CHESS
Rule Britannia
Raymond Keene
AS A USEFUL corrective to the spate of unratable events about which I have com- plained recently in this column and else- where, both Michael Adams and Nigel Short have just scored outstanding results in two classic chess tournaments. Adams shared first place in the immensely strong tournament at Dortmund, thereby pro- pelling his current rating, as yet unpub- lished, to number four in the world. Mean- while, Nigel Short, in a powerful though somewhat weaker event than Dortmund, took undivided first prize in the Keres Memorial played in Parnu and Tallinn.
This week I shall concentrate on Adams's shared victory at Dortmund, one of the best performances of his career. In the course of it he inflicted a rare defeat on Viswanathan Anand, and this forms the topic of my analysis.
Adams—Anand: Dortmund 1998; Sicilian Defence.
1 e4 c5 2 Nc3 Nc6 3 g3 Announcing his intention to play a Closed Sicilian, whereas 3 N13, fol- lowed by d4, would have transposed to better known lines. The Closed Sicilian suits Adams's quiet style and bypasses much of Anand's theo- retical knowledge. 3 ...g6 4 Bg2 Bg7 5 d3 d6 6 Be3 Rb8 7 Qd2 b5 Black prepares the customary counter-action on the queenside, seeking to enhance the power of his king's bishop on the long diagonal. 8 Nge2 Nd4 If 8 ...b4 9 Ndl a5, leaving the long, dark diagonal uncluttered. Anand probably feared the response 10 d4. 9 0-0 b4 10 Ndl Nxe2+ 11 Qxe2 Nf6 12 a3 a5 13 axb4 cxb4 It would be more normal to capture with the a-pawn. Anand hoped, with the text, to build up pressure in the c-file against White's pawn on c2 but, in the meantime, White achieves a major- ity of pawns in the centre. 14 Bd2 Nd7 15 Ra2 0- 0 16 Ne3 Nc5 17 b3 Ba6 18 Nc4 a4 Black feels sufficiently confident to inaugurate sharp tactics. The simple 18 ... Bxc4 would be sufficient to hold the balance. 19 bxa4 b3 20 Ra3 If 20 cxb3 Rxb3 when White's bastions are collapsing. 20 Bxc4 If 20 ... bxc2 21 Ba5 and White is out of danger. 21 dxc4 Bb2 (Diagram) If 21 ... b2 22 Rbl, bringing Black's ambitions to a standstill. The text wins rook for bishop but White has plenty of counterplay. 22 Rxb3 Nxb3 23 cxb3 Rxb3 24 Rbl Qc7 Planning to meet 25 Bh6 with 25 Rfb8, but he has overlooked a notorious backwards move which leaves White materially ahead. The best defence would have been the solid 24 ...Qb8 protecting all of his assets. 25 Bel Bxcl 26 Rxb3 Rb8 27 Rxb8+ Qxb8 Although White has won a pawn, a draw seems most likely. Indeed Black is threatening ... Ba3- c5 with a total blockade. Adams' next move, an inspired pawn sacrifice, breathes some life back into his game. It is important that his bishop ulti- mately controls the promotion square of his passed a-pawn. 28 c5 dxc5 29 a5 Bb2 30 a6 Bd4 31 Bfl c4 A mirror-image of White's sacrifice, enabling Black to align his forces along the blockading a7-gl diagonal. 32 Qxc4 Qb2 33 Qe2 Qc3 34 Kg2 Bb6 35 Qa2 Qd4 36 Qc2 e6 It is dif- ficult to believe, in spite of the extra pawn, that White can force victory from this position. 37 Bb5 h6 38 Qe2 Qc5 39 Qb2 (Diagram) 39 ...g5 This loosening seems suspicious. 40 Bd3 g4 41 Qf6 h5 42 Qf4 K18 Now Black has real problems, since his own kingside pawns are hard to defend. 43 e5 Qd5+ 44 Be4 Qd4 45 Qh6+ Ke7 46 Qf6+ 1(18 47 Bc6 With the threat of 48 Qh8+ Ke7 49 Qe8 mate. 47 ...Kg8 48 h4 gxh3+ 49 Kxh3 Qal 50 Kg2 Qcl 51 Bf3 h4 521;3E114 Qc5 53 Bh5 Qc6+ 54 Qf3 Qc7 55 Qb7 Qxb7+ 56 axb7 Bc7 57 f4 Black resigns White wins by strolling his king over to the queenside.
Final Crosstable 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 1.Kramnik * 1/2 1 1/2 1/2 1/2 1 1/2 1/2 1 6 2.Adams 1/2 * 1/2 1/2 1 1/2 1 1 1/2 6 3.Svidler 0 1/2 * 1 1 1/2 1/2 1 1/2 1 6 4.Leko 1/21/2 0 * 1/2 1/2 1 1/2 112 1 5 5.Ivanchuk 1/2 1/2 0 1/2 * Vz 1/2 1/2 1/2 1 41/2 6.Anand 1/2 0 1/2 1/2 1/2 * 1/2 1/2 1/2 1/2 4 7.Yusupov 0 1/2 1/2 0 1/2 * 1/2 1 I/2 4 8.Almasi 1/2 0 0 1/2 1/2 2/2 * 1 1/2 4 9.Beliaysky1/2 0 1/2 1/2 1/2 1/2 0 0 * 1/2 3 10.Shirov 0 1/2 0 0 0 ih 1/2 1/2 1/2 * 21/2 The Mind Sports Olympiad, which features chess, bridge and crossword puzzles, men- tioned in my article 'Don't get too physical' of two weeks ago, has switched its venue.
Instead of being played at the Royal Festival Hall, it will now occur between 24 and 30 August at the larger venue of the Novotel in Hammersmith, two minutes' walk from Hammersmith Tube station. Entry forms can be obtained by writing to the Mind Sports Olympiad, enclosing an SAE, PO Box 13388, London NW3 2ZF.
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