Korchnoi - Spassky Match 2009 (7)
Korchnoi and Spassky level
IM Malcolm Pein - Wednesday 30th December 2009
Viktor Korchnoi and Boris Spassky were tied at 3.5-3.5 with a game to play in their exhibition match at Elista
Korchnoi - Spassky Game 1 | http://www.chess-rk.ru/
Viktor Korchnoi and Boris Spassky were tied at 3.5-3.5 with a game to play in their exhibition match at Elista. Spassky played rather quietly in the first half of the match but came out fighting in game 5. This was a fine attack and Spassky's ninth move is a brilliant idea
V Korchnoi - B Spassky
Match Elista
English Opening
1.c4 e5 2.Nc3 Nc6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.a3 d5 5.cxd5 Nxd5 6.Qc2 Be7 7.e3
(Korchnoi plays a Sicilian Taimanov in reverse)
7...a6
(To stop Bf1-b5)
8.Bc4 Nb6 9.Bd3 Qd7!
(A very clever move which I have never seen before. The idea is to force through f7-f5 embarrassing the bishop on d3)
10.b3 f5 11.e4
[11.Bb2!? e4 12.Nxe4 fxe4 13.Bxe4 with some compensation)
11...g5!
Boris Spassky
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Viktor Korchnoi
Position after 11...g5! Black has a big iniative.
12.exf5 g4 13.Nxe5
(Desperation but 13.Ng1 Nd4 14.Qb1 Nxb3 15.Qxb3 Qxd3 Hardly bears thinking about)
13...Nxe5 14.Be4 Nc6 15.Ne2 Bf6 16.Rb1 Qd6 17.h3 gxh3 18.Rxh3 Bd7 19.Rd3 Qf8 20.Bxc6 Bxc6 21.Re3+ Kd7 22.Bb2 Nd5 23.Qd3 Bxb2 24.Rxb2 Qxa3 25.Rc2 Rae8 26.Qd4 Kc8
Boris Spassky
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Viktor Korchnoi
Final position after 26...Kc8
White is a piece down for no compensation
I would like to pay tribute to my colleague on the The Guardian, Leonard Barden, who holds the undisputed record for the continuous publication of a chess column which has now surpassed 54 years and 3 months. Leonard started on September 8th 1955 and has not missed a week since. Because The Guardian does not publish on Boxing Day, Leonard's Saturday column was published the previous Thursday to preserve its continuity.
The previous record for an unbroken chess column was George Koltanowski's daily column in the San Francisco Chronicle, which ran for 51 years 9 months and 18 days from 1948 to 2000. Barden has been somewhat reclusive these past few years so it was a great pleasure to see him in the Press Room at the London Chess Classic earlier this month. His daily puzzle in the Evening Standard is always testing and enjoyable, so much so that when the new proprietor removed it from the printed edition the outcry was such that it was promptly put back in its rightful place.
P Vezzosi - A David
30th Edoardo Crespi Magistrale Milan
QGD Ragozin
1.Nf3 d5 2.c4 e6 3.d4 Nf6 4.Nc3 Bb4 5.Bg5 Nbd7 6.cxd5 exd5 7.e3 c5 8.Bxf6 Nxf6 9.Bb5+ Bd7 10.Bxd7+ Qxd7 11.0-0 0-0 12.dxc5 Bxc3 13.bxc3 Rac8 14.Qd4 Qe7 15.Rab1 Ne4 16.c4 dxc4 17.Qxc4 Rxc5 18.Qb4 b6 19.Rbc1 Nxf2!
0-1
In view of 19...Nxf2 20.Rxf2 Rxc1+ or 19...Nxf2 20.Kxf2 Rc2+ 21.Rxc2 Qxb4
