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SPAIN'S FINEST CAVA

CHESS

494 SPAIN'S FINEST CAVA

Palermo variations

Raymond Keene

THE SICILIAN DEFENCE thematic tournament in Buenos Aires has ended in a resounding victory for the Russian grand- master Valery Salov. Salov is not a noted devotee of sharp opening systems (and the Sicilian Defence is one of the sharpest) so his triumph against a host of Sicilian spe- cialists such as Anand, Ivanchuk and Polgar comes as something of a surprise. Salov will have been particularly delighted by his double against Anatoly Karpov, though this event must have been a night- mare for the Fide champion. Many years ago Karpov virtually abandoned 1 e4 as his opening move in serious competition, yet 1 e4 was the obligatory opener in every game. Furthermore, Karpov was never par- ticularly enthusiastic about the Sicilian, viewing it with a distaste equal to Capablanca's, who once pronounced it a defence which 'leaves Black's position full of holes'. Yet Karpov was forced to play an open Sicilian in every game as Black.

The other player who can be particularly proud of the outcome is Judit Polgar. She scored 50 per cent in a powerful field, tying with Ivanchuk and demolishing Kamsky in a way which eluded Nigel Short.

Kamsky–Polgar: Buenos Aires, October 1994.

Position after White's 34th move Black is rook for bishop ahead and White's bish- op on hl is incarcerated. However, if the black pawn on f3 falls, White can never lose and meanwhile White's duo of passed pawns looks dangerous. For example if 34 ... Qxd5 35 d7 Qxd7 36 Bxf3 with a likely draw. Polgar's solu- tion is one of genius, especially considering that White gains the chance to create two queens. 34 ...Re2 35 d7 Qb1+ 36 Kh2 Rxf2+ 37 Kh3 h51! Black avoids 37 ... Qxhl + 38 Kg4 when White wins. 38 Q03+ Kh7 White lost on time. White can play 38 d8/Q+ Kh7 but still has no defence to Black's mating threats.

It is interesting to assess whether the tournament organisers achieved their avowed aim, by pre-selecting the sharpest opening, of creating fighting chess. The overall percentage of decisive games from Buenos Aires was 48.2 per cent. This com- pares with the 43.3 per cent achieved at Novgorod in August (see my report in The Spectator of 3 September). Novgorod was the highest category tournament ever played, yet the percentage of decisive games was not much lower than that of Buenos Aires. Top tournaments used to be full of anodyne draws, but under the influ- ence of Kasparov and the younger grand- masters all this has changed, for the better. I think the evidence from Buenos Aires and Novgorod simply demonstrates that today's top players go for each other with a previously undreamt-of ferocity, irrespec- tive of which opening has been chosen.

It is a matter of conjecture now whether either or both of PCA and Fide submit the Buenos Aires results for their official rating lists. It will certainly bode ill for Kamsky and Karpov if they do. My feeling is that in an event with pre-selected openings, the games should not count for rating purpos- es, but we shall see. Salov is shaping up as a very serious contender against Kamsky in the semi-finals of the Fide version of the world championship set for next year (Karpov plays Gelfand in the other semi- final). Salov has enjoyed an unbroken run of success starting with his Fide match against Tullman, continuing with his win in the Tilburg knockout and now at Buenos Aires. At the age of 30 Salov doubtless believes that he has it within himself still to become world champion.

Buenos Aires Sicilian Theme Tournament, October 1994 1 1 2 2 3 3 4 4 5 5 6 6 7 7 8 8

Salov

Anand

• • 1,21/21/2 1 1 la 1r2 la 1 1 221,2 1 0 101,2.. 0 la 1 1 10101/2 1 100 1 1

9

81/2

Ivanchuk

la 0 1 In • • laialala 0 1/21/1 1 0 1

7 Polgar

012 0 0 la in • " 1 1 In la 1 1 In 0

7 Kamsky

1,21,21/212 1/2 1/2 0 0 1./2 1./2 11na 0 0 1/2 0 1 1/2 Ill 1/2 1•121:2 102 11 112 6611//22

Karpov

Shirov

lala la 1 la 0 0 0 la 1 In 1/2 • * 1/2 0

6

ljubojevic 0 1 0 0 1 0 la 1 0 0 0 112 In 1 • • 51/2 To round up, here is a sample of the win- ner's play. It is noteworthy how Salov represses any dynamism in the black posi- tion. He almost makes it look like a flank opening, not a Sicilian.

Salov–Ivanchuk: Buenos Aires, October 1994; Sicilian Defence.

1 e4 c5 2 Nf3 Nc6 3 d4 cxd4 4 Nxd4 Nf6 5 Nc3 d6 6 g3 g6 7 Nde2 Bd7 8 Bg2 Bg7 9 h3 Qc8 10 b3 0-0 11 Bb2 a5 12 a3 Ra6 13 Rbl Na7 14 Nf4 Re8 15 NcdS NxdS 16 NxdS Bxb2 17 Rxb2 a4 18 bxa4 Nc6 19 Nb6 Qc7 20 NdS Qc8 21 Qd2 Ne5 22 Rb4 Bxa4 23 0-0 Bc6 24 Ral Nd7 25 a4 Qd8 26 Qh6 e6 27 Ne3 Qf6 28 Rdl g5 29 Qxf6 Nxf6 30 Rxd6 ReaS 31 e5 Bxg2 32 Rxa6 Rxa6 33 Kxg2 Nd7 34 Nc4 Rc6 35 f4 gxf4 36 gxf4 Nc5 37 Nd6 Black lost on time.