Chess Short cut Raymond Keene
Nigel Short, at 19 the world's youngest Grandmaster, has broken fresh ground by becoming the youngest-ever British champion, and in the strongest national championship held to date. What- ever slight doubts may still have hovered over Nigel's GM title after Esbjerg last month were swept away when he achieved a further GM norm in the championship itself, largely by defeating a number of Commonwealth entrants. It has been ob- vious, since his 1977 championship debut at Brighton, aged 12, when he annihilated the ten-time champion, Penrose, that Nigel Was a superlatively talented player, but his career has always been dogged by massive lurches of fortune. Recently, though, this instability of form has been eradicated and Nigel also appears to have invested a lot of Work in his main opening variations. Great erudition allied with a talent little short of genius can make a deadly combination, as Tony Miles, the pre-tournament favourite,
found to his cost for the second time in the space of a month.
Short–Miles: Round 9, Caro–Kann.
1 e4 c6 2 c4 d5 3 exd5 cxd5 4 cxd5 Nf6 5 Nc3 Nxd5 6 Nf3 Nc6 7 d4 Bg4 8 Qb3 Bxf3 9 gxf3 Nb6 10 Be3 e6 11 0-0-0 Possibly the first game with this variation (Nimzowitsch-Jokstad, Bergen 1921) had gone: 11 d5 exd5 12 Bxb6 axb6 13 0-0-0 d4 (13 . . . Be7 would transpose to the main game) 14 Bc4 Qg5+ 15 Kbl Qf5+ 16 Ne4 Bc5 17 Rhgl preparing a powerful attack in the 'g' file. 11 . . . Be7 12 d5 12 Rgl 0-0 13 d5 Nxd5 14 Nxd5 exd5 15 Rxd5 Qc7 is Nunn-Chandler, Bristol 1981, when Black had a powerful counterattack. 12 . . . exd5 13 Bxb6 axb6 Strangely rejecting 13 . . Qxb6 14 Qxb6 axb6 15 Nxd5 Rxa2 16 Kbl Ra5 17 Bb5 Kf8 Ribli-Miles, Surakarta 1982, which was soon drawn. Perhaps Miles suspected that White still enjoyed a slight edge here — or maybe he was in search of adventure. 14 Nxd5 0-0 15 Rgl! If 15 Nxb6 Nd4! or 15 Nf6+ Bxf6 16 Rxd8 Rfxd8 with a dangerous attack and near material parity for the Queen. 15 . . . Bf6? Much better is 15 . . . Qd6 with counterplay. 16
Position after 28 Qxb7!
Rg4 A powerful and unusual manoeuvre, which reminds me of Karpov's imaginative use of his Rooks. 16 . . . Ra5 17 Kbl Rc5 18 Nxb6 Nd4 19 Qb4 Rc6 20 Nc4 Qd7 21 Re4 Rfc8? A further error, after which Black is lost. He should try . . . Rd8! at once. 22 a3 Rd8 23 Na5 Re6 24 Bh3 Qc7 25 Rexd4 Rxd4 26 Rxd4 Bxd4 27 Bxe6 fxe6 28 Qxb7! (Diagram) Had Miles overlooked that White could annihilate the remnant of his Q-side? If 28 . . . Qxa5 29 Qc8+ Kf7 30 Qd7+ wins the B and leaves White with a won Co and P ending. 28 . . . Qe5 29 Nc6 Qel + 30 Ka2 Bf6 31 Qb3 h5 32 Qc2 Qhl 33 a4 Qxf3 Trying to get his 0 into contact with a8, where White s 'a pawn plans to promote. 34 a5 Qd5+ 35 Ka3 Qd6+ 36 b4 Qxh2 Miles's only hope is to advance his own passed 'h' pawn, but it is much too slow. 37 a6 Qh3+ 38 Ka4 Qfl 39 a7 Qa6+ 40 Kb3 h4 41 Qc4 Qal 42 Qxe6+ Kh7 43 Qe4+ g6 44 Ne5! Qdl + 45 Kc4 Qfl + 46 Nd3 Black resigns.
Leading scores in the 1984 Grieveson Grant British Championship at Brighton were: Short 81/2111; Chandler, Speelman, Plaskett 8; Thipsay 71/2; ahead of Miles, Watson, Howell, Hodgson, Hebden, Bas- man etc . . . with Bellin, Hartston and Botterill, all ex-champions, lower down the field. Sheila Jackson's score of 6 points was a tremendous personal success, qual- ifying her for her second women's GM norm. She now requires one more for the title.
Bulletins of the championship containing all 348 games, a few with notes, are available at £3.25 from Richard O'Brien,
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