Highlights from Budva

My hotel room in Montenegro enjoys a picturesque view of the Adriatic sea. It’s a 15 minute drive to Sveti Stefan, the island where Fischer faced Spassky in their 1992 rematch, 20 years after Fischer won the world title in Reykjavik. I am here playing for England in the biennial European Team Championship, where we have just finished in 6th place in the Open event, and 13th in the Women’s event. More on that to follow, but for now, some highlights from the event.

In the following game, a young Greek grandmaster defeated his elite Azeri opponent in ferocious style. In a Petroff defence (2…Nf6), Radjabov’s gambled with the rare and risky move 4…Bc5, presumably counting on the move’s surprise value, where 4…d5 is the more popular and safer choice. But Theodorou, who used only around ten minutes for the whole game, charged straight down the critical line.

Nikolas Theodorou–Teimour Radjabov

European Team Ch, Budva, November 2023 (see left diagram)

1 e4 e5 2 Nf3 Nf6 3 d4 Nxe4 4 dxe5 Bc5 5 Bc4 Nxf2 6 Bxf7+ Kxf7 7 Qd5+ Kg6 Black would like to play 7…Ke8 but after 8 Bg5 Be7 9 Bxe7 Qxe7 10 Kxf2 White’s easy development promises an advantage.