Round 9 23rd January 2001

WELCOME TO LINARES!

IT’S always been my contention that the little wintry Dutch hamlet of Wijk aan Zee in the north of Holland is the opposite of that other big tournament on the elite circuit, Linares in Spain.

Where Linares is hot, Wijk is bitterly cold. In Linares, there’s no atmosphere about the place due to the fact that there are no spectators at the Hotel Anibal (last year when the Corus delegation arrived, they actually doubled the spectators in the audience that day!). In Wijk, with the crowds literally bussed in by the hundreds like fans arriving at a football match, it’s positively electric with a permanent buzz around the De Moriaan Centre. Whilst most of the games in Linares are often drool affairs ending in a tediously boring draws, in Wijk they are more of the swashbuckling, exciting variety, usually ending in a victory. In Linares, if you arrive at a restaurant by 9.00pm, they’ll often ask you to come back later when they open. In Wijk, they tend to tell you at 9.00pm that the restaurant is just closing!

But, regardless of the venue, you can be sure of one thing: A good old Kasparov rant! And today was no different in Wijk - especially as he faced the tournament leader, Alexei Shirov. A recent outburst from Alexei had infuriated Kasparov to an extent that – for the first time in his career – he refused to shake the hand of his opponent. Instead, there was just a hard, steely look into each other’s eyes before commencing the game.

Mr Crowther more than adequately explained on the front-page of TWIC all the background to the pre-game hostilities. I'll save you the effort of clicking on your mouse to go back by utilise the hacks favourite computer command: Cut and Paste!

“Kasparov had said for some time that he would not shake hands unless he received an apology for part of a letter by Shirov published in New in Chess Nr. 6 2000. Probably the key sentences he wanted retracted were "In my interview I already said clearly that there are things you can't prove but can still suspect. I don't trust Kramnik and Kasparov and I have my point of view. I'll be surprised if Kramnik wins their match."

Of course as we now know he was duly surprised. I have the greatest sympathy with Shirov's bitterness over the entire affair of his match with Kramnik and the subsequent failure to play Kasparov along with his non-payment. It affected his career for at least a year (and its effects are still being felt now). However this was a highly incautious statement for him to make. Nevertheless I believe etiquette should have been observed, there have been plenty of cases where players have managed the handshake in spite of strong dislike and inflammatory statements.

It takes so much longer to get back to a professional relationship once this step has been taken. In most professional sports these disputes are resolved as in the case of Michael Schumacher and David Coulthard in formula one where there was a severe difference of opinion that was brought to an end for the good of the sport as a whole. In addition the letter Shirov wrote was part of a bitter exchange of views with Kramnik so we may have to go through this again in round 12.”

Willy Iclicki

So, a pumped up Kasparov set about working over poor Alexei - who at the end was simply left there re-adjusting his Y-fronts after an enormous Kasparov “wedgie.” However, if the Kasparov performance over the board didn’t make you feel moist down below, the press conference after the game certainly did – the Garry we all love and know was back in business! He was so high, we practically had to bring him down off the ceiling and seriously consider administering one of those Fide drug tests. Luckily for us, top Fide official Willy Iclicki was on hand today in the press room, and was ready and willing in his official capacity as Fide “Piss-taker General” to carry one out, if we could find enough volunteers to hold the beast down!

Without really waiting to be asked by the organisers whether he wanted to do the press conference of the day as he’d won the Spectators’ Prize for best game, he literally stormed into the packed press room with a determined look in his face, waving his clenched fist. There was more – much more – to this victory than met the eye, however.

Before going over the game he regretted that for the first time he had refused to shake the hand of an opponent (although in 1993 Valery Salov had refused to shake hands with Kasparov before or after their games in Linares and the French league), explaining that Shirov had repeatedly made various offences and, in particular, insulting both Kramnik and himself in public that their London match was fixed. “If it was fixed, how come I lost?” the Great One snorted disdainfully. In the presence of the organisers, an amicable solution to this problem had even been sought before the start of the tournament, explained Kasparov.

“When I met Shirov in Wijk aan Zee I talked to him and asked that he apologise. I said: ‘Alexei, one can get worked up and this is understandable but now it is time to admit your mistake.’ He didn’t give me any clear answer - and after this I couldn’t shake his hand before the game. I’m sorry to say that for the first time in my life I had to disregard this fine tradition.”

That set aside, there came another reason for the superstitious Kasparov to want to win this game, and win it well – it was the day of the 30^th anniversary of the death of his beloved father. “This is a significant date for me and my mother - of course, I felt that I had to commemorate it in a particular way. I’m proud that I managed to win this crucial game – and to do it smoothly and earnestly.”

Kasparov,G (2849) - Shirov,A (2718)

1 e4 e5 2 Nf3 Nf6 Right idea, wrong execution! As Kramnik has demonstrated, 2 ..Nc6 3 Bb5 Nf6! seems to work against Garry. However, as Kasparov had prepared the Petroff in-depth for his London match against Kramnik, he explained with a wry smile on his face that, "I now get the chance to show you all that I did do some work during last summer!" 3 Nxe5 d6 4 Nf3 Nxe4 5 d4 d5 6 Bd3 Bd6 7 0–0 0–0 8 c4 c6 9 Qc2 Na6 10 a3 Bg4 11 Ne5 Bh5!?

11 ..Bxe5 12 dxe5 Nac5 is more common here. Kasparov explained that Shirov had the misfortune to choose a rare line that he had analysed many years ago with one of his former trainers Makarichev, who indeed was Garry's “crash-test dummy” for the line as can be seen in the game below. Together with his present trainer Yuri Dokhoian, they discovered some new ideas in the position. 12 cxd5 cxd5 13 Nc3!N 13 Bxe4 dxe4 14 Qxe4 Re8 15 Bf4 Nc7 16 Qf5 Bg6 17 Qg4 Ne6 18 Nxg6 Bxf4 19 Nxf4 1/2–1/2 Timoshenko,G-Makarichev,S/Moscow 1990. 13 ..Nxc3 14 bxc3 Kh8 Shirov had to be careful not to fall for the trap: 14 ..Bxe5? 15 Bxh7+! Kh8 16 dxe5 g6 17 Qd2! Kxh7 18 Qh6+ Kg8 19 Bg5 f6 20 exf6 Rxf6 21 Bxf6 Qxf6 22 f3! 15 f4! The best move, keeping all the pressure on Black. Kasparov explained that he spent a long time looking at taking on h7, but found the Black defence. 15 Bxh7 g6 16 Qd2 Kxh7 17 Qh6+ Kg8 18 Bg5 Be7! (18 ..f6? 19 Nxg6 fxg5 (19 ..Bxg6 20 Qxg6+ Kh8 21 Rae1! fxg5 22 Re6) 20 Qh8+ Kf7 21 Qxh5 all wins convincingly.) 19 f4 Bf6 and, due to the threats of trapping the White queen with Bg7, Black has escaped from the kingside onslaught. For example: 20 g4 Bg7! 21 Bxd8 Bxh6 22 Bg5 Bg7 23 gxh5 gxh5= 15 ..Bxe5?

A serious mistake from Shirov, explained Kasparov, who had expected 15 ..f6 16 Nf3 Qd7 17 Nh4 g6, with an advantage to White - but much better than the game for Black. 16 fxe5 Bg6 17 a4! A future Ba3 going to cut right across the Black position. 17 ..Qd7 18 Ba3 Rfe8 Exchanging on d3 doesn't help matters either: 18 ..Bxd3 19 Qxd3 Rfc8 20 Rf3! Rc7 21 Raf1 Qe6 22 Rh3 Qg6 (22 ..h6? 23 Rf6!) 23 Qxg6 fxg6 24 e6 and the pawn runs. 19 Bxg6 fxg6 This is the nub of Black's problems - he has to take with the f-pawn (giving White a strong passed e-pawn) because if he recaptures with the h-pawn, he cannot defend the f-pawn! 19 ..hxg6 20 Rf3 Kg8 (20 ..Rac8 21 Raf1 Qc6 (21 ..Rc7 22 Bd6!) 22 Rxf7 Qxc3 23 Qxg6!) 21 Raf1 Nc7 22 Rxf7 Qxf7 23 Rxf7 Kxf7 24 Qb3 b6 25 Bd6 Rac8 26 Bxc7 Rxc7 27 Qxd5+ Re6 28 Qe4 with an easy win with the central passed pawns. 20 Qb3! The pawn on b7 can easily be defended - White's move is aimed towards capturing the d-pawn! 20 ..b6 21 Bd6 Nc7 22 Rf3 Kasparov has an easily won game - and this is what worried him! He explained that, after spoiling winning chances in the recent past to Kramnik and Anand, he wanted to now play the final stages very, very carefully - particularly as he'd set out before the start to dedicate the game to the memory of his father. 22 ..Rac8 23 Raf1 h6 24 Qc2 Kasparov didn't fancy the more obvious 24 Rf7, as his instincts told him that Black had "some" chances at the end of the line - and he's right! 24 Rf7 Qc6 25 Bxc7 (25 R1f3! Ne6 26 Rxa7 Ng5 27 Rf1 Ne4 28 Rff7 Qxc3 29 Qxc3 Rxc3 30 h3) 25 ..Rxc7 26 Rxc7 Qxc7 27 Qxd5 Qxc3 28 Qd7 Rc8! 29 h3 (29 e6? Qe3+ 30 Kh1 Rc1!) 29 ..Qe3+ 30 Kh2 Rc1 24 ..Qg4 25 Rg3 Qh5 26 Rh3

Again White has to be careful - Black still had resources if he went for g6 now: 26 Rxg6 Ne6 27 Qd3 Rxc3 28 Rxh6+ gxh6 29 Qxc3 Qg4; 26 Qxg6 Qxg6 27 Rxg6 Ne6 28 Rf7 Rxc3 29 Rxa7 Rc1+ 30 Kf2 Rc4 both offering realistic chances of salvaging the draw. 26 ..Qg5 27 Rg3 A well-known Russian trick: repeating the moves twice to prolong the agony! 27 ..Qh5 28 Bxc7 Rxc7 29 Rxg6 Qh4 29 ..Rxc3? 30 Rxh6+!; 29 ..Rec8 30 Rg3! 30 h3!

Kasparov felt proud of this move: not only does it give his king a little bolt hole in case of emergencies, it also allows him to play a Rg4 moving the Black queen out of the danger zone. Hence forcing Shirov into the following hopeless ending. 30 ..Qxd4+ 31 cxd4 Rxc2 32 Rf7 Rg8 33 Rd6 Rc4 34 Rxd5 The rest is now academic - the central pawns decide the day. 34 ..Rxa4 35 Rdd7 Ra1+ 36 Kf2 Ra2+ 37 Kf3 Kh7 38 e6 Kg6 39 d5 Rc8 40 Rc7 Re8 41 g4 a5 42 Rxg7+ Kf6 43 Rgf7+ Ke5 44 Rf5+ Kd4 45 e7 1–0

As ever, Kasparov kept the best till last at the press conference after going through this game. Sneering that for Shirov (remember, last five opponent’s Kasparov, Kramnik, Anand, Ivanchuk and Morozevich!), his tournament was just about to begin after competing last week in the Dutch Open, stopping only to added for insult, “Welcome To Linares, Alexei!”. Wow! That’s got to hurt. It was just then that I had a strange feeling in my groin and ran back in the general direction of the hotel for a quick change of underwear and a cigarette!

From a Welcome to Linares, we now have a “Welcome to Weirdsville” - Population: one, Alexander “Weird Al” Morozevich! Confusing the bejesus out of Kramnik by employing an almost unheard of line in the Slav Defence, Weird Al inflicts a rare White loss on the new world champion (Was this Gazza day or was this Gazza’s day).

His opening shocker of 7 ..Nd5!?! is exclusive played by the Yugoslav master Nebojsa Misailovic, who in my comprehensive 45,000+ Slav database, is the only person to play 7 ..Nd5!?! (with a 100% record, played two, won two!). Remember now, kids: Don’t try this at home!

Kramnik,V (2772) - Morozevich,A (2745)

1 d4 d5 2 c4 c6 3 Nf3 Nf6 4 Nc3 dxc4 5 a4 Bf5 6 Ne5 Nbd7 7 Nxc4 Nd5!?!

Typical Morozevich! As usual, he seeks to complicate matters from the opening in an effort to bamboozle the world champ. If we rewind some twelve months, you'll find that he tried exactly the same in the Slav with Kasparov: 7 ..Qc7 8 g3 e5 9 dxe5 Nxe5 10 Bf4 Nfd7 11 Bg2 g5!?! 8 g3 White does, however, have to show some caution as Misailovic showed in one of his games: 8 f3 e5! 9 Nxd5 (9 Nxe5 Nxc3 10 bxc3 Nxe5 11 dxe5 Qa5!) 9 ..cxd5 10 Nxe5 Nxe5 11 dxe5 Rc8! 12 e3 Bb4+ 13 Bd2 0–0! and Black has an advantage. 8 ..e5! 9 Bg2 This has to be the best - I don't think Kramnik would have been at home if he'd had mixed it with 9 Nxd5? Be4! 10 f3 Bxd5 11 Nxe5 Nxe5 12 dxe5 Bb4+ opens the game up to Black's advantage; 9 dxe5 Nxc3 10 bxc3 Nc5 11 Qxd8+ Rxd8 and, despite the extra pawn, White will have problems dealing with the active Black pieces and defending his a, c and e5 pawn. 9 ..Nxc3 10 bxc3 exd4 11 Qxd4 11 cxd4?! Nb6! 12 Nxb6 Bb4+ 13 Bd2 Qxb6 14 Bxb4 Qxb4+ 15 Qd2 a5! and Black has a small plus. 11 ..Nc5 12 Qe3+ Ne6 13 a5 Bc2! With the subtle threat of Qd1 mate! This move also stops a possible Rd1, and looks to shift the troublesome knight on c4 with Bb3, which also shores up the d5 square. 14 Ba3 Bxa3 15 Nxa3 Bb3 16 a6 Bd5 17 axb7 Rb8 18 f3 c5 19 0–0 Rxb7 20 Rfd1 Rd7 21 c4?!

Kramnik should have forced the issue here: 21 Nb5! a5 22 Bh3 0–0 (22 ..Qb6 23 Rab1!) 23 Bxe6 Bxe6 24 Rxd7 Qxd7 25 Qxc5 Rc8 (25 ..a4 26 Nd4! Ra8 27 Kf2 White has a superb ending.) 26 Qb6 a4 27 Nd4 with good endgame prospects. 21 ..Bc6 22 Rxd7 Bxd7 23 Nc2 Bc8 24 Qd3?! I still can't fathom out what was spooking Kramnik. He should have played 24 Bh3 with good chances of pressurising the Black pawns that will end up on a7, c5 and e6. 24 ..Qxd3 25 exd3 a6 26 f4 Ke7! Precisely! By delaying castling for so long, Morozovich's king has "suddenly" become active, and therefore easing his job of defending the weaknesses on a6 and c5. 27 f5 Nc7 28 Ra5 Kd6 29 d4 cxd4 30 Nxd4 Re8 31 Kf2 Re5!

Suddenly White's got problems. The forced exchange of rooks leaves White with the pawn weaknesses: c4 and f5. 32 Rxe5 Kxe5 33 Ke3 33 Nc6+ Kd6 34 g4 Bb7! 35 Na5 Bxg2 36 Kxg2 Kc5 wins. 33 ..Kd6 Taking the pawn just now was a bit tricky: 33 ..Bxf5 34 Nxf5 Kxf5 35 Kd4 Ne6+ 36 Kd5 a5! 37 Be4+ Kf6 38 Bc2 and I think this is just drawn. 34 Kd3 a5! A big problem now for Kramnik: an outside passed pawn! 35 Kc3 Bd7 36 Bb7 f6 Just to prevent at a latter stage White playing g4 and g5. 37 g4 Ba4 38 h3 Bd7 39 Nb3 a4 40 c5+ Ke5 41 Nd2 Nd5+ 42 Kc4 Ne7 43 Nf3+ 43 Kb4 Kd4! 44 Nc4 Nc6+! 45 Bxc6 Bxc6 and the White pawns will fall like dominoes in the ending. 43 ..Kf4 44 Nd4 Kg3!

White can't save his pawns. The a and h-pawn win the day now for Morozevitch - Kramnik can't have his pieces (particularly the knight) at two sides of the board at once. 45 c6 Nxc6 46 Nxc6 Kxh3 47 Nd4 Kxg4 48 Be4 Kf4 49 Bc2 a3 50 Kc3 50 Kb3 Ke3 51 Ne6 Ba4+! 50 ..h5 51 Ne6+ Ke5! 52 Nxg7 h4 53 Bd1 It's all over now: 53 Nh5 Bxf5! 53 ..h3 54 Bf3 Bxf5 55 Nh5 Bg6 56 Kb3 Bxh5 57 Bxh5 h2 58 Bf3 Kf4 59 Bh1 Ke3 60 Kxa3 f5 61 Kb3 f4 0–1

The views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of TWIC, Chess & Bridge Ltd or the London Chess Center.

You can contact John Henderson at: jbhthescots@cableinet.co.uk