1 CHESS ,, ::DLOolutl az
SPAIN'S FINEST CAVA .. ,
ovolothul,
SPAIN'S FINEST CAVA
Special Ks
Raymond Keene
THE LINARES TOURNAMENT, the Wimbledon of chess, started this week. Once again, the organisers have succeeded in maintaining a rating average of category 18, the highest ever achieved. This year the line-up consists of Kasparov (Russia), Kar- pov (Russia), Anand (India), Ivanchuk (Ukraine), Kramnik (Russia), Shirov (Lat- via), Kamsky (USA), Bareev (Russia), Gelfand (Belarus), Topalov (Bulgaria), Judit Polgar (Hungary), Lautier (France) and Illescas (Spain). Apparently, Nigel Short was not considered for an invitation and Great Britain was to have been repre- sented by England's number two, Michael Adams. Sadly, though, Adams has with- drawn at the last minute and his place has been taken by yet another ex-Soviet, Alex- ander Beliavsky of the Ukraine.
In spite of the natural diminution of interest occasioned by the absence of 7 British players, Linares will be seen as a 6 tense High Noon, with its inevitable show- down between the PCA world champion, Kasparov, and the Fide champion, Kar- pov. Fide have eliminated both Kasparov and Short from their rating list but the Linares organisers have published an accu- rate estimate of what Kasparov should be, namely 2800. With Karpov at 2740 Kaspar- ov remains the clear favourite. Indeed, since the end of their fifth world title clash in 1990, Kasparov has built up a handsome plus score against Karpov in tournament games, including the following fine win against ,,his arch-rival from Linares two years ago. Whichever of the two great Ks, either in their personal game or in the overall tournament standings, comes out on top will obviously have inflicted a dent on the credibility of the other, and the organisation he represents, to lay claim to the true world title.
Kasparov — Karpov: Linares 1992; Caro-Kann Defence.
1 e4 c6 2 d4 d5 3 Nd2 dxe4 4 Nxe4 Nd7 5 Ng5 Ngf6 6 Bc4 e6 7 Qe2 Nb6 8 Bb3 h6 9 N513 c5 10 Bf4 Bd6 This is passive and should be replaced by 10 . . Nbd5 11 Be5 0a5+ 12 Nd2 b5 with vigorous counterplay as in three games by Speelman against Sax, Nunn and Short from 1988. 11 Bg3 Qe7 12 dxc5 Bxc5 13 Ne5 Bd7 14 Ng13 Nh5 15 0-0-0 Nxg3 16 hxg3 0-0-0 Black's king is not entirely safe on the queenside where he is missing the shelter of the `e pawn, hut with an open h' file it would clearly be too dangerous
Position after 17 Rh5 to castle on the other wing. 17 Rh5 (Diagram) An original way to activate his rook which is actually straining to reach the queen's flank. 17 . . . Be8 18 Rxd8+ Kxd8 19 Qd2+ Bd6 20 Nd3 Qc7 21 g4 Kc8 22 g5 Bf8 23 Rh4 Kb8 24 a4 Be7 According to Kasparov this is the decisive mistake. Black must hinder the further advance of White's 'a' pawn, hence 24 . . . a6 was the correct move. 25 a5 Nd5 26 Kbl White is now threatening 27 c4 which would trap Black's knight in the middle of the board. 26. . . Bd8 I have observed that in recent games against Kasparov, Karpov has adopted a somewhat
Steinitzian policy. Here, his king is exposed and his pieces have been driven back spectacularly. Karpov was, though, probably hoping that his bishop pair would eventually emerge to rule the earth. 27 a6 Well aware that Black still has long-term advantages in his favour, Kasparov is swift to drive home his assault. 27 . . . Qa5 28 Qe2 Nb6 28 . . . Qxa6 is impossible on account of 29 Qc5+ Ka8 30 Qxg7. 29 axb7 With Karpov having failed to prevent the advance of this pawn it now rips away the last vestiges of defence around the black king. 29. . . Bxg5 30 Nxg5 Qxg5 31 Rh5 Qf6 32 Ra5 Bc6 33 Nc5 Threatening Rxa7 followed by Qa6+. Black must therefore permit the exchange of one of the pieces which is still defending the king. 33
. . Bxb7 34 Nxb7 Kxb7 35 Qa6+ Kc6 36 Ba4+ Kd6 37 Qd3+ (Diagram) Black's case is hope- less. White could win a piece in a number of ways hereabouts hut prefers to play for mate. 37 . . . Nd5 38 Qg3+ Kasparov does not even bother to win a piece with 38 c4 but plays directly for mate. 38 . . . Qe5 39 Qa3+ Kc7 40 Qc5+ Kd8 41 Rxa7 Black resigns Black's king is hopelessly exposed.
Kasparov has not played a game since the conclusion of his title match against Nigel Short last year, while Karpov, by contrast, has just completed a successful training match with the Chilean Ivan Morovic, overwhelming the Latin Grandmaster by five points to one.
Previous page
