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Up the pole

Raymond Keene

AFTER THREE DECADES of reporting on chess competitions I have lost patience.

I have finally come to the conclusion that most press officers engaged to publicise chess tournaments are, in fact, direct lineal descendants of St Simeon Stylites. St Simeon, it will be remembered, was a fifth- century anchorite and general holy man who spent the last 36 years of his life on top of a 60-foot pillar deep in the Syrian desert. His motive, as the Penguin Dictionary of Saints quaintly puts it, was 'to avoid the press of people who flocked to him for his prayers and advice'.

Those entrusted with getting the mes- sage out about their respective tourna- ments have chosen a most extraordinary role model, but are fulfilling their mandate with tremendous enthusiasm. For example, an immensely strong tournament in Buenos Aires, which I mentioned two weeks ago, and which has the Sicilian Defence as its theme, started promisingly by faxing through daily round reports. After round five, these came to a halt and the press room there has proved impervi- ous to all subsequent pleas for information.

Two important tournaments in the UK, the Richmond Junior Initiative and the Vera Menchik Memorial in Maidstone, seem to have made it their policy not to release the moves of any of the games. Even when Luke McShane, the ten-year- old prodigy, became the youngest ever British player to defeat an international master in a tournament there was, amaz- ingly, no press release.

Most horrifying, perhaps, is the stance to the press taken by the Professional Chess Association. I had high hopes, when the PCA was set up last year, that a new era was dawning in relation to the press. Sadly, the first evidence from the PCA quarter- finals in New York this year showed that, if anything, a regression had taken place.

An honourable exception to the Stylites syndrome has been the Owens Corning international tournament at Wrexham Maelor in Wales, the first ever all-play-all grandmaster tournament to be held in the Principality. Every day, regularly and on time, the press room sent out all the games and updated results without needing a sin- gle prod. Here is a beautiful finish by the winner of the tournament.

Davies–Dive: Wrexham Maelor, 1994.

By patient strategy White has established an iron grip on the dark squares backed up by a massive attack in the 'g' file. The prob- lem now is how to break through. White's solution is one of tremendous elegance.

28 Bh5!! A rare instance of a sacrifice on an empty square. If now 28 ... 015 then 29 Rg8+ wins at once. Meanwhile, with no fewer than five pieces concentrated on g6 White is now threat- ening a decisive sacrifice on that square. Black's hand, therefore, is forced. 28 ...Rxh5 29 Nxg6+ A further sacrifice to blast open a path for his rooks. 29 ...hxg6 30 Rxg6 Qd7 31 Rg8+ Herald- ing a fatal irruption. 31 ...Kh7 32 Rh8+ Black resigns The final neat sacrifice forcing check- mate after 32 ... Kxh8 33 Rg8+ 1017 34 Qg6.

In spite of the lack of an immediate press release concerning Luke McShane's his- toric win at the age of ten against an inter- national master, thus smashing the previ- ous record of 12 held by Nigel Short, I managed to get the moves of the game when Grandmaster Daniel King kindly dic- tated them over the phone a day later. Here is the decisive portion of the game.

Berg–McShane: Richmond, 1994.

White has just played 41 Nxb7 intending to refute 41 ... Qxb7 with 42 Rxd8 BxdS 43 Qg8+ or 41 Rxd2 42 Qg8+ Kh6 43 Qg6 mate. Naturally, Luke avoids both of these calamities.

41 ... Ne4 42 Rd1 If 42 Rxd8 Ng3+ forces mate.

42 ...13 43 Nxd8 Ng3+ 44 Kg1 Qe3+ 45 Kh2 Nfl+ A superb further sacrifice to gain access to the white king. If 46 Rxfl, Be5+ forces mate. 46 Khl fxg2+ 47 Kxg2 h3+ 48 Kxf1 Qf3+ 49 Kel Bxc3+ This wins easily enough but the strange- looking 49 ... Qe4+ actually forces mate in three, e.g. 50 Kfl 0g2+ 51 Kel Bh4. 50 Qxc3+ Qxc3+ 51 Keg Q13+ 52 Kd2 Qxdl+ 53 Kxdl h2 White resigns.