In the current Georgia Chess magazine, IM-elect Stephen Muhammad analyzes the famous game between Russia's GM Garry Kasparov and Republic of Georgia's GM Zurab Azmaiparashvili. Kasparov, the world's highest-rated player, played this encounter during a rapid/blitz match in September with "Azmai," the European Club champion.

This game, the first of the match, was an instructive game from many perspectives, but most notably it demonstrated the delicate nature of endgames. The difficulty in calculating endgames accurately eludes all except for the world's elite… and of course the computer tablebases!

Kasparov has a long-lasting relationship with the Georgian national who also doubles as the Federation President of the Republic of Georgia. Recently Kasparov said in an interview that he is always looking for ways to challenge himself. However, he won this match rather easily (2-0 rapid; 3½-½ blitz) and is currently embroiled in another match with X3D Fritz.

Note: The analysis done by Muhammad was the subject of an article appearing in the November/December 2003 issue of Georgia Chess magazine and was reprinted with permission.

Posted by The Chess Drum: 18 September 2003