Peter Leko: eminently prepared, physically fit and eager to be creative.
Sergey Karjakin: getting stronger by the day.
Eleven-year-old Parimarjan Negi: remarkably honest analysis of missed win.
Boris Gelfand: three tournament wins in
a row.
SOS: Move-order your Sicilian opponent.
| ContentLEKO WINS CORUS – OF COURSE
The traumatic last-round loss in Brissago, a disaster that cost him the world title, had left him with no choice. If he wanted to speed up the recuperation process and rebuild his self-confidence, he would have to win the Corus tournament. Eminently prepared, physically fit and eager to be creative Peter Leko arrived in Wijk aan Zee to accomplish his mission. For the doubting Thomases who still wonder if the Hungarian ace can fight on an equal footing with the Big Three it is high time to wake up to reality. As Leko rightly pointed out he is the only player to have won all Grand Slam tournaments in the past three years: Dortmund in 2002, Linares in 2003 and now the most prestigious of them all. THE POWER OF YOUTH
The grandmaster B-group in Wijk aan Zee could hardly be called a side-event. Many an organizer would be delighted to have such an appetizing blend of youth, experience and beauty as the flagship of any top event. In the first half, Shakhriyar Mamedyarov shot ahead with a string of wins, but in the end it was 15-year-old Sergey Karjakin who earned the right to play in next year’s top group. AND FOR DESSERT WE HAVE...
The Corus C-group! Here we bring you games annotated by Natalia Zhukova, who scored an explosive plus-7 and made a GM-norm, and 11-year-old(!) Parimarjan Negi, who could have stopped Vladimir Georgiev from claiming first place. SECRET WEAPONS MASTER
If chess players are always thinking one step ahead of their opponent, surely there must be some practical application for their talents. Israeli IM Yaacov Bleiman, who died last June, found one. He spent a decade designing a smart bomb that in 2003 was procured by the Israeli Air Force for its F-16 fighter jets. GOOD ‘OLD’ GELFAND
In the past months Boris Gelfand won three tournaments in a row. He presents two of his best efforts with highly instructive notes. NO MONKEY BUSINESS IN GIBRALTAR
The Gibtele.com Masters ended in a multiple tie for first place. Favourite Alexey Shirov had a tough time getting into top gear and failed to distance himself from co-winners Aronian, Efimenko, Georgiev and Sutovsky. S.O.S.: SICILIAN TURNS FRENCH ROWSON ON BOOKS SHADOW YEARS
Jaan Ehlvest wrote an autobiography, ‘The Story of a Chess Player’. Hans Ree read the book and liked the annotated games best. ARNOLD DENKER (1914-2005)
Jan Timman remembers Arnold Denker who died at the age of 90 last January. JUST CHECKING
Nigel Short chooses the three most intriguing words in the English language. Any guesses? Did they play your opening?In this issue games with the following openings were annotated by world class players: Sicilian Defence
Gormally-Sutovsky, by Ward
Anand-Ponomariov, by Anand
Kramnik-Topalov, by Topalov
Adams-Topalov, by Adams
Ponomariov-Kramnik, by Ponomariov
Shirov-Spraggett, by Shirov French Defence
Kosteniuk-Stellwagen, by Stellwagen
Bosboom-Zhukova, by Zhukova
Karjakin-Nikolic, by Karjakin Ruy Lopez
Efimenko-Georgiev, by Efimenko
Short-Sokolov, by Short
Negi-Georgiev, by Negi
Polgar-Svidler, by Polgar
Kramnik-Sokolov, by Kramnik
Leko-Short, by Leko
Botvinnik-Denker, by Timman Queen's Gambit Declined
Van Wely-Short, by Van Wely Slav
Carlsen-Kosteniuk, by Carlsen
Gormally-Dreev, by Ward Catalan
Gelfand-Harikrishna, by Gelfand King's Indian
Gelfand-Sutovsky, by Gelfand Queen's Pawn Opening
Morozevich-Anand, by Anand
Nikolic-Mamedyarov, by Mamedyar
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