London Chess Classic, Rd. 6: Simply Fantastic

by Johannes Fischer
12/15/2016 – In a round with a lot of exciting chess Fabiano Caruana played the most brilliant game by defeating Hikaru Nakamura with a positional queen sacrifice. Wesley So crushed Veselin Topalov with a violent kingside attack and Maxime Vachier-Lagrave countered Levon Aronian's optimistic winning attempts. Anish Giri chased Vishy Anand's king across the board but had to content himself with a draw. Vladimir Kramnik and Michael Adams played a relatively sober draw. Report and games.
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London Chess Classic 2016, Rd. 6

Round 6, Fabiano Caruana - Hikaru Nakamura / Notes by Michal Krasenkow

 
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MoveNResultEloPlayers
1.e41,166,62354%2421---
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While the tournament leader, Wesley So, scored another victory against out-of-form Veselin Topalov, two of his chasers, said to be the most probable challengers for the world title in 2018, clashed in a principled battle. 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 Nakamura played the Najdorf System against Caruana in their latest resultive classic game (US Championship, Saint Louis, April 2016)... and lost! Since then Fabiano and Hikaru only met in rapid (or semi-rapid, as in the "Champions Showdown" last month) and blitz events, and Nakamura always replied 1...e5 to 1.e4. Does he think that the Najdorf is a "more serious" opening than 1...e5 :-)? 6.Bg5 This "main" move is a rare guest in Caruana's practice. He plays various systems against the Najdorf but lately his main weapon was the English Attack, starting with 6.f3 (that's what he played against Nakamura in Saint Louis). However, it looks like Hikaru was not surprised. e6 7.f4 h6 Apparently, Nakamura had never played this line before the present game. However, Caruana didn't miss it when preparing to play 6.Bg5. 8.Bh4 Qb6 This aggressive continuation is probably more popular on move 7 but it is by no means new in this position, too. 9.a3 One of the main theoretical moves. White indirectly protects his b2 pawn and prepares to oust Black's queen by means of Bh4-f2. 9.Qd2 , sacrificing the b2 pawn, is the main alternative. 9...Be7 Of course, 9...Qxb2?? loses the queen due to 10.Na4 9...Nbd7 9...Nc6 and even 9...Bd7 are the other moves frequently seen in practice. 10.Bf2 Qc7 11.Qf3 Nbd7 12.0-0-0 b5 13.g4 Both sides have made typical attacking knight pawn moves; however, their impet is slowed down by the rook pawns, which have already moved to a3 and h6... g5 ...and besides, Black has a possibility to strike a sudden counterblow, with an obvious idea to gain the e5 square for his knight. 14.h4!? gxf4 15.Be2 This apparently strange sequence of moves was seen for the first time in a correspondence game and later, at the super-GM level, in Giri - Vachier-Lagrave (Stavanger 2016). White creates the g4-g5 threat and protects the g4 pawn in case of ...Nd7-e5 Qf3xf4. b4!? Played instantly, which means that this move was prepared at home. In his annotations for ChessBase Magazine, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave examines a lot of moves but not this one! However, it was obviously not secret for yesterday's opponents. The French Grandmaster played 15...Rg8 in the above-mentioned game, to which, according to his analysis, White could have sacrificed a pawn: 16.g5! with a powerful attack instead of 16.Rdg1 , played by Anish Giri To understand the idea of 15...b4, we must take a look at the following line: 15...Ne5 16.Qxf4 Nexg4! 17.Bxg4 e5 (looks very strong but White has an adequate riposte) 18.Nd5! Nxd5 19.Qf3 - White avoids serious material losses and keeps a strong attack at Black's uncastled king, e.g. Bxg4 20.Qxg4 Nf6 21.Qf3 exd4 22.Bxd4 regaining the piece since Qd8? is clearly bad due to 23.e5 (Indicated by Vachier-Lagrave). 16.axb4 Ne5 17.Qxf4 Nexg4 18.Bxg4 e5 Now we see the difference. In case of 18...e5 19.Nd5 Nxd5 20.Qf3 Black can simply play Nxb4 . White's d4 knight can't retreat, the only way for him to avoid losing a piece is 21.Be1 a5 22.Bxb4 axb4 , opening the a-file for Black, after which the latter obtains an excellent counterplay. However, White has another option... 19.Qxf6! This queen sacrifice is not difficult, in fact, but what followed next was really amazing. Bxf6 20.Nd5 Qd8 21.Nf5‼ After this move Hikaru fell into a deep thought for the first time in this game! In his analysis he obviously expected 21.Nc6 Bxg4 22.Nxd8 Bxd8 This endgame is unclear, both sides have their merits and drawbacks. Black has more weaknesses but his bishop pair should not be underestimated. Instead, Fabiano renounces restoring the material balance! I must say that such "real" queen sacrifices are an Achilles' heel of analytic engines. They almost always evaluate positions with, say, two minor pieces for a queen in favour of the strongest piece, while in reality, in human play, there may be a more than sufficient compensation for the material. Therefore such positions should be analysed and evaluated "manually", and kudos to Caruana and his team for doing that! 21...Rb8?! Black prevents 22.Bb6 but allows 22.Nxf6+ Qxf6 23.Nxd6+ (or 23.Rxd6), which proves to be fatal for him. He could have parried both threats by just trading White's dangerous knight: 21...Bxf5 22.Bxf5 Rb8 but then the weakness of light squares around his king could have become decisive. Computer engines show equality here, which means that Black's position is almost hopeless :-). White could have played 23.Rd3 with idea Ra3 or Rc3 or simply 23.c4 22.Nxf6+ Qxf6 23.Rxd6?! Alas, White fails to find the strongest but very difficult continuation, which means that either Caruana did not analyse 21...Rb8 at all or forgot his analysis. I bet for the former suggestion since the variations are really amazing and must stock up in one's memory: 23.Nxd6+! Ke7 to 23...Kf8 White has an amazing move 24.Bf5‼ followed by Bf2-c5, and Black's king, "pressed against the ropes", is completely helpless 23...Qxd6 is hopeless due to 24.Rxd6 Bxg4 25.Rxa6 with a decisive material advantage for White 24.Bc5‼ Qf4+ (forced) 24...Bxg4 25.Nb5+ followed by mate on c7 25.Kb1 Qxg4 25...Bxg4 again leads to a mate after 26.Nf5+ 26.Nxc8+ Ke8 26...Kf6 27.Rhf1+ Kg7 28.Rg1+- with decisive material gains for White 27.Nd6+ Kd7 (again the only move) 27...Ke7 28.Nf5+ Ke8 29.Rhg1+- - Black's queen can't retreat in view of Nf5-g7# 28.Nxf7+ Kc7 (other retreats are worse) e.g. 28...Ke6 29.Nxh8 Rxh8 30.Rhf1 with an inevitable deadly check on d6 29.Bd6+ Kb7 (once again, there are no better king moves) 30.Bxb8 Rxb8 31.Nxe5 , and White keeps a rook, knight and three pawns for the queen, which is quite enough to win, since Qxe4?! 32.Nd7 loses an exchange, after which two rooks easily deal with Black's lone queen. 23...Be6 Black is ready to castle. However, his position is still poor. 24.Rhd1 Another way to meet Black's castling was 24.Be3 Rxb4! if 24...0-0 then 25.Nxh6+ Kh8 25...Kg7 26.Rg1 26.Nxf7+! Qxf7 27.Rxe6 , and Black's king is helpless. an attempt to free Black's queen: 24...Qg6 fails to 25.Rxe6+‼ fxe6 26.Bh5! Qxh5 27.Ng7+ 25.Rxa6 0-0 in case of 25...Bxf5 26.Rxf6 Bxg4 27.Bxh6 Rxe4 White keeps an extra pawn and good winning chances 26.Nxh6+ Kh8 27.Bf5! 27.Nxf7+ Qxf7 28.Rxe6 is now premature due to Rxe4 ; White must prepare that blow 27...Qd8 28.Nxf7+! Rxf7 29.Rxe6 Rxf5! (Black must get rid of White's terrifying bishop) 30.Rh6+ 30.exf5 Rg4! is less clear 30...Kg8 31.Rg1+ Kf7 32.Rh7+ Ke6 33.exf5+ Kxf5± Despite an approximate material parity, White has a clear advantage: a passed h4 pawn, and Black's "centralized" king is in danger; still, the outcome of the game is not quite certain. 24...0-0 25.h5! (threatening 26.Bh4) Qg5+ Black didn't bring himself to put his queen to the corner by 25...Rfe8 26.Bh4 Qh8 but that was the most stubborn defense. White should probably continue positionally: 27.Ne3! 27.Ne7+ is not enough due to Rxe7 28.Bxe7 Bxg4 29.Rd8+ Rxd8 30.Rxd8+ Kh7 31.Rxh8+ Kxh8 , and Black should not lose this endgame with opposite-coloured bishops 27...Qg7 28.Rg1 Kf8 29.Rdd1± Black's position is very difficult to defend, of course. 26.Be3 Qf6 Of course, not 26...Qxg4 27.Nxh6+ 27.Nxh6+ Kh8 28.Bf5 Caruana spent some time calculating the blow on f7 but finally prefered a strong positional continuation, making Nxf7+ a more powerful threat. 28.Nxf7+ was possible but Black had the following defense: Rxf7 29.Rxe6 Qh4! 30.Bf5 (threatening 31.Rh6+ since Black will be unable to reply 31...Rh7) Rxf5! (here, too, Black must eliminate this bishop) 31.exf5 31.Rh6+ was a good alternative: Kg8 32.Rg1+ Kf7 33.Rh7+ Ke6 34.exf5+ Kxf5 35.Rf1+ Ke6 36.Rh6+ Kd5 37.Bd2± with a favorable position, similar to the one examined in the 24.Be3 line 31...Qxb4 , and the forced line 32.Rh6+ Kg8 33.Rg1+ Kf7 34.Rh7+ Kf6 35.Rg6+ Kxf5 36.Rf7+ Ke4 37.Rg4+ Kxe3 38.Rxb4 Rxb4 leads to a rook endgame with an extra pawn for White, which, I believe, should be winning for him despite Black's passed e-pawn. But, of course, calculating this line and evaluating the final position is a very difficult task over the board. 28...Qe7? Nakamura succumbs to the pressure. His move doesn't parry the Nxf7+ threat. 28...Rxb4? 29.Nxf7+ Qxf7 30.Rxe6 was obviously hopeless 28...Rbd8 doesn't work due to the simple 29.Rxd8 Rxd8 30.Rxd8+ Qxd8 31.Bxe6 , and White gets a third piece for the queen; Qh4 doesn't help here due to 32.Nxf7+ Kg7 or 32...Kh7 33.Kb1 33.Bh6+! Kh7 34.b3 : Black can't take the e4 pawn in view of the knight fork; well, he can take the h5 pawn but White keeps a decisive material advantage anyway to 28...Qh4 White can reply 29.Rg1! threatening 30.Bg5 29.Nxf7+ Rxf7 30.Rxe6 Rxf5 leads to a position arising after 28.Nxf7+ 29...Qxh5 (what else?) 30.Nxf7+! Rxf7 30...Bxf7 is also hopeless due to 31.Rh6+ Qxh6 32.Bxh6 Rg8 33.Rh1 31.Rxe6 Rg7 32.Rd1 - Black will never survive with such a poor king! 28...Rfe8 was the most stubborn defense. White can continue 29.Rg1 or 29.c3 but not 29.Rxa6? Ra8 , and Black obtains counterplay 29...Rxb4 30.Rxa6 with a huge advantage. 29.b5?! The idea of this move is either to close the b-file or to deflect Black's rook from the 8th rank. However, such "niceties" were excessive! Black prepared to meet 29.Nxf7+ Rxf7 30.Rxe6 with Qxb4 followed by 31.Rh6+ Kg8 32.Rg1+ Rg7 but not 32...Kf8 33.Rh8+ Ke7 34.Rxb8 Qxb8 35.Bc5++- 33.Be6+ Kf8 . Here both players missed the excellent move 34.Bc5+‼ instead of the obvious 34.Rh8+ Ke7 35.Rxg7+ Kd6! 36.Rd7+ Kxe6 37.Rxb8 Qxb8± , which both definitely calculated and concluded that Black could successfully continue resistance 34...Qxc5 35.Rh8+ Ke7 36.Rxg7+ Kd6 37.Rxb8 Qe3+ 37...Kxe6 38.Rb6+! Qxb6 39.Rg6+ - a simple skewer combination 38.Kb1 Qe1+ 39.Ka2 Qa5+ 40.Kb3 Kxe6 (the bishop can be taken now but White simply queens his h-pawn) 41.h6+- 29...Qe8? Here are the lines demonstrating White's idea: 29...axb5 30.Nxf7+ Rxf7 31.Rxe6 , and in case of Qb4 32.Rh6+ Kg8 White can simply play 33.c3 parrying all future threats 29...Rxb5 30.Nxf7+ Rxf7 31.Rxe6 Qb4 32.Rd8+ (the pointe! The invasion of this rook breaks Black's defenses) Rf8 33.Rh6+ Kg7 or 33...Kg8 34.Be6+ Kg7 35.Rd7+ 34.Rd7+ Rf7 35.Rg6+ Kh8 35...Kf8 36.Rd8+ Ke7 37.Bg5+ 36.Rd8+ Rf8 36...Kh7 37.Rc6+ Rxf5 38.Rc7+ and mate 37.Rxf8+ Qxf8 38.Bg5 with an inevitable deadly check on f6 Black could have parried the Nxf7+ threat by means of 29...Rbe8 but with the passed a-pawn after 30.bxa6 , White should win. 30.Nxf7+ Rxf7 31.Rxe6 Qxb5 The same defense as after the immediate 29.Nxf7+ but here Black's queen is placed worse than on b4. 32.Rh6+ BLACK RESIGNED forseeing the following line. Nakamura's opening surprise (15...b4) was met with an excellent counter-surprise (21.Nf5!!). Black's queen was absolutely powerless against White's minor pieces. Of course, the unsafe position of Black's king made the greatest contribution to his defeat. Unfortunately, Caruana didn't find the simplest paths to a win at several occasions but he never let his advantage slip and finally brought it home. Fabiano didn't manage to catch the leader but keeps closely chasing him. Last three rounds of the tournament are going to be exciting! After 32.Rh6+ Kg8 33.Rg1+ Rg7 34.Be6+ Kf8 35.Rh8+ of course, the beautiful 35.Bc5+ wins here, too, but it is unnecessary now 35...Ke7 36.Rxg7+ Kd6 Black is not threatening mate on e1, and ...Qxb2+ will be completely harmless; therefore, White can simply continue 37.Rh6+- with decisive threats. 1–0
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Caruana,F-Nakamura,H-1–02016B96London Chess Classic6

Michal Krasenkow's commentary will also be in the next ChessBase Magazine #176, together with all the games of the London Chess Classic, a lot of them annotated - and much more. ChessBase Magazine #175, the current issue, also contains a wealth of material and annotated games by Vladimir Kramnik, Wesley So, David Navara, Pavel Eljanov, Simon Williams, Daniel King any many other exclusive authors.  Have a look!

The Highlights of round 6 by Daniel King

Photos: Lennart Ootes

Round 6 was amazing. After the rest day the players did not appear rested and calm but charged with energy.

Veselin Topalov-Wesley So

To say Topalov is not in good shape in London is an understatement. Topalov drew one of his first five games and lost four. Wesley So, however, is in splendid shape and leads the tournament.

Topalov vs So

Topalov had White and tried an Italian but So was unimpressed and improved a previous game these two had played. So pushed his kingside pawns forward to gain space but a few moves later still castled kingside and soon mounted a strong attack against White's king. This culminated in a violent mating attack and after 27 moves it was game over.

Topalov is bleeding Elo-points in London and is currently no longer among the top 20

Maxime Vachier Lagrave-Levon Aronian

Maxime Vachier-Lagrave and Levon Aronian also followed the trend and played an Italian game. After the topical 6.a4 - which had been played twice in the World Championship match between Carlsen and Karjakin  -  Aronian countered with 6...a5, an idea only a few players have tried before. The game quickly became tense. Aronian pushed in the centre which made Vachier-Lagrave sacrifice a piece which led to a position in which he had queen, rook and bishop against queen and two rooks.

Aronian pushed too hard

Objectively the position was perhaps equal but Aronian wanted to win at all costs. And while he tried to attack the white king with his major pieces Vachier-Lagrave took all the black pawns on the queenside - and after Aronian's attack came to a halt the white pawns on the queenside carried the day.

 

Fabiano Caruana-Hikaru Nakamura

Fabiano Caruana must have been inspired by the spirit of Rashid Nezhmetdinov, who was born exactly 104 years ago, on December 15, 1912;  how else to explain Caruana's queen sacrifice on f6?

Help from above?

In one of his brilliancies the great tactician Nezhmetdinov once sacrificed a queen on f6 for two minor pieces. And this is what Caruana did today in a sharp line of the Najdorf:

 
White to move...

 

Caruana took on f6 and got two knights and a very strong initiative for his queen.

 

Maurice Ashley explains what is going on

A good choice which the engines fully supported. Black had trouble to find a safe place for his queen but even more trouble to find a safe place for his king. Caruana attacked with powerful patience and Nakamura found no defense. After this impressive victory Caruana is only about ten points behind Carlsen in live-ratings.

A brilliant win by Caruana

Vishy Anand-Anish Giri

Vishy Anand and Anish Giri also debated the pros and cons of the Sicilian. The game began with a Najdorf but after Anand's 6.h3 it transposed into a Keres Attack in the Scheveningen. Anand castled queenside, Giri came up with a novelty (15...Nc5) and attacked White's king. Anand countered by sacrificing his knight on b5. Giri returned the compliment with a sacrifice of his own which made White's king run from the queenside to seek shelter on the kingside. The black pieces followed closely but Black could not find a mate and had to agree to repetition of moves and a draw.

Anish Giri might have a good chance

Vladimir Kramnik-Michael Adams

Currently Kramnik abstains from theoretical opening discussions and prefers simple solid lines. Today he chose the Zukertort-System 1.d4, 2.Nf3, 3.e3. Adams opted for symmetry and after some minor tactical skirmishes the players forced a draw with a perpetual.

Results of round 6

Board Title Name Country ELO Res. Title Name Country ELO
1 GM Veselin Topalov
 
 2760 0 - 1 GM Wesley So
 
 2794
2 GM Vladimir Kramnik
 
 2809 ½ - ½ GM Michael Adams
 
 2748
3 GM Fabiano Caruana
 
 2823 1 - 0 GM Hikaru Nakamura
 
 2779
4 GM Viswanathan Anand
 
 2779 ½ - ½ GM Anish Giri
 
 2771
5 GM Maxime Vachier Lagrave
 
 2804 1 - 0 GM Levon Aronian
 
 2785

Games - Rounds 1 to 6

 
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MoveNResultEloPlayers
1.e41,166,62354%2421---
1.d4947,29855%2434---
1.Nf3281,60256%2441---
1.c4182,10256%2442---
1.g319,70256%2427---
1.b314,26554%2427---
1.f45,89748%2377---
1.Nc33,80151%2384---
1.b41,75648%2380---
1.a31,20654%2404---
1.e31,06848%2408---
1.d395450%2378---
1.g466446%2360---
1.h444653%2374---
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1.Na34262%2482---
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 d5 4.cxd5 Nxd5 5.e4 Nxc3 6.bxc3 Bg7 7.Be3 c5 8.Rc1 0-0 9.Qd2 e5 10.d5 Nd7 11.c4 f5 12.Bg5 Nf6 13.Ne2 Nxe4 14.Bxd8 Nxd2 15.Be7 Rf7 16.Bxc5 Nxf1 17.Rxf1 b6 18.Bb4 Ba6 19.f4 Rc8 20.fxe5 Bxe5 21.Rf3 Bxc4 22.Re3 Bg7 23.Nf4 Rd7 24.a4 Bh6 25.g3 Bxf4 26.gxf4 Rxd5 27.Re7 Rd4 28.Bd2 Kf8 29.Bb4 Re8 0–1
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Nakamura,H2779So,W27940–12016D858th London Classic 20161
Caruana,F2823Anand,V2779½–½2016A218th London Classic 20161
Kramnik,V2809Topalov,V27601–02016D778th London Classic 20161
Vachier Lagrave,M2804Giri,A2771½–½2016B908th London Classic 20161
Aronian,L2785Adams,M27481–02016C508th London Classic 20161
Kramnik,V2809Aronian,L2785½–½2016A148th London Classic 20162
Anand,V2779Vachier Lagrave,M28041–02016B908th London Classic 20162
So,W2794Adams,M27481–02016E068th London Classic 20162
Topalov,V2760Caruana,F28230–12016C028th London Classic 20162
Giri,A2771Nakamura,H2779½–½2016A498th London Classic 20162
Aronian,L2785So,W2794½–½2016A348th London Classic 20163
Caruana,F2823Kramnik,V2809½–½2016C538th London Classic 20163
Nakamura,H2779Anand,V27791–02016D378th London Classic 20163
Vachier Lagrave,M2804Topalov,V2760½–½2016C678th London Classic 20163
Adams,M2748Giri,A2771½–½2016B518th London Classic 20163
Giri,A2771So,W2794½–½2016D028th London Classic 20164
Kramnik,V2809Vachier Lagrave,M2804½–½2016A498th London Classic 20164
Caruana,F2823Aronian,L2785½–½2016C778th London Classic 20164
Anand,V2779Adams,M2748½–½2016C538th London Classic 20164
Topalov,V2760Nakamura,H27790–12016B128th London Classic 20164
So,W2794Anand,V2779½–½2016D378th London Classic 20165
Vachier Lagrave,M2804Caruana,F2823½–½2016C428th London Classic 20165
Nakamura,H2779Kramnik,V2809½–½2016D378th London Classic 20165
Aronian,L2785Giri,A2771½–½2016D778th London Classic 20165
Adams,M2748Topalov,V27601–02016C658th London Classic 20165
Topalov,V2760So,W27940–12016C538th London Classic 20166
Kramnik,V2809Adams,M2748½–½2016D058th London Classic 20166
Caruana,F2823Nakamura,H27791–02016B968th London Classic 20166
Anand,V2779Giri,A2771½–½2016B908th London Classic 20166
Vachier Lagrave,M2804Aronian,L27851–02016C508th London Classic 20166

Standings after six rounds

Rg. Title Name Country ELO 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Pts Perf. TB
1 GM Wesley So
 
 2794       ½ ½ ½   1 1 1 4.5 / 6 2961  
2 GM Fabiano Caruana
 
 2823     ½ ½ ½   ½ 1   1 4.0 / 6 2906  
3 GM Vladimir Kramnik
 
 2809   ½   ½     ½ ½ ½ 1 3.5 / 6 2841  
4 GM Levon Aronian
 
 2785 ½ ½ ½     ½ 0   1   3.0 / 6 2791 10.00
5 GM Viswanathan Anand
 
 2779 ½ ½       ½ 1 0 ½   3.0 / 6 2786 10.00
6 GM Anish Giri
 
 2771 ½     ½ ½   ½ ½ ½   3.0 / 6 2781 9.50
7 GM Maxime Vachier Lagrave
 
 2804   ½ ½ 1 0 ½       ½ 3.0 / 6 2788 8.50
8 GM Hikaru Nakamura
 
 2779 0 0 ½   1 ½       1 3.0 / 6 2789 6.75
9 GM Michael Adams
 
 2748 0   ½ 0 ½ ½       1 2.5 / 6 2725  
10 GM Veselin Topalov
 
 2760 0 0 0       ½ 0 0   0.5 / 6 2377  

Live video round 6

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Johannes Fischer was born in 1963 in Hamburg and studied English and German literature in Frankfurt. He now lives as a writer and translator in Nürnberg. He is a FIDE-Master and regularly writes for KARL, a German chess magazine focusing on the links between culture and chess. On his own blog he regularly publishes notes on "Film, Literature and Chess".

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