The Second Title!

(by Iva Videnova)

For 2nd year in a row I have the honor to be Bulgarian champion for women and this way, to represent my country at the European Individual Championship in Belgrade, Serbia (22 July – 4 August).



Bankya – a small town near Sofia and a famous Bulgarian Spa Resort, held the 62nd Bulgarian female championship. The word “bankya” means “small bath” and completely fits, as a lot of mineral water springs with pleasant temperature (36,5°-37°) offer balneological treatment and relax. The nature, the water, the air made this place perfect for our chess tournament.
Surrounded by Lyulin mountain, with pine trees all around, Bankya has extremely fresh air. Almost all of the participants used their free time before or after the game to walk around. The organizers provided us 4**** hotel with sauna and steam bath for another kind of relaxation, as well as mineral water for all the players and arbiters during the game. The view from the playing hall was inspiring, which can be confirmed by most of the players, who were staring through the window while their opponents were thinking.

After the first 4 rounds I was a single leader with 100% and expected a similar result at the end of the competition. This is partly explained by the fact that I grabbed the title with 8/9 last year. Though… it wasn’t exactly how it happened.
The young girls showed a solid progress. The best achievement was made by Simoneta Ivanova who took a bronze medal. She is just 16 years-old, but managed to fight for the bronze (and perhaps could do even for more). Simoneta was the only one who beat me at this tournament. This happened in the 7th round, when WIM Elitsa Raeva and WGM Margarita Voiska (the reigning European champion for seniors - women) also lost against respectively Darena Sirkova (19 years-old) and Stefi Bednikova.
Another good impression left Maria Vasova (15 years-old) and the youngest participant Nurgyul Salimova (almost 10 years-old). Maria finished 4th, but had the chances for a medal in the last round. Direct derby between her and Simoneta decided the bronze to go to Ivanova (after draw).
Nurgyul managed to finish equal with Raeva, Sirkova and won against more experienced players like Galunova and Vasova.



The pairings left the match for the 1st place between me and Elitsa Raeva for the last round.
Videnova,Iva (2329) - Raeva,Elitsa (2269)
BUL-ch (w) 62nd Bankya Bankia (9.3), 25.04.2013
[Iva Videnova]
[The situation before the game was: Elitsa had 6/8, while I was half point behind. So only a win would bring me the title. And only the title would send me to European championship for women. My opponent needed draw and I had to win. Psychologically, the harder task was hers.]
1.e4 d6 2.d4 Nf6 3.Nc3 g6 [Elitsa is a very creative player. She always surprises me with the opening choice. Every time - something new. As usual against her, I couldn't guess the opening in my preparation. According to database, this is her 2nd Pirc ever.]
4.f4 [Playing only for win, the Austrian Attack is, in my opinion, the best choice.]

4...Bg7 5.Nf3 0–0 6.Bd3 Na6 7.0–0 c5 8.d5 Nc7?! [It's not a bad move, but it's less precise than 8...Rb8. As after 9.Qe1 Black cannot answer 9...Nb4.]

[The main moves are 8...Rb8; and 8...Bg4]

9.Qe1



with the typical idea f5, Qh4, Bh6.]

9...a6 10.a4 Bd7 [Too slow is 10...b6 as in the game Videnova,I 2329-Martic,Z 2323/ Golden Krk-op 1st 2013, 1–0 11.f5 Bd7 (11...gxf5?! illustrates the way White must attack: 12.Qg3! Kh8 13.Qh4! Rg8 14.e5± with crushing attack.) 12.Qh4 b5 13.Bh6 b4 14.Bxg7 Kxg7 15.Nd1І]

11.a5 Bb5 12.f5 [12.Qh4!?]

12...Bxd3 [12...gxf5 13.Qh4 (In the recent game Dzhumabayev chose another plan, which seems also possible: 13.exf5 Bxd3 14.cxd3 Nfxd5 15.Nxd5 Nxd5 16.Ng5 is quite dangerous for Black. 16...Nf6 17.Ra4 Qd7 18.Rh4± e6 19.Nxh7 Nxh7 20.Rxh7 Bd4+ 21.Be3 exf5 22.Bxd4 cxd4 23.Qh4 Qe6 24.Rf3 f4 25.Rh3 f6 26.Rg7+ 1–0 (26) Dzhumabayev, R-Kotsur,P (2562) Astana 2011) 13...fxe4 14.Ng5±; 12...c4 13.Be2 gxf5 The best move according to the engine is 14.Nd4 (although I have to admit the move I was planning to play during the game was 14.Qh4 fxe4 (14...e6 15.dxe6 fxe6 16.exf5 exf5 17.Bxc4+І) 15.Ng5‚) 14...Nxe4 15.Nxf5 Nxc3 16.bxc3 Be5 17.Nh6+ Kg7 18.Ng4±]

13.cxd3 Nb5 14.Qh4 Nd4 [One more example why 14...g:f5 is not good in almost all the variations: 14...gxf5 15.Bh6 Bxh6 16.Qxh6 Ng4 17.Qh3±]

15.Nxd4 [The other option was 15.Bh6 Nxf3+ 16.Rxf3 Bxh6 17.Qxh6 Ng4 18.Qh4± Ne5 19.Rh3 h5 20.Qg5 Kh7 21.Ne2 Rh8 22.Nf4+– 1/2 (54) Tomba,I (2244)-Gromovs,S (2368) Cesenatico 2007]

15...cxd4 16.Ne2 Rc8 17.fxg6 hxg6 [Neither 17...fxg6 can help: 18.Nxd4±]

18.Nxd4 Qd7



19.h3!? [I decided not to allow Queen-exchange, because of Black's weak King.]

19...Nh5 20.Nf5± 20...Bf6 21.Qg4 [Also possible and perhaps winning was 21.Bg5 Rc2 (21...Bxb2 22.Nxe7+ Kh7 (22...Kg7 23.Nxc8 Bxa1 24.Rxa1 Rxc8 25.g4+–) 23.Nxc8 Bxa1 24.Rxa1 Rxc8 25.g4+–) 22.Bxf6 exf6 23.Nh6+ Kg7 24.Ng4+–]

21...Qb5 22.Bg5 Rc2?



It's a serious mistake, but I cannot blame Elitsa too much. Because her position is already too problematic.]

[Slightly better, but also hard for the defensive player, was 22...Rc7 23.Bxf6 exf6 24.Qf3±]

23.Nxe7+ Bxe7 24.Bxe7 Re8 25.Bxd6+– Qxd3



26.Rxf7! Qe3+ [26...Kxf7 27.Qd7+ Kf6 28.Qxe8 Rxg2+ 29.Kxg2 Qe2+ 30.Kg1 Qe3+ 31.Kf1 Qxh3+ 32.Kf2 Qh4+ 33.Ke3 Qg5+ 34.Kd3+– and Black can resign, as White King successfully escaped from another check.]

27.Kh2 [Also winning was 27.Kh1 Ng3+ 28.Bxg3 Rc1+ 29.Rf1+–]

27...Qxe4 28.Qxe4 [Much stronger and faster was 28.Rf8+ Kh7 29.Rxe8 Qxe8 30.Rf1+–]

28...Rxe4 29.Raf1 Ree2 30.Rc7? [30.Rf8+ Kh7 31.R1f7+ Ng7 This position so far I saw, but I wasn't sure if I'm winning... Os course, my intuition had to tell me that a move as (31...Kh6? 32.Rh8+ Kg5 33.Be7++–) 32.h4!!+– exists and I had to look for it more deeply. After 32.h4 Black's best move would be simply to resign.]

30...Rxg2+ 31.Kh1



31...Rxc7 32.Rf8+ [32.Bxc7 Rd2 (32...Rc2 33.Bh2±) 33.Rf3 Rxd5 34.Rb3 Rb5 35.Rxb5 axb5 36.Kg2 Kf7 37.Kf3 Nf6 38.Bd8 Nd5 39.Ke4 Ke6= and it seems drawish: 40.Bh4 Nb4 41.Be1 Nc6 42.b4 Ne5 43.Bc3 Nc6 44.Bd2 Ne5 45.Be1 Nc6 46.Bc3 Ne7=]

32...Kg7 33.Bxc7 Rc2 34.Rc8 Kf7 35.d6 Nf6 36.b4



Usually after so many missed chances the stronger side does not win. But, fortunately for me, Elitsa blundered in her zeitnot.]

36...Rd2? [Time pressure didn't let my opponent find the equalizing continuation: 36...Rc4! 37.b5 axb5 38.Rb8 Ra4 39.Rxb7 b4 40.Bb8+ Ke8! (40...Ke6?? 41.Re7+ Kd5 42.d7+–) 41.a6 Rxa6 42.Rxb4= and it must be draw.]

37.Rb8+– [The rest is just technique:]

37...Ne4 38.Rxb7 Ke6 39.Bb8 Ng3+ [39...Ng5 40.b5 Nf3 41.d7+– the mating picture does not succeed.]

40.Kg1 Ne2+ 41.Kf2 Nc1+ 42.Ke3 Rd3+ 43.Ke4 Rxh3 44.Re7+ Kf6 45.Ba7 Rh4+ 46.Kd5 Rxb4 47.Re6+ Kf5 48.d7 Nd3 49.Kd6 Rb5 50.d8Q Nf4 51.Rf6+ Kg4 52.Rxf4+

1–0
This game and many other last round games (the losses of Carlsen and Kramnik – the last round in London, in example) show that chess is, most of all, psychology. However computers changed the game, however the preparation matters, human psychics is that factor which changes the result. And perhaps, which makes chess still vital.



(Pictures by Iva Videnova and Vladimir Petrov)

The Art of Excuses

The Grandfather of the chess wisdom Saviely Tartakower once wished that he would be able to win a game against a totally healthy man. It appeared that anytime he had won one (which he actually did quite regularly) his opponents appeared to be suffering of something.
After four rounds of the Cork Chess Congress I was in the Excuse-Search-Mode. Desperately. I have just lost a game against Simon Williams, an endgame a pawn down but with opposite colored bishops on the board. It was one of those positions which one considers easy to hold when looking outside the board, and devilishly unpleasant to defend over the board. Taking into an account the draw that I made in the previous round the chances of a price seemed already gone.
Well, I thought, my headaches are good excuses. Right, but they are something which I always have throughout the tournaments. And it did not prevent me from winning an important game at the last Cork Congress.
I’ve been rusty, did not play for a long time? True, but this happens to everyone. Have a look at Alex (Baburin) who plays very seldom at the Irish events and is a whole point ahead of you.
Then, you know, the toe of my right leg aches. I even went to the Doctor for that.
You know what, I said to myself, if we continue this way I might end up with a recommendation of head amputation for stupidity.
Let me try first to win my two remaining games and think again about the excuses then.
It actually appeared not that bad as I managed to win both of them:

Collins,S (2465) - Bojkov,D (2507)
Cork (6), 21.04.2013
[Bojkov,Dejan]

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0–0 Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 d6 8.c3 0–0 9.h3 Na5 10.Bc2 c5 11.d4 Qc7 12.Nbd2 cxd4 13.cxd4 Nc6 14.Nb3 a5 15.Be3 a4 16.Nbd2 Bd7 17.Rc1 Qb7 18.Qe2 Rfe8 19.Bd3 Rab8 20.dxe5 Nxe5



In this theoretical position Sam decided to surprise me:

21.Bb1 [21.Nxe5 dxe5 22.Bc5 is the main course of the events instead.]

21...Bc6 [After a brief check I decided to hit the center. This leads to a very interesting tactical skirmish:]

22.Nd4!? Bxe4 23.Nxe4 Nxe4 24.Nc6!



24...Ng5! [The only way.]

[24...Nxc6? loses the horse on the pin after: 25.Bxe4 Rec8 (I must admit that I missed the check in this line- 25...d5 26.Bxd5 Nd4 27.Bxf7+ Kxf7 28.Bxd4 Bb4 29.Qh5+) 26.Qf3 Ne5 27.Bxb7 Nxf3+ 28.Bxf3+–]

25.Nxe7+ [We both missed in the line: 25.Nxb8 Ngf3+ that White can go for the tricky- 26.Kh1!? (Instead- 26.gxf3 Nxf3+ 27.Kf1 leads to a draw- 27...Nh2+ (Sam was afraid of: 27...Nd4 but there is a simple refutation- 28.Qg4 Qh1+ 29.Qg1 Qxh3+ 30.Qg2+–) 28.Kg1 Nf3+=) 26...Nxe1



I saw that far, the computer a bit further- 27.Nc6 the same motif again. It's funny how people (or it is probably just me) tend to miss recurring tactical themes in a single game. 27...Nxc6 28.Be4 True, this time the resource- 28...d5 works- 29.Bxd5 Nd3 30.Qxd3 Nb4 31.Qxh7+!? (Or- 31.Bxb7 Nxd3 32.Rc7 Nxb2 and Black should survive.) 31...Kxh7 32.Bxb7 Nxa2=]

25...Qxe7 26.f4?! [26.Qh5 Better was: Although also interesting is: 26...h6 (when I intended to go for: 26...Ngf3+ 27.gxf3 g6 28.Qh6 Nxf3+ 29.Kg2 (29.Kh1 Qb7) 29...Nxe1+ (29...Qf6? 30.Red1 Nh4+ 31.Kh2+–) 30.Rxe1 with unclear play) 27.f4 Nc4 (27...Ngf3+ 28.gxf3 g6 29.Qxh6 Nxf3+ 30.Kf1 Nxe1 31.Rxe1±) 28.Bf2 Ne6 29.Qf5 Still, in this line White keeps strong pressure for the sacrificed pawn.]

26...Nc4 27.Rxc4?



One mistake and the game is thrown away. White could go for an endgame:]

[27.fxg5 Qxe3+ 28.Qxe3 Rxe3 29.Rxe3 Nxe3 30.Kf2 Nc4 31.b3 axb3 32.axb3 Na5 33.b4 Nc4 34.Be4 The good bishop compensates a bit the lost pawn.]

27...Nxh3+ 28.gxh3 [Or: 28.Kh2 Qh4]

28...bxc4 29.Qg4 Rxb2

The bishops will not have the time to show their potential. White resigned.]

0–1

The top board that day finished a draw. Alex Baburin was half a point behind Simon Williams and everyone was surprised seeing him call it a day in a playable position with good chances for an advantage. The Englishman won the tournament, Baburin came second, I took third.
However, I was most proud of Michael Bradley, who scored 5/6 at the major tournament to share the second place! Fionn O'Neil won this section, and Padraig Sheehy won the minor section with 6/6.

Interview with WGM Margarita Voiska

The beginning of the Bulgarian Individual championships is a good occasion for a quick interview with the freshly crowned European Senior Champion for women, WGM Margarita Voiska of Bulgaria:



Hello, Margarita, and congratulations for your title! How did the tournament go for you?

I learned that I can take part at the event around a month prior to the start. Right before the championship, I took part at the traditional Ladies tournament in Belgrade. Unfortunately, I had to play there while taking strong antibiotics (caught some unpleasant season virus) and did not feel quite comfortable. Thus, my performance was not satisfactory, started with +2, but ended with three straight losses; all of them caused my painful blunders.
In fact I started the championship in low spirits… I was worried that there will be fatigue as it was the second straight tournament but it appeared that it was not quite like that. The old chess saying: “The best medicine for chess player is a win!”- found another proof! With each round my mood was getting higher. My play was running smooth and I managed to realize (almost) all my ideas! And as a whole Plovdiv is my favourite Bulgarian city, not only chess- wise. Plus, the conditions at the Novotel were once again excellent.

Which was your most difficult game?

My most difficult, albeit short was the game against Nona Gaprindashvili. Perhaps because prior to the game Nona was the indisputable leader in our encounters. Right after the opening I offered a draw, which she found hard not to accept J. However, the tensest was my last but one game against Tamar Khmiadashvili of Georgia which appeared to be decisive for the overall ranking. I also came out of the opening with a solid advantage, but slowed down with the realization and achieved only a draw in a rook endgame, a pawn up. I guess I played over solidly as the draw was enough to secure the first place.

And your best effort?
This is probably my best game from the championship:
Miednikova,Swietlana (2142) - Voiska,Margarita (2289)
13th European Senior Ch (w) Plovdiv BUL (2), 12.03.2013
1.e4 g6 2.d4 Bg7 3.Nc3 c6 4.Bc4 d6 5.Nf3 Nf6 6.e5 dxe5 7.Nxe5 0–0 8.0–0 Nbd7 9.a4 a5 10.Bb3 Nb6 11.f4 Nbd5 12.Nxd5 cxd5 13.Be3 Bf5 14.c3 Qb6 15.Rf2 Rad8 16.Bc2 Ne4 17.Bxe4 Bxe4 18.Nd3 Qc6 19.Nc5 Bf5 20.g4 Bc8 21.Qf3 b6 22.Nd3 f6 23.f5



23...e5 24.fxe6 Qxe6 25.h3 Rfe8 26.Bf4 Qc6 27.Re2 Rxe2 28.Qxe2 Ba6 29.Qf3 Qc4 30.Rd1 Re8 31.Nc1 Re4 32.b3 Qc6 33.Bg3 Bh6 34.Bf2 Bc8 35.Ne2 f5 36.gxf5 Bxf5 37.Ng3 Rf4 38.Qe2 Bxh3 39.c4 Bg4

White resigned. 0–1

You work as a trainer of some of the Bulgarian young talents. Does this work help your chess?

The trainers work helps as it keeps me informed about the chess life around the world. Still, it matters who I am working with. If the students are highly qualified, the coach should also stay in top-form in order to provide best services. But if one teaches beginners who have just learned the basics, then the coaching might harm the player’s strength.


What was your preparation for the tournament like? Did you get any additional support?

I prepare for the tournaments alone, except for the team championships with the Bulgarian national team- Olympiads and European Team Competitions. In those I use the advises of GM Boris Chatalbashev (in the last few years), especially regarding the opening preparation. We have similar opening repertoires and I profited a lot from our co-operation. Of lately I pay the most attention to the opening phase, and of course the tactical sharpness before a chess tournament. Now that I look at my last games I get the feeling that I will need to pay serious attention to my technique, especially when converting the advantage!

What are your tournament plans for the future? Will you represent Bulgaria at the World Senior Championship?

In the nearest future I will take part at the Bulgarian Individual Championship in Bankya where I hope I can show good play above all! In a slightly more distant perspective there are the sea tournaments in June at the Golden Sands and Albena resorts... and at the end of the year the World Senior Championship will take place in Croatia where I might also play. I have planned it, but we shall see… there is a slight conflict of interests as the Senior Championship coincides with the ETCC for women in Poland. Still, the future will show…



Thank you for the interview! I wish you good luck in your projects!
Pictures BCF and Emilia Georgieva.

The Newest Bulgarian Grandmaster

At the beginning of March a very strong open tournament took place in Macedonia. It was won by the Croatian GM Kozul and overall eight players tied for the first place.
The tournament was though memorable for a participant who scored half a point less, but who obtained his final GM norm. This was Petar Arnaudov from Bulgaria, a very original and unpredictable player with entertaining style of play.



He was very kind to annotate one of his efforts from the event for the readers of the blog:
Arnaudov,G (2468) - Damljanovic,B (2562) [A30]
Karpos Open 2013 Skopje MKD (3.15), 10.03.2013
[Petar Arnaudov]
Karpos Open in Skopije was a really strong and excellently organized tournament. It will also be quite a memorable event for me since I managed to achieve my last GM norm.After two easy wins in the first two rounds, I faced in round 3 Serbian chess legend GM B. Damljianovic.

1.Nf3 c5 [Now my preparation was over :)This was our second game for the day and I did not have much time to prepare. Branco is famous for his fighting spirit and his main weapon is The Kings Indian Defense which I mainly expected. ]

2.c4 Nf6 3.Nc3 e6 4.g3 b6 5.Bg2 Bb7 6.0–0 a6 [This is not the main move but it is perfectly playable. Hedgehog expert S.Shipov recommends 6...Be7 which is more flexible]

7.b3



This is quite an interesting system which I prepared some months ago and this is my first game in it. I have tried 7.d4 and 7.Re1 many times in the past.]

7...d6 8.Bb2 Nbd7 9.d4 [9.e3 Be7 10.d4 This is the main theory, which is also quite interesting.]

9...cxd4 10.Nxd4!? [This was the first critical moment in the game. If Q:d4 we will be in a well known variation where black should be quite OK. The key difference between this position and the one after 7.d4 cd 8.N:d4 (which is quite harmless and black equalizes easily) is that Black cannot play the idea Qc8 and Nc6. Now the N cannot come to c6 and Black should be very careful to maintain the balance. White plan is very simple e3, f4 and Qf3.]

10...Bxg2 11.Kxg2 Rc8 [11...Qc7!? 12.e3 Qb7+ 13.Qf3 Qxf3+ 14.Nxf3+/=



this position is very unpleasant for black who do not have any counter play.]

12.e3 h5?! [My opinion is that this is too optimistic and just bad.]

13.f4! [This move is quite strong and unexpected for my opponent. I believe that here he understood that his position is dangerous. Maybe he was hoping for :

[13.h4? Be7= where the g4 square is very weak; Or- 13.h3 Qc7 14.f4 Nc5 15.Qf3 Nd3 16.Ba3 d5 with unclear play.]

13...Be7 [This move comes after 60 !!! minutes of thinking. It is clear that white has won the opening battle.]

[13...h4!? If black continues with his idea, 14.g4 h3+ 15.Kh1І the pawn on h3 seems very weak]

14.Qf3 Qc7 15.h3!



I like this move a lot. Now If black castles, g4 will come and the black king will feel unsafe.Black has no useful moves here. On the other hand, White can increase the pressure with Rd1, Rf2-d2, Ba3]

15...Rg8?! [This move came as a shock for me, I did not consider it at all. Now the very experienced Grandmaster tries to confuse me, he threatens g5 attempting to take control over e5 square. Pushing the pawn to g4 is also a possible threat. I think that after this move Black's position is strategically lost.]

[15...0–0 16.g4 g6 17.Rad1 Nc5 18.g5 Ne8 19.f5± this is just one variation which shows how dangerous blacks position is]

16.Ne4 [I like this move, despite the fact that computer does not agree with me .]

[16.Rad1 g5 17.fxg5 Ne5 (17...Rxg5 18.Ne4 Rg6 19.Nxf6+ Nxf6 20.Ne2 e5 21.Nc3 +/=) 18.Qf4 Nfd7 19.h4± Nf8 these variations look quite good for white, but I did not want to give any chance to black to complicate matters. I believe that his position is strategically lost and I do not want to allow him any chances for a dynamic play.]

16...g6 [16...Nxe4 17.Qxe4 g5 18.fxg5 Rxg5



19.Rxf7! Kxf7 20.Rf1++–]

17.Nxf6+ Bxf6 18.Rad1 [The rule "Exchange minor pieces if you lack space" is not valid here. So the trades of two minor pieces can only be in White's favour.]

18...Bg7 19.Rd2 [Prophylactics, Black has no counter-play and now I prepared to double on the d-file and in the same time protect the bishop just in case.]

19...Nc5 20.Ba3!



Now b4-b5 is a threat]

[20.Rfd1? This automatic move would be a mistake here because : 20...f5! and black has good chances.]

20...Bf8 21.Rfd1 Be7 [21...Qb7 22.Bxc5 Qxf3+ 23.Nxf3 dxc5 (23...bxc5 24.Ng5; 23...Rxc5 24.Ng5) ]

22.b4 [Now everything is ready to for the final effort and blacks position collapses very quickly.]

22...Na4 [22...Nb7 23.Rc2 +/=]

23.b5 g5 [the last try to complicate matters.]

24.fxg5 [But I had 1 hour against 30 seconds here and I had enough time to find the best moves and to finish my opponent.]

24...Rxg5 25.bxa6 Qxc4 26.a7 Qd5 27.Nc6 Qxf3+ 28.Kxf3 Nc5 29.Nb8



Very elegant finish. Now a8 -Q is coming, so my opponent resigned. I am very proud of this game, the fact that I outplayed so convincingly such a famous and experienced Grandmaster. I believe that this is one of my best games so far.Finally I finished the tournament with 6.5 from 9 with 2643 performance which achieved me my final GM norm.]

1–0

This little something…

It became a good tradition that the last round of the Belgium Interclubs is played on the same venue and that the teams are gathered together for the big finale.
This year the final was especially thrilling as the title had to be decided in the final encounter between the teams of Amay and Wirtzfeld. The latter was hosting the round and the former is my current team. We were leading by a two point margin, but Wirtzfeld had a better tie-break. In Belgium match point system is applied and the winner of an encounter receives two points, while the draw earns one point for each squad. However, individual points are also counted and they are the first additional criterion. Belgians found a clever system to fight the no-show-ups. An individual win is counted as three points for the team, a draw is two points, and loss brings one point. The tricky part is that a player who does not come for the game receives zero points. Thus, a 4-4 result might not always mean equal match as one of the teams might lose a game on forfeit. So far it seems as the system works perfectly and none tries to save on the expenses of foreign players for example.



We did a great season and very few expected our result. I have played for Amay for almost a decade now and saw the team rise from third division to top division and a chance for a title. In the last years the squad was strengthened with young and perspective players, like Giri, Khairulin, van Kampen, Bok, etc. The team atmosphere is great and all of us enjoy our meetings.
As the final clash was approaching, the team bosses tried to propitiate the chess Gods with sacral promises. Jean Marie Gheury from our team promised to run all the way back from Wirtzfeld to Amay (which is about 120-140 km), Victor Schleck promised to walk all the way to the West coast of Belgium (approximately 260 km). Jean Marie is a long-distance runner besides chess player and Victor Schleck already walked to Echternach in Luxembourg after Wirtzfeld’s first title.
While driving to the game we had to climb a slope which our glorious member lbert called the Belgium Mountains. “Is it like 1000 meters above the sea level?” I asked. “No”- he replied with a proud expression- “800 meters!” It was not that funny though once that we almost got stuck some two kilometers before the venue.
I guess that it was not funny at all for Andrey Sumets who had flight delay and managed to pop up for the game just two minutes before the time was over. With a sprint and sigh of relief for all the Wirtzfeld supporters he made the move and pressed the clock. Soon after his game was led to a draw as well were the games on the first three boards. By that time though it seemed as the host team is in control as E. Postny got large advantage straight from the opening against his country man V. Mikhalevski. The time deficit made things worse for the latter; he missed a tactical blow and had to resign.
We had a chance to equalize on board seven where Ilja Zaragatsky had an overwhelming position against Van der Doel, but the Dutchman managed to hold the golden half point. Thus Wirtzfeld won the match and the biggest trophy!
The winning team was represented this day by the Grandmasters Naiditsch, Khenkin, Fridman, Postny, Istratescu, Sumets, der Doel, Winants. This is not their best line up though. Their top seeds Svidler and Ivanchuk are competing at the Candidates at the moment which speaks of the value of the team!
The match for the third place between Eynatten 1 and Fontaine was won convincingly by the many-year’s champion Eynatten who together with the top two teams received the right to represent Belgium at the European Club Cup in Greece in October.
On the bottom of the table two teams met in direct encounter for survival. Zottegem was held to a draw by the team of Deurne and had to part with first division.

Results by tables here
Ranking here

Three Combinations

While browsing the old tournaments I spotted a couple of nice combinations from the Berkeley open 2011. In the first one Timur Gareev show his usual creativity:
Gareev,T (2605) - Ravichandran,Si (2458)
Berkeley, 2011



1.d7! Qe6 2.d8N! Qe7 [Or: 2...Bxf4 3.Nxe6+ fxe6 4.gxf4]3.Qd2+–

The second one saw a very curious break.
Yankovsky,R (2359) - Naroditsky,D (2419)
Berkeley, 2011



1.Bxg5! fxg5 2.f6!!



2...gxf6 [2...Bxf6 3.Nf5 Be7 4.Nxg7+ Kd7 (4...Kf8 5.Nf5 Bxe4 6.Bxe4 Rxe4+ 7.Kd2 Rf4 8.g7+ Kf7 9.Nxe7 Kxg7 10.Rxd6+–) 5.Nf5 Bxe4 6.Bxe4 Rxe4+ 7.Kd2 Bf8 8.Rxd6+ Bxd6 (8...Ke8 9.Rxa6+–) 9.g7 Rf4 10.Nxd6+–]

3.Nf5 Bxe4 4.Bxe4 Rxe4+ 5.Kd2 Rf4 6.Rh3 Rxf5 7.Rh8+ Kd7 8.g7



1–0 (the lines are given by S. Velickovic)
As a desert I would like to share a combination which one of my students missed recently:



25.Nxf5! gxf5 26.Reg1 Rag8



27.Rh7+!! Rxh7 [27...Kf8 28.Rxh8 Rxh8 29.Qg7+ Ke8 30.Qxh8+ Kf7 31.Qg7+ Ke8 32.Qg8#]

28.Qxg8+ Kf6 29.Qxh7 and White wins.

Farewell, Julian

One of my bright memories that I have about Julian is the tournament in Ferrol (Spain) some years ago. The event was coming to its end and a bunch of Bulgarian players were sitting outside the restaurant before the final round, having lunch.
Julian was co-sharing the lead in the event and had the white pieces against the future GM Ilmars Starostits from Latvia. The latter needed a draw to achieve his final norm. None was deeply surprised to see Julian having a beer at lunch. After all, a draw would be good for everyone in this situation.
We went to the hall, the games started. Starostits was late. He then came, made ten moves and offered a draw. To our surprise it was rejected. Julian won quickly (did not spend more than an hour on his clock and twenty five moves for the game). He then explained that his opponent did not pay the needed respect (came late) and offered the draw too late (he had already messed the things up).
Had the Latvian come in time he would have achieved the desired draw as Julian was too good a person to spoil anyone’s happiness. On the other hand his perception of right and wrong and the way that he was understanding things in life was very clear, and the gentleman behavior- a law.
16-th of February was a black day for the Bulgarian chess. Our most modest, honorable and pure friend GM Julian Radulski passed away at the age of forty.
He was always a model person in behavior towards the game of chess and the people in general. Quiet, calm and respective towards his opponents, he would always find a good word for his adversary, no matter how good (bad) that person played.
I have the feeling that this was one of the main reasons for him not to achieve the maximum of his enormous knowledge and strength. Ever since I remember him he was rated around 2500-2550 but the respect that he had towards the names was somehow limiting him.
In the last two years though, he started trusting himself. He understood how strong he is. And the results were spectacular.
I already mentioned the tournament in Ferrol, but forgot to add that he won this even three times in a row, without losing a single game. He shared the win at the prestigious Linares open 2002 with 7.5/10, came third at Cappelle la Grand open 2010, won the strong Miguel Najdorf Memorial (Warsaw Poland) 2010 and many others.
In 2011 after winning many national team titles he was also crowned as a Bulgarian Individual Champion.
He lifted his rating above the 2600 mark and could improve further...
Julian was always very loyal to the clubs that he represented and would do the best for the team. At the Olympiad in 2002 he scored 9/13 for the Bulgarian squad, when out of these games he played seven with the black pieces!
I can spend days describing you in detail the many good things he did and caused in our chess community, the respect that people had to him.
But let now leave the chess pieces speak with his own words:

Ivanchuk,Vassily (2716) - Radulski,Julian (2497) [C97]
EU-ch 5th Antalya (1), 15.05.2004
[Wedberg]

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0–0 Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 d6 8.c3 Na5 9.Bc2 c5 10.d4 Qc7 11.d5 Bd7 12.b3 0–0 13.h3 Nb7



[13...c4 14.b4 Nb7 15.Be3 a5 16.a3 axb4 17.cxb4 c3 18.Bg5 h6 19.Bxf6 Bxf6 20.Re3 Rfc8 21.Nxc3+– 1–0 Kasparov,G-Comp Meph Experimental/Hamburg 1985/EXT 2002 (55)]

14.c4 [14.Nbd2 g6 (14...a5 15.Nf1 a4 16.Bg5 h6 17.Bd2 axb3 18.axb3 Rfb8 19.g4‚ 1–0 Kozlov,S-Pokazaniev,N/Smolensk 2001/EXT 2002 (48)) 15.Nf1 Ne8 16.Bh6 Ng7 17.Ng3 f6 18.Nh2 Nd8 19.f4 Nf7 20.Bxg7 Kxg7 21.f5І 1–0 Livshits,R-Lesiege,A/Canada 1992/EXT 98 (53); 14.a4 Rfb8 15.Na3 Ne8 16.Qe2 Nd8= 1/2–1/2 Hracek,Z-Nikolic,P/Selfoss 2002/CBM 92 (24); 14.Be3 a5 15.Nbd2 b4 16.c4 a4 17.g4 axb3 18.axb3 Na5 19.Nf1 Ra7 20.g5‚ 1–0 Berzina, I-Petrovich,I/Paris 1998/EXT 2000 (30); 14.c4 b4 15.Nbd2 Ne8 16.Nf1 g6 17.Bh6 Ng7 18.g4 f6 19.Ng3 1/2–1/2 Kasparov,G-Matanovic,A/Banja Luka 1979/EXT 99 (19); 14.a4 Rfb8 15.Na3 Ne8 16.Qe2 Nd8 17.Bd2 g6 18.Nh2 f6 19.c4 bxa4 20.bxa4 Nf7 21.Ng4 Bf8 22.Bc3 Qd8 23.Ne3 Bh6 24.Nb1 1/2–1/2 Hracek, Z-Nikolic,P/Selfoss 2002/CBM 92 (24)]

14...Rfe8 [14...b4 15.Nbd2 Ne8 16.Nf1 g6 17.Bh6 Ng7 18.g4 f6 19.Ng3 1/2–1/2 Kasparov,G-Matanovic,A/Banja Luka 1979/EXT 99 (19)]

15.Nc3 [15.Nbd2 is more standard.]

15...g6 16.Bd2 Bf8 17.g4



White starts the classical K-side attack, but in this game things develop in quite an unusual fashion. As we will see the combination of Nc3 and g4 works against White here.]

17...h5! 18.Nh2 [18.g5 Nh7 looks drawish.]

18...b4! 19.Na4 [Without this N on the K-side White's expansion with g4 lacks punch.]

19...hxg4 20.hxg4 Be7! 21.Nb2 Kg7!



Black is quick to seize his chance. As it turns out he gets the benefit of the opened h-file. White is worse already.]

22.Kg2 Rh8 23.Rh1 Rh4 24.f3 Rah8 25.Qe2 Qc8 26.Rag1 Qg8 27.Be1 [27.Kf1 Qh7 28.Rg2 no fun, but maybe White can survive by just protecting h2.]

27...Rh3 28.Nd1? [Better was 28.Kf1]

28...Qh7 29.Bg3 Nxg4!



[29...Nxg4 30.fxg4 Rxg3+ 31.Kxg3 Qh3+ 32.Kf2 Bh4+–+]

0–1

RIP Julian, (from the Bulgarian chess players and the many friends around the world...)