McClain Reminds Us Why the Great Are - Great!

From The International Herald Tribune All copyrights preserved Dylan Loeb McClain: Chess Published: December 5, 2008 It is inevitable that young phenomena and new champions hog the limelight, but sometimes ex-champions remind the world why they were, and in some cases still are, so great. At the recent Chess Olympiad in Dresden, Germany, the women's section was won by the team from Georgia, the No. 4 seed. It was a return to glory for Georgia, which last won gold in 1996 and had not medaled at the biennial event since winning a silver in 2000. Georgia was once synonymous with women's chess because it was home to the two women who, between them, held the world title from 1962 to 1991. Nona Gaprindashvili, now 67, reigned from 1962 to 1978. She was dethroned by Maia Chiburdanidze, who held the crown until 1991. Chiburdanidze, now 47, is still ranked No. 18 in the world among women. At the Olympiad, Chiburdanidze was the top player on her team, and she turned in far and away the best performance of any competitor. She finished with six wins, three draws and no losses. Her record included victories over Hou Yifan of China, No. 3 among the world's women, and Anna Muzychuk of Slovenia, No. 13. She also defeated Alexandra Kosteniuk of Russia, the reigning women's champion, in Round 5. Chiburdanidze usually prefers the Caro-Kann Defense, but against Kosteniuk she selected the sharper Sicilian Defense. She may have played something unexpected to throw Kosteniuk off balance. If that was her strategy, it worked. The players followed well-known plans in the Richter-Rauzer Variation until Chiburdanidze played the thematic exchange sacrifice 10. . . Rc3. Most players continue with 11 bc3, and after 11 . . . e5 12 Qb4 Qb4 13 cb4 Ne4 14 Bh4 g5 15 fg5 Be7, the position is unclear. Black will eventually have an extra pawn and active pieces, while White will have a slight material superiority (rook for knight and pawn). But Kosteniuk chose 11 Qc3 and quickly fell into a passive position. She tried to squirm out of it with 19 Be4, probably hoping that Chiburdanidze would play 19 . . . Be4, when White might sacrifice material with 20 Re4 fe4 21 Rb7, giving her a chance to draw because of her superior development. But Chiburdanidze avoided any complications with 19 . . . fe4 and steadily improved her position. Kosteniuk resigned because she must lose a rook after either 37 Kb1 Rg2, or 37 Kd1 e2 38 Ke1 Bg1, leaving her in a hopeless position either way.