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Chess Informant 88 Reviewed By Prof. Nagesh Havanur
While one does not argue with the distinguished GM Jury which includes Yusupov, Timman, Lautier and Anand (He awarded 10/10 for his own game for the Best TN!) one can not help feeling that fighting games like the following also deserved recognition: Anand - Radjabov [B32] 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 e5 The Kalashnikov variation. After his first round loss against Kramnik, Radjabov decides to change the opening. 5.Nb5 d6 6.c4!? 6. N1c3 is Anand’s usual choice. 6...Be7 7.b3! White wants to develop the dark-squared bishop to a3 and to exploit Black's weakness on d6. But he never gets the opportunity. 7...f5 8.exf5 Bxf5 9.Bd3 e4!? 10.Be2 a6 11.N5c3 Bf6! 12.0-0 Nge7 13.a3! Not only preventing …Nb4. 13...0-0 13… d5!? Is an interesting alternative. 14.Ra2 The other point of the last move. The idea is to place the rook on d2 and exert pressure on d6. 14...Qa5!? With the idea of transferring the queen to e5 and then to try active play in the centre. 15.b4 Qe5 16.Re1! Trying to exploit the queen's position on e5. 16...b5!? The most aggressive answer. Now the centre is attacked and White has to decide what to do! The alternative is 16...Rac8 with the idea of playing … Nd4. 17.Bg4 Nd4 18.Bxf5 Qxf5 19.Nxe4 (19.Rxe4 Rxc4.Black is better) Rxc4 20.Nbd2 Rc7 is unclear. 17.cxb5 axb5 18.Bxb5 If 18.Nxb5 d5!? or 18...Nxb4 19.axb4 Rxa2 20.Bc4+ Kh8 21.Bxa2 Qxb5 22.Qxd6 Ng6. In both cases Black has sufficient counterplay for the pawn. 18...Nd4? Typical of young Radjabov, who fears none. But this overambitious and aggressive move should lose! 18...Qe6!? 19.Bxc6 Nxc6 20.Qd5 Qxd5 21.Nxd5 Ne5 22.Nxf6+ gxf6 with an unclear position should have been played. 19.Bf1?
Missing the opportunity. 19.Bc4+! d5 20.Nxd5!! Nxd5 21.Bb2! Kh8 22.Bxd4 Qxd4 23.Qxd4 Bxd4 24.Bxd5 should win. After 24… Rae8 25.Rd2 Bb6 26.Rde2 Re5! Black has some interesting chances according to Radjabov. But White can just play 27. Rd1 followed by 28.Nc3 snuffing out any counterplay. -NSH 19...d5 20.Rd2! Be6! Not only guarding …d5, but also targeting f2 in the long run. 21.f4 Qxf4 22.Rf2! 22.Rxd4?? loses to 22...Qf2+ ! 22...Qxf2+!! 22...Qh4?? 23.Rf4! Qg5 24.Rfxe4 White wins! 23.Kxf2 Nb5!!
Anand had missed this move. He had expected 23...Nc2 or 23…Bh4.
24.Kg1 Nxc3 25.Nxc3 Bxc3 26.Bb5 26.Re3 Be5 is unclear. 26.Bd2!? Bd4+ (26...Bxd2 27.Qxd2 Rxa3 28.Qb2! Raa8 29.Qe5 Rf6 30.b5 White has better chances.) 27.Be3 Bxe3+ (27...Bc3? 28.Bc5 White seizes control.) 28.Rxe3 Nf5 29.Rh3 (29.Re1 Rxa3 Black has better chances.) 29...d4! 30.a4 d3 31.a5 Rab8 32.Qe1 Bd5 is unclear. 26...Bxe1 26...Rfb8!? 27.a4 (27.Be2 Bxe1 28.Qxe1 Nf5 is unclear) 27...Bxb4 28.Bd2 Bd6 is unclear. 27.Qxe1 Nf5 27...Rfb8 is also possible. 28.Bb2 Rac8!? 28...Rf7 was worth considering. 29.Qf2 Nd6 30.Qc5 Nxb5 31.Qxb5 Rc8 is unclear. 29.Ba4! Preventing Black's rook from coming to the second rank. 29...Rf7 30.h3?! Missing 30.Bb3!
Now White has to seek a draw with repetition of moves with 34.Qxd5+ Nf7 35.Qd4 according to Radjabov. Amazing stuff. 30...h5! Preparing … h5-h4 and Nf5-g3. 31.b5 h4 32.Be5 Preventing … Ng3 and trying to support the passed pawn on b5. 32...d4! Radjabov thought that this was an error and offered the variation 33.Qxe4 Rc1+ 34.Kh2 Ne3 35.Qxh4 Rff1 36.Qd8+ Rf8 = in his notes to the game in this volume. But subsequently he discovered a subtle win in the same line! After 33.Qxe4 there follows 33…Ne3! 34.Qxh4 Rf1+ (The right rook!) 35.Kh2 Nf5! with the threat of …Rcc1 wins. Now 36.Qh5 is simply met by 36...Bf7! and the last hope of perpetual check is lost. 33.b6! The best practical chance - NSH 33...e3! 34.Kh2 d3 35.Qb4 e2! Now 36.b7 is met by 36…Rxb7 37.Qxb7 e1=Q winning. 36.Bc3 Rxc3! The Simplest. 37.Qxc3 Ng3 38.b7 Rxb7 39.Qa5 White is lost. If 39.Qd4 Rb8 or 39.Qe5 Rb1 40.Qxe6+ Kh7 wins. 39...Rb8! 0-1 Misfortune never comes alone. After this devastating loss Anand was beaten by Bologan in the 3rd round. It was only in the 7th round of the tournament that he managed to avenge himself against Bologan with a prepared line, winning both the Best game Award and also the Most Important TN Award from the games included in this volume. [Ed. - For more on this topic see the interesting Chess Cafe article by Saša Velickovic.] Apart from Dortmund, the present volume also includes games from important tournaments like Biel (won by Morozevich) and Enghien-Les-Bains (won by Bareev). There are also games from the European Individual Championship at Istanbul and European Club Championship at Rethymnon. Besides these, one can find games from the National Championships of France and Russia. The volume reflects current trends in modern chess and raises several interesting questions. Kasparov’s continued absence from major tournaments (preoccupation with his books on his Great Predecessors!?) is a cause for concern. In the European Club Championship at Rethymnon, he marred his fine performance with a loss to Huzman of Israel, blundering away a piece. His team Ladia-Kazan failed to win the First Prize and had to content itself with the 5th place. Bologan was the dark horse of the Dortmund Tournament. In spite of the debilitating loss against Anand, he managed to come first, ahead of Vishy, Kramnik, Radjabov and Leko. The charmed circle of super-GMs no longer remains sacrosanct in the chess arena. Radjabov continues to make progress, claiming the scalp of one World Champion in each tournament. At Linares it was Kasparov. At Dortmund it’s Anand. The return of Morozevich with the victory at Biel should warm the cockles of his admirers’ hearts. He has few peers in original and imaginative play. However, the lack of solidity in his play enabled Peter Svidler to claim the title in the Russian Championship. Judit Polgar’s Rapid Match against Gelfand was a disaster with the latter prevailing over her by superior technique (Gelfand won by the score of 6:2). Her match against Anand was more closely fought with the latter winning by a score of 5:3. Judit’s own career is at crossroads with happy domesticity on the one hand and newer challenges on her own turf from GMs like Leko on the other. This volume continues the Informant tradition of a tribute to a veteran grandmaster with a selection of his games. Ljubomir Ljubojevic was a brilliant star of the 1970s’ and 1980s’. Along with Albin Planinc and Dragoljub Velimorovic, he led the Yugoslav challenge in various international competitions. His star began to wane only in the 1990s’. During the last decade this lively grandmaster has been a welcome visitor to the Melody Amber Tournament (He won the 2nd Melody Amber Tournament way back in 1993). The present volume offers 15 complete games, 14 theoretical novelties, 18 combinations and 9 endings from Ljubojevic’s oeuvre. The final combination of the game Larsen-Ljubojevic, Milan 1975, makes for a striking finish. [Ed. - Enjoy the complete game in our Annotated Games section.] Larsen-Ljubojevic
27… Qf2!! 0-1 Black has 3 pieces en prise and none can be captured. White's weakness on the first rank seals his fate. The CD carries the free lite version of the Chess Informant Expert (CIE), which can also be downloaded from the publisher’s site. While the print version has 490 games and fragments, the CD has 951 games and fragments. The difference is on account of including complete games from major tournaments played during this period in the CD version. However, the additional 461 games are only in pgn format. The CD will be a greater asset to players preparing for competitions if all games included have annotations. Similarly it can also provide the entire database of a great player’s games in the Tribute Section. These are value additions recommended for a publication still going strong. Warmly Recommended.
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