TWIC is 31. First issue 17th September 1994.
German Chess Championships 2011 (Cheat)
A Cheat at the German Chess Championship
IM Malcolm Pein - Friday 10th June 2011
Malcolm Pein reports on the case of Christoph Natsidis who was disqualified from the German Championships after being caught cheating by using his smartphone to analyse his game during play.
Another sad case of cheating emerged last week as a player was disqualified from the German Championship, which concluded last Friday in Bonn. Christoph Natsidis was found to be using a chess program on his phone during his last-round game against GM Sebastian Siebrecht. The 23-year-old admitted cheating and his results were annulled.
What was particularly incomprehensible about this case was that Natsidis had already scored an International Master result and did not even need a draw from his final game. Of course, doubt has to be cast over his other eight games in which he was unbeaten.
Siebrecht became suspicious when his opponent got up from the board for an extended period three times as the game became complex. Together with the arbiter he found that Natsidis was in the toilet. Siebrecht was so upset, he offered his lower-rated opponent a draw but subsequently the arbiter searched Natsidis and found the phone with a chess program installed. On the screen was a position from the game.Natsidis confessed and apologised to his opponent but he faces a long ban.
The Kyrghyz Grandmaster Leonid Yurtaev has died at the age of 52. He led his country with distinction at many Chess Olympiads and was a fine attacking player.
L Yurtaev - F Levin
USSR Ch Semi final Riga 1988
French Defence
1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bg5 Be7 5.e5 Nfd7 6.h4
(The Alekhine Chatard Attack is still considered a a perfectly sound investment of a pawn)
6...Bxg5 7.hxg5 Qxg5 8.Nh3 Qh6
(8...Qe7 is considered better)
9.Bd3 a6 10.Qg4 c5 11.f4!
(Threatening Nf2 trapping the black queen)
11...cxd4
(11...f5!? or 11...g6 12.0-0-0 with a big initiative)
12.Nf2 Nxe5 13.fxe5 Qe3+ 14.Ne2 Qxe5 15.Rh5 Qf6
(15...f5 16.Qh4 h6 17.g4)
16.Rxd5 0-0
Felix Levin
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Leonid Yurtaev
White to play and win
17.Bxh7+! Kxh7 18.Rh5+ Kg8 19.Qh3! 1-0
The following game from the German championship illustrates how good computers are at defending and refuting sacrifices. White was spooked by 11...Nfg4, assuming it threatened Nxf2 and Qf6+ exploiting undefended knights on the long diagonal. White played 12.Rf1 to prevent a non-existent threat. The computer finds
12.h3 Nxf2 13.Kxf2 Qf6+ 14.Kg1 Nxc4 15.Nde2!and not 15.bxc4 Qxd4+ 16.Qxd4 Bxd4+. 12.h3 Nxf2 13.Kxf2 Qf6+ 14.Kg1 Ng4 15.Nde2! Nf2 also does not impress the silicon brain. Black manages to sacrifice the knight another way and the idea is hard to defend against in practice.
M Strache - H Bastian
Pirc to King's Indian
1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 g6 3.g3 Bg7 4.Bg2 0-0 5.0-0 d6 6.Re1 Nbd7 7.e4 e5 8.c4 exd4 9.Nxd4 c6 10.Nc3 Ne5 11.b3 Nfg4?!
H Bastian
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M Strache
Position after 11...Nfg4?!
12.Rf1 Qa5 13.Qd2 Qc5 14.Nce2 Nxh2!? 15.Kxh2 Ng4+ 16.Kg1 Qh5 17.Rd1 f5!
(17...c5 18.Nc2)
18.exf5 Bxf5 19.Nf4 Qh2+ 20.Kf1 g5 21.Nf3?
(21.Nxf5! Rxf5 22.Qxd6 gxf4 23.Qe6+ Rf7 24.Bxf4 defends)
21...Qh6 22.Nd5 Be4!
(Black is better now)
23.Ne7+?
(23.Ne3)
23...Kh8 24.Qxd6 Nh2+
(Or 24...Qxd6 25.Rxd6 Bxa1)
25.Ke2 Qh5 26.g4 Qxg4 27.Qxh2 Bxf3+ 28.Bxf3 Qxf3+ 29.Ke1 Rae8 30.Be3 Rxe7 31.Rac1 Be5 32.Qh6 Bg3 0-1
