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This is a page that I created to save all my descriptions ... AND all the handy links ... for my series on "Game of The Month." (This is the archives page for that series.)
If you want the current page for GOTM, see the green navigation box. (To the left.)
Games for 2003 - 2004
-
- Game # 1 (October, 2003)
Certainly one of the most critical games of 2003 - it virtually decided
the Russian Championships in favor of the winner. Normally the Petrov's
Defense, (also spelled 'The Petroff Defense.'); is considered to be boring
and a draw, but here the two GM's ... BOTH seemed to be determined to
try and win this game. This is a great game, while not perfectly played, is
one of the most hardest fought GM contests that I have seen or gone
over ... in a long, long time.
(There is also a fairly detailed look at the opening.)
Finished and posted October 06th, 2003. -
- Game # 2 (November, 2003)
Here is a game ... between two TOP GM's ... from the 2003 European
Team (Cup) Championships. This is the ADVANCE Variation, (3.e5);
of the very solid KP defence, known as The Caro-Kann. This variation
is a very rare customer in world-class events. (GM Nigel Short used to
use this line once in a while, as I recall.) Anyway, what could be a short
and boring draw turns into one of the most fiercest and most complicated
struggles imaginable. As in the previous month's installment, both players
seem determined to try and win. As more and more of the world's top
GM's seem agreeable to split the point ... in only 5-10 moves ... games
like this are all the more rare, and much more interesting.
(At least to me.)
******************************
Eventually an ending is reached where there is material parity, but
the winner displays virtually perfect technique, and wins the game in
really grand style.
(There is also a fairly detailed look at the opening.)
Finished and posted November 03rd, 2003. -
- Game # 3 (December, 2003.)
This is a game I worked very nearly a full month on ... choosing the game
was rather tedious and took some time. In the end, I decided on a game
that I do not think anyone else has (yet) really looked at. It is a game from
the "New York Master's" Tournament that was held in early November
of 2003. (This was a "Rapid" tournament.)
It was a game played at a faster than normal time limit. I feel the fighting
quality is very high, although both combatants made more than one error!
In the end, the game winds up being decided in a "double-Rook" ending
... with both sides probably feeling the pinch of time pressure. I do not
think you could ask for a better fight ... or a more instructive ending!!
There are plenty of notes and five diagrams!
(This is my little Christmas present to chess-players everywhere, so
enjoy!!)
Finished and posted December 12th, 2003.
Note: This page has been very popular of late ... I don't even know why.
(Several times they have closed the page/site for getting too many hits!!) -
- Game # 4 (January, 2004.)
Here is an off-beat game between two GM's ... from TWIC # 476 ...
that starts off as a seemingly slow Sicilian. The opening is of a very closed
nature, just when you think it is going to be a really short and deadly dull
draw, the fireworks erupt. (And we are not even out of the opening.)
It took over a week of analysis before I really began to understand the
game. A tremendous amount of work went into this game, I hope you enjoy
my efforts to make this particular game a web page.
( From the International Chess Tournament in Pamplona, ESP; 2003. )
Finished and posted January 25th, 2004. (Final format completed later.)
-
- Game # 5 (February, 2004.)
This is a game from the recent GM "A" Group, Wijk aan Zee, 2004.
The player championing the White pieces - a current 'Top 10' player -
faces off against Black's Sicilian. (Black is a former 'Top 10' player.)
The result is an uncompromising struggle of grand proportions ...
it seems from the very start neither player will be happy with a draw.
Every generation that comes along devises new opening systems, or
finds new wrinkles in older ones. Here White takes a system previously
thought to be nearly harmless and proves it indeed does contain venom.
The end of the game sees Black very close to delivering his own mating
attack, but this time White gets there first. This is a truly great game and
also one that could have broad implications to the theory of this whole
opening sub-system of the Richter-Rauzer Attack. (From TWIC # 481.)
Monday; February 16th, 2004. (formatted) -
- Game # 6 (March, 2004.)
This is a very recent game - that I worked almost a full month on -
from the tough "Bundesliga" Team Competition. One of the world's
"Top TEN" players is doing the honors with White, and a fairly young,
near 2600 Russian GM is handling the Black pieces in this particular
contest.
The opening is a French Defense - a system that has given every KP
player a few problems, or so I imagine. The game is a really tough
struggle, it soon becomes pretty obvious that neither player will be
satisfied with a draw.
Here it is, a game that was annotated in very careful fashion. All the
analysis was checked, over and over and over again, on the best
computer programs. Additionally, there is a fairly comprehensive
opening survey included here. I do not think that any player who is trying
to learn this opening could ask for more material or references, or for
the game to be presented any better than I have done so here.
(From TWIC # 484.)
(There is also a JS Re-play page - if you don't happen to have your
chess board handy. This is for the guys who might study chess at
work, maybe on their lunch break - or during a long commute to
work.) Enjoy!
Finished and final posting: Monday; March 15th, 2004. (formatted) -
- Game # 7. (April, 2004.)
This is a game that I worked OVER a month on ... in fact I have already
analyzed it many different times. (I did it for a popular chess server. I
submitted a short version to at least one state {FL} chess magazine
for possible publication. I did a medium annotated version for a
scholastic magazine in Texas. And I did an extremely in-depth version
of this game for a book that I am writing on Linares.)
So here is yet another version of this game that I have annotated. Here,
as always in my "GOTM" feature, the emphasis is for the average player.
(Specifically those players in the USCF rating range of 1000-to-1600.)
Once again, the opening contains a survey of the current state of theory.
There are at least six diagrams ... AND a js-replay pages as well.
The game is from the recent "Super-GM" tournament that was held in
Linares, Spain. (See TWIC or ChessBase for more details.)
(This event is often called ... "The Wimbledon of Chess.")
I do not think any player could ask for a better annotated game, more
detail, and also as much analysis as I have offered here.
Get to it, and ... Enjoy! (From TWIC # 487.)
Finished, formatted, and final posting: Saturday; April 17th, 2004. -
- Game # 8. (May, 2004.)
Here is another game that I worked a VERY long time on. The
analysis job probably took 3 weeks, then the formatting took almost
another week on top of that. (I had a few computer problems.) But I
finally got the job done.
At first I thought this was just a premature attack that was easily
refuted, but this turned out to be a overly hasty assessment. The
game comes from the very recent (team/league) tournament held
in Russia. Apparently they were playing for a lot more than prize
money, there were an extraordinarily high percentage of decisive
games. Many diagrams ... AND a re-play page!!!
Check it out!!! -
- Game # 9. (June, 2004.)
This is a game that I worked - start to finish - very hard on. It is a rather
interesting game and there is a very good opening repertoire built in.
I manage to show several improvements ... that are NOT in ANY book!
("Book" theory wasn't really much help, we were out of the book well
before move ten!)
Black plays an off-beat variation, and White responds with a smart and
sensible reply. There are no super-deep tactics and sacrifices - like some
earlier editions of this column - but the way in which White builds up a
greatly superior position is highly instructive. It is a {sort of} positional
crush, capped off by some highly instructive and powerful tactics.
Lots of diagrams ... and a replay page as well! Check it out! -
Game # 10. (July, 2004.) Here is a very good game that I spent quite
a bit if time on. It is analyzed in some detail, and there is a very good
look at the current state of this opening's stand in modern chess praxis.
Two tough GM's square off in a money round of a large open tournaments.
The result is an extremely tough and entertaining game of chess.
There are TWO bonus games this month!!) Check it out! -
- Game # 11. (August, 2004.) This is a game that represents months of
thought. For a long time, I have wanted to do another page of my opening
school, and it also occurred to me that the best way to do this was to combine
a current GM game with an opening that I wanted to teach. (I actually might
have gotten more ambitious than I needed to be - I came very close to biting
off more than I could chew! It took around three weeks to annotate this game,
then another 8-to-10 days of effort to format it, make the diagrams, build the
JS-replay page, and find a number of appropriate reference links.)
Anyway, here is a DEEPLY annotated game. It is in the Breyer System of the
(main line) Ruy Lopez Opening. It contains a relatively thorough opening
repertoire built into the game, and a fairly thorough analysis of all the different
possibilities and variations. (There is also a BONUS game as well!!) -
- Game # 12. (September, 2004) This is a game that I worked a fairly long
time on ... it was even interrupted by a hurricane. Without question, it is a very
good job of analysis, and also a fairly detailed look at a sharp opening line of
the Paulsen/Kan Sicilian. (There is also a nice bonus game as well!!) -
- Game # 13. (October, 2004.) A game ... a very rare animal ... in the match
for the World Chess Championship. It is NOT a perfect game, on the contrary,
it seems to contain MANY mistakes. However, it is precisely because of its
"ups-and-downs" that I think it is so fascinating and even riveting. (I watched
this entire game on the Internet.) The suspense was nearly palpable.
This game will also radically change opening theory as well. It was supposed
before this encounter that Black could make an easy draw in this opening
variation. Now all this has changed ... PERMANENTLY. A very pivotal game. -
Game # 14. (November, 2004.) I always wondered what would happen if two
of the world's very best players decided to duke it out ... and basically refused to
even try and make a draw. Play for pride, fun, etc; ... but just play.
Well ... here we get to exactly that. Two players - both rated OVER 2700! - go "toe-
to-toe" and duke it out to the bitter end. Call this game bizarre, wild, complex, dirty,
unusual ... all of these epithets would be correct. (This game almost looks like it was
played between players at your local chess club!)
Here the two players - both <presumably> playing for national pride - enter into a
slugfest that does not end until mate is on the horizon. This contest also determined
the final standings in the recent FIDE Olympiad in Calvia, so check it out!!
-
- Game # 15. (December, 2004.) Here is a VERY good game ... in a very
wild and somewhat difficult line of the Queen's Gambit Declined.
("The Moscow Variation.")
The tactics here are IMMENSE ... and also VERY INTENSE!!!!!
An incredible game of real fighting chess ... by two to GM's. It is also a pretty
good job of annotation. The download also features several lightly annotated
games!
*****************************************************************************************
Copyright (c) A.J. Goldsby. All the above works, © 2003, & 2004.
*****************************************************************************************
December,
2005; (Game # 15);
will be the
last game listed on this page. {See
just above.}
(See the next page - in this series - for more GOTM archives.)
If you have seen an interesting game, that has been played recently, please bring it to my attention. Remember, I have to be able to verify this game in TWIC or ChessBase BEFORE I will even consider trying to annotate it!! (Page created August, 2003.)
This page was last updated on 07/14/12 .
Go to ... or return to my "Services Page." Return to my Home Page. Check out my second page of "The GOTM Archives."
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