Andrew Martin: uncompromising chess

It's ... the Andrew Martin Radio ChessBase Show

Liverpool

Nigel Short became the European Individual Champion after winning his last round game against Grandmaster Mark Hebden.

Short,N (2676) - Hebden,M (2532) [C58]
ch-EU Liverpool ENG (10), 15.09.2006
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Ng5 d5 5.exd5 Na5 6.Bb5+ c6 7.dxc6 bxc6 8.Qf3

Perhaps Black was surprised by 8 Qf3!?

Lausanne

Wang Yue (2626) - Vachier Lagrave,M (2577) [D79]
7th Masters Lausanne SUI (3.4), 18.09.2006
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.g3 c6 4.Bg2 d5 5.Nf3 Bg7 6.0-0 0-0 7.cxd5 cxd5 8.Ne5. How does Black win the position after this move in this symmetrical Fianchetto Grunfeld?

Let Vachier Lagrave supply the answer.

Spain

When one plays with fire, one occasionally has to get burned. Shirov goes down in flames against Romero Holmes in a Classical Sicilian

Shirov,A (2716) - Romero Holmes,A (2501) [B63]
TCh-ESP Honor Gp2 San Sebastian ESP (1), 13.09.2006
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 Nc6 6.Bg5 e6 7.Qd2 Be7 8.0-0-0 Qb6 9.Nb3 0-0 10.f3 Rd8 11.Nb5 Rd7 12.Qe1 a6 13.Be3 Qd8 14.N5d4 Nxd4 15.Nxd4 Rc7

15...Rc7 appears to be a novelty.

Arvier

They may be old,but they sure are good! Victor Korchnoi finally makes a concession to his age by playing in the World Senior Championships. Check out his win against Miso Cebalo in the non-pensionable Modern Benoni.

Korchnoi,V (2600) - Cebalo,M (2505) [A61]
XVI WSen Arvier ITA (6), 16.09.2006
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 c5 4.d5 d6 5.Nc3 exd5 6.cxd5 g6 7.Bg5 h6 8.Bh4 Bg7 9.Nd2 g5 10.Bg3 Nh5 11.Qa4+ Kf8 12.Qc2 Nxg3 13.hxg3 Nd7 14.e3 Ne5 15.Be2 a6 16.a4 Rb8

16...Rb8 is a novelty.

Weekly Puzzle

Here's a Rook and Pawn endgame which the average player would do well to master. One wouldn't want to mess this up over the board!

Black to play. Can he draw this ending and if so, how ? Solutions to me at the Andrew Martin Chess Academy by Wedmesday 2000 CET.

Last week's puzzle

The attacking potential of the opposite colour bishop can occasionally last all the way through to the ending. In this lovely study, it's White to play and win. Solution: 1.Bc2+ Ka5 2.b4+ Ka6 3.Kc6 Ka7 4.b5 Ka8 5.Be4 Ka7 6.Bf3 Ka8 7.b6 cxb6 8.Kxb6#. Congratulations to the winner Euripides from Athens!

And finally...

I hope you are all having a good week! This weeks show starts at 21:00 GMT / 22:00 CEST on Wednesday 20th September. I look forward to the pleasure of your company then!

The Andrew Martin Chess Academy opens today, March 1st 2006. The site offers a personal game annotation service; a regular newsletter written by AMCA staff; the best online tuition in terms of value and quality; a series of tournaments for children aged under 14; all aspects of chess training, including specific opening preparation; an AMCA room at PlayChess.com, where lessons may be held in complete privacy with our expert tutors – all at a time that is best for you at any time of day or night, anywhere in the world. The motto: "Join us, Improve and enjoy your chess!"

Andrew Martin, chess trainer and teacher

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.

Andrew Martin: The Trompowsky – The easy way