SIMPSON'S
IN-THE-STRAND
st 4 1N-THE-STRAND
Top mark
Raymond Keene
THE ANNUAL Hastings tournament is the world's longest-running chess event. It was inaugurated in 1895 with a splendid field which included the reigning world champion, Emanuel Lasker, his immediate predecessor Wilhelm Steinitz and all the major challengers, including Pillsbury, Chigorin and Tarrasch. Over the next 100 years, virtually every world champion par- ticipated in Hastings, the exceptions being Bobby Fischer and Garry Kasparov.
In former times the main attractions were the foreign grandmasters, but now the British contingent has become so powerful, with world-beaters such as Michael Adams and John Nunn in the lists, that they form the main focus of attention. This year's tournament was notable for the achieve- ment of the Leicestershire grandmaster Mark Hebden, who not only shared first prize but also demolished both Adams and Nunn. Here is how Mark took on the famous theoretician.
Hebden–Nunn: Hastings, January 1997; Queen's Pawn Game.
1 d4 Nf6 2 Nf3 g6 3 Nc3 d5 4 Bf4 Hebden's choice of opening is clever. Nunn is noted for his openings erudition and is fond of writing books filled with masses of opening theory and hun- dreds of pages of small-print variations that would look like telephone directories to the average reader. By steering for an opening with virtually no published theory, Hebden throws Nunn onto his own resources. 4 ...Bg7 5 e3 0-0 6 Be2 c5 7 Ne5 Nc6 8 0-0 cxd4 9 exd4 Qb6 10 Nxc6 bxc6 11 Na4 The upshot of the opening is that White has emerged with the superior pawn structure and some play on the dark squares, especially c5. 11 ... Qa5 12 c3 Nd7 13 b4 Qd8 14 Qd2 e5 15 Bh6 Bxh6 16 Qxh6 Re8 17 Rfel Rb8 18 dxe5 RxeS 19 Qd2 a5 20 Bfl axb4 21 cxb4 Qf6 22 RxeS NxeS Black now has the transparent threat of ...Nf3+, winning White's rook on al. Position after 25 a3 23 Rel Kg7 24 Nc5 Bf5 25 a3 (Diagram) Black's next move is too ambitious. Instead, he should secure the position of his bishop, and gain some space on the kingside by playing 25 ... h5. If then
26 Qc3 Re8 27 f4 Black again has the resource
27 ...Nf3+ winning material. 25 ...d4 26 f4 Nd7 27 Nxd7 Bxd7 28 Re5 Suddenly Black is faced with the loss of his advanced pawn. 28 ...c5 29 Position after 36 h3 RxcS Bf5 30 Rd5 d3 31 Bxd3 Qal+ 32 Bfl Qxa3 33 Qd4+ f6 34 Rd6 Qxb4 35 Qxf6+ Kh6 36 113 (Diagram) Black is a pawn down and his king is exposed but he could still resist with 36 ... Re8. Instead he falls into a trap which allows White to exploit the marginalised situation of the black king. 36 ...Qxf4 37 Rd4 Qe3+ 38 Kh2 Black resigns There is no defence to Rh4.
The top five scorers at Hastings were Nunn, Rozentalis and Hebden with 6, and Movsesian and Lalic with 5 points each.
Spectator Chess Puzzle No. 8 The above position is from the game Flear–Adams, also from Hastings. White can force mate in two. What is the key first move?
Entries on a postcard, please, clearly marked 'Chess Puzzle No. 8', by 3 Febru- ary. Entries can also be faxed on 0171 242 0603. The prize is an invitation to lunch or dinner at Simpson's-in-the-Strand with me, plus a game of chess. All first-time entrants will also receive a complimentary copy of the British Chess Magazine.
The solution to Puzzle No. 7 was Qh14-. Congratulations to the winner, J.D. Tayllor of Burton on Trent.
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