28th February, 2003

MENTION "Reykjavik" in chess circles and immediately you'll conjure up
starry-eyed memories of the 1972 world championship match between Bobby
Fischer and Boris Spassky, the saga of which captivated the world as it
thrust the game for the first time into the media spotlight.

The enormous worldwide interest created by that epic cold war battle of
the mind indirectly led to a global growth in chess - particularly in
Iceland itself. Whilst there are several stronger chess nations
overall, the champion per capita is tiny Iceland, which from a
population of just over 278,000 can boast no fewer than nine
grandmasters.

By far the strongest club in the country is the Hrokurinn Chess Club
based in downtown Reykjavik, which surprisingly was only formed four
years ago. The club has now won every domestic title in this short
space of time, and through a high-profile chess festival staged in the
grandiose setting of the Reykjavik Art Museum, they aim to put Iceland
well and truly back on the chess map.

The FIDE category 15 tournament is one of the strongest to have been
held in Iceland for over ten years, and the field is boosted by the
appearance of international stars such as Michael Adams, Alexei Shirov,
Ivan Sokolov and the evergreen figure of Viktor Korchnoi, who at
seventy-one still shows no sign of reaching as yet for the pipe and
slippers.

Going into the final round, Shirov, undefeated on 6/8, holds a half
point lead over the field after this spectacular seventh round victory
over top seed Adams.

M Adams - A Shirov
Hrokurinn Chess Festival, (7)
Sicilian Rossolimo
1 e4 c5 2 Nf3 Nc6 3 Bb5 e6 4 Bxc6 bxc6 5 b3 Ne7 6 Bb2 Ng6 7 h4 h5 8 e5
d6 9 exd6 Qxd6 10 Qe2 f6 11 Qe4 Kf7 12 Nc3 e5 13 0-0-0 Be7 14 d3 Be6 15
g3 Rad8 16 Rhf1 Bh3 17 Rg1 Bg4 18 Rde1 Qe6 19 Nd2 Rd4 20 Qg2 Rhd8 21 f3
Bh3 22 Qf2 Bf5 23 Nce4 Qd7 24 g4 Be6 25 Nc4 hxg4 26 fxg4 Bxc4 27 dxc4
Nf4 28 Qf3 a5 29 a4 Qb7 30 g5 Rb8 31 gxf6 gxf6 32 Rg4 Nd3+ 33 cxd3 Qxb3
34 Qg2 Bf8 35 Rg6 Qxd3 36 Rxf6+ Ke7 37 Bxd4 Rb1 mate 0-1

JOHN B HENDERSON