Alekhin anniversary

Last Sunday was the 50th anniversary of the death of Alekhin. Alexander Alekhin, if you do not already know, was one of the greatest world chess champions this century.

Born into the Russian aristocracy in 1892, Alekhin was the world chess champion from 1927 to 1935 and again from 1937 until his death in 1946. His dazzling combinative play went unparalleled in his time, and his genius was a strong influence on every great player since then, including Gary Kasparov.

Despite his genius on the chessboard, however, Alekhin died in abject poverty in 1946. It was just after the end of the world war and Alekhin, like many other chess players in post-war Europe, found life very difficult.

His health had been bad: years of heavy drinking and smoking had finally taken its toll. Liver ailments and hardening of the arteries counted among his many health problems. Years earlier, he had even contracted scarlet fever.

Tournaments were few and far inbetween, and those that were organised offered miserable prizes. Alekhin also suffered from being labelled an anti-Semitic, the result of playing in several tournaments in Germany during the war and having authored several anti-Semitic articles in Nazi newspapers - though he tried to deny them.

Then Alekhin received a formal challenge to his title from Mikhail Botvinnik. The match never materialised. While negotiations were going on, Alekhin was found dead one day in a Portuguese hotel. Legend has it that true to his lifestyle, a bottle of liquor was still clutched in his hands.

Alekhin's death probably saved him from a humiliating defeat at the hands of Botvinnik who, two years later, went on to claim the world championship title as his. Alekhin thus died as world champion, undefeated.

At the height of his chess-playing powers, Alekhin combined his talents with another gift: the ability to write penetrating notes to his games. While these may contain mistakes and some boasts about how much he saw during his games, they remained among the very best of chess literature.

Through his play and writing, he was one of the most influential players of all time. Among his notable books were two collections of his best games played between 1908 and 1937.

Here is a game, played in Baden-Baden in 1925, which Alekhin considered as one of his most brilliant efforts. The notes to this game are quoted directly from Alekhin's book, My Best Games of Chess, 1924-1937 which is publiched by BT Batsford of London.

Richard Reti - Alexander Alekhin

1.   g3           e5 

2.   Nf3          e4 

3.   Nd4          d5 

4.   d3         exd3 

5.   Qxd3        Nf6 

6.   Bg2        Bb4+

7.   Bd2       Bxd2+

8.   Nxd2        0-0

9.   c4          Na6 

10.  cxd5        Nb4 

11.  Qc4       Nbxd5 

12.  N2b3         c6 

13.  0-0         Re8 

14.  Rfd1        Bg4 

15.  Rd2         Qc8 

16.  Nc5        Bh3! 

17.  Bf3 

By his previous move Black had offered a pawn, the acceptance of which would have been fatal for White, for instance: 17.Bxh3 Qxh3, 18.Nxb7 Ng4, 19.Nf3 Nde3!, 20.fxe3 Nxe3, 21.Qxf7+ Kh8!, 22.Nh4 Rf8 and wins.

17.  ...         Bg4 

18.  Bg2         Bh3 

19.  Bf3         Bg4 

20.  Bh1         h5! 

21.  b4           a6 

22.  Rc1          h4 

23.  a4         hxg3 

24.  hxg3        Qc7 

25.  b5         axb5 

26.  axb5       Re3! 

It seems almost incredible that this spectacular move not only stops White's attack but even brings him serious trouble. And yet it is so. It is obvious enough that the rook cannot be taken because of 27...Qxg3+, followed by 28...Nxe3 and wins; and also that White has to do something in order to parry 27...Rxg3+!, etc.

27.  Nf3 

As the following shows, this natural move loses perforce. Also insufficient was 27.Kh2 because of 27...Raa3!, 28.Ncb3 (not 28.fxe3 Nxe3 followed by 29...Nf1+ etc) 28...Qe5!, 29.bxc6 bxc6 with a powerful attack as 30.fxe3 would still be bad because of 30...Qh5+ followed by 31...Qh3. The only chance of salvation was 27.Bf3! Bxf3, 28.exf3! cxb5, 29.Nxb5 Qa5! still with advantage for Black, as 30.Rxd5? would lose immediately after 30...Re1+, 31.Rxe1 Qxe1+ followed by 32...Ra1.

27.  ...        cxb5 

28.  Qxb5       Nc3! 

29.  Qxb7       Qxb7

And not 29...Nxe2+ because of 30.Rxe2! Qxb7, 31.Rxe3! with some saving chances for White.

30.  Nxb7      Nxe2+ 

31.  Kh2

Or 31.Kf1 Nxg3+, 32.fxg3 Bxf3, 33.Bxf3 Rxf3+, 34.Kg2 Raa3, 35.Rd8+ Kh7, 36.Rh1+ Kg6, 37.Rh3 Rfb3! and wins.

31.  ...        Ne4! 

32.  Rc4!       Nxf2 

Insufficient would be 32...Nxd2 because of 33.Nxd2! or 32...Bxf3 because of 33.Rxe4 etc. The situation is still very complicated.

33.  Bg2        Be6! 

One of the important links of the combination.

34.  Rcc2       Ng4+ 

35.  Kh3        

Not 35.Kh1 because of 35...Ra1+

35.  ...        Ne5+ 

36.  Kh2       Rxf3! 

37.  Rxe2       Ng4+ 

38.  Kh3        Ne3+ 

39.  Kh2        Nxc2 

40.  Bxf3        Nd4 

If now 41.Re3 then 41...Nxf3+, 42.Rxf3 Bd5! (the final point!) winning a piece.

           0-1

INCIDENTALLY, last Sunday was Viktor Korchnoi's 65th birthday which he celebrated in style by playing in the Chess-in-the-Schools international chess tournament in New York, in the United States.

Present at the birthday party, organised by Don Schultz, were most of the contestants in the tournament. They included Joel Benjamin, Valery Salov, Michael Adams, Roman Dzindzihashvili, Grigory Serper, Ivan Sokolov, Josh Waitzkin and Leonid Shamkovich, as well as Korchnoi's wife, Pia.

Korchnoi at 65 is still one of the top players around and he showed it by defeating Salov on his birthday:

Viktor Korchnoi - Valery Salov

1. d4 Nf6, 2. c4 e6, 3. Nc3 Bb4, 4. e3 c5, 5. Bd3 Nc6, 6. Ne2 cxd4, 7. exd4 d5, 8. O-O dxc4, 9. Bxc4 O-O, 10. a3 Bxc3, 11. bxc3 e5, 12. Bg5 Qd6, 13. Re1 Bg4, 14. f3 Be6, 15. Bxe6 fxe6, 16. Bxf6 Rxf6, 17. Ng3 Qc7, 18. Ne4 Rh6, 19. d5 exd5, 20. Qxd5+ Qf7, 21. Rad1 Rf8, 22. c4 Rg6, 23. Nc5 b6, 24. Nd7 Rd8, 25. h4 Re6, 26. h5 Re7, 27. Qxc6 Rexd7, 28. Rxd7 Qxd7, 29. Qxd7 Rxd7, 30. Rxe5 Rd3, 31. Re7 Rxa3, 32. Kf2 Rc3, 33. Rxa7 Rxc4, 34. Rb7 Rc6, 35. g4 h6, 36. Kg3 Kh7, 37. Rb8 g5, 38. hxg6+ Rxg6, 39. Kh4 Rd6, 40. f4 1-0 (on time)

 

Indians win, Malaysians shine

Although it was an ample show of strength by the Indian international masters at the Malaysia-India match in Kuala Lumpur earlier this month, our local players came away from the match with their heads held high.

The three Indian international masters did not totally have an easy time during the 12-round match. Favoured though they were to win, none of them managed a clean slate against the Malaysians who showed that they were not over-awed by the occasion.

PS Mithrakanth, the winner of the match with 8 1/2 points, lost to Ooi Chern Ee while second-placed Lanka Ravi, on eight points, lost a game each to Mas Hafizulhelmi and Mok Tze Meng.

K Murugan probably had the most difficult time. He lost three games, all to Ooi, and he finished the event in fourth place. His loss in the last round was particularly disappointing as he overstepped the time control, but his position by then was already bad.

So each of the Indians lost at least once to our players but both Mithrakanth and Lanka Ravi had a huge surfeit of wins which ensured that they finished ahead of the Malaysians. The two foreigners scored six wins each, and the only comparable effort from the local players was Ooi's four wins in this event. Unfortunately, Ooi also lost four games and as a result, it was only a 50 per cent score for him.

Nevertheless, it is estimated that Ooi's international rating from his performance here in Kuala Lumpur has probably increased by 40 points.

Mas Hafizulhelmi started off the match in rather impressive manner. He was among the early leaders but he lost momentum after two losses in the middle stretch of the match. Thereafter, his play turned cautious and it seemed that he was more contented to draw his remaining games. Still, this strategy worked and he managed to keep his losses in this match to only three. Despite this cautious approach, Mas Hafizulhelmi's rating should climb marginally by eight points.

Mok was the only player to find himself out of his depth in this match. His high point was a nicely-constructed win against Lanka Ravi in the third round but after that, it was a struggle all the way for him. His rating is expected to suffer by nine points.

It was clear from the results of this match that our local players have generally made some inroads in upgrading their chess skills against foreign competition. There is still a lot of hard work ahead of them and it will not be easy, but will our players continue to find the time and effort to improve further? This match was probably a swan song for Ooi as his studies must now take centre stage. His objective, after getting impressive results in the recent SPM examinations, is to qualify for tertiary education overseas. We shall be seeing a lot less of him in future.

Mas Hafizulhelmi, the current national champion, is also at a crossroad since he will be sitting for his examinations this year but probably for him, there are still several months of profitable chess playing left in him before he begins to concentrate on his studies.

It is unfortunate but true that talented school players eventually drop out of the game because of their studies while many adult players give chess a backseat because they need to further their careers. But real chess addicts, it is observed, will always find their way back into the game after the completion of their studies.

The Malaysia-India match, played at the SuCasa Hotel Apartments in Kuala Lumpur, was sponsored jointly by Tan & Tan Development Berhad and Ipoh Garden Berhad. The organiser was the Malaysian Chess Federation.

Final standings: PS Mithrakanth 8 1/2 points; Lanka Ravi 8 points; Ooi Chern Ee 6 points; K Murugan 5 1/2 points; Mas Hafizulhelmi 5 points; and Mok Tze Meng 3 points.

GAMES OF THE WEEK

Here are the six games in the Malaysia-India match which were won by the Malaysians.

Mas Hafizulhelmi - Lanka Ravi

1. e4 c5, 2. Nf3 Nc6, 3. d4 cxd4, 4. Nxd4 Nf6, 5. Nc3 d6, 6. Bg5 e6, 7. Qd2 a6, 8. O-O-O h6, 9. Bf4 Bd7, 10. Nxc6 Bxc6, 11. Bxd6 Bxd6, 12. Qxd6 Qxd6, 13. Rxd6 Bxe4, 14. Rd2 Bc6, 15. f3 Ke7, 16. Bd3 Rhd8, 17. Rhd1 Rd6, 18. Be2 Rad8, 19. a4 Rxd2, 20. Rxd2 Rxd2, 21. Kxd2 a5, 22. Bb5 Kd6, 23. Bxc6 Kxc6, 24. Kd3 Nd5, 25. Nxd5 Kxd5, 26. f4 f6, 27. c3 e5, 28. fxe5 fxe5, 29. b3 h5, 30. g3 b6, 31. Ke3 e4, 32. h3 Ke5, 33. b4 Kd5, 34. b5 Kc4, 35. Kxe4 Kb3, 36. Kd5 Kxa4, 37. c4 Kb3, 38. c5 a4, 39. cxb6 a3, 40. b7 a2, 41. b8=Q a1=Q, 42. Qe5 Qa8+, 43. Kc5 Qa7+, 44. Kc6 Qa8+, 45. Kb6 Qd8+, 46. Qc7 Qf6+, 47. Kb7 Qf3+, 48. Ka7 h4, 49. gxh4 Qxh3, 50. Qe7 Qc3, 51. Qe6+ Ka4, 52. b6 Kb5, 53. Qd5+ Ka4, 54. b7 1-0

Ooi Chern Ee - K Murugan

1. d4 Nf6, 2. c4 e6, 3. Nc3 d5, 4. cxd5 exd5, 5. Bg5 c6, 6. e3 Nbd7, 7. Bd3 Be7, 8. Nf3 h6, 9. Bf4 O-O, 10. h3 Re8, 11. Qc2 Nf8, 12. O-O-O Be6, 13. g4 Qa5, 14. g5 Ne4, 15. gxh6 g6, 16. Ne5 Rac8, 17. Rdg1 Kh7, 18. f3 Nxc3, 19. bxc3 f5, 20. Nxg6 Ba3+, 21. Kd1 1-0

Mok Tze Meng - Lanka Ravi

1. e4 c5, 2. Nf3 Nc6, 3. d4 cxd4, 4. Nxd4 Nf6, 5. Nc3 d6, 6. Bc4 e6, 7. Be3 Be7, 8. Qe2 a6, 9. O-O-O Qc7, 10. f3 O-O, 11. g4 Na5, 12. Bd3 b5, 13. g5 Nd7, 14. f4 b4, 15. Nb1 Nc5, 16. Nd2 Re8, 17. Rhg1 Bb7, 18. h4 d5, 19. e5 Nxd3+, 20. Qxd3 Bf8, 21. h5 Nc4, 22. N2f3 a5, 23. g6 fxg6, 24. Ng5 Nxe3, 25. Qxe3 Bc5, 26. Qh3 Bxd4, 27. Rxd4 Rac8, 28. Rg2 Qb6, 29. Rd1 h6, 30. hxg6 hxg5, 31. Rh2 Kf8, 32. Qh8+ Ke7, 33. Qxg7+ Kd8, 34. Rh7 Rc7, 35. Qf6+ Kc8, 36. Rh8 Rxh8, 37. Qxh8+ Kd7, 38. Qh7+ Kc6, 39. g7 Qe3+, 40. Kb1 gxf4, 41. Qg6 Rxg7, 42. Qxg7 d4, 43. Qf6 Kd5, 44. Qe7 1-0

K Murugan - Ooi Chern Ee

1. d4 Nf6, 2. c4 e6, 3. g3 Bb4+, 4. Bd2 Qe7, 5. Bg2 Nc6, 6. Nf3 Bxd2+, 7. Nbxd2 d6, 8. O-O a5, 9. e4 e5, 10. d5 Nb8, 11. Ne1 O-O, 12. Nd3 Na6, 13. a3 c6, 14. dxc6 bxc6, 15. b4 c5, 16. b5 Nc7, 17. a4 Ne6, 18. Ne1 Nd4, 19. Nc2 Bb7, 20. Ne3 g6, 21. Ra3 Nd7, 22. Nb1 Nb6, 23. Nc3 f5, 24. exf5 Bxg2, 25. Kxg2 gxf5, 26. Ncd5 Qb7, 27. Kh3 f4, 28. gxf4 exf4, 29. Nxb6 Qxb6, 30. Nd5 Qb7, 31. Rd3 Rae8, 32. Rg1+ Kh8, 33. Rxd4 cxd4, 34. Qxd4+ Re5, 35. Rg5 Qd7+, 36. Kg2 Rff5, 37. Rxf5 Qxf5, 38. Nxf4 Qe4+, 39. Qxe4 Rxe4, 40. Nd5 Rxc4, 41. b6 Rxa4, 42. h3 Ra3 0-1

Ooi Chern Ee - PS Mithrakanth

1. d4 Nf6, 2. c4 e6, 3. Nc3 Bb4, 4. f3 d5, 5. a3 Be7, 6. e4 dxe4, 7. fxe4 e5, 8. d5 Bc5, 9. Bg5 h6, 10. Bh4 Bd4, 11. Nf3 c5, 12. Qc2 O-O, 13. Nb5 Qa5+, 14. b4 cxb4, 15. Nfxd4 exd4, 16. Bxf6 gxf6, 17. Qd2 Na6, 18. Bd3 Nc5, 19. O-O Nxd3, 20. Qxd3 a6, 21. axb4 Qxb4, 22. Rxf6 axb5, 23. Rxa8 Qxc4, 24. Qg3+ Kh7, 25. Qf4 1-0

K Murugan - Ooi Chern Ee

1. Nf3 Nf6, 2. c4 c5, 3. Nc3 e6, 4. g3 b6, 5. Bg2 Bb7, 6. O-O d5, 7. cxd5 Nxd5, 8. d4 Nxc3, 9. bxc3 Be7, 10. Qd3 Nc6, 11. Bb2 O-O, 12. Rfd1 cxd4, 13. cxd4 Rc8, 14. a3 Na5, 15. Bc3 b5, 16. Rab1 a6, 17. a4 Bc6, 18. Ne5 Bxg2, 19. Kxg2 bxa4, 20. e4 f5, 21. Be1 Bd6, 22. Qxa6 Ra8, 23. Qe2 Bxe5, 24. dxe5 Qc7, 25. Rdc1 Qd7, 26. Bb4 Rfe8, 27. Bd6 Rec8, 28. exf5 exf5, 29. Qf3 Qe6, 30. Rc7 Re8, 31. Re7 Qc8, 32. Rxe8+ Qxe8, 33. Qxf5 Nc4, 34. Rc1 a3, 35. Qf3 Qa4, 36. Qd5+ Kh8 0-1

 

Mother of all chess battles

Last week, the World Chess Federation (Fide) shocked journalists at a press conference in Paris by announcing that the world chess championship match between Anatoly Karpov and Gata Kamsky will be held in Iraq this June.

The match will be held at either the Al-Rasheed Hotel in central Baghdad or the city's Congress Centre. Twenty games will be played and the match will last no more than 40 days.

Kirsan Iljumzhinov, Fide's 34-year-old Russian president, told a news conference that Russian defending champion Karpov and his Russian-born American-based challenger, Kamsky, will play for a prize fund of US$2 million (about RM5 million); Iraqi president Saddam Hussein would preside over the opening.

Iljumzhinov declined to say whether the prize money would come from the Iraqi government, but he did said that Saddam has agreed to soften his public image by shedding his customary military uniform in favour of a civilian suit when he attends the opening ceremony.

The Fide president said he negotiated on the match with the Iraqi Chess Federation, and that both Karpov and Kamsky have agreed to jointly donate US$500,000 (RM1.25 million) of their winnings to UNICEF for the benefit of Iraqi children and other humanitarian causes.

The decision in ordinary times would probably not have raised any eyebrows; however, at the moment, Iraq is still the subject of a United Nations trade sanctions and international diplomatic isolation because of its invasion of Kuwait in 1990 which culminated in the 1991 Gulf War.

However, Iljumzhinov said: "I believe the sanctions are economic, and culture and sport are not involved," adding that he has checked and found that there is no sports sanction against Iraq. International sporting activities have been held there during the period of UN economic sanctions.

Nevertheless, he wants the UN to rule on whether the economic embargo against Iraq applied to the planned match.

The Fide president said the federation received a bid from Montreal in November last year but until the end of January, it had not been formalised. The deadline for Canada to confirm their offer was extended but there was still no positive news by Feb 29.

Accordingly, Iljumzhinov started to explore other possibilities. Moscow and Baku showed interest initially but they did not provide any concrete proposals. Then Baghdad started to come into the picture.

"I talked to Saddam and asked him if he was ready to make his first knight move and he said yes," Iljunzhinov said.

lljumzhinov then contacted Karpov and Kamsky to inform them of this development. He said both players not only did not object to the possibility of playing in Baghdad, but they indicated their readiness to do so.

The Paris press conference lasted about one and a half hours during which time Karpov, Rustam Kamsky (Gata's father) and Fide deputy president Bachar Kouatly, answered questions from some 40 journalists, including from CNN.

The journalists were reportedly stunned to hear the news and could not believe the match could take place in Baghdad. Moscow seemed a more likely venue but Iljumzhinov said it would be a critical period in Russia because of the country's elections in June.

If the mother of all chess battles goes ahead in Baghdad, it will be a substantial public relations coup for Iraq in its bid to breech the wall of international ostracism.

The only fly in the ointment is American regulations that bar American citizens from playing in Iraq. Although Gata Kamsky is still not an American citizen, he is actively seeking to become one. Gata's father, Rustam, said the US State Department's initial reaction to Gata playing in Iraq has been unfavourable.

A day after the announcement of the match, the United States said Kamsky had been refused permission to play in Baghdad. A US$1 million (RM2.55 million) fine has been threatened.

State Department spokesman Nicholas Burns suggested that Saddam would be wiser to focus his energies on dragging his nation out from underneath the crippling UN economic sanctions than on hosting a costly chess event.

Burns said the match has also cast doubts on Iraq's complaints before the UN about the hardship imposed on it by the economic embargo.

"It tells you something about Saddam Hussein's priorities, that instead of feeding his people he is going to host a bunch of chess grandmasters."

Burns questioned Fide's rationale for scheduling the match in Baghdad, saying "Iraq ought to be isolated." He declined to comment on whether Kamsky would be given permission to play the match, but other US officials said he will not.

It would not be the first time that the United States government stepped in to prevent Americans from playing chess in politically explosive venues.

In 1992, the US Treasury Department banned former American chess champion Bobby Fischer from playing a rematch for US$5 million (RM12.5 million) against his former opponent, Russian emigre Boris Spassky, in Serbia.

Fischer, in typical fashion, ignored the ban, in which the US government argued that the match was in violation of UN sanctions which were effective in 1992 against Serbia and Montenegro. Fischer is still threatened with arrest if he returns to the United States from his present whereabouts in Hungary.

SPOTTED DOGGIE DO

The Royal Selangor Club will organise a one-day rapid-play tournament at its Card Room this Sunday.

Registration of players will be from 8.15am to 8.30am, and thereafter the first of the six scheduled rounds will be played. Entry fees are RM15 for under-14 players and RM20 for others.

Lunch is provided for all participants. During the lunch break, there will be a video screening on the second Bobby Fischer-Boris Spassky match in 1992.

PFS OPEN

Here is a final reminder to readers that the sixth Penang Free School open chess tournament will be held at the school on March 24.

This will be played over seven rounds and cash prizes, including a RM200 first prize, will be given to the top 10 players. There will also be various category prizes.

Entry fees are RM4 for players under 20 years old and RM6 for others.

To register for the event, contact Liong Ing Kiat or Lim Cheng Teik in the evenings. Alternatively, you can register electronically with Ronnie Lau at rlau@pl.jaring.my.

INDIANS DOMINATE

The Malaysia-India match in Kuala Lumpur earlier this month was won by Indian international master PS Mithrakanth who scored 8 1/2 points from 12 games. In second place was another Indian international master, Lanka Ravi, with eight points, while Malaysia's Ooi Chern Ee was third with six points.

Fourth was Indian international master K Murugan with 5 1/2 points, fifth was local Fide Master Mas Hafizulhelmi with five points, while in sixth place was another local player, Mok Tze Meng, with three points.

There will be a closer look at this tournament, including a selection of games, next week.

 

Queen of the board

---------------------------------------------------------

                         1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 

---------------------------------------------------------

Zsuzsa Polgar (Hungary)  0 = = 1 1 = 1 1 = = 1 0 1  8 1/2

Xie Jun       (China)    1 = = 0 0 = 0 0 = = 0 1 0  4 1/2

---------------------------------------------------------

There is a new queen of the chessboard, and her name is Zsuzsa Polgar. Last month, 26-year-old Polgar toppled Xie Jun in an embarassing one-sided match for the women's world chess championship crown which was played in the Spanish town of Jaen.

The match was scheduled for a maximum 16 games but the Hungarian required only 13 games to gain the 8 1/2 points needed for wresting the title from the Chinese player.

The match had begun on a positive footing for Xie who won the first game quite easily but after two short draws, everything went downhill for the Chinese grandmaster.

Xie could only score half a point from the next five games. In this crucial stage of the match, Polgar equalised by winning the fourth game, then took over the lead when she also won the fifth game. From then on, there was little that Xie could do to stop Polgar. There were two more wins for the Hungarian grandmaster in the seventh and eighth games. Then, after two more draws, Polgar won again.

For the demoralised Xie, winning the 12th game was perhaps her last-gasp attempt to claw her way back into the match but the 13th game, played immediately after the Chinese New Year break, went horribly wrong for her.

Seeing that she had lost a piece without compensation, Xie promptly resigned the game and with it, relinquished her title.

Zsuzsa Polgar is the eldest of the three Polgar sisters, the other two being Sofia and Judit. In the late 80s, she was already making a name for herself when she began competing exclusively and successfully in open competitions against male chess players.

The Polgar sisters hardly bothered to play against other women players in tournaments, and were not keen on the women's world championship cycles. The only exception was in 1988 when they led the Hungarian women's team to the gold medals at the biennial Chess Olympiad in Thessaloniki.

During the 90s, however, Zsuzsa Polgar seemed to have a change of heart and she turned her attention to the women's world championship title. In her first attempt at the title in the 1991-93 cycle, she advanced to the Candidate finals but she failed to qualify as the challenger when she lost to Nana Ioseliani.

But in the 1993-95 cycle, Polgar confidently swept aside all her rivals, including Maya Chiburdanidze last year, to become the challenger to Xie.

Xie won the title in 1991 when she dethroned Chiburdanidze from the champion's pedestal. Her first defence of the title was in 1993 against Ioseliani in Monaco and this match against Polgar in Jaen was only her second defence.

The site of the match was the Parador de Turismo de Santa Catalina which is next to the fortress of Fernando III near the summit of the Santa Catalina mountain in the Andalucian province of Jaen. Linares, a town well-known to chess players, is some 50km away.

For this match, Spanish businessman Luis Rentero had been appointed as its technical director on the basis of his past contributions to the annual Linares super-grandmaster tournaments.

Rentero, unfortunately, has his own ideas on how a tournament or match should be played. After Xie and Polgar had quickly drawn the third game of the match, Rentero sent a letter to the players in which he reminded them that Andalucia had made great sacrifices to hold the match.

Stating that the games until that point in the match had been a disappointment, he then accused the players of giving the impression that they had come to visit Jaen as tourists rather than chess players.

As the technical director of the event and regardless of any match regulation, he would not stand for this, he said. He threatened a US$25,000 fine on each player if they continued playing quick and short draws.

Both players were reported to be extremely upset with this letter and they both spoke to Rentero personally about it.

Before the fourth game was played, Polgar issued a public rebuke in which she said she was extremely insulted at the accusation that she had come to Jaen merely as a tourist.

She reminded Rentero that this was an official Fide world championship match and not a private tournament, such as the Linares, where he could impose extra regulations according to his whims and fancy.

Her objective at Jaen, she said, was to win the world chess championship title.

GAMES OF THE WEEK

Xie Jun - Zsuzsa Polgar, Game 6

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 Nc6 6. Ndb5 Bb4 7. a3 Bxc3+ 8. Nxc3 d5 9. exd5 exd5 10. Bd3 O-O 11. O-O d4 12. Ne4 Bf5 13. Bg5 Bxe4 14. Bxe4 h6 15. Bxf6 Qxf6 16. Qf3 Qxf3 17. Bxf3 Rac8 18. Rfe1 Rfd8 19. Rad1 Kf8 20. Kf1 Na5 21. Re2 Nc4 22. Re4 d3 23. cxd3 Nxb2 24. Rb1 Nxd3 25. Ra4 Nc5 26. Rxa7 Ra8 27. Rxa8 Rxa8 28. Bxb7 1/2-1/2

Zsuzsa Polgar - Xie Jun, Game 7

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 exd4 4. Nxd4 Bc5 5. Nxc6 Qf6 6. Qd2 dxc6 7. Nc3 Be6 8. Na4 Bd6 9. Qe3 Nh6 10. h3 O-O 11. Be2 Rfe8 12. Nc3 Qe5 13. f4 Qa5 14. Bd2 Bb4 15. a3 Nf5 16. exf5 Bc4 17. Qd4 Bxc3 18. Bxc3 Rxe2+ 19. Kf1 Qxc3 20. bxc3 Re4+ 21. Kf2 Rxd4 22. cxd4 Rd8 23. Rhe1 Kf8 24. Re4 g6 25. f6 Rd6 26. Re7 Rxf6 27. Rxc7 Rxf4+ 28. Ke3 Rf6 29. Rxb7 a6 30. Re1 Bf1 31. g4 g5 32. Rb6 Bg2 33. Rg1 Bd5 34. Rg3 Bc4 35. d5 Bxd5 36. Rxa6 Kg7 37. Ra7 Rf4 38. a4 Kf6 39. Kd2 Rf2+ 40. Kc1 Ke5 41. a5 Kd4 42. Kb2 Kc4 43. Rb7 c5 44. Rb6 1-0

Xie Jun - Zsuzsa Polgar, Game 8

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 Nc6 6. Ndb5 Bb4 7. a3 Bxc3+ 8. Nxc3 d5 9. exd5 exd5 10. Bd3 O-O 11. O-O d4 12. Ne2 Qd5 13. Nf4 Qd6 14. Nh5 Nxh5 15. Qxh5 h6 16. Bd2 Bd7 17. Rae1 Rfe8 18. f4 Ne7 19. Re5 Bc6 20. Bb4 Qf6 21. Bc4 Bd7 22. Rg5 Be6 23. Bd3 Nc6 24. Bd2 hxg5 25. Qh7+ Kf8 26. fxg5 Qe5 27. Bf4 Qd5 28. Be4 Bf5 29. Bxf5 Re2 30. Bh3 d3 31. c3 Ne7 32. Qh8+ Ng8 33. g6 f6 34. b4 Qd8 35. Bg4 Re4 36. Qh5 Qe7 37. Bd2 Rd8 38. Bf3 Re5 39. Qg4 Qd7 40. Qc4 b5 41. Qb3 Qe6 42. Qxe6 Rxe6 43. h4 Ne7 44. h5 Nd5 45. Bg4 Re4 46. Bf3 Re5 47. h6 gxh6 48. Bxh6+ Ke7 49. Rc1 Ne3 50. Re1 Nc4 51. Rd1 Nb2 52. Rb1 Na4 53. Kf1 d2 54. Rd1 Rg5 55. Bxg5 fxg5 56. g7 Kf7 57. Kg1 Nxc3 58. Rf1 Kxg7 59. Bd1 Re8 60. Kf2 Rf8+ 0-1

Zsuzsa Polgar - Xie Jun, Game 9

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. d4 exd4 5. Nxd4 Bb4 6. Nxc6 bxc6 7. Bd3 d5 8. exd5 cxd5 9. O-O O-O 10. Bg5 c6 11. Na4 Bd6 12. c4 h6 13. Bh4 Bg4 14. Qc2 Be6 15. Kh1 Rb8 16. Rad1 Re8 17. b3 Qe7 18. Rfe1 Rbd8 19. cxd5 cxd5 20. Qb2 g5 21. Bg3 Bb4 22. Re2 Ne4 23. Be5 Bg4 24. f3 Qxe5 25. Qxe5 Rxe5 26. fxg4 Rde8 27. Kg1 Nf6 28. Rxe5 Rxe5 29. h3 Be1 30. Kf1 Bh4 31. Nc3 d4 32. Ne2 Nd5 33. Rc1 Re3 34. Rd1 Kf8 35. Bc4 Rxe2 36. Kxe2 Nc3+ 37. Kd2 Nxd1 1/2-1/2

Xie Jun - Zsuzsa Polgar, Game 10

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Nxe4 6. d4 b5 7. Bb3 d5 8. dxe5 Be6 9. Nbd2 Nc5 10. c3 Be7 11. Bc2 d4 12. Ne4 d3 13. Nxc5 dxc2 14. Qxd8+ Rxd8 15. Nxe6 fxe6 16. Be3 Rd5 17. Rac1 Nxe5 18. Nxe5 Rxe5 19. Rxc2 Kf7 20. c4 b4 21. Rd1 Rd8 22. Rxd8 Bxd8 23. Kf1 Bg5 24. Ba7 Rf5 25. Ke2 Ke8 26. Kd3 Kd7 27. f3 c5 28. Re2 Be7 29. Bb8 a5 30. Ke4 Kc6 31. Be5 g6 32. g4 Rf8 33. Rd2 a4 34. Bg3 h5 35. Rd3 hxg4 36. fxg4 Rf1 37. b3 a3 38. Rd2 g5 39. Rd3 Ra1 40. Rd2 Rb1 41. Ke5 Rb2 42. Be1 Bd8 43. Rd6+ Kc7 44. Rd2 Kc6 45. Rd6+ Kc7 46. Rd2 1/2-1/2

Zsuzsa Polgar - Xie Jun, Game 11

1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 g6 3. c4 Bg7 4. g3 O-O 5. Bg2 d5 6. cxd5 Nxd5 7. O-O Nb6 8. Nc3 Nc6 9. d5 Na5 10. Bf4 c6 11. dxc6 Nxc6 12. Qc1 Bg4 13. Rd1 Qc8 14. Bh6 Qf5 15. Bxg7 Kxg7 16. Nd4 Nxd4 17. Rxd4 e5 18. Rd1 Qc8 19. b3 Bh3 20. Bxh3 Qxh3 21. Qe3 Nd7 22. Ne4 b6 23. Rd6 Rac8 24. Rad1 Nb8 25. Qg5 Qf5 26. Qxf5 gxf5 27. Nf6 Nc6 28. Nh5+ Kg8 29. R1d5 Kh8 30. Rf6 Rc7 31. e3 Rg8 32. h4 a6 33. Kg2 Ne7 34. Rd2 Ng6 35. Kh2 f4 36. Rxb6 fxe3 37. fxe3 e4 38. Nf6 Ne5 39. Nxg8 Nf3+ 40. Kh3 Nxd2 41. Nf6 Rc3 42. Kg4 Kg7 43. Kf4 Rc1 44. Rxa6 Rf1+ 45. Ke5 Rf3 46. Nh5+ Kf8 47. Kd6 1-0

Xie Jun - Zsuzsa Polgar, Game 12

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. d3 d6 6. c3 Bd7 7. O-O g6 8. Nbd2 Bg7 9. Re1 O-O 10. Nf1 b5 11. Bc2 h6 12. Ne3 Re8 13. a4 Rb8 14. axb5 axb5 15. h3 Be6 16. d4 exd4 17. cxd4 Bc8 18. Nf1 Nb4 19. Bb1 c5 20. Bd2 Nc6 21. dxc5 dxc5 22. Qc1 Nd4 23. Nxd4 Qxd4 24. e5 Nh7 25. Be3 Qc4 26. f4 Qxc1 27. Rxc1 c4 28. Ba7 Rb7 29. Be4 Rbe7 30. Bc5 Re6 31. Bd5 Ra6 32. Rxa6 Bxa6 33. Ra1 Bxe5 34. Rxa6 Bxb2 35. Rxg6+ Kh8 36. Bxf7 Rc8 37. Be6 Ra8 38. Ne3 Bg7 39. Nf5 Nf8 40. Bxf8 Bxf8 41. Nxh6 Ra6 42. Nf7+ Kh7 43. Rg3 Bg7 44. Ng5+ Kh8 45. Rg4 1-0

Zsuzsa Polgar - Xie Jun, Game 13

1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 g6 3. c4 Bg7 4. g3 O-O 5. Bg2 d5 6. cxd5 Nxd5 7. O-O Nc6 8. e4 Nb6 9. d5 Na5 10. Qe1 Nac4 11. Nc3 e6 12. b3 Qf6 13. bxc4 Qxc3 14. Qxc3 Bxc3 15. Rb1 Bg7 16. Bf4 c6 17. dxc6 bxc6 18. Bd6 Re8 19. c5 Nc4 20. e5 Ba6 21. Rfc1 Rec8 22. Bf1 Nxe5 23. Nxe5 Bxf1 24. Kxf1 1-0

 

Triumph of man

Of all the traditional board games in the world - chess, checkers (or draughts), go and backgammon - I believe chess represents one of the greatest challenges to computer programmers.

The number of positions and transpositions in a chess game is almost limitless; and the innumerable tactical and strategical nuances at every stage of a game have ensured that chess retains its full intricacy and beauty.

The ideal chess game remains to be played and unlike checkers or backgammon, the mysteries of chess are far from being solved or unraveled. Computers have come a long way in helping man to understand the complexity of chess but as Gary Kasparov had demonstrated in defeating IBM's Deep Blue chess computer last month, the ideal chess-playing computer or programme remains to be built.

It is true that Deep Blue is the strongest chess-playing computer in the world today. Based on its limited six-game performance against Kasparov in Philadelphia, USA, the average rating of Deep Blue is probably around 2650 points - placing it at about the level of the top 50 to 60 best players in the world currently.

But Deep Blue is still a machine; despite its one million transistors and an impressive array of RAM and ROM blocks which enable it to analyse two to three million positions per second, Deep Blue still calculates everything by brute force.

In any given position, Deep Blue still has to analyse and compute all possible moves several plys deep irregardless of whether they are good or bad. It lacks the basic instinct or intuition not to analyse the bad moves.

As a very basic comparison, let us take the starting position of a chess game. The human player will always reject moves like 1. h3 or 1. f3 as his first move, because he knows that these moves are bad and do not help in the development of his pieces.

However, a typical chess-playing computer or software will always include the analysis of all bad moves as well as the time-honoured "good" moves like 1. e4 or 1. d4 everytime it evaluates the position.

Of course, it is very likely that sophisticated machines like Deep Blue and other strong commercially available software would have been pre-programmed to reject such moves at the start of a game.

But when a game has already been played several moves, the choices open to the human mind or the computer brain are almost limitless. Here, the computer has to evaluate every possible move - good or bad - until it arrives at what it perceives to be its strongest continuation, and plays the move.

On the other hand, the human player only has to look at the chess board and he can decide, from applying common chess principles, which are the good and bad positions. He recognises and rejects the obvious bad moves.

Intuition tells him which are the likely moves, then he concentrates on the analysis and plays what he thinks will be the best continuation. Because of this intuitive gift - the ability to separate bad from good - chess players generally do not have to think many moves ahead in a chess position.

Now, during Kasparov's match with Deep Blue, he was asked how many moves ahead did he anticipate. According to Kasparov, it would depend on the position. Normally, he claimed to calculate only three to five moves ahead.

"You don't need more but in a position where there is a forced line (of play), even with our incomplete brains, I can make probably 10, 12 or 14 moves. That is something you can do but you don't do it very often. I would say it is five moves, but I can go much deeper if it is required."

To non-chess players, this answer would generate surprise but chess players would generally be less surprised to learn that Kasparov is not that much different from ordinary folks like you and I, except that he uses his faculties much more efficiently.

See where this ability has led him. By Malaysian standards, Kasparov has added another RM1 million (US$400,000) to his bank account just by beating Deep Blue 4-2. He is already a millionaire several times over.

At the end of the match, American international master Maurice Ashley commented that the main question facing computer chess programmers was how to make the computer think more selectively. What was clear from Kasparov's feat was the human capability to stay ahead of the computer.

After Kasparov's loss in the first game, he learnt to change his attacking play to a more positionally-based squeeze style which seemed very effective.

American grandmaster Yasser Seirawan said Kasparov learned very quickly. From the first game to the next, Kasparov looked stronger and stronger, even in the drawn third and fourth games.

Seirawan agreed that Kasparov overcame the difficult task of changing his style of play, like asking a baseball pitcher to pitch left-handed when he is a righty.

"He loves tactics. He relishes a good tactical slugfest, he goes on the offensive at the drop of a hat, he loves attacking his opponent's king, and he had to put all these away and play a much different kind of chess. He did it extraordinarily well; it was not an easy thing to do at all."

The Deep Blue team, managed by Chung-Jen Tan and consisting of computer scientists Feng-Hsiung Hsu, Murray S. Campbell, A. Joseph Hoane Jr, and Gershon Brody, deserves credit for having developed this computing giant but it is obvious that many more years of work lies ahead of them if they hope to compete with a Kasparov who now understands very well how to exploit the gaping silicon holes.

At the end of the match, Tan admitted that one of the biggest problems with Deep Blue was its inability to learn from its mistakes. The machine has no intelligence of its own. Until Artificial Intelligence research can solve this problem, no algorithm will be able to beat a human chess player in match play.

In the fifth and sixth games, Deep Blue was made to look very bad by Kasparov. Seirawan even ventured to say that Kasparov had solved the riddle of the computer. Kasparov said that in those two games, he created positions where the machine had very little chance to utilise its strengths. He agreed that the fact that he could learn quickly contributed mostly to his success.

The Deep Blue team is based at the IBM Research Division's Thomas J. Watson Research Center in Yorktown Heights, New York. The Deep Blue-Kasparov match at the Philadelphia Convention Center was organised by the Association of Computing Machinery in conjunction with the association's 50th anniversary celebrations this year.

MALAYSIA-INDIA SHOWDOWN

The Malaysian Chess Federation are staging a 12-round Scheveningen-style match featuring three top local players against three Indian international masters.

The match at the Hotel Sucasa in Kuala Lumpur started yesterday and will continue until next Friday.

Representing Malaysia are FM Mas Hafizulhelmi, Ooi Chern Ee and Mok Tze Meng, while the foreign visitors are IM Lanka Ravi, IM PS Mithrakanth and IM K Murugan.

Two rounds beginning 8.30am and 4.30pm will be played on most days, but there is only be an afternoon game today while Monday will be a rest day. The match is sponsored by MCF honorary life president Dato' Tan Chin Nam. Spectators are welcome.

USM TRONOH OPEN

The Tronoh campus of the Universiti Sains Malaysia will hold the second USM open individual tournament tomorrow at its multipurpose hall.

This will be a six-round event starting at 9.30am. Participants are required to register with the organisers at 8am.

This one-day event is organised in conjunction with the 10th anniversary celebration of the Tronoh campus. Entry fee is RM10 and seven cash prizes will be offered. The top three winners will also receive trophies. For more details, contact Mohd Jamil Yahya.

Meanwhile, teams taking part in the annual USM open team tournament in Penang tomorrow are reminded to be at the playing hall by 2pm. The six-round event will be played over two days.

GAMES OF THE WEEK

Deep Blue - Gary Kasparov, Game 5

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nc3 Nc6 4. d4 exd4 5. Nxd4 Bb4 6. Nxc6 bxc6 7. Bd3 d5 8. exd5 cxd5 9. O-O O-O 10. Bg5 c6 11. Qf3 Be7 12. Rae1 Re8 13. Ne2 h6 14. Bf4 Bd6 15. Nd4 Bg4 16. Qg3 Bxf4 17. Qxf4 Qb6 18. c4 Bd7 19. cxd5 cxd5 20. Rxe8+ Rxe8 21. Qd2 Ne4 22. Bxe4 dxe4 23. b3 Rd8 24. Qc3 f5 25. Rd1 Be6 26. Qe3 Bf7 27. Qc3 f4 28. Rd2 Qf6 29. g3 Rd5 30. a3 Kh7 31. Kg2 Qe5 32. f3 e3 33. Rd3 e2 34. gxf4 e1/Q 35. fxe5 Qxc3 36. Rxc3 Rxd4 37. b4 Bc4 38. Kf2 g5 39. Re3 Be6 40. Rc3 Bc4 41. Re3 Rd2+ 42. Ke1 Rd3 43. Kf2 Kg6 44. Rxd3 Bxd3 45. Ke3 Bc2 46. Kd4 Kf5 47. Kd5 h5 0-1

Gary Kasparov - Deep Blue, Game 6

1. Nf3 d5 2. d4 c6 3. c4 e6 4. Nbd2 Nf6 5. e3 c5 6. b3 Nc6 7. Bb2 cxd4 8. exd4 Be7 9. Rc1 O-O 10. Bd3 Bd7 11. O-O Nh5 12. Re1 Nf4 13. Bb1 Bd6 14. g3 Ng6 15. Ne5 Rc8 16. Nxd7 Qxd7 17. Nf3 Bb4 18. Re3 Rfd8 19. h4 Nge7 20. a3 Ba5 21. b4 Bc7 22. c5 Rde8 23. Qd3 g6 24. Re2 Nf5 25. Bc3 h5 26. b5 Nce7 27. Bd2 Kg7 28. a4 Ra8 29. a5 a6 30. b6 Bb8 31. Bc2 Nc6 32. Ba4 Re7 33. Bc3 Ne5 34. dxe5 Qxa4 35. Nd4 Nxd4 36. Qxd4 Qd7 37. Bd2 Re8 38. Bg5 Rc8 39. Bf6+ Kh7 40. c6 bxc6 41. Qc5 Kh6 42. Rb2 Qb7 43. Rb4 1-0

Zsuzsa Polgar is the new women's world champion. The remaining games from her match with Xie Jun will be covered next week.