18th March, 2003

IT‚S that time of the year again when the cream of world chess
collectively close their eyes and move quickly, as they meet in Monte
Carlo to celebrate the birthday of a thirteen-year old girl in a unique
event: the Amber tournament.

This year the twelve-player round-robin moves to the new venue of the
Vista Palace Hôtel in Roquebrune Cap-Martin, Monaco. The 12th Amber
tournament, the only elite event that combines the disciplines of
rapidplay and blindfold, is held annually in honor of Melody Amber, the
daughter of Dutch philanthropist and chess addict Joop van Oosterom.
And, with no rating points at stake, and a hefty prize fund of $193,250
on offer at an exclusive location, what more could a chess pro ask?
Apart from the notable exception of world no.1 Garry Kasparov, almost
all of the world‚s elite have played in this novelty event, seen as a
throwback to the golden era of chess, when the likes of Morphy and
Steinitz would often supplement their meager income by playing blindfold
in exhibition matches.

The players list, in alphabetical order, is: Zoltan Almasi (Hungary),
Viswanathan Anand (India), Evgeny Bareev (Russia), Boris Gelfand
(Israel), Vassily Ivanchuk (Ukraine), Vladimir Kramnik (Russia), Peter
Leko (Hungary), Ljubomir Ljubojevic (Yugoslavia), Alexander Morozevich
(Russia), Alexei Shirov (Spain), Veselin Topalov (Bulgaria) and Loek Van
Wely (Netherlands).

In-form Peter Leko, fresh from his big win at Linares, is the early
leader after two rounds with a combined score of 3.5/4, a full point
clear of the field.

Combined standings: 1 P Leko (Hungary) 3.5/4; 2-6 V Anand (India), V
Kramnik (Russia), B Gelfand, (Israel), E Bareev (Russia), V Ivanchuk
(Ukraine) 2.5; 7-8 A Morozevich (Russia), V Topalov (Bulgaria) 2; 9 L
Van Wely (Netherlands) 1.5; 10-11 L Ljubojevic (Yugoslavia), Z Almasi
(Hungary) 1; 12 A Shirov (Spain) 0.5.

P Leko à A Shirov
Amber Rapid, (2)
French Defence
1 e4 e6 2 d4 d5 3 Nc3 Nf6 4 Bg5 dxe4 5 Nxe4 Nbd7 6 Nf3 Be7 7 Nxf6+ Bxf6
8 h4 0-0 9 Bd3 c5 10 Qe2 cxd4 11 Qe4 g6 12 0-0-0 e5 13 Bxf6 Qxf6 14 Bb5
Rd8 15 Rhe1 Kg7 16 h5 Re8 17 Rxd4 Re7 18 Qe3 gxh5 19 Rh4 Qh6 20 Qxh6+
Kxh6 21 g4 Kg7 22 Rxh5 f6 23 g5 f5 24 Bxd7 Bxd7 25 Rxe5 Rae8 26 Rxe7+
Rxe7 27 Kd2 Bc6 28 Nh4 Rd7+ 29 Kc1 f4 30 c4 Be4 31 Rh6 Rc7 32 b3 b5 33
Re6 Bd3 34 Kd2 bxc4 35 bxc4 Bxc4 36 Nf5+ Kf8 37 Rf6+ Rf7 38 Rxf7+ Bxf7
39 a3 Ba2 40 Ke2 Bb1 41 Nd4 Ke7 42 Kf3 Kd6 43 Kxf4 Kc5 1-0

JOHN B HENDERSON