CHESS

Gordon Meyer, a former South African now living in Austria, played the following game last month in the Bundesliga (premier national league).

With an average Elo rating of 2180, his team, SV Styregg, was up against the formidable ASV Linz whose top five are all “imported” Grandmasters – Alekseenko (Russia), Naiditsch (Azerbaijan), Bacrot (France), Rodshtein (Israel) and Balogh (Hungary) – average Elo 2630!!

The Heffalump quintet duly cleaned up, but Gordon acquitted himself very enterprisingly on Board 3. Rather than be inexorably ground down by superior technique, he boldy opted for a speculative sacrifice that is not without promise. Notes are based on Gordon’s.

Meyer, Gordon (2208) - Bacrot, IGM Etienne (2635) [Sicilian Defence]: 1 e4 c5 2 Nf3 d6 3 d4 cxd4 4 Nxd4 Nf6 5 Nc3 Nc6 6 Bg5 e6 7 Qd2 a6 8 O-O-O Bd7 9 f4 Be7 10 Nf3 b5 11 Bxf6 gxf6 12 Kb1 b4 13 Ne2 h5 14 f5 e5 15 g4?! (Here’s the sac. The idea is to try gaining a tempo to re-route the Nf3 to e3. And taking a GM out of known terrain is in principle a good ploy. 15 Nc1 Qc7 16 Bc4 Na5 17 Bd5 Rc8 is routine) 15... hxg4

16 Ne1 Qb8 17 Ng2 Bf8 18 Qd3 Bh6 19 c4? (A misguided change in plan. Logical follow-ups were Ne3, Rg1 or even h3) 19... Na5 20 Ng3 (20 c5 is met by Bb5! 21 Qxd6 Qxd6 22 Rxd6 Nc4 23 Rd1 Nd2+ 24 Kc2 Nxf1 winning a piece) 20... Nb7 21 Be2 (Nothing works any more. 21 h3 Nc5 22 Qe2 Bg5 23 hxg4 Rxh1 24 Nxh1 Qb7 25 Ng3 Bc6 etc) 21... Nc5 22 Qd5 Bc8 23 Qc6+? Ke7 24 Rxd6 Qxd6 25 Qxa8 Rd8 26 Qa7+ Bb7 (And now, rather than merely resigning, White sportingly allowed a picturesque finale) 27 Rd1 Qxd1+ 28 Bxd1 Rxd1+ 29 Kc2 Rc1 mate.

Next day, Bacrot commented that Gordon’s 15 g4 idea may be playable, followed up with an early Rg1. It’s certainly worth trying again. Then perhaps one day, the Nezhmetdinov Attack of the Richter-Rauzer Variation will have a recognized Meyer sub-Variation! The Cape Town Chess Academy runs a monthly Rapid tournament (10 minute limit plus a 5-second increment per move). Lyndon Bouah scored back-to-back wins in the March and April editions - proof that chess is not only a young man’s game! Check upcoming events at www. chesshub.org.za.

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