Chess and Life Bejtovic Jasmin

About Fianchetto Kings´s Indian Defence

2014-10-09T15:50:00.000+02:00

During Cannes Winter Open 2013

Many of faithful readers of my blog are disappointed by recent level of (in)activity on the blog.

Unfortunately, there were not so much chess lately for my part.

However, I wrote an article during June (I know, I know.....) about Fianchetto variation of Kings Indian Defence for Chess teacher site.

You can read article here.

For those who are interested in opening theory it contains some interesting ideas from my own games in one specific variation of Fianchetto variation.

Some of these games are not published anywhere, and has a big influence on theory of some of the variations mentioned in the article.

Here comes the list of the reference games in the article.

Tkachiev, V. (2637) - Bejtovic, J. (2407), Cannes winter open
Hawkins, J. (2499) -Bejtovic, J. (2385), 119th CH-SCO 2012
Rasmussen, A. (2510) - Bejtovic, J. (2382), Politiken Cup 2010,
Drozdovskij, Y. (2608) - Bejtovic, J. (2404), 5th Xtra Con Open 2010
Drasko,Milan (2474) – Bejtovic,Jasmin (2413) Neum BiH-chT1

Down Memory Lane

2014-05-26T17:03:00.000+02:00

The next competition for me is around corner, and in the meanwhile I decided to publish some photos that I took this year during my travels (not all are chess related).
I am currently in Mostar, so I´ll use the opportunity to publish some photos of this city (these photos were not taken by me, but I do not know the authors).

Madrid

Toledo

Mostar

Solution for April combinations

2014-04-24T16:15:00.001+02:00

After you have plenty of time to solve these combinations, I decided to publish the solution.
Many of you were wondering if this site is on it´s way to be closed or not updated. I can assure you that it will not happen. Sometimes, I have more inspiration to write and sometimes I do not have inspiration. Also, sometimes the priorities are different, so the frequency of writing is always different, but blog will definitely go on. Chess is one of my passions, I will always play chess and I always has something to write about it and I like to share my opinions.
These lines are just for those who had some speculations in the last period. I have to thank the readers for patient and visits, as blog reached the record of monthly visitors already today (there are six more days in April) and for comparison, in March and April Chess & Life had more visits then in whole 2012.

In this position Black can play 1...Ne2+ and restore material balance.
There is one extra option in 1...g5. As White queen can only escape on h6 ( 2. Qg3 runs into fork) Black can play 2...Ne2+ and pick up the whole rook.
If this was your solution, then you are just partly right. You have to see the resource for White 2. Rxf4. After this move, there is only one winning move for Black, and it is 2...Qxe5.
So the complete solution is:
1...g5!
2. Rf4!, Qxe5! -+

White attacking potential is huge. he has winning combination:

1. Nfh6+ (Yes this knight, as the rook on f1 is open now)
1...gxh6
2. Nxh6+, Kg7
3. Rxf7+, Kh8
4. Rxh7+ ...and White is winning queen on e8

This position is quite interesting.

1. Qb7! Looks like White is just winning the rook on a8 and he is simply exchange up, but....
1...Nd2!
That is Black´s defencive resource.
2. d5!
Black is lost now, as he can not move his knight (d6+ wins the queen).
It looks quite simple but I found this combination hard to crack.

In this example we have question if 1.Bxh7 works.
The answer is that it doesn´t.
Black is winning.

1. Bxh7, Qxe5
2. Bd3+, Nh7!!
3. Rxh7+, Kg8
4. fxe5, Bxg5+
5. Kb1, Rxd3!
6. Rxd3, Kxh7 -+

This is my favourite out of these combinations.
Optically, white is winning but....
1...Na5!
2. Ke4, Nb3
3. Bd4 (Tries to stop Black´s idea with Bc5+ threat)
3...Kf7
Black will move Na1 and b4-b3
In that position he will just move Nc2-Na1. If White king comes to c3 (attack b3) he will just move Ke8-Kf7.
There is nothing that White can do.
Do not forget this example!

Combine two out of five "Bejtovic´s drawing techniques".

1.Kb1, Kg7
2. Rh6!! (buys some time)
2...Kxh6
3. Kc1, Rh8
4. Kd1, Kg5
5. Ke2, Rh2
6. Kf1 (just in time)
Now if Black checks on the first rank, Ke2 is safe for White as the rook can not stay on the first rank. The fortress with one stalemate detail!

White is winning.
1. a8Q+, Kxa8 The whole point with this sacrifice is to free c7 square for own king.
2. h7, Re1+ (Only try)
3. Kd7, Rd1+
4. Kc7, Rc1+
5. Bc4!! (So White moved on c-file just to sacrifice his bishop on the fourth rank, the same rank where g-pawn is. The solution does not work with Be2 or Bd3 sacrifice).
5...Rxc4+
6. Kd7 and White moves from checks on g7 (There is no check on g file and there is no Rh4).

April combinations

2014-04-12T15:30:00.000+02:00

It took really long time for me to finally write an article on the blog.
What can I do, some other priorities in other parts of my life, and one really pleasant travel to Madrid and Toledo (expect pictorial reports) deprived om writing.
In any case, everyone prefers quality over quantity, right?
Right?
All right, so due to really busy schedule in March, I could not publish monthly combinations during last month, but as a compensation, this months article will be extended.
As always, try to solve these combinations (and studies) by your own, and you are always welcome to write your answers in the comments.
Besides that, I really need to thank the readers for visiting this blog, as the last month visits set the new record in monthly visitors (nearly 9000).
It seems that this month it will be even more readers.

This is very nice example. Black is exchange down, but he is on move and he can just win it back.
Is there something better?
If there is something better, try to find resources for White too.

In this example, White is on move (otherwise Black would just take the queen).
He/she needs to either release the tension (by exchanging on e7) or to find something forcing.
Kasparov once said that a knight on f5 (respective, black knight on f4) in most positions are worth one pawn.
In this position White has the knight on f5, but also very well placed knight on g4.
Well, I said enough.
Calculate the winning line for White.

White is on move.
Black has one extra piece, but he is badly stuck on eight rank.
Can White win additional material?
If yes, how?
Does Black has some resources?
Calculate.....

White is on move.
Calculate the consequences of:

1. Bxh7

Does this move maintenance the balance, wins or lose?

Black seems desperately lost.
Try to find very nice drawing line.
White´s idea is to transfer his king near Black´s b-pawn.
If his f-pawn is under attack White can push f5-f6.
Even if he lose that pawn and transpose to pawn ending, it is still easy winning for White (White´s plan Ke4, Bd4, Kd5 and so on...).
As I said, Black can draw this!

This is the position from the introduction.
When I do a training for my students, I usually teach them that there are 5 basic concepts in the endgames when you are fighting for a draw. These are: a fortress, reduction of material, stalemate, transposition to a theoretically known draw position, repetition of moves (perpetual).
In this example, we have the combination of two of these concepts.
White is on move, and despite that his pawn on g2 looks doomed, he has nice way to secure a draw.

In this study, White is on move, and he wants to win the game.
he has very dangerous passer on h-file, but it seems that Black can always stop it (by sacrificing his rook for it).
Is it true?

FIDE World Candidates Tournament

2014-03-25T16:33:00.000+01:00

There are ten rounds behind us, and four rounds in front of us in FIDE World Candidates tournament.
It seems that we will see one more match between Anand and Carlsen. Ten rounds is quite a serious material to draw some conclusions, compare this tournament with the last year edition in London, and to compare the performances of the players.
It is also possible to make some predictions about further development and trends in chess.

Here is the table after 10 rounds:

Rank	SNo.		Name	Rtg	FED	Pts	Res.	vict	SB
1	6	GM	Anand Viswanathan	2770	IND	6½	0	3	31,25
2	7	GM	Aronian Levon	2830	ARM	5½	0	3	26,75
3	2	GM	Karjakin Sergey	2766	RUS	5	2	2	24,25
4	5	GM	Mamedyarov Shakhriyar	2757	AZE	5	1½	3	24,75
5	3	GM	Svidler Peter	2758	RUS	5	½	3	23,25
6	4	GM	Kramnik Vladimir	2787	RUS	4½	1	2	23,00
7	1	GM	Andreikin Dmitry	2709	RUS	4½	1	1	22,00
8	8	GM	Topalov Veselin	2785	BUL	4	0	1	20,75

As the table clearly shows, there is a gap between Anand and the rest of the fields. It has to be mentioned, that Anand already played both games against Aronian, and that he won their mini-match with 1,5-0,5 so that in the case of a tie, he will be in the front of Aronian.
In practical terms it means that in the last four rounds, Aronian has to make 1,5 over Anand.
Is it possible?
Yes it is.
Is it likely?
Of course it is not.
As far as I can see it, much better chance has Svidler or Karjakin, as they played a draw against Anand in the first circle, and they still has to play against him in the second circle. In the case that one of them wins against Anand, and reduce the lead by just a half point in the remaining three fixtures, than that player will be in front of him.
However when saying that, I have in mind that Anand will play against, out of shape Kramnik, tomorrow, and later on with white pieces against Andreikin, so at this point I can see him as a clear winner of the candidates tournament.

It is not only by the facts, that you can see from the table, it is also by the general feeling that nobody plays stable enough to avoid some unnecessary defeats in the later rounds.

Anand is very experienced tournament fighter, and he knows that besides psychological pressure that the lead in the tournaments puts on you, there are positive effects too.
In such an event, where everyone can beat everyone, it is more important not to lose the game, then to win a lot of games.
Anand know this perfectly well, and his early lead gave him an opportunity to play without risk.
He took his chances here and there, and he is comfortably on plus three.

This strategy is not as successful when Magnus Carlsen is in the tournament, as he can go with big plus score, and in order to catch him, you have to put efforts in every single game.
This is the fact that I overlooked when I predicted that Anand will not manage to win the tournament.
I was wrong.

What about other candidates?

Aronian lost the game against Mamedyarov in the ninth round, and that game is according to me, the best in the tournament. He fought well after unexpected defeat in the first round, he even cached on Anand, but the last round defeat costs him hugely.

Mamedyarov had very sloppy start, but later on he improved big time, and showed some beautiful chess.
He was very near to victory against Kramnik too, but he made huge mistake.
As he lost his match against Anand, 1,5-0,5 and he has 1,5 points less than the leader, it is almost impossible to expect that he will now make 2 extra points in the last 4 rounds.

Kramnik played really good in the beginning, and his saved game against Svidler showed what unbelievable potential he has.
However, substantial number of blunders, especially after his loss against Topalov (the game that he would rather not play at all) means that he is not even in a race for the first place.

Svidler is a player who probably played most aggressively in the tournament, but that backfired in some games. he still has a chance, as he will play against Anand in the last round. I will repeat, if he wins and they tie Svidler would be in front...
Karjakin played to cautiously, after his early lost against Kramnik.
Later on he started to play well, and now he is back on 50%.
With some luck, he still has a chance.

Topalov´s only bright moment was his victory against Kramnik.

Andreikin shows that he can play on the same level as the other players, but that he can not play better then them, which one of them has to do in order to win the tournament.
He fights well, and his aim is to avoid the last place.

If we compare this tournament with the tournament in London, we can clearly see that this time, we are not talking about equally successful event.
As the main reason is that in London there was Magnus Carlsen in the field.
Put in Magnus Carlsen instead of Topalov and you can see the difference.
Secondly, Kramnik was in much better form, and he played some great games there.

The third reason was that the tournament in London was in the center of media attention, and it can somehow influence a mood of the players.
However, this very stable and correct format is what chess world needed, so despite being less interesting then London, this tournament should be considered as success.

I have to mention the commentators, on the official web site.
Peter Haine Nielsen and Victoria Cmylite, are quite correct commentators, but their comments depends a lot on computer assessments.
Nothing wrong with them, but from my point of view, commentators should not only explain pure chess events, but also give some entertainment to the spectators.
In that light, I hugely prefer Lawrence Trent and Nigel Short, as the best pair of commentators in the World.

Do not underestimate defencive resources!

2014-03-18T20:22:00.000+01:00

Today, I will try to write about interesting chess subject, but in a way that I want to include some recent tournaments that I played (not only my games!).
After an intense playing period I entered a training phase, and I can conclude that my results somehow went down, in 2014. It is quite strange to say that, as I played really good in Cannes but Elo does not lie!
A slight disappointment in Stockholm in Rilton Cup, and very strange results in Elitserien tells for it self. Chess is very hard sport and it is very hard to maintain high level without some drops in performance. I had very successful last year ( by my top achievements in 2013, it is by far the most successful year in my life) and I think that part of the reason for that lays in my decision, at the end of 2012, to get rid of "the takers", the people who just takes a lot of energy in endless circle of complainants, incompetence, and Schadenfreud as the Germans say.

One of the positions, which I want to share with the readers is the position on the diagram on the left.
It is not the position from my game, but from the game:

GM Peralta Fernando E2613 - IM Kopylov Michael 2458

This game was played in the sixth round. I remember that I was looking at this game couple of times during the middlegame, as I finished a bit earlier that day.
One of the two Spanish friends that I shared an apartment during the tournament, IM Jose Camacho Collados, came to me, and whispered that I should look at the position after the move 40.
After the tournament, Jose, his friend Mario, my opponent from the eight round GM Alsina Leal Daniel, Fernando Peralta and me went to the Irish pub to look at the game Atletico Madrid- Real Madrid, but as it is very usual for chessplayers, it turned out that we put the chess board on the table and start to look at some positions.
Peralta explained what actually happened!
He was pressing all the game, and just before time control he managed to break trough.
In move 40, in the position with his queen on c8 and Black´s king on h7, he tried to calculate how to stop Bd4+. His first thought was to put the queen on c1, and he calculated couple of lines, when he noticed that he has less then 10 seconds left on the clock.
He decided to throw one check on g8 and work out victory after the time control.
How wrong was he!
White is queen up (well for the bishop), Black has his bishop on b5 under attack, Black can not move his bishop from g7 because of mate on g6, White is protecting d4 and White is protecting g2.

Yes, everything is quite nice in theory, but what to do against the threat Bd4+ with mate on h2 or on back rank?
The question is if White can manage to draw the game!
After some 20 minutes of deep calculation, Peralta found the solution (only to draw)...

41. Kh1!, Rh2+
42. Kg1, Rhe2
43. Kh1!

Draw!

Let´s move on to my game from Swedish Elitserien....

I played against Swedish GM, Ralf Åkesson (known for his lost game against Garry Kasparov in their junior days).
The game was played four days after I came home from Cannes, and I thought that I accumulated enough energy to put all my efforts and try to win that game.
The opening was quite successful, as I employed quite interesting setup in Taimanov Sicilian and I sacrificed exchange for one pawn and positional compensation.

In principle, my position was clearly preferable, as in this position I could take a draw if I wanted, by playing:

23. Qh5 attacking his pawn on b5 and after exchange on b4 I can take perpetual on h7-h8-h5. There is nothing he can do about it.

23. Bc1!

My move is clearly better. I attacked d7, and it can not be defended my Rd8 because of Rd3 with terrible threat of Rg3.
In the case of Rc7 I would get some extra options with Qh5 (check on e8 in some variations).

He played:

23...d5

In this position I could simply put my bishop on g6, play g3 and after Qh5 he is more or less forced to give an exchange back. I would stay with a clear pawn up.
I decided to force the matters:

24. Rxd5, Rxc2
25. Bxc2, exd5

We reached this position.
The computer engine showed some advantage for White, but nothing substantial.
The position is very complicated, and what is very interesting, not of forcing nature!
I am sure that with the right plan, and the right combination of moves in this position, Black´s task to defend would be almost impossible.
I played:

26. Qd7 ....and he answered with an only move:
26...Qc5.

All this was calculated by me when I played Bc1.
I played rather quickly:

27. Bb3

What I actually missed is:

27...Kf8!

I answered:

28. Bd2, b4

In this position there is more then one way to take a draw.
I can exchange on b4, sacrifice the bishop there, and take a draw on c8-e8-h8.
Very promising possibility is to play Ba4 after previous exchange on b4. White attacks without any risk, and Black has to find only moves.
However, I went:

29. a4?

For my opponent, the worst is over!
His position is still unstable, but the immediate danger is over.

Later on, things started to be even more interesting.
He made a mistake by taking on h4.
Now, his bishop is in the risk of staying out of play.
I played:

34. g5?

If I played 34. Be3! Instead, I do not see how Black can defend his position.
34...Qe4+ 35. Ka2 and what to do in order to stop activation of all White pieces. Computer shows some strange lines in which White is better but Black is still holding, but in practical terms, this is just winning for White.
After i missed my chance, the game was in balance again.
If you thought that the excitement is over, than you should see what happened next.

We reached this position, and I had one minute to make my last move before time control.
I panicked and trowed my queen on h5.

40. Qh5??

This is already very tragic episode.
I had two choices here:

40. Qa6 just draws!
My threat is Qd6+ (and it protects my bishop on d2), and he is forced to play 40...Qb6 41. Qd3, Qd4 42. Qa6 with the repetition.

The second choice is maybe even better.
40. Qd1! as he is not able to play 40...Be3? (41. Bxe3, Qxe3 42. Qxd5+-).
My next move is probably Qc1 or Qc2. Computer engine gives an evaluation of 0.00 but I am sure that it is much harder to play with Black.

Anyway, after my blunder he just took my bishop:

40...Qxd2

I gave some checks, but it was far from enough.
This was not easy to swallow, as we lost the match with 4,5-3,5 and I was not rewarded for my efforts. My feeling is that i was the only player who played that game!

FIDE World Candidates Tournament 2014

2014-03-14T16:16:00.002+01:00

As the readers could notice in the last period there was not so much activity on the blog.
There were objective reasons for that, as I had very tight schedule, with a lot of competitions and other chess activities.
I can promise that it will be much more frequent articles in the coming period, as I am opening the training phase (which usually comes during Autumn for me, but this year I decided to do a bit different) and it will be almost two months before my next tournament (which will also be a quite little event of five rounds). I would not forgot to show some things from Cannes and Malmö, not only from my games, and it will be also some other thoughts about various subjects. For the start of the new period I want to share some thoughts about FIDE World Candidates Tournament 2014.

The most of people likes to speculate about chances of the players in chess but I know that it´s in other sports too.
The huge majority of experts, chess journalists and the amateurs, predicted that the winner will be among the duo, Aronian and Kramnik.
It was pretty safe prediction, as Kramnik can always raise to the occasion, while Aronian is rating favourite and he showed some kind of extraordinary form lately.
The first two rounds showed that it can be the case, as Kramnik already has 1,5 out of 2, while Aronian won very convincingly in round number two, after losing in the first round against Anand.
Anand is join leader for now, and he still has a lot to say about everything, but I personally do not believe that he will win the tournament.
Svidler is also the join leader of the tournament and I see him as a dark horse of the tournament.
I think that with Karjakin we can close the list of the players who can win the tournament.
Mamedyarov, Topalov and Andreikin are the players who can impact the top virtually every round, but I think that they can not win the tournament.
Mamedyarov seems not to be consistent enough while Topalov lost his ability to smash the opponents in his style as in the middle of first decade of the new century.
Andreikin has not enough quality, as simple as that.

I am sure that the tournament with Caruana and Nakamura would be more interesting, but these guys could not qualify, in very fair system of qualifications.
The only drawback of this system for the World title is that it is very frequent.
We can see this in the Grand Prix circle, as that circle is very near to collapse.

In the second round, Kramnik won hos game against Karjakin, and so far that game is the best in the tournament.
I was not completely sure that Kramnik would do well in this candidates tournament, as he showed some very shaky form after the last candidates tournament in London, but it seems that he is fully recovered....
The next two weeks will answer this...

Standings:

For now you can enjoy the games:

Elitserien - Fiasco at the end

2014-03-10T20:31:00.000+01:00

Swedish team championship, for 2013/2014 is over, and the new champion is Rockaden Stockholm.
The second place took Team Viking.
For Eksjö S.K. things did not went as we expected, and after three narrow defeats, with minimal possible margin 4,5-3,5 we finished on seventh place.
It does not look good, but the general performance and feeling during the season was much better then the table shows.
In this article I am going to describe what happened in the last three rounds, but also some thought about result of Eksjö S.K.

First things first!
Here is the final table:

	TABELL	SP	+	=	-	PP	MP
1	SK Rockaden, Sthlm	9	7	1	1	46.5	15
2	SK Team Viking	9	7	1	1	46.0	15
3	Lunds ASK	9	6	1	2	45.0	13
4	Västerås SK	9	5	2	2	39.0	12
5	Limhamns SK	9	3	3	3	38.5	9
6	Farsta SK	9	4	1	4	36.0	9
7	Eksjö SK	9	4	0	5	38.0	8
8	Örgryte SK	9	2	0	7	20.0	4
9	Burgsvik Alva SK	9	1	1	7	26.0	3
10	Upsala ASS	9	1	0	8	25.0	2

As it can be seen from the table, Rockaden won the league by half a game point (one draw).

Friday 7th March:

We played against Västerås, and it looked promising for us, especially as I had very promising attack against GM Ralf Åkesson.

However, a blunder near the time control gave them full point from nowhere.....

In the first round happened some strange things, as the boards were very near to each other, and a lot of players pushed the wrong clocks (not only in our match).

The arbiter in our match was forced to set the clock on fourth board twice, as their player from board three pushed the wrong clock.

It is interesting that ,after the whole final and two days after the match that they won, the players from Västerås want to see only one side of the story as they complained about one of their lost games....

Very strange.

All three clubs from the top won their matches on Friday, and Örgryte won against Upsala so their survival hopes were alive....

Saturday 8th March:

The second day gave one very important match on the top, when Team Viking crushed LASK, and we gave heroic resistance to the winners, Rockaden Stockholm, but they won with 4,5-3,5.

Picture by Sveriges Schackförbund

I played a draw after 110 moves against GM Erik Blomqvist, demonstrating how to defend with a rook against rook and knight.

Earlier in the game I was lost at some point, but mainly as I tried to make some winning chances in order to save the match.

Örgryte won their second match in the row, and they were over the line....

Sunday 9th March:

The last match of the season we played only for pride.

It looked quite good for us, and I was confident about my position. I had winning advantage at many points, but at the end I blundered a rook, as it seems in one of the heaviest blunders in my life. Instead of deserved victory, in my game and in the match, we got bitter defeat 4,5-3,5.

Rockaden won against LASK, and Team Viking won against Limhamn, but as Rockaden won with bigger margin, they took the title of Swedish team Champions for 2013/2014.

Final thought:

It is not easy to say something about the season when we end it in such a way with five defeats in a row.

However, we were leaders after three and join leaders after four rounds, and as it was usual in previous seasons, this time we avoided relegation battle.

In the beginning our team showed that we have a quality for fight for the medals, but we lacked control in our matches when the league reached the end.

As a team we do not have installed mentality to win the matches.

The atmosphere in the club is great, and that is because of very experienced team captain, Håkan Åkvist as he really knows how to approach and treat the players...and the new players GM Pontus Carlsson GM Allan Stig Rasmusen and IM Nikolaj Mikelsen adapted very quick.

However, our team is not used to play together with this starting line, and as the team chess is different from individual, we can expect to do much better next season.

What I mean by this?

In team competitions, if one player knows well his/her team mates, he/she can feel who will win the game and who is in the problems, and according to this take his/her decisions on his own board (put more pressure or play safely)...

In previous seasons our team played only to avoid relegation, and as we were more or less favourites to avoid it, we played without any pressure.

This season showed that under the pressure of bigger expectations it was much harder to play.

When it comes to my result in Malmö, I am disappointed by my play.

I pushed really hard as I felt that I am generally in the good form, but two big blunders took away two expected points.

I think that it was the result of fatigue, as I just finished very intense tournament in Cannes where I pushed to the maximum and played very hard games.

The conclusion is obvious. I have to improve my physical condition!

Swedish league final - preview

2014-03-06T21:30:00.000+01:00

During the next three days it will be played the final of Swedish team championship - Elitserien for 2013/2014.
The final will be played in Malmö, and there will be five teams that will fight for the medals.
In this article I am going to present the chances of top five clubs. The club that I am playing for, Eksjö S.K. is on the fifth place for the moment, but the hopes that we will reach the medal are still alive.
Many clubs from the top will meet each others in the final three rounds and the position on the table can be different from round to round.

This is the table:

	TABELL	SP	+	=	-	PP	MP
1	Lunds ASK	6	5	1	0	32.5	11
2	SK Rockaden, Sthlm	6	4	1	1	31.0	9
3	SK Team Viking	6	4	1	1	31.0	9
4	Limhamns SK	6	3	2	1	29.0	8
5	Eksjö SK	6	4	0	2	27.5	8
6	Farsta SK	6	3	0	3	24.5	6
7	Västerås SK	6	2	2	2	24.5	6
8	Burgsvik Alva SK	6	1	1	4	18.5	3
9	Upsala ASS	6	0	0	6	13.0	0
10	Örgryte SK	6	0	0	6	8.5	0

The team from Lund has advantage with whole 2 match points before the last two rounds, and three match points in front of current champions Limhamn S.K. and my team, Eksjö S.K.

Here are the pairings for the last three rounds:

LASK - 11

Burgsvik Alva SK

Lunds ASK

SK Team Viking

Lunds ASK

SK Rockaden, Sthlm

The club from Lund has two matches against top 5, and two hardest matches.

SK Rockaden Stockholm - 9

SK Rockaden, Sthlm

Limhamns SK

SK Rockaden, Sthlm

Eksjö SK

Lunds ASK

SK Rockaden, Sthlm

Rockaden has all three hard matches, and they for sure has the hardest pairings for the last three rounds.

SK Team Viking - 9

Farsta SK

SK Team Viking

Lunds ASK

SK Team Viking

Limhamns SK

SK Team Viking

SK Team Viking has two hard matches, against Limhamn and LASK, and they are still in the title race.

Limhamn S.K. - 8

SK Rockaden, Sthlm

Limhamns SK

Farsta SK

Limhamns SK

SK Team Viking

Limhamn S.K. has two hard matches, and one "easier".

Eksjö S.K. - 8

Eksjö SK

Västerås SK

SK Rockaden, Sthlm

Eksjö SK

Farsta SK

Out of top five teams, we have easiest pairings, as we are going to play against only one club from top five.

However, our two fixtures which suppose to be easier are against teams number six and seven, so it will not be easy.

Cannes 2014 - Promising story without final touch

2014-03-05T12:08:00.003+01:00

Cannes winter open eventually finished, so the readers of this blog can finally get a chance to read about the tournament.
In all three groups played about 400 players which makes this tournament one of the biggest in this part of the year. Somehow in the same period, there are also tournaments in Cappelle la Grande and in Reykjavik, and they get a much more attention in chess media.
However, the reason that the players are separated in three groups, which means that there are no weak players in A group, makes this tournament my favourite open, not only during this period, but in the whole calendar.
There are a lot more reasons of course, and the playing hall is one of the most important!
Because of very busy schedule, I could not write from the tournament, but this article will not be the only one about Cannes winter open.

The only small disadvantage of the tournament is that the games are not transmitted live, and that it will not be published in TWIC or anywhere.
It is pity, for such a big event.
Everything else is pure class!

For example, this is the view from the playing hall.

You can only imagine how inspirational is to play here, when during the second part of the game you can see Cannes´s port in lights...

Back to the events on chess board.
In the first round I was paired against promising Italian player Paolo Formento, one of these guys from Milan Chess Club.
I won against him in Milan, but this time he held me to a draw.
To get 1,5 out of 2 with black pieces against him, is quite okay result, but I would prefer to win in Cannes, when I got a really good chance for something!

The only double round was on day 2.
I started with victory against one home player, and it was anything but easy!
In the third round I got a chance to play against star player, Vlad Tkachiev.
I was black, and I played very brave, sacrificing the pawn out of opening. I got long lasting initiative, and later on I sacrificed even exchange (I got a pawn back, so I was clear exchange down).
My attack on his king was strong, and he was forced to find the save way out...he took perpetual on my king.

In the fourth round I played against home player, slightly under 2300, but performing much higher....
Very intense and hard fight, and another victory for me.
In the fifth round I was Black against Russian GM Jakov Geller.
I was of course satisfied with a draw in forehand, but....
This time I got some material, but he got long lasting initiative....
I defended quite well and in the second time trouble he missed his way out with a draw. I went for a rook endgame with pawn up, which I converted without difficulties.
At that point my performance was already over 2600, and I looked optimistic on my prospects. In the sixth round I played against tournament winner, Indian IM rated 2455, but performing way over 2700. I was white and I got some advantage, but I could not squeeze more than a half point.
I was lucky to get white even in the seventh round, and it proved to be decisive for my standings at the end.
I played against young Russian GM Ivan Bukavshin 2585. I was slightly worse straight from the opening, but I fought well and just before time trouble I got the position that I could not lose....
There came the thing that I was in need to try to win in order to achieve GM norm.
I sacrificed exchange (enough for a draw), but in the moves 39 and 40 I made inaccuracies, and later on went on to lose the game.
In the next to last round I was Black against Spanish/Catalan GM Alsina, and I defended quite well to the moment when I blundered badly in late endgame.
I think that at that point I had not energy to play on...
In the last round I tried with risky and aggressive opening, and I got a draw, against 2300+ home player.
At the end I performed around 2460, which sound good (I earned 6 Elo points), but the general feeling was that I played much better then that

You can see the final table (top 30) on the picture, with rating performances, which was first criteria for shared places (one more huge plus for Cannes tournament).

In the next articles I will write a lot more about this tournament, and show some games (mine, but also some curious positions of other players).

February Combinations - Solutions

2014-02-18T18:57:00.001+01:00

It is time to show the solutions for the combinations.
I thought that the first one was hard, but some of the readers solved it without any problems.

1...Rxd4

White is winning now with

2. Qxd4, Ne2
3. Bf4!!

The third move was very hard for me.
White has alternative in 2. Bxf4 but after 2...Rxf4 Black has enough compensation for knight on h2 (three pawns and some positional pluses).

This example is quite funny.
Black has a draw!
When I tried to solve it, I thought that Black has to win, and after minute or two I understood that I have to think about draw.

1...Qe2+! (1...Qf1+ 2. Kg3, Rg8+ 4. Kh4 and there is no good checks)
2. Kg3, Qe3+!
3. Kh4, Qh6+
4. Kg3, Qe3+ draw

White wins with very simple moves:

1. Rxe5, Bxe5+
2. Qxe5, Qh5+

...and now, it is important to avoid deadly check from Black´s knight.

3. Kg3! +-

This is the hardest combination in this article.
Black has to choose which of his minor pieces he has to keep on the board.
As Black bishop can do the both, protect the king on the dark squares, and attack White´s king, it is easy choice to keep the bishop, but....

1...Bf6?
2. Rxd7+, Kh8
3. c3! ....and it is not possible to take on c3. White will play Qc2, and with three pawns for the piece we can conclude that the position is unclear.

1...Ne5!!
2. Qxe5, Bf6 ...in this position White has to check with the queen and later play b3. It means that his king will be under attack on black squares and his pieces are not as well coordinated as in the first variation. Black is clearly better!

One interesting detail makes this example worth analysing.

1. Qxf6, Qxd5
2. Nh5!

All right, it is easy to see that Black can not take a knight because of Rf5 and White wins the queen or mates with Rg5+ and Qh8(6) mate.

2...Qe5+
3. Qxe5, Rxe5
4. d7!, Bxd7
5. Nf6+, Kg7
6. Nxd7
White wins a piece but Black has good drawing chances.
This is the best variation for both players.

February combinations

2014-02-15T22:21:00.003+01:00

For this month I prepared some combinations which have unexpected solutions, but are not so hard to solve.
Some of them are from my games, and others are from my database on combinations.
The first one is the combination that I failed to solve.
Black is on move, and the question is:
How do you evaluate a chances after 1...Rxd4 ?
Is White better?
Is Black better, or maybe the position is equal after some Ne2-Ng3 perpetual?
Calculate, and you will see.
This combination has very clear solution that does not leave a place for speculations.

This is the combination that I managed to solve.
Black is on move.
He has not so great choice and being piece down he has to trow in some checks.
Is it enough for a draw?
Maybe there is more then a draw ?
Do not dismiss the possibility that White can avoid all checks and win the game.
This is clear example of accurate calculation.
Combinational vision is not what you need to use in this example, just pure and organised calculation.

White is on move.
His king is under attack, but he has a piece for three pawns, and he can take one more piece on e5.
Or can he?
Find the best continuation for White.

This position is from my own game.
I was playing for GM norm (should I win this game I could lose in the last round, in Bosna Open 2011), and I sacrificed three pieces!
I got one back, and I got three pawns for the second.
The third piece is just matter of time, as two of Black´s pieces are hanging.
Find the best move for Black.

This is the position from the same tournament as the previous position.
I was Black, and I was again the second best player in the game.
White is on move and he tries to keep alive his dying initiative.
As a matter of fact, he has much more then keeping the initiative in this position, but he has to look deeper, far from obvious solutions.
White succeeded in this, and you can try to do that too.

Static against Dynamic

2014-02-14T15:45:00.001+01:00

The game that I want to present for my readers today, was played in Rilton Cup in Stockholm, in the very last round.
The game was not particularly good, because of my bad play, but there was one very instructive point in the game.
My opponent went for the position in which he had clear strategical plus.
His knight was dominant to my bishop, and the pawn structure in the centre secured this.
However, the things in chess are rarely one-sided.
Black is somehow better developed, his knight on f4 is strong and there is some pressure along f-file.
What actually happened is very interesting.
I did not understand that the position on the diagram is critical, and I played natural move, very quick.
There were some candidates in this position, and you can think on your own and try to figure out what should be played.

I calculated some variations in which my opponent goes for c5-pawn or tries to complete his development.
That was nothing but wrong!
He played two very natural prophylaxis moves. He moved his king on b1 and his queen on c2.
How is possible to "miss" these two moves?
Of course that I did not miss these moves, and the real problem is that I did not understand the position.
The prophylaxes in this position, from White´s point of view, is more important then development.
What is the point if White finish his development if Black breaks the blockade on e4 and activate his bishop (against White´s king) ?!
What is the point in winning the c5 pawn?
If White keeps things under control, he would surly get a chance to win one of Black´s weak pawns later in the game.
Let´s look at the position from Black´s point of view.
If Black develops or regroup his pieces there is no guaranty that he would be able to break a blockade on e4.
If we look deeper in the position we can see that it is not possible to break the blockade.
Then, what should Black do?
If Black play a bit more concrete and gives some meaning for the knight on f4, and try to break the whole structure in the centre (not only blockade on e4) than it is not hard to find the right move.
The answers are in the commentary:

XXVIII Festival of Games - Cannes

2014-02-12T01:02:00.003+01:00

My next tournament will be very strong open tournament in Cannes, on French Riviera.
I played in the same tournament last year, and my impressions were very positive. It was not so hard to take a decision to take part in this tournament again.
For this year organisers decided to extend the tournament for two days, so this time we will play with only one double round (instead for last year´s three double rounds).
The starting list for this year is much stronger in comparison with the last year, even if tournament was very strong in 2013.
The tournament is part of the Cannes festival of the games, and besides the A group (Only the players with Elo higher then 2100) it will be competition in group B and C.
Even if you are not a chess player, you can surly find some game in which you can enjoy.
If you are good at darts, board games, strategy games, card games, video games....anything, you can come to Cannes and enjoy.

For this preview, I want to present the list of players in group A, at least top 50:

1 g LI Chao B 2680 F Sen CHN
2 g AMIN Bassem 2665 F Sen EGY IDF C.E. de Bois-Colombes
3 g TKACHIEV Vladislav 2637 F Sen FRA IDF Evry Grand Roque
4 g BAUER Christian 2633 F Sen FRA IDF C.E. de Bois-Colombes
5 g PERALTA Fernando 2603 F Sen ARG CHA L'Echiquier Chalonnais
6 g BUKAVSHIN Ivan 2578 F Jun RUS
7 g ALSINA LEAL Daniel 2553 F Sen ESP PRO Echiquier des Papes
8 g KUNIN Vitaly 2545 F Sen GER ALS Club d'Echecs de Mundolsheim
9 g MAZE Sebastien 2536 F Sen FRA PRO Marseille Echecs
10 g GELLER Jakov 2536 F Sen RUS
11 g YAKOVICH Yuri 2533 F Sen RUS
12 g GREENFELD Alon 2532 F Sen ISR
13 g SANCHEZ Joseph 2525 F Sen PHI CAZ Grasse Echecs
14 g APICELLA Manuel 2521 F Sen FRA CAZ Grasse Echecs
15 g GODENA Michele 2519 F Sen ITA CAZ Cannes Echecs
16 g SULAVA Nenad 2471 F Sen CRO CAZ Nice Alekhine
17 m PANJWANI Raja 2468 F Sen CAN
18 m SHOKER Samy 2463 F Sen EGY IDF C.E. de Bois-Colombes
19 m KOPYLOV Michael 2460 F Sen UKR
20 m PAEHTZ Elisabeth 2458 F Sen GER ALS Mulhouse Philidor
21 m DONCHENKO Alexander 2449 F Min GER LOR Vandoeuvre-Echecs
22 g ARKELL Keith C 2444 F Sen ENG LOR Echiquier Nanceien
23 m ANKIT R. Rajpara 2443 F Jun IND
24 g BESHUKOV Sergei 2440 F Sen RUS
25 m LEKIC Dusan 2435 F Sen MNE
26 g TISCHBIEREK Raj 2431 F Sen GER FRC Tour Prends Garde! Besancon
27 m BATTAGLINI Gabriel 2422 F Sen FRA IDF C.E. de Rueil Malmaison
28 m ALOMA VIDAL Robert 2416 F Sen ESP
29 m BAI Jinshi 2410 F Min CHN
30 m SHKAPENKO Pavel 2406 F Sen RUS
31 m BEJTOVIC Jasmin 2402 F Sen BIH
32 f VALLES Manuel 2400 F Sen FRA PRO Echiquier Centre Vaucluse
33 m BELLIA Fabrizio 2398 F Sen ITA BNO L'Echiquier Deauvillais
34 m GIROYAN Gary 2392 F Cad FRA CAZ Cannes Echecs
35 m BLECHZIN Igor 2390 F Vet RUS
36 m BORGO Giulio 2386 F Sen ITA CAZ C.E.M.C. Monaco
37 f ARAVINDH Chithambaram Vr. 2381 F Min IND
38 m DONCHENKO Anatoly 2373 F Vet GER
39 m DEBRAY Christopher 2363 F Sen FRA IDF C.E. de Rueil Malmaison
40 f JOIE Sebastien 2361 F Sen FRA DSA Cercle d'Echecs de l'Agglomération Annécienne
41 m SKOMOROKHIN Roman 2355 F Sen RUS
42 f AGHAYEV Miragha 2352 F Sen ITA
43 gf SADUAKASSOVA Dinara 2348 F Cad KAZ
44 f RIFF Vincent 2346 F Sen FRA ALS Mulhouse Philidor
45 LEI Tingjie 2346 F Cad CHN
46 m WEINDL Alfred 2344 F Sen GER
47 m QENDRO Llambi 2339 F Vet ALB
48 m VUILLEUMIER Alexandre 2330 F Sen SUI IDF C.E. de Bois-Colombes
49 MIDOUX Sebastien 2325 F Sen FRA PRO CE Vitrolles
50 f DESLANDES Pascal 2320 F Sen FRA IDF Club d'Echecs du Vesinet

The ratings are from 1. January, so it will be some changes in this list.

If you want to see the complete list of A tournament, you can visit the following link:

Tournament A

There are also the lists for Tournament B and Tournament C .

In this part of the year, when you can not really enjoy the weather in Sweden, it is the real thing to move on French Riviera, so I expect to enjoy in Cannes, at least as the last year.

I will write about the tournament a lot more, and for now you can watch a video of The Festival of Games 2013.

Elitserien - Report

2014-02-03T20:23:00.003+01:00

Before I write extended report on everything what happened this weekend in Swedish Elitserien, you can read this report, with one position from one of my games.
Our expectations in Scania were to win at least something, but we didn´t manage that, and we lost both matches.
Saturday´s match against current champions, Limhamn from Malmö, was the strangest match that I ever played
Hospitality and general good impression were never in doubt when it is about Limhamn S.K. and our hosts did everything in order that we can feel comfortable.
Thumb up for them.
On the chess boards things was a bit different as expected.

In the beginning it looked as we will win with huge score, as we were better on almost all boards (exception was Linus Johansson who was better against Per Vernersson).
I was slightly better straight from the opening.
Later on, their chances improved dramatically, when they took a lead 3:2 with 3 games to go.
It was Michael de Verdier who had completely winning position (+9 according to computer), Pontus Carlsson with winning advantage on his board, and I had drawish rook endgame.
With normal results, it would still be 4,5:3,5 for us.

Somehow at the same time, Michael blundered badly and lost, Pontus missed everything and drew, while I lost on time in a position when according to tablebase I have 10 moves which can secure a draw.
I played one of them, but my time run out.

For those who are interested, this is the position.
My time run out when I played Rc1-Rc4.
My idea was to put the rook on a4, and just move it on a-file.
It is basic draw.

After the game, my opponent and some spectators thought that Black can not drew this position, and even the people from my team were suspicious.
When I checked this in the tablebase I saw that I have 10 drawing moves, and that is not all!
White can be on move too, and it´s still a draw!
Here is the link of tablebase Endgame tablebase and you can check for yourself.
I took this very hard, as somehow I felt that it´s unfair to lose the game in such style, but it is only my fault that I forgot about the time.

We could only accept the defeat, and I want to congratulate Limhamn S.K. on their victory.

The very next game we played against one of the main title candidates, LASK from Lund.
That this match means them more than any other match in the last couple of years, we could see with the fact that they played with clearly better team compared even with their team in Scania derby against Limhamn, and gold winning team in 2011...
However, we predicted exactly their team positions, and we tried to improve our odds, even if they were favourites anyhow....
To be fair it was very easy to predict, as one of their players allways plays with white pieces, on highest possible board (the rules are that you can move players two positions up and down), which did not leave much space to combine for their team captain.
Even if we originaly wanted to play with one of our GMs on that board, we decided to change it and we put very solid player there.
It was a good strategy as our lower rated player (compared to their player) got a draw with black.

Our strategy was successful on some other boards too.
On the first board we got very sharp position that could go either way, while on the fifth board we could get a full point with some luck.

They did +2 on the last three boards, as the difference in quality proved to be too big.

I played very bad on the third board, and I got inferior position early in the game.
I fought back later on, and even got the drawish endgame.
In one move I could even force a draw.
However I missed that possibility, and after horrible blunder in the last move, I was forced to resign.
Their chairman Calle Erlandsson, their team captain and president Daniel Semcesen and their four Grandmasters were good hosts and they showed a good style before, during and after the match.
I congratulate them on the victory.

However, playing venue was not the best possible as it was very little fresh air.
At the same time a match from some lower division was played in the same small local, and there were at least thirty spectators there together with thirty two players from four clubs.
I don´t know the reason why they putted so many people in such a small local, but I have the feeling that the majority of them (the spectators) has nothing to do with chess.

Here are the results from this weekend:

		Limhamns SK	2458	-		Eksjö SK	2458	5½ - 2½
Bord 1:	GM	Jonny Hector	2582	-	GM	Pontus Carlsson	2597	½ - ½
Bord 2:	IM	Björn Ahlander	2521	-	GM	Jacek Gdanski	2574	0 - 1
Bord 3:	GM	Stellan Brynell	2549	-	GM	Allan Stig Rasmussen	2572	½ - ½
Bord 4:	IM	Christian Jepson	2471	-	IM	Jasmin Bejtovic	2459	1 - 0
Bord 5:		Stefan Schneider	2423	-		Michael De Verdier	2398	1 - 0
Bord 6:	FM	Linus Johansson	2425	-		Per Vernersson	2409	1 - 0
Bord 7:	FM	Philip Lindgren	2413	-	FM	Nedeljko Malesevic	2336	1 - 0
Bord 8:		Osmani Peñalver	2287	-	IM	Axel Ornstein	2324	½ - ½

*Highlighted Eksjö players was White

		Lunds ASK	2567	-		Eksjö SK	2458	6 - 2
Bord 1:	GM	Hans Tikkanen	2631	-	GM	Pontus Carlsson	2597	1 - 0
Bord 2:	GM	Nils Grandelius	2642	-	GM	Jacek Gdanski	2574	½ - ½
Bord 3:	GM	Sune Berg Hansen	2636	-	IM	Jasmin Bejtovic	2459	1 - 0
Bord 4:	IM	Axel Smith	2544	-		Per Vernersson	2409	½ - ½
Bord 5:	IM	Daniel Semcesen	2535	-	GM	Allan Stig Rasmussen	2572	½ - ½
Bord 6:	GM	Tiger Hillarp Persson	2620	-	FM	Nedeljko Malesevic	2336	1 - 0
Bord 7:	IM	Jesper Hall	2547	-	IM	Axel Ornstein	2324	1 - 0
Bord 8:	FM	Sebastian Nilsson	2381	-		Michael De Verdier	2398	½ - ½

*Highlighted Eksjö players was White

...and here comes the table, but notice that some clubs still has to play sixth round.

	TABELL	SP	+	=	-	PP	MP
1	Lunds ASK	6	5	1	0	32.5	11
2	Eksjö SK	6	4	0	2	27.5	8
3	SK Team Viking	5	4	0	1	27.0	8
4	SK Rockaden, Sthlm	5	4	0	1	27.0	8
5	Västerås SK	6	2	2	2	24.5	6
6	Limhamns SK	5	2	2	1	22.0	6
7	Farsta SK	5	2	0	3	19.5	4
8	Burgsvik Alva SK	6	1	1	4	18.5	3
9	Upsala ASS	5	0	0	5	10.0	0
10	Örgryte SK	5	0	0	5	7.5	0

As you can notice, after the sixth round is completed, we can even finish on fifth place (Team Viking and Rockaden plays against each other, and they will go over us, and if Limhamn wins with at least 5,5-2,5 against Örgryte, even them will go over us).

However, Limhamn, LASK, Rockaden and Team Viking has to play at least 2 matches against each other (Stockholms clubs even three), while Eksjö has only one top match against Rockaden (and two tricky matches against Västerås and Farsta).

It means that everything is possible in Malmö, 7th-9th March 2014.

Show must go on - Elitserien Preview

2014-01-30T14:12:00.002+01:00

It is time to move on in Swedish Elitserien, and this weekend there are the big tests in front of Eksjö S.K.
Other clubs will play one round, and some of then already did that, while Eksjö will play mini-sammandrag in southern Swedish province, Scania.
Our opponents will be, current Swedish champion, Limhamn S.K. from Malmö, and one of the biggest favourites for the first place, LASK from Lund.
LASK will also play two matches this weekend, as they will travel to Gothenburg on Saturday, to play away match against Örgryte S.K.
Limhamn and Örgryte will close this circle, but on 22nd of February.

Limhamn S.K. is an example of nicely organised club.
After three decades of waiting, last year this club from Malmö won Swedish league, mostly because of administrative mistake of the main favourites Team Viking from Stockholm.
Limhamn´s role can not be underestimated.
This is the club that plays with the same players, year after year, but their juniors are developing fast, and they are always unpleasant opponents.
Last year they won against us in a very first round with 4,5-3,5 and they took revenge for our victory year before that, also 4,5-3,5.
These numbers shows how tight are our encounters.
This season, it´s Eksjö´s turn to be somehow lucky (overall in the league), as everything went in our advantage in the first half of league.
I would say that we can be favourites against Limhamn, but again, they can not be underestimated and I´ll go for equal chances.
Limhamn S.K. are in the 7th place, and they still have to play against Rockaden Stockholm and Team Viking, so this match can be very important to them.

What to say about our match in Lund on Sunday ?!
LASK from Lund is always one of the favourites for the gold medal (if we consider last 5-6 years), but they won only once in 2011.
That was the time when I played for that club, and the gold medal was mostly because of my performance (but 2 more players scored good as well, while the rest of the team scored as usual). I scored 8 out of 9, but not only that. My victory came in the most important, title winning match.
After that season I looked for the new challenges, while the club from Lund became stronger and stronger but never came even near to win the league again.
This year is the same old story.
They are probably the biggest favourites, and on paper they have the best players.
To describe the team atmosphere in their club I will compare it with football.
Let´s say that if they were playing football they would be in relegation zone for sure.
However, chess is individual sport, and despite that in team competitions the result is influenced by many factors (not only addition of individual results) the thing that counts the most is the playing strength on individual boards.
As LASK has very impressive team I think that they are clear favourites against us.

What to say about Eksjö S.K. and our ambitions and chances this weekend ?!
Well, the biggest advantage of our club, compared with other clubs is not that we have 8 out of 8 match points, but the fact that we won against Team Viking while the other teams still have to play against them.
If they win against them too, then we are at least in front of Team Viking.
I can say that if we at least get something from Scania, and don´t let biggest surprises in the last three rounds, then we will get a medal.
So ambitions are clear - get something from Scania...

January combinations - Solutions

2014-01-29T00:49:00.005+01:00

Usually this rubric draws the most comments.
This time one of the regular readers answered on all five combinations, even if in one example he proposed the solution which was not my choice during the game.
You can see his answers if you follows the link January combinations .
I will complete his thoughts and analysis by my comments and the names of the players from the games.
Enjoy the solutions!

Bejtovic Jasmin 2353 - Thorgeirsson Sverir 2120
Scandinavian Open, Copenhagen 2008

1.e7 Re8 (...Rf7 2.Be6) 2.Be6+

(In the game I actually played 2. Qh4, g6 3. Qxf6, gxf5 4. Ng5 and won easy Jasmin Bejtovic)

Kh8 3.Nh4 (w/ idea Ng6+ and Qh4#).

If black tries 3...Ne5 we play 4.Rxe5, renewing the threat, and now
4...Qxe5 fails to 5.Qxe5 fxe5 6.Rf3, and mate next move.

(I would add here that Tom probably forgot to write 6. Ng6+, hxg6 7. Rf3 with mate next move Jasmin Bejtovic)
Black can play 3...h6, then I guess 4.Ng6+ Kh7 5.Qd3 w/idea Nf8++.

Bejtovic Jasmin 2402 - Semcesen Daniel 2488
Rilton Cup, Stockholm 2013

Maybe the best try is 1.d5, w/ the idea Rd4. It counters Black's tactical idea of pushing the c-pawn. 1...c6 2.Rd4 and if 2...cxd5 3.Rb5.

This is indeed the best continuation and after moves that Tom gave as the solution, Daniel and I agreed on draw.
Any other continuation (including Rxc7, Rc4) gives Black the possibility to play on.

Formento Paolo 2175 - Bejtovic Jasmin 2394
Crespi Memorial, Milan 2013

Qd1# would be good for black, so 1...Rxh2 and White cannot take. If 2.Ne2

(Tom meant 2.Nf2 Jasmin Bejtovic)

Qd1+ anyway, 2...Nxd1 3.Rh1+ Ng1 4.Rxg1#

Mitchell Robert 2125 - Bejtovic Jasmin 2385
119th Scottish Championship, Glasgow 2012

The idea is probably to make ...Bxe4 and...Ng3+ work, but 1...h6 2.Qf6+ Kg8 3.Rd1 looks good for White... So 1...Bxe4 2.Rxe4 h6 (2.fxe4 h6 and the queen has to move, allowing ...Ng3+ or the fork ...Ne3) and now if 3.Rxd4? hxg5 there's a double threat (taking on d4 and Ng3+!) and if 4.Rg4 there is ...Ne3. So 3.Qg4. Mmm. 3...Ne3? 4.Rxd4 cxd4 5.Qe7+-... ok, doesn't work.
1...Bxe4 2.Rxe4 f6. After 3.Qg4 i have h5 the queen is trapped... but now White has the resource Rd7+, so 4.Rxd4 hxg5 5.Rd7+ +-. Actually Black has 3.Rxd4 fxg5 4.Rd7+ +-.

Ok, so now the idea is to trap the queen :
1...Bxe4
2.Rxe4 h6
3.Qg4 Qd3 (hitting f1 / threatening ...Ne3)
4.Rfe1? h5! -+

I have to admit that I got confused here.
The most of the lines are accurate, but Tom missed 1...Bxe4 2. Rxe4, Qd3! and then f6 with Ng3 is just winning.
In the game White took with the pawn, and the game continued as Tom wrote - Bejtovic Jasmin

Bejtovic Jasmin 2307 -Oparin Grigory 2353

IM tournament, Olomouc 2009

The pattern is mate w/ bishop on f6 and rook on h-file.
1.Nxf5 (1...exf5 2 Qxh7+ Kxh7 3.Rh4+ Bh6. 4.Rxh6+ Kxh6 5.Rh3#) 1...Bg7 2.Bxg7! (w/ same idea Qxh7+). Now if 2...gxh5 3.Bf6+ Kf8. 4.Nh6 with mate on g8. If 2...gxf5 you can again play 3.Qxh7+ Kxh7 4.Rh4+ Kg8 5.Rh8#. So that leaves 2...exf5 but i guess 3.Qxh7+ still works. 3...Kxh7 4.Bf6! Threatens mate... 4...g5 5.Rxg5. 1-0.

That is what Tom wrote, and it wins as well, but this is what I played in the game:

1. Qxh7+!, Kxh7

2. Rh4+, Bh6

3. Nxf5, Qc5+ (3...exf5 4. Rxh6+, Kxh6 5. Rh3# ; 3...gxf5 4. Rg7+, Kh8 5. Rxh6#)

4. Kh1, Qf8

5. Nxh6, g5

6. Rxg5 1-0

Lucky or not?

2014-01-26T00:13:00.001+01:00

A post analysis and evaluations in chess can sometimes be very strange. World of chess is influenced by computers in such degree that sometimes we can not see the forest for the trees.
Last weekend I played the game in Swedish league, and I won quite convincingly, but not without mistakes.
As I wrote in the report from that match, our opponents had their chances and with some luck they could get a bit better result.
Even when I wrote about my game I was modest enough to write that I was somehow lucky.
After deeper analysis of that game I have to change my first impression and now I consider it quite straight forward wins for me.
However, I will share my analysis with the readers so they can decide on their own.

Before publishing the whole game I want to describe in words, what actually happened.
I was White, and in order to avoid theoretical discussions and to draw my opponent in the position when he is on his own, I opened the game with King´s Indian Attack.
After some inaccurate moves by my opponent I got the possibility to attack on the king side.
I was a bit over optimistic and I underestimated his chances on the queen side.

When we approached early middlegame I could exchange all pawns on the queenside and just take a draw.
I decided to play for unclear attack, even if I considered that it can not give me more then unclear play.
It was a very risky strategy and I told my opponent after the game, that I don´t believe in White position (in terms of getting an advantage), but I believe in me.

Picture by Örgryte S.K FaceBook page. Edited by Jasmin Bejtovic

Later on we got the position on the diagram.
My initial idea was to move my knight on b3, but later on I noticed that he had some interesting exchange sacrifice. There I missed one detail when I could get the same position with crucial detail in my advantage.
What I did is that I blundered badly with Qg4.
After that move, he had the forcing variation which could give him decisive advantage.
He missed it, and the game continued with it´s normal flow.

I won after some energetic play.
All this can be seen in the analysis which I decided to share with the readers.

The (rhetorical) question is, Was I lucky, or we made one mutual mistake in one move and the game just continued?

>

January combinations

2014-01-22T00:44:00.001+01:00

It is time for an article about combinations.
In the next period I will write some articles about different subjects such as strategy, opening preparation, attack and so on.
I shall explain my thoughts on examples from my own games, as I believe I do that the best.
In this rubric, about combinations, usually I do a mix between random combinations that I found interesting in different books or magazines, and the combinations from my own games.
This time I will show only the combinations from my own games.
Some of them are pretty old.

This is position from the introduction.
White is move, and he has some clear positional pluses.
Passer on e-file and firm control on the dark squares gives White upper hands.
Is it possible to finish of Black?
Yes it is, and it is your task to do so.

This position is from one of my recent games.
White is on move.
White has more than one interesting way to proceed in this position but one is clearly better than the rest.
The task is to find the sequence that leads to a draw.
Even if White can find some continuation that in theoretical terms can be draw, but for example with extra pawn for Black, it can not be the right answer.

This position was never reached on the board, as on check on d3 White moved his king on e1, but the question is, what would Black play if White defended against check as in the diagram (with Knight on e2).
So, Black is on move and your task is to find the winning combination.

This game was played in 2012 in Glasgow.
Black is on move, and with the right sequence he can get the decisive advantage.

This game was played in 2009 in Olomouc.
I was White and despite having more than one winning continuation, I found the most effective, which proved to be very beautiful too.
Calculate all variations, which includes all defencive resources by Black.

Elitserien Round 4 - Switch on the top

2014-01-19T20:55:00.001+01:00

Well, the title of this article can look somehow dramatic, but actually nothing special happened.
As I predicted, Team Viking, Eksjö SK and Rockaden Stockholm won their matches in fourth round of Swedish Elitserien, but Rockaden Stockholm won with 6,5-1,5 while we (Eksjö SK) won with "only" 6-2 and thanks to their game-points Rockaden Stockholm overtook the lead in the league.
LASK won their match in Scania derby against Limhamn Malmö, and they stay in the touch with two clubs on the top.
Team Viking won their match to continue their medal (title) hopes alive. It was interesting in the relegation battle too.

Saturday, 18th January

The town where I live in southern Sweden and the town where my club is situated are divided by two and a half hours travel.
Local train took me from Eslöv to Lund, and then I continued with the train that connects Copenhagen and Stockholm...just to go out in Nässjö, the town that looks pretty in the South on the map of Sweden, but having in mind that the northern parts of Sweden are not as populated as the South, Nässjö belongs somehow to the middle part of the country.
The clubs treasurer, Roger Karlsson waited for Danish players, Allan and Nikolaj, and Christopher and me, to drive us to Eksjö which is twenty minutes by car, away from Nässjö.
As this was the only single match this season, the club decided to make it somehow special, so we have lunch together in Eksjö Stadshotell.
The match was played in the same hotel, in Concordia hall, and we got the best possible conditions.
How we answered to that, the readers can see from the results bellow.

		Eksjö SK	2434	-		Örgryte SK	2271	6 - 2
Bord 1:	GM	Pontus Carlsson	2597	-		Mladen Gajic	2309	½ - ½
Bord 2:	IM	Jasmin Bejtovic	2459	-	FM	Anton Frisk Kockum	2425	1 - 0
Bord 3:	GM	Allan Stig Rasmussen	2572	-		Rahul Kumar	2245	1 - 0
Bord 4:	IM	Nikolaj Mikkelsen	2467	-	IM	Ari Ziegler	2353	1 - 0
Bord 5:	FM	Nedeljko Malesevic	2336	-		Mikael Arnelind	2229	½ - ½
Bord 6:		Per Vernersson	2409	-		Johan Eksmyr	2205	1 - 0
Bord 7:		Christopher Krantz	2313	-		Patrick Fransson	2198	0 - 1
Bord 8:	IM	Axel Ornstein	2324	-		Percy Fransson	2208	1 - 0

* The highlighted played had white pieces

** The ratings are Swedish national ratings

I have to admit that the match was not as easy as it looks, as the guests from Gothenburg had their chances.

My play was full of risk, and it could go either way (even if the game looks as straight forward victory), and it can be said for two more games.

However, we won and the next stop for us is The basement tour in Scania.

Despite that we took late train to get back home, and that weather was not really comparable to Malta or Mostar weather, it was very pleasant trip back.

Other results

Eksjö SK	-	Örgryte SK	6 - 2
	Limhamns SK	-	Lunds ASK	3 - 5
	SK Team Viking	-	Burgsvik Alva SK	6 - 2
	Upsala ASS	-	SK Rockaden, Sthlm	1½ - 6½
	Västerås SK	-	Farsta SK	2½ - 5½

LASK won their derby match against Limhamn, and by this victory, they are now one of the candidates for top of the table, while Limhamn can expect miracle if they want to win a medal.

Västerås, Farsta and Burgsvik played their matches from Friday to Sunday, so in the table you can see that Burgsvik already played six matches, while Farsta and Västerås played five matches each.

These three clubs will probably stay in the league, as Örgryte and Uppsala looks the weakest for now, but as I said, do not forget that Burgsvik played two matches more then the pair on the bottom.

Farsta, Västerås and Burgsvik won one match each, against each other, in perfect circle, and all the victories were pretty clear.

This is how the table looks:

	TABELL	SP	+	=	-	PP	MP
1	SK Rockaden, Sthlm	4	4	0	0	23.5	8
2	Eksjö SK	4	4	0	0	23.0	8
3	Lunds ASK	4	3	1	0	20.0	7
4	SK Team Viking	4	3	0	1	21.5	6
5	Västerås SK	5	1	2	2	20.0	4
6	Farsta SK	5	2	0	3	19.5	4
7	Limhamns SK	4	1	2	1	16.5	4
8	Burgsvik Alva SK	6	1	1	4	18.5	3
9	Upsala ASS	4	0	0	4	7.5	0
10	Örgryte SK	4	0	0	4	6.0	0

In two weeks it will be very interesting in Scania, where Limhamn and LASK will play two home matches against Örgryte (good chance to keep the pressure on the top) and against Eksjö SK, which can answer many questions before the final three rounds.

Let´s say, that in the case of positive results in Scania, Eksjö has really good prospect as we have to play only against Rockaden from the top in the endgame, while other clubs from the top (Team Viking, LASK, Rockaden and let´s say Limhamn who are last year winners) has to play against each other.

Let´s stop to speculate and we shall see what will happen.

Preview - Elitserien Round 4

2014-01-16T18:14:00.000+01:00

Saturday, 18th January is the time when Swedish Elitserien will be continued. Those who are regular readers of this blog, already know that Eksjö S.K. is the leader, and that Rockaden Stockholm is in share first place.
This time it is time for single round, the type of rounds when usually Eksjö don´t perform so good.
There are objective reasons behind that, as many of first team players lives aboard, and it is not easy for them to travel to Eksjö just to play one game.
However, in given conditions I see our club as a favourites against Örgryte from Gothenburg.
In sport, favourites does not win every time (otherwise we could predict everything), so it will be interesting to see the match between the leader and the club from opposite end of the table.

To be fair to Örgryte, they played against clubs from the top of the table (Rockaden Stockholm and Team Viking) and against Farsta which can be very tricky this year.

Rockaden Stockholm will play away match against Uppsala ASS and I predict their victory.
Team Viking are favourites against Burgsvik Alva in their home match.
Very interesting match should be between Västerås and Farsta. I think that on paper, Farsta has a slightly better team, but Västerås are more compact and always playing with the best players.
I will give small advantage to Västerås.

The most interesting match will be Scania Derby, between last year winners, Limhamn from Malmö, and LASK from Lund with traditionally strong individual players but not so great team performances.
The tradtition speaks for it self and according to it, the club from Malmö has advantage.

	TABELL	SP	+	=	-	PP	MP
1	Eksjö SK	3	3	0	0	17.0	6
2	SK Rockaden, Sthlm	3	3	0	0	17.0	6
3	Lunds ASK	3	2	1	0	15.0	5
4	SK Team Viking	3	2	0	1	15.5	4
5	Limhamns SK	3	1	2	0	13.5	4
6	Farsta SK	3	1	0	2	11.5	2
7	Västerås SK	3	0	2	1	10.5	2
8	Burgsvik Alva SK	3	0	1	2	10.0	1
9	Upsala ASS	3	0	0	3	6.0	0
10	Örgryte SK	3	0	0	3	4.0	0

As I like to speculate, and this preview has a purpose to get people in the right mood (and I also believe that others also like to read speculations) I will add, that according to my predictions, Rockaden, Team Viking and Eksjö will colect additional match-points on Saturday.

Also, I believe that Rockaden will overtake the lead on game-points.

Extremely important match in Scania will be the last nail in the coffin for gold ambitions for the club who lose it.

It will be also the huge blow for medal ambitions too.

Here are the pairings of round 4.

2014-01-18 Eksjö SK - Örgryte SK

2014-01-18 Limhamns SK - Lunds ASK

2014-01-18 SK Team Viking - Burgsvik Alva SK

2014-01-18 Upsala ASS - SK Rockaden, Sthlm

2014-01-18 Västerås SK - Farsta SK

Michael de Verdier: Chess & Life in Ireland

2014-01-13T22:15:00.001+01:00

After spending 8 months in Ireland working for Apple it's time to write a little something about Chess & Life in this country.
I am located in Cork, the second largest city located in the south-west. Nicknamed Rebel City (dating back to the late 1400s and the Wars of the Roses) the city has a feel of independence and pride. At the same time people are very friendly and tolerant to the mass-invation of foreigners coming over to work for companies like Apple, Google, Blizzard, Amazon among others.
Football and rugby are popular sports here, but there are also the GAA (Gaelic Athletic Association) sports including hurling (a mix between lacrosse and rugby), gaelic football (rugby) and handball (squash) and rounders (baseball/cricket).

The 2013 All-Ireland Hurling Final between the two rivalling counties of Cork and Clare had 81,000 spectators in the stadium, and emptied the streets of Cork. Simple everyone was watching.

Something should also be said about the capital Dublin. Although I did not spend enough time there to build a full opinion, it doesn't have the same sympathetic feel as smaller places like Cork or Galway. However, being the capital there are of course a lot to be said for a visit to Dublin. The Guinness Factory, Trinity College and Temple Bar are all worth a visit. The blog's owner spent more time than me in Dublin and can maybe give a better guide to the city.

My first impression about chess in Ireland came via the Mulcahy Open, a small tournament in Cork in the end of December. Top rated was local her Alex Astanah Lopez (2426) and I was second seed. I had to take a bye in the first round because of work, but then I played the remaining 5 rounds. 4 wins and a draw against Lopez meant 5/6 and second place. Lopez won with 5½/6.

Even though this was a small weekender the playing hall was the conference hall of a central hotel, with very nice playing conditions, spacious and with Staunton boards. Also the prize fund was not bad.

Next came the Munster Chess League, a local league for clubs based in the region of Munster. We played two rounds on a Saturday, and this was also played in a hotel, in the countryside in County Cork. Whereas many of Sweden's best clubs (especially the clubs from the very south) play in boring basements, the playing conditions in Ireland seem very nice so far.

My next tournament will probably be the Bunratty Chess Classic in the beginning of February. This open was won by Michael Adams in 2012 and 2013 and is arguably Ireland's strongest open.
Not a bad place for chess at all!
Here is a position from one of my games in the Munster League:

Resources in defense and attack

2014-01-10T23:27:00.001+01:00

It is amazing how chess can be deep sometimes.
I analysed one of my games from Rilton Cup in Stockholm, and when I did computer check of my analysis I was amazed by number of resourced that Black had into his position.
I did not played especially well in Stockholm and if I have to choose my best game from Stockholm it would be this victory in round 6.
I was White and my choice was The Botvinnik setup.
I have pretty big experience with this opening system, with both pieces, White and Black.
Also, I played against The Botvinnik system as White and Black.
For those who are interested in details about this opening I can recommend my articles The Botvinnik System and Bejtovic-Kotronias .
In the first mentioned article I wrote about my experience in The Botvinnik Setup, but during 2013 I played even more games in it, so you should take with a dose of reserve.

My main concern in the game was to avoid the opening preparation of my opponent, as I thought that he want to enter the position from my game against one player from Greece from European Individual Championship in Plovdiv 2012.
In that position my opponent could win the exchange but I would get more then enough compensation.
Anyway it can be hard to play against well prepared opponent and enter the variation that involves sacrifice of material, when I could not recall all the details.
Later on in the game I was forced to sacrifice some material in order to play on for a win.
The game became very complicated.

If you go carefully through all the game you can find the point from the diagram into introduction.
In that position it´s Black move, and he has to find fine resource in order to save the game.
In this position, it is White who is on move (both positions are from analysis not from the actual game), an now White has to find the way to continue his dying initiative.

For those who like to solve the problems on their own, I provided these two positions, and for those who are too curious and wants to see the game and the solutions for these positions, there is the game in new CBviewer.

Test of new ChessViewer

2014-01-08T23:57:00.001+01:00

As we entered new year, I want to introduce some new things on this blog.
One of the things will be the new chess viewer (this time from the Chessbase) and this what you will have a chance to test is only pilot version.
In the next days it will be possible to download games in pgn format and I hope that everything will look somehow smoother.
I shall make some changes on blog´s design too, and one of them are already online.
It will provide better possibilities to publish a pictures in higher resolution.
I hope that you will enjoy it.
Now, I shall publish the game annotated by ex World Champion Vladimir Kramnik.

If you click on the link "Download PGN" you can get the text that you can save in Notepad for example, with extension .pgn.
Then you can open it in your Chessbase or any other software which works with pgn files.
By clicking on Facebook icon, above the commentary, you can share the game on your Facebook profile.

Rilton Cup - Moderate result in Stockholm

2014-01-08T00:19:00.001+01:00

As I wrote in my previous articles, it past six years from the last time when I played Rilton Cup in Stockholm.
It was a pleasant experience to come back to Stockholm and play again in Sweden´s biggest open tournament.
Many things changed in the past six years when in comes to Rilton Cup, and one of these things is a playing hall.
From a nice playing hall in the building situated direct on the banks of one of Stockhom´s channels, the venue moved in Hotel Clarion in Södermalm (one of the islands on which lays the capital of Sweden).
In this article I will write about general things about the tournament, and the game analysis will be published in next article.

From the beginning of the tournament one could see that the two players performs much better then the rest of the field.
Norwegian GM Jon Ludvig Hammer and Swedish GM Nils Gargamel Marley Grandelius dominated the rest of the players.
Hammer showed the better nerves and more stable play and won the first price deservedly, while Marley, despite winning all his games with the white pieces, lost in the next last round (he had the winning position at more then one points) against Russian GM Volkov Sergey who overtook the second place.
The final standings (up to the 26th place):

Final Ranking after 9 Rounds

Rk.	SNo		Name	Gr	FED	Rtg	RtgI	RtgN	Pts.	TB1	TB2	Rp	K	rtg+/-
1	5	GM	Hammer Jon Ludvig		NOR	2612	2612	0	7.5	49.0	54.0	2795	10	19.9
2	4	GM	Volkov Sergey		RUS	2623	2623	0	7.0	45.5	49.5	2686	10	6.9
3	7	GM	Grandelius Nils		SWE	2576	2576	2642	6.5	51.5	56.0	2718	10	18.0
4	3	GM	Krasenkow Michal		POL	2633	2633	0	6.5	48.5	53.0	2662	10	4.5
5	2	GM	Smirin Ilya		ISR	2642	2642	0	6.5	47.5	51.5	2662	10	2.3
6	1	GM	Socko Bartosz		POL	2657	2657	2695	6.5	47.0	51.5	2651	10	0.5
7	6	GM	Goganov Aleksey		RUS	2581	2581	0	6.5	46.5	50.0	2645	10	8.7
8	9	GM	Hillarp-Persson Tiger		SWE	2551	2551	2624	6.5	43.5	47.5	2608	10	7.6
9	8	GM	Piorun Kacper		POL	2560	2560	0	6.0	49.0	53.0	2632	10	9.5
10	11	GM	Lintchevski Daniil		RUS	2541	2541	0	6.0	46.5	51.0	2602	10	8.2
11	14	IM	Urkedal Frode		NOR	2492	2492	2468	6.0	40.0	44.0	2493	10	0.8
12	15	IM	Semcesen Daniel		SWE	2488	2488	2547	5.5	42.0	45.5	2477	10	0.6
13	24	IM	Smirnov Artem		RUS	2418	2418	0	5.5	42.0	44.5	2510	10	12.3
14	20	GM	Socko Monika		POL	2440	2440	2494	5.5	41.0	44.5	2486	10	6.2
15	22	GM	Yagupov Igor		RUS	2427	2427	0	5.5	41.0	44.0	2432	10	2.1
16	26	IM	Tsyhanchuk Stanislav		BLR	2398	2398	0	5.5	41.0	43.5	2484	10	10.9
17	23	IM	Sjödahl Pontus		SWE	2420	2420	2478	5.5	40.5	43.0	2463	10	5.8
18	10	GM	Tikkanen Hans		SWE	2548	2548	2632	5.5	39.0	42.5	2418	10	-12.2
19	16	IM	Hansen Torbjørn Ringdal		NOR	2473	2473	0	5.5	38.5	42.0	2451	10	-1.7
20	38	FM	Luukkonen Tommi	1	FIN	2285	2285	2310	5.5	38.5	41.0	2463	15	31.0
21	13	GM	Blomqvist Erik		SWE	2519	2519	2582	5.5	36.5	40.0	2398	10	-12.8
22	36	FM	von Bahr Oskar	1	SWE	2298	2298	2356	5.5	35.0	38.5	2390	15	15.9
23	12	GM	Cramling Pia		SWE	2525	2525	2501	5.0	39.5	42.0	2356	10	-16.1
24	30	IM	Furhoff Johan		SWE	2318	2318	2330	5.0	39.0	42.0	2335	10	3.9
25	40	FM	Henriksson Johan	1	SWE	2266	2266	2279	5.0	31.5	33.0	2219	15	-9.4
26	25	IM	Bejtovic Jasmin		BIH	2402	2402	2448	4.5	41.5	44.0	2360	10	-4.6

My play was somehow at the same level as in Milan, couple of weeks before Rilton Cup, with the small digression what this time that little extra did not worked in my favour, so if I put my performance in numbers it was somehow mirrored from Milan (The role of the mirror point is my actual rating).

As the tournament was played in two calendar years, it puzzled me how to count it, as the first tournament in 2014 or as the last tournament in 2013 ?!

During the tournament we had a free day, and the whole atmosphere which surrounds Rilton Cup was very relaxing.

Rilton Cup is an exception from the other Swedish tournaments, organised much better, with very nice playing hall, separate room for the post-game analysis, and the room with a commentary for the spectators in which the chess legend GM Ulf Andersson dominated.

I have to mention Södermalm, the area in Stockholm with lot´s of restaurants, cafés and pubs, and when it comes to food, it delivered highly over my expectations so I can honestly say that in my opinion this area of Stockholm has the best choice of restaurants in Sweden.

Me and Gargamel spent a lot of time with famous Swedish actor, Christopher Kenneth Krantz.

As always, there were a lot of funny moments, good games and blunders.

If I have to summarise the whole experience from the tournament from the perspective of my play and the overall enjoyment, Rilton Cup 2013/2014 is the positive experience

- THE STRENGTH.

Photo: Rilton Cup official site www.rilton.se

Do not be fooled by this funny costume.

It is not a bunny, it´s a vulture.

Just make a couple of inaccurate moves and you will die slowly and become his dinner.

Chess and Life Bejtovic Jasmin

About Fianchetto Kings´s Indian Defence

Down Memory Lane

Madrid

Toledo

Mostar

Solution for April combinations

April combinations

FIDE World Candidates Tournament

Do not underestimate defencive resources!

FIDE World Candidates Tournament 2014

Elitserien - Fiasco at the end

Swedish league final - preview

Cannes 2014 - Promising story without final touch

February Combinations - Solutions

February combinations

Static against Dynamic

XXVIII Festival of Games - Cannes

Elitserien - Report

Matchresultat rond 5 Elitserien Allsvenskan 2013/14

Matchresultat rond 6 Elitserien Allsvenskan 2013/14

Elitserien Allsvenskan 2013/14

Show must go on - Elitserien Preview

January combinations - Solutions

Lucky or not?

January combinations

Elitserien Round 4 - Switch on the top

Elitserien Allsvenskan 2013/14

Preview - Elitserien Round 4

Elitserien Allsvenskan 2013/14

Michael de Verdier: Chess & Life in Ireland

Resources in defense and attack

Test of new ChessViewer

Rilton Cup - Moderate result in Stockholm

Final Ranking after 9 Rounds