Anatoly Karpov & Evgeny Gik - Chess Kaleidoscope

ChessKaleidoscope

A.KARPOV & Y.GIK

PERGAMOM PRESS

ChessKaleidoscope

In Chess Kaleidoscope, World ChampionAnaloly Karpov has collaborated withMathematician and Chess JournalistYevgeny Qik to produce an instructive andentertaining book, which should satisfythe demands both of chess enthusiastsand of serious players.

The book is in three parts, the first ofwhich tells of matches For the WorldChampionship, of decisive games, of com-binations, problems and studies on thechess board, and of the unusual propertiesof the board and pieces. Part two dealswith a currently fashionable topic. TheComputer at the Ches1 Board , and in thethird part the World Champion annotatesfifteen of his best games, many of whichare from recent events dnd may beunfamiliar to the Western reader.

PERGAMON RUSSIAM CHESS SERIES

0 08 026896 X

PERGAMON RUSSIAN CHESS SERIES

General EditorKenneth P. NeatExecutive EditorMartin J. Richardson

AVERBAKH, Y.Chess Endings: Essential Knowledge

BOTVINNIK, M. M.Achieving the AimAnatoly Karpov: His Road to the World ChampionshipSelected Games 1967-70

ESTRIN, Y. & PANOV, V. N.Comprehensive Chess Openings

KARPOV, A. & ROSHAL, A.Anatoly Karpov: Chess is My Life

LIVSHITZ, A.Test Your Chess IQ, Books 1 & 2

NEISHTADT, Y.Catastrophe in the Opening

POLUGAYEVSKY, L.Grandmaster Preparation

SUETIN, A. S.Modern Chess Opening Theory

TAL, M., CHEPIZHNY, V. & ROSHAL, A.Montreal 1979: Tournament of Stars

Chess Kaleidoscope

By

A. KARPOV and Y. GIK

Translated byKENNETH P. NEAT

PERGAMON PRESSOXFORD • NEW YORK • TORONTO • SYDNEY • PARIS • FRANKFURT

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Firs! edition 1981

Britilh Library Cataloguing in Publication Data

Karpov, AnatoliiChess kaleidoscope. - (Pergamon Russian chess series)1. ChessI. Title II. Gik, Y. III. Shakhmatykaleidoscope. English794.1 G VI445

ISBN 0-08-026897-8 (Hardcover)ISBN 0-08-026896-X (Flexicover)

Library of Congress Catalog Card no: 81-82527

Printed in Great Britain by A. Wntatan & Co. Ltd,, Exeter

.

Foreword

The game of chess is inexhaustible, and no one definitely knowswhat it is — science, art or sport, A professional interest in thisancient but eternally youthful game is displayed by people of variousprofessions: psychologists and doctors, mathematicians and cybernetic-ists, as well as historians and teachers. And in their leisure time,millions of people simply like to play chess, from school children toacademicians, and from wise phi losophers to light-minded drummers inpop groups.

Of course, the sport element In chess is also very great, andcompetitive success is of considerable significance. The recognition andpopularity of a player, and ultimately his very livelihood, depend onthe results which he scores in tournaments. This is why many playersstrive to perfect their mastery. For practical players in many countriesof the world a great deal of chess literatur-e is published — openingmonographs, games collections, and books on the endgame.

But chess would be dead, were it not for the many thousands ofadmirers and supporters who have a disinterested love of chess, whoknow everything about it, and at the same time do not have any greatambitions.

The authors have written the present book in the hope of satis-fying to some extent the demands of both categories of chess player —both enthusiasts and serious players. The book acquaints the readerwith the most varied aspects of chess, both as a game and an art, andtherefore we have decided to call it Chess Kaleidoscope. The book isin three parts. The f irst part, 'Seven Chess Letters', tells of matchesfor the World Championship and decisive games, of combinations, prob-lems and studies on the chess board, and of the unusual properties ofthe chess board and pieces. The second part of the book, 'The Computerat the Chess Board', is wholly devoted to a currently fashionable lopic— to chess playing by electronic computers. Here are described com-petitions between machines, including three World Computer ChessChampionships. Games by computers are given, played both againstother computers, and against humans. We describe the successes of thefirst Computer World Champion, the Soviet program Kaissa, in theanalysis of chess endings (one of the creators of Kaissa, mathemat-ician and chess master A. Bit man, assisted in the writing of this partof the book).

vi Foreword

The th i rd part of the book, 'Fifteen of the World Champion's BestGames', is purely chess. Each game is annotated by the World Cham-pion, and is accompanied by a brief introduction, explaining why thatpart icular game is dear lo the author, and why it was included in theselect Ion.

How did the idea of wr i t ing this book arise? Its authors f i rstbecame acquainted in 1968 in (he Moscow University Chess Championship,when the game between the f inal-year student Y. Gik and the f i rs t -yearstudent in the same University faculty A. Karpov played an Importantrole. The latter came out on top, and also won the t i t le of MoscowUniversity Champion, while the former finished In second place (theKarnov-Gik game opens the third part of the book). Shortly after-wards, one of the authors moved from Moscow to Leningrad, and trans-ferred !o the Economics Faculty of Leningrad University (he finishedwith a distinction there several years la ter) . In 1975 Anatoiy Karpovbecame chess champion of the world, and three years later succeededin retaining this t i t le in the match in Baguio. During the interveningyears the second author has defended his mathematics dissertation,published more than thir ty scientific works, and, in passing, writtentwo chess books. Now World Champion Anatoiy Karpov once again livesin Moscow; he is edi tor-in-chjef of the Chess Review 64, while YevgenyGik, who is a member of the USSR Union of Journalists, uses his connec-tions to write from time to time for this magazine.

Since 1980 the authors have been wri t ing a chess column in thepopular science magazine Kvant* ( in this way the World Champion hassucceeded in returning to mathematics!}. The idea of this book In factcame to the authors when wr i t ing their 'chess letters' for Kvant.This, In part icular , explains why the chapters of the f i rst part of thebook are called ' le t te rs ' . Although during the work on the book the' let ters ' from Kvant were at hand, in the 'kaleidoscope', as should bethe case, their contents have been completely mixed up. The result,we hope, is a r ich, diverse and unusual book, In which every readerwil l f ind for himself something of interest.

A. Karpov, Y. Gik

•Kvan t = Quantum (K.P.N. )

Contents

PART ONE - SEVEN CHESS LETTERS - .

First Letler — The Geometry of the Chess BoardSecond Letter — Symmetry in ChessThird Letter — An Ancient MateFourth Letter — Forty Chess QuartetsFifth Letter- — Trios and Duets on the Chess BoardSixth Letter — Two Decisive GamesSeventh Letter - Before the 30th Match for the

World Championship

31524335466

7B

PART TWO - THE COMPUTER AT THE CHESS BOARD

Why program computers to play chess?Competitions with the Participation of ComputersThe Computer Analyzes the Endgame

99101103115

PART THREE - FIFTEEN OF THE WORLD CHAMPION'S BEST GAMES 123

No. 1 Karpou-Gik, Moscow Universi ty Championship, 1968 125No. 2 Karpov-Hort, Moscow 1971 129No. 3 Karpov-Polugayevsky, Quarter-F inal Candidates'

Match, Moscow 1974 133No. 4 Karpov-Spassky, Semi-Final Candidates' Match,

Leningrad \9Tt 137No. 5 Karpov-Korchnoi, Final Candidates' Match,

Moscow 1974 l f t

No. 6 Port isch-Karpou, European Team Championship,Moscow 1977 H

No. 7 Tlmman-Karpov, Montreal 1979 ' *No. 8 Karpov-HCibner, Bad Lauterberg 1980 1 *No. 9 Kar-pov-Tal, Bugojno 1980 H9

v i i

Contents

No.No.No.N o .No.

1011121314

No. 15

Gl igor ic -Karpov , Bugojno 1980Karpov-Ribl i , Amsterdam 1980Larsen-Karpov, Amsterdam 1980Karpov-5passky, T i l b u r g 1980Karpov-Hort , Malta Olympiad 1980L jubo jev ic -Karpov, L inares 1981

151154157159162166

Part One

Seven Chess Letters

First Letter

THE GEOMETRY OF THE CHESSBOARD

In order to play well al chess i l is nol essential to be a goodmathematician. The continuous calculation of variations, which aplayer has to conduct during a game, is of a different nature from thework of the calculating mathematician. Me vert he less, the game of chesscontains certain mathematical features, with which we are going toacquaint you.

We wil l begin with the fact lhat the chess board possessesunusual geometric properties, which are of great importance in thetheory of the endgame. Let us begin with the following famous study.

R. Reti, 1921

White to play and draw.

Surprising though it may seem, White succeeds in catching theenemy pawn. Of course, if the king heads for it by the direct route(1 Kh7 h4 2 Kh6 h3, etc.) the pawn safely promotes to a queen. ButWhite chooses a more cunning route: I Kg7! h4 2 Kf6! Kb6 (on 2. . .h3there follows 3 Ke7 h2 4 c? Kb7 5 Kd7, and the pawns queen simul-taneously) 3 Ke5! Now 3...h3 & Kd6 h2 5 c7 again leads to a draw,but no better is 3...Kxc6 4 Kf4 h3 5 Kg3 hZ 6 Kxh2 - the kingcatches the pawn on the threshold of queening.

As we see, White is saved here by a purely geometric idea, whichconsists of the fact that the shortest distance on the chess board is notnecessarily measured in a straight l ine. In the given example the

4 Seven Chess Letters

path of the white king from he to hZ occupies six moves, both in astraight line, and in a z ig- iag; but in the second instance Black isforced to lose two extra temp i, which enables his 'unstoppable' pawnlo be halted.

When this pawn study was published, it caused a genuine sen-sation in the chess world. The geometric idea on which it i? based hassubsequently been improved many times, but for purity of form it isImpossible to surpass the or ig ina l . Seven years later, Retl gave his'discovery' an even more paradoxical form.

R. Reti, 1928


A single white pawn draws against three opposing connectedpassed pawns! 1 Kg6 Kb6 2 Kxg7 h5 (2...fS 3 Kf6 f4 h Ke5 f35 Kd6, with a draw) 3 Kxf6 hA 4 Ke5, with the familiar f in ish;1...f5 2 Kxg7 f4 3 Kf6 13 !3...Kb6 4 Ke5) 4 Ke7(e6). Draw.

We will consider one further endgame study, in which White winsby a 'geometric' method.

I. Maizelis, 1921

White to play and win.

The a7 pawn cannot be defended, and Black's one chance is toanswer the inevitable Kxa7 with ...Kc7, not allowing the enemy kingout of capt iv i ty. The path of the white king to the a7 pawn takesfive steps, and there are 30 different ways of capturing the pawn Inthis number of moves, but only one of them wins: 1 Ke6t Kc3 2 Kd3!The white king, as chess players say, 'shoulder charges' his blackopponent. Now the latter cannot go to d4, and loses a decisive tempo:2..,Kd3 3 Kc6 Kd4 * Kb7 Kc5 5 Kxa7 Kc6 6 Kb8, etc. Other ways

1st Letter — The Geometry of the Chess Board 5

do not work, for example 1 Ke6 Kc3 2 Kd6 Kd4 3 Kc6 Ke5! 4 Kb7 Kd65 Kxa7 Kc7, with a draw.

A tragic incident, associated w i t h . . . the geometry of the chessboard, occurred in 1951 iri the match for the World Championshipbetween Botvinnik and Bronstein, as wil l be described in the seventh' letter' .

Let us now examine (wo very simple geometric rules for pawnendings, which every chess player should know.

The Rule of the Square

In the following position the while king is not participating inthe play, and everything depends upon whether or not its blackopponent can catch the h3 pawn.

Inexperienced players usually reason as follows: the pawn goeshere, the king — there, the pawn — here, the king — there, and so on.In doing so they frequently get confused (especial ly if there are otherpawns on the board}, and in the end miscalculate. However, the out-come of the game can easily be evaluated using the 'rule of thesquare'. It is sufficient to check whether or not the king can, on Itsmove, enter the 'square' of the pawn — In the given Instance thatdepicted in the diagram. For convenience one need mentally draw onlyone line — the diagonal of the square (h3-c8). Thus, in our positionBlack lo move can draw (he enters the square), but if It is theopponent's move Black loses.

The well-known chess master and composer N. Grigoriev wasinvolved in an amusing incident in the days of his youth (1913). Oncein a chess club he was playing a game against an old man. Theyouth was very agitated, since he assumed that he was up againstsome eminent old player. But things went quite well, and in the endthe following position was reached.

With a trembl ing hand the old man took the b-pawn — 1 ...Kxb2,


but then the other pawn rushed forward — 2 a4. The enemy kinghastened after it — 2...Ka3 3 a5 Ka4. Al this point the young playerbegan to have doubts; what if the old man should know some magicalsecret, and was not pursuing the pawn in vain? There was nothing tolose, and the race continued — 4 a6 Ka5 5 a7 Ka6. The black kinghas kept r ight behind the pawn. Here, with a cry of 'que«n! ' , Whitemade the last move with his pawn — 6 aB=CH. The old man's face wascovered in gr ief. "Ah, too la te ! ! " , he sighed despair ingly. The oldman had believed in his good fortune, bul the sudden appearance ofthe queen shattered al I his hopes. . . . See whal a sad tragedy canresult from not knowing the rule of the square!

Who knows, perhaps this episode with the pursuit of the pawnplayed its part, but, at any event, Nikolai Grigoriev subsequentlybecame one of the greatest specialists in the world in the f ield of pawnendings. Here is a str ik ing ex amp le; to an international competitionfor studies in France, held in 1936, he sent ten of his pawn studies,and al l ten won prizes!

The Rule of the Triangle

In the following position Black to move loses immediately, sincehe allows the white king in at b6 and loses his only pawn.


But It is now White's move, and he has to give his opponent themove, in other words, gain a tempo. After 1 Kd5 KcB nothing isachieved by 2 KdG Kd8 3 c7+ Kc8 4 Kc6 stalemate!, while 2 Kc5 Kc7leads to the in i t ia l position. The goal is achieved by means of ' t r i -angulat ion1 . For the given example this tr iangle (c4-d4-d5) is depictedin the diagram. After 1 Kd5 Kc8 2 Kd4 Kb8 3 Kc4! Kc8 4 Kd5 thenecessary tempo has been won! Now on 4...Kd8 White wins by 5 Kd6Kc8 6 c7, and on 4...Kc7 by 5 Kc5.

Geometric Opposition

Opposition plays a basic role in the playing of pawn endings.Geometric opposition means that the white and black kings are situatedon the same line, and are separated by ar\ odd number of squares.If there is one square, the opposition Is eel led close, if there erethree or f ive, it is called distant. With the kings on the same f i le ,rank or diagonal, the opposition is called ver t ica l , horizontal ordiagonal, respectively. Thus, to gain the opposition, one has to usearithmetic — calculate the number of squares between the kings. If thepawns are f ixed, the side possessing the opposition (with the opponent


to move) attains his goal — wins, or gains a draw. In every case, adecisive role is played by manoeuvres of the kings (and pawns, if theyare not blocking one another).

White to play and draw. .,

In order to gain a draw, White must take the opposition. But inthe event of close opposition he is hindered dy his own pawn: 1 Kfi?Kd2 2 Kf2 Kd3!, and the opposition is lost - 3 Kg3 Ke3 4 Kg2 Ke25 Kg3 Kfl 6 Kh3 Kf2 7 Kg4 Kg2, and wins. The game is saved onlyby the distant opposition: 1 KM ! Kc2 (after 1...g4 2 Kg2 Kd23 f xg i eU 4 g5 the pawns promote simultaneously) 2 Kg2 Kd2 3 Kh2!Ke2 4 Kg2 Ke3 5 Kg3, with a draw.

Now an amusing example, which also relates to the opposition.


The reader may be confused by the task, since after all Whitehas an extra rook. But here there is one additional condition — therook is allowed to move, only if i t . . . gives mate!

After 1 Kg2! White takes the opposition (the kings are separatedby an odd number of squares — f ive) . If now the black king keeps onthe g-f i le, White retains the opposition — 1...Kg7 2 Kg3! (the distanceIs again an odd number, three squares) 2...Kg6 3 Kg4! (one square).Thus, Black is forced to move off the g-fi le - 3...Kh6 4 Kf5! Up t i l lnow the white king could not stand in front of the rook, since hisblack opponent would have immediately escaped to freedom across thef- f l le. But now this possibility has appeared, and White carries outan outflanking manoeuvre. 4 . . .Kg7 (alas, after 4 . . .Kh6 the rook isallowed to come Into play - 5 Rhi mate) 5 Kg5! (again the oppositionhas been won) 5. . .Kh7 6 Kf6! KgB 7 Kg6! KhB 8 Rf8 mate (6 . . .Kh87 Kf7 Kh7 8 Rhi mate). After 1 Kh2? KhS! 2 Kg3 Kg7 3 Kh4 Kh6 theblack k ing cannot be pinned aga ins t the w a l l .


The Theory of Corresponding Squares

On making the acquaintance of the concept of opposition, we sawthat in pawn endings, in order to win (or draw), the one king, forvarious positions of his opponent, must occupy corresponding squares(the opposition), and thai if He cannot do this, th« goal is notachieved. This correspondence often proves to be more complex thanthat examined above, and therefore the opposition is essentially aspecific instance of the concept of 'corresponding squares', arising Inthe analysis of positions with a blocked pawn structure. in theirstudy, various methods are used: 'Bianchett i 's cr i t ical distances','Ebersr's co-ordinate system', and others. The theory of such endingsis cal led the theory of corresponding squares. The analysis of eachconcrete position can be regarded as the solution of a subtle mathe-matical problem, although there is no single algorithm in existence.Uet us investigate the following fa i r l y simple example (While to move).

Black's position is not easy — the white king is threatening tobreak into his camp either via f3, or via b7. Black must endeavour toprevent both these intrusions. Let us consider various positions ofthe white k ing, and determine the corresponding squares for Black.Let us begin with the cr i t ical intrusion squares — f3 and a6. If thewhite king stands at f3, 6lack must not allow it (o reach g4, i.e. hisking must stand at g5 (from h5 he wil l be too far away from the 0-side). Thus on the corresponding squares f3 and g5 we write thenumber 1 . If the white king has arrived at a6, Black must meet it atb8 (number 2), Suppose that the white king stands at e2. Since it isthreatening to occupy square 1 in one move, and square 2 in four, theblack king must be at f6 (at e2 and f6 we place the number 3). Thewhite king can go to a6 from a5 and bS, and this means that thesesquares correspond to c8 (number 4) . The white king can reach thesquares with number 4 from b4 or c4, and they correspond to d8 (num-ber 5). From d3 the king can go to squares 3 and 5, i.e. it corres-ponds to square e7 (number 6). Similarly, from c3 the king can occupysquares 5 and 6, and it corresponds to e8 (number 7}. From d2 theking has moves to squares 3, 6 and 7, and the corresponding square isf7 (number 8). The remaining squares do not play any role.

Thus the corresponding squares are not mutually equivalent — twopairs of white squares each correspond to one black square, and thisdecides matters: 1 Kf3 KgS 2 Ke2 Kf6 3 Kd3 (3 Kd2 Kf7) 3.. ,Ke7A Kc4 (4 Kc3 Ke8) 4,..Kd8. Up t i l l now Black has found the necessaryreply, but after 5 Kb4! (the white king stays on a square with thenumber 5) Black loses the correspondence and with it Ihe game: on5-..Ke7(e6) there follows G Kb5, and on 5...Kc8 - 6 Kc3 Kd8 7 Kc4I,and on one sector of the board Ihe white king breaks through to theblack pawns.

In the given example Black has l i t t le opportunily for manoeuvre.


and therefore White could even have permitted himself an inaccuracy.For example, if he had gone S Kb5 (instead of 5 Kb4), then after 5 . . .Kc8 he could have repaired h i 5 mistake by 6 Ka5! etc. But Often insuch positions one inexact move can have irreparable consequences.

White to play and win. '

The analysis of this position is considerably more complicated.White intends to break through either via d6, or via f4, and the blackking must hinder both these plans. Thus if the while king reaches c5,Black must meet it at e7 (with his king at d7 he would not have timeto defend the g4 pawn after Kc5-d4-e3-f4), i .e. e7 corresponds to thesquare c5. With the white king at f4, Black's must be at h5, i.e. h5corresponds lo f4.

If the white king has reached d4, Black's at this point mustoccupy f7, so as to answer Kc5 with ...Ke7, and Ke3 with . . .Kg6.From c4 White can go both Kc5 and Kd4, and in this case Black's kingmust be at fB, so as to stand at e7 (after Kc5) or at f7 (after Kd4).From d3 the moves Kc4, Kd4 and Ke3 are possible, and therefore thesquare corresponding to d3 is g7. By successively going round al l themost important squares at the disposal of the white k ing, and seekingthe coresponding squares for Its black colleague, we obtain the fo l -lowing picture, where, as above, corresponding squares are indicatedby the same number.

Now the solution can be found almost automatically. White shouldbe guided by the following rule: to place his king on a squar-e whichat the given instant corresponds to the square of the black k ing, or ona square, the corresponding square to which is Inaccessible to tblack king within one move. Since the corresponding square to bl isg7, and that to b2 is h7, and to a2 — h8, the only move to win is1 Ka1-a2!! After 1 Kb1? Kg7! or 1 Kb2? Kh7! Black gains a draw.

Since the subsequent play Is simpler, we give only the mainvariat ion (if Black plays otherwise, he loses more quick ly) . 1 Ka2!IKh7 2 Kb2! Kg7 3 Kb3! Kg8 4 Kc3! Kf8 5 Kc4! Kf7 6 Kd4! By th«staircase depicted in the d iag ram, the white k i n g has completed its


ascent onto the highest step, and now Black is defenceless! Obviously,by means of our table of numbers it is also easy to evaluate the posi-tion for other in i t ia l piacings of the kings, but only for the givenpawn structure.

Up t i l l now we have been talking only about pawn endings.However, various mathematical elements are also contained in otherendings. Consider, for example, one form of the ending 'rook andpawn against rook1.

Draw

How should this position be evaluated? White has an extra pawn,but It turns out that he cannot win. For the evaluation of suchpositions, in which Black's king is cut off from (he white pawn, buthis rook is attacking the pawn from the front, there exists a simplearithmetic ru le. It Is called the ' rule of f ive ' , and goes as follows.If the number of the rank occupied by the pawn and the number offiles separating it from the weaker side's king in total give a numberless than or equal to five, the position is drawn; but If this numberis greater than f ive, the stronger side wins.

Thus the position in the above diagram is drawn. Indeed, thepawn stands on the third rank, and the king is cut off by two fi les,3 + 2 = 5! Play can go as follows: 1 Kc3 RcB+ 2 Kb4 RdB 3 Kc4Rc8+ 4 Kb5 Rd8 5 Rdi Kf6 6 d4 (6 Kc6 KeS) 6...Ke7 7 Kc6 Rc8+,with a simple draw — the black king succeeds in occupying a square infront of the pawn.

White wins.

In this position, which differs from the previous one in that thepawn and king have been moved up one rank, White now wins — thesum in question is greater than f ive: 4 + 2 = 6! This is how the winis achieved: 1 KcA Rc8+ 2 Kb5 RdB 3 Kc5 RcB+ 4 Kb6 RdB 5 RdiKf6 6 Kc7! RdS 7 Kc6 Rdfl 8 d5, and the pawn attains the eighthrank without d i f f icu l ty .

1 1st Letter" — The Geometry of the Chess Board 11

White wins.

And this position differs from the in i t ia l one by the black k ingand white rook being moved one f i l e to the r i gh t . The black king iscut off from the pawn by three f i les , and again 3 + 3 = 6! Whitedecides the game by 1 Kc3 RcB+ 2 Kdfi RdS+ 3 Ke4 Re8+ 4 Kf5 Rf8+5 Ke6 Rd8 6 Rdl Rd4 7 Ke5 RdB 8 d4, etc.

We have studied three positions in which White's extra pawn wasa central one. However, the given rule is also perfectly applicable topositions with a bishop's or kn igh t ' s pawn.

Draw

According to the ' ru le of f i v e ' , this is a draw. 1 Kb3 RbB+2 Ka4 Rc8 3 Kb4 RbB+ 4 Ka5 Rc8 5 Rci Ke3 6 c4 Kd2, or 1 Re6 Kf52 Rb6 KeS 3 Kb3 Kd5, with a simple draw. The result does not changeif this last position \s shifted either- one f i le to the r igh t , or to theleft.

It has to be said that the ' ru le of f ive1 can prove useful only to•a human. But for a computer p lay ing chess, it is no use at a l l . Aswi l l be described in the second part of the book, a computer has madean exhaustive study of a l l endings of the type 'rook and pawn againstrook1, and is able to make a fault less evaluation of any one of them.

We wi l l now describe an amusing instance, which bears somerelat ion to our theme. It happened 15 years ago in a group of students,who were good mathematicians (but not very good chess p layers ! ) . Oneof the authors of this book, then st l l I a student (at that time thesecond author was studying at school, and could hardly have guessedthat wi thin ten years he would become the strongest player on thisplanet) , for amusement offered his colleagues the following problem of aso-called reverse mate.


White to play and force Black to give mate.

In this position Black does not want to mate the white k ing, butWhite forces him to do this. Since Ihe task was an unusual one, Idecided f i rst of a l l . . . to show my colleagues how to give mate, and soI took the white pieces: 1 Bg2 Bd5 2 Qd8 Bb7 3 Be4 Bc6 4 0c8 Bb75 Bd5 Bc6 6 Qh8 Bb7 7 Bb6, and Black is forced to play 7...Bxc6mate.

The students said that it was all clear to them, and we turnedthe board round. But after 1 Bg2 Be4 2 0d8 Bd5 3 Qe8 Bc6 4 Qf8Bb7 5 Qh8 Bf3 6 QdB Bd5 7 Be4 Bb7 8 Qc8 Bc6 9 Bd5 Bb7 they weredisappointed to notice that the in i t ia l position had again been reached.This was repealed several times — I, playing White, achieved my goal,while my partners with the same colour could in no way force Black tomate them. In the end we made a bet, and my colleagues had indepen-dently to disclose the secret of the mysterious queen and bishopmanoeuvres. The students llyashenko and Petri (now well-known

mathematicians) compiled a table of corresponding squares between thewhite pieces and Ihe black bishop, and soon (after a l l , they were goodmathematicians!} the exact law was establ ished! It [urns out that,however the white queen moves about along the eighth rank, nothingwi l l force Black, who chooses the corresponding squares for his bishop,to mate the white k ing! Black must merely observe the following ru le.With the queen at c8 he must keep between the bishops a distance ofone square along the diagonal (as in the in i t ia l position}, with thequeen at d8 — two squares, with the queen at e8 — three squares, withthe queen at f8 — four squares, and f ina l ly , with the queen at h8 theblack bishop must stand next to White's. Essentially we have here asmany as five amazing oppositions!

Here is a possible course of events: 1 Bg2 Be4! (with the queenat c8 — a distance of one square) 2 Bf3 Bd5 3 Qe8 Bb7! (queen ate8 — three squares) 4 QdB Bc6 (two squares) 5 Be4 Bb7 6 Bg2 (notpossible is 6 Qf8 Bxe4!, and this is not mate, since there is the move7 Qf3; in general, the queen can stand to the right of its bishop onlyat h8) 6...Bd5 7 Qf8 Bb7! (four squares) 8 Qe8 (again the bishopcannot move due to its capture) 8...Bc6 9 Qh8 Bf3! (next to the whitebishop) 10 Qc8 Be4 11 QdS Bd5 etc.

Thus my colleagues, having shown that the probfem could not besolved, almost won their bet. Almost, because White has at his disposalanother plan, involving the retreal of his queen from the eighth rank.After 1 Qh8 Bc6 2 Qail Bb7 3 Bc6 Black, so as not to give mate, isforced to move his bishop from bB. After this White captures f i rst onebishop — 4 Bxb7+, within a few moves the second, then the a7 pawn,then he gives up his own Bishop (he no longer needs i t ) , and queenshis pawn. Final ly, using the two queens he constructs the followingposition.

1st Letter - The Geometry of (he Chess Board 13

There now follows Qa2-g2+!, and Black is forced to give mate --h3xg2 mate!

This example illustrates an important distinction (in the type ofthinking) between mathematics and chess: the solving of a mathematicalproblem demands exact and deep analysis, concentrated in a narrowfield (the student mathematicians accomplished it successfully), but inthe game of chess Ihe number of variations is immensurably large, totake them all into account is impossible, and solutions (moves) aresought only approximately. An exhaustive analysis of the position, aswe see, can be refuted in a completely unexpected and illogical way!

In [his position, by Berger, the white queen again has to battleogainsl two bishops, but this time with a more usual aim — that ofmating the black king. An analysis of the correspondence between thequeen and the bishops shows that it can be achieved only by verysubtle play, and not earlier than the )3th move (against accuratedefence by Black): 1 Qb8! (not allowing the black-squared bishop toescape; other continuations lead to a draw) 1...BC4 2 Qe5 Ba63 Qe1 Bb5 4 Qc1 Bfi 5 Qf4 Ba6 6 QgA Bb7 7 Qdi Be4 B Kg3 Bf39 Qc1 Bh5 10 Qai Bg4 11 QhB+ Bn3 12 Qxh3+ Bh2 13 Qxh2 mate.

We have taken this problem from a book by the well-known Polishmathematician and popu I ar izer of science, G. Steinhausa, MathematicalKaleidoscope. It thus links two 'kaleidoscopes' — mathematical andchess 1

We have examined with you only positions, the analysis of whichresembles to some extent the solving of a mathematical problem. Wehave not considered problems and studies in which the solution isBurely chess one, but contains various geometric motifs: the openingand crossing of lines (blocking, interference), the graphical ly preciseco-ordination of pieces (systematic movement) or their geometric move-ment on the board (in a triangle, square, rhombus or circle). Forlong time the study of geometric ideas has attracted the attention ofchess composers, and in almost every col lection of problems or studie;,one can find a section devoted to 'chess geometry'. We should addthat geometric ideas also occur often in practice. Take, for instance,

Seven Chess Letters

( f 6 - f 7 + ! - c f- t h e

Second Letter

SYMMETRY IN CHESS

Symmetry, as a general principle of harmony in molecules,crystals, and l iv ing nature, is of deep significance. The study of Usmanifestations and regularities plays an important role in mathematics,physics, chemistry and biology.

"Symmetry, however broad or- narrow our understanding of thisword, Is an idea by means of which man has for centuries attempted toexplain and create order, beauty and perfection", thus wrote the wel I-known German mathematician Herman Weil. In our everyday life weconstantly encounter various motifs of symmetry. Ornaments, mosaicsand decorative designs delight our eyes by the symmetrical arrangementof their patterns. In many engravings by the oustanding Dutch art istEscher (including some with a chess theme!), symmetry predominates.

Even the school geometry course is based now on the concept ofsymmetry (which is regarded as a specific case of spatial transform-ation), and, it has to be said, for many parents the school syllabushas become very d i f f i cu l t . . . .

Various symmetry motifs are also encountered on the chess board.On the one hand, one can talk about natural symmetry, i.e. thatarising during the course of a game, and, on the other hand, symmetryused in chess problems and studies.

Our account is not a fundamental study of the given question,especially since it does not give any recipes for playing or for thesolving of problems. The aim has been merely to acquaint the readerwith some unusual chess games and positions, the basic feature ofwhich is symmetry.

It wil l be remembered that Symmetries of various types occur, themost common of which are axial and central. In axial symmetry on thechess board, the axis is the line separating the left and r ight sides ofthe board (the boundary between Ihe d- and e-fi les), or the lower andupper parts (the boundary between the fourth and f i f th ranks). If,say, a white knight stands at c2, and a black knight at c7, we saythat these knights are arranged symmetrically (evidently, with axialsymmetry the corresponding squares are of opposite colours). Withcentral symmetry on the board, the centre of symmetry Is Ihe poinl atwhich the four central squares touch — d4, dS, e4 and e5. In thiscase knights at c2 and f7 are symmetrical (the colours of the square?coincide). Subsequently we will not soecify each time the type of

15


symmetry in question, as this wil l be clear from the context.We wi l l begin with the fact that the in i t ia l arrangement of the

chess pieces possesses symmetry. In shairanj, also symmetrical werethe ancient opening tabiya fIhe positions from which play began), forexample:

Now imagine that a game begins, and Black copies White's movesexactly, wishing to retain for as long as possible the symmetry on theboard. Of course, this method of play does not lead to any good.Exploiting his opponent's 'adherence to pr inciples ' , White can mate theenemy king in only four moves, In one of two ways: 1 c4 c5 2 Qa4Qa5 3 Qc6 Qc3 4 OxcS mate; 1 d4 d5 2 Qd3 Qd6 3 0h3 Qh64 Qxc8 mate.

There is the following amusing story. Someone appeared at achess club and announced that he had found a sure way of not losingas Black. "How?", they asked him. "Very simple", the guest replied,"by repeating the opponent's moves!" The naive inventor was challengedto a game by Sam Loyd, who mated him in four moves.

Thus, with symmetrical play the white queen can mate the blackking as early as the fourth move. It takes a few more moves for arook, bishop, knight and pawn to mate: 1 h4 h5 2 g i g5 3 Bg2 Bg?4 Nh3 Nh6 5 hxg5 hxg4 & gxh6 gxh3 7 hxg7 hxg2 8 Rxh8 mate;1 el e5 2 KeZ Ke7 3 Kf3 Kf6 4 Kg3 Kg6 5 Be2 Be7 6 Bf3 Bf6 7 d3d6 8 Bh5 mate; 1 g3 g6 2 Nc3 Nc6 3 e3 e6 4 Nge2 Nge7 5 Ne4 Ne56 Nf6 mate; I g4 gS 2 h4 h5 3 Nf3 Nf6 4 Ne5 Ne4 5 hxg5 hxg46 g6 g3 7 gxf7 mate. Final ly, on the ninth move the white king canannounce mate: 1 d3 d6 2 Kd2 Kd7 3 Kc3 Kc6 4 Kb3 Kb6 5 Ka3 Ka66 Be3 Be6 7 Bb6 8b3 8 axb3 axb6 9 Kb4 mate.

In his book 13 Children of Kaissa, I. Kreichik called one of his'chi ldren' "When two do one and the same". In this humoresque hegives three symmetrical games with an identical finish — the black kinggets mated. Here is one of them, in which, in Kreichik's opinion, theQueen's Gambit for Black is refuted: 1 d4 d5 2 Nf3 Nf6 3 c4 c54 Bg5 Bg4 5 e3 e6 6 Nc3 Nc6 7 BeZ Be7 8 0-0 0-0 9 Bxf6 Bxf310 Bxg7 Bxg2 11 BxfB Bxfi 12 Bxe7 Bxe2 13 Bxd8 Bxdi 14 cxd5 cxd415 dxc6 dxc3 16 cxb7 cxb2 17 bxa8=Q bxa1=Q 18 Bf6 mate.

In two other games the Spanish and Ital ian Games are refuted insimilar fashion. In the four-move miniatures given above, White's playwas based exclusively on his opponent's stuDborness. For example,Loyd, taking account of this factor, was not afraid to place his ownqueen en prise. At the same time, in the games suggested by Kreichik,the play proceeds quite sensibly.

But symmetrical games can be found not only in humorous stories;they also occur in serious tournaments. One of the most notableoxatnptos of this type Is a game played at the beginning of thiscentury.

2nd Leiler — Symmetry in Chess 17

Rot I e v i -EI y ashovFour Knights' Game

1 e4 e5 2 Nf3 Nf6 3 Nc3 Nc6 4 Bb5 Bb4 5 O-CT O-O f> d3 d67 Bxc6 Bxt3 8 Bxb7 Bxb2 9 Bxa8 Bxal 10 Bg5 Bg4 11 Qxal QxaBU Bxf6 Bxf3 13 Bxg7 Bxg2 U Bxf8 Bxf1 15 Qxfl Qxf8 16 0g2+ Qg?.

Here, evidently afraid of seriously disturbing the symmetry, theplayers agreed a draw.

II is interesting that, several years later, the position afterBlack's 12th move was repeated in a game Traxler-Samanek. On thisoccasion Black did not succeed in demonstrating that the opponent'smoves could be copied indefinitely. Instead of 13 Bxg7 there followed13 Bxe5! Bxe4 14 Bxg7 Bxg2 15 Bxf8, and after 15...Bxfl 16 Qg7mate Black was unable to repeat his opponent's move.

In the following game, which was played in our time, the sym-metry was maintained for a f u 11 19 moves (apart from one 'hiccup'between ihe 7th and 9th moves) — a record In its own way!

Stolyar-ShukshtaEnglish Opening

I c4 c5 2 g3 g6 3 Bg2 Bg7 4 Nc3 Nc6 5 a3 a6 6 Rbi Rb87 b4 cxb4 8 axb4 b5 9 cxb5 axb5 10 Nh3 Nh6 11 0-0 0-0 12 d4 dS13 Bxh6 Bxh3 H Bxg7 BKg2 15 Bxf8 Bxfl 16 Bxe7 Bxe2 17 BxdBBxdi 18 Bc7 Bc2 19 Bb2 Rb7.

20 Be5 Nxe5. Unfortunately, the symmetrical 20.. .Be4 21 Nxe4Nxe5 fails to 22 Nf6+ and 23 dxe5. After 21 dxe5 d4 22 Rxc2 Rc723 Kf1 35 24 Ke2 dxc3 25 Kd3 Rc4 26 Rxc3 R«b4 27 Rc7 the playersagreed a draw.

The reader may have gained the erroneous Impression that, bycopying While's move, Black can at best draw. But as the followingshort game shows, by copying exactly his opponent's moves, Black ha .̂the chance as early as the eighth move... to mate the white king!

18

1 e4 <7 Ba3 Ba6.

Seven Chess Letters

2 Ke2 Ke7 3 Ke3 Ke6 4 Qf3 Qf6 5 Ne2 Ne7 6 b3 b6

8 Nd4+, and Black is forced to give mate: 8.. .exd4 male!

Thus by copying White's moves, Black can both be mated, andcan male the enemy king. But, clearly, in both the one case and theother, the final position can in no way be symmetric. l l is curious,however, that with stalemate the final arrangement of [he pieces canperfectly well be symmetric, I.e. the stalemate is mutual! As anexample, we give the following record game, which lasts only 19 moves.In i t , it is true, it is sometimes Black, and sometimes White whorepeals moves, but the main thing is that, in the symmetrical f inalposition, neither the one side nor the other has any moves.

1 e4 d5 2 e5 d4 3 c3 f6 4 Qf3 Kf7 S Qxb7 Qd5 6 Kdi Qxo.27 Kc2 Qxfi B Qxc8 Qxgi 9 Qxb8 RxbB 10 Rxg1 Rb3 11 Rg6 Ra312 Rh6 9xh6 13 bxa3 Kg7 14 Kb2 d3 15 e6 a5 16 h4 aU 17 h5"c518 f4 c4 19 f5. Stalen.ate to White and Black {the position on theboard is centrally symmetric).

In the given example both kings are symmetrically stalemated, butfive pieces on each side are exchanged. The following game is unique,since, f i rs t ly , only one knight on each side disappears from the board,secondly, both kings are symmetrically stalemated, and thirdly, andthis is the most amazing, all of White's and Black's moves are sym-metric !

1 Nf3 Nc6 2 Nc3 Nf6 3 Nb5 Ng4 4 h3 a6 5 Na7 Nh2 6 Nxh2Nxa7 (the f irst and last exchanges) 7 g4 b5 8 Bg2 Bb7 9 eh d510 Ke2 Kd7! 11 Qg1 Qb8! (at the start of play the ini t ial positions ofIhe kings and queens were clearly not centrally symmetric, but nowcomplete order has been establ ished on the board) 12 b4 g5 13 Bb2Bg7 U Rfi RcB 15 Bd4 Be5 16 f3 c6 17 Bf2 Bc7 18 Bel Bd6 19 Kf2Kc7 20 a4 h5 21 s5 h4 22 c* f5 23 c5 f* 24 e5 d4 25 e6 d3.Stalemate to both kings!

2nd Letter — Symmetry in Chess

We recall here an old chess anecdote, which shows thai copyingmoves can sometimes prove highly beneficial.

Once during an inter-national tournament, a stranger approachedEmanuel Lasker with a proposal that he should play by correspondenceagainst his talented son. The request was supported by a substantialmaterial reward, and Lasker agreed. In the event of him winning hewould receive 500 dollars, while if the lad should by some miracle win— which, of course, the father was in no way expecting, then thegrandmaster would have to fork out 1500 dollars. In the end the WorldChampion succeeded in winning, although only with enormous di f f icul ty.H turned out that Lasker had been playing correspondence with Capa-blanca, who had agreed the same conditions with the stranger, whilethe son was merely a hoax.

When Lasker, playing White, made his f irst move, it was repeatedby the trickster in the game with Capablanca. His reply, in turn,was reproduced in the first game for Black, and Lasker's reply — inthe second game for White, and so on. Clearly, by such symmetricalstrategy the 'father1 guaranteed himself a drawn result in the matchwith the grandmasters, and hence, a net profit to the tune of onethousand dollars.

Alekhine figures in other versions of this anecdole. He, allegedly,agreed to play for a big stake with two unknown persons, who haddevised a similar intrigue with the repetition of moves, forcing Alekhineto play against himself. The situation appeared hopeless, but theWorld Champion thought of a way to punish the swindlers. In one ofthe games he deliberately made a bad blunder. The partners decidednot to repeat on the second board the obviously losing move of thegrandmaster, and attempted to win both games. But this renouncing ofthe safe tactics had fatal consequences — Aiekhine succeeded in matingboth kings!

Uf) t i l l now we have been talking mainly about one player copyingthe moves of the other, sitting opposite. But what about repeating themoves or even entire variations which have occurred in the games ofquite different players? Of course, if these moves are good, no onewill decline to copy them. But it can happen that the deliberaterepetition of unsuccessful variations can have a certain sense. Wewill describe an amusing instance which occurred in the game Taimanov-Si mag in twenty years ago in the 1961 USSR Championship.

Black chose the King's Indian Defence, which he had previouslynever employed. A few days earlier a fresh issue of Shakhmaty vSSSR had appeared. In which was given a detailed analysis of theTalmanov-GIIgoric game from an inlernational tournament in Argentina.It has to be assumed that Simagin knew this game, which had beenconvincingly won by White, and nevertheless he copied Giigoric's movesexactly. This put the Leningrad grandmaster on his guard. Herealized lhat his opponent would hardly be suicidal enough to repeat


the game to the end, and this meant that he had certainly prepared anopening surprise. Si mag in made his moves {belonging to Gl igoric I)easily, whereas Taimanov chose his moves with agonizing care. Thewhole paradox was that Si magi n, who was playing the variation for thefirst time, replied instantly, whereas Taimanov, who was an expert onit , played slowly, constantly checking and controlling himself. By thetwentieth move Taimanov's nerves were stretched to the limit, but thegame was sti l l an extact repetition of his game with GHgorlc. Hispatience had dried up. And suddenly something completely unexpectedhappened — Simagin sank into deep though!, and didn' t reply for nearlyan hour! The secret was revealed — Taimanov's opponent had notprepared any improvement, It was pure bluff! The grandmaster hadcounted on disturbing his opponent with the threat of employing aninnovation, and of forcing him to deviate from the familiar path. Butin this case there would have been no danger for Black!

Although in the battle of character White had held out, his oppon-ent's psychological attack bore its f rui ts — when the war of nervescame to an end, Taimanov's strength was on the wane, and he promptlymade a mistake, and then a second, completely handing his opponentthe in i t iat ive. But the curious thing is that Simagin declined toexploit his winning chances, since he too was exhausted by the psycho-logical duel. On concluding peace, both players were happy that thegame had ended in a draw, that in general it had ended... .

The symmetry described up t i l l now has mainly related to theini t ial position, the start of play, and unusual games. But if onetalks about chess composition, here symmetry plays a special role.Thanks to its original ideas, problems and studies acquire an addi-tional aesthetic value.

Consider [he following classic miniature, which is known through-out the world.

R. Bfanchelti, 1925 -••••-.

White to play and w in .

After the introductory 1 Bb2! el l the pieces on the board arearranged along the long d iagonal . Black is threatened with the lossof his rook, and, depending on where i t moves, two elegant symmetricvar iat ions ar ise .

1 . . . Rf8 < 1 —Rf7 2 Rh3+ Kg8 2 Rh8 mate) 2 Rc7+ KgB 3 Rg7+Kh8 4 Ka2! (but not 4 Kb1 because of A...Rf1+ 5 Ka2 Ra1+ 6 Kb3Ra3+ 7 Kc2 Rc3+ 8 Sxc3 stalemate), and White wins the rook. Simi l -a r l y , 1 . . . Rh6 2 Rg3+ Kh7 3 Rg7+ Kh8 4 Kbi ! U Ka2 Ra6+ e tc . ) ,with the same f i n i s h .

The point of a problem or study is often provided by a s l ight

2nd Letter — Symmetry in Chess 21

disturbance of the symmetry in the init ial position, which is uti I izedsignificantly in the solution. In chess composition such a device beersthe name of asymmetry. Here is one classic example on this theme.

V. Pauli, 1920

Mate in 4 moves.

At f i rst sight the position appears completely symmetric (relativeto the d- f i le) , but this is not quite so — the h-file slightly breaks theideal symmetry, and this is reflected in the solution.

1 Bg7! Ba5(c7) 2 Bf8 BdB 3 Bd6!, with inevitable mate - 4 Nc3or 4 Ne3 if one of the black knights moves; 4 Nb6 or 4 Nf6 if theblack bishop moves. At the same time (and this is important for theproblem! ) the symmetric continuation 1 Ba7 does not work, since theblack bishop makes use of the h-f i le: l . . .Bh4! 2 BbS Bf2! 3 Bd6Bd4, and there is no mate.

Lot us now examine a miniature study on the same theme,

T. Dawson, 1924


White has two logical continuations — 1 Nd4+ and 1 Nf4+. Thea-f i le, which introduces an asymmetry into the position, appears toplay no role. In other words, if the knight check at d4 wins, thegoal should also be achieved by the symmetric check at f4. But onlyone of these moves leads to a win.

1 NdA+! K«3 2 Nxf3 Kxf3 3 Kf8! d2 4 eB=Q <J1=Q 5 Qh5+, andit is all over. If Black does not queen his pawn, then it is wellknown that the ending 'queen against central pawn1 Is easily won.The move 1 Nf4+ leads to a draw - 1...Ke3 2 Nxd3 Kxd3 3 Kd8 f24 e8=Q Kd2! The difference is that the ending 'queen against bishop'spawn' is drawn (provided, of course, that the white king does notstand close to the pawn): 5 QbS Kei 6 Qb1+ Ke2 7 Qe4+ Kf1 8 Ke7


Kgl 9 Qg4+ KM 10 Gf3+ Kgl 11 Qg3+ Khl ! 12 Qxf2 stalemate. It iscurious that, if the a-f i le is detached from the board, there is no winin either variat ion, because the d-pawn is transformed from a centralpawn into a bishop's pawn!

The number of different examples, i l lustrat ing the idjas of sym-metry and asymmetry in chess composition, can readily be increased(cf., for example, problems 22 and 23 In the fourth ' l e t te r ' ) .

The following incident took place a few years ago during theChampionship of the country in Leningrad. One of the authors of thebook (at the time the other was, as usual, playing in an internationaltournament) was sitt ing with David Bronstein in the auditorium andconversing quiet ly. ( I f , of course, one could call it a conversation —Bronstein was sharing with me his original and clever ideas regardingchess in the third millenium, and I admiringly kept s i lent) . Theround was only just start ing, and the demonstration boards had not yetdrawn our attention. The grandmaster took out his pocket set and

arranged on the board two kings and six pawns.

"How do you evaluate this position?", he asked intr iguingly."Most probably a draw, whoever it is to move", I thought. But

then what was the trick in the position? "Most probably, a win forthe side whose move it is?" But this reply too seemed inconvincing,since why in this symmetric position, in which none of the six pawnshas moved, and the kings have not left the back rank, should the turnto move play a decisive role? "That means, whoever begins, loses?"But this conclusion, for the same reasons, appeared even more strange.

Of course, the most unusual and unexpected things happen on thechess board. We constantly encounter positions of zugzwang andmutual zugzwang. It is diff icult to surprise us with anything. Butthe position suggested by Bronstein, it was a special case. It wasengagingly simple, and, in addition, was notable for a kind ofcompiete, in a certain sense, ideal symmetry. How many differentassociations rushed through my head, while my gaze was f ixed on thislandscape with its two kings and six pawns! There was plenty tothink about — the mysterious and inexhaustible nature of chess, itssevere beauty, paradoxical ity and depth!

( I f you feel the desire to analyze the given position, you shouldalso tackle a second position,

2nd Letter — Symmetry in Chess 2 3

which is a k i n d of ant ipode of the f i r s t — the pawns have made a l l offour steps, but the eva luat ions of the posi t ions — wi th the same tu rnto move — are oppos i te) .

I d i d not succeed in coming to any conclus ion. F i na l l y I ra isedmy head and looked imp lo r ing ly at the grandmaster . But Brans te inm e r e l y gave me a c ra f ty smile, and instead of dispel I Ing my doubts,whisper-so1 q u i e t l y ; "You should wr i te about I t " , and Impercept ibly leftthe h a l l .

So the g randmaster ' s wish had to be f u l f i l l e d , and th is accounthad to be wr i t ten about symmetry on the chess board .

P.S. If we should have succeeded in i n t r i g u i n g some of ourreaders wi th these last two pos i t ions, i t would be unjust on our pa r tto leave them without a s o l u t i o n . . .

In the f i r s t pos i t ion , the side that moves f i r s t , w ins . Here arethe main v a r i a t i o n s : 1 Ke2 (w i th the aim of stopping the b lack pawns)l . . . K d 7 (or I . . . h 5 2 Kf3 g5 3 a4 h4 4 Kg4 f5+ 5 Kh3 Kd7 6 cA Kc67 a5 w i th a decis ive advantage for White) 2 Kf3 Kc6 3 a i h5 4 c4fS (each side is now threatening to advance h is rook 's pawn) 5 Kg3Kb6 6 b4 g5 (or 6 . . . 96 ) 7 a5+ Ka6 8 cS h4+ (8. . .KbS 9 Kg2! or8 . . .Kb7 9 b5) 9 Kh3 f4 (9 . . .Kb5 10 Kh2 g4 11 Kg2 f4 12 Kgi )10 c6 f3 11 b5+ Ka7 12 b6+ Kb8 13 a6 g4+ 14 Kh2 g3+ 15 Kg! h316 a7+ Ka8 17 c7, and White is the f i r s t to queen a pawn. Dur ingthe course of the solut ion several symmetric posi t ions have again beenreached, and only on the 19th move ( ! ) a f ter 17. . .h2+ - IB KM f219 c8-Q+ is Black unable to copy White 's move.

In the second posi t ion the side which begins, loses. After 1 cSfh 2 b5 Kb8! White is in zugzwang on both wings, for example: 3 a6Ka7 4 c6 Kb6, and the white pawns are b lockaded, whereas the blackpawns break th rough : 5 KhZ f3 6 Kg1 h3! 7 Kf2 h2. The reply1. . . f4 also fo l lows after 1 KhZ or 1 b5. On 1 Kgl there can fol low1.. .Ka6 2 Kg2 f i 3 c5 Kb5 4 Kgi gd, when Black wins.

Third Letter

AN ANCIENT MATE

Slowly rotating our 'kaleidoscope', you can observe in it thevarious colours of the chess spectrum: topics from chess history,psychology, composition and geometry. Considerable attention has alsobeen devoted to pure chess. In the last ' let ter ' of the book, lo saynothing of its third part, wil l be given games (or extracts from them)belonging — without exception — to World Champions! Although theworks created by well-known grandmasters are interesting and Instruc-tive from various points of view, this by no means signifies that theycontain multi-move combinations with cascades of sacrifices and mate tothe enemy king in the centre of the board. Sometimes events developless violently. Nevertheless, it has to be admitted that tt is to thestr ik ing and spectacular combinations which develop on the 64 squaresthat chess is chiefly indebted for its populari ty. The artist ic andaesthetic value of combinations, their emotional effect on chess players,f irst and foremost raises the game to the level of a genuine ar t . Andhence it is not surprising that one of our ' letters' we have devotedentirely to combinations. The number of clever, spectacular and deepcombinations on the chess board is extremely great, and it would beimpossible to describe them all at once. Our choice has fallen on oneof the oldest combinations, known by the name of 'smothered mate'.This mate, which is given by a knight, when all the enemy king'sescape squares are occupied by his own pieces and pawns, wasdescribed back in the 15th century in the treatise by Juan Lucena —the f i rst printed guide to chess. Here is this famous position.

2A

3rd Letter - An Ancient Male 25

White sacrifices his queen and announces a smothered male infive moves: 1 Qe6+ Kh8 2 Nf7+ KgB 3 Nh6»+ Kh8 4 QgB+M Rxg85 Nf7 mate. The king perishes encircled by his own troops, and thedeciding blow is struck by the crafty knight, for which there are noimpregnable fortresses. Note that in Lucena's position there is a dual :3 Nd8+ Kh8 and 4 Qe8+, but this is, of course, a t r i f le — five centuriesago the word ' dua l ' was not yet even known... .

The following position is by Phil I ip Stamma, and belongs already10 the mid-IBth century.

1 Be4+- Rb7 2 0b8+! Rxb8 3 Rxa7+! Bxa7 4 Nc7 mate, and theblack king is in the trap. On this occasion White sacrifices not onlyhis queen, but also a rook.

Of course, for the 250 years separating these two positions, theprogress, to be frank, is not very great — in those distant times chessart developed at a slow rate. It is curious that it was only al theend of the last century that the orientalist and chesa historian H.J.R.Murray established the Arabic or igin of the smothered mate. In hisHistory of Chess he cites the Persian mansubat of the 9th century, inwhich a white knight mates the black king, hemmed in by his ownpieces.

Does this ancient combination occur In tournament games? Yes,strangely enough, rather often. The record belongs to grandmasterPaul Keres, who once announced a smothered mate... as early as thesixth move! What is amusing is that this curious instance occurred notin a simultaneous display, but in an encounter with a master.

Keres-ArlamowskiCaro-Kann Defence

1 eft c6 2 Nc3 d5 3 Nf3 dxe4 4 Nxe4 kd7. It is di f f icult tobelieve that this game wi l l last only two more incomplete moves.

5 Qe2 Ngf6?! (the exclamation mark is for the creation of a unique'helpmate') 6 Nd6 mate.

26 5even Chess Letters

A classic example of a smothered mate belongs to the genius ofcombinations from the 19th century, Paul Morphy. ..

Morphy-Brain

All is ready for the f inal scene; it only remains to divert theblack queen away from the square from which White wil l give mate.

1 e5! Qg5 2 h4! Qg4 3 Qa3+ Kg8 4 Ne7+ Kf8 5 Ng6++ Kg86 Qf8+ Rxf8 7 Ne7 mate. The concluding position deserves a diagram(as, however, does every position of this type).

Here Is another episode from one of the games of the greatAmerican player.

Morphy-N.N.

In this case things proceed wi rhout any preparatory operations:1 Nc5+ Kb8 2 Nd7+ KcB 3 Nb6++ Kb8 4 Qc8+ Rxc8 5 Nd7 mate.

A reflection of this unfading combination can sometimes also beseen In the games of the outstanding players of our time. The followingposition was reached In a game from one of the 1976 Interzonal Tourna-ments.

\

3rd Lelter - An Ancieni Mate

Tal-Portisch

27

The Ex-World Champion has been cleverly attacking, and he nowlands the opponent a spectacular and decisive blow — 1 Nh6! Blackresigned immediately, since on 1...Re7 there follows 2 Qxe7 Bxe73 Ngf7 mate, while Black has no other defence against the smotheredmate by 2 Qg8+ RxgB 3 Nf7 mate.

One of the authors of this book once attempted to give a smotheredmate in a tournament (simultaneous displays do not count, of course; inthem this ancient combination is eternally young). The game inquestion was that against Vladimir Tukmakov in the 1973 USSR Cham-pionship. Black's queen occupied b6, his knight — g4, and therefollowed 1...Nf2+. Unfortunately, White did not go in for the variation2 Kgl Nh3++ 3 Khl Qg! + 4 Rxgi NfZ mate, but gave up the exchangeby 2 Rxf2> and after wild complications the game ended In a draw.

The other author has been more fortunate. In the UniversityChampionship he once succeeded In announcing a smothered mate to thePresident of the Moscow University Chess Club.

BairamovGik

The white knight, heading from f2 to g3, was in transit on theedge of the board. But to complete its journey it did not have time —l. . .Rc2! 2 Bxc2 (or 2 Qe3 Ne2+ 3 Kf2 Ng4+) 2...Ne2 mate!

Here Black managed without a queen sacrifice, but used adifferent combinational device — the p in. In the following episode too(from a game played in 1931) the queen Is given a modest role — thatof forcing Black to surround his own king with pieces.

Alekh i ne-Lugovsky(see next diagram)

1 Ne6-H Mxe6 (on the capture by the bishop there fol lows 2 Qe7+Kg8 3 Qe8 mate) 2 Qe7+ Kg8 3 Qe8+ Nf8 4 Ne7 mate.

A smothered mate is always beautiful, especially if it is accom-

I


ponied by ihe sacrifice of Ihe queen. However, it Is not essential thatthe queen should be given up at g8. This operation can also becarried oul on a neighbouring square, as occurred, for example, in agame played in 1967 al an internalional tournament in Copenhagen.

Taimanov-Jakob sen ;

1 0g7+! Nxg7 2 Nh6 mare.As we see, variations on the theme of smothered mate {or else the

mate itself!) occur in events of Ihe highest rank, and not only ingames between inexperienced players. It 's amusing that in 1970 atthe World Chess Olympiad in Siegen this ancient combination wascarried out in two games. Here are ihe conclusions of these miniatures.

Unzicker-Sarapu

Black has sacrificed a piece, but is placing his hopes on the p in .But White succeeds in reinforcing the Knight: 1 Bf4! Nxf4 2 Qxf7+ Kh83 Qg8+ RxgB 4 Nf7 mate.

Augous t i -UzmanRuy Lopez

The game is so short that we tan give it in f u l l : 1 e4 e5 2 Nf3Nc6 3 BbS a6 4 Ba4 Nf6 5 0-0 b5 6 Bb3 Bb7 7 Rei Bc5 8 c3

3rd Letter - An Ancient Mate 29

exd4 10 cxd4? (10 h3 should have been played) 1O...Nxd4!Qh4! 12 Nf3 Qxf2+ 13 Kh1 Q91+ 14 Rxgi Nf2 mate.

Thus, pract ical players are always ready at a convenient momentto give up their queen and announce mate with a kn igh t . B^t what ofchess composers? 11 stands to reason that they certainly could notfa i l to consider such a fascinat ing theme in their work. We give a feweKample5 in which the ancient smothered mate combination is expressedin paradoxical form.

Up t i l l now the decisive role has always belonged to ihe knight ,although we couldn11 have managed without the queen. The idea ofreplacing the queen with a weaker piece — a bishop, could have beendevised only by such an inventive composer as Loyd.

S. Loyd, 1B58

Mate in 6 moves.

1 Bh2! (with the threat of 2 Bg1 + ) 1 . . .Ka7 2 b6+! KaB (2...Xa63 Bgi Rc6 <i b? Qh8 5 b8=N+! RxbS 6 Nc7 mate, or- 4...Rxc6 5 dxc6)3 Nc7+ Kb8 4 Na6++ KaB (4,..Kc8 5 b7+). Taking account of the lasttwo moves, 5 QbB+ RxbB 6 Nc7 mate would appear natural here, butthere is no queen on the board . . . 5 BbS! RxbB (the threat was 6 b7mate) 6 Nc? mate!

In smothered mate combinations a knight lands the concludingblow, while at that moment the remaining pieces are, alas, inactive.If that 's the case, decided the well-known Hungarian problemist OttoBlathy, then let 's remove these extras from the board altogether!

0. Blathy, 1932

Mate in 12 moves.

In this fantastic picture Black has a ful I set of pieces, but thisdoes not save him: 1 Nf4+ Kc5 2 Ne6+ Kd5 3 Nxc7+ Kc5 A Nxa6+ KdS5 Nc7+ Kc5 6 Net* Kd5 7 Nf4+ Kc5 8 Ke4 d5+ 9 Ke5 Bf6+ 10 Ke6NdB+ 11 Kd7 and 12 Nxd3 mate.


O. Blathy, 1922


Another chess monster devised by Blalhy. Again, as on a parade,Black is represented by his entire army, though it is true that on thisoccasion his forces are less mobile. But where is the white knight?It is some time before it appears on the board.

1 Kxe1 Qa1 2 h3! (the pawn is in no hurry; the subtlety isrevealed later! 2...Qa2 (Black has plenty of pieces, but only hisqueen is able to move) 3 h4 Qai 4 h5 QaZ 5 h6 Qai 6 h7 Q.a27 h8=N! (at last) 7...Qa1 8 Nf7 Qa2 9 Ng5 Qa1 10 Ne6 Qa211 Nxc5 Qai 12 Nb7 Qa2 13 Nd6 Qai 14 Nxc4 Qa2 15 Na5 Qa116 Nxb3 mate! ( i f on the second move White had immediately advancedhis pawn two squares, now, after any attack by the newly-Oorn knighton the b3 rook, the black queen would have defended i t , and theresult would have been a draw).

We now return to the world of realistic chess.

E. Pogosyants, 1979


The position could well have arisen in a game between twomaslers. This study is interesting for the fact [hat, although it endsin a classic smothered mate, at the moment White has no queen, and theblack king would appear to have no intention of going into the corner.The mating construction arises in the course of subtle preliminaryplay.

1 c7 0-0! 2 Nc6! Now the threat is 3 Nd8, and Black cannotplay either 2,..RaB 3 NbB, or 2...Rc8 3 Me7+ Kf7 k NxcG e3 5 Ne7e2 6 c8=0 e1=0 7 Qc4+! Kf6 (7...Kf8 B Qg8 mate) 8 Qf4 mate.Thus the white pawn queens, but the black pawn also succeeds inpromoting simultaneously. 2...e3 3 Nd8 e2 4 c8eQ e1=Q. Only now dowe see the familiar- picture. 5 Qc4+ Kh8 6 Nf7+ Kg8 7 Nh6++ Kh88 Qg8+ Rxgfl 9 Nf7 mate.

3rd Letter — An Ancient Mate 31

The following study is perhaps the most famous on the giventheme. I " ' n e ini t ial position, where the pieces of both sides arescattered across the board, i t can hardly be conceived thai lying instore for the black king is a smothered mate. The attack begins witha quiet queen move, which allows Black to give check.

A. Seletsky, 1933


1 Qg5! Ke6+ (the pawn cannot be captured by 1...Bxd7 because of2 Nf4!, wilh the irresistible threat of 3 Bh5+, while at the same lime2 dS-0 was threatened) 2 Kgl ! Kxd7 (2...Bxd7 3 Bg4+ Kd6 4 Qc5+).Black has re-established material equality, but now the mating mech-anism goes into operation.

3 Nc5+ KcB [other king moves lead to the loss of the queen, forexample 3...Kd6 4 Qg3+ Kd5 5 Bc4+! Kxc4 6 Qb3+ Kxc5 7 Qa3+ andWhite has a theoretically won position) 4 Ba6+ KbB 5 Qg3+ Ka86 Bb7+! Bxb7 7 Nd7!! QdB. The one way of defending the squares b6and b9 against the mating threats. Now comes a spectacular blow, af i t t ing culrnination to this splendid work of art . 8 Qb8+1! Qxb8 9 Nb6mate.

And in conclusion, a 'histor ical ' problem, in which it isdemanded lhal White should win by a smothered mate (the existence ofwhich, at f irst signt, appears impossible).

K. Jaenisch, 1&49

Smothered mate in 10 moves.

The great Russian chess master arid composer of the last centuryCarl Jaenisch called his problem 'The iron cage of Tamerlan' . This ishow the black king fal ls into capt iv i ty: 1 f3+ gxf3 2 exd3+ cxd33 Bf5+ exf5 4 Re6+ dxeG 5 Rd4+ cxd4 6 a8»B+ Qd5 7 Bxd5+ exdSB Nf6+ gxf6 9 Qe5+ fxe5 10 Ng5 mate. The king Is in the cage!


Thus, by means of the ancient smolhcred male combination, didJaenisch succeed in depicting Ihe cruelty and despotism of the CentralAsian conqueror of the 14th century, Timur Tamerlan.

,-l.r..

Fourth Letter

FORTY CHESS QUARTETS

The fewer the pieces on the board, the more eager we are tosolve a problem or study. Especially popular among chess enthusiastsare miniatures — in which the number of pieces does not exceed seven.The number of miniatures created by chess composers is quite immense,and there are many thousands of compositions with f ive pieces or less.The minimum material necessary lo create a worthy work of chess art isfour pieces (three-piece compositions wi l l be the subject of the following' l e t t e r ' ) . Problems and studies with this number of pieces we wil lcal l quartets.

Our aim is to acquaint you with al l forms of quartets, and torepresent each of them by some single posit ion. In the f i rs t instancewe try to give a study or an orthodox problem ( i . e . a problem with anormal task —White to play and give mate in so many moves). Butfor certain quartets we were unable to f ind either a study or such aproblem, and in this case we have offered a helpmate problem. In a'helpmate' it is s t i l l White who gives mate, but Black does not hinderhim, but, on the contrary, does everything to assist in the mating ofhis own k i n g .

It has to be said that by no means al l the sets of four piecesare of equal value, but we have adhered to our pr inc ip le, and i l l us -trate each of them with exactly one quartet ( their overall number farexceeds a thousand).

Let us f i rs t ascertain how many sets of four pieces there arealtogether. Since two places must be reserved for the kings, there aretwo different cases: (1) White and Black both have one piece, apartfrom the k ing ; (2) White has a king and two pieces, while Black hasa lone k ing , [n the f i rs t case, combining one of the f ive white pieces(queen, rook, bishop, knight and pawn) with one of the f ive blackpieces, we obtain 25 possible combinations. Here sets which d i f fer bythe colour of the pieces are regarded as di f ferent. Indeed, 'whiterook against black pawn' (with White to move) Is by no means the sameas 'white pawn against black rook1 .

In the second case the number of sets is fewer by ten — 15.Here each pa i r of pieces (they are both white) obviously gives only oneset.

Thus 40 different quartets have found their way into our ' l e t t e r ' .If both kings are accompanied by one of their own pieces, both

33


problems and studies have been devised, but if Black has only hisk i n g it is understandable that only problems can be expected. Ofcourse, each reader can compile hfs own l is t of quartets on the chessboard , and it is qu i te possible that i t w i l l be no less in terest ing thanthe one suggested by us.

ONE WHITE AND ONE BLACK PIECE

Pawn against pawn

The most popular, of course, is the 'geometric' study by Ret i,examined by us in the f irst ' letter' together with other" pawn quartets.The given material is of a purely endgame nature, and it would bepossible to give a whole series of beautiful studies. However, strangelyenough, clever problems with two pawns are also known, and No. 1 isone of them.

No. 1 E. Pogosyants, 1970

Mate in 5 moves.

t a7 Kh2 (1.. . f5 2 aB=Q+ and 3 Og2 mate) 2 a8=Rt! Kh3 3 Ra4!f5 4 Rf4! This is the point — with a queen at fit it would now bestalemate. 4...KhZ 5 Rh4 mate.

Pawn againsl knigtit

What can depend on one white pawn, opposing a black knight?Whether or not the knight can stop it w i l l , after a l l , be decided by theknight itself. But to advance at the right time can also have nosmall significance, as in No. 2.

No. 2 F. Prokop, 1925

4th Letter — 40 Chess Quartets 3S


Sooner or later the white king must make way for the pawn, butexcessive gallantry would be inappropriate here, since after any kingmove the knight catches the pawn; ! Ka8? Ne3!and 4...Nd7; 1 Ka7? Nf i ! 2 66 Ne6 3 b7 NdBNf4 2 b6 Ne6 3 67 Nc5->; f ina l ly , 1 Kc8? He3Thus great restraint is demanded of the k ing.

1 b6! Now the square thai White wil ldepends on the reaction of the knight. 1...Ne34 Ka5, or 1...W4 2 Kc8! Nd5 3 b7 Nb6+ations the pawn queens.

2 b6 Nc44 b8=Q Nc2 b6 Nc4

choose for2 Ka6! Nd5

KdB, and in

3 b7 Nb6+* ; 1 Ka6?3 b7 Nd6+.

his leader3 b7 Nc7+

both va r i -

Pawn against bishop

In problem No. 3, 1 fxg8=Q? leads to stalemate. The solution is1 fxg8=R! (once again a rook appears on the board instead of a queen)l...Ka2 2 Rg3! Kai 3 Ra3 mate.

No. 3 0. Oehler, 1923

Mate in 3 moves.

The point of the problem is that after 1 fB=Q? Ka2 2 Qb4 theblack bishop comes to the aid of its king — 2...Bb3!, and there is nomate.

Pawn against rook

One of the few ratios of forces where one does not have to ponderover the choice. Study No. 4 is part of the golden treasury of chessart.

No. 4 G. Barbier, F. Saavedra, 1895



Along wi th Ret i 's pawn study, th is is the most famous quartet onthe chess board. Its solution is fami l ia r lo a l l lovers of the game.

1 c7 Rd6+ (after 1...Rd2 2 c8=0 Rb2+ 3 Ka5 ihe white kingmoves down on the a- and b-f i les) 2 Kb5 (2 Kb7 Rd7 and the rookcaptures the pawn; 2 Kc5 s imi lar ly fa i ls to win after 2 . . .Rdi and3...Rc1+) 2...Rd5+ 3 Kb4 (p lay ing ihe k ing to the c - f i l t again leadsto a draw) 3...Rd4+ 4 Kb3 (4 Kc3 Rdl 5 Kc2 dif fers from the mainvar ia t ion only by a transposition of moves) 4 . . .Rd3+ 5 KcZ! Now therook cannot attack the white king from Ihe rear, and al l would appearto be over. However, the most fascinat ing events are s t i l l to come.5. . .RdA! l An amazing resource for Black; on 6 c8=Q he sacrif ices hisrook by 6 . . .Rc4+! 7 Qxc4, which leads to stalemate. But Black'shopes are not destined to be real ized. 6 c8=R!! Ra4 (the threat was7 Ra8 mate) 7 Kb3! A Spectacular concluding stroke; Black loses hisrook or is mated in one move. The four pieces have played out agenuine chess spectacle!

The study in question is one of the earliest on the theme of'under-promotion' . In the whole of chess l i terature you wi l l not f indsuch a clever and r i ;h f ina le with such l imited mater ia l .

The history of how this study or ig inated is as fol lows. In agame Fenton-Potter, played in England in 1875, a position s imi lar toours was reached; the white king stood at c6, and his pawn at b6,while Black '£ k ing was at h3 and his rook at a5. Here White agreedto a draw, since he had not noticed that after 1 b? Ra6+ 2 Kc5 hisk ing could move down the board, and the pawn would queen. Shortlyaf ter , Zuker tor l , one of the strongest players of the last century andSteinit?'s opponent In the f i r s t of f ic ia l match for the World Champion-ship, published in his chess column the position from this game, andshowed the simple winning method for White. Twenty years later, onlearning of the death of the English master Potter, the French languageprofessor Georges Barbier remembered this ancient game, and, onanalysing i t , discovered In a simi lar position (cf. diagram) theunexpected stalemate Idea (6 c8=Q Rc4+1). He published the positionfami l ia r to us, but with a di f ferent task —White to play, a n d . . . Blackto draw. The newspaper which published the study dedicated to Pottercame to the notice of Ihe priest Saavedra.

While solving Barbier1 s posit ion, this hitherto unknown chessplayer conceived an Idea which was fantast ic for that time — why notpromote the pawn to a rook, thus avoiding the stalemate — 6 cS=R! Onv is i t ing the Glasgow chess c lub, Saavedra acquainted its members withhis sensational discovery, thanks io which he soon became famousthroughout the chess wor ld. Thus one single move gave Saavedra ther ight to immortal i ty! An amazing instance in chess h istory!

Although In popular publ icat ions this unique quartet wi th whitepawn against black rook is usual ly cal led 5aavedra's posit ion, itwould be fa i rer to regard the study as a collective creation, belongingto two authors — Sarbier and Saavedra.

Pawn against queen

With this material one cannot devise either a study or a normalproRlem, and for the f i r s t time we are forced to have recourse to thehelpmate genre — No. 5.

4th Letter — 40 Chess Quartets

No. 5 E. Holladay, 1972

37

Helpmate in 4 moves.

The black queen parlicipates in the confinement of her k ing:1 Kf3 (remember that in helpmate problems it is Black who begins, andin the solution his moves are given f i rst) 1...Kf6 2 Kg4 e7 3 Kh5e8=R! 4 Qg4! Rh8 mate.

Knight against pawn

With such a balance of material, of course, White does not usuallyentertain any hopes of winning. An exception is provided by instanceswhere the black pawn restricts its own king, and as a result it can bema led. We, however, give example No. 6, in which, by means ofintricate leaps, the white knight has to catch the enemy pawn, so asto save the position.

No. 6 N. Grigoriev, 1932

White to p lay and d raw.

1 Nb4! h5 2 Nc6! (2 Nd5+? Kf3 and wins} 2. . .Ke4 ( 2 . . . h 43 Ne5, w i th a simple draw) 3 Na5! (3 Nd8? h4 4 Ne6 Kf5 5 Nd4+Kg4, and it is a l l over) 3 . . . h 4 4 Nc4! Kf3 ( 4 . . . h 3 5 Nd2+ and6 N f i , w i th a draw) 5 Ne5+ (a f te r 5 Nd2+ Ke2 6 He*. h3 a l l White 'sef for ts come to noth ing) 5. . .Kg3 6 Nc4! h3 7 Ne3. Draw.

Knight against piece

If on the board there Is a white knight and a black knight, rookor bishop, one cannot compose either an orthodox problem, or a study.For helpmate manoeuvres, however, there are rich possibil it ies. Wegive one quartet for each black piece (Nos. 7-9).


No. 7 Z. Mach, 193?

f:


Here is the solution to this 'square': 1 Na3 KaA 2 Kb2 NbA3 Kat Kb3 4 Nb1 Nc2 mate.

No. 8 D. Bebiz, 1967


The black king is adjacent io the corner square hB, but It ismated in the opposite corner of the board: 1 Kf6 Kci 2 Ke5 KbZ3 KdA Ka3 4 Kc3 Ka4 5 Kt>2 Kb* 6 Kal Ka3 7 Bbi Nb3 mate.

No. 9 M. Myllyniemi, 1965


The solution unexpectedly begins with castl ing!2 Kb8 Nc4 3 Ka8 Kc7 4 Rd7+ Kca 5 Ra7 Nb6 mate.

1 O-O-CH! Kc6

Alas, with a white knight against a black queen it is impossibleio devise even a helpmate — such a mating position simply does notexist. We give position No. 10 merely so as to avoid creating a

4th Letter — 40 Chess Quarteis 39

vacuum (according to our plan, each set of four pieces must ber e p r .e 5 ented, if only by one quartet).

No. 10 Conclusion of a study


- An i I lustration of the fact that in chess everything is possible —hopes of saving the game should not be abandoned even when one hasonly a lone knight against a queen: 1 Ng3+ Kh2 2 Nfl + , with per-petual check. Of course, this is not a genuine work of ar t , butmerely an amusing epilogue to some study with many pieces in theinit ial position.

Bishop against pawn

Although simple, example No. I I Is not without interest.



1 Bb3! The only possibility of averting the promotion of the pawn(1 8fa5 Kc2!, and Black wins). Now two symmetric variations arise:1...Ka1 2 Bc2, or l...Kc1 2 Ba2, and the pawn is stopped.

Bishop against knight or bishop

Here too, as with a white knight against a black minor piece, wehave to restrict ourselves to helpmates — Nos. 12 and 13.

40 Seven Chess tel lers

No. 12 E. Albert, 1963

l Hi SIB BH

I • • 1

MOHelpmate in 5 moves

The kings go round in a circle, exchanging places, after whichthe black leader ends up in a mating net: 1 Kb6 Kb8 2 Nc6+ Kc83 Ka7 Ba6 4 Ka8 Kc7 5 Na7 Bb7 mate.

No. 13 £ . Pogosyants, 1980 •" r~ ' " ";/


C lea r l y , male is possible only wi th opposite-coloured b ishops.1 KeA Ba8! (a wa i t i ng move) 2 Kf3 Kd5 2 Kg2 Ke4 (d iagonal pu rsu i t ,which in studies is encountered only wi th a large number of pieces)h KM Kf3 5 Bh2 Kf2 mate.

Bishop aga ins t rook

Study No. 14 is a fu r t he r i l l u s t r a t i o n on the theme of symmetry.


White to p lay and d raw.

4th Letter - 40 Chess Quartets * '

The symmetry is s l ight ly broken (the a- f i le disturbs i t ) , and ttiisi S of decisive s igni f icance. 1 Bb3!

The symmetrical I Bh3 loses to 1 ...Rh4 2 Bg2 Ra4! ( this is wherethe in i t i a l asymmetry manifests i tse l f l 3 Kfl Rai mate, or 3 Kd1 Ra1 +4 Kc2 Ra2+.

1...Rb4 2 Bc2t Rf4. On 2.. ,Bh4 3 Kdi there follows 3...Bh1mate, but after 3 Kf 1 ! RM + ft Kg2 Black does not succeed in winningthe bishop — to the r ight of the e-f i le there Is one less free f i le thanl 0 the left . A draw also results from 2,..Rc4 3 Kdl Rhfc 4 Kcl Rh1 +5 KbZ.

3 Bb3! Noi 3 Bbl Rd4 4 Bc2 Rd2! 5 Bb3 Rb2!, and wins.3.. .Rf2 * K d l ! (after the return ol the bishop lo its in i t ia l square,4*Be6, Black wins by 4. . .Rf6 5 Bb3 Rb6 6 Bc2 Ra6 7 Kfl Ral+ and8...Ra2) 4. . ,Kd3 5 Kei Ke3 6 Kd l , and the draw is inevi table.

Bishop against queen

Position No. 15, l ike No. 10, tan only serve as a good f i n i sh toa study.

No. 15 Conclusion of a study


t Bg3! Qxg3 stalemate.

Note that only two quartets — knight or bishop against queen —do not allow either a study or a problem to be composed on the chessboard. Any other balance of forces can serve as the basis for thecreation of a chess work of art .

Rook againsl pawn

Here there is r ich material for studies with White to play a r | dw i n . I t was not easy to choose one of them, and so we have settledon problem No. 16.

No. 16 K. Alheim, 1966

(see next diagram)

Mate In 4 moves.

> Ra7! Kh4 (1. . .Kh2 2 Rxe7 Kg! 3 Rh7 Kfl 4 Rhi mate)2 Ra5! «6 3 Re5! Kh3 4 Rh5 male. The problem resembles the veryfirst quartet, but here the pawn has already been transformed into arook.

42 Seven Cliess Letters

(Diagram for problem No. 16; see previous page)

Rook against knight

The chess historian van der Linde has discovered examples of thebattle between rook and knight in an ancient Arabic manuscript, dated1140! As is reported in the second part of the book, positions withrook against knight can be fault lessly evaluated by a computer. ,.....<-

No. 17 Vi. 5chinkman, 1905

Mate in 5 moves.

1 Rb7! All the pieces are arranged on one diagonal. Now,depending on the move of the black knight, there are two symmetricmates: t...Nd4+ 2 Kb6! Ne6 3 Rh7, 4 Rh8 and 5 RxN mate; 1...Ke5+2 Kc7T Nc4 3 Rb1, 4 Rai and 5 RxN mate.

Rook against bishop

We again settle on a problem — No. 18.

No. 18 K. Fabel, 1933

Mate in 3 moves.

4th Letter — 40 Chess Quartets 43

The black king is cut off on the rank, but gets meted on the"f i le: 1 Kc2!, 2 Ra6+ and 3 RxB mate.

Rook against rook

In the helpmate No. 19 the black rook, before being removed fromthe board, manoeuvres subtly, allowing the white king to approachdirectly the centre of events.

No. 19 E. Albert, 1963


1 Rh4! Kd3 2 Rh5! Ke4 3 Rh3! KfS 4 Kh5 Rxh3 mate.

Rook against queen

The ancient position No. 20 can be regarded as a study, althoughIs to be found in all books on the endgame.

No. 20 J. Berger, 1889

White to play and draw,

1 Rh7+ Kg2 2 Rg7+ Kh3 (the f - f i l e is p roh ib i ted to the k i n g , InView of Rf7) 3 Rh7+ Kg4 4 Rg7+ KhS 5 Rh7+ Kg5 6 Rg7+ Kh6

| 7 Rh7+ Kg6 B Rh6+! Kxh6 stalemate. In the i n i t i a l posi t ion the blackqueen can occupy any square on the f - f i le apart from f5, and the

i result w i l l be the same — a draw.

Queen against pawn

Endings of this type have been exhaustively studied in theory and


are of a text-book nature, bul interesting problems occur —No. 21.

No. 21 R. Lermet, 1914

Mate in k m o v e s . • '.

The white king, having pinned its opposite number to the edge ofthe board, unexpectedly allows him to break free, but, of course, notfor long.

1 Kd5! Kb5(b6> 2 Qb8+ Ka4 (a5) 3 Kc4 (the king retraces itssteps) 3...Ka5(a4) 4 Qb4 mate.

Queen against knight

In the struggle against a minor piece, the queen usually accom-plishes a clever manoeuvre, depriving the enemy king of the supportof Its piece — No, 22.

No. 22 R. Garraukh, 1923 • '

Mate in 3 moves.

1 O a l ! Ke8(cB) 2 Qg7(a7), and mate next move. Once again wesee the theme of asymmetry - a f ter 1 Qgl? Nf6! ( l . . . N f 8 ? 2 Qg7) thewhi te queen has no square on the left analogous to h8.

Queen aga ins t bishop

In the next problem, No. 23, as in the prev ious one, a l l thepieces are concentrated on one f i l e , but on th is occasion the queenmust remain on i t .

4th Letter - 40 Chess Quartets


Mate in 2 moves.

Here, in contrast, asymmetrical continuations do noi work:Qb27 Bb4!, 1 Qh2? Bh4!, and there is no mate. After the correctQe5! the symmetry of the pieces is maintained, and two symmetric

cho-mates arise: 1...Kd8 (Bb4, Bc3) 2 Qb8 mate; 1...KfB (BhA, Bg3)Qh8 mate.

Queen against rook

In problem No. 24 ihe black king is on the back rank, while theok too does not occupy the most favourable position, but neverthelessore than 10 moves are required to male the black king.

No. 24 V. Shpekman, 1976 . •

Mate in 11 moves.

1 Ke6. Now Black has two possibilities (castling is ruled out,since either the king or the rook has just moved). On l . . .Kf8, matequickly results: 2 Qf4+ Kg7 3 Qf?+ Kh6 4 Kf6 Rf8 5 QxfB* Kh56 Obi! Kh6 7 Qh4 mate. The main variation arises after l...Rh7!White has to make a series of exact moves with his queen: 2 Qg5 Kf83 Qd8+ Kg7 A Qe7* Kg8 5 QeB+ Kg7 6 Qf74 Kh6 7 Qf6+ Kh5 8 Kf5Rf7 9 Qxf7+ Kh4 10 Qb3! KhS I I Qh3 mate.

Queen against queen

We wi l l conclude our examination ofnumber of pieces with the helpmate No. 25.

quartets with an equal

5even Chess Letters



1 Qh7! Kg3! 2 Kg7 Kf4+ 3 Kh6 Qg5 mate.

TWO WHITE PIECES

Such an advantage for White is no good for studies, but there areplenty of problems, and making the selection was by no means easy.

Queen and pawn

Perhaps the most widespread combination In quartets on thechess board.

No. 26 Y. Vladimirov, 1976

Mate in 4 moves.

This four-mover il lustrates the co-ordination theme of two queens(the second wi l l soon appear) on squares of opposite colour. 1 QgB!Now a series of interesting variations arises: 1 . . .Kd4 2 d8=0+ Kc5(2...Kc3 3 Qa2!) 3 Qb3T; t . . .Kd2 2 d8=0+ Kci 3 Qg2!; l . . .Kf32 d8«Q Ke4 (2 . . .KH 3 Qd4+) 3 Og4+ etc. It goes without sayingthat each time White gives mate an the fourth move.

Queen and knight

Three-movers with this material can have very clever solutions,and Ho. 27 is the most famous of them.


No. 27 W. Schinkman, 1885

_•$• _•

Mate in 3 moves.

1 Na8M This paradoxical f i rst move creates a strong impression.1...Kd6 2 Kd4 Kc6 3 Qd5 mate.

Queen and bishop

A classic combination for three-move quartets. The followingproblem, together with two other quartets also depicting the Russianletler ' r ' (G), was published on Space Exploration Day — 12th Apri l1964. This set of problems was dedicated by the author to YuryGagarin — the f i rst man to conquer space.


Mate in 3 moves.

1 Qh3! KgS 2 Qf3! K96 (2...Kh4 3 Bf6 mate] 3 Qg4 mate.

Queen and rook

White's advantage is too great, but to f ind the shortest path tomate is not always easy.


(see next diagram) .. - r

Mate in 4 moves.

See how the noose is tightened around the black k ing: 1 Qf7!Kd4 2 Qe6 Kc3 (2...Kc5 3 Rh4 KbS 4 Rh5 mate) 3 Qd7! Kc4 4 Rc2

Seven Chess Letters

male; 1...Ke5 2 Kb4 (this move is also decisive after" l . . .Kd3 or 1 . . .Ke3j 2...Kd6 (on 2...Kd4 or 2...Ke4 there follows 3 Re2 and k Qc4mate) 3 Rh5 Kc6 * Rh6 male.

Two queens

On a normal board with two queens, four moves are more thanenough to mate the black k ing . It might be supposed that, if thedimensions of the board are increased, the number of moves necessaryfor mating wi l l also increase. But strangely enough, whalever the

dimensions of the board, mate can always be given not later than thefourth move! On the f i rst move one of Ihe queens gives check along af i l e . After the black king moves to one of the adjacent f i les, the otherqueen (with the help of the f i rs t ) squeezes it inio two f i les. We thenhave approximately the position shown in No. 30 (we assume here thatthe normal chess board represents a fragment of a board of arb i t rarydimensions).

No. 30 An innumerable multitude of problems

On any board two white queens givemate not later than the fourth move

Now any move by the king is answered by an appropriate hor i -zontal check, for example 2. ..Ke4 3 Qc4+, or 2. ..Kd5 3 Qf5+, andmate next move: In the f i rs t case 3. . .Ke3(e5) 4 Off4 mate, in thesecond — 3...Kd4(d6t 4 0cc5 mate. The black king could similar ly be'caught' along a rank. Obviously, the board can have any dimensions,and can even be inf in i te. At the same time, the in i t ia l placing of thewhite queens and both kings is unimportant (the white king Isaltogether not necessary).

I 4th Letter — 40 Chess Quartets 49

Rook and pawn

In problem No. 31 the iwo k ings go round in a c i r c l e , but th isdoes honour only to the white leader.

No. 31 G. Glass, 1903

Male in 4 moves.

1 K f l ! Kd2 2 Kf2 Kdi 3 Ke3 Kel 4 R d mate.

Rook and kn igh t

In No. 32 mate cannot be given without the support of the k i n g ,so White must b r i n g h is up to face the opponent.

No. 32 M. Ebert, 1975

Mate in 6 moves.

1 Ra2! Kc1 2 Nd2 Kdl 3 Nb3! Kel 4 Kg2 Kdi 5 Kf3 Ke1 6mate.

Rook and bishop

As iri the quartet w i th queen and b ishop, we have chosen aproblem in which the bishop is a ' super f luous ' piece —No. 33.

No. 33 K. Law, 1928

(see next d iagram)

Mate in 3 moves.


1 Bh2! Kxh2 2 Ra3 Khl 3 Rh3 mate.

Two rooks• ^ v

In order to achieve his goal in No. 34, White must give up oneof his rook s.


Mate in 3 moves.

1 Ph i ! ! Kxhl 2 Kg3 Kg1 3 Re! mate; 1...Kf3 2 Rh2 Kf4 3 Rf2mate; 1...KfZ 2 Kh3 Kf3 3 Bfi mate.

Bishop and pawn.

The solution of No. 35 is not diff icult, but it contains simul-taneously two problem motifs — a sacrifice and an under-promotion.

No. 35 A. McKenzie, 1691

"*_•„•_

Mate in 3 moves.


I Ba7! Kxa7 2 cB=R! Ka6 3 Ra8 mate.We should mention one further curious deta i l . Since in the Ini t ia l

'posit ion it is While's move, Black must have been the lost to play.But this could only have been a move with his king from a7 to aB.This means that before this the black king was In check by the bishopat b8. Bui the bishop Itself could not have got there, I .e. it couldonly have appeared as a result of a promotion. Thus in this modestproblem there are as though two promotions: one (lo a bishop) in its'past ' ( re l ro-p lay) , and the other (to a rook) in Its ' fu ture ' (thesolution i tself | .

Bishop and knight

In order to give mate with bishop and knight one needs, so tospeak, special preparation. Instances are known where a player in atournament game did not manage it in the allotted time (the rulesallow f i f ty moves for the mate). It is amusing that, in the 47th USSRChampionship (Premier League), international master Anikayev testedthe mating technique of grandmaster Balashov for some twenty moves inthis ending, but when his k ing was slowly but surely forced towards acorner of the same colour as the bishop (an essential condit ion!), hecurtai led his resistance. Problem No. 36 is of a certain practicalinterest (as, however, is any problem of this type). Imagine that youhave played this ending f l ippant ly , and at the given moment havealready used 45 moves oul of ihe allotted f i f t y . . .

No. 36 S. Loyd, 1857 -

Mate in 5 moves

1 8d6 Kb1 2 Kb3 (White's f i rs t two moves can be made inreverse order) Z,. .Kal 3 Ba3! Kbi 4 Nc3+ Ka1 5 Bb2 male.

Two bishops

This combination of pieces, as they say, leaves something to bedesired. However, although It is easy to give mate (this task is withinthe powers even of a beginner), to f ind the shortest path to the goal' * not always easy — No. 37.

No. 37 V. Pauli, 1919

(see next diagram)

Mate in 7 moves.

52 Seven Ches5 Letters

1 Bf3! Kti3 2 Kf2 Kh4 3 Se2 (beg inn ing to d r i ve the k ing intothe comer) 3...Kh3 4 Bg5 Kh2 5 Bfl KM 6 Bg2+ Kh2 7 Bf4 mate.

Two knights . - • • * %

Of course, a mate is possible only if the b lack k i n g p lays intoWhi te 's hands. A corresponding helpmate is shown in No. 38.

Ho. 3B £ . A lber t , 1964

Helpmate in h

1 Kb5! Nd7 2 Ka4t {B lack marks tim»», but does not prevent thewhi te k i n g from f u l f i l l i n g i ts role) 2...KC5 3 Kt>3 Kb6 A Ka4 Nc5mate.

Knight and pawn

No. 39 P- Terngren, 1928

Mate in 3 moves.

1 fB=R! (1 f8=Q stalemate!) 1.. .Kh6 2 Rf7 KhS 3 Rh7 mate.

4th Letter - 40 Chess Quartets 53

Two pawns

Problems with two pawns are normally rather interesting, since[hoy always contain unusual promotions. We conclude our parade ofquartets with No. 40, in which essentially four problems are repres-ented. In each case one of the pawns promotes to a queen, while theother promotes to four different pieces — queen, knight, bishop androok!

No. 40 0. Dehler, 1925

11 ' " Mate in 2 moves. - '

(a) As in the diagram. 1 c8=Q and 2 b8=Q mate,jb) Move the white king to b3. (V. Shpekman, 1964). Mate In

3 moves. 1 bB=Q Ka5 2 c8=N! Ka6 3 Qb6 mate.(c) Move the b7 pawn to a7. (L. Kubbel, 1940). Mate In 3

moves. 1 a8-B!, 2 cB~Q and 3 Qb7 mate.(d) Move the c7 pawn to g7. (H. Schtaudte, 1965K Mate in 3

moves. 1 bB=R! Ka7 2 g8=Q Ka6 3 Oo2 mate.

Thus, there have appeared before you 40 quartets on the chessboard. As we have seen, between some of them lies a whole century.. .And even so this modest material has been far from exhausted bychess composers.

Fifth Letter

TRIOS AND DUETS ON THE CHESSBOARD

In the preceding ' let ter ' we saw that, for the composing of aninteresting problem or study, four nieces are quite sufficient. Butwhat about with less material? Is it possible to think up anythingdeserving attention with three or two pieces on the board? It turnsout that, even in this 'chess micro-world' , a number of interestingworks of the most varied genres have been created, although It is truethat there is a predominance of unusual or joke problems. In this' let ter ' we wil l meet a series of such exhibits.

If we are talking about tradit ional, orthodox problems, they canturn out in one of three ways: against a lone black king the leaderof the white forces wil l be accompanied by a pawn, rook or queen.

No. 1 K. Tonipltnson, 1845

Mate in 2 moves.

The ancient two-movers Nos. 1 and 2 relate to the stalematetheme — in both, the solution is to promote the pawn to a rook (but nota q u e e n ) : I n No, 1 - 1 c 6 = R ! , In No. 2 - 1 g6-*R! , a n d 2 RaS m a t e .

No. 2 E. Cook , 1868

(see next diagram)

54

5th Let ter — Trios and Duets on the Chess Board 55

Mate in 2 moves.

The later problem No. 3 is an improved version of No. 1 . Herethe appearance of the rook is delayed by one move — 1 Kc6! Ka72 c8=R! Ka6 3 Ra8 mate.

No. 3 H. Meyer, 1920

Male in 3 moves.

The idea of promol ing a pawn to a rook wi th such l imi ted mater ialcan also take on a t r i ck form — No. 4.


Mate In 3 moves.

The subtle point Is that White f i r s t of a l l . . . fo lds the board intwo! Now there fol lows 1 Kc2! Ka3 ( the squares a5 and b5 are on theother hal f of the board l ) 2 c4=R! ( the fou r th rank has become thelast } 2 . . .Ka2 3 RaA mate.


No. 5 D. Hoiman, 1971

Mate in 3 moves.

In No. 5 the introduction is rather crude — 1 c8=Q, but on theother hand the subsequent manoeuvre on the next move by the new-bornqueen is the only solution: 1...Ka4 2 Qh3! Ka5 3 Qa3 mate.

Are ther-e to be found among trios any genuine studies? It can,of course, only be a question of the material 'King and pawn againstk ing ' . Positions of this 'ype are normal ly considered theoretical, butcertain of them are customarily regarded as studies, as for exampleNos. 6 and 7.

No. 6 J. Dr-tina, 1908


No. 6. 1 Kc2! Ke7 2 Kb3! {a roundabout manoeuvre with the aimof taking the opposition; a draw results from 2 Kd3? Kd7 3 Kd4 Kd6!)2...Kd6 3 Kb* Kc6 4 Kc4, and the pawn queens. If the pawn ismoved from c3 to b4, the deciding king route is lengthened by onemove; 1 Kc2 Ke7 2 Kb3 Kd6 3 Ka4! Kc6 4 Ka5! etc.

No. 7 A. Hilderbrand, 1954

5th Letter — Trios and Duets on the Chess Board


57

No. 7. 1 Ka& Kc6 2 Ka5 Kb7 3 Kb5 Ka7 4 Kc6 Ka6 5 b5+ Ka76 Kc7 Ka8 7 Kb6 Kb8 8 Ka6t Ka8 9 b6 Kbfl 10 b7 Kc7 11 Ka7 and12 bfl=Q. It is interesting that, in the symmetric position after Black's7th move, the manoeuvre of the white king lo «6 is the only solution,since a draw results from the symmetric 8 Kc6? Ka7 9 06+ Ka8 10 Kc7stalemate!

No. 8 A. Mandler, 1969


In study No. 8 after the transfer of the kings to the other wing —I Kb2! Kb6 2 Kc2! Kc6 3 Kd2! Kd6 4 Ke2 Ke6 5 Kf2 Kf6 6 Kg2!Black loses command of the corresponding squares. Of course, thesolution is very simple, but on the other hand we have a uniqueexample of White being represented In a ;study by his king alone.

Helpmate trios can prove more fascinating than positions with anormal task, since in them accurate play is demanded not only of thetwo white pieces, but also of the black k ing.

No. 9 E. Bon, 1961

White to play. Helpmate in 7 moves.

In No. 9 the pawn must, of course, advance, but it is not in ahurry — I d3! With such limited material, this popular idea of losinga tempo creates a strong impression. 1 . . .Kf2 2 d4 Ke3 3 d5 Kd4* d6 Kc5 5 d7 Kb6 (after the hasty 1 d4 the black king would not now.have been able to cross the square b6, which would be controlled bythe new queen) 6 dB=Q+ Ka7 7 Qa5 mate.

ftTwo fu r ther t r ios wi th the p a r t i c i p a t i o n of a white pawn wi l

examined a l i t t l e la ter , but now i t i s the turn of the rook.be


Ha. 10 L. Tsagler , 1973

Mate in 12 moves.

Everyone can mate a bare k ing w i th a rook, but to do th is in theshortest possible way — No. 10, one has to rack one's b r a i n s . 1 Ka3!Kc3 2 Ka4 Kc4 3 R d l ! Kc5 4 Kb3 Kb5 5 Rci Ka5 6 Kc4 Kb6 7 Kb4Ka6 8 Kc5 Kb7 9 Kb5 Ka7 10 Kc6 Ka8 I I Kc7 Ka7 12 Ra1 mate.This serious problem resembles the ' t r i o wi th the immobile rook1 ,examined by us in the f i r s t ' l e t t e r ' .


Mate in 2 moves.

While in No. 4 the board was folded in ha l f , in joke-problemNo. 11 an even more unexpected manipu la t ion is ca r r i ed out on i t . inorder to mate the b lack k i n g in such short time, you must f i r s t . . . sawoff the last rank from the board (or cover i t , if you begrudge theb o a r d ) . Now the k i n g has nowhere to go: 1 Kb5! Ka7 2 Rc7 male.

No. 12 M. Vukovic , 1962

Black to p l a y . Helpmate in 3 moves.

5th Letter — Trios and Duels on the Chess Board 59

If in position No. 12 [he black king were to ' resist ' , even twelvemoves would not suffice. His assistance speeds up (he solution consid-e r a b l y : 1 Ke7t (Black begins) 1...Kg7 2 KeB! Kf6 3 Kf8 Rh8 mate.

The normal mating of a lone king by a queen Is too primitive atask, and therefore we i lluatrate this trio with the helpmate No. 13,

No. 13 R. Forstor, 1966


1 Kb4 Qh2! 2 Kc3 Kg2! (a hidden, in the l iteral sense, possibil-ity of admit ling the black king to the place of its downfall ) 3 Kd2Kf3+ 4 Kei Qe2 mate.

No. 14 A. Gerbstman, V. Slobodenyuk, 1976

White takes back his last move and gives mate in \ move.

(a) as in the diagram;(b) the king is moved from c7 to c8. i t . ' . . ' .>•

A whole series of ultra-miniatures are associated with taking amove back. In the twin-problems Mo. H White takes back the moveb6xa7, instead of which there fol lows 1 b7 mate, and, as can readilybe checked, in the f i rst case the piece el a7 could only be a blackknight, and in the second case — only a black bishop. Replacing thepawn at a7 In (b) by a white knight, we obtain a third ' t r ip le t ' -Instead of Nb5xa7 the solution Is 1 Nc? mate.


No. 15 K. Fabel, 1949

While takes back his last move and gives mate in 2 moves.

In joke-problem No. 15 try guessing that White's last move was. . .K-side castl ing. The most surprising thing is that the king aloneparticipaled in it, moving from e1 to gi . The point is that While wasplaying a game with ihe odds of two rooks, anct the rook at h3 is theresult of a promotion! Instead of castling K-side he now castles ohthe Q-side, as a result of which his king goes from el not to g i , butto c1 (the rook at a1, given as odds, l ike the hi rook participates inthe castling purely symbolical l y ) . After 1 0-0-0 the black king isforced into the corner, 1...Ka1, where it is mated by 2 Ra3.


. . I , !•-•.•

White takes back his last move and gives mate in 1 move.

The joke-problem No. 16 can be regarded as an i l lustrat ion toPushkin's novel in verse. Remember the well-known 'game' betweenLensky and Olga:

They meet, from others far retreating.Above a game of chess they bow,Now heads on elbows resting, nowIn deepest meditation s i t t ing ;A pawn of Lensky's takes a rt>ok,His own, did he but care to look.*

The present position arose precisely after the absenl-mindedLensky had broken the rules of the game and with his g4 pawn cap-tured his own rook at h5. Now he begs Olga to excuse him, takes back

*The translator is indebted to Mr Henry Jones of Hiding Mi l l , Northum-berland, for this translation from Yevgeny Oniegm.

5th Letter — Trios and Duets on the Chess Board 61

the move gixhS and announces check and mate to the bemused gi r l byt Rh5-h8!

This may be a joke-problem, but an interesting fact is that itdoes not permit any false rumours. For example, the assumption thatLensky had captured his queen on h5, and not his rook, would havemeant that 01 ga too was playing absent-mindedly — otherwise there isno explanation as to why the black king moved into check. Pushkin,however, has nothing to say on this!

No. 17 J. Sunyer, 1923

White and Black take back their last move, then Black makesa move and White gives mate in 1 move.

The clever problem No. 17 broadens the possibilities of the twosides to such an extent that the kings alone suffice, and without anyjokes! With Its last move the white king from g6 captured a blackrook at h5 (Kg6xRh5), which, in turn, had from h8 just taken a whitequeen at h5 (Bh8xQh5). In the restored position Black castles K-slde,. . .0-0!, and is immediately mated by 1 Qh5-h7.

Thus, we have played the first duet on the chess board! Verysimilar to it is another problem with two kings — No. IB.

No. 18 F. Vaird, 1910

White and Black take back their last move, then Black makesa move and White gives mate in 1 move.

Here too White's last move was to capture e black rook Kg<>xRf5,which prior to this took the white queen - RfixQfS. Instead of thisBlack plays Rf1-h1, and is mated by 1 Qf5-f2.

Amusing trios and duets can be played at give-away chess, wheretaking is obligatory (if there are several possibil i ties, the choice isarbi t rary) , and the player who wins is the one who is the f irst to


give away a l l his pieces, including Ihe k ing (or stalemate them).

No. 19 K. Fabel, 1955

White to play and lose, " '

Problem No. 19 shows that in give-away chess the presence ofonly two pieces ( in the given instance pawns) is more than adequate todevise subtle and or ig inal s i tuat ions.

1 a3! The fami l ia r idea of losing a tempo, b u t . . . in a completelydifferent genre! I . . .h5 2 aA h4 3 a5 h3 4 a6 h2 5 a7 h1=R!

If Black promotes to a queen or bishop, then after- any promotionof the white nawn he wi l l be forced to take it immediately. On 5.. .M"N there follows 6 a8=Q, and on a move by the knight - 7 Qh1 .

Interesting var iat ions arise after the appearance of a black k ing— 5-..h1 = K. Bad now for White is 6 aB=Q or a8=B because of 6 . . .Kg2 ! ;6 aB=K leads to a draw (the kings cannot approach each other, andwi l l wander Oerpetually around the board) ; on 6 a8=N there follows6.. .Kg2 7 Nb6 Kf3 8 Nd7 Ke3 9 Nb6 Kf4 10 Nc8 Ke4 11 Na7 Ke5,and the knight is 'caught ' -- on the oexl move it w i l l have to take thek ing . The solution is 6 aB=R! Kg2 7 Ra4 Kf2 8 Rd4 Kg2 9 Re4 Kh210 Rf4 Kh1 11 Rf3 Kg2 12 Rf2+ Kxf2, and the goal is achieved.

6 aB=8!! The only move. White promotes to an even weaker piecethan his opponent. Now, wherever the rook moves, there follows7 Bhl ! , and th is game of give-away chess ends in White's favour.


Matt In \ move.

Our f ing l duel , No. 20, also demands of the reader a certainsense of humour. White has already managed to make half a move — hehas removed from the board his h? pawn, and now be completes themove, placing on h8 a queen! And this means that White's completemove is 1 h7-h8=Q mate.

5th Letter — Trios and Duels on the Chess Board 63

Thus, we have played on the chess board forty quartets endtwenty trios and duets. But the most d i f f icul t chess puzzles, strangelyenough, contain only one piece — a solo on the chess board! We haveIn mind problems involving the journey of a piece over all the SQuaresof the board. About the kn ight 's tour alone, numerous books andscientific researches have been wri t ten. It wi l l be recalled that the'problem of the knight move1 was studied by the great mathematicianEuler. In the present book the detailed study of 'chess geography'problems wi l l be left to one side. After a l l , chess Is inexhaustible,and, as is known, it is impossible to encompass the unbounded!

Sixth Letter

TWO DECISIVE GAMES

Decisive chess games, games on which depends the fale of a majori nternational tournament, or sometimes even ihe fate of a player,games which determine the winner of ihe recurrent stage of the battlefor the World Championship, or even the possessor" of the chess crown,have always provoked a special, exceptional interest among the numer-ous lovers of the ancient game. In a decisive game, where 'the slakeis greater [nan life i t se l f , victory is often determined not only by thetalent of a grandmaster. Character, will-power, the abi l i ty to collectoneself at the crit ical point of the struggle — these qualities play noless a role than chess mastery.

Chess history knows of a number of examples, when a defeat in adecisive game had such an effect on a player thai he was never againable to climb to the heights which he had once been able to conquer.Bui a defeat in a decisive game, for al l the tension of the situation,cannot break a true f ighter. The abi l i ty of a great master to r idhimself of the obsessive thought, that his many years of effort wereruined by one hasty move, the abi l i ty to shake off the weight ofdisappointment, provoke enormous respect and admiration in his person-a l i ty .

Chess lovers wi l l well remember Boris Spassky's two vexingdefeats in his decisive games in the last rounds of two USSR Champion-ships — in 1958 against M. Tal and in 1961 against L. Stein. Eachtime defeal closed the door for the talented grandmaster to the Inter-zonal Tournament, and hence put off for at least three years any hopeof a match for the World Championship. But these defeats, in theopinion of Spassky himself, mer-ely hardened him, and prepared him forfurther great battles. By defeating Tigran Petrosian in 1969, Spasskybecame the tenth chess champion of the world.

One of the most famous decisive games is Ihe concluding, tenthclash In the match for the world championship between Emanuel Laskerand Carl Schlechter, which took place in 1910. The name of the greatLasker is known to everyone. Today even some chess masters know ofthe great Austrian grandmaster Schlechter only by hearsay. And yet,if Schlechter had won this game against Lasker (and he was veryclose to his goal), he would have become World Champion, and wouldhave been ranked alongside such giants as Steinitz, Lasker, Capablancaand Alekhine (the reader wil l f ind this game in the seventh ' letter' of

I, 6*

6th Let ter — Two Decisive Games 65

•the book) .Three h is to r i ca l ly decis ive games belong to grandmaster David

[Brons te in . One of Ihem was p layed In the f i r s t Candidates ' Tournament,[•Which was held in 19S0 in Budapest. Before ihe f i na l round the Soviet(•grandmaster Isaac Boleslavsky was leading Bronstein by hal f a po in t .tBoles lavsky was conf ident lhat h is young r i v a l would not succeed, toorder, as they say, In defeat ing the h igh ly experienced Paul Keres,and in the f i n a l round he qu ick l y agreed a draw wi th the Swedishgrandmaster Gideon Stah lberg . Soon he had cause to regret hi5 haste.Bronstein accomplished a competi t ive feat — he overcame his dangerousopponent in b r i l l i a n t s ty le , and caught up wi th Boleslavsky. The nextdecisive game was p layed by him in the match designed to determineIfie opponent of World Champion Mikha i l Bo tv i nn i k . The twelve s t i p u l -ated games between Bronstein and Boleslavsky d id not g ive a winner,and the question aga in remained open. Two add i t iona l games were

s t i pu l a ted . The f i r s t of these ended in a d raw. In the decisive duelBronstein once aga in d isp layed h is except ional character , won i t , andgained the r i g h t to p lay Bo tv inn ik . In th is match for the World Cham-pionship, Bronste in 's t h i r d decisive game was p l a y e d . To the end ofthe marathon there remained two games. Bo tv inn ik , who was t r a i l i n gby a po in t , had White for the last t ime, and i t was su f f i c ien t forBronstein to hold out in the 23rd game, when he would almost ce r ta in l yhave become the second Soviet World Champion. But B o t v i n n i k ' s w i l lproved to be the s t ronger . In a tough bat t le of nerves he succeededIn ex t rac t i ng a win in th is decis ive encounter. A short draw in thef i n a l , 24th game of the match enabled him to re ta in the t i t i e of WorldChampion . . . .

It stands to reason that the story of decis ive chess duels deservesa separate book, and perhaps some time it w i l l De w r i t t e n . In our' l e t t e r ' we suggest that you make the acquaintance of two decis ivegames, in which the authors of th is book p a r t i c i p a t e d . True, in thef i r s t game Lu l i kov-Ta imanov , one of the authors pa r t i c i pa ted only inthe capac i ty o f . . . grandmaster Mark Taimanov's second. While theinclusion in the book of the decis ive c lash from the World ChampionshipMatch in Baguio does not demand any exp lana t i on , the f i r s t game mayappear to have been chosen randomly . But th is Is not qu i te so. Thegame was p layed in the f i n a l round of the 37th USSR Championship,held in Moscow in 1969, which was also a Zonal Tournament. Victoryin it took grandmaster Taimanov into the Interzonal Tournament, andfrom there 'by i n e r t i a 1 — into the Candidates ' Matches. The Fischer-Taimanov q u a r t e r r f i n a i match became an h is tor ic one. By w inn ing bythe unique score of 6-0, the American grandmaster began h is swi f toffensive in the ba t t le for the wor ld c rown. The Dane Bent Larsen wasovercome by the same enigmatic score. The next to suffer at F ischer 'shands was the Ex-World Champion T ig ran Petros ian. By w inn ing thematch in 1972 against Boris Spassky, Robert Fischer became the 11 thChess k i n g in h i s t o r y . Three years later he decl ined to defend hist i t le in a match wi th Anatoly Karpov, and the Soviet grandmaster wasdeclared the 12th Champion of the Wor ld. By w inn ing three years'ater a match against V ik tor Korchnoi, Karpov reta ined his t i t l e . Asyou see, a l l the events occur r ing In the chess wor ld are in some wayConnected one wi th another!


From a grandmaster's second:

Final round of the 37th USSR Championship, 1969Lutikov-TaimanovSicilian Defence

The hall was shaking and buzzing with excitement. The controllercal led in vain for silence. The hearts of grandmaster Taimanov'ssupporters suffered an unbearable stra in. One of his staunches!friends, the writer Leonid Zorin, who had not missed a single eveningat the Championship, admitted after the game: " I don't know how Istayed al ive".

It stands to reason that, before the start of ihe round, thetournament situation was taken into account. Four players were to gothrough to the Interzonal Tournament, and grandmasters Polugayevsky,Smyslov and Geller had already reserved three of the vacant places.There remained one, for which ihe contenders were Mark Taimanov andLeonid Stein, who were level on points. The most probable outcome ofthe Polugayevsky-Stein game seemed to be a draw. The prospect of amatch with Leonid Stein was not especially appealing, and so it wasdecided to make every effort to avoid I t . The opening most appropriateto this aim was the sharp Paulsen Variation (known in the West as theTaimanov Variation! — Translator), the favourite weapon of my 'charge'in the Sicilian Defence. As expected, on his f i rst move Lutikov

advanced his e-pawn two squares. The decisive game had begun,

I M c5 2 Nf3 Nc6 3 dA cxd4 A NxdA e6 5 Nc3 0c7 G Be3 067 Bd3 b5

And so, everything was going according lo plan — the PautsenVariation h$s been (alayed. But at this point, as I now recall , grand-master Bronstein said to his neighbours in the press box: "Lutikov isa great expert in this var iat ion; he has scored a number of beautifulwins with i t " . 1 cannot say that these words did much to reassure me,to say nothing of Zorin. The only consoi ing factor was that in thisopening Taimanov too had won a number of spectacular encounters.Instead of the advance of the b-pawn, 7.,.Nf6 is more often met. Butthis had been played several times against Lutikov, and in part icular,we were farnillar with his game against Tal , which had continued 7. . .Nf6 8 Qd2, etc. Taimanov therefore prefers a more unusual contin-uation.

8 Nxc6 Qxc6 9 Bd4

The idea of this move is to tie I ay somewhat the development ofSlack's K-side. Bronstein once played simi lariy against Taimanov{with the bishop at e2) > when Black contrived to blunder away apawn: 9. . . f6 10 0-0 Bc5 11 8*b5! axb5 12 Qh5+. On this occasionhe was on the alert.

9 . . . Bb7 10 Qe2 Ne7

A flexible move; subsequently the knight wi l l have a choicebetween the squares c6 and g6. In the event of 1O...Nf6 11 Bxf6 gxf6the advance of the white knight to dS has to be reckoned wi th.

II f4

The f i rs t of a series of moves which impose on White special

6th Letter — Two Decisive Games 67

obi i gat ions. However, 11 0-0-0 can be well answered by 1T . . . b4, andH 0-0 by 11. . .N fS ! .

11 . . . b4 12 Nb1

12 Ndl would seem to leave White more possibilities.

12 . . . Ng6 13 QfZ

What more, would it seem, can one expect of one move — the queendefends the f4 pawn, strengthen? White 's control of the g l - a 7 d iagona l ,and creates threats on the K-side. And even so, B lack ' s counter -p laynow comes d i s t i nc t l y to l i g h t .

13 . . . Bd6!

One of those b r i l l i a n t , pure ly Taimancv-Nke moves. On 14 Bxg7there fol lows 14. . .Nxf4 15 Bxha Nxd3+ 16 cxd3 0c1 + . Since 14 g3 istoo r i s k y , and 14 e5 is unp leasant ly answered by 14, . -Be7 wi th thethreat of . . . B h 4 , White 's next move is essent ia l l y forced.

14 Be3 0-0 15 Nd2 Rac8 16 h4

It is cur ious that , at th is po in t , i t seemed to almost a l l thespectators, even to the chess masters, that Whi le 's threats wereextremely dangerous, whereas for Taimanov, as he admitted after thegame, it was at th is very point that he sensed that he could gothrough to the Interzonal Tournament without any add i t i ona l event.White takes upon himself ob l iga t ions which are too great , and forWhich it w i l l be d i f f i c u l t for him to pay .

16 Qc7

16.. .e5 17 g3 exfft IS gxff i looked tempt ing, but the move played'S the most f l e x i b l e . Since 17 f5 is now impossible due to 17. . .Sg3,White is p rac t i ca l l y forced to p lay e i ther 17 g3, or J-? e5, a f ter which


the strength of the bishop a! b? grows consider-ably,

17 e5 Bc5 18 h5 Bxe3 19 Qxe3 Ne? 20 Nc4

20 0-0-0 is unpleasantly met by 2O...Nd5, when the white king isIn great danger.

Z0 . . . Nf 5 21 Qd2

On 21 Bxf5 Taimanov had prepared not 21...Qxc4, as we in thehall assumed, but 21 . . ,exf5 22 Nd6 Qxc2 23 Nxc8 (23 Nxb7 Qxg2)23...Rxc8, sacrif icing the exchange, but gaining for it more lhansufficient compensation. He was no doubt r ight — large-scale strategyis required of the Sicilian player.

21 . . . Bd5 22 Ne3 Nxe3 23 Qxe3 Qc5 24 Qg3

The exchange of queens would have led lo a marked advantage forBlack, but 24 Qd2 waj less r isky .

I

24 h6 25 Rh4

The cr i t ical point. After- 2S...Kh8 26 Rg4 Rg8 followed by . . .Qd4Black would have gained a v i r tua l l y overwhelming positional advantage.But Taimanov impulsively checks with his queen, assuming that it isalways good to drive the king into the centre. But things turn out tobe much more complicated,

25 . . . Qgit

After this move the game loses in strategic completeness, butgains in beauty. . . . Some totally start l ing events now set in .

26 Kd2

The game enters a phase of boundless complications, the f inalconsequences of which were impossible to foresee. It was subsequentlystated that 26 Ke2 would have won for White, ana given Stein, who, esexpected, had already drawn his game, a place in the InterzonalTournament. But analysis showed that this place would at best havebeen acquired as a result of an additional match. After 26.. .Rxc2+27 Bxc2 Bc6+ 28 Kd2 128 Kf3 Qxal 29 RgA Qf1 + , 3O...Qe2+ and 3 1 . . .Qxc2, and White has only one check at g7) 28...Gd4+ 29 Kci Qg1 +Black is assured of perpetual check (30 Bdl Rc8). A fascinating battlealso develops in the event of 26.. .Qd4 27 f5 Rxc2+ 28 Bxc2 Qxb229 f6 Qxc2+ 30 Kfl g5 31 hxg6 fxg6 32 Rxh6 Be4.


26 QdA

The capture of the rook was not very pleasant, since after 27 Rg4White gives mate, while after 26...Qxg2+ 27 Qxg2 Bxg2 2B Rgi Bd529 Rhg4 the black king Is again in an unenviable position. Now theattack 27 Rg4 can be parried, thanks to 27...Be4! 28 Rxg7+ KhB, whenagainst the various threats (and in particular ...RgB —along the samefi le where White has been attacking!) there la no defence.

27 f5

With his queen attacked, and the further advance of the f-pawnthreatened, Black appears to be on the edge of the abyss.

27 Rxc2+!

Making such a move is pleasant not only for the player dur ingthe game, but also for the commentator in the course of his analys is .

28 Kxc2 b3+!

The b-pawn must be brought into p lay ; 28...RcB+ 29 Kdi Qxb230 Rbi is insuf f ic ient .

29 Kdi

After maKing this move, White loses control of events. Thedangerous pawn should have been taken — after 29 axb3 Bxb3+ 30 Kd2(30 Kxb3 fa i l s to 3O...Rb8+ 31 Kc2 Qxb2+ 32 Kd1 Qxa1+ 33 Ke2 Rb2+34 Ke3 QcH, and now either 35 Ke4 Rb4+ 36 Kf3 Qd1+ 37 Ke3 Qxd3+!33 Kxd3 Rb3+, or 35 Kf3 Qd1+ 36 Kf4 Rb4+ 37 Be4 Qfl+ 38 Qf3 Rxe4+!39 Kxe4 Qc4+, in each case with a won ending for Black) 3O...Qxb2+

31 Ke3 Qxal 32 f6 QgH 33 Kd2 Qd1+ Black certainly has a perpetualcheck, but apparently nothing more. This would probably have beenthe natural result for such a dramatic game.

29 . . . QgH 30 Gel Qxg2 31 Qfi

Black is p lay ing , as If nothing had happened, fl cook down! On31 Rf4 Taimanov was intending to continue quiet ly with 31...Rc8.

31 . . . Bf3+36 Kg3 fig21

32 Kei Qxb2 33 Rbi OxeS+ 34 Kf2 bxa2 35 Ret Qf6

(see next diagram)

A move of great aesthetic force! It displays the purely problem-

Seven Chess Letters

like idea of over-loading — the bishop can be captured neither by theking, nor the queen.

37 Qg1 exfS!

Again a totally unexpected, quiet move. One of the grand-masters asked in perplexity; "Why separate the pawns?..."

38 Qd4 Qg5+ 39 Kh2

The f i rst point of the move 37...exf5 — here 39 Rg4 is impossible.And now its second point is revealed. After the idea of over-loadingcomes that of interference. Sheer geometry... .

39 . . . Be4! •->.-•>" • • • . i 1

The f inal chord of this musical poem, played, as one of theadmiring spectators remarked, in the style of an heroic symphony. Theco-ordination of the white pieces is totally destroyed, and Blackthreatens ...Qxhi>+ and ...Qg2 mate.

40 Rhxe4 fxeft 41 0xe4 IT ' '

In this position Taimanov wrote on his score sheet the move fit...Qxh5+, and went behind the scenes. With shaking hands he l i t up thef i rst cigarette in his l i fe. On the face of Mikhail Tal, standing besidehim, was depicted envy, which could not be erased even by the wordsaddressed to him by Taimanov: "Misha, today — I am your pup i l ! "Paul Keres, made wise by experience, came up to him. "Mark — todayyou played like Liszt", was how he addressed his old colleague, and awell-known pianist.

Thus, the game was adjourned. In prospect was some night-timeanalysis, although it is true that it did not pr-omise to be d i f f icu l t .After the white king moves out of check there would have followed. ..g7-g6 and .. .Rb8. Obviously this seemed to grandmaster Lutikov tobe sufficiently clear, and he nobly decided to same Taimanov any


further anxiety.

41 . . . Qxh5+ White resigns

A fairytale game! It was a worthy culmination to the Champion-ship of l h e country!

The ha 11 thundered with applause, and on the stairs friendsembraced Mark Taimanov, who that day was the happiest person a l ive.

Some ten years later, in the course of working on the presentbook, one of its authors, the one who had been Taimanov's second, metthe grandmaster for 'an evening of pleasant reminiscences'.

"Mark Yevgenyevich, your decisive encounter with Lutikov wascalled by journalists at the time the 'game of your l i f e ' . Can you nowconfirm the correctness of this epithet?"

"Of course, ten years ago these words — 'the game of my l i fe1 —were merely a t i t le . That is not, of course, how a player thinks. Butwhat is most surprising is that now, judging events in retrospect, Isee that it was this game, l ike no other, which signif icantly influencedmy subsequent l i fe, and, therefore, fu l ly just i f ied its name. In theend, victory in it raised me to the heights of my competitive achieve-ments, and at the same time brought me the deepest disappointments.If events are analysed fatalistreal ly, it can be said that this gamesubsequently led me to a series of dramatic changes in my l i fe, andnot only in the chess aspect of i t . Everything here was interlaced —chess, my piano playing, my personal l i f e . . . . In my everyday con-cerns I have not returned so often to this 'game of my l i f e ' , but nowyou have reminded me, and you see what a great deal it has stirredop".

"Do you think that the psychological tension, which a grand-master inevitably experiences in a decisive game, is an aid to chesscreativi ty?"

"Yes, I think so. During that distant evening, at any rate, Iexperienced an unusual enthusiasm, a state rather of sp i r i tua l i ty , ofI l lumination. It showed itself both in that, by giving the impulsivequeen check at g i , I switched the play into an almost incontrol I ablestate, and in that I then made v i r tua l ly fantastic efforts to turn theirrational battle onto the desired l ines. . . . Yes, it was a trulyeuphoric state, when fantasy works at the limit of its possibil i t ies, andyou have the feeling that you are hovering over events. It is perhaps3t such moments that discoveries are made. Chess history knows of

decisive games which were not distinguished for their especially r ichcontent. But the encounter with Lutikov also proved highly interestingin the purely chess sense. It is no accident that it was remembered'or a long time by al l the spectators who were present in the hallthat day. 1 ts content, its aesthetic element are perfectly equivalent,so lo speak, to its competitive value."

"The 'game of your l i fe ' led you in the end to a match withFischer, the result of which was p i t i f u l . . . " .

"Yes, this encounter brought me much disappointment, but even so,I do not regret that it took place. Robert Fischer is an outstandingphenomenon in chess history, and I consider myself fortunate to havePlayed with him an entire match, even though the result was so bad.I " the creative sense the games were interesting, and I am not ashamedof them."

"How do you explain Fischer's exit from the chess world?""On this point I have a completely firm opinion. For the majority

of the eleventh World Champion's predecessors, the game of chess wasnot only not the only thing in their lives, but sometimes not even the


main thing. But for Fischer, chess was, without a doubt, the meaningof his life, and therefore all his criteria were of an exclusively chessnature. Fischer, 11 could be said, was closelv linked to chess; it washis atmosphere, the only one he could breathe.

This is why the title of World Champion meant more for Fischerthan the recognition of his competitive merits alone. The supremetitle as though assigned to him the role of a chess Messiah on Earth.If chess is the main, indeed the only value in life, and he is thechess king, then in it he must be a kind of infallible absolute. This,apparently, is what Fischer thought. And indeed, to judge by hisactions following his victory over Spassky, the new Champion took uponhimself numerous different obligations. The American grandmaster

decided that he had no right to make incorrect pronouncements aboutchess, and he withdrew all the books written by him, very good books,incidentally, thinking that they were inappropriate to his new status.He considered that he did not have the right to play badly in atournament, or even to lose a single game. In short, Fischer tookupon himself such a burden that he simply bent under Us weight. Onsensing, most probably, that he could not be the person he should bein his own imagination, Fischer began avoiding chess. And the moretime that passed, the stronger that this psychological complex developedin him. The result was that the passionate and incomparable love for-chess, characteristic of Fischer in his earlier years, gave way to asense of fear, and a fear hot of some specific player, but of the verychess pieces and the chess board.

For the average chess player It is, of course, difficult to under-stand why the chess king, at the height of his powers, should abandonhis kingdom. But an exceptional personality may have a differentoutlook, which, although abnormal, also deserves respect... . "

From the World Champion: - ' '

I am in total agreement with the description given of my pre-decessor by grandmaster Mark Taimanov. Fischer is undoubtedly anexceptional person and an outstanding chess player. Six years ago Imade intensive preparations for a match with him, realizing that I wasfaced with a very difficult struggle in which Fischer's chances wei-eobjectively better. Nevertheless, as any player would, I hoped forsuccess. Alas, Fischer conceded his title to me voluntarily. Not oncein my life have I sat down at the board against the American grand-master-, and I can only envy Taimanov, Petrosian and 5passky, whohave each played a match with him.

I must confess that, when the FIDE President Max Euwe investedme with the Champion's wreath, I experienced a twofold sensation. Onthe one hand, and 1 will not conceal the fact, there was joy, but atthe same time there appeared an irresistible urge to demonstrate to thechess world that I had been declared the strongest chess player byrights. And there began for me a long-range duel with my predeces-sor. Perhaps the reader will be interested in certain comparisons... .

Fischer in his career did not lose a single match; as yet,neither have I . Fischer gained the title of World Champion by hisvictor-y over Boris Spassky, and after eleven games of this match hewas leading by 7-A (I have disregarded the loss resulting from hisfailure to appear for the second game). Two years later I won aCandidates' Semi-Final Match against Spassky by the score of . . . 7-4!(And the overall score in games with the 10th World Champion, where(here has been a definite result, is currently 9-1 in my favour).


L

Fischer won two matches by the score of 6-0. Here it is diff icultfor me to compete with him — I am not such a maximalist. However,jn the European Team Championship in 1977, playing on the top board,

concluded my appearance with a score of 5-0!

Judging from Fischer's book My GO Memorable Games, he won a>tal of 25 tournaments (including those where he shared f irst pi ace,ut excluding team events). At the age of 29 Fischer gave up chess.

Now, when this book is being written, I am 29 years old, and in 1979B t the Tournament of Stars in Montreal I won my 25th tournament.

Such is the arithmetic. Can rny duel with Fischer be regarded as^finished? It is not for me to judge.. . .

It siands to reason that the most Important and crucial event in•which I have yet participated was my as yet only match for the WorldChampionship, the match in Baguia with Viktor Korchnoi. I think thatel l the reversals of fortune associated with this match will s t i l l befresh in the memories of chess enthusiasts, and there is no point herein dwelling on them in detail .

The match had already been in progress for more than twomonths, and things were going fa i r ly well. After the 27th game thescore in wins became 5-2 (the winner was the f i rst to score six wins),and the match appeared to be coming to an end. 1 had no doubt atall that 1 would win, and this over-confidence clearly weakened me.In addition, the enormous, purely physical fatigue was beginning tote l l . And then, when there remained only one step to overall victory,-the unforeseen occurred. Korchnoi, who was possibly reconciled toftJefeat, began playing unrestrainedly and by desperate efforts levelledthe score —5-5! Within four games 1 had lost that which I hadgained in 27! There was plenty to be distressed over. But neverthelessI succeeded in casting off the burden of my vexing oversights,

êndeavoured to rest well, and geared myself up for a decisive battle Inhe 32nd game. In this game I played calmly and confidently, and, on

taining an overwhelming position, said to myself: "Just don't be loo, remembering that a desire to reali ie an advantage as quickly

jas possible had let me down more than once in the match. Victory inthe 32nd, deciding game enabled me to retain the t i t le of World•Champion.

Last game of the Match for the World ChampionshipBaguio, 1978

A. Karpov - V. KorchnoiPirc-Uf imlsev Defence

e4 d6 2 d4 Nf6 3 Nc3 g6 4 Nf3 Bg7 5 Be2 0-0 6 0-0 c5

The choice of this or that opening in the match was made mainlyfor psychological reasons. The main events normal ly developed in thesubsequent stages, and it was they that exerted a decisive influence onthe outcome of the majority of the games. The present game is a goodconfirmation of this,

Korchnoi Is true to his favourite tactics — that of changing asoften as possible the chess pattern. In the 18th game, where thePirc-Uflmtsev Defence was also played, the discussion developed along'he lines of the main variat ion: 6...Bg4 7 8e3 Nc6. Then I hademployed an innovation; 8 Qd3!? On this occasion, evidently so as toavoid such surprises, Korchnoi makes a sharp change of course. InPrinciple the entire variation after 7 dnc5 dxc5 is assessed by theoryas slightly favourable for White. Bui I could assume that the chal-lenger had prepared some forcing improvement in Black's play, and So,


quite naturally, I avoided the exchanging continuation.

7 d5 Na6

Black pins his hopes on flank operations. It is diff icult to saywhich of the two plans - this oi- the one Involving ihe underminingmove ...e7-e6 — should be preferred.

8 BH

White deploys his forces so as to prepare the natural centralbreakthrough e4-e5.

a..,Nc7 9 a* b6 10 ftel Bb7 11 Bc4

The prophylactic 11 h3, with the idea of retaining the bishop onthe h2-bB diagonal, could have proved to be a serious delay. After11.,.Qd7! 12 Bc4 Rad9! 13 Qd3 e5 very sharp play develops.

11 . .

A waste of valuable time. Instead of standing stil I, it wasessential to play 11.,.Qd7, aiming after 12 e5 dxe5 13 Nxe5 Qf5 toprovoke tactical complications at any cost. For example, 1ft Nxg6 fxg615 Bxc7 Ng4. Evidently on 11...Qd7 White should reply 12 Qd3, main-taining si ightly the better changes, but on the whole a very tensestruggle wouild have arisen. It seems to me that, on this occasion,Korchnoi 's predilection for solid positions did him a bad service.

12 BgS Nhf6 13 Qd3

Now all directions it Is much more difficult for Black toObtain

13 . . . a6 14 Rad1 Rb8 IS h3

At this Dolnt I decided not to take a r isk. In principle, theconsistent continuation, which would have increased White's spatialadvantage and increased his Bressijre, was 15 e5!? For example,15...dxe5 16 Nxe5 b5?! 1? axb5 axE>5 18 Bxb5! NcxdS 19 Nd7 N«c320 bxc3 Nxd? 21 Bxe7, ana Sl«ck loses material. lS,..Ncid5 can alsobe well met by the simple 19 N*d5 Bxd5 (19...0>td5 20 Qg3 Qa2 21 BcuQxO2 Zl Nxf7) 20 C4 Ba8 (2O...Be6 21 Nc6 QxiJ3 22 Nxe7+1 21 Nd7.In a diffei-enl situation I would have definitely played that way, bulin this game there was no way that I coulti r isk White's entireini t iat ive.

•1


15 . . . Nd7

Black cannot test his opponent's patience for long, and sensiblyprevents the threatened breakthrough in the centre. in addition, hecan now hope for counter-play of the type 16,,.b5 17 axb5 Nb6, or16..-Ne5 17 Nxe5 dxe5 IB d6 exd6 19 Qxd6 Qxd6 20 Rxd6 b5.

16 Qe3

Occupying another important line, and preventing the ...b6-b5break.

16 Ba8 17 Bh6 b5 18 Bxg7 Kxg7 19 Bf1 Nf6 20 axb5 axb5

Without the fianchettoed bishop at g7, the pawn offensive on theQ-side resembles an infantry attack without the appropriate art i l lerybombardment.

21 Ne2 Bb7

Black's chief misfortune lies in his poor communications. If hewere able to play ...e7-e5, the switching of his forces from one side ofthe board to the other would be much easier. But 21 . , .e5 (or . . .e6)leads after 22 dxe6 Nxe6 23 Ng3 to a significant weakening of hispawn formation. Therefore Black's reserves have lo cross from onewing to the other along the back rank, i.e. l i teral ly 'on al l fours ' ,and it is by no means all the chess pieces that are accustomed to thisand able to do i t . i v , » . . •''•--.. ^

22 Ng3 RaB 23 c3 Ra4 24 Bd3 QaB „ . . . . .

Black disregards his opponent's threats. The queen retreats toIhe edge of the board at the very point when the storm clouds aregathering over his king position. Korchnoi obviously under-esli matedthe danger of White's threats.

25 e5!

A dagger b low, re inforced by appropr ia te arguments: 25 . . -Nfxd526 NhS+ (or 26 Nf5+) 26 . , . gxh5 (26. . .«hB 27 Qh6 Rg8 28 Ng5)27 Qg5+ KhS 28 Qf5. . . . .

25 dxe5 26 Gxe5

26 0xc5 would have been a mistake because of 26.. .Ncxd5, when• he white queen is in Immediate danger.

76 Seven Chess Letlers

26 . . . Ncxd5 27 Bxb5 Ra7

The only way of maintaining the material balance, even if onlytemporarily.

28 Nh4

After this manoeuvre there are threats impending not only overthe black k ing. In many cases the prosaic c3-cft is no less unpleasant.Thus on 2B...Bc6 there can follows 29 Bxc6 Qxc6 30 c4 Nb4 31 Rd6exd6 32 Nh5+ gxhS 33 Qg5+ Kh8 3ft Qxf6+ KgS 35 Nf5, while 28...Qb929 cii Qxe5 30 Rxe5 leads to a hopeless ending for Black.

28 BcB 29 Be2!

I think you wil l agree that there is something attractive in thisbishop move. Henceforward al l the white pieces wi l l act with co-ordin-ation and precision. After the game I was told that It was this movewhich brought such long-awaited oeace to my colleagues' troubledsou Is.

29 . . . Be6 30 c4 Nbi 31 QxcS QbB 32 Bfi RcS 33 Qg5 Kh834 Rd2 Nc6 35 Qh6!

It turns out that White has not only an extra pawn, but a verystrong in i t iat ive into the bargain. Black is torn apart in the directsense of the words; he has to parry the attack on his k ing, and keepa careful watch on the Q-side pawns,

35 . . . RgS 36 Nf3 Qf8 37 Qe3 Kg7?

The decisive mistake, after which Black's resistance becomeshopeless. He could st i l l have prolonged the game by 37...Rb7, preven-ting the advance of the white pawns.

38 NgS Bd7 39 t>4 QaB

help


Black's time-trouble agony draws to a close. Already nothing can

40 b5 Na5 41 b6

The saying 'Al l roads lead to Rome' is par t i cu lar ly appropriateto this posi t ion. Korchnoi sealed 41 . . . Rb7, but the fol lowing day hissecond announced his resignation of the game and the match.

Seventh Letter

BEFORE THE 30TH MATCH FOR THEWORLD CHAMPIONSHIP

In this year, as you know, the current cycle in the battle forthe World Championship is completed. Interest in chess in Ihis yearincreases exceptionally, and in the summer the attention of al l chessenthusiasts will be focused on the Match for the World Championship.Since the publication of our book is timed to coincide with the start ofthis ' jubilee' match, we have decided that one of its ' letters' shoulddefinitely be devoted to the history of competitions for the title of thestrongest chess player in the world.

History knows of numerous 'uncrowned kings' — the strongestplayers of their time, the unofficial World Champions —Greco, Phllidor,La Bourdonnais, Staunton, Ancierssen and Morphy. In the I8BO5 thechess world decided that it was time thai they had a ' real ' king, andin 1886, afler his victory over Zukertort, the f irst official WorldChampion was declared to be Wilhelm Steinitz.

All the matches for- the world crown are given by us in a table(see next page). Here you will find the names of the participants ineach match (the winner, or, in the event of a drawn result, the WorldChampion retaining his t i t le, is given f i rs t ) , the year when it washeld, the number of wins, draws and defeats and the overall store,and the venue of the match.

The f irst seventeen matches were not held under any system — theWorld Champion played when he wanled, with whom he wanted (and notalways with his strongest r i va l ! ) and under the conditions which heliked best. The very f irst duel was due to conclude when one sidehad gained ten wins, with 3 draw to be recorded if the score stood at9-9, but during the course of the match the contestants agreed in thisevent to extend the marathon up to a further eight wins. Othermatches were held either up to a definite number of wins, or for amajority of the points. Thus the battle between Capablonca and

Alekhlne was up to six victories (with a score of 5-5 the World Cham-pion was to retain his t i t le), whereas in all four of Alekhine's subse-quent World Championship Matches, thirty games were planned, and 15jpoints was enough to secure victory.

The most enigmatic duel is that between Lasker and Schlechter.There is even the hypothesis (though it has not been proved!) thatthis wasn't a match for the World Championship el a l l . In certainsources it is indicated that to gain the Champion's title it was suff i -

78

7th Let ter — Before Ihe 30th Match for ihe World Championship 79

THIRTY MATCHES FOR THE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP

| . Steini tz-Zukertort2. Steinit7-Chigorin3. Steinitz-Gunsberg4. Stelnitz-Chigortn5. Lasker-Steinlt26. Lasker-Stelni tz7. Lasker-Marshall8. Lasker-Tarrasch

9. Lasker-Janowski10. Lasker-Schlechter11. Lasker-Janoivski12. Capablanca-Lasker13. Alekhine-Capablanca14- Alekhine-Bogoljubov

15. Alekhine-Bogoljubov16. Euwe-Alekhine17. Alekhine-Euwe18. Match-Tournament of

five grandmasters1 ) Botvinnik2} Smyslov3-4) Keres3-4) Reshevsky5) Euwe

19. Botvinnlk-Bronstein20. Botvinnik-Smyslov21. Smyslov-Botvinnik22. Botvinnik-Smyslov23. Tal-Bolvinnik24. 8otvinnik-Tal25. Petroslan-Botvinnik26. Petrosian-Spassky27. Spassky-Petr-osian26. Fischer-Spassky29. Karpov-Korchnoi30. Karpov-Korchnoi

190919101910192119271929

193419351937

1948

19511954195719SQ19601961196319661969197219781981

+ 7 - I =2 (8-2)+ 1 -1 =8 (5-5)+ 8 -0 =3 (9i-1sI+ 4 - 0 =10 (9-5)+ 6 - 3 =25 (18i-15^)+11 -5 =9 (15|-gi)

+ 8-3 =15 (15i-1<ri>+ 9 - 8 =13 (15*-l4)+ 10 -4 -11 (1Si-9i)

USAHavanaNew YorkHavanaUSAMoscowUSADusseldorf,

Mu n i c hParisVienna, Berl inBerl i nHavanaBuenos AiresGermany,

HollandGermanyHollandHolland

The Hague,14 ( + 10 -2 =8) Moscow11 (2-3 against Botvinnik)10T (1-4 against Botvinnik)IOJ (1^-3-j against Botvinnik)4 (1^-35 against Botvinnik)

+ 5 - 5 = 1 4 • • " •12-12)(12-12)

13 (12^-9Jj)-5 =11-2 =13

=6 (13-8)

+ 7 - 7 =10+ 6 - 3+ 7+ 6+ 10 -5+ 5+ 4+ 6+ 7 - 3 =11

-5 =21

ilzl-10)|12j-Bi>

-2 =15 (12i -E. .-3 =17 (125-11?)-4 =13 (12i-10|)

+ 6

MoscowMoscowMoscowMoscowMoscowMoscowMoscowMoscowMoscowReykjaviki ^ yj

(16j-15i) Baguio

cient for Schlechter to gain 5^ points out of 10. But we neverthelessadhere to the general ly-accepted point of view, which is that , f i r s t l y .the chess crown was being played for in the match, and that , secondly,the chal lenger had to win by a margin of two po in ts .

After the death of Alekhine In 1946, the chess wor ld was, fo r thef i rs t time, without a champion. For this reason, under number IB i n

the lable there appears a match-tournament, in which the strongestgrandmasters of that time determined their new leader. All subsequentmatches have been held under the aegis of the Internat ional ChessFederation (F IDE), and the World Champion has been depr ived of thePossibi l i ty of himself choosing his opponents. From th is point onwardsa s t r i c t system of el iminat ion events every three years determines a newchal lenger. Since then, for almost th i r t y years, matches were held on'he best of 24 games. At the same time, in the f i r s t four cycles theWorld Champion had the r igh t to a / f ^ t u r n match, and for th is reason


two 'additional ' matches were played. In the table the year 5975 is'missing1, since it was in this year that Fischer declined to defend histit le- Of course, the Karpov-Korchnoi match of 1974, although In theend it gave the name of the new World Champion, is not included inour table — the winner of it could not have supposed that within ayear the chess crown would be passed on to him without a struggle.

In the 1978 match, as in the present one, the system employed hasbeen different from the earlier one — play now proceeds up to six winswithout limit on the number of games. In contrast to the Alekhine-Capablanca duel, with the score at 5-S the Champion does not retainhis t i t le, and the battle continues. In the event of the loss of hiscrown, he has the right to a return match. Certain chess enthusiastsassume that this right is considerably more important for the WorldChampion than a reserve of one point in 'normal time'. However, aswe will see, this is not altogether so. If the match in Baguio hadbeen held under the old system, as Alekhine and Capablanca Rlayedhalf a century ago, it would all have been over without any trouble awho's five games earlier! Indeed, after the World Champion gained hisf i f th victory in the 27th game, and the score became 5-2, the battlewould in fact have come to an end!

batches for the World Championship are undoubtedly highly impor-tant chess events. In the course of their preparations, and duringthe match itself, the participants make us of all the latest achievementsof chess science and theory. On the other hand, the matches themselvesexert an enormous influence on the subsequent development of chessart, and, one can say, chess phi losophy. The I i terature devoted tothe majority of the matches is both numerous ana thorough, and it isobvious that in one ' letter1 of our book it is impossible to dwell onall the reversals of fortune in the battle for tne world crown. We havetherefore decided to illustrate each Match for the World Championshipwith just one extract from the play (with brief annotations, which donot pretend to be complete). This will be either a spectacular combin-ation, or an unexpected tactical blow, or some dramatic episode fromthe match. It has to be saifl that the realization of this aim provedto be not at all easy. Sometimes, in choosing one single example outof the twenty to thirty games in a match, our eyes became dazzled... .We should mention that, altogether in matches for the World Champion-ship, more than 600 games have been played, and even a cur-soryexamination of them took us a mass of time (although it also affordedus considerable pleasure).

And so, we invite the reader to make a short excursion into thehistory of competitions for the World Championship. . •

1 . Steinitz-Zukertort

Steini\z was unofficially recognized as the strongest player in theworld in 1866 after his victory over Anderssen. Now, twenty yearslater, after winning a match against his outstanding contemporaryZukertort, 5teinit7 was declared the f i r s l official World Champion inhistory.

After five games the future king was losing 1-4, but he thensucceeded in changing the course of events, and gained nine wins withone one defeat. We give the conclusion of the penultimate game of thematch, highly energetically conducted by the f irst chess king.

7th Letter — Before the 30th Match for the World Championship

Zukeriort-Steini tz

20 . . . Nd4! (threatening ...Nc2 or ...Ne2) 21 exd4 Qxd4+ 22 Khi^3 Black has sacrificed a knight, but his pawns are i rresist ible.23 Hc3 Bf6! 24 Ndbi d2! 25 Qc2 Bb3 26 Qxf5 d1=Q 27 Nxdi Bxdl"28 Nc3 e2 29 Raxdi Qxc3 White resigns.

•' 2. Steinilz-ChigorTn ' ' ' •

While Stein i tz is r ight ly considered the founder of the positionalschool of ptay, ChigoHn was an acknowledged master of the combin-ational style. Thus the match between these two leading I ights of thepast was in the nature of a crucial creative debate. In the entirehistory of the battle for the world crown there has not been such a'bloody' match — only the last game In it ended peaceful ly . Theapproach to chess worked out by Steinltz triumphed, and the Champ iorjretained his t i t le .

Stei ni tz-Chigorin

In the opening of the fourth game Black has committed severalPositional errors, and 5teinitz ski l fu l ly exploits them: 9 d5! exd510 a 3 ! Nd4 (fatal is 1O...Bxc3 !1 Bxc3 and Bxg.7, or 10. . .Bd6 11 Nxd5nc5 12 Be3 Qa5+ 13 b4) 11 Bd3 0-0-0 12 axb4 Nxf3+ 13 Qxf3! Qxa1 +14 Ke2 Qxb2 15 Rbl Qa3 16 Nb5 Qa6 17 Qxf7 Qb6 IS Rc1 Nh619 Qxg7 dxe4 20 Qxc7+ Qxc7 21 Rxc7+ Kb8 22 Bxe4 Resigns.

L

3. Steinltz-Gunsberg

At the end of the 1880s Gonsberg won a series of major tournaments,played a drawn match with Chigorin. This gave him the grounds

"°r throwing down the gauntlet to the Champion. Although Steinitz didn ° t achieve a big advantage in points, he retained his t i t le fa i r lyconfidently.


Here is how the seventh game of the match concluded.

Slei ni tz-Gunsberg

22 Rxf6! gxf6 (on 22...Qxf6 White wins by 23 d7 Red8 24 QxaB!RxaS 25 Rc8+ QdS 36 Rxa8 ClxaS 27 Be7) 23 d7 RgB 24 dxe5 RgS{24...fxe5 25 Bb2l 25 Qxa8! QxaS 26 Rc8+ Rg8 27 Rxa8 Rxa8 28 e6Resigns.

4. Steinitz-Chigorin

The second match between the World Champion and the great Russianplayer was much tenser than the f i r s t . After 23 games Steinitz was onepoint ahead, but in the event of Chigorln winning the next game thescore would have become 9-9, whereupon, under the conditions of thematch, play would have continued up to a further three wins, andeverything would have been to play for. But a tragic incidentoccurred, the equal of which is unknown In the history of Chess.

Chi gor in-Steinitz

White is a piece up, and after 32 Rxb7 (fol lowed by 32. . .Bti533 Rb3 Bf7 34 Nf4!, or 32...f4 33 Rxf4+ Bf5 34 Rfl Rxd5 35 Ng7!,or 32...h3 33 Bf4 Rf2 34 Bg5+L Ke5 35 Rel+ Rde2 36 Rxe2+) hewould have won this decisive game. But White played the inconceivable32 Bb4??, and after 32-..RxhZ+ the match concluded (33 Kg! Rdg2 mate).

5. Lasker-Steinitz

Emanuel Lasker, the founder of the psychological approach to thechess struggle, was 32 years younger than his great predecessor, andthis age difference proved too great in their match. On losing thematch, Steinitz proclaimed 'three cheers' in honour of the second WorldChampion.

7th Letter - Before (he 30th Match for the World Championship 83

Lasker-Stein itz

This is a position from the seventh game of the match. From theopening Black gained an enormous advantage, and in spite of hisopponent's desperate efforts to confuse matters, the situation remainedunchanged. Had he now advanced his Q-side pawns (35 Qh6 is notdangerous in view of 35...Rg3) Steinitz could have won and taken Chelead. But his nerves gave way, with his next move he made a decisivemistake, and he soon resigned the game — the f i rst of a series of f ivedefeats.

35 . . . gxf5? 35 Qh5+ Ke7 36 Rg8 Kd6 37 Rxf5 Qe6 38 RxeB Qxefl39 Rxf6+ Kc5 40 Qh6 Re7 41 Qh2 Qd7 (41...Qd8 42 Qf2+ and 43 Rf6)42 Qg1 + d4 43 Gg5+ Qd5 44 Rf5 Qxf5 45 Qxf5+ Kd6 46 Qf6+ Resigns.

6. Lasker-Steinltz

The f i rst chess king was quite unable to reconcile himself to ihefact that he had been removed from the throne, and he chal lengedLasker to a return match. In al l the subsequent history of battles forthe World Championship, there has not been an instance where a playerof over 60 has taken par t . Steinitz suffered a crushing defeat. Aninteresting fact is that this match was held in Moscow, whi le the nextevent of such high rank took place in our capital only more than halfa century later.

In the second s a m e from the match Lasker carried out a famousmating combination.

Lasker-Steini tz

31 h.4 h5 (the capture of the bishop at f4 leads to a quick mateafter Nf6+) 32 Bg5 Bd8 33 g4! hxg4 34 h5 Nf8 35 Nec5+! dxc536 Nxc5+ Kd6 (after 36...Kc7, 37 Bxe7 Bxe7 38 Rxe7+ Kb6 39 Rxg7 issufficient to win, but now follows e forced mate) 37 Bf4+ Kd5 38 Re5+Kc4 (38...Kd6 39 F)f5 mate; 38...Kxd4 39 R1e4 mate) 29 Rc1+ Kxd4f39...Kb4 40 Bd2 mate) 40 Nb3+ Kd3 41 Re3 male. The concluding


mating formation is most spectacular.

7. Lasker-MarshaM

Ten years af ter his second v ic to ry over 5 te in l t7 , the World Championplayed a new match for the World Championship. His advantage wasund isputed , ana he reta ined his t i t l e without d i f f i c u l t y .

Here is the conclusion of the t h i r d game of the match.

Marshal I-Lasker ' - '•'• •'••'

38. . .Nf3! 38 gx f3 Qxh3+ 39 Kg! Qg3+ 40 KM RfS 41 Qd8+?(correct was 41 Qh5 Rh4+ itZ Q x h i l 41. . .Kh7 42 Bfi? (the f i n a l mis-take ; there were s t i l l d raw ing chances a f te r 42 Rc2 Rh4+ 43 Qxh4Qxh4+ 44 Kg2) 42 . . .R f5 I Now mate is inev i tab le (43 Qe8 Qh4*44 Kg2 RgS mate), and White resigned.

B. Losker-Tarrasch

For many years grandmaster Tarrasch was a creative opponent ofLasker. He sought absolute truth in chess, whereas Lasker would aimlo find the key to each of his opponents. He was also able easily todisarm Tarrasch... . It should be said that the match between thesetwo outstanding players provoked unprecedented interest for that time.

There was an elegant conclusion to the second game of the match.

Tarrasch-Lasker

40 . . . f3! (4O...Bf2 41 Rxe6 Rxe6 42 Qd7+ would have led toperpetual check) 41 gxf3 Bg5 (now 42 Bxe6 Rxe6 43 Q67+ fai ls to drawdue to 43...Re7) White resigns.

7th Letter — Before Ihe 30th Match for the World Championship 85

9. Lasker-Janowski

In 1909 Janowski drew a demonstration match of four games withLasker. This success provided the grounds for challenging Lasker to amatch for the World Championship. However, the match broughtJanowski nothing but disillusionment.

Janowski-Lasker

White's position (from the second game of the match! appears solid,but as a result of a subtle knight manoeuvre Black's advantagebecomes decisive: 24...Ng7! 25 c3 (despite its unaesthetic appearance,25 d5 was more tenacious) 25...Ne6 26 Bfi (the threat was ...Ng5}26...f5 27 R4g2 Rf6! 28 Bd3 g5! 29 Rht (Janowski could have immort-alized this position in the event of 29 exf5 Qxh3+!! 30 Kxh3 Rh6+31 Kg4 Rh4 mate) 29...g4! 30 Be2 Ng5 (not wishing lo lose his queenafter 30...Qxh3 31 Kgl ) 31 fxg4 f3 32 Rg3 fxe2 White resigns.

10. Lasker-Schlechter

In i t ia l ly it was planned that this match would consist of thirtygames, but due to lack of funds it had lo be restricted to ten. Appar-ently, taking account of the shori distance, Lasker set the conditionthat, for overall victory, the challenger needed an advantage of twopoints. Before the last game Schlechter was leading by one point, andhe was also close to victory in the concluding encounter... . Aspromised, we give (with brief comments) the tenth, decisive game ofthis match.

Lasker-SchlechterSlav Defence

1 d4 dS 2 c* c6 3 Nf3 Nf6 4 e3 g6 (this opening set-up nowbears the name of the Schlechter Defence) 5 Nc3 Bg7 6 Bd3 0-0 7 Qc2Na6 8 a3 dxc4 9 Bxc4 b5 10 Bd3 b4 I I Na4 bxa3 12 bxa3 (not12 0.xc6 Nb4 13 Qxa8 Nxd3+ 14 Ke2 Nxc1 + 15 Rhxd Ba6+, or 14 Kd2Nxf2, with a winning position for Black) 12...Bb7 13 Rb1 Oc7 14 Ne5Nh5 (White has played the opening quietly, and has a clear advantage;Schlechter tries to complicate the game) 15 g4 (Lasker fal ls In withhis opponent's wishes; the simple 15 0-0 would have retained for him= persistent advantage) 15...Bxe5 16 gxh5 Bg7 17 hxg6 hxg6

18 Qc4 Bc8 19 Rgi (with the threat of Rxg6) 19...0a5+ 20 Bd2 Qd521 Rcl Bb7 22 Oc2. A draw in the game would have retained forLasker his Champion's t i t le, although he would have lost the matchl"e is obliged to play f ° r a win on prestige grounds, otherwise it isdi f f icul t to explain why tie avoids the exchange of queens, after which


he certainly did not risk losing.22-..Qh5 23 Bxg6? (provoked by anxiety, this opening of the f - f i le

Is In Black's favour; later the World Champion gave this variation:23 Rbi Qxh2 24 Rf 1 Qc? 25 6x96! fxg6 26 Qb3+, with a clear advan-tage to White) 23...Qxh2 24 Rfl fxg6 25 Ob3+ Rf7 26 Qxb7 RafB!(in is reply was presumably overlooked by White; the capture of theknight is decisively met by ...Rxf2) 27 Qb3 Kh8 28 f4 g5! 29 Qd3gxf4 30 exH QhA+ 31 Ke2 Qh2+ 32 Rf2 Qh5+ 33 Rf3 Nc7 34 Rxc6Nb5! 35 Rc4.

L a s k e r - S c h l e c h t e r " " ' • - • ( • • ' '• '•• • "

The cr i t ical position of this historic game. After 35...Rd8 36 Be3e5! 37 d5 Nd6!, or 37 Rc5 Nxd4+ 38 Bxd4 (38 0xd4 Qxf3+| 38...Rxf4Black would have retained every chance of winning;. Schlechterunexpectedly sacrifices the exchange, losing his last chance to becomethe th i rd Champion of the World.

35...Rxf4? 36 Bxf4 Rxf4 37 Rc&+ BfB 38 Kf2! Qh2+ (after 36. . .Qh4+ 39 Kg2 Qg4+ 40 Rg3 Qxc8 41 Qg6 the black k ing Is mated)39 Kei Qhl-v? (Black no longer had a win, but now he also misses adraw, which could have been attained by 39...Oh4+ 40 Kd2 Qh2+41 Ke3 Rxf3+ 42 Kxf3 Qh3+ 43 Ke2 Qxc8) 40 Rfl Qh4+ 41 Kd2 RxfiA2 Qxfi Qxd4+ 43 Qd3 0f2+ 44 Kdi Nd6 45 Rc5.

The remainder of the game involves White real izing his advantage ofthe exchange. Lasker copes successfully with this problem, and levelsthe score in the match.

45...Bh6 46 Rd5 Kg8 47 Nc5 0g1+ 48 Kc2 Qcl+ 49 Kb3 Bg750 Ne6 Ob2+ 51 Ka4 Kf7 52 Nxg7 Qxg7 S3 Qb3! Ke8 54 Qb8+ Kf755 Qxa7 Qg4+ 56 Qd4 Qd7+ 57 Kb3 Qb7+ 58 Ka2 Qc6 59 0d3 Ke660 Rg5 Kd7 61 Re5 Qg2+ 62 Re2 Qg4 63 Rd2 Qa4 64 Qf5+ Kc7 65 Qc2+Qxc2 66 Rxc2+ Kb6 67 Re2 Nc8 68 Kb3 Kc6 69 Rc2+ Kb? 70 Kb4 Na771 Kc5 Resigns.

11. Lasker-JanowskI

The defeat in his first attempt did not convince Janowski of thefut i l i ty of his hopes, and he challenged Lasker to a new match. Onthis occasion the World Champion's victory was even more impressive.

The following position, taken from the f i f th game of the match, Issometimes cited as an Illustration of Lasker's psychological method. Heoften chose continuations which were risky, and objectively not thebest, but in doing so took account of the fact that they would not beto the liking of that particular opponent.

7th Lelter - Before the 30th Match for (he World Championship 87

1 1

L ask er-Ja n o w sk 1

Black has a marked advantage, and after the fine queen sacrifice17.. .Qxc3+! 18 Nxc3 Nxd4! he would have obtained for it sufficientcompensation, and, in addition, a very dangerous attack. ButJanowski displays indecision, and the game concludes quite differently.

17...Bh4+? 18 g3 Qe4 19 0-0 Bf6 20 Rxf6! Now Black's positionis already cr i t i ca l . 2O...gxf6 21 Bf3 Qe5 22 Nxa7+ Kc7 23 Naxc6bxc6 24 Rxc6+ KbB 25 Rb6+ Kc8 26 Qc14 Kd7 27 Nxe6 fxe6 28 Rb7+Ke8 29 Bc6+ Resigns.

12. Capablanca-Lasker

Emanuel Lasker was Champion of the World for 27 years! In ourstormy times, when there are so many wishing to ascend to the chessthrone, it is d i f f icu l t to imagine that anyone wi l l even approach thisrecord. Capablanca challenged Lasker to a match as far back as 1911.The unbeaten champion, possibly sensing that the lime had come toconcede Ihe crown, for ten years avoided meeting the great Cuban, andthen even announced his abdication. But the chess world was thirst ingfor a spectacle. Although subsequently Lasker had several outstandingresults, this last match went badly for him. Without playing on to thestipulated ten wins, he resigned the match on account of i l lness.Capablanca became the third Champion of ihe World.

Evidence of Lasker's poor form is provided by the conclusion of thef i f th game, in which he suffered his f i rst defeat.

Cepablanca-Lasker

Having successfully conducted a d i f f icu l t defence, Black coulO nowhave drawn easily by playing ...Ke6 or- . . .K f6 . But there followed*5...Kf8??, and after 46 Qba*-! Lasker resigned (A6...Kg7 47 QhB+, or46...Ke7 kl Qe5+).


13. Alekhine-Capablanca

The encounter between the two chess genii Aiekhine and Capablancais to this day regarded as the most outstanding event in the history ofchess. In the struggle for the world crown there has never been amatch more prolonged (34 games!), or more tense (32 exhaustingQueen's Gambits! ). But, most important, this duel saw the meeting oftwo chess giants, at the height of their powers. The invincible JoseRaul Capablanca with his phenomenal technique, which enabled him toexpress the hypothesis aboul 'the drawing death of chess', and thegreat master of combination Alexander Alekhine, who with his irrepres-sible fantasy refuted this hypothesis! By gaining the six necessaryvictories in the match, Aiekhine not only became the fourth chess k ing,but also demonstrated to the world the inexhaustible nature of chess.

We give the conclusion to the 21st game of this historic match.

•: (-•• * n • >:. <*••

Capablanca-Alekhlne\

26.. .Bb2! The start of an unusual and surprising combination.11 turns out that the white rook has no good square. 27 Rei (27 RbiNa3! 28 Qxb2 Nxbl 29 Qxbi Qb3! 30 Ofi bxa4 31 h3 a3, etc., or27 Rdl bxa4! 28 Clxa4 Nb6 29 Rxd5 Nxa4 30 Rdl Nc3 31 Rel Rc4,with a winning position) 27...Rd8 28 axbS axb5 29 h3 e5 30 Rb1 e431 Nd4 (no better is 31 Nh2 Qd3! 32 RxbZ Qxb3 33 Rxb3 Rd1+ 34 Nf1NdZ 35 Ra3 Nxfi - variation by Lasker, or 31 Nei Qd2 32 Qc2 Oxc233 Nxc2 Rd2 34 Nei Na3 - variat ion by Aiekhine) 31 . . .Bxd4 32 Rd1Nxe3! A spectacular concluding blow. White resigns, in view of thevariat ion 33 Qxd5 Rxd5 3ft Rxd4 Rxd4 35 fxe3 Rxb4.

14. Alekhine-BogoljubovAlekhine's f i rs t match as Champion was against Ewfim Bogoljubov.

At that time Aiekhine had no equals in the chess world, a fact whichwas confirmed in the present encounter. The eighth game of the matchended in a pure mate.

Bogo I j ubo v -A I ek h i ne

7th Letler - Before the 30th Match for the World Championship 89

26...Ng3+! 27 hxg3 hxg3+ 28 Nh3 Bxh3 29 gxh3 Rxh3+ 30 Kg2Bh2 mate.

15. Alekhine-Bogoljubov

The repeat match between the same opponents differed l i t t le fromthe previous one. Alekhine's advantage was again undisputed, and heretained his t i tie. We give an episode from the sixteenth game.

Alekhine-Bogol jubov • ' :•

With his last move 29.. .Rh8-g8 Black decided to drive away theknight (correct was 29...Ng5 with a complicated game), but the knightremains a! its post... .

30 e6!! (a beautiful combination, which refutes 8lack's manoeuvre)3O...Rdxg7 31 Nxg7 Rxg7 32 Rxd5! (a further spectacular blow, onwhich the entire combination is based) 32...cxdS 33 Rf8+ Kc7 34 Rf7+Kd6 lales, after the exchange of rooks the white pawn queens) 35 Rxg7Kxe6 36 Rg6+ Ke5 37 Kg2 b5 3S a5! d4 39 Rxa6 b4 40 Kf3 c341 bxc3 bxc3 42 Re6+! (a highly prosaic finish) 42...Kxe6 43 Kxe4Resigns.

16. Euwe-Aiekhine

In his meeting with the Dutch player, Alekhine clearly under-estimated his opponent, and as a result lost his crown for two years.Max Euwe became the f i f th World Champion in history. The phase ofthe match between the 20th and 26th games went well for him — fourwins and three draws! Here is how the f i rs t of these wins wasachieved.

I 18 Ng5! fxgS

Euwe-Aiekhine

( !8 . . .B f5 19 Qb3-<- Kh8 20 Bxe5 Qxe5 21 Nf7+, and


so that the game should not conclude with the combination described byus in the third ' letter1, Black is forced to give up the exchange)19 Bxe5 Bf6 20 Bxb8 Bxc3 21 Bd6 Rf7 22 bxc3 Rfd7 23 Rbl Rxd624 Rxb7 R8d7 25 Rxd7 Bxd7 26 Be4 c5 27 c4 Bxa4 28 Bd5+ Kf829 Rai Ra6 30 Ra2 Ke7 31 fU gx f i 32 gxf4 Kf6 33 e4 g5 3A f5 h535 h4! gxh4 36 KhZ Kg5 37 Kh3 Ra5 38 Bb7 Kf6 39 Bd5 Kg5 40 Bb7Kf6 41 Bc6 Resigns.

17. Alekhine-Euwe

The return match, which took place two years later, ended in aconvincing victory for the great Russian player. Alekhine played inhis best style and easily regained his crown. The sixth game did notlast long.

Alekhine-EuweSlav Defence

1 d4 d5 2 c4 c6 3 Nc3 dxe4 4 e4 e5 S Bxc4 exd4. This var i -ation does not promise White a great deal, but Alekhine was obviouslypinning his hopes on the following stunning continuation: 6 Nf3!?

Alfikhine-Euwe

5uch positions aê normally encountered in simultaneous displays.. .Subsequently, in a book on this match, Botvinnik showed that theknight sacrifice was incorrect: 6.. .dxc3 7 Bxf7+ Ke7 8 Qb3 cxb2!9 Bxb2 Ob6! 10 Ba3+ (10 Bxg8 Rxg8 11 0xg8 Qbft+ 12 Nd2 Qxb2)10. ..c5 11 BxgB RxgS 12 Bxc5+ (12 Q«g8 Qa5->- 13 Nd£ Qxa3) 12...Qxc5 13 0-0 Qh5! (13...Rh6? 14 Raci Qb6 15 RKc8 Qxb3 16 axb3 3617 Rfd1 and 18 Rdd8) U GxgS Be6 IS QhB Nc6, and Black has a wonposition. Of course, to examine all these variations at the board wasnot easy, and Euwe decided not to accept the knight sacrifice.

6...b5? 7 Nxb5 Ba6 (evidently the Dutch grandmaster had over-looked that on 7...cxb5 there follows B BdS) 8 Qb3 Qe7 9 0-0 BxbS10 Bxb5 Nf6 11 Bc4 Nbd7 12 Nxd4. This White has an extra pawn anda positional advantage; Black's further resistance Is hopeless. 12.. -Rb8 13 0c2 Qc5 14 Nf5 Ne5 15 Bf4 Nh5 16 8xf7+ Kxf7 17 Qxc5 Bxc5IB Bxe5 Rb5 19 Bd6 Bb6 20 b4 Rd9 21 Radi c5 22 6xc5 Bxc523 Rd5 Resigns.

18. The match-tournament of five grandmasters

In the mid-forties Mikhail Botvinnik was considered one of Alek-hine's most worthy opponents. In fact, there had already been Orelim-

?th Letter — Before Ihe 30th Match for the World Championshio 91

(nary negotiations between them about a match for the World Champion-ship- However, Alekhine's dealh deprived the chess world of a mostInteresting encounter. Now Botvinnik had to demonstrate that thediscussion about a match had been no accident. By convincinglyginning, by a margin of three points, the match-tournament of thefive strongest grandmasters, he became the f irst Soviet, and sixthoverall, Champion of the Wortd.

The following game took place in the tenth round, when all was notyet clear1 — in the event of a win for Keres he would have caught upwith Botvinnik and shared the leadership with him. But by gaininga spectacular victory, Botvinnik hurled a long way back one of hismain r iva ls .

Botvinnik-Keres

21 Rxg7+! The black king f inds itself in a mating net. 2I.. .Kxg722 Nh5+ Kg6 23 Qe3 Resigns.

19. Botvinnik-Bronstein

Having shown that he was Ihe strongest player in the world,Botvinnik gave up chess for three years, and devoted himself entirelyto science — in that time he completed work on his Doctor's dissertationand defended it immediately after the match. This 'betrayal ' of chesscould have cost him dearly. in the f i rst match held under the controlof FIDE, David Bronstein played splendidly, was in no way inferior tonis opponent, and with only a I i tt le bit of luck would have ascendedthe chess throne.

An episode which occurred in the sixth game of the match onceagain illustrates the unusual geometry of the chess board. . . .

Bronstei n-Botvinnik

In this position White can easi ly draw by 57 Ne6+ and 58 Nd&. Toon the safe side, Bronstein decided to bring up his king towards


the dangerous pawn, and went 57 Kc2. Of course, the grandmaster sawthe possibil ity of the black king appearing at f2, but considered onlythe direct route Kf4-f3-f2, thinking that here too he would have lime toplay Ne6 and Nd4+ with a draw. How dumbfounded he must have beenwhen the enemy king did indeed set off for the square f2, but not bythe direct route (as we established in the f i rst ' le t ter ' , the shortestdistance on the board is not necessarily measured in a straight l ine ! ) .After S7...Kg3!! White had to resign, since it turned out that the e3pawn could not be slopped: on 58 Ne6 there follows 58. • .e2, and thewhite knight moves to d4 without check (59 Kd2 Kf2!) .

20. Botvirtnik-Smyslov

This was the third and, as yet, the last match for the WorldChampionship to end in a draw. In the f i rs t half of i t strange thingshappened, and the score changed 'sinusoidal ly ' . First Botvinnik wonthree games out of four, with one draw. Two further draws, and thescore became 4^-1^ in his favour. But in the next f ive meetings theWorld Champion gained. . . half a point, and Smyslov shot into the lead— 6-5. A win in the 12th game, the conclusion of which we givebelow, enabled Botvinnik to level the scores, after which he neveragain fell behind. The second half of the match, like the f i rs t , endedin a draw, and the World Champion retained his t i t le .

Botv inn ik-5myslov

The black knight has just moved from c5, and after the capture bythe white pawn on f6 — 30 exf6 and the zwischenzug 3O...Ne4 Smyslovwas apparently feel ing highly optimistic. Indeed, after the retreat ofthe queen — 31 Qg2 there fol lows 31 . . . Nxf6, and White's position islost, since al l his pawns are hopelessly weak.

31 f7+! An unpleasant sur-prise. White wins thanks to geometricmotifs. The pawn cannot be taken by the king because of Qxg7+

(intersection of the seventh rank and the g-f i l e ! ) , while on 3 1 . . -Rxf7,as in fact occurred in the game, there followed 32 Qd8+- Kh7 33 Bxd5f interseciion of the d-f i le and the a2-gS diagonal!) 33.. .Nf2+- 34 Kg2Qf6 35 Qwf6 Rxf6 36 Kxf2 Rxf5+ 37 B13 Rf4 38 Rgft, and Blackresigned. •>

21. Smyfilov-Botvinnik

The 1950s were marked by the r iva l ry between Mikhail Botvinnikand Vastly Stnyslov. While in the f i rst match the challenger had to besatisfied with an honourable draw, in the next cycle he succeeded inascending to the summit. After f ive games Botvinnik was ahead. After

7th Letter - Before the 30th Match for the World Championship 93

ing the score in the sixth encounter, the finish of which we gluebelow, Smyslov never again fell behind, but merely increased hisadvantage. As a result he became the seventh World Champion in thehistory of chess.

Smyslov-Botvinnik

23 Rxd5! A spectacular continuation, which immediately decides theoutcome of the game. 23...exd5 (23...Rxd5 24 Nxc7 Rc5+ 25 kb i ,with the deadly threat of Na6) 24 Nxc7 RdcB 25 BxcS Rxc8 26 Nxd5Rxc6+ 27 Kd2 Ke6 28 Nc3 Resigns.

22. Botvinnik-Smyslov

Botvlnnlk prepared splendidly for- the return match, and confidentlyregained his crown. The match began wilh three successive wins forBotvlnnik, and by the fifteenth game the score could have been 10-5.Botvlnnik '3 position was much superior, and any sensible move wouldhave retained his advantage. The grandmaster sank into thought, soas to work out the winning plan right to the end. One can imagineBotvinnik's surprise, when the controller came up to the board andannounced that Black had lost on time. The only instance of this typein the entire history of matches for the World Championship!

Botvl nn ik-Smyslov

This position was reached In the eighteenth game of the match.The mating ring round the black king Is about to close. However,Wtitte converted his advantage into a win only ...50 moves later(what's more, 'on the way' he himself could have been mated!).Nevertheless, ihe f irst impression of the position is not erroneous -™hite had at his disposal a str iking combination, which, alas,remained behind the scenes: 23 Nd4!! cxd4 (no better is 23...Nxd42 * Bd5+! Rxd5 25 Re7 Rf7 26 Re8+) 24 Bd5+! Rxd5 (Z4...KhB 25 Re7)25 RE8!, and mate is inevitable.

hit

96 Sever Chess Letters

23. Tal-Botvinnik

In the late 1950s and early sixties, Mikhail Tal, with his Incon-ceivable combinations, caused trepidation among even the most stead-fast of grandmasters. He surmounted the path from master to WorldChampion in three years! By winning the match against Botvlnnik,the 23*-year-old Tal became the youngest chess king in history, Incombinational storms he was clearly superior to his mighty opponent. Atactical blow brought him victory in the 17th, the decisive game of thematch, after which i I became clear that the chess world would soonreceive a new Champion, the eighth.

Tal-Botvinnik

Black has a marked advantage, which he could have maintained by39...Ka8. But time trouble stepped In: 39.. .Qd5? 40 Rxa6-t! Kb8 (theaccentance of the rook sacrifice lands to mate) 41 Qa4, and Black wasforced to resign, since there is no defence against the mating threats.

Ik. Botvinnik-Tal . p • . . ,. .•

Bolv inn ik again d isp layed his a b i l i t y to f i n d the 'Ach i l les hee l ' inhis oponents' p l a y . After deeply ana lyz ing the reasons for h is f a i l u r ein the prev ious match, he s u r p r i s i n g l y easi ly regained the chess crown.Here is the f i n a l scene of the conc lud ing , 21st encounter.

Botvi nnik-Tal

28 Ne4! Nd7 (28.. .Nxe'. 29 Ba4+!> 29 Nxd&f Kd831 Nxe4 Bd7 32 Rf7 Kc7 33 d6+ Resigns.

30 RxfB+ NxfB

25. Petrosian-Botvinnik

At the height of his powers, i.e. in the mid 1960s, Tigrsn Petrosian

7th Letter — Before the 30th Match for the World Championship 95

was a great master of defence, an almost invincible player. Journalistsconferred upon him the title of 'the iron t iger ' . In the f irst game hewas unable to control his nerves, and suffered a defeat. But in thesubsequent games Petrosian only once had to stop the clocks, while hegained five wins over his celebrated opponent. Me became the ninthChampion of the World. This was the last match played by MikhailBotvlnnik, the Patriarch of Soviet chess. The right lo a return matchhad been abolished, and Botvinnlk did not wish to begin 'fromscratch'. Here is an 'excerpt1 from the 18th game.

Botvinnik-Petrosian

Black elegantly realizes his positional advantage: 51. ..c3+!52 Kxc3 (52 Kci can be well answered by 52...Nxg4! 53 hxg4 h3)52...Rc7« 53 Kd2 Nec4+ 54 Kdi Na3! 55 Rb2 Ndc4 56 Ra2 axbA57 axb5 NxbS 56 Ra6 Nc3+ 59 Kef Nxd5 60 Ba4 Rec8 61 Net Nf4 (now62 Rh2 Is decisively met by 62...Re7 63 Nc2 Nd3+ 64 Kbi Nc5) Whiteresigns.

26. Petrosian-Spassky

In his fourth cycle of batt l ing for the world crown, Spasskysucceeded, at last, in reaching a meeting with ihe World Champion.However, his hour had not yet come. Petrosian played more stronglyand more subtly, did not once fal l behind on points, and fai r ly con-fidently retained his t i t le.

In the tenth game the World Champion carried out a most str ikingcombination, which has gone into all ihe books on chess tactics.

Petrosian-Soassky

Well known is Petrosian's predilection for sacrificing the exchangefor the in i t iat ive. On this occasion, as you can see, both rooks havebeen given up for minor pieces.

27 Nxdfi Qg5+ 28 KM Raa7 29 Bxf7+ Rxf7. Now White could have


regained the second exchange by 30 Nxf7, remaining a pawn up, butthis would have prolonged the game. 30 QhB+!! This would seem to bethe longest move In, matches for the World Championship! White sacri-fices his queen — an unusual occurrence for an event of such highrank. Black immediately resigned, since after 30.. .KxhB 31 Nxf7+ and32 Nxg5 he comes out a piece down.

27. Spassky-Petrosian

In. 1954, as a seventeen-year-old youth, Boris Spassky first par t i -cipated in a zonal elimination tournament for the World Championship.In this cycle, 'without stopping', he went through into the Candidates'Tournament. But then came two dramatic failures (about which we havealready talked in the previous ' le t te r ' ) . The fourth attempt proved tobe 'more successful', but Spassky's dream was st i l l not realized. Andnow, at last, the fifteen-year titanic struggle for the world crownbrought the grandmaster complete success. By defeating Petrosian In amatch, Boris Spassky became the tenth Champion of the World.

There was a spectacular finish to the nineteenth game of the match.

Spassky-Petrosi an

21 e5! (vacating a square for the knight at c3) 21...dxe5 22 Ne4!Nh5 (both knights are invulnerable: 22...exd4 23 Nxf6 Re7 24 Qg6,or 22.. . Nxe4 23 RstfB+, and !n both cases the black king is mated onthe following move! 23 Qg6! exd4 (23...NU 24 Rxf4 exf4 25 Nf3! Ob626 RgS! Qd8 27 Ne5, and White wins) 24 Ng5!, and Black resigned,since after 24...hxg5 25 dxh5+ Kg8 26 Qf7i- Kh8 27 Rf3 mate isinevitable.

28. Fischer-Spassky

In the early '970s the American grandmaster Robert Fischer startledthe world with his fantastic victories, and the chess world consideredthe bir th of the eleventh Champion to be a f i t t ing occurrence. Unfort-unately, after the match with Spassky, bitter disappointment awaitedsupporters of the ancient game — the new king abandoned chess...Fischer's superiority was appreciable, but to be fair it must be men-tioned that the American made a number of psychological attacks on hisopponent, and not only at Ihe chess board. . . . This was clearlyreflected in Spassky's play. Here is an episode from the f i f th game ofthe match (by winning i t , Fischer only levelled the scores!).

7th Letter — Before the 30th Match for the World Championship 97

Spassky-Fischer

26 . . .N f * 27 Oc2? The i n i l i a t i v e is wi th Black, but af ter 27 ObiWhite's posit ion would s t i l I have been per fect ly tenable. Spasskymakes a bad b lunder , a l low ing Black to conclude the game wi th anelegant stroke - 27 . . .Bxa4 ! White res igned, since af ter 28 Qxa4(28 0b1 Bxdi 29 Oxdi Qxe4) 28...Qxe4 he cannot avoid mate.

29. Karpov-Korchnoi

The decisive game of th is match is annotated in the previous' l e t t e r 1 . The fo l l ow ing fragment is taken from the e igh th game.

Karpov-Korchnoi

White e legant ly concluded h is attack on the host i le k i n g , 26 Rd7!Rb8 (a f ter 26. . .Bxd7 the game ends wi th a p rob lem- l i ke mate: 27 0xf7+Rxf7 28 Rxf7) 27 Nxf7 Bxd7 (the zwischenzug 27. . .Bg4 is met by the'qu ie t ' move 28 Qf4) 28 Ndfl+I, and on any move by the k ing therefollows 29 Qf8 mate. Black res igns . (This was the second instance inthis match when the chal lenger admit ted defeat one move before mate).

30. Karpov-Korchnoi


The author's of the book hope that the position depicted In thisdiagram (the only one we can as yet reproduce! ) Will prove in thecoming, th i r t ieth match for the worlcj crown to be favourable for theWorld Champion... .

I

Part TwoThe Computer at the Chess Board

Part Two

THE COMPUTER AT THE CHESSBOARD

The topic 'the computer and chess' has for many years beenIrovoking great interest both among chess players, and among math-ematicians. But while in the 1950s computers were making in chessOnly their f i rst steps, during the last decade they have made a rapidIntrusion into all the fields in which man in some way or another

Dmes into contact with chess.

This part of the book is devoted to an account of the chesschievements of the computer. Our attention wil l be mainly focused on

following two questions:(1) the playing by the computer of normal chess;(2) the analysis by the computer of endings.

Why program computers to play chess?

In economics, in control problems and in long-range planning,le choosing of the optimal solution is normally a very diff icult

Sroblem. The point is that the modern engineer, planner or economistHas in his work to take commercial or economic decisions in a limitedI*me, in a complex, changing situation, depending on a large number

factors, which are not subject to a definite evaluation or to mechan-ical control.

The point of modern automizalion consists of transferring lo theomputer functions such as the perception of the situation, and the

Ib l l l ty to compare and evaluate different situations, and lo drawjical conclusions. In order that the computer should be able to

»lve these problems, it is necessary f i rst of a l l to formalize them,|hon to devise effective algorithms enabl ing a solution to be obtained

a real istic time, and, f ina l ly , to put these algorithms into practicethe form of a computer program.

It is here that we are helped by . . . chess. In chess it is easyformulate a f inal goal and many intermediate goals, and at the same

mc it is practical ly impossible to give an exact recipe for theirattainment. The choosing of a move in a chess game — this is the

a" ing of a decision in the complex situation described above. This isy scientists from many countries, working on the problem of a r t i -

-ial intel ligence, have chosen chess as a model for their researches.

101

102 The Computer at the Chess Board

We do not have space here to go into the deta i ls of how acomputer is programmed to p lay chess.* Instead we w i l l examine anumber of games p layed by computers which w i l l r-eveal some of thed i f f i cu l t i es involved In w r i t i n g a successful chess p l a y i n g programme.

.•.•I h.

-i . . - . . • !

*For further detai Is of the history of computer programming the readeris referred to "The Machine Plays Chess?" by Alex Bell (PergamonPress, 1976) and "Chess and Computers" by David Levy (Batsford, 1976).

Competitions with theParticipation of Computers

COMPUTER AGAINST COMPUTER t , , j .

The f irst international meeting in history of computers at thechess board took place In 1967. The Soviet program Kaissa played atelegraph match of four games against the American program created atStanford University, and won it by the score of 3-1 ( + 2 -0 = 2). Thegame given below discloses fa i r ly clearly both the strong and the weaksides In the play of both programs.

Kaissa — Stanford UniversityFour Knights' Game .

1 e4 e5 2 Nf3 Nc6 3 Nc3 BcS b Nxe5!

In 1966 chess programs were not yet provided with opening l i b -rar ies, and began 'creat ing' from the very f i rs t moves. The move4 Nxe5 came as a surprise to the creators themselves of Kaissa, sinceit values the r ight to castle. Nevertheless, the positional advantagessained in return tipped the scales in favour of Ihis capture (in theother pan was the move 4 Bc4). At the same time, the computerindicated the best variat ion for both sides: 4...Bxf2+ 5 Kxf2 Nxe56 d4.

4 . . . Nxe5 5 d4 Bd6 6 dxeS Bxe5 7 f4 Bxc3+ 8 bxc3 Nf6 9 e5

As in a game between people, plans can change as the gameproceeds: in Its preliminary calculations, Kaissa was intending toplay 9 QcJ4 here, but now it sees new possibit i t les.

9 . . . Ne4 10 Qd3

After the game it was tested thai , had it been calculat ing sixhalf-moves ahead, Kaissa would have made the strongest move 10 Qd5!.The point Is that, in the var iat ion 10 Qa5 Nxc3 11 Qc4 Qh4+ 12 g3Black is obliged to make a s ixth half-move, after which White wins thekn ight . But with a calculation of f ive half-moves, which Kaissa was

103

104 The Computer ai the Chess Board

doing in this game, after 12 g3 a position with an extra pawn forBlack is reached, and therefore the move 10 Qd5 was rejected.

1O...Nc5 11 Qd5 Ne6

The stronger move 11 . . ,d6 must certainly have been examined bythe American program, and the fact that it did not make it indicatesthe weak nature of its evaluation function.

12 f5 Ng5?

Kaissa saw that this loses a piece after 13 h4, and r ight lyconsidered the strongest reply to be 12...c6. Clearly, the move 13 h4did not enter the American program's f ie ld of vision, i .e. its authorshad not succeeded in l imit ing the search in the correct way.

13 h4 f6 14 hxg5 fxgS 15 Rxh7!

This simple tactical blow would have been found even with acalculation to one half-move.

15 . . . Rf8 16 Rxg7 c6 17 Qd6 =* -<••••

On making this move, the computer announced that it could 'see'male in al I variat ions, except the one beginning with 17.. .Qf6 18 exf6Kd8.

17 . . . Rxf5 (Black prefers a swifter end) 16 Rg8+ Rf8 19 Qxf8mate.

The chess match between two computers was widely reported in thepress, and this gave a powerful stimulus to the development of chessprogramming in a whole series of European countries, and especially inIhe USA.

Since 1970, under the aegis of the Association of ComputingTechnology, North American computer championships have regularly beenheld in the USA. In the f i rs t such tournament (New York, 1970),which attracted six part icipants, the winner was the program Chess 3.0from the North-Western University. The same program Chess (from nowon we wi l l drop the designations of its modifications — 3.0, 4.0, etc.)was also victorious in the fol lowing three championships.

Subsequently Chess has twice had to concede the championship —in 1974 to the Canadian program Ribbit, and in 1978 to its compatriot— the program Belle. It should be said that the short tournamentdistance (3-4 rounds on the Swiss system) often reduces the question off i rs t place to the result of the one game between the r i va ls . A moretrustworthy evaluation of a computer's playing strength is given by itsra t ing ( i ts coefficient on the Elo system), calculated\ In exactly thesame way as for human players. In regaining the title1 'of champion in1979, Chess increased its rat ing to 2099, whereas Belle was able toachieve a level of only 1982.

In 1974 in Stockholm the f i rst world computer chess championshiptook place. By that time in Europe the operating programs numberedabout ten, and in the USA — more than 50. In this situation thestaging of a world championship was most opportune. This contestessentially summed up the in i t ia l development period of chess program-ming, and provided a review of the latest achievements in this f ie ld .

Thirteen computers from eight countries took part in the battle

Competi lions with the Participation of Computers 105

for Ihe t i t le of champion. The representation was as follows: from theUSA —four programs, from England — three, and one each from Austria,Canada, Hungary, Norway, Switzerland and USSR.

The tournament committee worked out a set of rules to take Into'account the specific nature of this unusual event. For example, acertain lime was allotted for the elimination of technical faults In thecomputer, which might arise during a game, for the correcting of awrongly-entered move, and so on. In other respects, normal tournamentrules were In operation. The time control was established at 2 hoursfor* 40 moves, irrespective of the computer speed.

According to the experts, there were two favourites — the AmericanChess and the Soviet Kaissa. However, in the second round Chessunexpectedly lost to the program Chaos, coming under a crushingattack r ight from the opening. Here is an episode from this game,with Chess playing Black.

Here there followed: 16 Nxe6! fxe6 17 Qxe6+ Be7 18 Rei Qd819 Bf4 KfB (20 Bc7! was threatened) 20 Rad1 Ra7 21 Rd NgS 22 Rcdio5 23 Bd6 Bxd6 24 Qxd&t Me? 25 Nc5 Bf5 26 g4 QeB 2? Ba4!, andWhite easily converted its advantage into a win. After this defeat,Chess won both its remaining games, but could not catch Kaissa, whichhad defeated all its opponents.

The Soviet program normally gained Its successes in a sharpstruggle, and felt confident in tactical complications. Here is how itConcluded a tense encounter from the f i rst round with the Austrianprogram Fran?.

Black has just played 3O...RgB-e8, pinning the white bishop. Thereply 31 Oc6! had been overlooked by Franz. Now 31 .. .Rxe5 loses to32 RdB+ Ka7 33 Ra8 mate. At the same time White has created amultitude of threats: Bxc7+, Qb6+ and Rd7, which Black is unable toParry. The game concluded 3 1 . . .Qg6 32 0xc7+ Ka8 33 Rd7 Qf534 Oc6 mate.

The final results of the event were: Kaissa A/4; Chess, Chaos(both USA) and Ribblt (Canada) 3. At the closing ceremony Kaissa wasswarded a memorial gold medal as the f i rst world computer champion.

L


Three years later , in the Canadian town of Toronto, a secondworld championship was held . The number of par t ic ipants had grown to16, a "d the overal l p lay ing strength of the electronic players had alsogrown. On this occasion Kaissa lost i ts t i t l e , and shared 2nd placewi th the American program Duchess, while the new world championbecame the program Chess, which won a l l four games and f in ished apoint ahead of Kaissa.

The tournament began with a sensation: in the f i r s t round Kaissalost to Duchess in a game which for several days excited the minds offans and programmers, and which appeared in many chess publ icat ions.We give here this game, which i l lust rates a number of interest ing pointsa r i s i ng in the creat ion of a chess program.

Duchess (USA) - Kaissa (USSR)Centre Counter Game

1 e4 d5 2 exd5 Nf6 3 CJ4 Nxd5 4 Nf3 g6 5 Be2 Bg7 6 c4 Nb67 Nc3 0-0 8 Be3 Bg4

At the start of the game both programs make moves from theiropening di rector ies. Now independent play begins.

9 c5 Nd5 10 0-0 e6 .

1O...Nc6 Is better. By the move in the game Kaissa creates (fromthe viewpoint of i ts evaluat ion function) a strong point at d5. In thegiven posi t ion, however, this is not so important, and if the computerhad calculated var ia t ions a l i t t l e deeper, it would have ' rea l i zed ' th is ,

11 Qb3 b6 12 Nxd5 exdS 13 Bg5 Qd7 lA h3 BfS 15 Qc3!

A subtle move, by which While prevents the development of [heknight at bB- On 1S...Nc6 there now follows 16 cxbfi cxb6 17 Bb5, andwins. In the event of 15 Racl the move l5...Nc6 becomes possible,since on 16 cxb6 there is the reply 16...Na5. ,•-. •••

15 . . . Re8 16 Rfel Be4

Black intends by \7.. .Qf5 fol lowed by 18.. .Nd7 to solve itsdevelopment problems.

17 Nd2 Qf5 18 Be3 Qe6

The threat was 19 f3. Concrete, calculating play is in progress,and for the moment both programs ar-e up to the mark.

19 Nxe4 dxe4 20 cxb6 cxb6 21 Reel Nd7 2Z Bg4 Qd5 ^ ^

Evidently, 22. ..f5 did not appeal to Black because of 23 Bdl •

23 Qc6 Nf6 24 Be2 Radfl 25 Qa4 Be7 26 6b5 QfS 27 Rc2 Nd&28 Racl Bf6 29 Qb3

Black has successfully regrouped its pieces, and its knighioccupies an excellent position in the tent re, but what to do next'

Compelitions with the Par! icipation of Computers 107

A human in this position would set aboul restricting the oppon-ent's possibi I ities, by playing 29.. .h5, 30.. .Kg7, etc. If White playspassively, there Is the possible plan of advancing ...g6-g5-g4 andopening the h-f i le. In the event of the exchange of the b5 bishop forthe knight, the d4 pawn comes under siege. As yet the constructionof promising (and at the same lime, correct) plans is inaccessible to acomputer.

29 a5?

A move which loses the game due to the existence for White of alatent threat. In order to discover i t , a calculation of 9 half-moveswas required. Had it been calculating to that depth, the computer

would most probably have played 29...h5!

30 g4! Qe6

3O...Qf3 is bad because of 31 RcS.

31 Rc6 a4Black now sees lhat it loses a piece in the va r i a t i on 31. . .Rd6

32 Rc8+ Kg7 33 g5. The move 31 . . .a4 lengthens the v a r i a t i o n by twohalf-moves, and the computer th inks that i t is losing only a pawn.

32 Qxa4! Rd6 33 Rxd6 Qxd6 34 Qa8+!

34 . . . ReB?!

Unexpectedly Kaissa gives up a whole rook. The commentatorswere perplexed, and explained In confusion to the spectators that chessprograms were st i l l a long way from perfection, and that anythingcould be expected of them. Great was the general amazement whenKaissa explained its 'blunder' by the following variat ion: 34...Kg735 QfB+!! KxfB 36 Bh6+ and 37 Rc8+ with inevitable mate! Not one ofthe players present at the championship found this spectacular queen

108 The Computer al the Chess Board

sacr i f ice. I t is not known whether or not Duchess would have seen i t ,but from practical considerations 34...Kg7 should have been chosen,since p lay ing on a rook down is absolutely hopeless, whereas it wouldnot be every program (and not every master!) that would f ind 35 Qf8*.If, in reply to 34. . .Kg7, While had been intending to win a piece by35 g5, he himself would have lost to 3S...Nxe3 36 gxf6+ Qxf6 37 fxe3Qg5+ and . ..Qxb5, with a decisive advantage lo Black.

As we see, in this game Kaissa fel l vict im to i ts own tacticalsharp-sightedness, but essentially (his is simply an omission on thepart of the program authors, since the practical considerations men-tioned above can easily be programmed.

35 Qxe8+ Kg7 36 g5 BdB

The conclusion of the game is not of any interest — within a fewmoves Black conceded defeat.

The program Chess, which took f i rs t place, played al l its gamesevenly and strongly. Usually by the middlegame it had already gaineda serious advantage. Here is a typical example.

Chess-Duchess

Exploi t ing the more active placing of i ts pieces, White develops aStrong in i t ia t ive in the centre and on the K-side. 23 Ng5! Rc8 24 Nf6Rdc7 25 Ne6 Rf7 36 Nxf8 RfxfB 27 Nxh7! Kxh7 28 Bxd6 RfdS 29 Bf4Rd4 30 BgS. Having won a pawn and, thanks to the two activebishops, retained its positional advanlage, While easily converted itsadvantage into a w in .

In the th i rd world championship, which took place in\ September1980 in Austr ia, 18 programs from six countries part ic ipatedX In nibwelcoming speech at the opening of the championship, the President ofFIDE, the Icelandic grandmaster Fr idr ik Olafsson, remarked on thegreat interest caused by such events in the chess world, and promisedal l possible help and support on the part of FIDE for the Associationof Chess Programming.

By t rad i t ion, the championship was held as a four-round Swisstournament. Fi rst , with the identical result of i\ points, were twoAmerican programs, Belle and Chaos. An addit ional game, playedbetween them direct ly In the USA (only the score of the game wastransmitted to Austria) brought victory and the t i t le of champion tothe program Belle.

Both ex-champions, Chess end Kaissa, made a rather modestresult, scoring 2j and 2 points respectively. The success of Belle >••explained to a large extent by its considerable technical superiorityover i ts opponents. The champion used a special I y developed chps^

Competitions with the Participation of Computers 109

computer, in which the extracting of moves, the moving of the piecesand the evaluation were implemented not by programming, but schem-atical ly, i.e. they were prepared machine commands. Thanks to this,Belle succeeded in examining some 20,000 moves in a second, and inthe middlegame made calculations to 7-8 half-moves.

We give the additional game, which determined the world cham-pion, in which a fierce attack runs into a cool defence.

Belle-ChaosAlekhine' 5 Defence

1 e4 Nf6 2 e5 Nd5 3 d4 d6 4 Nf3 dxe5 5 Nxe5 g6 6 g3 Bf57 c4 Nb4 8 Qa4+ N4c6 9 d5 Bc2 10 Gb5 Qd6 11 Nxc6 Nxc6 12 Nc3Bg7 13 Qxb7 0-0 14 Qxc6 Qb4 15 Kd2 Be4 16 Rg! RfbB 17 Bh3 8h6+18 f4 QaS 19 Re1 f5 20 Qe6+ Kf8 21 b3 Bg? 22 Bb2 Bd4 23 g4 Rb624 Qd7 Rd6 25 Qa4 Qb6 26 Ba3 Bxc3+ 27 Kxc3 RddS 28 Radi Qf229 gxf5 Qc2+ 30 Kd4 gxf5 31 Qc6 Gf2+- 32 Ke5 Kg8 33 Rgl+ Kh834 Bxe7 Qg2 35 Qf6+ Kg8 36 Bxg2 Rxd5+ 37 Ke6 h6 38 Qxh6 Re5+39 fxe5 Rf8 40 Bf3 mate.

The standard of computer play is gradually r is ing. Here, forexample, is an absolutely human-like game, played by two Americanprograms in the 1979 championship of the country in Detroit.

Belle-ChessModern Benoni Defence i-

1 d4 Nf6 2 c4 c5 3 d5 e6 4 Nc3 exdS 5 cx<)5 d6 6 e4 g67 Nf3 Bg7 8 Be2 0-0 9 0-0 Re8 10 Nd2 Na6 11 f3 Nc7 12 a4 b613 Nc4 Ba6 14 Bg5 h6 15 Bh4 g5 16 Bf2 Nh5 17 Ne3 BcB IB Qc2 Nf«19 Bc4 Bd7 20 Rfdl Qf6 21 Bg3 Nh5 22 Bel Nf4 23 Khi a6 24 Bg3b5 25 axb5 axb5 26 RxaB RxaB 27 Bf1 b4 28 Ne2 b3 29 Qbi Nh530 Bf2 Nf4 31 Nc4 Nxe2 32 Bxe2 Bb5 33 Bg3 Ra4 34 Qci Bf8 35 Rd2QdB 36 0f1 h5 37 Kgl h4 38 Bf2 Bg7 39 Ne3 Bxe2 40 Qxe2 Ra1 +41 Rdl Ra2 42 Qd3 Rxb2 « Nc4 Rc2

44 e5T Bxe549 Bb6 h3! 50

5 Nxe5 dxe5 46 Qxb3 Re2 47 Kfi c4! 48 Qb7 Ra2Qf6! 51 Qd8+ Qxd8 52 Bxd8 Rxg2 53 Rei?

White had many ways to win - d5-d6, Be7, Bc7 or Ba5. Bytemporarily giving up material, it would have forced the advance of itspassed pawn. Instead of this, it attempts not to fal I behind theopponent in the pursuit of pawns, and as a result lets slip the win.l i is here that the basic weakness of the computer tells — the Inabil ityat the necessary moment to calculate a long but hardly-branching

110 The Computer gt the Chess Board

variation.

53 . . . c3 54 Rxe5 c2 55 ReB+ Kg? 56 Bx£5 Rxg5 57 RcB Rg25B d6 Rxh2 59 d7 Rd2 60 Kgi ftxd7 6i Rxc2 Rd3 62 Rf2 Kf6 63 Kh2.Draw.

MAN AGAINST COMPUTER

Can the computer real is t ical ly compete with man at the chessBoard? This question was posed back at the dawn of chess program-itiing. In the f i rs t instance the question must be put more precisely.I f one has in mind the analysis of certain types of endgame, or thesolving of chess problems, the answer is undoubtedly yes. Bui if oneconsiders the computer in single combat with man in a normal tourna-ment game, here its successes have bee.n much more modest. Neverthe-less, for some time chess players have been watching with interest andcaution how the family of chess computers has been developing andgathering strength, and how i l is mounting its offensive on the positionof the human player. The only question is, to what level the computercan rise, and how soon it wi l l begin playing on equal terms withmasters.

In 1968 international master David Levy made a bet that within10 years no computer would be able to beat him in a match. Duringthis lime he has twice played a match with the program Chess, andonce with Greenblatt hs program from MIT. Incidental ly, the latlerprogram is a veteran among chess robots — it is already about twodecades o ld , A curious fact Is that it Is directed specially towardsplaying with humans, and as a matter of pr inciple does not Join battlewith its own k ind . It is true that lêvy defeated it fa i r l y easily by2-0, but in the last match with Chess he had to work pretty hard toovercome the robot's resistance.

This match was the best of 6 games. The computer, according tothe condition, had to score 3^ points. The f i rs t game was advantageousfor Chess, but ended in a draw. In the second and th i rd games Chesslost, but in the fourth the human w^s at last defeated —a highlysignif icant fact. And although Levy won the f i f th game, it wouldappear that the f i rs t warning bell has sounded —a l i t t le more a n d . . . .At any rate, as yet Levy has not made a new bet.

We give the f i rs t game of this match between man and computer.

D. Levy •- ChessKing's Indian Attack

1 g3 d5 2 Bg2 e5 3 d3 Nf6 h Nf3 Nc6 5 0-0 -Bd7 67 Bb2 Qe7 8 a3 e4 9 Ne1 0-0 10 d4 Bd6 11 e3 Ng& 12 h.3.

Bc5

Competitions with the Participation of Computers in

Black's attack could have been refuted by 12 c4! The moveplayed by Levy provokes Black into making a piece sacrifice. Obviouslyhe assumed that the computer would not bring itself to give up theknight. Now White's position becomes c r i t i ca l .

T2 . . . Nxe3! 13 fxe3 Qg5 1* g* Qxe3+ 15 Rf2 Bg3 16 Qe2Qxf2+ 17 Qxf2 Bxf2+ 18 Kxf2 f5 19 gxf5 Ne7 20 cA Rxf5* 21 Kgi c622 Nc3 RhS 23 Kh2 RfB Z4 Ndi Ng6 25 Hc1 Bxh3! 26 Bxh3 Rfi27 Ng2 Rf3 28 cxd5 Rhxh3+.

The simplest was 28...Rfxh3+ 29 Kgl RhH 30 Kf2 Rxd5, notallowing the opponent to open a line for his rook, and maintaining al lthe threats. The subsequent play of Chess is most uncertain. Thecomputer's weak endgame technique allows the master to save the game.

29 Kg1 cxd5 30 Rc8+ Nf8 31 Bc3 Rd3 32 Nde3 Rdxe3 33 Nxe3Rxe3 34 Bb4 Rf3 35 Rd8 h6 36 Rxd5 Rxb3 37 Rd8 Rf3 38 Ra8 g539 d5 h5 40 d6 Kg7 41 Rxa7 Rf7 42 Ra5 Kf6 43 Bc3+ Kg6 44 Re5Rf3 45 Bb4 Rf4 46 Re7 Rf7 47 Rxe4 Rd7 48 Re7 h4 49 Kg2 g450 Kh2 b6 51 Kg2 Rd8 52 a4 Nd7 53 aS! Nf6 54 axb6 Nd5 55 b7Nxe7 56 dxe7 RhS 57 Bd6 Kf6 58 b8=0. Rxb3 59 Bxb8 Kxe7. Draw.

One can cite a number of examples of successful play by com-puters against professional players, but in hastening to report on thecomputers' successes, reporters often omit important details from theiraccounts.

Thus, grandmaster Walter Browne did indeed lose a game to theprogram Chess, bu t . . . in a simultaneous display. Another holder ofthe highest chess t i t le — the Englishman Michael Stean —suffered adefeat against the same Chess, bu t . . . In a five-minute bl i tz game, andso on.

The shorter the time allotted to the game, the easier it is for thecomputer against a human. If a tournament for the world champion-ship were held with a time control of 30 seconds per game, it is

(Possible that already now a computer would become champion — a manwould simply physically be unable to make the moves. But such playfs of l i t t le interest. As regards serious chess, as yet computers are( t i l l a long way from grandmasters.

But at the same time, grandmasters. . . are close to computers.Ex-World Champion Mikhai I Botvinnik has already been engaged in

[chess programming for a number of years. Another Ex-World Champion,[the American Bobby Fischer, according to official but as yet uncon-f i rmed reports (with Fischer there are always such d i f f icu l t ies! ! , is

llso making an active study of how chess programs are created.

At any rate (and this is now an indisputable fact), he has[played a short match against the program of Greenblatt mentioned[ear l ier — that same one which avoids other computers. Well, theôpponents are worthy of one another, since, after al I, for many years

now Fischer has not played against people.

To Fischer's credit, it must be said that his chess seclusionIwould not appear to have diminished his strength. He conducted thei(natch In his best style, and defeated the computer by the score of 3-0.

W think that the readers wil l f ind it interesting to look at one of thegames from this encounter.


Compu ter-F i scherSici I ian Defence

I e4c5 2 Nf3 g6 3 d4 Bg7 4 Nc3 cxd4 5 Nxd& Nc6 6 Be3 Nf67 Nxc6 bxc6 8 e5 NgS 9 f4 f6 10 exf6

Machines, like people, play the opening quickly. Modern computerscan 'remember' thousands of opening variations, with which they areequipped by their programmers. But there is a I irntt to what can bestored. 5ooner or later the machine has to think for itself, and it isthen that its true strength is revealed. Strictly speaking, this hasalways been the problem in chess programming: to find a good movein an original situation. White's f i rst 'independent' move in thisgame is clearly not the beat; the theoretical continuation 10 Bd4

maintains for him a slight advantage, whereas now the black piecescome Quickly into play.

10 . . . Nxf6 11 Bc4

The second poor move in succession.

II . . . dS 12 Be2

The computer evidently thought that the backward pawn at e7would compromise the opponent's position. Other justifications for themove 11 BcA would force one to suggest that the machine's search depthwas too short, or that it did not consider the reply H. , .d5, which isimprobable.

12 . . . Rb8 13 b3 Ng4 14 Bd4 e5! • s-.-. • •-

After 14. . .Ne3 White could have sacrificed his queen by 15 Bxg7!Nxd5 IS BxhS Nxc3 17 Bxc3, achieving a position which would bediff icult to breach. The move made by Fischer is clearly stronger.

15 fxe5 0-0!

Keeping the white king in the centre. ;-• "- - \'-

IS BxgA Qxh4+ 17 g3 Qxg4 18 Qxg4 Bxgft 19 Rf 1 .

19 Kd2 was more tenacious. Now White loses by force. <• '-

19 . . . RxfU 20 Kxfi

:•!.••!?

20 . . . c5! 21 Bf2 6xe5 22 Be1 Rf8+ 23 Kg2 Rf3 24 h3 Rxc325 Bxc3 Bxc3 26 Rfi Bf5

Competitions with the Participation of Computers 113

Chess players resign in such positions, but the machine, demon-strating its ' i ron' determination, fought on to the last move. We thinkthat in this position the readers would be able to win against any

• opponent, and so this hopeless ending for White can be omit led. , .

In recent times computers have become so omnipresent that theyare constantly mentioned in reports of International events. Forexample, at the international tournament In Bad Kissingen (WestGermany, 1980), for advertisement purposes the organizers dec idea iohold a simultaneous display by four grandmaster against 100 computers.Strictly speaking, each player took on 25 computers, but for greaterrespectabi 1 i ty it was announced that one hundred machines would simu I-taneously join battle with the grandmasters.

What did the average participant in the display look like? Itcomprised three parts: its own mini-computer, a chess board and akeyboard. As yet its cost is rather high — about a th i rd of theaverage monthly wage. In addit ion, it requires a considerable amountof etectricity, the consumption of which depends on the working level.Thus, in the adjoining halls were displayed computers, which anyonecould set to an appropriate playing strength, by allott ing half a minuteio a move, or a minute, or more. The visi tors, not wishing to lose,gave their 'opponents1 as l i t t le time as possible.

During the display the grandmasters frequently experimented, soas to discover the possibilities of the machines. For example, one ofIhe authors of this book, who numbered among those giving the display,won four identical games, move for move, while Boris Spassky sacrificedso much that he had to make considerable efforts so as not to fal lbehind his colleagues, and to score a 100% result.

In general, chess mini-computers are becoming more and morecommon. While inferior in strength to their senior colleagues — the bigcomputers, by virtue of their avai lab i l i ty they can serve as excellenttraining devices for a wide circle of chess enthusiasts.

A big computer, on the other hand, can give a simultaneousdisplay against average strength amateurs, and what's more, highlysuccessfully. One of the most impressive enterprises of this type washeld at the end of 1977 in Paris. The American program Chess wasopposed by ten players — in the main prominent cultural and publicf igures. Among them were the composer Guy Bear, the f i lm directorRoget Vadim, the playwright Fernando Arrabal, and others. Alsoincluded in the participants was 17-year-old Manuel Apitsella — theFrench Junior Champion.

The display, which was in the nature of a demonstration of theachievements of modern technology, was held in a hall which waslinked directly by satell i te to the computer in the USA. All the gameswere reproduced on demonstration boards and on television, and com-ments on them made by French masters.

The machine won seven games, drew one and lost two. In half ofthe games it took Black. If account is taken of the fact that thechess rat ing of its opponents varied from somewhere between f i rs t andthird category, the result can be considered excellent.

Here is how the computer's game went with the youngest par t i -c i pan t in the display.

Chess-ApitsellaNimzow i tsch Defence

1 e4 Nc6 2 d4 e6 3 Nf3 d5 4 eS Bd7 5 Nc3 Bb4 6 Bd3 Nge77 0-0 f6 8 exf6 gxf6 9 Bh6 Kf7 10 QdZ Bd6 11 Nb5 Ng6 12 Nxd6+


cxd6 13 h4 e5 14 h5 Nge7 15 dxe5 dxe5 16 c4 Rc8 17 cxdS18 Bxh7 Rxh7 19 Qxd5+ Be6 20 Qxd8 RxdB 21 Be3 RxhS 22 g3 Bh323 Rlci Bg4 24 Nh4 Rg8 25 f3 Bxf3 26 Nxf3 R*g3+ 27 Kf2 Rhh328 Ngi Rxe3 29 Nxh3 Rxh3 30 Rhl Rd3 31 Rn7* Ke6 32 Rxb7 e433 Rcl Rd6 3ft Ke3 a5 35 Kxe4 Rd4+ 36 Ke3 Rd6 37 Rc5 f5 38 Rh7Ne5 39 Rh8 U+ 40 Ke4 Ng6 41 Rh6 Resigns.

After the display, the well-known French mathematician Francoisle Uonnais remarked that the last 10 years had seen marked progressin the creation of chess programs. However, It was not yet sufficientto solve the main problem — to disclose the secret of human thinking."The most important and most interesting", the scientist said, "is notthe game itself, however splendid ana highly intellectual it may be.The main thing is the methods and algorithms which are necessary forautomating the game of chess, since they can also be extended toother fields of human act ivi ty".

Significant in this sense is the interest shown in chess program-ming by major computing firms. Thus the firm CDC grants unlimitedfree use of its best machine Cyber-176 to the group at North-WesternUniversity that created the program Chess, demanding for this merelypermission to include this program in a software pack. Many firmsallow free use of their computers for participation in tournaments ofchess programs.

Recently the Dutch computing form Uolmak put up a prize of50,000 dollars for the creators of a chess program which would succeedin defeating E*-World Champion Max Euwe in a match of four games.The offer remains in force until 1st January 1984, In announcing sucha competition, the directors of the firm stated that they were aiming,first and foremost, to stimulate the creation of programs which wouldplay significantly better than those currently in existence, and alsothat they hoped that the match would assist the raising of the generalinterest in chess.

The Ccmputer Analyzes theEndgame

Already when the f i rst chess programs were being created, it was[observed that the handling of the endgame was the weakest aspect of a(Computer's play.

In the endgame the forming of plans several moves in advancebecomes of chief Importance. What's more, for a human player it is

', easier to find the correct plan In the endgame than in the middlegame,1 since the opponent has fewer opportunities for preventing Its implemen-tation, and also the number of actual plans in the endgame issignificantly less. Therefore, in the final stage of the game a player

t can see the concluding positions of very long variations, and can(often be certain that a chain of moves wil l lead to them. That is[•"how things are in fa ir ly complex endings, where a player is guided byIntuition and experience — precisely that which as yet lends itself

[badly to formal ization, and in which computers are lacking.

However, in the playing of certain endings with few pieces, thet'lnachine is now superior to man, and moreover, is in a posi tion to knowfthe 'absolute truth ' .

. . . I n 1968 the traditional match between Moscow and Leningradftook place in the USSR capital . With the score standing at 39j-395[(the match was held on 40 boards in iwo rounds) there remained onetunfinished game, which would decide the result of the match. Thej Leningrad player was a pawn up, and in the event of him being^successful his team would win. The resumption of the game lasted a• long time, and the Leningrad team were already in danger of missing\ their t ra in, so the game was sent for adjudication in the following(-position, with the Leningrad player playing Black.

115


The game was adjudicated by an authoritative grandmaster com-mission. However-, the whole trouble was that the ending 'queen andknight 's pawn against queen' had been studied by players for manyyears, but to establish precisely which positions were won, and whichdrawn, they had nol yet been able. As for the given position, theJury in i ls perplexity judged it to be drawn, which provoked a naturalobjection on the part of the Leningrad team. The matter ended withthe return visi t of the Muscovites to Leningrad not taking place, anda tradition of many years' standing was broken.. . .

It is clear that, if the computer had ' investigated' endings ofthis type, no misunderstanding would have occurred. For the analysisof such queen endings it was decided to enlist the services of Kaissa*.

Here it is appropriate to describe the general idea which lies atthe basis of an algorithm for the analysis of chess endings. First ofall it is assumed that, in the analysis of this or that class of ending,the evaluations of al l positions of so-called secondary endings, i .e.those obtained from the ones being studied by a change of material —a capture or the promotion of a pawn, are already known.

We wil l consider a class of endings in which White is trying towin, and Black is hatt l ing for a draw. All positions of this classnaturally divide into two groups — those with White to move, which aredesignated by W, and those with Black to move — B. Out of the groupW let us single out those positions in which White has a move leadingimmediately to a winning secondary ending (an elementarily won posi-t ion). Let us denote the aggregate of these positions by Wo and callit the zero rank (a win in zero moves). Let us remove Wo from thegroup W. For the moment the remaining positions form a class of'unsorted Whites', which we designate UW. In analogous fashion, weremove from group B those positions in which Black in one move can gointo a drawn {or won for him) secondary ending — Bo, end we obtain aclass LIB — 'unsorted Blacks', After the procedure described, a basicmulti-step ranking algorithm is put into practice.

Let us consider the f i rs t step of the algorithm. We wil I pick outfrom UB those Dositions from which all moves by Black lead to Wo.Obviously, these wi l l be positions which are lost for- Black in one move.We will call this grouo of positions She f i rst black rank and wil ldenote them by RBI. Note that RBI consists of positions which have nomoves to UW. It is this feature which is uti l ized in the actual con-struction of RB1 .

Let us now select from UW positions from which at least one moveleads to RBI. As a result we obtain a group of positions RW1, whichare won for White in one move. We wil l remove RBI from UB and RW1from UW. Everything is ready for the second step of the algorithm. Wecontinue in similar fashion: we construct RB2 as a group of positionshaving no moves to UW, and RW2 having no moves to LIB and so on.

The ranking process concludes when the next group RB or RW tolie formed turns out to be empty. Positions remaining in the groups UBand UW are definitely drawn. As the ranked positions are obtained,they can be removed onto, for example, magnetic tape, and used forplay, or else printed out.

For the implementation of the described algorithm in practice,two conditions must be fu l f i l led . F i rst ly , the number of differentpositions wilh the given material must not be too large. Taking

*5ince all the programs which wil l be mentioned below were created bythe same group of mathematicians as created Kaissa (under the leader-ship of V. Arlazarov), for convenience we wil l also call them by thename of the muse of chess.

The Computer Analyzes the Endgame 117

account of the resources of the modern computer, i l can be saidthat the analysis of five-piece endings (including Ihe kings) Is at thelimit of its possibil i t ies. Secondly, the machine must be able toevaluate, in the sense of a definite result, any position of a secondaryending.

It should be noted that. In the programming of five-piece endingsIt has proved sensible to remember only the black ranks, they beingless dense. Nevertheless, in the ending 'rook and pawn against rook1

about sixty mill ion positions had to be remembered.Returning to our queen and pawn ending, we can report that at

present, although Kaissa has constantly been diverted by more importantmatters, it has studied the class of positions with a knight 's pawn onthe penultimate rank. Now about each such position it can be

definitely stated whether or not it is won for the stronger side, and ifit is won, then in how many moves. In the game from the afore-mentioned match, the pawn, as we saw, stood on the sixth rank, andthis means that the machine has only one more step to make beforebeing able to evaluate i t . There is thus the hope that the Moscow-Leningrad matches may soon be resumed... .

An interesting fact is that, when analysing the queen ending,Kaissa discovered two won positions, in which with best play for bothsides (he balance of forces can be changed only in 59 moves! Here isone of these positions (in which it is Black to move).

Subtle manoeuvring of the white king and queen, despite Black'stenacious defence, leads within 53 moves to fhe following position.

Here the black queen is forced to occupy a passive position —54...Q9B, and after 55 Qb6+ Ka3 56 Qb7 Ka4 57 Kc3 Ka5 58 Qb4+ Ka659 Qc4+ White f ina l ly exchanges queens and promotes his pawn.

The reader will no doubt be famll iar with the rule by which agame ends in a draw if both sides have made at least 50 moves, in thecourse of which no piece has been taken, and no pawn moved. In theUSSR Chess Code there is the following interpretation of this rule: "Forpositions with k ing and two knights against k ing and pawn the numberof 50 moves is increased to 75. It can be increased for other specific

118 The Computer al the Chess Board

positions, only on condition that this number and these positions areprecisely mentioned In the regulations for a tournament or match".

The positions discovered by Kaissa show that the number of 50moves should also be increased in the code for the ending 'king, queenand pawn against king and queen' . This is the f irst instance Inhistory when the computer has ' interfered' in the chess code! (Theending 'king and two knights against king and pawn' wes studiedmany years ago, and without the help of the computer).

There is another unusual Instance concerning the ending inquestion, when the computer first rendered practical assistance to agrandmaster. This occurred in 1975 in the US5B Zonal Tournament atVilnius. The game Grigorian-Br-onstein was adjourned in a queenending with an extra pawn for Black. The grandmaster knew ofKaissa's success, and he turned to it for 'consultation'. Not longbefore the start of the adjournment session, Bronstein received a letterwith an analysis of the position. True. Grigorian played inaccuratelyright at the start of the adjournment, so that Kaissa's 'prompting' wasnot required.

In practice, rook endings occur much more frequently than queenendings. One of the most common forms of this ending — 'rook andpawn against rook' has also been given to Kaissa for analysis.Spending 60 hours of machine time, it coped bri l l iant ly with its task,and can now evaluate any position of this type, irrespective of theposition of the pawn. At the same time, the machine has established anumber of interesting facts. For example, It has discovered a positionwhich can be won in not less than 60 moves (as before, by won wehave in mind a transition into a won secondary ending). Here is onesuch position (Black to move),

Incidentally, in the given position White succeeds in moving hispawn only on the 32nd move after lengthy manoeuvring, in the courseof which there are several instances where there is only one correctmove, and one which is difficult for a human player to f ind.

For the rapid evaluation of endgame positions in practice, it isuseful to imagine a drawing or winning sone for the placing of onepiece, while the positions of the remaining pieces are f ixed. Considerthe following diagram, on which the positions of four of the fivepieces are fixed. The f i f th piece, the black king, can stand on anypermissible square of the board.

(See diagram at top of page 119)

In this position It is Black to move. For some positions of hisking he loses, for others there is no win for White, The results of theanalysis carried out by Kaissa are shown directly on the diagram. Ifa square is blank, the position is drawn, but if a certain number (n)is written in it, White wins in n moves. We see that, with the black

The Computer Analyzes ihe Endgame 119

king cut off beyond Ihe f - f l l e , the one saving square for if is g4 (ifwe disregard gl and gZ, on which the king simply captures the whiterook and Black wins).

This diagram represents a real puzzle. Imagine lhat you areplaying White, it is now the opponent's move, and you are granted theright to place your king on any square of the board. Which one shouldbe chosen so as to gain a win? Amazingly, there is only one square:White wins only with his king at e8!

An interesting fact is [hat grandmaster Averbakh, one of thegreatest specialists in the f ield of the endgame, after playing forseveral hours with Kaissa at 'rook endings', admitted its completesuperiori ty. He remarked that such a sparring-partner would be highlyuseful to any grandmaster for improving bis technique in the endgame.

Of the four-piece endings, the most interesting is rook againstknight. On its study Kaissa spent only 15 minutes!

In this position it is Black to move, and with correct defence on[. his part his knight is trapped only on the 27th move! We give the</• main variation of the solution;

I...Ne2+ 2 Kd2 (After 2 Kc2 White can no longer win) 2...Nd43 Kc3.

And now 3 K63 would be a mistake. However, right up to thepoint when the knight is caught, White has to make a number of


precise moves. It is d i f f icu l t to imagine that they could al l be foundby a player during a game!

3...NbS+ 4 Kc4 Nd6+ 5 Kc5 Nb7+ 6 Kb6 Nd6 7 Rf4! (the rookmoves more rarely than the k ing, but Its movements are more subtle)7.,.Kb3 8 KcS Nb7+ 9 Kc6 Nd6+ 10 KbS Ne6 11 RT3+ Kc2 12 Kc4 Kd213 Rf5 Kc2 14 Rf2+ Kdi 15 Kd3 Nc5* 16 Kd4 Nb3+ 17 Kc3 Kel16 Rb2! Nc5 19 Kd4 Ne6+ 20 Ke3 Kdi 21 Rb6 Ng5 (after 21..,Nc5

22 Kd4 Nd7 23 Rd6 the knight is caught more qu ick ly l 22 Rc6! Nf723 Rc7 Ne5 24 Ke4! Ng4 25 Rg7! Nf6+ 26 Ke5 Nh5 27 Rg5, and theknight is caught.

We should mention lhat the analysis of the ending 'rook againstknight1 has a history. Back in 1970 a German mathematician includeda study of It in his dissertation, devoted to combinatorial methods.Eight years later a complete study was made of this ending, indepen-dently of each other, by Kaissa and an American computer. It isinteresting that the positions wi th a record number of moves, found byeach of the machines, coincided almost exact ly. Only, in the diagramgiven above the American computer 'p laced' the knight at e2 (insteadof g1), which shortens the solution by one half-move. Evidently themachine pr in t -out contained positions with While to move.

Simpler for a human player is the ending 'rook against b ishop' .Here there are pract ical ly no positions where the evaluation is indoubt. Bui here too those positions are of interest, where the win is.achieved in the maximum number of moves. Here is one of the recordsestablished by Kaissa. White to move wins only on the 16th move.

Thus, Kaissa can already hegin producing its own theoreticalpubl icat ions! But what are the future prospects for the computer inthe analysis of chess endings?

The ranking method described above can be used to study severalother types of ending, which are important for theory. F i rs t ly , thework involving the complete analysis of the ending 'queen and pawnagainst queen' (for any position of the pawn) is await ing completion.Here i t cannot be ruled out that positions wi l l be found in which thestronger side requires more than 100 moves to win. Secondly, theresults of the analysis of 'rook and bishop against rook1 would behighly Interesting. It is t radi t ional ly supposed that the majority ofendings of this type are drawn. However, an exact analysis of thepositions is made di f f icu l t due to the large number of var iat ions, andthe absence of rel iable cr i ter ia for evaluat ing the result ing positions.And it cannot be ruled out that the current opinion wi l l have to bechanged. . . .

I t would also be useful to use the computer to analyse certainother endings which occur rarely in practice, but which neverthelessremain problematic. These could include queen against two minorpieces (the most interesting combination of which is knight and bishop),and two minor pieces against a kn ight . Many questions associated

The Computer Analyzes the Endgame 121

with these sorts of positions have been accumulated by chess composers,and the computer could render them qualified assistance.

Unfortunately, an Increase in the number of pieces on the boardseriously complicates the problem. At the same time it Is to be hopedthat the analysis of six-piece endings will be accessible to the nextgeneration of computers.

Part ThreeFifteen of the World Champions Best Games

Part ThreeFIFTEEN OF THE WORLD

CHAMPION'S BEST GAMES

From 1960, when one of the authors of this book succeeded innaming the first category norm, to the present year, 1961, in which for-)e second time he will be defending his title of World Champion, I .e.

Dver a period of more than twenty years, he has played about athousand tournament games. Choosing fifteen of the best games out ofsuch a number was no easy matter. I think that the chess content ofthe fifteen games chosen speaks for itself, but, so as to explain theirCompetitive Importance, each game is preceded by & short introduction.3f course, the most decisive encounter in my chess career to date wasthe last game of the match for the World Championship in Baguio.

[This game is given separately, in the f irst part of the book.

Bearing in mind that the book is aimed at a broad range ofChess enthusiasts, in my comments on the games I have not tried toJive an exhaustive analysis of variations, but have placed theBmphasis on general evaluations of the resulting positions.

Moscow University Championship, 1968Karpov-Gik

Sici I ian Defence

A. Karpov: This was my first tournament in the capital, and infcepder to 'conquer' Moscow it was essential to win i t . The next time 1

e to Moscow was three years later, when I was already a grand-jltiaster, and in the very strong Alekhine Memorial Tournament I shared[f i rst place. 1 think that I f inally succeeded in 'subjugating' Moscow affurther three year-s later, when I won two Candidates' Matches in the[Capital - the quarter-final and the f i n a l . . . But I decided to take uppermanent residence in Moscow only 10 years later! And who would

lhave thought that my opponent in this game would later turn out to be|Tny co-author!

Y. Gik: In !968 my opponent was a young master, and merely aft lrst-year student in the Department of Mathematics and Mechanics. By'that time I had already finished my course in this department, andtherefore I raied my chances in our game as higher.. . Nevertheless

125

126 15 of the World Champion's Best Games

the studeni defeated the graduate, and as a result became Champion ofMoscow University, one point ahead of me. My opponent could not haveguessed that he was playing against his future co-author, but I loowas not to know that within seven years my conqueror would become thestrongest player on this planet!

I eft c5 2 Nf3 d6 3 dft cxdft 4 Nxdft Nf6 5 Nc3 g6 6 Be3 Bg77 f3 0-0 B Bc4 Nc6 9 Qd2 QaS 10 0-0-0 Bd7

A.K.: This is the so-called Dragon Variation (from the formationof black pawns on the e- to h-f i lest. The plans for the two sides arewei I known — White attacks on the K-side, while Black aims forcounter-play on the Q-side. Although the history of this variation isone of the most fascinating and mysterious in chess theory — how manytimes has it been completely refuted, only to be revived anew — itnevertheless has to be admitted that the expression 'dragon torment'was not devised for nothing: in this variation Black more often thannot manages to get mated just before he reaches the enemy k ing.

Y.G.: I think that in the last few years the World Champion hasplayed some fifteen games with White against the Dragon Variation, themajority of them with grandmasters, and has not conceded a singledraw!

II h4 , . . . . .

A.K.; The magazine Shakhmaty v SSSR 1968 No. 7 published thegame BIkhovsky-Gik, which Black won.

Y.G.: Wei I yes, since I had defeated our chief youth trainer, Ithought that I would be able to cope somehow or other with one of his'fledgl ings' .

A.K.: Perhaps Black would have managed to do this, if I hadplayed the same as BIkhovsky — 11 g4. But I had prepared for thegame, and chose the more dangerous plan of advancing my rook's pawn.

11 Ne5 12 Bb3 Rfc8

Y.G.: Whenever moving the king's rook to c8 is refuted, theanalysts promptly suggest that Black play his queen's rook to c8.When this manoeuvre is also refuted, they once again recommend movingthe rook from the f - f i le to c8. This is how the theory of the DragonVariation is created.

A.K.: Incidentally, I f i rst refuted ...Rac8, and in rather spec-tacular fashion It has to be said, In my f irst match with Korchnoi (cf.Game No. 5).

13 h5 Nxh5 14 Bh6

S "*" S "."" ";""'§1**it nut

t > 1 3

\zwSmm mm

Game No. 1 127

A.K.: At thai time this position was very fashionable, and ananimated discussion was revolving around the variation with 14...Nd3+.In i t ia l ly it was thought that this check made the bishop move to h6Impossible, but some six months before the University Championship, atthe Student Olympiad in Ybbs, the German player Duebal I showed thatIn this case White retains the advantage: 15 Kbl Nxb2 (15...Bxd416 Nd5!) 16 Kxb2 Bxh6 17 Qxh6, and now neither 17... Qxc3+ nor17...Rxc3 gives Black sufficient counter-play. In the present game 1wanted to test my preparations, but my opponent deviated from myanalysis.

Y.G.: It would have been better if I hadn't done so.

14 . . . Bxh6 15 Qxh6 Rxc3

A.K.: The standard exchange sacrifice in this var iat ion. Blackremoves once and for all the threat of the knight moving to d5, andhopes to get at the white king as soon as possible.

s . '"

16 bxc3 Qxc3

Y.G.: It was diff icult to imagine that this capture would be thedecisive mistake. I knew that )6...Nf6 leads to a sharp game, butassumed that it wouldn't do any harm to take the pawn.

17 Ne2!

A.K.; The start of a lengthy, forcing manoeuvre. The knightcopes splendidly with the task of dr iv ing away the queen, and at thesame time joins the attack on the K-side.

17 Qc5

Y.G.: In a certain theoretical art icle 16...Qxc3 was consideredweak because of the reply 17 Kbl . However, it then examined only

[•17.. .Nci and 17...Nf6, whereas I was pinning my hopes on 17.. .a5!.The modest knight retreat came as a surprise to me. I saw to my

regret that after 17...Nd3+ 18 Rxd3 Qa1+ 19 Kd2 Qxhi 20 g4 Ng321 Qxhi Nxhi 22 Ke3! and 23 Rd! my knight would be successfully

[.Caught. My queen therefore had to retreat.

IB g4 Nf6 g5 Nh5 20 Rxh5!

A.K.: There Is no time to lose. 20 Ng3, which I considered forlong time, had to be rejected because of a spectacular reply which I

noticed only at the last minute — 20.. .Bg4!, and the white queen isshut out of the game.

20 9xh5 21 Rhl Qe3+ 22 Kb1 !


A .K . : The D-ragon Var ia t ion is renowned for the fact tha i thesl ightest inaccuracy can spoil mat ters . Thus, for example, 22 Kb2would have g iven Black at least a d raw: 22.. .Nd3+ 23 cxd3 (23 Kbieven loses after 23 . . .Qx f3 ! ) 23...Qxe2+ 24 Kal Qxd3, and Black isassured of perpetual check.

22 Qxf3

A . K . : The fate of the kn igh t is un impor tant — it is the l i f e ofthe black k i n g that is a l s take : 22.--Qx.e2 23 Qxh5 e6 24 Qxh7+ Kf825 QhB+ Ke7 26 Qf6+ Ke8 27 RhS male.

Y . G . : 1 saw that I would have lost a f ter 22. . .e6 23 Qxh5 Qxf3(23. . .Ng6 24 Qxh7+ KfS 25 Ng3 and 26 Nf5| 24 Qxh7+ Kf8 25 Nd4,bu l a f ter my last move I f e l l contented.

23 Rxh5 e6

A.K . : Black cannot defend h7, since 23. . .Qxe4 loses lo 24 g6!Qxg6 25 Rg5. It is also d i f f i c u l t for him to save the game after23. . .Ng6, for example 24 Qxh7+ KfS 25 Rh6 e6 26 Rxg6 fxg6 27 Qxd70xe2 28 Qxd6* Kg7 29 Qe7+ Kh8 30 Qf6+ Kh7 31 Qf7+ KhS 32 Qxg6.

2 4 g 6 ! . ,: ..,.,. • ... -.

A.K. ; This b rave pawn sacr i f i ces i tsel f to break down B lack 'sdefences. The hasty 24 Qxh7+ would have al lowed the k i n g to escape:24 . . .K f8 , and now 25 QhB+ Ke7 26 Qxa8 f a i l s lo 26. . .Qxh5, whi le25 Nd4 is also not possib le, in view of 25...Qd1+ 26 Kb2 Qxd4+.

2ft . . . Nxg6

V .G . : Captur ing wi th the pawn d i d not work — 24 . . . f xg625 Qxh7+ Kf8 26 Qh8+ Ke7 27 Rh7+ Nf7 28 QxaB, but af ter the capturew i th the k n i g h l I an t i c ipa led a qu ick win — White 's attack is repe l led,and in add i t ion he is two pawns down.

25 Qxh7+ Kf8 26 Rf5H

Game No. 2 129

Y . G . : For me th is move came I ike 3 bolt from the b lue ! Thiselegant geometrical idea immediately decides the game. Two I ines, theaZ-gS diagonal and the f - f i l e , intersect a l the c r i t i c a l point f7 . Whitethreatens 0xf7 mate, and h is queen is supported along the f i l e by therook, and ( i n the event of 26 . . .ex f5 ) along the diagonal by the b ishop.Black has noth ing better than to par t w i th his queen. Now I real izedthat I had been wrong to under-est imate the mathematical capabi l I t iesof my opponent. The pure ly geometrical so lu i ion to the posit ion nodoubt occurred to the student, thanks to an intensive study of ana l y -t ica l geometry!

26 . . . Qxb3+ 27 exf5 28 Nf4!

A . K . : Another s t r i k i n g blow (perhaps from the f i e ld of a lge-b r a ! ? ) . White exp lo i ts the undefended state of the rook at a8, andto ta l l y destroys the black k i n g ' s she l te r .

28 Bd8 29 Qh6+

A.K.: The final slight finesse — White wants to capture the g6pawn with check.

20 . . . Ke8 30 Nxg6 fxg6 31 Qxg6+ K*7 32 Qg5+! r

A.K.; Accuracy Is required right to the end: after 32 exf5 Rf8Black could st i l l have put up a defence, whereas now there is nodefence against the rapid advance of the f-pawn.

32 Kefl 33 exf5 RcB 34 QgB+ Ke7 35 Qg7+ Resigns

Y.G.: A rare instance when the loser of a game also remainedContent. Wfth the game, of course, but not the result of the tourna-ment! In an article published in Shakhmatnaya Moskva (Moscow Chess)and devoted to Ihe University Championship, I complained that duringthe tournament the new champion had constantly been absent fromMoscow, thus placing the other participants in an unfavourable posi-tion — they had to play earlier, thus disclosing their cards to the mainr i v a l . it is understandable that the USSR Team Championship in Riga,In which the mathematics student made the absolute best score (10 outof 11) was more important, because it was one of the elimination stagesfor the World Junior Championship. "But is not the Championship ofthe largest educational establishment in the world also of some import-ance!" I wrote somewhat reproachfully. Had I only known that withina few years. . .

A.K.: It is pleasant, for all that, to remember one's youth!

No. 2Alekhine Memorial Tournament, Moscow 1971

Karpov-HortSic! I Ian Defence ' • '

This was my f i rst really strong tournament, and it was after itthat they began talking In the chess world about a new contender forthe world crown. And, as it later turned out, not for nothing — in thevery next cycle I became World Champion. The present game was theturning point in the Memorial Tournament. Up to the meeting with the


Czech grandmaster- I had played a whole series of draws, winning onlyone game. This second victory gave me a creative and competitiveImpulse. After it three more grandmasters were defeated, and right atthe f inish 1 succeeded in catching Leonid Stein. In the chess sense thepresent game is noteworthy for the unusual play of the king's rook.11 is a strange picture: this unwieldy piece l i teral ly rushes aboul theboard, its movements seemingly devoid of any sense, but with eachmove Black's position grows worse and worse...

2 Nf3 d6 3 d4 Nxd4 Nf6 5 Nc3 e6 6 g4

The enduring weapon devised by Keres. The desire to drive backthe knight and to build up an attack on the K-side is supported ontactical grounds.

6 . . . Nc6 , • , ' t '

6...h6 is more of a hindrance to White's p lan. •. , ; • ;._

7 g5 Nd7 8 Be3

A sharp game with good prospects for White results after 8 Ndb5Nb6 9 Bf4 UeS 10 QhS g6 11 Qh3, bul a detailed examination ofopening variations is not part of our task.

8 a6 9 f*

Nowadays 9 Rgl is often preferred her«.

9 . . . Be7'.i.

On 9...h6 my opponent was most probably afraid of the movewhich I was indeed intending to play — 10 Nxe6 (strictly speaking,there is no alternative, since 10 gxh6 and 10 g6 are simply badbecause of 10.. .Qh4+). Boundless camp I ications could then havearisen; 1O...fxe6 11 Qh5+ Ke7 12 Bh3 Qe8 13 Qh&, with consequencesdif f icult to assess. It was just this that my tournament positiondemanded.

10 Rgl Nxd4

Normally Black is in no hurry to make this exchange, but here itis di f f icult for him to f ind an alternative. Thus 10.. .0c7 looks tooslow, it is not easy to decide on 10...0-0, straight into the attack, and10...Nc5 11 Nxc6 bxc6 12 BxcS gives White a clear advantage.

Qxd4 12 Qd2 13 BxfA Ne5

Bad for Black, of course, was 13...0b6 14 Rg3 Qxb2 15 Rb1 Qa316 Nd5.

U Be2 Bee

Black cannot play actively with 1ft.. .Qa5, since the resultingending is clearly advantageous to White: 15 Nd5 Qxd2+ 16 Kxd2 Bd817 Radi Be6 18 Kci .

15 Nd5

Game No. 2 131

Immediately! Otherwise the opposing queen takes up an activeposition (15 0-0-0 Qa5! ).

15 . . . Bxd5 16 exdS

Normally one tries to occupy the blockading square with a piece,and indeed, 16 Gxd5 would also have given me an advantage, sinceBlack's d6 would have required constant defence. But ihen my e4 pawnwould in some instances also have needed to be guarded, and this couldhave restricted my while-squared bishop. But now this bishop hasfreedom of movement, especially since its black opposite number hasalready left the board.

16 Ng6

Black ' s posi t ion is markedly In fe r io r , and so Hort t r ies lo f i nd atac t i ca l solut ion to h is problems. He would have been condemned topassive defence af ter cas t l i ng short , as well as long (a f ter ' 16...QC7).

17 Be3 h6t?

It is dif f icult to know what kind of mark to attach to this move,so great Is the significance, and not merely from the chess viewpoint,which is contained in i t . It shows f ight ing spir i t , and the desire (ogive the game a (actical turn. It also shows an accurate assessmentof the position, with a clear understanding of its drawbacks. In

[t'ithort, it is a move which is risky for both sides!

18 19 Kd1

The white king is not embarrassed by the loss of cast l ing. Atthe same time, right to the end of the game Black's king has such apossibil ity open to i t , but does not manage to util ize i t .

19 gxh6 20 Bxh6 Bf6

2O...Qf6 probably did not appeal to Black, since his bishop'smobi li ty would then be severely reduced. Hort had planned an idealregrouping of his forces, but in chess there are Iwo sides playing, and1 In turn was able to take the necessary counter-measures.

21 c3 Be5

It would appear that Black has achieved his aim — he threatens22...Qh4, while after 22 Bg5 Qb6 2ft 8e3 0c7 White has achieved veryl i t t le . But White finds a very strong rejoinder.


22 Rg4!

White is not concerned about his h2 pawn. What is most importantat present is not to allow the enemy queen to take up an active pos-it ion on the K-side, where, after a l l , White's pieces are s l ight ly' h a n g i n g ' .

22 . . . QfG . . ' . . : • - .

Comparatively best was 22.. .Bxh2, re-establ ishing material equal-i t y . But one can also understand the Czech grandmaster, who wantedto complete his development. . > . . . . .

23 h4! . . .

Now 23.. .Nxhft? fa i l s to 24 Bg7, and in general i t w i l l soon bed i f f i cu l t to win back this pawn, which unt i l recently was so helpless,but which now gradual ly acquires formidable st rength. 23. . .0-0-0 alsofa i l s , to 24 BgS.

23 . . . Qf5 - . . .

Black defends against the threat of 24 h5, and simultaneouslyhopes to castle Q-side.

24 Rb4!

An excellent square for the rook! 24. . .0-0-0 is s t i l l not possible,in view of 25 Bg4, and meanwhile the b7 pawn is attacked.

24 . . . Bf6 25 h5 Ne7 , . . . . . -.-.,- -- ..........

Of course, this is a less respectable square than e5, but herepseudo-activity on Black's part could have cost him a piece (after25...Ne5 26 Rf4}. In passing, i t should be noted that a l l this timeBlack has had no opportunity to sacr i f ice the exchange by . . .Rxh6-

26 RfA Qe5

Game No. 3 133

27 Rf3!

The unwie ldy rook d isp lays miracles of manoeuvrab i l i t y , l l createsone threat a f ter another, and operates e f f i c ien t l y not only in a t tack ,but also in defence. Thus Slack achieves nothing now by 27 . . .Qxh528 Rxf6 QM+ 29 Bf i ( the rook defends both bishops) 29. . .Ng830 Qel+, and White w ins .

27 . . . Nxd5 28 Rd3 Rxh6

There is noth ing bet ter —on 2B...Ne7 there fo l lows 29 Bf4.

29 Rxd5

29 0xh6 would be a mistake, in view of 29. . .Bg5 and 30 . . .Ne3+.

29 . . . Qe4

Black appears to have everything in order, bu t . . .

30 Rd3!

That rook again! A player is accustomed to al l his piecesworking hard, but I think it would be agreed that, as regards therook, this applies mainly to the endgame.

30 . . . QM +

Black is forced to go in for this far from equivalent exchange.

30 Kc2 Qxal 31 Qxh6 Be5 32 QgS

Preventing Q-side castl ing, and creating irresistible threatsagainst Black's stranded k ing. in this hopeless position Hort over-stepped the time l imit . This game was voted the best in the AlekhineMemorial Tournament, and the Yugoslav Infarmatoir called it one of thebest creative achievements of the 1971 chess year. I must confess that1 too am <jery fond of i t . . . .

No. 3Quarter-Final Candidates' Match

Moscow 1974Karpov-Polugayevsky

Sici I ian Defence

This game is memorable mainly for the episode which occurredafter Black's 16th move (I am saying nothing, of course, about thefact that victory in it brought me closer to a place in the Candidates'Seml-Finals). Usually in the Sicil ian Defence, after Ihe exchange ofthe black bishop for a white knight at d5, there follows exd5. In thegiven situation this standard capture did not promise White anything inParticular, but in a normal game I would nevertheless have chosen i t .However, probably in view of the enormous tension and the fact thatthe finish of the match was In sight, I experienced a feeling of inspir-ation and excitement. The result was the move 17 Qxd5, which involvedthe sacrifice of two pawns. Many of the players present erroneously

134 15 of Ihe World Champion's Besl Games

decided that th is was a prepared v a r i a t i o n . The one to suf fer most inth is respect was Polugayevsky himself — fo r a long time he looked far a

forced loss, and fa i led to f i n d i t , but va luab le time had been wasted.Thus the unexpected capture w i th the queen on d5 had a decisivepsychological effect on my opponent.

1 M c5 2 Nf3 d6 3 d& cxd4 4 Nxd4 Nfe 5 Nc3 a6 6 Be2 ,.57 Nb3 Be? 8 0-0 Be6 9 U Qc7 10 a4 Nbd7 11 Khl 0-0

This v a r i a t i o n of the S ic i l i an Defence occurred each time tha iPolugayevsky had B lack . Dur ing our prepara t ions for the malch, m yt ra i ne r , grandmaster Furman, and I had reckoned w i ih th is p o s s i b i l i t y ,and had out l ined the most expedient deployment of White 's forces. Theusual cont inuat ion here is 12 f5, and in 1971 I had managed to win inth is v a r i a t i o n against Bronste in. I also p layed th is la te r , in theLen ingrad Interzonal against Byrne, though th is time wi thout success.

1 2 B e 3 . , • : : •

This idea is not new, but it acquired a second wind at high levelafter the game Geller-lukov, 1973. White maintains the tension in thecentre, for the moment not disclosing his intentions.

12 . . . exf4 13 Rxf4 Ne5 14 a5 * ' m '

In the fourth game of the malch I played the weaker 14 Nd4, andafter 14...Rad6 Black secured a good game.

14 . . . Nfd7 15 Rf1 Bf6 16 Nd5 Bxd5 17 Qxd51?

Here there is something I should like to explain. Certaincommentators sometimes accuse me of being a dry, rational, carefulplayer. It is true that I have a practical approach, and that mygame is based to a great extent on technique. I attempt to play'correct' chess, and never take risks as, say, Larsen does. As White,like everyone else, I aim for an advantage from the very start, but asBlack I try first of all to equalize. But when there is a choice ofmoves, ! by no means choose the simplest, but rather the most exped-ient. If there are several equally good continuations, my choicedepends to a great extent on my opponents. Against Tal, for Instance,I prefer to 90 in for simple positions, which are not to his taste,whereas against Petrosian I try to make the play more complicated.But Ff I see only one correct path, then, whoever is playing againstme, I go only along that one path.

Let us return to the game. The sacrifice of two pawns, which Ioffered to Polugayevsky, was pure improvisation, as I have alreadymentioned. Even today 1 find this a ' terr ible' decision on my part.

Game No. 3 135

T'-

§

To be fa i r , it should be mentioned that after the quiet 17 exd5 Nc418 Bxc4 Qxc& not a trace remains of While's opening advantage.

17 0xc2

Polugayeusky spent more than an hour wondering whether or notto take the pawn. But in the event of Black declining the sacrifice,he would have come under heavy positional pressure.

18 Nd4 0xb2

As they say, " In for a penny, in for a pound!" The attempt byBlack to limit himself to a small gain would have led to d positionwith material equality and a marked positional advantage for White,for example: 18...Qc5 19 NfS! Qxd5 20 exd5, and the black d-pawnfa l ls .

19 Rab1 Qc3

19...Qa3 is weaker — the black queen would have been out of playon the edge of the board.

20 NfS

The aim of this move is to defend the bishop and not allow theblock queen to c5, which could have occurred after 20 Rb3 0c5 %\ NfSQxd5 22 exd5 NcS, when Black can defend.

20 Qc2!

Polugayevsky manoeuvres excellently. Any delay would haveallowed White to co-ordinate his pieces, and he was already threatening21 Bd4 Qd2 22 Rb2, or 21 Rfcl Qa3 22 Rai Ub2 23 Ra2 Qb4 24 8d2!,trapping the queen.

21 Rbel

An inaccuracy. After 21 Rfe1 White would have gained aadvantage, whereas now Black finds a defence.

b i g

21 NcS 22 Nxd6 Ncd3 23 Bxd3 Nxd3 24 Rdi Nb4

This is the point. If on my 21st move I had played Rfel, thewhite rooks would now be standing at b1 and dl . Consequently, Blackwould have had only two possibil i t ies: 2A...Nf2+ 25 Bxf2 Qxf2 26 e5Be7 27 Rf i , or 24...Ne5 25 Nxb7, in each case with a clear ini t iat ivefor White.

25 Qxb7


Having been f i rst two pawns down, and then one, perhaps I wassubconsciously aiming to eliminate this 'material deficiency' . Mean-while, 25 Qh5 would have threatened 26 Rxf6 gxf6 27 Qg4+ Kh828 Bh6, which is not easily parried (25. ..g6 26 Qc5).

25 RabB 26 Qa? Qc6

The decisive mistake. Also bad was 26...Nc6 27 Qc728 Qxc2 Nxc2 29 Bb6, with advantage to White. But 26...Qe2 wouldhave given Black some counter-play, although even here after 27 Bb6the advantage is with White.

27 Bf4

Later 1 learned that, in the press centre at this point, Furmanhad shown that White could have won by the exchange sacrif ice27 Rxf6! gxf6 28 Bh6, threatening 29 Qe3; on 28...Nd3 ihere follows29 BxfB, and on 28...Qc2 - 29 Rcl Qd3 30 Qc5!. He was no doubtr i gh t , but this is not the only winning pa th . True, i t is said that,when I played 27 Bf4 with the threat of 28 e5, my t ra iner remarkedcontentedly "That 's also good". Indeed, the threat of e4-e5 restr ictsBlack, and his knight f inds itself out of p lay .

27 Ra8

Defending against 28 e5.

28 Qf2 Rad8 29 Qg3!

The threat is stronger than Its execution! Strangely enough, thisoften is Indeed the case. White does not hurry to advance e4-e5, butf i r s t increases the pressure.

29 . . . Qc3 30 Rf3 Qc2 31 Rdfi Bd4 • " f • " • i

Again preventing the breakthrough by the e-pawn. However, theattack can no longer be hal ted.

9 7 .

32 Bh6

White directs his f i r e simultaneously against two squares — f? and

32 . . . Nc6

In the hope of complicating matters after 33 Nxf7 Qc4l.

33 Nf5! Qb2

Game No. 4 137

There would have been an interesting f inish after 33.. .Be534 Bxg7 Bxg3 35 Rxf3, when Black cannot avoid mate.

34 Bel!

White vacates h6 for his knight with gain of tempo. There is nolonger any defence.

34 . . . Ob5 35 Nh6+ Kh8 36 Nxf7* Rxf7

Or 36...Kg8 37 Nh6+ Kh8 38 Rxf8+.

37 Rxf7 Bf6 38 Qf2 Kg8 39 Rxf6 gxf6 40 Qxf6 Resigns.

No. 4Semi-Final Candidates' Match - . -' •

Leningrad 1974 .*-.-. ' •Karpov-SpasskyQueen's Gambit

The concluding game of the match, victory in which took me intoe Final of the Candidates' Event. Of particular interest in the game

"is the theoretical duel. Prior to the match I had never opened withthe queen's pawn against a strong opponent, and 1 d4 had beenprepared as a surprise for Spassky. In the present game I managedto win br i l l ianl ly in the so-called Makagonov-Bondarevsky Variation,It should be mentioned that for many years the late grandmasterBondarevsky was Spassky's trainer, and It Is no accident that thegiven variation has given fai thful service to the Ex-World Champion.

d4 Nf6 2 e6 3 Nf3

I decided against 3 Nc3, so as to avoid Ihe Nimzo-lndian Defence,which worked well for Spassky in the f i f th game of the match.

3 . . . d5 4 Nc3 Be7 5 Bg5 h6 6,9 Bxf6 Bxf6 10 cxdS exd5 11 0-0

0-0 7 e3 b6 8 Be2 Bb7

So far all according to theory, although II Rci is also to beconsidered, so as to answer 11...Nd7 with (2 NbS c6 13 Nd6.

11 Qd6

11. . .Nd7 is more oflen played, when White achieves nothing by12 Qb3 c6 13 e4 dxe4 14 NxeA c5. But if he doesn't play e3-e4


immediately, there follows 12...ReS and ...Nf8-e6, with a further attackon the d4 pawn.

12 Rd a6

It is essential to prevent Nb5, and after 12...c6 the bishop at b7is blocked In, allowing the e-pawn to advance.

13 a3 Nd7 14 b4 b5

In ihis variation it is pract ical ly impossible for Black to be thef i rs t to play act ively. His task is to entrench himself and to be fu l lyprepared to meet any action by the opponent. By b2-b4 White hasweakened his c4 square, and this gives Black counter-play.

15 Nei

An inaccuracy. After 15 Nd2! followed by Nb3-c5 While need nolhave allowed the freeing advance . . . a5 .

15 . . . c6! 16 Nd3 Nb6?

Black fa i ls to ut i l ize the opportunity offered. By playing 16...a5he would have equalized easily, opening the a-f l le and eliminatingpract ical ly all his weaknesses. Spassky presumably thought that hewould always have time to move the a-pawn, but after White's nextmove his pieces prove to be very awkwardly placed.

17 a4! Bd8

It is d i f f icu l t to condemn Black for this move. Faced with thenecessity of conducting a passive defence, the Ex-World Championdecides to threaten mate, in the hope of exploit ing the weakening ofthe opponent's castled position. In doing so, however, he disturbs theco-ordinal ion of his pieces: the rook at aB Is now doomed to remainwhere it is and defend the weak pawn. 17.. . RadS was essential,allowing the painless retreat of the bishop lo c8. With his rook at dSand bishop at f6, the central breakthrough would have held no greatterrors for Black, and the opening of the a-file would not havepresented any particular danger.

IS Nc5 Bc8 19 a5 Bc7 20 g3 Nc4 21 eA Bh3 22 Rei dxe4

This creates a new weakness in Black's position — his c6 pawn.In addit ion, it activates the white knights, which gain the splendidtransit square e4. Spas5ky endeavours at al l costs to prevent theblocking of the position. Although after e4-e5 Black loses any possi-

Game No. 4 139

I

f

bi l ity of active counter-play, the path to White's goal is also greatlylengthened.

In the event of 22...Rfe6 23 8f3 dxe4? 24 N3xe4 Qg6 (24...Qe7loses a pawn after 25 Nc3) 25 Bh5, Black cannot play 25. . .0h7because of 26 B*f7+! Kxf7 27 0h5+. Comparatively best is 23...Be6,when, unfortunately, the combination 24 Nxa6 Rxa6 25 exd5 cxd526 Nxb5 Qc6 27 Nxc7 Qxc7 28 Bxd5 fa i l s to 25...Bd7.

23 N3xe4 Qg6 24 Bh5!

By 22 . . .dxe4 Black offered a pawn sacr i f i ce , but White na tu ra l l yrejects th is Greek g i f t . After 24 Bxc4? bxc4 25 Rxc4 f5 ! and 26 . . . f4the opponent would have gained a very strong a t tack .

24 . . . Qh7

If 24...Qf5, then 25 Rc3, and Black has no good defence to g3-g4.

25 Qf3 f5?

This loses by force, since White gives up his bishop to penetratewith his rook onto the seventh rank, and acquires splendid squares forhis queen and kn ights . After 25...Qf5 it would s t i l l not have beeneasy for White to realize his advantage. Here is how events mighthave developed: 26 Nc3 8d6! (26...Rfe8 27 Qxc6, or 26...Rfd8 27 Re7Qxf3 28 Bxf3 Bd6 29 Rb7) 27 QxfS Bxf5 2Q Bf3, or 26 0xf5 Bxf527 Bf3 Rfc8! 28 Be2! Nd6 29 Bd3, with advantage to White.

26 Nc3 g6 27 Qxc6 gxh5 28 Nd5

fA picturesque position! The black bishop is attacked, and it is

impossible to defend i t . In addition, White threatens 29 Re7.

28 . . . fh, 29 Re7 Of5

After 2O...fxg3 White wins most simply by 30 Nf6+ Rxf6 31 Qxa8+Rf8 32 Qxf8+ Kxf8 33 Rxh7 gxh2+ 34 KM BU 35 Rei. Not 30 Rxh7??,of course, in view of 3O...gxf2+ 31 Kh1 fl=Q+ 32 Rxfl Rxfl mate.

30 Rxc7 Rae8 31 Qxh6 Rf7 32 Rxf7 Kxf7 33 Qxf4 Re2 34 Qc7*KfB 35 Nf4 Resigns.


No. 5Final Candidates' Match

Moscow 1974Karpov-Korchno 1Sici l ian Defence

There Is no need for- me to talk about the competitive importanceof this game. A victory at the very star! of [he match, and in suchcrushing style, could not fa i l to influence the entire subsequentstruggle. The reader can see for himself that the game turned out tobe unusually spectacular.

1 e4 c5 2 Nf3 d6 3 d4 cxd4 4 NxdA Nf6 5 Nc3 g6

At that time Korchnoi alone of the top players used to play theDragon Variat ion, and in par t icu lar , this opening twice occurred in his1971 Candidates' Match with Gel ler. | natura l ly did not rule out thepossibi l i ty of this var ia t ion occurring in our match.

6 Be3 Bg7 7 f3 Nc6 8 Qd2 0-0 9 Bc4 6d7 10 t>4 Rca I I Bb3Ne5 12 0-0-0

The immediate 12 h5 Is also possible.

12 . . . NcA 13 BxcA Rxc4 14 h5 Nxh5 15 g4 Nf6 16 NdeZ!

The logical basis for the retreat of the knight from the centre isroughly as fol lows. The c3 square is the most important point inWhite's sel-up, against which Black concentrates his attack. Thestandard exchange sacrif ice . . .Rxc3 often occurs on Ihis square, whenthe opponent gains a strong attack. It is a curious fact that, afterthe doubling of the white pawns on the c- f i le , Black's position is sor ich in possibi l i t ies that even in the endgame he can maintain thebalance, as was splendidly demonstrated in his games by the out-standing Soviet grandmaster Leonid Stein. Thus ttie basic idea of theknight move is to reinforce c3. in addi t ion, from e2 the knight caneasily be transferred for a direct attack on the hostile k i ng . As thereader wi l l already have noticed, both players, without worrying aboutloss of material, are mounting attacks on opposite wings — as normallyhappens in positions with cast l ing on opposite sides. All these generalconsiderations should not obscure the concr-ete threat created by Whitealong the d- f i le — 17 e5 and 18 g5. ; , .«

15 . . . Qa5 17 Bh6

A standard ploy. In order to develop his attack successfully,White is obliged to exchange the bishop at g7, which Is the soledefender of the black squares around Its k i ng . Besides, this bishop,I ike a long-range gun, can often put White's Q-side under f i re .Grandmaster Vladimir Si mag in , a player who was r ich ly endowed withcreative fantasy, even devised in such positions the thematic exchangesacrif ice . . .Bh8, merely so as to preserve his favourite piece fromexchange.

17 ..

1?...Rfc8 18 Bxg7 Kxg7 19 Qh6+ Kg3 transposes.

IB Qxh6 RfcB 19 Bd3!

Game No. 5 141

Up to this point both players had been moving almost instantly,but here I played a move prepared beforehand, causing Korchnoi tospend a long time deep in thought. And indeed, there was plenty f o r

him to think about. . . . It had been established that the theoreticalcontinuation 19 Rd5 does not bring White any real gains. For example:!9...Qd8 20 g5 Nh5 21 Ng3 Qf8! 22 Qxf8+ Rxf8! (earlier it wasthought lhat Black had to take with the k ing, but then White's positionIs a l i t t le better) 23 NnhS gxh5 24 Rxh5 f51. and things are slightlymore pleasant now for Black. Or 20 e5 d*e5 21 g5 Nh5 22 Ng3 Qfg23 Rxh5 (23 Nxh5 Qxh6 24 gxh6 Bc6! ) 23...gxh5 24 Rxd7 Qxh625 gxh6, and the outside passed pawn on the h-fi le gives Black goodcounter-chances.

After 19 Rd3! the knight at c3 is overprotected, and in a numberof variations the knight at e2 is freed for the attack. If, withoutthis move, White had attempted to advance immediately — 19 g5 Nh520 Ng3, the unpleasant counter-blow 2O...Rxc3 would have awaited him.

19 R4c5

When during our preparations lor the match we analysed 19 Rd3,we came to the conclusion that the best reply to it was 19...R8c5.After 36 minutes of thought my opponent decided that he had to safe-guard himself againsl the constantly threatening thrusls of the e- andg-pawns. I think nevertheless that Slack's best practical chance was19...Qd8, recommended later by BoWinnik. But now, after spending 18minutes in search of a refutation of the rook move, I found a fineforcing combination.

20 g5

The knights at c3 and f6 defend their kings, and therefore it isthey that are subject to the greatest danger (the removal of the blackknight from f6 wil l almost immediately lead to the intrusion of the

, white knight at d5) .

20 . . . Rxg5 Rd5!

Of course, not 21 Nd5 Rxd5!, when Black's chief defender, his^knight, remains 'a! ive' .

21 . . . Rxd5 22 Nxd5 Re8

Here 22. . .Qd8 no longer works: 23 Nef4 0f8 24 Nxf6+ exf625 0xh7 mate, while if 22...Nh5, then 23 Nxe7+ Kh8 24 Nxc8.

23 Nef4 Bc6

142 IS of Ihe World Champion's Best Games

The d5 square has to be a t tacked, as otherwise there fol lowsNxf6+ fol lowed by Nd5, and m .PS . On 23.. .Be6 I had prepared24 Nxe6 fxe6 25 Nxf6+ exf6 26 Qxh7+ Kf8 27 Qxb7 Qg5+ 28 Kbi Re729 0b8+ ReB 30 Qxa7 (but de f in i te ly not 30 Rh8+?? Kg7! , when it isBlack, who threatens 31...Qg1 mate, who wins) 3O...Re7 31 OtiB+ Ree32 0xd6+ - a ra re and d i s t i nc t i ve type of ' w i n d m i l l ' .

24 e5!

Blocking that same f i f t h r a n k . There is a dazz l ing a r ray ofposs ib i l i t i es , but in fact th is is the only decis ive con t inua t ion . Whitefa i Is to win by the s t ra i gh t f o rwa rd 24 Nxf6+ exf6 25 Nh5 Qg5+ ( th is isthe p o i n t ! ) 26 0xg5 fxg5 27 Nf6+ Kg7 28 Nxe8* BxeB.

24 BxdS

After 24 . . .dxe5 25 Nxf6+ exf6 26 Nh5, mate is Inev i tab le .

25 exf6 exf6

In such posi t ions the most important th ing is — se l f - con t ro l ! Onewants, of course, to make a b r i l l i a n t move as qu ick l y as possib le, buthere i t was not yet too late to lose the game: 26 Mh5 would have beenmet by the sobering Z6...Re1 + .

26 Qxh7+ Kf8 27 Qh8+ Resigns

If 27. . .Ke7, then 28 Nxd5+ Qxd5 29 Re1 + .

No. 6European Team Championship

Moscow 1977Port i sch-Kar pov

K ing 's Ind ian Attack

A most unusual game, in that I succeeded in l i t e r a l l y c rush ing myopponent in twenty- three moves. I wonder i f any th ing s im i l a r hadhappened to him before!? At one time I had a minus score againstPor t isch, then I e l iminated i t . But in the chess wor ld the Hungar iangrandmaster was customar i ly regarded as a d i f f i c u l t opponent for me.The present game w i l l perhaps f i n a l l y re fu te th is o p i n i o n . . . .

1 Nf3 Nf6 2 g3 b6 3 Bg2 Bb7 4 O-O e6 5 dJ d5 6 Nbd2 Nbd7

It would appear that this move had not been played before. An

Game No. 6 143

entertaining game was played in the First League of the 1976 USSRChampionship: 6...Be7 7 e4 dxe4 8 dxe4 Nxe4? 9 Neb, and Blackresigned, since on 9...Nd6 there follows 10 Bxb7 Nxb7 11 Qf3, with adouble attack on f7 and b7 (Kochiev-I vanov).

7 R*1 Bc5

The combination of this bishop manoeuvre with the previous knightmove is a completely new idea. As a result Black has immediatelysolved all his opening problems.

8 c4

The innovation puts Portisch out of his stride, and he avoids thetraditional advance of the e-pawn. An equal game would have resultedfrom 8 eh dex4 9 Ng5 e3 10 fxe3 Bxg2 11 Kxg2 Nd5 12 Nde4, whereasnow it becomes clear that White has made a pointless move with hisrook to el .

8 0-0 9 cxd5 10 Nb3

It is understandable that the bishop at c5 should be playing onWhite's nerves, but at b3 the knight will be badly placed.

10 . . . Bb4!

Weaker is 1O...Bd6 11 Nbd4 Re8 12 Nb5.

11 Bd2 a5

Biack gains some advantage by 11...6xd2 12 Qxd2 c5, but I wasaiming for more complicated play.

12 Nbd4 Re8

There is no point in immediately driving away the knight by 12.••c5. The rook move is al l the same useful, and White has nothingbetter than to 'force' the advance of the c-pawn.

13 Rci c5 14 Nf5 Nf8 15 d4?

A risky decision, since Black Is better prepared for a clash inthe centre.

15 . . . Ne4 16 dxc57

This move is associated with an oversight in the resulting compl'-


cations. Perhaps Portisch simply over-looked Black's 17th move? How-ever, White was already in considerable dif f icult ies. If, for instance,16 a3, then 16...Bxd2 17 Nxd2 Qf6, and the knight at f5 is trans-formed from an active piece into a highly vulnerable one.

16 Nxd2 17 Nxd2 Qg5!

Suddenly bolh knights are 'hanging ' . 18 Ne3 loses immediatelyto 18...Rxe3 19 fxe3 0xe3+ and 10...Bxd2, so White has no choice.

18 Nd6 Bxd2

Here, on the other hand, White has a wide choice, bu t . . . a cheer-less one:

19 ha Qh6 20 NxeB (after 20 NfS 0f6 White loses a piece) 20.. .Rxe8 21 c6 Ba6, and White's position is d i f f icu l t . More interesting is20 Nxb7, and if 2O...Bxe1, then 21 Q*el Rxe2 22 Qxe2 Qxcl+ 23 Kh2(the king has an escape square — an important contrast to that whichoccurs in the game) 23...bxc5 24 Bx65, and White gains some counter-play. The whole point, however, is that after 19 h4 Qh6 20 Nxb7Black takes the other rook — 2Q...Bxc1 21 Qxcl Rxe2, with a quickwin.

While can also move another pawn — 19 c6, when there follows19...Ba6 20 f4 (20 NxeB Rxe8) 2O...Qe7 (better- than the immediate20. ..Be3+, when 21 Khi Ge7 22 BxdS is possible), and on 21 NxeBBlack has the zwischenzug 21...Qe3+!

19 Nxb7 Bxel 20 Qxel Rxe2 21 0xe2 Qxc1+ 22 Qfi Qd2! 23 cxb6

After 23 c6 Black wins by 23...RC8 24 Qb5 Qc1+ and 2S...Qxc6.

23 Rc8 White resigns

He either loses his queen, or Is mated after 24 Qb5 Rc2!

No. 7'Tournament of S t a r s ' , Montreal 1979

Timman-KsrpovEngl ish Opening

This game is noteworthy fo r the f ac l tha t i n i t the Dutch g r a n d -master fe l l into a t r a p , p r e p a r e d . . . for Korchnoi . It should be saidthat for the match in Baguio we prepared a number of opening su r -pr ises , and by no means a l l of them were used. Several ideas ares t i l l awa i t i ng the i r t u r n , and it is qu i te impossible to tel l who w i l l be

Game No. 7 U S

their 'undeserving' victims. Incidentally, in Ihe same Montreal tourna-ment, Portisch too was unlucky,against l a I, he also ran intoChampionship Match.

Playing the French Defence with Blacka variation prepared for the World

1 c<t Nf6 2 Nc3 eS 3 Nf3 Nc6 A e3

In Baguio the continuation 4 g3 Bb4 was Intensively tested, soTimman chooses a different variation of the English opening.

4 . . . Be7

4...Bb4 is very popular here, and now 5 0c2 0-0 6 Nd5 Re8 latthe 1978 Amsterdam Tournament, Timman himself, with Black againstAdorjan, continued 6...a5 7 a3 Bc5 8 Ng5 g6 9 Nxf6+ Qxf6 10 Ne4Qe7 11 Be2 d6 12 b3 Ba7 13 0-0 f5 14 Nc3 fi. 15 Nd5 Qg5 16 Kh16h3 17 gxh3 f3 18 Bxf3 Rxf3 19 Qe4 Raf8, but after 20 Qg4 Whiteretained a slight advantage) 7 Qf5. It is in this direction that

theoretical searchings have developed in recent times. Thus Ronianishin,as' Black against Kasparov in the 1978 USSR Championship (PremierLeague), employed here an interesting, but hardly correct pawn sacr i -f ice: 7...Be7?! 8 NxeS Nb4 9 Nxb4 Bxb4 10 a3 d5?! (White alsoretains a certain advantage after 10...d6 11 Qc2 Bxd2+ 12 Bxd2 dxe5)11 Qc2 Rxe5 12 axb4 Bf5 13 d3 0e7 14 Bd2 d4 15 Be2 dxe3 16 fxe3Bg4 17 Bf3!, and in the end the compi ications proved favourable forWhite.

5 d* exd4 6 NxdA 0-0 7 Nxc6

Also possible is 7 Be2, delaying the exchange on c6. After 7. , .Re8 8 0-0 Bf8 9 b3 d6 10 Bb2 Bd7 11 Rci Nxd4 12 Qxd4 c613 Rfdi (Stean-Garcia, Lone Pine 1978} White retained a si ight openingadvantage.

7 . . . bxc6 8 Be2 d5 9 0-0 Bd6

Al I the indications are that Black stands wel I, both in the centreand on the f lanks. It is important for him merely to co-ordinate theactions of his pieces.

10 b3 Qe7 Bb2 dxc4!

This idea was conceived during our preparations for the WorldB6hs<npionship Match. On general grounds it may seem rather dubious,Tbut from the specific, tactical viewpoint it proves to be ful ly just i f ied.

Black's main problem is to expand to the maximum extent thescope of his well placed pieces, and to direct them towards an attackon the K-side. It should be said that a K-side pawn structure, suchas White has here, always assists an attack by the opponent.

The earlier continuation here was 11...Rd8 12 cxd5 Qe5 13 g3Bh3 U Ret Bb4 15 Qc2 Bf5 16 Qci cxd5 17 Bf3 Qe7 18 e3 Ba519 b4 6b6 20 NxdS, with an undisputed advantage for White (Keene-Jansson, 1976}.

12 bxc4

Capturing with the bishop weakens White's control of g4, andBlack acquires all kinds of attacking possibil it ies, such as 12...Oe5


13 g3 Bh3, 12.. .Ng4 13 g3 Nxh2, or even 12. . .Bxh2+!? But now thequeen's rook comes into p lay wi th ga in of tempo.

12 . . . R68!

White has to be on his guard: double attacks are In the air .For example, 13 Bb1? Rxb2 14 Rxb2 Qe5, etc.

13 Qd Ng4

Black's altack develops easily and spontaneously. White has noieven a trace of an advantage left; on the contrary, he has to followwith anxiety the development of events on the K-side.

14 g3

After 14 Bxg4 Bxgi IS Rei Slack can increase the pressure by15...Rb4!

14 . . . Re8

Of course, I could have played ! 4 . . .Nxh2 15 Kxh2 Qh4+ Immed-iately, forcing a draw, but I already had every justif ication forplaying for a win. After 14...Re8 the combination with the knightsacrifice at h2 wil l not be so inoffensive, since the rook can bebrought up with decisive effecl onto the sixth rank (15...Nxh2 16 Kxh2Qh4+ 17 Kg2 Qh3+ ie Kgi 6xg3 19 fxg3 Qxg3+ 20 KM Re6, etc . ] .

15 Nd1

I think that White is also In trouble after IS Bf3, which wasrecommended by certain commentators. For example, 15.. .Of6 (15.. .Me516 Be2 Bh3 17 Rdi is less clear) 16 Bxg4 (bad is 16 Bg2 Qh6 17 h3Ne5, etc.) 16...Bxa4 17 f3 Bh3 18 Rf2 Qg6, with a strong ini t iat ivefor Black.

15 Nxh2!

A sacrifice, By which Black Increases his advantage. Tinmanforesaw this, of course, but was pinning his hopes on the strength ofhis answering intermediate move. But before beginning the combinationI had taken accurate account of all possible tactical nuances.

16 c5

Of course, not 16 Kxh2 Qh4+ 17 Kg2 Qh3+ 18 Kgi Bxg3 19 fx93

Qxg3+ 20 Khl Re4! <20...Re6 21 Bf6) 21 Rf4 Bh3, and it is all over.

A

:S

Game No. 8

16 . . . Nxf i ! 17 cxd6 Nxg3!

H ?

l l was this blow, completing ihe destruction of White's K-side,thai Ihe Dulch grandmaster overlooked in his calculations. Since18 dxe7 Nxe2+ 19 Kf! Nxci Is completely hopeless for White, he has nochoice.

18 fxg3 Qxd6 19 Kf2

Equally cheerless is 19 Kg2 Qh6 20 g4 Gg5 (or 2O...Rb4).

19 . . . Qh6 20 Bd4

Or 20 Qc3 Re6, bringing up new reserves into the attack,

20 . . . Qh2+ 21 Kel Qxg3+

White's days are numbered. Black has a powerful in i t iat ive andbig material advantage.

22 Kd2 Qg2 23 Nb2 Ba6 24 Nd3 Bxd3 25 Kxd3 RbdB 26 Bfi Qe4+27 Kc3

27 c S !

Clearing the final approachesquickest way to win.

to the white k ing. This is the

28 Bxc5 Qc6 29

White resigns.

Rb8+ 30 Ka3 Re5 31 Qb6

No. 8Bad Lauterberg 1980

K a rpo v -H u b n erSicil ian Defence

This is, I think, one of the best tournament games of 1980. Itvery rarely happens lhat both players play practically faultlessly,especially when the game is abounding in tactical nuances. Here asharp skirmish concluded in a forced win for While.

1 e4 c5 2 Nf3 d6

Hiibner f i rst invites me to play the Najdorf Variation, and then

1*8 15 of the World Champion's Best Games

switches to Ihe Scheveningen.

3 d4 cxd4 4 Nxd4 Nf6 5 Nc3 a6 6 Be2 e6 7 0-0 Be7 S U 0-09 KM Nc6 10 Be3 Bd7 11 Qei Nxd4 12 BxO4 Be6 13 Qg3 b5 U a3 96

An attempt to take the pressure off g7 as soon as possible. Inthis well known position Black usually plays . . .g6 a l i t t le later.

15 Bf3 Qd7 16 Radi Qb7 17 f5

The most vigorous way of exploiting the early advance of Black'sg-pawn. The simple variation 17.. .Nxe4 18 Nxe4 Bxe4 19 f6 Bd820 Qh4 Bxf3 21 Qh6 Bxg2+ 22 Kgi demonstrates the immunity of White'se-pawn.

17 . . . e5 18 Be3 b4 19 axb4 Qxb4 20 Bg5 Qxb2 21 Rd3

Creating the vei led threat of (rapping the queen by 22 Rbi Gxc223 Bdi . Bui in the meantime White gives ur> a second pawn.

21 . . . Qxc2

22 Bdi

The a l ternat ive, also apparently good, was 22 Rfd1, but in ajoint analysis with my opponent after the game we were unable todiscover any decisive cont inuat ion.

22 . . . Qb2 23 Bxf6 Bxf6 24 Rxd6 Bb5

On 24.. .Bh4 there would have fol lowed 25 Qxh4 Qxc3 26 Qh6, butnot the inexact 26 f6 in view of 26...Qci> 27 Rg1 (or 27 Rf3 Qxe4)27.. .Kh8.

25 Rf2 Qct

After the game HUbner said that 25...Qa1 would have been better.This is indeed so, had White repeated what occurred in the game. ButI had in mind 26 fxg6, and on 26...Bg7 27 gxf?+.

26 Rxf6

The preceding tactical play has led to mutual time trouble, whichnevertheless sharperied my tactical v is ion.

Game No. 149

White has an amusing win here after 26...Rad8:27 fxg6 Rxdl + 28 Nxdi Qxd1 + 29 Rfi Bxfi 30 gxf7++ KhB

31 Qxe5 Bxg2++ 32 Kxg2 Qg4+ 33 Kf2 Qg7 34 h4!, and this pawn, onreaching h6, decides the outcome.

27...hxg6 28 h3 Rd3 29 Qxg6+ (t wi l l not say that this is theonly solution, but it is certainly the most spectacular) 29...fxg630 Rxf8+ Kh7 31 R2f7+ Kh6 32 Rh8+ Kg5 33 h* mate.

26 . . . Rac8 27 Re2 Qai 28 fxg6 hxg6

On 28...Rxc3 the famil iar mechanism again operates: 29 gxf7++KhS 30 Gxe5 Qxdl + 31 Rf1 mate. In this case an 'optical i l lus ion'can arise: 3O...Re3 (3O...Ra3 31 Rb2!l , and Black appears to divertthe queen by himself threatening mate. But normal vision is restoredimmediately: 31 Qxa1 ! Re1 + 32 Rf1 mate.

29 Rd6 Rc7

After 29...Rfd8 30 Qxe5 Rxd6mates by 33 Rc8+ Kh7 34 RhB.

31 Qxd6 Rxc3 32 Qd4 Ra3 White

30 OxeS Rfc8 31 Qd5 Kg7 32 Qd4+ Kh7 33 Nxb5 Resigns

No. 9Bugojno 1980Karpov-Tal

Slav Defence

In this game, which seems to me to be a very complete one, Iemployed an innovation in the so-called Meran Variat ion. True, Ilearned of this from grandmaster Gligoric, who said that the moveemployed by me had never been played before, and that he had beenkeeping it secret for more than a year. What is surprising is that Imade this move (the move in question is castl ing) after only a fewminutes' thought, and that I had never analysed the position which Talwent in for. I think that the reason why I quickly found the correctmove was that I looked at the position from a fresh viewpoint. Thecontinuations recommencJed in theoretical guides never even occurredto me! I should also mention that in this game, after a whole seriesof draws, I for the f i rs t lime gained a win over Mikhail Tal . TheEx-World Champion and I are on fr iendly terms, but I had no choice— only a win gave me hopes of catching Larsen, who was confidentlyleading the tournament.

e6 2 Nc3 d5 c6 Nf6 5 Nf3 Nbd7 6 Bd3

ISO 15 of the World Champion's Best Games

7 Bxc4 bS 8 Bd3 a6 9 e4 cS 10 dS c4 11 dxe6 txd3 12 exd7+ Qxd713 0-0

This is the afore-mentioned innovat ion. Usual ly 13 6g5 or 13 e5was p layed .

13 . . . Bb7 14 Rei Bb4

H . . . 0 - 0 - 0 is r i 5 k y in view of 15 Bf4, while on U, . .RdB therewould have fol lowed 15 BgS.

\15 Ne5 Qe6

Other moves also f a i l to <3ive complete equa l i t y , for example,15...Qe7 16 Nxd3 Bxc3 17 bxc3 0-0-0 18 f3, or 15...Qd4 16 Nxd30-0-0 17 Nxb4 Qxb4 18 Qc2.

16 Nxd3 Bxc3 ••-•"'•

17 Nf4I

This intermediate move is the whole point. After 17 bxc3 O-O-OBlack avoids the chief dangers.

17 . . . Qd7 . . ... . ;. >; .

Unsatisfactory is 17...Qe5 18 bxc3 0-0 19 Nd3, when 19...Qxc3faMs to 20 Bb2.

18 bxc3 Nxe«

Afier 16. , .0-0-0 (this possibility has constantly to be taken inioaccount) 19 Oxd7+ Rxd7 20 f3, or 18...Gxd1 19 Rxdi Nxe4 20 Ba3White retains an advantage.

19 Q*d7+ Kxd7 20 B«3 Rhe8 21 Red1+ Kc7 22 f3

The knight Is diverted from the defence of the important squares,and White, exploiting the fact that the opponent's queen's rook Is notyet in play, succeeds In exposing the position of the black king andmounting an attack on i t .

22 . . . Nf6 23 BdfrH Kb6 24 C4 RecB 25 cxb5 axb5 26 a* RedS27 axb5 Rd7 28 Rd4 Rcd8 29 Rodi RcB

29. . ,g5 allows White to gain a decisive advantage by 30 Be7lRxd4 31 Bxd8+ Kc5 32 Rxdfi Kxd4 33 Bxf6+.

Game No. 10 151

30 Be5 Re7

Afier 3O...Rxd4 31 Bxdfc+ Kxb5 32 Bxf6 gxf6 33 Rd7 Black hasno chance of saving Ihe game.

31 Rd6+ Kxb5 32 Rbl+ Kc4

The noose around the black king Is t ightening: 32...Kc5 33 Nd3+Kc4 34 Rb4 mate, or 32...Ka5 33 Rd2 Rc4 34 Ra2+ Ra4 35 Bc3+.

33 Rd4+

33 Kc5

34 Rd3+ Kc2 (34...Kc4 35 Rc3Mate also follows after 33...Kc3mate) 35 Rb2+ Kci 36 Ne2 mate.

34 Nd3* Resigns

Mate cannot be avoided: 34...Kc6 35 Rcl+ Kb637 Ra1 + Ba6 38 Bd4+ Ka8 39 Rxa6+ and 40 Rxa7 mate.

36 Rb4+ Ka7

No. 10Bugojno 1980

Gl igoric-KarpovNimzo- Indian Defence

In my notes to the previous game I mentioned that in my gamewith Tal I made a desperate attempt to catch Larsen in this inter-national tournament. Four rounds from the f inish this seemed impos-sible, since the gap was one and a half points. But hy gaining threesuccessive wins I drew level with the Danish grandmaster. Thisf inishing spurt so affected my r iva l that he faltered, and in the lastround missed a win in a won ending. This now gave me chances ofsole f i rs t place, for which I had to defeat Gligoric with Black. Thisvictory did not come easi ly. In an inferior position the Yugoslav

player set me enough! traps to suffice for several games. By f inal lybreaking the resistance of the experienced grandmaster, I gave myself anice present (the last round took place on my b i r thday! ) .

d4 Nf6 3 Nc3 Bb& 4 e3 c5 5 Nge2 cxd4

In the f i f th game of the World Championship Match in Baguto Ipreferred 5.. .d5. After 6 a3 Bxc3+ 7 Nxc3 cxd4 8 exd4 dxc4 9 Bxc4Nc6 10 Be3 0-0 11 0-0 b6 12 Qd3 White retained a minimal positionaladvantage.


6 exd4 0-0

The t h i r d game of the same match went 6 . . .d5 7 c5 Ne4 8 Bd2Nxd2 9 Qxd2 a5.

7 a3 Be7 8 d5 exd5 9 cxd5 Re8

After 9 . . . d6 10 Nd4 While has time lo play Be2 and 0-0,successful ly removing h is k ing from the centre and r e t a i n i n g an a d v a n -tage in space.

10 d6!?

An in te res t ing , a l though r i sky move. The pawn w i l l undoubtedlybe lost, but in th is time White hopes to ga in a lead in development.The normal cont inuat ion is \0 g3 Bc5, wi th an unclear game.

10 . . . Bf8 11 g3 Re6 12 Bg2 Rxd6 13 Qc2 Nc6 U 0-0 Re615 Nf4 Re8 16 b4

Wilh his four^move rook manoeuvre Black has won the 'thematic'pawn, but has fallen somewhat behind in development. It is not soeasy, however, to exploit this factor, for example: 16 NfdS Nxd517 Nxti5 d6 18 Bf4 Bg4, etc.

16 . . . d6 18 Bb2 Bd7 18 Ncd5

A complicated game results from 18 b5 Na5 19 Qd3 Rc8, but18 NeA was to be considered. After 18...Nxe4 19 Bxeft h6 20 Bd5White retains the necessary compensation for the pawn, so Black wouldprobably have had to play 18...Ng4.

18 . . . NxdS 19 Bxd5 Rc8 20 Qb3 Re7 21 Radi

On 21 Rfel Black has the defence 21...Be8, when his plans includeexchanging on el and transferring the second rook from c8 to e7.

Game No. 10 153

21 . . . b5!

Stabi l iz ing the position on the Q-side. On 21...Bg4, with the ideaof consolidating by 22...Od7, White replies 22 f3 .

22 Sg2 Re8

Here on 22...Bg4 there could have followed not only 23 f3 Bf524 Rd5, but also 23 Rd2 with the threat of 24 h3, in both cases withsuff icient chances for White.

23 Bd5 Re7 24 Bg2 Ne5!

A further retreat by the rook would have led to a three-foldrepeti t ion of the posi t ion. By re turn ing the pawn Black assumes theini t iative_

25 RxdG Nc4 26 Rddi

The sharp 26 Rd5 was an interesting a l ternat ive .

26 . . . Qe8 27 Bd4 Bc6 28 6c5 Re5 29 BxfB Kxf8 30 NdS Kg83! h4 h6 32 Bf3?

An unfortunate decision. After 32 Kh2 Bd? 33 Nf4 Black hasmerely a s l ight advantage.

32 . . . Bd7

An inaccuracy in rep ly . White's erroneous bishop move couldhave been exploited by the spectacular manoeuvre 32,..Qe6 33 Nf4(33 Qb3 Nb2) 33...Nd2L!, for example: 34*Nxe6 Nxf3+ 35 Qxf3 (k ingmoves are met by 35...Nd4+) 35,..Bxf3 36 Rd8* Rxd8 37 Nxd8 Re8!,picking up the kn igh t .

33 Nf4 BfS 34 Nd3 Re? 35 Bg2 Be6 36 Qbl Nxa3 37 Qa1 Nc2

Black's advantage is now def in i te.

38 Qb2 Bf5 39 Kh2

After 39 NcS Nei 40 Bd5 Bh3 the white rook is amusingly trapped.

39 . . . Rc4 40 Bd5 Rd4 41 Nf4 Rxb4 42 8b3

Better defensive chances were offered by 42 Qc3, wi th the inten-tion of p lay ing 43 Bb3 and 44 Nd5.

A2 . . . Rxf4 43 g x f i Re2 44 Kg3!

On 44 Bd5 Black has not only 44...Ne3 45 Qxe2 Ng4t 46 Qxg4Bxg&, but also the more vigorous 44...Qe31.

44 . . . Bg6

Not the careless 44...Qc6? 45 RdB+ Kh7 46 Bxf7 Ne3, in view of47 B98+ Kg6 48 h5+! Kxh5 49 Qxe2+.

45 BxcZ

15* 15 of the World Champion's Best Games

The threat was 45...Ne3 46 Qxe2 NfS+.

45 . . . Bxc2 46 Rd6 f6 47 Qd4 Qg6+ 48 Kh2

48 Kf3 0h5+ 49 Kg3 is unp leasant ly met by 49. . .Be4.

46 . . . Qg4 49 Rgi Qxh4+ SO Kg2 Re? 51 f5 Be4+ 52 KH Qh3+53 Kei Bxf5+

53 . . . Qxf5 is inaccurate : 54 Rd8+ Kh7 55 Rh8+! Kxh8 55 Qd8+Kh7 57 0xe7, and unexpectedly i t is White who w ins .

54 Kd2 Kh7 55 Qf4 b4 56 Rg3 Qh5 57 Qf3 0xf3 58 Rxf3 Bc859 Rf4 Rb7 60 Kc2 a5 61 Kb2 a4 62 Ra6 Bd7 White resigns

- • • < - • " ! £ ' ! .

N o . 1 1 .*:;•! •- » ,;• •. .- ' 7 ' :

Amsterdam 1980•'• .;._ Karpov-Ribli . . •

English Opening

The International lournament in Amsterdam was a double-roundevent. In the f i rst of these Ribli defeated me, and, what's more, inthe endgame. Since I do not especially like to remain ' in debt', inthe second cycle I aimed for revenge. I succeeded in this, and also inthe endgame! In the competitive sense the game was doubly important,since my pursuer, grandmaster" Timman, was only half a point behind.The game, in my opinion, was highly interesting In all its phases.

1 c4 c5 2 Nf3 Nf6 3 Nc3 Nc6 4 g3 dS S cxd5 Nxd5 6 Bg2 g6

When before the game I was considering the possible openingschemes, this variation was the one I least expected of the Hungariangrandmaster. Usually he employs King's Indian set-ups, Of" else theGrunfeiO Defence.

7 0 - 0 B g 7 . i , •» , . ! • . ....*'•.-{' . • JJ-*#, •'-.

Her-e I remembered that five years earlier I had done muchanalysis of this position, but had not found anything more thane q u a l i t y . ' • . . ] ' . , . • - , . • . . v

8 Nxd5 Qxd5 9 d3 0-0 10 Be3 Bd7! " •-'•

mtma

• HB 1£G9BJ •"p

titB tiW• -

This modest bishop move is the whole point. Earlier Black usedto be sfraid of the various possible moves by the white knight, and

J

Game No. 11 155

played 1O...Qd6, which gave White a definite lead in development. Butthen it became clear that Slack need not waste time on retreating hisqueen. On 11 Nd2 It takes up a good post at h5, while after 11 Ng5Black has the perfectly sound 11 . . .QeS, with an attack on the b2 pawn.

11 NdA

Nevertheless, it is worth dr iv ing away the black queen — as longas it remains on d5, it ties down the rook at ai .

11 . . . Qd6 12 Nxc6

12 Nb5 is parried by the same 12...Qe5.

12 . . . Bxc6 13 Bxc6 Qxc6 U Rc1 Qe6

The cr i t ica l position of the entire var ia t ion. White is obliged tocapture on c5, otherwise by 15. ..b6 Black stabilizes the position andobtains a spatial advantage. 15 Bxc5 Bxb2 16 Rbi , with the ini t-ia t ive, looks tempting. At f i rst it might seem that White also gains anadvantage after 15...Qxa2 16 Bxe7 Re8 17 Ba3, but 17...Bxb2 turnsout to be possible, when a draw Is imminent. Capturing with the rookis therefore the only move.

15 Rxc5 Qxa2

Not 15...Bxb2 16 Rb5 Bf6, when 17 Qa4 is highly unpleasant,

16 RbS!

An innovation, thought up by me during ihe game. After thestandard 16 b4 White gets into difficulties — the a1-h8 diagonal iscompletely opened, as weli as the second rank. I cannot say that thenew rook move gives White a big advantage, but the main thing is thatBlack is now faced with problems which have to be solved at the board.

16 . . . b6

The b2 pawn Is Immune - )6...Bxb2 17 Qc2. The other possi-b i l i ty was 16..,Qs6, but then 17 Qb3 nevertheless forces . . .b6 .

17 Qatt

The idea of this manoeuvre is to tie the black rook at a8 to thedefence of the a-pawn. If Black were able to transfer his rook froma8 to his second rank, he would immediately gain a slight advantagein the ending.


17 . . . Qxal?!"i

17...Qe6 was preferable. Black does not sense tne dangersawaiting hirn in the ending. After the exchange of queens the bestthat he can hope for is a rook ending wilh four pawns (e, f. g and h)against five (d, e, f, g and h).

18 Rxa1 Rfb8

After 18...Rfc8 White gains an advantage by 19 Ra6 Rc2 20 b3Hxe2 21 Rbxb6 followed by winning the a-pa«n.

19 Ra6 Kf8

Practically forced —the other pieces have no reasonable moves.

20 Rb4 Be5 21 RbaA

On 21 b3 Black has time to defend by 21...Bc7 22 Rba4 Rb7.

21 . . . b5

Black should have played 21...Bxb2 22 Bxb6 Rb7 23 Bxa7 Rc8,when the resulting ending with f ive pawns against four is not at al leasy to win.

22 Ra2 Rb7 23 b3

By playing 23 Bxa7 Bxb2 24 Rxb2 Rxa7 25 Rxs7 Rxa? 26 Rxb5White could have forced a rook ending with an extra pawn, but Ireckoned lhat White's positional pressure offered better chances.

23 . . . Bb8 24 Bc5 Ke8 25 d4 Kd7 26 e4

A crucial decision, demanding deep calculat ion. 26 d5 would haveforced Black into a dif f icult rook ending; 26..,Bd(j 27 Bxd6 exd6, butat that moment 1 recalled the chess saying which runs "al l rookendings are d r a w n . . . " .

26 . . . e6 27 b4 KcB . •• • , • . • .. v, ..

28 d5

There is no time to lose, since after 28 Kg2 Rd7 39 R6a5 Bd6!30 Rxb5 Bxc5 31 Rxc5+ Kd8! White's king is not in time to defend hisfar-advanced pawns.

28 . . . exd5 29 exd5 Rd?

Game No. 12 157

Black has no tlrne to move his bishop out of the cage — 29...Be530 Re2, with the threat of a breakthrough on eB.

30 d6 Rd8 31 Kg2

The opponent's pieces are stalemated, but only the white k ing canwin the game.

31 . . . Kd7

Intending to transfer the rook to e6, which was Impossible immed-ia te l y : 31...Re8 32 d7+! Kxd7 33 Rf6, and wins. In the event ofpassive defence, 31...Kt)7, White decides matters by a breakthrough onthe K-side: 32 Kf3 Re8 33 Kf4 h6 34 h4 followed by g3-g4, h4-hS andg4-g5.

32 Re2!

The position is not so clear after 32 R2a5 Ke6 33 Rxb5, and nownot 33...Bxd6, which loses to 34 Rb7, but first 33...Rd7 and then...Bxd6.

32 . . . KcB

Bad, of course, is 32...Re8 33 Rxe8 KxeB, when the white kingreaches dS.

33 Re7 Rd7 34 Ra2!

This wins Immediately, since Black cannot defend against thethreats on the c- f i le . 34.. .Bxd6 loses a piece after 35 Rxd7 Kxd736 Rd2. No better is 34...KdB 35 8b6+! (also possible is 35 Rae2 Rxe736 Rxe7, but not 36 dxe7+?> 35...Kc8 36 Rc2+.

Instead of White's last move, 34 Rc6+ suggests itself, but after34,..Kb7 35 Rxd7+ (35 Rc7+ Rxc7 36 dxc7 Bxc7 37 8d6 Rc8) 35. . .Kxc6 36 Rd8 a5 Black can put up a stubborn resistance.

34 . . . a5 35 Rc2 Resigns

No. 12Amsterdam 1980Larsen-Karpov

Queen's Indian Defence

In the competitive sense this game from the last round did notmean a great deal — only in the event of me losing and Timmanwinning would the Dutch grandmaster catch me. But to win againstLarson is always pleasant, the more so with Black and in 23 moves.

The last round began earl ier ihan usual, at eleven a.m. Thiswas an unpleasant surprise for the players, who had become accustomedto going to bed late and r is ing around midday, Larsen suffered mostof a l l , as he normally goes to sleep early In the morning, and gets upin time for lunch . . . .

1 Nf3 Nf6 2 g3 b6 3 Bg2 Bb7 4 0-0 e6 5 c4 Be7 6 Nc3 0-07 d4 Ne4 8 Qc2 Nxc3 9 Qxc3 c5 10 Rdi d6


A well-known variation of the Queen's Indian Defence, which hasbeen highly popular in recent years. Nevertheless, Larsen finds a newIdea.

11 Be3 Nd7 12 Raci

White f irst removes his rook for the long diagonal, so as afterd4-d5 to have the possibility of advancing his b-pawn,

12 . . . BcB 13 d5 exd5 U cxd5

The posi t ion is h igh ly i n te res t ing , and full of d i f ferent poss i -b i l i t i e s . Thus Black has the in teres t ing p lan of a O-side of fensive,beg inn ing wi th 14 . . .a5 , which also prevents b2-b4. Then 15 a4 can bemet by 15. . .Bs6 and 16. . . b5 . Black also has a promis ing game afterU . . . N f 6 15 Mel Ng4 followed by . . . B f 6 . I decided, however, to makea useful wa i t i ng move, occupying the semi-open e - f i l e w i th my rook.

U Be8 15 8f6

At f i rst sight it appears that Black can seize the init iat ive by15...Nf6 16 Nei (16 Nh4 is weaker, in view of 16...Ng4 17 Nf5 Bf6)16...Ng4 17 Bfft Bf6, and the rook, which was developed on theprevious move, comes into play. But White has a different way ofdefending his central pawn: 16 Qb3!, simultaneously removing his

queen from the c-file and ihe a1-h8 diagonal. Now 16...c4 17 Rxc4Bxd5 fai ls to 18 Rxd5 Nxd5 19 RxcB and 20 Qxd5, while after 16...cxb417 Nd4 Black experiences diff icult ies.

16 Qd2 cxb4 17 Rxc8

Forced, since otherwise one of the pawns is lost:18 Bxcl Rxe2, or 18 Rxcl Bxd5.

17 . . . 0xc8 18 QxbA Qc2

17 Qxb4 Rxci

Game No. 13 159

White has succeeded in achieving the positional gains he wasaiming for. In turn, Black has a certain activity for his pieces, and,if he can hold out, a promising ending, thanks to his Q,-side pawnmajority.

19 Rci

19 Qd2 was rather more sol id. Black could then have exchangedqueens either immediately — 19...Qxd2 20 NxdZ! (weaker is 10 Rxd2Rc8, with advantage to Black) 20. . .NcS, or after t l rst luring out thebishop: 19...Rc8 20 Bh3 Qxd2 21 Nxd2 RdB, which, I think, giveshim the better chances.

19 . . . 0xe2 20 Qxd6?

It would seem that Larsen overlooked Black's reply, which placeshim in a cri t ical position. 20 Qa4 was interesting, when Blackappears to be all r ight in the variation 20.. .Rxe3 21 Qxd7 Re7,except that White has the murderous 22 Qxb7!. Black would have hadto reply 20. ..RdB 21 Rc7 Ba6!, with rich possibil it ies.

20 Nf8!

Black seems to move his knight to a passive position, but in factthis is the best square for it — now there are no problems over thedefence of his back rank, and although the knight takes no part inthe play, his remaining pieces are extremely active.

21 Nd*?

This loses Immediately, bul it was not easy to suggest anythingworthwhi le for White. Under attack are his bishop at e3, and hispawns at a2 and d5.

21 Bxd4 22 Bxd4 Qd2

White's lack of co-ordination is his ru in . He manages to defendboth pieces, but it turns out that his k ing's position is hopelesslyweakened.

23 Of 4 Re1 +

White resigns, in view of 24 Rxel Qxe1+ 25 Bfi Ba6.

No. 13Tilburg 1980

Karpov-SpasskySicilian Defence

\n this game I chose the Keres Attack, one of my favourite linesIn the Sicilian Defence. There was an interesting moment on the 13thmove, when, rather to my surprise, Spassky took the h4 pawn with hisbishop. Formerly, as far as I recall , the Ex-World Champion wouldnot have even looked at such a pawn, but times change, and a passionfor 'pawn-grabbing' can arise even in such a player as Spassky. Asa result the black king was caught in the centre, after which eventsdeveloped in rather interesting fashion.


1 e4 cS 2 Nf3 e6 3 d4 cxd4 4 Nxd4 Nf6 5 Nc3 d6 6 g4

Thus, again the Keres V a r i a t i o n , which w i l l a l ready be f a m i l i a rfrom prev ious games of mine. White immediately begins act ive p lay onthe K-side, before f u l l y mob i l i z ing h is forces. In reply to these f lankoperat ions Black prepares the customary counter-b low in the cent re .

6 . . . h6 7 h4

The f i rs t time 1 have played this. Normally I continue 7 g5 hxgS8 Bxg5, but in some recent games with ihe Swedish grandmaster Ander-sson, a great expert on this var iat ion, I had been unable to achievecomplete success, and so I decided to try another continuation.

7 . . . Nc6

The alternative is 7...Be7, so as to have the possibil ity ofimmediately attacking the advanced h-pawn, and of gaining control ofthe d8-h4 diagonal.

• . : - , • ' . •: . r

8 Rgl d5!

The cr i t ica l continuation, if Black is aiming for an active battlefor the centre. Otherwise White, by advancing his g-pawn on his nextmove, would have driven back Ihe knight from f6. • •

9 Bb5 Bd7 10 exd5 Nxd5 11 NxdS exd5 12 Be3 ••• r-

Development f i rs t and foremost! After 12 g5 hxg5 13 hxg5 Rh4Black brings his rook Into play with great effect, whi le the cautious12 h5 is not even worth considering. White also had another temptingpossibi l i ty: 12 Qe2+, which after 12...Q.e? 13 Be3 Nxd4 14 Bxd7+ Kxd715 Bxd4 leads to a certain advantage for White, but after 12.. . Be713 Nf5 Bxf5 14 gxf5 KfB the position to me seems rather unclear,

12 . . . Be7 13 Qd2

White could also have attempted to exploit the open position ofthe black king by 13 Qe2, although he is then subjected to dangeralong the undefended a5-e1 diagonal, and also in some cases along thee-f l le. Black would have had a choice between 13...Oa5+ 14 c3 N*d415 Bxd7t Kxd7 16 Bxd4 Rhe8 17 Kfl Bf6 IB Qf3 Re6, and 13...0-0(threatening to capture on d4) 14 0-0-0 Qa5, which after 15 Bxc6 bxc616 Kb1 leads to an advantage for White (as does 13...a6 14 Bxc6 bxc615 0-0-0).

13 . . . Bxh4

Game No. 13 161

This is the episode which I recalled in my introduction lo thegame. Black captures one of the pawns threatening his position, inthe hope of castling K-side, which at present is not possible — 13...0-0U Nf5!, and if 14...Bf6, then 15 Nxh6+ gxh6 16 95, with a decisiveattack.

14 0-0-0 Bf6

Bad, of course, Is U . . . N x d 4 15 Bxd7+ Qxd7 16 Bxd4.

15 Nf5

This move can be c r i t i c i zed on ce r ta in counts: White al lows hisopponent to exchange one of his most dangerous a t tack ing pieces,simultaneously doub l ing his pawns on the f - f i le, which ru les out theg4-g5 b reak th rough . But in re tu rn White also gains cer ta in advantages:the d5 pawn is immediately a t tacked , and the g - f i l e is opened, whichis ra ther unpleasant for Black, whose k ing cannot escape to the f l ankby c a s t l i n g .

White would have l iked to have thrown forward his f -pawn by15 f4 , so as to then advance also his g -pawn , but I was unable tof i n d a de f in i te advantage af ter 15 . . .Qa5 (Black can also ba t t le forequa l i t y by 15. . .Nxd4 16 Bxd7+ Qxd7 17 Bxd4 0-0-0 18 Bxa7 Qa419 Qf2 d4 20 g5 Qxa7) 16 Qxa5 (16 Qe2 0-0-0!) 16. . .Nxa5 17 Bxd7*Kxd?, and here I considered on ly the fo rc ing 18 g5 hxg5 19 fxgS Be520 Nf3, which is refuted by 2O...Bxb2+, and a fork at c4. Immediatelyaf ter the game I discovered that in th is v a r i a t i o n While would havegained excel lent chances by 18 Nf5 ! .

15 . . . Bxf5

15. . .0 -0 aga in loses to 16 Nxh6+ gxh6 17 g 5 ! .

16 gxf5 a6 17 Bxc6+

It is a lways regret tab le to g ive up such a bishop, but White hasno time to re t reat i t , since then the d-pawn would advance, and Blackwould safely manoeuvre h is k i n g to f8 , and from there, i f necessary,to g8 .

17 bxc6 18 Bc5

IB Rbfl

Perfectly reasonable. Black strives for counter-play, before Whitehas time for the projected cZ-c4. He could also have played 18...0d7,but this did not appeal to Spassky, evidently because of 19 Qd3, when


the black queen is in a passive posit ion, and 19. . .Rb8 can be met bythe simple 20 Bd4.

19 b4

The quieter alternative was 19 b3, to answer 19.. .Rb5 with20 Bd4. But after the bold advance of the b-pawn, Black is soonpract ical ly forced to sacrif ice the exchange.

19 . . . Rb5 20 Rge1 + Kd7 21 ch Rxc5 22 bxc5 Bg5?

A mistake caused by a miscalculation. Black should have playedeither 22...Qc7, or 22...Db8. During the game I considered my positionto be better, and in both cases was intending to play 23 f4, completelyblocking out the bishoo arid forcing the opponent to advance his d-pawn. But in analysis it was found that after 22. . .Qb8 23 f4 Blackhas the excellent reply 23...Kc8, when White cannot capture twice ond5, and 24...RdB is threatened. Therefore in reply to 22...QbB Whiteshould have continued 23 cxd5! Bg5 24 Re3, when Black has to seeksalvation in the variation 24...Bxe3 25 fxe3 Qe5 26 dxc6++ Kxc627 Qd7+ KxcS 28 Qa7+ Kb5.

. t i . • > : •

23 f4 Qf6 24 cxdS!

This is the whole point! The bishop cannot be taken — 24 fxgS?0a1+ 25 Kc2 Qxa2+ 26 Kci Qa1+ 27 Kc2 Qa4+, when both 28 Kci RbSand 2B Kd3 0xc4+ 29 Ke3 hxg5 are bad for White.

24 . . . Qa1+ 25 KcZ Qxa2+ 26 Kd3 0xd2+ 27 BxdZ Bxf4 2B Ra2cxd5 29 Rxa6 h5 30 Kd4 h4 31 Kxd5 Rb8 32 f6 gxf6 33 Rxf6 Bg334 Rxf7+ KdB 35 Rf8-t Resigns

• r." •> • : • * » « . i l -V. . . "

No. 14Malta Olympiad 19B0 e>

Karpov-Hort «; .Caro-Kann Defence <* •.•r^(^

Victory in the last Olympiad did not come easily to our team.The Hungarians immediately went ahead, whereas we faltered at thestart , and spent the whole tournament t ry ing to catch up. At f i rs t Iloo was not in very good form. Before the present game I had playedf ive successive draws, and i t seemed that there would be no end tothis series. Nevertheless, the game with Hort broke this sequence, andeven proved to be the turnming point. After my win over the Czechgrandmaster, things went well — in the last six rounds I scored S5points.

I « 4 c 6 2 d4 dS 3 exdS

The Panov Attack occurs rarely in my tournament practice, butwhen preparing for this game I remembered the game Balashov-Hortfrom the recent international tournament in Buenos Aires. Balsshovsucceeded in gaining an advantage, and I decided to test Hort sreadiness to repeat the var ia t ion .

3 . . . cxd5 4 c4 e6

Game No. 14 163

In [he latter game the Czech grandmaster continued 4 . . .Nf6, andthen developed his queen's bishop.

5 Nf3 Nf6 6 Nc3 Be7

6...Bb4 would have transposed into a variation of the Nlmzo-Indian Defence, whereas now we have a position typical of the Queen'sGambi t.

7 cxd5 Nxd5 8 Bd3 Nc6 9 0-0 0-0 10 Rei Nf6 11 a3 Qd6

One of the possible ways of developing. Temporarily delaying thedevelopment of his queen's bishop, Black aims for immediate pressureon the isolated pawn. The move appears rather provocative, in viewof the vulnerable position of the black queen in the centre of theboard, but knight moves fail to give White any immediate gain, and hehas to be content with a more modest continuation.

12 Be3 Rd8 13 Qc2

As far as I am aware, a new plan. White takes control of theb1-h7 diagonal, and prevents the flank development of the c8 bishop,since 13...b6 fai ls to 14 Ne4 Nxe4 15 Bxe4, with a double attack. Ofcourse, the queen wi l l not stay long on the c-f i le, but time is gainedfor bringing the queen's rook into play.

13 Bd7 14 Radl

White could have hindered the regrouping of the opponent'spieces by 14 Nb5, driving the queen to b8. But I reckoned that at c8the rook would not have any particular prospects, and that the queenwould voluntarily vacate d6,

14 . . . Rac8 15 Bg5!

Forcing Black to determine the position of his K-side pawns.15...g6 looks rather unpleasant after 16 Qe2 followed by the transfer ofthe bishop to a2 and the d4-d5 breakthrough (the absence of the blackbishop from the aS-M diagonal becomes apparent!). Hort decides toadvance the other pawn, but this merely helps White's bishop to switchto a very strong position.

15 h6 16 Bh4

It is perfectly possible that, when considering this positionbeforehand, Black had intended playing 16.. .Nh5. After the exchangeof bishops his position is perfectly satisfactory, but White has the


poss ib i l i t y of 17 dS! exd5 18 Bh7+ Kha 19 Rxc5, w i n n i n g .

16 . . . 0b8

The only move, since af ter ?6.. .Be8 17 Bg3 Qd7 16 Bb5 it i s

extremely d i f f i c u l t for Black to un tang le his pieces.

17 Qe2 BeS 18 Bbi

At last the long-range queen/bishop bat tery goes Into opera t ion !It is a l l the more dangerous for Black hav ing advanced his h -pawn, asthis weakens the g6 square and creates the condi t ions for var ioustac t i ca l b lows.

18 . . . Nd5 19 Qd3 g6 20 Bg3 Bd6 21 Nxd5 exd5 22 Ne5!

As a resul t of the exchange on d5, a symmetrical pawn s t ructurehas a r i sen . However, a l l B lack ' s pieces are in st range pos i t ions, and,most important , h is queen is too f a r away from the K-side.

22 . . . Qc7 23 Qe3

Here I could have won a pawn by force af ter 23 Ng4, for example23. . .Bxg3 24 hxg3 h5? 25 Nf6+ Kg7 26 Nxh5+. The pawn s im i l a r l ycannot be defended by 24...K3-7, because of 25 Qd2 g5 26 Qd3. ButBlack can p lay the more sol id 24. . .Q66 25 Nxh6+ Kg? 26 Ng4 6d7, andal though White has an ex t ra pawn and a c lear advantage, there arenumerous technical d i f f i c u l t i e s to overcome before he can w i n ,

23 . . . Qb6

23. . .h5 is unsat is fac to ry , in view of 24 Bh4 Be7 25 Nxc6 Bxh426 NxdB.

24 Qxh6 Nxe5 25 dxe5 Bf8 26 Qg5 Qe6 27 Ba2?!

On achiev ing a won pos i t ion , I began p l a y i n g ra ther super-f i c i a l l y . I should have ca r r i ed out a simple f i n a l regroup ing , beg in -n ing w i th 27 Bf4 fol lowed by the advance of the h -pawn, instead ofwhich 1 began engaging in unnecessary subt le t ies, w i th the resu l t thatthe bishop remained on g3. As a consequence, the game had to be wonfor the second t i m e . . . .

27 . . . Bb5 28 hi Rd7 29 Qe3

Another in a series of moves lack ing in specif ic ca l cu l a t i on .White forces Black to advance h is b-pawn, b lock ing the s i x t h rank formanoeuvres wi th h is queen. On the other hand , the queen was possiblynot p a r t i c u l a r l y aiming to go to a6 or b6, end subsequently Whiteloses the poss ib i l i t y of developing h is queen or bishop on the g1-a7diagonal w i t h g a i n of l ime.

29 . . . b6 30 Gf4 Bc4

Whi le Whi te 's ex t ra pawns on the K-side s tand s t i l I, B lack ' spassed pawn begins to become ac t i ve . My bishop is forced to retreatto a passive pos i t ion , since af ter 31 Bxc4 Rxc4 the opponent 's piecesacQuire considerable freedom on the open c - f i l e and the white squares

on the Q-side.

31 Bbi Bb3 32 Rd2

Game No. 14

33 Bd3 Rdc7 34 Kh2 Rci

165

By forcing the exchange of a pair of rooks, Slack either seizesthe f i rs ! rank, or activates his bishop by switching tt to the b1-h7diagonal. Incidentally, Black is not averse lo the exchange of allfour rooks.

35 Rde2 Rxel 36 Rxel Bc2 37 Ba6

Beginning from the twenty-seventh move, I played this game asthough in a trance. It is perfectly obvious thai it is more advan-tageous for Black to place his rook ahead of his queen on the c-f i le,so why force him to do this?! 37 Be2 shoutd have been played immed-iately.

3742 Qd4

. . Rc5 38 Be2 Bf5 39 Rdi Qc6 40 Rd2 Rc2 41 Bf3 Be6

White has somehow succeeded In mounting some pressure on the d -pawn, but he has wasted a great deal of time, and his bishop is s t i l lasleep at g3. Black now decides to exchange the rooks, which undoub-tedly eases the position of the d5 pawn. White in turn no longer hasto worry about the open c- f i le , and can prepare the advance of hisK-side pawns. The alternat ive was 42...Rc5.

42 . . . Rxd2 43 Qxd2 Qc4 44 Be2 Qa2!?

An interesting decision! I analysed only moves by the queen toe4, or along the c - f i l e . In the f i r s t instance t was Intending tocontinue 44...Qe4 45 f3, and now 45...Qb1 46 Bd3, or 45...Qa446 Bf2. In the second case White gains the possibi l i ty of advancinghis h-pawn, since the opponent's queen has no intrusion squares. Themove chosen by Black forces White to take specific decisions, involv ingthe evaluation of the different possible types of endgame.

45 Bf4 Bc5 46 Be3

Not fearing the exchange 46...Bxe3 47 fxe3, when the position ofthe d5 pawn is f ixed for good. White gains use of his d4 square,transfers his k ing to f2, and begins the advance of his K-side pawns.

46 d4 47 BgS

White has only very sl ight winning chances after 47 Bxd4 Qd548 Be3 0xd2 49 Bxd2 Bxf2.


47 . . . Qd5 48 Bf6 Bf8 49 Bd3 Bg? 50 0f4! Kh7

There is an interesting f in ish after 50.. .Bxf6 51 exffi Bf5S2 Qb8+ Kh7 53 Bc4! Qxc4 54 Qf6, end mate is inevitable. This isnot the only var ia t ion, and the prosaic SZ Bxf5 gxf5 53 Qh6 Qd6+54 g3 Qf8 55 Qg5+- is also decisive, but i t i l lustrates the tacticalpossibi l i t ies of the posit ion.

51 f3 b5 52 Kg3

It is useful to br ing the k ing into the square of the d-pawn, inthe event of a bishop or pawn ending being reached.

52 . . . Qd7 53 Bxg7 Kxg7 54 Qf6+ Kg8 55 h4

It is the turn of this pawn to have the decisive word. Now55..,Bc4 fa i ls to 56 Qd6! Qxd6 57 exd6 Kf8 58 Bxc4 bxc i 59 Kf2 Ke860.g4 Kd7 61 h5, and wins.

55 . . . Qe8 56 h5 Bc4 57 h6! Qf8 58 Bxg6 Qxh6 59 Bxf7+ Kh760 Qf5+ Kh8 61 Qc8+ Resigns

No. 15Linares 19S1

Ljubojevlc-Karpov . .Caro-Kann Defence

A grandmaster's lot is never a bed only of roses. However manysuccesses a player may have gained, there comes a time when his formdeserts him, and he achieves a result which is much worse thanexpected. One such unhappy event in my chess career was the 1980international tournament in Argentina, in which I did not even f in ishin the f i rs t three. The tournament in Spain was my next internationalappearance (not counting the Malta Olympiad], and so I very muchwanted to rehabi l i tate myself after Buenos Air-es. The young Americangrandmaster Christiansen provided very st i f f competition, and in orderto remain ahead I had to win a number of games.

1 e4 c6 2 d4 d5 3 Nc3 dxe4 4 Nxe4 Bf5 5 Ng3 Bg6 6 Nf3 Nd77 h4 h.6 8 h5 Bh7 9 Bd3 Bxd3 10 Qxd3 e6 11 Bf4

The aim of this check is to ' reca l l ' the bishop to d2. Somegrandmasters are also happy to play this position as Black with thewhite bishop at f4, an example being Larsen in games in 1980 againstTal, Timman and myself.

12 Bd2 0c7 13 0-0-0 Ngf6 H N«4 0-0-0 15 g3 Nc5 16 Nxc5 Bxc517 Qc4 Bd6 18 Qa4 Kb8 19 Ne5

Oh 19 c4 Black can play 19...Qe7, with the Idea of placing hisknight at e4 and his queen at f6 .

19 . . . Nd5

Possibly more accurate was t9. . .Nd7, forcing the var iat ion whichoccurs in the game.

Game No. J5

20 f4

20 Nc4 would also have been answered by 2O...Nb6.

20 . . . Nb6 21 Qb3 Bxe5 22 dxe5 Nd5

167

23 c47

An unnecessary weakening of the d3 and d4 squares. White couldhave retained a minimal opening advantage by 23 Qf3, e.g. 23...Ne724 g4, with the threat of 25 fS. In this case I was intending 23. . .Rd7, when the sharp variat ion 24 Qg4 Rhd8 25 Qxg7 Qb6 26 0g4 Ne327 Bxe3 Qxe3+ 26 Kb! Qxg3 29 Rxd7 Qxg4 30 Rxd8+ Kc7 31 Rhd1gives White a sl ight ly favourable ending, but 28...Rxd1+ 29 RxdlRxd1+ 30 Qxdi Kc8! gives equal chances.

2328 Qd3?1

He7 24 Be3 c5 25 Rxd6+ Rxd8 26 Rd1 RxdH 27 Qxdf b6

A signif icant inaccuracy. 28 g4 Qb7 maintains the balance,although there is the interesting possibil ity of 2B.. .Oc6 29 Qd6+ Qxd630 exd6 Ng8 31 g5 Kb7 (31.. . f6 32 g6 Kb7 33 b i cxb4 34 f5 eS35 c5, with the betler chances for White) 32 b4! Kc6 (32...cxb4 isdangerous - 33 Bd4 f6 34 g6 Kc6 35 c5 bxc5 36 Bxc5}, and now anunclear position resulls from 33 bxc5 b*c5 34 Bxc5 g6!.

28 . . . g6! 2933 Bf2 Qd7 34 a* Kc7 35 Kc2

30 a3 h5 31 b3 32 Qe4 Nf5

If 35 Qa8, then 35...Qd3, nol fearing ghosts - after 36 Qa7+ Kc837 Qa7+ Kd7 38 0b7+ Ke8 39 Qb8+ Kf7 40 Qb7+ Ne7 the black kingsuccessfully avoids perpetual check.

35 . . . OdS 36 Kci g5 37 fxg5 Qxg5+ 38 Kc2 Ne7 39 Clr.7 Kd7

Black looks to have a good alternative in 39.. .Qg6+ 40


Nxg6 41 Be3 Kd7 (41 ...Nxe5 « Bf4) 42 Bg5 Nxe5 followed bymanoeuvring the knight to d4.

40 Qe4 Qf5 41 Qd3+ Kc6 43 CUfS c*xf5 43 Be3 Ng6 44 e6 Kd645 Bg5 Kxe6 46 Kd3 f4! 47 gxf4 h4 48 Ke3 h3 49 Kf3 Kf5 50 Kg3Nxf4 51 Bd8 N«2+ 52 Kxh3 Nd4 53 Bxb6

53 Kg2 also fa l ls to save the game: after S3...Ke4 5A Kf1 Kd355 Kel Nxb3 56 Kdi Kxc4 57 Kc2 Nd4+ 58 Kbg Ne6 59 Bxb6 Kb460 Ba7 Kxa4 Black remains with two extra pawns.

63 . . . Nxb3 54 BdB Ke4 55 Kg4 Kd4 56 Kf4 Kxc4 57 Ke4 Kc358 Bf&+ Kc2 59 Be5 c4 60 Ke3 c3 61 Bf6 Nc5 62 Ke2

The aitempt to reach the a5 pawn by 62 Kd4 is easily parriedafter 62...Nxa4 63 Kc4 Nb6+! (but not 63...Nb2+? 64 Kb5 a4 65 Kb4with a draw) 64 Kb5 a4 65 Kb4 Nd5+. Also inadequate is 62 Bd8 Kd163 Bxa5 c2 64 Bd2 Nb3.

6 2 . . . K b 3 • - - - " ••- • •••

W h i t e r e s i g n s . ' • ' . • • • • • . •

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Anatoly Karpov & Evgeny Gik - Chess Kaleidoscope