A Night On Planet Chucky.

O.K. Couple of days off here, so finally time for a quick offering. ( NEVER take time off work - you just end up doing 5 days work in 3 days!!)

Had to take my wife to the airport at 1 a.m. Those in the U.K. will know what that means at the moment! During the four hour wait to make sure she actually got on the plane and took off, I had my head in a chess book.

Thanks to my dear friends in the Ukraine - God keep you guys - my heart is with you - I have a prized possession. This book - signed by the great one.

I am a huge admirer of many players from the modern era ( I don't just look at old stuff! ) but my absolute favourite is Vasyl Ivanchuk. By miles. One of my pet hates is abbreviating names, or 'nick-names' but he is the exception. I think of him as 'Chucky' in an affectionate way.

I bought my first book about him about 30 years ago - no notes to the games, so I had to study them for myself, try to understand them, enjoy them and learn from them. His games have been one of the joys in my life.

So, let's get to some of the games in this recent book which  I passed those few hours with. I have done a few quick notes as I have gone along - not so many, and just my own thoughts. It is a rewarding experience to study the man's chess for yourself. 

This first one always makes me smile! My very first game in an adult open tournament was won with the idea you will see here. Sadly my own chess archive was destroyed when a storm took our roof off, so I can't quote the game. I do remember the look on my opponents face when he realised that his 'winning attack' was nothing of the sort.

The loser here is our own @GSerper -

a fine player indeed. So if such a player lost to the idea, perhaps it is not so easy to spot, and I can feel proud of finding it!! 

A bonus game - not in the book. Not long after, the two played another game in the Dragon, but with the colours reversed!. It has gone into the Dragon theory books - I have had a few of those. It is also a forgotten Chucky masterclass.

A game from a USSR Army Championships is a good excuse to include this next picture from the book -lots of wonderful pictures in it. I shall refrain from any further comments that I would like to add at the moment.

Ivanchuk is a fantastic endgame player - I have this theory that players of exceptional  talent are naturally good at endgames. This is a fascinating game all through - from the opening theoretical debate of the time through to an endgame that could go into the textbooks.

Chucky's opponent was a player who's games I used to follow - I really like his chess.

Trying to outplay Ivanchuk in complications has always been a thankless task. A case in point.

And to finish off with I give this one. Ivanchuk is perfectly capable of playing in 'the style of Tal' just as Tal was quite capable of playing positional chess and endgames. Great players can do everything well!! 

Like Tal, Ivanchuk has the ability to suddenly explode a seemingly quiet positional struggle. Not a perfect game, but a wonderful one where 2 + 2 = 5, as Tal himself famously put it.

A relevant picture from the book.

And Ivanchuk with - I think - a young Giri, but I haven't looked into it.

Lovely picture!

 I hope that Vasyl is safe and well in these terrible times for my friends in The Ukraine. Take care mate.
I will add a screenshot from one of the videos linked to below.

The Chucky hands and the desire to UNDERSTAND-  not just to 'know'. Everything about Chucky makes true chess lovers happy.