David vs Goliath. Almost…
Saved by the bell!
Nigel Short’s round 2 game at the 6th Vergani Cup against a talented 14-year old boy caught my eye. Nigel’s opponent was rated a mere 1966, making him almost 700 points lower rated than the former World Champion Challenger.
But most curious — at least to me — was what happened on White’s 8th move:
Nigel had just given a check on b4. The position is known to theory, but rarely occurs in practice. White usually retreats his Knight to c3, with reasonable results for White. The game can soon become similar to many Queen’s Gambit openings.
(Black can not immediately capture the d-pawn with his Queen because of Bb5-ch winning the Queen.)
Surely Lorenzo must have known that 8.Nc3 was the recommended move, but he instead creatively decided to sacrifice a pawn, playing what many would consider a second best move 8.Bd2!?. (See photo below, from ChessBase)
Alekhine was known for playing creative pawn sacrifices in the opening, and was quite successful at it. Is this who the young Lorenzo was trying to imitate? If the answer is affirmative, then he was richly rewarded as Nigel soon found himself with a terrible (re: lost!) position after making a reckless move on his own part.
The youngster then played very powerfully for the next 10 moves or so and completely outplayed his opponent. The classic ”David versus Goliath’‘ scenario.
Equally curious, my computer engine actually considers virtually all of Lorenzo’s moves the main line !
But just when Short must have been considering his resignation, a semi-miracle occurred: Lorenzo’s telephone rang! The youngster was immediately forfeited, as per rules!
Some might say that this was close call for the English superstar, but I am not surprised. If the virus could not kill Nigel when it had the chance, then what is a mere lost position in the order of things?
What was Lorenzo doing with a telephone in the tournament room anyway? The official RULES explicitly state that no player is allowed to bring a phone or any electronic device into the tournament room?
Am I being too tough on the boy? This flagrant violation of the rules, plus the added fact that Short’s opponent played so many ‘first line’ computer moves, is indeed very suspicious.
