Kasparov’s tailspin

In a game between top players, the opening moves signify not only the battleground they have embraced, but also the terrain they have avoided. In his prime, Garry Kasparov’s opponents would often duck the most critical choices, fearing the champion’s formidable advantage in home analysis of complex positions. But those who yielded an inch at the outset faced an uphill struggle of a different sort, and Kasparov won countless games from that psychological vantage point.

Since his retirement in 2005, Kasparov has made sporadic appearances in speed events against the world elite, with respectable results. But his appearance earlier this month at the Grand Chess Tour’s blitz event in Zagreb was disastrous, as he scored just 2.5/18. What went wrong?

His confidence took a knock in the very first game, in which the former world champion chose the Sicilian Najdorf as Black against Dutch no. 2 Jorden van Foreest. During his career, Kasparov wore that opening like a powerful exoskeleton, pummelling his opponents with ease. But Van Foreest is sharp and fearless, and at 22-years-old, too young to have any visceral memory of Kasparov’s dominance.

With the move 6.Bg5, Van Foreest dared Kasparov to enter the deepest forest of the Najdorf. The ‘poisoned-pawn’ variation could arise after 7…Qb6, but Kasparov surely knew that he could not match the Dutchman’s cutting-edge knowledge of that line. Hence his choice of 7…Qc7, but that was a modest concession which soon landed him in trouble. Van Foreest conducted the middlegame simply and directly and won a fine game.

Jorden Van Foreest–Garry Kasparov

Grand Chess Tour Zagreb Blitz, July 2021

1 e4 c5 2 Nf3 d6 3 d4 cxd4 4 Nxd4 Nf6 5 Nc3 a6 6 Bg5 e6 7 f4 Qc7 8 Bxf6 gxf6 9 Qf3 b5 10 a3 Nc6 11 Nxc6 Qxc6 12 f5 Qc5 13 Be2 Ra7 14 O-O-O In this variation, White brings heavy pressure to bear on the central light squares.