Chess

This year’s Staunton Memorial, which pits top English grandmasters against their Dutch counterparts, was played from August 8-17. Nigel Short won the match for England when he defeated the Netherlands’  Loek van Wely in the final round of the match. Short is now rated at 2700 on live ratings, and at 44, is once again Britain’s top grandmaster.

During the recent Topco Juice DDL-sponsored Emancipation Chess Tournament, the junior participants outnumbered the seniors for the first time by a margin of 1.5 to one. A few players from West Demerara played their first tournament in Georgetown and did well. In photo, Aslam Hussein (left) plays Saeed Ali.

Van Wely, L (2655) – Short, N (2684)
7th Staunton Memorial London ENG (10), 17.8.2009

1.d4 e6 2.c4 Nf6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Qc2 d5 5.cxd5 Qxd5 6.e3 c5 7.a3 Bxc3+ 8.bxc3 0-0 9.Nf3 b6 10.c4 Qh5 11.Be2 Bb7 12.0-0 Nbd7 13.a4 Qg6 14.Qxg6 hxg6 15.Bb2 a5 16.Rfd1 Rfd8 17.Nd2 Rac8 18.f3 cxd4 19.exd4 Ba6 20.Kf2 Rc7 21.Rac1 Rdc8 22.Ba3 Ne8 23.f4 Bb7 24.Re1 Bc6 25.Bd1 Ndf6 26.g4 Rd7 27.Ke3 Rcd8 28.Bb2 Nd6 29.h3 Rc8 30.Ba3 Bb7 31.Be2 Ba6 32.Bd3 Rc6 33.Rc2 Rdc7 34.Rec1 Rc8 35.Ke2 Kh8 36.Kd1 Nfe8 37.Ke2 Nf6 38.Ke3 Kg8 39.g5 Nh5

Now, on the last move of the time control, van Wely committed the fatal mistake, with the breakthrough 40.d5?? exd5 41.cxd5 Rxc2 42.Rxc2 Re8+! The move the Dutch GM had missed. White is lost. 43.Kd4 Bxd3 44.Rc6. After 44.Kxd3 Nxf4+ White will end up two pawns down. 44…Nf5+ White Resigns!  0-1