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Aft er the immense success of his award-winning classic Chess Strategy for Club Players, IM Herman Grooten has now writt en an equally

accessible follow-up primer on att acking chess. He concentrates on training the most valuable skills: visualizing, structuring, anti cipati ng,

calculati ng, memorizing and other mental aspects.

This is not just another collecti on of useful themati c moves and moti fs but a complete and highly structured course of att acking techniques.

And with fantasti c new examples, clear explanati ons and lots of instructi ve exercises.

Aft er the immense success of his award-winning classic Chess Strategy

NEW!

Few things in life are better than successfully

conducting a blistering attack on your opponent’s King!

paperback | 256 pages | £ 16.95 | available at the London Chess Centre - www.chess.co.uk/shop

www.chess.co.uk 3

ContentsEditorial.................................................................................................................4Malcom Pein on the latest developments in the game

60 Seconds with... John Saunders ............................................................7

The Shak Attack ................................................................................................8Shakhriyar Mamedyarov came with a late charge in Shamkir

Viktor Korchnoi: 1931-2016..................................................................16Jonathan Speelman pays tribute to this lion of the game

The Blindfold King vs The Machine ........................................................20Timur Gareyev on his preparations for a notable world record

A Glut of Endgames ......................................................................................23John Cox on some more enjoyable and instructive endings

Find the Winning Moves .............................................................................26

The Indian Summers of Mir Sultan Khan .............................................30John Henderson remembers this enigmatic great

Key Strategic Principles: Part II ..............................................................33Danny Gormally on opposite-coloured bishops in the middlegame

Opening Trends...............................................................................................35A decent month for the Caro-Kann and Najdorf

How Good is Your Chess? ..........................................................................36Daniel King reveals himself to be a fan of the IQP

The Foreplan ....................................................................................................40Amatzia Avni shows how chess problems can help OTB-wise

Seven from Seven..........................................................................................43Keith Arkell reveals how he’s been spending his weekends

My System: Chess Mnemonics ................................................................44Derek Jones shares some useful memory aides

Never Mind the Grandmasters.................................................................46Carl Portman met a player who expected too much, too soon

Overseas News ...............................................................................................48Ernesto Inarkiev was simply on fire in the European Individual

Home News.......................................................................................................52Richard Bates, as well as Keith Arkell, has been busy of late

Forthcoming Events .....................................................................................53Where will you be or what will you be following this summer?

Solutions............................................................................................................54

New Books and Software...........................................................................55All the latest releases, and reviews of two new GingerGM DVDs

Saunders on Chess ........................................................................................58John, for one, enjoyed Viktor Korchnoi’s illegible handwriting

Photo credits: ajedrezneoclasico.es (p.50, lower), Chess.com (p.24), Chess Club & ScholasticCenter of St. Louis (pp.25; 48, 50, top), Marck Cobb (p.20), Calle Erlandsson (pp.10, 14, 49,lower), Eteri Kublashvili (p.49, top), Ray Morris-Hill (pp.11, 53), shamkirchess.az (pp.8-9; 12;14, lower), Jennifer Vallens (pp.21-22), World Senior Championships (p.43).

ChessFounding Editor: B.H. Wood, OBE. M.Sc †Executive Editor: Malcolm PeinEditors: Richard Palliser, Matt ReadAssociate Editor: John SaundersSubscriptions Manager: Paul Harrington

Twitter: @CHESS_MagazineTwitter: @TelegraphChess - Malcolm PeinWebsite: www.chess.co.uk

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Chess Magazine (ISSN 0964-6221) is published by:Chess & Bridge Ltd, 44 Baker St, London, W1U 7RTTel: 020 7288 1305 Fax: 020 7486 7015Email: info@chess.co.uk, Website: www.chess.co.uk FRONT COVER:Cover Design: Matt ReadCover Photography: CHESS Magazine Archive

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03-03 Contents_Chess mag - 21_6_10 16/06/2016 20:27 Page 3

July 2016

Shakhriyar MamedyarovSeeded 6th; Finished 1st

Rating: 2748; Performance: 2854Assessment: A+

It was fitting that the 3rd Vugar GashimovMemorial, once again sponsored by theSynergy Group, was won by one of Gashimov’scountrymen, Magnus Carlsen havingtriumphed in both 2014 and 2015. However,with just three rounds to go in Shamkir, such anoutcome appeared most unlikely. FabianoCaruana led with a whopping 5/6, while thehighest-rated Azeri player, ShakhriyarMamedyarov, was languishing on just 50%.Mamedyarov’s Pirc had been comprehensivelysqueezed to death by Pentala Harikrishna inthe second round and while he had bouncedstraight back by outplaying in turn PavelEljanov, he had never really looked like winningany of his next three games, even when apawn up against Hou Yifan. He may no longer be a regular fixture inquite the very strongest tournaments, butone must never write off the man oftenknown as the ‘Shak Attack’, on account of hisaggressive and creative style which hasalways made Mamedyarov a match foranyone on his day. Indeed, an early mistakefrom Eltaj Safarli was brutally punished inround 7, but Mamedyarov can do much morethan just attack, as he was to demonstrate. The eighth round saw a key showdownbetween Caruana and Mamedyarov, in whichthe American superstar was perhaps guilty ofoverpressing against an opponent then apoint and a half behind him.

F.Caruana-S.MamedyarovRound 8

With the ...d5 break imminent, Black’s positionis fractionally the more pleasant, but one wouldstill imagine the game likely to end in a draw.Indeed, 29 Îd1 d5 30 Ëg4+ Êf8 31 Ëf3 wouldhave held everything together, and if 31...a4 32 cxd5 Îcxd5 33 Îxd5 Ëxd5 34 Ëxd5 Îxd535 Îc4. However, Caruana preferred to align hisrooks in rather a curious fashion.29 Îee3? a4 30 Ëe2 d5 31 Ëf3 Likewise, 31 cxd5 Îdxd5 32 Ëf3 Ëd7would have seen Black unpinning and sooninvading, such as after 33 Îcd3 Îxd3 34 Îxd3Îc1+ 35 Êg2 Ëb5.31...Îdc8!

Either winning a pawn down the c-file orforcing a won queen endgame.32 cxd5 Îxc3 33 Îxc3 Îxc3 34 Ëxc3 Ëxd5 White is quite simply lost as there’s no gooddefence to the threat of ...Ëd1+ and ...Ëc2.35 Ëb4 h5 Instead, 35...e4! would have blocked thecheck on g4 and after 36 Ëxa4 Ëd1+ 37 Êg2Ëf3+ 38 Êg1 e3 39 fxe3 Ëxg3+ 40 Êf1Ëf3+ 41 Êg1 Ëxe3+ 42 Êg2 h5! the b2-pawn falls and with it the game.36 Ëxa4 Ëd3? Allowing White to open some lines againstthe black king and so stay on the board. Onceagain, the right move was 36...e4!.37 g4! Ëb1+ 38 Êg2 Ëxb2 39 gxh5 Ëc2

40 Ëg4+

A late charge from Shakhriyar Mamedyarov stunned Fabiano Caruana and Anish Giri at the 3rd Vugar Gashimov Memorial in Shamkir

The Shak Attack

8

After seeing his lead evaporate in round 8, Fabiano Caruana (right) had to settle for a play-offagainst Shakhriyar Mamedyarov, in which the Azeri star rode his luck, but emerged victorious.

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In Mark Dvoretsky’s excellent bookPositional Play, he talks about how thepresence of opposite-coloured bishops in themiddlegame will actually increase the attackingchances of the player with the initiative. Whileit is well known that in endgames opposite-coloured bishops tend to increase the likelihoodof the game ending in a draw, in middlegamesthe opposite is often the case. The following position is a good example.The bishop on f6 has no opponent and itsmalignant influence on the dark squaresaround the black king cannot be opposed inthe long term. By contrast the bishop on d5 isineffective and any possible attack on g2 caneasily be blunted by a timely f3.

V.Kramnik-V.TopalovEuropean Club Cup, Skopje 2015

22 Íf6 Ëf7 23 b3 Ëf8 A desperate attempt to exchange queens,but, of course, Kramnik was having none of it.On a separate note it is well known that thesetwo can’t stand each other. Perhaps it’s time forthem to grow up and shake hands. Life is tooshort to go around in a state of eternal feud.

24 Ëf4 Îc2 25 h4! A typical attacking device; the pawn isused as a lever to make further inroads intothe black kingside.25...Îac8 26 h5 Ëe8 27 Îd3 Î2c3 28 Îad1

28...gxh5 After this White is winning by force, butanalysis should show that Black’s position isbeyond repair in any case: a) 28...Êf7 is one such attempt at erectinga feeble defence – Black intends a desperateentrenchment with ...Ëg8. However this iseasily broken down by the accurate 29 hxg6+hxg6 30 Ëh4! Ëg8 31 Îxd5! exd5 32 e6+when Black is busted. b) 28...b5 is the choice of the computer.However, it seems rather pointless, and Black isagain quickly in trouble: 29 Êh2!? (29 Îxc3Îxc3 30 Îd4 is also very strong, intending toeventually transfer the rook to h4) 29...Ëf730 Ëg5 and the pressure increases.29 Îxd5! With this crushing sacrifice, Black’s wholeflimsy defensive edifice is ripped asunder.29...exd5 30 e6 Î3c7 Alternatively, 30...Ëxe6 31 Ëg5+ Êf732 Ëg7+ Êe8 33 Íxc3 and wins.

31 Îxd5 Ëxe6 32 Ëg5+ Êf8 33 Îxf5 Îf734 Ëh6+ Êe8 35 Îe5 Îc6 36 Ëxh5 1-0

G.Kasparov-F.Vallejo PonsLinares 2002

33 Ëe2! Wisely keeping the queens on when theopponent’s king seems in extreme peril.33...Ìxd3 34 Îxd3 Ìf7 35 Îg3 Ìxg5 36 Îxg5 Again the contrast between the twobishops that remain on the board isconsiderable. The bishop on a8 has noattacking potential, while by comparison thebishop on b2 is an obvious monster.36...Îf7 37 Ëe5 Ëf8 38 cxb5 h6 38...Íd5 doesn’t help Black: 39 Îc5 Îb640 Îc8! and his position collapses.39 Îg3 Êh7 40 Íd4 Íd5 41 b6 Îf6 42 Îcc3 Îf7 43 Îc7 Íe4 44 Îb3 Íd545 Îb5 Íb7 46 Îa5 Ëd8 47 Îa7 Íe4

Key Strategic PrinciplesPart Two: Attacking with Opposite-Coloured Bishops

in the MiddlegameA new bite-size series on strategy from Grandmaster Danny Gormally

Fans of GM Danny Gormally can check out his new weekly blog posts, exclusively at

GINGERGM.COM

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other pieces too) on Outposts – weak enemysquares – supported by friendly pawn(s), andwhere they cannot easily be challenged byenemy knights/bishops. 8. Carefully observe the Pawns in the pawnskeletons for both sides, looking for weakpawns that can be attacked – hanging, isolated,backward, doubled, islands (more islands meansa weaker pawn structure), blockaded (‘HIBDIB’)or strengths – passed, chains (‘PC’). And so HIBDIB (pawn weaknesses) and PC(pawn strengths) can be added to the pawnbit of SPOCKBOP. Thus we have SPOCKBOP-pc/hibdib (where ‘PC HibDib’ may be thePolice Constable HibDib for the sake of easierrecollection!).

‘TeLMART-PB’ But we need to put these tactical andpositional mnemonics together with a guidingmnemonic and TeLMART-PB tells a player toconsider: 1. T = Are there any Threats by theopponent?

2. LM = Why did the opponent play theirLast Move? (The ‘e’ doesn’t mean anything, itjust holds the mnemonic ‘TLMART’ together.) 3. Consider All Responses to youropponent’s moves. 4. Any Tactics for you, or if not… 5.Consider how to improve your Position(SPOCKBOP-pc/hibdib). 6. Is your move a Blunder? Just do a basic,simple observation of the whole boardimagining your chosen move has been playedand if this looks okay then play it. If not selectan alternative move that you have probablyalready considered. For the important no.4, you might well useFor Pete’s Sake. However, if you are playing ata faster time control – where I suppose theemphasis shifts more towards tactics – thenyou might consider to find tactics only ‘CCTS’(cat caught the sparrow = checks, captures,threats, sacrifices), and ‘O I VUUE’ (Oh I View= overworked, in-line, valuable, under /unprotected, exposed pieces). It can also bevery useful to simply count defenders/attackers of a certain square, piece or pawn.

If there is any truth in the idea that silly things are easier to remember, you may find that thisimage will be ingrained into your brain for quite some time. Never forget ‘SPOCKBOP’!

New Arrivals

A little birdjust told me

Nigel Short - @nigelshortchessFarewell Victor Lvovich - a cantankerous,old git, but a true #chess greatnevertheless. Thanks for the many battleswe had over 40 years.

Viswanathan Anand - @vishy64thekingThe chess world loses its greatest fighter.R.I.P. Viktor Korchnoi. We learnt so muchfrom you. Just being in Baguio where heplayed Karpov...

Keith Arkell - @AtomrodViktor Korchnoi’s larger-than-life persona hasbeen present throughout my time as a chessplayer. His death today is a massive loss.

Mark Crowther - @MarkTWICKorchnoi had an amazing WorldChampionship cycle run. Candidates Final68, Semi-Final 71, Final 74, WCh Match78, WCh 81, SF 83. Amazing.

Tatev Abrahamyan - @Tatev_AWatching on form @FabianoCaruana play isone of the best things ever.#attacktoostrong

Anish Giri - @anishgiriHad a good event in Shamkir, but stumbledat the very end. Congrats to Shakh, whotook it all! #ShamkirChess#VugarGashimovMemorial

2700chess - @2700chessMamedyarov (2759.2, World #13) startedwith 0.5/2, but then won@ShamkirChess_16 with 6/9.Congratulations!

Teymur Rajabov - @rajachessOn the 8th of June, heading for thetraining session of National team ofAzerbaijan, we are strong and will alwaysbe! #Azerbaijan #chess

David Llada - @lladiniSergey Karjakin: “The last chess book I readwas @GMGawain’s book on the Dragon. Itis very good.”

Gawain Jones - @GMGawainHad a great time and good experience atthe big tech day in Munich. Interestinglectures and people. Think my lecturewent well. #tngbtd

A round-up of what the topplayers and chess personalitieshave been saying on Twitter

Two new books from the chess championof Cyprus, Vassilis Aristotelous

Chess One – A CompleteIntroduction to the Royal Game

&

Chess Two – Beyond the Basics ofthe Royal Game (376 pages)

Reviewed in this issue on page 55.

Priced £24.99 each or £22.49 for Subscribers (post free in the UK)

To order call 020 7486 7015 or visit: shop.chess.co.uk

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