Time pressure at the Kei-Shars tournament
Chess With Errol Tiwari
Stabroek News
April 15, 2007
Shiv Nandalall and Tiwari do battle at Sunday's tournament. Nandalall initiated a brutal attack and won the game.
A sprinkling of youths participated in the Kei-Shars-sponsored chess tournament last Sunday, led by former Bishop's High School student Shazeeda Rahim.
Being the lone female among the stronger and more seasoned male chess players apparently did not intimidate Shazeeda as she completed the tournament with four victories from the seven rounds which were played.
The 15-minute per player time arrangement which was allotted for each game did not give much latitude to players to think deeply and formulate concrete plans for their games. Making intelligent decisions under severe time pressure separated the winners from the losers.
The rigorous time schedule, however, serves as rigid training and a test for players preparing for the National Championship at the end of the year. The idea is to have a championship that is worthy, meaningful and comparable to any that was held previously in Guyana. Guyanese Hubert Barker and Maurice Broomes became Caribbean chess champions by adhering to severe training methods.
The National Championship would be played under a more relaxed time arrangement, which would give players an opportunity to think deeply when planning their attacks and search for the strongest defensive possibilities in difficult positions.
In my view, Guyana at the moment does not sit in the elite circle of Caricom chess. We are on the periphery of the circle, aiming to get inside by our diligence and dedication to the game. By next year we want to begin testing ourselves and examining where we stand. Barbados for one, would be difficult to overcome because they have at least two International Masters and chess is very popular on the island. Some years ago, with the exception of Cuba, Guyana was the strongest chess nation in the Caribbean.
This is why we want the National Championship to have only our best players as participants. And this is why the monthly tournaments are used as qualifying games for the championship.
The games which were played on Sunday showed the fighting spirit of the participants. No one resigned easily, although quite a few players were outclassed by the veterans. Learie Webster demonstrated absolute calmness as he mowed down opponent after opponent to play unbeaten in the tournament. Shiv Nandalall also played very well to place second. In a magnanimous gesture, Nandalall gave his prize to the second best junior player, Cyril ng Lung Kit, for encouragement.
The next tournament is set for Sunday, April 29, at the YMCA.
Kramnik v Radjabov
This game was played at the Category 20 Super Grandmaster Tournament in Linares, Spain 2003. Kramnik plays stylishly to defeat the teenager Teimour Radjabov.
Kramnik,V (2807) - Radjabov,T (2624)
XX Super GM Linares, Spain.
February 28, 2003.
1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.e5 Nfd7 5.f4 c5 6.Nf3 Nc6 7.Be3 cxd4 8.Nxd4 Bc5 9.Qd2 0-0 10.0-0-0 a6 11.Qf2 Nxd4 12.Bxd4 Qc7 13.Bd3 b5 14.Qh4 A new move. Threatening mate on h7. 14...h6 15.Ne2 f6 16.Qg4 Bxd4 17.Nxd4
Kramnik has a dominating knight on d4 against a bishop trapped behind its own pawns which never moves. 17...Nc5 18.Qg6 Nxd3+ 19.Rxd3 Qc4? The decisive mistake. Radjabov never gets time to take on a2. Alternatives include moves like Qf7. [19...fxe5 20.Nxe6 wins a pawn.] 20.Rhd1 Ra7 21.Kb1 Qc7 22.f5 Qb6 23.Rh3 fxe5 24.Rxh6 Rf6 25.Qe8+ White's position is overwhelming but 25.Qh7+ was a quicker win. 25...Rf8 26.Rh8+ Kxh8 27. Qxf8+ Kh7 28.Nf3 Qc7 29.fxe6 e4 30.Ng5+ Kh6 31.h4 [ 31.Rxd5 Threatens mate in two.] 31...Kh5 32.Qf5 g6 33.g4+ Kxh4 34.Rh1+ Kg3 35.Rg1+ Kh4 36.Qf6 (DIAGRAM) White is threatening Nf3 discovered check, and Qh4 checkmate!!. Black Resigns!! 1-0.