Chess (#1202)

There are several memorial events but the Vugar Gashimov Memorial in Shamkir Azerbaijan is very special. The Azeri GM (1986-2014) was one of the best players in the world and also one of the most- loved, with friends across the world.

Along with Teimour Radjabov and Shakhriyar Mamedaryov, he was one of the three young musketeers who made Azerbaijan into a formidable chess unit. That trio formed the nucleus of a very young team that won a European gold and several other medals.

He died tragically young of a brain tumour. He is commemorated at a beautiful mausoleum, built by his family. The wall has an inlaid chess position - the final position from the game he won to clinch the European gold for his nation.

The third edition of the Gashimov Memorial has a line-up that includes Fabiano Caruana, Anish Giri, Sergei Karjakin, Pavel Eljanov, Harikirshna, Shakhriyar, Radjabov, Eltaj Safarli, Hou Yifan and Rauf Mamedov. The latter is the lowest rated and at 2655; he is pretty strong. Five draws in Round 1, however.

The Asian Individuals has also started in Kazakhstan. That's quite a strong event too. It has a large Indian contingent, including Vidit Gujrathi, Baskaran Adhiban, Suryasekhar Ganguly and Sethuraman, along with Aradvindh Chitambaram, Murali Karthikeyan, et cetera. The top seed is Liem Quang Le, followed by Ni Hua, Wei Yi and the old warhorse, Rustam Kasimdzhanov.

The European Championships finished last Sunday. Ernesto Inarkiev of Russia won with 9 points from 11 games while Igor Kovalenko finished second with 8.5. Third-fifth was shared by Baadur Jobava (8), David Navara (8) and Francisco Vallejo Pons (8).

In an event for beginners (players rated under 1600) at a Delhi Chess Association Tournament , the leader, Shrang Rajendra was disqualified for cheating. He had scored 8.5 from 9 to apparently bag the first prize of a whopping Rs 1.25 lakh. He was frisked as the game ended. The organisers found a live mobile phone with an earpiece. He could hit any button to signify a move by the opponent; his accomplice would then recite all legal moves until he hit a button again to confirm the exact move. Then, the accomplice would consult an engine and recite the best move. Simple if tedious.

The diagram, White to play and Win is from a lovely study, courtesy GM Abhijeet Gupta. White faces the threat Qxh8# that whittles down choices. It's still not easy. The instinctive 1.Qf5+ Kxf5 2. Ne3+ is just a draw by perpetual while 1. Nxd8 Rxd1 and 11. Rxd8 Nxd8 don't seem to work. The solution is the fantastic 1. Rg8! Qxg8 2. Qf5+ Kxf5 3. Ne7+ Rxe7 4. Ne3+ Kf6 5. Nxd5+ Kf5 6. Nxe7+ Kf6 7. Nxg8+ Kf5 8. Ne7+ Kf6 9. Nd5+ Kf5 10. g4#
Devangshu Datta is an internationally rated chess and correspondence chess player