Hulk Kogan body slams Karpov's team at the goal line!!

  The 1998 US Amateur East came down to my student Tommy Bartell's Westfield team playing a group of Manhattan 2200 players on board one and Karpov's team versus Jack Collin's highest ranked team, Hulk Kogan, on board 2. Jack, Bobby Fischer's first and only teacher watched hopefully as we were headed to a 3-1 victory. Somehow Henley escaped his blunder and won and Irena Krush righted her position in mutual time pressure. Karpov's WWW.Superstore site is even claiming our 2000 player was lost on board 4, although it looked to me like the ambitious youth droppped a piece. Which is what happened, and by virtue of their narrow 2.5-1.5 victory over us, the Manhattan team, called "Light Blue" won the tournament on tiebreak. I was glad for my late friend, the talented participant in many US Championships, IM Boris Kogan. The Hulkster was right there where he was meant to be: in The Main Event!!

[Event "USATE" WWW.Superstore vs Jack Collin's Hulk Kogan]
[Site "Parsippany, NJ"]
[Date "1998.02.16"]    
[Round "6.1"]    
[White "Karpov, An"][WhiteElo "2735"]
[Black "McCarthy, B."][BlackElo "2350"] 
[ECO "B14"] [PlyCount "57"][Result "1-0"]    
[EventDate "1998.02.14"]    
    
1. c4!?

(A rare deviation for Anatoly. I sensed something was up, 
and since Dzindzi was one board over and watching the moves,
I thought they were interested in my hedgehog, as in the 
Zaitchik game published here or my recent Slav addiction.
Karpov saw me sacrifice to mate junior talent NM Noah Siegel
in a Slav, two rounds earlier when our boards were adjoining. 
Since I played an ECO line of our namesake IM Boris Kogan in 
that game, I guess he figured why bother. It turns out they
were after the Caro branch of my database. I got the last 
opening laugh when Anatoly screws up Dzindzi's move order and
I get to play Dzindzi's beloved Center Counter on the Champ!!)

 c6 2. e4 d5 3. exd5 Nf6!

(The exclam is for avoiding Dzindzi's theory, if white intends the Panov 
exd is correct, but Mr. Karpov said after the game he intended to take twice
(if cxd then cxd not d4) in that case cxd is correct. The 
World Champ also admitted this was the first Panov, from the
white side, in his life! One could hardly tell. We play out 
the modern main line, as recommended by ECO 3 and American 
GM Nick Defirmian's MCO, complete with a Tal exclam ,Bc4!, 
from 1961! Of no small importance to me is the fact I won 
the state high school with a last round center counter 
victory.) 

4. d4 cxd5 5. Nc3 g6 6. cxd5 

(I once beat a Canadian IM with the "ignore it" variation 
6...Bg7, but a complete review of the position has convinced
me Nxd5 is slightly better. This game confirms that for me, 
although not by the result.)

6...Nxd5 7. Qb3 Nxc3

(A huge moment as my memory was telling me Nxc3 and my math 
was saying Nb6. After the game Dzindzi said, "After Nb6 black 
is doing good already." However Defirmian quotes an obscure 
Tony Miles game where a lower rated kamikaze ventures d5!?. I 
have no mathematical explanation for my choice and if I am the 
teacher, that would get a lecture. After 8. Bc4 I began to 
realize that even thought g6 is the most aggressive response,
and I was playing the main line, I would now be playing for
a draw. Instead I spend 40 minutes to force an ending, 
leaving 50 minutes to play 40 moves.)
 
8. Bc4! e6 9. bxc3 Qb6 

(My novelty, based on Q move, Qc6 forking g2/c4. Dzindzi 
said Bf8! ECO ends 9...Nc6 10. Nf3 Bg7 11. Ba3 Bf8 etc. 
Defirmian gives both Bf8 and O-O as equals. Of course black 
has little if any chances to win on a player of Karpov's 
skill.)

10. Nf3 Qxb3 11. axb3 Nd7 12. Bb5!

( A move I have praised as anti thematic, but a good single
point attack. I underestimated the strength of this double 
violation of moving the same piece twice and threatening to 
take a knight for bishop with no pawn structure damage. This 
attack on e5 is in fact a common ECO plan in the middle game 
with queens. Driving home the ultimate fundamental, control 
of the center,white will have a free hand to finish 
development and he severely limits black's responses.
 
12...Bd6 

(Last chance for ...Bg7 13. Ba3 Bf8)

13. h4 O-O ?!

(An insane pulling of the goalie. I spent what little time I
had left justifying a center pawn sac that Karpov completely
ignores! 13...h5 prolongs the game, but with g5 and e4 as 
launching pads, it is pretty easy to see why I dismissed
the variation. I am tactically lost now. Karpov hits the 
empty net again and again!)

14. h5 e5 15. hxg6 hxg6 16. Bg5 e4 17. Nd2 f5 18. Bc4+ Kg7 
19. Bh6+ Kf6 20. Bxf8 Nxf8 21. Rh8 a6 22. Bd5 Kg7 23. Rg8+ 
Kh7 24. Ke2 Kh6 25. f4 Kh5 26. g3 Kg4 27.Nc4 Be7 28. Kf2 
Bh4 29. Ne5+ 1-0    
     
I am glad to have had a chance to try and beat the World 
Champion. Thanks to World Champion Karpov for his honest 
appraisals after the game.I want to thank Jack Collins for 
all the work he does fielding his teams, without a total 
team effort Hulk Kogan wouldn't have been 4.5 out of 5 and I 
wouldn't have played on board 2 in the last round. I want to
congratulate Light Blue for their Eastern championship. If 
GM Karpov's team had won on tiebreak, the Light Blue team 
still would have went to the playoffs, although somewhat 
tainted. Finally thanks to my team mates for putting in an 
effort that ultimately helped decide first place! The 
Hulkster says "Just wait till next year!"


Return to Main Page