Young and old alike

It's ... the Andrew Martin Radio ChessBase Show

This weeks radio show features only games played in the last week, which is about as current as you can get. We visit Sofia first off and pay due homage to the great and good. See Anand beat Topalov with black! We have seen the opening before; it's the Anti-Marshall with 8 h3: 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0-0 Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 0-0 8.h3

Perhaps they have a rule at this level either to play The Ruy Lopez or the Najdorf.

Then to a tournament named modestly 'the young stars of the world'. Black fails to star in the game we will see and gets drubbed in 23 moves. It's a Trompowski though: 1.d4 Nf6 2.Bg5

so the result is only to be expected.

And finally Gert Ligterink, veteran, gives Joel Lautier a lesson with the Black pieces: 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 b6 4.g3 Ba6

Perhaps he is planning a comeback!

A review of ' The King' by Jan Hein Donner, one of the greatest books about chess ever written, completes the show.

Our competition is slightly different: In which year was 'The King' originally published?

Solution to last week's problem

Solution: 1.Rf6!! with the idea of Rxh6+! 1...Qf8 forced [1...gxf6 2.Qxh6+ Kg8 3.Nxf6++–] 2.Rxh6+ gxh6 3.Nf6+ Kg7 [3...Kh8 4.Qf5] 4.Qf5! Rbd8 5.Rd3 Qh8 6.Rg3+ Kf8 7.Nh7+ Ke7 8.Rg8! Qxh7 [8...Qxg8 9.Qf6#] 9.Qxh7 A classic infiltration. 1-0

Please note that the show begins this week at 22:30 GMT / 23:30 CEST, so that we can all watch the Champions League final. COME ON ARSENAL!

The Andrew Martin Chess Academy opens today, March 1st 2006. The site offers a personal game annotation service; a regular newsletter written by AMCA staff; the best online tuition in terms of value and quality; a series of tournaments for children aged under 14; all aspects of chess training, including specific opening preparation; an AMCA room at PlayChess.com, where lessons may be held in complete privacy with our expert tutors – all at a time that is best for you at any time of day or night, anywhere in the world. The motto: "Join us, Improve and enjoy your chess!"

Andrew Martin, chess trainer and teacher

He is not some unknown in the world of chess. Andrew Martin was the star commentator in the 2000 London match between Garry Kasparov and Vladimir Kramnik, and he gained recent international fame and popularity with his live audio commentary on Playchess.com during the FIDE world championship in San Luis.

Andrew is also a prolific chess trainer, not just live in British scholastic circles, but also in a series of training DVDs he has produced for ChessBase, taking full advantage of our Chess Media System. His lively, entertaining style, combined with a good dash of humour, makes any lesson with him a delight to follow.

Andrew Martin is 47 years old and lives in Sandhurst, England, with his wife and four children. His book King‘s Indian Battle Plans for Thinkers Press was an international best-seller.

Each week Martin will cast his eye over the contemporary chess scene, presenting a veritable pot-pourri of interesting topics. We look forward to the pleasure of your company.

Andrew Martin: The Trompowsky – The easy way