Author: José Antônio Fabiano Mendes
Date: 04:24:47 12/15/04
Please see ==> http://www.chesscafe.com/informant/informant.htm
+++ The Ten Best Games of Chess Informant 90 +++
Ivan Markovic
Chess Informant Deputy Editor-in-Chief
Perhaps the most predictable aspect of the voting for the ten best games of
Chess Informant 90 was that all thirty of the nominated games were played by
world class grandmasters – there was neither a single correspondence
masterpiece, nor a game played between “mere mortals.” Yet, one of the
refreshing features was that the winning game came from a rapid event and it was
from first-time contributor Francisco Vallejo Pons! Some simple advice: play
through the game and the accompanying analysis over-the-board to experience the
enormity and pure brilliance of the Spaniard’s concept; and enjoy the precision
and depth of the annotated variations. After 23. Nc6!, which represents White’s
best choice in the critical position, the analysis branches several times to
reach its climax 23 moves later, only to finally finish in a drawn endgame!
Kramnik earned second place mostly by virtue of a single move (34...Qc2!!), but
what a bone cruncher it was! The third slot went to my personal favorite Alexei
Shirov for his outstanding performance against Radjabov. The game had it all –
from an elaborate theoretical novelty the path to the study-like endgame was
paved with tactical nuances and sizzling blows. Zvjaginsev’s triumphant
concluding march of his central pawns is reminiscent of the great LaBourdonnais’
victory, but the entire game has a post-neo-romantic feel. As Suetin wrote in
his postscript to Fischer’s My Sixty Memorable Games, “the sort of game in
which, from the viewpoint of the classicists, there were many slight mistakes
and inaccuracies, but which had a unity based upon a general idea, an original
plan.” Shirov’s joint venture with his arch-nemesis Kasparov completes the top
five. It is an outstanding display of ultra-precise play from both sides.
Movsesian’s inspired win against Short adds another point to black’s tally,
making 1½ - 4½ on the first six “boards.”
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