Chess rivalries continue at Mainz

              8/14/2005 -    One of the great things about chess that distinguishes it from other sports is that the retirement age of a chess play varies. You can play high-level chess well into your 70’s.  Victor Kortchnoi is a prime example.  No longer will we see baseball great Pete Rose slide head first into third base, except for high light films.  We will never see Ali fight vs. Joe Frazier again, nor will we see Joe Namath fade back in his white shoes and throw a long touch down pass. But we did see Kortchnoi, Spassky, Karpov, and Unzicker play each other again.  As you probably already know, some of my favorite sports figures when I was growing up were Pete Rose, Joe Namath, Muhammad Ali, Joe Frazier, Anatoly Karpov, Victor Kortchnoi and Boris Spassky, just to name a few.
  
        But with baseball, football and boxing, my heroes stopped competing because they got too old to play.  Even though they had long careers, they had to retire young. This could be why I don’t follow those sports as religiously as I used to. But with chess, your heroes don’t have to retire as young men. Older chess players may not be able to hold on to the top rankings any longer, but they still can produce gems. They can still show us glimpses of their primes. They can show us glimpses of their great rivalries from their glory days.

            Back in 1992, Bobby Fischer came out of a 20-year retirement and played his archrival Boris Spassky. After a 20-year lay off, many wondered how well Bobby Fischer would play. Well he produced a gem in game one. His play was reminiscent of his peak years in the early 70’s. However, he was unable to maintain that high level of play through out the match. But he and Spassky did produce some really nice games. With chess you can continue to see great rivalries.  In 2002, New York City, we saw a great rivalry continue with a 4 game rapid match between Garry Kasparov and Anatoly Karpov. Karpov finally got the better of Kasparov in that match.

      Recently in Mainz, we saw three great rivalries take place.  The Mainz tournament match four aging chess stars. The tournament was held to celebrate Wolfgang Unzicker’s 80th birthday. Anatoly Karpov(54) , Victor Kortchnoi (74) , Boris Spassky(68) and Wolfgang Unzicker (80) would battle it out in a double round robin rapid tournament.  The first rivalry was Karpov vs. Kortchnoi. This was a great rivalry in the 1970s thru the early 1980’s. These two great players fought each other in three matches that determined the world championship. Karpov got the better in all three of those matches.


     The first two, in 1974 and 1978, were very tightly contested.  Both of these matches started with Karpov taking a big lead early and ended with Kortchnoi closing the gap but losing by a single point.  Karpov totally dominated in the 1981 match. The 78 and 81 matches were hard fought on the board and off the board. Kortchnoi had defected from the Soviet Union in 1976. He would be branded a traitor to the Soviet Union. These chess matches were also a battle off the board. It matched communism vs. democracy, east vs. west, slavery vs. freedom. Karpov and Kortchnoi became bitter enemies during this period of time.   In Mainz these two chess giants battled again. Karpov again would rule the day by wining with black and drawing with white. The fiery relationship between Karpov and Kortchnoi has since cooled.   

    Another great rivalry occurred between Kortchnoi and Spassky. These two players played 2 tough candidate matches in 1968 and 1977. Both were tough contests. In 1968 Spassky would dominate Kortchnoi in the final candidate match.  A year later Spassky would then wrestle the title from Tigran Petrosian.

    When Spassky and Kortchnoi met again in the 1977 candidate final, the roles would be reversed. It would be Kortchnoi who dominated this match. He would jump out to a 5 game lead. In order to improve his concentration, Spassky decided not to sit at the board. Instead he sat in a booth on stage and analyzed the game from a  giant screen behind the players. Spassky would return to the board only long enough to make his move. Kortchnoi got rattled and lost 4 games in a row. Kortchnoi protested Spassky's actions. Kortchnoi said it  felt like he was in a simul. Kortchnoi also felt Spassky’s actions were illegal. The match was almost cancelled. However, Kortchnoi settled down and won the last two games of the match. It was Kortchnoi’s time to challenge for the title. At Mainz this rivalry continued. Kortchnoi won the first game and Spassky rebounded to win the 2nd game.  

    The last great rivalry was between Karpov and Spassky. Back in 1974 both met in a semifinal candidate match.   It was a battle of ex champion vs. future world champion. A match removed from his title,  Spassky would try to fight his way past the hard charging Anatoly Karpov. Spassky would win the first game from the black side of the board. But Karpov would not be deterred and dominated the rest of the way by winning 4 games. At Mainz, Karpov and Spassky drew both games. Chess allows great rivalries to continue.

             As far as Unzicker is concerned. He had his birthday cake when he drew all his games against Karpov and Spassky. However Victory Kortchnoi would not allow Unzicker to eat his cake. Kortchnoi took both games from Unzicker.  Just like in the early 70's, Kortchnoi and Karpov would tie for first in the 2005 Unzicker Gala80 Tournament.

 

 

             

           In the first round game, Kortchnoi vs. Karpov, the players  debated the Queens Indian: Nimzovich Variation (exaggerated fianchetto).  These two players hadn’t played each other much over the last 10 years. They only played three games since 1996. Karpov winning  in 1996 at the Najdorf memorial and two draws in 1999 and 2001.  By move 18, White (Kortchnoi) had a space advantage but was saddled with two isolated a and c pawns. Black (Karpov) had a queen-rook battery on the half open  c-file and was saddled with an isolated b-pawn. By move 20 both sides had posted knights on holes created by the isolated pawns. Kortchnoi had a knight on b5 and Karpov had one on c5. By move 23, Karpov had doubled his rooks on the half open a-file and was triple attacking Kortchnoi's isolated a4-pawn, On move 25, Kortchnoi, feeling the pressure, pushes the a4-pawn to a5. The pawn is exchanged with 25... axb5. Karpov has won a pawn. By move 48, Karpov jettisoned his pawn and controlled the open b-file with a rook-queen battery. His b3-rook deep inside Kortchnoi territory. Karpov also had an unassailable knight posted on d4.

     On move 51,  under time pressures, Kortchnoi loses a pawn with move Nb5. Kortchnoi fails to realize that Karpov will now be able to take the unprotected e4 pawn with 51.. Qxe4. Kortchnoi was counting on a dangerous forking maneuver. He forks Karpov’s queen and rook with move 52. Nd6. It is clear now that Karpov had seen deeper into the position. He realizes this fork is not as deadly as it looks and moves 52.. Qc6. From this vantage point, Kortchnoi's rook on a4 is unprotected and under attack by the Karpov’s queen. A pair of rooks come off the board.

   By move 61, the end is near. Karpov has a queen-rook battery on the 2nd rank, which has an absolute pin on Kortchnoi’s knight on g2. Karpov's bishop now commands the d4 square. Kortchnoi’s heavy pieces, the a3-rook and f1-queen are not coordinating.   Kortchnoi desperately tries to circle the wagons with 62 Rf3.  His position is very defensive, maybe it can hold. However Karpov realizes that Kortchnoi back rank is weak. He can chase Kortchnoi’s queen from the first rank with 62 ..Rb1. Kortchnoi responds with 63. Qd3, hoping for a queen exchange. However Karpov will have none of this and plays 63.. Qc1. Now Karpov has a queen rook-battery on the first rank. Faced with mate or major loss of material. Kortchnoi resigns.   

Kortchnoi vs. Karpov - 2005 - Mainz http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1357004

 

       Spassky and Kortchnoi first met over the board in 1948. 17 year old Victor Kortchnoi defeated 11 year old Boris Spassky in 12 moves.  The last time these players met was in 2001 and it ended in a draw. In the first game at Mainz between Kortchnoi vs. Spassky. The players debated the Queens Gambit Accepted. By move 25 the game evolved into  Kortchnoi’s queen, two rooks, knight and 7 pawns against Spassky's queen, two rooks, bishop, and 7 pawn. Kortchnoi was able to immobilize Spassky’ queenside majority pawns by posting his knight on b6. Kortchnoi had a space advantage and Spassky heavy pieces were all on the back rank. Kortchnoi set his eyes on Spassky's vertically isolated a5-pawn.   By move 29, Kortchnoi had his a4-rook and e1-queen bearing down on the a4 pawn. Spassky decided to sac the exchange to defend this pawn and played 29.. ra8. A few moves later Kortchnoi  snapped off the rook with 31. Nxa8.  Spassky responded with 31.. Rxa8.  Kortchnoi had won the exchange. The game concluded with Kortchnoi’s queen and two rooks weaving a mating net. Spassky resigned on move 48.

Kortchnoi vs. Spassky - 2005 Mainz - http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1357013

  In the 2nd game of this great rivalry, it would be Spassky's turn to unleash the tiger trapped inside his heart.  Spassky would get his revenge in this game. Spassky decide to play 1.e4 and the game evolved into the Sicilian Taimanov variation.  Kortchnoi blundered on move 20 when he played  20.. Ne7.  Kortchnoi decided to swap his e6-pawn for whites c2-pawn.  Spassky responded with 21. Rxe6 and Kortchnoi followed with 21 .. Qxc2. Spassky responded with 22 Qd1 creating a rook – queen battery on the open d-file. Kortchnoi compounded his error by grabbing another pawn with 22.. Qxb2. Spassky cut off Kortchnoi's queen's retreat with 23. Bc5.  Kortchnoi lost his queen on  move 26. Rxc3.  Kortchnoi resigned on move 43. His rook, two knights and 4 pawns were no match for Spassky's queen, bishop, knight and 4 pawns.

Spassky vs. Kortchnoi - 2005 Mainz - http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1357010

 

 

 

Chessbase report - http://www.chessbase.com/newsdetail.asp?newsid=2569
 http://www.chesstigers.de/ccm5_index.php?lang=1


Kortchnoi vs. Unzicker - 2005 Mainz - http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1357007
Unzicker vs. Kortchnoi - 2005 Mainz - http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1357015
Karpov's recent comments - http://www.chessbase.com/newsdetail.asp?newsid=2495

Unzicker vs. Kortchnoi - 1979 - http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1082557

 

Fischer vs. Spassky - 1992 Game 1 - http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1129672
Anatoly Karpov - Chess Reporter
Boris Spassky - Chess Reporter
Victor Kortchnoi - Chess Reporter
Bobby Fischer - Chess Reporter
Pete Rose - Chess Reporter