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Going into the final leg of the 1994 Intel Grand Prix in Paris, few could have predicted they’d see Garry Kasparov’s ultimate blitz victory.
Kasparov was trailing not one, but three of his toughest rivals: Vladimir Kramnik, Viswanathan Anand and Vassily Ivanchuk. Winning the tournament wasn’t enough; Garry would have to hope none of the leaders even reached the final. Even then, victory would only be possible due to the double points available for this final leg.
Vassily Ivanchuk, who had beaten Anand to win in London, was not in the same form. In the first round, Chucky was paired against the dangerous Ilya Smirin. After 2 draws, an Armageddon game was played with Ivanchuk only needing to draw to progress. However, Smirin had the benefit of an extra minute and established a strong position Under pressure, Ivanchuk just froze, his clock ticking down while he stared at the pieces. One of the favorites was out.
Anand was expected to coast past GM Anatoli Vaisser in round one but his opponent had prepared some nasty surprises and won a theoretical duel in game 1.
In the second game, a Sicilian Defense looked good for Anand, playing White, as a hole appeared on d6, a prime location for a Knight. When Vishy tried to take advantage of this with Ne4, however, …Qb6-b4+ forced the embarrassing Nd2 retreat. Now Vaisser just storms ahead with the initiative, attacking pawns and occupying open files with tempo.
Anand soon realizes his position is fraught with danger and his fears are confirmed when his apparently safe Nb3 move is met with an exchange sac and a nasty check. The game went on for a while longer but was already lost. Anand also exited in round 1.
Vladimir Kramnik faced off against Judit Polgar. With their first 2 games drawn, another Armageddon game was played. Kramnik only needed a draw but showed great energy to dance his pieces around the board and create a mating attack. Kramnik progressed to the quarter-finals.
The beginning of Garry Kasparov’s ultimate blitz victory took place in round 1 against GM Valentin Arbakov, famed for his blitz prowess. Kasparov, playing Black, brought out his favorite opening weapon, the King’s Indian Defense. The critical decision came when Arbakov snapped off the c5 Knight, giving up his dark-squared Bishop in exchange for a protected passed d5 pawn.
With maximum efficiency, Kasparov took control of the dark squares with …Kh7! and …Bh6. Next we see Garry’s incredible instinct for the attack, jettisoning a pawn to open a diagonal against the King. In a few moves, it was all over. Arbakov attacked Kasparov’s Queen, expecting it to move. Instead, Garry sacrificed a Knight, checking his opponent’s King, which was confined to the corner. Mate was inevitable.
With victory in his second game too, Garry Kasparov’s ultimate blitz victory was a step closer. To see how it plays out, check out the complete video GM Magazine - Intel Grand Prix 1994 Paris.