SIMPSON'S
IN-THE-STRAND
CHESS 4.; SIMPSON'S
IN-THE-STRAND
Crown prince
Raymond Keene
ARON NIMZOWITSCH, the great chess player and thinker of the 1920s and '30s, had the words 'crown prince of the chess world' printed on his visiting cards. Sadly for Nimzowitsch, his elevation to kingship never materialised and he remained in the shadow first of Capablanca and then of Alekhine.
In modern times, if one excludes the claims of IBM's Deep Blue computer, it seems increasingly likely that the chief pre- tender to Kasparov's throne is Vladimir Kramnik. His recent score in four games against both Karpov and Kasparov is a remarkable 31/2 points. True, as I noted in this column last week, Kramnik can still suffer the occasional accident, as he did against our own Nigel Short, but the sheer quality and power of his games makes it seem inevitable that he will one day become world champion. Here is how he demolished Anatoly Karpov in the elite tournament in Dortmund.
Kramnik—Karpov: Dortmund 1997; English Opening.
1 Nf3 Nf6 2 c4 b6 3 g3 Bb7 4 Bg2 e6 5 0-0 Be7 6 Rel 0-0 7 Nc3 d5 An alternative is 7 ... c5 8 e4 d6 with a hedgehog formation, passive but hard to crack. 8 cxd5 NxdS In former times Karpov would probably have replied 8 ... exd5 continu- ing 9 d4 Na6 followed by ...c5, not fearing the pawn weaknesses which might ultimately result from Black's occupation of the centre. Here, Karpov is anxious to avoid possible blemishes in his formation but in exchange he can scarcely prevent White from building up his own power- ful pawn centre. 9 e4 Nxc3 10 bxc3 Nc6 More conventional would be 10 ... c5. The text encour- ages White's monolithic central constellation of pawns, for which Black's only compensation is the slight exposure of the c4 square. 11 d4 Na5 12 h4 Kramnik immediately announces his aggressive intentions against Black's king. 12 ... Re8 13 h5 h6 14 Ne5 Bd6 15 Bf4 Qe7 16 Qg4 Threatening the devastating MI6. 16 ...ICh8 17 Nd3 Somewhat paradoxical, given that the attacker, here White, normally sidesteps exchanges. Kramnik's plan, though, is to set his central pawns in motion to create more attack- ing squares for pieces in the rear. 17 ...Rad8 18 Radl Bc6 (Diagram) 19 e5 Ba3 20 Bxc6 Nxc6 21 Position after 18 . . . Bc6
Re4 The first stage in White's strategy of mass- ing all available force against the black monarch. Having earlier declined the opportunity to trade dark-squared bishops, Black's king's bishop now finds itself temporarily excluded from the action. 21 ... Qd7 22 Qf3 Bf8 23 Be3 Na5 24 g4 Bringing up more reserves. 24 ...Nc4 25 g5 Nxe3 26 603 hxg5 27 Rg4 Qe7 28 Rfl Rd7 29 Qg3 f6 Karpov clings tenaciously to his extra pawn, less for the sake of the material than to maintain the shield around his king. 30 e4 Introducing the threat of exf6 followed by e5, when Black's barricades would crumble. Karpov now abandons his king- side and tries to hack his way through White's
centre. 30 ... Qa3 31 exf6 Qxc3 32 f7 Rc8 (Diagram) Instead 32 ... Qxd4+ 33 Khl Rc8 34 Ne5 is also dangerous. 33 d5 exd5 34 e5 Now a race develops between opposing masses of passed pawns. 34 ...c5 35 R13 c4 36 Nf2 White's knight has been driven to a more defensive post but his passed pawns are further advanced and his attack continues to rage unabated. 36 ... Qel + 37 Kg2 Bel After this Black's resistance collapses but even after 37 ...c3 38 Rxg5 c2 39 h6 clQ 40 hxg7+ Black's case is hopeless. 38 Rxg5 Bxg5 39 f8Q+ Winning a piece whilst maintaining all the advantages of his position. Black resigns.
Dortmund 199Z Final Crosstable
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0
1. Kramnik *
1/2
1/2 1 1
1/2 1 112 i/2
1
61/2 2. Anand 1/2
*
0 1
1/2 1/2 1/2 1 1/2
1
5I/2 3. Topalov 1/2
1 * 1/2
0 I/2 1/2 1/2 1/2
1
5 4. Ivanchuk 0 0
1/2
* 1/2 1
1/2 1
1
1/2
5 5. Polgar 0
1/2
1
1/2
*
1/2 1 1/2
0
41/2
6. Gelfand 1/2 1/2
1/2 0 1/2 *
1/2 1/2 1/2 1/2
4 7. Karpov 0
1/2
V2
1/2 1/2 1/2 * 0 1/2
1 4
8. Short 1/2
0
1/2
0 0 I/2
1* 1
1/2
4
9. Hubner 1/2
1/2 1/2 0 1/2
1/2 1/2 0
*
1/2 31/2
10. Yusupov 0 0 0
1/2
1
1/2 0 1/2 1/2
*
3
1 represents a win, 112a draw and 0 a loss.
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