What is your 'Kasparov number'? Everybody has one; for example if you have beaten a player who has beaten Kasparov then your Kasparov number is two or if you have beaten someone who beaten someone who has beaten Kasparov then your Kasparov number is 3 and so on.

Vishy Anand cannot remain world champion for ever but while he reigns I want to point out that my 'Anand number' is one. My motto is 'getem while they're young'.

At the start of his career Anand played incredibly quickly which explains the following.

M Pein - V Anand

Lugano, 1989

Queen's Pawn

1.d4 d5 2.Nf3 a6

(A number of Indian GMs played this way at the time including Dibyendu Barua . If White continues with c4 Black has the option of dxc4 and then b7-b5 trying to keep the pawn. Precisely the kind of thing one wants to avoid against a tactical genius. I resolved to be as boring as possible)

3.Bf4 Nf6 4.e3 c5 5.dxc5

(Playing the Queen's Gambit Accepted in reverse with an extra tempo)

5...Nc6?! 6.c3!

(Now its a Slav Defence with two extra tempi because after b2-b4 Black needs to play a6-a5 to attack the pawn chain and he has already played a7-a6)

6...e6 7.b4 a5 8.Bb5 Be7 9.Nbd2 0-0 10.a3 Nh5 11.0-0 Bd7

(Better 11...Nxf4 12.exf4 Qc7 13.g3 Bf6 14.Qb3 with some advantage)

12.Nb3 axb4 13.axb4 Rxa1 14.Qxa1 f6?!

(14...Nxf4 15.exf4 Qc7 16.Bxc6 Bxc6 17.Ne5 Be8 18.Nd4)

15.Bd6

(The Nh5 is very bad now)

15...Bxd6

(15...f5 16.Bxe7 Qxe7 17.Be2 Nf6 18.b5 Nd8 19.c4)

16.cxd6 e5 17.Qd1! Be6 18.Nc5 Bf7

(18...Qxd6 19.Nxb7 Qc7 20.Nc5 Qd6 21.Nxe6 Qxe6 22.Bxc6 Qxc6 23.g4)

19.g4

(Winning a piece)

19...Qxd6 20.gxh5 b6 21.Ne4 Qc7 22.Ng3 1-0

My Kasparov number is 2, as I said, getem while they're young.

M Pein - P Svidler

Lloyds Bank op London (10)

Budapest Gambit

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e5 3.dxe5 Ng4 4.Bf4 Nc6 5.Nf3 Bb4+ 6.Nbd2 Qe7 7.e3

(A relatively new idea at the time. 7.a3 was standard but it wastes a tempo)

7...Ngxe5 8.Nxe5 Nxe5 9.Be2 b6 10.0-0 Bxd2 11.Qxd2 d6 12.b4!

(White must open the position for the bishops)

12...Ng6 13.Bg3 h5 14.c5 dxc5 15.Bf3 Rb8 16.Rfd1 Be6

(16...h4 17.Bc6+ Kf8 18.Qd8+)

17.h3 h4 18.Bh2 0-0 19.bxc5 Qxc5

(19...Rfd8!)

20.Rac1 Qg5 21.Bxc7 Rbc8 22.Bb7 Rce8

(22...Bxh3 23.f4 Qg3 24.Qf2)

23.f4 Qf6 24.e4

(White totally dominates and after the statutory incompetence I managed to win the exchange and the game)

24...Ne7 25.Be5 Qh6 26.Rc7 Bc8 27.Bd6 Bxb7 28.Rxb7 Qe6 29.Qd3 g6 30.f5 gxf5 31.exf5 Nxf5 32.Bxf8 Rxf8 33.Rxa7 Kh8 34.Ra4 Qe5 35.Rg4 Re8 36.Rf1 Qc5+ 37.Kh2 Qc7+ 38.Rff4 Re5 39.Kh1

(Time scramble 39.Rg5 Nh6 40.Rxe5 Qxe5 41.Qd4)

39...Qc8

(39...Re1+ 40.Kh2 Re5 41.Rg5)

40.Rxh4+ Nxh4 41.Rxh4+ Kg7 42.Qg3+ 1-0

in view of 42.Qg3+ Kf6 43.Rh6+