CHESS

Northern star

Paul Lamford

ith Nigel Short having recently taken on the world's best in the Candi- dates' Tournament in Montpellier, it is Opportune to speculate on which young British players will emulate his historic deeds in years to come. Following closely in Nigel's footsteps is his fellow Boltonian, 16-year-old David Norwood. He is Brit- ain's youngest International Master and shared the Novag Commonwealth Junior Championship with Nigel Short in Lon- don's Docklands earlier this year.

As yet David does not possess the Positional maturity of his older rival but his tactical appreciation and calculating ability allow him to surmount the obstacle of some dubious openings. His performance in the NatWest Young Masters, organised by the King's Head Chess Club, showed his rapid progress over the last year.

2nd NatWest Young Masters, 1-15 September

2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Total

1 Norwood Eng 1M 2445 x 0 1 1 1/2 Y2 1 1 1 1/2 61/2 2 Hawksworth Eng FM 2370 1 x 1/2 1/2 0 1/2 1 1/2 1 1/2 51/2 3 Condie Soo IM 24115 0 1/2 x 1 1/2 1 Y2 0 1 15½ 4 Bradbury Eng 2335 0 1/2 0 x 1 Y2 Y2 1 1 1 51/2 5 Morrison Sco FM2335 1/2 1 Y2 0 x Y2 Y2 1/2 0 Y2 4 6 Wells Eng FM2365 Y2 Y2 0 Y2 Y2 x 1 0 1/2 4 7 de Wit /41d FM7390 0 0 Y2 V2 1/2 0 X l 1/2 1 4 g Febhiteley Eng FM 2370 0 Y2 1 0 Y2 1/2 0 x 1/2 Y2 31/2 n

' rn Eng 2360 0 0 0 0 1 1 1/2 1/2 x V2 31/2

10 Botterill WE 1M 2415 I/2 V2 0 0 Y2 Y2 0 1/2 Y2 x 3 .David's most impressive game was his win with Black against the talented young

Scottish International Master Mark Condie who shared third place in the recent Grieveson Grant British Championship.

Condie-Norwood: Torre Attack.

1 d4 Nf6 Nf3 d6 3 c3 g6 4 1%5 IA 5 Nbd2 Bb7 6 a4 Bg7 Qc2 White wants to play e4, but the queen may be misplaced here if Black puts a rook on the c-file. 7 e3 followed by Bd3 was more circumspect. 7. . . 0-0 8 e4 CS 9 dxc5 A strange decision, strengthening Black's centre and con- ceding the b-file. 9 Bd3 followed by 0-0 looks better. 9 . . . bxc5 10 Bd3 Nbd7 11 0-0 Rc8 12 Rfel h6 13 Bh4 Nh5 14 Nc4 Nb6 15 Nfd2 Qc7 16 a5 Nxc4 17 Nxc4 e6 18 Bfl Rfe8 19 a6 Ba8 20 Na3 d5 21 Nb5 Qb8 22 exd5 exdS 23 Re7 Another artificial move which loses a tempo, but Black

Position after 34 Re3

stands better after 23 Bg3 Nxg3 24 hxg3 Bc6. 23 . . . Be5 24 Rxe8+ Rxe8 25 Bg3 Nxg3 26 hxg3 Bc6 27 Na3 h5! Preparing to open up the kingside for the bishops. White's minor pieces are far-flung and Black dominates the board. 28 Rel h4 29 Qd2 hxg3 30 fxg3 Kg7! Stronger than capturing on g3. Black now threatens . . Rh8 followed by. . Bxg3. 31 Bd3 c4 32 Bbl Qb6+ 33 Kfl Re6 34 Re3 (Diagram) The threat of. . . Rf6+ practically forces this move. 34 . . . B14! Winning the exchange and the game. 35 gxf4 Qxe3 36 Qxe3 Rxe3 37 Nc2 Re8 38 Nh4 Ba8 39 Bc2 d41 Accurate to the end. If 40 cxd4 Rb8 wins a piece. 40 Ba4 dxc3 41 bxc3 Re3 White resigns.

National Westminster Bank's aim of providing opportunities for young British players to obtain title norms was fulfilled when two 21-year-olds achieved the target of 51/2 points. Neil Bradbury achieved his second norm, while John Hawksworth obtained the IM title which should be awarded to him at the next Olympiad. The latter played solidly throughout and seized on any opportunities which came his way as in the following game against Malcolm Pein.

Hawksworth-Pein: King's Indian Defence.

1 Nf3 g6 2 g3 Bg7 3 Bg2 Nf6 4 d4 0-0 5 0-0 d6 6 c4 Nc6 7 Nc3 a6 8 d5 NaS 9 Nd2 c5 10 Qc2 e5 11 b3 Rb8 12 Bb2 b5 13 Rabl Bh6 14 f4 exf4 15 gxf4 Nh5 16 e3 Qe7 17 Nce4 bxc4 18 bxc4 f5? 19 1316! Nxf6 20 Nxf6 + Rxf6 21 Rxb8 Qxe3+ 22 Khl Rf8 23 Rf3 Qel + 24 Nfl Qe4 25 Qa4 Nb7 26 Re3 Qxf4 27 Re8 Black resigns. He loses another piece.