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The Wijk aan Zee tournament is in full swing and as usual provides us with a feast of good chess. In this weeks radio show we check out three excellent games from the early stages. The first game sees Motlyev trying to storm the poisoned pawn with the help of Keres.
Motylev,A (2647) - Anand,V (2779) [B97]
Corus A Wijk aan Zee NED (2), 14.01.2007
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.e5!? h6 11.Bh4 dxe5 12.fxe5 Nfd7 13.Ne4 Qxa2 14.Rd1
Anand employs Kasparov's suggestion, 14...Qd5. This game is one to watch!
The next game demonstrates conclusively that the King's Indian is alive and kicking!
Van Wely,L (2683) - Radjabov,T (2729) [E97]
Corus A Wijk aan Zee NED (1), 13.01.2007
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.Nf3 0-0 6.Be2 e5 7.0-0 Nc6 8.d5
Ne7 9.b4 Nh5 10.Re1 f5 11.Ng5 Nf6 12.f3 Kh8 13.Ne6 Bxe6 14.dxe6
The fun starts with 14...Nh5, setting up ...f5-f4 and possible sacrifices on g3. To see what happens next you must join the show.
The next game is full of wacky moves, mostly by Black. Check out the following position
Ponomariov,R (2723) - Carlsen,M (2690) [D10]
Corus A Wijk aan Zee NED (3), 15.01.2007
1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.e3 a6 5.Nf3 Bf5 6.Ne5 h6 7.Qb3 Ra7!?
As Edward Winter might say: "We would not presume to comment further."
The puzzle is rather different this week and I hope you like it.
N. A. McLeod
Series helpmate in six
Black makes six consecutive moves to allow White to deliver mate in one. The difficulty lies in where to hide the Black pieces so that they cannot interpose after White's mating move. As usual, entries to andrew@andrewmartinchessacademy.com, this time by 18:00h GMT on 17th Jan.
White to play and win.
Solution: 1.Qc3! Qb7. The only move to keep in touch with c8 and g7. 2.Qa1 1-0.
Please note the show starts at 18:00h GMT / 19:00 CET this week, earlier than usual.
The Andrew Martin Radio ChessBase lecture begins on Wednesdays at 21:00h CET (Central European Time = server time, which translates to 20:00h London, 3:00 p.m. New York, 05:00 a.m. Sydney (on Thursday). You can use Fritz or any Fritz-compatible program (Shredder, Junior, Tiger, Hiarcs) to follow the lectures, or download a free trial client. |
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He is not some unknown in the world of chess. Andrew Martin was the star commentator in the 2000 London match between Garry Kasparov and Vladimir Kramnik, and he gained recent international fame and popularity with his live audio commentary on Playchess.com during the FIDE world championship in San Luis.
Andrew is also a prolific chess trainer, not just live in British scholastic circles, but also in a series of training DVDs he has produced for ChessBase, taking full advantage of our Chess Media System. His lively, entertaining style, combined with a good dash of humour, makes any lesson with him a delight to follow.
Andrew Martin is 47 years old and lives in Sandhurst, England, with his wife and four children. His book King‘s Indian Battle Plans for Thinkers Press was an international best-seller.
Each week Martin will cast his eye over the contemporary chess scene, presenting a veritable pot-pourri of interesting topics. We look forward to the pleasure of your company.
