CHESS

Oldrich Duras (1882-1957) was one of the world's top players at the beginning of the 20th century. The Czech grandmaster also composed nearly 100 chess problems and studies. In one of his first works (White: Kc5,Qa7,Bd2,Bd5,Ng8,Nh4,P: a2; Black: Ke5,Rg3,Na8,Nh1,P: a6,b3,b5, c7,d3,e7,f5), published in 1913, white mates in three moves. (Solution next week).

Miniatures From the World Open

The 37th annual World Open, played over the Independence Day weekend in Philadelphia, attracted nearly 1,350 players in various groups. The current U.S. champion, Hikaru Nakamura, scored seven points in nine games in the Open section, which included 96 players. It was enough to share first place with Evgeny Najer of Russia. Nakamura is now on his way to Europe, playing in an elite tournament in San Sebastian, Spain.

We have selected two miniature games from the World Open, in which two experienced grandmasters took a beating from young foreign players studying at American universities. The Uzbek grandmaster Timur Gareev, 21, helped the University of Maryland Baltimore County win the 2009 President's Cup, the Final Four of College Chess, in March. He has a solid positional style that cannot be easily rattled, as Alexander Stripunsky found out, using the uncompromising Keres defense.

Gareev-Stripunsky

1.d4 d5 2.Nf3 Bf5 (The bishop move that popped up even in the world championship games. In 1948, the legendary Estonian grandmaster Paul Keres surprised Mikhail Botvinnik with it in the World Championship tournament.) 3.c4 e6 4.Qb3 (With the black light bishop out, white hits the vulnerable spot ¿ the weak pawn on b7. Against Keres, Botvinnik simplified with 4.cxd5, a timid continuation that did not bring white much.) 4...Nc6 5.Bd2!? (Threatening to take the pawn on b7. The immediate 5.Qxb7 gives black a chance to force a draw with 5...Nb4 6.Na3 Rb8 7.Qxa7 Ra8.) 5...dxc4?! (Going for a roller coaster ride, but black may have better chances to equalize with 5...Rb8 6.e3 Nf6.) 6.Qxb7 Nge7 7.Qa6 (Botvinnik thought that pinning the knight on c6 with 7.Qb5, as he played against Vassily Smyslov in the 1954 world championship match, was stronger. The game went: 7...Rb8 8.Qa4 Rxb2 9.Na3 and now instead of 9...Qd7, Smyslov missed a promising sacrifice of the exchange 9...Rxd2!?, for example, 10.Kxd2 e5 gives black good play against the exposed white king; and after 10.Nxd2 Qxd4 11.Rd1 c3 12.Ndc4 Qc5 with lot of tension. But perhaps the most precise move order is 7.Na3 and only after 7...Rb8 8.Qa6.) 7...Rb8 (After 7...Nxd4 8.Qa4+ Ndc6 9.Na3 Rb8 10.Nxc4 white is better.)

8.Na3!? (This pawn sacrifice, accelerating white's development, is an improvement on the previously played 8.Bc3.) 8...Nxd4 (After 8...Rxb2 9.Nxc4 Rxd2?! 10.Ncxd2 Nxd4 white wins with 11.Qa4+ Ndc6 12.e4 Bg6 13.Bb5 Qd7 14.Rc1.) 9.0-0-0!? (Creating threats along the open d-file.) 9...Nxf3 10.gxf3 Qd6 (The immense power the white pieces can generate becomes clear after 10...e5 11.Ba5 Qc8? 12.Nb5! and white wins.) 11.Qxa7 Nc6 12.Qa4 Rxb2!? (An entertaining but incorrect sacrifice, trying to create chaos on the board. After 12...Qd7 13.e4 Bg6 14.Bxc4, white has a clear advantage.)

13.Bc3! (A refutation of black's rook sacrifice. White picks up material on his own terms. Accepting the rook immediately with 13.Kxb2? actually loses to 13...Qd4+ 14.Bc3 [On 14.Kc1 Qa1+ 15.Nb1 Qxb1 mates.] 14...Bxa3+ 15.Qxa3 [On 15.Kxa3? Qxc3+ wins for black.] 15...Qxd1 and black is winning.) 13...Rd2!? 14.Qa8+ Nd8 (After 14...Ke7 15.Rxd2 wins.) 15.Rxd2 Qxa3+ 16.Qxa3 Bxa3+ 17.Kd1 e5 (Black wants to preserve the pawn on c4, but it does not help. After 17...0-0 18.e4 Bg6 19.Bxc4 white should win.) 18.e4 Be6 19.Bxe5 0-0 20.Rg1 f6 21.Bxc7 Nc6 22.Bd6! Ra8 23.Bxa3 Rxa3 24.Rd6 (Forking both light pieces.) Black resigned.

A Successful Bluff

The 18-century French chess player Andre Danican Philidor always wanted to play his defense aggressively. Even today, some players look for sharp complications, approaching the defense with unusual creativity. Former U.S. champion Joel Benjamin decided to test one important line of the Philidor defense against Jacek Stopa. The 22-year-old Polish International Master, who plays for the University of Texas at Dallas, countered with an unusual piece sacrifice that threw Benjamin off track, and he didn't find the correct defense.

Stopa-Benjamin

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 (Philidor's idea was to strike in the center with 3...f5.) 3...exd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 Be7 6.Bf4 0-0 7.Qd2 d5!? (Black strikes in the center before white castles long, but it can be risky. The French grandmaster Christian Bauer devoted 11 pages to this line in his monumental work, "The Philidor Files," published three years ago by Everyman Chess.) 8.Ndb5! Bb4 (Benjamin goes for the older line. In 2001, the Rumanian grandmaster Liviu-Dieter Nisipeanu came up with the astonishing 8...c6!?, allowing 9.Nc7 d4! 10.Nxa8. He was hoping that after 10...dxc3 11.Qxd8 Rxd8 12.bxc3 Nxe4 13.Bd3 Bd6 14.Bxd6 Nxd6 15.0-0-0 Kf8 16.Rhe1 Nd7 he could somehow win the white knight. But in the game Sutovsky-Orlinkov, Moscow 2008, white played 17.Nc7 and after 17...Nf6 18.c4 b6 19.c5 bxc5 20.Ba6! held a decisive advantage.) 9.0-0-0! c6 10.Nc7 Nxe4 11.Qd4! (A recent improvement. The retreat 11.Qe3, tried previously, could be met by 11...Nxc3 12.bxc3 Ba3+ 13.Kd2 Nd7 14.Nxa8 Bc5, for example 15.Qg3?! Nf6 16.Bd3 Nh5 with black's edge.) 11...Bxc3 12.bxc3 Qe7 (After 12...g5 13.f3 gxf4 14.Nxa8 Nd6 15.Qxf4 b5 16.Bd3 the position favors white.)

13.Kb2! (Stopa hopes to improve on the game Nijboer-Haslinger, Hoogeveen 2008, that ended with a perpetual check after 13.Rd3 Be6 14.Nxa8 c5 15.Qe3 c4 16.Rd4 Qa3+ 17.Kd1 Nxc3+ 18.Kd2 Nb1+ 19.Kd1 Nc3+ 20.Kd2 Nb1+ 21.Kd1 Nc3+.) 13...g5 14.Bg3!? (After 14.Nxa8 gxf4 15.Qxa7 Bf5, the game is roughly equal.) 14...Nxg3! (White has a winning advantage either after 14...f5 15.Nxa8 f4 16.f3! or after 14...c5 15.Qe3 f5 16.f3 f4 17.Nxd5.) 15.hxg3 (Opening the h-file gives white a dangerous play against the black king, but his idea has a serious crack.) 15...Qxc7 16.Qf6 Qd8? (Benjamin misses the only defense. After16...Qb6+! 17.Ka1 c5! 18.Qxg5+ Qg6, black turns the game in his favor either after 19.Qxd5 Bf5! or after 19.Rxd5 Qxg5 20.Rxg5+ Kh8 21.Rgh5 Kg7 22.Rxh7+ Kf6.) 17.Qh6 Bf5 18.Bd3 Qd7? (Losing, Black had to play 18...Qb6+ 19.Kc1 c5 20.Bxf5 Qxh6 21.Rxh6 with white's advantage. But after 18...Bxd3 19.Rxd3 Re8 20.Rf3 f6 21.Qxh7+ Kf8 22.Qh8+ Ke7 23.Re3+ Kd7 24.Rh7+ white wins.) 19.Qxg5+ Bg6 (After 19...Kh8 20.Rxh7+! Bxh7 21.Qf6+ Kg8 22.Bxh7+ Kxh7 23.Rh1+ white wins.) 20.Rxh7! Kxh7 21.Qf6 (After 21...Kg8 22.Rh1 white mates.) Black resigned.

Solution to Last Week's Puzzle

June 29: White wins by Alois Wotawa (White: Ka1,Ra6,Rb7,Bd2,P:a2,c2; Black: Ka3,Qf8,Bb6,P:a4,c7): 1.Raxb6! cxb6 2.Re7!! (Threatening 3.Re3+.) 2...Qxe7 3.c3! (Threatening 4.Bc1 mate.) 3...Qe2 4.Bc1+ white wins.