CHESS
Tit for tat
Raymond Keene
The championship match has suddenly entered a most exciting phase after what appeared to be very much a phoney war from games 8 to 15. Last week I reported on Kasparov's marathon win in game 16. Karpov struck back immediately to win game 17 in his best style but then Kasparov scored a decisive victory in game 18.
Karpov — Kasparov: World Championship Fin- al: Game 17, Grunfeld Defence.
1 d4 Nf6 2 c4 g6 3 Nc3 d5 The Grunfeld Defence was invented by the Austrian Grandmaster Ernst Grunfeld in the 1920s. Grunfeld was a near-contemporary of such substantial denizens of the early twentieth century Viennese artistic and cultural community as Egon Schiele, Gustav Klimt and Arnold Schoenberg. The point of Grunfeld's Defence is to trade Black's centre pawns on the 'c' and 'd' files for White's wing pawns on the 'b' and 'c' files. White is invited to create a mammoth pawn centre which Black hopes to undermine by sniping from the flanks. The drawback is that the white centre may well advance crushingly in the late middlegame. Indeed, Kasparov has lost more games against Karpov with the Grunfeld than with any other defence and more often than not Karpov suc- ceeds in ramming a rampant passed pawn in the 'd' file down Black's throat. 4 cxd5 Nxd5 5 e4 Nxc3 6 bxc3 Bg7 7 Be3 c5 8 Qd2 0-09 Nf3 Bg4 10 Ng5 If now 10. . . h6 White reacts with 11 h3 when . . . hxg5 12 hxg4 looks unacceptable for Black. 10 . . . cxd4 11 cxd4 Nc6 12 h3 Bd7 13 Rbl Rc8 Kasparov's 13th move does set a trap, Position after 26 Rc6 namely 14 Rxb7 Nxd4 15 Bxd4 Bxd4 16 Qxd4 Qa5+ 17 Qd2 Rcl+. 14 Nf3 Na5 15 Bd3 Be6 Kasparov conducts the position too conserva- tively. Here he should play 15 ..Nc4 since 16 Bxc4 Rxc4 17 Rxb7 Bc6 gives Black more than adequate play for the loss of his two queenside pawns. Indeed, it is highly unlikely that White would capture on b7 in this line, 17 0-0 iooking distinctly superior. 160-4) Bc4 17 Rfdl b5 A rash advance which weakens c6. Black should simply trade bishops on d3. 18 Bg5 a6 19 RI:xi Bxd3 20 Rxc8 Qxc8 21 Qxd3 Re8? Squandering a vital tempo. He should have played 21 . . . Qb7. 22 Rd Qb7 23 d5 Nc4 24 Nd2 The key component of Karpov's strategy, challenging Black's only well placed piece. 24 . . . Nxd2 25 Bxd2 Rc8 26 Rc6 (Diagram). If now 26 . . . Rxc6 27 dxc6 Qxc6 28 Qd8+ Bf8 29 Bh6 wins. 26 . . . Be5 27 Bc3 Bb8 27. . . Bxc3 28 Qxc3 merely confirms White's control of the 'c' file. 28 Qd4 f6 Black's kingside is now also a wreck. 29 Ba5 Bd6 black still cannot capture on c6 since a check on d8 from the white queen would win the bishop on b8. 30 Qc3 Re8 31 a3 Kg7 32 g3 Be5 33 Qe5 115 34 Bc7 Bal 35 Bf4 Qd7 36 Rc7 Qd8 37 d6 g5 38 d7 RI3 39 Bd2 Be5 40 Rb7 Black resigns The white pawn on d7 could not be a worse advertisement for the Grunfeld Defence. If, as the Duke of Wellington is said to have averred, the Battle of Waterloo was won on the playing fields of Eton, then game 17 was lost in the coffee houses of Vienna.
Kasparov — Karpov: World Championship Fin- al; Game 18, Ruy Lopez.
1 e4 e5 2 Nf3 Nc6 3 Bb5 a6 4 Ba4 Nf6 50-0 Be7 6 Re! b5 7 Bb3 d6 8 c3 0-09 h3 Nd7 10 d4 Bf6 11 a4 Bb7 12 Na3 exd4 13 cxd4 Nb6 13 . . . Nb6 is most probably a new move in this position. 14 Bf4 bxa4 15 Bxa4 Nxa4 16 Qxa4 a5 Preparing the pawn sacrifice which follows to open lines for his rooks and bishops. 17 Bd2 Re8 18 d5 NM 19 Bxb4 axb4 20 Qxb4 Rb8 21 Qx4! An excellent move which set Karpov thinking for the first time in the game. Indeed, he now thought for one hour and four minutes, setting a new time record over one move in this contest.
21 . . . Qc8?! By playing 21 . . . Bxb2 22 Ra2 Bxa3 23 Rxa3 Black could obtain a position in essence similar to the game, his main disadvan- tage being the backward 'c' pawn in the open file, but at least he would not be a pawn down.
22 Nd4 Ba6 23 Qc3 c5 Although this eradicates the backward pawn the central clearance leaves Black with a technically lost position. However, . ..Qb7 to increase pressure on the open 'b' file against White's extra pawn is handily met by 23 Nac2 leaving Black's bishop on a6 under attack. 24 dxc6 Bxd4 25 Qxd4 Qxc6 26 b4 h6 He must make an air hole for his king. If 26. . . Qb6 27 Qxb6 Rxb6 28 b5! Bxb5 29 Reb1 Reb8 30 Rxb5 Rxb5 31 Nxb5 wins a piece due to the possibility of Ra8+ should Black recapture on b5. 27 Re3 Re6 28 f3 Rc8 29 Rb3 Bb5 30 Rb2 Qb7 31 Nc2 Qe7 32 Qf2 Rg6 33 Ne3 Qg5 34 Rbbl Bd7 35 Ra5 Qe7 36 Ra7 Qd8 37 Nd5 Kh7 38 Kh2 Rb8 39 f4 This wins easily enough even though Black gains some slight counterplay against White's pawn on e4. It might have been tech- Position after 40 . . . Qe8 nically simpler to play 39 Rd l to avoid any argument: 39 . . . Re6 40 Qd4 Qe8 (Diagram) 41 Rel 41 Nc7 probably wins ds well but it is much more , complicated namely: 41 . . . Rxe4 42 Qxd6 (not 42 Qd3 Qe7 43 Nd5 Bb5!! and Black escapes) 42 . . . Qc8 43 Rb3!! (not 43 Na6? Bxh3!! 44 Nxb8 Qg4 45 Qd2 145 Ra2 Bxg2! 46 Rxg2 Qh4+ and 47. . Rel+ forces a draw] 45 . . Bxg2 46 Qxg2 Re2 and Black wins. If in this line instead of 44 Nxb8, 44 gxh3 then 44 . . . Qc2+. Alternatively 43 b5 fails to 43 . . . Bxh3 44 gxh3 Re3 with an unstoppable 'attack against h3) 43 . . Be6 (the best defence is 43 . . . Bf5 when White wins prosaically by advancing his 'b' pawn) 44 Rg3 Rbxb4 45 Ra8 Rb8 46 Rxb8 Qxb8 47 Rxg7+ Kxg7 48 Nxe6+ wins Black's queen. In the above line 45 . . . 0d7 fails brilliantly to 46 Rh8+ Kxh8 47 Qf8+ Kh7 48 Qxg7 mate. 41 . . . Bc6 42 Qd3 Qf8 After this Black is driven into hopeless passivity but if 42 . . . Kh8 43 Nc7 Qd7 44 Nxe6 Qxa7 45 Nxg7! Kxg7 46 Qc3+ Kh7 47 Qxc6 Of2 48 Qxd6 Rg8 49 Rgl and White wins easily. 43 Rd l Bxd5 44 exd5+ Rg6 45 Qf5 Kg8 46 Rac7 Rf6 47 Qd7 Rd8 48 Qxd8 Qxd8 49 Rc8 Qf8 50 R1c4 Rf5 51 Rxf8+ Kxf8 52 Rd4 h5 53 b5 Ke7 54 b6 Kd7 55 g4 hxg4 56 hxg4 R16 57 Rc4 Black resigns 57. . . Rh6+ 58 Kg2 Rh8 59 Rc7+ and 60 Ra7 is the fastest way to win.
With only six games to play Kasparov now leads Karpov by 91/2 to 81/2.
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