RdbN The Ultimate Islay Malt.
Rd b e
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CHESS
Linares
Raymond Keene
THIS year's Linares tournament is a superb test of strength. It contains not only Garry Kasparov, the undefeated world champion, but also Alexander Khalifman, the FIDE champion, and four other players (Shirov, Leko, Kramnik and Anand) who could be regarded as legitimate challengers. Here are two of the best games from the first half of this double round tournament.
Anand-Kasparov: Linares 2000; Sicilian Defence 1 e4 c5 2 Nt3 d6 3 d4 cxd4 4 Nxd4 Nf6 5 Nc3 a6 6 Be2 e5 7 Nb3 Be7 A standard variation line of the Najdorf variation of the Sicilian Defence. Black weakens the d5-square, but gains sufficient coon- terplay to offset this dynamic weakness. 8 0-0 Be6 9 f4 Qc7 10 Nd5 To me this seems somewhat pre- mature. The exploitation of d5 may figure in White's future strategic plans but immediate occupation lacks subtlety. 10 ... BxdS 11 exd5 Nbd7 12 c4 0-0 13 Khl Rfe8 14 Be3 exf4 15 Bxf4 Bf8 16 Ra Qb6 A viable alternative is 16 ... Ne5 17 Nd4 Qb6 18 Rc2 Neg4 as in Wolff-Morovic, Buenos Aires 1997. 17 Rc2 g6 18 Bf3 RacS 19 Ncl Ne5 20 b3 h5 21 h3 Bg7 Black has absolutely no problems. His position is active and he is well entrenched on the dark squares in the centre. 22 Ne2 Nxf3 23 gxt3 The first sign of trouble in the white camp. After 23 Rxf3 Ne4 Black becomes threatening in the central sector. The text avoids this possibility but leaves White's kingside pawns shattered. 23 QcS 24 Rd b5 25 Qd2 bxc4 26 bxc4 h4 27 Bg5 Nh5 28 Bxh4 Rb8 At the cost of a pawn, Black's pieces are threat- ening to pour into White's position from all directions. 29 Ngl Rb2 30 Rc2 Qxc4 A neat tac- tic which Anand had surely overlooked. Black has threats now against c2, fl and h4. 31 Rxc4 Rxd2 32 f4 Rxd5 White resigns White is doubt- less lost in the long run but resignation might seem a trifle premature. Presumably Anand was demoralised by his feeble showing in the open- ing. It is not usual for a strong player to lose with White offering such ineffective resistance.
Khalifman-Kramnik: Linares 2000; Nimzo-Indian Defence 1 d4 Nf6 2 c4 e6 3 Nc3 Bb4 4 e3 0-0 5 Bd3 c5 6 Nf3 d5 7 0-0 Nc6 8 a3 Bxc3 9 bxc3 This was the old main line of the Nimzo-Indian Defence, test- ed, for example, in the Candidates tournament of 1953. Customary is now 9 ... dxc4 10 Bxc4 Qc7 with the plan of ... e5. Kramnik tries a slight finesse. 9 ... Qc7 10 Bb2 Bxc4 11 Bxc4 e5 12 Be2 Rd8 13 Qc2 Bg4 I have always wondered whether White can seriously hope for an advantage in a line where Black's piece development is so free and easy and he also exerts pressure on White's centre from his pawn duo on c5 and e5. Twice I tried this line in international tournaments and on both occasions I lost as White. 14 dxe5 Nxe5 15 c4 Nxf3+ 16 gxf3 Bh3 17 Rfdl The position is in dynamic balance. White has the bishop pair but his kingside is also shattered. However, this might turn to his advantage if White had time to play Khl followed by Rgl. 17 ... Qc6 18 Qc3 Ne8 19 Khl Be6 Varying from the game Ibragimov-Aleksandrov, Kherson 1991 where 19 f6 was played. 20 Rgl f6 21 Rg3 Rd7 22 Ragi Rad8 23 Bel Both sides have achieved their max- imum in terms of rook deployment. The text, in the short term, is designed to prevent invasion by means of ... Rd2. 23 ... Bf5 24 e4 Bg6 25 h4 Nc7 Preparing to route the knight on to more prof- itable squares. Meanwhile, Black's queen's bish- op helps to shield the g-file. 26 Bfl Ne6 27 Rh3 Bh5 28 Rhg3 Kh8 29 Qe3 Nd4 30 Bg2 Re8 With the threat of ... Nf5. 31 Rh3 Qa4 32 Bfl Qdl Completing an extraordinary encirclement of the white position. A few moves ago White's chances seemed promising. Now he has been completely blockaded and his units are strewn around in use- less fashion. 33 Bg2 Qc2 34 14 Ne2 35 Rfl Rdl White resigns In the final position White cannot avoid major material losses.
Ardbeg Malt Whisky Puzzle No. 19 White to play and win — first move only required. This position is from the game Kasparov-Shirov, Linares 2000. Here Shirov, playing Black, has just blundered, allowing Kasparov the chance to make a decisive material gain. What did the world champion play?
Answers to me at The Spectator by Tuesday 14 March or via e-mail to vanessa@spectator.co.uk or by fax on 020 7242 0603. The winner will be the first cor- rect answer drawn out of a hat, and each week I shall be offering a prize of a bottle of Ardbeg Malt Whisky.
Last week's solution: Rxh7
Last week's winner: Gregory Whitehead, Northampton.
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