SIMPSON'S

IN-THE-STRAND

CHESS

SIMPSON'S

IN-THE-STRAND

i■

Dutch treat

Raymond Keene

THE EUWE Memorial tournament in Amsterdam ended in a two-way tie for first place between Kasparov and the Bulgarian grandmaster Veselin Topalov. Topalov even enjoyed the privilege of being regard- ed as the moral winner, since he defeated Kasparov in their individual game. The competition was a success too for Nigel Short, whose recent results indicate that he is regaining his old form.

As I mentioned last week, the prevailing style now of the top grandmasters is sacrifi- cial and initiative-seeking. Kasparov's win against the American grandmaster Seira- wan was a case in point. It bears all the hallmarks of the dynamic approach to chess fostered by Kasparov's hero Alekhine.

Kasparov–Seirawan: Amsterdam, March 1996; Queen's Gambit Declined.

1 d4 Nf6 2 c4 e6 3 Nf3 d5 4 Nc3 Nbd7 5 Qc2 An uncommon move which throws Black on his own resources. Instead 5 Bg5 c6 6 e3 Qa5 would transpose to the well-worn paths of the Cambridge Springs variation. 5 ... dxc4 In view of what happens, this surrender of the centre for temporary material gains may be too risky. 5 ... c6 is a solid alternative. 6 e4 c5 7 dxc5 BxcS 8 Bxc4 a6 9 a4 Qc7 10 0-0 Ng4 Black could already go for the immediate win of a pawn with 10 ... Bxf2+ 11 Qxf2 Qxc4 though he doubtless feared in that case 12 e5 Ng4 13 Qg3 or 12 ... Nd5 when again 13 Qg3 gives White a strong attack. With the move of the text Seirawan hopes to win more than a pawn and also to remove White's danger- ous king's rook in the process. 11 h3 Provoking the crisis. 11 ... Nxf2 12 Rxf2 Bxf2+ 13 Qxf2 Qxc4 14 Qg3 f6 A sudden reversal of his previ- ous policy of unrestrained gluttony but if 14

g6 15 Bh6 leaves Black's king pinned down in the centre while 14 ... 0-0 15 Bh6 g6 16 Rdl gives White a terrible attack with moves such as Qh4 or Ng5 in the offing. 15 Qxg7 Qc5+ 16 Khl

Position after 17 . . . Qf7 Qf8 17 Qg4 Qf7 (Diagram) Black is a clear exchange, i.e. rook for knight, ahead, but his forces remain largely dormant and he cannot castle. Such a position is meat and drink to Kasparov. 18 e5 Offering a further pawn to pre- pare the murderous incursion Ne4. Black has- tens to deny White the use of this square. 18 ... Rg8 19 Qc4 f5 20 Bg5 h6 21 Bh4 Qg6 Briefly threatening mate himself but Black has little chance of developing a genuine attack. 22 Rgl Nf8 23 Qb4 Rg7 24 Ne2 b5 Violent measures to burst free from his straitjacket. Failing this White simply tightens the noose with moves such as Nf4 and Rdl. 25 axb5 Rd7 26 Nf4 Forcing the black queen back from its active post. 26 ...Qf7 27 Rcl Bbl At long last Black finally succeeds in mobilising this piece, but its existence is short lived. 28 bxa6 Bxf3 The bishop's career is brief. With this exchange Black speculates that the fracturing of the pawn structure around White's king may give him some prospects of a perpetual check. 29 gxt3 Rda7 30 Rgl As Black nears emancipation on the queen's flank Kasparov switches fronts. The 'g' file, which had once been Black's territory, is now to be used as a focal point for the white invasion. 30 ... Rxa6 31 Nh5 Qc7 Of course not 31 ... Qxh5 on account of 32 Qe7 checkmate. 32 Rg7 Ral+ 33 Kg2 Qc2+ 34 Bf2 (Diagram) Black resigns Having escaped the Position after 34 Bf2 checks from Black's brief outburst of activity White's attacking formation is now complete. In order to prevent checkmate at e7 Black must play 34 ... Ral-a7 when, however, disaster strikes from a different direction, namely 35 Nf6+ Kd8 36 Qxf8 mate.

A remarkable feature of this game is that Black lost, not only without having castled, but also without having once moved his queen's rook.

Euwe Memorial, Amsterdam, Final Crosstable

5 6 7 8 9 10 1 1/2 1 1 1 1/2 61/2 0 1 1/2 1 1 1 61/2 1 I/2 I/2 I/2 I/2 1 5 1/2 0 11/2 1 I/2 1 5 * I/2 1 1/2 1/2 41/2 1/2 • 0 1 0 1 41/2 0 1 * 0 1 1/2 4 1/2 0 1 * 1 1/2 31/2 1/2 1 0 0* I/2 3 1/2 0 1/2 1/2 1/2 • 21/2

1 2 3 4 1. Kasparov • 0

1 1/2

2. Topalov 1 * 1 0 3. Anand 0 0 * 1 4. Short

1/2

1 0 * 5. Kramnik 0 1

0 I/2

6. Lautier

1/2

0

1/2 1

7. Setrawan 0

1/2 1/2 1/2

8. Gelfand 0 0

1/2 0

9. Piket 0 0

1/2 1/2

10. Tiraman

1/2

0 0 0