Chess: Leko's breakthrough

When the definitive history of 20th-century chess comes to be written, the most significant event of 1995 will probably be seen to have been Peter Leko's fourth place at Belgrade.

Leko, now 16, is man's answer to Judit Polgar. Trained to be a chessplayer almost from birth, he beat Polgar's record as the youngest ever grandmaster when he was 14. After that, he played in some very strong tournaments with generally miserable results.

At Belgrade, however, he showed that he has learned not only to live with the top players, but is capable of beating them. His win against Kramnik was a model of controlled aggression. 19.Nf6+ (19...gxf6 20.Qg4+ Kh8 21.exf6 Bxf6 22.Qe4 forces mate) emphasized White's bind, and Kramnik was never allowed the slightest counterplay.

White: Peter Leko

Black: Vladimir Kramnik

Sicilian Defence

1 e4 c5 25 Nf6 Qd8

2 Nf3 Nc6 26 Qg3 h5

3 d4 cxd4 27 Qg5 Rh7

4 Nxd4 Nf6 28 Rf4 Kh8

5 Nc3 d6 29 Rhf1 Bxf6

6 Bg5 e6 30 Rxf6 Rg8

7 Qd2 Be7 31 g3 Qe7

8 0-0-0 0-0 32 Qf4 Rgg7

9 f4 h6 33 Rf2 Bd5

10 Bh4 Qb6 34 Kb2 Bc6

11 Nxc6 bxc6 35 Bc4 Bb7

12 e5 dxe5 36 Rd2 Rg8

13 fxe5 Ne4 37 Rd6 Qe8

14 Nxe4 Bxh4 38 Qf2 Be4

15 Qf4 Be7 39 Qxc5 Qe7

16 Bd3 Rb8 40 Qd4 Bf5

17 b3 Qc7 41 Rd7 Qe8

18 Kb1 c5 42 Qxa7 Rf8

19 Nf6+ Kh8 43 a4 Kg8

20 Qe4 g6 44 a5 Qc8

21 h4 Bb7 45 a6 Qc6

22 Qf4 Kg7 46 Qc7 Qg2

23 Ng4 Rh8 47 Bxe6 Bxe6

24 Rdf1 Rbf8 48 Rxe6 resigns