Battle of the Legends (2/2)

Day Two

By Brian Jerauld

The Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis was bustling!
Outside, IM Malcolm Pein plays against the locals.

Young players come into the Chess Club all the time. Young Martin here tries to solve a puzzle.

The amazing studio where I had the pleasure of providing live commentary with GM Maurice Ashley

And just like that, Garry Kasparov has left the building. Though his appearance was brief, returning to the board for only two days and 10 games in his Battle of the Legends match against Nigel Short, while he was here Kasparov made certain to leave nothing on the table.

No missed opportunities. Not many of Short’s pieces. And certainly, no doubt.

Convincing enough on Saturday, emerging from the first day with a two-point lead, Kasparov reminded the world who he is on Sunday at the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis. Though retired for a decade, the greatest chess player in history completely dismantled Short -- still active, as the world’s No. 60 player -- with a stunning 5-0 sweep of the afternoon. The brutal end of the lopsided 8.5-1.5 match, which featured him flagging for a loss on day one to raise concerns about rust collecting on the 13th World Champion of Chess, instead reminded everyone: Gold does not rust.

Is this the face of a rusty, retired, old man?

“I feel great, and I have to confess: I’m also surprised,” Kasparov said of his toppling victory. “I felt like it was time to play as I had played 20 or 30 years ago: Just have fun -- and attack, attack. So I did it in every game, and it worked.”

Indeed, at 52 years old on Sunday, Kasparov looked like the player of yesteryear, showcasing five games worth of devastating attacks that left the bout looking less like a mismatch, and more like he was simply running up the score. Ironically Sunday’s first game -- the day’s only to feature a longer Rapid time control -- was the only game to reach a fantastic race in time pressure, while the remaining four Blitz games featured lopsided crushes, each of them worse than the last.

Garry with his long time friend Michael Khodarkovsky

A brief postmortem

“I think I had chances in that first game -- and then things started to go from bad to worse,” Short said. “By the last game, I didn’t see anything at all. I didn’t see a single move.”

Sunday’s opening Rapid game was a nostalgic chess fan’s delight, as Kasparov with the black pieces defended in his trademark Najdorf Sicilian. His lash out with 13...h4...h5 helped to tear open white’s kingside protection, while his exchange sacrifice at 16...Rxc3 collapsed the center and ravaged white’s pawn structure.

Through a middlegame with variations plentiful and wild, Short held the material advantage extremely well, using the recapture at 21. cxd5 to repair his structure and temporarily hold black’s compensation attack at bay. The move left Kasparov stalled, head shaking in frustration as his clock fell below six minutes, and finally deciding on the innocuous 22...a5. Short responded with a quick 23. Rc1, further solidifying his position.

But Short gave up a nearly five minute clock advantage before deciding on 24. Qb3, and his 26. f4! triggered the blitz fireworks in a fantastically complex endgame.

After collapsing in the rapid Rapid endgame, Short was rolled over in each of the four Blitz games.

“Unfortunately, chess is a sport, and you need energy -- and that’s what was completely lacking in my own game,” said Short, who won the Thailand Open last week but reported a suffering from jet lag in Saint Louis. “Actually, I felt my energy going down throughout this match. I just didn’t arrive in good physical condition.”

In Sunday’s second Blitz game, Short steered clear of more Kasparov Najdorf hijinx, the game turning into a Classic Sicilian. By 13...Qa5, Kasparov was on the attack again, shocking Short with a quickly played 15...e4 that sent white’s army into disarray.

Short was all-but looking for the exit by the match’s tenth and final game, body language indicating that he had seen better days. He desperately tried to slow the afternoon onslaught down into a positional battle, but Kasparov continued to pour it on. Black’s castling on the 14th move allowed white the central break with 15. e4, but Kasparov’s response of 15...c5 turned the game on a sharper blade and rocked Short back in his seat.

Under kingside duress already, Short sent his queen away hunting pawns with 24. Qxd5+, while Kasparov’s queen slipped in through the back door. The legend brought the match to a close with a menacing attack, ending the vicious afternoon with a fitting finish: Checkmate on the board.

In fact, it was Kasparov who was shaking his head in disbelief as his clock fell below six minutes

“He’s the greatest player in chess history, in my opinion,” Short said.

After flagging for a loss on day one, leaving some to question if rust had taken over the retired 13th World Champion of Chess, Kasparov returned on Sunday and reminded everyone about a little thing called science: Gold does not rust.

In only his fourth serious match since retiring in 2005, Kasparov completely dismantled Short - the world’s 60th best active Grandmaster

Nigel Short was as true gentleman and graceful in defeat

"Fine, I'll accept your resignation..."

An autograph session to finish the day

Photos by Austin Fuller

Replay the Massacre

Select from the dropdown menu to replay the games

Format: two rapid and eight blitz games. Time Control: Rapid - 25 minutes, plus a 10-second delay per move; Blitz - 5 minutes, with a 3-second delay. For example, if the delay is five seconds, the clock waits for five seconds before counting down. Schedule:

All times are local to Saint Louis, MO, USA (CDT). The rapid games start at 2:00 p.m. = 21:00h CEST – here is the time in your location.  Both match days for Battle of the Legends will be streamed live on U.S. Chess Champs, featuring world-class commentary from International Grandmasters Maurice Ashley and Alejandro Ramirez, as well as post-game interviews and analysis with Kasparov and Short.

Links Official tournament site All Games in PGN The games will be broadcast live on the official web site and on the chess server Playchess.com. If you are not a member you can download a free Playchess client and get immediate access. You can also use ChessBase 12 or any of our Fritz compatible chess programs.