Chess (#1137)

The Tbilisi Grand Prix is headed for an interesting finish. Evgeny Tomashevsky leads with a tremendous 7 points from 9 games. Dmitry Jakovenko is in second with 5.5, Teimour Radjabov is on 5, and Rustam Kasimdzhanov, Anish Giri and Lenier Dominguez are on 4.5. Top seed Alexander Grischuk (4) has dropped below 2800 with a minus score.

The tiebreaker at the Zurich Challenge was mandated late, at the behest of sponsor Oleg Skvortsov. There's been a bit of a firestorm on social media as a result. One of the Zurich sideshows was a match between two legends. In March, Viktor "the Terrible" Korchnoi will turn 84 and Wolfgang Uhlmann will turn 80. They tied 2-2 with every game decisive.

In an interview, Korchnoi spoke about Magnus Carlsen's "hypnotic powers". That's chess shorthand for the ability to induce uncharacteristic mistakes. It means an ability to generate unusual pressure, which also implies a grasp of practical psychology.

The supposedly rational USSR was over-run with "parapsychologists" - men (and women), who supposedly had unusual powers. Parapsychologists, mentalists, mediums, et cetera, built up thriving practices very similar to that of Indian godmen.

Chessplayers are as superstitious as any other bunch of sportspersons and more aware than most about possibility of mental disintegration. Knowing that a parapsychologist could be "beaming" disruptive thoughts may be enough to interfere with focus.

Korchnoi hired Australian Anand Margis to nobble Anatoly Karpov during the 1978 title match in Baguio. Karpov retaliated by getting hold of Vladimir Zoukhar, a psychiatrist who dabbled in hypnosis. Karpov also says the Azeri psychic, Tofik Dadashev, worked on Kasparov's behalf in the 1985 title match. Karpov believes (or at least, he says) that Dadashev's powers disturbed his concentration and helped ensure Kasparov's victory.

The diagram, BLACK TO PLAY, ( White: Nakamura Vs Black: Karjakin, Zurich CC Classical 2015) is an interesting example of "hypnosis"/ psychology. Sergey Karjakin knew the position was a forced draw. But he failed to find the right sequence under pressure.

After 9...Qxf2+ 10.Kd2 Qb6 11.h3 g5 12.Bxg5 Nf2 13.Rh2, White is ok. So Black played 9...g5.

10.Bxe5 Qxf2+ 11.Kd1 Nxe5 12.Nc7+ Kd8 13.Nxa8 Qd4+ 14.Kc2 Nxc4 15.e4. This, and the alternative 15.Kb3 Nd2+ 16.Kc2 Nc4= have been drawn several times. Try this position as an analysis exercise.

15...Ne3+? Novelty and losing error. The correct sequence is 15...Qd2+ 16.Kb3 Qxb2+ 17.Kxc4 Bg7! 18.Qa5+! b6 19.Qxg5+ f6 20.Qb5 Ba6! 21.Qxa6 f5! White must lose Kt-c3 and concede perpetual. Hard to find even for a 2770 GM who knows it is there.

16.Kb3 Qd2 17.a3 Qc2+ 18.Ka2 Qxa4 19.Nxa4 Nxf1 20.Rhxf1 b5 21.N4b6 axb6 22.Nxb6 Bb7 23.Rxf7 Bc6 24.Rd1 Be7 25.Rf3 Kc7 26.Nxd7 Rd8 27.Rc3 (1-0) Since 27.Rc3 Rxd7 28.Rdc1 Rd6 29.e5 wins easily.

Devangshu Datta is an internationally rated chess and correspondence chess player