Perhaps he wanted to avoid: 24.g4 Bxg4 25.fxg4 Nxg4 26.Rxd8+ Rxd8 27.Qe2 h5 28.Bh3 Nf4 29.Qf1 Nxh2

click for larger view

Or any alternative move-order that activates Black's Knights, especially with the Black Queen on c7

However, there is, as I mentioned, no gainsaying Ballantyne's performance.

*

<chessgames.com>: Great NYT article, although I had to laugh a bit about Kasparov's pursuit of "politics in Russia," an endeavor that proves that skill in chess does not necessarily imply skill in other fields of endeavor.

The article is of course limited as to length and detail by space constraints (a subject on which, as a long-time editor, I could write a dissertation), but frankly the analysis in it seems superficial even given that caveat; I might mention, for example, that Kasparov is *not* among the world's most adept practitioners of the simultaneous exhibition, and the article skips rather lightly over some critical moves in favor of what seem to be peripheral questions.

I don't agree with some of the comments here about Ballantyne being "someone to watch" and someone who might "live up to her ambition".

She is already 17 or 18 years old and only a 1950 player. These days, if you're not at least an IM by that age you can forget about having too many ambitions at international level.

That is one problem. In some ways it is actually easier for the Master or GM as most players never have their opening knowledge and they can take as long as they like on their moves.

So this game shows the young woman has definite talent. Whether it is worth spending so much time on chess if she is intelligent as she clearly is is another question. Good to have a profession or even just to become a skilled worker.

Ortvin Sarapu who was an IM spent his life working as a labourer at Reidrubber (tyre company)...the spare time was spent studying and playing chess. His occupation meant he was always very keen to get the extra cash from winning (the mostly relatively weak) NZ Chess tourneys.