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Buenos Aires Sicilian (1994) 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.  page 1 of 3; games 1-25 of 56  Game   Result Moves Year Event/Locale Opening 1. Shirov vs Karpov   ½-½ 37 1994 Buenos Aires Sicilian B47 Sicilian, Taimanov (Bastrikov) Variation 2. Ljubojevic vs Kamsky   0-1 65 1994 Buenos Aires Sicilian B32 Sicilian 3. Shirov vs Kamsky   ½-½ 48 1994 Buenos Aires Sicilian B65 Sicilian, Richter-Rauzer Attack, 7...Be7 Defense, 9...Nxd4 4. Karpov vs Kamsky   ½-½ 26 1994 Buenos Aires Sicilian B65 Sicilian, Richter-Rauzer Attack, 7...Be7 Defense, 9...Nxd4 5. Salov vs Kamsky ½-½ 46 1994 Buenos Aires Sicilian B84 Sicilian, Scheveningen 6. Kamsky vs Karpov   ½-½ 45 1994 Buenos Aires Sicilian B47 Sicilian, Taimanov (Bastrikov) Variation 7. Kamsky vs J Polgar 0-1 38 1994 Buenos Aires Sicilian B45 Sicilian, Taimanov 8. Kamsky vs Ljubojevic   1-0 43 1994 Buenos Aires Sicilian B97 Sicilian, Najdorf 9. Salov vs Karpov 1-0 62 1994 Buenos Aires Sicilian B47 Sicilian, Taimanov (Bastrikov) Variation 10. Karpov vs Ljubojevic 1-0 46 1994 Buenos Aires Sicilian B84 Sicilian, Scheveningen 11. Karpov vs Salov 0-1 67 1994 Buenos Aires Sicilian B62 Sicilian, Richter-Rauzer 12. J Polgar vs Karpov   ½-½ 53 1994 Buenos Aires Sicilian B62 Sicilian, Richter-Rauzer 13. Karpov vs J Polgar   ½-½ 53 1994 Buenos Aires Sicilian B81 Sicilian, Scheveningen, Keres Attack 14. Ljubojevic vs Karpov ½-½ 32 1994 Buenos Aires Sicilian B46 Sicilian, Taimanov Variation 15. J Polgar vs Kamsky   1-0 38 1994 Buenos Aires Sicilian B32 Sicilian 16. Karpov vs Shirov   ½-½ 48 1994 Buenos Aires Sicilian B62 Sicilian, Richter-Rauzer 17. Ljubojevic vs Salov   1-0 77 1994 Buenos Aires Sicilian B32 Sicilian 18. Ljubojevic vs J Polgar   ½-½ 27 1994 Buenos Aires Sicilian B81 Sicilian, Scheveningen, Keres Attack 19. Ljubojevic vs Shirov 1-0 79 1994 Buenos Aires Sicilian B62 Sicilian, Richter-Rauzer 20. J Polgar vs Ljubojevic   0-1 51 1994 Buenos Aires Sicilian B48 Sicilian, Taimanov Variation 21. Salov vs Ljubojevic 1-0 44 1994 Buenos Aires Sicilian B55 Sicilian, Prins Variation, Venice Attack 22. Shirov vs Ljubojevic   ½-½ 52 1994 Buenos Aires Sicilian B32 Sicilian 23. J Polgar vs Shirov 1-0 41 1994 Buenos Aires Sicilian B32 Sicilian 24. J Polgar vs Salov 0-1 48 1994 Buenos Aires Sicilian B81 Sicilian, Scheveningen, Keres Attack 25. Shirov vs J Polgar 0-1 29 1994 Buenos Aires Sicilian B45 Sicilian, Taimanov  page 1 of 3; games 1-25 of 56    REFINE SEARCH:   White wins (1-0) | Black wins (0-1) | Draws (1/2-1/2)   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. 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. 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. 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. 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." Jan-17-25    FSR: White scored +16 =29 -11 (54.5%), about two percent higher than he typically does with the Open Sicilian. Jan-18-25    Olavi: I believe it was van Oosterom who sponsored this tournament, the billionaire who was also behind the Melody Amber tournaments. NOTE: Create an account today to post replies and access other powerful features which are available only to registered users. Becoming a member is free, anonymous, and takes less than 1 minute! If you already have a username, then simply login login under your username now to join the discussion. Please observe our posting guidelines: No obscene, racist, sexist, or profane language. No spamming, advertising, duplicate, or gibberish posts. No vitriolic or systematic personal attacks against other members. 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