MARK RUBERY CHESS

A move in a chess opening can be consigned to oblivion when it has been clearly shown to be incorrect. However, that is not always the whole story, as sometimes the refutation is quite complex and thus the opening might have significant impact against a less than well-informed opponent. The following game is an emphatic reason why 6...Ne4 is no longer played in the ‘Pin Variation’ of the Sicilian-at least at master level.

Tisdall - Lee

London, 1981

1.d4 e6 2.e4 c5 3.Nf3 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6

5.Nc3 Bb4 6.e5 Ne4? (6...Nd5 is the main move here, yet how many players would find their way through the maze of intricate lines over the board?) 7.Qg4

Nxc3 (7...Qa5 8 Qxg7 Bxc3+ 9 bxc3 Qxc3+ 10 Ke2 b6 11 Qxh8+ Ke7 12 Ba3+! Qxa3 13 Qxc8 winning -NCO) 8.Qxg7 Rf8 9.a3 Nb5+ 10.axb4 Nxd4 11.Bd3 (11 Bh6! is even stronger)… Qb6? (11… d5 offers more resistance) 12.Bg5 Nf5 13.Bxf5 exf5 14.0-0-0 Qg6 15.e6!! (A

most remarkable shot)

...d5 (If 15...Qxg7 16 exd7+ Nxd7 17 Rhe1+ Qe5 18 Rxe5+ Nxe5 19 Rd8#) 16.Rxd5 Nc6 17.e7 Nxe7 18.Rd8+ 1-0 ‘In a sense, warfare was created by the horse, as a nomad activity. That is what the Huns brought, that is what the Phrygians brought, that is what finally the Mongols brought, and brought to a climax under Genghis Khan much later. In particular, the mobile hordes transformed the organization of battle. They conceived a different strategy of war – a strategy that is like a war game; how war makers love to play games! The strategy of the mobile horde depends on manoeuvre, on rapid communication, and on practiced tactical moves, which can be strung together into different sequences of surprise. The remnants of that remain in the war games that are still played and that come from Asia, such as chess and polo. War strategy is always regarded by those who win as a kind of game.’ –From J Bronowski’s highly acclaimed ‘The Ascent of Man’