FIVE players were tied for the lead heading into the final round of the tournament currently in progress at the club, a qualifying competition for the 2005 Bermuda Closed Championship, which will be our first internationally rated event.Here are the third-round results:

Zuzana Kovacova 1-0 Nick Faulks

Ray Trott 0-1 Phil Shadick

Ezra Turner 1-0 Frank Ming

Sami Lill 0-1 Bobby Miller

David Shanks 0-1 Nigel Chudleigh

Kennedy Simmons 1-0 Larry Ebbin

John Kessaram 1/2 bye

This leaves an interesting state of affairs with Kovacova, Faulks, Miller, Turner and Shadick all on three points, and Chudleigh half a point behind. Of course, the real interest surrounds the three available places to join the first three names in the Championship.

David Shanks is in charge of the tiebreak arrangements, but unofficially it seems to me that Turner and Shadick need only show up for their final game in order to qualify.

Since Chudleigh has ruled himself out of the long tournament, Ming can take the third spot with a win, but if he is not successful the door will open for Lill and Trott.

I mentioned last week that the chess community is still reeling from the announcement by Garry Kasparov, the world’s top player for the last 20 years, that he is retiring from competitive chess.

While there are inevitably doubts about whether he will manage to stand by this decision, he certainly seems serious at the moment. In any case, he wishes among other ambitions to challenge the political power of Russian leader Vladimir Putin, and since such activity appears to bring a serious risk of being drugged, kidnapped or imprisoned, it is probably just as well that he has already produced the most impressive legacy of games known to chess history.

Given the impossibility of summarising such a massive career in one paragraph I shall not try. Selecting a single game isn’t easy either, but here is one of my favourites. It was played in 1999 in the super-strong Linares tournament, against the Ukrainian Vassily Ivanchuk — then, as now, one of the world’s very best and most imaginative players.

White: V. Ivanchuk

Black: G. Kasparov

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6<$>

Yes, the Najdorf Variation of the Sicilian Defence which appears so often in this column. I am trying to cut down on these, but I think the choice is justified in a Kasparov retrospective.

6. Be3<$>

The English Attack, where after 6. . . . e6 White envisages 7. g3, 8. g4 and a kingside blitzkrieg. This was terrifying Najdorf players in 1999, and to a slightly lesser extent it still is.

Ng4

Diagram 1 shows Kasparov’s patent. He was unhappy with black’s existing defences and developed a new way to cut across White’s plans. Later in the same tournament the Indian star Vishy Anand (who should now inherit Garry’s place at the head of the rating list) retaliated with the move order 6. f3 followed by 7. Be3, and this idea has also stood the test of time.

7. Bg5 h6 8. Bh4 g5 9. Bg3 Bg7 10. Qd2<$>

Many tenth moves are possible, with the natural 10. Be2 proving quite popular.

Nc6 11. Nb3

11. Nxc6, bxc6 would only strengthen Black’s pawn centre.

Nge5 12. f3 b5 13. Bf2 Rb8 14. Nd4 b4 15. Nd1 Nxd4 16. Bxd5 d5!?<$>

See diagram 2. This pawn sacrifice is, of course, critical.

17. exd5?!<$>

Ivanchuk ducks it, he evidently felt that after 17. Bxe5, Bxe5 18. Qxd5, Qxd5 19. exd5, Bb7 Black’s active bishop pair would provide good compensation for the pawn.

Qxd5<$>

But already my computer program Fritz is saying that Black is clearly better.

18. c3 0-0 19. Be2 Rd8 20. Qe3 Bb7 21. Nf2 bxc3 22. Bxc3 Qe6<$>

Setting up the nasty threat of . . . Ne5xf3+ winning the queen.

23. Kf1

He would have loved to castle, but it’s too late now.

Bd5

Perhaps White should have tried to start something here with 24. h4.

24. b3 Rbc8 25. Rd1

See diagram 3.

Rxc3<$>

A typical Sicilian exchange sacrifice.

26. Qxc3 Ng4 27. Qa5 Ne3+ 28. Kg1 Rc8 29. Qxa6<$>

This move is a disaster. The real test was the passive 29. Rb1, when I expect Kasparov was intending 29. . . . g4, with a confused position where Black is having all the fun but White does at least remain an exchange ahead.

Nxd1 30. Qxe6 Bxe6 31. Bxd1 Rc1

See diagram 4. After this simple move White’s position just crumbles and Ivanchuk, not noted for persevering with wretched games, decided that he had seen enough.

Remember that next Tuesday sees the 2005 Bermuda Lightning Championship, in which all players must complete all of their moves in five minutes. This is always highly entertaining for players of all standards, so please be at the Chamber of Commerce no later than 7.45 p.m. to register.