CHESS
Gold diggers of 1988
Raymond Keene
England, which competes separately from Scotland and Wales in international chess, is widely acclaimed as the number two chess nation to the mighty USSR, with its host of Grandmasters and ex-world title holders. Last Sunday, in Thessaloniki, Northern Greece, the opening moves were made in the biennial Chess Olympics. The Soviet team, led by Kasparov and Karpov, is the favourite for gold, but England, with Short, Speelman, Nunn and Chandler in the team, has won silver on the past two occasions. At Dubai in 1986 we were within just a meagre half-point of catching the Russians for the top spot. I, however„ believe that on this occasion we might pip the Soviets and bring back gold for the first time. We have already made a good start, scoring 4-0 in the first round. A relative setback in round two, winning by just 21/2 to 11/2 against Greece, should not prove serious. Meanwhile, the USSR has drop- ped half a point to Syria and a whole point against the Philippines.
After the previous week's Speed Chal- lenge, England team members are at a peak of alertness and efficiency. It must further be taken into account that the habitually monolithic Russians are in- creasingly at each others' throats. Kaspar- ov and Karpov are notoriously hostile to one another, with the rest of their team dissolving into camps supportive of one or other of the great champions. Why has England become so successful at chess? One major reason is that chess now attracts significant sponsorship, for example, from Duncan Lawrie, who cover the team's expenses while they are in Greece. Indeed, at times I see a parallel between our national success at chess and our reputation in the merchant banking sphere. There is an element of benevolent piracy about both activities. Sometimes complaints are heard that the British Gov- ernment spends so little on chess. The DES gives around £30,000 per annum to the British Chess Federation, but the lion's share of this vanishes on bureaucratic administration rather than event creation or team training. In the USSR and Eastern Europe, of course, chess, in common with other sporting activities, is entirely state- funded.
For a game, however, which, like mer- chant banking, places such a high premium on entrepreneurial spirit, chessplayers should find it appropriate that their back- ing stems largely from committed commer- cial enthusiasts. It is far better that support for chess should come from those recognis- ing the educational and prestige value of the game, rather than government depart- ments disbursing state funds under instruc- tion, not from conviction. With gold at stake, the Olympics at Thessaloniki will, over the course of the next two weeks, provide a real showdown between Eng- land's private enterprise chess buccaneers and the state-employed Grandmaster cohorts of Eastern Europe.
This week's game is a brilliant win by England's top board from his recent match against Eugenio Torre in Manila.
Nigel Short-Eugenio Torre, Carlsberg Challenge Match, Manila; Ruy Lopez.
1 e4 e5 2 NI3 Nc6 3 Bb5 a6 4 Ba4 Nf6 5 0-0 Nxe4 6 d4 b5 7 Bb3 d5 8 dxe5 Be6 9 c3 Nc5 10 Bc2 Bg4 11 Nbd2 Be? 12 Ref Bh5 This retreat looks like a waste of time and Short punishes it severely. 13 b4 Ne6 14 Nfl 0-0 15 a4 Qd7 16 Bf5 Rad8 17 axb5 axb5 The great Alekhine once opined that the opening of the 'a' file in the Lopez always favours White. 18 g4 Bg6 19 h4 h5 20 Ng3 d4 21 Rah Ing4 22 Bxg4 Nb8 Black seems to be constructing a ramshackle defence, but Short's next move, sacrificing the exchange, drives the Filipino Grandmaster into utter passivity. 23 Rxe6 fxe6 24 Nxd4 Bt7 25 Bg5 Nc6 26 Bxe7 Nxel 27 Ne4 Ng6 28 Ng5 Rfe8 29 Bh5 NhS 30 Qc2 g6 31 Ne4 Kg7 32 Nf6 Qc8 After Short's following move the Black position is a picture of absolute desolation. It almost seems a shame to win back the sacrificed material. 33 Nc6 Qa6 34 Nxd8 Rxd8 35 Bf3 Qa7 36 Kg2 c5 37 Qcl cxb4 38 Ng4 Kf8 39 Qh6+ Ke7 40 Qg5+ Ke8 41 Bc6+ Black resigns. No prizes this week for guessing why Nigel Short's opponent resigned.
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