Learning tip: The strong European Cup Club Championship finished yesterday with an upset victory by 5th seed G-Team Novy Bor (rating average “only” 2667 FIDE) ahead of favorites Malachite (average 2729) and SOCAR (average 2753). One of the big heroes of the winning team was GM Viktor Laznicka (2666) who in the 3-3 draw vs. Malachite beat Morozevich (2734) and in the penultimate round 3½-2½ upset against SOCAR defeated Kamsky (2725). Laznicka’s games are well worth studying. He plays in what may be called a “tough” style. Players who adopt this style – Topalov is another example – consciously enter very complex positions – tactically, strategically, and material-wise – which are difficult to play for both sides. Inevitably inaccuracies and mistakes are bound to happen, but these players trust that they can find their way through the complications more accurately than the opponent. They accept risk and fluctuations in the pursuit of wins. Laznicka’s crucial wins vs. Morozevich and Kamsky are good examples of this pattern. The one as Black against Morozevich was a wild English in which both sides lost the right to castle, material was uneven, and White did not develop his c1-bishop until move 36 (when it was immediately chopped off). Surprisingly, an endgame with rook, knight and two pawns on each side eventually emerged where Black’s passed a-pawn carried the day. The game as White against Kamsky was a Cambridge Springs-like Chebanenko Slav in which a very rare pawn-structure emerged that seemed to favor White. Kamsky went for an attack and sacrificed a piece for three pawns, but Laznicka managed to consolidate and eventually picked off the pawns in the endgame.
Posted on: Sun, 27 Oct 2013 15:40:30 +0000
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