[chessmind] Dennis Monokroussos: This Week's ChessBase Show: Karpov-Sax, Linares 1983

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Posted by Dennis Monokroussos:
This Week's ChessBase Show: Karpov-Sax, Linares 1983
http://chessmind.powerblogs.com/posts/1210734832.shtml


   Most of us probably don't think of Anatoly Karpov, the 12th World
   Champion, as a great attacking player. A positional player and endgame
   specialist, absolutely, but not really a master of attack. And this
   view is understandable. For one thing, with Garry Kasparov as his
   successor, almost anyone's chess will look a bit tame by comparison.
   And second, his strengths in positional and endgame play were so
   pronounced that it's understandable that he's best known for them.
   Yet Karpov was (and is) capable of beautiful attacking play - have a
   look at his games against the Dragon Sicilian if you want confirmation
   of that thesis. In fact, examples can be multiplied without any
   difficulty, and we'll present one of his most famous attacking efforts
   this Wednesday on our ChessBase show. The game is his victory over
   Hungarian GM Gyula Sax from Linares 1983, and it has all the classic
   elements of the traditional attacking game. First, a sharp opening:
   Karpov plays the Keres Attack against Sax's Scheveningen Sicilian.
   Second, sacrifices: Karpov gave up a pawn and then the exchange for
   speculative prospects and to keep Black's king stuck in the center -
   and there are further sacrifices of commission and omission later.
   Finally, after some subtle play, the game concludes with a sacrifice
   and a king hunt - the ideal finish.
   It's a game with both entertainment and instructional value, which
   makes spending some time taking a closer look a wonderful way to spend
   a Wednesday evening. The show starts at 9 p.m. ET and is free, and you
   can find directions for watching [1]here. Hope to see you there!

References

   1. http://chessmind.powerblogs.com/posts/1114234449.shtml