Chess
Mother care
David Spanner
Ihad a talk with Madame Kasparov after the recent semi-finals of the Candidates in London. The mother of the prodigy is a vibrant personality in her own right; what's more, she knows a lot about chess, having learned the game at six. What interested me is that Klara and Gary probably have the closest mother-son relationship in the history of master chess. She told me: 'At the age of nine we didn't have any illusions whatsoever, what he wanted to be . . . By the age of 12, when he became national champion among school children, his career, his future life, was pre- ordained. And at the point I said to myself, "Chess is a very important part of his life, and probably this is what he will devote himself to. But there are still so many things in this life that must be enjoyed, must be admired, and must be lived up to." So then I felt it my prime duty to introduce Gary to literature, to art, to other entertainment, so that the young boy will not miss what makes life complete.' A sensible mother, indeed! She went on: 'By all means, I try to attend all the tour- naments that Gary is playing in, and watch him play. Of course, I can see the position on the chess board but it is not the position itself which means a lot to me; it is mainly his psychological state and his behaviour on the stage that I can immediately feel and so understand what the real situation is. 'Gary of course feels my presence in the playing hall and sometimes he confesses that before making a move, he will think about me and what I will think of his move, especially if he is going to sacrifice; and he will probably wonder if I am going to give him some "hard knocks" or not, after this unexpected move! But in general I try watch his games, and especially at very . to im- portant international tournaments I try and make myself scarce in the playing hall, at least for the opening and sometimes in the middle game, so that he is confident and by then I can come and control myself better.' At the start of the semi-final match against Korchnoi, she broke this rule. Gary lost the first game and then struggled through a series of draws. She moved back to her usual seat at the back, with markedly improved results by her son. I wonder where she is sitting at the final of the Can- didates which has just opened
After two draws, in Vilnius. , Gary struck a hammer
blow, as the game below shows.
Kasparov — Smyslov: Candidates' final, 3rd game, Vilnius, 1984; Queen's Gambit, Cam- bridge Springs Variation.
1 d4 d5 2 Nf3 Nf6 3 c4 c6 4 Nc3 e6 5 Bg5 Nbd7 6 e3 Qa5 7 cxd Nxd5 8 Qd2 Bb4 9 Rd 0.0 10 11d3 e5. Both players considered their tenth moves for 22 minutes. 11 0-0 exd 12 exd f61? 13 Bb4 Rd8 14 a3 Bxc3 15 bxe3 Nf8 16 Bg3 Be6 17 Rfel 11f7 18 c4 Qxd2 19 Nxd2 Nb6 20 Nb3 Kasparov spent another 22 minutes on this move. 20 . „ Na4 21 Bfl Rd7 22 Na5 Ne6 23 d5 Nd4 24 dxc Nxc6 25 Nxc6 bxc 26 c5 Re8 27 Rxe8 + BxeS 28 Bd6 Bf7
Position after 29 . . Bd5
29 Rbl Bd5 (Diagram) According to the experts, White stands better. He has the two bishops, commands the b-file, and has more room for manoeuvre. He was also ahead on time. 30 Rb8 + Kf7 31 Rf8 + Ke6 32 g3 g6 33 Ba6 Rxd6 Desperation. 34 cxd6 Kxd6 35 Rxf6 + Ke5 36 Rf8
c5 37 Re8+ Kd4 38 Rd8 Ke5 39 f4+ Ke4 40 Bfl Bb3 41 Kf2 Nb2 and resigns. So what about Black's 12th?
Gary also won the fourth game, and now leads 31/2-11/2 after five games of the 16-match final.
Previous page
