SIMPSON'S

IN-THE-STRAND

C41 ',; sk .1n .e;' i■i

CHESS

SIMPSON'S

IN-THE•S1 RAND

Art of sacrifice

Raymond Keene

TWO WEEKS AGO I celebrated the life and works of that great world champion and master of attack, Alexander Alekhine, who died 50 years ago. Alekhine represent- ed one side of the perennial debate in chess, that between sacrifice and initiative and materialism and consolidation. In his own day the opposite side of the argument was superbly reflected in the games of Alekhine's mighty rival, Capablanca, while in contemporary chess the two sides are equally well represented by Kasparov and Karpov. At the moment, the creative debate appears to be going strongly in favour of the Alekhine/Kasparov sacrificial camp. While Alekhine was champion, the Austrian grandmaster Rudolph Spielmann wrote in his book, The Art of Sacrifice: 'The beauty of a game of chess is usually appraised, and with good reason, according to the sacrifices it contains. The glowing power of the sacrifice is irresistible. Enthusiasm for sacrifice lies in human nature.'

Kasparov is not only a great sacrificer himself, but has also inspired other players on the modern tournament circuit to emu- late his boldness. This is a theme which I shall continue next week. Meanwhile, here is one of Kasparov's more turbulent wins from the Euwe Memorial tournament in Amsterdam. This was a particularly impor- tant game, since Kasparov was facing his challenger in the world title match from last year.

Kasparov–Anand: Amsterdam, March, 1996; Caro-Kann Defence.

1 e4 c6 2 d4 d5 3 exd5 cxd5 4 c4 Nf6 5 Nc3 Nc6 Slightly unusual. Modern tournament practice tends to favour 5 e6 in this position. 6 Bg5 Kasparov responds with an even more unfash- ionable idea. The main lines emanate from 6

Nf3 Bg4. The positions after 6 Bg5 have hardly been seriously explored since the 1930s. 6 ...e6 7 NO Bel 8 c5 Establishing a grip on the queen- side. 8 h6 9 Bf4 Ne4 10 Bb5 Nxc3 11 bxc3 Bd7 12 0-0 0-0 13 Rcl A defensive move directed against a possible ... Qa5. 13 14 Rel Bf6 15 Rbl Kasparov switches plans, but now his central and queenside pawn structure comes under immediate attack. 15 b6 16 Ba6 Bc8 17 Bb5 Bd7 18 Ba6 Bc8 19 Bd3 (Diagram) Spurning

Position after 19 Bd3

the draw by repetition Kasparov sacrifices a pawn to energise the situation. 19 ... bxc5 20 Ne5 Bd7 21 Rb7 BxeS 22 dxe5 Rb8 Challenging the intruder. 23 Rxb8 Qxb8 24 Qg4 (Diagram) Kasparov has given up a pawn in order to aim his remaining pieces directly at the black king. If this assault does not succeed he will be lost, for, apart from any material considerations, his queenside is shattered. 24 ...Kf8 Black has to meet the threat of Bxh6. 25 Re3 Bringing up the reserves. 25 ... Qd8 26 h4 An important prelimi- nary. After the immediate 26 Rg3 Black can resist with 26 ... g5. 26 ...Qa5 27 Rg3 Ke7 In the long run Black's kingside pawns are indefensible. Therefore, the biack king seeks to flee to safety on the other wing. Meanwhile, by grabbing a fur- ther pawn, Anand hopes to create connected

Position after 24 Qg4

passed pawns which will more than compensate for White's demolition of his king's flank. 28 Qxg7 Kd8 29 Qxf7 Qxc3 30 Bb5 Hitting Black from both sides. 30 ... Qa5 31 Rg7 Ne7 32 Bxd7 Kxd7 33 Qf6 d4 34 Bxh6 c4 It appears that the defences of Black's pinned knight are sufficient and that his armada of passed pawns may well carry the day. However, Kasparov has a final surprise in store. 35 Bg5 Qc5 36 Rxe7+ (Diagram) Black resigns An alarmingly abrupt conclusion, but Anand realised that after 36 ... Rxe7 37 Qxe7+ Qxe7 38 Bxe7 Kxe7 39 Kfl c3 40 Ke2 c2 41 Kd2 d3 42 h5 Kf7 43 g4 Kg7 44 f4 only White can queen a pawn. Black's passed pawns, fearsome though they may seem, are totally blockaded by the white king. Meanwhile after 44 Kf7 45 f5 Kg7 46 fxe6 Kf8 47 h6, one of White's pawns will inevitably promote.