Chess

THE TENTH International Open starts today in Calcutta, sponsored by the Goodricke tea company, part of the Lawrie group of which the England team's staunch sponsors Duncan Lawrie are the hub. This excellent tournament is surely the strongest in Asia, surpassing even the powerful annual event in Peking.

You never quite know who will play in an Open until you get there but the list of entrants which I received before departing for India was formidable indeed. Seventeen grandmasters were confirmed, of whom six are in the top 100 headed by Alexei Fedorov (Belarus) rated 2,648 and another Alexei - Dreev (Russia) 2,639 plus Viktor Bolgan (Moldavia), myself, Sergei Dolmatov (Russia) and Jaan Ehlvest (Estonia). And Suat Atalik (Turkey) was expected. At the Bundesliga last weekend, I even heard a rumour that Judit Polgar may turn out.

Twenty-six-year-old Alexei Fedorov has been round about the 2,600 mark for a while but sprang up 48 points in the last six-month rating period. He has an extremely active style, playing 1 e4 as White and defending the Sicilian Dragon and King's Indian as Black. This is his explosive victory against the normally extremely solid Zurab Azmaiparashvili from the recent Olympiad.

In his notes in "Informant 73" Fedorov suggests 17 ...Nc8 intending ...Bh6. Although White's kingside is somewhat weakened he further indicates 24 Kg2 rather than 24 Ng3 - which is intended to prevent ...f5 - and feels that the white queenside attack starting with b4 is the more potent.

Fedorov got a powerful attack down the h file and with admirable restraint refrained from the enticing 31 ...Rh2+ 32 Kxh2 Qh8+ 33 Kg1 Qh3 34 Be2 Bxg3 when 35 Nf1! defends. White was just about to break through in the diagram when Fedorov got in first. If 39 fxg4 Rxg3+ 40 Bxg3 Qh3+ 41 Kf2 Bxg3+ 42 Qxg3 Nxe4+. The rest was slaughter.

White: Zurab Azmaiparashvili

White: Alexei Fedorov

Elista Olympiad 1998

King's Indian Defence