Corus in Historical Perspective

Great column from Lubomir Kavalek at the Washington Post: A Memorable Sacrifice Monday, January 14, 2008; Page C10 The Dutch coastal town of Wijk aan Zee is an addictive place despite the howling winds and the cold you are certain to get when playing chess there. Every January, many amateurs as well as the world's best players gather under the same roof in a huge tournament hall, sneezing their way through one of the world's most attractive chess festivals. A Memorable Sacrifice I took part in this traditional tournament seven times, playing 95 games -- the most by any American player. My first chess book, "Wijk aan Zee Grandmaster Chess Tournament 1975," was devoted to this event. The centerpiece of that work is one of my favorite games -- a draw against the tournament winner, Lajos Portisch of Hungary. A draw rarely gets you a brilliancy prize, but this game, featuring a positional queen sacrifice for a single bishop and a couple of pawns, was awarded the Leo von Kuijk prize for the most spectacular game of the event. Andy Soltis included this King's Indian game in his book "The 100 Best Chess Games of the 20th Century, Ranked." Portisch-Kavalek 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.f3 (Portisch liked the sharp Samisch variation.) 5...c6 6.Be3 a6 7.Bd3 b5 8.e5 Nfd7 9.f4 0-0 10.Nf3 Nb6 11.b3 N8d7 12.a4! (Black's pieces are terribly tangled and white threatens to win outright with 13.a5. Black is clearly outplayed.) 12...bxc4 13.bxc4 c5!? 14.a5 cxd4 15.Nxd4! (After 15.Bxd4 dxe5 16.fxe5 Nxe5! 17.Bxe5 Bxe5 18.Nxe5 Qd4! 19.Kd2! white is better, but it is not Portisch's cup of tea.) 15...dxe5 (While choosing this move, sacrificing the queen crossed my mind. It allowed me to fight back.) 16.Nc6 Qe8!? (16...Qc7? 17.Nxe7+ Kh8 18.axb6 loses a piece without any compensation.) 17.axb6 exf4! 18.Nd5! (After 18.Bd2? Nc5 19.Nb4 a5 20.Be2 axb4! 21.Rxa8 bxc3 black is better.) 18...fxe3!! (The success of the queen sacrifice pivots around this strong pawn.) 19.Nc7 Bc3+! 20.Kf1 (Forced. After 20.Ke2? Nxb6 21.Nxe8 Bg4+ black wins.) 20...Bb7 21.Nxe8 Bxc6 22.Nc7 Rad8 23.Rc1 Bd2 24.Nd5 Bxd5 25.cxd5 Nxb6! 26.Rc5 Nxd5 27.g3 Rd6 28.Kg2 Rfd8 (Piling up all pieces on the d-file makes Portisch nervous.) 29.Rxd5?! (Getting rid of the knight gives Portisch control over the light squares. For some time 29.Bc4!? was considered winning for white, but after, for example, 29...Nb6 30.Qb3 Nxc4 31.Qxc4 e2! 32.Re5 e1Q 33.Rhxe1 Bxe1 34.Rxe1 Rd2+ 35.Re2 e6 36.Qxa6 Rxe2+ 37.Qxe2 h5 38.Kf3 Rd5 black creates a fortress that is hard to break.) 29...Rxd5 30.Bc4 Rf5 31.Qb3 (The computers show that after 31.Rf1 Ba5 32.Qa4 Rd2+ 33.Kh3 Rdf2! 34.Rxf2 exf2 35.Qe8+ Kg7 36.Qxe7 white is winning, but black continues 36...f1Q 37.Bxf1 Rxf1 38.Qe5+ Rf6 39.Qxa5 Re6 40.g4 h6 41.Kg3 g5 and holds the game.) 31...Rf2+ 32.Kh3 Rd6 (32...e2?? 33.Qb6 forks the rooks.) 33.Qb8+ (After 33.Rf1 Rxf1 34.Bxf1 a5 black is still in the game.) 33...Kg7 34.Qa7 g5! (Black threatens mate: 35...Rh6+ 36.Kg4 f5+ 37.Kxg5 e2+ etc.) 35.Qxe7 g4+! (With a little time on the clock, black chooses the perpetual check. It turned out to be the correct decision, confirmed later by the computer programs.) 36.Kxg4 Rg6+ 37.Kh3 Rh6+ 38.Kg4 Rg6+ draw. We will cover this year's event in the next few columns. Meantime, it can be followed at http://www.coruschess.com.