By Zaldy Dandan
Variety Editor

THE guest editorial board of Chess Informant 97 — which included the likes of Anand, Timman and Sokolov — chose our featured game as the issue’s most important theoretical novelty.
Played in the fourth round of the 37th Chess Olympiad in Turin last year, the game features what the Informant describes as “an exceptionally attractive knight sacrifice.” The protagonists are young Ukrainian grandmaster Andrei Volokitin and Uzbekistan GM Alexei Barsov, who turned 41 early this month.
Born on June 11, 1986, Volokitin was world under-12 champion in 1998 and achieved the GM title in 2001 — he was 15 years old. Three years later, he broke into the top 100 of the FIDE world ranking list and won the 73rd Ukrainian Championship. In the same year, he played second board for his country’s team that won the gold medal at the 36th Olympiad. His performance rating: 2771. At the 38th Biel Chess Festival in 2005, he placed first with Boris Gelfand.
Volokitin, like the legendary Tal, has a fearless attitude. He has a tactical style and likes, to quote the young GM himself, “to attack, to sacrifice material.”
Game of the week. Here he is in a game he annotates for the Informant.
White: A.Volokitin (2660)
Black: A. Barsov (2525)
French Winawer
Turin Olympiad 2006
1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.e5 c5 5.a3 Bc3 6.bc3 Ne7 7.Qg4 0-0 8.Bd3 Nbc6 9.Qh5 Ng6 10.Nf3 Qc7 11.Be3 Nce7 12.h4 Nf5 13.Bd2 f6 14.Ng5!! [a novelty; 14.Qg4] fg5 only move 15.hg5 cd4 [15...Kf7 16.Qh7 cd4! see 15...cd4] 16.Qh7 Kf7 17.cd4 Ne5! [17...Rh8? 18.Qg6 Kg6 19.Rh8 Qb6 20.c3 Kf7 21.g6 Kg6 22.g4 and White is winning] 18.Be2 [18.Bf5!? ef5 19.Qh2 Nd3! 20.cd3 Re8 21.Kf1 Qh2 22.Rh2 Bd7 equal; 19.Rh6 and White is slightly better] Nc6! 19.Bh5 Ke7 20.g4 Ncd4 21.gf5 Qe5? [21...Kd8! 22.f6 (22.0-0 Nf5 23.Bb4 Qf4! 24.Bf8 Qg5 equal) gf6 23.Qh6 Qd6! 24.g6!? Nf5 25.Qh7!! (25.Qf4 Qf4 26.Bf4 e5 unclear) Qe5 26.Kf1 Qa1 27.Kg2 Qa3 (27...Qd4 28.g7 Re8 29.Bc3 Qc3 30.Be8 Ne7 31.g8Q Ng8 32.Qg8 Kc7 33.Qg7 Kb8 34.Rh8 Qc2 35.Bd7 Qe4 equal) 28.g7 Qe7 (28...Ng7? 29.Qg7 Bd7 30.Rb1 and White is superior) 29.gf8Q Qf8 30.Bg6 Bd7 (30...Ne7 31.Bb4 with initiative) 31.Bf4 Rc8 32.Qh8 Qh8 33.Rh8 Ke7 34.Rh7 equal] 22.Kf1 (and White is winning) Kd8 23.f6! Nf5 24.Re1 Qd4 25.Bb4 1-0.
Puzzler.
White — pawns on g3, h4; Nb4, Qb8, Nf6, Kf7, Bg1
Black — pawns c3, c4, d7, e5, g6; Na5, Rc5; Bd1, Kf5; Nf8
White to play and mate in four moves.
Send your answers to “64” c/o Marianas Variety, P.O. Box 500231, Saipan MP 96950. Our fax no. is 670-234-9271. You can also e-mail <idlasts@lycos.com>.