Polugayevsky (November 20, 1934 - August 30, 1995) was one of the strongest players in the world from the early 1960s until the late 1980s.
At the time of the tournament, having undergone surgery, he was too ill to participate and he died of a brain tumor on August 30, 1995.
Over the board thematic tournaments have been rare although in the early part of the 20th century some thematic tournaments that featured gambits were played.
In the following game Polgar unleashed an opening novelty and followed it up with some spectacular fireworks. Polgar spent only 48 minutes on the game and she won the prize for the most important opening innovation.
The game also demonstrates an important tactical motif...when two Ns are hanging around an exposed K always look for a mate!
Alexey Shirov–Judit Polgar0–1B45Sicilian Theme Tmt, Buenos Aires1994Stockfish 15.1
Sicilian Defense 1.e4 c5 2.f3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.xd4 c6 This is
characteristic of the Taimanov Variation. Black intends to play in the center,
but the move is also quite flexible. 5.c3 Avoiding the Maroczy Bind (5.c4)
which is a horse of an entirely different color. d6 Played with the
intention of reaching the Scheveningen Variation. It's a Taimanov after 5...Qc7
6.g4 This is not the Keres Attack because black does not have a N on f6.
The text move gained notoriety when Kasparov played it against Karpov in their
1985 World Championship match. Black's problem is finding a move that's better
6...Nf6 a6 A high class waiting move. Black can now safely play ...Qc7
without worrying about being attacked by Nb5 and later playing ...b5 and ...Bb7
7.e3 ge7 8.b3 b5 9.f4 For some time after this game 9.Qe2 was
considered better, but now this move is back in style. b7 10.f3 While
technically this may not be bad, practically speaking Po;gar's reply puts
white in a difficult position. 10.d2 as in Sivuk,V (2552)-Tosic,M (2360)
Chelyabinsk RUS 2019 is white's best move. c8 Better was 10...Na5 11.0-0-0 e7 12.f2 c7 13.g2 a5 14.xa5 xa5 15.e5 with the advantage. 10...g5 This dangerous looking move is aimed at attacking the dark squares and by
offering a P black gets a good square for her N on e5. 10...a5 shows what
happens if black ignores what white is planning on the K-side. 11.0-0-0 xb3+ 12.axb3 c8 13.h4 c6 14.g5 a5 15.b1 b4 16.d4 d5 17.f5 and white
stands better although in Shirov,A (2740)-Kasparov,G (2805) Novgorod 1994,
Kasparov manage to get a draw. 11.fxg5 e5 12.g2 This move is necessary
because the e-Pawn needs defended. If, say, 12.Qg3 then 12...b4 forces the
d-Pawn's defender to retreat. b4 12...h5 This appears to be an equally
good alternative. 13.gxh5 f5 14.f2 xg5 15.a5 xh5 16.xb7 f3+ 17.d1 3h4+ 18.e2 e3+ 19.xe3 xg2 20.xh5 xe3+ 21.e2 xh5 22.xe3 b8 23.xd6+ xd6 and Savchenko,B (2652)-Sharafiev,A (2439) Dagomys RUS 2010 ws
eventually drawn. 13.e2 h5 An incredibly interesting move, the idea of
which is to open lines against white's K. Stockfish evaluates this position as
offering equal chances, but it's very complex and obviously the onus of
proving he can survive is on white. 14.gxh5 This is the move that gets
white into trouble. The Ps look to be very dangerous, but Polgar's next move
is yet another hyper-aggressive move. 14.0-0-0 Fleeing to safety! hxg4 15.g3 14...f5 Taking advantage of the pin on the e-Pawn, black places the
other N on a strong square. 15.f2 15.exf5 This Q sac was somewhat better,
but OTB it's a very difficult decision to make. xg2 16.xg2 c8 17.fxe6 fxe6 18.bd4 but white does not seem to have quite sufficient compensation. 15...xg5 Stunning! This move would not have been possible without 13...h5
luring the g-Pawn away. It also shows why white should not have played 13.gxf5 16.a5 About as good as any. It looks like white is managing to habg on, but
Polgar's next move shatters that illusion. 16.g3 runs into h4 17.h3 hf3+ 18.d1 d5 White can survive for long. 16.xg5 f3+ 17.d1 xg5 18.exf5 xh1 and white's position is lost. 16...e3 17.g3 17.xg5 f3# 17.xe3 xe3 18.xb7 f3+ 19.xf3 19.d1 d2# 19...xf3 17...xg3 18.xg3 xc2+ 19.d1 xa1 20.xb7 How does black rescue the N stranded on a1? b3 20...c8 21.xa6 c2 22.b5+ e7 23.e1 xb2 also would win, but 20...
b3 is simpler. 21.axb3 21.a3 c2 21...xb3 22.c2 c5 23.xc5 dxc5
Black has a routine win. 24.e1 f3 25.c3 d4+ 26.d3 d6 27.g2 e5 28.c4 e7 29.a1 c6 White resigned. 0–1
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