Chess

The quarterfinals of the Candidates Matches are done and pairings are set for semifinals that will produce a challenger for Garry Kasparov and the 1993 World Title.

Anatoly Karpov, Jan Timman, Nigel Short and Artur Yusupov will be semifinalists, Timman playing Yusupov and Karpov facing Short.

Karpov has been a principal in every world championship since 1975 but had to work to defeat Indian star Visnawathan Anand. After seven games, they remained tied with one victory each.

The young Englishman Short defeated Boris Gelfand 5-3 in a match that featured six decisive games, a remarkably high percentage at this level.

Timman was the only one not to lose a game as he eliminated former contender Viktor Korchnoi 4.5-2.5.

The most fiercely contested was probably Yusupov’s victory over Vasily Ivanchuk, favored by many to challenge Kasparov. Yusupov was fresh from a fabulous July tournament victory in Hamburg.

Ivanchuk was ahead 4-3 but Yusupov won the eighth game. In overtime he won 1.5-.5 for the right to play Timman.

The decisive game of that playoff is our featured game, one of the fiercest tactical displays seen in these days of pragmatic strangle-’em to death positional chess.

1.c4 e5, 2.g3 d6, 3.Bg2 g6, 4.d4 Nd7, 5.Nc3 Bg7, 6.Nf3 Ngf6, 7.0-0 0-0, 8.Qc2 Re8, 9.Rd1 c6, 10.b3 Qe7, 11.Ba3 e4, 12.Ng5 e3, 13.f4 Nf8, 14.b4 Bf5, 15.Qb3 h6, 16.Nf3 Ng4, 17.b5 g5, 18.bxc6 bxc6, 19.Ne5 gxf4, 20.Nxc6 Qg5, 21.Bxd6 Ng6, 22.Nd5 Qh5, 23.h4 Nxh4, 24.gxh4 Qxh4, 25.Nde7+ Kh8, 26.Nxf5 Qh2+, 27.Kf1 Re6, 28.Qb7 Rg6, 29.Qxa8+ Kh7, 30.Qg8+ Kxg8, 31.Nce7+ Kh7, 32.Nxg6 fxg6, 33.Ng7 Nf2, 34.Bxf4 Qxf4, 35.Ne6 Qh2, 36.Rdb1 Nh3, 37. Rb7+ Kh8, 38.Rb8+ Qxb8, 39.Bxh3 Qg3 and White resigned.

Solution: 31.Qf4! and Black resigned. If 31…Qb7 or …Rxh6, then 32.Qf8 Mate. If 31…Qc5 or …b any, then 32.Qf6 Mate.