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Chess is the scientific sport par excellence, and it has been evolving over recent years. From my own experience as a chess master and sportsman I have seen several of these changes. I have been playing chess for approximately 15 years now and at the beginning analog clocks existed, books were used more and there was not so much variety for virtual on-line chess, and little discussion of cheating in chess. Today there are greater possibilities to study, obtain information or be updated with the latest news, which is why we need to be as up to date as players with a high level, it is necessary to make use of all these tools that today's technology offers us. From my own point of view, I do not characterize myself as being a very theoretical player, of course it is necessary and mandatory to know this component if you want to be a competitive player, but I am also passionate about creativity, new ideas and the out of the ordinary. A clear example is random chess 960 where normal theory does not exist and you must develop your pieces in disorder and execute different plans or ideas. I think it is a good exercise to encourage said creativity and apply a new strategy at the same time.
A complete and strong player must have a broad understanding of chess, today almost anyone can memorize the first 15-20 moves on a theoretical level, but notable differences arise between the Elite players and an average player, highlighting the tactical level and the technical component we will see in this month's column
The reader will see instructive games played in the 38th European Club Cup 2023 and also the national tournament in Russia, one of the strongest countries and with the largest number of Grandmasters in the world.

Download PGN of October ’23 1 d4 d5 2 c4 games

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Chigorin Defence 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Nc3 dxc4 5.e4 Bg4 [D07]

In Dardha, D - Frischmann, R, 38th ECC Open Durres ALB 2023, a Chigorin Defense was played where an inaccuracy was made early on with 9...Bg6:

This allowed White to quickly take the initiative which cost Black a pawn. 9...0-0 was more normal and logical



Slav Exchange Variation 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.e3 Bg4 5.Bxc4 e6 6.Nc3 Nbd7 7.h3 [D10]

In Gelfand, B - Dardha, D, 38th ECC Open Durres ALB 2023, a symmetrical type of position was reached from the Slav Exchange Variation:

This is usually quite solid and exchanges occur on the open c-file, after 20...Rfc8 the game quickly went into an ending with limited possibilities of victory.


Slav, Breyer Variation 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Nbd2 Bf5 5.Nh4 [D11]

In Sakalauskas, V - Steinberg, N, 38th ECC Open Durres ALB 2023, after 12.fxe4 there is an unusual center which can be somewhat difficult to defend:

Later, after 27.d5? Black achieved an excellent game on the dark squares, although the game was still objectively equal. However, in the end 51.Ke3?? was the last mistake and allowed Black to exchange one of his weak doubled pawns.


Main Slav 5...e6 6.e3 c5 [D16]

In Murzin, V - Goryachkina, A, 76th ch-RUS St Petersburg 2023, there was a typical isolated pawn position where the f2-f4 plan was carried out with clear ideas of opening lines and attacking:

after 16.Qh5 the position was already complex and Black had to be careful, but the Russian champion showed her class with precise defense.



QGD Petrosian Variation 3.Nc3 Be7 4.Bf4 Nf6 5.e3 0-0 [D35]

In the battle that took place in Artemiev, V - Murzin, V, 76th ch-RUS St Petersburg 2023, the game took a different direction from the beginning evading the main theory in the Queen's Gambit:

Murzin decided to capture with the knight by 10...Nxd5 and play in a more active style, but with 18...Rac8? He made a strategic error that left White with very comfortable chances of applying pressure in the endgame. Another important moment happened on 21... Kxf5? leaving the e6 pawn quite weak. There was a very good finish from Artemiew with the fine and elegant 41.Nb4! ending the game in a few moves.


QGD, Semi-Tarrasch 4.Nc3 c5 5.cxd5 cxd4 6.Dxd4 exd5 [D41]

In the game Martirosyan, H - Grieve, H, 38th ECC Open Durres ALB 2023, we will see a visible difference in understanding between a super GM and a strong IM, both from what was happening in the position to making important mistakes at a tactical level.

The first important moment occurred after 14...Kf8!? where Black had the idea of defending e7 and advancing the d-pawn through ...d5-d4 while avoiding a tactical issue on h7. Later, however, the passive move 20...a6?? left the queen loose on b6 and fails tactically, better was 20...Bg4, pinning the knight and maintaining the tension. In the end the game was decided by the 'anti-positional' 22.fxg3 opening the f-file and strongly attacking the enemy king.



Catalan Opening Mainline 6...dxc4 7.Qc2 c6 [R06]

In Rozum, I - Esipenko, A, 76th ch-RUS St Petersburg 2023, White had a slight space advantage where he had to play very precisely, but Black managed to react in time with 13...a5!:

Very soon 15.e4? was a dubious move, as Esipenko was very comfortable with his dark-squared bishop following 19...e5!, freeing the position. In this game there were several serious errors, not typical at such a high level, but they can always occur, such as 28.Nh4?? when the knight and bishop are out of orbit! And after 30.f4?, although the position is already quite difficult, Black was clearly winning, but then the collapse comes by 31...Bg7??.

Probably they were under time pressure due to the series of errors in a row at the end.


Catalan Opening Mainline 6...dxc4 7.Qc2 c6 [R06]

In Matlakov, M - Murzin, V, 76th ch-RUS St Petersburg 2023, the battle took shape in a Catalan where Black reacted prematurely by 12...c5? allowing tactical ideas on the d-file:

In just 4 more moves White achieved a very satisfactory position due to the location of his pieces and the weakness of the black king on g8. Later, 20...Bd5?? allowed the brilliant sacrifice 21.Rxd5!! and all the white pieces play. The icing on the cake was the beautiful combination starting 27.Bxh7!! and Black ran out of options.



Till next month, Esteban

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