American chess is spreading from the rimland to the heartland. The driving force in this tectonic shift is Susan Polgar, the oldest of the three famous chessplaying sisters. Polgar is the former women’s world champion and the current chairman of the United States Chess Federation. For the past several years, operating out of the chess center she created in Queens, she organized the most significant round-robin tournaments in the U.S. But Susan has now moved to Lubbock, Texas, where on the campus of Texas Tech University, she has created SPICE, the Susan Polgar Institute for Chess Excellence.

SPICE was recently the site of a tournament devoted to the memory of Samuel Reshevsky, the great American grandmaster. The winner of the tournament was Eugene Perelshteyn, one of the strongest non-professional players in the world. Perelshteyn is equally at home on the offensive and the defensive. Here is his game against one of the New York Sun’s two columnists from the last round. Perelshteyn is from Boston, which is not an accident if one considers that most of America’s chess talent remains concentrated in the rimland. If Lubbock is really going to become the center of American chess life, SPICE has its work cut out for it.

PERELSHTEYN VS. GULKO

(white) (black)

Queen’s Indian Defense

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4.g3 Bb7 5. Bg2 Be7 6.0-0 0-0 7.d5 exd5 8. Nh4 c6 9. cxd5 Nxd5 10. Nf5 Nc7 11.e4 d5 12. Nc3 Re8

A rare move in this position. More

common is 12…Bf6. Kasparov-Karpov 1984 continued 13. Bf4 Bc8!

14.g4!? Nba6 with a complicated

struggle. 13. Bf4 Nba6 14. Qg4! Probably this continuation is more dangerous for black than 14. Re1 Bf8 15. Qg4 g6 16. exd5 as Karpov played against Henley in 1992. Here instead of 16…Rxe1+ as Henley played, stronger is 16…Bc8! 17. Rxe8 Nxe8 18. Qe2 gxf5 19. dxc6 Nac7 20. Rd1 Qe7 and it is not easy for white to prove that he has sufficient compensation for the piece. 14… g6 15. Nh6+ The alternative plan 15. Rad1!? h5!? 16. Nxe7+ Qxe7 17. Qf3 Rad8 hardly promised more than the move in the game. 15… Kg7 In case of 15…Kf8 16. Qf3 black had to worry about the f7 square. 16. Nf5+ Kh8! 17. Nh6 After 17. Nxe7 Qxe7 18. exd5 Nxd5 19. Nxd5 cxd5 white would have enough compensation for the pawn, but, probably not more than that. 17… Rf8?! A more practical idea was to play 17…Kg7 18. Nf5+ Kh8 and only if white repeats the position moving the knight on h6. 18. Rad1! Bf6!? Probably the only defense. In case of 18…f6 19. exd5 Nxd5 20. Qe6 (Very strong is 20. Rfe1 f5 21. Nxd5! cxd5 22. Qe2 Bf6 23. Qe6 as well.) 20…Nxf4 21. Nf7+ Kg8 22. Nxd8+ Nxe6 23. Nxb7 and white has a strong initiative. 19. exd5 Nxd5 Again the best defense. In case of 19…cxd5 20. Ne4 Bc8 21. Nxf6!! Bxg4 22. Nhxg4 h5 (Black is hopeless after 22…Ne6 23. Be5 Ng7 24. Bxd5) 23. Be5 hxg4 24. Nxd5+ Kh7 25. Nf6+ Kh6 26. Nxg4+ Kh7 27. Nf6+ Kh6 28. Rxd8 Raxd8 29.g4! g5 30.f4 white has a mating attack. 20. Ne4 Bc8! Black would lose after 20…Bg7 21. Nd6 Bxh6 22. Nxb7 21. Qe2! An excellent idea! Black hoped for 21. Qf3 Bg7 and black is better. 21… Nxf4!

(See Diagram)

There is no choice: 21…Bg7 22. Nd6! Bxh6 (22…Be6 23. Qxe6 fxe6 24. Ndf7+) 23. Bxd5! Bxf4 24. Nxf7+ Rxf7 25. Bxf7 Qf6 26. gxf4 is not an option. 22. Nxf7+! Kg7 Of course, not 22…Rxf7 23. Rxd8+ 23. gxf4 Qe7 24. Ne5! This new pawn sacrifice is the best way. In case of 24. Nfd6 Nc5 black would be fine. 24… Bxe5 25. fxe5 Qxe5 26.f4! Qe7 Black cannot take the second pawn. After 26…Rxf4 27. Rxf4 Qxf4 28. Nd6! Bg4 29. Qe7+ Kg8 30. Rf1 he would be defenseless. 27. Qc4 Nc5 There is nothing better. For example, 27…Bf5 28. Nd6 Nc5 29.b4 with a big white advantage. 28. Qc3+ Kg8! Even worse was 28…Kh6 29. Ng5 Bg4 30. Rde1 Qd6 31. Qg3 Bh5 32.b4 Qd4+ 33. Kh1 Qxb4 34. Re7 and mate is inevitable. 29. Nxc5?! White reduces the tension prematurely. Stronger was 29. Ng5! Qf6 30. Qxf6 Rxf6 31. Rd8+ Kg7 (Probably better is 31…Rf8! 32. Rxf8+ Kxf8 33. Bxc6 Bb7 34. Bxb7 Nxb7 35. Nxh7+ Ke7 36. Re1+ Kd6 and in spite of the extra pawn it is not easy for white to win this endgame.) 32. Re1 Rxf4 33. Ree8 Kh6 34.h4! Rxh4 35. Nf7+ Kg7 36. Nd6 Rb4 37.b3 a5 and black has to fight for a draw. 29… Qxc5+ 30. Qxc5 bxc5 Now a draw is obvious.. 1/2 1/2