Chess

WHAT'S WHITE AND BLACK and…? You were possibly expecting to read the words "read all over" there , but instead I'm going for "artistic"! Now your mind may be firing out lots of interesting possibilities, of which I hope "chess" is one. However, from today onwards, I think we'll all also remember the far less obvious: "Katherine Nelson's charcoal drawings at The Art Spirit Gallery."

I love art, and that probably shows in my approach to playing chess. I do my best to help to create beauty and elegance on board, and such feelings can even be enhanced by positive influences from other arts. Most recently, I had the pleasure and honour in my school classroom of welcoming artist Kathy Nelson, who gave my students a terrific presentation, and elucidated her vision eloquently with these words: "To my mind, completing a drawing is a lot like a game. It is a puzzle which requires strategy with every mark, and patience to solve the challenges that evolve in the process." Check out her work at www.theartspiritgallery.com by going into the exhibitions area there and clicking on links to 2007 or 2005. It's a treat.

Let's now enjoy a brief appetiser from The Chess Instructor 2009, an excellent New in Chess book compiled by Dutch IM Jeroen Bosch and English FM Steve Giddins. The winner of the following delightful game is Victoria Zaks, who was only 11 when she demonstrated great skill at the 1999 European Girls Under-12 Championships.

White: V Zaks; Black: E Einoullaeva Opening: French Defence

1 e4 e6 2 d4 d5 3 Nc3 Nf6 4 Bg5 Be7 5 e5 Nfd7 6 Bxe7 Qxe7 7 f4 0-0 8 Nf3 c5 9 dxc5 Nc6 10 Bd3 Nxc5 11 0-0 a6? This move is too slow, and fails to stop White's threat. Better is 11…f6. Much more detailed annotations are given in the book. 12 Bxh7+! Kxh7 13 Ng5+ Kg6 13…Kg8 14 Qh5 is "curtains" for Black. 14 Qg4 Nxe5 15 Qh4 f5 16 Qh7+ Kf6 17 Rae1 Ne4 18 Ngxe4+ fxe4 19 Nxe4+! dxe4 20 fxe5++ Kxe5 21 Qxe4+ Kd6 22 Rxf8 and Black soon resigned in view of 22…Qxf8 23 Qb4+ or 22…Kc7 23 Qc4+.