CHESS
Repeat performance
Raymond Keene
KSeville asparov's debut with White was a disaster. I believed at the time that much of this debacle could be ascribed to a choice of opening which was alien to his own style, yet bread and butter to Karpov. Mysteriously, Kasparov repeated this same opening for his second foray as White. It was Karpov who first deviated from his win in game 2, and Kasparov went on to score a convincing win himself.
Kasparov — Karpov: Game 4, English Opening. 1 c4 Nf6 2 Nc3 e5 3 Nf3 Nc6 4 g3 Bb4 5 Bg2 0-0 6 0-0 e4 7 Ng5 Bxc3 8 bxc3 Re8 9 13 exf3 Why did Karpov reject his successful 9 . . . e3 from game 2? Opinion here is now veering towards 10 dxe3! as the correct response, treating Black's pawn sacrifice as a bluff. To be honest, though, there is as yet no clear answer to this riddle. 10 Nxf3 Qe7 Unusual; 10 . . . d5 has often being played. 11 e3 Ne5 11 . . . d6 12 d3 Bg4 13 h3 Bd7 14 e4 strongly favours White (Smyslow — Peev, Capablance Memorial 1973). 12 Nd4! A typical pawn offer from Kasparov which Karpov de- clines. Indeed, 12 . . . Nxc4 13 Nf5 Qe5 14 d3 Qxc3 15 Rbl looks bad, e.g. 15 . . .Nd6 16 Nxg7 Kxg7 17 13c12. In this line a better defence is 15 . . . Ne5. Another interesting idea for White is 14 Qf3 d5 15 Nh6+ Kf8 16 Qxd5, possible since 16 . . .Nxd5 allows 17 Rxf7 mate.
12 . . . Nd3 13 Qe2 Nxcl 14 Raul d6 15 Rf4 e6
16 Rcfl Qe5 White's advantage is clear and based on three factors: central pawn majority, great pressure in the T file, and a highly active bishop. 17 Qd3 Bd7 18 Nf5 BxfS 19 RxfS Qe6 20 Qd4 Re7 Here 21 Rxf6, sacrificing the exchange, is enticing e.g. 21 . . . gxf6 22 Rxf6 Qe5 23 Qg4+ Kh8 24 R15 Qe6 25 Qf4. This is reminis- cent of a game won by Portisch against Karpov at San Antonio 1972. However, Kasparov sees no need to rush things. 21 Qh4 Nd7 22 Bh3 Nf8 (Diagram) 23 R5f3! There are other spectacular
continuations, such as 23 Rxf7 or 23 Rb5, but this retreat neatly forces a won ending, exploit-
Position after 22 . . . Nf8 ing the fact Black's queen is tied to the protection of his rook. 23 . . . Qe5 24 d4 Qe4 25 Qxe4 Rxe4 26 Rxf7 Rxe3 27 d5! Crushing. If
27 . . cxd5 Bg2! wins at once; or 27 . . . Rxc3?
28 Rxf8+ Rxf8 29 Be6+. In fact, there is no good move left. 27 . . . Rae8 28 Rxb7? Plausible but wrong. 28 c5! wins outright, e.g. 28 . . . dxc5 29 d6 Rd3 30 d7 Rd8 31 Re7 Nxd7 32 Be6+ Kh8 33 Bxd7 etc . . . 28 . . . cxd5 29 cxd5 R3e7 30 Rt131 h5 Better is 30 . . . Kf7. 31 a4 Too slow. 31 Rxe7 Rxc7 32 Rb8! threatens Be6+ and Rd8. 31 . . .g5 32 Bf5 Kg7 33 a5 Kf6 34 Bd3 Rxb7 Not 34 . . .Re3 35 Rfl+ Ke5 36 Rf5 mate. 35 Rxb7 Re3 36 Bb5 Rxc3 37 Rxa7 Ng6 38 Rd7 Ne5? The final error; 38 . . . Ke5! probably loses in the long run, but puts up much more fight. 39 Rxd6 + Kf5 40 a6 Ra3 41 Rd8 The sealed move, but Karpov resigned without
resuming play.
Karpov moved into the lead again with a win in game 5 (the third consecutive match in which Karpov has won the fifth game). In fact, Kasparov self-destructed, taking 65 minutes over his 14th move in a known position. For his final few moves he had barely one minute left and blundered horribly. Shades of Korchnoi in 1978!
The critical position was after White's 36th move (see diagram). The game con- eluded: 36 . . . Qd7?? 37 Qxa6 Ral 38 Qxg6+ Black resigns. On move 36 Black can still save himself with 36 . . . Ral!! 37 Qc4 (If 37 Qc2 Bf4 38 Rxf4 hxg4+ 39 Rxg4 Qxg4+ 40 Kxg4 Ne3+) 37 . . Qxc4 38 Rxc4 Rcl 39 Ra4 Rc6. A serious missed opportunity.
Running score after six games: Kasparov 1/2 0 1/2 1 0 1/2 Karpov 1/2 1 1/2 0 1 1/2
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