 My Best Games by Yasser Seirawan Chessbase, Fritztrainer (DVD).
Chess Duels by Yasser Seirawan. Everyman, 427 pages.
Reviewed by FM Stephen Berry
As a change from the unrelenting diet of books on openings, I
want to look at two works by former World Junior and U.S. Champion
Yasser Seirawan. The first is a DVD produced with ChessBase which
covers his early career. The games are from 1975 (when Seirawan
defeated his first grandmaster) to 1982 (when he played his first game
against the world champion, Karpov). The second work is a book
which details all Seirawan’s games against the world champions
(starting with Smyslov and going up to Kasparov). Here, Seirawan
includes rapid and blitz games in addition to games conducted at the
normal time limit.
Let’s look at his DVD first.
Over the course of five hours Seirawan presents twenty two of
his games in a friendly and chatty style. He is as much raconteur
as analyst in these videos. He combines expert annotations with
fun stories and an engaging enthusiasm for the game of chess.
And he does it all with a smooth voice, dapper suit, and winning
smile. During the late 1970s, 80s, and early 90s, Seirawan was in
the upper echelon of the top players in the world so it’s appropriate
that the games shown on the DVD include battles against Timman, Larsen,
Miles, Gligoric, Korchnoi, Tal, Hort and Karpov.
On the DVD you won't find any 1.e4 e5 games and there’s only
one Sicilian. When it comes to the queen’s pawn there are only
two games that could be classified under 1.d4 d5 codes – and then only
by transposition. Seirawan mostly plays the English with White
(he confesses that 1 e4 involved learning too much theory), and with
Black you'll get a steady dose of Frenches, Caro-Kanns and the
occasional Pirc. His games are very energetic with a strong
positional bent. Seirawan was as much of a fighting player as
anyone else. Facing Mikhail Tal, rated 2705 at the time, Seirawan
turned down a draw in an inferior position.
It’s not only his openings that are distinctive. His ability
to maneuver and handle his king in unusual ways will remind some people
of Petrosian. Looking at games on this disc will open up a new
world to some viewers, and it’s to Seirawan's credit that he describes
them in a way that generates enthusiasm and a feeling of understanding
rather than bewilderment.
Seirawan is quite passionate about something that no longer
exists – adjournments. In his commentary to the game against
Weinstein, Yasser tells us that the ability to adjourn a game and spend a
day analysing a single position, was invaluable to his growth as a
chess player and greatly improved his endgame play. He talks
about waking up in the middle of the night and having what he calls “a
Eureka moment” when his mind came up with the winning idea in a
position that appeared to be a draw versus Weinstein.
In the very next video clip, featuring his game against GM Jan
Timman, Seirawan plays the move 1.e4 on the board, and then shares his
thoughts on how Black should “handle” this move. Basically, he
says that Black can either directly challenge the pawn, by playing the
Scandinavian or Alekhine’s Defence for example, or he can “work around”
the pawn and play on the wings, by choosing an opening such as the
Sicilian or the Pirc, the latter one of Yasser’s favourites.
The final game of the DVD, which he calls “the big fish that
got away,” is an exciting affair. He played the French Winawer
and had the then World Champion Anatoly Karpov on the ropes. He
shows us a series of wins that he missed, one after the other, because
he saw “better wins!” His advice in retrospect: “You only need one
win! Take the first one that is clear, and forget about better, more
aesthetic looking wins!” Unfortunately, he allowed Karpov to
escape with a draw and you can just hear the disappointment in Yasser’s
voice.
Along with the commentary there are text files to each
game. Let’s end by looking at one of these text files, Seirawan’s
game against Jan Timman at Lone Pine in 1978. (with Yasser’s comments)
Jan Timman - Yasser Seirawan, Lone Pine (Round 1), 1978
“At the time this game was played, Jan Timman was the strongest and highest rated player I had faced.”
1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.e5 Qd7!?
“A very difficult move to explain as it appears to be
none-sensical (sic). What is the Queen doing on the d7-square?
The concepts behind the move are several fold. In the position, Black
has an awkward c8-Bishop and the text prepares to fianchetto it and
castle Queenside or to trade on the a6-square.”
5.Bd2
“White decides to avoid doubling his Queenside pawns. White
had two interesting choices: Another idea of Black's fourth move is to
defend the g7-pawn. For example: 5.Qg4 f5 6.Qg3 Leads to an intriguing
game. 5.a3 Bxc3+ (5...Bf8! was my intention.) 6.bxc3 Qa4 is good for
White.”
5...b6 6.Nf3 Bf8!
“A surprising retreat. If 6...Ne7?! 7.a3 Bxc3 8.Bxc3 would fall into White's idea of avoiding doubled Queenside pawns.
While the desirable: 6...Ba6 7.Bxa6 Nxa6 8.Qe2 would give
White a nice edge in development. The idea behind the sixth move
retreat, is to wait for the f1-Bishop to move before playing ...Bc8-a6,
offering a swap.”
7.Be2 Ba6! 8.0-0 Ne7 9.Bxa6! Nxa6 10.Qe2!
“White is slightly better.”
10 …Nb8!
“A mistake would be 10...Nb4 11.Nd1! c5 12.Bxb4! cxb4 13.Ne3
When Black cannot create counter-play with ...c7-c5, and White's centre
is well secured.”
11.Nd1! c5!?
“Black allows the position to become open when he trails in
development. A dangerous path. The question though is, what else? White,
will open the position by Nd1-e3, b2-b3 and c2-c4 with
advantage. White can also go Kingside by Nd1-e3, c2-c3, Nf3-e1
and f2-f4 with further expansion in view. With the text I'm trying
to chip away at White's centre.”
12.dxc5! bxc5 13.c4! d4!
“A good move because it is the only move! After 13...Nbc6
14.cxd5 Nxd5 the c5-pawn is weak. 14...exd5 15.Rc1 white has an
advantage in development giving him the superior position.”
14.Ne1!!
“A very fine move indeed as White sets up an ideal blockade
against the d4-pawn while getting out of the way for Kingside
expansion. Another good idea was 14.b3 planning Nd1-b2-d3, with a
similar blockade as in the game. I could meet 14.b3 as follows:
14...Qb7 15.Nb2 Nd7 16.Nd3 a5 with the future intention of ...a5-a4, in
order to weaken the b3-pawn. Timman's choice is best. The
difference as can be seen is that the f3-Knight is not contributing.”
14...h5!
“Without the plan of creating a weak b-pawn in White's camp I
have to pay attention to White's idea of expanding on the Kingside.
The text slows f2-f4 and g2-g4, while simultaneously securing the
f5-square for my Knight.”
15.Nd3 Nf5 16.f4 Qb7!
“Making room for ...Nb8-d7, which will protect the
c5-pawn. Also, my Queen is well placed on the long diagonal as
well as to eye-ball the b2-pawn.”
17.N1f2 Nd7 18.Qe4!?
“An invitation to an ending where White has his plan of
preparing g2-g4, with a Kingside initiative. While it is easier
for White to carry out this plan with Queen’s off the board, it isn't
clear what Black would have done with his King had the Queen's stayed
on the board.”
18...Qxe4 19.Nxe4 a5!
“My counter-play is Queenside based and the text plans to try to create a target on the b-file.”
20.g3!
“Preparing his Kingside expansion with the idea h2-h3 and
g2-g4, giving my f5-Knight the boot. A dreadful strategic mistake
would be: 20.h3 h4 clamping down the Kingside and Black is slightly
better thanks to his f5-Knight and protected passed d4-pawn.”
20...Be7
“The game is roughly balanced.”
21.Kf2!?
“White telegraphs his plan. He wants to play h2-h3,
Rf1-h1 and g3-g4, with an initiative. While a slow moving plan,
Black's Queenside counter-play is nowhere to be seen so I have to deal
with White's plan aggressively.”
21...Nh6!
DIAGRAM A after 21...Nh6!
“Not just abandoning the f5-outpost but preparing to launch my
f-pawn forwards to hold back White's g3-g4, break. 22.h3 f5! 23.exf6
White must avoid: 23.Nd6+? Bxd6 24.exd6 Ra6 25.Rae1 Rxd6 26.Bxa5 When
White is better, with the idea Ba5-c7-e5 with advantage.
My trick was: 23.Nd6+? Bxd6 24.exd6 Nf7 25.Rae1 Rh6 Winning
the d6-pawn, with a decisive advantage for Black. A neatly disguised
trap.”
23...gxf6 24.Rae1 Kf7 25.Ke2!?
“This was quite a surprise for me. White has the deep
plan of Ke2-d1-c2, shoring up the protection of the b2-pawn and only
thereafter to focus on his Kingside expansion with Rf1-g1 and g3-g4,
with advantage. I thought this plan was simply slow and had
expected 25.Kf3 which I thought was best.”
25...Rhg8 :1:35 26.Kd1 Nf5 27.Rg1 Nb6!
“The start of a well-calculated variation. It is vital
that Black quickly achieves counter-play on the Queenside as it is
clear that White's Kingside expansion is coming fast.”
28.b3!
“White has to protect the c4-pawn as 28.Nexc5 Bxc5 29.Nxc5
Nxc4 Black has the upper hand thanks to his control of the e3-square.
White cannot capture the e6-pawn: 30.Rxe6 (30.Nxe6 Nce3+ causes
an accident.) 30...Rac8 wins material.”
28...a4!
“The crucial follow-up to my previous move. Again, it is
vital to create a Queenside target before White could play a2-a4,
Kd1-c2, when all play on the Queenside is blocked. I was quite
pleased to get this move in for another reason as well: White's King
wouldn't be nicely placed on the c2-square.”
29.Ndxc5?
“A mistake that allows for a counter-capture. White had
to reverse course by: 29.Ke2 axb3 30.axb3 Nd7 31.Kf3 Ra3 with an
approximately equal position.”
29...axb3 30.axb3 Nxg3!
“A fine counter-blow that gives Black the superior position.
I've been living under the constant threat of a Kingside
expansion and capturing the g3-pawn filled me with high hopes.”
31.Rxg3 Rxg3 32.Nxg3 Bxc5 33.f5?
“A mistake as Jan continues to think he has the better
position. It was time for 33.Ne4 Be7 when I thought Black is
slightly better.
Certainly not 33.Nxh5? Rh8! 34.Ng3 Rxh3. Black has recaptured the h3-pawn with the better position.
Finally, 33.Kc2? Ra2+ 34.Kd3 Rb2! winning the b3-pawn which has been a cherished dream.”
33...exf5!
“A serious position mistake would be 33...e5 34.Ne4! when with his firm blockade White has the advantage.”
34.Nxf5 d3!
“A powerful move that secures the advantage for Black.
The immediate threat is 35...Ra1+ 36.Bc1 d2! 37.Kxd2 Bb4+, with a
decisive material advantage. The text prevents Kd1-c2, which
would protect the b3-pawn.”
35.Bc3
“The only move. Bad would be 35.Bc1? Ra1! Black has a
decisive advantage. The threat is ...Bc5-b4, and ...d3-d2,
winning.”
35...Ra3 36.Kd2 Rxb3
DIAGRAM B after 36... Rxb3
“A very happy capture to make! I had been dreaming of a
Queenside breakthrough and now it has happened. Can things get
better?”
37.Ra1
“The position has dramatically changed. The d3-pawn is poisoned: 37.Kxd3? Bb4 38.Rc1 Na4 wins the c3-Bishop.”
37...Bb4!
“Black is now winning.”
38.Ra7+
“In case of 38.Bxb4 Nxc4+ is the key zwischenzug. After White’s King retreats 39...Rxb4 is winning.
White can't avoid this line by 38.Rc1 Ba3! 39.Ra1 Bb2! and Black wins.”
38...Kg6 39.Ne7+ Kg5 40.Bxb4 Nxc4+
“As we’ve seen, the key Zwischenzug.”
41.Ke1 Rxb4 42.Rd7 Rb1+! 43.Kf2 Rb2+ 44.Kg1 d2 0-1.
“One of the best games of my career. I can't see any reason to double-guess any of my moves.”
A typical Seirawan game – complex, strategical and fighting.
I also liked his move 14 … Kd7! in the fine game Kovacevic v
Seirawan, Wijk-aan-Zee, 1980 which is the sort of move that few players
would even consider. |
