Winning chess brilliancies 9780735606067, 0735606064, 9781556159107, 1556159102

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Acknowledgments It has been a long journey. In 1989, the good folks at Microsoft Press hired me to do a series of instructional chess books. This, the fourth book i!lihat journey, represents the final step. Six years is a lot of dedication andhafdwork. It wasn't possible without the support of a lot of people. The initiative for this series came from the publishers and acquisitions editors at Microsoft Press. Special thanks to Min Yee, Jim Brown, Dean Holmes, and Casey Doyle. For this work, I'd like to thank Penny Stratton, Susanna Brougham, and Peter Whitmer at Editorial Services of New England, and Jeanne Reinelt of Reinelt Designs. At Microsoft Press, Kim Eggleston for the book's interior design; Greg Hickman for his beautiful cover; my secret in-house reviewer, Larry Powelson; and most especially, Brenda Matteson, who coordinated us all and was right there with a happy hello when needed. For helping me with the chess side of the manuscript, I .have to thank my own staff at Inside Chess, especially Yvette Nagel and Michael Franett, who were always on call. The idea for this book came from my co-author in the first three works of this series, Jeremy Silman. Jeremy told me, "Yaz, more than anything else, students want a chess book that explains the reasons for each and every move of a top grandmaster game. You should write that book." I did. But I couldn't have done it without you. Thank you, one and all.

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Introduction From the time that I was bitten by the "chess bug," fantasies of entering a packed hall and playing a brilliancy have stayed with me. I'd dream of making a comeback from a half-point behind the leade�, with one round to go. " . . .Yaz desperately needs a win against one of the world's most solid grandmasters. Can he pull it off and take clear first?" My fantasy would crank up as I anticipated the oohs and aahs of the audience, amazed by my brilliant, decisive moves. Yes indeed. Just as basketball players relish taking the final shot with seconds on the clock, chess players hunger for the opportunity to sacrifice pieces and come up with an idea of such wonder that it sets the world back on its heels and makes it take notice. While both chess and basketball place great demands on the emotions and the abilities of the players, there is one obvious difference between the games. Even the most casual sports fan can wonder at a Michael Jordan soaring above his defender, double-clutching to get an open shot, firing, and ,?laking a swish. By con­

trast, if a chess player sacrifices first one piece, then anot);_ ;:�-::

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