Wednesday, February 19, 2020

Vintage Reshevsky

     The other day I posted one of Reshevsky’s brilliancy prize games, but that game was what GM Alex Yermolinsky would have called “crushing a tomato can.” In the following game we see Reshevsky exhibiting all the characteristics that were discussed in that post against one of the all time great players in the history of chess, Paul Keres. 
     We see Reshevsky’s superb tactical ability save him from a prepared variation. His position was riddled with weaknesses but his superhuman skill at finding counterplay not only neutralized Keres’ advantage, but actually allowed Reshevsky to reach a won ending. The game was vintage Reshevsky. 
     It was played in round 18 of the 1948 World Championship which was played to determine the new World Champion following the death of the previous champion Alexander Alekhine in 1946. 
     On April 22nd play for lap four began in Moscow at the House of Unions and spacious the Hall of Columns was jam packed every round. Botvinnik was the hero od Soviet chess and when the fourth lap started he was on the brink of success. The only way he could be caught was if he totally collapsed and that was unlikely to happen. When this game was played an overflow crowd of some 800 rabid spectators had to be shunted off into another room where a Soviet master described the play.

1 comment:

  1. 9.Qe2 instead of the then standard 9.c3 was a secret weapon that the Soviet team had analyzed in great depth preparing for the 1948 tournament. Smyslov scored a big win against Euwe using the same variation that allowed Keres to get such a great game

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