Karpov on Edge of Elimination in Chess Match

World chess champion Gary Kasparov pushed challenger Anatoly Karpov to the brink of elimination from their title match Saturday with a flashy 41-move win in the 20th game.

Kasparov now leads the 24-game series 11-9 with four wins, two losses and 14 draws.

Kasparov, playing white, combined speed and power to unleash a ferocious attack on the black king, which eventually caused his challenger huge material losses.

Karpov was forced to defend a very risky position with only seconds separating him from loss by forfeit.

The champion manipulated the game in his best crowd-pleasing style, sacrificing assets to strip his opponent of defenders, then invading to recoup his investment, with interest.

The players exchanged a firm handshake at the end of the game as applause erupted from a capacity crowd of about 1,000 in Lyon’s Palais de Congres.

Despite their long-running rivalry and the drama of the day’s clash, the players remained onstage for several minutes, discussing the intricacies of the game.

Experts gave Karpov credit for taking chances to provoke a crisis; he had badly needed an equalizing win.

Karpov’s two-point deficit is made even more daunting by the clause in the competition rules that will allow Kasparov to keep his crown in the event of a 12-12 tie.

Here are the moves of the game:

Kasparov-Karpov 20: 1 e4 e5 2 Nf3 Nc6 3 Bb5 a6 4 Ba4 Nf6 5 0-0 Be7 6 Re1 b5 7 Bb3 d6 8 c3 0-0 9 h3 Bb7 10 d4 Re8 11 Nbd2 Bf8 12 a4 h6 13 Bc2 exd4 14 cxd4 Nb4 15 Bb1 c5 16 d5 Nd7 17 Ra3 f5 18 Rae3 Nf6 19 Nh2 Kh8 20 b3 bxa4 21 bxa4 c4 22 Bb2 fxe4 23 Nxe4 Nfxd5 24 Rg3 Re6 25 Ng4 Qe8 26 Nxh6 c3 27 Nf5 cxb2 28 Qg4 Bc8 29 Qh4+ Rh6 30 Nxh6 gxh6 31 Kh2 Qe5 32 Ng5 Qf6 33 Re8 Bf5 34 Qxh6+ Qxh6 35 Nf7+ Kh7 36 Bxf5+ Qg6 37 Bxg6+ Kg7 38 Rxa8 Be7 39 Rb8 a5 40 Be4+ Kxf7 41 Bxd5+ Black resigns.