Mikhail Botvinnik and David Bronstein were preparing for their upcoming world championship match and so they did not participate. In those days the Soviet Championships were stronger that many international tournaments and this one was no exception. Strongmen Smyslov, Boleslavsky and Flohr had mediocre results while Aronin, Lipnitsky and Tolush surprised everyone by keeping pace with the leaders.
When the last round arrived Keres and Tolush were tied and first place depended on their games. Tolush gained the advantage against Boleslavsky, but boogered up the ending after adjournment and had to accept the draw. The Averbakh vs. Keres game (an old fashioned Four Knights Game) was also adjourned and upon resumption Keres managed to squeeze out a draw in an interesting ending. It was the second of what would be three titles for Keres, and a return to form from having finished in the middle of the field in the previous two editions of the Soviet championship.
The following game has been praised by Nunn, Emms, Soltis and probably a lot of others. Soltis even listed it in the top 50 of the whole of the 20th Century.
The winner, Isaac Boleslavsky, was a fantastic tactical player and although few realize it, at one time he was world championship material. See my post on him HERE.
His opponent, was a hydraulics engineer named Vladimir Alatortsev (1909-1987) who besides being a very strong player was also a chess author, and administrator.
His heyday was in the 1930s. He held the championship of both Leningrad and Moscow and played in the Soviet Championship finals nine times. He semi-retired from tournament play in the early 1950s and concentrated on organizing, teaching and coaching. He never had the opportunity to compete outside the Soviet Union and in 1983 FIDE awarded him the title of Honorary Emeritus Grandmaster.
Vladimir Alatortsev - Isaac Boleslavsky
Result: 0-1
Site: Soviet Championship, Moscow
Date: 1950.11.20
King's Indian
[...] 1.d4 ♘f6 2.c4 d6 3.♘c3 e5 This begins as an Old Indian Defense in which black is going to develop his B on e7 rather than on g7. Mikhail Chigorin pioneered this defense late in his career and CJS Purdy recommended it for amateurs because it is less complicated than the K-Indian. 4.e4 This continuation was very popular during the 1950's. In my database it actually scores better than hte far more popular 4.Nf3. 4...exd4 This, too, is rarely played today, but it also gives better results that the main line 4... Nbd7. 5.♕xd4 ♘c6 6.♕d2 g6 Giving the opening a K-Indian flavor. 6.Be7 as in the Old Indian is also satisfactory.
14...♗xf5 15.♘e2 While this gets the N off d4 it turns out badly for white. He had to play either 15. O-O or 15.Nd5 15...♘xe2 16.♗xe2
6...♗e7 7.♗d3 O-O 8.b3 ♖e8 9.♘ge2 a5 10.♗b2 ♗f8 11.f3 ♘b4 is equal. Pinheiro,J (2260)-Galego,L (2435)/Lisbon 1995
7.b3 ♗g7 8.♗b2 O-O 9.♗d3 ♘g4 10.♘f3 ♘ge5 11.♗e2 11.Nxe5 is met by 11...exe5 and black has a nice outpost for his N on d4. 11...♘xf3+ 12.♗xf3 ♘d4 In this line also black has gotten the square d4 for his N. 13.♗d1 This looks artificial and not the kind of move one likes to make, but white decides to keep his light square defender and avoid having his P structure damaged.
13.h4 ♘xf3+ 14.gxf3 ♗d7 15.O-O-O followed by 16.h5 looks more promising.
13...f5 14.exf5 Theoretically (according to Komodo) the position is equal after this, but in practice it seems wrong to open up the position because black's pieces are more harmoniously developed.
14.O-O c5 15.exf5 ♗xf5 16.♘e2 d5
16...♘xe2+ 17.♗xe2 ♗xb2 18.♕xb2 ♗e4 is equal. Chabanon,J (2425) -Bricard,E (2470)/ Montpellier FRA 1996
17.cxd5 ♕xd5 18.♘xd4 cxd4 19.♗f3 with equality. Gasthofer,V (2380) -Czerwonski,A (2370)/Katowice POL 1993 16.♗xg7 is met by 16...♘f4 17.♗xf8 ♕f6 and black is winning! 18.O-O (18.♖c1 ♖e8+ 19.♗e2 ♖xe2+) 18...♕g5 19.♗g4 (19.g3 ♘h3+ wins the Q) 19...♗xg4 20.♗h6 ♕xh6 Black has a winning attack.
16...♗xb2 17.♕xb2 ♕g5 18.g3 ♖ae8 19.O-O ♗h3 20.f4 White was initially criticized by some for this move, it is actually the best he has. 20...♗xf1 Despite the presence of many of the world's best players, this move came as a complete surprise to nearly everyone who was present. It works because white is weak on the light squares. The logical looking 20... Qc5+ only results in equality after 21.Rf2! 21.fxg5 ♖xe2 According to Komodo 12 black's advantage here is only a slight one, but in a Shootout using Stockfish black scored +3 -0 =2. 22.♕c3 This can probably be considered the losing move.
22.♕d4 ♗g2 23.♖e1 ♖xe1+ (23...♗h3 24.♕d5+ ♔h8 25.♕d4+ draws) 24.♔xg2 b6 25.h4 would likely result in a draw.
22...♗g2 23.♕d3
23.♖e1 ♗h3 as in the previous note does not work because the Q checks are not available. From this position black has a won endgame. For example: 24.♕a1 ♖xe1+ 25.♕xe1 ♖f1+ 26.♕xf1 ♗xf1 27.♔xf1 ♔f7 28.♔f2 ♔e6 29.♔f3 ♔f5 30.h4 c6 31.a3 d5 32.cxd5 cxd5 33.a4 d4 34.g4+ ♔e5 35.a5 d3 36.♔e3 d2 37.♔xd2 ♔f4 and black picks off the K-side Ps.
23...♗f3 Another great move. Black threatens ... Rg2+ 24.♖f1 ♖g2+ 25.♔h1 Boleslavsky concludes the game in a truly outstanding way. 25...♗c6 26.♖xf8+ ♔xf8 27.♕f1+ ♖f2+ After this move the Q is lost and black remains a piece ahead so Alatortsev resigned. Powered by Aquarium
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