Understanding before Moving 39: The Critical Move (2)

by ChessBase
8/8/2021 – Herman Grooten is an International Master, a renowned trainer and the author of several highly acclaimed books about chess training and chess strategy. In the 39th instalment of his ChessBase show "Understanding before Moving", Herman takes another look at critical moves, this time with the help of a fine game by the young Garry Kasparov. | Photo: Tommy Grooten
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Once upon a time there were World Team Championships U27. I myself was allowed to represent the Netherlands in Graz, Austria, in 1981. Together with four other players, including Grandmaster John van der Wiel, we held our own in the the tournament. The Soviet Union was the superpower and won the tournament by a large margin. The team (which included Arthur Yusupov, Sergey Dolmatov and Yevgeniy Vladimirov) owed this mainly to the phenomenal score of Garry Kasparov (10 out of 11) on the first board. The play of the then 18-year-old Kasparov was not only impressive, but his post-game analyses were particularly so. Many people crowded around his board to catch a glimpse of what the genius from Baku had seen during the game. I myself was also able to enjoy the way he analysed and the genius he displayed. It was of course extraordinary that our team could play against the Soviet Union at one point. The diagram position is from the game Kasparov-Van der Wiel in which the black player had an interesting idea in a line that just started to get popular. We were curious to see what Kasparov had prepared in response and were not disappointed: he came up with a formidable novelty and executed his moves with great force. In the diagram position, the black player came up with 6...Qe7?! A somewhat bizarre move, but Van der Wiel had prepared it meticulously. In certain circles this idea circulated for Black and it was not seen at the time how White could still play for an advantage. 7.Bg5 Practically the only move to play for an advantage. Black was ready to take the pawn on d5. After exd5
clearly is a critical moment though the game just started. Kasparov, of course, was aware of this and had prepared something terrible for the poor Dutchman.... The game then became a highly entertaining one! The normal reaction for White here would be 8.cxd5?! after which Van der Wiel wanted to play Qe4! Now the pawn on d5 is attacked twice and after 9.Qxe4+ Nxe4 Black is in excellent shape. But what did Kasparov play instead? 1–0
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Kasparov,G2630Van der Wiel,J-1–01981E12WchT U26

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