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Junior Tay: Daniel Fernandez, the lowest-rated player in the event, dragged you to a tie-break in the quarter-finals. He did say, though, that he didn’t have any chance to smell the advantage throughout the match.
Nigel Short: My expected score against Daniel Fernandez is 1½/2; I scored 1. Margins are narrow. I had a big advantage in the first game, but not enough and was pressing in the second, although the computer thinks White was fine, which he was if he played accurately. What you have to consider is that we played two games [classical – J.T.] that day not to mention the tie-break. That is a huge disadvantage for someone of my age. I always knew the first round was going to be far harder than outsiders would assume.
JT: Your third game with Luke McShane and the first of your second tie-break. What were your thoughts when McShane walked right into that famous Short-Seirawan game all the way up to move 12? Were you concerned that it was some massive preparation you were getting into?
NS: That was funny. Obviously he hadn’t bought my DVDs!
Were you concerned or fazed that it might be some massive preparation?
Fazed? I was delighted.
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JT: Your next and final game with Luke saw another win in the Steinitz Deferred. I notice that you score very well with this line (‘+6’ according to my base, including a win over MVL), as well as with the Cozio. Do you have any comment on this or is it a trade secret?
NS: The Steinitz Deferred is a proper opening. It is interesting to check which top players have played it historically and there a lot of big names: Keres, Smyslov, Spassky, etc. I like the fact it is not particularly fashionable. It is real chess. Anyway, much more interesting than the opening is the fact that I had only a draw from four encounters against Luke in the games immediately prior to this match. That was far more relevant than which pawn I decided to push.
Your second game in the final with David Howell. Afraid I must ask: why the quick draw? You could have played 9 Qe2 like Aronian did the day before instead of repeating moves.
I had spent the morning and early afternoon getting a visa, which I could not delay. I was tired. It is relevant because it is the only reason why I made a quick draw.
I was very impressed with the fourth game of the final. Your 13 Kf1 provoked Howell to sacrifice a pawn with 13...e5 and you kept the material advantage right until the end of the game. How did you arrive at the decision to play the king move and did you anticipate his risky counter?
I wanted to play 13 h4 which I thought might be met by 13...e5!?. The computer does not agree with this assessment, but, interestingly, when I discussed things with Caruana the next day, he had the identical thought process and the fact of the matter is I expected David to play 13...e5 after 13 Kf1.
How are you going to spend the £20,000 first prize?
Drugs and hookers.
What is your opinion of the format of the British Knockout event? I noticed on your Twitter feed you wrote: ‘A long and difficult day. Double rounds should be banned. No joke. But at least I pulled through.’
There is a dearth of well-remunerated chess events for British players. This goes some way to redressing the balance, so I am delighted that it exists. It is strongly supporting professionalism in the UK. However, I think the format itself needs to be tweaked. Double rounds, four different starting times for the games, excluding the tie-breaks, and two different time controls in the same event! It is a real dog’s breakfast I’m afraid. Two different classical time controls I even mean!
Somehow the oldie outlasted the youngsters... Did the fact that you would be up against your team-mates from the England Olympiad team motivate you?
I think the £20,000 first prize had more to do with it. Although, it is true, I was a little surprised to find myself on board 5 in the Olympiad.
Even after the big five-o you are clearly able to stay ahead of your younger GM compatriots. How does it feel to be the oldest player in the world top-100?
I am very happy with my status as celebrity oldie. I suppose now that Viktor has gone, someone had to step up.
The above article appeared in the March 2017 of the British magazine CHESS. Matthew Lunn pays further tribute to Nigel later in those pages and CHESS also has the full story behind the qualifier which produced two players for the British Knockout Championship.
CHESS Magazine was established in 1935 by B.H. Wood who ran it for over fifty years. It is published each month by the London Chess Centre and is edited by IM Richard Palliser and Matt Read. The Executive Editor is Malcolm Pein, who organises the London Chess Classic.
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ChessBase Magazine 176 The latest issue of ChessBase’s interactive DVD is for “February/March 2017” and mainly covers the world championship match. Highlights include Fabiano Caruana’s explanation of Game 8 in that match when Magnus went behind, as well as Wesley So on his save against Aronian at the London Chess Classic. Daniel King and Karsten Müller also contribute, while the 10 opening surveys see a number of recommendations for White, including 4 Qd3 in the French Winawer and two lines of the Scotch. Order online from | |
The Stonewall Dutch: A Fighting Repertoire against 1.d4 ChessBase were certainly busy in the autumn and early winter months! Interestingly this DVD appeared during Wijk aan Zee, where L’Ami was playing and defeating Dobrov on the black side of a Staunton Gambit. Moreover Magnus Carlsen was seen on the black side of a Stonewall and deploying a move order advocated by L’Ami in his encounter with Eljanov (playing ...Bd6 before ...c6). Throughout this DVD, L’Ami’s presentation is very clear, as is his explanation of the key strategic motifs for both sides, and at the very least for the club player his recommended repertoire should be more than detailed enough. Order online from | |
The Modern Pirc Another experienced ChessBase presenter makes a welcome return to the studio in the shape of the strong Moldovan Grandmaster, Viktor Bologan. His emphasis is firmly on playing for a win as Black, ideally while taking the opponent away from the main focus of their preparation. Moreover, viewers are informed that Bologan has long played the lines recommended and with some success in Open tournaments. The ‘modern’ part of the repertoire is the move order 1...g6, 2...Bg7 and 3...c6, after which Bologan sometimes follows up with 4...d6 à la the Pirc, but on other occasions is happy with a different approach, namely the Caro-Kann-like 4...d5. Order online from | |
How to Crack the Berlin Wall with 5 Re1 As the aforementioned Carlsen-Karjakin match demonstrated, the line 1 e4 e5 2 Nf3 Nc6 3 Bb5 Nf6 4 0-0 Nxe4 5 Re1 Ìd6 6 Nxe5 Be7 7 Bf1 Nxe5 8 Rxe5 0-0 does not look all that exciting from White’s perspective. However, if such a creative and attack-minded player as Alexei Shirov is happy to deploy it, we should perhaps sit up and reconsider. Shirov has faced the Berlin in a staggering 77 games according to the databases, so is surely well placed to be arguing a case for White. The modern-day Latvian wizard largely preferred 5 d4 Nd6 6 Bxc6 dxc6 7 dxe5 Nf5 8 Qxd8+ Kxd8 (and covered it on an earlier DVD) until 2014 when he began to alternate between that endgame and 5 Re1. In typical fashion, Shirov has uncovered new paths for White and seems happy enough at least while explaining them in a Hamburg studio. Order online from | |
Strengthen Your Chess Foundation Last year ChessBase began a dedicated Indian chess news service, so it comes as no surprise to see an IM and member of the Indian women’s team in their studio. Mohota has a typically Indian delivery and appears well on top of her material, which is well summed up by the subtitle: ‘No sweating over basics anymore!’. Indeed, this DVD is aimed squarely at the club player with Mohota’s main emphasis on how to try and make good decisions, as well as how to read the pawn structure and so find the right plans accordingly. Order online from | |
The Art of the Positional Exchange Sacrifice Tiviakov is a much more experienced ChessBase presenter and while his topic material is generally somewhat more advanced than Mohota’s, players of all levels should be able to learn from his 35 well-chosen examples. Unsurprisingly viewers get to see Petrosian in action, but there are also instances from the games of Botvinnik, Kasparov and Tiviakov himself, usually showing how he was inspired to play a certain exchange sacrifice by one of the famous encounters already shown. Positional exchange sacrifices are a handy dynamic attacking tool and can also help in some quite grim-looking defensive situations, as quickly becomes clear on this DVD. Order online from |
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