Your judgement, please - Pt. 38

Retirado do site Chessbase.com.

The huge space advantage...
01.01.2010 – ... of White in the diagram position was obvious, yet with 24...Qb6 Black had produced the double threat 25...Bxa3 and 25...Nxe5 26.Bxe5 Rxe5. How would you assess the position now?
A) White can win material;
B) he is optically better, but there is nothing concrete;
C) looks are deceptive, the first player is on the defence.

The solution is here, but first ponder over it with a larger version of the diagram.

Position after 24...Qb6
A) White can win material;
B) he is optically better, but there is nothing concrete;
C) looks are deceptive, the first player is on the defence.

André Diamante é o mais novo talento do xadrez brasileiro

Retirado do R7.

Assista à matéria da TV Record com o GM e ex-campeão brasileiro André Diamant. A reportagem é de Adriana Bittar, do programa Esporte Fantástico. André Diamante campeão brasileiro de xadrez, foi para a rua enfrentar desafio de xadrez na cidade.

Assista em: http://videos.r7.com/andre-diamante-e-o-mais-novo-talento-do-xadrez-brasileiro/idmedia/f731ec40a17e609c8e0a5112816bfc24.html

Your judgement, please - Pt. 37

Retirado do site Chessbase.com.

The pawn roller
31.12.2009 – After the final rounds of the Russian Championship, our endgames expert Karsten Müller casts an eye back at the remarkable and extremely original endgame Timofeev-Khismatullin from round five. The position in the diagram arose after 50.bxa5, after which the two black rooks had to take up the fight against four linked passed pawns and a knight – and it turned out to be hopeless for them.

Karsten Müller shows you for CBM Online how this unusual position came about and how the game ended.

Position after 50.bxa5

Your judgement, please - Pt. 36

Retirado do site Chessbase.com.

Both kings threatened by discovered check...
28.12.2009 – ... was the situation in this recent game from the German Bundesliga, where White to play had to calculate the consequences of 27.Rf7-f4+. How would you assess the position after that (diagram)?
A) White is better;
B) the position is balanced;
C) Black has the advantage.

The solution is here, but first ponder over it with a larger version of the diagram.

Position after 27.Rf7-f4+
A) White is better;
B) the position is balanced;
C) Black has the advantage.

Your judgement, please - Pt. 35

Retirado do site Chessbase.com.

To exchange or not to exchange?
26.12.2009 – Correct evaluation of pawn endings is an important pillar of good endgame technique. So, e.g., in the following position Black had to come to a judgment as to whether, after the exchange of rooks with 47...Rxe2 48.Kxe2, the ensuing pawn ending is a draw. Otherwise, he would be obliged to do without the exchange and to defend the rook ending.
What do you think? Does the exchange of rooks lead to a drawn position?

The solution is here, but first ponder over it with a larger version of the diagram.

Does 47...Rxe2 48.Kxe2 lead to a drawn position?

Falsa especulação acerca de Magnus Carlsen treinar Anand para o Mundial

Corrigindo a notícia anterior publicada neste blog, o pessoal do site Chessbase.com cometeu um engano no entendimento da reportagem do jornal indiano. Abaixo a mais nova notícia:

Speculation about Carlsen being Anand's second
23.12.2009 – An article in the Indian newspaper The Telegraph set off a flurry of excitement in news pages and chess blogs. "Magnus Carlsen will be one of my seconds [in Sofia]," World Champion Vishy Anand was quoted as saying. A misunderstanding, since Magnus, who is a great friend and will surely root for Anand, will not be assisting him in at the 2010 World Championship. Details.

The passage in the Telegraph interview that caused all the confusion reads as follows:

Whether Surya Sekhar Ganguly will be his one of his seconds this time too

[Anand]: He may be. I am not sure. Seconds are a very secretive thing. Even if I tell you that he will be one of my seconds, the rival camp will not believe me. But one thing is for sure, Magnus Carlsen (the world No. 2) will be one of the seconds.

[Late in the evening, Surya told The Telegraph that he did have a talk with Anand in the afternoon, but nothing has been finalised. “It will take some time,” he said.]

Due to time difference and social engagements we were not able to reach Anand, who is currently in India, on Wednesday evening, when the news hit the blogs. A likely explanation – which we shall confirm or correct on Thursday – for the above passage is that Anand said "Nielsen", referring to his second of many years, Peter Heine Nielsen. The journalist, whose ears have been ringing in the past few weeks with one Skandinavial "-sen" name, remembered "Carlsen", googled it and came up with the above story.

We were able to contact Magnus' father Henrik Carlsen, who like us is a creature of the night. He confirmed that his son, who has been good friends with Anand for a number of years now, and has in fact worked with him in the past, now has his own plans and schedule. These do not include working for or with Anand for his World Championship match in Sofia.

More details to follow later...

Magnus Carlsen será o treinador de Vishy Anand para o Mundial!

Quem segura esse garoto? Até onde pode ir Magnus Carlsen? Quem diria que o número 1 do ranking atual estaria treinando o atual campeão do mundo...

Carlsen ainda fará muita história no xadrez, com certeza!

Retirado do site Chessbase.com.

Carlsen será el entrenador de Anand para el Mundial en Sofía
El pasado lunes, Viswanathan Anand visitó Calcuta, para felicitar a los ganadores de la zona oriental de la "NIIT Mindchampions Academy". Aprovechó l aportunidad para dar una rueda de prensa. El periódico "Telgraph Calcutta" publicó ayer un resumen de las intervenciones de Anand. Entre otras cosas, anunció que ya tiene entrenador para el duelo por el título mundial contra Veselin Topalov en Sofía. ¡No será nadie menos que el propio nuevo número uno del mundo, Magnus Carlsen! El noruego ya había apoyado a Anand en el último Campeonato del Mundo contra Kramnik. Además está también negociando también con Ganguly. Anand comentó que ya se está preparando de manera muy intensa al duelo ahora mismo y que se está entrenando hasta 12 horas (¡!) al día. El artículo en Telegraph Calcutta (en inglés).

Your judgement, please - Pt. 34

Retirado do site Chessbase.com.

La variante del peón envenenado...
... de la Najdorf solía ser una de las armas favoritas de Bobby Fischer cuando quería ganar una partida (o sea, prácticamente siempre). Hoy en día muchas líneas han sido analizadas hasta que terminan en tablas. Aún así, las fascinantes complicaciones siguen atrayendo a los jugadores. Esta posición surgió el fin de semana pasado en la Bundesliga Alemana. Tras 28...Ta7, en su opinión, ¿cuál de las afirmaciones sería la correcta? A) Las negras tienen una posición ganadora. B) Las blancas deben dar jaque continuo. C) En realidad no es jaque continuo, sino que ganan las blancas. Tiene la solución aquí, pero antes de mirarla le sugerimos que reflexione sobre el problema

Juegan las blancas. Es la posición tras 28...Ta7

¿Cuál es la respuesta correcta?

A) Las negras tienen una posición ganadora.
B) Las blancas deben dar jaque continuo.
C) En realidad no es jaque continuo, sino que ganan las blancas .

Your judgement, please - Pt. 33

Retirado do site Chessbase.com.

Un caballo con truco
Muchos jugadores aficionados de ajedrez tienen un tremendo respeto al caballo, en muchos casos porque han sufrido dolorosas experiencias con él. En su análisis de una partida de la Bundesliga Alemana contra el Wattenscheid del pasado fin de semana, el GM alemán Karsten Müller nos enseña que el caballo puede presumir de todas sus habilidades tácticas no solamente en el medio juego, sino también durante el final. En la posición que se ve en el tablero, iban a jugar las negras y parece que lo único que debe hacer para ganar la partida es avanzar con los peones del flanco de dama. Pero, ¿con cuál de los peones debería avanzar mejor? ¿Qué opina Ud.? ¿55...b3 o 55...c3?Tiene la solución aquí, pero antes de mirarla le sugerimos que reflexione sobre el problema

Juegan las negras: ¿55...b3 o 55...c3?

Your judgement, please - Pt. 32

Retirado do site Chessbase.com.

A coffin nail...
11.12.2009 – ... in chess is a pawn which has advanced to the sixth rank in the enemy king position, creating all kinds of mate motifs. Here Black had to decide whether he could allow White's pawn to go to h6 or not. 37...Ra4xe4 in your opinion leads to which result?
A) win for Black;
B) positional draw;
C) win for White.
The solution is here, but first ponder over it with a larger version of the diagram.

Position after 37...Ra4xe4



A) win for Black;
B) positional draw;
C) win for White.