Chess
Bete grise
Andrew Whiteley
Karpov is not just world champion. He is also by far the most successful chess- Player in the world. This dual claim could not be made by any of his predecessors since Alekhine in the early I 930s. Is there nobody who can provide a serious challenge to this indomitable little man? Korchnoi has tried and failed. Fischer might possibly succeed but won't try. Kasparov, the Prince Hal of the chees world, would love to try but his time has not yet come. But there is one opponent whom Karpov has never found easy meat. This is Jan Tim- man who has just confirmed his promotion to number two in the world rankings by beating Karpov, for the third time, in the Clarin tournament in Mar del Plata — and by winning the tournament itself with 9 V2113, ahead of Portisch (8), and Seirawan, Karpov and Polugaievsky (all 7 1/2). Timman has now beaten Karpov more often since he became world champion than anyone other than Korchnoi, whose seven wins have been gleaned from many more encounters. Since
Timman retains an overall minus score against Karpov he cannot truly claim the status of bete noire but the lesser accolade of bete grise seems justified.
The game itself, is a rare example of Kar- pov being reduced to complete impotence.
Karpov—Timman: Clarin 1982, Sicilian Defence. 1 e4 c5 2 Nf 3 e6 3 d4 cxd4 4 Nxd4 Nf 6 5 Nc3 d66 g4!? An early gesture of aggression, popularised by Keres. Anyone who is put off the move by White's miserable experience in this game should consult Jon Kinlay's excellent new monograph on the variation. 6. .. h6 7 Rgl? I Karpov has recently tried 7 g5 and 7h4 in this position and both moves seem preferable. As the game develops Karpov never manages to justify the weaknesses created by his sixth move. 7. .. Bel 811e3 Nc6 9 Bet a6 10 Qd2 Nxd4 11 Qxd4 e51 12 Qd2 Bch 13 Bf3?! Relegating the B to a passive role which it retains for the rest of the game. 13 0-0-0, though somewhat risky, was a better way of deterring... d5. 13... Nd7 14 Nd5 Bg5 15 0-0-0 Rc8 16 Kbl BxdS 17 exd5 After 17 Qxd5 Bxe3 18 fxe3 the weakness of White's pawns is more important than the weakness of Black's d6 pawn. 17... Nc5 18 Rh 1 Qf6 19 Bg2 Bxe3 20 fxe3 Qh4 21 Bf3 0-0 Black now has a marked long-term advantage bas- ed on his superior N, control of the dark squares and the weakness of White's pawns. White's only chance is to break open the K-side but he never manages to achieve this. 22 Qel Qd8 23 e4?! Gain- ing space but creating a new target for Black. 23... Qb6 24 Qe3 Qb5 25 h4 Criticised by Karpov himself, but it is hard to find a significant improvement. 25... Na4 26 Qb3 Rc5 27 Rh3?! 27 Rd3 was a little better. 27... RfcS 28 c3 118c7 29 Kal?! (see move 32!) 29... Qd7 30 Be2 b5 31 a3 a5 32 Kbl Rb7 33 Rg3 g6 34 g5 h5! Underlining the failure of White's whole strategy by snuffing out his K-side offensive. 35 Bfl R5c7 36 Qc2 (Diagram) 36... b4! After careful preparation
Position after 36 Qc2
Timman opens up the position with decisive effect. 37 axb4 axb4 38 c4 b3 39 Qg2 Rb4 40 Qh3 Qxh3! A mature decision. Timman eschews nebulous attacking possibilities in preference for an ending in which most of White's pawns seem to be suffering from Dutch elm disease. 41 Rxh3 Nc5 42 Kcl If White tried to defend his e-pawn the Dutch fleet would sail triumphantly up the a-file. 42... Nxe4 43 Re3 Nc5 44 Kd2 Na4 45 Rcl Nxb2 46 c5 Rd4 + 47 Keg Rxc5 48 Rxc5 dxc5 49 Rxb3 Nxc4 50 Rc3 Rxh4 51 Kel Re4 + White resigns. None too soon!
Finally, the Western European Zonal tour- nament ended this week in a fourfold tie bet- ween three English players — Mestel, Nunn and Stean — and Dutchman Van der Wiel, all with 41/2/7. They will play off later to decide which three go forward to the Inter- zonal.
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