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NAJDORF: LIFE and GAMES
Authors: Tomasz Lissowski, Adrian Mikhalchishin, and Miguel Najdorf
256 pages
$21.95
Batsford (2005)
Reviewed by Jeremy Silman
Miguel Najdorf holds almost mythical status in chess history. Aside from the obvious name recognition regarding the Najdorf Sicilian, his tremendous chess strength, humor, and boundless energy took the spotlight whenever he appeared at a chess event.
Alas, young players seem less and less interested in players of the past, and I always worry that the many fascinating personalities and lives that make chess so compelling will be forgotten. Fortunately, the excellent NAJDORF: LIFE and GAMES is now available to remind the chess masses what a remarkable man Najdorf was. A foreword by one of his daughters, Lilana Najdorf, begins the proceedings, and then we are taken though his earliest years, though his family’s slaughter at the hands of the Nazis, to his new life in Argentina, and finally to his death Malaga, Spain in 1997.
Though the historical information and the 130 annotated games would normally be well worth the book’s price, what really makes this a must buy are the stories about Najdorf, which bring the man vividly to life. Here are a few examples that, hopefully, will whet your appetite for more:
About how Najdorf draws an inferior position against Fischer at the 1960 Leipzig Olympiad:
“Realizing that he could no longer win, Fischer swept the pieces off the board and declared to an astonished Najdorf, “I’ll take a draw.” Miguel accepted the proposal, but later, in the foyer, made it known that Fischer would have to wait a long time before being invited to a tournament in Argentina. Indeed that only happened in 1970.”
Discussing the famous Goteborg incident, where all three Argentineans simultaneously played the same hyper-sharp new line in the Najdorf Sicilian (1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Bg5 e6 7.f4 Be7 8.Qf3 h6 9.Bh4 g5 10.fxg5 Nfd7 11.Nxe6 fxe6 12.Qh5+ Kf8) against three Russians (the games were Keres-Najdorf, Geller-Panno, and Spassky-Pilnik):
THE POSITION WHERE THE CONVERSATION OCCURRED
Geller recalls: “At this moment Spassky and Keres were only just preparing to sacrifice the Knight on e6, and so their opponents Pilnik and Najdorf were watching our game and having a lively discussion about something. Then Najdorf came up to me and said straight out, interrupting my thinking time: ‘You’ve got a lost game – we’ve analyzed it all!’ By then I had already managed to find the continuation of the attack, so I answered with deeds rather than words.”
Thus Geller was the first to play 13.Bb5!. Spassky and Keres soon followed his example, resulting in a 3-0 rout of the grandmasters from Argentina who had “analyzed it all”.
A conversation that occurred during a game against Boleslavsky:
Najdorf: “Do you want a draw?”
Boleslavsky: “No.”
N: “You’re playing for a win, then?”
B: “No.”
N: “So you do want a draw!”
B: “No.”
N: “Would you by any chance be playing for a loss, then?”
B: “No.”
N: “Well, what do you want, then?”
B: “To play chess.”
The book is filled with great stuff like this, and countless more “Najdorf moments” have been discussed in other books (for example, in BENKO’S LIFE, GAMES, and COMPOSITIONS), or have yet to be written down. For this occasion, I’ll share one of my own.
I was 21 years old and playing in Lone Pine, 1976. Smyslov had already wiped me off the board in the first round (I was honored just to have been able to play him), and in round six I once again found myself facing another chess deity – Najdorf. I had a comfortable position and, as he was pondering his 30th move, I sat back and stared at him in star struck awe, thinking, “I can’t believe I’m really playing Najdorf!”
Suddenly he looked up, smashed down a move, and screamed, “Why are you looking at me little boy? Why are you looking at me?”
Horrified and humiliated, I was suddenly overcome by panic and tossed out some random move and then quickly left the table. When I returned I realized his move (which I didn’t even look at) had set a rather obvious trap. Of course, I had walked right into it. I resigned a few moves later.
Naturally, I was none too pleased, but after the game he was so kind and warm that he instantly won me over. I have read that it was impossible to stay mad at Najdorf, and my own experience proved this. Later in the event, he would often rush up to me, put his arm around my shoulders and drag me to his game, asking, “How am I doing? Do you think I’m okay? Tell me!” He knew exactly how he was doing (while I didn’t have a clue), but the mere question made a young, inexperienced man feel like he was on top of the world.
Aside from the 130 annotated games, there are many other positions and full games without notes, a “find the winning move” section, and a section about “Najdorf and the Endgame.” At times the lack of notes raise questions and forces one to analyze if you want answers.
Najdorf-Margolin, Warsaw 1929
WHITE TO MOVE
Black’s position is begging for a violent end. Najdorf complied with 1.Ng5! fxg5 (1…h6 11.Qh5 f5 12.Qg6 gxh5 13.hxg5 Bxg5 14.Rh5 Bf4 15.Nb5 seems to be winning) 2.Qh5 h6 3.Qg6 Rf5 4.g4 cxd4 5.gxf5 exf5 6.hxg5 and White went on win.
What interested me, though, was 2.Bxh7+, which seemed quite strong to a blindfold eye staring at a diagram. A deeper look, though, showed that this only draws: 2.Bxh7+ Kxh7 3.hxg5+ Kg8 4.Rh8+ Kf7 (4…Kxh8?? 5.Qh5+ Kg8 6.g6 mates) 5.Qh5+ g6 6.Rh7+ Ke8 7.Qxg6+ Kd7 8.Nxd5! exd5 9.Qd6+ Ke8 10.Qg6+ with perpetual check. Thus Najdorf’s 2.Qh5 was indeed best.
The following position, from the endgame section, made me wonder who was analyzing what.
Gereben-Najdorf, Budapest 1936
BLACK TO MOVE
White has a dominating King, two active Bishops vs. a Bishop and Knight, and two extra pawns. Is it time to resign? In the actual game, he more or less did so by playing 1…Nd5 2.g4 Bd7 3.f5+ and Black went down in flames. In the book, Najdorf received some (unjust) criticism for missing a “saving” resource:
“Instead, the surprising 1…Nd7+! 2.Kd6 Nxc5 3.Kxc5 Bxh3!! 4.gxh3 Kf5 would have led to a theoretical draw.”
Yes, it’s true that the position after 4…Kf5 is drawn, but why be so accommodating? After 1…Nd7+ 2.Kd6 Nxc5 3.Kxc5 Bxh3, 4.g3 Kf5 5.Bd1 keeps White’s hopes alive, while 4.Bc2+! wins on the spot.
Notwithstanding the occasional bit of lazy (or nonexistent) analysis, this is an important book that really should be in the library of every serious chess fan.
Click to buy NAJDORF: LIFE AND GAMES
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