MARK RUBERY CHESS

During the World Championship cycle that began in 1991, the English grandmaster, Nigel Short defeated in match play such formidable opponents as: Speelman, Gelfand, Karpov (!) and Timman,to become the first British player to play for the World Championship (although some sticklers might say that Gunsberg’s match with Steinitz in 1890 was the first). There he faced, and ultimately lost, to Kasparov in London in 1993. Due to FIDE’s unsatisfactory conditions, the players contested the match outside the auspices of the world chess body, the effects of which resonated decades later.

His win over Timman in Tilburg 1991 is one of the classic games of modern chess and firmly emphasises a maxim from the first world champion Wilhelm Steinitz- “The king is a fighting piece”.

Short – Timman

Tilburg, 1991

1.e4 Nf6 2.e5 Nd5 3.d4 d6 4.Nf3 g6 5.Bc4 Nb6 6.Bb3 Bg7 7.Qe2 Nc6 8.0-0 0-0 9.h3 a5 10.a4 dxe5 11.dxe5 Nd4 12.Nxd4 Qxd4 13.Re1 e6 14.Nd2 Nd5 15.Nf3 Qc5 16.Qe4 Qb4 17.Bc4 Nb6 18.b3 Nxc4 19.bxc4 (Short’s grip on the position more than compensates for his broken pawn structure)... Re8 20.Rd1 Qc5 21.Qh4 b6 22.Be3 Qc6 23.Bh6 Bh8 24.Rd8 Bb7 25.Rad1 Bg7 26.R8d7 Rf8 27.Bxg7 Kxg7 28.R1d4 Rae8 29.Qf6+ Kg8 30.h4 h5 (And it is White to play and winsome lateral thinking is required here)

31.Kh2!! (The king simply strolls up the board to assist in mating his opposite number, and Timman can do nothing about it. A most remarkable concept!)...

Rc8 32.Kg3 Rce8 33.Kf4 Bc8 34.Kg5 (Chess is beautiful enough to waste your life for-Hans Ree) 1-0

‘In the game Daniel Cawdrey versus Deon Solomons the former created lots of excitement when he got angry at himself for blowing a great position against an opponent who was on the ropes but didn’t allow the killer blow to be inflicted. We later joked that Deon should be in Game of Thrones as the ‘defender of the realm’ for his defensive prowess.’ (Lyndon Bouah-amusingly commenting on the 2015 SA Closed)