From Cover to Cover
Five stars for birthday boy Rustam Kasimdzhanov!
By Edwin Lam Choong Wai
Born on December 5th 1979, Uzbekistan Grandmaster and FIDE World Champion from
2004 to 2005 GM Rustam Kasimdzhanov turns 28 today. Besides being one of the
world’s elite chess players, Kasimdzhanov is also a prolific author. And, on
this occasion of his birthday, From Cover
to Cover will celebrate it by reviewing one of his many Chessbase training
DVDs.
FIDE World Champion 2004-2005 and ChessBase author Rustam Kasimdzhanov
The Path to Tactical Strength
In this 22-part ChessBase training DVD, GM Rustam Kasimdzhanov lectures on
tactics in chess by citing various examples from his own games. In the introduction
section, Kasimdzhanov gives a short definition of the term “tactics”. He cites
an excellent quote by the great Tigran Petrosian: “Strategy is a piece of stone
you are working on, and tactics is basically the instrument you use to cut the
stone. So we should see tactics tas an instrument to help us to achieve what
we want to achieve…”
Tactics are more than just checkmates
When one goes through the examples given in the training DVD, you will see
the various kinds of tactical motifs: tactics that involve checks, direct attack
pieces that are insufficiently protected – with Kasimdzhanov digging out
examples from his own games. Amongst the 22 games on the DVD are Kasimdzhanov’s
battles against such greats as Karpov, Korchnoi, Topalov, Grischuk, van Wely
and Ftacnik, just to name a few. In discussing his game against Karpov, Kasimdzhanov
had this to say: “There can also be tactics that do not work, or tactics which
are refuted by other tactics…” – in reference to the possible 23rd move of Bd1
by Karpov, which could have helped the 12th World Champion maintain a healthy
pawn lead in the endgame.
As slippery as a python
In his example against the Chinese Grandmaster Ye Jiangchuan, Kasimdzhanov
reminisces as to how he was strategically outplayed by his opponent. And, were
it not for a tactical opportunity, he would have lost the game. Kasimdzhanov
had this to say: “Sometimes tactics are born out of need. The strategic character
of this position is such that if you do not find something, then strategically
you are lost…” Petrosian was certainly a master of using tactical means to wriggle
his way out of difficult positions.
A tactical example against Grischuk demonstrated two important things: firstly,
tactics can also occur during endgames, not just in middlegames; and secondly,
even for a player of such high caliber as Grischuk, there is a chance of him
even missing simple tactic of 47. Ne6+, which exploits his hanging Black Rook
on b2.
With a total of 4 hours and 15 minutes of running time in this training DVD,
GM Kasimdhanov gives a very thorough explanations of the “thought process” involved
in arriving at a tactical solution in a position. He dissects each position
by analyzing its static and dynamic elements, which point towards the tactical
possibilities hidden beneath. But rationale analysis aside, a vivid imagination
is necessary to see tactics – and the 22 examples in this DVD would certainly
help the viewer to increase his or her imagination.
The Verdict
The chess training DVD above is a necessary tool for the aspiring chess player.
Tactics must be the main focus of any chess player below the 2000 FIDE Elo mark,
and this DVD is a five-star training tool for such players. Five-star to birthday
boy Rustam Kasimdzhanov! As he celebrates his 28th birthday, let us all wish
him many more chess successes in the future!
From Kasim's photo album
Rustam Kasimdzhanov (pronounced “Kah-zeem-jha-nov”), born on December
5, 1979, is a grandmaster from Uzbekistan. After numerous international successes
he took part in the FIDE World Chess Championship in 2004, where he shocked
the chess world by knocking out Alejandro Ramirez, Ehsan Ghaem Maghami, Vasily
Ivanchuk, Zoltán Almási, Alexander Grischuk and Veselin Topalov
to meet Michael Adams and play for the title in the final. In this six-game
match both players won two games, making a tie-break of rapid games necessary.
Kasimdzhanov won the first game with black and drew the second, becoming the
new FIDE champion and reigning from 2004-2005. In September-October 2005 Kasimdzhanov
lost the title in the FIDE World Chess Championship tournament in San Luis,
which was won by Bulgarian GM Veselin Topalov.
After his 2004 win of the FIDE world championship, in a moment of weakness,
Rustam gave us some photos from his family album. We looked after them for three
years, waiting for an opportunity to spring them on him. Here, with his permission,
they are.
Rustam and wife Firuza, in the Babur Park, Tashkent, around Navruz time, which
is the Oriental New Year, in March 2003.
This is their son Azar, born in August 2002. The name Azar comes from
the Angel of Fire in some really old Persian mythology.
Firuza Kasimdzhanova in a local costume in a photo shoot for a local magazine.
We have got to know Firuza as an exceptionally warm-hearted, affectionate person,
always cheerful, even in times when this has been difficult. The family lives
in Germany, and she is fluent in German, the language in which we communicate.
Firuza – a great friend and person to have around
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