Chess - The Scotsman 21/04/2012

ONE of the newest additions to my treasured collection of chess books is Vishy Anand: World Chess Champion, a chunky 544-page Gambit volume packed with 87 superb games annotated by the Indian superstar in collaboration with GM Dr John Nunn.

As there is so much class and power in Anand’s moves, many of the games do not last very long. This feature is one that I have been noticing increasingly in encounters between really top players. They are now so strong that even a seemingly small slip on the part of the opponent can quickly prove to be fatal.

In my last column a fortnight ago, I selected a win by the Spanish No.1 player, Francisco Vallejo-Pons. Well, today V is not only for Vishy, but is again for Vallejo-Pons and for victory. The Spaniard splattered young Israeli GM Tamir Nabaty at the recent European Championships in Plovdiv, Bulgaria. I believe that even Vishy would be quite impressed by Vallejo-Pons’s very fine feel for the initiative and speedy generation of it.

White: F Vallejo-Pons; Black: T Nabaty Opening: Queen’s Gambit Accepted

1 d4 d5 2 c4 dxc4 3 e3 e5 It’s well known that Black shouldn’t try to hang on to the c4-pawn with 3...b5 4 a4 c6 because of 5 axb5 cxb5 6 Qf3. However, a relatively rare yet rather interesting variation is 3...Be6!?, intending 4 Nf3 c6 5 Ng5?? Qa5+! 4 Bxc4 exd4 5 exd4 Bd6 6 Nf3 Nf6 7 Qe2+!? Qe7 8 Qxe7+ Kxe7 White also enjoys at least some initiative after 8...Bxe7 9 0-0 0-0 10 Nc3, as he may answer 10...Bd6 with 11 Nb5. 9 0-0 Be6 10 Re1 Threatening 11 d5 or 11 Ng5. 10...Kd7 11 Ne5+!? A remarkable move with which Vallejo-Pons aims for an “opposite coloured bishops” position in which the player with the initiative (White in this case) has great attacking chances because the opponent’s bishop cannot defend against threats created by the bishop of opposite colour. 11...Bxe5 12 dxe5 Bxc4 13 exf6 gxf6 Black now has an extra pawn, but his structure has been shattered. Still, there was little choice over the capture ...gxf6 as White was threatening fxg7 or Re7+. 14 Nc3 c5? Black should have developed without delay by 14...Na6, thereby protecting c7 as well as connecting his two rooks and defending against Ne4-c5+. 15 Bf4 Immediately targeting the weakened d6-square. 15...Nc6 16 Red1+! Black must have hoped instead for the much less accurate 16 Rad1+ Nd4 17 Be3, which can be met by 17...Rhe8. 16...Ke6 16...Nd4 17 Be3 is also not pleasant for Black. 17 b3 Ba6? 17...Kf5 is more tenacious. 18 Rd6+ Kf5 19 Nd5 White’s attacking forces coordinate beautifully. 19...Nd4 20 Rxf6+ Ke4 21 f3+! Kd3 Or 21...Kxd5 22 Rd6#. 22 Rd1+ Kc2 23 Rd2+ Kb1 24 Nc3+ Ka1 25 a4! Black resigned, facing the threat of 26 Ra2#.