CHESS
London Chess Year continues with the Kleinwort Grieveson UK-US Chess Chal- lenge. This match of champions runs from Wednesday 14 to Friday 23 May at the Great Eastern Hotel, Liverpool Street. Jon Speelman (British champion) will play Lev Alburt (US champion) in an eight-game match with rest days on 18 and 22.May. Play will be from noon to 6 p.m. daily with adjournments on the rest days. The winner receives £5,000 and the loser £3,000. In the event of the match being drawn 4-4, there will be quick-play games to resolve the tie. Matches are unusual in England, and alongside the main event there will be a four-game match between nine-year-old Alex Chang of Virginia and nine-year-old Demis Hassapis of London. Alex will then play another four-game match against nine-year-old Kevin Rist of Nuneaton. A bulletin of the event with annotations will be available price £1 or posted first class daily £2. Cheques to the BCF at 9A Grand Parade, St Leonard's- °n-Sea, Sussex. There will be commentar- ies by leading players daily and admission is free.
Meanwhile, in Basel, at the same time T°nY Miles challenges world champion Gary Kasparov in a six-game contest. The combination of Speelman-Alburt and Kasparov-Miles will turn mid-May into a showcase for Great Britain against the world! During May there will also be an
Bad will
International Chess Collectors conference in London, with a concurrent exhibition at the Victoria and Albert Museum, 'Chess in Art Society', and on 16 May at the Rem- brandt Hotel, Thurloe Place, SW7, Chess Collectors International presents an ex- hibition of photographs representing chess paintings. On Tuesday, 20 May, when hundreds of chess enthusiasts are in London for the International Chess Collectors Confer- ence, Phillips, the Blenheim Street auc- tioneers, will offer a huge and exotic army of antique chessmen from three centuries. There are about 80 chess sets. Ivory predominates, but there are also chessmen in silver, silver gilt, bone, ceramics, box- wood, ebony, pearwood, bloodstone, agate, brass and amber. In addition to more orthodox pieces, from India comes a set in which Rama and the Monkeys are pitted against the Demons; a Mexican set has Spaniards against Aztecs; Spain pro- vides Romans v Barbarians; and one set's players are all Alice in Wonderland charac- ters.
There is an extensive price range. At the top, estimated at more than £20,000, is a rare amber set of the 17th-18th century
Jaspistos
from a private collection; the set is prob- ably German and has an amber board. At the lower end of the scale, £80-£120 will buy an ivory and ebony travelling chess set or a 19th-century English pattern ivory set.
Behind the sale lie months of prepara- tion by Paul Davidson, works of art spe- cialist at Phillips. 'Sets have come from all over Britain and many from abroad,' he says. 'We have contacted hundreds of collectors — most of whom begin as players, then become acquisitive. Around that time in May, London will be chess mad: about the same time, Chess, the musical, opens at the Prince Edward Theatre.' Incidentally, on 28 May KasPar- ov will be giving a simultaneous display on the Prince Edward stage in aid of the NSPCC.
I conclude this week with another mas- terpiece from London's illustrious past, a fierce battle between the first world cham- pion and the man who had deposed him:
Steinitz — Lasker: London 1899; Vienna Opening.
1 e4 e5 2 Nc3 Nf6 3 f4 d5 4 d3 Nc6 5 fxe5 Nxe5 6 d4 Ng6 7 exd5 Nxd5 8 Nxd5 Qxd5 9 Nf3 Bg4 10 Be2 0-0-0 11 c3 Bd6 12 0-0 Rhe8 13 h3 Bd7 14 Ng5 Nh4 15 Nf3 Nxg2!! 16 Kxg2 B:ch3+ 17 Kf2 If 17 Kxh3 0h5+ 18 Kg2 Qg4+ 19 Khl (19 Kf2 0g3 mate) 19 . . . Qh3+ 20 Kgl Qg3+ 21 Khl and Black will win with Re4. 17. . . f6 18 Rgl g5 19 Bxg5 fxg5 20 Rxg5 Qe6 21 Qd3 Bf4 22 Rhl Bxg5 23 Nxg5 Qf6+ 24 Bf3 Bf5 25 Nxh7 Qg6 26 Qb5 c6 27 Qa5 Re7 28 Rh5 Bg4 29 Rg5 Qc2+ 30 Kg3 Bxf3 White resigns.
Previous page
