Chess

`L' driver

Raymond Keene

As promised, I continue this week with a round-up of major events previously crowded out by the World and Common- wealth Championships. In Lugano, Tuk- makov, the Soviet Grandmaster, took a narrow first prize with 7/9, ahead of a numerous pack on 61/2. Among the four- teen players in hot pursuit were Short, Nunn, Chandler, Spraggett and that amaz- ing 74-year-old warrior, Reshevsky. In a recent book I pointed out his outstanding lifetime record which includes wins against Lasker, Capablanca, Alekhine, Euwe, Botvinnik, Smyslov and Fischer. Of living players only Botvinnik can surpass this, but he retired from active chess at the age of 60, while Sammy is still going strong!

In the super-tournament at Linares, Hubner and Ljubojevic have shared top honours with 7/11. It is good to see the German papyrologist still in such excellent form. Last year, Hubner also won at Biel, with Hort, ahead of Korchnoi. Further down the list at Linares were: Korchnoi

and Portisch 61/2; Spassky 6; Miles, Polu- gaievsky and Timman 51/2 ahead of Rivas, Christiansen, Vaganian and Adorjan. The Hungarian GM scored a miserable 31/2, but as a last-minute substitute for Karpov he can hardly have been properly prepared for such a gruelling event.

For some time now Bent Larsen (cur- rently rated 2520) has been in the. dol- drums, but just before his 50th birthday he scored a huge success at Reykjavik. This must have brought back memories of the days when he was the automatic favourite for any tournament. Here is his most impressive victory.

Larsen-Yusupov: EnglishlTarrasch Defence.

1 c4 Nf6 2 Nc3 c5 3 g3 e6 4 Nf3 d5 5 cxd5 Nxd5 6 Bg2 Nc6 7 0-0 Bel 8 Nxd5 exd5 9 d4 0-0 10 dxc5 BxcS 11 BgS f6 A well-known position in which White normally continues with either 12 Rcl or 12 Qc2, both answered by . . . Bb6. 12 Bd2! A simple new idea. White plans to blockade Black's isolated QP with e3 and then Bc3. If Black replies with 12 . . . d4!? then 13 Qb3+ seizes an important diagonal. 12 . . . Be6 13 e3 d4!? A radical attempt to forestall White's intended Bc3 and clear up his problems by eliminating all the central pawns. 14 exd4 Nxd4 15 Be3! In contrast, 15 Nxd4 Qxd4 16 Bxb7 Rab8 achieves nothing for White. 15 . . . Nxf3+ 16 Qxf3 Qb6 17 Rfel Bxe3 18 Qxe3 Qxe3 19 Rxe3 Kf7 20 b3! Yusupov has achieved his objective and attained optical equality, but on closer examination he is still not free of White's subtle pressure. There is a threat to double rooks in the `e' file and White's last move (by securing his own Q-side pawns) adds the possibility of Bxb7. 20 . . . Rad Or 20 . . . Rab8 21 Rae 1 Rfe8 22 Rxe6 Rxe6 23 Bd5 Rbe8 24 f4 f5 25 g4! Kf6 26 g5+ Kf7 27 Re5 g6 28 Kf2. White can bring his K up at leisure to d4 and advance his 'a' and 'b' pawns while Black remains paralysed. A timely liquidation at e6 will result in a won K+P ending. 21 Rael Bd7 White had been threaten- ing Rxe6 again. 22 Bd5+ Kg6 23 Bxb7 Rxe3 24 Rxe3 Rb8 25 Ba6 Rb6 26 Bc4 a5 White's extra pawn is sufficient to guarantee victory. 27 a4 Rd6 28 Kfl Rd2 29 Kel Rd4 30 Rd3 Rxd3 31 Bxd3+ Kf7 32 Kd2 h6 33 Kc3 Ke6 34 b4 Bxa4 35 bxa5 Kd6 36 Kd4 Bch 37 a6 Black resign.

The Olafsson in question is the young International Master Helgi, not his senior namesake, Fridrik, Grandmaster and for- mer Fide President. In spite of their mediocre showing here, Helgi and Hansen went on to finalise their own GM titles by scoring well in a subsequent tournament in Copenhagen: Pinter 81/2/11; Olafsson (H), Hansen and Larsen 7; Smyslov 6 etc . . . There are now nine Scandinavian Grand- masters (the veteran Finn, MIA, was awarded the title for past endeavours at the Salonika Congress) plus Hansen and H. Olafsson to be confirmed at the Graz Congress in August, while the young Norwegian, Agdestein, cannot be far off promotion.

Reykjavik, February 1985 1 1 Larsen 2 Petursson 0 3 Spassky 1/2 4 Van der Wiel 0 5 Hort 1/2 6 Yusupov 0

7 Sigurjonsson 14 8 Olafsson 14

9 Amason 0 10 Hjartarson 1/2

11 Thorsteins 14

12 Hansen 0

2 3 4 5 6 7 8 1 14 1 14 1 1/2 1/2 x 1/2 14 1/2 14 0 1 14 x 1/2 I/2 1/2 1/2 1/2 1/21/2X 1/21 1 1 1/2 1/2 I/2 x 0 1 1/2 1/2 1/2 0 1 X 1/2 1/2 11 0 0 k x Ih o 1/2 0 14 14 14x 0 0 1/2 14 1/2 1/2 1/2 0 0 1 42 0 0 • 1/2 0 1/1 0 1/2 0 0 1/2 0 0 1/2 0 14 1 1/2 9 10 11 12 Total 1 1/2 1/2 1 8 1 1 1 1 7 1 1 14 1 7 14 0 1 1/2 614 14 1/2 1/2 1 6 14 1 1 14 6 14 1 1 0 51/2 1/2 1/2 14 1/2 414 x 14 1/2 1/2 4

1/2 x 1/2 1/2 4

1/2 1/2 x 1 4 14 1/2 0 x 31/2