Tournaments
Time Control
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The Man:
Lev Abramovich Polugaevsky (20 November 1934 – 30 August 1995) was an International Grandmaster of chess and frequent contender for the world chess championship, although he never achieved that title. He was one of the strongest players in the world from the late 1960s until the early 1980s, as well as a distinguished author and opening theorist whose contributions in this field remain important to the present day.
The Opening:
The Polugaevsky variation is a chess opening, and a line in the Najdorf Variation of the Sicilian Defence, noted for its sharpness and tactical play and devised by the Soviet International Grandmaster Lev Polugaevsky.
After 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6, the Najdorf Variation, White's usual response is 6.Bg5, pinning Black's knight. 6. ... e6 continues development for Black, then White then aims to destroy Black's kingside pawn structure with 7.f4. After this, 7. ... b5 is the defining move of the Polugaevsky Variation (see diagram), launching a counterattack at White's queenside.
If white continues the attack on the kingside we reach positions which are highly tactical. For example;
8.e5 dxe5 9.fxe5 Qc7! 10.exf6 Qe5+!, where we reach the position as shown in the second diagram, and Black regains the lost piece through the fork on the king. This is the usual line in this variation, and from this point onwards play is extremely tactical, leading to a sharp, dynamic game on both sides.
Winners
1st Place
2nd Place
2nd Place
Announcements
Second Round
Dear All,
Firstly, a big thank you to those players that were eliminated in the first round. I hope that they enjoyed the tournament and learnt something about an important sideline.
Secondly, the second round seems to have taken on a rather lopsided look, with one section appearing much stronger than the other. Don't blame me, not my fault!
Finally, I've noticed that smileative hasn't logged on for a while and has begun losing games on time since his vacation expired. I can only hope he returns soon.
All the best
Prawn.
algernonn - Group 3
Dear All,
algernonn's account was closed yesterday for reasons that don't include cheating. This has left us one short for the next round and I'm not sure what can be done (if anything). I intend to contact "Support" to ask for one of the "non-qualifers" to advance. I've had quite a long thought on the issue of advancing "3rd (group 3)" Vs. "highest scoring 3rd placed player (all groups). I've come down on the side of 3rd placed (group 3) {toadessa}. The alternative looks likely to be deckers1066 in group 1.
However, I thought I'd ask the players first (no reply will indicate happiness with my provisional decision). Any players wishing to voice an opinion are encouraged to do so in the tournament notes for the sake of transparency.
As I said, not sure what I can get with Support but I'd like to get my story straight first.
All the best
Prawn.