CHESS

South Africa first took part in a Fidé team championship in 1958. That was at the 1958 Munich Olympiad.

Wolfgang Heidenfeld, Kurt Dreyer, Kenneth Kirby, Konstantin Grivainis and Dave Isaacson first had to play in a strong group preliminary – won two against Iran and Finland. Then in a final against much weaker opposition where we did not lose a match.

Heidenfeld mentioned that he took Unzicker by surprise in this game from the preliminaries and that the German grandmaster mumbled oaths before gathering his composure.

Unzicker visited South Africa in 1979, to play in the first Oude Meester Grand Prix, where he distinguished himself with a win against the tournament winner — Viktor Korchnoi. White: Wolfgang Heidenfeld, Black: Wolfgang Unzicker, Event: Munich1958 (B22 Sicilian, 2.c3, Heidenfeld Variation) 1. 3. 5. 7. 9. 11. 13. 15. 17. 19. 21. 23. 25. 27. e4 c5; 2. e5 Nd5; 4. Na3 d6; 6. exd6 exd6 8. Nxd4 Be7 10. Nf5 Bxf5 12. Qf3 d5 14. Qe2 Bc5 16. Bd3 Rfe8 18. Qxe3 Qxe3 20. Nc2 d4 22. Nxd4 Rxd4 24. Bc2 Rb4 26. Rd2 a5 28. c3 Nf6; Nf3 Nc6; Bb5 Bd7; d4 cxd4 O-O O-O Qxd5 Be6 Nc2 Qb6 a4 a6 Be3 Bxe3 Nxe3 Rad8 cxd4 Nxd4 Rfd1 g6 b3 Rc8 f3 Rc3 29. 31. 33. 35. 37. 39. 41. 43. 45. 47. 49. 51. 53. 55. Re1 Bxb3 30. Bxb3 Rcxb3 Re8+ Kg7 32. Rd7 Rxa4 Ree7 Rf4 34. Rxb7 Rxb7 Rxb7 a4 36. Kf2 Rc4 Ra7 Kf6 38. Kg3 Ke6 Ra6+ Ke5 40. Ra7 Kf6 Ra6+ Ke5 42. Ra7 Kd4 Rxf7 Kc3 44. Rxh7 a3 Ra7 Kb3 46. f4 a2 Rxa2 Kxa2 48. Kg4 Rc5 Kf3 Kb3 50. g4 Kc4 Ke4 Kb5 52. f5 gxf5+ gxf5 Kc6 54. Kf4 Kd6 Kg5 Ke7 White resigns. The Fidé Open and Women’s World Team Chess Championships is taking place from June 16 to Tuesday in the Ugra Chess Academy of the oil-boom town of KhantyMansiysk, in western Siberia. Ten open and 10 women’s teams are participating.

Day four saw a few astonishing results in the Open section that none could have foreseen. The Turkish team, which came as one of the lowest rated in the field, faced Poland, hitherto resting on a perfect 3/3. The Turks had done excellently, drawing with two top teams, then in round four, they defeated Poland in a big upset. Still, the biggest surprise had to be India’s crushing 3.5-0.5 win over the US with some inspired chess.

This event was not an Olympiad. That takes place next year in Batumi, Georgia.