Anand wins championship

Position No. 6107: White to play and win. From the game Yuri Vovk-Peter Varga, French League, Mulhouse 2010.

Solution to Position No. 6106: Quickest is 1…Rgh8! 2 cxd6+ Kd8 3 Bg2 Rh2, foreseeing 4 Kf1 Rh1+. If 1…Qh6 2 cxb6+ Kd8, White can delay checkmate by 3 Qc7+.

Viswanathan Anand of India, world champion since 2007, retained his title by defeating Veselin Topalov of Bulgaria, 6-1/2 - 5-1/2 in their match in Sofia, Bulgaria. Anand won Tuesday’s final game, as Black, to end the most exciting championship of the last two decades.

Topalov seemed to have the momentum after Anand lost the drawish ending of the eighth game and overlooked at least four chances to win a fierce struggle in the ninth game. However, he could not capitalize on minimal advantages in the next two games, as Anand defended well. Tuesday’s game turned in Anand’s favor when Topalov, probably fearing Anand’s superiority in the speed chess tiebreakers that would follow another draw, gambled by snatching a pawn and exposing his King.

This match was originally scheduled for 2009. The World Chess Federation (FIDE) will determine Anand’s next challenger in an eight-player event later this year.

Campomanes dies

Florencio Campomanes died May 3 at age 83 in Baguio City, Philippines. Campo served from 1982 to 1995 as the most effective FIDE president in history. His most notable achievements were ending the Soviet Chess Federation’s boycott of Soviet defector Viktor Korchnoi and spreading chess to every corner of the world in the 1980s.

Campo was vilified (absolutely wrongly, in my opinion) for halting the five-month world championship match between Anatoly Karpov and Garry Kasparov in 1985 and ordering a rematch, which Kasparov won. When Kasparov broke away from FIDE in 1993, Campo made the less defensible decision to inaugurate a new champion, which led to 13 years of chaos with two “champions.”

Campo traveled constantly, displaying both his personal charm and his love of chess. I remember two of his visits to Los Angeles in the early 1980s, where he handled his political duties smoothly, then spent hours challenging masters at speed chess. I am delighted that he outlived most of his critics.

Local news

The Lina Grumette Memorial Day Classic, a local tradition since 1980, begins Friday evening in the Hilton Hotel, 5711 W. Century Blvd. in Los Angeles. Organizer John Hillery has scheduled the tournament a week earlier than usual because he could not find an affordable playing site on Memorial Day weekend. Entrants may opt for a two-day schedule, beginning Saturday morning. For full details, see westernchess.com.

Robert Hutchinson scored 4-1/2 - 1/2 to win the 35th Anniversary Open at the La Palma Chess Club. Leigh Hunt, George Shahin and Joe Warhula tied for second place at 3-1/2 - 1-1/2. Vic Alfaro took first prize in the second section of the 34-player tournament. Shahin and Hutchinson also won best game prizes.

The club meets Friday evenings in Central Park, 7821 Walker St. in La Palma. See the club’s comprehensive website at lapalmachess.741.com for much more.

Today’s games

GM Veselin Topalov (Bulgaria)-GM Viswanathan Anand (India), World Championship, Game No. 12, Sofia 2010: 1 d4 d5 2 c4 e6 3 Nf3 Nf6 4 Nc3 Be7 5 Bg5 h6 6 Bh4 0-0 7 e3 Ne4 Lasker’s Defense to the Queen’s Gambit. 8 Bxe7 Qxe7 9 Rc1 c6 10 Be2 Nxc3 11 Rxc3 dxc4 12 Bxc4 Nd7 13 0-0 b6 Or 13…e5. 14 Bd3 c5 15 Be4 Rb8 16 Qc2 Kramnik and Karpov have relied on 16 Qa4 Bb7 17 Bxb7 Rxb7 18 Qc2. Nf6 17 dxc5 Most challenging. Worthless is 17 Bd3?! Bb7 18 dxc5, as 18…Bxf3 19 gxf3 Nd5 20 Rc4 bxc5 favors Black. And 17 Bc6 Qd6 18 Bb5 Bb7 19 dxc5 bxc5 20 Rd1 produces only equality after 20…Qb6 21 Rxc5 Be4 22 Qc1 a6. Nxe4 18 Qxe4 bxc5 19 Qc2 Bb7 20 Nd2 Hoping to pick off the c-pawn. Not 20 Rxc5?! because of 20…Bxf3 21 gxf3 Rxb2 22 Qxb2 Qxc5. But 20 e4 is a reasonable alternative. Rfd8 21 f3 Ba6 22 Rf2 Rd7 23 g3 Rbd8 24 Kg2 Bd3 25 Qc1 Ba6 26 Ra3 Rejectng repetition by 26 Qc2 Bd3. Bb7 27 Nb3 Rc7 28 Na5 Also 28 Rc2 c4 29 Na5 Qf6 30 Nxb7 Rxb7 31 Rac3 Rdb8 keeps the position balanced. Ba8 29 Nc4 e5 30 e4 f5! 31 exf5? White should settle for equality with 31 Nd2 fxe4 32 Nxe4 Bxe4 33 fxe4 Rd4. e4! 32 fxe4?? Topalov completely misjudges the danger to his King. He could probably survive 32 Kg1 Rcd7 33 Qe3. Qxe4+ 33 Kh3 Rd4! 34 Ne3 Qe8! Winning. 35 g4 h5 36 Kh4 Neither 36 Kg3 Qe5+ nor 36 g5 Qe4 helps. g5+?! Even stronger is 36…Qd8+ 37 f6 hxg4 38 Nxg4 gxf6, and White will not last long. 37 fxg6 Qxg6 38 Qf1 Rxg4+ 39 Kh3 Re7! Threatening 40…Rxe3+ 41 Rxe3 Rh4+ 42 Kxh4 Qg4 mate. 40 Rf8+ Kg7?! Although 40…Kh7! 41 Rh8+ Kxh8 42 Qf8+ Qg8 43 Qxe7 looks murky, the computer reveals a clear win for Black by 43…Bg2+! 44 Nxg2 Qc8! 45 Nf4 Rg6+ 46 Ne6 Rxe6. 41 Nf5+ Kh7! Avoiding the disastrous pitfall 41…Kxf8?? 42 Ne7+ Qf7 (or 42…Kxe7 43 Rxa7+) 43 Ng6+! Rxg6 44 Qxf7+ Kxf7 45 Rxa7+. 42 Rg3 Forced, but Black can obtain a winning endgame. Rxg3+ 43 hxg3 Qg4+ 44 Kh2 Re2+ 45 Kg1 Rg2+ 46 Qxg2 Bxg2 47 Kxg2 Recovering the Queen by 47 Rf7+ Kg6 48 Rg7+ Kxf5 49 Rxg4 won’t save White, as Black’s King invades after 49…hxg4 50 Kxg2 Ke4 51 Kf2 Kd3. Qe2+ 48 Kh3 c4 Easier than 48…Qxb2 49 Kh4 Kg6. 49 a4 a5 50 Rf6 Kg8 51 Nh6+ Kg7 52 Rb6 Qe4! Anand aims to run Black out of moves. 53 Kh2 Kh7 54 Rd6 The problem with 54 Ra6 is 54…c3! 55 bxc3 Qe2+. Qe5! Anticipating 55 Rb6 h4. 55 Nf7 Qxb2+ 56 Kh3 Qg7, White Resigns. If 57 Nd8, one method is 57…Qg4+ 58 Kh2 h4.

GM Viswanathan Anand (India)-GM Veselin Topalov (Bulgaria), World Championship, Game No. 9, Sofia 2010: 1 d4 Nf6 2 c4 e6 3 Nc3 Bb4 4 e3 0-0 5 Bd3 c5 6 Nf3 d5 7 0-0 cxd4 8 exd4 dxc4 9 Bxc4 b6 A popular line of the Nimzo-Indian Defense. 10 Bg5 Bb7 11 Re1 Nbd7 12 Rc1 Rc8 13 Bd3 Kramnik defeated Kasparov with 13 Qb3 Be7 14 Bxf6 Nxf6 15 Bxe6, but 13…Bxc3 improves. Re8 14 Qe2 Bxc3 15 bxc3 The hanging couple, a useful pawn structure. Black stands slightly worse. Qc7 16 Bh4 Nh5 17 Ng5 g6 18 Nh3 The first new move, discouraging …Nh5-f4. e5 19 f3 Qd6 20 Bf2 exd4?! Faulty judgment, as the Rooks will prove stronger than the Queen. Correct is 20…Qa3 21 Qd2 Qa5, with adequate counterplay. 21 Qxe8+ Rxe8 22 Rxe8+ Nf8 23 cxd4 Nf6 24 Ree1 Ne6 25 Bc4 Bd5 More solid is 25…Nd5 26 Bg3 Qb4. 26 Bg3 Qb4 27 Be5! Nd7! Too dangerous is 27…Bxc4 28 Bxf6. 28 a3 Qa4 29 Bxd5 Nxe5 30 Bxe6 Qxd4+?! Tempting, but Black’s King will be too exposed. After 30…Nd3!, a draw is likely. 31 Kh1 fxe6 32 Ng5 Qd6 33 Ne4 Qxa3 34 Rc3 Qb2 35 h4 b5 36 Rc8+ Kg7 37 Rc7+ Kf8 Not 37…Kh6?? 38 Ng5. 38 Ng5 Ke8 39 Rxh7 Qc3 40 Rh8+? With only one minute to think, Anand mistakenly frees Black’s King. Instead, 40 Re4 seems to win after 40…a5 41 Nxe6 a4 42 Kh2 a3 43 Ra7 b4 44 Kg3, stopping Black’s pawns. Or, if 40…b4 41 Rxa7 b3 42 Rb7 b2 43 Kh2, neither 43…Qc1 44 Ra4! Nd7 45 Rab4 Qe1 46 Rxb2 Qxh4+ 47 Nh3 nor 43…Nc4 44 Rxe6+ Kd8 45 Ree7 Qa5 46 Ne6+ Kc8 47 Rec7+ Qxc7 48 Rxc7+ Kb8 49 Rxc4 b1Q 50 Rg4 Qf5 51 Nf4 will save Black. Kd7 41 Rh7+ Kc6 42 Re4 b4 43 Nxe6 Kb6 44 Nf4 Qa1+ 45 Kh2 a5 46 h5 gxh5? White has no obvious win after 46…g5. 47 Rxh5 Now the Rooks can work harmoniously. Nc6 48 Nd5+ Kb7 49 Rh7+ Ka6 50 Re6 Kb5 51 Rh5 Nd4 52 Nb6+ Keeping Black’s King from escaping to a4. Ka6 53 Rd6 Kb7 54 Nc4? Very convincing is 54 Nd5! (threatening 55 Rh7+) Qb1 55 Rhh6!, setting up mate with 56 Rd7+. Nxf3+ A good try, though it should fail. 55 gxf3 Qa2+ 56 Nd2 Kc7 57 Rhd5?! Easier is 57 Rhh6! b3 58 Kg3 b2 59 Rdg6, forcing Black to give up his Queen to stop checkmate. b3 58 Rd7+ Kc8 59 Rd8+ Kc7 60 R8d7+ Kc8 61 Rg7 a4 62 Rc5+ Kb8 63 Rd5 Kc8 64 Kg3?! Instead, 64 Rdd7! Qc2 65 Kg3 b2 66 Ra7! Kb8 67 Rab7+ Kc8 68 Ne4! Qd1 69 Rgc7+ Kd8 70 Rh7 Kc8 71 Rxb2 wins. Qa1 65 Rg4? Now Black can draw. Possibly 65 Rdd7 Qe1+ 66 Kg4 still wins. b2 66 Rc4+ Kb7 67 Kf2 b1Q 68 Nxb1 Qxb1 69 Rdd4 Qa2+ 70 Kg3 a3 71 Rc3 Qa1 72 Rb4+ Ka6 73 Ra4+ Kb5 74 Rcxa3 Qg1+ White has no shelter from the checks. 75 Kf4 Qc1+ 76 Kf5 Qc5+ 77 Ke4 Qc2+ 78 Ke3 Qc1+ 79 Kf2 Qd2+ 80 Kg3 Qe1+ 81 Kf4 Qc1+ 82 Kg3 Qg1+ 83 Kf4, Drawn.