Chess (#1182)

The new year begins with traditional mega-events like the Tata Steel festival in Wijk An Zee and the Delhi Open. The Gibraltar Open is also scheduled for late January. Wijk An Zee is obviously the biggest in "name participation". The premier has five of the top ten, including the world champion (and 10 of the top 20). Delhi will be the largest in terms of sheer numbers. Gibraltar has several big guns, including Viswanathan Anand and it always draws strong female participation because it has excellent special prizes.

The brief hiatus before the action starts offers a chance for us to take a wide-angle look. In many ways, chess is flourishing today. Millions play it online. The technology ensures simultaneous live coverage of multiple events. The technology also ensures that almost anybody anywhere has access to databases and very strong engines.

The players at the top are collectively, the strongest bunch ever. There are several current players with reasonable claims to being all-time greats including the current world champion and three former champions. There are three or four more players with genuine title aspirations. What is more, there are at least 20 players at, or near the top, with distinctive, attractive styles. There is also a fat pipeline of monstrously talented prodigies from all over the world.

This generation and the following one know more and I am not referring to major advances in opening theory. Two decades of strong engine analysis, and the creation of tablebases has meant genuine advances in understanding. Today's youngsters understand imbalances and nuances earlier generations groped at. Their technique is sharper, their fighting spirit is stronger.

At the same time, Fide has not been capable of cashing in on the boom. Like every other sports organisation, it has messy politics and an easily-manipulated voting structure. As a result, the game doesn't attract the sponsorship it could, remaining dependent on the largesse of a few individuals. If only this could change!

Amidst all the brilliancies of last year, the DIAGRAM, WHITE TO PLAY,(White: Denis Khismatullin Vs Black: Pavel Eljanov, EU-Chp Jerusalem 2015) stands out. The theme is extraordinary - white pulls his king out to set up a mating net. 44.Kg1!! Qxd1+ 45.Kh2 Rxc6. There is no save [45.--f5 46. f4+ Kh5 47. Qxd6 or 45.-- Rd5 46. c7 ].

White repeated before he found Qxf7 with play going 46.Qe7+ Kh6 47.Qf8+ Kg5 48.Qxf7 Rf6 49.f4+ Kh6 50.Qxf6 Qe2 51.Qf8+ Kh5 52.Qg7 h6 53.Qe5+ Kh4 54.Qf6+ Kh5 55.f5 gxf5 56.Qxf5+ Kh4 57.Qg6 (1-0). Threats include 58. Qxh6 Qh5 59. g3# or 58. -Qh5 59. Qg3#

Devangshu Datta is an internationally rated chess and correspondence chess player