Chess Informant 125: Enigma

Thanks to the ever-innovative outlook of Baadur Jobava, the old …dxe4, …Bd7-c6 plan in the French Defence – with its reputation for being a fast track to equality – has recently come under the spotlight of top-level tournaments. However, the Georgian GM’s enthusiastic backing of this line for Black is now being seriously challenged by an equally creative opening analyst, GM Alexander Morozevich, who is up and ready to fight White’s corner! And he is well aware of the consequences: “Though this article may rather upset Baadur and other fans of the 4…Bd7 system, the ideas, and resources I have found for White will surely prompt Black to pay serious attention to a new weapon” – he boldly declares in his latest “Midnight in Moscow” column. So, what is this lethal weapon, you may well ask? Well, to give you a clue, perhaps you might care to consider to what extent such a vulnerable target as Black’s f7 square might fan the flames of the imagination of such an ardent attacking player as Mighty Moro! The most important and most fiercely contested tournament of the season has just ended in Saint Louis – and won somewhat surprisingly by Levon Aronian. Yes, the Armenian grandmaster’s sudden return to top form, after a string of below par performances, enabled him to convincingly take possession of the Sinquefield Cup, in a contest which also represents the American leg of the new “Grand Tour” which climaxes in London in December. Levon’s well-deserved victory has also earned him an even greater honour – to be the face of Chess Informant 125’s prestigious back cover! Our grandmaster contributors have been specially assigned to analyse games from Saint Louis in accordance with their own preferred style of play. Thus GM Sarunas Sulskisuncovers underlying strategic ideas that make the difference between a draw and a win, while GM Michael Roiz, long-term second of former world title challenger Boris Gelfand, takes stock of those tactical skills that are so vital for scoring the full point in close contests at the top level. GM Aleksandar Colovic sums up the big picture with an up to date assessment of the “new world order” in today’s chess environment. And there is more… In his “New Romantics” column GM Pentala Harikrishna includes a game from Saint Louis which is reminiscent of the brilliant play of 19th century immortals Paul Morphy and Adolf Anderssen. GM Mihail Marin too finds good reason to make instructive comparisons between the old and new masters, identifying similar middlegame plans and confirming the need to respect that timeless golden rule – do not forget to develop your pieces! A dark shadow was cast over world champion Magnus Carlsen at the elite “Norway Chess” tournament, and our reporter, GM Mauricio Flores Rios, was determined to find the cause of this rare phenomenon. After all, we have a tendency to regard world champions as invincible gods… Well, that is until they show us their human side! With his customary mathematical precision, Mauricio carries out a thorough investigation by analyzing all nine games that Magnus played in what was his worst tournament for the past five years or so. Four Chinese dragons have leaped out from the mythical world of fairytales into the harsh reality of today’s highly competitive chess arena – their names are Wei Yi, Ding Liren, Yu Yangyi and LI Chao. Over the years GM Ivan Sokolov has played against successive generations of Chinese players, but never before has he been as impressed as by the remarkable achievements of this band of 2700+ young brothers-in-arms. And, by way of explanation, he annotates a selection of electrifying games they have played in recent events. For the first time in Chess Informant, GM Keti Arakhamia-Grant departs from her usual…