Approximately two months ago, GM Maurice Ashley penned a thought-provoking essay titled, "The End of the Draw Offer?" which examined the questionable practice of quick draws in professional tournaments. Much of the debate re-emerged after the last-round fiasco at the 2003 U.S. Championship where three of the top four boards agreed to quick draws to advance to a blitz playoff.  GM Ashley was also impressed by the chorus of boos rained upon GM Garry Kasparov when he offered a draw (from a better position) in the last game of the Kasparov-Deep Junior match.  The Brooklyn Grandmaster then sought to turn his provocative essay into progressive action by founding Generation Chess, Inc.

It is the mission of Generation Chess to excite the fans. By organizing exceptional competitions that both professionals and amateurs will enjoy, Generation Chess seeks to enhance the prestige of the game's top players while simultaneously staging highly anticipated events for the serious and casual enthusiast. With our total focus on creating fan-pleasing contests, Generation Chess plans to be on the cutting edge of chess entertainment for years to come.

GM Ashley was onto something and after lengthy negotiations, he hatched the idea of a theme tournament. This tournament would not feature a pre-determined opening, but would have a set of rules discouraging and even penalizing quick draws. After the negotiations and a few line-up changes, the tournament became a reality when the first pawn was pushed on the 23rd of April. Ten players, six countries and a lot of chess ahead! The tournament would be relayed live to the Internet Chess Club and also live audio receive live audio at Chess.FM.

IM Irina Krush, as the only woman in the tournament, was accorded the duty of choosing the first pairing number. She chose an ace and was assigned No. 1. At left is GM Maurice Ashley, CEO of Generation Chess; at right is Andres Soto member of the Board of Directors of Generation Chess. Photo by Jerry Bibuld.

The tournament was a rousing success by many standards. In the first six rounds only six games were drawn! The last three rounds had nine and perhaps fatigue may have been a factor. Many would believe that one round per day is enough to recuperate, but the added tension of scratching for a decisive result could take its toll. Bear in mind that most FIDE round robin tournaments, players may not reach move 40, or even move 20! This may occur several times in the tournament per player. Thus, the fatigue factor is something that must be examined in future tournaments.

Fighting Chess

If fighting chess is what you want, fighting chess is what you got! Every chess player remember a book on Kasparov by the same name, and the games of this tournament lived up to it's billing. Round-by-round there were prime examples of this theme. Here are some of the gems from each round.

While it's no coincidence that IM Irina Krush was party to some of the most exciting battles, she appeared to have the toughest fighting skills as her games averaged 59.1 moves… win, lose, or draw! Fifteen-year old IM Mark Bluvshtein of Canada also showed the courage of a young tiger and played with grit and determination beyond his years. Zambia's IM Amon Simutowe told The Chess Drum that the loss to Krush took away his momentum after he missed a win with 27.Rc5! Nevertheless, GM Larry Christiansen made some very encouraging remarks about Simutowe's "exciting play" during the closing ceremonies.


More to Come!

There were only a few occasions where draws were agreed to before the obligatory  50 moves (Yudasin-Simutowe, Perelshteyn-Christiansen, Christiansen-Akobian) and a few others that were stretched out to meet the requirement (Bluvshtein-Simutowe, Akobian-Paschall for example). All-in-all, the event was revolutionary and attracted the attention of players everywhere. GM Ashley mentioned on Chess.FM that he wished to see other organizations sponsor events so that notes can be compared and the format can be refined. One thing is certain… the idea received fulsome praise by fans and professional players alike. GM Ashley and Generation Chess, Inc. is to be commended for leading a trailblazing path in this new theme. Congratulations!

Posted by The Chess Drum: 4 May 2003