Matrix Attack

How about this Nakamura fellow? At the 6th Lausanne Young Masters, he once again banged out his so called Matrix Attack. This time, he lost to Volokitin. Earlier in the year, he tried the same opening against Sasikiran at the Sigeman & Co tournament. The result there was also a loss to Nakamura.

So is this arrogance and an insult to the opponent? Or is it "normal" and to be accepted? I am leaning more towards the latter. My view is, if the moves are there on the board - then play them. To not play certain moves or systems in order not to bruise some player's sense of self-importance is surely to kill off chess quickly. As you'll see in the games, Nakamura actually obtained playable positions (and at one point, even winning against the Indian player).

Nakamura is a very exciting player, one with a winning attitude. His game against Smirin at the Foxwoods Open this year is another example of this. Just beautiful attacking play. If this young American spends more time in Europe, he will soon become a super-GM, 2700+. No doubt about it.

To view the encounter against Volokitin, check out Chess News & Events. This is Goran's site. I now use it as my quick one-stop shop for world tourney results.