Georgics

George Osborne is a supporter of chess. During the award ceremony at 11 Downing St for last year’s London Candidates’ tournament, he told me that as a teenager he attended the Kasparov v. Karpov world championship at London’s Park Lane Hotel in 1986, which I assisted in organising. Appropriately, the Tory party chairman Sir Jeremy Hanley had persuaded Margaret Thatcher to open the championship. ‘Why on earth should I want to open a chess match?’ she asked. ‘Because,’ Sir Jeremy replied, ‘they are crazy about chess in the USSR and you will be on the front pages of all their papers the day after.’ ‘So how can I resist?’ came the prime ministerial reply.
 
Magnus Carlsen, Viswanathan Anand and others v. Nigel Short, George Osborne and others: Consultation Game, Simpson’s-in-the-Strand, London 2012; Alekhine’s Defence
 
1 e4 Nf6 Alekhine’s defence is a favourite of Nigel Short. It is a provocative counterattack, difficult to face in a simultaneous display. 2 e5 Nd5 3 g3 Normal is 3 d4 as in numerous games with Nigel Short as Black, for example Smeets-Short, Staunton Memorial, London 2009 saw 3 d4 d6 4 Nf3 dxe5 5 Nxe5 c6 6 Be2 Bf5 7 0-0 Nd7 8 c4 N5f6 9 Bf4 Qb6 10 Nxd7 Nxd7 11 Qd2 e5 12 dxe5 0-0-0 and Black went on to win. 3 … d6 4 Nf3 Bg4 5 exd6 exd6 6 Bg2 Qe7+ (see diagram 1) 7 Kf1 After 7 Qe2 Qxe2+ 8 Kxe2 Nc6 9 c3 Ne5 the game is likely to be a draw. As played White places the king in an awkward situation and hampers his own development. 7 … Nc6 8 Nc3 Nxc3 9 bxc3 Qd7 Black has to reposition the queen in order to unblock the arteries of his own mobilisation. 10 Rb1 Rb8 11 h3 Be6 12 Rb2 Be7 13 Kg1 0-0 White’s manoeuvres are somewhat congested but despite this the chances continue to be balanced.