CHESS
Buried treasure
Raymond Keene
ONE OF THE REVELATIONS of my early chess studies was encountering the weird games of the Hungarian master Julius Breyer. Breyer, active in the early decades of the 20th century, had a short but glorious career. In particular, he had a curious knack of unleashing deadly attacks with pieces which appeared to be buried without trace, but which he could magically bring to life. The following game was char- acteristic of his attacking genius.
Breyer–Esser: Budapest 1917; Queen's Gambit Declined, Semi-Slav Defence.
1 d4 d5 2 c4 e6 3 Nc3 c6 4 e3 Nf6 5 Bd3 Bd6 6 f4 0-0 7 Nf3 dxc4 8 Bbl Most people would auto- matically capture on c4. Instead, Breyer gives up a pawn and buries his entire queenside army, simply to keep his king's bishop pointing at Black's king. 8 ...b5 Symptomatic of the crass materialism which ultimately loses this game for Black. There was no immediate need to defend the pawn, hence the counter-attack 8 ...c5 would have been more than adequate. 9 e4 Be7 10 Ng5 h6 11 h4 g6 Of course 11 ... hxg5 12 hxg5 Nfd7 13 Qh5 leads to immediate execution. 12 e5 hxg5 Hoping for 13 exf6 Bxf6 14 hxg5 Bxd4, but Breyer disappoints him. 13 hxg5 Nd5 14 Kfl An amazing move in the midst of a sacrificial attack. The point, and a very long-range point it is, is to avoid a saving bishop check from Black on h4. If instead 14 Qg4 Kg7 15 Rh7+ Kxh7 16 Qh5+ Kg7 17 Qh6+ Kg8 18 Bxg6 fxg6 19 Qxg6+ Kh8 20 Qh6+ Kg8 21 g6 then 21 ...Bh4+ followed by ... Qe7 refutes White's attack. 14 ... Nxc3 15 bxc3 Bbl 16 Qg4 Kg7 17 Rh7+ (Diagram) Now this rook sacrifice works although there are still many piquant points to follow. 17 ... Kxh7 18 Qh5+ Kg7 19 Qh6+ Kg8 20 Bxg6 fxg6 21 Qxg6+ Kh8 22 Qh6+ Kg8 23 g6 Rf7 Clearly forced since 23 ... Rf5 allows 24 Qh7+ Kf8 25 Qh8 mate. If White had not played 14 Kfl Black could once again have defended with ...Bh4+ and ... Qe7. This reveals the depth of Breyer's attacking conception and his extraordinary abili- ty to build up dynamic energy in a position. 24 gxf7+ Kx17 25 Qh5+ Kg7 26 f5 At last the final reserves enter the game. If now 26 ... Qh8 then 27 f6+ forces a quick win. 26 ... exf5 27 Bh6+ Kh7 28 Bf4+ Kg7 29 Qh6+ Kg8 30 Qg6+ Kh8 31 Keg Bh4 32 Rhl Black resigns There is no defence to 33 Bg5.
This year's Lisbon Championship has been won with a 100 per cent score by the Portu- guese master Carlos Santos. When playing over his wins, I was struck by a remarkable stylistic affinity with the games of Breyer, notably Santos's ability, as with Breyer, to bury his pieces and yet derive maximal attacking ferocity from them. In the game which follows, Santos treats his queen, the most powerful attacking unit, very much as Breyer handled his queenside in the pre- ceding game.
J. Santos–C. Santos: Lisbon 1995; Centre Counter.
1 e4 d5 2 exd5 Nf6 3 d4 Bg4 This gambit is gain- ing in popularity. The only way White can cling to the pawn is by 4 f3 when 4 ... Bf5 5 c4 e6 6 dxe6 Bb4+ gives Black plenty of counterplay. 4 Be2 Bxe2 5 Nxe2 QxdS Thus Black has achieved an improved Centre Counter where his queen has far more space to manoeuvre and is less threatened by the presence of White's light- squared bishop. 6 0.0 Nc6 7 Nbc3 Qh5 8 Ng3 Qg6 Of course 8 ... Qxdl followed by ... e6 is totally equal, but Black plays for more. 9 f4 h5 10 d5 0-0-0 11 f5 Qh7 12 Bg5 (Diagram) It would appear that Black has been driven back on all fronts but, in fact, his position is about to display extraordinary dynamic qualities. Implausible though it may appear, Black has stored up immense energy behind his 'h' pawn and this soon breaks over the head of the white king. 12 ...e6 13 fxe6 Bc5+ 14 KM h4 15 Nge2 If 15 Nf5 fxe6 leads to complications favourable to Black. 15 ... h3 16 g3 Hoping to block Black's attacking potential, whereas 16 gxh3 Qxh3 would lead to immediate disaster. 16 ...Rxd5 A horrible shock for White, whose position is suddenly starting to cave in. White cannot play 17 Nxd5 on account of the raid 17 ...Qe4+. 17 Qcl Nd4 18 Ngl RxgS The fastest way to deflect the white queen and thus batter a path towards White's king. 19 QxgS Qxc2 There is no sensible antidote to Qg2 mate. 20 Nge2 Nxe2 White resigns.
At the end of this month, the Intel Grand Prix once again brings to London some of the world's top chess stars. Garry Kaspar- ov, his challenger Anand, Nigel Short, Kramnik, Ivanchuk and many others will be playing for top prizes at the Sedgewick Centre in the City of London, with just 50 minutes to complete each game. For infor- mation and tickets, ring 01424 442500.
Previous page
