Round - 4: Norway Chess "When million Indian hearts swelled"
"....and the moment has come to decide a fundamental question: in which way is the game to be won? Sometimes the so-called natural, normal moves are sufficient: occupy open files with the Rooks, get them to the seventh rank, attack a backward pawn, create a protected passed pawn, promote it to a Queen....
Many games are won by such unsophisticated means. "White's simple (logical, clear) moves bring his advantage to victory; White's attack develops by itself" - we read such formulae time and again. But in view of today's considerable advanced defensive technique, it is difficult to expect that the game itself, like a rockinghorse, will bring a player happily to the finish line." - David Bronstein
If one has to lift their thinking beyond their current level, it is imperative for them to read and re-read this "chess bible" by David Bronstein on Zurich 1953 Candidates tournament. For you will learn the hitherto unexplored aspect of chess....where it slips into realms of great art, under the light of Bronstein's profound envisioning.
What Bronstein said in 1953 has relevance in an exponential level now....
....for the advantage one gets or offered is very miniscule and chess which was dancing at a celestial level in the classical and neo-classical era, in the past century, has found its way to quantum level and where at times you need to tweak a sub-atomic particle or try and tamper with the DNA structure to make something respond in a certain way and gain.....
Well occupying open files with the Rooks, getting them to the seventh rank, attacking a backward pawn, creating a protected passed pawn etc still have not lost its relevance and are bedrock of sound principles on which this great game of chess stands, but, they never ensured the rocking-horse to reach the finishing line....then and now and never!
The one and only operator is the mind - which succeeds, fails, creates, destroys.....then, now and ever!!
We shall observe this through few profound moments in the games of this round where four minds succeeded in planting seeds of doubts in four other minds and succumb!
Vaselin Topalov - Levon Aronian
Black's last move 13....Be8 puts it on a square which it does not belong, in general. But Aronian does not play it through his hand alone - his mind may have had some plan for it and not let it remain there and do nothing for 20 moves - which it did...
Probably, the logical responses that he expected for that move from Topalov was not forthcoming. Perhaps, there was a big conflict of logic between the way Aronian assessed certain aspects of the position and piece formation and that of Topalov's - and this is bound to happen in general in all the games.
The move 13....Be8 cannot be admonished as it is as benign as a monk!
14.Qa3 Qe7
Please do not go by what the engine says...what it says on most occasions applies and appeals only for it and does not appeal to human mind which is written as a program as software running on a hardware....but, a mere chemical process which happens somewhere in the imaginary space and void between the brain and the heart!
This and the moves that follows determine the area of action as the remaining part of play indicate....
....and the cue for both...the one who charges and the other who pretends at-least!
15.Qb2 Na5; 16.Qb4!?
It is a very delicate decision, always, to time the act of trading the queens - for it always defines the position differently from that time, from what it was!
There is a significant difference from trading the Queen on b4 square than on the previous move, on e7! Here, the factor which lead White to offer the exchange was to get his pawn on b4 and restrain Black's which is arranged neatly on their original squares!
Also, you would observe that this closes one semi-open file and opens the other, but White gained the potential to initiate a charge on the Black's pawns with his a & b pawns!
16.....Qb4; 17.cb4 Nc6; 18.Rab1!?
Equally interesting option was to play 18.Rfc1!?
18.....a5; 19.ba5!?
It's a matter of taste, whether to play this or 19.b5; both the moves are of roughly equal merit: for one who likes to meander in closed alleys, it will by 'b5'; and to the one who feels claustrophobic, it will be 'ba5'!
19.....Na5; 20.Rfc1 Rdc8
I like this position!
21.Ne7 Ra7; 22.Nd3 Nc6; 23.Bf3 Nd8; 24.Nb4 Ra5
Would you like to leave that Rook on a7 doing a defence duty? Don't blame this move too!
25.h4! Kf8; 26.Rc3 c6; 27.Bd1
Not that White has a great clarity on what needs to be done, but...the move played, for whatever reason, provoked Black to embark on some activity....uncalled for!
The skirmish that happened for sometime so far does not weigh on the scale of attack or defence...but shadow boxing is the term that comes closest in explaining it!
27....Ke7; 28.Bb3 c5?! 29.Nd3 b6; 30.dc5 bc5; 31.f3 Rc7; 32.e4 Nb7; 33.Rbc1 Ba4; 34.e5!
This pawn....determined the future course of the event and the thought that preceded the event! Mind you, the position still is in equilibrium, but at mind level, Black must have started experiencing some mild seismic disturbances and it increase with every passing 'movement'!
34.....Rc6; 35.Kh2!
....always an useful move on most occasions!
35.....Rb6; 36.h5!
After having seen many Petrosian games, I have become a fan of this move!
36.....Bb3; 37.ab3 Kd7?
It is the duty of the the player to let his monarch know when he can move to the 'front' and when to keep restraint! 37....Rab5 does not guarantee a draw, but certainly it keeps the right foot forward towards it!
38.b4!
When you did not play Rab5 in the last move when Black would have got this pawn for free, it is all the more difficult to play it now for a cost! But....
...that still is the better tradeoff!
38.....cb4? 39.Rc8!
Black has made the mole on e5 turn into a monster!
39.....Nd8; 40.R1c7 Ke8; 41.Nc5 Rc5; 42.Rc5 b3
And this validates 35.Kh2!
43.Rc1 Kd7; 44.R8c7 Ke8; 45.Rc8 Kd7; 46.R8c3 Ke7?
This merely accelerates what 46.....Nc6 would have delayed!
47.Rd3 Nb7; 48.Rdc3 Nd8; 49.f4! f6; 50.Rc7 Ke8; 51.Rg7 fe5; 52.Rcc7 Kf8; 53.Rh7 Kg8; 54.Rcg7 Kf8; 55.Rd7 Kg8; 56.Rh6 Nf7; 57.Rg6 Kh8; 58.Rf6. Resigned
A fine game which effectively demonstrated the theme that I embarked upon!
Though the title for today's post referred to Vishy's game, I need to push it to another post for want of space and time to reflect on the game... for that game is more close to us and our hearts!
....till then!
Many games are won by such unsophisticated means. "White's simple (logical, clear) moves bring his advantage to victory; White's attack develops by itself" - we read such formulae time and again. But in view of today's considerable advanced defensive technique, it is difficult to expect that the game itself, like a rockinghorse, will bring a player happily to the finish line." - David Bronstein
If one has to lift their thinking beyond their current level, it is imperative for them to read and re-read this "chess bible" by David Bronstein on Zurich 1953 Candidates tournament. For you will learn the hitherto unexplored aspect of chess....where it slips into realms of great art, under the light of Bronstein's profound envisioning.
What Bronstein said in 1953 has relevance in an exponential level now....
....for the advantage one gets or offered is very miniscule and chess which was dancing at a celestial level in the classical and neo-classical era, in the past century, has found its way to quantum level and where at times you need to tweak a sub-atomic particle or try and tamper with the DNA structure to make something respond in a certain way and gain.....
Well occupying open files with the Rooks, getting them to the seventh rank, attacking a backward pawn, creating a protected passed pawn etc still have not lost its relevance and are bedrock of sound principles on which this great game of chess stands, but, they never ensured the rocking-horse to reach the finishing line....then and now and never!
The one and only operator is the mind - which succeeds, fails, creates, destroys.....then, now and ever!!
We shall observe this through few profound moments in the games of this round where four minds succeeded in planting seeds of doubts in four other minds and succumb!
Vaselin Topalov - Levon Aronian
Black's last move 13....Be8 puts it on a square which it does not belong, in general. But Aronian does not play it through his hand alone - his mind may have had some plan for it and not let it remain there and do nothing for 20 moves - which it did...
Probably, the logical responses that he expected for that move from Topalov was not forthcoming. Perhaps, there was a big conflict of logic between the way Aronian assessed certain aspects of the position and piece formation and that of Topalov's - and this is bound to happen in general in all the games.
The move 13....Be8 cannot be admonished as it is as benign as a monk!
14.Qa3 Qe7
Please do not go by what the engine says...what it says on most occasions applies and appeals only for it and does not appeal to human mind which is written as a program as software running on a hardware....but, a mere chemical process which happens somewhere in the imaginary space and void between the brain and the heart!
This and the moves that follows determine the area of action as the remaining part of play indicate....
....and the cue for both...the one who charges and the other who pretends at-least!
15.Qb2 Na5; 16.Qb4!?
It is a very delicate decision, always, to time the act of trading the queens - for it always defines the position differently from that time, from what it was!
There is a significant difference from trading the Queen on b4 square than on the previous move, on e7! Here, the factor which lead White to offer the exchange was to get his pawn on b4 and restrain Black's which is arranged neatly on their original squares!
Also, you would observe that this closes one semi-open file and opens the other, but White gained the potential to initiate a charge on the Black's pawns with his a & b pawns!
16.....Qb4; 17.cb4 Nc6; 18.Rab1!?
Equally interesting option was to play 18.Rfc1!?
18.....a5; 19.ba5!?
It's a matter of taste, whether to play this or 19.b5; both the moves are of roughly equal merit: for one who likes to meander in closed alleys, it will by 'b5'; and to the one who feels claustrophobic, it will be 'ba5'!
19.....Na5; 20.Rfc1 Rdc8
I like this position!
21.Ne7 Ra7; 22.Nd3 Nc6; 23.Bf3 Nd8; 24.Nb4 Ra5
Would you like to leave that Rook on a7 doing a defence duty? Don't blame this move too!
25.h4! Kf8; 26.Rc3 c6; 27.Bd1
Not that White has a great clarity on what needs to be done, but...the move played, for whatever reason, provoked Black to embark on some activity....uncalled for!
The skirmish that happened for sometime so far does not weigh on the scale of attack or defence...but shadow boxing is the term that comes closest in explaining it!
27....Ke7; 28.Bb3 c5?! 29.Nd3 b6; 30.dc5 bc5; 31.f3 Rc7; 32.e4 Nb7; 33.Rbc1 Ba4; 34.e5!
This pawn....determined the future course of the event and the thought that preceded the event! Mind you, the position still is in equilibrium, but at mind level, Black must have started experiencing some mild seismic disturbances and it increase with every passing 'movement'!
34.....Rc6; 35.Kh2!
....always an useful move on most occasions!
35.....Rb6; 36.h5!
After having seen many Petrosian games, I have become a fan of this move!
36.....Bb3; 37.ab3 Kd7?
It is the duty of the the player to let his monarch know when he can move to the 'front' and when to keep restraint! 37....Rab5 does not guarantee a draw, but certainly it keeps the right foot forward towards it!
38.b4!
When you did not play Rab5 in the last move when Black would have got this pawn for free, it is all the more difficult to play it now for a cost! But....
...that still is the better tradeoff!
38.....cb4? 39.Rc8!
Black has made the mole on e5 turn into a monster!
39.....Nd8; 40.R1c7 Ke8; 41.Nc5 Rc5; 42.Rc5 b3
And this validates 35.Kh2!
43.Rc1 Kd7; 44.R8c7 Ke8; 45.Rc8 Kd7; 46.R8c3 Ke7?
This merely accelerates what 46.....Nc6 would have delayed!
47.Rd3 Nb7; 48.Rdc3 Nd8; 49.f4! f6; 50.Rc7 Ke8; 51.Rg7 fe5; 52.Rcc7 Kf8; 53.Rh7 Kg8; 54.Rcg7 Kf8; 55.Rd7 Kg8; 56.Rh6 Nf7; 57.Rg6 Kh8; 58.Rf6. Resigned
A fine game which effectively demonstrated the theme that I embarked upon!
Though the title for today's post referred to Vishy's game, I need to push it to another post for want of space and time to reflect on the game... for that game is more close to us and our hearts!
....till then!
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