International - Chess World Championships 1999 Odd one Out

I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate the new World Champion Alexander Khalifman. Perhaps I am a little late, but as far as I can see I am still one of the earliest. The reason for this is that almost every article I read refers to him as the FIDE Champion or even just the winner of the FIDE knock- out tournament in Las Vegas. It seems that there is a widespread reluctance to accept as World Champion anyone who is not called Kasparov or Karpov - at least Khalifman has the right initial! However, fairly obviously (or not?) the World Champion is the winner of the World Championship, and in the absence of any alternative competition, that should be that.

There are many sports where the World Champion is not the generally accepted top player, and indeed if this were not the case there would be no point in holding World Championships at all we could just declare Kasparov Champ in perpetuity and forget it as he seems to have done himself. Personally I think Khalifman deserves the title for the incredible character he showed in coming back from early losses. Also it gives the rest of us hope! I think I was only seeded about four places below him! Next year...

Without changing topics, let me set you a puzzle. Which of the following is the odd one out? Anand, Fischer, Morozevich, Kamsky, Karpov, Kasparov, Khalifman, Kramnik, Shirov or Short? (In alphabetical order in case you were wondering). Too hard? OK, let's try an easier one. Same logic, other sex. Which is the odd one out of Galliamova, Judit Polgar, Susan Polgar or Xie Jun? Got it? Well, the answer is Xie Jun. She is the only one not to have refused to play in, or been thrown out of a World Championship (so far!!).

In case you have not been following the Women's World Championship too closely, let me summarize the highlights. At Groningen in 1997 Galliamova won an overwhelming victory in the Candidates tournament . However, according to the - rather strange - regulations that only qualified her to play the final match against the second placed Xie Jun, to decide the challenger for Susan Polgar. The match was originally scheduled to be half in Russia and half in China. However, in the pre-match preparations the Russian half collapsed, so the whole match was awarded to China. Galliamova refused to accept this and was duly forfeited when she failed to show up in Shenyang. So, Xie Jun progressed to play Susan Polgar. However, when FIDE tried to arrange the match, Polgar asked for a postponement to let her recover from childbirth. FIDE refused and forfeited her. And replaced her by... Galliamova!!! So now Xie Jun and Galliamova had to meet for the title.

So they did, and Xie Jun won. But in the meantime FIDE had postponed the women's knock-out that was supposed to succeed the old system and concluded that there wasn't such a hurry anymore, so Susan could have her postponement after all. So now Xie Jun is not the Champion but the challenger again..

What a farce! It could never happen again, could it?? No?? Then please recall the history of the PCA/ WCC. Long, long ago, when computers were still in nappies (diapers to my American readers) Nigel Short qualified to challenge Kasparov in the FIDE World Championship (or The World Championship as we used to call it in those innocent days). But FIDE didn't offer Nige as much money as he wanted, so he and Gazza walked out and created the Professional Chessplayers Association (PCA), leaving Karpov to re-inherit the FIDE title by beating Timman, in a match that also had a hard time finding its prize fund.

Anyway... so Gazza beat Nige and became PCA Champ, an organisation with precisely three members at the time ( the third was Kasparov's lawyer, in case you wondered). So, In order to gain a bit of credibility, the PCA decided to stage its own World Championship cycle, and quite a reasonable job it did. An Interzonal type tournament (don't ask about the zonals!) was held in Groningen (looking at the results I see a certain A. Halifman was equal 44th - maybe he needed the K - and Zsuzsa Polgar clear last) and the qualifiers played old FIDE style matches to determine a challenger for Kasparov. Anand was triumphant, but was nevertheless flattened by Gazza.

So far so good, but now the trouble starts. Gazza, as he tends to do, fell out with the PCA sponsor. So, no money for another cycle. So no more PCA. So Gazza and a couple of mates decide to invent the World Chess Council (WCC) to replace it. Again, needing to retain some credibility, Gazza decided he needed a challenger. So, times being hard, he decreed that Anand and Kramnik should play a match to produce one. However Anand had signed an agreement with FIDE that he would not take part in a rival championship and decided to honour it. So Kasparov decreed that Shirov (who had just had a good result) should replace Anand. So Shirov played Kramnik. And Shirov won. That wasn't in the script. And neither was any prize money, as the players discovered to their annoyance at the end of the match.

Anyway... so Shirov should play Kasparov. But Kasparov couldn't find a sponsor, and Shirov understandably wasn't too happy about playing for nothing either. So Gazza decreed that it was pretty much Shirov's fault for being unmarketable, not to mention beating Kramnik when he wasn't meant to. Personally, from a chess spectator's point of view, I would have thought he was the most marketable player on earth, and,along with Ivanchuk perhaps, one who can do things that Kasparov can't and therefore has a serious chance of winning. Which is perhaps why Kasparov threw him out and replaced him by... errrr... Anand. Currently that match too seems to be having a hard time getting off the ground. I am reminded of a note by Peter Svidler to one of his games that it is remarkable what lengths the human mind will go to justify doing what it wanted in the first place.

So... have you got the answer yet??? The answer is Khalifman. He is, amazingly, the only one on the list not to have refused to play in, or been kicked out of, a World Championship, Anand declined to play in the PCA/WCC cycle, Fischer has declined everything since 1972, Kamsky gave the last FIDE cycle a miss to study medicine, Karpov missed Vegas (and wouldn't have been too welcome at the PCA festivities), Kasparov has avoided anything connected with FIDE for the last six years, Kramnik declined the FIDE Groningen, Morozevich didn't like the Vegas small print, Shirov got ignored out of the PCA/WCC final, and Short wasn't invited to the FIDE cycle after his attempt to sabotage the previous one.

One can only sympathise with Ilyumzhinov as he tries to create a united championship! Maybe a couple more zeroes on the prize fund might do it!! As the men's World Championship games have already been widely publicized - and also because the final ones were rather less than classic - I take this month's game from the Xie Jun v Galliamova match. The second game of the match set Xie Jun on the road to victory, as well as having a truly beautiful finish.

White: Xie Jun Black: A. Galliamova

1. e4 c5
2. Nf3 Nc6
3. d4 cd
4. Nd4 Nf6
5. Nc3 d6
6.Bg5 e6
7. Qd2 a6
8. O-O-O Nd4
9. Qd4 Be7
10. f4 b5
11. Bf6 gf
12. e5 A trendy line brought into fashion by Kasparov. Since it is still being developed I will not pretend to give authoritative opening notes! 12...d5
13. Kb1 Bd7
14. Qe3 f5
15. g4 An enterprising sac, in the spirit of the Benko, which is new to me at least. For a pawn white gets free piece play and makes the kingside uninhabitable for the black king. 15...fg 15.h3 gh
16. Bh3 Qc7 Black has the bishop pair and an extra pawn, but her position is lifeless and depressing. In particular the extra h pawn hardly looks likely to be of any use.
17. f5 O-O-O
18. Rhf1 Kb8
19. fe fe
20. Rf7 Increasing the pressure on the black position. Probably the passive Rde8 is best now, but Galliamova thinks she sees a chance to break out. 20...d4 With the idea that Qd4 is met by Be8, and Rd4 by Bc5.
21. Rd4! Bc5 22. Ne2! Simple and elegant. If black plans Bd4 Nd4 followed by Bg2 leaves black unable to contest the long diagonal.
22...h5 No thank you...
23. b4! But I insist. In passing white cuts out any back rank tricks. 23...Bd4
24 Nd4 Rc8
25. Bg2 Threatening simply Qe425...Rhg8 (See Diagram)Hoping to take the bishop, but....
26. Nc6+ Ka8If 26...Bc6
27. Bc6! wins easily. 27. Rd7! Qd7 Or 27...Rg2
28. Qa7+ 28.Nb8+!! On 28...Kb8,
29. Qb6 mates, so 1-0