Genna Sosonko

This Yearbook is a tribute to the eternal youth and romantic spirit of chess. On the one hand it commemorates the genius of the late David Bronstein and on the other it also shows how his creative legacy thrives on the games of young players like Teimour Radjabov.

The King’s Indian Defence pioneered by Bronstein, Boleslavsky and Geller became a terrific weapon in the hands of Tal, Fischer and Kasparov in the latter half of the 20th Century. Unfortunately, in recent years it has received tremendous battering through the bayonet attack championed by Kramnik. Such has been the influence of the line that even Kasparov stopped playing his beloved defence after losing a couple of games to Kramnik.

So it was a pleasant surprise to see Radjabov playing the KID. His total of 3.5-out-of-4 in the Wijk aan Zee tournament last year [2007] was a big boost for the lovers of this sharp opening. As the NIC Magazine reported, predictably, Radjbov was asked if his success with the KID proved that it was still alive. With a deadpan face he replied: The news hadn’t reached me that the opening was ill.”

Havanur… (meer)