SIMPSON'S
IN•THE•STRAND
SIMPSON'S
IN-THE-STRAND
CHESS
Still overdue
Raymond Keene
LAST WEEK I argued that there was an overwhelming case for the British Chess Federation to lobby Fide, the world gov- erning body, for long overdue honorary titles for certain British players who had performed great feats in the past, before the current, more lenient, title-awarding structure was in force. Merely winning the British Championship ought to register powerfully on the seismic scale of Fide titles, yet William Hartston, who narrowly missed the grandmaster title in the mid- 1970s, under the regulations then in place, either won outright or tied for first place in the championship tournament no less than four times, while Peter Lee also became British champion on one occasion, in 1965.
This week I give samples of the play of both Hartston and Lee and once again urge the British Chess Federation to press Fide to elevate Hartston to grandmaster- hood and Lee, as well as the others I men- tioned last week, to the rank of interna- tional master. The following game demon- strating Hartston's attacking prowess was played in the style of the super-imaginative David Bronstein, whom I strongly suspect of being Hartston's hero.
Hartston–Westerinen: Alicante, 1973.
1 e4 e5 2 Bc4 Nf6 3 d3 Be7 4 Nc3 0-0 5 f4 exf4 6 Bxf4 c6 7 e5 After this thrust Black could play 7
Ne8 with more or less level chances, while 7 ...Nd5 8 Bxd5 cxd5 9 d4 is also equal. Instead of this, Wcsterinen, who two years later became a grandmaster himself, prefers to set the board alight with a risky tactical counter-attack. 7 ...d5 8 exf6 Bb4 9 Bb3 d4 10 Nge2 dxc3 11 0-0 cxb2 12 fxg7 Qb6+ If 12 ... lOcg7 13 Be5+ while 12 Re8 13 Bel+ Kxf7 14 Bg5+ wins Black's queen without the massive complications which occur in the game. 13 Khl Re8 (Diagram) Material is equal, but a white pawn has munched its way through Black's kingside defences, while a Black counterpart has decimated White's queen's flank. The time has come to strike and the most sensitive point is that perennial target in the Black king's field, the pawn on 17. 14 Bxfl+ Kxf7 15 Be3+ After the game Hartston looked at the even more fantastic variation 15 Ng3 bxal/Q 16 Qh5+ Ke7 17 Bg5+ Kd7 18 QxeS+ Kxc8 19 g8/Q+ with a winning attack. 15 ..Kg8 16 Bxb6 Bg4 Not 16 ...bxal/Q 17 Qxal axb6 18 Qf6 Be6 19 Nd4 Nd7 20 Qf4 Bxa2 21 c4 Re7 22 Nf5 winning for White. After the text Black gains an immense amount of material for his queen, but by some deft manoeuvring White's succeeds in concentrating a small but deadly force around the Black king. 17 c3 bxalQ 18 Qxal Bxe2 19 Qb2 (Diagram) A brilliant move, displaying a glacial insouciance to Black's threats, while offering his other rook in order to drive out the black king. 19 ...Bxfl 20 Qb3+ Kxg7 21 Bd4+ 11g6 22 Qxb4 c5 23 QxcS Nc6 24 Qd6+ Kh5 25 Bg7 Bxd3 If 25 ... Rad8 26 Qh6+ Kg4 27 1316. 26 h3 Bg6 27 Qf4 Black resigns The noose is finally tightened and Black's king has no escape route.
The next position shows Peter Lee punching through the defences of the Bulgarian grandmaster-to-be Ivan Rada- lov. White's forces are highly mobile, but Black has erected a solid wall of defence, namely his pawn chain. How does White break through?
Lee–Radulov: Sinaia, 1965.
23 BxdSI A sacrifice preparing to re ease the
energy White has built up behind his pawn. 23 ...exd5 24 e6 Nb6 White was threatening Qxc7 and other knight moves make no differ- ence. 25 Qxc7!! The beautiful culmination of White's combination. 25 ...Qxc7 26 Nf6+ 108 27 e7 Qb8 If 27 ...Rb8 28 e8/Q+ Rxe8 29 Rxe8 mate. Black's only defence is to give back the queen, but now White wins on material. 28 exf8Q+ QxfB 29 Re8 Qxe8 30 Nxe8 White is the exchange to the good and Black soon resigned.
Previous page
