| Buenos Aires Sicilian (1994) |
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The Soviet super-grandmaster Lev Polugaevsky played the Sicilian Defense (1.e4 c5) at almost every opportunity, and with great success. He developed and often played the razor-sharp line 1.e4 c5 2.♘f3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.♘xd4 ♘f6 5.♘c3 a6 6.Bg5 e6 7.f4 b5!?, which became known as the Polugaevsky Variation, again with excellent results. After he was diagnosed with brain cancer, a Sicilian thematic tournament in Buenos Aires, Argentina was hurriedly organized to honor him. All games had to begin 1.e4 c5 2.♘f3 (2...d6, 2...♘c6, or 2...e6) 3.d4 cxd4 4.♘xd4. The original intention was that Polugaevsky himself would play in the tournament. Sadly, he was too ill to do so, but attended as an honored guest. Valery Salov won the tournament with 9/14. Polugaevsky died the following year.
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| page 3 of 3; games 51-56 of 56 |
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| page 3 of 3; games 51-56 of 56 |
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| Aug-25-23 | | Granny O Doul: As I recall, this tournament was a sort of pre-memorial in honor of the ailing Lev Polugayevsky. Possibly Miguel Najdorf was behind it; seems likely. Anyway, it's more than I expect for myself. |
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Aug-25-23
 | | perfidious: My copy of <Sicilian Love>, the tournament book, is buried somewhere amidst the mothballs, but the event was to honour Polugaevsky. To this end, all games were mandated to open 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 and 3.d4. |
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| Aug-26-23 | | Granny O Doul: The comments to Salov vs Ljubojevic, 1994 provide some more info on the why and how of the tournament. I remember that Salov annotated that game; maybe in New in Chess. As he told it, it was an honest mistake on his part and he was very angry when Ljubo said to his face, never mind, it's ok, but to others complained it was a psych job. |
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Nov-04-24
 | | FSR: <perfidious> To be precise, Black had to play 2...d6, 2...e6, or 2...Nc6; Black had to play 3...exd4; and White had to play 4.Nxd4. If allowed, Black would surely play 2...a6, when the forced (in this tournament) 3.d4?! allows Black easy equality. |
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Nov-04-24
| | FSR: <Granny O Doul: . . . Anyway, it's more than I expect for myself.> What are you talking about? People are always saying, "Thank GOD" and such - plainly an allusion to you. No one ever says, "Thank FSR." |
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Jan-17-25
| | FSR: White scored +16 =29 -11 (54.5%), about two percent higher than he typically does with the Open Sicilian. |
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| Jan-18-25 | | Olavi: I believe it was van Oosterom who sponsored this tournament, the billionaire who was also behind the Melody Amber tournaments. |
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