Alexey Chizhov and Rob Clerc at the start of their game at the 1989 Coupe du Monde. The latter would sensationally defeat the reigning world champion. Partly as a result of that, the Netherlands defeated the Soviet Union and won the countries' tournament. Photo: Henk Fokkink
Chizhov-Clerc
![Chizhov-Clerc](/_astro/featured.B945ZXsP_2rrqnD.webp)
World champion bites the dust
Author: Rob Clerc
28-06-2024
Until then, the only Dutch team success was in 1978 in Tbilisi at the European Championship for national teams. In that tournament, entering the final round, it was sufficient for the Netherlands to play a draw (3-3). After quick draws by Wiersma (26 moves against Gantvarg) and Sijbrands (24 moves against Mistchanski), I was fortunate that Shchegolev, in a whim of insanity, gave away a piece and lost.
In Cannes, the Netherlands (Clerc, Van der Wal, G.Jansen, Wesselink) led with a score of 100 per cent going into the final round. Of course, the Soviet Union (Chizhov, Gantvarg, Baliakin, Valneris) was on the programme in the final round. The Soviet Union had surprisingly lost a point against America by four draws, Baliakin's against Birnman being miraculous. Also present then were America and Europe A, B and C. Conspicuously absent from Cannes 1989 was Africa. To my knowledge, the Coupe du Monde was never again held.
During my time as national coach (2008-2020), the World Cup of Nations teams was never even held. Unfortunately, Russia was absent from both Turkey (2022) and Portugal in May 2024. The only World Cup national teams I experienced was in 2012 in Lille, but that was a rapid tournament.
In that all-decisive final round in Cannes, Jannes van der Wal played a draw against Gantvarg, despite a big advantage. Gérard Jansen defeated Baliakin on the third board. The Huissen native had become European champion in Moscow in 1987 with the fabulous score of 23 out of 13! On the fourth board, Wieger Wesselink played an eventful draw against Valneris.
I want to analyse the game on the first board. My opponent had just become world champion for the first time in Paramaribo in the autumn of 1988.
Turbo Dambase lists 30 games between Chizhov and me. Of those 30 games, 25 ended in a draw. They are not all equally interesting, but there are plenty of games in which the battle was at the cutting edge. Among them are also games with shorter time controls. Of the games with classical time control, we both won two. Chizhov's third victory was with shorter time control. After the 1996 world championship in Ivory Coast, the necessary barrage for the title in the spring of 1997 in Groningen ended in six draws, after which a game with shorter time control brought the decision.
Here there is nothing to criticise about the white game, but the black game all the more. Also illustrative is the following game from the 1984 World Cup Baljakin-Dubois, although 44 was still on 45, 13 on 8 and 34 on 40. Game:
[Click here to go to Baliakin-Dubois 1984.]
Here is an interlude with two diagrams reflecting the power of the golden piece.
[Click here to go to "Cross of Keller".]
52...40-44 53.50x39 45-50 54.21-16! =.
These are obviously nauseating computer variants that are still draw. According to Kingsrow, it is almost always still a draw. To repeat: the practical value is nil.
However, these variants do almost argue that 45..24-30 is more promising than the game continuation, but then the game sequence would have been withheld from us...
Such a computer draw is of course nice for the objective value of the position, but obviously has no practical meaning. I do think it is true that more and more top players are convinced by Kingsrow: even if i have a position that is worse it is always still a draw...
After the 6-2 win in the final round, the victory in this Coupe du Monde was celebrated into the early morning of the morning!
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