CHESS
Rd b
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The Ultimate Islay Malt.
Resurrection
Raymond Keene
AFTER Julian Hodgson lost so dismally to Jon Speelman (see last week's column) I rather wrote off his chances of retaining the title in the Smith & Williamson British Chess Championship at Millfield school. However, Hodgson proved what a resilient as well as resourceful player he has become, by clawing his way back to the top and becoming British champion for the fourth time. Leading scores were as fol- lows: Hodgson 8.5; Ward 8; Chandler, Speelman, Hebden and Gormally 7.5. Nine-year-old David Howell, the youngest player ever to compete in the British Championship, scored a respectable 3/11.
Hodgson's breakthrough came in rounds nine and ten when he won critical games against the grandmasters Chris Ward and Murray Chandler.
Chandler—Hodgson: Modem Defence
1 e4 g6 2 d4 Bg7 3 Nc3 c6 4 Bc4 Against this par- ticular move order by Black I regard 4 f4 as being the most testing move. 4 ... d6 5 Qf3 White's play appears naive, with its elementary threat to capture on f7. It has, though, been suc- cessful in the past. The danger for White, as we shall see, is that Black's pawns will creep for- wards and cause embarrassment to White's exposed pieces. 5 e6 6 Nge2 b5 7 Bb3 a5 8 a3 Ba6 9 0-0 Nd7 10 Bf4 Qe7 11 e5 d5 12 Qe3 Chandler follows a game where he himself had suffered as Black against Nunn. The game Nunn—Chandler, 4NCL 1998 had now gone 12 h6 13 Qd2 Qd8 14 Rfel and White won in 40 moves. Hodgson tries something different. 12 f6 13 Rfel White takes on less responsibilities by playing 13 exf6 Ngxf6 14 Rfel. 13 ... fxe5 14 dxe5 Q17 (Diagram 1) White is faced with a dilemma. Black is threatening to develop smoothly with ... Ne7 followed by ... 0-0 and then ... c5. This would have the effect of crowd- ing all of White's pieces out of play. For this rea- son Chandler risks a do or die sacrifice. 15 NxdS Diagram 1 exd5 16 Bxd5 exd5 17 e6 Qe7 18 exd7+ Kf7 19 Qh3 Nf6 20 Nd4 Qxd7 21 Re6 Ne4 Breaking the cohesion of White's forces. 22 Rel Rad8 Defending the queen avoids tricks and is safer than the complications which could arise after 22 Bxd4 23 Rlxe4 dxe4 24 Rf6+ . 23 Qf3 Bxd4 24 Rxa6 Bxf2+ 25 Khl Rhf8 White resigns White is a piece down and once Black plays Kg8 he will also have the attack.
Hodgson—Ward: Trompovsky Attack
1 d4 Nf6 2 Bg5 e6 3 e4 h6 4 Bxf6 Qxf6 5 c3 d6 6 Bd3 e5 7 Net g6 8 0-0 Bg7 The Trompovsky Attack is one of Hodgson's favourites. White trades the bishop pair in order to gain time and space in the early stages. If Black consolidates he will normally be OK. The trick is to keep Black on the run. White's ninth move is an attempt to improve on 9 Na3 as played in the game Summerscale—Adams, France 1999. 9 f4 exd4 10 cxd4 Nc6 11 e5 Qd8 12 Nbc3 0-0 13 Rcl dxe5 14 dxe5 g5 This would appear to be extraordinarily risky. Alternatives such as 14 ... Nb4 or 14 Bg4 spring readily to mind. 15 Nd5 Black may have overlooked this. For the refutation of 15 QxdS see this week's puzzle. 15 ... gxf4 16 Nexf4 NxeS 17 Rxc7 Bg4 18 Bet Qg5 19 Bxg4 Nxg4 20 h3 Ne5 21 Nh5 As a result of Black's misconception on move 14 White now dominates the board. 21 ... Rad8 22 Nxg7 Qxg7 23 Ne7+ Kh8 24 Qc2 Rd3 25 Rc8 RddS 26 Rxd8 Rxd8 27 Qe4 Rd2 28 Nf5 Qt6 29 Nxh6 A neat tactic win- ning material. 29 ... Qxh6 30 QxeS+ Qg7 31 Qe4 Rxb2 32 Rf4 White has traded in his extra pawn for a devastating attack against the exposed black king. Note that the white queen on e4, powerfully centralised, has been ideal both for aggressive purposes and for defending against Black's mea- gre threats against g2. 32 ... Rb6 33 Qe8+ Qg8 34 Rh4+ Kg7 35 QeS+ Kf8 36 Rh8 Black resigns
Ardbeg Malt Whisky Puzzle No. 42 White to play and win — first move only required. This puzzle is taken from the above game. How does White win material?
Answers to me at The Spectator by Tuesday 22 August or via e-mail to vanessa@spectator.co.uk or by fax on 020 7242 0603. The winner will be the first cor- rect answer drawn out of a hat, and each week I shall be offering a prize of a bottle of Ardbeg Malt Whisky.
Last week's solution: Nf3+ Last week's winner: H.G. Benjamin, London.
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