Fischer Borrows an Idea from Steinitz

    Robert J. Fischer (March 9, 1943 - January 17, 2008, age 64) was the World Champion from 1972 to 1975. These days his name is seldom mentioned, but there was a time when he was considered the ultimate authority. His play was brilliant, creative, daring, surprising, ingenious, eye-opening and revolutionary. 

    In the 1963 New York State Open held in Poughkeepsie over the Labor Day weekend Fischer, then the US Champion, scored a clean 7-0 sweep. It was the second time in recent months that Fischer had played in a weekend Swiss; the other was the Western Open in Bay City, Michigan which he also won.

    At Poughkeepsie, Arthur Bisguier, James Sherwin, Joseph Richman and Matthew Green tied for second in the 58-player field with scores of 5.5-1.5. 

    The opening of the Fischer vs. Bisguier game was a surprise; Fischer abandoned his usual Ruy Lopez and pulled out an old Wilhelm Steinitz ideas. Some of Steinitz' ideas on positional play were stigmatized as bizarre. In this game we see Fischer essay what was one of Steinitz’ most bizarre moves and it worked. 

    When this game first appeared the annotators made their comments based on the result and praised Fischer’s play as if it had been faultless. While his play was innovative and clever, it was not perfect and it could not be claimed that Bisguier was outplayed! He held his own, but unfortunately the final part of the game was spoiled when he blundered. Still. GM Blunders are, if not always instructive, entertaining. Also, Fischer dud deserve credit for resurrecting Steinitz’ old suggestion. 

[Event "New York State Open, Poughkeepsie"] [Site "Poughkeepsie, NY USA"] [Date "1963.09.02"] [Round "?"] [White "Robert Fischer"] [Black "Arthur Bisguier"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C59"] [Annotator "Stockfish 17"] [PlyCount "57"] [EventDate "1963.??.??"] {C59: Two Knights Defense} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 {Surprise! Uo until this game Fischer had always played the Ruy Lopez.} Nf6 {Bisguier loved sharp play, so this was what he usually played and Fischer was prepared for it.} 4. Ng5 d5 5. exd5 Na5 6. Bb5+ c6 7. dxc6 bxc6 8. Be2 h6 {So far normal stuff; this could be considered the Main Line.} 9. Nh3 {Another surprise! This odd-looking move was recommended by Steinitz who introduced it in a telegraph match against Chigorin back in 1891. Steinitz lost ans as a result right up to thus game nobody thought it was any good except the Dutch player Salo Landau who was gassed by the Nazis at Auschwitz in 1944. Today Stockfish indicates that Steinitz was not wrong...the position is dead equal.} Bc5 10. O-O {Steinitz-Chigorin continued 10.d3 which is just fine, but Chigorin obtained a strong attack which gradually became decisive. Steinitz still claimed that white opening strategy was OK and he can successfully retain his extra Pawn. Fischer doesn't care about the Pawn. Instead, he is playing for the advanatge of the two Bishops.} O-O 11. d3 Bxh3 {The problem for black is how to get an attack going as compensation for the P. At the time 11...Nd5 was comsidered best, but it was assumed that Fischer had investigated yje position and found an improvement. Actually, black has tried several different moves here, including 11...Bxh3, and all seem to lead to a playable position,.Engine evaluation if 11...Bxh3 is that the game is dead even.} (11... Nd5 12. c4 Bxh3 13. cxd5 Bf5 14. Be3 Qxd5 15. Nc3 Qd6 {with roughly equal chances. Socko,M (2462)-Batsiashvili,N (2417) Plovdiv BUL 2014}) 12. gxh3 Qd7 13. Bf3 {Fischer's idea is to return the P in exchange for a position in which he has the two Bs and a sound Q-side majority.} (13. Kg2 Nd5 14. Nc3 Rad8 15. Nxd5 cxd5 16. f4 {equals. Socko,B (2643)-Pavasovic,D (2590) Austria 2009}) 13... Qxh3 {The position is equal.} 14. Nd2 Rad8 15. Bg2 Qf5 16. Qe1 {This idea behind this odd looking move is that the Q is positioned to threaten to win a P after Nf3 and it can also go to the Q-side. A good alternative was 16.Qf3} (16. Rb1 {As far as I know this move, found by the engine, has been overlooked. White threatens a P fork on the B and N and gains the initiative.} Bb6 17. b4 Nb7 18. Qf3 Nd6 19. c4 {Threatening another P fork. White has gotten his Q-side Ps moving with a gain of time.} Bc7 {With the advantage. He has more space, the two Bs and black's c-Pawn is a target.} 20. c5) 16... Rfe8 17. Ne4 Bb6 18. Nxf6+ Qxf6 19. Kh1 {To make way for the R on the g-file.} c5 20. Qc3 {\Somewhat better would have been 20.Qe4 keeping the Q centralized.} Nc6 21. f4 Nd4 22. Qc4 Qg6 23. c3 Nf5 {When this game was played annotators gave Fischer undue credit claiming his position is superior. However, that is not the case. Bisguier has defended well and the chances are equal after the text. In fact, Bisguier could even have gotten the advantage with 23///Nc2!} (23... Nc2 {This unexpected move, plunging the N into white's territory, would have actualy left black woth a slight advantage!} 24. Rb1 exf4 25. Be4 Qe6 26. Qxe6 Rxe6 27. Bxf4 c4 {and black has the initiative.}) 24. fxe5 Rxe5 25. Bf4 Re2 26. Be4 {This move was incorrectly praised because Fischer has set up a dangerous pin. That's true, but 26.Be4 gives black the opportunity to gain a significant advantage. me} (26. Bf3 {was in order. After} Rxb2 27. Rae1 (27. Be5 {as in the game is met by} Ne3 {winning}) 27... Qf6 {with equal chances.}) 26... Rxb2 {[%mdl 8192] What a shame! This capture is a gross blunder. At first glance it looks good though. With a R on the 2md rank and his Q and N menacing white's K-side black appears to have a dangerous position. Bu,t Fischer's two Bs aew poised to strike.} (26... Re8 {keeps the upper hand.} 27. Bf3 Ne3 28. Bxe3 R8xe3 29. Rg1 (29. Bxe2 Rxe2 30. Qxf7+ (30. Rg1 Qc6+ {wins outright.}) 30... Qxf7 31. Rxf7 Kxf7) 29... Rxh2+ 30. Kxh2 Bc7+ 31. Kh1 Qd6 32. Rg2 Rxf3 33. Qe4 Qf6 34. Kg1 Rf5 {It's doubtful that black can win. Five Shootouts were drawn.}) 27. Be5 {This simply wins the N} Re8 28. Rxf5 Rxe5 29. Rxe5 {Black resigned.} 1-0

William N. Woodbury

  

    The past few days here have been atrocious weather-wise. It’s been windy, cold and snowy with whiteout conditions making driving even on city streets hazardous. 

    Today is such a day and I could not believe the phone call we got from our nephew who us a senior in high school. School was canceled today owing to the nasty weather, but he needs a ride because his basketball coach wants the players to come to school for practice! How does he expect 15-17- year olds, most of whom ride a school bus, to get to practice?! There is something wrong with the man! I’m done with the rant. 

    As a teenager I played in the Correspondence Chess League of America and remember seeing the name William N. Woodbury (February14-1886 – April 11,1979, 93 years old) in the Chess Correspondent. 

    In the early 1900’s he was president and champion of the National Correspondence Chess Association. 

    Woodbury was born in Knoxville, Tennessee and learned to play chess from his father, with whom he progressed gradually from accepting the odds of a Queen to giving his father Rook odds. 

    He only took up chess seriously when he entered Yale in 1904 and he was chess team’s captain in 1905 and 1906. Woodbury gave credit for much of his improvement during that time to Rev. Edward B. Adams (1878-1972) who had been once been the Yale chess champion before ending up in San Diego, California. 

    Adams was born in Westport, Connecticut died in Pasadena, California. He was a member of the Marshall Chess Club in the 1920s and 1930s. He was the President of the Brooklyn Institute Chess Club in the 1930s. Adams frequently competed in the New York State Championship. 

    Woodbury had considerable success as a correspondence player. His first experience in was with the Pillsbury National Correspondence Chess Association and he won their 11th tournament shortly before that organization ceased to exist. After that he played in several other correspondence tournaments sponsored by other organizations. 

 

    Woodbury never played a very large number of correspondence games simultaneously and never aspired to match the achievements of some of the dyed-in-the-wool enthusiasts who played 60 or 70 games at a time! 

[Event "Correspindence Tournament"] [Site "?"] [Date "1915.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "W.R. Pratt"] [Black "William Woodbury"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "C59"] [Annotator "Stockfisj 17"] [PlyCount "58"] [EventDate "1915.??.??"] {C59: Two Knights Defense} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. Ng5 d5 5. exd5 Na5 (5... b5 {was played in the famous game Yakov Estrin-Hans Berliner, ICCF, 1965} 6. Bf1 Nd4 7. c3 Nxd5 8. Ne4 Qh4 9. Ng3 Bg4 10. f3 e4 11. cxd4 Bd6 12. Bxb5+ Kd8 {hite is better, but Berliner went on to win a sensational game.}) 6. Bb5+ c6 7. dxc6 bxc6 8. Be2 h6 9. Nf3 e4 10. Ne5 Bd6 11. d4 O-O {After the game Woodbury wrote that 11...Qc7 was stronger because it leaves white uncertain as to how to continue. However, both the text and 11...exd3 are equally good.} 12. c3 (12. O-O {is usual.} Qc7 13. Bd2 Be6 14. Na3 Bxe5 15. dxe5 Qxe5 {White is better. Nguyen Anh Dung (2496)-Yu Shaoteng (2535) Budapest 2000}) 12... Qc7 {A critical position. Woodbury was expecting 13.b4} (12... c5 {is an equally good alternative.} 13. O-O Be6 14. Qa4 Qc7 {equals. Sigfusson,S (2284)-Sipos,I (2254) Budapest 2001}) 13. f4 {[%mdl 8192] This is a serious mistake because it allows black develop a crushing attack against whit's K which finds itself stuck in the center.} (13. b4 {This was the move Woodbury was expecting; it results in equality after} Nb7 14. Nc4 Re8 15. Nxd6 Nxd6 16. O-O) (13. O-O {is, of course, quite safe.} c5 14. Na3 a6 {equals.} 15. Bf4) 13... exf3 14. Nxf3 Bg4 (14... Ng4 {is considerably more potent.} 15. Kf1 (15. h3 Bg3+ 16. Kf1 Nf2) (15. O-O Bxh2+ 16. Kh1 Bg3 {is just awful for white.}) 15... Re8 16. b4 Nb7 {and white is facing a serious problem on account of the attack on h2.}) 15. Nbd2 {[%mdl 8192] Woodbury commented that from here on black's attack looks very string, but white defends so well that it requires "great delicacy" to win. Actually, this move is a losing one. Now that black's N can't go to g4 the attack on h2 is not as formidable and so white's best defense is to castle.} (15. O-O {This is the only chance.} Rfe8 16. h3 Bh5 17. Nbd2 c5 18. Bb5 Re6 19. Re1 {Black's attack is at a standstill and so white has managed to equalize.}) 15... Rae8 16. Nf1 Re7 17. Kf2 c5 18. Ne3 Rd8 19. Qa4 cxd4 20. cxd4 Bf4 {Black could win a P with ...Bxf3 and ...Bxh2. Instead Woodbury hits upom this clever move.} 21. Re1 {There is no satisfactory answer to black's last move.} (21. Nxg4 Nxg4+ 22. Kf1 Bxc1 {B;ack is winning,}) (21. Bb5 {runs into} Rb8 22. Re1 (22. Ne5 Bxe5 (22... Rxe5 23. dxe5 Qxe5 24. Qxa5 Bxe3+ 25. Bxe3 Qxb2+ 26. Kg3 Qe5+ 27. Kf2 Ne4+ 28. Kg1 Qxa1+ {wins}) 23. dxe5 Qxe5 {attacking two pieces.}) 22... Bxf3 23. Kxf3 Bg5 24. Nd5 Nxd5 25. Bxg5 hxg5 {Whote has lost a piece.}) 21... Rxe3 {[%mdl 512]} 22. Bxe3 Ne4+ 23. Kf1 Bxe3 24. Bd3 Nd2+ (24... Qg3 {Offers the Q and looks like a clever sacrifice, but it would be a serious mistake because whiye does not have to take the Q.} 25. Re2 {Now black's  really is threatened and there is no effective followup so white has equalized.} (25. hxg3 $2 Nxg3#) 25... Qf4 26. Bxe4 Qxe4 27. Qxa5 Bxf3 28. Qxd8+ Kh7 29. Rxe3 Qxe3 30. gxf3 Qxf3+ {and the outcome is uncertain!}) 25. Ke2 Qf4 {Threatening ...Bxf3} 26. Kd1 Nac4 {[%mdl 512] This adds a N to the attack; not that it matters, but black had a forced mate with 26...Nxf3} (26... Nxf3 27. gxf3 Qxf3+ 28. Re2 Qh1+ 29. Kc2 Rc8+ 30. Qc4 Rxc4+ 31. Bxc4 Qc6 32. b3 Bxe2 33. d5 Qg6+ 34. Kc3 Qf6+ 35. Kc2 Qxa1 36. Bxe2 Qc1+ 37. Kd3 f5 38. Bf3 Qd2#) 27. Kc2 Rc8 28. Qa6 {Woodbury finishes the game with a nice problem-like move.} Nxb2+ {[%mdl 512]} 29. Kxb2 Bxd4+ {White resigned. it's mate in 3} (29... Bxd4+ 30. Nxd4 Qxd4+ 31. Ka3 Rc3+ 32. Kb2 Qb4#) 0-1

Chess In the Marines Corps

    It was 1967, a significant year for pop culture with many notable events taking place. Hot cars were Ford Mustangs and Pontiac GTOs. I knew a Navy Dental Technician at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina who owned a GTO that he raced at the drag strip in Holly Ridge which is located several miles south of the base. 

    A couple of us were sitting in front of the barracks one night watching him laying rubber up and down the street. It ended when the transmission blew sending shrapnel our way. I don’t know what GTO really stood for, but he used to say it was Gas, Tires and Oil. 

    Besides the Beatles, bell bottom pants were all the rage; I never got into either. On a sad mote, astronauts Gus Grissom, Ed White and Roger Chaffee were killed when a fire broke out in their Apollo spacecraft during a launch pad test.

    Opposition to the Vietnam War was growing and large-scale anti-war protests took place throughout the year in places like New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Washington, DC. 

    I was discharged in July and during that month and August race riots erupted in over 150 US cities. Race was not an issue in the Marine Corps. There was, however, a big fight in the NCO Club on the base that resulted in the Base Commander shutting the club down for a week or so. It had nothing to do with race, just some drunk Corporals and Sergeants getting into a fight. Fortunately, I wasn’t there that night. I might have been playing chess. 

    Until I reached “short-timer” status chess was the furthest thing from my mind. There was a chess club on the base, but the players weren’t very good. 

    In my final few months I was assigned to Headquarters Company, 2nd Battalion, 2nd Marines and was watching television one night when a guy showed up who was with one of the grunt companies (infantry, I think the Army calls them) from down the street and he heard I played chess. We used to get together a couple nights a week and play. That was several weeks before I got discharged.

    I don’t know what ever happened to him, but at least he didn’t get his name on the Vietnam Memorial Wall. A Google search of his name turned up dozens of people with the same name so tracking him down was impossible Only four of our games have survived and this is the best one. 

 

[Event "Camp Lejeune, North Carolina"] [Site "CAMP LEJEUNE"] [Date "1967.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "Opponent"] [Black "Tartajubow"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D94"] [Annotator "Stockfish 17"] [PlyCount "69"] [EventDate "1967.??.??"] [WhiteTeamCountry "IND"] [BlackTeamCountry "ENG"] {D94: Gruenfeld Defense} 1. c4 Nf6 2. d4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e3 {Solid, but passive.} O-O 5. Nf3 d5 {At the time I was greatly influenced by Botvinnik and Reshevsky and Reshevsky had written that he liked this defense because of its fighting qualities.} 6. Bd3 c5 {I vaguely remembered having seen this in (I think) having been played by Kashdan in a similar position. The usual move is 6...c6, but Stockfish likes the text.} 7. O-O Nc6 8. cxd5 (8. h3 Nb4 9. cxd5 Nxd3 10. Qxd3 Nxd5 11. Rd1 cxd4 12. exd4 Bf5 {is equal. Michalek,M (2158)-Rachela,M (2351) Banska Stiavnica 2006}) 8... Nxd5 9. Nxd5 {Again, this is Stockfish's first choice.} (9. Qb3 Nb6 10. dxc5 {½-½ Simecek,A (2138)-Oresky,J (2191) Prague CZE 2014}) 9... Qxd5 10. e4 Qd8 {In other games black has tried different Q moves, but all of them lead to equality. While there is nothing wrong with the text, undeveloping the Q makes little sense.} 11. d5 {Well played. After 11...Nd5 or even 11.Ne5 the chances would be equal/} Nb4 {...but not after this because white could have gotten a bit of an advantage.} 12. Qb3 (12. Bc4 Bg4 13. Be3 Bxf3 14. gxf3 {This is perfectly safe because vlack has no K-side attacking prospects.} Qd7 15. a3 {with a good game.}) 12... Nxd3 13. Qxd3 Bg4 14. Nd2 Rb8 15. Nc4 b5 16. Ne3 {Somewhat netter would hve been 16.Qg3} Bd7 17. Rb1 {Thanks to white's passivity the last couple of moves black can now undertake a counterattack on white's center.} f5 18. b4 {Better would have been 19.b3 hindering the advance of black's c0Pawn.} cxb4 {While hardly bad, instead of getting a P-majority on the Q-side getting a protected passed P with 18...c4 was better.} 19. Rxb4 a5 20. Rb3 fxe4 {This gives white an isolated d-Pawn, but also gives him equality because I now have a weak e-Pawn. It's hard to believe, but there is a clever tactical shot here that I mossed.} (20... b4 {Threatening a pin on the Q and R with ...Bb5} 21. Re1 Bb5 22. Qd2 Ba4 23. Bb2 (23. Rb1 Bc3 {wins.}) 23... Bxb3 24. Bxg7 Kxg7 25. axb3 {Black has won the exchange.}) 21. Qxe4 Bf5 {Better was 21...Qb6} 22. Nxf5 Rxf5 23. Rd1 Qd7 {White's next move is an imprecise one because the exchange of Qs shields my e-Pawn. 34.Bb2 was good enough to keep things equal.} 24. Qe6+ Qxe6 25. dxe6 Rbf8 {\This attack on the f-Pawn is irrelevant. Getting the Q-side Ps moving with ...a4!, ...Bc3 etc. was the correct strategy.} 26. Rf3 {Surrendering a P, while not fatal, was a poor idea. 26.Be3 was a perfectly good move,} Rxf3 {Harder for white to meey was 26...Re5, but even then b;ack's advantage would br minima;.} 27. gxf3 Rxf3 {[%mdl 4096] This ending is equal.} 28. Bg5 Rf8 {Although this ending is still a draw, white's e-Pawn now had me concerned/} 29. Bxe7 Re8 30. Rd8 {[%mdl 8192] Give this move a ?? It's obvious to me now that this loses and that 30/R8 holds the draw, but at the time it wasn't.} (30. Rd7 Bf8 31. Bxf8 Kxf8 32. Rb7 b4 33. Rf7+ Kg8 34. Ra7 Rxe6 35. Rxa5 {is a simple draw.}) 30... Rxd8 {Black wins...or should have.} 31. Bxd8 Kf8 {Now we are back to a draw. The e-Pawn is no threat.} (31... a4 {would win! However, the winning process was, no doubt, beyond the capabilities of a couple of amateurs!} 32. Ba5 (32. e7 {simply loses the e-Pawn.} Kf7 33. Ba5 Kxe7) 32... Kf8 33. Kf1 Ke7 34. Ke2 Kxe6 35. Kd3 Kd5 36. f3 Be5 37. h3 Bd6 38. Bd8 b4 39. Bg5 Be5 40. Be7 b3 41. axb3 axb3 42. Bb4 Ke6 43. f4 Bf6 44. Bc5 h5 45. Bb6 Kf5 46. Bc7 b2 47. Kc2 Ke4 48. Bb8 Bd4 49. Bc7 Be3 50. Kxb2 Bxf4 51. Bd8 Kf3 52. Kc3 Kg3 53. h4 Kh3 54. Kc4 Bg3 {[%eval -433,30]}) 32. Bxa5 {The position is equal.} Ke7 33. Kf1 Kxe6 34. Ke2 Kd5 35. Kd3 {Draw agreed. After this black's K cannot penetrate white's position. Weighted Error Value: White=0.74/Black=0.57} 1/2-1/2

Another h-file Attack

    While browsing the other day I stumbled across the following game which also contains an attack along the h-file. The winner was. Guillermo Vassaux (June,1909 – May, 2006) od Guatemala; he was a player, chess teacher and writer who won the Guatemalan Championship fourteen-times between 1934 and 1973. 

    Vassaux was one of the founders of the Guatemalan National Chess Federation in 1939. In 1953, he was called one of the three great Guatemalan chess figures of the time. The other two were Enrique Hidalgo and Carlos Enrique Salazar. Vassaux won the Guatemalan Chess Championship fourteen times from 1934 to 1973. 

    He participated in the Chess Olympiad once, representing Guatemala at first board in the 8th Chess Olympiad in 1939 in Buenos Aires, scoring +5 -8 =2.

    Vassaux authored three chess books and wrote a regular chess column in the Prensa Libre from 1974 to 1991. During that time he also ran a chess program Ajedrez bajo los arboles (Chess under the trees) a park in Guatemala City. His students included three future Guatemalan champions. He was awarded a Medal of Honor by the Ministry of Culture and Sports and the Presidential Medal shortly before his death. 

    His opponent was John Morrison (1889-1975). Born in Toronto, e was Canadian Champion in 1910, 1913, 1922, 1924, 1926 and 1931.

[Event "Olympiad Final B, Buenos Aires"] [Site "?"] [Date "1939.09.06"] [Round "?"] [White "Guillermo Vassaux"] [Black "John S. Morrison"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "C02"] [Annotator "Stockfish 17"] [PlyCount "67"] [EventDate "1939.08.24"] [Source "Olimpbase"] {[%evp 16,67,49,49,70,-20,0,0,67,65,56,64,82,79,72,73,89,86,128,117,115,70,120,104,160,158,167,153,210,208,278,289,262,273,254,235,379,234,248,106,473,496,1083,1065,972,863,29992,29993,29993,29994,29994,29995,29995,29996] C02: French: Advance Variation} 1. e4 {[%mdl 32]} c5 2. c3 e6 3. d4 d5 4. e5 {The opening has transposed into the Advance Variation of the French. White’s idea is to gain space in the center. By blocking black’s Pawns on light squares, the B on c8 will have a hard time getting into the game. Although mot popular the Advance Variation us a solid, yet ambitious, option.} Nc6 5. Nf3 Qb6 6. Bd3 Bd7 7. dxc5 Bxc5 8. O-O a5 9. Qe2 Nge7 10. Bf4 Ng6 11. Bg3 Nce7 12. Nbd2 {[%mdl 32] So far this has all been seen before, but this is Stockfish's first choice.} Nf5 (12... Qxb2 {As is often the case this is a risky move.} 13. Rab1 Qxa2 14. Bb5 (14. Rxb7 {would allow black to equalize after} Bc6 15. Rbb1 O-O) 14... Bc6 15. Qd3 Rc8 16. Bxc6+ Rxc6 17. Ra1 Qb2 18. Rfb1 {The Q is not trapped because after} Qxc3 19. Qxc3 {black has} Bxf2+ 20. Bxf2 Rxc3 21. Rxb7 O-O 22. Bb6 Ra8 23. Bxa5 {The material imbalance (B vs 2Ps) favors white. It's still a very difficult position though! In Shootouts white scored +3 -0 =2, but the winning process was tedious, so ITB the outcome is not guaranteed.}) 13. Nb3 Nxg3 {It's really hard to call this an error, but looking ahead the opening of the h-file is going to be disastrous for black...something that cannot be foreseen at this point! Perhaps he should have just castled.} 14. hxg3 Be7 15. Nbd4 O-O 16. Rfe1 Rae8 {It's hard to say what black had in mind with this rather pointless move. 16...Bc5 seems reasonable. While black has mot made any obvious errors one gets the feeling that white's position has a lot more potential.} 17. Rab1 Rc8 18. Kh2 {What?!} Rfe8 19. Kg1 {It's hard to explain the last couple of moves!} Nf8 20. g4 {[%mdl 32] The aggression starts.} Bc5 21. g5 Ng6 {After this black's position will be almost impossible to defend.} (21... Bxd4 {This reduces the pieces white has available for ab attack a bit.} 22. Nxd4 {It's better to have the N here than a P.} Qc5 23. Qg4 b5 24. Re3 {The plan is to double heavy pieces on the h-file. White clearly has the better chances, but there is no forced win.}) 22. g3 {[%mdl 32]} Ne7 23. Kg2 Nf5 24. Rh1 g6 25. Rh3 {Looking back at black's 13th move it's hard to believe the consequences of opening the h-file for white!} Kg7 26. g4 {Offering a P, but driving away a defender.} Nxd4 27. cxd4 {Hardly bad, but taking with the N was more accurate.} Bxd4 {[%mdl 8192] Taking the P results in disaster. Hunkering down and trying to defend himself with ...Be7 and ...Rh8 was his best chance.} 28. Qd2 {White wants to reposition the Q to f4} Bc5 29. Qf4 {Threatening mate with Rxh7+!} Rh8 (29... a4 {A pass to demonstrate white's threat.} 30. Rxh7+ Kxh7 31. Qxf7+ Kh8 32. Rh1#) 30. Rbh1 {Intending Rxh7+ and mate...there is no preventing it.} Be7 {White to mate in 8 moves.} 31. Rxh7+ {[%mdl 512] White mates.} Rxh7 32. Rxh7+ Kxh7 33. Qxf7+ Kh8 34. Bxg6 {Black resigned, A great attacking game by Vassaux.} (34. Bxg6 Qxf2+ 35. Kxf2 Rc2+ 36. Bxc2 Bc5+ 37. Kg2 {mate next move.}) 0-1