Category: Game of the Week
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Game of the Week L: Mamedov, Rauf (2656) – Anand, Viswanathan (2751)
The engine equalizes easily when it comes to sidelines, which can create false impressions of security. Because of this, such variations are not deeply studied by the majority of players who play against the line. Also, a player may think that finding “simple” moves will not be difficult in order to avoid playing those lines. …
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Game of the Week XLIX: Gelfand, Boris (2663) – Adams, Michael (2700)
A small twist in the opening can change the flow of the game. The opening phase of the game has been a common focus of the Game of the Week series, but it is still exhilarating to find a fresh, deep idea in an opening that always makes me appreciate the research aspect of the…
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Game of the Week XLVIII: Carlsen, Magnus (2855) – Nepomniachtchi, Ian (2782)
The brain may fail you when the tension is at the highest level. Several years ago, as a young and ambitious player, I made a bad move in an important game which led to a position where I got tortured for a long time and eventually lost after a drawish but difficult-to-defend endgame. Coping with…
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Game of the Week XLVII Carlsen, Magnus (2855) – Nepomniachtchi, Ian (2782)
“A Knight on f5 is worth a pawn” Garry Kasparov Kasparov made this statement because often, the Black side castles short. White’s knight then becomes quite annoying for Black and can create attacking ideas all the time. What about the value of the knight on d6 or d3? If we consider that either the e…
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Game of the Week XLVI: Shirov, Alexei (2673) – Erdos, Viktor (2615)
What should you do if you cannot figure out how to equalize against a certain opening variation? The old chess wisdom says to play the variation with the opposite color and let your opponent show the equality to you if it exists. Of course, wisdom evolves over time. Nowadays, we can run strong engines and…
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Game of the Week XLV: Keymer, Vincent (2639) – Bjerre, Jonas Buhl (2569)
Wilheim Steinitz famously claimed that the king is a strong piece and can defend himself. The first World Champion’s firm belief in this statement could be seen in his games, though sometimes, he appeared to put a bit too much trust in that assertion. Occasionally, the king would end up in a dangerous spot right…
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Game of the Week XLIV: Gelfand, Boris (2680) – Martirosyan, Haik (2624)
This last round game was neither important for the final standings, nor particularly spectacular. However, it was a very clean game by Gelfand and is a good example of why he was an elite player for over 2 decades. Game of the Week XLIV is-Gelfand vs. Martirosian Thank you for reading! If you enjoyed this…
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Game of the Week XLIII: Van Foreest, Jorden (2691) – Surya Shekhar Ganguly (2617)
The talented young Dutch grandmaster with the white pieces introduced one of the most creative opening novelties I have seen in recent years. This game was played in round 4 of the ongoing FIDE Grand Swiss in Latvia, with both players on 1/3. Game of the Week is XLIII- Van Foreest, Jorden vs. Surya Shekar…
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Game of the Week XLII: Yoo, Christopher (2485) – Mardov, Dimitar (2373)
The new generation of chess players has been fascinating me with their approach to the opening. The opening ideas that I often see in their games result in a visually ugly-looking, underdeveloped position on the surface. However, there is usually a certain tactical idea behind these positions that justifies such underdevelopment. Usually, this type of…
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Game of the Week XLI: Narayanan.S.L (2647) – Erigaisi, Arjun (2634)
“Why should I learn an opening that I won’t play with either color?” The best way to answer this question is with an example! Let’s say you are not a 1.e4 player nor a Caro-Kann player, so you may skip looking at a game from the Panov variation of Caro-Kann. However, such oversight could come…
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Game of the Week XL: Mastrovasilis, Athanasios (2523) – Nikolov, Momchil (2522)
“Pattern Recognition” has become a common term in chess language, and everyone wants to find an easier way to master it. The best way to accomplish this that I can suggest would be to start by reviewing/playing well-known simple tactical motives and build on that; essentially: solve puzzles non-stop. It’s like learning math: the foundation…
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Game of the Week XXXIX: Bjerre, Jonas Buhl (2550) – Grandelius, Nils (2666)
The story goes that Robert James Fischer used to study all published chess games, including the USSR Women’s Chess Championship. The same probably goes for the current top players. Frankly speaking, I have not been very attentive and following the events closely. Nevertheless, since I am always in search of a good game for my…