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Contents of Issue 19:
This page is updated to help chess enthusiasts keep up with
the latest news on U.S. players and major events. All
grandmaster's names appear in bold, as well as other notable
players in an event.
Editor's Note
By Duif ("Dove") Calvin
 We hope you all enjoyed your Fourth of July weekend! The fireworks were certainly going off in Philadelphia, where GM Shabalov took undisputed first place at the World Open with 8.0 points out of a possible 9. Meanwhile, the US Cadet Championship for players age 16 and under began July 9th in Nashville, Tennessee. I'd like to thank TD Mark Ishee for providing us with excellent background information on the players. In world news, GM Miguel Najdorf passed away in Spain. In addition to fantastic blitz play. the Sicilian Najdorf variations that bear his name, and of course international match play, Najdorf was famous for his brilliancies in simuls and blindfold exhibitions against amateur players. Our memorial article includes one of his most amazing games from this venue--a blindfold exhibition where he announced and delivered a mate in 6! We're also very pleased to offer a Chess Life Online exclusive: a short article by IM Elliott Winslow on "Najdorf and the Najdorf". Elliott is a lifelong Sicilian player and an Assistant Editor at Chess Life. (And for those of you keeping track, I now owe Elliott at least two lunches and a dinner for his frequent help with technical issues for this column!)
This week's Chess Buzz talks about what makes a champion, an appropriate follow-up to last week's What's Fair in Chess? column. Catch this week's column if you're interested in the lighter side of news in the chess world.
Don't forget to check the Updates Page each week to see just what we've added.
Until next time
--Duif
p.s. This column will focus on events in the chess world each
week. Press releases are welcome! Please send them to: webmaster@uschess.org
Your ideas, comments, and suggestions for the site are also
always welcome at our feedback
address.
Page updated July 11, 1997
Chess Life Online, a publication of the U.S. Chess
Federation, is produced in accordance with the USCF mission
statement serving its members and others.
Recent US News
World Open 1997
Looking for fireworks this Fourth of July? You would have found them in Philadelphia, where over 1200 players met in one of the most important Open tournaments of the year--the 25th Annual World Open. When the explosions were over, GM Shabalov was the clear winner, with 8.0 out of 9. Final standings:
8.0-1.0: GM Shabalov ($14,000)
7.5-1.5: GM Kudrin ($7,000)
7.0-2.0: GM Kaidanov
GM Wojtkiewicz
GM Yermolinsky
GM Goldin
GM Epishin
GM Alexander Ivanov
($1566)
Shabalov was ranked 8th going into the event, and finished with 7 wins, 2 draws, and no losses. His wins included a tense last round victory with the black pieces over GM Serper, and also a victory with black against GM Kaidanov. 1996 US Champion Yermolinsky was the defending World Open champion, but was unable to do better than a tie for third, after a fourth round loss to junior superstar IM Boris Kreiman. Kreiman, only 20 years old, is a former US Junior Champion.
One of the most exciting stories of the event was Master David Vigorito, rated 2359, who defeated GMs Sherzer, Fishbein, and DeFirmian in the event. He finished 18th with 6.5 points. Vigorito, who does not have an international title, earned an IM norm for the performance.
Other winners included Abimbola Adelaja with 8/9 in the U2200 section; a four-way tie at 7.5 in the Under 2000 section between Bill Turner, Elina Groberman, Christine Jensen, and Renato Soria; two 8.0 winners in the Under 1800 section, Artan Dhima and Errol Singh; Hermann Perez and Kurt Andre Ehrsam, both with 8.0 in the Under 1600 section; an astonishing 8.5 from Steve M Henning in the Under 1400 section; Brandon Fuchs and Brian Birkhimer with 7.5 in the Under 1200 section; Andrew Goldberg with 7.5 in the Under 1000 section; and Ternura Renier with 8.5 in the always unpredictable Unrated section.
Shabalov, Yermolinsky, Kaidanov, Ivanov, and Kudrin will meet again in next month's Interplay 1997 US Invitational Championship.
For more information, see the Continental Chess Association's homepage at: www.chesstour.com
Recent World News
Najdorf Memorial | Dutch Championship | Kasparov reiterates refusal to play in FIDE championship
GM Miguel Najdorf Dies in Spain
Photo by Marvin Rogan
GM Miguel Najdorf passed away in Spain last week at the age of 87. He was often reported as being the only player who had played 12 of the FIDE World Champions (lacking only the first champion, Steinitz)--although the game he played with Lasker was bridge! An active player for most of his life, he was born in Poland and later lived in Argentina, and played in many international events representing that country. His death was announced during the SuperGM tournament in Dortmund, and there was a moment of silence.
In addition to his match play, he was famous for blitz. Although not known as a "theory" player, his name is permanently attached to the Najdorf variations of the Sicilian.
However, amateur players may best remember him for his remarkable exhibitions against amateurs. He gave simuls (simultaneous exhibitions) against 30 or 40 players, sometimes including consultation teams of 4 or 6 amateurs. He also gave many blindfold exhibitions. During World War II, he gave two major simuls in Argentina in the hopes that his family in Poland would read about them in the news. The following game is from a blindfold simul, in which Najdorf played 45 number of players simultaneously. During this game, which was widely published, he announced and delivered mate in 6--all without ever seeing the board!
[Event "Blindfold Simul Exhibition"]
[Site "Sao Paulo"]
[Date "1947"]
[White "Najdorf"]
[Black "Allies"]
[Result "1-0"]
1. c4 e5 2. Nc3 Nc6 3. Nf3 d6 4. d4 exd4 5. Nxd4 Nxd4 6. Qxd4 Nf6 7. b3
g6 8. Bb2 Bg7 9. g3 0-0 10. Bg2 Nd7 11. Qd2 a5 12. h4 Nc5 13. h5 Rb8 14.
hxg6 fxg6 15. Bd5+ Ne6 16. Ne4 Bxb2 17. Qxb2 c6 18 Bxe6+ Bxe6 19. 0-0-0
Qb6 20. Rxh7 Kxh7 21. Rh1+ Kg8 22. Rh8+ Kf7 23. Qf6+ Ke8 24. Rxf8+ Kd7
25. Qg7+ Bf7 26. Qxf7 mate.
[1-0]
On the more serious side, Chess Life Online asked IM Elliott Winslow, an expert in the Sicilian Defense, for comments on GM Najdorf's contributions to opening theory, particularly in the Sicilian lines that bear his name. The following article by IM Winslow is exclusive to Chess Life Online
Najdorf and the Najdorf
by IM Elliott Winslow, US Chess Federation
The fact is, judging from naming conventions, you won't find Najdorf as a big
innovator; he was first and foremost a player, make that a gladiator.
He was the sort of player who had a varied enough repertoire that you couldn't
expect a particular move. And he paid attention to the current openings.
But he did have certain conspicuous preferences:
As White, he distinctly favored 1. d4, with a secondary interest in the
English/Reti complexes; 1. e4 was far less common.
As a rule he leaned towards the more combative choices, especially as Black.
So you see lots of King's Indians and Sicilians. But he also had a love of
the Queen's Indian, and liked to play the Philidor Defense on occasion.
But perhaps I'm forgetting a certain little pawn move in the Sicilian? That would
be 5. ... a6 after 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3. It would be
best to just quote Najdorf from the introductory chapter "Understanding the Najdorf
Variation" in the book The Najdorf Variation in the Sicilian Defense (RHM Press,
1976):
I began to play the Sicilian in the years 1937-38, since it suited my
temperament and my status as a player always looking for a fight. It was
then that I put into practice the move ...a6 which had been previously played
by Opocensky and other players. The frequency with which I employed it was
the reason for its subsequently becoming wide-spread under my name.
Some insight into Najdorf himself, too.
Here's one of those very early games:
Poulsen,C-Najdorf,Miguel
Olympiad, Buenos Aires 1939
Najdorf Sicilian, B95
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Bg5 e6 7. Qf3 Nbd7
8. O-O-O Qc7 9. Be2 Be7 10. Rhe1 O-O 11. Qg3 b5 12. Bh6 Ne8 13. Bg5 Bxg5+
14. Qxg5 b4 15. Na4 Bb7 16. Bd3 Nc5 17. Nxc5 dxc5 18. Nf3 c4 19. Bf1 c3
20. Qe5 cxb2+ 21. Kxb2 Qb6 22. Re3 Nf6 23. Rd6 Qc7 24. Rd4 Qc6 25. Rb3 a5
26. Nd2 Nd7 27. Qb5 Ne5 28. Re3 Rfd8 29. Rxd8+ Rxd8 30. Qxc6 Bxc6 31. Bd3
a4 32. a3 Nxd3+ 33. Rxd3 Rxd3 34. cxd3 b3 35. Kc3 Kf8 36. Nc4 Ke7 37. Nb2
f5 38. Kd4 fxe4 39. dxe4 Kf6 40. Ke3 Bb5 41. g3 Kg5 42. f3 e5 43. Kf2 Kf6
44. h4 Ke6 45. Ke3 Kd6 46. Kd2 Kc5 47. Kc3 h6 48. f4 exf4 49. gxf4 Kd6 50.
Kd4 Ke6 51. Ke3 Kf6 52. h5 Be8 53. Kf2 Ke6 54. Ke3 Kd6 55. Kd4 Ke6 56. Ke3
Bc6 57. Kd4 Kf6 58. Ke3 Bb5 59. Kf2 Be8 60. Ke3 Ke6 61. Kd3 Kd6 62. Kd4
Kc7 63. Kc5 Kb7 64. e5 Kc7 65. f5 Bxh5 66. Nxa4 g5 67. fxg6 Bxg6 68. Kd4
Kc6 69. Nb2 h5 70. a4 h4 71. Ke3 Bf5 72. Kf4 h3 73. Kg3 Kc5 0-1
1997 Dutch Championship
Chess has little to do with age, and the Dutch Championship had a wide range of participants. The winners were GM Jan Timman (44) and GM Nikolic (36), both with 7.5. The field featured a number of players under 30, including GM Piket (28), GM Sokolov (29) and IM van den Doel (18). Under Dutch rules, Timman and Nikolic will now play a 4 game match in October to determine the titleholder.
Here is Timman's 10th round victory over Piket:
[Event "Dutch Championship 1997"]
[Site "Rotterdam"]
[Date "1997.07.02"]
[Round "10"]
[White "Piket"]
[Black "Timman"]
[Result "0-1"]
[WhiteElo "2640"]
[BlackElo "2630"]
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 4. Nf3 Bg7 5. Qb3 dxc4 6. Qxc4 O-O 7. e4 a6
8. e5 b5 9. Qb3 Nfd7 10. Be3 c5 11. e6 cxd4 12. exf7 Rxf7 13. Bxd4 Bxd4
14. Nxd4 Nc5 15. Qd5 Qxd5 16. Nxd5 Nbd7 17. b4 Bb7 18. Nc3 e5 19. Ndxb5 axb5
20. bxc5 b4 21. Nb5 Rf4 22. Rc1 Re4 23. Kd1 Bc6 24. f3 Rf4 25. Nd6 Rxa2
26. Bc4 Rxc4 27. Rxc4 b3 28. Re1 Rxg2 29. Kc1 Rxh2 30. f4 exf4 31. Re8 Kg7
32. Re7 Kf6 33. Rf7 Ke6 34. Rfxf4 Ne5 35. Rcd4 Rh3 36. Rf1 Rc3 37. Kb2 Rxc5
38. Nc8 Bd5 39. Rf8 Nc4 40. Kxb3 Nd6 0-1
Kasparov reiterates refusal to play in next FIDE World Championship
In a letter dated June 27th and sent to the President of the International Olympic Committee, Kasparov reiterated his refusal to play under the suggested knock-out conditions.
Your personal efforts to enhance and elevate the game of Chess are greatly appreciated by me but unfortunately I cannot and
will not agree to play in this series of matches which are being organised in a farcical manner. From the first moment that this
idea was announced by the F.I.D.E President I have publicly expressed my concern about the concept, the source of funding
and regard as totally inadequate this system for defining the strongest Chess player in the World.
However, some reports indicate the GM Karpov may be reconsidering his decision to play in the FIDE event, particularly since details for the previously proposed Karpov/Kasparov match this fall still have not been finalized. For more on this topic, see this week's Chess Buzz, What Makes A Champion?
Full text of the letter is available at Mark Crowther's THIS WEEK IN CHESS site.
The July Issue of CHESS LIFE MAGAZINE
The US Chess Federation publishes Chess Life Magazine every month. Available by subscription or on newsstands.
The July issue of CHESS LIFE features the Supernationals (see cover), the New York Open, the U.S. Masters, the National Open, the Hawaii International, and the Western Class championships. A report from the Executive Director and a summary of the May Policy Board Meeting accompany a feedback section on the Deeper Blue - Kasparov match.
Add to that our novice section, "Your First Move," which features columnists Jeremy Silman, Bruce Pandolfini, Gabriel Schwartzman, and Lev Alburt, and you've got the nucleus of a great issue. The icing on the cake, of course, are our regular columnists: Andy Soltis, Larry Evans, Pal Benko, Robert Byrne, Michael Wilder, Edmar Mednis, Alex Dunne, Robert Lincoln, David L. Brown, and Bjarke Kristensen.
For more information see the About Chess Life section.
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Chess Life Online: Chess Life Online is our weekly news column covering events on the international chess scene as well as US Chess Federation news. It also includes Chess Buzz, the lighter side of the news.
