Chess
Mixed triumph
Raymond Keene
It is fascinating to watch Karpov in play. The moves seem to flow from him, without the accidents and traffic jams which often afflict the thought processes of most other players, however strong they are. The Phillips and Drew/GLC tourna- ment just concluded at County Hall gave those who attended the privilege of seeing a world champion in action whose record of success places him in the very forefront of that select group. Karpov had the tourna- Phillips and Drew/GLC, April-May 1984
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
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I Karpov X I 1/2 I 1/2 1/2 1/2 11/21111/209 2 Chandler 0 X 1/2 1/2 1/2 I I 01011/211S 3 Polugaievsky 1/2 1/2 X 1/2 I 1/2 1/2 1/211/201/2118 4iimman 0 1/2 1/2 X 1/2 1/2 1 1/211/21/211/21/271/2 5 Seirawan 1/2 1/2 0 1/2 X% I 101/21101/27 6 Ribli 1/2 0 1/2 1/2 1/2 X I 1/21/211/21/21/21/27 7 Vaganian 1/2 0 1/2 0 0 0 X 1/21/211/211161/2 8 Korchnoi 01 1/2 1/2 0 1/2 1/2 X1/21/21/21/211/261/2 9 Andersson 1/2 0 0
0 1 1/2X1/21/21/21/21/251/2 10 Miles 0 1 1/2 1/2 1/2 0 0 1/21/2X1/2011/251/2 11 Specimen 0 0 1 1/2 0% 1/2 1/21/21/2X1/21/21/251/2 12 Morel 0 1/2 1/2 0 0 1/2 0 1/21/211/2X1/21/25 13 Nunn 1/2 0 0 1/2 I 1/2 0 01/201/21/2X15 14 Torre l 0 0 1/2 1/2 1 0 1/21/21/21/21/20X5
ment .wrapped up well before the end, but relaxed during the final three rounds, con- ceding draws to Ribli and Nunn and actual- ly losing to tail-ender Torre.
In spite of winning the event a point clear of all his rivals, Karpov may still not have achieved his primary aim of gaining suffi- cient Elo points to move ahead of Kasparov in the next list. The challenger will certainly be examining the champion's recent games for any signs of weakness, including this one:
Torre-Karpov: Round 11; Nimzo-lndian.
1 d4 Nf6 2 c4 e6 3 Nc3 Bb4 4 e3 c5 5 Ne2 cxd4 6 exd4 0-0 7 a3 Be7 8 d5 exd5 9 cxd5 Bc5 10 b4 Bb6 11 Na4 d6 12 Nxb6 axb6 13 Ng3 Positionally, White stands well, with two bishops and superior pawn structure, but Black now has time to round up White's d5 pawn. 13 ... Re8 + 14 Be2 Re5 15 Bb2 RxdS 16 Qcl Nc6 17 0.0 Ne5 18 Qe3 Be6 19 h3 b5? Black's first mistake. Instead of this he should play . Rc8! at once. 20 Racl Bd7 Perhaps hoping to reach the c6 square, but the bishop never makes it. 21 Rfel Seirawan thought the immediate 21 f4 stronger than this. A matter of taste? 21 ... Rc8? The second and decisive er, ror. Correct is 21 h6. 22 Rxc8 Qxc8 23 f4 Ng6 If 23 . . Nc4 24 Bxc4 Qxc4 25 Qe7! or 23 . . . Nc4 24 Bxc4 bxc4 25 Bxf6 gxf6 26 Ne4 followed by Qc3. 24 Bxf6 gxf6 25 Bf3 It is not of such great significance that White can trap the Black Rook and win the exchange — this is an occupa- tional hazard if you play the adventurous manoeuvre . . . Re8-e5xd5 in the opening. What is really serious, though, is that White still has a
964 The Spectator 19 May 1 cope with . . . e2 by means of Kf2. 42 Kg3 tick 42 Kgl ! followed by Rdl. White can then alwaii 's fractured., very powerful attack against Black K-side. 25 .. . Qc4 26 Bxd5 Qxd5 27 Ne4 Kg,/,1 Nxf6 Forcing advantageous simplification. ;1'2'9 Qc3 Qf5! 28 . . . Kxf6 29 Qc3 + Ne5Foreef.„4' .1. . . . Kf5 30 g4+ Kxf4 21 Qe3 mate. 30 '"'"..„0 dxe5 31 Rfl + Ke6 32 Qc2 e4 I felt that Z4-4. resistance was possible with 32 .. . Bc633 v"the Ke7, keeping open the a8-h 1 diagonal for 33 Q + B battery. Still, it is not at all plcasno,ty Qc3 f5 34 Qg7 Qd2 35 Qxh7 Qe3 + 36 Kh: y 37 h4 Qg4 38 Qh6 + Ke5 39 Qg5 CO"n7L15 transposing into a winning ending. 30 • •• ' -. did 40 hxg5 e3 41 g6 Kf6 If 41 . . . f4 Torre iate- .,4 Kf4 e2 44 Rel Bc4 45 g7 Black resigns. %iv- sealed 45 . .. Kxg7 and resigned without resti4 tion. White uses the g-pawn as a decoy ,t° :7-46 about a won K + P endgame: 45 . • • 'xiaxe2 KxfS Kf7 47 Ke4 Kf6 48 Ke3 Ke5 49 Rata 50 Kxe2 and the rear g-pawn decides matters' For those who have been unable to attend
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this great tournament in person, alci,C recommend the Phillips and Drew/'-' rd. video cassette, a permanent re°, it Available on Betamax or VHS format, J. costs £19.95 and can be ordered from d, and R. TV, 33 Eskdale Terrace, Jes0110, Newcastle-upon-Tyne NE2 4DN. It; not eludes live coverage of the sensabcsith Karpov-Korchnoi game, interviews man Karpov, Korchnoi, Seirawan, Jan Tinld bY and Stewart Reuben, all conclude by David Goodman, with a summin84P myself.
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