The John Henderson Report: Round 8 January 24th 2000.

I WANT MY, I WANT MY TWIC TV (With apologies to Dire Straits and Sting)

I have this motto in life: No Pein, No Pain. The reason being that having worked on and off for a number of years for the chess entrepreneur and Daily Telegraph chess journalist, Malcolm Pein, I've discovered that he's a compulsive workaholic and can find myself physically drained just watching him let alone working for the guy.

Malcolm Pein. Watch out for TWIC TV from Wijk aan Zee on January 28th 2000.

Today he turned up at Wijk aan Zee and within ten minutes, I found myself heading for the restroom for a little lie down as he wrecked havoc on my idyllic lifestyle in the pressroom. Malcolm was here as the roving reporter for the next edition of TWIC TV, which will have a major feature on the tournament. He was popping up all over the tournament hall with microphone and camera in tow as he sought out the best interviews and action for the viewers. Standing beside the distinctive steel king sculpture, just outside the De Moriaan Centre, that was gifted to the municipality of Beverwijk from the chessplayers on the occasion of the tournaments 60th anniversary in 1998, Malcolm was soon strutting his stuff by giving the low-down on the history of Wijk and the state of play at this year's event not to mention interviewing the players and the personalities. And, despite my protestations of having the perfect face for radio, he managed to persuade me to appear in front of the camera. So be warned!

The tournament is ideal for news coverage and since the start, has had its fair share of media exposure with many chess journalists from many countries being here. Look behind the stage of the Grandmaster tournament, and you'll find a happy-go-lucky bunch of chess hacks in the well-equipped pressroom with their trusty laptop computers always at the ready (usually to play Solitaire!).

El Pais chess journalist Leonxto Garcia

Apart from the too numerous to mention bevy (it's the collective name for journalists) of Dutch journalists - chess is very big in the Dutch press with every paper covering the event daily, some giving it as much as half a page - there's a handful of the "usual suspects" at a big tournament such as this: Leonxto Garcia, from El Pais, who unfortunately had to leave us recently to cover the Spanish Handball team at the European Championships in Germany; Arvind Aaron, from "The Hindu Times", covering every move made by the Indian ace, Vishy Anand; Yasser Seirawan and his wife, Yvette Nagel, from Inside Chess, who is also providing live Internet coverage of the tournament for the website www.chess.net; that wise old chess sage, Hans Ree, from the Dutch newspaper "NRC-Handelsblad", who recently brought out in English a collection of his best chess columns in an entertaining new book, "The Human Comedy of Chess" (best read of the year!); Dutch freelancer, Jules Welling; Gert Ligterink; Ian Rogers from the "Canberra Times" and the on-the-scene reporter for the "BCM"; and Dirk Jan ten Geuzendam, from "New In Chess", tracking down his latest in-depth interview for the magazine.

Yasser Seirawan and Yvette Nagel.

From this room you'll find the nerve centre of the live Internet coverage hosted by the Lost Boys and also the place where Marc Spierings and his excellent Dutch Teletekst - sometimes as much as fifteen pages a day during Wijk - service is broadcast, with the games shown live to just about ever household in the Netherlands. It's also from this room that the tournaments press officer, Tom Bottema, holds the daily press conference after the round has finished when he'll "persuade" one of the grandmasters to go over their game on the demonstration board.

Arvind Aaron, Hans Ree, Jules Welling and Ian Rogers.

Meanwhile, back on the playing front as we went past the half-way stage, I found it more than just a touch ironic for a tournament sponsored by Corus, one of the world's major steel companies, that a number of the top players were all looking decidedly rusty.

After eight rounds in the 61st and final "Hoogovens" Tournament last year, Garry Kasparov was leading the 14-man field with a near-perfect score of 7½ points. This year, after as many rounds, he is on top of the leader board, too, but his 5½ points and shared first place are below his usual standard.

After coming away with fortunate draws against the England duo of Nigel Short and Michael Adams, not to mention Holland's Jeroen Piket and the little matter of squandering a possible win against India's Viswanathan Anand, Kasparov needed to reassert his authority by going all out against Smbat Lputian of Armenia in today's round. The Armenian, promoted to the tournament's premier section after winning the B-Group in 1999, had played Kasparov only three times before in his career. In these games - from the seventies when the two were teenagers - Lputian never stood as much as a chance.

With two consecutive victories - against Hungary's Judit Polgar and Viktor Korchnoi of Switzerland - to boost his moral, it was a completely different Lputian, with his "lucky tartan jacket" (I think he wears it just to make me feel at home) who "plaid" a blinder against Kasparov to secure the half point - his first against the world champion to make their personal score now 0.5-3.5

Smbat Lputian has found his lucky jacket.

Rather than risking a double-edged King's Indian Defence as the Kasparov of old would have opted for in similar circumstances, the world no.1 reached for the relative safety of his favourite Grunfeld Defence only to find Lputian well prepared for it, as his solid strategy paid-off with a well-deserved draw after 30 moves.

Leko-Kramnik round 8 a draw in 21.

Russia's Vladimir Kramnik was lucky to remain alongside Kasparov in pole position. He was pitted against Hungary's Peter Leko in a Sicilian Kan Variation that Dutch commentator Cor van Wijgerden said was "somewhat suspicious for Black." Kramnik did not improve matters with a premature advance and around the 20th move Van Wijgerden told spectators that Black's position "was about to be demolished." The audience was sorely disappointed when the game ended in a draw on move 21 - analysis showed Leko had made a slight, but important mistake.

Leko-Kramnik (8) After 18. ....Bxd5

After 18 ... Bxd5, Leko blundered with 19 exd5? when the simple 19 cxd5 looks as if it gave him a big advantage as 19 ... Nb4 20 Bb1 d3 21 Bxd3 Nxd3 22 Rxd3 Rxe4? 23 Rh3 would have won for White.

Playing white against the back-marker, Loek Van Wely, it was Anand's chance to catch-up with the Russian duo. Unfortunately for the Indian ace, Van Wely came up with an improvement in his pet line of the Sicilian Najdorf that had cost him two defeats with Black in the previous rounds. Van Wely's "Suicide Variation" more than stood the test as Anand settled for the half point at move 31.

Much more exciting was the draw produced by Holland's Jeroen Piket and Alexander Morozevich of Russia, an entertaining 51-move adventure, featuring a fantastic time-trouble duel in which the Dutchman managed more than ten moves in less than one minute to make it to the time-control.

Piket,J (2633) - Morozevich,A (2748)
Slav Defence

1 d4 d5 2 c4 c6 Yet again Morozevich's favourite Slav Defence. 3 Nf3 Nf6 4 Nc3 dxc4 5 a4 Bf5 6 e3 Rather than opting for the mainline with 6 Ne5 - as used by Kasparov in round 5 against Morozevich - Piket has always preferred this simple system of recapturing the c4-pawn with the bishop. 6 ..e6 7 Bxc4 Bb4 8 0–0 0–0 9 Qe2 Nbd7 10 e4 Bg6 11 Bd3 h6 12 Bf4 Re8 13 h3 Rc8 14 Rfd1 a6 15 Rac1 Qa5 16 Nd2 b5 17 axb5 cxb5 18 Nb3 Qb6 19 e5 Nd5 20 Nxd5 exd5 21 Qf3

Piket-Morozevich (8) after 21. Qf3

Piket explained during the press conference that he'd used up a lot of time here trying to calculate the wild complications that would have arisen after 21 Rxc8!? and 22 e6. He managed to calculate to 27.. Qf5, but thought that Black was better. However, during the post mortem, both players discovered that it was in fact a good winning try for White! 21 Rxc8!? Rxc8 22 e6! Re8 23 exd7! Rxe2 24 Bxe2 Qd8 25 Nc5 Bxc5 26 dxc5 Qxd7 27 Bf3 Qf5 28 Be3 Qc2 29 Rc1 Qxb2 30 c6 Bf5 31 Bg4 (31 Bxd5 a5 32 c7 Bc8) 31 ..d4 32 Bf4 both players thought that 32..g5 was Black's best. However, perhaps 32..Be4 is his best chance to salvage the gane. A) 32 ..Be4!? 33 c7 Bb7 34 c8Q+ Bxc8 35 Rxc8+ Kh7 36 Bf5+ g6 A1) 37 Be5!? seems to lead to a forced draw: 37 ..gxf5 38 Rh8+ Kg6 39 Rg8+ Kh7 (39 ..Kh5? 40 g4+ fxg4 41 hxg4+ Kh4 42 Kg2 mates.) 40 Rh8+; A2) 37 Bd3 37 ..Qa1+ 38 Kh2 Qa3! 39 Be4 (39 Be5? f6! 40 Bxf6 Qd6+) 39 ..Qe7 still leaves a lot of work for White.; B) 32 ..g5?! 33 Bxf5 gxf4 34 Rc2 Qb1+ 35 Kh2 d3 36 Bxd3 Qb3 37 c7. 21 ..Bxd3 22 Rxd3 Qe6 23 Rxc8 Rxc8 24 Bd2 Bf8 25 Rc3 Nb6 26 Rxc8 Qxc8 27 Ba5 Nc4 28 Qxd5 Nxb2 29 Nc5 Nc4 30 Bc3 Nb6 31 Qe4 Nc4?! Another defining moment in the game. Morozevich feared taking on c5 because of e6. However, with accurate defence, he can simplify into a winning ending. [31 ..Bxc5 32 dxc5 Qxc5 33 e6 Qc4 34 Qxc4 (34 Qe5 f6 35 Qb8+ Nc8 36 Bb4 Qxe6; 34 exf7+ Qxf7) 34 ..Nxc4 35 e7 Nd6 36 Bb4 Ne8 with f6-Kf7-Nc7-d5 winning the e7-pawn.] 32 Qd5 a5 33 e6 fxe6 34 Nxe6 Nb6 35 Qf5 b4 36 Bb2 Na4 37 Qd5 Kh8? Time-trouble. [37 ..Nxb2! seems to win: 38 Nf4+ Kh8 39 Ng6+ Kh7 40 Qe4 (40 Nxf8+ Qxf8 41 Qb3 a4 42 Qxb2 b3) 40 ..Qc1+ 41 Kh2 Qc7+ 42 Ne5+ Kh8 43 g3 Nc4 44 Qa8 (44 Ng6+ Kg8 45 Qe6+ Qf7) 44 ..Nxe5 45 Qxf8+ Kh7 46 dxe5 Qxe5] 38 Nf4 Qe8 39 Bc1 Nc3 40 Qxa5 Bd6 41 Nd3 Ne2+ 42 Kf1 Qe4 43 Qa6 Nxd4 44 Ne1 b3 45 Qd3 Qe5 46 Bb2 Bb4 47 Nf3 Qb5 48 Ne1 Qe8 49 Qd1 Qb5+ 50 Qd3 Qe8 51 Qd1 Qb5+ ½–½

Holland's Jan Timman reached the same result against Korchnoi after 63 moves from a Reversed King's Indian, and the encounter between Dutch champion Predrag Nikolic and Hungary's Judit Polgar - a 72-mover from a King's Indian Defence - also ended peacefully, despite Black being better (and probably winning, too) in both games.

With six games from the round drawn, we had to look to the "Battle of Britain" between Nigel Short and Michael Adams for the only win of the day - or should that be gift?

There's always been a great rivalry between the two top British players, with Short in particular not happy at losing the country's no.1 spot to Adams. Probably trying too hard to win because of this, Short, looking every bit the winner, basically gifted Adams the game after he made a horrendous mistake with 28 f3?.

Short,N (2683) - Adams,M (2715)
Petroff Defence

1 e4 e5 2 Nf3 Nf6 3 Nxe5 d6 4 Nf3 Nxe4 5 d4 d5 6 Bd3 Bd6 7 c4 Bb4+ 8 Nbd2 0–0 9 0–0 Bxd2 10 Bxd2 Bg4 11 Be3 Nc6 12 h3 Bh5 13 Rc1 Re8 14 a3 dxc4 15 Bxc4 Qf6 16 Be2 h6 17 Qb3 Rab8 18 Rfe1 [18 d5 is dangerous for White: 18 ..Ne5 19 Nxe5 Bxe2 20 Nd7 Qg6! 21 Nxb8 Bf3! 22 g4 Bxg4 23 Kh2 (23 hxg4 Qxg4+ 24 Kh2 Re5!) 23 ..Bf3 24 Rg1 Qd6+ 25 Rg3 Nxg3 26 fxg3 Bxd5 27 Qd3 Rxb8 28 Bxa7 Re8 29 Rd1 c6] 18 ..Nd6?! [Surely taking on f3 was a better option for Adams? 18 ..Bxf3!? 19 Bxf3 Nxd4 20 Bxd4 Qxd4 21 Qc2 Nd2 22 Bxb7 c5 23 Rxe8+ Rxe8 24 Ba6 (24 Qxc5 Re1+) 24 ..c4 25 Bxc4 Nxc4 26 Qxc4 Qxb2] 19 g4 Bg6 20 d5 Ne5 21 Nxe5 Qxe5 22 Rxc7 Ne4 23 Rcc1 [Whatever was wrong with taking the second pawn? 23 Rxb7!? Rbd8 (23 ..Rxb7 24 Qxb7 a5 25 Qb5 Rb8 26 Qxa5 Rxb2 27 Bd3 Qf6 28 Qa7 Qc3 29 Re2 Rb3 30 Qa8+ Kh7 31 Bc2 Rxa3 32 Qc6) 24 Rxa7 Rxd5 25 Bc4 Nc5 26 Qc3 Qxc3 27 bxc3 Rdd8] 23 ..b6 24 Bf1 [24 Red1! with the idea of Bb5 and pushing the d-pawn looked like the winning plan.] 24 ..Rbd8 25 Rcd1 f5 26 Bg2?

Short-Adams (8) after 25. ...f5

[26 d6+ Pushing the pawn with discovered check seems to stifle Black's position: 26 ..Bf7 (26 ..Kh8 27 d7 Re7 28 Bb5 fxg4 29 hxg4 Bf7 30 Qd3) 27 Bc4 Bxc4 28 Qxc4+ Kh7 29 d7 Re7 30 Rd5 (30 Qc6 fxg4 31 hxg4 Nf6 32 g5 hxg5) 30 ..Qxb2 31 Qc7] 26 ..fxg4 27 hxg4 Kh7 28 f3? [28 Rd4 Nf6 29 Qd1] 28 ..Qg3! 29 Qb4 a5 30 Qd4 Ng5 31 Rf1 Rxd5! 32 Qxd5 Rxe3 33 Rd2 Nxf3+ 34 Rxf3 Rxf3 35 Qxf3 Qe1+ 36 Qf1 Qxd2 37 Qf2 Qd1+ 38 Kh2 Qxg4 The rest now is academic. 39 Qxb6 Qf4+ 40 Kg1 Qc1+ 41 Kh2 Qd2 42 Kg1 h5 43 Qc5 h4 44 Qe5 Kh6 45 b4 axb4 46 axb4 Qxb4 47 Qe3+ Kh7 48 Qg5 Qd4+ 49 Kh2 Qf2 50 Kh3 Bf5+ 51 Kh2 Bg6 52 Kh3 Bf5+ 53 Kh2 Kg8 54 Kh1 Qe1+ 55 Kh2 Qe5+ 56 Kg1 Qd4+ 57 Kh2 Qf6 58 Bd5+ Kf8 59 Qxf6+ gxf6 60 Kg2 Ke7 61 Kf3 Kd6 62 Bf7 Ke5 63 Be8 Be6 64 Bb5 Kf5 65 Bd3+ Kg5 66 Be4 Bg4+ 67 Ke3 Bd1 0–1

Round 8 Results and Standings.

Games from rounds 1-8 in PGN

Round 8 (January 24, 2000)

Leko, Peter            -  Kramnik, Vladimir      1/2   21  B42  Sicilian
Anand, Viswanathan     -  Van Wely, Loek         1/2   31  B80  Sicilian
Piket, Jeroen          -  Morozevich, Alexander  1/2   51  D19  Slav defence
Timman, Jan H          -  Korchnoi, Viktor       1/2   65  C00  French
Nikolic, Predrag       -  Polgar, Judit          1/2   72  E63  Kings indian
Short, Nigel D         -  Adams, Michael         0-1   67  C42  Petroff defence
Lputian, Smbat G       -  Kasparov, Gary         1/2   30  D85  Gruenfeld indian


Corus Wijk aan Zee NED (NED), 15-30 i 2000                cat. XVIII (2697)
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                                     1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 
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 1 Kramnik, Vladimir      g RUS 2758 * . = = . = 1 = = 1 . 1 . .  5.5  2835
 2 Kasparov, Gary         g RUS 2851 . * . = = 1 = . . = 1 = . 1  5.5  2823
 3 Leko, Peter            g HUN 2725 = . * = = = . = 1 = . 1 . .  5.0  2783
 4 Anand, Viswanathan     g IND 2769 = = = * . . . = 1 . 1 . = =  5.0  2796
 5 Piket, Jeroen          g NED 2633 . = = . * = = 1 0 . . 1 . =  4.5  2743
 6 Morozevich, Alexander  g RUS 2748 = 0 = . = * = . . . = . 1 1  4.5  2748
 7 Adams, Michael         g ENG 2715 0 = . . = = * . . 1 = . = 1  4.5  2747
 8 Timman, Jan H          g NED 2655 = . = = 0 . . * = . = 1 = .  4.0  2683
 9 Nikolic, Predrag       g BIH 2659 = . 0 0 1 . . = * = . = = .  3.5  2642
10 Short, Nigel D         g ENG 2683 0 = = . . . 0 . = * = . 1 =  3.5  2665
11 Korchnoi, Viktor       g SUI 2659 . 0 . 0 . = = = . = * 0 . 1  3.0  2622
12 Lputian, Smbat G       g ARM 2605 0 = 0 . 0 . . 0 = . 1 * 1 .  3.0  2612
13 Polgar, Judit          g HUN 2658 . . . = . 0 = = = 0 . 0 * =  2.5  2544
14 Van Wely, Loek         g NED 2646 . 0 . = = 0 0 . . = 0 . = *  2.0  2521
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