Tag Archives: Nigel Short
Nigel Short visits ACC
June 21, 2012 king	Leave a comment
On Monday June 18, 2012, GM Nigel Short came to Annex Chess Club in Toronto to deliver a chess lecture and hold a 20-board simultaneous exhibition. His lecture featured one of his games from the Tradewise Gibraltar Masters tournament at the beginning of the year – which he won on tie-break over Hou Yifan.
Nigel Short's chess lecture at ACC
(photo by Dave Bitton)
The game he chose for the lecture was from the tenth round of the Gibraltar tournament, where Nigel played a Benoni against India's number two player, Krishnan Sasikiran. Asking the audience if anyone played the Benoni, he called those who did (including himself, apparently) "masochists." When one of the audience also admitted to playing the Stonewall, Nigel said that was even worse. "The point of the Stonewall," he quipped, "is to give yourself weaknesses at the start." Its redeeming feature, however, is that "you know what they are."
The same Stonewall logic – that playing a move you understand is more important than playing a move you know is "correct" – seemed to guide him in his own play against Sasikiran. With respect to his choice of 9…Nbd7 and 10…h6 in the game, he explained that he had asked Garry Kasparov why everyone plays 9…a6 in that position. "Garry said it was so you could put your queen on c7 without being disturbed by a knight on b5." Nigel didn't dispute the correctness of the move. "But I was thinking," he continued, "why in the hell do I want my queen on c7?" The anecdote served as an opportunity to teach an important lesson: "You shouldn't just follow what other people do. You've got to think for yourself." And that is what he does in his lecture game. "I go my own way. It's not that my understanding of the Benoni is correct, but at least I know what I'm trying to do."
While it's important to understand your own reasons for the moves you make, Nigel insists it's equally important to be flexible and willing to change plans. "You have your basic ideas, but – in chess as in life – when the circumstances change you have to alter your plans."
His lecture entertained a broad audience of beginners and experts, old and young. It was peppered with British humour, had a number of references to well-known figures in chess, and even contained several facetious evocations of the basic guidelines that every beginner learns – such as the point system of piece values (a queen is worth nine points, etc.). With reference to the classic question of the relative strength of bishops versus knights, for instance, he jokingly pointed out that "rooks are better than knights, especially in the ending."
One of the most well-received pieces of wisdom he imparted was the emphasis on tactical play. "There is no such thing as a good strategic player who can't play well tactically. You very often have to use tactics to achieve your strategic ends." Later in the lecture, he put it more emphatically: "Games are decided by tactics, really. Cheap tricks. All this stuff about strategical play is rubbish. I may look like a quiet person, but… I always keep my eye open."
Here is the game featured in his lecture:
[Event "Tradewise Gibraltar Chess Festival 2012"] [Site "Gibraltar"] [Date "2012.02.02"] [Round "10"] [White "Sasikiran, Krishnan"] [Black "Short, Nigel"] [Result "0-1"] [WhiteElo "2700"] [BlackElo "2677"] [ECO "A62"] 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.g3 c5 4.d5 exd5 5.cxd5 d6 6.Nc3 g6 7.Bg2 Bg7 8.Nf3 0-0 9.0-0 Nbd7 10.a4 h6 11.Qc2 Qe7 12.Ra3 a6 13.Nd2 Rb8 14.a5 b5 15.axb6 Nxb6 16.b3 Ng4 17.Bb2 f5 18.e3 g5 19.Raa1 Bb7 20.Rae1 Rbe8 21.h3 Ne5 22.f4 Ng6 23.Kh2 gxf4 24.gxf4 Kh7 25.Nc4 Nxc4 26.bxc4 Bc8 27.Rf3 Rg8 28.Rg1 Bf6 29.Bh1 Ne5 30.Rfg3 Rxg3 31.Rxg3 Nxc4 32.Bc1 Bh4 33.Rf3 Qg7 34.Ne2 Nb6 35.e4 Rxe4 36.Rb3 Re8 37.Bf3 Bf2 38.Bg4 Qg6 39.Rxb6 fxg4 40.Qxg6+ Kxg6 41.Rxd6+ Kf7 42.Ng3 Re1 43.Bd2 Rg1 44.Rf6+ Kxf6 45.Ne4+ Kf7 46.Nxf2 Ra1 47.hxg4 Ra2 48.Be3 Bxg4 49.Kg3 Bf5 50.Bxc5 Ra5 0-1
After the lecture, the simul began. The following are the 20 players who tried their luck against Nigel. The final result, though, was 20-0.
1. Shabnam Abbarin
2. Jeff Back
3. Brett Campbell
4. Geordie Derraugh
5. Rowan James
6. Jim Mourgelas
7. Zehn Nasir
8. Razvan Preotu
9. Ian Prittie
10. Alejandro Renteria
11. Manuela Renteria
12. Rolando Renteria
13. Carlos Romero
14. Josep Sobrepere
15. Michael Song
16. George Supol
17. Michael Sutton
18. Daniel Wiebe
19. Marcus Wilker
20. Yuanchen Zhang
Some players may be embarrassed by their games (some of which ended after a dozen moves or so), but I'll post here the ones I get. If you're not too ashamed (and you shouldn't feel bad – he is 2700 after all), please send your gamescore to info@annexchessclub.com.
[Event "ACC Simultaneous"] [Site "Toronto, CAN"] [Date "2012.06.18"] [Round "?"] [White "Short, Nigel"] [Black "Back, Jeff"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B01"] [WhiteElo "2705"] [BlackElo "2009"] 1. e4 d5 2. exd5 Qxd5 3. Nf3 Bg4 4. Be2 Nc6 5. O-O O-O-O 6. h3 Bh5 7. b4 Nf6 8. Nc3 Qf5 9. g4 Bxg4 10. hxg4 Qxg4+ 11. Kh1 e6 12. Nh2 Qh4 13. f4 Bxb4 14. Qe1 Qxe1 15. Rxe1 Nd4 16. Bd3 Nh5 17. Rb1 Bd6 18. Nb5 Nxb5 19. Rxb5 Nxf4 20. Bf1 a6 21. Rb3 e5 22. Nf3 f6 23. d3 Rhe8 24. Bxf4 exf4 25. Reb1 b5 26. a4 b4 27. a5 Re3 28. Bh3+ Kb8 29. Bg2 c5 30. Nd2 Re2 31. Rd1 Bc7 32. Bf3 Re3 33. Kg2 g5 34. Kf2 h5 35. Bxh5 Rh8 36. Rh1 g4 37. Rbb1 Bxa5 38. Bxg4 Rxh1 39. Rxh1 Re7 40. Nc4 Bc7 41. Rh8+ Ka7 42. Bf3 Bb8 43. Rc8 Rc7 44. Rf8 Rd7 45. Rxf6 Bc7 46. Rf8 Rd8 47. Rf7 Kb8 48. Rf6 b3 49. Rxa6 Kc8 50. Ra8+ Bb8 51. Nb6+ Kc7 52. Nd5+ Kd6 53. cxb3 Ke5 54. Ne7 1-0 [Event "ACC Simultaneous"] [Site "Toronto, CAN"] [Date "2012.06.18"] [Round "?"] [White "Short, Nigel"] [Black "Derraugh, Geordie"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B92"] [PlyCount "111"] 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Be2 e5 7. Nb3 Be7 8. O-O O-O 9. f4 b5 10. Kh1 Bb7 11. Bf3 Nbd7 12. a3 Rc8 13. Qe1 Kh8 14. Be3 Nb6 15. Na5 Ba8 16. Rd1 Qc7 17. h3 Na4 18. Nxa4 bxa4 19. b4 Qxc2 20. fxe5 dxe5 21. Bg5 Qc3 22. Ra1 Qxe1 23. Rfxe1 Bd8 24. Bxf6 gxf6 25. Bg4 Rc3 26. Bf5 Bxa5 27. bxa5 Rd8 28. Kg1 Kg7 29. Kf2 Rdd3 30. Rac1 Bc6 31. Rxc3 Rxc3 32. Re3 Rc5 33. Rg3+ Kf8 34. Bxh7 Rxa5 35. h4 Rb5 36. Rg8+ Ke7 37. Bf5 Rb2+ 38. Kg1 Re2 39. Rg4 Bd7 40. Bxd7 Kxd7 41. h5 Re1+ 42. Kh2 Rc1 43. Rg8 Rc6 44. Kg3 f5 45. exf5 Ke7 46. Kh4 Rc1 47. Kg5 Rf1 48. h6 Rh1 49. f6+ Ke6 50. Re8+ Kd5 51. Re7 Rh2 52. g4 Rh3 53. Rxf7 Rxa3 54. Rf8 Rh3 55. f7 Ke6 56. Kg6 1-0 [Event "ACC Simultaneous"] [Site "Toronto, CAN"] [Date "2012.06.18"] [Round "?"] [White "Short, Nigel"] [Black "Wilker, Marcus"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "E12"] [WhiteElo "2705"] [BlackElo "1670"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 e6 3. c4 b6 4. Bf4 Bb7 5. e3 Bb4+ 6. Nfd2 Ne4 7. a3 Be7 8. Nxe4 Bxe4 9. Nc3 Bb7 10. Bd3 d6 11. O-O Nd7 12. Bg3 h5 13. h3 Nf6 14. e4 h4 15. Bh2 Qd7 16. d5 e5 17. Bc2 Qd8 18. Ba4+ Kf8 19. f4 exf4 20. Bxf4 Nh5 21. Bh2 Bg5 22. e5 dxe5 23. Bxe5 Be3+ 24. Kh1 Qe7 25. Qf3 Bg5 26. Rae1 Nf6 27. Re2 Qc5 28. Ne4 Qxc4 29. Bb3 1-0
Nigel Short simultaneous chess at ACC
chess lectureNigel Shortsimultaneous exhibitiontoronto chess
Play a Game Against a Grandmaster
May 11, 2012 king	Leave a comment
GM Nigel Short at Annex Chess Club – June 18
Annex Chess Club is proud to present a chess lecture and simultaneous exhibition by English GM Nigel Short.
This January, Nigel won a very strong Tradewise Gibraltar Masters tournament, spoiling an otherwise fantastic tournament for Hou Yifan, who lost to him in a rapid tiebreak playoff.
In April, he won the 12th Bangkok Chess Club Open with 8/9, after which he re-joined the prestigious 2700+ club.
From May 11 to 12, he was in Moscow providing live commentary for the first two rounds of the World Championship match. (See this recent interview for some of his impressions of the match.)
And June 18, on his way to the 7th Edmonton Chess Festival, he is stopping in at Annex Chess Club.
Nigel Short (Elo 2705) is the most famous English grandmaster of recent times. He has had a long career among the world's elite. At 19, he was the youngest grandmaster in the world; now in his late 40s (and currently ranked 40th in the world) he is the oldest player in the FIDE top 100.
He is especially known for his successes in the 1980s and 1990s when he won the British Championship several times, came first in a number of international tournaments, ranked third in the world by rating, and challenged Gary Kasparov for the World Championship.
Nigel in Toronto
We had a great time when Nigel visited us last September, and we are very pleased to have him return to Annex Chess Club this June 18. He will once again give a chess lecture and offer a simultaneous exhibition, playing up to 30 chess games at the same time.
His chess lectures are always entertaining, and the simul is a rare chance to play a game against such a legendary super-GM.
The simultaneous exhibition is limited to 30 players on a first-come, first-served basis
Register online today through Guestlist.
lecture and watch simul – $10 (free for ACC full-year members)
play a game against GM Nigel Short – $60 ($50 for ACC full-year members)
Hosting an awesome event? Guestlist makes event registration easy!
chess lectureNigel Shortsimultaneous exhibition
2011 Chess Classic in London, England
December 1, 2011 king	Leave a comment
GM Hikaru Nakamura and GM Nigel Short, during the opening press conference
3rd London Chess Classic – December 3 to 12, 2011
The charity, Chess in Schools and Communities, is running the 3rd London Chess Classic at Olympia Conference Centre, Kensington, West London.
Starting this Saturday December 3, the London Classic pits American GM Hikaru Nakamura, English GM Nigel Short (who recently visited Toronto), and three more English grandmasters – Michael Adams, Luke McShane, and David Howell – against the world's top four – Anand, Carlsen, Aronian, and Kramnik – in a round-robin, all-play-all tournament.
With an odd number of players, one player will assist with the live broadcast each round.
Along with "the Classic," CSC has a huge variety of other chess events on tap: a FIDE open, two weekenders, a women's invitational, rapid and blitz tournaments, simuls with Viktor Korchnoi, free coaching for children, classes for chess teachers, etc.
Check full details at the official site: londonchessclassic.com
Follow the live broadcast via livestream (returning at 9:00 am EST on Thursday)
Live games are also shown at chessdom.com with commentary and computer analysis
Through 6 rounds, Hikaru Nakamura is leading with 11 points (he's 3-1-2).
Round 7 starts at 9:00 am EST on Saturday December 10 – Here are the pairings:
Nigel Short – Luke McShane
Vladimir Kramnik – David Howell
Levon Aronian – Viswanathan Anand
Magnus Carlsen – Michael Adams
Hikaru Nakamura bye, assisting the commentary
Round 6 (Fri Dec 7)
Get the .pgn gamefile
Michael Adams – Levon Aronian (½-½)
Viswanathan Anand – Vladimir Kramnik (½-½)
David Howell – Nigel Short (½-½)
Luke McShane – Hikaru Nakamura (½-½)
Round 5 (Thurs Dec 6)
Hikaru Nakamura – David Howell (1-0)
Nigel Short – Viswanathan Anand (0-1)
Vladimir Kramnik – Michael Adams (1-0)
Levon Aronian – Magnus Carlsen (½-½)
Round 4 (Tues Dec 6)
Magnus Carlsen – Vladimir Kramnik (½-½)
Michael Adams – Nigel Short (0-1)
Viswanathan Anand – Hikaru Nakamura (0-1)
David Howell – Luke McShane (0-1)
Round 3 (Mon Dec 5)
Levon Aronian – Nigel Short (1-0)
Magnus Carlsen – Hikaru Nakamura (1-0)
Michael Adams – Luke McShane (0-1)
Vishy Anand – David Howell (½-½)
Round 2 (Sun Dec 4)
David Howell – Michael Adams (½-½)
Luke McShane – Magnus Carlsen (½-½)
Hikaru Nakamura – Levon Aronian (1-0)
Nigel Short – Vladimir Kramnik (0-1)
Round 1 (Sat Dec 3)
Vladimir Kramnik – Hikaru Nakamura (½-½)
Levon Aronian – Luke McShane (½-½)
Magnus Carlsen – David Howell (1-0)
Michael Adams – Vishy Anand (½-½)
The round started with tennis star Boris Becker playing the ceremonial first move on Magnus Carlsen's board:
Later, Mr. Becker played a game with GM Nigel Short:
[Event "London Classic Becker-Short"] [Site "London"] [Date "2011.12.03"] [Round "?"] [White "Becker, Boris"] [Black "Short, Nigel"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "C63"] [PlyCount "32"] [EventDate "2011.11.03"] [EventType "rapid"] [EventCountry "ENG"] [SourceDate "2011.12.04"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 f5 4. Bxc6 dxc6 5. exf5 e4 6. Ne5 Bxf5 7. O-O Qd4 8. Qh5+ g6 9. Nxg6 hxg6 10. Qe2 Bd6 11. g3 O-O-O 12. c3 Qd5 13. f4 Bc5+ 14. d4 exd3+ 15. Qf2 Bh3 16. Qxc5 Qg2# {0-1}
Opening Ceremonies (Fri Dec 2)
The day before Round 1, there was a press conference followed by a game between the London Classic GMs and the Rest of the World. The GMs took turns playing Black's moves, while White's moves were decided democratically through Twitter (@londonclassic #lccvworld).
Here's the game:
[Event "#LCCvWorld"] [Site "London ENG"] [Date "2011.12.02"] [Round "?"] [White "The World"] [Black "London Chess Classic"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "B06"] [BlackElo "2800"] [PlyCount "46"] [SourceDate "2011.12.02"] 1. e4 g6 2. d4 Nf6 3. e5 Nh5 4. Be2 d6 5. Bxh5 gxh5 6. Qxh5 dxe5 7. Qxe5 Rg8 8. Nf3 Nc6 9. Qh5 Nxd4 10. Nxd4 Qxd4 11. O-O Qe4 12. g3 Bg7 13. Nc3 Bxc3 14. bxc3 Bd7 15. Ba3 Bc6 16. f3 Qe3+ 17. Kg2 O-O-O 18. Rae1 Qxc3 19. Bxe7 Rd2+ 20. Kh1 Rf2 21. Qf5+ Kb8 22. Rxf2 Qxe1+ 23. Kg2 Qxe7 {and the world votes to resign} (0-1)
Boris BeckerHikaru Nakamurainternational newslondon chess classicNigel Shorttwitter
Kasparov beats Short in Belgium
October 13, 2011 king	Leave a comment
Kasparov wins Your Next Move blitz match
This past Sunday October 9, eighteen years after their World Championship match, Garry Kasparov and Nigel Short faced off in a blitz match in Leuven, Belgium.
After three draws, Garry won games 4 and 5. Then Nigel won games 6 and 7. Tied 3½-3½ going into game 8, Garry took the game and won the match.
Kasparov 4½ – Short 3½
Check the photo essay on ChessBase.com.
Get the .pgn file from ChessBase.
View games
[Event "Your Next Move Blitz"] [Site "Leuven"] [Date "2011.10.09"] [Round "1"] [White "Kasparov, Garry"] [Black "Short, Nigel D"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [WhiteTitle "GM"] [BlackTitle "GM"] [WhiteElo "2812"] [BlackElo "2698"] [ECO "E21"] [Opening "Nimzo-Indian"] [Variation "three knights variation"] [WhiteFideId "4100018"] [BlackFideId "400025"] [EventDate "2011.10.09"] 1. d4 e6 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. c4 Bb4+ 4. Nc3 b6 5. Qb3 Qe7 6. Bf4 d5 7. e3 Bb7 8. a3 Bxc3+ 9. Qxc3 O-O 10. Be2 dxc4 11. Qxc4 Rc8 12. O-O Ba6 13. Qc2 Bxe2 14. Qxe2 c5 15. Rac1 Nbd7 16. Qa6 h6 17. h3 Qe8 18. Bh2 cxd4 19. Nxd4 Nc5 20. Qe2 Qa4 21. Rc4 Qe8 22. Rfc1 a5 23. f3 a4 24. e4 Nfd7 25. Nb5 Qe7 26. Qe3 Qf6 27. e5 Qg6 28. Nd6 Rd8 29. Rg4 Qh7 30. Bf4 Kf8 31. Rd1 f5 32. exf6 Nxf6 33. Rh4 Nd5 34. Qe5 Nxf4 35. Rxf4+ Kg8 36. Rfd4 Rd7 37. Ne4 Rxd4 38. Rxd4 Qf5 39. Qxf5 exf5 40. Nxc5 bxc5 41. Rd5 Ra5 42. Rxf5 Rb5 43. Rf4 Rxb2 44. Rxa4 Ra2 45. h4 c4 46. Rxc4 Rxa3 47. Rc5 Ra4 48. h5 Ra2 49. Kh2 Rb2 50. Kh3 Rd2 51. g4 Rd1 52. Kg3 Rd4 53. Rc7 Ra4 54. Re7 Kf8 55. Re4 Ra5 56. Kf4 Kf7 57. Re5 Ra3 58. Ke4 Rb3 59. f4 Rb4+ 60. Kf5 Rb7 61. Rc5 Ra7 62. g5 hxg5 63. fxg5 g6+ 64. hxg6+ Kg7 65. Rc6 Ra5+ 66. Kg4 Ra1 1/2-1/2 [Event "Your Next Move Blitz"] [Site "Leuven"] [Date "2011.10.09"] [Round "2"] [White "Short, Nigel D"] [Black "Kasparov, Garry"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [WhiteTitle "GM"] [BlackTitle "GM"] [WhiteElo "2698"] [BlackElo "2812"] [ECO "B06"] [Opening "Robatsch (modern) defence"] [WhiteFideId "400025"] [BlackFideId "4100018"] [EventDate "2011.10.09"] 1. e4 g6 2. d4 Bg7 3. Nf3 d6 4. Bc4 e6 5. Bb3 Ne7 6. c3 b6 7. Be3 Bb7 8. Nbd2 Nd7 9. h3 h6 10. Qe2 a5 11. O-O a4 12. Bc2 O-O 13. Nh2 a3 14. b3 c5 15. Rad1 cxd4 16. cxd4 Nc6 17. Ndf3 Nb4 18. Bb1 Ba6 19. Qd2 Bxf1 20. Rxf1 Nc6 21. Bxh6 Nf6 22. Rd1 e5 23. Bxg7 Kxg7 24. Nf1 Qe7 25. d5 Nd4 26. Nxd4 exd4 27. Qxd4 Qe5 28. Qxe5 dxe5 29. Ne3 b5 30. Bd3 Rab8 31. f3 Rfc8 32. b4 Ne8 33. Nc2 Rc3 34. Kf2 Rbc8 35. Ne3 Nd6 36. Ke2 Rf8 37. Kd2 Rc7 38. g4 Rh8 39. Rh1 g5 40. Rh2 Kf6 41. Rh1 Ke7 42. Nc2 f6 43. Rh2 Rcc8 44. Bf1 Ra8 45. Kc3 Rhc8+ 46. Kb3 Rab8 47. h4 gxh4 48. Rxh4 Rh8 49. Rxh8 Rxh8 50. Nxa3 Rh1 51. Bxb5 1/2-1/2 [Event "Your Next Move Blitz"] [Site "Leuven"] [Date "2011.10.09"] [Round "3"] [White "Kasparov, Garry"] [Black "Short, Nigel D"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [WhiteTitle "GM"] [BlackTitle "GM"] [WhiteElo "2812"] [BlackElo "2698"] [ECO "D37"] [Opening "QGD"] [Variation "classical variation (5.Bf4)"] [WhiteFideId "4100018"] [BlackFideId "400025"] [EventDate "2011.10.09"] 1. Nf3 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 d5 4. d4 Be7 5. Bf4 O-O 6. e3 b6 7. Bd3 dxc4 8. Bxc4 Bb7 9. O-O Nbd7 10. Qe2 Bd6 11. Bg5 h6 12. Bh4 a6 13. Rfd1 b5 14. Bb3 Qe7 15. e4 b4 16. e5 bxc3 17. exd6 cxd6 18. bxc3 Rfc8 19. c4 Qf8 20. Rac1 Nh5 21. Qe3 Ndf6 22. Ne1 g5 23. Bg3 a5 24. a3 Rab8 25. Ba2 Be4 26. Qc3 Qd8 27. Nc2 Bg6 28. f3 Nd5 29. Qd2 Ndf4 30. Ne3 Qb6 31. Bf2 Nd3 32. Rc3 Nxf2 33. Kxf2 Nf4 34. g3 Nh5 35. Ng4 Kh7 36. h4 Qb2 37. hxg5 hxg5 38. Re3 Kg7 39. Re2 Qxd2 40. Rdxd2 f5 41. Nh2 Bf7 42. Nf1 Kf6 43. Ne3 Nxg3 44. Kxg3 f4+ 45. Kf2 fxe3+ 46. Kxe3 Rb6 47. Rc2 e5 48. dxe5+ dxe5 49. c5 Rbc6 50. Bxf7 Kxf7 51. Ke4 Ke6 52. Rh2 Rxc5 53. Rh6+ Ke7 54. Rxc5 Rxc5 55. Ra6 Kf7 56. Kf5 Rc3 57. Rxa5 Rxf3+ 58. Ke4 1/2-1/2 [Event "Your Next Move Blitz"] [Site "Leuven"] [Date "2011.10.09"] [Round "4"] [White "Short, Nigel D"] [Black "Kasparov, Garry"] [Result "0-1"] [WhiteTitle "GM"] [BlackTitle "GM"] [WhiteElo "2698"] [BlackElo "2812"] [ECO "C52"] [Opening "Evans gambit"] [WhiteFideId "400025"] [BlackFideId "4100018"] [EventDate "2011.10.09"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. b4 Bxb4 5. c3 Ba5 6. d4 exd4 7. Qb3 Qf6 8. O-O d3 9. e5 Qg6 10. Ba3 Nge7 11. Rd1 O-O 12. Bxd3 Qh6 13. Nbd2 d5 14. exd6 cxd6 15. Ne4 d5 16. Bc1 Qg6 17. Ng3 Qf6 18. Nh5 Qxc3 19. Qb1 Qb4 20. Bxh7+ Kh8 21. Bb2 f6 22. h3 Be6 23. Nd4 Bf7 24. Ng3 Bb6 25. a3 Qd6 26. Ngf5 Nxf5 27. Bxf5 Rae8 28. Bg4 Qf4 29. Nf3 f5 30. Qxf5 Qxf5 31. Bxf5 Re2 32. Bd4 Nxd4 33. Nxd4 Rb2 34. Bg4 Bg6 35. Bf3 Be4 36. a4 Bxf3 37. Nxf3 Bxf2+ 38. Kh1 Rf5 39. Rd3 Rb4 40. a5 g6 41. g4 Rff4 42. Rf1 Rb2 43. Ne5 Kg7 44. Rxd5 Bg3 45. Rxf4 Bxf4 46. Rd7+ Kf6 47. Nd3 Rd2 48. Rd5 Be3 49. h4 b5 50. axb6 Bxb6 51. g5+ Ke7 52. Nf4 Rxd5 53. Nxd5+ Ke6 54. Nc3 Bd4 55. Ne2 Be5 56. Kg2 a5 57. Kf3 Kf5 58. Ke3 a4 59. Nc1 Bf4+ 0-1 [Event "Your Next Move Blitz"] [Site "Leuven"] [Date "2011.10.09"] [Round "5"] [White "Kasparov, Garry"] [Black "Short, Nigel D"] [Result "1-0"] [WhiteTitle "GM"] [BlackTitle "GM"] [WhiteElo "2812"] [BlackElo "2698"] [ECO "A30"] [Opening "English"] [Variation "symmetrical, hedgehog system"] [WhiteFideId "4100018"] [BlackFideId "400025"] [EventDate "2011.10.09"] 1. Nf3 e6 2. c4 b6 3. g3 Bb7 4. Bg2 c5 5. O-O Nf6 6. Nc3 Be7 7. d4 cxd4 8. Qxd4 Nc6 9. Qf4 O-O 10. Rd1 Qb8 11. e4 d6 12. b3 a6 13. Bb2 Rd8 14. Qe3 Qa7 15. Ba3 Bf8 16. h3 b5 17. Qxa7 Nxa7 18. e5 dxe5 19. Bxf8 Kxf8 20. Nxe5 Bxg2 21. Kxg2 bxc4 22. bxc4 Ke8 23. Rab1 Rxd1 24. Nxd1 Ne4 25. Rb7 Nd6 26. Rc7 Nac8 27. c5 Ne4 28. Rxf7 Ra7 29. Rf4 Nf6 30. Ne3 Rc7 31. Rc4 Ne7 32. f4 Nc6 33. N3g4 Nd5 34. Nxc6 Rxc6 35. Kf3 Rc7 36. Ne5 Kd8 37. c6 Ke7 38. Ra4 Ra7 39. Kf2 Kd6 40. h4 a5 41. Kf3 Nc3 42. Rd4+ Nd5 43. Ke4 g6 44. g4 Kc7 45. Rd2 a4 46. f5 Nf6+ 47. Kf4 exf5 48. gxf5 Ra5 49. fxg6 hxg6 50. Rb2 Nd5+ 51. Ke4 Nb6 52. Rf2 a3 53. Rf7+ Kc8 54. Nxg6 Ra4+ 55. Ke5 Rb4 56. Ne7+ Kd8 57. c7+ Ke8 58. Rh7 Rc4 59. Nd5 Rc5 60. Rh8+ Kd7 61. Rd8+ 1-0 [Event "Your Next Move Blitz"] [Site "Leuven"] [Date "2011.10.09"] [Round "6"] [White "Short, Nigel D"] [Black "Kasparov, Garry"] [Result "1-0"] [WhiteTitle "GM"] [BlackTitle "GM"] [WhiteElo "2698"] [BlackElo "2812"] [ECO "C33"] [Opening "KGA"] [Variation "bishop's gambit, Jaenisch variation"] [WhiteFideId "400025"] [BlackFideId "4100018"] [EventDate "2011.10.09"] 1. e4 e5 2. f4 exf4 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. Nc3 c6 5. Bb3 d5 6. exd5 cxd5 7. d4 Bd6 8. Nge2 Nc6 9. Bxf4 O-O 10. O-O Be6 11. Qd2 Be7 12. Rae1 Re8 13. Kh1 a6 14. Ng3 b5 15. Nd1 Na5 16. c3 Nxb3 17. axb3 Ne4 18. Nxe4 dxe4 19. Qc2 Rc8 20. Ne3 Bh4 21. Rd1 f5 22. d5 Bd7 23. c4 Qb6 24. d6 bxc4 25. bxc4 Qc6 26. b3 g5 27. Bg3 Bxg3 28. hxg3 Qc5 29. Qf2 Rf8 30. Rd5 Qb6 31. Nxf5 Qxf2 32. Rxf2 e3 33. Ne7+ Kg7 34. Rxg5+ Kh6 35. Rxf8 1-0 [Event "Your Next Move Blitz"] [Site "Leuven"] [Date "2011.10.09"] [Round "7"] [White "Kasparov, Garry"] [Black "Short, Nigel D"] [Result "0-1"] [WhiteTitle "GM"] [BlackTitle "GM"] [WhiteElo "2812"] [BlackElo "2698"] [ECO "A04"] [Opening "Reti opening"] [WhiteFideId "4100018"] [BlackFideId "400025"] [EventDate "2011.10.09"] 1. Nf3 b5 2. e4 a6 3. d4 e6 4. Bd3 Bb7 5. O-O c5 6. c3 Nf6 7. Re1 Qc7 8. a4 c4 9. Bc2 d5 10. e5 Ne4 11. Nbd2 Nxd2 12. Bxd2 h6 13. b4 cxb3 14. Bxb3 Nd7 15. axb5 axb5 16. Qe2 Rb8 17. Reb1 Bc6 18. Bc2 Nb6 19. Ne1 Nc4 20. Bc1 Be7 21. Nd3 Kd7 22. Qg4 g6 23. Qf3 Rh7 24. Nb4 Ra8 25. g3 Bb7 26. Rxa8 Bxa8 27. Bd3 Bb7 28. h4 h5 29. Bg5 Bxg5 30. hxg5 Nd2 31. Qe3 Nxb1 32. Bxb1 Ke7 33. Qf3 Rg7 34. Nd3 Kf8 35. Nc5 Kg8 36. Qf6 Bc6 37. Bd3 Kh7 38. Kg2 Rg8 39. Be2 Ra8 40. Bd3 Be8 41. Qf3 Kg8 42. Bc2 Ra3 43. Bb3 Qa5 44. Qf6 Qc7 45. Qf4 Qe7 46. Qc1 Ra8 47. Bc2 Rb8 48. Qd2 Qd8 49. Bd3 Qa5 50. Nb3 Qa3 51. Nc5 b4 52. cxb4 Qxb4 53. Qf4 Qb6 54. Qf6 Qd8 55. Qf4 Rb4 56. Qe3 Bb5 57. Bxb5 Rxb5 58. Qf4 Rb4 59. Kh2 Rc4 60. Kg2 Qb6 61. Nd7 Qxd4 62. Qf6 Qe4+ 63. Kh2 Rc8 64. Qe7 Qf5 65. Nf6+ Kg7 0-1 [Event "Your Next Move Blitz"] [Site "Leuven"] [Date "2011.10.09"] [Round "8"] [White "Short, Nigel D"] [Black "Kasparov, Garry"] [Result "0-1"] [WhiteTitle "GM"] [BlackTitle "GM"] [WhiteElo "2698"] [BlackElo "2812"] [ECO "C58"] [Opening "Two knights defence"] [WhiteFideId "400025"] [BlackFideId "4100018"] [EventDate "2011.10.09"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. Ng5 d5 5. exd5 Na5 6. Bb5+ c6 7. dxc6 bxc6 8. Bd3 Nd5 9. Nf3 Bd6 10. O-O Nf4 11. Re1 Nxd3 12. cxd3 O-O 13. Nc3 Re8 14. h3 c5 15. b3 Ba6 16. Ba3 Bxd3 17. Ne4 Bxe4 18. Rxe4 f5 19. Ra4 e4 20. Nh2 Nc6 21. Rc1 Ne5 22. d4 Nd3 23. dxc5 Bf4 24. Rc2 e3 25. f3 Bg3 26. Nf1 Bf2+ 27. Kh1 Nf4 28. Qxd8 Raxd8 29. Rxf4 Rd1 30. Re2 Bg3 31. Kg1 Bxf4 32. g4 Red8 33. Bb4 R8d4 34. Ba5 Rd5 35. Bb4 a5 36. Bxa5 Rxc5 37. Bb6 Rcc1 38. Bxe3 Rxf1+ 39. Kg2 Bxe3 40. Rxe3 Rfe1 41. Rd3 f4 0-1
blitzchess gamesGarry Kasparovinternational newsNigel Short
Nigel Short goes 28-1-3 at ACC
September 20, 2011 king	6 Comments
GM Nigel Short Lecture and Simultaneous Exhibition
In his lecture, an endgame lesson which was both helpful and entertaining, Nigel analysed a game played earlier this year between himself and Portuguese GM Antonio Fernandes in Luanda, Angola.
Needing only a half point, Black opened with the Petroff (Nigel has promised to ban it, if he is ever made FIDE president, or at least to require players "to pay a fine to their opponents for playing such boring stuff"). Black continued, through the middlegame, playing what Nigel described as "vacuum chess" (trying to "hoover up all the pieces" to reach a draw).
In the endgame, the focus of his presentation, Nigel showed how, as White, he pressed for extra space ("space, the final frontier") and used subtle manoeuvres (and impressively deep analysis) to pull out the full point.
Here's the game (with Nigel's annotations):
White: Short,Nigel (2682)
Black: Fernandes,Antonio (2404)
2011.05.22 Cuca Open (6)
C42 Petroff
[Nigel]
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nxe5 d6 4.Nf3 Nxe4 5.Bd3 Nf6 6.h3 Be7 7.c3 Nbd7 8.Bc2 0-0 9.d4 Re8 10.0-0 Nf8 11.Re1 Be6 12.Nbd2 c6 13.Nf1 N6d7 14.Bf4 d5 15.Qd2 Ng6 16.Bg3 Ndf8 17.Re2 Bd6 18.Rae1 f6 19.h4 Qc7 20.Bxd6 Qxd6 21.g3 Nh8 22.Ne3 Qd7 23.h5 Nf7 24.Nh4 Nh6 25.f3 Qc7 26.Kf2 Qf7 (26... Bf7 27.Nef5 Nxf5 28.Nxf5 Rxe2+ 29.Qxe2 Re8 30.Ne7+ Kh8 31.Bg6!! Nxg6 32.hxg6 Bg8 33.Qe3) 27.g4 Qc7 28.Neg2 Bd7 29.Qf4 Rxe2+ 30.Rxe2 Qxf4 31.Nxf4 Re8 32.Rxe8 Bxe8 33.Bd3 Bd7 34.c4 Ne6 35.Nxe6 Bxe6 36.c5 Nf7 37.b4 Bd7 38.a4 a6 39.Ke3 Nd8 40.Nf5 Bxf5 41.Bxf5 h6 42.Bc8 Kf7 43.Kf4 Ne6+ 44.Ke3 Nd8 45.Kf2 Ke7 46.Kg3 Kf7 47.Kh4 Ke7 48.f4 a5? (48... Kf7 49.g5 Ke7 (49...fxg5+ 50.fxg5 hxg5+ 51.Kxg5 Ke7 52.Kg6 Kf8 53.Kf5 Ke7 54.Ke5 Nf7+ 55.Kf4 Nd8 56.Kf5 Kf7 57.Ke5 Ke7 58.b5 axb5 59.axb5 Nf7+ 60.Kf5 Nd8 61.Bxb7 Nxb7 62.bxc6 Na5 63.c7 Kd7 64.Kg6 Nc6 65.Kxg7 Nxd4 66.Kf6+-) 50.Kg4 Ke8 51.gxh6 gxh6 52.Kf5 Kf7 53.a5 Kg7 54.Bxb7+-) 49.bxa5 Ne6 50.Bxb7 Kd7 51.a6 Kc7 52.Ba8 Nd8 53.a7 Nb7 54.Kg3 Kc8 55.a5 (1–0)
In the simul, Nigel played 32 games simultaneously. He won 28, drew 3, and lost only 1. But guess which game we're going to focus on :) (Apparently, even grandmasters don't always look out for queen checks.) Actually, many of Nigel's wins were brutal crushes; he blew some of his opponents right off the board! We'll try to show some of that destruction soon, to give a more balanced view of things.
White: GM Short, Nigel (2698)
Black: Lawless, David (2055)
2011.09.19 ACC Simultaneous (28)
C80 Ruy Lopez
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Nxe4 6. d4 b5 7. Bb3 d5 8. dxe5 Be6 9. Re1 Bc5 10. Be3 O-O 11. c3 Qd7 12. Nbd2 Bxe3 13. Rxe3 Nc5 14. Nd4 Ne7 15. Bc2 Bg4 16. N2f3 Ng6 17. h3 Bxf3 18. Qxf3 Ne6 19. Rd1 c6 20. Nf5 Rae8 21. h4 f6 22. exf6 Rxf6 23. Qg4 Ngf8 24. Rde1 Rg6 25. Qf3 Rf6 26. Qh3 Rd8 27. h5 Nf4 28. Qg4 N4e6 29. b4 Qf7 30. g3 Kh8 31. f4 Rd7 32. Nd4 Rd6 33. Nf3 Rh6 34. Re5 Nd7 35. Rf5 Nf6 36. Ng5 Qa7+ 37. Kg2 Nxg4 38. Rxe6 Qb8 39. Re7 Rhf6 40. Nf7+ Kg8 41. Nxd6 Qxd6 42. Re2 Re6 (0-1)
ACC Simultaneous Exhibition Player List
CFC#
CFC Rating
1 Jeff Back 111052 2009 0
2 IA David Cohen 100234 1904 0
3 Joel Graham 152317 1799 0
4 Yuanchen Zhang 148449 1961 0
5 Lawrence Garcia 106367 1433 0
6 Jim Mourgelas 108540 1485 0
7 Derick Aghamalian 146782 1604 0
8 Hayk Oganesyan 152587 1332 0
9 Evnato Frias 152975 1125 0
10 Gerhard Gross 0
11 WCM Jiaxin Liu 149747 1502 0
12 Kevin Noble 0
13 Rhys Goldstein 110906 2005 0
14 Daniel Wiebe 132137 1996 0
15 Hugh Siddeley 120619 2024 0
16 Ken Kurkowski 104537 1601 0
17 Jean-Marc David 151900 1127 0
18 Daniel Zotkin 146857 1689 0
19 FM Brett Campbell 101324 2251 ½
20 Leif Becker 101244 2047 0
21 Rayleigh Becker 151788 1301 0
22 Stuart Brammall 145597 1959 0
23 Christopher Knox 136503 2048 0
24 Arkadiy Ugodnikov 146626 1842 0
25 Alejandro Renteria 152628 1434 ½
26 Daniel Aparicio 149967 2058 0
27 Kevin Gaffney 102701 1632 0
28 David Lawless 112068 2055 1
29 Zehn Nasir 148198 1841 ½
30 Manuela Renteria 152627 1750 0
31 Wajdy Shebetah 148432 2124 0
32 George Supol 152286 1404 0
# Name CFC# Rating Result
.pgn for games
[Event "Cuca Open"]
[Site "Luanda, Angola"]
[Date "2011.05.22"]
[Round "6"]
[White "Short, Nigel"]
[Black "Fernandes, Antonio"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C42"]
[Annotator "Nigel"]
[PlyCount "113"]
[SourceDate "2011.09.27"]
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nxe5 d6 4.Nf3 Nxe4 5.Bd3 Nf6 6.h3 Be7 7.c3 Nbd7 8.Bc2 0-0 9.d4 Re8 10.0-0 Nf8 11.Re1 Be6 12.Nbd2 c6 13.Nf1 N6d7 14.Bf4 d5 15.Qd2 Ng6 16.Bg3 Ndf8 17.Re2 Bd6 18.Rae1 f6 19.h4 Qc7 20.Bxd6 Qxd6 21.g3 Nh8 22.Ne3 Qd7 23.h5 Nf7 24.Nh4 Nh6 25.f3 Qc7 26.Kf2 Qf7 (26… Bf7 27.Nef5 Nxf5 28.Nxf5 Rxe2+ 29.Qxe2 Re8 30.Ne7+ Kh8 31.Bg6!! Nxg6 32.hxg6 Bg8 33.Qe3) 27.g4 Qc7 28.Neg2 Bd7 29.Qf4 Rxe2+ 30.Rxe2 Qxf4 31.Nxf4 Re8 32.Rxe8 Bxe8 33.Bd3 Bd7 34.c4 Ne6 35.Nxe6 Bxe6 36.c5 Nf7 37.b4 Bd7 38.a4 a6 39.Ke3 Nd8 40.Nf5 Bxf5 41.Bxf5 h6 42.Bc8 Kf7 43.Kf4 Ne6+ 44.Ke3 Nd8 45.Kf2 Ke7 46.Kg3 Kf7 47.Kh4 Ke7 48.f4 a5? (48… Kf7 49.g5 Ke7 (49… fxg5+ 50.fxg5 hxg5+ 51.Kxg5 Ke7 52.Kg6 Kf8 53.Kf5 Ke7 54.Ke5 Nf7+ 55.Kf4 Nd8 56.Kf5 Kf7 57.Ke5 Ke7 58.b5 axb5 59.axb5 Nf7+ 60.Kf5 Nd8 61.Bxb7 Nxb7 62.bxc6 Na5 63.c7 Kd7 64.Kg6 Nc6 65.Kxg7 Nxd4 66.Kf6+-) 50.Kg4 Ke8 51.gxh6 gxh6 52.Kf5 Kf7 53.a5 Kg7 54.Bxb7+-) 49.bxa5 Ne6 50.Bxb7 Kd7 51.a6 Kc7 52.Ba8 Nd8 53.a7 Nb7 54.Kg3 Kc8 55.a5 1-0
[Event "ACC Simultaneous"]
[Site "Toronto, Canada"]
[Round "?"]
[Black "Lawless, David"]
[WhiteElo "2698"]
[BlackElo "2055"]
[PlyCount "84"]
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Nxe4 6. d4 b5 7. Bb3 d5 8. dxe5
Be6 9. Re1 Bc5 10. Be3 O-O 11. c3 Qd7 12. Nbd2 Bxe3 13. Rxe3 Nc5 14. Nd4 Ne7
15. Bc2 Bg4 16. N2f3 Ng6 17. h3 Bxf3 18. Qxf3 Ne6 19. Rd1 c6 20. Nf5 Rae8 21.
h4 f6 22. exf6 Rxf6 23. Qg4 Ngf8 24. Rde1 Rg6 25. Qf3 Rf6 26. Qh3 Rd8 27. h5
Nf4 28. Qg4 N4e6 29. b4 Qf7 30. g3 Kh8 31. f4 Rd7 32. Nd4 Rd6 33. Nf3 Rh6 34.
Re5 Nd7 35. Rf5 Nf6 36. Ng5 Qa7+ 37. Kg2 Nxg4 38. Rxe6 Qb8 39. Re7 Rhf6 40.
Nf7+ Kg8 41. Nxd6 Qxd6 42. Re2 Re6 0-1
chess gamesDavid LawlessNigel Shortsimultaneous exhibition