The Fischerandom Ordering

Viswanathan Anand – Garry Kimovich Kasparov

Clutch Chess: The Legends; match game 3; time control: 5 minutes plus 3 seconds per move; Saint Louis, October 8, 2025

rnkqbrnb/pppppppp/8/8/8/8/PPPPPPPP/RNKQBRNB w FAfa - 0 1

Position #635

1. e4 e6 2. g3 d5 3. f4 dxe4 4. Bxe4 g6 5. Nc3 Bc6 6. Bf3 Ne7 7. Bf2 Nf5 8. Qe2 Nd4 9. Bxd4 Qxd4 10. 0-0-0 0-0. Classically speaking, an anomalous position with heterogeneous castling has arisen in some particular way (how did the White dark-squared Bishop come out?), but of course that’s another story entirely!
11. Bxc6 Nxc6 12. Nf3 Qb6 13. Ne5 Rad8 14. Qe4? It doesn’t serve White’s cause.
14. ... f5 15. Qe2 Nxe5 16. fxe5 Rd4 17. Rf4 Rfd8 18. Rxd4 Qxd4 19. Re1 c6 20. Qe3 Bg7 21. Qxd4 Rxd4 22. d3 g5 23. a3 Kf7? An inaccuracy which allows White to reorganise and consolidate his army. 23. ... Rd7! 24. b4 Kf7 would have maintained Black’s advantage.
24. Ne2 Rd7 25. d4 c5 26. c3 cxd4 27. cxd4 h5 28. Kc2 Bh6 29. Kd3 g4 30. a4 Bg5 31. a5 h4 32. b4 a6 33. Rb1 Bd8 34. Nc3 Kg6 35. Na4 Be7 36. Nc5 Bxc5 37. bxc5

37. ... f4! 38. gxf4 Kf5 39. Ke3 Rg7 40. Rg1 Rg8 41. Rb1 Rg7 42. d5! exd5 43. Rb6. Threatening mate at f6.
43. ... g3 44. Kf3 Rg6!

45. Rxg6?? A catastrophic blunder in real no time. White could hope for salvation only by not exchanging Rooks: 45. hxg3! (or 45. Kg2! d4 46. hxg3 Rxg3+ with similar lines) 45. ... Rxg3+ (both 45. ... h3?? 46. g4+! Rxg4 47. Rf6# and 45. ... Rxb6?? 46. axb6 h3 47. c6 would be ruinous to Black) 46. Kf2 Kxf4 47. e6 (or 47. Rxb7 Kxe5) 47. ... Rg7 48. c6 bxc6 49. Rxc6 h3 50. Rc3 Rh7 51. e7! Rxe7 52. Rxh3 with a tablebase draw.
45. ... Kxg6 46. hxg3. 46. Kg2 gxh2 47. Kxh2 d4 is the same ending as in the game.
46. ...h3 47. g4 d4 48. f5+ Kg7 49. e6 h2 50. Kg2 d3 0–1.

“I expected him to be much quicker in the time trouble, and I think when we reached the critical moment of the game, there was basically a minute left, I did a better job”, Kasparov eventually said. Photo: Lennart Ootes/Saint Louis Chess Club.

Backstage Stuff

Tiger Balm King

Arkady Vladimirovich Dvorkovich of Russia was re-elected for a second term as President of the International Chess Federation (FIDE) on Sunday at FIDE General Assembly in Chennai, India. He secured 157 votes, against 16 votes for the other candidate, Andrey Vadimovich Baryshpolets of Ukraine, while Bachar Kouatly of France, the third candidate, withdrew his candidacy just before the election. Dvorkovich’s re-election implies that five-time World Chess Champion Viswanathan Anand of India, who was running on his presidential ticket, is appointed as FIDE Deputy President. Photo © David Llada.

Lexicon

Speaking with the press yesterday, 15th World Chess Champion Viswanathan Anand, the deus ex machina of India chess boom, said that FIDE will likely revisit the format of the World Chess Championship, provided that the incumbent government remains in office — that is, if Arkady Vladimirovich Dvorkovich will be re-elected for a second term and Anand himself will be appointed as his Deputy. Whether the announced changes will adequately address Magnus Carlsen’s requests, however, remains to be seen.

Lunar Blitz

Viswanathan Anand – Fabiano Caruana

7th Gashimov Memorial; Blitz stage; time control: 5 minutes plus 3 seconds per move; Baku, December 22, 2021

Spanish Game C76

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 d6 5. 0-0 Bd7 6. c3 g6 7. d4 Bg7 8. Re1 Nf6 9. h3 0-0 10. Bc2 Re8 11. d5. White closes the centre and prepares to build up a positional attack on the Queenside. It’s interesting to note that, after closing the centre, four-time Women’s World Chess Champion 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) turned her attention to the Kingside, nevertheless gaining the upper hand (even if Caruana eventually won the game): 11. Nbd2 b6 12. Nf1 h6 13. Ng3 Qe7 14. Be3 Qf8 15. Qd2 Rad8 16. Rad1 Na7 17. Qc1 c5 18. d5 Nh7 19. Nh2 f5 20. exf5 gxf5 21. f4?! (⌓ 21. Qb1!±) 21. ... e4 22. Nh5 Bh8 23. Nf1 Qf7 24. Nfg3 Nc8 25. Rd2 Ne7 26. Qd1 Ng6 27. Nf1 Nf6 28. Nxf6+ Bxf6 29. Qh5 Qg7 30. Ng3? (30. Kh2 Kh8) 30. ... Nh4! 31. Kh2 Kh8 32. Qe2 Rg8 33. Nh5 Qg6? (33. ... Qf7! 34. Nxf6 Qxf6 transposes to the game) 34. Nxf6? (⌓ 34. Bd1! Nf3+ 35. gxf3 Qxh5 36. fxe4 Qh4 37. Qf2=) 34. ... Qxf6 (34. ... Qg3+! 35. Kh1 Nxg2!−+) 35. Qf1 Rg7 36. c4 Rdg8 37. Ree2 Rg3 38. Bd1 Be8 39. Qe1 Qg7 40. Bg1 Rxh3+! 41. Kxh3 (41. gxh3 Qxg1+! 42. Qxg1 Nf3+ 43. Kh1 Rxg1#) 41. ... Qg4+ 42. Kh2 Nf3+! 0 : 1 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) – Caruana, 2nd Speed Chess Championship, chess.com, August 24, 2017, match game 16 (time control: 3 minutes plus 2 seconds per move). 11. ... Ne7 12. c4 h6 13. Nc3 Nh7 14. b4TN f5 15. c5 f4 16. Nd2 Rf8 17. Ba4 Bc8 18. cxd6 cxd6 19. b5 g5 20. bxa6 Rxa6

21. Bb5 Ra8. The engines suggest the brilliant Exchange sacrifice 21. ... Ng6! as the disappearance of White’s light-squared Bishop would give Black’s Kingside attack even more strength. 22. Be2 Ng6 23. Rb1 Nh4 24. a4 Nf6 25. Ba3 Rf7

26. Nc4. A typically entertaining double-edged game with many complex possibilities and no absolute certainties. An exemplary line: 26. Nb5 Bf8 27. Nxd6!? (27. Nc4 g4! 28. Nbxd6 Rg7 gives Black a promising initiative) 27. ... Bxd6 28. Bxd6 Qxd6 29. Nc4 Qd8 30. Nxe5 Rg7 31. d6 g4∞ with unclear chances for both colours. 26. ... Bf8 (Δ ... g5-g4) 27. Nb6. If 27. Nb5 then 29. ... g4! 28. Nbxd6 Rg7↑ as in the line given above.

27. ... Rg7? A careless move which could prove costly. 27. ... g4! first is the correct move order as 28. Nxa8 (or 28. g3 Rg7!→) 28. ... gxh3→ leaves Black with a probably irresistible attack. 28. Nxa8? Too greedy. 28. g4! was so obviously the only move to prevent immediate catastrophe that Anand should have played it without even thinking a millisecond. 28. ... g4!−+ 29. hxg4 Nxg4 30. Bf3 Qg5. 30. ... Nh2! at once was possible (31. Kxh2 Nxg2!−+). 31. Nb6. Or 31. Kf1 Nxf3 32. gxf3 Nxf2! 33. Qc2 Qg2+ 34. Ke2 Rg3! 35. Kd2 Qxf3 with too many threats to meet. 31. ... Nh2! 32. Kxh2 Nxg2! 0 : 1. If 33. Nxc8 then 33. ... Qh4+ 34. Kg1 Ne3+ followed by mate in three.

Mistress of the Kings

Garry Kimovich Kasparov – Viswanathan Anand

6th Grand Chess Tour; 3rd stage; Blitz Tournament; time control: 5 minutes plus 2 seconds per move; Zagreb, July 11, 2021

Queen’s Gambit Declined D38

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Nf3 d5 5. cxd5 exd5 6. Bf4 c6 7. Qc2 g6 8. e3 Bf5 9. Qb3 Qb6 10. Nh4 Be6 11. Bd3 Nh5 12. Be5 0-0 13. g4!? Bxg4!? Anand does not fear to take the responsibility of capturing the Pawn. The more cautious 13. ... Ng7 has also worked well for Black: 14. Bxg7?! (14. Nf5! f6! 15. Nh6+ Kh8 16. Bg3 c5⇄) 14. ... Kxg7 15. Qc2? (⌓ 15. h3) 15. ... Qd8 16. Ng2 Bxg4 17. Nf4 Qh4∓/−+ Radovanović – Bosman, 32nd European Chess Club Cup, Novi Sad 2016 — but that was not entirely due to the second player’s merit. 14. Rg1 Be6

15. Qc2? Curiously enough, as in the aforementioned game, 15. Qc2 is probably White’s decisive mistake! White ought to play 15. Qd1! Ng7 16. Bxg7 Kxg7 17. Qh5 Rg8! 18. f4! (Δ f4-f5) with good prospects for initiative. 15. ... Nd7 16. Bxg6!? Very bullish, but once you say A, you must also say B. 16. ... fxg6 17. Nxg6 Nxe5! 18. Nxf8+ Kxf8 19. dxe5

19. ... Qc7 (19. ... d4!−+) 20. f4 Qf7 21. 0-0-0 Bf5 22. Qb3 a5 23. Ne2 Ng7 24. Nd4 Bc5? (24. ... Be4 25. f5 Qe7−+)

25. Rg3? No time to calculate! Yet salvation was there: 25. Rxg7! Kxg7 26. Nxf5+ Qxf5 27. Qxb7+ Kh6 28. Qxc6+ Kh5 29. Qxa8 Bxe3+ 30. Rd2 Bxd2+ 31. Kxd2 Qxf4+ with a likely draw. 25. ... Bxd4 26. exd4 0 : 1. And here Kasparov exceeded the time limit for the second time against Anand.

Maybe it’s worth mentioning how Kasparov eventually apologised to his fans for not doing more: “Sorry I couldn’t do better [...] But time is undefeated, and Caïssa is a jealous mistress who punishes anyone who ignores her as much as I do!”. Photo © Lennart Ootes.

Two Men by the Sea

Viswanathan Anand – Garry Kimovich Kasparov

6th Grand Chess Tour; 3rd stage; Blitz Tournament; time control: 5 minutes plus 2 seconds per move; Zagreb, July 10, 2021

Sicilian Defence B96

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Bg5 e6 7. f4 Qc7. “This move has been a favourite of the Soviet GM Balashov for many years. Black allows his Kingside Pawns to be weakened by Bg5xf6, but hopes for compensation in the two Bishops”, Ken Smith and John Hall wrote in their book “Modern Art of Attack”, Chess Digest, Dallas, 1988, p. 131. 8. Bxf6 gxf6 9. Qf3. Kasparov’s experiences with 9. Be2 date back to happy days as a predestined Word Champion: 9. ... Nc6 10. Qd2 (10. Nb3 b5 11. Bh5 Bg7 12. Qg4 0-0 13. 0-0-0 Ne7 14. Nd4 b4 15. Nce2 f5! 16. exf5 e5! 17. fxe5 dxe5 18. Qg5 h6 19. Qg3 Nxf5 20. Nxf5 Bxf5 21. Rd2 Rac8 22. Qb3 e4 23. Kb1 Be6 24. Qg3 Qa5 0 : 1 Yudasin – Kasparov, 49th USSR Chess Championship, Frunze 1981) 10. ... Bd7 11. 0-0-0 h5 12. Kb1 Be7 13. Bf3 Nxd4 14. Qxd4 0-0-0 15. f5 Kb8 16. Qd2 h4 17. Ne2 Bc8 18. fxe6 fxe6 19. Nf4 Rhg8 20. Qe3 Rg5 21. Rd3 Bf8 22. Rhd1 Bh6 23. Ne2 h3 24. g3 Rh5 25. Qf2 Rc5 26. Nd4 Rc4 27. Qe2 Rg8 28. b3 Rc5 29. Qf2 Re5 30. Qf1 d5 31. Qxh3 dxe4 32. Bxe4 Bg7 33. Bf3 f5 and Black’s two Bishops compensate for the Pawn, Timman – Kasparov, International Tournament, Nikšić 1983. 9. ... b5 10. a3 Nc6 11. 0-0-0. Three rounds earlier, Kasparov suffered a burning defeat at the hands of the young Dutch star Jorden van Foreest: 11. Nxc6 Qxc6 12. f5 Qc5 13. Be2 Ra7 14. 0-0-0 Qe5TN (14. ... Rc7 15. Rhf1 Rg8 16. fxe6 fxe6 17. Qxf6 Qg5+ 18. Kb1 Qxf6 19. Rxf6 Bg7 20. Bh5+ Kd8 21. Rf7 Be5 22. Rxc7 Kxc7 23. Bf3 Bxc3 24. bxc3 e5 25. Rd3 Kc6 26. h3 ½ : ½ van der Wiel – Tukmakov, 46th Hoogovens International Chess Tournament, Wijk aan Zee 1984) 15. Rhf1 Rc7 16. Kb1 h5 17. h4 Be7 18. Qe3 Qc5 (18. ... Rb7!?) 19. Qg3 Kf8 20. fxe6 fxe6? (⌓ 20. ... Bxe6) 21. Qg6 Qe5 22. Rd3 Bd8 23. Rg3 Rf7 24. Rg5! Qd4 25. Bxh5 1 : 0 J. van Foreest – Kasparov (Round 10). 11. ... Nxd4 12. Rxd4 Qc5. The round before, Kasparov tried, with little luck, to frighten Polish Grandmaster Jan-Krzysztof Duda (another young bright star of Caïssa’s pantheon) with 12. ... Rb8 13. Be2 Bd7 14. f5 Qc5 15. Rhd1 Qe5 16. Qh5 Be7 17. fxe6 Bxe6 18. Nd5 Qxh5 19. Bxh5 Rg8 20. Nc7+ Kd8 21. Nxa6 Rb6 22. Nb4 Rxg2 23. R4d2 Rxd2 24. Kxd2 f5? (the same idea could be executed without material losses by 24. ... Bf8 followed by the transfer of the Bishop to the h6-c1 diagonal) 25. exf5 Bg5+?? 26. Ke2 1 : 0 Duda – Kasparov (Round 12). 13. Rd3 Rb8 14. b4 Qa7 15. f5 a5 16. Na2 Be7 17. Be2 h5 18. Kb1 Bd7 19. Rhd1 h4

20. bxa5!? Anand apparently doesn’t fear the consequences of such a weakening of his castle. 20. Qg4 was probably safer and more profitable. 20. ... Qxa5. 20. ... b4!? 21. axb4 Qxa5 doesn’t make all that difference, as after 22. Rb3 Qe5 23. b5 White stands better. 21. Nb4 Rc8 22. Qg4? White could no longer afford a “zero risk” safety policy and had to take the plunge — 22. Rxd6! Bxd6 23. Rxd6 Qc7 24. Qd3 with a cushing bind. 22. ... Kf8 23. fxe6 Bxe6 24. Qf3 Rc5 25. Qe3 f5? An impulsive move that should cost the game. A reasonable continuation was 25. ... Kg7 and if 26. Nd5 then 26. ... Bxd5 27. exd5 Qc7 with complex but basically stable play.

26. Bf3? Anand errs in too much caution. 26. Rxd6! Bxd6 27. Rxd6 Qc7 28. e5+− would have been crushing. 26. ... fxe4? But Kasparov misses his great opportunity for redemption — 26. ... Bf6!↑ in order to carry out the attack, if allowed as possible, with ... Kf8-g7 followed by ... Rh8-a8 and ... Qa5xb4+. 27. Bxe4 Rc4? And here he misses his last chance to save the game: ⌓ 27. ... Rhh5! so as to reply to 28. Rf1 with 28. ... Rc4 29. Bd5 Re5∞ still staying in the safety zone. 28. Bd5 Bf6. Threat: ... Rc4xb4+. 29. Bxc4 bxc4 30. Rxd6 1 : 0. Black lost on time, but his position was bad enough to be resigned.

The two who sat on the roof of the world could not deny themselves the thrill of sailing on a board along the Adriatic Sea. Photo © Lennart Ootes.

King Kong

The 3rd stage of the 6th Grand Chess Tour (GCT) is set to kick off in Zagreb, Croatia on July 7, 2021. 10+1 élite Grandmasters will compete in the Rapid & Blitz combined. Wildcards include two legendary World Chess Champions, Garry Kimovich Kasparov and Viswanathan Anand (pictured above, on top of the World Trade Center at New York in 1995), who will meet again each other at a board in the blitz tournament. Photo: Owen Williams, The Kasparov Agency.

In-Between

Five-time World Chess Champion Viswanathan “Vishy” Anand finally returned to India on Saturday after over a three-month stay in Germany due to coronavirus travel shutdown. Anand took an AI120 flight from Frankfurt to Bangalore (via Delhi). He will have to undergo one week of quarantine in the capital of Karnataka, before finally going home to Chennai and serving another two-week quarantine — hopefully his last one for awhile. Nevertheless, it was life. “It has been a very unusual experience for me to be in self-isolation. I interact[ed] with my friends and family on a daily basis. Besides that, I [went] for a nice long walk once or twice a day”, Anand told The Times of India.

日正當中 (High Noon)

Fabiano Caruana – 王皓 (Wáng Hào)
1st Online Nations Cup; India – China (25+10); chess.com, May 9, 2020
Russian Defence C42

By virtue of its half a point difference over Europe, United States will face China in tomorrow’s final. Fabiano Caruana has much merit, having scored, so far, 6½ points out of 8. 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nxe5 d6 4. Nf3 Nxe4 5. Nc3 Nxc3 6. dxc3 Be7 7. Be3 0-0 8. Qd2 Nd7 9. 0-0-0 Nf6 10. Bd3 c5 11. Rhe1 Be6 12. Bf4. Varying from their game at the recent Candidates (half)-Tournament: 12. Kb1 Qa5 13. c4 Qxd2 14. Nxd2 Rad8 15. f3 b6 16. g4 d5 17. g5 Nh5 18. cxd5 Bxd5 19. Ne4 f5 20. gxf6 Nxf6 21. Bg5 Kf7 22. Ng3 c4 23. Bf1 b5 24. a4 a6 25. axb5 axb5 26. Nf5 Bc5 27. Re5 Bxf3 28. Rxd8 Rxd8 29. Rxc5 Rd1+ 30. Ka2 Rxf1 31. Rxb5 c3 32. Bxf6 Kxf6 33. Ne3 Rf2 34. Rf5+ Ke6 35. Ka3 cxb2 36. Kxb2 h5 37. h4 Rxc2+ 38. Kxc2 Be4+ 39. Kd2 Bxf5 40. Ke2 Ke5 41. Kf3 Bd3 ½ : ½ Caruana – 王皓 (Wáng Hào), Candidates Tournament 2020, Yekaterinburg 2020. 12. ... d5 13. Ng5 Bg4? An unfortunate novelty. A recent correspondence game continued: 13. ... c4 14. Bf1 Bg4 15. f3 Bd7 16. Nh3 b5 17. Kb1 Bxh3 18. gxh3 a5 19. Be5 Qb6 20. Qg5 Rad8 21. Bd4 Bc5 22. Bxf6 Qxf6 23. Qxf6 gxf6 24. h4 Kg7 25. Re2 Rd6 26. Re7 Rfd8 27. Rb7 d4 28. Rxb5 dxc3 29. Rxd6 Bxd6 30. Bxc4 Ba3 31. Bd5 Re8 32. Be4 Rd8 33. Rd5 Rxd5 ½ : ½ Broadway – Sneddon, European Server Championship 2018, Preliminary 25, by correspondence, 2018. 14. f3 Bd7?! One misfortune calls another. 14. ... Bc8 15. c4! was not pleasant at all, but at least would have avoided immediate catastrophe.

15. c4?! Black’s Bishop on d7 allows White to immediately pseudo-sacrifice his Bishop at h7: 15. Bxh7+! with devastating effect. Quite paradoxically, however, Caruana’s move, allowing Black to close the d-file, is not as bad as to definitively compromise his Kingside attacking prospects. 15. ... d4 16. h4 Re8. The immediate 16. ... Bc6 may be a little safer (so as to reply to 17. g4 with 17. ... Bd6). 17. g4 Bc6 18. Qh2 Qa5 19. a3 Bf8. If 19. ... b5 there may follow 20. Nxf7! Kxf7 21. g5 with a crushing attack. 20. Bd2 Qb6 21. Qf4 (Δ Bd3xh7+) 21. ... Bd7. Straight into the fire, but 21. ... h6 22. Nxf7! Kxf7 23. g5+− was hopeless as well.

22. Bxh7+! Repetita iuvant. 22. ... Kh8 (22. ... Nxh7 23. Qxf7+ Kh8 24. Qh5+−) 23. Bf5 Bxf5 24. Qxf5 Kg8 25. h5 Qc6 26. Nxf7 Kxf7 27. g5 Qd7 28. Qg6+ 1 : 0.

Monday Starts on Saturday

侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) – Dronavalli Harika
1st Online Nations Cup; India – China (25+10); chess.com, May 9, 2020
Sicilian Defence B23

1. e4 c5 2. Nc3 Nc6 3. Nge2 Nd4 4. d3 e6 5. Be3 e5. The text (quite possibly a novelty) is more solid than 5. ... Nxe2 6. Bxe2 d6 7. d4 cxd4 8. Qxd4 Ne7 9. Bg5 when an old game continued 9. ... Nc6 10. Qd2 Qc7 11. Nb5 Qb8 12. 0-0-0 h6 13. Bh4 e5 14. Bc4 Be6 15. Bxe6 fxe6 16. Nxd6+ Bxd6 17. Qxd6 Qxd6 18. Rxd6 g5 19. Bg3 Ke7 20. Rhd1 Rhd8 21. Rxd8 Rxd8 22. Rxd8 Kxd8 23. f3 Ke7 24. Bf2 Kd6 25. Be3 a6 26. h4 gxh4 27. Bxh6 Nd4 28. Be3 1 : 0 Tukmakov – Klovsky, 6th Spartakiad of the Peoples of the USSR, Riga 1975. 6. Nd5 Ne7 7. Nec3 d6 8. g3 Nxd5 9. Nxd5 Be6 10. c3 Nc6 11. Bg2 Be7 12. 0-0 0-0 13. f4 exf4 14. Nxf4 Bg5 15. Kh1 Bxf4 16. Rxf4 Ne5

17. Qh5 Ng6. Taking the Pawn by 17. ... Nxd3 can hardly be good since after 18. Rh4 f6 (not 18. ... h6? on account of 19. Bxh6!) 19. Qxh7+ Kf7 20. Bf3! White enjoys a powerful initiative. 18. Rf2 Qd7 19. h3 f5 20. exf5 Rxf5 21. Rxf5 Bxf5 22. Rf1 Rf8 23. Kh2 b6 24. Bd5+ Kh8 25. d4 Be6 26. Rxf8+ Nxf8 27. Qf3 Bxd5 28. Qxd5 Qe6 29. Qxe6 Nxe6 30. d5 Nc7 31. c4 b5. This natural move is probably wrong. Black ought to continue 31. ... Kg8 in order to reply to 32. Bf4 with 32. ... Ne8 similarly to the game.

32. b3. On her turn, White could have missed here her hidden chance for victory! After 32. cxb5! Nxb5 (32. ... Nxd5 33. Bf4! is even worse) 33. Bf4 c4 34. Bd2! (34. a4? c3!= would lead only to a draw) 34. ... Nc7 35. Kg2 Nxd5 36. Kf3 White, in spite of being temporarily a Pawn down, has a nearly winning endgame, thus confirming the validity of Steinitz’s saying: “The King is a strong piece”. 32. ... bxc4 33. bxc4 Kg8 34. Bf4 Ne8 35. Kg2 Kf7 36. Kf3 Ke7 37. g4 Nc7 38. Ke4 Na8 39. Kd3 Nb6 40. Bg5+ Ke8 41. Kc3 a6 42. Kb3 Kd7 43. a4 Ke8 44. a5 Nd7 45. Kc3 Ne5 46. Bf4 Nf7 47. Kd3 g6 48. Ke4 Ke7 49. h4 Kd7 50. h5 Ke7 51. hxg6 hxg6 52. Bg3 Kd7 53. Ke3 Ke8 54. Bf4 Kd7 55. Kd3 Ke8 56. Ke4 Kd7 57. Kd3 Ke8 58. Ke4 Kd7 59. Kd3 ½ : ½.

In White Ink

侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) – Irina Borisivna Krush
1st Online Nations Cup; United States – China (25+10); chess.com, May 7, 2020
Sicilian Defence B52

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. Bb5+ Bd7 4. c4. This used to be Ukrainian Grandmaster Oleg Mikhailovich Romanishin’s favourite in the 1970s and ’80s. 4. ... Bxb5. After 4. ... Nf6 5. Nc3 g6 6. d4 cxd4 7. Nxd4 Bg7 8. Be3 Nc6 9. f3 0-0 10. 0-0 Nxd4 11. Bxd4 Bxb5 12. cxb5 Qa5 13. Qd3 Qb4 14. Rfd1 Rfc8 15. a3 Qb3 16. Qe2 e6 17. Rd3 White put a lot of pressure on the d-file ending up winning at move 48, 侯逸凡 (Hóu​ Yì​fán) – Ushenina, Women’s Grand Prix 2013–2014, 4st stage, Khanty-Mansiysk 2014. 5. cxb5 Nf6 6. Nc3 g6 7. d4 cxd4 8. Nxd4 Bg7 9. 0-0 0-0 10. Be3 Nbd7 11. Qe2 Rc8. 11. ... d5 was worth considering here: 12. exd5 Nb6 13. Rfd1 Nfxd5 14. Nxd5 Nxd5 15. Bg5 Qd7 16. a4 ½ : ½ Sjugirov – Khegay, 1st European Universities Championships, Yerevan 2015. 12. Rfd1 Re8 13. Rac1 e6!? This is a novelty and also an improvement on 13. ... Rc7?! 14. a4! Qb8 15. a5 Rec8? 16. a6! Nxe4?! (16. ... bxa6 17. Nc6 is not pleasant either) 17. Nd5+− David – Ki. Georgiev, 18th Festival “Città di Padova”, Padua 2015. 14. Nb3 Nb6 15. Na5

15. ... d5? A grave error that leads to an immediate débâcle, but Krush’s been pursuing a mirage — otherwise 15. ... Rc7 was solid enough. 16. e5 Nfd7 17. Nxb7. Black not only loses an Exchange, but her whole position falls apart as well. 17. ... Qh4 18. Nd6 Bxe5 19. g3 Qf6 20. Nxc8 Rxc8 21. f4 Bb8 22. Bxb6 Nxb6

23. Nxd5! exd5 24. Rxc8+ Nxc8 25. Qe8+ Kg7 26. Qxc8 Qb6+ 27. Kg2 Qxb5 28. Qc3+ Kg8 29. Rd2 Bd6 30. Qb3 Qa6 31. Qxd5 Be7 32. f5 Bf6 33. fxg6 hxg6 34. Rf2 Kg7 35. Qf3 Qe6 36. Qxf6+! 1 : 0. The King and Pawn ending is an easy win for White.

Alice in Euroland

Levon Grigori Aronian – Santosh Gujrathi Vidit
1st Online Nations Cup; India – Europe (25+10); chess.com, May 6, 2020
8/6pk/6qp/4Q3/p5P1/PbBp3P/1P1K4/8 w - - 9 46

Position after 45. ... Bc2-b3

Europe was the only team to win both its matches today, especially thanks to Levon Grigori Aronian, who got the most from his games. In the position of the diagram, White continued 46. Qe7, and now, after, let’s say, 46. ... Qf7 (among others) there was little to do rather than sit and settle for a draw. Instead, something happened: 46. ... Bc2? 47. b4!+− axb3 48. Bb2! The pointe. Now the a-Pawn is unstoppable. 48. ... h5 49. g5! h4 50. a4 Kg8 51. a5 Kh7 52. a6! Bd1 53. Kxd1 d2 54. Qxg7+ Qxg7 55. Bxg7 Kxg7 56. Kxd2 1 : 0.

立体主义 (Cubism)

Humpy Koneru – 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán)
1st Online Nations Cup; China – India (25+10); chess.com, May 6, 2020
Queen’s Gambit Declined D35

As 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) and 居文君 (Jū Wénjūn) alternate on China’s fourth board, it happened today that two old acquaintances met again: 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Nbd7 5. cxd5 exd5 6. Bg5 c6 7. e3 Be7 8. Bd3 Ne4 9. Bxe7 Qxe7 10. Qc2 Ndf6 11. 0-0 0-0 12. Ne5 Re8 13. Rfe1 Bf5 14. Rac1 Nxc3!?TN (14. ... g6 ½ : ½ Riazantsev – M. Adams, Grand Prix 2017, 3rd stage, Geneva 2017) 15. Qxc3 Bxd3 16. Qxd3 Ne4. Even thus, it’s a more or less equal game balance. 17. Nf3 a5 18. Nd2 Nd6 19. a4 g6 20. h3 Kg7 21. Rc5 Qd8 22. Rcc1 Qb6 23. Qc3 Ne4 24. Nxe4 Rxe4 25. Rb1 Qb4 26. Qxb4 axb4 27. b3 f5 28. f3 Re6 29. Kf2 Kf6 30. h4 Ke7 31. Rbd1 Kd6 32. Rd3 b6 33. g3 Rae8 34. Red1 Rf8 35. R3d2 Rfe8 36. Rd3 Rf8 37. R3d2

37. ... Rfe8 38. Rd3 ½ : ½.

Games Without Losers

The drawing of lots for the inaugural Online Nations Cup, a six-team tournament held May 5–10, just went live at https://www.chess.com/. The pairings for round one are as follows: Europe vs. Russia China vs. Rest of the World India vs. United States Among the many features of interest are the royal comeback on the worldwide broadcast of four-time Women’s World Chess Champion and world woman No. 1 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán), and the behind-the scenes rivalry between FIDE President Arkady Vladimirovich Dvorkovich and 13th World Chess Champion Garry Kimovich Kasparov as captains of two “meta-nations”, Rest of the World and Europe, respectively. Furthermore, the plot includes a family subrivalry between Anna Olehivna Muzychuk and Mariya Olehivna Muzychuk, whose hearts beat for the Old Europe and the Whole rest of the World, respectively. Last but not least, three-time Women’s World Champion 居文君 (Jū Wénjūn) (China’s reserve team), and two-time Russian Women’s Chess Champion Aleksandra Yuryevna Goryachkina (Russia’s fourth board) can finally give free vent to their pride and prejudice as they enjoy the spotlight of such a gender quota success story.

A Long Short Story

Long Story Short: FIDE announces the Online Nations Cup 文匯報 (Wen Wei Po), April 28, 2020 The Fédération Internationale des Échecs (FIDE) and the Internet chess server Chess.com announce the Online Nations Cup, a team tournament with $180,000 prize fund held May 5–10. Six teams are to take part in it: China, Europe, India, Russia, United States, and Rest of the World. China’s team will be lead by 丁立人 (Dīng Lìrén) and 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) (pictured). Time control is 25 minutes per player plus 10 seconds per move. The first stage, a double round-robin with all teams, will take place May 5–9. On Sunday, May 10, the top two teams will meet in the final to crown a champion team. ■ 新華社 (Xīnhuá News Agency).

The Eighth Dwarf

• Leonard Barden, Chess: FIDE plans controversial online new anti-cheating measures, Financial Times, April 27, 2020

On May 5–10 the global chess body FIDE stages the [Online] Nations Cup of four-player teams, with China the top seeds ahead of Russia, United States, India, Europe, and Rest of the World. FIDE wants all participants in its events to sign a contract accepting expulsion from a tournament if their play shows a high overlap with computer moves. Such a rule could cause problems in the Nations Cup, where world class players are well capable of preparing an opening in advance for 20 moves or more. [Read more].

Banksy, Shower Lady, 2015. Courtesy of StreetArtNews.net.

Schindler’s List

The Fédération Internationale des Échecs (FIDE) has announced the composition of the six teams participating in the inaugural Online Nations Cup, to be held online May 5–10 at chess.com. CHINA Captain: 叶江川 (Yè Jiāngchuān); 1. 丁立人 (Dīng Lìrén); 2. 王皓 (Wáng Hào); 3. 韦奕 (Wéi Yì); 4. 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán); Reserves: 居文君 (Jū Wénjūn) and 余泱漪 (Yú Yāngyī). EUROPE Captain: Garry Kimovich Kasparov; 1. Maxime Vachier-Lagrave; 2. Levon Grigori Aronian; 3. Anish Giri; 4. Anna Olehivna Muzychuk; Reserves: Nana Dzagnidze ans Jan-Krzysztof Duda. INDIA Advisor: Vladimir Borisovich Kramnik; 1. Viswanathan Anand; 2. Pentala Harikrishna; 3. Vidit Gujrathi; 4. Humpy Koneru; Reserves: Dronavalli Harika and Baskaran Adhiban. RUSSIA Captain: Alexander Anatolyevich Motylev; 1. Ian Alexandrovich Nepomniachtchi; 2. Vladislav Mikhailovich Artemiev; 3. Sergey Alexandrovich Karjakin; 4. Aleksandra Yuryevna Goryachkina; Reserves: Olga Alexandrovna Girya and Dmitry Vladimirovich Andreikin. UNITED STATES Captain: William John Donaldson; 1. Fabiano Caruana; 2. Hikaru Nakamura; 3. Wesley So; 4. Irina Borisivna Krush; Reserves: Anna Vitalievna Zatonskih and Leinier Domínguez Pérez. REST OF THE WORLD Captain: Arkady Vladimirovich Dvorkovich; 1. Teimour Boris oghlu Radjabov; 2. Alireza Firouzja; 3. Bassem Amin; 4. Mariya Olehivna Muzychuk; Reserves: Dinara Saduakassova and Jorge Moisés Cori Tello.

Windows on the World

The Fédération Internationale des Échecs (FIDE) announced the Online Nations Cup, a six-team tournament to be held online via the chess.com website from May 5–10, 2020. The participating teams are (in alphaberical order): China, Europe, India, Russia, United States, plus a team representing the “Rest of the World”. At least two former World Chess Champions are due to show up: 13th World Chess Champion Garry Kimovich Kasparov will captain Europe, while 15th World Chess Champion Viswanathan Anand will play first board for India. A remarkable $180,000 prize fund and the rapid time control of 25 minutes each per game plus 10 seconds per move might, or might not, be enough to enchant the audience. A most notable feature of the “Six Nations” may rather be the gender quota imposed by regulation, which requires each team to field at least one female player.

Mementos and Memories

丁立人 (Dīng Lìrén) – Viswanathan Anand
7th Sinquefield Cup; Saint Louis, August 24, 2019
Bogo-Indian Defence E11

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. g3 Bb4+ 4. Bd2 Be7 5. Bg2 d5 6. Nf3 0-0 7. 0-0 Nbd7 8. Qc2 c6 9. a4 a5 10. Na3 Bd6 11. Ne1 Re8!?TN 12. Nd3 e5 13. cxd5 e4 14. Nf4 cxd5 15. Nb5 Bb8 16. Rac1 Ra6! 17. Bh3? 丁立人 (Dīng Lìrén) would have certainly gone for 17. Nc7 Rc6 18. Nxe8 Rxc2 19. Nxf6+ Nxf6 20. Rxc2 with a two Rooks vs. Queen battle, had he imagined what was coming. 17. ... Rc6! 18. Qb3. On other Queen moves there follows ... g7-g5-g4 winning a piece. 18. ... Nb6! 19. Bxa5. It goes down straight, but 19. Bxc8 Nc4! is also very bad. 19. ... Bxh3! 20. Nxh3 Qc8! 21. Kg2 Rxc1. 21. ... Nc4! is the engines’ “best move”, but Anand’s continuation is also perfectly good. 22. Rxc1 Qxc1 23. Bxb6 e3! 24. f3

24. ... h5!!−+ 25. Ba5 h4 26. gxh4. A sign of desperation. 26. ... Qc6?! It takes just a few seconds for the engines to spot 26. ... Ne4!! which wins in all variations (27. fxe4 Rxe4 may well run into a mating attack). 27. Be1 Nh5? Her Majesty was still in time to infiltrate White’s realm by 27. ... Qc1! with still lots of possible attack scenarios. Now 丁立人 (Dīng Lìrén) gets out of the nightmare: 28. Bg3! Qc4. Of course, Anand might still win the endgame, but after throwing away so much “mementos” of his glorious past, he was probably lucky not to end up losing the game. 29. Qxc4 dxc4∓ 30. Ng5 Nf6 31. Na3 Bxg3 32. hxg3 Ra8 33. Nxc4 Rxa4 34. Nxe3 Rxd4 35. Kf2 Nd5 36. Nf5 Rb4 37. h5 Rxb2 38. h6 f6 39. Ne4 gxh6 40. Nxh6+ Kf8 41. Nf5 b5 42. Ne3 Nb6 43. Ke1 b4 44. Kd1 Na4 45. Nd5 f5 46. Nd2 b3 47. e4 fxe4 48. fxe4 Kf7 49. g4 Nc5 50. Nb4 Ke6 51. Kc1 Na4 52. g5 Ke7 53. Nc6+ Kf7 54. Nd4 Kg6 55. N4xb3 Ra2 56. Nf3 Nc3 57. Nbd2 Rxd2 58. Kxd2 Nxe4+ 59. Ke3 Nxg5 60. Nxg5 ½ : ½. And yet, that must have been a hard lesson for 丁立人 (Dīng Lìrén) to learn.

Only Anand’s anagraphic age prevented him from taking the sole lead in the 7th Sinquefield Cup. Photo © Austin Fuller/Grand Chess Tour.