Powerful passed pawns
Although Nigel Short is now Vice-President of FIDE, he has not yet put his career as a player on hold. At the invitation of the Prague Chess Society, the veteran played a rapid chess match in Prague against the 18-year old Czech Grandmaster Dai Van Nguyen who is considered a great talent.
Dai Van Nguyen
Short took the lead in the match, but on the final day Nguyen managed to turn the tables and in the end the young Grandmaster won the match 5½-4½.
Short and Nguyen
After the match, Nigel Short gave a simul, but now he is busy finding a way back to his home in Athens. The flight he had booked has been cancelled, and so has another one he wanted to catch.
A simul with Nigel Short
Pavel Matocha, the president of the Prague Chess Society and the organiser of this and many other chess events, reported about Short's difficulties to return home, and remarked jokingly that "Christmas in Prague is nice too".
In the eighth game of the match, the second game that Nguyen won, a complicated queen's ending appeared on the board. It contained many subtleties, too many for a rapid chess game. Karsten Müller had more time and took a closer look at the endgame:
| Replay and check the LiveBook here |
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1.Nf3 c5 2.c4 Nc6 3.Nc3 g6 4.g3 Bg7 5.Bg2 d6 6.0-0 Bf5 7.d3 Qd7 8.Be3 Bh3 9.Rb1 Bxg2 10.Kxg2 h5 11.h4 Nh6 12.Bxh6 Bxh6 13.a3 0-0 14.b4 f5 15.e3 e6 16.Qe2 Rad8 17.Rfd1 b6 18.d4 cxd4 19.exd4 Rde8 20.c5 Nd8 21.cxd6 Qxd6 22.Ne5 Kh7 23.f4 Bg7 24.Qf3 Re7 25.Rbc1 Qb8 26.Ne2 Rc7 27.Rxc7 Qxc7 28.Rc1 Qe7 29.Rc8 Nf7 30.Rxf8 Bxf8 31.Qc6 Bg7 32.Nxf7 Qxf7 33.Kf3 Qe7 34.Ke3 Bf6 35.Ng1 Kg7 36.Nf3 Kf7 37.Kd3 Qd8 38.Kc4 a6 39.a4 Ke7 40.Ne5 Bxe5 41.fxe5 g5‼ 41...Qb8? 42.a5 bxa5 43.bxa5 Qb1 44.Qd6+ Kf7 45.Qd7+ Kf8 46.Qd8+ Kg7 47.Qf6+ Kh7 48.Kc5 Qb5+ 49.Kd6 Qxa5 50.Qf7+ Kh8 51.Qf8+ Kh7 52.Kxe6 Qb6+ 53.Kf7 Qc7+ 54.Kf6 Qb6+ 55.e6 Qxd4+ 56.Kf7 Qa7+ 57.e7+- 42.hxg5 b5+? 42...f4! 43.Qb7+ 43.gxf4 h4 44.Kd3 h3 45.Ke3 h2 46.f5 Qd5 47.f6+ Kd8 48.Qxb6+ Ke8 49.g6 h1Q 50.f7+ Kd7 51.Qa7+ Kc6 52.Qxa6+ Kc7 53.Qa7+ Qb7 54.Qxb7+ Kxb7 55.f8Q Qe1+ 56.Kd3 Qd1+ 57.Kc3 Qc1+= 43.Kd3 fxg3 44.Qf3 Qd5 45.Qxd5 exd5 46.Ke3 h4 47.Kf3 Kf7 48.Kg2 Ke6 49.g6 Ke7 50.Kh3 Ke6= 43.g6 Qd5+ 44.Qxd5 exd5+ 45.Kxd5 fxg3 46.g7 Kf7 47.e6+ Kxg7 48.Kd6 g2 49.e7 g1Q 50.e8Q Qxd4+ 51.Kc7 Qxb4 52.Qe5+= 43...Qd7 44.Qxd7+ Kxd7 45.gxf4 h4 46.g6 Ke7 46...h3? 47.g7 h2 48.g8Q h1Q 49.Qf7+ Kd8 50.Qf8+ Kc7 51.Qd6+ Kb7 52.Qd7+ Kb8 53.Qxe6+- 47.a5 47.f5 h3 48.fxe6 h2 49.g7 h1Q 50.g8Q Qc6+ 51.Kd3 Qf3+= 47...b5+ 48.Kc5 h3 49.d5 h2 50.d6+ Kd7 51.g7 h1Q 52.g8Q Qc6+ 53.Kd4 Qc4+ 54.Ke3 Qc1+= 43.axb5 axb5+ 44.Kd3 44.Kxb5 44...Kf7 45.g6+ Kxg6 46.Qxe6+ Kg5 47.d5 Qf8 48.d6 Kg4 49.Qg6+ Kf3 50.d7 Kf2 50...Qxb4 51.Qxf5+ 51.d8Q? Qe4+ 52.Kc3 Qc4+ 53.Kd2 Qb4+= 51...Kxg3 52.Qg5+ Kf3 53.Qe3+ Kg2 54.Qe4++- 51.Qb6+ 1–0 - Start an analysis engine:
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| Nguyen,T | 2571 | Short,N | 2626 | 1–0 | 2020 | A37 | Thai Dai Van Nguyen vs Nigel Short 2020 | 8.1 |
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Rules of thumb are the key to everything when you are having to set the correct course in a complex endgame. In this final DVD of his series on the endgame, our endgame specialist introduces you to the most important of these rules of thumb.
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