Chess

Superkids

David Spanier

Three British players have risen to the level of very strong grandmasters in- vited to 'super-tournaments' and they make an interesting contrast in styles. Tony Miles, the current British champion, is a very professional, combative, risk-taking player, who always plays to win, and usual- ly does. He spent much of the past year go- ing round the seaside circuit, pounding the locals into the shingle.

Wijk aan Zee, 1983 1 Andersson 2 Ribli 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 X1/2 1 1/21/21/2 1 1 1/2X1/2 I 1/21/21/2 1

9 1011121314 Ttl 1/21/21/21 1/2 1 9

11/21/211/21/2 81/2 3 Browne

01/2X1/21/21/21 1/21/211/211/21 8

4 Hort

1/201/2X1/21/20 1 1 1 1/21/21 1 8

5 Nunn 1/21/21/2 1/2 X 1/2 1/2 0

1 1/2 1/2 1 12 1 712

6 Seirawan

1/2 1/2 1/2 1/2 1/2 X'12 1 0 1/2 1 0 1/2 1 7

7 Hulak •

0 1/2 0 1 1/21/2X 1 1/20 I 1/21/2 V2 61/2

8 Korchnoi

0 01/20100X111/2110 6

9 Olafsson

1/201/20 0 11/20 X1/2 1 0 11/2 51/2

10 Ree

11 0 0 1/2 1/2 1 0 1/2 X 1/2 1 0 1/2 512

11 Scheeren 1/21/21/21/21/20 0 1/20 1/2X1/2 1.1/2

51/2

12 van der Wiel

0 0 0 1/20 1 1/20 1 0

1/2 X1/2 1

5

13 Speelman

1/21/21/201/21/21/20 0 1 0 1/2X 0 41/2

14 Kuligowski

0 1/2 0 0 0 0 1/2 1

1/2 11/2 112 0 1 X 41

Tony now has an opportunity to show what he can do. He is playing in the category 15 tournament, the highest there is, in Linares, Spain. Practically all the best players in the world are competing there, from Karpov on down — a stern test for all concerned.

John Nunn, a mathematician of distinc- tion, is a highly calculating player, much given to theory; he likes to know where he is all the time. Less confident in wild posi- tions, his knowledge of theory let him down recently playing Kasparov. John Speehnan is probably the deepest of the three, with the most original ideas. An embryo master told me the other day that quite often he could not understand Speelman's moves at the board and had to inquire respectfully at the end of a (lost) game what was really go- ing on. The only doubt over Jon's com- petitive performance is whether his health can stand the pace.

He had something of a disaster at the strong (category 12) tournament that has just been held at Wijk aan Zee. These things happen to everyone and he is not the kind of player to be thrown by it. Nunn had a pretty good tournament, after a slightly less than scintillating show by the men's team at the olympiad. In his game against the Dutchman van der Wiel, given below, he shows how to carry a well-balanced at-

tack through to a crisp ending.

The question mark over the tournament was the absence of the Russians. Having agreed to send two GMs, the Soviet chess federation suddenly found it inconvenient when — funny coincidence — the news came through that Korchnoi was also in- vited. The Soviet mind is slow to adapt but it is surely time the authorities got over `Korchnoi's complaint'. The matter has been referred to Fide and it will be instruc- tive to see if the new President, Florencio Campomanes, from the Philippines, will do anything about it. The former President Fridrik Olafsson is now back in action. He started Speelman's troubles in the first round and also defeated Seirawan.

Nunn — van der Wiel: Wijk aan Zee 1983; Sicilian Defence.

1 e4 c5 2 Nf3 Nc6 3 d4 cxd4 4 Nxd4 Nf6 5 Nc3 d6 6 Bg5 e6 7 Qd2 a6 8 0-0-0 h6 9 Bf4 Bd7 10 Nxc6 Bxc6 11 Qel Qa5 12 f3 Rd8 13 h4 b5 14 Kb1 b4

15 Ne2 e5 16 Bd2 Rb8 17 Ncl Qb6 18 Be3 Qb7 19 Nb3 Be7 20 Bc4 0-0 21 Na5 Qc7 22 Nxc6 Qxc6 23 Qe2 Nh5 24 Bd5 Qc8 25 Qd2 Nf6 26 Bb3 Nd7 27 Bxh6! NcS Acceptance of the piece leads to speedy mate. 28 Bg5 Nxb3 29 cxb3 16 30 Be3 RhS 31 Qd3 Qe6 32 Qc4 Kf7 33 Rd5 Rxd5 34 exd5 Q15 + 35 Qc2 Qxc2 + 36 Kxc2 f5 37 Kd3 Re8 38 g4 e4+ 39 fxe4 + fxe4 + 40 Kc4 Rat + 41 Kxh4 Rc2 42 Rfl + Kg8 43 R12 Rc8 44 g5 Bd8 45 R14 Rh8 + 46 Ka4 Rb5 47 Rxe4 K17 48 Rf4 + Kg6 49 b4 RxdS 50 Rd4 `Zwart geeft het op'.