Awestruck

‘I can comprehend Alekhine’s combinations well enough; but where he gets his attacking chances from and how he infuses such life into the very opening – that is beyond me. Give me the positions he obtains, and I should seldom falter. Yet I continually get drawn games, even out of the King’s Gambit!’ Those words of admiration for the fourth world champion are usually attributed to Rudolf Spielmann, a strong contemporary of his in the interwar period. I am struck by the same sense of awe when I watch Shakhriyar Mamedyarov play. The grandmaster from Azerbaijan was at his sparkling best in the early rounds of the Aimchess Rapid, the latest online event in the Meltwater Champions Chess Tour. Both of the games below would be worthy of a brilliancy prize, and Mamedyarov described the game against Giri as one of the best of his career.

Shakhriyar Mamedyarov-Anish Giri