I don't entirely like the parade of endless men in the 'Lessons from...' series, so here's one from the other half of humanity, and a fine Appendix to the list of guys that ever joined the 'Vera Menchik Club'.
Judit Polgar was strongest woman chess player ever. She never became World Champion, and was never interested in becoming World Women’s World Chess Champion ( a title held by her two sisters, Susan and Sofia). She was in the world top ten and improving when she retired.
Anand's easy manner sits on top of a breathtaking attacking verve and capacity for creative counterplay.
Opening
The imaginative attacking finish seems to belong to an earlier era,
while the opening play is all modern. The Scandinavian leads to an early
release of central tension, and, if Black can develop smoothly, will
have no problems. This line is an attempt to prevent Black from
developing smoothly, and no end of rule-breaking goes on to that end.
Carlsen often seems to win without doing anything in particular, but
doing it very well. Commentators have tried to explain his peculiar gift
by appealing to 'nettlesome' moves, moves that have no obvious dangers,
but perhaps are surprisingly awkward to meet.
Opening
Carlsen, particularly when younger, has been noted more for his
avoidance of sharp and theoretical lines, than having signature opening
systems. He often seems content to aim for a 'normal' White plus in the
opening, hoping to build on it later on, particularly in blitz.
We have entered an era where it is not always obvious what the best
players are doing. They are better than previous generations, they play
all positions well, and they are fighting against players who also do
everything well, and what makes the difference is not apparent to me.
But while Kramnik's play is subtle and deep, there are games which
makes it look as though what he is doing is as simple as it looks.
Opening
Kramnik brought to several apparently settled opening systems a new
clarity in pursuing White's main plans. In the Grunfeld, it was White's
Karpov had a marked preference for positional play, although, in his own
words, "if my opponent offers sharp play, I do not object." Karpov had
no soft spots that anyone could discern -- an alleged weakness against
'romantic' openings was less of a handicap than the openings some chose
against him.
Opening
Karpov has always embraced the need for deep preparation. Here he digs
deep into a position that was all the rage at the time.
Boris Spassky became World Champion on the second attempt, defeating Petrosian in 1969 and losing his title to Fischer in 1972. He had something of a reputation of having a 'universal' style, able to play all positions well, but that is true of anyone who holds the crown of chess, and he has a marked facility with dynamic and attacking play.
Your choice
of
opening will rest (or should rest) on several
considerations: your style and temperament as
a
chessplayer, your time and aptitude for study,
and your
ambitions as a player. The standard recommendation
for
