Judit's win
Raymond Keene
Judit Polgar has beaten Boris Spassky in their match in Budapest. By drawing the ninth game she reached the score of 51/2-31/2, an unassailable lead. Spassky's self-declared strategy was to construct mas- sive fortifications in the hope that blocked positions would bore his youthful oppo- nent. Unfortunately for him, Judit proved an expert at storming the veteran's bas- tions where the blockade had been imper- fectly set up. Her defeat of Spassky is by an even more impressive margin than that achieved by Bobby Fischer last year.
Polgar-Spassky: Match, Budapest, Game 2, 1993; Ruy Lopez.
1 e4 e5 2 Nf3 Nc6 3 Bb5 a6 4 Ba4 Nf6 5 0-0 Bel 6 Rel b5 7 Bb3 0-0 A matter of fashion; for some time defending the Ruy Lopez was considered very much a poor second to playing the Sicilian. Now, however, as we shall see in the Short Timman game, it is all the rage. 8 c3 d6 9 h3 Nb8 Spassky's opening is stuck in a 1970s time warp. The Breyer Variation, introduced with this move, used to be his favourite and was also wheeled out several times against Fischer in their rematch last year. 10 d4 Nbd7 11 Nbd2 Bbl 12 Bc2 Re8 13 Nfl Bf8 14 Ng3 g6 15 b3 Bg7 Spassky's whole conduct of this game seems too slow and time-wasting. A more active possibility is 15 . . . c5. 16 d5 Bf8 A further symptom of Spassky's imperviousness to the dictates of tempi. It is hardly surprising, with this to-ing and fro-ing of the bishop, that White can build up an impressive advantage. 17 Bg5 h6 18 Be3 c6 19 c4 a5 20 Qd2 Kh7 21 Nh2 b4 It has become a characteristic of Spassky's play with Black to try to block positions and hope that the opponent cannot break through. Here, though, 21 . . . a4 would have been more combative. 22 Ng4 Nxg4 23 Nxg4 Qh4 At last signs of aggression from Spassky, but this move brings his queen into danger. 24 g5 c5? The losing move, though the refutation was hard to envisage. Black had to play 24 . . . cxd5 25 exd5 hxg5 26 Bxg5 Bh6 in order to alleviate the pressure. 25 Nfl This brilliant retreat in combination with White's imaginative 27th move leaves Black's queen with no sensible path of escape. 25 . . . f6 26 g3 Qh3 (Diagram) 2713!! A superb move, giving up a pawn in order to transfer White's rook into the attack via the second rank. 27 . . . fxg5 28 Re2 N16 29 g4 The final key to White's victory. After this Black cannot avoid material loss. 29 . . .
Qxf3 30 Nh2 Qh3 31 Rfl Nxg4 32 Rf7 + Bg7 33 Nxg4 Qxg4 + 34 Rg2 Qh3 If 34 . . Oc8 35 Bxg5
Position after 26 . . . Qh3
wins. 35 Rxb7 Rf8 36 Bxg5 Giving back the piece to force a decisive attack. 36 . . . hxg5 37 Qxg5 Qh6 38 Qxh6+ The only way to win and of course one does not fall for the snare 38 Rh2? met by 38 . . . Rfl+. 38 . . Kxh6 39 Rh2+ Kg5 40 Rxg7 Rf3 Black lost on time but the position is clearly hopeless.
I have realised that in an excess of patriotic fervour I have commented on all of Nigel's wins from his great match against Jan Timman, but I have not yet given a single win by the Dutchman. This some- what one-sided picture will be redressed, commencing this week. Timman, in fact, drew first blood by winning game 2 in a game where Nigel exhibited his customary shaky form at the start of world cham- pionship eliminators.
Short-Timman: Candidates Final, El Escorial, Game 2, 1993; Ruy Lopez.
1 e4 e5 2 Nf3 Nc6 3 Bb5 Fittingly, for a match held in El Escorial, the town which boasts the brooding monastery fortress from which King Philip II planned the Spanish Armada, no fewer than seven of the games in the Short – Timman match opened with the Ruy Lopez. Lopez, it will be remembered, was the 16th-century Span- ish priest, a favourite of King Philip himself,
who was widely regarded as the leading writer and player of his day. 3 . . . a6 4 Ba4 Nf6 5 0-0 Be7 6 Rel b5 7 Bb3 d6 8 c3 0-0 9 h3 Bb7 10 d4 Re8 11 Nbd2 Bf8 12 Bc2 This is standard Ruy Lopez theory, though the sharpest line here is 12 a4 h6 13 Bc2 exd4 14 cxd4 Nb4 15 Bbl, as played in many of the games between Kasparov and Karpov. Nigel's choice leads to much quieter middlegame structures. 12 . . . Nb8 With no- thing much going on in the centre Black can afford the time to regroup this knight to a more efficient defensive square. This also gives him the option of playing . . . c6 to bolster up his central fortifications. 13 a4 Nbd7 14 Bd3 c6 Short has previous experience of this line, viz. 14 . . . exd4 15 cxd4 c5 16 axb5 axb5 17 Rxa8 Bxa8 18 d5 (Short-Hjartarson, Amsterdam 1989). This makes his subsequent inability to form a plan all the more surpnsing. 15 b3 g6 16 Qc2 Bg7 17 Bbl Qc7 18 Radl Rac8 19 Qbl Nh5 20 Bfl bxa4 21 bxa4 d5 Not a particularly dynamic position for either side but Nigel had already used almost 11/2 hours of his two hours thinking time for this game and those of his supporters in the press room, including myself, were becom- ing concerned that he could not form a plan. Typically this is the type of position where the first player to exchange in the centre will get into trouble. It is important to maintain the tension. 22 Qa2 Red8 23 Rd Starting a misguided plan. Either 23 c4 or 23 Bal would have been preferable. 23 . . . Bh6 This move came in for a lot of praise at the time but it is really nothing special. If White retraces his steps with 24 Rcdl it is by no means clear that Black's bishop is better placed on h6 than on g7. Unfortunately, Nigel, although increasingly short of time, de- cided that this was the moment to complicate the issue, instead of maintaining the balance. 24 exd5? As I stated before, the first player to exchange in such situations tends to end up worse. This central trade gives some point to the black bishop on h6. 24 . . . cxd5 25 c4?? This is absolutely suicidal. In view of Black's looming threat of . . . e4, hounding White's minor pieces, Short had to acknowledge the failure of his strategy at this point and play 25 dxe5. There was now general gloom and despondency among the small band of British supporters in the press room. We knew that Nigel had overlooked Black's powerful 26th move. 25 . . . e4 26 cxd5 Qf4 This is decisive and wins at least a piece for if 27 g3 Nxg3 28 fxg3 Qxg3+ 29 Bg2 exf3 30 Nxf3 and now the triumphant black bishop emerges from h6 to play 30 . . Bxcl . 27 Rbl exf3 28 RxeS+ RxeS 29 Nxf3 Qf5 30 13e4 Nf4 31 Bel BxdS 32 BxdS NxdS White resigns After 33 Bxh6 Nc3 is absolutely devastating.
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