Russia’s elder statesman in form

Press, 10 December 1983, Page 32

Russia’s elder statesman in form

By

VERNON SMALL

The match between the Soviet defector, Victor Korchnoi, and the Soviet tactician, Garry Kasparov, aged 20, to determine one of the finalists for the world championship Qualifying series has captured the imagination of even nonchess players.

By contrast, the other qualifying match where a Hungarian, Zoltan Ribli, is pitted against the veteran Soviet exworld champion, Vassily Smyslov, has received little media attention. Yet it is shaping up as an equally exciting clash. Ribli, the star of the recent Hungarian victories, including a first ahead of the Russians at the Buenos Aires Olympiad in 1978, was the pre-match favourite. Indications were that the sharp youngster would prevail over the positional elder statesman of the Soviet team. Smyslov had all but retired and had, in fact, been nonplaying captain at Buenos Aires, and a very relaxed spectator at the more recent Lucerne Olympiad. At the time of writing Smyslov has confounded the critics and shaken off the 30-year advantage in age that Ribli has to go two-up in the series. Leading 4% to 2% in the best-of-twelve match, Smyslov needs only another four draws to seal a place in the final. If he succeeds, he will be the oldest finalist since this system was instigated in 1966. What has been even more surprising than Smyslov’s success has been the manner of his victories — a sharp and combinative style which was not evident in his early years. The game detailed below is his victory in the fifth game of the match. Smyslov innovates on move 11 and builds up a violent attack on Ribli’s king culminating in decisive material gain. White: V. Smyslov Black: Z. Ribli 1. d 4 Nf6 2. Nf3 e 6 3. c 4 d 5 Ribli declines the invitation to the fashionable queens Indian defence and instead plays into the queens gambit. 4. Nc3 c 5 Declining the pawn offer and instigating the Tarrasch variation. This idea was popularised around the turn of the century but has become the height of fashion again recently in the hands of Kasparov. 5. cxds Nxds But here Kasparov plays e xds. 6. e 3 Nc6 7. Bd3 Be 7 8. 0-0 0-0 9. a 3 cxd4 10. exd4 Bf 6 11. Qc2 h 6 Smyslov’s eleventh move was new and Ribli’s reply may not be as good as the alternative 11 . . . g 6, since it allows white to reverse the positions of his queen and bishop and penetrate the black defences on h 7. In the seventh game this position was reached again but Ribli had no chance to demonstrate his improvement as Smyslov played 11. Be 4 instead.

12. Rdl Qb6 13. Bc4 RdB 14. Ne2 Bd7 15. Qe4 Nce7 16. Bd3 Ba 4 17. Qh7ch KfB 18. Rel Bbs 19. Bxbs Qxbs 20. Ng3 Ng6 White has placed his queen on a very aggressive square but he must bring the reserves up energetically or she wilj be surrounded by an eventual RhB. 21. Nes Nde7 22. Bxh6! Nxes

An interesting possibility was 22 . . . Bxes, 23. Rxes Nxes, 24. Bxg7ch KeB, 25. Bxes and White should win with two pawns and a bishop for the rook, the f 7 pawn to follow and the nasty Ne 4 just around the corner. 23. Nhs! Nf3ch In order to wreck the white pawn structure. gxh6 is a suimate after Qxh6ch. 24. gxf3 Nfs 25. Nxf6 Nxh6 Black has only lost a pawn and the white structure is nothing to feel proud of. The immediate 26. QhBch Ke7, 27. Qg7 suffers an embarrassing refutation in 27 . . . RgB, 28. NxgBch RxgB. Smyslov realises that the static features of the position are against him so dynamically opens the centre. 26. d 5 Qxb2 27. QhBch Ke7 28. Rxe6ch! fxe6 (forced) 29. Qxg7ch Nf7 30. d6ch!

The elegant finish to the rook sacrifice on move 28. The unprotected queen on b2 can be won if the knight can check the black king, but to do so on g 8 would lose the white queen in turn. The move d6ch clears the d 5 square for the knight to do its work. 30 ... Rxd6 31. Ndsch Rxds 32. Qxb2 b 6 The rest is a rush to the time control at move 40 but white has only to mop up the pawns with his queen’s superior mobility. 33. Qb4ch Kf6 34. Rel RhB 35. h 4 RhdB 36. Re 4 Nd 6 37. Qc3ch e 5 38. Rxes Rxes 39. f 4 Nf7 40. Fxesch Ke6 41. Qc4ch Resigns After 41 . . . Ke7, 42. e 6 black will either be reduced to passivity by 42 . . . Nd 6, 43. Qc7ch KeB, 44. h 4 and the pawn cannot be reasonably stopped, or will be hopelessly unco-ordinated after 42 . . . RgBch, 43. Kfl Nd 6, 44. Qds.