No Korchnoi complaint in interzonals

Viktor Korchnoi, the veteran grandmaster and many times world challenger, now living in and playing for Switzerland, was the victor in the third and last of the interzonals, Aug. 1-23, at Zagreb, Yugoslavia. Playing aggressive, superlative chess, Korchnoi fashioned a score of 11-6, a full point more than any other player could muster. The United States finally qualified a player from these interzonals into the next round of the world championship competition when Yasser Seirawan parlayed an elegant technique and a delicate touch to tie for second place with International Master Jaan Ehlvest of the Soviet Union. These three players will now join 11 others going into the candidates' matches scheduled for late January and early February in St. John, New Brunswick.

The strength of the Zagreb interzonal tournament is obvious from the roster of grandmasters trailing: Predrag Nikolic of Yugoslavia, Jes'us Nogueiras of Cuba, and Julio Granda Zuniga of Peru, with 9 points; Eugenio Torre of the Philippines with 9; Jozsef Pinter of Hungary, Lev Polugayevsky and Vereslav Eingorn of the Soviet Union, and Yehuda Gruenfeld of Israel, with 8.

Korchnoi's imaginative effort against Seirawan won the best-played-game prize and is our featured game today. That Yasser could rebound from this defeat and go on to tie for second and snag one of the qualifying positions is a great tribute to his determination, ability, and fighting spirit. English Opening Korchnoi Seirawan 1. N-KB3 N-KB3 2. P-B4 P-QN3 3. P-KN3 B-N2 4. B-N2 P-B4 5. O-O P-N3 6. P-Q4 PxP 7. QxP B-N2 8. N-B3 P-Q3 9. B-K3 QN-Q2 10. QR-B1 O-O 11. Q-Q2 N-K5 12. NxN BxN 13. KR-Q1 Q-B2 14. B-R3 QR-N1 15. N-Q4 B-QR1 (a) 16. N-N5 Q-N2 17. P-B3 P-QR3 18. N-B3 P-QN4 (b) 19. N-Q5 P-K3 20. N-K7 ch K-R1 21. P-B5 (c) N-K4 22. PxP N-B5 23. RxN (d) PxR 24. P-Q7 KR-Q1 25. B-Q4 Q-N5 26. Q-N5 (e) Q-N4 27. NxP ch (f) BPxN (g) 28. BxB ch KxB 29. Q-K7 ch K-R3 (h) 30. R-Q4 Q-N3 (i) 31. P-K3 QxR (j) 32. PxQ BxP 33. BxP P-B6 34. PxP R-KB1 35. B-N3 B-R4 36. P-KR4 B-B6 37. P-N4 P-R4 38. K-R2 B-R1 39. B-Q1 B-B6 40. P-N5 ch K-R4 41. K-N3 Resigns (k)

A.It would be more accurate to play 15.... P-QR3.

B.Black misses White's beautiful point or he would certainly have tried 18.... KR-Q1 to sidestep White's nefarious scheme.

C.Now the kettle is boiling. Note that after 21.... NxP; 22.QxP, N-R5; 23.R-B7, the Black queen is embarrassed for moves.

D.White's dangerous passed QP more than compensates for the sacrificed exchange. To stifle its advance, Black's pieces leave their monarch underprotected.

E.Guarding his intrepid knight and incidentally threatening 27.Q-B6 (after 27.... BxQ, 28.BxB results in a charming mate).

F.But not now 27.Q-B6, P-K4!

G.Black is mated after 27.... RPxN; 28.Q-R6 ch.

H.Forced on 29.... K-R1 or 29.K-N1, the White queen and bishop will force mate.

I.Surprisingly, Black could still offer resistance with the problemlike 30.... BxP. Then 31.R-R4 ch, B-R5 holds, so White must play 31.PxB, Q-N3!; 32.Q-R4 ch, K-N2. Now White could take a perpetual, but he would likely play for a win with the unpinning 33.K-R1, since he has more than ample compensation for the exchange.

J.Now the queen sacrifice is forced. 31.... BxP; 32.R-R4 ch, B-R5; 33.RxB ch and mate next. The rest of the game features Black unsuccessfully attempting to stave off mate or grievous loss of material.

K.White threatened 42.QxP mate, so Black finally capitulates.

International Grandmaster Arthur Bisguier is a former US champion and has won or shared the US Open title five times.