ETCETERA / Chess

Owen Hindle casts his mind back to the days when sacrifices came easily and the life of a rook was cheap.

White: Frank Parr

Black: Owen Hindle

British Championship 1962.

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6 5. Bg5 c5 6. d5 h6 7. Be3 e6

Now 8. dxe6 Bxe6 followed by Nc6 gives Black active piece play in return for the backward pawn.

8. h3 exd5 9. cxd5

I was pleased to see this. It is more interesting for both sides than exd5.

9 . . . 0-0 10. Bd3 Na6

A well-known idea: after 11. Bxa6 bxa6 Black has two bishops and prospects on the b- file.

11. Nf3 Re8 12. 0-0 Rb8 13. Nd2 Nc7 14. a4

By preventing b5 White plans to secure c4 for his knight.

14 . . . Na6

Back again. After retreating to c7 to induce a4, the knight heads for the hole on b4.

15. Nc4 Nb4 16. Bb1?

By blocking the communication between his rooks, White sows the seeds of his future problems. 16. Bf4 was much better.

16 . . . b6 17. f3 Ba6 18. Nb5 (see diagram)

White has been aiming for this position. He expects, at his leisure, to put pressure on the d- pawn. Now I had an idea came involving a rook sacrifice to throw White on to the defensive. I doubt if the sacrifice could stand up to rigorous analysis, but it certainly met the needs of the position.

18 . . . Nfxd5]? 19. exd5 Rxe3 20. Nxe3 Bxb5 21. axb5 Bd4 22. Qb3

White defends the knight while preventing Nxd5.

22 . . . Qg5 23. f4 Qg3 24. Rf3 Qe1+ 25. Kh2 Re8

This was the type of position I envisaged when giving up the rook. White's attempts to hold on to all his extra material lead him into a tragi-comic situation.

26. Nf1 Qc1 27. h4 Re1 28. Ng3 Rg1

The tremendous threat of Qd2 forces White to jettison material.

29. Bxg6 Qxa1 30. Bh5 Qc1 31. Bg4 Qd2 32. Bh3 Qe1

With the threat of Rh1+ and Bg1 mate.

33. Bf5 Bf2 34. Qc3

After 34. Kh3 Black wins with 34 . . . h5] 35. Nxh5 Rh1+ 36. Kg4 Rxh4+ 37. Kg5 Qe7+ 38. Nf6+ Kg7 39. Qc3 Bd4.

34 . . . Rh1+]

Avoiding the temptation of Bxg3+?? when White recaptures with check.

35. Nxh1 Qg1+ 36. Kh3 Qxh1+ 37. Kg4 Qxh4 mate.

Never believe a player who justifies his brilliant sacrifice with reams of analysis supposedly calculated at the time. Usually the sacrifice just seems the right thing to do; the analysis comes later.

(Graphic omitted)