0 DORIN 11LLIT

SPAIN'S FINEST CAVA

guLdu CHESS

SPAIN'S FINEST CAVA

NEXT MONTH Michael Adams faces Sergei Tiviakov in the PCA World Cham- pionship quarter-finals in New York. After his drubbing by Boris Gelfand in the Fide version of the championship in January, Adams decided to acquire some much- needed match practice. He therefore en- gaged in a challenge, over four games in Oslo, against Norway's leading grandmas- ter, Simen Agdestein. Agdestein has, in the past, divided his time between profes- sional chess and professional football, on occasion figuring in the Norwegian nation- al side as a centre forward.

Agdestein is an enterprising, powerful and ingenious player, not a great student of opening theory but an adept at middle- game manoeuvring. The Norwegian won the first game, given below, after which Adams moved into the lead, overpressed in the final round and allowed a tied match. Nevertheless, with no draws this was a most hard-fought contest, which did credit to the fighting spirit of both players.

Agdestein—Adams: Oslo Challenge 1994; King's Indian Defence. 1 Nf3 Nf6 2 c4 d6 3 g3 g6 4 Bg2 Bg7 5 0-0 0-0 6 d4 c6 7 Nc3 Bf5 An unusual move with the intention of playing . . . Ne4 to relieve his position by exchanges. 8 Nh4 The sharpest response. 8 . . . Be6 9 d5 Gaining further terrain in the centre but at the expense of weakening the dark squares which Black proceeds to occupy. 9 . . .

Position after 16 . . Be8

Centre fjord

Raymond Keene

cxd5 10 cxd5 Bd7 11 h3 Na6 12 e4 Qb6 13 Rhl Rfc8 14 Be3 Qb4 15 Rel Nc5 16 Bd2 Be8 (Diagram) Black's manoeuvre with the bishop is designed to make room for . . Nfd7, increasing his pressure on the dark squares. Foolhardy instead would be 16 . . . Nd3 17 Re3 Nxh2 18 Qb3 trapping Black's knight and hence winning a piece. 17 Bfl A useful consolidating move which both eliminates the possibility of future incursions by means of . . . Nd3 and introduces the idea of Nb5 to molest the black queen. 17 . . . Nfd7 18 Re3 Qb6 Commencing a headlong retreat, though Black hopes, in return, to gain counterplay in the 'c' file which White has to weaken in order to make progress. 19 b4 Na6 20 Na4 Qd8 21 Qb3 Ne5 Continuing his theme of counterplay in the 'c' file. 22 Nb2 Rc7 23 Rc3 Rxc3 24 Bxc3 Rc8 A committal move, which forces the coming complications. 25 Bd4 A sharp reply, which involves a sacrifice of the exchange. Black's response is more or less forced since there is otherwise no good way of defending the pawn on a7. 25 . . . Nc4 26 Bxg7 Nd2 27 Qd3 Nxbl 28 Bd4 Protecting c3 and thus cutting off the escape route of Black's knight on bl which stays rooted to the spot until the end of the game. 28 . . . Rcl Missing his chance to exploit his thematic play in the 'c' file, by means of 28 . . Nxb4! 29 Qxbl Nc2 30 Nf3 Nxd4 31 Nxd4 Qb6! when, for a modest material investment, Black's pieces become highly active. 29 Qe3 Qc8? It would have been stronger to play 29 . . Qc7, maintaining the defence of the pawn on e7, but the evil consequences of omitting this precaution were, admittedly, hard to foresee. 30 Nd3 White could have tried the immediate 30 Nf5 but then Black can escape with 30 . . . Rxfl+ 31 Kxfl Bb5+ 32 Kg2 1Cf8. 30 . Rdl? Overlooking a diabolical coup. With Black's rook entrenched in the white camp, and the looming threat of carnage with . . Nd2 Black's prospects appear good, but now he is struck down by a thunderbolt. It was imperative to play 30 . . . Rxfl+ 31 Kxfl Qxh3+ 32 Kgl , when Black is still hampered by the unfortunately stranded nature of his knight on bl, but does not face immediate threats of checkmate. 31 Nf5!! (Diagram) Black resigns A bolt from the blue which leads to instant devastation. If now 31 . . gxf5 32 Qg5+ Kf8 33 Qg7 mate, or 31 . . Qc7 32 Qh6 when mate is again unavoidable. Finally,

Position after 31 Nf5!!

if the desperate 31 . . Qxf5 32 exf5 Nd2 then 33 Qxe7 wins easily enough.

Adams's first win was equally bloodthirsty.

Adams — Agdestein: Oslo Challenge 1994; Alekhine's Defence. 1 e4 Nf6 2 Nc3 d5 3 e5 Ne4 4 Qf3 Nxc3 5 dxc3 c6 6 Bf4 Bf5 7 0-0-0 e6 8 Qg3 h6 9 h4 Qa5 10 Kbl b5 11 Nf3 c5 12 h5 Na6 13 Nh4 Bh7 14 Qg4 b4 15

Position after 17 Rh3

Bd2 c4 16 Ng6 Rb8 17 Rh3 (Diagram) White cannot play 17 Nxh 8 because of 17 . . . b3 with a winning attack. 17 . . . Be7 18 Bxc4 dxc4 19 Qxc4 Qc5 20 QxcS NxcS 21 NxhS Ne4 22 Bel Bxc3 23 b3 Bb4 24 Rf3 Nd2+ 25 Bxd2 RdS 26 Nxf7 Rxd2 27 Rd Ba3 28 Nd6+ Kd7 29 Rxc3 Bxcl 30 Kxcl Rxf2 31 g4 The complications have now dissolved and Adams has a clearly winning position. 31 . . Rg2 32 Rc4 Reg 33 Rc5 Rg2 34 Nb5 Rxg4 35 Rc7+ Kd8 36 Rxa7 Rg5 37 Nd4 Kc8 38 Nxe6 RxhS 39 Rxg7 Be4 40 Rg8+ Black resigns.