Nigel Short's Greatest Hits, Volume 2 DVD
Fritz Trainer by ChessBase
By Lance Martin

Running Time:  5 Hours 

It is always difficult for me to review a biographical DVD for ChessBase. The reason is that I have to put myself in the shoes of the person who created the DVD and see why he considers certain games as his favorite. This being his second DVD I may have to think harder about the inclusion of certain games. In the Nigel Short DVD it is rather easy to explain the first choice that he made for inclusion on the DVD. It is his first victory against a Grandmaster who happened to be British as well. The fact that this was also against the first British Grandmaster made this an even more significant event in the life of Nigel Short. That this was a game against Anthony (Tony) Miles makes it rather significant for me in that I have a great deal of respect for both of the players. The game itself was an exchange version of the French Devense with and ECO of C01. There is a rather interesting French that Short played as White against Beliavsky that Short annotated during this game. That game showed a win for Short in a mere 18 moves. There were two mistakes by Tony Miles that were most responsible for this victory by Short. There is nothing really of note to the viewer. I should say that this was played in 1979 in which Short scored 8 out of 11 points and tied for first place. Very meaningful for Short indeed.

Volume 2 contains 15 of Nigels favorites:

01.    Miles-Short
02.    Short-Ye Jiangchuan
03.    Short-Gelfand
04.    Gurevich-Short
05.    Short-Seirawan
06.    Short-Khalifman
07.    Short-Ljubojevic
08.    Kasparov-Short
09.    Short-Pogorelov
10.    Epishin-Short
11.    Short-Timman
12.    Short-Adams
13.    Illescas Cordoba-Short
14.    Korchnoi-Short
15.    Gligoric-Short

The next game was a rather abnormal Taimonov Sicilian that is meaningful for several reasons other than because it is a victory for Short in one of the games that led to his victory in the Shanjin Hotel Cup in which he won first place. The move order went as follows: 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nc6 5.Nc3 Qc7 6.Be2 a6 7.0-0 Nf6 8.Kh1 Be7 9.f4 d6 10.Nxc6 bxc6 11.Qd3 [see diagram] 0-0 “castling into it” (lord Owen).

                                                    
The fact is that if we are to keep our Sicilian structure straight than we must consider this a Scheveningen Sicilian.

The following game had Short walk into the B23 Closed Sicilian which Boris Gelfand had played and had won 9 out of 20 games with 5 draws which means that as Black he had only lost 7 games. Short’s record against Gelfand in this opening is 1-1. This lecture or game had no real significance other for the Short win.

The next game was from the Manila Interzonal of 1990. It was the last game against Gurevich and Short needed to win this game in order to remain in the championship cycle. It was once again a French exchange defense and it was due to Short's victory in this game that he was eventually able to play Garry Kasparov in 1993 in the World Championship final. I failed to show the first French because I thought that this game was more important to Short's career. Below the game you will find the final position in which Short took the point as Black.

Gurevich, Mikhail (2640) - Short, Nigel D (2610), Manila 1990 [Nigel Short]
1.d4 e6 2.e4 d5 3.exd5 exd5 4.Nf3 Bg4 5.h3 Bh5 6.Be2 [6.Qe2+] 6...Bd6 [6...Nc6] 7.Ne5 Bxe2 8.Qxe2 Ne7 9.0–0 [9.Qb5+?! Nbc6 10.Nxc6 bxc6 11.Qd3] 9...0–0 10.Bf4 Re8 11.Qg4 Bxe5! [11...Nbc6] 12.Bxe5 Ng6 13.Bg3 Nd7 14.Nd2 Nf6 15.Qf3 c6 16.Qb3 Qb6 17.Qxb6 axb6 18.a3?! [18.a4!] 18...Ne4 19.Nxe4 Rxe4 20.Rfd1 b5! 21.Kf1 f6 22.f3 Re6 23.Re1 Kf7 24.Rxe6 Kxe6 25.Re1+ Kd7 26.Ke2 [26.Bh2!?] 26...h5 27.Kd3 h4! 28.Bh2 Ne7! 29.Bf4 Nf5 30.Bd2 b6 31.Re2 c5 32.Be3 b4! 33.axb4 c4+ 34.Kc3 [34.Kd2 Ra2 35.Kc1 Ra1+ 36.Kd2 Rb1 37.Kc3 Nd6] 34...Nd6! 35.Re1 Ra4 36.Kd2 [36.Rb1!? Nb5+ 37.Kd2 Rxb4 38.b3 g5] 36...Rxb4 37.Ra1? [37.Kc1 Ra4 38.Kb1 Nf5 39.Bf2 b5] 37...Rxb2 38.Ra7+ Ke6 39.Rxg7 b5 40.Bf2?! [40.Ra7] 40...b4 41.Kc1 c3 42.Bxh4 Nf5! 43.Rh7 Nxd4, 0–1
 

    

He does an admirable job in annotating this game and following this victory he defeated Speelman, Gelfand, Karpov, and Timman in match play to move on to the Championship round which was played in Short’s home country and sponsored by the London Times.

The next game I chose to show is the same which won the best game prize in Chess Informant #90. This was the second time that Short had won the prize. The first time was the famous King March against Jan Timman. It is a rather good Taimonov with a kind of Yugoslav attack.

Short, Nigel D (2702) - Pogorelov, Ruslan (2451), Catalan Bay 2004 [Nigel Short]
(This won the prize for the Best Game in Informant 90) 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Qc7 5.Nc3 e6 6.Be3 a6 7.Qd2 b5 8.0–0–0 Nxd4 9.Bxd4 Ne7?! 10.Kb1 Nc6 11.Be3 Ne5 12.f4 Nc4 13.Bxc4 Qxc4 14.Bd4 f6 [14...d6 15.Bxg7! (15.Be5 Bb7 16.Bxd6 Rd8 17.e5²) 15...Bxg7 16.Qxd6 f5! (16...Bf6? 17.Nd5 Bd8 (17...exd5 18.Qxf6 Rg8 19.exd5+-) 18.b3! Qxe4 19.Qc6+ Kf8 20.Qxa8) 17.exf5 Kf7 18.Rhe1 (18.Rd3!?) 18...Bxc3 19.bxc3 Re8 20.Rd4! Qxc3 21.Qe5 Qc6 22.Rd6 Qc4 23.Re4 Qc7 24.fxe6++-] 15.g4!N Be7 16.g5 0–0 [16...fxg5 17.Bxg7 Rg8 18.Bd4±] 17.b3 Qc6 18.gxf6 Bxf6 19.Rhg1± b4 20.Nd5!! [20.Na4 Qxe4 21.Bxf6 Rxf6 22.Nb6 Rb8 23.Nxc8 (23.Qd6±) 23...Rxc8 24.Rxg7+ Kxg7 25.Qxd7+ Kh6 26.Qxc8²] 20...exd5 21.e5 Be7 [21...Bd8 22.e6 Rf6 (22...g6 23.f5 Rxf5 24.Qh6 Rf6 25.Rgf1! Qxe6 26.Rde1) 23.f5 dxe6 24.Qg5+-] 22.e6 Rf6 [22...Bf6 23.Rxg7+!! Kxg7 24.Rg1+ Kh8 25.f5 Bb7 (25...Qc3 26.e7!) 26.Bxf6+ Rxf6 27.Qg5 Rg6 28.fxg6 Qxe6 29.gxh7 Qf7 30.Qe5+ Kxh7 31.Qg5+-; 22...g6 23.f5 Rxf5 24.Qh6 Rf6 25.Rgf1 dxe6™ a) 25...Bf8 26.e7! Bxe7 27.Rxf6 Bxf6 28.Rf1; b) 25...Qxe6 26.Bxf6 Bxf6 27.Rde1 Qf7 (27...Bg7 28.Qh4+-) 28.Rxf6 Qxf6 29.Re8+ Kf7 30.Qf8#; ] 23.f5 dxe6 [23...h6 24.Rxg7+ (24.h4!! dxe6 25.Qg2+-) 24...Kxg7 25.Qg2+ Kf8 26.Rg1 Ke8 27.Bxf6 Bxf6 28.Qg6+ Ke7 29.Qf7+ Kd6 30.e7 Qc3 (30...Bxe7 31.Rg6+) 31.e8N+ Kc6 32.Nxf6+-] 24.Rxg7+ Kxg7 25.Qg5+ Kf7 26.Rg1 Bf8 [26...Bd7 27.Qh5+ Kf8 28.Bxf6 Bxf6 29.Qxh7; 26...Ke8 27.Bxf6 Bxf6 28.Qxf6 Kd7 29.Rg7+ Kd6 30.Qe7+ Ke5 31.fxe6+- to be analysed further] 27.Qxf6+ Ke8 28.Rg8 Qd6 29.fxe6 Qe7 30.Qh6 Rb8 31.Bf6 [31.Qh5+! Kd8 32.Qxd5+ Kc7 33.Qe5+ Kb7 34.Qe4+ Kc7 35.Qf4+] 31...Qxe6 32.Rxf8+ Kd7 33.Qg7+ Kc6 34.Be5 Rb7 35.Qh8, 1–0

The move 7.Qd2 is used in the English attack in the Najdorf as well as the Yugoslav attack against the Dragon. The point that Short makes is that it can be employed in many different variants of the Sicilian including this game in the Taimonov. Short is very honest in his annotation and makes sure to go over the moves that he considers, shall we say, less than correct. He is particularly harsh on his opponents multiple moves of the Knight in the opening. Short sort of wonders whatever happened to the ancient principle of moving a piece only once in the opening. Similarly Pogorelov brings his Queen out to a rather poor position in this opening. In listening to Short’s annotation of the opening 15 or so moves than one would wonder how this game received any awards. According to Short the move 20.Nd5!! and his sacrifice of the Knight is what had impressed the judges. Short then proceeds to sacrifice one of his Rooks and he still has the initiative. The game ended nicely for Short with threats that forced his opponent to resign. While this is not as memorable as the famous "King Ladder" it was indeed a well played game on the part of Short if not by his opponent who has even slid further down the elo ladder than when he had played Nigel. The prize had to be given on the basis of Nigel’s tremendous defensive maneuvers rather than any tremendous playing ability on the part of his opponent.

I cannot fail to add the game that was played as the only English Championship in history against Michael Adams. Please don't confuse this with the British Champioships which are held on a yearly basis and whose current champion is David Howell. There had been much controversy surrounding the past British championships which I do not find it prudent to write about in this review. This game was played during that championship in 1991 in a Four Knights Game which is rarely seen in either specialized books or in DVDs even though it has been played quite a few time by the likes of Alexei Shirov  and Dr. John Nunn although the latter has not been active since 2006.

Short, Nigel D (2660) - Adams, Michael (2615), England 1991
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bb5 Bc5 [4...Bb4; 4...Nd4] 5.0–0 0–0 6.Nxe5 Nxe5 7.d4 Bd6 8.f4 Nc6 9.e5 a6 10.Be2 Bb4 11.d5 Bc5+ 12.Kh1 Nxd5 13.Nxd5 d6 14.Bd3 dxe5 15.fxe5 Nxe5 [15...Bd4 16.Nf6+ gxf6 17.Qh5 f5 18.Rxf5 Ne7 19.Bg5 (19.Rg5+ Ng6 20.Qh6 Qe7 21.Rh5 f5 22.Bc4+ Kh8 23.Qxg6) 19...Bxf5 20.Bxf5 Nxf5 21.Bf6!] 16.Bxh7+ Kxh7 17.Qh5+ Kg8 18.Qxe5 Bd6 19.Qh5 f6 20.Bf4 Be6 21.Rad1 Bf7 22.Qf3 Bxf4 23.Nxf4 Qc8 24.Nd5 Bxd5 25.Qxd5+ Rf7 26.Rd3 c6 27.Qh5 Re7 28.Rh3 Qf8 29.Qh7+ Kf7 30.Rg3 Ke8 31.Rd1 g5? [31...Kf7!; 31...Rd8 32.Qh5+ Rf7 33.Re3+] 32.Qh5+ [32.Re3!] 32...Qf7 33.Qh8+ Qf8 34.Qh5+ Qf7 35.Qh8+ Qf8 36.Rh3 Rg7 37.Re3+, 1–0

There is not much to say of the game for the first 20 moves or so other than to point out that the h-file is open to White. The pawn structure is equal and there is only a slight structural advantage for White. By move 28 Short takes advantage of the h-file by doubling on it with Queen and Rook. Move 29.Qh7+ kicks the King around into an unsafe position. Adams is forced to move his King into the center of the board. Short follows with 31.Rd1 which sets up all kinds of problems for Black. The rest of the game is just a matter of how Short was going to either check mate or win enough material for the point. The latter was the case.

The game Which follows Is between Illescas-Short from Pamplona on the last day of the millennium is a Tartakower variation of the Queen’s Gambit. The annotation is excellent and the game itself is interesting for being a Queen’s Gambit between two excellent Grandmasters. There is nothing special about the move order nor is there  any combinational wizardry that would warrant inclusion in this review. As a matter of fact the game could be called "The Story of the Misplaced Queen". That is exactly what happened and is the reason for Short’s ultimate victory.

January 23, 1976 will always be remembered by Nigel Short as he was the only Junior in a 30 game simul who scored the point against Viktor Korchnoi when he was only 10 years old. This is a Catalan that was played between these two genltemen of the board in 1989. Look at 17.f3 - not equal but Black has an advantage even though he disagrees with the encyclopedia of chess openings. 23.Kf1 a serious error by Korchnoi. In the end game you should use your Kings. But this is a middle game without Queens. Short moved the Rook to the seventh rank, He cannot get rid of it. The final blunder was 28.Bf1 in which Korchnoi completely overlooked 28…Ne1.

                                              
After becoming the youngest International Master in Hastings in 1980 he was invited to play in a Television series called "The Master Game". It was a great show and I was living in London at the time of its airing. What would happen was that the players would play their games and than verbalize their thoughts during the airing of the game. I was a regular viewer of the show and found it not only as a gaining of chess knowledge but entertaining as well. I have to admit that I do not remember this particular show but I really did love the series.

In any event the Huebner variation of the Nimzo Indian was played against Svetozar Gligoric as White. The game as a whole proved very interesting considering the youth of Short at the time:

Gligoric, Svetozar (2565) - Short, Nigel D (2360), London, 1980 [Nigel Short]
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.e3 c5 5.Nge2 cxd4 6.exd4 0–0 7.a3 Be7 8.d5 exd5 9.cxd5 Bc5 [9...d6?!; 9...Re8 10.d6!? Bf8] 10.Nd4?! [10.b4!? Bb6 (10...Bd6!?) 11.Na4! d6 12.Nxb6 axb6 (12...Qxb6 13.Be3±) 13.Ng3 Re8+ 14.Be2 Re5 15.Bb2 Rxd5 16.Qc1] 10...d6 11.Be2 a6! 12.0–0 Nbd7 13.Bg5 h6 [13...Re8 14.Nb3 Ba7 15.Nd2 h6 16.Bh4 Ne5 17.Nde4 g5 18.Nxf6+ Qxf6 19.Bg3 Bf5 20.Kh1 Ng6 21.Bg4 Nf4 22.Bxf4 Bxg4 23.Qxg4 Qxf4 24.Qxf4 gxf4 25.Rad1 Rac8 26.g3 Rc4 27.Kg2 Bd4] 14.Bh4 Re8 15.Rc1 Nf8 16.b4 Ba7 17.Nb3 Ng6 18.Bg3 Ne7! 19.h3 Nf5 20.Bh2 Bd7 21.Na5 [21.g4 Ne7 22.Bxd6 Nexd5 23.Nxd5 Nxd5] 21...Rc8 22.Kh1? [22.Nxb7 Qb6 23.Na5 Ne3! (23...Rxc3!? 24.Rxc3 Ne4 25.Rf3 Nd4 26.Nc4 (26.Re3? Nc3!–+) 26...Nxf3+ 27.Bxf3 Qxf2+! 28.Rxf2 Nxf2 29.Qa1 Ng4+ 30.Kh1 Nf2+) 24.fxe3 Qxe3+ 25.Kh1 Rxc3 26.Bxa6!? Ne4 27.Rxc3 Qxc3 28.Qf3 Qxf3 29.gxf3 Nf2+ 30.Rxf2 Bxf2; 22.Bd3! Ne3 23.fxe3 Bxe3+ 24.Kh1 Bxc1 25.Qxc1 Nxd5 26.Bc4!] 22...Bd4! [22...Rxc3 23.Rxc3 Ne4 24.Rf3 Nd4 25.Re3 Nxf2+ 26.Rxf2 Rxe3] 23.Na2 Rxc1 24.Nxc1 Ne4! 25.g4 Nxf2+ 26.Rxf2 Bxf2 27.gxf5 Bxf5 28.Nd3 [28.Nxb7 Qg5 29.Nxd6 Bxh3 30.Bf3 Re1+] 28...Qh4 29.Bf3 Bxd3 30.Qxd3 Qxh3?! [30...Re1+ 31.Kg2 Rg1+! 32.Bxg1 Qg3+ 33.Kf1 Qxg1+ 34.Ke2 Qe1#] 31.Be4 Qg4 32.Bg2 Re1+ 33.Bf1 Rd1 0–1

I am including it both for the game's interest  and the annotation by Short which should give you an idea of the effort that Short puts into the analysis.

This was the move 18…Ne7! Which Gligoric had overlooked and really cost him the game. While Short finished the development of his minor pieces Gligoric is decentralizing his pieces and losing the game. The move 22.Kh1? was not a move that would win the game for White. Short might not realize this but he is doing exactly what he did on the television show that aired this game. I thing that this is a nostalgic reason for my inclusion of this game in the review. The second volume of Short’s biography picks up where the first volume ends. It contains the inclusion of Nigel’s favorite games barring the games that he chose for the first volume.

 

He is an excellent annotator and spends 20-30 minutes on each game and makes us feel as though we were looking at these games through Short's eyes. This is the same sort of thing that was included in the television series that Nigel mentions and I had watched while living in London. It brings back some very good memories and should do a fair job of dating me in that I was in my 30's when this gamed was aired on British television. For all the reasons given I have no choice but to recommend this DVD to all those interested in the history of chess in that era even though most of the agmes asre from the 80's there are a couple of newer ones. As for me, I enjoyed this DVD the second time I watched it more than the first. The reason for this is that I had to wait for the last game to remind me of the television show that I enjoyed so much. So, I watched it the second time from a whole new perspective with some very pleasant memories.

My assessment of this DVD: 4 stars

Buy Nigel Short Great est Hits, Volume 2
Buy Nigel Short Greatest Hits, Volume 1
Buy Nigel Short Greatest Hits ,Volume 1 and 2