CHESS
Quiet bulldog, noisy tadpole
Raymond Keene
Michael Adams from Truro, the 19- year-old chess grandmaster who was the youngest ever British champion when he won the title in 1989 and was also the youngest British player ever to become a grandmaster, has added a fresh triumph to his already illustrious career. In the inter- national tournament at Terrassa, a small town just outside Barcelona in Spain, Adams raced for the lead with the Esto- nian Grandmaster Jaan Ehlvest, and caught up his Russian opponent when Ehlvest lost in the final round to his fellow countryman Epishin. Adams also beat Ehlvest in their individual encounter, which ensured him the victor's trophy on tie-break.
The game that will have given him most pleasure is the English teenager's victory against the Russian Grandmaster Vassily Ivanchuk. Ivanchuk is widely tipped to be the next challenger to world champion Gary Kasparov, and it was he who smashed Kasparov's 10 year record of winning every event in which he played when Ivanchuk won the tournament at Linares, Spain, in February. Yet Adams won a brilliant game against him, with the black pieces. Particularly spectacular was Adams's sacrifice of a rook on move 25 to strip away the protection from Ivanchuk's king. At the end of the game Ivanchuk's position was in ruins and he was faced with colossal loss of material. Adams played the entire game in daring gambit style. Even his opening, the Marshall Gambit in the Ruy Lopez, demonstrated that Adams was neither offering nor asking for any quarter.
Michael Adams was characteristically modest about his achievement. In fact, he did not let anybody know that he was even participating in such a strong tournament, let alone that he had defeated the man who might be termed the crown prince of the chess world. The first anybody in this country spotted about the event was after we had been alerted by Nigel Short's Greek mother-in-law who noticed an item in an Athens newspaper. In stark contrast, the French teenager Lautier has been singing his own praises quite vociferously
and the latest issue of the French magazine Europe Echecs quotes him as stating in an
interview that he would have a 50 per cent chance of victory in a match against Kas- parov while Kasparov would have a 50 per cent chance of a draw. Such vainglorious croakings were put in sharp perspective by his result relative to our own teenage star in Terrassa.
The final scores at Terrassa were: Adams and Ehlvest 61/2/9 (Adams won on tie-break); Ivanchuk 51/2; Romanishin and Epishin 5; Illescas 41/2; Bonsch and Lautier 4; Garcia 21/2; Pomes 11/2.
Ivanchuk — Adams: Terrassa 1991; Ruy Lopez.
1 e4 e5 2 Nf3 Nc6 3 Bb5 a6 4 Ba4 Nf6 5 0-0 Be7 6 Rd l b5 7 Bb3 0-0 8 c3 d5 Frank Marshall's famous gambit, designed to seize the initiative at an early stage. It is also a favourite of Ivanchuk and therefore required some courage on Michael's part to employ it. Alternatively it was very cunning psychology. 9 exd5 Nxd5 10 Nxe5 Nxe5 11 Rxe5 c6 12 d4 Bd6 13 Rd l Qh4 14 g3 Qh3 15 Be3 Timman — Ivanchuk from Linares 1991 diverged with 15 Re4 and ended in a highly unclear draw after 15 . . . g5 16 Qf3 Bf5 17 Bxd5 cxd5 18 Re3 Be4 19 Rxe4 dxe4 20 0f6 Qg4 21 Nd2 Rae8 22 Nfl Be7 23 Qxa6 f5 24 Qxb5 f4 1/2-1/2. 15. . . Bg4 16 Qd3 To meet 16. . Bf3 with 17 Of1 16. . . Rae8 17 Nd2 Qh5 The latest try for Black. Older attempts which look plausi- ble but are ultimately less successful are the immediate 17. . . Re6 and 17. . . f5. 18 Nfl Re6 19 Bdl f5 20 Bxg4 Oxg4 21 Bd2 Rg6 22 Kg2 f4 23 Position after 25 Re2?
f3 Qh5 24 g4 Qh4 25 Re2? (Diagram) Walking directly into an ambush. His idea is clear, to prepare doubling rooks in the 'e' file by the manoeuvre Bel — f2. This would have the effect of driving away the black queen and adding to the defences of the white king. However, Ivanchuk has overlooked an unpleasant shot. White would like to play 25 Re4, but this allows . . Nf6, or 25 h3, but this allows . . . Rh6. Since White, in spite of his extra pawn, has no natural consolidating move available it must be concluded that his position is already rather difficult. 25 . . . Rxg4+! This temporary sacri- fice has the effect of exposing White's king and makes it virtually impossible for him to survive in the practical struggle. 26 fxg4 13+ 27 Kb! fxe2 28 Qxe2 Kh8 29 Kg1 h6 30 Qg2 Bf4 Be! Qg5 32 h3 Qg6 33 Rdl Bb8 It is very impressive over the last few moves how Adams has played such a controlled waiting game. He cannot break through with a direct attack, but it soon becomes clear that White's position evinces targets on the queen-side as well as the king's. 34 Rd2 Qbl 35 Bf2 Kg8 A very subtle move. White is so tied up that he is almost in zugzwang, i.e. any move that he makes will lead to a further deterioriation of his position. 36 b3 Hoping for 36 . . . Nxc3 37 Qxc6 but Adams arranges this capture with tempo. 36 . . . Bf4 37 Re2 Nxc3 38 Re6 Qxa2 39 Rxc6 Qxb3 40 Rxa6 Ne2+ 41 Kb! Bb8 42 Bel Qdl White resigns The only way to drag on his somewhat hopeless resistance would be by 43 Ral Qxal 44 Oxe2, but even in that case 44. . . Rxfl+ 45 Oxf1 Bg3 nets a clear piece.
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