ETCETERA: CHESS

BY COLONEL WALTER POLHILL (RTD)

RAPID-PLAY chess, like one-day cricket, is a sad case of pandering to the demands of an uncultured audience. A good player can, of course, play perfectly good chess very quickly - but why should he? Nobody asks a gourmet to bolt his food just because those watching him cannot be bothered to wait as he savours each mouthful.

I request you, therefore, to play through today's moves slowly. The game itself was played at a breakneck speed with each man allocated 25 minutes for all his moves. But Kramnik's moves at least are such as should be delicately nibbled.

White: Loek van Wely

Black: Vladimir Kramnik

Monaco Amber Rapidplay 1998

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.Nc3 c6 5.e3 Nbd7 6.Qc2

At every turn, White avoids the challenging continuation: he rejected 3.Nc3 because of Bb4, he sidestepped the complications of 5.Bg5 dxc4 6.e4 b5, and now he avoids 6.Bd3 dxc4 7.Bxc4 b5. But perhaps it was too soon after,lunch for any heroics.

6...Bd6 7.Be2 0-0 8.0-0 dxc4 9.Bxc4 b5 10.Bd3 Bb7 11.Rd1 a6 12.e4 e5

Black has kept his options open to attack the centre with c5 or e5, but now his hand is forced.

13.dxe5 Nxe5 14.Nxe5 Bxe5 15.Bxb5?

Over-compensating for his cautious play in the opening, White now launches on a piece of senseless bravado.

15...Bxh2+!

Well, of course. After 16.Kxh2 Qb8+ (or Qc7+) Black regains the piece.

16.Kh1 Qe7 17.Be2 Be5 18.Bf3 c5

Did White think, on playing 15.Bxb5, that the weakness in Black's Q-side pawns would outweigh the vulnerability of White's king? If so, he was sadly mistaken.

19.Re1 Rfe8 20.Kg1 Rad8 21.Bg5?

This does not help. Exchanging bishop for knight makes his position worse.

21...h6 22.Bxf6 Qxf6 23.Rad1 Qf4

The queen closes in for the kill.

24.Rxd8 Rxd8 25.Rd1 Qh2+ 26.Kf1 Bd4 27.Qb3 Rb8 28.Qa4 a5 29.Qc4 (See diagram.)

White guards against Ba6+, but Black is ready with a killer.

29...Bd5!! White resigned.

30.Qxd5 (or Nxd5 or exd5) Rxb2 leads to a quick mate.