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Spassky alivefplaying brightly*By SHELBY LYMAN After lulling his followers into despair and sleep by his hymdrum play since his Reykjavik fiasco, Boris Spassky is suddenly playing like hisold self, if not better.He has just won one of thestrongest tournaments in thehistory of chess, the 1973U.S.S.R. Championship. Three ex-world champions — Smyslov, Tal, and Petrosian — participated, plus Korchnoi,Poiugaevsky, and Karpov, who are official candidates for the role of challenger tothe world title as well as Petrosian and Spassky. Apparently Bobby Fischer himself is jubilant at Spassky’s performance and has expressed his desire for a rematch.Not since the heyday cf Michael Tal has the chess world seen a player with the white pieces so crushingly deal with the Sicilian Defense (1. P-Kr, P-QB4) as has Spassky in this Russianchampionship.The clearest example of his powerful play is Ids gamewith Averkin early in thetournament.(Diagram t)Black, who is vulnerable on the king side, will lose material wherever he motes his attacked rook, which is on thequeen-side.Averkin elected to play25 ... . R-N3 and Spassky artfully refuted that move with 26. B-B7, as in our thirddiagram.$(Digram 31BLACKAwk*n go o X gy N* MXV/in i IQR ONK KB KN KRWHITEblack does,BLACKAvtrfc*areMO NOON QBK KB KN KRWHITEWhatever must lose a rook for his opponent’s bishop. The point is, ofcourse, that 26 ... . RxB is refuted by 27. Q-K5, whic.i threatens the loose rook andcheckmate.Other rook* equally ititilo*I.e., I. 25____R-R1. aiKi26. Q-K5 will win the knight.or 11. 25 . . . R*N2, and 26. Q-K5 followed by P-QR4 willwin the pinned bishop.Once white has won the•‘exchange”, the rest of thegame is mop-up action.This game is a lesson incombining mating threats with threats on undeientiedpieces.Bravo, Boris Spassky!♦*iOur first diagram shows the crucial position after black’s ISth move. Spassky now initiated a series of exchangeswith his 19th move, P-K5. After 251 R-N3, the position in our second diagram wasreached.AVERKINblack)P QB* NQBJPaPP-K3P-Q*aP O'XJb-K20-0 B-Q2w-N 1 QK4I(Diaqra* 2)BiN*N$ . JHAK* QBl P*P PxP N Q2NO HOBLACKAWkmo * ev nm h*NxKPAKN-'BxNR N3P IBKR B K1X-J U A ^M -N-K4 35-NxBB K-N2»*sJ-K4ReoiqnsLower autoinsuranceON QBfees soughtw»«nNEW HAVEN, Conn. (UP1)ratesASrooK- Auto insurancewa w.vvprcd because oi
Newspaper Details
Pomona Progress Bulletin
Pomona, California, US
Sun, Dec 09, 1973
Page 142
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