THE YOUNGEST GRANDMASTER

By Rolly J. Sol Cruz

The Kid

Sergey Karjakin of Ukraine was only 12 years old when he became a Grandmaster in 2002, making him the youngest ever in history. Becoming a Grandmaster in chess is like being drafted in the NBA where one must pass through the proverbial eye of the needle. But achieving it as a mere gradeschooler was previously unthinkable in chess and mission impossible in NBA, even for a celebrated top pick like highschool phenom LeBron “King” James.

The Grandmaster Title

Becoming a Grandmaster is no walk in the park. And no flash in the pan, either. As Clint Eastwood said in the spaghetti western trilogy The Good, The Bad and The Ugly, “We’re gonna have to earn it.” A chess player is awarded the title after obtaining three (3) GM norms. In order to obtain a GM norm a player must play at least 3 Grandmasters and have a performance of over 2600 rating in a tournament of at least 9 rounds with players from at least 4 different countries. And to put things in perspective, there are about 800 Grandmasters in the world but only three (3) are Filipinos; Eugene Torre, Joey Antonio and Bong Villamayor.

The Records

Previous holders of this “Youngest Ever” distinction were:

a) David Bronstein of Russia at 26 years old in 1950,

b) Tigran Petrosian of Russia at 24 years old in 1953 and who became the 9^th World Champion in 1963,

c) Boris Spassky of Russia at 18 years old in 1955 and who became the 10th World Champion in 1969,

d) Robert Fischer of USA at 15 years & 6 months in 1958 and who became the 11th World Champion in 1972

e) Judit Polgar of Hungary at 15 years & 4 months in 1991

f) Peter Leko of Hungary at 14 years & 4 months in 1994

g) Etienne Bacrot of France at 14 years & 2 months in 1997

h) Ruslan Ponomariov of Ukraine at 14 years & 17 days in 1997 and who became the 16^th World Champion in 2002 and

i) Bu Xiangzhi of China at 13 years & 10 months in 1999.

To be so young and be able to play chess this well is unheard of. His goal is to become a World Champion at the age of 16 or by 2006.

The Game

Sergei Karjakin – Alexie Shirov

Benidorm, Spain 2002

Alexie Shirov, originally from Latvia but is now playing for Spain, is ranked No. 5 in the latest FIDE List. In 1998, he earned the right to challenge Kasparov for the PCA Championship when he took Vladimir Kramnik to school with a score of 2 wins and 8 draws. However, lack of sponsors resulted to the cancellation of the match. But in 2000, he returned to the fold of FIDE and qualified for the World Championship Finals against Vishwanatan Anand of India, who gave him a dose of his own medicine with a 3.5 to 0.5 drubbing.

Ukraine is a country in eastern Europe which borders the Black Sea to the south and its currency is Hryvnia. Latvia is in Northeastern Europe bordering the Baltic Sea with Lat as its currency. Spain is a country in the southwest of Europe bounded to the east by Mediterranean Sea and its currency is Spanish Euro. It is the home of Pablo Picasso whose famous work is the “Guarnica”; a painting depicting the aftermath of the aerial bombing practice by the Germans in 1937.

1. e4 c5

The Sicilian Defence, said to be the most dreaded reply to 1.e4.

2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 e5

The seldom used Lowenthal Variation (Code B32 in Encyclopedia of Chess Openings) that was popularized by Johann Jacob Lowenthal (1810-1876), considered the best opening theorist of his day. However, the 4. … e5 novelty was introduced in match between Alexander McDonnell (1798-1835) of Ireland and Louis Charles Mahe de Labourdonnais (1797-1840) of France; London 1834.

Alternatives are the moves 4…. a6 - Kan, 4…. g6 - Accelerated Dragon, 4. … Qb6 - Godiva and 4…. Qc7 – Flohr Variation. A similar set-up, with a delayed “… e5” move, is the more popular Lasker Defence (4. … Nf6 5. Nc3 e5; also called Pelikan or Sveshnikov).

Shirov has a record of 3 draws, 2 wins and 4 losses with the Sicilian Lowenthal.

5. Nb5

This is an improvement from the original reply of 5. Nc6 in the McDonnell-Labourdonnais game. The moves 5. Nb3 and 5. Nf5 allows black to equalize easily through 5. … Bb4+ and 5. … d5, respectively.

5. … d6

Normally, opening variations are named after its originator; the Torre Gambit in the Ruy Lopez was named after our very own Eugene Torre. Some are named after the place where it was unveiled; the Scheveningen Variation in the Sicilian Defence was unleashed by Euwe in a tournament in that resort town in Holland. Others are named after the player who popularized it like the Lowenthal. However, this particular line is revolutionary, literally and figuratively. It was called Kalashnikov Variation of the Lowenthal; one of the most modern sub-variations of the Sicilian Defence. The line of attack was named after the Soviet submachine gun, the AK-47, on account of its string of quick-fire wins recorded in the 1990’s.

6. N1c3

Shirov lost two (2) games against the move 6. c4 vs. Polgar; Buenos Aires 1994 and vs. Topalov; Monte Carlo 2003. Former World Champion Anand favors the move 6. c4 vs. Radjabov; Dortmund 2003 and vs. Ponomariov; Linares 2002 and Wijk ann Zee 2003.

Spain’s rising star Francisco Vallejo, World Junior Champion in 2000, lost with the wild 6. Bc4 vs Shirov; Spanish Championship; Ayamonte 2002.

A very sharp line is the move 6. Bg5 that is most suited for the coming fiestas for its fireworks.

6. … a6 7. Na3 b5 8. Nd5 Nce7

It is interesting to note that Shirov, on the white side, previously won against this same move vs Annageldyev and vs. Fedorov; Istanbul Olympiad 2000. But he likewise suffered his 3^rd loss, on the black side, with the Kalashnikov with the move 7. … Nf6 vs. Anand; Linares 2002.

9. c4 Nxd5 10. exd5

Personally, it seems that 10. cxd5 gives a solid central pawn formation. But a chess game is like a job, none personal.

10. … bxc4 11. Nxc4 Nf6

Karjakin won against this move vs Kosteniuk; Brissago 2003. In another encounter, Kosteniuk varied with 11…. Be7; Laussane 2003, but with the same favorable result for The Kid.

12. Be3 Rb8 13. Be2 Be7 14. a4

Checks are not honored in this establishment.

14. … O-O

Safety First. Removing the King from the hazardous environment.

15. O-O

Survey says that there is an 83% occurrence of this “same-side castling” theme in Lowenthal games.

15. … Bb7 16. Nb6 Nd7 17. a5 f5 18 .f3 Nxb6 19. Bxb6 Qd7 20. b4 Bd8 21. Be3

A novelty by the youngster. Previously, White obtained a slight advantage with either 21. Bxd8 or 21. Bf2. In another western film, Maverick, Mel Gibson said, “He who fights and runs away can run away another day.”

21… Bf6 22. Rb1 Rbc8 23. b5

Exploiting the minor. Advancing his pawn majority to create a passed pawn.

23. … axb5 24. Rxb5 e4

Trying to bully the kid.

25. fxe4 Rfe8 26. Rb4! Bc3 27. Bb5

No less than Super “Pono” Mariov has described Karjakin as a tactical genius.

27. … Qd8 28. Bxe8 Bxb4 29. Bc6!

Blockade. A chess philosophy of another man from Latvia, Aaron Nimzovich (1886-1935), author of the most instructive chess books of all time; “My System”.

29. … Ba6 30. Rxf5 Bxa5 31. h3 Rb8 32. Kh2 g6?! 33. Bg5

The start of a new day for the bishop, thus a new role – attacking the enemy Queen. A Queen does not deserve such a threat but Clint Eastwood as an ageing bounty hunter in the western movie Unforgiven says, “Deserves got nothing to do with it.”

33. … Qc7 34. Rf3 Rb4 35. Bh6

The bridal entourage arrives.

35. … Rb8 36. Qa1

Ole. The Queen moves, at last.

36. … Be2 37. Rf2 Bd3 38. Qf6

Here comes the bride. The 4^th loss of Shirov with the Kalashnikov Variation of the Sicilian Lowenthal. As Burt Lancaster said in the ultimate western classic Gunfight at the O.K. Coral, “There’s always a man faster on the draw than you are. The more you use a gun, the sooner you’re gonna run into that man.” But for Shirov, that man is just a new kid in town.

Related Games

The Legend; McDonnell – Labourdonnais, Match 4 Round 16 (Game 62) London; 1834

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 e5 5.Nxc6 bxc6 6.Bc4 Nf6 7.Bg5 Be7 8.Qe2 d5 9.Bxf6 Bxf6 10.Bb3 O-O 11.O-O a5 12.exd5 cxd5 13.Rd1 d4 14.c4 Qb6 15.Bc2 Bb7 16.Nd2 Rae8 17.Ne4 Bd8 18.c5 Qc6 19.f3 Be7 20.Rac1 f5

21.Qc4+ Kh8 22.Ba4 Qh6 23.Bxe8 fxe4 24.c6 exf3 25.Rc2 Qe3+ 26.Kh1 Bc8 27.Bd7 f2 28.Rf1 d3 29.Rc3 Bxd7 30.cxd7 e4 31.Qc8 Bd8 32.Qc4 Qe1 33.Rc1 d2 34.Qc5 Rg8 35.Rd1 e3 36.Qc3 Qxd1 37.Rxd1 e2 0-1

The Manila Edition; Kamsky – Piasetski, Interzonal; Manila 1990

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 e5 5. Nb5 d6 6. c4 Be7 7. N1c3 Be6 8. Be2 a6 9. Na3 Bg5 10. Nc2 Bxc1 11. Rxc1 Nf6 12. O-O O-O 13. Qd2 Qb6 14. b3 Rfd8 15. Kh1 Rac8 16. Nd5 Bxd5 17. exd5 Ne7 18. f4 Ng6 19. fxe5 Ne4 20. Qe1 Nxe5 21. Rf4 Nc5 22. Qg3 Re8 23. Bh5 Ng6 24. Bxg6 hxg6 25. Rcf1 Ne4 26. Qd3 Nf6 27. Qh3 g5 28. Rf5 g4 29. Qh4 Rc7 30. Rxf6 gxf6 31. Qxg4+ Kf8 32. Nd4 Re5 33. Nf5 Qf2 34. Qg7+ Ke8 35. Qg8+ Kd7 36. Qxf7+ Kc8 37. Qf8+ Kd7 38. Qxd6+ Kc8 39. Qf8+ Kd7 40. Qf7+ Kc8 41. Qg8+ Kd7 42. Qe6+ Kd8 43. Rxf2 1-0

The World Champion; Ponomariov – Zubarev, 3rd Rector Cup; Kharkov 2001

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 e5 5. Nb5 d6 6. c4 Be7 7. b3 f5 8. exf5 Nf6 9. Bd3 e4 10. Be2 Bxf5 11. O-O a6 12. Nd4 Nxd4 13. Qxd4 O-O 14. Nc3 Qe8 15. Bf4 Rd8 16. Rad1 Kh8 17. f3 Qg6 18. fxe4 Nxe4 19. Nd5 Bh3 20. Bf3 Ng5 21. Qd2 Nxf3+ 22. Rxf3 Bg4 23. Nxe7 Qh5 24. Rdf1 Bxf3 25. Rxf3 Rde8 26. Rh3 Qg4 27. Qd3 h5 28. Ng6+ Kg8 29. Nxf8 1-0

The New Kid in Town; Karjakin – Kosteniuk, Dannemann Match; Brissago 2003

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 e5 5. Nb5 d6 6. N1c3 a6 7. Na3 b5 8. Nd5 Nce7 9. c4 Nxd5 10. exd5 bxc4 11. Nxc4 Nf6 12. Be3 Rb8 13. Be2 Be7 14. a4 O-O 15. O-O Bb7 16. Nb6 Nd7 17. a5 f5 18. f3 Nxb6 19. Bxb6 Qd7 20. b4 Bd8 21. Be3 Bf6 22. Rb1 Qf7 23. Bc4 Rfc8 24. Qd3 Ra8 25. Rfc1 Qh5 26. Bb3 Bg5 27. Qd2 Bxe3+ 28. Qxe3 Qf7 29. Qb6 Bxd5 30. Qxa6 Rxc1+ 31. Rxc1 Rxa6 32. Rc8+ Qe8 33. Rxe8+ Kf7 34. Ra8 1-0

Sources

Batsford Chess Opening, Bussiness World’s Chess Piece, Chess Master 8000, Encyclopedia of Chess Openings, Chess Today, Chess Express, Chess Game and Chess Base.

For comments/suggestions, please e-mail “rjsolcruz@meralco.com.ph”.J

Pope John Paul II

As we write, one of the largest gatherings in human history is taking place in the city of Rome, where over four million devotees have assembled to bid farewell to Pope John Paul II, who died on April 2nd. In his youth the Polish head of the Catholic church was a polyglot athlete, actor, playwright, and, some believe, an avid chess player.

http://www.chessbase.com/newsdetail.asp?newsid=2316

CHESS MATE: CARLSEN, Prodigy of Wijk

by GM Bong VILLAMAYOR

AFTER Grandmaster Anand Viswanathand’s triumph in the main tournament, a resounding Wijk Ann Zee became more successful with Norwegian 13 year-old IM Carlsen Magnus dominating the ‘C’ tournament.

Winning the event with 10.5 points in 13 games, the young prodigy overachieved the GM result by 1.5 points plus delivering a performance rating of 2702! With four Grandmasters, five International Masters, he was the youngest participant and only seeded ninth.

His great triumph will be closely followed as he qualifies for the ‘B’ tournament next year. IM Magnus’ mentor Norway’s greatest player GM Simen Agdestein mentions “it is still hard to predict the future of such child prodigies; it all depends on how they study and train.’

Let us see some of his games.

Pavlovic,M (2548)—Carlsen,M (2484) [B31]

GMC Wijk aan Zee NED (3), 13.01.2004

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 g6 4.0–0 Bg7 5.Re1 Nf6 6.Nc3 0–0 7.e5 Ng4 8.Bxc6 dxc6 9.h3 Nh6 10.Ne4 b6 11.d3 f6 12.Bxh6 Bxh6 13.Qe2 f5 14.Neg5 Bxg5 15.Nxg5 h6 16.Nf3 Be6 17.Rad1 Kh7 18.c4 b5 19.cxb5 cxb5 20.d4 c4 21.d5 Bxd5 22.e6 Qd6 23.Qd2 Rad8 24.Qa5 Qb6 25.Qb4 Rfe8 26.Ne5 a5 27.Qa3 b4 28.Qg3 Qxe6 29.Nxc4 Bxc4 30.Rxe6 Rxd1+ 31.Kh2 Bxe6 32.Qc7 Rd5 33.Qc6 Bf7 0–1

Carlsen,M (2484)—Popov,V (2580) [B97]

GMC Wijk aan Zee NED (4), 14.01.2004

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Bg5 e6 7.f4 Qb6 8.Qd2 Qxb2 9.Rb1 Qa3 10.f5 Nc6 11.fxe6 fxe6 12.Nxc6 bxc6 13.e5 Nd5 14.Nxd5 cxd5 15.Bd3 dxe5 16.0–0 Be7 17.Kh1 e4 18.Be2 Rf8 19.c4 dxc4 20.Rxf8+ Kxf8 21.Qf4+ Ke8 22.Rf1 Ra7 23.Qf7+ Kd7 24.Rd1+ Kc6 25.Qe8+ Kb6 26.Qxc8 1–0

Gagunashvili,M (2583)—Carlsen,M (2484) [D15]

GMC Wijk aan Zee NED (7), 18.01.2004

1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Nc3 a6 5.a4 e6 6.Bg5 Nbd7 7.a5 dxc4 8.e4 h6 9.Bh4 Bb4 10.Qa4 Bxc3+ 11.bxc3 g5 12.Bg3 Nxe4 13.Qxc4 Nxg3 14.hxg3 c5 15.Be2 cxd4 16.Rd1 dxc3 17.Qxc3 Qf6 18.Qb4 Qe7 19.Rd6 Nf6 20.Qd4 e5 21.Nxe5 Be6 22.f4 Rd8 23.Qa4+ Kf8 24.Rxd8+ Qxd8 25.fxg5 Nd5 26.gxh6 Qg5 27.Qa3+ Ke8 28.Rh5 Qf6 29.Bd1 Ne7 30.Qf3 Nf5 31.Ba4+ Kf8 32.Qa3+ Kg8 33.Ng4 Qd4 34.Bd1 Kh7 35.Be2 Re8 36.Qd3 Qg1+ 37.Kd2 Rc8 38.Bf1 Qc5 39.Ne3 Qc1+ 40.Ke2 Rc3 41.Qxc3 Qxc3 42.Nxf5 Bc4+ 43.Kf2 Qd2+ 44.Kg1 Bxf1 0–1

Barendse,T (2206)—Carlsen,M (2484) [B79] GMC Wijk aan Zee NED (11), 23.01.2004

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 g6 6.Be3 Bg7 7.f3 0–0 8.Qd2 Nc6 9.Bc4 Bd7 10.0–0–0 Qa5 11.Bb3 Rfc8 12.g4 Ne5 13.Kb1 b5 14.Nd5 Qxd2 15.Rxd2 Nxd5 16.exd5 a5 17.a3 Rab8 18.c3 b4 19.axb4 axb4 20.cxb4 Rxb4 21.Rf1 Bb5 22.Rff2 Nd3 23.Nxb5 Rxb3 24.Nd4 Bxd4 25.Bxd4 Nxf2 26.Rxf2 Rd3 27.Bc3 Rcxc3 28.bxc3 Rxc3 29.Re2 Kf8 0–1

For comments, inquiries & suggestions e-mail to bongv_ph@yahoo.com.

ANAK NG MERALCO

Father and Son
Jose Raul Capablanca (3rd World Champion), Max Euwe (5th World Champion), Vassily Smyslov (7th World Champion) and Ruslan Ponomariov (16th World Champion) have one thing in common. They all learned chess from their fathers. Raul and Max learned the moves at the age of four (4), Vassily at six (6) and Ruslan at seven (7). The fatherly influence probably shaped them into what they grew up to; strict adherence to the basic laws of the game and ruthless in punishing the slightest mistake of their opponents. This father and son bonding could do wonders. As was said in The Guns of Navarone,"There's no guarantee but the theory is perfectly feasible".

MERALCO Chess Team
The late Atty. Jose Balaoing and the now retired Teodoro Aguila fathered the Meralco Chess Team that won an unprecedented five (5) consecutive championships in ESAP, a 2nd place finish in a National Championship and a 3rd place finish in a Commercial Tournament in the 1990's. The Meralco "Grandmasters" who are still with the Company are Gerry Cabellon (now a National Master) of Inspection, Danny Soque of Dasmarinas Sector, Darryl Mata of Sta. Rosa Sector, Eric Enriquez of Finance, Raymund Domingo, Norlito Bersamina & Albert Casiano of Branches, Ruben Lagrimas of Office Services, Ronald Mallari of Valenzuela Sector, Noel Pinano of CRMO and your author of Customer Process Management.

Anak ng Meralco
One of these "GMs" passed on the love of the game to his sons. The man is Norlito Bersamina of Pasay Extension Office whose eldest son Joshua plays for the UE Junior Varsity Team while his youngest son Paulo, who turned 6 years old last February, already plays like a wizard as shown in the featured game.

Paulo Bersamina vs Steven Fulchen
National Age Group Asian Qualifier
June 2004

1. e4 c5
Black's move signals the Sicilian Defence, the most popular defensive system nowadays. It originated from Italy and got its name from Greco in the 16th century.

2. Ne2
This strange looking move is played in less than 1% of the Sicilian Defence. It was popularized by the legendary Paul Keres of Estonia in the 1940's, hence called the Keres Variation and some opening books referred to it as Chameleon Variation.

In the 1958 Munich Olympiad, Walther of Switzerland tried the move against Mikhail Tal of USSR, who was nicknamed "The Magician" just like our Efren "Bata" Reyes. Living up to his reputation, Tal sacrificed a knight right on the 11th move and won!

In the 1967 "Beat Bobby Fischer" series sponsored by MERALCO, Fischer electrified the variation vs Renato Naranja (1-0) of the Philippines.

In the 1974 Nice Olympiad, Rosendo Balinas, our 2nd GM, "sent" the Keres move against Ciocaltea of Romania, Puhm of France and Najdorf of Argentina.

In the 1975 Melbourne Zonal, Balinas won with the Keres move vs Cornford of New Zealand (1-0) that became part of the longest winning streak for a Filipino in an international competion at 7 games (6 wins and 1 draw). The record is 93 games set by former World Champion Mikhail Tal.

In 2004, Nelson Mariano, aided by the Keres move, nailed his 2nd GM norm with a draw over Alexei Kuzmin in the Dubai Open. He completed the required norm and became our 5th Grandmaster with a win with the Keres move over Aung Thant Zin in the Bangkok ASEAN Masters.

Another strange line is the move 2. c3 known as the Alapin Variation popularized in 1898 by the Slavic master Simon Alapin. It is the pet variation of our Two Towers; Eugenio Torre and Rogelio Antonio, our country's 1st and 3rd GM, respectively.

Stranger is the knight move of 2. Nc3; referred to as the Closed Sicilian that Frank Sinatra may have inspired. It opened the lines for Antonio in knocking-off Kozak in Round 1 of the 1999 Las Vegas World Championship Elimination.

Of course, de rigueur is the move 2. Nf3 which was originally called as the King's Knight Variation. It is played in 81% of the Sicilian with a 35% winning average.

2. ... d6
Black refuses the Keres Variation which should continue with 2. ... Nf6 3. Nc3 d5.

3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 g6
Enter the Dragon ! The game transposed to the most direct counter-attacking scheme, the Dragon Variation. It got its name in 1901 from a Russian chess player and astronomer named Chotimirsky who noticed the apparent resemblance between the Dragon Constellation and the pawn configuration d6-e7-f7-g6-h7. No, it did not came from Bruce Lee nor Ramon Zamora.

However, the variation may have existed much much earlier in the Middle-Earth as aluded to by Gandalf, the Gray Wizard in the Fellowship of the Ring, who said, "If you were referring to the incident with the DRAGON, I was barely involved."

It debuted in the World Championship Match in 1909 where challenger David Janowsky was burned by the fire-breathing dragon of World Champion Emanuel Lasker in Paris. Lasker also used it twice in the 1910 World Championship Match against Schlechter.

It re-appeared in the 1958 Moscow Finals where World Champion Vassily Smyslov slayed the dragon of former World Champion Mikhail Botvinnik. And its power became a legend.

Its legend became myth until former World Champion Gary Kasparov rekindled its flame in the 1995 New York PCA Finals vs Viswanathan Anand.

In the 2001 Gausdal Classics, our Arianne Caoili rode on the Dragon to beat GM Hersvik, her first GM scalp.

Danny Soque, Bong Mallari and Ruben Lagrimas breeds this dragon in their repertoire. And Danny is a full-blooded Oragon.

6. Be3
Basically, these moves follows the First Rule of Chess; Sortez Les Pieces. Technically, the move is known as the Yugoslav Attack as in Anand vs Kasparov in 1995 New York, Kasparov vs Topalov in 1995 Amsterdam, Adams vs Tiviakov in Wijk aan Zee 1996 among others.

It is amazing to see kids follow the book lines; the summation of what is generally considered as best for both sides.

Other lines are 6. Be2 (Classical Variation) 6. Bb5+ (Korchnoi Variation), 6. f4 (Levinfish-Flohr Variation) and 6. g3 (Dragon Twin?).

6. ... Bg7 7. Qd2
This rarely played move, which has a 45% winning average, was played by Anand in the said 1995 PCA Finals.

However, the popular move is 7. f3 and is played 45% of the time with a winning average of 46%. In the 1968 Lugano Olympiad, Balinas won with this line vs Sardinha of Portugal.

7. ... Nc6 8. Nxc6
A rare continuation that Smyslov adopted in the 1958 Finals.

8. ... bxc6 9. Bh6 O-O 10. h3
Another World Champion's move! In one of the earliest Dragon sighting, the move was played right on the 6th move by World Champion Lasker against William Napier in the 1904 Cambridge Springs; said to be one of the most complicated game ever played.

10. ... Bb7 11. g4 c5 12. f3
This is the Yugoslav Attack, from here to eternity.

12. ... Re8 13. h4 Qb6 14. Rb1 Nd7 15. Bxg7 Kxg7 16. h5 Nf6 17. hxg6 fxg6 18. Qh6+
Start spreading the news!

18. ... Kg8 19. Bc4+ e6 20. f4 d5 21. e5 Nxg4 22. Qh7+
The old black magic!

22. ... Kf8 23. Qh8 Ke7 24. Rh7
And now, the end is near.

24. ... Kd8 25. Qg7 Nxe5 26. fxe5 Bc6 27. Nxd5 exd5 28. Bxd5 Qa5+ 29. Kd1 Qb6 30. Bxc6 Qxc6 31. c4 Re6 32. Rh8 Re8 33. Rh7 Qf3+ 34. Kc2 Qg2+ 35. Kb3 Rb8+ 36. Ka3 Qf3+ 37. b3 Qc6 38. Rd1+ Kc8 39. Rd7 Qa6+ 40. Kb2 Rb7 41. Rc7+ Kb8 42. Rxb7+ Ka8 43. Rxa7 Kb8 44. Qc7# 1-0.

Paulo wrote the record of this game in algebraic notation.

Dr. Jose Rizal was right! Ang kabataan ang pag-asa ng bayan.


Sources:
Lasker's Manual of Chess, Mikhail Tal's Best Games of Chess, Fine's The Ideas Behind The Chess Openings, Bobby Ang's Chess Piece series, Chess Asia's Olympiad Series, World Championship Matches, Batsford's Chess Openings and de Firmian's Modern Chess Openings.

For complaints and suggestions, please e-mail the author at rjsolcruz@meralco.com.ph.