the means to an end(game)

thinking about this korchnoi’s definitely not passive-agressive annotation in 64 magazine for 6th petrosian-fischer match at 1971 candidates tournament

Viktor Korchnoi and Tigran Petrosian preparing for the Candidates with Yuri Averbakh at Petrosian's dacha, 1971. From TASS Archives.

Divya Deshmukh in her match against Anna Muzychuk, Round 8, 2026 Women's Candidates Tournament

Kateryna Lagno vs Vaishali Rameshbabu, Round 6, 2026 Women’s Candidates Tournament

Karpov's play is noted for its single‐minded clarity in handling positional themes, a quality apparent in his last round defeat of Olafsson. Persistent pressure against a backward QP resulted in its capture [...] and game technique did the rest. In the Taimanov Sicilian, 5 N‐N5 is played to induce 5 … P‐Q3, after which the Maroczy bind is set up by 6 P‐QB4. If White rushes with 5 P‐QB4, Black has an easier time, for example, 5 … N‐B3; 6 N‐QB3, B‐N5; 7 NxN, NPxN; 8 B‐Q3, P‐K4 with equality. The point of the strange‐looking retreat 8 N‐R3 is to keep the queen file open, inhibiting … P‐Q4, while the knight observes QN5, discouraging a later break by … P‐QN4.

Anatoly Karpov against Friðrik Ólafsson at Round 2, 1976 Max Euwe Quadrangular in Amsterdam