Chuckie’s masterpiece

BY: BOBBY ANG

(As published in Chess Piece, BusinessWorld, 25 October 2010)

I saved the best for last.

GM Vassily Ivanchuk, or "Chuckie" (in photo) as he is affectionately called, is a consummate team player. He has played in every Olympiad since 1988, twice for the Soviet Union (1988 and 1990, for the latter he was top board since Karpov and Kasparov were still involved in their Seville world championship match) and after that for Ukraine. He played top board since 1990 except for one time in 2002 when Ponomariov, being the reigning world champion, naturally was put before him.

Ivanchuk just loves chess and so usually shows up to play every single round -- no prima donnas about whether he is black or white, no sitting down to avoid an awkward opponent, no qualms about playing even though a bad result would bring down his rating.

In the just-concluded Khanty-Mansiysk Olympiad Ivanchuk carried Ukraine to its second championship. He played 10 games, winning seven (Ahmed Abdul Sattar, GM Colin McNab, GM Alexander Beliavsky, GM Ivan Sokolov, GM Peter Leko, GM Baadur Jobava and GM Vachier-Lagrave), drawing two (GMs Kramnik and Gelfand) and losing one (GM Shakhriyar Mamedyarov) for 8/10, the equivalent of a 2890 performance rating.

His game against the French Champion Maxime Vachier-Lagrave was a real fight which took place in the opening, middle game and end game before he finally nailed the full point on the 91st move. It has been called a masterpiece, more so because of the tough and ingenious resistance of his opponent. I should point out that Vachier-Lagrave is a brilliant tactician who combines this gift with a stubborn resourcefulness and together these two traits have enabled him to turn the tables on many of his less wary foes.

A lot of us have gotten used to playing games over the computer. I request the reader to give this game respect. Today is a holiday. After voting in the barangay elections you should lock yourself in the study, bring out your tournament-sized chessboard with the wooden (not plastic!!!) pieces and slowly set up the starting position. Make sure that all pieces are in the middle of the squares. The knights, of course, are the only pieces which you can point at the opponent, so ensure that they face forward, their fierce expressions glaring at the army across the board. Close your eyes. Imagine yourself to be William Wallace, peering at the combined forces of John de Warenne, 7th Earl of Surrey and Hugh de Cressingham. Aagh, Cressingham, eager for a quick victory, had unwisely ordered a direct attack. Take a deep breath, open your eyes, deploy your cavalry, Nf3. The battle begins.

Ivanchuk, Vassily (2754) -- Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime (2721) [A15] 39th Olympiad Men Khanty-Mansiysk RUS (10), 01.10.2010
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