BY “=¢ M * 26 THE BRITISH CHESS MAGAZNE bh British Chess gens ENGL: NU GERMANY - We ‘ited = Magazine TEiiccool lates (OCR. Acct cao Founded 1881 that th€ game Richards-Koglin that formed part of ees Susan Richards’ report on the women’s match at a ee | Baitle was annotated by WEM Heather Richards, Editor FRANCE - A ten-player category 17 tournament is John Saunders being played at Bnghien-les-Bains. Latest: am Bareev (RUS), Akopian (ARM), Bacrot (FRA) Associate Editors 34/5... Grischuk (RUS) is on 1/4 after consecutive Murray Chandler lossés to Bacrot and Lautier in rounds 4 and 5, Bemard Cafferty ee HASTINGS - a delegation from the Hastings Con- Shop itera gress lobbied the UK Parliament on 26 Mareh to Paul Harrington taise the profile of the world-famous tournament and help to find Gommercial sponsorship. Tt was at- Leading: contributors: Tan Rogers, Matthew | tended by Chtis Smith, the Secretary of State for Sadler, John Nunn, Michael Adams, Peter ‘i ,, Swit, Gary Lane, Lubosh Ravalek, fon p Cuftures Media and Sportyand Michael Foster, the ‘Speelman, John Emms, Joe Gallagh MP for Hastings and Rye, both of whom recognised Jonathan Rowson, Mikhail Golubev, the importance of the congress. Hodgson, Ken Whyld, John Beasley, David oe Fried; Steve Giddins, Etic Bs 4 Angus Dunnington, Glenn Flear,Jon Levit, | OBITUARY - Walter Munn, former president of the Scattish Chess Association, died on 31 March, f « | aged 69. He was president of the SCA from 1969 to © British Chess Magazine 1986, and presided over an era tir and im- Gompany Limited by Shares SRE an Soottigh chtechin ee eal bccn teanie Rese 334963 | Provement in Scottish chess, inc}uding the hosting, nee {88 Worlddicrocomputer Ghalpionship in@ing# Registered Office: gow, and a visit by the reigning world champion, ne ae Karpov at the centenary celebrations in 1984. REDBUS - The 3rd Redbus Knock-Out tournament was held alongside the Southend Easter Congress, 13-16 April, Michael Adams and Julian Hodgson headed an all-grandiaster Ime-up. They duly quali« fied for the final where Adams beat Hodgson 2-0. A ‘e-mail: BCMChess@compuserve.com web: hittp://svww.bemehess.co.uk (Land 2 years, 12 issues pia.) UK £32.00/ £62.00 | report will appear in the June issue. Europe (Airfreight) £34.00/ £66.00 prone (Cicmaaih) £39.50/ £75.50 | WALES - James Cobh won the 2001 Welsh Cham- Rest of World (Airfrei 9.00 / £74. is . stot World Mirra es? so Aussies) { Pionship, held in Swans-a\over the Easter weekend. Rest of World (Airmail) £47.50/£90.50 | This is the second time he ha won it, the first being (USS70 / $152), in 1999. Scores: | } Cobb 6/7,2 S Zeidler 34, 34G Mortis, A Spice 4%, ete Paymiont in Si or USS cheque, payable to “The BCM’ Visa/Mastercard/Améx/Switch all weleome | Photo credits, 228 (bottom) Petra Nunn (aive number and expiry dale)of ‘ nd t he Tt al t he: Caperrenecu muLIeriearttealit gave @ BULK ACCUUIE UT eH TUF tHe Sue pareyuue un yodnge + sters weré no match for their equivalents in China. That is not to say that North American youth shows a lack of aptitude or enthusiasm for the game; this was amply demonstrated at Oalkham Where youth was well to the fore, and Irina Krush of USA and Mark Bluvshtein of Canada played some splendid chess. ‘The timing of the FIDE World Rapidplay Cup at Cannes, to clash with the Melody Amber tournament in Monaco may not have been entirely accidental. The World Chess Federation, FIDE, has announced the venues for its 2002 series of Grand Prix, and the January and Feb- ruary venues are o be Amsterdam and Madrid respectively. These are of course capital cities of the countries in which two of the great super-tournaments, Corus Wijk and Linares, take place — during the same months. This is consistent with the stated threat by Artiom Tarasov, of FIDE Commerce, published on FIDE'S own website to setup val events where existing tournaments do not consent to join the Grand Prix project. CONTENTS 230 Oakham - this was a triumph for youth over experience. American IM Irina Krush came, saw - but didn’t quite conquer. Old boy of Oakham School Nick Pert came through to win the tournament for the second year in a row. Veteran John Littlewood annoy tates one of his games against the promising young Russian, Alexander Yastrebov. > 239 USA versus China - Lubosh Kavalek looks at the Seattle Summit match, S where the gallant American performance was undone by anew name from China: NiHua. Rs . 242 ANCL - Beeson Gregory are racing towards the 2000/1 4NCL (British Team) Championship, whilst most of the interest seems to centre on those trying to avoid demotion to Division Two. JM Angus Dunnington annotates the games. 258 Melody Amber - viacimir Kramnik and Veselin ‘Topalov shared the hon-* ours in the annual rapidplay/blindfold tournament in Monaco. Lbosh Kavaiek looks at two games by Ljubomir Ljubojevic, who is still one of the best rapidplay players around, 262 Old Gossip - ken whyld reveals a letter written by the controversial Victorian player and author, GHD Gossip. Perfidy and the threat of starvation! 252 FIDE Ratings 270 News in Brief 254 Reviews and New Books 274 Quotes and Queries 257 Spot The Continuation 275 Endgame Studies. 266 FIDE World 278 Forthcoming Events228 THE BRITISH CHESS MAGAZINE Top left: Alexander Yastrebov drew a tough match with John Littlewood, held concurrently with the Oakham tournament. Top right: Oakham’s 12-year-old Matthew Moore has been Sussex Under 12 Champion six times. Bottom left: vanchuk at Monaco, now sporting a moustache. Bottom right: Ljubojevic - still entertaining at 50.THE BRITISH CHESS MAGAZINE Top: Irina Krush was in determined mood against Neil McDonald in round six. She won a g bishop ending. Bottom: British Ladies’ Champion Humpy Koneru (India) playing Scot- ish grandmaster Colin McNab in the same round. A draw was agreed in 19 move230 THE BRITISH CHESS MAGAZINE OAKHAM MASTERS akham School in Rutland has a connection with chess which goes back many years, and has at one time or other played host to nearly all the big names on the modem chess scene. Garry Kasparoy has a particularly close relationship, sponsoring a scholarship which has enabled young players from the former Soviet Union to benefit from a British education whilst brushing up their chess under the kindly supervision of the school’s full-time chess teacher, Graham Lee. Kasparov looks in a few times every year to see how the Kasparov scholars, and other chess pupils, are doing, or to give a simul or a lecture. Other famous names such as Anand, Kramnik, Adams, Short and Shirov have played in the series of young master internationals which took place in the 1980s and 1990s. Though the large-scale swiss tournament is no more, it is good that the tradition has been revived in the shape of an annual all-play-all. Looking at the crosstable below, and comparing it with that of last year’s Oakham Millen- nium Masters (BCM, June 2000, page 316), one might be tempted to think that it was similar story: Nick Pert winning and Irina Krush finishing in a respectable position just behind him. But in fact the story was markedly different. Last year Irina Krush was probably delighted to score 5’, after languishing on 2'4 from her fist six games. She had on that occasion stormed through with 3/3 in her last three games toachieve an improbable IM norm. But this year, with the IM title now hers, she was chasing a grandmaster norm. As last year, the category was low and the required norm consequently high: 7/9. But this time Irina Krush had a tremendous start with four straight wins, and after round seven the score of six points meant that she needed just two draws for her first grand- master norm. Her first round opponent was IM Sulian Estrada Nieto, representing Mexico but currently resident in Hungary. Krush, managed by Paul Hodges of her sponsors SmartChess and coached by Israeli grandmaster Leonid Yudashin, was quick to go on the offensive and broke through to win in 22 moves, Other winners of their first games were the 24-year-old newly-qualified grandmaster from Israel, Dimitri Tyomkin, making his all-play-all debut in f 1[2[3[4[s[6]7]| 8/9 [10] 1) Nick Pert | m | ENG | 2455]@|%/%|4|%|4] a] 4] 1] 1 2| Irina Krush a Tose onlaletols [i leta abot /3| Humpy Koneru lwm| IND | 2200|%|1|@/%|%/ ol] 1] 4/1 4] Danny Gormally m | ENG | 2492/4/0/4/o/4/ 4] 4/1] 1/4 5) Colin MeNab g | sco |2403|%/0/%|%l@|4] [1] %/1 6| Dimitri Tyomkin g | Isr | 2496]%|%]1|4|%l@|%] 0] 4] 0 7| Julian Estrada Nieto | m | MEX | 2372|0/0/%|%|%|%4/@)%|%/1| 4 | 8] Mark Bluyshtein can [2287/0] 1/o/o]o|1]%|@| 4] 4] 34 9| Jonathan Levitt a | ENG |2438]0/0|%|0|%|4|4|4/@|4| 3 10] Neil McDonald ‘|e [ene [2uofolololxfolsjolulule| 2% | 2nd Oakham Masters (ENG), 29 March 2001 - 6 April 2001 Average Rating 2406, Category 7, GM Norm = 7, IM Norm = 5, WGM Norm = 41sTHE BRITISH CHESS MAGAZINE. 231 the UK (he has previously played in the Smith & Williamson Young Masters) and beating British Ladies’ Champion Humpy Koneru. English IM Danny Gormally took 60 moves to beat another new face, Mark Bluvshtein, but it was obvious from the start that the 12-year-old prodigy from Canada was going to be a handful. The other two games involved British competitors, and were drawn in 8 and 25 moves; the names of the 8-move perpetra- tors have been suppressed to protect the guilty (from the wrath of sworn enemy of the draw, Mike Basman). Round two saw some fighting chess, with four definite results. Two grandmasters bit the dust: Tyomkin fell victim to an exchange sacrifice from Neil McDonald, while Jon Levitt lost to Old Oakhamian Nick Pert after a time scramble. Two round one winners met, and it was Irina Krush who triumphed after Danny Gormally went in for a piece sacrifice which backfired. So Krush was already sole leader. In round three she met Colin McNab’s Pirc defence by advancing her king-side pawns menacingly towards the Scottish grandmaster’s king, pro- voking a vigorous response from Black. Gradually the US player took command of the board and finished crisply. This round was a notable triumph for women’s chess as the only other winner was Humpy Koneru, who also defeated a grandmaster, Neil McDonald —and did it on her 14th birthday. The Indian player withstood some tricky sacrificial play from McDonald, and held her nerve to cash in the extra material. Round four was a triumph for the black pieces, which won three games to none, but an- other bad one for the grandmasters, as three of them were the victims. All three had been pressing for wins when disaster struck. Jon Levitt was Krush’s latest victim; he missed chances to increase the pressure in the middlegame and the game finally fizzled out to a rook ending which went from bad to worse, Similar hesitation in the middlegame by Tyomkin al- lowed Bluyshtein the chance to show what he could do. McDonald went in for another prom- ising sacrificial attack, which looked to be winning; but somewhere in time trouble his position fell apart and he suffered another morale-sapping loss Round five was a quiet one, with five draws. This was Krush’s first failure to win, but she was back in the groove again in round six with an accurately-played positional win with black against Neil McDonald, who had switched to an uncharacteristically quiet c3 Sicilian system. Krush swapped down to a bishop ending where the black king could infiltrate. The other English grandmaster also suffered a white pieces meltdown, losing to Danny Gormally, who had been going well in the tournament but for an inability to convert his fa- vourable positions. This time he did not fail. Nick Pert also kept up his pursuit of Krush with a convincing win against Bluvshtein, who looked unfamiliar with some of the opening nu- ances involved. After six rounds, Krush led with 512/6, ahead of Pert with 4’. This meant that three draws would take Krush to her first grandmaster norm, while Pert needed 2'. In Pert’s case this might be superfluous as he has three norms in the bank already and technically only requires a 2500 rating to receive the title. But it would be helpful to have a fourth ‘in the bank’ in case any of his current three are questioned. Further behind the top two were Gormally on 34% and Koneru on 3, needing 1% fora WGM norm and 2 for an IM norm. In round seven, Krush and Pert were understandably happy to conclude early peace terms. Two other games were very short, but there were still two positive results. There was more misery for McDonald, who lost for the fourth time in five games, this time to Estrada Nieto, who thereby won his first game of the event. Bluvshtein lost material to Koneru and his desperate attempts to justify it with further sacrifices were calmly rebuffed by the determined Indian player.THE BRITISH CHESS MAGAZINE 2 “vapySAay20 7-297] aUID8 dtp) SDYDIDa AOQaLISDZ 2YI1/4% 401g sty Sun 1998 SSUANY PAPYDIR] AANGLD ‘OUDISIP ays Uf “(idIY{S-2a1 aIIYM) <]poULAD Kung Bunkyjd st m1AaT uor way PuoKag DIYSANI YIPW PJO-1VIK-ZT UY , 2/1104, 2408 a]21Ip B SPY ay SmoYs (24514) 142] YOIN ‘PUNOIB240f aY/) U} :LUBIPYBO 1b XIS punoyTHE BRITISH CHESS MAGAZINE 233 With two rounds left, Krush led by a clear point and required one point from two games against the two lowest rated and youngest players, Bluvshtein and Koneru, for her norm. But if ever there was a tourna- ment where the norm seekers ruled the titled players, this was it; suddenly the 17-year-old Krush seemed almost a veteran beside the 12-year-old boy and the 14-year-old girl. Perhaps the psychological turnabout affected her; for, after building up an overwhelming position against the young Canadian in round eight, Krush overlooked (or spurned) an easy chance to win the queen for material, and gradually went downhill into a bad position which Bluvshtein played well to win, This allowed Nick Pert to catch her by winning against Estrada Nieto, while Humpy Koneru se- cured her second WGM norm by drawing with Jon Levitt. lin the last round, the two teenage girls were playing each other for norms. Krush needed the win for hers, while a draw would suffice for Humpy Koneru’s first IM norm. As organiser Graham Lee succinctly put it: someone would be happy after the game, and someone wouldn’t. Krush opted for a sharp line and pressed hard, but as shown several times previously in the tournament, Koneru is resilient under pressure and re- lentless once in possession of material. The Indian duly annexed the point, which meant she had surpassed the IM requirement by an extra half point. Krush found she had been relegated to second place for the first time in the event, as Pert had drawn his final game with Gormally, thus also missing the grand- master norm. Thus, almost by stealth, England’s Nick Pert had won the tournament for the second year in succession, and is already pencilled in to attempt the hat-trick in 2002. But in this remarkable tournament, the 20-year-old seemed almost a veteran compared with the three teenagers who provided most of the headlines throughout the event. THE GAMES Round 1 Olrina Krush Julian Estrada Nieto Ruy Lopez C78 1e4e52 AB Acé3 2b5a64 Bad AGS 0-0 b5 6. 2b3 2573 d6 Bad Lb79 dd 2b6 10 Kel 0-0 11 2g5 h6 12 2h4 g5 Less provocative options are available to Black in this position but until now theory had not considered the following sacrifice to be particularly menacing. 13 Axg5 hxg5 14 Qxg5 exd4 2 w Ze Lk kl 42aa & "a 47, 2 & Ay a6 mae oe Ae OAK nogwe & 15 Ad5! A very aggressive new move. Previously seen here was 15 Wf3 dg7 16 Wg3 (16 e5?! DxeS! 17 Wxb7 dxc3 18 axbS a7 19 Wd5 Dxd5 20 &xd8 c2 and Black went on to win in Diaz-Am.Rodriguez, Cienfuegos 1983) 16...Wa7 and White has nothing better than 17 Axfo+ Sxfo 18 Wh4+ with a draw. 15.297? Definitely a mistake as it allows White to ‘cement the centre and clear a path for the al rook to get to the king-side. Other moves keep the Took at bay though White still has attack- ing chances: 15...dxe3 16 Wf3!? Ze5 17 We3 @h5 18 Wh4 Wa7 is very messy and 15...d3 16 ‘Wa s2g7 17 €5!? is equally unclear. 16 cxd4 Wd7 If 16...g6, White proceeds with 17 Ha3 anyway as the bishop cannot be captured. < we Pa s X a: ef234 THE BRITISH CHESS MAGAZINE 17 Ma3 Dh7 18 Hg3 Lh8 No immediate win suggests itself after 18...xg5 19 Bxgs+ £f6 20 WhS de7 21 ‘Wh4, but Black is obliged to retreat his king to the back rank, and the chances of long-term survival are slim. 19 Wh5 2.xd4 20 e5 2xe5? Better was 20...f5 21 e6 We8 22 Wha but White’s attack persists. 21 &f6+ Q2xf6 22 Led 1-0 Round 6 ONick Pert i Mark Bluyshtein Queen’s Indian E12 1d4 Df6 2 DES e6 3 c4 b6 4 a3 Lab 5 We2 2b7 6 Dc3 ds Mare natural here is 6...c5 7 64 cxd4 8 Axd4 Dc6 9 Axc6 2xc6 10 RF4 Bc5 11 Le2 0-0 as in Dreev-Adams, Intel Grand Prix, London 1995, won by Black in 63 moves. As played, Pert benefits from the extra time af- forded him by Black’s early bishop excursion. Texd5 Dxd5 8 2d2 Le7 9 e4 Dxc3 10 &xe3 0-0 11 0-0-0 Dd7 12 h4 h6 13 Eh3 Af6 14 2.03 eae” eb" e lL YD i808 “8 ow e ec a 14...c5!? A good example of the young Canadian’s boldness and enterprise. 15d5 15 dxc5 We7! 16 cxb6 axb6 gives Black good play for the sacrificed pawn. 15...exd5 16 exd5 2d6 Not risking 16,..Axd57! 17 24 Wdo 18 eS Wes 19 2F5 Wc6 20 Zg3 when White’s attack will be too strong. 17 Desi? He8 Perhaps 17....f4+ was worth a try: 18 &b1 @xd5 when the attractive 19 &h7+ #h8 20 Xg8I! fails to 20...Axc3+4 21 bxe3 Wad 1+! 22 Wxdl &xg8 and despite a nominal material advantage, White has some practical difficul- ties. 18 Sbi 24? 18...,205, safeguarding the defensive knight on 6, is correct. 19 &b5! hxg5 20 hxg5 &xg5 21 Hdhi?! A surprising move, perhaps influenced by Black's huge time pressure. 21 xf Wxf6 22 Wh7+ &f8 23 Wh8+ de7 24 Bel+ ded6 25 ‘xe8 seems a simpler way of winning. 21...2:6 1-0 Black’s time ran out as the move was played: 22 Sxe8 &xd5 23 LbS Ded is of course good for White but there is a little work left to do. Round 7 O Julian Estrada Nieto Neil McDonald French C03 1 e4 e6 2:d4.d53 Ad2 Se7 4 8d3c5 5 dxe5 Afé 6 We2 Acé 7 Agf3 a5 7...b4 8 Db3 Dxd3+ 9 cxd3 a5 was Ad- ams-Morozevich, Corus 2000, and drawn after along struggle. 80-0 &xe5 It’s probably too soon to be talking about losing moves, but Black never really gets into the game after this. Black normally prefers to play 8...0-0 here: 9 c3 He8 10 e5 @\d7 11 Ab3 ad 12 Abd4 Dxc5 13 &c2 led to an early draw in Brynell-Hillarp Persson, Gothenburg 2000; 8...a4 9 cd d4 10 05 Dd7 11 Ded AdxeS 12 AxeS Dxe5 13 dl was played in Xie Jun-Matveeva, FIDE Women’s World Cham- pionship, New Delhi 2000, with a draw in 39 moves. D9 exd5 Black does not have the option of capturing with a pawn on d5, as would have been theTHE BRITISH CHESS MAGAZINE 235 case had he castled on the previous turn. White now maintain®his edge with a series of natural moves. 9...Axd5 10 Des Be7 11 c4 Adb4 12 Q&b1 We7 13 a3 Dab 14 Bd1 Ac5 Black attempts to reduce White’s firepower before castling. 15 GxeS Qxe5 16 Le3 xed 17 Wxe3 xe ane as aneneea! i. ten 17...0-0 17.06 to stop White’s next, might meet with 18 2e4 &b7 19 e5, with a clear edge for White, 18 We5! Animmediate Greek gift sacrifice would be entirely inappropriate here: 18 &xh7+? &xh7 19 Dg5+ g6 and White has nothing left to fuel the attack on the exposed king. But, after the text move, it is a real enough threat. 18.26 18...h6? loses the exchange to 19 4h7+ and 20 Wxts. 19 Re4 Wea 19...{5 invites White to go for a pleasant good knight versus bad bishop scenario: 20 Axc6 Wxc6 21 We3!? and if 21...Wxed 22 Bacl and all hell breaks loose on the dark squares. McDonald understandably tries to sacrifice his way out of trouble. 20 2xeb bxe6 21 Hdd 21 Wxc6? wins a pawn but lets Black's pieces into the game: 21...Xb8 and White has to go onto the back foot. 21...Wt6 21... WES was more resilient. White would like to play 22 We7 but 22...c5 23 Hd8 Hxd8 24 Wxd8+ &g7 25 We7 Bab 26 Was Wi6 is not convincing for White. 22 Had! £.a6 23 Ae5 Rte’ 23...WigS 24 £4 WIS 25 Wxc6 is all over. 24 Ags We7 25 WyS eck 26 Af6+ Ithardly matters but 26 h6+ leads to swift mate, or win of queen. 26..8h8 27 Bh4 Eas 7...h§ allows mate in three after 28 Zixh5+ ete, 28 Hxd8+ Hxd8 29 h3 Hdl+ 30 @h2 Hel 31 We 1-0 Round & Mark Bluyshtein @lrina Krush Sicilian B89 Led c52 D3 d6 3 d4 exd4 4 Axd4 A065 Dc3 Ac6 6 &c4 e67 Be3 a6 8 We2 Le7 9 0-0-0 We7 10 2b3 Aa5 11 g4 b5 12 g5 @xb3+ 13 axb3 Dd7 14 hd b4 15 Dad Ac5 16 Wed 16 f3 was preferred by Krush’s coach, Leonid Yudasin, against Sion Castro, Leon 1993: 16...2d7 17 bl Bxa4 18 bxad Axa4 19 h5 cS 20 Wed followed, when White took the b-pawn, withstood the queen-side counter- attack and went on to win. 16 hS is perhaps a more common continuation. 16...807 17 hS 17 Wxb4 Ebs 18 We3 &xa4 19 bxad Wb7 20 A517 exf5 21 Wxg7 Ef8 22 Bxe5 dxc5 23 exf5 [6 24 b3 c4 25 gxf6 was the decidedly lively game Kupreychik-Morawietz, Cologne 1997, which ended in a draw. 17...c8 18 We2 The queen retreat looks strange but no better was 18 Wxbd Pixa4. 19 bxad e5 winning a piece, as played in Roberts-Muir, Scottish Championship 1989. White needs to get on with it and try 18 96. 18...e5 18...xb3+ 19 DAxb3 Lxa4 20 Sb1 0-0 wins Black a pawn, but she still has to cope with the inevitable king-side attack. 19 Axes236 THE BRITISH CHESS MAGAZINE The alternative was 19 DES Axb3+ 20 &b1 RbS 21 a3 Dd4 22 Sxd4 exd4 23 b3 Rxd3 24 Wxd3 Bxg5 25 Dxg7+ Ld8 which loses the exchange but is perhaps not quite as bad as it looks. 19...exd4 20 Dxaé 20 B\xd7 dxe3 21 h6 Wrd7 22 hxg7 Lg8 23 Uxh7 Sxg5 24 fxe3 We6 should win for Black. 20...WaS 21 &xd4 QxgS+ wtbS 22 We ane 23 h6 Wxgs 24 xg? Eg8 25 Bxh7 when, despite being a piece up, Black’s advantage is only minimal. 22 dbi Ba8 23 &xg7 BR Uw yo "Saga ae a 7 a ae. "i mcmie Bar 23.82? A tragic blunder to put a full stop to Krush’s remarkable run of success. Black has the obvi- ous 23...xa6 obliging White to surrender his queen: 24 Wxa6é Wxa6 25 &xh8 ce7 and, though Black’s pieces are awkwardly placed for the moment, queen and bishop for two rooks should be a comfortable win (and grand- master norm) in the long run, 24 Bd5 Wxa6 25 Wxa6 Bxab 26 Hxg5 White is now two pawns up, with a com- fortable position so Krush tries desperately to mix it. 26.5 27 &h6? Bluvshtein wobbles momentarily, giving back a pawn. 27 Eth looks more to the point. 27...2ixg5 28 2xg5 fxe4 29 Hdl Has 30 &f4 Exh5 31 &xd6 BES ‘Another possible plan is 31... g¢4 32 Hel £3 33 SAxb4 Hd5 hoping to get the h-pawn moving quickly. a Bd2h5 33 Axbd hd 34 2.46 h3 35 c4 hs 35...E4f3 gives White more trouble along the third rank. 36 2h2 Bg537 293 Sh5 38 Lh2 Ng539 2g3 Bh5 40 Bas ake a 40...Bxd5? Though it is not so obvious on first sight, the opposite-coloured bishop ending is ulti- mately not tenable. Black needed to try: 40...2h7 which maintains a higher degree of complexity for longer. 41 cxd5 28 41...RF5 42 da? 296 43 dad @E7 44.46 kd7 45 &b4 Sc6 46 Hc3 comes to much the same thing. 42 Se2 2b7 43 d6 Sd7 44 Le3 Leo 45. Badd Lc6 46 b4 Sd7 47 eS Rad 47...&b7 48 DS and Black's major difficulty becomes clear. She wants to throw the bishop a long way down the a8-h1 diagonal so as to an- swer 49 #2b6 by switching it to the a6-f1 diag- onal; but with the pawn on e4 itis not possible. Jettisoning the pawn with 48...c3 49 fxe3 £3. solves this problem, but creates another one in the shape of a deadly e-pawn. 48 DS €3 49 fxe3 2c2 50 &b6 2d3 51 aS ec8 Loses quickly, but nothing else is any better: 51....e4 52 b6 2b7 53 ef sheb 54.05 shd7 55 &b5 and the white king works its way around to f8, either to play across to d8 and c7, or to support the e-pawn advance.THE BRITISH CHESS MAGAZINE. 237 52 b6 ed 53 Lae 1-0 A very depressing game for Krush, but Bluyshtein held his nerve well. Round 9 Olrina Krush Mi Humpy Koneru Caro Kann B12 Led c6 2 d4d53 05 QF5 4 Ac3 e6 5 a4 Lg6 6 Dge2 (67 Rg2 ‘The text seems to be another innovation by Krush; but.a rather dubious one. 7h fxe5 8 h5 BET 9 dxe5 Dd7 10 £4 Wh6! 11 &g2 0-0-0 12 b3 Ae7 13 Aad We7 14 Be3 c5 15 c4 d4 with a slight edge for Black, was Van der Wiel-Timman, Amsterdam 1987.; and 7 A\f4 has frequently been played in this position, 7.07 7...8xe5 8 dxe5 Dd7 and perhaps Krush would have played 9 £f4 which transposes to the game. Dochev-Pantev, Bulgaria 1991 went 9 £4 hS5! 10 £52! £7 11 0-0 &c5+ 12 hi hxg4 13 24 exfS 14 0.23 We7 15 Ixf5 anda few moves later, somewhat surprisingly, an carly draw was agreed. Black seems to be do- ing extremely well. 8 2f4 fxeS 9 dxe5 Wb6 10 Kb1 h5! Already Black is seizing the initiative. 11 g5 0-0-0 12 0-0 Ae7 13 2e3 We7 Of course not 13...c5? when 14 b4 gives White a pleasant queen-side initiative. 14 b4 aa tlh Zi WG White is obliged to take chances in pursuit of the full point. 14.205 15 B.f4 Dxe5 16 bS 2d6 17 bxce6 Axc6 + Not tempted by 17..bxe6 which could prove to be a long-term liability on the b-file. 18 “\b5 We7 19 Haz White’s plan looks a little slow. Interesting is 19 c4!? to try and open up the scope of the light-squared bishop on the long diagonal. Black has to avoid lines like 19...&xf4 20 ‘yxf4 Dh4? 21 Dxgo Wags 22 Hb3 when White is having alll the fun. oe 20 Wxfd a6 21 Abe3 Afdd 22 el This works out very badly, but White is in difficulties anyway. 22 Wxf7 Sxf7 23 Axd4 xd4 24 Efd1 and Black could even play 24...Axc2!? 25 Hdel go 26 Kb2 webs 27 Hexc2 Bxc2 28 Exe? which is better for Black. 22...2f3+! 23 deh hd 24 h3 Led 25 Wed HhfS 26 Axed dxed 27 Hdl The text move loses, but things are too far gone: 27 Wxed 242 28 Wad We7! wins the ex- change. 27...2xd1+ 28 Bxd1 We7 29 2xf3 Rxf3 30 Wxed Exh3+ 31 2g] Wh2+ 32 Lf Whi+ 33 Wxh1 Sxhi+ 34 Dgl h3 0-1 A very canny game by the Indian girl. Whilst the Masters tournament was in progress, the school’s two Kasparov Scholars, Zhanna Lazhevskaya and Alexan- der Yastrebov, played six-game matches against Graham Lee and John Littlewood re- spectively. 17-year-old Zhanna found her opponent too tough to overcome, managing just three draws. The other match was a titanic tussle be- tween a rapidly-improving 16-year-old and the popular 69-years-young FIDE Master from Skelmersdale. Littlewood won game one — which he has annotated for us in this issue — but Yastrebov showed his mettle by striking back with three wins in the next four games. Nothing daunted, Littlewood fought back to win game four and then again in the last game to tie the match at 3-3.238 ‘THE BRITISH CHESS MAGAZINE. NOTES BY LITTLEWOOD Match Game 1 QJohn Littlewood Alexander Yastreboy Sicilian B22 Led c5 2 c3 Af6 3 e5 Ad5 4 d4 exd4 5 DEB e6 6 cxd4 b6 7 Ac3 Axc3 8 bxc3 We7 9 2d2 dé 10 243 Bb7 11 0-0 Ad7 12 DgS!? dxeS 13 WhS g6 14 Wh3 Le7 15 Baek The alternative 15 Bfel will be my future choice. 15...2xg57! Black finally varies from the book line with a move which could be self-destructive but which, to be fair, I can hardly judge on the re- sult of this one game. 16 ze £5?! a a This committal move was essential before 1 played 17 dxe5 beginning a mating attack, but Black still remains with serious dark square weaknesses. 16...exd4 fails to 17 Hxe6+! and 16...Wxe3 17 Hcl! Wxd4? 18 Bfdi! practi- cally loses on the spot. 17 dxeS “7 Not of course 17...2ixe5?? 18 Bf4 Af3+ 19 Wxf3! winning material, Alex is right in say- ing that he should have played 17.,.0-0 here, not only because of his next weakening move butalso because Iwas now seriously consider- ing the dramatic 18 &xf5!? gxf5 19 WhS+ bg8 20 He3 followed by Be3-g3, 2£6, Wh6 and h4-hS in prospect. I finally abandoned my analysis of this, because I could see no more than a draw after 19...%8f8. 18 He3 h5?! I feel that Black should have left open the option of ...h6 (or even risked it immediately). 19 Wha Ars 20 Hal! One of White’s most important advantages is that a black rook cannot challenge the d-file from d8. Realizing this, Alex now attempts to bring his king’s rook over to d7 but this leaves open an invasion of my queen via h6. 20...0h7 21 2£6! Re8 22 h3 LdS 23 cA! 6 Or 23....2xc4 24 Hel b5 25 x04 bxed 26 Mee3 with comfortable play for White. 24 Ger! Finally opening up the d-file whilst eyeinga possible sacrifice on hS. 2A.wfLed 25 Hes des 26 Zao! a7 Completing Alex’s defensive plan but all to no avail 27 Wr bS?! A last brave attempt to confuse the issue. 28 Exd7 &xd7 29 Wc3 bxe4 no ee [bin Bae BE 14 7 & 30 Wno!! After a capture on c4 Alex was planning ...lifa5 but this intermediate move proves fatal. tohim. 300.05 31 Rxc4! 2x04 32 We7+! ees 33 Exc4! 1-0 ‘The final point. As my queen is protected on g7, after 33...Wxg7 34 Exc8+ Sd7 35 Bxg7 texc8 36 Sxf8 it is only fair that Tam left with my beautiful dark-squiared bishop...THE BRITISH CHESS MAGAZINE 239 USA - CHINA SUMMIT The USA took on China in @ four-round ten-board match in Seattle in March, China won 21-19, thanks in no small part to the strength of their junior players. Report and annotations to the first game are by Grandmaster Lubosh Kavalek. HINA WON the Chess Summit match ‘held from 14-18 March in Seattle, beat- ing the US team by a score of 21 to 19. The script for their victory was composed more than 2,500 years ago by Chinese philoso- pher Sun Tzu. “The opportunity to defeat the enemy is provided by the enemy him- self” he wrote in his book, The Art of War. Organised superbly by the Seattle Chess Foundation, the match was played on the 17th floor of the elegant Harbor Club with a breathtaking view of the Seattle downtown, still miraculously standing after the earth- quake on February 28. The US team took a one-point lead after the first two days. With two quick victories on the third day the Americans increased the lead to three points, but then came a disaster. China won five games and took a two point lead. On the final day, the point margin did not change. The best American scorers were grand- masters Gregory Kaidanov and Larry Christiansen, both with three points in four games. The Chinese were pleasantly surprised by Alexander Shabalov’s violent winning ef- forts that resulted in two losses to Zhang ‘Zhong, who tied for the first place with the Armenian grandmaster Vladimir A kopian at the National Open in Las Vegas before the Summit match. But it was the fast-improving junior Ni Hua, aged 17, who did the most damage to the Americans by winning three games and drawing one. Challenged by the youngest player on the American team, Hikaru Nakamura, aged 13, Ni Hua navi- gated the game almost flawlessly through many traps in the most demanding variation of the English Attack in the Sicilian De- fence. USA-China 2001, Round 2 ONi Hua v M@ Hikaru Nakamura Sicilian B8O Led c52.2\63 d6 3 dd exd4 4 Axd4 AIG 5 Dc3 a6 6 Le3 e6 7 £3 bS 8 g4 h6 9 Wa2 2b7 10 0-0-0 Abd7 11 h4 b4 12 Dad WaS 13 b3 Dc5 14.03 Dxad 15 axb4 We7 16 bxa4 d5 17 e5 Dd7 18 f4 Db6 eee ” i y % me a Ema 8 19 £51? Alexander Grischuk’s bold attempt to open. the roads to the black king at all costs. The al- tematives 19 a5 or 19 Hh3 seem less danger- ous for Black. 19...xad Last year in Spain, Nakamura was success- ful with 19...c4 but his Icelandic opponent Amgrimsson did not play 20 Wel! which is considered to be the best. 20 fxe6 Ac3 21 exf7+ sxf7 22 2d3 2xb4 23 Wh2+ ‘The usual move is 23 Edfl+ when the black king can try to survive by staying in the middle with 23...&e8; for example, 24 &g6+ Sd8 with the idea 25 Ae6+ ked7 26 Zxc7 Ba3 mate. 23...g8 24 Ref Ba3+ 25 kd2 Ded240 THE BRITISH CHESS MAGAZINE In the game Grischuk-Ibragimov, Batumi 1999, Black played 25....2b4 and after 26 WES Ded+ 27 Sd EfS 28 We6+ Hh7 29 g5! White had a powerful attack and won after 29...2hg8 30 gxh6 g6 31 h5 Sic8 32 hxgo+ Exg6 33 Wxg6+ Wxg6 34 Dfgi+ seh7 35 Eg7+ 1-0 26 Bxe4 dxed _ a Ug q 27 g5!? Shiroy’s idea, The plan is to open up the kingside with 28. gxh6 or hem in the black king and the rook with 28 g6. It is an attempt to im- prove on Anand-Gelfand, Shenyang 2000, where after 27 WES &b4+ 28 ddl Wied 29 De6 (On 29 e6? comes 29...28!) 29,..Wd5+ 30 de2 Wed+ 31 ded] Wd5+ 32 te? Wc4+ a draw was agreed. 27..8kc8?! An unfortunate novelty. In the game ‘Shiroy-Anand, at the Olympic exhibition in Sydney last yeat, Black defended with 27...2d5!? 28 gxh6 &b2, but White did not test him with the dangerous- looking 29 #d1!? ‘Wa5 30 Wd! Exh6 31 5 and now Black has a brilliant, narrow path to save the game 31...He6! 32 Dxg7! Ey6 33 Bfgl Hus! 34 Exg6 fc4+ 35 Bd6 Bxd6+ 36 exd6 Wal+ 37 Sicl Axcl 38 Wxel Wd4+ 39 Sel We3+ and White has to take a draw with 40 Wa2 Wg3+ 41 Wi2 We3+ 42 Wa2 (Not 42 ddl 3) 42.,.Wig3+, because 40 ddl? ¢3! 41 Bh2 Wd4+ 42 &e1 Wea wins for Black. 28 Ws We3+ After the tricky 28...We4 White has to avoid 29 gxh6 HB or 29 e6 If8. His best is to lock the rook in with 29 g6! For example 29...21d8 30 Wr7+ Waxt7 31 Bxt7 and White is virtually a rook up; or 29...2f8 30 We6+ Wxe6 31 Exf8+ Gxf8 32 Dxe6+ we7 33 Dxg7 with a big advantage. If after 29 g6! Black plays 29...2d5 than 30 Wd7 does the trick, e.g. 30..,We3+ 31 kdl Wal+ 32 ke2 Re4+ 33 <&f2 HAB+ 34 dg3 and now neither 34...Wie3 35 Exf8+ Qxf8 36 G4 Wh4 37 Do6 Wad 38 Bal Wral 39 De7+ Rxe7 40 We8+ 218 41 Wac4 mate; nor 34...Exfl 35 Wc8+ £18 36 Wxe4+ helps Black. 78D oak a Do aa oe ’ We a ae a wy a ‘eas oF me et 29 &d1 2d5 30 e6 Wal+ 31 He2 Qcd+ 32 Gf Wxfl+ 33 Exfl LAS 34 go! Black will have a hard time to free his king and a rook, although 34 Wxf8+ was certainly posible: 34... ExfS+ 35 DxfS Qxfl Taking the exchange loses, but after 35...xe6 36 e3 DEB! 37 dd Qxf5 38 Exf5+ se8 39 BF7! White should win. 36 sexf'l sef8 37 hdd Hg8 38 c4 de8 39 deed 28 40 Aixg7+ she? 41 es Las 42 sbxed a5 ‘The little combination 42...Exd4+ 43 @xd4 $224 44 sbdS xg7 does not work, because after 45 c5 25.46 06 the black king and bishop are overmatched by three white pawns, e.g. 46...SRd8 47 dee5 ad 48: bbb Be5 49Lb7 we7 50 7 &xc7 51 g7 winning. 43 cSad 44 dheS Mg8 45 O5+ dd8 46 27 10 Black cannot stop the white king from mov- ing in.THE BRITISH CHESS MAGAZINE. USA-China 2001, Round 3 _ Geng Xiaonin “ MGregory Kaidanoy French CO2 1e4e62.d4.d5 3 e5c54c3 Wb65.a3 a56 243 2477 De2 25 ‘The opening has already veered off the beaten track. Black seems to get a very com- fortable position. 8 &xb5+ Wxb5 9 0-0 Ac6 10 a4 Wh6 11 Dad exd4 12 exdd Dge7 13 Abs AS 14 g4 Dh4 15 Wb3 Was 16 f4 h5! This leads to a very sharp position, but Black has calculated it well. 17 £5 hxgd 18 Fxe6 fxe6 19 We3 Yery interesting is 19 2g5!? Wxg5 20 De7+ wd7 21 Axeb! Lxe6 22 Dar Wefd (forced) 23 Bxf4 Mxd4!? and it is nat clear what is happening. In the game, White's attack soon runs out of steam. 19...Af3+ 20 Bxf3 Not 20 s2f2? Exh2+ 21 tke3 AcxeS! 22 dxe5 Wg5+ and the white king will soon be hunted down, 20.ugxf3 21 D4 2d7 22 Dxe6 What is ensures a queen exchange and a com- fortable win: 22...¢2xe6? allows a perpetual check with 23 Wg6+ Sd7 24 WIS+, etc. 23 Dgs Bxd4d 23...Wxg3+ 24 hxg3 @xe5! is neater; if 25 dxe5 £c5+ forces mate on the back rank. 24 e6+ Dxe6 25 Dxt3 Wxg3+ 26 hxgs 2.d6 27 Sg? Hac8 0-1 Round 1 USA vs. Ib BGulko ee ‘Sb A Ivanov 1-0. ‘6w L Christiansen '4-'4 7b 1 Krush en ’ CBaginskaite 1-0 V Bhat O-1 foe DSchneider 4-4 54-44 Round 2 USA vs Iw BGulko AM 2b YSeirawan 14-4 3w_ G Kaidanoy 1-0 4b AShabalov 4-4 Sw JBenjamin 14-4 6b LChristiansen $4-'4 Jw 1 Krush Vath 8b EGroberman 0-1 Sw V Bhat 1-0 10b HNakamura 0-1 $5 Round 3 USA vs 1b BGulko 0-1 2w YSeirawan 4-14 3b G Kaidanov 1-0 4w A Shabaloy 0-1 Sb Alvanov OL ow. Lenten ae Sw CHaginskaite wy 9b WV Bhat Verh 10w D Schneider 0-1 BAG Round 4 USA. vs lw BGulko wh 2b YSeirawan 4-4 3w GKaidanov 4-4 4b JBenjamin 4% Sw A Ivanov 1-0 6b L Christiansen 1-0 Jw 1 Krush eh ey CBaginskaite ‘4-4 V Bhat 0-1 10b HNakamura 0-1 5-5 241 China Ye Jiangchuan Xu Jun Peng Xiaomin Zhang Zhong ‘Xie Jun Zhu Chen Xu Yuhua Qin Kanying Bu Xiangzhi ‘Ni Hua ‘Ye Jiangchuan_ China Ye Jiangchuan XuJun Peng Xiaomin Zhang Zhong Xie Jun Zhu Chen Wang Lei Qin Kanying ‘Wang Yue Ni Hua China ‘Yin Hao XuJun Peng Xiaomin Zhang Zhong, Xie Jun Zhu Chen ‘Wang Lei Qin Kanying Bu Xiangehi Ni HuacS 242 THE BRITISH CHESS MAGAZINE 4NCL - MARCH WEEKEND Intreductory comments and annotations by IM Angus Dunnington, round-by-round summaries by John Saunders Division 1, 2000/1 - After Round 8 Teain P| W]D|L| Gpt |Mpt ‘Beeson Gregory 1 8 | o0[o| si | 16 ‘Slough Tlol1| 4s [14 7\O\1] 45 | 4 |S [1] 2 | 404] it 4[1[3 (33% 9 3 [1] 4 [264] 7 3|0|5[274| «6 {2 ]a] S| 26 | 5 y | 240) 5] 2sK] Ss -]2 [0] 6|23%| 4 isone @[1[1/6| 18 | 3 S.Wales Dragons | 8 | 1 | 0|7| 22 | 2 The 4NCL seems to hold less interest now than a year ago. This could simply be because a change of venue might hold more appeal — even a pleasant city such as Bir- mingham can become a little too familiar, and the Grand is far from ideal — although there are probably more fundamental rea- sons. Perhaps the 4NCL is a victim of its own success, with the inevitable expansion leading to the use of another hotel. Unfortu- nately this has resulted in some players who originally decided to give up a weekend travelling to Birmingham in order to be among top grandmasters finding themselves keeping each other company instead. Qual- ity — playing conditions, atmosphere etc. — should take priority over quantity. Hope- fully it will be possible to accommodate all three leagues in the same venue in the fu- ture, otherwise the whole event will lose its appeal. Ttend to get carried away when criticising chess in the UK, and we each have our own criticisms regarding the 4NCL so, turning to the positive side, it is much better that the league exists than to see our titled players having to cross the Channel for league matches, and it is nice to see our spectators with something to look forward to, rather than relying on the internet for a taste of in- ternational chess, Even the in-fighting of the ANCL board is no different to what happens overseas, where officials and organisers have always jockeyed for position in the hope that something big will come along. As long as the sets and clocks are there when we turn up, the inevitable chess politics shouldn’t be a problem. What I can say about the 4NCL is that the atmosphere has been better - with a single venue ~ than a number of other leagues, and the potential problem of over-subscription is, testament to a good time had by all every weekend, From a personal point of view, running two teams (in different venues) struggling to survive in their respective divi- sions is hardly relaxing, but I keep returning to Birmingham for yet more punishment. One of the secrets to the success of the 4NCL is its power to attract players from ‘retirement’. It is not unusual for people to bump into each other in Birmingham after several years - my own personal example being my good friend Alex Wohl, the enter- taining Australian IM. We last spent time to- gether in the Manila Olympiad in 1992. He turned up playing for Slough a few months ago, then in the last weekend I woke up to find we were paired in the eighth round! I found the situation quite bizarre and it was difficult to concentrate properly (nothing too unusual there, then, particularly in the 4NCL) — we eventually drew a tense strug- gle. Old adversaries from junior tourna- ments of yesteryear suddenly come out ofTHE BRITISH CHESS MAGAZINE 243, \ ROUND 7 the woodwork, usually carrying more weight and less hair... ROUND SEVEN Saturday 17th March MASSACRE OF THE INNOCENTS As is traditional the Saturday pairings produced a high proportion of mismatches to matches. In this case there was only one genuine match on which the bookies would have been prepared to take money: Thistle White Rose versus Beeson Gregory II. Mestel was in good form for Beeson Greg- ory I, causing Harriet Hunt to suffer her third consecutive 4NCL defeat. McDonald slipped up and lost a pawn against Mah to even things up on the top boards. Richard- son blundered against Dunworth, but this game was counterbalanced by Barrett’s managing to lose from a clearly won posi- tion against Hassabis. Other games were drawn so both teams took a point from an important anti-relegation struggle. Elsewhere, Goliath beat David 34-6, with the lesser teams recording just one individ- ual win; South Wales Dragons” skipper Charles Morris once again produced the goods, beating Mark Ferguson of Barbican 4NCL [in a match which the Welsh team lost 2-6. It might be better not to go into too much detail about the violence of this round as there may be children and people of aner- vous disposition reading this; but it cannot go without mentioning the fourth 8-0 wipe-out in the history of the 4NCL’s top di- vision, scored by Beeson Gregory | against three-times champions Midland Monarchs. But the Monarch’s current team is very dif- ferent from their former one. ROUND EIGHT Sunday 18th March A BREEZE FOR BEESON Having feasted on the weaker teams on the Saturday, top teams can sometimes be in dan- ger of indigestion on Sunday when244 THE BRITISH CHESS MAGAZINE ROUND 8 confronting each other. The menu for this par- ticular session consisted of two top-team clashes, three relegation scraps, plus one top half versus bottom half mismatch. The latter was Slough versus Thistle White Rose, which was won 6-2 by the reigning champions though the score flattered them rather. Tony. Miles won with a pleasant final flourish, but ‘Steve Barrett lost on time just as he seemed to. be through the worst of things against Jovanka ‘Houska. Meanwhile Iain Gourlay seemed to have some promising chances against Miroslav ‘Houska but let things slip. 13-year-old Gawain. Jones maintained a clear advantage against ‘Susan Lalic right through the game but in the end there was no way to convert his extra pawn in the endgame. The three relegation matches were all very tight, at least in terms of the score. South Wales Dragons suffered the pain of a 34-4 reverse to Barbican 4NCL UI, though in reality the London club always seemed to have a little in hand. There was a fleeting possibility of 4-4 when Dishman got into trouble against Zeidler, but the resultant rook ending proved to be easily drawable. For much of the game, Jane Seymour had an overwhelming position against Abigail Cast but swapped off to a draw just when it looked to be all over for the Welsh ‘Women’s Olympiad top board. Barbican’s points were provided by the in-form Rich- ard Palliser who won quickly and neatly against Richard Dineley, and Andrew Lewis, who made things too hot for David Roberts. Once again the Dragons’ sole win- ner was Charles Morris, who calmly took advantage of a pawn sacrificed by Craig Hanley and finally turned the tables on him. The one change to the league table posi- tions from the January weekend occurred when Poisoned Pawns drew 4-4 after a tough battle with Midland Monarchs to ‘move off the foot of the table for the first time this season, at the expense of South Wales Dragons. Poisoned Pawns, sporting four Scots and two Irish registered players, started badly when Andrew Harley suc- cumbed to Simon Williams (see this month's Spot The Continuation feature forTHE BRITISH CHESS MAGAZINE 245 the crisp finish). Stephen Ledger also won for MM, but PP fought back with wins from Stephen Swanson and Max Devereaux. Richmond imported a German grand- master, Michael Bezold, to beef up their squad for the relegation battle ahead. Like so many 4NCL debutants before him, he found the British League an inhospitable place, losing to former British Champion Michael Hennigan of Beeson Gregory Il. The stockbroker’s second team actually had a triumvirate of former British Champions in the side and they scored 2%-'. But Rich- mond hit back with a delightful win from 70-year-old Michael Franklin against John Richardson and a mature endgame grind from 12-year-old Murugan Thiruchelvam against Demis Hassabis. Finally it was left to Richmond’s captain Gavin Wall to bring home both points ina game of 100+ moves against Neil McDonald, including 60 moves of a tricky queen ending. Wood Green had bitter memories of their 1999/2000 disaster against Barbican 4NCL. I, when they went down 3%-4% in round nine to wreck any chance of catching Slough. This year they made no mistake and thumped their London rivals 614-14, taking care this time not to leave Nigel Short en prise. The man from Athens duly obliged with a win against Brian Kelly and two win- ners from the previous season's victorious Barbican team could only score half points against the same opponents this time round. Even so, they could count themselves rela- tively successful as most of their colleagues were soundly beaten. Finally, to the very top of the table where Beeson Gregory I maintained their 100% re- cord. It was as if they had failed to notice that Guildford-ADC were supposed to be one of the top sides and gave them the sort of pummelling they give to everyone else. Guildford-ADC tried packing their top grandmasters into the middle boards; this had the effect of gaining them draws on those boards, but letting the enemy through Chessbase Databases! v Update from Big 2000 £24.95 (please send in original disk) Add postage £1.50 for mail order BCM Chess Shop 020 7486 8222 44 Baker Street, London W1U 7RT on the top and the bottom boards though Beeson had to fight for their points. Guild- ford-ADC’s best chance seemed to be Stuart Conquest, who was the exchange up against Tan Rogers, but couldn’t land a clean punch on his wily opponent. This was counterbal- anced by Gallagher-Gormally, where the Anglo-Swiss grandmaster was close to a crunching victory. It seems unlikely that the league is to have the showcase finale it craves despite the Beeson Gregory I - Wood Green pairing coming in the final round. Both teams are hot favourites to pile up points in rounds nine and ten but Wood Green and Slough (who have a tough match against Guild- ford-ADC in the last round) must hope that they can also make up the leeway on game points, which currently stands at six points in favour of Beeson Gregory I, All else be- ing equal, this would allow BG I to lose heavily in the last round and still take the championship. So, in accordance with tradi- tion, the May weekend spectacle will proba- bly centre round one or two teams who are fighting to retain their first division status.246 ‘THE BRITISH CHESS MAGAZINE was coming. EHEGAMES 42...cxb3 43 2b2 L.g5 44 see2 seed Round 7 a ae a an A.Ledger - Hodgson (Midland Mons - Beeson ee D ae Jaf ‘A pair of rooks has just been exchanged on c4, leaving Black (to move) with a passed pawn on c4 to add to his better bishop. In prac- tical terms it is already difficult for White, and the rest of the game is a good example of how to exploit one’s advantages in these endings. 32...We8! Preparing to highlight White's susceptibil- ity on the light squares. 33 Se? 218 34 We3 Wad Landing on a4 before White drops his queen back to ¢2. 35 Qcl Re7 36 Sel SI7 37 Ge2 White can do nothing but sit and wait, putt- ing the onus on Black to find a way through. The problem is the b3 square, which White is unable to defend. Since this is a permanent weakness Black first takes time to improve his pieces to the maximum, a key part of endgame technique that tends to be overlooked by youn- ger players. 37...e8! 38 £.d2 Gd7 39 Wh2 Sco 40 Pel Wh3! With his king close enough to the c4 square Black is ready to begin the final phase of the game. 41 203 Sb5 42 Wxb3 Further improving Black’s pawn, but ...a4 a am imate oo Ae 8 ef 7&8 me ary i Pa Ben eo ao we O41 A typical final position in a good versus bad bishop ending. Material is level but the de- fender must make a losing concession. White cannot move a pawn without losing one, while 45 al Gcl, 45 &d1 £c3 and 45 bf $8.42(-c3) are terminal. we _ Round 7 ClAaron Summerscale (Slough) Steve Mannion (Poisoned Pawns) Benoni A43 1 d4 Df6 2 Af3 5 3.d5b5 4 V5 Aes 5 &b4 2b7 Gad I prefer this move to 6 Wd3, when the sub- sequent complications seem quite interesting for Black. After 6 Wa3 £5 White tried to under- mine the defence of the e4-knight inTHE BRITISH CHESS MAGAZINE 247 Gazarek-Sermek, Pula 2000: 7 g4 Wa5S+ 8 c3 c4 9 Wad b4 10 &g2 Bxd5 11 gxf5 Aco 12 We3 and now 12...g5 might have come as an. unexpected inconvenience, when 13 fxg6 hxg6 14 0-0-bxc3 15 Axc3 Aixc3 16 Rf6 Qh 17 &xc3 Bxe3 18 Bxa5 AxaS 19 fxe3 e6 left Black with a superior pawn structure. In Hiibner-Topalov, Istanbul Olympiad 2000, White chose a more sober method of dealing with the knight, resulting in an early but inter- esting draw: 7 @bd2 @a6 8 c3 c4 9 Wad @)xd2 10 Dxd2 Wh6 11 WeS Ae5 12 WxtS Wea6! 13 Wxg6+hxg6 14 Qg5 Lxd5 15 £3 e5 16 c4 R06 17 She Se7. 6...b4 Perhaps too accommodating since White is sure to benefit from the c4 square at some point. 6...Wa5+ is an option, when Bilobrk-Sermek, Pula 2000, continued 7 @Dbd2 Lxd5 8 axbS We7 9 Had Axd2 10 Wad2 £07 11 c4 d6 12 ¢3 &5 13 Wc3 Be7 14 Qxe7 Sxe7 15 Le2 a6 with an unusual but balanced position. 7 Wa3 Now White need not concern himself with on5-04, 7...£5 8 Dbd2 Lab 8...Axd2 9 DAxd2 g6 10 Dc4 is clearly better for White. 8...2d6 might be considered, although 9 @e5 maintains the grip on c4 and looks good for White. 9 Wh3 Axd2 10 Axd2 We7 11 e4!? 11 €3 settles for a definite advantage after 11...2xf1 12 Dxfl. Aaron’s choice, which is certainly the thematic reaction to the play in the centre thus far, presents Black with an op- portunity to try to justify his rather unorthodox. opening. 11...2.xfl 12 Sxfl £47! Of course White will have been ready for 12...WY4, hitting d2 and h4, but it is not clear that the position after 13 A\f3 Wxed (13...fxe4) 14 Sel Wed is inappropriate for this system. White enjoys a development advantage for his pawn but his kingside needs sorting — a situa- tion with which Summerscale would be happy, no doubt, but in the game he enjoys an easy initiative. 13 Ded e514 Wh3!? Part of the plan, preventing the intended 14...d6 in view of 15 We6+ Be7 16 Bxe7 Wre7 17 Dxd6+, ete. However, 14 dxe6 dxe6 15 WIS!? looks strong because 15...e5? runs into 16 WhS+. After 15...2\c6 16 eS the f4 pawn is doomed. 14...2.d6 Not the move Black wants to play. za eo x 15 ws Black is completely boxed in, thanks in no small part to White’s excellent knight. Black's knight, meanwhile, has nowhere to go, the bishop is embarrassed on d6 and the rooks will never be introduced. Having made no serious mistakes Mannion does not really deserve to be in such a mess, but the fact that an IM can find himself strug- gling so early should serve as a warming to lesser players of the dangers of unorthodox defences. ‘15...a5 16 g3! As is often the case a pawn-break provides the key, the closed position being ripe for a successful infiltration. 16...fx23 Opening the h-file for White’s hitherto dor- mant rook, but the prospect of losing control of the crucial e5 square after g3xf4 is no less painful. 17 hxg3 Ha6 18 225 h6 Or 18...g6 19 Wi6 Ef8 20 ixd6+ and Black must take his eye off d8 or e5.248 ‘THE BRITISH CHESS MAGAZINE ZL fB 21..h7 allows 22 Exh6+! gxh6 23 WI7 mate. By now Black is waiting for the axe to fall. 22 DxeS Bh7 23 Lt Who 24 We7 W7 25 &xh6 1-0 Round 7 OGavin Wall (Richmond) Jon Speelman (Wood Green) Caro Kann B10 Led 62 De3 d5 3 £4 I would have thought that this sideline is a decent choice against Spelman, and that the talented Gavin Wall is the kind of player to contribute to an interesting game. 3...dxe4 4 Dxe4 AKG 5 Dt2 We7 6 g3 Om _ Of course White’s set-up is borrowed from the f4 Sicilian. The plan is to fianchetto both bishops with a view to monitoring the centre from afar, particularly the eS square. Speelman now embarks on a modest strategy that succeeds in inviting a positional conces- sion from White. GeO? 7 AES BAS 8B ct is not clear how White should respond to the arrival of the bishop in the middle of the board, Wall’s choice is natural, albeit prema- ture in light of what happens in the game. Per- haps White does best to continue developing with 8 292, 9 0-0, 10 b3 ete. 8...5.xf3 9 Wxf3 e6 10 b3 The d4 square is already a problem for White. Note that 10 d4 permits 10...{2b4+. 10.85 11 &h2 Was!? Y ‘Y a (sa om os ao Souk Moving the queen fora second time only to return to base, but Speelman clamps down on the d4 square, highlighting the long-term weakness of the backward d-pawn. 12 Hdl 12 0-0-0 £4 is fairly equal. White might then try to exploit his slight development lead by launching his g-pawn, but he is hardly well placed to make inroads into Black’s solid posi- tion. 12...2)a6 13 a4?! ‘The advance that White has been planning and for which Black has been waiting. After 13 Bed 2d4 14 Dxf6+ Wxf6 15 Bxd4 Wd 16 We3 Zd8 Black has an undisputed advan- tage thanks to the hole on d4 and White's inef- fectual bishop, while 13 a3 &d4 leaves White with a weak queenside. 13... Wa5+ 14.203 2b4 15 2xb4 Wxb4+THE BRITISH CHESS MAGAZINE 249 16 Zd2 0-0-0 17 3? 17 We3 is alesser evil. 17...Wa5 18 We3 Wc3 0-1 Here, understandably, White resigned. Much of this brief game revolved around the battle for the d4-square, and with its surrender White loses the game. Round 7 ClAndrew Muir (Poisoned Pawns) MColin McNab (Slough) Muir Megagambit Ad] T mentioned earlier how the 4NCL has the habit of producing a blast from the past every now and then. Another IM to reappear is An- drew Muir from Scotland, who has joined fel- low countrymen in making the Poisoned Pawns a substantially stronger team. I didn’t notice Andrew was playing at the last weekend until I got home, but there might be another across-the-board reunion on the final weekend as my White Rose team will be involved in a relegation battle with the PPs. Andrew’s game against Grandmaster Colin McNab in the match against Slough went as follows: 1d 662 6165 BEN OA Dies 1S tale the IM tried 5 e3!? sagogt Brae m 8A BAwweanz anew move (at this level, anyway) since it involves the loss of the knight, although after 5...\8xg5 White bravely played on as if nothing had happened. Tune in to the report on the final weekend, when I bet I return the favour by losing to Andrew with a performance akin to Duncan-Dunnington S&S (round five, 1-0), one of my all-time great sporting achievements. Round 8 ORichard Palliser (Barbican 4NCL IN) WRichard Dineley (S Wales Dragons) Nimzo-Indian E20 144 Af6 2 4 63 Dc3 Bb4 4 £3 055 d5 bS 6 e4 bxe4 7 Sxc4 Axd5 8 2xd5 exdS 9 Wxd5 Ac6 10 £e3 WHE 11 tf2 a6 12 2yce2 WHS 13 AF4 0-0 14 AbS XZ 7 , Bar Richard Palliser has made a good start to 2001, with an IM norm just one of a number of excellent results. Without seeing the opening moves, you may have guessed that the opening was a 4 £3 Nimzo, with Black’s pieces gather- ing on the queenside while White has been thinking only of a kingside strike. White’s once pinned c3 knight has not only survived, but managed to journey all the way to hS, uncomfortably close to Black’s lonely ‘king. Black had pinned his hopes on getting his queen to b2, for which 14,.,Ja5 might be ‘the most appropriate start. Instead the game went as follows: 14....8.c3? 15 bxe3 Wh2+ 16 LA? Weal Now White had time for... 17 Weg5 26 18 We6! gxh5 19 Wy5+ Lh8 20 Wf6+ Sg8 21 &n6 ... and Black’s castled king proved less se- ccure than its counterpart on £2. Now 21...WEL-+ 22 g3 Wel+ 23 $h3 does not prevent the in- evitable mate on g7, so the game ended.. 21...Wxa2+ 22 De2 1-0250 THE BRITISH CHESS MAGAZINE Round 8 19...Mg6 20 Axd6 Za8 21 Wxa8! Dxad O Michael Franklin (Richmond) 22 2se5 Wh 23 Ddf7 John Richardson (Beeson Gregory I) 24 Da7! is good, Colle DOS 14 Df6 2 Af3 d5 3 €3 e6 4 £d3 b6 5c3 &b7 6 Dbd2 Abd7 7 0-0 db 8 Wer Ded 9 Ba6 Axa6 10 Wxa6 0-0 11 Wh7 Eb8 12 Wxa7 b5 13 WaS f5 14 ad g5 15 #3 f4 16 exfd gxf4 17 axb5 Wi6 Acclash of styles tends to make for an inter- esting game and, ofien, a decisive change in the nature of the struggle. It is not unusual ina tense situation to see a ‘steady’ player secure an advantage against an aggressive opponent with some alert play. a a Black had come out fighting, happy to see his opponent picking up pawns on the queenside in return fora dangerous looking at- tack on the other flank. However, White now hitupon a idea to nip the offensive in the bud: 18 b6! White has noticed that the disappearance of Black’s g-pawn is significant, and this enables him to remove the playmaker knight on ¢4. 18...\xb6 18...cxb6 also meets with 19 Dxe4. After 18...Dxd2 19 Bxd2 Axb6 20 Wa2 Ded 21 2c1 Black has insufficient compensation. 19 Dxet The point of 18 b6: White clears the fifth ranktomeet 19...dxe4 with 20 Wg5+, thus get- ting rid of Black’s dangerous knight and queen and leaving White a clear pawn to the good. Consequently Black tries to muddy the waters. 23...£3 24 h4 A\b6 25 Ah6+ Ph8 26 Ba7! White’s pieces are too strong for the queen. 26...\e4 27 Hxe7 AxeS 28 dxeS We8 29 Wi @ ; ek OQ Ya ’ Sa a me 8 gan Zs Z Oo gis a Aninstructive demonstration of how to deal with dangerous opponents. v Round & Miles - Mah (Slough - White Rose) ee ok waman a a Bava y 28...2)xd3? Black had to try 28...Wc6. Des! Tf 29... Wixd6, 30 2\f7+ wins the queen. 29.275 29...A\3e5 is better but it is still an easy win. 30 Hxd3 1-0