SIMPSON'S
IN-THE-STRAND
SIMPSON'S
IN•THE-STRA ND
CHESS
Golden age
Raymond Keene
THE UNDISPUTED star of the English team in the Erevan chess Olympiad, which finished last month, was Matthew Sadler. Overall, from 114 entries, England shared third place, but lost out to the USA on tie- break in the distribution of the bronze medals. Russia, led by Garry Kasparov, took gold, while Vassily Ivanchuk's team from the Ukraine won the silver.
Sadler's feat consisted of winning the gold medal for the best individual perfor- mance on board four, with the colossal score of 10.5/13. He was particularly deadly with Black. This week's game, though, shows Sadler in action with white, coming out on top in a tactical melee.
Sadler-Nedvednichy: Erevan Olympiad, Armenia, September 1996; Pirc Defence
1 d4 d6 2 e4 Nf6 3 Nc3 g6 4 g3 Players of a theo- retical inclination tend to prefer 4 f4 in this posi- tion, seizing the centre and ultimately trying to blast Black off the board with the advance e5. Chess theory, though, has never been one of Sadler's strongpoints. He prefers to try some- thing solid and relatively unusual, and then defeat the opponent in a hand to hand fight. 4 Bg7 5 Bg2 0-0 6 Nge2 e5 I would prefer to strike at White's centre by means of ... c5. 7 h3 Nc6 Black is hoping to tempt White into 8 d5 Ne7 9 0-0 Nd7 followed by ... f5 with a promis- ing counter-attack. Instead of falling for this, Sadler strengthens his central installations. 8 Be3 exd4 Giving up the centre, but by now Black had run out of useful alternatives. 9 Nxd4 Bd7 10 0-0 Re8 11 Nde2 b5 A wild looking move which weakens Black along the hl-a8 diagonal. The immediate tactical justification is that 12 Nxb5 allows 12 ... Nxe4. 12 a3 a5 13 Nd4 White's gyrations with his king's knight appear strange but are justified by the fact that Black, in order to obtain counterplay, has somewhat under- mined the stability of his own queen's flank. 13
b4 (Diagram) Black's counter-attack seems to
be gathering momentum, but now Sadler reveals the point of his previous move and launches a diagonal strike, aimed directly at Black's exposed pieces in the path of White's fianchet- toed king's bishop. 14 e5 Nxe5 15 axb4 Of course not 15 Bxa8 Qxa8 16 axb4 Bxh3. 15 ... c6 16 b5 cxb5 17 Ndxb5 Again 17 Bxa8 Qxa8 gives Black too much counterplay for his slight material loss. 17 ... d5 18 Bd4 In spite of all Black's attempts to surrender material for the initiative, Sadler has maintained a firm grip on the position. The positioning of his dark-squared bishop on this square is particularly annoying for Black. 18 ... Rb8 19 Rel Ne4 If 19 ... Bxb5 20 Bxe5. 20 Nxe4 dxe4 21 Nd6 Bg4 Black continues to survive on a hand to mouth basis with tactical tricks, but with each simplification his pawn weaknesses become more apparent. 22 hxg4 Qxd6 23 Rxe4 f5 24 gxf5 gxf5 25 Re2 Red8 Black could try the spectacular 25 Qxd4 26 Qxd4 Nf3+ 27 Bin Bxd4, specu- lating on the presence of opposite bishops to increase his drawing chances. However, after 28 Rxe8+ Rxe8 29 RxaS Bxb2 30 Rxf5 White's two extra pawns would be enough to win. 26 c3 f4 A final defiant act of belligerence, but White brushes it aside with aplomb. 27 Rxa5 f3 28 Re4 (Diagram) Not 28 Rexe5 Bxe5 29 Rxe5 Qxe5 Position after 28 Re4 exploiting the pin in the d-file. 28 ... Nc6 If instead 28 ... fxg2 29 Rexe5 Bxe5 30 Rxe5 is possible with a winning attack since 30 ... Qxe5 now fpils to 31 Qg4+ Qg7 32 Qxg7 mate. 29 Ra6 fxg2 30 Qg4 Black resigns For if 30 ... Rd7 31 Re6. A splendid victory against a particularly resourceful defender. It is always difficult having outplayed an opponent, to cope with a desperate counter-attack.
My reconstruction of the Roman Imperial game ludus latrunculorum, discovered at Colchester, has stirred up some reaction. Amongst the comments and general input I have received is a copy of Ludus Romanus from Oxford Games Ltd. This is an attempted reconstruction of latrunculi, in many ways similar to my own, but with the difference that the pieces do not start on the board, as with chess, but, as in the Oriental game of Go, are gradually intro- duced into play on to empty terrain.
Those interested in trying Ludus Romanus can acquire it for £6.95 from Oxford Games Ltd, tel: 01844 208989 or fax 01844 208757.
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