Najdorf's string of successes from 1939 to 1947 had raised him into the ranks of the world's top players, but he was not invited to the 1948 World Championship tournament, possibly because of pressure from the Soviet Chess Federation, perhaps lead by Botvinnik.
In the 1953 Candidates Tournament at Zurich he finished equal sixth with Geller behind Smyslov, (tied) Bronstein, Keres and Reshevky. Petrosian finished fifth. Najdorf never succeeded in qualifying for the Candidates again.
It's was good that Najdorf chose to remain in Argentina. He arrived in Argentina for the Olympiad and Poland was invaded at the start of World War II. His mother, wife and baby daughter and all his known relatives and friends were murdered in the Holocaust and according to Najdorf's daughter Liliana his father died in the Warsaw Uprising (in 1944), but she may have meant the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising (in 1943).
In 1944, Najdorf became a naturalized citizen of Argentina. Najdorf spoke eight languages: Polish, Spanish, English, Russian, Czech, Serbo-Croat, Dutch and Yiddish.
In the book Najdorf x Najdorf by his youngest daughter Liliana (she is on Facebook), she described her father as a mixture of extremes: violent-tempered, but compassionate and loving, selfish at times but also generous to a fault, jovial and a bon vivant, but also sad because of the terrible losses of the Holocaust. In 1996, Najdorf had a serious heart attack in Seville, Spain which required a pacemaker and he passed away the following year.
His opponent in this game was Carlos Hounie Fleurquin (1906 - 1962, 55 years old) a three-time Uruguayan Champion (1931, 1935, 1946).
From the early 1930s to the end 1940s, Fleurquin was one of Uruguay's leading players. Besides multiple appearance in the Uruguayan Championship he also participant in three South American Championships in row (1934, 1934/1935, 1936), Montevideo (1939, 1961) and Mar del Plata (1945, 1947).
At Mar del Plata in 1945 the great Najdorf won his 14th first place prize by topping a strong field. Najdorf grabbed the early lead ahead of Stahlberg and Pilnik and never relinquished it to win his fourth Mar del Plata tournament.
His play in South American tournaments during the war years gained him immense prestige. At the time his chief rival was the Swedosh GM Gideon Stahlberg (1908 - 1967) who was also sitting out the war in in Argentina and remained there until 1948. During that time he won many tournaments, some of them in competition with Najdorf. After the tournament Stahlberg said in an interview that Najdorf was of world championship caliber; at the time so was Stahlberg!
As the crosstable shows, the tournament was a tough fight and, as usual, the Argentinian players dominated the other South Americans. The very strong Argentinian player Carlos Guimard was also entered, but he withdrew after the ninth round due to illness and his remaining six games were forfeited.
Carlos Hounie Fleurquin - Miguel Najdorf
Result: 0-1
Site: Mar Del Plata
Date: 1945
King's Indian Four Pawns Attack
[...] 1.d4 ♘f6 2.c4 g6 This was Najdorf's favorite defense especially against weaker players because it gave him the opportunity to play for complications in which he could outplay them. That was part of Najdorf's great success...he routinely mowed down players in the lower half in tournaments with players of mixed strength. 3.♘c3 ♗g7 At the time the Gruenfeld (3...d5) was all the rage. 4.e4 d6 These days you'll almost always see white playing 5.Nf3, or more rarely 5.c3 or 5.Be2 5.f4 With the Four Ps Attack white is going to try and take the position by storm. This move was one of the earliest attempts to refute the K-Indian, but eventually methods of meeting it were worked out and the Four Ps was relegated to prehistoric status. This game shows why. 5...c5 Immediately striking the center which soon crumbles. 6.d5
6.dxc5 looks reasonable because after 6...dxc5 7.♕xd8+ ♔xd8 8.e5 white has a good game, but things don't work that way.
6.dxc5 ♕a5 This regains the P because of the threatened 7...Nxe4. This shows a disadvantage of the 4 Ps Attack...it often leads to the opening of the diagonal for black's dark squared B which usually is not good for white. 7.♗d3 ♕xc5 Black has at least equalized and in the long run his position has promise.
6...O-O 7.♘f3 e6 This continues putting pressure on white's center. 8.♗d3
8.dxe6 is not so good as after 8...fxe6 9.♗d3 ♘c6 There is a good possibility that black will be able to plant his N on d4.
8...exd5 9.cxd5 An ambitious continuation. It would have been more discreet to take with the other P. 9...b5 A little surprise. 10.e5 (10.♗xb5 ♘xe4 11.♘xe4 ♕a5+ Black recovers his piece with the advantage.) 10...dxe5 11.fxe5 ♘g4
11...♘xd5 would be a costly blunder. 12.♗e4 and black loses the R at a8
12.♗g5 The exchange of black's b-Pawn for white's e-Pawn would naturally be in black's favor.
12.♗xb5 ♘xe5 13.O-O ♗g4 14.♗e2 ♗xf3 Theoretically the position is equal, but practically black has the better chances. Rakesh,K (2375)-Sengupta,D (2546)/Abudhabi 2019.
12...♕b6 13.♕e2 This move temporarily saves the e-Pawn, but the cost is too high.
13.♗xb5 was somewhat better. 13...a6 14.♗a4 ♕xb2 15.♗d2 c4 Better was 15...Bf5 16.♖b1 ♕a3 17.O-O Black is better although in the game Watson,J (2365)-Paragua,M (2260)/Hawaii 1998 he later got outplayed and lost.
13...c4 14.♗e4 b4 Najdorf wasn't interest in the speculative 14...Nxe5. The text assures him of a slight lasting advantage.
14...♘xe5 15.♘xe5 ♗xe5 16.d6 ♖e8 17.♘d5 ♕xd6 18.♖d1 with attacking possibilities.
15.♘a4 ♕b5 16.d6 This turns out poorly. Although black is better, advancing the other P results in complications where anything could happen.
16.e6 ♕xa4 17.♗e7 ♘d7 This is the only way to keep thje advantage. (17...♖e8 18.exf7+ ♔xf7 19.d6 white has a very strong attack.) 18.♗xf8 ♘xf8 19.O-O Best, but black is better agter 19...♗a6 20.exf7+ ♔h8
16...♘c6 17.h3 Another small mistake that pushes black's advantage from much better to outright winning.
17.♗xc6 was his best defense though after 17...♕xc6 White is embarrassed for a move. 18.h3 (18.O-O c3 The N on a4 has no retreat anyway. 19.bxc3 bxc3) 18...♘xe5 19.♘xe5 ♕xd6 20.♗f4 ♖e8 21.O-O ♗xe5 22.♗xe5 ♖xe5 23.♕xc4 ♗e6 Black's piece activity and extra P assure him of a considerable advantage.
17...♘gxe5 18.♘xe5 ♗xe5
18...♕xe5 Is not nearly as good as after 19.♗xc6 ♕xg5 20.♗xa8 ♕g3+ black's advantage is not so great as after capturing with the B.
19.O-O-O
19.♗xc6 looks promising because if 19...♕xc6 20.♕xe5 black's weakened K-side has become a promising target.
19.♗xc6 is correctly met by 19...♗g3+ This retains this precious B. 20.♔f1 ♕xc6 21.♗e7 ♕xa4 22.♕f3 (22.♗xf8 ♗a6 with a winning attack.) 22...c3 23.♕xg3 cxb2 24.♖e1 ♕xa2 25.♕h4 White can almost deliver mate on the dark squares...emphasis on almost! 25...♗b7 26.♕h6 b1=♕ 27.♖xb1 (27.♗f6 ♕xg2#) 27...♕xb1+ 28.♔f2 ♕xh1 29.♗f6 ♕xg2+ 30.♔e3 ♖fe8+ 31.♔d3 ♗a6+ 32.♔d4 ♕e4+ mates next move.
19...♗d7 20.♗d5
20.♗xc6 still lacks any punch. 20...♗xc6 21.d7 ♗xb2+ 22.♘xb2 ♕xg5+ 23.♔b1 c3
20...♖ae8 Taking the N was also good. 21.♕c2
21.♗xc4 ♕xa4 22.♕c2 ♘a5 23.♕xa4 ♗xa4 24.b3 ♘xc4 25.bxc4 ♖c8 26.d7 ♖xc4+ 27.♔d2 f6 wins.
21...♘d4 22.♗xc4 ♕xa4 Even more forceful was 22...Qa5 23.♕f2 ♖c8 24.b3 ♘xb3+ A nice finishing touch that forces Fleurquin's resignation. Quintessential Najdorf.
24...♘xb3+ 25.axb3 ♕xb3 26.♖d4 ♗xd4 27.♕xd4 ♖xc4+ 28.♕xc4 ♕xc4+ 29.♔d2 ♕d5+ 30.♔e3 ♕xg5+ 31.♔f3 ♗c6+ 32.♔e2 ♖e8+ 33.♔d3 ♕c5 34.♖c1 ♕xc1 35.g3 ♕c3#
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