The Menchik Month

John B. Henderson • Jul 24, 2023

The month of July was always a happy hunting ground for the phenomenon that was Vera Menchik (1906-44), who was the only women’s world champion in her tragically short lifetime. The World Chess Hall of Famer won the inaugural title in 1927 and went on to successfully defended her world crown six times, with quite an astonishing overall tally of 78 wins, four draws and one solitary lost game.

Her last title defence came right on the eve of war in 1939, a portent of bad omens to come perhaps for the best women player of her era, as she died - along with her mother and sister - on June 27, 1944, all too young at the age of just 38, the result of a fearsome German V1 rocket attack that obliterated her family home in South-West London.

July was always considered to be the “Menchik month”, with four of her title defences coming in that month. And as a tribute of sorts by FIDE to the fallen icon, the game’s governing body traditionally looks to stage the women’s world championship in July - the latest, which ran 5-24 July, being an all-Chinese affair, shared between Shanghai and Chongqing, respectively the home cities of the defending champion, Ju Wenjun, and her challenger, Lei Tingjie.

The 12-game match proved to be a very tense battle from start to finish, with the first half being edged by challenger Lei on the champion’s home turf, only to see Ju staging a dramatic comeback in her challenger’s patch, winning games 8 and 12 for a fitting finale as she edged home 6½-5½.

The decisive game proved to be a nervy and fluctuating affair of missed opportunities that took a turn for the worst for the challenger after a series of miscues and mishaps leading up to the time control, with any chances of saving the game and taking the match to a tiebreak playoff quickly evaporating as the cool head of the champion produced the accurate moves needed for a clutch win.

Ju Wenjun, 32, from Shanghai, grabbed the women’s crown for the first time in 2018 and has successfully triumphed in title battles now four times, first claiming the crown from Tan Zhongyi, and successfully defending her title three times against Aleksandra Goryachkina, Kateryna Lagno, with the latest being Lei Tingjie.

GM Ju Wenjun - GM Lei Tingjie

Women's World Chess Championship, (12)

 D04: Queen's Pawn Opening

1.d4 d5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.e3 c5 4.dxc5 e6 5.b4 a5 6.c3 axb4 7.cxb4 b6 8.Bb5+The opening has similar characteristics to the Semi-Slav Defence Noteboom Variation, but somewhat lacking the bite usually seen in this sharp line. 8...Bd7 9.Bxd7+ Nbxd7 10.a4 bxc5 11.b5 The passed queenside pawns are the only thing that gives Black a headache.

11...Qc7 12.Bb2 Bd6 13.O-O O-O 14.Nbd2 Rfc8 15.Qc2 c4 16.Bc3! Lei naturally sees her c4-f7 pawn chain as an asset - but Ju stays calm by first containing, and then pushing her own passed pawns up the board, as the deciding game in the match starts to dramatically swing the way of the defending champion. 16...Nc5 17.a5 Nb3 18.Bxf6?! This looks wrong, but amazingly, with the complications and time pressure, it spins the game Ju's way - stronger and better was the natural 18.Ra2! the point being that the a4-pawn can't be snatched as 18...Nxa5? 19.Rfa1! pins and wins the knight. 18...Nxa1 19.Bxa1 Qxa5 20.Qc3 Qxc3?! Lei trades queens and heads to the endgame, thinking she's easily going to pick off White's b-pawn - but she's misunderstood the complexities of the position. If Black wants to try to take the advantage, then she had to find the only try with 20...f6! that more or less forces 21.Qxa5 Rxa5 22.Bc3 Rxb5 23.Nd4 Rb7 24.Nxe6 Be5! 25.Nd4 Bxd4 26.exd4 Ra8 and Black's rooks become very active, and it is not so easy here to undermine Black's pawns, as happens in the game. 21.Bxc3 Rcb8 22.Nd4 e5 23.Nf5 Bf8 24.Bxe5 Rxb5 25.g4 Stopping the tricky pawn push ...d4 winning a piece. 25...g6 26.Nd4 Rb2?

(see diagram) It’s the all-too-human reaction - but this starts the game spiralling out of control for Black. The engine wants to play the better 26...Rb6 27.g5 (stopping ...f6) 27...h6 28.h4 hxg5 29.hxg5 Bg7 30.N2f3 Ra3 and we do have an intense struggle ahead; and one not so easy for White to win, though not for Black to defend. 27.Nb1! Like a laser, Ju quickly hones in on the troubles in the Black camp, as there's no way to prevent Nc3 forcing Black into a passive defence of the d5-pawn. 27...Bg7 28.Bxg7 Kxg7 29.Nc3 Ra5 30.Rd1 Rb6 31.Nde2 Rb3 32.Kg2! Strong than the immediate capture of the pawn, which, to be honest about it, isn't going anywhere anytime soon - and Ju Wenjun realises this, as she just gets her ducks in a row by first bringing her king into the game and the middle of the board for a stronger endgame. A very wise decision for the defending champion in a crucial game, as can be seen with a very hasty snatch of the d5-pawn with 32.Rxd5?! (Probably a little better is 32.Nxd5 but again, after 32...Rd3 33.Ndc3 Rxd1+ 34.Nxd1 Ra1 35.Nc3 g5 36.Kg2 h5! Black should be holding easily enough) 32...Rxd5 33.Nxd5 Rd3! 34.Nec3 g5 35.Kg2 h5! 36.Kf3 Kg6 and Black has excellent prospects of holding the game, the difference being his strong rook and the pawns being liquidated on the kingside. 32...h6?! Better was 32...g5, though White continues with 33.Kf3 much in the same vein as in the game. 33.Kf3 f6 Lei Tingjie is being uber-cautious here, hoping not to play anything too committal - but this just plays into her opponent's hands, as she masterfully re-arranges her furniture to pick off the d5-pawn. Trouble is, when d5 falls, the c4-pawn will not be far behind it! 34.Rc1 Kf7 35.Nf4! d4 The only forlorn hope now - if White is allowed to play Nfxd5, then there will quickly follow Kf3-e4-d4 to corral the c4-pawn. 36.exd4 g5 37.Ne2 f5 It's all too little too late now for Lei, as Ju almost effortlessly finishes off the game to once again retain her title. 38.gxf5 Rxf5+ 39.Ke3 g4 40.Nf4 Rb8 41.d5 Rf6 42.Rc2 Slowly and safe gets you the title, as Ju first covers the second rank weakness before moving in for the kill of the c4-pawn. 42...Ra8 43.Nb5 Rb6 44.Nd4 Ra3+ 45.Ke4 c3 46.Nfe2 Rb2 47.Kd3 The c-pawn is doomed - and resignation will not be far behind when it falls. 47...Rb1 48.Nxc3 Rh1 49.f3! Allowing White's passed d-pawn to be safely shepherded up the board by the knights and king. 49...gxf3 50.Nxf3 Rf1 51.Nd4 Ke7 52.Kc4 Rf4 53.Rb2 Rh4 54.Rb7+ Kf6 55.Rb2 Ra8 56.Kc5 Rh3 57.Ncb5 Re3 58.d6 Ke5 59.Nc6+ Ke4 Black would really like to track back with her king, but, alas... 59...Ke6 60.Nc7+ easily wins. 60.d7 Rd3 61.Nd6+ Kf4 62.Rb8 1-0

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The 42 Paradox

By John B. Henderson • 02 Oct, 2023

Well, well, well. After rampaging his way through many of the finals and opponents throughout the 2023 Champions Chess Tour, Magnus Carlsen’s “final boss” reign came to a screeching halt in what proved to be an enthralling AI Cup Grand Final on Friday, as the favourite was beaten not once but in three games, and over two matches, by Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, who sensationally grabbed the last remaining spot in the Champions Tour Final in December. Earlier, Carlsen had defeated MVL in the final of the winners’ bracket, before the Frenchman gained the right to a rematch in the double-elimination contest by beating Ian Nepomniachtchi in the final of the losers’ bracket. In the Grand Final, buoyed up and firing on all cylinders, MVL beat Carlsen by a 2½-1½ score.

We'll Meet Again

By John B. Henderson • 29 Sep, 2023

The self-proclaimed “final boss of chess” does what the final boss of chess does best of all: Magnus Carlsen beat Maxime Vachier-Lagrave in the final of the AI Cup winners’ bracket, the sixth and final leg of the 2023 Champions Chess Tour regular season, to reach yet another Grand Final in the novel double-elimination contest. But it wasn’t without an epic bare-knuckle street fight from both players, as MVL proved to be a worthy opponent for what looked to be an unstoppable Carlsen, who narrowly prevailed in the Armageddon to take the match 3-2. "This is the sort of thing that happens when you play Sicilians in every game," said a magnanimous Carlsen in victory after four fighting Sicilians left the match tied at 2-2.

Tiers For Fears

By John B. Henderson • 27 Sep, 2023

Fans were treated to arguably the greatest online rivalry in chess history recently, with the Chess.com Speed Chess Championship Grand Final showdown between Magnus Carlsen and Hikaru Nakamura seeing the Norwegian narrowly snatch victory by a solitary win to end the American speed maven’s hopes of a sixth successive victory. But Carlsen’s narrow win left the salivating fans feeling they’d been denied seeing this epic gladiatorial speed contest going into overtime - but they didn’t have to wait long for the rivalry redux, as a couple of days later, both Carlsen and Nakamura went head-to-head yet again in the opening day of the AI Cup, the sixth and final leg of the 2023 Champions Chess Tour regular season.

Bossing It

By John B. Henderson • 25 Sep, 2023

Magnus Carlsen more than lived up to his self-proclamation of being “The Final Boss of Chess” with a revenge-is-sweet narrow victory over fellow chess influencer Hikaru Nakamura, as he denied his long-time arch-rival a sixth successive Chess.com Speed Chess Championship title last Friday. Last year, it was Nakamura who narrowly squeaked home by one point - this time, in yet another thrilling match consisting of three different speed limits - 5+1, 3+1 and 1+1 (more commonly known as ‘bullet’) - between the two speed titans, it again ended with the same scoreline, though this time seeing Carlsen triumph by a solitary win after two pulsating hours of thrilling play, as he took the $150,000 2023 Speed Chess Championship presented by Coinbase, 13.5-12.5.

Death, Taxes, Magnus & Hikaru

By John B. Henderson • 22 Sep, 2023

With a smorgasbord of online chess events out there now, the granddaddy of them all is surely the Chess.com Speed Chess Championship , with a $150,000 prize fund that determines just who is the best blitz and bullet players. It has become the perennial fan-favourite with arguably the best viewing experience - and the fans are set for yet another spectacular finale later today, as the two rivals who dominate the roll of honour, Magnus Carlsen and Hikaru Nakamura, get set for another explosive showdown in the 2023 final. Friday’s final and commentary, free to view, starts at 14:00 ET (11:00 PT; 20:00 CEST; 23:30 IST) on Chess.com. Carlsen and Nakamura have won each edition since the inaugural Speed Chess Championship event in 2016 - Carlsen won the first two speed titles before taking a hiatus, only for Nakamura to rule the roost, winning four more times.

A Messi Kid

By John B. Henderson • 19 Sep, 2023

India today is a land of amazing young talents and prospects in chess, with the country seemingly having a never-ending production line of prodigies rolling off the factory conveyor belt. But for some countries, such as Argentina, prodigies only seem to come around with all the regularity of Halley’s Comet . One of the first notable post-war chess prodigies was Oscar Panno from Buenos Aires, who became the first world-class player born in South America. In 1953, at the age of 17, he became only the second World Junior Champion , having won the coveted youth title ahead of a strong cadre of future elite-level Grandmasters such as Boris Ivkov (who in 1951 was crowned the first World Junior Ch), Bent Larsen, and Fredrik Olafsson.

The Great Rook 'n' Roll Swindle

By John B. Henderson • 14 Sep, 2023

“Chess is a cruel game. We all know that feeling when your position has gone awry and everything seems hopeless. You feel like resigning. But don’t give up! This is precisely the moment to switch to swindle mode. Master the art of provoking errors and you will be able to turn the tables and escape with a draw or sometimes even steal the full point!” So wrote David Smerdon, an Australian chess grandmaster and one of his country’s leading behavioural economists, on the back cover of his witty and wickedly entertaining, not to mention the much-lauded and deserving 2020 ECF Book of the Year winner, The Complete Chess Swindler (New in Chess).

No Country For Young Men

By John B. Henderson • 11 Sep, 2023

With the top teenage talents being overshadowed in the Tata Steel Chess India Rapid in Kolkata by a dominant performance from seasoned veteran Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, there were hopes of a homeland comeback in the follow-on Blitz tournament - and one looked to be on the cards, only for another “old guy”, this time Alexander Grischuk, crashing the teenage party by capturing the second, even faster speed title. Early doors, all eyes were firmly on Rameshbabu “Pragg” Praggnanandhaa, with his flying start of a perfect 5/5 on the opening day of the two-day double-round contest. But that was as good as it got for the 18-year-old Candidate-qualifier, who could only finish the day on 6.5/9, and despite being the sole leader, he held what looked a very slender half-point lead over nearest rivals Santosh Vidit and Grischuk, ominously the only unbeaten player.

My Indian Summer

By John B. Henderson • 08 Sep, 2023

The past couple of years have proved to be a major one for India - not only a global player with world leaders descending this week in New Delhi for the G20 Summit and recently successfully landing a spacecraft on the moon but now also a fully-fledged chess superpower, with many exciting young talents set to make the country a dominant force for the foreseeable future. Many would even speculate that Indian Chess could well turn into a hegemony, in much the same way as the Soviets dominated the chess scene in the 1945 post-war period until its collapse and ultimate dissolution in 1991. The latest big chess tournament to be held in India coincides with the G20, with the fifth Tata Steel Chess India Rapid & Blitz - a spinoff from the larger Dutch super-tournament, the Tata Steel Chess Masters in Wijk aan Zee - taking place 5-9 September in Kolkata.

Me & The Kids

By John B. Henderson • 04 Sep, 2023

The fifth and latest leg of the Champions Chess Tour , the Julius Baer Generations Cup more than lived up to its name with the world No.1, Magnus Carlsen, after overpowering Alireza Firouzja in the winners’ final, to effortlessly cruise his way into the Grand Final, declaring: “It’s just me against the kids now!” After three clean kills that included a brace of back-to-back 2½-½ victories over Iranian Amin Tabatabaei and his old title foe Caruana, Carlsen proceeded to sweep Firouzja 3-0 to reach the Grand Final of the contest - but it wasn’t lost on the “old man” that non of his old rivals were left in the competition, and that meant that Denis Lazavik (16), Nodirbek Abdusattorov (18), and Firouzja (20) were the only three left standing to see who would go forward to meet him in the Grand Final.