Autumn Endgame - episode 4"&hibar;

Moscow, via London.

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"Good afternoon, listeners everywhere. This is Radio 6, broadcasting by courtesy of Moscow Broadcasting relayed from the Red Square chess tournament where British star John Osprey is taking part. His game against Dmitri Serikov has been in progress for 30 minutes. Will Serikov get his revenge for his London defeat? How's the game going, Ray?"

R:"Surprisingly. John has chosen a wild and unfashionable line against Serikov's King's Indian Defence."

"He did something unusual in the London game too, didn't he? Is this a good tactic?"

R:It's good to play a surprise, to prepare a variation for a particular opponent, but not to choose a line with a bad reputation.

"Unless he's got a theoretical novelty up his sleeve."

R:"That's hardly likely in this line, the Four Pawns Attack."

"Sounds aggressive - 'Four Pawns Attack'."

R:"It certainly is. But White hasn't castled, and to extend his front is positional suicide. Black castles and immediately has something to counterattack against. Targets. When the position opens up it's bound to be to Black's advantage."

"How many moves have they played?"

R:"It's Osprey's turn. He's on his eighth move."

"He's White, isn't he?"

R:"Of course he is, as the Four Pawns Attack is a white treatment."

"Well, what's going on in John's mind?"

R:"He told me before the game, when we spoke on the phone, that he had something in mind, but he didn't tell me what."

"You mean he knew what defence Serikov was going to choose?"

R:"Only in a statistical sense. Serikov could have sprung a surprise, But Serikov is playing what he knows, and he knows the King's Indian.

"John's moved, I hear."

R:"Ah. e4-e5. I'm not sure if that's even in the book. He won't be able to hold that pawn, for sure."

"And there's another flurry."

R:"Pawns are exchanged, Serikov's attacked knight has moved out to attack that pawn that John rashly pushed."

"Do you think this is John's prepared line?"

R:"Could be. It's going to get terribly complicated."

"I hear Serikov's queen is threatened."

R:"That can only be by Osprey's bishop. There's no way Osprey can have prepared this line much deeper. Black has at least three - no, five good moves at this point. Murder to analyse all of them ahead of time."

"So you don't give Osprey a chance?"

R:"I didn't say that. But in a complicated position he's the likely one to slip up, or use up all his time."

"But wasn't it Hugh Alexander who advised that when you're playing a stronger player you should go for the mazily difficult where neither player can see what's really happening?"

R:"Yes, that helped Hugh Alexander win a game off Botvinnik. In a radio match. Years ago. But that's not going to happen here."

"Serikov's taking a long time to make up his mind."

R:"Yes. Maybe he's been taken by surprise by this line."

"But he's played his queen to a5. What do you think of that choice?"

R:"It's what I would have done. It exerts immediate pressure, preparing to exchange on d5. White is going to lose material."

"Or sacrifice it."

R:"Have it your own way. But if it's a sacrifice, where's the compensation?"

"You tell me. You're the grandmaster."

R:"You're the one who said it was a sacrifice."

"Which hasn't happened yet. Sorry folks, we've got to break off for the news. We'll be back with more moves in 30 minutes."

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"Well, what's been happening, Ray?"

R:"A lot. White's managed to castle, but at the cost of his central pawn."

"And is there any compensation? Was it a sacrifice, perhaps?"

R:"He's got some well-placed pieces, but Black's developing pretty well, and White's remaining centre pawns are shaky. I don't see where the threats are going to come from."

"Didn't White threaten to take Black's queen?"

R:"Not really. Playing a2-a3 was a good move, to threaten b2-b4 but it was the only move, and a non-developing one at that. So it depends on how you look at it."

"So what are the position's characteristics now? How many moves have they played?"

R:"They've played 18 moves, and White has just passed up an opportunity to win the exchange. It wouldn't have done him any good, though, and that's what I would have called a sacrifice, with buckets of positional advantage and loads of tactical threats in return. White's only plus is his knight on d5, and taking the exchange would have thrown it away."

"But John has advanced his rook to f6. In the lion's maw. Rather like he did in the London game. Shouldn't Black take it?"

R:"No. The thing about moves like that one with the rook is that the defender doesn't have to capture at once. What he does is calmly meet all the threats as they arise - if there are any, of course - and gradually create threats of his own. Eventually the rook will either be lost or have to retreat. That's the way to refute moves like that."

"You don't have much faith in John's position, then?"

R:"Not if he's lost control of the centre."

"Well, has he?"

R:"Things are happening. Or not happening. John's hand was hovering over his king, as if he was thinking of playing it into the corner. But he wasn't threatened with anything, so he's getting desperate. Not that I blame him."

"But he hasn't done that."

R:"No, he's played his dark bishop again. Retreating a square but attacking the black knight that wanted to move anyway. And leaving his rook out on even more of a limb."

"Isn't Black being paralysed with pins?"

R:"There's no point to a pin unless you can take some benefit. White's knight's been undermined after the c-pawn's gone, as it has now, and there's no white centre to speak of any longer. Wait till Black gets his rooks on the centre files."

"But Black's centre is disintegrating too, isn't it?"

R:"It's complicated all right. But it'll clear up soon. The storm's at its height and can't last much longer."

"Well, there's plenty happening now. The white knight has checked the black king into the corner and White's captured Black's last centre pawn and centralising his queen. There's nothing left of either centre."

R:"Yes, that's already White's move 21, but all that centralisation of the queen does is pin his own rook. Black's g7 bishop is certainly pulling his weight."

"Hey, there's a buzz in Moscow. I can't make it out. Black's attacked White's queen with a rook."

R:"As I said he would. Which rook?"

"I don't know. But it's happened again. Black's checkmated."

R:"Ah! So Black's won. A back-rank mate, is it?"

"No! Incredible. White's won. Black's "been"&hibar; checkmated, not given checkmate. 'Received' mate, as the Russians say."

R:"No. You've got it all wrong. It can't be."

"Yes it is, they're repeating the position and the moves for us. John Osprey has won on move 24. It's a stunning checkmate by the Englishman, just like in London a fortnight ago. Carol. Your comments."

C:"Well, I'm looking at the position now, and I'm flummoxed. White's queen's attacked, and his rook's attacked by one, two, three black men. Black's certainly in check, and I can't see a way out, but I've never seen anything like this before, except in some crazy chess problem. At least Serikov stuck it out to move 24 this time! And they say he's smiling again. What a man!"

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The game: John Osprey (England) vs. Dmitri Serikov (Russia)

King's Indian Defence - Four Pawns Attack

1.c4 Nf6 2.Nc3 g6 3.e4 d6 4.d4 Bg7 5.f4 0-0 6.Nf3 c5 7.d5 e6 8.e5 de 9.fe Ng4 10.Bg5 Qa5 11.Be2 ed 12.0-0 d4 13.Nd5 Nc6 14.a3 cNxe5 15.Nxe5 Nxe5 16.b4 Qa6 17.Rf6 Be6 18.Bf4 Nxc4 19.bxc5 Nb2

The final 5 moves - next time.

Next episode next Sunday.

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