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Anatoly Karpov & Gik - Chess Kaleidoscope
Anatoly Karpov & Gik - Chess Kaleidoscope
Kaleidoscope
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PERGAMON RUSSIAN CHESS SERIES
General Editor
Kenneth P. Neat
Executive Editor
Martin J. Richardson
AVERBAKH, Y.
Chess Endings: Essential Knowledge
BOTVINNIK, M. M.
Achieving the Aim
Anatoly Karpov: His Road to the World Championship
Selected Games 1967-70
ESTRIN, Y. & PANOV, V. N.
Comprehensive Chess Openings
KARPOV, A. & ROSHAL, A.
Anatoly Karpov: Chess is My Life
LIVSHITZ, A.
Test Your Chess IQ, Books 1 & 2
NEISHTADT, Y.
Catastrophe in the Opening
POLUGAYEVSKY, L.
Grandmaster Preparation
SUETIN, A. S.
Modern Chess Opening Theory
TAL, M., CHEPIZHNY, V. & ROSHAL, A.
Montreal 1979: Tournament of Stars
Chess Kaleidoscope
By
A. KARPOV and Y. GIK
Translated by
KENNETH P. NEAT
PERGAMON PRESS
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Foreword
A. Karpov, Y . Gik
• K v a n t = Quantum (K.P.N.)
Contents
vii
Contents
No. 10 Gl i g o r i c - K a r p o v , Bugojno 1980 151
No. 11 K a r p o v - R i b l i, Amsterdam 1980 154
No. 12 L a r s e n - K a r p o v , Amsterdam 1980 157
No. 13 K a r p o v - 5 p a s s k y , T i l b u r g 1980 159
No. 14 K a r p o v - H o r t , Malta Olympiad 1980 162
No. 15 L j u b o j e v i c - K a r p o v , L i n a r e s 1981 166
Part One
Seven Chess Letters
First Letter
THE GEOMETRY OF THE CHESS
BOARD
R. Reti, 1921
R. Reti, 1928
I. Maizelis, 1921
Let us now examine (wo very simple geometric rules for pawn
endings, which every chess player should know.
With a trembl ing hand the old man took the b-pawn — 1 ...Kxb2,
6 Seven Chess Letters
but then the other pawn rushed forward — 2 a4. The enemy king
hastened after it — 2...Ka3 3 a5 Ka4. Al this point the young player
began to have doubts; what if the old man should know some magical
secret, and was not pursuing the pawn in vain? There was nothing to
lose, and the race continued — 4 a6 Ka5 5 a7 Ka6. The black king
has kept r i g h t behind the pawn. Here, with a cry of ' q u e « n ! ' , White
made the last move with his pawn — 6 aB=CH. The old man's face was
covered in g r i e f . "Ah, too l a t e ! ! " , he sighed d e s p a i r i n g l y . The old
man had believed in his good fortune, bul the sudden appearance of
the queen shattered al I his hopes. . . . See whal a sad tragedy can
result from not knowing the rule of the square!
Who knows, perhaps this episode with the pursuit of the pawn
played its p a r t , but, at any event, Nikolai Grigoriev subsequently
became one of the greatest specialists in the world in the f i e l d of pawn
endings. Here is a s t r i k i n g ex amp le; to an international competition
for studies in France, held in 1936, he sent ten of his pawn studies,
and a l l ten won prizes!
But It is now White's move, and he has to give his opponent the
move, in other words, gain a tempo. After 1 Kd5 KcB nothing is
achieved by 2 KdG Kd8 3 c7+ Kc8 4 Kc6 stalemate!, while 2 Kc5 Kc7
leads to the i n i t i a l position. The goal is achieved by means of ' t r i -
angulation1. For the given example this t r i a n g l e (c4-d4-d5) is depicted
in the diagram. After 1 Kd5 Kc8 2 Kd4 Kb8 3 Kc4! Kc8 4 Kd5 the
necessary tempo has been won! Now on 4 . . . K d 8 White wins by 5 Kd6
Kc8 6 c7, and on 4...Kc7 by 5 Kc5.
Geometric Opposition
The reader may be confused by the task, since after all White
has an extra rook. But here there is one additional condition — the
rook is allowed to move, only if i t . . . gives mate!
After 1 Kg2! White takes the opposition (the kings are separated
by an odd number of squares — f i v e ) . If now the black king keeps on
the g - f i l e , White retains the opposition — 1...Kg7 2 Kg3! (the distance
Is again an odd number, three squares) 2...Kg6 3 Kg4! (one square).
Thus, Black is forced to move off the g - f i l e - 3...Kh6 4 Kf5! Up t i l l
now the white king could not stand in front of the rook, since his
black opponent would have immediately escaped to freedom across the
f - f l le. But now this possibility has appeared, and White carries out
an outflanking manoeuvre. 4 . . .Kg7 (alas, after 4 . . .Kh6 the rook is
allowed to come Into play - 5 Rhi mate) 5 Kg5! (again the opposition
has been won) 5 . . . K h 7 6 Kf6! KgB 7 Kg6! KhB 8 Rf8 mate ( 6 . . . K h 8
7 Kf7 Kh7 8 Rhi mate). After 1 Kh2? KhS! 2 Kg3 Kg7 3 Kh4 Kh6 the
b l a c k k i n g cannot be p i n n e d a g a i n s t the w a l l .
8 Seven Chess Letters
ascent onto the highest step, and now Black is defenceless! Obviously,
by means of our table of numbers it is also easy to evaluate the posi-
tion for other i n i t i a l piacings of the kings, but only for the given
pawn structure.
Up t i l l now we have been t a l k i n g only about pawn endings.
However, various mathematical elements are also contained in other
endings. Consider, for example, one form of the ending 'rook and
pawn against rook 1 .
Draw
White wins.
In this position, which differs from the previous one in that the
pawn and k i n g have been moved up one rank, White now wins — the
sum in question is greater than f i v e : 4 + 2 = 6! This is how the win
is achieved: 1 KcA Rc8+ 2 Kb5 RdB 3 Kc5 RcB+ 4 Kb6 RdB 5 Rdi
Kf6 6 Kc7! RdS 7 Kc6 Rdfl 8 d5, and the pawn attains the eighth
rank without d i f f i c u l t y .
1 1st Letter" — The Geometry of the Chess Board 11
White wins.
And t h i s position d i f f e r s from the i n i t i a l one by the black k i n g
and white rook being moved one f i l e to the r i g h t . The black k i n g is
cut off from the pawn by three f i l e s , and again 3 + 3 = 6! White
decides the game by 1 Kc3 RcB+ 2 Kdfi RdS+ 3 Ke4 Re8+ 4 Kf5 Rf8+
5 Ke6 Rd8 6 Rdl Rd4 7 Ke5 RdB 8 d4, etc.
We have studied three positions i n which White's e x t r a pawn was
a central one. However, the given r u l e is also perfectly applicable to
positions with a bishop's or k n i g h t ' s pawn.
Draw
In this position Black does not want to mate the white k i n g , but
White forces him to do t h i s . Since Ihe task was an unusual one, I
decided f i r s t of a l l . . . to show my colleagues how to give mate, and so
I took the white pieces: 1 Bg2 Bd5 2 Qd8 Bb7 3 Be4 Bc6 4 0c8 Bb7
5 Bd5 Bc6 6 Qh8 Bb7 7 Bb6, and Black is forced to play 7...Bxc6
mate.
The students said that it was a l l clear to them, and we turned
the board round. But after 1 Bg2 Be4 2 0d8 Bd5 3 Qe8 Bc6 4 Qf8
Bb7 5 Qh8 Bf3 6 QdB Bd5 7 Be4 Bb7 8 Qc8 Bc6 9 Bd5 Bb7 they were
disappointed to notice that the i n i t i a l position had again been reached.
This was repealed several times — I , p l a y i n g White, achieved my goal,
while my partners with the same colour could in no way force Black to
mate them. In the end we made a bet, and my colleagues had indepen-
dently to disclose the secret of the mysterious queen and bishop
manoeuvres. The students llyashenko and Petri (now well-known
mathematicians) compiled a table of corresponding squares between the
white pieces and Ihe black bishop, and soon (after a l l , they were good
mathematicians!} the exact law was establ ished! It [urns out that,
however the white queen moves about along the eighth r a n k , nothing
w i l l force Black, who chooses the corresponding squares for his bishop,
to mate the white k i n g ! Black must merely observe the following r u l e .
With the queen at c8 he must keep between the bishops a distance of
one square along the diagonal (as in the i n i t i a l position}, with the
queen at d8 — two squares, with the queen at e8 — three squares, with
the queen at f8 — four squares, and f i n a l l y , with the queen at h8 the
black bishop must stand next to White's. Essentially we have here as
many as f i v e amazing oppositions!
Here is a possible course of events: 1 Bg2 Be4! (with the queen
at c8 — a distance of one square) 2 Bf3 Bd5 3 Qe8 Bb7! (queen at
e8 — three squares) 4 QdB Bc6 (two squares) 5 Be4 Bb7 6 Bg2 (not
possible is 6 Qf8 Bxe4!, and this is not mate, since there is the move
7 Qf3; in general, the queen can stand to the r i g h t of its bishop only
at h8) 6...Bd5 7 Qf8 Bb7! (four squares) 8 Qe8 (again the bishop
cannot move due to its capture) 8...Bc6 9 Qh8 Bf3! (next to the white
bishop) 10 Qc8 Be4 11 QdS Bd5 etc.
Thus my colleagues, having shown that the probfem could not be
solved, almost won their bet. Almost, because White has at his disposal
another p l a n , involving the retreal of his queen from the eighth r a n k .
After 1 Qh8 Bc6 2 Q a i l Bb7 3 Bc6 Black, so as not to give mate, is
forced to move his bishop from bB. After this White captures f i r s t one
bishop — 4 Bxb7+, within a few moves the second, then the a7 pawn,
then he gives up his own Bishop (he no longer needs i t ) , and queens
his pawn. Finally, using the two queens he constructs the following
position.
1st Letter - The Geometry of (he Chess Board 13
15
16 Seven Chess Letters
Now imagine that a game begins, and Black copies White's moves
exactly, wishing to retain for as long as possible the symmetry on the
board. Of course, this method of play does not lead to any good.
Exploiting his opponent's 'adherence to p r i n c i p l e s ' , White can mate the
enemy king in only four moves, In one of two ways: 1 c4 c5 2 Qa4
Qa5 3 Qc6 Qc3 4 OxcS mate; 1 d4 d5 2 Qd3 Qd6 3 0h3 Qh6
4 Qxc8 mate.
There is the following amusing story. Someone appeared at a
chess club and announced that he had found a sure way of not losing
as Black. "How?", they asked him. "Very simple", the guest replied,
"by repeating the opponent's moves!" The naive inventor was challenged
to a game by Sam Loyd, who mated him in four moves.
Thus, with symmetrical play the white queen can mate the black
k i n g as early as the fourth move. It takes a few more moves for a
rook, bishop, knight and pawn to mate: 1 h4 h5 2 g i g5 3 Bg2 Bg?
4 Nh3 Nh6 5 hxg5 hxg4 & gxh6 gxh3 7 hxg7 hxg2 8 Rxh8 mate;
1 el e5 2 KeZ Ke7 3 Kf3 Kf6 4 Kg3 Kg6 5 Be2 Be7 6 Bf3 Bf6 7 d3
d6 8 Bh5 mate; 1 g3 g6 2 Nc3 Nc6 3 e3 e6 4 Nge2 Nge7 5 Ne4 Ne5
6 Nf6 mate; I g4 gS 2 h4 h5 3 Nf3 Nf6 4 Ne5 Ne4 5 hxg5 hxg4
6 g6 g3 7 gxf7 mate. F i n a l l y , on the ninth move the white king can
announce mate: 1 d3 d6 2 Kd2 Kd7 3 Kc3 Kc6 4 Kb3 Kb6 5 Ka3 Ka6
6 Be3 Be6 7 Bb6 8b3 8 axb3 axb6 9 Kb4 mate.
In his book 13 Children of Kaissa, I . Kreichik called one of his
' c h i l d r e n ' "When two do one and the same". In this humoresque he
gives three symmetrical games with an identical finish — the black king
gets mated. Here is one of them, in which, in Kreichik's opinion, the
Queen's Gambit for Black is refuted: 1 d4 d5 2 Nf3 Nf6 3 c4 c5
4 Bg5 Bg4 5 e3 e6 6 Nc3 Nc6 7 BeZ Be7 8 0-0 0-0 9 Bxf6 Bxf3
10 Bxg7 Bxg2 11 BxfB Bxfi 12 Bxe7 Bxe2 13 Bxd8 Bxdi 14 cxd5 cxd4
15 dxc6 dxc3 16 cxb7 cxb2 17 bxa8=Q bxa1=Q 18 Bf6 mate.
In two other games the Spanish and I t a l i a n Games are refuted in
similar fashion. In the four-move miniatures given above, White's play
was based exclusively on his opponent's stuDborness. For example,
Loyd, taking account of this factor, was not a f r a i d to place his own
queen en prise. At the same time, in the games suggested by Kreichik,
the play proceeds quite sensibly.
But symmetrical games can be found not only in humorous stories;
they also occur in serious tournaments. One of the most notable
oxatnptos of this type Is a game played at the beginning of this
century.
2nd Leiler — Symmetry in Chess 17
Stolyar-Shukshta
English Opening
Uf) t i l l now we have been talking mainly about one player copying
the moves of the other, sitting opposite. But what about repeating the
moves or even entire variations which have occurred in the games of
quite different players? Of course, if these moves are good, no one
w i l l decline to copy them. But it can happen that the deliberate
repetition of unsuccessful variations can have a certain sense. We
w i l l describe an amusing instance which occurred in the game Taimanov
-Si mag in twenty years ago in the 1961 USSR Championship.
Black chose the King's Indian Defence, which he had previously
never employed. A few days earlier a fresh issue of Shakhmaty v
SSSR had appeared. In which was given a detailed analysis of the
Talmanov-GIIgoric game from an inlernational tournament in Argentina.
It has to be assumed that Simagin knew this game, which had been
convincingly won by White, and nevertheless he copied Giigoric's moves
exactly. This put the Leningrad grandmaster on his guard. He
realized lhat his opponent would hardly be suicidal enough to repeat
20 Seven Chess Letters
the game to the end, and this meant that he had certainly prepared an
opening surprise. Si mag in made his moves {belonging to Gl igoric I)
easily, whereas Taimanov chose his moves with agonizing care. The
whole paradox was that Si magi n, who was p l a y i n g the variation for the
f i r s t time, replied instantly, whereas Taimanov, who was an expert on
i t , played slowly, constantly checking and controlling himself. By the
twentieth move Taimanov's nerves were stretched to the limit, but the
game was s t i l l an extact repetition of his game with GHgorlc. His
patience had dried up. And suddenly something completely unexpected
happened — Simagin sank into deep though!, and d i d n ' t reply for nearly
an hour! The secret was revealed — Taimanov's opponent had not
prepared any improvement, It was pure b l u f f ! The grandmaster had
counted on disturbing his opponent with the threat of employing an
innovation, and of forcing him to deviate from the familiar p a t h . But
in this case there would have been no danger for Black!
Although in the battle of character White had held out, his oppon-
ent's psychological attack bore its f r u i t s — when the war of nerves
came to an end, Taimanov's strength was on the wane, and he promptly
made a mistake, and then a second, completely handing his opponent
the i n i t i a t i v e . But the curious thing is that Simagin declined to
exploit his winning chances, since he too was exhausted by the psycho-
logical duel. On concluding peace, both players were happy that the
game had ended in a draw, that in general it had ended... .
White to p l a y and w i n .
V. Pauli, 1920
Mate in 4 moves.
T. Dawson, 1924
2A
3rd Letter - An Ancient Male 25
1 Be4+- Rb7 2 0b8+! Rxb8 3 Rxa7+! Bxa7 4 Nc7 mate, and the
black king is in the trap. On this occasion White sacrifices not only
his queen, but also a rook.
Of course, for the 250 years separating these two positions, the
progress, to be frank, is not very great — in those distant times chess
art developed at a slow rate. It is curious that it was only a l the
end of the last century that the orientalist and chesa historian H.J.R.
Murray established the Arabic o r i g i n of the smothered mate. In his
History of Chess he cites the Persian mansubat of the 9th century, in
which a white knight mates the black k i n g , hemmed in by his own
pieces.
Does this ancient combination occur In tournament games? Yes,
strangely enough, rather often. The record belongs to grandmaster
Paul Keres, who once announced a smothered mate... as early as the
sixth move! What is amusing is that this curious instance occurred not
in a simultaneous display, but in an encounter with a master.
Keres-Arlamowski
Caro-Kann Defence
All is ready for the final scene; it only remains to divert the
black queen away from the square from which White will give mate.
1 e5! Qg5 2 h4! Qg4 3 Qa3+ Kg8 4 Ne7+ Kf8 5 Ng6++ Kg8
6 Qf8+ Rxf8 7 Ne7 mate. The concluding position deserves a diagram
(as, however, does every position of this type).
Morphy-N.N.
Tal-Portisch
Alekh i ne-Lugovsky
(see next diagram)
1 Ne6-H Mxe6 (on the capture by the bishop there fol lows 2 Qe7+
Kg8 3 Qe8 mate) 2 Qe7+ Kg8 3 Qe8+ Nf8 4 Ne7 mate.
A smothered mate is always beautiful, especially if it is accom-
I
28 Seven Chess Letters
Taimanov-Jakob sen ;
Unzicker-Sarapu
Augous t i -Uzman
Ruy Lopez
S. Loyd, 1B58
Mate in 6 moves.
0 . Blathy, 1932
Mate in 12 moves.
In this fantastic picture Black has a ful I set of pieces, but this
does not save h i m : 1 Nf4+ Kc5 2 Ne6+ Kd5 3 Nxc7+ Kc5 A Nxa6+ KdS
5 Nc7+ Kc5 6 Net* Kd5 7 Nf4+ Kc5 8 Ke4 d5+ 9 Ke5 Bf6+ 10 Ke6
NdB+ 11 Kd7 and 12 Nxd3 mate.
30 Seven Chess Letters
O. Blathy, 1922
E. Pogosyants, 1979
A. Seletsky, 1933
K. Jaenisch, 1&49
The great Russian chess master arid composer of the last century
Carl Jaenisch called his problem 'The iron cage of Tamerlan' . This is
how the black king falls into captivity: 1 f3+ gxf3 2 exd3+ cxd3
3 Bf5+ exf5 4 Re6+ dxeG 5 Rd4+ cxd4 6 a8»B+ Qd5 7 Bxd5+ exdS
B Nf6+ gxf6 9 Qe5+ fxe5 10 Ng5 mate. The king Is in the cage!
32 Seven Chess Letters
,-l.r..
Fourth Letter
FORTY CHESS QUARTETS
The fewer the pieces on the board, the more eager we are to
solve a problem or s t u d y . Especially popular among chess enthusiasts
are miniatures — in which the number of pieces does not exceed seven.
The number of miniatures created by chess composers is quite immense,
and there are many thousands of compositions w i t h f i v e pieces or less.
The minimum material necessary lo create a worthy work of chess art is
four pieces (three-piece compositions w i l l be the subject of the following
'letter'). Problems and studies with this number of pieces we w i l l
call quartets.
Our aim is to acquaint you with a l l forms of quartets, and to
represent each of them by some single p o s i t i o n . In the f i r s t instance
we try to give a study or an orthodox problem ( i . e . a problem with a
normal task —White to play and give mate in so many moves). But
for c e r t a i n quartets we were unable to f i n d either a study or such a
problem, and in this case we have offered a helpmate problem. In a
'helpmate' it is s t i l l White who gives mate, but Black does not hinder
him, b u t , on the c o n t r a r y , does e v e r y t h i n g to assist in the mating of
his own k i n g .
It has to be said that by no means a l l the sets of f o u r pieces
are of equal v a l u e , but we have adhered to our p r i n c i p l e , and i l l u s -
trate each of them with exactly one quartet ( t h e i r o v e r a l l number f a r
exceeds a thousand).
Let us f i r s t ascertain how many sets of four pieces there are
altogether. Since two places must be reserved for the k i n g s , there are
two different cases: (1) White and Black both have one piece, apart
from the k i n g ; (2) White has a k i n g and two pieces, while Black has
a lone k i n g , [n the f i r s t case, combining one of the f i v e white pieces
(queen, rook, bishop, knight and pawn) w i t h one of the f i v e black
pieces, we o b t a i n 25 possible combinations. Here sets which d i f f e r by
the colour of the pieces are regarded as d i f f e r e n t . Indeed, 'white
rook against black p a w n ' ( w i t h White to move) Is by no means the same
as ' w h i t e pawn against black r o o k 1 .
In the second case the number of sets is fewer by ten — 15.
Here each p a i r of pieces (they are both white) obviously gives only one
set.
Thus 40 different quartets have found t h e i r way into our ' l e t t e r ' .
If both kings are accompanied by one of their own pieces, both
33
34 Seven Chess Letters
problems and studies have been d e v i s e d , but if Black has only his
k i n g it is u n d e r s t a n d a b l e that only problems can be expected. Of
course, each reader can compile hfs own l i s t of quartets on the chess
b o a r d , and it is q u i t e possible that it w i l l be no less i n t e r e s t i n g than
the one suggested b y u s .
Mate in 5 moves.
Sooner or later the white k i n g must make way for the pawn, but
excessive g a l l a n t r y would be inappropriate here, since after any k i n g
move the knight catches the pawn; ! Ka8? Ne3! 2 b6 Nc4 3 b7 Nb6+
a nd 4...Nd7; 1 Ka7? N f i ! 2 66 Ne6 3 b7 NdB 4 b8=Q Nc * ; 1 Ka6?
Nf4 2 b6 Ne6 3 67 Nc5->; f i n a l l y , 1 Kc8? He3 2 b6 Nc4 3 b7 Nd6+.
Thus great restraint is demanded of the k i n g .
1 b6! Now the square thai White w i l l choose for his leader
depends on the reaction of the k n i g h t . 1...Ne3 2 Ka6! Nd5 3 b7 Nc7+
4 Ka5, or 1...W4 2 Kc8! Nd5 3 b7 Nb6+ KdB, and in both v a r i -
ations the pawn queens.
Mate in 3 moves.
The point of the problem is that after 1 fB=Q? Ka2 2 Qb4 the
black bishop comes to the aid of its k i n g — 2 . . . B b 3 ! , and there is no
mate.
One of the few ratios of forces where one does not have to ponder
over the choice. Study No. 4 is part of the golden treasury of chess
art.
No. 4 G. Barbier, F. Saavedra, 1895
Pawn a g a i n s t queen
Helpmate in 4 moves.
The black queen parlicipates in the confinement of her k i n g :
1 Kf3 (remember that in helpmate problems it is Black who begins, and
in the solution his moves are given first) 1...Kf6 2 Kg4 e7 3 Kh5
e8=R! 4 Qg4! Rh8 mate.
f:
Helpmate in 4 moves.
Here is the solution to this 'square': 1 Na3 KaA 2 Kb2 NbA
3 Kat Kb3 4 Nb1 Nc2 mate.
Helpmate in 7 moves.
The black king is adjacent io the corner square hB, but It is
mated in the opposite corner of the board: 1 Kf6 Kci 2 Ke5 KbZ
3 KdA Ka3 4 Kc3 Ka4 5 Kt>2 Kb* 6 Kal Ka3 7 Bbi Nb3 mate.
Helpmate in 5 moves.
The solution unexpectedly begins with castling! 1 O-O-CH! Kc6
2 Kb8 Nc4 3 Ka8 Kc7 4 Rd7+ Kca 5 Ra7 Nb6 mate.
Alas, with a white knight against a black queen it is impossible
io devise even a helpmate — such a mating position simply does not
exist. We give position No. 10 merely so as to avoid creating a
4th Letter — 40 Chess Quarteis 39
l Hi SIB BH
I• • 1
MO
Helpmate in 5 moves
Helpmate i n 5 moves.
Bishop a g a i n s t rook
White to p l a y a n d d r a w .
4th Letter - 40 Chess Quartets *'
Mate In 4 moves.
> Ra7! Kh4 (1...Kh2 2 Rxe7 Kg! 3 Rh7 Kfl 4 Rhi mate)
2 Ra5! «6 3 Re5! Kh3 4 Rh5 male. The problem resembles the very
f i r s t quartet, but here the pawn has already been transformed into a
rook.
42 Seven Cliess Letters
Mate in 5 moves.
Mate in 3 moves.
4th Letter — 40 Chess Quartets 43
The black king is cut off on the rank, but gets meted on the
"file: 1 Kc2!, 2 Ra6+ and 3 RxB mate.
In the helpmate No. 19 the black rook, before being removed from
the board, manoeuvres subtly, allowing the white king to approach
directly the centre of events.
Helpmate in 4 moves.
Mate in k m o v e s . • '.
The white king, having pinned its opposite number to the edge of
the board, unexpectedly allows him to break free, but, of course, not
for long.
1 Kd5! Kb5(b6> 2 Qb8+ Ka4 (a5) 3 Kc4 (the king retraces its
steps) 3...Ka5(a4) 4 Qb4 mate.
Mate in 3 moves.
1 O a l ! Ke8(cB) 2 Qg7(a7), a n d mate next move. Once a g a i n we
see the theme of asymmetry - a f t e r 1 Qgl? Nf6! ( l . . . N f 8 ? 2 Qg7) the
w h i t e queen has no square on the left analogous to h 8 .
Queen a g a i n s t bishop
Mate in 2 moves.
In problem No. 24 ihe black king is on the back rank, while the
ok too does not occupy the most favourable position, but nevertheless
ore than 10 moves are required to male the black k i n g .
Mate in 11 moves.
Helpmate in 3 moves.
Such an advantage for White is no good for studies, but there are
plenty of problems, and making the selection was by no means easy.
Mate in 4 moves.
_•$•_•
Mate in 3 moves.
Mate in 3 moves.
Mate in 4 moves.
Two queens
On a normal board with two queens, four moves are more than
enough to mate the black k i n g . It might be supposed that, if the
dimensions of the board are increased, the number of moves necessary
for mating w i l l also increase. But strangely enough, whalever the
dimensions of the board, mate can always be given not later than the
fourth move! On the f i r s t move one of Ihe queens gives check along a
file. After the black king moves to one of the adjacent f i l e s , the other
queen (with the help of the f i r s t ) squeezes it inio two f i l e s . We then
have approximately the position shown in No. 30 (we assume here that
the normal chess board represents a fragment of a board of a r b i t r a r y
dimensions).
Rook a n d pawn
this
does honour only to the white leader.
Male in 4 moves.
Rook and k n i g h t
Mate in 6 moves.
1 Ra2! Kc1 2 Nd2 Kdl 3 Nb3! Kel 4 Kg2 Kdi 5 Kf3 Ke1 6
mate.
Mate in 3 moves.
50 Seven Chess Letters
Two rooks
• ^ v
In order to achieve his goal in No. 34, White must give up one
of his rook s.
Mate in 3 moves.
"*_•„•_
Mate in 3 moves.
4th Letter — 40 Chess Quartets 51
Mate in 5 moves
Two bishops
Mate in 7 moves.
52 Seven Ches5 Letters
Two knights . - • • * %
Ho. 3B £ . A l b e r t , 1964
Helpmate in h
1 Kb5! Nd7 2 Ka4t { B l a c k marks tim»», but does not prevent the
w h i t e k i n g from f u l f i l l i n g i t s role) 2...KC5 3 Kt>3 Kb6 A Ka4 Nc5
mate.
Mate in 3 moves.
Two pawns
11
' " Mate in 2 moves. - '
Mate in 2 moves.
No. 2 E . C o o k , 1868
54
5th L e t t e r — Trios and Duets on the Chess Board 55
Mate in 2 moves.
Male in 3 moves.
Mate In 3 moves.
Mate in 3 moves.
No. 7. 1 Ka& Kc6 2 Ka5 Kb7 3 Kb5 Ka7 4 Kc6 Ka6 5 b5+ Ka7
6 Kc7 Ka8 7 Kb6 Kb8 8 Ka6t Ka8 9 b6 Kbfl 10 b7 Kc7 11 Ka7 and
12 bfl=Q. It is interesting that, in the symmetric position after Black's
7th move, the manoeuvre of the white king lo «6 is the only solution,
since a draw results from the symmetric 8 Kc6? Ka7 9 06+ Ka8 10 Kc7
stalemate!
In study No. 8 after the transfer of the kings to the other wing —
I Kb2! Kb6 2 Kc2! Kc6 3 Kd2! Kd6 4 Ke2 Ke6 5 Kf2 Kf6 6 Kg2!
Black loses command of the corresponding squares. Of course, the
solution is very simple, but on the other hand we have a unique
example of White being represented In a ;study by his king alone.
ft
58 Seven Chess Letters
Mate in 12 moves.
Mate in 2 moves.
No. 12 M. V u k o v i c , 1962
Helpmate in 4 moves.
1 Kb4 Qh2! 2 Kc3 Kg2! (a hidden, in the literal sense, possibil-
ity of admit ling the black king to the place of its downfall ) 3 Kd2
Kf3+ 4 Kei Qe2 mate.
White takes back his last move and gives mate in \ move.
(a) as in the diagram;
(b) the king is moved from c7 to c8. i t . ' . . ' .>•
A whole series of ultra-miniatures are associated with taking a
move back. In the twin-problems Mo. H White takes back the move
b6xa7, instead of which there fol lows 1 b7 mate, and, as can readily
be checked, in the first case the piece el a7 could only be a black
knight, and in the second case — only a black bishop. Replacing the
pawn at a7 In (b) by a white knight, we obtain a third ' t r i p l e t ' -
Instead of Nb5xa7 the solution Is 1 Nc? mate.
60 Seven Chess Letters
While takes back his last move and gives mate in 2 moves.
. . I , !•-•.•
White takes back his last move and gives mate in 1 move.
the move gixhS and announces check and mate to the bemused g i r l by
t Rh5-h8!
This may be a joke-problem, but an interesting fact is that it
does not permit any false rumours. For example, the assumption that
Lensky had captured his queen on h5, and not his rook, would have
meant that 01 ga too was p l a y i n g absent-mindedly — otherwise there is
no explanation as to why the black king moved into check. Pushkin,
however, has nothing to say on t h i s !
White and Black take back their last move, then Black makes
a move and White gives mate in 1 move.
White and Black take back their last move, then Black makes
a move and White gives mate in 1 move.
Here too White's last move was to capture e black rook Kg<>xRf5,
which prior to this took the white queen - RfixQfS. Instead of this
Black plays Rf1-h1, and is mated by 1 Qf5-f2.
give away all his pieces, including Ihe king (or stalemate them).
Matt In \ move.
I, 6*
6th L e t t e r — Two Decisive Games 65
•the b o o k ) .
Three h i s t o r i c a l ly d e c i s i v e games belong to grandmaster David
[ B r o n s t e i n . One of Ihem was p l a y e d In the f i r s t C a n d i d a t e s ' Tournament,
[•Which was held in 19S0 in Budapest. Before ihe f i n a l round the Soviet
(•grandmaster Isaac Boleslavsky was l e a d i n g Bronstein by half a p o i n t .
t B o l e s l a v s k y was confident lhat h i s young r i v a l would not succeed, to
order, as they s a y , In d e f e a t i n g the h i g h l y experienced Paul Keres,
and in the f i n a l r o u n d he q u i c k l y agreed a d r a w w i t h the Swedish
grandmaster Gideon S t a h l b e r g . Soon he had cause to regret hi5 haste.
Bronstein accomplished a competitive feat — he overcame his dangerous
opponent in b r i l l i a n t s t y l e , and caught up w i t h B o l e s l a v s k y . The next
decisive game was p l a y e d by him in the match designed to determine
Ifie opponent of World Champion M i k h a i l B o t v i n n i k . The twelve s t i p u l -
ated games between Bronstein and Boleslavsky d i d not g i v e a w i n n e r ,
and the question a g a i n remained open. Two a d d i t i o n a l games were
stipulated. The f i r s t of these ended in a d r a w . In the decisive duel
Bronstein once a g a i n d i s p l a y e d h i s exceptional c h a r a c t e r , won i t , and
gained the r i g h t to p l a y B o t v i n n i k . In t h i s match for the World Cham-
p i o n s h i p , B r o n s t e i n ' s t h i r d decisive game was p l a y e d . To the end of
the marathon there remained two games. B o t v i n n i k , who was t r a i l i n g
b y a p o i n t , h a d White f o r the last time, a n d i t was s u f f i c i e n t f o r
Bronstein to hold out in the 23rd game, when he would almost c e r t a i n l y
have become the second Soviet World Champion. But B o t v i n n i k ' s w i l l
proved to be the s t r o n g e r . In a tough b a t t l e of nerves he succeeded
In e x t r a c t i n g a w i n in t h i s d e c i s i v e encounter. A short draw in the
f i n a l , 24th game of the match enabled him to r e t a i n the t i t i e of World
Champion... .
It stands to reason that the story of d e c i s i v e chess duels deserves
a separate book, and perhaps some time it w i l l De w r i t t e n . In our
' l e t t e r ' we suggest that you make the a c q u a i n t a n c e of two d e c i s i v e
games, in w h i c h the a u t h o r s of t h i s book p a r t i c i p a t e d . T r u e , in the
f i r s t game L u l i k o v - T a i m a n o v , one of the a u t h o r s p a r t i c i p a t e d only in
the c a p a c i t y o f . . . grandmaster Mark T a i m a n o v ' s second. While the
i n c l u s i o n in the book of the d e c i s i v e c l a s h from the World Championship
Match in Baguio does not demand any e x p l a n a t i o n , the f i r s t game may
appear to have been chosen r a n d o m l y . But t h i s Is not q u i t e so. The
game was p l a y e d in the f i n a l round of the 37th USSR Championship,
held in Moscow in 1969, which was also a Zonal Tournament. Victory
in it took grandmaster Taimanov into the Interzonal Tournament, and
1
from there ' b y i n e r t i a — i n t o the C a n d i d a t e s ' Matches. The Fischer-
Taimanov q u a r t e r r f i n a i match became an h i s t o r i c one. By w i n n i n g by
the u n i q u e score of 6-0, the American grandmaster began h i s s w i f t
offensive in the b a t t l e for the w o r l d c r o w n . The Dane Bent Larsen was
overcome by the same enigmatic score. The next to suffer at F i s c h e r ' s
hands was the Ex-World Champion T i g r a n P e t r o s i a n . By w i n n i n g the
match in 1972 a g a i n s t Boris Spassky, Robert Fischer became the 11 th
Chess k i n g in h i s t o r y . Three years later he decl ined to defend his
t i t l e in a match w i t h Anatoly K a r p o v , and the Soviet grandmaster was
declared the 12th Champion of the W o r l d . By w i n n i n g three years
'ater a match a g a i n s t V i k t o r Korchnoi, Karpov r e t a i n e d his t i t l e . As
you see, a l l the events o c c u r r i n g In the chess world are in some way
Connected one w i t h a n o t h e r !
66 Seven Chess Letters
The hall was shaking and buzzing with excitement. The controller
cal led in vain for silence. The hearts of grandmaster Taimanov's
supporters suffered an unbearable s t r a i n . One of his staunches!
friends, the writer Leonid Zorin, who had not missed a single evening
at the Championship, admitted after the game: " I don't know how I
stayed al ive".
It stands to reason that, before the start of ihe round, the
tournament situation was taken into account. Four players were to go
through to the Interzonal Tournament, and grandmasters Polugayevsky,
Smyslov and Geller had already reserved three of the vacant places.
There remained one, for which ihe contenders were Mark Taimanov and
Leonid Stein, who were level on points. The most probable outcome of
the Polugayevsky-Stein game seemed to be a draw. The prospect of a
match with Leonid Stein was not especially appealing, and so it was
decided to make every effort to avoid It. The opening most appropriate
to this aim was the sharp Paulsen Variation (known in the West as the
Taimanov Variation! — Translator), the favourite weapon of my 'charge'
in the Sicilian Defence. As expected, on his first move Lutikov
advanced his e-pawn two squares. The decisive game had begun,
obi i gat ions. However, 11 0-0-0 can be well answered by 1 T . . . b4, and
H 0-0 by 11. . . N f S ! .
11 . . . b4 12 Nb1
12 . . . Ng6 13 QfZ
What more, would it seem, can one expect of one move — the queen
defends the f4 p a w n , strengthen? White's control of the g l - a 7 d i a g o n a l ,
and creates t h r e a t s on the K-side. And even so, B l a c k ' s c o u n t e r - p l a y
now comes d i s t i n c t l y to l i g h t .
13 . . . Bd6!
16 Qc7
Z0 . . . Nf 5 21 Qd2
24 h6 25 Rh4
25 . . . Qgit
26 Kd2
26 QdA
The capture of the rook was not very pleasant, since after 27 Rg4
White gives mate, while after 26...Qxg2+ 27 Qxg2 Bxg2 2B Rgi Bd5
29 Rhg4 the black king Is again in an unenviable position. Now the
attack 27 Rg4 can be parried, thanks to 27...Be4! 28 Rxg7+ KhB, when
against the various threats (and in particular ...RgB —along the same
f i l e where White has been attacking!) there la no defence.
27 f5
With his queen attacked, and the further advance of the f-pawn
threatened, Black appears to be on the edge of the abyss.
27 Rxc2+!
Making such a move is pleasant not only for the p l a y e r d u r i n g
the game, but also f o r the commentator in the course of h i s a n a l y s i s .
28 Kxc2 b3+!
29 Kdi
37 Qg1 exfS!
IT
40 Rhxe4 fxeft 41 0xe4 ' '
In this position Taimanov wrote on his score sheet the move fit...
Qxh5+, and went behind the scenes. With shaking hands he l i t up the
f i r s t cigarette in his l i f e . On the face of Mikhail Tal, standing beside
him, was depicted envy, which could not be erased even by the words
addressed to him by Taimanov: "Misha, today — I am your p u p i l ! "
Paul Keres, made wise by experience, came up to him. "Mark — today
you played like Liszt", was how he addressed his old colleague, and a
well-known p i a n i s t .
Thus, the game was adjourned. In prospect was some night-time
analysis, although it is true that it d i d not pr-omise to be d i f f i c u l t .
After the white k i n g moves out of check there would have followed
. ..g7-g6 and . . . R b 8 . Obviously this seemed to grandmaster Lutikov to
be sufficiently clear, and he nobly decided to same Taimanov any
6th Letter — Two Decisive Games 71
further anxiety.
main thing. But for Fischer, chess was, without a doubt, the meaning
of his life, and therefore all his criteria were of an exclusively chess
nature. Fischer, 11 could be said, was closelv linked to chess; it was
his atmosphere, the only one he could breathe.
This is why the title of World Champion meant more for Fischer
than the recognition of his competitive merits alone. The supreme
title as though assigned to him the role of a chess Messiah on Earth.
If chess is the main, indeed the only value in life, and he is the
chess k i n g , then in i t he must be a kind of infallible absolute. This,
apparently, is what Fischer thought. And indeed, to judge by his
actions following his victory over Spassky, the new Champion took upon
himself numerous different obligations. The American grandmaster
decided that he had no right to make incorrect pronouncements about
chess, and he withdrew all the books written by him, very good books,
incidentally, thinking that they were inappropriate to his new status.
He considered that he did not have the right to play badly in a
tournament, or even to lose a single game. In short, Fischer took
upon himself such a burden that he simply bent under Us weight. On
sensing, most probably, that he could not be the person he should be
in his own imagination, Fischer began avoiding chess. And the more
time that passed, the stronger that this psychological complex developed
in him. The result was that the passionate and incomparable love for-
chess, characteristic of Fischer in his earlier years, gave way to a
sense of fear, and a fear hot of some specific player, but of the very
chess pieces and the chess board.
The choice of this or that opening in the match was made mainly
for psychological reasons. The main events normal ly developed in the
subsequent stages, and it was they that exerted a decisive influence on
the outcome of the majority of the games. The present game is a good
confirmation of t h i s ,
Korchnoi Is true to his favourite tactics — that of changing as
often as possible the chess pattern. In the 18th game, where the
Pirc-Uflmtsev Defence was also played, the discussion developed along
'he lines of the main v a r i a t i o n : 6...Bg4 7 8e3 Nc6. Then I had
employed an innovation; 8 Qd3!? On this occasion, evidently so as to
avoid such surprises, Korchnoi makes a sharp change of course. In
Principle the entire variation after 7 dnc5 dxc5 is assessed by theory
a
L
s slightly favourable for White. Bui I could assume that the c h a l -
lenger had prepared some forcing improvement in Black's p l a y , and So,
74 Seven Chess Letters
7 d5 Na6
8 BH
11 . .
13 . . . a6 14 Rad1 Rb8 IS h3
•1
6th Letter — Two Decisive Games 75
15 . . . Nd7
Black cannot test his opponent's patience for long, and sensibly
prevents the threatened breakthrough in the centre. in addition, he
can now hope for counter-play of the type 16,,.b5 17 axb5 Nb6, or
16..-Ne5 17 Nxe5 dxe5 IB d6 exd6 19 Qxd6 Qxd6 20 Rxd6 b5.
16 Qe3
Occupying another important line, and preventing the ...b6-b5
break.
21 Ne2 Bb7
25 e5!
A d a g g e r b l o w , r e i n f o r c e d by a p p r o p r i a t e a r g u m e n t s : 2 5 . . -Nfxd5
26 NhS+ (or 26 Nf5+) 26.,.gxh5 (26...«hB 27 Qh6 Rg8 28 Ng5)
27 Qg5+ KhS 28 Qf5. ... .
25 dxe5 26 Gxe5
26 0xc5 would have been a mistake because of 26.. .Ncxd5, when
• he white queen is in Immediate danger.
76 Seven Chess Letlers
28 Nh4
After this manoeuvre there are threats impending not only over
the black k i n g . In many cases the prosaic c3-cft is no less unpleasant.
Thus on 2B...Bc6 there can follows 29 Bxc6 Qxc6 30 c4 Nb4 31 Rd6
exd6 32 Nh5+ gxhS 33 Qg5+ Kh8 3ft Qxf6+ KgS 35 Nf5, while 28...Qb9
29 cii Qxe5 30 Rxe5 leads to a hopeless ending for Black.
28 BcB 29 Be2!
It turns out that White has not only an extra pawn, but a very
strong i n i t i a t i v e into the bargain. Black is torn apart in the direct
sense of the words; he has to parry the attack on his k i n g , and keep
a careful watch on the Q-side pawns,
40 b5 Na5 41 b6
In this year, as you know, the current cycle in the battle for
the World Championship is completed. Interest in chess in Ihis year
increases exceptionally, and in the summer the attention of a l l chess
enthusiasts will be focused on the Match for the World Championship.
Since the publication of our book is timed to coincide with the start of
this ' j u b i l e e ' match, we have decided that one of its ' letters' should
definitely be devoted to the history of competitions for the title of the
strongest chess player in the world.
History knows of numerous 'uncrowned kings' — the strongest
players of their time, the unofficial World Champions —Greco, Phllidor,
La Bourdonnais, Staunton, Ancierssen and Morphy. In the I8BO5 the
chess world decided that it was time thai they had a ' r e a l ' k i n g , and
in 1886, afler his victory over Zukertort, the f i r s t official World
Champion was declared to be Wilhelm Steinitz.
All the matches for- the world crown are given by us in a table
(see next page). Here you will find the names of the participants in
each match (the winner, or, in the event of a drawn result, the World
Champion retaining his t i t l e , is given f i r s t ) , the year when it was
held, the number of wins, draws and defeats and the overall store,
and the venue of the match.
The f i r s t seventeen matches were not held under any system — the
World Champion played when he wanled, with whom he wanted (and not
always with his strongest r i v a l ! ) and under the conditions which he
liked best. The very f i r s t duel was due to conclude when one side
had gained ten wins, with 3 draw to be recorded if the score stood at
9-9, but during the course of the match the contestants agreed in this
event to extend the marathon up to a further eight wins. Other
matches were held either up to a definite number of wins, or for a
majority of the points. Thus the battle between Capablonca and
Alekhlne was up to six victories (with a score of 5-5 the World Cham-
pion was to retain his t i t l e ) , whereas in all four of Alekhine's subse-
quent World Championship Matches, t h i r t y games were planned, and 15j
points was enough to secure victory.
The most enigmatic duel is that between Lasker and Schlechter.
There is even the hypothesis (though it has not been proved!) that
this wasn't a match for the World Championship el a l l . In certain
sources it is indicated that to gain the Champion's title it was s u f f i -
78
7th L e t t e r — Before Ihe 30th Match f o r i h e World Championship 79
two 'additional ' matches were played. In the table the year 5975 is
'missing 1 , since it was in this year that Fischer declined to defend his
title- Of course, the Karpov-Korchnoi match of 1974, although In the
end it gave the name of the new World Champion, is not included in
our table — the winner of it could not have supposed that within a
year the chess crown would be passed on to him without a struggle.
In the 1978 match, as in the present one, the system employed has
been different from the earlier one — play now proceeds up to six wins
without limit on the number of games. In contrast to the Alekhine-
Capablanca duel, with the score at 5-S the Champion does not retain
his t i t l e , and the battle continues. In the event of the loss of his
crown, he has the right to a return match. Certain chess enthusiasts
assume that this right is considerably more important for the World
Champion than a reserve of one point in 'normal time'. However, as
we will see, this is not altogether so. If the match in Baguio had
been held under the old system, as Alekhine and Capablanca Rlayed
half a century ago, it would all have been over without any trouble a
who's five games e a r l i e r ! Indeed, after the World Champion gained his
f i f t h victory in the 27th game, and the score became 5-2, the battle
would in fact have come to an end!
And so, we invite the reader to make a short excursion into the
history of competitions for the World Championship. . •
1. Steinitz-Zukertort
Zukeriort-Steini tz
Stei ni tz-Chigorin
3. Steinltz-Gunsberg
At the end of the 1880s Gonsberg won a series of major tournaments,
played a drawn match with Chigorin. This gave him the grounds
"°r throwing down the gauntlet to the Champion. Although Steinitz did
n
° t achieve a big advantage in points, he retained his t i t l e f a i r l y
confidently.
L
82 Seven Chess Letters
Slei ni tz-Gunsberg
4. Steinitz-Chigorin
The second match between the World Champion and the great Russian
player was much tenser than the f i r s t . After 23 games Steinitz was one
point ahead, but in the event of Chigorln winning the next game the
score would have become 9-9, whereupon, under the conditions of the
match, play would have continued up to a further three wins, and
everything would have been to play for. But a tragic incident
occurred, the equal of which is unknown In the history of Chess.
White is a piece up, and after 32 Rxb7 (fol lowed by 32. . .Bti5
33 Rb3 Bf7 34 Nf4!, or 3 2 . . . f 4 33 Rxf4+ Bf5 34 Rfl Rxd5 35 Ng7!,
or 32...h3 33 Bf4 Rf2 34 Bg5+L Ke5 35 Rel+ Rde2 36 Rxe2+) he
would have won this decisive game. But White played the inconceivable
32 Bb4??, and after 32-..RxhZ+ the match concluded (33 Kg! Rdg2 mate).
5. Lasker-Steinitz
Lasker-Stein itz
This is a position from the seventh game of the match. From the
opening Black gained an enormous advantage, and in spite of his
opponent's desperate efforts to confuse matters, the situation remained
unchanged. Had he now advanced his Q-side pawns (35 Qh6 is not
dangerous in view of 35...Rg3) Steinitz could have won and taken Che
lead. But his nerves gave way, with his next move he made a decisive
mistake, and he soon resigned the game — the f i r s t of a series of f i v e
defeats.
35 . . . gxf5? 35 Qh5+ Ke7 36 Rg8 Kd6 37 Rxf5 Qe6 38 RxeB Qxefl
39 Rxf6+ Kc5 40 Qh6 Re7 41 Qh2 Qd7 (41...Qd8 42 Qf2+ and 43 Rf6)
42 Qg1 + d4 43 Gg5+ Qd5 44 Rf5 Qxf5 45 Qxf5+ Kd6 46 Qf6+ Resigns.
6. Lasker-Steinltz
Lasker-Steini tz
7. Lasker-MarshaM
B. Losker-Tarrasch
For many years grandmaster Tarrasch was a creative opponent of
Lasker. He sought absolute truth in chess, whereas Lasker would aim
lo find the key to each of his opponents. He was also able easily to
disarm Tarrasch... . It should be said that the match between these
two outstanding players provoked unprecedented interest for that time.
There was an elegant conclusion to the second game of the match.
Tarrasch-Lasker
9. Lasker-Janowski
Janowski-Lasker
White's position (from the second game of the match! appears solid,
but as a result of a subtle knight manoeuvre Black's advantage
becomes decisive: 24...Ng7! 25 c3 (despite its unaesthetic appearance,
25 d5 was more tenacious) 25...Ne6 26 Bfi (the threat was ...Ng5}
26...f5 27 R4g2 Rf6! 28 Bd3 g5! 29 Rht (Janowski could have immort-
alized this position in the event of 29 exf5 Qxh3+!! 30 Kxh3 Rh6+
31 Kg4 Rh4 mate) 29...g4! 30 Be2 Ng5 (not wishing lo lose his queen
after 30...Qxh3 31 Kgl ) 31 fxg4 f3 32 Rg3 fxe2 White resigns.
10. Lasker-Schlechter
Lasker-Schlechter
Slav Defence
11. Lasker-JanowskI
The defeat in his first attempt did not convince Janowski of the
f u t i l i t y of his hopes, and he challenged Lasker to a new match. On
this occasion the World Champion's victory was even more impressive.
The following position, taken from the f i f t h game of the match, Is
sometimes cited as an Illustration of Lasker's psychological method. He
often chose continuations which were r i s k y , and objectively not the
best, but in doing so took account of the fact that they would not be
to the l i k i n g of that particular opponent.
7th Lelter - Before the 30th Match for (he World Championship 87
11
L ask er-Ja n o w sk 1
Black has a marked advantage, and after the fine queen sacrifice
17.. .Qxc3+! 18 Nxc3 Nxd4! he would have obtained for it sufficient
compensation, and, in addition, a very dangerous attack. But
Janowski displays indecision, and the game concludes quite differently.
17...Bh4+? 18 g3 Qe4 19 0-0 Bf6 20 Rxf6! Now Black's position
is already c r i t i c a l . 2O...gxf6 21 Bf3 Qe5 22 Nxa7+ Kc7 23 Naxc6
bxc6 24 Rxc6+ KbB 25 Rb6+ Kc8 26 Qc14 Kd7 27 Nxe6 fxe6 28 Rb7+
Ke8 29 Bc6+ Resigns.
12. Capablanca-Lasker
Cepablanca-Lasker
13. Alekhine-Capablanca
The encounter between the two chess genii Aiekhine and Capablanca
is to this day regarded as the most outstanding event in the history of
chess. In the struggle for the world crown there has never been a
match more prolonged (34 games!), or more tense (32 exhausting
Queen's Gambits! ). But, most important, this duel saw the meeting of
two chess giants, at the height of their powers. The i n v i n c i b l e Jose
Raul Capablanca with his phenomenal technique, which enabled him to
express the hypothesis aboul 'the drawing death of chess', and the
great master of combination Alexander Alekhine, who with his irrepres-
sible fantasy refuted this hypothesis! By gaining the six necessary
victories in the match, Aiekhine not only became the fourth chess k i n g ,
but also demonstrated to the world the inexhaustible nature of chess.
We give the conclusion to the 21st game of this historic match.
Capablanca-Alekhlne
\
26.. .Bb2! The start of an unusual and s u r p r i s i n g combination.
11 turns out that the white rook has no good square. 27 Rei (27 Rbi
Na3! 28 Qxb2 Nxbl 29 Qxbi Qb3! 30 Ofi bxa4 31 h3 a3, etc., or
27 Rdl bxa4! 28 Clxa4 Nb6 29 Rxd5 Nxa4 30 Rdl Nc3 31 Rel Rc4,
with a winning position) 27...Rd8 28 axbS axb5 29 h3 e5 30 Rb1 e4
31 Nd4 (no better is 31 Nh2 Qd3! 32 RxbZ Qxb3 33 Rxb3 Rd1+ 34 Nf1
NdZ 35 Ra3 Nxfi - v a r i a t i o n by Lasker, or 31 Nei Qd2 32 Qc2 Oxc2
33 Nxc2 Rd2 34 Nei Na3 - v a r i a t i o n by Aiekhine) 31 . . .Bxd4 32 Rd1
Nxe3! A spectacular concluding blow. White resigns, in view of the
v a r i a t i o n 33 Qxd5 Rxd5 3ft Rxd4 Rxd4 35 fxe3 Rxb4.
14. Alekhine-Bogoljubov
Alekhine's f i r s t match as Champion was against Ewfim Bogoljubov.
At that time Aiekhine had no equals in the chess world, a fact which
was confirmed in the present encounter. The eighth game of the match
ended in a pure mate.
Bogo I j ubo v -A I ek h i ne
7th Letler - Before the 30th Match for the World Championship 89
15. Alekhine-Bogoljubov
With his last move 29.. .Rh8-g8 Black decided to drive away the
knight (correct was 29...Ng5 with a complicated game), but the knight
remains a! its post... .
30 e6!! (a beautiful combination, which refutes 8lack's manoeuvre)
3O...Rdxg7 31 Nxg7 Rxg7 32 Rxd5! (a further spectacular blow, on
which the entire combination is based) 32...cxdS 33 Rf8+ Kc7 34 Rf7+
Kd6 lales, after the exchange of rooks the white pawn queens) 35 Rxg7
Kxe6 36 Rg6+ Ke5 37 Kg2 b5 3S a5! d4 39 Rxa6 b4 40 Kf3 c3
41 bxc3 bxc3 42 Re6+! (a highly prosaic finish) 42...Kxe6 43 Kxe4
Resigns.
16. Euwe-Aiekhine
Euwe-Aiekhine
I
18 Ng5! fxgS (!8...Bf5 19 Qb3-<- Kh8 20 Bxe5 Qxe5 21 Nf7+, and
90 Seven Chess Letters
so that the game should not conclude with the combination described by
us in the third ' letter 1 , Black is forced to give up the exchange)
19 Bxe5 Bf6 20 Bxb8 Bxc3 21 Bd6 Rf7 22 bxc3 Rfd7 23 Rbl Rxd6
24 Rxb7 R8d7 25 Rxd7 Bxd7 26 Be4 c5 27 c4 Bxa4 28 Bd5+ Kf8
29 Rai Ra6 30 Ra2 Ke7 31 fU g x f i 32 gxf4 Kf6 33 e4 g5 3A f5 h5
35 h4! g xh4 36 KhZ Kg5 37 Kh3 Ra5 38 Bb7 Kf6 39 Bd5 Kg5 40 Bb7
Kf6 41 Bc6 Resigns.
17. Alekhine-Euwe
The return match, which took place two years later, ended in a
convincing victory for the great Russian player. Alekhine played in
his best style and easily regained his crown. The sixth game d i d not
last long.
Alekhine-Euwe
Slav Defence
Alfikhine-Euwe
5uch positions a^e normally encountered in simultaneous displays...
Subsequently, in a book on this match, Botvinnik showed that the
knight sacrifice was incorrect: 6.. .dxc3 7 Bxf7+ Ke7 8 Qb3 cxb2!
9 Bxb2 Ob6! 10 Ba3+ (10 Bxg8 Rxg8 11 0xg8 Qbft+ 12 Nd2 Qxb2)
10. ..c5 11 BxgB RxgS 12 Bxc5+ (12 Q«g8 Qa5->- 13 Nd£ Qxa3) 1 2 . . .
Qxc5 13 0-0 Qh5! (13...Rh6? 14 Raci Qb6 15 RKc8 Qxb3 16 axb3 36
17 Rfd1 and 18 Rdd8) U GxgS Be6 IS QhB Nc6, and Black has a won
position. Of course, to examine a l l these variations at the board was
not easy, and Euwe decided not to accept the knight sacrifice.
6...b5? 7 Nxb5 Ba6 (evidently the Dutch grandmaster had over-
looked that on 7...cxb5 there follows B BdS) 8 Qb3 Qe7 9 0-0 BxbS
10 Bxb5 Nf6 11 Bc4 Nbd7 12 Nxd4. This White has an extra pawn and
a positional advantage; Black's further resistance Is hopeless. 12.. -
Rb8 13 0c2 Qc5 14 Nf5 Ne5 15 Bf4 Nh5 16 8xf7+ Kxf7 17 Qxc5 Bxc5
IB Bxe5 Rb5 19 Bd6 Bb6 20 b4 Rd9 21 Radi c5 22 6xc5 Bxc5
23 Rd5 Resigns.
(nary negotiations between them about a match for the World Champion-
ship- However, Alekhine's dealh deprived the chess world of a most
Interesting encounter. Now Botvinnik had to demonstrate that the
discussion about a match had been no accident. By convincingly
g i n n i n g , by a margin of three points, the match-tournament of the
five strongest grandmasters, he became the f i r s t Soviet, and sixth
overall, Champion of the Wortd.
The following game took place in the tenth round, when a l l was not
yet clear1 — in the event of a win for Keres he would have caught up
with Botvinnik and shared the leadership with him. But by gaining
a spectacular victory, Botvinnik hurled a long way back one of his
main r i v a l s .
Botvinnik-Keres
19. Botvinnik-Bronstein
Bronstei n-Botvinnik
the dangerous pawn, and went 57 Kc2. Of course, the grandmaster saw
the possibility of the black king appearing at f2, but considered only
the direct route Kf4-f3-f2, t h i n k i n g that here too he would have lime to
play Ne6 and Nd4+ with a draw. How dumbfounded he must have been
when the enemy king did indeed set off for the square f2, but not by
the direct route (as we established in the f i r s t ' l e t t e r ' , the shortest
distance on the board is not necessarily measured in a straight l i n e ! ) .
After S7...Kg3!! White had to resign, since it turned out that the e3
pawn could not be slopped: on 58 Ne6 there follows 58. • .e2, and the
white knight moves to d4 without check (59 Kd2 K f 2 ! ) .
20. Botvirtnik-Smyslov
This was the third and, as yet, the last match for the World
Championship to end in a draw. In the f i r s t half of i t strange things
happened, and the score changed 'sinusoidally' . First Botvinnik won
three games out of four, with one draw. Two further draws, and the
score became 4 ^ - 1 ^ in his favour. But in the next five meetings the
World Champion g a i n e d . . . half a point, and Smyslov shot into the lead
— 6-5. A win in the 12th game, the conclusion of which we give
below, enabled Botvinnik to level the scores, after which he never
again fell behind. The second half of the match, like the f i r s t , ended
in a draw, and the World Champion retained his t i t l e .
The black knight has just moved from c5, and after the capture by
the white pawn on f6 — 30 exf6 and the zwischenzug 3O...Ne4 Smyslov
was apparently feel ing highly optimistic. Indeed, after the retreat of
the queen — 31 Qg2 there fol lows 31 . . . Nxf6, and White's position is
lost, since all his pawns are hopelessly weak.
31 f7+! An unpleasant sur-prise. White wins thanks to geometric
motifs. The pawn cannot be taken by the king because of Qxg7+
(intersection of the seventh rank and the g-f i l e ! ) , while on 3 1 . . -Rxf7,
as in fact occurred in the game, there followed 32 Qd8+- Kh7 33 Bxd5
f interseciion of the d-file and the a2-gS diagonal!) 33.. .Nf2+- 34 Kg2
Qf6 35 Qwf6 Rxf6 36 Kxf2 Rxf5+ 37 B13 Rf4 38 Rgft, and Black
resigned. •>
21. Smyfilov-Botvinnik
The 1950s were marked by the r i v a l r y between Mikhail Botvinnik
and Vastly Stnyslov. While in the f i r s t match the challenger had to be
satisfied with an honourable draw, in the next cycle he succeeded in
ascending to the summit. After five games Botvinnik was ahead. After
7th Letter - Before the 30th Match for the World Championship 93
Smyslov-Botvinnik
22. Botvinnik-Smyslov
Botvl nn ik-Smyslov
hit
96 Sever Chess Letters
23. Tal-Botvinnik
In the late 1950s and early sixties, Mikhail Tal, with his Incon-
ceivable combinations, caused trepidation among even the most stead-
fast of grandmasters. He surmounted the path from master to World
Champion in three years! By winning the match against Botvlnnik,
the 23*-year-old Tal became the youngest chess king in history, In
combinational storms he was clearly superior to his mighty opponent. A
tactical blow brought him victory in the 17th, the decisive game of the
match, after which i I became clear that the chess world would soon
receive a new Champion, the eighth.
Tal-Botvinnik
Ik. Botvinnik-Tal . p • . . ,. .•
Botvi nnik-Tal
25. Petrosian-Botvinnik
At the height of his powers, i.e. in the mid 1960s, Tigrsn Petrosian
7th Letter — Before the 30th Match for the World Championship 95
Botvinnik-Petrosian
26. Petrosian-Spassky
In his fourth cycle of battling for the world crown, Spassky
succeeded, at last, in reaching a meeting with ihe World Champion.
However, his hour had not yet come. Petrosian played more strongly
and more subtly, did not once fall behind on points, and f a i r l y con-
fidently retained his t i t l e .
In the tenth game the World Champion carried out a most striking
combination, which has gone into a l l ihe books on chess tactics.
Petrosian-Soassky
Well known is Petrosian's predilection for sacrificing the exchange
for the initiative. On this occasion, as you can see, both rooks have
been given up for minor pieces.
27 Nxdfi Qg5+ 28 KM Raa7 29 Bxf7+ Rxf7. Now White could have
96 Seven Chess Letters
27. Spassky-Petrosian
Spassky-Petrosi an
28. Fischer-Spassky
Spassky-Fischer
29. Karpov-Korchnoi
Karpov-Korchnoi
30. Karpov-Korchnoi
98 Seven Chess Letters
The author's of the book hope that the position depicted In this
diagram (the only one we can as yet reproduce! ) Will prove in the
coming, t h i r t i e t h match for the worlcj crown to be favourable for the
World Champion... .
I
Part Two
The Computer at the Chess Board
Part Two
THE COMPUTER AT THE CHESS
BOARD
The topic 'the computer and chess' has for many years been
Irovoking great interest both among chess players, and among math-
ematicians. But while in the 1950s computers were making in chess
Only their f i r s t steps, during the last decade they have made a rapid
Intrusion into a l l the fields in which man in some way or another
Dmes into contact with chess.
This part of the book is devoted to an account of the chess
chievements of the computer. Our attention w i l l be mainly focused on
following two questions:
(1) the playing by the computer of normal chess;
(2) the analysis by the computer of endings.
101
102 The Computer at the Chess Board
.•.•I h.
-i . . - . . • !
9 . . . Ne4 10 Qd3
103
104 The Computer ai the Chess Board
12 f5 Ng5?
This simple tactical blow would have been found even with a
calculation to one half-move.
The chess match between two computers was widely reported in the
press, and this gave a powerful stimulus to the development of chess
programming in a whole series of European countries, and especially in
Ihe USA.
Since 1970, under the aegis of the Association of Computing
Technology, North American computer championships have regularly been
held in the USA. In the f i r s t such tournament (New York, 1970),
which attracted six participants, the winner was the program Chess 3.0
from the North-Western University. The same program Chess (from now
on we w i l l drop the designations of its modifications — 3.0, 4.0, etc.)
was also victorious in the fol lowing three championships.
Subsequently Chess has twice had to concede the championship —
in 1974 to the Canadian program Ribbit, and in 1978 to its compatriot
— the program Belle. It should be said that the short tournament
distance (3-4 rounds on the Swiss system) often reduces the question of
f i r s t place to the result of the one game between the r i v a l s . A more
trustworthy evaluation of a computer's p l a y i n g strength is given by its
r a t i n g ( i t s coefficient on the Elo system), c a l c u l a t e d \ In exactly the
same way as for human players. In regaining the title 1 'of champion in
1979, Chess increased its r a t i n g to 2099, whereas Belle was able to
achieve a level of only 1982.
In 1974 in Stockholm the f i r s t world computer chess championship
took place. By that time in Europe the operating programs numbered
about ten, and in the USA — more than 50. In this situation the
staging of a world championship was most opportune. This contest
essentially summed up the i n i t i a l development period of chess program-
ming, and provided a review of the latest achievements in this f i e l d .
Thirteen computers from eight countries took part in the battle
Competi lions with the Participation of Computers 105
for Ihe title of champion. The representation was as follows: from the
USA —four programs, from England — three, and one each from Austria,
Canada, Hungary, Norway, Switzerland and USSR.
The tournament committee worked out a set of rules to take Into
'account the specific nature of this unusual event. For example, a
certain lime was allotted for the elimination of technical faults In the
computer, which might arise during a game, for the correcting of a
wrongly-entered move, and so on. In other respects, normal tournament
rules were In operation. The time control was established at 2 hours
for* 40 moves, irrespective of the computer speed.
According to the experts, there were two favourites — the American
Chess and the Soviet Kaissa. However, in the second round Chess
unexpectedly lost to the program Chaos, coming under a crushing
attack right from the opening. Here is an episode from this game,
with Chess playing Black.
Black has just played 3O...RgB-e8, pinning the white bishop. The
reply 31 Oc6! had been overlooked by Franz. Now 31 .. .Rxe5 loses to
32 RdB+ Ka7 33 Ra8 mate. At the same time White has created a
multitude of threats: Bxc7+, Qb6+ and Rd7, which Black is unable to
Parry. The game concluded 3 1 . . .Qg6 32 0xc7+ Ka8 33 Rd7 Qf5
34 Oc6 mate.
The final results of the event were: Kaissa A/4; Chess, Chaos
(both USA) and Ribblt (Canada) 3. At the closing ceremony Kaissa was
swarded a memorial gold medal as the f i r s t world computer champion.
L
106 The Computer at the Chess Board
9 c5 Nd5 10 0-0 e6 .
Black intends by \7.. .Qf5 fol lowed by 18.. .Nd7 to solve its
development problems.
23 Qc6 Nf6 24 Be2 Radfl 25 Qa4 Be7 26 6b5 QfS 27 Rc2 Nd&
28 Racl Bf6 29 Qb3
29 a5?
A move which loses the game due to the existence for White of a
latent threat. In order to discover i t , a calculation of 9 half-moves
was required. Had it been calculating to that depth, the computer
30 g4! Qe6
31 Rc6 a4
Black now sees lhat it loses a piece i n the v a r i a t i o n 3 1 . . . R d 6
32 Rc8+ Kg7 33 g 5 . The move 3 1 . . . a 4 lengthens the v a r i a t i o n by two
half-moves, and the computer t h i n k s that it is losing only a p a w n .
34 . . . ReB?!
Unexpectedly Kaissa gives up a whole rook. The commentators
were perplexed, and explained In confusion to the spectators that chess
programs were s t i l l a long way from perfection, and that anything
could be expected of them. Great was the general amazement when
Kaissa explained its 'blunder' by the following v a r i a t i o n : 34...Kg7
35 QfB+!! KxfB 36 Bh6+ and 37 Rc8+ with inevitable mate! Not one of
the players present at the championship found this spectacular queen
108 The Computer al the Chess Board
Chess-Duchess
Belle-Chaos
Alekhine' 5 Defence
Belle-Chess
Modern Benoni Defence i-
1 d4 Nf6 2 c4 c5 3 d5 e6 4 Nc3 exdS 5 cx<)5 d6 6 e4 g6
7 Nf3 Bg7 8 Be2 0-0 9 0-0 Re8 10 Nd2 Na6 11 f3 Nc7 12 a4 b6
13 Nc4 Ba6 14 Bg5 h6 15 Bh4 g5 16 Bf2 Nh5 17 Ne3 BcB IB Qc2 Nf«
19 Bc4 Bd7 20 Rfdl Qf6 21 Bg3 Nh5 22 Bel Nf4 23 Khi a6 24 Bg3
b5 25 axb5 axb5 26 RxaB RxaB 27 Bf1 b4 28 Ne2 b3 29 Qbi Nh5
30 Bf2 Nf4 31 Nc4 Nxe2 32 Bxe2 Bb5 33 Bg3 Ra4 34 Qci Bf8 35 Rd2
QdB 36 0f1 h5 37 Kgl h4 38 Bf2 Bg7 39 Ne3 Bxe2 40 Qxe2 Ra1 +
41 Rdl Ra2 42 Qd3 Rxb2 « Nc4 Rc2
44 e5T Bxe5 5 Nxe5 dxe5 46 Qxb3 Re2 47 Kfi c4! 48 Qb7 Ra2
49 Bb6 h3! 50 Qf6! 51 Qd8+ Qxd8 52 Bxd8 Rxg2 53 Rei?
White had many ways to win - d5-d6, Be7, Bc7 or Ba5. By
temporarily giving up material, it would have forced the advance of its
passed pawn. Instead of this, it attempts not to fal I behind the
opponent in the pursuit of pawns, and as a result lets slip the w i n .
l i is here that the basic weakness of the computer tells — the Inability
at the necessary moment to calculate a long but hardly-branching
110 The Computer gt the Chess Board
variation.
D. Levy •- Chess
King's Indian Attack
10 . . . Nxf6 11 Bc4
II . . . dS 12 Be2
After 14. . .Ne3 White could have sacrificed his queen by 15 Bxg7!
Nxd5 IS BxhS Nxc3 17 Bxc3, achieving a position which would be
d i f f i c u l t to breach. The move made by Fischer is clearly stronger.
15 fxe5 0-0!
19 Kd2 was more tenacious. Now White loses by force. <• '-
19 . . . RxfU 20 Kxfi
:•!.••!?
Chess-Apitsella
Nimzow i tsch Defence
115
116 The Computer at the Chess Board
positions, only on condition that this number and these positions are
precisely mentioned In the regulations for a tournament or match".
The positions discovered by Kaissa show that the number of 50
moves should also be increased in the code for the ending ' k i n g , queen
and pawn against king and queen' . This is the f i r s t instance In
history when the computer has ' interfered' in the chess code! (The
ending 'king and two knights against king and pawn' wes studied
many years ago, and without the help of the computer).
There is another unusual Instance concerning the ending in
question, when the computer f i r s t rendered practical assistance to a
grandmaster. This occurred in 1975 in the US5B Zonal Tournament at
Vilnius. The game Grigorian-Br-onstein was adjourned in a queen
ending with an extra pawn for Black. The grandmaster knew of
Kaissa's success, and he turned to it for 'consultation'. Not long
before the start of the adjournment session, Bronstein received a letter
with an analysis of the position. True. Grigorian played inaccurately
right at the start of the adjournment, so that Kaissa's 'prompting' was
not required.
In practice, rook endings occur much more frequently than queen
endings. One of the most common forms of this ending — 'rook and
pawn against rook' has also been given to Kaissa for analysis.
Spending 60 hours of machine time, it coped b r i l l i a n t l y with its task,
and can now evaluate any position of this type, irrespective of the
position of the pawn. At the same time, the machine has established a
number of interesting facts. For example, It has discovered a position
which can be won in not less than 60 moves (as before, by won we
have in mind a transition into a won secondary ending). Here is one
such position (Black to move),
king cut off beyond Ihe f - f l l e , the one saving square for if is g4 (if
we disregard g l and gZ, on which the k i n g simply captures the white
rook and Black w i n s ) .
125
126 15 of the World Champion's Best Games
the studeni defeated the graduate, and as a result became Champion of
Moscow University, one point ahead of me. My opponent could not have
guessed that he was playing against his future co-author, but I loo
was not to know that within seven years my conqueror would become the
strongest player on this planet!
13 h5 Nxh5 14 Bh6
\zwSm
m mm
Game No. 1 127
17 Ne2!
17 Qc5
22 Qxf3
23 Rxh5 e6
A.K.: Black cannot defend h7, since 23. . .Qxe4 loses lo 24 g 6 !
Qxg6 25 Rg5. It is also d i f f i c u l t f o r him to save the game after
2 3 . . . N g 6 , for example 24 Qxh7+ KfS 25 Rh6 e6 26 Rxg6 f x g 6 27 Qxd7
0xe2 28 Qxd6* Kg7 29 Qe7+ Kh8 30 Qf6+ Kh7 31 Qf7+ KhS 32 Qxg6.
24 g 6 ! . ,: ..,.,. • ... -.
2ft . . . Nxg6
28 Bd8 29 Qh6+
No. 2
Alekhine Memorial Tournament, Moscow 1971
Karpov-Hort
Sic! I Ian Defence ' • '
6 . . . Nc6 , • ,'t'
7 g5 Nd7 8 Be3
A sharp game with good prospects for White results after 8 Ndb5
Nb6 9 Bf4 UeS 10 QhS g6 11 Qh3, bul a detailed examination of
opening variations is not p a r t of our task.
8 a6 9 f*
Nowadays 9 Rgl is often preferred her«.
'.i.
9 . . . Be7
On 9 . . . h 6 my opponent was most probably a f r a i d of the move
which I was indeed intending to play — 10 Nxe6 ( s t r i c t l y speaking,
there is no a l t e r n a t i v e , since 10 gxh6 and 10 g6 are simply bad
because of 10.. .Qh4+). Boundless camp I ications could then have
arisen; 1O...fxe6 11 Qh5+ Ke7 12 Bh3 Qe8 13 Qh&, w i t h consequences
d i f f i c u l t to assess. It was just this that my tournament position
demanded.
10 Rgl Nxd4
Bad for Black, of course, was 13...0b6 14 Rg3 Qxb2 15 Rb1 Qa3
16 Nd5.
U Be2 Bee
Black cannot play actively with 1ft.. .Qa5, since the resulting
ending is clearly advantageous to White: 15 Nd5 Qxd2+ 16 Kxd2 Bd8
17 Radi Be6 18 Kci .
15 Nd5
Game No. 2 131
15 . . . Bxd5 16 exdS
16 Ng6
17 Be3 h6t?
It is difficult to know what kind of mark to attach to this move,
so great Is the significance, and not merely from the chess viewpoint,
which is contained in i t . It shows fighting spirit, and the desire (o
give the game a (actical turn. It also shows an accurate assessment
of the position, with a clear understanding of its drawbacks. In
[t'ithort, it is a move which is risky for both sides!
18 19 Kd1
The white king is not embarrassed by the loss of castling. At
the same time, right to the end of the game Black's king has such a
possibility open to it, but does not manage to utilize it.
19 gxh6 20 Bxh6 Bf6
2O...Qf6 probably did not appeal to Black, since his bishop's
mobi li ty would then be severely reduced. Hort had planned an ideal
regrouping of his forces, but in chess there are Iwo sides playing, and
1 In turn was able to take the necessary counter-measures.
21 c3 Be5
22 Rg4!
22 . . . QfG . . ' . . : • - .
23 h4! . . .
23 . . . Qf5 - . . .
24 Rb4!
26 RfA Qe5
Game No. 3 133
27 Rf3!
29 Rxd5
29 . . . Qe4
30 Rd3!
30 . . . QM +
No. 3
Quarter-Final Candidates' Match
Moscow 1974
Karpov-Polugayevsky
Sici I ian Defence
12 Be3 . , • : : •
This idea is not new, but it acquired a second wind at high level
after the game Geller-lukov, 1973. White maintains the tension in the
centre, for the moment not disclosing his intentions.
m
12 . . . exf4 13 Rxf4 Ne5 14 a5 *' '
In the fourth game of the malch I played the weaker 14 Nd4, and
after 14...Rad6 Black secured a good game.
T'- 17 0xc2
18 Nd4 0xb2
19 Rab1 Qc3
19...Qa3 is weaker — the black queen would have been out of play
on the edge of the board.
20 NfS
The aim of this move is to defend the bishop and not allow the
block queen to c5, which could have occurred after 20 Rb3 0c5 %\ NfS
Qxd5 22 exd5 NcS, when Black can defend.
20 Qc2!
Polugayevsky manoeuvres excellently. Any delay would have
21 Rbel
25 Qxb7
136 15 of the World Champion's Best Games
Having been f i r s t two pawns down, and then one, perhaps I was
subconsciously aiming to eliminate this 'material deficiency' . Mean-
while, 25 Qh5 would have threatened 26 Rxf6 gxf6 27 Qg4+ Kh8
28 Bh6, which is not easily p a r r i e d (25. ..g6 26 Qc5).
27 Bf4
27 Ra8
f
29 . . . Qc3 30 Rf3 Qc2 31 Rdfi Bd4 •" •"• i
32 Bh6
32 . . . Nc6
33 Nf5! Qb2
Game No. 4 137
34 Bel!
No. 4
Semi-Final Candidates' Match - . -' •
Leningrad 1974 .*-.-. ' •
Karpov-Spassky
Queen's Gambit
The concluding game of the match, victory in which took me into
e Final of the Candidates' Event. Of particular interest in the game
"is the theoretical duel. Prior to the match I had never opened with
the queen's pawn against a strong opponent, and 1 d4 had been
prepared as a surprise for Spassky. In the present game I managed
to win bril lianlly in the so-called Makagonov-Bondarevsky Variation,
It should be mentioned that for many years the late grandmaster
Bondarevsky was Spassky's trainer, and It Is no accident that the
given variation has given faithful service to the Ex-World Champion.
d4 Nf6 2 e6 3 Nf3
I decided against 3 Nc3, so as to avoid Ihe Nimzo-lndian Defence,
which worked well for Spassky in the f i f t h game of the match.
12 Rd a6
13 a3 Nd7 14 b4 b5
15 Nei
17 a4! Bd8
24 . . . Qh7
I 25 Qf3 f5?
f
A picturesque position! The black bishop is attacked, and it is
impossible to defend i t . In addition, White threatens 29 Re7.
f
After 2O...fxg3 White wins most simply by 30 Nf6+ Rxf6 31 Qxa8+
Rf8 32 Qxf8+ Kxf8 33 Rxh7 gxh2+ 34 KM BU 35 Rei. Not 30 Rxh7??,
of course, in view of 3O...gxf2+ 31 Kh1 fl=Q+ 32 Rxfl Rxfl mate.
No. 5
Final Candidates' Match
Moscow 1974
Karpov-Korchno 1
S i c i l i a n Defence
At that time Korchnoi alone of the top players used to play the
Dragon V a r i a t i o n , and in p a r t i c u l a r , this opening twice occurred in his
1971 Candidates' Match with Gel l e r . | n a t u r a l l y did not r u l e out the
p o s s i b i l i t y of t h i s v a r i a t i o n o c c u r r i n g in our match.
6 Be3 Bg7 7 f3 Nc6 8 Qd2 0-0 9 Bc4 6d7 10 t>4 Rca II Bb3
Ne5 12 0-0-0
The logical basis for the retreat of the k n i g h t from the centre is
roughly as fol lows. The c3 square is the most important point in
White's s e l - u p , against which Black concentrates his a t t a c k . The
standard exchange sacrifice . . .Rxc3 often occurs on Ihis square, when
the opponent gains a strong a t t a c k . It is a curious fact that, after
the doubling of the white pawns on the c - f i l e , B l a c k ' s position is so
r i c h in p o s s i b i l i t i e s that even in the endgame he can maintain the
balance, as was splendidly demonstrated in his games by the out-
standing Soviet grandmaster Leonid Stein. Thus ttie basic idea of the
k n i g h t move is to reinforce c3. i n a d d i t i o n , from e2 the k n i g h t can
easily be t r a n s f e r r e d for a direct attack on the hostile k i n g . As the
reader w i l l already have noticed, both p l a y e r s , without w o r r y i n g about
loss of m a t e r i a l , are mounting attacks on opposite wings — as normally
happens in positions w i t h c a s t l i n g on opposite sides. All these general
considerations should not obscure the concr-ete threat created by White
along the d - f i l e — 17 e5 and 18 g5. ; , .«
15 . . . Qa5 17 Bh6
17 ..
1?...Rfc8 18 Bxg7 Kxg7 19 Qh6+ Kg3 transposes.
19 R4c5
20 g5
The knights at c3 and f6 defend their kings, and therefore it is
they that are subject to the greatest danger (the removal of the black
knight from f6 will almost immediately lead to the intrusion of the
, white knight at d5) .
20 . . . Rxg5 Rd5!
23 Nef4 Bc6
142 IS of Ihe World Champion's Best Games
24 e5!
B l o c k i n g that same f i f t h r a n k . There is a d a z z l i n g a r r a y of
possibilities, but in fact this is the only d e c i s i v e c o n t i n u a t i o n . White
f a i Is to win by the s t r a i g h t f o r w a r d 24 Nxf6+ exf6 25 Nh5 Qg5+ ( t h i s is
the p o i n t ! ) 26 0xg5 fxg5 27 Nf6+ Kg7 28 Nxe8* BxeB.
24 BxdS
25 exf6 exf6
In such positions the most important t h i n g is — s e l f - c o n t r o l ! One
w a n t s , of course, to make a b r i l l i a n t move as q u i c k l y as p o s s i b l e , but
here it was not yet too late to lose the game: 26 Mh5 would have been
met by the sobering Z6...Re1 + .
No. 6
European Team Championship
Moscow 1977
Port i sch-Kar pov
K i n g ' s I n d i a n Attack
It would appear that this move had not been played before. An
Game No. 6 143
entertaining game was played in the First League of the 1976 USSR
Championship: 6...Be7 7 e4 dxe4 8 dxe4 Nxe4? 9 Neb, and Black
resigned, since on 9...Nd6 there follows 10 Bxb7 Nxb7 11 Qf3, with a
double attack on f7 and b7 (Kochiev-I vanov).
7 R*1 Bc5
The combination of this bishop manoeuvre with the previous knight
move is a completely new idea. As a result Black has immediately
solved all his opening problems.
8 c4
The innovation puts Portisch out of his stride, and he avoids the
traditional advance of the e-pawn. An equal game would have resulted
from 8 eh dex4 9 Ng5 e3 10 fxe3 Bxg2 11 Kxg2 Nd5 12 Nde4, whereas
now it becomes clear that White has made a pointless move with his
rook to el .
10 . . . Bb4!
11 Bd2 a5
12 Nbd4 Re8
15 . . . Ne4 16 dxc57
18 Nd6 Bxd2
No. 7
'Tournament of S t a r s ' , Montreal 1979
Timman-Ksrpov
E n g l i s h Opening
T h i s game is noteworthy f o r the f a c l t h a t i n i t t h e Dutch g r a n d -
master f e l l into a t r a p , p r e p a r e d . . . f o r K o r c h n o i . It should be said
that f o r the match i n Baguio we p r e p a r e d a number of opening s u r -
p r i s e s , and by no means a l l of them were u s e d . Several ideas a r e
s t i l l a w a i t i n g t h e i r t u r n , and it is q u i t e impossible to tell who w i l l be
Game No. 7 US
4 . . . Be7
4...Bb4 is very popular here, and now 5 0c2 0-0 6 Nd5 Re8 lat
the 1978 Amsterdam Tournament, Timman himself, with Black against
Adorjan, continued 6...a5 7 a3 Bc5 8 Ng5 g6 9 Nxf6+ Qxf6 10 Ne4
Qe7 11 Be2 d6 12 b3 Ba7 13 0-0 f5 14 Nc3 f i . 15 Nd5 Qg5 16 Kh1
6h3 17 gxh3 f3 18 Bxf3 Rxf3 19 Qe4 Raf8, but after 20 Qg4 White
retained a slight advantage) 7 Qf5. It is in this direction that
theoretical searchings have developed in recent times. Thus Ronianishin,
as' Black against Kasparov in the 1978 USSR Championship (Premier
League), employed here an interesting, but hardly correct pawn s a c r i -
fice: 7...Be7?! 8 NxeS Nb4 9 Nxb4 Bxb4 10 a3 d5?! (White also
retains a certain advantage after 10...d6 11 Qc2 Bxd2+ 12 Bxd2 dxe5)
11 Qc2 Rxe5 12 axb4 Bf5 13 d3 0e7 14 Bd2 d4 15 Be2 dxe3 16 fxe3
Bg4 17 Bf3!, and in the end the compi ications proved favourable for
White.
Al I the indications are that Black stands wel I, both in the centre
and on the f l a n k s . It is important for him merely to co-ordinate the
actions of his pieces.
This idea was conceived during our preparations for the World
B6hs<npionship Match. On general grounds it may seem rather dubious,
Tbut from the specific, tactical viewpoint it proves to be f u l l y j u s t i f i e d .
Black's main problem is to expand to the maximum extent the
scope of his well placed pieces, and to direct them towards an attack
on the K-side. It should be said that a K-side pawn structure, such
as White has here, always assists an attack by the opponent.
The earlier continuation here was 11...Rd8 12 cxd5 Qe5 13 g3
Bh3 U Ret Bb4 15 Qc2 Bf5 16 Qci cxd5 17 Bf3 Qe7 18 e3 Ba5
19 b4 6b6 20 NxdS, with an undisputed advantage for White (Keene-
Jansson, 1976}.
12 bxc4
12 . . . R68!
White has to be on his guard: double attacks are In the air.
For example, 13 Bb1? Rxb2 14 Rxb2 Qe5, etc.
13 Qd Ng4
14 g3
15 Nd1
I think that White is also In trouble after IS Bf3, which was
recommended by certain commentators. For example, 15.. .Of6 (15.. .Me5
16 Be2 Bh3 17 Rdi is less clear) 16 Bxg4 (bad is 16 Bg2 Qh6 17 h3
Ne5, etc.) 16...Bxa4 17 f3 Bh3 18 Rf2 Qg6, with a strong initiative
for Black.
15 Nxh2!
A sacrifice, By which Black Increases his advantage. Tinman
foresaw this, of course, but was pinning his hopes on the strength of
his answering intermediate move. But before beginning the combination
I had taken accurate account of all possible tactical nuances.
16 c5
Of course, not 16 Kxh2 Qh4+ 17 Kg2 Qh3+ 18 Kgi Bxg3 19 fx9 3
Qxg3+ 20 Khl Re4! <20...Re6 21 Bf6) 21 Rf4 Bh3, and it is all over.
A
Game No. 8 H?
16 . . . N x f i ! 17 cxd6 Nxg3!
19 . . . Qh6 20 Bd4
22 Kd2 Qg2 23 Nb2 Ba6 24 Nd3 Bxd3 25 Kxd3 RbdB 26 Bfi Qe4+
27 Kc3
:S
27 cS!
White resigns.
No. 8
Bad Lauterberg 1980
K a rpo v -H u b n er
Sicil ian Defence
1 e4 c5 2 Nf3 d6
Creating the vei led threat of (rapping the queen by 22 Rbi Gxc2
23 Bdi . Bui in the meantime White gives ur> a second pawn.
21 . . . Qxc2
22 Bdi
On 2 4 . . .Bh4 there would have fol lowed 25 Qxh4 Qxc3 26 Qh6, but
not the inexact 26 f6 in view of 26...Qci> 27 Rg1 (or 27 Rf3 Qxe4)
27...Kh8.
25 Rf2 Qct
After the game HUbner s a i d that 25...Qa1 would have been better.
This is indeed so, had White repeated what occurred in the game. But
I had i n mind 26 fxg6, and on 2 6 . . . B g 7 27 gxf?+.
26 Rxf6
29 Rd6 Rc7
No. 9
Bugojno 1980
Karpov-Tal
Slav Defence
17 Nf4I
18 bxc3 Nxe«
30 Be5 Re7
33 Rd4+
33 Kc5
34 Nd3* Resigns
No. 10
Bugojno 1980
Gl igoric-Karpov
Nimzo- Indian Defence
6 exd4 0-0
The t h i r d game of the same match went 6 . . .d5 7 c5 Ne4 8 Bd2
Nxd2 9 Qxd2 a5.
10 d6!?
An i n t e r e s t i n g , a l t h o u g h r i s k y move. The pawn w i l l undoubtedly
be lost, but in this time White hopes to g a i n a lead i n development.
The normal c o n t i n u a t i o n is \0 g3 Bc5, w i t h an u n c l e a r game.
Wilh his four^move rook manoeuvre Black has won the 'thematic'
pawn, but has fallen somewhat behind in development. It is not so
easy, however, to exploit this factor, for example: 16 NfdS Nxd5
17 Nxti5 d6 18 Bf4 Bg4, etc.
On 21 Rfel Black has the defence 21...Be8, when his plans include
exchanging on el and transferring the second rook from c8 to e7.
Game No. 10 153
21 . . . b5!
22 Sg2 Re8
32 . . . Bd7
33 Nf4 BfS 34 Nd3 Re? 35 Bg2 Be6 36 Qbl Nxa3 37 Qa1 Nc2
After 39 NcS Nei 40 Bd5 Bh3 the white rook is amusingly trapped.
44 . . . Bg6
-••<-•"!£'!.
a
mtm tit
B tiW
• H • -
B
£G9
1
BJ • "p
This modest bishop move is the whole point. Earlier Black used
to be sfraid of the various possible moves by the white knight, and
J
Game No. 11 155
11 NdA
11 . . . Qd6 12 Nxc6
15 Rxc5 Qxa2
16 RbS!
16 . . . b6
17 Qatt
17 . . . Qxal?!
"i
18 Rxa1 Rfb8
19 Ra6 Kf8
21 . . . b5
22 Ra2 Rb7 23 b3
26 . . . e6 27 b4 KcB . •• • , •. • .. v, ..
28 d5
30 d6 Rd8 31 Kg2
The o p p o n e n t ' s pieces are stalemated, but only the white k i n g can
win the game.
31 . . . Kd7
32 Re2!
The position is not so clear after 32 R2a5 Ke6 33 Rxb5, and now
not 33...Bxd6, which loses to 34 Rb7, but f i r s t 33...Rd7 and then
...Bxd6.
32 . . . KcB
34 . . . a5 35 Rc2 Resigns
No. 12
Amsterdam 1980
Larsen-Karpov
Queen's Indian Defence
In the competitive sense this game from the last round d i d not
mean a great deal — only in the event of me losing and Timman
w i n n i n g would the Dutch grandmaster catch me. But to win against
Larson is always pleasant, the more so with Black and in 23 moves.
The last round began earl ier ihan u s u a l , at eleven a . m . This
was an unpleasant surprise f o r the p l a y e r s , who had become accustomed
to going to bed late and r i s i n g around midday, Larsen suffered most
of a l l , as he normally goes to sleep early In the morning, and gets up
in time for l u n c h . . . .
U Be8 15 8f6
19 Rci
19 . . . 0xe2 20 Qxd6?
20 Nf8!
Black seems to move his knight to a passive position, but in fact
this is the best square for it — now there are no problems over the
defence of his back rank, and although the knight takes no part in
the play, his remaining pieces are extremely active.
21 Nd*?
This loses Immediately, bul it was not easy to suggest anything
worthwhi le for White. Under attack are his bishop at e3, and his
pawns at a2 and d5.
23 Of 4 Re1 +
White resigns, in view of 24 Rxel Qxe1+ 25 Bfi Ba6.
No. 13
Tilburg 1980
Karpov-Spassky
Sicilian Defence
\n this game I chose the Keres Attack, one of my favourite lines
In the Sicilian Defence. There was an interesting moment on the 13th
move, when, rather to my surprise, Spassky took the h4 pawn with his
bishop. Formerly, as far as I recall, the Ex-World Champion would
not have even looked at such a pawn, but times change, and a passion
for 'pawn-grabbing' can arise even in such a player as Spassky. As
a result the black king was caught in the centre, after which events
developed in rather interesting fashion.
160 15 of the World Champion's Best Games
6 . . . h6 7 h4
The f i r s t time 1 have played this. Normally I continue 7 g5 hxgS
8 Bxg5, but in some recent games with ihe Swedish grandmaster Ander-
sson, a great expert on this v a r i a t i o n , I had been unable to achieve
complete success, and so I decided to try another continuation.
7 . . . Nc6
8 Rgl d5!
12 . . . Be7 13 Qd2
13 . . . Bxh4
Game No. 13 161
14 0-0-0 Bf6
15 Nf5
15 . . . Bxf5
16 g x f 5 a6 17 Bxc6+
17 bxc6 18 Bc5
IB Rbfl
Perfectly reasonable. Black strives for counter-play, before White
has time for the projected cZ-c4. He could also have played 18...0d7,
but this did not appeal to Spassky, evidently because of 19 Qd3, when
162 15 of the World Champion's Best Games
the black queen is in a passive position, and 19. . .Rb8 can be met by
the simple 20 Bd4.
19 b4
23 f4 Qf6 24 cxdS!
No. 14
Malta Olympiad 19B0 e>
Karpov-Hort «; .
Caro-Kann Defence <* •.•r^(^
I «4c6 2 d4 dS 3 exdS
3 . . . cxd5 4 c4 e6
Game No. 14 163
13 Bd7 14 Radl
14 . . . Rac8 15 Bg5!
15 h6 16 Bh4
It is perfectly possible that, when considering this position
beforehand, Black had intended playing 16.. .Nh5. After the exchange
of bishops his position is perfectly satisfactory, but White has the
164 15 of the World Champion's Best Games
16 . . . 0b8
22 . . . Qc7 23 Qe3
23 . . . Qb6
29 . . . b6 30 Gf4 Bc4
46 d4 47 BgS
51 f3 b5 52 Kg3
No. 15
Linares 19S1
Ljubojevlc-Karpov ..
Caro-Kann Defence
The aim of this check is to ' r e c a l l ' the bishop to d2. Some
grandmasters are also happy to play this position as Black w i t h the
white bishop at f4, an example being Larsen in games in 1980 against
Tal, Timman and myself.
19 . . . Nd5
20 f4
23 c47