CHESS

IN THE
FAST
LANE

i k
M Adams 4 _

A&«w

Bil and Mieltael Adams

Chess in the
Fast Lane

Bil and Michael Adams

CADOGAN
-licss
LONDON, NEW YORK
Cadogan Books
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First published 1996 by Cadogan Books pic, London House, Parkgate Road, London
SW11 4NQ

Copyright © 1996 Bil and Michael Adams

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Contents
Preface 5

Chapter One 7
1. G. Kamsky-M. Adams, London (Lloyds Bank Masters) 1989 8
2. M. Adams-D. Bronstein, London (NatWest Young Masters) 1989 11
3. M. Adams-K. Spraggett, Hastings Premier 1989/90 14
4. M. Adams-L. Christiansen, England-USA (Visa match) 1990 20
5. M. Adams-P Wolf , London (Watson, Farley and Wil iams) 1990 24
6. M. Adams-C. McNab, Blackpool (British zonal) 1990 28
7. M. Adams-W Watson, Eastbourne (British championship) 1990 31

Chapter Two 36
8. M. Adams-M. Suba, London (Lloyds Bank Masters) 1990 36
9. M. Adams-S. Conquest, London (Lloyds Bank Masters) 1990 39
10. S. Kindermann-M. Adams, England-Germany
(Novi Sad olympiad) 1990 42
11. A. Khalifman-M. Adams, Groningen 1990 46
12. M. Adams-J. van der Wiel, Wijk aan Zee 1991 49
13. M. Adams-Y Seirawan, Wijk aan Zee 1991 52
14. M. Adams-C. Hansen, Wijk aan Zee 1991 56
15. B. Larsen-M. Adams, Buenos Aires 1991 59
16. M. Adams-M. Hebden, French league 1991 64
17. M. Adams-J. Pomes, Terrassa 1991 68
18. V. Ivanchuk-M. Adams, Terrassa 1991 71
19. M. Adams-J. Lautier, Biel 1991 73

Chapter Three 78
20. M. Adams-J. Emms, London (Lloyds Bank Masters) 1991 78
21. M. Bosboom-M. Adams, Ostend 1991 81
22. M. Gurevich-M. Adams, Ostend 1991 84
23. M. Adams-N. Short, London (English championship) 1991 87
24. M. Chandler-M. Adams, Hastings Premier 1991/92 91
25. M. Adams-O. Renet, England-France
(Cannes team tournament) 1992 95
26. P van der Sterren-M. Adams, Ter Apel 1992 99
27. M. Adams-V Salov, Dortmund 1992 103
28. M. Adams-N. Short, Brussels 1992 106

Chapter Four 111

29. V Kramnik-M. Adams, Chalkidiki 1992 112
30. M. Adams-J. Lautier, Chalkidiki 1992 115
31. A. Kovalev-M. Adams, Tilburg 1992 118
32. M. Adams-I. Smirin, Tilburg 1992 122
33. M. Adams-O. Cvitan, Debrecen
(European team championship) 1992 125
34. A. Minasian-M. Adams, Debrecen
(European team championship) 1992 131
35. M. Adams-J. Piket, Wijk aan Zee 1993 133
36. M. Adams-J. Levit , Dublin (British zonal) 1993 137
37. G McNab-M. Adams, Dublin (British zonal) 1993 141
38. M. Adams-M. Sadler, Dublin (British zonal) 1993 144
39. M. Adams-A. Yusupov, Munich 1993 146
40. E. Bareev-M. Adams, Munich 1993 149
41. M. Adams-V Korchnoi, Biel interzonal 1993 152
42. B. Gelfand-M. Adams, Biel interzonal 1993 157

Chapter Five 161

43. M. Adams-V Kotronias, Chalkidiki 1993 161
44. M. Adams-A. Vyzmanavin, Burgas 1993 164
45. M. Adams-Kir. Georgiev, Burgas 1993 168
46. J. Nunn-M. Adams, Hammersmith quickplay 1993 170
47. A. Miles-M. Adams, Tilburg 1993 174
48. Kir. Georgiev-M. Adams, Groningen (PCA qualifier) 1993 177
49. M. Adams-O. Romanishin, Groningen (PCA qualifier) 1993 181
50. M. Adams-B. Gulko, Groningen (PCA qualifier) 1993 185

Chess Career Record 190

 Preface

'Michael was stil only seventeen and already he was a grandmaster and
British champion.'
That was the concluding sentence of the book Michael Adams;
Development of a Grandmaster, which described my son's chess career from
his first competitive game on his eighth birthday to the day in August
1989 when he became the youngest ever British champion. In the
previous month Michael had gained the grandmaster title at a younger age
than anyone previously apart from Bobby Fischer and Garry Kasparov.
It would have been easy to assume that from now on success in the
chess world was inevitable. After all, Fischer and Kasparov had gone on

to become undisputed champions of the world and Michael's name was

reported as if he was in a similar league. In fact reality was rather

dif erent.
Michael was a junior of some promise, who had failed to make much
impact at World and European Junior championships. His July 1989
rating was 2505, generally acknowledged as nearly the lowest limit for a

grandmaster (GM) and probably not high enough for him to be included
among the world's top two hundred players. Certainly t here were at
least eight other English players with higher ratings. Michael's entire
international experience was limited to one season of French league
play, three open tournaments, in Australia, Greece and France
respectively, several junior events and a 'generation challenge' match at the
Cannes Chess Festival. All of his GM and international master (IM)
norms had been achieved in England in events containing only the
minimum number of foreigners to meet the legal requirements. In any
case the GM title was becoming devalued as more and more players
reached the necessary level and a dozen other English players had
already acquired the title. Even his British championship success had
been gained in a field lacking Short, Speelman and Nunn, the three
strongest potential entrants, while it could hardly be claimed that he
had dominated the field with only three wins coming from his first eight
games. Michael was just one of a group of English players that included
Hodgson, King, Kosten, Levit , Suba, Watson and several others, who
were challenging for a place in the national side for the World Team
championships. He was the youngest of this group and therefore not
surprisingly also the least experienced. On the international scene,
there were many juniors from other countries who showed similar if
6 Chess in the Fast Lane

not more potential than Michael. These included Dreev, Gelfand,

Ivanchuk, Kamsky, Lautier and Piket among others.
Nevertheless Michael's successes in the Summer of 1989 convinced
everyone that there was no point in Michael continuing his half-hearted
attempts at A-level studies and he decided that he was going to turn
professional and earn his living by playing chess. This was a big decision as

we felt that there were very few players outside the Soviet bloc making
a good living from chess. Michael would have to reach and remain
among the top thirty or so players in the world to be really successful in
his chosen career, a very daunting target. But as Michael's
achievements had frequently exceeded our most optimistic forecasts, it seemed
a gamble worth taking at seventeen.
This book covers the progress that Michael made on the world chess
scene in the next four and a half years. It was not all victories and
champagne; there were many setbacks and disappointments. However at the
end of that time he had developed to the point that he was a contender
for the world chess championship, traditionally known as a 'candidate'.
Michael emphasised that this was thoroughly deserved by reaching this
status twice within a matter of a month. This was possible as a

breakaway championship had been established by the Professional Chess

Association and was competing for recognition with the more traditional
one organised by FIDE, the world chess body.
The format of this book is similar to its predecessor. The script,
writ en by Bil , often relays information given by Michael, who also did the
final editing. The fifty games are analysed by Michael in far more detail
than in the previous book. While they may not have the same even

spread, they have again been selected because of their quality and
significance in his career development. Apart from the last chapter which
ends at the Groningen PCA qualifier, each chapter covers a

twelvemonth period beginning in

August 1989.
I hope that the reader enjoys this book and gains as much pleasure
from reading it as I did from writing it. Who knows -

one day there may

even be a third book!?

Bil Adams
December 1995
 Chapter One

The events of July and August 1989 ensured that nothing would ever be
quite the same for Michael. While he continued to play in weekend
tournaments and occasionally turned out for his school team, the fact that
he was British champion and the world's youngest grandmaster made
him a far more interesting prospect for organisers. Consequently
Michael increasingly found himself receiving attractive invitations to play
in much stronger events -

mainly on the Continent. This resulted in the

opportunity to play a wider range of opponents than previously,
broadening his horizons and increasing his knowledge of the game.
In case the reader is mystified that school matches are referred to, I
should add that although his A-level studies had suffered a premature
demise, Truro School were anxious to retain Michael's name on their
register for chess purposes. Thus he earned some interesting school
reports, for example in Geography a comment was made on his large
knowledge on time zones and climate in various European countries,
which sadly was not part of the syllabus! As my son's attendance record
would have put him near the bottom of any class, there was not much
else that teachers could comment on. Nevertheless it was good that he
kept in touch with his school friends and it enabled him to enjoy some

relaxation away from the chess scene.

His new chess status was presumably the reason for his selection to
play against ex-world champion Vasily Smyslov in the curtain raiser to
the 1989 Lloyds Bank Masters event. Michael had played Boris Spassky
another former world champion, in a speed game, where both players
had been allowed seven minutes for all their moves, in similar
circumstances five years earlier. Now he had the privilege of playing Smyslov.
People's expectations had now altered and whereas onlookers were

surprised that Michael gave Spassky such a hard game, here some people
were disappointed that the result was only a draw. Perhaps the truth of
the matter, is that games played at press conferences are not of great
relevance except for the way that they drag players out of bed at an

early hour.
Michael began the main event the way that he had finished off the
British championship just over a week previously by winning his first
three rounds. His second round opponent was Gata Kamsky, who had
defected with his father in New York a few months previously.
8 Chess in the Fast Lane

Game 1
G.Kamsky -
M Adams 8 &d3
London (Lloyds Bank) 1989 Perhaps better is 8 £>xd7 £>xd7
Caro-Kann Defence, 9c3.
Advance Variation 8 .. c5
9 dxc5 i.b5
A pretty impressive opponent to 10 f4 &xc5
start the book with, though in this It is time to the assessresults
first encounter I actually enjoyed of the opening, Black and can be
a rating advantage. Nonetheless happy with an French ideal
my rival had already chalked up Defence type position in which the
the Russian Under-18 title at a light-squared bishop i s i n no

very tender age. As is often a wise danger of being stuck behind the
idea when playing a strong young pawn chain and White has
player who you don't know much commit ed his kingside pawns earlier
about, I selected something solid than he would have liked.
from my repertoire. 11 &f3 &e7
1 e4 c6 12 a4 -i.xd.3
2 d4 d5 This move and Black's next look
3 e5 M5 a lit le careless. Maybe 12.. JLc4.
4 &c3 Wb6 13 -i.xd.3
5 g4
One of the interesting things
about annotating older games, is
the opening theory. Although this
game was close to the cutting edge
of theory at the time it was played,
it now looks a lit le antiquated.
But bear in mind that when the
game was played the Short system
4 £>f 3 was but a twinkle in his eye
and 5 JLd3, probably now the
main line, was not popular. The
point of 5 &d3 is 5.. txd4 6 &f3
Wg4 7 h3 #h5 (7.. Wxg2 8 Sh2) 8 13 .. &bc6
£>e2 with good compensation. More accurate was 13.. h5 14 g5
5 .. &d7 g6 with play similar to the game.
6 £>a4 #c7 The text move allows White an

7 &c5 e6 extra possibility, namely to play 14

 G.Kamsky -

MAdams 9

Sfl with the idea of answering 24 b.3

14.. h5 with 15 h3 keeping more 24 Sc2 £>c6 25 Sfcl was another
flexibility in the kingside pawns. possible defence, when Black has
Probably he rejected this due to no obvious way through. Gata has
15.. hxg4 16 hxg4 fB 17 exfB gxfB another idea in mind.
18 We2 e5 19 fxe5 fxe5 but 20 £)g5 24 .. &a5
leads to a messy position. 25 b4 &ac6
14 We2 h5 I had intended to play 25.. £>c4
15 g5 26 a5 ^7 here but became
An unpleasant choice as now concerned that after 27 £>b3 it would
Black's king wil be safe on the be hard to target White's
kingside, but after 15 gxh5 Sxh5 weaknesses, since the apparently well
White has even more weaknesses. placed horse on c4 gets in the way.
Following the move played the 26 'hhS d4
wide open spaces behind White's The ending after 26.. 1txf2+ 27
kingside pawns would be enough &xf2 does not offer Black much so

to worry any football manager I was forced to enter the tactics.

with the possible exception of
Ossie Ardiles.
15 ..
g6
16 c3 a6
17 &e3 &xe3
18 Wxe3 0-0
19 0-0 Sac8
The kind of move that is played
quickly but stereotypes do not
necessarily apply in this position.
More direct was 19.. Sab8 with
the idea of . .b7-b5. Another
useful move here or at almost any
stage during the next few moves is 27 b5 axb5
19.. &g7. 28 axb5 &a5
20 Sadl 2fd8 29 &d2
Bothering White with the The obvious alternative was to
possibility of a . .d4 sacrifice. play 29 £>xd4 when Black has a

21 Wf2 &a5 choice between 29.. £>b3 30 £>xb3

Giving White the d4 square is Wxf2+ 31 Sxf2 Sxd3 32 Sfc2 &d5
some kind of concession, 21.. fib8 with a good ending or 29.. £>d5
was stil probably correct. which looks even stronger. If then
22 &d4 &c4 the desperate 30 f5 exf5 31 &xf5
23 Scl Wb6 gxf5 32 Wxf5 Wg6 wins.
10 Chess in the Fast Lane

29 ..
<&g7
Not really the time to play this
(see the note to move 19) but the
natural 29..Sd7 allows the useful
reply 30 £>e4.
30 c4
Now 30 &e4 &b3 31 Sc2 &c5
32 £>xc5 Sxc5 is strong or 30 Sc2
£>d5 31 cxd4 Sxc2 32 &xc2 £>b4.
30 .. £>f5
31 Sal
The exchange 31 JLxf5 exf5 has
the advantage of preventing the 35 cxb5 2xcl +

knight becoming entrenched in 36 &fl &b3

such a powerful position but Black The hardest move to spot is the
maintains a clear edge due to his quiet continuation in the middle
safer king position. of the combination. Now . .S8c3 is
31 .. &e3 the main threat.
32 Sfcl Sc7 37 Sxd4
33 &hl This is hopeless but neither 37
After this I have a forced win. Sb4 S8c3 or 37 Wb2 S8c3 offered
However after the more accurate any hope. Perhaps 37 f5 was the
alternative Sa4 33 Sdc8 White is best last punt.
left virtually movebound. 37 .. &xfl
Unfortunately for White 33 c5 Sxc5 34 38 <£>g2 &xd4
Sxc5 «xc5 35 Sxa5 #c3 wins. 39 #xd4 Sdl!
33 .. Sdc8 40 #e4 2d2+
34 Za4(D) 41 &e2 <&xh2!
34 .. txb5! This is the final accurate move

Although White's position was which ends any chance for Gata.
pretty rot t e n it is stil slightly Typically he struggles on to the
surprising t h at t h i s move works. Black bit er end.
only picks up rook and pawn for 42 &xh2 S8c2
the lady but, due to a much safer 43 <£>g3 Sxe2
king and better piece 44 #d.3 2g2+
co-ordination, White is helpless. The tactics 45 &f3 h4
should also work out for Black 46 #fl Sg3
after 34.. Sc5 threatening 35.. Sxb5 47 £>e4 h.3
(if 35 Wei txb5) but the game 48 f5 gxf5+
continuation is a knockout blow White resigned
 M Adams -

D.Bronstein 11

Game 2
In the fourth round Michael had to fight hard to hold the draw against
Alexander Chernin when a pawn down in a rook and pawn ending.
Then he made the headlines when he was beaten by Richard Tozer, who
inflicted Michael's first defeat for 45 games. Michael had done his share
of upsetting higher rated players at Lloyds Bank and it was no great
surprise when he was on the receiving end, though it was a bit of a shock
seeing it in headlines, which never even mentioned Richard Tozer!
Although in some ways this was amusing, it reflected slightly increased
expectations for Michael. Mind you, hardly anyone noticed when he lost
again three rounds later to Mahmood Lodhi. Eventually he went on to
score seven out of ten and finish among a bunch of players in tenth
equal position.
When I look back at Michael's tournament record, I am amazed at the
amount of chess he played at that time. Only two days after Lloyds
Bank finished he started playing in the National Westminster Young
Masters all-play-all event, where he had acquired his first GM norm just
twelve months earlier. Now he was one of the three GMs ensuring that
seven IMs had the opportunity of achieving GM norms for themselves.
On this occasion Michael finished second equal behind Dibyendu Barua
of India. In Michael's early career the player with the best record
against him was Mark Hebden but the pendulum began to swing the
other way in this tournament and Michael recorded a win against him
in the first round. Another of Michael's wins was against David Bron-
stein, who had tied a match for the world championship twenty years
before Michael was even born!

M.Adams -

D.Bronstein game. Ironically these days David

London (Nat West is a regular visitor to English
Young Masters) 1989 tournaments and you probably have
French Defence, more chance of playing him here
Tarrasch Variation than you do in Russia.
1 e4 e6
When I was younger I read about 2 d4 dS
David Bronstein and his various 3 £>d2 cS
world championship tussles 4 exdS exdS
without ever really expecting to play 5 £>gf3 c4
him. Therefore I was quite pleased Less common and not so good
when I got an opportunity in this as the normal 5.. £tf8 or 5.. £k:6,
12 Chess in the Fast Lane

but my il ustrious opponent has an advance of the b-pawn, when

always liked to go his own way in Black would be under heavy
the opening. pressure. I was not at my most alert
6 b.3 after a long blitz session with
White must take immediate some Yugoslavian guy I met in the
action on the queenside. Here 6.. b5 King's Head the night before. The
7 a4 We7+ 8 Ae2 c3 9 £tfl! is good text move looks pretty but there
for the first player. are too few weaknesses in Black's
6 .. cxb3 camp for manoeuvering to be
7 axb3 i.b4 really effective.
8 i.e2 £ic6 11 .. 0-0
9 0-0 £>ge7 12 £id3 £d6
Initial y 9.. Ac3 looks tempting 13 Sel MS
but in fact 10 Sa4 &ge7 11 Aa3 14 £ifl b6
gives White the advantage. This prevents a later £k;5 and
10 i.b2 f6 prepares an improvement of the
Played in order to prevent £te5 queenside structure with . .a7-a5.
on the next move, but the 15 &g3
weakening of light squares, and especial y Also playable was 15 £te3, but
e6, is not insignificant. Better was after 15.. Ae4 there is no clear
the obvious 10.. 0-0. Perhaps this way to gain an edge.
is an instance where in dull 15 ..
ig6
positions creative players can be their 16 i.f3 a5
own worst enemies. More to the point was

consolidation with 16.. i.f7.

11 £iel
White needed to strike while the 17 &h5!
iron was hot with 11 c3 JLd6 12 c4 A nasty move to meet. White's
0-0 13 c5 i.c7 14 i.c3 fol owed by knights are aiming for the f4 and
 MAdams -
D.Bronstein 13

e6 squares. 17.. ^? 18 &5f4 Af7 23 ..

i.g6
19 i.g4 f5 20 i.f3 (threatening 24 if4 Wd7
£te5) 20.. g5 21 £>h5 is an example 25 #e2 Se8
of the kind of danger which Black 26 £xd6 #xd6
can encounter. Perhaps a good 27 WbS Sc8
defence would be 17.. Af7 18 &5f4 28 &f4 act
Se8. 29 £g4 Sxc2
17 .. &b4 The horrible looking 29.. f5 had
18 £ort>4 axb4 to be played, when after 30 Adl
The other obvious possibility Black's various weaknesses should
18.. JLxb4 was worthy of
consideration, although after 19 c3 JLd6
20 i.a3 Se8 21 g3 White has a

slight edge due to the exposed d-

pawn.
19 Sxa8 #xa8
20 icl Wb8
If 20.. Sc8 21 Af4 i.xc2 22 #d2
leaves Black in a terrible tangle
with all his pieces hanging.
21 &f4 i.f7
Liquidating after 21.. i.xf4 22
&xf4 *xf4 23 Sxe7 stil leaves
White with a nagging yank on

account of the weak pawns. 30 Se6

Nevertheless this was much the best Winning as 30.. Axe6 31 *e8 is
continuation since after the text mate.
Black loses all activity and his 30 .. Wd8
three isolated pawns become the 31 Sxb6 fS
focus of attention. 32 Adl Scl
22 g3 Wb7 33 Sb8 £ic8
23 £>g2 If 33.. Sxdl + 34 <£>g2 £ic8 35
The idea of JLf4 is a dangerous VO/cG wins.
threat which Bronstein could and 34 <£>g2
should have tried to meet with Black is helpless since the weak
23.. £>g6 or 23.. £k:6. However it pawns drop off one by one. If he
is clear that Black is going to be continues 34.. g5, then 35 £kl3
tortured for a long time without Sxdl 36 #c5 Sxd3 37 Sxc8 #xc8
any chance of counterplay, which 38 #xc8+ <£>g7 39 #xf5 and White
very few players can endure should win.
without lashing out. 34 .. Ae8
14 Chess in the Fast Lane

35 Wb7 i.f7 37 #xb4

36 i.f3 Sc7 Black resigned

Game 3
The other noteworthy occurrence was a final round draw against Wil
Watson which involved Michael playing one move before accepting his
opponent's swift offer of a draw. There was understandable criticism of
this from some quarters, although one could understand Wil Watson's
lack of ambition after seeing his chance of a GM norm disappear in the
previous round, while it was a perfectly acceptable result for Michael
when playing Black. The alternative of trying to win with Black against
a player good enough to have represented England in the last olympiad
certainly seemed less wise as even a victory would not have enabled him
to win the tournament.
Just eight days later Michael was in Ostend to make his first
appearance in this popular annual open event. The tournament was won by
Paul Van der Sterren, who became a world championship candidate
within five years, and here made a record score of eight out of nine. After
an inauspicious start in the form of a first round loss against an unrated
player, Michael won six games in a row and finished with draws against
Van der Sterren and Kirov to share second equal with Kirov, Wojtkie-
wicz, Keith Arkell and Angus Dunnington, one point behind the winner.
There had been some speculation during the British championships
that there were stil two undecided places in the England team for the
World Team championships i n Lucerne, and fol owing hi s success at
Plymouth, Mi c hael was f o rt u nat e t o be sel e ct e d t o play alongside Short,
Speelman, Nunn, Chandler and Hodgson. He was placed at number five,
ahead of Hodgson, and scored fifty per cent in his five games. I read that
Michael gave a 'rather lacklustre performance', but feel that this was a

lit le harsh in view of his limited experience and the additional pressure
that accompanies team events. His only defeat, against the eccentric
Ivanchuk, was not exactly a surprise as hi s Russi a n opponent was rated
over 150 points above Michael, whi l e hi s wi n against Garci a and draws
with Black against Sosonko and Hug and with White against Dam-
ljanovic represented a solid start when representing his country at
senior level for the first time. Perhaps expectations were too high and
England's bronze medal was felt by many to be a disappointment after
finishing second to the USSR in previous international events. However
the silver medals were always an excellent achievement ahead of many
 M.Adams -

K.Spraggett 15

powerful teams so the bronze was not a major setback. Once it had been
England's pleasure to confound the seedings. As new, young, strong
players emerged to represent and strengthen opposing teams the boot
was sometimes on the other foot. Also it should be pointed out how
much England missed the fighting spirit of Tony Miles, who had
contributed so much over the previous decade, but was unavailable to play
for England at that time. After the event was over Michael and Julian
celebrated their medals by tasteful y draping a redundant ChessBase
printout out of Michael's hotel room window An enduring memory of this
event was Vasily Ivanchuk knocking on his door to return it to him at
eight-thirty the fol owing morning, his eyebrows furrowed in confusion.
Within a couple of days of returning Michael was representing 'Young
England' along with David Norwood and Stuart Conquest against the
three Polgar sisters in a double-round all-play-all speed challenge
match (30 minutes per player per game), as part of the Barbican's
'Britain salutes Hungary' festival. The result was a nine-all draw, with
Michael scoring half of his side's points, winning four games and losing
just one to Judit while drawing one with Zsuzsa. Interestingly it was

Zsuzsa with four points who was the sisters' leading scorer with Judit
scoring three. Michael and his team-mates felt that watching the film
Sex, Lies and Videotape before the last two rounds did lit le to help their
chances as the Polgars reduced a significant deficit.
More serious chess fol owed when Michael flew to Israel for the
European Team championship. Before he did so there had been a

considerable amount of negotiations behind the scenes as he had accepted an

offer to play in an invitation Infolink European Speed championship in

a strong field which included world champion Garry Kasparov. When
the dates were first announced it would have been no problem to play in
both events, but when the date of the Infolink event was brought
forward, some pressure was put on Michael to choose one event or the
other. Infolink had already provided Michael with a computer system to
assist his chess preparation, while Brian Bailey, their managing director
and an old boy of Truro School, had taken the trouble to travel there for
a celebration to mark Michael's GM and British titles. We knew that
Brian was keen for Michael to play in his event and Michael was also
enthusiastic. On the other hand, he did not want to turn down a chance of
representing his country, although for various reasons Short, Speel-
man, Chandler and Mestel had already done so. Eventually a

compromise was reached that Michael would go to Haifa and be available for
seven of the nine rounds and then make his own way home before
joining the speed event on the second day.
16 Chess in the Fast Lane

In the weakened England side, Michael suddenly found himself at

number two ahead of Hodgson, King, Suba and Watson, players of
infinitely greater experience. Now some critics described his one win, one

draw and four defeats as 'depressing'. I believe that too much was

expected of Michael and that it would have been better for him to build up
confidence on lower boards rather than losing to Wojtkiewicz, Hort, Ju-
dit Polgar and Belyavsky in successive games. The arrangement
whereby Michael was only available for the first seven games proved to
be unsatisfactory as Bob Wade, the team captain, felt under pressure to

play Michael even after each loss as he was not going to be available for
the final rounds. The tournament turned into something of a nightmare
for Michael as Lautier escaped somewhat fortuitously with a draw. This
initiated a series of disasters, the most embarrassing of which was when
he was mated by Belyavsky after 'activating' his king in a double rook
ending. It could be argued that there was a case for adjusting the board
order, particularly in a six-board competition, and the idea of using
Suba in a higher spot certainly seemed to make sense afterwards,
though hindsight makes everything seem easy. On the other hand, it
forced Michael to grow up pretty quickly in the intense and sometimes
harsh world of professional chess, and reminded both of us that success

was not automatic and had to be earned. The weakened England side,
seeded fifth at the start, eventually finished in eighth place despite
beating West Germany and Hungary, the second and fourth seeds.
Michael spent all day on Saturday travelling first by car from Haifa to
Tel Aviv and then by plane to London, only to be turned away by an

overzealous doorman at the Athenaeum Club in Pall Mall, the venue for
the speed event. Apparently he thought that Michael had come to watch
the chess and refused him admission with the news that the chess had
finished for the day. My son was unable to convince him otherwise and it
required a phone call from me to persuade the doorman that Michael
was one of the players that the public were coming to watch the next
day. Jon Speelman had already removed the main attraction, Kasparov,
in the semi-final of the top half of the draw and Michael did his part for
England by eliminating Hjartarson and then Timman with the black
pieces to reach the final. These were quite amazing results for Michael,
even allowing for the fact that it was rapidplay with each player allowed
only 25 minutes for all their moves, particularly after the
disappointments in Haifa. The final game was drawn with Michael unable to
convert his advantage into a win, so a five-minute game decided the
outcome. Speelman adapted rather better to the new time requirement,
which was hardly surprising as Michael was his first opponent that day
 M.Adams -

K.Spraggett 17

whereas Michael was facing his third, and the senior player managed a

win in a fluctuating second game. I suppose that this should have been
a disappointment, especial y as Michael had lost a play-off in the James
Capel Speed Challenge to Nigel Short in similar circumstances a year
earlier, but nobody could begrudge Jon Speelman his success after his
win against Kasparov. Afterwards the players watched a commentary
on the game by the world champion, who frequently used the expression
'second-class move'. However playing perfect five-minute chess for high
prize funds is practically impossible.
Two days later Michael was off to Palma for a Grand Masters'
Association qualifier for the World Cup cycle. He began unbelievably well
with four straight wins, including Miles and Psakhis among his victims.
This ensured that he was up with the leading group for the remainder of
the tournament, thus being 'rewarded' with plenty more experience of
strong opponents such as Gelfand, Gurevich and Malaniuk, who all beat
him. He finished with five and a half out of nine, a point off the World
Cup qualifying mark, not that there was any sense of disappointment as

qualification was something we had not even contemplated when the

event began. In fact I was not even aware that it was a qualifier until it
was all over! Michael's successes in domestic chess competitions earlier
in the year and largely dealt with in our earlier book ensured that he set
yet another record in becoming the youngest ever winner of the Leigh
Grand Prix, where points are total ed according to the results achieved
in domestic competition and awards are made at the end of the year.
Further opportunities to gain experience were presented when he
played in the Hastings Premier event. Although heavily outrated by
opponents who had an average rating over 80 points in excess of Michael,
he was not far behind the field with two wins, eight draws and four
defeats in his first experience of a double round all-play-all (apart from the
Polgar quickplay match). It seems comparatively easy to do well in an

event where you are heavily outrated as there is so lit le expected of you
and Michael scored fifty per cent against Speelman, Yusupov, Gulko,
Chandler and Spraggett.

M.Adams -

K.Spraggett tournament I had lost a long com-

Hastings Premier 1989/90 plicated game on New Year's Day,

Caro-Kann Defence, which I felt would have been bet-
Classical Variation ter utilised as one of the four free
days in the tournament. At least I
In my first encounter against this now had the opportunity to try and
opponent in this double-round even the score in our second game.
18 Chess in the Fast Lane

1 e4 c6 of important light squares. In some

2 d4 dS circumstances it would be good

3 (hd2 dxe4 for White to take the bishop but it
4 *hxe4 thm is more likely that he wil delay in
Although I often play the Caro- the hope that Black wil play . .f6-
Kann myself, I have never played f5, when White's knight can

the variation used by my regroup leaving the light-squared

opponent in this game. The system I bishop impeded and ineffectual.
use in response is probably the
main reason why it is not popular
at the highest level.
5 £>xf6+ gxf6
6 c3 AfS
The point of White's sixth move

is to prevent Black from

developing his bishop to g4, as would
occur after the 'natural' 6 £tf3.
7 £if3 e6
8 g3 &d7
9 £g2 £g7
It is not unusual for Black to
aim for queenside castling in this 12 .. aS
variation because of the doubled f- Black is understandably
pawns on the kingside, but reluctant to allow the space
experience has shown that the white encroachinga4-a5.
fianchetto structure is dif icult to 13 i.f4 &b6
attack, whereas Black's king can White is also slightly better
be vulnerable to a pawn storm. In after 13.. ®b6 14 #cl (14 #e2 Wa6
view of this Spraggett chooses to is less effective), when Black's
castle on the other side. Although queen can be chased away by JLe3
this approach is safer it leaves at some stage and White has the
White with an enduring advantage. useful option of JLh6.
10 0-0 0-0 14 Wb3 id.3
11 &h4 ig6 This move makes an awkward
12 a4 impression. 14.. Sa6!, as suggested
Taking the bishop on
g6 by Kevin Spraggett in his notes in
immediately would be a mistake. The Informator, appears to be an

rectangle of pawns which Black improvement when White has

would obtain after . .hxg6 fol owed nothing better than 15 Sadl £>d5 16
by a later . .f6-f5 would keep his £>xg6 hxg6 17 i.cl with a slight
king very safe and ensure control pull due to the two bishops.
 M.Adams -

K.Spraggett 19

15 Sfdl &c4
16 #c2 £id5
17 b3 £>xf4?
A very bad decision. Better was

17.. J&.a6 (this may also have been

better on move 15) but White has
a clear advantage after 18 JLcl
(not 18 £d2 i.e2 and . .i.b.5) when
it is not clear how Black can

coordinate his forces as his bishop

on a6 is total y out of the game.
After the text move, accurate play
should enable White to win. 22.. exd5 23 £rf4 is awful.
18 bxc4 £>xg2 23 dxe6 fxe6
The choice between this and 24 &f4 Sfe8
18.. £ig6 cannot have been easy as 25 Wb3 i.h6
both look so grim. Maybe 19 £ixg6 Black decides to jet ison a pawn
hxg6 20 Sabl fol owed by piling as 25.. »f7 26#xb6 Sxc3 27 #xa5
up on the b-file would be the most is hopeless. However 25.. 1rxc3 26
convincing answer if Black were #xc3 Sxc3 27 Sxb6 e5 was

to choose the knight retreat. probably the best chance, although

19 £>xg2 White stil has excellent winning
The knight regroups to within a chances. A possible improvement
hop of d5 with gain of tempo, on the last variation is 26 Wxb6
adding to Black's problems when Black remains under very
19 .. #c7 heavy pressure.
20 Sabl b6 26 £ixe6 Wxc3
21 d5(D) 27 #xc3
Given an exclamation mark by Exchanging queens
Spraggett in his notes, but his immediately is slightly better than 27 Wd5
alternative suggestion of 21 Sb3 #c6 28 £ic7+ #xd5+ 29 &xd5,
fol owed by trebling on the b-file though White should stil win.
also looks pretty effective. White 27 .. Sxc3
is in the enviable position of 28 Exb6 Sc4
having two equally promising plans 29 Sd7 Scl+OV
as Black is il placed to withstand After Black's intended 29.. Sxa4,
either long-term pressure or the White wins by 30 £>c7 Sf8 31 £>d5
immediate breakthrough played Ag7 32 &e7+ <£>h8 33 «rf5 Sg8 34
in the game. Sbb7 Sg4 35 £>h6. My opponent
21 .. cxdS resourceful y looks for some tricks.
22 cxdS Sac8 30 4g2 Sc2
20 Chess in the Fast Lane

31 .. Sa2
32 £ic7 See2
33 Sb8+ if8
34 &g4 Sxf2
35 h4!
With this move the white king
finds a safe haven for just long
enough to crash through by £te6
or Bdd8. Less efficient was the
immediate 35 £te6 h5+! 36 <&xh5
Sxh2+ 37 s£?g6 Sh6+ 38 *ffi Sf2+
although it should stil win after
31 &f3 39 £tf4.
Also good was 31 £ta7 See2 32 35 .. Sxa4+
Sxf6 ±e3 33 Sd8+ *g7 34 £te8+ 36 Sh3 Saa2
4g8 35 &d6+ *g7 36 Sdf8 37 £te6
threatening £tf5 mate. I was probably Black resigned because after
rather nervous as points were not the spite checks 37.. Eh2+ 38 <&g4
easily forthcoming in this Sa4+ 39 "ii 5 mate wil be
tournament. unavoidable.

Game 4
The improvement in Michael's play during the second half of the year
was confirmed when the new FIDE ratings came out, which were to
take effect from the start of 1990. Whereas the first six months had seen

his FIDE rating decline by five points, the second half resulted in an

increase of fifty points. This was mainly due to the increased

opportunities that he had had of playing against much stronger opponents on far
more occasions than ever before and of course the reasonable results
that Michael had obtained against them.
By Michael's standards, 1990 began very quietly. One weekend
representing Clichy in the French league (two wins and a draw), three
weekends playing in the Belgian league (three wins) and a disappointing
Cannes open where he again lost in the first round and finished half a

point behind the seven joint winners. Regrettably a poor start to a

tournament was too regular an occurrence at this stage of his career.

Theoretically the first round game should be a relatively easy for someone of
Michael's strength in an open event, as the draw is made in such a way
that the stronger players play weaker opponents.
 M.Adams -

L.Christiansen 21

Michael was selected on board five for the four-way double-round

tournament between the USSR, USA, the Nordic countries and
England, held in Reykjavik and he achieved his best results for his country
so far with a double success against Christiansen, a win and a draw
against Mikhail Gurevich and a draw and defeat against Hjartarson.
Michael's score was the highest for England in the ten-player team
(with one reserve) and helped the team to second place overall.
Particularly sweet was a 6-4 success against the USSR, albeit without Kasparov
and Karpov. With the exception of Murray Chandler, who was unwell,
England had their strongest team with Michael playing below Julian
Hodgson on this occasion.

M.Adams -
L.Christiansen Black's opening set-up in this
England-USA, game is not highly considered by
Reykjavik (Visa) 1990 theory as White is able to set up
Sicilian Defence, the Maroczy bind formation with
Kan Variation lit le effort. However the last move

was not the strongest

Although a number of English and continuation. Both 9 Jte3 and 9 b3 were

American players are good friends, more accurate.

there is always an intense rivalry 9 .. £ic6
in matches between the two 10 &xc6
countries. The end of this competition A commit al decision. 10 JLe3
was very close with both ourselves would have retained White's
and the Americans within spit ing options.
distance of the Russians with a 10 .. bxc6
few games remaining. However in 11 f4 e5
the dying moments both sides This the
is most certain way to
messed up to allow the Russians prevent White from ever playing
to win yet another team e4-e5, but 11.. £k!7 was a good
competition, as everyone else rued their alternative.
missed opportunities. 12 s£?hl Q*A7(D)
1 e4 c5 After this I manage to put a big
2 £\f3 e6 clamp on the position. 12.. exf4 13
3 d4 cxd4 JLxf4 <2kl7 gives Black nice dark-
4 £ixd4 a6 square control but the lead in
5 id3 &f6 development allows White to put
6 0-0 d6 some pressure on d6.
7 c4 ±e7 13 f5 a5
8 £ta3 0-0 Again a variety of other
9 We2 alternatives were available. 13.. Jtg5 is
22 Chess in the Fast Lane

18 .. Sd8
19 Sg3 &f4
The bishop has a choice of
several squares in this complicated
position. Bad is 19.. &h4 20 Sxg7+
<&xg7 21 JLxh4 with a rampant
attack. 19.. JLf6 looks a lit le passive
and 19.. h6 20 JLe3 looks
dangerous. Perhaps 19.. f6, allowing
lateral defence if required, was best.
One problem for Black is that
after most moves the option to win a

positionally well founded but the queenside pawn remains.

bishop is useful to defend the pawn 20 Sh3 ia6
on d6 and cover the kingside. Also Not a pleasant move to play as

possible is 13.. JLb7 hoping to break the king looks more and more

with . .d6-d5 at a later stage. denuded, but White already has the
14 £e3 a4 makings of a powerful attack.
15 Sf3! This is a critical moment because
A nice move. The rook is ready White must try and find a way
to swing into action against the around the awkward bishop on f4.
black king but is also useful 21 f6 g6 22 ±e3 £te6 leaves a very
defensively along the third rank. double-edged position but I was

15 ..
±g5 reluctant to play something so

Interesting was the immediate commit al.

15.. Wa5 when White must respond
to the threat of . .a4-a3.
16 ±f2 &c5
17 ±c2
An exchange of knight for light-
squared bishop would not trouble
White, but this move keeps alive
the annoying possibility of
pinching the a4 pawn.
17 .. Wa5
18 Sdl
Taking the pawn here was

possible, but now that Black's queen

is not in contact with the kingside 21 Wg4 f6
there is an opportunity to mount After 21.. ±xc4 22 g3 the black
an attack on that side. bishop on f4 is trapped
 M.Adams -

L.Christiansen 23

22 ih4 Sh8
Not where the king wants to be
but 22.. <&f8 23 &xf6 was

impossible.
23 Wh5 #c7
Interesting was the reply 23.. h6
but 23.. Sa7 24 Sxd6 was not
recommended.
24 b4!
As there is no instant win on

the kingside, I take some time out

to consolidate the queenside.
24 .. axb3 34 Wa2
25 axb3 &d7 The right idea but a move too
If 25.. 2ab8, 26 £te2 causes some late because Black now gets some

problems. chances. The rest of the game

26 Wf7 Sf8 focuses on White's battle to land his
If Black plays 26.. Sac8 (the queen on the kingside with a

threat was ±xf6), then 27 Shd3 decisive attack and Black trying to
and White picks off a pawn. achieve enough activity to distract
27 We7 d5 him.
28 exd5 Sae8 34 .. &c5
29 Wa3 ±b7 (D) 35 if3 e4
Although White has won a pawn, Tempting, particularly close to
Black has managed to manoeuvre the time control, but 35.. Jtc8
the queen offside and now has an appears more dif icult to meet as 36
asset in the passed e-pawn. ±xc6 (36 g4 e4) 36.. ±xf5 37 Sf3
However the d-pawn is also strong and JLg4 is not clear. The move

White is the first to get to the actually played drives White's bishop
important e4 square. to an excellent post where it puts
30 d6 Wb6 the black king in too much danger.
31 £e4 £e3 36 ±h5 fod3(D)
The immediate 31.. ^c5 was not 37 ±g6
possible due to 32 &f2. Of course not 37 ±xe8 Bxe8
32 &a4 Wa7 when all the black pieces are well
33 iel placed.
A slightly odd move. 33 Wb2, 37 .. h6
trying to bring the queen to a 38 Wd2 c5
more active post as quickly as 39 Sxh6+ &g8
possible, was better. 40 ±h7+
33 .. id4 A repetition to reach move 40.
24 Chess in the Fast Lane

40 .. *f7 48 Wd7!
41 .&g6+ "^8 A neat switch-back.
42 Sh4 Black resigned

Game 5
Michael's next tournament was the Oakham Junior International, which
gave him another opportunity to make his mark on the world junior
scene. Apart from his runner-up spot in the World Under-16 in 1987,
Michael never managed to achieve his ful potential in international
individual junior events and, despite beginning with three straight wins,
this event was no exception. Four draws against Norwood, Ulibin,
Anand and HraSek, fol owed by a loss to Tiviakov meant that a last
round win only enabled him to reach sixth equal position. It is
interesting to note that a young Indian by the name of Anand recorded the same

score.

Along with several other of the Oakham competitors, Michael then

travelled on to Manchester for a competition designed to give other
players the opportunity of GM title norms. However, with Anand
scoring seven and a half out of nine and Michael just half a point less the
rest of the field were left well behind.
The Watson, Farley and Wil iams all-play-all was a tough fourteen-
player event with the dif erence between the top and bottom ratings
only 120 points and Michael finding himself the second highest-rated
player (though seedings are less relevant when the players are so closely
grouped on the rating scale). He made a good start with wins against
Tony Kosten and Jonathan Levit but it was not maintained and
Michael went for eight rounds without a win, slipping back to fifty per cent
 M.Adams- P.Wolf 25

in the process. However two good wins against Wolf and Frias and a

draw against Julian Hodgson ensured a degree of respectability in the

final result. Michael finished fifth equal in the event which was won by
Larsen with Wolf in second place.

MAdams -
P.Wolf 5 #d2 b5
London (Watson, Farley 6 h4
and Wil iams) 1990 Here it looks tempting to play 6
Modern Defence f4, but after . .&f6 White would
be struggling to maintain both
Around this time there was a brief the e-pawn and his dark-squared
surge of all-play-alls in England, bishop. It was an interesting option
mainly organised by Ray Keene, last turn though. The text forces
and Patrick was often invited. Black to either allow h4-h5, which
This was certainly a good move is not good as White gets a ready-
for the spectators as Patrick made attack, or to play 6.. h5, when
targeted his opponent's king in a White wil post his knight on the
rather vicious manner. However, weakened g5 square with some

when he was under attack, as in annoying pressure, or to play the

the fol owing game, the home game move, which is less common

players chalked up some revenge. but in many ways more logical.

1 e4 d6 6 .. &f6
After his period working as 7 f3
Anand's second this move is This is nearly always a good
rarely seen in my opponent's move after Black has played . .^f6,
repertoire and he now prefers to whip but is rarely appropriate if Black
out various Sicilians. has not done so.

2 d4 g6 7 .. Wc7
3 £ta3 ±g7 Preventing any idea of e4-e5
4 £e3 c6 from White, and on a wider scale
Black tries to take advantage of preparing queenside castling.
his move order which is 8 ih6
significant as he has delayed . .^f6. This This move makes going short
is usual in these types of positions very undesirable for Black as an

but despite the caveman approach automatic attack would await him.
from White and great finesse from It is the only critical move,
Black this is stil a dif icult system attempting to take advantage of the fact
for Black to meet. Maybe Black that 6.. h5 was not played.
should dispense with sublety and 8 .. £xh6
fol ow simple rules like There is no way to keep open the
developing and controlling the centre. option of castling on this side but
26 Chess in the Fast Lane

Black can be cheered by the way in a similar way to the last

that the white queen has been variation.
forced offside. Black has refrained 11 Sxh3 £sbd7
from playing . .b4 as it has no 12 0-0-0 £tt>6
concrete purpose at the moment; the Two sensible alternatives were

knight would simply regroup to e2 12.. 0-0-0 and 12.. a6 possibly to

and the weakened b-pawn would be fol owed by . .c6-c5. However in
make it too dangerous to castle these lines Black's king feels a

long. lit le uncomfortable in the centre.

9 Wxh6 £e6 White's major problem is getting
The bishop could also have the rook on h3 to co-ordinate with
gone to b7, but then a white all of his other pieces. Ideally this
knight coming to g5 would be should happen by swinging it
even more annoying. across the third rank, but first the
10 &h3 move f3-f4 has to be played, which
A common idea in this variation. is not so easy to achieve without
The knight can move to either f4 dropping the e4 pawn or leaving
or g5 from here, although in this White's queen embarrassingly
position it is quite desirable for out of play.
Black to swap his bishop for this 13 s£?bl
knight even though this entails a A solid waiting move but more

loss of time. The other option was energetic play with 13 g4 was

10 &ge2 &bd7 11 £rf4 with a indicated.

complicated position where I would 13 .. 0-0-0
prefer White. 14 #e3
It is natural to bring the queen
back into play in the
circumstances. If 14 a3, intending 14.. e5
■ ASIA 15 d5, Black can play the solid
AilLl tAl 14.. a6 when there are no great
fol ow-ups available.
14 e5
m
..

Mil a Opening the centre is not a bad

idea but White was struggling for
Hi W// IP a good way to get his forces
AWti A A

combining effectively, so the reply

14.. 4^8 might have been better.
The move played plans 15 d5 b4.
10 .. £xh3 15 a3
If Black decided on 10.. £sbd7 Hence this precaution is
the game would probably develop necessary. Although White's last few
 M. Adams- P.Wolf 27

moves appear slow, Black is stil queenside open. Extreme accuracy

not able to resolve his dif iculties is now required from Black
due to his weakened queenside. because all of the white pieces have
15 .. d5 the potential to participate in the
The last two moves are typical attack, with the rook on the third
of WolfFs all-action style but his rank now looking an asset rather
king becomes more vulnerable than a liability.
as the game opens up. 15.. a6 was 19 .. a6?
a reasonable precaution, but not A fairly normal reaction, but in
15.. She8, when 16 d5 looks good. fact Black cannot afford to be so

blase with such a vulnerable king.

This allows a forced win and a

rather quick one at that. The

alternative 19.. bxa4 20 £lxa4 Wb4
(20.. £lxa4 21 Wxa7) 21 Sd4 Wa5 22
£ixb6+ axb6 23 Wf2 is very good
for White but the critical lines
start 19.. b4 20 a5 bxc3 21 Wxc3
and now:

a) 21.. s£?b7 22 axb6 axb6 23

£a6+ *c7 (23.. <±>xa6 24 Wxc6
Sc8 25 Wxd5) 24 Sxd5 £ic5 25
Sxd8 Sxd8 26 £e2 and White
16 dxe5 wins a pawn; or

White must avoid exchanging b) 21.. Wc5 (the best) 22 axb6

pawns on d5, bringing the black axb6 23 Wd2 and White maintains
steeds into the game. the initiative although Black has
16 .. '&xe5 chances to defend.
17 f4 We7
The other retreat 17.. Wc7 would
set Black up for 18 e5 £ifd7 19
&xb5 cxb5 20 £ixb5 and £sd6+
with total carnage.
18 e5 £sfd7
This looks more sensible than
the continuation 18.. £ig4 19 %3
h5 when the knight manoeuvre

£te2-d4 is strong.
19 a4
This is the right moment for
action; White attempts to rip the
28 Chess in the Fast Lane

20 a5 £sa8 23 Hc3 £sb8

Of course if 20.. £lc4, then White 24 g3
wins with 21 Wa7. If Black had A nice touch. The threat of de-
time to consolidate his position veloping the light-squared bishop
with . .&bl he would be fine but proves decisive because 24.. f5 25
the end is swift. exflB only delays the inevitable con-

21 £lxd5! cxd5 elusion.

22 Wa7 thc7 Black resigned

Game 6
I have kept scrapbooks of Michael's press clippings ever since he started
playing competitively. This is not an easy exercise as chess results are

often given several days after the games have been played and
newspapers are inconsistent in their reporting so that good coverage of one

round of an event may well be fol owed by total y ignoring the next
round. Just imagine what the response would be if one day of a cricket
test match was not reported or if the result of a critical football fixture
was not given until a week after it had been played! This is a common

occurrence in English chess reporting and presumably is a reflection of

the general lack of interest in chess results.
One occasion when there was plenty of reporting was the aftermath
of the British zonal, the qualifier for the next stage of the world
championship. Murray Chandler won the event with Julian Hodgson, Mihai
Suba and Michael finishing second equal. Only one of these three could
join Murray at the interzonal. The problem was that no clear course of
action had been laid down as how
to to proceed in the case of a tie. The
players could not agree whether there should be play-offs (favoured by
Michael) or drawing of lots. So lots were drawn to decide how to
continue and the lat er course was taken. The players had to choose a

number between one and eighty and then waited to see whose choice would
be drawn out first in a Blackpool bingo hall. This was resolved in
Michael's favour when his number nine was the second ball drawn,
enabling him to compete in the interzonal in Manila. When quizzed on his
reasons for choosing the number nine, Michael revealed that it was the
number of pints he had drunk the night before! Clearly such quotes are

the way to raise the profile of chess in the media as Michael's chess
performance was not reported in anywhere near the same detail as the
bingo. In fact he was solid with five wins against the bottom ranked five
players and five draws against Chandler, Hodgson, Suba, King and Davies.
 M.Adams -

CMcNab 29

M Adams -
CMcNab 9 £sge2 £sb4
British zonal, Blackpool 1990 10 0-0 Who
Pirc Defence Black can't do without this move

as queenside castling is far too

Playing in zonal tournaments is risky, but now the queen becomes
always very tough on account of misplaced, allowing White time to
the small number of qualification develop a rampant initiative.
places available and the large plus 11 fd2 &xd3
score which is required to go 12 cxd3
through. It is also no secret that This is the real problem with
the British zonal is one of the Black's plan. The armada of pawns
most dif icult in terms of playing in the middle of the board gives
strength. If I was to have a chance White a pleasant space advantage
of going to the Manila interzonal, and good chances to build an

this was a game that I had to win. attack on either side of the board.
1 e4 g6 The fact that no pawn exchanges
2 (14 d6 have been made renders the black
3 £sc3 £g7 bishop ineffective.
4 &e3 £sf6
ess Wf», x. 'Jmtf, _*_ Wzfc
5 &d2 c6
ess

6 ±h6 £.xh6 IP pp a » l
A topical line for this opening.
Black avoids 6.. 0-0 in view of the ■ AH ■*■
kingside that would
■ ■»
storm

»^»
pawn
fol ow.
7 &xh6 Wa5 A A :J
8 0-0-0.
Of course T.-.^bG is parried by mi
8 i-d3 £sa6 AH IteBAB
This game is not a great
advertisement for this move and Black's
plan turns out not to be 12 .. 0-0
successful. Better was 8.. £ibd7 or the 13 f4
critical 8.. c5, after which White Much stronger than 13 ^g3
gained the advantage with 9 £rf"3 when 13.. Wh4 would be annoying
cxd4 10 £lxd4 £sc6 11 &b5 &d7 12 in view of 14 f4 £}g4. This move

0-0-0 Wb6 13 We3 in the recent also threatens f4-f5.

game Hodgson-van Wely (Donner 13 .. Wh6
Memorial 1994). Finally, snatching 14 h3
the b-pawn with 8.. Wb4 9 £ige2 After Black's last accurate move

Wxb2 10 0-0 looks too dangerous. the advance f4-f5 is prevented for
30 Chess in the Fast Lane

the immediate future, so I deny preparing . .^g8, though more

my opponent use of the g4 square resilient, were depressingly passive.

and prepare Sf3 fol owed by Safl. 18 Hg3 h6
Now the sacrifice 14..JLxh3 15 19 Sfl <±>h8
gxh3 Wxh3 is easily parried by 16
Sf2.
14 .. e5
Black's position is definitely no

dreamboat but perhaps 14.. .&.d7,

14.. b6 or 14.. b5 were better tries.
White is much better prepared for
the opening of lines.
15 Sadl!
Forcing an exchange.
15 .. exf4
Another tricky decision. The
alternative 15.. exd4 16 £ixd4 #g7
17 £tf3 has the merit of keeping 20 e5 dxe5
lines closed and not bringing the After 20.. £sh7 21 £sh5 %6 22
white rooks into action so soon, ^f6 Black collapses even quicker.
but White's centre is ready to roll. 21 dxe5 £sh7
16 &xf4 Wg7 22 (14 i.f5
A logical looking try is 16.. £tfi5, The bishop finally emerges just
trying to exchange some pieces, in time to prevent £te4. With the
but 17 £ixh5 Wxh5 (17.. #xd2 18 next move White aims to maul his
Sxd2 gxh5 19 Sf6 and 20 Sh6 way through to Black's king.
wins a pawn) 18 Wf4 d5 19 exd5 23 h4 Had8
cxd5 20 g4 Wxh3 21 £sxd5 f5 is It is tempting to try and keep
very critical. This may be why my the kingside closed but 23.. g4 24
opponent rejected it, although £ifd5 £e6 25 £if6 leaves Black
objectively White would be unwise suffering from claustrophobia. While
to enter these complications when it is logical to bring the rook into
he already possesses a clear edge; play after spending the first
so perhaps 19 Sdel is the best way twenty-odd moves riding the pine,
to keep up the pressure. once lines are opened on the king-
17 Sf3 g5 side the chances of survival are

Lashing out with this move slim. Maybe 23.. .&g6 would have
cannot be good as it is never been a better way to defend.
possible to satisfactorily resolve the pin 24 £sh5
on the g-file, but the alternatives An accurate move, not fal ing
17.. &d7 18 Wf2 £>e8 and 18.. &h8 for 24 hxg5 Wxe5!
 M.Adams -

CMcNab 31

24 ..
Wg6 execution which would have been
25 hxg5 £ixg5 forthcoming. This may have been
Not to be recommended was because he doesn't have many
25.. Wxh5 26 Sxf5 <&xg5 (26.. hxg5 moves that don't lose something,
27 Sh3 Wg4 28 Sxg5 Wxd4 + 29 for example 26.. &c8 27 £ice4
Wxd4 Sxd4 30 Sgh5) 27 Sfxg5 £sxe4 28 £sxe4 Wxe4 29 Wxh6+
hxg5 28 Sh3. #h7 30 #fS+ or 26.. &g7 27 &e2.
26 £sf6 27 £se2
It was possible to take the rook,
but 27.. Sg7 28 £sf4 would be
embarrassing so there is no real rush.
27 .. h5
28 Wf4 £g4
29 £sxg8 Hxg8
30 £ic3 <±>h7
The only chances to continue
were 30..Ae6 and 30.. Sd8 but in
any case White's work is almost
finished.
31 do ±c8
32 <±>h2 Wh6
26 ..
Hg8 33 £le4
Black chooses to give up a whole That's about it.
exchange rather than wait for the Black resigned

Game 7
Ironically Michael's good fortune at bingo was not good news for his
school as the interzonal was scheduled to be played at the same time as

the final stages of The Times schools' competition. Thus having helped
Truro School to reach the last four, Michael was unable to play in the
final matches.
From Blackpool, Michael travelled to Paris for the final week of
games in the French league. Three wins and two draws meant that he
completed the season with six wins and four draws, helping Clichy to
finish in third place behind Lyons, who had built up a truly formidable
side by offering attractive financial packages to players. Michael drew
with Boris Spassky in the match between Clichy and Lyons.
When my son went off to Manila for the interzonal I did not believe
that he really had a great chance of qualifying and merely thought that
32 Chess in the Fast Lane

it would be good experience for the future. Perhaps this was partly
because of the fortuitous way t h at he had qualified and partly because of
his stil limited experience against t h e top players, but I can remember
Stewart Reuben saying that anything could happen in the minor plac-
ings of a Swi s s event and he was ri g ht , as Mi c hael got wi t h i n one wi n of
becoming a candidate. This was quite a remarkable achievement as

Michael was unwell for much of the tournament, often just getting up to

play his games and then returning to bed. Michael has always said that
this did not put him at any great disadvantage as he reckons that he has
had many of hi s best resul t s whi l e not feeling one hundred per cent . It
should also be pointed out that Michael benefited from sharing Wi l
Watson as a second with Murray Chandler (Kavalek worked with Short)
after some gentle persuasion from David Anderton. Wil did a terrific

job and managed to repair most of the deficiencies in Michael's opening

repertoire so that games were started on a fairly even basis.
Anyway, Michael began well with two wins against Rachels and Va-
ganian and a draw against Salov, but t h en l o st against Laut i e r and
Yudasin. Draws against Rechlis, Andrei Sokolov and Rogers fol owed
before wins against Ye Ronguang and Lputian, i n t e rspersed wi t h draws
against Ftadnik and Ljubojevic meant that a win in his final game
against Nikolic would have seen him through to the candidates.
Ironically Nigel Short was in the same position. It is history now that Short
beat Mikhail Gurevich with Black and went on to win the candidates
competition and challenge Kasparov, while Michael lost his game with
White after a 62-move struggle i n whi c h Mi c hael devi a t e d f r om a

repetition of moves as this would not have helped either player. It was
somewhat ironic that the pre-game planning considered many Spanish (Ruy
Lopez) variations, but not the Zaitsev that was actually played, as it
leads to the move repetition that could have ended both players' hopes.
Probably it would have been better for Michael to have deviated very
early on t o avoi d repetition altogether as Ni k ol i c was always going to
have more dif iculty i n reaching t h e t i m e cont r ol t h an Mi c hael .
Nevertheless, overall this tournament was most encouraging and
further evidence that Michael really did have a future in chess. In some
ways he was lucky to have a future of any sort as originally the intention
had been to play the first half of the interzonal at Baguio, which
suffered an earthquake that flat ened hotels, schools and a university
building just when t h e chess would have been taking place. Michael did
experience t h e earthquake i n Manila, but i t was nowhere near as strong
although very frightening. He was lucky enough to be in the hotel
reception area rather than a room or the lift and had the benefit of Murray
 M.Adams -

W.Watson 33

Chandler's advice that according to his New Zealand education the best
place to stay was under a door jamb. This excellent theory did not stop
them both rushing outside! The hotel proved to be quite solid although
a good deal of damage was done to neighbouring buildings. What with
the earthquake, a car bomb that exploded shortly after he had left the
area and the food poisoning that he had suffered, we were pleased t o see

him home in one piece. The bomb completed a miserable tournament

for the top Filipino player, Torre, who had his car destroyed as well as

failing to qualify.
Michael's next event was the British championship at Eastbourne.
Before now, the British had always been the major tournament of the
year for Michael, but after a twelve-month period including World and
European Team championships, a GMA event, a Hastings Premier and
the Manila interzonal, he could not be expected to have the same

approach. Nevertheless, expectations were high and a final position of

fourth equal was regarded by some as being disappointing. However,
that overlooks the fact that Michael was the only player to remain
undefeated and his results were equal to a 2600+ performance, which could
have been even better but for a couple of inaccuracies, missing winning
chances against Plaskett, the eventual champion, in the fourth round
and King in the penultimate game

M .Adams -
W.Watson knowledge of how sad my openings
British Championship, were.

Eastbourne 1990 1 e4 c5
Sicilian Defence, 2 d4 cxd4
Smith-Morra Gambit 3 c3 dxc3
Wil didn't contemplate 3.. £»f6
This is not really a very good game for very long here. Like most
and I don't have many plans to players he probably has too lit le
repeat this opening. However my respect for this gambit to decline it.
only use of this opening resulted 4 £sxc3 £sc6
in me being invited to write a book 5 £sf3 e6
on it by a certain publisher, so I 6 &c4 £»ge7
decided to put this encounter in 7 £g5
the collection. In reality I was only Black's last move is not
attempting to prevent my supposed to be the greatest way to
opponent from using his superior combat the Morra but I certainly
knowledge of the Dragon. Wil iam couldn't work out why. Perhaps 7
had recently been my second in h4 is most in the spirit of the
Manila, so he had first-hand opening, though the immediate 7
34 Chess in the Fast Lane

Jk.e3 or 7 0-0 also come into 12 £»b6

consideration. The move played aims Also possible was 12 JLb6. The
to soften up the a2-g8 diagonal. text may be stronger since White
7 .. f6 has the option to take the light-
8 Ae3 £»g6 squared bishop if convenient.
9 0-0 ±e7 12 .. Sb8
10 We2 13 Sacl 0-0
At first I had the feeling that 14 Sfdl f5?
White should be aiming for a swift More in the style of Dr Watson
advance of the f-pawn with 11 than Wil Watson! 14.. &h8 allows
£}d4, but having reached this no obvious breakthrough though
position I was not that impressed with White must be clearly better after
it. Instead, placing both rooks on 15 h4, which provokes a crisis
promising f i l e s keeps some where White's better development
compensation, but by now I was should outweigh the pawn minus.
thinking that at least you have an 15 exf5 Sxf5
equal number of pawns in the 16 &d3
Dragon!

1 ±W&
Ik i±

aW" ■lrH/A I
16 .. &h8
10 .. a6? After 16.. d5 17 1^5 exf5 18
A hard move to explain because <2}xd5 ^&h the prosaic reply 19
either 10.. 0-0 or 10../tc7 were Jk.b6 is probably strongest, and if
better. Perhaps my opening choice 16.. Sxf3 17 gxf3 d5 18 £sxd5 and
was inspired after all? the roof caves in. The best try was

11 £»a4 17.. £}ge5 in the last variation, but

Since 11.. b5 is met by 12 Ab6, White's shattered kingside should
White gets to prevent easy not cause too many problems due
development of the black queenside. to Black's inactive pieces.
11 .. Wc7 17 £>xd7 ±xd7
 M.Adams -

W.Watson 35

18 «xd7 Wxd7
19 Sxd7 £sf8
9 *W§ Hi If k
20 Sd2
HIP HP
The aim of the Smith-Morra AHH^HP A

Gambit is probably not to reach

endings, but due to the bishop
pair, better pawn structure and
« '-m,
active pieces White
more

with this
is very
Emm
happy one.

20 .. i.b4
21 Se2
There doesn't seem to be much
wrong with the more logical 21 Finally securing the back rank.
S2dl but the move played in the With an extra outside passed pawn
game works out well. and Black's weak isolated one on

21 .. Sd8 e6, the position should be

The only chance to save a pawn winning, but Wil iam certainly makes
was 21.. a5, which was a better try. lit le effort to test my technique.
22 a3 &c5(D) 28.. Sda8 or 28.. h6 would both
The alternatives lines 22.. jk.e7 leave White with work to do.
23 ±xa6 and 22.. £a5 23 b4 ±cl 28 .. Sdd5
24 j&.xa6 also lose a pawn. 29 Sc8 &g8
23 £xa6 £xe3 30 Sb3 *f7
24 Sxe3 bxa6 Black's only possible move was

25 Sxc6 2b5 30.. 2db5.

26 b4 a5 31 Sb7+ £sd7
27 bxa5 Sxa5 32 £»e5+
28 g3 Black resigned

While Michael was in Manila the award for the 'Player of the Year' for
the twelve-month period ending April 30th was made by the British
Chess Federation and Michael was selected for this honour. His results
in Manila confirmed that the promise shown in that period was

beginning to be fulfil ed. Despite my pessimism before the event, Michael

showed that he could now often hold his own among players just outside
the top ten. This was reflected in a further rise of 35 points on the July
1990 rating list taking him up to 2590, which meant that he had
reached the world's top forty players and established himself as the
number four (after Short, Nunn and Speelman) in the English list -

quite a jump in just twelve months.

 Chapter Two

Apart from the British championship, Michael's other regular annual

tournament was the Lloyds Bank Masters. The 1990 event was his
seventh successive appearance and provided one of his better results with
five White wins (against Ziiger, Wells, Wojtkiewicz, Suba and Conquest)
and a win and four draws with Black. This enabled Michael to share
first place with Sturua (USSR) and Conquest, who not only won the
event on tie-break but also achieved a GM norm with two rounds to spare.

Game 8
M.Adams -

M.Suba 4 d4 cxd4
London (Lloyds Bank) 1990 5 £txd4 e6
Sicilian Defence, 6 f4 £sf6
Najdorf Variation So by transposition we have
reached a variation of the Najdorf,
Curiously, English players have to albeit one that bears a strong
some extent benefited from the resemblance to a Scheveningen.
lack of tournaments in this 7 Wf3 Wb6
country, in that fewer foreign players 8 £»b3
have moved here relative to many I was not keen to repeat my
other European countries. Mihai game against Wojtkiewicz from
was an exception to this rule, which an earlier round where I played 8
was quite fortunate for me as a3, a continuation which can be
during his brief stay in this country I found in game 25 (Adams-Renet).
managed to notch up a large plus In an open tournament,
score against him. preparation is less of a factor but I'm
1 e4 c5 always happy to vary my openings.
2 £»c3 8 .. Wc7
As my encounters with Suba in 9 a4!?
the Scheveningen variation had Murray Chandler had used this
not always resulted in good move, I believe for the first time,
opening positions, I hoped to take him in his third round game against
into a dif erent line. After 2.. ^c6, Wojtkiewicz in this event. Instead
I would have played 3 £lf3. of aiming for a kingside pawn
2 .. a6 storm with 9 g4, White prevents
3 £»f3 d6 Black from playing the advance
 MAdams -

M.Suba 37

. .b7-b5 and completes his 13 .. £»de5

development. 14 fxe6 fxe6
9 .. b6 15 #h3 i.c8
10 i.d3 £lc6 This is forced since 15.. Wd7 16
Possibly better is 10..±hl 110-0 JLe3 wins the b-pawn. Black's
£sbd7 12 Wg3 g6!? position looks appalling at this point,
11 0-0 Ab7 but possession of the e5 square
12 #g3 and the lack of targets in his
position make it dif icult for White to
gain the advantage. White needs to
act quickly as Black plans . JLe7-
f6 fol owed by castles.
16 ±e3 £e7
17 ±e2
Another idea was 17 Wh5 + g618
Wh3 when the bishop is denied the
excellent f6 square, but 18.. ^f7
should allow Black to grovel to
safety.
17 .. £»d8
18 £sd4 MG
12 .. £»d7 19 Ah5+ £»ef7
In this position Black is already 20 £g4 We7
faced with dif icult problems. 21 fod5(D)
Playing 12.. g6 is dangerous due to the The play up to here has been
exposed position of the knight on quite logical, but I was left with the
f6 after 13 f5. Giving up the pawn feeling that White should have
with 12.. ±e7 13 Wxg7 Sg8 14 «h6 achieved rather more. Probably
0-0-0 leads to a very unusual this can be traced to the
position with chances for both sides. inaccuracy 13 f5. With Black gradually
Other moves fail to develop the improving his position it makes
kingside. sense for me to change the nature
13 f5 of the game with this knight
It is very tempting to start thrust.
immediate action against the king 21 .. exd5
stuck in the centre but there is no 22 i.xc8 0-0
real need to hurry as after 13 Ae3, Of course not 22.. dxe4 23 Sael
completing White's development, d5 (23.. 0-0 24 M5 g6 25 ±xe4
Black is stil left with the problem <2}g5 26 d5 + ) 24 c4 which is much
of how to proceed with his own too dangerous for Black.
mobilisation. 23 ±f5!?
38 Chess in the Fast Lane

ensures White sufficient

compensation but no more.

27 £»d4!
Now Black is in trouble.

Also possible was 23 Sael with

variations similar to the last note
except that Black has the reply
23.. <2}g5, which improves his
position. The text move plans an

interesting piece sacrifice. Although 27 .. £se5?

White only gets two pawns for his Again not the best. Even though
piece, the unsafe position of the 27.. ±xd4 28 ±xd4 £se5 29 We6 +
black king and his inactive pieces Sf7 looks very dangerous, Black
provide further compensation. The may stil have drawing chances,
fact that both players were for example 30 Sf5 £»c5 31 Sg5 +

running short of time meant that the £»g6 (31.. <£>h8 32 Sexe5) 32 Sxg6+
sacrifice was justified in a hxg6 33 Wxge + Sg7 34 ±xg7 Wxg7
practical sense. 35 WxdB when the four pawns
23 ..
g6 are more than enough for a piece
24 exd5 gxf5 but Black has chances to save the
25 £sxf5 Wc7 game. Mihai also contemplated
26 Sael £sb7 27.. i.g7 28 £se6 ^lxc2 in the
This was the move I was hoping postmortem but this looks pretty rank.
for when I played 26 Sael. It's 28 We6+ &g7
clear that Black has a better 29 Wxe5
defence, and after the game analysis A simple but effective
centred on 26.. <£>h8 27 £»d4 £»e5 combination from which I emerge two
(possibly 27.. JLg7 is better here) pawns up.
28 ±h6 Sf7 29 c3! Here the knight 29 .. £xe5
on d8 is paralysed as, moves, if it 30 £»e6+ <£>g6
White's knight penetrates on e6. 31 £>xc7 Sxfl+
The idea of playing quietly in this 32 Sxfl Sc8
manner, suggested by Speelman, 33 ixb6 ixb2
 M.Adams -

S.Conquest 39

34 Sel? the point is swiftly wrapped up in

With both sides short of time, time for a good session in The
my technique becomes rather Three Tuns pub.
casual. 34 Sbl was better 40 Sf4 &c5
34 .. a5 41 JixcS Sxc5
35 c4 ±d4+ 42 &f2 h5
A good try but White has 43 &e3 Sc8
sufficient material to win fairly 44 &d4 Sb8
consummately here. 45 Se4 Sb4
36 £xd4 Sxc7 46 2e6+ if5
37 Scl &f5 47 Sxd6 Sxa4
38 £b6 Sc8 48 Se6 Sal
39 2fl+ &g6 49 Se2 a4
Black might as well have tried 50 Sf2+ &g6
39.. .&e4 40 Sf7 £sc5 41 £xc5 dxc5 51 &c5 a3
42 Sxh7 though White is stil 52 d6 Sbl
winning. The move actually played 53 d7
gives White complete control and Black resigned

Game 9
Stuart Conquest would have won the event outright if Michael had not
beaten him in the penultimate round. It was not the perfect way to treat
a good friend, which Stuart had been to Michael, especial y since they
played together for Clichy in the French league, where Stuart's mastery
of the French language was a definite asset for Michael!

M.Adams -

S.Conquest 1 e4 c5
London (Lloyds Bank) 1990 2 £sf3 d6
Sicilian Defence, 3 d4 cxd4
Richter-Rauzer Attack 4 £>xd4 £sf6
5 £»c3 £sc6
The night before this game I had 6 Ag5
enjoyed Adam Black's excellent Stuart has one of the widest
hospitality Unfortunately because opening repertoires of any
of setting off rather late and a English player, you never know what
poor understanding of bus routes he's going to wheel out with either
around Peckham I ended up colour. In this event he had already
arriving over twenty minutes late for been successful on the white side
this game, having missed lunch. of this variation against Speelman.
40 Chess in the Fast Lane

6 .. e6 therefore perhaps Black should

7 Wd2 ke7 prefer 15.. JLf6.
8 0-0-0 0-0 15 .. £}ce5
9 £sb3 Wb6 16 Sgl
10 f3 Sd8 The more obvious continuation
11 ±e3 «c7 16 g5 b4 17 £>a4 (17 £sbl a5 gives
12 mt2 &d7 Black good play) 17.. Sb8, which
This is more inspiring than the was my original intention, leaves
turgid 12.. d5 13 exd5 <&xd5 14 White's knight on a4 stranded.
£lxd5 Sxd5 15 Sxd5 exd5, when The text move gives me the option
White may be able to claim a of playing f3-f4.
nagging yank. Typically Stuart looks 16 .. b4
for a complicated game. 17 £»a4
13 h4 Again 17 £lbl a5 looked
Also possible was 13 £»b5 tb8 unappealing.
14 h4 a6 15 £»5d4. 17 .. Sb8
13 .. a6 18 f4 £»c4
14 h5 b5 19 i.a7
White takes the opportunity to
misplace Black's rook before
playing the bishop to d4.1 did consider
19 ±xc4 Wxc4 20 £»b6 Wxe4 21 g5
but if you believe in this you
probably believe in Father Christmas
as well.
19 .. Sa8
20 ±d4 i.b7?
Too slow. The time was right for
Black to break out with 20.. e5 21
&xc4 Wxc4 22 £»b6 £»xb6 23 .&xb6
Se8 when Black has a good game.
15 g4 In such a sharp position, this
Here the move 15 Wg3 looks error has serious consequences.
impressive but after the response 21 g5
15.. <£>h8 (16 ±h6 was a threat) it Natural and good, because the
is not clear how White continues alternative 21 i.xc4 Ifxc4 22 £»a5
his attack. However, probably best lfb5 23 £sxb7 Wxbl was not very
was 15 f4 with the idea of denying tempting.
the black knights use of the e5 21 .. e5
square. After 15.. b4 16 £»a4 Sb8 The point of the sacrifice is that
17 g4 White has a good position, after 21.. Axe4 22 g6 hxg6 23 hxg6
 M.Adams -

S.Conquest 41

£.xg6 24 Sxg6 fxg6 25 We2 £rf8 26 ful point. The best move was the
1Hrxc4 White's active pieces give obvious 28 Sxd4 with a winning
him a promising ending. advantage.
Nonetheless, this looks a better chance than 28 .. Bxc4
the game continuation. 29 v'ixdS Sxd8
22 fxe5 dxe5 30 Sxd4 Wc7?
23 g6 Although it turns out to be a

This detonates the black king- blunder, this move sent me into a

side but due to a paucity of white panic as I had only considered

pieces in the vicinity, Black is 30.. Wxf7 31 Sxe4 and 30.. 2xd4
able to organise some resistance. 31 Wxf6+ £.xf6 32 f8W+ Wg8 33
Naturally he avoids 23.. exd4 24 Wxf6+.
Wxf7+ <&h8 25 h6. Black's best chance was SO.. !^
with an unclear position, e.g. 31
Sel Sf8 32 Sdxe4 &xe4 33 Sxe4
±g5+ 34 &bl ±xh6 35 Sxb4.

23 .. £if6
24 gxf7+ &h8
The only chance because after
24.. <&xf 7 25 &ac5 Black is unable 31 Wh2
to meet the twin threats of JLxc4+ This tactical shot proves very
andSxg7+ fol owed by £te6+ successful in the game, but
forking the royal couple. objectively the meek 31 Sel may have
25 h6 g6 been more realistic. Obviously the
26 £.xc4 exd4 queen is untouchable as 31.. Wxh2
27 &ac5 £xe4 32 Sxd8+ £xd8 33 f8#+ &g8 34
28 <&e6? Wg7 is checkmate.
This needless over-elaboration 31 .. Wc8
was based on a miscalculation and 32 Sel Sxd4?
it is only my opponent's time The simple and natural 32.. Sf8
pressure which allows me to net the is good since my intended 33 ^Ie5
42 Chess in the Fast Lane

allows 33.. 1rxc2 mate. White has to Black is already lost and allows
settle for 33 Sdxe4 £>xe4 34 We5 + a nice finish.
±fB 36 #xb4 £g5 + 37 <&bl £.h6 35 <&bl Wh4
when Black is somewhat better. 36 2xe4 Wxe4
33 vxd4 'f ifS 37 Wxf6+
34 e5 Wxh6+ Black resigned

Game 10
As Michael's overseas chess diary was empty for the next couple of
months, he decided to attempt to retain his Grand Prix title.
Unfortunately for him, Julian Hodgson had built up a big lead and try as he
might Michael could make lit le impression on it. He won at Leicester
but dropped half a point to Adam CoUinson in the process, while Julian
himself stopped Michael getting one hundred per cent scores at the
Barbican and Hitchin as they fought out drawn games.
Michael was thril ed to be selected in the number four spot for
England in the 1990 olympiad, played at Novi Sad in Yugoslavia. Two years
earlier he had travelled to Thessalonika to watch the previous
olympiad. Now he had the opportunity to play. However, Michael's lack of
experience was exposed and his results were disappointing, though
Murray Chandler was able to utilise previous olympiad experience to
achieve an unbeaten record over eleven games which averaged out at a

2708 rating. Michael managed a fifty per cent score from his eight
games.

S.Kindermann -
M.Adams me to the depths of despair and a

England-Germany, prolonged spell on the bench.

Novi Sad Olympiad 1990 1 e4 e5
Spanish Opening, 2 Stf3 &c6
Closed Variation 3 i.b5 a6
4 i.a4 <&f6
Most tournaments have high and 5 0-0 i.e7
low points but rarely have they 6 Sel b5
been so pronounced as in this 7 £b3 0-0
olympiad. After winning this game 8 d3
I felt pretty good, but the next Very few players are interested
game, where I blundered a rook in in allowing the Marshall Gambit
a slightly better position after an these days, particularly because
epic struggle against KoSul, sent new ideas in various anti-Marshall
 S.Kindermann -
MAdams 43

systems have made them quite

venomous for White.
8 .. d6
9 c3 i.b7
This natural move is not the
most accurate, but at the time of
this game I was quite a recent
convert to l. .e5. The bishop fulfil s
a useful purpose on c8 covering
the f5 square which the white
knight wil gradually move

towards. The recommended way to

play is 9.. &a5 10 i.c2 c5 11 &bd2 lead to any advantage. The

Se8 and Black develops the bishop tempting 15 £lf5 would be well met by
when it is most convenient for him. 15.. c4 fol owed by . .d6-d5
10 £ibd2 &a5 undermining the white pawn chain.
11 i.c2 c5 15 ..
g6
12 a3 Black quietly improves his
The only way to take advantage position on the kingside. Ultimately
of the early . .i.b7 is 12 £>fl Se8 Black wants to play . .d6-d5 but
13 d4 when White should obtain a this move must be careful y
slight edge. prepared or White wil benefit more

12 .. 2e8 from the opening of the game.

13 £tfl AfS 16 £th2 d5
14 &g3 This is the right moment
The idea behind playing a2-a3 because the knight on h2 is slightly
was to fol ow with b2-b4 at some out of play The immediate
point but here this doesn't look capture on d5 is not promising as when
too good as Black drops the knight Black recaptures with the queen,
back to c6 and plays . .a6-a5. A White must parry the mate threat
more interesting option was 14 ong2.
JLg5 when the pin is irritating for 17 &g4
Black, so 14.. h6 15 i.h4 i.e7 may A exceptionally casual reaction
be the best response. which cedes Black a serious
14 .. h6 (D) structural advantage. Here it was

15 h3 compulsory to play 17 b4 cxb4 18 axb4

The move b2-b4 is a valid £lc6 with a complicated middle-
alternative on just about every turn. game. One possible continuation
Although there is nothing really is 19 exd5 &xd5 20 ±d2 &f6 with
wrong with the text move, the plan rough equality.
it starts is too time-consuming to 17 ..
<£xg4
44 Chess in the Fast Lane

18 Wxg4 c4 Of course simply exchanging

A fairly obvious but very pieces leaves Black with a

effective move. The white centre is commanding endgame advantage and

undermined and the queenside pawn if 22 ±f5 Wf6 23 £.c2 Ag7 Black
structure disabled. If Black can gradually gains control. The text
achieve these two breakthroughs move is actually quite tricky but
he normally stands very well in by accurate play Black neutralises
these kinds of system. all counterplay, after which his
19 dxc4 positional advantages must tel .
Not a move that White could 22 .. £.xe4
have wanted to play but, if not, But not 22.. h5 23 i.xb7 &xb7
. .cxd3 fol owed by . .£lb3 was an 24 &e4 £g7 25 i.g5 when White
annoying possibility. The active- gains some activity.
looking 19 £lf5 goes less than 23 £sxe4 g5
nowhere after 19.. <£>h7. A commit al decision but in this
19 .. bxc4 case an excellent move. Black's
Of course Black chooses this king has enough protection for the
recapture. After 19.. dxc4 20 JLe3 pawns to be pushed forward.
White has nothing to complain
about.
20 exd5
After 20 Sdl or most other
moves, 20.. d4 leaves Black with
two powerful pawns.
20 .. Bxd5
21 £e4
A natural move but one that
leads to an exchange of bishops
which further denudes the
weakened light squares. Whi t e ' s
problem is that without this exchange
Black's bishop is extremely 24 Wh5
powerful, i.e. 21 £ie4 Se6 threatening Not 24 ±xg5 hxg5 25 Wxg5 +
. .f7-f5 or 21 &f5 h5 22 Wg3 <&b3 JLg7 which leads nowhere.
23 Sbl &c5 when White doesn't 24 .. f5
have a really good fol ow-up and Half measures would be
Black takes control. White cannot ineffective here. Black pushes
win a pawn due to 24 £le3 ^6 25 everything forward.
i.f5 Wf6. 25 &g3 f4
21 .. Be6 This is the point. By placing all
22 Hi4 his pawns on dark squares, Black
 S.Kindermann -
M.Adams 45

severely restricts White's bishop. Black's last move was based on

Indeed it is hard to even develop the simple tactic 32 Sxd8 Sxd8

it. The problem with this is that 33 Wxc4 Sdl+ fol owed by mate,
the knight settles on e4. It is less so White chooses to develop his
useful than it might appear there, bishop. It is perhaps an apt
partly since too few other pieces reflection on the game that he resigns
co-operate with it and partly three moves later.
because although it is impregnable, 32 .. Sd3
it is also short of strong posts to Decisive penetration.
head for. 33 Ael 2ed8
26 &e4 £ib3 34 f3 g4
27 Sbl &g7!
A crucial move. The
alternatives would allow White to mount
an attack by means of h4. A
nightmare for Black would be 27..JLg7
28 h4 g4 29 £.xf4 exf4 30 £if6+
WxfB 31 Sxe8+ Sxe8 32 Wxe8+
when Black's plans have gone
horribly wrong.
28 h4 Wg6
29 We2
A better try was 29 Wg4 but
Black's position must be preferred.
However it would have been 35 <&fl
dif icult to choose between 29.. JLe7 or A sign of my opponent's bad
29.. gxh4.1 think that 29.. gxh4 30 form in this game
-

it is rare for
Wxh4 Sad8 is the most accurate. someone to miss his last chance;
29 .. Sac8 35 fxg4 Sxdl 36 Sxdl Sxdl 37
30 hxg5 hxg5 Wxdl Wxe4 38 Wd7+ <&h8 39 £.h4
31 Sdl leads to a position in which the
The position was becoming less extra piece wil prove decisive, but
and less appetising but this leads the presence of queens combined
to a very swift conclusion. Some with Black's open king wil mean

might say merciful y swift but that accuracy is required.

after 31 Wg4 (31 i.d2 g4 is less 35 ..
g3
testing) Black stil has some work to Now White really is dead and
do. buried and wisely decided to call it
31 .. Scd8 a day.
32 i.d2 White resigned
46 Chess in the Fast Lane

Game 11
Although he did reasonably well with his five Blacks, it was his defeat
with White against Kozul of Yugoslavia that was the big disappointment
and meant that he lost his place for the last three games. Michael had
played well during the game against a player who was having an

exceptionally good olympiad and had reached a drawn endgame when he

blundered. In the final three games England beat Sweden 3-1 but could
only draw against Iceland and Cuba to finish level on points in second
place with the USA, who received silver medals on tie break while the
English players had t o be content with bronze medals. Michael's
disappointment sent hi m looking for revenge against Kozul. This can be a

very dangerous approach, although on this occasion it worked well and

Michael registered three wins against this opponent in the next twelve
months, although he would gladly have swapped any of them with the
olympiad result.
His next tournament was at Groningen, where the annual
tournament takes place over Christmas (although Christmas Day itself is a

rest day). One drawback of playing in this event was not being available
to play at Islington to make one final challenge for the 1990 Leigh
Grand Prix in which he had to settle for third place. However Michael
had not been invited to the Hastings Premier so he was grateful for the
Groningen invitation. He enjoyed a successful tournament and despite
losing to Gulko in the final round, ended up winning the event after the
four-way tie was broken on Sonnenborn-Berger points. Also on five and
a half points were Khalifman, Piket and Rogers.

A.Khalifman -
M.Adams 1 d4 £>f6
Groningen 1990 2 c4 e6
Bogo-Indian Defence 3 Stf3 i.b4+
My opponent looked surprised
This game was played on Christ- by this but I was happy to settle
mas Eve, a date on which I've only for something solid,
played chess in one place, the 4 JLd2 ^&e7
Dutch town of Groningen. Fortu- 5 g3 £lc6
nately on this occasion I knew that 6 £lc3 JLxc3
I had John Fedorowicz to cele- 7 JLxc3 £te4
brate Christmas Day with, which 8 Scl
may account for my decent per- The alternative 8 ^2 deserves
formance in this game. more attention than it has received
 A.Khalifman -

M Adams 47

in the past, since after 8.. £tocc3 9 14 c5

Wxc3 Wb4 10 Wxb4 £>xb4 11 <&d2 Necessary as Black was

White keeps an edge. threatening to mobilise smoothly with

8 .. d6 . .&a6-c5, . .£.d7, . .f7-f5 etc.
9 £g2 14 .. £ia6
More critical for this system is 9
d5 £>xc3 10 Sxc3 £ib8 (10.. £id8!?)
11 dxe6 fxe6 12 ±g2 0-0 but
recently black players have shown
this position is less dangerous than
previously thought. Normally if
Black is allowed to push . .e6-e5
he should have good chances to
equalise.
9 .. £>xc3
10 2xc3 e5
With this move (10.. 0-0 11 d5
wil transpose to the above) Black
sets up his desired structure and 15 cxd6
White's only chance of an edge is 15 c6!? was worth considering.
to take advantage of Black's tardy Probably my best reply would be
development. 15.. bxc6 16 Sxc6 (16 dxc6 <&c5
11 d5 £ib8 leaves Black good central control)
12 0-0 16.. ±d7 17 Sc3 f5 or 17.. Sfb8
White could try the immediate with an unclear position.
advance 12 c5, making use of the 15 .. cxd6
tactic 12.. dxc5 13 £lxe5, but after 16 £tc4 Wd8
12.. 0-0 it is hard to see a fol ow- 17 a3?
up which does not transpose to This is a bad mistake. White is
the game. caught day-dreaming after the
12 .. 0-0 disappointing results of his opening
13 <&d2 play. Now was the time for White
More sensible was 13 b4 to start thinking of bailing out.
(denying Black's knight the c5 square) Khalifman avoided the
13.. a5 14 a3 (14 Sa3!?) 14.. £id7 continuation 17 Wb3 &c5 18 Wb6 &a4 19
when White has a slight edge. Wxd8 Sxd8 20 Sa3 b5 21 &xa5
White often tries to avoid playing Sxa5 (21.. £>xb2 22 Sbl) 22 b3 on

e4 here but relying on the space the grounds that it is only equal,
advantage is also a logical but after the text move White is
strategy. clearly worse.

13 .. a5 17 .. b5!
48 Chess in the Fast Lane

Black has the very natural plan 24 Wcl ±xe4

of expanding on the queenside, 25 £.xe4 f5
which turns out to be surprisingly 26 £.g2 Ba5
strong. White struggles to find 27 h4
reasonable squares for his pieces. This move does nothing to help
18 &d2 £.d7 White but it is hard to suggest a

19 Wbl good alternative.

During the game I felt that Kha- 27 .. Wb5
lifman might contemplate trying 28 Bc3 £ta4
to arrange an exchange sacrifice Forcing the exchange of queens
on c6. This is certainly a desperate further reduces White's hopes of
measure, but as everything flows counterplay.
so smoothly for Black in the game, 29 Wb4 Bxb4
one that might have been worth 30 2xb4 2fb8
considering. 31 2xb8+ 2xb8
19 .. b4 32 2bl Sc8
20 axb4 axb4 This move wins but it was more

21 Sccl &c5 thematic and impressive to play a

22 vie4 good solid move such as 32.. ^7,

The alternative 22 &c4 £ib3 does 32.. g6 or 32.. Sb4.
not help. 33 ±h3 g6
22 .. M5 34 e4 Sc2
23 2c4 b3
I was unable to play 23.. Wb6
on account of the reply 24 £lf6+,
but after the text move the white
pawn on b2 is doomed in the long
run.

35 Sal ^c5!
Now Black's knight returns to
its best post to decide the game.
White has no more than a few
spite checks.
36 exf5 Ixb2
 A.Khalifman -

M Adams 49

37 fxg6 38 i.e6+ <£f8

It turns out that after 37 Sa8+ 39 2a8+ *e7
*g7 38 Sa7+ &ffi 39 fxg6 (39 g4 White lost on time, but there
gxf5 40 g5 + <£>g6) 39.. &xg£ the b- is no defence as after 40 Sa7+, the
pawn wil be decisive. continuation 40.. ^8 41 JLf7 Sc2
37 ..
hxg6 42 &xg6 e4 decides.

Game 12
A Dutch chess commentator once controversial y reported that Michael
was a talented but rather lazy player. He could not understand why
Michael spent so much of his free time in the bar while others were

preparing for the next round with their portable computers. He was amazed to
discover that Michael did not even have a chess set of any sort in his
room. However, it has long been one of Michael's beliefs that it is better
to save your energies for a game rather than arrive at the board
suffering from tiredness as a result of too much last-minute preparation.
Perhaps this was occasionally taken to extremes but nobody could argue
with his results at this tournament.
Michael reached another significant although unofficial chess
landmark when the January 1991 rating list was issued. He had gained a

further ten points enabling him to reach 2600, which was the mark that
some chess observers claim separate the 'super' GMs from the
'ordinary' GMs. It placed him 31st equal on the world
best position list, his
so far. In English terms he was third equal
John Nunn, with not far
behind Jon Speelman with Nigel Short way out in front.
He did manage to get to Hastings for the weekend open event,
winning i t by vi r t u e of f i v e straight wi n s and a quick last round draw, which
enabled him to return to London in order to catch the last train back to
Cornwall on Sunday evening. Among his tournament victims were

Stuart Conquest, John Emms and Mark Hebden. It might have been better
to go for a win in the last round to register a maximum in the Leigh
Grand Prix. However Michael judged that ensuring first place outright
and sleeping in his own bed that night was good compensation.
It was only a short stay at home and he was back in Holland for the
Wijk aan Zee event f i v e days l a t e r. There was l i t l e rating di f e rence
among the fourteen players but strangely this resulted in an interesting
tournament with a higher than usual percentage of decisive results.
There were no fewer than five dif erent leaders at various stages with
England well represented in the final places. Michael finished second
50 Chess in the Fast Lane

equal behind John Nunn with eight points from his thirteen games. His
wins were against Salov, Koiul, Hansen, Lautier and Van der Wiel. Both
defeats were with the white pieces against Ivan Sokolov and Piket. His
win against Ko2ul was the start of his compensation for the
disappointment in the olympiad.
Wijk aan Zee must be unique in being such a small vil age and hosting
such a well known annual chess event. It is sponsored by a steelworks.
Michael's other observations were that it can be very cold there having
experienced ice on the sand on one late night stroll, while a more

pleasurable experience was dining at The Horse Club, a restaurant where

you can order a steak with no fear of 'mad cow disease'.

M .Adams -
J.Van der Wiel him to show it to me prior to this
Wijk aan Zee 1991 game. John was somewhat
Sicilian Defence, unlucky in that his attempt to find a

Najdorf Variation sharp line to exploit my lack of

theory hit on one I had looked at
It is always good to pick a high recently.
number at the drawing of lots, as

this means that you start with the

white pieces and play one extra
White during the tournament. In
this case a convincing victory in the
first round was set up by
achieving a promising position from the
opening.
1 e4 c5
2 £>f3 d6
3 d4 cxd4
4 &xd4 £rf6
5 £>c3 a6
6 f4 e5 9 exd5 e4
7 £>f3 £>bd7 10 £>e5 i.b4
8 a4 d5?! The alternative 10.. JLc5 is well
The first few times this move answered by 11 £fc4 with the idea
was played against unprepared ofi.e3.
White players it achieved good 11 i.c4 £ixe5
results. However, it is now very rarely 12 fxe5 ®c7
seen. Nigel Short deserves the 13 0-0 ®xc4
credit for discovering the antidote A previous game, King-Arna-
and Wil ie Watson for persuading son, had gone 13.. .&g4 but then
 M.Adams -

J. Van der Wiel 51

14 i.e2 &xe2 15 Wxe2 Wxe5 16 HI a HI

JLf4 would have been very good
for White. The continuation John
chooses in the game is probably a

better try for Black, but it is

clearly to White's advantage in mm m
any case. &\
14 exf6 gxf6 W/, W/M
The alternative 14.. g6 is well
A IP Pf A
answered by 15 J.e3, possibly
n
fol owed by We2.
15 2xf6 i.xc3
16 bxc3 ^Ikc3 the exchange by 21.. Sxg5 22 hxg5
17 £.g5 JLe6! In compensation Black gets
I considered the rather bizarre a chance to safeguard his king,
17 Sbl here as after l7. Wxffi 18 manages to obtain a well-placed
i.b2 Wg6 19 £.xh8 £.h3 20 #e2 bishop and has possibilities to
with JLe5-g3 to fol ow is very attack White's isolated pawns. On
strong. Unfortunately Black has a the flip side White's material edge
refutation in 18.. fb6+ 19 £.d4 gives him a clear advantage.
Ag4! Nevertheless Black would have had
17 ..
Sg8 fighting chances.
18 h4 ig4 22 2b4 2c4
19 ®el ®d4+ 23 Sxc4 ®xc4
20 Shi ®xd5 24 Wg3
21 Sbl! (D) Now it is clear that White wins
After a series of forcing moves at least the exchange, after which
it appears that Black is over the the queen and rook wil present
worst as he has developed his insurmountable threats to the
bishop and won a pawn, but my exposed black king.
last move activates White's final 24 .. #c8
piece and draws attention to the 25 Sd6!
fact that Black has stil not solved The rook exerts more influence
the problem of his king. Here the on the d-file. Also winning but not
opposite-coloured bishops favour so easily is 25 ^6 Sxg5 26 hxg5
the attacking side. Black cannot JLe6 when White is less well
play 21. . 0 -0-0 due to 22 f c3+ <£>b8 coordinated.
23 ^lg3 + picking up the bishop. 25 ..
Sxg5
21 .. Sc8? 26 hxg5 ®c5
Probably the decisive mistake. Despite being in time-trouble,
It was time for Black to sacrifice John finds the toughest defence,
52 Chess in the Fast Lane

but it only delays the inevitable 29 ®f6 id7

end. 30 ®xh6
27 ®f4 i.e6 Clearer than 30 Sxd7 <£>xd7 31
28 Sdl ^7+ &c6 32 gxh6 ^g5.
30 .. #xc2
31 mi8+ <£>e7
32 ®e5+ &d8
33 Wb8+ #c8
34 ®d6 ®c6
35 «T8+ <£>c7
36 ®xf7 ®xa4
37 Scl+ <£>b6
38 ®f2+ &a5
39 ®d2+ &b6
40 ®e3+ <£>a5
41 #c3+
Either 41.. '£'b5 or 41.. &b6 is
28 .. h6? answered by 42 #c5 mate and
A mistake but 28.. #xc2 29 #d6 41.. Wb4 drops the bishop to 42
#c8 30 tfe5 also leaves Black lit le #c7+ so ..

hope. Black resigned

Game 13
MAdams -

Y.Seirawan 1 e4 c6
Wijk aan Zee 1991 2 d4 d5
Caro-Kann Defence, 3 exd5 cxd5
Panov-Botvinnik Attack 4 c4 &ff6
5 &c3 e6
Although this game features 6 &f3 i.e7
interesting play in the early stages, 7 cxd5 &xd5
both players appear to lose 8 id3 £ic6
concentration or get tired in the later 9 0-0 0-0
stages, leading to a fairly comical 10 Sel
conclusion to the game. One Round about this time I had the
possible excuse for this was that the impression that the Panov was

six-hour playing session had only the most dangerous response to

recently been introduced, but this the Caro-Kann, but in reality this
game is definitely a hard one to was just a bit of personal
explain. preference. Black's main problem is that
 M.Adams -

Y.Seirawan 53

from this situation no foolproof (18.. hxg6 20 Sxe6 is good) but

route to equality has been found. 18.. &xg5 19 £>xf8 £sxf8 is better
This may explain why so many for Black.
players prefer to play the line 17 .. Se8
6..JLb4 these days. Yasser's choice 18 &h3 ®c8
in this game is unusual although A more natural response to the
it leads to a fairly typical threat of 19 £>xf7 &xf7 20 #xe6
structure in which White's game is mate would have been 18.. if8
easier to play. but 19 JLg5 lands Black in an

10 .. £>cb4 irritating pin.

11 &bl b6 19 ia2 if8
12 a3 &xc3 20 Se3
13 bxc3 £>d5 White brings up the heavy mob
to try and batter his way through.
Not surprisingly Black was not
tempted to pinch the a-pawn
either now or on his previous
move. The reply ig5 gives Black
problems in both cases.

20 ..
£g7
Black cannot afford to swap on

h6 as the queen would occupy a

very threatening position.

21 Sael ®c7
22 t h4 ixh6
23 ^xhG yjle7?(D)
14 ®d3 Black must walk a tightrope in
Also worthy of consideration this position. The correct move was

was 14 c4 since 14.. £te3 15 JLxh7+ 23.. Vd6 as 24 £ixg6 fxg6 25 2xe6
tesihl 16 ^3+ wins a pawn. JLd5 holds. White has a variety of
Nonetheless the game continuation, other options of which 24 g4 is the
targeting the black king, is well most aggressive possibility, with a

founded. complex situation.

14 .. £rf6 24 &xg6
15 i.g5 g6 An impressive-looking sacrifice
16 &e5 £.b7 but my subsequent play shows it
17 &h6 was not calculated completely
The immediate 17 JLa2 allows correctly
17.. £*d7 when the resulting 24 ..
hxg6
exchange of minor pieces is Of course not 24.. fxg6 25 Sxe6
favourable for Black. 18 £ixg6 is a punt winning.
54 Chess in the Fast Lane

to give my opponent the

advantage. The perpetual check is not
dif icult to spot but the best move
^
AH Ail is 30 d5! Neither
a) SO.-.^xaS 31 dxe6+ <£>e7 32
1Srh7+ &d6 33 ®d7+ &c5 34 ^d4+
■4^5 35 04+;
^ ^ ^ ^ ^ b) 30.. Sh8 31dxe6+;nor
c) 30.. e5 31 d6+ offer Black
±i 1 SAB any chances for survival.
It is best to give up the queen
either by 30.. exd5 or 30.. i.xd5
25 Sh3 £>h5 but the extra pawn and Black's
26 2xh5 exposed king in the resulting
Although this move seems to queen against double-rook ending
win I certainly didn't know how, should give a near-decisive
so 26 Se5 WfB 27 Shxh5 with an advantage.
extra pawn might have been a 30 .. <£>f8
better practical choice. 31 #h8+ *f7
26 ..
gxh5 32 £xe6+
27 2e5 f6 I suppose this could be
28 Se3 h4 described as youthful enthusiasm or

29 «xh4 *f7 inexperienced foolishness. White

had to take the draw here with 32
Wh7+. After the text only Black
has winning chances.
32 .. ©xc6
33 1Srh7+ <£>f8
34 2xe6 2xe6
35 h4
Although White has material
equality with queen and three
pawns for two rooks and a bishop
the pawns are too far back to
cause a real threat and as soon as

Black co-ordinates they wil be in

30 ^h5+ real danger of being picked off. On
This position is actually rather my previous move 35 f3,
tricky as can be evidenced from preventing the bishop coming to the king-
the fact that I manage to avoid a side, may have been better but
certain draw and a probable win 35.. Se7 stil leaves an uphil task.
 M.Adams -
Y.Seirawan 55

OU .. 47 Wf6 S2e7
36 ^h6+ 48 d5 Sg7+
37 f3 49 <£>f4
38 #h5 + A rather dodgy position for the
White's queen has become king but there was no alternative.
inactive but repositioning it takes the 49 .. See7
pressure off the black king. 50 Wd4 Sgf7+
38 ..
£g6 It is always tempting to give a

39 Wd5 2h8 check in positions such as this but

A good move which forces White the correct move was 50.. JLe2,
to weaken the second rank. which should win as Black retains
40 g3 2he8 the option to give check on f 7 with
41 h5 either rook. In particular after 51
There is no choice but to charge d6 with the rook on e7.
forward and hope for the best. 51 <£>g3 &e2?
41 .. &d3 A serious blunder. Necessary
42 g4 <4>g7 was 51.. jLf5 holding the position.
43 <£>f2 2e3 White can continue with 52 c4
With the strong threat of JLe2 planning a4-a5 to break up the
as any check on the seventh can black queenside but objectively the
be parried by . .S8e7. So White is position should stil be a win for
forced to allow the break-up of his Black.
pawn structure. 52 d6 2xf3+
44 g5 2e2+ 53 <£>h4?
If 44.. fxg5 45 Wxg5+ *h7 46 Seeing what I thought was a

Wxe3 and suddenly the position is draw I headed straight for it

transformed. without thinking. In fact I should have
45 <4>g3 fxg5 played 53 (i>h2 when it is Black
46 «xg5+ <£>h7 who is struggling to draw. If
56 Chess in the Fast Lane

53.. Sd7, 54 We4+ wins so Black This was the position I had
must try 53.. Sef7 54 d7 S3f4 envisaged when playing 53 (i>h4 and
(54.. Sf2+ 55 <£>gl Sfl+ 56 <£>g2 assumed that Black would settle
is no perpetual after 56.. Slf3 57 for perpetual check, overlooking
«e4+ S3f5 58 <&h2!) 55 d8« Sxd4 that the response 55.. <4>h6 wins
56 cxd4 JLxh5 when he has some on the spot. This was definitely
slim drawing chances. the best draw offer I have ever

53 .. SeH made, and was completely

54 #e4+ 27f5 innocent as I had stil not seen this
55 ©xc2 possibility. Fortunately nor had
Draw agreed Yasser.

Game 14
M.Adatns -
C.Hansen 7 g5 £>fd7
Wijk aan Zee 1991 8 ic.3 b5
Sicilian Defence, Keres Attack 9 a3 £>b6
10 h4 i.b7
Whilst opening preparation has 11 h5 £>8d7
never been my forte, this does not 12 g6!
always have to be a disadvantage. This idea occurred to me over the
In this game I managed to refute board. Research after the game
my opponent's system over the revealed that it is both new and
board with a devastating rook sac. good. Since this game was played,
The move was given as the third- no-one has been eager to defend
best novelty in the appropriate the black position so 12 g6 may be
edition of Informator by a panel of a refutation.
judges.
1 e4 c5
2 £>f3 e6
3 d4 cxd4
4 &xd4 £>f6
5 £>c3 d6
6 g4 a6
This is one of the sharpest
variations of the Keres Attack but, in
my opinion, it is a very dif icult
one defend,
to particularly in
practical play. In some ways Black gets
an inferior version of the Najdorf.
 MAdams -
C.Hansen 57

12 ..
hxg6 good decision to allow White to
13 hxg6 Sxhl simply regain the sacrificed rook.
14 gxf7+ However the exposed black
monarch ensures a clear White
advantage.
15 #f3+ Wf6
The alternative is 15.. £tf6, but
after 16 Wxhl White has the
unpleasant threat of JLh3. It is clear
that the move played is preferable
as it allows Black to defend the e-

pawn with . .Se8 or . .£k5.

16 Wxhl £>e5!?
Definitely a critical point in the
game. After this move Black loses
a pawn and this should mean

14 .. <£>xf7 defeat. However a good alternative

After 12 g6, all the play has is dif icult to find. Black's main
been forced up to this point. Here problem is his unsafe king
Black has the chance to grab the compared to White's, which is about
rook with 14.. <4>e7, but it would to castle into safety. Both 16.. £k4
not be wise because 15 Wg4 #c8 17 &xc4 bxc4 18 0-0-0 and 16.. Se8
(15.. £>c5 16 &g5+ wins Black's 17 0-0-0 defend the weak e6 pawn
queen, 15.. Wc7 allows mate in two but do not provide a solution to
and 15.. Wb8 runs into 16 &g5 + ! the problem of king safety.
£>f6 17 ^xe6+ <£>d8 18 We8+ *c7 However 16.. Sc8 17 &h3 £>c5 18 b4
19 £>e6 mate) 16 #xe6+ i>d8 17 wins a pawn, so it is hard for Black
tfe8+ *c718 £>e6+ i>b8 (18.. <£>c6, to choose between the text,
is answered by 19 £>d5 sacrificing material for some kind of
threatening £ft>4
20 mate, when Black's counterplay, and a solid
best is 19.. Sxfl+ 20 4>xfl £»xd5 21 alternative maintaining material parity,
exd5+ <£>xd5 22 £>c7+! [not 22 but coming under a powerful
0-0-0+ <£>c6 23 £»xf8 #xe8 with attack.
equality] 22.. <£>c6 [22.. #xc7 23 17 <&xe6
Sdl+ <£>c6 24 #e4+ and 23.. &c4 White is forced to take up the
24 #e6+ d5 25 #g4+ both win] gauntlet as 17 0-0-0 £>bc4 allows
23 £>xa8 Wxa8 with a very good Black to establish his knight on an

game for White) 19 £>xf8 £>xf8 20 ideal square.

J.xb6 and White has regained the 17 .. «xe6
sacrificed material with a large Not 17.. £>f3+ 18 Wxf3 #xf3 19
advantage. Hence Curt makes a £}g5+ winning nor 17.. £}bc4 18
58 Chess in the Fast Lane

&xc4 bxc4 19 £>g5 + *e8 20 £>h7

leaving White a pawn up with a

good position. Also inadvisable was

17.. <&xe6 18 &xb6 £>f3 + 19 <£>e2

as the displacement of the white
king is not important.
18 i-xb6 d5
19 i-d4
The most obvious move and
clearly better than 19 JLc7 d4, but
also possible was 19 .&e3 dxe4 20
£>xe4. Now after 20.. *g8, not 21
£>f6 + WxfB 22 ^xb7 £>f3+ 23 Wxf6+ <£>xf6 29 Sxd4 when the
"A^ £>gl + which gives Black good two pawn advantage should be
activity, but 21 jLg2 &e7 with an decisive. Apparently White doesn't
advantage to White but no have a clear win without an

immediate breakthrough as the exchange of queens.

continuation 22 £>g5 &xg5 23 &xb7 26 .. <£>e7
Sd8 is not clear. 27 2f5 ©c2
19 .. £>c6! 28 Sgl ic5
Of course after 19.. dxe4 20 I had calculated this far when
Wh5 + £>g6 21 &h3 Black is analysing 23 Sd3 and had
terminated. assumed 29 Ag4 ^e4 30 f3 «e2 31
20 ih.3 Wc8 f4 would win. However when I
21 0-0-0 ^xd4 arrived at the position, I noticed
22 2xd4 ©c5 30.. A.f4+ 31 *bl We3. On closer
23 2d3 inspection I discovered that White
I wanted to keep the option of may no longer be winning.
using the rook along the third rank Frustration and my opponent's time-
but it becomes awkwardly placed, trouble encouraged me to punt
therefore the move 23 Sdl is my next move.

more accurate, covering the back 29 f4 M6

rank. 30 2xf6 gxf6
23 .. d4 31 %7+ <£>e8
24 £>d5 &xd5 32 #g8+
25 exd5 &d6 (D) It is necessary for the white
26 Sf3+? queen to patrol the bl-h7 diagonal
Heading off on the wrong path to keep the king safe from
due to a later miscalculation. The perpetual checks.
clearest win for White is the 32 .. <£>e7
simple 26 &e6+ *e7 27 ^h4+ Vf6 28 33 Wti7+
 MAdams -

C.Hansen 59

4>f8 38 #h8+ *f7) 35.. Sxe6 36

dxe6«el + .

w, mi 34 4>bl 2d8?
Black had to try 34.. d3 35 cxd3
(after 35 Wh6+ <£>e7 36 Wg7+ <£>e8
37 %6+ *e7 38 d6+ i>xd6 39
'mm. m m
Wxf6+ Black should be able to

li. hang
35.. b4
on by 39.. *d5
(35.. #dl+ 36
or

<i>a2
39.. <ifc7)
b4 37
w&.
«d7+ *f8 38 «d6+ and Wxb4)
« Hi
but White can avoid perpetual by
36 Ad7 *f8 (36.. *d8 37 i.a4) 37
33 .. <£>e8? axb4, when White has extra pawns
A bad time-trouble induced and good winning chances. As it
error. Black could have forced an is, the game is over.

immediate draw by the continuation 35 ic6

33.. *f8 34 &bl Se8 35 &e6 (or 35 Very painful.
Wh6+ *H 36 &f5 Wg2 37 Wh7+ Black resigned

Game 15
There was just time to fit in a couple of weekend events at Exeter (five
wins) and Blackpool (four wins and a defeat by John Emms in round 3)
as well as a weekend in France representing Clichy (one win, one defeat
and a draw) before playing in Dublin's Telecom Eirann international,
which was advertised as the first major chess tournament in Ireland for
34 years. Not only were there a host of strong English players present
but also four Russian titled players. Although Michael went through
unbeaten and scored five wins it was not enough to prevent Julian
Hodgson winning the event, as Julian went one better with six wins.
Their individual game was a hard-fought draw. Michael was always
playing catch-up after another disappointing start when he drew his
first round game with the Irishman, Philip Short. The English players
were more successful than their footballing counterparts who could
only manage a draw against the Republic at Wembley during the
tournament.
On April 1st Michael was drawing with Kaidanov in the final round
in Dublin and on the 3rd he made another draw -

against Dolmatov in
Buenos Aires! Looking back it was a ridiculously punishing schedule.
Nevertheless it was rather a special tournament and one that Michael
60 Chess in the Fast Lane

was particularly privileged to take part in. The event was held to
celebrate Najdorf s 81st birthday. Despite his advancing years, the old
maestro stil ran his own business and actually sponsored the event.
Michael was to find out that apart from being a great chess player, Najdorf
was a unique personality. When a player got up from his board, the great
man would sometimes take his place so that he could consider the
position from the same angle as the players. In the city he was an absolute
legend and it seemed to Michael that whenever he walked to a restaurant
with Najdorf, nearly every citizen would greet them.
As a confirmed carnivore Michael thoroughly enjoyed himself in the
steak houses where huge portions were served. Apparently John Fe-
dorowicz started the event convinced that he was a vegetarian but it did
not last long! After his punishing travelling schedule it was not
surprising that Michael made a slow start and his first win did not come until
the fifth round. He then put together a run of four winning games.

B.Larsen -
M.Adams 6 0-0 e4
Buenos Aires 1991 7 &d4
English Opening, Here the possibility of 7 £>g5 is
Classical Variation less effective than in positions
where Black has played . .£k6
My memory of this game was that instead of . .Se8, so the white knight
I played quite accurately but in takes a less ambitious route. This
reality this was not the case. As my position is well known with
opponent left without analysing colours reversed and White having
after the game I did not realise an extra tempo; in that case White
what chances he had missed until gains an edge but here Black has
I looked at the game for this book. comfortable equality.
In view of his missed 7 .. £>c6
opportunities I can see why he left the 8 £>c2 &xc3
tournament hall so quickly 9 bxc3 d5
1 c4 £>f6 Black plays very directly as the
2 £>c3 e5 prospects for piece play are quite
3 g3 good, but this does leave me

This is a very quiet way to play without many pawns in the centre.
the system. Most people prefer to 9.. £te5 also looks like a

play 3 £>f3 to force Black to reasonable move.

commit his queen's knight. 10 cxd5 Sxd5

3 .. &b4 11 £>e3
4 &g2 0-0 In some ways this drives the
5 £rf3 Se8 queen where it wants to go. In a
 B.Larsen -
M Adams 61

recent game, Ljubojevic-I.Sokolov, White wisely evades the 'Irish'

Groningen 1994, White played 11 pawn centre (trebled pawns) which
d4 Wh5 12 f3 £h3 13 g4 Wh4 14 would not be effective here.
£te3 g6 15 JLd2 gaining the upper 15 ..
£xg4
hand. 16 ©c2
The double threat to the e-

pawns means that Black wil

regain his pawn by force, so White
sensibly hangs on to the more

advanced of them.
16 .. £xe2
17 Sel
A modest move which accepts
that White is worse. The other
idea is 17 Sf5 but 17.. JLdl is a

surprisingly effective reply: 18 Wd3

#e2 19 #xe2 &xe2 20 e5 &d3
leaves White with more material
11 .. ^h5 hanging and 18 Wb2 We2 19 d4
12 Sbl b6 (19 e5 Sxe5 20 Sxe5 Wxe5 21 &xa8
Aiming for mate with 12.. .&h3 Wel+ 22 4>g2 Ae2) 19.. £>xe4 20
13 Sxb7 £>e5 14 f3 exf3 15 exf3 Wxe2 JLxe2 leaves Black a sound
JLxg2 16 <4>xg2 does not give pawn up.
sufficient compensation for the 17 .. MS
material. The text prepares the same The exchange of light-squared
move. bishops leaves the king rather
13 f3 £«5 exposed and White's pawn structure
The idea behind White's play is now looks a bit ragged. Black's
that the continuation 13.. exf3 14 enterprising opening play has
&xf3 lfc5 15 &a3 #xa3 16 £.xc6 resulted in a clear edge.
wins material while 13.. .&h3 is 18 d3 £.xg2
disastrous as 14 g4 wins a piece. 19 &xg2 c5
However the temporary sacrifice A critical moment. Bent now

that is entailed in 13.. £te5 is loses a crucial pawn but the only
promising. decent way to prevent this is the
14 fxe4 move 20 c4 which leaves Black with
The alternatives are a large advantage and a pleasant
unappetising. Neither 14 g4 Wg6 nor 14 f4 position to play because of the
£teg4 really achieves anything. retarded d-pawn and the
14 ..
£teg4 vulnerabilityof the white king. A strong
15 £ucg4 continuation is 20.. £}g4 21 h3
62 Chess in the Fast Lane

£te5, bringing the black knight to The obvious 25 £.xf6 Sxe3 26

greener pastures and threatening i.xd8 #f3+ 27 <&h3 Se6 looks very
. .Wf3 + .
dangerous but after 28 J&.h4 (or 28
i.g5 Wg4+ 29 *g2 Wxg5 30 Wa4
Wcl and Black stil has some

advantage) 28.. Se4 (28.. Sh6 29 We2)

29 .&d8, I don't see more than a

draw for Black and nor as far as I

can tel does Fritz.
25 .. £sd7
Now everything is back on

course for the moment. There is no

real compensation for the pawn.

26 We2 Wf7

20 if4 c4
21 d4
Giving up a pawn but if White
retains material equality with 21
dxc4 Wg6, his remaining queen-
side pawns are weak.
21 .. £ixe4
Based on the straightforward
tactical variation 22 Sxe4 Wd5 23
Sbel f5. My opponent's reply is
the best chance, preventing . .Wd5
which would leave Black in The exchange of queens was a

complete control. more sensible way to proceed.

22 £.e5 f5 There is a definite air of sloppi-
Not 22.. £ig5 23 Wf5. ness about my play in this part of
23 Se3 Sad8 the game, perhaps due to the fact
Forcing White to misplace the that I had just won three in a row.

rook as Black is threatening both 27 if4 Sxe3

. .Sxe5 and . .Sd2+. 28 Wxe3 Se8
24 Sb2 <5tf6? 29 ©f3 Se4
A bad error which fortunately Fighting for control of the d5
for me goes unpunished. 24.. ©116, square. Another way to do this
fol owed by transferring the queen was 29.. £sf6 30 £.e5 £sd5 but the
to c6, was correct. bishop on e5 is just as well placed
25 h3 as the knight alongside it.
 B.Larsen -

MAdams 63

30 g4 Sd5
Preventing Se2.
31 gxf5 VhdS
WB,\ iltW^, W.
32 ig3 Wd5
The exchange of queens would
be less good here because White's
king would become active in the
but by centralised
ending,
Black remains
staying W<&&
in prime position.
33 a4 £sf6
A bad error that gives Larsen a

chance to complicate. Better was

33.. h6, looking after king safety 37 <£>h2 h6

and meeting 34 Sb5 with 34.. We6 There is no alternative to this
or 34. . Se2+. In this position White due to the threat of Sf2.
stil has some fighting chances 38 Wf5
but accurate play should win. Now Here White had two other good
White is right back in the game. alternatives to the text move. He
34 a5 can play 38 Sf2 anyway, as after
Giving up another pawn is 38.. £lxe5 39 dxe5 «d5 40 «f8+
essential, as on 34 .&e5 the strong <£>h7 41 »f5 + g6 42 #f7+ #xf7
34.. Se3 was planned. 43 Sxf7+ <4>g8 44 Se7 there are

34 .. bxa5 drawing chances. However, most

Taking with the queen deserved spectacular and best is 38 .&xg7,
consideration: 34.. #xa5 35 i.e5 when Black should play 38.. #d6+
#d5 36 £.xf6 gxf6 37 #xf6 Se6+ (recapturing with 38.. '&xg7 39
staying a pawn up. Sg2 + <£>h8 40 Wg3 wins for White).
35 £.e5 Now White has three possibilities:
The check 35 Sb8+ <£>f7 has no a) 39 <4>g2 He7 40 £.e5 £sxe5 41
fol ow-up and by leaving the dxe5 #xe5;
second rank White allows Black a b) 39£.e5£lxe5 40#xe4£)d3+
threat of . .Se2+. Larsen's move 41 <£>hl £ixb2 42 Wg2+ *f7 43
plans 35.. 2e3 36 #xd5 £sxd5 37 #xb2; or

Sb7 with counterplay along the c) 39 &e5 £>xe5 40 dxe5 Wxe5 +

seventh rank. 41<£>g2.
35 .. £>d7 In all cases Black maintains
36 <£>g3 Wc6 some advantage but a draw is the
Of course not 36.. £}xe5 37 most probable result.
Sb8+. The text move deals with 38 ..
g6
the threat of Se2 by introducing This looks dangerous but there
the option of . .#g6+. is a definite sting in the tail.
64 Chess in the Fast Lane

39 2g2? can play 39.. Wb6! when White can

The final error, finishing the try either 40 Sxb6 gxf5 41 Sg6+
game immediately. 39 Wf3 had to &h7 42 2g7+ &h8 43 2xd7+ Sxe5
be played, when after the 44 d6 <£?e8 45 Sxa7 Sd5 or 40 Sg2
continuation 39.. £sxe5 40 dxe5 *d5 41 Sxe5 41 «xd7 «f6 but both are to
Sb8+ <£>h7 42 Se8 #d2+ 43 <£>g3 Black's advantage.
«el + 44 «f2 a drawish ending 39 .. Se2
results. 39 d5 is interesting but not The cross-pins come out in
quite sufficient. Although 39.. gxf5 Black's favour.
40 dxc6 wins for White(l), Black White resigned

Game 16
Michael's winning sequence came to an end when he lost to Granda
Zuniga and then he completed the tournament with three draws
including one with Mikhail Tal. This was their second and final encounter as

Tal died the fol owing year. The first had been at Cannes and had been
drawn in 22 moves. This one lasted a mere fourteen moves and was

probably agreed as a draw beforehand. Michael is not absolutely sure if

he did actually receive a phonecall at six in the morning suggesting a

draw or whether he dreamt it, as it was not his custom to get up until a

bit nearer to the games 5 p.m. start time. When Tal offered an early
draw after playing a quiet opening he realised it had not been a figment
of his imagination. Either way it was a great privilege to play such a

great player and it is one that Michael treasures.

In May Mi c hael drew with another ex-world champion, Boris
Spassky, i n t h e Clichy-Lyons French league match. Lyons went on to
win their second successive French title with Clichy finishing runners-

up. Michael contributed three wins and two draws in this final group of
fixtures.

M Adams -
M.Hebden match the offer of Auxerre this
French league 1990/91 did not result in me actually
Spanish Opening, moving clubs, but did lead to a

Marshall Attack substantial increase in my match fee.

It was certainly an experience that
The two teams involved in this I would be happy to repeat.
match were actually vying for my 1 e4 e5
services at the end of this 2 £sf3 £sc6
particular season. As Clichy were able to 3 ib5 a6
 MAdams -
M.Hebden 65

r
4 ia4 f6
5 0-0 &e7
I If i
6 Sel b5
HP A HI A
7 &b3 0-0
8 c3 d5 m&,**>w.
9 exd5 <&xd5
10 *&xe5 *&xe5
2xe5 '-mi W,
i iA
a
11 c6
y//, v/m
12 d3
This is probably at least as AH ■' HAS
dangerous
12
as

..
the alternative
Sa7
12 d4.
8£>l!lr
This move is rarely played axb5 axb5,16 £>d2 is stil not
although it is not at all bad. In fact playable due to 16.. £sf4, thus 16 £sa3
it is not mentioned in either the is critical: 16.. «b6 17 ^xb5 «xb5
Nunn/Harding book on the 18 JLxd5 Sxd5 19 c4 wins, so the
Marshall or in the Encyclopaedia of complications after 16.. c4 17 dxc4
Chess Openings. Black intends to bxc4 (17.. i.xa3 18 cxd5) 18 <^xc4
make use of the open second rank ^xc3 19 #c2 are important, but
to either take control of the e-file these are good for White. Hence
or to put pressure on the d-pawn. 16.. b417 £ib5 (17 ^4 doesn't lead
13 Sel to anything clear after 17.. bxc3
A natural reaction but this does 18 £se5 cxb2 19 £.xb2 Sc7 and
allow Black some play. The most 17.. ^.f6 also looks quite playable)
accurate may be 13 JLxd5 cxd5 14 17.. bxc3 18 bxc3 is critical, when
£sd2 with the idea of 14.. d4 15 c4. Black is fighting for equality.
However once White exchanges 15 d4
bishop for knight Black is ensured A strong move since Black is
some compensation. forced to release the tension as c3-
13 ..
c5(D) c4, fol owed by d4-d5 cementing a

14 a4 solid passed pawn advantage, is

It was not possible to develop threatened.
with 14 £id2 as 14.. £)f4 15 £)f3 15 .. cxd4
£}xd3 regains material with a Of course White would be happy
good game for Black. with 15.. bxc3 16 £>xc3 helping his
14 .. b4 development.
Played with the idea of keeping 16 cxd4
the white rook from entering the If 16 #xd4 Sd7 the open nature
fray down the a-file but in fact of the position helps Black with
more accurate was 14.. Sd7 his superior development. After
focusing on the weak d3 pawn. After 15 the move played White's d-pawn
66 Chess in the Fast Lane

looks weak, but the situation is a6, or JLa4, irritating the black
slightly deceptive as Black has to rook. The black queenside pawns
move the well placed knight on d5 also become weaker than their
to attack it. white counterparts.
16 .. Sd7 22 ..
g5
17 £sd2 i.b7 A move like this is obviously
Black opts for simple weakening but Black may have
development, hoping to obtain long-term felt he was short of moves.

pressure for the pawn. The other Nonetheless I would have preferred
option was to try and regain it 22.. ®a8.
immediately with 17.. £sc7 18 £sf3 23 h3
J.f6 19 i.e3, but then White It is sensible to prevent the
develops happily so his choice seems possibility of . .g5-g4 or . .£}xg2
stronger. fol owed by . .g5-g4.
18 £sf3 i.d6 23 .. £sd5
Black consistently refuses to go It looks more logical to play
after the isolated pawn but here it 23.. h5, renewing the threat, but
may have been stronger to have 24 £.xf4 JlxU 25 i.e6 is strong as

done so. 18.. £sf6 19 i.e3 i.c5 is a 25.. Sd6 26 g3 leaves Black in a lot
reasonable way to play, when 20 of trouble. However 23.. *a8 stil
#c2 JLa7 21 £te5 looks impressive looks more consistent.
but Black has a decent 24 &d3
continuation in 21.. Sc7, fol owed by There is no reason to fear
occupying d5 again. 24.. i.xg3 25 fxg3 as the doubled
19 £.g5 pawn would cover the important
White sends the bishop round f4 square.
the angles to try and exchange its 24 .. £if4
opposite number. An admission that Black has
19 .. f6 lost the thread of the game but by
Also interesting was 19.. ^8. now White is a pawn up with a

20 ih4 <£>h8 good position.

This was the problem with the 25 £.xf4 £.xf4
last move. Some loss of time is 26 d5
inevitable. Now the pawn, which had
21 £.g3 £sf4 earlier been a weakness, becomes a

22 a5 strength, although Black has lit le

There was no immediate choice but to leave it on the board
impressive continuation but White as 26.. i.xd5 27 i.xd5 Sxd5 28
can be content with this move. #xa6 gives me another useful
Black must contend with the passed pawn.
possibility of either .&c4, focusing on 26 .. i.c7
 M.Adams -

M.Hebden 67

27 Sadl ixa5 The black b-pawn is

Now Black establishes material indefensible so there is no hurry to take it.
equality but allows White to White concentrates on

dominate the middle of the board, so shepherdingthe d-pawn.

27.. Sd6 was well worth 31 .. i.c6
considering as it is dif icult for the white The alternative was 31..a5 but
knight to reach the f5 and e6 after 32 d7 &c6 33 £sd4 £xd7 34
squares. £k6 White picks up material. The
28 d6 move played threatens . . &b5 but
now White can capture both black
queenside pawns.
32 '&'xa6 i.d7
33 £sd4 i.c5
It is essential to keep the knight
from f5.
34 £sxb3
Cleaner was the continuation
34 £.xd7 i.xd4 35 i.f5 when Black
has not much hope, but the two
pawn margin in the game is also
ample.
34 .. i.b6
28 ..
2g7 35 &c!3 Se8
Losing was 28.. £.c7 29 dxc7, 36 2xe8+ '&xe8
and swapping the white knight 37 £.xd7 Sxd7
with 28.. £.xf3 29 gxf3 is 38 £sd2
ineffective as White's bishop is so much It is not dif icult to convert as

stronger than its counterpart. Black's pieces are tied to

29 i.e6 blockading the d-pawn.
The most direct action, aiming 38 ..
&g6
to advance the pawn to d7, 39 £sc4
severely restricting any Black There is no reason to refuse the
activity. exchange of queens.
29 .. b3 39 .. Sxd3
Black must take action quickly 40 Sxd3 id8
and the attack on the rook is The bishop would have been
disruptive. It also gives the option to more active on c5, but here it frees
secure the bishop on b4 by playing the black rook.
. a6-a5. 41 g4 <4>g7
30 Se2 i.b4 42 &g2 <£>f7
31 if5 43 Se3
68 Chess in the Fast Lane

Cutting off the black king and 45 <£>e2 Sb7

ending any lingering hopes. 46 &d2 ib6
43 .. Sb7 47 Sb3
44 &f3 Sb5 Black resigned

Game 17
A week later, after the French league Michael
matches, was back on the
Continent playing in an all-play-all 13 event
category at Terrassa in
Spain. Four Russians with 2600+ ratings headed the field and it was
Michael's fate to be drawn with Black against each one of them. These
were not the circumstances that you woul d expect Mi c hael to produce
the best performance of his career, but that is what happened, with
Michael going through undefeated and including Ivanchuk and Ehlvest
among his four victories as he went through the tournament
undefeated to finish on six and a half out of nine. Michael received a mid-

tournament boost in the form of a flying visit from David Norwood and
Peter Ariowitsch, whose flat in London was a frequent meeting spot for
grandmasters discussing opening novel t i e s over a f e w tequilas and was a

base for Michael on occasions, notably during t h e English

championship. After a night out in Barcelona David and Peter set off to contest
the annual Benidorm tournament leaving Michael with a copy of Viz for
preparation! Eventually he won the event on tie-break from Ehlvest,
with Ivanchuk, then the world number two, a point further back. The
other two Russians in the event were Romanishin and Epishin, the
lat er helping Michael's cause by beating Ehlvest in the final round.

M.Adams -
J.Pomes analysed before but even achieved
Terrassa 1991 a probably winning position at the
French Defence, end of it.
Tarrasch Variation 1 e4 e6
2 d4 d5
My career has not by any means 3 £sd2 c5
been ful of powerful opening 4 exd5 #xd5
novelties or heavily analysed 5 £sgf3 cxd4
theoretical systems -
in fact just the 6 ic4 &d6
opposite! However, the next game 7 0-0
does feature one of my better ef- White cannot regain the pawn
forts. I not only managed to pro- immediately due to 7 £>b3 Wb4+
duce over twenty moves that I had but the large lead in development
 MAdams -

J.Pomes 69

means that Black would be 18 i.d6+

il -advised to hang onto it. Surprisingly, it is more

7 .. <&f6 dangerous for Black if the queens stay

8 £sb3 £sc6 on the board. 18 «d6+ #xd6 19
9 £sbxd4 £ixd4 .&xd6 + <4>e8 leads to a roughly level
10 <&xd4 a6 ending.
11 Sel #c7 18 .. <£>e8
12 i.b3 id6
13 £sf5
This is the critical line. If White
plays 12 h3, then the continuation
12.. 0-0 13i.g5i.h2-l- 14*hli.f4
is fine for Black.
13 .. £xh2+
14 <£>hl <£>f8
It is now known that 14.. 0-0!
is the most accurate way to play
the position, with the idea of the
important zwischenzug 15 £}xg7
Sd8 (15.. *xg7 16 #d4
threatening JLh6+ is good for White), but Of course not 18.. <4>g8 19 Sxe6,
this idea was not played until two a recurring problem.
years after the current game. I had 19 c4!
seen my opponent play the text This is the important move.

move in an earlier game and had a The direct 19 i.xe6 fxe6 20 Sxe6+
specific idea in mind. *f7 21 Se7+ <£>g6 leaves Black's
15 g3 exf5 king quite safe. By maintaining
Jon Speelman once won an the powerful bishop on d6, White
incredibly visual game against Psa- makes it impossible for Black to
khis with the sacrifice 15.. i.xg3 gain the necessary level of
16 £}xg3, but with good defence co-ordination to exploit his pawn
White's material plus should be advantage and White's exposed king.
enough. Another more immediate problem
16 $LU #c6+ is that after c4-c5 Black is
If 16.. «b6, then 17 #d6+ #xd6 threatened with JLa4 pinning the queen.
18 &xd6+ &g8 19 Se7 &e6 20 19 .. h5
Sxe6 is strong. Black aims for counterplay by
17 *xh2 i.e6 opening up the h-file, where his
All the moves are of a rather rook is conveniently located. This
forcing nature as Black must deal is a natural decision but ultimately
with the threat of #d8+. Black's attack suffers from lack of
70 Chess in the Fast Lane

support. No better was 19.. £te4

20 c5 £sxd6 (20.. £sxf2 21 #d4
&g4+ 22 <4>gl ends Black's fun and
White's is just beginning) 21 cxd6
(not 21 £.xe6 «xc5) 21.. *d7 22
£.xe6+ fxe6 23 ®h5 g6 (23.. <£>xd6
24 Vf7) 24 %5 Sae8 25 Sacl #f3
26 Sfdl ®h5 + (26.. ®xf2+ 27 <£>h3
leaves Black defenceless) 27 ^xhS
gxh5 28 2c7+ <&>d8 29 2xb7 with a

winning ending.
20 c5 h4
21 tS(D) Black's position has now clearly
This was the end of my pre- become desperate. The pawn has
game preparation, with a very been regained and White's last
satisfactory result. After being on the piece is coming into the game. The
wrong end of many dismal only chance is some hit caused by
opening positions, it was nice to have the vulnerable placing of White's
turned the tables for once. The monarch, but with care this can

second quiet move from White be avoided.

puts his opponent in considerable 24 ..
hxg3 +

dif iculty After the incorrect 21 25 &xg3 Hb5

jLa4 White is in big trouble after The exchange of queens is not
21.. hxg3+ 22 <£>xg3 (or 22 <&>gl to Black's advantage as the rook
Shi mate) 22.. f4+ 23 <&>xf4 2h4+ on a8 remains completely out of
24 4^3 Sxa4. However, the text the game. However, it is hard to
move secures the white monarch see a good move as 25.. f4+ 26
and puts Black's king under i.xf4 &h5 + 27 &f2 #xc5 + 28 &e3,
pressure which, because of its 25.. £Hi5 + 26 <&>f2 and 25.. £ld5
precarious position in the middle of the 26 Sael f4+ 27 £xf4 all fail due to
board, it is unable to resist. a lack of co-ordination amongst
21 .. &d8 the black forces.
Black decides to delay capturing 26 Sael
on g3 in order to tie White's queen 26 ®xb5 is obviously wrong as

to the defence of the f-pawn. After it allows the spectating rook on a8

21.. hxg3+ 22 <&>xg3 <&>d8 23 1M4 some freedom.
is possible. Unplayable was 21.. b5 26 .. '#xb3
22cxb6 0xb6 23i.a4+. 27 axb3 £td5
22 £.xe6 fxe6 28 2g6 2g8
23 Sxe6 &c8 Of course it would be very
24 Wb3 desirable for Black to jet ison a pawn
 V. Ivanchuk -

M.Adams 71

with 28.. &d7 29 Sxg7+ &c6, but Or 30.. £ld5 31 Sf7.

29 Sdl is more to the point. 31 i.e5 a5
29 2e5 £f6 32 2b6
30 Se7 £se8 Black resigned

Game 18
V. Ivanchuk -
M Adams but accidental y inverted the
Terrassa 1991 order of moves. I only realised this
Spanish Opening, when I made my move because Va-
Marshall Attack sily raised his eyebrows and sunk
into thought. Strangely, after I
Like most players I would shy played this move all the lights in
away from naming any one game the tournament hall went out!
as my best, but this excellent win They were repaired fifteen
with Black against a very strong minutes later but 'Chukky' continued
opponent would have a good claim. thinking for about another fifty
It was particularly nice to achieve minutes before playing:
virtual zugzwang with so much 18 £ifl
material remaining on the board. After 18 a4 &f5 (18.. 2e6
1 e4 e5 transposes to the Spassky variation but
2 £lf3 £lc6 this attempts to take advantage of
3 i.b5 a6 Black's move order) 19 #fl (not
4 £.a4 £tf6 19 i.dl ^xdl 20 #xf5 £ixe3
5 0-0 Ae7 winning a piece) 19.. i.h3 20 i.dl (20
6 2el b5 m3 is just a draw) 20.. #f5 21
7 i.b3 0-0 1£e2 c5 with a complex position.
8 c3 d5
9 exd5 £fltd5 W/.

10 £lxe5 £lxe5 mr .wmm

11 Sxe5 c6 il
12 d4 i.d6 A i§ A M. i§ m
13 2el #h4
14 g3 #h3
HIP W% W%fr A HIP
15 i.e3 i.g4 m, of ilJLil
16
17
Wd3
&d2
2ae8
#h5!?
^fJ^UBrW
8*ai»^Br^
If

I was trying to play the Spassky j*^ €m '&*#>

system (which would have been m

achieved by 17.. 2e6 18 a4 #h5)
72 Chess in the Fast Lane

18 2e6
§B, HI IMw
..

mm
19 i.dl?! g y/M& VM%, ^p i

I do not like this move, after

which Black should have very good AWB kWs Hi w ww

compensation for his pawn.

Normal is 19 a4.
19 .. f5
20 £.xg4 t xg4 W ifiAi
21 i.d2 2g6
22 &g2 '/ /, B 5*77*

A dif icult choice. Not good was

m
22 c4 bxc4 23 1^4 &h8, but also
possible was 22 f3 ®h3 23 t e2 f4 by 27.. &xg4 28 fxg4 #xg4+ 29
24 Vg2 #d7 25 g4. One way for Ag3 Sh6.
Black to continue here is 25.. h5 25 ..
2xg4+
26 h3 hxg4 27 hxg4 c5. Black has Also interesting in this position
the easier game to play but the is 25.. Sh6 fol owed by the plan
position is objectively unclear. outlined in the note to move 24.
22 .. f4 The text is more clear-cut though
23 f3 #h5 not necessarily better.
24 g4 Wh4l(D) 26 fxg4 f3+
I spent a lot of time looking at 27 <&>hl
the tempting 24.. £if6 25 h3 #h4, I had total y failed to notice
but White has a good defence in 26 this, looking only at 27 #xf3 2xf3
2e2 (26 Se6 is also possible but 28 &xf3 #h3+ 29 £lg3 4MB or 29
much less clear) 26.. 2h6 27 &gl 't&il JLxh2, both with very good
when Black has no real way to chances for Black. The text move

proceed. is definitely better than that,

The text forces a rook move due although White's king wil never be
to the threat of . .2xg4+, whilst completely safe.
ideas of . .2h6 and . .«h3+ 27 .. fxe2
fol owed by . .£le3 are also worrying 28 t ze2 &h8
for White. Black must consolidate his own

25 2e2 position before doing anything

Given a '?' by Gavrikov in his active.
notes in Die Schachwoche, but I 29 &gl h6
don't see an alternative. Gavrikov's 30 «g2 i.f4
25 2e4 4MB 26 Ael t gS (26.. «h5 31 £.el #g5
may be better but wil probably 32 h3?!
come to the same thing) 27 4}d2 Both players were running a

seems to be rather powerful y met lit le short of time at this point and
 V. Ivanchuk -

M Adams 73

in particular the pace of Vasily's

moves had increased. 32 h3 was

flicked out as another solid quick

move, but in fact the loss of time is
rather critical. 32 Sdl had to be
played.
32 ..
'%6!
Once seen, a very obvious move,
but it took me a while to stumble
on it. None of the more obvious
attempts at infiltrating on the
dark squares really accomplish
anything but now that the queen immediately. The rest needs lit le
controls the light squares the comment as once the white rook
situation is very dif erent. White's leaves its defensive position the
reply is forced to prevent . .^3. roof fal s in.
33 Sdl i.b8 36 .. M4
34 2d2 Wbl 37 2e2 £lxc3
35 i.f2 &&l(D) 38 2e6 #xa2
Exploiting the paralysed state of 39 2xc6 '&'xb3
White's pieces, and much stronger 40 Sxa6 £te2+
than 35.. Wxa2 36 &g3. 41 &hl i.b8
36 b3 An amusing echo. Once again
This loses by force, but the the possibility of . .£lf4 is tough to
more solid 36 a3 is well answered meet.
by 36.. &h8 and if then 37 a4 &g8 42 i.el Wdl
etc. All piece moves lose material White resigned

Game 19
Only one day after playing in Terrassa, Michael played Paul Lit lewood,
the 1981 British champion, in a three-game exhibition quickplay match
in Sheffield before a weekend congress. Michael won the quickplay
event convincingly and went on to share first place in the weekend
event with Paul and John Nunn. It was a strong weekender with
Michael defeating Malcolm Pein and Mark Hebden in rounds three and
four.
Four weeks later he was back in Yorkshire at Leeds for the British
rapidplay championships, played on two days over eleven rounds.
Michael led for much of the tournament, including wins against David
 74 Chess in the Fast Lane

Norwood, Jim Plaskett and John Nunn, until he met Polugayevsky in

the penultimate round. Unfortunately Michael managed to blunder
away what should have been an easily drawn bishop endgame. This
meant that the Russian shared first place with Jon Speelman on 9 out of
11 with Michael and Jim Plaskett half a point behind.
The July 1991 rating list provided another landmark in Michael's
career. He was placed i n t h e worl d ' s top twenty f o r t h e f i r st time with his
new rating of 2615, whi c h al s o placed hi m at number t h ree on t h e
English list.
After playing in ten successive BCF championships -

the last six in

the British championship itself- Michael and several other British GMs
decided not to compete in 1991 when the absence of a sponsor meant
that there was no appearance money for top players, while prize money
was also drastically reduced. It was a hard decision to make as the BCF
championships had provided Mi c hael wi t h many happy t i m es si n ce he
started in the under-11; and had especial y enjoyed t h e camaraderi e
with his fel ow players. At the same time, given that he was a chess

professional with a living to make, it was not a dif icult decision to accept
an invitation to play in the Biel Chess Festival. Apart from the financial
implications, there was also the opportunity of further international
chess experience. The Soviet players, in the form of Shirov, Bareev and
Gavrikov, certainly t o ok revenge f o r Mi c hael ' s f i n e resul t s against t h ei r
counterparts at Terrassa as they scored blA out of 6 against him. It was
just as wel l t h ere were onl y t h ree of t h em and a score of 5 out of 8
against the rest of the field gave his final result almost an air of
respectability.

M Adams -

J.Lautier immediately put a price of two

Biel 1991 beers on Joel's head for this game
French Defence, and four more if I screwed in the
Tarrasch Variation winning move..

1 e4 e6
My opponent in this game has the The French player rarely de-
habit of screwing in his moves fends so patriotically these days,
when in a powerful position, and 2 d4 d5
this was an indirect factor in this 3 £ld2 c5
game. Some rounds earlier Joel 4 exd5 #xd5
had defeated Larry Christiansen 5 £lgf3 cxd4
and finished his victory by 6 i.c4 #d6
screwing in the last few moves, which 7 0-0 £lf6
had not greatly pleased Larry. He 8 £ib3 £ic6
 M Adams -

J.Lautier 75

9 &bxd4 £\xd4 strategic trumps. Another game

10 £«d4 £.d7 of mine, against Djurhuus, went
More common is 10.. a6 here. 13.. i.d6 14 g3 h5 15 £lb5 i.xb5 16
11 c3 #c7 axb5 b6 17 Sa4 but this is
12 We2 0-0-0 definitely no kind of improvement for
Three alternatives involve
developing the f8-bishop: 12.. JLd6
13 £lb5 £.xb5 (13.. £.xh2+ 14 <&>hl
and the black bishop is in trouble)
14 £.xb5+ &e7 15 g3 and the
bishop pair gives White a pleasant
edge; 12.. i.c5 13 i.g5 when the
kingside pawn structure wil be
shattered; and finally 12.. JLe7 or

12.. a6 13 i.g5 i.e7, which are

solid but slightly passive and lead

to similar positions. The text move

is popular but heading for the

queenside is dangerous.
13 a4 14 £>b5 £xb5
A typical move in this position There is lit le choice because
so that after £lb5 White can 14.. «b8 15 i.e3 a6 16 £la7+ *c7
recapture with the a-pawn, opening 17 a5 doesn't look very promising.
a file towards the black king. The 15 axb5 £>g4
sole way to prevent this is 13.. a6, The most direct move, which
but after 14 b4 the pawn storm is has the advantage of threatening
very swift, as there is already a mate in one. 15.. JLc5 has also been
threat of 15 b5 a5 16 b6, when the played and does give Black a few
black king looks very draughty. more options, but 16 Sa4 £lg4 17
13 .. h5 g3 stil looks good for White.
This is the idea of Black's play: 16 g3 £.c5
he looks to mount a snap attack 17 <&>g2
based on a combination of . .JLc5 Of course not 17 h31^3+, but
and . .£lg4. This is not really now Black's attack is largely
successful in this position for an defused as 17.. SM2 18 2xf2 £.xf2
interesting reason; although the 19 &xf2 leads nowhere and . .h5-
dark squares are well controlled h4 is impossible due to the knight
by the attacking side, the hanging. It was also possible to
dif iculties in controlling any light squares play 17 Sa4 here, transposing to
mean that the attack is ultimately the line above. It all pretty much
unsuccessful, so White holds the comes to the same thing.
76 Chess in the Fast Lane

17 .. 4>b8 21 £ld5
Another possibility is 17.. 1£e5,
which
2a4.
is probably also met by 18
■ mil ■
18 2a4 lAUXliAB
It was possible to play 18 h3
because although the consequences
of 18.. £>xf2 19 Hxf2 i.xf2 20 <&>xf2 J< y/y/ y, W//M W// /
h4 are not completely clear, SW/7/?m&M m m
inserting 19 JLf4 is strong. Instead IP if IP 8 A
of 18.. £lxf2 Black should play
18.. £ie5 19 i.f4 i.d6. There is no

real reason for White to get

involved in complications when there
is a useful consolidating move 11 ixd5
available and the threat of Easily the best move of the
doubling on the a-file is so strong. game. It was tempting to just snap
18 .. 2he8 up the h5 pawn as 22 WxhS £.xf2
It is dif icult to find an active 23 &xf2 #c5+ 24 <£>e2 should be
plan for Black. 18.. e5 seems a good for White, but the text move

logical move, but 19 h3 £lf6 20 leads to a forced win due to a

JLe3 fol owed by Sfal focuses on series of neat tactical points.

the weak a-pawn, which cannot be 22 .. 2xd5
adequately defended once the 23 i.f4 e5
white rooks double on the a-file. 24 b4
19 h3 £if6 The pin of the e-pawn causes
20 i.g5 Black all sorts of problems. If
The natural 20 i.e3 also looks 24.. &b6 25 c4 2dd8 26 £.e3 £.xe3
good, but 20.. h4 is surprisingly 27 t xe3 m>6 (27.. #xc4 28 2xa7
irritating. If 21 g4, then 21.. £ld5 1^5 29 2a8+ *c7 30 Scl+ *d7
targets the f4 square. The text 31 2c5) 28 *e2 fol owed by c4-c5.
move is rather strong; White aims 24 .. ®d7
to connect his rooks before A reasonable attempt but I had
swapping bishops to remove the only already foreseen the refutation.
defender of the a7 pawn. It also 25 £g5
clamps down on the h-pawn. It is very important to control
20 .. Sd7 the d8 square, as wil be seen in a

21 Sfal few moves.

Not 21 b6, intending 21.. *xb6 25 .. £b6

22 i.b5, as 21.. ^6+turns the 26 c4 Sd3
tables. 27 c5 #xb5
 MAdams -

J.Lautier 77

28 &h2
Now the pin works in White's
favour.
28 .. .&c7
29 Sxa7 &c8
30 Sa8+ ±b8
If 30.. &d7 31 Sxe8 <&xe8 32
Sdl and Black perishes.
31 Sdl
Round about here I remembered
Larry's offer -

though screwing in
my moves is not really my style,
Hoping for the continuation 28 six beers sounded promising. In
cxb6 Sxg3+ 29 &fl Sgl+, but this any case Joel prevented me from
was a bit optimistic as the cheapo making the decision by
was rather telegraphed. resigning as 31.. e4 32 .&f4 is decisive.
 Chapter Three

The 1991 Lloyds Bank Masters coincided with the attempted political
coup in Moscow to replace Gorbachov. At the chessboard Soviets and
former Soviets were more secure, with Shirov winning on 8/10 and two
more Latvians, Kengis and Shabalov, finishing half a point behind along
with Michael, the highest placed western player. It was generally a

frustrating tournament for my son. He recovered from defeat by Ernst in

the fifth round to record two good victories against Timoschenko and
McDonald in the fol owing rounds, only to be frustrated by having to
settle for draws against Shabalov and Murshed, which destroyed his
hopes of first place. However, there was a major change in Michael's
opening repertoire as in his games against John Emms and Neil
McDonald he chose to open with 1 d4 for the first time in major
competition. This proved successful in both games thanks to the generosity of
Julian Hodgson who, as well as providing Michael with accommodation
during the tournament, taught him a new opening on the no. 6 bus route
they travelled along to reach the venue!

Game 20
M-Adams -

J.Emms The first of many moves in this

London (Lloyds Bank) 1991 game that I did not quite foresee.
Queen's Gambit, 2 c4
Semi-Tarrasch Defence These days I often go 2 $Lg5 but
I was hopeful that John wouldn't
In this last-round game both know much about Queen's
players needed to win in order to Gambits either.
collect a decent prize. This normally 2 .. e6
leads to tough struggles which 3 £>c3 Qjta
ultimately end in a draw, but in this 4 cxd5 £ixd5
game things went quite smoothly. I had received a crash course

1 d4 on the Queen's Gambit Exchange

Having just been introduced to from Jules but I wasn't
the 'Tromp' I was eager to get it in heart-broken when my opponent deviated.
wherever possible but John takes This line is unusual and
evasive action. conceding the centre must give White all
1 .. d5 the chances to gain an edge.
 MAdams -

J.Emms 79

5 e4 £)xc3 16 £te5
6 bxc3 c5 After 16 Shcl Sxcl 17 Sxcl Sc8
7 £>f3 cxd4 Black is able to swap rooks and
8 cxd4 £ta6 minimise his disadvantage. Now
9 ±d3 Black can only do this by ceding the
Probably not best. This move c-file.
takes advantage of the indirectly
defended pawn on d4 (9.. £)xd4 10
£ixd4 #xd4 11 ±b5+ is
impossible) but White must lose time to
defend the pawn later. The
theoretical recommendation is 9 Jlc4.
9 .. &b4+
10 ±d2 &xd2+
11 #xd2 0-0
12 £c2
This is the tempo referred to
above but the game Yusupov-Van
der Sterren, Amsterdam (Donner
Memorial), 1994 showed the best 16 .. £a4
continuation in this unusual The black bishop doesn't really
position to be 12 !fc3. This may justify do much here. 16.. Jte8, fol owed
9 .&d3 as Black is prevented from by centralising the king, was the
developing with . .b7-b6 and . JLb7 most solid continuation.
as he would like to. 17 Shcl £>c6
12 .. #a5 Swapping knights looks logical
The ending wil always be but Black's bishop turns out to be
promising for White due to his rather ineffective. Centralising the
centralised king and better pawn king was stil a reasonable plan,
structure, so here 12.. b6 is better. and another alternative was to
John was probably not very play 17.. f6 18 £>c4 £kc4+ 19 &xc4
comfortable with White's passed d- ■^7, which weakens the e-pawn,
pawn but this is a fact of life in though I don't believe this to be
this variation. too serious. Hence 18 £}f3 is
13 #xa5 Oxa5 better but Black gains some

14 i.d.3 breathing space.

The bishop shuffles back but 18 £>xc6 Sxc6
there was no better way to control 19 Scbl
the c4 square and prepare &A2. Exploiting the unfortunate
14 .. &d7 placing of the bishop. Black is forced
15 &d2 Sfc8 to retreat or Sb4 wil win a pawn.
80 Chess in the Fast Lane

19 .. Sc7 &c6 27 Sxc8+ Sxc8 28 &b5 ±d7

20 Sb4 £c6 doesn't really lead anywhere.
The bishop gets in the way here. 25 .. b5
More sensible was 20..Jtd7 but Good play. John grabs his chance
21 a4 puts Black in a dilemma. for some activity since 26 JLxb5
Allowing a4-a5 is very unpleasant ±xb5 27 Sxc8 Sxc8 28 Sxb5 Sc3+
and 21.. a5 22 Sb6 is also not good. leaves White with too many weak
pawns to hope for more than a

draw.
26 f5

21 &e3
The more direct 21 Scl Sd7 22
&e3 Sad8 23 Sc5 would transpose
to the next note. 26 .. &e8
21 .. Hd8 The critical line was 26.. a5 27
22 Scl Hcc8 Sb2 b4 28 fxe6 fxe6 but 29 Sc5
Obviously not Black's intention ends any il usions. Also winning
but 22.. Scd7 23 Sc5 leaves him is29iLa6iLb7 30 2fl+.
gasping for air. 27 Sbbl
23 h4 White could not snatch a pawn
Another option was 23 Sbc4, but immediately as 27 Sxc8 Sxc8 28
this gain of space is very thematic. ji.xb5 Sb8 pins and wins.
23 .. <&f8 27 .. a6
24 g4 h6 Sadly forced as 27.. a5 28 Sxc8
More flexible was 24.. '4'e7, but Sxc8 29 ±xb5 Sb8 30 a4 is a pawn.
putting the pawn on a dark square 28 e5 <&e7
is also quite logical. The threat was f5-f6 paralysing
25 f4 Black's king. Of course 28.. exf5 29
White completes his wall of gxf5, leaving White a dangerous
pawns. This move doesn't exactly armada of pawns in the centre,
feel right but 25 Sbc4 ±d7 26 Sc7 was not a viable option.
 M.Adams -

J.Emms 81

29 g5 hxg5
30 hxg5 exf5
This gives me the passed pawn
I was looking for as f5-f6+ had to
be prevented. If 30.. f6 31 exf6+
gxf6 32 g6 and the g-pawn is close
to touchdown.
31 ±xf5 ±d7
After 31.. Sxcl 32 Sxcl White
also gains control of the c-file.
32 ±xd7 &xd7
33 <&e4
Not the most accurate move. <&xf6 Sc6+ 40 Se6 is the end. Now
White could have achieved a the two connected passed pawns
breakthrough immediately with 33 g6 in the middle, ably supported by
f6 (33.. fxg6 34 &e4 is very similar White's king and rook, carry the
to the game) 34 exf6 gxf6 35 Sxc8 day.
Sxc8 36 ^4 with a winning 36 Sgl Sc6
ending. Now John gets a chance to 37 &d5 b4
create problems which he fails to take. 37.. Sb6 would have presented
33 .. Hh8 more resistance. White wins by
The only try was 33.. g6 which, 38 Sfl <&e7 39 <&c5 Sb8 (39.. Se6
by fixing the kingside pawn 40 Sel) 40 Sgl Sc8+ (40.. <&f7 41
structure, prevents any snap win. d5) 41 <&d5&f7 42e6+.
However, after 34 Sxc8 Sxc8 35 Sfl *e7 38 Sfl
36 Sf6 White should stil come Now the rook invades, making
through. the win simple.
34 Hxc8 Hxc8 38 .. Sc2
35 g6l(D) 39 e6+ &e7
35 ..
fxg6 40 Sf7+ <&e8
Forced because 35.. f6 36 exf6 41 &d6
gxf6 37 <&f5 <&e7 38 Sel+ <&f8 39 Black resigned

Game 21
Michael's next tournament, after a break of nearly four weeks, was the
Ostend open. By his standards this was a long lay-off, although it should
be pointed out that it was during this time that Development of a

Grandmaster was published, and he was involved in publicising it. He

began the tournament well and reached 4/4 with this win.
82 Chess in the Fast Lane

M.Bosboom -

M Adams After having reached this

Ostend 1991 position I realised that both replies
Giuoco Piano 11.. f5 and 11.. d5 look very dodgy
and I began to regret not having
As usual in Ostend, I had thought about my last move for a

prepared for this game with a few lit le more time. I found relatively
beers fol owed by a Jean-Claude the best move although it is
van Damme film. designed more to prevent activity
1 e4 e5 from White than to create any for
2 £)f3 £ic6 Black.
3 &c4 £tf6 11 .. £te6
4 d.3 iLc5 12 £tfl ±d7
This move probably gives better 13 £ie3 &h8
chances of equality than 4.. JLe7, 14 h4!? #f6
as the continuation 5 0-0 0-0 6 Sel The queen is a bit of a target
d6 7 a4 gives White a slight pull. here, but alternatives were thin
5 0-0 d6 on the ground as I was reluctant
6 c3 0-0 to weaken my control of d4.
7 h3 15 £>d5
This move may not have been
strictly necessary. More direct was

7 £fod2.
7 .. a6
8 £b3 ±&7
9 £ibd2 £>d7
This move attempts to take
advantage of White having
commit ed himself with the early h2-h3.
Normally this would not be
possible as White would have
substituted £k:4 for h2-h3 and as a

result would be able to counter

this knight move with 10 d4. White's next few moves show
10 Sel £ta5 him to be in too much of a hurry to
A rather casual reaction. Much break through. More subtle play
better was 10.. '&'h8, continuing is required; one promising idea is
the plan started last move. After 15 £tf"5.
11 £tfl £k:5 12 ±c2 f5 13 exf5 15 ..
#g6
&xf5 14 d4 ±xc2 15 #xc2 £>d7 16 £>g5 £>xg5
Black has a comfortable position. 17 hxg5 Hac8
11 £c2 18 d4
 M.Bosboom -
M.Adams 83

This sacrifice feels as though it 23 Sa3

should be the correct way to Also possible was 23 e5 ±f5 24
continue but Manuel never achieves £tf4 #g4 25 ±xf5 #xf5 26 exd6
sufficient compensation for the cxd6 27 Sa3 but White stil has
pawn. A simple developing move insufficient compensation for the
like 18 JLd2 looks sensible but pawn.
18.. f6 19 gxf6 ±g4 is a dangerous
reply, so it is hard to suggest an

improvement.
18 .. exd4
19 cxd4 APi4feli§ 'WfcViiW/
*pj«»ii mMw?>,
After 19 e5 ±f5 20 £tf4 #xg5 21
£ie6 ±xc2 22 1^2 1^4 23 £)xf8
d3 24 #d2 £)xe5 Black has more Ail HA!
than enough compensation for the
exchange. «<s if
A!

23 .. 1*7
24 b4 &a7
m 25 2g3 ±e6
™l& 26 ±b2?
if A IP Wx
£l&#l wE By this stage my opponent had
run rather short of time so he was
W, mm, 'Wfo 'wW,
if Pi lift unable to give enough attention to
a
IJ & ,_

the interesting possibility of 26

b5 £)e5 27 b6. The sacrifice of a

second pawn wrecks Black's pawn

19 .. ±xd4 structure as 27.. i.xd5 28 bxa7
20 a4 and 27.. £>c4 28 Hi6 are too
This rook lift is the only way for dangerous. Also better than the text
White to keep his chances alive as move was 26 £rf4.
20 e5 Af5 21 £tf4 #xg5 22 £te6 26 .. £se5
#h4 stil fails. 27 #h6
20 .. f5 After this move Black is clearly
The only way to untangle the winning, but it is no longer
black queen, but the price is the possible to suggest good alternatives
break up of the kingside pawns. for White.
21 gxf6 £g4 27 ..
2g8
22 Wd2 gxf6 28 Hxg8+ Hxg8
84 Chess in the Fast Lane

30 #f4 #g7
31 £te3
A time-trouble blunder as 31 g3
would have allowed White a chance
to fight on, but the result is not
really in any doubt. Now Black goes
two pawns up for nothing.
31 .. £xe3
32 Hxe3 Hxg2
33 Sg3 2xg3
34 fxg3 #g5
35 &f2 &g7
29 &fl 36 £d4 #h5
Of course 29 1®fxf6+ ^xfB 30 White lost on time, which was

£*xf6 Sf8 wins a piece. probably something of a relief to

29 ..
Sg6 him in this position.

Game 22
However, in round five Michael suffered a reverse when he lost with
White against Kuzmin. Normally you expect an easier task in the round
fol owing a defeat, but Michael had the misfortune to find himself
paired with world no. 10, Mikhail Gurevich.

M.Gurevich -

M.Adams As both players had already

Ostend 1991 dropped points in this
Bird's Opening tournament we were both very keen to
win this particular game. My last
I have never been a great believer move offers my opponent an

that the Dutch Defence is a opportunity to take the game into

particularly good opening. This has one of his favourite systems,
never been a matter of great albeit with colours reversed.
importance to me as I rarely open 1 4 f4 i.g7
d4, but in the next game I got the 5 £>f3 0-0
opportunity to try the structure 6 0-0 c5
with colours reversed and a tempo 7 Wei £>c6
less. 8 c3
1 g3 d5 Also possible here is the
2 i.g2 &f6 immediate 8 e4, which is the most direct
3 d3 g6 way of attempting to exploit the
 M.Gurevich -

M.Adams 85

extra tempo. After 8.. dxe4 9 dxe4

e5 10 fxe5 £lg4 £k:3 11 (11 Ag5!?)
Il. .£lgxe5 12 £>d5 i.e6 there are

chances for both sides.

8 .. b6
9 h3 «c7
10 £>a3 i.a6
A safety-conscious move,
cutting out any possibility of e2-e4 or

£fo5. Also possible was the simple

10.. i.b7.
11 g4 e6!
The immediate 11.. e5 12 fxe5 pointed out by Jeroen Piket. If I
£>xe5 13 &f4 £sxf3 + 14 Sxf3 had spotted it my opponent would
allows White a slight initiative. The have had to grovel with 15 dxe4
text move prevents f4-f5 to give dxe4 16 &e3 exf3 17 i.xf3 when
Black time to complete his Black is slightly more

development before any opening of the comfortable.

position. 15 2b 1 e5
12 i.d2 2ad8 My opponent felt that it would
13 Scl have been more appropriate to
In this game Mikhail has great reply 15.. f5 here. The way that I play
problems finding the most in the game is more and direct
suitable square for this rook. Possibly results in a pawn st r uct u re where
it was better to leave it where it is the backward e-pawn i s Whi t e ' s
for the moment and play 13 #h4 Achil es' heel. White is forced to
or regroup the offside knight with exchange as 16 f5 e4 drives him
13£k:2. backwards.
13 .. We7 16 fxe5 £>dxe5
14 WgSflV 17 £>c2 £urf3+
14 .. £>d7 18 i.xf3 £«5
I had an interesting alternative 19 i.g2 i.b7
here in 14.. c4, with the idea 15 20 Sf2 a5!
dxc4 £>e4 16 Wei «c5+ 17 <&h2 The best move as Black
jLxc4 with good chances. White's controls the b4 square in preparation
best is to cut across this with 15 for playing . .d5-d4.
£>e5 Wc7 16 d4! (16 dxc4 £>xe5 17 21 Bbfl
fxe5 £kl7) with an unclear The move 21 b4 looks very odd
position. However a rather curious but although it is a radical
double oversight occurred here as decision, it does create some action on

both players missed 14.. £te4, as the queenside.

86 Chess in the Fast Lane

21 .. d4
22 c4
The alternative 22 cxd4 cxd4
isolates Black's d-pawn but allows
play down the c-file. Another
advantage to the move played is that
it secures control of the d5 square.
22 ..
i.xg2
23 #xg2 2d6!
The rook heads for its best post
on e6 from where it can menace

the weak pawn on e2 as well as

consolidating Black's position by 27 2g2 £>g6

covering the pawn on b6. Well-timed as White was ready
24 £>a3? to cause a problem by playing h2-
The decisive error; although it h4, so there was not enough time
looks good at first sight, the plan for 27.. Sc8.
of playing the knight to b5, with 28 ^c7
the hope of eventually continuing White takes the only chance to
£*b5-c7-d5, is pie in the sky. Once activate the knight but there is a
on b5 it becomes movebound. The material cost. However there was
correct plan is to recycle the no choice as . .JLe5 was in the air.
knight in the other direction by 24 28 .. 2xe2
£tel, when the game remains Not a bad move as it does not
approximately equal. spoil anything and picks up a

24 .. Se6 pawn but, as my opponent pointed

25 £>b5 g5l(D) out after the game, much swifter
Once this move has been played would have been 28.. £>h4! 29 ^xe7
all is clear. The threat is simply Sxe7 30 Sgf2 i.e5, since 31 e4
. .£*g6 and . JLe5-f4, when the dark dxe3 32 i.xe3 i.g3 33 Se2 2fe8 is
squares are completely dominated decisive.
by Black. Curiously, the fact that 29 «xe7
nearly all White's pawns are on
Snatching a pawn with 29 ^xbS
opposite-coloured squares to his is dealt with by 29.. Sxg2+ 30
bishop doesn't help him here. <4>xg2 We2+ 31 2f2 «xd3.
Perhaps White should have tried 26 29 .. Sxe7
Sf5 h6 27 Slf2. 30 £>d6 2e6
26 #h2 h6 31 &f5 <4>h7
It is sensible to consolidate the 32 a3
kingside before taking action as Gurevich takes desperate
White is powerless in any case. measures in an attempt to open up the
 M.Gurevich -

M.Adams 87

queenside; if 32 Sgf2 jLe5 snuffs 42 2a2 h5

out any hope.
*3M ••• a4
33 b4 axb3
34 2b 1 2fe8
35 Sxb3 i.e5
36 a4 i.f4
37 a5 i.e3+!
This final deft touch clinches
victory as capturing the bishop is
impossible due to the strength of
passed e-pawn.
38 <4>fl Qff4
39 Sh2 i.xd2
40 Sxd2 bxa5 White gets mated after the
41 Sb7 <£>g6 continuation 43 Sxa5 Sel+ 44 'M2
Also not bad is 41.. gel+ 42 <4>f2 S8e2+ 45 <4>g3 Sg2+ 46 <4>f3 Sfl +
Shi 43 Sxf7+ <4>h8. The text is a 47 <4>e4 Se2+ 48 £>e3 Sxe3 so

lit le more controlled. White resigned.

Game 23
Successes against Kovalev and Mainka fol owed and Michael went into
the last round alongside Tony Miles and Kuzmin on 7/8. Michael had
the downfloat and the white pieces against Schmit diel but could only
draw despite being a clear pawn up in a rook and pawn ending.
Unfortunately Michael's technique let him down and Tony Miles, who defeated
Kuzmin to win the tournament, showed him the winning variation
afterwards. Michael finished in clear second place but a result that he
would have settled for at the outset was somewhat spoilt by the final
round draw. Ostend is about the only foreign tournament that Michael
does not fly to. Instead he travels by jetfoil, which can be something of a

double-edged manoeuvre as one sometimes has along wait on the

return journey. Fortunately the winds slackened sufficiently to allow the
jetfoil to leave harbour on time on this occasion.
One week later he travelled to Perth in Scotland for a weekend Swiss.
The journey from Truro and back was of the order of 1,600 miles and it
was the presence of Aelred Horn in Perth that encouraged Michael to
make such a trip. Aelred had been President of the Cornwall Chess
Association and a great encouragement to Michael and many other
88 Chess in the Fast Lane

youngsters when he had retired to Cornwall just as my son was

beginning his career, and when he moved to Scotland to live we did not think
that Michael would meet Aelred again. The journey was justified as

Michael won first prize with victories over McNab and Suba, and if he did
not obtain a maximum, at least he ensured that his rivals did not either.
Also he enjoyed his weekend with Aelred who managed to arrange two
simultaneous displays for Michael to give during his brief stay.
Continuing on the Grand Prix trail, he did achieve 5/5 at Hitchin but
failed to achieve another maximum at Westminster when he was foiled
by Mark Hebden, who whipped out the King's Gambit, which proved an

effective choice in a morning round. Stil Michael did repeat his victory
against John Emms with 1 d4, which he was also successful with in
round 5. At Wolverhampton he repeated his 4V6/5 score, with Mihai
Suba denying Michael on this occasion, and in the process ending
Michael's one hundred per cent score when opening with his queen's
pawn. It was not only the maximum that Suba denied him but also the
first prize of four Goodyear tyres, which Suba claimed, despite their
equal score, on the basis that Michael did not own a car; a somewhat
dubious argument as Suba didn't either, but Romanians often come off
well in such negotiations.
It had been planned to hold the European Team championships in
Yugoslavia and as usual Duncan Lawrie were to sponsor the English
team. However, the event
to had because be cancelled of the dangers
caused by the outbreak host i l i t i e s of i n st e ad t hand
e sponsors
generously allowed the money to be used to set up an English championship,
consisting of the top eight rated players in a knockout format. As
someone who had consistently advocated the need for a national

championshipinvolving only the top players, I was delighted with this innovation,
although an all-play-all would have been even better. The event
generated a lot of publicity in the press but not the sort that was required. An
unheated school room where the number of players often exceeded the
number of spectators contrasted sharply with John Nunn's most recent
experience of playing in front of crowds of thousands in Belgrade.
Michael's personal preparation was sleeping on a floor at Peter Ariowitsch's,
with Dave Norwood as part-time second, and this may have been more

in keeping with the conditions than all the other competitors, who lived
in London, and may have helped to explain his fine result. However,
Michael did not start too promisingly and was extremely fortunate to
survive his first round match with Wil Watson, eventually winning a

play-off. In the semi-finals Michael played rather better to defeat Jon

Speelman, while Nigel Short beat Julian Hodgson so that Michael had a
 M.Adams -

N. Short 89

rare chance to play some games against England's number one player.
Before this event the pair had only played once at normal time rates, at
the British championship at Swansea in 1987. At the time of writing,
they have not played another competitive game (if you discount quick-
plays). The four-game match was closely contested with Michael
making a dream start by winning the first game.

M.Adams -
N. Short 9 dxc5

English championship, An interesting possibility here

London 1991 is 9 Sel fol owed by £rfl, which
French Defence, was seen in one of the exhibition
Tarrasch Variation games between Kasparov and my
opponent at the Savoy. The move

The English championship was actually played helps Black to

held in St Paul's School, where we develop, but does fix the pawn
normally played in a lecture hall. structure.
This was somewhat odd as the 9 .. £>xc5
seating for over a hundred people 10 £>d4 «d7
was occupied by a maximum of Not 10.. 0-0 11 £>f5 when the
about six people. For the round black bishop would go and with it
prior to this game we had been any chance of activity.
moved to the Geography 11 £>2f3
classroom where I had performed It looks strong to play 11 ^3
rather better than I normally did 0-0 12 £>f5 i.d8 13 £>b3 £>ce4 but
at school. For this encounter we Black's king is well defended and
had transferred back to the White has to be careful not to lose
original venue, which was notable for co-ordination.
its Arctic conditions. 11 .. 0-0
1 e4 e6 12 i.f4 Sfe8
2 d4 d5 13 Sel
3 £>d2 c5 Once, in a game against Bareev,
4 exd5 exd5 I tried 13 £te5 but his strong reply
5 £>gf3 &f6 13.. iara414 c3 i.d6 forced the
The modern way to play this grovelling 15 £>g6 when White had no

variation. Black accepts the most advantage.

minimal of disadvantages in the 13 .. £>ce4
form of the isolated d-pawn that Another Bareev game, this time
he wil acquire in a few moves. from Linares 1994 against Kar-
6 i.b5+ i.d7 pov, went 13..i.f8 14 &e5 Wa4 15
7 i.xd7+ £>bxd7 c3 ^6 when it is tough for White
8 0-0 Ae7 to find any advantage.
90 Chess in the Fast Lane

14 £«5 «d8 19 hxg3 «d7

The thrust 14.. ^4 is not so 20 Sadl 2cd8
logical here but is stil more The exchange of White's bishop
annoying for White to face. has eased Black's position
15 £>d3 somewhat, but complete equality is stil
The knight is forced to move elusive on account of the weak
due to the threat of . .Ad6, but pawn.
this is a nice post in any case. 21 £>f3 ^c8
22 Se2 £>c5
23 #c2 2xe2
24 «xe2 £>e4
It may well have been best to
swap knights as well, abandoning
any dreams of activity. As only one

weakness is available for White to

target, the outcome should be a

draw but Black wil stil have to

suffer. The move played prepares
. .Wc4 so I move my queen over to
cover the queenside.
25 «c2
15 .. Sc8
16 c3 i.f8
17 Wb3 &h5
Black has not really managed to
get the activity he is looking for
and this knight move should not
completely solve his problems, but
there is no obvious way to defend
the b-pawn.
18 i.g.3
A very safe move maintaining a

solid but small edge. 18 jLe3 (not

18 ^xb? &c5! 19 £>xc5 £>xf4) was

critical as 18.. i.d6 19 ^xb7 ^h4 25 ..

g5?
20 £rf"3 wins a safe pawn. Black A pretty incredible move given
mayjust defend with 18.. ^? but the quiet play that has gone
his position is uninspiring; one before. It can't be justified for Black
option for White is to force the to push his pawns so recklessly
exchange of queens with 19 ^5. when White has such a compact
18 ..
£>hxg3 position, particularly when 25.. a6,
 M Adams -

N. Short 91

preparing . .b7-b5, or 25.. g6, 29 #f3 a5

answering 26 £>f4 with 26.. £>fl5, Perhaps 29.. .i.xd4 30 Sxd4 ^e6
were quite satisfactory. 31 ^3 was worth a try, but a

26 £>d4 i.g7 pawn looks certain to go soon.

27 £>b4 30 £>bc2 Sf8

This turns out well but very 31 £>e3
simple play was more accurate; after The tactics fail against this so

27 £>cl f5 28 £tee2 Black is left Black is lost.

with a lot of weaknesses to 31 .. i.xd4
contend with. If 31.. f4, then 32 £>xd5 fxg3 33
27 .. f5? Wxe4 gxf2+ 34 *fl Wc4+ 35 We2
This loses. Unusually for him, ^xdS 36 £>e6 cleans up.
Short misses a tactical chance; the 32 2xd4 f4
only move was 27.. £>xg3 28 fxg3 33 &xd5 £>c5
a5 29 £>f5 (or 29 £>d3 i.xd4+) No better was 33.. fxg3 34 ^64
29.. Wc5+ 30 &h2 axb4 31 ^d2 Se8 35 £>e7.
i.f6 32 cxb4 ^4 when White is 34 gxf4 £«6
better on account of his safer king 35 We4
but Black is not without chances. A nice touch to finish the game;
28 #d3 if Black now plays 35.. £*xd4, then
Now all the white pieces are White wins with 36 ^xd4+ <4>g8
perfectly co-ordinated. The offside 37£>e7+.
knight wil drop back to c2 leaving 35 ..
gxf4
Black with too many weaknesses 36 £>e7
to avoid something dropping off. Black resigned
28 .. <4>h8 Black loses a piece.

Game 24
Nigel hit back immediately to level the match and the final two games
were drawn despite strenuous efforts by both players to force a win.
Eventually the title was decided by quickplay tie-break, which Nigel
won. However the 2-2 match score was a heartening result for Michael
and certainly invaluable experience.
Islington started the day after the English championship finished
with most of the players staggering on from the Duncan Lawrie prize-
giving cum reception earlier in the day. As I have indicated earlier, the
1991 Leigh Grand Prix had been particularly closely contested with Mihai
Suba, Keith Arkell, Mark Hebden, Peter Wells and Julian Hodgson
among others showing as potential winners at various stages. Michael
92 Chess in the Fast Lane

settled it at Islington by defeating all six of his opponents, including

Hebden, Wells and Suba in successive rounds. This result enabled him
to set another record by becoming the first person to score the
maximum 200 points in the history of the Grand Prix -

quite remarkable in
view of the amount of international competition that he had been
involved in during 1991.
Michael received an invitation for the Hastings Premier on this
occasion and finished in the middle of the field along with Jon Speelman on

fifty per cent. However it was worrying that Bareev and Shirov again
scored heavily with 3V6/4 against Michael although some might say this
was an improvement as they had taken all four in Biel! While some

contended that Michael was stil in too festive a mood, his poor results
against these two players could have been more to do with the fact that
he stil did not treat them with the respect they deserved. Later he was

to handle both players with much more care and scrape together some

points against them. Stil , Michael did manage a score of plus three
against the other competitors, including wins against Speelman,
Chandler and Hodgson, the other three home players.

M.Chandler -
MAdams back anyway, it regroups
Hastings Premier 1991/92 immediately so that the bishop can be
Scotch Game employed on a more active diagonal.
The drawback is that it allows
One of the curiosities of my games White easy development.
against Murray is that Black has 9 £>d2
a rather high score, especial y at Other options were 9 g3 or 9
Hastings where Black has won all £>c3.
four of the games we have 9 .. i.b7
contested (the overall score was 2-2). 10 b3 0-0-0
1 e4 e5 Rather dubious really. More
2 £>f3 £>c6 energetic was 10.. a5 as 11 JLb2 a4 is
3 d4 exd4 a lit le uncomfortable. We
4 &xd4 £>f6 considered 11 a4 in the post mortem but
5 £>xc6 bxc6 then 11..Me6 with the idea of
6 e5 «e7 . .JLb4 looks good.
7 «e2 £>d5 11 c5! i.b2
8 c4 £>b6 This the start is
of a good plan.
A slightly less common If Black continues normally with
continuation than the pin with 8.. ^.a6. l . .d5 12 exd6 VHtxe2+ 13 i.xe2
The idea of the text move is that cxd6 White has a comfortable edge.
as the black knight is often driven Although my plan looks risky it is
 M.Chandler -

MAdams 93

the only one that promises some ^eS with a roughly equal ending
activity. after 15.. ^63+ 16 fxe3 Se8.
12 0-0-0 d6 14 .. &b8
13 exd6 15 i.e2
It is not clear that White needed White completes his
to hurry over this exchange. development, leaving Black's position
Interesting was 13 h4 planning to looking a bit of a heap. But in this
swing the rook into play along the case appearances are a bit
third rank, a recurring theme in deceptive. The white monarch can be
this position. inconvenienced in the short-term,
13 .. ^xd6 as although White's pawn
The point of Black's play. The structure on the queenside would be
white king looks a lit le more ideal in an ending, with the queens
vulnerable than Black's as the c7 on the open bl-h7 and cl-h6
pawn provides useful cover at the diagonals looks somewhat
moment. The solid option was the vulnerable.
simple recapture 13.. cxd6, but 15 .. h5
after 14 Sel White starts to take The only move. If 15.. 1Hi6, then
control. 16 i.f3 i.c8 17 ^115 is desperate
for Black but now this move is
prepared and White lacks a really
good square for the queen.
16 VfB
The most obvious move since
White lacks a good continuation
after 16 Wh3 «h6.
16 .. Wa£(D)
There is no time to snatch the
g2 pawn or to protect the one on

f 7. The knight must be pinned

immediately.
17 Af3
14 ,«'g4+ This move in combination with
A tough decision as there were the next is a lit le bit optimistic.
several alternatives. 14 <£bl "Wg6+ There were two alternatives, one

15 &al JLd6 is too dangerous for rather dull and one quite
White and 14 Sel jLe7 leaves interesting, but both leading to about
White short of development. equal positions. Grabbing
However, 14 h4 was quite an material with 17 Wxf7 Ad6 18 #xg7 (18
interesting possibility, and perhaps the i.xg7 Wh7) 18.. Wxg7 19 i.xg7
safest move was 14 £>f3 ®f4+ 15 Shg8 leads to an ending where
94 Chess in the Fast Lane

!± W&. fa

W" If " *W>Urn* aW 1m* a

H^ m,y/
Wk&A ,.wkY ym
■Ail Hil
AS B±BAl AS 0. HAH

Black regains the pawns with 20 .. £d6

equality or 17 f4 £d6 18 g3 ±xhl 21 «f6 g4
19 Sxhl when although White is 22 Ae2
the whole exchange down he has Murray was already running
plenty of compensation. Perhaps short of time. A better chance was

19.. ^g6 is the best way to defuse 22 ^xh6 Sxh6 23 Ad5, as though
the situation, giving back one Black wins a pawn with 23.. £>xd5
pawn with a balanced position. 24 cxd5 JLb7, the resulting
17 .. i.c8 simplification should give White some

18 ■«'e4 drawing chances.

Not a good move as the knight 22 .. Vf4
is controlling the a8 square. The Black makes use of White's
simple 18 ®c2 planning 18.. f5 19 failure to swap queens. The situation
<&bl was much more logical. is rapidly becoming critical.
18 .. f5 23 f3 She8
19 «e3 24 £d3 «e3
This was the idea but I have a 25 £c2 M4
very strong reply 26 «c3 Wf2
19 ..
g5(D) 27 g3(D)
20 We5 27 .. ±e5
After 20 Axh8 ®xh8 the dark Making the classic mistake of
squares form a real 'Daddy thinking more about his clock than
Diagonal'. White's chances of survival the board. The stronger 27.. ±e3,
would be minimal, for example 21 leaving White completely
£>bl Sxdl+ 22 Sxdl g4 and the paralysed, was a much more effective
double threat wins material. The way to continue. Now White gets
lost tempi with White's queen have a chance for a breakout.
allowed Black to take over the 28 «xe5 Sxe5
initiative. 29 i.xe5 gxf3
 M.Chandler -

M.Adams 95

30 Hhfl «e2
31 LU
It was probably no longer
physically possible to make the time
control but 31 Sfel Wg2 32 £>xf3
Sxdl+ 33 Axdl «xa2 would have
given White reasonable fighting
chances if he had had more time.
31 .. f2
White lost on time, although
in this position the result is no

longer in doubt.

Game 25
Fifty per cent was also Michael's score in his next event, which was also
a double round all-play-all. However, that was the only similarity
between the two events as this one was played at thirty minutes per player
in a five-star hotel in Monaco. During Michael's career he has been
fortunate to enjoy superb accommodation in many places but nowhere has
ever surpassed the almost surreal surroundings in Monaco. It is
certainly the only time that Michael has worked the curtains by remote
control! The occasion was the first Melody Amber tournament.
Melody's father, Joop Van Oosterom, organised the event superbly, in
celebration of his daughter's birth some six months earlier and he created
as nearly a chess player's dream tournament as is possible.
Michael performed well in a very strong field headed by Karpov, Ivan-
chuk, the winner, and Anand, the runner-up. Many critics believe that
Michael is an outstanding quickplay player but I do not believe that
there is that much dif erence between his standard of play in normal
and quickplay games. What is true is that he has had far more

opportunities to play world-ranked players at the quicker rate. Other than

acquiring Karpov's autograph some ten years earlier this was the first
time that he had met Karpov, so it was pleasing to achieve two draws.
There is lit le doubt that he would not have had the opportunity to have
played against such an il ustrious field as this at normal rates. Michael
was actually disappointed with his overall performance, particularly as

he had scored two and a half points against Anand, Ivanchuk and
Karpov. In the circumstances he felt that he should have scored more

heavily than 8V6/16 against the rest of the field, strong though it was. At this
96 Chess in the Fast Lane

stage of his career, he found it very dif icult to maintain consistency in

his results, especial y in all-play-all events.
Michael only had a short journey to Cannes for his next event, an

international quickplay team event with England, the USA, the

Netherlands and France. Perhaps it was not quite quickplay at one hour per
player, but it was faster than the normal rate. Neither Nigel Short nor

Jon Speelman were available and Michael played on board two behind
John Nunn. He achieved an outstanding result with five successive
wins (two each against Jeroen Piket and Oliver Renet and one against
Larry Christiansen) before agreeing a draw a pawn up in his last game
to ensure that England won the overall event. It was not a good time for
the host country as England were also beating them at football and
rugby. Their team score in the chess was actually less than Michael's
individual score, although it should be pointed out that Lautier was

missing from their ranks.

M.Adams -

O.Renet my opponent decides to stick to his

England-France, original plan and I opt to
Cannes team tournament 1992 transpose back to the mainstream.
Sicilian Defence, 2 .. d6
Scheveningen Variation 3 £>ge2
This move is chosen to prevent
This tournament featured the 3.. e5 as 4 £>d5 immediately
unusual time limit of one hour for all occupies d5 and 4 g3 also gives White a

your moves. I approached this by pleasant game. An interesting

playing fairly quickly, probably as alternative here is 3 f4, as the move

one day earlier I had finished the . .d7-d6 is commit al against the
Melody Amber tournament, which Grand Prix Attack.
had all your moves in half an hour. 3 .. £>f6
I was on good form, so this 4 d4 cxd4
approach worked well as I built up 5 £ixd4 a6
large clock leads without my 6 f4 e6
positions fal ing apart. In this game a This is a very popular way for
very straightforward plan saved Scheveningen players to meet the
me from having to think too much. f4 variation, but the resulting
1 e4 c5 positions have brought White quite
2 £>c3 good results. Personally I am more

This move is designed to reluctant to face 6.. e5 or 6.. g6.

prevent the Najdorf variation, as the 7 &f3 &b6
most common reply 2.. £te6 is not Another fashionable choice. The
part of this system. In this game idea is that, as in some lines with 6
 M.Adams -

O.Renet 97

JLg5, White's knight is driven out 10 £e3

of the centre after 8 £>b3 ^7. This is the point, as 10.. 1Hfxb2
Although I have played 8 £>b3 (as in 11 <&d2 W36 12 £>xe6 leaves Black
game 8 against Suba) on this unable to garner sufficient
occasion I decided to try a dif erent compensation for the queen, so Black
move which contains some poison. is forced to retreat. However, his
8 a3 g6 lack of development is such that a

Of course 8.. ®xd4 9 ±e3, ready-made attack is available for

trapping the queen in mid-board, was White on the kingside.
disastrous but the text move also 10 .. «c7
leads Black into dif iculties. The 11 0-0-0 0-0
key continuation is 8.. £fc6 as 9 Black can't have been eager to
£>b3 is not very logical given that castle so soon but the possibility
White avoided it last turn. The of a piece sacrifice with £>db5 was

only other option is 9 ^xc6 bxc6 irritating for Olivier.

10 b3 which has been played a few 12 f5
times with some success, but Ideally I would have preferred
objectively Black's mass of central to play 12 g4, but the reply 12.. e5
pawns should give him a is annoying. 13 £tf5 gxf5 14 gxf5
comfortable position. gives White good attacking chances
but there is no real reason to give
Eii i '
up material
12
at this stage.
£>c6
in » a' 'Mm
A'— x ..

Exchanging pawns by 12.. exf5

it pimp 13 exf5 was not a good idea, as in
WA 'WM the long-term the d5 point wil fal
#0,. W-
into White's hands.
w®,
A 13 g4

Mi pii i
Wm wo, * mm *

9 i.e2 i.g7 W4 if WM A 'W%

The natural fol ow-up but one
/ W^ A WM- A MP
that plays into White's hands. The
other alternative 9.. £te6 is not so
I"
effective here since 10 £}xc6 lOfxcG 'Wi
(10.. bxc6 11 e5 leaves the dark SAii .! m<r*w,
squares looking vulnerable) 11 JLe3 m
is to White's advantage.
98 Chess in the Fast Lane

White's game plays itself as the 20 £>xc6 dxe5 and 19 Sdfl bxc3 20
pawns start rolling. hxg6 h6 don't look any more

13 .. Se8 efficient.
Making room for the bishop on 19 .. £xb4
f8 and protecting e6, which would 20 Sdfl
become vulnerable when Black's This move has the nasty idea
knight is forced from f6. of interrupting the defence along
14 g5 £>d7 the second rank by 21 hxg6 fxg6
15 f6 £f8 22 f7+, so the reply is completely
16 h4 forced.
The final kingside pawn moves 20 .. h6
forward and it now becomes clear 21 £>f3
that Black wil be forced to allow There are many good
the opening of lines on the king- continuations but removing the knight on

side, which gives White a decisive e5 seems to lead to a forced win.

attack. The immediate threat is 22 £>xe5
16 .. £>de5 dxe5 23 hxg6.
17 fh3 b5
Black's only chance is to create
threats of his own on the queen-
side. He is slightly helped in this
by the weakening a2-a3, but a quick

glance at the board confirms that

his attack wil be miles too slow.
18 h5
This is logical but most exact
was first 18 £>xc6, fol owed by this
pawn push. A black knight on e5
is crucial to the defence but
because lS.-.^xce 19 h5 is not
possible, Black must play 18.. £>xc6 19 21 .. Sd8
h5, when the game is all but over. Running short of time my
Fortunately for me, White is so opponent goes for a desperate
much quicker that this inaccuracy counterattack but it is a few tempi short.
is not enough to give Black much 21.. ^bc6 may have been the
hope. toughest continuation but after
18 .. b4 this my king is no longer in any
19 axb4 danger.
This simple move is sufficient; 22 £>xe5 dxe5
in any case the two more 23 hxg6 fxg6
complicated continuations 19 £ficc6 bxc3 24 f7+ &h7
 M.Adams -

O.Renet 99

The alternative 24.. <&h8 25 SfB It was possible to take the knight
®a5 26 <&bl £>xc2 27 Sxg6 £>a3+ here (this was also possible in
28 "^cl is similar to the game. some of the variations above) but
25 ih5 material is irrelevant when White
Material is of lit le importance can deliver checkmate. In this
as the game wil clearly be decided position there is no good defence to
by a direct attack. If Black grabs 29 «f6+ ±g7 30 Sxh6 mate.
the bishop the variations are 28 .. £>a3+
similar: 25.. gxh5 26 g6+ <&h8 27«xh5 29 &cl
«a5 28 <&bl £>xc2 29 Axh6. In all
these sequences Black is
essential y just a tempo short of success

but in fact the margin is

somewhat greater than it appears, as I
only allowed these complications
because I had calculated a forced
win.
25 .. «a5
Not taking the bishop doesn't
really change matters.
26 £xg6+ &h8
27 &bl <&xc2
28 *f3 Black resigned

Game 26
Perhaps the recent tournament in Monaco helped to explain Michael's
excellent result in Cannes. It is noticeable that Michael often performs
especial y well in the second of back-to-back events.
It was at this time that Michael moved to London. Living in Cornwall
has many advantages but not if you are a professional chess player with
many commitments overseas that involve flights from Heathrow and
Gatwick. Apart from the travelling there was nobody in Cornwall to
help him with his chess and the remainder of the England team live in
London. Michael had enjoyed working with Jon Speelman and Julian
Hodgson when preparing in the past and it would now be a lot easier to
organise. It was a pretty lonely life in Cornwall during term-times when
most of his school contemporaries were away at university
Michael resumed normal rates of play at the Klooster tournament in
Ter Apel and had five decisive results, defeating Van der Sterren,
100 Chess in the Fast Lane

Sosonko and Christiansen but losing to Vaganian, the tournament

winner, and Epishin.

P.Van der Sterren -

M.Adams
TerApel 1992
Benko Gambit Hi
m ■ !■
Although few top players use the '%m a n
Benko I have
m m ^
Gambit, enjoyed
playing it, apart from a few very
painful reverses. One problem is that
once you are known to play the
Benko, people tend to avoid it by 2
£}f3 or hit you with some vicious
preparation. However, in this game
my opponent contents himself with 11 .. *a5
a quiet system, hoping to simply 12 Sdl
cash in on his extra pawn. It is also normal to play h2-h3
1 d4 £>f6 in this type of position to prevent
2 c4 c5 the knight manoeuvre which I
3 d5 b5 utilise in this game. Then the knight
4 cxb5 a6 might regroup via e8 and c7 but
5 bxa6 g6 this probably gives White better
It is considered premature to chances of achieving an edge.
recapture with the bishop because 12 ..
£>g4
White can adopt a favourable 13 £d2 Sfb8
double fianchetto. Now, however, Black Although White has a potential
can sometimes profitably discovered attack on the black
recapture with the knight. queen, it is not dangerous as the
6 £>c3 £xa6 white knight has nowhere useful
7 &f3 d6 to go.
8 g3 $Lg7 14 b3 Wb6
9 £g2 0-0 Threatening . .c5-c4.
10 0-0 &bd7 Alternatives were 14.. £>ge5 or 14.. ^8.
11 *c2 15 h3 £>ge5
This line is very solid for White 16 £ixe5
but it is hard for him to gain more A tricky alternative was 16 £lel
than a minimal advantage. I trying to embarrass the knight on

believe that 7 e4 is the toughest line e5. If then 16.. c4 17 b4 *xb4 18

for Black to face if White decides f4 leaves Black struggling to
to retain the gambit pawn. justify his position, so a better reply
 P.Van der Sterren -

MAdams 101

to the knight retreat would be pressure down the a-file is

16.. £rf6, and Black could also impossible, but the b3 pawn can stil
consider the ambitious move 16.. f5. become a target.
Another option was 16 Sabl 18 .. M5
immediately as if 16.. £lxf3+ it would 19 e4 ±d7
be good to recapture with the e- 20 £e3
pawn, so as to push it to f4 to Both 20 f4 and 20 l*h2 are

control the important e5 square and powerful y answered by 20.. c4.

allow play down the e-file. 20 .. *a5
16 .. £flte5 21 f4?
17 Sabl This move is rarely desirable in
Releasing the pin along the this system and here it is
long diagonal and preparing to set particularly poor as Black regains his
up the a4, b3 structure which is pawn by force with a sizable
considered to be the best for advantage. The best was 21 JLd2,
White in this kind of position. inviting a repetition, which would
17 .. ±c8 be dif icult for Black to decline as

This is a
very common idea. The 21.. ±xh3 is met by 22 £>b5 and
bishop comes to f5 with the aim of wins. If Black is determined to
encouraging White to respond e4, continue the game, 21.. #a6 22
weakening some light squares ±el (22 f4 £>d3 23 Ml c4) 22.. f5
(especial y d3 and f3) and further looks necessary but it would take
impeding the fianchettoed bishop on a brave man to play it.
21 .. £\c4
This is the problem. The
exchange of knights brings White's
pawn to c4, leaving the a-pawn
doomed and the newly created c-

pawn vulnerable.
22 bxc4 £xc3
23 Sxb8
White sensibly eliminates as

many pieces as possible.

23 .. Sxb8
24 Sbl Sb4
Also strong was the
continuation 24.. Sxbl 25 *xbl *xa4 and
18 a4 White's position is rather loose,
This is normally considered to giving excellent chances to get in
be the best pawn structure for round the back.
White on the queenside because 25 Ml
102 Chess in the Fast Lane

31 Sd2 £xd3
32 Sxd3 Sxc4
Jtfl Al lA 33 Sb3 Sb4
IP HP A HI The exchange of rooks could
have been avoided by 33 &f3 but
the white rook would then have
AlAlA* had few prospects after 33.. Sb4.
W8&. W& The
A bishop ending is winning for
Black as the white king is unable
to approach the b-pawn closer
than the d-file.
34 Sxb4 cxb4
25 .. *xa4? 35 &e2 b3
An understandable decision as 36 &d3 M6
I thought this would lead to the 37 f5
win of a pawn or the creation of a

passed b-pawn, but my

calculations
move
were

was
flawed.
25.. Sxa4 when
The correct
the
Ml
*'ab'i
extra vulnerability of White's king is
important, giving Black a decisive

advantage, e.g. 26 Sb7 Sa2 27 *d3 BAB AII

±a4 28 Sxe7 ±f6 29 Sb7 ±c2 30 1 BAB
t e2 ±xe4 31 Wdl Sal 32 We2 Sel. AIM HA
26 *xa4 £xa4 m
27 ±d3 ±b3
I'
m IP!
28 &f2 ±a2
29 Scl?
This loses. The hidden resource White's problem is that if the
which I missed was 29 Sxb4 cxb4 bishop opposes on c3 or d4, . .b3-
30 c5 dxc5 31 ±xc5 b3 32 ±c4 b2 wins on the spot. This means

when the pin halts the pawn dead that Black has all the time in the
in its tracks. In fact this variation world to bring his king to some

might even be good f o r White, so suitable square such as a4 to

safest is 29..JLxb4 with an almost support the b-pawn.
certain draw in prospect. 37 .. &f8
29 .. ±b2 38 g4 &e8
30 Sc2 ±bl 39 £d2
Now the pawn fal s and there White could have played 39 g5
are few dif iculties for Black due JLe5 but it doesn't greatly change
to the activity of his pieces. the situation.
 P.Van der Sterren -

MAdams 103

39 .. &&1 it can be safely captured with the

40 JLa5 g5 bishop.
It is not really clear what the 43 JLd2 &b7
point of this is but Black is obvi- The alternative 43.. ^6 would
ously not in any kind of a hurry. have got the king to a better post
41 JLd2 &c7 quicker but positions like this
42 JLe3 h6 don't come along often so it is best
Protecting the black pawn on g5 to enjoy them when you can.

again so that if White tries e4-e5 White resigned

Game 27
While not unique, it is comparatively rare for a player to go through a

tournament at this level without a single draw. Looking at Michael's

records I get the impression that at this stage of his career he obtained a

far higher ratio of decisive results than other players. While extra
defeats on his record do not look good, I feel sure that the lessons learned
from these defeats wil stand him in better stead than a lot of safe
draws. One interesting feature of the Ter Apel event is that the last
round is held in a nearby church which used to be a monastery. Though
Michael is not a regular church-goer, the arrangement seems to suit him
as he has won his last round game on both occasions that he has played
the event, while showing rather average form in the other rounds
played in the hotel alongside. An unusual momento of this tournament
was a poster that Michael was given with his head superimposed on a

monk's tunic!
Michael's junior career ended at Oakham where his record had
progressively worsened. Certainly it was an extremely strong field,
including Shirov, Kramnik and Tiviakov, but this cannot explain his 15th
equal position with 5/9, two and a half points behind the winner, Alexei
Shirov. It is just one of those strange things that Michael never did
himself justice in junior events. Tiviakov, for the second time at Oakham,
Akopian and Gdanski were the players to beat Michael.
He did finish level with Shirov in his next event, a category 17 event
in Dortmund, but since they were eighth equal in a ten-player event,
this was hardly a major triumph. However, receiving an invitation to
play in such a strong event that included world champion Kasparov was

a significant step forward, and it was the strongest event that he had
played in at this stage. Michael's result was not all that bad; if you
ignored his defeats against Kasparov and Ivanchuk, the co-winners, he
104 Chess in the Fast Lane

scored fifty per cent against the other seven players, who averaged just
over 2640.

M.Adams -

VSalov to my attention in a bar in Buenos

Dortmund 1992 Aires. White chooses to regroup
Sicilian Defence, the offside knight from a3
Sveshnikov Variation immediately, leading to a compact
position with a safe king. The pawn on

My opponent in this game is fairly c3 is useful to negate the dark-

unique in the chess world in that, squared bishop.
when annotating games for 12 .. ±xf5
magazines, he is just as happy to 13 £>c2 0-0
commentate on his losses as his wins. 14 r)ce3 £e6
Attentive readers of this book The alternative 14..JLg6 is well
may have noticed that this is not answered by 15 h4! h6 16 h5 Ah7
an opinion that I share. 17 ±d3 f5 18 g4.
1 e4 c5 15 g3
2 £>f3 £>c6
3 d4 cxd4
4 £>xd4 £>f6
5 £>c3 e5
Although Valery is best known
for his impressive endgame
technique his Black opening repertoire
can be quite sharp; the
Sveshnikov is not for the faint-hearted.
6 £>db5 d6
7 £g5 a6
8 £>a3 b5
9 £xf6 gxfB
10 £>d5 &g7 15 .. £>e7
11 c3 f5 A very normal move which
12 exf5 cannot be a mistake, but more

When I first annotated this game enterprising would have been 15.. f5
I said that this variation was when White may be forced to put
unusual but deserved to be played his bishop offside with 16 iLh3 to
more. It is good to know that even prevent 16.. f4.
I get things right occasionally, 16 ig'2 2b8
because it could currently be 17 0-0 £>xd5
considered the main line. In fact, John The immediate 17.. f5 may have
Fedorowicz first brought this line been a better bet. After 18 £>xe7+
 MAdams -

V.Salov 105

Wxe7 19 £>d5 Wd7 (19.. i.xd5 20 Of course White takes the

Wxd5 + <£>h8 is slightly better for opportunity to retain the knight and
White with no risk, and 19.. Wf7 lock Black's pawn structure. There
20 £>b4 Sb6 21 a4 is a lit le is now lit le chance for counter-
awkward for Black) 20 Wd2 leads to an play and the weak pawns on b5
unclear position. In recent times and d6 secure a clear edge for
Black has also considered 17.. a5 White. It was also tempting to
and 17../td7 here but the plan of play 20 £\c2, but the dif erence is
an early advance of the f-pawn, that Black can respond 20.. bxa4,
giving options to play both . .e5-e4 when he gets some chances to stir
and . .f5-f4, should not be up trouble.
underrated. 21 .. td7
18 ixd5! 22 2a6 £h3
This clamps down on the light 23 Sel
squares and makes it hard for Rather less good would have
Black to find activity. The other been 23 &g2 ±xg2 24 &xg2 Wb7+.
recapture on d5 would be less 23 ..
ig5
effective here after the standard 24 £>b4 £d8
reply 18.. f5.
18 .. &h8
19 a4
An obvious move but if I had
appreciated my opponent's plan I
might have preferred 19 ^Id3,
which looks hard to meet.
19 .. £h6!
Realising that too many pieces
have been exchanged for standard
counterplay with . .f7-f5-f4 to be
effective, Black seeks to rid
himself of the dormant bishop on g7.
20 axb5 axb5? After this move White wins
But this is a very bad blunder. material by force but no good
Black had to take the opportunity alternatives come to mind. If Black
to hoover the pieces with 20.. JLxe3 had the time to play . .Sb6 it
21 fxe3 £xd5 (21.. axb5 22 Sa6 Sb6 would be dif icult for White to
23 Sa7 is unpleasant) 22 Wxd5 achieve much, but the tempo can

Sxb5 23 Wd2 a5 when White has be put to good use.

slightly the more secure king but 25 £e4! £b6!

not much is happening. The only chance which sets some

21 £ic2 tricky cheapos. The more natural

106 Chess in the Fast Lane

25.. Sb6 loses to 26 Wh5 f6 27 Wh6 32.. f4. After the text move Black's
Sf7 (27.. Sg8 28 Sxb6 £xb6 29 f-pawn cannot move due to the
Wxf6+) 28 Sxb6 £xb6 29 £xh7. veiled threat on h7.
26 £>d5 31 .. e4?
This is the most accurate way Further resistance could only
to proceed; 26 Wh5 looks be achieved by means of 31.. Sae8
tempting yet Black has surprising with the idea of 32 Wd6 Wf6. The
resources: 26.. f5 27 2xb6 (27 Wxh3? most accurate reply is 32 f4.
£xf2+ 28 i>xf2 fxe4+ 29 *g2 32 Wd4+ Wf6
Sf2+ wins for Black and 27 &c6 33 ta7 Wh6
JLg4 is not very clear) 27.. fxe4 28 34 Sal b4
Sxb8 Sxb8 29 Sxe4 with
advantage to White but less control than
in the game.
26 .. f5
27 £>xb6 Wd8
28 £>d7
The attractive looking 28 Wh5
Jk.g4 29 Wh6 SfS 30 Wh4 fxe4 31
Sa7 M5 32 &d5 Se6 surprisingly
yields lit le for White but maybe I
should have investigated 31 Wxg4
Sxb6 32 Sa7 more closely. The
actual continuation wins White a

solid pawn and leads to a Other alternatives are equally

technically won game. hopeless since Black is threatened
28 .. Wxd7 by both 35 Sa6 Wcl+ 36 £dl and
29 2xd6 We7 the threat actually executed in the
30 2d7 Wg5 game.
31 &c2! 35 Wd4+ Wf6
At first I was obsessed with 31 36 2aa7 Wxd4
£g2 &xg2 32 i>xg2 but Black 37 cxd4
achieves some counter-chances by Black resigned

Game 28
Coming from England, Michael had always been amazed at the high
level of interest in chess among the general public on the Continent, but
the number of spectators at Dortmund surprised him as the organisers
claimed daily crowds of 2,000. For the record this was Michael's first
 M.Adams -

N. Short 107

over the board game with Kasparov fol owing three simultaneous
games several years earlier.
There was also keen interest in the 1992 olympiad in Manila. With
the break-up of the Soviet Union and England's outstanding record
over the previous four olympiads, hopes were again very high. However
Russia, even without Karpov and Yusupov, won easily, ahead of
Uzbekistan, Armenia, Latvia, Georgia and Ukraine, all former Soviet
Republics, as well as USA, Iceland and Croatia, with England in tenth place. If
one excluded Russia, the competition was very close and only three
points covered the next twenty teams. Without doubt tenth place was

disappointing but even with the increased competition it was not a true
reflection of the team's capability. It was frustrating that not one of the
English team was in good form, which is rare when there are six players
to choose from. Julian Hodgson played as well as anybody but as second
reserve his influence was not the same as a higher board achieving such
results.
Michael played on board three, above John Nunn despite having been
below him at Cannes. He was a more permanent member of the side
than two yearspreviously, playing 11 games with his three omissions
fol owing defeats against Veingold (Estonia), Arnason (I c el a nd) and
Thipsay (India), all players he would normally expect to make a decent

score against. Nevertheless, his five wins and three draws made it
overall a more satisfactory olympiad individually than Novi Sad had been.
His best success was against Alexey Dreev, which did at least enable
England to draw their match against the gold medal winners.
Unfortunately t h i s was i n t h e l a st round and t h i s pairing prevented a more

respectable placing being gained as might have been t h e case wi t h a clear

win against ot h er opposition. Having comment e d on earthquakes,

bombings and food poisoning on his previous visit to Manila, it is only
fair to record the excellent parties that were organised to celebrate
Filipino independence and other momentous occasions, and the superb
standard of accommodation; the hotel also provided a swimming pool
and tennis court for their guests.
Fate often plays a during
part in a game of chess, as it does in a

player's career. At Palma, Michael had failed to qualify for the 1991-93
GMA World Cup cycle, which was later aborted. As some sort of
consolation, those who had qualified were invited to a SWIFT Rapid
Tournament in Brussels, where players were allowed 25 minutes for all their
moves. When several declined their invitations reserves were brought
in and Michael was one of these. He then went on to win the 32-player
knockout event. It started out like an English championship for Michael.
108 Chess in the Fast Lane

First of all he beat John Nunn, winning with Black after a draw with
White. I have already commented that Michael does not always begin
well in tournaments and this was the case here. Michael's comment on

the win was that it was 'extremely fortunate'. His opponent's was that
it was 'the worst swindle ever perpetrated on him'. To this Michael
retorts that, if this is the case then John has not got much complain
to
about. Such strokes of fortune can lead to a good result, perhaps
because of the liberating effect of knowing that you could already have
been eliminated. This was the case with Michael in Brussels, as he then
achieved his first competitive success against Nigel Short after some

near misses, holding on grimly with Black and then winning with
White.

M.Adams -

N.Short 6 c3
Brussels 1992 As 6 dxe5 Wb4+ would be
Trompovsky (without . .£\f6) embarrassing. Also playable here is 6
£}f3. The move chosen leads to a

After Nigel had failed to convert kind of Caro-Kann reversed where

his advantage in the first game of Black should be close to equality.
this mini-match, in which he was 6 .. £>d7
two exchanges up with a clock If 6.. exd4 7 cxd4 the game
lead, the psychological initiative resembles a Queen's Gambit where
in this mini-match had shifted my Black should not have many
way. Perhaps this explains my problems after 7.. JLf5, although in a

opponent's weak resistance in the recent speed game in the London

fol owing game. Intel event Miles was successful
1 (14 d5 against Kramnik from this
2 £g5!? position.
It has to be said that this isn't a 7 £>f3 e4?!
particularly good move, but White In a five-minute tie-break game
does not stand worse after it and, in the next round, Jonathan Speel-
more importantly, at this time limit man played the sounder move
it sends the game into confusion 7.. JLd6 against me. Short's move

at a very early stage. The only asks a lit le too much of Black's
chance for Black to take the position.
initiative is 2.. c5, but most players 8 £tfd2 f5
prefer a more solid approach. 9 i.g3 &gfB(Z)j
2 .. c6 10 c4?!
3 e3 h6 The alternative 10 JLe2 was

4 £h4 #b6 better when White stands well.

5 tcl e5 10 .. £>h5
 MAdams -

N. Short 109

but the immediate 19 b5 was also

promising.
19 ..
g5
The situation on the queenside
is too fluid for Black to get away
with this move. Also
inappropriate was 19.. &d7 20 b5, but
reasonable moves were 19.. Sf7 or

m.^eS, though White has the

better game in any event.

Although there is no reason for

White to be concerned about the
doubled pawns, the loss of dark-
square control is important.
11 £>c3 £>xg3
12 hxg3 £if6
13 a3 ie6
14 b4 Wd8
15 £e2 ie7
16 c5
White plays very directly,
aiming to cause problems with a 20 b5! bxc5
queenside pawn rush. It is 21 dxc5 tc8
important to do this immediately as 16 Black avoids 21.. cxb5 as 22
0-0 would definitely castle into it. £}xb5 floats the white knights
However, in general the doubled effortlessly to ideal posts.
g-pawns provide good shelter for 22 bxc6 £f7
the white king. Black tries to buy time at the
16 .. 0-0 cost of a pawn.
17 £>b3 b6? 23 £>d4 f4
A bad strategical error. Black I expected this as 23..JLxc5 24
should play to keep the queenside £\cb5 is clearly terrible. Nigel
closed with 17.. b5, though White angles for 24 gxf4 gxf4 25 exf4 JLxc5
may be slightly better after 18 a4 26 £>cb5 Sxb5 27 £>xb5 «xc6 with
a6 19 Sa3. some confusion, but White has a

18 0-0 2b8 crushing reply.

19 tc2 24 £>cb5 f3
This move connects the white The only chance.
rooks and awaits developments, 25 gxf3 Wh3
110 Chess in the Fast Lane

Threatening JLfl-g2 when my 34 cSW Saxc8

king is total y safe. The rest of the 35 Sxc8 Sxc8
game is a mopping-up operation 36 £>xc8 #'xc8
which I managed fairly efficiently. 37 Sel £f7
26 .. exf3 38 (15 *d7
27 £xf3 £>e4 39 Sdl #(16
28 £xe4 dxe4 40 te3 a5
29 txe4 £xc5 41 tc3 h5
30 Scl jLbS 42 Wc6 #e5
31 £>d6 £xd4 43 (16 '«e2
32 exd4 £h5 44 tcl
33 c7 2a8 Black resigned

In the quarter-finals he came up against Jon Speelman and after two

hard fought drawn games, Michael won one of the five-minute games
with a bril iant attack with the black pieces to go through to the
semifinals. Alas, there were no other English players left and Michael was

faced by Anand. I have commented on the limited opportunities that

Michael had been given to play some players but this could not be said
about the Indian who had been playing Michael frequently in many
events since 1987 and winning consistently. However Michael managed
to achieve his first ever success against Anand and won through to the
final by 1V6-V6. The other finalist was Eric Lobron of Germany -

definitely not the final anticipated when the event was initial y arranged, as

both players had come i n as reserves! The player wi t h t h e whi t e pieces

won the two games played in the final so the outcome had to be decided
by two five-minute games which would decide who pocketed an extra
$25,000! Michael was fortunate enough to win both quickplay games.
Despite his disappointment in the final, Eric behaved very sportingly
and is stil a regular drinking partner when they meet up on the chess
circuit.
Regrettably, this was the last chess event associated with Bessel Kok,
who had played a leading role in the Grand Masters' Association, and
SWIFT who had been responsible for the rich prizes and generous
conditions given to the players. Michael was particularly appreciative of the
open flight ticket that he received, especial y as he arrived at Heathrow
for his original flight without his passport. He stil managed to arrive a

day early and proceeded to spend it playing blitz friendlies with some of
the other English players -

rather ironic in view of the draw, but as it

turned out good preparation.
 Chapter Four

Michael's world rating had changed very lit le in 1992. It had gone up
five points in January but had come down by ten points in July. It is not
unknown for developing players to hit a plateau and stay there for some

time before making further progress. However, it was very frustrating

for Michael because it meant that the invitations to top events were

likely to be just as restricted. Where there was an invitation earmarked

for an English player, first refusal was going to be given to Nigel Short,
stil clearly England's number one, and if he was unable to accept, it was

a case of hoping that it might come Michael's way. Undoubtedly

Michael's best chance of receiving invitations to stronger events would be
to improve his rating and world ranking. However, the natural way of
doing this would be through playing against stronger opponents in
higher category all-play-all events. Thus it was very much a chicken and
egg situation.
Michael was unfortunate in that England was not playing host to
strong events, so he did not have the same sort of opportunities as

players like Miguel Il escas, Vasilios Kotronias, Joel Lautier and Jeroen
Piket received from their respective countries. Organisers are always
enthusiastic to see the home nation represented among even the
strongest fields and Spain, Greece, France and The Netherlands were just four
countries that ensured that their rising stars had plenty of
opportunities at the highest level.
We did wonder if Michael would benefit from kind of sponsorship,
especial y as we had heard of the good fortune of Kamsky and Lautier. We
thought that if a similar generous offer came along for Michael, possibly
he could be more selective in choosing his events and spend some time
working with a trainer who might improve some of his weaker areas,
notably his knowledge of openings. However we did not pursue it with
any great vigour and I am not convinced that it would have been of any
great help, other than the obvious financial security that it would have
given. Michael had always done his learning at the chessboard rather
than through private study and always enjoys the social life connected
with playing regularly in chess tournaments. I suppose that ifhe had
been brought up in the rigorous regime of a Russian chess school rather
than the blissful ignorance of his Cornish home, things might have been
dif erent. Perhaps that is why I feel that accusations of laziness that are

made about Michael are rather unfair.

112 Chess in the Fast Lane

Michael was the highest rated player at the Lloyds Bank Masters and
started well with 5/6. However, then came a defeat against Timoshchenko,
which put him out of the running. The game was interesting because it
was a repeat of their pairing at the tournament a year earlier when
Michael had won. Michael's annotations of that game had been published
and a suggested improvement had been prepared by his opponent, who
proceeded to win on this occasion and go on to share first place. Michael
could only draw his remaining three games against English opponents
James Howell, Jonathan Levit and Chris Ward and finished on a

disappointing 6W10, wi t h a consequent loss of rating points.

Ironically Lloyds Bank had stil not finished with Michael, as one of
their cashpoints chewed up his card despite his account being in credit.
Thus Michael was forced to return to the tournament venue to borrow
some money from Julian Hodgson, prior to leaving for Greece at six
o'clock the fol owing morning on the only available flight to reach his
next tournament in Greece at Chalkidiki. This involved a connection at
Vienna, during which his luggage went astray. It was hardly the best
state of mind to commence a category 14 event. Perhaps my theory that
Michael performed well in the second of back-to-back tournaments did
not apply on this occasion. However, there were good reasons for this as

he was worried about his luggage loss and to make matters worse he
was expected to start his first round game ten minutes after arriving,
despite previous assurances that he would be given a suitable time to
recover from the journey. It was not surprising that he lost to Ulibin in the
first round. Worse fol owed as another defeat, by Il escas this time, was

intermingled with three draws, so Michael had now played nine games
without a win. One of the draws was recorded in his first clash with the
rising star, Kramnik.

Game 29
V.Kramnik -

M.Adams players that he was someone to

Chalkidiki 1992 watch out for. He certainly was the
Benko Gambit night before the free day when he
and his brother consumed vodka
At the time of this game Vladimir like water. Rather mysteriously
Kramnik was not quite so well- the day after this the plastic pool-
known as he is now, although his side chairs were found in the pool.
results in the Manila Olympiad I quizzed Vlad as to whether he
had alerted most of the world's could give me any information
 V.Kramnik -
M Adams 113

about this but he assured me with

a broad smile that he knew
nothing about it.
1 d4 £\f6
2 c4 c5
3 (15 b5
4 cxb5 a6
5 e3 axb5
The most thematic way to play
the Benko is to continue with
5.. g6 here, thus making it a

genuine gambit. With the text Black

aims to take advantage of some in safety, as in the game Pinter-
tactical points to regain the pawn. Adams, French league 1991, which
6 £xb5 #a5+ went 11 e4 Ae712 £f4 £ic6 13 Wd3
7 £>c3 £b7 £>d4 14 £e5 £f6 15 £xf6 gxf6 16
8 £>ge2 b4, when White had a nice edge
This is the modern way to play although I won in the end. In the
the position and also in my main game I tried to make use of
opinion the strongest. White returns the double role of the c3 knight,
the material immediately, hoping an idea that Shirov suggested to
to take advantage of his lead in me in our analysis at Dortmund.
development and the open lines 11 .. £xe4
which result. The alternative 8 12 £xd7+
JLd2 ^6 is currently considered Otherwise White loses a pawn,
by theory to be quite good for but this helps Black to develop his
Black. forces. In the resulting position
8 .. £lxd5 Black should be able to minimise
9 0-0 £ixc3 any disadvantage if he plays
10 £>xc3 eG(D) accurately.
11 e4 12 .. £>xd7
A critical move. White pushes in 13 £>xe4 ta4
the middle directly. An earlier game A precise move as the exchange
of mine (against Shirov from of queens leads to a drawish
Dortmund 1992) went 11 a4 £>c6 12 e4 ending.
£e7 13 Af4 Wd8 14 Wd3 0-0 15 14 tf3
Sadl £>d4 16 £e5 £f6 17 £d6 £e7 In Informator Kramnik suggests
with a balanced position. The idea 14 £>d6+ &e7 15 Wf3 <&xd6 16
of the text is to save time by Wxf7 &c7 17 Af4+ £d6 18 £xd6+
omit ing the move a4, which if achieved &xd6 19 Sfdl+ <£>c7 20 Sacl with
would prevent Black from castling compensation for the piece. The
114 Chess in the Fast Lane

alternative 14.. £xd6 15 Wxd6 Wd4 black pieces from their powerful
16 Af4 he assesses as a slight edge central posts.
for White, continuing the line with 19 .. h5
le.-.Wxde 17 £xd6 Sa6 18 Sfdl f6 The white queen is currently
intending . .'if7, which leads to well placed, so I try to move it on

an unexciting position. Another and threaten . .h5-h4-h3 opening

option for White is 14 We2. up the white king. In some

14 .. £se5 circumstances the king's rook can be

Simple development by 14.. JLe7 developed laterally.
15 b3 Wa6 16 &b2 would allow 20 h3
White to seize the initiative. Also possible was 20 h4, but such
15 «Y4 drastic measures are not
The queen has no really necessary yet. However, ignoring Black
promising square but inviting the Black with 20 a5 h4 21 Wh3 (21 Wg4 h3)
knight forward doesn't help. 21.JLe7 leaves the white queen
Vladimir gives the position after 15 unable to move without allowing
We3 Wd4 16 We2 as a slight the dangerous . .h4-h3.
advantage for White, but after 16..;td3
it looks about equal. The natural
looking 15 Hfe2 is strongly met by
15.. &C6.
15 .. £>d3
16 We3 2d8
17 &c3
White starts to play rather
optimistically. The more modest 17 b3
Wd4 18 &d2 was indicated.
17 .. *c6
18 tg3
Preventing Black from
developing his kingside. 20 .. e5
18 .. c4 This is the critical moment of
19 a4 the game. To make the most of
I suggested 19 Sbl fol owed by my advantage here, I should have
b2-b3 in the post-mortem, which played 20.. &d6 21 #xg7 &e5 22
is solid if a bit uninspiring. The #g5 &d7 23 Wh4 Sdg8 24 We4
text move is an excellent practical and now either 24.. f5, as given by
decision, as the passed a-pawn is Kramnik, or the more direct move

well supported by the rook behind 24.. Sg6. Both give Black more

it and any attempts to blockade than enough for the pawn as

and/or take it would divert the White's king is in great danger.

 V.Kramnik -

MAdams 115

The move I actually played is posi-

tionally desirable, but with White's
a-pawn becoming stronger as it
advances, piece play should be
preferred to pawn play
21 a5
White's moves are not too
dif icult to spot, but the pawn is
genuinely annoying for Black.
21 .. f5
22 a6 f4
Big Vlad was critical of this,
pointing out the line 22.. h4 23 25 &e4
%5 g6 24 a7 Sa8 when Black has The downside of . .f5-f4 was

things well under control and the conceding this excellent square.
white game is positionally 25 .. Sa8
bankrupt. However, it seems to me that 26 a7 Sg6+
23 Wf3 is a substantial Shifting the white king to an

improvement because Black cannot evade inferior square because the f2 pawn
the exchange of queens. A draw is vulnerable in some variations.
then seems the most likely result. 27 &h2 Sc6
23 tf3 txf3 28 Sdl £c5
24 gxf3 Sh6 29 £ixc5 Sxc5
This is the benefit of . .f5-f4. 30 &g2 Sc7
The king's rook finally gets into Here a draw was agreed as 31
the action to round up the a-pawn, b3 Saxa7 32 Sxa7 Sxa7 33 bxc4
but the position is gradually £}xcl 34 Bxcl leads to mass

heading for a draw. liquidation and an equal ending.

Game 30
Although Michael's early form was not good, there was considerable
compensation to be gained from the pleasant location. Although the
tourist season was virtually over, the weather was distinctly better than
in England and there was a swimming pool outside Michael's room with
a poolside bar, where Ivan Sokolov and Michael regrouped successful y
after their disappointing starts. Three wins, against Lautier, Stohl and
Kotronias, and three draws in the second half enabled Michael to bring
some respectability to his final position of fourth equal with Sokolov,
behind Kramnik, Lautier and Il escas.
116 Chess in the Fast Lane

M Adams -

J.Lautier It was also possible to play 7 0-0

Chalkidiki 1992 but Black can try to prevent any
Sicilian Defence, damage to his pawn structure with
Grand Prix Attack 7.. 1tc7.
7 .. bxc6
This game is rather unusual in 8 0-0 ia6
that at one stage Joel squanders A dynamic decision, trying to
four tempi. Whilst this is not open the game for the two bishops
recommended unless your opponent quickly; 8.. 0-0 was less ambitious.
is in zugzwang, I am in a poor 9 e5 £id7
position to criticize as I did the same 10 b3 c4
thing myself once (although I did It was stil possible to castle but
go on to win the game)! Black plays consistently. However,
1 e4 c5 White is just in time to counter
2 &c3 this as the black king proves to be
If you are going to punt the in more danger in the centre than
Grand Prix Attack, it is better to it first appears.
play 2 f4, unless your opponent
replies 2.. d5.1 was pretty sure that
Lautier would.
2 .. e6
A ww A Wm
mm* a mm w,
3 f 4 d5
4 £if3 £>f6 « • * if W/
wfo mm * O wm
This move is quite reasonable mm i m
up gap
but the more common 4.. dxe4
may be a better practical choice.
White has a pleasant opening ft IP A M «A if
after 4.. d4 5 £>e2.
5 &b5+ &c6 m WWWH9
I would have preferred 5.. .&d7
here as the continuation 6 JLxd7+ 11 dxc4 dxc4
£ftxd7 7 e5 &g8 looks fine for 12 Sel £>b6
Black. White would play 7 d3 with 13 £ie4 0-0
a balanced position. My opponent Black had two other
obviously felt that the two bishops alternatives here, but the text is probably
would give sufficient play to best. After 13.. £>d5 14 bxc4! &xc4
compensate for the doubled pawns, 15 £)d6+ &xd6 16 exd6 Wxd6 17
but I think White should be able ^4 Black's position is wrecked.
to claim a slight edge. A better option was lS.-.Wxdl 14
6 d3 ie7 Sxdl cxb3 15 axb3 &e2 16 Sd2
7 &xc6+ &xf3 17 gxf3 £>d5 18 Sdl with the
 MAdams -
J.Lautier 117

idea of c2-c4, when Black's weak 18.. h6 19 Wxb6 axb6 20 bxc4 is

queenside pawns are easier to surprisingly good for White, as

target than White's on the kingside. my opponent pointed out after the
14 ie3 £>d5 game. The extra pawn is the
The threat was 15 -&c5, biggest factor in the situation as it
denuding the dark squares. cannot be regained immediately
15 Wd2 £>xe3 by 20.. ^.xd6 21 exd6 &xc4 22 £te5.
Alternatively 15.. ifc7 was However, a better move is 18.. Sd7
playable. Then an interesting response when 19 bxc4 «xe3 +20 Sxe3 &xc4
would be 16 &c5 £xc5 17 &xc5 is okay for Black.
Wb6 18 #f2 (18 *d4 Sfd8) 19 axb3 h6
18.. £>xf4 19 £>d7 Wxf2+ 20 &xf2 Joel continues to play a waiting
Sfd8 21 £>c5 &c8 22 Sadl when game, but White has more useful
White wil regain the pawn with a waiting moves, as is radically
good position. demonstrated by the game
16 txe3 Wb6 continuation. If here 19.. 1txe3+ 20 Sxe3
17 Sadl Sfd8 Sd7 21 Sal is now possible.
18 rMG 20 Sd2 c5
Although there doesn't seem to Stil interesting was 20.. Sd7.
be too much wrong with Black's 21 Sedl ib7
position, it proves extremely The start of an unusual
dif icult to dislodge White's knight manoeuvre to say the least, but this
without creating a very dangerous move is quite logical.
passed d-pawn. 22 &hl £c6
Irrelevant. 22.. JLfB,
consolidatingthe kingside, was more to the
point.
23 Sd3
This works out extremely well,
but the more urgent 23 f5 looks
very strong. 23.. exf5 24 £M5 Wc7
25 e6 is dangerous or 23..JLxf3 24
Wxf3 &xd6 25 Sxd6 Wcl with a

big white advantage.

23 .. ib5
My opponent has by now

completely lost the plot; 23.. .&f8 was

18 .. cxb3 required.
A move that Black didn't want 24 c4 ia6
to play but felt he was forced into A definite sense of deja vu.

by tactical considerations, since 24.. .&c6, trying to get rid of the

118 Chess in the Fast Lane

bishop, was better. It is very 27 .. Sd7

vulnerable on a6. If 27.. &xd6 28 Sxd6 We8 29
25 f5 exf5 Wd3 Sxd6 30 exd6 and the passed
Now there is no defence, but pawn proves decisive.
25.. .&f8 was not very tempting. 28 Wxc5 &b7
26 &xf5 29 Wf2 Sad8
The obvious 29.. &xf3 30 Wxf3
Sad8 31 Sd5 &xd6 (31..f6 32 «Tf5!)
32 Wd3 wins for White.
30 £id4 Wxe5
31 £ixf7 &xg2+
At first this seems to save Black
as 32 <£>xg2 We4+ 33 *gl Wg6+
picks up the knight, but there is a

sting in the tail.

32 #xg2 <&xf7
33 £ic6
The second knight fork is
conclusive.
26 .. te6 33 .. We6
The other option was 26.. ^.f8 34 £>xd8+ Sxd8
27 e6 Sxd3 28 exf7+ <&xf7 29 35 WO+
*xd3 &b7 30 Wd7+ &g8 31 £)e5, A final accurate move as 35 Sxd8
but then the black pieces are too &xd8 36 Sxd8 Wel+ is perpetual.
offside to mount a defence. Now 35.. &f6 36 Sxd8 We4+ 37
27 £id6 Wg2 and 35..&e8 36 Sxd8+ &xd8
The knight hops back; now Black 37 Sel are fatal.
is unable to defend the c-pawn. Black resigned

Game 31
Another opportunity to rub shoulders with some of the world chess elite
came about when the format of the annual Tilburg event was changed
from a double round-robin for eight players to a knock-out event for
over one hundred competitors. Forty-seven winners of a preliminary
round were joined by 17 seeded players in the next round with Michael
just scraping into the seeded list at no.15. The event was played at
normal rates over two games and faster time limits introduced on the third
day to settle the tie-breaks. It was an extremely strong tournament,
with only Kasparov missing among the top players.
 A.Kovalev -

M.Adams 119

In order to win any kind of chess event you need some luck, and
Michael's came in his first-round match with Alexander Belyavsky. After
an awful performance with Black resulting in a loss in the first game,
Michael decided to play into the main line Spanish in the next. This
proved not to be a good decision as his opponent whipped out twenty-
odd moves of theory and equalised comfortably However, near the time
control he missed the clear draw he needed and Michael gained the
better ending and converted it in the quickplay finish (one hour was

allowed to finish the game after the initial forty moves in two hours).
Psychologically this was a bit er blow for Belyavsky and he missed a

forced win in the first of the play-off games, which Michael eventually
took two-nil to go through to the last 32. Despite the trauma of this
match, Michael believes that it is an advantage to have the black pieces
first in such mini-matches.
In his next match, with Kiril Georgiev, Michael again started with
Black and was able to win the first game, but some abysmal opening
play left him struggling to hold the draw in a long rook and pawn ending
which he eventually achieved. Had the seedings worked out perfectly,
Michael's next opponent would have been Karpov, but he had been
eliminated due to an il egal move in a quickplay tie-break in an earlier
round. Sometimes such breaks come your way in a knockout event.
Anyway Kovalev from Byelorussia was his next opponent and Michael
started with a win as Black. He then showed good sense when holding a

large advantage after only sixteen moves of the return game, by making
a draw offer that his opponent could not reasonably decline. Thus he
became the last surviving Englishman as Nigel Short had been eliminated
by Ilya Smirin.

A.Kovalev -

M.Adams is also a natural tendency for a

Tilburg 1992 player with White in the first game

Caro-Kann Defence to overpress, which may help to
explain the fol owing game.
In a tournament of this nature, 1 e4 c6
with each round consisting of a 2 d4 d5
mini-match of two games, I feel 3 e5 M5
that it is an advantage to draw 4 &e2 e6
Black in the first game. This means 5 £>g3 &g6
that a draw is a good result, a win 6 h4 h5
a great one, and there is stil some The Advance variation of the
chance to take the match into over- Caro-Kann Defence is the favour-
time in the event of a loss. There ite choice of many top players but
120 Chess in the Fast Lane

the line my opponent uses here is developed his kingside with gain
not particularly critical. of time.
7 &e2 c5
&Z*/ V/-
The problem is that the white
I
strategy is based on picking off
the h5 pawn but, on account of the
pressure
to defend
against
the
d4 and the
h4
need
■*■▲■
m ha
pawn on

afterwards, this idea does not really hit

the mark. The Encyclopaedia of
Chess Openings now recommends
8 dxc5 &xc5 9 £>d2 £ic6 10 &b3
&b6 11 &xh5 £>xe5 12 &xg6 £)xg6 A IS i sAi
as equal, but 9.. Hnb6 looks like an

improvement and their alternative

suggestion of 8 c3 £k6 9 .&e3 also 11 ixh5 txb2
looks unimpressive after 9.. Hrb6. 12 ixg6
8 &g5 &e7! Another try is 12 £>d2, but after
Kovalev's last move came as a 12.. Sxh5 13 £>xh5 &xh5 14 Sbl
real surprise, but extremely J.xdl 15 Sxb2 cxd4 16 cxd4 J.a4
aggressive play is typical of my Black is much better.
opponent. My immediate reaction was 12 ..
thxgG
to play either 8../tb6 or 8.. *a5+. It was possible to play 12.. Hrxal
A closer inspection revealed that but the response 13 Hnb3 leads to
8.. #a5+ 9 £>d2 cxd410 0-0 allows a rather messy position, whereas
a very sizable lead in development the text move gives Black better
and after S.-.Wbe comes 9 c4 with circumstances in which to snaffle
complications where Black cannot material.
be comfortable as he is so far 13 h5!
behind in development. However, the My opponent proves
simple bishop move I played in the resourcefulin a dif icult position. I had been
game ensures an edge; in this case happily considering 13 £}d2 ^lxc3
the most practical move is also and the speedy dismemberment of
objectively strongest. the white centre.
9 &xe7 &xe7 13 .. #xal
10 c3 H>6 14 H>3!
Taking stock, it is clear that the This is the really clever move.

bishop foray was unsuccesssful as The obvious 14 hxg6 Sxhl+ 15

the dark-square bishop exchange £}xhl fxg6 leaves Black decisively
means that White's d4 outpost is ahead on material, but the text
going to crumble, and Black has intends to win the black queen by
 A.Kovalev -

M.Adams 121

0-0 fol owed by a knight move. but not winning, so it is not fair to
This plan looks slow, but Black's be too critical of his actual choice.
development is also somewhat However, after the move in the
behind schedule. game Black is winning as White is
14 .. &e7 simply too much material down.
The insipid line 14.. £)d7 15 0-0 17 .. !Tb2
promises lit le here but 14.. £sf4 18 £sb5
was an interesting possibility. After The normal continuation 18
15 0-0 £>c6 16 £)d2 *rfl+ 17 *rfl Wxa8 £iec6 19 Sbl fails to the
0-0-0 I prefer Black. However, 16 tactic 19.. «rxbl+ 20 <£xbl c2.
£te3 may be an improvement. 18 .. 0-0
15 0-0 cxd4 19 Wxe7 &c6
16 Wxb7 Probably lg.-.WxbS 20 h6 gxh6
Playing to win the queen is no 21 £>h5 £>d7 also wins, but I was

longer possible as 16 £te2 £}bc6 17 happy to safeguard my king

£id2 txfl+ 18 £sxfl d3 gains far because I already possess an ample
too much material for it. material advantage to notch up the
16 .. dxc3 point.
20 tg5 c2
21 h6 txe5
Once the e-pawn disappears only
extreme carelessness can deny
Black victory.
22 td2 g6
23 txc2 Sac8
24 f4 Wh8

17 &a3
I was more frightened by my
opponent taking the rook here as

after 17 Wxa8 0-0 18 £>a3 Wxa2 19

*xa7 £)bc6 20 We3 *xa3 21 h6
White has a dangerous looking
attack, though 21.. Sa8 22 hxg7
£}g6 should win. In this variation
Black also has the option to bail Rather an odd square for the
out with 20.. #d2, which is good queen, but I felt it would be the
122 Chess in the Fast Lane

most certain way to collect the 29 £sxf7 #xf7

point. 30 Wxd4 2c4
25 £>d6 £)d4 31 Wd3 We6
26 Wd3 2c6 32 £)e2 We5
27 f5 33 2f2 &g7
With my opponent very short of 34 Wa3 sn
time this smacks of desperation. 35 g3 2e4
The rest of the game requires 36 £)f4 2e3
lit le comment since my opponent 37 Wa6 Sxg3+
decides to continue until the time 38 &hl &g8
control. 39 Wc8+ 2f8
27 .. exf5 40 Wa6 Wh8+
28 h7+ Wxh7 White resigned

Game 32
In the quarter-finals Michael had White in the first game against
another Russian, Evgeny Sveshnikov, and again started with a good win,
fol owing it with a solid draw. It was hard to believe that Michael was

now through to the semi-finals, along with Kamsky, Grelfand and Smirin
while Karpov, Ivanchuk, Shirov, Short and Timman had all been
eliminated. Michael met Smirin in the semi-final, started with Black, made a

short draw, and then overcame his opponent in a tense second game to
go through to the final.

M.Adams -1. Smirin 4 £sxd4 £>f6

Tilburg 1992 5 £)c3 a6
Sicilian Defence, This was a surprise for me, as I
Scheveningen Variation had expected my opponent to
continue with 5.. £k;6 here. Smirin
This game was played in the stays true to his style in playing
semifinal stages of the competition, aggressively with the black pieces
where the stakes had already although given his good record
become quite high. After a in quickplay tie-breakers in this
comfortable draw in the first game I now event, he would probably not have
had the opportunity to try and been too unhappy with a draw.
make good use of the white pieces. 6 f4 e6
1 e4 c5 7 #f3 lTb6
2 £>f3 d6 An attempt to disrupt White's
3 d4 cxd4 development; if 8 £>b3 Wc7 the
 M.Adams -

I.Smirin 123

knight is less actively placed (see as in the game with an extra

game 8, Adams-Suba). tempo, might be a worthwhile

8 a3!? £sbd7 improvement.
Of course 8.. Wxd4 9 £e3 would
be embarrassing and the idea of
a3 is revealed after 8.. g6 9 JLe2
JLg7 10 Ae3, as played in the stem
game in this line, Nick de Firmian
against Leonid Yudasin from the
1990 Manila interzonal and also
in game 25 (Adams-Renet).
Perhaps 8.. £>c6 is the most accurate.
9 &b3?!
Better was 9 JLe2 with similar
ideas to the above game, but I
became worried about 9.. £lc5.
However, 10 e5 looks like a good reply 15 .. Sc8
9 .. Wc7 16 £e2 g6
10 g4 h6 17 Shel £g7
11 h4 h5 18 Wg3 £)b6
12 g5 £sg4 A critical moment. After the
Normally in this variation Black game my opponent indicated the
has the retreat square d7 improvement 18.. £>c5, because 19
available for this knight but as a result £xg4 hxg4 20 f5 £)xe4 21 Sxe4
of his eighth move he is forced to £.xe4 22 fB i.f8 is hopeless for
play it to g4, where it continually White. Critical is 19 £lxc5 dxc5 20
offers White opportunities to pinch £.xg4 hxg4 21 e5 i.f3 22 £)e4 with
a pawn. Black's light square unclear play. The text move allows
control after JLxg4 hxg4 Wxg4 White the better chances, but
generally gives fair compensation and I accurate play by both sides is
was of course not keen grabto it required as both kings start to come

before completing my development. under heavy pressure.

13 £d2 b5 19 £xg4 hxg4
14 0-0-0 £b7 20 f5
15 &bl Black now has to lose time
A move which is frequently moving the bishop since 20.. £k;4 21 fB
condemned by John Nunn for being i.f8 22 Wxg4 leaves Black with
lazy, and in this instance the Doc insufficient material to continue the
would be right. Although 15 JLh3 attack.
Sc8 16 £xg4 hxg4 17 Wxg4 a5 20 .. £e5
does not appeal, 15 JLe2, playing 21 Wxg4 #e7
124 Chess in the Fast Lane

I was relieved to see this move, 24 £f4 Sxc3!

although it is probably best. The The only chance or else Black
extremely tempting looking is a pawn down for nothing. Now
alternative 21.. £ic4 is tricky, but by Black is serious material down
displaying immense greed White but White's shattered queenside
keeps the upper hand. A possible creates a lot of problems.
continuation is 22 fxg6 £)xb2 23 25 bxc3 £)a4
gxf7+ <&f8 (a dif icult decision; 26 £xe5 dxe5
23.. &e7 is also possible) 24 &xb2 27 Sd3 0-0
£xc3+ 25 s£?bl £b2 26 s£?xb2 This case of late castling is also
Wxc2+ 27 s£?al Wxb3 28 Se3 and the only move, and my response is
Black's king looks the more also forced to counter the threat
vulnerable. of. .Sf4.

A M IH A Ww k 1 k WW » k mW k %

11*11 WAQ j*l m »

:A rff %M IPAlINHrlN
^■—> %%%^J

B^B
\A

22 £>a5 28 Sedl vjc5

I played this rather quickly as I It seems odd to bring the knight
was very keen to get control of the back from its threatening post,
c4 square, but not surprisingly but otherwise Sd7 wil decide; and
the knight is misplaced on a5. of course 28.. Sf4 29 Sd8+ *f7 30
22 .. £a8 Wh3 &d5 31 Slxd5 exd5 32 Sd7
23 fxg6 also loses.
My original intention here was 29 2d6
23 i.f4 but this fails to 23.. i.xc3 At first sight 29 Sf3 looks
24 £xd6 i.xel 25 £.xe7 Sxh4 with tempting, but in fact after 29.. Sc8 it is
a lot of material for the queen. not easy for White, e.g. 30 Sf6 JLxe4
Hence the pawn capture is 31 £)b3 £>a4 or 30 Se3 £)a4.
necessary to allow White to go Wxe6 at 29 .. i.xe4?
the end of this variation. This incorrect capture proves to
23 ..
fxg6 be the final mistake. The obvious
 M Adams -
I.Smirin 125

alternative 29.. £)xe4 30 Wxe6+

#xe6 31 Sxe6 £>xc3+ 32 s£?cl £>xdl
33 Sxg6+ &h7 34 Sh6+ &g7 35
&xdl leads to an ending where,
despite the extra pawn, a draw looks
the most likely result to me. The
text allows White enough time to
start an assault on the black
monarch.
30 £>c6 ^gl(D)
31 Wgl! £sa4
A better try was 31.. JLxc6 32
Sxc6 £>a4. 35 2d8+ s£?g7
32 Sd7 £ixc3+ 36 £ixe5 £)e2
33 s£?al 2f7 37 We3 Wfl+
Also hopeless was the 38 s£?b2
continuation 33.. £>xdl 34 Sxg7+ &xg7 35 Black resigned
£>xe5. The threat of Wa7+ cannot be
34 2xf7 Wxf7 met effectively.

Game 33
Boris Gelfand had defeated Gata Kamsky in the other semi-final,
although he had to play on the tie-break day for the
second successive
round to do so. Nevertheless he was an overwhelming f a vouri t e to win
the event. He was the world no.6, rated 75 points higher than his
opponent, and he had a good record against Michael, never having lost any of
their previous encounters. However, they had never met in
circumstances such as these, where nerves, fighting spirit, fear and the
realisation that 50,000 guilders hung on one match, i n f l u enced t h e outcome
nearly as much as chess ability. The f i n al st a rt e d wi t h t w o cautious
draws, which only served to increase the pressure on the players. On the
third day, which was Gelfand's ninth consecutive playing day (in a
period where Michael had earned himself two free days), the first of the
rapidplay games was drawn before Michael settled matters by winning
with Black. Undoubtedly success in this tournament was the finest
result of his chess career to this point. Thi s was a f a r more significant
result than the SWIFT event in Brussels. Apart from the fact that it was a

much stronger entry, it was based on normal rates of play, with quick-
play only introduced to split tie-breaks.
126 Chess in the Fast Lane

Michael was fortunate enough to receive another invitation, again as

a reserve, to play against the world's top players at the Immopar rapid-
play event in Paris. However on this occasion he was eliminated in the
first round by Anand, who went on to reach the final, where he was

defeated by Kasparov. Nevertheless Michael was as close as he could have

been to eliminating Anand and whereas fortune had aided him at Til-
burg, it did him no favours here. Michael won the first game and only
lost the second on time after reaching a theoretically drawn position of
queen and knight against queen. In the final position Michael was

virtually giving perpetual check and he only required a lit le more time to
prove that it was a drawn ending. In the blitz play-off Michael first
encountered the system whereby White has six minutes against his
opponent's five, but must win to go through to the next round. Michael lost
the toss, failed to win with White, and was eliminated. He firmly
believes that chess is il -suited to these instant tie-breaks and is of the
opinion that a tie should be decided by a decisive result at the
chessboard, not a failure to win. Statistics have shown that six minutes
against five is an unfair handicap, with Black enjoying a huge plus
score. For this reason more recent events have deducted a minute from
each player and used five minutes against four, which is more

reasonable. However, the system used in Brussels, where there were pairs of
five-minute games, is the best solution. Of course against Vishy any
game at this speed is very tough.
Michael and the national team enjoyed an outstanding performance
in the European Team championships at Debrecen in Hungary. Yet
despite that there was an air of disappointment at the end of the event, as

only the top two teams qualified for the World team championship.
Michael was the third board, playing below Nigel Short and Jon Speelman,
but as he sometimes went up a board when Short or Speelman had a

rest day, he managed to go through the event with seven Whites in his
eight games. He finished with the outstanding record of five wins and
three draws. Even that was not good enough for a board prize, which
Kramnik won with 6/7. John Nunn was the 'victim' of Michael's seven
Whites and must have set some sort of record by playing Black in all six
of his games, but nevertheless his 50% score was a valuable team
performance. There are obvious arguments that can be made against such
colour distribution but if it results in the team being successful, it
achieves the main objective.
The team earned the bronze medal, finishing above Armenia, Latvia,
Iceland, Croatia and Georgia, who had all been ahead of England at the
olympiad. All five members of the team contributed well, and Nigel
 M.Adams -

O.Cvitan 127

Short as well as Michael had a large plus score, but they stil finished
behind Russia and Ukraine, showing the enormity of the task. As Ukraine
beat England in their individual match there could be lit le complaint,
but it was a shame that there was a slight faltering during the lat er
rounds despite the final match 3V6-V6 win against Armenia. Michael stil
rues the win that he missed against Dreev which would have given
England a win against Russia. After being hit by a vicious novelty which
Kasparov claimed to have given to Dreev, Michael managed to
consolidate a slight edge after an hour's thought on one move and gradually
pushed home an endgame advantage. Alas, his technique, which has
improved without being reliable, let him down again as he rejected the
winning move that had been his original intention. To make matters
worse the game was adjourned in a clearly drawn position so Michael
missed his only game of the competition on the fol owing day. Michael's
victims were Cvitan, Magem, Horvath, Van Wely and Minasian, who
was the last man to win a unified Soviet championship.

M.Adams -

O.Cvitan 9 h4 0-0
European team championship, 10 Wd2
Debrecen 1992 I don't think that there has
Sicilian Defence, ever been a firm conclusion as to
Scheveningen Variation whether this or 10 We2 is the most
accurate continuation. Even John
Starting this event with two wins Nunn, who at this stage in the
had given me some confidence but event stil remembered what it
getting my third successive white was like to have the white pieces,
meant I was keen to carry on wasn't sure though he did admit
producing the goods. My opponent in his recommendation of 10 jLc4 in
this game is renowned as one of Beating the Sicilian 2 was duff. In
the premier blitz specialists in typically scientific vein I mental y
Europe and for his consistent tossed a coin and continued 10
adoption of this rather unfashionable Wd2.
line in the Keres Attack. 10 .. £>de5
1 e4 c5 This plan was a new one for me

2 £>f3 e6 and immediately left me wishing I

3 d4 cxd4 had played 10 We2.
4 £>xd4 £)f6 11 i.e2
5 £)c3 d6 White must maintain the dark
6 g4 £>c6 squared bishop. Therefore it is
7 g5 £)d7 wrong to play 11 0-0-0, which
8 £e3 Ae7 allows the reply l . .£>g4.
128 Chess in the Fast Lane

11
idea
..

Black's
£>a5
I±
The of play
targeting the c4 square seems quite
interesting; the drawback is he is
left behind in development.
12 b3
It was also possible to allow US a ft
m
%m,
a Hi ^m
1
Black to carry out his threat, e.g.
12 0-0-0 £)ac4 13 £.xc4 £)xc4 14
We2 £>xe3 15 Wxe3 when White's
Am Aw
advanced pawns give him a small US
plus. The black monarch is going
to come under heavy pressure 17 .. We5+
whilst Black is a long way from It is best to accept the sacrifice.
threatening the white king. This After 17.. Wxd2 18 Sxd2 b5 19 £)b6
unsubtle approach would Sb8 20 £>xc8 Sfxc8 21 f4 the two
probably be my choice if I had the bishops ensure an enduring
position again. My move is a lit le too advantage.
ambitious. 18 c3
12 .. £sac6 Another idea was 18 &bl when
13 0-0-0 £>xd4 White's king may turn out safer
14 £xd4 v.c6 than in the game.
15 £e3 Wa5 18 .. Wxe4
16 ib2 19 vib6 2b8
I was not completely 20 f4
comfortable with my king being placed It is well-known that it is
here but 16 ibl £>b4 is a bit normally dif icult to trap the queen in
annoying. the middle of the board and this
16 ..
&G(D) position is no exception. The move

The tactics after 16.. d5 17 exd5 played controls the square e5 and
£a3+ 18 s£?bl £b4 19 dxc6 £.xc3 threatens JLd3 but Black is just in
20 Wd6 are good for White as the time to create a retreat square.
bishop can always drop back to cl The compensation for the pawn
to prevent mate. Against other lies in the lead in development
moves I could have played 17 £>b5 and the dif iculties in mobilising
when a queen exchange favours the black forces.
me. 20 .. £>d8
17 £>a4 21 £d3 #c6
I didn't fancy allowing 17.. b5 22 Wc2 f5
when my dark squares look rather Black is effectively forced to
ropey. return the material directly after this
 M.Adams -

O.Cvitan 129

move because 22.. h6 23 gxh6 and

22.. g6 23 h5 are too dangerous.
The move played forces the
exchange of the powerful g5 pawn
and lets Black activate his bishop.
m, H.Afi H
of %r-

'W> * m in Wt * a's 'm

Al^fMUrli A At
fit m,
1m*J>
mtmim \
29 .. d4
A tempting thrust but this
attempt to break out leaves Black
ms w. wm with the clearly worse position.
» iH' Interesting was 29.. Sd8 when the
continuation 30 f5 d4 31 cxd4 Wxb6
23 gxf6 £.xf6 32 Wh5 s£?g8 33 Scdl s£?f8 is not
24 i.e4 sufficient for White. Other ideas
This finesse forces the queen to are 30 i.d4 or 30 £>xc8.
a less influential post as 24.. d5 25 30 £xd4 £xd4
£>xd5 is not playable. 31 Wxd4 2xf4
24 .. Wc7 32 We3 £)g4
25 £xh7+ &h8 33 Wg3
26 £g6 £)f7 The first pin, which enables
The knight emerges in time to White to leave the knight en prise,
block the h-file. but there are more tactics to come.

27 Scl 33 .. e5
A rather passive move but both The point is that after the
kings are rather unsafe in this continuation 34 £>d5 Wd6 35 £>xf4
situation and time spent shoring up exf4 36 Wd3 Wxd3+ 37 £xd3 ^f2
the defences is far from wasted. an equal ending is reached, but a

Neither 27 f5 £)e5 nor 27 Sdgl £>h6 simple move is much better than
28 Sg5 d5 really hit the mark. the knight fork.
27 .. d5 34 £\xc8 Sxc8
28 Wdl £)h6 35 h5
29 &bl Securing the bishop and
The more aggressive 29 f5 d4 ensuring that Black's back rank wil
30 £xd4 £xd4 31 Wxd4 e5 32 We3 always be vulnerable.
JLxf5 is okay for Black. 35 .. £)h6
130 Chess in the Fast Lane

This was played in view of the

and but
m mwwm
possibilities of h5-h6 Sh4,
neither was a serious threat at it nt
W4 1
this stage so 35.. Scf8 was better.
Both players lit le short of
A
were a

time here.
36 Shel 2cf8 fr
37 2e2 a5 i a if
wv w// /,v
A good move when both players
are slightly short of time. I
decided to play very safely by
exchanging queens but 38 Seel
looks the most natural move. king ventures forward profitably)
38 Wg5 v «g4 46 2xe4 2f4.
39 i.c2 Wc6 45 2xe4 Sdl+
If39.. 28f6 40 2gl. 46 <£>c2 2gl
40 Wg6 Wxg6 47 £.f5 Sg2+
41 £xg6 2d8 48 &bl v«h6
Despite the fact that an ending In the event of further checks
has been reached, Black stil White's king hides on a3.
suffers from the badly placed king. 49 Sxe5 £fef5
The combination of the weak e- 50 2xf5 g6
pawn and the possibility of back This loses very easily because
rank mates are worrying. Black's king is completely cut off
42 Seel &g8 from the kingside, but the
43 2e4 b6 continuation 50.. &h7 51 Sb5 &h6 should
Black's king can come no also win for White.
further as 43.. *f8 44 Sxf4+ exf4 51 hxg6 Sxg6
45 Se4 nets a pawn, so waiting 52 s£?c2 Sd6
moves are the order of the day. 53 b4 axb4
Unfortunately White has many 54 cxb4 &g7
more available. 55 &b3 &g6
44 sA(D) 56 2f3 Sc6
Fixing the queenside pawn 57 2c3 Sd6
structure. 58 s£?c4 Sc6+
44 .. Sxe4 59 £d4 Sd6+
This move sheds material 60 s£?e5 Sf6
without generating any play. A better 61 s£?d5 *T7
chance was 44.. 2df8 45 &c2 Sxe4 62 2c6
(or 45.. Sf2+ 46 s£?d3 and White's Black resigned
 AMinasian -

M.Adams 131

Game 34
A.Minasian -

M.Adams Minasian had played it before. It

European team championship, is probably in keeping with his
Debrecen 1992 style, as he is a sharp tactician.
Nimzowitsch-Larsen Attack 4 .. i.d7
5 £>e2 a6
Before the last round we were not 6 £xc6 £xc6
well placed, and in order to 7 0-0 Wg5
accomplish a decent finish a big win was 8 f3
necessary. Our team captain I remembered all this the
from
Michael Stean took his troops to the above mentioned game and
also
bar and, fuelled with Hungarian Gary's next move 8.. h5, but at the
red wine, the team managed a board it seemed to me that 9 c4 h4
massive 3V£-V£ result. 10 e4 h3 11 g3 would be rather
1 b3 messy. Although the advanced h-
This game was played in the pawn is uncomfortable for White,
last round which began at 10 a.m. his increased central control is
instead of the usual afternoon important. My move is more flexible
start. This has never been greatly as it is always possible to advance
to my liking as it seems il ogical to the h-pawn later. According to my
me that the most important game computer Sadler-Lane continued
should begin so much earlier than 8.. h5 9 Sf2 £>f6 10 c4 d5 11 cxd5
all the others. Despite this I had £)xd5 12 £>bc3 £>b4 13 fccl 0-0-0
managed to do some preparation 14 a3 £>d5 and later Black crashed
and knew that it was not so through on the kingside. You wil
unusual for my opponent to open in notice certain echoes in this game.
this manner. I had resolved to
fol ow some half-remembered game
Sadler-Lane, which I sat next to at
Lloyds Bank Masters several years
before.
1 .. e5
2 3Lb2 £>c6
3 e3 d6
4 £b5
This move is not strategically
correct, because White gives up
the bishop pair very early without
damaging Black's pawn chain, but
132 Chess in the Fast Lane

8 .. £)f6 14 £cl i.xd2

9 c4 d5 15 £)b5
This would also have been the A typically inventive idea from
answer to 9 e4. Black is fighting to Minasian. After more conventional
keep good diagonals open for his play, for example 15 H>3, White
bishops. would just be two pawns down.
10 £)bc3 Not possible was 15 £>d5 £>xd5 16
Minasian's next couple of moves £xd2 £>e3.
show he has not woken up yet. 15 .. <£>b8
White must take immediate Neither 15.. axb5 16 axb5
action to avoid a disadvantage. Best threatening Sa8, nor 15.. JLxcl 16 £&7+
is 10 f4 exf4 11 £sxf4 dxc4 12 bxc4 s£?b817 £sxc6+ bxc618 Wb3 + were

i.d6 13 £xf6 Wxf6 (13.. gxf6 14 very desirable for Black.

We2 Sg8 15 £>bc3) 14 £>c3 with an 16 £>ed4 £xcl
unclear position. In this case it is best for Black
10 .. 0-0-0 to grab all the material, although
11 a4? accurate calculation is required.
The last move was inexact but 16.. exd4 17 £.xd2 Wc5 18 £.f4 Sd7
this is just careless. White loses was the alternative but I felt
material but the stronger 11 cxd5 confident enough to trust my
£*xd5 12 £*xd5 Sxd5 is also good calculation here.
for Black as the backward d-pawn 17 £kc6+ bxc6
comes under pressure. 18 Wb3
11 .. dxc4 Of course 18 Wxcl #xcl 19
12 bxc4 £c5 Saxcl cxb5 would be a rather
The twin threats of . .JLxe3+ miserable way to succumb.
and . .Sxd2 are irresistible. 18 .. cxb5
19 axb5 We3
20 Wa4 i.b2
21 Wxa6
This looks very promising but
there is a neat way to turn the
tables. If 21 Sa2 Wb6 22 Sxb2 £>d7
and the extra material wil tel in
the end.
21 .. £xal
22 fixal(Dj
22 .. Sdl+
The point. Now the exchange of
queens is inevitable and the extra
13 &hl £xe3 piece decides the game.
 AMinasian -

M.Adams 133

23 Sxdl Wa7
24 Wc6 Wb6
v//, vm?, * * * 25 c5 Wxc6
m ywa mm Ǥ 26 bxc6 Se8
27 g4 h6
28 h4 g5
wb, nn y§
A
a
up Securing the knight on f6 is the

» fH m& simplest way to victory.

29 hxg5 hxg5
A! 30 <£>g2 <£>c8
White resigned
The threat is . .Se6.

Game 35
His next tournament reverted to quickplay and was the amazing Oviedo
open event where 464 humans and two computers competed over 11
rounds played at 45 minutes per player. The strength of the event can be
gauged from the fact that over 60 grandmasters competed and Michael
was only the 13th seed. Michael never really got going in the event, and
it didn't augur well when there was a ten-hour delay with his flight from
Stansted Airport. In such a large field, it was dif icult to come back from
a third round defeat against a much lower rated Spaniard and he
eventually finished 15th equal on 8/11, without ever really threatening the
leaders. The winner was Gavrikov of Lithuania who scored 9V£ points.
Michael had led the Leigh Grand Prix for much of the year, thanks
mainly to his three maximum scores at Calderdale, Frome and Upmin-
ster in May. However, with 60 points available at Islington it would have
been possible for him to be overtaken. Even until the last round this
remained a possibility if Julian Hodgson could defeat Michael but
unfortunately for Julian the unusual pairing system prevented them being
drawn together and Michael went on to score another maximum,
ensuring another success in the Leigh Grand Prix. It was certainly a shame
for Julian that they didn't meet, but all the players accepted that the
pairings had been made correctly.
Michael returned to the top twenty in the January 1993 FIDE list when
he recorded his highest rating to date. At 2630 he stil remained in second
place on the English list, 25 points behind Nigel Short. This
improvement was particularly pleasing in view of the 'plateauing' in the
previous year.
134 Chess in the Fast Lane

Michael did not compete at either Groningen or the Hastings

Premier and began the new year by playing in the Hastings weekend open
to start his 1993 Leigh Grand Prix campaign. He won the event but did
not achieve a 100% score. As he was not feeling well he offered a draw to
Zsofia Polgar early in their last-round game as his five successive wins
had already ensured that he would win the event. However, his offer
was turned down and although Michael did all he could to defeat her the
eventual result was a draw. By the time Michael reached the station for
his return journey to London the railway line was flooded and no trains
were running from Hastings. I think it can safely be said that Michael
was none too pleased about the afternoon's outcome!
The famous Wijk aan Zee tournament in Holland changed from an

all-play-all event to a complicated combination of knockout and Swiss in

1993. Despite his win in Tilburg, Michael was not fortunate enough to
be seeded and was then unlucky enough to draw Julian Hodgson in the
preliminary round. As the two of them are close friends and near

neighbours it was not the draw that either would have wanted, but Julian was

much happier with the outcome as he recorded his first ever success

against Michael and won by \XA-XA. Michael and the other seven

preliminary round losers joined 16 other invited players in a Swiss which

grew by the addition of other players as they were eliminated from the
knockout event. In this new event, he enjoyed a fine victory over Jeroen
Piket.

M.Adams -

J.Piket 4 £a4 d6
Wijk aan Zee 1993 Although this variation is not
Spanish Opening, supposed to be that promising for
Delayed Steinitz Variation Black, it has caused me some

problems from time to time. In

My opponent and I had both fact the last time Jeroen played
suffered from the same problem in this variation against me in Wijk
the knockout stage of this aan Zee, I was mated in about
tournament, namely losing to Jules. twenty moves, so I was optimistic
However, as I had lost in the first that this game couldn't be worse.

round I had a few more games to Perhaps the line 5 JLxc6+ bxc6 6
adjust to the hurly-burly of the d4 is the most unpleasant for
open, which may have given me the Black to answer.

edge in this game. 5 0-0 £g4

1 e4 e5 6 h3 h5
2 £>f3 £>c6 If 6.. £h5 7 £xc6+ bxc6 8 d3
3 £b5 a6 gives White a slight edge.
 M.Adams -

J.Piket 135

7 c3 Wf6 to bring the queenside into play

8 d3 £xf3 before Black opens lines for his
Black takes the opportunity to pieces.
inflict doubled pawns before White 12 .. exf4
can play £>bd2. 13 £.xf4
9 Wxf3 Wxf3 The alternative was 13 JLxf7
10 gxf3 £>e7 when both 13.. g5 and 13.. £)e5
merit attention. The move played
is safer as I am able to complete
development.
13 .. d5
14 £>d2 g5!
The point of Black's play. White
does not have time to consolidate.

AH 11 IS I
«£\« ig'i
11 f4
I decided to play this
immediately as otherwise Black would
prevent it with l . .£>g6, when the
doubled pawns would remain for
the foreseeable future.
11 .. 0-0-0
Black builds up a lead in 15 i.e3
development which balances White's If 15 j&.h2 d4 is surprisingly
positional advantages. annoying. The dark squares turn out
12 £b3 to be very weak.
This looks awkward for Black 15 .. £h6
as it probes the light squares but I The push 15.. d4 is tactically
underestimated my opponent's flawed here because 16 cxd4 £>xd4
reply. 12 f5 g6 13 fxg6 fxg6 is 17 £xd4 Sxd4 18 £>f3 Sxd3 19
unclear but 12 fxe5 dxe5 13 i.c2 £te5 and £*xf 7 gives White the
should be slight
a edge for White. I advantage.
was worried by 13.. g5, but after 16 d4 f5
14 £>d2, continuing development, This crucial move prevents a

the onus is on Black to prove White advantage as there is no

equality. In general it is dif icult time to maintain the central pawn

136 Chess in the Fast Lane

mass and prevent . .f5-f4 trapping 22 £xd5!

the bishop. The obvious move but it
17 exf5 required accurate calculation and
The other way to continue was the confidence not to trust my
17 f3 dxe4 18 fxe4 f4 19 £f2 g4 20 opponent's calculations.
JLh4 f3 when the position is very 22 .. £>fxd4
unclear. I was happy to choose a The idea behind his last move.

solid continuation. Of course it was too late to back

17 .. &xf5 out now as he would simply be a

18 Sael g4 pawn down.

18.. £)xe3 19 fxe3 would 23 cxd4 £ixd4
improve the white pawn structure, 24 Seel 2xf2+
ensuring him a slight edge despite 25 £g2
the opposite-coloured bishops. Now the black rook is pinned
19 £xh6 Sxh6 against its mate on f8, preventing
20 &h2 a capture on d2, but all is not
The direct 20 JLc2 was more to simple yet.
the point, but the position is fairly 25 .. S8f5
quiet in any case. Renewing the threat to the
20 .. Sf6 knight. If 26 Sxf2, then 26.. Sxf2
21 Se2 27 Bdl £sf3 + regains the material
with interest.
26 2e8+ &d7
27 Se4 c5(D)
If here 27.. Sxd2 28 Sxd4+ Sxd4
29 Bxf5 White stays a piece for
two pawns up and after 29.. gxh3
30 ±xh3 <£d6 31 Sf2 there should
be enough pawns left to avoid
reaching rook and bishop against
rook.
28 Sdl
Again the position of the black
king is used for defence because
21 .. Sdf8? 28.. £tf3+ 29 &xf3 is also check.
Black cuts his own throat by 28 .. <£>c7
entering a tactical maelstrom in 29 ihl Sf7
which he ends up material down. Disil usioned by the
Afterwards Jeroen pointed out the unsuccessfucombi
l nation, and running short
stronger 21.. £fce7, when 22 ±c2 of time, my opponent doesn't put
leaves the game heading for a draw. up great resistance. 29.. gxh3 30
 M.Adams -

J.Piket 137

30 Se5 b6
31 h4
Keeping this pawn alive makes
a draw much less likely.
31 .. £sf5
32 £te4 Sxb2
This leads to a quick conclusion
as would 32.. Sxg2 33 Sxf5, but
32.. Se2 33 Sxf5 Sxf5 34 £lg3
Sff2 35 £>xe2 Sxe2 would have
enabled Black to fight on.

33 &g5 £sh4
JLxh3 Sf 7 eliminates another white 34 £te6+
pawn and leaves a dif icult Yes, Black's rook was en prise,
technical task ahead, as snatching the h- but I spotted a stronger move that
pawn by 31 Se5 b6 32 Sxh5 2g7 forces mate in three.
looks a lit le risky. Black resigned

Game 36
Following a seventh-round win against Viktor Korchnoi, Michael led
the Swiss section but was then paired with Julian again! That game was

drawn and Michael then had to play Valery Salov who was playing his
first game in the Swiss but started with 5^ out of 8! Michael lost that
game and the two that fol owed against Eric Lobron and Vladimir Tuk-
makov to eventually finish 14th equal with Julian Hodgson and John
Nunn.
His next event on foreign soil was an open event at Vil eneuve in
France. His last Continental open had been in Ostend in September
1991, and he had hoped that he would not have to play in the hurly-
burly of such events again. However, as his diary was blank for the next

couple of months and it would be a change from chasing Leigh Grand

Prix points in England, he decided to take part. I think that he was

anticipating a fairly comfortable event with possibly Joe Gallagher as his

main rival. That was before a 'coach-load of Russians' arrived and
changed the nature of things. Michael did win the event with seven wins
and two draws but the strength of the event can be gauged from the fact
that he never even got to play Joe Gallagher. I think it also made
Michael realise how hard it is playing in such events and as I write it
remains the last one that he has played in. The daily bus ride from
138 Chess in the Fast Lane

accommodation to venue, which took an hour, was not something that

Michael is eager to repeat.
Instead he opted for the comparative home comforts of Blackpool
where he obtained a five point maximum. Even closer to home for him
was Golders Green where he obtained a couple of six point maximums
in quickplay To Michael the Grand Prix points were more important
than the first prize. Several chess writers commented how good it was

that one of England's top players regularly played in weekend events,

giving 'ordinary' players an opportunity to play against a top-ranked
player. Julian Hodgson was the only other olympiad team player who
did so on a regular basis.
Michael's next big event was the Dublin zonal, where a good result
would begin to fil some of the blank spaces in his diary. It was a

dif erent format from his only previous zonal three years earlier. Instead of
the all-play-all of twelve invited representative players, there was a

Swiss open event that literally anyone from Britain could enter. This is
not an ideal format for such an important tournament with interzonal
entry at stake but the British Chess Federation were unable to find the
money for an all-play-all. Fortunately the Irish were able to step into the
breach and nowhere could have surpassed their organisation and
friendliness. Michael had enjoyed the open event two years previously
and this tournament was even better. There were 57 entries, including
GMs Adams, Speelman, Hodgson, Miles, King and McNab, as well as

many other dangerous floaters.

All went well for the top two seeds and Michael and Jon Speelman
duly qualified a point ahead of the field. Michael had the best possible
start with four straight wins but he could not afford to relax,
particularly as he played the strongest possible field, finishing with Tony Miles.
Despite leading throughout, it would have been possible for Michael to
fail to qualify if had lost the last-round encounter, but he obtained such
a strong position that he was able to turn down a draw offer to ensure

winning the tournament. Other GMs had a much rougher time with
Miles losing to Rossiter and Kumaran, King to Webster and Rossiter,
while Hodgson lost to Crouch. On the social side, Eamonn Keogh, the
Irish Chess Union president, conducted events superbly. The outing to
Glendaloch on the free day with the liquid picnic and the ensuing
football matches was rated as excellent by Michael. The only game that
Michael lost in Ireland was playing for the GM five-a-side football team on

the free day, where his reportedly tigerish tackling was not enough to
stop the England side winning on the free day. According to Chris
Duncan, Michael's tackling made Vinny Jones look like an angel! Michael
 M.Adams -

J.Levit 139

was pleased to receive this compliment but Tony Miles, the GM

goalkeeper, confirmed that tackling was not commonplace in their team and
he believed their most influential defender to be a dog that wandered on

to the pitch!

M.Adams -

J.Levit similar to a common . .WxdS

British zonal, Dublin 1993 Tarrasch, here the time lost with the
French Defence, black queen is more serious and
Tarrasch Variation White builds up an early initiative.
7 £sb5 #d8
Jon and I have already contested Abetter idea was 7.. £la6
several games in this particular envisaging 8 £sc4 #xdl+ 9 <£xdl ±c5
line, probably due to our lack of with an unclear ending in
knowledge of anything else. prospect, although after the reply 8 c4
Overall the opening positions I have White keeps some advantage. The
achieved have not been great, but two consecutive queen moves have
in this game my opponent's given White a pleasant lead in
attempts to do something dif erent development.
enabled me to obtain a larger 8 £ta4
advantage than usual. A queen swap no longer helps
1 e4 e6 Black as after 8.. #xdl+ 9 <£>xdl
2 d4 d5 the dark squares d6 and c7 are too
3 £sd2 c5 weak.
4 &gf3 8 .. &d5
Not the most critical move but 9 £te3 &c7?!
to me the line 4 exd5 WxdS didn't After the game my opponent
seem appropriate for this suggested the improvement 9.. a6
particular game. 10 &xd5 exd5 11 &d4, when
4 .. cxd4 White is slightly better but Black
5 £>xd4 £sf6 stays very solid.
In a previous tussle my 10 JLd2(D)
opponent had played 5.. <£sc6 here; the I contemplated 10 #xd8+ "ixdS
text looks more forcing. 11 £sxc7 <£>xc7 12 £sc4 f6 13 £.f4+
6 exd5 e5 14 ±g3 ±e6 15 f4 ±xc4 16
No good is 6 ±b5+ ±d7 7 e5 JLxc4 £lc6 for a while, but White
±xb5 8 exf6 £.d7. has more play with the queens on.

6 .. *xd5?! 10 .. £>xb5
More normal in this position 11 ±xb5+ ±d7
would be 6.. £lxd5, when White 12 £.xd7+ #xd7
looks hard pushed to claim an Black also has development
edge. Although the position looks problems after 12.. &xd7 13 ±c3.
140 Chess in the Fast Lane

im Kmm,^' ^
BAJ^— m* ym* M*

•§• Awmm
r^Ar^
AS A*
'W/ IP?
1m ISm*
13 #g4 r,cG 21 icl f6
14 0-0-0 #d4 22 ±xb4 ±xb4
There is lit le choice as 14.. 0-0-0 At this stage my analysis had
15 JLa5 wins material. run 23 #xb4 Sad8 (Black must
15 #e2 #a4 prevent #e7) 24 Sxd8 Sxd8 25
Avoiding 15.. .&a3 which is well #a3 and White emerges a piece
answered by the prosaic 16 c3. up. It was only now that I noticed
16 <£>bl &e7 the variation 24.. #al+ 25 <£>d2
17 &c3 0-0 Sxd8+ 26 <£>e2 Wxhl and White is
18 Sd7 £sb4? probably slightly worse. After
Neither player had calculated going into the tank for about half an

this completely correctly, but it does hour I managed to find:

allow White a forced win which I 23 c3!
managed to stumble upon. White
stil has the better game after the
solid 18.. b6.
19 yt/g4l(D)
Jon had obviously missed this
reply and I now assumed that the
game is over immediately, but
Black has hidden resources.

19 ..
g6
20 t d4
A good option here was 20 Bxe7
#xa2+ 21 <£>cl Sfd8 22 b3 when
White should win. My move is in
fact more accurate but I chose it 23 .. Wal +

because of a miscalculation. Other moves don't help either,

20 .. #xa2+ 23.. &a5 24 &g4 or 23.. ±xc3 24
 C.McNab -

MAdams 141

bxc3 #al+ 25 <£>c2 Wxhl 26 Wh4 25 .. 2ad8

Sf7 27 Sdl or 27 Sxf7 <&xf7 28 No better was 25.. Sae8 26 Wh4
Wxh7+ &e8 29iarg8+. Sf7 27 Sdl but the text allows a

24 ic2 Wxhl study-like finish.

25 #xb4 26 2xd8 2xd8
It took me a long time to see 27 We7
this simple move but the more Black resigned
direct 25 £»g4 allows a draw after He is quite helpless after 27.. 2f8
25.. ±xc3 26 bxc3 #el. 28 £sg4.

Game 37
CMcNab -

M.Adams pawns on d3 and e4 allows White

British Zonal, Dublin 1993 to build up a kingside attack
English Opening, which compensates for the bad
Hedgehog Variation bishop on g2. Objectively this plan
should not trouble but
Black,
Before this game I received a top accurate play is required. Another
tip from Daniel King: 'Spurs possibility for Black here is 5.. g6,
against Arsenal is on television making use of the fact that White
before the game.' Tragically, and has given up t h e option of playing
most unjustly, Arsenal won 1-0, his d-pawn to d4.
costing me a fiver bet with Eamonn 5 .. e6
Keogh. However, this game went 6 e4 d6
rather more smoothly. . 7 £sc3 Ae7
1 £tf3 £tf6 8 0-0 0-0
2 c4 b6 9 b3 a6
A bit unusual but 2.. e6 3 £lc3 is It seems natural to develop the
an annoying move order for me. knight at this stage, but the odd
Having played Colin several times pawn structure means that the
before, his next few moves were steed does not necessarily have to
not too hard to predict. go to d7. In this position an

3 g3 c5 exchange of dark-squared bishops is

4 £g2 £b7 desirable for Black, so the king's
5 d3 knight may wish to move to d7 to
Few players use this particular make way for . .JLf6, and in this
system. My opponent prepares e2- case the queen's knight wil be
e4, which slightly weakens the d4 developed to c6.
square. The idea is that the extra 10 £b2 *c7
central control provided by the 11 We2
142 Chess in the Fast Lane

If my opponent had chosen 11

IslwlH
Bel, l . .£sbd7 would have been
k k k
the best reply, when a main line Wr*-® ASA
position with a tempo more for
Black could have been reached
after 12 d4.
11 .. <&c6
12 Sadl £sd7
13 d4
Black has already taken over the as wm*\
initiative and this move was

necessary to prevent the dark squares

being completely dominated by when the d4 square is occupied,
Black. leaving options to play on both
13 .. £f6 sides of the board.
14 dxc5 18 £sf4
White's opening has certainly It is not really clear where this
not been a success but a better knight is going. The problem is
continuation was 14 d5 £>d4 15 that in this quiet position White's
£lxd4 cxd4 16 £sbl e5 with a lack of counterplay makes things
complicated position. After the text very unpleasant.
move Black has far superior 18 .. £>de5
central control. Trying to get rid of another
14 .. bxc5 defender of d4.
15 #d2 £sd4 19 &xe5 £xe5
16 Sfel Sad8 20 £te2
It is logical to put a rook on the White obviously decided that
d-file, but 16.. Sfd8 looks more 19.. dxe5 20 £kl3 was not
sensible. dangerous last move, but was worried by
17 ihe2(D) 20 ±xe5 dxe5 21 £sd3 Sd4 here.
17 .. £sc6! This does indeed look quite good
A very good move. There are although it would be a hard choice
several tempting alternatives such between that continuation and
as 17.. &xf3+ 18 ±xf3 ±xb2 19 20.. £>xe5.
#xb2 f5 20 £>f4 £le5 21 ±g2 or 20 .. £xb2
17.. e5 but Black already has a 21 #xb2 e5
very clear structural advantage, Planning . .£sd4. Now that two
which is increased by the sets of pieces have been swapped,
exchange of bishops. In the long- the bad situation of the bishop on

term Black's only weakness, the g2 becomes clear. It really has no

pawn on d6, is going to be covered scope at all in this position.

 CMcNab -

M.Adams 143

22 a3 £»e3 or 27 Bb2 was more

This is disastrous as it gives constructive.

Black a ready-made target on the 27 .. £sd4
b-file. White had to play a waiting . Not bad but perhaps 27.. Wa7
game with 22 h4 or 22 Sd2. fol owed by doubling rooks on the
22 .. ±c8 b-file was better.
The bishop comes to the much 28 Se3
stronger spot on e6 and vaguely A tough choice but now was

threatens . . &g4, as neither probably the time to cut his losses

allowing a bishop for knight swap nor by 28 Wxa5 Sa8 29 Wd2 Sxa3 30
playing f2-f3 are very desirable b4 cxb4 31 Sxb4 «&7, when White
for White. has at least eliminated some queen-
"
23 c3 £e6 side pawns.
24 £sd5 Wb7 28 .. #a7
25 #c3 29 ih2 Sb7
White is already in dire straits. 30 Wd2
Hence 25 b4 might have been Constructive defence was stil
worth a try. much more to the point, i.e. 30 JLf3
Sfb8 31 &dl when Black has no

instant breakthrough although

nn w the white position is creaking.
w ii
'/ / .
30 .. Sfb8

y,-m*-M!r/,***yJmy #H *bk Wm Wm _A_

m mm mMm,
!&■& m^m, „.,.„ wm il * Hf *

Ia: if
wk
m^H
m,SL\
m& mttfcf lP
§1 «gj
Aw&
'
25 .. a5 i "wVi
Clamping down on the queen-
side. White needs to be able to I m
w^m,
transfer the knight to b5 to cover

a frontal attack on the b-pawn but 31 &c3

this is impossible to achieve. This is based on the variations
26 Sbl 2b8 31.. £>xb3 32 #xd6 and 31.. Hxb3
27 h4 32 Sxb3 2xb3 33 £sb5 but
There is no longer any time for overlooks a simple kil .
comfort moves like this one. 27 31 .. £xc4
144 Chess in the Fast Lane

32 bxc4 Sxbl 38 ±f3 £sc2

33 vixbl Sxbl 39 Sxb3
34 Sel It was possible to continue with
The rest is agony as Black has 39 Be2 but the result is no longer
an extra pawn and an in doubt.
overwhelminposi
g tion. 39 .. axb3
34 .. Sb3 40 £dl £sd4
35 #g5 #c7 White must give up a piece for
36 Se3 a4 the passed pawn.
37 Wg4 h6 White resigned

Game 38
M.Adams -

M.Sadler 8 0-0 &b7

British zonal, Dublin 1993 9 Sel £ibd7
Sicilian Defence, 10 £.g5 H)6
Najdorf Variation 11 a4 b4
12 £>d5 exd5
I found the time to swiftly 13 exd5+ *he5(D)
research a line against the Najdorf The first new move from my
for this tournament, and in this point of view, although after the
game I got the dream variation. It game Matthew told me it has been
was not until the Manila punted previously. I have refrained
interzonal, where Patrick Wolf played from praising my earlier play as

7.. ^c6 against me, reaching a it has all been done before with
position I knew nothing about and Black trying 13.. ^8. I can't
had never looked at, that I remember exactly how White
realised I should have looked at these continued but Black got mated in
lines a lit le more closely. about ten more moves, which
1 e4 c5 seems to be about standard for
2 £if3 d6 this variation.
3 d4 cxd4 14 a5 Wc5
4 £ixd4 £if6 15 ie3!
5 £ic3 a6 The immediate recapture of
6 ic4 e6 material 15 f4 0-0-0 16 fxe5 dxe5
7 £b3 b5 17 Sxe5 £d6 18 Sf5 had been
In general Matthew has a solid tried before and looks slightly
and well researched opening better for White. My move is much
repertoire, but this line has never had stronger -
Black is unable to avoid
a very good reputation. returning most of the booty in the
 MAdams -

M.Sadler 145

I had rejected this simply the

* that looked
on

grounds it so bad, but

TMLi Am a
it does force White to find one

road to victory. My analysis

continued 16.. £ifd7 17 f4 £ig6 (the
best practical chance may have
been 17.. ^.xd5 18 fxe5 dxe5 19
if4 ic5 20 Sxe5+ ie6 21 *hl
mmJsLwm wm mm
J.xd4 22 Wxd4 0-0 23 2xe6 fxe6 24
£xd7 Sxf4 25 #xf4 #xd7 26
,Brxb4 but the ending should be a

win given accurate technique) 18

long-term, and the threat to the £>f5 Ae7 (not 18.. <&d8 19 &b6+)
black queen makes it dif icult for 19 &d4 <&d8 20 Sxe7 £ixe7 21
his king to survive. <£ixd6 and Black is terminated.
15 .. #c8 17 f4 £>xd5
The play is of a very forcing 18 fxe5 dxe5
nature as neither 15.. 0-0-0 16 19 Hi5 f6
£ic6 Wb5 17 £ia7+, 15..Ael 16
£ic6 «b5 £ixe5 WB,\Wr2M, 'M
17 dxe5 18 ±a4,
15.. £>xd5 16 &a4+ <&d8 17 £ie6+ '<m% i W%6 ^m Hip
nor 15.. &xd5 16 &a4+ ^fd7 17 M,SLM,. mm. ,
«<
£ie6 #c8 (17.. Wc4 18 b3) 18 AIH wm M, I
£»xf8 are playable for Black.
After the text it is clear that
Black's king wil stay in the centre
for the foreseeable future.

!&:
W mW>-MliymM JtJZM, H_
P
20 £f2!
This certainly wasn't the most
obvious position to play a quiet
'mm w^* y// / /, w// /, move, but in fact the most
important aim from White's point of
and Black's
g^p if A
view
king
is
sidling
to prevent
away
g6
to safety. The
tempting 20 £if5+ &e6 leaves
White without a fol ow-up. The
16 &a4+ &e7!? text move forces positive action by
146 Chess in the Fast Lane

iP
Black as I was threatening
Sadl
to
EUtit rHi
improve my position by 20 or

go for instant carnage with 20

&g3. In reply neither 20.. '±'d6 21
Wf7 nor 20.. £if4 21 Sxe5+ are

playable.
20 ..
g6 M
21 Hxe5 +
This is the main point of the
move JLf2. Black could now try A; «
A am
21.. fxe5 22 #xe5+ *f7 23 #xh8
Wg4 24 Wxh7+ &g7 25 Sfl but at
best he can reach an ending two Of course 23 &b3+ <4>g7, giving
pawns down. Another alternative Black survival chances, was much
21.. <±>d6 gets mated after either weaker.
22 Sxd5+ or the flashy 22 &g3 23 ..
<4>g7
gxh5 23 Se6++ &c5 24 £ib3+ 24 £if5+ gxf5
&c4 25 Se4 mate. 25 Wg3+ <&f7
21 .. *CT 26 £b3+ £id5
22 Wf3 £ic7 27 Sxd5
23 11)3+ Black resigned

Game 39
Michael was voted the British Chess Federation 'Player of the Year' for
the year ending April 30th. In view of Nigel Short's wonderful results in
winning the right to challenge for the world chess championship it was

rather surprising that Michael received 57 more votes. I imagine that it

was a combination of Michael's fine results at Brussels, Tilburg and
Dublin and the unpopularity of Short's decision not to play for the
world title under the FIDE banner, that swung the result. In any event
it was pleasing to be chosen by fel ow chess players.
A fortnight after the zonal was completed, Michael was off to Sevil e
for a category 15 event. He started badly, with half a point from his first
three games, and never recovered, finishing on 3V6/9. Sometimes in such
events you completely fail to hit form and it was certainly a disaster for
Michael, whose only success came when Rivas presented him with a

piece. He suffered defeats against Karpov, Epishin and Khalifman, but

his inability to beat lesser opponents such as IM Magem and IM Izeta
was even more disappointing, as was the loss of rating points.
 M.Adams -
A. Yusupov 147

Fortunately there was an opportunity just over a week later to put

matters right in a category 16 event at Munich and he did so. In 11
games his only defeat was suffered at the hands of Mikhail Gurevich
and he beat Bareev, Yusupov and Hertneck. The win against Bareev was

particularly pleasing in view of the four defeats his opponent had

inflicted on Michael at Biel and Hastings, as were the draws against Gel-
fand and Shirov, world numbers five and seven respectively.

M.Adams -

A.Yusupov prior to this game was Short-

Munich 1993 Anand from the VSB tournament
Petroff Defence in Amsterdam. After the
continuation l . .£f5 12 £ie5 &f6 13 g4
Prior to this event my form had .&e6 14 f4 Nigel won a fine game.
been very poor, and the first two Possibly because of this my
rounds in this tournament had opponent opted for a dif erent line.
brought me lit le joy: in the first I 11 .. f5
repeatedly adjourned a miserable 12 a3 £>xc3
ending against Mickey Gurevich 13 bxc3 £ic6
and grovelled a draw with my 14 Sbl
second consecutive Black against
Hiibner. Hence I was very keen to
make something of my first White %M, H
and remind myself how to win.
1 e4 e5 ■A! m. if
2 £if3 £if6
Few top players use the Petroff
Hi P
Defence regularly, perhaps since JH. HI
White make draw it
can a against ^ ■mJhm
at wil , but when White goes for it
exciting games often result.
3 £>xe5 d6 ZZZ- ^" ZZZvZ *=* '/ / / A ■""
■>&?&/'
4 Stf3 £>xe4
5 d4 d5 14 .. f4
6 id3 £ic6 This mistake has far-reaching
7 0-0 £e7 consequences; opening the light-
8 c4 £ib4 squared diagonal towards Black's
9 ie2 ie6 king is very dangerous. Artur
10 £ic3 0-0 rejected 14.. Sb8 due to 15 cxd5 .&xd5
11 £e3 16 &f4, but after 16.. &d6 Black
This has been played many times seems to be close to equality.
before, but the latest instalment 15 icl Hb8
148 Chess in the Fast Lane

16 cxd5 £xd5
I i S 1
17 Sel &h8
An important moment. My last
move threatened c3-c4 but an

alternative way to prevent this is

17.. i.f6 with the idea of 18 c4
&e4. This looks best as 18 &xf4 ■&■•■ i
&xd4 19 &xc7 Wxc7 20 £ixd4 wins tp§ wm&'ww HI
a pawn but allows Black certain MM 'MB Wt (S §M
compensation.
^
« m
18 id3 «d7
Definitely better here was the
reply 18.. £.f6, since after 19 &xf4 After the simple 25 Sbl I would
&xd4 20 £>xd4 Sxf4 Black looks stil have had a pleasant
okay. However, 19 .&c2 should give advantage, but there is no reason not to
an edge. win material.
19 c4! 25 .. Sde8
Instigating favourable 26 Sdl
complications. My initial idea had been Of course not 26 gxf5 &f6.
19 Sb5, aiming to sacrifice the 26 .. £d6
exchange, but the text is stronger. 27 #d3
19 .. £xf3 After the game my opponent
20 Wxf3 £oaI4 said that he had been expecting 27
Not 20.. #xd4 21 Wh3 h6 22 Sxd6 here which should win after
M>2 Wd6 23 Se6. 27.. #c8 28 Wd3 Sel+ 29 &g2. At
21 «e4 £if5 the time I thought that my move

Neither 21.. 1§f5 22 #xd4 nor was clearer but this is probably
21.. g6 22 #xe7 Sbe8 23 #b4 are not the case.

playable. 27 ..
g5!
22 SbS(D) The only chance, setting the
22 .. c5 nice trap 28 &xd6 £ixd6 29 Wxd6
The toughest defence as 22.. g6 Sel+ 30 <&g2 «xg4+ 31 Wg3
23 Sxf5 Sxf5 24 «xe7 #xe7 25 Sxf2+ 32 &xf2 *e2 mate.
Sxe7 Sd8 26 £e2 wins. 28 «c3+ ^dA(D)
23 £xf4 Sbd8 29 Hxd4 ©xg4+
The other attempt 23.. &d6 24 30 Shi Bel +
Wd5 «c7 25 £xd6 £ixd6 26 Sxc5 31 Wxel «f3+
Wd8 27 ^4 leaves White a sound 32 <&gl gxf4
pawn up. 33 Se4!
24 £c2 b6 The preceding moves had been
25 g4 forced by both sides and this last
 E.Bareev -

MAdams 149

to safety, which would not have

been the case after 33 ife4 Sg8+
34<&flWh3+35&e2f3+.
Oo •••
Sg8+
34 &fl *hl +
35 &e2 Sgl
36 Wc3+ &g8
37 Se8+ *f7
38 ie4 Wxh2
39 Ha8 Sg3
40 Sxa7+ &e6
41 i.d5+
accurate move decides the game, Black resigned
despite the openness of White's Mate fol ows after 41.. &f5 42
king. Here Black can only check it Sf7+.

Game 40
E.Bareev -

M.Adams In recent times this move has

Munich 1993 become extremely irritating for
Benko Gambit Benko players. I find it most
surprising that such a stupid looking
My results against Evgeny Bareev move can be so strong.
have not been very impressive, 5 ..
g6
mainly on account of a general Having achieved reasonable
inability to come out of the opening positions with this
in rapid games I
with my position intact. In this decided to try it in a proper one,
game it seemed as though my but I don't think I wil be trying it
usual fate would befal me, but I again. For t h e theoretically mi n ded
managed to dig in. As my it seems that 5.. axb5 6 e41?a5+ 7
opponent squandered more and more £d2 b4 8 £ia3 d6 9 £>c4 «d8 10 a3
of his time whilst missing the e6 is the best option, giving a

decisive continuation, it gradually reasonable position for Black.

became clear that it might be my 6 e4 d6
day after all. 7 a4 ig7
1 d4 £>f6 8 £>a3 0-0
2 c4 c5 9 £ie2 axb5
3 d5 b5 Another possibility here is 9.. e6
4 cxb5 a6 10 dxe6 &xe6 11 £tf4 d5, but I
5 f3 don't really trust this for Black.
150 Chess in the Fast Lane

10 £ixb5 £ie8?! Not a very clever move but even

At the board I decided that my best continuation 17.. £»xb5

opening the bishop's diagonal was 18 axb5 £ic7 19 Sa7 looks very
very important, but 10.. <£ia6 was grim.
probably a better move. The 18 e5! dxe5
general problem for Black is that 19 fxe5 &xe5
White has a much firmer grip on 20 Sael
the b5 square than in most Benko This came as a relief to me.

positions. After 20 &xh6 &xh2+ 21 &xh2 &xh6

11 £ibc3 £ic7 22 We3 + &g7 23 #e5 + Sf6 24 Sael
12 &g5 £iba6 Black is not long for this world.
13 ic4 Hb8 20 .. £ib4
14 0-0 h6 21 «d2 ixb5
The bishop is very annoying on 22 £ixb5
g5, so I was reluctantly forced to Less clear is the continuation
weaken my kingside. 22 axb5 «d6.
15 ie3 id7 22 .. £>xb5
16 Wd3 23 axb5 Wd6
Both players have proceeded 24 ixh6 Hfd8
fairly logically to this position but Much too hazardous is the reply
I quickly realised that White has 24.. ^.xh2+ 25 &hl with ideas of
a huge advantage. The only Se6 and Sf3-h3.
logical means of activity was to play
16.. £ixb5 17 axb5 £ic7 18 Sa7, X-' 'vS-:
m. w/%
but of course White is much better
so I decided to wait.

"ABABA!
i-

lAi

&
25 Shi
& This looks rather slow but is
'/ /, w// / , «g» m*a certainly not bad. White has good
chances of success with the
16 .. &h7 immediate 25 M4 ±xf4 26 Sxf4 (26
17 f4 f5 «xf4 «xf4 27 Hxe7+ <&h6 28 Sxf4
 E.Bareev -

MAdams 151

£«d5) 26.. e5 27 Sh4+ <&g7 28 A time-trouble error. After 31

#h6+ <&f6 29 Sg4 Sg8 30 Sfl. #h7 Black is total y tied up and
Less clear is 25 Sf3 £>xd5 26 Sh3 powerless to prevent JLh6.
(26 ±xd5 #xd5 27 #xd5 Sxd5 28 31 .. #f6
Sxe5 Sxe5 29 M4 Sel+ 30 <&f2 32 ±xg7+ #xg7
e5) 26.. &g8! (butnot26.. £d4+ 27 33 b3 <&f6
Jie3+), when Black may be able to 34 Hhe3 Hd4
hang on. 35 Hi3 £)g4
25 .. 2b7!
Good defence, covering the
second rank in typically sneaky style.
White's last move was aiming for
25.. £ixd5 26 £xd5 #xd5 27 #xd5 WM IP 'W, k I
m. m. H * I
Sxd5 28 Sxe5 Sxe5 29 ±f4.
26 2f3 £>xd5
27 Sh3 <&g8
28 i-g5 !&i
By now my opponent was down
to about his last five minutes, &
whereas I stil had about half an
in
w
hour to survey my wreck of a

position. I assumed his intention had Not 35.. £ie4 36 Sxe4.

been 28 She3 ±f6 29 Se6 #d7 30 36 23e2 e5
Sxf6 exf6 31 ±xd5+ #xd5 32 Se8+ 37 Wg3 e4
winning. In fact I have a 38 h3
surprising resource in 28.. '£'h7 29 2xe5 Either here or on White's next
^b6, when Black may be able to 2a2 would have been very strong.
put up some resistance. The truth Fortunately my opponent didn't
is that Bareev simply missed 30 hit upon this plan until my king
Sxf6. had scurried to safety.
28 .. &f8 38 .. £«5
29 #f2 S8d7? 39 Wf4 £>xc4
A really stupid move. After 40 bxc4 <±>g8
defending well I paid attention
more After 40.. 2xc4 White has a

to my opponent's clock than my pleasant choice between 41 2a2

position. After 29.. £>b6 30 &h6+ and 41 Sxe4.
&e8 Black's king is relatively safe 41 Ha2 Sh7
and the position is unclear, but 42 g4?
now White is winning again. Best would be 42 #h4+ #h6 43
30 «h4 JLg7 #f6 Wg7 leading to a repetition of
31 £h6? moves. My opponent missed my
152 Chess in the Fast Lane

reply, after which the rook ending

should stil be a draw but only I
have winning chances.
42 .. H16
43 #xh6+ &xh6
44 gxf5 gxf5
45 Sgl e3
46 2a6+ Sh7
47 2e6 f4
48 b6
After 48 Se5 Sg7 White is in
trouble.
48 .. Sxc4 51 Sxe7+ Sxe7
49 Sc6 Ue4(D) 52 Hbl f3
50 Sc7+? 53 Sgl
I don't see any way to make The point is 53 b7 e2 54 b8# f2
progress after the continuation 50 and White is powerless.
Sxc5 Sxb6 51 Sh5+ Sh6 52 53 ..
Sg7+
Sxh6+ <&xh6 53 &g2. 54 <4fl Sg2
50 .. See7 White resigned

Game 41
All these ups and downs over the six-month period obviously cancelled
each other out because when the July 1993 rating list was issued
Michael remained at 2630. Although placed at 20th equal on the official
FIDE list, he could not be counted among the world's top twenty players
since Kasparov and Short had not been listed as they had formed the
Professional Chess Association (PCA) and were about to play their
world championship match against the wishes of FIDE.
Meanwhile Michael was off to Las Palmas for another category 16
event. Again he had a terrible start losing with White to Khalifman and
Morovic and with Black to Topalov. Then there was a transformation
and Michael achieved 5/6 to actually gain rating points from the event.
There were wins against Christiansen, Azmaiparashvili, Georgiev and
Rivas as well as draws against Anand and Yusupov.
The three all-play-alls at Sevil e, Munich and Las Palmas were good
preparation for the Biel interzonal, but not a clear indicator of
Michael's chances. He was seeded 16th and only ten players were to
qualify for the candidates matches. However, Michael had performed much
 MAdams -

V.Korchnoi 153

better than expected in the Manila interzonal and the Swiss format
probably suited him. Certainly he had a clear idea of what he needed to
do: to score four more wins than defeats and retain 'plus four' until the
end of the event. This sounds simple enough, but in practical terms was

not so easy; after four rounds he had made no progress, with two
victories against the Swiss players Brunner and Hug cancelled out by defeats
against Wolf and FtaCnik, which were caused by overpressing after
making a calculated choice to go for the ful point. Michael seemed to
have forgotten the event was over 13 rounds, more of a marathon than
a sprint. His doomed attempts to win with White were rather wild and
not what was required at all. However, one of Michael's strengths is the
ability to put together a string of victories, often scoring as well with
Black as with White. He displayed this well while beating Dvoirys,
Dmitry Gurevich, Korchnoi and Kramnik in successive rounds to reach
the key score, aided by the necessary ingredient of good fortune in the
first of these successes. A rather bizarre decision resulted in Michael
opening 1 b3 and obtaining an absolutely rotten position. Nearing the
time control, Michael was almost in zugzwang in a knight and pawn
ending with his only asset being a time advantage where is opponent
had much less than a minute for his last two moves. Michael flashed out
a pawn move to relieve the pressure. It would have lost immediately to
an en passant capture but, incredibly, it confused Dvoirys, who played a

simple exchange leaving a drawn position. With time to reflect, he

realised his missed chance and pure frustration caused him to attempt
unwise winning attempts. After Speelman and Chess Genius, Michael's
new computer programme, helped him with adjournment analysis,
Michael eventually obtained the ful point after over a hundred moves had
been played. It was the real turning point in Michael's tournament.

M.Adams -

V.Korchnoi 4 £)gf3 c4
Biel interzonal 1993 Although this move is common

French Defence, with the exchange of e-pawns in-

Tarrasch Variation serted, I have never seen it before
in this position. My reply seems to
After three wins in a row my confi- be the best attempt to take advan-
dence was high for this game, as I tage of this but it doesn't prove to
sensed that victory would give me be particularly convincing,
excellent chances of qualification. 5 g3 £tf6
1 e4 e6 6 e5
2 d4 d5 Instead 6 exd5 exd5 7 £g2 is
3 ^d2 c5 possible but nothing special.
154 Chess in the Fast Lane

6 .. £>fd7 This move consolidates, with a

7 a4!? slight edge for White.

I was reluctant to allow 7 ig2 12 .. 0-0
b5 as the tactics after 8 a4 b4 9 13 #xb3 ±d7
£ixc4 dxc4 10 £)g5 £>b6 11 £xa8 14 Sbl £>c8
£)xa8 12 #f3 #d5 are good for 15 ia3
Black. After quieter eighth moves This bishop exchange is
for White Black can consolidate thematic as it was not possible to win
the queenside expansion by means a pawn by 15 #xb7 Sb8 16 «a6
of. .£>b6. Sxbl 17 £>xbl <&b6, which is fine
7 .. £>c6 for Black.
8 £g2 £e7 15 .. Hb8
9 0-0 £>b6 16 £xe7
10 Bel Interesting here is the
possibility 16 ifl but I wanted to leave
the bishop defending my kingside
to deter . .f7-f6.
16 .. £)8xe7
■MUH ■ But
17
not
Sb2
17.. b5 18
£ia7
axb5 £)a7 19
■ has a b6.
■ i i§ H 18 Wa3 £c6
Now 18.. b5 is powerful y met
by 19 Sebl with a nasty pin.
HAS H±S 19 Sebl Wc7

10 .. a5?!
A better option was 10.. id7,
because kicking back the knight
with 11 a5 &c8 12 a6 b5 leaves
the a6-pawn stranded, as indeed
it would also have done on the
previous move. The idea is that
the black knight can use the a5
square in some positions, i.e. after
11 c3 ^a5, when Black can annoy
the a4 pawn by means of . .JLc6
and . .#d7. 20 i-fl
11 b3 cxb3 Around this stage I lost the
12 c3! thread of the game. I wanted to
 MAdams -

V.Korchnoi 155

play 20 c4 (20 #c5 is well met by 26 .. #c6

20.. £>ac8 fol owed by . .b7-b6) but 27 Sa2 Hdc8
20.. dxc4 21 £ixc4 (21 #c5 b6 22 28 Hb3 Wc7
Sxb6 Sxb6 23 Sxb6 c3) 21.. ±e4! 29 H)2
22 Scl b5 is a problem. Taking time off from my plan to
20 .. Sfd8 prevent . .b6-b5.
21 £>b3? 29 .. Hd8
Based on a faulty premise. It 30 thg4 £>c8
was better to play either 21 JLd3 31 #d2 £«7
or 21 h4.
21 .. b6
22 £>bd2
Relatively best. My original
intention had been 22 ^xa5 bxa5 23
Sxb8 Sxb8 24 Sxb8 #xb8 25 #xe7
Axa4 26 £>g5 ±e8 27 ±d3 g6
when if White could hyperspace
his queen to h6 he would be doing
well, but as it is Black's passed a-

pawn is the most relevant factor

in the position.
22 .. h6
23 h4 £>g6 32 £ixh6+
Whilst it is hard to criticise A key moment. When I played
Black for losing time after my last this move I thought that it won on

two knight moves, it seems to me the spot, but Viktor finds a

that 23.. &e8 was better. resource worthy of his reputation as

24 id3 £)f8 a great defender. In fact, as 32 h5

25 £>fl ±e8 £if5 is a reasonable defence, the
26 £>e3 only other option is 32 £)f6+ i>h8
By now I had glimpsed a plan (32.. gxf6 33 exf6 is curtains) 33
involving the sacrifice of this £ixe8 Sxe8 with a slight
knight on h6. Despite having all the advantage for White.
subtlety of a battering ram, this is 32 ..
gxh6
dangerous for Black. So perhaps 33 #xh6 £>f5
he should try 26.. f5 27 exf6 gxf6 34 #g5+ ih8
when although there are many 35 g4 f6!
weak pawns, Black has a lot of The move that I had missed,
control over the central squares; but White stil has a slight
28 £>g4 #g7 is fine for Black, so 28 advantage.
c4 is the key test. 36 exf6
156 Chess in the Fast Lane

Also worthy of consideration was 45 <4>e2 Wxh4

36 #xf6+ #g7 37 #xg7+ £>xg7 46 Sg3
38 h5 when the three pawns look If 46 We3, then 46.. £>f6 is
preferable to a piece. dangerous.
36 .. £ih7 46 ..
£>g5
37 Wd2 i.h5! 47 #e3 «h6+
The alternative 37.. £>xf6 38 It was better to play 47.. '±'g7
gxf5 leaves White two pawns up. when Black is no longer worse;
perhaps the safest reply is 48 Bxg5.
48 &fl &g7
49 cxd5 <&f3
mm ■'/ / / /. w// /,
ma
■ A
v// / /, v// / /,
w/,v t
y

kWB ft «
If & W& & 'W%>r\'Wfc
i nil.§.j|pa« AH*!!*
SI MW, -flr. a:
v//, ■■mm,

38 gxh5 Sg8+
39 &fl Sbf8
40 £ie5 Sxf6
41 £ig6+ Sgxg6 50 Sxf3 Sxf3
Although this move is 51 We5+ Wxe5
successful in the game, 41.. &g7 looks 52 dxe5 exd5
objectively better, although after 42 53 Sb2 Sf5?
&e2 White has an edge. Although not immediately
42 hxg6 Wh2 obvious, Black's best is 53.. Sf4 when
43 £xf5 2xf5 54 Sxb6 Sxa4 55 5f6 5g4 results
44 c4? in an easy draw.
This is a bad mistake; accurate 54 Sxb6 Sxe5
calculation would have 55 2b5 &xg6
demonstrated that 44 'Wn& leads to a win 56 Sxa5 Se4
since there is no perpetual check This looks like the best chance,
after 44.. #hl+ 45 <4>e2 Wf3+ (or as the alternative plan of rushing
45.. We4+ 46 We3 Wg4+ 47 £3) 46 the king to the queenside should
<4>d2 Wxf2+ 47 *cl Wel+ 48 <4>b2 also lose after 56.. *f7 57 Sa8
Sf2+ 49 <&a3. <4>e7 58 a5 <4>d6 59 a6 &c7 60 Sd8
44 .. «hl+ &b6 61 Sd6+ <&a7 62 £3, when
 B.Gelfand -

MAdams 157

White wil shepherd home the f-

pawn.
57 f3 Sb4
After 57.. Se3 58 &f2 d4 59 Sa8
(59 Sd5 Sd3 60 <4>e2 Se3+ 61
&d2 Sxf3 62 Hxd4 <4-f5 looks like
a draw to me) 59.. Sa3 60 a5 d3 61
a6 d2 (after waiting moves White
plays a7, blockades the d-pawn
with his king and advances the f-
pawn) 62 &e2 Sxf3 63 a7 White
wins by a tempo. After the game
continuation matters are even 62 .. Se7+
more clear-cut. 63 &f2 &e5
58 Sa8 if5 64 Sb4
59 a5 Sb7 Here Black resigned because
60 &e2 ^f4 after the continuation 64.. Sa7 65
61 a6 Sf7 Sa4 &d6 66 &e3 &c5 67 &d3 &b5
62 Sb8 68 Sal, taking the a-pawn leads to
The sealed move, which makes a lost king and pawn ending,
things simple as the rook can come while otherwise the black king is
behind the a-pawn after a check. forced back.

Game 42
After the winning streak, the consolidation of five draws fol owed
against Salov, Gelfand, Kamsky, Khalifman and Yudasin. All but one of
these was a very short game, but this is common in interzonals once

players reach the requisite mark. However, the game against Gelfand
did not come into this category.

B.Gelfand -

MAdams is fortunate that this was not the

Biel Interzonal 1993 case as this game really caught
Nimzo-Indian Defence fire towards the end.
1 d4 £if6
Given our respective scores this 2 c4 e6
game was rather hard-fought (an It has normally been my
early draw would have left us both strategy to avoid risky openings such
in prime position for qualification as the Benko Gambit in interzon-
to the candidates). In some ways it als, particularly given that on my
158 Chess in the Fast Lane

current score draws would be a draw, confident that my strategy

enough for me to qualify. of spending more time at the bar
3 &c3 i.b4 than at the board was the safest
4 e3 b6 way to qualify, but my opponent
5 £d3 £.b7 wanted to play on.

6 £if3 0-0 14 d5 £ie7

7 0-0 ±xc3 15 £id2 £«8
8 bxc3 c5 16 e4 Sb8
9 £)d2 £sc6 17 Wc2 ±c8
0 £ib3 a5!? 18 Sael £)g6?
This is a clear mistake. The
critical variations occur after the
advance 18.. f5 19 exf5 ±xf5 20 £se4
Wd7 (20.. 4M6 21 £)xc5) 21 f4 and
now

a) 21.. £ig6 22 fxe5 £)xe5 23

£)f6+ £)xf6 24 Axf5 Wc7 is
unclear; or

b) 21.. ±xe4 22 ±xe4 £rf6 is

also messy.
19 g3 &h3
20 Sf2 Wc8
21 i.cl Sb7(D)
White's knight manoeuvre Of course my intention here
appears logical to facilitate the had been to play 21.. f5, but after
advance e4, so I decided to give it a 22 exf5 ±xf5 23 £)e4 White has a

probe. If 11 dxc5 a4 12 £sd4 bxc5 big advantage. This might stil

13 £>b5 £te5 looks good for Black. have been a better chance than
11 a4 d6 the abject passivity which I
12 f3 Sc8 suffered in the game.
13 £a3 22 fihl Se7
A funny looking move, but the 23 Wbl Wd8
logical 13 e4 fails to 13.. cxd4 14 It was possible to try and
cxd4 £sb4 with strong counterplay maintain the possibility of playing . .f 7-
against the weak pawn on c4. f5 by going 23.. Sb7 24 f4 exf4 25
13 .. e5 gxf4 <S^fB, but White has
I looked alternatives at to alternatives to 24 f4.
closing the centre, but after e3-e4 24 £ifl ±d7
possibilities of e4-e5 wil be irritating The black position is now so

for Black if he refrains from this cramped that I was fairly sure my
move. Round about here I offered opponent would turn down 25 Sb2
 B.Gelfand -

M.Adams 159

or 32..Jta6, both of which look

fairly unclear to me.

32 .. £a6
33 f6
This looks surprising until you
realise that 33 ±d3, 33 Wb3, and
33 ±b3 are all met by 33.. £)xc4.
33 ..
gxf6
34 £sg4 £sxc4
An alternative here is 34..JLxc4
35 £)h6+ &g7 36 £)xf7 Sxf7 37
Sel ±xd5+ 38 &gl but I think that
JLxa4 26 Sxb6, although it looks the text offers better chances.
quite promising. 35 £cl
25 £c2 £c8 An important line is 35 £sh6+
26 £g5 4>g7 36 Acl (36 £)xf7 Wxd5+ 37
A visually tempting move but &e4 &xd2 38 ±xd5 £)xbl 39 Sxbl
the simple 26 £te3 is also very £lxd5 leads to a bad ending for
good. White) 36.. £ia3! (36.. ±b737±e4
26 .. f6 is fine for White) 37 ±xa3 (37 £lxf 7
27 ±d2 Sf7 *xd5+ 38 ±e4 £>xbl 39 ±xd5
28 &e3 *he7 £)xd5 40 ±h6+ &xf7 41 Sxbl Sg8
29 f4? is good for Black) 37.. <&xh6 38
White opens the game without Sdl with a messy position. After
sufficient preparation. After the the move played White is actually
better 29 £sf5 it is very hard to lost, but it is dif icult to be critical
imagine how the black knight on given the complexity of the
e8 wil ever emerge. upcoming variations.
29 .. f5 35 .. <4>h8
Absolutely the only chance but The dif erence is that Black
Black's position here is much gains time to safeguard the rook.
better than I had realised during the 36 £ih6 Sg7
game. The weak queenside pawns 37 Sxf6 Sxf6
crumble so that White must take 38 Sxf6 (D)
quick action. 38 .. &b7
30 fxe5 dxe5 Incredibly this doesn't win, due
31 exf5 £id6 to some bizarre tactics. The
32 Sefl correct continuation was 38.. £lxd5
Another option was 32 g4 when 39 Sf7 (39 Sf3 £)xc3 40 Sxc3 [40
I have a choice between either Wb3 ±b7 41 Wxc3 Wd4] 40.. ±b7+
32.. g6 33 Sefl gxf5 34 gxf5 &h8 41 ±e4 mi+ 42 &g2 #e2+, 39
160 Chess in the Fast Lane

£)xf7+ Sxf7 43 Wd3 £)xe4 when

there are far too many threats and
material for the queen.
Meanwhile, back at the board I was

getting very excited -

I had seen a

forced win, or so I thought.

39 £e4 £>xd5
40 Sf3
The other option 40 £rf7+ Sxf7
41 Sxf7 £)xc3 42 Sxh7+ &g8 wins
simply. But now I was happily
considering 40.. £ixc3 41 Sxc3 Wdl+
£if7+ Sxf7 40 Sxf7 £)xc3 41 42 &g2 We2+ (attentive readers
Sxh7+ &g8 42 Wal Wd5+ 43 &gl may notice a similarity to a

Wf3 or here 42 ±h6 Wd5+ 43 &gl variation in the last note). Then I
Wd4+ 44 &hl &xbl 45 Sg7+ *f8 noticed the dif erence 41 Wd3 Sd7
46 Sd7+ &e8) 39.. £ixc3. At this 42 £sf7+, but recovered in time to
point in the analysis (most of play:
which was discovered at a wine 40 .. £id6
party in Speelman's room by him, 41 &gl £>xe4
Seirawan, Tisdall and myself) I had intended 41.. £>xc3 but 42
Jon produced the corker 40 JLg5. Wxb6 Sxg3+ 43 Sxg3 £ie2+ 44
When the laughter had died down &f2 £>xe4+ 45 <&el was rather
someone tried 40.. Wa8+ 41 &gl off-putting. By now I had realised
£>xbl 42 JLf6 before realising it that my opponent had been
was not so easy The attempt to fortunate enough to survive.
improve with 41.. £>e3 42 Jte4 42 Wxe4 &f4
£)xbl (or 42.. £ixe4 43 Wxe4) 43 Neither 42.. £)f6 43 2d3 nor

±xa8 Sxf7 44 £)xf7+ &g7 45 42.. £ixc3 43 Wxe5 Wdl+ 44 Sfl

£lxe5 leads to a probable draw. £te2+ 45 Wxe2 are promising.
The simplest way to win was 43 £if7+! Sxf7
found the next day: 40.. ^5+ 41 44 ®xe5+ £g8
JLe4 Wxf7 (probably also good Draw agreed as 45 Sxf4 Wdl+
enough to win is 41.. Sxf7 42 46 &f2 #c2+ 47 We2 leads to an

±xd5 £ixbl 43 £ixf7+ &g7) 42 equal position.

All of Michael's last five opponents joined him as a candidate, along

with Van der Sterren, Lautier, Kramnik and Anand, who was the only
player to qualify on 'plus three'. Thus Michael achieved the distinction
of becoming the third English candidate after Nigel Short and Jon
Speelman.
 Chapter Five
Michael's troubles playing against other English players continued at
the Lloyds Bank Masters in 1993. Once again he was the highest rated
player and once more he achieved a disappointing result. His two
defeats came at the hands of Gary Lane and Peter Wells, who both
outplayed Michael in the Spanish Opening. Perhaps it was dif icult for
Michael to focus all his energy on playing friends who he knew very well
in this tournament. However such deep explanations are rather less
important t h an t h e f a ct t h at hi s opponents were simply better on the day.
A late surge did earn Michael the respectability of fifth equal position
although it was not sufficient to avoid the loss of many rating points.
Perhaps it was as well that his last round opponent was a younger

Englishman, Matthew Sadler, who had to win for a GM norm, as this

enabled Michael to collect the point when he overpressed. It turned out to
be the last Lloyds Bank Mast e rs t h at Mi c hael was t o t a ke part i n .
Although the 1993 results may not have been all that he had wished for,
the event gave Michael many wonderful opportunities and results in
the ten tournaments since his first appearance in 1984.
A personally significant event occurred in the summer of 1993 when
Michael appeared at the head of the BCF grading list with 260 points,
five ahead of Nigel Short. It could be argued that this meant very lit le
as Nigel rarely played i n England whereas Mi c hael was very act i v e and
generally successf u l . Certainly i t creat e d no i n t e rnat i o nal i n t e rest .
However when you have spent your whole chess career in the shadow of
someone, it is nice to emerge ahead for the first time.
Michael was the leading scorer at the Chalkidiki tournament in
Greece but only came third. The reason for this strange outcome was

that only four players were invited and they played each other twice
with the final scores being Gel f a nd 4, Shi r ov and Adams 3V6 and
Kotronias 1.

Game 43
M Adams -
VKotronias One of the problems with playing
Chalkidiki 1993 in a nice venue like Chalkidiki is
Spanish Opening, dragging yourself off the beach in
Anti-Marshall Variation the mood for a hard game. Maybe
162 Chess in the Fast Lane

my opponent didn't quite manage

it for this game.
1 e4 e5
2 £if3 £ic6
3 ±b5 a6
4 £a4 £if6
5 0-0 ±e7
6 Sel b5
7 ±b3 d6
8 a4
Although Black had already
made it clear that he is not
interested in the Marshall Attack, I 13 h3 £e6
decided to deviate from the main This is inconsistent; Black had
lines in any case. Although two superior options. The
theoretically 8 c3 gives White the best commit al 13.. £xf3 14 £ixf3 b3 15
chance to gain a slight plus, I jLbl c5 leads to an interesting
preferred to take the game into a line position. At first White seems to be
which I had (at least in theory) in big trouble as it is hard to bring
studied recently, instead of the bishop back into the game.
allowing Black the opportunity to However, matters are not so

dictate the choice of variation. simple. Either the immediate 16 d4 or

8 ..
£g4 16 £ld2, targeting the b3 pawn,
This is why the move order is give White play. Therefore Black's
considered less critical than 8 c3 best choice is the flexible 13.. JLh5,
but the game remains keeping his options open. White
complicated. would probably continue 14 £>c4
9 c3 0-0 £lxc4 15 jLxc4 a5 with
10 d.3 £ia5 approximate equality. After the text move

11 £a2 I am able to take over the

In these circumstances it seems initiative.
more useful to drop the bishop 14 £xe6 fxe6
back here instead of to c2. 15 d4 bxc3
11 .. b4 Even worse would be 15.. exd4
A theoretical suggestion here is 16 cxd4, when Black's pawn
11. . c5, but the move played is also structure is a shambles.
sensible if fol owed up correctly. 16 bxc3 £>d7
12 thbd2(D) Few players would be prepared
Of course 12 cxb4 £ic6 13 &d2 to accept so many long-term
£}d4 would be awful for White. weaknesses in their pawn structure.
12 .. Sb8 After the more sensible 16.. exd4 17
 M.Adams -

V.Kotronias 163

cxd4 (17 £ixd4? #d7 18 e5 dxe5 19

Sxe5 £lc6) Black is a lit le worse.

17 We2 #c8
There was no opportunity to
change his mind due to 17.. exd4
18 £>xd4 £ic5 19 £a3.
18 dxe5 dxe5
19 £ic4
There is not much finesse about
this move but there are few good
alternatives for White. In this case

allowing the exchange of bishop

for knight is not a problem as the 23 a5
white knight on c4 is so well posted. But unfortunately it only
19 .. £ib3 encourages this powerful response,
The exchange 19.. £>xc4 20 #xc4 cutting down the options of the
is not very desirable because the knight. If 23 Scdl £ib6 24 £ixb6
white queen comes to a very Sxb6 25 Sd7? £d6 White loses the
aggressive square, hit ing Black's exchange. The text move keeps
weak pawns. Possible was 19.. £>c6 control of the game.
although this move gives a rather 23 .. Sf4
passive impression. Probably the This is rather aimless move.

move played was best. Although it makes an active

20 2a2 impression it doesn't really cause White
Disastrous would have been 20 any problems and allows him to
Sbl £ld4, when Black picks up pick off a pawn by force. The
material. alternative 23.. Sb5 keeps Black
20 .. £>xcl hanging on.

21 Sxcl i-c5 24 #d3

True to his style Kotronias tries Unusually the queen and rook
to stay active. Another way to play combination is more effective than
was 21..JLf6, when White has a doubling rooks, since it allows the
pleasant advantage due to his rook to cover the second rank and
superior pawn structure. particularly f2.
22 Zd2(D) 24 .. £if6
White targets Black's insecure 25 Sel
knight on d7, which is tied to the Now the black pawn on e5 is
defence of e5. doubly attacked and there is no

22 .. #e8 good way to defend it or harass

Black tries to threaten the the white e-pawn again.
pawn on a4. 25 .. #a4
164 Chess in the Fast Lane

26 £ifxe5 Sf8
Black tees up for a cheapo but
there are plenty of defenders if
White plays careful y.
27 See2 £d6
This is very bad. Black's only
chances were based on this bishop
pressurising f2. Now the game is
ended simply, but after 27.. #al+
28 &h2 a good fol ow-up is not
available.
28 £ixd6
It is not really clear what Black's 30 #xe6+ &h8
idea would have been if White had 31 Sxe4 #xe4
simply retreated with 28 £lf3, but 32 Sd8
as he had miscalculated the This nice touch wins. If 32 £>f 7+
tactics, this is the most impressive &g8 Black hangs on.

way to finish the game. 32 .. Sxd8

28 .. cxd6 33 £>F7+
29 Wxd6 2xe4 Black resigned as a smothered
It was not too late to limit the mate was imminent after 33.. ^8
damage to two pawns by means of 34 £ili6+ &h8 35 #g8+ fol owed
29.. Se8. by £»f 7 mate next move.

Game 44
After the joint runners-up were split by tie-break in Shirov's favour, the
first two played two more games against each other as did the last two.
Shirov beat Gelfand \Vi-xA and Michael won 2-0 against Kotronias,
giving the final result as Gelfand first with 4V6 (as he had taken a 2-0 lead
from the first two encounters into the final two games), Shirov second
with 5 and Michael third with 5V6 points. I am tempted to say that it is
all Greek to me -

and probably to the reader as well! The event was also

notable for Michael collecting four victories over Greece's strongest
player in one tournament. Poor Kotronias has been particularly
unsuccessful at Chalkidiki on both occasions that Michael has played and has
not done his high rating justice. Michael's 5-0 career record against him
is easily his best score against such a strong opponent.
His next tournament was far simpler to understand. It was a twelve
player all-play-all category 14 event in Bulgaria, not quite as strong as
 MAdams -

A.Vyzmanavin 165

some Michael had played in recently. To win the event with 8/11 ahead
of Ivan Sokolov, Georgiev, Smirin, Vyzmanavin and NikoliC, was a

particularly pleasing result and probably his best all-play-all result at this
time. It was also pleasing to see him go through unbeaten with five wins
and six draws. Away from the board Michael's reminiscences were more

mixed. The food proved something of an acquired taste and he lost a

stone in weight during the course of the event. The price of such food as

was available and of drink was very cheap. When going into a bar and
ordering the best bottle of wine, as was the custom for Ivan Sokolov and
Michael, the most that they were charged was £1.50 although they did
come unstuck one day when they were served a white wine with forty
per cent sugar, which was not quite to their taste! The locals were

amazed that Michael would swim in the outdoor hotel swimming pool in
October before all his games. He did have his swimming trunks stolen
from the washing line outside of his room, but if it was a fel ow
competitor trying to ruin Michael's preparation it failed, as he had a spare pair.
Although my son had made lots of
journeys in foreign countries, he
found that travelling in Bulgaria, particularly the internal flight on a

Bulgarian airbus between Sofia and Burgas, was something of an

adventure. On the return journey the airbus was delayed for four hours
which meant that Michael missed his flight to London. He was told that
the next direct flight was not for two days but fortunately it was

possible to return via Brussels later that day to ensure that he reached
London to do some scheduled commentary on the Kasparov-Short match.

M Adams -

A.Vyzmanavin part of my repertoire for quite a

Burgas 1993 long time.

Caro-Kann Defence, 5 £c4 £igf6
Classical Variation 6 £ig5 e6
7 #e2 £ib6
I had actually sneaked off to bed 8 i.b.3 h6
early the evening before this game 9 £i5f3 c5
but Ivan Sokolov summoned me I prefer to play 9.. a5 here to
back to the bar to add the finishing gain space on the queenside be-
touches to my preparation. fore challenging in the centre.
1 e4 c6 10 c3 #c7
2 d4 d5 This position is tricky as both
3 £>d2 dxe4 sides hope the exchange of pawns
4 £>xe4 £>d7 in the centre wil save them tempi.
My opponent chooses the most Black would not be well advised to
solid variation, which has also been play 10.. cxd411 £*xd4 when White
166 Chess in the Fast Lane

can develop his pieces 15 .. #c7

harmoniously and 10.. JLd6 11 dxc5 JLxc5 16 0-0 0-0
12 £te5 forces Black to lose time 17 Sd4
with the bishop. Therefore my The alternative was 17 £te5 but
opponent's move, which prevents 11 17.. &bd7 18 £>xf7 Sxf7 19 #xe6
dxc5 £xc5 12 £se5 with 12.. £xf2+ £ie5 and 19 JLxe6 £ib6 are not
13 &xf2 #xe5 14 #xe5 £)g4+. My convincing. After the move played
next move is the most obvious but 17.. Sd8 is not possible due to 18
11 jLe3 also deserved #e5 but 17.. &bd5 or 17.. £d7
consideration. This type of position was were options.
commonly reached in the 1994 17 .. a5
Short-Gulko candidates match 18 a.3
although they normally had the There was a threat to advance
moves . .a7-a5 and a2-a3 inserted. the pawn to a3, crippling the
queenside pawn structure. It was

also possible to play 18 a4 but

advancing the pawn two squares is
less good as it would allow Black
to play 18.. ^bd5 without fearing
19 c4, on account of 19.. £fo4 after
which the knight would be
impregnable.
18 .. a4
19 i-a2
A useful diagonal but 19 JLc2,
keeping the pressure on a4, looks
even stronger.
11 £>h3 £d6 19 .. £ibd7
It is sometimes possible to 20 *h£4
embarrass the knights by 11.. g5, but The knight hops back into the
here 12 £te5 is a good response. game as 20.. e5 fails to 21 £>d5.
12 dxc5 JLxc5 20 .. £sc5
13 JiU £d6 21 Sfdl b6
14 i.xd6 #xd6 22 #e5!
15 Sdl A good decision. Attempts to
Ideally White would have liked attack the black king were too
to castle long and play for a quick optimistic and the exchange of queens
attack, but the queen's control of allows me to target the queenside
the d-file makes this impossible so pawns, particularly the one on b6.
a more modest approach is called 22 .. #xe5
for. 23 £ixe5 £a6
 MAdams -

A.Vyzmanavin 167

Not the ideal move but 23.. &b7 stronger 28 S6d4. Now he gets a

24 Sd6 gives immediate problems. chance to break out.

28 .. Sd8
29 Sd4
Black is unable to take control
of the d-file after this move.

29 ..
g5
30 hxg5 hxg5
31 £ih3
This move, hit ing the g-pawn,
looks logical but 31 £lh5 may have
been better.
31 .. f6
32 &c6 Sd7
Black had to try 32.. Sd6 33
24 h4 Sxd6 £>xd6 34 £id4 &e7 35 f4 £id7
A nice dual-purpose move. The 36 Sc6 £b7 37 Sc7 but despite the
back-rank mate is eliminated and intricate rook manoeuvres White
possible play on the kingside is stil has the upper hand.
prepared.
24 .. Sfc8
Black makes way for his king to
come into the game.
25 Sd6 b5
Of course Black must have been
reluctant to put this pawn where
it blocks the bishop, but 25.. Sab8
26 £ic6 Sb7 27 Sd8+ Sxd8 28
Sxd8+ &h7 29 £bl+ g6 30 h5
wins. Perhaps 25.. Scb8 was

playable but Vyzmanavin is

understandably reluctant to move the
rook twice in a row. 33 £fo4
26 f3 Now a pawn is won as the bishop
Otherwise one of the knights is vulnerable on the a6 square.
coming to e4 could be irritating. 33 .. Sh7
26 .. &f8 More logical was 33.. Sb7, but
27 g4 £ie8 the extra pawn which is gained
28 Sb6 after 34 £ixa6 Sxa6 35Sxa6 £)xa6
Black would have been 36 JLxe6 should be decisive. The
condemned to passivity after the text move, putting the black rook
168 Chess in the Fast Lane

offside, leads to a fatal lack of

coordination amongst Black's army.
34 4M2 £b7
35 5xb5 &b3
Giving White two passed pawns,
but 35.. Sc8 36 &g2 leaves Black
movebound.
36 £xb3 axb3
37 &g2 Sc8
38 a4
The knight on b4 useful y
supports the passed a-pawn.
io .. GO The move Black wanted to play
39 Sdl Sa8 was 41.. &e7 but 42 £ie4 &xe4 43
40 a5 S.c7(D) fxe4 threatens £>d5+.
41 ig3 42 £ie4 £xe4
The direct 41 £ie4 &xe4 42 fxe4 43 fxe4 Sc4
Sc4 could cause a lit le irritation; 44 a6 Hxe4
White is in no hurry so it is safer 45 2b7
and more controlled to play a solid Now 45.. Sa8 46 a7 Se2 47 £\c6
move. 5xb2 48 5d8 wins so Black
41 .. Sa7 resigned.

Game 45
M.Adams -

Kir.Georgiev 1 d4 <2tf6
Burgas 1993 2 £g5 £ie4
Trompovsky Attack 3 i-f4 c5
The sharpest possibility. It is
Since Julian Hodgson described not easy for White to gain the
the 'Tromp' in graphic detail to advantage against this and Black
me on a no.6 bus I have been gets active play. As a Dragon
whipping it out with some regularity. It specialist, Georgiev is happy to attack
is particularly useful to me, as a on the dark squares and fianchetto
mainly 1 e4 player, when I want to his king's bishop. Incidental y I
introduce an element of surprise. believe that the alternative 3.. d5
In this game (against a Dragon does not ensure ful equality.
specialist) I was also glad to get 4 f3 £if6
away from heavy theory as early In an earlier game against Kiril
as possible. he had played 4.. #a5+ 5 c3 £lf6 6
 M.Adams -

Kir.Georgiev 169

£id2 cxd4 7 &b3 #d8 8 cxd4 but and White's bishop only two to
now missed the best 8.. d5, after end up on f4. I would have
which I was able to play e2-e4 preferred 8.. a6, aiming to discourage
building a strong centre. White from castling queenside.
5 d5 9 i-h6 i.xh6
A very aggressive move, The direct 9.. a6 or 9.. e6 would
perhaps inspired by my good form in have been better; allowing the
the tournament. 5 dxc5 is a good white queen to take up such an

alternative as the Sicilian type aggressive post is a mistake.

position after 5.. #a5+ 6 £ic3 #xc5 10 #xh6 e6
7 e4 looks promising for White. 11 0-0-0 exd5
5 .. d6 12 exd5 Se8
This is too passive. 5.. ^6 was

the critical test, when White would

have had to give up a pawn by 6
£>c3 #xb2 7 £d2. There is
compensation but Black has much
better chances than in the game.
6 e4 g6
7 £ic3 JLg7

13 £>ge2!
Stronger than the stereotyped
13 h4. White's attack can then be
defused by 13.. "&e7, planning a

queen swap. By transferring the

knight to e4 White targets both
the weak d6 pawn and the
vulnerable f6 square.
8 #d2 0-0 13 .. a6
Commit ing his king this early Now there is no time for lS-.^e?
is rather dangerous when White is 14 £sg3 «fe3+ 15 ^xe3 2xe3 16
already well positioned to swap the £lge4 £lxe4 17 £lxe4 when the
fianchettoed bishop. It is worth rook is trapped.
noting that in some senses White 14 £sg3 b5
is a tempo up as the black knight If 14.. £sbd7 15 h4 increases the
has taken three moves to reach f6 pressure.
170 Chess in the Fast Lane

15 £sce4 19 &bl Se7

The threat of ^f4 forces Black
into drastic action, but there is
also a case for h2-h4 as the
possibility of play on the h-file should
cause Black's position to crumble.
15 .. £sxe4
16 Gxe4 f5
Of course not 16.. &f5 17 £sg5
17 £sg5 We7?
A bad blunder but Black already
faces considerable dif iculties, i.e.
17.. »c7 18 i.d3 »g7 19 »xg7+
<&xg7 20 Shel Sxel 21 Sxel h6 22
Se8 or 17.. 2a7 18 h4. 20 i-e8
18 i.xb5 The threat of 21 Shel Wxel 22
That's about it. .&f7+ is decisive.
18 .. We3+ 20 .. '#e5
After 18.. axb5 19 Shel is 21 Shel
completely terminal. Black resigned

Game 46
After Garry Kasparov won the PCA world championship match against
Nigel Short with four games to spare, various forms of chess
entertainment were arranged for the remaining scheduled days and on one of
them Michael, among others, had the privilege of playing Kasparov in a

five-minute game at the Savoy Theatre. It must be a great thril to play

a world champion but to go one step further and actually win as Michael
did on this occasion with his Trompovsky Attack made it doubly so. The
world champion's response was to take off his jacket and challenge
Michael to two further games, both of which Kasparov won.

Another important success came for Michael in the form of another

maximum at the Hammersmith rapidplay, which was also contested by
Julian Hodgson, John Nunn and Stuart Conquest. It is easy to dismiss
such results as insignificant, but someone took the trouble to calculate
that his perfect score gave him a tournament grading of 281 on the BCF
scale, equivalent to 3200 on the Elo system! Such results are rare indeed
and it is not commonplace for Michael to defeat John Nunn, especial y
with the black pieces, though I suppose that after the Debrecen European
 J.Nunn -

M.Adams 171

team event there was some pressure on Michael to show John that he
knew what to do with black pieces!

J.Nunn -

M .Adams
Hammersmith quickplay 1993
Sicilian Defence,
Scheveningen Variation

The first time participated

I in a

Hammersmith quickplay I was

feeling quite pleased with myself

as I had just won the Brussels
SWIFT event. Unfortunately this
proved an inappropriate warm-up
as I only managed 4/6. This time I
performed rather better. An odd-looking move, but the
1 e4 c5 idea behind it is logical. If 9.. JLe7
At this time I was beginning to 10 &xc6 bxc6 11 e5 dxe5 12 2xe5
experiment with the Sicilian leads to a variation in which Black
Defence and this game was without has dif iculties according to
doubt my high point with the theory The idea behind the move

opening. After a key loss to Tiviakov played is to continue 10 £}xc6 bxc6

with it in the early rounds of the 11 e5 dxe5 12 Sxe5 &d6 (12.. «rxe5
Groningen qualifier it has been 13 JLf4 is good for White) when
noticeably absent from my Black gains the tempo . .Sb8 by
repertoire in recent times, though Joel delaying the development of the
Lautier has been using this dark-squared bishop. This leaves
particular variation with some an approximately level position.
success. As John was half a point behind
2 £sf3 e6 going into this, the last, round he
3 d4 cxd4 naturally chooses a more dynamic
4 £sxd4 £sc6 move.

5 £sc3 ^c7 10 a4 £e7

6 g3 11 £sb3
A very common response in this In nearly all Sicilian positions
position, but I am not sure that White is reluctant to move the
this move really suits Doc's style. knight from d4 but here my
6 .. a6 opponent was probably afraid of 11
7 £g2 d6 &e3 £sa5, although 12 ^e2 £sc4 13
8 0-0 £sf6 JLcl would allow the knight to be
9 Sel Sb8 expelled by a later b2-b3.
172 Chess in the Fast Lane

11 .. b6 Preparing.. JLf6, putting further

It would not be good to allow pressure on the white queenside,
White to play a4-a5, cramping the but there were good alternatives
queenside. available. 14.. Sd8 with the idea
12 f4 of . .d6-d5 looks particularly
White must start to look for interesting.
play on the kingside now, but it is 15 Hi5
not clear how to achieve this. 12 White takes advantage of the
g4 with the idea of g4-g5 would be knight moving away from
natural but Black has not yet defending the kingside. Another idea was

castled so 12.. h6 would place White the somewhat awkward-looking

in something of a dilemma. 15 £le2, preventing Black's next
Developing the bishop is possible but move, which leaves the rook badly
after 12 JLe3 Black has the option to placed.
delay castling again with 12.. £se5. 15 .. &f6
So it is easy to see why he chose 16 Sa3 £.b7
his move, but advancing the f- This move was not played
pawn too early is not always earlier as the rook was useful in
desirable. supporting possible . .b6-b5 thrusts.
12 .. 0-0 Here it is clear that this cannot be
13 £e3 forced through directly as if 16.. g6
It was possible to play 13 g4 but 17 ^2 maintains the focus on b5.
the cl bishop must be developed
eventually.
13 .. £sa5
Here 13.. b5 was thematic but
mm Hii m
the continuation 14 axb5 axb5 15 A
^e2 b4 16 £sb5 suggests that
Black is not ready for this kind of ' ■■
ft i^ '• ft
activity yet.
14 £sd2
A rather awkward way to
defend c4, but unless White wants to A
retreat his bishop to cl this looks
inevitable. It was possible to swap
knights but although this would 17 g4
cripple Black's queenside, there Starting action on the kingside
would be ample play down the but White's forces are not well
semi-open b- and c-files by way of situated for such an attack. On
compensation. the other hand it is dif icult to
14 .. £sd7 give White good advice as Black's
 J.Nunn -

M.Adams 173

pieces are well placed to respond 23 .. b5

to any aggressive plan. 24 axb5 axb5
17 ..
g6 25 £sdl b4
18 Wh3 £g7 26 Sae3 e5
19 g5 Sfe8 This move is always nice for
Black takes precautions against Black when there is no access to
the possibility of f4-f5. the d5 square for a white knight.
20 i.f2 In this case there is too lit le time
White decides against for them to manouevre as the
immediate action and drops the bishop position opens up.
back. His concern with 20 f5 would 27 2f3
have been 20.. £se5. It was not possible to play this
20 .. £c8 last move due to . .£sd4. Here
This move works out well and White would like to deny Black's
has the obvious idea of . .b6-b5, pieces the e5 square but 27 f5 gxf5
but switching plans with 20.. £sc6 28 exf5 ±xf5 29 #f3 £sd4 was not
was a more accurate method, an option.
menacing . .£sb4 and . .d5. 27 .. exf4
21 #d3 28 2xf4
Stil the move . .b6-b5 is Allowing an unpleasant pin but
prevented. It is now clear that this 28 ^xf4 £se6 29 ^d2 £scd4 is cur-

breakthrough is crucial for Black.

21 .. £sc5
22 #'g3
An inaccurate move. 22 ^62,
maintaining contact with b5, was

essential. Then 22.. £sc6 23 £sf3

would have given White a

reasonable position, but now Black takes

over the initiative.
22 .. £sc6
23 £sfl
Another move which does not
really address the demands of the
position but after 23 £sdl £sb4 is a

bit embarrassing. The move also 28 .. b3

has dreams of getting the knight A good decision, particularly in
to the dark squares on the king- a quickplay game. If 28.. JLe5 29
side, but once it gets started £sde3 &e6 30 £sg4 White loses the
Black's play moves with exchange but keeps decent
surprising speed. practical chances. The text move makes
174 Chess in the Fast Lane

b4 available to the black knights take one exchange. It is probably

and in the longer term sets up also possible to try and snatch
forks on d3. both.
29 cxb3 32 .. d5
Losing, but 29 c3 gets in the A final crippling blow as all of
way of his knight and 29 £sc3 JLe6 Black's pieces coordinate perfectly.
30 £le3 £sb4 could transpose to The rest of the game is pure agony
the game. The pawn on b3 cannot for White.
be ignored forever. 33 £sg2 d4
29 .. £e5 34 £se2 &bd3
30 £sc3 £e6 The Doc's pieces, huddled on

31 £se3 &b4 the kingside, make a sorry sight.

32 Ml 35 Sdl £>xf4
A better try was 32 Hi4 but the 36 £sexf4 &xe4
reply 32.. £scd3 is a safe way to White resigned

Game 47
It was never likely that he would be able to repeat his success at Tilburg,
although one could stil hope. That was not enough and Michael was

eliminated in the third round by a rising sixteen-year-old Russian star,

Morozevich. However the result needs to be put into context as the last
sixteen competitors all originated from Eastern Europe. England's
other representatives lost in the second round with Tony Miles fal ing to
Michael, Jon Speelman to Vaganian and Julian Hodgson to Yusupov.

A.Miles -

M .Adams one of the four players from

Tilburg 1993 England.
Wade Defence 1 d4 d6
2 £sf3 &g4
The defence of my title in Tilburg This defence became popular for
got off to a flying start in the a while as a way of avoiding
fol owing game. Unfortunately it was theory. However so many games have
not a true indicator of my form now been played with it that it no

and, after scraping through this longer really achieves this aim. In
match, I had a disaster in the next my experience it seems to either
round against Alexander work bril iantly, as in this game, or

Morozevich. It was somewhat ironic that if White plays well, fail dismally.
in an event with over a hundred At the time of writing it is
competitors I ended up playing currently banned from my repertoire
 AMiles -

MAdams 175

(except in quickplay games) on suggested 9 ^dl after the game

account of a couple of reverses, but when 9.. cxd4 10 exd4 «Tb6 11
I dare say it wil creep back in &e3 ^xb2 12 £sb5 a6 13 Sbl ^xa2
again. 14 Sal forces a draw.
3 c4 £sd7 9 .. £xc3+
4 Wb3 Sb8 10 bxc3 £sgf6
5 h3 £xf3 A natural move would have
6 Wxf3 been lO.-.WaS but the text is very
successful in provoking:
11 g4? ^a5
12 #dl
Probably also not the best; 12
±b2 £se5 13 «til £>e4 14 «fc2
doesn't look so bad.

Although this move order looks

extremely logical for White, in fact
the time lost with the queen gives
Black reasonable play. I don't
consider it to be one of the best ways
to play against this line.
6 ..
g6 12 .. h5!
7 e3 &g7 This leaves Black with an ideal
8 £sc3 position because 13 g5 £se4 forks
This has been the most popular the two pawns. The alternatives
choice in this position, but the 12.. £se4 13 &b2 and 12.. «fxc3+
queen normally retreats sooner or 13 M2 ^a3 are playable but not
later, so perhaps 8 ^dl as strong.
immediately was good. 13 gxb.5 Sxh5
8 .. c5 14 Wb3 £se4
9 d5 15 i-b2 Sh4
Several games have gone like Preventing White's h3-h4.
this and, though the results have 16 &e2 id8
not all been bad for White, the This is given as interesting by
position must be fine for Black. Tony Ribli, but in reality it is simply
176 Chess in the Fast Lane

good, in a position in which time is The white bishop is tied to the

not of the essence. Two tempi defence of the e-pawn, making .&b5
spent transferring the king to a impossible.
safer spot are well used. 24 £e3 '#'d7
17 ^c2 &c7 The immediate 24.. <&b8 is also
18 £d3 £sef6 rather strong as White lacks a

Also promising was 18.. f5, but constructive move.

my move leaves White facing a 25 £b5 '#'c8

series of threats. 26 -i-fl &b8
19 f4 Sbh8 27 c4
20 '#'g2 '#a4 This defends the pawn on d5
A brief respite but the threat of again but another point proves to
. .£sb6 cannot be met successful y be vulnerable.
without sacrificing the h-pawn.
Tony rightly avoids this.
21 &cl £sb6

27 .. e5!
This opens up the game
decisively.
22 e4 28 fxe5
Or 22 #fl «U7 when the h- No better would have been 28
pawn fal s. dxe6 S&xe6 when another pawn
22 .. £>xc4 drops off.
23 Sbl 28 .. Sxe4
As castling on either wing is out 29 &d2 '#'f5
of the question, the rook looks for If 29.. Sxe5 30 MA Black should
activity along the b-file. However, be winning, but there is no

the black position has no obvious clear-cut continuation

weaknesses which makes it very hard without giving up material, something
to mount a counter-attack. I am always reluctant to do if
23 .. £>b6 there is a good alternative.
 A.Miles -

M.Adams 111

30 Hxb6 great danger tht ; game wil not last

The other option 30 exf6 Sxe3 long.
31 Sxb6 could transpose, while 30 31 .. '#T4
.&d3 £>xc4+ wins for Black. Now White loses even more

30 .. 2xe3 material.
31 exf6 32 '#'g4 #f2+
The best chance was the 33 £e2 axb6
continuation 31 Sxb7+ &xb7 32 <&xe3 34 Sfl #g3
Wxe5 +, but with the initiative, an 35 Wd7 Sa3
extra pawn and the white king in White resigned

Game 48
Back at home Michael was so far clear of the other players that he was

assured of winning the 1993 Leigh Grand Prix before Islington, the last
event, was played. This was the third successive year that Michael had
managed to win the Grand Prix for domestic competitions, a

remarkable record, especial y in view of the amount of chess that he was

playing overseas throughout the period.

It was just as well that he had clinched the Grand Prix as he was

otherwise engaged during Islington, namely participating in the Gronin-

gen PCA qualifier, which was to produce seven quarter-finalists to join
Nigel Short, the beaten challenger, in a knockout competition to provide
a fresh challenge to Garry Kasparov, the PCA world champion, in 1995.
I have already descri b ed i n t h e previous chapter how Mi c hael became a

FIDE candidate at Biel so I should explain t h at here were now t w o

versions of the world championship, with Anatoly Karpov recognised as

FIDE world champion, having beaten Jan Timman after Kasparov and
Short played their match under the PCA label. Many people had not

expected the PCA to run a qualifier for a further world championship

alongside the 'of icial' version and indeed there were considerable
doubts in some quarters up t o a short t i m e bef o re t h e qualifier was due
to commence.

Eventually 54 of the world's top players took part in Groningen,

although there were some notable absentees among players involved in
the FIDE cycle, such as Karpov, Timman, Gelfand, Salov, Yusupov and
Lautier. Some may have considered it a tricky decision for Michael to
make as he was involved inthe FIDE candidates match against Gelfand
less than three weeks afterwards. However Michael did not have any
hesitation in deciding to double his options, as indeed did several other
178 Chess in the Fast Lane

chess players who appreciated the increased opportunities presented by

the FIDE-PCA split.
This event was two rounds less than the interzonal but on the other
hand there were to be three fewer qualifiers. The feeling was that plus
three would probably be sufficient for qualification. However it must be
remembered that it was never going to be easy to obtain such a score,
when you consider that there were two dozen players at the Biel
interzonal with a rating below 2545, which was the lowest at Groningen. It
would have been far more dif icult to recover from a bad start and
Michael heaved a sigh of relief when he drew with Tukmakov after being a

clear pawn down. However his opponent's time-trouble helped Michael

to equalise and there were some hopes of a win before the draw was

finally agreed. After this early escape, Michael settled down and after
four rounds he had reached plus two thanks to wins against Akopian
and Georgiev.

Kir.Georgiev -

M-Adams 6 £>g5 e6
Groningen (PCA qualifier) 1993 7 We2 £>b6
Caro-Kann Defence, 8 Jud3
Classical Variation The two bishop retreats, this
move and 8 JLb3 (game 44), are

In big tournaments such as inter- often referred to as being equally

zonals it always helps if you get to strong which is a fair comment.
use the openings you know well My personal feeling is that I
(or if you don't know any very well, would generally prefer to face the
at least get the ones you know move used in this game.
something about). I couldn't 8 .. h6
believe my luck when I was able to use 9 £>5f3 c5
a prepared novelty in this game, as 10 dxc5 i.xc5
the shock value alone was 11 £d2
considerable. Since this tussle 11 JlA2 has
1 e4 c6 been under a bit of a cloud. 11 <£te5
2 d4 d5 could be considered the main line
3 £>d2 dxe4 now.

4 £>e4 £>d7 11 .. 0-0

This has a reputation as one of 12 0-0-0 £>a4!
the most solid openings but if A very unpleasant novelty to
White takes liberties, as we see in encounter over the board.
this game, Black's position can Previously it had been thought that
pack a punch. Black should try to break the
5 ±c4 £>gf6 contact between the white rook and
 Kir.Georgieu -

M. Adams 179

black queen on the d-file, but now Black transfers a rook to the c-file
any gain that White can make an attack of almost decisive
from this is too costly in terms of proportions is created.
time. Quite how this move was 14 .. #xd7
discovered is rather unclear, but I 15 &h3
can confirm that it was not my own It is stil too dangerous to pinch
invention. I was first shown it by a pawn. 15 £xh6 ^6 16 £e3 Wb6
Jon Speelman but I believe Wil 17 c3 Axe3+ 18 fxe3 Sac8 leaves
Watson and Julian Hodgson were White too short of defenders.
instrumental in its discovery. 15 .. 5ac8
16 &bl
Georgiev consistently refuses to
grab material and hope for the
best. This is again a correct
decision asthe position is not
substantial y di f e rent from the last move.

However, Black's lead in

development and the aggressively placed
knight on a4 now guarantee him a

serious advantage.
16 .. tc6
17 &cl
This allows the queen to cover

13 £b5 c2 and also gives the b-pawn some

Unfortunately for White he can't protection. After 17 £\e5 Wb6 18

even ignore the move, as . .1Hrb6 £>c4 ^5 both . .£>d5 and . .£>xb2
would be a strong fol ow-up. If are threatened.
13 £>e5, then 13.. &d4 is 17 .. £>d5
overwhelming. Also bad is 13 JLxh6 White has lit le time to do more

#b6 14 yiie5 Wxb2+ (not 14.. &d6 than parry Black's threats. Now a

15 Ah7+) 15 Wxb2 ^xb2 16 <£>xb2 family fork is lined up.

gxh6 17 £tfi3 e5. In any case it is 18 Wc4 Hfd8
very dif icult to enter into such a A mistake. Time is of the
depressing continuation so early essence here, so Black has to pursue
in the game. the attack energetically to gain the
13 .. Ad7 maximum edge. Hence 18.. b5
14 £xd7 immediately was the most accurate
This helps Black but neither 14 way to proceed.
Axh6 <&xb2 15 <4>xb2 Wb6 nor 14 19 &al
Axa4 Axa4 15 Axh6 Wb6 16 Ag5 White, who had already fal en a

<5}d5 solve his problems and once long way behind on the clock, fails
180 Chess in the Fast Lane

to seize the chance. After 19 £te5 23 £>g4

VJ/e8 20 Wb3 Black's queen is driven A miscalculation by White. The
to a less aggressive post, thus only hope was 23 f4, maintaining
reducing the strength of the black the barricade, when Black does
attack. In some circumstances the best to reply with the quiet move

white queen is free to transfer to 23.. Sd6, menacing a sacrifice on

the kingside. c3.

19 .. b5 23 .. £\axc3
Now all is well again from my This wins because White cannot
point of view. White position is not exchange 24 <5}xf6 + £*xf6 on

really defensible any more as all account of the double attack on the
the black pieces can join in the queen.
assault. 24 bxc3 &xc3+
20 t e4 £e7 25 £b2
A good move. The bishop comes Forced as 25 'ibl Sc4 leaves
to an even more powerful White only able to save one of the
diagonal. royal couple.

21 c3 25 .. Hc4
If 21 £>d4, then 21.. 1ta6 keeps 26 Wf3
White on the run with a threat of After this Black delivers
. .£>ac3. checkmate but the more logical move 26
21 .. Wa6 We2 (other moves lose the £*g4)
22 £>e5 leads to disaster by 26.. &xb2 +27
Too many of White's pieces are &xb2 Sdc8 or 27.. 1ta5.
offside to mount any real defence. 26 .. £xb2+
This at least makes an attempt to 27 &xb2 Sc2+
block the long diagonal. Most moves win but this
22 .. £f6 finishes in style.
 M.Adams -

O.Romanishin 181

28 £xc2 Wxa2 + After 30 &d2 £>b4+ either white

29 wd3 Wc4+ king move would be met by . .£k:2
White resigned mate.

Game 49
There was a setback in round five when Michael lost his third successive
game against Tiviakov, but this was cancelled out by a win in the next
round against Romanishin.

M Adams -

O.Romanishin 10 £c2 c5
Groningen (PCA qualifier) 1993 11 d4 Ab7
Spanish Opening, This variation is also a

Closed Variation favourite of Mark Hebden's. After 12

dxe5 dxe5 13 £>xe5 Wc7 Black gets
The second game in this book to compensation for the pawn.
have been played on Christmas Another interesting idea for White is
Eve, but this time my thoughts 12 d5 but I had a definite idea
were not on presents or turkey about which position I was aiming
(which is apparently not for.
traditional in Groningen anyway). It 12 £fod2 cxd4
was crucial to get a result in this 13 cxd4 exd4
game in order to take some points 14 £uo!4 He8
into the free day. 15 £>fl Af8
1 e4 e5
2 £tf3 £\c6
3 i.b5 a6
4 Jua4 £f6
l Hi nn h s
5 0-0 Ae7 mm, vm
w,
6 Sel b5 & 'mm. Ht w,
7 £b3 d6
8 c3 0-0 JA
HI W, '; '%
h3
9
» « mm « A
My favourite move in this ^
that but
A if G HP if A
position at time was 9 d3,
Oleg is very predictable in the
Lopez. He nearly always plays the
same variation so I decided to risk This position is usually reached
the main line. with the white pawn on h2, in the
9 .. £>a5 event that White plays d4 in two
182 Chess in the Fast Lane

moves rather than one. In that hard to see how White can start
position 16 f3 is probably a good an attack without giving up too
move, as Kasparov played against much material. As Black has
me in an exhibition game at the certain equality and can try for more,
Savoy after his match with Short it is not surprising that I opted for
ended prematurely. However with something else, though the
the extra move h3 thrown in, this opening has worked out well for Black
looks a lit le suspicious because in any event.
the dark squares on the kingside 19 .. Sxe5
would give the impression of Swiss It is possible for Oleg to grab
cheese. the pawn as 20 f 3 Sg5 is
16 £>g3 Sc8 unpleasant. Black also had to consider the
This move came as a surprise. alternative 19.. &xg3 20 fxg3 £\c6
Romanishin usually likes to play which is fine for him, but taking
16.. g6 here, when White the pawn is more ambitious.
continues 17 b3 Ag7 18 £b2 with a 20 <Mf5 Se6
slight edge on account of the 21 £.xe4 dxe4
awkward knight on a5 and the 22 %4 Sg6
isolated d-pawn. 23 Vf4
17 b3
At the time I was unwil ing to
allow 17 Af4 £>c4 18 b3 £>a3 19
$Ld3, but on reflection I don't
really see why. Black now breaks out
as 17.. g6 essential y loses a tempo
on the previous line since . .Sc8 is
not a hugely useful move.

17 .. d5
18 e5 £\e4
19 £b2
Taking the pawn was a

possibility which required accurate

calculation. Black has two options. The At first sight this position does
first is 19 £lxe4 dxe4 20 £xe4 £xe4 not seem to be too promising for
(if 20.. Sxe5, 21 Axh7+) 21 Sxe4 White, as he is a pawn down
£>c6! when either 22 M4 Wd5 or without the bishop pair, but in fact it is
22 JLb2 Sxe5 give equality. Black if anyone who should be
Alternatively he may try the more exercising care, since White's pieces
ambitious 19 £>xe4 dxe4 20 £xe4 are now very well posted. White's
jLb4, when Black's kingside looks bishop, for instance, is the best of
a lit le short of defenders but it is the three on the board and Black
 MAdams -

O.Romanishin 183

lacks co-ordination. The rook on

g6 is useful to defend the kingside

but when it is there it cannot
control an open central file. Black's
extra pawn is vulnerable but in
any case White is in no hurry to
regain it as it impedes the bishop
on b7. My opponent chooses to
exchange queens here, which seems

logical. 23.. Sc2 24 Sadl starts to

leave Black's back rank weak.
23 ..
Wg5
24 Wxg5 Hxg5 30 £xf6 g6
25 Sadl He8 Of course 30.. gxf6 31 £\xf6+
This move is too optimistic. 'if 7 32 ftxd5 leaves White a pawn
Black should now be looking to to the good.
regroup his pieces to aim for a draw. 31 £>f4 M7
25.. Sg6 looks a reasonable way to It looks logical to play 31..JUj7
do this, preventing <§}d6 as occurs until you see 32 Ac3 £>c6 33 £>d5.
in the game. Not good would be 32 Scl
25.. h5 26 h4 or 25.. Sc2 26 Sd8. Preventing the knight from
26 £>d6 £xd6 coming back to c6.
27 Sxd6 Hd5 32 .. £fo7
Black realises that he has 33 Sc6 Ha8
misjudged the position and panics. 34 &fl
27.. h5 was his intended move, Not a good move. The king is
but the continuation 28 JLcl Sd5 29 tactically badly located on a light
Sb6 leaves Black entangled. After square. It was more logical to try
the game we analysed 27.. Sg6 28 to seize territory on the kingside.
Sd7 but here also Black struggles 34 g4 would ba a standard
to equalise. reaction but the careful 34 h4,
28 Hxd5 maintaining flexibility, may be best.
Oleg had forgotten about this, 34 .. b4!
having concentrated on 28 Sb6. An excellent decision. White's
28 .. £.xd5 pressure is going to be worth at
29 £>h5 f6 least a pawn so, despite being in
Giving up the g-pawn leaves time-trouble, Oleg takes the
the dark squares, particularly f6, decision to give one up immediately,
much too weak, but after the text gaining some activity as a result.
White gets to grab a pawn and 35 Sb6 £>c5
keep all his advantages. 36 Sxb4 a5
184 Chess in the Fast Lane

37 Hb5
37 Sd4 is the kind of move I
would have preferred to play, but
37.. a4 38 b4 £>d3 39 £>xd3 exd3
40 a3 is tricky. It is stil good for
White but perhaps not winning.
Here we see the problem of the
king on fl causing dif iculties for
White.
37 .. £>d3
38 £\d5 £xd5?
This is a bad blunder in time
shortage. 38.. a4 is critical, when 46 &d2 £>d3
39 £\b6 Sf8 40 £\d7 looks a good 47 <&>c3
reply but 40.. £e8 holds for Black. The good news for Black is that
Now the win is not far away. now the knight can harass White's
39 Hxd5 a4 pawns from el. This is not good
40 Sd8+ Hxd8 immediately because White can set
41 &xd8 up an impregnable f2-g3-h4
Although Black's knight is well structure. Hence Black's fol owing
placed it is gradually dominated advance.

by a bishop, as is common in these 47 ..

g5
types of endings. 48 g3
41 .. axb3 Of course White does not want
42 axb3 <&>f7 to give Black a passed pawn after
43 £g5 48 J&.xg5 £*xf2. The move played
Not very promising was 43 '&>e2 prevents . .<£tel with tempo.
£\cl+. 48 .. b.5
43 .. &e6 This doesn't really threaten
44 <&>e2 id5 anything but 48.. h6 49 b4 <&>c6 50
45 &e3(D) <&>c4 £\e5+ 51 <&>d4 is curtains.
Now the black knight can only 49 f3!
retreat to e5 and b4. The other This proves decisive as White
problem is that if Black's king wins another pawn on the king-
ventures over to b5, white the king side. 49 b4 should also win but is
enters decisively via c3 and d4. less efficient.
Alternatively, if Black sits stil , the 49 .. b.4
king comes to c3 and the b-pawn If 49.. £tel, then 50 fxe4+ &xe4
advances, so Black has to attempt 51 £xg5 &f3 52 b4 and Black is
to eliminate kingside pawns. nowhere near stopping the b-
45 .. £>e5 pawn.
 M.Adams -

B.Gulko 185

50 g4 51 fxe4+ &xe4
This is always the correct 52 i.xg5
response to . .h4, fixing pawns on My opponent resigned because
dark squares. 52.. £)xg4 53 &xh4 wins for White
50 .. £>e5 on account of his two-pawn
If 50.. £\f4 51 Axf4 gxf4 52 advantage. 52.. £tf"3 could have been
fxe4+ <&>xe4 53 ^2 'if3 54 g5 and tried but 53 £d8 *f4 54 b4 wins
White wins. easily enough.

Game 50
A draw with Black against Kramnik was fol owed by a win against Ivan
Sokolov. Michael then managed to hold Anand, the leader, to a draw
with Black. The Indian had already reached the safety of plus four and
Michael reached that safe haven himself after defeating Gulko in the
penultimate round.

M-Adams -

B.Gulko 8 £>b3 £>c6

Groningen (PCA qualifier) 1993 9 £)bxd4 <£xd4
French Defence, 10 £txd4 a6
Tarrasch Variation 11 c3
In such an important game,
In a crunch game like this it is with a draw stil allowing me a

dif icult to assess how hard you should good chance of qualification, I
press for a win. I basically needed didn't want to go into the critical
one point out of this and my last line 11 Sel «c7 12 Ab3 Ad6 13
game. Encouraged by the fact that £>f5 Axh2+ 14 <&>hl 0-0 15 £>xg7
my opponent only needed half a Sd8. A quiet game might seem to
point to qualify and hence would suit my opponent but in a sharp
have been receptive to a draw tactical game nerves play less of a

offer if things went wrong, I decided factor.

to go for the ful point in this 11 .. #c7
game. 12 £b3 £d6
1 e4 e6 13 h3 0-0
2 d4 d5 14 Sel b5
3 £>d2 c5 15 i-g5 i.b7!
4 exd5 &xd5 The best response as 15.. iLe7 is
5 £>gf3 cxd4 a lit le passive, 15.. £\d7 16 Hxe6
6 £c4 Wd6 wins and 15.. £\d5 16 JLxd5 leaves
7 0-0 &f6 Black with a weak d-pawn.
186 Chess in the Fast Lane

17 Wh5 g6
18 Wh4 i.h2+
mkUk It was also possible to continue
m in a n i with 18.. Sfe8 but Gulko is eager
to exchange pieces rapidly.
19 ihl if4
20 ie4 Hab8

jil A
defends
A reasonable
the bishop.
precaution;
Less good
Black
was
a; A^ 20.. £xg5 21 txg5 Sad8 as the
1 If l dark squares on the kingside are

vulnerable.
16 i-c2 21 Sadl £xg5
The problem for White is that 22 Wxg5 £>b6?
after 16 Axf6 gxf6 17 %4+ <&>h8 This leaves the kingside
18 Wh4 Sg8 19 Wxf6+ Sg7 the undefended. After 22.. Wf4 23 Wxf4
imminent counterattack after £*xf4 a draw is the most likely
unpinning with . .Jiel is very result.
dangerous. It was also necessary to 23 &xb7 Wxb7
calculate several sacrifices on e6 24 £>f3
after 16 Axf6 gxf6: The simple threat of 24 Wh6 is
a) 17 £>xe6 fxe6 18 Sxe6 Ah2 + hard to meet.
19 'i'hl 'i'hS when there is
insufficient compensation for the piece;
b) 17 Sxe6 fxe6 18 £>xe6 We7
19 £>xf8 + *xf8 also fal s short;
and
c) 17 Axe6 fxe6 18 £>xe6 We 7
(18.. Wd7 19 %4+ <&>h8 20 £>xf8
Wxg4 21 hxg4 Sxf8 22 Sadl leads
to an endgame where I prefer the
white position) 19 %4+ *h8 20
£\xf8 Wxf8 21 Sadl with an

unclear position.
In the game I spent less time
calculating this than I should have 24 .. £>d5
done as it is undoubtedly the last 25 Wh6 Sfd8
chance to gain any advantage. The Not 25.. 1te7 26 Bxd5.
move played has the advantage of 26 Sd4 We7
being quite safe. 27 Sh4 £>f6
16 .. £>d5 28 £>e5
 M.Adams -

B.Gulko 187

Now 28 £>g5 Wf8 is nothing but have presented a much tougher

the double threat of <£to6 and <5}g4 defence.
reaps dividends.
28 .. Sd6
29 £\g4 Sfd8
Of course not 29.. £\h5 30 Sxh5
gxh5 31 £>f6+.
30 £>xf6+ WxfB
31 Wxh7+ <&>f8
32 Hi6+
Simplification by means of 32
th8+ Wxh8 Sxh8+
33 <4>e7 34
Sxd8 Sxd8 35 Se2 should lead to
a draw on account of Black's
active king and rook, but with the
queens on the board Black's king 36 Sxe6
turns out to be in a surprisingly Simple but effective. White picks
awkward position. up a cluster of pawns in the queen
32 ..
<&>g8 against double-rook ending which
Better was 32.. %7 as White decide the game. If Se.-.Wxe? 37
does not have the time to regroup Sxe7 and the two-pawn margin is
his pieces as he would like. enough.
33 Hf4 Wg7 36 .. fxe6
34 Wg5 37 Wxe6+ <&>g7
Now the extra pawn has been 38 We5+
consolidated as it is not safe for This finesse before taking the
Black to invade the seventh rank queen makes the g-pawn weak in
and take the b-pawn, since White future variations.
has too much time to mount an 38 ..
&g8
attack. Perhaps 34.. S8d7 would be 39 Hxf8+ Sxf8
a sensible precaution here t o 40 #g5 Hfxf2
prevent Wei but if White maintains a The passive 40.. 2d6 41 f3 leaves
clear pawn advantage the position White with too much material.
should be a technical win. 41 Wxg6+ ih8
34 .. Sd2 42 Wh6+ &g8
35 We7 WfS?(D) 43 'fi'xa6 Sxb2
This is the decisive blunder. If Black's problem is that 43.. Sxg2
35.. S8d7 36 We8 + «T8 37 Sxe6 is answered by a queen fork, in
Wxe8 38 Sxe8+ <&>g7 39 Sa8 with this case 44 1^8+, fol owed by
excellent winning chances. taking the black rook and
However, 35.. S2d7 36 !fc5 Sd2 would reaching a winning ending.
188 Chess in the Fast Lane

WM WW, Ws.
mm, mm, mm i
Ww W W HP 'HP HP«
W, WW, MM ««

W. WW, wWmW, WW, WS,

ww, w,

m m. *
'm, ,iP A
w§,v/ j$aY/
# m,&w,
WM, WW,^

44 a3 <&h7 Black's king is too open to

45 Wc6 Sfc2 prevent the gradual progress of the a-

46 h4 Scl+ (D) pawn.

47 <&>h2 2bc2 52 .. Sc7
Black cannot play 47.. Sb3 as 53 a6 Slc6
after 48 Wd7+, a fatal check, 54 We3 Sc4
picking up a rook, wil fol ow. 55 Wd3+ &g7
48 &xb5 Hxc3 56 tg3+
49 a4 Sc4 Black resigned
50 Wh5+ *g7 Either 56.. <&>h8 57 a7 Sxa7 58
51 Wg5+ &h7 Wb8+ or 56.. <&>h7 57 a7 Sxa7 58
52 a5 Wd3+ are winning.

In the last round Michael was relieved that Kamsky offered a draw after
eight moves, so he was able to ensure finishing first equal with Anand,
with the tie-break going in Michael's favour. Thus he qualified for the
final stages of the PCA cycle. Those who were not so fortunate included
Dolmatov, Ehlvest, Piket, Shirov, Topalov, Bareev, Belyavsky (who had
begun with four straight wins), Korchnoi, Smirin, Georgiev and Khalif-
man. It is when you look at such names that you realise how well
Michael and his co-qualifiers, Anand, Kamsky, Kramnik, Tiviakov, Gulko
and Romanishin had performed. My son joined Anand, Kamsky and
Kramnik as qualifiers in both the FIDE and PCA world championship
cycles.
One noteworthy observation is that Michael competed at the inter-
zonals in Biel and Groningen without a second. There is no obvious
conclusion to be drawn from the fact that he has been successful at two
interzonals without a second, but failed to qualify when he had such
help. Michael would have liked to have had a second on each occasion.
 MAdams -

B.Gulko 189

At Biel he was lucky that his only adjournment was fol owed by a free
day that gave him time to analyse and to enlist the help of Jon Speel-
man, who had paid out of hispocket own for his own second, Jon Tisdall.
In Groningen there were adjournmentsno as games were played to a

finish, but preparation was required and Michael was fortunate that
Julian Hodgson was also competing and they prepared for their games
together -
that was after Julian's wife, Lizette, dragged them out of the
bar. Excellent moral support was also provided by Ali Mortazavi,
covering the event for Associated Press and the British Chess Magazine.
For further proof that Michael was continuing to progress in world
terms, the January 1994 FIDE Rating List placed him in twelfth
position with 2660 points, his highest figure yet. While it was true that the
omission of Kasparov and Short from the list elevated him a couple of
places, there was no doubt that Michael was now consolidated among
the world's elite chess players. He had come a long way since August
1989 and with the benefit of hindsight it seemed rather sil y that there
had been such hesitancy about turning professional. However what lay
ahead was going to be a lot tougher than anything that Michael had
experienced in the past four and a half years. There were two sets of
candidates matches to face up to, as well as the continual battle to elevate
his position further on the world ranking lists. Perhaps these struggles
wil be described in another book but for the time being we wil leave
Michael's career at the stage of being the third English candidate of all
time and the first double-candidate.
 Chess Career Record
1989-1993

Date Tournament Score

08/89 Lloyds Bank Masters 7/10
09/89 Nat West Young Masters (category 10) 5VS/9
09/89 Ostend open 7/9
10/89 Portsmouth quickplay 8VS/10
10/89 Hitchin open 4VS/5
11/89 World team championship (Lucerne) 2VS/5
11/89 Young England v. Polgars quickplay 4V4/6
11/89 European team championship (Haifa) 1W6
12/89 European speed championship
12/89 GMA open 5V4/9
01/90 Hastings Premier (category 14) 6/14
02/90 Cannes open 6VS/9
03/90 Visa match (Reykjavik) 4/6
03/90 Oakham Junior International 6/9
04/90 Manchester international 7/9
05/90 Watson, Farley & Wil iams (category 11) 7V6/13
05/90 British zonal (category 8) 7VS/10
06/90 GMA quickplay 7VS/13
06/90 British Isles open 3VS/5
07/90 Manila interzonal 7/13
08/90 British championship 7VS/11
08/90 Lloyds Bank Masters 8/10
89-90 French league 8/10
89-90 Dutch league 3/3
09/90 Leicester open 5VS/6
10/90 Barbican 5VS/6
10/90 Hitchin open 4VS/5
11/90 Novi Sad olympiad 4/8
12/90 Groningen (category 13) 5W9
01/91 Hastings weekend open 5VS/6
01/91 Wijk aan Zee (category 14) 8/13
03/91 East Devon 5/5
03/91 Blackpool 4/5
03/91 Dublin international 7/9
 Chess Career Record 191

04/91 Buenos Aires (category 11) 7W13 5=

05/91 Calderdale 5/6 1=
05/91 Terrassa (category 13) 6W9 1=
06/91 Sheffield 4V4/5 1=
07/91 Nat West British rapidplay 8W11 3=
07/91 Biel (category 15) 6/14 6=/8
08/91 Lloyds Bank Masters 7V6/10 2=
09/91 Ostend open 7VS/9 2
10/91 Perth 4W5
10/91 Hitchin 5/5
11/91 Westminster 4V6/5
11/91 Wolverhampton 4W5
12/91 Barbican quickplay 6/6
12/91 English championship 4W8 runner-up
12/91 Islington open 6/6 1
12/91 Hastings (category 14) 7/14 4=/8
02/92 Melody Amber quickplay 11/22
02/92 Cannes international team quickplay 5W6
03/92 Ter Apel 3/5 2=
03/92 Blackpool 4W5 1
03/92 Oakham Junior International 5/9 15=
04/92 Dortmund (category 17) 3V6/9 8=
05/92 Frome 5/5 1
05/92 Upminster 6/6 1
06/92 Calderdale 6/6 1
06/92 Manila olympiad 6W11
07/92 Brussels SWIFT rapid knockout champion
08/92 British quickplay 6/6 1
08/92 Lloyds Bank Masters 6VS/10 19=
09/92 Chalkidiki (category 14) 6/11 4=
09/92 Barbican quickplay 6/6 1
10/92 Tilburg Interpolis knockout champion
10/92 Paris Immopar quickplay knockout first round
11/92 European team championship (Debrecen) 6 W8
12/92 Oviedo rapidplay 8/11 15 =

12/92 Islington open 6/6 1

01/93 Hastings weekend open 5W6 1
01/93 Wijk aan Zee knockout and swiss 6V6/11 14=
02/93 Golders Green quickplay 6/6 1
02/93 Vil eneuve 8/9 1
02/93 Barbican quickplay 6/6 1=
192 Chess in the Fast Lane

02/93 Crewe 3VS/5 2=

02/93 Golders Green quickplay 6/6 1
03/93 Barbican quickplay 5VS/6 1=
03/93 Blackpool 5/5 1
04/93 Dublin zonal 9/11 1
04/93 Golders Green quickplay 6/6 1
04/93 Sevil e (category 15) 3VS/9 8
05/93 Munich (category 16) 6VS/11 4=
06/93 King's Head 4V4/5 1=
06/93 Las Palmas (category 16) 5/9 4=
07/93 Biel FIDE Interzonal 8VS/13 2=
08/93 Lloyds Bank Masters 7/10 5=
09/93 Barbican 6/6 1
09/93 Chalkidiki (category 16) 5VS/8 3
09/93 Burgas (category 14) 8/11 1
10/93 Hammersmith quickplay 6/6 1
10/93 Barbican quickplay 5/6 3=
11/93 Tilburg Interpolis knockout third round
12/93 Barbican quickplay 5VS/6 2
12/93 Groningen PCA interzonal 7W10 1=

FIDE Ratings
July 1989 2505
January 1990 2555
July 1990 2590
January 1991 2600
July 1991 2615
January 1992 2590
July 1992 2610
January 1993 2630
July 1993 2630
January 1994 2660 (ranked 12th in the world)
 CHESS
IN THE
FAST
LANE
In this sequel to
Development of a

Grandmaster, Michael Adams describes

the best games of an
outstanding career

that has already taken him to the final

stages of two world championship

cycles. This selection of fifty games
includes victories over Viktor Korchnoi,
Nigel Short, Artur Yusupov, Vasily
Ivanchuk and many of the world's other

leading players.
The story begins in 1989, when Michael
had just clinched the British

championship, and describes the ups

and downs of
early years
his as a chess

professional, culminating i n
his success at the 1993 Groningen PCA
world championship qualifying
tournament. His father, Bil , provides the

background story to Mi c hael ' s rise from

British champion to world title
contender.
ISBN 1-857«-132-X

9 781857"441321