An extreme case of chess

 

Evolution of computer chess

 

Nunn tops in Hastings Premier

 

Focus on games in two events

 

Mark of Malaysians

 

Kasparov is still the best

 

Showdown in Las Palmas

 

New national champions

 

Record entries in Kepong Junior

 

Champions from Asia

 

New ruling for entry

 

National champs to the fore

 

Disappointment in Spain

 

Spanish action

 

Russia all the way

 

Iljumzhinov wins election

 

Good show from our chaps

 

Chess Olympiad ends

 

Close fight between Russia and China

 

Assault on Russian defence

ASSAULT ON RUSSIAN DEFENCE

The 32nd Chess Olympiad opened in Erevan, Armenia, last Sunday and this three-week competition promises to be one of the most interesting in recent years.

The defending champion is Russia but there is a strong possibility that we can get a surprise winner. The Russian team looks formidable enough, but it may not be unbeatable this time.

The strongest members of the Russian team are of course Gary Kasparov and Vladimir Kramnik; but, while Evgeny Bareev, Sergei Rublevsky, Alexey Dreev and Sergei Tiviakov are not pushovers, they are not exactly the best players in Russia either.

The Olympiad has attracted almost all the best players in the world with only the world champion Anatoly Karpov, Gata Kamsky and Viswanathan Anand missing.

The Bulgarian team is powered by Veselin Topalov on first board. Topalov is one of the most successful players this year and he defeated Kasparov in Moscow 1994 to establish his name on the world chess scene.

Spain has Alexei Shirov, Valery Salov and Miguel Illescas in their line-up, England is depending on Nigel Short, Michael Adams and Jon Speelman, while the Hungarian team has Judit Polgar playing on top board. Hungary has included their teenaged sensation Peter Leko in their team too.

With Ukraine led by Vassily Ivanchuk, Germany by Artur Yusupov and Robert Hubner, and the United States sending some of their best players - Joel Benjamin, Boris Gulko, Larry Christiansen, Boris Kaidanov, Nick DeFirmian and Alexander Yermolinsky - the list of contenders for the gold medal is quite extensive.

The key to success in such events is to be able to score points on all boards in every match. Each match is played over four boards, and a good performance on the fourth board counts as much as winning on the other boards.

The trick is also to hold the strongest rivals to a draw or a narrow loss, and then score heavily at every other opportunity. Teams can make up for bad starts by dropping down in the standings and then play against weaker teams which they can beat heavily. Very often, the medals are decided by good performances on the last day of competition.

Meanwhile, the Malaysian contingent departed from Kuala Lumpur last Friday. Before they left for the airport, the contingent paid a courtesy call to Culture, Arts and Tourism Minister Datuk Sabbaruddin Chik, who is also the president of the Malaysian Chess Federation.

In the men's team are, from far left, Lim Yee Weng, Tan Wei Sin, Ooi Chern Ee, Fide master Mas Hafizulhelmi, Mok Tze Meng and international master Jimmy Liew. Mok is a last-minute replacement for Azahari Md Nor.

The women's team consists of Khairunissa Wahiduddin, Nurulhuda Wahiduddin, Eliza Hanim Ibrahim and Roslina Marmono.

Heading the contingent to Erevan is Ibrahim Abu Bakar, while the other members of the contingent are team manager Chan Kwai Keong, Ibrahim Yaacob who will be an arbiter in the Olympiad and Abdul Hamid Majid who sits in the pairing committee.

Meantime, check out these links to various sites offering news on the Chess Olympiad:

Mark Crowther's Chess Page
Armenian News Agency
Olympiad site
Inside Chess on the Olympiad
Icelandic Chess Page
Planet Chess

BEIJING TOUGH ON FOREIGNERS

The third annual S.T. Lee Cup, played late last month in Beijing, China, was won by Suat Atalik, a grandmaster from the central Asian country of Turkmenistan.

This open Swiss system tournament was a major event in the Chinese chess calendar and almost all the Chinese top players took part in it. Many foreign players also participated, and this gave the Chinese an opportunity to test their play against the foreigners.

As an indication of the depth of the Chinese players' preparation and capability, the top-seeded Estonian grandmaster Jaan Ehlvest could only finish in a lowly 19th position. Ehlvest completely ruined his result by losing to Tong Yuanming, Lin Weiguo and Wang Zili.

Probably the best result in the Chinese eyes was that achieved by their woman grandmaster Zhu Chen. She finished fifth and along the way, drew with Ehlvest, Atalik and Mikhail Ulibin, a Russian grandmaster. Among those who lost to her were Latvian grandmaster Igors Rausis, Israeli grandmaster Ilya Smirin and China's own grandmaster, Xu Jun. Her only loss in the entire event was to Tong Yuanming.

All in all, the foreign players faced quite a hard time in Beijing.

Top standings: Suat Atalik (Turkmenistan), Mikhail Ulibin (Russia), Konstantin Landa (Russia) and Lin Weiguo (China) 7.5 points; Zhu Chen (China), Evgeny Pigusov (Russia) and Igor Stohl (Slovak Republic) 7 points; Lubomir Ftacnik (Slovak Republic), Liang Chong (China), Tong Yuanming (China), Xu Yang (China), Wang Zili (China) and Xu Jun (China) 6.5 points; Wang Yaoyao (China), Wang Pin (China) Ilia Smirin (Israel), Zhang Zhong (China) and Ye Jiangchuan 6 points; Jaan Ehlvest (Estonia), Alon Greenfeld (Israel), Igors Rausis (Latvia), Peng Xiaomin (China), Peter Szekely (Hungary) and Qin Kanying (China) 5.5 points.

Here is a game from the tournament.

Tong Yuanming - Jaan Ehlvest

1. e4 c5, 2. Nf3 e6, 3. c3 d5, 4. exd5 Qxd5, 5. d4 Nf6, 6. Bd3 Nc6, 7. O-O Qd8, 8. dxc5 Bxc5, 9. Qc2 Qc7, 10. Bg5 h6, 11. Bxf6 gxf6, 12. Nd2 Bd7, 13. a4 Be7, 14. Nc4 h5, 15. Re1 h4, 16. a5 Rad8, 17. Qe2 Kf8, 18. b4 a6, 19. Rd1 Be8, 20. Qe3 Kg7, 21. Be2 f5, 22. Rxd8 Bxd8, 23. Rd1 Be7, 24. Qb6 Qb8, 25. Qe3 Qc7, 26. Qd2 Bf6, 27. Nd6 Ne7, 28. c4 Ba4, 29. Qf4 Bxd1, 30. Nxf5 Nxf5, 31. Qxc7 Bxe2, 32. Ne5 Bh5, 33. g4 hxg3, 34. hxg3 Nh6, 35. f3 Rd8, 36. g4 Bg6, 37. Nxg6 Kxg6, 38. Qxb7 Rd4, 39. b5 Kg5, 40. Qc7 Rd2, 41. bxa6 Bd4, 42. Kf1 Rf2, 43. Ke1 Rxf3, 44. a7 Bxa7, 45. Qxa7 Nxg4, 46. a6 1-0

All set for Chess Olympiad

 

Penang score a double

 

Deep Blue rematch

 

The Merdeka challenge

 

All eyes on Fide hot seat

 

Merdeka event due next

 

Internet chess

 

Intrigue in Fide elections

INTRIGUE IN FIDE ELECTIONS

The dust has hardly settled in the World Chess Federation's world championship cycle but already, attention is turning to the next agenda in the federation's chess calendar, the biennial Chess Olympiad and the annual Fide General Assembly in Erevan, Armenia, this September.

Already, news filtering in from Europe has it that the United States, the Russian and the German Chess Federations are jointly proposing Jaime Sunye-Neto as a candidate for the next Fide presidential elections.

Sunye-Neto, a Brazilian grandmaster, was for many years a member of the Players' Council, a body within Fide. Eighteen months ago, he was made the chairman of Fide's Committee on Assistance to Chess Developing Countries (CACDEC).

He is well-known for his organisational abilities, having organised a large number of successful events in South America. This included the American Grand Prix which consisted of a series of open tournaments around the continent with good prizes and playing conditions.

If Sunye-Neto decides to accept the nomination as a Fide presidential candidate, he will be standing against the incumbent president, Kirsan Ilyumzhinov, who is also the political president of the Russian autonomous republic of Kalmykia.

It is not known who will be on Sunye-Neto's presidential ticket but the same news from Europe suggests that Steve Doyle (USA), Egon Ditt (Germany) and Andrei Makarov (Russia) are already on Sunye-Neto's team.

Among this trio, Makarov stands out as a puzzle. Two years ago, though he was very much a Kasparov supporter (he still is, I am sure), he was instrumental in getting the 1994 Chess Olympiad and Fide General Assembly successfully hosted in Moscow by the Russian Chess Federation of which he is its president.

At this General Assembly, Florencio Campomanes stepped down and Ilyumzhinov was elected as the new Fide president. Makarov's reaction to Ilyumzhinov was very negative. Their relationship did not improve, instead it markedly deteriorated when Ilyumzhinov chose Elista, Kalmykia's capital city, as the venue for the Fide world chess championship match. Makarov went as far as to disclaim any responsibility for the organisation of the match, including security for the players and officials.

But suddenly, Makarov and Ilyumzhinov have made up and in Elista, they both announced that they intended to organise a unification match between Anatoly Karpov and Gary Kasparov in Russia next year for a prize fund of not less than US$2 million (about RM5 million).

Interestingly, their proposal called for this match to be played outside the jurisdiction of both Fide and Kasparov's Professional Chess Association. This match would be considered an encounter "between the 13th and 14th Fide world champions" and the winner would be proclaimed the "Absolute World Champion."

"The match between Karpov and Kasparov is essential. Chess cannot do without it," Makarov was quoted as saying.

"We have an agreement in principle to meet for a prize fund of not less than US$2 million, and the match will take place in 1997," said Ilyumzhinov.

The Fide president also said he obtained Karpov's agreement to the match after the 45-year-old Russian retained his Fide world title. Kasparov had been approached by Makarov although a later news report said that Kasparov denied having agreed to play this match.

The Makarov puzzle does not end here. Clearly, he has a foot in both the Ilyumzhinov and the Sunye-Neto camps. Whatever happens, he cannot lose.

When asked why he supported Ilyumzhinov and was also on Sunye-Neto's ticket, he said: "Well, there is a place for the Russian Chess Federation - the largest in the world - on Sunye-Neto's ticket but I insist on this: I am Makarov and I also support Kirsan."

If this sort of comment makes Makarov look like a fence-sitter, perhaps Ilyumzhinov's explanation best sums up the situation. He said that, at the start of the Karpov-Kamsky match, he found that although all the members of the Fide Executive Council supported him, some of them were also on Sunye-Neto's list.

He said he wanted the intrigues and manoeuvres to be stopped. "Fide had been living too long on such intrigues and that brought this body to the verge of collapse. As the president of the Kalmykian Republic, I cannot take the risk of being involved in such manoeuvres.

"That is the reason why I want to be elected without mentioning who would be on my list. I do not want the federations to fight to death for one month during the Chess Olympiad," he said.

BAYVIEW RESULTS

The seventh round of the sixth Penang Bayview Chess League was played last Sunday at The City Bayview Hotel.

Chung Ling High School "A" continued to lead in Division One, inflicting a 3.5-0.5 win on Universiti Sains Malaysia. The Old Frees Association managed to beat Chung Ling High School "B" by 2.5-1.5 while Penang Free School "A" beat Pessca 4-0.

The MSSPP Juniors won their second straight match by blanketing Hewlett-Packard "1" 4-0, while Penang Free School "B" narrowly won by a 2.5-1.5 score against Penang Development Corporation.

In Division Two, Chung Ling High School "D" beat Union High School 3-1 while Penang Free School "D" whitewashed Penang Chinese Girls High School 4-0.

In other matches, Chung Ling High School "C" beat Penang Free School "C" by 3.5-0.5, and Hitachi Semiconductors beat the MSSPP Girls by 2.5-1.5. The match between Intel and St Xavier's Institution was drawn 2-2.

Standings after six rounds: Division One - CLHS "A" 23 points, OFA 20.5 points, PFS "A" 19.5 points, PFS "B" 15.5 points, PACL 12 points, USM and PDC 9.5 points each, CLHS "B" and MSSPP Juniors 9 points each, HP "1" 7 points and Pessca 5.5 points;

Division Two - PFS "D" 20 points, CLHS "D" 19 points, SXI 15.5 points, Intel 14 points, HP "2" 12.5 points, Hitachi 10 points, MSSPP Girls and Union 8.5 points, PFS "C" 6.5 points and PCGHS 6 points.

The 22 participating teams are locked in intense battle on Sundays until Aug 11. The City Bayview Hotel is the sponsor for the annual event.

The eighth round on July 28 will be played at the hotel's Revolving Restaurant on the 15th floor.

PERAK TOURNAMENT

Eleven-year-old Aaron Yee created a sensation by winning the fourth leg of the Perak rating tournament in Ipoh last week with a perfect score of six points from the six-round event which attracted 50 players.

Along the way towards winning this event, Aaron upset Deon Moh who was this year's Perak Juniors and Selangor Juniors under-12 champion. Aaron also beat Nayan Mahmud who had won the second leg in Batu Gajah two weeks ago, and also Koh Khoon Seng who was the winner of the first leg three weeks ago.

In a thrilling final-round game between the only two players with 100% scores, the in-form Aaron convincingly beat off a challenge from Mohd Hussein Jamil. Hussein had to settle for joint second to fourth placings with Ahmad Mudzafar Ramli and Bakri Abdul Karim.

In fifth position was Wan Najmudin Wan Omar with 4.5 points; while nine players shared the sixth to 14th prizes.

The final leg of the Perak rating series will be played this Monday at the Sek Men Tok Muda Abdul Aziz in Sungei Siput Utara, Perak. Interested players can register at the playing venue by 8.30am on Monday.

According to the Perak Chess Association secretary, Eddy Fong, the top 20 players on the Perak rating list would be invited to play in a tournament next month to select the Perak teams for the 1996 Merdeka team championship in Kuala Lumpur. Contact Fong (05-466-9370) for details.

Karpov clings on to title

 

Match winds down

 

Kamsky strikes back

 

Kamsky's in further trouble

 

Disaster strikes for Kamsky

 

Battle of the giants

 

Karpov-Kamsky showdown in Elista

 

Tips from the Finn

 

A chess-ful of activities

 

Sixth Penang chess league

 

Experience gained worth the effort

 

Fide crisis redlines

 

Sportsboy of the year

 

Amsterdam focus

 

Chess can be a school subject, too

 

Computers continue to improve in chess

 

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)