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CHESS

Playing the Blues

Raymond Keene

NEXT Saturday (4 March) sees the clash over the chessboard of the Dark Blues and the Light Blues, the annual contest between the teams from the Oxford and Cambridge universities. This year is the 118th such contest and the event is spon- sored by Tony Buzan, president of the Mind Sports Council. Sally Farmiloe, actress and Mensa high IQ Businesswoman of the Year for 1997, will conduct the opening ceremony at 12 noon. The venue is the Royal Automobile Club in Pall Mall and spectators will be welcome provided they conform to the customary sartorial regulations prevalent in London clubland.

It is a sign of the times that this venerable occasion will this year be covered live on the Internet. By accessing wwvv.msoworld.com enthusiasts will be able to follow games and running commentary by international grandmaster and reigning British champion Julian Hodgson, a service which will be entirely free of charge.

Cambridge lead by a slight margin in the series overall. The teams are often formidable and in the past they have included many of the top players from the UK's national teams. Cambridge, for exam- ple, have won the British Counties Championship several times, while Oxford have been known to field grandmasters in the Varsity match itself.

This week's game is taken from the match which decided the counties championship in 1972. The notes are based on those by the winner, the Cambridge historian Richard Eales, whose book Cambridge Chess is a mine of information on undergraduate chess at the University.

Hempson-Eales: Essex v. Cambridge, 1972; Grunfeld Defence 1 d4 Nf6 2 c4 g6 3 Nc3 d5 4 Qb3 c6 The most active continuation here would have been to cap- ture the pawn on c4 and then to try to exploit the somewhat exposed position of the white queen, who finds herself in the middle of the board after just five moves. An interesting example was the game Petrosian—Benko, Piatigorsky Cup 1963, which went 4. . dxc4 5 Qxc4 Be6 6 Qb5+ Nc6 7 Nf3 Nd5 8 e4 Ndb4 9 Qa4 Bd7 10 Qdl c5 11 a3 exd4 12 NM Na6 13 b4 Naxb4 14 axb4 Bxb4+ with manifold complications. 5 Bf4 5 ord5 is the most serious attempt to keep an advantage. 5

Bg7 6 Nf3 dxc4 7 Qxc4 0-08 e4 b5 The system with ... c6 and ... b5 is completely satisfactory here for Black because of the misplaced bishop on f4. 9 Qd3 b4 This leads to complex play. 10 Na4 Qa5 11 Nc5 Nbd7 12 Nb3 Qb6 13 Nfd2 a5 14 Nc4 Qd8 15 a4 15 Be2 is probably best here, but

fearsome complications result from 15 a4 16 Nbd2 c5 17 d5 a3. 15 . . .bxa3 16 Poia3 a4 17 Nc5

17 Be2 looks better. 17 Nxc5 18 dxc5 Bah!

In view of 18 ... Nd7? 19 b4! the only good move. White now has the following options: 19 Rxa4 Bb5 20 Rxa8 Qxa8 with a powerful attack for the pawn; 19 Qxd8 Raxd8 20 Rxa4 Bb5 and. . Nxe4; or 19 Qxd8 Raxd8 20 £3 Bb5 which is probably the safest. 19 13 Nd7 20 Be3 Bx132 21 Rxa4 Bxc4 22 Qxc4 Ne5 23 Rxa8? After this White has no chance. 23 Qc2 puts up more resistance when after 23 ... Rxa4 24 Qxa4 Qa8 25 Qxa8 Rxa8 White's pieces are tangled and his c-pawn is vul- nerable to attack. 23 ... Qxa8 24 Qc2 Qat+ 25 Kf2 Rd8 26 g4 Rd1 27 Qe2 It is amazing what a mess White can get into by not castling early in the Grunfeld. 27 ... Bd4 28 Bxd4 Qxd4+ 29 Kg3 Rd2 30 Qel Ra2 31 Bg2 Qxc5 32 Rh l Qd6 33 Kh3 Nd3 34 e5 Qd4 Even better is the elegant 34 g5. 35 Qe4 NU+ 36 RYE Qxf2 White resigns

Ardbeg Malt Whisky Puzzle No. 17 White to play and win — first move only required. This position is from the game Devereux-Hassabis, Oxford v. Cambridge 1997. Black, with rook and four pawns against two knights, has a big material advantage. However, the knights are run- ning riot and they quickly decided the game in White's favour. How did play continue?

Answers to me at The Spectator by Tuesday 29 February 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: Bxh7+ Last week's winner Mr John Henley, West Lothian.