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Thursday, June 12, 2025

Anderssen Jolts Dufresne

    
From time to time I like to break out a real chess set and play over some games. The old Golden Treasury of Chess is still a favorite. It contains gems played by unknown, forgotten and dimly remembered players as well as the giants of bygone eras. And, the games were chosen because they were, if not brilliantly played, they are at least interesting. Check out this one, a game that does not appear in Chessgames.com database. 
 The year 1851 marked the beginning of a new era in chess. Instead of analysis, casual games and match play, the first international tournament was held in London. It was a 16 player knockput tournament and Adolph Anderssen of Berlin won it. 
    In 1852, when the following game was played Anderssen was the best player in the world ahead of such players as Tassilo von der Lasa, Henry Buckle. Josef Szen, Elijah William Johann Lowenthal and Howard Staunton. 
 Karl Ernst Adolf Anderssen (1818-1879, 60 years old) was born in Breslau and was one of the strongest players of his day and was generally considered to be the World Champion after his victory in the London tournament. 
    In 1858 he was defeated by Paul Morphy who the assumed the title. When Morphy retied a year later Anderssen regain his reputation as the world's leading player, a position he held until he lost a match to Steinitz in 1866. 
    As a Romantic, his sacrificial attacks are legendary, but in some games his play was strikingly modern, for example in his handling of the Sicilian Defense as black. His odd Anderssen Opening 1.a3 was designed as a way of reaching the Sicilian with colors reversed (i.e. 1.a3 e5 2.c4). 
    His opponent in this game was Jean Dufresne (1829-1893). a German player and problem composer. He was a student of Anderssen and is probably best remember for losing the Evergreen game to him in 1852. 
 Dufresne was born and died in Berlin and was the son of a wealthy Jewish businessman, He attended law school, but was forced to abandon his studies when his father ran into financial difficulties. He subsequently became a journalist. Dufresne was an unsuccessful novelist under the pseudonym E. S. Freund, but wrote several successful chess books including one on Morphy. 

 

Tuesday, June 10, 2025

Michell Stomps Blackburne

    
In April of 1909, explorer Robert Peary almost reaches the North Pole, a long elusive dream, when he, assistant Matthew Henson and four Inuits reach what they determine to be the North Pole. Decades after Peary’s death, navigational errors in his log indicated that in all probability he was a few miles short of its goal. 
    In 1909, new technologies like the phonograph meant that music like ragtime became popular. Broadway musicals and vaudeville also gaine dpopularity. Formal clothing was the norm, women were wearing corseted dresses and large hats, and men suits. For men suits were the standard. Girls wore dresses with lace and stiff material and boys wore shorts, knickers, and tunics. 
    In the chess world  the St. Petersburg tournament, a highly prestigious event, and the Lasker-Janowsky match took place. Akiba Rubinstein and Lasker tied for first in St. Petersburg. The match against Janowski was an important step in Lasker's career; he crushed Jamowsky +7 -1 =2.

 
    Joseph Blackburne (1841-1924) is pretty well known. He came to be known as "The Black Death" and enjoyed a great deal of success in England. In his later years British players provided pension in the form if an annuity for him. In 1923, he suffered a stroke and the next year he died of a heart attack. 
    Reginald Michell (1873-1938) is not so well known. He was British Amateur Champion in 1902. He died in London in 1938. His wife Edith Michell won the British Women's championship three times and participated in a number of World Women's championships.
 

A game that I liked (Fritz 17)

[Event "British Champ, Scarborough"] [Site ""] [Date "1909.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "Reginald P. Michell"] [Black "Joseph H. Blackburne"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C10"] [Annotator "Stockfish 17.1"] [PlyCount "53"] [EventDate "1908.08.09"] [Source ""] {C10: French Defense} 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 dxe4 4. Nxe4 Nd7 5. Nf3 Ngf6 6. Bd3 Nxe4 7. Bxe4 Nf6 8. Bd3 Be7 9. Qe2 a6 {So fat the opening moves have been pretty standard, bit now black should probably castle and play ...c5. The fismcheoot line he chooses gets the B into play, but, being somewhat passive, in practice it does not work out too well,} 10. O-O b6 11. Bd2 Bb7 12. c4 O-O 13. Bc3 Bd6 (13... Nd7 14. Rad1 Qc8 15. d5 Nc5 {White's position is very promising, close to being decisive, in fact. Efimenko,Z (2439)-Blatny,P (2547) Ohrid 2001}) 14. Ne5 g6 {This safery precaution shielding h7 is not necessary and only weakens his K-side.} (14... Qe7 15. Rad1 Bb4 {is solid.}) 15. Rad1 Qe7 16. Rfe1 Rad8 17. Qe3 Bxe5 {A surprising blunder from a player of Blackburne's strength. Correct was 17...b5 with Q-side play.} (17... b5 {was worth a try.} 18. b3 b4 19. Bb2 c5 {White is better, but black is still in the game.}) 18. Qxe5 $18 Ng4 19. Qf4 f5 {The dark squares around black;s K are fatally weak as Michell demonstrates.} 20. h3 g5 21. Qg3 Nh6 22. d5 {[%mdl 512] The knockout blow. With both Bs aime at black's weakened K's position the end is near.} f4 23. Qf3 {Heading for e5.} g4 24. Qe4 Rf7 25. Qe5 Kf8 26. hxg4 c5 27. dxe6 { Black resigned. A well played and froceful attack by Michell.} 1-0

Monday, June 9, 2025

George H. Wolbrecht

    
The subject of today's post is George H. Wolbrecht (1870 - 1929, 58 years old) who is largely inknown today, but at one time he was recognized as the chess champion of the West by virtue of his victory in the Western Chess Association tournament held in Chicago in the summer of 1906. He is also remembered for the time, during a four month visit to Panama in 1908, for having helped to popularize chess there. 
    Both because of his ability and in order to make the U.S. team truly national, he was chosen by he committee of the Brooklyn Chess Club to play against Great Britain in 1907 in the annual cable match. Playing on Board 8 (out of 10) he drew his game with Harry Holmes as the U.S. squeaked past Great Britain 5.5-4.5.
    Today’s game is taken from his hard earned victory in the 1914 Western Open in Chicago. Wolbrecht demonstrated great staying power in the 19-player round robin in which two games a day were played. He finished in a 4-way tie sor first and in the double round playoff he tied with Brandon Jefferson ahead of Herman Hahlnohm and Edward Schrader.
    Wolbrecht was born in St. Louis, Missouri where he attended the public schools and later studied civil engineering at Washington University in St. Louis. He eventually worked for the Government as an engineer on the Mississippi River Commission. From time to time he was in charge of Government steamers, inspecting and repairing the river works between St. Louis and New Orleans.
    Wolbrecht learned to play chess in 1897 or 1898 and had comparatively little time or opportunityfor the practicem but after about 5 ears he was good enough to win the St. Louis city championship even though opposed by such well known players as Max Jidd and E. F. Schrader. In 1903, Wolbrecht played a match for a small stake against Jacques Mieses who was visiting the U.S. Wolbrecht wcored +1 -0 =1. His opponent, Herman Hahlbohm (1886 - 1963, 76 years old). He was one of Chicago's most prominent players in the early 1900s.

A game that I liked (Fritz 17)
[Event "Western Champ (playoff), Memphis"] [Site ""] [Date "1914.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "Herman Hahlbohm"] [Black "George Wolbrecht"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "D55"] [Annotator "Stockfish 17.1"] [PlyCount "48"] [EventDate "1914.??.??"] {D61: Queen's Gambit Declined: Classical} 1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Nf3 Be7 5. Bg5 O-O 6. e3 c6 7. Bd3 Nbd7 8. Qc2 h6 9. Bh4 Nh5 {This is not a particularly effective way of meeting the the Q-Gambut. The standard move is 9. ..dxc4} 10. Bxe7 Qxe7 11. g4 (11. O-O dxc4 12. Bxc4 e5 13. Rac1 exd4 14. exd4 { equals. Sampaio, A-Silva,D (1771) Santos 2008}) (11. Qe2 Nhf6 12. cxd5 exd5 13. O-O Ne4 14. Nd2 f5 15. f3 Nxd2 16. Qxd2 {equals. Khudoshina,V-Bakuta, N Alushta 2005}) 11... Nhf6 12. g5 hxg5 13. Nxg5 {Black is in no particular danger of the Classic Bishop Sacrifice because his N defends h7 and white cannot get his Q into the attack with Qh5. Also, the semi-open g-file poses no real danger to black.} e5 {A well played counter in the center.} 14. dxe5 { A reasonable looking move as it keeps the center open, but it's a mistake because now black's pieces spring into like.} (14. O-O-O {leaves white safe.} e4 {This is why white wanted the center open. After this he has no prospects of attacking h7.} 15. Be2 Nb6 {Now a continued K-side attack by white leads nowhere.} 16. h4 Bf5 17. Rdg1 dxc4 18. Nh3 Nbd5 {Let's try to continue the K-side attack.} 19. Nxd5 cxd5 20. Nf4 Rfd8 21. Rg3 Rd6 22. Rhg1 Ne8 23. Rg5 Qd7 24. h5 b5 25. h6 g6 {and black, whose K is now quite safe, stands better.}) 14... Nxe5 15. O-O-O g6 (15... dxc4 {only allows a harmless check.} 16. Bh7+ Kh8 17. Rhg1 {is a bit tricky to calculate!} (17. f4 Nd3+ {with an excellent position.}) 17... g6 18. Bxg6 fxg6 19. f4 Nd3+ {and black is winning.}) 16. f4 Nxd3+ 17. Qxd3 Bf5 {Completing his development, and defending his K-side. White's position quickly deteriorates.} 18. Qd2 Rad8 (18... dxc4 {Capturing this unimportant P is a mistake that lets white back into the game.} 19. e4 Rad8 20. Qg2 Bc8 21. f5 {with some decent counterplay.}) 19. cxd5 cxd5 20. h4 Rc8 21. Qd4 Rc4 22. Qe5 Rxc3+ {[%mdl 512] This stockdolager is the coup de grace.} 23. bxc3 Qa3+ 24. Kd2 Ng4 {White resigned.} (24... Ng4 25. Qd4 Qxa2+ 26. Kc1 Qc2#) 0-1

Friday, June 6, 2025

Classic Bishop Sacrifice

 
    
The Classic Bishop Sacrifice (Bxh7+) is simply a “must know” pattern! It may not happen often that you get to play it, but when it does, it’s pretty satisfying to pull it off like I sus in the following 10 minute game. 
    The Classic Bishop Sacrifice is the oldest of all the sacrifices involved in the attack on the castled King and it’s aso a good illustration of h7 and f7 as focal points foer delivering mate. The earliest instance of the sacrifice Bxh7+ followed by Ng5+ dates back to Greco's handbook in 1619, but ot wasn’t systematically categorized until the Swiss master Erwin Voellmy did so in a magazine article in 1911. 
    For the conditions to be ripe for the sacrifice white needs to have a Queen, light squared Bishop and Knight. The Bishp has to be able to sacrifice itself on h7, he Knight should be able to reach g5 and the Queen must be able to reach h5, or in some cases another square on the h-file. From black’s perspective the most important point is that either is Bishop or Queen should be able to safely occupy the b1-h7 diagonal. 
 
 

A game that I liked (Fritz 17)

[Event "Chess Hotelm G/10"] [Site "?"] [Date "2025.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "Tartajubow"] [Black "Anonymous"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B00"] [Annotator "Stickfish 17.1"] [PlyCount "39"] [EventDate "2025.??.??"] {B00: Nimzovich Defense} 1. e4 Nc6 {The Nimzovich defense which allows white to occupy the center after whicj black will try to block or restrain white's centralPs and eventually undermine it. Kasparov and Keene wrote that 2hile not popular, it is sound.} 2. d4 e6 {Black usually plays either 2...d5 or 2...e5, vut this flexible move lools reasonable.} 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. f4 {Perhaps a bit risky, but I played it with the intention of launching a K-side attack as quickly as possible.} Bxc3+ {Black should delay this until provoked by a3.} ( 4... Nf6 5. e5 Ne4 6. Qd3 d5 7. Nf3 {Olsen,C (2064)-Kragh,N Copenhagen 1999 with equal chances. Here as in the game black played the inprovoked 7...Bxc3 and soon ended up with an inferior position. Suggested moves are 7...b6, 7... f5 and 7...f6}) 5. bxc3 d6 {This too passive and not in the spirit of this Hypermodern defense. He should play 5,,,Nf6} (5... Nf6 6. e5 {can get crazy! The safe mobe is 6.Bd3} Ne4 7. Nf3 Nxc3 8. Qd3 Nd5 9. c4 Nde7 10. d5 exd5 11. cxd5 Nb4 12. Qd2 Nbxd5 13. f5 c6 14. f6 gxf6 15. exf6 Ng6) 6. Nf3 Nf6 7. Bd3 O-O 8. O-O {White is clearly better and the Classic Bishop Sacrifice is looming as a possibility.} Re8 {This should have lost immediately, but nothing was entirely satisfactiry.} (8... h6 {preventing Bxh7+ is best. Engines prefer 9.Qe1 for some reason, but I would hane played the nearly as good} 9. e5 { after which white has a great position after 9...Nh7 10.Qe2, 9...Nd5 q0.c4 or 9...Ne8 10.g7}) 9. Bd2 {While not bad this misses an immediate win!} (9. e5 Nd5 10. Bxh7+ Kxh7 11. Ng5+ Kg6 12. Rf3 f6 13. Qd3+ f5 14. Rg3 {White is clearly winning according to the engine, but figuring out exactly how to do it in a 10 minute game is beyond my skill level!}) 9... d5 {I was happy to see this because now the Classic Bishop Sacrifice is possible.} (9... e5 {This prevents the sacrifice and whike white gets a significant advantage, black is far from lost.} 10. d5 Nb8 11. fxe5 dxe5 {White has a multitude of reasonable moves, but can only claim an advantage in space.}) 10. e5 Nd7 {Apparebtly lkack is unfamiliar with the sacrifice.} (10... Ne4 {This bkocks the sacrifice and is the only plausible move.} 11. Ng5 h6 12. Bxe4 dxe4 13. Nxe4 {followed by either 14.Qh4 or 13.Qh5 with an excellent position.}) 11. Bxh7+ {[%mdl 512] Unlike the position noted in the note to move 9 this results in a pretty clear sequence; white is clearly winning.} Kxh7 {There is no other option.} (11... Kh8 12. Ng5 Re7 (12... Rf8 13. Qh5 {mates}) 13. Qh5 {mates} Nf6 14. exf6 gxf6 15. Bd3+ Kg8 16. Qh7+ Kf8 17. Qh8#) 12. Ng5+ Kg6 {In some positions this is the best defense, but here it makes no difference.} (12... Kg8 13. Qh5 f6 14. Qh7+ Kf8 15. Qh8+ Ke7 16. Qxg7#) 13. Rf3 Rh8 14. Rg3 {The threat (which I did not see) is 15.f5+ leading to mate.} f6 (14... a6 {A pass to demonstrate the threat.} 15. f5+ exf5 16. Ne6+ Qg5 17. Rxg5+ Kh7 18. Qh5+ Kg8 19. Rxg7#) 15. Nxe6+ {Ending the gane. Black's remaining move were the result of inertia.} Kf7 16. Rxg7+ Ke8 (16... Kxe6 17. f5+ Kxf5 18. Qg4#) 17. Nxd8 Nxd8 18. Qg4 Nf8 19. exf6 Bxg4 20. Re7# 1-0

Wednesday, June 4, 2025

Lembit Oll

 
    
On Sunday, May 17, 1999, in Tallinn, Estonia, the world’s 42nd ranked player who was rated well over 2600, 33-year old Lembit Oll committed suicide by jumping out of his fourth floor apartment window. He had been receiving treatment for depression since 1996 as a result of his divorce and the loss of custody of his two sons.
    Born on April 23, 1966, he was a player with a classical style yet he seemed especially at home in extremely sharp opening variations. Oll (IM title in 1983, GM title in 1990) had been a promising junior, becoming champion of Estonia in 1982 and junior champion of the Soviet Union in 1984. He also won multiple European and World junior championships. Oll regularly played for Estonia in the chess Olympics and European team championships. He played his last tournament in 1999 in Nova Gorica, sharing second place 
 The following game against was played in the 1989 USSR Championship. The opening was a sharp line of the Winawer French, going into a sub-variation that had recently become popular at GM level. Thanks in part to a brilliant idea of Oll’s first demonstrated in this game, it didn't last long. Mikhail Ulibin (born 1971) is a Soviet GM and silver medalist in the World Junior Championship of 1991. He played in the Soviet Union Junior Championships of 1984, 1985 (3rd place),1986,1987 and 1988 where he tied for first with Gata Kamsky.
 

 

A game that I liked (Fritz 17)

[Event "USSR Chp, Tbilisi"] [Site ""] [Date "1989.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "Lembit Oll"] [Black "Mikhail Ulibin"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C18"] [Annotator "Stockfish 17.1"] [PlyCount "67"] [EventDate "1989.01.??"] {[%evp 16,67,135,72,251,241,248,237,262,240,245,113,444,435,442,447,452,424, 431,423,463,459,445,438,454,427,741,739,742,723,745,739,746,731,742,742,733, 725,741,731,717,733,710,702,775,762,976,29969,29976,29976,1004,1192,1000,908] C18: French Defense, Winawer Variation} 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e5 c5 5. a3 Bxc3+ 6. bxc3 Ne7 7. Qg4 O-O 8. Bd3 Nbc6 9. Qh5 h6 {This move is risky, downright bad in fact. So, why did black play it? The fact that it practically loses was not known at the time. Stockfish spits the winning 10.Bxh6 almost immediately, but even after several minutesd the old (prior to 2008) Rybka 2.3. 2 multi_processor version evaluates the position as equal after 10.Bxh6. Black's best is 10...Ng6 after which whute still has an active position.} 10. Bxh6 {Without question best. 10. g4 (was tried by British GM Nigel Short the previous year, but it only resulted in a draw:} gxh6 11. Qxh6 {Black only has one move that avoids mate. but is allows the elimination of his K's lone defender and leaves his K's position in ruins.} Nf5 12. Bxf5 {[%mdl 128]} exf5 13. Nh3 {White needs quick development, but even stronger was a R-lift after castling Q-side/} (13. O-O-O Re8 14. Rd3 Re6 15. Rg3+ Rg6 16. Rxg6+ fxg6 17. Qxg6+ {and now white can bring the N into play with 18.Nh3 and black will be helpless no matter what he does.}) 13... f6 {[%mdl 8192] Except for 13...Qg4 this is probably the worst move he could have played.} (13... Qe7 {allows him to play on with some hope of equalizing.} 14. O-O-O cxd4 15. Rd3 Nxe5 16. Rg3+ Ng4 17. Nf4 dxc3 18. Kb1 {Black has gobbled up some materail and defended against a mating attack, but white is still better after...} Qxa3 (18... Re8 19. Nxd5 {The only defense against a N check on f6 is...} (19. Nh5 {falls short.} f6 {Now is the time for this.} 20. h3 d4 21. hxg4 Qe1+ 22. Qc1 Qxc1+ 23. Kxc1 Kf7 24. gxf5 {White's attack has been beaten back and he has established material equality, but in the process black hab equalized.}) 19... Qe1+ 20. Rxe1 Rxe1+ 21. Ka2 Be6 22. Qg5+ {Black does not have quite enough for is Q, but at the same time white has no forced win.}) 19. Qg5+ Kh7 20. Rh3+ Nh6 21. Rxh6#) 14. Qg6+ Kh8 15. Qh6+ Kg8 16. Qg6+ Kh8 {Is white going to take a draw?! Of course bit! He probably repeated moves to gain time in the clock.} 17. O-O-O {A move rarely seen in the Winawer. It’s good here because black has no attack at all at the moment and white now nas the potential for a R-lift via d3.} fxe5 18. Qh6+ Kg8 19. Qg6+ {Gaoning more clock time.} Kh8 20. Rd3 f4 21. Qh6+ Kg8 22. Qg6+ Kh8 23. Qh6+ {Gaining even more time on the clock! } Kg8 {All of a sudden white seems stymied as there appears to be no way to continue the attack.} 24. Rg3+ {[%mdl 512] This brilliant move gets the other R into play and keeps fis winnign attack going.} (24. Ng5 {fails badly againsr} Bf5 25. Rh3 {Of course the R can't be taken because of Qh7#} Qf6 {and it's black that has a decisive advantage.}) 24... fxg3 25. Qg6+ Kh8 26. hxg3 Qh4 { This just prolongs the game a bit.} (26... Qe7 27. Ng5+ {[%emt 0:00:02] mates in}) 27. gxh4 Bf5 28. Qh6+ Kg8 29. Ng5 exd4 30. Rh3 {[%mdl 512] Jopiong to draw away the lone defender. If not, the R gets into play.} Ne5 31. Rg3 Bg6 32. Ne6 Kf7 33. Nxf8 Rxf8 34. Qf4+ {Black resigned. A brilliant game by Oll.} 1-0

Monday, June 2, 2025

Vladimir Alatortsev

    
Vladimir Alatortsev (1909-1987) was a Soviet player, author and administrator. His name has passed into obscurity, but during his peak years Chessmetrics estimates his highest rating to have been 2646 in 1940 which put him at #21 in the world. 
    He was Botvinnik’s early rival in Leningrad, but Botvinnik, who was two years younger, established his dominance over Alatortsev right from the start and wound up with a + 9 -0 =2 record against Alatortsev.
    During his career, he was champion of both Leningrad and Moscow, and he played in the Soviet Championship finals nine times, with his best results coming in the 1930s and early 1940s. After WWII his star began to fad Alatortsev never got the opportunity to compete outside the Soviet Union. He was awarded the Honorary Emeritus Grandmaster title by FIDE in 1983. Alatortsev died in Moscow at age 77 on January 12, 1987.
 
 

  A game that I liked (Fritz 17)

[Event "USSR Championship, Moscow"] [Site "Moscow URS"] [Date "1950.11.16"] [Round "?"] [White "Vladimir Alatortsev"] [Black "Victor Liublinsky"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "E47"] [Annotator "Stockfish 17.1"] [PlyCount "79"] [EventDate "1950.??.??"] {E40: Nimzo-Indian} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e3 O-O 5. Bd3 Nc6 { This is a poor choice because black does not have much success with it. He gets more active play with either 5...d5 or 5...c5} 6. Nge2 e5 7. d5 Ne7 8. a3 Bxc3+ 9. Nxc3 d6 10. O-O Ne8 {In this position black has tried many moves, but none of them have been especially successful which is an indication that his 5th move was inferior.} (10... Bf5 11. e4 Bg6 12. h3 Nd7 13. g4 {with a pronising position. Soos,B-Milner Barry,P Moscow 1956}) (10... Ng6 {This is perhaps his best move.} 11. b4 Qe7 12. Qc2 Re8 13. Bb2 e4 {with equal chances. Khurtsidze,N (2447)-Zhao,X (2543) Batumi 2012}) (10... a5 11. Qc2 Ng6 12. Bd2 Ne8 13. f4 {White is better. Zagoriansky,E-Liublinsky,V Moscow 1945}) 11. f4 exf4 12. exf4 Bf5 {Hoping to eliminate the potentially dangerous B aimed at his h7.} 13. Be2 (13. Bxf5 Nxf5 14. g4 Ne7 15. f5 {was an equally goiod alternative.}) 13... Bd7 14. Be3 f5 {The point of his 10th move. He holds up white's K-side advances, but his position remains passive and so white has other options.} 15. Bf3 Nf6 16. Re1 Ng6 17. g3 a6 18. b4 Re8 19. Qd3 h5 { Black's position is very passive and so he is motivated to make a vain attempt to get some play. Defensive moves have little practical value} 20. c5 h4 21. c6 bxc6 22. dxc6 Be6 23. Bd4 hxg3 24. hxg3 Nf8 25. Re2 Qe7 {His best chance was to occupy d5 with a P (25...d5) because now white gets control of this square.} 26. Rae1 Qf7 27. Bxf6 {This excellent move settles the issue. He gives up the two Bs in order to take control of the critical d5 square.} Qxf6 28. Nd5 Qf7 29. Kf2 Kh8 30. Qd4 Kg8 31. Re3 Reb8 {With his K-side demonstration coming to nothing, black tries his luck on the Q-side, but white's domination of the center prevails.} 32. Rh1 a5 33. Bh5 {Black could (and should) resigm.} Bxd5 ( 33... g6 34. Nf6+ Kg7 35. Ng4+ Kg8 36. Nh6+ {mates in 5} Kh7 37. Bf3 Qe7 38. Nxf5+ Kg8 39. Qh8+ Kf7 40. Qg7+ Ke8 41. Qxe7#) 34. Bxf7+ Bxf7 35. Rb1 Rb5 36. a4 Rd5 37. Qc3 axb4 38. Rxb4 Rc5 39. Qd3 Ra6 (39... Rxc6 {Not that it really matters, but there was no rrason to avoid this.} 40. Re7 {leaves black completely tied up.}) 40. Qxa6 {Black resigned. Not a flashly game, but a solid positional performance by Alatortsev.} 1-0

Friday, May 30, 2025

The Morphy Period

    
When we think of Paul Morphy we think of a great tactical genius, but it was Morphy who introduced positional ideas that ended the age where playing brilliant sacrifices was the goal. Before Morphy sacrifices were made with great abandon, often without regard for their soundness. 
    Morphy changed the game because he was the first to understand and demonstrate strategic principles rather than premature attacks just for the sake of attacking. Nevertheless, he often conducted spectacular attacks and his games are full of brilliant sacrifices. 
    Morphy's first serious test in international play was his match against Johann Jacob Lowenthal (1810-1876) of Hungary. Between 1842 and1862 he was a member of the elite and he was capable of defeating the best players of his day. It’s interesting to see Frotz 19’s tactical analysis evaluation chart of this game. Ut shows that even Morphy was not perfect. He was outplayed positionally, but unfortunately for Lowenthal he couldn't put his opponent away and Morphy’s reputation of invincibility remained in tact for another game. See the Fritz 19 tactical analysis chart.  

 
    Chessmetrics estimates his highest ever rating to have been 2616 in 1859 and his best world rank to have been #2 on several occasions in 1858 and 1859. Morphy was rated over 100 points ahead of him. 
    By the way, it is important to note that these ratings do not equate to the equivalent rating of today. Ratings measure results, not ability. Naturally the strongest players have the best results, but a case in point was the infamous Claude F. Bloodgood III who, in 1996 as a prisoner in the Virginia State Penitentiary, manipulated his rating to over 2700 by holding rated tournaments containing a small pool of prison players. 
    On the rating list for 1858, Chess metrics assigns Lowenthal a rating of 2597 placing him at #2 in the world behind Morphy. In their match Morph scored a decisive victory with a score of +9 -3 =2. 
 
  A game that I liked (Fritz 17)
[Event "Match, London"] [Site ""] [Date "1858.07.20"] [Round "2"] [White "Paul Morphy"] [Black "Johann Loewenthal"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C30"] [Annotator "Stockfish 17.1"] [PlyCount "55"] [EventDate "1858.07.19"] [Source "(London) Field, "] {C30: King's Gambit Declined} 1. e4 e5 2. f4 Bc5 {This is the classical way to decline the gambit.} 3. Nf3 d6 4. c3 Bg4 5. Bc4 Bxf3 {This unprovoked exchange has little to recommend it. Developing with 5...Nc6 is more logical.} 6. Qxf3 Nf6 (6... Nc6 7. b4 Bb6 8. b5 Na5 9. Bxf7+ Kxf7 10. fxe5+ Ke8 11. Rf1 Qe7 12. d4 g6 $4 13. Bg5 Qg7 14. Qh3 Ne7 15. Bf6 Qg8 16. e6 h5 17. Bxh8 Qxh8 18. Rf7 Bxd4 19. cxd4 Qxd4 20. Nc3 Nc4 21. Rd1 {1-0 Kosmac,B (2149)-Malnar,A (1918) Kranj op 1st 2004}) 7. b4 (7. d4 {leads to complications unfavorable to black after} exd4 8. e5 dxe5 9. fxe5 Qe7 10. Kd1 Nfd7 11. e6 fxe6 12. Qxb7 O-O 13. Qe4 {os equal/} (13. Qxa8 Nb6 14. Qe4 Nxc4 {with compensation for the exchange} )) (7. fxe5 dxe5 8. d3 O-O 9. Nd2 {with a solid position.}) 7... Bb6 8. d3 Nbd7 {White should now consider 9.Be3 eliminatiin that annoying B that is preventing him from playing O-O} 9. f5 {With this move white's center becomes immobile and, as a resukt, black is able to lainch a counterattack against it with ...d5. Also, as a result of the advance of the f-Pawn white can no longer open the f-file which would have given him attacking possibilities..} Qe7 10. g4 {With careful defense the coming Pawn advance on the K-side has no danger to black because of the aforementioned possinility of a counter in the center with ...d5} h6 (10... d5 {at once was also possible.} 11. Bb3 (11. exd5 { os forcefull met by} e4 {with a huge advantage.}) 11... h6 12. h4 O-O-O { White's advance on the K-side has come to nothing and hid K is not comfortable in the center.}) 11. Ke2 {This is just bad move because it leaves his K precariously y positioned.} (11. g5 {was worth a try, but after} hxg5 12. Bxg5 c6 13. Nd2 d5 {black has excellent play.}) 11... c6 {This is unnecessary preparation..} (11... d5 12. Bxd5 (12. exd5 {results in serious consequences after} e4) 12... Nxd5 13. exd5 {Now black cannot play ...e4 because the N on f6 has disappeared.} Nf6 14. Nd2 a5 (14... O-O {is too risky!} 15. g5 hxg5 16. Ne4 Nxe4 17. dxe4 f6 {Black is OK, but he is still facing an attack against his K.}) 15. bxa5 Rxa5 {Black has switched operations to the Q-side and white can only play defensively.}) (11... a5 {White an immediate central advance does not accomplish much, this excellent move swutching attention to the Q-side keeps black's initiative going.} 12. bxa5 Bxa5 13. h4 d5 14. Bxd5 Nxd5 15. exd5 Nf6 {is differnt than in the previous analysi because white can;t play Nd2} 16. Nd2 (16. g5 e4 17. dxe4 hxg5 18. Bxg5 Qxe4+ 19. Qxe4+ Nxe4 { with a distinct advantage.}) 16... Bxc3 17. Rb1 Rxa2) 12. g5 {Somewhat better would have been 12.h4} hxg5 13. Bxg5 d5 {[%mdl 512] Black now has a sizeable advantage and he can be optomistic about the future.} 14. Bb3 Qd6 15. Nd2 a5 { Excellent!} 16. bxa5 Rxa5 17. h4 Nh5 {[%mdl 32]} 18. Nf1 {This do nothing move is an indication that Morphy has been outplayed positionally.What's odd is that this N will meander back home to b1 and win the game!} Nc5 19. Bc2 Rb5 ( 19... Ra3 $142 {attacking the c-Pawn was even better. 20.Bd2 Ba5 White is positionally lost.} 20. Bd2 Ba5 {White is positionally lost.}) 20. Bc1 dxe4 ( 20... Ba5 {was even better.} 21. Bd2 Nf4+ 22. Ke1 Rb2 23. Kd1 dxe4 24. dxe4 b5 {White is about to get torn apart.}) 21. dxe4 {This is a critical position. After 21...Bf4 white can't leave the N there so has to exvhange it and that allows the R to go to b2 which should be enough to score the point.} Rb2 { [Loewenthal has played excellently until now, but this overzealous move allows white to turn the tables and now black lost.} (21... Nf4+ {would win.} 22. Ke1 (22. Bxf4 exf4 23. Nd2 Rb2 24. Rac1 Rxa2) 22... Ncd3+ {White has no hope.}) 22. Bxb2 Nf4+ 23. Ke1 {[%mdl 32]} Ncd3+ 24. Bxd3 Nxd3+ 25. Kd2 Nxb2+ 26. Kc2 { The N has to skedaddle if black wants to play on, so he should try 26...Nc4} Qa3 {Loewenthal has cpmpletely his way.} 27. Nd2 Bc7 28. Nb1 {[%mdl 64] Black resigned. After the Q retreat white picks up the N with 29. Kxb2} 1-0

Thursday, May 29, 2025

Bogoljubow – Trott, a Rare Finish

 
    
The annual Agnes Stevenson Memorial, an open event, was played in the 1950s and 1960s with Southsea being the venue from 1949 to 1952. Mrs. Stevenson was a British Ladies Champion who met an untimely end in 1935 when she accidentally walked into an airplane propeller. 
    The 1950 tournament was Arthur Bisguier's first international success in Europe and Jonathan Penrose created a sensation by defeating both Tartakower and Bogoljubow. His loss to Bisguier in the eighth round knocked him out of first into a tie for third place. 
    There's also an interesting anecdote concerning Tartakower that relates to a Wesley So incident when he was forfeited in the 2015 US Championship for writing noted on his scoresheet. I think things have gotten ridiculous; it’s not like So was analyzing on his scoresheet. Back in the old days players used to write down their move before making it; now, thanks to the nitpickers, it’s considered taking notes. 
    In TChess Masters on Winning Chess by Fred Reinfeld he wrote, “Tartakower had a fluent pen; he wrote voluminously, often annotating a game for a newspaper or magazine while he was playing it.” 
    Leonard Barden wrote that he witnessed Tartakower making notes during at least one game, at one or more of the Southsea tournaments of 1949, 1950 and 1951. Barden related that in Tartakower's game against Ravn at Southsea, 1951 he (Barden) was curious to see what Tartakower was writing and so crept up behind him and found there were copious notes in small writing on his scoresheet. He went on to say that apparently Tartakower had trouble reading his own notes because he pushed his glasses back on his forehead, squinted and peered closely at what he had written. Nobody objected though; Tartakower was a legend and besides, it wasn't considered consulting written material in those days. That would come many years later. 
 
 
    Bogoljubow's opponent in this game is A.H. Trott. Not a lot is available on Trott. He is referred to in an article in keverelchess. He was an alumni of the Alleyn School in London. The June, 1947 issue of the school magazine mentions that he was playing for the school's chess team. The July, 1951 wrote, “A.H. Trott (tn 1945-47-note: this is apparently a reference to the years he attended) has won the Southern Counties' Chess Championship by finishing first out of the British players in the recent Southsea Tournament. Both The Times and the Observer made favourable comments on his play.” This game where he was defeated by Bogoljubow has a rare finish. Trott's last move was a check and Bogoljubow replied with a move that delivered mate.
 

A game that I liked (Fritz 17)

[Event "Southsea"] [Site ""] [Date "1950.04.20"] [Round "?"] [White "Efim Bogoljubov"] [Black "Arthur H. Trott"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "A07"] [Annotator "Stockfish 17.1"] [PlyCount "79"] [EventDate "1950.??.??"] {[%evp 17,78,-50,-39,-89,-98,-110,-56,-54,-10,-126,-18,-26,-27,-52,-48,-58,-34, -59,-64,-69,-73,-79,-62,-66,-62,-47,-65,-64,87,84,82,33,80,79,110,98,126,132, 149,64,118,109,128,113,113,103,174,174,164,178,149,180,319,287,691,663,778,762, 29993,29991,29995,29996,29999] B25: Closed Sicilian} 1. e4 c5 2. Ne2 Nc6 3. Nbc3 d6 4. g3 {In the Closed Sicilian white expands on the K-side without opening the center. Black has little difficulty in equalizing, yet white often gets attacking chances against an unwary opponent. Vasily Smyslov and Boris Spassky both contributed to the theory on this variation. Spassky’s treatment was more aggressive, very often playing with an early f4 followed by Nf3, while Smyslov was more cautious and preferred to develop his pieces with Be3 and Qd2 followed by Nge2. The Closed Variation has pretty much disappeared from the high level competition even though it is a solid line and it leads to a complicated and positional game. Still, at lower levels it is seen occasionally and it’s a good choice for white because most Sicilian players spend a lot of time trying to learn the main lines, but very little on sidelines.} g6 5. Bg2 Bg7 6. d3 e6 7. Nf4 {Very rare. White almost always castles or plays 7.Be3 here.} Nge7 8. O-O O-O 9. Re1 {Another rare move. Moves like 9.h4, 9.h3, 9.Bd2 and 9.Nce2 have all been tried here. White can also try the precautionary 9.a3 to hinder a potential advance by black’s b-Pawn.} Rb8 {A reasonable idea, planning to expand on the Q-side.} 10. Nce2 b5 {White has not accomplished much out of the opening whereas black's Q-side play is underway.} 11. c3 Qa5 {This is unnecessary and the immediate 11...b4 was preferable.} 12. a3 b4 13. Bd2 {This withdrawal is a waste of time. It would have been better to play 13.cxb4 and after 13...cxb4 counter in the center with 14.d4} bxa3 {This is the wrong capture; taking the c-Pawn leaves white with two weak Ps.} 14. Rxa3 Qb6 15. Bc1 Bd7 16. Ra2 Rfc8 17. g4 Na5 18. h3 Nb3 19. Be3 e5 20. Nd5 Nxd5 21. exd5 f5 {At the moment black can make no further progress on the Q-side, so he advances on the other side. However, he has no pieces on the K-side with which to support this advance and so in the end this advance is not likely to lead to much of anything even though it forces white to weaken his K-side. For his part, white’s pieces are not especially well placed to initiate K-side operations.} 22. gxf5 Bxf5 $2 {Better was 22...gxf5. Now white gets the initiative on the K-side.} (22... gxf5 23. f4 Kh8 {with some prospects on the g-file.}) 23. Ng3 Rf8 {After this black’s position begins a gradual slide downhill, but other moves seem no better.} 24. Kh2 Rb7 25. Rg1 Kh8 26. Ra3 Bd7 27. Ne4 {There is a storm brewing against black's K.} a5 28. Bf3 {The advance of his h-Pawn must have been in the back of Bogoljubow’s mind when he played this, but the straightforward advance of the h-Pawn would have been even stronger.} Be8 {Suddenly black has to shore up his K-side in view of the potential advance of the h-Pawn.} 29. Rg2 h6 30. Be2 {White pulls his B back because he wants to use the Q for something besides defending it.} a4 31. Qg1 Nd4 {This sacrifice ps not quite sound as black does not get nearly enough compensation in the form of play on the Q-side for it. At the same time, it’s hard to suggest a reasonable plan.} 32. cxd4 Qxb2 33. dxc5 Qxa3 34. Nxd6 Rb8 {Trott’s desire to save his R is understandable, but this leaves him clearly lost. What a pity because despite his difficult position Bogoljubow’s win is not a forgone conclusion.} (34... Qb2 {is trappy!} 35. Nxb7 a3 {White is forced to deal with the a-Pawn.} 36. Qc1 Qxe2 { and black has equalized.}) (34... Qb2 35. c6 {This is the correct response.} Bxc6 36. dxc6 Rc7) 35. Nxe8 Rfxe8 {As is often the case...wrong R! Taking with the other R was, accoring to engines, only half as bad, but still losing.} 36. Rxg6 Rg8 37. Qg4 e4 38. Qh5 Rge8 39. Bxh6 Be5+ 40. Bf4# {An unusual finish.} 1-0

Tuesday, May 27, 2025

Alekhine Shows No Mercy


    
In 1915, World War One was going on and on the Western Front it was a war of attrition with both sides entrenched in what was a bew form if warfare...trench warfare. Along with it came another development, the German Army’s prolific us if poison gases such as chlorine, mustard, bromine and phosgene. 
    Chlorine gas can cause effects from mild irritation to severe and it can even be fatal.  Symptoms include eye, nose and throat irritation, cough, breathing problems, chest pain and lung damage. 
    Mustard gas is a blistering agent that causes severe burns and damage to the eyes, skin and respiratory tract. It can lead to temporary or permanent blindness and in large concentrations it can cause death. 
    Bromine gas causes upper respiratory effects, cough, headache, central nervous system effects, skin loss and discoloration. 
    The immediate effect of phosgene is watering of the eyes. Subsequently, it causes a build up of fluid in the lungs that leads to death. It's estimated that 85% of the 91,000 gas deaths in WWI were a result of phosgene or a derivative. 
    As a kid there was an elderly hardware store owner who wasn’t quite right in the head and my mother said it was because he was gasses in WWI. Bromine gas’s effect on the central nervous system include extreme drowsiness, a strong desire for sleep or the tendency to fall asleep, seizures, the quick onset of confusion, disorientation, and difficulty focusing, thinking clearly, and remembering recent events. It can also cause a person's thinking, perception and behavior to be severely altered, making it difficult to distinguish between reality and what is not real. It's often characterized by hallucinations, delusions and disorganized thoughts and speech. 
    In 1915, Alexander Alekhine was confined prim agaarily to playing chess in Moscow and it was the year when he “played” his famous Five Queens Game against Nikolai Grigoriev. The game was actually composed, but Alejhine presented it as real. 
    The following game featuring a merciless attack by Alekhine was played in a First Category tournament in Moscow. In the Soviet Union players were classified using a system of categories rather than a numerical rating. It’s difficult to define exactly what a First Category player was, but a First Category player seems to have been what was also called a Candidate Master, or according to the USCF rating system an Expert which is one rank below Master (Elo 2200). 
  A game that I liked (Fritz 17)
[Event "1st Category tournament, Moscow"] [Site ""] [Date "1915.10.??"] [Round "?"] [White "G I Rabinovich"] [Black "Alexander Alekhine"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "C44"] [Annotator "James Massie"] [PlyCount "52"] [EventDate "1915.??.??"] {C44: Ponziani Opening} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. c3 {This ancient opening dates back to around the time Columbus landed in America. In 1904, Marshall wrote that there is no point in white's third move unless black plays badly and today it's rarely used except as a surprise. Black's main responses are 3... Nf6, leading to quiet play or 3...d5 leading to sharp play.} d5 4. Qa4 { This peculiar move breaks the rule about bringing the Q out early, but it's actually the Main Line. White indirectly threatens the P on e5 by pinning the N. Black must defend the P by 4...f6 or sacrifice a P by either 4...Bd7 (this is probably his best choice) or 4...Nf6} Nf6 (4... dxe4 {This is often seen, but it does not work out well for black/} 5. Nxe5 Qd5 6. Nxc6 bxc6 7. Bc4 { White is better.}) 5. Nxe5 Bd6 6. exd5 {A poor choice, Better is 6.Nxc6 and 7. d4} Bxe5 7. dxc6 O-O 8. Be2 (8. d4 Bd6 9. Be3 Ng4 10. Nd2 Nxe3 11. fxe3 Qh4+ 12. Kd1 {Black is better.. Savchenko,B (2589) -Jakovenko,D (2720) Odessa 2008}) 8... Re8 9. d4 Bd6 10. Bg5 bxc6 (10... Qe7 11. Qd1 bxc6 12. Bxf6 Qxf6 13. O-O Rb8 {wuth equal chances. Castellano Egea,E (2186)-Pinsach Gelabert,A (2138) Barcelona ESP 2014}) (10... h6 {This move assures black of a considerable advantage after} 11. Bxf6 Qxf6 12. Qd1 Bg4 {and white is in serious trouble.}) 11. Nd2 Qe7 {Better was 11...Bg4 forcing white to play the weakening 12.f3} 12. Qc4 {Allowing the pin to continue was not a good idea. Blocking the e-file with 12.Be3 would have been much better.} a5 {[%mdl 1024] Threatening 13...Ba6} 13. Qd3 Bf5 {[%mdl 640] After this sockdolager white is in trouble.} 14. Qf3 ( 14. Qxf5 Qxe2#) 14... Qd7 {Another blow threatening 15...Bg4} 15. h3 Ne4 { Bringing the N into the action.} 16. Be3 (16. Nxe4 {is out od the question.} Bxe4 17. Qh5 g6 18. Qh6 Bxg2 19. Rg1 Bf3 {and black is winning}) 16... Nxd2 17. Kxd2 Rab8 {Even better would have been 17...Be4} 18. b3 c5 {Same as before.} 19. Bc4 cxd4 20. cxd4 c5 {This move, played with the idea of opening up the position, is not at all effective.} (20... Be4 21. Qg4 Bb4+ 22. Ke2 Bf5 23. Qf3 Rb6 {adding the R ti the action. Black is clearly better, but white can, at least, hope to defend himself.}) 21. d5 {This is an odd situation...normally keeping the position closed with a move like this would be a reasonable idea, but here opening up the position with 21. dac5 would actually jave been safer.} (21. dxc5 Bxc5+ 22. Ke2 Be4 23. Qf4 Bxg2 24. Rad1 {This is why opening up the position is white;s best defense; his R gets into play.} Qa7 25. Rhg1 {Black has ti be careful!} Bxe3 (25... Bc6 26. Rxg7+ Kxg7 27. Qg5+ Kh8 28. Qf6+ Kg8 29. Rg1+ {and it's white who is winning.}) 26. fxe3 {and white has managed tio achieve equality because by opening up the position his pieces have obtainsed considerable scope.}) 21... Be4 22. Qg4 {This loses quickly. SOmwhat better would have been 22.Qh5} (22. Qh5 Re5 23. Qh4 Rbe8 {All white can do is wait for the end.}) 22... f5 23. Qh4 Qb7 {It wonl't take long to dig out white's K.} 24. Bf4 ({and white gets hounded without mercy.} 24. Rad1 Qb4+ 25. Ke2 f4 26. Bxf4 Bxg2+ 27. Be3 Re4 28. Qg5 Bxh1 29. Rxh1 Rxc4 30. bxc4 Qxc4+ 31. Kf3 Rf8+ 32. Kg2 Qe4+ 33. Kg1 Rf6 34. Qh5 Rg6+ 35. Bg5 Qe1+ 36. Kg2 Qe4+ 37. Kg1 Qxd5) 24... Qb4+ 25. Kd1 Qc3 26. Rc1 Qd4+ {White resigned} (26... Qd4+ 27. Bd2 Bf3+ { wins the Q}) 0-1

Friday, May 23, 2025

A Surprising Knight Move

  
    
Today the preferred term seem to be “tactics”, but in my day they were referred to as “combinations”. Whatever you call them we all love games in which the outcome is decided by them. 
    Sometimes a tactical shot is the result of deep calculation and other times they appear almost by accident. In either case they can come as a complete surprise to one of the players who is suddenly faced with an unforeseen possibility. In the following game a surprising Knight move to an out of the way square by Kotov immediately decides the outcome, but not before Donner tried a little trick of his own. 
    The winner of this game, Soviet GM Alexander Kotov (1913-1981) was a two-time world title Candidate and a prolific chess author. His writing were often filled with praise for rhe Soviet political system. He is probably best remembered for his trilogy Think Like a Grandmaster, Play Like a Grandmaster and Train Like a Grand master. 
 

    His opponent was the GM Jam Hein Dinner (1927-1988) who was also an author who was Dutch champion in 1954, 1957 and 1958. In 1983, at the age of 56, he suffered a stroke and went to live in what he described as a kind of nursing-home. He was unable to walk, but had learned to type with one finger and wrote for a Dutch magazine. 

A game that I liked (Fritz 17)

[Event "Venice"] [Site ""] [Date "1950.10.??"] [Round "10"] [White "Jan Donner"] [Black "Alexander Kotov"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "D44"] [Annotator "Kotov/Stockfosh 17.1"] [PlyCount "50"] [EventDate "1950.??.??"] {D44: Semi-Slav: Botvinnik System} 1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 c6 4. Nf3 Nf6 5. Bg5 dxc4 {This variation was introduced into tournament practice by Botvinnik and so is known as the Botvinnik Syaten, The other often seen move is 5...h6} 6. a4 {The main line is 6.e4, but the text has the point of preventing 6...b5 and the creation of a Pawn mass on the Q-side.} (6. e4 b5 7. e5 h6 8. Bh4 g5 { and now great complications arise after} 9. Nxg5 hxg5 10. Bxg5) 6... Bb4 7. e4 Bxc3+ {While often played, Kotov thought it questionable, but because he wanted to avoid Donner's home preparation he chose this move which he considered risky because after this exchange his dark squares are very weak and white's pieces might be able to attack on them.} (7... b5 {is also frequently played, but it's not so good. B;ack's best is probably 6...h6} 8. e5 h6 9. exf6 hxg5 10. fxg7 {wuth a good game.}) 8. bxc3 Qa5 9. e5 Ne4 10. Bd2 { Kotov harshly criticized this move calling it an incomprehensible retreat, but that seems unfair and there is not much difference between it and the "natiral" move 10.Rc1 after which black has a wide choice of playable moves.} Qd5 {Certainly 10...Nxd2 was worth considering.} 11. Qc2 c5 {Black must react with vigor or risk getting a passive position.} 12. Be3 Nc6 {This is a major error, but luckily for Kotov, Donner missed the refutation!} (12... cxd4 { is correct.} 13. cxd4 {Black should now play 13...Bd7 when white is slightly better.} Qa5+ 14. Nd2 Nxd2 15. Bxd2 {Ivanchuk,V (2779)-Smeets,J (2601) Wijk aan Zee 2009. White is better, but he misplayed the game and later lsot.}) 13. Be2 {After this the position is equal.} (13. O-O-O cxd4 14. Nxd4 Nc5 {He should have castled.} 15. Nb5 Nb3+ 16. Kb2 Qxe5 17. Nd6+ Ke7 18. Nxc4 {1-0 Danielian,O (2440)-Ceteras,M (2335) Vejen DEN 1993}) (13. Rd1 {is by far the strongest move here after whicjh black's position is very difficult.} cxd4 14. Nxd4 Nc5 15. Nb5 Nd3+ 16. Bxd3 cxd3 17. Nc7+ {followed by 18.Rxd3 with a decisive advantage.}) 13... cxd4 {There are other reasonable moves, but black's resoning here is that this move weakens white's d-Pawn.} 14. cxd4 { Donner has missed the point of his opponent's last move.} (14. Nxd4 {was correct.} Nxe5 (14... Nxd4 15. cxd4 Qa5+ {White is slightly better.} 16. Kf1) 15. O-O Bd7 16. Rfd1 {with equal chances.}) 14... Nb4 15. Qc1 (15. Qxc4 { is not good...} Qxc4 16. Bxc4 Nc2+) {While wgite's position id hardly critical, his} 15... c3 {[%mdl 2048] Donner's minuscule slip last move has allowed black to seize the initiative.} 16. O-O Bd7 17. Ne1 {The plan is to play f3 and after ...Nd2+ and then after the exchange on d2 he can play Qg5 after which he can launch an attackm vut there is a fly in the ointment.} Rc8 (17... a5 { is better.} 18. f3 Nd2 19. Bxd2 cxd2 20. Qxd2 Rd8 21. Qg5 (21. f4 Bc6 22. Nf3 { The need to defend his d-Pawn has prevented him from launching a K-side attack and ;eft b;acl with the better position/}) 21... Qxd4+ {wins the R on a1.}) 18. f3 {Completely missing an important point.} (18. Nc2 {was must play after which he has chances of holding the position. Now ...Nd2 would lose, so} a5 ( 18... Nd2 19. Nxb4 Qe4 20. Bd3 Qh4 21. Bxd2 cxd2 22. Qxd2) 19. Nxb4 axb4 20. f3 Ng5 (20... Nd2 21. Bxd2 cxd2 22. Qxd2 {is equal.}) 21. Bxg5 h6 22. Be3 O-O { A very sharp position where black's two passed Ps are plenty of compensation.}) 18... Nd2 {[%mdl 512]} (18... Ng5 {doesn't work now.} 19. Bxg5 Qxd4+ 20. Be3 Qd5 21. Bxa7 {with a decisive advantage.}) 19. Bxd2 {Now, of course, Donner was expecting ...cxd2 as in the previous variations} Na2 {Bang!} 20. Rxa2 { Donner realized he was losing and so decided to sacrifice the exchange and at the same time set a cunning trap.} (20. Qd1 {was worth a try.} Qxd4+ 21. Kh1 Qxd2 22. Qxd2 cxd2 23. Rxa2 dxe1=N 24. Rxe1 Rc5 {But, here it's doubtful white can save the game.}) 20... Qxa2 21. Bg5 {Hoping Kotov will fall for taking the N on e2.} h6 {Sends the B packing and white can't play Qa3+} (21... Qxe2 22. Qa3 {Threatening mate on e7. Black can avoid it, but the cost is too high.} f6 23. exf6 gxf6 24. Bxf6) 22. Bd3 {Other moves are just as hopeless.} (22. Bh4 Qxe2 23. Qa3 Qe3+ 24. Kh1 g5 {ends it.}) 22... hxg5 23. Qxg5 Qd2 24. f4 (24. Qxg7 {is easily met by} Qe3+ 25. Kh1 Qh6) 24... Bc6 {A nify little tactical point...white can't take the g-Pawn.} 25. Qg3 (25. Qxg7 Qe3+ 26. Kh1 Qh3 27. Kg1 Qxh2+ 28. Kf2 Qxf4+ 29. Nf3 Ke7 {wins easily.}) 25... g6 {White resigned. Short, sharp and even the loser manages some clever play.} 0-1

Thursday, May 22, 2025

The Tournament That Never Was

    
In mid-1941, Chess metrics estimates the best players in the world to have been Mikhail Botvinnik (2786), Reuben Fine, Samuel Reshevsky (2748), Paul Keres (2737) and Max Euwe (2723). World Champion Alekhine was #6 at 2718 and former Champion Capablanca was #12 at 2677. 
    In early 1941, Capablanca was in New York and was interviewed by George Sturgis (ISCF President), L Walter Stephens (Vice-President) and chess journalist Hermann Helms about the possibility of holding a world championship tournament in the United States. 
    Capablanca informed them that he did not favor the idea of holding a round-robin tournament to decide the championship and stated that he would refuse to play in such a tournament because it wouldn't be a “fair test of the real caliber of the competitors.” He called attention to AVRO 1938, as highlighting the inadequacy of this type of competition. Sounds like sour grapes’ Capablanca finished next to last with a minus score. 
    Capablanca wanted the USCF to help fund a match between Alekhine and, of course, himself and he even told them how to go about it. They should form a committee of three and draw up regulations and make plans for the match. He also suggested hat the USCF use its influence to persuade Alekhine to play for a purse of $10,000 (over $218,000 today) in American money. Alekhine wanted a guaranteed purse of $10,000 in gold, which would have been the equivalent of about $17,000 in 1941 US dollars (abut $371,000 in today’s dollars). 
     USCF officials decided to take no action on Capablanca’s suggestions but to hold the matter in abeyance. If Alekhine showed up in the United States they would discuss it with him. 
    Stephens told Capablanca that he thought a match between Alekhine and Reshevsky would be more interesting to American and he (Stephens) would prefer to raise money for that match if a tournament could not be arranged. 
    What was Capablanca’s reaction to Stephens declaration? In the discussion that followed Capablanca recommended that American chess authorities should take a firmer hold in tournaments “in order to raise the dignity and decorum of such events to a higher level.” Stephens agreed with him. 
    In 1941, the United States was hesitant about getting involved in the war and initially maintained a policy of neutrality. However, President Roosevelt recognized the growing threat posed by Nazi Germany and sought ways to support Allied nations. Then on December 7th the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor by Japan changed everything. 
    On a side note, on January 11, 1941, Emanuel Lasker, holder of the World Championship from 1894 to 1921 died in New York at the age of 72. One tournament that was held in 1941 was the one held in Ventnor City, New Jersey. It had an exciting finish when 36-year old lawyer Jacob Levin, of Philadelphia, upset all expectations by winning first prize. 
 
 
    In the final round, Levin quickly won his game against Robert Durkin, making it necessary for Anthony Santasiere to win from Milton Hanauer in order to tie, but he ended up losing. Fred Reinfeld slipped into second when he won his last round game against Weaver Adams. 
     Of the following game Pinkus wrote, “While not an example of perfect chess, this game is certainly one of the most interesting produced in the past few years.” He was right about it not being perfect and it is kind of interesting. Nor was it the one sided drubbing that Pinkus made it ouy to be. Durkin’s only really nig mistake came on move 22 which list instantly. Of course, these days any Patzer with an engine can criticize. Let’s take a look. 
 

A game that I liked (Fritz 17)

[Event "Ventnor City"] [Site ""] [Date "1941.07.06"] [Round "?"] [White "Albert Pinkus"] [Black "Robert Durkin"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C10"] [Annotator "Pinkus/Stockfish 17.1"] [PlyCount "49"] [EventDate "1941.??.??"] {C13: French Defense} 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 dxe4 {A rather inisual move that Tarrasch dismissed as theoretically unsound because he believed black will be unable to break up white's center. He appears to have been right; in my database white scores twice as many wins as black.} 4. Nxe4 Nd7 {Black avoids the immediate 4...Nf6 because of 5.Nxf6+ when he hs to either accept doubled Ps of bring his Q out too early.} 5. Nf3 Ngf6 6. Bd3 b6 {In a brief annotation I saw this move was, perhaps unfairly, slapped with a question mark. Theoretically it's just OK, but in practice it has not worked out well at all. White wins 53% of the database games; black 22%. But then the usual 6...c5 and 6...Nxe4 don't do any better!} 7. Bg5 {While this move is frequently seen, the exchanges that result from it only favor black. Hence, 7.Qe2 seems preferable.} Bb7 8. Qe2 Be7 {White has played at least a half dozen different moves here. Again, the position is equal, ober the long haul black's lack of any real counterplay tells agaist him.} 9. Bxf6 {There was no reason to play this unprovoked exchange as black now is equal.} (9. h4 {is white's most interesting try.} Nxe4 {The exchanges only help black.} (9... h6 10. Nxf6+ Nxf6 11. Bf4 Nd5 12. Bd2 Nb4 13. Bb5+ c6 14. Ba4 {is equal.}) 10. Bxe4 Bxe4 11. Qxe4 O-O (11... Bxg5 12. hxg5 g6 13. O-O-O {White gas a nearly won position.}) 12. O-O-O {with equal chances.}) 9... Nxf6 10. O-O O-O 11. c4 {What are the plans for both sides? White has control of the center and he can either play for the endgame using his Q-side P-majority or he can try to build up a K-side attack. For his part, black, who has a cramped but solid position anf the twi Bs, must at the moment attempt to get rid of white's d-Pawn and so needs to think about playing ...c5 which he should play at once.} Qc8 {The purpose of this odd looking move is to make d8 available for the R. It's not a bad move, but Durkin is playing very passively. The correct plan, as mentioned, was to play 11...c5} 12. Rad1 Rd8 13. Ng3 {This, too, is rather passive. 13.Ne5 suggests itself.} Bf8 {Of course he couldn't take the d-Pawn. In spite of the fact that black's position looks gead, it's solid and should prove a tough nut to crack!} 14. Ne5 c5 {Finally!} 15. Nh5 {White threatens Nxf6+ and mate.} Ne8 {This meets the threat, but it puts one too many pieces on the back rank!} (15... a6 {A pass to demonstrate the threat.} 16. Nxf6+ gxf6 {White has a forced mate.} 17. Bxh7+ Kh8 18. Qh5 Bh6 19. Qxh6 Rd7 20. Bc2+ Kg8 21. Rd3 Bf3 22. Rxf3 Rxd4 23. Qh7+ Kf8 24. Qxf7#) (15... Qc7 {Eliminates the threat.} 16. Nxf6+ gxf6 17. Bxh7+ Kxh7 18. Qh5+ Kg8 (18... Bh6 19. Nxf7 {wins}) 19. Rd3 fxe5 20. Rh3 Bg7 21. Qh7+ Kf8 22. Rg3 exd4 23. Qxg7+ Ke7 24. Qg5+ Kd7 {The K has given white the slip and black is left with a winning position.}) (15... Qc7 16. d5 Nxh5 17. Bxh7+ (17. Qxh5 g6 {Black is better.}) 17... Kxh7 18. Qxh5+ Kg8 19. dxe6 fxe6 {Surprisingly, white can't seem to make any headway in this position and so black has equalized.}) 16. Nf4 {This is not the most energetic, but Pinkus is relying on what he described as a trap.} (16. Bxh7+ Kxh7 17. Nxf7 {leaves black with no good reply.} Rd7 18. Ng5+ Kg8 (18... Kh8 19. Nf4 {Here, too, white is winning.}) 19. Qxe6+) 16... g6 17. dxc5 {Durkin's next move is what Pinkus was relying on. While it's not a gross blunder, it is not the strongest move. Instead of retaking with the B which is helping to defend his K. Durlin makes the logical decision to retake with the Q.} Qxc5 {Pinkus gave this a ??, but it's not that bad!} (17... Bxc5 {White still has the N sacrifice, but it leads to no more than equality.} 18. Nxf7 Kxf7 {And now white has only one way to continue and that is to play another sacrifice.} 19. Bxg6+ hxg6 {Taking with the K leaves it badly exposed after 29.Nxe6. After the text the e-Pawn is protected because the Q is on c8.} 20. Rxd8 {Removing the e-Pawn's protection.} Qxd8 21. Qxe6+ Kf8 22. Nxg6+ Kg7 {White is able to hold his own in this materially unblanced position, but he must find the one move that accomplishes the task (22.Ne5). Here is a sample line...} 23. Ne5 Nd6 24. Qg4+ Kf6 25. Nd7+ Ke7 26. Qg7+ Ke6 27. Qg4+ Kf7 28. Re1 Ne4 {and white has to take the perpetual check.}) 18. Nxf7 {The crusher according to Pinkus, but while it is the best move and it leaves black at a disadvantage, he might be able to find a satisfactory defens. For his part white must now find moves that keep up the pressure.} Kxf7 19. Bxg6+ {[%mdl 512]} (19. Nxe6 {is just a bit less effective. } Qe7 20. Nxd8+ Rxd8 {White is only slightly better.}) 19... hxg6 20. Qxe6+ Kg7 21. Qxg6+ Kh8 {It's amazing, but this position is evaluated at being completely equal which is not the same as being drawn. As usual, being on the defensive puts a lot of pressure on black.} 22. Qf7 {[%mdl 1024]} Be4 {[%mdl 8192] This unfortunate move loses instantly. Pinkus wrote, "Where thetre are no good moves, bad ones will be found." While that may be true, here there is a relatively good move; ,but Durkin didn't play it.} (22... Bg7 {Returning some plastic; the best white has is to take on b7} 23. Qxb7 Qxc4 24. g3 Qc7 25. Qf3 Qf7 {with a crazy position, but one in which 5 Shootouts were drawn.}) 23. Rxd8 Rxd8 24. Ne6 Nd6 {Even the better 24,,,Qe7 would not have saved the game.} 25. Qf6+ {Black resigned.} 1-0

Wednesday, May 21, 2025

The 1941 Reshevsky – Horowitz Match

 
    
In 1941, US Champion Samuel Reshevsky defeated I.A. Horowitz in a match for the US Championship by a score of +3 -0 =13. 
    In February 1940, Horowitz had been on an exhibition tour along with a close friend, a Master named Harold Morton, when one night they were traveling by car when they were involved in an accident in which Morton was killed and Horowitz seriously injured. It took a few months, but he fully recovered. 
    In 1940, the next US Championship was two years in the future, so Horowitz decided to challenge Reshevsky to a mtch for the title, Reshevsky was the favorite, but Horowitz had beaten him in the 1936 Championship in what was one of the few games Reshevsky had lost to an American in five years. Also, a healthy prize fund sweetened the pot AND there was a rumor going around that a Reshevsky-Alekhine match might be possible, so Horowitz would be a good warm up. 
    The Reshevsky-Horowitz match was to be a grueling 16 games played in seven venues over the course of three weeks. The schedule was so tight that Reshevsky said it became a matter of endurance rather than chess. This game, the 6th, played on May 13th, 1941 in Philadelphia, was probably the most exciting of the match. 
 

A game that I liked (Fritz 17)

[Event "uS Champ Match, Philadelphia"] [Site "Philadelphia, PA USA"] [Date "1941.05.13"] [Round "6"] [White "I. A. Horowitz"] [Black "Samuel Reshevsky"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C99"] [Annotator "Stockfish/Reuben Fine"] [PlyCount "81"] [EventDate "1941.??.??"] {C99: Ruy Lopez: Chigorin Defense} 1. e4 {Except for the 14th game, Horowitz played this every time and succeeded in getting a good game out of the opening. } e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 {Black has two main systems here: this and the Open Defense (5...Nxe4).} 6. Re1 b5 7. Bb3 d6 8. c3 Na5 9. Bc2 c5 10. d4 Qc7 11. h3 O-O 12. Nbd2 cxd4 {So far the players have been following what was considered the main line, but now instead of the then popular 12...Nf6, Reshevdsky plays what ha become the main line today.} 13. cxd4 Nc6 14. d5 Nb4 15. Bb1 a5 16. a3 Na6 17. b3 Nc5 18. Nf1 Bd7 19. Ra2 { This rather odd looking move has a point - it gets the R into play.} Rac8 { Threatening 20...Ncxe4} 20. Ng3 (20. Kh1 {A pass to show the thrat.} Ncxe4 21. Bxe4 Nxe4 22. Rxe4 Qxc1 {winning a piece.}) 20... Rfd8 {Just as a reminder of the tremendous amount of theory there is on the Ruy Lopez, this has all been played before! Reuben Fine was of the opinion that this move is proof of the inferiority of black's game and commented that the R serves no useful purpose on d8 and black is just marking time because he is unable to undertake anything constructive. Fine is correct concerning 20...Rfd8, but in a game he may not have been familiar with (thankfully we have huge databases today) Kashdan had found the more active 20...Qa7 in a game played in New York in 1930.} (20... Qb7 {is an alternative.} 21. Kh2 Ne8 22. Ng1 Bh4 23. Nf5 Bxf5 24. exf5 Nc7 {with equal chances. Steiner,Lajos-Kashdan,Isaac New York 1930}) 21. Bg5 h6 22. Be3 Qb7 23. Rc2 {The point of his 19th move shows up.} Qb8 {He cannot acceot the offered e-Pawn.} (23... Nfxe4 24. Nxe4 Nxe4 25. Rxc8 { Unmasking the B.} Rxc8 26. Bxe4 {White has won a piece.}) 24. Rc1 Bf8 25. Re2 a4 {This and his next move lead to the loss of a P. There is no reason for this sacrifice, so Reshevsky probably played it because he did not want to be reduced to complete passivity. The sound option was 25...Rc7 and doubling Rs on the c-file which would have left white with only a minimal advantage.} 26. b4 Nb3 {Fine gave this moive a ? and suggested 26...Na6 which he thought was good for a draw. Actually, 26...Na6 is slightly inferior to the text which, at least, gives black some play.} 27. Rxc8 Rxc8 28. Ba2 Rc3 29. Rb2 {The N is stuck here and a P will soon be lost.} Qa8 {The point of this wily move will be seen if white plays the immediate 30.Bxb3} 30. Qb1 {Fine gave this move a ? and claimed it would have been better to have won the P at once, but there is little difference in the move played and winning the P immediately.} (30. Bxb3 axb3 31. Rxb3 Qa4 {White is on the defensive and has to find the right moves or see his slight edhe disappear.} 32. Nd2 h5 33. Qb1 Rxb3 34. Qxb3 Qxb3 35. Nxb3 h4 36. Ne2 Nxe4) 30... Qc8 31. Bxb3 axb3 32. Rxb3 Rc2 {Fine notes that now white must constantly be on guard against a possible sacrifice on h3. It's not clear what he had in mind because I tried out several "neutral" moves and the sacrifice never even came close to working. In fact, the Q has to stay on the c-file else the R on c2 is hanging. I think Fine (and othe contemporary annotators) completely misjudged the position based on the fact that it was the invincible Reshevsky who was playing black because engines give Horowitz at least a one P advantage here!} 33. Qd1 g6 34. Qd3 Nh7 35. Bd2 {Horowitz wants to get rid of that annoying R by playing Rc3.} Rc4 36. Rc3 f5 {Black's only chance lies in a counterattack.} 37. Nh4 {This small slip allows black to equalize. Ir was necessary to simplify.} (37. exf5 Rxc3 38. Bxc3 Qc4 39. Qxc4 bxc4 40. fxg6 {with the advantage.}) 37... f4 (37... fxe4 38. Rxc4 bxc4 39. Qxe4 {+is winning for white.}) 38. Ne2 Be7 39. Nf3 Nf6 {Storm clouds appear to be gathering towards white's K.} 40. Rxc4 bxc4 41. Qc2 {Draw Agreed. Reuben Fine wondered about this. He stated that first he was amazed to find "such a complicated position called a draw." He then went on to explain that his subsequent analysis confirmed his first impression that black had enough for his P and white cannot win. He was absolutely correct as engine evaluation is 0.00!} (41. Qc3 Nxe4 42. Qc1 Qa6 43. Be1 Bf5 44. Nd2 Nxd2 45. Bxd2 Qa4 46. Nc3 Qb3 47. Kh2 h5 48. Be1 Bd3 49. b5 Bd8 50. a4 Kf7 51. Qa1 Ba5 52. Ne2 Bxe1 53. Qxe1 Bxe2 54. Qxe2 Qxa4 55. b6 Qb5 56. Qc2 Qxb6 57. Qxc4 Qc5 58. Qa2 Qc7 59. f3 g5 60. Qa8 g4 61. hxg4 hxg4 62. fxg4 Qd7 {This drawn position was reached by Stockfish after about 15 minutes of analysis.}) 1/2-1/2

Tuesday, May 20, 2025

1963, End of the Line for Botvinnik

 
    
After World War II, Alekhine was not invited to tournaments except in Spain and Portugal because of his affiliation with the Nazis. However, a World Championship match between him and Botvinnik was planned, but when Alekhine was found dead at the age of 53 in his hotel room in Estoril, Portugal on March 24, 1946 the match was off. 
    The cause of his death is still open to debate...heart attack, choking on a piece of meat or was he was murdered by a French "death squad? Alekhine's son, Alexander, Jr., said that "the hand of Moscow reached his father.” Canadian GMKevin Spraggett, who lives in Portugal, investigated the case and believes the manipulation of the crime scene and the autopsy by the Portuguese secret police indicates that Alekhune was murdered, probably by the Russians, outside his hotel room. 
     With the death of Alekhine FIDE seized the opportunity to invited six players to a tournament to determine the championship; Botvinnik won it and hekd the tutle from 1948 to 1963 with the exception of a couple of interruptions...by Smyslov (1957-58) and Tal (1960-61). The end of the line came in 1963 when he lost to Petrosian. 
     Mikhail Botvinnik (1911-1995, 83 years old), condisered the Patriarch of Soviet Chess, won the first of his 6 USSR Championships in 1931. Tirgan Petrosian (1929-1984, 55 years old) earned his GM title by finishing in 5th place in the 1953 Zurich Candidates tournament. 
    In this 1963 match there was no provision for a return match which meant that it was the end of the line for Botvinnik’s World Championship reign. Concerning the match, Botvinnik related how it was really hard to play Petrosian because “he had a somewhat different understanding of positional play. He went deeper into it than usual, and myself, a universal player, did not completely understand Tigran's way and depth of judgment, although I was judging all positions well.” 
    Botvinnik’s brother, Igor, believed that one of the reasons for Botvinnik's defeat was his poor realization of advantages. In a number of games, after having obtained an advantage in the opening, he couldn’t put Petrosian away.
 
 
     After the first game of the match it seemed certain that Botvinnik would sweep the match because handled Petrosian so easily.. Botvinnik not only scored an easy win, but it looked like it was a mismatch. The experts were wrong and Petrosian went on to score a decisive victory. 

A game that I liked (Fritz 17)

[Event "World Championship Match, Moscow"] [Site "Moscow URS"] [Date "1963.03.23"] [Round "1"] [White "Tigran Petrosian"] [Black "Mikhail Botvinnik"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "E34"] [Annotator "Stockfosh/Botvinnik"] [PlyCount "80"] [EventDate "1963.??.??"] {E35: Nimzo-Indian} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Qc2 {This continuation was popular in the 1 9 30s, but then went out of fashion. It offers White a guarantee against any sur prises, but it is hard for him to count on achieving anything real} d5 5. cxd5 exd5 6. Bg5 h6 7. Bxf6 {It's not surprising that Petrosin avoids the complications that arise after 6.Bh4} Qxf6 8. a3 Bxc3+ 9. Qxc3 c6 10. e3 O-O 11. Ne2 {Instead of the far more popular 11.Nf3. With the text move white intends ot place his N on f4 from where it can go to d3, then develop the B to e2, play O-O and then begin a minority attack on the Q-side. Neither Botvinnik nor Keres thought much of the whole idea necause the N is misplaced on f4.} Re8 {This prevents the N from going to f4 and thereby upsetting white's plan.} 12. Ng3 {The N needs to make way for the B.} (12. Nc1 {seems to be a viable way of carrying out the above mentioned plan.} h5 13. Nd3 h4 14. Be2 {with equal chances.}) 12... g6 {An energetic continuation that intends to advance the h-Pawn which, as Botvinnik pointed out, putd white in a difficult situation. Any other move would allow whie to complete his development unhindered.} (12... Nd7 13. Bd3 c5 14. O-O cxd4 15. Qxd4 Qxd4 16. exd4 Nf8 17. Rac1 {was soon drawn. Golod,V (2590)-Filippov, A (2598) Tashkent UZB 2010}) 13. f3 {Played after 20 minutes thought, this move makes sense if white intends to castle Q-side, in which case the P on f2 needs defending. However, castling Q-side turns out not be a good idea and, as a result, the text wastes time and weakens the K-side.} (13. Bd3 {is equal after} h5 14. Qc2 Nd7 15. h3 Nf8 16. O-O h4 17. Ne2 Ne6 18. b4 {Setting up the Minority Attack.} a6 19. a4 {and a draw was soon arrived at in Beliavsky,A (2570)-Balashov,Y (2540) Minsk 1983}) 13... h5 14. Be2 Nd7 {Black does not hurry with the advance of his h-Pawn. White's problem is that if he castles his N only has the horrible h1 as a retreat square. Consequently, Petrosian decides to abandon castling and uses his K to defend the P on e3 and f1 available as a retreat square for the N. Black is now beginning to show just a bit of an advantage.} 15. Kf2 {This plan turns out to be faulty. For better oir for worse he had to try to hold up black with 15.h5} (15. h4 Nb6 16. Kf2 Bf5 17. Nxf5 Qxf5 18. Bd3 {equals}) 15... h4 {This drives the N to a square from which its prospect of finding purpose is zero.} 16. Nf1 Nf8 17. Nd2 {It's obvious that white must bring his R on h1 into play. For his part, black wants to double Rs on the e-file.} Re7 18. Rhe1 Bf5 19. h3 {Obviously white wants to prevent any possibility of ...h3, a possibility he would have to consider at every move. At the sa,e time though the move weakens g3.It would have been safer to eliminate a black attacker with 19.Bd3} Rae8 20. Nf1 {The poor N has to return to defend e3.} (20. Bd3 {would allow him to put up a manly defense.} Bd7 (20... Bxd3 21. Qxd3 Ne6 22. b4 {with a slight advantage for black.}) 21. Nf1 Ne6 22. Nh2 Qg5 23. Kg1 {Black is better, but proving he has a win will be challenging.}) 20... Ne6 {Adding the N to the attack.} 21. Qd2 {Petrosian is sticking to waiting strategy, but again 21.Bd3 was bettetr.} Ng7 {The N retreats when an advance was in order. Botvinnik spent a long time looking 21.. .Ng5 followed by a sacrifice on h3, but he miscalculated the sequence not only duting the game, but in his post game analysis.} (21... Ng5 22. Kg1 (22. Bd3 Bxh3 23. gxh3 Qxf3+ 24. Kg1 Nxh3+ 25. Kh2 Nf2 26. Kg1 Re4 {The addition of the R to the attack wraps it up.}) 22... Bxh3 {Ckearky taking the B would be bad, so...} 23. Bd3 Bf5 24. Bxf5 Qxf5 25. Rad1 h3 26. Ng3 Qf6 27. f4 Ne4 28. Nxe4 Rxe4 29. g3 Qe7 30. Kf2 Qe6 {Black will advance the g-Pawn and meanwhile white can't do anything constructive.}) 22. Rad1 Nh5 23. Rc1 Qd6 24. Rc3 Ng3 25. Kg1 Nh5 26. Bd1 Re6 27. Qf2 {Petrosian's waiting strategy has managed to keep his disadvantage at a minimum and it would probably have worn out a lesser adversary, but not the resolute Botvinnik!} Qe7 {Black has completed preparations for an advance of his K-side Ps as a prelude to digging out white's K. Wite's position is hardly hopeless, but the defense will eveltually take its toll.} 28. Bb3 g5 {Consistent, but perhaps a bit too passive.} 29. Bd1 (29. e4 {This vigorous counterattack in the center offers a much better chance. } Nf4 30. Ne3 Bg6 31. Qd2 {Black will find making headway difficult. In fact, 5 Shootouts from this position were drawn.}) 29... Bg6 {After 30.b4! black is better, but exactly how he can make progress is not clear. Additionally, at some point in the future white has the posibility of finally launching his Q-side Minority Attack.} (29... Nf4 {as in the game comes to nothing because the h-Pawn is defended.} 30. Qd2 {Black has no forceful reply.}) 30. g4 { [%mdl 8192] Petrosin finally cracks. Botvinnik observed that it's interesting that, just at the moment when nothing was threatened, Petrosian, who has conducted the entire game using waiting strategy, suddenly launches into complications. It may have been a purely psychological ploy as Botvinnik was in some time pressure.} hxg3 31. Nxg3 Nf4 {[%mdl 512]} 32. Qh2 c5 {[%mdl 512]} (32... Nd3 {packs a wallop...} 33. Re2 Rxe3 34. Rxe3 Qxe3+ 35. Kh1 Qe1+ 36. Qg1 Qxg1+ 37. Kxg1 Re1+ {wins}) 33. Qd2 c4 34. Ba4 b5 35. Bc2 Nxh3+ 36. Kf1 Qf6 37. Kg2 Nf4+ {[%mdl 512] The N's returns to f4 is even stronger that before.} 38. exf4 Rxe1 39. fxg5 Qe6 40. f4 Re2+ {White resigned.} 0-1