Dutch Treat
by Hans Ree

DOLLAR SIGNS

The New York Open had a prize fund of $140,000. On the Internet
site of the tournament big dollar signs turned around merrily as to
invite the chessplayers to the land of plenty. And successfully. This
year there were 761 players and 57 grandmasters among them.
Those who think that the grandmasters could happily cut up the
prize fund among themselves, are not aware of the way such
American opens are run. Most of the money goes not to the main
event, where the best players compete, but to other sections for the
lower rated. For instance the under 1800 section had a first prize of
$8000, won by a nine-year-old boy called Adam Maltese. With
gnashing of teeth the grandmasters see the money that they
consider rightfully theirs go down the under-1800 drain.

It was a good start for a professional career for the young boy. He
should be careful that he does not become too strong during the
coming year, because that would force him to play next time in a
higher section where the competition is much stiffer.

I learned from American chess literature that some American
players prepare in a very special way for events like the New York
Open: by losing in other, less important tournaments as many
games as they can without attracting suspicion, to come down to a
low rating which will permit them to earn a lot of money in a
section that is to weak for them. Sandbaggers they are called. The
sandbagger is supposed to be excluded from tournaments when
found out, but generally it seems that little effort is spent on
smoking him out of his hiding, because a high turnout of players is
in the organizers' interest. The entry fees were high at the New
York Open: $220 for early applicants, $260 at the door of the
playing hall. Grandmasters do not have to pay, but when they win
a prize the $220 is deducted from it. Still I think that organizer Jos
Cuchi and his jewelry firm Heraldica spent a lot of money on the
event. Grandmasters with a FIDE rating of 2600 or more got a free
air ticket and hotel room this year.

For most players the dates of the tournament were April 2-6, but
there were other possibilities, like a two-weekends schedule. Or
starting in the first weekend, then after four games deciding that
you don't like your score, having it canceled and starting anew on
April 2 with the big crowd, of course after paying a fee again, but
this time reduced to $110. There were accelerated schedules,
super-accelerated schedules, take your choice. All this is
exhilaratingly exotic to European chessplayers.

The players in the main section had to score highly to get a prize.
The tournament was won by Krasenkov and Bologan, who made a
wonderful 8 out of 9. They both won $9000, just a thousand more
than the young boy from the under 1800 section.

In tough tournaments like this one, with several games per day, the
men are separated from the boys and I would think the New York
Open was tailor- made for my indefatigable compatriot Loek van
Wely, who in fact won it last year. This time he started well with
4,5 out of 5, but after that in the last four rounds he only scored
draws, which brought him to a shared seventh place in the end. The
last round saw him make a very short draw against the Turkish
grandmaster Atalik. Strange. The $130 prize that Van Wely won
amounted to less than the entry fee, so if this were deducted ( Was
it? There also was a Consolation Fund where Van Wely had a
claim to $220, exactly the entry fee. The calculations go over my
head), he would be left with nothing. Had he won his last round
game, his prize would have been $1260, worth playing on for a
while. It is nothing like him, meekly succumbing to a worthless
draw. Something must have been wrong. In the end only six
grandmasters from the 57 won money which amounted to more
than the deducted entry fee. But no matter.

For many Europeans the tournament is a nice opportunity to visit
New York, which apparently was realized by the organisers, who
this year brought the tournament back to where it belongs: the
heart of Manhattan.

Those who think that this column is disgustingly about money
instead of chess are certainly right, but please realise that all these
banal financial calculations must have been heavily on the
competitors' mind. Not only on the Internet site but also in the eyes
of the players the dollar signs were merrily turning around.

White Van Wely-black Lein 1. d2-d4 d7-d5 2. c2-c4 c7-c6 3.
Nb1-c3 e7-e6 4. e2-e4 d5xe4 5. Nc3xe4 Ng8-f6 Lein is a great
chess player, but his ambition is not what it was in his younger
days. This is the move of an elderly chess player. He has not
followed the latest news in the sharp variation 5...Bb4+ 6. Bd2
Qxd4 7. Bxb4 Qxe4+ and prefers to accept a small but clear
disadvantage. 6. Ne4xf6+ Qd8xf6 7. Ng1-f3 Bf8-b4+ 8. Bc1-d2
Qf6-e7 9. Bf1-d3 Nb8-d7 10. 0-0 Bb4xd2 11. Qd1xd2 Nd7-f6 12.
Nf3-e5 0-0 13. Rf1-e1 c6- c5 14. d4xc5 Qe7xc5 15. Qd2-f4 Rf8-d8
16. Ra1-d1 Bc8-d7 17. Re1-e3 The start of a deadly attack.
Already I see no defence for black anymore. 17...h7-h6 18. g2-g4
Bd7-c6 19. b2-b4 Chases the black queen from the fifth rank
19...Qc5xb4 20. g4-g5 h6xg5 21. Qf4xg5 So that black cannot
disturb his opponent with 21...Nd7 anymore. There is no defence
against the white attack along the g- and h- files. 21...Bc6-e4 (See
Diagram) 22. Re3-g3 Nf6-e8 23. Qg5-h5 Black resigned. Apart
from mate white now also threatens 24. Bxe4 and after 23...Bxd3 it
is mate in three.

And here is a game from the tournament in Dos Hermanas, Spain,
where Karpov presumably would have liked to prove that he is still
number two in the world, but did not succeed. Anand and Kramnik
won the tournament, Anand coming officially first on tie-break.
Karpov, who beat Shirov and Short, shared third place with Salov
and Topalov.

White Kramnik-black Karpov 1. Ng1-f3 Ng8-f6 2. c2-c4 e7-e6 3.
Nb1-c3 Bf8-b4 4. Qd1-c2 0-0 5. a2-a3 Bb4xc3 6. Qc2xc3 b7-b6 7.
b2-b4 Bc8-b7 8. Bc1-b2 d7-d6 9. e2-e3 Nb8-d7 10. d2-d4 Nf6-e4
11. Qc3-b3 a7-a5 12. Bf1-e2 a5xb4 13. a3xb4 Ra8xa1+ 14.
Bb2xa1 Nd7-f6 15. 0-0 Qd8-d7 16. b4-b5 Rf8-a8 17. Ba1-b2
White has a small but clear advantage because of his bishops.
17...c7-c6 18. b5xc6 Qd7xc6 19. Rf1-c1 Nf6-d7 20. Nf3-e1 Qc6-a4
21. Qb3xa4 Ra8xa4 22. f2-f3 Ne4-f6 23. Be2-d1 Ra4-a2 24.
Ne1-d3 Kg8-f8 25. Bd1-b3 Ra2-a8 26. e3-e4 Certainly black is not
lost, but long and painfull suffering awaits him with normal play.
His next move gives white the opportunity to sharpen the struggle.
26...Nd7-b8 27. c4-c5 Surprisingly white voluntarily eliminates
black's weak b-pawn, but after that black's pieces will be in
trouble.27...b6xc5 28. d4xc5 d6xc5 29. Nd3xc5 Bb7-c8 A
computer would be useful here to find a way for black to escape
material loss. Better seems 29...Bc6. Karpov was in severe time
trouble. 30. e4-e5 Nf6-e8 This passive retreat is more than black's
position can take. 30...Nd5 would lose a pawn, but was essential.
31. Bb3-a4 (See Diagram) All black pieces on the back rank, and
three of them in grave danger. 31...Ne8-c7 32. Bb2-a3 Kf8-g8 33.
Nc5-e4 Ra8xa4 Also after 33...Nba6 34. Nd6 black would lose
material. 34. Rc1xc7 Bc8-a6 Or 34...Bd7 35. Bd6 35. Ne4-c5
Black resigned, he is losing a piece. april 12 