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OHRA
William Hartston
Willi Iclicki
Roger Lancaster
Annotations by:
Garry Kasparov
Lajos Portisch
John Nunn
Raymond Keene
Andrew Martin
BBC
Chess Classic
Tournament organiser
CONTENTS
Game No.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
Portisch v Short
Nunn vKasparov
Korchnoi v Huhner
Short v Huhner
Kasparov vKorchnoi
Portisch v Nunn
Nunn v Short
Korchnoi v Portisch
Hubner vKasparov
Short vKasparov
Portisch v Huhner
Nunn vKorchnoi
Korchnoi v Short
Hubner v Nunn
Kasparov v Portisch
Short v Portisch
Kasparov v Nunn
Huhner vKorchnoi
Huhner v Short
Korchnoi vKasparov
Nunn v Portisch
Short vNunn
Portisch vKorchnoi
Kasparov v Huhner
Kasparov v Short
Huhner v Portisch
Korchnoi v Nunn
Short vKorchnoi
Portisch vKasparov
Nunn v Huhner
Final Crosstable
Page
9
14
24
36
51
64
72
83
94
106
119
125
132
137
143
158
167
173
184
192
197
206
212
219
230
241
248
262
273
278
286
!Uii[S) /A\
Yllnllf'\V
AS"Ufl.NCES
VfRZEKERiNGrN
ROUND ONE:
Portisch
Nunn
Korchnoi
1/z: lfz
0: 1
1:0
Short
Kasparov
Hubner
GAME ONE
PORTISCH .. SHORT
1 d4 e6 2 c4 Q.6 3 Q.3 d5 4 Q.c3 Ae7 5 JigS
6 e3 h6 7 Ax6 x6 8 ..cl a6 9 a3 c6 10
d3 Q.d7 1 1 00 b5 12 cxb5 cxb5 13 Ah1
b7 14 a4 bxa4 15 Q.xa4 ..c8 16 d3 g6 1 7
b4 .Qc6 1 8 '{Wb3 Axa4 1 9 -lWxa4 Q.b8 20 Ad3
oo
11z:1/z
GAME ONE
PORTISCH .. SHORT
10
ll:z:ll:z
11
GAME ONE
Portisch .. Short
The famous 'fight for
tempo'. Portisch does not
want to develop his King's
Bishop and lose a tempo to
. . . dxc4. He also hopes
eventually to drop his KB
back to a2 when it does
reach c4. However, Short
has a quite different idea in
mind from . .. dxc4 . 9 c2
seems more to the point than
Portisch's a 3 .
.
c6
9
10 kd3
Now 10 ... dxc4 1 1 kxc4
b5 1 2 ka2 would favour
White.
10 . . .
Q.d7
1 1 0-0
1 1 cS e5! does not promise
White much.
1 1 .. .
b5!
An excellent equalising
idea. Portisch had probably
been expecting 1 1 ... dxc4
12 Axc4 e5.
12 cxb5
cxb5
13 $ib 1
1 3 e4 dxe4 14 G.xe4 $ib7
1 5 Q.d6 $id5 is fine for
Black , as is 1 3 a4 b4 14 Q.b 1
b6 1 5 Q.bd2 $ib7.
13 . ..
$ib7
14 a4
bxa4
Now that White has with
drawn his Bishop to b 1 this is
e6
1 d4
2 c4
Declining the invitation
(via 2 e4) to a French, one of
Nigel's first loves.
(}.f6
2
d5
3 Q.f3
4 G.c3
ke7
0-0
5 $;,.g5
6 e3
h6
7 kxf6
Kasparov's favourite.
Axf6
7
a6!?
8 .cl
Axa4
13
GAME TWO
NUNN KASPAROV
..
14
GAME TWO
NUNN- KASPAROV
15
16
GAME TWO
Nunn
..
Kasparov
1 e4
c5
2 Glf3
d6
cxd4
3 d4
4 Glxd4 Glf6
a6
5 Glc3
6 Jd.gS
Nunn appears ready for a
theoretical duel. Against
Kasparov this is a very
dangerous game to play.
e6
6 .
b6
7 f4
8 d3!?
Usual is 8 d2
8
xb2
a3
9 !!b1
10 f5
Ae7!
After 10 . . . aS !? 1 1 c4
d8 1 2 id.d2 cS Jadoul
Nunn Brussels 1 98S, Nunn
gives 1 3 fxe6! bS 14 d3 fxe6
1 S a4 ! with a winning
position for White.
Why not 1 0 . . . Glc6? Black
then has a choice after 1 1
fxe6 fxe6 12 Glxc6 bxc6 1 3 eS
17
17
.
g7!
Kasparov aims to safety his
King with .. : .. g8 and r:tih8
and then win with his extra
pawn. White must do some
thing quick .
18 .. b3
1 8 ae4 :.d8!
18
..
t;'a5
18 . . . t;'cS 19 ae4
19- oo
.. g8
20 h1
h8
.
ds
0: 1
Not at all premature.
White's a pawn down and he
doesn't have any .g ood
27
!! f2
19
NUNN KASPAROV
..
Rd2
c5
1 e4
d6
2 G1f3
cd
3 d4
4 G1xd4 G1f6
a6
5 G1c3
6 l;t g5
KASPAROV: This is the first
time in my praxis to play
against l;tgS . Of course
I have prepared it carefully,
but Karpov always played
l;te2 and quiet positions in
Scheveningen var i ations.
Now I have my first chance
to show my preparation in
the sharpest line of the
Najdorf variation.
e6
6
7 f4
KASPAROV: t1'b6 ts the
most principled line. Of
course I have analysed other
lines in this variation, but
this is, in my opinion, the
most principled. I am a little
worried because I know that
John is big specialist in this
line.
t1'b6
7
NUNN: This is a rather
unpleasant surprise for me.
I play this variation myself
with Black and over the
years I've been trying to
convince myself that it really
is good for Black and now
I've got to try and convince
position.
23
{8
24 h5
g7
NUNN: Well, he didn't fall
for the trap of taking on e4.
I can play l;ie8 here and win
the pawn on c6, but I'm still
left one pawn down and the
most serious defect of my
position is now that his
bishops are going to become
extremely active. In fact my
position appears to be not
only materially worse but
even worse from the strategic
point of view. Well I'll play
l;ie8, it's forced in any case.
a5
25 Aes
26 Axc6
KASPAROV: 26 . . . l;ia6,
then if 27 Axa8, Axfl is
winning. Maybe the best
move is 27 li,b5 , then I can
play 27 . . . a4 28 .b l Axb5
29 f!xb5 c8 winning
again. Okay, Aa6; I can't see
a defence. If he plays f2 or
.f3 I play .d8 or f!c8. It
doesn't matter. I've an easy
winning position.
26
l;i a6
.d8
27 . f2
NUNN: Well, it's time to
survey the position. I'm a
pawn down; my back rank is
collapsing; my knight on e4
is about to drop off; and I am
playing the world champion:
Perhaps I'd better resign at
this moment .
0:1
23
GAME THREE
KORCHNOI .. HOBNER
1 a3 dS 2 c4 c6 3 e3 a6 4 ac3 e6 5 d4
ahd7 6 Ad3 Ah4 1 a3 Aas 8 o.o o.o 9 cz
e7 10 cd ed 1 1 Adz d8 1 2 aez Ab6 13
ag3 . e8 14 b4 a6 1 s Ac3 a8 16 .ael
Ae6 11 aes a6d7 18 f4 f6 19 a3 Ac7 zo
adz ah6 2 1 Aa l Ji,J 7 22 afs h8 23 a4
ac8 24 Q.b3 Q.d6 25 aS Q.xfS 26 AxfS Ad6
2 7 Ac3 Ag6 28 i;i.xg6 axg6 29 fs a8 30 e4
c7 3 1 eS fe 32 de AxeS 33 .. xeS ..xeS 34
f6 gf 35 .. xf6 g8 36 f2 .. ae8 37 ..xf8 +
.. xf8 38 g3 + g7 39 xg7 + xg7 40
AxeS + g6 4 1 acs .e8 42 isl.d4 ..e2 43
axh7 ..d2 44 Ae3 ..bz 45 Acs fs 46
Q.ds d4 47 Axd4 .. xb4 48 Ab6 ..c4 49
Q.b7 f4 so Q.cs .. c l + 51 f2 ..c2 + 52
e l .. c l + 53 e2 13.c2 + 54 d3 .. xg2 55
axa6 eS 56 c1.c7 .. xh2 57 a6 .. a2 58 a7
.. a3 + 59 e2 ..a2 + 60 f3 .. a3 + 61 /i,.e3
cS 62 aS .. xa8 63 axa8 c4 64 ac7 1 :0
24
GAME THREE
KORCHNOI .. HUBNER
25
26
27
28
1:0
29
GAME THREE
Korchnoi .. Huhner
1 Q.3
d5
2 c4
c6
Q.6
3 e3
4 G.c3
e6
Q.bd7
5 d4
6 Ad3
Ah4
7 a3
7 0-0 0-0 8 Ad2 'ttfe 7 (8 . . .
de 9 Axc4 Ad6 10 'ttfc2 eS
1 1 ae1 'ttfe7 is Larsen
Flear London 1986.) 9 a3
Ad6 10 cS Ac7 11 e4 de 12
Axe4 G.xe4 13 G.xe4 dB
14 'ttfc1 Q.fB was in Portisch
-Huhner, Tilburg 1986.
Aa5!?
7
Inviting White to set up a
Q-side bind in due course
with b4. In a later round
Huhner was to try 7 .. . Ba5
against Kasparov (see game
24) and lost ignominiously. It
seems that 6 . . . Ab4, the
invention of the Italian
Master Ronih, frowned on
ever since 1948, really is
inferior.
0-0
8 0-0
9 'ttf c2
'ttl e 7
10 cxd5
Forest a l l i ng
B l a ck 's
possible plan of . . . dxc4 and
... eS. After 10 Ad2 dxc4 11
Axc4 eS 12 ae1 Ac7 13
G.e4 Botvinnik
Euwe
World Ch. 1948 is reached,
which is considered' in
White's favour.
10 . . .
exd5
10 . . . cxdS 11 b4 Ab6 (11
. . . Ac7?! 11 . . . .&dB?!) 12
G. a 4 g i v e s W h i t e a
tremendous initiative.
1 1 Ad2
'ttl ds
30
27 Ac3
28 Axg6
29 f5
Huhner's play is posit
ionally impeccable as he
gradually swaps off White's
aggressive pieces and avoids
weaknesses, but all the time
White is gradually encroach
ing on him, gaining time and
space.
30 e4
t!Yc7
30 . dxe4 3 1 .xe4 t!Yd7 ! ?
may b e a better defence. The
text allows a tactical trick.
. .
31
e5!
31
38 t;-g3+
Wins the exposed Rook
on eS.
38
t;-g7
39 xg7+ Wxg7
40 Axe5+ g6
4 1 (]:.c5
..e8
42 Ad4
e2
The passive 42 . . . ..e7
allows W h i t e to p u s h
forward his K-side pawn
majority at his leisure .
Hubner seeks to confuse the
issue.
43 (]:.xb7
.. d2
44 Ae3
..b2
f5
45 Ac5
d4
46 (]:.d8
4 7 Axd4
.. b4
48 Ab6
..c4
49 (]:.b7
5 3 e2
54 d3
55 axa6
56 ac7
5 7 a6
58 a7
59 e2
60 f3
6 1 e3
.. c2 +
.. xg2
e5
.. xh2
!!a2
..a3 +
.. a2 +
.. a3 +
c5
62 aS
.. xa8
63 axa8
c4
64 ac7
Black resigns.
T h e r e lS n o p o i n t
speculating on Korchnoi's
ability to win with B + N v R!
33
ROUND TWO:
Hubner
Korchnoi
Nunn
1:0
1/z:1/z
Vz:1/z
...
35
11/z;
GAME FOUR
SHORT
..
HUBNER
36
GAME FOUR
SHORT .. HOBNER
37
38
1:0
41
GAME FOUR
Short .. Huhner
pawn on e4 in preparation
for a storm on the King's
flank with his g and h pawns.
As in so many contemporary
versions of the Sicilian, Black
at first neglects his overall
development in favour of
establishing an aggressive
Q-side configuration.
Q.b6
10 g4
Eyeing c4, and making
room for the KN to retreat to
d7 .
1 1 h4
!! c8?
This is too provocative.
Black should take time off to
develop at least some of his
kingside pieces with 11 . . .
Ae7!
1 2 G.cxb5! axb5
13 Axb5 + Q.fd7
14 b4
1 e4
c5
2 GM3
d6
3 d4
cxd4
4 axd4 Q.f6
5 G.c3
a6
6 Ae3
6 AgS is beginning to look
less convincing in view of the
revival of the Poison Pawn
variation. See, for example,
Kasparov's demolition of
John Nunn in round one. 6
Ae3 is Short's favourite and
is considerably less well
documented than most
alternatives against the
Najdorf.
6
e6
7 d2
b5
8 3
Ab7
9 0-0-0
ahd7
W h i t e ' s s t r a t e gy i s
relatively simple, if hard to
meet. Short overprotects the
42
42
43
44
..g l
..e l
Af4
$le2
f3
. . .
44
h3
59 a6
60 Axg3
Black resigns.
Black might have spared
himself the last few moves.
This is the type of game
45
SHORT..HUBNER
Rd2
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
s
9
10
11
e4
Gl f3
d4
Glxd4
Glc3
i.le3
d2
f3
0-0-0
c5
d6
cxd4
Glf6
a6
e6
b5
Ah7
Glbd7
Gl b6
g4
h4
c8
SHORT: Well, this guy is
really tempting me here.
With his previous move 10 .
Glb6 we've entered territory
which I don't know anything
about. I assume he analysed
..
46
Phase Three
It looks like a winning position.
16
17
18
19
20
21
Jlg5 +
Axd7
ahs
axd6
axc8 +
axb3
$i.e7
Wxd7
t;'c4
t;'xb3
Wxcs
f6
Phase Two
Cause for optimism
12
13
14
15
acxb5
jtxb5 +
t;'b4
t;-bJ
axb5
afd7
t;'c7
Wds
I'm s l i gh t l y
surprised by the turn of
events because really it's
been very easy for me. I
sacrificed a piece for two
pawns and a check , which is
always adequate compen,
sation in my eyes , but now
surely this is just a winning
posttton. I mean three
pawns, they must decide the
day. I can see that it may be a
little bit tricky here because
he has two bishops and I
imagine he's going to do
e ve r y t h i n g p o s s i b l e t o
preserve them. If I can
exchange a pair of bishops
his defence will collapse
almost instantly, so this is
really my problem. If I play
SHORT :
K i ng d8, my
goodness! This is really
asking for trouble. I mean
Jlxd7 is very strong here.
But I'm tempted by this
move JlgS + . What does he
do then? He can't return his
king to e8 because of axe6;
and f6 allows axe6; and af6
allows eS. Well, I guess t;'e7
is his only move, but then his
d,pawn will be dropping off.
I'm really quite surprised but,
SHORT :
47
possibilities. My pawn on h6
is weak now. He has ..g6
hitting it and his gpawn
advancing up the board. I
can't help thinking that I
should have had some much
easier way. I'm not sure what
but this whole endgame has
been very difficult much
m o r e d i ffi c u l t t h a n I
imagined when he first went
into it. He's generated a lot
of play and not only that,
but I'm running short of
time. Ten moves in ten
minutes, and the position
is extremely complicated. I
don't quite know what to do.
I've got four passed pawns,
but where are they going? It's
not so easy to advance these
guys. I want to play c4, but
he has, well, g4 or ..g6,
many possibilities. The
clock's ticking away. I don't
know; maybe if I try and
swing my rook over to the
queenside, ..g3. This gives
me some possibilities of
..c3 +. I don't know exactly,
I haven't time to calculate it
properly.
Phase Four
Doubts begin to set in.
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
A4
Ad6
h5
gx5
.. hg l
!! d4
fxe4
h6
-'ic6
Ads
5
ex5
.. g8
fxe4
Ae8
g5
Phase Five
"He's really screwed it up.
The game's as good as over."
30
31
32
33
34
.. g3
e5
.Qc5
.. xd8 +
Axh6 +
g4
.ii d 7
A5
xd8
d7
Phase Six
Perhaps not so easy after all.
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
c4
d2
e3
c3
b4
b5
.i.icl
.. g l
e6
.. g6
xe5
e4
ilt f3
e4
d6
e2
49
Phase Seven
Oversight, near panic,
and a win by one tempo.
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
!! e l
k4
c7
.. xe6
<l!td4
<;!tc5
g3
<;!tc6
<;!93
..e6
xc4
xe6
Ac8
We4
W5
Wg5
Christ! I didn't
even notice that move was
legal. It's incredible how I've
been playing this game. Just
like I've been in a trance. For
some reason I was only
considering Wg6 when I play
kf4. This is ridiculous.
Maybe he has some drawing
chances here. My h-pawn is
going and he h as two
SHORT:
50
GAME FIVE
KASPARQV ..KORCHNOI
1 d4 (j;,f6 2 c4 e6 3 af3 Ah4 + 4 Ad2 cs s g3
b6 6 j},g2 (j;,c6 7 dS ed 8 cd axdS 9 00
ade7 10 e4 d6 1 1 Ae3 c7 12 a3 Aas 1 3
Af4 aes 14 b 4 e h 1 s a b Axb4 16 a4 +
a7c6 1 7 (j;,d4 aS 18 ac3 Ad7 19 ads d8
20 (j;,fS 0-0 2 1 d1 Acs 22 .. c l a4 23 g4 a3
24 gS a2 2S hS Axf5 26 ef Ad4 2 7 AxeS
axeS 28 Ae4 .. e8 29 ..c7 a 1 30 .. xa 1
..xa 1 + 3 1 g2 .. a2 32 .. e 7 .. xf2 + 3 3 g3
.. xe7 34 {6 {j;,g6 35 (j;,xe7 + \t;f8 36 xh7
Axf6 37 axg6 + fg 38 xf2 b6 + 39 \tlg2
b2 + 40 'l!lh3 AxgS 4 1 xg6 {6 42
xf6 + 1/z:l/z
51
GAME FIVE
KASPAROV - KORCHNOI
52
53
54
GAME FIVE
Kasparov .. Korchnoi
The game which follows is
incredible and dramatic.
Kasparov sacr ifices two
pawns speculatively, then
two rooks, even more so, and
still draws. It reminds me of
some of Alekhine's berserk
attacks. I have always
maintained that Alekhine's
fiery spirit lives on in
Kasparov. I have even heard
it said that Alekhine has
b e en r e i n c a r n a t e d in
Kasparov! Maybe for then
who believes in such things.
Of the three old giants,
Lasker , Capablanca and
Alekhine, only Alekhine
revelled in such wild
experimental adventures .
Just compare these three
games of his for sheer
speculative bravado:
Alekhine, 1 935
Euwe
World Ch. ( 12)
1 d4 Gf6 2 e4 g6 3 Ge3 d5
4 b3 de 5 xc4 i;lg7 6 e4
o.o 7 Gf3 a6 8 Af4 b5! 9
xe7 e8? 10 Ae2 Gc6
1 1 d5 Gb4?! 12 00 Gxe4
1 3 Gxe4 Gxd5 10 36
Alekhine Euwe, World
Ch. 1 935 (25)
Alekhine even exper
imented when his world title
hung in the balance!
1 d4 d5 2 e4 c6 3 Q.f3 Q.f6
4 Gc3 e6 5 jlg5 Q.hd7 6
e3 a5 7 cd Gxd5 8 d2
G7b6 9 Ad3 Gxe3 10 be
ads 1 1 !! c l axe3 12 0-0
Ab4 1 3 a3 xa3 14 !! a 1
b3 1 5 Ac2 d5 16 e4
xe4 1 7 xb4 Gxg5 18
Ge5 a5 19 tf"a3 f6 20
i;l g6 + ?! hg 2 1 G xg6
Q.f3 + ! 0- 1 40
Alekhine, 1 937
Eu we
World Ch. ( 19)
1 d4 a6 2 c4 e6 3 Gc3
i;lb4 4 Q.f3 Ge4 5 e2 d5
6 e3 c5 7 i;ld3 Q.f6 8 cd ed
9 de Axc5 10 0-0 Q.c6 1 1
e4 Ae7 1 2 e5 Q.g4 13 !! e 1
Gh4 14 i;lbs + f8 15
e2 i;lc5 16 Q.d 1 i;lf5 1 7
h3 h5 .112-112 49
Only half a point for this
effort, but Alekhine is still
admired for his courage.
1 d4
Q.f3
e6
2 e4
Ah4 +
3 a3
4 i;ld2
c5
A few years ago everybody
said: "5 Axb4 cxb4 with
advantage to White", since
the cS pawn vanishes away
from the centre. Now, we
realise that White cannot
develop his QN to c3, it's
55
ed
7 d5
G.xd5
8 cd
Q.de7
9 0-0
10 e4
White has a lead in
development, play against
Black's exposed Q and
pressure on the d-file for his
sacrificed pawn.
10
d6
1 1 Ae3
11
f4
deserves
consideration, probably met
by 1 1 . . . d4.
t!Yc7
11
Aa5
1 2 a3
G.e5
1 3 A4
14 b4!?
56
a5
1 7 Uld4
18 Ulc3
At last White can develop
his QN to its 'best square',
but at the cost of two pawns.
If now 18 . . . Axc3 19 Ulb5 !
18
.Q.d7
19 Ulds
t;-d8
o,o
20 Ulfs
2 1 dl
Typical Kasparov, they
say, but he must, in any case
get his Q away from the
diagonal of Black's QB. But
a4 (b3 or c2) to d l occurs
so often in Kasparov games.
One idea is to attack Black's
King, which has usually fled
to the K-side. Soon, very
soon, h5 comes.
Ac5
21
a4
22 !! c l
Korchnoi, very sensibly,
advances his passed a-pawn.
Black is two connected
passed pawns up and is, of
c o u r s e , w i n n i n g . It i s
remarkable that Kasparov
got any chances at all. At the
start of these notes I showed
three Alekhine games. One
could also compare the
second game of Kasparov's
first match with Karpov.
23 g4
a3
a2
24 g5
25 h5
W h i t e ' s p l i g h t is s o
desperate that there is even
an argument for 25 axg7
xg7 26 hS. This whole
scenario reminds me of Reti's
imaginative description of a
similar situation (slow King's
attack in competition with
massive Q-side superiority)
from a game Pillsbury
-Tarrasch, Hasting 1 89 5 :
"We are all familiar with the
film dramas, in which the
hero or heroine is i n
imminent danger of death,
whilst at the same time other
developments are taking
place with a view to rescue
. . . " (eg. heroine tied to rails,
w h i l e fa s t , e n o r m o u s
locomotive approaches . . . )
"The audience follows the
action and counteraction in
breathless suspense, for to all
appearances the rescuer will
arrive on the scene too late.
Only at the very last
moment, when all hope has
been abandoned, is the tragic
end averted." (Masters of the
Chess Board).
25
26
27
57
ef
.Q.xe5
xf5
..Q.d4
Ulxe5
58
38 <cf9xf2
The position is chaotic
,both players are in desperate
time trouble. White . has been
two Rooks down, gets one
back, saw he can take
another. Maybe that's a
mistake. After 38 AdS I
don't see Black's win, eg. 38
.. :-- t;-b6 39 t;-g8 + <cf9e7 40
gf+ gf 4 1 tt'f7 + <cf9d8 42
59
KASPAROV ..KORCHNOI
Rd2
1
2
3
4
d4
c4
af3
d2
e6
h4 +
11
e3
62
. xa 1 +
. a2
KASPAROV: Now the only
chance is a very unusual
move. ae7 and f6, that's
nothing. Only 32 .e7. He
couldn't have expected it.
This is a chance. Okay, he
won't like this move.
32 . e7
KORCHNOI: I think ag6
wins. ag6 wins! No. What is
he threatening? I don't
understand. I take it. I have
one more move in time
trouble.
. xf2 +
32
. xe7
33 g3
KASPAROV: What is he
doing? He takes on e 7. This
is my only chance. Now he
has two extra rooks and two
pawns, but I have a threat of
mate in two moves. This is
my chance.
ag6
34 6
KASPAROV: Okay, take on
e7. Hey, maybe it's really a
draw. Or maybe I give him
mate. Who knows?
35 axe7 +
KORCHNOI: Can I take on
e7? God knows what's better.
I can't calculate it, but it
looks dangerous. I go away.
35
{8
KASPAROV: Unfortunately
he missed 3 5 ... axe 7 36 fxe 7
and I could even win the
position. Now I take on h 7 ,
3 6 xh 7 and if h e plays , 36
.
1/z : l/z
63
GAME SIX
PORTISCH NUNN
..
64
GAME SIX
PORTISCH
65
..
NUNN
66
GAME SIX
Portisch
1 d4
2 a3
3 c4
4 g3
5 g2
The solid fianchetto is
one of Portisch's favourite
systems against the King's
Indian.
5
.
c6
Rather than play 5 .. . d6,
leading to a normal King's
Indian, Nunn opts for a
more solid continuation.
Black prepares a stake out
in the centre with d7-d5.
dS
6 ac3
cxdS
7 cxdS
8 aes
U ncovering the fi a n
chettoed Bishop and hoping
for pressure against the Black
pawns.
8
e6
9 o.o
GMd 7
..
Nunn
Popularised by Kasparov as
an equalising weapon against
Karpov, so now everybody's
playing it. On the other
hand 9 . . . GUd7 leads to a
rather tedious position
which doesn't really suit
John Nunn. Look at his
game against Kasparov later
on. 9 . . . abd7 is no good, eg.
1 0 f4 Q.hS 1 1 Q.xd7 jixd7
1 2 jigS h6 1 3 jie3 and
White stands better with
somewhat more space.
10 4
Familiar from Game 13 of
the last Kasparov-Karpov
match. A less dynamic
approach is 10 ao after
which 10 . . . ac6- 1 1 f4
a6 1 2 aes jid7 1 3 d2
axeS 14 xeS c6 gives
Black an easier path to
equality, Karpov-Kasparov
(3) London-Leningrad 1 986.
10
axeS
Well, Kasparov played 1 0
. . . f6 and a typical e4 versus
eS position was reached after
1 1 Q,f3 ac6 12 .Qe3 ab6 13
.Qf2 fS 1 4 aes .Qd7 1 5 d2
ac8
1 6 e3 h8!
Kasparov-Karpov ( 1 1 )
London-Leni ngrad 1 98 6 .
Later o n Black managed to
drum up some play on the
67
13
d7
Black has nothing better
68
Aes
19 fd1
19 . . . d4 20 G. e4
Afs
20 ac l
In the post mortem ,
Portisch pointed out the
interesting possibility 20 . . .
d4?! 2 1 G. e4 t;'xa2 22 Q. d6
=
69
ROUND THREE
1 :0
0: 1
0: 1
Short
Portisch
Kasparov
71
GAME SEVEN
NUNN.. SHORT
1 e4 e5 2 Q.f3 Q.c6 3 b5 a6 4 a4 Q.f6 5
0-0 $ie7 6 e 1 b5 7 $ib3 d6 8 c3 0-0 9 h3
Q.a5 10 c2 c5 1 1 d4 f!!c 7 12 Q.bd2 Q.c6 13
d5 Q.d8 14 Q.fl Q.e8 1 5 a4 b8 16 ab ab 1 7
b4 c4 18 Q.g3 g6 1 9 Q.h2 Q.g7 2 0 fl d7
2 1 f4 $ih4 22 f!if3 f5 23 fe de 24 ef $ixg3 25
f!! xg3 Q.xf5 26 f!if2 Q.b7 27 Q.g4 h5 28 .. a6
hg 29 xg6 + Q.g7 30 xg7 + 1 :0
72
GAME SEVEN
NUNN..SHORT
73
74
1:0
75
GAME SEVEN
Nunn
..
Short
most logical move. 1 3 dxcS
hoping for later occupation
of dS doesn't lead to much
after 13 . . . dxcS 14 an Ae6
1 5 G.e3 .. adS and Black has
other adequate plans.
13 . . .
Q.ds
The most flexible retreat
available. Black must hang
back for a while and try to
arrange f1-f5 by means of
G1f6-e8 and g7-g6. His
position is a tough nut to
crack but it does seem rather
short on counterplay. Other
moves don't improve; eg:
a) 1 3 . . . Q.a5 14 b3! Ad7
1 5 an Q.b7 16 c4 ..tb8 1 7
G1e3 Af8 ( 1 7 . . . bxc4! Keres)
1 8 G1f5 Q.d8 19 (.h2 with an
enduring initiative - Karpov
Anderssen Stockholm 1 969.
b) 13 . . . Q.b8 14 a4! Ab7 1
c4 b4 1 6 c.f1 Q.bd7 17 g4
+
Tsesh kovsky-Henry
Dresden 1 969. White has
successfully blocked the
queenside and can now turn
to his kingside attack with
every chance of success.
c) 1 3 . . . G.a7 14 an Ad7
1 5 g4 c.c8 1 6 (.g3 +
Klovan-Schneider )urmala
1 978. Black's pieces on the
queenside do not make a
good impression.
e5
1 e4
2 Q.f3
G.c6
3 Abs
a6
4 Aa4
Q.f6
5 0-0
Ae7
6 .. e 1
bS
d6
7 Ah3
Defending the Ruy Lopez
in this closed manner has
always seemed to me to be a
bit masochistic. Black has a
long hard fight to an equal
game.
0-0
8 c3
9 h3
G.a5
10 Ac2
c5
1 1 d4
t;-c7
12 Q.bd2 G.c6
76
17
c4
Nunn regards this as a
mistake preferring the more
flexible 1 7 . . . g6. 1 7 . . . c4
gives White a square on d4
for his Knight after a later
f2-f4 , exf4 and possibilities to
penetrate on the a-file with
Ae3 and .. a7.
Nigel feels that his position
should be stable enough to
weather any storm but this
assessment turns out to be
incorrect.
18 ag3
18 a3h2! f6 19 f4 af7 20
aB g6 2 1 f5 Q.g7 22 g4 +
K a r p o v - S p a s sk y U S S R
Championship 1 973.
18
g6
1 9 G.h2
20 . fl !
.
(iJ. g7
Prefacing an immediate
f2-f4 which is met by 20 . . .
Ah4! 2 1 f3 f5 ! with
counterplay.
20
$ld7?!
20 . . . f5 was right out, eg.
2 1 exf5 gxf5 22 $lh6 but 20
. . . f6 looks like the best
defense rushing the Knight
on d8 to a good square, eg.
2 1 f4 exf4 22 Axf4 Q.f7 !
Obviously White is better
after 23 Q.f3 ae5 24 Cild4
but Black's position would be
superior to the game.
$lh4
2 1 4
5
22 3
.
77
26
.
Gtb7
Intending (}.d4.
27 {}.g4
The storm warning signs
are posted for the black
King.
27
h5
2 7 . . . tid6 w a s a n
alternative but then White
comes round the angles with
the swoop 28 tfa 7! (intend,
ing 29 !! a6) and if now 28 . . .
tWxd5 then 2 9 tfxb8. After
28 tfa7 White is now in a
position to threaten the
strong move 29 !! a6!
28 !! a6!
Black's King is about to be
stripped of cover.
28 .
hxg4
28 ... h7 29 (}.f6 + g7
30 (}.xh5 + ! ! gxh5 3 1 j,th6 + !
h8 3 2 Axf8 !!xf8 3 3 g4
+ -.
29 .S: xg6 + {}. g7
30 !! xg7 + 1:0
If xg7 3 1 i;th6 mates in
two.
78
NUNN SHORT
Rd2
..
1 e4
e5
2 Q.f3
Q.c6
3 $ib5
a6
Q.f6
4 Aa4
5 0-0
Ae7
6 e1
b5
d6
7 Ab3
8 c3
0-0
9 h3
aa5
10 Ac2
c5
1 1 d4
.J;ff c7
12 Q.bd2
SHORT: My biggest problem
with my opening preparation
in this game was that I didn't
do any. The good reason for
this is that John and I
decided to save ourselves
lugging heavy suitcases
around and so we only took
half the books each and we
do our opening preparation
together. Now unfortunately
all the books are in John's
room. I'm sure he's been
preparing away quite merrily
there. So I think I'll play
something a little unusual.
Q.c6
12
13 d5
ads
NUNN: Well that knight
doesn't appear to have many
good moves, but later it
might manoeuvre its way to
the kingside. For example
Black might play Q.e8, then
g6 and f6 and Q.g7 and af7
79
17
b4
2 1 f3 , I think 2 1
f5 is
very unpleasant for White
because suddenly his pieces
become tactical weaknesses.
So I'm quite happy so far.
19
Glg7
NUNN: 20 f4 seems the
logical move, but he can play
20 . Ah4 which is slightly
annoying because my knight
will be pinned for a couple of
moves. It might be okay for
me, but I really don't want to
bother to work it out. In any
case I can just play a
preparatory move because
Black has no threat at the
moment. So I'll get my rook
off its present squar-e which
allows this nasty pin.
20 fl
SHORT : Hmm, I didn't
consider this move properly.
Somehow, I've been hoping
for a mistake from John, but
he doesn't seem to have
made any yet. Now what am
I supposed to do here? I don't
like the look of 20 . . f5 at all,
he simply takes 2 1 exf5 and if
2 1 . . gxf5 then 22 Jah6 is
slightly awkward. So what to
do? I can play 20 . . . h5, and
then if 2 1 f4, h4 , but it looks
terribly weakening. I have a
strong temptation to develop
this knight on d8, simply
playing 20 . . . f6, but then 2 1
f4 is coming, and if I take 2 1
. . exf4, he simply recaptures
and White has all the play.
His knight is coming to f3
. . .
That's a shame.
I know John doesn't have
very much experience with
these types of positions, but
he's playing it very sensibly. I
have a slight dilemma at the
moment, whether to allow
him at some point to take on
c5 or just to close the
position immediately. I'm
feeling slightly lazy today, so
I don't want to have to think
about bxc5 in all positons , so
I'll j ust close it with c4.
c4
17
NUNN: Oh that was easy.
He went c4 without me really
threatening to take on c5.
Now I've got an optimum
position on the queenside:
the a-file's open, I control it,
and also the e3-a7 diagonal is
opened so in some positions I
might be able to support my
rook going down to a 7.
Anyway I want to get going
on the kingside now , so I'll
continue my little knight
tour.
g6
18 Glg3
19 Gl h2
SHORT: Well obviously he's
i n t e n d i n g f4 at s o m e
moment. But this doesn't
seem like such a worry
immediately because if I
continue normally with 1 9 . .
Glg7 then if 2 0 f4 I have a
very annoying move 20 . .
Ah4 pinning his knight on
g3. Then if he defends with
SHORT:
..
80
82
hS
27
NUNN: Now is 28 .. a6
really as strong as I think? If
he takes the knight then 29
!!xg6 + Q.g7 is forced, 30
..xg7 + xg7 3 1 Ah6 +
then if 3 1 . . . xh6 32 h4 +
and h 7 mate. Yes, this
looks really crushing.
28 ..a6
SH ORT : My goodn e s s ,
where did that come from.
Oh that's stupid. I simply
overlooked this move. If I
take on g4 then ..xg6 leads
to a forced mate. Well what
can I do. If 28 . . . Q.bd6 then
29 G.xeS . If 28 . . g7 then
he can play 29 Ah6 + . Well,
I suppose it's not so surpris
ing. All his pieces are aimed
at my king. This is clearly
lost. Well, let's take a piece
and pray.
hxg4
28
29 .. xg6 + Q.g7
30 .. xg7 +
SHORT: It looks like the
end. My only question is
where I went wrong in this
game . It's not entirely
obvious to me. If 17 . . . c4
really was the decisive
mistake, it's a very difficult
position for Black. Anyway
time to give up.
.
1 :0
GAME EIGHT
KORCHNOI .. PORTISCH
1 Gl3 c5 2 h3 Gl6 3 Ah2 e6 4 e3 Ae7 5 d4
cd 6 ed oo 7 Q.bd2 b6 8 Ad3 Ah7 9 a3 d6 10
oo Q.hd7 1 1 !!e1 !! e8 1 2 c4 A8 1 3 Ac2
!!c8 14 b4 g6 1 5 Aa4 Ac6 16 Axc6 !! xc6 1 7
b3 !!c7 18 !! ac l tt'a8 1 9 d3 Ah6 20
!!c3 e5 2 1 de de 22 tt'e2 e4 23 Q.d4 G.e5 24
!! h3 Ag7 25 Q.4b3 Q.d3 26 Ax6 Gl4 21
e3 Q.xh3 + 28 gh Ax6 29 Glxe4 rJJ g 7 30
Q.bd2 !!d7 3 1 3 d8 32 Q.1 Ad4 33
G.e3 !! de7 34 Q.d5 5 35 G.xe7 . xe7 36
rJ)g2 !! xe4 37 !! xe4 fe 38 xe4 g5 + 39
rt;1 tt'e5 40 b7 + rJ)h6 4 1 t\'xa7 4 42
rJ;e2 2 + 0: 1
83
GAME EIGHT
KORCHNOI .. PORTISCH
84
85
86
GAME EIGHT
Korchnoi .. Portisch
c5
1 (}.f3
2 b3
(}.6
Black could play to blot
out White's fianchetto with 2
. . . d6, intending 3 . . . eS. In
that event Korchnoi would
probably have delayed -'Lc l
b2 w aiting for Black to
declare his intentions. g2-g3
and fl-g2 would be one
way to do this.
3 Ah2
e6
4 e3
Ae7
cxd4
5 d4
6 exd4
0-0
7 (}.bd2 b6
8 Ad3
Ah7
d6
9 a3
10 0-0
(}.bd7
We have transposed to a
variation of the 4 e3 Queen's
Indian and it's a position
which doesn't really confer
much advantage to White.
It's difficult to do without
87
20 ..c3?
20 !!c2 was no better
when 20 . . . !!ec8 2 1 Q,b 3 aS!
is more than adequate for
Black but 20 h4! , intending
2 1 G,gS and 22 G,de4 was a
good plan.
e5!
20
So m a ny exclamation
marks but Portisch is playing
very fine chess. By contrast
20 . . . !!ec8 is less to the
32 {]:.fl
d4
33 Q.e3
..de7
Intending f7-f5 +
34 {]:.d5 ?
f5!
35 G:.xe7
.. xe7!
If 3 5 ... t1'xe7 he can play
36 t\'d 1
36 Wg2
.. xe4
37 xe4
fxe4
38 t\'xe4
A last hope in time
trouble.
38
t\'g5 +
39 Wfl
t\'e5
40 t\'b7 + Wh6
41 tfxa7
tff4
42 We2
t\'e4 +
0: 1
-
26 xf6
27 t\'e3
28 gxh3
29 Ghe4
30 {]:.bd2
30 t\'f4 e5!
30
Intending 31
31 t\'f3
.
{]:.f4!
{]:.xh3 +
xf6
Wg7
d7
. xd2!
t\'d8
Martin, Portisch
KORCHNQI.. PORTISCH
Rd 3
91
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
Q,ds
axe7
g2
xe4
t1-xe4
'tlfl
t1'b7 +
t1-xa7
'$;e2
0:1
93
fS
xe7
xe4
fe
t1'g5 +
t1'e5
'$;h6
t1'f4
t1'f2 +
GAME NINE
HOBNER..KASPAROV
1 d4 G:.6 2 c4 g6 3 G:.c3 d5 4 Q.3 ltg7
5 a4 + .Ad7 6 b3 de 7 xc4 oo 8 e4 b5
9 b3 c5 10 e5 Q.g4 1 1 -'Lxb5 cd 1 2 G:.xd4
itxb5 13 Q.dxb5 a6 14 G:.a3 d4 1 5 c2
G:.c6 16 e2 tfxe5 1 7 xe5 Q.gxe5 18 oo
Q.d3 19 !! b 1 !!ab8 20 !!d1 !! fd8 2 1 <ttt1 5
2 2 e2 G:.ce5 23 G:.a4 !! d6 24 J;te3 4 25
itc5 f3 + 26 gf G:.4 + 2 7 e3 !! 6 28 J;txe7
Q.g2 + 29 e2 !! xf3 30 itd6 G:.4 + 3 1 1
Q.g4 3 2 !! d2 !! e8 33 G:.c4 G:.xh2 + 34 g1
Q.g4 35 !! fl J;td4 36 itc5 !! g3 + 37 h 1
!!h3 + 38 g1 Q.h2 0: 1
94
GAME NINE
HUBNER..KASPAROV
95
96
0: 1
97
GAME NINE
Huhner .. Kasparov
1 d4
Q.f6
2 c4
g6
3 G.c3
d5
Q.f
4
Ag 7
3
5 a4 +
Sometimes used as a trans
positional trick into the
Smyslov Variation without
allowing Black some of his
more aggressive possibilities.
5
Ad7
dxc4!
6 b3
Strongest. 6 . . . Ac6 is
recommended but I think
that White has several ways
to get a slight advantage after
this move; 7 G.eS or 7 f4 to
name but two.
o,o
7 xc4
8 e4
Huhner smells the Smyslov
variation approaching. He is
in for a rude shock.
8
b5!
.
24 Ae3
Or 24 b3 ab4! is strong.
24
f4
f3 + !
25 Ac5
There's no objection to an
exhcnage now that the
White Knights are tangled
up.
17 'tWxe5
18 0-0
Black is clearly much
better but he has to find a
way to improve his position;
in particular to reinforce the
Knight on d3 to attack the
weak b2 square.
19 . b 1
. ab8
20 . d 1
. fd8
2 1 fl
A critical position. Huhner
32 .. d2
32 Axb8 loses to ..xf2 +
3 3 g1 .. g2 + 34 fl
G.e3 + 3 S e 1 .. e2 mate.
32
..e8
G.xh2 +
33 G1c4
The simplest way. White's
King is very lonely.
34 gl
Q.g4
Ad4
35 .. ft
36 lieS
36 G1cS Axf2 + ! 3 7 .. 2xf2
.. g3 + 38 h 1 G1xf2 + 39
.. xf2 .. e 1 + 40 h2 .. h3
mate.
36
.. g3 +
.. h3 +
37 hl
Q.h2
38 gl
0: 1
A brilliant game.
100
HUBNER..KASPAROV
Rd 3
1 d4
Q.f6
2 c4
g6
3 Q.c3
d5
4 Q.f3
Ag7
5 a4+
KASPAROV: This is a
surprise for me; usually
Huhner has played 5 AgS.
It's a quiet line, but maybe he
s a w my g a m e a g a i n s t
Seirawan in Dubai. I got a
very good position. Now he's
trying to surprise me with
this move . I'm slightly
worried in this position;
maybe
he
prepares
something strong against me.
Before in my praxis I have
played many games with the
Grunfeld defence,but with
usually bad results.
5
Ad7
dxc4
6 b3
7 xc4
0-0
8 e4
KASPAROV: Now if I play 8
. . . g4 we come to the
Smyslov variation, but what
about 8 . . . bS? As far as I
know it's very good for
Black. It's impossible to
understand what Huhner
prepared.
8
b5
c5
9 b3
10 e5
Q.g4
11 Axb5
101
.B:6
27 e3
KASPAROV: This is the
point of my idea. White's
king is in the centre and all
my pieces are moving into
the attack. Maybe the best
move for him now is 28
d4. I would play 28 ... .B:f5
29 xe5 xe5 30 c4
.bf8. It's much better for
me because he has a lot of
weaknesses on the kingside, a
bad king in the centre, but
some chances todefend. If he
takes on e7 now, it should be
a winning position for me.
g2 +
28 /J.xe7
29 e2
.xf3
KASPAROV: If he plays now
30 Ad6 I can sacrifice a rook
with mate. It's a funny finish
if he plays d6.
30 d6
KASPAROV: Okay, he's
played it.
30
f4 +
Q.g4
31 Wfl
KASPAROV: Of course, he
can't accept this rook
because of 32 xb8 .xf2 +
33 g l .g2 + 34 fl
e3 + 35 e l .B:e2 mate.
His only move is 32 .d2 but
after 32 . . . .e8 it's a funny
position. All white pieces on
the queenside. All black
pieces on the kingside. But
it's very important that
White's king is alone on fl .
I should win this game with a
mate combination. I don't
know how, but I feel it will
1 03
1 04
ROUND FOUR:
1:0
Vz:l/z
1/z: 1/z
Kasparov
Hubner
Korchnoi
105
GAME TEN
SHORT ..KASPAROV
1 e4 c5 2 Q.f3 d6 3 d4 cd 4 Q.xd4 Q.f6 5 Q.c3
a6 6 .Q.e3 e6 7 d2 b5 8 f3 Q.hd7 9 g4 h6 10
0-0-0 $lb7 11 ..Q.dJ Q.e5 12. he1 c8 13
b1 $i..e7 14 h4 b4 15 Q.a4 a5 16 b3 afd7
17 g5 g6 18 f4 axd3 19 cd hg 20 hg d5 21 f5
e5 22 ed xdS 23 f6 .Qd6 24 ac2 aS 25 $la7
f8 26 Q.e3 e6 27 Q.c4 g8 28 Q.xd6
xd6 29 ah2 c3 30 Q.c4 tt'd5 31 Q.e3
e6 32 cl tt'a6 33 .xc3 be 34 tt'xc3
tt'xa7 35 c7 d4 36 xb7 xd3 + 37
Q.c2 !'!h2 38 c8+ Q.f8 39 xeS h1 + 40
b2 d2 41 e8 d6 42 .d8 e5 + 43
Wa3 h7 44 xf8 d6+ 45 b4 1:0
1 06
GAME TEN
SHORT..KASPAROV
107
1 08
1 09
1:0
1 10
GAME TEN
Short .. Kasparov
1 e4
c5
2 a3
d6
3 d4
cxd4
4 G.xd4 Q.f6
a6
5 G.c3
6 Ae3
e6
b5
7 t;-d2
8 f3
Q.bd7
h6
9 g4
10 0-0-0
A favourite variation of
the English player.
10
Ab7
1 1 Ad3
G.e5
12 ..he1
Theory gives 1 2 b 1 as
best but after 12 . . . b4! 13
G.ce2 dS the position is not
at all clear.
..c8
12
Ae7 ?!
13 b1
H e r e , B l a c k s h ou l d
probably play 1 3 . . . g5!? If
then 14 h4 gxh4 15 :.h 1
Q.fd7 and Black has chances
in this interesting position.
At the moment the Bishop is
not well placed on e 7.
.
b4
14 h4
14 ... Q.fd7 15 gS Q.b6 16
b3! +15 aa4
t;-a5
I would like to have played
1 5 . . . dS but 16 gS dxe4 1 7
gxf6 highlights the bad
position of Black's Bishop.
16 b3
Q.fd7
17 g5
g6!
The best move in a difficult
position. If I do not play this
White threatens f3-f4 to be
followed by g5-g6.
18 f4
G.xd3
19 cxd3
hxg5
20 hxg5
d5
21 f5
24 ac2
a5
25 -'ia7!?
An original idea but 25 dS
might have been better, eg.
25 ... e4 26 Af4 intending 27
!!h l
25
8
26 @e3
'lte6
27 @c4
g8
28 @xd6!?
A second strange move.
Maybe 28 'ltf2! just keeping
the position intact was better
but after other alternatives,
eg:
a) 28 @xaS Af3 29 !! c l
!!xcl + 3 0 !!xcl e4! or;
b) 28 d4 'ltfS + 29 a 1
.a.xc4 30 bxc4 .if3 intending
3 1 . . . e4 Black reaches a good
game.
28
'ltxd6
At last Black has
equalized.
29 @b2
!!c3
30 ac4
'ltd5
31 <1ae3
'lte6?
.
d4
35
36 'ltxb7 xd3 +
37 rJ,c2
!!h2
It looks alright at the
moment but Black's King is
permanently locked up.
38 'ltc8 + QJ.8?
A final innaccuracy. 38 . ..
\!?h 7 is the only move but
even so White keeps his good
position after 39 c6.
!!h1 +
39 !!xe5
40 b2
d2
41 !:ie8!
1 12
41
42
43
44
45
!!ds
a3
!!xf8
b4
d6
e5+
h7
d6+
1:0
Notes based upon corn,
ments by Kasparov.
win
against
Kasparov,
reputedly
the
world
1 13
SHORT .. KASPAROV
Rd4
c5
e4
Gt.3
d6
cxd4
d4
Glxd4 Gl6
a6
Glc3
ifte3
e6
*d2
b5
Glbd7
3
h6
g4
SHORT: 9 ... h6 is rather a
doubleedged move in that
although it temporarily holds
up gS, it is a potential weak
ness and makes it very
difficult for Black to castle
kingside because h4 and gS
normally leads to a quick
mate. I was looking at a few
things this morning, because
I expected to get something
similar to this.
..Q.h7
10 o.o.o
11 iftd3
Gle5
KASPAROV: This is a
famous theoretical position. I
know that all strong English
players like this position as
White. There were many
beatifUl wins, for example
C h a nd l e r R i b l i , N u n n
Ftacnik, or ShortFtacnik, is
12 b 1, but after 12 ... b4 13
Gle2 dS it's an unclear
position. It's very interesting
to see what Short has
prepared for this game.
John Nunn
S H O RT:
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
1 14
17
18
19
20
g5
g6
f4
G.xd3
cxd3
hxg5
d5
hxg5
SHORT: So that's his idea.
I have a very tempting move
here: just eS and then his
bishops are looking very
stupid, especially the one on
b7. If I play eS, then I'm
going to have a draw in
hand, because there's no way
I can lose a position like this.
But objectively I think my
position is worth more than
just playing this quiet move.
I'd really like to rip his guts
open with fS . If he takes with
the g-pawn, I simply recap
ture and this is a real
holocaust. I'm threatening
fxe6, I'm threatening g6,
there's just no way he can
survive. I guess he'd have to
try eS, but then I've many
possibilities. Okay, let's go
for the kill.
21 f5
KASPAROV: Maybe now I
have some chances. I think
eS was much more dangerous
for me. Now anyway I have
some chances because the
position is very dangerous
again; maybe right now I can
use my bishops and defend
my king. Most important,
the position is opening.
Maybe it's good for me;
maybe I'll get some chances
in the nearest future.
e5
21
1 15
1 16
SHORT:
1 18
GAME ELEVEN
PORTISCH .. HOBNER
1 d4 d5 2 e4 e6 3 G.e3 Q.6 4 e3 e6 5 Q.3
Q.bd7 6 e2 ..Q.d6 7 b3 0-0 8 ..Q.e2 e5 9 ed
G.xd5 10 G.xd5 ed 11 de G.xe5 12 ..Q.b2
..Q.h4+ 13 fl G.x3 14 Ax3 Ae6 15 d3
..Q.e7 16 e2 a5 17 he1 ae8 18 a3 h6
19 1 b6 20 g1 d6 21 Ad1 .. e6 22
r!xe6 be 23 Ae2 5 24 b4 e5 25 be t\'xe5 26
d4 xd427 Axd4 7 28 1 .. e8 29
Ad3 A6 30 e2 Axd4 31 ed .. e3 32 d2
b3 33 e2 r!b6 34 ..e1 4 35 e3 .. e6+
36 b2 ..e4 37 ..d1 e7 38 Ah3 1/z:lf2
1 19
GAME ELEVEN
PORTISCH .. HUBNER
1 20
121
1 22
GAME ELEVEN
Portisch .. Huhner
d5
1 d4
2 c4
c6
3 acJ
a6
e6
4 e3
ahd7
5 a3
6 t;-c2
Kasparov chose the more
usual 6 .).d3 in a later round
versus Huhner, and the
German GM reacted with 6
. . . Ab4!? instead of the usual
Meran, 6 ... dxc4.
6
Ad6
7 b3
0-0
e5
8 Ae2
13 f1
axf3
14 Axf3
j,ie6
Black has an IQP, while
White has forfeited the right
to castle. Chances are
roughly level and not much
happens to disturb the
b a l a n c e o f p o we r i n
subsequent events.
15 t;-d3
Ae7
White threatened t;-d4.
16 e2
Also possible is 1 6 h4 (16
. . . Axh4? 1 7 g3) followed up
by 1 7 g3 and g2.
16
a5
17 ..het
..ac8
h6
18 a3
19 fl
19 b4 deserves considera
tion. Portisch plays it later
after he has regrouped his
KB to cover the c4 square to
mete out . . ..c4.
19
b6
20 g1
If 20 AxdS d6 2 1 ..dl
!!fd8 22 e4 xh2. White
protects h2, and Hubner
hastens to defend dS .
20
t;-d6
21 Ad1
..c6
22 ..xc6
be
f5
23 .!Lc2
24 b4
c5
Speedily dissolving his
.
'h a n g i n g p a w n s ' a n d
r e t u r n i n g t o a n I QP
situation.
25 bxc5
xc5
26 d4
xd4
27 itxd4 7
28 fl
If 28 Axa 7 cB restores
material equilibrium.
28
..c8
29 Ad3
.Q6
30 e2
xd4
31 exd4
c3
32 d2
ah3
33 i.ic2
ab6
Now if White is seriously
going to play for a win, the
time has come for 34 f4!
fixing Black's pawn on fS (as
well as dS) both the same
colour square as his Bishop.
Portisch isn't seriously
playing for a win, or maybe
124
GAME TWELVE
NUNN
_.
KORCHNOI
1 e4 e6 2 d4 d5 3 @c3 Ab4 4 e5 c5 5 a3
Axc3 + 6 bxc3 @e7 7 @f3 J;td7 8 dxc5 c7
9 d3 @bc6 10 Af4 @g6 11 Ag3 a5 12
d2 xc5 13 h4 d4! 14 Axg6 hxg6 15 cxd4
c4 16 f!b1 b6 17 e2 c3 + 18 d2 c4
19 e2 c3 + 20 d2 lf2:1/z..
125
GAME TWELVE
NUNN .. KORCHNOI
126
1/z:l/z
"
-121--..
GAME TWELVE
Nunn .. Korchnoi
e4
e6
d5
2 d4
3 G.c3
John Nunn used to be an
exponent of T arrasch's 3
Q.d2 and won many fine
games with it. However,
Korchnoi invariably defends
against this with 3 . . . cS. This
tends to lead to technical
positions when White enjoys
a microscopic edge.
See , for example , many
games in the 1 974 Karpov
Korchnoi Candidates' Final.
Even in this tournament
Hubner proved that it is
possible to beat Korchnoi by
tactical means after 3 Q.d2
cS, but that is probably too
tedious a course for John
Nunn's buccaneering spirit.
Ah4
3
c5
4 e5
Axc3 +
5 a3
6 bxc3
G.e7
Ad7
7 Q.f3
8 dxc5
This procedure was tested
in the 1 977178 Spassky
-Korchnoi Candidates' final.
One of Spassky's ideas was to
swing over the white QR for
kingside attack by means of
b 1-b4.
Of course, in exchange
White must submit to the
indignity of weak tripled
1
128
In sp ite of Black's
mgenuity in preventing the
most effective deployment of
White's QB, Nunn still
appears to be whipping up a
promising initiative. The
advance of White's h-pawn
to hS or h6 would seriously
cramp Black's K-side, while
1 3 . hS destabilizes Black's
Knight at g6.
Korchnoi now finds an
excellent resource in the nick
of time.
13
d4!
14 Axg6
Necessary if White wants
to win a pawn.
.
14
hxg6
15 cxd4
c4
At the cost of a pawn
Black has stymied White's
initiative, established a light
square blockade and now
White is prevented from
castling. Nimzovitch would
have approved.
16 ..b1
b6
129
ROUND FIVE:
1/2:1/2
1 :0
1:0
Short
Nunn
Portisch
&
13 1
GAME THIRTEEN
KORCHNOI .. SHORT
1 d4 af6 2 c4 e6 3 af3 d5 4 Q.c3 $i.e7 5 ltg5
h6 6 -'.h4 0-0 7 ..cl!? dxc4 8 e3 c5 9 Axc4
cxd4 10 axd4 $i.d7 11 0-0 ac6 12 Q.h3 ..c8
13 Ae2 ads 14 Axe7 Q.cxe7 15 Q.xd5
axd5 16 ..xc8 xc8 17 d4 b6! 18 ..cl
b8 19 e4 Q.f4 20 -".fl ..dB I!z:lfz
1 32
GAME THIRTEEN
KORCHNOI .. SHORT
133
llz:llz
1 34
GAME THIRTEEN
Korchnoi .. Short
1 d4
In general, Short has
found it more difficult to
d e fe n d a g a i n s t 1 d4 .
At OHRA, England's top
rated Grandmaster sought
security in the Queen's
Gambit Declined, basically
modelled on Karpov's
defensive repertoire.
1
f6
e6
2 c4
d5
3 f3
In the 1985 Candidates'
Tournament at Montpellier
Short tended to play 3 ... b6
here (the Queen's Indian)
not, on the whole, with
encouraging results.
4 c3
$i..e7
5 $;..g5
h6
6 $i..h4
Korchnoi should probably
take a leaf from Kasparov's
book here and exchange
immediately on f6. I acted as
Korchnoi's second in his
1977-78 Candidates' Final v
Spassky, and his 1978 World
title clash with Karpov. At
that time we devoted a tre
mendous amount of time
and energy towards finding
an effective antidote to the
T a r t akower- M akogonov
Bondarevsky defence: 6 ii.h4
0-0 7 e3 b6 etc . . .
This search was more or
Korchnoi-Karpov ( 1 7) 1 98 1 ,
where 1 1 Ae2 ac6 1 2 ab3
ads 1 3 Axe7 acxe7 14
axdS axdS 15 'i*d4 Ac6 16
Af3 ae7 1 7 Axc6 axc6 18
tt'xd8 .. fxd8 19 We2
rewarded Korchnoi with
nothing more than an
insipid draw.
ac6
11
.. cS
12 abJ
13 Ae2
a ds
Short copies the Karpov
method of trading pieces.
The difference is that Black
has ... .. c8, while in this case
White has castled.
acxe7
14 Axe7
axd5
15 axd5
xc8
16 .. xc8
17 d4
An insidious p osition.
If White could organise an
attack against Black's Q-side
with .. c l , e4-e5 and perhaps
136
GAME FOURTEEN
HOBNER .. NUNN
1 e4 e5 2 Q.3 G.c6 3 i.tb5 G.d4 4 G.xd4 ed
5 oo c5 6 c3 c6 7 lLa4 G.e7 8 d3 d5 9 Q.d2
Ab6 10 cd xd4 11 h1 oo 12 f4 5 13 e5
b5 14 $Lb3 c5 15 Q.f3 G.c6 16 a4 $l.a6 17
G.xd4 G.xd4 18 ab xb5 19 Ae3 G.e6 20
f3 c6 21 a6 d7 22 !!xc6 xc6 23
xd5 c8 24 a.c1 !!b8 25 xc5 d7 26
a.c6 a.fe8 27 !!d6 f7 28 c4 1:0
137
GAME FOURTEEN
HUBNER-NUNN
138
139
1:0
140
GAME FOURTEEN
Huhner .. Nunn
e5
1 e4
(jlc6
2 (jl3
(jld4
3 i!Lb5
Bird's Defence, a rare
visitor to the shores of
grandmaster chess. Black
burn relied on it at St.
Petersburg 1 9 1 4 , losing to
Capablanca, but drawing
with Alekhine, after the
latter blundered away a
piece.
It is more usual to see John
Nunn defending against the
Lopez with the Marshall
Gambit, or its offshoots.
4 (jlxd4 exd4
5 o..o
kc5
6 c3
Gipslis has suggested the
extravagant 6 b4!? while
the modern main line is
considered to be: 6 d3 c6 7
itc4 d6 8 f4 (jlf6 9 eS dxeS 1 0
Axf7 + xf7 1 1 fxeS dS
1 2 exf6 gxf6 1 3 (jld2
Kasparov - Roizman, USSR
1 978.
c6
6
. .
7 i.t.a4
Huhner decides that he
does not want his KB on c4
where it might be molested
by .. . dS. The German
Grandmaster's conduct of
the
opening is
not
positionally ambitious in
comparison with Kasparov's
141
N evertheless, Black's
p osttto n s e e m s s ou n d
enough. White's play here
has not refuted the Bird.
Black should now continue
along strict blockading lines
142
GAME FIFTEEN
KASPAROV ..PORTISCH
1 d4 QJ.f6 2 e4 e6 3 QJ.f3 d5 4 GJ.e3 Ae7 5 Ag5
0-0 6 e3 GJ,bd7 7 '8-e2 h6 8 ed ed 9 Af4 e5
10 Ae2 b6 11 0-0 Ab7 12 ..fdl ..e8 13 de
be 14 a4 '8-a5 15 GJ.h4 ..fd8 16 QJ.f5 Afs
17 GJ,b5 GJ,e8 18 Ad6 GJ,xd6 19 GJ,fxd6 ..b8
20 GJ,xb7 ..xb7 21 ..xd5 ..db8 22 '8-d2
'8-xd2 23 ..xd2 GJ,f6 24 ..a2 GJ.e4 25 ..e2
..d7 26 g3 aS 27 g2 g6 28 Af3 GJ,f6 29 GJ.a3
Ad6 30 Ae6 ..dds 31 ..at Aes 32 Abs
GJ.ds 33 ..bl Ad6 34 ..dz GJ.b6 35 ..cl
Ae7 36 ..e2 ..be8 37 GJ,bl g7 38 QJ.d2
..aS 39 GJ,b3 ..deS 40 ..ee2 e4 41 QJ.d2 ..a7
42 GJ,xc4 GJ,xe4 43 ..xc4 ..xc4 44 ..xc4 f5
45 h3 hs 46 g4 hg 47 hg fg 48 g3 Ad6 +
49 xg4 ..c7 50 .Qc6 ..f7 51 f4 h6
52 .Qds ..f6 53 ..cl g7 54 h3 ..fs ss ..dl
Acs 56 ..d3 Aa3 57 Ae4 Act ss ..d7 +
h6 59 ..e7 .Qd2 60 f3 .Qb4 61 ..b7 Ac3
62 Ad3 ..f6 63 g4 Adz 64 fs t:o
143
GAME FIFTEEN
KASPAROV-PORTISCH
144
145
14 6
147
1:0
148
GAME FIFTEEN
Kasparov .. Portisch
1 d4
{1:.6
2 c4
e6
d5
3 {1:.{3
4 G:.c3
Ae7
5 Ag5
0-0
6 e3
G:.bd7
Kasparov is clearly very
familiar with the 6 . . . h6 7
$ixf6 line and Portisch steers
the game into the calmer
waters of the Cla ssical
variation. But you can
always count on Kasparov to
produce a surprise.
7 c2
h6!?
7 . . . cS may be better here.
Black is mixing his systems.
8 cxd5!
So we reach a normal
p os1t10n w i t h h a ng i ng
pawns. There's no reason to
suppose that White is any
thing other than a little
better here, but Kasparov
finds an original plan.
1 49
14 a4!
Pre-empting any thoughts
Black might have had of
ad7-b6
14 . . .
a5?!
With the idea of 1 5 b3
a6! but White is not
compelled to do this. 14 ...
e8 intending af8, .Qd6
was a solid and sensible plan,
trying to cut down the
activity of White's Bishop on
f4.
15 ah4
Kasparov in his element;
attacking the King.
fd8
15
16 a5
A8
17 ah5
ae8
Things are getting difficult
for Portisch. Rather than try
to destabilize the influence
of the h anging p aw ns
Kasparov has gone straight
for the throat. He threatens
an invasion on d6.
18 ..Q.d6
18
.
axd6
If 18 . . . aef6 then 19 ae7
li..xe7 20 li..xe 7 e8 2 1
1 50
-.
35 a.cl
Ae7
36 a.e2
!!bc8
37 ahl
Heavyweight manoeuvring
but these positions are
torture for the defender.
When you know that you
have absolutely no chance of
winning it's very difficult.
37
g7
38 adz
aS
39 abJ
deS
40 ec2
c4
40 ... r!a7 4 1 ac5 !! ac7
42 ae6 +
41 ad2
!!a7
42 axc4
axc4
43 !!xc4
r!xc4
44 !!xc4
5
To avoid a White plan
with f2-f4 , e3-e4 and e4-e5.
But despite the long job
ahead for White to create a
passed pawn it's difficult to
believe that Black can save
the game.
45 h3
h5
46 g4
hxg4
47 hxg4
fxg4
48 g3
48 . . .
.Q.d6 +
49 xg4
ktc7
The only chance is to
exchange Rooks. Kasparov is
not interested.
a.7
50 Ac6
51 f4
h6
Portisch can only wait.
!!6
52 itd5
g7
53 !!cl
!!fS
54 b3
55 !!dl
c5
56 !!d3
.Qa3
cl
57 Ae4
58 !!d7+ h6
d2
59 ..e7
60 f3
b4
61 !!b7
c3
62 itd3
!!6
63 g4
d2
63
r!d6 64 Ac4
intending 65 g8
64 5!
1 :0
A tired Portisch has to
throw in the towel. If:
a) 64 . . . gS then 65 e4 is
+b) 64 . . . Axe3 6 5 fx.g6
!!f4 + 66 g3 !!f8 67
!! h 7 + g5 68 g7 intending
69 Ac4 and 70 g8=
c) 64 .. . l!d6 65 Ac4!
intending 66 g8.
15 1
KASPAROV ..PORTISCH Rd 5
-, The Players TV commentaries
1
2
3
4
5
6
d4
c4
acJ
ac3
Ag5
e3
ac6
e6
d5
Ae7
00
1 52
. . .
1 53
20
21
22
23
axh7
..xd5
d2
..xd2
..xb7
..db8
xd2
Now we have
an endgame. In the next
moves, I will protect my
pawn on b2 with two rooks,
on a2 and then maybe ..c2
and improve the position of
my king; try to put my
knight on c4, or maybe play
aS. If he plays aS himself,
1 play aa3, maybe my
bishop will come to bS. Then
with my knight on c4 I can
try to attack his weaknesses
on aS and cS. Of course it
should be winning, but after
many moves.
23
a6 24 ..a2 ae4 25
..c2 ..d7 26 g3 a5 27 g2
g6 2s A3 a6 29 aaJ
Ad6 Jo Ac6 ..dds 31
..al Ae5 32 Ahs ads 33
..hl Ad6 34 ..dz ah6 35
..cl Ae7 36 ..e2 ..bc8 37
ahl g7 38 ad2 ..aS 39
ahJ ..deS 40 ..ec2 c4 41
ad2 ..a7 42 axc4 axc4
43 ..xc4 ..xc4 44 ..xc4
PORTISCH: Now we have
this u npleasant ending.
I wish I could exchange
rooks, then I have drawing
chances. But everybody
knows that in such an
ending nobody who has the
advantage will exchange
rooks. He will just push the
pawns in the centre. I have
to stop him playing f4, e4, eS
KASPAROV:
155
ROUND SIX:
1 :0
1 :0
1 :0
Portisch
Nunn
Korchnoi
157
GAME SIXTEEN
SHORT..PORTISCH
1 e4 e5 2 Q1f3 Q1c6 3 Ac4 l.tc5 4 c3 Q1f6 5 b4
Ab6 6 d3 a6 7 0-0 d6 8 Q1bd2 0-0 9 .Q.b3 Q1e7
10 ..el Q1g6 11 h3 Ae6 12 a.c4 a7 13 Ae3
xe3 14 ..xe3 h6 15 d4 e7 16 el Q1h7
17 .dl ..adS 18 Q1a5 c8 19 h2 Q1f4 20
de de 21 Q1c4 ..xdl 22 xdl .. d8 23 c2
Q1g6 24 ..d3 ..xd3 25 xd3 Q1f6 26 g3 .Q.d7
27 Q1e3 b5 28 c4 lic6 29 Q1d2 aes 30
i.td5 Axd5 31 ed Q1f6 32 Q1e4 axe4 33
xe4 Q1f8 34 Q1f5 f6 35 c4 h5 36 g2 g6
37 Q1e3 Q1h7 38 h4 e7 39 c5 Q1f6 40 c4
e4 41 d4 d8 42 e5 b6 43 c6 aes 44
xe4 Q1d6 45 e5 b5 46 g4 hg 47 h5 h7
48 Q1xg4 h4 49 f4 g5 50 Q1f6 + g7 51
xh4 gh 52 Q1d7 Q1f5 53 Q1b8 Q1e7 54 axa6
Q1xd5 55 h3 {6 56 xh4 f5 57 a3 f6 58
f3 e6 59 g4 Q1e3 + 60 f4 Q1d5 + 61
e4 f5 62 d4 d6 63 h6 Q1f6 64 axc7 1:0
158
GAME SIXTEEN
SHORT-PORTISCH
1 59
160
161
1 62
1:0
1 63
GAME SIXTEEN
Short .. Portisch
1 e4
e5
2 GM3
ac6
3 Ac4
It seems unlikely that such
an antiquated choice should
bother a modern Grand
master of Portisch's stature,
but it s hould not be
forgotten that in 1 98 1
K arpov severely tested
Korchnoi with two Italians
in their world title match.
If handled slowly and
can
White
p atiently
sometimes hold a small but
s ignifant a dv a nt age i n
terrain. Further, Short's
style, at its best, approx
imates quite closely to the
pythonesque manoeuvres of
Karpov.
3
4 c3
5 b4
This is more likely to
succeed than the premature
explosion of energy resulting
from 5 d4.
5
.Qh6
a6
6 d3
To provide a haven for his
KB on a7.
d6
7 0-0
s ahd2 o.o
9 b3
ae7
ag6
10 e1
Black's Knights are
164
Knight.
26
i.td7
27 Q.e3
i.tb5
2S Ac4
Ac6
29 Q.d2
Q.es
30 $id5
Axd5
31 exd5
The second step. White
has created a mobile pawn
majority in the centre and on
the Q-wing. Perhaps Black
shouid have avoided 30 . .
i.txdS, but he is hard pressed
for other constructive moves.
Q.f6
31
32 Q.e4
axe4
33 xe4
GMs
34 CJf5
f6
h5
35 c4
Threatening . . . g6, which
was not previously possible
on account of 36 Q.xh6 +
and CJg4.
36 g2
g6
37 G.e3
Q.h7
3S h4
To stop . . . Q.gS.
e7
3S
39 c5
Q.f6
e4
40 c4
To get some breathing
space, but the pawn becomes
weak and the white Queen
finds a pleasant square on
d4.
ds
41 d4
42 e5
b6
Introducing a plan to
blockade the white position
at the cost of a pawn.
43 c6
.
43
CileB
A critical moment. If 43 . . .
f8 4 4 d6 xd6 45 xd6
cxd6 46 c 7 wins. Or 44 . . .
cxd6 4 5 c 7 ! xc7 4 6 xf6.
So now is the time to give
up the pawn while White's
Q,side armada has temporar,
ily forfeited its mobility.
44 xe4
(ild6
45 e5
b5
46 g4
Blasting open the position
and leading by force to a won
Knight and pawn ending.
46
hxg4
h7
47 h5
4s Cilxg4 h4
49 4
The threat of (ilf6 + leaves
Black little choice.
49
g5
50 (ilf6+ g7
51 xh4 gxh4
52 Cild7
Ul 5
53 CilbB
Ule7
54 Ulxa6
Cilxd5
Both
Knights
are
immobilised by their
relationship to the pawn on
c7, so what follows is
Black resigns.
64 . . . xc7 65 eS Cilh7
66 xfS xc6 67 g6
CilfB + 68 fl (ilh 7 69 g7
(ilgS 70 f4 Cile6 + 7 1 f6
@fB 72 'tifl @h7 73 g7
wins Black's Knight.
166
GAME SEVENTEEN
KASPAROV..NUNN
1 d4 @6 2 @3 g6 3 c4 i;l.g7 4 gJ 0-0 5 .Qg2
c6 6 @c3 d5 7 cd cd 8 @e5 e6 9 0-0 @fd7
10 f4 @xe5 11 fe @c6 12 e4 de 13 .QeJ 5
14 ef ..x6 15 @xe4 !!xfl + 16 x1 @xd4
17 !!d1 e5 18 @g5 1:0
167
GAME SEVENTEEN
KASPAROV ..NUNN
1 68
1:0
1 69
GAME SEVENTEEN
Kasparov
1 d4
a6
g6
z a J
3 c4
$l.g7
o ..o
4 g3
c6
5 Ag2
Varying from his habitual
King's Indian, John Nunn
opts for the stability and
relative security of the super,
N e o , G r u n fe l d .
solid
Kasparov used it . himself
twice in the recent world title
match (games 3 and 1 3).
6 acJ
Note the importance of
this move order, which est,
ablishes early pressure in
the centre, especially against
dS and e4, rather than the
stereotyped and more feeble
6 o,o.
d5
6
Of course, 6 . . . d6 is also
possible, reverting to the
King's Indian.
cxd5
7 cxd5
e6
8 aes!
ad7
9 o ..o
10 4
It ls gradually emerging
that this support for the
outpost on eS is the most
ingenious way for White to
aspire to any opening
initiative in this symmetrical
line.
I am fascinated 'by the fact
..
Nunn
170
dxe4
12 e4
f5
13 Ae3
Otherwise White has a
dominating position after the
unchallenged G.xe4.
14 exf6 ep !!xf6
1 5 G.xe4!
Kasparov ' s innovation ,
and a typical pawn sacrifice
for his active style. Unbe
known to both (!) players this
whole variation had earlier
been tested in a Swedish
correspondence
game
between Gunnar Hjort and
M a t s Ander s s o n . T h i s
reminds m e of the case when
Karpov introduced a brill
iant new move in the English
Opening against Timman at
Montul 1979 (1 c4 eS 2 (}.c3
(}.f6 3 (}.f3 G.c6 4 e3 Ae7 S
d4 exd4 6 G.xd4 0-0 7 G.xc6
bxc6 8 Ae2 dS 9 0-0 Ad6 10
b3 e7 1 1 Ab2 and now
Karpov uncorked 1 1
dxc4 ! !) . Then everyone
discovered it ( 1 1 ... dxc4! !)
had originally been played
by two Norwegian Corres17 1
Kasparov demonstrated 1 8
. . . e7 19 AdS + Ae6 20
!!xd4 exd4 2 1 Ae6 + h8
22 af7 + gs 23 ads +
ha 24 Ags ! b4 2s af7 +
Wg8 26 aeS + Wh8 27
axg6 + (to be followed by
h3) which was exactly
M.
the course of Hjort
Andersson!
Nunn's lifetime score
against Kasparov is now 0/3 ,
averaging a little over 20
moves!
1 72
GAME EIGHTEEN
HOBNER .. KORCHNOI
1 e4 e6 2 d4 d5 3 Q.d2 c5 4 ed xd5 5 G,gf3
cd 6 Ac4 t;'d6 7 0-0 Q.f6 8 Q,b3 (}.c6 9
(}.bxd4 G.xd4 10 G.xd4 a6 1 1 i;i.b3 c7 12
f3 i;i.d6 13 h3 00 14 i;i.g5 Q.d7 15 c3 b5 16
..adl Ab7 17 g4 h8 18 ..fel (}.e5 19
h5 {}.g6 20 Ac2 g8 21 (}.f3 Axf3 22
xf3 Ah2 + 23 hl Af4 24 Axf4 (}.xf4 25
..d4 {}.g6 26 ..edl ..adS 27 a4 ..xd4 28
..xd4 ..dB 29 ..xd8 + xd8 30 ab ab 3 1
e3 d5 3 2 tj-d3 tj'g5 33 b4 h6 34 g3 tj-e5
35 g2 f5 36 Ab3 G.e7 37 d4 e2 38
Adl el 39 Af3 f7 40 tj-c5 {6 4 1 c4 be
42 tj-xc4 tj-d2 43 b5 d6 44 tj'cJ + f7 45
Ah5 + g6 46 Af3 h5 47 tj-e3 (}.c8 48 Ac6
(}.e7 49 Af3 G.cB 50 h4 b6 5 1 tj-e5 G.a7 52
Ae2 (}.c8 53 Ac4 (}.e7 54 f3 G.cB 55 e2
G.e7 56 e3 Q.d5 57 xb6 (}.xb6 58 d3
'!Je7 59 '!Jc3 d7 60 b4 d6 6 1 Aa2 (}.c8
62 '!}a5 We5 63 f4 + '!}d6 64 '!Ja6 e5 65 Af7
1:0
1 73
GAME EIGHTEEN
HOBNER .. KORCHNOI
1 74
1 75
1 76
177
1:0
1 78
GAME EIGHTEEN
Hiibner " Korchnoi
1 e4
e6
2 d4
d5
3 Uld2
As befits a disciple of Dr
T arrasch, Huhner employs
the Doctor's eponymous
v a r i at i o n . I nd e e d , t h e
temporary gambit which
soon ensues was one of
Tarrasch's favourite lines for
White.
3 . . .
c5
4 exd5
xd5
A favourite alternative to
Korchnoi's habitual 4 . . .
exdS. Black avoids the IQP,
but suffers from a slight
deficiency in development.
cxd4
5 Ulgf3
6 Ac4
d6
7 00
Ulf6
8 Ulb3
Q.c6
9 Q.bxd4 Ulxd4
10 Ulxd4 a6
11 Ab3
ti'c7
12 f3
Ad6
adS
26
xd4
27 a4
dB
28 xd4
29 xd8 + xd8
axb5
30 axb5
31 e3
But White emerges from
the slaughter with a tangible
plus, even though it is very
difficult to convert. White's
advantage resides in the
following features:
a) Black's bS pawn is
isolated and weak;
b) White has a potential
passed pawn on the Q-file. ;
c) White's Bishop is more
mobile than Black's Knight.
But weaving these advan
tages into a win against
Korchnoi is a real work of
art.
31
d5
32 d3
g5
33 b4
Fixing bS.
33
h6
34 g3
e5
f5
35 g2
Korchnoi tries to mobilise
his own pawn majority, but
1 80
t h e b S p aw n r e m a i n s
a target.
36 Ab3
(]J.e7
37 d4
e2
Not 37
xd4 38
Axe6 + .
e1
38 Ad1
39 Af3
f7
40 c5
f6
41 c4
White cannot win the
pawn on bS 'for free', and he
resolves instead to create
a passed b-pawn.
41
bxc4
42 xc4
d2
d6
43 b5
181
50 . . .
tt'b6
51 tt'e5
White defers the trade of
Queens until his Bishop is on
the appropriate diagonal.
The centralisation of the
White Queen also impedes
any movement of Black's
King towards the Q-side.
51
G1 a7
Goes
52 e2
G.e7
53 c4
54 f3
G1 c8
55 e2
G1e7
56 tf'e3
G1d5
57 tf'xb6 Ulxb6
58 d3
Black can not exchange on
c4, so White wins the
decisive tempo to penetrate
with his King.
e7
58
d7
59 c3
60 b4
d6
6 1 a2
Goes
e5
62 aS
63 f4 +
d6
e5
64 a6
65 f7
Black resigns.
ROUND SEVEN
1 :0
1/z : Vz
1 :0
Short
Kasparov
Portisch
1 83
GAME NINETEEN
HOBNER .. SHORT
1 d4 GJ.6 2 c4 e6 3 GJ.3 d5 4 GJ.c3 Ae7 5 Af4
00 6 e3 c5 7 de Axc5 8 a3 GJ.c6 9 tlc2 a5
10 ad2 Ae7 11 !!dl e5 12 Ag5 d4 13 ab3
tid8 14 Ae2 h6 15 i.tx6 i.t.x6 16 0-0 a5 17
A3 Ad7 18 GJ.c5 i.te8 19 GJ.d5 Ae7 20 GJ.d3
de 21 fe f5 22 (}.xe7 + xe7 23 d5 + h8
24 tlc3 e4 25 GJ.4 !!f6 26 c5 !!c8 27 b4 ab
28 ab GJ.a7 29 c4 A7 30 ads Axd5 31
!!xd5 !'!cf8 32 b5 e8 33 !!e5 b8 34 d4
b6 35 c6 xc6 36 !!exf5 !!xf5 37 !!x5 d6
38 xe4 a.dl + 39 iitfl tid8 40 :E!f7 axb5
41 g4 ..xfl + 42 xfl (}.d6 43 d4 tlc7
44 ..f8+ h7 45 d3+ g6 46 d4 GJ.7 47
h3 h5 48 f6 cl + 49 h2 c7 + 50 tlf4
GJ.e5 51 ..e8 1:0
184
GAME NINETEEN
HOBNER .. SHORT
185
1 86
187
1 :0
1 88
GAME NINETEEN
Hiibner .. Short
1 d4
(?J.f6
2 c4
e6
3 (?J.f3
d5
4 f1J.c3
Ae7
5 A4
0-0
6 e3
c5
7 dxc5
Axc5
8 a3
f1J.c6
9 c2
a5
10 (?J.d2
Ae7
11 l3.d1
e5
12 .it_g5
d4
13 f1J.h3
d8
14 Ae2
h6?!
All theory so far and 14 . . .
aS is considered to be a
better move. Short has a new
idea in mind.
15 Axf6
Axf6
16 0-0
a5
vulnerable. 1 6 . . . i.te6 is a
solid alternative to the text.
17 Af3!
Huhner lures the White
pawns forward and then he
will pick them off.
17
Ad7
Unpinning. Nigel sees that
h i s fir s t i d e a is now
impossible, eg. 1 7 ... a4? 18
(?J.cS! Ae7 19 f1J.3xa4 aS 20
b4 a7 2 1 Axc6 + - and
the second try to get aS-a4
in, fails as well, eg. 1 7 ... Ae7
18 f1J.a4! + - with a grip on
the position.
18 f1J.c5
Ae8
The strength of Hubners
Bishop is beginning to be
felt. This is particularly
apparent in the variation 18
. . . b6? 19 f1J.xd7 xd7 20
a4 l3. ac8 2 1 exd4 exd4 22
(?J.dS d8 23 i.tg4. After the
alternative 18 . . . Ae7 White
takes the money and runs,
eg. 19 f1J.xb7! b8 (19 . . .
c7 2 0 adS) 2 0 (?J.dS ili.xa3
2 1 bxa3 xb7 22 ae7 +
h8 23 axc6 .iixc6 24
ili.xc6 xc6 25 ex4 and
Black is lost.
19 (?J.d5
The pressure on Black's
centre is becoming immense.
White's advanced Knights
prevent an adequate defence.
1 89
19
e7
20 ad3
dxe3?
Giving the Rook on f1
something to do. Maybe 20
. . . h8 or 20 . . . fS can be
played but the latter looks
dangerous after 2 1 axe 7 +
xe7 22 AdS + Af7 23
Axc6 bxc6 24 exd4 exd4 25
!!fe l .
f5
21 fxe3
22 axe7 +
Well timed. Black's centre
looks strong but is, in fact, a
liability.
22
xe7
23 Ad5 + h8
24 c3
e4
f6
25 a4
26 c5!
.
190
35
..xc6
36 ..exf5 ..xf5
37 ..xf5
A typical transition of
advantages. Hubner trades
his queenside for a winning
attack.
..d6
37
.d1+
38 xe4
d8
39 Af l
axb5
40 ..f7
..xfl +
41 g4
42
43'
44
45
46
47
J.xf1
d4
!IfS+
d3+
d4
h3
@d6
c7
Wh7
g6
@f7
h5
48 {6
49 h2
50 f4
51 e8
1 :0
19 1
cl +
c7 +
ae5
GAME TWENTY
KORCHNOI .. KASPAROV
1 d4 d5 2 c4 e6 3 ac3 Ae7 4 i.tf4 GH6 5 e3
cl c5 7 dxc5 Axes 8 cxd5 exd5 9 af3
Gac6 10 Ae2 Ae6 11 o.o ..c8 12 Gab5 ae4
n ad2 Gaxd2 14 xd2 Ab4 15 d1 .g,b6
16 a3 $t.e7 17 b4 a5 18 ad6 ..cd8 19 Gaxb7
.g,xb7 20 b5 !!c8 21 bxc6 !!xc6 22 t!b1
..b6 23 !!xb6 .g,xb6 24 Ae5 1/z: 1/z
o.o 6
1 92
GAME TWENTY
KORCHNOI-KASPAROV
193
1 94
GAME TWENTY
Korchnoi .. Kasparov
1 d4
d5
e6
2 c4
3 G.c3
Ae7
At the Dubai Olympiad
just before OHRA as in his
first game here v Huhner,
Kasparov continued to
defend against 1 d4 with the
Grunfeld. This, in spite of
the three losses to Karpov in
the 1986 World Champion
ship.
Perh aps the World
Champion fears Korchnoi's
experience on both sides of
the Gn1nfeld and therefore
resorts to the defence he used
against Karpov's 1 d4 in the
.1984 and 1985 title clashes.
4 Jtf4!?
A curious idea, though it
soon transposes into a
known line. As in Korchnoi
Short, 'Viktor the Terrible'
avoids 4 aB Q.f6 5 Jd.g5 h6
6 bxf6, which is the currently
fashionable continuation.
But one might have
expected 4 cxd5 exdS 5 Jtf4
which Korchnoi used to win
the most brilliant game of
the 198 1 World Champion
ship v Karpov (5 .. . c6 6 e3
f5 7 g4 Ae6 8 h3
Korchnoi-Karpov, Menas
1981 ' ( 1 3).
4 . . .
1 95
5 e3
00
c5
6 ..cl
Kasparov gladly accepts an
IQP in order to free his
position.
7 dxc5
xc5
8 cxd5
exd5
9 af3
Korchnoi is notorious for
grabbing hot pawns, so why
does he not go in for 9
G.xd5? The reply 9 . . . t;'a5 +
is not convincing, nor is 9 . . .
G.xd5 10 ..xc5 G.xf4 1 1
t;'xd8 axg2 + 1 2 xg2
..xd8 on account of 1 3
..xc8! ..xc8 14 Axb7. Best
is 9 axdS G.xd5 10 ..xcS
axf4 1 1 t;'xd8 ..xd8 1 2
exf4 Ae6 1 3 a3 ac6 1 4 aB
J:i..b3 with sufficient lead in
development to compensate
for White's extra (doubled)
pawn.
9
10 Ae2
The pawn snatch on dS is
even less convincing past
move 9.
10
Ae6
11 0-0
a.cs
12 abs
White has some initiative
b u t K a s p a r o v defe n d s
actively.
12
13 Gtd2
There are more long term
prospects to be offered by 1 3
abd4 , accupying the
t r a d i t i o n a l b l o ck a d i n g
square in front of the IQP.
13
Gtxd2
14 'itxd2 b4
15 'itd1
t;'b6
16 a3
Ae7
17 b4
a5
Black's vigorous counter
attack forces White into a
premature liquidation.
18 Gtd6
a.cdS
19 axb7
196
197
GAME TWENTY..ONE
NUNN .. PORTISCH
1 98
1 99
1 :0
200
GAME TWENIT-ONE
Nunn
1
2
3
4
5
e4
Q.f3
d4
Q.xd4
Q.c3
..
Portisch
c5
d6
cxd4
Qlf6
a6
f4
e5
7
8
Q.f3
a4
8
9
10
i;Ld3
0-0
i!Le7
0-0
G.c5
11 hl
Qlbd7
An indispensable part of
W h i t e ' s p l a n . B e fo r e
embarking o n his kingside
assault he prevents Black
201
Either 11 e l or 11 e2
have also been played but
the text seems most
economical, tucking the
King into safety before
revealing an attacking plan.
11
c7
12
. .
Ae6?!
13
f5!
Why not.
attack begins.
13
14
e5
ahs!
16
17
18
f6
t\'h4
Ae3
Ads
g6
t;-e1
12
15
. . .
g4!
The
White
Ad7
Ac6
202
18
19
. ..
cxd3
axd3
Wh8!
23 . .. t\'e6 24 AcS ! g8 2 5
Ad6 leads t o the loss of the
eS pawn. When this pawn
falls Black's whole game will
crumble. Thanks to his
cornered King, he is still
horribly gummed up.
If 25 . . . Axe4 + 26 g 1
Ab6 27 Axb6 tt'xb6 28 ..fl
and the twin threats of tt'xe4
and tt'h6 are impossible to
meet.
20
21
ae2
a,g3
d5
24
25
26
27
axeS
hxg3
tt'xe4
h2
Glxg3 +
xe4 +
Axe4 +
dxe4
2 1 . . . t\'d6 22 d4 + -
22
23
dxe4
adl
t\'d6
27
28
23
b4
203
.
Ac5 !
c7
28
29
30
Axf8
fel
xe5
xf8
30
31
c2
ltxa4
.. d2
If 3 1 . . . i.txg3 3 2 Wxg3
.i!Lxa4 White's Rook enters
triumphantly with 3 3 ..e7
and gobbles up the pawns.
32
xe5
h6
33
34
35
36
37
38
gxh6
g4
g5 +
..e4
h4 +
Wg3
Wh7
Wxh6
Wh7
.i!Lc6
WgB
204
ROUND EIGHT
0:1
0:1
1:0
Nunn
Korchnoi
Hubner
205
206
207
208
0:1
209
GAME TWENTY-TWO
Short
1
2
3
4
s
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
e4
Q,f3
$lbS
$la4
0-0
e1
$lb3
c3
exdS
axeS
xeS
d4
e2!?
..
Nunn
14
1S
eS
ac6
a6
Q.f6
$l e7
bS
0-0
dS
axdS
axeS
c6
$ld6
16
h4
1 3 . . . $lg4 was possible,
forcing 14 f3 $lh5 1 5 $lxd5
cxd5 when Black has two
active Bishops in compen
sation for his minus pawn.
hS
h3
f3
$lc7
1 6 . . . f5 1 7 c4
13
g3
ad2
17
18
a4
c4
Supposedly
equal but . . .
19
19
+-
b4
Q.f6
theoretically
ae4!
g6
The alternatives were
unappetizing, eg:
a) 1 9 . . . ..g..xf3 20 Q,g5 ..g.. h 5
2 1 Q.xh3 xh3 22 ..Q.g5 ! +
White h a s t w o strong
Bishops and all the play.
210
b) 1 9
axe4 io xe4
AfS 2 1 e7! d6 2 2 e3!
...
20
20
21
22
23
24
25
a2
...
A5
xg3? 21 axh3
Ac2
Ax5
xe8 +
Wg2
is).e3
+-
fe8
tf-x5
!!xe8
d8
Ab6
26
t\'b3
35
36
37
38
h3 +
Wxh3 xd3
axd3 ..g-x3
..g.xd4??
38
39
26
27
28
29
30
d1
-'.xd4
t\'xb4
t\'b6
Axd4
c5
cxd4
t\'d7
h5
31
t\'xa6
3 l h4! + -
31
32 d2
33 t\'a5
34 t\'c5
35 d3??
b8
h4
b3
t\'b7
0:1
211
h4
"i&fl +
t\'5
212
GAME TWENTY-THREE
PORTISCH .. KORCHNOI
213
214
0:1
216
d4
c4
g3
GJ,3
..Q.g2
GJ,c3
0-0
GJ,e1
GJ,6
g6
..Q.g7
0-0
d6
GJ.c6
..Q.f5
14
15
e4
c2
xg2
Ah3
Axg2
15
16
11
12
d5
e5
e7
13
(i\e1
d7
Ae3
16 Ad2!?
16
17
.. .
f4
17 f3
17
f6
b6
5
If 1 7 . .. cS then 1 8 xcS
bxcS 1 9 fxeS! fxeS 20 !! xf8 +
gives White the better game.
18
a5
Try i ng to provoke a
weakness on e6. White has
the initiative.
9
10
11
@d3
..Q.g5
t;-e2?
21 7
18
19
...
Q.b5
a6!
19
20
21
Q.2
..acl ?
fxe4
Q.5
M aybe 2 1 .. ae 1 w as
better, but not 21 G.xc7
xc4!
21
22
. . .
fxe5
b7
G.xe5
23
24
Af4
Jtxe5
e3
AxeS
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
dxc6
Wh3
..xf8 +
..fl +
ald4
f3
(}..x3
b3
Wg3
xc6 +
Q.g7
x8
Wg8
e4
xf3 +
e4
(}..e6
g5
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
..e1
h4
hxg5
..d1
..el
Q.d2
Q.3
Q.d2
Q.f3
h6
Wg7
hxg5
e2
W6
!leS
k!e4
e5
Q.4!
46
..h1
(}..d3
In contrast to an earlier
variation it is now the Black
Knights which dominate.
If 24 . . . exf2 25 Axg7
.. ae8! 26 d2 ale3 + 27
xe3! ..xe3 28 x8 Wxf8
29 !!xf2 with an unclear
position.
25
26
27
Q.d3
G.xe5
g4
!!ae8
..xe5
c6!!
218
Portisch.
GAME TWENTY-FOUR
KASPAROV-HOBNER
1 d4 d5 2 c4 c6 3 ac3 af6 4 e6 e6 5 af3
ahd7 6 Ad3 Ah4 7 a3 Ad6 8 e4 dxe4 9
axe4 axe4 10 Axe4 es 1 1 oo oo 12 Ac2
.e8 13 .e1 exd4 14 ..xe8 + xe8 15 xd4
Ae7 16 Ag5 Axg5 1 7 axg5 Glf6 18 ..d1
Ae6 19 .e 1 d8 20 f1.xe6 fxe6 21 e3
h8 22 h3 d7 23 g4 ..e8 24 e5 d8 25
g2 b6 26 ..d1 c5 27 Aa4 ..f8 28 ..d6
c7 29 ..xc6 f7 30 xc5 axg4 31 xf8 +
xf8 32 hxg4 1:0
219
GAME TWENTY-FOUR
KASPAROV - HUBNER
22 0
2 21
1:0
222
GAME TWENTY-FOUR
Kasparov
1
2
3
4
5
6
d4
c4
G.c3
e3
Q.f3
!id3
d5
c6
Q.f6
e6
Q.hd7
!ih4!?
a3
Ad6
8
9
10
11
e4
G.xe4
Axe4
0-0
dxe4
G.xe4
e5
0-0
..
Huhner
White can now win a clear
pawn with 1 2 dxeS G.xeS 1 3
G.xeS AxeS 14 Axh7+ ( 1 4
hS fS) 1 4 . . . xh7 1 5
hS + g8 1 6 xeS, but
after 16 . . . d3 White
cannot win. One major
factor is the opposite Bishop
syndrome; this, taken with
White's severe weakness on
b3 leaves Black with no
losing prospects.
If Black had, however, not
provoked 7 a3 to create this
weakness, then White could
torture Black for ages with
his extra pawn.
12
Ac2!
12
13
14
15
.:.e8
.:.e1
exd4
.:.xe8 + xe8
xd4 Ae7
223
16
17
18
Ags
axg5
..d 1
AxgS
a6
18 . . . Ag4!? 1 9 Axh7
seems good for White but it
may have been Huhner's best
chance. Black gets active
after 19 . . . axh 7 20 xg4
(1.,xg5 2 1 xgS e2 and
with only major pieces left
this is precisely what he
needs.
19
20
21
Although Kasparov's
dynamic style is usually
compared with Alekhine's he
has maintained White 's
opening advantage here with
the crystal c larity a nd
simplicity of Capablanca. In
spite of the balanced pawn
structure, White's pieces are
generally more active, and he
dominates the cl-file.
18
Ae6
e 1
axe6
e3
d8
fxe6
h8
Black is p o s i t io na l l y
crushed as a result of the
superiority of White's Bishop
over Black's Knight, and also
Black's very weak e-pawn on
the open file. It is, However,
extraordinarily instructive to
observe how the World
Champion encompasses the
destruction of the Black
position without permitting
a shred of counterplay.
Here , for example, Hubner
could struggle somewhat
after the precipitate 22 xe6
d4! Kasparov prefers to
prepare a deadly advance of
his g-pawn.
22
23
24
25
26
h3
g4
e5
g2
..d 1
d7
..e8
dB
b6
224
.:d4,h4 ,
material.
26
27
28
29
Huhner
Aa4
d6
xe6-
sheds
c5
fs
c7
f7
30
xc5!
30
31
-&xf8 + !
xg4
225
31
32
hxg4
xf8
1:0. !! e8 is unstoppable.
KASPARQV ..HOBNER
Rd8
- Kasparov's TV commentary
1
2
3
4
5
6
d4
c4
G\c3
e3
G\f3
.Q.d3
d5
c6
G\f6
e6
G\bd7
-'.b4
10
11
a3
-'.d6
8
9
e4
G\xe4
dxe4
G\xe4
e5
0-0
This is the
point of Black's idea. Now I
think Huhner expects 1 2
dxeS G\xeS 1 3 G\xeS AxeS
14 -'.xh7+ xh7 1S hS +
g8 16 xeS and now
d3 . This is very important;
there is no move b3 to
protect the pawn on c4. It
gives very good chances for a
draw. I want to keep as many
pieces on the board as
possible. Traditionally 1 2
-'.c2 should be best; he plays
1 2 . . . !!e8, I play 1 3 !!e 1 and
after 13 ... exd4 14 !!xe8+
xe8 1S xd4 I'm better.
It's no great advantage for
me, but there's no choice. I
don't like to play the position
with an extra pawn and
small chances to win.
KASPAROV:
xe4
0-0
12
13
14
15
-'.c2
!!e 1
!!xe8 +
xd4
!!e8
exd4
xe8
-'.e7
226
gS is a strong move. If he
takes 1 6 . . . xgS then 17
f1.xg5 Q.f6 and I have a very
strong move 18 d l . Then if
h e plays 1 8 . . . g4 19
xh7 + , or 1 8 . . . h6 1 9 f1.e4
f1.xe4 20 xe4 xe4 2 1
d8 + is winning, or if he
.
plays 18 . . . e6 then 1 9
e l . Okay, 1 6 i;lgS should
be better for me. If he takes
16 . . . i;lxgS 17 f1.xg5 then 17
... Q.f8, I can play 1 8 f1.e4
then into d6. It's a very good
position for my knight.
16
17
18
i;lg5
f1.xg5
d1
jtxg5
Q.f6
jte6
20
21
f1.xe6
e3
fxe6
hs
I don't like
now to take this pawn on e6,
b e c a u s e of d4 w i t h
counterplay o n the black
squares. I must find the plan
KASPAROV:
227
24
e5
25
g2
b6
27
28
29
Aa4
d6
!!xc6
f8
c7
f7
xf8 32 e8 t1'xe8 3 3
AxeS Q.d6 gives -some
chances to him. Oh I can
take on f8: 3 1 t1'xf8 + t1'xf8
then 32 xe4 is the simplest .
He has no defence to . e8. If
3 2 . . . bS 33 xbS t1'a8 + 34
f3 and no defence again. 30
xcS Q.xg4 is the same.
Okay, I have two extra
pawns.
30
31
32
228
Q.xg4
t1-xc5
t1-xf8 + t1-xf8
hxg4
1:0
ROUND NINE:
1 :0
1:0
lfz: 1/z
Game No . 25 Kasparov
Game No .26 Hubner
Game No .27 Korchnoi
Short
Portisch
Nunn
229
GAME TWENTY..FIVE
KASPARQV.. SHORT
1 d4 e6 2 af3 af6 3 c4 d5 4 ac3 $ie7 5 jtg5
h6 6 .Qxf6 i.txf6 7 e3 0-0 8 cl c6 9 ..Qd3
ad7 10 0-0 de 11 i.txc4 e5 12 h3 ed 13 ed
ah6 14 Ah3 Af5 15 .e1 ..Qg5 16 .a1 ad7
17 d5 c8 18 ad4 ..Qg6 19 ae6 fe 20 de
h7 21 xd7 b6 22 e7 .fe8 23 g4 c5
24 ae4 xe7 25 .Qc2 f8 26 g3 d8 27
!!ad1 a5 2s h4 /ie7 29 ac3 Axc2 30
..xe7 !!gS 31 ..dd7 ..Qf5 32 a. xg7 + h8 33
d4 1:0
230
GAME TWENTY-FIVE
KASPAROV-SHORT
231
232
1:0
233
d4
e6
f1.f3
c4
f1.f6
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
ac3
Jd.g5
Axf6
e3
.:.cl
i;i. d3
0-0
Axc4
h3
exd4
Ab3
d5
A e7
h6
Axf6
0-0
c6
f1. d7
dxc4
e5
exd4
ah6
A5
234
17
d5!
!'!c8?!
18
Q.d4!
18
19
G.e6!!
jig6
board.
19
20
fxe6
h7
Black must get his King off
the back rank. eg. 20 . . .
h8?? 2 1 exd7 c7 22 t1'd6!
l.i.fS 23 t1'xf8 + t1'xf8 24
e8 + -
2 1 t1'xd7
t1'b6
22
e7
22
23
.
dxe6
. .
t1'g4!
.
E:.fe8
23
t1'c5
235
24
C.e4
24
25
c2!!
xe7
lost.
27
28
h4!
aS
Jte7
29
Q.c3
29
30
31
25
26
g3
. . .
..adl
Jtxc2
..g8
!!f8
26
27
..xe7
..dd7
31
Jlf5
32 !!xg7+ h8
1 :0
33 d4
Kasparov, Martin.
d8
236
KASPARQV..SHORT
- The Players TV commentaries
1 d4 e6 2 Q.f3 Q.f6 3 c4 d5
4 G.c3 Ae7 5 j,j_g5 h6 6
Axf6 Axf6 7 e3 00 8 cl
c6 9 $i.d3 Q.d7 10 0-0 dxc4
1 1 Axc4 e5 1 2 h3 exd4 1 3
exd4 Q.b6 14 $i.b3 $i.f5
KASPAROV: I like to play
15 .el
SHORT Well, so far so good.
237
15
$i.g5
KASPAROV: Now I can take
16
Q.d7
KASPAROV: Of course he
protects the very important
square eS, but he took
control from the dS square.
It means I should play dS ,
but he can play acs and if
I take on c6 it gives me
nothing. But after 17 dS G,cS
I can play 1 8 Ac2 Axc2 1 9
t;-c2 cxdS 2 0 adl. Maybe
it's a big advantage. Anyway
it's better for me. I can play
without any risk.
17 d5
SHORT: I guess this was the
fxe6
19 G,e6
20 dxe6
h7
KASPAROV: Now if 2 1 exd7
238
xd7 b6 or f6. Or he
plays maybe 2 1 . .. Ah4.
Then I can play 2 2 g3 or even
take on d8: 22 xd8 Axf2 +
23 fl :cxd8 24 e7 Ad3 +
25 ae2 Ab6 mate, but 25
:e2 .Q.xe2 + 26 axe2 and
I have an extra piece. Very
good for me. And 2 1 xd7
b6 I should play 22 e7 and
if 22 . . . :xf2 23 aa4 wins,
or 22 . . . xf2 + 23 h 1
:fe8 24 ae4 looks like a
completely winning position.
21 xd7 b6
22 e7
SHORT: Two moves
to
consider here. Let's have a
brief look at this: 22 ...
xf2 + 23 hl :fe8 then
he goes 24 ae4. This looks
disastrous . I can't afford to
give up my bishop. Also I
want my queen to support
this :c7 move. Well, I don't
see how he hangs onto his
pawn at e7 and, well, what's
he going to do to me?
KASPAROV:
:fe8
That w a s
another unexpected move.
Black's position looks very
suspicious but I can't immed
iately see the best move. He's
trying to take this pawn, the
pride of my position. I must
do something immediately.
I think that the most
important weakness in the
black position is the bishop
on g6 and the white squares.
I can't use my pieces to
239
24 e4
KASPAROV:
xe7
Now Ac2.
Yes, there's no defence. Very
strange position. I can't
believe my eyes but it looks
like I'm winning a piece.
25 A c2
SHORT: That is quite un
pleasant. It looks like such an
innocuous move, but I
totally underestimated this.
He has some threats of
simply f4. Well f4 is just
winning a piece. I just absol
utely did not understand this
idea i;i.c2 . It looks like a
defensive ove, but what can I
play? I think I'm completely
lost. Well, he's threatening
f4, so let's stop that at least.
25
..f8
KASPAROV: He protects f4,
board.
26 g3
SHORT:
I'm surprised
because h4 won b y force
there. Well I just have to
keep playing moves and hope
the knock-out doesn't come.
Get my queen off the e-file.
d8
26
27 ..ad1
a5
28 h4
l;i.e7
KASPAROV: Maybe now
30 ..xe7
..g8
31 ..dd7
SHORT: Well, I should
240
32
33
1 :0
..xg7 + h8
d4
241
HUBNER .. PORTISCH
242
243
24 4
1:0
GAME TWENTY
SIX
Huhner .. Portisch
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
e4
a.f3
Ab5
Aa4
o.o
..e1
Ah3
c3
h3
d4
a.hd2
a4
e5
a.c6
a6
a.6
Ae7
b5
d6
0-0
Ah7
..e8
.i;if8
ttd7
14
. .. a.g6
15
16
Ac2
b3
c6
b4
A reasonable decision
since Black can hardly con
sider exchanging on a4 or c4 .
17
18
19
a.h2
a,g4
a.f1
c7
Ae7
cxd5?
13
14
d5
c4
a.e7
246
20
21
cxd5
hxg4
a.xg4
Ac8
22
a.e3
Ag5
23
24
25
26
27
(1.5
..xcl
$id3
t;-d2
..c2
32
33
34
35
36
$ib5!
!!c7
t;-c4
f3
Wf2
it.b7
.c8
...aa8
Wf8
ii).xcl
d8
ae7
..b8
27
28
29
30
31
gxf5
..eel
.c6
e2
ax5
f6
e7
a7
a5
36 . . .
37 We3
..ab8
g6
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
..xc7
xc7
Aa6
..b7
Afl
Ac4
Ad7!
xc7
.xc7
Ae6
..c6
..xd6
d8 +
247
GAME TWENTY..SEVEN
KORCHNOI .. NUNN
1 d4 g6 2 e4 d6 3 e3 af6 4 d3 g7 s af3
0-0 6 o.o eS 7 de de 8 h3 ae6 9 t}'e2 t}'e7 10
el ad7 1 1 e2 b6 12 a4 ..Q.b7 13 abd2
adS 14 aft t}'eS lS gS a6 16 t}'e3
t}'b7 17 !!adl e4 18 ad4 (i\deS 19 (i\bS (i\aS
20 t}'e2 xbS 2 1 ab '?!Ye7 22 f4 ad3 23
xd3 ed 24 xd3 h6 2S ist.h4 xd3 26
'?!fxd3 d8 27 t}'e2 t}'xf4 28 xe7 e8 29
b4 (i\b7 30 f3 t}'eS 3 1 (i\e3 xbS 32
fl d7 33 ads (i\eS 34 xeS be 3S dl
t}'b7 36 d2 tr'e6 37 !!f2 tr'd7 38 t}'f4 eS
39 !!d2 tr'e6 40 ae7 '?!Ye7 41 ads tr'e6 42
ae7 tr'e7 43 ads tr'e6 1/z:lfz
248
GAME TWENTY..SEVEN
KORCHNOI .. NUNN
249
250
251
252
GAME TWENTY-SEVEN
Korchnoi .. Nunn
1
2
3
4
5
d4
e4
c3
ii.d3
(],3
g6
d6
(],{6
ii.g7
7
8
o.o
dxcS
(],c6
9
10
5
6
dxc5
h3
0-0
c5!?
'8'e2
.e1
'8'c7
(],d7!
11
12
13
Ac2
a4
ahd2
b6
Ab7
Maybe 1 3 (],a3!?
13
14
15
afl
Ag5
adS
'8'c8
25 3
15
16
17
e3
.ad1
Aa6
'8'b7
c4!
18
19
20
21
22
Uld4
Q.b5
e2
axb5
f4
27
28
29
30
Ulde5
Q.a5
Axb5
c7
Uld3
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
x4
..e8
Q.b7
Axe7
Ah4
f3
e5
xb5
d7
Ulc5
bxc5
Ule3
..fl
Q.d5
AxeS
dl
b7
..d2
..2
f4!?
c6
d7
..
23
24
2s
Axd3
!!xd3
Ah4
cxd3
h6
=.
25
26
27
xd3
e2
..xd3
..dB
38
39
40
41
..d2
Q.c7
Q.d5
!!e5
e6
e7
41
254
. . .
e6
e7
42 a.c7
42 . . . c4 43 !! d8 + h7
44 .d7 with a sufficient
KORCHNOI .. NUNN
Rd9
5
6
8
9
10
11
12
13
d4
e4
c3
A d3
af3
0-0
dxc5
h3
e2
..e1
Ac2
a4
ahd2
g6
d6
a c6
A g7
0-0
c5
dxc5
ac6
c7
a d7
b6
Ah7
.adS
256
18 Q.d4
NUNN: That's unexpected
18
. .
ade5
KORCHNOI: A;pin I have
.
25 7
h6
24
25 Ah4
t! xd3
26 ..g-xd3
t! d8
2 7 ..g-e2
..g-xf4
28 Axe7
t!e8
29 Ah4
ah7
KORCHNOI: So, some
problems. My pawns on b 5
and e 4 are weak. The only
square I can defend both
pawns with the queen is e2,
but it's not a good square
because of the confrontation
of queen and rook on the
e-file. I 'll try to improve the
position of my pieces with
..g-{3 . I want an ending here.
19
aas
20 ..g-e2
Axh5
21 axb5
..g-c7
ad3
22 f4
23 Axd3 cxd3
24 t! xd3
NUNN: I now see that
30 f3
NUNN: That's a slightly
peculiar move . I
expect that. Well,
attack a pawn now.
greatest achievement
didn't
I can
It's my
so far.
..g-es
30
KORCHNOI: Well, I don't
31 Gle3
NUNN: All his moves are
31
258
xb5
KORCHNOI: Oh damn!
Instead of @e3, ..a 1 was
winning on the spot. In that
position he was dead lost
after .. a l . What the hell was
I doing? But still I have some
thing. I have ..fl , or ads.
What's first? I don't have
much time. Okay ..fl .
32 ..fl
KORCHNOI: Mamma mia!
ads was winning easily.
After 32 adS tt'd7 33 .. d l
wins on the spot!
NUNN: Well again all his
moves are unexpected, but
rather more pleasantly so
than before. I was really
worried about ads. But now
my move's forced, I must
defend f7 .
32
33 ad5
34 jtxc5
KORCHNOI:
tt'd7
ac5
bxc5
I have to
consider my failure. I failed
to win this fantastic position.
Well at least I have to keep
equilibrium here. I'm a little
bit worse. My pawn on e4 is
weak.
35
..dl
c6
36 ..d2
37 ..f2
tt'd7
.. e5
38 f4
39 ..d2
tt'e6
40 ac7
NUNN: Well, I can force a
40
41
42
43
b7
259
ad5
ac7
ad5
tt'e7
e6
tt'e7
e6
OTHER BOOKS BY
CHEQUERS CHESS PUBLICATIONS
18 Chalk Farm Road, London NW 1
ROUND TEN:
Game No.28 Short
Game No.29 Portisch
Game No.30 Nunn
0:1
1/z: 1/z
1fz: 1/z
Korchnoi
Kasparov
Huhner
261
GAME TWENTY..EIGHT
SHORT .. KORCHNOI
1 e4 e6 2 d4 d5 3 e3 b4 4 e5 e5 5 a3
Axe3 + 6 be e7 7 3 aS 8 Ad2 be6
9 e2 ed 10 ed a4 1 1 -'..e 3 b6 12 'itd3 b4
1 3 b5 + xbS 14 Axh5 + be6 1 5 ill.d 2
Ad7 16 .Qa6 6 17 ef gf 18 .Qe3 hS 19 h4
rtJ7 20 0-0 ..ag8 2 1 f4 !! g4 22 g3 .. xh4 23
gh 5 24 rtJ2 exd4 25 Axd4 xd4 26 e4
b3 27 a. ad1 eS 28 .Qhs .Qxb5 29 eh rtJg6
30 a, g 1 + rtJ5 3 1 rtJe3 .. e8 32 .. g7 b3 3 3
..d3 d 4 + 34 rtJ3 a. e3 35 .. xe3 de 36 a.e7
e2 0:1
262
G A M E T W E N T Y .:E I G H T
SHORT .. KORCHNOI
263
264
0: 1
265
GAME TWENTY-EIGHT
Short .. Korchnoi
1
2
3
4
e4
d4
G.c3
e5
e6
d5
Ab4
4
5
6
7
a3
bxc3
Q.3
c5
Axc3 +
G.e7
ttas
13
8
9
10
11
Ad2
e2
cxd4
Ae3?!
G\bc6
cxd4
tta4
= ,
11
b6
Korchnoi prepares to
exchange off Black's QB, so
often the problem piece of
B l a c k ' s en t i r e d e fe n c e
strategy. Short takes imm
ediate steps to prevent its
deployment at a6.
12
ttd3
G\b4
ttbs + ?
13
14
ttxb5
Axb5 + G\bc6
15
Ad2
266
15
jtd7
16
a6
16
17
f6
exf6
267
to assume tremendous
importance.
But if White does not
exchange on f6, Black's . . .
fxeS will saddle White with a
weak pawn on eS.
17
18
19
20
Ac3
ah4
0-0?
gxf6
h5
f7
20
21
f4
..ag8
21
22
g3
..g4
..xh4!!
An u nexpected and
impressive exchange sacrif
ice, exploiting his control of
the g-file. By this, White's
pawns are wrecked. Even
though Black does not at
o nce reap a ny fu rther
m a t e r i al c o m p e n s a t i o n ,
White's scattered pawns are
very hard to defend.
23
gxh
26
27
2s
29
30
31
32
Q.f5
24
f2
24
25
26
Axd4
c4
Q.cxd4
Q.xd4
adl
Abs
cxb5
..gl +
We3
..g7
Q.h3
Q.c5
Axb5
Wg6
f5
c8
If 3 2 :. c l d4 + !
32
33
:.d3
Q.b3
d4 +
The
passed
p aw n s
commence their inexorable
advance; . . . eS can follow if
required, but it 1s not
needed.
34
35
36
3
..xc3
c7
l'!c3!
dxc3
c2!
268
SHORT..KORCHNOI
Rd 1 0
e6
1 e4
d5
2 d4
-'b4
3 c3
4 e5
c5
Axc3 +
5 a3
6 bxc3
e7
a5
7 3
8 .Q.d2
a,bc6
SHORT: I have to admit that
cxd4
9 Ae2
10 cxd4
a4
SHORT: I could continue as
in Sokolov-Yusupov with 1 1
..Q.e3 . Actually I've been
thinking of playing this line
myself as Black and I was
slightly afriad of Ae3 , so I'll
give it a whirl.
11 Ae3
KORCHNOI: So what do I
269
11
b6
12 d3
ah4
1 3 b5 + xb5
14 Axb5 + ahc6
SHORT: My biggest problem
15 .Q.d2
KORCHNOI: Yes this is
15
16
Aa6
Ad7
6
17 ex6
gx6
18 c3
KORCHNOI: He wants to
18
h5
SHORT: My God, what on
19 ah4
KORCHNOI: Logical. Yes,
19
f7
SHORT: I suppose he's trying
21 f4
KORCHNOI:
W e l l , he
presumably also believes in
his star and thinks that he
may j ust crush me. Well, I
have my own plan. I'm going
to sacrifice something.
..g4
21
SHORT: I've got a sneaking
270
22 g3
xh4
@f5
23 gxh4
SHORT: I think I have a very
24 f2
KORCHNOI:
Very good
move. Otherwise I could play
g8 + and g4. Well, I
have to recapture something.
I need some compensation
for the exchange.
acxd4
24
25 Axd4 @xd4
SHORT: Well, I could play
26 c4
KORCHNOI: Oh, this is a
manoeuvre.
26 . . .
@h3
SHORT: I completdy forgot
27 adl
KORCHNOI :
Also very
optimistic. He could simply
take 27 cxdS , when I take 27
. . . Ulxa 1 28 dxe6 + Axe6 29
.. xa l , Black stands better.
But it was still . about equal
game. Well now my move is
obvious.
27
Gk5
28 .t.ih5
Axh5
29 cxb5
KORCHNOI: And my next
271
29
Wg6
3o
31
a g1 +
We3
W5
31
32 a. g7
33 a. d3
34 W3
35 a. xc3
36 l3. c7
KORCHNOI: Black is
obviously better, but should
I defend my 7th rank. I need
to do something quickly
because there is a threat in
!!c8
ah3
d4 +
!!c3
de
c2
272
0: 1
273
274
275
GAME TWENTY-NINE
Portisch
This is the last round.
Kasparov had already won
the tournament by a possibly
record margin for this kind
of event, and he did not need
to push for a win with the
B lack pieces . Portisch
actually said "thank you",
when Kasparov offered the
draw. Kasparov, in relaxed
and endearing fashion, even
found time to sign auto
graphs for admirers during
the game!
1
2
3
4
5
6
c4
Ql,c3
d4
Ql,f3
Ag5
Ah4
e6
d5
Ae7
a6
h6
.. Kasparov
1 4 .fd 1 e8 15 aes bS 1 6
axbS (Kasparov-K arpov
-36-World C hampionship
Moscow 1 984/85) appears
doubtful after 1 6 . . . b8! ! Of
course, under present cir
cumstances Portisch is not
going to enter that kind of
snake-pit.
12
13
. .
e3
0-0
b6
!!cl
Ad3
Axc4
0-0
tr'e2
b7
dxc4
ahd7
c5
a4
a6!
cxd4
6
7
14
15
16
17
18
exd4
jtxe7
d5
e3
Gl>e4
19
Ql,g3
Ql,h 5
xe7
Ql,f4
f6
tr'f5
8
9
10
11
12
19
276
f6
20
Gle4
f5
more move.
21 @ g3
Drawn.
Kasparov-Karpov (34)
Moscow 1 984/85 ended here
as 1/z: 1/z . Portisch plays one
f6
27 7
GAME THIRTY
NUNN.. HOBNER
1 e4 e6 2 d4 d5 3 Q.c3 Ab4 4 e5 d7 5 Ad2
b6 6 Ab5 c6 7 Aa4 a5 8 a3 Afs 9 Q.ce2 Aa6
10 c3 Q.e7 11 Q.f3 Q.f5 12 0-0 Ae7 13 !!e1
Axe2 14 xe2 Q.a6 15 Ac2 Q.c7 16 a4 g6
17 !!ad1 h5 18 g3 \!tf8 19 \!tg2 \!tg7 20 h3
!!ag8 21 !!h1 d8 22 b4 aS 23 g4 Q.h6
24 Q.g5 b5 25 bxa5 xa5 26 axb5 Q.xb5
2 7 c4 Q.xd4 28 (.xe6 + (.xe6 29 .txa5
Q.f4 + 30 \!tf3 Q.xe2 31 Wxe2 hxg4 32 hxg4
1/z: lfz
278
GAME THIRTY
NUNN - HUBNER
279
280
281
GAME THIRTY
Nunn .. Huhner
1
2
3
e4
d4
G.c3
e6
d5
3
4
e5
Ah4
d7
6
7
8
Aa4
a3
c6
a5
N ow W h i t e , h a s , i f
necessary, a haven for his KB
on a2.
8
9
G.ce2
A8
Ah5!
Aa6
10
11
c3
Q.3
G.e7
Q.5
28 2
12
13
0-0
e1
'itxe2
Ac2
a4
aa6
ac7
g6
17
18
ad1
g3
h5
\fi>f8
19
g2
19
20
21
h3
h1
b4
t;-a8
Ae7
Axe2
14
15
16
22
\t>g7
ag8
'itd8
283
23
24
g4?
ag5
ah6
b5!
25
26
27
bxa5
axb5
c4
'itxa5!
axb5
axd4!
28
axe6 +
29
xa5
30
31
32
A bombshell, planning to
:neet 28 . . . fxe6 with 29 d3
lttacking aS and g6.
28
. . .
uhe6!!
284
f3
xe2
hxg4
G.xe2
hxg4
Drawn. Eg. 32 . . . .. aS
(planning . . . .. a2) 33 .. a l
G.xg4 3 4 .. xh8 .. xh8
(xh8 3S cxdS cxdS 36 Ab3
G.xeS? 37 .i;i.c3) 3S cxdS cxdS
36 Ab3 G.xeS 37 Ac3 Af6
38 AxeS AxeS 39 aS ..e8
40 ..xdS
= .
285