cially great in positions with opposite- colored bishops. The same theme has been illustrated
in many games involving the great cham- pions of the past. The following is a good example:
r+-tr-+k+ zp-+q+-zpp -zp-+-zp-+ +-+p+l+- NvL-wQnzP-+ +P+-zP-+- P+-+-+PzP +-tRR+-mK-
Analysis after 23. ... f6 24. Nc3? White should have maneu-
vered his knight to e1 in order to defend g2. 24. ... Nxc3! And in Kotov-Botvinnik, Moscow 1955, the first Soviet Champion got a superior position and went on to win a famous endgame. Other shining exam- ples of this theme include Matulovic- Botvinnik, USSR vs. Rest of the World 1970, as well as the more recent game Kasparov-Vallejo Pons, Linares 2002. Returning to the main game, let us
consider how White might have improved. Avoiding the exchange with 46. Kg1 Ne5 47. Nd2 was unsatisfactory, as after 47. ... Rb8 48. Ra2 Be7 White is very passive, and Black should be able to break in sooner or later. A better try was 46. h3!?. This does
not fully save White from suffering, but at least it sets up an obstacle: 46. ... Ne5 47. Qh2! Now Black cannot get out of the pin without exchanging queens. 47. ... g5 (after 47. ... Qb7+ 48. Bg2 Qb4 49. Nxe5 Qe1+ 50. Qg1 White is very much alive) 48. Bg2 Rd7 49. Rb3 (or 49. Rc3 Nxc4 50. Qxc7 Rxc7 51. Rxc4 Bxb2) 49. ... Nxc4 50. Qxc7 Rxc7 51. dxc4 Black has excellent winning chances, but the game is not completely over.
-+-+-+-+ +-tr-+pmk- -+-+pvl-+ +-zp-+-zp- -+P+-+Pzp +R+-zP-+P -zP-+-+L+ +-+-+-+K
Analysis after 51. dxc4
46. ... Ne5! 47. Nxe5 Qxe5 From the time of the first minor piece
exchange, it took Karpov a further twenty
uschess.org Chess Life — January 2012 41
seven moves to swap all the minor pieces except for the opposite-colored bishops.
48. b3 Rd7 49. e4 This gives Black even more dark
squares on which to play, but White’s position was already beyond saving. After 49. Ra5 Qc3 50. Rb5 Ra7 Black invades.
49. ... Qg5!
Black directs his forces against the vulnerable h2-pawn. 50. Qe2 Rb7 51. Qf3 Be5! 52. Ra5? A blunder in a hopeless position. White
could have struggled on with 52. Kg2, but is unlikely to last much longer after 52. ... Qc1.
52. ... Qd2, White resigned. This was a masterful demonstration of
how to handle a middlegame with oppo- site-colored bishops. Saidy did not make many obvious mistakes. I wonder if he was subsequently consoled by the fact that Karpov did something similar to Kas- parov in their second world championship match thirteen years later—see Game 75 on page 423. Karpov followed this first round win by
powering ahead to a score of 6/7, courtesy of wins over, amongst others, [Walter] Browne and [Donald] Byrne, as well as a draw with Petrosian. In round eight he faced Svetozar Gligoric, who was firmly established as the top Yugoslav player and had formerly been ranked among the very best in the world. He played all the world champions from [Max] Euwe to [Viswanathan] Anand, missing only [Vladimir] Kramnik and [Veselin] Topalov. Out of 183 encounters, he won twenty three games, drew 109 and lost fifty one. Karpov and Gligoric had only played once before, and drew. Their lifetime result is 7-3 in favor of Karpov, who achieved four victories and six draws with no defeats.
.
First edition 2011 by Quality Chess UK Ltd. Written by Tibor Karolyi and published by Quality Chess, Karpov’s Strategic Wins 1 features Karpov’s most entertaining and instructive strategic wins from 1961-1985 when Karpov proved he was a worthy successor to Bobby Fischer’s title. www.qualitychess.
co.uk. 360 pages, $29.95 from uscf
sales.com (catalog number B0059QT).
San Antonio 1972 Church’s
Fried Chicken International
NOVEMBER 18 - DECEMBER 11, 1972 Player
Walter Browne Donald Byrne
Mario Campos Lopez Larry Evans
Svetozar Gligoric Vlastimal Hort Julio Kaplan
Anatoly Karpov Paul Keres Bent Larsen
Henrique Mecking Tigran Petrosian Lajos Portisch Anthony Saidy Ken Smith
Duncan Suttles
Country Australia USA
Mexico USA
Yugoslavia
Czechoslovakia Puerto Rico USSR USSR
Denmark Brazil USSR
Hungary USA USA
Canada
Note: This event was notable for missing the following American players: Bobby Fischer, Sammy Reshevsky, Robert Byrne, Pal Benko, and Arthur Bisguier.
(This chart does not appear in the book. )
Saidy interviewed Karpov in Chess Life’s Feb- ruary 1973 coverage of San Antonio. He wrote:
Slight, green-eyed, unassuming Anatoly Kar- pov has rapidly gained designation as the number-one Soviet hope of the future. He is perhaps the most successful Soviet player since the generation of Spassky and Tal, tying for first in the power-packed tournament at Moscow 1971 and at Hastings 1971-72. And, of course, he tied for first with Petrosian and Portisch here in San Antonio. He was world junior champion at age 18, and was rumored to have done well in a practice match versus Spassky in 1972 (which he now denies). He plays in a mature, quiet style that belies his youth (he is 21). Since his English is only fair, Mrs. Dobila Suttles (wife of Canadian soon-to-be Grandmaster Duncan Suttles) acted as interpreter.
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