An afternoon chat with Yasser - Part II

GM Yasser Seirawan at last year's U.S. Open chess championship in Vancouver, WA.

Continued from Part I...

Yasser:

Robert Byrne had a whole repertoire of stories. He was a Candidates player and lost his Candidates' finals match to Spassky famously. Byrne knew so many people in the game of chess. Again, he was a man of great dignity with old world manners, just a genuine fellow with no pretense.

His chess style, I want to say, was quite universal. He could lead with e4 or d4 and he played a lot of different defenses as well, some of which carry his name. His Byrne Defense to the Samisch King’s Indian is still played at the very highest level.

Frank:

As I understand it, according to Estravios Grivas in a survey published in New In Chess Yearbook #92 (2009), Robert Byrne developed a flexible approach where Black plays ...c6 and ...a6 in order to prepare a push with ...b5. Black's direct counter strike in the center is postponed so that the queen side advance can proceed quickly.

White can decide to halt Black's ...b5 break by playing 7.a4 at the cost of weakening the dark squares on the queenside. After 7...a5, Black has gained control over the b4 square, and will usually win the c5 square as well. If Black wants to transpose into the Byrne while avoiding the 7.Bd3 lines, the flexible 6...a6 can be played first. This way, Black retains the option of playing ...c5 or ...c6 depending on the circumstances.

Yasser:

I remember 1990 New York/Lyon in the fifth world championship match between Karpov and Kasparov when Kasparov as Black led off the match by playing the Byrne Variation of the King’s Indian Defense against the Samisch. That says it all right there, right?

Karpov,A (2730) - Kasparov,G (2800) [E81]
World Championship 35th-KK5 Lyon/New York (1), August 8, 1990
Samisch Kings Indian Defense, Byrne Variation

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.f3 0–0 6.Be3 c6 7.Bd3 a6 8.Nge2 b5 9.0–0 Nbd7 10.Rc1 e5 11.a3 exd4 12.Nxd4 Bb7 13.cxb5 cxb5 14.Re1 Ne5 15.Bf1 Re8 16.Bf2 d5 17.exd5 Nxd5 18.Nxd5 Qxd5 19.a4 Bh6 20.Ra1 Nc4 21.axb5 axb5 22.Rxa8 Rxa8 23.Qb3 Bd3 Nd6 25.Qxd5 Bxd5 26.Nxb5 Nxb5 27.Bxb5 Bg7 28.b4 Bc3 29.Rd1 Bb3 30.Rb1 Ba2 ½–½

Byrne was also victimized by the famous game he lost to Bobby Fischer in the 1963/64 U.S.Championship where the assembled commentators all felt that Bobby had over reached.

Frank:

I saw that Jude Acers in his recent blog called that game the “real Fischer Immortal game” in the U.S. Championship won by Fischer with a staggering 11-0. “Horowitz told me that he really had no time to realize Fischer was a knight down on the large wall demonstration chess board versus Mr.Byrne but heard Rossolimo murmer: What is happening? Fischer is losing the game."

According to Acers, “Chess historians will also remember that gentleman philosopher Mr. Byrne tumbled down the stairway to explain to the baffled crowd why he had just resigned the game…played years after his own brother contested the other Game of the Century."

Yasser:

It’s tough to be the victim of a brilliancy, but that game was very, very special. The attack against White’s king is like, how do you even conceive that White’s king is vulnerable. At what point does Bobby realize he can launch an attack and it’s good. What did White do that was so egregiously bad? A half tempo here and there and it was decisive.

Frank:

Bobby used the tennis analogy that he was just hitting the ball over the net awaiting his opportunity. Acers quoted Fischer as follows: “I just tried to keep the game alive, trying to win with the black pieces against Byrne. It was partly analysis. I didn’t see everything and was just keeping the game alive.”

The U.S. championship that we speak of was played in New York City from December 15, 1963 to January 2, 1964. The game here was from round 3.

Byrne,R - Fischer,R [D71]
USA-ch New York (round 3), December 18, 1963

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.g3 c6 4.Bg2 d5 5.cxd5 cxd5 6.Nc3 Bg7 7.e3 0–0 8.Nge2 Nc6 9.0–0 b6 10.b3 Ba6 11.Ba3

“After White's 11th move I should adjudicate his position as slightly superior, and at worst completely safe. To turn this into a mating position in eleven more moves is more witchcraft than chess! Quite honestly, I do not see the man who can stop Bobby at this time.” -- K.F. Kirby, South African Chess Quarterly

11...Re8 12.Qd2



12…e5!

“I was a bit worried about weakening my QP, but felt that the tremendous activity obtained by my minor pieces would permit White no time to exploit it. 12...e6 would probably lead to a draw.” -- Fischer

13.dxe5

13.Rac1 exd4 (13...Rc8 14.Rfd1 e4 15.f3!) 14.exd4 Rc8 15.f3

13...Nxe5 14.Rfd1?

14.Rad1! 14...Ne4 a)14...Rc8 15.Nxd5 Nxd5 16.Bxd5 Bd3 17.Bg2 Rc2 18.Qxc2+-; b)14...Nd3 15.Qc2; c)14...Qd7 15.Qc2± Rac8 16.Qb1!; d)14...Qc7 15.Qc1! Ne4!? 16.Nxd5! Qxc1 17.Nxc1 Bxf1 18.Bxe4 Ba6 19.Ne7+ Kh8 20.Bxa8 Rxa8 21.f4±; e)14...Qc8! 15.Nxd5 (e)15.Rc1 Qd7! 16.Rcd1 Rad8; e)15.Bb2 Qf5; e)15.Qc1 Ne4 16.Nxd5 Bxe2 17.Bxe4 Kh8! 18.Qxc8 Raxc8 19.Ne7 Rc7 20.Rc1 Rd7 21.Rfe1 Bf3!–+) 15...Nxd5 16.Bxd5 Rd8 17.f4 Rxd5! 18.Qxd5 Bb7! 19.Qd8+ (e)19.Qd2 Qh3! 20.Nd4 Ng4 21.Rfe1 (e)21.Nc2 h5‚) 21...Nxe3!–+) 19...Qxd8 20.Rxd8+ Rxd8 21.fxe5 Bxe5; 15.Nxe4 dxe4 16.Bxe4 Qxd2 17.Rxd2 Nc4 18.Bxa8 Nxd2 19.Rd1 Nc4 20.bxc4 (20.Bc6! Averbakh,Y 20...Nxa3 21.Bxe8 Bxe2 22.Rd7+-) 20...Rxa8 × c4

“This is very much a case of the wrong rook. One can understand Byrne's desire to break the pin on the e2-knight, but this turns out to be less important than other considerations.” -- John Nunn



14...Nd3! 15.Qc2

15.Nd4 Ne4 16.Nxe4 dxe4 17.Bb2 Rc8; 15.Nf4 Ne4 16.Nxe4 dxe4 (16...Bxa1? 17.Nd6) 17.Rab1 Rc8 18.Nxd3 Bc3! 19.Qe2 Bxd3 20.Qg4 f5 21.Qh3 Bxb1! 22.Rxd8 Rexd8 23.Bf1 Rd1 24.Kg2 Bd3! 25.Bxd3 exd3–+; 15.f3 Bh6 16.f4 (16.Nf4? d4!) 16...Bg7!

15...Nxf2! 16.Kxf2 Ng4+ 17.Kg1 Nxe3 18.Qd2 Nxg2!

18...Nxd1 19.Rxd1=

19.Kxg2 d4! 20.Nxd4 Bb7+ 21.Kf1

21.Kg1 Bxd4+ 22.Qxd4 Re1+! 23.Kf2 Qxd4+ 24.Rxd4 Rxa1 25.Rd7 Rc8 26.Rxb7 (26.Bb2 Rh1) 26...Rxc3 27.Rb8+ Kg7 28.Bb2 Rxa2–+; 21.Kf2 Qd7! 22.Rac1 Qh3 23.Nf3 Bh6 24.Qd3 Be3+ 25.Qxe3 Rxe3 26.Kxe3 Re8+ 27.Kf2 Qf5!–+]

21...Qd7! 0–1



White resigned because of 22.Qf2 (22.Ndb5 Qh3+ 23.Kg1 Bh6–+) 22...Qh3+ 23.Kg1 Re1+!! 24.Rxe1 Bxd4–+

Yasser:

It’s still a phenomenal game, just remarkable. It really is.

Frank:

Getting back to tennis, I heard the rumor somewhere along the line that Byrne’s favorite tennis sparring partner was you. Did you play a lot beyond Merano?

Yasser:

Yes, we were at a lot of U.S. Championship events together and played a lot of tennis during world championship match events and some opens here and there. All over, in fact. Mostly, he beat me by the way! Let’s just say that he was better and I was much worse. It seemed to me that Robert took his tennis quite seriously. I’m not trying to excuse my losses, not at all. I saw it as a means of getting some really good exercise.

I remember that Robert would come and he’d have this head band, and these wrist bands as well. He had some types of things on his knees. And after these tennis matches, he took off his various bands and squeezed them as hard as he could. He would look at his droplets of sweat. If it was really a lot of good droplets of sweat, he was really happy. I also believe that he took tennis lessons, but I can’t say exactly from whom. The reality was that Robert was very good at shots. He had very good control. He could put it deep in one corner and on the very next shot deep in the other corner and I would run baseline to baseline.

To be continued...

Yes I said it, Yes I believed it, Yes I've changed my mind!

Marjorie Sheiman realizes she is facing the Noah's Ark Trap for the first time in her young career during round 5 at the Portland Chess Club Centennial. (photo by Andrei Botez)

In an interview with Ralph Ginzburg nearly 50 years ago, Bobby Fischer famously said, "They're all weak, all women...there isn't a woman player in the world I can't give knight-odds to and still beat." Bobby was 18 at the time. I have not seen or heard anything to indicate that he ever felt any differently...until this past weekend.

Grandmaster Susan Polgar entertained and enlightened a packed house at a breakfast meeting held before round 5 of the Portland Chess Club Centennial on Sunday morning. She shared previously untold stories about the eight years from 1993 to 2001 when Bobby Fischer lived in her home city of Budapest, Hungary. The title of her 30 minute lecture was The Bobby Fischer I Knew.

The former woman's world champion answered questions for an additional 30 minutes before analyzing the "most interesting game" from the 2011 Portland Closed Championship, a flashy encounter won by Steven Breckenridge when he mated his opponent in the middle of the board despite being three pieces down (see my blog dated 8/14/11).

The period after Bobby Fischer's 1992 rematch with Boris Spassky in Yugoslavia has been referred to as his "lost years". In the movie Searching for Bobby Fischer, Josh Waitzin is heard lamenting that Bobby came out of retirement in 1992 and then disappeared again. In the recently released HBO documentary Bobby Fischer against the World, there is little mention of the gap between his rematch with Spassky and his unfortunate remarks following the 9-11-2001 terrorist attacks.

So, to the delight of the crowd assembled at the Doubletree Hotel in Lloyd Center this past weekend, Susan Polgar filled in some of that gap. Fischer crossed the Hungarian border with Yugoslavia in 1993 and moved to a neighborhood near Susan's family. Susan played chess frequently with Bobby until she relocated to the United States in 1994. Fischer remained in Budapest where he was apparently quite happy surrounded by his Yugoslavian bodyguard and his closest friends. These included Grandmasters Eugenio Torre (who was almost always with him), Pal Benko (he lived half the year in Budapest and the other half in New Jersey) and Lajos Portisch. In addition, Fischer saw his Hungarian girlfriend and, of course, the Polgar sisters and their parents. Spassky, who remained close friends with Fischer, visited from France from time to time.This photo of Bobby Fischer and Susan Polgar playing chess at her home in Budapest during 1993 is one of the few pictures of Bobby taken during his "lost years" after the 1992 rematch with Boris Spassky in Sveti Stefan, Yugolsavia. (photo courtesy of the Susan Polgar Foundation)

Susan and Bobby played dozens of Fischer Random chess games, a variant with 960 different starting positions (now referred to by FIDE and USCF as Fischer 960). When asked about her results, Susan said, "I won several games and he won several. I'd say we were fairly even." That prompted a question from the audience about his knight odds remark. Susan laughed and said, "I did ask him about it once. He told me 'yes I said it, yes I believed it, and yes I've changed my mind'. After that, we never discussed the issue again."

Besides studying and playing chess, Bobby kept busy in Hungary developing what tournament players now take for granted: digital clocks with time delays and increments. Fischer worked with a German company during this period. He spent many hours testing and making recommendations for improvements to these new devices. He gave one of his three clock prototypes to the Polgar family, a treasured gift that remains in their home in Budapest. In addition, Fischer spent much of his time maintaining his level of physical fitness by attending at least four different health spas around the city. It was later revealed that Paul Nemenyi, a Hungarian Jewish physicist, was Fischer's biological father. Although Susan didn't know it at the time, she speculates that Bobby was aware and spent some time in Hungary probing his own genealogical roots.

When Susan Polgar moved to the U.S., Fischer stayed in touch with the family, and also with her, via periodic phone calls to New York. But she never saw him again. When asked whether she thought the recent HBO documentary about Fischer was a fair reflection on his life, she said: "Yes, in general it was. However, they missed an opportunity to highlight his creative genius and not just his problems. They could have summarized his life in a more positive way at the end of the movie."

"Bobby was a brilliant man," she said, "who discovered many new ideas over the board and created rules for a whole new way to play the game with Fischer Random so that future world championship matches might not be awarded to the player who best utilizes his computer in preparation of openings. Fischer developed a dramatic new way of keeping time for the game that is officially adopted by FIDE as a way of making the game more exciting and avoiding adjournments, and he increased the financial rewards available to chess players so that now many of them can make a good living. Bobby Fischer deserves credit for these things and the documentary missed the punch line that would have made it more complete. That said, I believe it was an accurate portrayal of his life."

Later, she founded the Susan Polgar Foundation with the expressed mission to promote chess, with all its educational, social, and competitive benefits throughout the United States, for young people of all ages, especially girls. In 2004, Susan came out of retirement to play for the U.S. in the Chess Olympiad where she and her teammates won the Silver Medal and became role models for young girls interested in chess. Shortly thereafter, she created the Susan Polgar National Invitational for Girls, now in its eighth year. It is significant to note that ALL of the U.S. Women's Chess Champions crowned since that time were members of the 2004 Olympiad Team.

All one had to do at the Portland Chess Club Centennial tournament was look around the room where Susan Polgar's impact on girls in chess was clearly in evidence. Not only did Susan play dozens of smiling children in two simultaneous exhibitions sponsored by Chess for Success, but many of the competitors in both the Championship and Amateur sections were young ladies.

In today's blog I am pleased to celebrate the young women involved in chess in the Portland area. Many thanks to Andrei Botez, proud father of two such stars: Alexandra and Andrea, for taking these beautiful photos.


Megan Lee, rated 2059, earned two victories over USCF rated national masters in this event.


Alexandra Botez, rated 2035, recently earned a scholarship to University of Texas at Dallas for her chess prowess. After a slow start, she finished with three straight victories.


Alathea Lataw, playing in her first rated tournament notched victory #1 in round 3.


Sarah May did not lose a single game and finished with 4 points in 6 rounds in the Amateur section.


Sangeeta Dhingra scored 3 1/2 points to boost her 1541 rating and collect $66.67 in prize money.


Olga Cherapakhin scored two points in the Amateur section.


Menaka Nararanyan had an even score after a half point first round bye.


Hazel Malone loves to play chess, but gave up her time this weekend to volunteer as an important member of the tournament staff.


I know Becca Lampman is tough from personal experience. She already has two notches in her belt from victories against me.

Another good player frequently seen on the tournament trail is Susan Koenig. She was visible all weekend staffing the bookstore and the room used for side events like the Susan Polgar clock simul and the breakfast. Unfortunately, she was busy with her duties when these photos were taken. So we missed her, but her presence at the Centennial celebration was surely felt.

Below are most of the game scores from GM Susan Polgar's 10-board clock simul. She scored a perfect 10-0-0.

1) Polgar,Susan - Schoffstall,Karl [D09]
simul, 13.08.2011
[Schulien,Charles]
1.d4 d5 2.c4 e5 3.dxe5 d4 4.Nf3 Nc6 5.g3 Nge7 Morozevich's move, which led to a small comeback for this opening. 6.Bg2 Ng6 7.Bf4 Bg4 8.Nbd2 Qd7 9.Qb3 Bb4 10.0-0 a5 11.c5 a4 12.Qc2 h5 13.Ne4 a3 14.Rad1 Bf5 15.bxa3 Rxa3 16.Nxd4 Nxd4 17.Qc4 Nxf4 18.gxf4 Nxe2+ 19.Qxe2 Qa4 20.Rd4 Rxa2 21.Rxb4 Qxb4 22.Qxa2 0-0 23.Qb1 1-0

(2) Polgar,Susan - Breckenridge,Steven [E14]
simul, 13.08.2011
[Schulien,Charles]
1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 e6 3.e3 b6 4.Bd3 Bb7 5.c4 c5 6.0-0 Be7 7.Nc3 cxd4 8.exd4 d5 9.cxd5 Nxd5 10.Ne5 0-0 Rather bad luck, or just lack of knowledge of his opponent, led Steven to this position. Susan has played it at least 5 times in tournaments, including a win against Karpov in the Amber blindfold event, and a draw with Jan Timman. No wonder she makes this game look easy, despite facing a strong young master in a simul! 11.Qg4 f5 12.Qe2 Bf6 13.Bd2 a6 14.Rac1 Re8 15.Bc4 Nd7 16.f4 Nb8 17.Be3 Qd6 18.Nxd5 Bxd5 19.Bxd5 Qxd5 20.Rc7 Bd8 21.Qh5 Rf8 22.Rf7 Qd6 23.Rc1 Bf6 24.Rcc7 Qd8 25.Rxf8+ Qxf8 26.Qf3 1-0

(3) Polgar,Susan - Sun,Maxwell [C45]
simul, 13.08.2011
[Schulien,Charles]
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 exd4 4.Nxd4 Bc5 5.Nxc6 Qf6 6.Qf3 Qxf3 7.gxf3 bxc6 8.Bd2 Bd4 9.c3 Bf6 10.Na3 Rb8 11.0-0-0 Ne7 12.f4 d6 13.Re1 0-0 14.h4 g6 15.h5 gxh5 16.Rxh5 Bg7 17.Bd3 Ng6 18.Reh1 Bg4 19.Rxh7 Bf3 20.R1h2 Bg4 21.Nc4 f5 22.Na5 Rb6 23.Bc4+ d5 24.exd5 Kf7 25.dxc6+ Kf6 26.Be3 Rd8 27.Bd4+ Rxd4 28.cxd4 Nf8 29.Rh8 Bxh8 30.Rxh8 Ng6 31.Rh7 Nxf4 32.Rxc7 Ne2+ 33.Bxe2 Bxe2 34.Rxa7 Ra6 35.Rxa6 Bxa6 36.Nb3 Ke7 37.Nc5 Bc8 38.b4 Kd6 39.b5 Kc7 40.a4 Kb6 41.Kb2 f4 42.Kb3 Kc7 43.a5 1-0

(4) Polgar,S - Esler,B [E60]
Portland Centennial Simul, 13.08.2011
[Niro,Frank]
1.Nf3 Nf6 2.d4 g6 3.c4 Bg7 4.g3 0-0 5.Bg2 d6 6.0-0 Nc6 7.Be3 e5 8.dxe5 Ng4 9.Bg5 Qd7 10.Nc3 h6 11.Bd2 Ngxe5 12.b3 Nxf3+ 13.Bxf3 Ne5 14.Bg2 c6 15.Qc1 Kh7 16.Qc2 Qe7 17.Rad1 f5 18.Bc1 Be6 19.Ba3 Rad8 20.e3 Rf7 21.h3 Qf6 22.Ne2 Rfd7 23.Rd2 d5 24.c5 Nf7 25.Bb2 Qxb2 26.Qxb2 Bxb2 27.Rxb2 Ne5 28.Rd1 Re7 29.Nd4 Bf7 30.Kf1 Nd7 31.Rc1 Kg7 32.Ke2 Kf6 33.Kd2 Ne5 34.Bf1 g5 35.Be2 Rde8 36.Rc3 f4 37.gxf4 gxf4 38.exf4 Ng6 39.Bg4 Nxf4 40.Re3 Re4 41.Ne2 h5 42.Rxe4 Rxe4 43.Bf3 Re5 44.Nxf4 Rf5 45.Ke3 Re5+ 46.Kd3 Rf5 47.Nxd5+ Bxd5 48.Bxd5 Rxd5+ 49.Ke4 Rxc5 50.f4 Rc3 51.h4 Rh3 52.Rd2 Ke7 53.Ke5 Rxh4 54.f5 Rh1 55.f6+ Kf7 56.Rd7+ Kg6 57.Rg7+ Kh6 58.Rg8 Re1+ 59.Kf5 Rf1+ 60.Ke6 Re1+ 61.Kf7 h4 62.Rh8+ Kg5 63.Kg7 Rf1 64.f7 Kg4 65.f8Q Rxf8 66.Kxf8 h3 67.Ke7 Kg3 68.Kd6 Kg2 69.Kc7 1-0

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(5) Polgar,S - Doddapaneni,V [B23]
Portland Centennial Simul, 13.08.2011
[Niro,Frank]
1.e4 c5 2.Nc3 Nc6 3.f4 e6 4.Nf3 d5 5.exd5 exd5 6.Bb5 Nge7 7.0-0 a6 8.Bxc6+ Nxc6 9.Re1+ Be7 10.d4 cxd4 11.Nxd4 0-0 12.Be3 Bf6 13.Qd2 Re8 14.Bf2 Be6 15.Rad1 Qd7 16.Nxc6 bxc6 17.Na4 Bd8 18.Nc5 Qc7 19.Bd4 Be7 20.Nxe6 fxe6 21.Rxe6 Bd6 22.Qe2 Qf7 23.Re1 Rxe6 24.Qxe6 Rd8 25.f5 Rd7 26.g4 c5 27.Bf2 Kf8 28.Qxf7+ Kxf7 29.Kg2 c4 30.Bd4 Re7 31.Rxe7+ Bxe7 32.Kf3 Bf6 33.Bxf6 Kxf6 34.Kf4 g5+ 35.fxg6 hxg6 36.h4 a5 37.c3 a4 38.a3 Ke6 39.h5 1-0

(6) Polgar,S - Murray,D [D46]
Portland Centennial Simul, 13.08.2011
[Niro,Frank]
1.Nf3 d5 2.d4 Nf6 3.c4 e6 4.Nc3 c6 5.e3 Bd6 6.Bd3 0-0 7.0-0 Nbd7 8.e4 dxe4 9.Nxe4 Nxe4 10.Bxe4 Nf6 11.Bc2 b6 12.Bg5 Be7 13.Qd3 g6 14.Rad1 Bb7 15.Qe3 Ng4 16.Qf4 Bxg5 17.Nxg5 Nf6 18.Rd3 Nh5 19.Qd2 Qc7 20.Rh3 Rad8 21.Rxh5 gxh5 22.Qd3 f5 23.Nxe6 Qe7 24.Qg3+ Kh8 25.Nxf8 Rxf8 26.Qf4 Qg7 27.Qe5 Qxe5 28.dxe5 f4 29.Rd1 Re8 30.h4 Re7 31.b3 c5 32.a3 Rg7 33.Rd8+ 1-0

(7) Polgar,S - Lundy,G [D06]
Portland Centennial SImul, 13.08.2011
[Niro,Frank]
1.d4 d5 2.c4 Nf6 3.cxd5 Qxd5 4.Nc3 Qd8 5.e4 e6 6.Nf3 Bb4 7.Bd3 0-0 8.Bg5 Be7 9.0-0 Bd7 10.Qe2 h6 11.Bh4 Be8 12.e5 Nd5 13.Qe4 g6 14.Bxe7 Nxe7 15.Qf4 Kh7 16.Ne4 Ng8 17.h4 Nd7 18.h5 Qe7 19.Qg4 f5 20.exf6 Ndxf6 21.Nxf6+ Rxf6 22.Ne5 Qg7 23.hxg6+ Kh8 24.Rae1 Ne7 25.Re3 Nxg6 26.Rg3 Kh7 27.Re1 Rd8 28.Ree3 Bf7 29.Ref3 Rc8 30.Rxf6 Qxf6 31.Rf3 1-0

(8) Polgar,S - Allison,E [A94]
Portland Centennial SImul, 13.08.2011
[Niro,Frank]
1.d4 f5 2.g3 e6 3.Bg2 d5 4.Nf3 Nf6 5.0-0 Bd6 6.b3 0-0 7.c4 c6 8.Ba3 Bxa3 9.Nxa3 Qe7 10.Nc2 Nbd7 11.Nce1 Ne4 12.Nd3 Ndf6 13.Nfe5 Bd7 14.e3 g6 15.Qc2 Kh8 16.Rae1 Qg7 17.Nc5 Rab8 18.f3 Ng5 19.h4 Nxf3+ 20.Bxf3 Qe7 21.b4 a6 22.a4 b5 23.axb5 axb5 24.cxd5 exd5 25.Ncxd7 Nxd7 26.Nxc6 Qd6 27.Nxb8 Qxg3+ 28.Qg2 Qxb8 29.Bxd5 Qd6 30.Bf3 Qxb4 31.Rb1 Qe7 32.Qf2 Rb8 33.Rb3 b4 34.Rfb1 Kg7 35.Qe1 Kf6 36.Rxb4 Rc8 37.e4 fxe4 38.Qxe4 Qd6 39.R4b2 Kf7 40.Rf1 Kg7 41.Bg2 Rf8 42.Rxf8 Nxf8 43.Qe5+ Qxe5 44.dxe5 Ne6 45.Rb7+ Kh6 46.Bd5 Nd4 47.e6 Nf5 48.e7 Nxe7 49.Rxe7 Kh5 50.Rxh7+ Kg4 51.Be4 g5 52.hxg5 Kxg5 53.Rf7 Kg4 54.Kg2 Kg5 55.Kg3 Kh6 56.Kf4 Kh5 57.Rh7# 1-0

(9) Polgar,S - Burris,C [E06]
Portland Centennial Simul, 13.08.2011
[Niro,Frank]
1.Nf3 Nf6 2.d4 e6 3.c4 b6 4.g3 Bb7 5.Bg2 d5 6.Nc3 Be7 7.0-0 0-0 8.Ne5 c6 9.cxd5 cxd5 10.Bf4 Nh5 11.Be3 Nf6 12.Qa4 a6 13.Qb3 Nbd7 14.Nd3 Rc8 15.a4 a5 16.Nb5 Ba6 17.Rac1 Bxb5 18.Qxb5 Bd6 19.Ne5 Nxe5 20.dxe5 Bxe5 21.Bxb6 Bc7 22.Bxa5 Bxa5 23.Rxc8 Qxc8 24.Qxa5 Qc6 25.Qb4 Qc2 26.e3 Nd7 27.a5 Nc5 28.Qa3 Qc4 29.b4 Na6 30.Rb1 Qc7 31.b5 Qb7 32.Qd6 Nc7 33.a6 1-0

Photos of the clock simul are located here.

View the summary of the Portland Chess Club Centennial, with links to each of my blogs during the tournament (sincere thanks to Jeff Roland and Idaho Chess Association for making this coverage possible). And see the extensive coverage on the Northwest Chess web site (hank you to Eric Holcomb). The USCF cross tables reflecting rating changes as a result of the PCC Centennial are located here.

The Portland Chess Club main page is here (thank you to Grisha Alpernas).

Make that 800!

Click to enlarge. You can order copies of John Curdo's Chess Caviar series directly from Mr. Curdo. His address is given at the end of today's blog. The games are beautiful and instructive. The price is reasonable. All three booklets are a must in any chess library.

One of the chapters in my book due out later this year celebrates FM John Curdo's lifetime quest for 700 chess tournament victories. (That's tournaments, not games!) It has taken me so long to finish the book that John has recently won his 800th tournament! Congratulations to my friend and chess mentor. In the coming months, I will feature some of John Curdo's games here in my blog. As you will see, many of these have never before been published.

Today's Game

The initiation of the popular 5...c5 line in the Austrian Attack against what was then known as the Yugoslav Opening (nowadays commonly referred to as the Pirc Defense) is credited to Canadian Grandmaster Duncan Suttles, who first played the line against U.S. player Karl Burger in 1965 (Burger won). However, I know of at least one game played before that. In Chess Openings: Theory & Practice, published in 1964, author I.A. Horowitz states, "5...c5 is dubious because of 6.Bb5+ Bd7 7.e5 Ng4 8.e6! (Krogius-Polugaevsky, USSR Championship, 1958). Times have certainly changed! (Note: Click the link to play over the game on ChessGames.com)

Both 6.e5 and 6.Bb5+ are quite popular, with each line often transposing into the other. 5...c5 gained credibility at the Grandmaster level when Bobby Fischer trotted it out in Game 17 of his 1972 World Championship match against Boris Spassky. Spassky tried to keep things calm by exchanging on c5 right away. Bobby sacrificed the exchange on move 21 and a tense battle ensued with Spassky maintaining the upper hand for much of the game. The game was eventually drawn on move 45 after a triple repetition of position (see supplemental game 12 below).

GM Pal Benko played this line in the late 60s, but it did not gain general acceptance until Fischer used it. In any case, FM John Curdo is a virtuoso with the Austrian attack. In addition to the following 5...c5 contests, I will show some of his games against the more common 5...0-0 later this month.

FM John Curdo vs. M. Raubal
New Hampshire Open
July 27, 1997
Pirc Austrian Attack (B09)

1.e4 d6 2.d4 Nf6 3.Nc3 g6 4.f4 Bg7 5.Nf3 c5 (see note A) 6.e5 (note B) 6...Nfd7 (C) 7.e6 fxe6 (Diagram)

J.Curdo vs. M.Raubal, NH Open 1997, position after 7...fxe6

8.Ng5 Nf6 (D) 9.dxc5 0-0 (E) 10.cxd6 exd6 11.Bb5 (F) 12.0-0 a6 13.Bd3 Qb6+ 14.Kh1 Bd7 15.a3 Rae8 16.Qe1 d5 17.Be3 d4 18.Bg1 Qc7 19.Ne2 Nh5 20.Qh4 Qa5 21.Ng3 Nxg3+ 22.hxg3 h6 23.Bxg6 Rf6 24.Bh7+ Kh8 25.Bd3 Kg8 26.Ne4 Rff8 27.g4 Ne7 28.Nd6! Qd5 29.Nxe8 Bc6 30.Rf3 Rxe8 31.Re1 Qd6 32.Rff1 Nd5 33.g5 Rf8 34.gxh6 Nxf4 35.Rxf4 Rxf4 36.Qg3 Bxg2+ 37.Kxg2 Qd5+ 38.Be4 1-0

Notes:

A -- 5...c5 is one of the two major alternatives for Black against the Austrian Attack. The other (5...0-0) will be featured in another blog later this month.

B -- Curdo's favorite treatment, although he frequently varies his play to make it difficult for his opponents to prepare. The move 6.Bb5+ often transposes to similar lines.

C -- 6...dxe5 and 6...Ng4 are also popular. See supplemental games below for examples. Against 6...Nfd7, Curdo likes the unblalanced nature of the positions following 7.e6!?. There are playable moves other than 7.e6 for White. For example, Sofia Polgar won nicely with: 7.Be3 0-0 8.exd6 exd6 9.Be2 Qa5 10.0-0 Nf6 11.Kh1 Re8 12.Bg1 Nc6 13.Bc4 Bg4 14.dxc5 dxc5 15.Qd6 Bxf3 16.Rxf3 Nd4 17.Bxd4 cxd4 18.Qxd4 Rad8 19.Qf2 b5?! (19...Ne4 20.Nxe4 Rxe4 21.Bd3 Bxb2 22.Bxe4 Bxa1 23.Rd3 Re8 24.Rd1 Rxe4 25.Rxa1 b6 liquidates into an endgame where Black has a more favorable pawn structure.) 20.Bxb5 Ne4 21.Qh4 Bf6 22.Qh3 Bxc3 23.Bxe8 Bxb2 24.Bxf7+ Kxf7 25.Qxh7+ Kf6 26.Raf1 Qh5 27.Qb7 1-0, Sofia Polgar-Shchekachev, Vienna, 1991.

D --Thanks to John's encouragement, I have won a few times with this line myself! After 8...Bxd4 9.Nb5 Nf6 10.c3 a6 11.Na3 Nc6 12.cxd4 Nxd4 13.Bd3 0-0 14.0-0 Nd5 (14...Bd7 is Curdo-Bowler, 1997, supplemental game #17 below) 15.Nxh7 Rf5 16.Bxf5 exf5 17.Ng5 e5 18.fxe5 dxe5 19.Nf3 Nc6 20.Nc4 e4 21.Bg5 Qd7 22.Nfe5 Nxe5 23.Nxe5 Qe6 24.Nxg6 Qxg6 25.Qd5+ Be6 26.Qxb7 1-0, F.Niro-C.Merli, USChessLive, 2001.

E -- There are some decent alternatives here. For 9...Qa5, see Curdo-Bourque (supplemental game #2). 9...d5 paid monumental dividends for IM Ronald Burnett in his huge upset win over GM Walter Browne in the 2003 US Championship (supplemental game #16). 9...h6 didn't do much for my opponent after 10.Nf3 dxc5 11.Qxd8 Kxd8 12.Ne5 and Black resigned on move 22, ChessSafari-Bluto, USChessLive, 2001. 9...Nc6 (According to John Nunn, this move order is more accurate.) 10.cxd6 (10.Bc4 d5 11.Bb5 d4 12.Bxc6+ bxc6 13.Ne2 Qa5+ 14.Qd2 Qxc5 15.Nxd4 Qd5 16.c3 0-0 17.0-0 Nh5 18.Qe2 e5! Vasiukov-Tseshkovsky, USSR ch. 1974; 10.Bd3 dxc5 11.0-0 0-0 12.Qe1 Nb4 13.Nxe6 Nxd3 14.cxd3 Bxe6 15.Qxe6+ Kh8, Black is slightly better, Hartston-Timman, Hastings, 1973/4) 10...exd6 11.Bc4 (11.Bd3 d5 was eventually won by White in Holzhauser-Darius, GER, 1997; 11...Qb6!?) 11...d5 12.Bb3 0-0 13.0-0 Kh8 14.Kh1 d4 15.Ne2 Nd5 16.c3 dxc3 17.bxc3 h6=, Shirazi-Christiansen, Palo Alto, 1981. 9...Qd7 may even be playable if you view the hanging center pawns as a potential strength rather than a weakness. A possible continuation: 10.cxd6 exd6 11.Bb5 Nc6 12.0-0 0-0 13.Re1 Re8 14.Bc4 d5 15.Bb3 Na5 16.Ba4 Nc6 17.Be3 and Black appears to be no worse off than the other lines -- Fritz analysis.

F -- 11.Bd3 Na6 12.0-0 Nc7 13.Bd2 Ncd5 14.Nxd5 Nxd5 15.Nxh7 Kxh7 16.Qh5+ Kg8 17.Bxg6 (17.Qxg6 Rf6 18.Qh7+ Kf8 -+) 17...Nf6 (17...Qb6+!?) 18.Qh4 Bd7 19.Bc3 Be8 20.f5 e5 21.Rad1 Qc7 22.g4 Qc5+ 23.Rf2 Bh6 24.Bd4 Qd5 25.Bxe8 Be3 26.Ba4, Heidsiek-M.Fischer, corr. 1984, ended in a draw.

Supplemental Games with 5...c5 (notes by John Curdo unless otherwise indicated):

(1) J. Curdo vs. R. Judy, Worcester, MA, October 9, 1994
1.e4 d6 2.d4 Nf6 3.Nc3 g6 4.f4 Bg7 5.Nf3 c5 6.e5 dxc5 7.Bb5+ Bd7 8.dxe5 Ng4 9.0-0 (9.e6!?) 0-0 10.Qe2 Nc6 11.Rd1 Qe8 12.h3 Nh6 13.Be3 b6 14.g4 Qc8 15.f5 a6 (15.gxf5 16.g5 +-) 16.Nd5 (Threatening 17.Nxb6 & 17.Bc6/Nxe7+) 16...Qb7 17.Nxe7+ Nxe7 18.Rxd7 Qc8 19.Rxe7 axb5 20.f6 Nxg4 21.hxg4 (Or 21.fxg7 Nxe3 22.gxf8=Q Kxf8 23.Rxf7+ Kxf7 34.Qxe3+-) 21...Qxg4+ 22.Kf2 Bh8 23.Bh6 Rfd8 24.e6 Bxf6 25.exf7+ Kh8 26.Re8+ 1-0

(2) J. Curdo vs. M. Bourque, Storrs, CT, February 11, 1995
1.e4 d6 2.d4 Nf6 3.Nc3 g6 4.f4 Bg7 5.Nf3 c5 6.e5 Nfd7 7.e6 fxe6 8.Ng5 Nf6 9.dxc5 Qa5 (Dubious! Usual here are 9...0-0 and 9...Nc6) 10.Bb5+ Nc6 11.0-0 a6 (Bad pick of a choice of evils. Perhaps 11...d5 or 11...dxc5?) 12.Bxc6+ bxc6 13. cxd6 Qc5+ 14.Kh1 Qxd6 (The d-pawn falls with discomfort on 14...exd6 15.Nce4 Nxe4 16.Nxe4.) 15.Qe2 0-0 16.Rd1 Nd5 17.Nce4 (Sacking a pawn for a developmental lead to enhance his positional plus.) 17...Nxf4 18.Bxf4 Qxf4 19.Rf1 Qe5 20.Rxf8+ Bxf8 21.Rf1 Bg7 22.Nf7 (Evicting the defending queen because 22.Qd3 Qd5 and 22.Qf3 Qf5 don't work.) 22...Qb5 23.c4 Qh5 (Avoiding 23...Qxb2 24.Qd3 Qd4 25.Nh6+ Kh8 26.Rf8+ winning.) 24.Qd2 Bb7 25.Qd7 Qg4 26.Nfg5 Rf8 27.Rxf8+ Bxf8 28.Nf6+! (The Black queen falls because 28...exf6 29.Qxh7 is mate.) 1-0

(3) J. Curdo vs. M. Broomes, Watertown, MA, September 17, 1989
(view game) 1.e4 d6 2.d4 Nf6 3.Nc3 g6 4.f4 Bg7 5.Nf3 c5 6.Bb5+ Bd7 7.Bxd7+ Nbxd7 8.e5 Ng8 (8...Nh5!? 9.g4 Nxf4 10.Bxf4 cxd4) 9.exd6 exd6 10.dxc5 dxc5 11.Ne4 Qe7 12.0-0 0-0-0 13.Nd6+ Kc7? 14.Nb5+ Kb8 15.f5! Ne5 16.Qe2 a6 17.Bf4 f6 18.Nc3 Ka8 (18...Nh6 19.Nxe5 fxe5 20.f6!+-) 19.Rad1 Nxf3+ 20.Qxf3 Nh6 21.Rde1 Qd7 22.Re6 Ka7 23.Rd6 Qxf5 24.Nb5+! 1-0

(4) J. Curdo vs. N. Castaneda, Philadelphia, PA, July 4, 1991
1.e4 d6 2.d4 Nf6 3.Nc3 g6 4.f4 Bg7 5.Nf3 c5 6.e5 Ng4 7.Bb5+ Bd7 8.e6 Bxb5 9.exf7+ Kd7 10.Nxb5 Qa5+ 11.Nc3 cxd4 12.Nxd4 Bxd4 13.Qxd4 Nc6 14.Qc4 Qb6 15.Qe2 h5 16.h3 Nh6 17.Bd2 Nf5 18.0-0-0 Ng3 19.Qd3 Nxh1 20.Rxh1 Raf8 21.Qxg6 Qa6 22.Re1 Nd8 23.Qf5+ e6 24.Qg6 Rxf7 25.Rxe6 Re8 26.Rxe8 Kxe8 27.b3 Kd7 28.Kb2 Qc6 29.g4 hxg4 30.hxg4 d5 31.Qd3 Kc8 32.Nxd5 Ne6 33.c4 Nc5 34.Qe3 Kb8 35.Qe5+ Kc8 36.Ne7+ Rxe7 37.Qxe7 b5 38.Be3 Nd3+ 39.Kc3 bxc4 40.bxc4 1-0

(5) J. Curdo vs. M. Saunders, Middletown, CT, June 20, 1999
1.e4 d6 2.d4 Nf6 3.Nc3 g6 4.f4 Bg7 5.Nf3 c5 6.e5 Ng4 7.Bb5+ Bd7 8.e6 Bxb5 9.exf7+ Kd7 10.Nxb5 Qa5+ 11.Nc3 cxd4 12.Nxd4 h5 13.h3 Nc6 14.Nde2 Nh6 15.0-0 Qb6+ 16.Kh1 Raf8 17.Ne4 Rxf7 18.Rf3 Nf5 19.Rb3 Qc7 20.Rxb7 Qxb7 21.Nc5+ Kc8 22.Nxb7 Kxb7 23.c3 e6 24.Qa4 Rc8 25.Bd2 Kb8 26.Kg1 d5 27.Re1 Nd6 28.Nc1 Nc4 29.Rxe6 Nd8 30.Re2 Rb7 31.Be3 Nxe3 32.Rxe3 Rxb2 33.Nb3 Bxc3 34.Rxc3 1-0

(6) J. Curdo vs. A. Schalk, Portsmouth, NH, April 2, 1994
1.e4 d6 2.d4 Nf6 3.Nc3 g6 4.f4 Bg7 5.Nf3 c5 6.e5 dxc5 7.Bb5+ Nfd7 8.dxe5 a6 9.Bc4 e6 10.Ne4 0-0 11.0-0 Nc6 12.Be3 b5 13.Be2 Qc7 14.c3 Bb7 15.Nd6 Rad8 16.Qe1 Ne7 17.Ng5 Nf5 18.Nxb7 Qxb7 19.Bf3 Qc7 20.Bf2 c4 21.g4 Ne7 22.Bd4 Nc5 23.Rd1 Nd3 24.Qh4 h6 25.Ne4 Nd5 26.g5 N5xf4 27.Nf6+ Bxf6 28.gxf6 Kh7 29.Rxd3 nxd3 30.Be3 Nf4 31.Bxf4 g5 32.Be4+ 1-0

(7) J. Curdo vs. A. Schalk, Milford, MA, April 9, 1995
1.e4 d6 2.d4 Nf6 3.Nc3 g6 4.f4 Bg7 5.Nf3 c5 6.e5 Ng4 7.Bb5+ Bd7 8.e6 fxe6 9.Ng5 Bxb5 10.Nxe6 (A more advantageous line is 10.Nb5 Qa5 11.c3 Qb5 12.Qg4! cxd4 13.Ne6 Qc4 14.Nxg7+ Kf7 15.f5! Kg7 16.Qh4 Nc6 17.Rf1 Kg8 18.Bh6 Re8 19.0-0-0! Qa2 20.f6!; or, White can try 10.Qg4 here as GM John Nunn played against Yasser Seirawan and Joel Benjamin--> games 10 & 11 below) 10...Bxd4 11.Nxb5 Qa5+ 12.c3 Bf2+ 13.Kd2 Be3+ 14.Ke1 Bf2+ 15.Kd2 Ne3+ 16.Ke1 Bf2+ 1/2-1/2

(8) J. Curdo vs. M. Enkin, Providence, RI, October 28, 2001
1.e4 d6 2.d4 Nf6 3.Nc3 g6 4.f4 Bg7 5.Nf3 c5 6.Bb5+ Bd7 7.e5 Ng4 8.e6 Bxb5 9.exf7+ Kd7 10.Nxb5 Qa5+ 11.Nc3 cxd4 12.Nxd4 Bxd4 13.Qxd4 Nc6 14.Qd1 Nf6 15.0-0 Qf5 16.Be3 Ng4 17.Qd2 Nxe3 18.Qxe3 Qxf7 19.Rad1 Rac8 20.Nd5 b6 21.Qa3 Rhd8 22.Rfe1 Ke8 23.Qc3 Kf8 24.Qh8+ Qg8 25.Qxg8+ Kxg8 26.Rxe7 Nxe7 27.Nxe7+ Kf8 28.Nxc8 Rxc8 29.c3 Ke7 30.Kf2 Ke6 31.Ke3 d5 32.Re1 Kd6 33.Kd3 b5 34.b3 a5 35.a3 b4 36.axb4 axb4 37.c4 dxc4 38.bxc4 Ra8 39.Re2 Kc5 40.Re5+ Kc6 41.g4 Ra3+ 42.Kd4 Rf3 43.f5 b3 44.fxg6 hxg6 45.Re6+ Kc7 46.Re2 Rf4+ 47.Kc3 Rxg4 48.Kxb3 Kc6 49.Kb4 Rh4 50.Re6+ Kc7 51.Rxg6 Rxh2 52.Kb5 Rb2+ 53.Kc5 Rh2 54.Rg7+ Kc8 55.Kb5 Rh6 56.c5 Rf6 57.c6 Rf1 59.Rg8+ 1/2-1/2

(9) J. Curdo vs. A. Gulati, North Bay, Ontario, Canada, August 5, 1998
1.e4 d6 2.d4 Nf6 3.Nc3 g6 4.f4 Bg7 5.Nf3 c5 6.e5 Ng4 7.Bb5+ Bd7 8.e6 Bxb5 9.exf7+ Kf8 10.Nxb5 Qa5+ 11.Nc3 Nh6 12.0-0 Nc6 13.d5 Nd4 14.Ne4 Nxf7 15.Nfg5 Qb6 16.c3 h6 17.Nxf7 Kxf7 18.cxd4 Bxd4+ 19.kh1 Kg7 20.f5 Qb5 21.fxg6 Rhf8 22.Bf4 b5 23.Qh5 Rh8 24.Bxh6+ 1-0

(10) J. Nunn vs. Y. Seirawan, Skelleftea, 1989
(view game) 1.e4 d6 2.d4 Nf6 3.Nc3 g6 4.f4 Bg7 5.Nf3 c5 6.Bb5+ Bd7 7.e5 Ng4 (The same position is frequently reached by reversing the move order: 6.e5 Ng4 7.Bb5+ Bd7) 8.e6 fxe6 9.Ng5 Bxb5 10.Qxg4 Bc4 (10...Bd7? was the losing move for Suttles against Burger in the game I mentioned at the beginning of today's blog after 11.Nxh7! Kf7 {or 11...Rxh7 12.Qxg6+ Kf8 13.Qxh7 cxd4 14.f5! with a decisive attack -- Nunn} 12.Ng5+ Kf8 or Kg8 13.Nxe6(+), etc. with advantage for White. For clear examples, go to ChessBase.com and see Atkinson-Weidig, World Junior Ch., Mamaia 1991, and Strizak-Vospernik, Yugoslav Team Ch., 1990) 11.b3 (not 11.Nxh7? Kd7! -+) 11...Bxd4 12.Bd2 Bd5 13.Nxd5 exd5 14.0-0-0 Nc6 15.Qe6? (15.Ne6! Qc8!) 15...Qc8 16.Qf7+ Kd7 17.Qxd5 Qg8! 18.Qxg8 Rhxg8 19.Nxh7 b5 20.Ng5 b4 21.Rhe1 a5 22.Ne6 a4? (22...Bf6!) 23.Nxd4 Nxd4 24.Bxb4! axb3 25.axb3 Nxb3+ 26.cxb3 cxb4 27.Kb2 g5 28.f5 Ra5 29.Ra1 Rxf5 30.Ra7+ Kc6 31.Rxa7 Rf2+ 32.R1e2 Rgf8 33.Kc2 Rxe2+ 34.Rxe2 d5 35.Kd3 Kd6 36.Ra2 Ke5 37.Re2+ Kd6 38.Ra2 Rf1 39.Ra6+ Ke5 40.Rg6 Kf5 41.Rd6 Ke5 42.Rg6 Kf5 1/2-1/2

(11) J. Nunn vs. J. Benjamin, Thessaloniki, 1988
Click here for autoplay board on ChessGames.com

(12) B. Spassky vs. R. Fischer, Reykjavik, Iceland, August 22, 1972
1. e4 d6 2.d4 g6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.f4 Bg7 5.Nf3 c5 6.dxc5 Qa5 7.Bd3 Qxc5 8.Qe2 0-0 9.Be3 Qa5 10.0-0 Bg4 11.Rad1 Nc6 12.Bc4 Nh5 13.Bb3 Bxc3 14.bxc3 Qxc3 (Fischer has moved his queen 4 times in the last 6 moves to grab a tenuous pawn. Spassky decides to go trucking down the f-file as he releases his dark square bishop to roam unopposed. Spassky has the initiative for the pawn. -- Larry Evans & FN) 15.f5! Nf6 16.h3 Bxf3 17.Qxf3 Na5 18.Rd3 Qc7 19.Bh6! Nxb3 20.cxb3 Qc5+ 21.Kh1 (Better might have been 21.Re3 Rfc8 22.g4 saving a tempo in the attack. -- Gligoric) 21...Qe5!? (Sacrificing the exchange to break the attack. -- Evans) 22.Bxf8 Rxf8 23.Re3 Rc8 24.fxg6 hxg6 25.Qf4 Qxf4 26.Rxf4 Nd7 27.Rf2 Ne5 28.Kh2 Rc1 29.Ree2 Nc6 30.Rc2 Re1 31.Rfe2 Ra1 32.Kg3 Kg7 33.Rcd2 Rf1 34.Rf2 Re1 35.Rfe2 Rf1 36.Re3 a6 37.Rc3 Re1 38.Rc4 Rf8 39.Rdc2 Ra1 40.Rf2 Re1 41.Rfc2 g5 42.Rc1 Re2 43.R1c2 Re1 44.Rc1 Re2 45.R1c2 Re1 1/2-1/2

(13) V. Anand vs. M. Gurevich, Linares, 1991
1.e4 d6 2.d4 g6 3.Nc3 bg7 4.f4 Nf6 5.Nf3 c5 6.Bb5+ Bd7 7.e5 Ng4 8.e6 fxe6 9.Ng5 Bxb5 10.Nxb5 Qa5+ 11.c3 (For 11.Bd2!? see Korneev-Vasiliev, Smolensk 1991, won by White) 11...Qxb5 12.Nxe6 Na6 (12...Qd7? 13.Qxg4 cxd4 14.Nxg7+ Kf7 15.f5 Kxg7 16.Qxd4+ Kg8 17.Bh6 e5 18.fxe6 1-0, Lhagvasuren-J.Hansen, Manila Ol 1992) 13.Nxg7+ (13.Qxg4 is Beliavsky-Timman, Belfort 1988) 13...Kf7 14.Qxg4 (14.Ne6 can be examined in Hellers-Seirawan, Haninge 1990, 1/2-1/2) 14...Kxg7 15.Be3!? Qxb2 16.0-0 Qxc3 17.Rae1 Rhf8! (17...Rae8? is answered by 18.f5 as in Eisenmann-Kassing, corr. 1988, a quick win for White) 18.f5 (18.Qh4!? -- M.Gurevich) 18...Rxf5 19.Qh3? (19.Bh6+! -- Nunn) 19...Kh8! 20.Rxf5 gxf5 21.Qh4 Nb4! 22.Bf2 Nd5 23.Qh5 Rf8 24.dxc5 dxc5 25.Bg3 f4 26.Bh4 Ne3!? 27.Qf3 Rg8 28.Kh1 Qd2 29.Rg1 Qd6! 30.Qe4 Qd5! 0-1 (White resigned because after 31.Qxe7 Rxg2 White is forced to exchange queens by 32.Qd8+ to avoid being mated. -- Nunn)

(14) W. Watson vs. A. Shirov, Gausdal, 1991 and A. Shirov vs. A. Khalifman, Groningen, 1990 (Yes, Shirov played both sides of the same game. hmmm?!)
1.e4 d6 2.d4 Nf6 3.Nc3 g6 4.f4 Bg7 5.Nf3 c5 6.Bb5+ Bd7 7.e5 Ng4 8.e6 fxe6 9.Ng5 Bxb5 10.Nxb5 Qa5+ 11.c3 Qxb5 12.Qxg4 cxd4 (12...Na6? 13.Qxe6 Bf6; Or, using a different move order, 12...Bf6 13.Qxe6 Na6 14.Nf7 Qb6 15.Nxh8 cxd4 16.0-0 Nc7 17.Qh3 dxc3+ 18.Be3 Qxb2 19.Rab1 Qxa2 20.Rxb7 Qc4 21.Rfb1 Bxh8 22.Rb8+ Kf7 23.Qxh7+ 1-0, Khalifman-Popchev, Sochi 1989) 13.Nxe6 Qc4 14.f5 (14.Nxg7+!? -- see Gruenfeld-Tal below) 14...Bf6 15.fxg6 Rg8 16.g7 Nc6 17.Nc7+ Kd8 18.Ne6+ Ke8 19.Nc7+ Kd8 20.Ne6+ 1/2-1/2

(15) Y. Gruenfeld vs. M. Tal, Tel Aviv, 1990
1.e4 d6 2.d4 Nf6 3.Nc3 g6 4.f4 Bg7 5.Nf3 c5 6.e5 Ng4 7.Bb5+ Bd7 8.e6 fxe6 9.Ng5 Bxb5 10.Nxb5 Qa5+ 11.c3 Qxb5 12.Qxg4 cxd4 13.Nxe6 Qc4 14.Nxg7+!? Kf7 15.f5! Kxg7 16.Qh4 Nc6 17.Rf1 Kg8? (17...Rhe8! -- Tal) 18.Be6 Re8 (White is better here but the game ended in a draw. A good line for White now would be 19.0-0-0! Qa2 20.f6! Ne5 21.Qd4 -- Fritz analysis)

(16) W. Browne vs. R. Burnett, US Championship, Seattle, WA, January 17, 2003 1. d4 d6 2.e4 Nf6 3.Nc3 g6 4.f4 Bg7 5.Nf3 c5 6.e5 Nfd7 7.e6 fxe6 8.Ng5 Nf6 9.dxc5 d5 10.Bb5+ Nc6 11.Qe2 d4 12.Nce4 Nxe4 13.Nxe4 e5 14.0-0 0-0 15.Bc4+ Kh8 16.Ng5 Qe8 17.Bd2 h6 18.Ne6 Bxe6 19.Bxe6 Rf6 20.Bb3 exf4 21.Bxf4 e5 22.Bxh6?! (22.Bd2!=) Rxf1+ 23.Qxf1 Bxh6 24.Qf6+ Kh7 (definitely not 24...Bg7? 25.Qh4+!!) 25.Bf7 Be3+ 26.Kh1 Qf8 27.Bxg6+ Kg8 28.Qe6+ Kg7 29.Bd3 Qf6 30.Qd7+ Qe7 31.Qf5?! (31.g4+!= -- Fritz) Qh4 32.g3 Qh6 33.Rf1 Kh8 34.Qd7 Ne7 35.Qxb7 (The knight is poison: 35.Qxe7?? Qc6+ 36.Be4 Qxe4+ 37.Rf3 Qxf3#; 35.Be4!?) 35...Qc6+ 36.Qxc6 Nxc6 37.a3 Kg7 38.b4 Ne7 39.Be4 Rc8 40.Kg2 Bd2 41.Rb1 Ng8 42.Kf3 Nf6 43. Bf5 Rf8 44.Rb3 Bc3 45.g4 Re8 46.Be4 Rh8 47.g5 Nxe4 48.Kxe4 Rxh2 49.Rxc3? (No doubt the clock was a factor at this point. 49.b5!=) dxc3 50.c6 Kf7 51.c7 Rh8 52.Kxe5 Ke7 53.g6 Kd7 64.g7 Rc8 55.Kf6 Kxc7 0-1 (56.Kf7 Kc6 57.g8=Q Rxg8 58.Kxg8 Kb5 is convincing.)

(17) N. DeFirmian vs. L. Alburt, US Championship, 1990
1.e4 d6 2.d4 Nf6 3.Nc3 g6 4.f4 Bg7 5.Nf3 c5 6.Bb5+ Bd7 7.e5 Ng4 8.e6 fxe6 9.Ng5 Bxb5 10.Nxe6 Bxd4 11.Nxb5 (play out the game by clicking here)

(18) Savon-Korchnoi, USSR ch., 1973
Click here to see game

(19) J. Curdo vs. M. Klegon, Boxborough, MA, September 3, 2005
click here

(20) Velimirovic-Rajkovic, Skopje, 1971
click

(21) Hort-Torre, Polanica Zdroj, 1977
click

(22) Sax-Seirawan, Brussels, 1988
click

coming as soon as I can load them:
(23) Niro-Bowler, Stratton Mtn., VT, 1997
(24) Niro-Kaminsky, Dallas, TX, 2001

(25) Van der Weil-Seirawan, Lucerne, 1989
click

(26) Kramnik-Grischuk, Wijk aan Zee, 2005
click

To order Mr. Curdo's books, feel free to write to him:
John Curdo
8-1 Tuck Farm Road
Auburn, MA 01051

If you would like the games in this or any other of my blogs in PGN format so that you can play the games over on ChessBase, etc., please send me an e-mail at ChessSafari@yahoo.com and I will send them to you as soon as I am able (no charge, of course).

I will be back soon with a few additional games for today's blog. Thanks for your patience.

Frank

Dick Cavett's interview of Bobby Fischer

Was it only a game?

Click the link above to read Dick Cavett's recollections of Bobby Fischer and to view the 1971 appearance of Fischer on Cavett's TV show.

Be sure to read through some of the comments about Fischer at the end of Cavett's blog.

He's never coming home

Bobby Fischer and Susan Polgar, playing "fischerandom" chess in Budapest, Hungary, circa 1990.

When I was Executive Director of the United States Chess Federation, I had this crazy fantasy that I could coax Bobby Fischer into coming back to the U.S., apologize to everyone he had offended, make amends with the I.R.S. and the State Department, and play chess again. It went along with the fantasy that I could persuade Susan Polgar to come out of retirement, change her FIDE citizenship, and play for the U.S. in the chess Olympiad. They were both former World Champions and could serve as role models to promote chess, I reasoned. The difference was that Susan Polgar is rational, pragmatic and gracious. Bobby Fischer, however, was a crazy man. Today we learned, for certain, what many observers already knew: Bobby Fischer is never coming home.

Read more about his death here, and here.

Bobby Fischer won the World Championship of chess in a match against Boris Spassky in Reykjavik, Iceland, in 1972. He forfeited his crown three years later when he refused to defend his title against Anatoly Karpov. On Thursday, January 17, 2008, he passed away at the age of 64 in Reykjavik, where he lived in relative seclusion since 2005.