Part
1 | part 2
Another
second rate move. Instead, Kasparov's second,
GM Azmajparashvili, recommended 20.Ng5 Nxg5
21.Qxg5 Rxa2 22.Bg4 f5 23.Qf4 Be5 24.Qh6+ Kg8
25.Bxf5! gxf5 26.Qe6+ Bf7 27.Qxf5 with unclear play. The point of the
entire line is to open space for White's Queen.
But Anatoly Karpov never liked unclear sacrifices.
One of his favorite sayings is: "Sacrifices?
Who needs them?"
20...f5!
Connecting pawns
is always a good idea. Now
if 21.f3? then 21...e3!
and if 22.Qxe3, then 22…Bd4 wins.
21.Bd1 Ne5 22.Nc2?!
A desperate attempt
to activate his pieces, but it costs White another
pawn. Black is already getting ahead here.
22...Rxa2 23.Qd5 Ke7
24.Nb4?
One more move
by a Knight, and another mistake. He should
play 24.Qd2, but after 24...c5 Black would
have a great play. In case of the greedy 24.Qxb7
Black wins after 24…Bc6! 25.Qc8 Ra8, picking up the Queen.
24...c6! 25.Qxe6+
Kxe6 26.Nxa2
Black has the
upper hand here; he has two pawns and a minor
piece for his opponent's Rook, but more importantly,
his pieces, especially the
e5-Knight, hold better
positions. White's Rook has absolutely no good
prospects at the moment.
26...Nf7?
Kasparov makes
a serious mistake. Instead, 26...c5 would
give Black strong winning chances. For instance:
27.Nc3 is met
by 27…Nxc4! 28.Nxe4 fxe4 29.bxc4 b5 and Black
has a winning ending. Perhaps the best for White
is 27.Be2 and if 27…f4, then 28.Re1, but after
28…Bc6 Black retains the pressure.
27.Be2 Nd6 28.Nb4!
White finally gets his
Knight back into play. He was able to save the
game after a long fight:
28...Bc3 29.Nc2 f4 30.Rd1
h5?! 31.f3!
While Black is still
slightly better here, White has made enormous
progress. Most importantly, White's pieces are
now coordinated.
31...e3 32.g3 g5 33.Bd3
h4?! 34.Kf1!
Black does not
really threaten to take on g3,
since the e3-pawn is
more important.
34…c5 35.Ke2
b5 36.cxb5 Nxb5 37.Bc4+ Ke7 38.Rd5?!
In time pressure,
Karpov forgets to exchange on f4 and loses a pawn.
38…Bf6 39.Rxc5
Nc3+ 40.Kf1 Bg6 41.Ne1 Kd6 42.Ra5 fxg3!
43.hxg3 hxg3 44.Ng2
b5 45.Ra6+ Ke7
Black has to retreat,
since 45…Ke5? Meets
46.Re6+ Kf5 47.Nxe3+.
46.Ra7+ Ke8 47.Ra8+
Bd8 48.Nxe3! bxc4 49.Nxc4
49…g4 50.Kg2!
White avoids
50.fxg4 in a
view of 50…Bd3+!.
Now 51.Kg1 meets 51…Ne2+.
50…Ne2 51.Ne5 gxf3+
52.Kxf3 g2 53.Rxd8+ ,
1/2-1/2.
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