Attack with LarryC: Tata Steel Preview

Opening: E97, B43: Sicilian: Kan variation, King's Indian

Player(s): Yermolinaky, Topalov, Svidler, Kasimdzhanov

The super-tournament in Wijk aan Zee starts this Saturday, January the 16th, with most of the best players in the field of 14, who will play an all-play-all 13 rounds event. The former Hoogovens/Corus and now Tata Steel tournament has got a long history, and many great chess champions have won it. The list is impressive: Max Euwe, Bent Larsen, Tigran Petrosian, Paul Keres, Efim Geller, Lajos Portisch, Boris Spassky, Mikhail Botvinnik, Mikhail Tal, Viktor Korchnoi, Jan Timman, Anatoly Karpov, Vladimir Kramnik, Garry Kasparov, Viswanathan Anand, Veselin Topalov, Levon Aronian, Sergey Karjakin, Magnus Carlsen, and Hikaru Nakamura. To celebrate this great event, Larry today shows us two games from one of the most amazing editions of the tournament: 1999. It was the year that saw Kasparov play his best chess in Wjik aan Zee, with the memorable game in which he beat Veselin Topalov. Kasparov was going to win the Hoogovens tournament three times in a row (1999-2001). Larry starts with a very nice combo played by ICC contributor Alex Yermolinsky against Veselin Topalov. Yermo, who didn't let his opponent's rating impress him at all, had an easy perpetual, but instead he went for the jugular, and with a quite spectacular combo forced Topalov to give his queen for a rook, and went on to win easily. Then Larry continues with an excellent attacking game played by Peter Svidler against Rustam Kasimdzhanov. Enjoy another great episode of "Attack with LarryC!"

Teacher's library (515) E97 B43 Yermolinaky Topalov Svidler Kasimdzhanov game analysis