John Henderson Linares Reports

Round 8 4th March 2001

PAELLA IN THE SKY

Angel is the head chef at the Himilce, Juan is the manager.

THERE’S one focal point in Linares for all the players, journalists and guests: the restaurant at the Hotel Anibal, the Himilce.

From breakfast, lunch and through to the evening meal, the Himilce is the place you’ll find just about everyone involved in the Linares tournament – It serves the best food in Linares. In it, there’s an odd house rule that determines that whichever table the players in the tournament decide to use on the first day, then that’s the table they’ll use throughout their stay – no exceptions. Anyone wandering into the restaurant and deciding to sit at one of the players tables will politely be asked by the staff to go to another table as that one is “reserved”.

Of course, the only exception to this rule is numero uno Garry Kasparov. He doesn’t need to decide which table to select on that first day. Since first playing in the tournament in 1990, he’s sat at the same, “lucky” table – when Garry plays, the table next to the main kitchen door is Kasparov’s for the duration.

Our main source of entertainment in the restaurant is invariable having a laugh over the menu, some of the items on it we have been known to give annual awards for the title of “Most Entertaining Food Product”. For the benefit of the players and others associated with the tournament, someone in the kitchen with some sort of grasp of English (No. Not Manuel from Barcelona) every year cooks up translations which unfortunately do not make the menu any more accessible, but does help to keep us in good spirits. Classics from the past have included “Roman Cork Float” and “Cook Dish with Tur.” This year we weren’t disappointed: “Vgetables”, “Battered Hake” and, easily winning the competition this year, the “Selfish Crocktail”.

All very entertaining stuff. But some of the recent food scares across Europe have concentrated the mind of some of the players and journalist here. Mad Cows and Foot-and-Mouth Disease are causing widespread scares across Spain. To the annoyance of Leontxo Garcia who seems to be having a T-bone steak each evening, next week sees the ban of beef on the bone in Spain. The scare has even hit home to Garry Kasparov. Rather than being thrown his usual raw steak before a game, he’s now a bit more cautious in his eating habits and has tended to dine on a fish before his game, and has even ventured to try ostrich steak. Thankfully, he’s not tried the Spanish delicacy of suckling pig. This dish is always proudly displayed in the open in the Himilce - not far from his table.

Yesterday I decided to venture down to the market in Linares to see for myself what sort of food the Spanish people like. Yes, it seems suckling pig is the big favourite – despite how its treated before going on the plate! At the market there’s scores of butcher’s stalls displaying the wee pink chaps hanging on hooks along with tray after tray of bits of animal, all of which seem to feature orifices. The Linares ladies were buying these orifices with great gusto but it can put off the more squeamish. Particularly off-putting was the counter featuring a large display of animal backsides. The best that can be said for this Spanish delicacy is that they are well washed and it is quite entertaining to see how the shop assistant picks them up. Yes. Just insert a finger and lift. I can’t see this dish catching on in Scotland where I come from. ‘I’ve got a nice pig’s arse for your tea tonight, dear.’

It’s almost enough to make you turn vegetarian like Peter Leko.

As I said earlier, everyone has a reserved table at the Himilce; Garry Kasparov’s having the same table each year. Only one person has been mad enough to challenged his right to this table – Vassily Ivanchuk!

In 1999 big Chucky came walking into the restaurant and, sidestepping his own table, decided to “try out” Garry’s table and in particular his favourite chair. How we all laughed. How all the staff laughed at that wag Ivanchuk. We thought it was a bit like Goldilocks and the Three Bears - we pictured Kasparov coming in later and saying: “Whose been sitting in my chair?”. But the laughing soon stopped when they realised that big Chucky was serious - and he was staying put! Could they move him? No they couldn’t. A panic went round the Himilce as they realised Chucky was not for moving – not even for the manager, Juan: “Ivanchuk, this is Kasparov’s table!” But his words had little effect. There we’re frantic scenes as they tried to negotiate with him to move before Kasparov arrived. Then the inevitable happened.

On cue walked in Klara Kasparova. She had barely put her foot in the restaurant before putting her hand over her eyes in shock. Immediately she walked up to Chucky as we all held our breath (a threatening sight in full war cry is Mama Kasparova) in fear for what she would do to him. To our amassment he just looked up to her and explained his reasons for being there – he had had no luck in the tournament so far, perhaps if he sat in Garry’s chair his luck would rub off on him. Smiling, she put her hand on his shoulder and whispered something in his ear before moving to another table.

As Kasparov and his faithful second Yuri Dokhoian walked in, his mother quickly explained the situation to her son. Kasparov just laughed it all off with a few kind words across the restaurant to Chucky. Funnily enough, the luck did rub off on Chucky. The next day he played one of the best games of the tournament to record his first win!

This year there’s no such chance of a similar thing happening with Alexei Shirov – the only way he’s going to get to the Kasparov table is by being served on a platter with an apple in his mouth! The animosity is still there for all to see. Yet again they refused to shake hands before the game, and again Shirov was powerless at the board as he lost heavily to Kasparov – who now has a score of +11 against him. Mmmmm, I see Shirov’s on the menu again!

Kasparov,G (2849) - Shirov,A (2718) [C80]

1 e4 e5 2 Nf3 Nc6 3 Bb5 a6 4 Ba4 Nf6 5 0–0 Nxe4 6 d4 b5 7 Bb3 d5 8 dxe5 Be6 9 Nbd2 [A move that takes all the fun out of the Spanish Open. It's played mainly to avoid one particular line: The Dilworth Attack, named after the British amateur player and Railway clerk, Vernon Dilworth. In correspondence play between 1939-41, Vernon revived an old line of Jan Kleczynski and subsequently published his analysis in B.H. Wood's British magazine, Chess. A few months after it had appeared in Chess, it caught the eye of Mikhail Botvinnik, who decided to use it as a surprise weapon against Vassily Smyslov. This led to Vernon becoming famous overnight as it was named after him in recognition of all the pioneering work he had done on the tricky variation. To this day, the main line has never been refuted, with the "Dilworth Ending" still proving to be difficult for White in praxis: 9 c3 Bc5 10 Nbd2 0–0 11 Bc2 Nxf2 12 Rxf2 f6 13 exf6 Bxf2+ 14 Kxf2 Qxf6 15 Nf1 Ne5 16 Be3 Rae8 17 Kg1 Nxf3+ 18 Qxf3 Qxf3 19 gxf3 Rxf3 20 Bd4 Bh3 21 Ng3 g6 22 Rd1 c6 23 Bd3 Kf7 24 Bf1 Bxf1 25 Rxf1 Rxf1+ 26 Kxf1 a5 27 Ne2 Ke6 28 Bc5 Kd7 29 Kf2 Re4 30 Nd4 Rf4+ 31 Kg2 Rg4+ 32 Kf3 Rg1 33 Nxc6 Rf1+ 34 Ke2 Kxc6 35 Kxf1 Kxc5 36 Ke2 d4 37 Kd3 dxc3 38 Kxc3 Kd5 39 Kd3 g5 40 Ke3 h5 0–1 Sriram,J-Sharma,D/Calcutta 1999/CBM 69 ext] 9 ..Nc5 10 c3 d4 11 Ng5

Another line with some "history". This move was seen after Karpov used it against Korchnoi in their 1978 title match in Baguio City. The research work on the line had been done by Geller & Tal. The story doesn't end there. Kasparov used the same line against Vishy Anand in their 1995 title match in New York. However, there was a speculative line by Tal (14 Bc2!!) that remained unpublished - but was known by Kasparov, who'd refined all the analysis by computer! 11 ..Qxg5 [11 ..dxc3 12 Nxe6 fxe6 13 bxc3 Qd3 14 Bc2!! (14 Nf3 Qxd1 15 Bxd1 Be7 16 Be3 Nd3 17 Bb3 Kf7 18 Rad1 Ndxe5 19 Nxe5+ Nxe5 20 Bf4 Nc4 21 Bxc4 bxc4 22 Rd4 Bd6 23 Be3 Rhb8 24 Rxc4 Rb2 25 a4 Ra2 26 g3 Rb8 27 Rd1 Rbb2 28 Rdd4 Rb1+ 29 Kg2 Rba1 30 Rh4 h6 31 Bc5 e5 32 Ba7 Ke6 33 Rcg4 Be7 34 Rh5 Bf6 35 Rc4 Kd7 36 Bb8 c6 37 Re4 Rxa4 38 c4 Ra5 39 Bxe5 Bxe5 40 Rhxe5 Rxe5 41 Rxe5 Ra4 42 Re4 Ra5 43 h4 h5 44 Rf4 ½–½ Karpov,A-Kortschnoj,V/Baguio City 1978/MainBase (44). ) 14 ..Qxc3 15 Nb3 Nxb3 16 Bxb3 Qxa1 17 Qh5+ g6 18 Qf3 Nd8 19 Rd1 Rb8 20 Qd3 Be7 21 Qd7+ Kf7 22 Bg5 Qxd1+ 23 Bxd1 Re8 24 Bg4 h5 25 Bh3 1–0 Kasparov,G-Anand,V/New York 1995/CBM 49 (25). ] 12 Qf3 0–0–0 [12 ..Bd7 13 Bxf7+ Ke7 14 Bd5 Nxe5 15 Qe2 (15 Re1 Be6 16 Rxe5 Qxe5 17 Bxa8 dxc3 18 bxc3 Kd8=) 15 ..d3 is unclear] 13 Bxe6+ fxe6 14 Qxc6 Qxe5 15 b4 Qd5 16 Qxd5 exd5 17 bxc5 dxc3 18 Nb3 d4 19 Ba3 g6 [19 ..c2? 20 Bb4 g6 21 a4 bxa4 22 Rxa4 Bg7 23 Rxa6+- Cunningham,R-Vucic,M/Philadelphia/1992] 20 Bb4 Bg7 21 a4 [21 Rad1 d3 22 Nc1 d2 23 Ne2 Rd3 24 Nf4 Rhd8 25 Nxd3 Rxd3 26 c6 g5!] 21 ..Kd7 22 axb5 axb5

Up to now, we've basically been following Shirov-Timman from Wijk aan Zee 1996, where the Black king came up the board to aid the pawns. However, this was done by Shirov checking the king in the general direction of where it wanted to go - and, despite the fact that Shirov won, he was under a bit of pressure until Jan played some inaccurate moves. Since Shirov has never played the Spanish Open before, this couldn't have been in the Kasparov pre-game preparation. 23 Rfd1N [23 Rad1 Ke6 24 Rfe1+ (24 Rd3 Kd5! 25 Bxc3 Kc4 26 Rfd1 dxc3!! 27 Na5+ Kxc5 (27 ..Kb4 28 Nc6+ winning) 28 Nb7+ Kc4 29 Na5+ (29 Rxd8 Rxd8 30 Nxd8 Bh6! wins) 29 ..Kc5=) 24 ..Kd5 25 Bxc3 Kc4 26 Ba5 Kxb3 27 Rb1+ Kc4 28 Rec1+ Kd5 29 c6 Kd6 30 Rxb5 Rb8 31 Bb4+ Ke6 32 Re1+ Kf6 33 Be7+ Kf7 34 Rd5 Rhc8 35 Rd7 Kg8 36 g3 Rb6 37 Rc1 Rb3 38 Bc5 d3 39 Rd1 Rcb8 40 Kg2 Bf8 41 Bxf8 Rxf8 42 R1xd3 Rxd3 43 Rxd3 Rf7 44 f4 Re7 45 g4 Re6 46 Rd8+ Kf7 47 Rd7+ Re7 48 Rxe7+ Kxe7 49 g5 1–0 Shirov,A-Timman,J/Wijk aan Zee 1996/CBM 51] 23 ..Ke6 24 Rac1 [24 Rd3 leads to the same note as above.] 24 ..Rhe8 25 Kf1 Kf5 26 c6?! [Not the best. Instead, Kasparov could have enjoyed a comfortable advantage with: 26 Ba5!? Be5 (26 ..Ra8 27 Bxc7 Ra4 28 Bd6±; 26 ..Re7? 27 Rxc3! dxc3 28 Rxd8 Re4 29 c6 Rc4 30 Rd5+ Ke6 31 Rxb5 c2 32 Bd2!+-; 26 ..b4 27 Bxc7 Rd5 28 Rd3 Rc8 29 Bd6±) 27 Bxc7! Bxc7 28 Nxd4+ Kf6 (28 ..Ke4?? 29 Rxc3 wins) 29 Rxc3 (29 Nxb5?? Rxd1+ 30 Rxd1 c2 31 Rc1 Ba5! 32 Na3 Bd2 winning) 29 ..Re4 30 Rf3+ Bf4 (30 ..Kg7 31 Rfd3! b4 32 f3 Ree8 33 Nc6 Rxd3 34 Rxd3 Bxh2 35 Nxb4 Bg3 36 Rd1 winning) 31 Rfd3 (31 c6? Rexd4 32 Rxf4+ Rxf4 33 Rxd8 Rc4=) 31 ..Rc8 32 g3 Be5 33 Nb3±] 26 ..g5 27 Ba5 [The immediate 27 Rd3 is stronger.] 27 ..Rd6 28 Bb4 Rdd8 29 Rd3

Now Kasparov is back on the right tracks. White has to put pressure on the d4-pawn and round it up before Black can consolidate his pieces to its defence. 29 ..g4 30 Bc5 Ke4 [30 ..Rd5? 31 Rcxc3! dxc3 32 Rxd5+ wins] 31 Rcd1 h5 [31 ..Re6 32 Bxd4 c2 33 Re3+ Kf5 (33 ..Kd5 34 Rdd3 c1Q+ 35 Nxc1 Bxd4 36 Rxd4+ Kxd4 37 Rxe6) 34 Rde1 Bxd4 35 Rxe6 Bc3 36 R1e4 Rd1+ 37 Ke2 c1Q 38 Nxc1 Rxc1 39 f3 winning] 32 Nxd4 b4 33 Re3+ Kd5 34 Bxb4 Kc4 35 Bxc3 Rxe3 36 fxe3 Rf8+ 37 Ke2 Kxc3 38 Ne6 1–0

The views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of TWIC, Chess & Bridge Ltd or the London Chess Center.

You can contact John Henderson at: jbhthescots@cableinet.co.uk