USChess Online ® Presents:

FIDE World Championship - Game 10





White: Gata Kamsky



Black: Anatoly Karpov







Played 24 June 96 in Elista, Kalmykia

Annotation by GM Arthur Bisguier, assisted by NM Eric Johnson
Special Post-Game Analysis by GM Walter Browne
assisted by IM John Grefe
(GM Schwartzman is playing in the Interplay US Junior Invitational)

Coverage provided by the United States Chess Federation
in cooperation with FIDE
Special Thanks to GM Bachar Kouatly and Christophe Bouton of FIDE.
Technical services provided by Websong Publishing










16. ... Bb7-c6
Full Game Score ... Previous Move ... Next Move
Grandmaster Bisguier's Commentary

Black chooses a very reasonable move, and attacks the White queen.

Karpov may have been tempted by the idea of playing 16. ...c5-c4, cramping the White pieces. However, the long-term consequences of ... c5-c4 involve a weakening of the hanging pawns and giving up the full control of the d4-square (which he had when the hanging pawns were intact at c5 and d5). The hanging pawns have their greatest potential when they are side-by-side, with the possibility of advancing either pawn.

With hanging pawns, usually the threat (to advance) is stronger than its execution (apologies to Nimzowitsch).