CHESS
As I predicted before the start of their match, the 21-year-old Chinese girl Xie Jun has seized the women's world cham- pionship from the Georgian Maya Chibur- danidze, who has held it since 1978. Xie started with a brilliant win in game 3 but then it appeared that the champion's ex- perience and solidity would tell when she immediately struck back to take games 4 and 5. Thereafter, though, it was Xie all the way. Chiburdanidze, whose play seemed lumpish by comparison, was downed on three further occasions without being able to score a single win in retalia- tion. The match took place at one of the Philippine capital's plushest venues, the Manila Hotel. There was a prize fund of 100,000 dollars, a record for this event, and the games of the match were conducted With his usual calm efficiency by the chief arbiter, Britain's Bob Wade.
I have always believed that the vast spiritual and material resources held in check for so long by China's restrictive Political system could, once released, sweep the world. The Chinese have so many of the qualities of the Japanese and sO much more to back them up, and this first-ever world chess title to China is concrete evidence of what the Chinese will one day achieve in broader spheres. Until recently Chinese players with a talent for chess have tended to concentrate on the Chinese game itself, which is more or less exclusively tactical and lacks the strategic breadth of chess as we know it. After Xie's victory, one which must surely attract some sort of challenge from the Polgar sisters,
China syndrome
Raymond Keene
the floodgates for further mass interest amongst the Chinese in the Western ver- sion of chess will surely have been opened.
Chlburdanidze lh Y2 0 1 1 Y2 Y2 0 1/2 1/2 0 1/2 0 1/2 1/2 02 Xie Jun Y2 Y2 I 0 0 Y2 Y2 I Y2 Y2 1½ 1 Y2 1/2 11/2 Xie Jun — Chiburdanidze: Women's World Championship (Game 13) 1991; Ruy Lopez.
1 e4 e,5 2 Nf3 Nc6 3 Blb5 a6 4 Ba4 Nf6 5 0-0 Be7 6 Re! b5 7 Bb3 d6 8 c3 0-0 9 h3 Nd7 10 d4 Bf6 11 a4 Bb7 12 axb5 axb5 13 R.xa8 Qxa8 14 d5 Ne7 All this is well known from the most recent Karpov Kasparov world championship match. Kar- pov, however, tended to prefer 14 . . . Na5 at this juncture. 15 No3 c6 Black breaks open the centre, but at the cost of a pawn, which she hopes to regain by active piece play. 16 dxc6 Bxc6 17 Qxd6 Nc8 18 Qdl Nc5 19 Bd5 Nxe4 20
Position after 21. . . Ncd6
Bxc6 Qxc6 21 Qd3 Ncd6 (Diagram) It is not inconceivable, given that the first 14 moves of this game were all theory, and that the moves since move 16 have all been of a forcing nature, that this position represented openings prepara- tion on Chiburdanidze's part. White's next move is a typical Chinese tactical strike. It wins a pawn and is very easy to overlook. 22 Nxb5 Qc5 If 22. . . Qxb5 23 Qxb5 Nxb5 24 Rxe4 with an easy win on material. Therefore Black tries to fish in troubled waters. 23 Qe2 Ng3 24 Qe3 Qxb5 25 fxg3 e4 26 Nd4 Qb7 27 Nc2 Re8 28 Qc5 Be5 29 g4 Qe7 30 Be3 h5 31 gxh5 Qh4 32 Bd4 Bxd4+ 33 Qxd4 Re6 34 Qdl Nc4 35 b3 Ne5 36 Qe2 R16 37 Rfl Rxfl+ 38 Kxfl Nd3 39 Nd4 Qf4+ 40 Kg! Qcl + 41 Kh2 Nc5 42 Qc2 Qf4+ 43 g3 Qg5 44 b4
Position after 45. . . f5
Nd3 45 Qe2 f5 (Diagram) Black has maintained a definite initiative for her lost pawns but now Xie finds a neat manoeuvre which forces the exchange of queens and thus decides the game. 46 h4 Qf6 47 Qa2+ Kh7 48 Qe6 Qxe6 49 Nxe6 e3 50 Nd4 f4 51 b5 Black resigns If 51 . e2 52 Nxe2 f3 53 Nd4 12 54 Kg2 and Black's passed pawn is safely contained, while White's march on to their coronation.
On 9 December Jon Speelman will be giving a simultaneous display at Conway Hall, Red Lion Square, London WC1 in aid of the Medical Foundation for the Victims of Torture. Call Marian Sweet on 071-284 4321 if you would like to play.
Previous page
