Volume 137 DECEMBER 2017 EUROPEAN TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP: A WONDERFUL VICTORY FOR AZERBAIJAN AND A GREAT SURPRISE BY CROATIA RUSSIAN WOMEN IN A LEAGUE OF THEIR OWN ANALYSING THE BEST GAMES FROM THE 16TH, 15TH AND 14TH 4NCL CONGRESS THE LONDON CHESS CLASSIC: WHERE GIANTS MEET visit WWW. britishchessmagazine. co.uk SUBSCRIBE & SAVE 01712 THE STORY OF THE CHESS-PLAYER FROM MYSTERY ISSN 0007-0440 9 770007TO 044000 THE SUPERNATURAL 2018 TO BE A ‘YEAR OF CHESS’ IN BRITAIN 12/137 706 | BRITISH CHESS MAGAZINE December 2017 It´s now even easier to subscribe to British Chess Magazine An exclusive chess magazine! Great news, BCM just got better! More content, more pages, more GM and IM writers (including top UK grandmasters), outstanding photography and design, and the regular features which have long been part of BCM’s tradition. 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BRITISH CHESS MAGAZINE, the World’s Oldest Chess Journal BRITISH CHESS MAGAZINE | 707 IMPRESSUM Contents BRITISH CHESS MAGAZINE Founded 1881 www.britishchessmagazine.co.uk Chairman Shaun Taulbut Director Stephen Lowe Editors Milan Dinic and Shaun Taulbut Photo editor David Llada #LondonPlaysChess 2018 Prepress Specialist 729 Milica Mitic 709 European team championship – Crete – Photography th th Anastasiya Karlovych, Josip Asik, 27 October to 7 November 2017 A wonderful victory for ECU oicial, Saint Louis Chess Club Azerbaijan and a great surprise Advertising by Croatia Stephen Lowe By GM Aleksandar Colovic ST TH Enquiries 724 London Chess Classic 1 – 11 [email protected] December Where giants meet ISSN 0007-0440 By IM Shaun Taulbut © The British Chess Magazine Limited 732 Champions Showdown in St. Louis Company Limited by Shares Topalov’s crushing Registered in England No 00334968 defeat by Nakamura Postal correspondence: By GM Aleksandar Colovic Albany House, 14 Shute End Wokingham, Berkshire RG40 1BJ 736 Analysing the best games from the 16TH, 15TH AND 14TH 4NCL congress Subscription How Alan Merry paved his path to [email protected] the British Knockout 12 monthly issues By IM Shaun Taulbut UK: £55 | RoW: £85 750 sHARK ATTACK Printed in the UK: by Lavenham Press Ltd Theo Slade Cover photography: Shutterstock 756 The perception of chess in the 17th century: ‘It hath wounded my conscience, and broken my peace’ 708 | BRITISH CHESS MAGAZINE December 2017 European team championship – Crete – 27th October to 7th November 2017 A wonderful victory for Azerbaijan and a great surprise by Croatia By GM Aleksandar Colovic Photo: ECU official / Anastasiya Karlovych More info at: @euroteamchess2017 The European Team Championship took Ian Nepomniachtchi – Luka Lenic place from 27th October to 7th November in the Creta Maris Resort in Hersonissos 21st European Teams Hersonissos GRE (1.1) on the island of Crete. The winners in the men’s section were the three highest ranked XIIIIIIIIY teams, but the roads that took them there 9-+-tr-sn-mk0 were quite different... 9zp-+-+-zpp0 The main favourites Russia started with 9-zp-+p+-+0 three team wins, yet their play was not 9+Pwq-+-+-0 smooth. Having Nepomniachtchi on the team can be either a blessing (when 9P+L+Q+-+0 he is in good form) or a curse (when he 9+-+-+-+-0 isn’t). Unfortunately for the Russians, 9-+-+-zPPzP0 Nepomniachtchi showed it was a case of the latter when he blundered badly in 9+-+-tR-mK-0 Round 1. xiiiiiiiiy BRITISH CHESS MAGAZINE | 709 12/137 White is obviously dominating, but By far the biggest Nepomniachtchi’s next turned out to be a surprise was the team of bad omen for the Russian team - in both matches they lost Nepomniachthi lost his Croatia. In spite of being game. ranked 14th they were leading the tournament 29.£c6?? Blundering a simple double- attack. after 5 rounds and were playing mature chess 29.¥b3 keeps the pressure and advantage. under the tutelage 29...£b4= Black wins a pawn now and is of their captain GM out of danger. White will regain the pawn Zdenko Kozul, a former by taking on e6 and the position will be European Champion drawn. Bosnia (which didn’t participate), Croatia, 30.¢f1 £xa4 31.g3 h6 32.¥xe6 ¤xe6 Macedonia, Montenegro, Slovenia, Serbia ½–½ and Kosovo*) – only the Croatians staged a performance worthy of the great chess past Nepomniachtchi (which in Russian means of the region. ‘the one who doesn’t remember’) lost two games in Crete and both of them in matches Ivan Saric on Board 1 was confident, should the Russians lost – to Hungary and eventual have beaten Grischuk and made comfortable winners Azerbaijan. draws with Gelfand and Aronian. He also played the following exciting game in the match of the penultimate round which the The second-ranked Azerbaijan were Croats won thanks to wins by Bosiocic on considered out of contention as they lost Board 2 (who scored 6/8) and Martinovic as early as Round 1 to Italy. After a 4-0 on Board 4. sweep of Austria they only managed a draw Christian Bauer - Ivan Saric against Spain. But then something ‘clicked’ and they won all the remaining matches, European Team Championship (8.1) bar the last one when a draw was sufficient for first place (more on this below). 1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.cxd5 cxd5 4.¥g5 This has become fashionable recently. It is no Third-ranked Ukraine also lost early, in wonder White players are looking for ways Round 2 - to the Netherlands. They lost to do something against the Slav and the again in Round 4 to Turkey, but from that Trompowsky-looking move is just the latest moment on they did not lose a single game idea. and the last round 2-2 secured them a place on the podium. 4...¤c6 5.¤c3 f6 Carlsen played 5...¤f6 in the rapid game against Grischuk 6.¥xf6 By far the biggest surprise was the team gxf6 7.e3 a6 8.¦c1 ¥f5 9.¥d3 ¥g6 10.f4 of Croatia. In spite of being ranked f5 11.h4 h5 12.¤f3 and in spite of having a 14th they were leading the tournament dead ¥g6 he managed to draw, ½–½ (39) after 5 rounds and were playing mature Grischuk,A (2761)-Carlsen,M (2832) Paris chess under the tutelage of their captain FRA 2017. GM Zdenko Kozul, a former European Champion. Of all the teams which 6.¥d2 ¥g4 Things start to become participated from the once mighty chess creative. Black copies White and White nation of Yugoslavia (now broken up into copies Black now with his next move. 710 | BRITISH CHESS MAGAZINE December 2017 7.f3!? XIIIIIIIIY 9r+-wqkvlntr0 9zpp+-zp-zpp0 9-+n+-zp-+0 9+-+p+-+-0 9-+-zP-+l+0 9+-sN-+P+-0 9PzP-vLP+PzP0 9tR-+QmKLsNR0 xiiiiiiiiy Out of the once mighty chess nation of 7.£b3 is the usual way to react after Black’s Yugoslavia only the Croatians achieved a bishop has left the queenside 7...£d7 result worthy of respect – fourth place 8.£xd5 ¤xd4 9.¦c1 £xd5 10.¤xd5 ¦c8 again with an almost symmetrical position where Black is OK. 12...£xe2+ 13.¤gxe2 ¥d6 14.¥f4 is a better endgame for White, but Black can 7...¥h5 Breaking the symmetry. hope for a successful defence. 7...¥d7 would have been funny 8.¤xd5 13.¤e4! A fantastic move. White starts ¤xd4 (8...e6 9.¤f4 ¤xd4 10.e3 ¤c6 an attack with his king in the centre and 11.¥c4 gives White the initiative) 9.¦c1 kingside undeveloped. ¤c6 10.e4 ¦c8 11.¥e3 e6 12.¤c3 ¤h6 13.¥e2 with a slightly more pleasant 13.¤a4 was no less good, but definitely position for White. much less pleasing! 8.e4 e6 9.exd5 exd5 10.¥b5 ¥f7 11.£e2+ 13...dxe4 14.¥xc6 bxc6 14...e3 15.¥e4+ £e7?! 11...¥e7 12.¤h3 ¢f8 with the idea ¢b8 16.¥a5! b6 17.a3! with the idea ¥b4 ¥d6, and ¤ge7 and the position should and a strong attack. be fine for Black, his smooth development compensating for the misplaced king. 15.£a6+ £b7 16.¦xc6+ ¢b8 17.¥f4+ ¢a8 18.£xb7+ ¢xb7 19.¦c7+ ¢a6 12.¦c1 0–0–0 20.¦xf7 ¤e7 21.¢f2 ¤d5 21...¦xd4 22.¤e2 ¦b4 23.fxe4 ¦xe4 24.¥d6 ¤g6 XIIIIIIIIY 25.¦d1 is winning for White - after the 9-+ktr-vlntr0 exchange of the bishops the g7–pawn will 9zpp+-wqlzpp0 fall. 9-+n+-zp-+0 22.¥d2 ¦b8 23.b3?! 23.fxe4! was 9+L+p+-+-0 better, but it required a precise evaluation of the rook endgame after 9-+-zP-+-+0 23...¦xb2 24.¤f3 ¥b4 25.exd5 ¥xd2 9+-sN-+P+-0 26.¤xd2 ¦xd2+ 27.¢e3 ¦xa2 28.¦c1! when Black still suffers due to the bad 9PzP-vLQ+PzP0 king on a6.