Games: Chess

Viswanathan Anand must win the sixth game of his match against Anatoly Karpov if his hopes of becoming the world chess champion are to stay alive. After a draw in the fifth game, Karpov maintained his lead and now needs only a draw in the final game to hold on to his Fide world title. A win for Anand, who will be playing White, would take the match into a series of quick-play deciders.

Both men approached the fifth game with considerable caution. Karpov knew that he could finish the match at once by winning the game, but he did not want to risk losing his lead. Anand knew that his best chance to save the match would come with the white pieces in game six, but he first needed not to lose game five. The result was a game in which Karpov maintained a nagging pressure from the start, but it never really looked like assuming the sort of proportions when he could claim to have serious winning prospects.

Perhaps the most interesting moment came with Anand's 19...g5, a brave and potentially weakening move to drive the White queen away from the vicinity of his king. Karpov's response was to exchange queens and hope to exploit the weakness of the f5 square in the endgame, but Anand held the draw without great difficulty.

White: Anatoly Karpov

Black: Viswanathan Anand

World Championship - Game Five

1 d4 d5 29 Rd2 Be7

2 c4 c6 30 Rb6 Bd8

3 Nc3 Nf6 31 Rbd6 Be7

4 e3 e6 32 R6d5 a5

5 Nf3 Nbd7 33 Kf1 a4

6 Qc2 Bd6 34 Ke2 axb3

7 Bd3 0-0 35 axb3 Ra3

8 0-0 dxc4 36 b4 Rc3

9 Bxc4 a6 37 bxc5 R3xc5

10 Rd1 b5 38 Rxc5 Rxc5

11 Be2 Qc7 39 Nd4 Bf6

12 Ne4 Nxe4 40 g4 b4

13 Qxe4 e5 41 Rb2 Rc4

14 Qh4 Re8 42 Kd3 Rc3+

15 Bd3 h6 43 Kd2 Bxd4

16 Bc2 exd4 44 exd4 Rc4

17 Qxd4 Bf8 45 Kd3 Rc3+

18 b3 Nf6 46 Kd2 Rc4

19 Qh4 g5 47 Kd3 Rc3+

20 Qg3 Qxg3 48 Ke4 b3

21 hxg3 c5 49 f3 Kf6

22 Bb2 Bg7 50 d5 Rc4+

23 Rd6 Be6 51 Kd3 Rf4

24 Rad1 Rec8 52 Rxb3 Ke5

25 Bxf6 Bxf6 53 Rb6 Kxd5

26 Be4 Ra7 54 Rxh6 Ke5

27 Bd5 Bxd5 55 Ke3 Ra4

28 R1xd5 Kg7 Draw agreed

When this match is over, the real business of the world championship will begin. If Anand manages to win, negotiations seem sure to begin for a proper match for the world title between him and Garry Kasparov. Not a chancy knock-out tournament with a six-game final, but a good, old-fashioned contest over 20 or 24 games lasting a couple of months.

If Karpov wins, however, the matter becomes more complicated. First we shall hear renewed protests about Karpov's easy ride in the current event, in which he was given a bye directly into the final. Indeed, the campaign to discredit both the new Fide title and Karpov personally has already begun. Sadly, it looks as though the long-running chess wars are still some way from a negotiated peace settlement.

Hastings: Matthew Sadler coasted into first place in the Premier Tournament at Hastings, drawing his last two games to finish one-and-a-half points ahead of the field. Final scores: Sadler 7; Relange and Rozentalis 51/2; Tkachiev 5; Plaskett 41/2; Nunn and Hebden 4; Rausis 31/2; Ward and McShane 3. We shall be catching up on the games from this event next week.