November 2011 Cover_Layout 1 03/11/2011 14:52 Page 1 Contents Nov 2011_Chess mag - 21_6_10 03/11/2011 11:59 Page 1 Chess Contents Chess Magazine is published monthly. Founding Editor: B.H. Wood, OBE. M.Sc † Editorial Editor: Jimmy Adams Malcolm Pein on the latest developments in chess 4 Acting Editor: John Saunders ([email protected]) Executive Editor: Malcolm Pein Readers’ Letters ([email protected]) You have your say ... Basman on Bilbao, etc 7 Subscription Rates: United Kingdom Sao Paulo / Bilbao Grand Slam 1 year (12 issues) £49.95 The intercontinental super-tournament saw Ivanchuk dominate in 2 year (24 issues) £89.95 Brazil, but then Magnus Carlsen took over in Spain. 8 3 year (36 issues) £125.00 Cartoon Time Europe Oldies but goldies from the CHESS archive 15 1 year (12 issues) £60.00 2 year (24 issues) £112.50 Sadler Wins in Oslo 3 year (36 issues) £165.00 Matthew Sadler is on a roll! First, Barcelona, and now Oslo. He annotates his best game while Yochanan Afek covers the action 16 USA & Canada 1 year (12 issues) $90 London Classic Preview 2 year (24 issues) $170 We ask the pundits what they expect to happen next month 20 3 year (36 issues) $250 Interview: Nigel Short Rest of World (Airmail) Carl Portman caught up with the English super-GM in Shropshire 22 1 year (12 issues) £72 2 year (24 issues) £130 Kasparov - Short Blitz Match 3 year (36 issues) £180 Garry and Nigel re-enacted their 1993 title match at a faster time control in Belgium. It came down to a nail-biting finish... 24 Distributed by: Post Scriptum (UK only) European Club Cup, Slovenia Unit G, OYO Business Park, Hindmans Way, Irish IM Sam Collins was on the spot in Slovenia where Europe’s Dagenham, RM9 6LN top club sides (and some more modest ones) slugged it out. 26 Tel: 020 8526 7779 Memorable Mishaps LMPI (North America) Steve Giddins recalls funny things on the way to the tournament 30 8155 Larrey Street, Montreal (Quebec), H1J 2L5, Canada Studies Tel: 514 355-5610 Brian Stephenson on the ‘2010 study of the year’ 33 Printed by: Problem Album The Magazine Printing Company (Enfield) Colin Russ looks at problems with a castling theme 33 Te: 020 8805 5000 Max Euwe Centre, Amsterdam Views expressed in this publication are not John Saunders finds an oasis of chess excellence in the Dutch city 34 necessarily those of the Editor. Contributions to the magazine will be published at the Editor’s discretion Marcel Duchamp: Gone But Not Forgotten and may be shortened if space is limited. John Saunders visits the maestro’s grave but finds a shrine. 36 A Devonian in Russia No parts of this publication may be reproduced Devon chessplayer Trefor Thynne sampled a Veterans’ tournament without the prior express permission of the in Saint Petersburg, Russia, and gave a good account of himself 38 publishers. Thinking about Thinking All rights reserved. © 2011 Amatzia Avni looks at the mental processes of a GM 40 Chess Magazine (ISSN 0964-6221) is published by: Topalov in Dublin Chess & Bridge Ltd, 44 Baker St, London, W1U 7RT The Bulgarian super-GM takes on the Irish Olympiad squad 42 Tel: 020 7388 2404 Fax: 020 7388 2407 [email protected] – www.chess.co.uk Find The Winning Moves Three pages of tactical teasers from recent tournament games 45 FRONT COVER: Cover Design: Matt Read Chess in the 1960s Photo: David Llada Lisa Lane was lovelorn in Hastings, while Bobby wowed them in Yugoslavia... with his pop singing. More from our back pages... 48 US & Canadian Readers – You can contact us How Good is Your Chess? via our American branch – Chess4Less based GM Daniel King presents a superb game by Emil Sutovsky 50 in West Palm Beach, FL. Call us toll-free on 1-877 89CHESS (24377). You can even order Overseas News / Home News Subscriber Special Offers online via A round-up of what’s been happening near and far 53/55 www.chess4less.com New Books In Brief All the latest books, DVDs and software 57 Solutions All the answers to Find The Winning Move and Problem Album 58 www.chess.co.uk 3 The news of Mr and Mrs Ivanchuk’s he picked up Donner’s coffee cup and 8. HELL HATH NO FURY… unfortunate encounter with gun-wielding threw the contents over the fire. With the robbers in Sao Paulo set me thinking. table now covered in a congealed, sugary The 1994 Olympiad in Moscow served up Our game is not the most dangerous in syrup, the players looked at one another, enough mishaps to fill an entire article. the world, but over the years, there have whispered “draw?”, shook hands and Held at the grisly Cosmos Hotel, near to been a good many notable mishaps evacuated the scene! the former VDNH park, the players quickly affecting chessplayers during realised that any venture outside the hotel tournaments. Some research by yours doors was liable to see them mugged, truly enables me to present to CHESS robbed or worse. The captain of the Irish readers, for your awe, sympathy, team was mugged in the street by a gang schadenfreude, or whatever else, my Top of gypsy children (a common problem in Ten Greatest Chess Tournament Moscow at that time – I know, I was living Mishaps . In ascending order... there!) and was only saved by an old lady, who waded into them with a brolly, to such 10. FIRE ON BOARD effect that one later required hospital treatment! Another team captain unwisely Our first mishap concerns that larger than visited the local bank to change several life character, Jan Hein Donner, without thousands of dollars in foreign currency, whom no collection of chess anecdotes only for the bank, “coincidentally”, to be would be complete. The incident robbed at that very moment – he had, of occurred at the Anglo-Dutch match of course, been set up by the hotel reception 1973, which was held at Manchester staff, who had directed him to the bank in Town Hall, and my source is Ray Keene, the first place. who was playing Euwe on board one, whilst Donner played Penrose on board But perhaps the worst incident involved two. Those were the days when smoking Donner’s promising position against GM Alex Yermolinsky. His presence in was allowed at the board, of course, and Penrose went up in smoke, literally... the city as part of the US team did not go Donner made full use of the privilege, unnoticed by his ex-wife, who lived in chain-smoking throughout the game. The 9. THAT TAKES SOME BOTTLE Moscow at the time. She telephoned him only time his cigarette left his lips was in and asked to see him, so an order to take the occasional sip from a As Denis Norden once said, during one unsuspecting Yermolinsky set off across cup of sugar, to which a small quantity of of his TV outtake shows, “when we town one evening, to the apartment she coffee had been added! asked performers to name the group of had specified. When he got there, he people who cause them the most trouble, was greeted by several thugs, hired for The tables being used had enormous they unanimously named one particular the purpose, who beat him up and then Bakelite ashtrays, the size of dinner group – the public!”. Few great players sent him on his way, with a demand for plates, and as the afternoon wore on, have ever been more popular with the $10,000 in cash before the end of the Donner’s ashtray mounted ever higher public than Mikhail Tal, but even he had tournament. A battered and bruised with discarded cigarettes and ash, much his problems. During the 1966 Olympiad Yermolinsky spent the rest of the of which was still emitting smoke. in Havana, he went out one evening to a Olympiad holed up in his hotel room, too Eventually, after several hours’ play, this local bar in the city. Nobody seems terrified to set foot outside the Cosmos. mountain of ash suddenly burst into entirely sure what happened, but it would flames, causing the Bakelite ashtray to appear that he was flirting with a local 7. SET UPON AT THE SEASIDE crack completely in half. The players both woman, whose husband or boyfriend looked transfixed as the table all around took exception. Tal ended up being struck Despite its decline in status over the them was burning, with neither player over the head with a bottle. As a result, years, Hastings is still a Mecca for many seemingly about to actually do anything! he missed the first four rounds of the foreign players, who are pleased to visit At this point, Ray Keene, who had finished event, and when he did appear in the such a legendary chess venue. However, his game and was standing by Donner’s tournament hall, it was with his head the young Azeri GM, Farhad Tahirov, may board spectating, decided that action had heavily bandaged, and, no doubt, have ended up rather regretting his to be taken to contain the conflagration, so another black mark on his KGB file. appearance at the Sussex seaside town in 30 November 2011 2006-7. He played poorly, losing a hatful occurred at the closing ceremony of the his last-round clash against Kasparov the of rating points. Then, halfway through the 2004 Olympiad in Calvià, Majorca, and next day. Unfortunately, one of the locals event, he was seen to be suffering with a involved FIDE Vice-President and was also there, accompanied by his painful skin rash on his hands, and had to Georgian GM, Zurab Azmaiparashvili.