Two weeks ago I wrote about a six-game match between grandmasters Nigel Short and Eugenio Torre, dubbed as the Carlsberg Chess Classic, held in the Century Park Sheraton in Manila. It was sponsored by Asia Brewery and was held from Oct. 17-23, 1988. Both players won one game each with four draws and the match finished in a 3-3 draw.
I also mentioned in passing that for some reason the games of the match do not appear in any of the major databases and that I got the game scores from press clippings at that time. A few days later who else but GM Nigel Short contacted me through the organizer of the Negros Open, Mr. Tony Aguirre. It appears that he did not have a copy of the games either and requested me to send in the moves. In his words, “these games ought to be in the public domain. They are certainly of interest to historians and aficionados alike.” I, of course, was very happy to comply.
Mr. Aguirre asked me to annotate the games. Here is game 4 of the match, Short’s win.
Short, Nigel D. (2665) — Torre, Eugene O. (2555) [C82]
Carlsberg Match Manila (4), 21.10.1988
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0–0 Nxe4
GM Eugene has played the Open Spanish throughout his career, especially when he wanted a fighting game, and enjoyed success with it. Remember when Topalov was making his way up the rankings in the 1990s and at one time seemed invincible? He even led Bulgaria to a win vs Russia in the Moscow 1994 Olympiad by defeating Garry Kasparov on top board. In the 1996 Yerevan Olympiad he was expected to shine on board 1 as well but it was GM Eugene who burst his bubble with the Open Spanish.
6.d4 b5 7.Bb3 d5 8.dxe5 Be6 9.c3
Currently the absolute main line here is 9.Nbd2 Nc5 10.c3 Be7 (10…d4) 11.Bc2 and it is Wesley So who has shown a reliable continuation for Black here with 11…d4 12.Nb3 (12.Ne4 d3 13.Nxc5 transposes) 12…d3 13.Nxc5 (13.Bb1 Nxb3 14.axb3 Bf5 15.Re1 0–0 16.Be3 Qd5 Both sides have chances. Black’s pawn on d3 is not so easy to capture. Wei Yi (2706)-So, W (2773) Wijk aan Zee 2016 1/2 70.) 13…dxc2 14.Qxd8+ Rxd8 15.Nxe6 fxe6 16.Be3 Rd5 17.Rfc1 (the other rook may be needed on the a-file to break with a2–a4) (17.Bf4 0–0 18.Bg3 g5 19.h3 Rxf3! 20.gxf3 Rd2 seems to me that Black is better already) 17…Nxe5 18.Nxe5 Rxe5 position is equal. Adams, M (2744)-So, W (2773) Wijk aan Zee 2016 1/2 33.
9…Nc5
This was how Viktor Korchnoi played the Open Spanish during his 1978 World Championship match with Karpov in Baguio. Eugene Torre had been present during the games and became intimately familiar with the nuances of the line.
10.Bc2
A nice idea here is 10.Nd4?! Nxe5 11.f4 with the idea of pushing f4–f5.
10…Bg4 11.Nbd2 Be7 12.Re1 Bh5
The 28th game of the world championship match between Karpov and Korchnoi continued 12…Qd7 13.Nb3 Ne6 14.h3 Bh5 15.Bf5 Ncd8 16.Be3 a5 17.Bc5 a4 18.Bxe7 Qxe7 19.Nbd2 c6 with equality. Karpov, A (2725)-Kortschnoj, V (2665) Baguio City 1978 0–1 61.
13.b4
This position had occurred in a game between Short and Torre the previous year. It has continued 13.Nf1 0–0 14.Ng3 Bg6 15.Be3 Qd7 16.h4 and White retained a slight pull but it was not enough. Short, N (2615)-Torre, E (2540) Brussels 1987 1/2 34.
13…Ne6 14.Nf1 0–0 15.a4 Qd7 16.Bf5 Rad8 17.axb5 axb5 18.g4 Bg6 19.h4 h5
GM Eugene had seen that 19…d4! 20.h5 Bxf5 21.gxf5 dxc3 22.Qxd7 Rxd7 23.fxe6 fxe6 24.Re3 Bxb4 25.Kg2 Ba5 was much better for him — 3 passed pawns is more than enough for the piece. But why the need to sacrifice? He can get the advantage with simple moves.
20.Ng3 d4! 21.Ra6!
Black’s point was that 21.gxh5 Bxf5 22.Nxf5 dxc3 was much better for him.
GM Nigel’s idea with 21.Ra6 is that this continuation is now not possible because if we follow the same continuation then the white knight on c6 will become en prise.
21…hxg4 22.Bxg4 Nb8? <D>
Necessary was 22…Qe8! 23.Bxe6 fxe6 24.Nxd4 Nxd4 25.cxd4 Bxb4 26.Rf1 c5 when Black is doing very well with the two bishops and queenside pawns starting to look threatening.
POSITION AFTER 22…NB8
23.Rxe6!
What Black overlooked. This surprise upset GM Torre’s thinking processes and his play went downhill from here. On the other hand, sensing the kill, Short’s forces all sprang into action and he does not let his opponent off the hook. By the way this ability to focus all his energies at the critical portions of the game is perhaps GM Nigel Short’s greatest strength as a player.
23…fxe6 24.Nxd4 Bf7 25.Bg5 Nc6?
Another inaccuracy. Simply 25…Bxg5 was indicated.
26.Bxe7 Nxe7 27.Ne4 Ng6?
A third mistake with the knight. 27…Nc6 was the only way to continue fighting.
28.Ng5!
With the deadly threat of 29.Bxe6 Bxe6 30.Qh5.
28…Rfe8
Black can play 28…Ne7 hoping for 29.Bxe6 Bxe6 30.Qh5? Bf5 and the tables are turned. However, 28…Ne7 29.Bxe6 Bxe6 30.Ngxe6 is an easy-enough win.
29.Bh5 Nh8 30.Qc2 g6 31.Ne4 Kg7 32.Nf6 Qc8 33.Nc6 Qa6 34.Nxd8 Rxd8 35.Bf3 Qa7 36.Kg2 c5 37.Qc1 cxb4 38.Ng4 Kf8 39.Qh6+ Ke7 40.Qg5+ Ke8 41.Bc6+ 1–0
For those of you collectors out there, here are the rest of the games. I had annotated game 1 in “Chess Piece” last Oct. 26.
Torre, Eugene O. (2555) — Short, Nigel D. (2665) [C24]
Carlsberg Match Manila (1), 17.10.1988
1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Nf6 3.d3 c6 4.Nf3 d6 5.0-0 Be7 6.Bb3 0-0 7.c3 Nbd7 8.Re1 Qc7 9.d4 a6 10.a4 b6 11.Nbd2 g6 12.Nf1 Kg7 13.Ng3 c5 14.dxe5 Nxe5 15.Nxe5 dxe5 16.Qe2 Be6 17.Bxe6 fxe6 18.c4 Rab8 19.b3 h5 20.h3 Nh7 21.Nf1 Bg5 22.Bb2 Rf7 23.Red1 [23.Nh2! Rbf8 24.Rf1] 23…Rbf8 24.f3 Nf6 25.Rd3 Rd7 26.Rad1 Rfd8 27.Bc3 h4 28.Rxd7+ Rxd7 29.Rxd7+ Nxd7 30.Bd2 Bf4 31.Be1 g5 32.Qd3 Nf6 33.Bc3 Kf7 34.Ne3 Ke7 35.Ng4 Nxg4 36.fxg4 Qa7 37.Kf1 Qd7?? 38.Qxd7+ Kxd7 39.Ke2 a5 40.Kf3 Ke7 41.Be1 Kf6 42.g3 hxg3 43.Bxg3 Kg7 44.h4 Kg6 45.Kg2 Kg7 46.hxg5 Kg6 47.Bxf4 exf4 48.e5 Kxg5 49.Kf3 Kh6 50.Kxf4 Kg6 51.Kf3 Kh6 52.Kg2 Kg5 53.Kg3 Kh6 54.Kh4 Kg6 55.g5 Kg7 56.Kh5 Kh7 57.g6+ Kg8 58.Kh6 Kh8 59.g7+ Kg8 60.Kg6 1-0
Short, Nigel D. (2665) — Torre, Eugene O. (2555) [C65]
Carlsberg Match Manila (2), 18.10.1988
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.0-0 Bc5 5.c3 0-0 6.d4 Bb6 7.Re1 d6 8.h3 Bd7 9.Na3 a6 10.Ba4 Ba7 11.Bg5 h6 12.Bh4 Qe7 13.Nc2 Nb8 14.Bb3 c6 15.dxe5 dxe5 16.Bg3 Rd8 17.Qe2 Be6 18.Bxe6 Qxe6 19.Bxe5 Nbd7 20.Ncd4 Bxd4 21.Bxd4 c5 22.Bxf6 Nxf6 23.c4 Rd7 24.e5 Nh7 25.Rad1 Rad8 26.Rxd7 Rxd7 27.b3 Nf8 28.Rd1 Rxd1+ 29.Qxd1 Qf5 30.h4 Ne6 31.g3 b5 32.a4 bxa4 33.bxa4 a5 34.Qd5 Qb1+ 35.Kg2 Qb4 36.Nd2 Qxa4 37.Ne4 Qe8 38.Nd6 Qd7 39.f4 a4 40.f5 Nd4 41.Kh2 Nxf5 42.Qxc5 Qe6 ½-½
Torre, Eugene O. (2555) — Short, Nigel D. (2665) [C08]
Carlsberg Match Manila (3), 20.10.1988
1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nd2 c5 4.exd5 exd5 5.Ngf3 a6 6.Be2 c4 7.b3 cxb3 8.axb3 Nc6 9.0-0 Bd6 10.Bb5 Nge7 11.Ne5 Bd7 12.Bxc6 Bxc6 13.Ba3 0-0 14.Re1 f6 15.Nd3 Ng6 16.Bxd6 Qxd6 17.Nf1 b6 18.Ne3 Rfe8 19.Nf5 Rxe1+ 20.Qxe1 Qd7 21.Ne3 a5 22.Qc3 Bb5 23.Re1 Re8 24.g3 Kf7 25.Ng2 Ne7 26.Ne3 g5 27.Qd2 Nf5 28.Nxf5 Qxf5 29.Rxe8 Kxe8 30.Ne1 Qe6 31.Ng2 Qe2 32.Qc1 Bd7 33.Ne3 Be6 34.Kg2 f5 35.Qd1 Qxd1 36.Nxd1 b5 37.Nc3 Bd7 38.Kf1 [38.Nxd5 Bc6 39.c4 bxc4 40.bxc4 Bxd5+ 41.cxd5 a4-+] 38…Bc6 39.Ke2 Kf7 40.Ke3 Kg6 41.f4 h6 42.b4 a4 43.Nb1 Be8 44.Na3 Kf6 45.Kf3 Ke6 46.Ke3 Kd6 47.Kf3 Bh5+ 48.Kf2 Kc6 49.Ke3 Bd1 50.Kf2 gxf4 51.gxf4 Bh5 52.Ke3 Bg4 53.Kf2 Bh3 54.Kg1 ½-½
Torre, Eugene O. (2555) — Short, Nigel D. (2665) [C06]
Carlsberg Match Manila (5), 23.10.1988
1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nd2 Nf6 4.Bd3 c5 5.e5 Nfd7 6.c3 b6 7.Ndf3 Ba6 8.Bg5 Be7 9.Bxe7 Qxe7 10.Ne2 Bxd3 11.Qxd3 Nc6 12.0-0 0-0 13.Nd2 f5 14.exf6 Rxf6 15.f4 Rc8 16.a3 Qe8 17.Rae1 Qg6 18.Qxg6 Rxg6 19.Nf3 Rf6 20.g3 h6 21.h3 a5 22.Nc1 c4 23.Nh2 Nf8 24.Ne2 Rf7 25.Ng4 b5 26.Ne5 Re7 27.Nxc6 Rxc6 28.f5 Rf7 29.fxe6 Nxe6 30.Rxf7 Kxf7 31.Kg2 Nc7 32.h4 g5 33.hxg5 hxg5 34.Ng1 Re6 35.Nf3 Rxe1 36.Nxe1 Na8 37.Nc2 Nb6 38.Ne3 Ke6 39.Kf3 Na4 40.Nd1 Kf5 41.g4+ Ke6 ½-½
Short, Nigel D. (2665) — Torre, Eugene O. (2555) [C96]
Carlsberg Match Manila (6), 24.10.1988
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0-0 Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 d6 8.c3 0-0 9.h3 Na5 10.Bc2 c5 11.d4 Nc6 12.d5 Na5 13.b3 g6 14.a4 Bd7 15.axb5 axb5 16.Nxe5 dxe5 17.d6 Nh5 18.dxe7 Qxe7 19.Be3 Be6 20.Nd2 Nc6 21.Qe2 Rab8 22.Ra6 Rfc8 23.Nf3 b4 24.Rxc6 Rxc6 25.Nxe5 Rcc8 26.g4 Ng7 27.c4 Ra8 28.Rd1 f6 29.Nd3 g5 30.f4 Bf7 31.Qf3 Ra2 32.Bb1 Ra3 33.Bc2 Ra2 34.Bb1 Ra3 35.Bc2 Ra2 ½-½
At around that time GM Nigel Short had acquired a reputation as a “white” player — his winning percentage with White was much better than with Black. He was also a fighter who does not agree to quick draws and, as mentioned earlier, is merciless in pursuing advantages.
Do you know about his match with GM Lev Alburt? He was a Soviet Grandmaster (born 1945), a three-time Ukrainian champion, who migrated to the United States in 1979. He showed his class by winning the US Chess Championship in 1984, 1985 and 1990.
After winning the US title for the first time in 1984 he challenged the British Champion, Nigel Short, to a match for the title of “Champion of the English-Speaking World.” Sponsors were found in the US and they even foot the bill for his two seconds, GMs Djindjichashvili and Genna Sosonko.
Nigel Short went to the United States without any seconds but came through with a devastating victory — six wins, two draws, no losses for a final score of 7.0-1.0. Not only that — Lev Alburt was the world’s greatest authority on the Alekhine’s Defense and even has a variation named after him, the so-called Alburt Variation 1.e4 Nf6 2.e5 Nd5 3.d4 d6 4.Nf3 g6. In all four of his White games Short allowed the Alekhine’s Defence and won all of them. In other words he defeated not only Alburt but his opening as well.
The hometown crowd in Manila 1988 felt that “El Eugenio” could do anything and were disappointed in the drawn match with Short. Objectively speaking though Torre did very well to tie it. Ask Alburt!
Bobby Ang is a founding member of the National Chess Federation of the Philippines (NCFP) and its first Executive Director. A Certified Public Accountant (CPA), he taught accounting in the University of Santo Tomas (UST) for 25 years and is currently Chief Audit Executive of the Equicom Group of Companies.
