View From Down Under

by Chris Depasquale
BALI BELIEVABLE
"Of course the Myanmarese players are over-rated," Checker
told me, "but not by nearly as much as most people think."
Checker paused briefly to let this sink in, before continuing.
"What, after all, does a player's rating actually measure?" he
asked, fixing me with the beady-eyed stare he uses when he
knows I am going to give the wrong answer.
For myself, I couldn't see how I could possibly get this one
wrong: it was a gimme. "Ratings measure playing strength as
compared to other players," I said confidently. Checker shook
his head, sadly, as if I had missed the point entirely.
"If that was the case," Checker pointed out, "then all FIDE
would need to do to ensure integrity of the ratings would be to
set a written exam every six months, and assign ratings
according the results. The trouble with your way of thinking is
that it assumes chess is played in a vacuum; that there are no
factors present but the selection of moves at the board. Of
course, objective playing strength, as could be measured by a
practical written examination, is a large part of it, but from
there you need to add or subtract according to how each
individual handles what I call the human factors."
The look on my face must have made it clear that in order for
what Checker was saying to be clear to me, it needed
clarification. "It is like the difference between theory and
practice," Checker explained. "Every player, from Kasparov
down, has achieved a position from the opening which theory
says is winning, and then failed to win it. In theory, theory and
practice should be the same, but in practice they are not."
I sloshed this around in my mind for a while, which was not too
difficult, as my head was spinning. Seeing that I was almost
ready to form a syllable, Checker interrupted me before I could
say the wrong thing. "Take the player from Myanmar, Zaw
Win Lay, who played in Bali," Checker said. "In the written
examination he would probably get a rating of about 2400,"
Checker continued, "and yet, in the final outcome, his
performance was closer to 2600 than 2400. How do you
explain that?"
I thought about this for a moment. As a nation of people the
Myanmarese are pretty cagey. According to Amnesty
International, there they have one of the most brutal, repressive
regimes in the world, the worst cases of human rights abuses,
the greatest number of political activists and journalists slain,
or simply disappeared, and yet, somehow, they have tricked the
rest of the world into ignoring what is happening. There are no
sanctions, no economic blockades, no tirades from the UN.
Hell, the Americans have not even bombed the crap out of
them, and they usually do that faster than you can say "despot".
But I digress.
"Put yourself in Zaw's shoes for a moment," Checker advised.
"You know the other players know practically nothing about

you because, although you have had many dozens of games

rated by FIDE recently, the actual moves of the games, if they
took place at all, are shrouded in mystery. The key things you
know about yourself that the other players don't know are that:
(a) your greatest weakness is in complicated tactical positions;
(b) your greatest strength is in simplified positions, particularly
endgames;
(c) you are not afraid of these opponents despite their
reputations; and
(d) you can expect to score practically zero in the event unless
the games are played to your strengths."
After allowing a moment for all that to sink in, Checker
continued. "In the first round you are White against Khalifman,
who, you can be fairly sure, will play the French Defence.
What are you going to do?"
Finally, it was beginning to dawn on me. "Play the Exchange
French!" I blurted out, "swap all the pieces and draw the
endgame!" I said, pleased with myself that I had finally
understood what Checker was going on about.
"No, no, NO!" Checker responded with a horrified look on his
face. "If you did that, it would be about the last half-point you
scored in the entire tournament. What you would do is choose
the sharpest possible line against the French, sacrifice a piece if
you can, and then resign at the earliest opportunity. Which is
precisely what happened."
Zaw Win Lay (2633) - Khalifman,A (2656)
Japfa Classic, Bali INA (1), 22.04.2000
1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nd2 c5 4.exd5 Qxd5 5.Ngf3 cxd4 6.Bc4
Qd6 7.0-0 Nf6 8.Nb3 Nc6 9.Nbxd4 Nxd4 10.Nxd4 a6 11.Re1
Qc7 12.Bb3 Bd6 13.Nf5 Bxh2+ 14.Kh1 0-0 15.Nxg7 Rd8
16.Qf3 Kxg7 17.Bh6+ Kg6 18.Rad1 Rxd1 19.Rxd1 e5
20.Kxh2 Ng4+ 21.Kg1 Kxh6 0-1
"Don't you see the value of this game to the overall tournament
strategy?" asked Checker. "First impressions are the most
important, and with this game Zaw immediately planted the
seed for the rest of the field that his preference is for sharp
positions. The early resignation, too, leaves the other players
comfortable that Zaw is not a strong player; not a threat to
them."
I was still having trouble coming to grips with the concept that,
in order to get the best possible result, it was vital to perform as
poorly as possible. Fortunately Checker was able to come to the
rescue, by continuing his discourse on Zaw Win Lay's
tournament in Bali.
"The next two rounds, however, created a crisis for Zaw's
strategy," Checker pointed out. "In round 2 he played the
bottom seed, Indonesian Ruben Gunawan. It was as recently as
the 1997 Jakarta Open, when Zaw was rated just 2230, that he
had convincingly defeated Gunawan. Now, with an extra 400
rating points, it would look suspicious if he collapsed in twenty
moves as he had against Khalifman. So, what do you do?"
asked Checker.

"A short draw?" I ventured after some thought.

"That would have fitted Zaw's plans," Checker agreed.
"Unfortunately, Gunawan, with the White pieces, saw this
game as his best chance to notch up a win, and went completely
berserk. Before Zaw could pause for breath he was already the
exchange and a pawn ahead, and completely winning. Zaw was
most upset with the course of events, because a win in this
game would almost certainly mean a 1/9 final result. So he ran
himself short of time, and then allowed a draw by repetition of
position. This helped create the impression that he was afraid,
and not a threat to the good players."
Gunawan,R (2507) - Zaw Win Lay (2633)
Japfa Classic, Bali INA (2), 23.04.2000
1.Nf3 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.g3 d5 4.Qc2 c5 5.Bg2 Nc6 6.0-0 Be7 7.d3
0-0 8.a3 d4 9.e3 e5 10.exd4 exd4 11.Re1 Bd6 12.Bg5 h6
13.Bxf6 Qxf6 14.Nbd2 Qd8 15.Re2 Bd7 16.b4 cxb4 17.c5
Be7 18.axb4 Nxb4 19.Qc4 Nc6 20.Rb1 Rc8 21.Nb3 b6
22.Ne5 Nxe5 23.Rxe5 Bf6 24.Rd5 Qc7 25.Rxd7 Qxd7 26.c6
Qd6 27.Nd2 Rc7 28.h4 Rfc8 29.Rc1 Qe7 30.Be4 Qe6 31.Bd5
Qe7 32.Be4 Qe6 33.Bd5 Qe7 1/2
"Round three was even worse for Zaw's strategy, as he had
White against Seirawan," Checker sighed. "For decades now
people have been trying to steer games against Seirawan into
murky complications, but with extremely limited success.
Before he even realised it, Zaw had reached a completely
drawn double-rook ending; just the sort of position he plays so
well. A draw would be the last half-point he could expect in the
entire tournament. What to do now?"
"The old time-trouble trick again?" I suggested, thinking I had
finally got the hang of this deep tournament strategy.
"Unfortunately," said Checker, "when Seirawan started
repeating the position the time control had already been
reached."
Zaw Win Lay (2633) - Seirawan,Y (2647)
Japfa Classic, Bali INA (3), 24.04.2000
1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.Nd2 dxe4 4.Nxe4 Nd7 5.Ng5 e6 6.Bd3 Be7
7.N1f3 h6 8.Ne4 Ngf6 9.Nxf6+ Bxf6 10.Qe2 c5 11.Be3 cxd4
12.Bxd4 Bxd4 13.Nxd4 Qf6 14.c3 0-0 15.0-0 Nc5 16.Bc2 b6
17.Rfe1 Bb7 18.Qe5 Qxe5 19.Rxe5 Rfd8 20.f4 g6 21.Rae1
Nd7 22.R5e3 Nf6 23.Bb3 Bd5 24.Bxd5 Nxd5 25.Re4 h5
26.g3 Rd6 27.R4e2 Rad8 28.Kg2 Ne7 29.Kf2 Nc6 30.Nxc6
Rxc6 31.Re5 Kg7 32.a4 a6 33.R5e4 Kf6 34.R1e2 Rd5 35.h3
Rd1 36.Re1 Rd8 37.R1e2 Rd5 38.Re5 Rd1 39.R5e4 Rcd6
40.Re1 R1d2+
"The only option for Zaw was to pretend he thought he stood
better, decline the repetition of position, and appear to play for
a win by throwing his king-side pawns forward. Naturally, this
allowed Black to penetrate with his rooks, and Zaw was able to
resign with a clear conscience a dozen or so moves later."

41.R1e2 Rd1 42.Kg2 Ra1 43.Rb4 a5 44.Rc4 Rd3 45.Rf2 Re1

46.g4 h4 47.f5 Kg5 48.fxg6 fxg6 49.Rc6 Rg3+ 50.Kh2 Ree3
51.Rxb6 Rxh3+ 52.Kg2 Rhg3+ 53.Kh2 Rh3+ 54.Kg2 Reg3+
55.Kf1 Rh1+ 56.Ke2 h3 0-1
"Well, after that, I am sure that all the players in the
tournament concluded that the way to play Zaw was to swap all
the pieces and win the endgame," I said, impressed despite
myself.
"The real litmus test was the next two rounds," said Checker,
all but agreeing with me. "In those games Zaw would meet
Milos and Polgar. If those two abandoned their natural
attacking, tactical style, then Zaw's strategy would be a
complete success. And they certainly did."
Milos,G (2620) - Zaw Win Lay (2633)
Japfa Classic, Bali INA (4), 25.04.2000
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0-0 Be7 6.Re1 b5
7.Bb3 d6 8.c3 0-0 9.h3 Bb7 10.d4 Re8 11.Nbd2 Bf8 12.d5
Ne7 13.Nf1 Ng6 14.a4 c6 15.dxc6 Bxc6 16.Bg5 h6 17.Bxf6
Qxf6 18.Ne3 Nf4 19.Nd5 Bxd5 20.Bxd5 Rab8 21.axb5 axb5
22.Kh2 b4 23.c4 Be7 24.Ra6 Rec8 25.Qd2 Rc5 26.b3 Nxd5
27.exd5 Qf5 28.Nd4 exd4 29.Rxe7 Qf6 30.Re4 d3 31.Re3
Rcc8 32.Rxd3 Rxc4 33.bxc4 b3 34.Rxb3 1-0
Zaw Win Lay (2633) - Polgar,J (2655)
Japfa Classic, Bali INA (5), 27.04.2000
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Be2 e5
7.Nb3 Be7 8.0-0 0-0 9.Be3 Be6 10.Qd2 Nbd7 11.a4 Rc8 12.a5
Qc7 13.Rfd1 Rfd8 14.Qe1 Qc6 15.Bf3 h6 16.Nc1 Qc7 17.Nd3
d5 18.exd5 Bf5 19.Bb6 Nxb6 20.axb6 Qxb6 21.Qxe5 Bxd3
22.Na4 Qb4 23.cxd3 Re8 24.Qe2 Bd6 25.Qd2 Qd4 26.Nc3
Bb4 27.Ne2 Qb6 28.Nc3 Red8 29.d4 Rc7 30.Qd3 Rdc8
31.Ne2 Bd6 32.b3 Rc2 33.Rac1 Rxc1 34.Rxc1 Rxc1+
35.Nxc1 Qa5 36.Qd1 Qa1 37.g3 Ba3 38.Nd3 Qxd4 39.Nf4
Qxd1+ 40.Bxd1 Bd6 41.Nd3 b5 42.Bf3 a5 43.Kf1 a4 44.bxa4
bxa4 45.Bd1 a3 46.Bb3 Ne4 47.Kg2 g5 48.f3 Nc3 49.Nc1
Kg7 50.Na2 Nb5 51.Bc4 Nd4 52.Kf2 Bc5 53.Ke3 f5 54.g4
Kf6 55.gxf5 Kxf5 56.d6 Ne6+ 57.Kd3 Bxd6 58.Nc3 Nf4+
59.Kc2 Ng2 60.Kb3 Ne1 61.Bd5 Kf4 62.Ne4 Bf8 63.Nd2 Nd3
64.Kc3 Nc1 65.Nb3 a2 66.Na1 Ne2+ 67.Kd3 Ng1 68.Bxa2
Nxf3 69.Nc2 Nxh2 70.Nd4 Bd6 71.Ke2 Ng4 72.Bf7 Nf6
73.Bg6 g4 74.Ne6+ Kg3 75.Ng7 Kh2 76.Nf5 g3 0-1
"So the stage was set for Zaw to garner points in the last four
rounds," I said confidently.
"Not quite," Checker replied. "As a member of the media
yourself, you should understand the role of the media in
blowing the whistle on such frauds," he reproached me. I didn't
understand where this was leading, and sought clarification.
"In round 2," said Checker, "Zaw beat one of the local
Indonesian players, Gunawan, in every sense except on the
score-board. Against everybody else he had lost like a child.
Now, in round 6, Zaw had to play the other Indonesian,
Adianto. Unless Zaw got crushed the media would zero in on

the inconsistency. Zaw did his best to do his worst," Checker

went on, "but Adianto wasn't really up to it. After 20 moves it
looked like the Gunawan game all over again. Adianto had just
tried too hard, conceded the bishop pair, and then
overextending on the king-side, weakening his own position."
Checker showed me the game.
Adianto,U (2580) - Zaw Win Lay (2633)
Japfa Classic, Bali INA (6), 28.04.2000
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 b6 4.Nc3
7.e3 Nbd7 8.cxd5 exd5 9.Bd3 0-0
12.Rad1 c5 13.Bf5 Qb8 14.Ne5 a6
17.exd4 Ne4 18.Qg2 Nxc3 19.bxc3

Bb7 5.Bg5 Be7 6.Qc2 d5

10.0-0 h6 11.Bxf6 Nxf6
15.f4 Qc7 16.g4 cxd4
Bd6 20.g5

"Then," said Checker, barely able to hide his glee, "Zaw had a
master-stroke; the crowning glory of his entire tournament
strategy." Bewildered, I asked what he had done. "He
resigned!!" said Checker. "This was an absolutely brilliant
conception, to get the Indonesian media to report his plight
sympathetically, and reaffirm the impression that he was no
threat to the other players."
1-0
"Finally," said Checker, "the stage was well and truly set for
Zaw to garner some points. On paper, it looked a hopeless task,
with Timman, Karpov and Ehlvest to come. But those players
had been taken in completely. Timman, contrary to his normal
style, played his most restrained game of the tournament."
Zaw Win Lay (2633) - Timman,J (2655)
Japfa Classic, Bali (7), 29.04.2000
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 a6 5.Bd3 Bc5 6.Nb3 Bb6
7.Qe2 d6 8.Be3 Nf6 9.Bxb6 Qxb6 10.0-0 Nc6 11.Nc3 0-0
12.Rad1 Qc7 13.a4 b6 14.f4 Bb7 15.Kh1 Rfd8 16.f5 Re8
17.fxe6 fxe6 18.Rde1 Ne5 19.Nd4 Qc5 20.Nf3 Nfd7 21.Qe3
Qxe3 22.Rxe3 Rac8 23.Rd1 Kf8 24.Kg1 Ke7 25.Nxe5 Nxe5
26.Be2 Rc5 27.Rh3 h6 28.Rg3 g6 29.Kf2 Rf8+ 30.Ke3 h5
31.h4 Rfc8 32.Kf4 Rb8 33.Rd2 Bc8 34.Re3 Ra8 35.Kg3 Bd7
36.Rd4 b5 37.axb5 axb5 38.Rb4 Rac8 39.Nxb5 Rxc2 40.Nd4
R2c7 41.Reb3 Rc1 42.Rb7 Kf6 43.R3b6 Bc6 44.Nxc6 R8xc6
45.Rxc6 Nxc6 46.Bf3 Nd4 47.Rd7 Ke5 48.Rd8 Rc2 49.Rg8
Ne2+ 50.Kh2 Kf6 51.Rf8+ Ke5 52.Rg8 Nf4 53.Rb8 Nd3
54.b4 Rb2 55.b5 Nc5 56.Rg8 Kf6 57.Rf8+ Ke7 58.Rg8 Kf7
59.Rd8 Rxb5 60.Rxd6 Rb4 61.g4 hxg4 62.Bxg4 Rxe4 63.Kh3
Re5 64.Rd4 Ne4 65.Bf3 Nf6 66.Ra4 Kg7 67.Kg3 Rf5
68.Ra7+ Kh6 69.Re7 e5 70.Kg2 g5 71.hxg5+ Kxg5 72.Kg3
Nh5+ 73.Bxh5 Kxh5 74.Rg7 Kh6 75.Rg4 1/2
"Surely that result would have woken up the others?" I asked,
puzzled.
"Not at all," replied Checker. "The idea of how to play against
Zaw was already so fixed in their heads nothing would change
it now. Karpov, himself a past master of subterfuge and doublecross, suspected nothing at all. Probably he wrote off Timman's
failure to win as a result of the general poor form Timman
showed in the event. Note, too, how Zaw appeared on the verge

of losing throughout his Timman game, without ever quite

going over the precipice. So Karpov was the next victim."
Karpov,A (2696) - Zaw Win Lay (2633)
Japfa Classic, Bali (8), 30.04.2000
1.Nf3 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 d5 4.cxd5 Nxd5 5.d4 c5 6.e4 Nxc3
7.bxc3 cxd4 8.cxd4 Bb4+ 9.Bd2 Bxd2+ 10.Qxd2 Nc6 11.Bc4
0-0 12.0-0 b6 13.Rfe1 Bb7 14.d5 exd5 15.Bxd5 Na5 16.Rad1
Bxd5 17.Qb4 Re8 18.Rxd5 Qe7 19.Qxe7 Rxe7 20.Nd4 Rc8
21.f3 g6 22.Re2 Rc1+ 23.Kf2 Kg7 24.g3 Nc6 25.Nc2 Rc7
26.f4 Ne5 27.Ne3 Nc4 28.Ng2 a6 29.g4 b5 30.e5 Nb6 31.Rd6
R1c6 32.Rdd2 Nc4 33.Rd4 Re7 34.Rd8 g5 35.fxg5 Rxe5
36.h4 Rxe2+ 37.Kxe2 Rd6 38.Rxd6 Nxd6 39.Kd3 f6
40.gxf6+ Kxf6 41.Kd4 Nc4 42.Nf4 Ne5 43.Nh5+ Ke6
44.Ng7+ Kd6 45.Ne8+ Ke6 46.Ng7+ Kf6 47.Ne8+ Ke6
48.Nc7+ Kd6 49.Nxa6 Nxg4 50.Ke4 Nf6+ 51.Kf5 Nd5
52.Kg5 Nc3 53.Nb4 Ne4+ 54.Kh6 Ng3 55.Kg5 Ne4+ 56.Kf5
Ng3+ 57.Kf4 Nh5+ 58.Kg5 Ng3 59.Kf4 Nh5+ 60.Kg4 Nf6+
61.Kf5 Nh5 62.Nc2 Kc5 63.Ne3 Kd4 64.Nf1 b4 65.Kg5 Ng7
66.Ng3 Kc3 67.Kh6 Ne6 68.Kxh7 Kb2 69.h5 Kxa2 70.Ne4
b3 71.Nd2 b2 72.h6 1/2
"Didn't Ehlvest wake up after that?" I inquired.
"From the start Ehlvest knew he would play Zaw in the final
round, and he was banking on a full point there all the way,"
Checker pointed out. "Particularly, too, after losses in rounds 7
and 8, he needed a win to redeem himself. In the endgame, he
completely lost all objectivity, pushing to win when he needed
to be seeking a route towards a draw."
Zaw Win Lay (2633) - Ehlvest,J (2622)
Japfa Classic, Bali (9), 02.05.2000
1.e4 g6 2.d4 d6 3.Nc3 c6 4.Nf3 Bg7 5.Be2 Nd7 6.0-0 Qc7
7.Be3 Ngf6 8.h3 0-0 9.Qd2 b5 10.a3 Bb7 11.Nh2 a6 12.Ng4
c5 13.f3 Nh5 14.Rfe1 Nb6 15.Bf2 Kh8 16.Rad1 Rad8 17.Bf1
Bc8 18.Qe3 cxd4 19.Rxd4 Be6 20.e5 Nc8 21.f4 dxe5 22.Rxd8
Rxd8 23.fxe5 Rd7 24.a4 bxa4 25.Bxa6 a3 26.Nb5 Qc6
27.Bxc8 Qxc8 28.Nxa3 Qb7 29.c4 h6 30.b3 g5 31.Nb5 Nf4
32.Qe4 Qxe4 33.Rxe4 h5 34.Nh2 Bf5 35.Re1 Nd3 36.Rd1
Nxf2 37.Rxd7 Nxh3+ 38.gxh3 Bxd7 39.Nf3 Kg8 40.e6 Bxe6
41.Nxg5 Bd7 42.h4 f5 43.Nc7 Bd4+ 44.Kf1 e5 45.Nd5 Kg7
46.b4 f4 47.Ke2 Bg4+ 48.Kf1 f3 49.c5 Kg6 50.c6 f2 51.b5
51...Kh6? 52.Nf6!+- Bd1 53.Nfe4 Ba4 54.Nf7+ Kg6 55.Nfd6
Bb6 56.Nxf2 Kf6 57.c7 Bxc7 58.Ne8+ Ke7 59.Nxc7 Kd7
60.b6 Kc6 61.Nd5 Bb3 62.Nd3 1-0
I had known for years that Checker had renounced all things
earthly in his quest for being the supreme student of human
nature, and I could understand, therefore, his pleasure at being
able to correctly interpret the games Zaw played in Bali, while
everybody else remained bemused. It seemed to me, however,
from the smug look on his face, that he was even a little bit too
pleased on this occasion. I asked him if there was more to it
than just pleasure at being the one to unravel the plot.
For the first time in my memory, Checker lost his sanguine
eloquence, and flushed red. "Well, er, I, you know..." he started

and then paused, before recovering. "Of course, I hold no stock

in worldly possessions, as you know," he said. "And the
academic exercise involved in the study of those games was
reward enough in itself. But," and here he hung his head and
looked apologetically at me, "upon making certain inquiries
after the sixth round I discovered that the chances of Zaw
making a plus score in the final three rounds had been assessed
by some bookmakers at odds of one hundred to one."
And, for the first time in his life, Checker actually bought me a
drink.
Copyright 2000 Chris Depasquale. All Rights Reserved.