Author: José Antônio Fabiano Mendes
Date: 05:13:37 04/20/05
Please see ==> http://www.chesscafe.com/informant/informant.htm
The Ten Best Games of Informant 91
Ivan Markov
Today's computer engines lure us into a wilderness of mind-boggling variations
we would not have dreamt of entering only a decade ago. Chessplayers respond to
this by delving in and refining a myriad of lines until they are ready for use
in tournament practice. Then it usually takes some patience until an
unsuspecting victim comes along and the fruits of laborious home analysis can
finally be reaped… The first part of that scenario took place in the eighth game
of the Kramnik – Leko title match held in Brissago, Switzerland last year. What
happened next, however, was nothing less than a contemporary recurrence of the
David vs. Goliath myth. Leko rose above Kramnik's home preparation; creating a
masterpiece with such an impact that it is reminiscent of the groundbreaking
Capablanca – Marshall game that gave birth to the Marshall Attack. Capablanca's
ingenuity dealt a crushing blow to the newborn variation, but the enormity of
Leko's over-the-board conception restores the balance after so many years. Thus,
the jury of experts voted this game to be well-above the competition.
The paucity of fighting games in the Brissago match left much to be desired, but
the climactic finish redeemed the champion. The fifteenth game was an interlude
to what was to follow and a sign that Kramnik was ready to give his best when he
needed it most. His defense of the title in the sixteenth game finally proved
him worthy of holding it: maintaining the initiative from the beginning until
the very end, Kramnik's play was energetic, well-timed, and concrete. This game
topped the first official readers' poll in Chess Informant history. Moreover,
the readers' correctly predicted 9 out of 10 of the best games, only leaving out
the underdog Bakre – Kadziolka. This was better than any GM member of the jury.
Here's the readers' top ten voting in descending order:
* Kramnik – Leko 1:0, Brissago (m/16) 2004
* Kramnik – Leko 0:1, Brissago (m/8) 2004
* Anand – Rublevsky 1:0, Dortmund 2004
* Morozevich – Bologan 1:0, Russia 2004
* Radjabov – Adams 0:1, Tripoli (m/1) 2004
* Volokitin – Rublevsky 1:0, Serbia & Montenegro 2004
* Short – Ye Jiangchuan 1:0, Taiyuan 2004
* Adams – Kasimdzhanov 1:0, Tripoli (m/3) 2004
* Sutovsky – Kovacevic 1:0, Bosnia & Herzegovina 2004
* Bruzon – Ramirez 1:0, La Habana 2004
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