CHESS

The atmosphere at the traditional Wijk aan Zee tournaments seems to inspire the players to create works of great imagination. The most spectacular games at the prestigious Dutch event -- Kasparov against Topalov in 1999, Zviagintsev against Cifuentes in 1995, Ljubojevic against Andersson in 1976 and even my queen sacrifice against Portisch in 1975 -- made it to the anthologies of world's greatest games.

The candidate for this year's most spectacular game is David Navara's victory against the Indian GM Krishnan Sasikiran, the top seed in the B-group. Throughout the tournament, the Czech grandmaster seesawed between brilliant moves and blunders. But one day, in one game, everything clicked. Navara's astonishing piece sacrifice in the Closed Sicilian led to a wonderful squeeze, leaving the black king at his mercy.

Navara-Sasikiran

1.e4 c5 2.Nc3 d6 3.g3 Nc6 4.Bg2 g6 5.d3 Bg7 6.f4 Rb8 7.Nf3 b5 8.a3 (Boris Spassky's way of slowing black's advance on the queenside.) 8...e6 9.Be3 Nge7 10.d4! b4?! 11.axb4 Rxb4 12.dxc5 d5 (After 12...Rxb2 white can sacrifice the knight with 13.0-0!, for example 13...Bxc3 14.cxd6 and black can't cling to the piece, because after 14...Ng8 15.Qd3 Bg7 16.e5, black is squeezed.) 13.exd5 exd5 14.Ne5! (A prelude to a surprising piece sacrifice.) 14...Nxe5 (After 14...Bxe5 15.fxe5 d4 16.Bg5 Qc7 [16...dxc3? 17.Bxc6+ wins.] 17.Ne4 black is in trouble.) 15.fxe5 d4 16.Bg5! (An impressive piece sacrifice, utilizing pins and keeping the king in the middle. After 16.Na2 Rxb2 17.Bxd4 Rxc2! 18.Qxc2 Qxd4 19.Qc3 Bxe5 20.Rc1 0-0 21.Qxd4 Bxd4, black can fight.) 16...dxc3 17.Qxd8+ Kxd8 18.bxc3! (A fine judgment, leaving the black rook without a good choice and keeping the lines to the black king open.) 18...Rg4 (After either 18...Rc4 or 18...Rb8 comes 19.Rxa7 with a decisive pressure.)

19.0-0-0+! Ke8 (After 19...Bd7 20.c6! Rxg5 21.Rxd7+ Ke8 22.Rhd1 Nc8 23.Rd8+ Ke7 24.R1d7+ Ke6 25.c7!, black can't cope with white's threats.) 20.Bf6! (The squeezer! Black is going to play without the rook on h8 and his king is vulnerable to mating threats.) 20...Bxf6 (The alternative 20...Rg8 is not promising either, for example 21.Rd6! Ra4 22.Kb2 Ra6 23.Rxa6 Bxa6 24.Ra1 and white should win.) 21.exf6 Ra4 (Removing the knight from e7 leads to a mating attack and after 21...Be6 or 21...Rc4 22.Rd6!, white doubles the rooks on the d-file and wins.) 22.c6! (Threatening 23.c7 and 24.Rd8 mate.) 22...Bg4 (After 22...Rc4 23.Rd2 Nxc6 24.Rhd1 Nd4 25.Bf1! Rc6 26.Rxd4, white wins.) 23.Rd2 h5 (Exchanging a pair of rooks with 23...Ra1+ 24.Kb2 Rxh1 25.Bxh1 still leaves the black king vulnerable, for example 25...Ng8 26.c7 Bd7 27.Bc6!; or 25...h5 26.c7 Bd7 27.Re2 Be6 28.Bc6+ Kf8 29.Rd2! and white wins.) 24.c7 Bd7 25.Bc6! (A pretty deflection, which wins after 25...Nxc6 [25...Ra1+ 26.Kb2 Rxh1 27.Rxd7 wins.] 26.Re1+ Kf8 27.Rxd7. Equally good was 25.Bh3! Rg4 26.Bxg4 hxg4 27.Rhd1.) Black resigned.

Americans in Action

GM Gata Kamsky starts his eight-game match against the Bulgarian GM Veselin Topalov, for the right to challenge the world champion Vishy Anand of India, tomorrow in Sofia, Bulgaria. The former U.S. champion Alexander Onischuk won the Moscow Open this month, scoring 7 1/2 points in nine games. He will be in action again tomorrow in Moscow at the Aeroflot Open.

Solution to today's study by T. Gorgiev (White: Kf7,Ra1,Be8,Nh2; Black: Kh7,Rd3,Rh8): 1.Rh1! Rh3! (or 1...Kh6 2.Nf3 mate) 2.Bd7! Rh5 3.Ng4!! Rf8+ (or 3...Rxh1 4.Bf5 mate) 4.Kxf8 Rxh1 5.Bf5+ Kh8 6.Ne5 Rh7 (or 6...Rf1 7.Nf7 mate) 7.Ng6 mate.