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December
27, 2002
TORRE MEMORIAL NEXT to the American genius Paul
Morphy, perhaps one of the most puzzling chess
enigmas of all-time is that of Mexico's first
grandmaster, Carlos Repetto Torre, whose career
at the chessboard uncannily parallels that of
Morphy. Born in 1904 in Yucatan, Torre had
a spectacular -- yet all but brief -- career of
just two years as a professional, which ended
in 1926 at the age of 22. Yet, during that short,
glorious spell, Torre left behind a legacy of
brilliance and the promise of being a serious
contender for the world championship. Playing
against three world champions -- Alekhine, Capablanca
and Lasker -- Torre had a plus score (+1 =2). Sadly, when everyone was venturing
to suggest that he had the future potential to
capture the crown after a string of impressive
tournament results, Torre suffered a major nervous
breakdown, returned home to Yucatan and never
played again. In an interview a year before his
death in 1978, when FIDE bestowed on him an honorary
GM title, Torre is quoted as saying, "I abandoned
chess competition, but never lost my love for
this beautiful game." As a tribute to Torre,
his home state of Merida holds a memorial tournament
in his honor. The XV Carlos Torre International
Tournament took place 13th-21st December. After
6 rounds the cosmopolitan field of 30 split into
two, with the leading 16 players taking part in
a knockout contest. The tournament was won after
a playoff by Russian GM Valery Filippov, who beat
Switzerland's Vadim Milov, 2.5-1.5 in the final.
B Gulko - V Filippov
XV Torre Memorial, (6)
Reti's Opening
1.c4 e6 2.Nf3 d5 3.b3 Nf6 4.g3 d4 5.e3 c5 6.exd4
cxd4 7.Bg2 Nc6 8.0-0 Bd6 9.d3 0-0 10.Re1 e5 11.a3
a5 12.Nbd2 h6 13.c5 Bxc5 14.Nxe5 Nxe5 15.Rxe5
Bg4 16.Bf3 Qc7 17.Re1 Be6 18.Nc4 Nd5 19.Bd2 Nc3
20.Qc2 b5 21.Bf4 Qd8 22.Bxa8 Qxa8 23.Nd2 Rc8 24.Ne4
Bxa3 25.Rxa3 Nxe4 26.Qd1 Nc3 27.Qh5 a4 28.bxa4
b4 29.Raa1 b3 30.Bxh6 b2 31.Rab1 Nxb1 32.Qg5 Kf8
33.Qxg7+ Ke8 34.Qh8+ Kd7 35.Qxd4+ Qd5 36.Qxb2
Nc3 37.Qb4 Qxd3 38.Re3 Ne2+ 39.Kg2, 0-1.
December
24, 2002 KASPAROV vs. KARPOV
KARPOV BEATS KASPAROV IN 3D MATCH!
THE hustle and bustle of a pre-Christmas
Times Square in New York proved an inspired location
for the meeting of new technology and an historic
rivalry, as X3D Technologies brought together
old foes Garry Kasparov and Anatoly Karpov to
showcase the latest in their award-winning computer-generated
3D imagery.
Under the glare of the neon lights at the ABC
Studios, the four-game match, which was transmitted
live over the internet, had the two legendary
Russians (with the aid of a special pair of 3D
glasses) play while floating in the air as if
by magic. Also on hand (or to be more precise,
slight of hand) for a bit of festive fun to open
the show was world-renowned Illusionist David
Blaine, who immediately caused maximum confusion
to the proceedings by turning one of the pawns
on the match-set to dust before the players eyes
-- much to the chagrin of match arbiter Carol
Jarecki, who seemed rather concerned about the
special electronic pieces used with the sensory
board loaned by the America's Foundation for Chess
that made the live transmission possible!
Thankfully Blaine managed to make
the pawn "suddenly" reappear on cue
before the start of the first game, though perhaps
the two former world champions may have preferred
it if instead he could have made their world crowns
miraculously reappear! And, as play got underway, the two-day
match ended in a surprise victory for veteran
Karpov (who, at 51 this year has reached three
elite rapid finals, losing two to Vishy Anand
and one to Boris Gelfand), as he beat world No.1
Kasparov 2.5-1.5 to win the match. All four games
in this 25-minute a side plus ten second increment
match was more exciting than many of the boring
long matches they had played previously. ACCORDING to Garry Kasparov, arch-rival
Anatoly Karpov has over the years become his 'perpetual
opponent', due to the many memorable battles they
fought in what seemed like an endless series of
title matches. After the 1972 Cold War encounter
between Fischer and Spassky, the 'perestroika
pairing' of Karpov and Kasparov, respectively
the 12th and 13th world champions, become legendary
-- especially after they played five world title
matches between 1984 and 1990; the first of which
was controversially abandoned after five-months
of play and 48 games by then-FIDE president Florencio
Campomanes, for fear the strain the match was
having on the health of the players. Now, after the their latest X3D
match in New York, the two have now played 177
times during their lengthy career, which began
way back in 1981 with two draws in a Moscow team
match; with the head-to-head scores now standing
at Kasparov +31, Karpov +22, with 124 draws. In
the annals of chess history, no two top players
have played each other more than Kasparov and
Karpov, affectionately known in chess circles
as the 2K's. Ironically for Karpov, up to now
his last victory over his nemesis was12 years
ago in New York, and proved to be the last decisive
game of their legendary series of world championship
matches. However, Karpov can look to game two
of their latest match-up for the turnaround in
their score, as Kasparov made perhaps one of the
worst blunders of his career, when instead 43.Bxe4!
Qf1 44.Nf5+ Nxf5 45.h4 Nh6 46.Bf3 was winning
easily. A Karpov – G Kasparov
x3dworld rapid, New York (1), 2002
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 d5 4.Nf3 Bg7 5.Bf4 0–0
6.Rc1 dxc4 7.e3 Be6 8.Ng5 Bg4 9.f3 Bc8 10.Bxc4
c6 11.Qb3 e6 12.Nge4 Nd5 13.Bxd5 cxd5 14.Nd6 Nc6
15.Nxb7 Qh4+ 16.Bg3 Qh6 17.Ne2 Bxb7 18.Qxb7 Na5
19.Qb4 Nc4 20.Rxc4 dxc4 21.Kf2 Rfc8 22.Rc1 Bf8
23.Qa4 Qg5 24.Rxc4 Qd5 25.b3 Qb7 26.Be5 Be7 27.Nc3
f6 28.Bg3 a6 29.h3 Kf7 30.Kg1 g5 31.Kh2 h5 32.h4
gxh4 33.Bf4 Rxc4 34.Qxc4 Rc8 35.Qd3 f5 36.d5 Qd7
37.e4 Bf6 38.Na4 fxe4 39.fxe4 e5 40.Bd2 Qg4 41.Nb6
Rg8 42.Qf3 Qxf3 43.gxf3 Rg3 44.f4 exf4 45.Bxf4
Rg4 46.Be3 Rxe4 47.Nc4 Rg4 48.a4 Rg3 49.a5 Ke8
50.b4 Rg4 51.b5 Rxc4 52.bxa6 Rc8, 0–1. G Kasparov – A Karpov
x3dworld rapid, New York (2), 2002
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nxe5 d6 4.Nf3 Nxe4 5.d4 d5
6.Bd3 Nc6 7.0–0 Be7 8.c4 Nb4 9.Be2 0–0
10.Nc3 Bf5 11.a3 Nxc3 12.bxc3 Nc6 13.cxd5 Qxd5
14.Re1 Rfe8 15.Bf4 Rac8 16.c4 Qe4 17.Be3 Bf6 18.Rc1
b6 19.h3 Bg6 20.c5 Ne7 21.Ba6 Rcd8 22.Bg5 Qc6
23.cxb6 Qxb6 24.Bxf6 gxf6 25.Qa4 c6 26.Bf1 Kf8
27.Re3 Rb8 28.g3 Red8 29.Bg2 Nf5 30.Rxc6 Qb2 31.Rec3
Kg7 32.Qxa7 Qa1+ 33.Rc1 Rb1 34.Rxb1 Qxb1+ 35.Kh2
Qa2 36.Qc7 Re8 37.Rc2 Qxa3 38.Rd2 Nd6 39.Qc5 Qa6
40.Nh4 Rc8 41.Qd5 Rc1 42.Rb2 Be4 43.Qxe4 Nxe4
44.Nf5+ Kf8 45.Bxe4 Rc8 46.d5 Qa4 47.Bf3 Qa3,
0–1. A Karpov – G Kasparov
x3dworld rapid, New York (3) 2002
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 d5 4.Nf3 Bg7 5.Bf4 dxc4
6.Rc1 0–0 7.e3 Nbd7 8.Bxc4 c5 9.dxc5 Nxc5
10.0–0 Be6 11.Bxe6 Nxe6 12.Be5 Qxd1 13.Rfxd1
Rfd8 14.Kf1 Nd7 15.Bxg7 Kxg7 16.Nd5 Nb6 17.Nxb6
axb6 18.a3 Rxd1+ 19.Rxd1 Rc8 20.Ke2 Kf6 21.Ne1
Rc4 22.Rd7 Nc5 23.Rc7 b5 24.f3 e5 25.b4 Na4 26.Rxb7
Rc6 27.e4 Ke6 28.h4 h5 29.Nd3 Rc2+ 30.Ke3 f5 31.g3
fxe4 32.fxe4 Rg2 33.Rxb5 Rxg3+ 34.Kd2 Rg2+ 35.Ke1
Nc3 36.Rb6+ Ke7 37.Nxe5 Re2+ 38.Kf1 Rxe4 39.Nxg6+
Kf7 40.Kf2 Nd5 41.Rc6 Nxb4 42.axb4 Rxb4 43.Ne5+
Kg7 44.Rc4 Rb5 45.Nd3 Kf6 46.Rc5, 1–0. G Kasparov - A Karpov
x3dworld rapid, New York (4), 2002
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nxe5 d6 4.Nf3 Nxe4 5.d4 d5
6.Bd3 Nc6 7.0–0 Be7 8.c4 Nb4 9.Be2 0–0
10.Nc3 Bf5 11.a3 Nxc3 12.bxc3 Nc6 13.cxd5 Qxd5
14.Re1 Rfe8 15.Bf4 Bd6 16.c4 Qe4 17.Be3 Rad8 18.Ra2
Bg6 19.Qc1 Na5 20.c5 Be7 21.Bb5 Qd5 22.Rae2 c6
23.Bg5 cxb5 24.Bxe7 Rc8 25.Re5 Qd7 26.Bd6 f6 27.Rxe8+
Rxe8 28.Rxe8+, ½–½.
December 20, 2002 WORLD JUNIOR CHAMPIONSHIP
ARONIAN & ZHAO XUE WIN!
The 41st World Junior & 19th Girls U-20 Chess
Championships, played at the luxurious Indian
tourist resort at Panaji, Goa, had a turnout of
139 boys and girls from 41 nations. The competition
was fierce with all the players being extremely
strong! Young stars like grandmaster Bu Xiangzhi
from China, grandmaster Luke McShane from England,
grandmaster Pendyala Harikrishna from India, and
Indian female sensation Humpy Koneru (grandmaster
from India) were just a few of the high-powered
players fighting for the prestigious boy’s
and girl’s titles. The boys’ section was a tight
race throughout, with Luke McShane taking an early
lead before losing and falling back. He then surged
again and took a clear lead after round 11, only
to lose again, ultimately ending up in second
place behind Levon Aronian (Armenia). Surya Sekhar
Ganguly (India) won the bronze medal. Things had been a bit more clear-cut
in the Girls Championship, with China’s
Zhao Xue leading throughout. However, pre-tournament
favorite Humpy Koneru refused to “go away”
and came on strong at the end, ultimately tying
with Zhao Xue. However, Zhao Xue’s tiebreaks
were superior and the title went to her.
L Aronian - S Poobesh Anand
World Junior Ch., (11)
Bogo-Indian Defense
1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 e6 3.g3 b6 4.Bg2 Bb7 5.c4 Bb4+
6.Nbd2 Ne4 7.0-0 Nxd2 8.Bxd2 Bxd2 9.Qxd2 0-0 10.Qc2
Nc6 11.a3 d5 12.cxd5 exd5 13.Rac1 Re8 14.b4 a6
15.Rfd1 Qe7 16.e3 Rad8 17.Rd3 Rd6 18.Rc3 f6 19.Bf1
Rc8 20.Qa4 Ra8 21.Qc2 Qd8 22.b5 axb5 23.Bxb5 Na7
24.Bd3 h6 25.Rxc7 Bc6 26.Bh7+ Kf8 27.Rxg7 Kxg7
28.Qg6+ Kh8 29.Qxh6 Qf8 30.Qh5 Qg7 31.Bg6+ Kg8
32.Nh4 Rd7 33.Nf5 Qh8 34.Qg4 Kf8 35.h4 Rg7 36.Nxg7
Qxg7 37.h5 Be8 38.Qf5 Rd8 39.Bxe8 Kxe8 40.Qe6+
Qe7 41.Qxe7+, 1-0. L McShane - D Jakovenko
World Junior Ch., (10)
Sicilian Rossolimo
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 g6 4.0-0 Bg7 5.c3 Nf6
6.Re1 0-0 7.d4 cxd4 8.cxd4 d5 9.e5 Ne4 10.Nc3
Bf5 11.Nh4 Be6 12.Bxc6 bxc6 13.Na4 g5 14.Nf3 f6
15.exf6 exf6 16.Nd2 f5 17.Nb3 Bf7 18.Bd2 Nxd2
19.Qxd2 f4 20.f3 Qd6 21.Nac5 Rfe8 22.Nd3 Bg6 23.Qb4
Qxb4 24.Nxb4 c5 25.dxc5 Bxb2 26.Rxe8+ Rxe8 27.Rd1
d4 28.c6 a5 29.Nxa5 Bc3 30.a3 Rc8 31.Nc4 d3 32.Nd6
Bxb4 33.Nxc8 Bc5+ 34.Kh1 Bf5 35.c7, 1-0. A Timofeev - Ni Hua
World Junior Ch., (8)
Sicilian Sveshnikov
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 e5
6.Ndb5 d6 7.a4 a6 8.Na3 Bg4 9.Be2 Bxe2 10.Qxe2
d5 11.Bg5 d4 12.Nd5 Be7 13.Bxf6 Bxf6 14.Nc4 Rb8
15.a5 Ne7 16.Nxf6+ gxf6 17.0-0 Ng6 18.g3 0-0 19.Ra3
Qd7 20.Nb6 Qc6 21.c4 dxc3 22.Rxc3 Qe6 23.Nd5 f5
24.Rf3 Rbd8 25.Re1 fxe4 26.Nf6+ Kg7 27.Qxe4 Qe7
28.h4 Rd6 29.Nd5 Qd8 30.Ne3 Re6 31.h5 Ne7 32.Qg4+
Kh8 33.Rxf7 Rxf7 34.Qxe6 Qxa5 35.Qxf7 Qxe1+ 36.Kg2
Ng8 37.h6, 1-0. S Azarov - Ni Hua
World Junior Ch., (6)
Sicilian Sveshnikov
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 e5
6.Ndb5 d6 7.Bg5 a6 8.Na3 b5 9.Bxf6 gxf6 10.Nd5
f5 11.c3 Bg7 12.exf5 Bxf5 13.Nc2 0-0 14.Nce3 Bg6
15.h4 Be4 16.h5 Qg5 17.Be2 h6 18.Rh3 Kh8 19.Rg3
Qd8 20.Bd3 Bxd5 21.Nxd5 f5 22.Bc2 Rc8 23.Kf1 Ne7
24.Kg1 Rc5 25.Bb3 Nxd5 26.Bxd5 e4 27.a4 Qe7 28.axb5
axb5 29.Ra6 f4 30.Rg6 e3 31.Bf3 Re5 32.Qf1 e2
33.Qe1 Rd8 34.Rg4 Qf7 35.Rg6 Bf8 36.Bxe2 Rde8
37.Qd2 Rxe2 38.Qd4+ R8e5 39.Ra8 Re1+ 40.Kh2 Kh7
41.g4 fxg3+ 42.fxg3 Rxh5+, 0-1. L Aronian - L McShane
World Junior Ch., (6)
King's Indian Defense
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nf3 Bg7 4.g3 0-0 5.Bg2 d6 6.0-0
Nc6 7.Nc3 Rb8 8.d5 Na5 9.b3 c6 10.dxc6 Nxc6 11.Bb2
Qa5 12.Qc1 Bg4 13.Rd1 Rfc8 14.Nd5 Nxd5
15.Bxg7 Kxg7 16.Rxd5 Qc7 17.Qb2+ f6 18.Rc1 b6
19.Rc3 Qd7 20.Re3 Kg8 21.Nd4 Nxd4 22.Rxd4 Re8
23.b4 Qc8 24.h4 Bd7 25.h5 Bc6 26.Bf1 Qf5 27.Rh4
gxh5 28.Bh3 Qg6 29.b5 Ba8 30.Bd7 Kf8 31.Bxe8 Kxe8
32.Qb3 Rc8 33.Qd3 Rc7 34.Kh2 Kd7 35.g4 Rc5 36.Qxg6
hxg6 37.gxh5 gxh5 38.Ra3 a5 39.bxa6 Rg5 40.f3
Kc7 41.Rh3 Re5 42.e4 Kb8 43.a7+ Kc7 44.Rg3 Rg5
45.f4 h4 46.Rxg5 fxg5 47.fxg5, 1-0.
December 11, 2002
33rd NATIONAL
CHESS CONGRESS
FIVE TIE FOR FIRST
IN America, the big family holiday is of course
Thanksgiving, which commemorates the famous harvest
feast of 1621 when the Mayflower Pilgrims sat
down with the native Indians to thank them for
getting through that first difficult year.
Even in America, many believe that Thanksgiving
has always been traditionally celebrated in late
November and that it has been going on forever
– or at least as near forever as anything
gets in America. Not so. For 242 years Thanksgiving
as an event was hardly noted. The first official
celebration wasn't held until 1863 – and
then in August. The following year President Abraham
Lincoln moved it arbitrarily to the fourth Thursday
in November, where this all-American holiday built
around the family has stayed ever since.
Like most traditional American holidays, there
can also be found a major chess event taking place
with a substantial prize fund. Over Thanksgiving
the place to be was the Adam's Mark Hotel in Philadelphia,
the "City of Brotherly Love", which
played hosts to the 33rd National Chess Congress
organized by the Continental Chess Association,
who through the guidance of the legendary Bill
Goichberg has organized big-money tournaments
from coast to coast since the 1960s.
With a hefty prize fund of $30,000 on offer in
11 sections, the attendance of many top players
were guaranteed and, like many other US tournaments,
this inevitably led to a GM logjam at top with
a multiple tie. Sharing first with 5-1 were GMs
Igor Novikov, Leonid Yudashin, Alexander Shabalov,
Alex Stripunsky and Gennadi Zaitshik.
The gruelling Swiss-styled format over six rounds
can be particularly cruel. Very seldom is there
an outright winner in such events; however New
York's relatively unknown young NM Lev Milman
almost caused a sensation with one of the more
memorable performances in recent US chess history.
His "reward" for performing far above
his expected score was being paired against tougher
and tougher opponents each round.
He defeated GM Maurice Ashley in round 3, drew
with GM Alex Onischuk in round 4 and defeated
GM Ildar Ibragimov in round 5. Needing to beat
Shabalov in the crucial top-board final round
game for outright first, Milman was, in traditional
Thanksgiving style, expertly carved-up.
A Shabalov - L Milman
33rd National Chess Congress, (6)
Catalan Opening
1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 c6 4.Nf3 dxc4 5.Bg5 Qc7
6.g3 Nd7 7.Bg2 Ngf6 8.0-0 Bb4 9.Nd2 Bxc3 10.bxc3
b5 11.Bf4 Qb6 12.e4 0-0 13.Bd6 Rd8 14.e5 Nd5 15.Ne4
c5 16.dxc5 Qc6 17.Qh5 h6 18.Nf6+ gxf6 19.Qxh6
Bb7 20.exf6 N7xf6 21.Be5 Qd7 22.Rfd1 Nxc3 23.Rxd7,
1-0. December 10, 2002
KILKENNY MASTERS
BABURIN WINS AT KILKENNY
GREAT tournaments don't just happen, they are
made. Made from a potent cocktail of good organization,
community spirit and players returning each year
to a favored site. And none come any better than
the annual Kilkenny Congress in Ireland, traditionally
held on the last weekend in November.
Thanks to the special atmosphere created by Jack
Lowry and his dedicated team, many top players
have made the annual pilgrimage to the craic-filled
post mortems in the Club House Hotel Bar, where
a plentiful supply of Guinness is always on tap.
GM stars such as Boris Spassky (the club's Honorary
President), Michael Adams, Jan Timman, Julian
Hodgson and Danny King have all been there, and
have reveled among the amateurs.
This year marked the 10th anniversary of this
popular weekend tournament, yet despite the disappointment
of losing their sponsors, the organizers nevertheless
continued to defy the odds with a record-breaking
turnout of over 250 – and some even coming
from afar as Russia and the U.S. of A, the latter
no doubt on a fact-finding mission to trace their
family tree!
The lack of sponsorship meant that the top Masters
section was the hardest hit, and the competition
turned into a virtual challenge between the entire
Irish Olympiad team, who returned from Bled with
their highest result ever, taking on the three
visiting GMs: defending champion Luke McShane,
Bogdan Lalic and Colin McNab.
The penultimate round five proved to be critical
for the outcome of first place, as top Irish player
GM Alexander Baburin (who moved to Ireland in
1993 from Russia) took the sole lead after beating
McShane. The win was enough to give Baburin outright
first on 5/6, with GMs McShane and Lalic sharing
2nd place with visiting Russian academic Dr Yuri
Rochev and the Irish duo of Sam Collins and Alex
Lopez.
A Baburin - L McShane
Kilkenny Masters, (5)
English Defense
1.d4 e6 2.c4 b6 3.a3 g6 4.Nc3 Bg7 5.e4 Ne7 6.Nf3
d6 7.Be2 Nd7 8.0-0 h6 9.Be3 g5 10.Rc1 f5 11.c5
0-0 12.cxd6 cxd6 13.Bc4 Nf6 14.e5 Nfd5 15.Bxd5
Nxd5 16.Nxd5 exd5 17.Rc6 dxe5 18.dxe5 Bb7 19.Rd6
Qe7 20.h4 g4 21.Nd4 f4 22.Bd2 Qxe5 23.Rg6 Kh7
24.Re1 Qh5 25.Rxg4 f3 26.Qc2+ Kh8 27.Rxg7 Kxg7
28.Re7+ Rf7 29.Nf5+ Kf8 30.Rxf7+ Qxf7 31.Bb4+,
1-0.
December 9, 2002
GREATEST FEMALE
PLAYER EVER JUDIT!
OVER the years there has been a lively debate
about just who was the strongest player of all;
prominent candidates being Bobby Fischer, Garry
Kasparov, Jose Raul Capablanca, Alexander Alekhine
or Emanuel Lasker.
The debate will rage on, but one thing there is
no argument over and that is the greatest female
player: she is 26-year-old Judit Polgar, the youngest
and strongest of the three Hungarian Polgar sisters,
all of whom were given a chess-based education
from their parents practically from the cradle.
Judit became the youngest grandmaster in history
– beating Fischer's record of over 30 years
– at 15 years and 5 months after winning
the 1991 Hungarian championship; and in the process
also becoming the first female to win a national
championship.
The past year has been another milestone one for
Judi, as she continues to take on the men at their
own game. She became the first female in a competitive
competition to beat Kasparov while playing for
the winning World Team against Russia. This was
followed by a sensational performance for Hungary
at the Bled Olympiad, as her score (officially
on board two behind Peter Leko, though played
many games on one) of 8.5/12 helped Hungary take
silver just behind winners Russia.
These results, and her recent big win at the Benidorm
Stars, confirms that in the next ELO list she
could be on the verge of breaking the 2700 barrier
to super GM status – one of the few avowed
goals she has left in the game.
L Psakhis - J Polgar
Benidorm Stars, (11)
Tarrasch Defense
1.c4 Nf6 2.Nc3 c5 3.g3 Nc6 4.Bg2 e6 5.Nf3 d5 6.cxd5
exd5 7.d4 Bg4 8.Ne5 cxd4 9.Nxc6 bxc6 10.Qxd4 Be7
11.Bg5 Be6 12.0-0 0-0 13.Qd3 h6 14.Bf4 Qb6 15.Na4
Qa5 16.b3 c5 17.Rac1 c4 18.Qd4 Rac8 19.Be5 Rfd8
20.Rfd1 Qa6 21.Bf3 Bf5 22.Qb2 Bd7 23.Bxf6 Bxf6
24.Qa3 d4 25.Qb4 Bxa4 26.Qxa4 Qxa4 27.bxa4 d3
28.exd3 c3 29.d4 Bxd4 30.Kf1 Rb8 31.Be2 Kf8 32.Rc2
Ke7 33.Bc4 Rb2 34.Bb3 Be5 35.Rxd8 Kxd8 36.Rxb2
cxb2 37.Bc2 h5 38.h3 g5 39.g4 h4 40.Ke2 Kc7 41.Kd3
Kd6 42.Ke4 f6 43.Bb1 Kc5 44.Kd3 Bd4 45.f3 Kd5
46.a5 Ke5 47.a6 Bb6 48.Kc2 Kf4 49.Kxb2 Kg3 50.Bf5
Kxh3 51.f4 Kg2 52.fxg5 fxg5 53.Be4+ Kg1, 0-1.
December 6, 2002 GERMANY
ELISABETH PAHTZ & the 74th
GERMAN CHAMPIONSHIPS
ON many counts Germany should be the No.1 chess
nation and not the mighty Russia. It has more
than 5,000 world-ranked chessplayers on the FIDE
rating list, more even than Russia.
The Bundesliga is the strongest – and longest-running
– professional league in the world, Dortmund
and Mainz are easily two of the finest elite tournaments
on the circuit that play to sell-out crowds, while
ChessBase of Hamburg are world-leaders in chess
software development. Yet this chess-rich environment
has still to produce a truly great modern-day
player who can take on the world elite such as
Kasparov, Kramnik, Anand and Co.
The only success story they’ve had of late
has come from top female player Elisabeth Pähtz,
who has now given Germany a world championship
title, albeit at junior level. After an epic late-summer
duel in Mainz with women’s world vice-champion
Alexandra Kosteniuk, she continued her good form
through to the Chess Olympiad in Bled and then
played a high-profile exhibition match against
Garry Kasparov at the Munich Electronica trade
fair. From there, Pähtz headed directly to
the World Youth Chess Championships in Heraklio,
Crete, where she went on to win the girls' under
18 title.
The 74th German Chess Championships recently took
place in Saarbrücken, in southwestern Germany,
running from November 21-30. The nine-round Swiss,
with a field of 42 that featured old hands (or
should that be Hans?) such as Robert Huebner and
Artur Jussupow, was won by GM Thomas Luther who
took the title with 7/9, a half a point clear
of fellow GMs Alexander Graf and Florian Handke.
The judges of the best game prize for the tournament
didn’t have to wait long as all the fireworks
came as early as round two where at least six
candidates were on offer from the normally reserved
Germans, who decided to use this round to show
off their more flamboyant side. Today’s
game easily being the pick of them.
A Naiditsch -- F Zeller
74th German Ch., (2)
Sicilian Kan
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 a6 5.Bd3 Bc5
6.Nb3 Be7 7.0-0 d6 8.c4 Nf6 9.Nc3 b6 10.f4 Nbd7
11.Qf3 Bb7 12.Kh1 Qc7 13.Bd2 h5 14.Qh3 Ng4 15.Rac1
Ndf6 16.f5 Qd7 17.Nd4 Rc8 18.b3 Bd8 19.fxe6 fxe6
20.Nd5 0-0 21.Nxf6+ Bxf6 22.Qxh5 Ne5 23.Bb1 Rc5
24.Qh3 Bc8 25.Ne2 b5 26.Be3 Rc6 27.Nf4 bxc4 28.Ng6!!
Nxg6 29.e5 Nxe5 30.Qh7+ Kf7 31.Rxf6+! Kxf6 32.Rf1+
Ke7 33.Qxg7+ Nf7 34.Rxf7+! Rxf7 35.Bg5+ Ke8 36.Qg8+,
1-0. December 5, 2002
LEKO the PHOENIX,
OR SLOAN the JOURNALISTIC MENACE?
JOURNALISM GONE MAD
THE information age has been a boon to the rumor
industry, as the gossip frenzy can span the globe
spreading a salacious story in the time it takes
to send an e-mail. But imagine how it would feel
to hear through the worldwide grapevine that you
were dead?
The most famous case was that of 19th century
American humorist Mark Twain, who on discovering
that a leading U.S. newspaper had published
that
he had died while on tour in Europe, immediately
sent off a telegram to the editor that read, "The
report of my death is greatly exaggerated." Now,
in a modern-day setting thanks to the speed
of the information superhighway, that most
famous
of quotes can be used by world championship
contender Peter Leko.
A cruel hoax originating from his native Hungary
stated that Leko had died in a tragic car crash
late Sunday night in Budapest, and the news had
filtered through to former women's world champion
Susan Polgar (the elder of the three famous Hungarian
chess-playing sisters) in New York, who at the
time was playing on the ICC and posted a brief
note to that effect; though prudently added she
would have to check her own contacts back home
to confirm.
Unfortunately from here the rumors soon ran
out of control, thanks to one over-eager online
newshound
looking for a "scoop" – regardless
if the information is right or wrong. Without
checking the facts, or even confirming with the
relevant authorities as any competent journalist
would do under such circumstances, the infamous
Sam Sloan (who doubles as a New York taxi driver
during the day) immediately posted Leko's death
as matter-of-fact "breaking news". Incredulously,
Sloan's sloppy piece of work also went as far
as to report "that Leko died in a car crash
while analyzing a game he had played against Shirov
on a pocket set".
Such stories – which may play fast and loose
with the facts – can prove the most compelling
to share. Unfortunately in this day and age
we
tend to believe things we see on screen, because
until quite recently it was only big corporations
that could put information on screen. Now,
thanks
to the internet, any idiot can post information
as Sloan has proved; and these lies take on
a
life of their own online.
The news shocked and upset many of Leko's friends
and fans who had already started the grieving
process at the loss of one of the truly nice
guys
of the game – and at a time when he'd fulfilled
his earlier promise by winning through to challenge
earlier next year for Vladimr Kramnik's world
title. However, none was more shocked about the
news than Mr. Leko himself, who when awakening
from a heart sleep on Monday morning (and in rude
health) was reported to be "stunned" on
hearing of his own death!
Whilst the chess world were grieving a tragic
loss for Hungary in the premature demise of
Leko
thanks to Sloan, many should have been rightly
congratulating a superb win for Hungary as
Judit
Polgar won the Benidorm Stars at the Bali Hotel
after beating FIDE world champion Ruslan Ponomariov
in a blitz playoff. The two blitz games (3
min
plus 2 seconds) started with a draw. Judit
then went on to win the second one in dazzling
fashion,
giving up two pawns for a strong attack. "I
just trusted my intuition, and it worked very
well", said Polgar after her victory.
December 4, 2002
BENIDORM
ANOTHER WIN FOR POLGAR!
TO great acclaim, a new chess festival was launched
last week in the
Spanish resort of Benidorm, and was modeled on
Jose Cuchi's highly successful format for the
popular New York Open, where a mixture of amateur
and stars compete for a lucrative prize fund.
Organized by Alfonso Pedraza in conjunction with
the Bali Hotel group, the Festival ran from November
22 through to December 1, with a field of almost
300 players from 17 countries. Pride of place
for the new event, however, was a 12-player round
robin “Tournament of Stars” held on
the final weekend which was headed by FIDE world
champion Ruslan Ponomariov; and also featured
elite players such as Alexei Shirov and Anatoly
Karpov, the world's strongest female player Judit
Polgar, and new chess wunderkind Sergey Karjakin,
the youngest grandmaster ever in the history of
the game.
With a quick time-control of game/15 minutes with
a 10 second add-on, the format proved an instant
hit with Karjakin, who took the tournament by
storm with an opening round victory over Shirov;
and followed his superb start with draws against
Ponomariov, Karpov and Polgar. Going into the
final three rounds, Karjakin, unbeaten with four
wins and six draws, found himself sharing the
lead with Ponomariov and Polgar. Alas, the final
round proved to be Karjakin's undoing, as he lost
to Spaniard San Segundo after overplaying his
hand in pursuit of victory which would have given
the youngster a memorable first place in a high-ranking
event.
The tournament ended in a tie for first place
between Ponomariov and Polgar on 8/11, with Shirov
and Karpov third equal on 7.5, and Karjakin fifth
outright on 7 with a big gap down to Lev Psakhis
on 5.5. And, in a two-game playoff to decide the
winner, Polgar (who also won their individual
encounter below) sensationally beat Ponomariov
1.5-0.5 to take the title – a magnificent
result that yet again adds to her ever-growing
credentials for being the strongest female player
ever in the history of chess.
One of the main aims of the festival was to promote
a much bigger and better second edition of the
event with more big name stars that will take
place in November 2003. The organizers are hopeful
to announce this in January or February, giving
enough time to many European and American amateurs
to plan their holidays next year in Benidorm.
R Ponomariov - J Polgar
Benidorm Stars, (4)
Sicilian Najdorf
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6
6.Be3 Ng4 7.Bg5 h6 8.Bh4 g5 9.Bg3 Bg7 10.h3 Nf6
11.Qe2 Nc6 12.Nxc6 bxc6 13.e5 dxe5 14.Bxe5 0-0
15.h4 g4 16.g3 Qb6 17.0-0-0 Be6 18.Bg2 Rfd8 19.Rhe1
h5 20.b3 Rac8 21.Na4 Rxd1+ 22.Rxd1 Qb5 23.Bf1
Bc4 24.Qxc4 Qxe5 25.c3 Qf5 26.Qc5 Qf3 27.Bd3 Bh6+
28.Kc2 Ne4 29.Qe5 Nxf2 30.Be2 Qg2 31.Re1 Rd8 32.Qxe7
Rd2+ 33.Kb1 Qd5 34.Ka1 Ne4 35.Qe8+ Kg7 36.Nb2
Rxb2 37.Kxb2 Qd2+ 38.Ka3 Nf6, 0-1.
A Karpov - P Carrillo San Segundo
Benidorm Stars (1)
Queen’s Gambit Declined
1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Be7 4.Nf3 Nf6 5.Bf4 0–0
6.e3 c5 7.dxc5 Bxc5 8.cxd5 Nxd5 9.Nxd5 exd5 10.a3
Nc6 11.Bd3 Bb6 12.0–0 d4 13.e4 Bg4 14.h3
Bh5 15.g4 Bg6 16.Rc1 Rc8 17.Re1 Re8 18.Kg2 Bc7
19.Qd2 Bxf4 20.Qxf4 Qe7 21.Bc4 Kh8 22.Bd5 f6 23.Bxc6
Rxc6 24.Rxc6 bxc6 25.Nxd4 c5 26.Nf5 Bxf5 27.Qxf5
h6 28.Re3 Qc7 29.h4 c4 30.h5 Re5 31.Qf3 Qd7 32.Qe2
Qd4 33.Kf3 Rb5 34.Rc3 Qe5 35.Rxc4 Qh2 36.Rc8+
Kh7 37.Qxb5 Qh3+ 38.Kf4 Qh2+ 39.Ke3, 1–0.
A Shirov – A Karpov
Benidorm Stars (2)
Petroff’s Defense
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nxe5 d6 4.Nf3 Nxe4 5.Nc3 Nxc3
6.dxc3 Be7 7.Bf4 0–0 8.Qd2 Nd7 9.0–0–0
Nc5 10.Be3 Be6 11.Kb1 Qc8 12.Nd4 Bd7 13.h4 Re8
14.f3 Bf8 15.g4 Ne6 16.h5 Nxd4 17.cxd4 Bc6 18.Rh3
Bd5 19.c4 Bc6 20.d5 Bd7 21.Bd3 c5 22.Bf4 b5 23.cxb5
Qb7 24.Qc2 h6 25.Rg3 Bxb5 26.g5 Bxd3 27.Qxd3 Rab8
28.Rg2 hxg5 29.Bxg5 Qb5 30.Qc2 Kh8 31.Rdg1 Re5
32.h6 Rxg5 33.Rxg5 g6 34.f4 Bxh6 35.Rh1 Kg7 36.Qc3+
f6 37.Rg4 Qb4 38.Qxb4 cxb4 39.Rgh4 Rh8 40.Kc2
g5 41.fxg5 Rc8+ 42.Kb3 Bxg5 43.Rh7+ Kg6 44.Rxa7,
1–0.
A Shirov – D Paunovic
Benidorm Stars
Sicilian Kan
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 a6 5.Bd3 Nf6
6.0–0 d6 7.c4 b6 8.Nc3 Bb7 9.f4 g6 10.g4
Bg7 11.g5 Nfd7 12.Nf3 0–0 13.f5 exf5 14.exf5
Re8 15.Bf4 Nc6 16.f6 Bf8 17.Be4 b5 18.Bxd6 b4
19.Bxf8 bxc3 20.Be7 Nxe7 21.Bxb7 Qb6+ 22.Qd4 Qxb7
23.fxe7 cxb2 24.Rae1 Rac8 25.h4 Qb6 26.Qxb6 Nxb6
27.Nd2 Nxc4 28.Ne4 Kg7 29.Nf6 Nd2 30.Nxe8+ Rxe8
31.Rb1 Nxb1 32.Rxb1 Rxe7 33.Rxb2 Re4 34.Rh2 h6
35.gxh6+ Kxh6 36.h5 g5, 0–1.
S Karjakin – A Karpov
Benidorm Stars (4)
Petroff’s Defense
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nxe5 d6 4.Nf3 Nxe4 5.Nc3 Nxc3
6.dxc3 Be7 7.Bf4 0–0 8.Qd2 Nd7 9.0–0–0
Re8 10.Bc4 Nb6 11.Bd3 Be6 12.Ng5 Bxg5 13.Bxg5
Qd7 14.Kb1 Nc4 15.Qc1 a5 16.Rhe1 a4 17.Bf6 Qb5
18.Bxc4 Qxc4 19.Qg5 Qg4 20.f3 Qxg5 21.Bxg5 f6
22.Bc1 Kf7 23.Re3 b5 24.Rde1 h5 25.h4 Ra6 26.R3e2
Rc6 27.Bd2 Rc5 28.b3 Re5 29.Bf4 Rxe2 30.Rxe2 Ra8
31.Kb2 Bd5 32.Bg3 Bc6 33.Be1 g5 34.Kc1 Rg8 35.Kd2
Bd7 36.Ke3 Bf5 37.Kd2 Be6 38.Bf2 Ke7 39.Bg3 Kd7
40.Bf2 g4 41.Ke3 gxf3 42.gxf3 c5 43.Kf4 Rg2 44.Rd2
Kc6 45.Be3 Rg8 46.Rd1 Bf7 47.Rd2 Re8 48.Rg2 Re5
49.Bd2 Be6 50.Rf2 Bg8 51.Be3 Bh7 52.Rd2 Rf5+ 53.Kg3
Rd5 54.Rxd5 Kxd5 55.bxa4 bxa4 56.Bf4 Bxc2 57.a3
Kc6 58.Kf2 Bd1 59.Ke3 d5 60.Bh6 Kb5 61.Bf8 Kc4
62.f4 f5 63.Kd2 Bf3 64.Ke3 Bh1 65.Kd2 Bg2 66.Be7
d4 67.cxd4 cxd4 68.Bd6 Kd5 69.Be7 Ke4 70.Bg5 Bf1
71.Bh6 Bb5 72.Bg5 Kf3 73.Bh6 Kg3 74.Bg5 Kg4 75.Ke1,
1/2–1/2.
S Karjakin -- A Shirov
Benidorm Superstars, (1)
Sicilian Kalashnikov
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 e5 5.Nb5 d6
6.N1c3 a6 7.Na3 b5 8.Nd5 Nce7 9.c4 Nxd5 10.exd5
bxc4 11.Nxc4 Nf6 12.Be3 Rb8 13.Be2 Be7 14.a4 0-0
15.0-0 Bb7 16.Nb6 Nd7 17.a5 f5 18.f3 Nxb6 19.Bxb6
Qd7 20.b4 Bd8 21.Be3 Bf6 22.Rb1 Rbc8 23.b5 axb5
24.Rxb5 e4 25.fxe4 Rfe8 26.Rb4 Bc3 27.Bb5 Qd8
28.Bxe8 Bxb4 29.Bc6 Ba6 30.Rxf5 Bxa5 31.h3 Rb8
32.Kh2 g6 33.Bg5 Qc7 34.Rf3 Rb4 35.Bh6 Rb8 36.Qa1
Be2 37.Rf2 Bd3 38.Qf6, 1-0.
R Ponomariov -
J Polgar
Benidorm Stars Playoff, (2)
English Hedgehog
1.Nf3 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 c5 4.g3 b6 5.Bg2 Bb7 6.0–0
Be7 7.Re1 d6 8.e4 Nbd7 9.d4 cxd4 10.Nxd4 Rb8 11.b3
a6 12.Bb2 0–0 13.h3 Qc7 14.Qd2 Nc5 15.Rad1
Rfe8 16.f4 Ba8 17.Qf2 Ncd7 18.g4 h6 19.g5 hxg5
20.fxg5 Nh5 21.g6 Bf6 22.gxf7+ Kxf7 23.Bf3 Nf4
24.Bg4 g5 25.Nde2 Qc5 26.Nxf4 gxf4 27.Qxc5 bxc5
28.Rxd6 Bd4+ 29.Kf1 Ne5 30.Rxa6 Nxg4 31.hxg4 Rh8
32.Ra7+ Kg6 33.Kg2 f3+ 34.Kg3 Be5+ 35.Kxf3 Rh3+
36.Ke2 Rh2+ 37.Ke3 Rxb2 38.Na4 Rxa2 39.Rh1 Bd4+
40.Kf3 Rxb3+ 41.Kf4 e5, mate.
December 2, 2002
CURACAO KORCHNOI VICTORIOUS!
THE Curaçao Candidates’ tournament
of 1962 is often regarded as one of the defining
moments in chess history, as eight of the world’s
top players battled it out at the height of the
Cold War in a quadruple round robin to determine
the challenger for Mikhail Botvinnik’s crown.
All of the player’s that participated in
the tournament – Petrosian, Tal, Keres,
Korchnoi, Geller, Fischer, Benko and Filip –
were household names in their own right; and,
in the aftermath of this seminal event, the unknown,
yet tranquil little Dutch island of the Netherlands
Antilles in the Caribbean rose from relative obscurity
to be placed firmly on the world map by staging
one of the most famous Candidates’ cycles
in chess history.
However, there’s been a dearth of top class
events staged on the island since, and it’s
only in the last couple of years or so that local
organizer Ger Jan Meijer has built up the tournament
from a rather modest Open to an international
Open to properly commemorate the 40th anniversary
of the Candidates tournament.
While sadly four of the eight players from Curaçao
1962 have died (Petrosian, Keres, Tal and Geller),
and the other three (Fischer, Benko and Filip)
have retired from competitive play, the redoubtable
Viktor Korchnoi continues to defy the age barrier
by being, at 71, not just one of the world’s
top players but also one of the most active.
And, with the invitation of Viktor Korchnoi –
who, at 71 is still one of the most active players
around and placed 62nd in the world rankings –
as the star attraction among the cosmopolitan
field, he couldn’t have wished for a better
ending as the veteran of 1962, forty years on,
fittingly won the title!
The indefatigable Korchnoi, after losing the lead
in round seven, stormed back with successive wins
against the European champion Bartomiej Maceija
and Riku Molander to tie for first on 7/9 with
Yona Kosashvili; however Korchnoi took the title
on tiebreak from the Israeli.
Final standings: 1-2 GM V Korchnoi (Switzerland),
GM Y Kosashvili (Israel) 7/9; 3-6 GM J Timman
(Netherlands), GM B Macieja (Poland), IM C Gallegos
(Venezuela), IM G Ligterink (Netherlands) 6.
BEGINNING OF TAL’S
END
THE famous Curaçao Candidates’ tournament
of 1962 sadly marked the beginning of the end
for the “Riga Magician” Misha Tal,
who took the world by storm following a meteoric
rise that culminated in dethroning Botvinnik in
1960.
Unfortunately his reign was to be short-lived
due to persistent ill health, and the following
year Botvinnik again claimed his title back following
a rematch. During the last third of the Candidates
tournament, Tal, aged 25, was forced to withdraw
from the tournament after being admitted to hospital
with a serious kidney complaint (which was subsequently
removed) and had to abandon all hopes of regaining
his title.
Tal bitterly complained of the fact that, while
seriously ill in hospital, none of his fellow
Soviet players found the time to visit the former
world champion – they had become too preoccupied
amidst their controversial “drawing pact”
with deciding on how best to work out who was
going to go forward to challenge Botvinnik for
the world title. Ironically, the only player of
the seven left battling it out who spared the
time to visit the ailing Tal – and during
the height of the Cold War – was none other
than the temperamental American genius, Bobby
Fischer.
With Tal’s forced withdrawal at a crucial
stage of the tournament in 1962, the race intensified
amongst the Russians as to who would go forward
to meet Botvinnik in light of their so-called
“gentleman’s agreement” between
Tigran Petrosian, Paul Keres and Efim Geller;
Petrosian winning through as the favored candidate
to challenge for the world crown as the Soviet
bloc successfully thwarted off the challenge from
Fischer.
THE “GENTLEMAN’S
AGREEMENT”
THE year 1962 was a period when the Soviets first
realized that, in Bobby Fischer, they had a serious
contender from the West who was intent on ending
their hegemony of the world crown.
Only a few months earlier at the Stockholm Interzonal
that would determine six of the qualifiers for
the Curaçao Candidates’ tournament,
Fischer, aged 19, trounced the opposition to take
first place in style by being 2.5 points clear
of the field – and in doing so became the
first non Soviet to win an interzonal. The Russians
had to find a way to stop Fischer – but
how?
Much was expected of Fischer at Curaçao
and, with his stunning result at Stockholm, many
tipped him to win the Candidates that year. However,
Fischer suffered an initial setback in his quest
to wrest the crown from the Soviets when he came
fourth (well behind Petrosian, Keres and Geller)
with a final score of 14/27 in the quadruple round-robin
tournament. In an interview for Sports Illustrated
entitled “How The Russians Have Fixed World
Chess,” Fischer accused the Soviets of cheating
and collusion at Curaçao – his suspicions
aroused by a drawing pact agreed between Petrosian,
Keres and Geller.
Fischer’s theory was confirmed by Korchnoi,
who in 1977 wrote freely (but only after his defection!)
in his autobiography Chess Is My Life that there
was indeed a “gentleman’s agreement”
among the three leading Soviet players in order
to “save energy” and then fight successfully
the other participants of the tournament –
and indeed the fact is more or less confirmed
when you consider the statistic that all 12 games
between the three were drawn with the average
length being merely 17 (!) moves.
Y Kosashvili - V Korchnoi
Curaçao 1962-2002, (7)
Ruy Lopez
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.d3 b5 6.Bb3
Bc5 7.a4 Rb8 8.Bg5 h6 9.Bh4 d6 10.axb5 axb5 11.Nbd2
g5 12.Bg3 Bg4 13.c3 Nh5 14.Nf1 Nf4 15.Bxf4 gxf4
16.h3 Bh5 17.g4 Bg6 18.N1d2 Qf6 19.Ra6 Bb6 20.Qa1
0-0 21.h4 h5 22.g5 Qe7 23.Qa2 Qd7 24.Ke2 Rfe8
25.Bc2 Nd8 26.b4 Ne6 27.Bb3 c6 28.Bxe6 Rxe6 29.c4
Qb7 30.Rc1 Re7 31.c5 dxc5 32.bxc5 Bd8 33.Ra1 Kf8
34.Qb2 Bc7 35.Ra7 Qc8 36.R1a6 Rb7 37.Ra8 Rb8 38.Qa1
Kg7 39 R8a7 Qe6 40.d4 exd4 41.Qxd4+ Kg8 42.Qf6
Qd7 43.Qxc6 Rd8 44.Qxd7 Rdxd7 45.Kf1 Kg7 46.Rb7
Be5 47.Rxd7 Rxd7 48.Nxe5 Rxd2 49.f3 Rc2 50.c6,
1-0.
V Korchnoi - G Ligterink
Curaçao “1962-2002”, (6)
Nimzo-Indian Defense
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Qc2 0-0 5.a3 Bxc3+
6.Qxc3 Ne4 7.Qc2 f5 8.g3 b6 9.Bg2 Bb7 10.Nf3 Nf6
11.b4 Be4 12.Qc3 d6 13.a4 Nbd7 14.a5 b5 15.cxb5
Qb8 16.0-0 Qxb5 17.Qxc7 Qxe2 18.Re1 Qa6 19.Bf1
Qc8 20.Qxc8 Rfxc8 21.Ng5 Bd5 22.Ba3 e5 23.Ba6
Re8 24.dxe5 Nxe5 25.Red1 h6 26.f4 hxg5 27.fxe5
Rxe5 28.Bb2 Rae8 29.Bxe5 Rxe5 30.Rd4 Kf8 31.b5,
1-0.
R Molander -- V Korchnoi
Curaçao 1962-2002, (9)
Advanced French
1.e4 c5 2.c3 e6 3.d4 d5 4.e5 Qb6 5.Nf3 Nc6 6.a3
Nh6 7.b4 cxd4 8.cxd4 Nf5 9.Bb2 Be7 10.Bd3 a5 11.Qa4
0-0 12.b5 f6 13.0-0 fxe5 14.dxe5 Bd7 15.Nc3 Ncd4
16.Nxd4 Nxd4 17.Rad1 Rf4 18.Kh1 Raf8 19.Bc1 Ne2
20.Qc2 Nxc1 21.Bxh7+ Kh8 22.Rxc1 Rxf2 23.Rxf2
Qxf2 24.Qd3 Bg5 25.Rd1 Be8 26.Ne2 Bh5, 0-1.
J Sequera - B Macieja
Curaçao “1962-2002”, (4)
Modern Defense
1.e4 g6 2.d4 Bg7 3.Nf3 c5 4.c3 cxd4 5.cxd4 d5
6.e5 Bg4 7.Nbd2 Nc6 8.h3 Bf5 9.Bb5 Qb6 10.Qa4
Bd7 11.Bxc6 Bxc6 12.Qa3 Bb5 13.Nb3 Qc6 14.Qc5
Qd7 15.Bd2 b6 16.Qc2 Rc8 17.Qd1 f6 18.Rc1 Kf7
19.Rxc8 Qxc8 20.Qc1 Qf5 21.Kd1 Nh6 22.Re1 Rc8
23.Bc3 Kg8 24.Qe3 Nf7 25.e6 Nd8 26.Kd2 Rc6 27.g4
Qxe6 28.Qf4 Qd7 29.h4 Re6 30.Re3 Rxe3 31.fxe3
Ne6 32.Qg3 Qc7 33.Qg2 Qc4 34.Nc1 Nd8 35.b3 Qc6
36.a4 Ba6 37.Na2 Bc8 38.Nb4 Qd6 39.Nd3 a5 40.g5
Bf5 41.Nfe1 Nf7 42.Nf4 fxg5 43.hxg5 e6, 0-1.
V Korchnoi - J Sequera
Curacao “1962-2002,” (5)
English Opening
1.Nf3 f5 2.c4 Nf6 3.g3 e6 4.Bg2 Be7 5.0-0 0-0
6.Nc3 c6 7.d3 d6 8.b4 e5 9.Rb1 Kh8 10.b5 c5 11.Ne1
Qe8 12.f4 Nbd7 13.Nc2 Qh5 14.Ne3 exf4 15.gxf4
Rf7 16.Rf3 Ng4 17.Rh3 Bh4 18.Qf1 Ndf6 19.Qf3 h6
20.Ncd5 Nxd5 21.cxd5 g5 22.Nc4 Qg6 23.fxg5 hxg5
24.Nxd6 Rh7 25.Bb2+ Nf6 26.Qe3 Bd7 27.Qe5 Rf8
28.Rf1 g4 29.Rxh4 Rxh4 30.Nxf5 Bxf5 31.Rxf5 Rh6
32.d6, 1-0.
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