CHESS
SPAMT 11[51 LAVA
SPAES MIST CAVA
Chairman of the board
Raymond Keene
LAST WEEK I MENTIONED that Jeremy Hanley had won the prize for the best game in the annual match between the House of Lords and the House of Commons for the trophy donated by The Spectator. When I submitted last week's copy to Charles Seaton, who has edited the chess for the last 17 years, he deleted my description of Hanley as 'armed forces min- ister'. Did he know something the rest of the world didn't? By the time last week's chess column appeared, as we all now know, Jeremy Hanley had suddenly been promoted to Chairman of the Conservative Party.
Hanley enjoys a reputation as the finest player in Parliament. Indeed, he is one of those public figures, like Daniel Johnson, literary editor of the Times, or our own edi- tor Dominic Lawson, who might well have made it to master level had they concen- trated solely on chess in their youth rather than literature, journalism or politics. Hanley scores by patient strategy rather than flashy brilliance. When I last played him in Belfast he was somewhat out of form, clearly weighed down by the cares of office in Northern Ireland. We in fact played the game in a hall crammed with sniffer dogs and security men carrying sub- machine guns. Happily, liberated from Hibernian concerns, Hanley showed a wel- come return to his former strength in the Spectator match. Here are the two wins which gave him a 100 per cent score, the first of which was awarded the accolade as the best game of the day.
Lord Kilbracken — Jeremy Hanley MP: Lords v. Commons 1994; French Defence.
1 e4 e6 2 Nf3 d5 3 Bd3 An eccentric development of the bishop. More standard play results from the immediate 3 e5. 3 b6 Black would more swiftly exploit White's unfortunate placing of his bishop with 3 ... dxe4 4 Bxe4 Nf6. 4 e5 Ne7 5 0-0 Nbc6 6 Bb5 Bd7 7 d4 Ng6 Black could here play 7 ... Nxe5 8 NxeS (if 8 Bxd7+ Nxd7) 8 ... Bxb5 9 Rel when White's compensation for his pawn is nebulous. 8 Bg5 Be7 9 Qd2 h6 10 Bxe7 Ncxe7 11 Nc3 c5 Commencing a successful undermining operation against White's central pawns. 12 dxc5
Position after 16 Qa5 bxc5 13 Bxd7+ Qxd7 14 a4 0-0 15 Nb5 RabS 16 Qa5 (Diagram) Launching a vigorous attack against Black's queenside pawns. 16 ... Nc6 17 Qc7 This is a blunder which loses material. The correct move is 17 Qc3. 17 ... Qxc7 18 Nxc7 Rxb2 Black's strategy triumphs. Admittedly, only a pawn has gone so far but White's position is now riddled with weaknesses, especially on c2 and e5. 19 Rfcl Ngxe5 20 Nd2 Nd4 21 ICH Nxc2 22 Rabl Rxbl 23 Rxbl Rc8 24 Nb5 Rb8 25 Rcl a6 26 Nd6 Rb2 27 Keg d4 28 f4 d3+ 29 Kdl Ne3+ 30 Kel Nxg2+ 31 Kf2 This loses a piece but 31 Kdl is also hopeless, given the disparity in pawns. 31 ... Rxd2+ White resigns. Jeremy Hanley — Lord Rennell: Lords v. Commons, 1994; Petroff Defence.
1 e4 e5 2 Nf3 Nf6 3 NxeS Nxe4? This is perhaps the best known trap in the Petroff Defence. 4 Qe2 d5 Black's only chance. 4 ... Nf6 5 Nc6+ Winning Black's queen has claimed innumerable victims in the past. 5 d3 Qe7 6 dxe4 Qxe5 7 exd5 Bd6 Black has played cleverly to minimise his disadvantage. In fact he has escaped with the loss of just one pawn and even has some freedom of action for his pieces as compensation. 8 QxeS+ Bxe5 9 Bb5+ Bd7 10 Bxd7+ Nxd7 11 0-0 Nb6? Black should first castle queenside. 12 Rel f6 13 Bf4 A slip. The immediate 13 f4 would win a piece, due to the pin on the open 'e' file against Black's king. 13 ... 0-0 14 Bxe5 fxe5 15 RxeS Rae8 16 Rxe8 Rxe8 17 Nc3 White has consolidat- ed and emerged with two extra pawns. 17 ... Re5
Position after 26 Kf2 18 Rd]. Nc4 19 f4 Re3 20 Kf2 Re7 21 Rel. Rxel 22 Kxel Nxb2 23 Nb5 Nc4 24 Nxc7 Nei 25 d6 Nxg2+ 26 Kf2 (Diagram) The crisis of the game has been reached. This move wins Black's knight since 26 ... Nxf4 27 d7 forces the promotion of White's 'd' pawn to a queen. Black cannot retreat with 27 ... Ne6 to defend d8 on account of 28 Nxe6. 26 ...Kf7 27 Kxg2 a6 28 c4 a5 29 c5 a4 30 a3 h6 31 Kg3 g6 32 h4 Kf6 33 Kg4 h5+ 34 Kf3 Kf7 35 Ke4 Kf6 36 Kd5 Black resigns Further resistance is evidently futile.
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