A Storm Over Black's King

     Yesterday was unusual with it being sunny and the temperature in the mid-50s. Then in the evening, just before dark, as we were leaving the restaurant we were treated to a cloud to cloud lightening show off to the west. 

     We made a quick stop for some groceries before heading home and on the way back to the car, when we were about 50 feet away, it was like a fire hose was turned on...wind blew the rain horizontally and stinging ice pellets the size of peas pelted us. It only lasted a few minutes before settling into a light drizzle. Later came winds that could have blown the hair off a dog. 

     It was a cold front in the form of an Alberta Clipper, a fast-moving low-pressure system that originates in Alberta, Canada just east of the Rocky Mountains. Clippers are major winter storms that take 2-3 days to track east-southeastward across southern Canada and the northern United States to the North Atlantic Ocean. 

     They are associated with cold, dry air masses and generate small-scale, short-lived weather events typically producing 3-6 inches of snow in a 3-6 hour period. However, they can precipitate sudden temperature drops and sharp winds leading to local blizzard conditions, especially when interacting with moisture from the Great Lakes. It's not supposed to be that bad today...just some light snow accumulation. 

     It's a good day to look over some games by Alexey Vyzmanavin (December 4, 1960 - January 6, 2000), a Soviet GM. To be honest I never heard of him, but there is a book of his games that is scheduled to be released in May: Speed Demon: The Fascinating Games and Tragic Life of Alexey Vyzhmanavin by Dmitry Kryakvin. 

     Vyzhmanavin learned to play at the rather late age of 14. His mother died early and his father was a street cleaner. Vyzmanavin was enrolled in a class at the Stadium of Young Pioneers taught by the famous trainer Luydmila Belavenets. 

     He honed his skills at the famous Sokolniki Park in Moscow, a gathering place for hustlers and blitz players. At the park, he would give himself 30 seconds on the clock while his opponents got 5 minutes. 

     He first gained attention as an unrated 20 year-old in the strong Moscow championship of 1981 where he finished in 6th place and earned a 2490 rating. Although there is no direct comparison, as a general idea, on the USCF rating list that rating would have placed him 28th and in the company of players like John Peters, Victor Frias, Jeremy Silman, Larry Kaufman and John Watsom. Larry Christiansen (2630) and James Tarjan (2623) were the top players.

     Vyzhmanavin won Soviet Armed Forces champion in 1987, a participant in several finals of the Soviet championship, the winner of the Chigorin Memorial in 1989 and a champion of RSFSR. He participated in the zonal tournaments of 1990 and 1993 and the Intel Grand Prix series in 1994-1995 in which he defeated the likes of Shirov and Korchnoi. His highest rating FIDE rating was 2620. 

     In 1996, his results quickly deteriorated considerably and by 1997 he had virtually stopped playing. He died in his apartment on January 6, 2000, officially of a heart attack, but his body was not discovered until some six days later. It had been reported that he had financial difficulties, drinking problems and that he was depressed following the breakdown of his marriage. 

 

 

     In the following game we see Vyzmanavin generated his own version of an Alberta Clipper that quickly took out black's King. 

[Event "USSR Championship, Lvov"] [Site ""] [Date "1984.??.??"] [Round "9"] [White "Alexey Vyzmanavin"] [Black "Jaan Ehlvest"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "A45"] [Annotator "Stockfish 15.1"] [PlyCount "69"] [EventDate "1984.??.??"] {Trompowsky Attack} 1. d4 Nf6 2. Bg5 {Though named after Brazilian champion Octavio Trompowsky (1897–1984) who played it in the 1930s and 1940s, the Czech master Karel Opocenský (1892–1975) also played it in the 1930s. White is prepared to exchange Bxf6 inflicting doubled Ps on black, but doing so is not a threat that should cause black any great alarm..} Ne4 {Of the three popular replies this is the least favorable. Black gets the best results with 2...d4 although 2...e6 is not too bad a choice.} 3. Bf4 c5 4. d5 Qb6 {White must now decide how to defend the b-Pawn and his B on f4 is also vulnerable.} 5. Bc1 {This is actually the best move even though is renders his 2nd move pointless. That said, white is at no disadvantage.} (5. Nf3 Qb4+ 6. Nbd2 Nxf2 7. Kxf2 Qxf4 {is good for black.}) (5. Nd2 Qxb2 6. Nxe4 Qb4+ 7. c3 Qxe4 8. e3 { is at least equal. 8...e5 is solid, but most interesting is} g5 9. Bxg5 Qe5 10. Nf3 Qxc3+ 11. Nd2 Qe5 {and white is best advised to repeat moves with 12.Nf3 Qc3+ etc}) (5. Nc3 Qxb2 6. Nxe4 Qb4+ {as after 5.Nd2}) 5... e6 6. f3 {White elects to drive out the annoying N.} Qa5+ 7. c3 {[%mdl 32]} Nf6 {Returning the tempo white lost with the retreat of his B.} 8. e4 d6 9. Bd2 Qb6 {Another tempo lost so white has a space advantage, but for his part, black can consider that he has equal chances.} 10. c4 {Offering the b-Pawn...an offer black should refuse and play 10...g6 and 11...Bg7} Qxb2 11. Nc3 Qb6 {Even though this wastes time, it's his best course.} (11... Nbd7 12. Rb1 Qa3 13. Nb5 {wins}) (11... Bd7 12. Rb1 Qa3 {and white has a nice choice between 13.Rxb7 or 13.f4}) 12. f4 {[%mdl 1024]} Nbd7 {While this inhibits e5, it's not black's best line of defense.} (12... e5 {This was tried in Szymanski,M (2327)-Ni,H (2369) Artek UKR 1999, but after} 13. f5 Qd8 14. Nf3 g6 15. Bd3 Be7 16. O-O { White is better although in the game he could not manage to score the point and eventually agreed to a draw,}) (12... g6 {is black's best defense.} 13. Nf3 Bg7 14. Bd3 O-O) 13. Nf3 {At least as good was 13.dxe6 first.} e5 14. f5 g6 15. Bd3 Qd8 16. O-O {This position is similar to the Szymanski-Ni game.} gxf5 { A surprising lapse from a player as strong as Ehlvest; white now gains the upper hand. Better would have been 16...Bg7. Ehlvest's K is going to get caught in the center...almost always a bad thing.} 17. exf5 h6 18. Kh1 Be7 19. Qc1 b5 {Realizing he is in danger Ehlvest, himself a dangerous attacking player, decides to mix things up tactically.} 20. Nxb5 (20. Bxh6 {is not so good because after} b4 21. Ne4 Nxe4 22. Bxe4 Nf6 23. Bg7 Rg8 24. Bxf6 Bxf6 { the position is roughly equal.}) 20... e4 21. Bf4 Qb6 {taking either piece fails.} (21... exf3 22. Nxd6+ Bxd6 23. Bxd6 fxg2+ 24. Kxg2 Nb6 25. Re1+ Kd7 26. Bxc5 {and black is in trouble.}) (21... exd3 22. Nxd6+ Kf8 (22... Bxd6 23. Bxd6 Nxd5 24. Re1+ Ne7 25. Bxe7) 23. Bxh6+ Rxh6 24. Qxh6+) 22. Rb1 {Excellent. Now the threat of Nxd6+ attacking the Q is too much for black to handle.} exf3 { The game is over no matter which piece black takes.} 23. Re1 (23. Nxd6+ { is much less strong. Black surrenders his Q with} Qxd6 24. Bxd6 fxg2+ 25. Kxg2 Bxd6 26. Qc3 Rg8+ {and, believe it or not, black has full compensation. Shootouts resulted in five draws.}) 23... fxg2+ 24. Kg1 {There is a storm brewing over black's K and his next move is an attempt to get out of the deadly pin on the e-file, but it's no use.} Kd8 25. Rxe7 {[%mdl 512]} Kxe7 { Interesting! The game is over, but black still has a chance! If white goes for a check with the B when he takes on d6 black gets the advantage.} 26. Nxd6 (26. Bxd6+ Qxd6 27. Nxd6 (27. Qe1+ Qe5 {and black is clearly winning.}) 27... Kxd6 { and black's position is actually the more promising.}) 26... Qa5 (26... Qxd6 { doesn't work now.} 27. Qe1+ (27. Bxd6+ Kxd6 {is, of course, favorable for black.}) 27... Ne5 28. Bxe5 Qa6 29. Bxf6+ Kxf6 30. Qc3+ {is winning easily.}) 27. Qe3+ Kf8 28. Re1 Kg7 {The K is running, but there's no hiding.} 29. Qg3+ Kh7 30. Re7 Rg8 31. Rxf7+ Kh8 32. Qh4 Rg4 {White now has a problem like finish. ..mate in 5.} 33. Rf8+ {[%mdl 512]} Nxf8 34. Qxf6+ Kh7 35. Qf7+ {Black resigned. Stockfish described white's play as "flawless."} 1-0