Hackery (Pt. 2)

by Jonathan Speelman
11/15/2020 – Star columnist Jon Speelman continues to look at games where hacking (or hackery — the two are more or less interchangeable in his mind) plays a key role. “In a time still dominated by lockdowns we need entertainment, and a blood sport which doesn’t spill real blood seems ideal”, asserts Speelman. | Pictured: Thai Dai Van Nguyen | Photo: iSport.cz

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A few Hackers more

[Note that Jon Speelman also looks at the content of the article in video format, here embedded at the end of the article.]

A fortnight ago, I looked at perhaps the most violent game of my life: a ludicrously messy battle with Tony Miles way back in 1975. Paired with a recent bout of hacking (or hackery — the two are more or less interchangeable in my mind) they formed a small homage to violence in chess. In a time still dominated by lockdowns we need entertainment, and a blood sport which doesn’t spill real blood seems ideal — so I promised some more today.

Most chess is currently of course played online, but there is some over-the-board activity. While I obviously saw them myself online, these two recent examples were both actually contested on over-the-board competitions.  

We begin with a last round-game from the Swedish League in Stockholm.  

 

Yuri Solodovnichenko

Yuri Solodovnichenko 

We move on to the Tegernsee Masters in Germany, an initially ten-player all-play-all which Vincent Keymer had to leave after a schoolmate caught the Coronavirus. Alexander Donchenko won the resultant nine-player tournament, and like the blood fest in Sweden above, this explosive battle was played in the final round.

 


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Jonathan Speelman, born in 1956, studied mathematics but became a professional chess player in 1977. He was a member of the English Olympic team from 1980–2006 and three times British Champion. He played twice in Candidates Tournaments, reaching the semi-final in 1989. He twice seconded a World Championship challenger: Nigel Short and then Viswanathan Anand against Garry Kasparov in London 1993 and New York 1995.

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