White: Anatoly Karpov   1


Black: Gata Kamsky      0





Played 6 June 96 in Elista, Kalmykia

1. d4

1. ...   Nf6

Kamsky, on the other hand, has to try just the opposite. Even though he is a very strong combinative player, I consider Kamsky's main strength to be the positional play. Unfortunately, against Karpov, one of the best positional players ever, is is very hard to win a match with only positional play. Which is why I expect Kamsky to do all he can to liven up the games, bringing Karpov into a more risky positions. So, 1...Nf6 is no surprise either, as Indian defenses are considered rather aggressive for black.

2. c4    g6


3. Nc3   d5

The move 3...d5 by not allowing 4.e4, is avoiding the King's Indian and signals the start of the Grunfeld defense, one of Kamsky's favorite lines of play. This defense was named after Austrian Grandmaster Ernst Grunfeld, who played it for the first time in 1922. Not a very popular opening in the first decades, until several world champions including Smyslov, Fischer, and of course Kasparov, picked it up. Karpov has a long, and rather successful history of playing against the Gruenfeld, since it was one of the main battle fields of his early matches against Kasparov.

4. Nf3

Avoiding the popular exchange variation (4.cd5 Nd5 5.e4 Nc3 6.bc3), Karpov takes the game into the so-called Russian system, which has a more solid reputation. Another one of Karpov's favorite lines against the Grunfeld, is the fianchetto line, but he usually plays that against the more solid black setup with c6 and d5.

4. ...   Bg7


5. Qb3   dc4


6. Qc4   0-0


7. e4    Nc6

All the moves up to now have been standard for this system, played thousands of times before. 7...Nc6 is also a well known move, but not as popular as 7...a6 or 7...Na6. 7...Nc6 corresponds perfectly to the hypermodernist ideas of the creator of this opening, GM Grunfeld. According to these ideas, one should not necessarily control the center with the pawns as classical strategy indicates, but let his opponent push his center pawns and then use the pieces to attack these pawns. Another well known hypermodernist was Richard Reti. Typical hypermodernist openings are of course Reti, the Alekhine Defense and others.

Right now black is already using his two knights to attack white's central pawns, and very soon he'll start disabling the defenders of those pawns.

8. Be2   Bg4

Just as I mentioned before, Kamsky is aware of the fact that without the knight on f3, the white pawn on d4 would fall, so he is following the simple principle "eliminate the defenders"

9. Be3

Karpov on the other is respecting another popular principle: "Replace the defenders that might fall" Please note that 9.Be3 is a good move here, because black's own bishop stops him from playing Ng4 which is often a very effective attack on the white bishop stationed on e3.

9. ...   Bf3

I agree that this move might look a little strange. After all, especially those of you who like bishops more than knights, will accuse Kamsky of not respecting basic strategical ideas. Well, that's not true. First of all, eliminating the white knight is a vital part of black's ideas in the center. Secondly, black intends to make white's white squares bishop a very bad bishop by forcing him to put his own pawns on white. And thirdly, this is the most popular move in this position...

10. Bf3

As obvious as this move might look to you, I have to say that 10.gf3 has long been the preferred alternative. Part of the reason is what you'll see shortly happening in the game. Nonetheless, in most of the games played with 10.gf3, black managed to at least equalize the game after the standard 10...e5.

10. ...   e5

So that's the key to black's entire plan! By blocking the pawn on e4, he is trying to transform the bishop f3 in a simple spectator, while bringing his knights into play.

11. d5

Not much choice here. Taking on e5 certainly looks good for black after 11...Ne5 and 12...Nd3+, since white has not had a chance to castle yet. On the other hand, white definitely wants to keep his black squared bishop, so he is not ready to let black take on d4 yet.

11. ...   Nd4!

Very good move, also standard for this kind of positions. As you can see, black is very eager to open up the center. Can you guess why? Well, because white's king is still there...And also because he would like to see his bishop on g7 playing a more important role in the game. So, is white able to simply win a pawn by taking on d4? Karpov a pawn up from the opening? Well, you think about that, while I go on to the next move.

12. Bd1

Of course, taking the knight would be bad. Why? Because, as I said, Karpov wants to keep his black squared bishop. At the same time, he can't even enjoy the pawn: after 12.Bd4 ed4 13.Qd4 black has the beautiful 13...Ne4, which unveils the hidden forces of the bishop on g7. 14.Qe4 is clearly not good, because after 14...Re8, white would have to give up his beloved queen.

That is why 12.Bd1 is attempting to safeguard the bishop, waiting for other ways to dispose of the annoying black knight on d4.

12. ...   b5!?

Very interesting move, likely result of the home preparation. If I am not mistaken, this is a novelty - the other move played in a rapid game between Corral Blanco Juan and GM Malisauskas in Spain, 1993, was 12...c6, which resulted in a rather unclear position.

The idea behind 12...b5 is very simple: after having eliminated the knight on f3, black is going after the other defender of the central pawns, the knight on c3. So, even if white doesn't take the pawn on b5, black would keep the threat b4, which will make the knight very uncomfortable on c3.

13. Nb5   Ne4


14. 0-0

How come Karpov doesn't take the knight on d4 now? The same old reason: the king has not castled yet. For instance, after 14.Nd4 ed4 15.Bd4 black can play a move like 15...Qg5 threatening to take the pawn on g2, and a checkmate soon after Qd2 if white takes the bishop on g7. And above all, white still wouldn't be able to castle because of 16...Nd2 forking the queen and rook.

14. ...   a6


15. Nc3

Now this is strange! White has castled, but he's still not taking any of the pawns. Actually, 15.Nc7 loses the knight after 15....Rc8 16.Rc1 Nd6 17.Qc5 N4b5. Of course 15.Nd4 is much more interesting. After 15...ed4 16.Bd4 Nd2 white has the very interesting move 17.Qc3 which attacks the black bishop on g7 and knight on d2 at the same time, thus not giving black the chance to take the rook on f1. 17...Bd4 would be followed by 18.Qd2. But it seems that black has compensation for the pawn having in view the weakness of the black squares, the weakness of the d5 pawn, and the important advance in development, plus the fact that the bishops are of opposite colors.

15. ...   Nd6


16. Qd3   Qh4

Black still tries to push the e pawn, in order to open up the bishop on g7. The queen on h4 has this additional role: controlling the e4 square.

17. g3

White can afford to make his move, because he knows that black doen't have the white-squared bishop anymore. Thus, the weaknesses just created by this move on the king's side will be taken care of by the supreme white bishop...

17. ...   Qh3


18. Bd4

But in order to get the white-squared bishop back into the standard formation, white has to get rid of the knight on d4. Of course this process requires giving up the pair of bishops, but the knight has become far too strong to be left there...

18. ...   ed4


19. Ne2

The pawn on d4 is a weak pawn, so it is normal for white to try to capture it. At the same time, the knight is heading towards f4, so if black plays now 19...Nf5, white will be able to chase the queen into a very unpleasant position.

19. ...   Qf5


20. Nf4   Rfb8

How come Kamsky used the 'f' rook instead of the 'a' rook? Because the 'f' rook isn't doing anything, while the 'a' rook is defending the weakness on a6. Further, black's intention is to push the 'a' pawn as far as it goes, so having the rook behind is a great help!

21. Qf5   Nf5


22. Nd3

Karpov, as usual, knows where to put his pieces. The knight on d3 is an extremely important knight. It defends the weakness on b2, it blocks the pawn on d4, and more importantly, it can not be removed from there. It is well known that the best blockers for passed pawns are knights!

22. ...   Bh6

Convinced that he won't be able to get it out in any other way, Kamsky tries to give his bishop a more challenging role: that of stopping Rc1!

23. Re1   a5


24. Bg4   Nd6


25. Re2

Another move that could seem a little strange. How many of you would play Re7 here? It looks so good... And I agree, it does. But Karpov has found a much better place for the rook: on c2. The idea behind putting the rook on c2 is simple: from there the rook attacks the black weak pawn on c7, and defends the white pawn on b2. Since the bishop on h6 prevents the immediate Rc1, and Karpov is not willing to invite the black knight to e3 by pushing the 'f' pawn, white finds this way to put a rook on the 'c' file. Of course, then the other rook can take over the 'e'file...

25. ...   a4

Please don't think that black is pushing the 'a' pawn out of desperation. No, Kamsky has a plan of bringing the rook on a8 into play, on the a5 square. Unfortunately, this also means that the pawn on a4 will remain an eternal weakness, on a white square! And since only white has a white-squared bishop, it means that somewhere, in the endgame, chances are white will manage to capture this weakness.

26. a3!

Blocking the weak pawn on a white square!

26. ...   Ra5


27. Rc2   Rd5


28. Rc7   Ra5

Not a very fortunate position for black. After the latest pawn trade, white's advantage has grown. Now black has two very weak pawns on d4 and a4, and the position of the black pieces is a little awkward. It is also the typical position that no one plays better than the FIDE world champion. If you study Karpov's games, you will probably find hundreds of games won by him in this kind of positions. With only a small advantage, Karpov usually manages to squeeze everything out of the position, until the opponent breaks down. It is very frustrating when you have to defend such a position!

29. Bf3

As soon as the pawn from d5 has disappeared, Karpov places his bishop on f3, controlling the long diagonale. Once again, please observe how simple, but effective Karpov's play is. Without anything spectacular, by simply arranging his pieces on the best squares, he succeeds in building up the advantage. I know that many spectators might find this kind of play very dull, but believe me, if you are able to understand it, you will enjoy it almost as much as a nice combination.

29. ...   Bg5


30. Rd1

Another apparently strange move. How come he didn't put his rook on the open 'e' file? The problem with 30.Re1 is that after a move such as 30...Rb3, white would have to go back to d1 in order to defend the knight on d3. 30.Rd1, however, is preparing an attack on the target on d4!

30. ...   Rc8


31. Rc8   Nc8


32. h4!

Apart from knowing where to put his pieces, Karpov is also an expert on how to make the life of the opponent's pieces hard.... 32.h4 forces black to make an important choice. If he leaves the h6-c1 diagonale, white gets the c file. If black plays Bh6, he loses sight of the h4-d8 diagonale, and especially the 'e7' square which might prove important again.

32. ...   Bf6


33. Rc1   Nd6


34. Kf1

Why rush? White is in no hurry to play 34.Rc6 which would have been followed by 34...Be7. He prefers to bring his king closer the center, since we have reached that stage of the game, where the king can play such an important role.

34. ...   Be7


35. Ke2   Kf8


36. Rc7   Bf6


37. Kd2   h5


38. Ke2

It looks like the players were in time trouble, so that explains this waste of tempos.

38. ...   Nf5?

The knight on d6 had a very important role: defending the c4 square, and thus not allowing the white rook to enter the 4th rank and start attacking the weak pawns. Once Kamsky removes his knight from d6, the position worsens immediately...

39. Rc4!

Waiting for the right moment!

39. ...   Nd6

Too late... Black will not be able to stop both Bc6 and Nc5 after white's next move. The bishop is meanwhile tied to the defense of the pawn on d4.

40. Rb4   Ra6


41. Nc5   Ra7


42. Kd3

Isn't this frustrating? If it isn't bad enough that white wins the pawn on a4, he even takes his time.... Karpov really enjoys this type of play; it is showing how hopeless the opponent's position is...

42. ...   Rc7

Black is finally seeing some activity again. Unfortunately, the loss of the 'a4' pawn is much more than just a pawn. That gives the two white pawns on a3 and b2, green light to advance, and it is doubtful anyone will be able to stop them!

43. Na4   Rc1


44. Nb6   Bg7

Of course this might look like a bad move...The bishop is going the wrong way. Actually, black is practically out of moves, and Nd7 was also a very powerful threat...

45. a4   Ra1


46. Nd7  Ke8


47. Nc5

It seems that Karpov likes his knight a little better on c5 than on b6, because of its ability to support the pawn on a6, once it gets there. I know winning this endgame might seem a little hard for some of you, but for Karpov this is just technique...

47. ...   Ke7


48. Kc2   Rf1


49. Kd3   Ra1


50. Kb3

Once again, Karpov has reshuffled his pieces obtaining the optimal configuration: the knight on d3 defends all the weak pawns, and also blocks the weakness on d4, the king on b3 defends the a4 pawn so that the rook can move, and the bishop makes sure no one bothers the other pieces... The way to find the past couple of moves if you, for instance, were white, is to imagine what the ideal position of the pieces would be - phantasize a little bit... Once you decide on your desired configuration, or where you want to get, finding a way to get there, that is the actual moves, is much easier!

50. ...   f5


51. Rb6

The black pawn on g6 has become weak, so Karpov immediately places his rook on b6, pinning the black knight, and preparing the support for the a pawn.

51. ...   Bh6


52. Bd5   g5

Black tries of course to obtain some counterplay on the king's side. The idea is to create some other weakness, that is not defended by the wonder-knight from d3.

53. Ra6   gh4


54. gh4   Rd1


55. Bc4

A blunder for white would be 55.Kc2, allowing 55...Rd2, and winning the knight.

55. ...   Rh1

It might look like white has been a little careless, by allowing this counterplay, the truth, however, is that white is so much ahead timewise, that black can hardly pose any danger with his h pawn. Of course a careful calculation is also required in this kind of positions...

56. a5   Rh4

The two players have reached the second time control, so the game was adjourned. It looks like white has a decisive advantage based on the passed pawns. I can not share any analysis in this position, because that could help or hurt one of the players, so please stay tuned for the final comments after the game is over.

Gata Kamsky subsequently resigned before the game was resumed. The move sealed in the adjournment envelope was 57. Bd5.

GM Schwartzman has been playing chess since he was two years old, and started playing tournaments at the age of four. He received his first international invitation by the time he was eight. Since then Gabriel has been invited to events in Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Belgium, the Netherlands, France, Spain, Denmark, Italy, Israel, Canada, as well as the USA.

In 1988 he became vice-world champion of the Under 12 years section, and in 1990 he won the bronze medal at the Youth World championship in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin. Currently 19 years old, Gabriel is the top ranked junior (under the age of 21) player in the United States.

GM Schwartzman is multi-talented, speaking Romanian, English, German and French very well. He also gets by in Russian and Spanish. Gabriel is also an accomplished Internet publisher - his Internet Chess Academy can be found at http://www.yourmove.com

You can send email to Gabriel at [email protected].