CHESS
Slon Ranger
David Levy
The ebullient Soviet Grandmaster Eduard Gufeld is well known for having a penchant for the black king's bishop. His opening preferences with the black pieces are the Sicilian Dragon against 1 e4, and the King's Indian Defence against 1 d4. He will go to almost any lengths in these defences to preserve the g7 bishop, and in his games one frequently sees the cleric assuming the dual role of defender and attacker.
Such is his affinity for the king's bishop that throughout the Leningrad half of the K-K match he was being called by the nickname `Bijeli Slon', the Russian word bijeli (white) referring to the colour of his favourite suit, and slon being the Russian word for bishop. In fact there is a slightly unkind pun surrounding the use of the word slon to describe Gufeld — its alterna- tive meaning is elephant, and the deriva- tion of its use as the bishop in chess can be traced back to the early Indian form of the game where the bishop was called the elephant. Gufeld himself is not exactly elephantine in proportion, but neither would he win any prizes for slimmer of the year. Having heard how they dine in Georgia, there is little cause for surprise at Gufeld's figure.
Gufeld's most famous game is his victory over Bagirov in the semi-finals of the 1973 USSR championship at Kirovabad. Here Bagirov came to the board determined, at all costs, to exchange off the g7 bishop, thereby depriving Gufeld of his favourite weapon. But the manoeuvre consumed too much time in the opening, and the initia- tive passed to Black.
Bagirov-Gufeld: King's Indian Defence. 1 d4 g6 2 c4 Bg7 3 Nc3 d6 4 e4 Nf6 5 f3 0-0 6 Be3 Nc6 7 Nge2 Rb8 Qd2 a6 Black is adopting Taimanov's system which aims to strike quickly at White's queen side. The normal continuation here is 9 Ncl followed by Nb3, but instead Bagirov shows his fear of the g7 bishop. 9 Bh6 b5 10 h4 e5 11 Bxg7 Kxg7 The g7 bishop is dead, but just this single tempo spent on its extinction (9 Bh6) has given Black enough time to start his counterattack. 12 h5 KM! 12. . . Nxh5 13 g4 Nf4 14 Nxf4 exf4 15 hxg6 would have been too dangerous for Black. 13 Nd5! bxc4 14 hxg6 fxg6 15 Qh6!? The logical way to proceed with the attack, but here 15 Nxf6 Qxf6 16 d5 would have offered White better long-term prospects. 15.. . NM! 16 g4 Rxb2! A necessary piece sacrifice, but one which maintains the initiative and which is fully in keeping with the plan to mate White after he castles Q-side. 17 gx115 g5 18 Rgl g4! Threatening 19. . . Qh4+ . 19 0-0-0 Rxa2 This is the critical moment in the game. White must decide whether he is still justified in playing for a win, or whether to try to force a draw. Painstak- ing analysis after the game revealed that White should opt for a draw with the amazing-looking move 20 Bh3!, for example 20. . . Rxe2 21 Bxg4 Rf7 22 Bxc8 QxcS 23 Nf6! Qb8! 24 Rg8+ Qxg8 25 Nxg8 Nb4!! 26 Rd2 Rel+ 27 Rdl Re2, with a draw by repetition. Seduced by the absence of Gufeld's king's bishop, Bagirov decides to go for the kill. 20 N2f4!? exf4 21 Nxf4 Rxf4 22 Qxf4 c3! Depriving the white king of two escape squares. 23 Be4 Ra3 24 fxg4 NM 25 Kbl! A tremendous counterstroke hidden in a quiet king move. White plans to consolidate with 26 Rdfl, and Black cannot afford to win back the sacrificed material because 25. . .c2+ 26 Kb2 cxd1=Q 27 Rxdl leaves White threatening 28 Rfl. Black must therefore return more material and will soon find himself in a lost ending. Instead of 25. . .c2+, Gufeld finds yet another resource to keep his attack alive. 25. . .Be6!! By attacking the white bishop, Gufeld gains a tempo to bring his queen into play on the b-file. 26 Bxe6 Nd3 27 Qf7 Qb8+ 28 Bb3 Rxb3+ 29 Kc2 Nb4+ 30 Kxb3 If 30 Kcl Rbl + 31 Kxbl Nd5+, and Black mates. 30. . . Nd5+ 31 Kc2 Qb2+ 32 Kd3 Qb4+! White resigns. If 33 Kc2 Qe2+ 34 Kb3 Qb2+ 35 Kc4 Qb5 mate.
And what of the famous king's bishop? True, it took no direct part in the game beyond move 11, but the initiative for which it was traded lingered until the very end of the struggle.
A titanic game, and a fitting testament to Gufeld's genius.
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