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Who hasn’t experienced it? You’re prepared for an exciting game in the open Najdorf Sicilian, and suddenly your opponent puts one of the seemingly countless minor variations on the board - in order to avoid the main Najdorf variations. Should you be frustrated? Absolutely not! Luis Engel uncovers the Anti-Sicilians, so you can prepare well.
How you play chess reflects your actual personality. If you play chess with more timidity and reservation, you're likely a passive person who resorts to a diplomatic approach in the face of conflict. While a person who attacks like Mikhail Tal is likely to confront conflict head-on and rather impulsively. So, to what category do you belong?
The Sicilian Najdorf is one of the most aggressive answers to 1.e4, and its theory develops dynamically - the young German grandmaster Luis Engel brings all aficionados up to date with his two-volume Fritztrainer course. Christian Höthe had a look at the course and is enthusiastic.
There are no more perfect scores in the open section of the Grand Swiss, as all seven co-leaders drew their games in round 3, allowing a trio of youngsters to join the lead — i.e. Sam Sevian (pictured), Marc’Andria Maurizzi and Javokhir Sindarov. In the women’s section, on the other hand, two players did win their three first games to keep perfect scores after Friday’s round: Tan Zhongyi, who beat Antoaneta Stefanova, and Anna Muzychuk, who got the better of Irina Bulmaga. | Photo: Anna Shtourman
The Chess Federation of Russia has lost another top player. Nikita Vitiugov, who played under the FIDE flag after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, has transferred to the English Chess Federation, where he now occupies the first place in the federation’s ratings list.