The (complete) list for: "Games Of The Month."

This page will be a permanent list and a brief description of all the new feature games for that month.

---> Be sure to check out, "The List of Supplemental Games" for this website as well.

October, 2003: GM Peter Svidler - GM Alexander Morozevich.
This was the game that virtually decided first place for the Russian Championships.
(A Petroff Defense, [C42]; main line of 3.Nxe5.)
November 2003: GM Peter Svidler (2723) - GM Alexey Shirov (2737);
An astounding game from the European Team Championships that were held in Plovdiv,
Bulgaria; in October of 2003. It features a move that has to be extremely high on the
scale for pure shock value!! A very interesting and entertaining game.
(The Advance Variation, [B12]; {3.e5}; of the Caro-Kann Defense.)
December 2003: GM Alex Wojtkiewicz (2571) - GM Pavel Blatny (2494) (NY Masters.)
A really tough struggle ... that ends in a FOUR-Rook end-game!! It is also a VERY
unusual opening ... at least for a Black. I am fairly sure that this is a contest that the
average player, (rated below 1800, USCF); could learn a lot from!
( An odd line of the Reti - 1.Nf3, b6; - which transposes to something that I guess is a Dutch Defense
{QID?} where White fianchetto's his light-squared Bishop. [A04] )
January, 2004: GM Emil Sutovsky - GM Hikaru Nakamura; ICT/Pamplona, ESP; 2003.
An extremely interesting game featuring some VERY unusual tactics. This is a game that had
me (and my computer!) befuddled for the longest time. (From TWIC # 476.) This is an
extremely well-annotated chess game, that took a really long time to do. Take a look!
(An sideline of the Classical Sicilian, [B30]. 1.e4, c5; 2.Nf3, Nc6; 3.Bb5, "The Rossolimo System.")
February, 2004: GM Viswanathan Anand - GM Jan Timman; ICT / GM "A" section
/ Wijk aan Zee / NED; 2004. The key game of the tournament, it turned out that this win
put Anand at "plus five" ... and the competition would not catch him. A fiery Sicilian ...
with an awesome attack. And ... oh yes, there are tactics aplenty! Check it out!!
(A main-line system of the Sicilian, [B67]. "The Richter-Rauzer Attack," with 6.Bg5, for White.)
March, 2004: GM Peter Svidler - GM Alexander Rustemov; (TT) Bundesliga, 2003-4.
An extremely interesting game between two very uncompromising Masters. Svidler essays his pet
line against the French and Rustemov strikes back with a little surprise of his own. A very difficult
struggle soon ensues ... it is not clear, for a few moves, just who is getting the upper hand here.
Finally it becomes clear that White has the better game - but how to finish off? Svidler does - as
always - in style.
(A good game to study to learn both tactics AND strategy. On top of everything else;
there is a fairly good opening repertoire included ... AND a list of links so you can learn
even more! Check it out!!) (Posted March 15th, 2004.)
(Black meets White's "Advance Variation" of the French Defense, with a rather odd move of 3...b6!?.
[C02] The second player strives for ...Bc8-a6; we get out of book very early on.)
April, 2004:    GM P. Leko - GM V. Kramnik; XXI Super GM / Linares, ESP; 2004.
Maybe THE game of Linares, it certainly decided first place. It could also be a portent of things
to come in the match later this year between these same two players. (Posted 04/17/2004.)
This game also contains a fairly detailed and in-depth look at the current state of theory of the
main line of the Sveshnikov Defense. Many of the side-lines are looked at. BONUS!!! There is
a very nice game of Karpov's analyzed within the context of this game! Check it out!!
(The main line of the system of the Sicilian, [B33]; known as the "Pelikan/Sveshnikov Sicilian.")
May, 2004:   GM Sergey Rublevsky - IM Andrei Volokitin; Team {League} Champ,
Sochi, Russia, 2004. A thrilling and exciting game ... and also one that was a challenge to try
and analyze correctly. It turned out to be ... very, very, VERY complicated!!! Check it out!
(White plays a Sicilian line - that is a little off the beaten path. After 1.e4, c5; 2.Nf3, d5; 3.Bb5+,
    we have the "Bolesavsky" or "Moscow Variation." [B52].)
June, 2004:    GM Alex Shirov (2713) - GM Bojan Kurajica (2540)   [B01]
ICT / Bosnia GM  (34th Bosna GM) Sarajevo, BIH; (Round # 1), 18.05.2004
An interesting game of chess, with a nice tactical finish. A good repertoire on the Center-counter opening.
I worked very long and very hard on the analysis of the game. I also went out of my way to make the opening
survey in this game something special. One of my better efforts!! (Good stuff for the aspiring student.)
(The Center-Counter Opening, [B01]; with 1.e4, d5!? After 2.exd5, Qxd5; 3.Nc3, Black plays the
rather quirky and odd move of 3...Qd6!? here. The main line, of course, is 3...Qa5.)
July, 2004:     GM A. Shabalov (2624) - GM H. Nakamura (2580);   [D97]
ICT / Open Tournament / Chicago, IL (USA) / (Round # 07); May 31st, 2004.
Once again, Shabalov always seem to be able to rise to the occasion. He defeats young Nakamura in a key
money round in a very difficult variation. An important game to study ... a fair look at the theory of this line.
(There are also TWO bonus games this month, but you have to visit the page to find them!)
(A modern, main line of the Exchange Variation of the Grunfeld Defense, [D97]. Black plays the slightly
different line of ... "The Prins System," that begins with the move, 7...Na6!?)
August, 2004: GM A. Morozevich - GM K. Sasikiran; ICT / Chess Festival. [C95]
Super-GM (A) Tournament / Round # 08 / Biel, SUI; 2004. (One bonus game.)
A very powerful tournament was held in the resort town of Switzerland, and for the second straight year,
GM Alexander Morozevich not only won ... he dominated this incredibly strong event. Here it is, a very
deeply annotated game for your enjoyment. (It is also the third installment of my opening school.)
(The opening is a MAIN LINE Ruy Lopez - Breyer System. [C95] Check it out.)
   September, 2004:     IM A. Volokitin - GM V. Malakhatko; / ICT, Master's (Inv?) / (Rd. # 2.2)
   73rd National Championship Tournament / Kharkiv, UKR; 2004.   [B43]
This was a very strong tournament - Vassily Ivanchuk was knocked out (early!) by veteran GM O. Romanishin.

The young - and I predict ... superstar - player, IM Andrei Volokitin won the whole bag of marbles. A very
enjoyable game that isn't too terribly long, and even contains a fairly detailed look at the current state of the
theory of this line. The game also includes plenty of diagrams, and a link to a nice JS-script game. COOL!!!
(The opening is a modern variant of the Paulsen/Kan System of the Sicilian. [B43] Check it out!)
   October, 2004:    GM Peter Leko - GM Vladimir Kramnik; / WCS Match, G#5 / Brissago, SUI / Oct, 2004.
The two super GM's duke it out ... Leko wins a very important game to level the match score. Not only this, but this
one encounter will wind up GREATLY changing the theoretical landscape ... Black can no longer view the first player's
position as being toothless! A great game, that is very thoroughly annotated for your enjoyment. Many diagrams. Enjoy!
(The opening is s side variant of the "Queen's Gambit Declined." [D37] Normal is 5.Bg5, here Leko uses 5.Bf4!?)
November, 2004: GM Alexander Morozevich - GM Vassily Ivanchuk; 36th Olympiad / Calvia, ESP; 2004.
Two players ... both rated over 2700 ... duke it out in an ultra-sharp and ultra-wild Caro-Kann Defense. Neither player will
accept a draw - or so it seems. The result is one of the most incredible and complex games that I have ever studied!!!
(The opening was a Caro-Kann Defense, The Advance System. [B12] But not much book here ... the players go their
own way very quickly in this contest. Take your MCO ... and throw it out the window!)
   December, 2004:     GM Garry Kasparov - GM Alexey Dreev; 57th National Champ. Tourn. / Moscow, RUS; 2004.
Two of the world's best players slug it out ... toe-to-toe ... in a highly controversial variation. The result is a very hard-fought
contest that is also highly significant to opening theory. (The opening was a sub-system of the "Queen's Gambit Declined,"
   the "Moscow Variation." [D43] A highly significant game to the theory of this entire opening system.)

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January, 2005:    GM Vishy Anand - GM Livieu Dieter Nisipeanu; German {national} Team Competition,
   (Bundesliga 2004 - 2005); Porz, GER; / (Round # 6), 12,12, 2004.
   A really interesting game ... with some fantastic tactics to finish things off by GM V. Anand. Check it out!!!
   (This opening was a Philidor's Defense, [C41]. Black gives up the center / opens the game with 3...exd4.)
February, 2005:    GM Viswanathan Anand - GM Peter Leko; ICT / CORUS "A" / Wijk aan Zee, NED; 2005.
Two top GM's really go after each other in this historic battle. Leko sacrifices a Pawn, but gets a ton of play. I think
Anand must have underestimated Leko's play, because he misses some very key tactics. A truly exciting game!!
(This opening was the difficult Sveshnikov Sicilian, [B33]; a tough line to play, analyze or study!)
March, 2005:    GM Sergei Volkov - GM Emil Sutovsky; ICT / Aeroflot Masters, (Open) / Moscow, RUS; 2005.
An exciting fight - a magnificent struggle of truly heroic proportions. Sutovsky HAD to win ... with the BLACK pieces
in the last round of this tournament, and he did so!!! Thus is born the stuff of legends. A really fascinating chess struggle.
(This opening was a wild variant of the "Russian System" of the GRUNFELD DEFENSE, [D97] truly interesting stuff.)
April, 2005:    GM Michael Adams - GM Garry Kasparov; ICT / Super-GM / (Rnd. # 12) / Linares, Spain, 2005.
A real barn-burner, White is flattened in less than 30 moves in a cascade of shocking moves. (The opening starts off as a Najdorf
Sicilian, but soon transposes to a Scheveningen Sicilian, [B90]. A great game by Garry - one for the ages!!!)
May, 2005:    GM Vladislav Tkachiev (2609) - GM Alon Greenfeld (2549);  Open Coventry / ENG; (Round #4),
26,03,2005. An interesting game ... in a line of the King's Indian that I have not covered too often, (it was my first game in
that line for this website). The tactics are quite intense, there are a lot of really quality ideas in this game. Black wins, but only
after a real tussle. (When I first went over this game, I was not at all sure who was better ... or why ... or even what the losing
move was.) A good game to study if you are a die-hard KID fan, it is also a good game to study to improve your tactics.
(This is the FIANCHETTO Variation of the "King's Indian Defense, [E68] of the ECO code for this opening.)
June, 2005:    GM Ivan Sokolov - GM Alexei Shirov; 35th Super (Bosnian) Masters / Sarajevo, BIH; 2005.  (R# 9)
This exciting game ... had a HUGE impact on who won this tournament ... Sokolov and Bologan tied for first in this event.
(Normally, Shirov plays in this event every year - usually he is an odds-on favorite to win.) It was a TREMENDOUS
see-saw battle, that also had fairly important theoretical overtones. Black might have missed the best defense, and went
down in flames just before the time control. An exciting, fairly well annotated chess game ... just for your enjoyment!
(The opening is a sub-system of the "Botvinnik Gambit" versus the Semi-Slav Defense. [D44] There are dozens of key
references here for you.)
July, 2005: GM Vassily Ivanchuk (2739) - GM Sergei Movsesian (2628); 6th EICC, (European Individual Ch.)
/ Warsaw, POL; (R #8) / 26,06,2005. This is an exciting and difficult Sicilian Defense, where White eventually triumphs.
A good game to study if you are trying to learn this sharp opening ... LOTS of wild tactics!! (A Lowenthal Sicilian, [B32].)
August, 2005:    GM Loek Van Wely (2655) - GM Vladimir Akopian (2705); 15th ETC (The Euro.Team Champ.) /
Gothenburg, SWE; (Round #4) / 02,08,2005. Here is a very hard-fought contest ... which allowed the Dutch Team to edge
out the Armenian Team in this event. It is a Nimzo-Indian ... I have not covered a lot of games in this opening, so you should
definitely check this one out. (A Nimzo-Indian Opening, The Classical System with 4.Qc2. [E38] )
September, 2005:     GM Vicktor Korchnoi (2615) - GM Alexander Beliavsky (2599); / International Chess Tourn. /
Igualada, ESP; (Round #2) / 18,08,2005. An incredible, fighting game of chess ... by two of my favorite players! I also went
all out to make this a special page. (On Korchnoi ... AND this opening!!! If you print the CB version of this game out, it runs
over 15 pages!) This is a great game of chess, that does credit to both players. I have left almost no stone unturned - to make
this page an outstanding reference document on this opening, many opening references and dozens of links. (The opening is a
"Queen's Indian Defense," with 4...Ba6!? The ECO code is [E15].) Please ... check it out!
October, 2005:   GM Vassily Ivanchuk (2752) - GM Zahar Efimenko (2643); 21st ECC (Euro. Club Cup Ch.)
/ Saint Vincent, ITA; (R2) / 19,09,2005. A great game of chess, it was easily one of the more complex positional grinds
that I looked at out of the selection for this month's games. I also went to great pains to make this a very carefully annotated
chess game. There are MANY valuable reference links as well. So ... check it out! (King's Indian Samisch, [E81].)
November, 2005: A very special game and analysis ... GM Peter Leko (2763) - GM Veselin Topalov (2788);
The World Chess Championships / (WCh-FIDE) DRR Tournament / San Luis, ARG; (Round No. One / R#1), 28,09,2005. This game was the start of Topalov's amazing run - that led to his eventual victory in this particular event. Even though I knew it would be a lot of work, it seemed that I HAD to take a good look at this one. Also, I felt that it was high time that I show some respect to Topalov as the new World Champion! A great game, some really good analysis, so check it out! (This game was a tough Sicilian, [B90]; the popular "English Attack" ... so have a look.)
December, 2005:    This effort - and the corresponding downloads - are my Christmas presents to chess fans everywhere.
GM Pedrag Nikolic (2584) - GM David Navara (2646); The (FIDE) World Cup (Champ.) Tournament, (WCC)
/ Khanty Mansyisk, RUS; (Round # 1.2) / 27,11,2005.
Two very talented masters go head-to-head in one of my favorite lines. Its a game full of fighting content ... in an opening system that I have never featured in this column - prior to this particular contest. I also went to great pains to make sure that I scoured my library and the database for the best possible analysis. {I spent nearly a month in the analysis phase, and probably more than a week formatting the game.} So ... check it out!!! (This is a great example of "The Modern Benoni," [A63]. All the major Benoni Systems are covered!)
January, 2006: This month is a game from the FIDE World Cup which was held in Khanty Mansyisk, Russia. (In Dec, 2005.)
It is the contest: GM B. Gelfand (2717) - GM E. Bareev (2675); WCC, Places 5-6 / Khanty Mansyisk, RUS; (R #7.3) / 17,12,2005. I took my time, and annotated this game, virtually no reference was skipped. It is a carefully annotated game, (I did dozens of database searches to insure that no key game was missed); ... in a line that is currently very popular, especially at the GM level. The download complements this month's effort, so overall, I think that most classes of players will find this interesting. Check it out! (This game was an unusual variant of "The Slav Defense," [D15] and it is a fun game to study.)
February, 2006: This is the contest: GM V. Topalov (2801) - GM L. Aronian (2752); / ICT, Corus Masters, "A" group. / Wijk aan Zee, NED; (R#10) / 25,01,2006. This is one of the most brilliant games of the last 10-20 years, it is also one of the most amazing "TN's" of the last 50. You have to see - and study - this game, to believe it! (This is a great example of "The Queen's Indian Defence," [E15]. ALL the major systems of this opening are covered!)
March, 2006: This is the last round battle: GM Peter Leko (2740) - GM Levon Aronian (2752); XXIII SuperGM Morelia/Linares; MEX/ESP; (Round # 14) / 11.03.2006. This is the game that decided clear first place in one of the most important tournaments of the whole year. Without question, this is a "must-see" contest. (It is also a "Marshall Gambit Declined, [C88]; I do not think that I have covered this opening system anywhere before.) So have a look, won't you?
April, 2006: GM V. Topalov (2801) - GM L. Nisipeanu (2693); / "Match of Champions" / Bucharest, ROM;
(Round #4) / 09,04,2006. The World Champion faces off against the European Champ ... in a four game match, this contest came from that event. Topalov treats us to a model Q+P endgame that every aspiring student should study carefully. (The opening is a Sicilian, Richter-Rauzer System. [B65] The opening is covered in some detail.) Its a good game, so take a shot!
May, 2006: GM V. Topalov (2804) - GM V. Anand (2803); 2nd M-Tel Masters / Sofia BUL; (R #2) / 11,05,2006.
Not only is this an important game - theoretically speaking - it is also a brilliancy of the first magnitude. Anand plays a stupendous effort, one that could easily be placed alongside one of Alexander Alekhine's, or Bobby Fischer's or even Garry Kasparov. (Not only this, the opening is meant to be a current, up-to-the-minute survey of [C88], the Marshall Gambit (declined) lines of the Ruy Lopez.)
June, 2006:    GM S. Rublevsky (2687) - GM R. Ponomariov (2738); Aerosvit GM / Foros, UKR; (R#3) / 19,06,2006.
As I write this, GM S. Rublevsky just had a fantastic result, winning this tournament. However, when I picked this game to annotate it, only three rounds had been played ... and I had NO IDEA of who the winner was going to be!
However, I will confess that Rublevsky is a player that I like ... but this also was not primarily my main reason for choosing this game, although it was a part of the overall formula. So why did I choose to annotate this game? I guess you will just have to go over the game ... and decide for yourself!! (This is also a Scotch Game, [C45] with a small - but thorough - opening survey and many references.)
July, 2006: GM Alexei Shirov (2699) - GM Penteala Harikrishna (2680); Aerosvit GM / Foros, UKR; (R#9) / 26,06,2006.
A most unusual game. When I first began annotating this game, I mistakenly assumed that it was all new ... that Shirov created a great deal of this ... as he sat at the board. (I had done a cursory examination of the theoretical lines in a few books, to include ECO, and found no mention of these lines.) Imagine my surprise when I discovered ... {after several searches of the on-line games db} ... that the piece sacrifice was NOT new, and that Shirov had even been on the Black side of this variation before!!!!! In the end, Shirov wins a beautiful game, his poor opponent is no match for Shirov's constant pressure and crumbles under the prolonged assault. (This game is a pure Slav --- 1.d4 d5; 2.c4 c6; 3.Nf3 Nf6; 4.Nc3 dxc4; 5.a4 Bf5; {and now lines without 6.e3.} --- and there is a fairly thorough opening survey as well. This line, [D17], is not one that I have featured too many times before ... in fact, I am not sure if I have even seriously analyzed this continuation before.) Its a new path for me, and a highly interesting clash, so check it out ... won't you?
August, 2006: GM Magnus Carlsen (2675) - GM Alexander Morozevich (2731); / ICT, Bienne Chess Festival /
Biel, SUI; (R#2) / 24,07,2006. Two top GM's go head-to-head, and both want to win. What follows is an extremely uncompromising struggle, with neither side willing to back down. While White eventually wins this one, both sides can be proud, each man gave his utmost; but in the end, only one could come out as the victor. And while Carlsen won both games off Morozevich, this Alexander was certainly great, he won almost all the rest of his games, and finished as the clear winner of this event. (The opening was a "King's Indian Defense, ECO code was [E97].)
September, 2006: GM K. Sasikiran (2675) - GM L.D. Nisipeanu (2696); / ESP-chT Honor (Gp1) / Olite, ESP;
(Round # 01) / 05,09,2006. A very careful analysis of the whole game. The move order is not the standard one, but after around 15 moves, an interesting middlegame is reached. Then ... eventually, the contest reaches a K+P endgame. Special attention is given to the ending, but you would have to study the game in order to figure out why. A great game by one of India's top (young) GM's. (The game began as a Reti with 1.Nf3, but then transposed to a Nimzo-Indian Defense, [E54]. Without question, a solid effort, and - with the notes given - one that you should be able to learn from.)
October, 2006: GM Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (2728) - GM Veselin Topalov (2813); / 10th Essent (Crown) /
Hoogeveen, NED; (Round # 01) / 22,10,2006. One of the co-winners of this event defeats the former World Champion, and does so in a fairly convincing manner. The only question was: "Is it live, or is it Memorex?" In any case, this is a well-annotated game in a line that currently all the rage at the GM level. (The Semi-Slav Defense, ECO code [D47]. A carefully annotated game, that you certainly can learn from. There are also many links as well.)
March, 2007: GM Magnus Carlsen (2690) - GM Viswanathan Anand (2779); / XXIV SuperGM Tournament
Morelia/Linares, MEX/ESP (Round # 03) / 19,02,2007. I get a ton of e-mail, sometimes 30 or 40 in a single day. One of the things I am asked almost constantly, is: "Why don't you show more games where Black wins, (instead of White)?" The short answer would be is that Black wins only rarely at the Super-GM level, and many times when Black does come out on top, it is because of an ugly blunder - therefore, the game has little instructional value. Well, here is a nice win by GM Vishy Anand, who manages to win a solid game ... with the Black pieces! And by virtue of his stellar play, (especially his two wins vs. Carlsen); Anand won clear first at this event. (The opening is a Semi-Slav, ECO openings code is [D47]. Its a solid job of analysis and makes a nice complement to the last column, so please check it out, OK?)
April, 2007: GM B. Gelfand (2733) - GM T. Radjabov (2729); 16th Amber-blind / Monte Carlo, MNC; (R#9) / 2007.
Here is a fantastic chess game, two top GM's slug it out in a fairly topical opening line. GM Boris Gelfand is still capable of playing excellent chess, here he cranks out a very sharp game and demonstrates that he can still play an attractive combination. (The opening is the Torre Attack versus 3...g6; ECO openings code [A48]. There is enough material here to keep the average student busy for several hours, especially when you count all the games and links.)
May, 2007: GM M. Carlsen (2693) - GM M. Krasenkow (2661); GM Chess Classics / Gausdal, NOR; (Round # 9) /
18,04,2007. The young superstar just seems to get better and better. Here, he hammers a solid GM. Its not a brilliant game, its not even a real flashy game with a ton of tactics ... just a solid, workman-like effort that gave Magnus clear first place in this event. (The opening was a Dutch Defense with 4.Nbd2 vs. a Stonewall. [A90] A rather off-beat line.)
June, 2007: GM Gata Kamsky (2705) - GM Etienne Bacrot (2709); WCh Candidates (s/f) / Elista, RUS; (R#3) / 29,05,2007. Here is an interesting chess game, another "Anti-Marshall" line. Kamsky plays an off-beat line, and gains a pawn, although the end-game with "Bishops-of-opposite-colors" seem to produce a position that would favor a draw. However, Kamsky presses Bacrot hard, and in the end, the French GM makes a mistake that allows White to come out on top. (The opening was a "Marshall Gambit," but features the systems where White declines Black's gambit. The ECO openings code is [C88] for this contest.)
July, 2007: GM Vadim Zvjaginsev (2658) - GM Wang Hao (2624); 4th GM (team) / Taiyuan, CHN; (Rnd. #01) / 04,07,2007. A solid game by a player better known for his ventures into a fantasy wonderland. It starts out as a "possibly wild opening," but after Black makes a few poor choices, the game turns into a positional display by White. Black is tied up hand and foot, the end of the game is nice, however ... and features some interesting tactics. (The opening was a King's Gambit, [C36] but White was not down a pawn for long.)
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This page was first posted on: Saturday; September 20th, 2003. This page was last updated on 11/06/07 .