Chess - The Scotsman 15/03/2012

BLITZ chess – five minutes per player per game – has long been a recreational activity for professionals and amateurs alike, but new rules introduced on 1 January by the World Chess Federation, FIDE, has made blitz chess a less frivolous affair.

Previously, only internet chess had rated blitz games but, given the possibility of computer or human assistance, those rankings are taken with a pinch of salt. By setting up a separate rating system for over-the-board blitz games, FIDE has ensured blitz tournaments will be “serious”.

Scotland is set to get in on the action with the recent announcement that the inaugural FIDE-rated Scottish Blitz Championship will be held on Saturday 16 June at the Quincentenary Building, Royal Surgeons’ Hall, Edinburgh, with a guaranteed prize fund of £2,000. Further information can be found at www.scottishblitz.com.

It looks as if the top stars could be turning out in force for this exciting new international event. Already, Super-GM Arkadij Naiditsch, the former Dortmund super-tournament winner, and Germany’s top player, has confirmed his entry into the one-day event, which will make him the strongest player to have played in Scotland since Mikhail Tal and Boris Spassky at Glenrothes in 1988.

To whet your appetite for what to expect from Naiditsch, today’s game, from last month’s Chebanenko Memorial tournament, saw him hitting the unsuspecting GM Viktor Bologan with a stunning series of tactics to win.

V Bologan - A Naiditsch

Chebanenko Memorial, (3.2)

Sicilian Rossolimo

1 e4 c5 2 Nf3 Nc6 3 Bb5 Nf6 4 Bxc6 dxc6 5 d3 Qc7 6 e5 Nd5 7 h3 Bf5 8 Nbd2 g5 9 Ne4 h6 10 Qe2 0–0–0 11 Bd2 Qb6 12 0–0–0 Bg7 13 g4 Be6 14 Kb1 Rd7 15 Ng3 Rhd8 16 Nf5 Bxf5 17 gxf5 c4! 18 dxc4 Nc3+ 19 Bxc3 Qxf2 20 Rxd7 Qxe2 21 Rxd8+ Kxd8 22 Nd4 Qh5 23 f6 exf6 24 e6 Bf8 25 Re1 c5 26 e7+ Bxe7 27 Nf5 Bf8 28 Bxf6+ Kd7 29 Ne3 Qxh3 30 Nd5 g4 31 a3 g3 32 Rd1 Bd6 33 Be5 g2 34 Nf4 Qh1 0–1