SIMPSON'S
IN-THE-STRAND
CHESS
SIMPSON'S
IN-THE-STRAND
Dedicated to Diana
Raymond Keene
WATCHING the television tributes to Diana, Princess of Wales, I was struck by her ubiquity. Here she was being welcomed by Mother Teresa in Calcutta, there she was on the steps of Government House with President Mandela and again she appeared in Moscow with Boris Yeltsin. Simultaneously, she appeared to visit an incredible number of hospitals around the world, while still finding time to drop in for tea with incalculable numbers of ordinary citizens, many of whom did not even seem to be expecting her arrival. After a while, I began to believe that these were fantasy apparitions, rather like simultaneous appearances in far-flung and widely sepa- rated locations by shamans, mystics or mediaeval saints. Then I recalled that Diana was, in fact, the only royal ever to have attended a game in a world chess championship. Yes, the chess world had been touched by her too. Indeed, the apparitions were not so much fantasy as evidence of a life which must have been led with incredible pace and variety.
The game in question was Kasparov's win in game seven of his 1993 world cham- pionship match against Nigel Short in London's Savoy Theatre. Just after the opening, when we glanced at the royal box, a well-known figure was, to our surprise, studying the moves on stage. She did not stay for long, but at least she made the effort. In commemoration of the Princess, here is the game she watched.
Kasparov—Short: World Championship Match, London, 1993; Ruy Lopez.
1 e4 e5 2 Nf3 Nc6 3 Bb5 a6 4 Ba4 Nf6 5 0-0 Be7 6 Rel b5 7 Bb3 0-0 8 a4 Sidestepping the Marshall (which would occur after 8 c3 d5) as in games one and three from this match. Kasparov's choice of opening is most intelligent — he pre- pared against Short's style rather than specific moves. 8 ... Bb7 9 d3 d6 10 Nbd2 Nd7 We are already in uncharted territory. Conventionally, when White avoids the Marshall he tends not to follow up with Nbd2 and c3. 11 c3 Nc5 12 axb5 axb5 13 Rxa8 Bxa8 Perhaps 13 ... Qxa8 is an improvement. 14 Bc2 Bf6 15 b4 Ne6 16 Nfl Bbl 17 Ne3 g6 18 Bb3 Bg7 19 h4 Bc8 Worth consid- ering is 19 ... h5, to stop the white pawn dead in its tracks. 20 h5 KM 21 Nd5 (Diagram) 21 ...g5 Position after 21 Nd5
After this move, Short's chances of counterplay are seriously limited. Better would have been 21
. gxh5. 22 Ne3 Nf4 23 g3 NxhS 24 Nf5 BxfS 25 exf5 Qd7 26 Bxg5 h6 (Diagram) 27 Nh4 Kaspar- ov identified this move as an error, preferring instead to continue with 27 Kg2, when a sample variation is 27 ... Qxf5 28 Rh1 Nf6 29 Qc1 Ng8 30 Bd5 Nce7 31 Bxe7 Nxe7 32 Rxh6+ Bxh6 33 Qxh6+ Kg8 34 Be4 with a winning attack. 27 Nf6 28 Bxf6 Bxf6 29 Qh5 Kh7 30 Ng2 Here Kasparov again criticised his own handling of the attack, identifying 30 Nf3 Ne7 31 d4 exd4 32 Position after 26 . h6 cxd4 Ng8 with a big advantage for White, as the best way to play. 30 ...Ne7 31 Ne3 Ng8 32 d4 exd4 33 cxd4 Bxd4 This greedy capture loses the game. Short had to play 33 ... Bg5 or 33 ...Kg7. 34 Ng4 The end is looming. If Short tries to defend with 34 ... Bf6 then White wins with a superb queen sacrifice: 35 Qxh6+ Nxh6 36 Nxf6+ followed by taking the black queen. 34 ...Kg7 (Diagram) 35 Nxh6!! Kasparov crash- Position after 34 . . . Kg7 es through. Another beautiful variation could have arisen here. If Black responds 35 Nxh6 then 36 Qg5+ Kh7 37 Bc2 Bf6 38 Qxf6 Re8 39 Rx6 fxe6 (39 ...Ng8 40 Qh4+ Kg7 41 f6+ Kf8 42 Rxe8+ Qxe8 43 Qg5 and White wins) 40 fxe6+ with a simple win. 35 ...Bf6 36 Bxf7 Black resigns If 36 ... Nxh6 37 Qg6+ or if 36 ... Rxf7 37 Qg6+ both leading to checkmate.
Previous page
