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CHESS
Nerves
Raymond Keene
IN the run-up to the World Championship clash between Garry Kasparov and Vladimir Kramnik in London I shall be considering great moments in chess. Last week I gave a game and a position, both of which might be considered pinnacles of chess art. I also mentioned that World Championship matches place considerable strain on the protagonists. Matches at the summit are capable of producing splendid examples of chess art but the pressure also means that opportunities can be missed. The difference between an imperishable masterpiece and a cacophony of thud and blunder can be agonisingly narrow. Take the following position for example. It occurred in the 18th game of the 1958 World Championship match between Botvinnik and Smyslov.
Botvinnik–Smyslov: World Championship, Moscow 19.58
At this point Botvinnik spent a long time consid- ering his move in search of the win which he was convinced was present. Ultimately he produced a feeble response, failing to find the striking com- bination which would have elevated this game to one of the greatest ever played. Correct in this position is 23 Nd4!! cxd4 24 Bd5+ RxdS 25 Re8 when White wins. Alternatively 23 Nd4!! cxd4 24 Bd5+ Kh8 25 Re7. Or finally 23 Nd4!! Nxd4 24 Re7 Ne2+ (24 Rf7 25 Bd5 wins) 25 R7xe2 Qd3 26 Re7 Rf7 27 Rxf7 Kxf7 28 Qxh7+ Kf8 29 Re7 and wins. Note that in the diagram position the superficially attractive 23 Nh4 Ne5 24 Be4 fails to the superb defensive counter-combina-
tion 24 Qxf2+ 25 Khl Qxh2+!! 26 Kxh2 Ng4+ when it is Black who wins on material. 23 Bh3 Ne5 24 NxeS fxe5 25 f4 Going from bad to worse. According to Botvinnik 25 f3 is still level. 25 BO 26 Qg5 Rde8? Now nerves begin to afflict Black as well. After 26 ... Rd2 27 Be6+ Rf7 28 Bxf7+ Kxf7 White can resign. 27 Rxe5 Qxc3 28 Rxe8 BxeS 28 ... Rxe8 29 Rxe8+ BxeS White would have been quite lost. 29 Qe5 QxeS 30 Rxe5 b6 31 Re7 a5 32 Rb7 Rf6 33 Rb8 Kf7 34 Kf2 Rd6 35 Ke3 Ba4 After 35 ... h5 Black is still well on top. 36 Rb7+ Kg8 37 Rb8+ Kg7 38 Rb7+ Kg8 39 Rb8+ Kf7 40 Rb7+ Kf8 41 Rxh7
Had White played 23 Nd4 this game would have entered the archives as one of the best of all time. Meanwhile, in his turn, had Black discov- ered 26 ... Rd2, he would have won a scrappy but tough and well contested game. As it is, the intense pressures of World Championship chess, under the immediate glare of several thousand spectators, have led the combatants to stumble into an endgame which is approximately level. It was entirely in keeping with the chequered career of this game that Smyslov should have overpressed in the final stages and actually con- trived to lose a position where White should still have been mildly on the defensive. After further errors Smyslov eventually resigned on move 74.
In 1958 it was only the spectators in the playing hall who consitututed the audience. For the match between Kasparov and Kramnik the entire chessplaying world will be watching every move as it is played via the Internet!
Ardbeg Malt Whisky Puzzle No. 47 White to play and win — first move only required. Congratulations are in order for Jovanka Houska who has won the gold medal against a strong field in the European Girls Under-20 Championship in Aviles in Spain. This week's puzzle is taken from the game Houska–Rohonyan, from the European Under-20 Girls Championship.
Answers to me at The Spectator by Tuesday 19 September or via email 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: Be8
Last week's winner: Mr J. Gill, Surrey.
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