by no means deal of imagination from both an easy struggle, the Ukrainian players. grandmaster, playing with Black, 18.i.f4 g5!? fm ally succeeded in neutralizing his WGM. Having said A, I had to opponent's initiative. 15... 'ii' b7 say B. AlexJuulra Kosteniuk andEvgeny Vorobiov are inthe middleof a heated battle Selected Gomes from RecentYe ars 1 89 GM. Thiswas the basis of Black's WGM Thissacrifice isn't entirely idea. Her strikingly weak kingside correct. The simple 23. fxg5allowed is the frrs t thing that catches the eye, White to transfer into a won and several masters obsetving this endgame, in which Black's weak game intuitively predicted that pawns can't provide necessary Black would soon be checkmated. protection to their king. But things are not that simple. 23 •.•e5 24.h4 exd4 25.hxg5 h5. 19. .i.e3. GM. Black didn't have any other GM. l9. .i.d2 also had its options. Excessive greedlead to her advantages. demise: 25 ...dx e3?? 26.:xh6+ 19••• .i.d6 20.f4 li:Jg7 2l• .i.d3. 27.1Wh4+-. 26 . .i.xd4. GM Is thisthe point where White missed a stronger conti-nuation? In addition to the text move, he could have also played 26.g6! And then after 26 ...'ii c7 (26 ...de 27.'ii e3) 27. .i.d4 :ae8 28.li:Je2!?, White's threats cannot be underestimated. WGM Perhaps 26. g6 gave White more opportunities to develop an 2t.• :tWf7! initiative, but time pressure now GM This precise maneuver both enters into the picture and makes a restores the coordination of Black's significant mark on the game. pieces and prepares to meet 22. 26... fxg5 27 .g4 34 .••i.b4+ ? black rooks, andcontinuous threats GM. By giving this strange to my king make the win almost check, Black's bishop voluntarily impossible to achieve. condemns itself to annihilation, 41.lbe2 :d8. while the simple 34 ...:e8 35.'ii g5 GM. This position is verydiffi cult 37 •••:a8?! 48.�c2 'iig2+ 49. 5l• .ft.e5 'iWh4 52.l2Je4 'iih7 53. the isolated pawn on d5. The 'iixg5+ �h8 54.l2Jc3 'iid3 55. natural 9.ltlf3 didn't promise much. 'Wh4+ �g8 56. 'iif4?! WGM. I also looked at 9.l2Jf3, GM. A refusal to compromise but decided that the knight would can oftenbe admirable, but this is have more opportunities to attack not the case here. the d5 pawn if I placed it on e2. 56 •• :ii'h3! 9 ••• iib6?± GM. White should not fo rgetthat GM. Because the white knight is he's down two exchanges. about to be transferred to c3, this 57.'iig5+ �h7 58 . .ft.d4 'iWe6+. queen move is a serious mistake. GM. Black decides not to push The simple 9 ...l2Jf6 solved most of her luck any fu rther, though her Black's opening problems. For chances should again be somewhat example: 10.0-0 0-0 ll. .ft.g5+. favored at this point. 58... :d8 was WGM This move fo rces White to worth considering. do what she was planning to do 59.�c2 l:lxf6 60 • .ft.xf6 :xf6 anyway. It was better to continue 6l.'iixb5 llfl+ 62.�d3 Draw. development by t2Jffiand 0-0. 10.0-0 l2Jf6 ll.l2Jc3 0-0 21. KOSTENIUK, Alexandra 12. .ft.g5?! - VELCHEVA, Maria WGM I made this move in hope Yugoslavia, December 2000 ofbeautifulvariations, which actually French Defense C03 did end up occurring in the game. Annotations by GM A. Koroty/ev After 12.ltJa4 (underscoring the and WGM A. Kosteniuk drawbacks of Black's 9th move) l.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.l2Jd2 .ft.e7 12... 'it'c6 13.ltJxc5 'iWxc5 14. .ft.e3 4 • .ft.d3c5 5.dxc5 t£Jd7. 'iib4 l5. .ft.d4! White would have GM. 5 ...lt\f 6 was the move we achieved a significant advantage. looked at most when preparing fo r Having the bishopstwo in these types this game. of position is a big advantage. Aside 6.exd5 exd5 7 .l2Jb3 lt\xc5 fromthat , Black wouldalso be behind 8.lbxc5. in development and have a weak GM. By playing 8. l2Jf3, White isolated pawn on d5. would have maintained a small but GM. Seduced by the prospect of solid opening edge. a quick victory, White unwisely 8 •••.ft.xc5 9.lbe2!? ignores the very promising 12.lt\a4 192 How I Became a Grandmaster at J 4 'ii'c6 I3.ltlxc5 'iWxc5 I4. .te3 b4'ii 'ii'h5 I7.ltJe 7 + .txe7 20.l:xe7) I8.l:bdi 'ii'h6 19. 14 ...ltJ e5 . l:e5g6 20.llJe7+ i..xe7 2I.:Xe7; GM. 14... l2Jxf2 may have been BIb) I6. ltJxf6+= 16... 'ifxf6 the best of evils. I7.l:el=; 15.l:bl. B2) 13... 'ifxf6 I4.ltlxd5+. 13.lllxd5! GM. Thismarks the beginning of concrete play where every move counts. Thistype of play makes up most of contemporaryprof essional practice, in which Alexandra is a very dangerous opponent 13... 'ii' xb2. GM. The lines 13... .bf2+ I4.�hl 'iid6 (I4... 'ii d4 I5.c3 'ii'e5 16. .tf4 Selected Gomes from Recent Ye ars 1 93 15... �d3 WGM. It was also possible to play GM. Black probably saw that 4 ... �e7 with an approximately after 15... 1Wa2, thepretty 16. ii.h7 equal game. After the move in the power and invincibility inthe center of the board. 18.axb5 axb5 19.%1xa8+ .txa8 20.'iia5. GM. If 20. be, then 20... b4. 20 •••ltJge5 ! 2l.'ifxb5?! GM. 21. be be made the struggle more interesting, but even then Black would have already retaken the initiative. 16... �xe4! ? 2l •••.tc6 22.'ii'a5 cxb3. GM. Realizing that it's too late GM. Two errors in a sharp to turn back, Sasha bravely takes a position quickly put White out in direct hit from the much better the cold. WGM The position on the developed army of her opponent. board is completely winning fo r The cowardly 16... 0-0 17.l2Jd4 'ii'f7 Black. 18.ltJf5 left Black completely 23. GM. The only move. 50.1i'h3+ 35••• h6 36.f3. 52.1Wh3+liJh4 53. �b2 Wf3 54. Wc8 GM. White is still completely 'iib3+ 55. 42••• 1ig4 . WGM. 55 .. . 'ifc3+ fo llowed by GM. Alexandra won't see her lbf3 allowed Black to retain her opponent's 441h move until it decisive advantage. appears on the board. The reason fo r such blindness is explained in the annotation to Black's 3 Jrd move. 43.1id2 ltlf3 44.Wxh6 +. • GM We ll, at least it's not mate in two! 44••• �g8 45.il.xg7 'iixg7. WGM. Black's position is still wtnrung• • . 46.1ie6+ 'ilf7 4 7.if g4+ PLAY LIKE ALEXANDRA, PLAY BE'I*I'ERTHAN ALEXANDRA! And now, dear readers, we are offeringyou a test of your tactical vision. Try to find the combinations that were fo und (and at times unfortunately not fo und) by Alexandra Kosteniuk. For every correct solution, you will get from one to six points, based on the problem's difficulty. By summing up your score, you'll be able to approximate your chess strength. 1. A. KO STENIUK - V. PA NUS 3. V. ANISHEVA - A. KO STENIUK Moscow 1997 Moscow 1999 1 point 1 point 2. A KO STENIUK - 0. VRUBLEVSKAYA 4. A.KO STENIUK- E. KUZNETSOVA Moscow 1998 Moscow 1996 1 point 2 points .t Selected Games from Recent Ye ars 1 97 S. A. KO STENIUK- DE LOS SANTOS 8. A. KOSTEN IUK - ZAKSAITE Cannes 1997 Paris 1 998 2 points 2 points 6. ARGUELLES GARCIA - A KO STENIUK 9. SEDGWICK - A. KOSTENIUK Medina del Campo 1 997 Isle of Man 2000 2 points 2 points 7. A. KOSTENIUK - CELA 1 0. N. KISELEVA - A. KOSTENIUK lcaria 1998 Yugoslavia 2000 2 points 2 points . 98 How I Became a Grandmaster at J 4 11. A. KOSTENIUK -I. ZAKURDJAEVA 14. A. KOSTEN IUK- GOUW Sochi 1998 Wiik aan Zee 2000 2 points 3 points 12. A KO STENIUK - Z. MAMEDJAROVA 15. A. KOSTENIUK - A. RJAZANTSEV Elista 1998 Moscow 1997 2 points 3 points Can Black capture the pawn on c4? • • • • ' 13. A. KO STENIUK - L KRAVC HENKO 16. A. KO STENIUK - M. UMANSKY Moscow 1997 Moscow 1997 3 points 3 points Selected Gomes from Recent Ye ars 1 99 17. DOROFTEI - A. KO STENIUK 20. A. KOSTENIUK-A. GABRIELIAN Spain 1997 Moscow 1999 3 points 3 points 18. A. KOSTENIUK - S. GRIGORIANTS 21.A KO STENIUK - E. ZHURINA Moscow 1998 Moscow 1997 3 points 4 points 19. T. LANCHAVA-A. KOSTENIUK 22. A. KOSTEN IUK- G. GUSEYNOV Elista 1998 Moscow 1997 3 points 4 points E E ''' i: i.iii i.t� 8i. ttJ .. i. 88 : � 200 How I Became a Grandmaster at 14 23. A. KOSTENIUK - 0. TROFIMOVA 24.A.KO STENIUK- E. DRAGOMAREZKU Sochi 1998 Moscow (blitzgame) 5 points 6 points .i. ' ' CHECK YOUR SOLUTIONS: The most points possible are 64. The white king has unexpectedly If you scored 60-64 points, then found itself in a mating net. White your ELO is probably at least 2400- resigned. 2450. We can create a table that correlates your score to your 4) l.tl.JgS! i.xg2+ (l... fxg5 2.f6) approximate strength. 2. 1 ...gxf 6 2.tl.Jxf 6+ Wxf6 (2 ... I) I.lbxb6!with decisive material i.xf6?? 3.Wxh6#; 2 ... 3) I •.•gS! Wf4-+) 3 ... i.h3+ 4. 5. 2 ••• i.xh2+! 3. 4. 7) t.i.e3! :xd3 2 • .i.xg5+ f6 All beginners start their tactical 3.exf6+ i.xf6 4.i.xf6+ 1 •••a4! 2.i.c2 :res 3.lf)e1 .i.d3 3 ...i.xa I 4 .lf)xf7+ :xf7 5. 'ifxf7 4.tbxd3 tbxc2 5.-g3 lba3+! 6.tLJc5 i.e6 (5 ...i.xd4 6.i.g5+-) 6.-xe6 ltlb57. 'ii' d3 CiJa7 8.b4axb3 9 .ltJdxb3 After the seemingly natural 1 ••• 2. 1 ... ltJxc4 • 2 .i.xc4 l:xc4 3. l:xc4 2.axb4 i.e3+3.l: d2 'ifixf4 4.iidl 'ii'xc4 4.l:d8+! rJ;g7 (4 ... l:xd8 i.xd2+ 5.'ifixd2 'ifixf3-+. 5.'ifixc4) 5.lhc8, and White won. 2... i.e3+! 3. Resigns. 16) l.l:g5! led to a win, for 20) 1.lbxg5! lDe3. example: 1 ...i.xe4 2.l:xg7 l:dd8 Other alternatives didn't change 3.l:xg8+ l:xg8 4.'ii'c4. White had the outcome: l ...hxg5 2.'iib8+ � instead mistakenly played: 1.lbxg7? 3.'iig7+ 17) 1 ..•i.e3! 2.i.c3?? 10.-d8#) 6.l:xe6 or l ...l:xe l+ Black wasso shocked by this move 2.:Xel l2Jxc3 3.'iib5+-. that he immediately blundered. 2.ltJxe6 'ifixf3 3.l:xe3 'ifixd1+ 2.ltJf3?? i.xf2+ 3.i.xf2xe4 'ii' also 4. � l:d7 5.lbf4 Resigns. lead to an immediate 1�, but 2.'ifig6 + lj)g7 3.lbf3 prolonged the struggle, 21) 1.ltJcd5! exd5 2.lbxd5 'ifia7. and here Black could have continued Deviations from the main line of with 3 ...i.c2 !?. the combination weren't effective: 2 ••.1ixf2+ 3.rJ;h1'ii' g1# . 2 ...l:bl 3.'ii'xb l hb 1 4. l2Jxe7 i.c2 5.l:xd4 cxd4 6.ltJd5+ or 2 ...�7 18) l.e5! i.xgl? 3.:Xd4! cxd4 4. 'ii'a3+. I ...d5 was a much stronger move, 3.ltJxb4 cxb4 4. 'ifie3 ltJc6 after which 2.cxd5 i.xd5 3.i.xd5 5.i.xc6! 'ifie7. exd5 4.d4 (4 . .i.xe7 'ii'xe7 5.d4 cxd4 Black finally branches off from 6.f4 f6 =) 4 ...f6 only leads to White's original calculation after equality. But White can also play notcing the mate after 5 ... 'ifixe3 2.'ii'f4 ! 2 ...'ifid7 3 . .i.f6 dxc4 4.i.xb7 6.l:d8+ Whitebegins the hunt on Black's 15.hxg5 a4 16.g6 �e6 17. 3.i.a4 :Xc3 4 • .i.xc2 :Xc2 5.:n the comer of the board lead to a lhf26. 'ii'xfl lbxe4 7. 'iid4 Resigns. draw because it took away Black's ability to check. The game 23) l.lhe5! 'iixe5. continued with 5. �c6 f4 6.b5 f3 l ... :xtl 2.:e6+-. 7 .b6 f2 8.b7 fl 'iW 9.b8'iW 'iff6+ 2.'ii xg6+ 'iig7 10.�d7 (lO.'iWd6 'iWxd6+ ll.�xd6 Or 2 ... One time I came ac�apoem written bych� master Vasiliy Panov. (The Panov Attack in the Caro-Kann Defenseis alsoone ofhis < Everytime beforethe game begins, I give myself the following advice: < At times, I will recite this poem to myself duringthe game as well. And occasionally, I'll silently sing random songs that just pop up in my head. I am not sure why this happens, perhaps it's my brain's way of taking a break from intense tactical calculations. But this definitelydoesn't hurt my performance in any way. I write my own poems as well, but I rarely recite them during games. SPEAK TO ME SO THAT I CAN SEE YOU Speak to me, so that I can see you, So that the Sun begins to shine more brightly, So that I'm later not regretting That time ran out before I told your story. The story of the leaves that quietly whisper, Of dew drops twinkling on morning grass, Of wind that comes in Spring, and one that's strong, Of February skies without a cloud, Of happiness that comes at sunrise, As those first rays of lilac turn to red. And what is happiness? We all say "happiness" so often ... So much about it can be said. One day, it will arrive without a warning And change the way your eyes perceive this world. You'll see the world in fairy tales enclosed, You'll see it wrapped in tender, rosy Spring. And then within that Spring, whose entrance will be sudden, With ringing laughter, you will outpour your love, And as around the snow your scatter cherry roses, A burning fire will ignite in people's hearts. Speak to me so that I can see you. So that I always fe el this thrilling passion, This gust of freshest wind that came upon me roughly. The gust of love, of fantasies, and hopes. 11.26. 1999 How I Became a Grandmaster at 14 A BUSH In a dark fo rest that neither Sun nor light ever visit, A small bush was growing, wrapped in mist. Like a free bird, he was of awesome beauty Like a tender flower, by Spring he was caressed. He was lonely and lived in this world by himself, Spreading his warmth through the dusk of the forest. He did not live long in this gloomy captivity, And carried with him all of his thoughts when he left. PARTING Caravans of geese fly away from this land. Tonight, we're saying "good-bye", my sweet friend. From outside the window, the soft sounds of rain Remind us of parting again and again. Through the river of life so united in heart We sailed until winds drew us so far apart. Smiling with sadness, you whispered "good-bye" And vanished for good in the watery sky. 04.08.1999 AUTUMN It's as though Nature had been touched by silence. Her voice subsided, and she fell into a speechless reverie. Only the slender, young, and cunning poplar Is whispering something to the blushing mountain ash. Before my fe et the maple leafs have spread A carpet of the wondrous Autumn. And the trees appear to be inviting me To marvel at the awesome beauty. 08.27.1999 Poems of Alexandra Kosteniuk WINTER HAPPINESS Snow slightly squeaks under a black boot. She walks on - she soars on the wings of happiness. Today, a spark has suddenly ignited That which she long maintained inside her heart. And the outwardly hectic winter afternoon Was overwhelmed by a wave of love And fe elings only fairy tales describe. She'll treasure the memory of this day until the end of time: The rays of the December sun and the airy white snow flakes Slowly descending upon the ground. 11.24.1999 A WINTER STROLL As you ski across a winter fo rest, You hear squeaking of the Christmas snow. Just look at this awesome beauty, my friend, How white and miraculous everything looks! The charming fo rest stands in splendor Wearing a white dress of light snowflakes. And we now wait in anticipation Of marvelous winter miracles unfolding. 12.21.1999 A CANDLE'S DREAM In the deep dark of night, a candle was crying. She shone through the dusk, while ardently trying With tears and with work, to bring back the brightness of day. She was melting, but time never goes in the opposite way. It was not her fate to see morning light. It was not her fate to make day out of night. Yet still, she warmed the darkness with her passionate gleam, While burning down, she held the fa ith in a beautiful dream. 01.30.2001 Aleksey KOROTYLEV Grandmaster 11�[] �®L:l��(/0 L:l�llr3alW®al[!) Alexandra Kosteniuk is a bright vaguely, but I can still remember the and outstanding person, blessed child's clear and inquisitive eyes with great intellect and strength of looking at me with full attention. spirit, kindness and magnanimity, Indeed, Sasha had to experience as well as a constant drive fo r self the anxieties of adult life much improvement and leadership. At the earlier than most of her peers. But age of 16, she had made both her a sportsman's career and the quest friends and ill-wishersspeak of her for highest achievements require with an equal amount of respect. consi-derable sacrifices. And I Fortunately though, the latter are believe that the 10 year-old Sasha, ;:" far more often·a product of Sasha's an outwardly frail and vulnerable restless imagination than actual real child, already felt a readiness within life foes. herself to fo rsake many things in My first personal contact with order to triumph over ignorance Alexandra happened in 1994 and and redundancy. And her oftenvecy may have never occurred at all impressive results didn't wait long . . had it not been fo r chess. As a m conung. 17 year-old candidate master, I As fo r the author of these was invited to play blitz training words, he had little to do with games against the 10 year-old Sasha's successes over the next Sasha. Blitz has always been a five years. 1994, the year that big part of her game preparation, blessed me with Alexandra Kos and my responsibilities also teniuk's acquaintance, had also included the analysis of our abruptly ended our chess contacts, games. I only recall this period which wouldn't resume until the The Coach's Afterwold 209 year of2000. Episodically,we would she will make a quick series of meet at the board, mainly in Mos moves even when there's plenty cow's numerous blitz events. I had of time on the clock. Such un always noticed that Sasha took her controllable blitzing often leads losses very emotionally. And I to very adverse consequences, couldn't help but take note of how and has a toll on the games' fi she was gradually turning from an nal results. For example, you've inconspicuous young girl into a already seen the tragicomic blun charmingyoung woman, whose el der that occurred in a recent egance lit up the halls ofmany chess game against one of the leading clubs. But the true richness of her Ukrainian lady chessplayers, inner world wasn't revealed to me Tatiana Vasilevich. We didn't until February 2000, when Kon just lose a half a point in that stantin Vladimirovich Kosteniuk game, but also undergone a great hired me to behis daughter's coach. deal of stress. From the many episodes of the Incidentally, it is in blitz (but demanding and stressful coaching not in needless << blitzing out» of experience, observing (if not par moves in a serious game) that ticipating in) Sasha's tournament Sasha's play reached a quite games is what I remember most. I high level. And those who had hope that readers don't construe underestima�ed her yesterday the word << participating>> in the score a suspiciously small wrong way - I am speaking ofemo amount of points against her tional participation, not whispering today. In a big blitz tournament of moves. Trust me, staunch athe in St. Petersburg that was held ists are instantly transformed into at the midpoint of the main believers and begin mumbling tournament's struggles, I got a prayers under their breath when great deal of pleasure from they see that instead of deliver watching my student's confident ing checkmate with the rook, performance. She triumphed their students' hand reaches fo r over a number of well-known the bishop. And even though grandmasters, including a win Sasha is simply a model of com with the black side of the Closed posure and determination at the Sicilian against Y. Balashov, a chessboard, she's also extremely well-known specialist in that impulsive and has a tendency to variation. And two days later, I make rushed decisions. At times, experienced a what was simply 210 How I Became a Grandmaster at 14 an indescribable emotional roller inantly bright overtones, though it coaster while breathlessly fo llow would certainly be possible to find ing the game Vo robiov-Kosteniuk. all kinds of shades there if one so (I hope that you too will remem desired. Yet these various ups and ber this encounter fo r a long time downs are really more determined to come.) There were many times by life's circumstances than by when it seemed that Black would anything else. get lost in the jungle of variations Almost 12 years have passed that were so chaotically piled on since the little Sasha Kosteniuk top of one another. And in the frrs t got acquainted with the royal end, Sasha's efforts to reach vic game. She has spent those years tory never did materialize. An in very productively, and not just credibly difficult struggle ended as it relates to mastering chess. peacefully, and then ... Sasha's There are times when I get a fe el joys are as emotionally exhilarat ing that the number of things ing as no one else's, and her outside of Sasha's power is get downs are equally excruciating. ting smaller and smaller. But Her moods are incredibly conta today, chess is her number one gious, and can simply become all priority. And I trust that the wise absorbing when greatly magnified game will gradually bestow Sasha by a win or a loss. So when you're with rewards that are worthy of coaching the young and gifted her incredible talent. I also have chessplayer, you should have an faith that life which constantly ample supply of patience and opens more and more new hori sensitivity, if your work is more zons before Sasha's eyes will important to you than simply imperceptibly lead her to what's making profits, of course. Proba most important. I believe it, and bly, largely due to this approach, I wish it from the bottom of my our relationship has had predom- heart! 1. Chalabashvili, Tamari (GEO) - Kosteniuk, Alexandra (RUS) Baile Herculane (Romania), 1994 European Championship (Cadets, girls under 10), Gunderam Defense C40. 2. Kosteniuk, Alexandra (RUS) - Kisonova, Katarina (SVK) Szeged (Hungary), 1994 World Championship (Cadets, girls under 10), Bishop's Opening C23. 3. Kosteniuk, Alexandra (RUS) - Pkhakadze, Natia Szeged (Hungary), 1994 World Championship (cadets, girls under 10), Queens Gambit D36. 4. Kosteniuk, Alexandra (RUS) - Krush, Irina (USA) San Lorenzo (Brazil), 1995 World Championship (cadets), Sicilian Defense B57. 5. Berzina, Ilze (LAT) - Kosteniuk, Alexandra (RUS) Cala Galdana, Spain, 1996 World Championship (cadets, girls under 12), Sicilian Defense 857. 6. Kosteniuk, Alexandra (RUS) - Javakhishvili, Lela (GEO) Cala Galdana, Spain, 1996 World Championship (cadets, girls under 12), Pirc Defense B06. 7. Zhao Xue (CHN) - Kosteniuk Alexandra (RUS) Cala Galdana, Spain, 1996 World Championship (cadets, girls under 12), Queen's Gambit D35. 8. Kosteniuk, Alexandra - Umanskaya, Irina Moscow 1996, English Opening A36. 9. Kosteniuk, Alexandra (RUS) - Baikov, Vladimir A (RUS) Moscow (R�a), E Pripis Memorial, 1997,Sicilian Defense 882. 10. Kosteniuk, Alexandra (RUS) - Grabuzova, Tatiana (RUS) Elista (Russia), Ch Russia (w), 1998, French Defense C08. 11. Kosteniuk, Alexandra (RUS) - Pokorna, Regina (SVK) Elista (Russia), Olympiad (w), 1998, Bishop's Opening C30. 2 12 How I Became a Grandmaster at 14 12. Ovod, Evgeniya (RUS) - Kosteniuk, Alexandra (RUS) Elista (Russia), Olympiad (w), 1998, Dutch Defense A87. 13. Kosteniuk, Alexandra (RUS) - Nikolaidis, Konstantinos (GRE) Icaria (Greece), It (open), 1998, A36 English Opening. 14. Kosteniuk, Alexandra - 8erzina, Ilze Paris, October 1998, Scandinavian Defense 801. 15. Gutov, A - Kosteniuk, Alexandra Moscow 1999, Sicilian Defense 866. 16. Kosteniuk, Alexandra - Kudrin, S Isle of Man 1999, Sicilian Defense 853. 17. David, .a - Kosteniuk, Alexandra Dresden 1999, Scandinavian Defense 801. 18. Kosteniuk, Alexandra - Lomineishvili, Maia Dresden 1999, Sicilian Defense 840. 19. Kulish, Irina - Kosteniuk, Alexandra Elista 2000, Sicilian Defense 831. 20. Vorobiov, Evgeny - Kosteniuk, Alexandra St. Petersburg (Russia), Chigorin Memorial, November 2000, Sicilian Defense B66. 21. Kosteniuk, Alexandra - Velcheva, Maria Yugoslavia, December2000, French Defense C03. 22. Vasilevich, Tatjana - Kosteniuk, Alexandra Yugoslavia, December 2000, Slav Defense D30. Appendices 2 • 3 [)Wl[p®IJQ Where Results �Attheag eof June European Championship 7 out of9 1994 UIO, Romania 1st place 10 years July Wo rld 9 out of 11 1994 Championship UIO, 1st-2nd place 10 years Hungary July European Championship 8 out of9 1996 U 12, Slovakia 1st place 12 years October World 10� out of II 1996 Championship U12, Spain 1st place 12 years November 1996 Wo rld Rapid Chess 8 out of 9 12 years Championship U 12, Fnmce 1st place December 1996 Russian Women Rapid Chess 7 out of9 12 years Championship, Moscow 1st place September 1997 FIDE congress Became the youngest WIM 13 years in the Wo rld February 1998 Moscow International 9� out of 13 13 years 1st place and fmal WGM norm September 1998 Elista Olympiad (Russia-3 10 out of 13 14 years Kalmyk team) Became the youngest WGM in the Wo rld Where Results Atthe age of November 1998 Wo rld Rapid Chess 8� out of9 14 years Championship U14, Paris 1st place December 1998 4-game match with IM Drawn 14 years Anatoly Kremenietsky Result: 2: 2 (Elo-2400) July 1999 Dresden International 7� out of9 15 years lst place September 1999 Moscow International 7� out of 11 15 years lst place and fmal IM norm May 2000 Russian Women 6out of9 16 years Chess Championship 2nd place October European Women Rapid 8� out of 11 2001 Chess Championship, 2nd place 17 years Minsk October European Women Blitz 33Y:zout of 40 2001 Chess Championship, 1st place 17 years Minsk Is not Sashenka Simply a Marvel? ...... 3 Compiler's Introduction ...... 8 The Magical World of Chess ...... 12 J»�� I ...... I� A Fortunate Opportunity ...... 1 � Do You Like Movies ...... 16 I Want to Go Home and Study Chess with Dad ...... 26 Lesson I. The Board ...... 2 7 Lesson 2. The King ...... 3 0 Lesson 3. The Bishop ...... 31 Lesson �- The Rook ...... 3 3 Lesson 5. The Queen ...... 3� Lesson 6. The Pawn ...... 3 5 Lesson 7. The Knight ...... 3 8 Lesson 8. Relative Value of Pieces. Notation ...... �0 Lesson 9. Check, Checkmate, and Stalemate ...... �2 Lesson 10. Checkmating with the King and Queen ...... �6 Lesson 11. Checkmating with two Rooks. (Linear mate) ...... � 7 Lesson 12. Checkmating with the King and Rook ...... �8 Lesson 13. Checkmating with Two Bishops ...... �9 Lesson 1 �- The starting Position, Castling ...... 51 Lesson 15. General Opening Principles ...... 53 Lesson 16. Self-quiz ...... 62 What Was Mom Thinking? ...... 7 7 First Autoga phs ...... 8 5 Lesson 17. Checkmating With the Bishop and Knight (for players rated between 1�0 and 1800) ...... 86 Sh<>rt St<>ps ...... 91 Lesson 18. Solve in Your Head! (for players rated between 1500 and 2000) ...... 98 European Gold ...... 108 The Major's Decision ...... 117 Odds and Evens ...... 120 My Two Darling Chess Players ...... 130 Just One Life and So Many Goals to Achieve! ...... 135 Lesson 19. Score 155 Points! ...... 1 �4 Grandmasters, Beware! ...... 157 PART 2 ...... 170 Selected Games from Recent Years ...... 170 Play like Alexandra, Play Better than Alexandra! ...... 196 Poems of Alexandra Kosteniuk ...... 204 The Coach's Afterword ...... 208 ��llcli«:�S ...... 21 1 List of Alexandra's Games ...... 21 1 Important Accomplishments of Alexandra Kosteniuk ...... 213 JIP NQ 065099 OT 11.04. 1997 r. lloJUIHCaHO ne'laTb 04. 12.2001 1. B r. E}'Mara �eTHM N2 Ome'laTaHO llllll <