MY BEST MOVE
GM LEV ALBURT 3-TIME UKRAINE AND U.S. CHAMPION TOP U.S. PLAYER OVER AGE 65
mately, however, I’ve decided my best move was a subtle one—the move didn’t decide matters outright, but rather steered the game onto a certain path.
T
“ I’m playing the Slav ”
Studying the patterns, Botvinnik-style GM Larry Christiansen GM Lev Alburt U.S. Invitational Championship, August 1990
AFTER 5. ... Bf5 I’m leading 2-0 in this four-game series;
a draw today will deliver me an early victory in the match and the title of U.S. cham- pion. I know that in the diagrammed position White’s best moves are 6. e3 and (more tricky) 6. Ne5. I don’t know much more, as I’m playing the Slav as Black for
72February 2014 | Chess Life
his is the first column I turn to each month when my Chess Life arrives, so I’m honored to participate. As I considered my “Best Move,” I first reviewed in my mind a dozen beautiful blows from my long chess career, including inevitably a couple of spectacular queen sacrifices. Ulti-
as black for the first time in my professional chess life.
PHOTO BY BRIAN KILLIGREW
the first time in my professional chess life. I’m ready for a surprise, and here it comes—even earlier than I expected:
6. Nh4?! At that time I hardly was certain about
that “?!”; all I knew was that it wasn’t one of the main lines. I don’t like 6. ... Bc8, mainly because Larry can then repeat the position, 7. Nf3 Bf5, and now choose one of the main lines where, after all, my knowledge is only skin-deep, lim- ited to a few hours of preparation with my coach GM Alex Chernin. Normal is 6. ... Bg6,and after the eventual Nxg6, hxg6, recapturing toward the center, perhaps even opening the file for my rook. I knew this type of position; it should take me about 10 minutes to recall relevant patterns, and another 10 to further analyze. Intuition suggests that, most likely, I wouldn’t like what I found. Ditto for the sharper 6. ... Bg4. Five minutes spent so far. 6. ... Be6
looks ugly, can’t be right; next perhaps 6. ... e6. After an immediate or eventual
Nxf5 exf5, not only would White get my bishop (and I like bishops), but my f- pawns are doubled and, on top of that, I’m capturing away from the center, turning my central pawn, worth $1 in Fred Reinfeld’s store, into a 90¢ bishop pawn. Still Rules of Thumb are only the beginning of the search for that elusive best move. It became clear that ... exf5 increases
Black’s control of the center; the e4- square checked by the f5-pawn, a semi-open e-file, while the f7-pawn secures the king. The more I looked at 6. ... e6, the more I liked it; patterns here also were encouraging. The game continued 6. ... e6 7. Nxf5
(played quickly) 7. ... exf5 8. e3, and now I must choose between 8. ... Bd6 and 8. ... Bb4; by a slim margin I prefer 8. ... Bb4. Later I learned from Garry Kasparov
that this move is a novelty prepared by him and his team. The rest of the game was surprisingly easy. I liked and under- stood the position; soon, I stood better, started the attack (didn’t Steinitz demand it?) and won.
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