Game 8
Game 8
Ruy Lopez
Korchnoi with Black played quickly the first ten moves then innovated with 10…g6, a dubious move which offered to Karpov good chances of attack. The Champion didn’t miss the opportunity to maximize his superiority and finish the job with 26. Rd7!! a wonderful sacrifice.
“Finally” was Karpov first remark to his seconds as he stepped down from the stage. “lt was a bad opening. I have nothing to do with it. It’s not part of our preparation,” Keene said.The game was also marked by two minor incidents. First Karpov refused to shake the hand of Korchnoi which made Korchnoi to issue another protest. Then at the end of the game Korchnoi refused to sign Karpov’ score sheet but changed his mind the next morning and affixed his signature.
Game 9
Game 9
Queen’s Gambit Declined
Karpov protested the decision of chief arbiter to remove Dr. Zoukhar from the orchestra. The Jury decided to uphold the protest of Karpov. Mikhail Tal’s report in the book he co-published with Bjelica.
A great fight again, again Queen’s gambit. At the opening of the game Korchnoi gained an advantage in position, and had to defend himself for a long time. Korchnoi could choose on which side to attack, the queen’s or the king’s. Judging from everything Korchnoi did not know where to start the attack and that was why he played the way he did. Karpov’s position seemed to be dangerous. But just a in the previous games Korchnoi had little time left, and Karpov changed the situation on the board at the right moment. Korchnoi most probably did not continue too well, and the game was adjourned in the position in which a draw seemed inevitable
This was what Tal said, and Miguel Najdorf added that Korchnoi play poorly in the fifth hour.
The last moments of the game were exciting. It was felt that Korchnoi was nervous. He did not even manage to write down the moves. He had to make the last ten moves within ten minutes. Later on, he had only five minutes left for six moves. His flag was raised and it threatened to fall, when he had to make his three last moves. Korchnoi then had great positional advantage. His pieces were exceptionally well-placed. He ruled over the open line he had won with his important pieces. But the Champion proved to be a great master of defence. He had enough time and he found the right solutions. He seemed to become more and more restless. Karpov gave up a pawn but he also exchanged queens and at that moment Korchnoi’s offensive subsided completely. When the fifth hour of the game was over, and Korchnoi was out of the time- it was seen that Karpov had managed to pull himsief out.
Game 10
Game 10
Ruy Lopez
Mrs. Leeuwerik announced that Korchnoi will halt friendly communication with the champion and will arrange draws through the arbiter. Karpov produced a home preparation with the move 11. Ng5 which gave him some favourable prospect but somehow playing too quickly he missed the right continuation with 13.c4. Instead his advantage slides into an inferior position. In time trouble Black overlooked 35…Rxa4 which could have give him winning chance.
Game 11
Game 11
Sicilian Defense
Korchnoi had some advantage in the early middle game when Karpov, after 26…Rxb3?, blundered away the exchange. For all after the 29th move the game was over. Karpov insited but finally resigned after Korchnoi’s 51st move. Karpov: “In the eleventh game I had a reasonable position, but then something inexplicable happened. It was one of those days when apathy sets in, and everything seems to go wrong.”
Game 12
Game 12
Ruy-Lopez
Before the game, a team of the Philippine Atomic Energy Commission conducted a radioactivity measurement survey and reported that no abnormal or unusual radioactivity levels above the natural background radioactivity level characteristic of Baguio city.
Korchnoi miraculously rides out a storm unleashed by himself after playing an interesting innovation in the opening. Karpov took the advantage of Black weakness and forced them to give up a full Pawn. With many options to be selected, the Champion chose the most complicated 26. Ng3?! and Korchnoi happy to survive managed later to secure a solid draw. Karpov: “I was unhappy with the draw outcome of this game. At one point I could have kept my extra pawn, and thus created greater difficulties for my opponent
Game 13
Game 13
Queen’s Gambit declined
Both players played the opening rapidly and it was only in the middle-game, when the challenger began to have a clear advantage that the champion started to think about his position. Black position was very passive and Korchnoi was flying for another victory. Korchnoi sealed the best move but took 45 minutes for it. In time trouble Korchnoi started to play a couple of inaccurate moves. An incredible error with his 56th move Qh4 will end his hope to score a second victory.
Game 14
Game 14
Ruy Lopez
With White colour, probably more tired than usual, Karpov played very passively. Simplifying the position to reach an opposite colour Bishop’s ending, the Champion looked to be happy with the short day. Korchnoi in contrary was probably in a fighting mood. Avoiding a quick draw he was about to gain some counter-play. Karpov then made an interesting exchange sacrifice in order to arrive to an advantageous endgame. With the best move selected by Karpov before the adjournment, Korchnoi’s hopes to survive were instantly annihilated.
Game 15
Game 15
Catalan Opening
Karpov: “The fifteenth game was rather short, but interesting enough. In the opening Black sacrificed a pawn for the initiative, and there was no way that Korchnoi could give the appearance of being the active side. The only attack he made on me was through the arbiter, to whom he complained about those same infamous “movements of the chair”, and he again offered me a draw via the arbiter.”
Game 16
Game 16
French Defense
Karpov: “In the sixteenth game Korchnoi finally brought out his former favourite — the French Defence. It can be supposed that he was still psychologically depressed after his two successive defeats in games 13 and 14. He evidently thought that a lengthy (but positional and relatively quiet and technical) struggle with Black in the Tarrasch Variation of the French Defense would give him better chances of a draw than the sharp continuations in, for example, the Open Variation of the Ruy Lopez. The Challenger did in fact achieve his aim, after I had missed a chance to strengthen my position, and had then been obliged to agree to the draw offered by my opponent in the adjourned position.”
Game 17
Game 17
Nimzo-Indian Defense
A very thick dividing line may be drawn, as it were, at game seventeen. At the start of the game Korchnoi made a last, desperate attempt to be rid of Zukhar. He treated the organizers to a heated verbal denunciation and threatened to resort to personal violence if Zukhar was not removed. When ten minutes had accumulated on Korchnoi’s clock, Campomanes decided to remove all the spectators from the first seven rows, thus forcing Zukhar from his proximity to Korchnoi. The game, however, proved to be a monumental disaster for Korchnoi, who played beautifully to obtain a winning position only to go horribly astray in time trouble, finally allowing a mate in three in an endgame in which Karpov had no pawns left. At this point the match seemed virtually over. Down by a score of four games to one and unable to come to terms with or to remove Zukhar, Korchnoi was psychologically destroyed.
Game 18
Game 18
Pirc Defense
Stean: “Korchnoi took two timeouts and went to Manila to recover. There he met two young Americans, Stephen Dwyer and Victoria Shepperd, members of a sect called Ananda Marga. In the course of a few days they performed a remarkable repair job on Viktor’s shattered nervous system, teaching him yoga and meditation and giving him the reassurance and confidence he needed to combat Zukhar’s influence. He also encountered a spiritualist group who claimed to be able to intercept and interfere with the mind-bending signals emitted by the Soviet parapsychologist.
So Viktor returned from Manila with two armies of miracle workers, refreshed and revitalized. Meanwhile, in Baguio, Ray Keene had succeeded by some deft diplomacy in persuading the Russians to seat Zukhar at the rear of the auditorium together with the other members of the Soviet delegation.
From game eighteen on, the change had been seen to be believed. The normally sparsely populated playing hall suddenly swelled meditating Margis (as Ananda Marga members are called) and mind-controlling spiritualists. Poor Zukhar was totally nonplussed and gave up in despair. Suddenly it was Karpov who was making terrible mistakes at the playing sessions: he threw away completely won positions through an unbelievable string of errors.”
Game 19
Game 19
Catalan Opening
New surprises were in store. Suddenly there was a security scare. It turned out that the two young Americans from Ananda Marga had been convicted of the attempted murder an Indian diplomat earlier this year and were free on bail pending appeal. Soon after it was discovered, the two were banned from the playing hall as security risks.
Both players followed the lines of the 15th game but this time White preferred to develop his Knight on d2. Black managed to secure some minimal advantage which disappears once Korchnoi played some interesting manoeuvre to simplify the position then to draw the game.
Game 20
Game 20
Caro-Kann
The jury accepted the protest of Campomanes and decided to disallow entrance into Karpov-Korchnoi games by persons of known criminal record. “We regret that Mr. Korchnoi had the misfortune to choose such persons with records. We, therefore, offer to provide him with persons with equal if not better capabilities to put his mind at ease and to strengthen his will to win even if we have to secure then from abroad.”
Korchnoi opened with an unusual variation of the Caro-Kann which gave to White a small but solid advantage. Little bit by little bit Karpov outmanoeuvre the Challenger and when the time of adjournment was reached most of the expert forecasted another point for the Champion. Even Keene said: If Korchnoi pulls off a miracle y saving this game, I shall join the Ananda Marga.”. The miracle came first with a wrong sealing move 42. Qd6? (instead of Qb6) and unnecessary complications. Then with 52. Bf3, a move which surprised everyone including Korchnoi himself, Karpov threw away at once all the benefit accumulated during the last two day.
Karpov: For almost half an hour I reflected on my sealed move, realizing that my position was totally won. It was this great advantage which led me to avoid capturing an enemy pawn, since I thought that then unnecessary complications might arise on the resumption. I overlooked that, from the very square where the black pawn would be taken, it would be easier for my queen to return to the defence of its kingside, while simultaneously clearing the way for the avalanche of white pawns. After hesitating, I settled on what I thought to be a quieter and safer continuation. This was a mistake, but a mistake which did not give up the win, but only made it more complicated.
As soon as we began our adjournment analysis, it became clear that the capture I had avoided on the stage would have won immediately (later this was also admitted by Korchnoi’s seconds: had this move been sealed, the Challenger was simply intending to resign). It is quite possible that the vexation experienced by me and my helpers prevented us that night from making a really good analysis of the adjourned position: mentally (and sometimes even at the board) we all kept involuntarily returning to the missed opportunity, and were constantly diverted from reality. Meanwhile the sealed move should also have led to a win, but on the resumption I committed a series of inaccuracies in carrying out the correct plan, and to my great morrow the win was thrown away.”
Game 21
Game 21
Queen’s gambit Declined
Dada and Didi had been banned from the Convention Centre but this decision didn’t affect deeply Korchnoi. The Challenger went straight to some comfortable position but missed a clear advantage after 21. Re5 instead of 21.f4. Too confident in his position, the Champion neglected to protect some of his Pawns and soon had too admit his position to be very critical. Good analyses made the job quite easily and Korchnoi did not have to wait too long before to celebrate his second victory