Played in Austria - Part 1

Played in Austria - Part 1

In this new series I will analyze games that were played in Austria.

I will select games from the highest master level down to the lowest amateur level of play, sometimes new games, sometimes old ones.

Many of the games will feature players personally known to me. So if you think I know you from our local chess scene - be afraid... be very afraid of me! Your worst loss might be the next game I choose to dissect in this blog! ;-)

For the most part games will be chosen for instructive content, sometimes for beauty or entertainment value. It will be a mixed bag and you never know what you will discover in these games.

Let's start with our first three examples! All on a pretty high level this time.

Game 1: Reka Horvath (2015) -vs- Andreas Wieser (2070)

Steirische Landesliga 2018/2019, Round 3, Board 6. 27.10.2018
Spg. Feldbach-Kirchberg -vs- Styria Graz

I have played against both Reka Horvath and Andreas Wieser before, so I especially enjoyed examining this game.

Reka usually has a very tactial and attacking style of play and her games are often very exciting crowd-pleasers. I first noticed her when I was seated in a lower rated section of the Graz Open 2009, with a great view at her board. She trapped the queen of a MK (Meisterkandidat, the Austrian version of the CM title) on move 12 in the middle of the board. As a little bonus I have included that miniature in the analysis above.

Game 2: GM Zdenko Kozul (2541) -vs- IM Eva Moser (2432)

18. Internationales Open Graz 2011 (A), Brauhaus Puntigam, Graz, Austria 04.09.2011, Round 9, Board 2.

Sadly Eva Moser died from leukemia on 31 March 2019, only 36 years old. For a long time she was Austria's number 1 woman player and among her accomplishments is winning the Austrian Chess Championship 2006.

I cannot claim to have known her very well personally, but I remember her engaging smile and her friendly attitude. Arrogance must have been completely foreign to her and she never gave the impression that lower rated players were below her dignity to talk to. Despite her success she was very down to earth and just a fellow chess enthusiast among like-minded friends, not some haughty diva.

I was hesitant to use this game of hers on my blog, because frankly it is way above my head and I feel unworthy to annotate it. But remembering Eva Moser the way I knew her, I think she would have approved of my humble efforts.

Her opponent in this game was former European Chess Champion (2006) and two time Croatian Chess Champion (2006 & 2015) GM Kozul Zdenko.

8.Rd1 against the Dutch Stonewall is a potentially interesting move that is rarley seen and that GM Kozul has employed with success both before and after this game against Eva Moser. In this game too he gets big advantage in the opening and it took a great defensive effort on the part of Eva Moser to solve her problems.

I consider this game as one of her greatest successes in chess and with this victory she secured the second place in the final standings of the Graz Open 2011, behind GM David Shengelia. I was there in the tournament hall when the game was played. It was exciting to watch live and I hope you will enjoy it too.

Game 3: FM Johann Webersberger (2357) -vs- FM Dietmar Hiermann (2234)

2. Bundesliga Mitte 2018/2019, Round 5, Board 5. 25.11.2018.
SV Sparkasse Grieskirchen/Sedda Bad Schallerbach -vs- SPG Sauwald

In stark contrast to the defensive masterpiece we just examined, I included this game as a textbook example for attacking the castled king. White makes it seem easy and finishes with a nice tactical blow that is not too hard too find, but still pleasing to watch. I liked the straight forward way in which White conducted his attack.

I hope you learned a thing or two, or at least enjoyed today's selection. If you did, I would appreciate a LIKE to encourage me to analyze more games in the future.

Thanks for reading! Hope to see you again in my next blog!