In 1948, Vladas Mikenas and Rashid Nezhmetdinov played a natch for the Master title, but I am not sure which player was attempting to gain the Master title, but I strongly suspect that it was the Lithuanian Mikenas. In any case, the match ended in a 7-7 tie.
Vladas Mikėnas (1910-1992) was a chess legend in Lithuanian, an International Master, an Honorary Grandmaster and a journalist. He was one of the most outstanding players from the Baltic's prior to World War II. He emigrated from Estonia to Lithuania in 1931. After Lithuania was annexed by the USSR in 1940, he also played in many Soviet Championships.
Rashid Nezhmetdinov (1912-1974) was a Soviet player and writer as well as a checker champion.
He was a fierce and imaginative attacking player who was capable of beating anyone in the world.
Unfortunately the only time he played outside the Soviet Union was at Bucharest in 1954 where he finished 2nd behind Korchnoi.
He had a lifetime plus score against Tahl and Spassky, but his weakness was that given a position where there were few attacking chances he would often try and complicate in the hopes of attacking even if it was not justified. He served as Tahl’s trainer in the latter’s championship matches against Botvinnik.
The following short, sharp encounter from their match was played with precision by Nezhmetdinov.
Rashid Nezhmetdinov–Vladas Mikenas1–0B02Match for Title of MasterKazan URS03.1948Stockfish 16
B02: Alekhine Defense: Chase Variation 1.e4 f6 A Mikenas
favorite. I've always had a macabre fascination with this defense...like a car
accident where you don't want to look, but can't force yourself to turn away. 2.e5 d5 3.c4 b6 4.c5 d5 5.c4 e6 6.c3 d6 7.xd5 exd5 8.xd5 c6
This move was Mikenas’ invention. 8...dxe5 Mikenas thought this move was
bad which is why he preferred 8...c6 9.f3 is the move Mikenas feared, but
after 9.b3 f6 10.xb7 xb7 11.xb7 c6 12.c8+ White is better.
Roeder,F (2275) -Ruehrig,V (2300) Germany 1982 9...f6 10.xb7 xb7 11.xb7 d7 The position offer chances to both sides after either 12.d4 or 12.b4.
After the obvious 12.c6 c5 13.b5 b8 14.e2 d3+ 15.f1 c5 white
would be lost. 9.xf7+ At the time this game was played this sacrifice was
unexpected, but it's the best move even though white's advantage turns out to
be minimal. xf7 10.cxd6 e8 10...e6 was played in the 3rd game of the
match which continued 11.f4 and now black unnecessarily returned the extra
piece with 11.h3 Nezhmetdinove came up with this improvement in the
post-game analysis. h4 is much worse. 11...xh3 12.f3+ 12.f3+ g8 13.f4 White is better. 11...xd6 12.exd6 e8 13.f2 xd6 and black
won. Actually, this position is fully even, but in the post-game analysis
Nezhmetdinov came up with the improvement at move 11 and so Mikenas avoided 10.
..Be6 11.e2 11.f3+ 11 years later Vasiukov discovered this better move
in his game against Spasskey. g8 12.e3 Now black can’t return the extra
piece by sacrificing it for the P on d6. e6 13.e2 d7 14.0-0 White has
the more promising position. Vasiukov, E-Spassky,B Tbilisi 1959 11...c5 12.f3 xd6 Nezhmetdinov wrote, "A timely sacrifice which can’t be accepted by
white." 13.g5+ 13.exd6 xe2+ 14.xe2 e8+ 15.d1 This position offers
equal opportunities to both sides, so the sacrifice could have been accepted
without incurring any disadvantage. 13...g6! 14.d3+ Instead of this
white had a couple of more promising continuations: either 14.d4 or 14.f4 and
the chances would have been avout equal, Now, depite the precarious looking
position of black's K, it is he who is winning! xg5 15.xd6 15.f4+
turns out to not to be an improvement. h6 16.xd6+ g6 17.xc5 xg2 18.g1 e4+ An unbalanced material situation (white has 2Ps vs. a N) has been
reached and black has what should prove to be a decisive advantage. 15...d8 This move tosses away his advantahe and now the chances are back to equal. 15...c6 is good because once Qs are traded white’s attack fizzles out 16.d3+ h5 17.e3 xd6 18.exd6 Again, black has what should be a winning
position and did, in fact, win 5 out of 5 Shootouts in games lasting 50-60
moves. In practice white may have remote chances of salvaging a draw. 16.d4+ f5 This is the move that loses the game. Even though the
position of black's K looks really bad, it's quite safe after 16...Kh5!! 16...h5 17.xc5 White must avoid the exchange of Qs e6 18.0-0 c6
Now that black has gotten his pieces unto play there is little chance that
white can successfully conduct a winning attack. In Shootouts white manages to
score +1 -0 =4 16...h5 17.g4+ as in the game does not work. xg4 18.xc5 and black is winning. 17.g4+ This is the only winning move that
white has. e4 17...xg4 18.g1+ f5 19.g5+ e4 20.xc5 Surprisingly
white ha sno forced mate, but black's K is fatally exposed. 18.xc5 f8 19.0-0 Stockfish spots a mate in 15 moves. f3 20.h3 b6 21.c3+ e4 22.c4
Black resigned as mate is unavoidable. 22.c4 xg4 23.hxg4 xf2 24.e1+ f3 25.d3+ xg4 26.e4+ h5 27.xh7+ g4 28.e4+ g3 29.g6+ g5 30.xg5+ h3 31.g4# 1–0
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