ODT080101

=**World Cup in Siberia**=


 * Problem:** White to play and mate.

Gata Kamsky of the USA showed he has fully rejoined the world elite by winning the FIDE World Cup in Khanty-Mansiysk, in siberian Russia. Kamsky was a world championship contender as a teenager in the early 1990s, but then gave up professional chess to study law. Since starting a comeback in 2004, the 33 year-old has gradually regained his former strength. Starting in the 128-player knockout, he won through six rounds to meet Alexei Shirov (Spain) in the four-game final, winning the mini-match 2½ - 1½.

By this victory, Kamsky has earned a match against Bulgaria's Veselin Topalov to decide who will be the next to challenge the winner of the Anand – Kramnik world championship match later in the year.

Today's game is the only decisive game of the World Cup final – the second. Kamsky as White displays a cool head to fend off Shirov's dangerous attack. media type="custom" key="26727232" Avoiding the sharp Sveshnikov Sicilian, which Shirov used to good effect in the previous round. Kamsky's openings have not yet recovered from his long lay-off. White is playing for Nd2-f1-e3 to control the weakened d5 square, while Black wishes to exchange his 'bad' dark-square bishop. White now embarks on a rare queen sortie – with the idea of forcing either ...Nh6 or ...g6 rather than hoping for mate! Choosing not to test White's pawn sacrifice: 9 ... Nxc2 10 Nf3 Bxc1 11 Raxc1 Nd4 12 Nxd4 exd4 13 Nd5 with positional compensation thanks to the poor knight on h6 and an attack based on f2-f4. A much more radical solution to the problem of the knight on h6 than 14 ... Ng8. Black launches an attack down the g-file, which White meets with a central counter. Threatening 18 ... Ng7 trapping the queen. Exploiting the fact that 21 gxh6? Rxh6 again wins the queen. Better was 22 ... Qg4! 23 Qxg4 (23.Qxh6? Qxf3 wins) 23...Rxg4 24 Ng3 (24.Nxe5? Re4) 24...Nf7 25.Kg2 Rg6 and Black is fine. Note that now 23 Kxg2? loses to 23 ... Bg4 etc. With both rooks on the seventh rank Black appears to have a strong attack, but in fact it is the white passed pawns that are more dangerous. Here 28 ... Ng4+ exchanging knights was a better defence. The only chance lay in 31 ... Nf7 or 31 ... Rhg2. With the Black king stripped of defenders, White now closes in for the kill – the queenside pawns are irrelevant. The end would be: 37 ... Bxf7 38 Nxf7+ Rxf7 39 Rgxg8+ Kh7 40 Rh8+ Kg7 41 Rdg8+ Kf6 42 e5+ Ke7 43 Re8+ Kd7 44 e6+ etc.
 * 1. e4 c5**
 * 2. Nf3 Nc6**
 * 3. Nc3 ---**
 * 3. --- e5**
 * 4. Bc4 Be7**
 * 5. d3 d6**
 * 6. Nd2 Bg5**
 * 7. Qh5 Nh6**
 * 8. h3 Nd4**
 * 9. O-O!? O-O**
 * 10. Nb3 Bxc1**
 * 11. Raxc1 Ne6**
 * 12. Ne2 Qf6**
 * 13. Nd2 Kh8**
 * 14. c3 g5!?**
 * 15. d4 Rg8**
 * 16. dxe5 dxe5**
 * 17. Nf3 Rg6**
 * 18. h4 Qg7**
 * 19. Bxe6 Bxe6**
 * 20. hxg5 f6!**
 * 21. gxf6 Rxg2+**
 * 22. Kh1 Qxf6?!**
 * 23. Qxe5 Qxe5**
 * 24. Nxe5 Rg5**
 * 25. f4 Rh5+**
 * 26. Kg1 Rg8+**
 * 27. Kf2 Rh2+**
 * 28. Ke3 Rgg2**
 * 29. Ng1 Rxb2**
 * 30. f5! Bxa2**
 * 31. Rcd1 Rbc2?**
 * 32. Rd8+ Ng8**
 * 33. Ngf3 Rxc3+**
 * 34. Kf4 Rh6**
 * 35. Rg1 Rf6**
 * 36. Ng5! h6**
 * 37. Ngf7+! Resigns**


 * 1-0**


 * Solution:** 1 Rxf7! Rxf7 2 Rc2! and mate by Rc2-c8-f8 cannot be prevented.