Viswanathan Anand

61 Pages·2013·1.5 MB·English

by  Bob Armstrong

THE “Independent” Voice for Canadian Chess

Covering Toronto Chess News and Beyond!

www.TorontoChessNews.com

“Chess IS Life!” – GM Bobby Fischer

Issue # 1- 16 – April 15, 2013

th
The Current and 15 World Chess Champion:
Viswanathan Anand (India)
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Toronto Chess News

Table of Contents
Page
Articles, etc.

Anand on the 2013 Candidate’s Tournament 4
Anand – Carlsen : Nov. World Championship - Venue Posing Some Problems 7
The World Youth Chess Championships and Women’s Chess 8
Titled Players – World and Country Sampling 10
UN Watch to Honor Garry Kasparov 10
USA GM Robert Byrne – RIP 12
Canadian GM Eric Hansen to Go Professional 13
Women's Chess Promotion 13
Canadian Olympiad Team Selection Rating List 16
Canadian Women’s Olympiad Team Selection Rating List 17
Teaching Classic Games of Chess – The Art of Pawn Promotion 43
Ken’s Chess Trivia 54
TCN Readers’ Chess “Sightings” 56
TCN Readers Have Questions 56
TCN Readers’ Feedback 56
TCN’s “Readers’ Opinion” Column 56

Tournament Reports

GTCL Cup – Rapid Teams’ Tournament 18
Guelph Spring Pro-Am 34
Alberta Closed 39
Grand Pacific Open, BC. 40

Organizations with News Reports

Chess Federation of Canada ( CFC ) 14
Greater Toronto Chess League ( GTCL ) 23
Chess Institute of Canada ( CIC ) 24
Scarborough Chess Club ( SCC ) 25
Annex Chess Club ( ACC ) 29
Willowdale Chess Club ( WCC ) 30
Aurora Chess Club 32
Ajax Chess Club 33
Kitchener-Waterloo Chess Club 37

Tournament Notices

Toronto Closed Championship 56
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Oriole Chess Club Simul – Hambleton 57
Ontario Girls Chess Championship 58
2013 Toronto Youth Championship (CYCC Qualifier) 58
2013 Aurora Summer Open 59

Community Bulletin Board 60

NOTE re GAME ANALYSIS

I use Fritz 13 in my game analysis. My research, using Fritz for many years, establishes
that Fritz 13 evaluates 1.e4, 1.d4, and 1.Nf3 as a “ slight “ advantage to White, whereas
historically, these positions were generally considered equal. Many still dispute this
evaluation. Though W has "initiative", some/many ( ? ) feel Bl., with best play, equalizes.
But in my research on the three W openings where Fritz gives +/= after W's first move,
Bl never should equalize, as long as W does not make a mistake (a general operational
principle). And true enough, even into the middlegame of my " perfect " games, Bl.
remains +/=!!. So the computer has now convinced me to switch camps, where I used to
believe in " Black equality ". However, it may be that the "horizon effect" will yet
establish equality for Black when the "perfect game" is taken far enough. But, since I am
using Fritz 13, I therefore follow its lead, and so have felt it necessary to make some note
re these first moves. In the past, I gave this explanation above in annotations to these
three first moves. But, for regular readers of my analyzed games, I know this annotation
became irksome; but people who are new, come to my analyzed games on the TCN
Website, or where a TCN newsletter has been forwarded to them, and, for them, an
explanation of this unusual Fritz 13 feature is required, to understand what I am doing.
However, I agree with some readers who suggested a general explanation would be
preferable to the annotation in every game starting with these three moves ( which is
most of them ). I appreciate my repeat readers' patience ‘til this change. I therefore began
using this other format of a general explanation after the table of contents, to explain this
interesting computer phenomenon ( and not insert it into the actual annotated game ). In
the game score, I will just note the symbolic and numerical evaluation by Fritz on these
first moves. I hope this small change improved the quality of TCN for all subscribers.

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Anand on the 2013 Candidates’ Tournament!

On April 3, Viswanathan Anand (India), 15th and current World Chess Champion,
answered a series of questions on the Candidates’ Tournament, just concluded on April 1,
won by Norwegian, Magnus Carlsen, highest rated human ever. Magnus thus becomes
the 2013 Challenger for the title in November, 2013.
Here is the article from the Indian Express:

Q: Did you find yourself caught up in the excitement of the Candidates tournament,
staying up late following the games?
Yeah, very much. It has been maybe the best ever Candidates tournament in history. At
least I wasn't there during the ones in the 60s. During those days you couldn't follow it
live. We can't compare different eras. But still, by any yardstick the unpredictability, the
fact that anything could have happened till the last day, till the last hour in fact, makes
this simply an unbelievable tournament.
I managed to catch most of the games. I didn't need to stay up late because most had
ended by midnight and I was able to go to sleep. Depended also on whether the results
were known. I didn't catch Vlady (Kramnik) resigning, but I knew he was going to. The
position was that hopeless and I knew (Vassily) Ivanchuk was not going to spoil that .
For the first three or four days I began to think, 'wow am I going to play (Levon)
Aronian?' — not in the sense of making plans but in your mind wandering kind of way.
Then very firmly, Magnus (Carlsen) got a grip on the tournament, and it looked settled
until the amazing 12th round — when Kramnik won and Magnus lost. When I went to
sleep I thought Magnus has saved it. That was one day I had missed this twist. When I
woke up I read the headline: 'Kramnik takes the lead' and I thought it was impossible.
Then I realized Magnus had actually lost the game. So many twists and turns and it kept
everybody on the edge of their seats.
Kramnik losing out on the tie-break rule was quite tragic.
At the moment I feel unbelievably sympathetic towards Vlady. It was not like I was
rooting for him as my opponent, but by round 13 I felt he was the one who deserved to
win and his chess had impressed me the most. He had really changed his chess and style
for the event. Magnus was doing what he always does and being very good at it. He is
simply an unbelievable player. But Vlady was doing unbelievable stuff on the board,
coming up every day with new ideas, playing brilliantly. He is in the 30s and he has been
the most successful in fighting this...Younger players tend to have more energy...And I
felt some sympathy, almost like a brother from my generation kind of a thing. The fact
that with the tiebreak rules, he had to play outside of his comfort zone. He was so much
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in control in the first 13 games and in the 14th you can only understand the context, that
he had to take unreasonable risks. The tragedy of the tournament is in some sense
Kramnik, not that Magnus didn't deserve to win, but if Vlady had pulled it off, he would
have proven something.
Q: Would it have been better to decide the tournament with match play between the tied
players, or maybe rapid games instead of a tie-break rule?
Both of them were very distracted yesterday (Monday), not just playing their own games
but playing the other one too. It's not the ideal way to play chess. Even if Vlady was half
a point behind, they still would have had to do that, look nervously at each other, but I do
feel it's crazy that two people tied on the same score and it is decided by something which
is essentially a lottery. Sometimes it happens. Before a tournament starts you don't split
hairs on a minor detail while getting ready for it. You could see maybe why nobody paid
attention to it, but it turned out to be crucial.. My point is not that it is unfair, it was
perfectly fair once everyone knew it in advance. My point is that it is not ideal. That's the
distinction I want to make. It felt a bit silly, in the end getting decided by the number of
wins.
Q: Gratifying to know that pressure could get to somebody like Carlsen as well?
He is human as well. That is clear. Yesterday, I really felt for the participants, both
Magnus and Vlady. Both of them had played incredibly well and it happens sometimes
that there is room only for one guy. Something that maybe I will think of three months
down the line, or in the next cycle.
Q: You said Kramnik has succeeded in changing his game to compete against the
younger generation. Could the same be said of you as well?
It is no secret that I have struggled a bit in the last two years, and I've not been as
successful doing it as Vlady. I am trying very hard, and this year the results have been a
bit more positive and I feel at least that I'm back on the right track and though I haven't
equaled those guys, but we are all trying to change and keep up with Magnus and Levon,
who are huge talents.
Q: Are labels like 'favourites' used with any meaning only by fans or do people on the
inside consider things along those terms too? Is there a favourite going into the match?
I think that's what makes sport interesting. Before a tournament starts, you try to predict
the result in a sense, and see if reality matches it. I have to say that most people who look
at the two of us will conclude that Magnus is the outright favourite. I'm cool with that. It
doesn't really worry me. I'm fully aware of the magnitude of the task facing me, and
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Magnus' rank and rating speak for themselves. Having said that I don't feel any obligation
to follow the predictions. That's what we are playing the match for. To have a chance to
write our own script.
Q: How different will this be from your previous WCC matches?
Firstly, he is not from my generation. There is a difference in age and outlook. When I
played Kramnik, Topalov and Gelfand, I read them in a certain way. And even then, I
thought that if I end up playing Vlady this time, it would be a different Vlady from the
one I played before. He (Carlsen) is from a different generation and Carlsen is also one of
the most talented players from any generation. He will be ridiculously difficult to play
against, yeah.
Q: Is the venue for the final just an incidental detail?
To some extent it is. Once it is announced you just get ready to play there. I am more
focused on getting my stock in order. Getting to know what I am going to play, my
approach against him. If it's India then I will have to take into account the pressure and
things like that, but for most part you just get on with the chess.
Q: Agon is attempting to introduce biometrics into chess in an attempt to make it
interactive. Would you be OK with getting wired-up for the final?
I am somewhat indifferent to be honest. Usually before tournaments I am just focused on
the game. If it works, I will go for it, but I don't have an opinion on it. For a World
Championship, I would like to think about it. If there are some trials and we can use the
feedback, we will probably give it a think.
Q: The stretch that leads up to the WCC has you playing tournaments, a few where you
could face Carlsen. How difficult is that?
I am used to it. You are juggling stuff, but when you are playing the tournament, you are
playing it. Occasionally you use tournaments to test things out. The best way to play a
WC match is to play the tournaments well. You have to build up your confidence. You
want to go there in a positive frame of mind. Two to three months before the match you
stop everything else.
Q: The final is being viewed as a generational shift, passing of the baton. Do you think of
it that way?
It's there in the back of your head somewhere, but once the match starts you tend to focus
on making good moves than worry about what you are representing or what it is
supposed to be about.
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Ed. – FIDE Announced Match Location: Chennai, India – Match - November (6th to
26th).
http://www.dnaindia.com/sport/182016...players-elated
Also interesting: In chess we revere our champions for their match-playing
ability, even when they may be quite down the rating list!
TCN Survey: Who do you think will win the upcoming Nov/13 world championship
match between Viswanathan Anand and Magnus Carlsen. And why?? Write in and give
us your vote – we’ll publish your prediction and analysis.
Invitation:

TCN encourages freelancers to submit topical chess articles for our lead article. Send on
your article and we’ll review it with you, with a view to using it ( we may suggest some
editing, but generally very minor ). You will get full credit in the publication. We will
also post a bit of personal information on the freelancer, if they are agreeable.

INTERNATIONAL

Anand – Carlsen : Nov. World Championship - Venue Posing Some Problems

Leonard Barden in The Guardian, Friday, April 12:

Chennai, formerly Madras, has proclaimed an early victory in what promised to be a
protracted global struggle to stage the eagerly awaited Vishy Anand v Magnus Carlsen
world championship match in November. Chennai is Anand's home city, whose Tamil
Nadu government announced a $3.5m budget for the series.

Chennai was the under-bidder for Anand v Boris Gelfand staged in Moscow last year,
and Fide, the international chess body, promised India first refusal for 2013 without any
bidding process. Organizational and other costs mean that the prize fund for the players
will struggle to equal the $2.5m of Anand v Gelfand, a far less exciting match.

The Agon firm and its US boss Andrew Paulson, who are officially in charge of the
commercial rights to Anand v Carlsen, said earlier that their preferred location was New
York but that there was also interest from Miami, St Tropez, Paris, and Tromso. The
Norwegian town is already hosting the 2013 World Cup and the 2014 world team
Olympiad.

Team Carlsen is unlikely to be content with playing on Indian soil, as the 22-year-old
challenger has no experience of competing in hot climates. The world No 1 could refuse
to sign the contract, while Chennai's preemptive strike may also be countered by a
significantly higher bid from one or more of its rivals. Fide is potentially at loggerheads
with Agon.…

http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2013...hy-anand-chess

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The World Youth Chess Championships and Women’s Chess

The following article was recently posted on the Facebook page of the Cooperative Chess
Coalition (CCC) - http://www.facebook.com/groups/cooperativechesscoalition/ - and is
somewhat provocative:

WYCC/WYCC Qualifiers

In the Judeo-Christian context, God rested on the 7th day of the week. However, CCC has
chosen the 7th day of the month to work - to explore “moderate chess reform”!!

CCC presents another of its “ 7th day chess reform issues “! (Of course, real life may
intervene to push our post a bit before or after the 7th). Here we investigate “ possible “
moderate chess reform actions – these may be at the international/FIDE level, or at the
national federation level, or at the local level (re chess clubs, tournament organization,
etc.). Whether they are to be pursued by CCC is dependent on the general response to the
“ reform posts “. Have your say!! Post a comment!

(If you have an issue you’d like debated, send us an e-mail (
[email protected] ) and if possible, insert a summary of your
arguments. We’ll use them, alone, or in the context of one of our own posts. )

Girls’ Chess & the WYCC

Currently, FIDE runs the World Youth Chess Championships in two parallel
tournaments: the “open” tournament; the “girls’” tournament. And because they do this,
many national federations choose their top three representatives to all the age/gender
sections in the very same, parallel tournaments, way.

Is there a problem with this??

I think so. And it goes directly to the issue of “women’s chess”. FIDE, and
national federations, all mouth the goal of increasing the no. of women in chess, both
internationally and nationally. And they claim to hope to develop “female role models”
who will promote the game to women, and attract more women to take up the game.

Is the parallel and separate Girls’ WYCC helpful in this cause?? I say “NO”.

Why not?? Well the problem is the dilemma this system puts all junior girls in.
What is the dilemma? The dilemma is that they must choose between two competing
systems. They may be good enough to challenge boys for first place in the “open”
sections. But they may have greater odds of winning in the weaker “girls’ section”.
Which do they choose? Statistics show that overwhelmingly, even the good girl players
choose the “girls’ section”. Though there is definitely more status in winning an “open
section world championship”, if the odds are better in the “girls’ section”, there is a
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tremendous pressure on them, and often from their parents, to not enter the “open”
section.

And how does this play out in the national WYCC Qualifier tournaments. Well, in
Canada, the problem is mainly the bursaries. Girls may need the financial assistance to go
to the WYCC of winning a national title. And so the pressure is on to go into the weaker
“girls’ section”, where the chances of winning are much higher.

Why is this a problem? The answer is progress in women’s chess. And the need
for “girls’ role models”. What is needed most is girls’ winning “open section titles”. This
is the best proof of women’s progress in chess at the junior girl level. And the girl winner
will be celebrated for winning the “difficult” title. But sadly this is not happening, nor is
it going to happen, given the FIDE system. The strong girls in their age categories are
NOT PLAYING in the “open” section. As the slogan for lotteries goes: “You can’t win,
if you don’t play!” So how then, are we going to develop a presentation to the public of
girls’ progress in chess…in competition with boys?? None are winning, because none are
playing. So we have no good, positive role models to present to the public. And no one
can blame the girls for their choice – when the whole attractiveness is with the “girls’
system”, it is pretty irresistible.

So what is the solution? I propose that FIDE eliminate the junior girls’ age section
separate tournaments, but not the titles. Let all girls play in the “open” section. Suddenly
the odds of girls winning world championships skyrockets. And the top finishing girl in
each section, can still be awarded the title of U xx Girls’ World Champion. And if they
won the “open” title, they win both titles!!

If FIDE did this, the national federations would follow suit with their WYCC
qualifiers. And women’s chess around the world would progress, and their would be
good girl champion role models to present to the world mainstream media.

An idea worth debate at the highest levels of FIDE, I believe.

If you have opinions, one way or the other, on this chess reform proposal, come
post a “comment” and state your position and reasons. Let’s have a debate first here
within CCC – Chess Posts of Interest. Then “Likes” can spread the debate into their own
countries. Can we start a world debate on this??

Bob Armstrong, CCC Member (Canada)

In my opinion, the benefits of one WYCC section would be:

1. Girls will be getting a clear message that they are equal to boys, when they play in one
section with them for the “open” championship. The message is that you, girl, CAN
WIN!
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2. Like in any tournament, you improve by playing better players than yourself. In the
open section, the opposition will be much stronger than in the former weaker girls
sections. The chance of improvement goes up.
3. The girls, should they win, will get much more mainstream coverage, to compliment
them on their hard work on chess, than they would winning the former “girls’” title.
4. Society benefits, because the integrated section, with girls actually playing, not there
just being the theoretical option for girls to play (never taken up), concretely shows the
confidence of the chess community in the potential of girl chess players to win integrated
titles.
5. Boys will develop more respect for girl chess players, by seeing that they are skilled
players, like themselves, in actually playing them (and sometimes losing).
6. Girls will know that by playing in the integrated sections, they are advancing the cause
of women’s chess, and being an encouragement to other girls that they too can do it.
7. “Future Publicity” value of this in the mainstream media should not be dismissed or
underestimated.

What do you TCN readers think of this proposal, analysis and alleged benefits..
Send in your views/arguments, and we’ll post them so they can be shared by our other
readers. Let’s start a discussion on “women’s chess”!

Titled Players – World and Country Sampling

It is interesting to see how Russia’s historical chess dominance, now gives it such
a high percentage of world titles. Canada does fair favourably against what might be
considered a “peer” country, Australia.

CAN AUS USA GER RUS World
GM 9 4 76 79 206 1402
IM 33 21 114 232 489 3228
FM 76 41 301 727 979 6297

WGM 0 1 10 16 45 279
WIM 9 11 21 35 95 651
WFM 10 11 26 61 322 1197

(stats compiled by Quebec CFC Governor, Hugh Brodie)

UN Watch to Honor Garry Kasparov

Russian political dissident, human rights hero and former world chess champion,
Garry Kasparov, will receive the 2013 Morris B. Abram Human Rights Award in
Geneva on Wednesday, June 5, 2013, at a gala dinner marking UN Watch's 20th
anniversary. UN Watch is an independent, international organization, providing an
oversight function with respect to the United Nations. The event will be held in Geneva's
historic Four Seasons Hotel des Bergues, site of the first assembly of the League of
Nations in 1920.
Toronto Chess News