A Question of Timing

 " Chess is a matter of delicate judgement knowing when to punch and how to duck"- Bobby Fischer

The Eleventh World Champion's quote is quite famous and profound. Chess as in life is all about timing. This includes the art of waiting. Knowing when to wait and when to act, would definitely be the hallmark of any great chess player or artist. A recent favourite of mine is this poem by one of the most famous Tamil poets of all time- Thiruvalluvar on the importance of timing.

"கொக்குஒக்க கூம்பும் பருவத்து மற்றுஅதன்
குத்துஒக்க சீர்த்த இடத்து "

A rough translation would be 'One should be like the Crane Bird, which waits almost indefinitely for its prey and when the time to strike arises swoops in on it.'

Thinking from the viewpoint of a chess player, this seems to be of primary importance. In fact this is also what Bobby said about Chess! I would like to share a few interesting game positions which stem from this theme.

Aronian-Jakovenko 2010 Olympiad,Russia

In the above position after 32 moves White continued with 33.Nf2!? 

தற்செயல்

"யாயும் ஞாயும் யாரா கியரோ
எந்தையும் நுந்தையும் எம்முறைக் கேளிர்
யானும் நீயும் எவ்வழி அறிதும்
செம்புலப் பெயல்நீர் போல
அன்புடை நெஞ்சம் தாம்கலந் தனவே "

இது குறுந்தொகையில் இடம்பெற்றுள்ள செம்புலப்பெயனீரார் இயற்றிய பாடல். 

தலைவனின் கூற்றாக வரும் இப்பாடலில் , அவர் கூறுவது நம் பெற்றோர்களுக்கு இடையில்  உறவேதும் இல்லை. எனக்கும் உனக்கும் கூட எவ்வழியிலும்  முன்னறிமுகம் இல்லை .இவ்வாராயினும் நாம் இருவரும் அன்பினால் ஒன்று கூடுகிறோம், மழை நீரையும் செந்நிலத்தையும் போல. இந்த உவமைஅழகும் ஆழமும் பொருந்திய ஒன்று . மழை எங்கிருந்தோ வானத்திலிருந்து வந்து முன் பின் அறியா செந்நிலத்துடன் பிரிக்க முடியா வண்ணம் கலக்கின்றது. ஒன்றின் பண்பை மற்றோன்று உள்வாங்கி தத்தம் இயல்புகளை பரிமாறிகொள்கின்றன . இந்த பாடல் குறிஞ்சித் திணையில் அமைந்துள்ளது , அதன் உரிப்பொருள் புணர்தல் என்பதை தொல்காப்பியம் குறிக்கின்றது . அந்த வகையிலும்  இது ஒரு மிகச் சிறந்த உவமை !

காலம் அறிதல்

 "பகல்வெல்லும் கூகையைக் காக்கை இகல்வெல்லும்

 வேந்தர்க்கு வேண்டும் பொழுது "

காலம் அறிதல் எனும் அதிகாரத்தில் வள்ளுவப் பேராசான் இயற்றிய முதல் குறட்பா இது. வெற்றி தோல்விக்கு காலத்தை புரிந்து கொண்டு காத்திருத்தல் வேண்டும் என்பதை எளிமையான உவமை மூலமாக விளக்குகிறார்.

எப்படி காகம் அதை விட வலிமையான ஆந்தயை பகற்பொழுதில் வெல்லுமோ  அதே போல் ஒரு நல்ல அரசனுக்கு பகையை வெல்ல சரியான காலம் வரும் வரை காத்திருக்க வேண்டும் என்கிறார்.

Endless Endgame Experience

"Chess is an infinitely complex game, which one can play in infinitely numerous and varied ways"-Vladmir Kramnik


Unlike other games, there is no dearth of action in Chess. And this is a very good thing for chess lovers all over the world. My friend R.Karthik brought to my attention a particular position from a  from the game Radjabov-Caruana, Chessable Masters. It had the material distribution Rook and Bishop against a lone rook, to which Caruana is no stranger! One can recall his key games against Svidler from Candidates 2016, and Duda in the 2018 olympiad where he could not figure out the win over the board. But things have started turning around for him as was shown by his game against Gareyev in the US Championship 2019 and in the following position against Radjabov which he won despite there being a draw with 'right' play for his opponent. Of course, to me this only shows that it is quite a tall order  for any one, even the very best to keep the concentration going at all times, and also recalling the ideas to win or draw at the right moment with a ticking clock! This is being shown time and again in the games of many strong Grandmasters, that the endgame though seemingly simple has still lot of drama and beauty to offer us.

Remembering Maxim Sorokin

Maxim Sorokin, the lovable Russian Grandmaster has always evoked pleasant memories for me. Back, during the turn of the millennium he was one of the few foreign Grandmasters who regularly played in the Opens. Later on I was fortunate to attend a couple of training camps with him, where I could interact with and observe him.  I remember Maxim as an ever smiling coach, enthusiastic and genuinely passionate about Chess and the students development. Among his chess qualities, his amazing erudition and love for the endgame were remarkable and as infectious as his smiles! Alas he was taken away too early from this world due to an unfortunate road accident in 2007.....

These thoughts came to the fore when I re visited an Opposite coloured Bishop endgame, which was shown to me by Maxim in one of the camps. It was perhaps shown to him by his coach, Alexander Panchenko whose book on the Theory and Practice of Endgames would always be with Sorokin during the classes.

The Chess Machine

"If I have seen further than others, it is by standing upon the shoulders of giants" Isaac Newton



   What can we learn from the (Chess) Machine? This is a common question that grips many a chess enthusiast, these days. But what I wish to touch upon here is, what we can learn from the Cuban Genius Capablanca, who was nicknamed "The Chess Machine" in the last century. His play was characterized by quickness of thought, effortlessness of ideas and a brilliant intuition. He was rightly compared to Mozart, because of his early proficiency in the game, and for him Chess was truly his native language! He was absolutely self taught and there are even myths that the first Chess book he read was the one he wrote :-) ( Chess Fundamentals). Chess Fundamentals is a fine book, which reflects Capablanca's approach to Chess in his writings also. The underlying theme, is simplicity and clarity of thought! Botvinnik once  remarked, that whatever one needs to know about Chess is contained in Capablanca's book! I feel Capa's approach to chess is also shared by two of his esteemed successors- Robert Fischer and the current world Champion Magnus Carlsen. When looking at their games too, one cannot but help admire the clarity of thought and the tendency towards simplicty!

Retro Commentary

There are so many reminiscences of the past in various spheres of  activity. I found it particularly funny when cricket scores were updated in espncricinfo with a retro live theme! And with the dearth of inflow of activity television channels too have decided to resort to re telecasting old programs. In many ways as Chess players and enthusiasts are very fortunate because it is much more feasible and pretty to revisit olden games. The FIDE candidates tournament too had to be stopped due to the current situation, and continuing with the current trend, I thought why not pretend to commentate on a Retro Candidates event? And What better event than the famous Zurich 1953 with the inimitable comments of David Bronstein! Lets delve into the second round duel between Efim Geller and former World Champion Max Euwe. To maintain the purity of time travel I will give below the comments of Bronstein in descriptive notation! For those who are not used to this can check the re playable board given at the end for the currently used Algebraic notation. I have also included some of my observations in italics.

One of the best games in the tournament, and the winner of a beauty prize. White starts a strong Kingside attack by sacrificing his QBP. Geller has every chance of succeeding if Black according to tradition, counterattacks on the Queenside. Euwe however, carries out two remarkable ideas:

1) he makes good use of communication with the Queenside to attack the Kingside, and

2) he lures his opponent's forces deep into his own territory in order to isolate them from the defense of their Kings.

It is extremely interesting to see how White's pieces dig deeper and deeper into their frontal attack on the King while Black regroups circuitously.

                                               Geller-Euwe Round 2 Candidates Zurich 1953

1. P-Q4 N-KB3 2.P-QB4 P-K3 3. N-QB3 B-N5 4. P-K3 P-B4 5. P-QR3 BXN ch 6.PXB P-QN3

7.B-Q3 B-N2 8.P-B3

In Search of Harmony

" Perhaps Chess and Music are drawn together by laws of harmony and beauty that are difficult to formulate and difficult to grasp" -Vassily Smyslov




With an abundance of time at one's disposal these days, I came across an instructive and thought provoking piece of analysis from an endgame which occurred in the recent game Wang Hao-Vachier Lagrave in the candidates tournament. The author (and my friend) Grand master Vishnu Prasanna is not only a gifted player and trainer, but also a fine thinker! Looking at this fascinating game and comments , triggered a variety of thoughts in approaching a chess position.



                                                   

                                          Wang Hao-Vachier Lagrave Round 6, Candidates 2020

This is the position after Black's 32nd move Bc8. As Vishnu rightly points out in the ChessBase India video, Black's main problem in this position is that his Knight on a5 is out of play. Had it been on d6, the position would not at all be bad for Black. But such small differences, sometimes as little as one tempo can alter a position diametrically.

They key factor in this position that seems to determine White's advantage is the superior position and activity of his King. White need not actually just be contended with the fact that his King has reached a commanding post on d4, but can even strive to improve the royal monarch's position by rolling a red carpet! Let us see how the game continued: