Frankfurt Chess Classic 2000: Giants and Masters final day by John Henderson

FULL BLACK JACKET

I’VE always subscribed to the Mark Twain view that “Golf is a good walk ruined.” However, one thing the game from the Royal & Ancient does have going for it is its quaint traditions and customs.  One such being the winner of the US Masters – this year’s winner Tiger Woods - being presented with the coveted “Green Jacket” during the prize giving ceremony – a wonderful piece of theatre.

Anand in his winners jacket and the amazing Hans-Walter Schmitt. How will Hans-Walter top this years event?

Likewise in the $420,000 Frankfurt Chess Classic, their enthusiastic and imaginative organiser, Hans-Walter Schmitt, came up with a similar bit of theatre for the winner of the Giants.  Unlike other tournaments with no play-offs where you can share first prize, in Frankfurt there’s only one winner as unofficial rapid play champion, who receives the coveted “black jacket” (not to mention the latest, snazzy Fujitsu Siemens Laptop and of course prize money!) during the prize giving ceremony.

Prizegiving

With two others already in the wardrobe after wins in 1997 and 1998, our very own “Tiger from Madras”, Vishy Anand, could be forgiven for thinking of setting-up a chess version of Moss Bros. as he completed a devastating performance to win the Fujitsu Siemens Giants with a round to spare.

“To win with all the top players here and win so easily – absolutely fantastic,” said a jubilant Anand during the final press conference.  “I have to admit I have a real fondness for this tournament.”  After being dethroned by Kasparov last year, Anand admitted, “...this was the title he coveted most.” 

After a relatively bad year for the player who dominated the game in 1998, it could be that this memorable tournament win could just be the spur to get him back on the winning ways in the classical game – like Dortmund, which starts in 10 days time...

Anand,V (2769) - Shirov,A (2751) [C11]

1 e4 e6 2 d4 d5 3 Nc3 Nf6 4 e5 Nfd7 5 Nce2 c5 6 c3 Nc6 7 f4 Qb6 8 Nf3 Be7 9 a3 0–0 10 h4!?

Unbelievably, after years of this position being known to tournament praxis, Vishy's 10 h4 has never been played before! 10 ..f6 11 Rh3 Na5 The crucial line surely has to be 11 ..fxe5 12 fxe5 Rf7 13 Nf4 Nf8 12 b4! cxb4 13 axb4 Nc4 14 Ng3 a5 15 Bd3! Eying-up the Greek Gift with Bxh7+ and Ng5+ 15 ..f5 16 Ng5 Rd8 16 ..h6?! 17 Bxc4! dxc4 18 Rxa5 Rxa5 19 bxa5 Qxa5 20 Nxe6 Rf7 21 Nxf5! Rxf5 22 Nxg7 Nxe5! (22 ..Kxg7 23 Qg4+) 23 Nxf5 Bxf5 24 dxe5 Bxh3 25 gxh3 Qxc3+ 26 Ke2 b5 27 Be3 b4 28 Qb1! and White's winning 17 Qh5 Bxg5 18 Qxg5! Much better than the more obvious hxg5, which allows Black to dig in with ..Nf8.  18 ..Rf8 19 Nh5 Rf7 20 Rg3 g6 21 Bxc4 dxc4 22 b5 22 Be3! Qc7 23 d5 Nxe5 24 fxe5 Qxe5 25 Kf2 exd5 26 Bd4 22 ..Qxb5 23 Ba3 Also 23 Qd8+! Nf8 (23 ..Rf8 24 Qe7 Rf7 25 Qe8+ Rf8 26 Rxg6+! hxg6 27 Qxg6+ Kh8 28 Qg7#) 24 Nf6+ Kg7 25 Ba3 a4 26 h5! 23 ..b6 24 Qh6 Bb7 25 Rxg6+! hxg6 26 Qxg6+ Kh8 27 Qxf7 Rg8 28 Bf8 1–0

And, in keeping with the golfing analogies, the penultimate round encounter between Garry Kasparov and Vladmir Kramnik, for my money, was the best game of the tournament that should whet your appetite for their forthcoming title match this October in London.

So where’s the golfing analogy, then, I hear you ask?  Well I have it on very good authority that both the players and the organizers for the forthcoming title match (opening ceremony 6 October, first game on the 8^th) have agreed to spice the world championship up a little by taking a leaf out of the golf world by playing “skins”.  Basically, $400,000 will be held over from the prize fund with a fee of $25,000 available for each of the 16 games.  In the event of a draw, the amount will rollover until someone eventually wins a game!  Garry wanted this system for his last title defence in 1995 against Vishy Anand in New York. Ironically, if it were in use, Vishy, who of course lost the match, would have walked off with more money than Gazza! If you remember rightly, that match started off with eight draws and then Anand won game nine, which would have netted him a cool $250,000! 

Kramnik and Kasparov, they'll meet next in London

The way these two draw against each other, it’ll put more pressure on the players as the pot mounts up.  Like in Linares though, this was a very exciting draw with glorious chances missed by both sides. I wonder if the games in London this October will be anything like this?

Kasparov,G (2851) - Kramnik,V (2758) [B33]

1 e4 c5 2 Nf3 Nc6 3 d4 cxd4 4 Nxd4 Nf6 5 Nc3 e5 6 Ndb5 d6 7 Bg5 a6 8 Na3 b5 9 Nd5 Be7 10 Bxf6 Bxf6 11 c3 Bg5 12 Nc2 Rb8 By playing this move-order Black tries to avoid the possibility of 13 h4!? that can be played against 11 ..0–0 and 12 ..Rb8. 13 a3 13 a4 is the critical test of this line.  The move played, is an original idea from Lanka. 13 ..a5 14 Bd3 14 h4!? 14 ..Ne7 14 ..0–0 15 Qe2 Na7 16 h4! 15 Nxe7 Qxe7 16 Qe2 0–0 17 0–0 Bd7 18 b4 axb4 19 Nxb4! Giving the knight good access squares c6,d5 and a6. 19 ..Rfc8 20 c4 bxc4 21 Bxc4 Be6 22 Bd5 Qd7 23 Qa6 Rc3 24 Rfd1 Bg4 25 Rdb1 Rbc8 26 a4 h5 27 a5 Bh4 28 Qb7 R3c7 29 a6! Bh3!

Taking the queen is too dangerous: 29 ..Rxb7 30 axb7 Rf8 31 Nc6 Kh7 32 b8Q Rxb8 33 Rxb8 Bh3 34 f3 30 gxh3?! A difficult move for Garry to make at a crucial stage of the game.  At first, it seems that 30 f3! is good for White.  However... 30 f3 Bg5 31 Qb6 (31 Kh1 Bd2!) 31 ..Rc5! 32 a7 Be3+ 33 Kh1 Bxg2+! 34 Kxg2 Rc2+ 35 Nxc2 (35 Kh1 Qh3) 35 ..Rxc2+ 36 Kh1 Qh3 forces mate. Perhaps the best reply is simply 30 g3, a move that, according to GM Jon Speelman, changes the pattern of the game: 30 g3 Qg4 31 Nd3 Bxg3 (31 ..Qe2 32 Qb3 Rc2 33 Bxf7+ Kh8 34 Be6! Bxe6 35 Qxe6 Qxd3 36 a7 Qd4 37 Qf5 wins) 32 hxg3 h4 33 Rc1 Qf3 (33 ..hxg3 34 Rxc7 gxf2+ 35 Kxf2 Qg2+ 36 Ke1) 34 Qxc8+! Rxc8 35 Rxc8+ Kh7 36 Ne1 Qe2 37 Rc2 Qf1+ 38 Kh2 hxg3+ 39 fxg3 and Black has nothing. 30 ..Qxh3 31 Qb6 Bg5

During the press conference at the end of the tournament, there was a lot of discussion between Anand, Kasparov and Kramnik over this part of the game.  Vishy asked Kramnik whether he'd considered the possibility of 31 ..Qg4+ first and then  ..Rc5?  Both Garry and Vladimir seemed to conclude that it would end in a draw.  However, I wonder if Vishy was right... 31 ..Qg4+ 32 Kf1 (32 Kh1 Qf3+ 33 Kg1 Rc5 34 Nd3 Qxd3) 32 ..Rc5! A) 33 Qa7 Qh3+ 34 Kg1 (34 Ke2 Rc2+ 35 Nxc2 Rxc2+ 36 Ke1 Rxf2!! 37 Qxf2 Qe3+ 38 Kd1 Bxf2 39 Rb8+ Kh7 40 Ra2 Qd3+) 34 ..Bxf2+ 35 Kxf2 Rc2+ 36 Nxc2 Rxc2+ 37 Ke1 Qc3+ 38 Kf1 Qf3+ 39 Kg1 Qg2#; B) 33 a7 Qf3 34 Ra2 Rc1+ 35 Rxc1 Rxc1#; C) 33 Re1 Qh3+ 34 Kg1 Bxf2+ 35 Kxf2 Rc2+ 36 Nxc2 Rxc2+ 37 Re2 Qxh2+; D) 33 Bxf7+ Kxf7 34 Qxd6 Qh3+ 35 Ke2 Rc3 36 Qd5+ Kf8 37 Qd6+ Be7 38 Qxe5 Bxb4 39 Qf5+ Qxf5 40 exf5; E) 33 Nd3 Qf3; F) 33 Qxd6 Qh3+ 34 Kg1 Bxf2+ 35 Kxf2 Rc2+! 36 Nxc2 Rxc2+ 37 Ke1 Qe3+. It could be that I'm missing something here.  If so, I'd be interested in your opinion - especially if you happen to go under the name of Anand, Kramnik or Kasparov! 32 Nd3 Blockading the rooks with 32 Nc6 fails:  32 Nc6 Bf4 33 f3 Bxh2+! 34 Kf2 Bg3+ 35 Ke3 (35 Kg1 Qh2+ 36 Kf1 Qh1+ 37 Ke2 Qg2+ 38 Kd3 Bf2!) 35 ..Qg2 36 Kd3 Bf2 37 Qb3 Qxf3+ 32 ..Qg4+ 33 Kf1 Qh3+ 34 Kg1 Qg4+ 35 Kf1 Qh3+ ½–½

Leko,P (2725) - Morozevich,A (2748) [C10]

1 e4 e6 2 d4 d5 3 Nc3 Nc6!? A seldom-played sideline of the French, this move is a favourite of the Latvian GM, Eduardas Rozentalis. 4 Nf3 Nf6 5 Bg5 Be7 6 e5 Ne4! 7 Bxe7 Qxe7 8 a3 Bd7 9 Bd3 Ng5 10 Be2 Nxf3+ 11 Bxf3 f6 12 exf6 Qxf6 13 Ne2 0–0–0 14 0–0 h5 15 c3 g5

Morozevich's intentions are clear enough! 16 Nc1 g4 17 Be2 e5 18 Nb3 Kb8 19 Bb5 e4 20 Nc5 Bc8 21 Qa4 Rd6 22 Rae1 h4 23 Re3 Rhd8 24 Bxc6 Rxc6 25 b4 Qg5 25 ..h3! 26 g3 Rf8 looked stronger. 26 Rfe1 Rh6 27 c4 g3 28 cxd5 28 fxg3 hxg3 29 h3 Qf6 30 Qc2 b6 31 Na4 dxc4 28 ..gxh2+ 29 Kxh2 Rg8 30 Rg1 Qg3+!! 31 Kh1 Qxf2 32 Rc3 h3 33 g3 h2 34 Rgc1 Rxg3 34 ..Bh3! also forces a mate.  35 Rxg3 Qxg3 36 Rf1 Rg6 37 Nd7+ Ka8 0–1

Top 3 finishers

Kasparov thus lost his superb run of tournament victories (not including the online events), which stretched back as far as June 1998.  “Yesterday against Leko I collapsed,” said Kasparov at the final press conference, who also admitted that he had to seek medical attention for his fever after his temperature rose to 102 degrees.  Seeing Anand walk away with a relatively comfortable quick win against Morozevich, Kasparov, needing a win against Leko to stay with Vishy, attributed this as a major contribution to his first defeat to Leko as he sought in vain a win. “I tried to think it all out, but in the end I suddenly realized all I had done was just lost all my time.”

In this enthralling last round encounter with the exciting young Alexander Morozevich, Gazza again nearly lost on time – especially after he used a large percentage of it in the opening, 1 Nc3!

Morozevich,A (2748) - Kasparov,G (2851) [A00]

1 Nc3!

Dutch IM, Dirk Daniel van Geet and the opening to which he gave his name.

A first in elite chess! [Actually, Ivanchuk played this against Anand in the blindfold part of the Amber tournament of 1998] As Morozevich played this move, Garry just shook his head and you could almost hear him saying: "No respect.  Just no respect." However, in this form of rapidchess, it's worthy of a punt, as Garry’s never faced this move - the van Geet Opening - before.  It's named after the Dutch IM, Dirk Daniel van Geet, who got fed-up keeping up with opening theory (and this was well before ChessBase!) that he decided to invent his own opening.  One of its advantages, as Garry conceded after the game, is that it has so many different transpositional possibilities. 1 ..c5 As pointed out by Kasparov after the game, "It's a clever choice as I cannot play 1 ..d5 as Alexander can play 2 d4 with a reversed Chigorin his favourite - and extra move!" 2 d4 cxd4 3 Qxd4 Nc6 4 Qh4 Nf6 5 Nf3 Funnily enough, the normally reliable electronic boards that displayed the board position and moves throughout the playing venue failed at the final round.  When they finally came back on some 5 minutes later to display this position, most thought that Kasparov and Morozevich's board still had a technical hitch! 5 ..d5 6 Bg5 Qa5 7 0–0–0 Be6 8 Bd2 g6 9 e4 d4 10 e5 Ng4 11 Nxd4 Nxd4 12 h3 Kasparov had used almost 15 minutes to reach this position compared to Alexander's 4 minutes.  His second and manager, the Ireland-based Russian GM, Alexander Baburin, shocked everyone by commenting in the VIP room "we were still in Alexander's opening preparation!" 12 ..Bg7 13 hxg4 Bxe5 14 a3 Rc8 14 ..0–0–0!? may have been best: 15 Bd3 Nb3+ 16 cxb3 Rxd3 with advantage. 15 Bd3 Nb3+ 16 cxb3 Bxc3 17 Bxc3 Rxc3+ 18 Kb1??

Playing on Kasparov's big time problem by now, Morozevich, unwisely, decides to gamble all by turning down the forced draw with 18 bxc3! Qxc3+ 19 Bc2 Bxb3 20 Rd2 Qa1+ 21 Bb1 Qc3+ 22 Bc2 Qa1+ 18 ..Rxb3 19 Qh2 Qc3! 20 Qb8+ Bc8 21 Rd2! 0–0! 22 Qh2 h5 23 Rhd1 Bxg4 24 f3 Be6 25 g4 hxg4 26 fxg4 Bxg4 By now Garry was down to under two minutes - Morozevich having about 10 minutes. 27 Rg1 Rxb2+!! 28 Rxb2 Qxd3+ 29 Qc2 29 Ka1 Qxa3+ 30 Ra2 Qe3 31 Rh1 Qc3+ 32 Rb2 Bh5 29 ..Qd7 29 ..Qd4! 30 Qf2 Bf5+ 31 Ka1 Qxf2 32 Rxf2 Be6 and Black easily wins. 30 Qd2 Qxd2 31 Rxd2 Bf3 32 Kb2 Bc6 33 Kc3 Kg7 With just 90 seconds left on his clock, Kasparov now shows the correct technique to force victory. 34 Kb4 e5 35 a4 a6 36 a5 e4 37 Kc5 Re8 38 Re1 Re6 39 Kd4 f5 40 Rh2 Kf6 41 Rh8 Rd6+ 42 Kc5 Rd5+ 43 Kb6 Rb5+ 44 Kc7 Rxa5 0–1