Kamsky -- Mamedyarov, FIDE World Cup 2013

Gata Kamsky won a stunning game against a formidable Shakhriyar Mamedyarov this afternoon. Commentator Lawrence Trent calls it the "game of the tournament," as does ChessBase News. Many more able commentators than myself will be looking at this game, which may be remembered for many years.


Kamsky,Gata -- Mamedyarov,Shakhriyar [B82]
FIDE World Cup 2013 Tromsø NOR (4.8), 20.08.2013

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nc6 5.Nc3 Qc7

The most popular move, and played by Mamedyarov at least six times in 2010. It seems likely that Kamsky would have looked at these games in preparation.

6.f4

The fourth most popular move has the highest scoring percentage for White.

Black to move

6...d6

6...a6 is the main line. It is interesting to look at statistics through the opening phase of this game. White's winning percentage continues to increase as they approach the end of theory. Even so, there appear to be excellent resources in Black's position.

7.Be3 Nf6 8.Qf3 a6

Reference Game: 8...Be7 9.0–0–0 0–0 10.Rg1 Nxd4 11.Bxd4 e5 12.fxe5 dxe5 13.Qg3 Rd8 14.Be2 Rxd4 15.Rxd4 Bc5 16.Rc4 Be6 17.Rd1 Bxc4 18.Bxc4 Rd8 19.Nd5 Nxd5 20.Bxd5 Kh8 21.Rf1 f6 22.Kb1 b5 23.Qf3 b4 24.g4 Qb6 25.h4 Be3 26.g5 Bf4 27.gxf6 Qxf6 28.h5 a5 29.a4 Qg5 30.Qe2 Rf8 31.Rh1 Qe7 32.Qa6 Qc5 33.Bb3 Rd8 34.Ka2 Bg5 35.Rf1 Bf4 36.Rd1 Qf8 37.Bd5 Qc5 38.Bb3 Qf8 39.Rh1 Ra8 40.Qb6 Qd8 41.Qe6 Qe8 42.Qd5 Qd8 43.Qb5 Qe8 44.Qe2 Rd8 45.Qa6 Ra8 46.Qb7 Rb8 47.Qc7 Qd8 48.Qc4 Qd6 49.Rh3 Rd8 50.Rd3 Qf8 51.Rd5 Ra8 52.Rd7 Rd8 53.Ra7 Ra8 54.Rf7 Qd6 55.Qb5 Bh6 56.Rd7 Qf6 57.Qd5 1–0 Leko,P (2751) -- Ivanchuk,V (2779) Nice 2009

9.Bd3

Reference Game: 9.0–0–0 Bd7 10.Nb3 Rc8 11.Kb1 b5 12.Bd3 Nb4 13.g4 Bc6 14.g5 Nd7 15.Qf2 g6 16.Rhf1 Bg7 17.f5 Ne5 18.Bb6 Qd7 19.Be2 Qb7 20.Na5 Qb8 21.f6 Bf8 22.a3 Nxc2 23.Kxc2 Bxe4+ 24.Kb3 Ba8 25.Ba7 Qc7 26.Qb6 Qxb6 27.Bxb6 h6 28.Nxb5 Kd7 29.Bd4 Bd5+ 30.Ka4 axb5+ 31.Bxb5+ Bc6 32.Bxe5 Bxb5+ 33.Kxb5 Rc5+ 34.Kb6 Rxe5 35.Rc1 Rxa5 36.Rc7+ Kd8 37.Rfc1 Rc5 38.R1xc5 dxc5 39.Kc6 1–0 Kramnik,V (2807) -- Topalov,V (2743) Monte Carlo 2003

9...Be7 10.0–0 0–0 11.Kh1 Bd7 12.Rae1 b5 13.a3 Rab8

Reference Game: 13...Nxd4 14.Bxd4 Bc6 15.Qg3 g6 16.Qh3 e5 17.Be3 Qb7 18.f5 a5 19.Bh6 Rfe8 20.Bg5 Nh5 21.f6 Bf8 22.Qe3 Rac8 23.Bh6 Bxh6 24.Qxh6 Re6 25.Qg5 b4 26.axb4 axb4 27.Nd1 h6 28.Qh4 Kh7 29.Ne3 Nf4 30.Ng4 h5 31.Nf2 Kh6 32.Nh3 Nxh3 33.Qxh3 d5 34.Qe3+ Kh7 35.g4 dxe4 36.Bc4 Bd5 37.Bxd5 Qxd5 38.gxh5 Rg8 39.Qxe4 Qxe4+ 40.Rxe4 gxh5 0–1 Xu Yuhua (2501) -- Ioseliani,N (2499) Shanghai 2001

13...Rac8 has been played as well.

14.Nxc6 Bxc6 15.Qh3

Black to move

15...Rfd8?N

Stockfish 3 dislikes Shak's move, suddenly evaluating that White has a one pawn advantage.

15...Rbd8 has been played in a handful of games 16.Bd4 e5 17.fxe5 dxe5 18.Nd5 Bxd5 19.Bxe5 Qxe5 20.exd5 Qxb2 21.Rxf6 g6 22.Rxa6 Rxd5 23.Qf3 Re5 ½–½ Borghi,H (2335) -- Varela,G (2273) Buenos Aires 2000

16.Bd2!

This move is of the sort that sets masters apart form the rest of us.

16...d5

"This is the critical moment." Lawrence Trent, Official Website Commentary, with Susan Polgar.

17.e5 Ne4 18.f5!

Kamsky's bishop sacrifice was the only move that maintains an advantage.

Black to move

18...Nxd2

Mamedyarov could have refused the offer of a bishop 18...exf5 19.Qxf5 Bf8 or Rf8 and a complex battle (19...Nxd2?? 20.Qxh7+ Kf8 21.Qh8#). Trent and Polgar thought that 18...Nxd2 was obligatory.

19.fxe6 Ne4 20.exf7+ Kh8 21.Nxd5 Bxd5

White to move

22.Rxe4 g6

22...h6? 23.Qf5+-.
22...Qc6?? leads to the sort of position that one finds in tactics books for beginning players.

23.Ref4?!

Trent thought that 23.Re3 was an easy move to find.

23...Kg7??

23...Qc6 was suggested during Trent and Polgar's commentary following 23.Re3, and was still the correct move after Ref4, according to my engine.

24.e6 Rf8 

24...Bg5 25.f8Q+ Rxf8 26.Rf7+ Qxf7 27.exf7 Rxf7 28.Rxf7+ Bxf7 29.Qd7+-

25.Qe3!

Kamsky shows that his queen can access the long diagonal at many points, and then it is curtains for Black.

Black to move

25...Bc5 26.Qe1 Bd6

Was 26...Be7 better? 27.c4 bxc4 28.Qc3+ Kh6 29.Bxc4.

27.Rh4 Be7 28.Qe3

White's advantage is overwhelming.

Black to move

28...h5

28...Bxh4 29.Qd4+ Kh6 30.Qxh4+ Kg7 31.Qf6+ Kh6 32.Rf4+-.

29.Qd4+

29.Rxh5 was a quicker win 29...gxh5 30.Qd4+ Kh6 31.Rf6+ Kg7 32.Rg6+ Kh7 33.Qg7#

29...Kh6 30.Rxh5+ 1–0

Chess World Cup 2013

Terrific chess is on display at the FIDE World Cup, taking place in Tromsø, Norway. Play began Sunday, 11 August 2013 and continues until September 3. At stake are two slots in the Candidates Tournament, scheduled for March 2014. The winner of the Candidates will become the challenger in a World Championship match.

Interview with Mikhail Markov

I have been following the games on the official website where there is exceptional commentary by GM Susan Polgar and IM Lawrence Trent. Polgar and Trent offer their own analysis without reference to engine evaluations. Their analysis emphasizes aspects of the battles that are instructive to average players: main ideas in the openings, common tactical motifs, checkmate threats, and basic principles in the endgames. As games finish, they often interview some of the players. They answer some questions that viewers Tweet to #chessworldcup.

The event is a 128 player knockout. Each pair plays a mini-match of two standard games of 40 moves in 90 minutes, 30 minutes for the rest of the game, and 30 second increment beginning at move one. If tied after these two, they play two rapid games of 25 minutes, plus increment of 10 seconds per move. If still tied, two accelerated games at 10 minutes with 10 second increment; then two blitz games at 5 minutes with 3 second increment. Finally, if still tied, an Armageddon game where White gets 5 minutes, and Back 4, with 3 second increment beginning at move 61. Black has draw odds in the final game.

In the first round, two matches went as far as the Armageddon game. Tomashevsky -- Ramirez was won by Tomashevsky; Melkumyan -- Granda Zuniga was won by Granda Zuniga, who won with Black. There were many notable upsets through the course of the first three days, and in a few cases the higher rated player did not advance to the second round. More upsets ensued in the second round, where there was a single Armageddon game. In that game, former FIDE World Champion Ruslan Ponomariov fell to Daniil Dubov after eight draws between the two players.

The initial group of 128 players included most of the world's top players matched with a truly global list of competitors. Only one player is untitled, Mikhail Markov (2304). Markov qualified by placing second in the FIDE Zonal tournament in his hometown, Osh, Kyrgyzstan. During an interview after his loss to Levon Aronian (2813) in the first game, he expressed his sense that he was privileged to play in such an event and to be able to play a match with Aronian. He lost 2-0. Women's World Champion, Anna Ushenina (2500) stung Peter Svidler (2746) in their second game, but then fell in the rapid games, losing both. She will be defending her title against former Women's World Champion Hou Yifan (2609) next month. Hou took Alexei Shirov to the tie-breaks before being knocked of of the World Cup.

Selection criteria for players is evident from a document on the FIDE website: four semi-finalists from the 2011 FIDE World Cup, the Women's World Champion, the Junior World Champions of the past two years, 18 players based on average rating on the FIDE rating list (March 2012 to January 2013), 46 players from the European Championships 2012 and 2013, 20 players from the Americas, 20 players from Asia/Oceania, six players from Africa, six nominees of the FIDE President, and four nominees of the local organizing committee.

After the first two rounds, when the field had been narrowed to 32 players, most of those remaining are rated over 2700. A few strong players have been eliminated. More were eliminated in round three, including the top seed, Aronian. He lost with White against Evgeny Tomashevsky (2706). After needing to go to the Armageddon round against Alejandro Ramirez (2588) in the first round, Tomashevsky dispatched Wesley So (2710) 1 1/2-1/2 in round 2. Then, he won with Black in the first game with Aronian. Needing only a draw with White, he sacrificed a pawn to create disharmony among Aronian's forces. Then, he sacrificed a knight to lay bare the Black king.

White to move

Tomashevsky played 19.Nxh7!

The last game of round 3.2 lasted 154 moves, with Alexander Grischuk (2785) finally reaching a Lucena position against Quang Liem Le (2702).

A few sub-2700 players are going home. India's Baskaran Adhiban (2567) was defeated by Hikaru Nakamura 2-0 after Abhiban made it to round three with upset victories over Evgeny Alekseev (2710) and Alexandr Fier (2595). Alexander Moiseenko (2699) lost 1 1/2 - 1/2 to Boris Gelfand. Norwegian Jon Ludvig Hammer (2605) fell 1 1/2 - 1/2 to Gata Kamsky after Magnus Carlsen's former schoolmate knocked out Sergei Movsesian (2699) and David Navara (2715) in rounds one and two.

The current youngest Grandmaster, fourteen year old Wei Yi (2551) held Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (2775) to two draws in the classic games, and will be struggling with his formidable opponent during tomorrow's tie-breaks. Wei defeated Ian Nepomniachtchi (2723) and Alexei Shirov (2696) enroute to round three. Daniil Dubov (2624) will be playing tie-breaks with Anton Korobov (2720). Others going to tie-breaks: Alexsey Dreev (2668) has two draws with Dmitry Andreikin (2716), Yuriy Kryvoruchko (2678) has two draws against Vassily Ivanchuk (2731), and Julio Granda Zuniga (2664) exchanged wins with Anish Giri (2737).

Tomorrow's tie-breaks promise more exciting chess. Perhaps another match or two will remain tied through the rapid, accelerated, and blitz. Perhaps a few of the under-2700 players will advance to round four: Chess's Sweet Sixteen!

Rules of Chess: Castling

Lesson of the Week

Note: The main lesson for all students this week concerned a rules violation. In addition, some of the advanced students received instruction in pawn endgames. See "Opposition and Outflanking."

This position was reached in a recent scholastic tournament that I directed. Players at these tournaments range in skill from those who compete with success against strong club players (over 1400 USCF) on the one hand, to players just beginning the game and sometimes unfamiliar with such rules as castling and en passant.

Black to move

 
The player recording the moves wrote 11...O-O (castle kingside), which is an illegal move. The FIDE Laws of Chess explain the rule clearly.

There are two different ways of moving the king:
by moving to any adjoining square not attacked by one or more of the opponent’s pieces or by ‘castling’. This is a move of the king and either rook of the same colour along the player’s first rank, counting as a single move of the king and executed as follows: the king is transferred from its original square two squares towards the rook on its original square, then that rook is transferred to the square the king has just crossed.

The right to castle has been lost: if the king has already moved, or with a rook that has already moved.Castling is prevented temporarily: if the square on which the king stands, or the square which it must cross, or the square which it is to occupy, is attacked by one or more of the opponent's pieces, or if there is any piece between the king and the rook with which castling is to be effected.
FIDE Handbook

In this youth game, neither the king nor rook has moved. The king is not in check, nor is moving into check. But, the square the king crosses over (f8) is attacked by the bishop on d6. Castling is not permitted.

In this case, the player recording the moves knew about castling, and even knew how to write the move in chess notation. However, this player either did not know one key element of the rule, or failed to see that it was violated in this instance.

Perpetual Check

I often hear it stated that one of the ways the rules of chess facilitate a draw, or result with no winner is perpetual check. In fact, there is nothing in the rules about this option. Rather, the rules of chess provide for a draw by repetition.

9.2 The game is drawn upon a correct claim by the player having the move, when the same position, for at least the third time (not necessarily by a repetition of moves):
a. is about to appear, if he first writes his move on his scoresheet and declares to the arbiter his intention to make this move, or
b. has just appeared, and the player claiming the draw has the move.
FIDE Handbook, http://www.fide.com/fide/handbook.htm

US Chess Federation Rules, under which I play, are similar.

Perpetual check is not a rule, but a means to draw by repetition. When a player is unable to avoid endless checks, he or she has no way to avoid draw by repetition.

In one of the variations given in Judit Polgar's annotations to her brilliant win against Levan Pantsulaia in the eighth round of the European Individual Championship, she offered this position after an oversight by Black. See yesterday's "King Safety" for the game.

In the game, Polgar played 31...e3. This position arises after the alternative 31...Qa4+ 32.Nb3, and then instead of the necessary 32...e3, the blunder 32...cxb3.

White to move

White can endlessly check the Black king from f5 and c8. A beautiful attack ran aground because the Black king, too, was vulnerable.

Teaching the Rules of Chess

A Beginner's Confusion

At a youth tournament yesterday, I was called in by a judge to deal with a case where one player insisted that he had checkmated his opponent. The checkmated player did not understand that he was in checkmate. I had taught him to play when I taught the game in his first or second grade classroom. As a second grader, he was part of an in-school chess club that I run. Now in third grade, he is part of an after-school club. I continue to teach the basic rules in these clubs. Some of these children do not play chess at home.

The diagram below shows the essentials of the position. There were perhaps another dozen pieces on the board, more white than black.

Black to move

I asked him to show me where his king could legally move. The youth's argument was thus: if I move to f7 and he leaves his queen there, I can capture the queen on the next move. Can the queen capture your king, I asked. "No, you're not allowed to capture the king," he replied. But, I told him, you're not allowed to move your king where it may be captured. Is there any square where your king can move that it cannot be captured? We went a few rounds with this conversation before he acknowledged that he was indeed in checkmate.


Teaching the Rules

How does one explain the king's movement, check, and checkmate to young children? Do many chess teachers say that a player cannot capture the king? I've heard chess coaches tell children, "you cannot capture the king, you must checkmate him." I have expressed the basic rules in terms of a paradox: the object is to capture the king, but the king cannot be captured.

FIDE Rule 1.2 supports this notion:

Leaving one’s own king under attack, exposing one’s own king to attack and also "capturing" the opponent’s king are not allowed. The opponent whose king has been checkmated has lost the game.
FIDE Handbook, http://www.fide.com/fide/handbook

How does this prohibition against capturing the opponent's king function? If it is possible to capture the king, what must be done? If the king is in checkmate, the game is over. But, what do we do if the players failed to notice the check? What may be done if the player moved into check?

FIDE Rules, Article 7 addresses irregularities, including illegal moves.

If during a game it is found that an illegal move, including failing to meet the requirements of the promotion of a pawn or capturing the opponent’s king, has been completed, the position immediately before the irregularity shall be reinstated. (7.4.a)

After the action taken under Article 7.4.a, for the first two illegal moves by a player the arbiter shall give two minutes extra time to his opponent in each instance; for a third illegal move by the same player, the arbiter shall declare the game lost by this player. (7.4.b)

The position prior to the illegal move must be restored, and the game recommence by a legal move. In classrooms, I teach the children to politely request that their opponent recognize the check, take back the illegal move, and make a move that does not leave the king in check.

Sometimes the children learn these rules incompletely.

Karpov for President

The more I learn about Anatoly Karpov, the more I like him. Hence, I am passing on his campaign statement from the ChessBase News site.

ANATOLY KARPOV FOR FIDE PRESIDENT


*A new direction requires new leadership
International chess needs a new direction and this can only happen under new leadership. Mr Karpov wants to lead a program of unity and positive change. His great experience as a chess champion and UNICEF Ambassador make him the ideal leader to return the sport to prominence on the global stage.

*International support at every level
Mr Karpov’s status and dedication will allow him to be an agent for unity in the chess world. He has already attracted support worldwide as well as a leadership team and advisory panel of unmatched experience and international character.

*Ending the crisis with a return to FIDE’s roots
Chess is in crisis today because FIDE has become disconnected from its foundations: the federations and the players. Mr Karpov believes that support for our new direction must come from below, to benefit the many, not from above to benefit the few.

*Turn chess into a modern, professional sport
Chess has great potential as a commercially viable sport. It has lagged in this development because the current FIDE administration has harmed the reputation of the sport and shown no interest or aptitude for modernization and professionalization. Mr Karpov believes chess requires leadership that understands why professionalization is essential and how to build a team to achieve it.

*The ability to unite and mobilize the community
Chess has limitless potential and great resources among its millions of supporters and players around the world. Mr Karpov has the unique capacity to attract and lead these human resources for the benefit of chess federations and players throughout the world.

GOALS FOR A NEW FIDE

*UNITY. The FIDE motto Gens Una Sumus, “We are one family” must be taken seriously. This can be done by providing channels of communication and community among federations and players using modern technology and by keeping the FIDE leadership’s doors wide open to feedback and new ideas. FIDE cannot afford to once again ignore the needs of its members the day after the election.

*TRANSPARENCY AND INTEGRITY. Without these elements there is no trust from potential business partners or from member federations and players. These crucial relationships cannot be built without new leadership at the top in FIDE.

*RESPONSIVENESS. This campaign and Mr Karpov’s administration will emphasize communication and responsiveness with the global chess community we serve. We want to know what the federations and their members want and need from FIDE and to create a continuous and open dialogue.

*COMMERCIALIZATION AND SPONSORSHIP. Art, science, and sport, chess is also a hugely marketable commodity. FIDE’s current administration has failed to exploit this to the benefit of member federations and players. No one knows better than Mr Karpov the great potential for chess as a professional sport. For nearly three decades he battled for the world championship in many of the world’s great capitals. FIDE must professionalize its operations in order to develop mutually beneficial ties with commercial sponsors around the world.

*GRASSROOTS GROWTH AND CONNECTIVITY. The elite events we all enjoy cannot be sustained without growth and support from the grassroots in every corner of the globe. That worldwide involvement is our most precious resource and it has been squandered for too long by FIDE’s administration. The international federation’s resources should be put to work bringing member organizations and members together to better promote the game.