Kasparov: How His Predecessors Misled Him About Chess E-Book

Tibor Karolyi

• Herausgeber: Batsford
• Kategorie: Lebensstil
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 441

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2014

Beschreibung

Over the past few years the great chess player Garry Kasparov has written five  best-selling books praising the contributions to chess made by the previous  world champions. The series is called ''My Great Predecessors''. As a reaction to  this wonderful series of books, leading chess writer Tibor Károlyi has written this  imaginary sixth volume. In gently humorous – but chessically serious – style, the  author imagines Kasparov is annotating over 70 of his own lost games, and  blaming all these defeats on the bad influence of each of the previous world  champions, providing in-depth analysis to show how he was misled by them.  The book also serves as a highly instructive, practical chess book – to beat  Kasparov, the greatest player of all time, took some pretty special chess, and  readers will enjoy learning from this. It is astonishing how the author has  managed to find so many games that exhibit uncanny similarities between  Kasparov and his predecessors, which makes the content of the book extremely  plausible – as if Kasparov himself were writing it. This is a brilliant and totally  original chess book that could only have been written by someone with great  knowledge of Kasparov and the past world champions.

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Kasparov: How His Predecessors Misled Him About Chess

Tibor Károlyi and Nick Aplin

Contents

Authors’ Preface

Anatoly Karpov the 12th

Robert James Fischer the 11th

Boris Spassky the 10th

Tigran Petrosian the 9th

Mikhail Tal the 8th

Vassily Smyslov the 7th

Mikhail Botvinnik the 6th

Max Euwe the 5th

Alexander Alekhine the 4th

José Raúl Capablanca the 3rd

Emanuel Lasker the 2nd

Wilhelm Steinitz the 1st

Authors’ Preface

This book is a unique reaction to a unique collection of creative work.

When Garry Kasparov, the most successful world champion, retired, he published a series of books under the title My Great Predecessors and it was the stimulation from reading his excellent series that prompted the present work.

After writing two books on Kasparov’s astonishing career, covering his final period of active play from 1993 to 2005, we realised that there were similarities between Garry’s games and some of his predecessors – and this has opened the door for a little bit of friendly leg-pulling!

Our original idea to write an article for the satirical chess magazine Kingpin took on greater proportions as we found more and more games resembling those of past champions.

The increasing number of examples changed the single article into a series of articles. We had originally intended to look only at the post-World War II champions but then discovered so many comparable games from earlier times that we were encouraged to write a whole book!

There was a stage during the writing of Kasparov’s Fighting Chess 1 & 2 that we briefly considered the title The Great Successor would be appropriate.

This present book now provides us with an obvious opportunity to introduce some humour, particularly as Kasparov – we think – subconsciously favoured some teasing of the great players and former champions more so than others. By doing so he invited others to have a joke at his expense too. Humour in chess – sometimes a rare commodity – needs to take its rightful place.

The Hungarian half of our co-authorship played in tournaments with Garry and even faced him across the board in 1980 and 1981. The 1980 World Junior Championship was particularly memorable for Tibor, because of the leisure hours he spent with Garry himself – during which time the future world champion revealed his keen sense of humour.

This characteristic is something that has not been reflected in his interviews in recent times, although there were glimpses of it when he came to write his My Great Predecessors books.

It goes without saying that games played by world champions can be especially interesting, entertaining and instructive. But it is also well worth looking at them from a new angle – and with a lighter touch.

The temptation is also there to look at some of Kasparov’s losses – which are in fact well worth analysing. Anyone who manages to force resignation from the most successful chess player ever, clearly deserves due recognition for their triumph.

In no way does the present book try to erode the tremendous respect Kasparov has rightfully earned with his stunning and breathtaking performances. It just reminds everyone emphatically what a great game chess is and that even the greatest players make mistakes – and do lose sometimes! The royal game is just so complicated...

Also we consider that the My Great Predecessors books represent a superb contribution to chess culture and warmly recommend that both nonprofessionals and serious players read the whole series, as Garry’s chess genius shines brightly through his deep analysis.

One of the intentions of the present book is to take a look at some lesserknown masterpieces of the champions, as well as presenting the better-known examples, with short explanations. We hope you enjoy and learn from these games.

It is great that Garry wrote his series, but if I were him I would have produced another version for reading on New Year’s Eve!

Our book is designed to be lighthearted. So before we allow Garry to speak, let us emphasise that we did not contact him at all and the words are ours!! We just put our ideas into his mouth in the following way.

* * * *

My series on the world champions is entering its final phase. In these books, I have covered the development of chess culture. Thank God they sold like hot cakes. I wrote nice things about all the 12 champions, which is what they justly deserved, but I only showed the rosier side of their chess.

By now most of the books have been sold, so it is time to tell the rest of the story. My career has been the best a chessplayer has ever had and, all things considered, I am satisfied with how things went. On the other hand, I am convinced I did not achieve everything that I could have done: for example, I lost more games than was necessary. And in the present work I reveal for the first time how I came to lose quite a few important games simply because I copied the world champions. It’s a pity that I didn’t gain a fuller appreciation of their methods.

Almost all chessplayers read books on the world champions. I did so as well and in my childhood I even went through their games in great detail. In fact I frequently tried to memorise their games, but it is more likely that they planted themselves in the subconscious part of my brain. Their games were praised so many times and in so many places that I came to trust them implicitly.

Of course, I must also take some responsibility for my losses, but you will see that for the particular defeats shown here the world champions are mostly to blame because they misled me – sometimes seriously. After all, it was they who demonstrated the ideas in the first place.

Can you imagine how hard it has been for me to hold back my true opinions for so long? But now I cannot remain silent any longer and must show how the champions really played. Though I have to admit that their games are very entertaining, that can only soften, but not erase, the negative effect they had on me.

So as to underline the fact that this is not a totally serious book, I do not lay out the material in the conventional way. Instead of starting from the distant past and working my way towards the present day, I adopt a different plan based on the fact that the closer a champion was to me in time, the more energy I spent on examining his play.

So I look at the champions in reverse order, starting with Anatoly Karpov, who was crowned before me as the 12th world champion.

Anatoly Karpov the 12th

Anatoly Karpov was my immediate predecessor. He held the title from 1975 until 1985 and certainly had an immense effect on my chess. I played him 23 times in regular tournaments. There is nothing special about that but the 144 games in the five world championship matches we contested is unique in the history of chess.

Despite this large number of games, you might think they had little negative effect on my style. Of course I learned to play simple positions – there were many of them – and I improved my technique in this area.

In this book I would like to concentrate on the negative effects that I experienced from the world champions – effects which prevented me from becoming even more devastating in my play.

One idea I picked up from Karpov was to push the a- or h-pawns all the way – and win. Below are positions from Karpov’s games illustrating this theme and then positions from my own games where I followed his plan.

S.Sazontiev – A.Karpov

A.Karpov – G.Kasparov

A.Karpov – P.Markland

A.Karpov – G.Kasparov

Readers note: throughout the text you will read the words see diagram. It’s the diagrams in the frames to which we refer.

First let me show you some games where Karpov employed one of his favourite concepts.

S.Sazontiev – A.Karpov

Vladimir 1964

1 d4 f6 2 f3 e6 3 g5 d5 4 c4 e7 5 c3 0-0 6 e3 bd7 7 d3 e8 8 0-0 f8 9 e5 c6 10 f4 6d7 11 xe7 xe7 12 f3 f6 13 g4 b6 14 c5 bd7 15 g3 h8 16 f2 e5 17 h5 e4 18 e2 g6 19 h6 b6 20 b4

20...a5!

Karpov starts pushing his a-pawn. It looks like it merely undermines White’s pawn chain but in fact this move represents its debut performance in a very important role.

21 b5 b7 22 cxb6 xb6 23 bxc6 xc6

See diagram here.

24 h4 ec8 25 h5

25...g7!

To exchange the most dangerous white piece in the attack.

26 xg7+ xg7 27 hxg6 hxg6 28 b1 ab8!

Now Black turns his attention to the side where he is stronger.

29 a6 c7 30 fd1 fd7

31 h3?!

White wants to transfer the rook to the queenside.

On the other hand 31 e2! would have kept Black rather busy on the kingside and he would not then have had such a free hand for his queenside operations.

31...a4!

Karpov starts exchanging on the queenside so as to prepare an invasion. He follows up this plan with his customary and distinctive purposefulness.

32 h2 xd1 33 xd1 a4! 34 a1 c3! 35 g3 xd1 36 xd1 c3 37 e1

37...a4!

The pawn is becoming increasingly powerful.

38 d2 b6 39 f1 f7 40 ee2

40...a3!

The pawn makes its final stride of a glorious march. It gets closer to promotion and takes control of the b2-square.

41 f2 b4 42 g4 b6 43 c2 xc2 44 xc2 b2!

This is a poignant demonstration of the strength of the a3-pawn.

45 e2 a4 46 e1

46...c3 47 d2 xa2 0-1

Finally the fixed a-pawn falls, and Black wins easily. Karpov engineered this game beautifully, yet strangely he did not include it in any books of his selected games. Maybe he did not want to alert his rivals to such an effective pawn-pushing device. Naturally, the game did not escape my attention.

A.Karpov – P.Markland

Hastings 1971/1972

1 e4 e6 2 d4 d5 3 c3 b4 4 e5 c5 5 a3 xc3+ 6 bxc3 c7 7 f3 e7

8 a4

I wouldn’t mind betting that Karpov had not yet seen the final role this a-pawn had to play. Of course it is a well-known variation. Since that time 7 g4 has taken over as the main line.

8...b6 9 b5+ d7 10 d3 bc6 11 0-0 h6 12 e1 a5 13 d2 c8 14 h4

Karpov uses his flank pawns well. Here he gains space and makes sure that ...g7-g5 is prevented.

14...0-0 15 f4 f5 16 exf6 xf6 17 xc7 xc7 18 dxc5 bxc5 19 e5 c8

Here 19...c4 looks better. It restricts the light-squared bishop even though that in turn grants more freedom to his dark-squared brother.

20 c4!

Karpov gets rid of the doubled pawns and opens the position for his bishops.

20...ac6 21 b2 b4

See diagram here.

22 a5!?

This is a hard move to come up with. Perhaps it had been planned earlier. Had he already anticipated the role of this pawn or did he just want to prevent Black from playing a5 – a move which fixes White’s a-pawn on the colour of the c8-bishop?

22...f8 23 a3

23 h5, playing extravagantly with the other edge pawn, was also possible.

23...dxc4 24 xc4 f4

25 d6

Karpov sacrifices a pawn to keep his opponent’s rook out of the game. Here 25 e4 holds on to the pawn by stopping ...xc4.

25...xd3 26 cxd3 xh4 27 e4 h5 28 ec1 b7?!

After 28...d5 29 c3 a6 Black can live with his position.

29 xc5 d5 30 f3 f5

Black could improve his knight with 30...c6!?. Then 31 a6 d4.

Not to be sidetracked, Karpov now plays according to a well-formulated plan. Firstly he fixes Black’s a7-pawn.

31 a6! f7 32 e4

The a7-pawn is fixed. Karpov now brings up his bishop to place it under closer surveillance.

32...f5 33 c5! c8 34 f2 fc7 35 xc7

Now Karpov starts to exchange pieces around the weak a7-pawn. All part of the plan.

35...xc7 36 b1 e7 37 b8+ h7 38 h2!

This is a typical Karpovian king move. It prevents Black from delivering a check on c1, which would be followed by an attack on the a6-pawn with a1.

38...g6?

This only helps White. He moves away a valuable piece from the area where the battle will take place.

39 c5 c6?

Returning the knight was better.

40 d8 c7

41 d7!

Karpov continues to play with great purpose. He will exchange the defending rook as well.

41...xd7 42 xd7 c6 43 b8 b5

44 xa7

Finally the ripened fruit drops quietly from the tree. White wins the pawn and so the rest is simple.

44...e7 45 b6 c8 46 c5 g6 47 a7 xa7 48 xa7 e5 49 d4 exd4 50 xd4 f7 51 f4 g5 52 fxg5 hxg5 53 g3 g6 54 f3 f5 55 g3 1-0

Karpov won this game in impressive style. This plan was implanted in my brain and I was just waiting for an opportune moment to carry it out in one of my own games. Quite incredibly I had my chance against Karpov himself.

A.Karpov – G.Kasparov Game 17, World Championship London/Leningrad 1986

1 d4 f6 2 c4 g6 3 c3 d5 4 f3 g7 5 b3 dxc4 6 xc4 0-0 7 e4 g4 8 e3 fd7 9 d1 c6 10 e2 b6 11 c5 d6 12 e5

This was my third match against Karpov and he had prepared most diligently for it. Here he sacrifices a pawn – something he had rarely done before in this kind of situation. I think our matches forced him to increase his standard of play in the openings.

12...xc5 13 dxc5 c8

The variation has continued to develop ever since our game. The knight can also be retreated to d7.

14 h3 xf3 15 xf3 xe5 16 xc6 bxc6 17 d4

White achieves domination along the d-file – which provides compensation for the pawn deficit.

17...f4 18 0-0

See diagram here

18...a5?

At this moment I adopted Karpov’s plan of pushing the a-pawn as far down the file as possible. And I really paid the price for this misguided decision.

A few months later Timman improved on this game with 18...e5!. Maybe he never bothered to investigate Karpov’s earlier games. After 19 e3 xe3 20 fxe3 e7 21 d7 f5 Timman achieved a draw against Karpov in Tilburg 1986. Black has done well in this position ever since.

19 fe1 a4?!

I stuck to the plan that I had learned from Anatoly Evgenievich.

20 e4 h6 21 e5

21...a3?

I was still playing in the spirit of Karpov, in the hope that somehow I would be able to get down to the a2-pawn. However it proves to be an illusion.

22 b3 a7

This was not my day, I was unable to push either of my rook’s pawns, but putting the knight on the edge was also unfortunate. 22...g7 was probably better.

23 d7! c1 24 xc7 b2 25 a4 b5 26 xc6

Now White is already a pawn up.

26...fd8 27 b6 d5 28 g3

28...c3

This is the closest I got to attacking that a2-pawn.

29 xc3 xc3 30 c6

The c-pawn simply kills Black.

30...d4 31 b7 1-0

To end the misery I resigned.

A.Karpov – G.Kasparov Game 5, World Championship, London/Leningrad 1986

1 d4 f6 2 c4 g6 3 c3 d5 4 f4 g7 5 e3 c5 6 dxc5 a5 7 c1 e4 8 cxd5 xc3 9 d2 xa2 10 bxc3 xd2+ 11 xd2 d7 12 b5 0-0 13 xd7 xd7 14 e4 f5 15 e5 e6 16 c4 fc8 17 c6 bxc6 18 d6 c5 19 h4 h6

20 h3!

A strong move that my team and I missed during preparation. I hoped the g7-bishop would become a powerhouse on the long diagonal, but it stayed buried all the way to the end.

20...a5?

See diagram here

Again I push the rook’s pawn just like Karpov.

21 f3 a4

The plan must be pursued.

22 he1!

Another strong move as it preserves the e5 pawn and makes sure the g7-bishop remains bottled up. I should have copied this aspect of Karpov’s style!

22...a3

Nothing will divert me from pushing the a-pawn.

23 f2

23...a2

The pawn has got this far yet it is to no avail. I was so happy to see the open road ahead but should have checked more carefully where that road would lead.

24 d3 a3 25 a1 g5

A desperate attempt to stir things up.

26 hxg5 hxg5 27 xg5 f7 28 f4 b8 29 ec1 c6 30 c3 a5 31 c2 ba8 32 c1 1-0

Finally White wins the a-pawn. Black spent four tempi advancing the pawn to its doom.

Here I resigned and decided that in the future I would be far more cautious about following Karpov’s method of play.

Karpov contributed to one of my losses in the final of a knockout tournament I played on the internet. From the first position below he taught me that in a rook ending, with 3 pawns versus 4 on one side of the board, the game can be saved.

The second diagram shows the very similar position that I reached.

V.Korchnoi – A.Karpov

J.Piket – G.Kasparov

V.Korchnoi – A.Karpov

Game 5, World Championship, Merano 1981

1 c4 e6 2 c3 d5 3 d4 e7 4 f3 f6 5 g5 h6 6 h4 0-0 7 c1 b68 cxd5 xd5 9 xd5 exd5 10 xe7 xe7 11 g3 a6 12 e3 c5 13 dxc5 bxc5

Two games later in the match Karpov played 13...b7 and drew.

14 xa6 xa6

15 xd5

Petrosian, the specialist of this line where White delays e2-e3, did not take the pawn and went on to beat Portisch this way.

15...b4 16 c4 f6 17 h4 xb2 18 0-0 xa2

Taking the last white queenside pawn is an achievement, yet there is no guarantee of a draw as the knights are still on the board.

19 xa2 xa2 20 xc5 fc8 21 a5 c1 22 f5 c7 23 d4 b8 24 a1 d3

Karpov is not yet ready to enter the 4 pawns against 3 rook ending. If 24...b3 25 fb1 cb7 26 xb3 xb3 27 xb3 xb3 28 xa7.

25 fd1 e5 26 a2 g6 27 da1 bb7 28 h3

28...h5!

This is a very useful refinement in the ensuing rook ending.

29 g2 g7 30 a5 c6

He finally agrees to defend the 4 against 3 ending. But Black was not forced to give up the pawn as 30...f6 was an option. This misled me and gave me the impression this it is an easy draw.

31 xc6 xc6 32 xa7 xa7 33 xa7

See diagram here

33...c2

Karpov often pins pieces. With White’s king on f2 the pawn can’t go much further. I used to think it requires some effort to draw this type of position but the ease with which Karpov held this one made me think Black can’t lose at all. I was wrong.

34 e4 c3 35 a2 f6 36 f3 b3 37 f2 c3 38 e2 b3 39 a6+ e7 40 a5 f6 41 d5

41...a3 42 d6+ g7 43 h4 b3 44 d3 b5 45 e3 ½-½ Karpov effortlessly held this position.

J.Piket – G.Kasparov

KasparovChess Grand Prix 60 minute game, Internet 2000

1 f3 f6 2 c4 c5 3 c3 d5 4 cxd5 xd5 5 g3 c6 6 g2 c7 7 d3 e5 8 0-0 e7 9 d2 d7 10 c4 0-0 11 xc6 xc6

12 xe5

Piket accepts my pawn sacrifice.

12...e8 13 b3 f6 14 g4 d4 15 e3 xc3 16 xc3 b6 17 f3 b5 18 f2 d7 19 e4 e6 20 e3 a5 21 ad1 ad8 22 d2 c6

According to my opponent’s analysis the queen should go to b7.

23 c1 b7

24 a3

I also tried a6 and b5 with Black in a number of English opening games. Would you believe what happened? You will see it in the Fischer chapter.

24...d4 25 g2 c8 26 b1 fd8 27 xd4 xd4 28 b4

In my case this plan did not work, so I was optimistic that I would do well against it.

28...axb4 29 axb4 d7 30 bxc5 bxc5

Here I realised I couldn’t win. But okay, no problem. It was a knockout final and I thought I would draw the next game with the white pieces.

31 bb2 h6 32 a2 h7 33 a5 d8 34 xc5 xd3

35 xd3

After 35 b2 c8 36 f5+ xf5 37 xf5 c4 it is hard to do anything with White’s pieces.

35...xd3 36 xd3 xd3 37 a2 b3

38 c2

With queens on the board White can’t really push the pawns, therefore it should be an easy draw, but I knew how easily Karpov drew with Korchnoi, so I decided to follow him. I was also aware that Karpov wasn’t able to squeeze a win against Olafsson when he had an extra pawn in this kind of endgame. Even before the Karpov game I knew this position was a draw, however it was Anatoly who convinced me it was easy and made me play too casually.

38...xc2+ 39 xc2 h5

I play just like Karpov.

40 f4 g6

See diagram here

Karpov also had his pawn on g6.

41 e5 d3

I’m just following Karpov, who kept his rook on the third rank, did nothing and held easily.

42 h3

Korchnoi did not try anything like this – and Korchnoi was a really strong endgame player

42...e3

I just keep moving like my predecessor before me.

43 h4 g7 44 g5

Here I deviated from Karpov and removed the rook from the third rank.

44...e1?

This was my independent idea – but it loses. I was short of time. Correct was 44...a3! 45 c7 a5.

45 c7 e2 46 e7! a2

47 f5!

This is nasty indeed. I was in time pressure because it was a 1 hour game with no increment.

47...gxf5 48 e6!

Oh no.

48...h4 49 xf7+ g8 50 f6 1-0

And I had to resign.

Karpov has played some very well-known games in which he moved his knight backwards to the first rank. I also know some games where he placed the knight on the rook file. Here are three of his positions – followed by three of mine.

Sadovsky – A.Karpov

G.Kamsky – G.Kasparov

Z.Ribli – A.Karpov

Y.Nikolaevsky – G.Kasparov

J.Nunn – A.Karpov

L.Zaid – G.Kasparov

Sadovsky – A.Karpov

USSR Olympiad 1967

1 c4 f6 2 c3 e5 3 g3 g6 4 g2 g7 5 e4 d6 6 ge2 e6

Karpov was fairly young when he played this game.

7 d4! 0-0 8 d5 d7 9 0-0 h5

See diagram here

Karpov develops his knight on the edge.

10 e3 f5 11 d2 a6

The other steed does the same thing.

12 f3 f7 13 a3 c5 14 c2 e8 15 b4 a4

The third knight move to the edge.

16 c5 f4 17 f2 fxg3 18 hxg3

Now the players enter a long manoeuvring phase.

18...xc3 19 xc3 e7 20 d2 af8 21 e3 a6 22 a4 f6 23 d3 g5 24 a3 g7 25 e2 e8 26 c2 h5 27 e1 f6 28 f2 h7 29 e1 h6 30 f2 c8 31 fa1?

This is overdoing a good idea. One piece too many goes to the edge. 31 fb1 was correct.

31...g4 32 f4?! xe2 33 xe2 exf4 34 d4 6f7 35 b5 f5

For a long time the knight which had been on h5 had no useful move, now it intervenes with decisive force.

36 f2 fxg3 37 xg3 xg3 38 xg3

38...e5

The rest is simple.

39 aa3 axb5 40 cxd6 b4 41 ad3 cxd6 42 e1 c7 43 gf3 xf3 44 xf3 c2 45 g2 c1 46 d1 e3+ 47 h1 xd1 48 xd1 b3 49 xb3 g3 50 xb7+ h6 0-1

Z.Ribli – A.Karpov

Tilburg 1980

1 c4 e5 2 c3 c6 3 g3 g6 4 g2 g7 5 d3 d6 6 e3 ge7 7 ge2 0-0 8 0-0 d7 9 h3 b8 10 d2 e6

11 d5

The knights still look to the centre, but maybe this just diverts the attention of the opponent.

11...d7 12 h2 f5 13 f4 b5 14 b1 bxc4 15 dxc4 e4 16 b4? a5!

See diagram here

Karpov puts his knight on the edge and wins instantly. What a lucky fellow!

17 d4 xc4 18 xe7+ xe7 19 c2 xd4 20 exd4 b6 21 b2 d5 22 a3 e3 23 c3 xf1+ 24 xf1 d5 25 c4 e6 0-1

The next game is unusual, as I was not selecting lost games from a champion, but here Karpov reached a position with two knights on the edge.

J.Nunn – A.Karpov

3rd Amber-rapid, Monte Carlo 1994

1 e4 c6 2 d4 d5 3 e5 f5 4 c3 e6 5 g4 g6 6 ge2 e7 7 e3 h5 8 f4 hxg4 9 xg6 xg6 10 xg4 h4 11 d3 g6 12 0-0-0 e7 13 b1 d7 14 e2 b6 15 f4 a4

Karpov achieves symmetry with his knights and rooks on the two sides of the board.

16 e2 b5 17 c1 b6 18 b3 c4 19 hg1 a5 20 c1 a4 21 c5 xc5 22 dxc5 xe5 23 g3 ef3 24 h1 e5 25 e4 f6 26 xf3 xf3 27 d3

27...e4

Black is winning. If I wanted to be sarcastic I could say he has a winning edge (advantage) in the middle of the board.

28 xf3 exf3 29 e1+ f8 30 g5 f5 31 h4 g8 32 e5 d7 33 e7 f5 34 e5 c8 35 f6 h7 36 h5 f8 37 a3 xc5 38 g1 h6 39 g5 f8 40 hxg6 fxg6? 40...xg6 wins. 41 e7 e8 42 d7 h1+ 43 a2 h6 44 g3 he1 45 c7 1e7 46 xe7 xe7 47 xe7 f8 48 e6+f7 49 xc6 d4+ 50 b1 d3 51 cxd3 h7 52 xf3 b3 53 h3+ g8 54 h8+ f7 55 g7+ e8 0-1

Karpov’s knight on the brink was in my mind almost all the time. Let me show you one of my games from the time when I reigned as world champion and two when I was a junior player.

G.Kamsky – G.Kasparov

Dortmund 1992

1 d4 f6 2 c4 g6 3 c3 g7 4 e4 d6 5 f3 0-0 6 e2 e5 7 0-0 c6 8 d5 e7 9 d2 a5 10 a3 d7

There is no chance of this knight going to h5, but with a couple of moves I manage to close the diagonal and make it possible to place the other knight in an attacking position on that square.

11 b1 f5 12 b4 h8 13 f3

The diagonal is now closed and it’s worth spending a few tempi getting the knight where Karpov had put it.

13...g8 14 c2 gf6 15 b5 axb4 16 axb4 h5

Mission accomplished.

See diagram here

17 g3 df6 18 c5 d7 19 b3 h6

Against Karpov in Tilburg 1991 I played 19... xg3 and the game continued 20 hxg3 h5 21 f4 exf4 22 c6. I later drew the game, despite finding myself in an almost hopelessly lost position. See here.

20 c3

20...f4

This was a novelty in 1992.

21 cxd6

I was hoping for 21 gxf4?! as I could then have demonstrated some remarkable footwork along the touch line. 21...xf4 22 c4 (22 b3 6xd5!) 22...6h5. The other knight goes there as well. Please note that all Black’s moves now will be played on the flanks. 23 b3 fxe4 24 fxe4 h3+ 25 h1 h4 26 xc7 xf1+ 27 xf1 f8 and Black’s subtle play has earned him a winning attack.

21...xg3

After 21...cxd6 22 c7 xg3! 23 hxg3 xg3 24 e1 fh5 Anand produced some analysis and concluded that Black has the initiative;

Not 21...xb5 22 dxc7; or 21...xg3 22 dxc7 e7 (22...xh2+ 23 xh2 g4+ 24 fxg4 h4+ 25 h3 wins.) 23 d6! when Black is in trouble.

22 hxg3 h5

The other knight follows to h5. I did not pay due attention to the fact that Karpov had not played with such ferocity.

23 gxf4 xf4

After 23...h4 24 f2 xf4 25 f1 xb5 26 dxc7!! wins as Anand pointed out.

24 c4!

If 24 f2 h3+ – a common theme by now – (if 24...g5+ 25 h1! h4+ 26 h2 e1+ 27 f1 xb5 28 xc7 h5 – even this doesn’t help – 29 b2 wins.) 25 f1 (25 g2? g5+! 26 xh3 g1! leads to a checkmate.) 25...xf2 26 xf2 h4+ 27 g2 (27 f1 h1+ [27...f4 28 c4!] 28 f2 h4+=) 27...f4 28 f1 White survives the attack and wins with the extra material.

24...h3+

If 24...h4 25 b3 h3+ 26 h1; or 24...g5+ 25 f2 h4+ 26 e3.

Black gets his knight to the h-file, but does not have enough fire-power to back it up. This is rather transparent, but I also have one particularly nice memory of a surprising knight check on h3.

Here it is:

A.Grischuk – G.Kasparov

Linares 2001

24...h3+!! 25 g2 xb5 26 g3 g5 27 f2 b7 28 g1 c8 29 h4 xf3+ 30 xf3 xf3 31 xf3 xc5 32 xc5 bxc5 33 xc5 xc5 34 c3 h5 35 gxh5 xh5 36 b4 axb4 37 cxb4 xh4 0-1

Now back to my game with Kamsky:

25 h1

25...h4

This sets up a dangerous looking battery.

26 b3 fxe4

After 26...f2+ 27 g2 there is not enough juice left in the battery. 27...f4 28 xf2 h3+ 29 g1 wins as Anand pointed out.

27 h2

Not 27 fxe4?? f2+ 28 g2 h3+ 29 g1 g4+ 30 h2 g2 mate.

27...f5 28 f4!

After 28 fxe4 h5 (28...xe4+ 29 g2) 29 cf3 wins as well.

28...h5

Black’s pieces are picturesquely but precariously placed on the h-file.

29 g3 xg3

This is tantamount to resignation but other moves also lose. If 29...xf4+ 30 xh4; or 29...f6 30 fxe5 g7 31 dxc7; or 29...d8 30 dxc7 xf4+ 31 g1 f6 32 xf4.

30 xg3 exf4 31 b2+ g8 32 dxc7! xb5

After 32...fxg3 33 d6+ e6 34 xe6 is mate.

33 xb5 fxg3 34 g2! g5

And after 34...e3 35 d7 wins.

35 d6 h2+ 36 xg3 xb2 37 c4+ g7 38 d7 1-0

Y.Nikolaevsky – G.Kasparov

Moscow 1976

1 f3 f6 2 g3 g6 3 g2 g7 4 0-0 0-0 5 d4 d6 6 b3 c5 7 b2 c6 8 d5 a5

The knight has reached its planned destination on the edge of the board fairly early in the game.

See diagram here

9 e1 f5

Just like Anatoly Evgenievich I am prepared to give up a tempo.

10 bd2 c8 11 e4

My opponent takes the free tempo, just like Karpov.

11...g4 12 c4

Black can build up pressure on the c4-square.

12...d7 13 xg7 xg7 14 c2 xf3 15 xf3 c7 16 c3+ g8 17 h3 b6

18 e5

White correctly opens the position in the centre. Now the knight is missing from the action.

18...dxe5 19 xd7 xd7 20 xe5 d6 21 g4 h5 22 e5 f6

23 e3

The e7-pawn is an obvious target.

23...ad8 24 f3 g7 25 e1 d6 26 b4 b7 27 a3 a5 28 bxa5 xa5

It is a true delight that the knight can return to a5.

29 a4 h6 30 ee3?!

30 d7 wins the exchange.

30...h4 31 gxh4 xh4 32 xf7?

An imaginative trick that wins the game, but objectively this thrust spoils White’s position. 32 c2 keeps an edge.

32...f6?

The exploitation of the pin along the fifth rank by 32...xd5!? allows many tactical possibilities, however Black almost miraculously survives in every variation. 33 h6+ Going after the king achieves no more than a perpetual. (33 e5 wins the exchange but leaves his king too exposed, e.g. 33...xe5 34 xf8+ xf8 35 xe5 g4+ 36 f1 h3+ and White can do nothing with his extra exchange. White has no time to make room for his king with 33 h3 as after 33...d2 34 e5 xf2 35 xg6 2xf3 36 xh4 xe3 the position is equal.) 33...g7 34 xf8 xf8 35 f3+ g7 36 e8 g5+ 37 g3 d1+ 38 g2 f6 39 g8+ xh6 40 h3+ g5 41 g3+.

33 xf6 xf6 34 h6+ g7 35 g4 d4

After 35...g5 36 h3 White will quickly bring his queen over to the kingside, while Black’s knight has to remain on the queenside.

36 xe7+

The pawn is gobbled up and Black’s king remains vulnerable. Black is simply lost.

36...h8 37 h3 c3 38 d7 xh3 39 e8 f3 40 e7 h3 41 e6 h5 42 e8 g7 43 d7+ f7 44 c8 h7 45 d6 g5 46 d7 b1+ 47 g2 1-0

L.Zaid – G.Kasparov

Leningrad 1977

1 d4 f6 2 c4 g6 3 f3 g7 4 g3 d6 5 g2 0-0 6 0-0 c6 7 c3 a6 8 d5 a5

The knight naturally goes to the edge.

9 d2 c5 10 c2 b8 11 b3 b5 12 b2

See diagram here

12...bxc4 13 bxc4 h6 14 cb1 e5 15 c3 d7 16 a3

Sad, but my opponent also knows the knight to the h- and a-file strategy.

16...g7 17 ab1 c7 18 e4 h5

I should have followed in Karpov’s footsteps and played 18...h5.

19 f4 b4 20 d3 b7

I wanted to leave the knight where it was, but the fact that it was undefended worried me.

21 c2 xb1 22 xb1 h4?!

There is no time to free the h5-square for the knight. After 22...exf4 23 gxf4 e8 Black is in the game.

23 fxe5 dxe5 24 f3! hxg3 25 xe5 gxh2+ 26 xh2

White’s centre is rock solid.

26...c8 27 e3 g4 28 xg4 xg4 29 e5 a5

Now White no longer attacks the a5-square. So I waste no time putting the knight back on the edge of the board.

30 f1 h5 31 d6 xe5?

If 31...g4 32 xg4 xg4 33 d5 d4+ 34 h1 d7 Black still resists.

32 xe5 e6 33 f6

The exposes the weak black king and the d6-pawn becomes more threatening.

33...c6

He must come back to hold the pawn.

34 e3! h7 35 xc5 b8

Karpov played some remarkable knight retreats during his career, for example: Karpov-Spassky, 9th game, Moscow 1974, or Karpov-Quinteros, Malta 1980, or Bouaziz-Karpov, Hamburg 1982. Two of these were played after this game and so I hadn’t seen them. In a way my retreat is more effective than Karpov’s. It ends the game far more quickly, in just two moves.

36 e7 e8 37 d5 1-0

Leaving out the analysis, here are the three retreat pearls mentioned:

A.Karpov – B.Spassky

Game 9, Candidates semi-fina1 Leningrad 1974

24 b1!! b7 25 h2 g7 26 c3 a6 27 e2 f8 28 d2 d8 29 f3 f6 30 d2 e7 31 e6 ad8 32 xd8 xd8 33 d1 b8 34 c5 h8 35 xd8 1-0

A.Karpov – M.Quinteros

Malta Olympiad 1980

32 b1! g7 33 d2 e6 34 b4 d8 35 c4 d4 36 d6 xb4 37 xb7 b5 38 h4 h5 39 f2 d7 40 d6 xc5 41 b2 1-0

S.Bouaziz – A.Karpov

Hamburg TV 1982

25...b8!! 26 f3 d7 27 g3 c5 28 d1 a5 29 f2 a6 30 e2 a4 31 d4 b6

32 dxe5 xb2+ 33 f1 xc3 34 exd6 cxd6 35 xd6 b1+ 36 e1 f6 37 d2 b5 38 c2 b4 39 f2 a1 40 e5+ xe5 41 f3+ e4 42 d4 d3 0-1

Karpov sacrificed the e5-pawn in a sharp Sicilian against Ljubojevic. I decided to use this weapon as well.

A.Karpov – L.Ljubojevic

G.Kasparov – A.Yermolinsky

A.Karpov – L.Ljubojevic

Turin 1982

1 e4 c5 2 f3 d6 3 d4 f6 4 c3 cxd4 5 xd4 a6 6 e2 e6 7 f4 c7 8 0-0 b5?! 9 f3 b7 10 e5 dxe5 11 fxe5 fd7 12 f4 b4

13 e4

Karpov sacrifices the pawn. This game was so convincing that the position never occurred again.

13...xe5

See diagram here

14 h1! e7

Not 14...bc6?? 15 xc6 xc6 16 xe5 xe5 17 f6+ winning nor 14...bd7 15 g5! and White has nice play for the pawn.

15 g5! xg5 16 xb7! xb7

If 16...a7 17 xe6 or 16...xf4 17 xa8 g6 18 e1 0-0 19 e4 and White is better.

17 xe5 0-0

17...d7 allows 18 xg7 g8 19 xe6.

18 g4 e7?

After this White’s advantage is decisive. Also after 18...h6? 19 xe6 d7 20 xg7 wins. Better is 18...d7! 19 xg5 f6 20 xf6 but White is still somewhat better.

19 g3! c8

After 19...d8 20 ad1!.

20 d6 d7

Or alternatively 20...d8 21 xe6!

21 ad1 f6

Moving the knight with 21...c6 22 xg5 xd6 23 f5 e5 24 h6+ wins, while if 21...h6 22 h4 xh4 23 xh4 xd6 24 f5 decides.

22 xb8 axb8

23 h4! xh4

Retreating with 23...h6 is met by 24 f5 c7 25 xh6+ h8

26 d8+!! This lovely shot decides the game instantly.

24 xh4 c4 25 g3 bc8 26 f5 a7 27 d6 4c5 28 h3 1-0

G.Kasparov – A.Yermolinsky

Leningrad 1975

1 e4 c5 2 f3 d6 3 d4 cxd4 4 xd4 f6 5 c3 c6 6 g5 a6 7 d2 e6 8 0-0-0 d7 9 f4

9...b5

This is a rarely played line at the top level. It leads to very exciting games.

10 xc6

Karpov was nicely beaten by Torre with 10 e1. Here is Torre’s masterpiece. 10...xd4 11 xd4 b6 12 d2 e7 13 d3 b4 14 d1 b5 15 f2 h6 16 h4 g5 17 fxg5 hxg5 18 g3 h5 19 g4 xg3 20 hxg3 xh1 21 xh1 c8 22 b1 xd3 23 cxd3

23...d4 24 d1 a5 25 h2 g4 26 xg4 g5 27 c2 xc2 28 xc2 a4 29 a3 b3+ 30 b1 d5 31 exd5 xd5 32 f2 xg2 33 e4 e3 34 c3 c6 35 d4 c4 36 d5 e5 37 h1 d3+ 38 a1 d4 39 h8+ d7 40 a8 f1+ 41 b1 c4 42 b7+

42...d6 43 b8+ xd5 44 d8+ e6 45 e8+ f5 46 d7+ g6 47 g4+ f6 48 c3 f1+ 0-1 Karpov-Torre, Manila 1976.

Back to the game:

10...xc6 11 d3 e7 12 e5 dxe5 13 fxe5 d7 14 xe7 xe7

15 e4

I did not mind sacrificing the e5 pawn, hoping I would get enough play for it in return.

15...c5 16 he1 a7 17 xc6 xc6 18 f2 c5 19 e3 0-0

Black has equalised by moving his king into safety.

20 e4 xe5

See diagram here

21 g3

Karpov also allowed short castling and caught Ljubojevic’s king on the kingside. I hoped my attack would bring Yermolinsky down too.

21...aa8 22 xd7 xe4 23 f3 g6

24 a3

White’s heavy pieces control many files and ranks.

24...ac8 25 b1 e5!

Keeping White busy and holding on to the pawn.

26 g3 e6 27 d2 g6 28 h3 f6 29 h6 g7 30 g5 ce8 31 d6 e4! 32 xa6

Material equilibrium has been restored. White is still not worse, but he must play with care.

32...e5 33 d2 fe8 34 e3 h6 35 g3 h3 36 c6

36 d6 is an alternative.

36...f5 37 c3 d7 38 b3 f5 39 b2??

White has had to play carefully for quite some time, now a losing mistake leads to disaster. The king blocks the queen. After 39 a2 f1 40 c5 d1 41 b2 White is in the game.

39...f1!!

Surprisingly catching the king on the first rank.

40 f6 h1 41 c6 d4+ 42 c3 f8 43 xf7 xf7 44 xb5 xh2 45 b4 xc2+ 46 xc2 f2+ 47 b3 d1+ 48 c4 e2+ 0-1

Karpov sacrificed the b6-pawn in a hedgehog position against Garcia and went on to win.

And below is another example from my annoying predecessor, followed by my game against him where he himself took the b6-pawn.

S.Garcia Martinez – A.Karpov

J.Saren – A.Karpov

A.Karpov – G.Kasparov

Garcia Martinez – Karpov

Madrid 1973

1 e4 c5 2 f3 e6 3 d4 cxd4 4 xd4 a6

Interestingly Karpov stopped playing the Paulsen pretty soon after he became world champion. Avoiding direct confrontation suits his style better.

5 d3 f6 6 0-0 d6 7 c4 c7 8 e2 g6 9 f4 g7 10 h1 0-0 11 c3 b6 12 d2 b7 13 f3

13...c6

A slightly unusual way to develop. Here Black only defends the b6-pawn with his queen. 13...bd7 is usual.

14 ac1 ae8 15 f2

This is a multi-purpose move. White can think about attacking the king with h4 or...

15...g4 16 g1

White keeps an eye on the b6-pawn.

16...f5 17 exf5 gxf5 18 h3?!

White diverts the knight to a better place and weakens b6 as well. He could play 18 d5 f7 19 xb6.

18...f6 19 d5 d8 20 xb6

See diagram here

20...xb6 21 xb6

This is the idea implemented later. Black can give up the b6-pawn in such a situation.

21...e4 22 xe4 fxe4 23 g5 d8

Karpov sacrifices a pawn and can also afford to step back with his knight. Where is it going to? To the edge of the board of course!

24 fe1?!

It is better to defend the f4-pawn by 24 ce1! d5 25 cxd5 exd5 26 d7.

24...d5 25 d7

After 25 cxd5!? exd5 26 d7 h6 27 xf8 xf8 28 b4 xf4! 29 e7 hxg5 30 xd8 f2 31 b3 d4 Black’s central pawns are menacing. The position is hard to evaluate over the board, however White might be better here.

25...h6

26 xe4 dxe4 27 xf8 xf8

Black has two pieces against the rook. The position is roughly equal and the stronger player will outplay his opponent.

By the way, this game misled me in several ways. I lost twice by opting for two pieces against a rook. Once against Kappe and once against Romanishin. Here are those examples:

A.Kappe – G.Kasparov

Cagnes-sur-Mer, 1977

11 dxe4 xd1 12 xf6+ xf6 13 axd1 xg5 14 xb7 e4 15 xa8 xa8

16 h4 e7 17 e5 a6 18 c3 c6 19 f4 f8 20 d2 f6 21 fd1 f7 22 f1 h6 23 e3 c5 24 d8 a6 25 xe8 xe8 26 f3 e6 27 f2 h5 28 c4 d6 29 b1 a5 30 d2 d4 31 f4 e7 32 xd6+ xd6 33 d1 c5 34 e3 e6 35 g4 a4 36 gxh5 gxh5 37 bxa4 xc4 38 c1+ d5 39 a5 b5 40 g1 d4 41 g8 c5 42 h8 c6 43 xh5 xe2 44 h7 xf3 45 a6 b6 46 a7 b7 47 h5 xa7 48 f7 b8 49 xf6 c8 50 e4 e6 51 h6 xa2 52 e5 1-0

O.Romanishin – G.Kasparov

4-teams, Moscow 1981

26 xe7 b6 27 b7 a4 28 b8+ f8 29 c4 g7 30 g2 d6 31 a8 b2 32 a4 xc4 33 a5 e5 34 c8 1-0

Back to the game.

28 b4 c6 29 a4 xa4 30 xe4 c6 31 e2 h5 32 h2 h4 33 g3 hxg3+ 34 xg3 h7 35 c3 h6 36 f1 g8+ 37 h2 f7 38 e5?!

38...xe5 39 fxe5 g7 40 f7 h6 41 h4 h5 42 h3 e8 43 a7 g6 44 xa6 d3 45 f2 xc4 46 a3

46...h6?

Karpov rarely misses a trick in endgames. However 46...xe5 was winning after 47 a5 d5.

47 g3 a8 48 f7 a1 49 h7 h1+ 50 g2 xh4 51 g1

51...e2 52 f2 g4 53 b5 f5 54 h8 b4 55 g1 b2+ 56 f3 b3+ 57 f2 e4 58 g3 b2+ 59 g1 f5 60 g2 xg2+ 61 xg2e4+ 62 g3 g6 63 b6 d5 64 b8 f5 65 b7 xe5

If 65...f4+ 66 h4 xe5 67 g4 e3 68 h5 holds.

66 g4?

After 66 h8!! White contrives to engineer a miraculous escape. 66...f4+ 67 g4 xb7 68 h5+!!

Recovering a piece, Without this move White would lose. 68...e4 69 b5! and White wins a bishop. Luckily the position is drawish. Interestingly, it would take more time to win if Black had a knight on e6 instead of the pawn.

On the other hand in the next position against Karpov from Tilburg 1991 I did manage to salvage a draw with rook versus two knights and a bishop. People drew the conclusion from my body language that I considered my position lost at adjournment. My reaction to this? No comment! Or should I say has any of my Predecessors had such an endgame?

A.Karpov – G.Kasparov

Tilburg 1991

111 g6+ g8 112 e7+ h8 113 g5 a6+ 114 f7 f6+! ½-½ Capturing the rook results in stalemate.

Back to the main game:

66...e3 67 g3 g5 68 f2 e7 0-1

Karpov sacrificed the b6-pawn not only in this game but also in an earlier one where the circumstances were very similar.

J.Saren – A.Karpov

Skopje Olympiad 1972

1 e4 c5 2 f3 e6 3 d4 cxd4 4 xd4 c6 5 b5 d6 6 c4 f6 7 1c3 a6 8 a3 e7 9 e2 0-0 10 0-0 b6 11 e3 b7 12 f3 b8 13 e1 d7 14 f2 c5 15 fd1 f5 16 exf5 xf5 17 c2 h4 18 g3 e7 19 b4 d7 20 f4

20...f8 21 b5 axb5 22 cxb5 a5 23 xb6 xb6 24 xb6 d8 25 a7 c8 26 e3 e5 27 g4 c4 28 d3 b6+ 29 f1 xf4+ 30 gxf4 xf4+ 0-1

I tucked this idea away safely and prepared a novelty for my first World Championship match. I employed it when the score was 0:0. Let’s see how Karpov’s idea worked against him.

A.Karpov – G.Kasparov

Game 3, World Championship, Moscow 1984

1 e4 c5 2 f3 e6 3 d4 cxd4 4 xd4 c6 5 b5 d6 6 c4 f6 7 1c3 a6 8 a3 e7 9 e2 0-0 10 0-0 b6 11 e3 b7 12 b3 a5

This was my prepared novelty – you can guess where it came from.

13 xb6

See diagram here

Black’s pawns have not advanced as far as in the Garcia-Karpov game, but I did not have to sacrifice a pawn.

13...xe4 14 xe4 xe4 15 xd8 xd8 16 ad1 d5?!

Maybe defending the pawn was better, but that would be slightly passive. An interesting psychological echo is that 16 years later I also gave a free pawn to my opponent in the World Championship final when neither player had yet scored a victory.

17 f3 f5 18 cxd5

At the time, commentators thought 18 g4?! g6 19 cxd5 exd5 20 xd5? was a losing move, but after 20...e8 21 fd1! White is still a bit better.

18...exd5 19 xd5 e6

If 19...e8 20 f2 e6 21 d6.

20 d6!? xa2?!

After 20...e7 21 xa6 xa6 (21...xa3? 22 bxa3 c4 23 xe6 wins.) 22 xa6 b8 23 d4 c6 24 c3 c5+ 25 h1 b4 it would be hard to progress with White.

21 xa6 b8 22 c5 e8 23 b5! e6

Other moves were no better.

If 23...e5?! 24 d6 exb5 25 xb5 xb5 26 a8 b7 27 c7 wins. If 23...xb5 24 xb5 c4 25 d6!? or 25 d1 xb5 26 xd8 xd8 27 xa5.

24 b4 b7

After 24...xa6 25 xa6 b3 26 e1!?

25 f2 e7 26 c2 d5 27 d1 b3 28 d7! d8

If 28...xc2 29 xe6 fxe6 30 xe7 d6 31 d7 xb4 32 c5 b1+ 33 f2 wins as Taimanov pointed out.

29 xe6 xd7 30 e1! c7 31 b6 1-0

Karpov won an opposite coloured bishop endgame where he had a strong light-squared bishop and a rook and won despite being a pawn down. Furthermore, to make it even more misleading, he beat a very fine player – Beliavsky.

A.Beliavsky – A.Karpov

Remembering this particular game well, I twice opted for such positions against Kramnik. In one of them (below, second) I was a pawn up, not down, and my opponent had no passed a-pawn and I only drew.

But this was not all in the match. In the next example (below, first), I did not have a strong bishop, but the similarity is still there as my opponent was a pawn up and possessed a passed a-pawn.

Out of these two games I totalled a miserable half a point whereas Karpov scored twice as much as that from a single game. To make matters worse, this happened to me during the World Championship match against Kramnik.

V.Kramnik – G.Kasparov

V.Kramnik – G.Kasparov

A.Beliavsky – A.Karpov

USSR Championship, Moscow 1973

1 d4 f6 2 c4 e6 3 c3 b4 4 e3 c5 5 d3 0-0 6 f3 d5 7 0-0 dxc4 8 xc4 cxd4 9 exd4 b6

The Karpov line brought me my second loss in the Kramnik match, from there on it was hard to stage a comeback.

10 g5 b7 11 e2 bd7 12 ac1 c8 13 e5 c7 14 b5 d6 15 fd1 xc3 16 bxc3 d5 17 f4 d6

18 c4

White’s centre is huge. Black should undermine that zone as the more space White has the quicker he will suffocate his opponent.

18...c7 19 a4 a6 20 c2 g6 21 e1 g7 22 a4 h6 23 h4 b5

At a cost of a pawn Karpov gets rid of the nagging bind.

24 cxb5 d6 25 bxa6 xa6 26 d5! xc1 27 xc1 c8

28 xd7?

Better was 28 xf7! xf7 (28...xf7 29 dxe6 e7 30 xc8 wins) 29 dxe6+ xe6 30 b3 d5 31 xe6+ xe6 32 c6+!; 28 xd7 xd7 29 c3+ h7 30 dxe6 fxe6 31 g3. In both cases White’s advantage is sufficient to sail home with the full point.

28...xd7 29 dxe6 xe6 30 c4 a6 31 xe6 fxe6

32 g3?

Placing the bishop on a passive square. 32 g3 was a better way to simplify as the bishop is then far more active: 32...c8 33 d1 xc4 34 xd7+ f8 35 a7 d5 36 a4.

32...c8 33 d1 xc4 34 xd7+ f6

See diagram here

White has an extra pawn but no longer an advantage. But Beliavsky is a great fighter and still plays for a win.

35 a3

After 35 d2 a8=.

35...d5

36 h3?

In this case, placing the pawn on the colour of his opponent’s bishop means it’s going to fall in the long run.

White can force matters and move closer to a draw by 36 h4+ f5 37 f7+ e4 (37...g4? 38 e1 and White can play for a win again.) 38 f6 (38 h3 Now he makes room for the king. 38...c1+ 39 h2 e3 40 f6 e4 41 f5 gxf5 42 xe6 c2 43 h1 f4 44 e8 and White holds.) 38...c1+ 39 f2 c2+ 40 g3 (40 g1 e3) 40...d4 41 g4 e4 42 g3. Black’s advantage is no more than symbolic.

36...c1+ 37 f2 c2+ 38 e3 c3+

Suddenly Karpov can start to squeeze.

39 f2 xa3 40 h4+ g5 41 fxg5+ hxg5 42 g3 a2+ 43 e3

43...xg2

From being a pawn down, Karpov reaches an endgame a pawn up!

44 c7 a2 45 h7

45 d6 avoids the immediate loss of more material. 45...b2 (After 45...a4! 46 f2 it is hard to tell if Black can win.) 46 d4 b3? (This direct attempt to win fails. Black can maintain his edge by 46...e2.) 47 e5+ g6 48 g7+ h6 49 g8 and White holds.

45...a8 46 f2 g6 47 d7 a3 48 d8 f3+ 49 g1

49...xh3

Karpov once held Torre in a single rook and opposite colour bishop ending but there Torre had h- and g-pawns. Karpov’s position must have been lost, but here he wins even though it takes time.

50 b8 c3 51 d6 c2 52 f8 c6 53 e5 g4 54 f6+ g5 55 f8 f3 56 f4+ g6 57 f2 c2+

In the old days when there were adjournments the players sealed at move 56. Here Furman and the other helpers found a way to win.

58 g3 g2+ 59 h4 e2 60 g3 e5

Karpov wins by pushing the e-pawn without using his king.

61 b8 e4 62 b5 e3 63 b6+ f7 64 g5 d3 65 f5 e3 66 d6 b3 67 d7+ e8 68 e6 e2 69 e7+ f8 70 f6 d5 71 h4 f3+ 72 g6 f7+ 0-1

V.Kramnik – G.Kasparov

Game 8, World Championship, London 2000

1 d4 f6 2 c4 e6 3 c3 b4 4 c2 0-0 5 a3 xc3+ 6 xc3 b6 7 g5b7 8 f3 h6 9 h4 d5 10 e3 bd7 11 cxd5 xd5 12 xd8 xc3 13 h4 d5 14 f2 c5 15 b5 fd8 16 e4

16...c7!!

At the time this was a very important novelty. We had already played a few games in which I accepted a weakness or a material deficit for better development.

17 xd7 xd7 18 dxc5 f5! 19 cxb6 axb6 20 e2

Giving back the pawn at once with 20 d1!? would lead to an equal game. For example: 20...xd1+ 21 xd1 fxe4 22 fxe4 xe4 23 f3.

20...fxe4 21 fxe4 xe4

22 0-0?

After 22 c3 xg2 23 g1 f3 24 g3 d3 25 xb6 d5 26 xd5 exd5 we could say it’s a balanced yet fighting game.

22...d2 23 c3 b7

The g2-pawn is weak and the bishop can target it, just as in the Karpov game.

24 b4 f8 25 a2 xa2 26 xa2 d5 27 d4 a8

28 c3

After 28 f3 g5! (28...xb4? 29 g3) 29 c3 f4 Black has the upper hand. If 28 b2 e3 29 c1 d8 (29...d5 30 c3 c4 31