MARK RUBERY CHESS

At the beginning of his chess career the former world champion, Viswinathan Anand, suffered his shortest loss ever when he faced the Colombian GM Zapata in the B Section of the Biel tournament. Zapata, Alonso (2480) Anand, Viswanathan (2555) [C42] Biel-B Biel (9), 1988

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 (The Petroff has, quite rightly, a solid reputation, which makes Black’s sudden demise all the more shocking) 3.Nxe5 d6 4.Nf3 Nxe4

5.Nc3 Bf5?? (A careless alternative to the usual 5…Nxc3) 6.Qe2 1–0 (Black loses a piece as is shown by 6…Qe7 7 Nd5 Qd7 8 d3)

A year before in a tournament in San Francisco the game Miles-Christiansen began 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nxe5 d6 4.Nf3 Nxe4 5.Nc3 Bf5 6 Nxe4? Bxe4

7 d3 and was drawn on move 20. The game was subsequently published with

5…Bf5 indicated as a TN (theoretical novelty). The highly regarded British and American grandmasters had not overlooked the decisive reply (6 Qe2), but they had agreed a draw before the game and the moves they played were merely to observe formalities. Thus it was a bitter lesson for Anand, and a stark warning not to blithely follow recommendations without careful analysis. At the 2016 Olympiad one of the players representing Swaziland, Smilo Hlope, essayed Anand’s error on move five against an opponent from Bermuda and drew the game after White continued 6 Be2. Emboldened by this result Hlope entered the same doomed variation two rounds later against an opponent from Papua New Guinea… Jones, Ru (1851) - Hlophe, Smilo (1592) [C42] 42nd Olympiad 2016 Baku AZE (10.7) 2016

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nxe5 d6 4.Nf3 Nxe4 5.Nc3 Bf5? 6.Qe2 Qe7 7.Nd5 c6? 8.Nxe7 1–0

Hans Kmoch was the author of the classic book ‘Pawn Power in Chess’ (1959) which while instructive was bedevilled by unwieldy jargon such as the following: ‘The conversion of the duo into a leuco-bound chain creates a bad ram and enhances the melanpenia of Black’s position’. Translated, it means that Black further restricts his bad bishop.