Levy - DT match (4).
Peter Jansen
Even though the match was already decided, the sponsor Infolink
wanted us to play the last game (there were still people betting :-)).
This time, Levy played very fast, and ended up in a "real" position
for a change (Sicilian). Since he had also gotten DT out of its book
at move 2, it looked like he was on his way to at least save his
face. However, contrary to (my) expectations, DT played the position
quite well, obtained a huge spatial advantage, and finally won
black's unfortunate king knight, which had been left without escape
squares after the rather clumsy 10. ... Re8 move. The commentators
called the final phase of the game "instructive" because of DT's
relentless precision.
Levy showed himself a gracious loser. He said he had been sure
he had to lose his prize someday, and that he was happy to have
"lasted" twice as long as his original bet ('68-'78). He just
hoped that his bets and prize were at least in part responsible
for the progress made in Computer Chess.
Transmission delays were downright horrendous during this game
(40 seconds/move!), and 10 minutes were added to DT's clock
at move 21 (see *) (of course, and probably fortunately, it didn't
really matter anymore...).
Deep Thought - David Levy (Game 4: London, 12/14/89)
-----------------------------------------------------
It is very likely that Levy would have had better chances in a
closed Benoni position rather than the Sicilian he opted for
when he played 6. ... cxd4. Of course his position was not
bad, but again he was not up to the tactical requirements of
the position.
17. ... b6? should lose a pawn, and is asking for trouble
(better is Qb8, as Danny Kopec suggested immediately after the
game). Perhaps there are still defensive possibilities after
that, but after the blunder 19. ... Rb8?? the game is over,
since the piece can no longer be saved.
Still it is interesting to see how DT finishes off with
forceful moves like 30. Nd5, 33. Rc8 and 34. Ne4...
1. c4 d6
2. Nc3 Nd7
3. d4 (3.5) g6
4. Nf3 (7.5) Bg7
5. e4 (11) c5
6. Be2 (15) cxd4 (.5)
7. Nxd4 (19) Ngf6 (1)
8. Be3 (24) O-O (1)
9. O-O (27) a6 (1)
10. f3 (31) Re8 (4)
11. Qd2 (35) Ne5 (8)
13. h3 (37.5) Bd7 (9)
14. Nf3 (44) Qa5 (21.5)
15. a3 (47) Rad8 (30.5)
16. b4 (51) Qc7 (30.5)
17. Rac1 (54) b6? (37)
18. Bd3 (57.5) Qb7 (42.5)
19. Qf2 (67) Rb8? (44)
20. e5 (70) Nh5 (44)
21. b5! (62.5*) axb5 (47)
22. cxb5 (65) Nd8 (47.5)
23. g4 (67.5) Bh8 (57)
24. gxh5 (70) Bxh3 (57)
25. hxg6 (72.5) hxg6 (57)
26. Rfd1 (75) Qd7 (57.5)
27. Ng5 (77) Bg4 (61.5)
28. Qh4 (77.5) Bg7 (61.5)
29. Rd2 (79) Bh5 (61.5)
30. Nd5 (81.5) Qa7 (64)
31. Rc7 (84) Rb7 (66)
32. exd6 (85) exd6 (67)
33. Rc8 (87.5) Qxa3 (68)
34. Ne4 (90)
Black resigns.
(To be continued (!))
-- Peter
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