Chess

Hint & explanation: Key is a double attack.

“Russia” originally was a Viking word. It was the Vikings who brought chess to Russia, after venturing to the Black Sea and meeting the Arabs’ chess culture in the 9th century.

Chess flourished during the classical period of Arab civilization in the 9th, 10th and 11th centuries in the Arabian peninsula.

Jules Zarins is an American archeologist and leader of the Oman dig of the last two years at a site believed to contain the ruins of the legendary trading city of Ubar. His team unearthed seven ancient sandstone chess pieces, later found to match an underwater cache of wooden pieces found in an llth century shipwreck off the coast of Cyprus.

“Ubar was an old caravan route,” says Zarins. “And the Omani were among the most active seafarers of their time. They were engaged in long distance sea trade with China, India, and East Africa.”

The Arabs were the major source of chess culture, and the outstanding players, writers, and theorists for western Europe via the Moorish invasion of Spain.

If the second half of the World Chess Federation (FIDE) title match between Anatoly Karpov of Russia and Jan Timman of Holland had gone ahead as scheduled in Oman — it was recently cancelled when funding was not available — it would have been a much deserved but only partial repayment of an ancient cultural debt.

Below is a win by Mohamad Al-Modiahki of Quatar against Ravi Hegde of Indonesia, in Esfahan, Iran.

Hegde — Al-Modiahki 1d4 Nf6, 2Nf3 g6, 3Bg5 Bg7, 4N(b)d2 d5, 5e3 0-0, 6c3 Nd7, 7Bd3 Re8, 8 0-0 e5, 9dxe5 Nxe5, 10Nxe5 Rxe5, 11Bh4 c6, 12e4 Rh5, 13Bxf6 Bxf6, 14Re1 Be5, 15g3 Qb6, 16exd4 cxd5, 17Qb3 Qf6, 18Re3 Bg4, 19Be2 Rxh2! 20Nf3 Bxg3, 21fxg3 Rxe2, 22Rxe2 Qxf3, 23Qxb7 Rf8, 24Rf2 Qxg3ch, 25Rg2 Qe3ch, 26Rf2 Bf3, 27Qb4 Be4, 28Qd4 Qh3, White resigns

Solution to BEGINNER’S CORNER: 1Qd5 (threatening 2Qxf7ch Kh8, 3Qxg7 mate) Rf8, 2Rxd7.