"Is there a difference in the game strategy between countries?"

That was the question put to GM Nils Grandelius, the junior GM who sports dreadlocks and who just won the European U18 Chess Championship. And his answer?

Players from the countries of Eastern Europe follow a certain structure, they have all followed the same school and we know roughly what they have learned. We from the western countries are more unpredictable on the board.

See the rest of the short interview here. Here is the list of the winners. I guess Australian juniors heading to the World Youth in Brazil will be seeing most of them.

GM Mikhail Golubev Speaks ......

Another interview in the series with US NM William Stewart (how does he do it?), this time with very well-known chess author GM Mikhail Golubev. Golubev is know for his three books on the Sozin Attack in the Sicilian, the KID and the Sicilian Dragon. Well worth reading to get an understanding of these openings and their resulting middlegames. He is now better known for writing for the only English daily chess newsletter in the world, Chess Today.

Excerpts that I like:

How to make progress? One has to play much and to learn much, to try his or her best, and to take chess seriously. But perhaps it all comes from the heart.

On the books to read:

What are your top book recommendations for beginner to intermediate players?

Perhaps, any entertaining chess book which feels like it may help to improve should actually help. For a level higher than beginners -- collections of games, played by great players and books, written by great players. But only in case if the reader enjoys a specific book, and likes that specific player. If one does not like too much to read Nimzowitsch or Bronstein, just switch to someone else light-heartedly.

What are your top book recommendations for advanced players?

Very important are good opening books, written, first of all, by GMs who regularly practice the openings or systems. Also, at least one good basic endgame manual has to be studied surely.

Also, I like his answer to training:

Working with colleagues often brings much effect, but historically I had only limited experiences of such kind, because all grandmasters from my town (except for Geller who was a totally different generation) played 1.d4 with White, and I did not want to switch from my 1.e4. As an exception Stanislav Savchenko and I sometimes worked on the Sicilian Dragon for Black (especially around 1990), and it was rather fruitful cooperation I think. In general, to work on openings with other players is practical. And to work with many other players is very practical. I worked for Anatoly Karpov two times in 1996-1997, and later I assisted Ruslan Ponomariov from time to time, but this is somewhat different. A serious player has to work with databases, but this is so clear that barely deserves to be mentioned. I think that even now analysing the game with the opponent immediately after the game normally helps significantly for both sides.

GM Bartlomiej Maciejag Speaks ......

From the ongoing series by US NM William Stewart, there is an interview with Polish GM Bartlomiej Maciejag who is overshadowed by his compatriots, GM Dariusz Swiercz, GM Radosław Wojtaszek and GM Grzegorz Gajewski. Here is an excerpt on training:

What was your exact study regimen when you were working towards GM?

I have always seriously taken studies at school and university, thus I didn’t have much time for studies on chess. On the other hand, the free time I had was so precious for me, that I used it for chess very intensively. My chess coach GM Vitaly Tseshkovsky was coming to me for training sessions and we used to work many hours every day. I worked mostly during summer holidays, for this reason I was always a much more dangerous player around September-October than May-June. The duration of a particular training session during summer holidays was usually about 2 weeks of 8 hours a day, followed by a tournament. A typical schedule was that we played a rapid game, analysed critical positions in particular opening lines, finished a day with a blitz mini-match.

Opening Preparation - How important is it?

By this time, most chess players would know that GM Peter Svidler (cricket tragic and all-round anglophile) has won the 2011 World Cup. This is what GM David Smerdon said on his blog:

Proof that you don’t need to worry too much about opening theory to succeed in chess. Proof that you can, in fact, win with the black pieces at top level. Proof that nice guys don’t always finish last.
But, most importantly, proof that you can love cricket more than chess and still get away with the odd million or two in chess prize money. There’s hope for us Aussies yet.

It is true that Svidler has a reputation (abetted by his own ironic and laconic remarks scattered throughout the interviews he has down through the years) for not working on his chess especially openings. His concrete play in games, very often heading towards quiet (or quieter) opening variations, support this assessment. But a few things belie the fact eg that he is recognised as an expert in the Grunfeld Defence (from Black side).

On the other side of the scale is the home preparation conducted with computers and chess engines (Houdini, Stockfish, Rybka et al). This, more than anything else, has levelled the playing-field so to speak. In addition, the rise and rise of chess publisher, Quality Chess based in Scotland, the brainchild of GMs Jacob Aagaard and John Shaw, and its flagship opening books, GM Repertoire (now up to GM Rep 9 with GM Rep 10 coming soon) has provided a godsend to ambitious chess players everywhere. Either it was serendipity (my favourite word) or it was deep planning (24 ply deep analysis) by Aagaard and Shaw, their GM Reps 1 and 2 by Israeli GM Boris Avrukh on 1 d4 opening revolutionised opening books. Their competitor, Everyman Chess, had to match their efforts and in the series, Attacking Chess, and especially, the two volumes on KID by US IM David Vigorito, is similar in intent and execution. This is the narrative that gets told around chessboards in chess clubs all over. It sounds good, does it not?

Or does it?

I have been following the US Chess League for a few years now and I read about the following game: NM David Adelberg (ARZ) - GM Mesgen Amanov (CHC) in Rd 3. There is a bit of a write-up over at the USCF and the game itself is annotated by GM Mesgen Amanov (see here).

I strongly encouraged you to go through the annotations by GM Amanov.

1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.g3 dxc4 5.Bg2 a6 6.0-0 Nc6 7.Nc3 Rb8 8.e4 Be7 9.Qe2 b5 10.Rd1 0-0 11.d5 exd5 12.e5 d4 13.exf6 Bxf6 14.Qe4 Bb7 15.Nd5 Nb4 16.Nxf6+ Qxf6 17.Qf4 c5 18.Qxf6 gxf6 19.Bf4 Rbc8! 20.Bd6 Rfd8 21.Be7 Re8 22.Bxf6 h6!(N?) 23.g4? [and Black went on to win 0-1]. (note: 23 a4 was previously played.)

According to GM Amanov, he learned of 22...h6 from playing blitz with GM Yury Shulman and later found the game by GM Barsov in his database.

GM Amanov made some points in his annotations about (over) relying on opening books providing a seemingly "complete" repertoire. You still have to check the databases and do your own analyses. He also emphasised home game preparation as including psychology preparation as well.

PS for those who like visual aesthetics, notice the Black pawn formation (!) on the Q-side after 27...b4. (GM Amanov called it "Pawn Power!")

So, what is the conclusion? Deep chess opening prep is the way to go? I think it is too simplistic to think of it in this manner. At a 2300+ level where you are going to face GM opponents, I think opening prep with computer databases and chess engines is a must. But some hard yakka and decent spadework have to be accomplished first. I think relying on an opening book like Avrukh's or even Vigorito's is fine but it must be coupled with understanding. Here a chess coach/trainer is invaluable. I remember reading the biography of Magnus Carlsen by GM Simen Agdestein where he related that Magnus used to spend hours playing through games and analysing the moves with an FM in GM Agdestein's chess school. Every move must be understood and a rationale provided. In GM Amanov's annotations, he says that g4 weakens the f4 square. I am sure his opponent knows of this as well and in spite/despite of the weakness, persisted with the move. But do you? Otherwise you are just relying on memory with no understanding. What do you do once you reach the Middlegame? One famous GM has put it thus: Conduct the opening in order to reach a playable middlegame. (Perhaps Svidler has taken this to heart!) I think this aphorism lies behind the playing style of GM Alexander Morozevich as well.

What else can we learn from GM Amanov's annotations? To be ambitious and reach greater heights in chess, you have to learn to be a strategical/positional player as well as a tactical/combinatorial player. The whole point of h6, and the plan to run the Knight to f4 ...... Technique in endgame is also crucial. For example, after 27...b4, do you know what to do with the pawn formation? Did you managed to spot the move 32...Bf3? Did you know the correct move order in exchanging pawns, ie beginning with 24...c3? Did you understand the importance of having the pawn on c2 and do you know the plan after getting your pawn to c2? Ie running your King from the K-side over to the Q-side preparing for c3?

Hope you enjoy the game.

FM Max Illingworth scores!!!

Former top NSW junior FM Max Illingworth who is taking a gap year after finishing HSC last year and before beginning university studies, has travelling overseas playing in GM norms tournaments hunting for those elusive GM norms (three are required). After coming sooooo very close in the last few years in local tournaments in Australia, it looks like his hard work and persistence has paid off. Despite some very ordinary results at recent tournaments, Max scored his first GM norm (an undefeated 7/9, rating performance >2600) at the popular First Saturday Chess Tournament Series in Budapest, Hungary. If he continues his good form, he may be one of the rare group of chess players who skips the IM title and gains the GM title first. My best wishes on his endeavours.

For the GM norm result, see here and here and to replay games or download pgn, see here.

GM Adrian Mikhalchishin shares his training tips ......

Over at Chessbase, there is this wonderful article by chess trainer GM Adrian Mikhalchishin on facing world champions over the board and the appropriate preparation (see here). GM Mikhalchishin has been involved as trainer and second to many World Championship candidates as well as World Champion Anatoly Karpov. He is now a Chessbase DVD author (very good DVDs on middlegames but bear in mind he tends to speak fast and assume some strategical knowledge, just pause and rewind) and also the trainer of the Turkish girls/women squad.

Excerpts:

[On preparing top women players] So, preparation was mostly psychological ,as she avoided main lines and tried to play for technique. Champs have a huge psychological weapon , which is their influenced on their opponents. I remember that I could not convince Alisa Maric, who feared no one, to play more active against Zhu Chen in her best year.

It was necessary to try to reach reasonable positions from the opening, to avoid technical positions, and to try to change the curse of the game's fourth hour.

[On the Turkish girls squad] Betul Yildiz played Hou Yifan three times in the last edition of the Grand Prix, and consistently got very favourable positions from the opening, but then started to make typical girl's mistakes - no more active moves forward. So,it was the first part of her general preparation - to explain, that her objective is just to press forward. Her opponent wants simple technical positions and will not be very happy with sharp play where the chance of making a mistake is much higher. I told her that top players hate pressure from the lower-rated players! Openings are not a problem, as her last level of preparation is sufficient to face even a World champion! It was partially psychological preparation as taught by Chinese table tennis trainers. Their psychological preparation is to convince (and to prepare) pupils, that their technical preparation is at the top.

There are two annotated games and the second is between Betul Yildiz and Hou YiFan. The annotations are quite revealing:

The first and most important problem is how to play a World Champion with Black? It is an important part of chess psychology as in women's chess it is more important than memorizing long opening lines. Preparation was to play very aggressively with Black, and never step back! The motto was "Russians and Turks never go back!" Geoffrey Borg, chief of the FIDE Grand Prix gave good advice, explaining that Hou Yifan plays technical positions like a computer! So,the only way to play her is to try be better prepared in the opening and to conduct very active strategy at every moment.

Hou Yifan looks more stable psychologically, as she can perform well even under stress and in uncomfortable situations. This means she has one of the important champion abilities: To be able to suffer and not crack under the pressure.

GM Evgeny Bareev Speaks ......

GM Evgeny Bareev is a colourful character dropping witticisms at every media occasion (sometimes with less success). He is no longer the head coach of the mighty but underperforming Russian chess men team. But it seems he still is involved with coaching, with the juniors. At WhyChess there is a transcript of an interview he did waxing lyrical on junior chess. I thought this bit is very pertinent:

He also talked about the stresses of junior events.

Bareev said that Olga Girya’s recent experience in the World Junior Championship (she lost in the final round with White when a draw would have given her the gold medal) reminded him of his last appearance in the championship in Gausdal in 1986:

In the last game with White against Agdestein it turned out I only needed a draw. Granda Zuniga, who was my rival during the tournament, very quickly lost his game and Arencibia was half a point ahead. I got an extra pawn, and at that moment Anatoly Avraamovich Bykhovsky signalled to me that a draw was enough. My hands and legs started to shake, and I successfully lost that better position, shared 3rd place and didn’t make it onto the pedestal due to worse tiebreaks. Therefore I know what a test the World Championships are. In order to win a Swiss event you need to have experience and mental resilience. When children become champions and bring home medals people simply marvel at them. The only time I became World Champion it was a colossal stress. You give everything, but you obtain experience. Anyone can become a grandmaster with a certain amount of work, but not everyone’s capable of getting top results. You can’t have great victories without painful defeats.

GM Grzegorz Gajewski Speaks ......

Continuing with interviews with GMs in the How to be a Grandmaster series by US chess player/coach William Stewart, here is the latest with Polish GM Grzegorz Gajewski (see here).

Excerpts:

When did you begin playing chess tournaments and how did you do?

When I was seven I started studying in school. There was a special chess class
so we had normal chess lessons (like math or science) – 4 hours a week taught by a teacher and chess coach (my first and only one) Boguslaw Boder. Those kids who clearly liked to play and had better results than others could be a part of the chess club and had additional trainings. Of course I was one of them. So when I was eight I started playing in tournaments and my chess life became – more or less – professional. I did good, but as always – there were better. I played my first Polish junior championship when I was 10 and I took a bronze medal. The winner was Mateusz Bartel, currently the polish champion. In my final game (the medal at stake!) I won a nice game against an eight years old boy – Radoslaw Wojtaszek. So I had quite a good company right from the beginning.

When did you begin making legitimate progress in your game and how?

Tough to say. It’s easy to say how – hard work. But when? My first big progress was probably when I was eight. When I was twelve I got my elo (about 2140) and as I remember in the next two years it didn’t change a lot. When I was about 14 my skills improved a lot and so on. Most young players make a big progress at some point then for the next 1-2 years they stop, and then another big progress…

Can you recall a specific turning point? (a game, event, working with a chess coach, etc..)

Meeting Boguslaw Boder, whose devotion to chess was really catching – this
was the biggest turning point and everything else was the result of it.

What was your exact study regimen when you were working towards GM? (What exactly did you study, what study materials do you recommend, how much were you working with a chess coach to prepare, etc..)

When I was 2400-2450 rated I started working with the computer a lot. I learned that – when working with engines – you need to direct them, argue with them, not just click the mouse. I also spent many hours watching the top guys playing each other, trying to understand all the nuances. Of course the openings were the most important at this time. Some say that you need to fight for advantage right from the beginning, play principle openings, find novelties. Others say that it is more important to understand your opening, know all the plans and ideas. And they are all right. Modern chess openings are aggressive – you won’t make a big progress always playing your trusted g3-Bg2 set-up and hoping that you outplay your opponent in the middlegame. On the other side what’s the point of spending many hours with Houdini only to get + 0.34 after 15 moves and then spoil it in the next few moves because you didn’t really understand what to do with your pieces?

Nature or Nurture: Do you think top chess players are born with a natural ability/gift or do they become so talented through hard work and the right environment?

Of course all the top players are more or less talented but there are hundreds, maybe thousands of mid level players who are talented as well. And here comes the hard work. That is what differentiates top players from the rest. The environment is also important, as well as the money you can or cannot invest in training and tournaments. But without hard work it is all for nothing.

By the way, he recommends lots of tactics, "Do a lot of tactics, thousands"! And he recommends Dvorestly and Jussupow's books as well as the Tournament Game book classic, Bronstein's Zurich 1953 (a must read if you intend to play the KID).

Now, in case you did not recognise the name, GM Gajewski (even at such a young age) is the populariser of the Gajewski Variation in the Ruy Lopez. He began playing it in 2007 taking it up to the elite GM levels. The game was Kuznetspv - Gajewski, Pardubice 2007, 0-1 (see here). According to author GM Sabino Brunella (Attacking the Spanish), English GM and no stranger to Australian chess players, GM Gawain Jones used the same Variation to stun Chinese GM Wang Hao in Wang Hao - Gawain Jones, Liverpool (UK-China) 2007 (see here). The moves leading to the Variation are:

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. 0-0 Be7 6. Re1 b5 7. Bb3 0-0 8. c3 d6 9. h3 Na5 10. Bc2 d5!?

It is this 10...d5 move that stunned GMs in 2007.

Our very own No 1 player, GM Zhao ZongYuan faced this Variation in the game at Gibraltar 2008 which gained him his 3rd and last GM norm.

Raja Nazrin Shah Invitational Masters and International Open 2011 (formerly the KL Open)

After the Malaysian Open, the KL Open has begun, renamed as the Raja Nazrin Shah Invitational Masters and International Open 2011.

A number of Australians are playing. You can read a report on Rounds and 2 here. There is also a wonderful video of the opening ceremony and the rounds by Indian journalist, Vijay Kumar. I understand that the videos from the 2010 KL Open are being broadcast in India on its biggest Television Network Doordarshan TV as a promotion to the 2011 Open (see here).

You can follow updates by Simon Dale (?) at ChessChat here and also results at Chess Results here or of not updated here.

There is also an Invitational Masters (no Australian playing) and you check the results here. Recent Singaporean visitor, IM Goh Wei Ming, is playing, hunting for his 2nd GM norm.

In the video below, see if you can spot ACT ex-junior Alana Chibnall, juniors Ari and Finley Dale, and their super chess parents and chess tourists, the Dales.





Alana Chibnall at 6:37, the Dales at 2:35 and 5:02, Finley, Alana at 8:52.