Najdord Turns the Table

    In this game Najdorf got lucky. He nearly suffered the same fate as Capablanca at Carlsbad in 1929. The day Capa's wife joined him at the tournament he blundered against Saemisch, lost a piece and had to resign. 

    On the day this game was played Najdorf’s wife arrive at the tournament and he played the opening badly and found himself with a lost position. Fortunately for him though, Rellstab failed to press home his attack and instead opted to regain his sacrificed piece. Najdorf then found a stunning refutation that turned the table. 

    The game was played in the 1959 Bled tournament a major international event held in Bled, Yugoslavia. The tournament was a prestigious international event and helped launch the international careers of several emerging stars such as 16-year-old Borislav Ivkov who made his international debut. Also playing were veterans Saviely Tartakower and Milan Vidmar.

 

 

    Miguel Najdorf (1910-1997) 8s well known, but Ludwig Rellstab (1904-1983) is not. Born in Berlin, he was awarded the IM title at its inception in 1950 and the International Arbiter title in 1951. He was the German Champion in 1942.

[Event "Bled"] [Site ""] [Date "1950.09.30"] [Round "?"] [White "Ludwig Rellstab"] [Black "Miguel Najdorf"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "E94"] [Annotator "Stockfish 18"] [PlyCount "50"] [EventDate "1950.??.??"] {E94: King's Indian: Classical} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6 5. Nf3 O-O 6. Be2 e5 {At the time this game was played the K-Indian was in the experimental stage and black's best lines had not yet been established. It is now known that this move is premature and 6...Nbd7 is preferrable.} 7. O-O exd4 {The purpose of this move is to oobtain an open diagonal for his B. On the minus side white gets considerable activity for his pieces. The main option is 7...c6} 8. Nxd4 Re8 9. f3 Nbd7 {Black aims to continue with. . P- QB3 which leads, however. to a very cramped position . He is comparatively better off with 9 ... N - B3. although this concedes White the possibility of N-Q5.} 10. Bg5 c6 {On the alternative 10...h6 white retreats the B to e3 and black has weakened his K-side ever so slightly.} 11. Qd2 Qb6 12. Be3 Qc7 13. Rac1 (13. Rad1 {is also good.} a6 14. Nb3 Bf8 15. Bf4 {White stands well Ulibin,M (2514) -Tyukhanov,A (2083) Biel 2007}) 13... Nb6 14. Rfd1 Nfd7 {It's hard to suggest a really good plan for black, but this move allows white to launch a strong attack.He should have plated 14...Qe7} 15. Ndb5 {A nasty surprise. One magazine report stated that after this move Najdord got so excited that for nearly the next hour he was pullig his hair!} cxb5 (15... Qb8 {is even worse.} 16. Nxd6 Rd8 17. c5 {and white is winning.}) 16. Nxb5 Qd8 17. Nxd6 {White has two Ps for the piece and an extremely strong position. He threatens both Nxe8, and Nxc8 followed by c5. He also can stregthen his position even further with b3 and f4.} Ne5 {The only chance. Saving the exchange is worse.} (17... Rf8 { is met by} 18. c5 Na4 19. Nxc8 Rxc8 20. Qxd7 Qxd7 21. Rxd7 Bxb2 22. Rc2 Bg7 23. Rxb7 Nc3 24. Kf2 {White is up two Ps and is winning.}) 18. c5 (18. Nxe8 { is not quite as strong. e.g.} Qxe8 19. f4 Nc6 20. b4 {Even here white is clearly better. Black's best try is 20...Be6. Capturing on e4 can leads to wild complications.} Qxe4 21. b5 Na5 22. Bc5 Be6 23. Bd3 Bd4+ 24. Kh1 {The Q is trapped. After} Qxd3 25. Qxd3 Bxc5 {Black has 2Ns+2Bs vs Q+R+P which is not quite enough compensation, but it might have been worth a try.}) 18... Nbd7 19. c6 {This regains the piece...a plausible course, but it's the wrong course because it lets black is now back in the game.} (19. f4 {is best as the N has no move and after} Re7 20. b4 {White's attack does not yield immediate results, but it should prove irresistible.}) 19... Nxc6 20. Nxc8 {A miscalculation that hands over the advantage.} (20. Nxe8 Qxe8 21. b4 a6 22. a4 {with a material imbalance where white has R+P vs, 2Ns and the chances are equal. In Shootouts (Stockfish playing itself) 5 games were drawn.}) 20... Rxc8 21. Qxd7 {White has regained the piece and is a P up, but Najdorf has a stunning refutation.} ( 21. Rxc6 {was his best try, but black is better after} bxc6 (21... Rxc6 22. Bb5 ) 22. Qxd7 Bxb2 23. Bc4 Qf6 24. Rb1 Red8) 21... Bd4 {This problem-like move ends the game. White has no good reply.} 22. Rxd4 Nxd4 23. Bb5 (23. Qxd8 { was only a bit better.} Nxe2+ 24. Kf2 Rexd8 25. Kxe2 Rxc1 26. Bxc1 Rc8 { with a won ending.}) 23... Rxc1+ 24. Bxc1 Qxd7 25. Bxd7 Rd8 {White resigned. He must lose one of his Bs.} 0-1