Luck In Chess

Lucky Topalov

" A good player is always lucky."  -  J.R. Capablanca

Indeed, competitive chess at the top level is a combination of mistake and opportunity. One needs to play good and a little bit of luck - to WIN! 

Grandmaster Topalov after his miracle turnaround against the current champion Carlsen in the first round, managed to gain victory again when his opponent blundered the game away. 

Here are some game fragments between GM-Hammer(NOR) and GM-Topalov(BUL) during Sunday's 5th round encounter. While following the game on ICC, i noticed an interesting idea for Black to proceed from the current position.

Black's turn

It is the move 68...Rb6!? (at first, thinking it is Veselin's main idea - with bishop moving h8 then back to d4) that caught my attention. The Rook cannot be taken (69.Rxb6? Bxb6 70.Kb5 Ba7 71.Kc6 Ke6-+) as the position will transpose to what eventually happened in the game. 

69.a7 Rb1! Skewer motif comes in handy. 70.Rd6 (70.Rc7+ Ke6 71.Rc6+ Kf5 72.Rd6 Bxa7 73.Rf6+ Kg4 74.Rxg6 Kxf4 75.Rg7 Bd4=+) 70...Bxa7 71.f5 gxf5 72.Rf6+ Kg7 73.Rxf5 Kg6=+ transposing to the theoretically drawn rook+bishop vs rook ending with correct play. But in practice, the stronger side usually wins most of the time. 

After five more moves from the diagram above, the position below emerges. An improved version of the line with 68...Rb6 69.Rxb6 Bxb6 mentioned earlier and should be an easy draw. 

White's turn

Looking at the second position, White needs to shuffle his King between d6 and e5 or trade Black's only chance for a win (pawn that can promote) with 75.Ke5 Ke7 76.f5! = capturing the pawn next move leaving Black with insufficient mating material 1/2-1/2.

Then, "lightning strikes" with White making an unbelievable blunder - 74.Kc6??  (thinking about winning) and after the simple 74...Ke6! Black is winning 0-1.

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Be An Endgame Expert

        Learn the two main endgame plans and know how to use your pieces in this last phase of the game. An endgame improvement amplifies your positional play automatically.

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Additional Study Material:

The art of the Endgame

Memorable Encounters

Beating Titled Players

The "2015 ICC Open" is an occasion for the hundreds of ICCers to measure their strength against super-strong players. The ICC Open was an amazing event, with many strong GMs participating, a plethora of IMs and FMs, with GM Alexander Grischuk showcasing his top form and crowned as Champion. 

I'll share with you two memorable games from the said event (against a GM and an IM) to learn something from and inspire young chess fans.

I. Bishop and Rook Tandem in the Endgame
Radja (2433) - (GM) TasteOflover (2788) [C10]

ICC Open 2015 Internet Chess Club (3), 30.05.2015

1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 dxe4 4.Nxe4 Nd7 5.Nf3 Ngf6 6.Bg5 "In a standard game, i would prefer 6.Nxf6+ Nxf6 followed by 7.Bg5 Be7 then 8.Bc4." 6...h6 7.Nxf6+ Nxf6 8.Bh4 Be7 9.Bd3 Bd7 10.Qe2 Bc6 11.0–0 Bxf3 12.Qxf3 c6 13.c3 Qd5 14.Qe2 Qh5 15.Bg3 Qxe2 16.Bxe2 0–0 17.Bf3 "More accurate is to develop the least active piece with 17.Rad1 and keep the Bishop pair by Bf4 next move." 17.Rfd8 18.Rfe1 Kf8 19.a4 a5 20.Re2 Bd6 21.Bh4?! g5 22.Bg3 Bxg3 23.hxg3 "Capturing with 23.fxg3 is better giving the a1-rook a semi-open f-file." 23...Ne8 24.Be4 Nf6 25.Bc2 Rac8 26.Re5 b6 27.Rd1 Ke7 28.f3 Rd5 29.c4 Rxe5 30.dxe5 Nd7 31.f4 Nc5 32.Kf2 Na6 33.Rh1 Rd8 34.Ke3 gxf4+ 35.gxf4 Nb4 36.Be4 "The black Knight on b4 seemed active and stable but clearly dominated by its counterpart, the white Bishop on e4." 36...Rh8 37.g4 Kf8 38.g5 Kg7 (D)

White's turn

39.g6!! "My favorite move of the game." 39...fxg6 40.Rd1! "The rook takes control of the only open file, in time when Black's second rank is vulnerable." 40...Rf8 41.Rd6 Re8? "The crucial mistake giving White a dominating position." 42.Rd7+ Kg8 43.Bxg6 Rf8 44.Bh7+ Kh8 45.Be4 Kg8 46.Rh7 "Even stronger is 46.Re7! to win the e6-pawn which would give White two connected passed pawn and an easy win." 46...Rd8 47.Rxh6 Kf7 48.Rh7+ Kg8 49.Re7 Rd1 50.Rxe6 "It's game over at this point." 50...Re1+ 51.Kf3 Kf7 52.Rf6+ Ke7 53.Rh6 Rf1+ 54.Kg4 Rc1 55.f5 Rxc4 56.f6+ Kf7 57.Kf5 Kf8 58.e6 Rc5+ 59.Kg6 1–0

II. Attacking the Weak Castled King
Radja (2433) - (IM) mvillalba [C77]

ICC Open 2015 Internet Chess Club (11), 29.05.2015

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.Bxc6 "Delayed exchange variation - waiting for Black's Knight to reach f6 before trading with Bxc6 - also avoiding the theoretical battle in the main line of the Marshal Attack." 5...dxc6 6.d3 Bd6 7.Nbd2 0–0 8.Nc4 Qe7 9.Bg5 "Inviting Black to chase away the white Bishop with ...h6, giving the g2-g4-g5 push a lift." 9...h6 10.Bd2 Nd7 11.g4 Nc5 12.Rg1 b5 13.Ne3 g6? "Weakening Black's King castle even more." 14.Qe2?! "White could have plunged into the water starting with 14.Nf5! Bxf5 15.gxf5 followed by Qe2-e3 with a strong attack." 14...Ne6 (D)

White's turn

15.Nf5! "Played this move without thinking." 15...gxf5 "Forced to capture, as the Knight threatens the Queen and h6-pawn at the same time." 16.gxf5+ Kh7 17.fxe6 Bxe6 18.Ng5+!! "The winning move, allowing the White Queen to join in the attack with tempo." 18...Kh8 19.Qh5 Qf6 20.f4 exf4?? "A blunder in a very difficult situation. Missing the point of f2-f4 if taken by the e-pawn." 21.Bc3! "A sudden decisive shot that ends the game on the spot." 21...Bb4 22.Qxh6+ Kg8 23.Qh7# "Black is checkmated." 1–0

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Top 5 Picks

What's A Webinar?

A "webinar" is a lecture presentation or workshop that is transmitted over the web using video conferencing software. A key feature of a "web-based seminar" is its interactive elements – the ability to give, receive and discuss information between the presenter and the audience.

Here's a look at five of RCA's most instructive webinar videos –
(1) The Norwegian star has been dominating the chess world for a couple of years and he’s still on top! How Carlsen can play so well, consistently? While this is a mystery to most chess players, we’ll analyse it in depth – discuss deeply and share with you the key factors for his success.

(2) You’ll learn HOW Nakamura finds those winning shots. You’ll TRAIN in the necessary skills during the webinar and will be able to use your NEW SKILLS in your next chess battles.

(3) You need to have a well-developed system of thinking. It should be UNIVERSAL and help you detect the best move in any kind of position.

My Thinking System

(4) You’ll find answers to questions “Why is the engine suggesting Rfd1 instead of Rad1?” "This position is losing for black but how does the engine say it’s equal?” and you’ll learn "to how much" extent, you can trust engines’ evaluations.

(5) This "The art of the Endgame" is a real TRAINING, which develops your SKILLS. Hence, you’ll be able to improve your chess strength properly.

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