CHESS

Feb. 18, 2001

Position #5625: White to play and win. From the game V. West - F. Berry #7, Los Angeles 2001.

Solution to Position #5624: Black wins the Knight by 1 . . . Rb4 2 Na8 (or 2 Nc8 Rc4+) Rb8 3 Nc7 Rc8 4 Re7 Kf8.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

The second great tournament of the year begins Feb. 22 in Linares, Spain. Former world champion Garry Kasparov, who won the first elite tournament last month in the Netherlands, has regained his status of overwhelming favorite, but he could be tested by Peter Leko, ranked sixth in the world, or Alexey Shirov, ranked seventh. In addition, Kasparov will face his longtime rival, Anatoly Karpov, in their first slow-time-limit games in years. Judit Polgar, the world’s greatest female player, and 17-year-old Alexander Grischuk round out the field in the double round robin.

Rival champions Vladimir Kramnik and Viswanathan Anand, who are ranked second and third behind Kasparov, declined their invitations to the Linares tournament.

Karpov’s presence heightens interest in the tournament. He has not played frequently or well since winning the World Chess Federation title in a controversial match against Anand in 1998. His current rating of 2679 (20th in the world) is his lowest since the 1970s. On the other hand, he achieved the most dazzling success of his career in Linares in 1994, when he finished 2 1/2 points ahead of Kasparov and every other star. At age 49, can he muster the strength for another surprise?

LOCAL NEWS

A total of 197 players competed in the 2001 State Elementary Championship, held Feb. 10 in Gardena. David Arabyan, Julian Landaw, Rob Rosenberg and Zachary Witten scored 4 1/2- 1/2, tieing for first place in the grades K-6 Open section. On tiebreak, David Arabyan earns the title of state elementary champion.

Aram Kavoukjian and Ruben Zhamkochyan achieved perfect 5-0 scores in the grades K-6 Under-700 section.

Sean Bowe swept the grades K-3 Open section, scoring 5-0. William Babayan, Gevorg Khachatrian, Konstantin Kavutskiy and Seth Neel finished at 4-1.

Griffin Kades and Dylan Neel tied for first at 4 1/2- 1/2 in the grades K-3 Under-550 section.

Kurt Stenzel and John Surlow ran the tournament for the Southern California Chess Federation.

More state scholastic championships are scheduled soon. The SCCF plans Junior High (April 21 in Santa Clarita) and High School (March 17-18 in North Hills) state championships. CalChess, which oversees chess in the northern half of the state, will run a mammoth tournament March 3-4 in Santa Clara. About 1,000 students will compete for titles in a range of categories.

The Wilshire Chess Society will conduct its monthly tournament of 45-minute games on Feb. 25 in the Westside Pavilion, Pico at Westwood in Los Angeles. Register at the site (Community Room “C” on the third floor, west of Barnes & Noble bookstore) at 10:30 a.m., or call Michael Jeffreys at (310) 473-6291.

Varuzhan Akobian swept the Super Sunday tournament with a perfect 5-0 score last weekend at Chess Palace in Los Alamitos. David Kerman took second with 4-1. Class winners were Ed Cohen, Tom Kellogg, Justin Li and Kurt Oldenburg.

For complete information about Chess Palace events, call (562) 598-5099.

The Pasadena Chess Club will begin its six-round club championship on Feb. 23. The club meets at 7 p.m. Fridays in the Pasadena Senior Center, 85 E. Holly St. in Pasadena. For information, call Neil Hultgren at (818) 243-3809.

Joshua Tree 2001, a four-round tournament of 45-minute games, takes place Feb. 24 in Faith Lutheran Church, 6336 Hallee Rd. in Joshua Tree. Call Mark Muller at (760) 367-2311 for more information.

James Boren won last Sunday’s tournament at Chess Academy in Hollywood. Grigoriy Burtayev and Colette McGruder tied for second. The club will follow its usual schedule (tournament at 11 a.m. and Gufeld exhibition at 3 p.m.) Sunday. For details, call (323) 883-0164 or (323) 512-4564.

The 12th annual Mountain Team Chess Challenge begins March 21. Players over age 21 are invited to sign up now for the weekly team matches held in the Rim of the World communities in the San Bernardino mountains. For additional information, call Don La Suer at (909) 867-4994.

TODAY’S GAMES

G. Shahade (U.S.A.) - WGM Fierro Baquero (Ecuador), Bermuda 2001: 1 e4 d5 2 exd5 Qxd5 The Center Counter. 3 Nf3 Not bad. The automatic 3 Nc3 gets an edge, too. Bg4 4 Be2 Nc6 5 d4 0-0-0!? 6 c4 Qf5 7 Be3 Bxf3 Accepting the challenge. The slower 7 . . . Nf6 8 Nc3 e6 led to trouble in Ziatdinov - Shabalov, Toronto 1998, by 9 Qa4! Bxf3 10 Bxf3 Nxd4 11 Bxd4 Rxd4 12 Qxa7. 8 Bxf3 Nxd4 9 Bxd4 Qe6+ 10 Be2 Qe4 11 0-0!? Possibly a new idea. White has tried 11 Nc3 Qxd4 12 Qc2, but 12 . . . Qe5 13 0-0 e6 14 Bf3 Bd6 seems acceptable for Black. Qxd4 After 11 . . . Rxd4? 12 Qa4, neither 12 . . . a6 13 Bf3 Qg6 14 Qe8+ Rd8 15 Bxb7+ nor 12 . . . Qxe2 13 Qxa7 Qxc4 (also 13 . . . Rd8 14 Nc3 is fatal) 14 Qa8+ Kd7 15 Qxf8 saves Black. 12 Qa4 Qxb2?! Underestimating White’s attack. Black had to risk 12 . . . Qb6 13 b4 or 12 . . . Nf6 13 Nc3. 13 Qxa7 Inviting 13 . . . Qxe2 14 Nc3 Qxc4 15 Qa8+ Kd7 16 Rad1+ and 13 . . . c6 14 Nc3! Qxc3 15 Rab1 Kd7 16 Rfd1+. e6 14 Bf3 Nf6 After 14 . . . c6 15 Nc3!, Black cannot stand 15 . . . Qxc3 16 Rab1 or 15 . . . Qa3 16 Na4 Bb4 17 Bxc6. 15 Nc3! Qxc3 16 Rad1 Bd6 17 c5 Seeing 17 . . . Qxc5 18 Bxb7+ Kd7 19 Qxc5. Nd5?! Even the sturdiest defense, 17 . . . Bxh2+ 18 Kxh2 Qe5+ 19 Kg1 c6, fails to 20 Rd6!, preparing 21 Rb1. If 20 . . . Rxd6 21 Qa8+ Kd7 22 Qxb7+ Ke8 23 cxd6 or 20 . . . Ne4 21 Bxe4 Qxe4 22 Rfd1 Qh4 23 Rxc6+! bxc6 24 Qa6+, Black’s King will not last long. 18 Rxd5!, Black Resigns. The finish could be 18 . . . exd5 19 Bg4+ Rd7 20 Qa8 mate.

IM Sandipan (India) - Saptarshi (India), Calcutta 2001: 1 d4 d5 2 Nc3 f5 This position usually arises from the Dutch Defense, 1 d4 f5. 3 Bg5 g6 Quite different is 3 . . . Nf6 4 Bxf6. 4 h4 Bg7 5 e3 Nf6 6 h5!? Nbd7 Prudent, although 6 . . . Nxh5!? 7 Rxh5 gxh5 8 Qxh5+ Kf8 is playable. After 9 Nf3 c6 10 Bd3 Qe8 11 Qh3 e6 12 g4 (inviting 12 . . . h6 13 Bf4 fxg4 14 Qxg4 e5? 15 Bf5), chances are about even. 7 Nge2 c6 8 Nf4 Kf7 9 Be2 e5?! Opening the center will help White. Black cannot equalize with 9 . . . Ne4 10 Nxe4 fxe4 11 f3, but 9 . . . Qa5 10 Qd2 b5 sets up Queenside counterplay. 10 dxe5 Nxe5 11 h6! Bf8 12 Qd4 Ned7 Most solid is 12 . . . Qd6 13 0-0-0 Be7. Black must avoid disasters such as 12 . . . Qc7?? 13 Bxf6 Kxf6 14 Ncxd5+ and 12 . . . Bd6?! 13 0-0-0 Qa5? 14 Bxf6 Kxf6 15 e4! Bc5 16 Qd2 Bb4 17 Ncxd5+. 13 Nfxd5! cxd5 14 Nxd5 Bc5? Now Black cannot escape the deadly pin on the a1-h8 diagonal. Similar is 14 . . . Be7? 15 Bc4. Only 14 . . . Qa5+ 15 b4 Qxd5 16 Bc4 Qxc4+ 17 Qxc4+ Ke8 18 0-0-0 Be7 holds White to a small advantage. 15 Qc3 Be7 16 Bc4 Kf8 Tempting is 16 . . . Ke8, as 17 0-0-0? Rf8 hangs on. But White improves with 17 Bf4! Nb6 18 Nc7+ Kf8 19 Rd1 Bd7 20 Ne6+. 17 0-0-0 Winning. b5 If 17 . . . Rg8 18 Nxf6 Bxf6, quickest is 19 Rxd7 Qxd7 20 Qxf6+ Ke8 21 Bb5! Qxb5 22 Qe7 mate. 18 Nxe7 Qxe7 19 Rxd7! Bxd7 20 Bxf6 Qc5 Or 20 . . . Qe4 21 Bg5. 21 Bg7+, Black Resigns.