No, we didn't set the pieces up wrong!

Aleksander Wojtkiewicz, fresh off a life-time ban imposed on him by the Commies in control of the Polish Chess Federation, came back to the Land of the Free in search of yet another Grand Prix victory. One of the stops on his tour was the Weikel Tournament in San Francisco held June 29 - July 1.
We took advantage of this great opportunity to get the noted Human Rights Champion to come to the Mechanics' and demonstrate his skill on the 64 squares!
On Monday, July 2, at 5:30 pm Wojt was joined by our GM-in-residence Alex Yermolinsky.
These two have played each other on numerous occasions, the last being an exhibition game here at the MI in 2000. This time we had something else in mind. To honor the great American Champion Robert Fischer, our gladiators squared off in a game of Fischer Random Chess!
For those of you who missed this unique event (and Yermo's lecture at the MI the following day) we suggest going to the "videotape".

Yermolinsky,A - Wojtkiewicz,A
MI Exhibition San Francisco, 07.02.2001

Playing FischerRandom is like taking a journey back to some pre-historic times. No theory to help one out is available. How to open the game? In my opinion, two issues must be addressed: the development of the bishops and obtaining adequate control of the center. White should also remember his obligation to be the aggressor. If he fails to do it, then the games will become boring just as the Leko-Adams match was.
1.f4 f5 2.Ng3 g6
2...Nd6 looks better as White doesn't get to play e2-e4 right away. I was thinking along the lines of 3.Bd4 to prevent him from fianchettoing his dark-squared bishop (now hemmed in with Nd6), and to prepare the e3 move, to be followed by Nf3 and Bd3. This is all speculation, of course. No one knows what's going on here.
3.e4 fxe4 4.Nxe4 Nf6 Allow me a little digression. In the short (so far) history of FischerRandom we have already seen enough boring symmetrical games produced by the lazy minds of today's chess hacks. Many of so-called top players are little people of limited talent and even less imagination. They get their ratings, titles and invitations by succesfully reproducing other people's ideas. When the position becomes simple enough, they can get by with their trademark accurate six-ply-deep calculation. In the time of Botvinnik they would have never become chessplayers. Chess used to be a thinker's game, and what do we get now? A bunch of 17-year-old computer technicians, or rather extensions of their Fritz-powered computers, pretending to be the future of the game. No wonder chess is rapidly losing its supporters and afficionados throughout the world. 5.Nc3! Diagram

With this unexpected retreat White shows his real intentions. The pawn structure will stay asymmetrical, which promises White a little space advantage. The knight is moving to where the kings are, the site of future action.
5...c6 6.Nd3
White continues his build-up. The knights went ahead of the pawns, but I never intended to move these pawns anyway as they provide an excellent cover for my king. The only questions are how to communicate between the wings, and how to deploy my sleeping Ra1 and Qb1. I had some ideas as you're about to see.
6...Nf7 7.Re1
Analogous to what we often see in Classical Chess (the Re1 move in The Ruy Lopez, for example) White activates the rook while keeping the pawn shield intact. The pressure on the e-file hinders Black's intended development with Bg7.
7...d6
Along with 5...c6, this move represents a dangerous trend that has already begun to establish itself in Black's play. Too many little pawn moves that serve neither development nor central control purposes. One can make a case saying that it's exactly what Black does in today's treatment of the Najdorf Sicilian. Good point, but the Najdorf is a fully developed concept, verified by the years of practice. If you lived around 1850 and tried experimenting with stuff like that, I'm sure you would be severely castigated by the opening experts of that era. What I'm trying to say is that opening theory for FischerRandom should be built along the lines of how the opening theory of Classical Chess was built - through open play and possibly, gambits. Only after we're done with will we be able to move on to the Hedgehogs of tomorrow.
8.g3 The simple threat of Bh3 forces Black to make another pawn move.
8...h5 9.b4! Diagram

I could never dream of achieving such success in my first try at FischerRandom. It's not like White's position is won or even better, it's not about that. What counts is the direction the game has already taken after only 9 moves. White knows what he's doing!
9...Nh6 10.a4
This is how White is going to overcome the lack of communication between the wings. He's going to ignore it and launch an immediate attack. Such pawn storms with the center yet to take on a definite shape are becoming increasingly popular - see Shabalov's g2-g4 in the Qc2 Anti-Meran or Krasenkov's 4.g4!? after 1.Nf3 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 , or virtually every game by Pavel Blatny.
10...Qc7
10...Nd5 wouldn't slow White down: 11.b5! Nxc3 12.dxc3 c5 13.Bg2 Nf5 14.a5 with initiative.
11.a5 Nf5?
Once again, Black comes up a tempo short in the sharp lines developing after 11...Bg7 (objectively, the best move) 12.b5 Nd5 Faced with the problems in the center White must continue energetically: 13.b6! Qd7 (Obviously bad is 13...axb6 14.Nxd5 Bxd5 15.Bxb6 Qd7 16.Bxd8 Bxa1 17.Rxe7) 14.Nxd5 Bxd5 and follow up with 15.Nb4! Bxa1 16.Nxd5 cxd5 17.Qxa1 The two bishops provide White with ample compensation even if Black shows the presence of mind and castle short here! Otherwise, he gets killed quickly: 17...a6 18.Qg7 etc.
12.b5 c5 13.Bg2
Now, as the annoying Nd5 has been all but ruled out, White feels in control.
13...a6 Diagram

Old habits die hard... FischerRandom or not, Yermo always goes for a positional squeeze. The combination 14.bxa6 Rxa6 15.Bxc5 dxc5 16.Bxb7+ Qxb7 17.Qxb7+ Kxb7 18.Nxc5+ Ka8 19.Nxa6 gets high marks from Fritz and deservingly so. Well, I didn't see it...]
14.Na4 Nd7 15.b6 Qb8 16.Ra3 Bg7 17.h3!
It would be premature to try and finish the game with a simple sac: 17.Bxc5? dxc5 18.Ndxc5 Nxc5 19.Nxc5 Bd5 and Black easily beats it off.
This is how I came up with the text move, which might seem a little obscure. I realized that I may not be able to break through on the left side (or would you rather still call it the queenside?) alone, and decided to try and shatter Black's positional stronghold on the other side of the board ( the right side, or Eastside if you wish). Keep in mind that Black is just one move (Bf7) away from being able to castle short (the moves Kg8 and Rf8 made simultaneously), which would take his king out of the danger zone and help him to untangle his major pieces.
Naturally, in order to play this move I had to be prepared for 17...Nxg3. My idea was 18.Nb4! (18.Rxe7 would mean letting him off the hook...) 18...cxb4 (18...Nf5? 19.Nc6 is the idea, as White traps Black's rook) 19.Rxg3, and White gets a huge plus after recapturing on b4.
17...Re8
Wojt's move seems perfectly reasonable. He overprotects the e7-pawn, while giving his king a little elbow room. On the downside, the anticipated thrill of Eastside castling is lost. And there's something else as well...
Diagram

Now, as the rook left the d-file...
18.Bxc5! dxc5
Accepting the sac may be losing by force, but it's understandable that after suffering in such a passive position GM Wojtkiewicz was starving for action. The tame 18...Nxg3 19.Bf2 Nf5 would condemn him to more torture after 20.Qb4.
19.Ndxc5 Nxc5 20.Nxc5 Qd6
Naturally Wojt was disgusted with the passive position Black gets in case of 20...Nd6 21.Qb4 Bf6 22.Rd3 Bf7. White shouldn't have much of a problem putting it away.
21.Qb4! Bd5
The endgame after 21...Bd4 22.Qa4! (an important resource) 22...Bxc5 (Very bad is 22...Rf8 23.Nxb7 Qd7 24.Bc6) 23.Qxe8+ Qd8 24.Qxd8+ Kxd8 25.Rd3+ Nd6 26.Bxb7 Rb8 27.Bd5 offers no chances to survive.
However, the cleverer 21...Qd4 runs into 22.Bxb7+ Kb8 23.Bxa8! Qxb4 24.Nxa6+ Kxa8 25.Nxb4 where White collects all the pawns.
Under the circumstances the quiet defensive move 21...Rb8 is the most resilient. After 22.Rd3 Bd4 White can go after the queen with 23.g4 hxg4 24.hxg4 Bxc5 (24...Qxc5 25.Rc3) 25.Qa4 or choose the solid 23.Qa4 Rd8 24.Nb3 which leaves Black hog-tied.
22.Rd3 Diagram

I expected Wojt to find 22...Qf6! the only move that could make things difficult for White.
This being an exhibition game I would have been tempted to end it in a spectacular fashion with 23.Bxd5 Qa1+ 24.Qb1 Bb2+ 25.Kd1 Qxb1+ 26.Ke2 Nd4+ 27.Rxd4 Qxe1+ 28.Kxe1 Bxd4, White has lost all his major pieces, but miraculously still has enough for a draw: 29.Be6+ Kb8 30.Nd7+ Kc8.
I was looking at 23.Rc3 as my primary idea. Just like in the game continuation, the queen sac is insufficient: 23...Bxg2 24.Ne4+ Qxc3 25.dxc3, andnow Black castles long (forgot about that one, didn't you?), but White is still on top after 26.g4!. Only after the game did I realize that my intended 23.Rc3 may be refuted by the clever 23...Qc6!, unless White comes up with the Fritz-inspired 24.Re6! Bxg2 25.Ne4!.
All things considered, 23.Qa4! is the best, because it stops Black's counterattack: 23...Qb2+ 24.Kd1 Qb1+ 25.Ke2 Qb5 26.Qxb5 axb5 27.Bxd5 Rxa5 28.Bxb7+ Kb8 29.Rd7 and wins.
Instead he went...
22...Bxg2
...bowing to the inevitable.
23.Rxd6 Nxd6 24.Ne6 Bf6 25.g4
White seems routinely winning, but here comes the highlight of the game. To the delight of the spectators Black castled long!
25...0-0-0 Diagram

26.g5
White can only make things tougher for himself by moving the pawns sheltering his king, as in 26.Qc5+ Bc6 27.d4 Nb5 28.Nxd8 Rxd8 29.c3 Rd5, and it gets kind of unclear.
26...Bh8 27.Nxd8 Kxd8 28.Re6 Kd7
The passive bishop on h8 dooms Black in the line 28...Bxh3 29.Rxd6+ exd6 30.Qxd6+ Bd7 31.Qc7+ Ke7 32.Qxb7. Black is not doing too badly in material, but the b-pawn is unstoppable: 32...h4 33.Qe4+ Kd8 34.Qa8+ Ke7 35.b7.
29.Rxg6 Rc8
Or 29...Bxh3 30.Rh6 Bg4 31.Qc5 Rc8 32.Qd5 with the unavoidable sequence Rxd6, Qxb7 to follow.
30.Qb3!
The last precise move wraps it up nicely.
30...Kc6 31.Qc4+ 1-0
No, we didn't set the pieces up wrong!
Part II (Wednesday January 23rd, 2002 )

Six months later....
Aleksander Wojtkiewicz has settled down in the Land of the Free. His new place of residence is University of Maryland (Baltimore County), where he shares his wisdom with the brightest prospects of American chess. However, don't write him off as a Goichberg circuit warrior just yet. This past weekend he was on the road again, playing in Los Angeles.
We took advantage of this great opportunity to get the noted Human Rights Champion to come to the Mechanics' once again.
He thought it was time for his revenge! Let's see what happened.
 
 

Wojtkiewicz,A - Yermolinsky,A
MI Exhibition, San Francisco, 23.01.2002

Wojt believes that White holds a bigger advantage in FRC than in regular chess. He says it's easier to grab the center and get a spatial advantage.
1.e4
Hence the central strategy.
1...b6
On the contrary, I believe that every piece configuration dictates its own strategy (of course, there's more than one of them for every setup!). As a rule, instead of trying to rearrange your pieces into a familiar pattern, you should work with what's dealt to you. Here I thought fianchettoing the bishop was a neat idea, because it safeguards the king.
2.d4 Bb7 3.Ng3 e6 4.f4 d5 5.Bd3 Ng6
I decided to delay 5...dxe4 because White would be able to activate his queen after the logical sequence: 6.Bxe4 Nd6 7.Bxb7 Kxb7 8.Qf1. As Wojt pointed out, finding worthy employment for your strongest piece is one of the hardest tasks in FRC.
On the most ambitious move, 6.e5, I think Black has to play 6...f5 to stop White's dangerous expansion.
In this case the only way to play for an advantage would be 7.exf6, but then Black plays 7...Nxf6 8.Nf3 Bd6 9.Ne5 Ne7, and despite White's apparent progress the position remains unclear, while Black has a clear plan: g6, followed by Nf5.
Instead, blindly following the classical rules of attacking the center leads Black into trouble: 6.e5 c5? 7.f5 exf5 8.Bxf5. Look at this position: the f7-pawn is weak, so is the suddenly exposed king - imagine if White gets to play Bf4 at some point - with no counterplay to speak of.
6.Nf3 dxe4!
Now, as the white knight occupies the f3-square, it's time to defuse the center.
7.Bxe4 Nd6
Black deliberately leaves the f6-square open for the pawn - it's necessary to control e5.
8.Bxb7 Kxb7 9.Qf1
9.Ne5 f6 10.Nxg6 hxg6 11.Qe3 Qf7 12.Qf3+ c6 looks comfortable for Black.
9...f6! Now the white knights have no good squares.
 
10.a4!
A clever idea which helps White to activate his a1-rook.
10...a5 White's a-pawn must be stopped. Look at 10...Qf7 11.a5 Ne7 12.a6+, and the a8-rook will be restrained for the rest of the game.
11.Ra3 Qf7 12.Rad3
By applying pressure on the d-file Wojt already has in mind a temporary piece sac.
12...Ne7 And Black invites it.
13.Ne5?
White's brilliant idea turns out to be bad. It's hard to tell what would have happened in case of the normal development: 13.Qe2 Nd5 14.Re1 Re8. I feel Black is doing fine there.
13...Qe8!
The a4-pawn is in danger, and Wojt reacts violently.
14.Qf3+ Ka7 15.Rc3?
I'm sure there was some miscalculation involved, but in Wojt's defense he was in danger of missing his flight back to the East Coast, so he was interested in finishing the game quickly whatever the outcome.
15...fxe5 16.Rxc7+
16.dxe5 Nd5 17.Rxd5 exd5 18.exd6 Bxd6 leaves White empty-handed.
16...Kb8 17.dxe5 Kxc7 18.exd6+ Rxd6 19.Rxd6 Kxd6 20.Qb7!?
 
White is just one move short of a brilliant checkmate, but
20...Qc6
defends everything.
21.Ne4+ Kd5 22.Nc3+ Kc4 0-1

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