The massacre of the innocents

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

The Samarkand Olympiad was the largest ever with over 200 teams in the open section and only a few dozen fewer in the parallel Women's Olympiad. Consequently, there were about 800 games a day and so getting on for 9,000 overall.

Many of the best games have already been highlighted here, and I thought that I'd look for some miniatures - games of 25 moves or fewer. To restrict these to a manageable number, I took decisive games in the open section only and required at least one player to be rated over 2500. This yielded 40 games about half of which were from the "massacre of the innocents" in the first round (with pairings of top half v. bottom). I selected the best and/or most amusing with fairly light annotations and have kept them in broad chronological order.

The Bulletproof 1.b3 Repertoire

This compact course is designed specifically for practical play. Instead of overwhelming you with endless theory, it focuses on the critical lines, typical plans, and recurring tactical ideas.
Looking for an opening that gets your opponents thinking on move one? Grandmaster Andy Woodward has relied on 1.b3 for years in blitz and bullet, using it to defeat strong masters and grandmasters who underestimated its hidden venom. While many players dismiss the opening as harmless, they often find themselves caught in unfamiliar positions, tactical traps, and uncomfortable middlegames. This compact course is designed specifically for practical play. Instead of overwhelming you with endless theory, it focuses on the critical lines, typical plans, and recurring tactical ideas that matter most when the clock is ticking.
Free video sample: Introduction
Free video sample: King's Indian Setup

Several oil-on-oak-panel versions of "The Massacre of the Innocents" were painted by Netherlandish painters Pieter Bruegel the Elder and his son Pieter Brueghel the Younger (c.1565-1567). The work translates the Biblical account of the Massacre of the Innocents into a scene in the Southern Netherlands in the prelude to the Dutch Revolt against Spanish rule

I ended up with a "cricket team" of games, and you can find another (only slightly gratuitous) mention of cricket in the notes to game 7, Rapport v. Demchenko.

After the fiasco last month, I did finally manage to log on to XSplit via Twitch. So I've also done the usual video version this time, which I'm recording (in the regrettable absence of a time machine) on Friday, October 2^nd - my 70^th birthday.

Select an entry from the list to switch between games

Master Class Vol.20 - Bent Larsen

In this video course experts examine the games of Bent Larsen. Let them show you which openings Larsen chose, where his strength in middlegames were, how he outplayed his opponents in the endgame & you’ll get a glimpse of his tactical abilities!
Bent Larsen (1935–2010) was the greatest chess player in Danish history, and for a time, the second-strongest player in the Western world behind Bobby Fischer. Between 1954 and 1971, he won the Danish Championship six times, and achieved numerous international tournament victories throughout his career. 
Free video sample: Introduction to Bent Larsen by Peter Heine Nielsen
Free video sample: Introduction to the Opening Section

Links

• Previous column: Beware the Centaur's Hooves
• All Speelman's Agony columns