Vasily Smyslov Squirrel Linares Amber Blindfold and Rapid Rijeka European Women's championship Refinement and Accuracy A Giant among Giants Just Checking

Content NIC’s Café Vasily Smyslov 1921-2010 On March 27, three days after his 89th birthday, Vasily Smyslov, the seventh World Champion, died in Moscow. In a first reaction Vladimir Kramnik said: ‘Smyslov was no less a player than Tal or Petrosian. Even no less, I would say, than Fischer. Fischer was a brighter star, but Smyslov shone much longer. In my opinion he is the best player for young kids to study. His games are so clean and clear.’ Death, Where Is Thy Sting? In a highly personal tribute, Genna Sosonko remembers his many walks and long, long conversations with Vasily Vasilievich Smyslov. ‘When I associated closely with him at a tournament in Brazil in 1977, he was 56, and it didn’t occur to me that I would write about him one day – we just felt like kindred spirits.’ Squirrel ‘Hungry and shivering from the cold, the cat wandered into the Smyslovs’ dacha in the winter of 2004-05. It stayed there and became the darling of the seventh world championship and his spouse.’ A little tale by Oleg Pervakov, the editor of Vasily Smyslov’s collected studies. Ten Full-Blooded Games He had not come to win. His aim was to enjoy himself, to gauge his current form in view of the upcoming world championship match, to try some new openings. And to play ten full-blooded games. Well, full-blooded they certainly were. Veselin Topalov’s play was far from impeccable and more than once his fate hung by a thread, but after he had ground down Boris Gelfand in a breathtaking last-round effort the consensus was that a great fighter had deservedly won his first Linares trophy and the €75,000 winner’s cheque. Carlsen and Ivanchuk Steal the Show The 19th Amber Blindfold and Rapid tournament in Nice started with a bang when on the opening day Vasily Ivanchuk, the winner of the very first Amber tournament back in 1992, defeated this year’s top-seed Magnus Carlsen 2-0. Who could have expected at this point that these two players would be locked in a captivating race that would remain exciting till the very last moment? A Glorious Past Comes to Life Again After some difficult years following the break-up of Yugoslavia, the countries that were born out of the former republic are showing renewed interest in the organization of large-scale chess events. Croatia continued the trend with the European Individual Championships. Mom’s the Word Pia Cramling shares her impressions of her second European championship. In the process the mother of a seven-year-old daughter reveals the secret of the final standings in the women’s tournament. Among the Sturdy Dutch In his previous article about the Big Lasker Book Hans Ree was so carried away by the many aspects of Lasker’s life that he neglected the great champion’s chess career. This time there is more about chess, mainly played on Dutch soil. You Are What You Click Find out which chess sites Jonathan Rowson visits when he is not reading a book. Refinement and Accuracy Jan Timman delves into Vasily Smyslov’s special qualities as a player and a study composer. A Giant among Giants Garry Kasparov pays tribute to a great predecessor. ‘The chessplayer/singer Smyslov could hear music in the game, his beloved harmony, that no one else could hear.’ Just Checking Any idea what music Lev Alburt likes to listen to? Did they play your opening? In this issue games with the following openings were annotated by world class players: Sicilian Ivanchuk-Carlsen, by Ivanchuk Timofeev-Mamedov, by Timofeev Smeets-Grischuk, by Grischuk Caro-Kann Nepomniachtchi-Jobava, by Nepomniachtchi Petroff Ivanchuk-Gelfand, by Nunn Topalov-Gelfand, by Smeets Slav Topalov-Gashimov, by Topalov Cramling-Stefanova, by Cramling Svidler-Grischuk, by Nunn Nimzo-Indian Carlsen-Grischuk, by Nunn Kramnik-Grischuk, by Kramnik Queen's Indian Jobava-Almasi, by Jobava Nisipeanu-Pelletier, by Pelletier Grischuk-Topalov, by Grischuk Grünfeld Indian Pashikian-Popilski, by Pelletier King's Indian Aronian-Carlsen, by Carlsen Benoni Aronian-Topalov, by Aronian Smyslov-Filip, by Timman Queen's Pawn Gerasimov-Smyslov, by Timman English Opening Smyslov-Bobotsov, by Timman