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| Linares Round 1 including the John Henderson Report. |
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Round 1 (February 28, 2000)
Kasparov, Gary - Shirov, Alexei 1-0 52 C42 Petroff defence
Leko, Peter - Anand, Viswanathan 1/2 39 B17 Caro-Kann
Khalifman, Alexander - Kramnik, Vladimir 0-1 35 E59 Nimzo indian
SuperGM Linares ESP (ESP), 5 ii-9 iii 2000 cat. XXI (2752)
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1 2 3 4 5 6
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1 Kasparov, Gary g RUS 2851 ** .. .. .. .. 1. 1.0
2 Kramnik, Vladimir g RUS 2758 .. ** .. .. 1. .. 1.0
3 Anand, Viswanathan g IND 2769 .. .. ** =. .. .. 0.5 2725
4 Leko, Peter g HUN 2725 .. .. =. ** .. .. 0.5 2769
5 Khalifman, Alexander g RUS 2656 .. 0. .. .. ** .. 0.0
6 Shirov, Alexei g ESP 2751 0. .. .. .. .. ** 0.0
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The John Henderson Report for round 1: THE MATADOR DOESN'T ALWAYS WIN .
THE former boss of the Linares tournament, Luis Rentero, had his heart in the right place for the game, but at times was regarded as a bit of a dictatorial bully. In the past he would fine players in his tournament when they decided on a draw too quickly for his liking. There were occasions (quite a few come to think of it!) when he'd just throw a hysterical tantrum and threaten to end his popular tournaments.
He once devised a rule that was written into the player's contracts at Linares whereby no game could be agreed a draw before move 40, otherwise a hefty fine - worse still, no more invites to a lucrative tournament for the players. The players soon got used Rentero's little idiosyncrasies. The bubble burst however in the fifth round in 1998 when Garry Kasparov was playing Veselin Topalov. Reaching a critical position, the players were forced to repeat the position, and agreed a draw in just 22 moves. With the other competitor's seeing that no action was going to be taken against Kasparov, the floodgates opened and it was business as usual.
Kasparov,G (2825) - Topalov,V (2740)
[B91]
Linares (5), 26.02.1998
1 e4 c5 2 Nf3 d6 3 d4 cxd4 4 Nxd4 Nf6 5 Nc3 a6 6 g3 e5 7 Nde2 Nbd7 8 a4 b6 9 Bg2 Bb7 10 h3 Be7 11 g4 Nc5 12 Ng3 g6 13 Bh6 Ne6 14 Qd2 Rc8 15 0-0-0 Rc4 16 Kb1 Qc7 17 Rhe1 Rd4 18 Qc1 Rb4 19 Bd2 Rd4 20 Bh6 Rb4 21 Bd2 Rd4 22 Bh6 ½-½
Rentero once had the audacity to fine and reprimand two players in a title match he had no control over! He caused mayhem during the 1994 women's world championship match when he sent both Xie Jun and Zsuzsa Polgar a letter accusing them of both being "tourists" (Ah, so this is where Garry got it from!) in Jaen rather playing fighting chess. He also informed them it was time for action over this and he was therefore deducting $25,000 from each player's portion of their prize money. He then gave them an ultimatum: start to play some real chess now or pack your bags and get out of town.
Polgar went ballistic - and she had every right to do so! She penned a furious letter to señor Rentero telling him in no uncertain way that she had never been so deeply offended, and had suffered emotional and psychological damage over his letter. She explained that in the history of chess there was no precedent for such insulting behaviour on the part of the organiser, reminding him that there was a difference between a private tournament like his own and a match for the world title. Although the title holder, Xie Jun, who at this stage was leading in the match, didn't reply, it has been generally accepted that Rentero's actions resulted in her losing her title - she seemed to crack after receiving the letter, gaining only a half-point from the next five games after the incident.
Now, due to his unfortunate car accident, Rentero has become the honorary guest at this year's tournament. Although his son, Luis, now runs the Hotel Anibal where the tournament takes place, a combination of the Andalucia Junta, the local Linares council, Telefonica, Tafisa, Gestamp, and La General organise the prestigious Linares tournament. After being honoured at the opening ceremony by the local mayor for his past work in the tournament, Rentero now had the official task before the first round to start Garry Kasparov's clock. And, in a way, I suppose Rentero would have been proud of the passion that was on show from the six players who all fought hard with no real short draws on offer.
Leko-Anand, a draw in a
Caro-Kann.
In fact, the only draw of the day was between Peter Leko and Vishy Anand. Both players walked down a solid line of the Caro-Kann, most of which had been seen before, and ended up in a Rook and pawn ending that was drawn on move 39.
Garry Kasparov and Alexei Shirov was an intriguing contest. Shirov, who now lives in Spain, has become a favourite of the locals who call him "The Matador" because of his exciting play. They were out in force today to see if their man could tame the raging bull!
The notoriously boring Petroff Defence is becoming a solid option at the top-level. Apart from Shirov, it's also in the repertoire of Kramnik, Anand and Karpov - handy, really, when you consider how many points Kasparov has notched up in crucial games over the years with the Scotch.
It was definitely an entertaining and complex struggle. The game dramatically changed when Shirov blundered big style with 31..Nc8?? After that, the sure-fire draw ended with victory for Kasparov.
After the game, Kasparov explained that these sort of mistakes tend to happen in chess just after you come out of some complex calculating at the board.
Kasparov-Shirov Linares (1).
Kasparov emerged the winner.
G Kasparov - A Shirov
1 e4 e5 2 Nf3 Nf6 [Avoiding Kasparov's Scotch by playing the Petroff; a tough nut to crack at this level.] 3 Nxe5 d6 4 Nf3 Nxe4 5 d4 d5 6 Bd3 Bd6 7 0-0 0-0 8 c4 c6 9 cxd5 [More common is 9 Nc3, but Kasparov's choice seems to have the better score. The obvious 9 Qc2 is met by 9 ..Na6! 10 Bxe4 dxe4 11 Qxe4 Re8 12 Qc2 Nb4 13 Qb3 Bf5] 9 ..cxd5 10 Nc3 Nxc3 11 bxc3 Bg4 12 Rb1 Nd7! [12 ..b6?! 13 Rb5! Bc7 (13 ..Nc6? 14 Rxd5 Bxh2+ 15 Nxh2!) 14 c4! dxc4 15 Be4 Qe8 16 Bxh7+ Kxh7 17 Ng5+ Kg8 18 Qxg4 Qxb5 19 Qe4 g6 20 Qxa8 Nc6 21 Qb7 Bd8] 13 h3 [13 Rxb7?! Nb6 and the miss-placed rook on b7 soon becomes a liability.] 13 ..Bh5 14 Rb5 Nb6 15 c4 [A temporary pawn sacrifice that puts pressure on the Black queenside and in the process gains the bishop pair.] 15 ..Bxf3 [15 ..dxc4? 16 Bxh7+! Kxh7 17 Rxh5+] 16 Qxf3 dxc4 17 Bc2 Qd7 18 a4 g6 19 Bd2! [Heading for c3 with Rfb1 and a5 to follow.] 19 ..c3 20 Bxc3 Rac8 21 Be4 Rc4 [21 ..f5 22 Bc2! Rfe8 23 Bb3+ Kg7 24 Rd1 with a big advantage.] 22 Rbb1 Rxa4 [22 ..Rfc8!? may have been better first: 23 Ba1 Rxa4 24 Bxb7 Rc7 25 Be4 Ra3] 23 Bxb7 Ra3 24 Rfc1 Qc7 25 Ra1 Rb8 26 Be4 Rb3 27 Bd2 Bh2+ 28 Kh1 Rxf3 29 Rxc7 Rxf2 [29 ..Bxc7 30 Bxf3 Nc4 31 Bg5 Bb6 may have been marginally better as Black has the added threat of making progress with the a-pawn after a5.] 30 Kxh2 Rxd2 31 Raxa7 [With some members of the pressroom (ok, me as well!) already filling in the score here as a draw as they expected 31 ..Rxd4 32 Rxf7 Rxe4 33 Rg7+ Kf8 34 Rxh7, Shirov blunders badly.] 31 ..Nc8??
Kasparov-Shirov (1) 31.
...Nc8??
[As is usual in these cases, Shirov realised what he'd done a nanosecond after taking his hand of the piece. Kasparov reacted almost instantly.] 32 Rab7 Rxb7 33 Rxc8+ Kg7 34 Bxb7 Rxd4 35 g4 h5 36 g5 h4 37 Rc7 Rf4 38 Bc8 Rf2+ 39 Kg1 Rf4 [Shirov has every right to play on just now. If Kasparov plays it wrongly, he has drawing chances by going for the notoriously difficult R+B vs R win or even trying to exchange rooks and White's g-pawn leading to a forced draw as the bishop is of the wrong colour. Kasparov's technique however is flawless now.] 40 Kg2 Kf8 41 Bg4 Kg7 42 Rc5 Kf8 43 Bf3 Kg7 44 Kf2 Ra4 45 Ke3 Ra3+ 46 Kf4 Ra4+ 47 Ke5 Ra3 48 Bd5 Re3+ 49 Kf4 Rd3 50 Bc4 Rd7 51 Rc6 Re7 52 Rf6 1-0
Shirov blundered a drawn position against
Kasparov.
Highlight of the day though was the encounter between Vladimir Kramnik and Alexander Khalifman. In the past, these two have played four times in classical chess with all the games ending in draws in under 14-moves. The way Kramnik disposed of Khalifman it looks as if the title of FIDE world champion is going to be like a milestone round the St Petersburg GM as the top five line-up to take potshots at him.
In the game, Kramnik delved deep into the database to come up with a line in the Nimzo-Indian that was all the rage in the 1950s. With the development of computer technology in chess and databases taking out many sharp, modern lines these days, it could be that Kramnik's "Back to the Future" policy will be adopted by others.
Linares Round 1 Khalifman-Kramnik.
The FIDE Champion struggled to find form.
A Khalifman - V Kramnik
1 d4 Nf6 2 c4 e6 3 Nc3 Bb4 4 e3 0-0 5 Bd3 c5 6 Nf3 d5 7 0-0 Nc6 8 a3 Bxc3 9 bxc3 Qc7 [9 ..dxc4 10 Bxc4 Qc7] 10 Bb2 [Also an interesting idea is:10 cxd5!? exd5 11 Nh4 Re8 (11 ..Ne7!?) 12 f3 Bd7 13 Ra2] 10 ..dxc4 [10 ..Na5 11 cxd5 exd5 12 Ne5 c4 13 Bc2 Nc6 14 Nxc6 Qxc6 15 f3 Re8 16 Qd2 with an advantage was seen in E Geller-A, Nikitin, Kislovodsk, 1966] 11 Bxc4 e5 12 Be2 [12 h3!?] 12 ..Rd8 13 Qc2 Bg4 14 dxe5 Nxe5 15 c4 Nxf3+ 16 gxf3 Bh3! [16 ..Bh5 17 Rfe1 Bg6 18 Qc3 Ne8 19 e4 f6 20 Qe3 left White with an easy game in A Lutikov - L Aronson, USSR 1957] 17 Rfd1 [17 Rfe1?! Qc6 (Perhaps 17..Qe7 with the idea of ..b6 and doubling on the d-file if White plays 18 Qc3. White can't challenge on the d-file with 18 Rad1 as ..Ne4! is strong.) 18 Kh1 Ng4 19 e4 Rd2 20 Qc3 Nxf2+ 21 Kg1 Rxb2 22 Qxb2 Nxe4 23 fxe4 Qg6+ 24 Bg4 Qxg4+ and a draw, in Furman-Rovner, USSR, 1956.]
Khalifman-Kramnik (1) after 17.
Rfd1
17 ..Qc6! [Exchanging rooks makes the game much easier for White: 17 ..Rxd1+ 18 Rxd1 Rd8 19 Rb1! (19 Rc1!? Qc6 20 Kh1 Qe6 21 e4 h6 22 Rg1 M Taimanov -R Kholmov, USSR, 1963 A) 19 ..Qc6 20 Kh1 Ng4 21 e4 Nxh2 (21 ..Rd2? 22 Qxd2 Nxf2+ 23 Kg1+-) 22 Rg1+-; B) 19 ..Qd7 20 Kh1 Bf5 (20 ..Qd2? 21 Rd1!) 21 e4 Bg6 22 Qc3 Ne8?! (22 ..b6!?) 23 Qe5 Qd2?! (23 ..Qd6 24 Rd1 Qxe5 25 Bxe5 Rxd1+ 26 Bxd1 f5!) 24 Rd1! Qa5 (24 ..Qxe2 25 Qxg7+! Nxg7 26 Rxd8++-) 25 Rd7! Ra8 (25 ..f6 26 Qe6+ Kh8 27 Qe7+-; 25 ..h6 26 Kg2!) 26 Kg2 b6 27 Qd5! Qa4 (27 ..Rb8 28 Be5 Rc8 29 Qb7+-; 27 ..Rc8 28 Qb7+-) 28 Bd1! 1-0 M Taimanov-B Sliwa, Moscow 1956] 18 Qc3 Ne8 19 Kh1 Be6 [19 ..Qf6 20 Rd5 Qxc3 21 Bxc3 Rdc8 22 Rad1± N Krogius-A Lutikov USSR, 1957] 20 Rg1 f6 21 Rg3 [The games basically over now. Black holds all the aces as White really has no chance of doing anything on the kingside.] 21 ..Rd7 22 Rag1 Rad8 23 Bc1 Bf5 24 e4 Bg6 25 h4 Nc7 [Heading for d4 via e6.] 26 Bf1 Ne6 27 Rh3 Bh5 28 Rhg3 Kh8 29 Qe3 Nd4 30 Bg2 [30 Bh3 Re7 is much the same as the game.] 30 ..Re8 31 Rh3 Qa4 32 Bf1 Qd1! 33 Bg2 Qc2 34 f4 Ne2 35 Rf1 Rd1 0-1
Kramnik was a convincing winner
against Khalifman.
Having dinner that evening with the Leontxo Garcia, the chess correspondent for the top Spanish newspaper, "El Pais", I decided to follow his recommendation of the local delicacy: Revelto de Ajetes Y Gambos - Bull to you and me!
Leontxo Garcia, John's excuse for a
very old joke.
As the meals were delivered, I discovered that Leontxo's portion was over four times that of mine. Complaining to him, he replied "But John, this is your first year at Linares. I've been coming here for nearly twenty-years now!" I was then told a nice little story about an English tourist who decided to visit one of the nearby little towns beside Linares during the Bullfighting season.
Being his first time abroad and not knowing what to eat from the menu, the tourist asked the waiter to serve him the local delicacy for this time of year. Twenty minutes later, all of the kitchen staff arrived at the table with his meal, which looked like two very big meatballs. Before he ate it, they toasted him with the local wine and proceeded to sing a song of celebration as he ate. All of this took him by surprise, but nevertheless he enjoyed the meal and it's unusual taste. Not knowing what his meal was made from, he asked the waiter what it was and why was there a ceremony before he ate it? He was taken aback when the waiter informed him that his "meatballs" were in fact bull's testicles, taken that day from a bull that had been killed by a local Matador, and this was part of the ceremony for anyone who ordered it.
However, he enjoyed the meal and the quaint local ceremony so much that for the rest of his week's holiday, the same meal was ordered, and the same ceremony was performed before each meal. On his last day, he ordered the usual meal. However, this time, instead of the meatballs being large, they were quite small. Not only that, instead of dancing and singing, the staff were dressed in black with some having tears in their eyes. Still, he ate the meal and when the bill came, he queried the difference in the ceremony and the size of his meatballs. "Ah, señor," replied the waiter with a tear in his eye, "sometimes the Matador doesn't win!"
View the games in Javascript.
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(1) Khalifman,A (2656) - Kramnik,V (2758) [E59]
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(2) Kasparov,G (2851) - Shirov,A (2751) [C42]
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(3) Leko,P (2725) - Anand,V (2769) [B17]
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