[Event "London"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1783.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Count Bruehl"]
[Black "Philidor"]
[Result "0-1"]
[PlyCount "104"]
1.e4
{The interesting part of this game begins at move 40.}
e5 2.Bc4 c6 3.Qe2 d6 4.c3 f5 5.d3 Nf6 6.exf5 Bxf5 7.d4 e4 8.Bg5 d5 9.Bb3
Bd6 10.Nd2 Nbd7 11.h3 h6 12.Be3 Qe7 13.f4 h5 14.c4 a6 15.cxd5 cxd5 16.Qf2
O-O 17.Ne2 b5 18.O-O Nb6 19.Ng3 g6 20.Rac1 Nc4 21.Nxf5 gxf5 22.Qg3+ Qg7
23.Qxg7+ Kxg7 24.Bxc4 bxc4 25.g3 Rab8 26.b3 Ba3 27.Rc2 cxb3 28.axb3 Rbc8
29.Rxc8 Rxc8 30.Ra1 Bb4 31.Rxa6 Rc3 32.Kf2 Rd3 33.Ra2 Bxd2 34.Rxd2 Rxb3
35.Rc2 h4 36.Rc7+ Kg6 37.gxh4 Nh5 38.Rd7 Nxf4 39.Bxf4 Rf3+ 40.Kg2 Rxf4
41.Rxd5 Rf3
{This is an example of a rook and pawn endgame, also just called a rook endgame . Even though White has more pawns, they are scattered and isolated. The doubled pawns are particularly weak, so Black actually has the advantage.}
42.Rd8 Rd3 43.d5 f4 44.d6 Rd2+ 45.Kf1 Kf7
{White's pawn has advanced down the board, but the Black king takes an active role in the defense.}
46.h5 e3 47.h6 f3
{Now Black has established mating net. The threat is Rd1 mate. White actually resigned, because the only escape from mate is to move the king away from the pawns, but then Black gets a queen:}
48.Kg1 Rg2+ 49.Kf1
{49.Kh1 e2}
e2+ 50.Ke1 Rg1+ 51.Kd2 Rd1+ 52.Kc2 e1=Q 0-1
[Event "New Orleans"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1849.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Morphy"]
[Black "Morphy,E"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "39"]
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.c3 d6 5.O-O Nf6
{Black should play either 5...Bb6 or 5...Qe7, since now his own e-pawn is weak.}
6.d4 exd4
{Now Black suffers from a nasty cramp. 6...Bb6 was a better, but still unhappy line.}
7.cxd4 Bb6 8.h3
{Keeping Black cramped. Now 8... Nxe4 is dangerous after 9 d5 or 9 Re1 d5 10 Bxd5 Qxd5 11 Nc3.}
h6
{Black fears 8...O-O, but now he's dangerously behind in development.}
9.Nc3 O-O 10.Be3 Re8
{Weakening f7, though it shouldn't be terminal.}
11.d5 Bxe3
{But this is a serious mistake. White can now open the a2-g8 diagonal and the tactics will be awful for Black.}
12.dxc6 Bb6 13.e5
{White encourages Black to give up pawn control of e5 so he can later use his knight against f7. Black doesn't want to move his knight, since White will have threats like Qd5, hitting both f7 and b7, but that was the best chance.}
dxe5 14.Qb3 Re7 15.Bxf7+ Rxf7
{Black now loses because of the pin on the rook, but he probably didn't like the idea of moving the king because of 16 Nh4.}
16.Nxe5 Qe8 17.cxb7
{Now Black has no chance of breaking the pin on his rook.}
Bxb7 18.Rae1 Ba6 19.Ng6 Qd8 20.Re7 1-0
[Event "New Orleans"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1849.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Morphy"]
[Black "Morphy,A"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "41"]
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.b4 Bxb4 5.c3 Bc5 6.d4 exd4 7.cxd4 Bb6 8.O-O
Na5
{This loses time and puts the knight out of the game. Black wants to play ...d5, but he isn't ready to castle, so his king will feel a draft.}
9.Bd3 d5 10.exd5 Qxd5
{After this Black is losing. With the e-file open White is ready to jump on the enemy king. Black had to play 10...Ne7, though after 11 Ba3 it's pretty grim, since 11...O-O loses to 12 Re1 Re8 13 Ng5.}
11.Ba3 Be6
{Black sees the e-file needs protection, but this doesn't help.}
12.Nc3 Qd7 13.d5 Bxd5 14.Nxd5 Qxd5 15.Bb5+
{This shot deflects the queen from the center files allowing White to invade.}
Qxb5 16.Re1+ Ne7 17.Rb1
{White gets a little carried away with the deflection theme, as Black might resist a little by giving up his queen with 17...Qd7. White should just capture on e7.}
Qa6 18.Rxe7+ Kf8 19.Qd5 Qc4 20.Rxf7+ Kg8 21.Rf8# 1-0
[Event "New Orleans"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1850.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "McConnell"]
[Black "Morphy"]
[Result "0-1"]
[PlyCount "28"]
1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5
{The French Defense has the reputation of giving Black a solid yet cramped game. Morphy favored open positions so it comes as no surprise that this is the only example of his defending the French Defense.}
3.e5
{The Advance Variation of the French Defense. White's idea is to play against Black's light squared bishop which is locked out of the game by his own pawns.}
c5
{Black follows the general rule that one should attack a pawn chain at it's base.}
4.c3
{The strengthening of White's pawn chain is the logical response to Black's last move.}
Nc6 5.f4
{This move is a mistake as White does not need to broaden his pawn chain especially at the expense of his development. Better was 5.Nf3. 5.Nf3 Qb6 6.Be2 Bd7 7.a3 c4}
Qb6 6.Nf3 Bd7 7.a3
{Although in a closed position one doesn't have to develop as quickly as in an open position. White has crossed the line in only developing one piece in position moves. 7.Bd3 cxd4 8.cxd4 Nxd4 9.Nxd4 Qxd4 We see the importance of Black's 6...Bd7, otherwise White would have a discovered check with}
Nh6 8.b4 cxd4 9.cxd4 Rc8
{Black stands much better due to his large lead in development.}
10.Bb2 Nf5 11.Qd3 Bxb4+
{This sacrifice is made possible because of Black's lead in development.}
12.axb4 Nxb4 13.Qd2 Rc2
{Very pretty especially since most players would jump at the chance to win White's rook by 13...Nc2+.}
14.Qd1 Ne3
{White resigned because his queen has been trapped.}
0-1
[Event "London"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1851.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Anderssen"]
[Black "Kieseritzky"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "45"]
1.e4
{Known as the "Immortal Game" this magnificent example of Adolf Anderssen's combinative powers is still considered one of the best games of all time.}
e5 2.f4 exf4 3.Bc4 Qh4+ 4.Kf1 b5
{The Bryan Counter-Gam bit where Black wishes to draw the bishop away from the a2-g8 diagonal.}
5.Bxb5 Nf6 6.Nf3 Qh6
{The Black queen proves to be out of play here. Better was 6...Qh5.}
7.d3 Nh5
{7...g5 was a more natural way to defend the f-pawn.}
8.Nh4
{8.Kg1 would stop Black's threat of Ng3+ winning the exchange. However, White would now drop a piece instead.}
Qg5 9.Nf5 c6
{9...g6 10.h4 Qf6 11.Nc3 gxf5 12.Qxh5 would give White the lead in development.}
10.g4 Nf6 11.Rg1
{This piece sacrifice pursues White's agressive policy started with 8.Nh4. The important d5-square will now become available.}
cxb5 12.h4 Qg6
{The queen is a useless bystander now.}
13.h5 Qg5 14.Qf3
{Threatens to trap the Black queen with 15.Bxf4.}
Ng8
{So Black is forced to retreat to the home square.}
15.Bxf4 Qf6 16.Nc3
{Although White has only two pawns for a piece he has a winning position due to his large lead in development. Black's pieces, with the exception of the queen and the b-pawn, are all on their original squares.}
Bc5 17.Nd5
{This introduces a double rook sacrifice, where White will give up both of his rooks, even though he is already a piece down.}
Qxb2 18.Bd6
{Thus begins the "Immortal Sacrifice".}
Qxa1+
{18...Bxd6 19.Nxd6+ Kd8 20.Nxf7+ Ke8 when White would have a forced mate in two.}
19.Ke2 Bxg1
{The best defense, as noted by Steinitz, was 19...Qb2, but fortunately for posterity Kieseritzky didn't figure that out. 19...Qxg1 would again allow White a forced mate.}
20.e5
{By blocking the queen off the protection of his g-pawn. White is threatening to mate in two with 21.Nxg7+ Kd8 22.Bc7 mate.}
Na6
{Black covers the c7 square from White's dark squared bishop. However, just when you think Black might defend, Anderssen explodes the position with yet another brilliant line.}
21.Nxg7+ Kd8 22.Qf6+
{By sacrificing the queen White has mate next move.}
Nxf6
{The only move.}
23.Be7#
{A forced mate by three minor pieces while Black still has most of his pieces on the board. Truly a magnificent game...The Immortal Game.}
1-0
[Event "Berlin"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1852.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Anderssen"]
[Black "Dufresne"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "47"]
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.b4
{White is playing the Evans Gambit. Sacrificing a pawn, White wins time for the realization of the moves c3 and d4 and also obtains the lead in development.}
Bxb4 5.c3 Ba5 6.d4 exd4 7.O-O d3
{7...Nge7 Aiming for rapid development and preparing counterplay in the center is a better way to play.}
8.Qb3 Qf6 9.e5 Qg6 10.Re1 Nge7 11.Ba3
{Black's main problem in this position is his backward development on the queenside.}
b5
{Black gives back one of the pawns with the hope of getting his queenside pieces into the game.}
12.Qxb5 Rb8 13.Qa4 Bb6 14.Nbd2 Bb7
{Although Black has developed his queenside pieces the most important piece is still in the center. In our collection of games you will find many examples of punishment being meted out when the king remains too long in the center.}
15.Ne4 Qf5 16.Bxd3 Qh5 17.Nf6+
{With Black's king stuck in the center White sacrifices the knight to open up the e-file.}
gxf6 18.exf6 Rg8 19.Rad1
{This leads to one of the most beautiful combination ever played. However, 19. Be4 was also very strong.}
Qxf3
{It would appear that White overlooked that his g-pawn is pinned. However, this is not the case.}
20.Rxe7+ Nxe7 21.Qxd7+
{Very beautiful! First White sacked the rook and now the queen. The idea is to bring the Black king into a double check on the d-file.}
Kxd7
{21...Kf8 22.Bxe7+ Mate.}
22.Bf5+ Ke8
{22...Kc6 allows mate in one.}
23.Bd7+ Kf8 24.Bxe7#
{Indeed a very pretty way to end the game. After playing through this game you can easily see why it's a classic that has earned the nickname "The Evergreen Game".}
1-0
[Event "Mobile"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1855.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Morphy"]
[Black "Ayers"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "51"]
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.b4 Bxb4 5.c3 Ba5 6.d4 d6 7.Qb3
{7.dxe5 dxe 5 8.Qxd8+ Nxd8 9.Nxe5 Be6 Black has returned the pawn but enjoys a comfortable game.}
Qe7
{The wrong square for the queen, though it seems logical. The e7-square is needed for a knight. 7...Qd7 8.dxe5 Bb6 9.e6 fxe6 10.Ng5 Na5 11. Bxe6 Nxb3 12.Bxd7+ Bxd7 13.axb3 Nf6}
8.d5 Nd4
{This looks like a clever move, since the knight cannot be captured by the pawn because of the pin. But now the game gets quite exciting as Morphy lets his king get chased around the board.}
9.Bb5+ c6 10.Nxd4 exd4
{10...cxb5 11.Qxb5+ Bd7 12.Qxa5 exd4 13. O-O Qxe4 14.c4 Ne7 15.Re1 Qg6 16.Qc7 b6 17.Ba3}
11.dxc6 Qxe4+ 12.Kd1 Bg4+ 13.f3 Bxf3+ 14.gxf3 Qxf3+ 15.Kc2 Qe4+
{Black does not have time to capture the rook because of the discovered check. 15...Qxh1 16.cxb7+ Kf8 17. bxa8Q+ Qxa8 18.Ba3 White has an extra piece.}
16.Kb2 Bxc3+ 17.Nxc3 dxc3+ 18.Qxc3 O-O-O
{Black seems to have castled to safety and has a pile of extra pawns. But Morphy will use the open files to attack.}
19.Re1 Qd5 20.cxb7+ Kxb7
{20...Kb8 The king would have been safer using the White pawn as a shield.}
21.Rb1
{A brilliant quiet move. White sets up future threats on the open b-file.}
Nf6
{Now White unleashes a tremendous combination involving the open file and a discovered check.}
22.Bc6+ Qxc6 23.Ka1+ Kc7 24.Qa5+ Kc8 25.Qxa7
{Now the open c-file will bring the game to a rapid close.}
Nd7 26.Bd2 1-0
[Event "Unknown"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1855.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Morphy"]
[Black "Maurian"]
[Result "0-1"]
[PlyCount "24"]
1.e4 e5 2.f4 exf4 3.Bc4 Qh4+
{This check causes the White king some discomfort, but it also wastes a lot of time.}
4.Kf1 b5
{The idea behind this move is to gain some time back by annoying the bishop should it capture the pawn. But Morphy maintains the initiative by attacking the enemy rook.}
5.Bd5 Nc6 6.Nf3 Qh5 7.d4
{With each move, White attacks an enemy piece. This time it is the f-pawn.}
Nf6 8.Bb3 Ba6
{Black plans a discovered check by advancing the b-pawn.}
9.Qe2
{Now the b-pawn is pinned. But Morphy has overlooked something. The White king has only two defenders, the knight and queen. Each of them can be drawn away from the monarch.}
Nxd4
{First the knight is lured away.}
10.Nxd4
{Now the queen is forced to leave the area.}
b4 11.Qxa6
{There wasn 't any real choice, as otherwise the queen is lost. But now the king is defenseless, and Black finishes neatly.}
Qd1+ 12.Kf2 Ng4# 0-1
[Event "Mobile"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1855.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Meek"]
[Black "Morphy"]
[Result "0-1"]
[PlyCount "42"]
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 exd4 4.Bc4 Bc5 5.Ng5
{This premature attack allows Black to seize the initiative by continually developing his pieces.}
Nh6
{Black develops another piece while defending his f7 pawn. 5...Ne5 when Black would be making the same mistake that White did of moving a piece again which has already been developed.}
6.Nxf7 Nxf7 7.Bxf7+ Kxf7 8.Qh5+ g6 9.Qxc5
{Although White has managed to restore the material balance one has to be suspicious that all of White's pieces which were active before the combination have now disappeared from the board.}
d6
{Black clears an opening for his light squared bishop while gaining a tempo on the White queen.}
10.Qb5 Re8 11.Qb3+
{11.O-O Getting the king to safety should have been preferred.}
d5
{Black takes advantage of White's e-pawn being pinned to his king.}
12.f3 Na5
{Played with the idea of driving the White queen off the a2-g8 diagonal.}
13.Qd3 dxe4 14.fxe4 Qh4+ 15.g3 Rxe4+
{Black's better development has turned into an attack on the White king.}
16.Kf2 Qe7 17.Nd2 Re3
{The following play revolves around Black trying to chase the White queen from the protection of the e2 square in order for Black to seize the seventh rank with Re2+.}
18.Qb5 c6 19.Qf1 Bh3 20.Qd1
{20.Qxh3 Re2+ 21.Kg1 would allow Black a forced mate in two.}
Rf8 21.Nf3 Ke8
{White resigned due to the material losses that will follow because of his pinned knight on f3.}
0-1
[Event "New York"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1857.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Lichtenhein"]
[Black "Morphy"]
[Result "0-1"]
[PlyCount "38"]
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 exd4 4.Bc4 Nf6
{By a transposition of moves a variation of the Two Knight Defense has been reached.}
5.e5 d5
{A good move in which Black fights for the center by gaining a tempo on the White bishop.}
6.Bb5
{6.exf6 dxc4 7.fxg7 Bxg7 would be a winning position for Black who is a pawn ahead and has more pieces developed.}
Ne4 7.Nxd4 Bd7 8.Nxc6
{8.Bxc6 The correct way to get rid of the knight as after...}
bxc6
{White would not have to lose time due to Black's c-pawn attacking the bishop. bxc6 The correct way to recapture since Black gains yet another tempo on the White bishop. 8...Bxc6 9.Bxc6+ bxc6 10.O-O allows White to catch up in development.}
9.Bd3 Bc5
{Black develops another piece while creating a threat on White's f-pawn.}
10.Bxe4
{10.O-O Qh4 gives Black the advantage due to his kingside initiative.}
Qh4
{Once again Black develops with gain of tempo this time he is threatening to checkmate White with 11...Qxf2.}
11.Qe2
{11.g3 Qxe4+ 12.Qe2 Qxh1+}
dxe4
{The correct recapture, since Black has the initiative it will be much easier to attack White's king with queens still on the board. 11...Qxe4 12.Qxe4 dxe4 would be fine for White due to Black's broken pawn structure.}
12.Be3
{This is the final mistake which allows Black to bring another piece into the attack with tempo. 12.O-O}
Bg4 13.Qc4
{13.Qd2 Rd8 would leave White with no good response to Black's threat of 14... Rd1+.}
Bxe3
{Black takes advantage of the pin on White's f-pawn.}
14.g3
{14.Qxc6+ Bd7 15.Qxa8+ Ke7 16.g3 Qg4 17.Qxh8 Bxf2+ 18.Kxf2 Qf3+ 19.Kg1 Bh3 would leave White's king defenseless on the light squares 14.O-O Bb6 15.Qxc6+ Ke7 would leave Black a piece ahead.}
Qd8 15.fxe3 Qd1+ 16.Kf2 Qf3+ 17.Kg1 Bh3
{With no piece to come to the king's defense all White has left are a few spite checks.}
18.Qxc6+ Kf8 19.Qxa8+ Ke7
{White resigned.}
0-1
[Event "New York"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1857.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Morphy"]
[Black "Perrin"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "51"]
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nc6 5.Be3 Nf6 6.Bd3 Bb4+
{6...Be7 7.O-O d6 would give Black control of the center and future play down the semi-open c-file.}
7.c3 Ba5
{A mistake since Black's dark-square bishop belongs on e7 to cover the dark squares surrounding the king.}
8.O-O Bb6 9.Nd2
{Black's waste of time with his dark squared bishop has given White the advantage due to his lead in development.}
Ne5 10.Be2 d5
{Attacking in the center when behind in development is definetly a mistake.}
11.f4 Nc6 12.e5 Bxd4 13.cxd4
{White has succeeded in locking Black's light squared bishop out of the game.}
Nd7 14.Bd3
{Preparing to advance the f-pawn with a kingside attack.}
f5 15.g4 g6
{15...fxg4 16.Qxg4 This would only increase White's lead in development.}
16.gxf5 exf5
{16...gxf5 17.Qh5+ Kf8 Black's king is vulnerable to attack.}
17.Kh1
{White tucks his king away just in case the g-file should become opened.}
Nf8 18.Rc1
{White has a big lead in development as Black only has one piece off of the back rank.}
Ne6 19.Bxf5
{This sacrifice is made possible due to White's lead in development.}
Nexd4
{19...gxf5 20.Qh5+ Kd7 21.Qxf5 Qe8 22.Qh3 when Black has no good defense against White's passed pawns from advancing.}
20.Bxc8 Rxc8 21.f5
{White is relentless in his pursuit to open up the position.}
Nxf5 22.Rxf5 gxf5 23.Qh5+ Kd7 24.Qf7+ Qe7 25.e6+ Kd8
{White now has a decoying move which either wins the Black queen or mates the Black king.}
26.Bg5
{Black resigned.}
1-0
[Event "New York"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1857.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Stanley"]
[Black "Morphy"]
[Result "0-1"]
[PlyCount "40"]
1.e4 e5 2.f4 exf4 3.Bc4
{3.Nf3 would prevent the Black queen from checking on h4.}
Qh4+
{A good move which forces White to move his king.}
4.Kf1
{4.g3 fxg3 5.Nf3 g2+ 6.Nxh4 gxh1Q+ wins material for Black.}
b5
{The Bryan Counter gambit. Black's idea is to drive the bishop off of the a2- g8 diagonal.}
5.Bb3
{Capturing the pawn at b5 is a better move.}
Nf6
{5...a5 6.a4 b4 7.d3 Ba6 8.Nf3 Qf6 would make White's future development awkward.}
6.Nf3 Qh6 7.Nc3 b4 8.Nb5 Ba6
{Black develops while gaining a tempo by pinning White's knight to his king.}
9.Bc4 Bxb5 10.Bxb5 Nh5 11.Ke2
{11.d3 would allow Black to win material.}
g5 12.Ne5 Bg7 13.Ng4 f3+
{A strong clearance move which will either give Black the f4 square for his knight or place White's king on the f-file.}
14.Kxf3
{14.gxf3 Nf4+ 15.Kf2 would allow Black to win a piece.}
Qb6 15.Qe2 O-O 16.Bc4
{Black has a winning position due to White's vulnerable king and backward development.}
Nc6 17.c3 Kh8
{Prepares an attack on the f-file which was not playable immediately since Black's f-pawn is pinned by White's bishop at c4.}
18.Qe3
{White seeks the exchange of queens which would allow White's king to move about more safely.}
f5 19.Qxb6 fxg4+
{This intermediate move gains Black a material advantage.}
20.Kxg4 Nf6+
{White resigned.}
0-1
[Event "New York"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1857.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Paulsen"]
[Black "Morphy"]
[Result "0-1"]
[PlyCount "50"]
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bb5 Bc5
{This is an old fashioned, but very solid way of playing the opening.}
5.O-O O-O 6.Nxe5 Re8 7.Nxc6 dxc6 8.Bc4 b5
{A mistake, which weakens the pawn at c6.}
9.Be2
{Black now captures the pawn at e4, which just opens up a serious line to the Black king.}
Nxe4 10.Nxe4 Rxe4 11.Bf3 Re6 12.c3 Qd3
{Black tries to prevent White from playing d4, which will allow the bishop into the game. But the queen is not well-suited to such a meaningless task.}
13.b4
{A very bad move. It was time to chase the enemy queen away. 13.Re1 Rxe1+ 14.Qxe1 Bd7 15.Qe2 White no longer has any serious problems.}
Bb6 14.a4 bxa4
{Forced, otherwise 15.a5 would trap the bishop.}
15.Qxa4 Bd7
{Black completes his development.}
16.Ra2 Rae8 17.Qa6
{This is a clever attempt to exchange queens and reduce the attacking force. But Black has other plans for the queen, noticing that the bishop at f3 is one of only two pieces defending the White king. Do you see the sacrifice?}
Qxf3
{A brilliant queen sacrifice which opens up the White kingside. This can be done because White's pieces are all misplaced.}
18.gxf3 Rg6+ 19.Kh1 Bh3
{The threat is 20...Bg2+ 21.Kg1 Bxf3 mate.}
20.Rd1 Bg2+ 21.Kg1 Bxf3+ 22.Kf1
{Here Morphy actually missed a quicker win. 22.Kf1 Rg2! 23.Qd3 Rxf2+ 24.Kg1 Rg2+ 25.Kf1Rg1++}
Bg2+ 23.Kg1 Bh3+ 24.Kh1 Bxf2 25.Qf1
{The only defense to mate.}
Bxf1
{and Black went on to win.}
0-1
[Event "New York"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1857.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Paulsen"]
[Black "Morphy"]
[Result "0-1"]
[PlyCount "56"]
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bb5 Bc5
{4...Bb4 5.O-O O-O 6.d3 d6 7. Bg5 Bxc3 8.bxc3 Qe7 9.Re1 Nd8 when White's advantage of the two bishops is off set by his doubled c-pawn 4...Nd4 is an interesting move that breaks the symmetry.}
5.O-O O-O 6.Nxe5 Re8 7.Nxc6
{7.Nf3 Nxe4 8.d4 Nxc3 9.bxc3 Bf8}
dxc6 8.Bc4 b5
{8...Nxe4 9.Nxe4 Rxe4 10.Bxf7+ Kxf7 11.Qf3+ Kg8 12. Qxe4 would leave White an exchange ahead.}
9.Be2 Nxe4 10.Nxe4 Rxe4 11.Bf3
{A mistake as the light squared bishop has moved four times at the expense of ignoring White's other pieces. 11.d3 Re6 12.c3 is a better plan.}
Re6 12.c3
{The final mistake which lets Black lock in White's queenside pieces. Correct was 12.d3 with a playable game.}
Qd3 13.b4 Bb6 14.a4 bxa4
{14...a6 15.axb5 Qxb5 16.d4 would let White out of the bind.}
15.Qxa4 Bd7 16.Ra2 Rae8
{Black's lead in development coupled with White's weakened back rank gives Morphy a winning position.}
17.Qa6
{17.Bb2 would allow Black a forced mate in two.}
Qxf3
{An amazing queen sacrifice which breaks down White's kingside defenses.}
18.gxf3 Rg6+ 19.Kh1 Bh3 20.Rd1
{20.Rg1 would allow Black a forced mate in three.}
Bg2+ 21.Kg1 Bxf3+ 22.Kf1 Bg2+ 23.Kg1 Bh3+ 24.Kh1 Bxf2
{The threat of 25...Bg2 mate decides the game.}
25.Qf1 Bxf1 26.Rxf1 Re2 27.Ra1 Rh6 28.d4 Be3
{White resigned since he has no defense against 29...Rhxh2+}
0-1
[Event "New York"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1857.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Thompson"]
[Black "Morphy"]
[Result "0-1"]
[PlyCount "42"]
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.d3 Nf6 5.Nc3 h6 6.Ne2
{White has hardly developed at all but is already thinking about reorganizing! Either 6.Be3 or 6. O-O would have made much more sense.}
d6 7.c3 O-O 8.h3 Kh8
{What is the logic behind this move? Morphy understands that in order to attack he will need to open up the f-file by advancing the pawn at f7 to f5. But the pin on the a2-g8 diagonal would prevent that. So the king moves from g8.}
9.Ng3 Nh7 10.Qc2
{Now that we know what Morphy is up to, we see the point of this move too.}
f5
{Here we go!}
11.exf5 d5
{There is no rush to capture this pawn. In fact, it will sit at f5 for most of the game. Instead, Morphy takes control of the center and limits the scope of the bishop at c4, which must now retreat with loss of time.}
12.Bb3 e4 13.dxe4 dxe4 14.Ng1
{Why retreat? Couldn't White capture the pawn? With the king still sitting at e1, the e-file would prove dangerous. Try playing the position as White against Gambit, and capture the pawn. See what happens!}
Ne5 15.Be3 Nd3+ 16.Ke2 Bxe3 17.fxe3
{There are three White pieces near the king, but they are not well-posted for defensive duties. Black has only a knight in the attack so far, but it will soon be joined by the queen and, surprisingly, the bishop from distant c8.}
Qh4 18.Nxe4 Qxe4 19.Qxd3 Qxg2+ 20.Kd1 Bxf5
{The recapture of the pawn, sitting there for ten moves, is perfectly timed. Now the queen must move, and the bishop can turn to its real task.}
21.Qe2
{The back rank is now very weak, and Black already controls the 7th rank. So Morphy finishes with a nice combination. Some sources give the prosaic capture of the rook as ending the game, but according to Maroczy the finish was...}
Bg4
{White resigned . The point is that the Black rook is moving to f1 on the next move.}
0-1
[Event "New York"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1857.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Morphy"]
[Black "Schulten"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "23"]
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.O-O f5
{Awful. Black exposes his kingside and opens the game when he is behind in development.}
5.d4 exd4 6.e5
{This pawn is a bone in Black's throat, and if he doesn't do something about it White will break through in the center and exploit Black's inability to castle short.}
d6
{But this opens things even further with Black having no chance to get his king out of the way.}
7.exd6 Qxd6 8.Re1+
{White immediat ely exploits the open e-file and invites Black to move into a nasty pin.}
Nge7 9.Ng5 Ne5
{Unpinning the knight on e7, but walking into to pins on e5.}
10.Bf4 N7g6 11.Bxe5 Nxe5 12.Nf7
{The pin now nets at least a piece, with Black's king still stuck in the middle .}
1-0
[Event "New York"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1857.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Morphy"]
[Black "Meek"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "23"]
1.e4 e6 2.d4 c5 3.d5 e5 4.f4 d6 5.Nf3 Bg4 6.fxe5 Bxf3 7.Qxf3 dxe5 8.Bb5+
{This will set up the first of several pins which will prove deadly to Black.}
Nd7 9.Nc3 Ngf6 10.Bg5
{The second pin.}
Be7 11.d6
{The point of this sacrifice is to create an open d-file, allowing a rook to be brought into the attack.}
Bxd6 12.O-O-O
{Faced with the multitude of pins (at d7 on both diagonal and file, and at f6) Black resigned. If you think you can find a defense, try playing on against Gambit.}
1-0
[Event "New York"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1857.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Meek"]
[Black "Morphy"]
[Result "0-1"]
[PlyCount "61"]
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 exd4 4.c3
{The Scotch gambit where through the sacrifice of a pawn White hopes to gain a lead in development which will ultimately lead to a winning kingside attack.}
dxc3 5.Nxc3 Bc5
{5...Bb4 6.Bc4 Nf6 7.O-O Bxc3 8.bxc3 d6 Black is close to consolidating his extra pawn.}
6.Bc4 d6 7.h3
{White wishes to avoid the pinning of his knight on f3. However, having already sacrificed a pawn for a lead in development 7. h3 is out of place with the spirit of White's previous play. 7.Qb3}
Be6
{Given an extra move by White's 7.h3 Black wastes no time in neutralizing White's best placed piece the bishop on c4.}
8.Bb5
{8.Bxe6 fxe6 9.Qb3 Qc8 10. Ng5 Nd8 Black has everything defended plus his extra pawn.}
Nge7 9.Ng5 O-O 10.Qh5 h6 11.Nf3 Ng6 12.g4
{Black is better developed so this attack is premature. 12.Bxh6 gxh6 13.Qxh6 Qf6 14.Ng5 Qg7}
Nce5 13.Nxe5 dxe5 14.g5 Qd4 15.Be3 Qb4 16.Bxc5 Qxb2 17.O-O Qxc3 18.Bxf8
Rxf8
{Materially the position is equal. However, White's disgruntled kingside and Black's active minor pieces give Black a winning position.}
19.Rac1 Qb2 20.Bc4 Nf4
{The knight finds an outpost on f4 which greatly disrupts White's position.}
21.Qd1
{21.Qh4 hxg5 22.Qg3 Bxc4 23.Rxc4 Ne2+ wins the White queen.}
Nxh3+ 22.Kg2 Nf4+ 23.Kh1 Qb6
{The final blow the Black queen prepares to swing over to the kingside and this quickly decides the game.}
24.gxh6 Bxc4 25.h7+ Kxh7 26.Qg4 Qh6+ 27.Kg1 Bxf1 28.Rxf1
{Since Black is up a clear piece, White could resign with a clear conscious at any time.}
Rd8 29.a4 Rd6 30.f3 Rg6 31.Kf2
{White resigned not because he will lose his queen but because Black has a forced mate in three. Do you see how?}
0-1
[Event "New York"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1857.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Schulten"]
[Black "Morphy"]
[Result "0-1"]
[PlyCount "34"]
1.e4 e5 2.f4 exf4 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Nc3
{4.d3 is a move that leads to fewer complications.}
Bb4 5.e5
{If Black wer e forced to move the knight this would be a good move, but White has a superior option.}
d5 6.exf6 dxc4 7.fxg7 Rg8
{At first glance this looks good for White, since the Black pawn structure is a mess. But even in 1857 it was known that Black has compensation since it is easier to develop the remaining pieces.}
8.Qe2+ Be6 9.a3 Bc5
{All White has done is push the bishop to a better location.}
10.Nf3 Nc6 11.Ne4
{White tries to play actively with such pieces are already developed. The problem is the king, which is stuck in the middle of the board and has no prospects of castling.}
Nd4 12.Nxd4 Bxd4 13.c3 Qh4+ 14.Kf1
{14.Kd1 Bg4}
Bb6 15.d4 cxd3 16.Qxd3 Rd8 17.Qe2
{Now the queen is overworked. Not only must f2 and d1 be guarded, but also c4. Black can now win brilliantly. Do you see how? Be careful, though. There is also a trap!}
Rd1+
{17...Bc4 18.Nf6+}
0-1
[Event "New York"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1857.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Schulten"]
[Black "Morphy"]
[Result "0-1"]
[PlyCount "41"]
1.e4 e5 2.f4 d5 3.exd5 e4 4.Nc3 Nf6 5.d3 Bb4 6.Bd2
{This breaks the pin on the Nc3, but Black can reinstate it.}
e3
{It is worth a pawn to deflect the bishop from its defensive duties.}
7.Bxe3 O-O 8.Bd2 Bxc3 9.bxc3 Re8+ 10.Be2
{White has two extra pawns, but the pawn structure is a mess and the bishops have no scope. Black now uses the pin on the d- file to add more pressure.}
Bg4 11.c4 c6 12.dxc6 Nxc6
{Black's superior development gives him a clear advantage.}
13.Kf1
{White has n ow abandoned the notion of ever castling. Black's would like to keep the pressure on, and invests the exchange to do so.}
Rxe2 14.Nxe2
{The knight is now pinned to the queen, and it is easy to pile on more pressure which results in a quick kill.}
Nd4 15.Qb1 Bxe2+ 16.Kf2 Ng4+ 17.Kg1
{White's position is so pathetic that the king is nearly checkmated by the minor pieces alone. But to add insult to injury, Morphy finishes with a fine combination by sacrificing a piece.}
Nf3+ 18.gxf3 Qd4+ 19.Kg2 Qf2+ 20.Kh3 Qxf3+ 21.Kh4
{Black resigned without waiting for 21...Nh6, which would be followed by checkmate.}
0-1
[Event "New York"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1857.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Marache"]
[Black "Morphy"]
[Result "0-1"]
[PlyCount "40"]
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.b4 Bxb4 5.c3 Ba5 6.d4 exd4 7.e5
{The point of this move is to prevent Black from playing Nf6 or advancing the pawn from d7. But castling would have been wiser.}
d5 8.exd6 Qxd6 9.O-O Nge7
{It turns out that the knight is better placed here anyway. Now White should have seized the diagonal with 10.Ba3, but instead Marache launches a premature attack.}
10.Ng5 O-O 11.Bd3 Bf5
{This seems to be a straightforward defense. But wait a minute, doesn't it have a tactical flaw? Can't White simply trade pieces at f5 and then play Ba3, with a skewer on the a3-f8 diagonal.}
12.Bxf5 Nxf5 13.Ba3
{Could Morphy have missed such a simple tactical device? Not a chance!}
Qg6
{Morphy is willing to part with a little material to maintain his kingside attack.}
14.Bxf8 Qxg5 15.Ba3 dxc3 16.Bc1
{The bishop has been quite busy ministering all over the world, but now returns home. Notice that White's pieces all remain passive on the home rank.}
Qg6 17.Bf4
{To protect h2.}
Rd8 18.Qc2 Ncd4 19.Qe4
{White tries to get some pieces near the king, for protection. But the enemy horses stampede all over the kingside, creating an aesthetically pleasing trail. Do you see the brilliant finish?}
Ng3
{The knight cannot be captured because the White queen is en prise.}
20.Qxg6 Nde2# 0-1
[Event "Paris"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1858.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Morphy"]
[Black "Bottin"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "19"]
1.e4 e5 2.c3 Nf6 3.d4 Nxe4 4.dxe5
{White hopes to show that Black's knight is misplaced.}
Bc5 5.Qg4 Nxf2
{Too greedy. Black could get good play by the sacrificial 5...d5 6.Qxg7 Rf8. The text loses by giving up control of g5.}
6.Qxg7 Rf8 7.Bg5 f6
{The only other way to save his queen was 8...Be7, when White just wins a piece by 9.Bxe7 Qxe7 10.Kxf2.}
8.exf6 Rxf6
{There was still no escape for the queen, and White was threatening 9.f7+}
9.Bxf6 Be7 10.Qg8+ 1-0
[Event "Paris"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1858.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Morphy"]
[Black "Anderssen"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "33"]
1.e4 c5 2.d4 cxd4 3.Nf3 Nc6 4.Nxd4 e6 5.Nb5 d6 6.Bf4 e5
{This creates a serious weakness at d5, which will be exploited by White.}
7.Be3 f5 8.N1c3 f4
{This was Black's basic idea. After the bishop retreats, Black can continue with rapid development. But Morphy has more aggressive plans.}
9.Nd5 fxe3 10.Nbc7+
{It is not the rook White is after, but the king!}
Kf7 11.Qf3+ Nf6 12.Bc4
{This sets up a nasty discovered check.}
Nd4 13.Nxf6+ d5
{What now? White is attacking with four pieces, but each one is under an immediate threat of capture!}
14.Bxd5+ Kg6
{14...Ke7 15.Ng8+ Rxg8 16.Qf7+ Kd6 17.O-O-O}
15.Qh5+ Kxf6 16.fxe3
{The importa nt point of this delayed capture is that it opens up the f- file. Black could have held out a little longer here with 16...Qe7, but decided to grab some material instead.}
Nxc2+ 17.Ke2
{Now Anderssen realized that capturing the rook would lead to checkmate, so he resigned.}
1-0
[Event "London"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1858.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Morphy"]
[Black "Hampton"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "33"]
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.b4
{The Evans Gambit was very popular during the 19th Century. It provides an excellent example of the importance of controlling the center. Eventually, however, Black found effective defensive plans and it is no longer popular.}
Bxb4 5.c3 Bc5 6.O-O d6 7.d4
{We can see that White has built up an ideal central formation, supported by both pieces and pawns.}
exd4 8.cxd4 Bb6 9.Nc3 Nf6
{Black tries to develop quickly, but the central pawns now advance with devastating effect.}
10.e5 dxe5 11.Ba3
{A very strong move which prevents Black from castling.}
Bg4
{11...exd4 12.Re1+ Be6 13.Bxe6 fxe6 14.Rxe6+ Kd7 15.Ng5 h6 16.Rxf6 gxf6 17.Qg4+ Ke8 18.Qe6+}
12.Qb3
{White strikes at the vulnerable f7-square.}
Bh5 13.dxe5 Ng4 14.Rad1 Qc8
{Now White has almost all of his pieces in the attack. The position can hardly be improved because the rook at f1, the remaining spectator, is needed there to guard the pawn at f2. So it is time to strike!}
15.e6 f6
{15...fxe6 16.Bxe6 Qb8 17.Bxg4 Bxg4 18.Rfe1+}
16.Qb5
{Attacking the hanging bishop at h5.}
Bg6 17.Bd5
{Here Black igned. If you are not sure why, play out the game as Black against Gambit. Even on a relatively low level, it should win every time!}
1-0
[Event "London"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1858.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Morphy"]
[Black "Bird"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "43"]
1.e4 e5 2.f4 exf4 3.Nf3 g5 4.h4 g4 5.Ne5
{This is known as the Kieseritzky variation in the King's gambit where White's idea is to put immediate pressure on Black's f7 square.}
Nf6 6.Bc4 d5
{Black must stop White from coming in on the f7 square.}
7.exd5 Bd6
{7...Bg7 preparing to castle while adding protection to Black's kingside should be preferred.}
8.d4 Nh5 9.Nc3 Bf5
{9...O-O removing the king from the center would have been a better plan.}
10.Ne2 Bxe5 11.dxe5 f3 12.gxf3 gxf3 13.Bg5 f6
{13...fxe2 14.Qxe2 White has a double attack on Black's queen and knight.}
14.exf6 Qd6
{14...fxe2 15.Qxe2+ Kf8 would allow White a mating attack.}
15.Qd4 fxe2 16.Bxe2 Qg3+ 17.Kd2 O-O
{Black's king will come under fire since he has just castled onto the open g- file.}
18.Rag1
{Black resigned since after his queen moves, the open g-file would win the game for White. 18. Rag1 Black resigned due to White's mating attack down the open g-file.}
Qd6 19.Bf4+ Kh8 20.Bxd6 cxd6 21.f7+ Ng7 22.Qxg7# 1-0
[Event "Paris"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1858.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Morphy"]
[Black "Bottin"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "57"]
1.e4 e5 2.c3 Nf6 3.d4 Nxe4 4.dxe5 Bc5
{The opening has turned into a very sharp position, and now White turns up the heat!}
5.Qg4 Nxf2 6.Qxg7 Rf8
{White's invasion is more dangerous than Black's.}
7.Bg5 f6 8.exf6 d5 9.Be2 Bg4
{This minor nuisance can be dealt with in an obvious way.}
10.Bxg4 Nxg4 11.f7+ Rxf7 12.Qxf7+ Kxf7 13.Bxd8 Nf2
{Black has made far too many moves with this knight, which now moves into a position from which it will never escape.}
14.Bh4 Nxh1 15.Nf3 Nc6 16.Nbd2 Rg8 17.Kf1 d4 18.cxd4 Nxd4 19.Nxd4 Bxd4
20.Nf3 Bb6 21.Re1 h6 22.Re7+ Kf8 23.Ne5 Rg7 24.Nd7+ Kg8 25.Rxg7+ Kxg7 26.Nxb6
axb6
{White wins because Black's knight is trapped. Notice that this would be true even if the White king were far away, since the bishop on h4 controls all of the escape squares for the knight.}
27.g4 Kg6 28.Kg2 h5 29.h3 1-0
[Event "Paris Opera"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1858.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Morphy"]
[Black "Duke of Brunswick & Count iso"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "33"]
1.e4
{This is another game against Royalty (see also Morphy-Lyttleton). The present game is better known, having been played at the Paris Opera during a performance of the Barber of Seville. Talk about distractions!}
e5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 Bg4 4.dxe5 Bxf3 5.Qxf3 dxe5 6.Bc4 Nf6 7.Qb3 Qe7 8.Nc3
{Given the circumstances of the game, Morphy just didn't feel like capturing the pawn at b7. That would have taken the fun out of the game!}
c6 9.Bg5 b5 10.Nxb5
{That's more like it! Morphy sacrifices a knight for the b-pawn instead of capturing it for free at his 8th turn.}
cxb5 11.Bxb5+ Nbd7 12.O-O-O Rd8
{Both knights are pinned, and Morphy now trades one pin for another.}
13.Rxd7 Rxd7 14.Rd1 Qe6 15.Bxd7+ Nxd7
{Black has an extra piece, but White checkmates in two moves. If you can't find Morphy's brilliant finish on your own, continue on and let Gambit show you. Either way, it is a pleasant sight!}
16.Qb8+ Nxb8 17.Rd8# 1-0
[Event "Blindfold Game"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1858.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Morphy"]
[Black "Carr"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "49"]
1.e4 h6 2.d4 a5
{A time-honored strategy when playing against a blindfolded opponent is to adopt an obscure, and often bad, opening, in the hope of creating confusion. It is a bad idea, and rarely works!}
3.Bd3 b6 4.Ne2 e6 5.O-O Ba6 6.c4 Nf6 7.e5 Nh7 8.f4
{White has superior development and complete domination of the center. Morphy hardly seems to be confused by his opponent's ridiculous opening strategy.}
Be7 9.Ng3 d5 10.Qg4 O-O
{This is knows as "castling into it".}
11.Nh5
{Suppose Black plays 11... g6 here. How could you bring the game to a rapid close.}
g5
{Black has little choice but to create this major weakness on the kingside.}
12.fxg5 hxg5 13.Bxh7+ Kh8
{13...Kxh7 14.Nf6+ Bxf6 15.Rxf6 and checkmate will follow shortly.}
14.Nf6 dxc4 15.Bc2
{Everyone at Electronic Arts hopes that you will never, ever, be in such dire straits as Black is here, even if your opponent is blindfolded! Black now uses a combination to exchange queens, but loses material.}
Qxd4+ 16.Qxd4 Bc5 17.Qxc5 bxc5 18.Bxg5
{Black's position cannot be said to be much improved. Fortunately, Morphy does not allow Mr. Carr to live long enough to suffer greatly.}
Nc6 19.Rf3 Kg7
{Now Morphy forces checkmate in 6 moves.}
20.Bh6+ Kxh6 21.Rh3+ Kg5 22.Rh5+ Kf4 23.Kf2 Rg8 24.g3+ Rxg3 25.hxg3# 1-0
[Event "Blindfold Game"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1858.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Morphy"]
[Black "Lyttleton"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "33"]
1.e4 e5
{Morphy's opponent is not just an ordinary citizen, but a British Lord and President of the British Chess Association. All of which is of no use when seated at the chessboard against Morphy, even when Morphy is blindfolded!}
2.f4 exf4 3.Nf3 g5 4.h4 g4 5.Ne5
{This position was frequently seen in games played in the 19th century.}
d6 6.Nxg4 Be7
{Black gains time by attacking the weak pawn at h4.}
7.d4
{White occupies the center, achieving one of the primary objectives of the opening.}
Bxh4+ 8.Nf2 Bxf2+
{It might have been nice to maintain this pin a bit longer, but Black wants to be able to bring the knight at g8 into the game.}
9.Kxf2 Nf6 10.Nc3 Qe7 11.Bxf4 Nxe4+ 12.Nxe4 Qxe4 13.Bb5+
{A powerful move, threatening a nasty pin with Re1.}
Kf8
{13...c6 14.Re1}
14.Bh6+ Kg8 15.Rh5
{White is closing in for the kill. The king is trapped along the back rank, so if White can get a rook or queen to the e- file and then to e8, the game ends.}
Bf5 16.Qd2
{The threat is Re1.}
Bg6 17.Re1
{The move that was set-up by 13.Bb5+ finishes the game, as if the queen moves, Re8+ mates.}
1-0
[Event "Paris"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1858.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Morphy"]
[Black "Unknown"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "45"]
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.d4 exd4 5.Ng5 d5 6.exd5 Nxd5
{This loses, as Black's king becomes too exposed.}
7.O-O Be7 8.Nxf7
{Now Black's king will get dragged to e6 where it will shortly die of exposure.}
Kxf7 9.Qf3+ Ke6 10.Nc3
{This beautiful sacrifice has two purposes. First, White gets ready to bring his queen rook into the fight, and second, Black's d- pawn is drawn away from its post keeping the d-file closed. Black can't decline, since d5 is attacked.}
dxc3 11.Re1+ Ne5 12.Bf4 Bf6 13.Bxe5 Bxe5 14.Rxe5+
{Now it will be White's rook, queen and bishop against Black's bare king, not a fair fight.}
Kxe5 15.Re1+ Kd4 16.Bxd5
{Black's king has nowhere to run to.}
Re8 17.Qd3+ Kc5 18.b4+
{Not 18.Qxc3+ Kd6. Now 18...Kd6 allows 19.Bf3 mate.}
Kxb4
{18...Kb6 19.Qd4+ Ka6 20.b5+ with a mate similar to the game.}
19.Qc4+ Ka5 20.Qxc3+ Ka4 21.Qb3+ Ka5 22.Qa3+ Kb5 23.Rb1# 1-0
[Event "Paris"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1858.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Morphy"]
[Black "Anderssen"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "49"]
1.e4 d5 2.exd5 Qxd5 3.Nc3 Qa5 4.d4 e5
{A mistake since opening up the position will favor the side who is better developed and in this case it's to White's advantage. 4...Nf6}
5.dxe5 Qxe5+ 6.Be2 Bb4 7.Nf3
{White shows a deep understanding of the position. By giving up a pawn he will gain the advantage of having his pieces developed.}
Bxc3+ 8.bxc3 Qxc3+ 9.Bd2 Qc5 10.Rb1
{White has developed four pieces to Black's one due to the sacrificed pawn.}
Nc6 11.O-O Nf6 12.Bf4 O-O
{12...Nd5 would allow White to win a piece.}
13.Bxc7
{White stands much better since he has regained his sacrificed pawn while keeping his lead in development.}
Nd4 14.Qxd4 Qxc7
{14...Qxc2 With the idea of attacking both bishops would backfire after 15.Bc4 when White hangs on to his extra piece.}
15.Bd3 Bg4 16.Ng5 Rfd8
{16...Bh5 17.Ne4 Nxe4 18.Qxe4 Bg6 19.Qxb7 when White is a pawn ahead.}
17.Qb4
{17.Bxh7+ Nxh7 18.Qxg4 Nxg5 19.Qxg5 Qxc2 20.Rxb7 Qxa2 allows Black to keep the material even.}
Bc8
{A sad move but the only move that allows Black to keep the material balance. 17...b6 18.Nxh7 Nxh7 19.Qxg4 17...Rab8 18.Nxh7 Nxh7 19.Qxg4}
18.Rfe1
{White has a big advantage due to his better development.}
a5 19.Qe7 Qxe7
{19...Rd7 Here White has a forced mate in two.}
20.Rxe7
{The exchange of queens has increased White's advantage due to his rook being on the seventh rank.}
Nd5
{20...Rf8 21.Bc4 would force Black to part with his f-pawn.}
21.Bxh7+
{21.Rxf7 h6 when Black would win material because of the double attack on both the White rook on f7 and the knight on g5.}
Kh8 22.Rxf7 Nc3 23.Re1 Nxa2 24.Rf4
{With the idea of catching the Black king in a mating net after a future Rh4.}
Ra6 25.Bd3
{Black resigned since the further loss of material is unavoidable. White threatens 25.Nf7+ winning the rook on e8 and 25.Bxa6.}
1-0
[Event "Paris"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1858.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Morphy"]
[Black "Jounoud"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "33"]
1.e4 c5 2.d4
{An early example of the Smith-Morra Gambit.}
cxd4 3.Nf3
{Better is 3.c3 at once.}
e5
{Suppose White takes the pawn at e5.}
4.Bc4 Be7 5.c3 d6 6.Qb3
{There isn't anything to be done about the pawn at f7, because 6...Nh6 will be met by 7.Bxh6.}
dxc3 7.Bxf7+ Kf8 8.Nxc3 Nc6 9.Bxg8 Rxg8 10.O-O
{Don't be confused! Black is not castled, and the king is vulnerable.}
Qe8 11.Ng5 Bxg5 12.Bxg5 Be6 13.Nd5 h6
{Now all White has to do is blast open the f-file and victory is his. The method is easy to find!}
14.f4 Qd7
{14...hxg5 15.fxg5+ Bf7 16.Nc7 Qe7 17.Nxa8 Ke8 18.Rxf7 Qxf7 19.Nc7+ Ke7 20. Qxb7 Black will not survive.}
15.fxe5+ Ke8
{Now the Black queen is overworked, having to defend both c7 and e6.}
16.Nc7+ Qxc7 17.Qxe6+ 1-0
[Event "Paris"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1858.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Morphy"]
[Black "de Riviere"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "47"]
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.b4 Bxb4 5.c3 Bc5 6.O-O d6 7.d4 exd4 8.cxd4
Bb6
{For the sacrificed pawn White has obtained a lead in development.}
9.Nc3
{The development of the queen knight in this position was a Morphy specialty. 9. d5 was favored by another great attacking player: Adolf Anderssen.}
Qf6
{Black's idea is to put pressure on the White d-pawn. However, this is a mistake since the Black queen will be subject to attack on f6.}
10.Nd5 Qg6
{10...Qd8 Admitting that his last move was a mistake was Black's best move.}
11.Nf4 Qf6 12.e5
{White is able to open up the position for the attack due to the unfortunate position of the Black queen.}
dxe5 13.dxe5 Qf5 14.e6 f6
{Black desperately tries to keep the e-file closed. 14...fxe6 15.Nxe6 Bxe6 16.Bxe6 Qxe6 17.Re1 Black's queen is been trapped due to the pin on the e- file.}
15.Nh4 Qc5 16.Be3
{As so often happens when one player has a lead in development it transfers itself into a direct attack on the enemy king.}
Qg5
{16...Qxc4 17.Qh5+ g6 18.Nhxg6 With a quick mate to follow.}
17.Nf3 Qa5 18.Bxb6 Qxb6 19.Nd5
{White's constant theme in this game has been to constantly gain time at the Black queen's expense.}
Qa5 20.Nd2 Nd4 21.Nb3 Nxb3 22.axb3 Qc5 23.Qh5+
{Black's backward development with his king remaining in the center gives White a winning attack.}
Kd8
{23...g6 would allow White a winning combination.}
24.Rad1
{Black resigned because he has no good defense to the discovered check on the d-file.}
1-0
[Event "Paris"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1858.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Morphy"]
[Black "Anderssen"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "39"]
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.d4
{4.O-O Nxe4 5.d4 Nd6 6.Bxc6 dxc6 7.dxe5 Nf5 8.Qxd8+ Kxd8 with a kingside pawn majority, is more commonly seen today.}
Nxd4
{4...exd4}
5.Nxd4 exd4 6.e5 c6
{A mistake which allows White a lead in development. Better was 6...Nd5.}
7.O-O
{7.exf6 Qa5+ 8.Bd2 Qxb5 9.Qe2+ Qxe2+ 10.Kxe2 gxf6}
cxb5 8.Bg5
{Morphy, re cognizing the importance of development, continues to bring his forces into the game, not wasting time on captures that can wait. The pin on the knight at f6 is not going anywhere.}
Be7
{8...h6 9.exf6 hxg5 10.Re1+ Be7 11.Rxe7+ Kf8 12.Qxd4 would be suicidal for Black.}
9.exf6 Bxf6 10.Re1+ Kf8
{Due to White's imaginative play Black has lost his right to castle.}
11.Bxf6 Qxf6 12.c3 d5 13.cxd4 Be6 14.Nc3
{White has the better position despite his pawn minus this is due to his better development.}
a6 15.Re5 Rd8 16.Qb3 Qe7 17.Rae1
{A very strong developing move and one which the amateur should take note as Black's d-pawn isn't going anywhere.}
g5
{The final mistake which fatally weakens Black's kingside. 17...g6 Creating a flight square for the king without weakening the f5 and h5 squares would have been a better plan. .}
18.Qd1 Qf6 19.R1e3 Rg8
{An oversight which costs Black material.}
20.Rxe6
{Black resigned since material loss is unavoidable after 20...fxe6 21. Rf3 pinning Black's queen to his king.}
1-0
[Event "Blindfold Game"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1859.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Morphy"]
[Black "Cunningham"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "45"]
1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Bc5 3.c3 Nc6 4.Nf3 Nf6 5.d4 exd4 6.e5 Qe7
{This seems reasonable, but even at the time it was known that 6...d5 was the correct move.}
7.O-O Ng8
{7...Ng4 8.h3 Ngxe5 9.Nxe5 Nxe5 10.cxd4 Nxc4 11.Re1}
8.cxd4 Bb6 9.d5
{White's control of the center is absolute. From such a position it is easy to win, because Black has no room to maneuver, and will be unable to complete development.}
Qc5
{9...Nxe5 10.Nxe5 Qxe5 11.Re1}
10.Na3 Nd4 11.Be3
{The pin is not the real problem for Black. It is that he must now part with one of his only developed pieces.}
Nxf3+ 12.Qxf3 Qf8
{This is no place for a lady!}
13.Bxb6 axb6
{Now Black has no developed pieces. White has almost all of the forces in the game. The end cannot be far off.}
14.Nb5 Kd8 15.Rac1
{White occupies the open file and takes aim at c7.}
d6 16.exd6 cxd6 17.Qe3 Ra6
{Morphy now puts on a display of his impressive talents. The Black king has almost no maneuvering room. First, he employs a discovered attack on the rook at a6.}
18.Nc7 Qe7
{18...Kxc7 19.Bxa6+ would be a deadly discovered check.}
19.Ne6+
{White will exchange this knight for the rook at a6.}
fxe6 20.Bxa6 Bd7
{Keeping in mind the possibility of Qxb6+, White now adds to the pressure.}
21.Bb5 Ke8
{21...Bxb5 22.Qxb6+ Ke8 23.Qxb5+ Kf7 24.dxe6+ Qxe6 25.Rfe1}
22.dxe6 Nf6
{The pawn cannot be captured because of the pin on the bishop at d7.}
23.Rc8+
{One final exploitation of the pin at d7!}
1-0
[Event "Paris"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1859.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Budzinsky"]
[Black "Morphy"]
[Result "0-1"]
[PlyCount "34"]
1.e4 e5 2.f4 exf4 3.Bc4 d5 4.Bxd5 Nf6 5.Nc3 Bb4 6.d3
{This creates a pin at c3. Because the knight cannot move, the bishop at d5 and pawn at e4 have less support.}
Nxd5 7.exd5 O-O 8.Qf3 Re8+ 9.Nge2
{A second pin is added, this time along the e-file. Remember that the knight is not really protected by its colleague at c3, because that piece is also pinned by the bishop at b4.}
Bxc3+ 10.bxc3 Qh4+ 11.g3 Bg4
{Black exploits the pin on e2 by adding one at f3. If the queen moves, then Black wins material by capturing first at g3, then at e2. White actually resigned here, but let's consider what might have happened.}
12.Qf2 fxg3 13.Qg2
{13.hxg3 Qxh1+ shows yet another pin being exploited, this time on the h- file!}
Rxe2+ 14.Qxe2 Bxe2 15.Kxe2 g2 16.Rg1 Qxh2 17.Be3 Nd7
{and Black will win easily, perhaps setting up yet another pin on the e-file.}
0-1
[Event "Paris"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1859.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Morphy"]
[Black "Laroche"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "25"]
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.b4 Bxb4 5.c3 Ba5 6.d4 Nf6
{This is bad since White will kick the knight around and gain time.}
7.dxe5 Ng4
{7...Nxe4 8.Qd5}
8.Bg5
{Now Black must let his kingside get opened up.}
f6
{8...Ne7 9.h3 Nh6 10.Bxh6}
9.exf6 Nxf6 10.e5 h6
{Trying to break the pin in order not to lose a piece, but he allows something even worse.}
11.exf6 hxg5 12.fxg7
{Now the pawn will win Black's rook, since the bishop controls the promotion square.}
Qe7+ 13.Qe2 1-0
[Event "London"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1859.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Morphy"]
[Black "Lowenthal"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "61"]
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.b4
{This pawn sacrifice was invented in 1824 by the English chessplayer Captain William Davis Evans, and his name has been retained in the name of the gambit.}
Bxb4
{By sacrificing a pawn White gains time to storm the center with his pawns by playing 5.c3 and 6.d4.}
5.c3 Bc5 6.O-O d6 7.d4 exd4 8.cxd4 Bb6 9.d5
{Although this move closes the light squared bishops diagonal it has the advantage of disorganizing Black's game.}
Ne5
{9...Na5 10.Bb2 Nxc4 11.Qa4+ Bd7 12.Qxc4 would give White good play on the a1-h8 diagonal.}
10.Nxe5 dxe5 11.Bb2 Qe7 12.Bb5+
{12.Qh5 Trying to win the e-pawn would fail after 12...Bd4}
Bd7 13.Bxd7+ Kxd7 14.Qg4+
{Thanks to White's forceful play he now not only wins back his sacrificed pawn but gains another pawn while maintaining his attack.}
f5
{14...Ke8 15.Qxg7 Qf6 16.Bxe5 wins Black's rook.}
15.Qxf5+ Ke8 16.Bxe5
{With Black's king in the center White wishes to attack and so naturally avoids the simplifications that would have followed 16.Qxe5. 16.Qxe5 Qxe5 17.Bxe5 Kf7 would still be good for White.}
Nh6 17.Qf4 Kd7
{Black tries to connect his rooks in a rather artificial manner.}
18.Nd2
{18.Nc3 Rae8 Black has trapped White's bishop.}
Rae8 19.Nc4 Bc5
{With the idea of playing Bd6 strengthening the defense of his c-pawn.}
20.Rad1 Bd6 21.Bxd6 cxd6 22.Rb1
{With the idea of bringing both rooks in on the queenside offensive.}
b6 23.Rfc1 Qf6 24.Qe3 Ng4 25.Nxb6+
{Very pretty! White clears two open files for his major pieces to attack the Black king.}
axb6 26.Rc7+
{An ingenious move which utilizes the open c-file to it's full extent.}
Kd8
{26...Kxc7 27.Qxb6+ Kd7 28.Qa7+ Kc8 29.Rb8+ Mate.}
27.Qxb6 Qxf2+ 28.Qxf2 Nxf2 29.Ra7
{With the help of the open b-file White regains his piece due to the mate threat on b8.}
Nh3+ 30.gxh3 Kc8 31.Kf2
{Black resigned as he can't stop White from bringing his king to e3 to protect the pawn followed by the advance of the a-pawn and doubling of the rooks on the 7th. 31.Kf2 Rhf8+ 32.Ke3 h6 33.a4 g6 34.a5 h5 35.a6 g5 36.Rbb7 h4 37.Ra8+ Mates.}
1-0
[Event "Paris"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1859.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Mongredien"]
[Black "Morphy"]
[Result "0-1"]
[PlyCount "36"]
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.b4
{The Evans gambit where White sacrifices a pawn with the idea of building a strong center.}
Bxb4 5.c3 Ba5 6.O-O Nf6 7.d4 O-O
{7...exd4 8.Ba3 d6 9.e5 Ne4 10.Re1 Nxc3 11.exd6+ Kd7 12. Ne5+ Nxe5 13.Qxd4 f6 14.Nxc3 White has a winning position due to the exposed}
8.d5
{An instructive mistake since White wishes to develop with gain of tempo. By locking the center White keeps his own pieces out of the attack. 8.dxe5 Nxe4 9.Bd5 Nc5 10.Ng5 Qe7 would leave Black better developed.}
Ne7 9.Qd3
{9.Nxe5 d6 10.Nf3 Nxe4 11.Qd4 leaves White with a little compensation for the lost pawn.}
d6
{Black prepares to finish his development while consolidating his extra pawn.}
10.h3 Ng6 11.Nh2 Nh5
{The Black knights head for the outpost at f4.}
12.Bb3 Nhf4 13.Bxf4 Nxf4 14.Qf3 f5
{Following the rule that one should attack the pawn chain starting at its base.}
15.exf5 Bxf5
{Black's extra pawn and better development give him a winning position.}
16.g4
{This premature advance weakens the kingside and hastens the end.}
Bd3 17.Qe3
{17.Re1 Ne2+ 18.Rxe2 Rxf3}
Bb6
{Instead of capturing the rook straight away Black improves the placement of his pieces.}
18.Qd2 Qh4
{White resigned as he is defenseless against Black's kingside attack. If you don't see how, play it out against Gambit.}
0-1
[Event "London"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1863.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Steinitz"]
[Black "Hirschfeld"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "37"]
1.e4 e5 2.f4 exf4 3.Nf3 g5 4.h4
{With this move White chooses the Kieseritzky variation of the King's Gambit.}
g4 5.Ne5 Bg7
{This move is a mistake as it allows White to build up his center. Better was attacking White's pawn at e4 immediately with 5...Nf6.}
6.d4 Nf6 7.Bc4 O-O
{7...d5 Blocking the White bishop out at c4 should be preferred.}
8.Nc3 d6 9.Nxf7
{With this move White not only obtains a rook and two pawns for his two minor pieces but more importantly he exposes the Black king to an attack.}
Rxf7 10.Bxf7+ Kxf7 11.Bxf4 Kg8 12.O-O Nh5 13.g3
{13.Bg5 Not delaying the opening of the f-file while attacking Black's queen was also possible.}
Nc6 14.Ne2
{Although material is even as White has a rook and pawn for the two pieces. White's position is superior since he controls the central squares with his pawns which keeps Black's pieces inactive.}
Qe7 15.Qd3 Bd7 16.Bg5
{With this move White not only attacks the Black queen but he also opens the f-file for his rook.}
Bf6 17.Bxf6 Nxf6 18.Nf4 Qxe4
{This move is an oversight which allows White to win at least a piece.}
19.Nh5
{Black resigned. If 19...Qxd3 then 20.Nxf6+ followed by 21.cxd3 leaves White a piece ahead.}
1-0
[Event "London"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1863.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Steinitz"]
[Black "Mongredien"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "43"]
1.e4 g6
{The so-called "Modern Defense". Quite old, actually!}
2.d4 Bg7
{What is so "modern" about this opening? The reader may well wonder, since the early fianchetto was routinely employed by Mongredien in the mid 19th Century.}
3.c3 b6 4.Be3 Bb7 5.Nd2
{The problem with Black's approach at that time is that it acted as if White were not a participant in the game. Here Steinitz erects a solid center with plenty of support, and he does not overextend, so Black has no targets.}
d6 6.Ngf3 e5 7.dxe5
{Steinitz reso lutely avoids advances which might provide targets for Black's pieces. 7.d5 c6 8.c4 Ne7 9.Be2 f5 gives Black good counterplay.}
dxe5 8.Bc4 Ne7 9.Qe2
{White controls a lot of squares and is about to take the d-file, after which the Black queen can be embarassed.}
O-O 10.h4
{The general rule is that one reacts to flank activity with a counter- thrust in the centre, but here Black has nothing to do in the middle of the board.}
Nd7 11.h5 Nf6 12.hxg6
{12.Nxe5 Nxh5 13.Nxf7 Rxf7 14.Rxh5 gxh5 15.Qxh5 Qf8 16.O-O-O b5 17.Rh1 h6}
Nxg6
{12...hxg6 13.Nxe5}
13.O-O-O c5
{Black does not appreciate the danger he is in on the kingside.}
14.Ng5 a6
{This slow plan to dislocate the bishop has no chance of success.}
15.Nxh7
{The beginning of a decisive combination.}
Nxh7 16.Rxh7 Kxh7 17.Qh5+ Kg8 18.Rh1
{18.Qxg6 Qf6!}
Re8
{The only way to avoid mate at h7.}
19.Qxg6 Qf6 20.Bxf7+
{Now that the rook has been displaced from f7, this brings the game to a close.}
Qxf7 21.Rh8+ Kxh8 22.Qxf7 1-0
[Event "London"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1863.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Steinitz"]
[Black "Deacon"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "51"]
1.e4 e5 2.f4 exf4
{Black accepts the gambit pawn. But what does White gain from this? The f-file is now open for White's rook after castling. White also has an abundance of central pawns.}
3.Nf3 g5 4.h4
{This move introduces the Kieseritzky and Allgaier variations to the King's Gambit.}
g4 5.Ne5 Nf6
{5...Bg7 6.d4 would leave White in control of the center.}
6.Bc4 d5
{The only move to block White's attack on the f7 pawn.}
7.exd5 Bd6 8.d4 Nh5 9.Nc3 Qe7
{This move is a mistake as it breaks the opening rule that one should not develop the queen before castling. 9...O-O getting the king out of the center was a better move.}
10.Bb5+ c6
{This move leads to Black's defeat due to tactics on the a4-e8 diagonal. 10...Bd7 11.Qxg4 when Black's light squared bishop is unable to capture the White queen due to White's control of the a4-e8 diagonal. 10...Kf8 perhaps is the best move although Black's king would not be very safe on the semi-open f-file.}
11.dxc6 bxc6 12.Nd5
{Initiates a beautiful combination made possible by White's light squared bishop pinning Black's c-pawn.}
Qe6 13.Nc7+
{A clearance sacrifice which opens the a2-g8 diagonal for White's light squared bishop.}
Bxc7 14.Bc4 Qe7 15.Bxf7+ Kf8 16.Bxh5
{White has a won game due to the exposed position of Black's king.}
Bxe5 17.dxe5 Qxe5+ 18.Qe2 Qxh5
{18...Qxe2+ 19.Kxe2 when Black has no way of preventing the loss of his f- pawn.}
19.Bxf4
{White is a piece down but Black's exposed king and backward development give White a winning initiative.}
Bf5
{Black tries to block the f-file leading to his king, but it is too late.}
20.O-O Nd7 21.Bh6+
{A decoy move which aims at driving Black's queen from the protection of his bishop.}
Kf7
{White now has a combination that wins Black's queen.}
22.Rxf5+ Qxf5 23.Rf1 Qxf1+ 24.Qxf1+
{Although Black has two rooks for the queen his position is lost because of his open King's position.}
Kg6 25.Bg5 h6
{25...Rhf8 would allow White to win material.}
26.Qd3+
{Black resigned since he either loses material or gets mated.}
1-0
[Event "Paris"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1863.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "de Riviere"]
[Black "Morphy"]
[Result "0-1"]
[PlyCount "44"]
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Ng5
{This double attack on Black's f-pawn is as old as the game of chess.}
d5 5.exd5 Na5
{The classical system of counterattack for Black. Instead of recapturing the pawn at d5, Black goes after the enemy bishop.}
6.d3
{This move allows Black to take the initiative. Better was 6.Bb5+ 6.Bb5+ c6 7. dxc6 bxc6 8.Be2 h6 9.Nf3 e4 10.Ne5 Bd6 Where Black's lead in development compensates for his lost pawn.}
h6
{Black drives back the White knight.}
7.Nf3 e4 8.Qe2 Nxc4 9.dxc4 Bc5 10.h3
{10.Bf4 O-O 11.Nfd2 Bg4 12.Qf1 Black has the advantage due to his lead in development.}
O-O 11.Nh2 Nh7
{Black shows a very deep understanding of the position since he realizes that piece play alone will not break through White's position. He prepares a pawnstorm with the f-pawn leading the way.}
12.Nd2 f5 13.Nb3 Bd6 14.O-O Bxh2+ 15.Kxh2 f4
{Black has the advantage due to his active pieces and White's vulnerable king.}
16.Qxe4 Ng5
{The knight enters the game with a gain of tempo on the White queen.}
17.Qd4 Nf3+
{A beautiful sacrifice which takes advantage of White's light square weaknesses.}
18.gxf3 Qh4 19.Rh1 Bxh3 20.Bd2 Rf6
{Here White resigned, lacking any method of preventing checkmate.}
21.Qd3 Qxf2+ 22.Kxh3 Qg3# {Mates.} 0-1
[Event "London"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1866.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Steinitz"]
[Black "Bird"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "23"]
1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 dxe4 4.Nxe4 Nf6
{Weak, as now Black must either expose his queen or let his kingside get mangled.}
5.Nxf6+ Qxf6 6.Nf3 Nc6
{The losing move. He had to play 6...h6 to prevent White's next move.}
7.Bg5 Qf5
{Losing more time with the queen, but White would have a big edge after: 7...Qg6 8.Bd3 f5 9.h4}
8.Bd3 Qg4
{The only move here was 8...Qa5+.}
9.h3 Qxg2 10.Rh2 Qxh2
{No way out.}
11.Nxh2 Nxd4 12.Bb5+
{Winning another piece, so Black gives up.}
1-0
[Event "London"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1866.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Steinitz"]
[Black "MacDonnell"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "59"]
1.e4 c5 2.Nc3 Nc6 3.Nf3 e6 4.d4 cxd4 5.Nxd4 a6 6.g3
{White's idea is to fianchetto his light squared bishop on g2 Thus preventing Black from striking back in the center with pawn d5.}
Bc5
{6...Nf6 would be less commital.}
7.Nxc6 bxc6 8.e5
{A good move. The idea is to restrain Black's normal development by controlling the key squares f6 and d6.}
Qb6 9.Qd2 Ne7 10.Ne4
{The White knight gains a grip on the dark squares.}
O-O 11.Bd3 Ng6 12.f4 d6 13.exd6 f5 14.Nxc5 Qxc5
{Black stands worse due to his broken pawn structure and bad bishop.}
15.Qc3
{The White queen wastes no time in attacking Black's weakened dark squares.}
Qxd6
{15...Qxc3+ 16.bxc3 Rd8 17.Ba3 would allow White to keep his extra pawn.}
16.b3 a5 17.a3 Qd5
{17...a4 18.b4}
18.Rf1 Ra7 19.Bb2
{White's two bishops and control of the dark squares give him a winning advantage.}
c5 20.O-O-O Qc6
{20...Ba6 would allow White to win material.}
21.h4 R8f7
{Played to protect the seventh rank. However, by moving this rook Black has weakened his back rank.}
22.h5 Ne7 23.Bc4
{White's bishops have the Black pieces tied down defending each other.}
Nd5 24.Qe5
{This centralization of White's queen brings just enough extra pressure to break Black's position.}
Qc7
{24...Rfc7 would allow White a winning rook sacrifice.}
25.Rxd5
{A brilliant sacrifice which exposes Black's weakened back rank.}
exd5
{25...Qxe5 26.Rd8+ Rf8 27.Rxf8+ Kxf8 28.Bxe5 would simply leave White a pieceup.}
26.Qe8+ Rf8 27.Bxd5+ Qf7 28.Bxf7+ Raxf7 29.Qe5 Rf6 30.h6
{Black resigned since he has no compensation for his lost material.}
1-0
[Event "Philadelphia"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1882.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Martinez"]
[Black "Steinitz"]
[Result "0-1"]
[PlyCount "41"]
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.b4
{The Evans Gambit where White sacrifices a pawn for rapid development.}
Bxb4 5.c3 Bc5
{This move allows White to play d4 with gain of a tempo on the dark squared bishop. 5...Ba5 From a5 the dark squared bishop doesn't have to worry about losing a tempo when White advances pawn to d4.}
6.O-O d6 7.d4 exd4
{7...Bb6 is another possibility.}
8.cxd4 Bb6 9.Bb2
{Since the bisho p moves again in a few moves 9.Nc3 should be preferred. 9.Nc3 Bg4 10.Bb5 Kf8 11.Be3 would give White compensation for his pawn.}
Nf6 10.e5
{This move is inconsistent with White's previous Bb2 since e5 didn't need any preparation. 10.d5}
dxe5 11.Ba3 Be6 12.Nbd2 e4
{Black already has a won game as White has no compensation for his lost material.}
13.Re1
{Although this piece sacrifice does not work White decided to go down fighting.}
exf3 14.Qb3 Qxd4
{Black has his own attack on White's f2 square.}
15.Nxf3
{15.Bxe6 would allow Black a mate in two.}
Qxf2+ 16.Kh1 O-O-O
{Now that the Black king has reached safety White could resign at any time.}
17.Rxe6 fxe6 18.Rf1 Ne4
{Black ends the game with a little combination based on White's weakened back rank.}
19.Rxf2 Nxf2+ 20.Kg1 Rd1+
{Takes advantage of White's weak back rank.}
21.Qxd1
{White resigned because of his material deficit.}
0-1
[Event "World Championship"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1886.??.??"]
[Round "7"]
[White "Zukertort"]
[Black "Steinitz"]
[Result "0-1"]
[PlyCount "86"]
1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.e3 c5 5.Nf3 Nc6 6.a3
{A good waiting move. The idea is to move White's light squared bishop to c4 in one move instead of two in the event Black plays 6...dxc4. White also threatens to capture at c5 and then play b4 and Bb2. 6.Bd3 dxc4 7.Bxc4 when White's bishop has moved two times to get to c4.}
dxc4 7.Bxc4 cxd4 8.exd4
{White has open lines as compensation for his isolated d-pawn.}
Be7 9.O-O O-O 10.Be3
{This is not the best move since the bishop on e3 acts as a big pawn while it blocks the e-file for White's major pieces. 10.Re1 would give White's pieces more activity.}
Bd7
{10...b6 With the idea of 11...Bb7 would keep the d-file open thus putting greater pressure on the isolated d-pawn.}
11.Qd3
{11.d5 would lead to massive exchanges after 11...exd5 12.Nxd5 Nxd5 13.Bxd5}
Rc8 12.Rac1 Qa5 13.Ba2 Rfd8 14.Rfe1 Be8
{Black clears the d-file so his rook can pressure the isolated d-pawn.}
15.Bb1
{White forms a battery on the b1-h7 diagonal.}
g6
{This move not only stops any attack White might get against the h7 square, but it also allows Black' dark squared bishop to attack the d-pawn from the g7 square.}
16.Qe2 Bf8 17.Red1 Bg7 18.Ba2 Ne7 19.Qd2 Qa6
{19...Bc6 20.Nd5 Qxd2 21.Nxe7+ Kf8 22.Nxg6+ hxg6 23.Nxd2 would leave White a pawn ahead.}
20.Bg5 Nf5
{Black has a big advantage due to his pressure on White's isolated d-pawn.}
21.g4
{This weakening of White's kingside is a mistake even if the knight had to go backwards. 21.Be3 With the idea of activating the king knight with 22.Ne5 would be a better idea.}
Nxd4 22.Nxd4 e5 23.Nd5 Rxc1 24.Qxc1
{24.Rxc1 exd4 25.Nxf6+ Bxf6 26.Bxf6 Qxf6 would give Black a winning advantage due to his extra pawn and White's exposed king.}
exd4 25.Rxd4 Nxd5 26.Rxd5
{Not 26.Bxd8 Bxd4 27.Bxd5 Qe2 when Black has an attack on three White pawns b, f and g.}
Rxd5 27.Bxd5
{White's bishops are clearly more active, but there is a significant weakness on the kingside.}
Qe2 28.h3
{The h-pawn no longer enjoys the protection of the king.}
h6
{Black cannot capture this pawn.}
29.Bc4
{29.Bxh6 Bxh6 30.Qxh6 Qd1+ 31.Kh2 Qxd5}
Qf3 30.Qe3 Qd1+ 31.Kh2 Bc6
{31...hxg5 32.Qxe8+ Kh7 33.Bxf7}
32.Be7 Be5+ 33.f4
{Now White's king is even more exposed, and all of a sudden the Black bishops are more active than the White ones. Now Black has a winning sacrifice. Try to find it yourself.}
Bxf4+ 34.Qxf4 Qh1+ 35.Kg3 Qg1+
{White resigned, since the only legal move allows a crushing fork:}
36.Kh4 Qe1+ 37.Qg3 Qxe7+ 38.g5 Qe4+ 39.Qg4 Qe1+ 40.Qg3 hxg5+ 41.Kg4 Qe4+
42.Kxg5 Qxc4 43.Qb8+ Kh7 0-1
[Event "Amsterdam"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1889.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Lasker"]
[Black "Bauer"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "65"]
1.f4 d5 2.e3 Nf6 3.b3 e6 4.Bb2 Be7 5.Bd3 b6 6.Nf3 Bb7 7.Nc3 Nbd7 8.O-O
O-O 9.Ne2 c5 10.Ng3 Qc7 11.Ne5 Nxe5 12.Bxe5
{Just compare the relative activity of the bishops! Black is already in serious trouble.}
Qc6 13.Qe2 a6
{White has completed development and is ready to attack. The position of the rook at a1 cannot be improved, for the moment. Lasker starts by eliminating one of the few defenders of the Black king. But he doesn't part with the Be5.}
14.Nh5 Nxh5
{White could simply recapture at h5 with a strong attack, but by sacrificing a piece the momentum is greatly increased.}
15.Bxh7+ Kxh7 16.Qxh5+ Kg8
{Now White might like to transfer a rook to the h-file, but this is too slow, because Black is ready to play d5-d4 and threaten mate at g2. Then he could sacrifice some material in return and stay in the game.}
17.Bxg7
{A brilliant move which threatens mate at h8.}
Kxg7 18.Qg4+ Kh7
{Now the queen guards g2 and White can threaten the sideways equivalent of a back rank mate.}
19.Rf3 e5
{The only defense. Now the Black queen can come to h6.}
20.Rh3+ Qh6 21.Rxh6+ Kxh6 22.Qd7
{This wins one of the bishops, and the game now is decisively in White's favor.}
Bf6 23.Qxb7 Kg7 24.Rf1 Rab8 25.Qd7 Rfd8 26.Qg4+ Kf8 27.fxe5 Bg7
{27...Bxe5 28.Qh5! f6 29.Qxe5 shows another method of exploiting the pin on the f-file.}
28.e6 Rb7 29.Qg6
{White exploits the pin in the maximally efficient way.}
f6 30.Rxf6+ Bxf6 31.Qxf6+ Ke8 32.Qh8+ Ke7 33.Qg7+
{Now the rook at b7 falls, so Black gives up.}
1-0
[Event "Liverpool"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1890.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Bird"]
[Black "Lasker"]
[Result "0-1"]
[PlyCount "44"]
1.f4 d5 2.e3 g6 3.Nf3 Bg7 4.c3 Nf6 5.d4 O-O 6.Bd3 b6 7.b4
{This wastes time and weakens White's queenside. White should simply castle and get on with his development.}
Bb7 8.O-O Nbd7 9.a4
{White hopes to gain space on the queenside, but only exposes himself there.}
Rc8
{A dual purpose move-Black prepares a retreat for his bishop in case of a4-a5- a6 and prepares to take the initiative with ...c5, when White's self inflicted weaknesses on the c-file will be exposed.}
10.a5 c5 11.axb6 axb6 12.Ra7 Bc6
{Before retreating to a8, Black provokes White to push his b-pawn, which will take the b5 square away from White's bishop or knight.}
13.b5 Ba8 14.Ne5 Rc7 15.Ra2 e6
{Black prevents f5 and defends f7 with his queen rook.}
16.Nd2 Qb8
{Preparing to take over the a-file. White should probably prevent this by 17 Qa4, though his position is already awkward.}
17.Ndf3 Ra7 18.Rxa7 Qxa7 19.Bb2 c4
{Cutting off the defense of the b5 pawn.}
20.Bc2 Qa5 21.Qa1 Nxe5 22.Qxa5 Nxf3+
{White didn't notice that this was a check.}
0-1
[Event "Leipzig"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1890.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Mieses"]
[Black "Lasker"]
[Result "0-1"]
[PlyCount "50"]
1.e4 e5 2.Nc3 Nf6 3.g3 d5 4.exd5 Nxd5 5.Bg2 Nxc3 6.bxc3 c6 7.d4
{This contests the central territory, but now the pawn at c3 is weak.}
exd4 8.Qxd4
{White would lose a pawn if he captured with his own pawn. 8.cxd4 Bb4+ 9.Bd2 Qxd4}
Be7 9.Ne2
{White cannot afford to capture at g7. 9.Qxg7 Bf6 10.Qh6 Bxc3+}
O-O 10.O-O Bf6 11.Qd3 Qa5
{Black takes aim at White's weak pawns.}
12.Be4
{White hopes to provoke a weakness in Black's kingside, but his is a fool's errand. Even if Black pushes a pawn, White has removed the best defender from his own king position.}
Rd8
{Black sets a trap: if White takes the pawn he won't be able to get his bishop out.}
13.Bxh7+ Kh8 14.Qe4 Qh5
{There is no escape for the bishop. The White queen is overworked.}
15.Qc4 Qxh7 16.Qxf7
{White has two pawns for the bishop, but there are holes on the kingside and his pieces are not actively participating in the game.}
Nd7 17.f4
{Otherwise 17...Ne5 would have been strong.}
Rf8 18.Qc4 Nb6 19.Qc5
{Black is clearly winning, but his exploitation of his extra piece is brutal. He aims his whole army at White's king before White has a chance to defend.}
Bh3 20.Rf2
{Now the back rank is vulnerable.}
Rfd8 21.Be3 Rd5 22.Qa3 Rad8
{The threat of Rd1+ is very serious.}
23.Bd4
{White tries desparately to keep Black out of his back rank.}
c5
{But Black removes the last obstacle.}
24.Bxf6 Rd1+ 25.Rf1 Qe4
{The threat is checkmate at g2. White resigned.}
0-1
[Event "Berlin"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1890.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "B.Lasker"]
[Black "Lasker"]
[Result "0-1"]
[PlyCount "36"]
1.d4 d5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.c4 e6 4.Nc3 c6 5.e3 Nbd7 6.Bd2 Bd6 7.Rc1 O-O 8.Be2
Ne4
{While White isn't doing much on the c-file, Black grabs some space in the center.}
9.Nxe4
{Losing a lot of time and giving Black a nice pawn on e4. White should have castled.}
dxe4 10.Ng1 e5
{White's king is stuck in the center, so Black opens things up.}
11.Bc3 Qe7 12.d5 f5 13.Rc2
{White's position is so tied up that he has no other way to guard f2.}
f4 14.Bf1 Bc5 15.exf4 exf4 16.Qh5 Bb4 17.Ne2 Ne5 18.Bxb4 Nd3+
{If you don't see why White resigned here, setup this game against gambit. Gambit will gladly show you.}
0-1
[Event "World Championship"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1892.??.??"]
[Round "4"]
[White "Steinitz"]
[Black "Chigorin"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "55"]
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.d3 d6 5.c3 g6
{Black decides to fianchetto the dark squared bishop as it would be very passive on e7.}
6.Nbd2 Bg7 7.Nf1 O-O 8.Ba4
{White wishes to keep his light squared bishop to attack the Black king. This is why he brings the bishop a little closer to home before it can be exchanged off.}
Nd7
{Black removes his knight from the kingside in order to begin a queenside attack.}
9.Ne3 Nc5 10.Bc2 Ne6 11.h4
{With Black's knight no longer defending the h5 square White starts a kingside attack.}
Ne7 12.h5 d5 13.hxg6 fxg6
{13...hxg6 14.Qe2 Re8 Now there is an escape square at f8.}
14.exd5 Nxd5 15.Nxd5 Qxd5 16.Bb3
{The exchanges have left White with the better position due to Black's worse pawn structure and exposed king.}
Qc6 17.Qe2 Bd7 18.Be3 Kh8 19.O-O-O Rae8 20.Qf1 a5
{20...Nf4 21.d4 Be6 22.Bxe6 Rxe6 23. Ng5 Attacking the Black rook and h-pawn would also be good for White.}
21.d4 exd4 22.Nxd4 Bxd4 23.Rxd4 Nxd4
{This leads to a brilliant finish for White. 23...Rf7 Protecting the h-pawn offered more resistance.}
24.Rxh7+
{With this rook sacrifice the Black king is flushed out into the open.}
Kxh7 25.Qh1+ Kg7 26.Bh6+ Kf6 27.Qh4+ Ke5
{27...g5 would allow White a mate in one.}
28.Qxd4+
{Black resigned since after 28...Kf5 White would have mate in one.}
1-0
[Event "Havana"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1893.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Lasker"]
[Black "Golmayo"]
[Result "0-1"]
[PlyCount "39"]
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 g6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Bg7 5.Nc3 Nc6 6.Be3 Nf6 7.Be2 O-O 8.f4
d6 9.O-O Ng4
{Black hopes to simplify away White's attacking potential, but trades off his best defensive pieces in the process.}
10.Bxg4 Bxd4
{10...Bxg4 loses a piece.}
11.Bxd4 Bxg4 12.Qd2
{White won't give up the a1-h8 diagonal without a fight.}
Be6
{This loses a tempo, since White was going to play f5 and Rf3-h3 anyway.}
13.f5 Bc4 14.Rf3 Nxd4 15.Qxd4 Ba6 16.Nd5 Rc8 17.f6 Rc4 18.Qd2 exf6 19.Qh6
{Fitting punishment for Black's tenth move: the very square he weakened is occupied by the checkmating piece.}
f5 20.Rh3 0-1
[Event "New York blindfold"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1893.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Lasker"]
[Black "Unknown"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "33"]
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Bc5 4.c3 d6
{This is a mistake, moving into a pin on his own knight when White can attack it further with tempo.}
5.d4 exd4 6.cxd4 Bb4+ 7.Kf1
{The bishop is exposed on b4, so White doesn't want Black to trade it off. Black should now cut his losses with 7...a6, though White still wins material.}
Bd7 8.Qa4 Qe7 9.d5 Qxe4 10.Nc3 Qe7 11.Bg5
{The bishop and knight won't run away, so White continues to win time by attacking Black's queen.}
Nf6 12.Re1
{Now Black's queen is pinned as well.}
Ne5
{Now both knights are pinned and Black can hardly move anything.}
13.Qxb4 O-O-O 14.Rxe5
{Taking advantage of the new pin on the d6 pawn.}
Bxb5+ 15.Nxb5 Qd7 16.Nxa7+ Kb8
{Now the b-pawn is pinned so White take advantage of that too.}
17.Re7 1-0
[Event "New York"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1894.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Steinitz"]
[Black "Jasnogrodski"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "57"]
1.e4 e5 2.f4 Bc5 3.Nf3 d6 4.Bc4 Nc6 5.c3 Nf6 6.d3 O-O 7.Bb3
{White prepa res for a kingside advance starting with pawn f5. 7.f5 d5 when White's light squared bishop allows Black to break open the center.}
Ng4
{By moving the knight again Black abandons his original plan of developing all his pieces before moving any of them a second time.. 7...Bg4 Completing Black's development while pinning the knight was a better move.}
8.Qe2 a5 9.f5
{This pawn advance puts Black's light squared bishop out of play whilepreparing for a kingside pawnstorm.}
a4 10.Bc2 Bf2+ 11.Kf1 Bb6
{Due to the closed nature of the position White's king on f1 is perfectly safe.}
12.h3 Nf6
{12...Nf2 13.Rh2 Bd7 14.g4 Qe7 15.Rxf2 Bxf2 16.Qxf2 would give White a material advantage of two pieces for the rook.}
13.g4
{Black's problem in this position is that he doesn't have any active play.}
Re8 14.Kg2
{Before continuing his kingside attack White first move his king to a safer position.}
d5 15.Bg5
{15.exd5 Nxd5 Opening up the position for the Black pieces would be a mistake.}
dxe4 16.dxe4
{Notice how the White pawn on c3 keeps the Black pieces off of the d4 square.}
Qe7 17.Nbd2 Bd7 18.Nc4 Bc5 19.Rhd1 Red8 20.Bxf6 gxf6 21.Ne3
{Played with the idea of posting the knight on d5 next move.}
Bxe3 22.Qxe3 Na5 23.b3
{Takes away the c4 square from the Black knight.}
Bc6 24.Qh6
{Having stopped any Black counterplay in the center and queenside White now directs his attention to the kingside attack.}
Kh8 25.g5 Rg8
{25...fxg5 26.f6 Qf8 27.Nxg5 Qxh6 28.Nxf7+ Kg8 29.Nxh6+ would leave White with an extra pawn.}
26.h4 Ra6 27.Kh2 fxg5 28.f6 Qf8 29.Nxg5
{Black resigned due to the attack on his h7 pawn. However, if you don't see why Black didn't play 29...Qxh6 setup this position for Gambit and let Garry show you why.}
1-0
[Event "Hastings"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1895.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Pollock"]
[Black "Lasker"]
[Result "0-1"]
[PlyCount "46"]
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.b4 Bb6 5.c3 d6 6.a4 a6 7.a5
{This is premature. White gives up control of b5 for nothing.}
Ba7 8.b5
{Also premature. White is wasting time and creating targets on his ownqueenside.}
axb5 9.Bxb5 Nf6 10.a6 O-O 11.d3 Ne7
{White has lost a lot of time on the queenside and has no real attack there, so Black heads for the kingside.}
12.axb7 Bxb7
{Now all of Black's pieces are aimed at the kingside, but White can't put his king anywhere else: the open files make the queenside unsafe, and Black can always open the center by ...d5.}
13.Na3 d5 14.O-O Ng6 15.exd5 Nxd5
{Now White can't keep a Black knight out of f4 except by g3, which would give Black the entire a8-h1 diagonal on a silver platter.}
16.Qe1 Qf6 17.Bg5 Qf5 18.Nc2 Nxc3 19.Rxa7
{White needs e3 for his knight in lines like 19 Qxc3 Bxf3 20 Bc1 Qg4, since 21 g3 fails to 21... Qh3.}
Bxf3 20.Ne3
{20 Rxa8 fails after either 20...Rxa8 or 20...Ne2+.}
Qxg5 21.Rxa8 Rxa8 22.Qxc3 Nf4 23.Ra1 Ne2+
{White apparently forgot that Black's bishop was protecting his rook, so now he just loses his queen, though there was no defense to Black's threats to e2 and g2.}
0-1
[Event "Hastings"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1895.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Lasker"]
[Black "Tinsley"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "53"]
1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 dxe4 4.Nxe4 Nf6 5.Bd3 Be7 6.Nf3 Nbd7 7.O-O O-O 8.c3
b6 9.Qe2 Bb7 10.Rd1 Re8 11.c4 a5 12.Nc3 Qc8 13.Bf4 Bd6 14.Be5
{This is a very important move. White occupies the critical central square at e5 and places pressure on the kingside, since the Nf6 is under attack.}
Bxf3
{Black played this move because he realized that White would lose a pawn at e5 if he recaptured with the queen.}
15.gxf3 Bxe5 16.dxe5 Nh5
{But now the knight is stranded at the edge of the board. If it can get to the f4-square, then it can retreat to g6 and the pawn at e5 will be threatened. But White sees that the Nd7 lacks support and unleashes a combination.}
17.Bxh7+
{If Black captures the bishop, then Qd3+ wins the knight at d7, and White emerges with an extra pawn and control of the seventh rank.}
Kh8 18.Be4 c6 19.f4
{Another strong move. The pawn is returned so that the queen can enter the kingside.}
Nxf4 20.Qd2 Nh3+ 21.Kh1 g5
{A desperate move, but how else could the invasion of the queen be stopped?}
22.Bg2 Nxe5
{22...Nf4 23.Ne4 Now Nd6 is a nasty threat.}
23.Bxh3 f6 24.f4 Nf7
{24...gxf4 25.Qxf4 Kg7 26.Rg1+ Kf7 27.Raf1 Nd7 28.Ne4}
25.Ne4 g4 26.Bxg4 f5
{With this fork Black attacks two White pieces, but opens up a critical diagonal.}
27.Qc3+
{Black resigned.}
1-0
[Event "Hastings"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1895.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Burn"]
[Black "Lasker"]
[Result "0-1"]
[PlyCount "40"]
1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Nc3 c5 5.e3 Nc6 6.cxd5 exd5 7.Bd3 a6 8.dxc5
Bxc5 9.O-O O-O 10.Bd2 Re8 11.Rc1 Ba7 12.Ne2 Bg4 13.Bc3 Ne4 14.Ng3
{White has been playing to control d4, but his play has lost time, and Black has brought his knight to a good square and pinned White's knight.}
Nxf2
{Black gives up his knight to open the a7-g1 diagonal onto White's king.}
15.Rxf2 Rxe3 16.Nf5
{White hopes to ease the pressure by giving back some material, but it doesn't help. He should have tried 16 Kf1, getting off the diagonal, though Black keeps the pressure on by 16...d4.}
Rxf3 17.gxf3 Bxf5 18.Bxf5 Qg5+ 19.Bg4
{Voluntarily moving into another pin, but there wasn't anything better.}
h5 20.Qd2 Be3
{So after all this pinning Black finishes White off with a skewer.}
0-1
[Event "Hastings"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1895.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Lasker"]
[Black "Gunsberg"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "61"]
1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.e5 Nfd7 5.f4 c5
{The opening is a classical French Defense in which Black allows White a space advantage in order to attack the center.}
6.dxc5 Bxc5 7.Qg4 O-O 8.Bd3 f5
{Played with the idea of keeping the d3-h7 diagonal closed.}
9.Qh3
{9.exf6 Nxf6 10.Qe2 Nc6 when Black has the more active pieces.}
Nc6 10.g4
{White goes all out in his efforts to mate the Black king.}
Qe7 11.gxf5
{The semi-open file will play a significant role in White's attack.}
Nb4 12.Nf3
{12.fxe6 Nxd3+ 13.cxd3 Nxe5 14.fxe5 Bxe6 when Black has good play for the sacrificed piece due to White's exposed king.}
exf5 13.a3
{13.Bxf5 Rxf5 14.Qxf5 Nf8 15.Qh5 Nxc2+ 16.Ke2 Nxa1 Gives Black a material advantage.}
Nxd3+ 14.cxd3 Nf6 15.Qg2 d4
{15...Rd8 was a better way to protect the d-pawn.}
16.Ne2 Nh5 17.Rg1
{17.Nexd4 Rd8 gives good play to Black.}
a5
{Black misses the threat necessary was pawn g6 to protect the knight.}
18.Qh3 Qe8 19.Rg5 h6
{19...g6 would allow White to win the knight.}
20.Rxh5 Qg6 21.Bd2 Bd7 22.Kf2
{White prepares to bring the rook at a1 over to the g-file.}
Be8 23.Rh4 Be7 24.Rg1 Bxh4+ 25.Qxh4
{Black has won the rook back but at the expense of two pieces for the rook.}
Qa6 26.Nfxd4 Kh7 27.Bc3 Qxd3 28.Ne6 Rg8 29.Ng5+ Kg6 30.e6 h5 31.Nf7+
{Black resigned since he's mated after 31...Kh7 32.Qxh5.}
1-0
[Event "St.Petersburg"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1895.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Lasker"]
[Black "Steinitz"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "63"]
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 d6 5.d4 Bd7 6.c3 Nf6 7.Nbd2 Be7 8.O-O
O-O 9.Re1 Re8 10.Nf1 Bf8 11.Ng3 g6 12.h3 Bg7 13.Bc2 Bc8 14.d5 Ne7 15.Be3
Rf8 16.Qd2 Ne8 17.Bh6 Kh8 18.Rad1 Ng8 19.Bxg7+ Nxg7 20.c4 f5 21.Qc3 fxe4
22.Bxe4 Nf6 23.Qe3 Nxe4 24.Nxe4 Rf4
{This looks like a logical move, but the vulnerability of the Black king is now exposed by a brilliant combination which also exploits the weakness of the seventh rank. First Lasker puts more pressure at d6.}
25.c5 Bf5
{Black has a simple threat, to capture at e4, and an indirect threat at c5, because if the knight moves away, then the pawn at c5 can be captured. So White defends one knight with the other.}
26.Nfg5 Qd7
{This answers the threatened fork at f7. But now White clears the path for his pieces with a queen sacrifice.}
27.Qxf4 exf4 28.Nf6
{Notice that the Black queen must guard the f7-square, otherwise 29.Nf7 will be checkmate!}
Ne6 29.Nxd7 Nxg5
{White is now ahead in material, with an extra exchange. But even more importantly, he can invade the seventh rank.}
30.Re7 Kg8 31.Nf6+ Kf8 32.Rxc7
{Here Black resigned, because the rook will continue his pillage of the seventh rank, and there isn't anything Black can do about it.}
1-0
[Event "Hastings"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1895.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Lasker"]
[Black "Marco"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "57"]
1.d4 d5 2.Nf3 e6 3.c4 Nf6 4.Nc3 Be7 5.Bf4 O-O 6.Qc2 c6
{6...c5 Movin g the pawn to c5 in one move is an improvement on the game continuation.}
7.e3 b6
{Played in order to develop his light squared bishop, which is blocked by the e6 pawn.}
8.a3
{A waste of time. A better idea was developing the rook with 8.Rc1 or 8.Rd1.}
Bb7 9.cxd5 exd5 10.Bd3 c5 11.Nb5
{White should not allow the Black pawns to advance. 11.dxc5 bxc5 would saddle Black with hanging pawns.}
Nc6 12.Bf5 g6 13.Bd3
{13.Bh3 would keep the bishop on the h3-c8 diagonal.}
Rc8
{A mistake which allows White to give Black hanging pawns. 13...c4 14.Be2 a6 15.Nc3 b5 would give Black the initiative on the queenside.}
14.dxc5 bxc5
{The pawns at c5 and d5 are known as hanging pawns because they cannot be defended by other pawns and are targets for enemy operations. 14... Bxc5 would give Black active piece play for his isolated d-pawn.}
15.O-O Qd7
{15...Qb6 would be better as the queen would be less vulnerable to attack.}
16.Be2 Rfd8 17.Rfd1
{White has the advantage because of his pressure against the hanging pawns.}
Ne4 18.Nc3 Nxc3 19.Qxc3 d4 20.Qc2
{20.exd4 Nxd4 when Black's pieces spring to life.}
Na5 21.Ne5 Qe6 22.Qa4 Bf6
{An oversight which costs Black the game. 22...Qb6 Removing the queen from the h3-c8 diagonal was better.}
23.Bg4
{With this attacking move White wins the exchange.}
Qb6 24.Bxc8 Bxc8 25.b4 Bxe5 26.Bxe5 Nc6 27.bxc5 Qxc5 28.Bxd4 Nxd4 29.Rxd4
{Black resigned due to his material deficit.}
1-0
[Event "Hastings"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1895.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Lasker"]
[Black "Walbrodt"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "47"]
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.O-O Be7 5.Nc3 d6 6.d4 exd4 7.Nxd4 Bd7 8.Nde2
{White doesn't want to let Black ease his position by trading knights and/ or bishops.}
O-O 9.Ng3 Ne5 10.Bxd7 Qxd7 11.b3
{Preventing counterplay by ...Nc4 and preparing to aim the bishop at Black's king.}
Rad8
{Black would like to free himself by ...d5, but with his knight exposed on e5 this won't work.}
12.Bb2 Nc6
{Black sees f4 coming and gets out of the way, but since White's attacking on the kingside, 12...Ng6 would be better.}
13.Nf5
{Now g7 looks vulnerable, and moves like Nd4 and Ne2-g3-h5 are ominous.}
Qe6
{Black is still trying to get in ...d5, but he just loses more time.}
14.Re1 Ne5 15.f4 Ng6 16.Nd5 c6
{16...Nxd5 would have lost to 17 Nxg7, but now Black's king position gets ripped open by other means.}
17.Nfxe7+ Nxe7 18.f5 Nxf5
{18...Qd7 loses to 19 Bxf6 cxd5 20 Qg4 g6 21 Qg5, threatening 22 Bxe7 and 22 Qh6.}
19.Nxf6+ gxf6 20.exf5 Qxf5 21.Rf1 Qe4 22.Bxf6 Rde8 23.Rf3 h5 24.Rg3+ 1-0
[Event "Hastings"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1895.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Bird"]
[Black "Lasker"]
[Result "0-1"]
[PlyCount "68"]
1.f4 e5 2.fxe5 d6 3.exd6 Bxd6
{The From Gambit in which Black sacrifices a pawn for quick development and weakens White's kingside in the process.}
4.g3
{4.Nc3 would allow Black to take advantage of White's weakened kingside.}
f5
{4...h5 With the idea of pawn h4 is also good for Black.}
5.d3 Nf6 6.c3 Nc6
{Black has a tremendous lead in development for his sacrificed pawn.}
7.Bg2 Ne5 8.Nd2 Qe7 9.Nf1 Bd7 10.Bf4
{10.Bxb7 Rb8 would allow Black to further increase his development advantage. However, this may of been White's best chance.}
O-O 11.Bxe5 Bxe5 12.Qc2
{12.Bxb7 Rab8 13.Bg2 Rxb2 Gives Black winning initiative.}
Kh8 13.Bf3
{13.O-O-O Getting the king to safety was better.}
Rab8
{Black prepares to attack on the queenside with pawn b5 in the event White decides to castle.}
14.Qd2 Rfe8 15.h3 Qd6
{Black has a winning position thanks to his big lead in development. While his last move forces the White king to the defense of his g-pawn.}
16.Kf2 c5 17.e3 Bb5 18.Rd1 Rbd8 19.c4 Bc6 20.Qe2 b5 21.b3
{21.cxb5 Bxb5 when White would be unable to defend his d-pawn.}
bxc4 22.bxc4 Ba4 23.Rb1 Rb8
{A very strong move Black challenges the only active White piece. 23...Qxd3 would regain the pawn but loses some of Black's initiative after 24.Qxd3 Rxd3 25.Ne2}
24.Nd2
{White lends protection to his rook but at the expense of his g-pawn. 24.Rxb8 Rxb8 would leave Black with a winning initiative thanks to White's undeveloped kingside.}
Bxg3+ 25.Kg2 Bh4 26.Rh2 Bc2 27.Rxb8 Rxb8 28.d4 cxd4 29.exd4 Re8 30.Qf1
Re1
{White could resign here seeing that his queen is trapped.}
31.c5 Qxd4 32.Qxe1 Bxe1 33.Nb3 Bxb3 34.axb3 Qxc5
{White resigned.}
0-1
[Event "World Championship"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1896.??.??"]
[Round "12"]
[White "Lasker"]
[Black "Steinitz"]
[Result "0-1"]
[PlyCount "60"]
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 d6
{The Steinitz Defense Deferred of the Ruy Lopez enjoys the reputation of a passive but solid opening.}
5.d4 Bd7 6.Bb3
{This is the wrong square for the bishop since it may come under attack from Black's knight i.e. Na5. 6.c3 would bolster the White center While allowing the light squared bishop a retreat square at c2.}
Be7 7.dxe5 dxe5 8.Qd5
{This premature attack ends up giving Black control of the center.}
Be6 9.Qxd8+ Rxd8 10.Bxe6 fxe6
{Black has doubled e-pawns which are normally considered weak. However, in this position they are not subject to attack but they do control all of the central squares. Therefore, Black's pawns are considered strong.}
11.c3 Nf6
{Another advantage of Black's doubled pawns are the two open files(d and f) he can use for his rooks.}
12.Nbd2 Bc5 13.b4 Ba7 14.a4 b5
{Stops White's threat of pawn 15.b5 followed by 16.Nxe5.}
15.Ke2
{15.axb5 axb5 16.Nxe5 Decoying Black's knight from the protection of his bishop would backfire after 16...Bxf2+ 17.Kxf2 Nxe5 when Black stands better due to his active pieces and White's exposed king.}
Bb6 16.axb5 axb5 17.Ne1
{Played with the idea of 18.f3 to relieve the knight on d2 from the protection of his e-pawn.}
Rf8
{Black's better development gives him the advantage.}
18.f3 Rf7
{Black's idea is to bring this rook over to the d-file for the attack.}
19.Nb3
{A mistake which allows Black to win a pawn. 19.Nd3 Rfd7 20.Nc5 Bxc5 21.bxc5 b4 when Black's control of the d-file and his knights ready to enter the attack would give him the advantage.}
Nxe4
{The knight can't be taken due to mate in one.}
20.Bb2 Nd6
{The knight heads toward the outpost square at c4.}
21.Rf1 Nc4 22.Bc1 Ne7 23.Bg5 Nd5
{The exposed position of White's king allows Black a winning combination by giving up his rook.}
24.Bxd8 Nf4+ 25.Kd1
{This is White's only legal move.}
Rd7+ 26.Kc2
{26.Kc1 Ne2+}
Ne3+ 27.Kb2 Nxf1 28.Bg5 Ne3 29.Bxf4 exf4 30.Rc1 e5
{White resigned. Even though he is only down a pawn, his pieces can hardly move and zugzwang is fast approaching. If the Nb3 moves then Rd2+. If the Ne1 moves then the g-pawn falls. The threat is Rd1. Enough is enough!}
0-1
[Event "London"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1899.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Steinitz"]
[Black "Lasker"]
[Result "0-1"]
[PlyCount "60"]
1.e4 e5 2.Nc3 Nf6 3.f4 d5 4.d3
{4.fxe5 Nxe4 5.Nf3 offers better chances to obtain the initiative.}
Nc6 5.fxe5 Nxe5 6.d4 Ng6 7.exd5
{7.e5 Ne4 8.Nxe4 dxe4 9.Bc4 c5 would leave White's center vulnerable to attack.}
Nxd5 8.Nxd5
{8.Nf3 is also playable.}
Qxd5 9.Nf3 Bg4 10.Be2 O-O-O
{Black's lead in development gives him the initiative.}
11.c3 Bd6 12.O-O Rhe8
{Black has an obvious advantage due to his completed development which gives him the advantage in the center and with it the initiative.}
13.h3 Bd7 14.Ng5
{White attempts an attack even though he is out-gunned. A more sensible plan was 14.Bg5. 14.c4 Qe6 15.Bd3 Nf4 would also be better for Black because of his greater development.}
Nh4 15.Nf3
{An admission that his previous move was premature. 15.Bf3 Nxf3+ 16.Qxf3 Qxf3 17.Nxf3 Re2 Black has a big lead due to his two bishops and control of White's second rank.}
Nxg2
{With Black's huge lead in development this direct attack proves deadly.}
16.Kxg2 Bxh3+
{Black's pieces sweep away the monarch's pawn cover.}
17.Kf2
{17.Kxh3 Qf5+ 18.Kg2 Qg4+ 19.Kh1 Qh3+ 20.Kg1 Qg3+ 21.Kh1 Re4 22.Bg5 Qh3+ 23. Kg1 f6 leaves Black with a winning attack.}
f6
{This excellent quiet move is the key to Black's success. The idea is to keep White's pieces undeveloped by taking away the e5 and g5 squares.}
18.Rg1 g5 19.Bxg5 fxg5 20.Rxg5 Qe6
{Although material is equal Black has a huge advantage because of the exposed White king.}
21.Qd3 Bf4 22.Rh1
{22.Rg7 Be3+ 23.Ke1 Bf5 24.Qb5 Qh6 Wins as Black's queen threatens the rook on g7 and check on h1.}
Bxg5 23.Nxg5 Qf6+
{Black has won the exchange while keeping his attack going.}
24.Bf3 Bf5 25.Nxh7 Qg6 26.Qb5 c6 27.Qa5 Re7 28.Rh5 Bg4 29.Rg5 Qc2+ 30.Kg3
Bxf3
{White resigned because of his material loss and exposed king.}
0-1
[Event "Havana"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1900.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Corzo"]
[Black "Capablanca"]
[Result "0-1"]
[PlyCount "50"]
1.e4 e5 2.Nc3 Nc6 3.f4 exf4 4.Nf3 g5 5.h4 g4 6.Ng5 h6
{White's knigh t is trapped, but he hopes to get compensation by luring Black's king into the center.}
7.Nxf7 Kxf7 8.d4 d5
{Black is willing to give back a pawn or two to speed up his development and close the a2-g8 diagonal.}
9.exd5
{White would like to open the f-file by 9.Bxf4, but 9...Bb4 is a strong reply.}
Qe7+
{Black begins his counterattack.}
10.Kf2 g3+ 11.Kg1 Nxd4
{Black returns the piece to gain an attack on the a7-g1 diagonal where White's king has no room to breathe.}
12.Qxd4
{12.Bxf4 Qf6}
Qc5 13.Ne2 Qb6
{Very strong. White is hard pressed to defend against 14...Bc5. 13...Qxd4+ 14.Nxd4 Bc5.}
14.Qxb6 axb6 15.Nd4 Bc5 16.c3 Ra4
{Black threatens 17... Rxd4. This is why Black forced White to trade queens on b6.}
17.Be2 Bxd4+ 18.cxd4 Rxd4 19.b3
{White hopes to skewer Black's rooks on the a1-h8 diagonal.}
Nf6 20.Bb2 Rd2 21.Bh5+ Nxh5
{21...Kg7 22.Bc3 Rc2 23.Be5 And White has counterplay.}
22.Bxh8 f3
{Black's exchange sacrifice has let him keep a strong attack against White's king.}
23.gxf3
{23.Bc3 f2+ 24.Kf1 Bf5 25.Bxd2 Bd3+}
Nf4 24.Re1 Rg2+ 25.Kf1 Bh3 0-1
[Event "Paris"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1900.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Lasker"]
[Black "Mieses"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "57"]
1.d4 d5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.c4 e6 4.Nc3 c5 5.cxd5 exd5
{A mistake which weakens the Black d-pawn. 5...Nxd5 6.e4 Nxc3 7.bxc3 cxd4 8.cxd4 Bb4+ 9.Bd2 Bxd2+ 10.Qxd2 O-O With Black having a solid if somewhat passive position.}
6.Bg5 Be6 7.e4
{7.Bxf6 was a more accurate move order, for example 7...Qxf6 8.e4}
cxd4
{This is much too risky since Black is behind in development. 7... dxe4 8.Nxe4 Be7 with a roughly level position which is likely to become boring after a few exchanges.}
8.Qxd4 Nc6 9.Bb5
{White has pins on both of Black's knights.}
dxe4
{9...Be7 would be to late: 10.exd5 Bxd5 11.Nxd5 Nxd5 12.Bxc6+ bxc6 13.Qxg7}
10.Bxf6 Qxf6 11.Ne5
{White puts further pressure on the pinned Black knight.}
Rd8 12.Qxe4 Bb4 13.Bxc6+ bxc6 14.Qxc6+ Kf8
{The pin has resulted in a pawn advantage to White. 14...Bd7 15.Qxf6 gxf6 16.Nxd7 Rxd7 17. Rd1 when White is not only a pawn ahead but would also have the better pawn structure.}
15.Qe4 Bxc3+ 16.bxc3 Bd5
{Through the use of this x-ray attack Black regains his lost pawn.}
17.Qe3 Bxg2 18.Rg1 Bh3 19.Rg3 Bf5 20.Kf1 h5 21.Re1
{Although Black has regained his lost pawn his position is still worse due to his king rook being out of play.}
a6 22.Nc6 Qxc6
{22...Ra8 23.Qc5+ Kg8 24.Ne7+ Kh7 25.Qxf5+ leaves White a piece ahead.}
23.Qe7+ Kg8 24.Qxd8+ Kh7 25.Qd4 Qh1+ 26.Rg1 Bh3+ 27.Ke2 Bg4+
{A mistake which runs into a tactical reply. Anyway, Black was lost anyway because of his material deficit.}
28.Qxg4 Re8+ 29.Kf1
{Black resigned as he is a rook down.}
1-0
[Event "Brighton"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1903.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Lasker"]
[Black "Chigorin"]
[Result "0-1"]
[PlyCount "50"]
1.e4 e5 2.f4 exf4 3.Nf3 g5 4.h4 g4 5.Ne5 Nf6 6.Bc4 d5 7.exd5 Bd6 8.O-O
{The Rice Gambit. White hopes to get an attack on the open e- file based on the pin he gets there after 8...Bxe5 9 Re1.}
Bxe5 9.Re1 Qe7 10.c3
{White can't play 10 d4.}
f3
{Black gives back some material to open up White's king positon.}
11.d4 Ne4
{Threatening 12...f2+ or 12...Qxh4.}
12.Rxe4 Bh2+ 13.Kxh2 Qxe4
{White has got some of his material back, but his king is exposed and Black's will be safe on g8.}
14.g3 O-O 15.Bf4 c6 16.Nd2 Qg6 17.Qe1 Bf5 18.Qe7 Nd7
{Preparing to invade White's position by Rae8 and Re2+.}
19.Re1 cxd5
{An important move in Black's plan. If White doesn't capture, Black will have the e4 square to invade on.}
20.Bxd5 Nf6
{Because of Black's last move this gains a tempo. Now Black is ready for Rae8.}
21.Qxb7 Rae8 22.Rxe8 Rxe8 23.Be5 Bc8
{Getting out of the queen's way and deflecting White's queen from f7.}
24.Qc6 Qc2
{So it is the queen and not the rook that invades the seventh rank. It doesn't matter.}
25.Bxf7+ Kf8
{Now after 26 Bd6+ Kg7 White has run out of checks and 27 Bf4 Re2+ will mate him. The same happens after 26 Qd6+ Re7 27 Qd8+ Kxf7.}
0-1
[Event "Hamburg"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1904.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Kluxen"]
[Black "Lasker"]
[Result "0-1"]
[PlyCount "30"]
1.d4 d5 2.c4 e5 3.dxe5 d4 4.a3 Nc6 5.Bf4 Nge7 6.Bg3 Nf5 7.Qd3
{Too aggressive. Having lost time with a3 White shouldn't be weakening his back rank like this.}
Qg5 8.f4
{Weakening his king position.}
Qh6 9.Nh3 Ne3 10.Nf2
{The decisive error, missing the point of Black's maneuver.}
Bf5 11.Ne4 Bb4+
{A very pretty move, leaving White helpless against Black's knights.}
12.Nbd2
{12.axb4 Nxb4 13.Qd2 Bxe4 14.Qxb4 Nc2+}
Bxd2+ 13.Kxd2 Qg6 14.Qb3 Bxe4 15.Bf2 Na5
{The queen can't escape in the variation: 15...Na5 16.Qb5+ Bc6 17.Qxa5 Nxc4+}
0-1
[Event "Memphis"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1907.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Lasker"]
[Black "Marshall"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "41"]
1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bd3 c5 5.Nf3 c4
{Very bad. Black gives up pressure on White's center for some tactics that aren't there. He could have got the bishop pair and a good game by 5...cxd4.}
6.Be2 dxe4 7.Ne5 Bd6 8.O-O a6
{Losing time. White's strong knight gives him an initiative, so Black figures it's worth a tempo to make him move it, but Black is falling behind.}
9.Nxc4 h6
{Losing more time. He doesn't want to allow the pin Bg5, when the e4 pawn will be weak, but this is worse.}
10.f3
{With Black having wasted so much time White opens things up.}
exf3 11.Bxf3 Bxh2+
{This is pathetic. Black didn't want to sit back and get crushed, but he doesn't even get an attack for the piece.}
12.Kxh2 h5 13.Bf4
{Taking over the diagonal leading to his king.}
Ng4+ 14.Kg1 g5 15.Be5 Rg8
{15...f6 would close the queen's route to the kingside and lose a pawn after 16 Bxg4.}
16.Bxg4 hxg4 17.Ne4
{White can also win by 17 Nd6+ and 18 Rxf7+.}
Nd7 18.Qxg4 Nxe5 19.dxe5 Kf8 20.Rad1 Qc7 21.Nf6
{Black has had enough, though he could have resigned six moves ago with a clear conscience.}
1-0
[Event "New York"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1908.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Pulvermacher"]
[Black "Capablanca"]
[Result "0-1"]
[PlyCount "20"]
1.e4 e5 2.f4 Bc5 3.Nf3 d6 4.c3 Bg4 5.fxe5 dxe5 6.Qa4+ Nd7
{This loses a pawn, but Black makes a virtue of necessity and develops quickly. 6...Qd7 7.Bb5 c6 8.Nxe5 And White will come out a pawn up.}
7.Nxe5 Ngf6 8.d4 O-O 9.Bg5
{This loses a piece. White should have played 9.Bc4.}
Nxe5 10.dxe5
{Now Black wins a piece by tactical means. Try to find it yourself before challenging Gambit to demonstrate it.}
Nxe4 0-1
[Event "Correspondence"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1909.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Alexandrov"]
[Black "Alekhine"]
[Result "0-1"]
[PlyCount "40"]
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 Nd7 4.Bc4 c6
{This is a very passive defense, but White now gets carried away and launches his attack prematurely.}
5.Ng5
{The threat at f7 is easily defended.}
Nh6 6.f4
{White should simply have castled.}
Be7 7.O-O O-O 8.Nf3
{Black is now ahead in development, and therefore he can afford to open up the game.}
exd4 9.Nxd4
{Now Alekhine uses a simple tactical device to open up the center.}
d5 10.exd5 Nb6
{Black gains time with this fork on the bishop and pawn.}
11.Bd3
{11.Be2 Bc5 .Kh1 Nxd5 was also good for Alekhine, playing Black in another correspondence game from the same event.}
Bc5
{Another strong move, creating an effective pin on the knight.}
12.c3 Qxd5 13.Be3
{13.Kh1 Bxd4 14.cxd4 Bf5 15.Be3 Bxd3 16.Qxd3 Nc4}
Ng4
{Notice how h more productive Black's minor pieces are than their White counterparts.}
14.Qf3 Re8
{Black takes control of the only open file.}
15.Qxd5
{15.Bf2 Nxf2 16.Qxf2 Bxd4 17.Qxd4 Qxd4+ 18.cxd4 Rd8 19.Re1 Be6 20.f5 Bc4}
Nxd5 16.Bc1
{Here Alekhine exploits the pin in fine fashion, and brings the game to a quick conclusion. Try to find the winning move (it isn't easy).}
Nb4
{White resigned. If the bishop abandons c2, then the knight will infiltrate, winning the rook at a1. If 17.cxb4, then 17...Bxd4+ 18.Kh1 Nf2+ 19. Kg1 Nxd3 wins. That leaves just one other try, but it also fails:}
17.h3 Nxd3 18.hxg4 Bxg4 19.Kh2 Bxd4 20.cxd4 Rad8 0-1
[Event "Correspondence"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1909.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Vygodchikov"]
[Black "Alekhine"]
[Result "0-1"]
[PlyCount "64"]
1.e4
{Alexander Alekhine was the only World Champion to actively take part in correspondence play, though he did so mostly early in his career. The present game shows that he employed his tactical style in the mail, too!}
e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O Bc5
{This allows White to take control of the center using a common tactical trick.}
6.Nxe5 Nxe5 7.d4
{This fork regains the material.}
Nxe4 8.Re1
{Black also has to cope with the pressure on the e-file.}
Be7
{This preserv es the bishop and also helps seal the e-file. Black emerges from the early battle unscathed.}
9.Rxe4
{9.dxe5 Nc5}
Ng6 10.Nc3
{The knight rarely belongs on c3 in the Spanish Game. That square is usually reserved for a pawn.}
O-O 11.Nd5
{This is a violation of the opening principle which says that no piece should be moved twice in the opening without a specific goal. Chasing the bishop is not worthwhile goal!}
Bd6 12.Qf3
{A pointless move. Black should now just play 12...b5 and 13...Bb7 with a wonderful game. Instead, Alekhine chooses another aggressive move, which is also effective.}
f5 13.Bb3
{White tries to exploit the weakness of the a2-g8 diagonal. Black cannot take the rook at e4, because disaster will strike. Alekhine wisely moves his king to a safer square.}
Kh8
{13...fxe4 14.Ne7+ Kh8 15.Nxg6+ hxg6 16.Qh3+}
14.Re2 f4
{This strong move keeps White's forces restrained.}
15.c4 c6 16.c5 Bb8 17.Nb6
{White now reckoned on 17...Ra7, but Alekhine understands that the rook has no role to play in this game, and cheerfully parts with it. Instead, he opens a diagonal for the bishop at c8.}
d5 18.Nxa8
{White should have captured the bishop instead.}
Nh4
{Now, whose knight is stronger?}
19.Qc3 f3
{The beginning of the final assault.}
20.Re5
{This exchange sacrifice keeps the bishop at b8 from participating in the attack. 20.gxf3 Nxf3+ 21.Kf1 Bh3++ would have been cute, though obviously avoidable.}
Bxe5 21.dxe5 Nxg2 22.Qd4 Qd7
{There was a faster way to win, as shown in the variation. 22...Nf4 23.Bxf4 Qh4}
23.e6 Qxe6 24.Bd2 Qg6
{The infiltration at h3 would not have succeeded, because White would have had a miraculous defense. 24...Qh3 25.Bc3 Rg8 26.Qe5 Nf4 27.Qg5 Bg4 28.Bxg7+ Rxg7 29.Qd8+ Rg8 30.Qf6+ Rg7 31.Qd8+}
25.Bc2
{The only defense against 25...Ne3 with discovered check, but now the game is effectively over.}
Qxc2 26.Kh1 Qg6 27.Rg1 Bh3 28.Nb6
{The wayward knight tries to return, but it is too far away. Now a brilliant combination brings the game to a close.}
Nf4 29.Rxg6 Bg2+ 30.Rxg2
{30.Kg1 Ne2}
fxg2+ 31.Kg1 Ne2+ 32.Kxg2 Nxd4
{Black resigned, as White's material advantage is too great.}
0-1
[Event "St.Petersburg"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1909.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Lasker"]
[Black "Teichmann"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "55"]
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O Be7 6.Qe2
{The Worrall attack, White's idea is to lend greater support to the center through a future Rd1.}
b5 7.Bb3 d6 8.c3 O-O 9.d4
{White has achieved an ideal pawn center. The difference between this position and the main lines of the Closed variation of the Spanish Game is that White has a queen on e2 rather than a rook on e1.}
exd4 10.cxd4 Bg4 11.Rd1 d5 12.e5 Ne4 13.Nc3 Nxc3 14.bxc3
{Black lacks counterplay against White's impressive pawn chain.}
f6
{A mistake which weakens Black's kingside. 14...Qd7 would finish hisdevelopment while also connecting the rooks.}
15.h3 Bh5 16.g4 Bf7
{16...Bg6 17.Nh4 fxe5 18.Nxg6 hxg6 19.dxe5 would leave Black's kingside and d-pawn undefendable.}
17.e6 Bg6
{The pawn at e6 remains a thorn in Black's position.}
18.Nh4
{White has a clear advantage in control of space, a very important element in chess. The player with more space can maneuver more easily and transfer pieces from one flank to another quickly.}
Na5
{18...Be8 19.Qf3 Wins the d-pawn.}
19.Nxg6 hxg6 20.Bc2 f5 21.Kh1
{White clears the g-file for his rook.}
Bd6 22.gxf5 Qh4 23.Qf3 gxf5 24.Rg1
{White is threatening to bring his dark squared bishop into the game with 25.Bg5.}
f4
{Stops White from playing 25.Bg5. However, by playing pawn f4 Black has lost control of the g4 square.}
25.Rg4 Qh6 26.e7
{Opening the d5 diagonal to the Black king.}
Bxe7
{26...Rf7 27.Bg6 Rxe7 28.Qxd5+ Kh8 29.Qxa8+ Re8 30.Qxe8+ Bf8 31.Qxf8+ Mates.}
27.Bxf4 Qe6
{27...Qf6 28.Qxd5+}
28.Rxg7+
{Black resigned. If you don't see the forced win, play this game against Gambit.}
1-0
[Event "St.Petersburg"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1909.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Lasker"]
[Black "Vidmar"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "47"]
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 d6
{Black is playing the Steinitz variation of the Spanish Game. Although at one time very popular it is rarely seen today as Black's pieces lack activity.}
4.d4 Bd7 5.Nc3 exd4 6.Nxd4 g6 7.Be3 Bg7 8.Qd2 Nf6 9.f3 O-O 10.O-O-O a6
{A mistake as Black misses a tactical opportunity to capture at d4. 10...Nxd4 11.Bxd4 Nxe4 12.Nxe4 Bxb5 13.Bxg7 Kxg7 14.Qc3+ f6 15.Nc5 Qc8 stops the fork on e6 while protecting the b7 pawn. 16. Qb3 Bd7 17.Nxd7 Qxd7 18.Qxb7 with equal chances.}
11.Be2 b5 12.h4
{White's pieces prove to be better placed for the attack.}
Ne5 13.Bh6 Nc4
{13...c5 14.Bxg7 cxd4 15.Bxf6 dxc3 16.Qxd6 cxb2+ 17.Kb1 when White wins material due to the double attack on the Black queen.}
14.Bxc4 bxc4 15.h5
{White's kingside attack has progressed rapidly.}
c6
{This seriously weakens the d6-square. 15...Nxh5 16.Bxg7 Kxg7 17.g4 Nf6 18.Qh6+ Kg8 19.Nd5 Nxd5 20.Qxh7+}
16.Bxg7 Kxg7 17.hxg6 fxg6
{White has a solid pawn structure, but Black has a mess, with three pawn islands, doubled pawns and a hole at h6. 17...hxg6 Opening up the h-file would be punished by 18.Qh6+ Kg8 19.Qh8+ Mate.}
18.Nde2 Rf7 19.Qxd6 Qb6 20.Qd4
{Being a pawn up White welcomes the exchange of queens leading to a won endgame.}
c5
{Now there is a new hole at d5.}
21.Nd5 Qb7
{21...cxd4 22.Nxb6 Ra7 23.Rxd4 Bb5 24.a4}
22.Qc3 Raf8 23.Nxf6 Rxf6
{The pressure on the a1-h8 diagonal is tremendous. And it just gets worse.}
24.Rd6
{Black resigned due to his material deficit and pinned rook on f6. After 24...Qc7 25.Rxf6 Rxf6 26.Rxh7+ Kxh7 27.Qxf6 White should win easily.}
1-0
[Event "Berlin"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1910.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Lasker"]
[Black "Janowsky"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "43"]
1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 c5 4.Nf3
{These days, capturing at d5 is considered obligatory if White wants to play for a win.}
Nf6
{Wrong knight. 4...Nc6 5.cxd5 exd5 6.dxc5 d4 shows why Black needs a knight at c6.}
5.cxd5 exd5 6.Bg5
{This position is advantageous for White.}
Be6
{Black is forced to defend the pawn at d5.}
7.e3 Nc6 8.Be2 Be7 9.dxc5 Bxc5 10.O-O O-O
{Both sides have completed the initial deployment of their forces and are now ready to do battle. The immediate target is the pawn at d5, but White first occupies an important open file.}
11.Rc1 Be7
{Releasing the pin on the knight and getting out of the way of the rook on c1.}
12.Nd4 Rc8 13.Qd2 Ne4
{Black tries to free his game by exchanging, but his pieces end up badly placed.}
14.Nxe4 dxe4 15.Bxe7 Qxe7 16.Nxc6 bxc6 17.Qa5
{White takes aim at Black's weak pawns on the queenside.}
Rfd8 18.Rfd1 Bd5
{18...Rxd1+ 19.Rxd1 White controls the d-file and the important square at d8.}
19.b4 Rd6
{This loses a piece. Black didn't notice that the rook on c8 is no longer protected, and that the pawn at c6 is therefore pinned. Do you see the winning move?}
20.Rxd5 Rxd5 21.Qxd5
{Taking advantage of Black's weak back rank. 21...cxd5 22 Rxc8+ forces Black to give back the queen and White remains a piece up.}
Qxb4 22.Rxc6
{After 22...Qe1+ White can use his extra bishop to cover his back rank. So Black resigned.}
1-0
[Event "World Championship"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1910.??.??"]
[Round "5"]
[White "Lasker"]
[Black "Janowski"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "57"]
1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 c5 4.cxd5 exd5 5.Nf3 Be6
{This is a weak move in the Tarrasch. Remember that in general, knights should be developed before bishops!}
6.e4 dxe4 7.Nxe4 Nc6 8.Be3
{This is a bad move. The support of d4 should have taken place by more indirect means. White should have pinned the knight at c6. 8.Bb5 Qa5+ 9.Nc3 O-O-O 10.Bxc6 bxc6 11.O-O}
cxd4 9.Nxd4 Qa5+
{Now Black has nothing better than interposing the queen at d2, after which the game would be a very dull affair indeed.}
10.Nc3
{10.Qd2 Qxd2+ 11.Kxd2 Nxd4 12.Bxd4 O-O-O 13.Ke3}
O-O-O 11.a3
{The pin at c3 and at d4 combine to make Lasker's life miserable. Janowski could have finished up quickly with the simple 11...Bc5, but missed his chance.}
Nh6
{11...Bc5 12.b4 Bxd4 13.Bxd4 Qg5 14.Ne2 Nxd4 15.Nxd4 Qe5+}
12.b4 Qe5 13.Ncb5
{Just compare the activity of the knight at b5 with that of its counterpart at h6!}
Nf5 14.Rc1 Nxe3 15.fxe3 Qxe3+ 16.Be2
{White has nothing to fear, since Black is attacking just with a single piece. Still, Black has a good game and the White king is stuck in the center. The pin on the d-file is still valuable.}
Be7
{16...Bb3 17.Qd2 Qxd2+ 18.Kxd2 Kb8 19.Ke3 Bd5 20.Bf3 Nxd4 21.Nxd4 Black has all the winning chances here.}
17.Rc3 Bh4+
{This is th e critical error. A tempting check, but it overlooks the fact that there was an effective queen sacrifice. 17...Qxc3+ 18.Nxc3 Nxd4 19.Qc1 Nb3 20.Qe3 Bf6 21. Rf1 Bd4 22.Qg3 Rhe8 Black still has a lot of pressure and some winning chances.}
18.g3 Qe4
{Here the queen sacrifice would only have led to a draw. 18. ..Qxc3+ 19.Nxc3 Bf6 20.Ncb5 Bxd4 21.Nxd4 Nxd4 22.Kf2 The position is roughly level.}
19.O-O Bf6
{Lasker has survived the storm and is ready to attack on the queenside. First, however, he eliminates the annoying pin on the a1-h8 diagonal.}
20.Rxf6 gxf6 21.Bf3 Qe5
{Now the pin on the c-file allows White to capture at a7. Then it is time to clean up on the queenside.}
22.Nxa7+ Kc7 23.Naxc6 bxc6 24.Rxc6+ Kb8 25.Rb6+ Kc8
{25...Ka7 26.Rb7+ Ka6 27.Qa4+}
26.Qc1+ Kd7 27.Nxe6 fxe6 28.Rb7+ Ke8 29.Bc6+
{and Black resigned because mate is inevitable.}
1-0
[Event "St. Petersburg"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1912.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Potemkin"]
[Black "Alekhine"]
[Result "0-1"]
[PlyCount "38"]
1.e4 c5 2.g3 g6 3.Bg2 Bg7 4.Ne2 Nc6 5.c3 Nf6 6.Na3
{Knights do not belong at the edge of the board!}
d5 7.exd5 Nxd5 8.Nc2
{This is a very artificial formation, with a big hole at d3.}
O-O 9.d4 cxd4 10.cxd4 Bg4
{This pin of the knight is annoying, since it undermines the protection of the isolated pawn at d4. So White breaks it, but this creates a weakness in the critical area surrounding the White king.}
11.f3 Bf5 12.Ne3 Qa5+ 13.Kf2 Ndb4
{Now we can see the significance of the weak square at d3. The knight will occupy the square with check, and this will interrupt the d-file, so that the pawn at d4 is vulnerable.}
14.Nxf5 Qxf5 15.g4 Nd3+ 16.Kg3
{The pawn at d4 keeps both knight and bishop from joining in the attack. With this in mind, Alekhine unleashes a powerful combination.}
Nxd4 17.gxf5 Nxf5+
{Black resigned, since mate is inevitable.}
18.Kg4 h5+ 19.Kh3 Nf2# 0-1
[Event "New York"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1913.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Capablanca"]
[Black "Black"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "35"]
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nxe5 d6 4.Nf3 Nxe4 5.d4 d5 6.Bd3 Bd6 7.c4
{White begins to undermine the defense of the e4 knight.}
Bb4+
{Black force s White to interpose on d2 so he can trade off the exposed knight, but loses a tempo by moving his bishop a second time. Note also that the bishop is en prise on b4.}
8.Nbd2 O-O 9.O-O Re8
{White, having unpinned his d2 knight, was threatening to capture on e4.}
10.cxd5 Nf6
{Black wants to post his knight on d5, where it can't be chased by a White pawn.}
11.Ne5
{White takes advantage of Black's loss of time to bring his own knight to an agressive square, attacking Black's weakness on f7.}
Nbd7
{This is a mistake, cutting his bishop off from the kingside.}
12.Ndf3
{Not only supporting his knight but threatening to go to g5.}
Nxd5
{This is a blunder: with one White knight already aimed at f7 and the other ready to jump in at e5 or g5 Black should not open the diagonal leading to that square.}
13.Nxf7
{Breaking through before Black has a chance to defend the diagonal by ...N7f6 and ...c6 or ...Be6.}
Kxf7 14.Ng5+ Kf8 15.Qh5
{White has too many threats. Black can't cover the mate on f7 without losing too much material, since the queen is indirectly attacking the knight on d5, e. g. so Black resigned here.}
Qe7 16.Nxh7+ Kg8 17.Qxd5+ Kh8 18.Qh5
{Black is two pawns down and still getting checkmated.}
1-0
[Event "Paris"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1913.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Rodzynski"]
[Black "Alekhine"]
[Result "0-1"]
[PlyCount "30"]
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 d6 4.c3 Bg4 5.Qb3 Qd7 6.Ng5 Nh6
{This develo pment of the knight at the edge of the board is justified because the f7-square is protected and with a pawn at d2 and knight at g5, White can't arrange to capture the knight with the bishop at c1.}
7.Bxf7+
{This sacrifice is motivated by the weakness of the pawn at b7, which will be captured after the exchanges at f7 are completed.}
Nxf7 8.Nxf7 Qxf7 9.Qxb7
{Things look bad for Black, whose knight and rook are attacked by the White queen. But the White king is defenseless, and this allows Alekhine to give up the rook.}
Kd7
{The king is perfectly safe here, and the White queen will be out of play in the corner.}
10.Qxa8 Qc4
{Black is going to use the weakness of the light squares to set up a mating net.}
11.f3
{This locks out the bishop, but by sacrificing another piece Black can dominate the light squares with the queen.}
Bxf3 12.gxf3 Nd4
{This exploits the pin on the c-file and threatens mate at e2.}
13.d3 Qxd3
{Now there is no more pin on the c-file.}
14.cxd4 Be7 15.Qxh8
{15.h4 Rxa8}
Bh4+ 0-1
[Event "Moscow"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1914.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Bernstein"]
[Black "Capablanca"]
[Result "0-1"]
[PlyCount "59"]
1.d4 d5
{The interesting points in this game don't start until move 29.}
2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Nf3 Be7 5.Bg5 O-O 6.e3 Nbd7 7.Rc1 b6 8.cxd5 exd5 9.Qa4
Bb7 10.Ba6 Bxa6 11.Qxa6 c5 12.Bxf6 Nxf6 13.dxc5 bxc5 14.O-O Qb6 15.Qe2
c4 16.Rfd1 Rfd8 17.Nd4 Bb4 18.b3 Rac8 19.bxc4 dxc4 20.Rc2 Bxc3 21.Rxc3
Nd5 22.Rc2 c3 23.Rdc1 Rc5 24.Nb3 Rc6 25.Nd4 Rc7 26.Nb5 Rc5 27.Nxc3 Nxc3
28.Rxc3 Rxc3 29.Rxc3
{White is a pawn ahead, but the back rank is unprotected. It looks like this can be exploited by checking with the queen, but then it turns out that Black gets mated.}
Qb2
{This is a brilliant example of a deflection which sets up the back rank mate . White actually resigned here. Let's see why. 29...Qb1+ 30.Qf1 Rd1 31.Rc8+ Rd8 32.Rxd8++}
30.Qxb2
{30.Qe1 Black can finish the job with a brilliant sacrifice: Qxc3!! 31. Qxc3 Rd1+ 32.Qe1 Rxe1++}
0-1
[Event "St.Petersburg"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1914.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Lasker"]
[Black "Capablanca"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "83"]
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Bxc6 dxc6 5.d4 exd4 6.Qxd4 Qxd4 7.Nxd4 Bd6
{In the Exchange Variation the bishop pair can be very useful to Black, but White has a pawn majority on the kingside.}
8.Nc3 Ne7
{This is a very natural position for the knight, which can move to g6 or c6 as required. At the same time, it is less of a target for White's pieces when it is on e7, compared to the more exposed position on f6.}
9.O-O O-O 10.f4
{This creates a weakness on the a7-g1 diagonal.}
Re8
{11.e5 Bc5 12.Be3 Bxd4 13.Bxd4 Nd5 White has a passed pawn, but a blockade can be set up on the e6-square.}
11.Nb3
{11.h3 Bc5 12.Be3 Nd5 There are two pins in this position, on the knight at d4 and the bishop at e3.}
f6
{This is a mistake, creating a weakness. White's threat of advancing the pawn to e5 was not so dangerous.}
12.f5
{An important move, and a strong one. White concedes control of e5, but takes the e6-square.}
b6
{An attempt to bring the bishop to a useful diagonal. But that piece would have functioned better as a defender at d7. 12...Bd7 Black could now bring the rook from a8 to d8, and then retreat the bishop to c8 if necessary.}
13.Bf4 Bb7
{Black should just have captured at f4.}
14.Bxd6 cxd6
{The Black pawns on the queenside are weak.}
15.Nd4
{Capablanca had just overlooked this move.}
Rad8 16.Ne6
{This infiltration of the outpost at e6 puts Black in real trouble.}
Rd7 17.Rad1 Nc8
{17...c5 A strong move. 18.Nd5 Bxd5 19.exd5 b5 Black will transfer the knight via c8-b6-d7-e5 and will then have a good position, as noted by Capablanca.}
18.Rf2 b5 19.Rfd2 Rde7 20.b4 Kf7 21.a3 Ba8
{21...Rxe6 This was the best move available, since the knight at e6 was so powerful. 22.fxe6+ Rxe6 Can White win this position? It won't be easy.}
22.Kf2 Ra7 23.g4 h6 24.Rd3 a5 25.h4 axb4 26.axb4 Rae7
{A mistake. 26...Ra3 Black seizes the open lines and will bring the knight into the game via b6.}
27.Kf3 Rg8 28.Kf4
{A serious error. The correct move was 28.Rg3.}
g6
{Now it is Black's turn to go astray. 28...g5+ was correct.}
29.Rg3 g5+ 30.Kf3 Nb6 31.hxg5 hxg5 32.Rh3 Rd7 33.Kg3 Ke8 34.Rdh1 Bb7 35.e5
dxe5 36.Ne4 Nd5 37.N6c5 Bc8 38.Nxd7 Bxd7 39.Rh7 Rf8 40.Ra1 Kd8 41.Ra8+
Bc8 42.Nc5 1-0
[Event "Mannheim"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1914.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Alekhine"]
[Black "Fahrni"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "45"]
1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5
{The French Defense which gives Black a solid yet somewhat passive position.}
3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bg5 Be7 5.e5 Nfd7 6.h4
{An interesting pawn sacrifice which has been named the Alekhine-Chatard attack . The main idea of the sacrifice is to gain a lead in development.}
Bxg5 7.hxg5 Qxg5 8.Nh3
{White develops the knight with tempo.}
Qe7 9.Nf4 Nf8
{Going backward s with the knight is a mistake. 9...Nc6 Developing his pieces is a better idea. For example... 10.Qd2 b6 11.Bb5 Bb7 When Black is completing his development while maintaining his pawn advantage.}
10.Qg4
{With this move White has the double threat of 11.Qxg7 and 11.Nfxd5.}
f5
{10...g6 11.Nfxd5 exd5 12.Qxc8+ Qd8 13.Qxb7 would give White a material advantage.}
11.exf6 gxf6 12.O-O-O
{12.Nfxd5 exd5+ Since Black has opened the e-file the White king is in check after capturing the knight.}
c6 13.Re1 Kd8
{Played with the idea of having the king protect the bishop on c8.}
14.Rh6
{A good move which puts pressure on Black's f-pawn.}
e5 15.Qh4 Nbd7 16.Bd3 e4 17.Qg3 Qf7
{17...Qd6 18.Bxe4 dxe4 19.Rxe4 when Black would have no good defense against White's intended 20.Qg7 winning the rook.}
18.Bxe4
{White sacrifices a piece in order to open up the position. After which White's development advantage decides the game.}
dxe4 19.Nxe4 Rg8
{19...Qxa2 20.Nxf6 Nxf6 21.Qg7 would leave Black defenseless.}
20.Qa3
{The control of the dark squares by White's queen decides the game.}
Qg7
{20...Qe7, trying to challenge White's queen would fail to 21.Qa5+ b6 22. Qc3 when White's numerous threats give him a winning position.}
21.Nd6 Nb6
{21...Qxh6 would allow White to win material.}
22.Ne8
{With this move White forces the win of the Black queen.}
Qf7 23.Qd6+
{Black resigned since it's mate in two.}
1-0
[Event "St. Petersburg"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1914.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Von Freymann"]
[Black "Alekhine"]
[Result "0-1"]
[PlyCount "48"]
1.d4 d5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.c4 e6 4.Bg5 h6 5.Bh4
{Taking the dark squared bishop away from the queenside allows Black to take the c-pawn. Better was to play 5. Bxf6. 5.Bxf6 Qxf6}
dxc4
{5...Bb4+ Developing another piece before taking the pawn might be more precise.}
6.Qa4+
{6.e3 Bb4+ 7.Nc3 b5 allows Black to keep his extra pawn.}
Nbd7 7.Qxc4 c5 8.Nc3 a6
{Black's idea is to fianchetto his light-square bishop on b7 after advancing his pawn to b5.}
9.a4
{An interesting mistake since it appears that White has foiled Black's intended pawn advance. 9.e3 Preparing to develop the light squared bishop was better. Although after 9... b5 10.Qb3 Bb7 Black would have a good game due to his well placed pieces and pressure on White's center.}
b5 10.Qd3
{10.axb5 would be a big mistake since after 10...axb5 11.Qxb5 Rxa1+ Black would be a rook ahead.}
c4 11.Qb1 Bb7
{With this move Black sacrifices his b-pawn in order to gain a lead in development.}
12.axb5 axb5 13.Nxb5 Bb4+ 14.Nc3 g5 15.Bg3 Ne4 16.Qc1 Nb6
{With the idea of putting more pressure on White's pinned knight with 17..Na4 .}
17.Rxa8 Qxa8 18.Nd2 Nxd2 19.Kxd2 Qa2
{With the idea of playing 20... Na4 putting more pressure on White's pinned knight.}
20.Kd1 Qb3+ 21.Qc2 Bxc3 22.bxc3 Be4
{A nice decoying move which forces White to exchange queens giving Black a passed b-pawn.}
23.Qxb3 cxb3 24.e3
{24.Kc1 Trying to stop the b-pawn from promoting would fail to 24...Nc4 when Black plays 25...b2+ and then promotes the pawn on b1.}
b2
{White resigned since he can't stop Black's b-pawn from promoting.}
0-1
[Event "Moscow"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1915.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Grigoriyev"]
[Black "Alekhine"]
[Result "0-1"]
[PlyCount "50"]
1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bg5 Bb4
{The very sharp McCutcheon Variation.}
5.e5 h6 6.exf6
{Nowadays the bishop usually retreats to d2 or e3 instead.}
hxg5 7.fxg7 Rg8 8.h4
{White moves quickly to open up more lines on the kingside.}
gxh4 9.Qg4 Be7
{But there is going to be great difficulty defending the weak pawn at g7.}
10.g3 c5
{This is a critical position, and White makes a mistake. The correct move is to remain consistent with the opening plan, and keep playing on the kingside. Now Alekhine seizes the initiative and never lets go.}
11.O-O-O Nc6 12.dxc5 Qa5
{See how quickly the picture has changed. Black is now on the attack.}
13.Kb1 e5 14.Qh5 Be6
{The pawn at g7 has become irrelevant. Black doesn't care about the pawn at d5 either. The initiative is much more important.}
15.Nxd5 Bxd5 16.Rxd5 Nb4 17.Rxe5
{Both sides attack. But the one with the initiative always has the advantage.}
Qxa2+ 18.Kc1 O-O-O
{The move performs double-duty. The king flees to safety and the rook at d8 now cuts off the escape path of White's monarch.}
19.Bd3 Qa1+ 20.Kd2 Qxb2 21.Ke3
{21.Rxe7 Qxc2+ 22.Ke1 Nxd3+ 23.Kf1 Qxf2+}
Bf6 22.Qf5+ Kb8 23.Re4 Rxd3+ 24.cxd3 Bd4+ 25.Kf4
{25.Rxd4 Nc2+ 26.Ke4 Re8+ 27.Kf4 Qxd4+ 28.Kf3 Ne1+}
Qxf2+ 0-1
[Event "Berlin"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1916.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Tarrasch"]
[Black "Lasker"]
[Result "0-1"]
[PlyCount "47"]
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Nc3 Nxe4
{Black takes advantage of the pawn fork next move to free his position.}
5.Nxe4 d5 6.Bd3 dxe4 7.Bxe4 Bd6 8.d4 exd4 9.Nxd4 O-O 10.Be3
{10 O-O loses a pawn.}
Qh4
{Black prevents White from castling and develops his queen to a strong square.}
11.Bxc6 bxc6 12.g3 Qh3 13.Qe2 c5 14.Nb3 Bg4
{Now White won't be able to castle queenside either, since 15 f3 allows Bxg3+.}
15.Qf1 Qh5 16.Nd2 Rfe8 17.Rg1 Rab8 18.Nc4 Be5 19.h3 Bxh3 20.Qe2
{Desparately trying to get his king out of the center, but Black will have none of it.}
Bg4 21.Qd3 Rbd8 22.Nxe5
{He doesn't have anything better, e.g. 22 Qb3 Qh2 23 Rf1 Bxg3.}
Rxd3 23.Nxd3 Rxe3+
{Now 24 fxe3 allows Qh2, so White gives up.}
24.fxe3 0-1
[Event "New York"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1916.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Janowski"]
[Black "Capablanca"]
[Result "0-1"]
[PlyCount "92"]
1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 d5 3.c4 c6 4.Nc3 Bf5
{Not a particularly effective move in this line. The control of e4 comes at a high price, if White responds correctly by capturing at d5 before developing his queen at b3.}
5.Qb3
{This is not as effective, since Black can respond symmetrically.}
Qb6
{A classic question confronts White early in the game? Will the doubled pawns resulting from the exchange of queens be weak, or is the open a- fileuseful?}
6.Qxb6 axb6 7.cxd5 Nxd5 8.Nxd5 cxd5
{Already we have an interesting endgame. Black has control of e4 and the a-file while White has targets at d5, b6, and b7. But the pawns are hard to get at.}
9.e3 Nc6 10.Bd2 Bd7
{A tremendously insightful move! Capablanca sees that he must turn his weak pawns into fighting pieces, and the idea is to play Na5 then b5-b4 which will constrict the White queenside. White should prevent this with 11.Bb5!}
11.Be2 e6 12.O-O
{If White had played 11.Bb5, he would have been able to play 12.Ke2, keeping the king centralized in the endgame. As it turns out, the king becomes a target!}
Bd6 13.Rfc1 Ke7 14.Bc3 Rhc8 15.a3
{Better was 15.Nd2. Now there is an additional hole on the queenside, and the b4-square belongs to Black in any event.}
Na5 16.Nd2
{As Black increases his pressure on the queenside, Janowski correctly decides to react in the center. But Capablanca is aware of his opponent's plans.}
f5
{This slows down the advance e3-e4 for some time, and makes White waste a few moves in preparation.}
17.g3 b5 18.f3 Nc4 19.Bxc4 bxc4 20.e4 Kf7
{With e4-e5 coming, Black makes room for his bishop to retreat along the a3-f8 diagonal.}
21.e5 Be7 22.f4 b5
{The plan all along has been to advance this pawn, but now it takes on a new significance. White must keep an eye on the queenside, and his less mobile pieces are therefore ill-equipped to defend the king against a direct assault.}
23.Kf2 Ra4 24.Ke3 Rca8
{The threat of b5-b4 is renewed. Keep this position in mind as we continue. It is in stark contrast to the position we will see in seven more moves. But what is most important is that the White pieces can't defend the kingside!}
25.Rab1 h6 26.Nf3 g5 27.Ne1 Rg8 28.Kf3 gxf4 29.gxf4 R4a8 30.Ng2 Rg4 31.Rg1
Rag8
{Black's play requires no comment Capablanca saw that White's pieces were out of play and simply switched sides of the board. His greater mobility enabled him to achieve a winning position with great ease.}
32.Be1
{White tries to get his bishop involved in the defense. But we recall that this piece was dedicated to the protection of the queenside, guarding against b5-b4}
b4 33.axb4
{Now Black's fantasies involve Bd7-e4+. Not allowed by the rules, but Black finds away to work around the rules. 33.Bxb4 Bxb4 34.axb4 h5 35.h4 Rg3+ 36.Kf2 Rd3 37.Rgd1 Rgg3 was an unacceptable alternative.}
Ba4 34.Ra1
{Completely missing the point. 34.Rc1 was needed, but then after 34...Bb3 Black would have been able to invade on the a-file.}
Bc2 35.Bg3 Be4+ 36.Kf2 h5 37.Ra7 Bxg2 38.Rxg2 h4
{and the rest is simple:}
39.Bxh4 Rxg2+ 40.Kf3 Rxh2 41.Bxe7
{41.Rxe7+ Kf8 42.Bf6 Rgh8! 43.Bxh8 Kxe7}
Rh3+ 42.Kf2 Rb3 43.Bg5+ Kg6 44.Re7 Rxb2+ 45.Kf3 Ra8 46.Rxe6+ Kh7 0-1
[Event "Berlin"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1916.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Tarrasch"]
[Black "Lasker"]
[Result "0-1"]
[PlyCount "35"]
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O Nxe4 6.d4 Be7
{Black hope s to transpose into a normal line, but he will get into trouble on the e-file.}
7.Re1 b5 8.Rxe4 d5 9.Nxe5
{Black overlooked that after 9...dxe4 10 Nxc6 White is attacking his queen.}
Nxe5 10.Rxe5 bxa4 11.Nc3 Be6
{Black had to drop a pawn, and he hopes to get his king to safety this way, but White won't let him off so easy.}
12.Qh5
{Another double attack, threatening both the d-pawn and the bishop due to the pin on the f-pawn.}
g6 13.Qf3 Bf6
{Black hopes to pick up White's d-pawn with this skewer, but he hasn't looked deep enough.}
14.Rxd5 Bxd5 15.Nxd5
{A final double attack, on the bishop and the c7 pawn. 15...Nxd4 16 Nxc7+ is curtains for the Black king.}
Bg7 16.Bg5
{Even stronger than an immediate 16 Nxc7+, since now White's rook may join the attack with tempo.}
Qxg5 17.Nxc7+ Kd8 18.Nxa8 0-1
[Event "New York"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1918.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Capablanca"]
[Black "Fonaroff"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "43"]
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 d6
{This is weak, but Black hopes to keep his center pawn.}
4.Nc3 Nf6 5.Bb5 Bd7 6.O-O Be7 7.Re1
{Now White threatens to win Black's e-pawn.}
exd4
{7...O-O 8.Bxc6 Bxc6 9.dxe5 dxe5 10.Qxd8 Rfxd8 11.Nxe5 Bxe4 12.Nxe4 Nxe4 13.Nd3 White wins material because of thepin}
8.Nxd4 Nxd4
{Black should castle. Now White's queen gets a strong post.}
9.Qxd4 Bxb5 10.Nxb5 O-O 11.Qc3
{White prepares to bring his knight to f5.}
c6 12.Nd4 Nd7 13.Nf5 Bf6 14.Qg3 Ne5 15.Bf4 Qc7 16.Rad1 Rad8
{White now has a beautiful combination. You may want to try to find it before looking at the rest of the game.}
17.Rxd6 Rxd6 18.Bxe5
{Black is now tied down to both his queen and the defense of g7. He tries a clever tactical defense, but White has seen further.}
Rd1
{18...Qa5 19.f4 Bxe5 20.fxe5 Rg6 21.Ne7+}
19.Rxd1 Bxe5
{The bishop looks strong here, but it has little attacking potential because it must defend g7.}
20.Nh6+ Kh8
{Now White has a final combination which mates or wins a piece. Try to look for it yourself before continuing.}
21.Qxe5 Qxe5 22.Nxf7+ 1-0
[Event "Hastings"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1919.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Capablanca"]
[Black "Scott"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "53"]
1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.e3 e6 5.Nbd2 Nbd7 6.Bd3 Bd6 7.O-O O-O 8.e4
dxe4 9.Nxe4 Nxe4 10.Bxe4 Nf6
{This chases White's bishop to a better attacking post. Black should strike at White's center by 10...c5.}
11.Bc2 b6 12.Qd3
{White now has a powerful battery on the b1-h7 diagonal that forces Black to weaken his kingside.}
h6 13.b3 Qe7 14.Bb2
{Now all White's pieces are aimed at Black's king.}
Rd8 15.Rad1 Bb7 16.Rfe1 Rac8 17.Nh4
{White threatens 18.Nf5 and prepares to bring his queen to a better attacking square.}
Bb8 18.g3 Kf8 19.Qf3 Kg8
{Black has not hing to do and just waits for the axe to fall, but if 19...c5, 20.d5 floods Black in the center as well as the kingside.}
20.Nf5 Qc7 21.Nxh6+ Kf8 22.d5
{Now White's queen bishop enters the fight and Black's kingside collapses immediately.}
cxd5 23.Bxf6 gxf6
{23...gxh6 24.Qh5 And Black gets mated on g7 or d7.}
24.Qxf6 Ke8 25.Rxe6+ fxe6 26.Qxe6+ Kf8 27.Qf6+ 1-0
[Event "Triberg"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1921.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Alekhine"]
[Black "Bogoljubow"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "59"]
1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 e6 3.c4 b6 4.g3 Bb7 5.Bg2
{The Queen's Indian Defense where Black obtains a solid but somewhat passive position.}
c5
{This aggressive attempt to take over the center backfires.}
6.dxc5 Bxc5 7.O-O O-O 8.Nc3
{White has the advantage due to his control of the d-file.}
d5
{This move cuts down on White's control of the d-file. However, it allows White the opportunity to unmask his light squared bishop with advantage. 8... Nc6 would be a better move although White would still remain with the advantage due to Black's d-pawn standing on the semi-open}
9.Nd4
{9.Ne5 Qc7 10.Bf4 Nh5 would give Black the advantage of the two bishops.}
Bxd4
{9...Nc6 10.Nxc6 Bxc6 11.Bg5 Be7 12.Rc1 would give an advantage to White because of his more active pieces.}
10.Qxd4
{White has gained the two bishops and in an open position like this one this constitutes a big advantage.}
Nc6 11.Qh4 dxc4 12.Rd1
{Very well played! White is in no hurry to capture the c-pawn and first takes control of the d-file.}
Qc8
{12...Qe7 13.Bg5 h6 14.Bxf6 Qxf6 15.Qxf6 gxf6 16.Rd7 Rab8 17.Rxb7 Rxb7 18.Bxc6 would give White two pieces for the rook and pawn.}
13.Bg5 Nd5
{13...Nd7 14.Ne4 With the threat of 15.Nd6 would give White a big initiative.}
14.Nxd5 exd5 15.Rxd5
{15.Bxd5 Na5 would allow Black to exchange of White's light squared bishop.}
Nb4 16.Be4
{White's superior development allows him to train his sights on the kingside.}
f5
{16...h6 17.Bxh6 Bxd5 18.Qg5 g6 would allow White a forced mate in two.}
17.Bxf5
{With this move White is able to win Black's queen.}
Rxf5 18.Rd8+ Qxd8 19.Bxd8
{White has a material advantage and with Alekhine's technique the game is over.}
Rc8 20.Rd1 Rf7
{Stops the White rook from taking the seventh rank.}
21.Qg4 Nd3
{An oversight or is Black giving up?}
22.exd3 Rxd8 23.dxc4
{Perhaps Black missed that White's queen is protecting his rook on d1.}
Rdf8 24.f4 Re7 25.Kf2 h6 26.Re1
{When ahead in material you should exchange pieces to make promoting a pawn easier.}
Bc8 27.Qf3 Ref7 28.Qd5
{White's queen is pinning the rook on f7.}
g5 29.Re7 gxf4 30.gxf4
{Black resigned due to his material deficit.}
1-0
[Event "Budapest"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1921.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Alekhine"]
[Black "Bogoljubow"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "59"]
1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 e6 3.c4 Bb4+ 4.Bd2 Bxd2+ 5.Qxd2 d5
{This position resembles a Queen's Gambit, but with the important difference that the dark-square bishops have left the board. Of the remaining clerics, Black's has difficulty having an impact on the game while a pawn sits at e6.}
6.e3 O-O 7.Nc3 Nbd7 8.Bd3 c6 9.O-O
{A mistake which allows Black to free his game. 9. Rd1 would have left Black with a cramped game.}
dxc4 10.Bxc4 e5
{This move takes advantage of the exposed position of White's queen.}
11.Bb3
{11.dxe5 Nxe5 12.Qxd8 Nxf3+ 13.gxf3 Rxd8 when Black stands a little better because of White's double f-pawns.}
Qe7
{11...e4 12.Ng5 Qe7 13.Bc2 after which White wins the Black e-pawn. 11...exd4 12.Qxd4 Qb6 with equal chances.}
12.e4 exd4 13.Nxd4 Nc5
{13...Nxe4 14.Qe3 when White would win the knight on e4 due to Black's pinned queen.}
14.Bc2 Rd8
{14...Nfxe4 15. Bxe4 Nxe4 16.Qe3 Re8 17.Rfe1 Wins the knight due to the pin on Black's queen.}
15.Rad1 Bg4 16.f3 Ne6 17.Qf2 Nxd4 18.Rxd4 Be6 19.Rfd1
{White's control of the open d-file gives him the advantage.}
b6 20.h3
{White prepares to advance his f-pawn but first takes control of the g4 square.}
c5 21.R4d2
{21.Rxd8+ Rxd8 22.Rxd8+ Qxd8 would give Black control of the d-file.}
Rxd2 22.Qxd2 c4 23.f4 g6 24.Qd4 Rc8 25.g4
{White's control of the open d-file combined with his kingside initiative give him a big advantage.}
Bxg4
{Rather than waiting and getting pushed off the board with pawn e5 or pawn f5 Black decides on a desperate sacrifice.}
26.hxg4 Nxg4 27.Kg2 h5
{27...Qh4 28.Rh1 demonstrates the point of White's 27.Kg2.}
28.Nd5 Qh4 29.Rh1 Qd8 30.Bd1
{Black resigned because of his material deficit.}
1-0
[Event "Budapest"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1921.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Alekhine"]
[Black "Sterk"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "59"]
1.d4 d5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.c4 e6 4.Nc3 Nbd7 5.e3
{Although this is certainly not a bad move one would expect the more energetic 5.Bg5 from an attacking player such as Alekhine.}
Bd6
{5...Be7 6.Bd3 dxc4 7.Bxc4 c5 would give Black a solid position.}
6.Nb5
{This attempt to gain the two bishops is dubious since White's knight will be misplaced on b5.}
Be7 7.Qc2 c6
{Black gains a tempo on White's knight while strengthening his center.}
8.Nc3 O-O 9.Bd3 dxc4 10.Bxc4 c5
{As a result of White wasting time with his knight Black has equalized.}
11.dxc5 Bxc5 12.O-O b6 13.e4
{White not satisfied with his position strikes out to complicate the game. However, safer was 13.b3 Bb7 14.Bb2 Rc8 15.Qe2 Qe7 with an equal game.}
Bb7 14.Bg5
{14.e5 would only open up White's position to be attacked. For example 14...Ng4 15.Ng5 g6 16.Nxh7 Qh4 17.h3 Black can force checkmate.}
Qc8
{A good move which breaks the pin and prepares for action on the c-file.}
15.Qe2
{15.Rac1 would allow Black to win a pawn with Bxf2+}
Bb4 16.Bd3 Bxc3 17.Rfc1 Nxe4
{Played with the idea of winning the pawn without doubling his f-pawns. However, 17...Nc5 was to be preferred.}
18.Bxe4 Bxe4 19.Qxe4 Nc5 20.Qe2 Ba5 21.Rab1 Qa6 22.Rc4 Na4 23.Bf6
{This is the first move of an ingenious mating attack. It's made possible by all of Black's pieces being over on queenside away from their king. 23.b4 Nc3 would get Black out of his difficulties due to the pin on White's c4 rook.}
Rfc8
{23...Rac8 would allow the beautiful 24.Rg4 Qxe2 25.Rxg7+ Kh8 26.Rg3+ mates.}
24.Qe5
{White continues his attack on the dark squares. 24.Rg4 would no longer work because the Black king has a flight square on f8. For example Qxe2 25.Rxg7+ Kf8 26.Rxh7 Ke8 27.Rh8+ Kd7 28.Ne5+ Kc7 29.Rc1+ Kb7 when Black's king has walked to safety.}
Rc5
{24...gxf6 would allow a forced mate in two.}
25.Qg3
{White is relentless with his attack on the dark squares.}
g6 26.Rxa4
{White has won a piece and with it the game.}
Qd3 27.Rf1 Rac8 28.Rd4 Qf5 29.Qf4 Qc2 30.Qh6
{Black resigned since he can not avoid mate on g7 by White's queen.}
1-0
[Event "Budapest"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1921.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Alekhine"]
[Black "Von Balla"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "45"]
1.d4 d5 2.Nf3 e6 3.Bf4 c5 4.e3 Nc6 5.c4 Nf6
{5...Qb6 6.Nc3 White offers Black a poisoned pawn and if it's accepted: 6...Qxb2 7.Nb5 then the White knight penetrates the Black camp at c7. While Black's queen is almost trapped.}
6.Nc3 cxd4 7.exd4 Ne4
{This premature attack is wrong especially so as White is ahead in development. 7...Bb4 8.Bd3 dxc4 9.Bxc4 O-O Completing his development would give Black a playable game.}
8.Bd3 Bb4 9.Rc1 Qa5 10.Qb3 dxc4 11.Bxc4 g5
{This move is the logical follow up to Black's previous play. However, this advance will make it unsafe for Black to later castle on the kingside.}
12.Be3 g4 13.Ne5 Nxe5 14.dxe5 Bxc3+ 15.bxc3 b6
{15...Qxe5 16.Bd4 Qf4 17.Bb5+ Bd7 18.O-O when White's huge lead in development would give him a winning initiative.}
16.O-O
{16.Bb5+ Bd7 17. Bxd7+ Kxd7 18.O-O would also be very good for White due to the exposed nature of the Black king.}
Bd7 17.Rfd1
{White decides upon a sacrifice which will leave the Black king undefended.}
Ba4 18.Qb1 Nxc3
{18...Bxd1 19.Bb5+ Ke7 20.Qxe4 with a winning attack. For example, 20..Qxb5 would allow White to win material.}
19.Rxc3 Qxc3
{19...Bxd1 20.Bb5+ Kf8 21.Bh6+ Kg8 22.Qxd1 With a mating attack for White.}
20.Bb5+ Bxb5 21.Qxb5+
{Black's disregard for his development has allowed White to build a mating attack.}
Kf8 22.Bh6+ Kg8 23.Qd7
{Black resigned.}
1-0
[Event "Vienna"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1921.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Euwe"]
[Black "Breyer"]
[Result "0-1"]
[PlyCount "60"]
1.e4 Nc6 2.Nc3 Nf6 3.d4
{A thoroughly hypermodern approach. Black allows White to establish a big center, and now launches an attack against it.}
e5 4.dxe5
{4.Nf3 would have led to the boring territory of the Scotch Four Knights.}
Nxe5 5.f4 Nc6
{White has accepted the invitation and re-established a pawn centre with gain of time.}
6.e5
{6.Bc4! would have been more sensible. Now the centre becomes overextended.}
Ng8 7.Bc4
{7.Nf3 d6 8.Bb5 Bg4!? 9.h3 Bd7 10.O-O Nh6 11.Qe1 dxe5 12.fxe5 Bc5+ 13.Kh1 Nf5 14.Ne4 Be7 15.Bg5 Bxg5 16.Nfxg5 gives White a promising game.}
d6
{"Black has achieved an ideal position a la Steinitz and now acts to eliminate the advanced White pawn" -- Tartakower.}
8.Nf3 Bg4 9.O-O Qd7 10.Qe1 O-O-O
{Although this move slightly weakens f7, it allows Black to act without restraint on the kingside.}
11.Ng5 dxe5
{Well-timed!}
12.Kh1
{12.Nxf7? Qd4+ 13.Kh1 Qxc4 14.Nxh8 Bb4A 12.Bb3!? f6 13.Nf7 Nd4 14.Nxh8 Nxb3 15.axb3 Bc5+ 16.Kh1 exf4 17.Bxf4 g5 18.Bg3 Re8? 19.Ne4 Qd4}
f6
{12...Na5 comes into consideration immediately.}
13.Nf7 Na5 14.Nxd8
{14.Bd5 c6 15.Nxh8 cxd5 16.fxe5 Bb4}
Nxc4 15.Qe4 Nd6 16.Qb4
{A critical position. White is counting on Black's capturing at d8, but Breyer comes up with a brilliant move which leads to a series of exchanges which leave White with a hopeless game.}
Be7
{16...Qxd8, 16...Kxd8, and 16...Nh6 all fail to 17.fxe5.}
17.fxe5 fxe5 18.Nxb7
{18.Nc6! was the only chance.}
Nxb7 19.Rf8+ Bxf8 20.Qxf8+ Qd8
{20...Nd8? 21.Bg5 h6 22.Bxd8 Qxd8 23.Qxg7 Nf6 24.Ne4!}
21.Qxg7 Nf6 22.Bg5 Rg8 23.Qh6
{23.Qxf6? Rxg5!}
Rg6 24.Qh4 Nd6 25.Rf1 Nf5 26.Qxg4 Nxg4 27.Bxd8 Nge3 28.Rf3 Kxd8 29.h3 Rg3
30.Rxg3 Nxg3+
{Black won.}
0-1
[Event "London"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1922.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Capablanca"]
[Black "Bogoljubow"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "103"]
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 d6 8.c3 O-O
9.d4 exd4
{The release of tension in the center is premature. 9... Bg4 is the contemporary reply.}
10.cxd4 Bg4 11.Be3 Na5 12.Bc2 Nc4 13.Bc1
{is this a loss of time? Not really, since the knight will eventually be forced back with b2-b3 and then the bishop can be profitably employed at b2.}
c5
{Classical Spanish play. Black will expand on the queenside and White will attempt to keep control of the center and attack on the kingside.}
14.b3 Na5 15.Bb2
{As promised. It would have been wrong to push the d-pawn, because then Black would simply swing his knight from f6 to d7 and stick the bishop on the long diagonal.}
Nc6 16.d5 Nb4
{Black has lured White into playing d4-d5, but it has cost him some time. He now attempts to eliminate the Spanish bishop, which can be dangerous after e5.}
17.Nbd2 Nxc2 18.Qxc2
{Black now has the bishop pair, but White controls the center and has a strong bishop at b2. Should he play on the kingside, as usual, or perhaps undermine the Black pawn structure with a2-a4. Or both? And how to time all ofthis?}
Re8 19.Qd3
{A very nice move which increases the pressure on the queenside while making it easier for the queen to get to the kingside via the third rank. Before making a concrete plan, White strives to improve the position of his pieces.}
h6 $18
{If Black was worried about e4-e5, he could have played Nf6-d7, but White isn't ready for such action yet. 19...Nd7 20.e5 Bxf3 21.Nxf3 dxe5 22.Nxe5 Nxe5 23.Bxe5 Bd6 24.Bxd6 Qxd6 25.Rad1 is not likely to be enough to win, given the block$}
20.Nf1 Nd7 21.h3 Bh5
{Black is a little too attached to his bishop pair. He should have captured and then played Bf6, to take control of the e5 square which has been the center of attention for some time.}
22.N3d2 Bf6 23.Bxf6 Qxf6
{Black seems to have secured the central squares, but now White deflects the Black knight to the queenside, and then launches his attack.}
24.a4 c4 25.bxc4 Nc5 26.Qe3 bxa4
{The position has changed considerably. Black has some valuable assets on the queenside and a seemingly well-placed knight, but it is actually offside.}
27.f4
{White is prepared to bring a pawnstorm against the enemy king. The Nc5 cannot come to the aid of its monarch. The attack can be repelled, but only by going into a complicated endgame.}
Qe7 28.g4 Bg6 29.f5 Bh7 30.Ng3 Qe5 31.Kg2 Rab8 32.Rab1 f6
{This is a passive move which creates further holes in Black's position. Since all of his chances lay on the queenside, he should have continued with his infiltration of the White position. 32...Rb2 33.Rxb2 Qxb2 would have been appropriate.}
33.Nf3 Rb2+ 34.Rxb2 Qxb2+ 35.Re2
{This is a much more comfortable position for White. The hole at e6 will be a nice landing site for the Nf3, and the passed pawn is not important.}
Qb3 36.Nd4 Qxe3 37.Rxe3 Rb8
{At first sight it seems that Black has all the chances with his open file and passed pawn. But White sees the potential of a passed d- pawn!}
38.Rc3 Kf7 39.Kf3 Rb2 40.Nge2 Bg8
{Now White, keeping in mind the theme of the previous variations, sees that he can achieve his goal of a passed d-pawn. He notices that the pawn at e4 is not a material consideration in this position.}
41.Ne6 Nb3
{Of course Black cannot even think about exchanging at e6 and entombing the bishop. 41...Nxe4 42.Kxe4 Rxe2+ 43.Kd4 is a winning endgame for White, since the bishop is absolutely useless and the king is closeenough}
42.c5 dxc5 43.Nxc5 Nd2+ 44.Kf2 Ke7
{Again Black finds himself unthinkingly following conventional wisdom by moving his king to the center. But he needed to invest more thought in his queenside advantage. 44...Nb1! was best.}
45.Ke1 Nb1 46.Rd3 a3
{and here Black should have stuck to his plan, instead of belatedly switching to the queenside advance. 46...Kd6! gives drawing chances.}
47.d6+ Kd8
{At this point White is concentrating on mate rather than a longwinded endgame. The idea is that a knight at c6 would force the king off the queening square.}
48.Nd4 Rb6 49.Nde6+ Bxe6 50.fxe6 Rb8 51.e7+ Ke8 52.Nxa6 1-0
[Event "Vienna"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1922.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Kmoch"]
[Black "Alekhine"]
[Result "0-1"]
[PlyCount "40"]
1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 d5 3.c4 c6 4.e3 Bf5 5.Nbd2
{5.Qb3 would try to take advantage of Black's light squared bishop leaving the b-pawn undefended.}
e6 6.Be2 Nbd7 7.O-O Bd6 8.c5 Bc7 9.b4 Ne4 10.Nxe4 dxe4
{10...Bxe4 11 .Nd2 f5 12.Nxe4 fxe4 when White's two bishops and queenside initiative would give him the advantage .}
11.Nd2 h5
{With White having the better of it on the queenside it is only natural that Black should start a kingside attack.}
12.f4
{White was afraid of the Black bishop on c7 aiming at his king so he locks him out. However, a new target has appeared the White pawn on f4.}
g5 13.g3
{This slow defending move allows Black a winning initiative. 13.Nc4 Nf6 14.Ne5 gxf4 15.exf4 Although Black would still retain the better chances due to the weakness of White's pawn on d4.}
Nf6
{Black idea is to play 14...h4 without White being able to block the kingside with pawn g4. 13...h4 14.g4 when White has blocked Black's play on the g-file.}
14.Bb2
{14.fxg5 Ng4 when Black regains his pawn with a kingside initiative.}
gxf4 15.exf4 h4 16.Qb3
{16.g4, trying to keep the kingside closed would be met with 16...Rg8 17.h3 Nd5 would win White's f-pawn.}
hxg3 17.hxg3 Nd5 18.Nc4 Nxf4
{With this sacrifice Black is able to attack the exposed position of White's king. Notice that White's pieces are misplaced, and cannot help defend their monarch.}
19.Rae1
{19.gxf4 Qh4 would leave White defenseless against the attack down the h- file.}
Qg5 20.d5 Nd3
{White resigned. Can you see why?}
0-1
[Event "Vienna"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1922.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Alekhine"]
[Black "Koenig"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "47"]
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 b6
{A move of doubtful value since Black will be unable to stop White from gaining control of the center with pawn e4. Better was 2... e6 which prepares for a future fight for the central square d5.}
3.Nc3 Bb7 4.Qc2
{After this move Black will be unable to prevent White from gaining control of the center with pawn e4.}
d5 5.cxd5 Nxd5 6.Nf3
{Before gainin g the pawn center with e4 White first stops any counterplay Black might get if he can advance his pawn from e7 to e5.}
e6 7.e4 Nxc3 8.bxc3 Be7 9.Bb5+ c6 10.Bd3 O-O 11.e5
{White uses his better development to start a kingside attack.}
h6 12.h4
{With the idea of bringing the rook into the attack with Rh3 followed by Rg3.}
c5
{12...Nd7 13.Ng5 c5 14.Bh7+ Kh8 15.Bg8 With the threat of mate on h7 would bring White material rewards.}
13.Rh3
{13.Ng5 cxd4 14.Bh7+ Kh8 15.Bg8 d3 would block the mate on h7 while winning the bishop trapped on g8.}
Kh8
{Black removes his king from the g-file. However, it's not enough to save the king.}
14.Bxh6
{With no Black pieces to defend the king White removes Black's pawn cover.}
f5
{14...gxh6 15.Qd2 By threatening 16.Qxh6+, White wins material for example 15...Kg7 16.Rg3+}
15.exf6 Bxf6 16.Bg5
{White has won a pawn while keeping his kingside initiative.}
cxd4 17.Ne5
{This move takes advantage of Black's dark squared bishop being pinned to the queen.}
Nc6 18.Qe2 g6
{18...Nxe5 would allow White a forced mate in four.}
19.Bxg6 Kg7 20.Bh6+ Kg8
{20...Kxh6 would allow White a forced mate in two.}
21.Nxc6
{White trades down to a winning ending.}
Bxc6 22.Qxe6+ Kh8 23.Bxf8 Qxf8 24.Qxc6
{Black resigned since he is a rook down with no compensation.}
1-0
[Event "Vienna"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1922.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Alekhine"]
[Black "Saemisch"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "39"]
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 g6 5.c4
{The Maroczy bind which gives White control of the center after which Black must grovel, trying to find some counterplay.}
Bg7 6.Nb3
{6.Be3 Developing a piece while protecting the knight is more thematic.}
Nf6 7.Nc3 d6 8.Be2 Be6
{Black's light squared bishop turns out to be a target on the e6 square. Better was to castle. 8...O-O 9.O-O Bd7 10.Be3 would yield White a space advantage due to his pawns at c4 and e4.}
9.O-O h5
{This strange looking move is directed against White playing 10.f4.}
10.c5
{White should just have continued with his development.}
dxc5
{Black retur ns the favor as after the exchange of queens his king will remain in the center and subject to attack. Better was 10...d5 11.Nd4 Nxd4 12.Qxd4 dxe4 13. Qb4 Qc8 14.Nxe4 Nxe4 15.Qxe4 O-O when Black's active bishops compensate for White's queenside}
11.Nxc5 Bc8 12.Qxd8+ Kxd8
{12...Nxd8 13.Nb5 O-O 14. Nc7 Rb8 15.Bf4 with an advantage to White due to his more active pieces.}
13.Rd1+ Nd7 14.Bc4
{White wins material since Black can't defend his f-pawn.}
Bxc3
{14...Rf8 15.Nb5 a6 16.Bxf7 Rxf7 17.Ne6+ Ke8 18.Nbc7+ mates.}
15.Bxf7 Kc7
{15...Nd4 would allow White a winning combination: 16.Rxd4 Bxd4 17.Ne6++}
16.Ne6+ Kb8 17.bxc3
{White has a won game due to his extra pawn and Black's lagging development.}
Nde5 18.Bf4 Bxe6 19.Bxe6 Rf8 20.Bg3
{Black resigned due to the pin on his knight which will cost him further material.}
1-0
[Event "Bad Pistyan"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1922.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Alekhine"]
[Black "Hromadka"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "69"]
1.d4 d5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.c4 c6 4.Nc3 Qb6 5.e3
{A solid move but one that doesn't try to punish Black for his early queen sortie. 5.c5 Qc7 6.g3 With the idea of developing the dark squared bishop to f4 gaining a tempo on the Black queen.}
Bg4 6.cxd5 cxd5 7.Qa4+ Bd7
{7...Nc6 8.Ne5 Bd7 9.Bb5 e6 10. Nxd7 Nxd7 11.e4 With an attack similiar to the game continuation.}
8.Bb5 a6 9.Bxd7+ Nbxd7 10.O-O e6 11.Ne5
{Although White has succeeded in pinning Black's knight on d7, he does not have the type of lead in development needed to exploit it.}
Qa7
{A terrible mistake which gives White everything he needs in order to take advantage of The pinned knight on d7. 11...Qb4 12.Qxb4 Bxb4 Black has succeeded in breaking the pin while developing his bishop was the correct way of play.}
12.Nxd7 Nxd7 13.e4
{This energetic advance is made possible due to Black's lagging development which has resulted in his king being stuck in the center.}
b5 14.Qc2 dxe4 15.d5
{White wants to open up the center and get at the enemy king.}
e5 16.a4
{Before capturing the e-pawn White wants to provoke a weakness on Black's queenside.}
b4 17.Nxe4 Qb7
{17...Bc5 with the idea of castling would be met by 18.Be3 Bxe3 19.Nd6+ Kf8 20.fxe3 Qxe3+ 21.Kh1 when White would have a big advantage for the lost pawn due to Black's uncastled king and better development.}
18.Rd1 Rc8 19.Qe2 Be7 20.Qg4 g6
{20...O-O 21.Bh6 Bf6 would allow White a forced mate in two.}
21.Bg5
{With the exchange of dark squared bishops White makes sure that the Black king will remain in the center of the board.}
h6
{21...Bxg5 would lose Black's queen, as would 21...f6 22.Qe6 fxg5}
22.Bxe7 Kxe7 23.Qh4+
{White provokes Black into playing pawn g5 in order to weaken the f5 square.}
g5 24.Qg4 Rc4 25.Qf5 Rf8 26.b3
{White drives back the Black rook before beginning the final assault.}
R4c8 27.Nf6
{The White knight breaks into Black's position with decisive effect.}
Rc5
{27...Nxf6 28.d6+ Ke8 29.Qxe5+ Kd7 30.Qxf6 This leaves Black's king exposed to constant attack while White maintains a material}
28.Nxd7 Qc8
{28...Qxd7 29.Qxe5+ Kd8 30.Rac1 Rxc1 31.Rxc1 when White has a winning position due to Black's vulnerable king and material deficit.}
29.d6+
{Black resigned since he losses the rook after:}
Kd8 30.Qf6+ Kxd7 31.Qe7+ Kc6 32.d7 Qd8 33.Qxf8 Qxf8 34.d8=Q Qxd8 35.Rxd8
1-0
[Event "Bad Pistyan"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1922.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Johner"]
[Black "Alekhine"]
[Result "0-1"]
[PlyCount "54"]
1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 e6 3.c4 c5 4.Nc3
{4.d5 exd5 5.cxd5 d6 6.Nc3 g6 transposes to the Benoni Defense.}
cxd4 5.Nxd4 d5
{Although 5...d5 is not a bad move 5...Bb4 would have been more energetic.}
6.cxd5 Nxd5 7.Ndb5 Bd7
{7...Nc6 would allow White a tactic based on Black's c7 square. 8.Nxd5 exd5 9.Qxd5 Qxd5 10.Nc7+ Kd8 11.Nxd5 when White is a pawn ahead.}
8.e4 Nxc3 9.bxc3
{9.Nxc3 Bc5 would give Black a slight lead in development.}
Qa5 10.Rb1 a6 11.Nd6+ Bxd6 12.Qxd6 Qxc3+ 13.Bd2 Qc6 14.Qf4
{White overestimates his attacking chances forgetting that his own king has also been left in the center. 14.Qb4 a5 15.Qxb7 O-O would restore the material balance while giving White the advantage of the bishop pair.}
O-O 15.Bd3 e5
{With this pawn sacrifice Black opens lines for his pieces to attack the uncastled White king.}
16.Qxe5 Re8 17.Qd4
{17.Qg3 Rxe4+ 18.Bxe4 Qxe4+ 19.Be3 Qxb1+ 20.Ke2 Qxh1 21.Bh6 Qa1 wins for Black.}
Qg6
{This move stops White from castling due to the pin with 18...Bh3.}
18.f3
{18.O-O Bh3 when White must lose material to stop the threatened mate. 19.g3 Bxf1 20.Kxf1 would leave Black an exchange ahead.}
Qxg2
{A surprisi ng response since Black opens the g-file for White's rooks. However, having calculated all the variations Alekhine has come to the conclusion that the resulting complications favor Black.}
19.Rg1 Nc6 20.Qe3 Qxh2 21.Bc3 g6 22.Rxb7 Rad8
{Black's pawn advantage combined with White's king being in the center gives him a winning position.}
23.Bf6 Ne5 24.Be2
{24.Bxd8 Nxd3+ 25.Kd1 Ba4+ 26.Rb3 Rxd8 would also give Black a winning attack.}
Bb5 25.Bxe5 Rxe5 26.Bxb5 Rxb5 27.Rxb5 axb5
{White resigned due to his exposed king and material deficit.}
0-1
[Event "Mahrisch Ostrau"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1923.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Walter"]
[Black "Lasker"]
[Result "0-1"]
[PlyCount "42"]
1.d4 d5 2.e3 Nf6 3.Bd3 Bg4 4.Nf3 e6 5.c4 Nbd7 6.Qb3
{White goes after a pawn but allows his kingside to get busted open.}
Bxf3 7.gxf3 c5 8.cxd5 exd5 9.Qxb7 cxd4 10.exd4 Bd6 11.Nc3 O-O 12.Nxd5
{Taking this second pawn is very risky, since his king will now be permanently stuck in the center.}
Qa5+
{By this maneuver Black prevents exchanges and gets his queen to a good attacking square.}
13.Nc3 Qh5 14.Be2
{Black was threatening 14...Rab8 15 Qc6 Rb6 when the f-pawn will fall and Black's queen will give White a major headache.}
Rab8 15.Qa6 Rb6 16.Qd3 Re8 17.Ne4 Nd5 18.Nxd6
{White is desparate to castle, but the knight was his only good piece, and with Black's rooks active there's no safety on the kingside.}
Rxd6 19.O-O Rde6 20.Re1 Qh3 21.Kh1
{Avoiding 21...Rg6+, but setting up a back rank mate.}
Rxe2 0-1
[Event "Berlin"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1923.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Alekhine"]
[Black "Saemisch"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "39"]
1.e4 c5
{Both players were blindfolded during this game!}
2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Be2 e6 4.O-O d6 5.d4 cxd4 6.Nxd4 Nf6 7.Bf3 Ne5 8.c4 Nxf3+ 9.Qxf3
Be7 10.Nc3 O-O 11.b3 Nd7 12.Bb2 Bf6 13.Rad1 a6 14.Qg3 Qc7 15.Kh1 Rd8 16.f4
b6
{The bishop at f6 is the only guardian of the kingside. White now blasts open the f-file while destroying the pawns at e6 and f7.}
17.f5 Be5
{Black counters by threatening the White queen. Once it moves, the knight will move to f6 and the kingside will be defended. But Alekhine wastes no time defending the queen.}
18.fxe6 Bxg3
{18...fxe6 19.Nxe6}
19.exf7+
{19.exf7+ Kf8 20.Ne6++}
Kh8 20.Nd5
{Here Black resigned, because there was no defense.}
1-0
[Event "Carlsbad"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1923.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Alekhine"]
[Black "Maroczy"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "43"]
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.Nc3 Be7 5.Bg5 O-O 6.e3 Ne4
{The Lasker ariation of the Queen's gambit Declined. Black seeks exchanges to free his somewhat cramped position.}
7.Bxe7 Qxe7 8.Qb3 Nxc3
{8...c6 9.Bd3 f5 would give Black a strong outpost for his knight on e4.}
9.Qxc3 c6
{9...c5 10.cxd5 cxd4 11.Nxd4 exd5 would give an advantage to White because of Black's weak isolated d-pawn.}
10.Bd3 Nd7 11.O-O f5
{A mistake which gives up control of the e5 square. 11...dxc4 12.Bxc4 c5 would be a better for White due to his better development.}
12.Rac1 g5
{This premature attack opens up Black's already weakened kingside.}
13.Nd2 Rf7 14.f3
{White's lead in development gives him the better game. His last move prepares to open up the position with 15.e4.}
e5 15.cxd5 cxd5 16.e4
{With Black's queenside still undeveloped White in effect is attacking with an extra rook and bishop.}
fxe4 17.fxe4 Rxf1+ 18.Rxf1 exd4 19.Qc7
{A strong move which ties down all of Black's pieces. 19.Qxd4 would be a mistake which would allow Black to exchange off queens with 19...Qc5}
Kg7 20.Rf5 dxe4 21.Nxe4
{As a result of Black's backward development White has a winning attack.}
Qb4 22.Rxg5+
{Black resigned.}
1-0
[Event "Mahrisch Ostrau"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1923.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Reti"]
[Black "Lasker"]
[Result "0-1"]
[PlyCount "90"]
1.Nf3 d5 2.d4 Nf6 3.c4 c6 4.Nc3 dxc4 5.e3 b5
{The Slav defense, in which Black has won a pawn but this is only temporary. In return, White can take control of central squares and develop pieces.}
6.a4
{An important move, which undermines Black's pawn chain.}
b4
{6...a6 7.axb5 cxb5 8.Nxb5 allows White to regain his pawn with advantage because of his better pawn structure.}
7.Na2 e6 8.Bxc4
{White has regained the pawn, but the knight is now misplaced.}
Be7 9.O-O O-O 10.Qe2 Nbd7 11.b3
{11.e4 Fighting for the center would be more consistent with the ideas behind this opening.}
a5
{Black plays to lock the a2 knight out of the game.}
12.Bb2 c5 13.Rfd1 Qb6 14.Nc1 Ba6 15.dxc5
{15.Bxa6 Qxa6 16.Qxa6 Rxa6 Black stands better due to White's undeveloped queenside and b3 weakness.}
Nxc5 16.Ne5 Bxc4 17.Nxc4 Qa6 18.Bd4 Rfc8 19.Bxc5
{19.h3 would allow Black to win a pawn.}
Bxc5 20.Qf3 Be7 21.Nd3
{21.Ne2 would allow White to keep the d-file open for his rooks while covering the c3 square.}
Nd5 22.Nde5 Bf6
{22...f6 woul d allow a pretty smothered mate with 23.Rxd5 exd5 24.Qxd5+ Kh8 25.Nf7+ Kg8 26. Nh6+ Kh8 27.Qg8+ Rxg8 28.Nf7+}
23.e4 Nc3 24.Rd6
{24.Rd7 Gaining the seventh rank would be only temporary after Ra7.}
Qb7 25.Re1 Bxe5 26.Nxe5 Qc7 27.Nc4
{27.Rd7 Qxe5 28.Qxf7+ Kh8 Black is fine since his queen guarding the g7 square.}
e5
{Played to stop White from opening the f3-a8 diagonal for his queen by e5. 27...Nxa4 28.e5 Rd8 29.Red1 Nc3 30.Rd7 Rxd7 31.Qxa8+}
28.Qf5 Ne2+ 29.Kf1
{A mistake which will be seen shortly. White's king would be safer tucked away in the corner after 29.Kh1.}
Nd4 30.Qxe5 Nxb3
{Black has the advantage thanks to his passed b-pawn.}
31.Nb6 Nd2+
{This move would not be possible had White played 29.Kh1.}
32.Kg1 Nc4 33.Nxc4 Qxc4 34.Qf5 Rab8
{Black's lends support to promoting his passed b-pawn.}
35.e5 b3 36.e6 fxe6 37.Rdxe6 Rf8 38.Qe5 Qc2 39.f4 b2 40.Re7 Qg6 41.f5 Qf6
42.Qd5+
{42.Qxf6 would not help to halt the b-pawns advance after...Rxf6 43.Rb1 Rc6 44.Ree1 Rc4 45.Re2 Rc1+ 46.Rxc1 bxc1Q+}
Kh8 43.Rb7 Qc3
{White resigned. 43...Qc3 White resigned since he can't stop the b-pawn from promoting for example...}
44.Rf1 Qe3+ 45.Kh1 Qc1 0-1
[Event "Holland Championship"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1924.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Euwe"]
[Black "Speyer"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "43"]
1.d4 d5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.e3 c6 4.c4 e6 5.Nbd2
{5.Nc3 is more common.}
c5 6.Bd3 Nbd7 7.O-O b6
{Black should have attended to his kingside development.}
8.cxd5 exd5 9.e4
{Since Black is not ready to castle, the opening of the e-file is the logical plan.}
Bb7 10.exd5 Bxd5 11.Re1+ Be7
{11...Be6 12.Bc4}
12.dxc5 Nxc5
{12...bxc5 13.Qe2 with a nasty pin on the e-file.}
13.Bb5+ Kf8
{There will be no castling.}
14.b3 Bb7 15.Bb2 Nd3 16.Bxd3 Qxd3 17.Rc1 Rd8
{Threatening Bxf3. But Euwe responds with a nice sacrifice.}
18.Rxe7 Bxf3
{18...Kxe7 19.Ba3+ Ke8 20.Qe1+ Ne4 21.Rc7 Rd7 22.Rxb7 Rxb7 23.Nxe4 The threat of discovered check forces the win of additional material.}
19.Ba3
{Now Euwe sacrifices the queen, though this, too, must be declined.}
Qa6
{19...Bxd1 20.Re3+ Kg8 21.Rxd3 Rxd3 22.Rc8+}
20.R1c7
{The queen remains under attack, but it still cannot be captured.}
Qxa3
{20...Bxd1 21.Rxf7+ Kg8 22.Rxg7++}
21.Rxf7+ Ke8
{21...Kg8 22.Rxg7+ Kf8 23.Rcf7+ Ke8 24.Qe1+}
22.Qe1+ 1-0
[Event "New York"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1924.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Capablanca"]
[Black "Tartakower"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "103"]
1.d4 e6 2.Nf3 f5 3.c4 Nf6 4.Bg5 Be7 5.Nc3 O-O
{White prepares to trade off Black's king knight or king bishop, both of which are important attacking pieces in this opening.}
6.e3 b6 7.Bd3 Bb7 8.O-O Qe8
{Black plans to attack on the kingside by 9...Qh5 and 10...Ng4.}
9.Qe2
{White prepare to meet 9...Qh5 by 10.e4 when Black's pieces will be embarrassed in the center.}
Ne4 10.Bxe7 Nxc3 11.bxc3 Qxe7 12.a4
{Preventing 12... Qa3 and preparing to play on the queenside by 13.Rfb1 and a later a5.}
Bxf3
{This is horrible: Black's bishop is his best piece and he voluntarily gives it up. He should play 12...d6 and 13...Nd7 to solidify his position in the center.}
13.Qxf3 Nc6 14.Rfb1 Rae8 15.Qh3
{Preventing Black from freeing himself by 15...e5. Black should now try to get some play on the kingside by 15...g5.}
Rf6 16.f4 Na5 17.Qf3 d6 18.Re1 Qd7 19.e4 fxe4 20.Qxe4 g6 21.g3 Kf8 22.Kg2
Rf7 23.h4 d5 24.cxd5 exd5 25.Qxe8+ Qxe8 26.Rxe8+ Kxe8
{We have now reached a classic ending) White has a bishop against a knight and a target on g6. Black struggles to get counterplay, but by giving up material White strengthens his bind until Black finally gives up.}
27.h5 Rf6
{27...gxh5 28.Rh1 Kf8 29.Rxh5 Wins a pawn for White.}
28.hxg6 hxg6 29.Rh1
{Now each of White's pieces is more active than its Black counterpart.}
Kf8
{Black wants to move his rook to the c-file but can't allow a pin by Bb5.}
30.Rh7
{Now White's rook has an ideal position on the seventh rank. Black's king is in a box and will soon become the object of attack by all White's pieces.}
Rc6 31.g4 Nc4
{Black doesn't take on c3 as that would give White connected passed pawns on the kingside. He brings his misplaced knight to the kingside, but the time this takes lets White tighten his bind there.}
32.g5 Ne3+ 33.Kf3 Nf5 34.Bxf5 gxf5
{White has given up his bishop for Black's knight and must now lose his c- pawn, but now his king has a clear path into Black's position by g3-h4-g5-f6.}
35.Kg3 Rxc3+ 36.Kh4 Rf3
{36...Rc1 37.Kh5 Rh1+ 38.Kg6 Rxh7 39.Kxh7 c5 40.g6 And White gets a new queen.}
37.g6 Rxf4+ 38.Kg5 Re4
{38...Rxd4 39.Kf6 Kg8 40.Rd7 And Black get mated.}
39.Kf6
{White doesn't take the f-pawn because it will shield his king from checks on the f-file. The g6 pawn is all he needs to win with his mating battery of king and rook in place.}
Kg8 40.Rg7+ Kh8 41.Rxc7 Re8 42.Kxf5
{White only captures after Black's rook has been reduced to passive defense.}
Re4 43.Kf6 Rf4+ 44.Ke5 Rg4 45.g7+ Kg8
{45...Rxg7 46.Rxg7 Kxg7 47.Kxd5 Kf7 48.Kd6 Ke8 49.Kc7 Ke7 50.d5 And the d- pawn can't be stopped.}
46.Rxa7 Rg1 47.Kxd5 Rc1 48.Kd6 Rc2 49.d5 Rc1 50.Rc7 Ra1 51.Kc6 Rxa4 52.d6
{White will get a new queen. If you don't see this, play the position out with Gambit.}
1-0
[Event "New York"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1924.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Alekhine"]
[Black "Lasker"]
[Result "0-1"]
[PlyCount "72"]
1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Nc3 Nbd7 5.cxd5 exd5 6.Bf4 c6 7.e3
{7.h3 With the idea of preserving his dark squared bishop, would be met with ... Be7 8.e3 Ne4 9.Be2 f5 with a good game for Black due to his strong knight one4.}
Nh5 8.Bd3
{This leaves his d-pawn extremely weak after Black plays 8... Nxf4. 8.Be5 would be better as after 8...f6 9.Bg3 Nxg3 10.hxg3 when White has succeeded in giving Black light square weaknesses.}
Nxf4 9.exf4 Bd6 10.g3
{Black has forced White to weaken his kingside in order to protect the f4 pawn.}
O-O 11.O-O Re8 12.Qc2 Nf8 13.Nd1 f6 14.Ne3 Be6 15.Nh4 Bc7 16.b4
{White begins a minority attack on the queenside where his two pawns will attack Black's three.}
Bb6 17.Nf3 Bf7 18.b5
{A mistake since the White d-pawn needs protection. 18.Qb2 Ne6 19.Nc2 Gives the weak pawn protection.}
Bh5
{Forcing White to further weaken his kingside in order to save his d4 pawn.}
19.g4 Bf7 20.bxc6 Rc8
{20...bxc6 21.Qxc6}
21.Qb2 bxc6 22.f5
{This prevent s Black from using the e6-square but it creates further holes on the kingside.}
Qd6 23.Ng2 Bc7
{Black moves quickly to put pressure on the dark squared.}
24.Rfe1 h5
{Black's idea is not only to undermine White's pawn position but also to get his knight into the game via h7.}
25.h3 Nh7 26.Rxe8+ Rxe8 27.Re1
{White must keep the e-file under control to avoid being mated. 27.a4 Ng5 28.Nxg5 Qh2+ 29. Kf1 Qh1+ Mate.}
Rb8
{27...Ng5 28.Rxe8+ Bxe8 29.Qe2 allows White to defend himself.}
28.Qc1 Ng5 29.Ne5
{29.Nxg5 Qh2+ 30.Kf1 fxg5 would be much better for Black because of White's exposed king.}
fxe5 30.Qxg5 e4
{Black reopens the b8-h2 diagonal.}
31.f6 g6 32.f4
{32.gxh5 Qh2+ 33.Kf1 exd3 when Black threatens 34...Qh1 mate.}
hxg4
{32...exd3 allows White counterplay after...33.gxh5}
33.Be2
{33.hxg4 exd3 34.Qh6 Qf8 would leave Black a piece up.}
gxh3 34.Bh5 Rb2 35.Nh4 Qxf4 36.Qxf4 Bxf4
{White resigned due to his material deficit.}
0-1
[Event "New York"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1924.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Tartakower"]
[Black "Capablanca"]
[Result "0-1"]
[PlyCount "60"]
1.e4 e5 2.f4 exf4 3.Be2
{A passive move which lets Black take the initiative in the center.}
d5 4.exd5 Nf6 5.c4
{A dangerous loss of time with White's weakness on e3 and the e1-h4 diagonal. He should remember he is playing a gambit and develop his kingside.}
c6
{In contrast to White, Black is perfectly willing to give up a pawn to get his pieces out.}
6.d4 Bb4+
{The first intermediate move. Before taking on d5 Black develops a piece and throws White into confusion.}
7.Kf1
{White must move his King. 8...Nxd2 9.Nbxd2 cxd5 White's position is horrible.}
cxd5 8.Bxf4 dxc4 9.Bxb8
{White hopes to win a piece by 10.Qa4+, but misses Black's reply. 9.Bxc4 would be only a little better for Black.}
Nd5
{A fine intermediate move. Black protects his bishop, centralizes his knight and threatens a deadly fork on e3.}
10.Kf2
{10.Bf4 Qf6}
Rxb8 11.Bxc4 O-O
{Black has a huge advantage here: White's king is exposed, his pieces are undeveloped and Black has the bishop pair. White doesn't realize the danger to his king, else he would play 12.Bxd5 to get rid of Black's strong knight.}
12.Nf3 Nf6
{Black saves his knight from exchange, since it will become a nuisance on e4 or g4.}
13.Nc3 b5
{Driving White's bishop from the center.}
14.Bd3 Ng4+ 15.Kg1 Bb7 16.Bf5 Bxf3 17.gxf3
{Black wins easily after 17.Qxf3.}
Ne3 18.Bxh7+
{White can't let Black deflect his queen from the defense of d4.}
Kh8 19.Qd3 Bxc3 20.bxc3 Nd5 21.Be4 Nf4 22.Qd2 Qh4
{Black's queen and knight and queen are so strong that he now threatens to win by the crude ...Rb6, ... f5, ...Rg6+ and ...Rg2. White stops that but there are too many other threat as well.}
23.Kf1 f5 24.Bc6 Rf6
{Now White can only save his bishop by shutting it off from the defense of his king.}
25.d5 Rd8 26.Rd1
{26.Qf2 Qh3+ 27.Ke1 Nd3+}
Rxc6
{Winning a piece, but also trading off the last piece guarding White's king.}
27.dxc6 Rxd2 28.Rxd2 Ne6 29.Rd6 Qc4+ 30.Kg2 Qe2+
{White resigns in the face of mate or further loss of material. If you have doubts about this, Gambit will convince you.}
0-1
[Event "Leningrad"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1924.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Botvinnik"]
[Black "Timofeyev"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "45"]
1.d4 d5 2.c4 dxc4 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.e3 e6 5.Bxc4 Bb4+ 6.Nc3 a6 7.Qc2 Nfd7 8.e4
Nc6 9.Be3
{White has complete control of the center, which will provide the basis for an attack. The 17-year old Botvinnik shows that he understands the opening well.}
Na5
{His opponent lacks such wisdom, and violates opening principles by failing to continue with development.}
10.Bd3 Nb6 11.a3 Bd6 12.Rd1 O-O
{Finally! But now this loses a pawn immediately.}
13.e5 Be7 14.Bxh7+ Kh8 15.Qe4 g6
{Does Black think the bishop is trapped?}
16.Bxg6 fxg6 17.Qxg6
{And now the Black king is hopelessly exposed.}
Rf5 18.d5
{This move contains many threats, from the discovered attack on the queen with 19.dxe6, which also removes the defender from the rook, and also there is a threat to capture at b6 and create a passed pawn with d5-d6.}
Nxd5 19.Nxd5 exd5 20.e6 Rf6 21.Bd4
{The pin forces the win of material.}
Bxe6 22.Ng5
{And now mate is threatened.}
Bg8 23.Qh6+ 1-0
[Event "Soviet Union"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1924.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Abramovic"]
[Black "Botvinnik"]
[Result "0-1"]
[PlyCount "34"]
1.d4 f5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.c4 e6 4.Nc3 b6
{Black aims his queen bishop at the kingside, also further restraining e4 by White.}
5.Bg5 Be7 6.e3 Bb7 7.Bd3 O-O 8.O-O Ne4
{So Black occupies this key square, hoping the knight will support a kingside attack, while simultaneously encouraging White to trade off his most active piece.}
9.Bxe7 Qxe7 10.Rc1
{White doesn't want to trade on e4, which would give Black both the open f-file and a cramping pawn on e4, and he also doesn't want Black to leave him with doubled c-pawns, but this move wastes time.}
Na6
{Black connects his rooks while supporting both c7 and c5 in the event White tries to break on the c-file.}
11.a3
{Losing more time.}
Rf6
{Black brings the heavy artillery to bear against White's kingside.}
12.Qa4
{After this White is lost; his queen is cut off from the kingside, and Black will trade off his only good defensive piece there, the knight on f3.}
Nxc3 13.Rxc3 Bxf3 14.Qxa6
{White thinks he is keeping his kingside intact by not taking on f3, but the bishop is a one piece mating net while the knight had nothing to do with the attack. White would still be lost after: 14.gxf3 Rg6+ 15.Kh1 Qg5 And White has no defence to the mate on g2.}
Rg6 15.g3 Qg5
{Good enough, but Black could win faster by 15...Qh4.}
16.Re1 Qh5 17.e4 Qxh2+ 0-1
[Event "Moscow"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1925.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Capablanca"]
[Black "Bogoljubow"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "66"]
1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 dxc4 4.e4
{After this White can't keep a pawn on d4, but his pieces become very active.}
c5 5.Bxc4 cxd4 6.Nxd4 Nf6 7.Nc3 Bc5
{The bishop is exposed here; he should play 7...Nbd7.}
8.Be3
{White takes aim at Black's exposed bishop.}
Nbd7
{Black defends the bishop but underestimates the coming sacrifice. He should castle to defend against tactics due to White's advantage in development.}
9.Bxe6
{White cashes in his edge in development to open up Black's king.}
fxe6 10.Nxe6 Qa5
{10...Qb6 11.Nxc5 Nxc5 12.O-O Qc6 13.Rc1 Ncxe4 14.Nxe4 Qxe4 15. Bc5 And White has a mighty attack.}
11.O-O
{White doesn't lose time by taking on g7.}
Bxe3
{This opens the f-file for White's rook, but 11...Kf7 walks into 12.Qb3.}
12.fxe3 Kf7 13.Qb3 Kg6 14.Rf5 Qb6 15.Nf4+ Kh6 16.g4
{White tightens the net around Black's king, but this is really a mistake that should let Black out. He should have played 16.Qf7. 16.Qf7 g6 17.g4 Qxe3+ 18.Kg2 and Black will get mated.}
g5 17.Qxb6 axb6 18.Rd1 Rg8
{With his king exposed and White's pieces all active, Black has a tough defence but this is a blunder. He could have won by taking the knight. 18...gxf4 19.g5+ Kg7 20.gxf6+ Nxf6 21. Rg5+ Kf7 22.exf4 h6 23.Rg3 Nh5 And Black will eventually get away.}
19.Nfd5 Nxg4
{19...Rg6 20.Ne7 Rg7 21.Ncd5 leaves Black completely tied up and White's attack still going full steam.}
20.Ne7 Rg7 21.Rd6+ Kh5 22.Rf3
{Sealing the mating net. This pretty move ensures the win.}
Ngf6 23.Rh3+ Kg4 24.Rg3+ Kh5 25.Nf5 Rg6 26.Ne7
{He could have won faster by checking first. 26.Rh3+ Kg4 27.Kg2 And Black gets mated.}
g4 27.Nxg6 Kxg6 28.Rxg4+ Kf7 29.Rf4 Kg7 30.e5 Ne8 31.Re6
{Black resigned here. He didn't like the idea of playing on, for example...}
Nc7 32.Re7+ Kg6 33.e6
{when he loses at least another piece.}
Nc5 1-0
[Event "Moscow"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1925.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Capablanca"]
[Black "Marshall"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "57"]
1.Nf3 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.g3 d5 4.b3 c5 5.Bg2 Nc6 6.O-O Be7 7.d3 O-O 8.Bb2 d4
9.e4
{White blocks the center in order to start a flank attack.}
dxe3
{Black doesn't want to let White gain space on the kingside by 10.Ne1 and 11.f4, but now White's extra center pawn gives him a permanent edge there. 9...a6 10. Ne1 Rb8 Should be OK for Black.}
10.fxe3 Ng4 11.Qe2 Bf6 12.Nc3 Qa5
{The queen doesn't do anything here and Black will soon gets exposed on the kingside.}
13.Rac1 Rd8 14.h3 Nge5 15.Ne4
{The knight takes aim at Black's kingside. With his queen and queenside pieces out of play Black is hard pressed to defend the coming attack.}
Qxa2
{Now Black gets crushed on the kingside, but things were bad anyway. 15...Nxf3+ 16.Qxf3 Bxb2 17.Qxf7+ Kh8 18.Qf8+}
16.Nxf6+ gxf6 17.Nxe5 Nxe5 18.Be4
{White's whole army is aimed at Black's king and Black has only a knight to defend.}
Bd7 19.Ra1 Qxb3 20.Rfb1
{Black now loses either his queen or knight. He could resign here, but the finish is amusing.}
Qb4 21.Bxe5 fxe5 22.Rxb4 cxb4 23.Bxb7 Rab8 24.Rxa7 b3 25.Qb2 Ba4 26.Qxe5
Bc6 27.Qg5+ Kf8 28.Bxc6 b2 29.Qe7+ 1-0
[Event "Moscow"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1925.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Gotthilf"]
[Black "Capablanca"]
[Result "0-1"]
[PlyCount "54"]
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 b6 4.g3 Bb7 5.Bg2 c5 6.dxc5
{White should advance the d-pawn here. 6.d5 exd5 White can use the diagonal to his advantage here. Nh4 And Black can't hold the d5 pawn.}
Bxc5 7.Nc3 Ne4 8.Nxe4 Bxe4 9.O-O Nc6 10.Nd2 Bxg2 11.Kxg2
{Now Black has an edge because of his freer pieces and White's slightly exposed king.}
d5 12.Qa4
{12.Nf3 dxc4 13.Qa4 Rc8 14.Ne5 Qc7 15.Bf4 Qb7}
Rc8 13.Nb3 O-O 14.Rd1
{14.cxd5 Qxd5+ 15.e4 Qd3 16.Nxc5 bxc5 17.Be3 Nd4}
d4
{Black's pawn wedge will give him a permanent edge.}
15.Nxc5
{15.e3 e5}
bxc5 16.a3
{White tries to counter Black's central clamp by opening the queenside but since he can't play b4 this is just a waste of time.}
Qb6 17.Bd2 a5 18.Qc2 e5 19.Rab1 f5
{Black's space edge in the center is getting dangerous, but White can't do anything about it.}
20.h3 h6 21.b3 Rb8 22.Rb2 Qb7
{Taking over the diagonal that White gave up at move 10.}
23.Kh2 Rbd8 24.b4
{White is desparate to get some play before he gets pushed off the board, but he overlooks a pretty tactic.}
d3
{White resigned here. If he had played on the game might end as follows:}
25.exd3 Nd4 26.Qb1 Nf3+ 27.Kg2 Nxd2+ 0-1
[Event "Kecskemet"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1927.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Takacs"]
[Black "Alekhine"]
[Result "0-1"]
[PlyCount "38"]
1.Nf3 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.g3 d5 4.Qc2
{White doesn't need to defend his c-pawn, since ...dxc4 could be answered by Qa4+ regaining the pawn, and his queen quickly becomes exposed here.}
c5
{Black takes advantage of White's move order to prevent him from establishing a pawn on d4.}
5.d4 cxd4 6.Nxd4 e5 7.Nf3 Nc6
{Black feels that his secure pawn on e5 gives him enough space in the center, so he doesn't risk overextending himself by 8...e4.}
8.cxd5 Nxd5 9.a3
{White begins to regret his fourth move, as now he must lose time or have his queen harassed by ...Nb4.}
Be6 10.Bd2 Be7 11.Nc3 O-O 12.Bg2 Rc8
{Black places his rook menacingly opposite White's queen.}
13.Rd1
{White likewise places his rook opposite Black's queen, but with Black ahead in development and White's king still in the center there is no doubt whose rook will be stronger.}
Nd4
{Black draws first blood, moving his knight into a strong attacking position. Because of the pin of the knight on c3 White can't trade off Black's aggressive knight:}
14.Qb1
{14.Nxd4 exd4 And White will loses the knight on c3.}
Bf6
{Black reinforce s his center pawn. White's king is uncomfortable, and Black is ready to make it even less comfortable.}
15.O-O
{White is understandably anxious to get his King out of the center, but this loses material. 15.h3 Nxc3 16.Bxc3 Bb3 when Black has a decisive initiative.}
Nxc3
{Destroying the only defender of White's pawn on e2.}
16.bxc3 Nxe2+ 17.Kh1 Qc7
{Getting out of White's rook's line of fire, defending the b7 pawn and ganging up on White's c3 pawn.}
18.Qd3 Nxc3
{Taking a second pawn, and threatening a fork which White overlooks.}
19.Rc1 e4
{White seems to have overlooked that Black's last move added another defender to c3. It is ironic that the game ends with a final attack on White's queen, whose early development got him into trouble in the first place.}
0-1
[Event "New York"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1927.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Capablanca"]
[Black "Spielmann"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "51"]
1.d4 d5 2.Nf3 e6 3.c4 Nd7 4.Nc3 Ngf6 5.Bg5 Bb4 6.cxd5 exd5 7.Qa4 Bxc3+
8.bxc3 O-O 9.e3 c5 10.Bd3 c4 11.Bc2 Qe7 12.O-O a6 13.Rfe1 Qe6 14.Nd2 b5
15.Qa5 Ne4 16.Nxe4 dxe4
{Looking at this position it hardly seems possible that White will soon have a passed pawn on the a-file!}
17.a4 Qd5
{17...bxa4 18.Bxa4 Bb7 19.Qc7}
18.axb5
{The pawn cannot be captured because of the pin on the a-file. Black captures the bishop at g5, but this is not relevant to the action.}
Qxg5 19.Bxe4 Rb8 20.bxa6
{In return for the piece, White has three pawns, normally considered enough compensation. But the fact that one of them is a passed pawn nearing the promotion rank, and that the path to the 8th rank is clear, is decisive.}
Rb5 21.Qc7 Nb6 22.a7 Bh3 23.Reb1 Rxb1+ 24.Rxb1 f5 25.Bf3 f4 26.exf4
{White won.}
1-0
[Event "New York"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1927.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Nimzovitch"]
[Black "Capablanca"]
[Result "0-1"]
[PlyCount "92"]
1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.e5 Bf5 4.Bd3
{Too passive. White trades his good bishop for Black's bad one and, by doing so, eliminates his own attacking potential.}
Bxd3 5.Qxd3 e6 6.Nc3 Qb6 7.Nge2 c5 8.dxc5 Bxc5 9.O-O Ne7
{Black is willing to let White exchange his knight for the c5 bishop because this trade will leave White's bishop without any good squares.}
10.Na4 Qc6 11.Nxc5 Qxc5 12.Be3 Qc7 13.f4 Nf5 14.c3 Nc6 15.Rad1 g6
{Black sets a positional trap: White has been moving his pieces with no real object in mind, and Black invites him to do something apparently active on the kingside.}
16.g4 Nxe3 17.Qxe3 h5
{Now White must either let the h-file be opened onto his king or give Black the f5 square.}
18.g5 O-O
{Now White has no chance to open the kingside while Black has fine squares for his pieces for his pieces all over the board.}
19.Nd4 Qb6 20.Rf2 Rfc8 21.a3 Rc7 22.Rd3 Na5 23.Re2 Re8 24.Kg2 Nc6 25.Red2
Rec8 26.Re2 Ne7
{Black saves his knight for f5 and unleashes a brutal battery on the c- file.}
27.Red2 Rc4 28.Qh3 Kg7 29.Rf2 a5 30.Re2 Nf5
{Now Black will allow the exchange of knights because the trade will leave White tied to the defense of f4.}
31.Nxf5+ gxf5 32.Qf3
{32.Qxh5 Rh8 33.Qf3 Rh4 And the f4 pawn must fall.}
Kg6 33.Red2 Re4 34.Rd4 Rc4 35.Qf2 Qb5 36.Kg3 Rcxd4 37.cxd4 Qc4
{Black will now work on the weak spots on d4 and f4 until White is forced to let Black's pieces into the first rank, when White will simply run out of moves.}
38.Kg2 b5 39.Kg1 b4 40.axb4 axb4 41.Kg2 Qc1 42.Kg3 Qh1 43.Rd3 Re1 44.Rf3
Rd1 45.b3 Rc1 46.Re3 Rf1
{White's queen can only be saved at the cost of mate or his rook.}
0-1
[Event "Budapest"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1928.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Capablanca"]
[Black "Havasi"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "53"]
1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 dxc4 4.e4 c5 5.Bxc4 cxd4 6.Nxd4 Nf6 7.Nc3 a6 8.O-O
Bc5 9.Be3 Nbd7 10.Bxe6 fxe6 11.Nxe6 Qa5 12.Nxg7+ Kf7 13.Nf5
{White threatens 14.Qb3+ followed by 15.Ne2.}
Ne5 14.Qb3+ Kg6 15.Rac1 Bf8 16.Ne2 h5 17.Rfd1
{Bringing the last piece into the attack.}
Rg8 18.Nf4+ Kh7 19.Bb6 Qb5 20.Rc7+ Kh8
{20...Bd7 21.Nd5 Nxd5 22.Rxd5 Qxb3 23.axb3}
21.Qxb5
{White eliminates Black's only active piece in preparation for the final attack.}
axb5 22.Rd8
{Now none of Black's pieces has a productive move.}
Rxa2
{22...Bxf5 23.Rxa8 Bxe4 24.Rcc8 Ned7 25.Bd4}
23.Rdxc8 Nc4 24.h3 Nxb6 25.Rxf8 Nfd7
{25...Rxf8 26.Ng6+ Kg8 27.Rg7+}
26.Rf7 Rxb2 27.Nd5
{Black resigns because he must lose a piece.}
1-0
[Event "Budapest"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1928.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Merenyi"]
[Black "Capablanca"]
[Result "0-1"]
[PlyCount "76"]
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 g6 3.c3 d5 4.Bb5+
{This is weak since White's bishop is would be a good piece after the pawn center clarified.}
Bd7 5.Bxd7+ Qxd7 6.exd5 Qxd5 7.d4 cxd4 8.Qxd4 Qxd4 9.Nxd4 e5
{Taking advantage of White's exposed knight to gain a strong center pawn.}
10.Nb5 Kd7
{10...Na6 would misplace the knight, while now it is White's knight which is misplaced.}
11.Ke2 Kc6 12.a4 Nd7 13.Be3 a6 14.Rd1 Ngf6 15.Nd2 Rd8 16.Na3
{White begins to retreat and Black's edge in piece activity will increase with every piece.}
Nd5 17.Ndc4 b6 18.Rd2 Bxa3 19.Rxa3
{19.Nxa3 Nxe3 20.Kxe3 Nc5 And Black keeps the advantage because of his more active pieces and White's weak a-pawn.}
Rhe8 20.Nd6 Re7
{Black meets White's hopeful tactics by simple consolidation.}
21.c4 Nxe3 22.fxe3
{22.Kxe3 Nf6 23.Ne4 Ng4+ 24.Kf3 Nxh2+ 25.Kg3 Nf1+}
Nc5 23.Ne4 Rxd2+ 24.Nxd2 a5
{Black's edge is now clear across the whole board: White has weaknesses on c4, a4, e3 and g2, and Black's pieces are all more active than their counter- parts.}
25.Nb1 Rd7 26.Nd2 e4 27.Nb3 Nd3 28.Nd4+ Kc5 29.b3 f5 30.Ra1 Rxd4
{The e3 pawn was the key to White's keeping Black's king and pawns at bay; now White is overrun.}
31.exd4+ Kxd4 32.g3
{32.h4 f4}
g5 33.b4 f4 34.c5 f3+ 35.Kf1 e3 36.Re1 bxc5 37.Rxe3 Kxe3 38.bxa5 c4
{White will promote first, but Black will promote with mate.}
0-1
[Event "Berlin"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1928.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Reti"]
[Black "Capablanca"]
[Result "0-1"]
[PlyCount "36"]
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 d6 4.c3 a6 5.Ba4 f5
{White's fourth move did nothing for his immediate development and took the best square from his queen knight, so Black feels he can risk this push for the initiative.}
6.d4 fxe4 7.Ng5 exd4 8.Nxe4
{White might do better to castle and make a gambit of the opening.}
Nf6
{Black uses the exposed White knight to develop with tempo.}
9.Bg5 Be7 10.Qxd4
{White miscalculates that Black won't be able to take advantage of his exposed queen.}
b5
{Winning material, but White must have felt that Black's many pawn moves would give White enough counterplay.}
11.Nxf6+ gxf6 12.Qd5 bxa4 13.Bh6
{13.Qxc6+ Bd7}
Qd7
{This fine move defends the knight as well as the bishop on e7, prepares to attack White's kingside by a later ...Qg4 or Qh3 and gets ready to castle queenside.}
14.O-O Bb7
{Aiming his extra piece straight at White's king position.}
15.Bg7 O-O-O
{Another fine move. Black is willing to give back a little material to take the initiative. After White takes the rook Black will have his queen bishop, knight, queen and rook all aiming at White's king, which has no defenders.}
16.Bxh8 Ne5
{Now White's queen won't be able to get back to defend the kingside.}
17.Qd1 Bf3
{Very powerful; Black wins a tempo on White's queen while not allowing the counterplay White might hope for after, e.g. 17...Qf5 18.Qxa4.}
18.gxf3 Qh3
{White has no defense to threats like 19...Nxf3+ and 19...Rg8+}
0-1
[Event "Carlsbad"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1929.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Euwe"]
[Black "Colle"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "25"]
1.Nf3 Nf6 2.d4 e6 3.c4 b6 4.g3 Bb7 5.Bg2 Bb4+ 6.Bd2 Bxd2+ 7.Nbxd2 d6 8.O-O
O-O 9.Re1
{White prepares to take over the center by e4.}
Nbd7 10.Qc2
{White feels that, since e4 is inevitable he should wait for Black to commit his pieces before committing his own pawns.}
e5 11.Nxe5
{This discovered attack wins a pawn. Black tries to cut his losses, but only makes things worse.}
Bxg2
{This intermediate move at least keeps White from taking over the a8-h1 diagonal as he would if Black took the knight.}
12.Nxd7 Bh3
{But this is one intermediate move too many. Black hopes for counterplay around White's king position, but after:}
13.Nxf8
{He is simply down too much material.}
1-0
[Event "USSR Championship"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1929.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Kan"]
[Black "Botvinnik"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "37"]
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.b4 Bb6 5.a4 a6 6.Nc3 Nf6 7.Nd5
{White grab s some space in the center and offers his opponent a pawn. Black takes the bait but soon finds himself swamped in the middle.}
Nxe4 8.O-O O-O 9.d3 Nf6
{Botvinnik must have felt that with his king out of the center there was no danger, but he quickly realizes that this is not the case.}
10.Bg5 d6 11.Nd2
{Kan uses his lead in development to gang up on f6. If White can occupy f6, mate will follow effortlessly. Botvinnik tries heroically to stop this, but the cost is too high.}
Bg4 12.Bxf6 Qc8 13.Nxb6 cxb6 14.f3 Be6 15.Bh4 Nxb4 16.Be7 Qc5+ 17.Kh1 Rfe8
18.Ne4 Qc6 19.Bxd6
{Even Botvinnik , a pioneer of dynamic play, could lose like one of Morphy's opponents when he broke the rules in an open game.}
1-0
[Event "Barcelona"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1929.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Capablanca"]
[Black "Torres"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "35"]
1.Nf3 Nf6 2.c4 c5 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 e5
{This is risky.}
5.Nb5 Bb4+
{Exposing this bishop to exchange only exposes the weakness of d6. Black should make a gambit of it by 5...d5 6.cxd5 Bc5.}
6.Bd2 Bxd2+ 7.Qxd2 O-O 8.N1c3 Na6
{This loses time. Black had to try 8...Nc6, though the dark squares give White an edge.}
9.g3 Nc5 10.Bg2 a6 11.Nd6 Qa5
{Exposing his queen and knight to a potential fork.}
12.O-O Rb8 13.Rfd1 b5 14.cxb5 axb5 15.Qg5
{With Black's pieces tied up on the queenside White strikes on the kingside.}
Na4
{Black is blind to the danger to his own king. He had to give up a pawn by 15...h6.}
16.Nf5 Ne8 17.Nh6+ Kh8 18.Qe7
{Black loses a rook. If you don't see this, check it out by playing this with Gambit.}
1-0
[Event "Carlsbad"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1929.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Capablanca"]
[Black "Becker"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "35"]
1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 Nd7 4.Nc3 Ngf6 5.Bf4
{White hopes to profit from Black's knight being committed to the passive square d7.}
dxc4 6.e3
{Note that White doesn't get anything from advancing his knight, as shown in the variation: 6.Nb5 Bb4+ 7.Nd2Ne4}
Nd5
{Black decides to eliminate any future threats to c7, but he loses time doing so.}
7.Bxc4 Nxf4 8.exf4 Bd6 9.g3 Nf6 10.O-O O-O 11.Qe2 b6 12.Rfd1 Bb7 13.Rac1
a6 14.Bd3
{The bishop 't doing anything on c4, so White takes aim at h7 and opens his rook's line to c7.}
Bb4
{Black hopes to counterattack on the a8-h1 diagonal, but White can answer any threats there easily, showing Black's idea to be a simple loss of time.}
15.Ne4
{Threatening to trade off the only defender of h7.}
Qd5 16.Nfg5
{Before trading off Black's knight White prepares to take the a8- h1 diagonal away from Black after a later Nxf6+ and Be4.}
Ne8
{Black sees ly the threat to c7, not the stronger threats on the a8- h1 diagonal and the kingside.}
17.Nxh7 f5
{17...Kxh7 18.Nf6+}
18.Nhg5
{Black missed this move. Now taking White's knight on e4 loses another pawn, so Black has no good defence to 19.Qh5. If you don't see White's wins after 18...Nf6, 18...fxe4 or 18...Qxd4, copy the game and try them out against Gambit.}
1-0
[Event "Budapest"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1929.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Capablanca"]
[Black "Colle"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "24"]
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Qb3 Bxc3+
{Premature, since White often has to waste a tempo by a3 to force this trade. 4...c5 5.Nf3 Nc6 This is Black's best line here and should be equal.}
5.Qxc3 Ne4
{This is also premature. Black may have thought the knight was strong here, but it is really overexposed.}
6.Qc2 d5 7.Nf3 O-O 8.e3 Nc6
{Black hopes to free himself and destroy White's pawn center by a later ...e5.}
9.Be2 Re8 10.O-O e5
{The break Black was playing for, but this move is really a blunder, since after 10...f5 11.Nd2 White will keep some advantage by playing b3 and Bb2 and later f3.}
11.cxd5
{Both of Black's knight's are attacked. Black resigned here, because ...}
Qxd5
{Loses to...}
12.Bc4
{Driving the queen from the defence of the knight on e4. Black's only try now is...}
Nb4
{But it isn't good enough. You should be able to work out White's win here.}
1-0
[Event "Budapest"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1929.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Capablanca"]
[Black "Colle"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "24"]
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Qb3 Bxc3+
{Too early, since White often has to waste a tempo by a3 to force this trade.}
5.Qxc3 Ne4
{This is also premature. Black may have thought the knight was strong here, but it is really overexposed.}
6.Qc2 d5 7.Nf3 O-O 8.e3 Nc6
{Black hopes to free himself and destroy White's pawn center by a later ...e5.}
9.Be2 Re8 10.O-O e5
{The break Black was playing for, but this move is really a blunder, since after the next move...}
11.cxd5
{both of Black's knight's are attacked. Black resigned here, because he saw that the only move to defend both knights,}
Qxd5
{loses to}
12.Bc4
{Driving the queen from the defence of the knight on e4. Black's only try now is}
Nb4
{but it isn't good enough. You should be able to work out White's win here.}
1-0
[Event "Leningrad"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1930.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Botvinnik"]
[Black "Batuyev"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "57"]
1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bg5 Be7 5.e3 O-O 6.Nf3 Nbd7 7.Bd3 dxc4 8.Bxc4
c5 9.O-O cxd4 10.exd4 Nb6 11.Bb3 Nbd5 12.Ne5 Nd7 13.Bxe7 Nxe7 14.Qe2 Nf6
15.Rfd1 b6 16.Rac1 Bb7 17.f3 Rc8
{Black seems to have a lot of pieces guarding the king, but White sees that the e6-square is very weak, and by investing a piece he can crack open the enemy position.}
18.Nxf7 Rxf7 19.Qxe6
{Capturing with the bishop would have forked Black's rooks, but this is even stronger, keeping a super-pin on the a2-g8 diagonal. Blocking the diagonal will not help Black, as the following series of captures demonstrates: 19.Qxe6 Ned5 20.Nxd5 Nxd5 21.Bxd5 Bxd5 22.Rxc8 Bxe6 23.Rxd8+ Rf8 24.Rxf8+ Kxf8 25.d5}
Qf8 20.Ne4
{It is to White's advantage to exchange pieces, since he can always recover his material investment with interest by capturing at f7.}
Rxc1 21.Rxc1 Nfd5
{21...Nxe4 22.fxe4 White has two very powerful passed pawns.}
22.Nd6
{This adds even more pressure to the pin, while also attacking the bishop at b7.}
Ba8 23.Re1
{A subtle move which exploits the power of the pin. After exchanges at f7, the king will wind up there, and so the knight at d5 will be pinned. Therefore the knight at e7 will lack support.}
g6 24.Nxf7 Qxf7 25.Qxe7
{A variation on the theme. Black resigned because capturing the queen with either piece will lead to a lost position:}
Nxe7
{25...Qxe7 26.Rxe7}
26.Rxe7 Bd5 27.Rxf7 Bxf7 28.Bxf7+ Kxf7 29.Kf2
{The king and pawn endgame is a simple win with two extra pawns in hand.}
1-0
[Event "Leningrad"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1931.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Botvinnik"]
[Black "Breitman"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "45"]
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.g3 O-O 6.Bg2 Nc6 7.Nge2 Bg4 8.f3 Bd7
9.Be3 Qc8 10.g4 e5 11.d5 Na5 12.b3 b6 13.Qd2 Nb7 14.Bg5 Nc5 15.Ng3 a6 16.h4
b5
{White attacks on the kingside and Black counterattacks on the queenside. But now White puts and end to Black's queenside aspirations.}
17.b4 Nb7 18.cxb5 axb5 19.h5
{The attack can now proceed without interruption.}
c5 20.dxc6 Bxc6 21.Bh6 Qc7 22.Rc1 Qe7
{Black is trying to defend, but now Botvinnik delivers the crowning blow.}
23.Nf5
{Black resigned. If you do not see what happens on 23...gxf5, try to play this against Gambit.}
1-0
[Event "Bled"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1931.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Alekhine"]
[Black "Nimzowitsch"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "37"]
1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Nge2
{Giving Black the opportunity to win a pawn, but the cost is very high.}
dxe4 5.a3 Bxc3+ 6.Nxc3 f5
{So Black has a pawn, but White has a big lead in development and the dark squares around Black's king are very weak.}
7.f3 exf3 8.Qxf3 Qxd4
{This is really asking for it, as Black must lose more time with his queen and White can occupy the open d-file soon.}
9.Qg3
{A strong double attack White will take one of the few defenders of the dark squares Black has left.}
Nf6 10.Qxg7 Qe5+ 11.Be2 Rg8 12.Qh6 Rg6 13.Qh4 Bd7 14.Bg5 Bc6 15.O-O-O Bxg2
{Black is still greedy, but it doesn't matter anymore.}
16.Rhe1
{White threatens to win Black's queen by a discovered attack.}
Be4 17.Bh5
{Now White's army overruns Black in a blitzkrieg.}
Nxh5 18.Rd8+ Kf7 19.Qxh5
{Black resigned because he can't hold his h-pawn: 19...h6 20.Bxh6 and 21. Rf8+, 19...Qg7 20.Nxe4 fxe4 21.Rf1+. You can work out the win after 19...Kg7 for yourself, and verify it by playing against Gambit.}
1-0
[Event "Soviet Union"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1931.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Alekhine"]
[Black "Lukowski"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "23"]
1.e4 e5 2.Nc3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Qg4
{This looks strange, but White's pressure on g7 lets him bend the rules about bringing out the queen too early.}
Qf6
{But this is a blunder. Black overestimates the strength of his check on f2.}
5.Nd5 Qxf2+ 6.Kd1
{Now Black has run out of checks but still has to defend against threats to both c7 and g7, as well as his queen getting trapped.}
Kf8 7.Nh3 Qd4 8.d3 Bb6 9.Rf1
{In the time it has taken Black to cover c7 and g7 White has developed three pieces, including his rook on the semi-open file leading to Black's king and he now has threats like 10.Rxf7+ Kxf7 11. Nxb6+ and 10.Nxb6 axb6 11.Rxf7+.}
Nd8 10.c3 Qc5 11.Ng5 h6
{The final error, losing a tempo. He had to try 11...g6 or 11...h5, though White's attack would be strong then as well.}
12.Qh5
{While Black's check on f2 was easily answered. White's impending check on f7 will be followed by his whole army flooding into Black's kingside.}
1-0
[Event "Bern"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1932.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Alekhine"]
[Black "Sultan Khan"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "67"]
1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.exd5 cxd5 4.c4 Nf6 5.Nc3 Nc6 6.Nf3 Bg4 7.cxd5 Nxd5 8.Bb5
a6 9.Bxc6+ bxc6 10.Qa4 Nxc3 11.Qxc6+ Bd7 12.Qxc3 Rc8 13.Qe3 Bb5
{Black has sacrificed a pawn while his compensation is White's isolated d- pawn and the fact that White's king is at the moment unable to castle.}
14.a4 Bc4 15.b3 Bd5 16.O-O
{White has weakened the queenside but has been able to get his king to safety.}
Qb6 17.Bd2
{White is willing to trade his extra pawn for a lead in development. This is often an effective strategy in the opening.}
e6
{17...Qxb3 18.Rfc1 Rxc1+ 19.Rxc1 Qxe3 20.fxe3 e6 21.Rc7 when Black's lagging development would give White a winning initiative.}
18.Rfc1 Rb8
{18...Rxc1+ 19.Rxc1 would leave Black's back rank vulnerable.}
19.Ne5 f6
{19...Be7 20.Nc4 Qxb3 21.Qxb3 Rxb3 22.Nd6+ Bxd6 23.Rc8+ Ke7 24.Rxh8 would leave White an exchange ahead.}
20.Nc6
{White's better development and extra pawn give him a winning advantage. White's last move takes advantage of Black's king in the center to drive Black's rook from the b-file.}
Ra8
{20...Bxc6 21.Qxe6+ Be7 22.Rxc6 would leave White two pawns ahead.}
21.Na5
{With the threat of 22.Rc6 taking advantage of Black's weak e-pawn.}
Kf7 22.Nc4 Qb7 23.Qg3 Be7 24.a5
{White intends to post his knight on b6 which will give White complete control of the c-file.}
Rad8 25.Nb6 Bc6 26.Rc4 Rhe8 27.Rac1 Bb5 28.Rc7 Qe4 29.d5
{White is willing to give back the pawn to open up lines to Black's king.}
Kg8
{This move leads to a rapid collapse of Black's position. 29...exd5 would have been put up more resistance.}
30.Re1 Qf5 31.Bb4 Rd7 32.Rxd7 Bxd7 33.Bxe7 exd5 34.Qd6
{Black resigned because of his material deficit.}
1-0
[Event "Leningrad"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1932.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Botvinnik"]
[Black "Savitsky"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "37"]
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Qb3
{This is an uncommon line against the Nimzoindian, though it does appear from time to time.}
c5 5.dxc5 Nc6 6.Bg5 h6 7.Bh4 Nd4
{There is a trick here. What happens if White captures the bishop?}
8.Qa4 Bxc3+ 9.bxc3
{Tripled pawns are usually weak, but since White has an extra pawn, it is OK. Of more concern is the fact that none of the kingside pieces are developed and White has not castled. In fact, he won't do so until the penultimate move!}
Nf5 10.Bxf6 Qxf6 11.Rc1 Qg5
{Attacking the rook at c1. But Black should have played more solidly. 11...Qe7 12.Qa5 d6}
12.Qa3 b6 13.Nf3 Qe7 14.g4
{Now the knight has no choice.}
Nh4 15.Nxh4 Qxh4 16.Bg2
{The power of a bishop on an open diagonal is impressive. Now the game is won, since Black will lose more pawns without compensation.}
Rb8 17.Qxa7 Qg5 18.O-O
{18.Qxb8 Qxc1++ would have been embarrassing for White!}
Qe5 19.cxb6
{Black has no defense against the advancing pawns, and so he resigned.}
1-0
[Event "Hastings"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1934.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Botvinnik"]
[Black "Menchik"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "57"]
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 d5 4.Nf3 Nbd7 5.Bf4 dxc4 6.e3 Nd5 7.Bxc4 Nxf4 8.exf4
{White has doubled pawns, but they control important squares, and he enjoys a big lead in development.}
Bd6 9.g3 O-O 10.O-O Nf6 11.Qe2 b6 12.Rfd1 Bb7
{Black's only accomplishment is the establishment of control over the long diagonal, but she has no support for a kingside attack. Still, this position was already known to theory from one of Capablanca's games.}
13.Rac1 Qe7
{13...a6 had previously been played, but that was too slow, allowing White to attack on the kingside.}
14.a3 Rfd8 15.Ne5 c5 16.Nb5 cxd4 17.Nxd4 Bxe5
{A mistake. The bishop should have moved to c5.}
18.Qxe5
{Now White threatens Nf5 followed by Nd6.}
Qd6 19.Bb3 Qxe5 20.fxe5 Ne8
{Black defends both c7 and d6. But her forces are in no position to guard the pawns at f7 and e6, which now become targets as White advances the f-pawn.}
21.f4 a6 22.Kf2 Kf8
{22...Bd5 would have been a better defense. The control of the long diagonal cannot bring any real benefits.}
23.f5 Bd5 24.fxe6 Bxb3
{Black seems to have everything under control, as after White captures the bishop with the knight then the pawn on e6 can be recaptured. But White has a powerful intermediate move based on a fork at c6.}
25.e7+
{Here Black resigned, not waiting for the inevitable end.}
Kxe7 26.Nc6+ Kf8 27.Rxd8 Rxd8 28.Nxd8 Bd5 29.Nc6
{And White's advantage is sufficient for victory.}
1-0
[Event "World Championship"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1934.??.??"]
[Round "4"]
[White "Alekhine"]
[Black "Bogoljubow"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "121"]
1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.e3 e6 5.Bd3 Nbd7 6.f4 dxc4 7.Bxc4 b5 8.Bd3
Bb7 9.Nf3 a6 10.a4
{The obvious move would have been to castle here.}
b4 11.Ne2 c5 12.O-O Be7 13.a5
{White is driving on the wrong side of the road! He should be acting on the kingside.}
O-O 14.Ng3 g6
{A good defensive move, which keeps the f-pawn from advancing.}
15.Qe2 cxd4 16.exd4 Nb8 17.Ne5
{This is a pawn sacrifice, but it is well-motivated because Black has not completed his development yet.}
Nc6
{Bogoljubow declines, appreciating the value of development.}
18.Nxc6 Bxc6 19.Bc4
{Alekhine later admitted that he should have just grabbed the pawn at a6.}
Bb7 20.Be3
{Here Black could have obtained an excellent position by establishing a blockade at d5 with 20...Nd5. Instead, he regroups.}
Qd6 21.Rad1 Rfe8 22.b3 Bf8 23.Rd3
{An ugly move, breaking off the communication on the a6-f1 diagonal. But Alekhine, recognizing his difficult position, starts swimming. That is, he makes seemingly aimless moves to confuse the opponent.}
Qc7
{Black should have attacked down the h-file with 23...h5!, but the ugly rook at d3 may get to the g-file or h-file, so he refrains. White continues to tread water.}
24.Qa2 Bd6 25.Bd2 Qc6 26.Be1 Rad8 27.Rd2
{White's position has become very artificial, and the Be1 and Qa2 lookparticular ly misplaced. But the awkwardness of his moves is confusing Bogoljubow.}
Be7
{This was a major error. Black should be attacking on the kingside, and so the bishop should have moved to b8, keeping pressure on the long diagonal, and moving to the a7-g1 diagonal when needed there.}
28.Qb2 Rd7 29.Rc2
{White's "swimming" maneuvers have paid off, though he is not out of the water yet. Still, his pieces are much better coordinated here.}
Qd6
{Black could have kept the advantage with 29...Ng4!}
30.Ne2 Nd5
{Much too late. Bogoljubow should have tried to get back to the previous note by playing 30...Qc6 31.Ng3Ng4!}
31.Qc1
{White occupies the important c-file. The swimming is over and Alekhine now plays with purpose. Finally he will be able to set his sights on the kingside.}
Bd8 32.Bg3
{Threatening f4-f5.}
Qe7 33.Ra2 Qf6 34.Qd2 Qf5
{Black has blockaded the f-pawn, but the queen is too heavy a piece for this purpose. Now the players drift into time-trouble for a while.}
35.Bd3 Qf6 36.Bc4 Be7 37.Qd3 Red8 38.Be1 Qf5 39.Qd2 Qe4 40.Bd3 Qe3+ 41.Bf2
{This was the sealed move. The game was adjourned at this point, and Alekhine had some time to work out his strategy.}
Qxd2 42.Rxd2 Rc8 43.Bc4
{A good move. The idea is to cut off the c-file so that the rooks can be repositioned onto it.}
Kg7 44.g3 Rcd8 45.Rc1 h6 46.Bd3 f5 47.Rdc2
{White now has control of the only open file.}
g5
{A terrible move, but it is hard to blame Bogoljubow, who just didn't see the brilliant reply.}
48.g4
{A strong move which opens up the kingside and makes the previously useless bishop at d3 into a fighting weapon on the b1-h7 diagonal.}
Nxf4
{48...gxf4 49.gxf5 exf5 50.Bxf5}
49.Nxf4 gxf4 50.gxf5 e5
{50...exf5 51.Bxf5 Rd5 52.Rc7}
51.Re1
{A final brilliant move, preparing a finishing combination.}
exd4
{Now White controls both open files and can force a simplification which leads to a winning position.}
52.Rxe7+ Rxe7 53.Bh4 Kf7 54.Bxe7 Kxe7 55.Rc7+ Rd7
{Black has no choice, but now the f-pawn advances.}
56.f6+ Ke8 57.Bg6+ Kd8 58.f7 Kxc7 59.f8=Q f3 60.Qxb4 Rd6 61.Bd3 1-0
[Event "Zurich"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1934.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Alekhine"]
[Black "Lasker"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "51"]
1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Nf3 Be7 5.Bg5 Nbd7 6.e3 O-O 7.Rc1 c6 8.Bd3
dxc4 9.Bxc4 Nd5 10.Bxe7 Qxe7 11.Ne4 N5f6 12.Ng3 e5 13.O-O exd4 14.Nf5 Qd8
15.N3xd4 Ne5 16.Bb3 Bxf5 17.Nxf5 Qb6 18.Qd6 Ned7 19.Rfd1 Rad8 20.Qg3 g6
21.Qg5 Kh8 22.Nd6 Kg7 23.e4 Ng8 24.Rd3 f6
{Black's pieces are not well-coordinated for the defense. The bishop at b3 is controlling the a2-g8 diagonal. First White drives the king back into the corner.}
25.Nf5+ Kh8
{Now if we mentally remove the pawn at h7, we can slide the rook from d3 to h3 and deliver mate. Can you see the way to make that happen?}
26.Qxg6
{The threat of mate at g7 forces Black to capture, but then Rh3+ leads to mate, so he resigned instead.}
1-0
[Event "Leningrad"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1934.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Euwe"]
[Black "Kan"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "69"]
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.a3
{The Saemish variation of the Nimzoindian defense. The early resolution of the tension at c3 rarely works in White's favor.}
Bxc3+ 5.bxc3 d5 6.f3 b6
{6...dxc4 7.e4 White has the advantage due to his powerful center.}
7.Bg5
{White pins the knight on f6.}
Bb7 8.e3 Nbd7 9.Bd3 h6 10.Bh4 c5 11.Ne2 Rc8
{11...Qc7 breaking the pin should of been preferred.}
12.cxd5 exd5 13.O-O
{White stands better because of his bishop pair and control of the center. Notice how White's center pawns control the Black knights.}
O-O 14.Bf5
{White pins the Black knight on d7.}
Bc6 15.e4
{The pins make this central break possible.}
g5
{White's pins have forced Black to fatally weaken his kingside. 15...dxe4 16.fxe4 g5 17.d5 gxh4 18.dxc6 Rxc6 19.Qe1 would take advantage of Black's weakened kingside.}
16.exd5 Nxd5 17.Bf2 c4
{17...Bb5 18.dxc5 Bxe2 19.Qxe2 would favor White because of his two bishops and Black's weakened kingside.}
18.Qd2 Qf6 19.Ng3 Rce8 20.Rae1 Rxe1
{20...Nf4 21.d5 Ba4 22.Bd4 Qd6 23.Ne4 Qxd5 would allow White a winning combination.}
21.Rxe1 b5 22.Bb1 N7b6 23.Nh5 Qd6 24.Re5 f5
{24...Qxa3 allows White a mating attack.}
25.Bxf5 Qxa3 26.Be1 Nf6 27.Be6+ Kh8 28.Nxf6 Rxf6 29.d5
{White has a winning position because of his passed d-pawn and Black's weakened kingside.}
Bd7 30.h4
{White makes luft for his king while further attacking the Black kingside.}
Qd6 31.Qd4 Rf4 32.Qe3 Bxe6 33.dxe6 Rf8 34.e7 Re8 35.Re6
{Black resigned.}
1-0
[Event "Moscow"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1935.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Lasker"]
[Black "Pirc"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "39"]
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 d6 6.Be2 e6 7.O-O a6 8.Be3
{A typical Sicilian defense has been reached where Black has the two center pawns while White has a lead in development.}
Qc7 9.f4 Na5
{This move breaks the opening rule that one shouldn't move the same piece twice before completing his development.}
10.f5 Nc4
{Consistent With Blacks previous move but still bad as Black now moves the knight a third time before completing his development. 10...Be7 Continuing his development and preparing to castle is better.}
11.Bxc4 Qxc4 12.fxe6 fxe6
{The final mistake which gets met with a violent refutation. 12...Bxe6 13.Qf3 would leave White with a winning position due to his lead in development.}
13.Rxf6
{An excellent sacrifice which gets rid of Black's only developed piece.}
gxf6 14.Qh5+ Kd8
{14...Ke7 would not keep the White army out after 15. Nf5+ exf5 16.Nd5+ Kd8 17.Bb6+ Kd7 18.Qf7+ Kc6 19.Qc7+ Kb5 20.a4+ Qxa4 21.c4+ Qxc4 22.Ra5+ Mate.}
15.Qf7
{Although Black is up an exchange he is dead lost because his pieces have not been brought into play.}
Bd7
{15...Be7 16. Nf5 Takes advantage of the fact that the Black queen is not defended. 16...Re8 17.Nxd6 Bxd6 18.Bb6+ Bc7 19.Rd1+ Bd7 20.Qxd7+ Mate.}
16.Qxf6+ Kc7 17.Qxh8 Bh6 18.Nxe6+ Qxe6
{18...Bxe6 19.Qxh7+ Kb8 20.Qxh6}
19.Qxa8 Bxe3+ 20.Kh1
{Black resigned because of his material losses.}
1-0
[Event "Moscow"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1935.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Alatortsev"]
[Black "Capablanca"]
[Result "0-1"]
[PlyCount "50"]
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 d5 4.Bg5 Be7 5.e3 O-O 6.cxd5 Nxd5 7.Bxe7 Qxe7 8.Nf3
Nxc3 9.bxc3
{The series of exchanges have eased Black's defensive burden. Now both sides complete their development.}
b6 10.Be2 Bb7 11.O-O c5 12.Ne5 Nc6 13.Nxc6 Bxc6
{Black has achieved a comfortable position.}
14.Bf3 Rac8 15.a4 cxd4 16.cxd4 g6 17.Bxc6 Rxc6 18.Qd3 Qb7 19.Rfb1 Rfc8
20.h3 a6 21.Qa3 Rc2 22.Qd6
{If only there were no pawn at f2, Black could deliver checkmate in one move, with Qxg2 mate. Seeing this, Capablanca finds a mating attack.}
Rxf2 23.Qg3
{23.Kxf2 Rc2+ 24.Ke1 Qxg2 25.Qb8+ Kg7 26.Qe5+ f6 and White runs out of checks.}
Re2
{White resigned, since the position is now hopeless, even though there is no immediate mate threat. If you think you can hold the position, try playing it against Gambit!}
24.Rc1 Rxc1+ 25.Rxc1 b5 0-1
[Event "Moscow"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1935.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Botvinnik"]
[Black "Spielmann"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "23"]
1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.exd5 cxd5 4.c4 Nf6 5.Nc3 Nc6 6.Bg5 Qb6
{The queen gets exposed here. Black should play quietly with 6...e6.}
7.cxd5 Qxb2
{7...Nxd4 loses a piece. After the text move Black's queen is in hot water.}
8.Rc1 Nb4 9.Na4 Qxa2 10.Bc4 Bg4
{10...Qa3 loses to 11 Ra1.}
11.Nf3
{Avoiding 11 f3 Qxf3.}
Bxf3 12.gxf3
{Black loses his queen.}
1-0
[Event "Soviet Union"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1935.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Alekhine"]
[Black "Strazdins"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "28"]
1.e4 c6 2.c4 d5 3.exd5 cxd5 4.d4 Nf6 5.Nc3 Nc6 6.Bg5 dxc4
{Now Black gets cramped by White's advancing d-pawn. 6...e6 would have been better.}
7.d5 Ne5 8.Nf3
{White develops with gain of time by attacking Black's advanced knight. Black should now try to simplify by 8...Bg4.}
Nd3+
{Losing more time. Black is at least three moves from castling and simply can't afford this, as he quickly learns.}
9.Bxd3 cxd3 10.Qxd3 a6
{The decisive waste of time. Black didn't want to let White check him on b5, but now he's down five active pieces to one.}
11.O-O e6
{It seems foolis h to invite White to open lines, but 11...g6 12.Bxf6 would also open the e-file.}
12.Rad1 exd5 13.Bxf6 Qxf6 14.Nxd5
{One more gain of time. Black has very few squares left as his queen must guard both c7 and d8.}
Qd8
{Black resigns before White starts taking his pieces by 15.Qe3+ and 16.Nb6. If you don't see why this will win material, play it against Gambit!}
1-0
[Event "Leningrad"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1936.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Ilyin Zhenevsky & Rabinovich"]
[Black "Capablanca"]
[Result "0-1"]
[PlyCount "82"]
1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 b6 3.g3 Bb7 4.Bg2 c5 5.O-O cxd4 6.Nxd4 Bxg2 7.Kxg2 d5 8.c4
Qd7 9.cxd5 Nxd5 10.e4 Nc7 11.Nc3 e5 12.Nf5 Qxd1 13.Rxd1 Nba6 14.Be3 Rd8
15.Rxd8+ Kxd8 16.a4
{White hopes to play a later Nb5 and win the a-pawn, but the time this will require lets Black activate his pieces. They should keep the heat on Black's king by 16.Rd1+ Kc8 17.a3 g6 18.Nh6 Bxh6 19.Bxh6 Re8 20.b4 when White keeps the initiative.}
Kd7
{Now Black can meet a check on d1 by ...Ke6.}
17.Nb5 g6 18.Nh4
{White loses time with both knights. 18.Rd1+ was still correct.}
Bc5 19.Nxa7
{White wins a pawn but accepts weak doubled e-pawns.}
Bxe3 20.fxe3 Nc5
{Now Black threatens both 21...Nxe4 and 21...Ra8, and White can only defend both of these threats by letting Black further maim his pawn structure.}
21.Nb5 Nxb5 22.axb5 Ke6
{Black doesn't bother with the e-pawn since taking it would give White some activity by 22...Nxe4 23.Ra7+ Ke6 24.Ra6}
23.Kf3 Rd8 24.b4 Nb3 25.Ra7
{25.Ra6 Nd2+ 26.Ke2 Rd6 27.Nf3 Nxe4 And Black will consolidate his bind by ...h6 and White will be left with no defense.}
Nd2+ 26.Kg2 Nxe4 27.Nf3 Rd5 28.Ra8 Rxb5 29.Re8+ Kf6 30.g4 Ng5 31.Nxg5 Kxg5
32.Kg3
{Black has an extra pawn as well as a continuing bind.}
Kf6 33.Rh8 Kg7 34.Re8 h6 35.h4 Kf6 36.Rc8
{36.Rh8 Rxb4 37.Rxh6 Kg7 And White's rook is permanently stranded on h6.}
Rxb4 37.Rc6+ Kg7 38.g5 h5 39.Rc8 Rg4+ 40.Kh3 Re4 41.Rc3 b5 0-1
[Event "Nottingham"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1936.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Winter"]
[Black "Alekhine"]
[Result "0-1"]
[PlyCount "78"]
1.d4 e6 2.e4 d5
{The game has transposed to the French Defense which usually leads to a solid but somewhat cramped positions for Black. Usually it arises from the move order 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5.}
3.exd5
{The Exchange Variation of the French Defense. It is not played that often since it opens up the c8-h3 for Black's light squared bishop.}
exd5 4.Bd3 Nc6 5.Ne2 Bd6 6.c3 Qh4
{Black has been able to seize the initiative due to White's unambitious play. The queen move prevents White from developing his dark squared bishop to f4.}
7.Nd2 Bg4 8.Qc2
{8.Qb3 O-O-O 9.Qxd5 Nf6 10.Qb3 Rhe8 would give Black a tremendous lead in development for the sacrificed pawn.}
O-O-O 9.Nf1
{9.Bf5+ Kb8}
g6
{Black wishes to exchange off White's good bishop on d3 and so prepares for Bf5.}
10.Be3 Nge7 11.O-O-O Bf5 12.Nfg3 Bxd3 13.Qxd3 h6
{With the idea of securing Black's queen position, which may be uncomfortable after White plays Qd2, by controlling the g5 square.}
14.f4
{This move is a mistake as it comprises White's control of the e-file by taking away the protection of his dark squared bishop.}
Qg4
{Not allowing White's f-pawn to advance Black take control of the f5 square.}
15.h3 Qd7 16.Rhf1 h5 17.Ng1
{17.f5 h4 18.f6 Ng8 19.Nh1 Re8 when Black has the advantage as White's f-pawn has broken away from the protection of his pieces.}
h4 18.N3e2 Nf5 19.Nf3 f6
{Notice how Black's f-pawn keeps White's pieces away from the center by controlling the e5 square.}
20.Nh2 Rde8
{Black stands better as White's pieces lack sufficient space to maneuver in response to Black's play on the open e-file.}
21.Bd2 Re6
{Black prepares to double rooks on the open e-file.}
22.Ng4 Rhe8 23.Rde1 R8e7
{The idea behind this move is to make room for the queen on e8 so Black can triple his pieces on the open e-file.}
24.Kd1 Qe8 25.Qf3 Na5
{With the Black knight entering the attack White will soon be faced with a material disadvantage.}
26.b3
{26.Qxd5 Rxe2 27.Rxe2 Rxe2 28.Qxa5 Ng3 29.Rf3 Qe4 30.Kc1 Rxg2 would leave White's back rank undefendable.}
Nc4 27.Bc1
{27.bxc4 Qa4+ 28.Kc1 Ba3+ 29.Kb1 Rb6+ 30.Ka1 Qc2 There are numerous checkmating possibilities here.}
Nce3+ 28.Bxe3 Nxe3+ 29.Nxe3 Rxe3
{The exchanges have helped Black's major pieces to force entry further down the open e-file.}
30.Qf2 Qb5
{Having tied down the White pieces to the defense of the knight on e2 Black is able to maneuver more quickly with his pieces to start new threats. The current threat is Qd3+ with mate to follow.}
31.Nc1
{31.Kd2 would allow Black a forced mate in two.}
Rxc3 32.Rxe7 Bxe7 33.Qe1 Kd7 34.f5
{34.Qxc3 Qxf1+ 35.Kc2 Qxg2+ With a two pawn advantage for Black.}
Re3 35.Qf2
{35.Qxe3 Qxf1+ 36.Kd2 Qxf5 With a winning two pawn advantage for Black.}
g5 36.Re1 Re4 37.Rxe4 dxe4
{Black's extra pawn and passed e-pawn give him a easily winning endgame.}
38.Kd2 Bd6 39.Kc2 Bf4
{White resigned due to his material deficit and Black's strong passed e- pawn. If you think you could hold White's position try playing the position out against Gambit.}
0-1
[Event "Nottingham"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1936.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Vidmar"]
[Black "Euwe"]
[Result "0-1"]
[PlyCount "60"]
1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Nc3 dxc4
{The Slav defense where Black aims at active piece play was a speciality of Euwe.}
5.a4 Bf5 6.Ne5 Nbd7 7.Nxc4 Qc7 8.g3 e5 9.dxe5 Nxe5 10.Bf4
{White tries to take advantage of Black's pinned knight.}
Nfd7 11.Bg2 Rd8
{The Black rook prepares to take over the d-file from White's queen.}
12.Qc1 f6 13.O-O Be6
{This move relieves some of the pressure White has on Black's pinned knight.}
14.Nxe5 Nxe5 15.a5 a6 16.Ne4 Bb4 17.Nc5 Bc8 18.Ra4
{Although White sacrifices the a-pawn he doesn't receive enough play for it. 18.Bxe5 fxe5 19. f4 Trying to take advantage of Black's king being in the center is a better plan.}
Bxa5 19.Nd3 O-O 20.Be4
{20.Bxe5 fxe5 21.Qc5 Perhaps this is what White originally intended only seeing too late that 21...Bb6 22.Qxe5 Qxe5 23.Nxe5 Rxf2 24.Rxf2 Rd1+ 25.Bf1 Bh3 when White can't stop Rxf1 mate.}
Bb6 21.Qc2 g5
{An exception to the rule that one shouldn't move the pawns in front of the king which usually leaves the monarch vulnerable to attack. Black's idea is to ease the pressure on his pinned knight.}
22.Bxh7+
{22.Bxe5 fxe5 23.Nxe5 Qxe5 24.Qb3+ Kh8 25.Qxb6 Rd2 would give Black good chances due to his control of White's second rank.}
Qxh7 23.Bxe5 Ba7
{This was the point of Black's defense. He now gains a tempo on White's dark-squared bishop which he uses to develop a powerful counterattack.}
24.Bc3 b5 25.R4a1 c5
{Black's queenside pawns push the White pieces to less active positions.}
26.Qc1 c4 27.Ne1 Bb7 28.Nf3
{28.Ng2 would allow Black a mating attack.}
g4 29.Ng5 Qh5
{White resigned. 29...Qh5 White resigned as mate was coming after...}
30.Ne6 Qd5
{when White has no good way of stopping Qg2+ mate.}
0-1
[Event "Moscow"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1936.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Botvinnik"]
[Black "Lasker"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "43"]
1.Nf3 d5 2.c4 e6 3.g3 Nf6 4.Bg2 Be7 5.O-O O-O 6.d4 Nbd7 7.Nc3 dxc4 8.e4
c6 9.a4 a5 10.Qe2 Nb6
{Black has held the pawn, but his pieces are badly placed and he can't free himself.}
11.Rd1
{Restraining ...c5 or ...e5.}
Bb4 12.Ne5
{Now White will get the pawn back but Black will remain cramped.}
Qe7 13.Be3 Bd7 14.Nxc4 Nxc4 15.Qxc4 b5
{Black hopes to get his pieces active after 16 axb5 cxb5 17 Nxb5 Rac8.}
16.Qe2 Rab8 17.axb5 cxb5 18.e5 Ne8 19.d5 exd5 20.Nxd5 Qxe5 21.Nxb4 axb4
22.Rxd7 1-0
[Event "Amsterdam"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1936.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Van den Bosch"]
[Black "Euwe"]
[Result "0-1"]
[PlyCount "34"]
1.e4 c5 2.Nc3 Nc6 3.Nge2 g6 4.d4 cxd4 5.Nxd4 Bg7 6.Be3 d6 7.Be2 Nf6
{The game has transposed to a Classical Dragon defense, a line favored by players who enjoy tactical brawls.}
8.Qd2
{White commits his queen too early which gives up control of the g4 square. He should have simply castled, reaching normal variations of the opening.}
O-O 9.h4
{With the White king still in the center this attacking move is premature. 9.O-O Ng4 10.Bxg4 Bxg4 would give Black the advantage of the two bishops.}
d5
{A thematic advance which takes advantage of White's king being in the center.}
10.Nxc6
{10.exd5 Nb4 11.Bh6 Bxh6 12.Qxh6 e5 13.Nf3 Nxc2+ 14.Kf1 Ng4 would win material.}
bxc6 11.Rd1 Qc7 12.h5
{12.exd5 cxd5 13.Nxd5 Nxd5 14.Qxd5 Bb7 15.Qd2 Bxg2 16.Rg1 Qh2}
Nxe4 13.Nxe4 dxe4 14.hxg6 hxg6 15.Bd4 Rd8 16.Qc3
{16.Qe3 would keep White's material losses to a minimum.}
Rxd4
{Takes advantage of the White queen being on the a1-h8 diagonal.}
17.Rxd4 Qb6
{White resigned since he can't save the rook.}
0-1
[Event "Nottingham"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1936.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Euwe"]
[Black "Winter"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "49"]
1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Nc3 e6
{The Slav defense which gives Black a solid but somewhat passive position.}
5.e3 Nbd7 6.Bd3 Be7
{6...dxc4 is the main alternative, reaching the Meran variation of the Slav Defense.}
7.O-O O-O 8.b3
{Played so the light squared bishop won't have to move again in the event Black plays dxc4. 8.e4 dxe4 9. Nxe4 b6 10.Qe2 Bb7 followed by pawn c5 opening up Black's light squared bishop.}
b6 9.Bb2 Bb7 10.Qe2 c5 11.Rad1 Ne4
{11...Qc7 12.Ne5 Nxe5 13. dxe5 Qxe5 14.Nxd5 Qd6 15.Nxf6+ Bxf6 16.Bxh7+ Kxh7 17.Rxd6 Wins for White.}
12.dxc5 Nxc3 13.Bxc3 bxc5
{13...Nxc5 14.Bb1 when White's bishops are aiming at the Black king.}
14.cxd5 exd5
{White's play has left Black with hanging pawns.}
15.Ba6
{With the idea of eliminating Black's protection of the d-pawn.}
Bc6 16.Bb5 Bb7 17.e4
{A strong move which gives White the better pawn structure.}
Bf6
{17...dxe4 18.Ne5 would win Black's pinned knight.}
18.Bxf6 Nxf6 19.exd5 Nxd5 20.Qe5
{20.Rfe1 would allow Black to win material.}
Qa5 21.Bc4 Nf6 22.Ng5 Rae8 23.Qf4 h6
{An oversight which loses material.}
24.Nxf7 Ba6
{24...Rxf7 25.Rd7 would take advantage of Black's pinned rook.}
25.Nd6+
{Black resigned as material loss is unavoidable.}
1-0
[Event "Nottingham"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1936.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Euwe"]
[Black "Tylor"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "49"]
1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bg5 Be7 5.e3 O-O 6.Nf3 b6
{Black is play ing the Queen's Gambit Declined. His last move makes an opening for the light squared bishop which, is blocked on the c8-h3 diagonal.}
7.cxd5 exd5 8.Bb5
{8.Bd3 h6 9.h4 with an initiative on the kingside.}
c5
{This pawn thrust is premature and should have been prepared by Bb7.}
9.dxc5 bxc5
{The future play will revolve around Black's hanging pawns.}
10.O-O Bb7 11.Rc1 Qb6
{Ideally Black would like to have his knight on b6 to help protect his d-pawn but this is not easy to achieve. 12.Bxd7 Qxd7 13.Bxf6 Bxf6 14.Ne4 Taking advantage of Black's d-pawn being pinned. 14...Bxb2 15.Nxc5 Now Black at best ends up with a very weak isolated d-pawn.}
12.Qe2
{White's queen protects his b-pawn while threatening Na4.}
a6 13.Ba4 Rd8 14.Rfd1 Qe6
{Black's backward development gives White the advantage.}
15.Bb3 Ne4
{An oversight which costs Black a pawn. However, White stands better in any event because of Black's undeveloped pieces.}
16.Nxe4 Qxe4
{White now exposes the overworked bishop on e7.}
17.Rxc5 Bxc5
{17...f6 18.Rc7 when White's rook attacks both of Black's bishops.}
18.Bxd8 Nd7
{Black can finally get his pieces out. However, the damage has been done with White being a clear pawn up.}
19.Bc7 Rc8 20.Bg3 d4
{Black gets rid of the d-pawn in order to open the a8-h1 diagonal for his bishop and queen.}
21.Qd2 Bb6
{21...dxe3 22.Qxd7 exf2+ 23.Bxf2 Bxf2+ 24. Kxf2 Qg6 would allow White a mating combination.}
22.exd4 Nf6 23.Bxf7+ Kh8
{23...Kxf7 allows White to win the queen after 24.Ng5+ Kg8 25.Nxe4}
24.Bb3 Qc6 25.Be5
{Black resigned because he is three pawns down.}
1-0
[Event "Nottingham"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1936.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Botvinnik"]
[Black "Vidmar"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "47"]
1.c4 e6 2.Nf3 d5 3.d4 Nf6 4.Bg5 Be7 5.Nc3 O-O 6.e3 Nbd7 7.Bd3 c5 8.O-O
cxd4 9.exd4 dxc4 10.Bxc4 Nb6 11.Bb3
{White already enjoys a comfortable position, and Black should have taken some measures to reduce the pressure. 11. ..Nd5 is called for.}
Bd7 12.Qd3 Nbd5
{Black blockades the pawn, which is the correct positional reaction, but some commentators suggested that the other knight would have been the correct one. After 12...Nfd5 13.Bc2 g6 White would still have enjoyed a small advantage.}
13.Ne5 Bc6 14.Rad1
{The interdependence of Black's forces is both an asset and a liability. White is going to attack on the kingside, so Black must strive for activity.}
Nb4
{Continued development was called for, with either 14...Qa5 or 14...Rc8. The knight will not accomplish anything more than encouraging White's queen to move to a more effective post on the kingside.}
15.Qh3 Bd5
{Black spends more time jousting with the Bb3, but this problem is easily solved. On the other hand, 15...Nfd5 16.Bc1! would also have been very strong for White.}
16.Nxd5 Nbxd5
{Now it is time for White to create a concrete plan based on his positional advantages. The target is f7. One would like to have a semi- open f-file, and also eliminate the pawn at e6. Two concepts equal one plan!}
17.f4 Rc8
{17...g6 is not playable because of 18.Bh6 Re8 19.Ba4 and the bishops combine from a great distance to win the exchange.}
18.f5 exf5
{Forced, since 18.Qd6 19.fxe6 fxe6 leaves the pawn at e6 much too weak.}
19.Rxf5 Qd6
{This allows White to achieve his strategic goal by tactical means, but 19... Rc7 20.Rdf1 and 21.Qh4 would have left Black in despair.}
20.Nxf7
{The combination of pins on the file and on the diagonals reap rewards.}
Rxf7
{20...Kxf7 21.Bxd5+}
21.Bxf6 Bxf6
{21...Nxf6 22.Rxf6! Qxf6 23.Qxc8+ Bf8 24.Bxf7+ Qxf7 25.Rf1 Qe7 26.Rxf8+ Qxf8 27.Qxf8+ Kxf8 28.Kf2 is an easy win.}
22.Rxd5 Qc6
{22...Bxd4+ 23.Kh1!}
23.Rd6
{Avoiding the final trap of 23.Rc5?? Bxd4+!}
Qe8 24.Rd7 1-0
[Event "Kemeri"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1937.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Alekhine"]
[Black "Reshevsky"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "73"]
1.e4 Nf6
{Alekhine plays White against the defense named after him! But there is little of interest in this game until move 32.}
2.e5 Nd5 3.Nf3 d6 4.d4 Bg4 5.c4 Nb6 6.Be2 dxe5 7.Nxe5 Bxe2 8.Qxe2 Qxd4
9.O-O N8d7 10.Nxd7 Nxd7 11.Nc3 c6 12.Be3 Qe5 13.Rad1 e6 14.Qf3 O-O-O 15.Bxa7
Qa5 16.Bd4 Qf5 17.Qg3 e5 18.Be3 Bb4 19.Na4 Ba5 20.f4 Bc7 21.b3 f6 22.fxe5
Qe6 23.h3 Rhg8 24.Bd4 Nxe5 25.Qc3 Nd7 26.c5 Rge8 27.b4 Nb8 28.Nb6+ Bxb6
29.cxb6 Qxa2 30.Qg3 Rd7 31.Bc5 Qf7 32.Ra1
{Alekhine seizes the open file, threatening to move the rook to the 8th rank, pinning and winning the Black knight.}
Qg6
{Black responds by trying to exchange queens and eliminate the threat.}
33.Qh2
{White preserves his queen -- and the threats!}
Re5
{By placing this rook on the diagonal, blocking the White queen from acting on the b8 square, Reshevsky thinks that he has solved his problems. But the back rank has become weak. How can White exploit this?}
34.Ra8
{First he pins the knight.}
Rd2
{Black fails to appreciate the danger, though it was probably too late to save the game anyway. Can you find the winning move?}
35.Rxb8+
{This sacrifice of a rook for a knight sets up a mating net.}
Kxb8
{We can now see that the Black king would be checkmated if we could get a rook or queen to the 8th rank. This can be accomplished by means of a sacrifice. See if you can find it.}
36.Qxe5+ fxe5 37.Rf8+
{and Black resigned because mate is inevitable.}
1-0
[Event "Leningrad"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1938.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Botvinnik"]
[Black "Budo"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "51"]
1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.exd5 cxd5 4.c4 Nf6 5.Nc3 e6
{This position, known as the Panov Attack, can arise out of a number of opening strategies.}
6.Nf3 Be7 7.Bg5 dxc4 8.Bxc4
{Now the game has transposed into the Queen's Gambit Accepted. White has an isolated pawn but also enjoys superior development.}
O-O 9.O-O Nbd7 10.Qe2 Nb6 11.Bb3 Bd7
{This position had already been seen in a World Championship game between Lasker and Capablanca, in 1921.}
12.Rad1 Bc6 13.Ne5 Bd5
{Black has invested a lot of time in this bishop.}
14.Bc2 Nfd7
{Black senses the approaching storm, and tries to reduce the attacking force via exchanges.}
15.Bf4 Nxe5 16.dxe5 Bg5 17.Qh5 h6 18.Bg3 Qc7 19.h4 Bd8
{19...g6 20.Bxg6 fxg6 21.Qxg6+ Qg7 22.Qxg7+ Kxg7 23.hxg5 hxg5 24.a4 White has an extra pawn.}
20.Rd4 Qc5 21.Rg4 f5
{21...Kh8 22.Bf4 Be7 23.Bxh6 gxh6 24.Qxh6+}
22.exf6 Rxf6 23.Be5 Bc6
{The stage is set for the finish. If the bishop were not at e5, then White could capture Black's queen. With that hint, find the finish! If you have problems, play it out against Gambit.}
24.Rxg7+
{Black resigned because if the rook is captured, then the queen is lost.}
Kxg7
{24...Kh8 25.Rf7 Kg8 26.Rxf6 Bxf6 27.Qg6+}
25.Bxf6+
{A discovered attack wins the queen.}
Bxf6 26.Qxc5 1-0
[Event "Plimont 1938"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1938.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Alekhine"]
[Black "Bruse"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "23"]
1.e4 c6 2.Nc3 d5 3.Nf3 dxe4
{Black does better to hold onto his center pawn by 3...Bg4.}
4.Nxe4 Bf5 5.Ng3 Bg6
{He had to play 5...Bg4. Now he will lose to much time because the bishop is a target on g6.}
6.h4 h6
{Otherwise White captures the bishop after 7.h5.}
7.Ne5 Bh7
{Black doesn't want his kingside to get mangled after 7...Nf6 8.Nxg6 fxg6, but that would be no worse than what happens now.}
8.Qh5 g6 9.Bc4 e6
{Black's last two moves have been forced to avoid mate on f7. Now his bishop is buried and his kingside is weak.}
10.Qe2 Nf6
{Missing the point of White's last move. He should have played 10...Qe7 or Qc7 but White would keep a big edge.}
11.Nxf7 Kxf7 12.Qxe6+
{So White mates on f7 after all.}
1-0
[Event "Holland"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1938.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Alekhine"]
[Black "Van Mindeno"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "37"]
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 d6 4.d4 exd4 5.Qxd4 Bd7 6.Bxc6 Bxc6 7.Nc3 Nf6 8.Bg5
Be7 9.O-O-O O-O 10.h4 h6
{Black attacks the bishop, expecting it to retreat. But Alekhine appreciates the value of an open file and is willing to sacrifice a piece to accelerate his kingside attack.}
11.Nd5
{This brings another piece from the distant queenside to a position where it can join the attack if necessary. Black accepts the offering.}
hxg5 12.Nxe7+
{This removes one of the defenders from the kingside.}
Qxe7 13.hxg5 Nxe4
{13...Nh7 14.Rh5! would both defend the g-pawn and prepare the doubling of rooks on the h-file.}
14.Rh5 Qe6
{Black hopes to have time to move the rook from f8 and evacuate the king, and, if possible, to counterattack by capturing the pawn at a2. But White does not give him a moment's rest.}
15.Rdh1
{Threatening Rh8 mate.}
f5
{Now the king can escape via f7. White can cut this escape route by playing 16.g6, but then the queen will capture the pawn (16...Qxg6) and then checking on the diagonal with 17.Qc4+ will be met by 17...d5.}
16.Ne5
{The point of this move is to control the f7 square. But there is a second, and equally important goal. The pawn at d6 must remain in place to guard against the variation in the previous note.}
dxe5
{16...Qxe5 17.Qxe5 dxe5 18.g6 and Black cannot escape being checkmated at h8. Also 16...g6 17.Rh8+ Kg7 18.R1h7++}
17.g6
{Black resigned, because now there is no pawn to interpose at d5.}
Qxg6 18.Qc4+ Rf7
{18...Qf7 19.Rh8+}
19.Rh8# 1-0
[Event "Margate"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1938.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Alekhine"]
[Black "Book"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "57"]
1.d4 d5 2.c4 dxc4 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.e3 e6 5.Bxc4 c5 6.O-O Nc6 7.Qe2 a6 8.Nc3
{8.a4 would lead to more common lines.}
b5 9.Bb3
{Alekhine correctly keeps the bishop on the queenside, as the lack of a rook at d1 means that 9. Bd3 left d4 without sufficient protection.}
b4
{This came as a surprise to Alekhine, who expected Black to play 9...Be7, as in an encounter with Euwe. 9...Bb7?! 10.Rd1 Qc7 11.d5! exd5 12.Nxd5 Nxd5 13.Bxd5 followed by e3-e4 and the eventual placement of the Ra1 at c1 would be decisive.}
10.d5
{Alekhine's judgement is probably correct, though Taimanov's preferred 10.Na4 is a worthy alternative. White's goal is to advance the e-pawn, and to do this he must somehow release the pressure at d4.}
Na5
{10...exd5 11.Nxd5 Nxd5 12.Rd1 followed by e3-e4 gives a clear advantage to White.}
11.Ba4+ Bd7
{White has achieved quite a lot, but wouldn't it be great if he also had a rook on an open d-file? With this idea in mind, we can easily see how Alekhine creates one of his impressive combinations.}
12.dxe6 fxe6
{12...Bxa4 13.exf7+ Kxf7 14.Nxa4}
13.Rd1
{And here we are! The advance d4-d5 has borne delicious fruit! 13.Bxd7+ Qxd7 14.Rd1 Qc6! 15.Nb1 Be7=}
bxc3
{13...Be7 14.Bxd7+ Nxd7 15.Ne5 Ra7 16.Qh5+ g6 17.Nxg6 and White wins.}
14.Rxd7
{Alekhine describes this as the highpoint of the combination. The main reason why the White attack is consequential is the position of the Na5 which cannot participate in the play.}
Nxd7 15.Ne5 Ra7 16.bxc3
{Taking stock of the position, it is clear that if the Bc1 can get into play then Black will be in serious difficulty.}
Ke7
{A strange looking move, but the alternatives are not pleasant. If 16...Be7 or 16...Bd6, then 17.Qh5+ is sufficient.}
17.e4
{This sets up tricks with Bg5+.}
Nf6 18.Bg5
{And now Qh5+ is in the air.}
Qc7 19.Bf4 Qb6 20.Rd1 g6
{20...Nb7 21.Nc4 or 20...Ra8 21.Bg5 Rd8 22.Nd7 Qc7 23.e5 or 20...Rg8 21.Bg5 h6 22.Qh5}
21.Bg5 Bg7 22.Nd7
{The decisive, thematic thrust that brings the game to a swift conclusion.}
Rxd7 23.Rxd7+ Kf8 24.Bxf6 Bxf6 25.e5
{and Black resigned, rather than walk into the obvious line:}
Qb1+ 26.Rd1 Qf5 27.exf6 Qxf6 28.Qxa6 Qxc3 29.Qxe6
{to which there is simply no defence.}
1-0
[Event "AVRO"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1938.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Alekhine"]
[Black "Capablanca"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "70"]
1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nd2 Nf6 4.e5 Nfd7 5.Bd3 c5 6.c3 Nc6 7.Ne2 Qb6 8.Nf3 cxd4
9.cxd4 Bb4+ 10.Kf1 Be7
{In this sharp line of the French, opening lines with 10...f6 is a wiser move.}
11.a3 Nf8 12.b4 Bd7 13.Be3 Nd8
{Black does have a plan: to play Bb5 and exchange the light-squared bishops. But this is easily parried, and turns out to be just a waste of time.}
14.Nc3 a5
{Black challenges White's queenside formation and forces White to determine his short-term plans. Alekhine decides to plant a pawn at b5.}
15.Na4 Qa7 16.b5
{Now the scope of the Bd7 is severely limited, and Black's plan, beginning with 13...Nd8?!, is exposed as faulty.}
b6
{The picture is quite different from that of two moves ago. With the queenside secured, White now turns his attention to the kingside.}
17.g3
{In order to achieve results on the kingside, White may need to use both rooks, so he takes time out to prepare a nice safe hole for his king. Alekhine always prepared his attacks well. That's why he was able to play so many combinations}
f5 18.Kg2 Nf7 19.Qd2
{Alekhine is not so captivated by his own plan that he forgets to keep an eye on his opponent! Capablanca was preparing g7-g5 and Nf8-g6. This must be stopped!}
h6 20.h4 Nh7 21.h5
{Excellent judgement! Alekhine sees that the enemy knight will get to e4, but reasons that the hole at g6 will be more important.}
Nfg5 22.Nh4 Ne4 23.Qb2 Kf7
{23...Bxh4 24.gxh4! keeps control of critical squares on the kingside, and now 25.f3 will prove fatal to the Ne4.}
24.f3 Neg5
{Looking at the position, we can see that if the Pf5 were out of the way White could launch a powerful attack. Alekhine wastes no time in achieving this goal .}
25.g4 fxg4 26.Bg6+
{A useful interpolation, which cuts off the communication of the enemy rooks.}
Kg8 27.f4 Nf3
{More resistant was 27...Nf7, but after 28.Bd3 Black would still have been in deep trouble.}
28.Bxh7+ Rxh7 29.Ng6 Bd8 30.Rac1
{Such a quiet move is easy to miss. But if White had left the c- file unguarded, Black might have been able to establish some counterplay by swinging his heavy artillery there.}
Be8 31.Kg3
{His majesty attends to the invasive knight personally! The threat is simply Kxg4 and Kxf3.}
Qf7 32.Kxg4 Nh4
{32...Ng5 33.fxg5 Qf5+ 34.Kg3 and the king is perfectly safe, while the White rooks aim for the f-file.}
33.Nxh4 Qxh5+ 34.Kg3 Qf7 35.Nf3 h5
{Capablanca exceeded the time limit here, but his position was hopeless in any event.}
1-0
[Event "Margate"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1939.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Capablanca"]
[Black "Golombek"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "57"]
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Qc2 d5 5.cxd5 exd5 6.Bg5 c6 7.e3 Nbd7 8.Bd3
h6 9.Bh4 O-O 10.Nf3 Re8 11.O-O Be7 12.Bg3
{White prevents Black from easing his game by 12...Ne4.}
Nf8 13.h3 Be6 14.Rab1
{White prepares b4-b5 to weaken Black's queenside.}
Nh5
{Black begins a manuevre to exchange light squared bishops, but this loses a lot of time.}
15.Bh2 g6 16.Ne5 Ng7 17.b4 Bf5 18.Na4
{White prevents Black from meeting a later b5 by ...c5.}
Bxd3 19.Qxd3 Nd7 20.Rfc1 Nxe5 21.Bxe5 Bd6 22.Bxd6 Qxd6 23.b5
{In spite of all the exchanges this break is very strong.}
cxb5
{23...Rac8 24.bxc6 bxc6 Black's weaknesses on a7 and c6 will prove decisive.}
24.Qxb5 Ne6
{24...Re7 25.Rc5 Rd8 26.Nc3}
25.Nc3
{The b-pawn is hopeless, so White takes aim at another target as well.}
Red8 26.Qxb7 Qa3 27.Nxd5 Qxa2 28.Nb4 Qa4 29.Nc6
{White not only threatens to take the rook on d8 but also to trap the queen by 30.Ra1.}
1-0
[Event "USSR Championship"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1939.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Dubinin"]
[Black "Botvinnik"]
[Result "0-1"]
[PlyCount "58"]
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 d6 8.c3 O-O
9.d3
{The normal move is 9.h3, preventing the enemy bishop from reaching g4.}
Na5 10.Bc2 c5 11.Nbd2 Qc7 12.Nf1 h6 13.h3
{We have transposed back to more normal lines of the Spanish Game, except that usually White's pawn is at d4 rather than d3.}
Be6 14.Ne3 Rad8 15.Nf5
{A typical maneuver. Black cannot let the knight remain in attacking position.}
Bxf5 16.exf5 Nc6 17.d4 exd4 18.cxd4 d5 19.Be3 Rfe8 20.Rc1 c4
{Black has a pleasant position, with a strong queenside initiative and control of key squares in the center.}
21.g4 Ne4 22.Bb1 Bd6
{Now it is Black who is attacking on the kingside, and White has to be concerned with the pawn at d4, which requires constant defense.}
23.Nh4 Bf4 24.Qf3 Bg5 25.Ng2 Bxe3 26.Qxe3
{26.fxe3 Ng5}
Re7
{Now Black wins material.}
27.Qf4 Nxd4 28.Qxc7
{Now Black wins in two moves. Do you see how?}
Nf3+ 29.Kf1 Ned2# 0-1
[Event "Holland"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1939.??.??"]
[Round "6"]
[White "Keres"]
[Black "Euwe"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "109"]
1.d4
{Paul Keres, the greatest player to come from Estonia, was probably the best player never to become World Champion. Here he defeats the reigning title- holder of the time.}
Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Qc2 Nc6 5.Nf3 O-O 6.Bg5 h6 7.Bh4 d6
{The pin may be annoying, but it cannot easily be broken, as Botvinnik pointed out: 7...g5? 8.Bg3 g4 9.Nh4 Nxd4 10.Qd2! Nf5 11. Nxf5 exf5 12.Qxh6}
8.e3 Qe7 9.Be2 e5
{Black has treated the center with classical respect, and White must decide whether he should capture, advance, or maintain the status quo.}
10.d5 Nb8
{The correct move. Now that White has conceded control of c5, that square will be the natural home for the knight. From b8 it only takes two moves to reach c5.}
11.Nd2
{This move serves many purposes. It breaks the pin on the Nc3, and overprotects e4. Now if an eventual g7-g4, Black cannot gain more time with g5-g4. White will also be able to attack with a pawnstorm on the kingside.}
Nbd7 12.O-O a5 13.Rae1
{The Rf1 should remain in place because it supports the advance of the f- pawn. There is no need to worry about action on the queenside, because White's pieces enjoy such freedom of movement that they can switch sides quickly.}
Re8
{This is aimed at preventing White from going after the weak square c7 with Nc3-b5. 13...Nc5 would have been consistent with Black's plans and might have been better than the text.}
14.f4
{14.Nb5 Bxd2 15.Qxd2 Ne4 16.Qc2 Qxh4 17.Nxc7 Qd8 18.Nxa8 Ndc5 and the knight is trapped.}
Bxc3 15.Qxc3 Ne4 16.Nxe4 Qxh4 17.g3 Qe7
{Now White must think of a plan. Clearly his bishop is not a long- term asset, and if Black plays f5-f5, it will be difficult to exchange.}
18.Bg4
{This assures that the bishops will come off the board, and then the pawn structure will favor White. The threat of 19.Bxd7 Bxd7 20.f5! is quite strong and therefore Black must exchange both sets of minor pieces.}
Nf6
{18...Nf8? 19.Bxc8 Raxc8 20.f5 secures a significant spatial advantage.}
19.Nxf6+ Qxf6 20.Bxc8 Raxc8
{After avoiding 21.Qxa5? exf4!, White must reconfigure his position so that his rooks will be effective on an open line. Which file?}
21.Rf2
{This exploits the pin on e5, since the double-rook endgames favor White. Now Keres will gain more space on the kingside by playing f4-f5, after which he can concentrate on the queenside.}
b6 22.Ref1 Qg6 23.f5 Qf6 24.e4
{Given the fact that White's pieces enjoy superior mobility, it is possible for him to preserve chances on both sides of the board by locking the center. The threat of a kingside pawn storm will trouble Black for some time.}
c6
{This approach to the problem is too radical, or at least premature, since White has not yet weakened his queenside by advancing the pawns there.}
25.dxc6 Rxc6
{Now White has opened some lines and useful light squares, and Black now has to defend the weaknesses at b6 and d6. But Black threatens 26...b5!}
26.a4 Kf8 27.Rd1 Rec8 28.b3 Ke7
{Black has now secured his queenside, but the kingside is defended only by the queen. Before undertaking action there, White will have to bring his own queen into play and ensure that his rooks can move freely on the f- and g-files.}
29.Qf3 Kd7 30.h4 Kc7 31.Kf1
{The king crawls out of the way, so that the rooks can do their job.}
Kb7 32.Ke2 R8c7 33.Rh2 Qd8 34.g4 f6 35.Rg2 Rc8
{It is easy to see that the only way White can win is by a properly timed g4-g5 but at the same time he must make sure that Black is tied to the defense of d6}
36.Rg3 Qd7 37.Qd3 Qf7 38.Rh1 Rh8 39.R1h3 R6c8
{Black now offers the d6-pawn as a sacrifice, since he will receive more than enough compensation if control of the d-file is granted to him. But White correctly keeps the position closed in the center, and breaks on the kingside.}
40.g5 hxg5 41.hxg5 Qc7
{41...Rxh3 42.Rxh3 fxg5 would allow White to capture at d6, since the d-file could not be contested.}
42.Qd5+ Ka7 43.Rd3 Rxh3
{The sealed move. The alternative was to go into a rook endgame. 43...fxg5 44.Rxh8 Rxh8 45.Qxd6 Qxd6 46.Rxd6 Rh4 47.Kf3 Rh3+ 48.Kg4 Rxb3 49.Rd7+ Ka6 50.Rxg7 and the f-pawn decides.}
44.Rxh3 fxg5 45.Rh7
{The threat of f5-f6 forces Black to adopt a passive defense, and that allows the White king to take an active part in the game.}
Qe7 46.Kf3 Rf8 47.Kg4 Rf7
{White has achieved a lot, but he must now find a way to exploit his spatial advantage. He needs open lines against the Black king!}
48.b4 axb4
{48...Qc7 49.bxa5 bxa5 50.Rh8 or 48...Qb7 49.Qxb7+ Kxb7 50.b5 is hopeless for Black.}
49.a5
{White relentlessly forces open lines, knowing that the rook on h7 only appears to be out of play. In fact, it can get to the queenside in two moves, via h8 or h1.}
Qb7 50.axb6+ Kxb6 51.Qxd6+ Ka7 52.Qxe5 b3 53.Rh3
{A fine move, which prevents the advance of the b-pawn because of Ra3+. Now Black cannot afford to exchange queens, as when the b-pawn falls the endgame is a trivial win for White.}
Rf6 54.Qd4+ Rb6 55.Rxb3 1-0
[Event "Buenos Aires Olympiad"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1939.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Capablanca"]
[Black "Vassaux"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "59"]
1.Nf3 d5 2.e3 Nf6 3.c4 c6 4.Nc3 e6 5.d4 Nbd7 6.Bd3 dxc4 7.Bxc4 Bb4
{This is worse than the normal 7...b5 because the bishop is exposed here and interferes with Black's queenside play.}
8.O-O O-O 9.Qe2 Qe7 10.Ne5 c5
{10...Nxe5 11.dxe5 Nd5 12.Ne4}
11.f4 Nb6
{Black begins a manuevre to relieve his cramped position by exchanges, but he loses a lot of time doing so, giving White a strong attack.}
12.Bb3 Nbd5
{Black loses too much time with this knight. He should get on with his development.}
13.Bd2 Bxc3
{13...Nxc3 14.bxc3 Ba5 15.Bc2 And White will get a strong attack by 15.Qd3 and g4-g5.}
14.bxc3 Ne4 15.Be1 f6 16.Qd3 f5
{16...fxe5 17.Qxe4 White wins a pawn here.}
17.a4 Kh8 18.g4
{White undermines Black's knight and opens lines for his attack.}
Ndf6 19.Bh4 Bd7 20.Rf3
{White threatens 21.Rh3 and 22.Ng6+.}
Be8 21.Rh3 Qd6 22.gxf5 exf5 23.Rd1 cxd4 24.exd4 Qa3 25.Be6 g6 26.Bg5 Nxg5
{26...Bxa4 27.Bh6 Bxd1 28.Nxg6+ hxg6 29.Bxf8+}
27.fxg5 Ne4 28.Rxh7+
{And Black gave up in the face of...}
Kxh7 29.Qh3+ Kg7 30.Qh6# 1-0
[Event "Leningrad"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1940.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Mazel"]
[Black "Botvinnik"]
[Result "0-1"]
[PlyCount "26"]
1.c4 Nf6 2.Nc3 e6 3.e4
{White gains space and hopes to discourage Black from an eventual ...d5.}
c5
{Black hopes to proves that d4 is a weakness.}
4.f4
{This gains more space in the center but wastes time and weakens his kingside.}
Nc6 5.Nf3 d5
{So Black plays ...d5 after all, reckoning that White's weaknesses and loss of time allow it.}
6.e5 Ng4 7.cxd5 exd5 8.Qb3
{Playing with fire. Having already made five pawn moves, White shouldn't be wasting time with his queen.}
Nb4
{Covering both d5 and b7 and eyeing the hole at d3.}
9.a3
{The final loss of time. White doesn't see the real danger of Black's next move.}
c4
{Not only gaining time and taking over d3 but opening the a7-g1 diagonal as well.}
10.Qa4+
{Losing more time, since the queen must go to d1 anyway, though it doesn't really matter.}
Bd7 11.Qd1 Qb6
{White resigned here, since his queen can't cover both c2 and f2, e.g.}
12.d4 cxd3 13.Qd2 Nc2+ 0-1
[Event "Soviet Championship"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1941.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Bondarevsky"]
[Black "Botvinnik"]
[Result "0-1"]
[PlyCount "64"]
1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.e5 c5 4.Nf3 Nc6 5.Bd3 cxd4 6.O-O
{A well-known gambit line. Usually this pawn can be captured later on, though in this game it survives to the end, and delivers the crushing blow that finishes the game.}
Bc5 7.a3
{7.Nbd2 was correct, intending 8.Nb3.}
Nge7 8.Nbd2 Ng6 9.Nb3 Bb6 10.Re1 Bd7 11.g3
{11.Bxg6 hxg6 12.Nbxd4 Nxd4 13.Nxd4 Qh4}
f6 12.Bxg6+ hxg6 13.Qd3
{13.Nbxd4 Nxd4 14.Nxd4 fxe5 15.Rxe5 is good for White.}
Kf7
{The king will be quite safe here, and now Black's heavy artillery can be transfered to the h-file.}
14.h4
{14.exf6 gxf6 15.Nbxd4 Nxd4 16.Nxd4 e5}
Qg8
{A very strong move. The idea is to play the queen to h7, advance the g- pawn, exchange queens, and use all of the remaining pieces to attack the enemy king.}
15.Bd2 Qh7 16.Bb4 g5 17.Qxh7 Rxh7 18.exf6
{18.hxg5 fxe5 19.Nxe5+ Nxe5 20.Rxe5 Bc7 21.Re2 e5 The central pawns give Black a decisive advantage.}
gxf6 19.hxg5 e5 20.gxf6 Kxf6 21.Bd6 Re8 22.Nh4 Rg8 23.Kh2 Bf5 24.Re2 d3
25.Rd2
{25.cxd3 Bxd3 26.Rd2 Bc4 27.Nc1 Nd4}
dxc2 26.f4 Be3 27.Bxe5+ Nxe5 28.fxe5+ Ke7
{The threat is Rxh4+ followed by Bf4+ and mate in a few moves.}
29.Rf1
{Now all Black has to do is decoy the rook away from the f-file.}
c1=Q
{White resigned, because he either loses a rook or gets checkmated.}
30.Rxc1
{30.Nxc1 Bxd2 31.Rxf5 Bxc1}
Rxh4+ 31.gxh4 Bf4+ 32.Kh1 Be4+ 0-1
[Event "Soviet Championship"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1941.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Keres"]
[Black "Botvinnik"]
[Result "0-1"]
[PlyCount "48"]
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Qc2 d5 5.cxd5 exd5 6.Bg5 h6 7.Bh4 c5 8.O-O-O
{8.e3 cxd4 9.exd4 Nc6 10.Bb5 O-O 11.Nge2 Qb6 Black has the initiative.}
Bxc3 9.Qxc3 g5 10.Bg3 cxd4 11.Qxd4
{By opening up the c-file, Black creates opportunities for attack on the queenside.}
Nc6 12.Qa4 Bf5 13.e3
{White has still not developed any of the pieces on the kingside and therefore it will be hard for those pieces (or the bishop at g3) to come to the defense of the king.}
Rc8 14.Bd3
{14.Ne2 a6 15.Nc3 b5 16.Qxa6 b4 17. Bb5 Bd7 18.Nxd5 Nb8+ The discovered check wins the queen.}
Qd7 15.Kb1 Bxd3+ 16.Rxd3 Qf5
{This pin must be broken, but how?}
17.e4
{17.Qc2 Nb4}
Nxe4
{The threat is Nxg3, with a discovered attack on the rook at d3.}
18.Ka1 O-O 19.Rd1 b5
{This deflects the queen from the important d4-square.}
20.Qxb5 Nd4
{Because of the weakness of the back rank, this knight cannot be captured.}
21.Qd3 Nc2+ 22.Kb1 Nb4
{White resigned, because there is no defense.}
23.Qe2 Nd2+ 24.Ka1 Nc2# 0-1
[Event "Soviet Championship"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1941.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Smyslov"]
[Black "Boleslavsky"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "63"]
1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bg5 dxe4 5.Nxe4 Be7 6.Bxf6 gxf6
{6...Bxf6 Keeping his pawn structure in order is also playable.}
7.g3
{White plays to stop Black from fianchettoing his light squared bishop with 7... b6.}
Bd7
{7...b6 8.Bg2 Bb7 would allow White to win material.}
8.Nf3 Bc6
{Black is developing his forces effectively must always worry about the fractured kingside pawn structure.}
9.Qe2 Qd5 10.Ned2 Na6
{10...Nd7}
11.a3
{A simple yet strong pawn move which keeps the Black knight out of the game.}
O-O-O 12.Bg2 Nb8 13.O-O Qd7 14.Rfe1 Bf8
{Black is playing without a plan. He should have tried to start play on the kingside by advancing the pawn to h5.}
15.c4 h5 16.b4
{Although, both sides are launching attacks on different flanks. White's is much more powerful since he has the better pawn structure.}
b6 17.Ne4 Bg7 18.b5 Bb7 19.c5 Bd5
{19...bxc5 20.Nxc5 Qe7 21.Nxb7 Kxb7 22.Ne5+ Kc8 23.Nc6 Nxc6 24.bxc6 when White has a winning attack on the light squares.}
20.Rac1 Rde8 21.c6 Qd8
{Most of Black's pieces have been pushed to the back rank which means they won't be able to defend the king.}
22.Qc2 a5 23.Rcd1 Bf8 24.Qd3 Be7 25.Nc3 Bb3 26.Rb1 a4
{26...Bd5 27.Nxd5 Qxd5 allows White to win material. Do you see how?}
27.Nd2 h4 28.Nxb3 axb3 29.Qc4 f5 30.Qa4
{With no light-squared bishop Black is powerless to defend his light squares.}
Bd6 31.Qa8 Qg5 32.Nd5
{Black resigned as he has no good way of preventing 33.Qb7+. 32.Nd5 Black resigned as 32...exd5 33.Qb7+ Kd8 34.Qxb8+ Mates.}
1-0
[Event "Moscow"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1943.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Zhivtsov"]
[Black "Botvinnik"]
[Result "0-1"]
[PlyCount "54"]
1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 c6 4.Nf3 Nf6 5.Bg5
{This line has become known as the Botvinnik Variation. In this early example, the future World Champion defends the Black side.}
dxc4 6.e4 b5 7.e5
{White tries to capitalize on the pin at f6.}
h6 8.Bh4 g5
{Now the pi n is broken, but by temporarily sacrificing a piece White can re-establish it.}
9.Nxg5 hxg5 10.Bxg5 Nbd7 11.Qf3
{White could also have captured the knight now. Another plan is 11.g3, followed by the fianchetto of the bishop at g2, with pressure on the long diagonal.}
Bb7 12.exf6 Qb6 13.Qe3 O-O-O
{13...c5 14.d5}
14.O-O-O Qa5 15.Kb1 Nb6 16.h4
{Black is attacking on the queenside, and White should not be wasting time advancing the h-pawn. 16.Be2 was correct.}
b4 17.Ne4 c5 18.f3 c3 19.Be2
{19.bxc3 Nd5}
Bd5 20.a3
{20.b3 c2+ 21.Kxc2 Qxa2+ 22.Kd3 Qxb3+ 23.Kd2 Qxe3+ 24.Kxe3 c4}
Na4 21.dxc5 Bxc5 22.Nxc5 Nxc5 23.bxc3
{23.Rc1 Nb3 24.Rc2 Nd4 25.Qxd4 Ba2+}
bxc3 24.Rd3 Qb6+ 25.Kc1 Qb2+ 26.Kd1 Nxd3 27.Bxd3 Bb3+
{White exceeded the time limit here, but his position was hopeless anyway.}
0-1
[Event "Prague"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1943.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Kubanek"]
[Black "Alekhine"]
[Result "0-1"]
[PlyCount "28"]
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O d6 6.Bxc6+ bxc6 7.d4 Nxe4
{Black hopes to maintain the knight here to use as the basis for a kingside attack.}
8.Qe2 f5 9.dxe5 d5 10.Be3
{With Black still at least two moves from castling White should either try to undermine Black's knight by 10. Nfd2 and f3 open the center by 10.c4.}
c5 11.c3
{A consequence of his previous passivity, but now Black has the initiative.}
Be7 12.g3
{Fearing a possible ...f4 after Black castles, but losing time and weakening his king position.}
O-O 13.Ne1
{White finally decides to get the knight out of e4, but Black has taken over the initiative, and on e1 the knight blocks in White's rook.}
a5 14.f3
{Missing the point of Black's last move. He had to play something like 14.Na3, to support c3.}
Ba6
{White has no desire to find out how Black will use his material advantage after 15.Qany Bxf1.}
0-1
[Event "Soviet Championship"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1945.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Botvinnik"]
[Black "Koblents"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "51"]
1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Nc3 c6 5.e3 Nbd7 6.Bd3 Be7 7.O-O O-O 8.b3 b6
9.Bb2 Bb7 10.Qe2 Rc8 11.Rac1 Bd6
{Both sides have developed in accordance with the principles of the opening. Now White takes action to secure more territory in the center.}
12.e4 dxc4 13.bxc4 e5
{Black is not about to permit his opponent to control the entire center!}
14.dxe5 Bxe5 15.Rcd1 Qe7 16.Nh4
{White now turns his attention to the kingside. Black should reply with a sensible move like 16...Rfd8. Instead, he makes a reckless move on the queenside.}
Qb4 17.Qc2
{Black's king seems safe, but if the bishop is dislodged from e5, then the e-pawn will advance an open up a diagonal for the battery of queen and bishop.}
Nc5 18.a3 Qa5 19.Nf5 Rcd8 20.f4 Nxd3 21.Rxd3
{White does not mind this exchange, since the rook can operate on the kingside. Black can win a pawn here, and does.}
Qc5+ 22.Kh1 Qxc4
{The bishop at e5 is under attack, but so is the rook at d3. Black probably anticipated a series of exchanges on the third rank, but Botvinnik has a better idea.}
23.fxe5 Rxd3 24.exf6
{The attack is more important than a small amount of material.}
Rd7
{24...Rxc3 25.Ne7+ Kh8 26.fxg7+ Kxg7 27.Bxc3+ f6 28.Bxf6+ Kh6 29.Qd2+ Kh5 30. Qg5+}
25.Qc1 Rfd8
{Now White would like to play Qg5, but there is a small problem -- the rook at f1 is en prise.}
26.Rg1
{Black resigned, because there was no hope of a successful defense. Try playing the Black side against Gambit and you will see why.}
1-0
[Event "USA-USSR Radio match"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1945.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Denker"]
[Black "Botvinnik"]
[Result "0-1"]
[PlyCount "50"]
1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 c6 4.Nf3 Nf6 5.Bg5 dxc4 6.e4 b5 7.e5 h6 8.Bh4 g5
9.Nxg5 hxg5 10.Bxg5 Nbd7 11.exf6 Bb7 12.Be2 Qb6 13.O-O
{Denker was r with Botvinnik's experience in this line and was prepared for this game. Botvinnik was also ready.}
O-O-O 14.a4
{But this came as somewhat of a surprise. Still, the move is not very good, because it allows me to advance my queenside pawns and does little to disrupt my queenside play.}
b4 15.Ne4 c5 16.Qb1 Qc7 17.Ng3
{17.h4 Bh6}
cxd4
{The point of this move is to deflect the bishop from coverage of the f3- square.}
18.Bxc4 Qc6 19.f3
{White was forced to accept this weakening of the a7-g1 diagonal because 19.Bf3 was no longer possible. If there were no pawn at d4, Botvinnik could now win the bishop at g5 by playing Qc5+.}
d3 20.Qc1
{Defending the bishop.}
Bc5+ 21.Kh1 Qd6 22.Qf4
{Now Black finishes with a fine mating combination. Do you see how it works?}
Rxh2+ 23.Kxh2 Rh8+ 24.Qh4 Rxh4+ 25.Bxh4 Qf4 0-1
[Event "Soviet Championship"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1945.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Smyslov"]
[Black "Rudakovsky"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "55"]
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 d6 6.Be2 Be7 7.O-O O-O 8.Be3
Nc6
{Perhaps this commits the knight too early. Another idea is to gain space on the queenside with pawn a6 followed by pawn b5; when the Black knight would keep the option of going to c5 attacking White's e-pawn via d7.}
9.f4 Qc7 10.Qe1
{White prepares an attack by lifting the queen over to the kingside.}
Nxd4 11.Bxd4 e5 12.Be3 Be6
{A mistake which weakens the d5 square since Black's light squared bishop will be unable to stay on e6. 12...exf4 With the idea of clearing an outpost on e5 for the Black knight. 13.Rxf4 Be6 14.Bd4 Nd7 15.Qg3 Ne5 With chances for both sides.}
13.f5
{White wants to drive the bishop away so that his knight can gain the outpost at d5.}
Bc4
{13...Bd7 Black should admit that he needs his light squared bishop to cover the d5 square. For example 14.g4 Bc6 15.Bf3 d5 16.exd5 e4 17.Nxe4 Nxd5 18.Bd4 when White's pawn advantage is somewhat hampered by his exposed king.}
14.Bxc4 Qxc4 15.Bg5
{White wastes no time in removing Black's last protector of the d5 square.}
Rfe8 16.Bxf6 Bxf6 17.Nd5
{White has a big advantage due to his active knight which is planted on the d5 square.}
Bd8
{17...Qxc2 18.Rf2 Qc5 19.Rc1 Qd4 20.Nc7 Forks the Black rooks.}
18.c3 b5 19.b3 Qc5+ 20.Kh1 Rc8 21.Rf3
{White's outposted knight on d5 cramps the Black pieces which means they will have problems getting over to protect the king.}
Kh8
{21...f6 Played to stop White from playing pawn f6 would be met with 22.Rh3 a5 23.Qh4 with an attack on the h-file.}
22.f6 gxf6
{22...g6 23.Qd2 Rg8 24.Qh6 Bb6 This allows White a forced mate in two.}
23.Qh4 Rg8 24.Nxf6
{The White knight moves from his d5 outpost to join in the winning kingside attack.}
Rg7 25.Rg3 Bxf6
{Black finally eliminates the White knight but in so doing creates new problems .}
26.Qxf6
{The pin on Black's g7 rook proves to be fatal.}
Rcg8 27.Rd1 d5 28.Rxg7
{Black resigned. 28.Rxg7 Black resigned due to his weak back rank after Rxg7 29.Rxd5 when Rd8+ follows next move.}
1-0
[Event "USSR vs USA"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1945.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Smyslov"]
[Black "Reshevsky"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "81"]
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O Nxe4 6.d4 b5 7.Bb3 d5 8.dxe5
Be6 9.c3 Bc5
{This is the most common continuation of the Open Variation of the Spanish Game.}
10.Nbd2 O-O 11.Bc2 f5
{11...Nxf2 12.Rxf2 f6 is the exciting Dilworth variation, which is rarely seen in top level competition.}
12.Nb3 Bb6 13.Nfd4 Nxd4 14.Nxd4 Bxd4 15.cxd4
{The exchanges have left with a protected passed pawn on e5.}
f4
{This sets up a very interesting piece sacrifice by helping to control the g3 square.}
16.f3
{Played with the idea of driving back the Black knight. However, White is in for a surprise. Do you see the sacrifice?}
Ng3
{A piece sacrifice which tries to take advantage of White's dark squares on the kingside.}
17.hxg3 fxg3 18.Qd3
{18.Re1 Qh4 19.Be3 Qh2+ 20.Kf1 Bh3 21.Qe2 Qh1+ 22.Bg1 Bxg2+ 23.Qxg2 Rxf3+ would give Black the type of mating attack he wanted.}
Bf5
{Black must protect his h7 pawn. 18...Qh4 19.Qxh7+ Qxh7 20. Bxh7+ Kxh7 21.Bd2 when White's pawn structure would give him the better ending.}
19.Qxf5 Rxf5 20.Bxf5 Qh4 21.Bh3 Qxd4+ 22.Kh1 Qxe5 23.Bd2 Qxb2
{An intriguing position. White has rook and two bishops against queen and four pawns. Black's chances are based upon a rapid advance of his passed pawns.}
24.Bf4 c5
{A mistake which drops the d-pawn. 24...d4 Better was advancing the d-pawn quickly which would tie down the White pieces.}
25.Be6+ Kh8 26.Bxd5
{With only one passed pawn to deal with White's pieces have the advantage.}
Rd8 27.Rad1 c4 28.Bxg3 c3 29.Be5
{White halts the c-pawn's advance by pinning it to the Black queen.}
b4 30.Bb3 Rd2 31.f4 h5 32.Rb1 Rf2 33.Rfe1
{33.Rxb2 Rxf1+ 34.Kh2 cxb2 35.Bxb2 Rxf4 With chances for both sides.}
Qd2 34.Rbd1 Qb2 35.Rd8+
{With the rook breaking through to the 8th rank Black's king won't survive for long.}
Kh7 36.Bg8+ Kg6 37.Rd6+ Kf5 38.Be6+ Kg6 39.Bd5+ Kh7 40.Be4+ Kg8 41.Bg6
{Black resigned as his king is caught in a mating net.}
1-0
[Event "Maastricht"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1946.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Wolthuis"]
[Black "Euwe"]
[Result "0-1"]
[PlyCount "42"]
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.Be2 O-O 6.Nf3 Nbd7 7.O-O e5 8.dxe5
{8.d5 Nc5 9.Qc2 a5 not allowing White to chase the knight away with pawn b4.}
dxe5 9.b3 c6
{Black has good chances due to the weak d4 square, which can be used as an outpost.}
10.Qc2 Re8 11.Ba3
{11.Bb2 Keeping the bishop on to defend the d4 square seems more logical.}
Bf8
{The bishop no longer has a future on the a1-h8 diagonal so this exchange makes a lot of sense.}
12.Bxf8 Nxf8 13.c5
{13.h3 not allowing Black to play Bg4 and Bxf3 would keep better control of the d4 square.}
Bg4 14.Nd2 Ne6
{Headed toward d4!}
15.f3
{15.b4 Nd4 16.Qd1 would be better but still Black has the edge thanks to his strong knight on d4.}
Nd4
{With this move Black gets a strong outpost for his knight.}
16.Qd3 Be6 17.f4
{An oversight which costs White a piece. 17.Kh1 when White's king is safer tucked away in the corner.}
Nxe2+ 18.Qxe2 Qd4+ 19.Kh1 Qxc3 20.f5 gxf5 21.exf5 Bd5
{White resigned.}
0-1
[Event "Groningen"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1946.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Smyslov"]
[Black "Kottnauer"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "41"]
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Be2 e6
{With this m ove Black transposes to the Scheveningen Sicilian, which is a favorite defense of mine.}
7.O-O b5
{This move is a mistake since Black is undeveloped and therefore isn't ready to meet White's play on the h1-a8 diagonal. 7...Be7 8.Be3 O-O 9.a4 when Black's little center and semi-open c-file give him good chances, as I have demonstrated on a number of occasions.}
8.Bf3 Ra7
{8...Bb7 9.e5 dxe5 10.Bxb7 Ra7}
9.Qe2 Rc7
{9...Rd7 10.e5 dxe5 11.Nc6 Qc7 12.Nxb8 Qxb8 13.Bc6 when White wins the exchange.}
10.Rd1
{White's lead in development gives him a winning initiative.}
Nbd7 11.a4
{White uses his lead in development to start a queenside attack.}
bxa4
{11...b4 Trying to keep the position closed wouldn't help after 12. Na2 a5 13.Nb5 when Black has problems defending his d-pawn.}
12.Nxa4 Bb7
{12...Be7 Preparing to castle was better but 13.Bd2 would still give White a big development advantage with 14.Ba5 being threatened.}
13.e5
{White uses lead in development to start play in the center which is where Black's king has remained.}
Nxe5
{13...dxe5 14.Bxb7 exd4 15.Bxa6 Bc5 16.Nxc5 Nxc5 17. Bb5+ Ke7 18.Bf4 would be good for White because of Black's exposed King.}
14.Bxb7 Rxb7 15.Qxa6 Qb8 16.Nc6
{White removes Black's best placed piece: the knight on e5.}
Nxc6 17.Qxc6+ Nd7 18.Nc5
{The culmination of White's lead in development. The idea is to take advantage of the pinned Black knight on d7.}
dxc5
{18...Rc7 19.Nxd7 Rxd7 20.Ra8 wins the Black queen.}
19.Bf4
{White plays a deflection sacrifice which Black can't except due to his weak back rank.}
Bd6
{19...Qxf4 20.Qc8+ Ke7 21.Qxb7 when Black would also lose his knight because of the pin on the seventh rank.}
20.Bxd6 Rb6 21.Qxd7+
{Black resigned because he would be a piece down after 21...Kxd7 22.Bxb8+.}
1-0
[Event "Soviet Union"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1946.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Bondarevsky"]
[Black "Smyslov"]
[Result "0-1"]
[PlyCount "84"]
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O Be7 6.Bxc6
{White plays the Delayed Exchange variation of the Spanish Game. On the one had he will double Black's c-pawns, but on the other hand he concedes the bishop pair to Black.}
dxc6 7.Re1 Nd7
{7...Bg4 pinning the White knight is also possible.}
8.d4 exd4 9.Qxd4
{Although, material is equal White has an extra pawn on the kingside which gives him a pawn majority.}
O-O 10.Bf4
{10.Nc3 Nc5 11. Qxd8 Rxd8 12.Bg5 f6 13.Be3 Ne6 would leave White with his pawn majority on the kingside.}
Nc5 11.Qxd8 Bxd8
{Ideally White would like to exchange off all the pieces reaching a king and pawn ending. The reason for this is that White could make a passed pawn with his e-pawn by using his pawn majority.}
12.Nc3 f5
{Black responds with an active move.}
13.e5
{This is a prem ature advance of the pawn. Better was 13.Bg5. 13.Bg5 Bxg5 14.Nxg5 h6 when Black has a drawing chances.}
Ne6 14.Bd2 g5
{White now stands worse since his e-pawn is blockaded and in need of constant defense.}
15.Ne2 c5
{Taking the d4 square away from the White knights.}
16.Bc3 b5 17.b3
{17.Rad1 would allow Black to win a piece.}
Bb7 18.Ng3 g4 19.Nd2 Be7 20.Nh5 Kf7 21.Nf1 Kg6 22.Nf6 Rad8 23.Rad1 Rxd1
24.Rxd1 Rd8 25.Rxd8 Bxd8
{The ending is better for Black who has the two bishops and the White e-pawn blockaded.}
26.Ne3 {26.Bb2} f4 27.Nd1 Bxf6 28.exf6 Be4 29.Bb2 b4
{29...Bxc2 30.Nc3 would allow White's knight more activity and since the c- pawn isn't going anywhere there is no rush in taking it.}
30.f3
{30.c3 would allow Black to win a piece.}
Bxc2 31.Nf2 gxf3 32.gxf3 Bb1 33.Ne4 Bxa2
{Black is two pawns up has no problems winning.}
34.Nd2 a5 35.Kf2 Nd4 36.Bxd4 cxd4 37.Ke2 Kxf6 38.Kd3 Ke5 39.Kc2 a4
{A pawn sacrifice which gives Black three passed pawns.}
40.bxa4
{40.Kb2 Bxb3 41.Nxb3 axb3 42.Kxb3 d3 With a winning pawn ending for Black.}
c5
{Black's pawns are too much for White to handle.}
41.a5 c4 42.a6 d3+
{White resigned as he can't stop the pawns for example 43.Kb2 c3+ 44. Kxa2 cxd2 45.a7 d1Q 46.a8Q when Black is able to win White's queen. Do you see how?}
0-1
[Event "Groningen"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1946.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Smyslov"]
[Black "Steiner"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "47"]
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e5 3.dxe5 Ne4
{3...Ng4 4.Nf3 Nc6 5.Bf4 Bb4+ 6.Nbd2 Qe7 allows Black to regain his pawn.}
4.Nf3 Bb4+ 5.Bd2 Nxd2 6.Nbxd2 Nc6 7.a3
{White now holds the initiative.}
Bxd2+ 8.Qxd2 Qe7 9.Qc3
{The pawn at e5 is now secure.}
O-O 10.Rd1 Re8 11.Rd5 b6
{Black has no way to put further pressure at e5.}
12.e3 Bb7 13.Be2 Rad8
{13...Na5 14.b4 with similiar play to the actual game.}
14.O-O Nb8 15.Rc1
{A very deep exchange sacrifice. The idea is that White's pawn and piece will be more active that Black's rook.}
Bxd5 16.cxd5 d6
{16...c5 Trying to keep the c-file closed to White's pieces would be met with 17.Bb5 a6 18.d6 Qe6 19.Bc4 Qf5 20.Bd5 Nc6 21.Bxc6 dxc6 22.h3 when White has a protected passed d-pawn.}
17.Bb5
{This drives the Black rook to a less active square.}
Rf8 18.e4 a6 19.Bd3 dxe5
{19...Rfe8 20.e6 fxe6 21.dxe6 c5 22.Bc4 would leave White with a strong passed e-pawn.}
20.Nxe5 Rd6 21.Nc4 Rh6 22.Ne3 Qh4
{22...Rc8 White now regains his lost exchange by tactical means.}
23.Qxc7 Rf6 24.g3 1-0
[Event "Groningen"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1946.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Szabo"]
[Black "Euwe"]
[Result "0-1"]
[PlyCount "84"]
1.d4 d5 2.c4 dxc4 3.Nf3 a6 4.e3 Nf6 5.Bxc4 e6 6.O-O c5 7.Qe2 Nc6 8.Rd1
{A typical position from the Queen's Gambit Accepted has been played, where White puts his hopes on the d-file and center while Black counters on the queenside.}
b5 9.Bb3 c4 10.Bc2 Nb4 11.Nc3 Nxc2 12.Qxc2 Bb7 13.e4
{13.d5 exd5 14.e4 would give White good play for the pawn since Black's king has remained in the center.}
b4 14.e5
{14.d5 would be to late due to 14. ..bxc3 15.dxe6 Qa5 when White wouldn't get enough play for the piece.}
bxc3 15.exf6 gxf6 16.Qa4+ Qd7 17.Qxc4 Rc8 18.Qe2 Rg8
{Black uses the open g-file to launch a kingside attack.}
19.Ne1 Qd5 20.f3
{20.bxc3 would allow Black a winning combination.}
Bd6
{Black has a winning initiative with his pieces aiming at the White king.}
21.Kh1 Qh5
{Very nice. Black forces another pawn weakness on White's kingside due to the threatened mate.}
22.h3 Rg3
{Black prepares to double rooks thus bringing his final piece into the attack.}
23.Be3 Ke7 24.Qf1 Rcg8 25.bxc3 Rxg2 26.Qxg2
{26.Nxg2 Qxh3+ 27.Kg1 Bxf3 28.Rd2 Bh2+ 29.Kf2 Bxg2}
Rxg2 27.Kxg2 Qg6+
{Although White has managed to get two rooks for the queen Black still has a winning attack.}
28.Kf2 Bg3+ 29.Ke2 Bxe1
{Black removes the only White piece which can help defend the light squares.}
30.Rxe1 Qg2+
{The light squares belong to Black. The rooks are no match for the queen here.}
31.Kd3 Bxf3 32.a4 Be4+ 33.Kc4 Qc2
{Black has a winning attack which all takes place on the light squares.}
34.d5 Bxd5+ 35.Kb4 Kd7 36.c4 Qxc4+ 37.Ka5 Qc3+ 38.Kxa6 Bc4+ 39.Kb7 Qb3+
40.Bb6
{40.Ka7 Kc7 also mates.}
Qf3+ 41.Kb8 Ba6 42.Red1+ Ke8
{White resigned. 42...Ke8 43.Kc7 Qb7+ 44.Kd6 Qxb6+ Mates.}
0-1
[Event "Groningen"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1946.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Steiner"]
[Black "Botvinnik"]
[Result "0-1"]
[PlyCount "56"]
1.d4 e6 2.c4 f5 3.g3 Nf6 4.Bg2 Bb4+ 5.Bd2 Be7 6.Nc3 O-O 7.Qc2 d5 8.Nf3
c6
{The Stonewall Dutch is a fighting opening for Black, who slowly transfers pieces to the kingside and then attacks.}
9.O-O Qe8 10.Bf4 Qh5 11.Rae1 Nbd7 12.Nd2 g5 13.Bc7 Ne8
{The bishop is an important defender of the kingside, so it must be eliminated.}
14.Be5 Nxe5 15.dxe5 f4
{Now the dark squares are more vulnerable. Notice the importance of Black's pawn at d5, which controls the e4-square so that it cannot be used by the White knights.}
16.gxf4 gxf4 17.Nf3 Kh8
{The g-file is needed for rooks.}
18.Kh1 Ng7 19.Qc1
{If 19.e4 then 19...fxe3 20.fxe3 Nf5 21.Qf2 Rg8 22.Ne2 Qh6}
Bd7 20.a3 Rf7 21.b4 Rg8 22.Rg1 Nf5 23.Nd1
{23.Qxf4 Ng3+ 24.fxg3 Rxf4 25.gxf4 Be8}
Rfg7 24.Qxf4
{24.Bf1 Qxf3+ 25.exf3 Rxg1++}
Rg4 25.Qd2 Nh4
{The knight at f3 is the key to White's defense. By eliminating it, Black secures the victory.}
26.Ne3 Nxf3 27.exf3 Rh4 28.Nf1 Bg5
{Botvinnik wa s convinced that this victory was due to Denker's lack of understanding of the ideas of the Dutch Defense, and this game stands as a model of appropriate play by Black.}
0-1
[Event "World Championship"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1948.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Smyslov"]
[Black "Euwe"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "51"]
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O Nxe4 6.d4 b5 7.Bb3 d5 8.dxe5
Be6
{Black is playing the Open Variation where his active centralized pieces compensate for the pronounced weakness of his c5 and c6 squares.}
9.Qe2
{Played with the idea of clearing the d1 square for the White rook.}
Nc5
{With the White rook cleared to move to d1 Black will try to reduce the pressure on d5 by eliminating the bishop on b3.}
10.Rd1 Nxb3 11.axb3 Qc8 12.c4 dxc4 $13
{Black shouldn't except the pawn sacrifice since he will fall behind in development. 12...Nb4 13.cxb5 axb5 14.Rxa8 Qxa8 15.Qxb5+ c6 White's extra pawn is the useless doubled b-pawn. Black has plenty of counterplay$}
13.bxc4 Bxc4 14.Qe4 Ne7
{Going backwards with the knight only furthers Black's kingside development. 14...Nb4 15.Na3 Although, White still retains the initiative. Black would be able to develop his kingside.}
15.Na3 c6
{Black has to give back the pawn. However, this still doesn't help his lagging development. 15...Bb3 16.Rd3 Be6 17.Nxb5 Bf5 would allow White a winning combination.}
16.Nxc4 bxc4 17.Qxc4 Qb7
{17...Qe6 18.Rxa6 when White wins if Black accepts the queen sacrifice.}
18.e6
{White wastes no time in attacking Black's exposed king.}
f6 19.Rd7 Qb5 20.Qxb5 cxb5 21.Nd4
{Black's lagging development carries over into the ending.}
Rc8 22.Be3 Ng6 23.Rxa6 Ne5 24.Rb7 Bc5
{Black has finally gotten his bishop out but it's too late to make a difference.}
25.Nf5 O-O 26.h3
{Black resigned since he is a pawn down and doesn't have a defense to White's attack on the seventh rank. 26.h3 g6 27.Nh6+ Kh8 28.Bxc5 Rxc5 29.Raa7 With mate soon to follow by Rxh7.}
1-0
[Event "World Championship"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1948.??.??"]
[Round "2"]
[White "Botvinnik"]
[Black "Euwe"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "63"]
1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Nc3 c6 5.e3 Nbd7 6.Bd3 Bb4
{This is a ra ther old-fashioned variation of the Semi-Slav Defense in the Queen's Gambit Declined.}
7.a3 Ba5 8.Qc2 Qe7 9.Bd2 dxc4 10.Bxc4 e5 11.O-O O-O 12.Rae1 Bc7 13.Ne4
Nxe4 14.Qxe4 a5 15.Ba2 Nf6 16.Qh4 e4 17.Ne5
{White invites a series of exchanges at e5.}
Bxe5 18.dxe5 Qxe5 19.Bc3
{This pin allows White to place a great deal of pressure on Black's kingside, especially at f6.}
Qe7 20.f3
{A strong move. Still, White could have disrupted the kingside pawn structure by capturing the knight, the threat of opening the file so that the rook can participate is much more powerful.}
Nd5 21.Qxe7 Nxe7 22.fxe4
{Now we have an endgame where the material is even, but where White has a bishop pair and the semi-open f-file, while Black can take some comfort in the fact that White's pawn structure has been shattered.}
b6
{Despite the doubled White pawns, Black is in a difficult position because of the activity of White's pieces. To exploit this, White first grabs the d-file.}
23.Rd1
{Now we examine the position, but mentally remove the Rf8 from the board. That gives us a simple mate in one with Rd8. Given this, it is easy to understand White's main threat: Rxf7!, using the power of the Ba2.}
Ng6
{Ok, the first plan must be abandoned. But now White can infiltrate the enemy position with tempo.}
24.Rd6 Ba6
{A good reply. Black will reposition the bishop at b5, where it more actively defends the pawn at c6.}
25.Rf2 Bb5
{The pressure on the f-file is more important than doubling rooks on the d-file .}
26.e5
{White's plan is to advance the e-pawns, using one to eliminate the opposing pawn at f7, and allowing its brother to become a passed pawn.}
Ne7
{Now that White has temporarily conceded control of d5, the Black knight hopes to find a new home there. 26...Rae8 permits White to carry out his plan: 27.e6 fxe6 28.Rd7 Re7 29.Bxe6+ Kh8 30.Rxf8+ Nxf8 31.Rxe7}
27.e4
{This regains control of d5.}
c5 28.e6 f6
{28...fxe6? 29.Rxe6!}
29.Rxb6 Bc6
{If you imagine the position with the knight gone from e7, you see that the discovered check with e6-e7 is good. So perhaps you can guess White's next move.}
30.Rxc6 Nxc6 31.e7+ Rf7 32.Bd5
{The most effective move. The pin on the Nc6 is even stronger than the one at f7, and if 32...Rc8, then on 33.Bxc6 the bishop cannot be recaptured because the pawn would queen. So Black resigned.}
1-0
[Event "World Championship"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1948.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Smyslov"]
[Black "Reshevsky"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "103"]
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 d6 5.c3 Nge7 6.d4 Bd7 7.Bb3 h6 8.Nbd2
Ng6 9.Nc4 Be7 10.O-O O-O 11.Ne3 Bf6
{Both sides have developed comfortably and Black is putting pressure on the center. White deals with that matter quickly and decisively.}
12.Nd5 Re8 13.dxe5 Bxe5
{13...dxe5 14. Nxf6+ wins material. 13...Ngxe5 14.Nxe5 Nxe5 15.f4 Nc6 16.e5! gives Black a lot to worry about. For example: 16...dxe5 17.Nxf6+ gxf6 18.fxe5 fxe5 19.Bxh6}
14.Nxe5 dxe5
{Not only has White secured the bishop pair, but he has reduced the Black knights to passive functions while his own steed occupies a magnificent post at d5. The d-file is where the action is, so White transfers a rook there.}
15.Qf3 Be6 16.Rd1 Bxd5
{Black's play has been pretty much forced, but now White has both the central file and kingside pressure.}
17.Rxd5 Qe7
{The d7-square would be a nice home for the rook, and White uses the threat of infiltration to secure a more active position for his queen.}
18.Qf5 Nf8
{18...Rad8 looks logical, but White can obtain an advantage by exploiting the indirect pin at f7: 19.Bxh6! gxh6 20.Rxd8 Rxd8 21. Qxg6+ Kf8 22.Qxh6+ Ke8 23.Bd5}
19.Be3 Ne6 20.Rad1 Red8
{White's positio n is very strong, and now he makes a quiet move which deprives Black of the use of f4, and puts him in near zugzwang.}
21.g3 Rd6
{A commital move which leaves Black with a backward pawn, but there was little else available. If the backward pawn were the only drawback, it wouldn't be too bad, but the resulting weakness at b6 will turn out to be important.}
22.Rxd6 cxd6 23.Qg4
{The cheap trick at h6 is not the real point of the move, which has the far more subtle goal of enabling the queen to get to the h4-d8 diagonal. Already Smyslov sees the potential power of a bishop at b6!}
Kh8 24.Bb6 Nb8
{Black also appreciates White's last move and hastens to drive the offending cleric from its new post. Reshevsky would no doubt have preferred to play Rc8 first, but that was not possible. 24...Rc8 25.Rd2 Nb8 26.Qd1! Rc6 27. Ba7 Nd7 28.Bd5! Rc7 29.Bxe6 fxe6 30.Rxd6}
25.Bxe6 fxe6 26.Qh4
{Taking advanta ge of the fact that Black cannot exchange at d4 without dropping the d-pawn. But as it turns out White forces the exchange at d8, and still gets his prize.}
Qd7 27.Qd8+ Qxd8 28.Bxd8 Nd7
{28...Nc6 29.Bb6 and Black cannot defend d6.}
29.Bc7 Nc5 30.Rxd6 Rc8
{30...Nxe4 31.Rxe6 and the e-pawn falls.}
31.Bb6 Na4 32.Rxe6 Nxb2 33.Rxe5 Nc4 34.Re6 Nxb6 35.Rxb6 Rxc3 36.Rxb7
{and the endgame is relatively straightforward.}
Rc2 37.h4 Rxa2 38.Kg2 a5 39.h5 a4 40.Ra7
{The rook is properly behind the pawn and also controls the seventh rank, so the kingside pawns can advance easily.}
Kg8 41.g4 a3 42.Kg3 Re2 43.Kf3 Ra2 44.Ke3 Kf8 45.f3 Ra1 46.Kf4 a2 47.e5
{An importa nt move, becuase it secures the f6-square, so that when Black trades the a-pawn for the f-pawn, White will be able to place his king at g6.}
Kg8 48.Kf5 Rf1 49.Rxa2 Rxf3+ 50.Kg6 Kf8 51.Ra8+ Ke7 52.Ra7+ 1-0
[Event "World Championship Tournament"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1948.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Botvinnik"]
[Black "Keres"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "45"]
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.e3 O-O 5.a3 Bxc3+ 6.bxc3 Re8 7.Ne2 e5 8.Ng3
d6 9.Be2 Nbd7
{Here the knight makes it difficult to develop the bishop at c8, so 9...Nc6 would have been better.}
10.O-O c5 11.f3 cxd4
{This is a mistake because there really isn't any chance of creating play along the c-file.}
12.cxd4 Nb6 13.Bb2 exd4 14.e4
{White takes control of the center. The d-pawn can be recovered later, since it is so weak that there is no way that Black will be able to hold onto it.}
Be6 15.Rc1
{Admirable patience! On 15.Qxd4 Na4 Black might have had some counterplay.}
Re7 16.Qxd4 Qc7
{Black would have done better to transfer a knight to c5 via a4. Now White breaks through decisively.}
17.c5 dxc5 18.Rxc5 Qf4
{Black must guard against checkmate at g7. White needs to apply more pressure. The difficult move to find is White's next, because the bishop seems to be so well placed at b2.}
19.Bc1
{The reasoning here is that White wants to bring a rook to g5, but that square is guarded by the queen. Therefore White drives away the enemy queen and takes control of the g5-square, attacking g7 from the front.}
Qb8 20.Rg5 Nbd7
{What now? White exploits the central position of the queen to set up a deadly pin, sacrificing a rook in the process.}
21.Rxg7+ Kxg7
{Now the Nf6 is pinned, and that allows White to bring more pieces into the attack.}
22.Nh5+ Kg6
{If the Black king had retreated, White would simply have captured at f6 with an overpowering game.}
23.Qe3
{The threat is Qg5 mate, whether or not Black captures at h5. There being no adequate defense, Black resigned.}
1-0
[Event "World Championship"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1948.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Botvinnik"]
[Black "Euwe"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "71"]
1.d4 d5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.c4 e6 4.Nc3 c6 5.e3 Nbd7 6.Bd3 dxc4 7.Bxc4 b5 8.Bd3
a6 9.e4 c5 10.e5 cxd4 11.Nxb5 axb5 12.exf6 Qb6 13.fxg7 Bxg7 14.O-O Nc5
15.Bf4 Bb7 16.Re1 Rd8 17.Rc1 Rd5 18.Be5 Bxe5 19.Rxe5 Rxe5 20.Nxe5 Nxd3
21.Qxd3 f6
{The Black king is clearly in a lot of trouble, with only a little nuisance value on the g-file as compensation. The combination of queen and rook are so strong that White can afford to part with the knight.}
22.Qg3 fxe5
{Black might as well capture, as the queen will infiltrate at g7 anyway.}
23.Qg7 Rf8 24.Rc7
{White has complete control of the seventh rank and threatens mate at d7 and d7. Black must sacrifice the queen in order to stay in the game.}
Qxc7
{24...Qd6 25.Rxb7 d3 26.Ra7! The threat is Ra8+.}
25.Qxc7 Bd5
{Even though Black no longer has to worry about checkmate, the queen can attack most of the White pawns and resistance proves futile.}
26.Qxe5 d3 27.Qe3 Bc4 28.b3 Rf7 29.f3
{White is in no hurry. This move creates a little breathing space for the king which can now work on the dark squares. The bishop can be captured later.}
Rd7 30.Qd2 e5 31.bxc4 bxc4 32.Kf2 Kf7 33.Ke3 Ke6 34.Qb4 Rc7
{34...d2 35.Qxd2 Rxd2 36.Kxd2 and the endgame is easily winning for White.}
35.Kd2 Rc6 36.a4
{Black gave up here.}
1-0
[Event "World Championship"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1948.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Smyslov"]
[Black "Keres"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "81"]
1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bg5 c6 5.e3 Nbd7 6.cxd5 exd5
{The openin g is an Exchange Queen's Gambit Declined where White's main strategy is the minority attack on the queenside. While Black chances are on using the half open e-file to start a kingside attack.}
7.Bd3 Be7 8.Nf3 O-O 9.Qc2 Re8 10.O-O Nf8 11.Rab1
{White prepares to play pawn b4, b5 thus attacking Black's queenside pawns where White has only two pawns hence the term minority attack.}
Ng6
{11...a5 would not stop White's intentions after 12.a3 Ng6 13.b4 axb4 14.axb4 with pawn b5 to follow.}
12.b4 Bd6
{This is not the most accurate move. 12...a6 13.a4 Ne4 exchanging a few pieces, offered better chances.}
13.b5 Bd7 14.bxc6 Bxc6
{This move is definetly a mistake as Black's light squared bishop is tied to the defense of the isolated d-pawn. 14. ..bxc6 when White would still have to prove the weakness of Black's queenside pawns.}
15.Qb3 Be7 16.Bxf6
{White removes an important defender of Black's isolated d-pawn.}
Bxf6 17.Bb5 Qd6 18.Rfc1
{White stands much better due to his pressure on Black's queenside while Black's kingside play have never gotten off the ground.}
h5 19.Ne2 h4 20.Bxc6 bxc6 21.Qa4
{White has saddled Black with a new weakness the backward c-pawn.}
Ne7 22.Rb7
{All of White's activity can be traced back to his minority attack.}
a5 23.h3
{Before proceeding with his queenside play White safeguards his king.}
Reb8 24.Rcb1 Rxb7 25.Rxb7
{White's better pawn structure and active pieces give him a winning advantage.}
c5 26.Rb5 cxd4
{26...c4 27.Rxa5 Rc8 28.Nc3 would leave White a healthy pawn up with Black's c-pawn safely blockaded.}
27.Nexd4 Rc8 28.Nb3 Bc3 29.Qxh4
{White's straightforward plans have netted him a pawn.}
Rc4 30.g4
{30.Qg3 Qxg3 31.fxg3 Ra4 would give Black play against White's a-pawn.}
a4 31.Nbd4 Bxd4 32.Nxd4 Qe5
{32...Nc6 33.Nxc6 Rxc6 34.Ra5 Qd7 35. Qg5 leaves White a pawn ahead with more on the way.}
33.Nf3 Qd6
{Black has to watch his back rank otherwise White will get in Rb8+.}
34.Ra5 Rc8 35.Rxa4
{After this loss of a second pawn Black could safely resign.}
Ng6 36.Qh5 Qf6 37.Qf5 Qc6 38.Ra7 Rf8 39.Rd7 d4 40.Rxd4 Ra8 41.a4
{Black resigned as he is three pawns down.}
1-0
[Event "Riga"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1949.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Tal"]
[Black "Strelkov"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "31"]
1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nd2 dxe4 4.Nxe4 Nd7 5.Nf3 Ngf6 6.Ng3
{Black is somewhat cramped, so White avoids exchanges.}
c5 7.c3 cxd4 8.Nxd4 a6
{Black doesn't want to allow a knight into b5, but this loses time. He should have played simply 8...Be7 and castled.}
9.Bd3 Nc5 10.Bc2 e5
{This gets Black into trouble, as he will only be able to kick White's knight out of f5 by ...g6, which will leave his kingside very weak.}
11.Qe2 Bd6 12.Ndf5 O-O 13.Bg5
{This pin is quite unpleasant. Black can only get out of the pin by letting White rip open his king position, while White can quietly prepare to mate by moves like Nh5, Nxf6+ and Qh5. Black must try to break the pin by Ne6.}
Bc7 14.Rd1
{This fine move gives Black an unhappy choice: give up his queen or block his queen bishop's diagonal. Black chooses the latter, allowing White's queen to join the attack.}
Ncd7 15.Nh5
{The pin on the d-file makes the pin on the d8-h4 diagonal stronger, as now Black has no way to strengthen the defense of f6.}
Bb6 16.Bxf6
{Black must lose his queen or be mated in a few moves. If you don't see how strong White's attack is, playing this with Gambit will confirm it for you. White Won}
1-0
[Event "Budapest-Moscow"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1949.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Smyslov"]
[Black "Florian"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "49"]
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 d5 4.Nf3 Bg7 5.Qb3
{This early queen move is justified because it places direct pressure on the center. Even though the queen often travels a bit in this opening, White is usually rewarded by complete control of the center.}
dxc4 6.Qxc4 O-O 7.e4
{This is a very strong center and Black has to work very hard to achieve counterplay. This opening figured prominently in some of the World Championship matches between Karpov and Kasparov.}
Na6 8.Be2 c5 9.d5 e6
{Black begins the assault on the White center.}
10.O-O exd5 11.exd5 Qa5
{This move is a mistake as the queen has no future on the a5-e1 diagonal. 11... Bf5 Controlling key central squares is more in the spirit of the opening. For example 12.a3 takes b4 away from the Black knight. 12...Re8 13.Rd1 Ne4 14.Be3 Nd6 when White's d-pawn is firmly blockaded.}
12.a3 Bf5 13.Qh4
{With the idea of playing Bh6 thus removing an important Black defender the dark squared bishop.}
Rfe8 14.Bh6 Ne4 15.Bxg7 Kxg7 16.Ng5 Nxc3
{This is a mis take as Black removes yet another piece from the protection of his king. Better was 16...Nxg5. 16...Nxg5 17.Qxg5 Qd8 White stands a little better due to Black's knight languishing in exile on a6.}
17.Qxh7+ Kf6 18.bxc3 Kxg5
{White has sacrificed a piece and the king hunt begins. 18...Rxe2 19.f4 The Black king is caught in a mating net after 19...Qc7 20.d6 Qd7 21.Rae1 Rxe1 22.Rxe1 Re8 23.Re7 Rxe7 24.Qh8+}
19.Qg7
{This quiet move takes away the Black king's retreat squares.}
Re4
{19...Rxe2 20.f4+ Kg4 21.h3+ Kh4 when White has a forced mate in two.}
20.f4+ Rxf4 21.Rxf4 Kxf4 22.Rf1+ Ke3
{The Black king must walk up into White's welcoming army. 22...Ke4 23.Bc4 With a winning attack for White. If you don't see how try defending the Black position against Gambit.}
23.Qe5+ Kd2 24.Bc4 Qxc3 25.Rf2+
{Black resigned as after he moves his king out of check White simply takes off the Black queen.}
1-0
[Event "Leningrad"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1949.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Spassky"]
[Black "Aftonov"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "41"]
1.d4 d5 2.c4 dxc4 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.e3 c5 5.Bxc4 e6 6.O-O a6 7.Qe2 b5 8.Bb3 Nc6
9.Nc3 cxd4
{This is a positional mistake, because the isolated pawn which it creates will be able to quickly satisfy its lust to expand. Better was 9...c4.}
10.Rd1 Bb7 11.exd4 Nb4
{Black is obeying a classical principle of establishing a blockade in front of the isolated pawn. But thanks to the pin on the e- file, White has a resource.}
12.d5 Nbxd5 13.Bg5
{Black's position is a virtual pin-cushion (Bg5 on Nf6, Qe2 on Pe6, and Rd1 on Nd5). The simple threat is 14.Nxd5 Bxd5 15.Bxd5, since 15...Qxd5 loses to 16. Rxd5.}
Be7 14.Bxf6 gxf6
{14...Bxf6 15.Nxd5 Bxd5 16.Bxd5 Qxd5 17.Rxd5}
15.Nxd5 Bxd5
{15...exd5 16.Nd4 would have also led to a crushing position for White.}
16.Bxd5 exd5 17.Nd4
{This position can already be considered winning, because of the weakness of Black's pawn structure and the strong position of the Nd4. The simple threat is Rd1-e1 and Nd4-c6.}
Kf8 18.Nf5 h5
{Otherwise Whit e would have delivered a nasty check at h6. Now the overworked Black queen is deftly exploited to bring a rapid conclusion to the game.}
19.Rxd5 Qxd5 20.Qxe7+ Kg8 21.Qxf6 1-0
[Event "Soviet Junior Championship"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1950.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Tal"]
[Black "Miglan"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "41"]
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O Nxe4 6.d4 b5 7.Bb3 d5 8.dxe5
Be6 9.c3
{This is the normal move against the Open Variation of the Spanish Game. Even at the tender age of 14 Tal knew his opening theory well!}
Bc5 10.Nbd2 Nxd2
{This knight is making a few too many moves in the opening.}
11.Qxd2 Na5 12.Bc2 Nc4 13.Qd1
{More knight moves. But this steed will be chased from the White camp on the next move.}
O-O 14.b3 Nb6 15.Ng5
{The Black kingside has no defenders, and White's forces are trained on the vulnerable targets surrounding the king.}
h6
{15...g6 creates major holes at f6, h6 and g7.}
16.Qd3
{A crude but effective threat at h7.}
Re8
{Black makes room to run.}
17.Qh7+ Kf8 18.Nxe6+ Rxe6
{18...fxe6 19.Bg6 Re7 20.Qh8++}
19.b4
{Tal has his eyes on the entire board. The bishop cannot move to e7 because of Qh8 mate, so this move wins a piece.}
Bxb4 20.cxb4 Rxe5 21.Bxh6
{Black resigned, since 21...gxh6 allows 22.Qh8+ with a fork on the rook at e5 and the king.}
1-0
[Event "Soviet Championship"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1950.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Petrosian"]
[Black "Tolush"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "37"]
1.Nf3 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 d5 4.d4 c6 5.cxd5 exd5 6.Qc2 Bd6 7.Bg5
{The White bishop pins the knight.}
O-O 8.e3 Bg4 9.Ne5
{The White knight takes up a powerful post in the center. While, at the same time threatening to win a piece.}
Bh5 10.f4
{10. f4 is a multipurpose move which reinforces the White knight and gains space on the king side.}
Qa5 11.Bd3
{11. Bxf6 gxf6 ,doubling the Black f-pawns, is also playable. However, 11.Bd3 developing another piece into the kingside attack is better. White is now threatening to win a pawn.}
h6 12.Bxf6
{12. Bxf6 breaks open the Black's king position.}
gxf6 13.g4
{13.g4 is a beautiful way to continue the kingside attack. Although, at a first glance it appears that White has forgotten about his knight.}
fxe5 14.fxe5 Be7 15.O-O-O Bg5
{15...Bg6 16.Bxg6 fxg6 17.Qxg6+ Kh8 18.Qxh6+ Kg8 19.Qe6+ Rf7 20.Rhf1 would win the Black rook.}
16.gxh5 Kh8 17.Qf2 f5 18.h4 Be7 19.Qf4
{Faced with a mating attack Black resigned.}
1-0
[Event "Riga"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1951.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Tal"]
[Black "Zeid"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "57"]
1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nc3
{This leads to a temporary pawn sacrifice, for which White will be able to build an ideal pawn center.}
dxc4 4.e4 e5
{Black counters by putting immediate pressure at d4.}
5.Nf3
{5.dxe5 Qxd1+ 6.Nxd1 b5 Black has an acceptable position.}
exd4 6.Qxd4 Qxd4 7.Nxd4 Bc5 8.Be3
{White has a lead in development and a kingside pawn majority, while Black has an extra pawn, but it sits very weakly at c4.}
Nf6 9.f3
{There is no rush to recapture at c4, because the pawn cannot be defended.}
Nbd7
{9...b5 10.a4 a6 11.axb5 cxb5 12.Ncxb5}
10.Bxc4 Ne5 11.Be2 Bd7 12.h3
{White wants to play f4 without allowing the Black knight to go to g4.}
O-O 13.f4 Ng6 14.e5 Nd5 15.Nxd5 cxd5
{Black now has a concrete weakness.}
16.O-O f6
{An attempt to undermine the center. But now White employs a decoy tactic to lure the bishop to an unfortunate position.}
17.e6 Bxe6 18.f5
{This fork wins material.}
Bxf5 19.Nxf5 Bxe3+ 20.Nxe3 Rfe8 21.Kf2
{White defends both pieces and Black's two pawns are not sufficient compensation for the bishop.}
Nf4
{21...d4 22.Bc4+ Kh8 23.Nf5}
22.Rad1 Nxe2 23.Kxe2 Rad8
{The threat is 23...d4, recovering the piece.}
24.Rd4 Re5 25.Rfd1 Rde8 26.R1d3 f5 27.Kf3
{Breaking the pin and creating an easily winning position.}
Re4 28.Nxd5 Re1 29.Re3 1-0
[Event "Riga"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1952.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Tal"]
[Black "Lozov"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "45"]
1.c4 e6 2.Nf3 d5 3.d4 Nf6 4.g3 Be7 5.Bg2 O-O 6.O-O b6 7.Nc3 Bb7
{We have transposed into a variation of the Queen's Indian Defense which is not considered good for Black since the pawn at d5 blocks the bishop at b7.}
8.Ne5
{A typical idea in such positions. The pawn at d5 is now pinned by the bishop at g2, and the knight at e5 controls many key squares.}
Qc8
{This breaks the pin and threatens the capture of the pawn at c4.}
9.cxd5 Nxd5 10.Nxd5 Bxd5 11.e4
{Now White has established the ideal pawn center. This gives his pieces a great deal of flexibility, and plenty of space in which to maneuver.}
Bb7 12.Qc2 c5
{Black tries to undermine White's central formation.}
13.d5 Rd8
{Black is putting a lot of pressure at d5, but with his next move Tal turns the tables by establishing a strong pin on the pawn at e6.}
14.Bh3 Qc7 15.Bf4
{Black broke one pin, but now White threatens a discovered attack when the knight moves.}
Bd6
{The immediate threat is eliminated. But the powerful White center now lunges forward, assisted by a sacrifice, and we see that control of the center allows the White queen to get to the kingside quickly.}
16.Nxf7 Kxf7 17.Bxe6+ Ke8 18.e5
{The bishop is attacked, but so is the pawn at h7.}
Bf8 19.Qxh7 Rxd5
{19...Bxd5 20.Qg6+ Ke7 21.Bg5++}
20.Qg6+ Kd8 21.Bg5+ Be7 22.Qf7
{The threat is 23.Qf8 mate.}
Nd7 23.Qg8+ 1-0
[Event "Holland Championship"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1952.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Euwe"]
[Black "Kramer"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "69"]
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4
{With his third move Black enters the Nimzoindian defense.}
4.Qc2
{Played with the idea of stopping the doubling of his c-pawns in view of Black's threat Bxc3+ which now can be answered by recapturing with the queen.}
Nc6 5.Nf3 d6 6.Bd2 O-O 7.a3 Bxc3 8.Bxc3 Re8
{8...a5, with the idea of hampering White's queenside play, would be met with 9.e4 when White has a slight pull due to his space advantage.}
9.b4 e5 10.dxe5 Nxe5 11.e3 Bg4
{11...Nxf3+ 12.gxf3 when White has good chances of a kingside attack with the open g-file and two bishops.}
12.Nxe5 dxe5 13.f3 Bh5 14.Be2 Bg6
{14...e4 15.f4 Bxe2 16.Qxe2 White's bishop dominates the a1-h8 diagonal, while, Black's knight has no central outpost.}
15.Qb2 Nd7 16.O-O f6
{Black plays to blunt White's battery on the a1-h8 diagonal.}
17.c5 Qe7 18.Rfd1 Red8 19.Be1 Nf8
{19...c6 20.Rd6 Nf8 21.Rad1 Rxd6 22.cxd6 Qd7 23.b5 would give White a powerful passed d-pawn.}
20.Rxd8 Rxd8 21.Qb3+ Kh8
{21...Bf7 still allows White to weaken the Black queenside pawns with 22.Qa4 a6 23.c6 Be8 24.Qb3+ Bf7 25.Qc2}
22.c6
{22.Qa4 With Black's king on h8 this would be a mistake because of a6 23.c6 Be8 when the c-pawn is pinned.}
bxc6
{22...b6 23.Qa4 Ra8 24.Ba6 Be8 25.Bb7 White wins the a-pawn with 26.Qxa7.}
23.Qa4
{White will regain his pawn while keeping the better pawn structure.}
Bd3 24.Bxd3 Rxd3 25.Qxa7 Qd7 26.Kf2 h6 27.a4
{With White's queen out of play this is a mistake. 27.Qc5 bringing the queen back into play while clearing the a-file was better.}
Ne6 28.a5 Kh7
{28...c5 29.Qa8+ Kh7 30.Qe4+ Kh8 31.a6 when the a-pawn is well on the way to promotion.}
29.a6 c5
{A good move which cuts the White queen off from protecting the king.}
30.Qb7 Rxe3 31.a7 Qd4
{This is the wrong square for the queen. 31... Qd3 gaining control of the e2 square was correct.}
32.a8=Q Nf4 33.Kf1 Rxe1+ 34.Rxe1 Qd3+ 35.Kg1
{Black resigned.}
1-0
[Event "Budapest"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1952.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Petrosian"]
[Black "Keres"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "71"]
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.e3 O-O 5.Nf3 d5 6.Bd3 c5 7.O-O b6 8.dxc5 bxc5
9.Ne2
{9.cxd5 exd5 would leave Black with hanging pawns.}
Nbd7 10.b3
{White wishes to keep an eye on the Black center with 10. b3 and Bb2. Although strategically correct 10. b3 has a tactical flaw. 10.Ng3 would be better, since, it would allow White to control the center after 10... e5 11. cxd5 e4 12. Nxe4.}
e5 11.Bb1 e4
{11...d4 looks strong. However, White would get good play after 12.Ng3 Bb7 13.a3 Ba5 14.b4}
12.Nd2 Ba6 13.Bb2
{13.cxd5 would drop material after 13...Bxe2 14. Qxe2 Bc3 winning the rook.}
Qa5
{Qa5 looks good at first since Black has a double attack on the White knight. However, it does nothing to increase Black's main advantage of time and space. Furthermore, White has a strong tactic to save the piece. 13... Nb6 would put more pressure on White's position for example 14.cxd5 Qxd5 15. Bxf6 Qxd2 winning material because of the pin at e2.}
14.Nxe4
{With this tempo rary sacrifice, White is able to trade his knight for the Black bishop.}
dxe4 15.a3 Bd2 16.b4 cxb4
{16...Qb6 17.Qxd2 Bxc4 would leave chances for both sides.}
17.Qxd2 Bxc4 18.axb4 Qg5
{Better was 18...Qb6 not losing a tempo with the queen.}
19.Ra5
{With this move White gains a tempo on the Black queen.}
Qh4
{19...Qg4 wo uld be better. The idea is to centralize the Black queen after 20.Re1 Qe6}
20.h3 Rfb8 21.Ng3 Rb5
{21...Bxf1 would drop the Black queen after 22.Nf5 Qh5 23.Ne7+ Kf8 24.Rxh5 when White is winning on account of his material advantage.}
22.Rxb5 Bxb5 23.Rc1 Bd3 24.Bxd3 exd3 25.Bd4 Ne4 26.Qxd3 Nxg3 27.fxg3 Qxg3
28.Qe4
{White takes advantage of Black's weakened back rank.}
Rd8 29.Qe7 Qb8
{Forced. Here White uses a deflection theme combined with the back rank weakness to achieve victory. Do you see White's next move? Try to find it!}
30.Bxa7 Qxa7
{Taking the bishop loses the exchange, but Black would still be lost, because of his inactive pieces and material deficit. 30...Qa8 31.Rc7 would leave Black in Zugzwang.}
31.Qxd8+ Nf8 32.Qe8
{White must not bring the rook down to the 8th rank too quickly! 32. Rc8 Qxe3+ 33.Kh2 Qe5+ 34.Kg1 Qe1+}
Qa3 33.Rc7
{Threatening to mate in two with 34. Qxf7+ and 35. Qxg7++.}
Qb3 34.Qe7 Qd5 35.Kh2 h6 36.Rc8
{Black resigned as he has no way of defending the knight on the back rank.}
1-0
[Event "Helsinki"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1952.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Smyslov"]
[Black "Barcza"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "41"]
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Bc5 4.c3 Nf6 5.d4 exd4 6.e5 Nd5
{Although th e knight at d5 seems to occupy an important post in the center, it will be difficult for Black to maintain the outpost as White increases the pressure.}
7.O-O O-O
{7...dxc3 is not playable because the knight at d5 can be captured by the queen.}
8.cxd4 Bb6 9.Bc4
{Since the bishop occupies b6, there is no good square for the knight to retreat to.}
Nce7
{9...Nde7 10.d5 Nb8 Black's forces are driven backwards and White dominates the center.}
10.Bg5
{An important pin, which indirectly reduces the support of the knight at d5.}
Qe8
{What else? The pin must be broken! 10...c6 11.Bxd5 cxd5 12.Nc3 Here the weakness at d5 will be critical.}
11.Qb3
{The consistent application of pressure at d5 means that Black can do little but try to hold things together.}
c6 12.Nbd2
{White continues to develop all of the pieces, while Black lags far behind. We can see that this knight is headed for d6, via e4.}
h6
{12...Bc7 13.Ne4 Nb6 14.Nd6! Bxd6 15.exd6 Nxc4 16.dxe7 Black's failure to develop has resulted in a loss of the rook at f8.}
13.Bxe7 Nxe7
{Even a quick glance at the board reveals White's domination, thanks to the superior mobilization of the forces.}
14.Ne4 d5
{14...Nf5 15.Nd6 Nxd6 16.exd6 The bishop at c8 is trapped and White will quickly bring two rooks on to the e-file.}
15.exd6 Nf5
{Black is too preoccupied with regaining the little bit of material. The pawn at d6 is weak, and more counterplay could have been achieved by sacrificing a second pawn in order to get some pieces into play. 15...Nd5 16.Bxd5 cxd5 17.Qxd5 Be6 18.Qxb7 Bc4 19.Rfc1 Rb8 20.Qe7 Qb5 Black might have had a little bit of counterplay here.}
16.Rfe1
{The threat is Nf6+, exposing the queen on e8 to attack.}
Qd8
{16...Qd7 17.Ne5!}
17.Ne5 Nxd6 18.Nxd6 Qxd6 19.Bxf7+ Rxf7
{19...Kh8 20.Ng6+ Kh7 21.Nxf8+}
20.Qxf7+ Kh7 21.Nc4
{Black, already down the exchange, resigned.}
1-0
[Event "Riga"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1952.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Tal"]
[Black "Segal"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "57"]
1.c4 f5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.g3 d6 4.d4 e6 5.Bg2 Be7 6.O-O O-O 7.Nc3 c6
{The main drawback of Black's opening strategy is the weakness at e6, which, appropriately, will prove to be the decisive factor in this game.}
8.Qc2 a5
{The purpose of such moves is generally to take control of the b4 square, and often to provide direct assistance to a knight at b4, or, if White plays d5, to place the knight at c5, where White will be unable to chase it with b4.}
9.e4 fxe4 10.Nxe4 Bd7
{White now has control of the center and somewhat more space. This gives him the "right" to attack.}
11.h4 Na6 12.Nfg5
{The knight keeps one eye on h7 and the other on e6.}
g6 13.Bh3
{The pressure mounts.}
Qc8 14.Rd1 e5
{Black solves the problem of the weak pawn at e6 but the square remains vulnerable.}
15.Bxd7 Nxd7 16.h5 Qe8
{What would have happened had Black captured the pawn instead? 16... gxh5 17.Nxd6 Bxd6 18.Qxh7++}
17.Ne6
{The weak square is occupied at last. The rook has no useful flight square.}
gxh5
{17...Rf3 18.Kg2 Qf7 19.N6g5}
18.Nxf8 Qxf8
{White has won the exchange, but the kingside attack has fizzled.}
19.c5
{A clever move which opens up a new attacking diagonal (a2-g8).}
Nb4
{19...dxc5 20.Qb3+ Kh8 21.Qxb7}
20.Qb3+ d5 21.a3 Kh8
{Black breaks the pin on the pawn at d5, so that the knight can be captured on e4.}
22.Nd6
{Black resigned, since he will lose more material.}
Na6 23.Qxb7 Nf6 24.dxe5 Ne4 25.Be3 Naxc5 26.Bxc5 Nxc5 27.Qxc6 Ne4 28.Nxe4
dxe4 29.Qxe4 1-0
[Event "Bucharest"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1953.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Spassky"]
[Black "Smyslov"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "67"]
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Bg5
{The Leningrad Variation of the Nimzoindian, which Boris Spassky used to love to play.}
h6 5.Bh4 c5 6.d5
{This reduces the flexibility of White's center and should not lead to any advantage for White.}
d6 7.e3 exd5 8.cxd5 Nbd7 9.Bb5 O-O
{9...Bxc3+! 10.bxc3 a6 11.Bxd7+ Bxd7 is at least equal and possibly even better for Black, who is poised to expand hisqueenside}
10.Nge2 Ne5 11.O-O Ng6 12.Bg3 Nh5 13.Bd3 Nxg3 14.Nxg3
{Black has removed one of the potential attackers of his weak d- pawn, and the other, the Nc3, departs quickly.}
Ne5 15.Be2 Bxc3 16.bxc3
{Black's strong outpost at e5 and queenside majority might seem to give him the advantage here but the strongpoint cannot be maintained and it is hard to find useful employment for the B at c8.}
Qh4
{This wrongheaded plan allows White to obtain a better game. There simply isn't enough attacking force here to make a dent in White's armor.}
17.f4 Ng4 18.Bxg4 Bxg4
{Capturing with the queen would have saved precious time, as will become obvious.}
19.Qa4 Bc8 20.e4
{Having eliminated the attack, Spassky establishes a dominating center.}
Qg4 21.Qc2 h5 22.Rf3 b5
{Smyslov, the harmonist, is now simply flapping his wings to no effect.}
23.e5 h4 24.Nf1 Bf5 25.Qd2 dxe5 26.fxe5 Bg6 27.Re1 h3 28.d6
{Although Black has the bishop, it is White who threatens to dominate the light squares. Black should now try to place pressure on the pawn at e5, but first he has to reposition the bishop.}
Be4 29.Ne3 Qe6
{29...Qg5 30.Rg3 Qxe5? 31.Ng4 Qe6 32.Rxe4 Qxe4 33.Nf6+}
30.Rf4 Bxg2 31.Nf5
{Threatening mate in a few moves after 32.Ne7+.}
Rfe8 32.Re3 Rad8 33.Nxg7 Rxd6
{33...Kxg7 34.Rg3+ Kf8 35.Rfg4}
34.Nxe6 1-0
[Event "Candidates Tournament"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1953.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Smyslov"]
[Black "Stahlberg"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "65"]
1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Nf6
{The Classical Variation of the French Defense which gives Black a solid but somewhat passive position. As with most French's Black's light squared bishop is a bad piece since it is blocked by his own pawns.}
4.Bg5 dxe4 5.Nxe4 Be7 6.Bxf6
{Not 6.Nxf6+ Bxf6 7.Bxf6 Qxf6 when all the exchanges give the cramped Black army room to move.}
Bxf6 7.Nf3 Nd7 8.Bc4 O-O 9.Qe2 Nb6 10.Bb3 Bd7 11.O-O Qe7 12.Rfe1 Rad8 13.Rad1
{White has finished his development while enjoying control of more space, which allows the pieces to move about the board more freely.}
Ba4 14.Bxa4 Nxa4 15.Qb5 Nb6 16.c4
{With the advance of the c-pawn White threatens to drive away the Black knight and then take the b-pawn.}
c6 17.Qb3 Qc7
{This move is a mistake since it allows White to weaken the Black kingside. Better was 17...Rd7. 17...Rd7 18.a4 Rfd8 19.a5 Nc8 would give White an even greater space advantage.}
18.Nxf6+ gxf6 19.Qe3
{The queen heads for h6 which is no longer defended by Black's g-pawn.}
Kg7 20.Ne5
{White uses his space advantage to prepare a rook lift if Black takes the knight.}
Qe7 21.Ng4 Rg8
{A mistake which costs Black the exchange. However, some material loss was unavoidable. 21...Kh8 22.Qh6 Rg8 23.Nxf6 Rg7 24.Re3 when White is a pawn up while retaining his kingside initiative.}
22.Nh6 Qc7
{22...Rgf8 would allow White to win Black's queen.}
23.Nxg8 Rxg8 24.b3
{White has won the exchange and for a player with Smyslov's technique the rest is easy.}
Kh8 25.Qh6 Rg6 26.Qh4 Nd7 27.Re3 Qa5 28.Rh3 Nf8 29.Rg3 Qxa2 30.Rxg6 Nxg6
31.Qxf6+ Kg8 32.Qf3 Qc2 33.Qd3
{Black resigned, since there is no compensation for the missing exchange.}
1-0
[Event "Zurich"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1953.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Geller"]
[Black "Euwe"]
[Result "0-1"]
[PlyCount "52"]
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.e3 c5 5.a3 Bxc3+ 6.bxc3 b6 7.Bd3 Bb7 8.f3
Nc6 9.Ne2 O-O 10.O-O Na5
{While White is gearing up for a kingside attack, Black calmly wins the pawn on c4.}
11.e4 Ne8
{Black avoids the nasty pin 12 Bg5 and prepares to meet 12 f4 by 12...f5. White's next move prevents this, but takes another tempo.}
12.Ng3 cxd4 13.cxd4 Rc8 14.f4 Nxc4 15.f5 f6
{Black couldn't let White play 16 f6, when 16...Nxf6 17 Bg5 followed by 18 Nh5 would be just as bad as 16...gxf6 17.Nh5 and 18 Bh6 or letting White take on g7.}
16.Rf4
{White gets ready to break in on h7, but Euwe has seen that White will still be a long way from mate. While Geller is getting ready to hit h7, Euwe will get his own pieces into position to invade on the queenside.}
b5
{Now Black has b6 for his queen, and it becomes apparent that White's king may come under long range fire.}
17.Rh4 Qb6 18.e5 Nxe5 19.fxe6 Nxd3 20.Qxd3 Qxe6 21.Qxh7+ Kf7 22.Bh6
{Now White threatens 23 Nh5, and it's not clear how Black will stop this but...}
Rh8
{Geller must have missed this. Black gives up a whole rook just to deflect the queen from c2, and all of a sudden it's White who's getting mated.}
23.Qxh8 Rc2 24.Rc1 Rxg2+ 25.Kf1 Qb3 26.Ke1 Qf3 0-1
[Event "Candidates Tournament"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1953.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Keres"]
[Black "Smyslov"]
[Result "0-1"]
[PlyCount "56"]
1.c4 Nf6 2.Nc3 e6 3.Nf3 c5 4.e3 Be7 5.b3
{White chooses to play unambitiously in the opening and Black is not challenged at all.}
O-O 6.Bb2 b6 7.d4 cxd4 8.exd4 d5 9.Bd3 Nc6 10.O-O Bb7 11.Rc1
{11.Qe2 allows Black to take advantage of White's weakened d-pawn after 11...Nb4 12.Bb1 dxc4 13.bxc4 Bxf3 14.Qxf3 Qxd4}
Rc8 12.Re1 Nb4 13.Bf1 Ne4 14.a3 Nxc3 15.Rxc3
{White hopes to lift the rook over to the kingside for a mating attack. 15.Bxc3 Na2 16.Rc2 Nxc3 17.Rxc3 dxc4 18.bxc4 would give the advantage to Black because of his two bishops and White's weakened pawn structure.}
Nc6 16.Ne5 Nxe5 17.Rxe5 Bf6 18.Rh5
{The White rooks are preparing for a kingside attack.}
g6
{18...a6 would allow White a tremendous attack after 19.Rxh7 Kxh7 20.Qh5+ Kg8 21.Rh3 Bh4 22. Rxh4 f5 23.Qh7+}
19.Rch3
{Although this attack on the h-file looks impressive Black breaks through the center with a winning counter attack. Conventional wisdom holds that a flank attack is best met by reacting in the center of the board.}
dxc4
{19...gxh5 and the Black king falls to a mating attack after 20.Qxh5 Re8 21.a4 The point is that White's dark-square bishop will go to a3, taking away the f8 square from Black's king.}
20.Rxh7
{20.Qg4 c3 21. Bxc3 Rxc3 22.Rxc3 Qxd4 23.Qxd4 Bxd4 24.Rc7 gxh5 25.Rxb7 A draw is likely since the bishops are of opposite color.}
c3 21.Qc1
{21.Bxc3 allows Black a winning decoy sacrifice.}
Qxd4
{Black takes a pawn while strengthening his defense on the a1-h8 diagonal. 21...cxb2 allows White a mating attack.}
22.Qh6
{Although, White's tripling looks impressive on the h-file, Black has all the squares defended and in ready for the counter attack.}
Rfd8 23.Bc1 Bg7 24.Qg5 Qf6
{Because of his strong passed c-pawn Black would like to exchange queens.}
25.Qg4 c2
{Now the c-pawn is only one square from promoting.}
26.Be2 Rd4
{Black provokes White to play pawn f4 in order for his counter attack to open the g1-a7 diagonal for his queen.}
27.f4 Rd1+ 28.Bxd1 Qd4+
{White resigned as Black's c-pawn promotes to a queen after 29...cxd1=(Q).}
0-1
[Event "Candidates Tournament"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1953.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Smyslov"]
[Black "Averbakh"]
[Result "1/2"]
[PlyCount "49"]
1.c4 Nf6 2.Nf3 e6 3.Nc3 d5 4.d4 Bb4 5.cxd5 exd5 6.Bg5 h6 7.Bxf6 Qxf6
{This variation has become more popular for White in recent years. Despite giving up the bishop pair, White can hope for the advantage because the pieces can be developed quickly.}
8.Qb3 Qd6 9.a3 Bxc3+ 10.Qxc3 O-O
{The minority attack. The idea to provoke weaknesses in the enemy pawn structure by advancing pawns. This strategy is characteristic of the Queen's Gambit lines where White exchanges pawns at d5.}
11.Rc1 c6 12.e3 Bf5
{To off set White's coming minority attack Black will prepare a piece attack on the kingside.}
13.Be2 Nd7 14.O-O a5
{Played with the idea of impeding White's minority attack. The pawn tears itself away from the group and itself comes under fire. However, This will give Black the chance to create threats on the kingside.}
15.Ne1 Nf6 16.Nd3 Bxd3 17.Qxd3 Rfe8
{Black will use the e-file to swing his rook over to White's kingside.}
18.Bf3 Ne4 19.Bxe4 Rxe4 20.Qb3 Qd7 21.Rc5 Rg4 22.h3
{22.Qc3 attacking Black's a-pawn would allow Black to draw by 22...Rxg2+ 23.Kxg2 Qg4+ 24.Kh1 Qf3+ 25.Kg1 Qg4+ 26.Kh1 Qf3+ 27.Kg1 Qg4+}
Rg6 23.Kh1
{23.Qc3 Qxh3}
a4 24.Qb4 Rf6 25.Kg1
{Agreed drawn. White could have tried to win the a-pawn but it would not have mattered because Black would obtain sufficient counterplay on the kingside.}
1/2
[Event "Belgrade"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1954.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Czerniak"]
[Black "Petrosian"]
[Result "0-1"]
[PlyCount "79"]
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.c3 Nf6 4.Qc2 Qc7 5.d3 g6 6.Be2
{White is playing the opening with no ambition whatsoever, and Black achieves a comfortable game effortlessly.}
Bg7 7.O-O O-O 8.h3 b6 9.Bf4 Nbd7 10.Nbd2 Bb7 11.Bh2 e5 12.Nh4
{12.Nc4 would be more solid.}
d5
{After White has taken a piece away from the center, Black wastes no time in grabbing the initiative.}
13.f4
{13.Nhf3 White should admit his last move was a mistake and bring the knight back into play.}
exf4 14.Bxf4 Qd8 15.Nhf3 Re8 16.Rad1
{White uses -on-man" coverage by setting up an opposition between this rook and the enemy queen. This indirectly prevents Black from taking the e- pawn.}
c4
{White will be unable to maintain his center against the powerful blows being hammered upon it. 16...dxe4 17.Nxe4 Nxe4 18.dxe4 Bxe4 19.Qa4 Bf5 20.Bb5}
17.e5 cxd3 18.Bxd3 Nh5 19.Bg5 Qc7 20.Bb5 Qc5+ 21.Nd4
{With this blockade White locks the Bb7 out of the game.}
Rxe5
{Black has won a pawn. However, some tactical complications come with it.}
22.N2f3 Rxg5 23.Bxd7
{23.Nxg5 Bxd4+ 24.Rxd4 Qxb5 25.Rxf7 Rf8 26.Rxf8+ Nxf8 27.Qf2 Qd7}
Rg3 24.Qf2 Qc7 25.Bg4 Nf6
{25...Re8 26.Bxh5 gxh5 27.Nf5}
26.Nb5 Qb8 27.Nh2 h5 28.Bf3 Rg5
{The main tactics are over with Black keeping his pawn advantage.}
29.Rfe1 a6 30.Na3
{The White knights are misplaced away from the center.}
Qc7 31.c4 Ne4 32.Qe3 Bh6 33.Qd4 Bf8
{White has no way out of the coming pin.}
34.Qe3 Bc5 35.Rd4 Re8 36.Nc2 Rge5 37.Qh6 Ng5 38.Qxg5 Bxd4+ 39.Nxd4 Rxe1+
40.Nf1
{White resigned as Black is two exchanges ahead.}
0-1
[Event "Great Britian vs USSR"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1954.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Milner Barry"]
[Black "Petrosian"]
[Result "0-1"]
[PlyCount "58"]
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Be2 e5 7.Nb3 Be7 8.O-O
O-O 9.f4 b5
{A typical reaction to White's kingside play.}
10.fxe5 dxe5 11.Bg5
{11.Qxd8 Rxd8 12.Bg5 b4 13.Nd5 Nxd5}
Nbd7 12.Bd3
{12.Nd5 Nxd5 13.Qxd5 Bxg5 14.Qxa8 Qb6+ 15.Kh1 Bb7 would trap the White queen.}
b4
{12...Bb7 Finishing his development is also good.}
13.Ne2 a5 14.Ng3 a4 15.Nd2 Nc5 16.Nc4 Be6
{A mistake which should cost Black the initiative. 16...Ne6 17.Bd2 Qc7 when Black dominates the dark squares.}
17.Bxf6
{A very grave mistake. White parts with his good bishop and is left defenceless on the dark squares. 17.Nf5 Bxf5 18.Rxf5 With chances for both sides.}
Bxf6 18.Qe2 g6 19.Rad1 Bg5
{Black's king bishop takes control of the dark squares.}
20.Qf2 Qc7 21.Be2 Rfd8 22.b3 Rxd1 23.Rxd1 axb3 24.axb3 Ra2
{The occupation of the seventh rank is always a good idea. Now the pawn at c2 is a target, despite the fact that the c-file is closed.}
25.Qe1 Qb8 26.Bd3 h5
{With pressure on both wings White's position collapses.}
27.Nf1 Nxd3 28.cxd3 Bg4
{With this move Black wins material and the game. The control of the seventh rank limits the squares available to the White pieces.}
29.Ra1 Qa7+
{White resigned.}
0-1
[Event "Leningrad"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1954.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Spassky"]
[Black "Melik Peshayev"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "43"]
1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.e5 c5 5.Qg4
{This was once considered a sharp weapon for White, but now it has lost its sting.}
Ne7 6.dxc5
{The main line these days is 6.Nf3, a solid developing move.}
Bxc3+
{6...Nbc6 7.Bd2 O-O 8.Nf3 f5 is considered a more reliable method of reaching a level game.}
7.bxc3
{White's tripled pawns are a real weakness, but there is some compensation in terms of pressure on the kingside.}
O-O 8.Nf3 Nbc6 9.Bd3 Ng6
{The knight can be chased away by the advance of the h-pawn, a typical strategy in such positions.}
10.Qh5 Nce7 11.h4 Qa5
{Black attac ks on the queenside, but White is not really concerned about that part of the board.}
12.O-O Bd7 13.Qg4
{The White queen gets out of the way so the h-pawn can advance.}
Bb5
{It is usually a good strategy to trade a piece which is not actively taking part in the defense for a piece which is part of the attacking force.}
14.h5 Bxd3 15.cxd3 Qxc3
{15...Nh8 16.Qb4 White retains the extra pawn with a good position.}
16.hxg6 Qxa1 17.gxh7+
{White has given up an idle rook, which played no part in the attack, for the important defender at g6. Now Black cannot afford to take the pawn at h7.}
Kh8
{17...Kxh7 18.Ng5+ Kg8 Otherwise there will be a discovered check which wins material.19.Qh5 Rfc8 20.Qxf7+ Kh8 21.Qh5+ Kg8 22. Qh7+ Kf8 23.Nxe6+ Kf7 24.Ng5+ Ke8 25.Qh8+ Kd7 26.Qxg7 With the nasty threat of 27.e6+, with a discovered attack on the queen at a1.}
18.Bg5
{Black must now give up the queen for the rook, or lose the knight for nothing.}
Qxf1+ 19.Kxf1 Nf5
{Now Spassky finishes with an elegant combination, based on the weakness of the g7 square. The knight at f5 seems to hold things together, but remember that White can play Nd4. Now find the solution..}
20.Bf6 Rac8
{20...gxf6 21.exf6 Rg8 22.hxg8Q+ Rxg8 23.Qh5+}
21.Nd4 gxf6 22.exf6
{Black resigned, as there is no defense.}
1-0
[Event "Riga"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1954.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Saigin"]
[Black "Tal"]
[Result "0-1"]
[PlyCount "72"]
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 c5 3.Nf3 e6 4.g3 cxd4 5.Nxd4 d5 6.Bg2
{White's strategy is clear: pressure the pawn at d5.}
e5 7.Nf3 d4
{Black drives the White forces back and takes control of the center. At f3, the knight blocks the bishop at g2.}
8.O-O Nc6 9.e3 Be7 10.exd4 exd4
{Now White has a new target at d4, but the passed pawn is well-supported and exerts a cramping influence on the White forecourt.}
11.Nbd2 Be6 12.Re1 O-O 13.b3 Qd7 14.Bb2 Rad8
{Both sides have brought their forces into the game.}
15.a3 a5 16.Ne5 Nxe5 17.Rxe5 b6 18.Nf3
{This square should have been occupied by the queen, which would have given White complete control of the a8-h1 diagonal. Now the bishop sits idly at g2.}
Bc5 19.Qd2
{19.b4 axb4 20.axb4 Bd6 A very strong intermediate move. If Black had taken the pawn at b4 right away then White would have captured.21.Re1 Bxb4 Now White can't take the pawn at d4 because the rook at e1 is attacked.}
Ng4 20.R5e1 d3
{The weak f2-square is now under attack.}
21.Rf1 Qd6 22.Qc3
{Black must now take time out to deal with the threat at g7.}
f6 23.Rad1 Rfe8
{A move indicative of the young (16 year old) Tal's talent. There is nothing happening on the e-file yet, but Tal appreciates that the e3-square will play an important role. In any event, the occupation of the e-file is useful.}
24.Rd2
{24.Ng5 Nxf2 25.Rxf2 Bxf2+ 26.Kxf2 Qc5+ 27.Kf1 Qxg5}
Bf5 25.Ng5
{Now Black employs a decoy tactic to lure the pawn at f2 to e3.}
Ne3 26.fxe3 Bxe3+ 27.Kh1 Bxd2 28.Qxd2 Re2
{This is even stronger than capturing the knight at g5.}
29.Qc3
{29.Bd5+ Qxd5+ 30.cxd5 Rxd2 31.Rxf5 Rxb2 32.Ne4 d2 33.Rf1 Rxd5 34.Rd1 Re5 35.Rxd2 Rb1+ 36.Kg2 Rxe4}
Rxg2
{White resigned, because the passed pawn cannot be stopped.}
30.Kxg2 d2 31.Rd1 Bg4 32.Nf3 Qd3 33.Qxd3 Rxd3 34.Rxd2 Bxf3+ 35.Kf2 Rxd2+
36.Kxf3 Rxb2 0-1
[Event "World Championship"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1954.??.??"]
[Round "9"]
[White "Smyslov"]
[Black "Botvinnik"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "49"]
1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.e5 c5 5.a3 Ba5
{Normally Black captures at c3, but this retreat leads to complications with a very unbalanced pawn structure.}
6.b4 cxd4 7.Qg4 Ne7 8.bxa5 dxc3
{White's queenside pawns are very weak, and the pawn at c3 is an annoyance, but White will pick up g7 and h7 and have an outside passed pawn.}
9.Qxg7 Rg8 10.Qxh7 Nd7
{This knight belongs on c6. Now White will execute a very simple plan: advance the h-pawn until it becomes a queen! Of course he will have to be careful in the execution of the strategy.}
11.Nf3 Nf8
{Botvinnik proposed 11...Qc7 as an improvement, but Smyslov correctly points out that White has a strong reply: 11...Qc7 12.Bb5! Rxg2?! 13.Kf1 Rg8 14.Rg1 Rxg1+ 15.Kxg1 and the pin makes it very hard for Black to develop.}
12.Qd3 Qxa5 13.h4
{Here we go! It turns out that Black's pawn at c3 just gets in the way.}
Bd7 14.Bg5
{Black is prevented from castling, and the control of the h4-d8 diagonal keeps Black pinned down. Smyslov uses this fact and his h-pawn to win the game in fine style.}
Rc8 15.Nd4
{Black was going to try and wiggle out with a combination of Rc8-c4- e4+ and the placement of a knight at f5. This stops both plans.}
Nf5
{Now White does not want to capture immediately, because the Nf8 would occupy the new hole at e6. But how to answer the threat of Nf5xd4 and Bb5?}
16.Rb1 Rc4
{Smyslov considers 16.. .b6 best, but it is hard to blame Botvinnik, for what follows is truly inspired.}
17.Nxf5 exf5 18.Rxb7 Re4+
{How does White win? If White is to move in this position then Rb8+ is fatal. That's really all one needs to know in order to finish the game brilliantly.}
19.Qxe4 dxe4 20.Rb8+ Bc8 21.Bb5+ Qxb5
{21...Nd7 22.Rxc8+}
22.Rxb5
{Now the game is over, not because of the exchange, but rather because of the flying h-pawn which was the cornerstone of White's strategy.}
Ne6 23.Bf6 Rxg2 24.h5 Ba6 25.h6
{It is only fitting that the pawn has the final say. After the bishop captures the rook there is no way to stop the pawn from queening.}
1-0
[Event "World Championship"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1954.??.??"]
[Round "2"]
[White "Botvinnik"]
[Black "Smyslov"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "59"]
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.e3 b6 5.Nge2 Ba6 6.a3 Be7 7.Nf4 d5
{Black has chosen an aggressive opening plan, placing immediate pressure on White's position. This course is justified by the fact that his development is equal to that of his opponent.}
8.cxd5 Bxf1 9.Kxf1
{9.dxe6 Ba6 10.exf7+ Kxf7 11.Qb3+ Ke8 12.Ne6 Qd7 13.Nxg7+ Kd8 14.Ne6+ Kc8}
exd5
{9...Nxd5 10.Ncxd5 exd5 11.Qh5 c6 12.Ne2 g6}
10.g4
{This was a portion of Botvinnik's home cooking. In World Championship matches both players usually come well-prepared, working with a team of analysts for a period of months. And better opening preparation can turn into points!}
c6 11.g5 Nfd7
{White continues the kingside aggression. The weaknesses on the light squares are not so important because Black does not have a light-squared bishop.}
12.h4 Bd6 13.e4
{White now controls the center.}
dxe4 14.Nxe4 Bxf4 15.Bxf4 O-O
{Black must castle before White can play Nd6, but now the pawnstorm continues.}
16.h5 Re8 17.Nd6 Re6 18.d5
{The pawn cannot be captured, but the rook has no comfortable retreat square. It is not easy to see why 18...cxd5 19.Qxd5 Na6 is unplayable, but try to find the solution yourself.}
Rxd6
{18...cxd5 le ads to a long forcing variation which wins for White: 19.Qxd5 Na6 20.Nxf7 Kxf7 21.g6+ hxg6 22.hxg6+ Ke7 23.Bd6+ Kf6 24.Qf3+ Kxg6 25.Rg1+ Kh7 26.Qf5+ Kh8 27. Rh1+ Kg8 28.Qxe6+}
19.Bxd6 Qxg5
{It looks like Black has weathered the storm. He is down the exchange but has an extra pawn and the White king position looks suspect. Botvinnik now plays an excellent move which takes control of a number of key squares.}
20.Qf3 Qxd5
{Now we have an endgame, where the security of White's king is not an issue.}
21.Qxd5 cxd5 22.Rc1 Na6 23.b4 h6 24.Rh3 Kh7 25.Rd3 Nf6
{The bishop t d6 dominates the knight at a6. Now White wins another pawn and the rest is easy.}
26.b5 Nc5 27.Bxc5 bxc5 28.Rxc5 Rb8 29.a4 Rb7 30.Rdc3 1-0
[Event "Hastings"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1954.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Smyslov"]
[Black "Fuderer"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "73"]
1.c4 e5 2.Nc3 d6 3.Nf3 c6 4.d4 Qc7 5.g3 Nf6 6.Bg2 Be7
{Black strange development leave his pieces passively placed. 6...g6 trying to activate the bishop on the a1-h8 diagonal would be met with 7.O- O Bg7 8.e4 with a space advantage to White.}
7.O-O O-O 8.e4 a5
{8...Bg4 Followed by Nbd7 would at least give the Black pieces some room to breath.}
9.h3
{This keeps both bishop and knight off of g4.}
Na6 10.Be3
{If White hadn't played 9.h3 Black could now play Ng4 harassing the dark squared bishop.}
Re8 11.Rc1 Nd7 12.Qe2 Bf8 13.Rfd1
{White stands better due to his quick development While Black's pieces are still looking for there correct positions.}
exd4
{Although, Black stands worse because of his backward development he shouldn't open up the position since White is more than ready for the fight. 13...g6 keeping the position closed until he gets fully developed was a better idea.}
14.Nxd4 Ndc5 15.Kh2 Bd7 16.Qf3 a4 17.Nf5
{While Black has been chasing after imaginary play on the queenside White has been building up a kingside initiative.}
Re6 18.Qf4 Rf6 19.g4 Re8
{19...Bxf5 20.exf5 With the immediate threat of pawn g5 trapping the Black rook.}
20.Qg3 h6 21.Rd2 Bc8 22.Rcd1 Qa5 23.Bf4 Bxf5
{Black must part with the two bishops while opening up the g-file due to his weak d-pawn. Which the knight on f5 was overpowering.}
24.gxf5 Qb4 25.Bxd6 Rxd6 26.Rxd6 Bxd6 27.Rxd6
{White has won a pawn while keeping his kingside initiative.}
Kh7
{27...Qxb2 28.Rxh6 when Black would have no good response to stop White's threat of pawn g6.}
28.e5 Qxc4
{28...Qxb2 29.e6 fxe6 would allow White to win material.}
29.Rg6 Rg8
{29...fxg6 30.Qxg6+ Kg8 31.Qxe8+ Kh7 32.Qg6+ would also be hopeless for Black.}
30.Rg4 Qd3 31.Be4 Qd2
{The final mistake after which Black gets clobbered on the light square 31...Qxg3+ 32.Kxg3 Nxe4+ 33.Nxe4 Re8 34.Kf4 was a better try for Black. However, White's pieces are much more active for the endgame.}
32.e6 fxe6 33.fxe6+ Nxe4 34.Nxe4 Qxb2 35.Qf4
{The queen prepares to take over the light squares while standing by to help the passed e-pawn.}
Nb4 36.e7 Nd3 37.Nf6+
{Black resigned. 37.Nf6+ Black resigned as the White e-pawn promotes after 37...Qxf6 38.Qxf6 gxf6 39.Rxg8 Kxg8 40.e8Q+}
1-0
[Event "World Championship"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1954.??.??"]
[Round "9"]
[White "Smyslov"]
[Black "Botvinnik"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "49"]
1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.e5 c5
{The Winawer variation of the French Defense where Black tries to undermine the White center.}
5.a3 Ba5
{Black preserves his bishop temporarily and retains pressure on the a5-e1 diagonal. 5...Bxc3+ 6.bxc3 Ne7 7.Qg4 Qc7 8.Qxg7 Rg8 9.Qxh7 cxd4 Leads to sharp play with chances for both sides.}
6.b4
{With this pawn advance White tries to punish Black's dark squared bishop for leaving the kingside.}
cxd4
{6...cxb4 7.Nb5 Also leads to sharp play.}
7.Qg4 Ne7
{7...Kf8 8.bxa5 dxc3 9.Nf3 Ne7 10.Bd3 Nd7 11.Qb4 Qc7 12.O-O Nc5 13.Qxc3 would be better for White because of Black's awkward king position.}
8.bxa5 dxc3 9.Qxg7 Rg8 10.Qxh7 Nd7
{Played with the idea of bringing the knight to f8. However, the knight proves to be passive on the back rank. Better was 10...Nbc6.}
11.Nf3 Nf8 12.Qd3 Qxa5 13.h4
{White advances his passed pawn while holding the g5 square for his dark squared bishop.}
Bd7 14.Bg5 Rc8 15.Nd4 Nf5 16.Rb1
{White offers his a-pawn in exchange for the Black b-pawn.}
Rc4
{16...Qxa3 17.Nxf5 exf5 18.Rxb7 when Black has too many weaknesses to cover.}
17.Nxf5 exf5 18.Rxb7
{White has a big advantage thanks to his passed h-pawn and dark squared bishop which restrict the options of the Black king.}
Re4+ 19.Qxe4
{A startling queen sacrifice which is a small investment for what follows.}
dxe4 20.Rb8+ Bc8 21.Bb5+ Qxb5 22.Rxb5
{White has won the exchange and for a player with Smyslov's technique the rest is easy.}
Ne6 23.Bf6 Rxg2 24.h5 Ba6 25.h6
{Black resigned because he can't stop White's passed h-pawn from promoting.}
1-0
[Event "Riga"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1955.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Rovner"]
[Black "Tal"]
[Result "0-1"]
[PlyCount "52"]
1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nd2 Nf6 4.e5 Nfd7 5.Bd3 c5 6.c3 Nc6 7.Ne2 Qb6
{Black's opening strategy is clear: pile up pressure on the pawn at d4, and try to undermine the pawn chain.}
8.Nf3 cxd4 9.cxd4 f6
{This is a typical idea in such formations. Black will open up the f-file, castle, and then attack.}
10.exf6 Nxf6 11.O-O Bd6 12.Nc3 O-O 13.Re1
{White tries to discourage Black from playing e5, which will allow him to get the bad bishop into the game.}
Bd7 14.Nb5 Bb8
{A temporary inconvenience. The knight won't stay at b5 forever and the bishop can return to d6.}
15.Nc3 Bd6
{Why can't Black take the pawn at d4? 15...Nxd4 16.Nxd4 Qxd4 17.Bxh7+}
16.Bg5 Rae8
{The battle for the e5-square resumes.}
17.Re2
{White defends the pawn at b2.}
Ng4 18.h3
{Although there are several White pieces on the kingside, only one actually participates in the defense of the king, and this is now eliminated by an exchange sacrifice.}
Rxf3 19.gxf3 Nh2
{The threat is Nxf3+, forking the king and bishop at g5.}
20.Kg2 Nxd4
{With the defending knight at f3 gone, the pawn falls.}
21.Re3
{Necessary, to defend f3.}
h6 22.Bh4 Bf4
{Now White must give up the exchange.}
23.Bg6
{A desperate counterattack. The next few moves are forced.}
Bxe3 24.Bxe8 Nhxf3 25.Bxd7 Nxh4+ 26.Kf1 Qxb2
{Finally this pawn can be captured, and the dual threats of Qxf2 mate and Qxc3 force White to resign.}
0-1
[Event "Soviet Championship"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1955.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Petrosian"]
[Black "Taimanov"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "47"]
1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Nc3 c6 5.e3 Nbd7 6.Bd3 Bb4 7.O-O O-O 8.Qc2
Bd6
{Black plans to challenge the White center by playing 8...Bd6, dxc4 and e5. However, a better move order was to start with 8...dxc4. As played White is able to give support to his c-pawn.}
9.b3
{White plans on answering 9...bxc4 with 10. bxc4. Thus lending support to his central pawns. While, at the same time allowing both his bishops to aim at the Black kingside.}
dxc4 10.bxc4 e5 11.Bb2 Re8 12.Ne4
{White offers Black an exchange on e4. Which will remove an important defender from the Black kingside.}
Nxe4 13.Bxe4 h6 14.Rad1 exd4
{A mistake which opens up the position for the White attack. 14...Qe7 Trying to keep the position closed should be preferred.}
15.Bh7+ Kh8 16.Rxd4 Bc5
{16...Nf6 17.c5 Nxh7 18.Rxd6 Qe7 19.Rxh6 This takes advantage of the Black g- pawn being pinned by the White bishop on b2.}
17.Rf4 Qe7
{17...Nf6 18.Bxf6 gxf6 would fatally weaken the Black kings position.}
18.Re4 Qf8 19.Rh4 f6
{19...Nf6 20.Rxh6 gxh6 21.Bxf6+ Wins the Black queen.}
20.Bg6 Re7 21.Rh5
{21. Rh5 frees the h4 square for the White knight.}
Bd6 22.Rd1 Be5 23.Ba3 c5 24.Nh4
{Black resigned as he has no good way of meeting the intended light-squared onslaught.}
1-0
[Event "Soviet Championship"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1955.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Smyslov"]
[Black "Botvinnik"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "55"]
1.Nf3 Nf6 2.g3 g6 3.Bg2 Bg7 4.O-O O-O 5.d3 c5 6.e4 Nc6 7.Nbd2 d6 8.a4 Ne8
{Botvinnik prepares a vigorous counterattack down the f-file. The safest and best treatment is 8...Rb8 followed by shifting the weight of the struggle to the queenside.}
9.Nc4 e5 10.c3 f5
{Rather too enterprising. Sounder is 10...h6 followed by 11...Be6.}
11.b4
{This time the Hypermodern idea comes with an offer of material. A well-founded sacrifice: the b-file is opened and White diminishes Black's influence in the center by attacking c5.}
cxb4 12.cxb4 fxe4
{12...Nxb4 13.Qb3! and the weakness of the a2-g8 diagonal is exploited. 12...h6 was a safer plan. The text was played with the idea of accepting White's offer later on.}
13.dxe4 Be6 14.Ne3 Nxb4 15.Rb1 a5 16.Ba3 Nc7 17.Bxb4 axb4 18.Rxb4 Bh6
{Botvinnik replies with an active defence. He intends 19 Rxb7 Bxe3 20 fxe3 Na6 and Nc5.}
19.Rb6
{The d-pawn is more important than the b-pawn.}
Bxe3 20.fxe3 Bc4 21.Rxd6 Qe8 22.Re1
{White's material advantage is of no significance, and Black can easily regain his pawn. The chief defect of Black's position is the exposed situation of his king and the lack of coordination between his other pieces.}
Rf7
{22...Rxa4? 23.Nxe5! Qxe5 24. Qxa4 Qxd6 25.Qxc4+ 22...Qxa4! 23.Qxa4 Rxa4 24.Nxe5 and Black has some prospects of survival.}
23.Ng5 Re7 24.Bf1 Bxf1 25.Rxf1
{Threatening Qb3+ and Rdf6.}
Qxa4
{25...h6 loses to 26.Rff6!! hxg5 27. Rxg6+ Kh8 28.Rh6+ Kg8 29.Rdg6+ Rg7 30.Qb3+ Qf7 31.Rxg7+ Kxg7 32.Rh7+ Kxh7 33. Qxf7+}
26.Rd8+ Re8 27.Qf3 Qc4 28.Rd7 1-0
[Event "USSR vs USA Match"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1955.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Horowitz"]
[Black "Petrosian"]
[Result "0-1"]
[PlyCount "74"]
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 c5 3.d5 e5 4.Nc3 d6 5.e4 g6 6.g3 Bg7 7.Bg2 O-O 8.Nge2 Nh5
9.O-O Nd7 10.Be3 f5 11.f4 exf4
{Since White has more room for his pieces, it wouldn't make sense to maintain the central tension. While after these exchanges Black gains the e5 square for his pieces.}
12.Nxf4 Nxf4 13.Bxf4
{13.gxf4 fxe4 14.Nxe4 Nf6 is fine for Black due to the holes in White's position.}
Ne5
{This outpost at e5 is the foundation of Black's winning strategy.}
14.Qe2 a6 15.Bh3
{Played with the idea of exchanging his bad light squared bishop.}
Bd7 16.exf5 gxf5
{Takes away the e4 square from White's pieces. 16...Bxf5 would play into White's hands after 17.Bxf5 Rxf5 18.Ne4}
17.Rae1 Qe8 18.Nd1 Qg6 19.Ne3 Rae8 20.Qc2 Qh5
{Black eases the pressure against his f-pawn by driving back the light squared bishop.}
21.Bg2 Re7 22.b4 b6 23.bxc5 bxc5 24.Qb3 Rfe8 25.Nc2 a5
{Before beginning play in the center Black locks up the queenside.}
26.h3 a4 27.Qb6 Qg6 28.Qa6 Bh6 29.Kh1
{Very nice Black exchanges off White's best minor piece.}
Bxf4 30.gxf4 Nd3 31.Rxe7 Rxe7
{White has no way of opposing the invasion of the Black army.}
32.Qa5 Re2 33.Qd8+ Be8 34.Bf3 Rxc2 35.Bh5 Nf2+
{White resigned, since he gets checkmated after.}
36.Rxf2 Rc1+ 37.Kh2 Qg1# 0-1
[Event "US Open"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1956.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Dale Ruth"]
[Black "Fischer"]
[Result "0-1"]
[PlyCount "48"]
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Be2 e5 7.Nf3 Be7 8.O-O
O-O 9.h3 Nbd7 10.Re1 b5 11.a4
{Provoking an advance he isn't ready to meet.}
b4 12.Nd5 Nxd5 13.Qxd5 Qc7 14.Qb3
{White can't take the rook because of 14...Nb6, but the queen is still misplaced and exposed on b3. It was best to retreat to d1 and suffer quietly.}
Nc5 15.Qxb4 d5 16.exd5
{Now White loses by force. Black would have a huge edge after 16 Qc3 d4 17 Qd2 Nxe4, but no immediate win.}
e4 17.Nd2 Nd3 18.Qxe4 Nxe1 19.d6 Bxd6 20.Qxa8 Bb7 21.Qxf8+ Kxf8 22.Kf1
Nxc2 23.Rb1 Nd4 24.Bd3 Bb4 0-1
[Event "Moscow"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1956.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Botvinnik"]
[Black "Szabo"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "53"]
1.c4 g6 2.g3 Bg7 3.Bg2 e5 4.Nc3 Ne7 5.d3 c6 6.e4
{A more hypermodern approach would be to allow Black to play d7-d5.}
d6 7.Nge2 a6 8.a4 a5 9.Be3 Be6 10.O-O Qd7
{This interferes with the development of the knight at b8.}
11.b3 h5 12.h4 Bh3
{Black's attack has too little force to cause any concern.}
13.d4
{White takes complete control of the center, which will give him a solid base from which to conduct operations on the flank.}
O-O 14.Ra2 Bxg2 15.Kxg2 d5
{Black allows the game to open up, even though his pieces are not well placed to do battle.}
16.dxe5 dxc4 17.bxc4 Bxe5
{17...Qxd1 18.Rxd1 Bxe5 19.Rb2}
18.Qxd7 Nxd7 19.Rd2
{White now controls the only open file, and will use it to infiltrate the seventh rank.}
Bxc3
{19...Rfd8 20.Rfd1}
20.Rxd7 Bb4
{Black seems to have coordinated his pieces, but this coordination can be disrupted.}
21.c5 Rfe8 22.Rfd1 f5
{22...Ra7 23.Rc7 Kf8 24.Rdd7}
23.Rxb7 fxe4 24.Rd6 Kf7 25.Nf4 Reb8 26.Rbd7 Ke8 27.Ne6
{Black resigned, since Bg5 is coming.}
1-0
[Event "US Open"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1956.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Fischer"]
[Black "Lapiken"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "37"]
1.Nf3 Nf6 2.g3 d5 3.Bg2 Bf5 4.O-O e6 5.d3 c6 6.Nbd2 Na6 7.a3
{White deci des to play on the queenside rather than the normal 7 Qe1, 8 e4 and kingside play.}
Nc5 8.c4 b5
{Creating a weakness on c6, which White exploits immediately.}
9.Nd4 Qd7 10.Nxf5 exf5 11.Nb3 h6 12.Be3 Ne6 13.Nd4
{Once again White attacks both c6 and f5. Now Black should play 13...Nxd4 14 Bxd4 Be7 and try to defend b5 and d5.}
g6
{Trading the weak pawn on f5 for an entire weak diagonal a1-h8.}
14.Qb3 Rb8
{This loses, but he had to drop something. His best chance was 14...Bg7.}
15.Nxc6 Qxc6 16.cxd5 Nc5
{Black must have counted on this, but White has another double attack coming.}
17.Qc3 Qd6 18.Bxc5 Qxc5 19.Qxf6 1-0
[Event "Moscow Olympiad"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1956.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Botvinnik"]
[Black "Golombek"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "39"]
1.c4 Nf6 2.Nf3 c5 3.g3 g6 4.b3 Bg7 5.Bb2 O-O 6.Bg2 Nc6 7.O-O b6
{This is weak, since after White's next Black won't be able to trade knights and thus he'll get stuck with a permanent cramp.}
8.d4 cxd4 9.Nxd4 Bb7 10.Nc3 Qc8 11.Nc2
{Avoiding exchanges and preparing Ne3-d5.}
d6 12.e4 Nd7 13.Qd2 Nc5 14.f4 Ne6 15.Rad1 Ned4
{Black finally trades knights, but in the meantime White has got his pieces to very active squares.}
16.Nxd4 Nxd4
{Black should have recaptured with the bishop, as the knight can't stay on d4.}
17.Nd5
{White lets Black take his knight, but the price is a strong c- file and an even better center. Black must now try 17...Nc6 and suffer.}
Bxd5 18.cxd5 Nb5
{Losing at once. He had to play 18...e5, though White is winning after 19 dxe6 Nxe6 20 Bxg7 and 21 Qxd6.}
19.Bxg7 Kxg7 20.Rc1
{Black loses his knight after 20...Qany 21 a4 and 22 Qb2+ or Qc3+.}
1-0
[Event "Moscow Olympiad"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1956.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Botvinnik"]
[Black "Gligoric"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "59"]
1.c4 g6 2.g3 c5 3.Bg2 Bg7 4.Nc3 Nc6 5.Nf3 Nh6
{A rather artificial formation.}
6.h4 d6 7.d3 Rb8 8.h5 Bd7 9.Bxh6 Bxh6 10.hxg6 hxg6
{White's tactical operations on the kingside have resulted in an open h- file and a pin on the bishop at h6.}
11.Qc1
{This forces Black's reply, since the queen cannot be captured because of mate at h8.}
Bg7 12.Rxh8+ Bxh8 13.Qh6
{White is attacking effectively with the queen, to be supported by a knight.}
Bxc3+ 14.bxc3
{Now the Black king has no defense. We soon have an example of a king hunt, where the enemy monarch will be chased all over the board and finally snared far from home.}
e6 15.Ng5 Ke7 16.Kd2
{The White king will be safe here and now the rook can transfer to the h-file.}
Be8 17.Qg7 Kd7 18.f4
{18.Nxf7 Qe7}
Qe7 19.Rh1 Nd8 20.Ne4 Kc7 21.Rh8 Bc6 22.Nf6
{What happens if Black captures the bishop at g2?}
Kb6
{22...Bxg2 23.Re8}
23.Bxc6 Nxc6 24.Rh7 Nd8
{Now White exploits the pin on the seventh rank.}
25.Qxg6 Ka6
{Black appr eciates the danger. Once White captures at f7 there will be a fork available at d7.}
26.a4
{Keeping the Black king hemmed in. Otherwise b7-b5 would be possible.}
Ka5 27.Qg5 Kxa4 28.Rh1
{The threat is Kc2, depriving the enemy king of another flight square.}
Kb3 29.Qh4 Kb2 30.g4
{This is the simple way, but Botvinnik could have finished more elegantly. 30.Rb1+ Kxb1 31.Qh1+ Kb2 32.Qc1+ Kb3 33.Qb1+ Ka3 34. Kc2 and mate next move.}
1-0
[Event "Moscow Olympiad"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1956.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Botvinnik"]
[Black "Padevsky"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "63"]
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.g3 Bg7 4.Bg2 O-O 5.Nc3 d6 6.Nf3 c5 7.d5 Na6
{This move is not as strange as it looks. In positions with this sort of pawn structure, the knight serves well at c7, where it can support the advance of the b-pawn to b5.}
8.O-O Nc7 9.Nd2 Rb8 10.Qc2 e5
{Why does Black change plans? He should have simply continued with his original idea. 10...b5 11.cxb5 Nxb5 12.Nxb5 Rxb5}
11.dxe6 Bxe6 12.b3 d5 13.cxd5 Nfxd5 14.Bb2
{The theme of this game is now set. Whoever makes best use of the a1-h8 diagonal will win.}
b6 15.Nxd5 Bxd5 16.Bxg7 Kxg7 17.Rad1
{White will ccupy the long diagonal a1-h8 with the queen, but only at the most appropriate moment. There is no rush. Right now there is more interesting action on the d-file.}
Bxg2 18.Kxg2 Qe7 19.Ne4
{This is an important move, since it covers the critical f6-square.}
Rbd8 20.h4
{Better was 20...f6.}
Rxd1 21.Rxd1 Rd8
{Black is expecting to exchange pieces and draw. But f6 is weaker than it seems .}
22.Qb2+ {Now!} f6
{The f6-square is pinned. Note that the word "square" is used, rather than "pawn". That is your hint. Can you find the win?}
23.Nxf6 Kf7
{23...Qxf6 24.Qxf6+ Kxf6 25.Rxd8 or 23...Rxd1 24.Nd5+ or 23...Rd4 24.e3}
24.Rxd8 Qxd8 25.Nxh7 Ne6 26.Qe5 b5 27.Ng5+
{White has two extra pawns, and that is enough to win the queen and pawn endgame.}
Nxg5 28.hxg5 Qa8+ 29.e4 Qc6 30.Kf3 c4 31.bxc4 Qxc4
{This makes it easy by allowing White to exchange queens.}
32.Qd5+
{Black resig ned. If you think that you can save the position, go ahead and play it out with Gambit as your antagonist!}
1-0
[Event "Moscow"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1956.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Uhlmann"]
[Black "Smyslov"]
[Result "0-1"]
[PlyCount "36"]
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 b6 4.g3 Ba6
{This has become a very popular move, especially since the 1984/85 World Championship match. If the bishop at f1 is going to be fianchettoed at g2, then the Black bishop will attack the undefended pawn at c4.}
5.b3 d5 6.Bg2 Bb4+ 7.Nfd2
{White violates the opening principle that one shouldn't move the same piece twice. 7.Bd2}
c5
{Being better developed Black wastes no time in attacking the White center.}
8.dxc5
{This move is a mistake since it drives Black's dark squared bishop to a better diagonal. 8.a3 Bxd2+ 9.Nxd2 Nbd7 10.dxc5 bxc5 White has gained the bishop pair but this is offset by Black's advantage in the center.}
Bxc5 9.Bb2 O-O 10.O-O Nc6 11.Nc3 Rc8 12.cxd5
{12.Na4 Bb4 13.cxd5 would have been a better move order since White would keep control of his d4 square.}
exd5 13.Na4 Nd4 14.Nc3
{Because of White's poor move order the knight must return to protect his e- pawn. 14.Re1 Nc2 15.Qxc2 would allow Black to win White's queen.}
Qe7 15.Re1 Nc2 16.Rf1 Nxa1 17.Qxa1 Rfd8 18.Bf3 Ba3
{White resigned, since there is no compensation for the missing exchange.}
0-1
[Event "Candidates"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1956.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Filip"]
[Black "Petrosian"]
[Result "0-1"]
[PlyCount "72"]
1.Nf3 Nf6 2.g3 d6 3.Bg2 e5 4.d3 g6 5.O-O Bg7 6.e4 O-O 7.Nbd2 Nbd7 8.a4
a5 9.Nc4 Nc5 10.Be3 Ne6 11.h3
{Played to stop Ng4. 11.Ng5 would also stop Ng4 without weakening White's castled position.}
b6 12.Qd2 Ba6 13.b3 Nh5
{White has been playing without a plan and the initiative has passed over to Black, who is preparing for a pawn advance with f5.}
14.c3 Qe7 15.b4 f5 16.exf5 gxf5 17.Ng5 f4
{With this move the game changes from a positional channel to a tactical one.}
18.Nxe6 Qxe6 19.b5
{This is the critical position. If the bishop retreats from a6 White will have time to recover. when attacking, the initiative is the most important thing!}
f3 20.bxa6
{20.Bxf3 Rxf3 21.bxa6 Qxh3 With the threat of Nxg3.}
fxg2 21.Kxg2 d5
{The tactics have ended with Black on top because of his center control and White's exposed king.}
22.Na3 Rxa6 23.Qe2 Qg6 24.Kh2 R6a8 25.Nc2 Rae8 26.Rae1 c5 27.Rg1 Nf6
{With all of Black's pieces centralized he is now ready for the central break with d4.}
28.Qd2 d4 29.cxd4 cxd4 30.Bg5 Nd5 31.Rg2
{31.Re4 would put up more resistance.}
Rf3 32.Re4 Nc3 33.Rg4 h5 34.Rh4 Rxd3 35.Qc1 Rd1 36.Qb2 Rb1
{White resigned as he will lose his queen to Bf8.}
0-1
[Event "Milwaukee"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1957.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Elo"]
[Black "Fischer"]
[Result "0-1"]
[PlyCount "98"]
1.e4 c5
{The interesting point of this game is the ending, so you might want to advance to move 37.}
2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.f4 e5 7.Nf3 Qc7 8.Bd3 Nbd7 9.O-O
b5 10.Qe1 Bb7 11.a3 g6 12.Qh4 Bg7 13.g4 exf4 14.Bxf4 O-O 15.Qg3 Ne5 16.Nxe5
dxe5 17.Bxe5 Qc5+ 18.Rf2 Nh5 19.Bd6 Qxc3 20.bxc3 Nxg3 21.Bxf8 Rxf8 22.hxg3
Bxc3 23.Rb1 Bd4 24.a4 Bc8 25.axb5 axb5 26.Rxb5 Bxg4 27.Kg2 Bxf2 28.Kxf2
Be6 29.Rc5 Kg7 30.Kf3 Kf6 31.Kf4 Ra8 32.g4 h6 33.g5+ hxg5+ 34.Rxg5 Rh8
35.Rg2 g5+ 36.Kf3 Rh3+ 37.Rg3 Rxg3+ 38.Kxg3
{We have reached a pure bishop endgame where Black has a good bishop and White has a bad bishop, hemmed in by the pawns at c2 and e4.}
Ke5
{In any endgame, the king should play an active role. Here it infiltrates on the dark squares.}
39.c3
{White prevents the Black king from reaching d4.}
Bd7 40.Bc4 f6
{On the dark squares the pawns are immune to attack from the enemy bishop.}
41.Bd5
{The bishop now protects the pawn from a more active position.}
Be8
{The bishop circles to a new post from which it can attack the pawn.}
42.c4
{White hopes this pawn will just march down the board. In fact, all this does is weaken d4.}
Kd4 43.Kg4 Bg6
{The White king cannot get across the central line, and, since the pawns are safe, White is in a passive position.}
44.Kf3 Bh5+ 45.Kf2 Bd1
{The idea is that the White king is cut off from the other forces. Now the c-pawn is doomed.}
46.Kg3 Be2 47.c5 Kxc5 48.Be6 Kd4 49.Bf5
{The White forces are better coordinated, but the game is lost.}
Ke3
{Here White resigned, since Bf3 follows and the remaining pawn falls.}
0-1
[Event "Soviet Championship"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1957.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Furman"]
[Black "Spassky"]
[Result "0-1"]
[PlyCount "46"]
1.Nf3 c5 2.c4 g6 3.e4 Bg7 4.d4 cxd4 5.Nxd4 Nc6 6.Be3
{The game started out as a Reti Opening but play has now transposed into a Sicilian Defense. Learning how to handle transpositions is among the more difficult tasks of studying the opening.}
Nh6
{The idea behind this move is to rapidly advance the f-pawn to f5 and attack the White center.}
7.Nc3 O-O 8.Be2 f5 9.exf5 Bxd4
{This may seem surprising, since the fianchettoed bishop is Black's most powerful weapon in this opening variation. But at the time it was thought to be good.}
10.Bxd4
{White plays the obvious move. But capturing at h6 would have been more effective, according to Spassky.}
Nxf5 11.Bc5 d6 12.Ba3
{The bishop is now misplaced and has little effect. White will have to invest a lot of time and energy bringing it back into the game on the a1-h8 diagonal.}
Nfd4 13.O-O Bf5 14.Rc1
{The threat was Nc2.}
Qd7 15.Nd5 Rf7
{Black's pieces are much better coordinated than White's and the f-file can be used to mount an attack on the kingside.}
16.b3 Raf8 17.Bb2 e5 18.b4 Be6
{Now White takes advantage of the retreat of the bishop to take control of the b1-h7 diagonal. Furman perhaps expected Spassky to accept the sacrifice of a pawn at b4.}
19.Bd3
{Spassky has more on his mind than mere pawns.}
Bg4
{This is a crushing blow which wins the game for Black. The threat is Nf3+ with a mating attack.}
20.f3
{Now Black gets to sacrifice a different piece! 20.Qd2 Nf3+ 21.gxf3 Bxf3 22.Qg5 Rf4 23.Nxf4 Rxf4 24.h3 Qxh3 25.Bxe5 Rg4+ 26.Qxg4 Qxg4+ 27.Bg3 Qh3}
Bxf3 21.gxf3 Nxf3+ 22.Kh1 Qh3 23.Rf2 Ne1
{Black threatens Rxf2, but if the rook leaves the second rank, then there is a mate at g2, while if it moves laterally it opens up the f1-square for invasion. Furman resigned instead of making such a decision.}
0-1
[Event "USSR Semi-Finals"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1957.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Petrosian"]
[Black "Khasin"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "65"]
1.Nf3 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.g3 d5 4.Bg2 Be7 5.O-O O-O 6.d4 c6 7.Nc3 b6
{A typical position from the Catalan Opening. Black's formation is solid.}
8.Ne5
{White posts his knight in the center while unleashing the bishop along the h1-a8 diagonal.}
Bb7 9.e4 dxc4
{9...dxe4 10.Nxe4 Nbd7 Now White can win a pawn.}
10.Nxc4 Ba6 11.b3 b5 12.Ne5 b4 13.Ne2 Bxe2 14.Qxe2 Qxd4
{Black has won a pawn but at the expense of not developing his queenside pieces.}
15.Bb2 Qb6 16.Rac1
{Although, a pawn down White stands better due to his more active pieces and control of the center.}
Rd8 17.Qf3 Qa6 18.Rfe1
{Notice how Black can't develop his queenside without losing material i.e. 18... Nbd7 19. Nxc6}
Rd2 19.Nc4 Rd8 20.Bf1 Qc8 21.Ne5 c5 22.Nxf7
{White breaks down Black's kingside defences.}
Kxf7 23.e5 Qc6 24.Qf4 g5 25.Qxg5 Rg8 26.Qf4 Rg4 27.Qe3 Re4 28.Qd3 Rxe1
29.exf6
{This leaves the Black king defenceless.}
Rxf1+ 30.Rxf1 Bf8 31.Rd1
{White prevents the Black queenside from developing with 31...Nd7.}
e5 32.Qxh7+ Kxf6 33.f4
{Black resigned.}
1-0
[Event "New York"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1957.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Fischer"]
[Black "Cardoso"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "101"]
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Bc4
{This has become known as the Fischer Variation. However, the interesting material of this game lies not in the opening, but in the endgame.}
e6 7.O-O Bd7 8.Bb3 Nc6 9.Be3 Be7 10.f4 Qc7 11.f5 Nxd4 12.Bxd4 b5 13.a3
e5 14.Be3 Bc6 15.Nd5 Bxd5 16.Bxd5 Nxd5 17.Qxd5 Rc8 18.c3 Qc4 19.Qb7 Qc6
20.Qxc6+ Rxc6 21.a4 Kd7 22.axb5 axb5 23.Ra7+ Rc7 24.Rfa1 Rb8 25.Kf2 R8b7
26.Rxb7 Rxb7 27.Ke2 Bd8 28.Kd3 h6 29.Ra8 h5 30.b4 Be7 31.Rg8 Bf6 32.Rf8
Kc6 33.c4
{This move creates a passed pawn on the queenside.}
Rd7 34.Ra8 bxc4+ 35.Kxc4 Rc7 36.Ra7
{Now the rooks are exchanged. In a bishop endgame where the bishops are of the same color (light-square or dark-square), a passed pawn is a valuable asset, and usually leads to victory.}
Rxa7 37.Bxa7 Bd8 38.Be3 f6 39.b5+ Kd7 40.Kd5 Ba5
{Black has an additional problem. The bishop is "bad" in that the pawns are on the same colored squares, making them targets for the enemy bishop and reducing the space available for maneuvers.}
41.Ba7
{Now advancing the b-pawn would be a mistake. 41.b6 Bb4 42.b7 Kc7 43. Ke6 Kxb7 44.Kf7 Bc5 45.Bd2 Kc6 46.Kxg7 d5 47.Kxf6 dxe4 48.Kxe5 e3 49.Be1 Bd6+ 50.Ke6 Bxh2 51.f6 Bd6 52.f7 Bf8}
Bb4 42.Bb8 Bc5 43.g3
{Black is in zugzwang. Any move will lead to a loss. But if it were possible to just "pass", there would be no way for White to make progress.}
Ke7 44.Kc6 g6 45.fxg6
{Now there are two passed pawns.}
f5
{Here Fischer brought the game to a quick close with a nifty sacrifice.}
46.Bxd6+
{Black resigned. Resistance would be futile.}
Bxd6 47.g7 Kf7 48.Kxd6 Kxg7 49.b6 fxe4 50.b7 e3 51.b8=Q 1-0
[Event "New York"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1957.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Euwe"]
[Black "Fischer"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "39"]
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 d5 4.cxd5 exd5 5.Bg5 Bb4 6.e3 h6 7.Bh4 c5 8.Bd3
Nc6 9.Nge2 cxd4 10.exd4 O-O 11.O-O Be6
{This misplaces the other bishop, which is now a target for Nf4. He should try 11...Be7, though White keeps some edge.}
12.Bc2 Be7 13.Nf4 Qb6
{This loses, but Black is in trouble after other moves as well since he can't keep White from getting the Bc2/Qd3 battery.}
14.Bxf6 Bxf6 15.Qd3
{Now Black can't play 15...g6 because of 16 Nxe6, so he has to let White's queen into his kingside.}
Rfd8 16.Rae1
{The check at h7 can't be stopped, so White prepares to take away Black's only flight square (after Qh7+ Kf8 Qh8+), e7.}
Nb4
{After 16...Kh8 White can simply play 17 Qh7.}
17.Qh7+ Kf8 18.a3 Nxc2 19.Ncxd5 Rxd5 20.Nxd5 1-0
[Event "Soviet Championship"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1958.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Petrosian"]
[Black "Gipslis"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "80"]
1.c4 Nf6 2.Nf3 e6 3.Nc3 c5 4.e3 d5 5.d4 Be7 6.cxd5 exd5 7.dxc5
{White has succeeded in giving Black an isolated d-pawn.}
Bxc5 8.Be2 O-O 9.O-O Nc6 10.b3 Be6
{10...d4 Trying to get rid of the isolated pawn would fail to 11.Na4}
11.Bb2 Qe7 12.Nb5
{A key strategy against the isolated pawn is to post a piece in front of it as no enemy pawn can drive it away. This is known as a blockade.}
a6 13.Nbd4 Nxd4 14.Nxd4 Ba3
{A mistake since every exchange will only make the isolani weaker. Black should strive for middlegame complications with 14...Ne4. This targets the c3 square, which is vulnerable if the bishop moves from b2.}
15.Qc1
{15.Bxa3 Qxa3 16.Qc1 White has a stronger position than in the game.}
Bxb2 16.Qxb2 Rac8 17.Rac1 h6 18.Bd3 Qd6 19.h3
{White is better since the Black pieces are tied to the defence of the isolated pawn.}
Nd7 20.Nf5 Bxf5 21.Bxf5 g6 22.Bg4 h5 23.Bf3 Ne5 24.Be2
{A rather amusing pawn configuration for Black. All his pawns are on White squares which of course can be attacked by White's light squared bishop.}
Rxc1 25.Rxc1 Rd8 26.Rd1 Qf6 27.Qd4 Qe7 28.Qb6 Rd7 29.b4
{Played with the idea of loosening up Black's queenside.}
Nc6 30.Bxa6 Nxb4
{30...bxa6 31.Qxc6}
31.Bb5 Rc7 32.a3 Nc2 33.Rxd5 Nxa3 34.Qd4
{Black has successfully parted with his isolated d-pawn. However, new problems have arisen namely his vulnerable back rank.}
Rc8 35.Bd3
{Threatening to gain a pawn with 36. Rd7.}
b5 36.Bxg6
{The 8th rank having been defended White turns his attention to the seventh rank.}
fxg6 37.Rd7 Qf8 38.Qd5+ Kh8 39.Qe5+ Kg8 40.Qe6+ Kh8
{Black resigned as mate would soon follow on 41. Qxg6.}
1-0
[Event "US Championship"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1958.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Fischer"]
[Black "Reshevsky"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "83"]
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 g6 5.Be3 Nf6 6.Nc3 Bg7 7.Bc4 O-O
{7...Qa5! would have been much better.}
8.Bb3 Na5
{A well-known mistake - a Russian chess magazine had recently given the following moves, known to Fischer, but not to Reshevsky!}
9.e5 Ne8
{Breaking communications between the Queen and Rook. On the other hand, 9...Nxb3 loses to 10.exf6.}
10.Bxf7+ Kxf7
{The 15-year-old Fischer has found the fatal flaw in Reshevsky's position.}
( 9...Rxf7 11.Ne6 )
11.Ne6 dxe6
( 10...Kxe6 12.Qd5+ Kf5 13.g4+ Kxg4 14.Rg1+ Kh4 15.Bg5+ Kh5 16.Qd1+ Rf3
17.Qxf3# )
12.Qxd8
{The rest is child's play...}
Nc6 13.Qd2 Bxe5 14.O-O Nd6 15.Bf4 Nc4 16.Qe2 Bxf4 17.Qxc4 Kg7 18.Ne4 Bc7
19.Nc5 Rf6 20.c3 e5 21.Rad1 Nd8 22.Nd7 Rc6 23.Qh4 Re6 24.Nc5 Rf6 25.Ne4
Rf4 26.Qxe7+ Rf7 27.Qa3 Nc6 28.Nd6 Bxd6 29.Rxd6 Bf5 30.b4 R7f8 31.b5 Nd8
32.Rd5 Nf7 33.Rc5 a6 34.b6 Be4 35.Re1 Bc6 36.Rxc6 bxc6 37.b7 Rab8 38.Qxa6
Nd8 39.Rb1 Rf7 40.h3 Rfxb7 41.Rxb7+ Rxb7 42.Qa8
{And Black finally gave up.}
1-0
[Event "Munich Olympiad"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1958.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Uhlmann"]
[Black "Botvinnik"]
[Result "0-1"]
[PlyCount "46"]
1.d4 e6 2.c4 Nf6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.e3 b6 5.Bd3 Bb7 6.Nf3 Ne4 7.O-O f5
{The game has switched from a Nimzoindian to a Dutch Defense.}
8.Qc2 Bxc3 9.bxc3 O-O 10.Rb1 c5
{This prevents White from advancing his pawn, but at the same time it weakens the pawn structure on the queenside and White now puts some pressure there.}
11.a4 Qc7 12.a5 d6 13.Nd2 Nxd2 14.Bxd2 Nd7 15.Rb2 bxa5 16.Ra1 Nb6 17.Rxa5
{Otherwise Black would have advanced the pawn to a4. But now Black takes the initiative with a powerful pawn sacrifice.}
Be4 18.Bxe4 fxe4 19.Qb3
{The pawn could not be accepted. 19.Qxe4 Nxc4 20.Qxe6+ Qf7}
Nxc4 20.Qxc4 Qxa5 21.Qxe6+ Kh8 22.Ra2 Qc7 23.Qxe4
{After a series of moves which were pretty-much forced, the picture has become much clearer. Black has a material advantage (the exchange for a pawn) but more importantly, there is a strong double attack which wins the game.}
Qf7 0-1
[Event "Olympiad"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1958.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Clarke"]
[Black "Petrosian"]
[Result "0-1"]
[PlyCount "82"]
1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.e5 c5 4.c3 Qb6 5.Nf3 Nc6 6.a3
{White's play, though accepted by the pundits of opening theory, is very slow and Black can often obtain the initiative.}
c4 7.g3 Bd7 8.Bg2 O-O-O 9.O-O Na5
{It is clear that Black is playing more actively.}
10.Nbd2 h6 11.Re1 Ne7 12.Nf1 Nf5 13.Ne3
{13.g4 would have been more active.}
Nxe3 14.Rxe3 Be7 15.Re1 Qb3
{Black stands better due to his queenside initiative. While, White has no counterplay.}
16.Qe2 Ba4
{Black prepares to penetrate on the light squares.}
17.Be3 Kb8
{17...Qc2 would be more logical.}
18.Rad1 Qc2 19.Rd2 Qf5 20.Rf1 g5
{Having come to naught on the queenside Black switches his attention to the other wing.}
21.h3 h5 22.Nh2 Rdg8 23.g4 Qg6 24.Bf3
{Passive play is doomed to fail. Better was 24. f4. 24.f4 This more active move would have given White chances to survive.}
hxg4 25.Bxg4 Nc6
{The knight also makes its way to the kingside.}
26.f3 Bd8 27.Bf2 Ne7 28.Re1 Rh6 29.Nf1 Rgh8 30.Bg3 Rxh3
{This exchange sacrifice shows how fragile the White position is.}
31.Bxh3 Rxh3 32.Qg2 Qh7 33.Ne3 Ng6 34.Ng4
{Played to stop Black's intended pawn g4 and Bg5.}
Nf4 35.Bxf4 gxf4 36.Kf1 Rg3 37.Qf2
{37.Qh2 Rxf3+ 38.Rf2 Rh3 39.Qxf4 Rh1+ 40.Ke2 Qd3+ Mates.}
Qh3+ 38.Ke2 Rg2 39.Rg1 Rxf2+ 40.Nxf2 Qh7 41.Rh1 Qg6
{White resigned because of his material deficit.}
0-1
[Event "World Championship"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1958.??.??"]
[Round "11"]
[White "Smyslov"]
[Black "Botvinnik"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "47"]
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 d5 4.Nf3 Bg7 5.Qb3
{This, the Russian system of meeting the Grunfeld Defense has proven to be a most crucial test to Black's opening.}
dxc4 6.Qxc4 O-O 7.e4 Bg4
{Black plans on challenging the White center and therefore wants to put pressure on one of its supporters the White knight on f3.}
8.Be3 Nfd7 9.Rd1
{This is a direct consequence of the early deployment of the queen. Notice how strong the White center is, with virtually all of the forces devoted to its support.}
Nb6 10.Qb3 Nc6 11.d5 Ne5 12.Be2 Nxf3+ 13.gxf3 Bh5
{13...Bd7 would allow White's h-pawn to enter the attack for example 14.h4 Qc8 15.h5 when White has the initiative on the kingside.}
14.h4 Qd7 15.a4
{With the center under complete control, White can now squeeze the queenside.}
a5 16.Nb5 Nc8 17.Bd4 Nd6
{A mistake. Black should tie the White pieces down to the protection of the a- pawn with 17...Nb6. 17...Bxd4 18.Nxd4 Nb6 19.Bb5 Qd6}
18.Bxg7 Kxg7 19.Nd4
{A move made possible by the control of the center. This is a wonderful square for the knight.}
Kg8 20.Rg1 Qh3 21.Qe3
{White's queen heads over to attack Black's weak dark squares.}
c5
{The final mistake which allows White's queen to attack the weakened dark squares. 21...Qxh4 22.e5 Ne8 23.Qh6 Qh2 24.Rg3 Ng7 Offered some chances of a successful defense.}
22.dxc6 bxc6 23.Qg5 c5
{23...Kh8 24.Qxe7 Rad8 25. Qf6+ Kg8 26.Nxc6 With a material advantage and kingside attack in White's favor.}
24.Nc6
{Black resigned as White is threatening to win the bishop with Qxh5. 24.Nc6 Kh8 25.Qxe7 Rad8 26.Qf6+ Kg8 27.Ne7+ Mates.}
1-0
[Event "USSR vs. Yugoslavia"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1959.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Petrosian"]
[Black "Matanovic"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "59"]
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.e3 c5 5.Nf3 O-O 6.Be2 b6 7.O-O Bb7 8.Na4 cxd4
9.exd4 Qc7
{Black overestimates his chances. His first concern should have been for the safety of his dark squared bishop. 9...Be7 Followed by pawn d5 was better.}
10.c5 bxc5 11.a3 Ba5 12.dxc5 Ng4
{This was the trick Black had in mind when playing 9...Qc7.}
13.h3 Bxf3 14.hxg4 Bxe2 15.Qxe2 Qc6 16.b3 Bc7 17.Rd1 Na6
{White stands much better due to his hold on the open files and central squares.}
18.Be3 f5 19.gxf5 Rxf5 20.Rac1 Be5
{20...Raf8}
21.f4 Bc7
{21...Bxf4 22.Bxf4 Rxf4 23.Rd6 Qb7 24.Rxa6 leaves White up a piece.}
22.Nb6
{A surprising blow which quickly ends the game.}
axb6 23.cxb6 Qb7 24.Rxd7
{White wins material because of the pin on the bishop.}
Rf7 25.Rxf7 Kxf7 26.bxc7 Rc8
{26...Nxc7 27.Qh5+ Kg8 28.Qe5 Rc8 29.Bd4 Ne8 30.Qxe6+}
27.Qh5+ Kf8 28.Rd1 Qxc7 29.Qxh7 Qc3 30.Bd4
{Black resigned in view of the double attack on g7.}
1-0
[Event "Soviet Championship"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1959.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Averbakh"]
[Black "Petrosian"]
[Result "0-1"]
[PlyCount "80"]
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Be2 e5
{This is a v ariation of the Sicilian Defense where Black allows a weakness at d5, for which there will be some compensation later.}
7.Nb3 Be7 8.O-O O-O 9.Bg5 Be6 10.Bxf6 Bxf6 11.Nd5
{White has a strong outpost on d5, but it can be eliminated at any time by capturing on d5.}
Nd7 12.Qd3 Rc8 13.c3 Bg5 14.Rad1 Kh8 15.Bf3 g6 16.Ne3 Rc6 17.Rfe1 Nf6
{Black has a backward d-pawn, but it is well protected by the rook. Black stands better with his more active pieces and pending minority attack on the queenside.}
18.Qe2 b5
{The idea is that the control of the open file allows the b-pawn to advance and disrupt the White queenside.}
19.Ra1
{19.Nd5 Bxd5 20.exd5 Rc4 when Black stands better on both wings.}
Qb6 20.Nd2 a5 21.Ndf1
{Black starts the minority attack rolling.}
Rfc8 22.a3 b4
{The key thrust!}
23.cxb4 axb4 24.a4
{White has a passed pawn but it is useless.}
Qa7 25.Red1 Ra6 26.Rd3
{26.Nd5 Bxd5 27.exd5 Rxa4 28.Rxa4 Qxa4 29.Bg4 Nxg4 30.Qxg4 Rc5 31.Qxg5 Qxd1}
b3 27.a5 R8c6 28.Qd1 Qc7 29.Nd5 Bxd5 30.exd5 Rc5 31.Rxb3 R6xa5 32.Rxa5
Rxa5
{Black's minority attack has left White with 3 pawn islands to Black's one. While, White has two isolated pawns that can be attacked, Black's queen pawn is safely tucked away.}
33.Rc3 Qb6 34.Rb3 Qa7 35.Rb4 Kg7 36.h4 Bh6 37.b3
{37.g3 Not giving up the seventh rank offered more resistance.}
Ra2 38.Qe1 Qa5 39.Qb1 Ra1 40.Rb5 Qc3
{White resigned because his queen has been trapped.}
0-1
[Event "Candidates' Tournament"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1959.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Smyslov"]
[Black "Keres"]
[Result "0-1"]
[PlyCount "36"]
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.Bg5 c5 5.dxc5
{White's system is passive to begin with, and after this Black takes over the initiative. 5 e3 is better.}
Na6 6.g3 Nxc5 7.Bg2 d6 8.Rc1
{White didn't like the looks of 8 Nf3 Nfe4, but he's wasting time.}
O-O 9.b4
{White isn't well enough developed to be making this aggresive gesture. Black now gets a powerful initiative.}
Ne6 10.Bd2 a5
{Immediately exploiting White's eighth move. White must either allow lines to be opened for Black's pieces or give Black a lock on c5.}
11.a3
{11 b5 was the lesser evil. In combination with the a1-h8 diagonal the a-file is deadly.}
axb4 12.axb4 Nd4 13.Nh3
{The final error. White doesn't want to block the h1-a8 diagonal, his only asset, but now he gets overrun.}
Be6 14.Nd5
{14 e3 gets trashed by 14...Bg4, and 14 c5 loses all his pieces to 14...Bb3, but the text isn't much better.}
Nxd5 15.cxd5 Bd7
{Threatening 16..Ba4.}
16.Rc3 Ra2
{Now Black threatens 17...Nxe2 among other things.}
17.Qb1 Qa8 18.Rc1 Bf5
{19 e4 allows 19...Bxh3 20 Bxh3 Nf3+.}
0-1
[Event "Candidates' Tournament"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1959.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Petrosian"]
[Black "Olafsson"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "79"]
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Nf3 c5 5.e3 O-O 6.Be2 b6 7.O-O Bb7
{This is a typical hypermodern handling of the opening by Black, who has indirect pressure on the center.}
8.Na4 cxd4 9.exd4 Be7 10.a3
{A useful move which prepares to gain space on the queenside with pawn b4 and then fianchetto the queen bishop.}
Ne4
{An excellent central post for the knight.}
11.b4 f5 12.Bb2 Bf6
{Perhaps better was an immediate 12...d6 with the idea of reinforcing the knight with Nbd7, Ndf6.}
13.Qb3 d6 14.Nc3
{White brings his out of play knight back into the game.}
Qe7 15.Rad1 Nd7 16.Nxe4 fxe4
{Black is fully justified in doubling his e-pawns because of the play down the newly opened f-file.}
17.Ne1 Bg5 18.Nc2 Rf7
{Black prepares to double his rooks on the f-file.}
19.Bc1 Bxc1 20.Rxc1 Raf8
{An interesting position has arisen with White having an advantage on the queenside, while Black's pieces have been building up on the kingside.}
21.Ne3 Ba8
{21...Qg5 would have been more to the point.}
22.Rc2 Kh8 23.a4
{While Black's last two moves have done little to further his kingsideadvantage. White has followed a consistent plan on the queenside.}
Qg5 24.Qa3 Rf6 25.Ra2 h5 26.a5 Bb7 27.Qc3 R8f7 28.axb6 axb6
{Take notice of Black's wrecked pawn structure. The weak pawns will be especially hard to defend in the endgame.}
29.g3 Nf8 30.h4 Qh6 31.Ng2 g5 32.hxg5 Qxg5 33.Qe3 Qg7 34.Bxh5 Rc7 35.Be2
Rh6 36.f4 exf3 37.Bxf3 Qxg3
{Black resigned. 37...Qxg3 Black resigned in view of...}
38.Qxh6+ Nh7 39.Bxb7 Rxb7 40.Rf8+ 1-0
[Event "Moscow vs. Leningrad"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1959.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Smyslov"]
[Black "Spassky"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "47"]
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 a6 5.c4 Nc6
{Spassky leaves the well-known paths of 5...Nf6.}
6.Nc3 Bc5 7.Nb3 Bb4 8.Bd3 Nge7 9.O-O O-O
{Both sides have been developing, but now Black adopts a typical plan for this type of formation. He captures on c3, and then advances his d- pawn. But his artificial position (Ne7) helps White.}
10.Qc2 Bxc3 11.Qxc3 d5 12.Be3 dxc4 13.Bxc4 Qc7 14.Rac1 Rd8 15.f4 Bd7
{Black seems ready to claim equality, after Ra8-c8. But the weakness of the dark squares on the queenside give White an inviting target for the Be3.}
16.Qe1
{White transf ers his queen to f2, where it will not only support the g1-a7 diagonal, but also gives more impetus to an advance of the f-pawn, since f7 is no longer guarded by the Black rook.}
b6
{16...b5 17.Be2 Be8 18.Qf2 Rab8 19.Nc5 exploits the dark squares in a different way.}
17.Qf2 Rab8 18.f5 Qc8
{Examining this diagram we see that the pressure point is e6, and the next few moves are aimed directly at the target. They prove to be the lastmoves!}
19.Nd4 Nxd4
{19...e5 opens a line, but more importantly allows White to advance the f-pawn further.}
20.Bxd4 Nc6 21.fxe6 Bxe6 22.Bxe6
{Black resigned.}
Qxe6 23.Rxc6 Qxc6 24.Qxf7+ 1-0
[Event "Bled Candidates"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1959.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Tal"]
[Black "Smyslov"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "51"]
1.e4 c6 2.d3 d5 3.Nd2 e5 4.Ngf3 Nd7
{Black hopes to consolidate his pawn center, but White decides to open the game instead of allowing this.}
5.d4 dxe4 6.Nxe4 exd4 7.Qxd4 Ngf6 8.Bg5 Be7 9.O-O-O O-O
{With the center open and kings on opposite sides the stage is set for a dogfight.}
10.Nd6 Qa5 11.Bc4 b5 12.Bd2
{White frees g5 for his knight and drives Black's queen to a weaker square.}
Qa6 13.Nf5 Bd8 14.Qh4
{White gives up his bishop to gain time to get the rest of his pieces into the attack.}
bxc4 15.Qg5 Nh5 16.Nh6+ Kh8 17.Qxh5 Qxa2 18.Bc3 Nf6
{So far Black has defended well and he could hold by 18...Bf6. The text loses because the weakness of Black's back rank.}
19.Qxf7
{Now all of the squares around Black's king are under attack.}
Qa1+ 20.Kd2 Rxf7 21.Nxf7+ Kg8 22.Rxa1 Kxf7 23.Ne5+ Ke6 24.Nxc6 Ne4+ 25.Ke3
Bb6+ 26.Bd4 1-0
[Event "Soviet Championship"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1960.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Petrosian"]
[Black "Suetin"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "47"]
1.c4 c5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nc3 Nc6 4.e3 e6 5.d4 d5 6.cxd5 exd5 7.Be2 a6 8.O-O
c4 9.Ne5 Qc7
{9...Bd6 is correct, so that Black can castle quickly.}
10.Nxc6 Qxc6 11.b3 b5
{11...Bb4, was better, developing the bishop with tempo while preparing to castle.}
12.bxc4 bxc4 13.e4
{With the Black king in the center, this explosive pawn thrust gives White an advantage.}
dxe4
{Opening up the position with his king in the center is a mistake.}
14.Bg5 Bf5
{14...Be7 15.Bxf6 Bxf6 16.Nxe4 O-O 17.d5 Qb6 18.Rb1 Qd4 19.Nxf6+ Qxf6 20.Bxc4 White has won a pawn but the Black king is safe.}
15.d5 Qc7 16.Bxf6 gxf6
{White has a winning position due to Black's wrecked pawn structure and vulnerable king.}
17.Bg4 Bxg4 18.Qxg4 Qe5 19.Nxe4 f5 20.Qh5 O-O-O
{20...Qxe4 21.Rfe1 wins the queen.}
21.Nd2 c3 22.Nc4 Qd4 23.Qxf5+ Rd7 24.Ne5
{Black resigned due to the pinning of his rook.}
1-0
[Event "Copenhagen"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1960.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Petrosian"]
[Black "Larsen"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "67"]
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 d6 3.Nf3 Bg4
{An unusual opening, but playable.}
4.Nc3 Nbd7 5.e4 e5 6.Be2 Be7 7.O-O O-O 8.Be3 Bh5
{Since White will exchange bishops anyway (by Nd2), this amounts to a waste of time. Better was 8...c6.}
9.Nd2 Bxe2 10.Qxe2 exd4
{Black exchanges in the center. Otherwise White would play pawn d5 giving Black a bad bishop.}
11.Bxd4 Re8 12.f4 Bf8 13.Rad1 a6
{White has a big space advantage which means a greater choice of plans.}
14.Qf3 c6 15.g4
{With the Black pieces so cramped they don't have room to defend against the direct kingside attack.}
Nc5 16.Bxc5 dxc5
{White has g iven Black doubled c-pawns. While gaining a 4 to 3 majority on the kingside. In effect Black is a pawn down.}
17.e5 Nd7 18.Nde4 Qc7 19.Rd3
{From d3 the White rook keeps an eye on both the d-file and h3 square.}
Nb6 20.b3 Rad8 21.Rfd1 Be7 22.g5
{The pawn makes way for the decisive kingside attack.}
Nc8 23.Qh5 Rxd3
{23...g6 24.Qh6 Rxd3 25.Rxd3 Rd8 26.Nf6+ Bxf6 27.exf6 Rxd3 28.Qg7++}
24.Rxd3
{White's kingside pawn majority is amplified by the fact that one of the pawns occupies a strong position at e5.}
Rd8
{Here White has a crushing sacrifice. Can you find it?}
25.Nf6+
{A sacrifice which opens up the Black king.}
gxf6 26.Rh3 Kf8 27.Qxh7 Ke8 28.g6 Bf8
{28...fxg6 29.e6 takes away Black's flight square.}
29.g7 Bxg7 30.Qxg7
{Although, material is equal White still has a winning attack.}
Qe7
{30...Kd7 31.Rd3+ Ke8 32.Qh8+ Ke7 33.exf6+ Ke6 34.Qxd8}
31.Ne4 Rd1+ 32.Kf2 f5 33.Nf6+ Kd8 34.Rh8+
{Black resigned as his queen will be trapped next move. 34.Rh8+ Kc7 35.Re8}
1-0
[Event "Leipzig Olympiad"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1960.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Fischer"]
[Black "Euwe"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "71"]
1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.exd5 cxd5 4.c4 Nf6 5.Nc3 Nc6 6.Nf3 Bg4 7.cxd5 Nxd5 8.Qb3
Bxf3 9.gxf3 e6 10.Qxb7 Nxd4 11.Bb5+ Nxb5 12.Qc6+ Ke7 13.Qxb5 Nxc3
{13...Qd7 14.Nxd5+ Qxd5 and Black has nothing to worry about.}
14.bxc3 Qd7
{Black should have created some space for the king with 14...f6.}
15.Rb1 Rd8
{Another mistake. The a-pawn needs the support of the rook.}
16.Be3 Qxb5 17.Rxb5 Rd7 18.Ke2
{18.Ra5 Rb7 19.Rxa7 Rxa7 20.Bxa7 Kd7 21.Kd2 Bd6 with the threat of Ra8.}
f6 19.Rd1 Rxd1 20.Kxd1 Kd7 21.Rb8
{The threat is Bc5, exploiting the pin on the back rank.}
Kc6 22.Bxa7 g5
{The only way Black can get his pieces into play is by moving the bishop to g7.}
23.a4 Bg7 24.Rb6+ Kd5 25.Rb7 Bf8 26.Rb8 Bg7 27.Rb5+ Kc6 28.Rb6+ Kd5
{It is not clear why Fischer repeated the position. Probably he had not worked out the sinning moves yet.}
29.a5 f5 30.Bb8 Rc8 31.a6 Rxc3 32.Rb5+ Kc4 33.Rb7 Bd4 34.Rc7+ Kd3 35.Rxc3+
Kxc3
{It looks as though Black is about to enter a long period of suffering after 36.a7. But then Black will sacrifice the bishop for the pawn. There is a better move. Do you see it?}
36.Be5 1-0
[Event "Soviet Championship"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1960.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Spassky"]
[Black "Bronstein"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "45"]
1.e4 e5 2.f4 exf4 3.Nf3 d5 4.exd5 Bd6
{4...Nf6 is normal, but Bronstein loves to improvise.}
5.Nc3 Ne7 6.d4 O-O 7.Bd3 Nd7
{Black should play 7...c6 to eliminate the cramping pawn on d5.}
8.O-O h6
{Black feared a possible Ng5, but this is a serious loss of time. He should have played 8...Nf6.}
9.Ne4
{White gives up a pawn to get his pieces into attacking positions with gain of time.}
Nxd5 10.c4 Ne3 11.Bxe3 fxe3 12.c5 Be7
{Playing to hold the e3 pawn by 12...Bf4 gets into trouble by 13 g3 and now neither 13...Bg5 14 Nfxg5 hxg5 15 Qh5 nor 13...f5 14 Nc3 Bg5 15 h4 Be7 16 Nd5 is any good.}
13.Bc2 Re8
{Black sees the approaching attack on h7 and thus doesn't want his knight traded off after 13.. .Nf6 14 Qd3 Nxe4 15 Qxe4, but that might be better than the text, which gives White an extra tempo to build up.}
14.Qd3 e2
{Black doesn't like the looks of 14...Nf8 15 Ne5 and tries to break up White's battery, but...}
15.Nd6
{White gives up a whole rook just for one tempo to attack f7. Black should play 15...Bxd6 16 Qh7+ Kf8 17 cxd6 exf1Q+ 18 Rxf1 cxd6 19 Qh8+ Ke7 20 Qxg7 Rg8 21 Re1+ Ne5 22 Qxh6 Be6, when he may get out alive.}
Nf8 16.Nxf7 exf1=Q+ 17.Rxf1 Bf5
{Desperation, but 17...Kxf7 18 Ne5+ Kg8 19 Qh7+ is a beautiful way to get mated and 17...Qd5 loses to 18 Bb3 Qxf7 19 Bxf7+ Kxf7+ 20 Qc4+ Kg6 21 Qg8.}
18.Qxf5 Qd7 19.Qf4 Bf6 20.N3e5 Qe7 21.Bb3 Bxe5 22.Nxe5+ Kh7 23.Qe4+ 1-0
[Event "Leipzig Olympiad"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1960.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Letelier"]
[Black "Fischer"]
[Result "0-1"]
[PlyCount "56"]
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 O-O 5.e5
{This advance has disappeared completely from the tournament scene. White is overextending his center, and Black will be able to strike back easily.}
Ne8 6.f4 d6 7.Be3 c5
{Black moves quickly to undermine White's center.}
8.dxc5 Nc6 9.cxd6 exd6 10.Ne4 Bf5 11.Ng3
{11.Nxd6 Nxd6 12.exd6 Bxb2 13.Nf3 Re8!}
Be6 12.Nf3 Qc7 13.Qb1
{White's queenside ambitions are unrealistic, but it was time for the queen to leave the d-file anyway. The dual purpose is to support the advance of the f-pawn, but this has a tactical flaw.}
dxe5 14.f5 e4 15.fxe6 exf3 16.gxf3 f5
{This is much stronger than grabbing the weak pawn at e6. Black has now secured the initiative.}
17.f4 Nf6 18.Be2 Rfe8 19.Kf2 Rxe6 20.Re1 Rae8
{The pressure on the e-file and the active position of the minor pieces give Black a clear, and perhaps decisive advantage.}
21.Bf3 Rxe3 22.Rxe3 Rxe3 23.Kxe3
{Now Fischer provides an aesthetic conclusion to the game. Can you figure it out?}
Qxf4+
{and White resigned, faced with checkmate. For example:}
24.Kf2
{24.Kxf4 Bh6++}
Ng4+ 25.Kg2 Ne3+ 26.Kf2 Nd4 27.Qh1 Ng4+ 28.Kf1 Nxf3
{and the end comes quickly.}
0-1
[Event "Leipzig"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1960.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Ghitescu"]
[Black "Fischer"]
[Result "0-1"]
[PlyCount "28"]
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.e3 O-O 5.Bd3 d5 6.Nf3 Nc6
{Black forsakes the traditional ...c5 break and plays for ...e5 instead.}
7.O-O dxc4 8.Bxc4 Bd6 9.Bb5 e5 10.Bxc6 exd4
{This zwishenzug saves a pawn unless White wants to play 11 cxb7 Bxb7, when all Black's pieces are pointed at his king.}
11.exd4 bxc6 12.Bg5 Re8 13.Qd3 c5
{Opening up the a8-h1 diagonal for his bishop and eliminating the weakness on c6, as well as allowing White to play...}
14.dxc5 Bxh2+ 0-1
[Event "World Championship"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1960.??.??"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Tal"]
[Black "Botvinnik"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "63"]
1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.e5 c5 5.a3 Bxc3+ 6.bxc3
{This is one of the sharpest variations of the French Defense. It was the subject of a number of important World Championship games, with Botvinnik playing the Black side against both Smyslov and Tal.}
Qc7
{This variation is no longer popular, having been replaced by 6...Ne7.}
7.Qg4
{A very aggressive move typical of the Winawer Variation of the French. But the more solid 7.Nf3 is now preferred, having been honed into a fine weapon by Anatoly Karpov.}
f5
{The main lines of the Winawer could still have been reached had Black chosen to develop the knight. Unlike most World Championship matches, which start out like boxing matches with a cautious first round, this is an early slugfest. 7...Ne7 8.Qxg7 Rg8 9.Qxh7 cxd4 10.Kd1 This is a popular line, similar to the game, which is known as the "Life or Death Variation".}
8.Qg3 Ne7 9.Qxg7 Rg8 10.Qxh7
{The difference between this and the line in the previous note is that here the queen cannot easily retreat to help defend the king.}
cxd4 11.Kd1
{This is not such a good idea here, because the queen is in exile at h7. Tal, in his notes to the game, indicates that this eccentric move has pretty much vanished from the tournament arena. The move was originally recommended by Euwe.}
Bd7
{This bishop is headed to h4, where it can participate in an attack against White's king.}
12.Qh5+ Ng6
{12...Kd8 13.Bg5 White has a strong attack.}
13.Ne2
{White threatens Nf4, adding pressure to the pin on the knight at g6.}
d3
{This forces White to weaken the a4-d1 diagonal.}
14.cxd3 Ba4+ 15.Ke1 Qxe5
{An obvious move but it is actually a bit slow. In order to attack successfully Black needs more power, and so developing the Nb8 would have been better. 15...Nc6 16.f4 O-O-O 17.Bd2 Tal notes that sooner or later Black will sacrifice the knight at e5, with complications which are hard.}
16.Bg5
{An important move, which strands the Black king in the center.}
Nc6
{16...f4 17.d4 Qf5 18.Nxf4 Qc2 19.Ne2 White has a solid defense.}
17.d4 Qc7
{17...Qe4 18.Rc1 keeps the enemy queen out.}
18.h4
{The point of this move is not to advance the passed pawn. Instead, it prepares a rook lift Rh1-h3-e3.}
e5 19.Rh3 Qf7
{The best defense was probably 19...e4, securing important central territory and creating an outpost at d3.}
20.dxe5 Ncxe5 21.Re3
{This pin is important not because it wins the knight (it doesn't) but rather because it forces the Black king to move off of the e-file. White is beginning to establish an initiative.}
Kd7 22.Rb1 b6
{The bishop is no longer doing much at a4 and so 22...Bc6 might have been a wiser move.}
23.Nf4
{White now enjoys a clear initiative. Black remains on the defensive for the rest of the game.}
Rae8
{23...Rh8 24.Nxg6 Nxg6 25. Qe2 and the queen attacks from the other flank by moving to a6!}
24.Rb4 Bc6
{Now we see that 22...b6 was just a waste of time.}
25.Qd1
{Her mission accomplished on the kingside, the queen returns home.}
Nxf4
{25...Ng4 26.Rxe8 Rxe8+ 27.Ne2 Black is in deep trouble, and has no real compensation for the passed pawn on the h-file.}
26.Rxf4 Ng6 27.Rd4 Rxe3+
{27...f4 28.Qg4+ Kc7 29.Bxf4+ Nxf4 30.Qxf4+ Qxf4 31.Rxf4}
28.fxe3
{White's extra pawn is becoming important.}
Kc7 29.c4
{This opening of the c- and d-files seals the victory.}
dxc4
{29...Ne7 30. cxd5 Bxd5 31.Bxe7 Qxe7 32.Qc1+ Bc6 33.Bb5 Rg6 34.Rc4 Qd7 35.Bxc6 Rxc6 36.Rxc6+ Qxc6 37.Qxc6+ Kxc6 38.h5}
30.Bxc4 Qg7 31.Bxg8 Qxg8 32.h5 1-0
[Event "Leipzig Olympiad"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1960.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Tal"]
[Black "Campomanes"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "53"]
1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Nf6
{The early development of the knight is inappropriate in this opening, since the e-pawn can advance all the way to e6.}
4.e5 Nfd7 5.e6
{This fractures Black's pawn structure and creates weaknesses on the light squares on the kingside.}
fxe6 6.Bd3
{White threatens checkmate if Black is not careful.}
Nf6 7.Nf3 g6 8.h4 c5
{Black tries to get some breathing room.}
9.dxc5 Nc6 10.Qe2
{White prevents Black from establishing a strong center with 10...e5.}
Bg7 11.Bd2 Qc7 12.O-O-O e5
{Black has concentrated on reaching this goal, but the kingside is where the action is.}
13.Bg5 Be6 14.Nb5 Qb8 15.h5 gxh5
{Taking with the knight would also have been dangerous.}
16.Nfd4
{The pin on the pawn at e5 makes this move playable.}
Bg4 17.f3 e4
{Black is in a woeful position, and the future president of the World Chess Federation tries to complicate the position. But his skills in this regard were not remotely close to those of the newly crowned World Champion Tal!}
18.fxg4 Nxd4 19.Nxd4 exd3 20.Rxd3
{After a series of forced moves material balance is restored, but Black's king is still stuck in the center and his forces are scattered.}
Ne4
{The only assets in Black's position are the centralized pawn at d5 and knight at e4. The only defensive piece is the bishop at g7. Watch how quickly Tal reduces these to rubble.}
21.Nf5 Qe5 22.Nxg7+ Qxg7
{Campomanes, who loves tactics above all else, must have felt pretty good here, since it seems that the initiative is now in his hands, thanks to the attack on the bishop. Next move he will castle to safety...NOT!}
23.Rxd5
{A brilliant move which recognizes that a king stuck in the center is an easy target which does not require a full complement of pieces to checkmate.}
Nxg5 24.Qb5+ Kf7 25.Rf1+ Kg6 26.Qd3+ Kh6 27.Rh1 1-0
[Event "Bled"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1961.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Petrosian"]
[Black "Pachman"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "49"]
1.Nf3 c5 2.g3 Nc6 3.Bg2 g6 4.O-O Bg7 5.d3 e6 6.e4 Nge7 7.Re1 O-O
{7...d6 This should be strongly considered. The idea is to take control of the dark squares.}
8.e5
{Taking advantage of Black's weakened dark squares.}
d6 9.exd6 Qxd6 10.Nbd2 Qc7
{10...b6 This would have the advantage of first seeing how White would attack the queen instead of guessing.}
11.Nb3 Nd4
{Although, Black has protected his c-pawn. A better way was 11...b6 preparing to fianchetto the bishop on b7.}
12.Bf4
{A good move which develops a piece with a gain of tempo.}
Qb6 13.Ne5
{White has the clever threat of 14. Nc4, attacking the Black queen, followed by 15. Nxc5 winning a pawn.}
Nxb3
{13...Bxe5 Stopping White from playing 14. Nc4 would leave Black's kingside weakened after 14.Bxe5 when White would have an advantage due to his more active pieces and Black's weakened dark squares.}
14.Nc4 Qb5 15.axb3 a5
{15...a5 is played with the idea of stopping White's threat of 16. Ra5 winning the c-pawn.}
16.Bd6
{A powerful pin on the Black knight. Which leaves Black's pieces in disarray.}
Bf6 17.Qf3
{Once again White finds a way to develop a piece with a gain of tempo.}
Kg7 18.Re4
{Petrosian himself later criticized this move.}
Rd8 19.Qxf6+
{A very beautiful queen sacrifice that leads to mate.}
Kxf6 20.Be5+ Kg5 21.Bg7
{Black resigned. Since he has no way of stopping 22. h4+ Kh5 23. Bf3 mate. 1-0}
Rxd3 22.cxd3 Kh5 23.Bf3+ Kg5 24.h4+ Kf5 25.Rf4# 1-0
[Event "Soviet Championship"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1961.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Polugaevsky"]
[Black "Petrosian"]
[Result "0-1"]
[PlyCount "94"]
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.e3 O-O 5.Bd3 d5 6.Nf3 c5 7.O-O dxc4 8.Bxc4
Nbd7 9.Qe2 a6 10.a3 cxd4
{Black could also keep the tension with 10...Ba5.}
11.axb4 dxc3 12.bxc3
{At a first glance the position seems to favor White with the two bishops. However, Black will have play against White's backward c-pawn.}
Qc7 13.Bb2 e5
{Gains space and makes an out for the light squared bishop.}
14.e4 Nb6 15.Bd3 Bg4 16.Ra5 Nh5 17.g3
{Played to prevent Nf4.}
Rad8 18.Qe3 f6 19.Rc5 Qd7 20.Be2
{A mistake which was extremely hard to foresee. The bishop will come under attack on e2. Better was 20. Bc2.}
Bh3 21.Ra1 Nf4
{White gets mated if he takes the knight.}
22.Rca5
{22.gxf4 Qg4+ 23.Kh1 Qg2+ Mate.}
Qg4 23.Bc1 Rd6 24.R5a2 Rfd8
{The domination of the only open file is the key to victory in this game.}
25.Ne1
{White must protect the vulnerable back rank.}
Nxe2+ 26.Qxe2 Qxe2 27.Rxe2
{White has defended well to get this far. However, Black's initiative carries into the endgame.}
Rd1 28.f3 Nc4
{28...R8d3 This would have been more efficient.}
29.Kf2
{White finally gets off the back rank.}
R8d3 30.Rc2 Rd7 31.g4
{A vain attempt to snare the bishop.}
g5 32.Rca2
{32.Kg3 Rxe1 33.Kxh3 Rdd1}
h5
{Opening yet another avenue into White's kingside.}
33.gxh5 Be6 34.Re2 Rh7 35.Ng2 Rxh5
{Now White's pawn structure is too weak.}
36.h4
{White gives up a pawn to keep the rook out of the attack.}
gxh4 37.Re1 Rxe1 38.Nxe1 Rh7 39.Nc2 h3 40.Be3 Rd7 41.Re1 Kh7 42.Ke2 Nb2
{Being a clear pawn up Black decides the game quickly.}
43.f4 Nd1 44.f5 Bc4+ 45.Kf3 Rd3 46.Rh1 Bb3 47.Rxh3+ Kg8
{White resigned due to the pin on his bishop.}
0-1
[Event "Soviet Championship"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1961.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Petrosian"]
[Black "Smyslov"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "63"]
1.c4 Nf6 2.Nc3 e6 3.Nf3 b6 4.d4 Bb7 5.a3 d5 6.cxd5 Nxd5 7.e3
{Petrosian was successful with this line but it didn't become popular until Kasparov took it up in the 1980s.}
Be7 8.Bb5+ c6 9.Bd3 c5 10.Nxd5 Qxd5 11.dxc5 Qxc5 12.Bd2 Nc6 13.Rc1 Qd6
14.Qc2 Rc8 15.O-O h6
{This weakens the Black kingside. 15...Bf6 Followed by g6 would be less weakening.}
16.Rfd1 O-O 17.Bc3 Qb8 18.Qa4
{The queen prepares to switch over to the kingside attack.}
Rfd8 19.Qe4
{White forces another weakening in the Black pawn structure due to the threat of Qh7+.}
g6
{Look at this position. All Black's pieces are on the queenside, and the king stands naked in the corner. White will destroy the Black fortress with a strong attack, using his better-placed pieces.}
20.Qg4 h5
{20...Kh7 21.Bxg6+ fxg6 22.Qxe6 Gives White a winning attack.}
21.Qh3 f5
{Played with the idea of stopping White from playing pawn g4. However, Black has new problems on the a2-g8 diagonal.}
22.Bc4 Rxd1+ 23.Rxd1 Kf7 24.e4
{After this central break Black's position collapses .}
Qf4 25.Re1 Qg4 26.exf5
{White sacrifices his bishop in order to break open Black's king position.}
Qxc4
{26...gxf5 27.Bxe6+ Kf8 28.Bxc8}
27.fxg6+ Ke8
{Now White has a powerful passed pawn, which also helps the attack by covering the f7-square. 27...Kxg6 28.Rxe6+ Kf7 29.Rxc6 Qxc6 30.Ne5+ when White wins the queen.}
28.g7 e5
{28...Kd7 29.Rd1+ Kc7 30.Qg3+ Wins material for White.}
29.Qxh5+ Kd7 30.Rd1+ Bd6 31.Bxe5 Nd4
{31...Nxe5 32.Nxe5+}
32.Nxd4
{Black resigned. 32.Nxd4 Bxe5 33.Nf3+ Bd6 34.Ne5+ would win the Black queen.}
1-0
[Event "Zurich"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1961.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Petrosian"]
[Black "Schmid"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "61"]
1.d4 c5 2.d5 d6 3.c4 g6 4.Nc3 Bg7 5.e4 Nf6 6.Be2 O-O 7.Nf3 e6 8.O-O exd5
9.cxd5
{The Modern Benoni is a very sharp opening, thanks to the precarious central formation.}
Re8 10.Nd2 Na6 11.f3 Nc7 12.a4 b6 13.Nc4
{Even though many moves have been played, both combatants are well-prepared, and had been studying these formations.}
Ba6 14.Bg5 Bxc4 15.Bxc4 a6 16.Kh1
{If the game opens up the king will be safer tucked away in the corner.}
Rb8 17.Qe2 Qc8 18.Bf4 Bf8 19.Rab1 Nh5
{19...b5 20.axb5 axb5 21.Nxb5 Nxb5 22.Bxb5 White would win a pawn and have an attack on the Black rook.}
20.Bd2
{White has developed his pieces for play on either wing, depending on what plan Black chooses.}
f5 21.g4
{Black will find his pieces lack coordination to defend against the direct kingside attack.}
Nf6
{21...fxg4 22.fxg4 Ng7 23.Rf2 when Black would be defenceless on the f-file.}
22.gxf5
{The open g-file will be the key to White's success in this game.}
gxf5 23.Rg1+ Kh8 24.Rg3
{White prepares to double rooks on the g-file.}
Re7 25.Rbg1 Rg7 26.e5
{This central break allows all the White pieces to participate in the attack. While his counterparts can only watch on helplessly out of play.}
dxe5 27.Qxe5 Nce8 28.Rxg7 Bxg7 29.Rxg7
{White sacrifices the exchange which allows the White queen and bishops to weave a mating net.}
Kxg7 30.Qe7+ Kg6 31.d6
{Black resigned. 31.d6 Qb7 32.Qe3 when Black's king cannot escape.}
1-0
[Event "Bled"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1961.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Petrosian"]
[Black "Gligoric"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "69"]
1.c4 g6 2.g3 Bg7 3.Bg2 d6 4.Nc3 c5 5.e3 Nc6 6.Nge2 Nf6 7.b3 O-O 8.O-O Bd7
9.d4 Qc8
{Played with the idea of attacking the White squares with 10...Bh3.}
10.Re1
{In order to answer Black's light squared attack with Bh1.}
Bh3 11.Bh1 Bg4 12.Qd2
{White breaks the pin on his knight.}
Bxe2 13.Rxe2 cxd4 14.exd4 Qg4
{14...Ng4 might have led to interesting play.}
15.Bb2 e6
{Black covers the key center square of d5. However, a new weakness has been created on d6.}
16.Rd1 Rfe8 17.Nb5
{White wastes no time in attacking Black's new weakness on d6.}
Rad8 18.Bxc6
{This little combination gives White a material advantage.}
bxc6 19.Nxa7 Ne4 20.Qd3 Ng5 21.Nxc6 Ra8 22.Bc1 e5 23.Bxg5 Qxg5 24.dxe5
dxe5 25.b4
{White has a winning advantage because of his three passed pawns.}
Qg4 26.Rde1 Qc8 27.b5 Qc7 28.Qe4 h5 29.c5 Qb7 30.Qc4 Re6 31.Nxe5 Rae8 32.Nxf7
{Black resigned because of...}
Rxe2 33.Ng5+ Kh8 34.Rxe2 Rxe2 35.Qxe2
{when White's three passed pawns would win easily.}
1-0
[Event "Bled"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1961.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Olafsson"]
[Black "Petrosian"]
[Result "0-1"]
[PlyCount "64"]
1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.e5 Qd7 5.Qg4 f5 6.Qg3 b6 7.h4 Bb7 8.Bd3 Nc6
9.Nge2 O-O-O 10.Bd2 Nh6 11.a3 Be7 12.Bb5
{White pins the Black knight on c6. 12.Qxg7 Ng4 would put the White queen in serious danger of being trapped.}
Rdg8
{12...a6 Although trying to break the pin looks natural, White has a strong reply. 13.Bxc6 Bxc6 14.Qxg7 Ng4 15.Bg5 allowing White to take advantage of Black's dark squared bishop. 15...Bxg5 16.Qxd7+ Rxd7 17.hxg5}
13.Qd3 Nf7 14.O-O-O
{14.Nf4 would be better, threatening a fork.}
Kb8
{A very deep and yet simple move. Petrosian's idea is to break the pin, on the Black knight, with 15...Qc8.}
15.Nf4 Qc8
{Although Black's position looks cramped, he is almost ready to begin striking at White's center. The target, as is so often the case in the French Defense, is the pair of pawns at d4 and e5.}
16.Nce2 Ncd8 17.Qb3
{17. Qb3 is a miscalculation which costs White a pawn and the game. Better was 17. c3. 17.c3 c5 18.Kb1 Although, Black would still stand better due to, his play on both flanks.}
c6 18.Bd3 c5
{Finally! Black achieves the goal of the opening and breaks down White's center .}
19.dxc5 Bxc5 20.Nh3 Nxe5
{Black has won a very valuable center pawn. Given Petrosian's technique, it is good enough for the victory.}
21.Bf4 Ndf7 22.Bb5
{22.Qc3 Attacking the pinned knight again. would be met adequately by 22...Bd6.}
Ka8
{Black gets his king out of the pin. Which allows his knight on e5 to move.}
23.Nd4 Ng6 24.Qa4
{An unsound sacrifice which ends the game. Still, White had no good response to Black's threat of pawn e5.}
Bxd4 25.Bd7 Qf8 26.Rxd4 e5 27.Rb4 exf4 28.Rxb6 Nfe5 29.Rxb7 Kxb7 30.h5
{30.Qb5+ Kc7 when Black would soon realize his material advantage.}
Qd6 31.hxg6 Qxd7 32.Qxf4 Nxg6
{White resigned as Black is up a whole rook.}
0-1
[Event "Varna Olympiad"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1962.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Fischer"]
[Black "Purevzhav"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "43"]
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 g6 6.Be3 Bg7 7.f3 Nc6 8.Qd2
O-O 9.Bc4 Nd7
{The slowest continuation accepted by theory. Black hopes to get play against White's queenside with his knights, but weakens his king position.}
10.O-O-O Nb6 11.Bb3 Na5 12.Qd3
{White doesn't want to allow either knight to move to c4, which would force him to give up his Be3. Black might then get strong play on the dark squares.}
Bd7 13.h4 Rc8 14.h5
{So White draws first blood. Once he takes on g6 he will be able to play Bh6, leaving Black's king naked to the wind.}
Nac4 15.hxg6 hxg6
{If 15...Nxe3, White would not play 16.gxh7+, when his own pawn on h7 would keep the kingside closed, but 16.gxf7+ Kh8 17.Qxe3, when h7 is a target and White already threatens 18.Rxh7+ Kxh7 19.Rh1+.}
16.Bh6 e6 17.f4
{Threatening 18.Qh3, when Black will have no defense to mate on h7 or h8.}
e5 18.Nf5
{Renewing the threat of Qh3. If Black takes the knight he gets mated after 18...gxf5 19.Bxg7 Kxg7 20.Qg3+ Kf6 21.Qg5+ Ke6 22.ef.}
Bxf5 19.exf5 Nxb2
{A last desparate bid for counterplay, but Fischer has seen everything.}
20.Kxb2 e4 21.Bxg7
{Black may have missed this move. He can't take the queen because of 22.f6 and mate on h8.}
Kxg7 22.Nxe4 1-0
[Event "Candidates Curacao"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1962.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Tal"]
[Black "Petrosian"]
[Result "0-1"]
[PlyCount "40"]
1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bg5 dxe4 5.Nxe4 Nbd7 6.Nxf6+ Nxf6 7.Nf3 c5
8.Qd3 Be7 9.Bxf6 Bxf6 10.Qb5+
{A bad move which wastes time while developing the Black pieces.}
Bd7 11.Qxb7
{Vulnerable b-pawns are often referred to as poisoned pawns because the time wasted in capturing them is often used by the opponent to develop forces and punish the greedy consumer.}
Rb8 12.Qxa7 Rxb2 13.Bd3
{White gives back the extra pawn fearing the Black bishop on f6. Now we see how the pawn he ate earlier turns out to be "poisoned".}
cxd4 14.O-O Bc6
{The tactics have cleared with Black standing better thanks to his two center pawns.}
15.Qa3
{White desperately tries to keep the Black king from castling.}
Qb6 16.Bc4 Rb4
{A good move which blocks the White queen from the a3-f8 diagonal.}
17.Qd3 O-O 18.a3 Ra4 19.Rfd1 Qa7 20.Ra2 Rxc4
{White resigned as 21. Qxc4 Bd5 followed by Bxa2 would leave White a piece down.}
0-1
[Event "Varna Olympiad"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1962.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Rivera"]
[Black "Fischer"]
[Result "0-1"]
[PlyCount "32"]
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.e3 d5 5.a3 Bxc3+ 6.bxc3 c5 7.Bd3 dxc4 8.Bxc4
Qc7 9.Bb3 b6 10.Ne2 O-O 11.Bb2 Nc6 12.O-O Na5 13.Ng3 Bb7 14.Rc1
{This loses instructively--White obviously saw Black's next but figured that after 15.f3 he had met the threat, but didn't notice that 14...Qb6 contained a subtler threat.}
Qc6 15.f3 Qb5
{The subtler threat of 14... Qb6--White must now lose a bishop, and, though he gives it a try, he can't trap Black's queen.}
16.Ba4 Qxb2 0-1
[Event "Candidates' Tournament"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1962.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Petrosian"]
[Black "Korchnoi"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "43"]
1.c4 c5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 g6 5.Nc3 d5 6.Bg5 dxc4 7.e3 Qa5
{This early queen sortie gives White the initiative. Better was to develop normally with 7...Bg7. 7...Bg7 8.Bxc4 O-O 9.O-O a6 10.Qe2 b5 11.Bb3 Bb7 12. Rfd1 Qa5 13.e4 when White's centralized pieces give him the edge.}
8.Bxf6
{A strong move which doubles the Black f-pawns and secures the White knight on d4.}
exf6 9.Bxc4 Bb4
{9...Bg7 10.O-O O-O 11.Nd5 Gives the advantage to White due to, his well centralized minor pieces.}
10.Rc1 a6
{Black doesn't have time for this luxury. Better was castling.}
11.O-O Nd7
{White stands much better due to, Black's backward development.}
12.a3
{White also had the more aggresive 12. Nd5. 12.Nd5 Bd6 13.b4 Bxb4 14.Nb3 Wins material for White as Black has no way of answering both threats or 15 Nxb4 and Nc7+.}
Be7
{12...Bxc3 13.Rxc3 would also leave White standing better. Due to, White's better development and better pawn structure.}
13.b4 Qe5
{13...Qxa3 14.Nd5 when White is threatening 15. Nc7+ or 15. Ra1.}
14.f4
{Black would go down quickly after 14...Qxe3+ 15. Kh1 due to the open king file}
Qb8 15.Bxf7+
{With all of Black's pieces on the back two ranks, White is able to start a winning attack.}
Kxf7 16.Qb3+ Ke8
{16...Kg7 17. Ne6+ Kh6 18.Rf3 g5 19.f5 when the Black king would find himself in a mating net.}
17.Nd5
{Although, technically White is down a piece for a pawn, he has a winning position. This is due to, Black's backward development.}
Bd6 18.Ne6
{White's pieces quickly move into the disorganized Black camp.}
b5 19.Ndc7+ Ke7 20.Nd4
{A perfect example of the saying "when you see a good move look again, you may see a better one". White is in no hurry to gain back material with 20. Nxa8 since the Black rook isn't going anywhere.}
Kf8 21.Nxa8
{Black resigned as 21...Qxa8 22. Qe6 Qb8 23 Nc6 Qc7 24 Ne7 would be hopeless.}
Qxa8 22.h4 1-0
[Event "Varna Olympiad"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1962.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Fischer"]
[Black "Najdorf"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "47"]
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.h3 b5 7.Nd5 Bb7
{Black should probably take the pawn. White gets an initiative after 8.Qf3, but Black seems to hold. Now Najdorf's king has nowhere to hide.}
8.Nxf6+ gxf6 9.c4
{The kingside is already unsafe, and no Fischer goes to work on the center and the queenside.}
bxc4 10.Bxc4 Bxe4 11.O-O d5 12.Re1
{No rest for the weary. Black's last move is shown to have serious drawbacks-- he can't get his bishop back to b7, and his dark squares look weak.}
e5 13.Qa4+ Nd7 14.Rxe4
{This sacrifice reopens the a2-g8 diagonal and gives White control of all the light squares in the center.}
dxe4 15.Nf5 Bc5 16.Ng7+
{Typically, Fischer's play is ruthlessly accurate. The text allows White to finish his development with the Black king a sitting duck in the center.}
Ke7 17.Nf5+ Ke8 18.Be3
{Again, simple but deadly-Black must either lose time retreating the bishop or give up d6. If 18...Qb6, 19.Bxf7+.}
Bxe3 19.fxe3 Qb6 20.Rd1 Ra7 21.Rd6 Qd8 22.Qb3
{Now if Black could only castle there would be some hope, but White's 16th move ruled that out.}
Qc7 23.Bxf7+ Kd8 24.Be6
{Black is helpless-if he tries 24...Qc1+, after 25.Rd1 he has no way to cover b6 and b8 without giving up d7.}
1-0
[Event "Candidates' Tournament"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1962.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Fischer"]
[Black "Petrosian"]
[Result "0-1"]
[PlyCount "85"]
1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bg5 Bb4 5.e5 h6 6.Bd2 Bxc3 7.Bxc3 Ne4 8.Ba5
O-O 9.Bd3 Nc6
{Black develops with tempo at the bishop's expense.}
10.Bc3 Nxc3 11.bxc3
{White is worse because of his doubled c-pawns and backward development.}
f6 12.f4
{Since White is lagging behind in development he desperately tries to keep the position closed. 12.exf6 Qxf6 13.Nf3 e5 when Black's initiative would give him a big advantage.}
fxe5 13.fxe5 Ne7
{The knight makes way for operations against White's center and queenside.}
14.Nf3 c5 15.O-O Qa5 16.Qe1 Bd7
{Black is building up his forces for an attack against White's doubled c- pawns.}
17.c4 Qxe1 18.Rfxe1 dxc4 19.Be4
{White sacrifices a pawn to free his pieces up. 19.Bxc4 b5 20.Bd3 c4 allows Black to stabilize his queenside advantage.}
cxd4 20.Bxb7 Rab8 21.Ba6 Rb4 22.Rad1 d3
{Petrosian eliminates the remaining obstacle and creates a passed pawn.}
23.cxd3 cxd3 24.Rxd3 Bc6
{Black has the advantage due to, the White bishop being offside while his minor pieces have an excellent post on d5.}
25.Rd4
{25.Nd4 Bd5 would leave the White pieces in each others way.}
Rxd4 26.Nxd4 Bd5 27.a4 Rf4 28.Rd1 Ng6 29.Bc8 Kf7 30.a5 Nxe5 31.a6
{With Black being a clear pawn up White's chances rest with the a-pawn.}
Rg4 32.Rd2 Nc4 33.Rf2+ Ke7 34.Nb5 Nd6 35.Nxd6
{35.Nxa7 Rc4 Wins material for Black.}
Kxd6 36.Bb7 Bxb7 37.axb7 Kc7 38.h3
{38.Rf7+ Kb8 39.Kf2 a5 40.Re7 Rg6 41.Rd7 e5 42.Rd5 Ra6 when White has no good way of stopping the a-pawns advance.}
Rg5 39.Rb2 Kb8 40.Kf2 Rd5 41.Ke3 Rd7 42.Ke4 Rxb7 43.Rf2
{White resigned because he is two pawns down.}
0-1
[Event "Varna Olympiad"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1962.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Fischer"]
[Black "Ciocaltea"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "51"]
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 d6 5.c3 Bd7 6.d4 Nge7 7.Bb3 h6
{Black can't play 7...Ng6 because of 8.Ng5.}
8.Qe2 Ng6 9.Qc4
{A novel way of confusing the enemy army. 9...Be6 loses a piece after 10.d5 Na5 11.Qa4+, so Black must either play 9...Qe7, completely locking up his own kingside, or expose his queen on f6.}
Qf6 10.d5 b5
{Otherwise White just captures on c7 and gets away.}
11.Qe2 Na5 12.Bd1 Be7 13.g3
{Black would have done better to simplify with 12...Nh4 or f4, to get some space on the kingside. Fischer prevents that and sets a nasty trap as well.}
O-O 14.h4 Rfc8
{The losing move. Black had to play 14...Nh8 or Bd8 to save the queen, though things look grim then too.}
15.Bg5 hxg5 16.hxg5 Qxg5
{Black would do better with 16...Nf4, though it doesn't matter much, since after 16.gxf6 Nxe2 17.fxe7 Nc1 18.Kd2 he's down a piece.}
17.Nxg5 Bxg5 18.Na3 c6 19.dxc6 Be6 20.Qh5 Bh6 21.Bg4 Bxg4 22.Qxg4 Nxc6
23.Rd1 b4 24.Nc4 bxc3 25.bxc3 Nd4 26.Nb6 1-0
[Event "Stockholm Interzonal"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1962.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Petrosian"]
[Black "Bertok"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "67"]
1.d4 d5 2.c4 dxc4 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Nc3 a6 5.e3 e6 6.Bxc4 c5 7.O-O b5 8.Bb3 Bb7
9.Qe2 Nbd7 10.Rd1 Bd6 11.e4 cxd4 12.Rxd4 Bc5
{12...Qb8 13.Rxd6 Qxd6 14.e5 Bxf3 15.Qxf3 Qxe5 16.Bf4 After which White wins the rook on a8.}
13.Rd3 Ng4
{A natural and energetic response to the threat of e5. 13...Qb8 Also gains control of the e5 square.}
14.Bg5
{Developing the bishop with a gain of tempo.}
Qb6
{14...Bxf2+ 15.Kf1 Qb6 16.h3 when Black has to many pieces hanging.}
15.Nd5
{A powerful thrust made possible because the Black king hasn't found time to castle.}
Qa5
{15...exd5 16.exd5+ Kf8 17.d6 Re8 18.Be7+ Kg8 19.Bxf7+ Kxf7 20.Ng5+ when Black finds himself in a mating net.}
16.Rf1
{Black's only threat is eliminated, and he is left with his king still in the center.}
Rc8 17.Nf4 Nge5 18.Nxe5 Nxe5 19.Rh3
{Played with the idea of discouraging Black from castling.}
Nc4 20.Rd1 Qb6 21.Nh5 Rg8
{21...O-O would be refuted by 22.Nf6+ gxf6 23.Bxf6 Rfd8 24.Rxh7 Kxh7 25.Qh5+ Kg8 26.Qh8+ Mate.}
22.Rhd3 Nd6 23.e5 Ne4 24.Be3
{24.Rd8+ Rxd8 25.Rxd8+ Qxd8 26.Bxd8 Kxd8 when Black's active pieces give him the initiative.}
Bxe3 25.Rxe3 Qc6 26.Qg4 Ke7 27.Rde1 f5 28.exf6+ gxf6 29.Qh3
{The White queen eyes Black's weak e6-pawn for the final assault on the uncastled king.}
f5 30.f3 Ng5 31.Qxf5 Rcf8 32.Rxe6+ Nxe6 33.Rxe6+ Kd8 34.Qd3+
{Black resigned as 34...Qd7 drops the queen to 35. Rd6.}
1-0
[Event "Stockholm Interzonal"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1962.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Petrosian"]
[Black "Schweber"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "85"]
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.Be2 O-O 6.Bg5 h6 7.Be3 e5 8.d5 c6
9.h4 cxd5 10.cxd5 Nbd7 11.h5 g5
{Forced as Black would come under a direct kingside attack if he allowed the h-file to be opened.}
12.f3 a6 13.g4
{The White pawn chain from d5-h5 holds the Black army in a complete lock. Black has no space for his pieces and must sit and wait while his opponent finds a plan of attack.}
b5 14.a4 b4
{The Black pawn comes rushing forward. However, it's not backed up by a single Black piece.}
15.Nb1 a5 16.Nd2 Nc5
{16...Ba6 17.Bxa6 Rxa6 18.Nc4 when White keeps all his advantages, more active pieces, better pawn structure and targets to attack a5.}
17.Bxc5 dxc5
{White has traded his good bishop for a different type of advantage: weak c- pawn.}
18.Bb5 Bb7 19.Ne2 Ne8 20.Bxe8 Rxe8
{White has the big advantage of having the two knights in a closed position. The bishops being better in open positions.}
21.Nc4 Ba6 22.Qb3 Qf6 23.Rc1 Bf8 24.Ng3 Bc8
{Played with the idea of trading the bishop for the knight in the event of Nf5. However, Black's pieces have been reduced to total passivity.}
25.O-O Rd8 26.Kg2 Ra7 27.Rf2
{The White rook is headed over to the c-file to put more pressure on the weak Black pawn.}
Kh7 28.Rfc2 Qa6
{A miscalculation which costs Black a pawn. However, this wouldn't have changed the result since it was only a question of time before White wins.}
29.Nxe5 Rc7 30.Nc4 Bg7 31.Qd3 Kg8 32.Rd2 Re7 33.e5
{White returns the e-pawn in order to promoter a series of exchanges which will reduce the game to an elementary ending.}
Bxe5 34.Nxe5 Rxe5 35.Qxa6 Bxa6 36.Rxc5 Bc8 37.Rxa5 f5 38.gxf5 Bxf5 39.Nxf5
Rxf5 40.Rb5 Rdf8 41.d6 Rxb5
{41...Rxf3 42.d7 would cost Black a rook.}
42.axb5 Kf7 43.d7
{Black resigned. 43.d7 Rd8 44.b6 Ke7 45.b7 b3 46.Kg3 Kf7 47.b8Q Rxb8 48.d8Q wins easily.}
1-0
[Event "World Championship"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1963.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Petrosian"]
[Black "Botvinnik"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "103"]
1.c4 g6 2.Nf3 Bg7 3.Nc3 e5 4.g3 Ne7 5.Bg2 O-O 6.d4 exd4
{6...exd4 gi ves up the central pressure. Better was to retain the tension with 6...d6.}
7.Nxd4 Nbc6 8.Nxc6 Nxc6
{8...bxc6 would leave Black with doubled c-pawns and three pawn islands to White's two pawn islands.}
9.O-O d6
{9...Bxc3 1 0.bxc3 It's true Black has doubled the White c-pawns but at the severe price of Black weakening the dark squares.}
10.Bd2 Bg4
{A subtle move. The idea is to force White to weaken his kingside with 11. h3.}
11.h3 Be6 12.b3 Qd7
{Due to Black's 10...Bg4 the queen now goes to d7 with a double attack on the White h-pawn.}
13.Kh2 Rae8 14.Rc1 f5
{Black overestimates his chances on the kingside. Better was 14...Ne7. 14...Ne7 Controlling the central square of d5 was to be preferred.}
15.Nd5
{White wastes no time in occupying the critical d5 square.}
Kh8 16.Be3 Bg8 17.Qd2 Nd8 18.Rfd1 Ne6 19.Nf4
{A strong move which stops the Black knight from reaching the e4 square via c5.}
Nxf4 20.Bxf4 Qc8 21.h4 Re7 22.Bf3 Bf7 23.Qa5 Be8 24.c5
{24.Qxa7 is lso good as Bc6 25.Bxc6 bxc6 26.Bxd6 cxd6 27.Qxe7 would win the exchange.}
d5
{Black sets a positional trap.}
25.Bd6
{25.Rxd5 White avoided 25. Rxd5 as after Bc6 26.Rd2 Bxf3 27.exf3 White's extra pawn would be a useless doubled one.}
Qd7
{25...cxd6 26.cxd6 Qd7 27.dxe7 Qxe7 would not only leave White an exchange up, but allow the White rook to enter the seventh rank}
26.Bxe7 Qxe7 27.Rxd5 f4 28.Qd2 Bc6 29.Rd3 Bb5 30.Rd4
{White gives back the exchange which forces an ending where he will be a pawn up.}
fxg3+ 31.fxg3 Bxd4 32.Qxd4+ Qg7 33.Qxg7+ Kxg7 34.Rc2 Re8 35.Kg2 Kf6 36.Kf2
Bc6
{Black enters into the rook and pawn ending.}
37.Bxc6 bxc6 38.Rc4 Ke5 39.Ra4
{A good move which ties down the Black rook to the defence of the a-pawn.}
Ra8 40.Ra6 Kd5 41.b4 Kc4 42.a3 Kb5 43.Ra5+ Kc4 44.Ke3 a6 45.Kf4
{With both of Black's pieces busy on the queenside, the White kings goes over to the unprotected Black pawns on h7 and g6.}
Kd5 46.Kg5 Re8 47.Rxa6 Rxe2 48.Ra7
{Remember that rooks belong on the seventh rank where the enemy pawns can't protect themselves.}
Re5+ 49.Kf4 Re7 50.Rb7 Ke6 51.a4 Kd7 52.Rb8
{A little finesse which keeps the Black king from White's a pawn. Black resigned.}
1-0
[Event "World Championship"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1963.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Botvinnik"]
[Black "Petrosian"]
[Result "0-1"]
[PlyCount "122"]
1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Be7 4.cxd5 exd5 5.Bf4 c6 6.e3 Bf5 7.g4 Be6 8.h3 Nf6
9.Nf3 Nbd7 10.Bd3 Nb6 11.Qc2 Nc4 12.Kf1
{The White king will find safety on the g2 square.}
Nd6 13.Nd2 Qc8 14.Kg2 Nd7 15.f3
{15.Bxh7 g6 16.Bxg6 fxg6 17.Bxd6 Bxd6 18.Qxg6+ Ke7 The piece would be more valuable than the three pawns.}
g6 16.Rac1
{16.e4 gaining key central ground was better.}
Nb6 17.b3 Qd7 18.Ne2 Ndc8
{Black's idea is to oppose the powerful bishop on f4, with Bd6. While the knight heads towards e7.}
19.a4 a5 20.Bg3 Bd6 21.Nf4 Ne7 22.Nf1 h5
{Now that Black has the center under control, he gains ground on the flank.}
23.Be2 h4 24.Bh2 g5 25.Nd3 Qc7 26.Qd2 Nd7 27.Bg1
{White is wrong to run from the fight. As Black now has possession of the b8-h2 diagonal.}
Ng6 28.Bh2 Ne7
{This move can be explained by the match standing. Black was willing to take a draw by repeating the position over and over.}
29.Bd1 b6 30.Kg1 f6 31.e4 Bxh2+ 32.Qxh2 Qxh2+ 33.Rxh2 Rd8 34.Kf2 Kf7 35.Ke3
Rhe8 36.Rd2 Kg7 37.Kf2 dxe4 38.fxe4 Nf8 39.Ne1 Nfg6 40.Ng2 Rd7
{A dynamic pos ition. The question is whether White's center pawns are strong or targets for the Black pieces to attack.}
41.Bc2 Bf7 42.Nfe3 c5 43.d5 Ne5 44.Rf1
{44.Nc4 challenging the Black knight on e5 was a better choice.}
Bg6 45.Ke1 {45.Nc4} Nc8 46.Rdf2 Rf7 47.Kd2 Nd6
{The Black knights have set up a powerful blockade and soon advance with decisive effect.}
48.Nf5+ Bxf5 49.exf5 c4
{The White pieces, consisting of a bad bishop, two inactive rooks and a knight that is out of play, can only watch as the queenside is torn apart.}
50.Rb1 b5 51.b4 c3+
{Black clears the c-file for the decisive attack.}
52.Kxc3 Rc7+ 53.Kd2 Nec4+ 54.Kd1 Na3 55.Rb2 Ndc4 56.Ra2 axb4 57.axb5 Nxb5
{The Black knights rule the board.}
58.Ra6 Nc3+ 59.Kc1 Nxd5 60.Ba4 Rec8 61.Ne1 Nf4
{Faced with multiple threats White resigned.}
0-1
[Event "World Championship"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1963.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Petrosian"]
[Black "Botvinnik"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "95"]
1.c4 g6 2.d4 Nf6 3.Nc3 d5 4.Nf3 Bg7 5.e3 O-O 6.Be2 dxc4 7.Bxc4 c5 8.d5
e6 9.dxe6 Qxd1+ 10.Kxd1 Bxe6 11.Bxe6 fxe6 12.Ke2
{A dynamic position has arisen. True Black has an isolated e-pawn. However, this is compensated for by his queenside pawn majority and slightly more active pieces.}
Nc6 13.Rd1 Rad8
{13...Kf7 Giving the e-pawn protection is preferable.}
14.Rxd8 Rxd8 15.Ng5
{A well disguised idea. The knight is actually heading to e4 but is currently attacking the e-pawn.}
Re8 16.Nge4 Nxe4 17.Nxe4 b6 18.Rb1
{Freeing the bishop from the defense of the b-pawn.}
Nb4 19.Bd2
{The a-pawn is poisoned.}
Nd5
{19...Nxa2 20.Ra1 Nb4 21.Bxb4 cxb4 22.Rxa7 Bxb2 23.Rb7 Regains the pawn while leaving Black with all the weaknesses.}
20.a4
{White restrains the enemy pawn majority.}
Rc8 21.b3 Bf8
{The Black bishop heads to e7 to keep the reins on the White knight.}
22.Rc1 Be7
{22...Rc7 would have protected the Black rook and thus of broken the pin.}
23.b4 c4
{23...Kf7 24.bxc5 bxc5 would leave Black with an isolated pawn at c5.}
24.b5 Kf7 25.Bc3
{Remember these three steps to winning an isolated pawn, blockade, attack, destroy.}
Ba3 26.Rc2 Nxc3+ 27.Rxc3 Bb4 28.Rc2 Ke7 29.Nd2 c3 30.Ne4 Ba5 31.Kd3 Rd8+
32.Kc4 Rd1 33.Nxc3
{White has followed through on his plan, blockade, attack, destroy.}
Rh1 34.Ne4
{A deep move to understand with variations. The idea is that the h2 pawn is insignificant compared with the dominant posts White gains for his pieces.}
Rxh2 35.Kd4 Kd7
{Played to stop the White rook from penetrating to the 7th. 35...Rxg2 36.Rc7+ Ke8 37.Ke5 leaves the Black king in a mating net.}
36.g3 Bb4 37.Ke5 Rh5+ 38.Kf6 Be7+ 39.Kg7 e5 40.Rc6 Rh1
{White has an overwhelming advantage because of his swarming pieces.}
41.Kf7 Ra1 42.Re6 Bd8 43.Rd6+ Kc8 44.Ke8 Bc7 45.Rc6 Rd1 46.Ng5 Rd8+ 47.Kf7
Rd7+ 48.Kg8
{Black resigned because he will be unable to save his kingside pawns.}
1-0
[Event "Simultaneous Exhibition"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1963.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Fischer"]
[Black "Burger"]
[Result "0-1"]
[PlyCount "28"]
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Ng5 d5 5.exd5 Nd4
{Black tries to get compensation for his pawn by attack White's advanced pieces with gain of time.}
6.c3 b5 7.Bf1 Nxd5 8.cxd4 Qxg5 9.Bxb5+ Kd8
{Black's king is shielded by White's two d-pawns, but White's king will come under fire on either the e-file or the kingside.}
10.Qf3 Bb7 11.O-O e4
{Black gives up another pawn to keep White's queen on the a8-h1 diagonal where it will be a target for discovered attacks from Black's bishop.}
12.Qxe4
{12.Qxf7 Be7 And White can't meet Black's attack kingside attack.}
Bd6
{Black now has four pieces aimed at White's king, more than enough compensation for White's two sickly d-pawns.}
13.d3
{Overlooking Black's threat.}
Bxh2+ 14.Kxh2 Nf4
{White resigned, because he can't meet both the threat on his queen and mate threats by ...Qxg2 or ...Qh4+ and Ne2.}
0-1
[Event "US Championship"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1963.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Fischer"]
[Black "Benko"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "43"]
1.e4 g6 2.d4 Bg7 3.Nc3 d6 4.f4 Nf6 5.Nf3 O-O 6.Bd3 Bg4 7.h3 Bxf3 8.Qxf3
Nc6 9.Be3 e5 10.dxe5 dxe5 11.f5 gxf5 12.Qxf5 Nd4 13.Qf2 Ne8 14.O-O Nd6
15.Qg3 Kh8 16.Qg4 c6 17.Qh5 Qe8
{White has the f-file, well-placed pieces and a slightly better pawn structure. Black's forces are scattered, and the bishop does little from its post at g7. Fischer exploits these factors quickly.}
18.Bxd4
{The knight at d4 was a potential defender on the kingside, and the bishop was not going to participate in the attack anyway.}
exd4
{18...exd4 19.e5 looks like it wins a piece, because of the threat of Qxh7 mate, but Black has a defense. f5! Qxe8 Nxe8}
19.Rf6
{A brilliant move. The idea is to encourage Black to move the bishop to a position where it blocks the f-pawn from advancing, eliminating the defense mentioned in the previous note. 19.Rf6 Bxf6 20.e5 h6 21.Qxh6+ Kg8 22.Qh7+}
Kg8 20.e5 h6 21.Ne2
{Here Black resigned, because mate is still unavoidable, for example}
Nc8 22.Qf5 1-0
[Event "World Championship"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1963.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Petrosian"]
[Black "Botvinnik"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "131"]
1.c4 Nf6 2.Nc3 e6 3.Nf3 b6 4.g3 Bb7 5.Bg2 Be7 6.O-O O-O 7.d4 Ne4 8.Qc2
Nxc3 9.Qxc3 f5 10.b3 Bf6 11.Bb2 d6 12.Rad1 Nd7 13.Ne1 Bxg2 14.Nxg2 Bg5
{14...Qe7 Finishing Black's development is also possible.}
15.Qc2 Bh6 16.e4 f4 17.Ne1 Qe7
{This move does nothing to stop White's play in the center. Better was 17...Qg5. 17...Qg5 18.e5 dxe5 19.dxe5 Nxe5}
18.e5 dxe5 19.dxe5 Rad8 20.Qe2 Qg5 21.Kg2 a5 22.Nf3 Qh5 23.Ba3 Rfe8
{23...Rf7 Followed up by pawn g5 would retain Black's attacking chances.}
24.Rd4
{With Black's kingside attack having been repulsed, White directs his attention to the center.}
Nb8 25.Rfd1 Rxd4 26.Rxd4 fxg3 27.hxg3
{White stands better due to his more active pieces and better pawn structure.}
Qf7 28.Qe4 g6 29.Qb7 Bg7 30.c5
{This thrust creates further holes in Black's pawn structure.}
bxc5 31.Bxc5 Nd7 32.Qxc7 Nxe5 33.Qxf7+ Nxf7 34.Ra4 Bc3 35.Rc4
{35.Bd4 Also puts great pressure on Black's position.}
Bf6 36.Bb6 Ra8 37.Ra4 Bc3 38.Bd4 Bb4 39.a3 Bd6
{39...Be7 40.b4 Bd8 41.Bc3 Rc8 would put up more resistance.}
40.b4 Bc7 41.Bc3 Kf8 42.b5
{White creates a very strong passed pawn. 42.bxa5 was also good.}
Ke8 43.Rc4 Kd7 44.a4 Rc8 45.Nd2 Nd6 46.Rd4 Ke7 47.Rd3 Nb7 48.Ne4
{Black can offer little resistance to White's protected passed pawn and more active pieces.}
e5 49.Bb2 Bb6 50.Ba3+ Ke6 51.Ng5+ Kf5 52.Nxh7 e4 53.g4+
{53.Rd7 would have been more active.}
Kf4 54.Rd7 Rc7 55.Rxc7 Bxc7 56.Nf6 Bd8 57.Nd7 Kxg4 58.b6 Bg5 59.Nc5 Nxc5
60.Bxc5 Bf4 61.b7 Bb8 62.Be3 g5
{62...Kf5 63.Kh3 g5 64.Bd2 Ke6 65.Kg4 Kd7 66.Bxg5 Kc7 67.Bf4+ Kxb7 68.Bxb8 Kxb8 69.Kf5 with a won king and pawn ending for White.}
63.Bd2 Kf5 64.Kh3 Bd6 65.Bxa5 g4+ 66.Kg2
{Black resigned in view of White's queenside pawns.}
1-0
[Event "Poughkeepsie"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1963.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Fischer"]
[Black "Fine"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "33"]
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.b4 Bxb4 5.c3 Ba5 6.d4 exd4 7.O-O dxc3 8.Qb3
Qe7
{8...Qf6 is normal. Black's move uses the threat of a later ... Qb4 to get play, but Black's pieces just get in each others' way.}
9.Nxc3 Nf6 10.Nd5
{White forces Black to open the e file onto his own king, accentuating his lead in development.}
Nxd5 11.exd5 Ne5 12.Nxe5 Qxe5 13.Bb2
{White's lead in development is decisive, but the tactics Fischer uses to prove this are most instructive.}
Qg5 14.h4
{Deflecting the queen from g7. If Black doesn't White wins by doubling on the e file and mating on e7 or e8.}
Qxh4 15.Bxg7 Rg8 16.Rfe1+ Kd8 17.Qg3
{The second deflection of the queen, and this time there is no answer-- Black can't hold both his queen and the d8-h4 diagonal.}
1-0
[Event "World Championship"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1963.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Petrosian"]
[Black "Botvinnik"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "72"]
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 d5 4.Qb3 dxc4 5.Qxc4 Bg7 6.e4 O-O 7.Be2 Nc6 8.Nf3
Nd7 9.Be3 Nb6 10.Qc5
{10.Qd3 f5 With chances for both sides.}
Bg4 11.d5 Nd7 12.Qa3 Bxf3 13.Bxf3 Nd4 14.O-O-O Nxf3 15.gxf3 Nb6
{15...c6 Trying to open up lines to the White king is also possible.}
16.Qb3 Qd7 17.h4
{White starts his kingside attack.}
h5 18.f4 e6 19.dxe6 Qxe6 20.Qxe6 fxe6 21.Rhg1 Kh7 22.Nb5
{White stands better in the endgame because of his more active pieces.}
Rf7 23.Nd4 Re8
{23...Bxd4 24.Rxd4 Re8}
24.Nf3 Bh6 25.Ng5+ Bxg5 26.Rxg5 Nc4
{26...Nc8 would be more defensive.}
27.Rdg1
{27.f5 would unleash the energy out of the White pieces after exf5 28.exf5 Rxf5 29.Rd7+ Kh8 30.Bd4+ Ne5 31.f4 winning the knight.}
Rg8 28.Kc2
{With no danger of being mated the White king moves to a more active position.}
b6
{Black is wrong to place his queenside pawns on Black squares which the enemy bishop can attack. 28...Nd6 Bringing the knight back to defend the kingside.}
29.f3 a6
{With the idea of playing Rd7, Nf7 defending the kingside. While the queenside pawns would be safer on the light squares.}
30.b3 Nd6 {f3 Rd7} 31.R5g2
{Rdd8 a4 Nf7 Bc1}
e5
{Be3 exf4 Bxf4 Rd7}
32.Rd2
{Rxd2+ Kxd2}
Rd8
{Ke2 c5 a5 White has a big advantage due to his queenside initiative and passed e-pawn. Rd7 39... bxa5 40.Ra1 Rd7 41.Rxa5 Rb7 42.Rxc5 Rxb3 43.Rc7 winning material on the seventh rank . axb6 axb6}
33.Ra1 Kg7
{Ra6 Rb7 Ra8 Kf6 43...b5 44. Rc8 c4 45.b4 would leave Black helpless. Rc8 Ne5 Ke3 Nd7 Rc6+ Kf7}
34.fxe5
{White's passed pawn marches ahead. Nf8}
Rf6
{Kg7 Ke4 b5 Rc6 Kf7 Rxc5 With the winning of this pawn the rest is a matter of technique. Ne6}
35.Rd5
{Ke7 Be3}
Rb8 36.Rxd6
{b4 Ra6 Rb5 Ra7+ Ke8 f4}
Kf8
{f5 Black resigned because he is a pawn down with more losses on the way.}
1-0
[Event "US Championship"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1963.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Byrne,R"]
[Black "Fischer"]
[Result "0-1"]
[PlyCount "42"]
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.g3 c6 4.Bg2 d5 5.cxd5 cxd5 6.Nc3 Bg7 7.e3 O-O 8.Nge2
Nc6 9.O-O b6 10.b3 Ba6 11.Ba3 Re8 12.Qd2 e5
{Opening the center. Black's piece activity offsets the resulting isolani.}
13.dxe5 Nxe5 14.Rfd1
{The wrong Rook!}
Nd3 15.Qc2 Nxf2 16.Kxf2 Ng4+ 17.Kg1 Nxe3 18.Qd2 Nxg2
{A brilliant attack now ensues.}
19.Kxg2 d4 20.Nxd4 Bb7+ 21.Kf1
{There is a great story that accompanies this game. In a hall adjacent to the playing room, Grandmaster Rossolimo was commenting on the games for a large audience. He had been completely mystified by this game; at this point, in fact, he told his audience that there was obviously nothing left for Fischer to do but give up. Suddenly, the messenger came with the next report, and announced that Byrne had resigned! Can you guess Fischer's deadly final stroke?}
Qd7 0-1
[Event "Simultaneous Exhibition"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1964.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Fischer"]
[Black "Sugerman"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "23"]
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.b4 Bxb4 5.c3 Ba5 6.d4 exd4 7.O-O d6 8.Qb3
{In this standard line of the Evans Gambit White plays for pressure against f7 to compensate for his pawn.}
Bb6
{This loses--Black gives back the pawn for no reason and lets his king get pushed around.}
9.Bxf7+ Kf8 10.Bxg8 Rxg8 11.Ng5
{This double attack against f7 and h7 wins material.}
Ne5
{11...Qe8 12.Nxh7+ Ke7 13.Bg5+ Kd7}
12.Nxh7+
{Black loses a rook after 12... Ke8 13.Qxg8+ or his queen after 12...Ke7 13.Bg5+}
1-0
[Event "Simultaneous Exhibition"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1964.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Fischer"]
[Black "Boatner"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "19"]
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.b4 Bxb4 5.c3 Be7
{Black doesn't want to gain a tempo after 6.d4 as he would after 5...Bc5.}
6.d4 d6
{This is a mistake. Black should play 6...Na5 to neutralize White's bishop.}
7.Qb3
{White should play 7.dxe5. The text lets Black defend by 7...Na5, since 8. Bxf7+ is no good.}
Nh6 8.Bxh6
{Now 8...Na5 doesn't work as Black will come out a piece down.}
gxh6 9.Bxf7+ Kf8 10.Bh5
{Black can only stop the mate on f7 by 10...d5, when he will end up two pawns down with his king still exposed.}
1-0
[Event "Simultaneous Exhibition"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1964.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Fischer"]
[Black "Gloger"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "33"]
1.b4
{White grabs space on the queenside and prepares to fianchetto his bishop.}
e5 2.Bb2 f6
{Black blocks the bishop's diagonal but weakens his kingside.}
3.e4
{With Black having weakened his kingside White shifts into gambit mode and plays for attack.}
Bxb4 4.Bc4
{Now Black will be unable to castle.}
Ne7 5.Qh5+ Ng6
{5...g6 6.Qh4 leaves Black's knight awkwardly placed, but now the pin on the knight will become unpleasant.}
6.f4
{White offers another pawn to open his queen bishop's diagonal.}
exf4 7.Nf3
{Threatening to attack the pinned knight by 8.Nh4.}
Nc6 8.Nc3
{Now White threatens 9.Nh4 Ne7 10.Nd5.}
Bxc3 9.Bxc3 d6 10.Nh4 Nce7 11.Nf5 Kf8 12.O-O
{White threatens 13.Rxf4 followed by 14.Nxg7 and 15.Rxf6 or 15.Bxf6.}
Qe8
{This loses by cutting off a possible escape square for Black's king.}
13.Bxf6
{Black can't take the bishop because of 14.Qh6 mate.}
Bxf5 14.exf5 d5 15.fxg6 gxf6 16.Qh6+ Kg8 17.g7 1-0
[Event "Simultaneous Exhibition"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1964.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Fischer"]
[Black "Jones"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "15"]
1.e4 e5 2.f4 f6
{After this Black is almost lost.}
3.fxe5 Nc6
{3...fxe5 4.Qh5+ gives Black the unhappy choice of losing a rook after 4...g6 5. Qxe5+ or his king after 4...Ke7 5.Qxe5+ Kf7 6.Bc4+.}
4.d4 Be7 5.exf6 gxf6
{If 5...Nxf6 White plays 6.Bd3 threatening 7.e5 and 8.Qh5+.}
6.Qh5+ Kf8 7.Bc4 Qe8 8.Bh6+ 1-0
[Event "Simultaneous Exhibition"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1964.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Fischer"]
[Black "Kral"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "31"]
1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 dxe4 4.Nxe4 Nd7 5.Nf3 Ngf6 6.Nxf6+ Nxf6 7.Bd3 Be7
8.Qe2 O-O 9.Bg5 c5 10.dxc5 Qa5+ 11.c3 Qxc5 12.O-O-O
{Here Black makes a big mistake.}
b5
{Now there is a path to the rook at a8 on one diagonal, and a path to h7 on another diagonal. The diagonals intersect at e4. If the White queen occupies that square, we would have a double attack.}
13.Bxf6 Bxf6
{White to move and win.}
14.Qe4 g6 15.Qxa8 b4 16.c4 1-0
[Event "Simultaneous Exhibition"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1964.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Fischer"]
[Black "Chalker"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "21"]
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.d4 exd4 4.e5 Ne4 5.Qe2
{White tries to prove Black's knight is misplaced. 5...f5 or 5...would lose a pawn for shaky compensation.}
Bb4+
{If White interposes on d2 Black will take over the initiative; if he moves his king Black will have two exposed minor pieces.}
6.Kd1
{Now that W hite's king is stuck in the center Black show sacrifice a pawn by 6...d5 7. exd6 f5, with complications.}
Nc5
{By cutting his bishop off from the kingside Black lets his queen get trapped.}
7.Bg5 d3
{Black's best try, keeping White's queen out of c4, but not good enough.}
8.cxd3 f6 9.exf6+ Kf7 10.Ne5+ Ke6 11.Nc6+ 1-0
[Event "Houston (simul)"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1964.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Fischer"]
[Black "Chaney"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "17"]
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 f5
{Black opens up his kingside while he's behind in development, a formula for an early demise.}
4.dxe5 fxe4 5.Ng5
{Threatening Black's e-pawn and preventing 5...dxe5.}
d5 6.Nc3
{This develops a piece with gain of tempo.}
Ne7
{Blocking in his whole kingside.}
7.e6
{This wins at least the exchange, since Black can't do anything to keep the knight out of f7.}
Ng6 8.Nf7 Qf6 9.Nxh8
{Black has no appetite for 9...Nxh8 10.Nxd5, when he must lose at least another exchange. Play this out against Gambit if you don't see why.}
1-0
[Event "Moscow"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1964.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Spassky"]
[Black "Korchnoi"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "47"]
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 b6 4.g3 Bb7 5.Bg2 Be7 6.O-O O-O 7.Nc3
{This is th e normal starting position of the Classical lines of the Queen's Indian Defense. Usually Black plays 7...Ne4 here, after which the knight can be supported by an advance of the f-pawn.}
d5
{This move has always had a bad reputation because the pawn at d5 becomes a target and White can unleash the power of the bishop at g2 by playing Ne5.}
8.cxd5 exd5 9.Ne5
{White's forces are better placed.}
Qc8
{The idea is to defend the bishop at b7.}
10.Bg5 Qe6
{Now the queen guards the minor pieces on the kingside. But Her Majesty is ill-suited to the role of a chaperone!}
11.Rc1 c5
{Black takes advantage of the fact that the pawn on d4 must remain in place to guard the knight at e5. But White has a very powerful reply.}
12.Nd3
{The knight threatens a fork at f4, attacking pieces at d5 and e6. Right now it doesn't seem so dangerous, but Spassky will quickly eliminate the support of that square.}
cxd4 13.Bxf6 Bxf6
{Now White has a combination which wins the game.}
14.Nxd5
{The threats are Nc7 and Nxf6+, so Black must capture.}
Bxd5 15.Nf4
{This fork is the heart of the combination.}
Qd6 16.Nxd5
{There are still tremendous threats at c7 and f6!}
Bg5
{16...Bd8 17.Nf4 Nc6 18.Rxc6}
17.f4 Bd8 18.Nc3
{This is made possible by the fact that the pawn at d4 is pinned.}
Na6
{18...Qc5 19.Na4}
19.Bxa8
{The rest is easy.}
Qb8 20.Nd5 Qxa8 21.Qxd4 Nc5 22.b4 Ne6 23.Qd3 Re8 24.e4 1-0
[Event "Simultaneous Exhibition"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1964.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Fischer"]
[Black "Nyman"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "31"]
1.e4 e5 2.f4 exf4 3.Bc4 d5 4.Bxd5 Nf6 5.Nc3 Bb4 6.Nf3 O-O 7.O-O Bxc3 8.dxc3
c6 9.Bc4 Qb6+
{Black should trade queens and live with a slight disadvantage after White takes on f4.}
10.Kh1 Nxe4 11.Qe1 Re8 12.Bxf4 Nd6 13.Bxd6 Rxe1 14.Raxe1
{For his queen White has a huge lead in development and threats against f7. Now 14...Be6 would lose to 15 Ng5.}
Bd7 15.Ng5 Na6 16.Rxf7
{After 16...Kh8, the only defense to the threatened discovered check, White takes the bishop and will mate by Nf7+.}
1-0
[Event "Tel Aviv Olympiad"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1964.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Smyslov"]
[Black "Ader"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "55"]
1.Nf3 Nf6 2.g3 g6 3.b4
{This idea dates back to Reti himself, who used against no less a player than Capablanca! White will combine pressure along the a1-h8 diagonal with a rapid queenside advance, but Black can obtain play against the b- pawn.}
Bg7 4.Bb2 O-O 5.Bg2 c6 6.c4 d5
{The main alt ernative to this is to adopt a King's Indian formation based on d7-d6 and e7-e5.}
7.Na3
{The best square for the knight. On a3 it reinforces the queenside and does not obstruct the path of the Bb2.}
a5 8.b5 dxc4
{This creates targets on the queenside. 8...Bg4! is stronger.}
9.bxc6 Nxc6 10.Nxc4 Be6
{Black is weak on the b-file and b6 may become an outpost for White's pieces; White has a latent central pawn majority; his Bb2 is extremely powerful, yet if Black exchanges it for the Bg7 then the king will be in danger.}
11.Nce5 Nxe5 12.Bxe5 Qd7 13.O-O Rfc8 14.Qb1 Bd5 15.d3 Qa4
{Pointless. Black should employ his one remaining asset and play 15...b5.}
16.e4 Bc6 17.Re1 Nd7 18.Bxg7 Kxg7 19.Qb2+ Kg8 20.Rab1 Rc7 21.d4 Nf8 22.d5
{White's restrained pawns now conquer the centre and Black is crushed by a three-pronged attack.}
Be8 23.e5 Rac8 24.d6 Rd7 25.Ng5 Rc2 26.Qb6 f6 27.Bd5+ Kg7 28.dxe7 1-0
[Event "Havana"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1965.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Pietzsch"]
[Black "Fischer"]
[Result "0-1"]
[PlyCount "48"]
1.Nf3 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.g3 Bg7 4.Bg2 O-O 5.O-O d6 6.d4 Nbd7 7.Nc3 e5 8.dxe5
dxe5 9.Qc2 c6 10.Rd1 Qe7 11.Ng5
{This just loses time. The night can't stay on e4, so it should stick to f3.}
Ne8
{Now if either knight moves to e4, then ...f5 is strong, so Pietzsch tries something else, but he soon finds the position opening up to his disadvantage.}
12.e4 Nc7
{Eyeing the new weakness on d4.}
13.Be3
{The bishop is now a target for f7-f5-f4.}
h6 14.Nf3 Ne6 15.Rab1
{Hoping to get something on the queenside, but this is too slow. Black gets the initiative right away on the kingside, since he can gain time attacking White's pieces.}
f5 16.Nh4
{Since White can't follow up with f4 due to the weakness of the f file, this just misplaces another piece. Pietzsch hopes to get light square play, but just misplaces another piece.}
Qf7 17.exf5 gxf5 18.Bh3
{Another potential target. Fischer now hits all White's pieces with tempo, and it's no surprise that in the end something must drop.}
f4
{This does weaken the light squares, but such considerations are of lesser importance than king safety, which White lacks.}
19.Qg6
{White must have thought this move got him out of trouble, but punishment is swift.}
Ng5
{The winning move. White has too many pieces hanging.}
20.Bxd7 Bxd7 21.Qxf7+ Rxf7 22.gxf4
{Otherwise Black will trade on g3 and penetrate to f2.}
exf4 23.Bd4 Bg4 24.Rd2 Rd7 0-1
[Event "Moscow"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1966.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Botvinnik"]
[Black "Keres"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "59"]
1.c4 Nf6 2.Nc3 e5 3.Nf3 Nc6 4.g3 Bc5 5.Nxe5 Bxf2+ 6.Kxf2 Nxe5 7.e4 c5 8.d3
d6 9.h3 h5 10.Be2 Nh7 11.Kg2 h4 12.g4 Ng5 13.Be3 Bd7 14.Qd2 Ne6 15.b4 b6
16.Rab1 Bc6 17.Rhf1 Bb7 18.Kg1 Nc6 19.Nd5 Ncd4 20.Bd1 f6 21.Kh2 Bc6 22.a4
a5 23.bxa5 bxa5 24.Qf2 Ra7
{To get into the Black fortress, White must do something about the barrier at f6 and g7.}
25.g5 O-O
{Black seems to have castled to safety, but in fact White will now slam the door shut and trap the enemy king.}
26.g6 f5
{This defends the pawn at h4 by opening up a diagonal for the Black queen. Botvinnik realizes that if he can win the pawn and bring the queen to the h-file, then that will wrap things up. But how to deflect the queen?}
27.Rb8
{Black resigned, because the queen must leave the diagonal, since the knight at d5 controls e7 and f6, and the bishop at e3 controls g5. And when the queen moves, Black's defense collapses.}
Qxb8 28.Qxh4 Rc8 29.Qh7+ Kf8 30.Qh8# 1-0
[Event "Kislovodsk"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1966.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Tal"]
[Black "Hamann"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "33"]
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 a6 5.Nc3 Qc7 6.Be2 Nf6 7.O-O Bb4
{A risky line. The dark-squared bishop usually belongs at e7 in the Sicilian Defense so that it can help with the defense.}
8.Bg5 Bxc3 9.Bxf6
{An intermed iate move which disrupts Black's kingside structure, already weakened by the absence of the bishop.}
gxf6 10.bxc3 Qxc3 11.Rb1 Nc6 12.Nxc6 dxc6 13.Rb3 Qc5 14.Qd2
{White threatens to play Rd1. Black is so worried about an infiltration at h6 that he misses the main point.}
h5 15.Rd1 Ke7 16.Rd3 Qb6
{The domination of the open file by White is enough to guarantee a quick kill.}
17.e5
{Black resigned. If you are not sure why, then play out the position as Black against Gambit and see what happens.}
1-0
[Event "Amsterdam"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1966.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Botvinnik"]
[Black "Robatsch"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "55"]
1.c4 Nf6 2.Nc3 e6 3.d4 d5 4.cxd5 exd5 5.Bg5 c6 6.e3 Be7 7.Qc2 O-O
{7...Ne4 8.Bxe7 Qxe7 9.Nxd5}
8.Bd3 Nbd7 9.Nf3 Re8 10.O-O Nf8
{A typical maneuver in the Exchange Variation of the Queen's Gambit.}
11.Rae1 Ne4 12.Bxe7 Qxe7 13.Bxe4 dxe4 14.Nd2
{Black is now faced with a difficult, but hardly new, choice. 14...f5 was known to be bad, but after an hour's thought he chose a move which was no better.}
b6
{The threat is Ba6.}
15.Qa4 f5 16.f3 exf3 17.Nxf3 Bb7 18.Ne5
{This knight is more powerful than both of Black's minor pieces! White's future plans involve getting the pawn at f5 out of the way so that the rook can infiltrate on the seventh rank.}
Qe6 19.Qc2 Bc8 20.e4 Qd6 21.Rd1 Ne6 22.Qb3
{Now there is the serious threat of 23.exf5, so Black must open up the line.}
fxe4 23.Rf7 a5
{This is a very complicated position, as can bee seen in the variations 23...Ng5 24.Nxe4 Nxe4 25.Rf8+ Kxf8 26.Qf7++, 23...Nxd4 24.Rf8+ Kxf8 25.Qf7++ , 23...Rf8 24.Rxf8+ Kxf8 25.Nxe4 Qd5 26.Qf3+ and finally 23...e3 24.Ne4 Qd5 25.Qxe3 Nxd4 26.Nf6+ gxf6 27.Qg3+ Bg4 28.Qxg4+ Kh8 29.Qg7+}
24.Nxe4
{Here Black resigned. Do you see what happens on 24...Qd5? If not, challenge Gambit with the game because it is very entertaining!}
Qd5 25.Rxg7+ Kxg7
{25...Nxg7 26.Nf6+ Kh8 27.Qxd5 cxd5 28.Nf7++}
26.Qg3+ Kf8 27.Rf1+ Ke7 28.Qh4+ 1-0
[Event "Havana Olympiad"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1966.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Fischer"]
[Black "Gligoric"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "49"]
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Bxc6 dxc6 5.O-O
{White gains a tempo by threatening to win Black's e-pawn.}
f6 6.d4 Bg4 7.c3
{White offers a pawn to maintain his initiative after:}
exd4
{Black falls in with White's plans. He should play to hold e5 by 7...Bd6.}
8.cxd4
{The establishment of the pawn center (e4, e4) is the primary goal of many opening strategies. It limits the mobility of the enemy forces, and either pawn can advance with good effect.}
Qd7
{Black hopes to pressure White's d-pawn, but he has missed a tactic which will keep a strong initiative for White.}
9.h3 Be6
{It is no better to win White's d-pawn now than before. 9...Bh5 10.Ne5 Bxd1 11.Nxd7 Kxd7 12.Rxd1 leads to a good endgame for White.}
10.Nc3
{But now White's strong center will give him an attack whichever way Black castles.}
O-O-O 11.Bf4
{Now White will get an attack against Black's king, but waiting in the center wouldn't have worked because White could open things up by 11.d5.}
Ne7
{The losing move, as now he doesn't have time to keep White's knight out of his king position. 11... Bd6, trying to blunt White's bishop, was the best chance.}
12.Rc1 Ng6 13.Bg3 Bd6 14.Na4 Bxg3
{Now Black will have no way to dislodge White's knight from c5, making the attack a straightforward rout. He should have tried 14... Kb8. 14...Rhe8 15.d5 cxd5 16.Nb6+}
15.fxg3 Kb8 16.Nc5 Qd6 17.Qa4 Ka7
{Completely missing White's next move. He could have tried to hang on by 17... Bc8 18.Rc3 Nf8 although White's attack should win in the end.}
18.Nxa6 Bxh3
{Desperation. Try to find a clear win for White in all lines after 18... bxa6 19.Rxc6.}
19.e5
{Cutting Black's queen off from g3, which was Black's final, desparate hope.}
Nxe5 20.dxe5 fxe5 21.Nc5+ Kb8 22.gxh3 e4 23.Nxe4 Qe7 24.Rc3 b5 25.Qc2 1-0
[Event "Havana Olympiad"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1966.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Soruco Garcia"]
[Black "Fischer"]
[Result "0-1"]
[PlyCount "42"]
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Bc4 e6 7.Bb3 b5 8.a3
{The beginning of some very passive play by White.}
Be7 9.Be3 O-O 10.O-O Bb7 11.f3
{White worries about the weakness of his e-pawn, but Black takes over the initiative after this.}
Nbd7 12.Qd2 Ne5 13.Qf2 Qc7 14.Rac1 Kh8
{With White unable to do anything anywhere on the board Black prepares to take the initiative on the kingside as well.}
15.Nce2 Rg8 16.Kh1
{Getting off of the g-file in case Black forces it open, but moving onto the diagonal of Black's queen bishop.}
g5 17.h3
{White doesn't want to allow ...g4 when his e-pawn will become hopelessly weak and Black will have an attack on his king as well, but now the dark squares around White's king are weak.}
Rg6 18.Ng3 Rag8 19.Nxe6
{White sees ...h5, ...Rh6 and ...g4 coming and panics, but it is hard to see what he could have done. to stop Black's attack.}
fxe6 20.Bxe6 Nxe4
{This discovered attack on White's bishop ends White's hope of counterattack.}
21.Nxe4 Rxe6
{White has nothing for his piece and Black is ready to resume his attack.}
0-1
[Event "Soviet Union"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1966.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Petrosian"]
[Black "Zaitsev"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "45"]
1.c4 Nf6 2.Nc3 g6 3.e4 d6 4.d4 Bg7 5.Be2 O-O 6.Nf3 e5 7.d5 Nh5 8.g3
{Played with the idea of stopping Black's intended 8...Nf4}
f5 9.exf5 Qf6
{9...gxf5 9...gxf5 would drop a pawn after 10.Nxe5 dxe5 11.Bxh5}
10.Ng5
{A very strong move whose purpose is two-fold. First, White is threatening to win a pawn with 11. Bxh5 gxh5 12. Qxh5. Secondly, The knight is looking to penetrate the Black camp at e6.}
Qxf5 11.O-O Nf6 12.Bd3 Qg4 13.Be2 Qf5 14.f3 Bh6 15.Bd3 Qd7 16.Ne6
{White has a big advantage due to his powerful knight on e6 and Black's undeveloped queenside.}
Bxc1 17.Qxc1
{17.Nxf8 Be3+ 18.Kh1 Kxf8 when Black stands better due to his materialadvantage of two pieces for the rook.}
Rf7 18.f4
{With Black's queenside out of the game White wastes no time on his kingside attack. The remainder of the game is pretty much forced.}
exf4 19.Qxf4 Nxd5
{Perhaps Black hoped that White would not notice either of the attacks on his queen.}
20.Qxf7+ Qxf7 21.Rxf7 Bxe6 22.Nxd5 Bxd5 23.Rxc7
{Black resigned due to his material deficit.}
1-0
[Event "Havana Olympiad"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1966.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Petrosian"]
[Black "Johansson"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "49"]
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Be2 e6 7.f4 Nc6 8.Be3
Qc7 9.O-O Bd7 10.Nb3 b5
{A typical position in the Sicilian Defense. Black attacks on the queenside and White operates on the kingside and in the center.}
11.a3 Be7 12.Rf2 b4 13.axb4
{13.Na4 Nxe4 14.Nb6 Rb8 15.Rf3 Rxb6 16.Bxb6 Qxb6+ 17.Kh1 Nf2+ 18.Rxf2 Qxf2}
Nxb4 14.Bf3 Rc8
{Black continues to ignore the safety of the king.}
15.g4 h6
{This pawn thrust just gives White a target to attack. Better was O-O.}
16.g5 hxg5 17.fxg5 Nh7 18.Qd2 Nf8
{Black's pieces lack coordination due to his king being stuck in the center.}
19.Qd4
{The double attack on Black's knight and g-pawn nets White material.}
Nc6 20.Qxg7 Rh7 21.Qg8 Ne5 22.Be2 Bc6 23.Rxa6
{White has the initiative on the whole board.}
Rd8
{Now White wins with a nice combination.}
24.Rxc6
{This exchange sacrifice ends the game quickly.}
Nxc6 25.Bb5
{Black resig ned as he has no good response to White's many threats. If you don't see the threats try defending against Gambit.}
1-0
[Event "Amsterdam"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1966.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Szabo"]
[Black "Botvinnik"]
[Result "0-1"]
[PlyCount "62"]
1.c4 c5 2.Nc3 g6 3.Nf3 Bg7 4.d4 cxd4 5.Nxd4 Nc6 6.Nc2 d6 7.e4 Nh6 8.h4
{when Black places a knight at f6 and has fianchettoed the bishop at g7, then this is usually the appropriate strategy.}
f5 9.h5 fxe4 10.hxg6
{But this is overambitious. White should simply have recaptured at e4.}
hxg6 11.Nxe4 Bf5
{Black is way ahead in development and continues to bring his forces into the game quickly.}
12.Nc3 Qa5 13.Bd2 Qe5+ 14.Ne3 O-O-O 15.Qa4
{Black has completed development, and White has not, so it is time for the action to begin.}
Ng4 16.Rxh8 Rxh8 17.Qb5
{White wants to reduce the pressure by exchanging queens but Botvinnik will not cooperate.}
Qf4 18.Ncd1 Nd4 19.Qa5 Rh1 20.Rc1 Ne5
{The threat is Nd3++.}
21.Qc7+ Kxc7 22.Nd5+ Kd7 23.Nxf4 g5
{The queens may be gone, but the attack continues unabated. Black resigned. Here is one reason why:}
24.Be3 gxf4 25.Bxd4 Nd3+ 26.Kd2 Nxc1 27.Bxg7 Rxf1 28.Kxc1 e5 29.Kd2 Bg4
30.f3 Be6 31.b3 Rg1 0-1
[Event "Moscow"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1967.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Spassky"]
[Black "Bilek"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "55"]
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 Nc6 6.Bg5
{This is known as the Richter-Rauzer Attack, a line which has been seen a lot at the highest levels of play but for some reason is not seen much in the amateur ranks. It leads to a complex game.}
Bd7
{The normal move is 3...e6. The bishop move has become known as the Modern Variation.}
7.Qd2 a6
{More consistent is 7...Rc8. There is no need to advance the a-pawn early in this line.}
8.O-O-O Rc8 9.f4 h6 10.Bxf6 gxf6 11.Be2 h5
{The idea here is to provide a square for the bishop at h6. Notice how cramped the Black king is. The monarch must remain in the center, since both flanks have crippled pawn structures.}
12.Kb1
{To avoid any nasty pins on the c1-h6 diagonal.}
e6 13.Rhf1
{Despite the fact that there are pawns at f6 and f7, Spassky realizes that the f-file will play an important role in the attack.}
b5
{Black tries to get something going on the opposite wing.}
14.Nxc6 Rxc6 15.Bf3
{There is the treat of a discovered attack with 16.e5.}
Rc5 16.f5 Qa5
{Other plans on the queenside might have been more effective, such as 16... b4 or 16...Qc7. But perhaps best was 16...Re5, which Bilek might have played had he seen what was coming! 16...exf5 17.Nd5 And the knight is so powerful that Black is actually lost. If you don't believe me, try playing the position again.}
17.fxe6 fxe6
{Now how does White make progress? The answer is stunning.}
18.e5
{This pawn wa lks onto the most heavily guarded square on the board! But Black cannot afford to open either the d-file or the f-file, so the capture must be made by the rook.}
Rxe5
{18...fxe5 19.Qg5}
19.Qf4 Rf5
{19...Be7 20.Ne4}
20.Qg3 Rg5
{20...Kf7 This would have been a more effective way of guarding against the check at g6, but it has other drawbacks: 21.Ne4 d5 22.Qb8 dxe4 23. Rxd7+ Kg8 24.Qe8 Rh7 25.Qxe6+ Kh8 26.Rxh7+ Kxh7 27.Qxf5+}
21.Qh4 d5
{Otherwise 22.Ne4 would be a crusher! Now White demolishes the defensive barrier with an effective sacrifice.}
22.Bxd5 exd5 23.Rxf6
{The new threats are Qxg5 and Nxd5.}
Rhg8 24.Nxd5 Bg4
{Now Spassky finishes elegantly. Do you see how? This is a very enjoyable position (for Spassky).}
25.Rxf8+
{Black resigned. The exposed king is soon checkmated.}
Kxf8
{25...Rxf8 26.Qxg5 Rf7 27.Qe5+ Kd8 28.Nb6+ Bd7 29.Qb8+ Ke7 30.Rxd7+ Kf6 31.Qf4+ etc.}
26.Rf1+ Ke8 27.Nf6+ Kd8 28.Nxg8
{and the rook falls, after which the White pieces will easily checkmate the Black king.}
1-0
[Event "Groningen"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1967.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Hostalet Ferrer"]
[Black "Karpov"]
[Result "0-1"]
[PlyCount "34"]
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Qc2 c5 5.e3
{This passive reply doesn't mix well with White's last.}
O-O 6.a3 Bxc3+ 7.Qxc3 Nc6 8.Bd3
{To prevent ...Ne4, but now White will lose a tempo after an eventual ...dxc4.}
cxd4 9.exd4 d5 10.Ne2 dxc4 11.Bxc4 e5
{Karpov takes the initiative violently. Now 12.dxe5 Ne4 followed by 13...Qa5+ and ...Q or Nxe5 will embarrass White's king and queen.}
12.Be3 Ne4 13.Qb3 Qa5+ 14.Kf1
{Forced: if 14.Kd1 exd4 15.Nxd4 Rd8 or 14.Nc3 exd4.}
Nxd4
{With White down covering the fork on d2, Karpov jumps in and eliminates a key defensive piece.}
15.Nxd4 exd4 16.f3
{This gets it over with, but White was trashed anyway, e.g. 16.Bc1 Be6 17.Bxe6 fxe6 18.Qxe6+ Kh8 and Black's rooks will join the party.}
dxe3 17.fxe4 Qd2
{White may not be immediately mated after 18.Be2, but Black can play moves like ...Be6, Qa5 and f5 and wine without much resistance.}
0-1
[Event "Sousse Interzonal"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1967.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Byrne,D"]
[Black "Fischer"]
[Result "0-1"]
[PlyCount "56"]
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Bc4 e6 7.Bb3 b5 8.f4 Bb7
9.f5 e5 10.Nde2 Nbd7 11.Bg5 Be7 12.Ng3 Rc8 13.O-O
{Now White's king becomes a target. He had to play 13.Nh5 to keep equality.}
h5
{This sharp rim shot sets the theme for the rest of the game: Fischer snipes alternately against the White king and e pawn, and his initiative snowballs.}
14.h4 b4
{Now White must either give up a pawn or allow the h file to be opened.}
15.Bxf6 Bxf6 16.Nd5 Bxh4 17.Nxh5 Qg5
{Bringing the heavy artillery to bear against White's king in a wonderfully unorthodox manner.}
18.f6
{A desperate attempt to get play, but after Black's next move, White's knight becomes irrelevant.}
g6 19.Ng7+ Kd8 20.Rf3 Bg3
{Black's threats on the h file are now decisive.}
21.Qd3 Bh2+ 22.Kf1 Nc5 23.Rh3 Rh4 24.Qf3 Nxb3 25.axb3 Rxh3 26.Qxh3 Bxd5
27.exd5 Qxf6+ 28.Ke1 Qf4 0-1
[Event "Skopje"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1967.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Fischer"]
[Black "Dely"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "33"]
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 Nc6 6.Bc4 e6 7.Bb3 a6 8.f4
Qa5
{The queen isn't really doing anything here and Black's king will soon feel the heat. Black should just play 8...Be7.}
9.O-O Nxd4 10.Qxd4 d5
{The point of Black's eighth move. He threatens 11...Bc5, but White has no trouble preventing that and Black is inviting White to open the center while his king still lives there.}
11.Be3 Nxe4
{This makes things really bad, opening the d-file and wasting more time.}
12.Nxe4 dxe4 13.f5
{White plays to open more lines, espescially the a2-g8 diagonal and the f- file.}
Qb4
{Hoping to ease the pressure by exchanging, but White doesn't have to agree to this.}
14.fxe6 Bxe6
{14...Qxd4 15.exf7+ Kd8 16.Bxd4 The threat to take on g7 freezes Black's kingside and White will simply bring his rooks to the e}
15.Bxe6 fxe6
{15...Qxd4 16.Bxf7+ And White comes out a piece ahead.}
16.Rxf8+
{White forces Black's queen back in order to penetrate with his own queen.}
Qxf8 17.Qa4+
{Black resigned here. 17...Ke7 and 17...Kf7 lose the queen, and 17...Kd8 gets mated after 18.Rd1+ and 19.Qd7+, as you can confirm with Gambit.}
1-0
[Event "Skopje"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1967.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Fischer"]
[Black "Sofrevsky"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "37"]
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 Nc6 6.Bc4 e6 7.Bb3 Be7 8.Be3
O-O 9.Qe2
{Fischer has always enjoyed playing the White side of this opening, known as the Velimirovic Attack in the Sicilian Defense.}
Qa5 10.O-O-O Nxd4 11.Bxd4 Bd7 12.Kb1 Rad8 13.Qe3 b6 14.Bxf6 gxf6
{Black's ki ng is completely undefended, but White does not have much in the way of an attack. The Black queen can transfer to the kingside and help in the defense. Fischer eliminates that possibility with a brilliant stroke.}
15.Nd5 Rfe8
{Black has to decline the sacrifice, otherwise White's rook joins the queen in the attack, while Black's queen is forced out of the way. 15...exd5 16.Rxd5 Qa6 17.Rh5 Bg4 18.Qg3 Qe2 19.f3 f5 20.h3}
16.Nxe7+ Rxe7 17.Rxd6
{So, White does not get the desired attack, but gains material instead.}
Rc8 18.Qd4
{This is a double attack on the bishop at d7 and pawn at f6, earning White even more material.}
Be8 19.Qxf6
{Black now resigned, as Fischer threatened a big sacrifice at e6. Try playing 19...Rec7 against Gambit and see what he does!}
1-0
[Event "Sochi"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1967.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Spassky"]
[Black "Langeweg"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "57"]
1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 d5 3.c4 e6 4.Nc3 c5 5.cxd5 Nxd5 6.e3 Nc6 7.Bc4 cxd4 8.exd4
Nxc3 9.bxc3 Be7 10.O-O O-O 11.Bd3 b6 12.Qe2 Bb7 13.Bb2 Qd5 14.c4 Qh5 15.Be4
Rfe8 16.Rfd1 Na5 17.Bxb7 Nxb7 18.Rac1 Bf8 19.Rc3 Rec8 20.d5 Nc5 21.Re3
exd5 22.Rxd5 Qh6 23.Nd4 Na4
{Black's forces are offside and White has a huge army ready to do battle against the enemy king.}
24.Nf5
{Not only does this attack the queen, but it also unleashes the power of the bishop at b2. Black does not have time to capture it, because he must save the queen.}
Qc6
{Now the king is almost completely without defenders, so the sacrifices begin.}
25.Bxg7
{Obviously the bishop cannot be captured because then Ne7+ would win the queen.}
Qxd5
{Black hopes that White will capture the queen, allowing the saving move 26...Rc1+. But White has a much stronger option.}
26.Nh6+
{Now Black has no choice, there is only one legal move.}
Kxg7 27.Qg4+
{and here Black resigned, because 27...Kh8 allows 28.Qg8 mate, while capturing the knight is no better:}
Kxh6 28.Rh3+ Qh5 29.Rxh5# 1-0
[Event "Soviet Union"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1967.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Smyslov"]
[Black "Simagin"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "71"]
1.Nf3 g6 2.d4 Bg7 3.e4 a6
{An unusual plan, playing on both wings. The normal move is 3...d6, while the move 3...c5!? is also popular.}
4.Bd3 d6 5.O-O
{Now Black could transpose to a Pirc with 5...Nf6 but Simagin prefers a more original plan of development.}
Bg4 6.c3 Nd7 7.Nbd2 e6 8.Qb3 Bxf3 9.Nxf3 Rb8
{Simagin seems inspired by Chigorin, who often moved his rook to b8 in support of the pawn.}
10.Bg5 Ne7 11.Rad1 O-O 12.Rfe1
{Both sides ve completed their development, and White's pieces are better placed. But now Black weakens his kingside, allowing a central counterattack.}
h6 13.Bf4 g5 14.Bg3 Ng6 15.e5
{I have played these sorts of formations for Black and always find the advance of the e-pawn an effective method of undermining my position. In the present game Black suffers even more because he has not gained space on the queenside.}
d5 16.Qc2 Nf4
{16...Qe8 17.h4 g4 18.Nh2 h5 19.f3 gxf3 20.Nxf3 would allow White to build a strong attack on the f-file, using g5 for the knight.}
17.Bxf4 gxf4
{White must now develop a plan. Smyslov anticipates that Black will have to advance his f-pawn in order defend the pawn at f4. That will weaken the pawn at e6, so doubling rooks on the e-file is called for.}
18.Re2 c5 19.Qd2 f6
{The only way to avoid dropping the pawn at f4.}
20.exf6 Qxf6 21.Rde1 Rbe8
{Now there is a weak diagonal to be exploited.}
22.Bb1 cxd4 23.cxd4 Rf7 24.Qc2 Rfe7 25.Qh7+ Kf8 26.Bg6 Rc8
{White's attack cannot achieve much since it involves only two pieces. But the Black pieces are so tied down that White has time to extricate the queen.}
27.h4 Rc6 28.h5
{The point of the last two moves becomes clear if one mentally removes the pawn at e6. If White had not done this, Black could have complicated matters with e6-e5!}
Rc4 29.Bd3
{White tries to get the rook to leave the c-file, so that it can be used as an expressway to the 8th rank.}
Rc6 30.Bg6 Rc4
{Obviously Smyslov has to come up with a better plan. He does so with a very clever and unexpected move. Since the bishop is not effective in attacking the rook from d3, Smyslov creates another possibility ata2!}
31.a3 Rc6 32.Bb1 Bh8
{32...Rc4?! 33.Ba2 Rc6 34.Bxd5! exd5 35.Rxe7 Qxe7 36.Rxe7 Kxe7 37.Qxg7+}
33.Qd3
{Finally! Now Black has to keep an eye on h4, otherwise White will play Nh4-g6.}
Rg7
{The rooks has finally abandoned the c-file, and White uses it to bring the queen in to deliver the final blow.}
34.Qb3 Rb6
{White has fin ally succeeded in driving the rook from the c-file, and now the queen rushes in to end the game.}
35.Qc3 Rg8
{35...Rc6 36.Qb4+ Kg8 37.Qxb7}
36.Qc8+ 1-0
[Event "Monaco"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1968.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Botvinnik"]
[Black "Portisch"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "51"]
1.c4 e5 2.Nc3 Nf6 3.g3 d5 4.cxd5 Nxd5 5.Bg2 Be6 6.Nf3 Nc6 7.O-O Nb6
{This move is directed toward preventing White from playing d2-d4, but Botvinnik had been here before, against Flohr.}
8.d3 Be7 9.a3 a5 10.Be3 O-O 11.Na4 Nxa4
{11...Nd4 would have been better, controlling the c2-square. The e- pawn is taboo because of the infiltration on the light squares.}
12.Qxa4
{White's pieces are more actively placed, and he has achieved an excellent "reversed Sicilian" position.}
Bd5 13.Rfc1 Re8 14.Rc2
{Botvinnik noted that this was the most difficult move of the game to find.}
Bf8
{14...b5?! looks tempting, but in fact the pawn can be safely consumed, e.g., 15.Qxb5 Rb8 16.Qa4 Nd4 17.Nxd4 exd4 18.Bxd5 dxe3 19.B}
15.Rac1 Nb8
{15...e4 16.dxe4 Bxe4 17.Rd2 would have been wiser, even though White would gain control of the d-file.}
16.Rxc7 Bc6
{Now it looks as though White must play 17.R7xc6, but in fact there is a much stronger plan.}
17.R1xc6
{17.R7xc6 Nxc6 Black stands better.}
bxc6
{17...Nxc6 18.Rxb7}
18.Rxf7
{The decisive move, because the light-squares belong to White. The Bg2 will awaken and join the invading forces.}
h6
{18...Kxf7? would lead to a quick kill after 19.Qc4+.}
19.Rb7 Qc8 20.Qc4+ Kh8
{20...Qe6 21.Nxe5 Qxc4 22.Nxc4 leaves White with an overwhelming advantage, since he can pick off the queenside pawns at will. Now White has a fine combination. Do you see it?}
21.Nh4
{A fresh sacrificial offering of a rook buys time for the bishop to enter the game.}
Qxb7 22.Ng6+ Kh7 23.Be4 Bd6
{Otherwise 24.Ne7+ and 25.Qg8++.}
24.Nxe5+ g6 25.Bxg6+ Kg7 26.Bxh6+
{Eliminating the final obstacle. 26.Bxh6+ Kxh6 27.Qh4+ Kg7 28.Qh7+ Kf6 29.Ng4+ Ke6 30.Qxb7}
1-0
[Event "Riga"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1968.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Sangla"]
[Black "Karpov"]
[Result "0-1"]
[PlyCount "22"]
1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 e6 3.Bg5 c5 4.c3 cxd4 5.cxd4 Qb6 6.Qb3 Ne4 7.Bf4 Nc6 8.e3
{This move cuts off the bishop at f4 from the defense of the d2- square.}
Bb4+ 9.Nbd2
{This knight is now pinned, fatally. 9.Nfd2 would have been wiser. The point is that in either case one of the knights will be at d2.}
g5
{This pawn cannot be ignored, because it will advance to g4, driving away the knight at f3, and when it leaves, the knight at d2 doesn't have enough protection.}
10.Bxg5 Bxd2+ 11.Nxd2
{Forced, because the king cannot capture because the bishop is protected by the knight at e4.}
Qa5
{Black renews the pin at d2, and also attacks the bishop at g5. White must lose at least one of his pieces, so resignation is justified.}
0-1
[Event "Netanya"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1968.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Bernstein"]
[Black "Fischer"]
[Result "0-1"]
[PlyCount "50"]
1.e4 c5 2.Nc3 d6 3.g3 Nc6 4.Bg2 g6 5.d3 Bg7 6.f4 b6
{Black waits to commit his king knight in order not to give White a kingside target.}
7.Nf3 Bb7 8.O-O Qd7 9.Be3 f5
{In one stoke Black prevents White from getting play by f5, prepares to pile up on White's e-pawn and enhances his queen bishops diagonal.}
10.Qd2 Nf6 11.Kh1
{To save his queen bishop from 11...Ng4.}
O-O-O 12.Rae1
{White tries to play in the center where he has no real object of attack. He should have gone after Black's king with 12.a3 intending to follow up with b4.}
Kb8 13.Bg1
{Losing. White pursues his imaginary play on the e-file completely oblivious to how tangled his pieces are becoming on the kingside.}
fxe4 14.dxe4
{14.Nxe4 is no better.}
Ba6
{Black wins the exchange for nothing, since 15.Rf2 doesn't work after 15...Ng4.}
15.Ng5 Bxf1 16.Bxf1 Rhe8 17.Bb5
{White hopes to get counterchances by e4-e5-e6, but Black's next move squelches this.}
e5 18.fxe5 Rxe5 19.Bxc6 Qxc6 20.Nf7 Rde8
{Black gives back the exchange to eliminate White's only active piece.}
21.Nxe5 Rxe5 22.Qf4 b5 23.a3 b4 24.axb4 cxb4 25.Bd4
{This loses a piece, but if the knight moves away Black plays 25...Nxe4 and Black will win by a discovered check on the a8-h1 diagonal.}
Rf5 0-1
[Event "World Junior Championship"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1969.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Karpov"]
[Black "Payrhuber"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "29"]
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.g3
{A slow and ineffective move which Karpov soon abandoned.}
Nf6 4.d3 Nc6 5.Bg2 g6 6.O-O Bg7 7.Re1 O-O 8.c3
{White prepares the central advance d3-d4.}
Ne8
{Black hopes to take the initiative on the kingside, but he isn't ready for such aggression.}
9.Na3
{White keeps the c1-h6 diagonal open for his bishop and prepares to centralize his knight by way of c4.}
f5 10.Ng5
{White takes aim at the weakened e6 square and opens the diagonal for his bishop to take aim at Black's kingside from e4 or d5.}
Nc7
{Now White adopts a well-known procedure to win the exchange.}
11.Qb3+ Kh8
{11...e6 12.exf5 gxf5 and Black will lose control of e6.}
12.exf5
{White could win the exchange immediately by checking on f7, but first he opens the h1-a8 diagonal for his bishop.}
Bxf5 13.Nf7+ Rxf7
{Black must give up the rook because of the fork of his king and queen.}
14.Qxf7 e6
{Black hopes to get compensation for the exchange by trapping White's queen, which now has no safe square to move to.}
15.Bg5
{Now White's queen will get out and take several more Black pieces in the process. If you have a question about how this will happen, play the position out with Gambit. Karpov's opponent didn't bother, prefering resignation here.}
1-0
[Event "World Championship"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1969.??.??"]
[Round "19"]
[White "Spassky"]
[Black "Petrosian"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "59"]
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6
{The sharp Najdorf Variation probably came as somewhat of a surprise to Spassky since Petrosian was only one point behind in the match and might well have chosen to play solidly with Black and go for the win with White.}
6.Bg5
{The main line. Black cannot afford to have the kingside pawn structure broken up by a capture at f6.}
Nbd7
{6...e6 is much more common.}
7.Bc4 Qa5
{This unusual variation was topical at the time, and had been featured in games by Spassky and Tal.}
8.Qd2 h6 9.Bxf6 Nxf6 10.O-O-O
{Black is seriously behind in development and cannot achieve an equal game. Therefore Petrosian sensibly just tries to get his forces into the game.}
e6 11.Rhe1 Be7 12.f4 O-O 13.Bb3 Re8
{The e6-square often proves vulnerable in the Sicilian Defense. Black will retreat the bishop to a defensive post at f8. Petrosian often kept his pieces on the back rank.}
14.Kb1 Bf8 15.g4
{Spassky launches an all-out attack. Black has to accept the proffered pawn or else it will be shoved down his throat!}
Nxg4
{The best move was probably 15...e5, though one can understand why Petrosian was reluctant to open up the a2-g8 diagonal.}
16.Qg2 Nf6
{16...e5 17.Nf5}
17.Rg1
{The threat is simply 18.f5 or 18.e5, each of which can be very effective.}
Bd7 18.f5 Kh8
{The king will find no shelter in the corner. Probably Petrosian should have captured at f5, or perhaps centralized the queen with 18...Qe5.}
19.Rdf1 Qd8 20.fxe6 fxe6
{White is ready to smash down Black's defenses, but needs to involve at least one of the knights in the attack. So he clears the e4-square.}
21.e5 dxe5 22.Ne4 Nh5 23.Qg6 exd4
{Black is busted anyway, but this hastens the end.}
24.Ng5
{Black resigned. This was one of the shortest games in modern WorldChampionship play. If Black wanted to play on he would have either had to give up the queen for the knight or allow the following line:}
hxg5 25.Qxh5+ Kg8 26.Qf7+ Kh7 27.Rf3 e5 28.Qg8+ Kg6 29.Bf7+ Kh6 30.Qh8#
1-0
[Event "World Championship"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1969.??.??"]
[Round "5"]
[White "Spassky"]
[Black "Petrosian"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "56"]
1.c4 Nf6 2.Nc3 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.d4 c5 5.cxd5 Nxd5
{The game has transposed into a Semi-Tarrasch Variation of the Queen's Gambit Declined, an opening which can arise via a bewildering variety of move orders, even from the Caro Kann (1.e4 c6)!}
6.e4 Nxc3 7.bxc3 cxd4 8.cxd4 Bb4+ 9.Bd2 Bxd2+ 10.Qxd2 O-O 11.Bc4 Nc6 12.O-O
b6 13.Rad1 Bb7
{This is a very typical Semi-Tarrasch position.}
14.Rfe1 Rc8
{A simple gl ance at the a2-g8 diagonal is sufficient to encourage White to build a plan based on undermining the pawn chain f7-e6.}
15.d5
{But this may be premature. If Black plays 15...Na5!, then the bishop will have to retreat, since the sacrificial attempt 16.dxe6 does not work. Petrosian missed this chance.}
exd5 16.Bxd5
{This is the correct capture. 16.exd5 would have created a passed pawn, but it would be easily blockaded. And, more important, the light squared bishop now has room to maneuver without having to worry about Nc6- a5.}
Na5 17.Qf4 Qc7 18.Qf5 Bxd5
{The pressure was building at f7, so Black trades a piece which is not involved in the defense for an attacking piece, almost always a good idea.}
19.exd5
{With the bishops gone, the passed pawn is somewhat harder to blockade, and Black's knight is definitely offside. 19...Nb7 might have been best here.}
Qc2
{Black simply has no right to play so ambitiously when his position is inferior and White can afford to ignore the threat at a2. On the other hand, White has no desire to see the queens off the board, as the lady plays escort to the Pd5}
20.Qf4 Qxa2 21.d6 Rcd8 22.d7
{Spassky has achieved the goal of advancing his pawn to the seventh rank, where it severely restricts the mobility of the Black forces. He now needs a new plan to exploit his advantage, and it will involve infiltration via the c-file}
Qc4 23.Qf5 h6 24.Rc1 Qa6 25.Rc7
{The next phase has been accomplished. Now the knight has to get into the act. Again, it is important to consider a seemingly impossible goal. The knight belongs at c6. Although that seems difficult to achieve, it is not.}
b5 26.Nd4 Qb6
{26...b4 27.Qe5! with the threat of Nf5 Nc4}
27.Qc5 Rc8
{Nb7 Black had to do this, as the alternatives fail. 27...b4 28.Re8! Qxd4 29.Rxf8+ Rxf8 30.Rxf8+ Kxf8 31.Qc5+!! Qxc5 32.d8Q+}
28.Nc6
{And the knight reaches the desired square, after which Spassky finishes the game beautifully. Nd6 Nxd8!! Nxf5}
Nxc6 1-0
[Event "USSR vs. World"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1970.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Larsen"]
[Black "Spassky"]
[Result "0-1"]
[PlyCount "34"]
1.b3
{This is a hypermodern opening which concedes the center to Black. It is often called the Larsen Attack or Nizmowitsch-Larsen Attack, but this game did little to further its reputation.}
e5
{The correct reply. Not only does this move occupy important central territory, but it also limits the scope of the bishop which will be housed at b2.}
2.Bb2 Nc6 3.c4
{A reasonable alternative is 3.e3, intending 4.Bb5.}
Nf6 4.Nf3
{Bobby Fisc her preferred 4.e3 in a game played the same year. This move is too provocative.}
e4 5.Nd4 Bc5 6.Nxc6
{6.e3 Bxd4 7.exd4 d5 The bishop at b2 will be blocked by the pawn at d4 for a long time.}
dxc6 7.e3
{7.d4 exd3 8.Qxd3 Qe7 Black still has a good game, but perhaps not as strong as in the game.}
Bf5 8.Qc2 Qe7 9.Be2
{9.d4 exd3 10.Bxd3 Bxd3 11.Qxd3 Rd8 12.Qc2 O-O Black has a significant lead in development.}
O-O-O 10.f4
{This is a major mistake, because the king's position is weakened. But Larsen may have been getting a little desperate, because Black already had the advantage in development. 10.Bxf6 Qxf6 11.Nc3 Qe5 12.O-O h5 Black has a strong attack.}
Ng4
{One thing White has to watch out for is an eventual Nxe3, since the opening of the d-file by dxe3 will limit the escape routes for the White king.}
11.g3
{Whenever this move is played it weakens the pawn structure on the kingside. A common reply is the advance of the h-pawn from h7 to h5 and eventually to h4, where it can be exchanged for the pawn at g3, opening up the h-file.}
h5 12.h3
{Now Spassky unleashes a powerful sacrifice which brings the game to a quick and brutal conclusion. Unless you are a very strong player (in which case you are familiar with this game), you probably can't figure it out yourself.}
h4 13.hxg4
{13.Bxg4 Bxg4 14.hxg4 hxg3 15.Rg1 Here 15...Rh2 wins, but Spassky also had a more brilliant option, which he demonstrated after the game: 15...Rh1 16.Rxh1 g2 17.Rg1 Qh4+ 18.Ke2 Qxg4+ 19. Ke1 Qg3+ and Black wins.}
hxg3
{This passed pawn provides the material out of which Spassky fashions a brilliant victory!}
14.Rg1
{Now, if you examined the variation at move 13, you might find the solution that earned this game its reputation as one of the most brilliant ever. 14.Rxh8 Rxh8 15. gxf5 Rh1+ 16.Bf1 g2}
Rh1 15.Rxh1 g2 16.Rf1
{16.Rg1 Qh4+ 17.Kd1 Qh1 18. Qc3 Qxg1+ 19.Kc2 Qf2 20.gxf5 Qxe2 21.Na3 And here there is yet another fantastic move. 21...Bb4 22.Qxb4 Qd3+ 23.Kc1 g1Q+}
Qh4+ 17.Kd1 gxf1=Q+
{White resigned, because checkmate is inevitable.}
0-1
[Event "Herceg Novi blitz"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1970.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Tal"]
[Black "Uhlmann"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "27"]
1.g3 d5 2.Bg2 Nf6 3.c4 dxc4 4.Nf3 Nbd7 5.O-O a6 6.Na3 c5 7.Nxc4 e6 8.d4
{White will have more active pieces after 8...cxd4 9 Qxd4, while 8...b5 exposes the rook on the a8-h1 diagonal.}
Rb8
{This blunder loses two tempi and lets White plant a piece right in the middle of Black's position.}
9.Bf4 Ra8 10.dxc5 Nxc5
{Black doesn't like the looks of 10...Bxc5 11 Nd6+, but now White wins a piece.}
11.Qxd8+ Kxd8 12.Rfd1+ Nfd7
{The same fate awaits Black after 12...Ncd7 or 12...Bd7.}
13.Nb6 Ra7 14.Bb8 1-0
[Event "Kapfenberg"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1970.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Tal"]
[Black "Bellon Lopez"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "27"]
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 b6
{This is awkward; with White developing normally, Black puts his pieces offside and risks falling behind in development.}
4.O-O Bb7 5.c3 d5
{Very bad. Now Black will get into trouble because of the pin on his knight.}
6.Qa4 Rc8 7.Qxa7
{This is important not so much because White wins a pawn but because Black can no longer play ...a6 to break the pin.}
Rc7 8.Ne5
{Now White threatens just 9 exd5 or Qa4, piling more pressure on c6.}
e6 9.exd5 exd5 10.Re1
{Threatening Nxc6+ and strengthening the pin, since now a knight on e7 will be pinned and useless for the defense of c6.}
Be7 11.Qxb6 Qc8 12.d4 Kf8
{Black finally gets out of the pins, but it's too late.}
13.Nxc6 Bxc6 14.Bf4
{Undermining the defence of c6. Black must now lose at least another exchange, so he called it a day.}
1-0
[Event "Poti"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1970.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Tal"]
[Black "Gedevanishvili"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "44"]
1.e4 Nf6 2.e5 Nd5 3.Nc3 e6 4.d4 Nxc3 5.bxc3 d6 6.f4 c5 7.Nf3 cxd4 8.cxd4
dxe5 9.fxe5 Bb4+ 10.Bd2 Qa5 11.Bd3 Nc6 12.O-O
{Tal continues with development, reasoning that it is worthwhile to sacrifice a pawn to keep his lead.}
Bxd2 13.Nxd2 Qc3
{13...Nxd4 14.Nc4 Qc5 15.Nd6+ would give White a strong attack, since Black's threats can be eliminated by playing Kg1-h1.}
14.Rf4 O-O 15.Kh1 Ne7 16.Ne4 Qb2 17.Rb1 Qxa2
{White has sacr ificed a pawn, but the Black queen has been sent into exile, and the White forces are massing for a big attack on the kingside.}
18.Nf6+ gxf6
{White has sacrificed one piece to fracture the pawn barrier protecting the enemy king. Now Tal gives up a second piece to remove the remaining defender.}
19.Bxh7+ Kh8
{The bishop cannot be captured. 19...Kxh7 20.Qh5+ Kg8 21. Rbf1 The threat is Rh4 and mate on the h-file.}
20.Rh4 Kg7
{Black is thr eatening to escape by playing Ng6 and Rh8. White must find a way to bring the queen into the attack, but must also guard the vulnerable rook at b1.}
21.Qc1 Ng8
{This guards the critical h6 square. But not for long!}
22.Bxg8
{Black resigned. If you are not sure why, let Gambit demonstrate by setting up Gambit as White and Garry will show you how White wins against any defense.}
Kxg8 1-0
[Event "Hastings"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1970.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Smyslov"]
[Black "Littlewood"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "47"]
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.e3 b6 5.Nge2
{The Rubinstein variation of the Nimzo Indian Defense. One idea behind 5.Nge2 is to induce Black to part with his bishop pair, by exchange on c3, when White could recapture with his knight thus avoiding doubling his c- pawns.}
Ba6 6.Ng3
{White abandons the idea of preserving his pawn structure intact in the event of an exchange on c3, Instead he pins his hopes on rapid development and a pawn advance in the center.}
c5
{6...Bxc3+ 7.bxc3 Doubling White's c-pawns would be more in the spirit of the Nimzo Indian.}
7.d5
{Bypassing the Black c-pawn, White establishes a sound spatial advantage in the center.}
exd5 8.cxd5 Bxf1 9.Kxf1 Bxc3 10.bxc3
{White controls more space in the enter and Black's knights are ineffective.}
O-O 11.e4 d6 12.Bf4 Ne8
{12...Qc7 13.Nf5 Ne8 14.Qg4 would give White good pressure on the kingside.}
13.Nf5 g6
{Although the knight on f5 is menacing Black shouldn't create such holes on his kingside. 13...Qf6 With the idea of developing his knight to d7 is couldn't be any worse than the game continuation.}
14.Ne3 Nd7 15.h4 Qe7 16.f3 Ng7 17.Qe1 b5 18.h5
{With the center under control White is ready to begin his kingside attack.}
Ne5
{18...Nxh5 19.Rxh5 gxh5 20.Nf5 Qf6 21.Bg5 Qe5 22.f4 Qe8 23.Qg3 Kh8 White has a forced mate in two.}
19.Qg3 f6 20.hxg6 hxg6 21.Bxe5 Qxe5 22.Qxg6 Qg5 23.Qxg5 fxg5 24.Rh6
{Black resigned as after 24..Rad8 25.Rg6 he would not be able to defend his g-pawn.}
1-0
[Event "Siegen Olympiad"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1970.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Pomar"]
[Black "Petrosian"]
[Result "0-1"]
[PlyCount "68"]
1.d4 g6 2.c4 Bg7 3.Nc3 d6 4.Nf3 Bg4 5.g3 Qc8
{A very artificial move of the sort that appealed to Petrosian's somewhat unusual taste in back-rank formations.}
6.Bg2 Nh6
{More eccentricity.}
7.h3 Bd7 8.e4 f6
{Petrosian comments: "After 8 moves Black has a bad position. White has obtained the ideal pawn center, has developed his pieces and can initiate an attack without difficulty."}
9.Be3 Nf7 10.Qd2 c5 11.dxc5
{It would have been better to advance this pawn and keep the position closed.}
dxc5 12.O-O-O Nc6 13.Kb1
{13.Bxc5 Na5 14.b3 Qxc5 15.Qxd7+ Kf8 Black will be able to mount a strong counterattack on the queenside.}
b6 14.g4
{Pomar knows he has a good game, but has no idea what to do with it. This is an aggressive move with no particular point.}
Rb8 15.Rhe1 Rb7 16.e5 fxe5
{Here Black might have engaged in a promising exchange sacrifice: 16...Nfxe5 17.Nxe5 Nxe5 18.Bxb7 Qxb7}
17.Ng5 O-O
{Now each side has an outpost on the d-file. White should have occupied it with the bishop.}
18.Nd5 Nxg5 19.Bxg5 Be8 20.Bh6 e6 21.Bxg7 Rxg7
{Black has easily repulsed the mini-attack.}
22.Nc3 Nd4
{Now Black seizes the initiative. Notice that the d5-square is no longer available for use by the White pieces.}
23.Rxe5 Rgf7 24.Ne4 Qc7
{The rook is going to get trapped.}
25.Rg5 Rf4 26.Qd3 h6 27.Nd6 hxg5 28.Nxe8 Rxe8 29.Qxg6+ Kf8 30.Qxg5 Qh7+
{and Black resigned because smothered mate is coming)}
31.Ka1 Nc2+ 32.Kb1 Na3+ 33.Ka1 Qb1+ 34.Rxb1 Nc2# 0-1
[Event "Sochi"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1970.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Tal"]
[Black "Tukmakov"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "59"]
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 d6 8.c3 O-O
9.h3 Nb8 10.d3
{This is a rather quiet method of play against the Breyer, but Tal soon steers the game into a sharp line.}
Nbd7 11.Nbd2 Bb7 12.Nf1 Nc5 13.Bc2 Re8 14.Ng3 Bf8 15.b4
{This sets the stage for a minor skirmish on the queenside.}
Ncd7 16.Bb3 a5 17.a3 c5
{17...axb4 18.cxb4 h6 This had been seen in a previous game between Tal and Spassky, where Black emerged from the opening with a good position.}
18.Ng5 d5
{Black counterattacks in the center and is feeling the pressure of White's minor pieces which are trained on f7.}
19.exd5 Nb6
{19...Nxd5 20.Qh5}
20.bxc5 Nbxd5
{20...Bxc5 21.N3e4 Bf8 22.d6 Bd5 23.Bxd5 Nbxd5 24.Qb3}
21.d4 h6
{Now Tal displays his creative talents with a fine and deep sacrifice, which exploits the pressure he has built up.}
22.Nxf7 Kxf7 23.dxe5 Bxc5
{23...Nh7 24.Nf5 Kg8 25.Nd6 Re7 26.Bxd5+ Bxd5 27.Qxd5+ Kh8 28.Nf7+}
24.exf6 Rxe1+ 25.Qxe1 Qxf6 26.Ne4 Qe7
{26...Re8 27.Qd2 Rxe4 28.Bxd5+ Bxd5 29.Qxd5+ Re6 30.Qxc5}
27.Qe2 Rd8 28.Qxb5
{The bishop at c5 has no comfortable retreat.}
Qxe4 29.Qxb7+ Kf8 30.Be3
{Black resigned. If Black captures the bishop at e3, then the f-file will be open after 31.fxe3, and the rook will make its first move of the game a powerful one!}
1-0
[Event "Soviet Championship"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1970.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Tal"]
[Black "Podgayets"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "63"]
1.e4 Nf6 2.e5 Nd5 3.Nc3
{Better is 3.d4, the normal move in this opening.}
Nxc3 4.bxc3 d6
{This pawn should have moved all the way to d5.}
5.f4 dxe5 6.fxe5 Qd5
{An unjustifiably early deployment of the queen. One would expect to see such moves in a game between beginners, but not in the Soviet Championship!}
7.d4 c5 8.Nf3 Nc6 9.Be2 Bg4 10.O-O
{White has a large lead in development, and the semi-open f-file leads right to the must vulnerable point in Black's position.}
cxd4
{10...e6 11.Ng5 Bxe2 12.Qxe2 cxd4 13.Nxf7}
11.cxd4 e6 12.Rb1 Qd7
{The b-pawn had to be defended.}
13.Ng5 Bxe2 14.Qxe2 Be7
{Black lays a cunning trap. White cannot take the pawn at f7. Do you see why not? 14...Qxd4+ 15.Be3 Qxe5 16.Nxf7 The rook at h8 and queen at e5 are forked.}
15.c3
{15.Nxf7 O-O}
Bxg5 16.Bxg5 h6
{A natural move, but it proves to be a waste of time, since the bishop was headed to the queenside anyway, with a brief pit-stop back home.}
17.Bc1 Ne7 18.Qf3 Nd5
{18...O-O 19.Ba3}
19.c4 Nb6 20.c5 Nd5
{The pawn at c5 tightens the grip on the queenside. But the real point is to open up another line on the queenside while sealing off any potential counterplay on the c-file.}
21.c6 bxc6 22.Ba3
{Now everythi ng is in hand. Black desperately tries to wriggle out of the dangerous position to no avail.}
f5 23.exf6 gxf6 24.Rb3 Kd8 25.Rfb1
{The open file is put to good use!}
Rh7 26.Qg3
{The threats are 27.Qg8+ and 17.Rb8+.}
Nb6
{This closes the b-file, for a moment.}
27.Rxb6
{An effective sacrifice which brings the game to a quick conclusion.}
axb6 28.Qg8+ Qe8
{28...Kc7 29.Qxa8}
29.Qxh7 Rxa3
{Here Black resigned without waiting for Tal to reply, seeing that it was all over.}
30.Rxb6 Ra8 31.Rb7 Rc8 32.Qg7
{followed by Qxf6+.}
1-0
[Event "Palma de Mallorca"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1970.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Geller"]
[Black "Fischer"]
[Result "0-1"]
[PlyCount "144"]
1.Nf3 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.g3 Bg7 4.Bg2 O-O 5.O-O c6 6.d4 d5 7.cxd5 cxd5 8.Ne5
Bf5 9.Nc3 Ne4 10.Be3 Nxc3 11.bxc3 Nc6 12.Nxc6 bxc6 13.Qa4 Qb6 14.Rac1 Rab8
15.c4 Bxd4 16.Bxd4 Qxd4 17.e3 Qe5 18.cxd5 cxd5 19.Rfd1 e6 20.Qxa7 Ra8 21.Qd4
Qxd4 22.Rxd4 Rxa2 23.e4 dxe4 24.Bxe4 Bxe4 25.Rxe4
{We have reac hed a double-rook endgame. Black has an extra pawn and control of the seventh rank, but the large number of open files gives White plenty of room to maneuver and, with no pawn weaknesses, White should survive.}
Rb8 26.Re3 g5 27.h3 Kg7 28.Rc7
{White takes the seventh rank and threatens to play Rf3, tying down Black's forces.}
Kg6 29.Rf3 f6 30.Re7 Re2 31.g4
{White has a good defensive formation and it is hard to see how Black can make progress. But Fischer is famous for his refusal to agree to draws while there is still play in the position.}
Rb1+ 32.Kg2 R2e1 33.Ra3
{This creates an escape path for the king.}
h5 34.R3a7 Rg1+ 35.Kf3 hxg4+ 36.hxg4 Rb3+ 37.Ke2 Rxg4 38.Rxe6
{The picture has clarified a bit. But White still has no reason to worry.}
Rb1 39.R7a6 Rf4 40.Ra2 Rh1 41.Rea6 Rb4 42.R6a4
{If a pair of rooks are exchanged now, the draw would be fairly simple for White.}
R4b1 43.Ra8 Rhg1 44.Kf3 Rb5 45.R8a5 Rb3+ 46.Ke2 R3b1 47.Ra8 Kf5 48.R2a5+
Kg4 49.Ra4+ Kh5 50.Rh8+
{We enter an arid period of maneuvering without much purpose.}
Kg6 51.Rg8+ Kf7 52.Rd8 Rbe1+ 53.Kf3 Re5 54.Rd2 Rf5+ 55.Ke2 Re5+ 56.Kf3
Kg6 57.Re4 Rf5+ 58.Ke2 Ra5 59.Re3 Kh5 60.Red3 R5a1 61.Rd8 f5 62.Kf3 Ra3+
63.R2d3 g4+ 64.Kf4
{Now Fischer finally decides to try his hand at the single-rook endgame.}
Rxd3 65.Rxd3 Rf1 66.Rd2 Kh4
{66...Kg6 67.Ra2 Black could never make any progress here.}
67.Kxf5 g3
{Black uses the pin to advance the pawn. After the game, Geller said he was confused, and thought that he could capture the pawn with check here.}
68.f4 Kh3 69.Rd3
{White is prepared to sacrifice the rook for the pawn at the appropriate time, when the Black king is further down the board. The idea is that king and pawn against rook is drawn provided that the pawn is far enough advanced.}
Kh4 70.Rd2
{A big mistake. White needs a certain amount of distance between his rook and the enemy king, in order to constantly give check without the king being able to come up and attack the rook. 70.Rd7 Kh3 71.Rh7+ Kg2 72.Kg4 Kf2 73.f5 g2 74.Rh2 Rh1 75.Rxg2+ Kxg2 76.f6 and a drawn position results.}
Ra1 71.Ke5
{This is the decisive error. White could still have drawn with the correct move . 71.Rd8 g2 72.Rh8+ Kg3 73.Rg8+ Kf3 74. Ke6 g1Q 75.Rxg1 Rxg1 76.f5 Kf4 77.f6 Kg5 78.f7 Rf1 79.Ke7 Re1+ 80.Kd8 Rf1 81. Ke8 Re1+ 82.Kd8}
Kg4
{Now White is going to lose the f-pawn.}
72.f5
{72.Rd8 Re1+ 73.Kf6 Kxf4}
Ra5+ 0-1
[Event "Siegen Olympiad"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1970.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Spassky"]
[Black "Kostro"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "43"]
1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Nc3 e6 5.Bg5 h6 6.Bh4 dxc4 7.e4 g5 8.Bg3 b5
9.Be2 Bb7 10.O-O Nbd7 11.d5 cxd5 12.exd5 Qb6 13.dxe6 fxe6 14.Nd4 Bc5 15.Ndxb5
O-O 16.Bf3 Bxf3 17.Qxf3 Rac8 18.Rad1 Qc6 19.Qe2 Nd5
{White's fo rces do not seem well-placed to attack the enemy king, in spite of the weaknesses on the kingside. But the pawn at e6 is very weak, and White can use the idea of interference to get at it.}
20.Nd6 Bxd6 21.Qxe6+
{Mission accompl ished! Not only is the attack under way, but White will even recover the material investment at d6.}
Kg7 22.Bxd6 1-0
[Event "Amsterdam"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1971.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Langeweg"]
[Black "Smyslov"]
[Result "0-1"]
[PlyCount "48"]
1.Nf3 Nf6 2.c4 b6 3.g3 Bb7 4.Bg2 g6
{4...e6 5.d4 would transpose to the Queen's Indian Defense.}
5.Nc3 Bg7 6.d3 d5 7.cxd5 Nxd5 8.Nxd5 Bxd5 9.Qa4+
{White's queen does entirely too much traveling in this game. Castling would have been wiser.}
Qd7 10.Qf4
{10.Qxd7+ Nxd7 would be a little better for Black because his bishops would apply pressure on the queenside.}
Nc6 11.O-O Rd8 12.Qa4 O-O
{While White has been busy shuffling his queen back and forth Black has completed his development.}
13.Rd1 a5 14.Qh4 Bxf3 15.Bxf3 Nd4
{Black posts the knight in the center which threatens to cripple White's pawn structure by Nxf3+.}
16.Qe4 e6 17.Bg5
{White finally develops his bishop but it's too late to help his queen.}
f6 18.Bf4 g5 19.Bc1 f5
{White resigned. The position is worse than it looks.}
20.Qb7
{20.Qe3 Nc2}
Rb8 21.Qa6 g4 22.Bg2 Nxe2+ 23.Kf1 Nxc1 24.Raxc1 Bxb2
{Black has too many extra pawns.}
0-1
[Event "Moscow"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1971.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Tal"]
[Black "Uhlmann"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "37"]
1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nd2 c5
{The Tarrasch Variation of the French has a reputation for dry, positional games. Not this time!}
4.Ngf3 Nc6 5.Bb5 dxe4 6.Nxe4 Bd7 7.Bg5 Qa5+ 8.Nc3 cxd4 9.Nxd4 Bb4
{Black should have played 9...Be2, with a more defensive attitude.}
10.O-O Bxc3 11.bxc3 Qxc3
{Black is too greedy and should have attended to development or attacked either bishop with a pawn. If only the e-file were open, Black would be in trouble. So Tal sacrifices a piece to open the file.}
12.Nf5 exf5 13.Re1+ Be6 14.Qd6
{The threats are still developing, but Black is very cramped and cannot get his defensive forces close to the king.}
a6
{Now Tal ignores the threat against one bishop, but thinks about the other. If only it were on the a3-f8 diagonal...}
15.Bd2 Qxc2 16.Bb4
{Mission accomplished. Now it is just a matter of mopping up.}
axb5 17.Qf8+ Kd7 18.Red1+ Kc7 19.Qxa8
{Uhlmann resigned. If Black had captured the bishop then mate in two would have followed. If you don't see how, play this against Gambit. 19...Nge7 would be best, but after capturing the rook at h8 White would have too much material.}
1-0
[Event "Moscow"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1971.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Karpov"]
[Black "Hort"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "65"]
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 e6 6.g4 Nc6 7.g5 Nd7 8.Be3
a6 9.f4 Be7 10.Rg1 Nxd4
{Hort played this reluctantly, since it concedes the center to White, who now has better control of e5. Therefore Black will have to occupy that square while he can.}
11.Qxd4 e5
{Black challenges White's central power and prevents White from advancing to e5 which would have created serious problems on the kingside. The weakness at d5 is not so important here but it, and the weak pawn at d6, will be later.}
12.Qd2 exf4 13.Bxf4 Ne5
{Black has executed his plan to take over the e5-square, but has had to accept a weak Pd6 in return.}
14.Be2 Be6 15.Nd5
{White correctly establishes a blockade at d5. If he had castled first, then Black would have been able to thwart this plan with 15...Qa5!}
Bxd5 16.exd5
{A difficult choice. Generally, one uses a piece to blockade a pawn, but here the weakness at d6 would have a counterpart at e4. Karpov's choice also gives more scope to his light-squared bishop.}
Ng6
{Hort, recognizing the passivity of his position, strives to create counterplay by tactical means. The threat is the capture at f4 followed by Qa5+.}
17.Be3 h6
{This is an error of judgement. Black reasoned that White would not capture, because that would result in a displacement of his king. But with the d-file sealed, the White king will rest comfortably at d1.}
18.gxh6 Bh4+ 19.Kd1 gxh6 20.Bxh6
{Black now had to reconsider the situation. White's extra pawn at c2 is not the most important factor. The question is, where should the Bh4 beposted?}
Bf6 21.c3 Be5
{This is clearly a good square for the bishop, and there is a serious threat here of kingside infiltration with 22...Qh4, e.g., 23.Bg5 Qb6 24.Be3 Qc7. But Karpov, recognizing the danger, puts a stop to Black's plans.}
22.Rg4 Qf6
{Despite White's advantages (bishop pair, open lines in the center) Hort should have taken the opportunity to restore the material balance with 22...Bxh2. Instead, he chose to play for complications.}
23.h4
{A strong positional move, saving and advancing the h-pawn. It is based on the tactical point that 23...Nxh4? would be countered by 24.Bg7.}
Qf5 24.Rb4
{This rook performs the double duty of protecting the fourth rank and attacking on the queenside.}
Bf6 25.h5 Ne7
{Not 25...Ne5?, which drops a piece to 27.Rf4!}
26.Rf4
{26.Rxb7?? Rxh6! 27.Qxh6 Qxd5+ picks up the Rb7.}
Qe5
{Black is almost out of the woods. All he has to do is castle. But the central files can still cause him problems.}
27.Rf3 Nxd5 28.Rd3 Rxh6
{No better was 28...Ne7 19.Bf4!}
29.Rxd5
{White had to avoid the tactical trick 29.Qxh6 Bg5 when 30...Ne3+ would have been very powerful.}
Qe4
{Material equilibrium has been restored, but Black's pieces are not well placed. White's roaming rook now redeploys to a most menacing position.}
30.Rd3 Qh1+
{The threat of Re3, combined with pressure at h6, force Black to take this desperate measure. He was in time pressure as well.}
31.Kc2 Qxa1 32.Qxh6 Be5 33.Qg5
{Here Hort ran out of time and forfeited the game. White should win easily from this position in any case.}
1-0
[Event "Buenos Aires"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1971.??.??"]
[Round "7"]
[White "Fischer"]
[Black "Petrosian"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "67"]
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 a6 5.Bd3 Nc6 6.Nxc6 bxc6 7.O-O d5 8.c4
Nf6 9.cxd5 cxd5 10.exd5 exd5
{Clearly the isolated queen pawn is going to play a significant role in the game. Part of White's strategy will be to dominate the adjacent files.}
11.Nc3 Be7 12.Qa4+ Qd7 13.Re1
{Fischer does n't engage in cheap theatrics. 13.Bb5?! axb5! 14.Qxa8 O-O and the follow up with Bb7 and an eventual advance of the d-pawn will give Black an excellent game.}
Qxa4 14.Nxa4
{The isolated pawn is even weaker in the endgame, and White is halfway toward achieving his goal of dominating the c- and e-files. The pawn at a6, defended doubly for the moment, is also a potential weakness.}
Be6 15.Be3 O-O 16.Bc5
{This is the key move. With the dark-squared bishops off the board, the rooks can attack the isolated pawn from the side. In addition, the c5-square will be more easily secured for occupation by the knight.}
Rfe8 17.Bxe7 Rxe7 18.b4
{Now we can observe the weakness of the pawn at a6, which will come under the watchful eye of the knight from its new outpost at c5. This, combined with the power of the Be2, will tie down Black's forces.}
Kf8 19.Nc5 Bc8
{Mission accomplishe d. Now White must find a way to increase the pressure on d5 but how can he do this?}
20.f3
{Fischer's plan is almost brutal in its simplicity. He threatens to exchange rooks, march his king up the diagonal to d4, chase the knight from f6 and grab the weak pawn at d5.}
Rea7 21.Re5
{Just as planned back at move 13!}
Bd7 22.Nxd7+
{There comes a time in every plan when the immediate goal is achieved, and it is time to capitalize. The knight, though well placed, has done its job and now the domination of the remaining open file is the primary objective.}
Rxd7 23.Rc1
{The weakness of the pawns continues to plague Black, who must now worry about the threat of Rc1-c6.}
Rd6 24.Rc7 Nd7 25.Re2 g6 26.Kf2 h5 27.f4 h4 28.Kf3 f5 29.Ke3
{The sixth is protected. Black is virtually in zugzwang, so he advances his prized pawn, and opens up more lines for White.}
d4+ 30.Kd2 Nb6 31.R2e7 Nd5 32.Rf7+ Ke8 33.Rb7
{This appears to drop a a pawn, but in fact it guarantees victory.}
Nxb4 34.Bc4
{and Petrosian resigned, because after 34...Nc6 35.Rh7 Rf6 36.Rh8+ Rf8 37.Bf7+.}
1-0
[Event "Soviet Championship"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1971.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Tal"]
[Black "Bronstein"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "53"]
1.e4 c6 2.c4 d5 3.exd5 cxd5 4.d4 Nf6 5.Nc3 Nc6
{This is the sharpest defense for Black against the Panov Attack.}
6.Bg5 Bg4 7.Be2 Bxe2 8.Ngxe2 dxc4
{Black concedes the center with this move, and this will turn out to be a big problem. The pawn is of no importance and Tal makes no attempt to reclaim it.}
9.d5 Ne5 10.O-O
{We can see that White not only controls the center, he is also way ahead in development.}
h6 11.Bf4 Ng6
{White will not retreat this bishop, which is defended by the knight at e2.}
12.Qa4+ Qd7 13.Qxc4
{Now the pawn is recovered with an overwhelming position.}
Rc8 14.Qb3 e5
{This will finally get the bishop out and allow Black to develop. But it also leads to an opening of the e-file which is neatly exploited by Tal.}
15.dxe6 Qxe6 16.Qxb7 Bc5
{Here White can force the win of material by tactical means. Do you see how?}
17.Nd4 Bxd4 18.Rae1 O-O
{18...Be5 19.Bxe5 O-O 20.Bxf6 Qxf6 21.Qxa7 The two outside passed pawns provide an easy win.}
19.Rxe6 fxe6
{Black has a rook and knight for the queen, which is not sufficient compensation.}
20.Bd6 Rfd8 21.Bc7 Rf8 22.Nb5
{On top of everything else, White holds the initiative.}
Be5 23.Bxe5 Nxe5 24.Qxa7 Nd5 25.Qd4 Ng6 26.h4 Ngf4
{Threatening one last trick: 27...Ne2+, forking the king and queen.}
27.Qe4 1-0
[Event "Candidates' Match"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1971.??.??"]
[Round "5"]
[White "Fischer"]
[Black "Larsen"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "91"]
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 Nc6 6.Bc4 e6 7.Bb3 Be7 8.Be3
O-O 9.O-O Bd7 10.f4 Qc8 11.f5 Nxd4 12.Bxd4
{White has established some pressure in the center, and Black should have responded by attacking e4 with 12...Bc6.}
exf5 13.Qf3 fxe4 14.Nxe4 Nxe4 15.Qxe4
{Now the pressure is not on the center, but directly at the kingside, where White's forces are aimed.}
Be6 16.Rf3 Qc6
{Black is desperately trying to exchange pieces before he gets checkmated.}
17.Re1 Qxe4 18.Rxe4 d5
{18...Bxb3 19.Rxb3 with a double attack at b7 and e7.}
19.Rg3
{Black cannot capture the rook.}
g6
{19...dxe4 20.Rxg7+ Kh8 21.Rxf7+ Kg8 22.Rg7+ Kh8 23.Rxe7+ Kg8 24.Bxe6+}
20.Bxd5 Bd6
{Here the White bishops work so well together that Fischer is able to sacrifice the exchange. 20...Bxd5 21.Rxe7 Black would have had excellent drawing chances, thanks to the bishops of opposite color.}
21.Rxe6 Bxg3
{21...fxe6 22.Bxe6+ Rf7 23.Rf3 Raf8 24.Rxf7 Rxf7 25.Bxa7}
22.Re7 Bd6 23.Rxb7 Rac8 24.c4
{White's passed pawn is the key to victory.}
a5 25.Ra7 Bc7 26.g3 Rfe8 27.Kf1
{Even the king takes part in the game, by defending against an incursion by the rook.}
Re7 28.Bf6 Re3 29.Bc3 h5 30.Ra6
{This threatens Rxg6+, because the f-pawn is pinned.}
Be5 31.Bd2 Rd3 32.Ke2 Rd4 33.Bc3 R8xc4
{A puzzling tableau, but when the smoke clears White cruises to victory.}
34.Bxc4 Rxc4 35.Kd3 Rc5 36.Rxa5 Rxa5 37.Bxa5 Bxb2 38.a4 Kf8 39.Bc3 Bxc3
40.Kxc3
{This king and pawn endgame is a very easy win, and it is rare that White would even continue the game at this level of competition. But it does give us a chance to see how the outside passed pawn decides the game.}
Ke7 41.Kd4 Kd6 42.a5 f6 43.a6 Kc6 44.a7 Kb7 45.Kd5 h4 46.Ke6 1-0
[Event "Sarajevo"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1972.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Petrosian"]
[Black "Minic"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "59"]
1.c4 g6 2.d4 Bg7 3.Nc3 c5 4.d5 d6 5.e4 Nf6
{After 5 moves we have reached a position from the King's Indian Defense.}
6.Bd3 O-O 7.Bg5 h6 8.Bd2 e6
{Black adopts the strategy of the Modern Benoni opening.}
9.h3 exd5 10.exd5 Re8+ 11.Nge2 a6
{11...Na6 This might be better, moving the knight to c7 before occupying a6.}
12.a4
{A preventative move with the idea of discouraging Black's intended pawn b5.}
Nfd7 13.f4
{This is not only a kingside attacking move but a positional move which takes away the e5 square from the Black pieces.}
Qh4+
{This check does not accomplish anything, since White's king is better off at f1 than on the exposed e-file. 13...Nf8 may be the best move at this point.}
14.Kf1 b6 15.Qe1 Qd8 16.g4 a5 17.Qg3 Nf6 18.f5
{With the Black knight no longer able to go to e5 White immediately launches a kingside attack.}
Nbd7
{Black sacrifices a pawn for play down the f-file.}
19.fxg6 fxg6 20.Bxg6 Rf8 21.Kg2
{The king could be in danger on the f-file, since there is a Black rook at f8.}
Ne5 22.Bd3 Ra7
{22...Nxd3 23.Qxd3 Bxg4 24.hxg4 Nxg4 Black is attacking with just a knight, supported by a rook, but the queen cannot help out: 25.Raf1 Rxf1 26.Rxf1 Qh4 27.Qh3}
23.Nf4 Raf7 24.Be2 Nh7
{Black wants to move this knight to g5.}
25.Rhf1 Nf6
{But now it returns back home. 25...Ng5 26.h4 Nh7 27.Ne6 Bxe6 28.dxe6 Rxf1 29.Rxf1 Rxf1 30.Bxf1 Qe7 31.Nd5 Qxe6 32.Be2 Nd7 33.Bd3 Bxb2 34.Bf5 Qf7 35.Qxd6}
26.Rae1 Re7 27.b3 Rfe8 28.Bd1 Nf7 29.Rxe7 Rxe7 30.Be2
{Black resigned because he is material down and without counterplay. At this level of competition that is more than sufficient reason.}
1-0
[Event "Reykjavik"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1972.??.??"]
[Round "5"]
[White "Spassky"]
[Black "Fischer"]
[Result "0-1"]
[PlyCount "56"]
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Nf3 c5 5.e3 Nc6 6.Bd3 Bxc3+ 7.bxc3 d6 8.e4
e5 9.d5
{White has taken a fundamental decision to close the center and try to exploit his spatial advantage.}
Ne7
{This may seem to go against the conventional strategy of deploying the knight on the flank to attack the P at c4, but in this position such a strategy will not be effective, so the N is transferred to the kingside where it will be useful.}
10.Nh4
{White aims at an early f2-f4, a logical plan. 10.Nd2 is also sensible, but Black can get a good game without difficulty by bravely placing his King on the queenside.}
h6
{This keeps the White bishop from getting to g5 where it can cause trouble, and paves the way for the eventual advance of the g-pawn.}
11.f4 Ng6
{A bold move, permitting White to cripple the pawn structure on the kingside. But Fischer knew what he was doing.}
12.Nxg6 fxg6
{The g-pawn will be able to advance, but in the meantime it sits and prevents f4-f5.}
13.fxe5
{A very poor move, though history has shown that Black has a good game anyway.}
dxe5 14.Be3 b6 15.O-O O-O 16.a4
{When the White pawns are locked on light-squares in the center this is usually a bad idea, because the P can be cemented to the light square by a7-a5, after which it becomes a target.}
a5 17.Rb1 Bd7 18.Rb2 Rb8 19.Rbf2 Qe7 20.Bc2 g5
{Both of White's bishops have been rendered harmless. Black is preparing to establish a knight outpost on f4.}
21.Bd2 Qe8
{The queen will be redeployed at g6 and the e-pawn will come under fire.}
22.Be1 Qg6 23.Qd3 Nh5 24.Rxf8+ Rxf8 25.Rxf8+ Kxf8 26.Bd1 Nf4
{"Nimzowits ch would have loved this position -- restraint, blockade, doubled P complexes and an outpost in an open." -- Keene (Aron Nimzowitsch -- A Reappraisal).}
27.Qc2
{A simply awful move for a World Championship game. 27.Qb1 and White could have continued the battle.}
Bxa4
{and here Spassky resigned, rather than face}
28.Qxa4 Qxe4 0-1
[Event "Soviet Championship"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1972.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Tal"]
[Black "Zilberstein"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "53"]
1.e4 g6 2.d4 c6 3.c4
{This move is the reason that Black rarely adopts this particular move order.}
d5
{3...Bg7 4.Nc3 d6 would allow Black to later transpose into the King's Indian Defense, but the pawn does not belong at c6.}
4.e5
{This blunts the effect of a Black bishop at g7.}
Bg7 5.Nc3 Nh6
{There is no other good square for the knight, since 5...e6 would build a barricade across which the bishop at c8 could not pass.}
6.h4
{A rather rash attacking move so early in the game.}
Be6
{This move is anti-positional in that the e6 square is an unnatural post for the bishop in this variation. 6...f6, chipping at the center, would have been more to the point.}
7.Nh3 dxc4
{Such pawns are rarely worth the trouble.}
8.Nf4 Bd5
{8...Qd7 would have been much more sensible.}
9.b3 cxb3 10.axb3 e6 11.Bd3
{Black was already in some difficulty. He could not just castle, so he probably should have sacrificed the bishop for the pawn at g2, when the weaknesses in White's position might be exploited.}
Nf5
{A big mistake, which leads to horrible structural weaknesses.}
12.Bxf5 exf5 13.Ba3
{This diagonal will kill Black if it is not contested.}
Bf8 14.Bxf8 Kxf8 15.Qd2
{Now there are important holes on the kingside, and the White queen moves into diagonal mode.}
Be6 16.Rd1
{As usual, a winning move is preceded by simple development. The pawn at d4 does require support.}
Qe7 17.Rh3
{The rook will move to e3, and the center will start to roll.}
Na6 18.d5
{The decisive breakthrough, made possible by the wise move of the rook to d1.}
cxd5 19.Nfxd5 Bxd5 20.Nxd5 Qxe5+
{This just hastens the end but Black was in bad shape anyway.}
21.Re3 Qd6
{21...Qg7 22.Nc7!}
22.Qc3 f6
{22...Rg8 23.Nf6 Qb4 24.Nxh7++}
23.Nc7
{Black resigned. The game might have ended in the following way:}
Qxc7 24.Qxf6+ Kg8
{24...Qf7 25.Rd8+ Rxd8 26.Qxh8+ Qg8 27.Qf6+ Qf7 28.Qxd8+}
25.Re7 Qa5+ 26.Kf1 Qb5+ 27.Kg1
{Both kings wind up on the castling square, but Black's gets mated there!}
1-0
[Event "Sarajevo"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1972.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Petrosian"]
[Black "Hort"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "51"]
1.Nf3 c5 2.b3 d5 3.e3 Nf6 4.Bb2 e6 5.c4 Nc6 6.cxd5 exd5 7.Be2 Be7 8.O-O
O-O 9.d4
{We have transposed into a Tarrasch Defense, which usually involves active piece play for Black but a better pawn structure for White.}
Bg4 10.dxc5
{Black's choice of opening involves accepting an isolated d-pawn.}
Bxc5 11.Nc3 Rc8 12.Rc1 Be7 13.Nd4
{As Aron Nimzovitch showed there are three steps to playing against the isolated pawn: Blockade, attack, destroy.}
Bxe2 14.Ncxe2
{White has the d-pawn firmly blockaded.}
Qd7 15.Nf4 Rfd8 16.Qd3 Ne4 17.Nxc6
{White exchanges one advantage for another. Black no longer has to worry about an isolated pawn, but the pawn which will land on c6 will be a new target.}
bxc6 18.Rc2
{Preparing to double rooks, bringing more pressure against Black's weak c- pawn.}
Bf8 19.Rfc1 Qb7 20.Qe2 Re8 21.Qg4
{Practically forcing Black to weaken his kingside due to the threat of 22. Nh5.}
g6 22.Qd1
{A new weakness has arisen in the Black camp, namely the a1-h8 diagonal.}
Bd6
{Played with the idea of meeting 23. Qd4 with Be5.}
23.Nxd5 Rcd8
{23...cxd5 24.Rxc8 Rxc8 25.Rxc8+ Qxc8 26.Qd4 f6 27.Qxd5+ Kg7 28.Qxe4 leaves White with a winning material advantage.}
24.Rxc6 Qb8 25.f4 Re6 26.Qd4
{Black resigned due to his material disadvantage. If you don't see a clear winning plan for White after 26...f6 try playing it out against Gambit.}
1-0
[Event "USSR Championship"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1972.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Tal"]
[Black "Shamkovich"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "65"]
1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 dxe4 4.Nxe4 Nd7 5.Nf3 Ngf6 6.Nc3 e6 7.Bd3 c5 8.Qe2
cxd4 9.Nxd4 Bc5 10.Nb3 Bd6 11.Bg5 a6 12.O-O-O Qc7 13.Kb1 O-O 14.Ne4 Be5
15.f4 Bxf4 16.Nxf6+ Nxf6 17.Bxf6 gxf6 18.Qg4+ Kh8 19.Rhf1 Be5 20.Bxh7 f5
21.Qh4 Kg7 22.Rf3 Re8 23.g4 f4 24.g5 Kf8
{White's attack is proceeding nicely, but there are no open files to work with, so the rooks do not play a significant role. On the other hand, Black has a beautiful bishop which does help defend by guarding the a1-h8 diagonal.}
25.Rxf4
{Tal, one of the most romantic of all chess champions, gives up a whole rook just to deflect the bishop from covering g7.}
Bxf4 26.Qh6+ Ke7 27.Qf6+ Kf8
{White has successfully infiltrated with the queen, but even queen and bishop are not enough to deliver mate. But aided by a pawn...}
28.g6 Bh6
{Otherwise the pawn would advance to g7 and deliver mate. But now the f-file, which had been blocked by the bishop, is wide open.}
29.Rf1
{Black resigned, faced with certain mate)}
Rd8 30.Qh8+ Ke7 31.Rxf7+ Kd6 32.Qd4+ Kc6 33.Qc5# 1-0
[Event "Skopje Olympiad"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1972.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Tal"]
[Black "Gonzales"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "35"]
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 g6 4.c3 Nf6
{Black seeks to meet White's planned 5.d4 by 5...cxd4 6.cxd4 d5.}
5.Qe2 Qc7 6.O-O a6 7.Ba4
{White preserves his bishop and tempts Black to advance his queenside pawns, so they will become targets.}
b5 8.Bc2 c4
{Now Black can meet 9.d4 by 9...cxd3, but his queenside is very exposed.}
9.a4
{White attacks on the queenside before Black has the chance to cover his weaknesses.}
Rb8 10.axb5 axb5 11.d3
{White is willing to allow 11... cxd3 now that he has the a-file and the b5 pawn as a target.}
d5
{A decisive blunder. Black hopes to get some piece play but simply loses a pawn and lets White's pieces flood into his queenside.}
12.exd5 Nxd5
{12...cxd3 13.Qxd3 Ne5 14.Nxe5 Qxe5 15.Bb3}
13.dxc4 bxc4 14.Qxc4 Nb6
{He has to break the pin on the c6 knight before White plays Be4 and Nd4.}
15.Qf4
{Black resigned here. This may seem a little premature, but after...}
Qxf4
{15...e5 16.Qf6 Rg8 17.Re1 Bd6 18.Bf4}
16.Bxf4 Rb7 17.Be4 Bd7 18.b4
{It's hopeless.}
1-0
[Event "Bath"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1973.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Hug"]
[Black "Spassky"]
[Result "0-1"]
[PlyCount "60"]
1.Nf3 d5 2.g3 c6 3.Bg2 Bf5 4.O-O Nf6 5.d3 e6 6.Nbd2 Be7 7.Qe1
{Against Hug's King's Indian Attack, Spassky has selected a solid defensive formation.}
h6 8.e4 Bh7 9.Qe2 O-O 10.b3
{White turns his attention to the queenside. The more direct 10.e5 might have been more effective.}
a5 11.a3 c5 12.a4 Nc6
{Black's position looks much more natural.}
13.Bb2 Re8 14.Ne5
{White's strategy involves using the a1-h8 diagonal, and, in particular, the e5-square. Spassky cuts across this plan with the next move.}
Nd4 15.Qd1
{15.Bxd4 cxd4 The c-file will be used by Black to put tremendous pressure on the backward pawn at c2.}
Qc7 16.Nef3 dxe4 17.dxe4 Red8
{This is an example of what I call man-on-man coverage, similar to the basketball notion that one piece sometimes plays the role of dealing with a particular enemy piece. The rook confronts the enemy queen from a distance.}
18.Re1 Nxf3+ 19.Bxf3
{Forced, because of the pin on the knight at d2.}
c4
{Threatening a fork at c3.}
20.bxc4 Bb4
{More pressure is added to the pin.}
21.c3 Be7 22.Qe2 Nd7
{The next battleground is the c5-square.}
23.Nb3 Ne5 24.c5 Bxc5 25.Nxc5
{We have reached the critical position. Now Spassky uses a deflection which, in combination with a fork, leads to a winning position. Do you see how? If not, set this game up against Gambit.}
Rd2 26.Nd3
{26.Qxd2 Nxf3+ 26.Qe3 Nc4 The queen and bishop at b2 are forked.}
Rxe2 27.Bxe2 Nc4 28.Bf1 Qc6 29.Bc1 Bxe4 30.Nc5 Bd5 0-1
[Event "Tallinn"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1973.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Spassky"]
[Black "Tal"]
[Result "0-1"]
[PlyCount "76"]
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Bg5
{A line which Spassky favored for many years even though White has no real chance to gain an advantage against best play.}
h6 5.Bh4 c5 6.d5 b5
{Tal decides to make a fight of the game, casting aside the more prosaic 6...d6 .}
7.dxe6 fxe6 8.cxb5 d5
{The investment of a pawn has gained Black a very strong central pawn wedge.}
9.e3
{The threat was 9...d4.}
O-O
{The f-file now is available for attacking operations.}
10.Nf3
{10.Bd3 is considered stronger.}
Qa5 11.Bxf6 Rxf6 12.Qd2 a6
{A typical idea in formations where the b-pawn has been sacrificed. Black wants to open up more lines and diagonals.}
13.bxa6 Nc6
{There is no need to capture the pawn at a6. Now that it is out of the way Black is able to bring the knight into the game.}
14.Be2
{A critical moment. White is getting ready to castle to safety.}
d4
{This additional pawn sacrifice is part of a strong combination which leads to a win of material.}
15.exd4 Rxf3
{The knight defended the pawn at d4, so it is eliminated.}
16.Bxf3 cxd4
{Now the pin on the a5-d1 diagonal is exploited.}
17.O-O dxc3 18.bxc3 Bxc3
{This fork of queen and rook was foreseen by Tal many moves back.}
19.Qd6 Rxa6
{Now if the rook moves then 20...Nd4 will create tremendous problems for White.}
20.Bxc6 Bb4
{This is the finishing touch of the combination, preventing the White queen from moving to e7.}
21.Qb8 Rxc6 22.Rac1
{Black has two powerful bishops for the rook, but his position has some holes in it.}
Bc5 23.Rc2 Qa4 24.Qb3 Qf4 25.Qg3
{A serious miscalculation. 25.Qf3 Qxf3 26. gxf3 e5 27.Kh1 Bb7 28.Rb1 Rb6 29.Rxb6 Bxf3+ 30.Kg1 Bxb6 31.a4 might have been better, as suggested by Viktor Korchnoi.}
Qf5 26.Rfc1 Bb7 27.Qf3
{27.Qb8+ Kh7 28.Qxb7 Bxf2+ 29.Rxf2 Rxc1+ 30.Rf1 Rxf1++}
Qg5 28.Qb3 Rc7
{Black has regrouped effectively and is ready for the final assault on the White king.}
29.g3
{Now we have a combination of an x-ray and a skewer along the c-file.}
Bxf2+ 30.Kxf2
{30.Rxf2 Rxc1+ 31.Rf1 Qc5+}
Qf6+ 31.Ke1 Qe5+ 32.Kf1
{32.Kd1 Qd4+ 33.Ke1 Qg1+}
Ba6+ 33.Kg1 Qd4+ 34.Kg2 Qe4+ 35.Kg1
{35.Kh3 Rxc2 36.Qxc2 Bf1+ 37.Rxf1 Qxc2}
Bb7 36.h4 Qh1+ 37.Kf2 Rf7+ 38.Ke2 Qe4+ 0-1
[Event "USSR Teams"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1973.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Karpov"]
[Black "Spassky"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "67"]
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 d6 8.c3 O-O
9.h3 Nb8
{The Breyer Variation of the Spanish Game, one of Boris Spassky's favorites.}
10.d3
{For a long time Karpov preferred this quiet move to the standard 10.d4.}
Bb7 11.Nbd2 Nbd7 12.Nf1 Re8 13.Ng3 Nc5 14.Bc2 Bf8
{This is th e main starting position for the 10.d3 variation. White will now spend some time attending to the queenside before attacking the enemy king.}
15.b4 Ncd7 16.d4 h6 17.Bd2 Nb6 18.Bd3 g6
{Too passive. Black should stake a claim on the queenside before it is too late and the best way of doing so would be to aim for c7-c7 with a preparatory Rc8. That plan is not without risk, but it is better than treading water.}
19.Qc2 Nfd7 20.Rad1
{Karpov care fully completes his mobilization before launching his attack. More importantly, he recognized the potential usefulness of this rook on the d-file, despite the fact that the file is almost filled with pieces!}
Bg7
{Now Karpov must create his plan. The center is still filled with tension. The Rd1 has distant "man-on-man" coverage against the Black queen.}
21.dxe5
{A well-timed exchange. Black should now recapture with the knight, even though after 22. Nxe5 Bxe5 23.f4 White will have a strong central positon.}
dxe5 22.c4
{This forces the weakening of Black's queenside pawn structure.}
bxc4 23.Bxc4 Qe7
{Spassky wants to play c7-c5 as soon as possible, eliminating his weak pawn. But he should have taken the opportunity to exchange his knight for White's powerful light-squared bishop.}
24.Bb3 c5 25.a4
{Karpov already has the idea of a plan in which he will sacrifice the exchange by allowing Black to play Bb7-c6-a4 after the Bb3 is chased back to a2. This plan is based on an evaluation of the Re1 as relatively useless.}
c4
{25...cxb4 26.a5 Rac8 27.Qa2 Na8 28.Bxb4! is a decisive blow.}
26.Ba2 Bc6 27.a5 Ba4 28.Qc1 Nc8 29.Bxh6
{The superior activity of White's forces which results from the sacrifice of the exchange will enable him to attack on the kingside.}
Bxd1 30.Rxd1 Nd6
{Understandably, Black wants to get this knight into a position to help with the defense of the king. Best was 30.. .Ra7, though that would have parted with the c-pawn after 31.Bxg7 Kxg7 32.Qxc4.}
31.Bxg7 Kxg7
{White now observes that the horses are guarded only by the queen, which can be deflected.}
32.Qg5
{with the amusing point that 32... Qxg5 33.Nxg5 leaves Black with no way to stop the loss of one of the knights, while 32...Nf6?? drops the queen to 33.Nf5+.}
f6 33.Qg4
{Maintaining the threat of Nf5+.}
Kh7 34.Nh4
{and Black resigned rather than invite 34...Rg8 35.Bxc4! or 34...Nf8 35.Nxg6! Nxg6 36.Qh5+ Kg7 37.Rxd6! and the thematic Nf5+ follows. The entire plan was based on play along the d-file which Karpov anticipated with 20.Rad1!}
1-0
[Event "Dubna"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1973.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Tal"]
[Black "Vaganian"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "25"]
1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nd2 Nc6 4.Ngf3 Nf6 5.e5 Nd7 6.Nb3 f6
{This is risky, but it's Black must attack White's center somehow.}
7.Bb5
{This protects e5 by pinbning one of the knights.}
fxe5 8.dxe5 Nc5 9.Ng5
{White begins to exploit the weaknesses Black has given himself, setting up possible attacks by Qh5+ and Qh4 or Qf3.}
Bd7
{In his eagerness to attack e5 Black completely misses the threat.}
10.Bxc6 bxc6 11.Qh5+ g6 12.Qf3
{Black resigned here, since he can only defend the mate by Qe7.}
Qe7 13.Nxc5
{Black loses a piece, since 13...Qxc5 allows 14 Qf7+ Kd8 15 Qf6+ forking king and rook.}
1-0
[Event "Madrid"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1973.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Karpov"]
[Black "Uhlmann"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "83"]
1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nd2 c5 4.exd5 exd5 5.Ngf3 Nc6 6.Bb5 Bd6 7.dxc5 Bxc5
{This is called an "isolated queen pawn" (IQP) position because the pawn at d5 cannot be protected by any other pawn. The pawn is weak and White will try to win it, but Black has counterplay on the adjacent open files.}
8.O-O Nge7 9.Nb3 Bd6
{In IQP positions like these White has two main objectives: the blockade of the isolated pawn and the elimination of Black's dark-squared bishop.}
10.Bg5
{This move directly implements White's plan by transfering the bishop to a post from which it can reach the h2-g8 diagonal (via h4 to g3).}
O-O 11.Bh4 Bg4 12.Be2 Bh5
{The superior 12... Re8! had already been introduced by Uhlmann, but he was probably afraid of a prepared innovation.}
13.Re1 Qb6 14.Nfd4
{Not only does White achieve half of his goal, but he also places Black in a position where he faces a difficult decision concerning the fate of the Bh5.}
Bg6
{If Black had exchanged bishops the isolated pawn would have less protection. Uhlmann decides that the bishop may be of use at e4, since any eventual f2-f3 will weaken the a7-g1 diagonal.}
15.c3 Rfe8 16.Bf1 Be4 17.Bg3
{Now that all of White's pieces have been properly positioned, the exchange of bishops is appropriate.}
Bxg3 18.hxg3
{White need not worry about the doubled g-pawns. They are actually strong from both offensive and defensive perspectives.}
a5
{The weakening of b5 is probably more significant than Black's mild initiative, but perhaps the move was played without taking into consideration White's potential sacrifice of the b-pawn.}
19.a4 Nxd4 20.Nxd4
{Karpov correctly maintains the blockade with the piece, since if 20...Qxb2 then 21.Nb5! threatens both 22.Nc7 and 22.Re2.}
Nc6
{The position remains rather closed, and the e-file is the only line which can be exploited. To do this, White must drive the Re8 away.}
21.Bb5
{The pin encourages Black's rook to leave the e-file. Probably 21...Bg6 would have been best here.}
Red8 22.g4
{A very clever move, the point of which is to create threats of trapping the enemy bishop should it retreat to g6 (with f2-f4-f5).}
Nxd4
{This is a major positional concession, since it leads to an endgame where Black has a bad bishop and White controls the e-file.}
23.Qxd4 Qxd4 24.cxd4 Rac8 25.f3 Bg6 26.Re7
{The immediate objective has now been achieved, and after the doubling of rooks on the e-file Karpov illustrates his famous endgame technique to secure the point.}
b6 27.Rae1 h6 28.Rb7 Rd6 29.R1e7 h5 30.gxh5 Bxh5 31.g4 Bg6 32.f4 Rc1+ 33.Kf2
Rc2+ 34.Ke3 Be4 35.Rxf7 Rg6 36.g5 Kh7 37.Rfe7 Rxb2 38.Be8 Rb3+ 39.Ke2 Rb2+
40.Ke1 Rd6 41.Rxg7+ Kh8 42.Rge7 1-0
[Event "Leningrad Interzonal"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1973.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Karpov"]
[Black "Torre"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "47"]
1.e4 Nf6 2.e5 Nd5 3.d4 d6 4.Nf3 g6
{A fairly recent preference in the Alekhine Defense.}
5.Bc4 Nb6 6.Bb3 Bg7 7.Ng5 d5 8.f4 Nc6 9.c3 f6
{The point is to support the center.}
10.Nf3 Bf5 11.O-O Qd7 12.Nbd2 fxe5 13.fxe5 O-O 14.Rf2 Na5
{Karpov now decides to eliminate the light-squared bishops.}
15.Bc2 Bxc2 16.Qxc2 Qf5 17.Qd1 e6 18.Nf1
{Here Torre finally launches his hypermodern counterattack in the center.}
c5 19.h3 cxd4 20.cxd4 Nc6 21.b3 Nd7 22.Ba3 Rf7
{Black's minor pieces are not doing much but observing the play. By deflecting the queen, Karpov manages to trap it.}
23.g4 Qe4
{23...Qf4 24.Bc1 Qe4 25.Ng3 also leaves the queen without an escape route.}
24.Ng5
{The queen is trapped, so Black resigned.}
1-0
[Event "Dubna"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1973.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Rukavina"]
[Black "Tal"]
[Result "0-1"]
[PlyCount "54"]
1.Nf3 c5 2.b3 d5 3.c4 d4
{This is a strong move since now the advance b2-b3 makes little sense. In fact, Rukavina soon changes his mind and advances it another square, wasting a tempo, so that it is just as if Tal were playing White.}
4.g3 Nc6 5.d3 Nf6 6.Bg2 e5 7.O-O Be7 8.Nbd2 O-O 9.b4
{A reckless move, but White was beginning to suffocate from lack of space.}
cxb4 10.a3
{This position somewhat resembles the Benko Gambit with colors reversed, but if so, then White has chosen an inferior variation because there is no counterplay on the queenside, because Tal is not going to open up lines.}
a5
{If 10...bxa3, then White would have room to operate on the queenside.}
11.Ne1 Bg4
{This pin will play a very important role in the next few moves.}
12.Nc2 Qd7
{Threatening 13...Bh3, after which the exchange of light-squared bishops would be in Black's favor.}
13.Re1
{The idea behind this move is to meet 13... Bh3 with 14.Bh1, but there is a greater danger which Rukavina fails to appreciate.}
e4
{A strong move. There are three legal captures, but two of them lead to immediate disaster.}
14.dxe4
{Or 14.Nxe4 b3, trapping the knight at c2.}
d3
{This advance exploits the pin on the e-pawn.}
15.Ne3 Bxe2 16.Qa4 Ng4
{The attack continues.}
17.Ndf1 Bf6
{This not only threatens the rook at a1, but also brings the bishop into the game.}
18.Ra2 Bc3 19.Bd2 Qd4 20.axb4 Bxd2 21.Rxd2 axb4
{This is a discovered attack against the White queen, which allows the rook to join the attack, a factor which will weigh heavily in a few moves.}
22.Qb3 Ra1 23.Rxa1 Qxa1 24.Nxg4
{Now White perhaps expected 24...Bxg4, but Tal doesn't bother with such material considerations.}
Nd4 25.Qb2 Nf3+ 26.Kh1 Qe1 27.Nge3
{This looks like a move which will hold White's position together, but Tal's queen carves a new path to the mating square.}
Qxf2
{White resigned since checkmate is inevitable.}
0-1
[Event "Bath"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1973.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Petrosian"]
[Black "Lombard"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "45"]
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 b6 4.a3 Bb7 5.Nc3 d5 6.cxd5 Nxd5
{Petrosian w as the first to use this system regularly as White, but now it is more closely associated with the Kasparov name.}
7.e3 Nd7 8.Nxd5 exd5 9.Bd3 Bd6 10.Qc2
{Notice how the White queen and bishop form a powerful battery against the Black kingside.}
h6 11.b4 a6 12.O-O O-O 13.Rb1 Qe7 14.a4 Nf6 15.b5 axb5 16.axb5
{White has given Black a backward c-pawn.}
Ne4 17.Bb2 Ng5 18.Ne5
{White stands better due to his more active bishops.}
Bxe5 19.dxe5 d4
{Black thinks that the opening of the a8-h1 diagonal is worth the investment of a pawn. But Petrosian simply ignores the offering and maintains the initiative instead. A valuable lesson in the relative merits of the two!}
20.f4
{Stopping Black's trick of Nf3+ and Qg5.}
Ne6 21.f5 Qg5 22.fxe6 Qxe3+ 23.Qf2
{Black resigned as after 23...Qxd3 24. exf7+ Kh8 25. e6 as he has no good way of stopping the White pawns. Otherwise he is just a piece down.}
1-0
[Event "Hastings"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1973.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Tal"]
[Black "Hartston"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "53"]
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nc6 5.Nc3 d6 6.Be3 Nf6 7.Be2
{A typical Sicilian Defense. Black uses the small center and flanking knights to keep White pieces off of the 5th rank and to keep some pressure on White's center.}
Be7 8.O-O O-O 9.f4 Qc7 10.Kh1
{All these moves are in line with the spirit of the Scheveningen Variation, which is a particular favorite of Kasparov. 10.Qe1 Nxd4 11.Bxd4 e5 12.fxe5 dxe5 13.Qg3 Bc5 This wild sequence of moves ends with an important pin on the a7-g1 diagonal}
Bd7 11.Qe1 a6 12.Qg3
{White will attack on the kingside and Black will play on the queenside. Thus it is written in the Book of the Sicilian. Time is of the essence.}
b5 13.e5 dxe5 14.fxe5
{Here the position is critical.}
Nxd4
{The wrong capture. 14...Nxe5 15.Bh6 Ne8 16.Bf4 Bd6 With a playable position for Black.}
15.Bxd4 Ne8 16.Bd3
{Even more efficient was 16.Ne4, as pointed out by Tal himself in his notes to this game.}
Bc6
{Now the e4-square is covered.}
17.Qh3 g6 18.Rae1
{It is impossible to overstate how strong this move is. In order for winning combinations to appear on the board one's forces must be in their optimal positions. It is little moves like this that distinguish master level play.}
Rd8 19.Qe3 Rd7 20.Bb6 Qc8
{White has a huge advantage in space, and Black is going to have a hard time defending all the holes in the position. The f7-square is particularly weak, a fact that Tal does not fail to notice.}
21.Ne4 Bxe4 22.Bxe4 h5
{This is a very bad move because it undermines the support of the g6-pawn.}
23.Qh6 Ng7
{Now Tal finishes in typical brilliant style with a sacrifice that undermines the entire kingside.}
24.Rxf7 Rxf7
{If Black captures with the king he gates mated in two moves. Do you see how? 24...Kxf7 25.Bxg6+ Kg8 26.Qh7+}
25.Bxg6 Nf5
{25...Bd8 26.Qh7+ Kf8 27.Be3 The bishop circles round to the kingside and will be able to move to g5.}
26.Bxf7+ Kxf7 27.Qh7+
{Black resigned. If you are not sure why, play out this position against Gambit and you will quickly find out!}
1-0
[Event "Dubna"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1973.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Tal"]
[Black "Platonov"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "49"]
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Bg5 e6 7.f4 Qb6 8.Qd2
Qxb2 9.Nb3 Qa3 10.Bxf6 gxf6 11.Be2 Nc6 12.O-O Bd7 13.Bh5 Bg7 14.Rf3 O-O
15.Raf1 Na5 16.Rh3 Nxb3 17.axb3 Rac8 18.Kh1 f5 19.exf5 Qb4
{White's pawns on the f-file just seem to be in the way, so Tal gets rid ofthem!}
20.f6 Bxf6 21.f5
{This not only offers up the pawn at f5, but also invites Black to capture the knight at c3. Tal realizes that the knight has no useful role in the attack on the enemy king.}
Rxc3 22.Rg3+
{The check drives the king into the corner, because the rook at c3 is pinned to the queen at b4.}
Kh8
{22...Bg7 23.f6 Rxg3 24.Qxb4 and White wins.}
23.Qh6
{The double ack on the rook at f8 and the bishop at f6 forced Black to resign. Why? It seems that Black can capture the rook at g3 and escape, but White is prepared for this.}
Rxg3 24.Bg6
{The threat is Qxh7 mate. There is no defense except to capture at g6. If Black captures with the f-pawn (the h-pawn is pinned by the queen), then White captures the rook at f8 with checkmate. So...}
Rxg6 25.fxg6
{Now White has the same threats. The next move is either Qxh7 mate or Qxf8 mate .}
1-0
[Event "Reykjavik"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1974.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Sigurjonsson"]
[Black "Smyslov"]
[Result "0-1"]
[PlyCount "48"]
1.c4 e5 2.Nc3 Nf6 3.Nf3 Nc6 4.g3 Bb4
{A developing move which prepares for rapid castling. It is more active than 4...Be7.}
5.Bg2 O-O 6.O-O
{This position is still a popular way for both sides to play the English opening.}
e4 7.Ng5 Bxc3 8.bxc3 Re8 9.f3
{Smyslov has played this position for both White and Black.}
exf3 10.Nxf3 d5 11.cxd5 Qxd5
{An interesting position where White has the two center pawns(long term advantage) while Black has active piece play.}
12.Nd4 Qh5 13.Nxc6 bxc6 14.e3
{14.Bxc6 looks tempting but it actually leads to the loss of a piece after 14...Ng4}
Bg4 15.Qa4 Re6
{The right idea but wrong move order. Better was Be2 first. 15...Be2 16.Rxf6 Bb5 17.Qc2 gxf6}
16.Rb1
{A mistake which later exposes the rook to attack. 16.Ba3 Be2 17.Rf4 would be much better than the game continuation, as White's queen rook is actually safer on a1 than b1.}
Be2 17.Re1 Ng4
{Threatening a quick win after Qxh2+ and Rf6+.}
18.h3 Qf5
{This is a clas sic example of a double attack, with the queen hitting both the rook at b1 and the vulnerable f2-square.}
19.Rxe2
{19.hxg4 Qxb1 20.Rxe2 Qxc1+}
Qxb1 20.Qxg4 Qxc1+ 21.Kh2
{Black has won the exchange which gives him a winning material advantage.}
Rd8 22.Qb4 h6 23.c4 Qd1 24.Rf2 Qe1
{White resigned because he is the exchange down and losing his d-pawn.}
0-1
[Event "Moscow"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1974.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Korchnoi"]
[Black "Karpov"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "37"]
1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 e6 3.g3 b6 4.Bg2 Bb7 5.c4 Be7 6.Nc3 O-O 7.Qc2 c5 8.d5 exd5
9.Ng5
{White exploits the pin on the h1-a8 diagonal to maintain his outpost on d5.}
Nc6
{Black gives up on fighting for d5. He should play 9...g6 to neutralize the mate threat on h7.}
10.Nxd5 g6 11.Qd2
{Black has neutralized the b1-h7 diagonal, so White prepares to attack the new weakness on h6 with his queen.}
Nxd5
{Black brings White's g2 bishop to a strong attacking square. He should have played 11...Re8 to cover the h6 square by 12...Bf8.}
12.Bxd5 Rb8
{Black unpins his c6 knight, but this costs a fatal tempo. He had to simplify. 12...Bxg5 13.Qxg5 Qxg5 14.Bxg5 White has a great endgame because of the two bishops and Black's backward pawn on d7.}
13.Nxh7 Re8
{White gets a winning attack after 13...Kxh7 14.Qh6+ Kg8 15.Qxg6+ Kh8 16.Qh6+ Kg8 17.Be4 f5 18.Bd5+ Rf7 19.Qg6+ Kh8 20.Bxf7}
14.Qh6 Ne5 15.Ng5 Bxg5 16.Bxg5 Qxg5
{16...Qc7 17.Bf6}
17.Qxg5 Bxd5 18.O-O
{White can't take the bishop.}
Bxc4 19.f4
{Not only is Black down a queen for only two minor pieces, but White still has an attack. So Black gave up.}
1-0
[Event "Nice Olympiad"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1974.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Petrosian"]
[Black "Venalainen"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "57"]
1.c4 c5 2.Nf3 g6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 Bg7 6.e4 d6
{By transpos ition we have reached a Sicilian Defense, the Maroczy Bind Variation where White's twin pillars at e4 and c4 restrict Black's options, but the bishop at g7 can become powerful.}
7.Be2 O-O 8.O-O Nc6 9.Be3 Bd7 10.Qd2 a6 11.f3 Qa5 12.Nb3 Qd8
{Black has invested some time in luring the White knight away from d4.}
13.Rfd1 b6 14.Rac1
{White stands better due to his better development and bind on the light squares.}
Rb8 15.Kh1
{If the position opens up White's king will be safer tucked away in the corner.}
Be6 16.Nd5 Nd7
{16...Bxd5 17.cxd5 Na7 18.Bxa6}
17.Nd4
{White's central superiority is obvious.}
Nxd4 18.Bxd4 Bxd4 19.Qxd4 Re8 20.Rc3
{The rook lift is an important prelude to White's coming kingside attack.}
Qc8 21.f4 Qc5 22.Qd2 Rbc8 23.Rdc1 Qf2 24.Rf1 Qh4 25.f5 Bxd5 26.exd5
{Black resigned as he is defenseless against the White attack on the h-file. For example:}
Ne5 27.fxg6 hxg6 28.Rh3 Qe4 29.Qh6 1-0
[Event "USSR"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1974.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Tal"]
[Black "Petrosian"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "59"]
1.e4 g6 2.d4 Bg7 3.Nc3 d6 4.Nf3 Nf6 5.Be2 O-O 6.O-O
{This is the Classical Pirc, an opening in which Black concedes the center in return for rapid development, hoping to strike back later.}
Nc6 7.d5 Nb8 8.Re1 e5 9.dxe6 Bxe6 10.Bf4 h6 11.Nd4 Bd7 12.Qd2 Kh7 13.e5
dxe5 14.Bxe5 Ne4 15.Nxe4 Bxe5 16.Nf3 Bg7 17.Rad1 Qc8 18.Bc4 Be8
{Black's pieces are out of play, and although there are a few defenders near the monarch, White's pieces can break through quickly.}
19.Neg5+
{White sacrifices a knight in order to shatter the pawn barrier protecting the Black king.}
hxg5 20.Nxg5+ Kg8 21.Qf4
{There is now additional pressure at f7, and the queen threatens to transfer to h4 from which it can deliver mate at h7.}
Nd7
{Black plans to bring this knight to f6 to defend the critical f6 square. But Tal puts paid to this plan with a simple and effective sacrifice.}
22.Rxd7 Bxd7 23.Bxf7+
{Here Black resigned, because the king gets mated if it moves to the h-file but capturing the bishop also leads to immediate disaster:}
Rxf7 24.Qxf7+ Kh8 25.Qxg6 Bf5 26.Nf7+ Kg8 27.Nh6+ Kh8 28.Nxf5 Qg8 29.Re7
Bf8 30.Qh5+ 1-0
[Event "Portoroz"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1975.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Karpov"]
[Black "Mariotti"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "43"]
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Bc5 4.O-O Qf6
{Black hopes to prevent a future d4 by White, but his queen is exposed on f6.}
5.c3 Nge7
{Black must play this move to avoid an immediate d4 by White. For example, see what happens in the following variation: 5...h6 6.d4 exd4 7. e5 Nxe5 8.Nxe5 Qxe5 9.Re1 and Black loses his queen because of the pin.}
6.b4 Bb6 7.Na3 g5
{Black believes that with the center closed for the time being he can get away with weakening his own kingside. He should have played a normal move like 7...a6 and followed up by d6 with a reasonable position.}
8.d4
{White wastes no time in punishing Black's eccentricity. The center will be torn open and Black's pieces will be kicked around.}
g4
{8...h6 9.Nc4 And Black will have to give up his pawn on e5 which will give White a huge edge in the central.}
9.Nxe5 Nxe5 10.dxe5 Qxe5 11.Qxg4 Qxc3
{After a series of exchanges White has emerged with a much better game. He has a great lead in development.}
12.Rb1 Rg8
{Do you see why White can't play 13.Qf3?}
13.Qh5 Qg7
{Black tries to gain time to coordinate his pieces by threatening mate on g2.}
14.g3 c6 15.Bd3 d6 16.Nc4 Bg4 17.Qh4 Nc8 18.e5
{White forces the center open. Black's king will perish in the ensuing crossfire.}
dxe5
{18...d5 19.Nd6+ Nxd6 20.exd6 And the open e-file and threat of mate on e7 will doom Black's king.}
19.Bh6 Bd8
{19...Qh8 20.Bg5 And White will follow up by Bf6 and Bxe5.}
20.Bxg7 Bxh4 21.Bxe5 f5 22.Na5
{Black is losing a pawn and his king is still not safe, so he gave up.}
1-0
[Event "Biel Interzonal"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1976.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Huebner"]
[Black "Tal"]
[Result "0-1"]
[PlyCount "82"]
1.c4 Nf6 2.Nc3 e6 3.Nf3 Bb4
{This is an aggressive line which appealed to Tal's attacking instincts.}
4.Qc2 c5
{With the queen gone from the d-file, Black puts pressure on d4.}
5.g3 Nc6 6.Bg2 O-O 7.O-O Qe7 8.d3 h6
{Black can afford such luxuries thanks to his advanced development.}
9.e4 d6
{White now tries to mobilize a kingside attack before Black can blast open the queenside.}
10.Nh4 Rb8 11.f4 Bd7 12.h3 Nd4
{This square is unguarded because the knight has moved from f3 to h4.}
13.Qf2 b5 14.Be3 bxc4 15.dxc4 Bc6 16.Rae1 Qb7 17.Bc1 Qa6
{Black has plenty of queenside counterplay.}
18.e5 dxe5 19.fxe5 Nh7
{This knight will find an effective home at g5.}
20.Bxc6 Qxc6 21.Re3 Ng5 22.Qg2 Qa6 23.b3
{The stage is set for a deflection sacrifice. Tal has a vision of a knight check at e2. That seems impossible, given that the square is covered by a rook, knight and queen. But of such dreams, combinations are made!}
Nxh3+ 24.Qxh3 Bxc3 25.Qg4
{25.Rxc3 Ne2+ 26.Kh2 Nxc3}
Qxa2 26.Rxc3
{Now Black could regain material with the fork at e2, but instead Tal uses yet another deflection, this time to take the pressure off the g-file.}
h5 27.Qxh5 Ne2+ 28.Kh1 Nxc3 29.Bh6
{This has no sting now.}
Qe2
{An offer to exchange queens which White cannot afford to accept.}
30.Qg5 Qe4+
{This check provides a road home for the queen.}
31.Rf3 Qh7
{Now everything is defended, and the remainder of the game is easy.}
32.Bxg7 Qxg7 33.Qxg7+ Kxg7 34.Rxc3 Rfd8
{Rooks belong on open files!}
35.Nf3 Rd1+ 36.Kg2 Rbd8 37.Rc2 R8d3 38.Ra2 Rxb3 39.Ng5
{39.Rxa7 Rdd3}
R1d3 40.Ne4 Re3 41.Nxc5 Rxg3+ 0-1
[Event "Hastings"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1976.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Smyslov"]
[Black "Farago"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "34"]
1.c4 Nf6 2.Nc3 e6 3.e4 d5 4.e5 Nfd7
{This is too passive. Black does better with either 4...Ne4 or 4...d4.}
5.cxd5 exd5 6.d4 c5 7.Nf3 Nc6 8.Bb5
{The pawn on e5 cramps Black's position, so White works hard to maintain it.}
a6 9.Bxc6 bxc6 10.O-O Be7 11.dxc5
{Now White's knights will become quite active.}
Nxc5 12.Nd4 Qb6 13.Be3 O-O
{13...Qxb2 would be horrible after 14 Nxc6, since 14...Qxc3 (else 15 Nxd5) gets crushed by 15 Nxe7 Kxe7 16 Rc1 and 17 Bxc5+.}
14.Rc1 Rd8 15.b4 Ne4
{15...Qxb4 allows 16 Nxc6.}
16.Na4 Qb7 17.Nxc6
{Black will lose at least one more pawn after, e.g. 17...Re8 18 Nb6 Rb8 19 Nxe7+ Rxe7 20 Rxc8+ Rxc8 21 Nxc8 Qxc8 22 Qxd5.}
Re8 1-0
[Event "World Cadet Championship"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1976.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Kasparov"]
[Black "Sendur"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "43"]
1.e4 d6 2.d4 Nf6 3.Nc3 g6
{The Pirc Defense. Black builds a kind of King's Indian formation, ceding the center to White, though with the intention of attacking it later on.}
4.Nf3 Bg7 5.Be2 Nbd7
{5...O-O Keeps Black's options open.}
6.O-O O-O 7.e5
{7.Bf4 is also good.}
dxe5
{A mistake as Black opens up the center too early. Better was 7... Ne8 8.Bg5 f6 9.exf6 exf6 10.Be3 c6 with a space advantage for White.}
( 6...Ne8 8.Bg5 f6 9.exf6 exf6 10.Be3 c6 )
8.dxe5 Ng4 9.e6 Nde5
{9...fxe6 would allow White to win material.}
( 8...fxe6 10.Ng5 )
10.Qxd8 Rxd8
{The exchange of queens has weakened Black's queenside.}
11.Nxe5 Nxe5 12.Nb5 c6 13.Nc7 Rb8 14.f4
{The Black knight has been trapped in the center of the board!}
Ng4 15.Bxg4 Bd4+ 16.Kh1 Bb6 17.f5 Bxc7
{Black has regained his lost piece. However, in so doing all his pieces have ended up over on the queenside, leaving his king exposed to attack.}
18.fxg6 fxg6 19.Bh6
{White's pawn on e6 keeps Black's pieces from entering the game.}
Be5 20.Rad1
{White intends to exchange Black's only piece that defends the back rank.}
Rxd1 21.Rxd1 Bd6
{21...b6 allows White a forced mate.}
22.Rf1
{Black resigned since he has no good defense to the back rank mate with 23.Rf8.}
1-0
[Event "Soviet Union"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1976.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Petrosian"]
[Black "Kupreichik"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "45"]
1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.cxd5 cxd5 4.Nc3 Nf6 5.Nf3 Nc6 6.Bf4 e6 7.e3 Bd6 8.Bg3
{This retreat allows White to recapture with the h-pawn and open a file in the event that Black chooses to capture at g3.}
Ne4
{A violation of the opening principle that one should generally not move a single piece twice in the opening before completing development.}
9.Nxe4 dxe4 10.Nd2
{Now Black has to worry about defending the weak pawn at e4.}
Bxg3 11.hxg3 e5 12.dxe5 Qa5
{12...Nxe5 13.Qa4+ Nc6 14.Qxe4+}
13.Qb3
{White is w illing to give back the pawn at e5, in return for the right to develop his pieces quickly.}
Qxe5 14.Be2 Qe7
{Black drops the queen back to defend the b-pawn, thus freeing up the bishop. But the real problem is that he is behind in development.}
15.Rc1 O-O
{Black falls into a trap. Castling should be done early in the game, but not after the h-file is already open!}
16.Nxe4 Qxe4 17.Bd3 Qb4+
{Perhaps Black counted on this move to solve his problems. 17...Qxg2 18.Bxh7+ Kh8 19.Be4+ Qxh1+ 20.Bxh1}
18.Qxb4 Nxb4 19.Bxh7+ Kh8 20.Bb1+
{White has two pawns for the piece but more importantly his pieces are in no position to defend the king because they have never entered the game.}
Kg8 21.Rc4
{Black probably missed this rook lift when he castled. White's idea is to play Rch4 and Rh8 mate.}
a5 22.Bh7+ Kh8 23.Bf5+
{Black resigned as mate in unavoidable.}
1-0
[Event "Tbilisi"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1976.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Lputian"]
[Black "Kasparov"]
[Result "0-1"]
[PlyCount "76"]
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6
{I have played the King's Indian Defense throughout my career, as it leads to dynamic play for Black}
5.f3
{With this move White has chosen the Saemish variation to combat the King's Indian Defense.}
Nc6 6.Be3 a6 7.Qd2 Rb8 8.Rb1 O-O 9.b4
{White usually plays 9.Nge2, strengthening the central point d4, and only then initiating operations on the queenside. By playing b4 here, White actually provokes Black's reply and the following sacrifice of a pawn.}
e5
{This move is designed to take advantage of Black's lead in development by opening up the position.}
10.d5 Nd4
{I played this move with the idea of sacrificing a pawn to open up the diagonal for dark squared bishop.}
11.Nge2
{11.Bxd4 exd4 12.Qxd4 would allow Black to win material.}
( 11.Bxd4 exd4 12.Qxd4 Nxe4 13.Qxe4 Bf5 )
10...c5 12.dxc6 bxc6 13.Nxd4 exd4 14.Bxd4 Re8
{This move poses White a more difficult problem: to find the correct path in the minefield.}
15.Be2
{Perhaps the proper decision was 15.Bd3.}
c5 16.bxc5 Nxe4
{This unexpected move brings out the weaknesses of White's 8.Rb1, 9.b4 plan.}
17.fxe4 Qh4+ 18.g3 Rxb1+ 19.Kf2
( 19.Nxb1 Qxe4 )
18...Rb2
{Played with the idea of deflecting the White queen from the protection of the d4 bishop.}
20.gxh4
{20.Qxb2 Bxd4+ 21.Ke1 Bxc3+ 22.Qxc3 Qxe4 is winning for Black do to the dual threats of mate on e2 and the capture of White's rook. Can you find the winning move now? It is tricky!}
( 20.Qxb2 Bxd4+ 21.Ke1 Bxc3+ 22.Qxc3 Qxe4 )
19...Rxd2 21.Bxg7 Kxg7 22.Ke3 Rc2 23.Kd3 Rxc3+ 24.Kxc3 dxc5
{The combination has given Black a technically won endgame, despite the material equality. This is due to White's shattered pawn structure.}
25.Bd3 Bb7 26.Re1 Re5
{26...f5 27.e5 Be4 28.Bxe4 Rxe5 was also sufficient.}
27.a4 f5 28.Rb1 Bxe4 29.Rb6 f4
{Black's passed f-pawn decides the game.}
30.Rxa6 f3 31.Bf1 Bf5 32.Ra7+ Kh6 33.Kd2 f2 34.Be2 Bg4
{Played with the idea of deflecting the bishop from the promotion square at f1.}
35.Bd3 Re1 36.Rf7 Bf5 37.a5 Bxd3 38.Rxf2 Rf1
{White resigned because of his material deficit.}
0-1
[Event "Tbilisi"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1976.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Lputian"]
[Black "Kasparov"]
[Result "0-1"]
[PlyCount "76"]
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.f3 Nc6
{White is playing to set up a solid pawn center, so I'd like to provoke him to push forward by 6.d5, when I would have a target on d5 to play against.}
6.Be3 a6 7.Qd2 Rb8 8.Rb1 O-O 9.b4 e5
{White is a long way from getting his king out of the center, so I think it's time to open things up there.}
10.d5 Nd4
{Do you see why White can't just win a pawn by taking twice on d4?}
11.Nge2 c5
{Now I'm willing to sacrifice a pawn because to win it White must give me a few open files onto his own king.}
12.dxc6 bxc6 13.Nxd4 exd4 14.Bxd4 Re8 15.Be2
{15.Bd3 d5 I want to open up the whole center before White castles.}
c5
{Now I can take advantage of my rook on the b-file to open still more lines in the center.}
16.bxc5 Nxe4 17.fxe4 Qh4+ 18.g3
{18.Bf2 Bxc3 19.Bxh4 Rxb1+ 20. Kf2 Bxd2 21.Rxb1 dxc5 Here I am winning because White's king is misplaced and I can attack his isolate pawns.}
Rxb1+ 19.Kf2
{19.Nxb1 Qxe4 I am winning this position because I attack White's unprotected pieces on d4, h1 and b1.}
Rb2
{I don't want to stop attacking. Now even after the queens come off I'll have a strong attack.}
20.gxh4
{20.Qxb2 Bxd4+ 21.Kg2 Bxc3 22.Qxc3 Qxe4+}
Rxd2 21.Bxg7 Kxg7 22.Ke3 Rc2 23.Kd3 Rxc3+
{Remember, I don't want to give up the initiative. After White takes my rook, material will be equal but White won't be able to defend all his isolated pawns.}
24.Kxc3 dxc5 25.Bd3 Bb7 26.Re1 Re5
{Now White can't advance his e-pawn to a square where my bishop can't attack it.}
27.a4 f5 28.Rb1 Bxe4 29.Rb6 f4 30.Rxa6 f3 31.Bf1 Bf5 32.Ra7+ Kh6 33.Kd2
f2 34.Be2 Bg4 35.Bd3 Re1 36.Rf7 Bf5 37.a5 Bxd3 38.Rxf2 Rf1
{White resigned because I will save my extra piece. If he had played on the game might have continued: 39.Rxf1 Bxf1 40.Kc3 Kg7 41.a6 Kf6 42.a7 Bg2 and my king will capture several White pawns and escort one of my own pawns to its promotion square.}
0-1
[Event "telex"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1977.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Kasparov"]
[Black "West"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "23"]
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nc3 e6 4.d4 cxd4 5.Nxd4 Bb4
{Black is willing to lose a lot of time to weaken White's queenside.}
6.e5 Nd5 7.Bd2 Nxc3 8.bxc3 Bf8
{Black doesn't like the looks of 8...Be7 9 Qg4, but now he's down four tempi.}
9.Bd3 d6
{Offering to open lines with the opponent so far ahead in development is suicidal, but he probably didn't like 9...Nc6 10 Qe2 either.}
10.Qe2 Nd7
{Blocking in his bishop like this is a bad idea anyway, and here it loses by force.}
11.Nxe6 Qb6
{11...fxe6 12 Qh5+ doesn't work after either 12...g6 13 Bxg6+ hxg6 14 Qxg6+ Ke7 15 Bg5+ or 12...Ke7 13 Bg5+.}
12.Nc7+
{12...Qxc7 loses the queen after 13 exd6+, so Black loses a whole rook.}
1-0
[Event "Leningrad"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1977.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Dolmatov"]
[Black "Kasparov"]
[Result "0-1"]
[PlyCount "44"]
1.e4 c6
{I sometimes used to play the favorite openings of my former coach Mikhail Botvinnik.}
2.d3
{This move is too slow to give White any serious initiative. Better is 2.d4.}
e5 3.g3 g6 4.d4
{Taking two moves to advance the pawn allows Black to solve his opening problems.}
Nf6 5.Nc3 Qa5
{Pinning the knight on c3 and therefore threatening to play 6...Nxe4.}
6.Bg2 d6 7.Nge2 Bg7 8.dxe5 dxe5 9.Qd6
{Although the queen looks impressive here. It turns out that she is needed for the protection of the c-pawn.}
Na6 10.O-O Be6 11.Rd1 Nb4
{Taking advantage of the White queen not staying to protect the queenside.}
12.Be3 Nxc2 13.b4 Nxb4
{Black has a winning position because of his two pawn advantage.}
14.Bc5 Bf8 15.Qxe5 Ng4
{This intermediate move gives Black a winning initiative. 15...Bxc5 16.Qxf6 O-O 17.Nf4 Rae8 18.Nh5 gxh5 19.Qg5+ Kh8 20.Qf6+ Kg8 21.Qg5+ With a draw by repetition.}
16.Qxh8 Qxc5
{The White f-pawn now comes under a furious assault.}
17.Rf1
{17.Kh1 Nxf2+ 18.Kg1 Nh3+ 19.Kh1 Allows Black a forced mate.}
O-O-O
{Black's temporary loss of the exchange is fully compensated for by his active pieces.}
18.Qxh7 Nd3
{Black is relentless on his quest for the f-pawn.}
19.Nd1 Qe5
{A very strong move. Black intends to place his bishop on c5 and rook on h8.}
20.Rb1 Bc5
{White has no defense to the coming Rh8.}
21.h3 Ngxf2
{21...Rh8 22.Qxh8+ Qxh8 23.hxg4 Gives White two rooks for the queen.}
22.Nxf2 Rh8
{White resigned since material loss in unavoidable.}
0-1
[Event "Tilburg"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1977.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Karpov"]
[Black "Miles"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "32"]
1.c4 c5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nc3 Nc6 4.d4 cxd4 5.Nxd4 e6 6.g3 Qb6 7.Nb3 Ne5
{Black threatens to win a pawn by 8...Qc6 or 8...Nxc4.}
8.e4 Bb4 9.Qe2 a5
{Black hopes to undermine White's Nc3 by a5-a4-a3. White has a strong pawn center and Black's knights, queen and Bb4 may get driven back, so Black seeks quick counterplay.}
10.Be3
{White continues his development before taking more space. 10.f4 allows Black to use his advantage in development to gain counterplay.}
a4 11.Nd2
{fxe5 axb3 favors Black.}
( )
10...Neg4 12.e5 Nxe3 {Qc6} 13.f3
{White continues to reinforce his center.}
O-O
{Nd4 Qa6 12...Bxc3+ 13.bxc3 Qa4 14.f4 Neg4 15.e5 Nxe3 16.exf6 Black's apparently active pieces are misplaced for the defence of his king, so... Ndb5 d5 Black makes a final attempt to get counterplay against White's uncastled king, but Karpov is too clever. Nc7 White wins a rook by this fork, demanding that Black show he has compensation. Qd6 Black's pieces seem very active but White's pawn center is a strong defensive wall. Nxa8 dxe4 Black finally begins to chip away at White's pawn center, but it is too late. 15... dxc4 16.Rd1 Nd3+ 17.Rxd3 cxd3 18.Qxd3 fxe4 Nxe4}
14.Rd1
{White gains a final tempo against Black's queen.}
Qc6 15.Bg2 Nxc4
{Bd4 Now White has protected everything and he will be able to use his extra rook. Bxc3+ bxc3 f5}
16.O-O Nd6
{Nb6 e5 Nxc8 Rxc8 Bxe5 Qc5+ Bd4}
1-0
[Event "Cagnes sur mer"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1977.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Jansson"]
[Black "Kasparov"]
[Result "0-1"]
[PlyCount "44"]
1.e4 c5 2.d4
{White intends to play the Smith Morra gambit, where White sacrifices a pawn for a lead in development.}
e6
{I now prefer to capture the pawn, since the only way to refute a gambit is to accept it.}
3.Nf3 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 Nc6 6.Be3
{6.Ndb5, bringing pressure on the d6 square, is the true test of Black's opening play.}
Bb4
{Black now has numerous tactics based on the pinned knight at c3. For example Black's immediate threat is to play 7...Nxe4 winning a pawn.}
7.Bd3 d5 8.exd5
{8.Nxc6 bxc6 9.e5 Nd7 10.Qg4 is a more aggressive continuation.}
Nxd5 9.Nxc6 bxc6 10.Bd4 Nxc3 11.Bxc3
{11.bxc3 allows Black to win material.}
Bxc3+ 12.bxc3 Qf6
{Black stands slightly better because of White's doubled c-pawn. Still, with correct play I don't believe this is a big enough advantage for Black to win.}
13.O-O
{13.Qd2 Qe5+ 14.Be2 Ba6 is better for Black due to the pin on White's bishop.}
Qxc3 14.Qf3 g6
{Played to take away the b1-h7 diagonal from White's light squared bishop. 14...O-O would allow White a winning continuation.}
15.Rab1 O-O 16.Rb3
{16.Rfd1 is better, when White's lead in development compensates for his lost pawn.}
Qc5 17.Be4 Ba6 18.Bxc6 Rac8 19.Rc3
{A miscalculation which costs White material. Better was 19.Be4.}
Qa5
{White has serious problems as his bishop is pinned down on the c-file. The immediate threat is 20...Bb5 or Bb7.}
20.Rd1 Be2
{The deflection of White's queen costs him the exchange.}
21.Qxe2 Qxc3 22.Ba4 Rfd8
{White resigned because of his material deficit. For practice setup this game and try defending White's position against Gambit.}
0-1
[Event "Moscow"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1977.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Portisch"]
[Black "Karpov"]
[Result "0-1"]
[PlyCount "46"]
1.Nf3 Nf6 2.g3 b6 3.Bg2 Bb7 4.O-O e6 5.d3 d5
{This is a weak move since it blocks the bishop on b7.}
6.Nbd2 Nbd7 7.Re1 Bc5
{White's last move weakened the f2 square, so Black takes aim at it.}
8.c4 O-O 9.cxd5 exd5 10.Nb3
{The opening is over and Black's pieces are more active. White hopes to start something on the queenside, but his knight is out of play on b3. 10.d4 A more sensible move.}
Bb4 11.Bd2 a5
{Black takes some space on the queenside and sets up a possible ...a4.}
12.Nbd4
{12.Bxb4 axb4 Black is better here because White will have trouble defending his pawn on a2.}
Re8 13.Rc1 c5
{Now Black has taken control of the d4-square. This means that he can advance the pawn from d5 later, if he so wishes.}
14.Nf5
{The knight looks strong here but it isn't really doing anything.}
Nf8 15.d4 Ne4
{Black takes the initiative in the center and renews his attack on f2.}
16.dxc5
{16.a3 Bxd2 17.Nxd2 Qf6}
Nxd2 17.Nxd2 Qg5
{A double attack on both White knights. White can't cover both weaknesses by 18.Ne3.}
18.Nd6
{18.Ne3 Rxe3 19.fxe3 Qxe3+ And Black will take the d2 knight next move with a winning material advantage.}
Bxd2
{Now Black forks White's rooks.}
19.Nxb7
{This position is very complicated. White may also play 19.h4 or 19.c6}
Bxe1 20.Qxe1 Rxe2 21.Qxe2 Qxc1+ 22.Qf1 Qd2 23.cxb6 Rc8
{White is down a piece and is now faced with 24...Rc1 pinning his queen, so he resigns.}
0-1
[Event "World Championship"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1978.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Karpov"]
[Black "Korchnoi"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "57"]
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O Nxe4
{The Open Variation has always been one of Korchnoi's favorite defenses.}
6.d4 b5 7.Bb3 d5 8.dxe5 Be6 9.Nbd2
{White wants to eliminate Black's strong knight on e4 and is willing to let Black trade off his Bb3 by ...Nc5 and ... Nxb3.}
Nc5 10.c3 g6
{Black hopes to attack the pawn at e5, but this plan loses time and creates weaknesses at h6 and f6 which Black doesn't have time to defend.}
11.Qe2 Bg7 12.Nd4
{White begins his attack before Black can castle. He is willing to give up his pawn on e5 to open the e-file onto Black's king.}
Nxe5
{12...Nxd4 13.cxd4 Nxb3 14.Nxb3 White has a clear advantage due to his lock on c5 and Black's bad bishop on e6.}
13.f4
{Now White will use his f-pawn to open more lines onto Black's king.}
Nc4 14.f5
{The thematic breakthrough.}
gxf5 15.Nxf5 Rg8
{15...O-O 16.Nxg7 Kxg7 17.Qh5}
16.Nxc4 dxc4 17.Bc2 Nd3
{Black hopes to defend by shutting the Bc2 out of the game.}
18.Bh6
{White prep ares to beak in on the f-file by trading off Black's last defensive piece on the kingside.}
Bf8 19.Rad1 Qd5 20.Bxd3 cxd3 21.Rxd3 Qc6
{White dominates the center and his pieces are much more active. Black is close to defeat.}
22.Bxf8 Qb6+ 23.Kh1 Kxf8 24.Qf3 Re8 25.Nh6 Rg7 26.Rd7 Rb8
{It's mate after 26...Bxd7 27.Qxf7+ Rxf7 28.Rxf7+}
27.Nxf7 Bxd7 28.Nd8+
{Black resigned, since he will be mated in a few moves. If you have trouble finding the mate, I'll show you.}
Ke7 29.Qf8# 1-0
[Event "Minsk"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1978.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Kasparov"]
[Black "Begun"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "47"]
1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Nf3 c5 5.cxd5 Nxd5
{The Semi-Tarrasch Defense gives Black a solid yet somewhat passive position.}
6.e3
{6.e4 Nxc3 7.bxc3 is more commonly played.}
( 6.e4 Nxc3 7.bxc3 )
5...Nc6 7.Bd3 Be7 8.O-O O-O 9.Nxd5 Qxd5
{9...exd5 10.Qc2 is good for White because of the dual threats on h7 and c5.}
( 8...exd5 10.Qc2 )
10.e4 Qd8
{This retreat hands the initiative over to White. Better was 10...Qh5}
( 9...Qh5 )
11.dxc5 Bxc5 12.e5 Be7 13.Qe2 Nb4 14.Bb1 Bd7 15.a3 Nd5 16.Qe4
{A good move that forces Black to weaken his king's position, thanks to the threatened mate on h7.}
g6 17.Bh6 Re8 18.h4
{White intends to further weaken Black's kingside with 19.h5.}
Qb6 19.h5
{Following through with my plan.}
f5 20.exf6 Nxf6 21.Qe1 Nxh5 22.Ne5 Bb5 23.Bxg6
{Sweeping away Black's remaining defenders.}
Nf6
{If 23...hx g6 24.Qe4 Bf8 25.Qxg6+ Ng7 26.Ng4, Black has no good defense against White's intended 27.Nf6+.}
( 22...hxg6 24.Qe4 Bf6 25.Qxg6+ Ng7 26.Ng4
( 26.Qf7+ Kh7 27.Qxf6 Qc7 28.Nf7 ) 25...Bd4 27.Nf6+
( 27.Bxg7 Bxg7 28.Nf6+ Kf8 ) 26...Bxf6 28.Qxf6 )
24.Bxh7+
{Black resigned since he has no good response to White's attack. For example ...Kxh7 (24...Nxh7 25.Qe4 with 26.Qg4+ or 26.Qg6+ to follow.) 25.Qb1+ Kh8 26.Qg6 with no defense against the dual mate threats of 27.Nf7++ or 27.Qg7++.}
1-0
[Event "Daugavpils"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1978.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Alburt"]
[Black "Kasparov"]
[Result "0-1"]
[PlyCount "122"]
1.c4 Nf6 2.Nc3 g6 3.d4 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.Be2 O-O 6.Bg5 c5 7.d5 h6 8.Bf4 e6
9.dxe6 Bxe6
{This creates a pawn structure which forms the basis for most of the middlegame operations.}
10.Bxd6 Re8 11.Nf3 Nc6 12.O-O Qa5 13.Nd2 Red8 14.Nb3 Qb6 15.Na4 Qb4 16.Nbxc5
Bxc4 17.Bxc4 Qxc4 18.Nxb7 Nxe4 19.Rc1 Qb5 20.Nxd8 Rxd8 21.Qc2 Nd4 22.Qxe4
Ne2+ 23.Kh1 Nxc1 24.Rxc1 Rxd6 25.Qc2 Qg5 26.Rd1 Qf5 27.Qc1 Rxd1+ 28.Qxd1
Qxf2 29.Qg1 Qc2 30.b3 Qxa2 31.Nc5 Qd2 32.Qb1 Bd4 33.Nd3 Qe3 34.Nb4 h5 35.Qd1
h4 36.Nc2 Qxb3 37.Qxd4 Qb1+ 38.Qg1 Qxc2 39.Qxa7 Qd1+ 40.Qg1 Qxg1+ 41.Kxg1
Kg7 42.Kf2 Kf6 43.Ke3 Ke5 44.Kf3 f5
{I had an extra pawn, but had to be careful, because if I exchange two pawns and wind up with king and rook pawn versus king the game will be drawn.}
45.Ke3
{The advantage of studying the endgame is that when such positions arise they can be brought to the proper conclusion without original thought. Here I knew that the winning method was to get a passed f-pawn.}
g5 46.h3 Kd5
{I am going to try to circle around the back and eat the White pawns. Alburt must stop me.}
47.Kd3
{Good, we are moving further away from the pawns. Let's go one more file to the queenside.}
Kc5 48.Kc3
{Again, my opponent can't afford to let me circle around his king.}
g4 49.Kd3
{49.hxg4 fxg4 50.Kd3 h3 51.gxh3 gxh3 52.Ke3 h2 53.Kf2 h1Q}
gxh3 50.gxh3 Kd5
{First objective accomplished! I have a passed pawn and can defend it against operations by the enemy king.}
51.Ke3 Ke5 52.Kf3 f4 53.Kf2 Ke4 54.Ke2 f3+ 55.Kf1
{What now? The endgame is not simple. I need to gain the opposition. Look at the variation that will take place if I go to f4: 55. Kf1 Kf4 56.Kf2 Ke4 57.Kf1 Ke3 58.Ke1 f2+ 59.Kf1 Kf3 Oops! It is stalemate!}
Kf5
{This is the key. I am going to lose some time so that I can switch the player who has to move. Now I can set up a situation similar to that of the previous note, but with an important difference.}
56.Kg1 Ke5 57.Kf1 Ke4
{We have already seen this position, but now it is White to move. My opponent, a future champion of the United States, was a good enough endgame player to realize that resistance was useless, and he resigned, not waiting for}
58.Kf2
{58.Ke1 Ke3 59.Kf1 f2 60.Kg2 Ke2 61.Kh2 Ke1 62.Kg2 f1Q+}
Kf4 59.Kf1 Kg3 60.Kg1 Kxh3 61.Kf2 Kg4 0-1
[Event "Minsk"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1978.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Kasparov"]
[Black "Roizman"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "53"]
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nd4
{This is the Bird's variation of the Spanish Game.}
4.Nxd4 exd4 5.O-O Bc5 6.d3 c6 7.Bc4 d6 8.f4
{Beginning active operations at the first opportunity.}
Nf6 9.e5 dxe5
{This move allows me to play a combination based on the opening of the f-file. 9...Nd5 is better as it keeps the file closed.}
10.Bxf7+
{Now Black will be unable to castle, while White retains the better pawn structure.}
Kxf7 11.fxe5
{The Black knight is unable to flee since it is pinned by the White rook.}
Qd5 12.exf6 gxf6
{White stands better in this position due to his superior pawn structure and the exposed nature of the Black king.}
13.Nd2 Rg8
{Black seeks play on the g-file.}
14.Ne4 Be7 15.Bf4 Rg6 16.Qe2 Bg4 17.Qf2 Rag8
{While this move is consistent with Black's previous play, it still leaves his king exposed to attack. 17...Kg7 is better, with the idea of tucking the king away at h8.}
18.Rae1
{White is not afraid of the attack on the g-pawn, since he can block the g- file with a minor piece. Therefore Black moves the h-pawn into the game.}
h5 19.Bg5
{This unexpected pin shows the vulnerability of the Black king.}
Qd8
{Against the curious move 19...Bh3 I had intended 20.Nxf6 Bxf6 21.Qxf6+ Rxf6 22. Rxf6+ Kg7 with a forced mate for White.}
20.Qf4 Be6 21.h4 Bd5 22.g4
{This move exposes the White king. However, the rook on g6 turns out to be in danger, and this decides the game.}
Kg7
{22...hxg4 23.h5 Rxg5 24.Nxg5+ Rxg5 would allow White to win material. Against 22...Rh8 I had prepared a queen sacrifice with 23.Bxf6 Rxg4+ 24.Qxg4 hxg4 25.Bxe7+ Kxe7 when White has a forced mate.}
23.gxh5 fxg5 24.Qe5+ Kh6 25.hxg6 gxh4 26.Rf5 Kxg6 27.Kh2
{Black resigned since he is defenseless against 28.Rg1+ followed by 29.Rh5++.}
1-0
[Event "Daugavpils"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1978.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Kasparov"]
[Black "Palatnik"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "73"]
1.e4 Nf6 2.e5 Nd5 3.d4 d6 4.Nf3 g6 5.Bc4 Nb6 6.Bb3 a5 7.a4
{Black was pl aying with fire, and I should have punished him by 7.e6. 7.e6 Bxe6 8.Bxe6 fxe6 9.Ng5 Qd7 10.Qe2 Nc6 11.Nxe6 Nd8 12.Nxf8}
Bg7 8.Ng5
{I don't mind moving my knight twice here because Black will have to waste a tempo defending f7 and I can use that tempo to gain space.}
e6 9.f4 dxe5 10.fxe5 c5 11.O-O O-O
{11...Qxd4+ 12.Qxd4 cxd4 13.Nxf7 Black has an awful position here because he can coordinate his pieces before I start taking them.}
12.c3 Nc6
{Black underestimates my initiative. He should have captured first. 12... cxd4 13.cxd4 Nc6 14.Nf3 f6 Now my center is collapsing, but I can sacrifice a pawn for an initiative by 15.Nc3 fxe5 16.Bg5 and this position is unclear.}
13.Ne4
{I don't mind giving up a pawn if I can post a piece on f6, when Black's king will be in permanent danger.}
Nd7
{13...cxd4 14.Bg5 Qd7 15.Nf6+ Bxf6 16.Bxf6 dxc3 17.Qc1 And now Black will get mated.}
14.Be3 Ne7 15.Bg5
{Again I am quite happy to make a small sacrifice to take over the f6 square.}
cxd4
{15...h6 16.Bh4 g5 17.Bxg5 hxg5 18.Nxg5 And I will mate Black in a few moves.}
16.cxd4 h6 17.Bh4 g5 18.Bf2 Ng6 19.Nbc3 Qe7 20.Bc2 b6 21.Be3 Ba6 22.Rf2
Nh8 23.Bxg5
{It's time for me to cash in my more active pieces; the g5 pawn is the key to Black's king position, so it's the first target of my attack. Note that all of my pieces are ready to attack, while Black's Ra8 and Ba6 can't get back.}
hxg5 24.Qh5 f5
{24...f6 25.Nxg5 Rfc8 26.Bh7+ Kf8 27.Nce4 And I will break through on the f- file.}
25.Nxg5 Rf7
{Black not only gives himself a square on f8 but also blocks the a2-g8 diagonal onto his king. 25...Rfd8 26.Rxf5 exf5 27.Bb3+ Kf8 28.Nh7+}
26.Bxf5
{With its d iagonal blocked this bishop wasn't doing anything, but to take it Black must let my knight into d5.}
Rxf5 27.Rxf5 exf5 28.Nd5 Qe8 29.Qh7+ Kf8 30.Qxf5+ Kg8 31.Qh7+ Kf8 32.Ra3
{Now my last piece is ready to join the attack, but Black's rook and bishop still can't help the defense.}
Rc8 33.Rf3+ Nf6
{33...Nf7 34.Rxf7+ Qxf7 35.Nxf7 Rc1+ 36.Kf2 Rf1+ 37.Kg3 Rxf7 38.Qh4 And Black can't stop both 39.Qd8+ and 39.e6.}
34.h3
{Black can only move his rook and bishop, so I prevent him from doing any damage with them.}
Qg6 35.Rxf6+ Bxf6 36.Ne6+ Ke8 37.Nxf6+
{Black resigned because he must give up his queen, when he will be down too much material and I will still have an attack.}
1-0
[Event "Minsk"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1978.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Kasparov"]
[Black "Roizman"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "53"]
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nd4
{Black loses time to exchange knights because he hopes the pawn he gets on d4 will cramp me.}
4.Nxd4 exd4 5.O-O Bc5 6.d3 c6 7.Bc4
{Now I am threatening to win a pawn.}
d6 8.f4
{With Black 's pawn on d4 and not e5, I can grab more space in the center and on the kingside.}
Nf6
{8...Be6 9.Bxe6 fxe6 10.f5 In this position I'm already threatening to win on the kingside.}
9.e5 dxe5
{Black helps me to open the center while his king still lives there. He should have played 9...Nd5 to keep things closed.}
10.Bxf7+ Kxf7 11.fxe5
{I will get my piece back because of the pin on Black's knight.}
Qd5
{11...Be7 12.exf6 Bxf6 13.Bg5 And Black will still end up with an isolated pawn on f6.}
12.exf6 gxf6
{Since my rook is already attacking the isolated pawn on f6, I will have no trouble lining up the rest of my pieces to attack it.}
13.Nd2 Rg8
{Black hopes to get counterplay along the g-file.}
14.Ne4 Be7 15.Bf4 Rg6 16.Qe2 Bg4 17.Qf2 Rag8 18.Rae1 h5
{18...Be2 19. Rxe2 Rxg2+ 20.Qxg2 Rxg2+ 21.Rxg2 Black's counterplay is over and I have two rooks and a knight for the queen.}
19.Bg5
{My attack on f6 is even stronger because Black's king lives behind it.}
Qd8
{19...Rxg5 20.Nxf6 and Black can't keep my rooks and queen away from his king.}
20.Qf4 Be6 21.h4
{Now I am threatening to capture on f6.}
Bd5
{Black hopes to prevent me from taking on f6 by tying me down to the defense of g2.}
22.g4
{So I am willing to sacrifice that pawn in order not to have to defend it. Although it seems I am exposing my own king, Black's pieces can't get at it, and his Rg6 has no where to run if I get a pawn to h5.}
Kg7
{22...hxg4 23.h5}
23.gxh5 fxg5 24.Qe5+ Kh6 25.hxg6 gxh4 26.Rf5 Kxg6 27.Kh2
{Black resigned because he is down material and his king is helpless against the direct attack from my rooks and queen.}
1-0
[Event "Daugavpils"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1978.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Kasparov"]
[Black "Panchenko"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "69"]
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 d6 6.Bg5 e6 7.Qd2 a6 8.O-O-O
Bd7 9.f4 b5 10.Nxc6 Bxc6
{I'm willing to exchange knights because the trade weakens Black's control of the central dark squares.}
11.Bd3
{I want to be able to play e5 without allowing Black to exchange queens on the d-file.}
Be7 12.e5 dxe5
{12...Nd5 13.Ne4 dxe5 14.Bxe7 Qxe7 15.fxe5 O-O}
13.fxe5 Nd7 14.Bxe7 Qxe7 15.Be4
{Black can now win my e5 pawn, but to take it he will have to allow me a strong initiative based on the dark squares in the center.}
Bxe4
{Black goes along with my plan. He would have an even game if he didn't go after the e-pawn. 15...Qc5 16.Rhe1 Ra7 And Black has covered all the targets in the center and will get counterplay on the c-file.}
16.Nxe4 Nxe5 17.Qd4
{I don't need to check immediately--this move forces Black to move his knight to a weaker square or to weaken his pawn structure.}
f6 18.Nd6+ Kf8 19.Rhf1
{Now my rook is on an open file leading to Black's king and the pin on his f6 pawn again forces him to retreat his knight or lose more time.}
Kg8
{19...Nf7 20.Qb6 Nxd6 21.Rxd6 Kf7 22.Re1 e5 23.Qc6 I still have my initiative here, but the exchange of knights has eased Black's problems.}
20.g4
{I'd like to open the g-file to Black's king. Note that if I can play 21.g5, Black can't keep lines close by 21...f5 because that would undermine his knight.}
h6 21.h4 Nf7
{Black is to anxious to trade of my strong knight and lets me open up his king. He would have done better to try 21...Rf8. 21...Rf8 22.g5 hxg5 23.hxg5 Ng6 And Black has good chances to defend.}
22.Qe4
{This attack on Black's rook sets up a pin on the e6 pawn which will let me keep my knight.}
Rf8 23.Nf5 Qe8 24.Nd4 e5
{24...Ne5 25.g5 hxg5 26.hxg5 Qg6 27.Qxg6 Nxg6 28.Nxe6 Re8 29.gxf6 And Black will get mated or lose a piece.}
25.Nf5 h5 26.Rg1 Rh7
{26...Nh6 27.Nxg7 Kxg7 28.gxh5+ Kf7 29.Qb7+}
27.Qb7 Kh8 28.gxh5 Qe6 29.Nxg7 Qxa2
{29...Rxg7 30.Rxg7 Kxg7 31.Qg2+ Kh8 And now I can set up a lethal mating battery. Do you see how?}
30.Qe7 Rg8 31.Qxf6 Qa1+ 32.Kd2 Qa5+ 33.Ke2 R8xg7 34.Rxg7 Rxg7 35.Rg1
{Black resigned because he could save either the pinned rook or his king, but not both.}
1-0
[Event "Rio de Janeiro Interzonal"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1979.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Petrosian"]
[Black "Harandi"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "49"]
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 b6 4.a3 Bb7 5.Nc3 d5 6.cxd5 exd5 7.Bf4 Bd6 8.Bg3
O-O 9.e3 Ne4 10.Qb3 c6
{10...Re8 11.Bd3 c5 12.dxc5 Nxc5 13.Qc2 when White stands better because of Black's isolated d-pawn.}
11.Bd3 Re8 12.Bxe4 dxe4 13.Ne5 Bxe5 14.dxe5
{Taking back with the pawn is surprising at first, but how is Black going to defend the d-pawn? White also gets a grip on the d6 square.}
Nd7
{14...c5 15.Rd1 Qc8 16.Nb5 when Black has no way of preventing the knight from penetrating to d6.}
15.Nxe4 Nxe5 16.Rd1 Qc7 17.Nd6 Ba6
{17...Re6 18.Nc4 would win material because of the pin on the Black knight.}
18.Nxe8 Rxe8
{Black has lost the exchange and all that remains is for the White king to find a safe home.}
19.f3
{With the idea of making a safe haven for the king.}
Qc8 20.Bxe5 Rxe5 21.Kf2 h6 22.Rd2 c5 23.Rhd1 Re8 24.Rd7 c4 25.Qb4
{Black resigned because of his material deficit. If you don't see a winning plan for White try defending it against Gambit.}
1-0
[Event "Banja Luka"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1979.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Kasparov"]
[Black "Marovic"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "69"]
1.c4 e6 2.Nf3 d5 3.d4 Nf6 4.Nc3 Be7 5.Bg5 O-O 6.e3 Nbd7 7.Qc2 c5
{This move is considered the best reply. On 7...c6, 8.Rd1 proves unpleasant, as it will be difficult for Black to achieve the advance e6-e5.}
8.O-O-O
{8.cxd5 It is well known that this move achieves nothing in view of ...Nxd5 9. Bxe7 Qxe7 10.Bd3 g6 11.dxc5 Nxc5 12.Rc1Nxd3+}
Qa5 9.Kb1 h6
{One can hardly recommend this move, which weakens the position of Black's king.}
10.h4 dxc4
{Acceptance of the sacrifice is too risky. 10...hxg5 11. hxg5 Ne4 12.Nxe4 dxe4 13.Qxe4 g6 when White has a winning attack down the h-file.}
11.Bxc4 Nb6 12.Bxf6 gxf6 13.Be2 cxd4 14.exd4 Bd7
{Black's po sition seems to be in danger, but if White acts slowly, Black will create counter-play on the queenside.}
15.Rh3
{With this rook lift White is able to use the semi-opened g-file.}
Na4 16.Rg3+ Kh8 17.Qd2 Nxc3+ 18.bxc3 Kh7
{18...Qf5+ 19.Kb2 Rg8 20.Qxh6+ Qh7 21.Qf4 retains the White advantage with a material bonus.}
19.Bd3+ f5 20.Ne5
{With the idea of 21.Ng4 taking advantage of the pin along the d3-h7 diagonal.}
Bb5
{This is the only defense to 21.Ng4. It seems that Black has turned aside all meaningful threats but the following move clarifies the situation.}
21.Rf3
{My strongest move of the game. It creates a horrible threat of g2-g4 which takes advantage of the pin along the b1-h7 diagonal.}
f6
{21...Bxd3+ 22.Qxd3 h5 23.g4 hxg4 24.Rxf5 Qb6+ 25.Kc2 exf5 26.Qxf5+ Kh6 27.Rg1 is winning for White as Black has no good defense.}
22.Nc4 Qc7 23.Qe2 Bxc4 24.Bxc4 e5 25.Rxf5
{Marovic has defended well. However, this has taken much thought and now my opponent has found himself in time trouble.}
Ba3 26.Qe4 Kh8 27.Rh5 Qh7 28.Qxh7+
{This move is inaccurate although it does not through away the win. Better was 28.Bd3. 28.Bd3 Qxe4 29.Bxe4 Kg7 30.dxe5 fxe5 31.Rd7+ Rf7 32.Rxf7+ Kxf7 33.Rxh6 was the simplest path to victory.}
Kxh7 29.dxe5 Kg6 30.g4 fxe5 31.Rd7
{A mistake which should have cost me a half point. move in the game, which creates the threat of Bd3, also looks reasonable, but Marovic finds an excellent reply. 31.Rxe5 would have won without any real difficulty. For example ...Rxf2 32.Re6+ Kg7 33.Rd7+ Kf8 34. Rxh6 with a mating attack.}
Rae8
{Bringing his last piece into play and defending against the threatened 32.Bd3+ . After thinking for more than 20 minutes, I was amazed to find no direct win and decided to play on my opponent's time pressure.}
32.Rxb7 Rxf2 33.Rxa7
{Now Black has a lot of checks, but the draw can only be obtained by a quiet move - 33...Rd8!}
Bf8
{33...Rd8 34.Bf7+ Rxf7 35.Rxa3 Rf2 36.Kc1 with an objectively drawn position. But Black would still face many difficult obstacles.}
34.Ra6+ Kh7 35.Rf5
{Here Black overstepped the time limit, but it is easy to see that his position is hopeless. This game taught me a valuable lesson. I learned how one hasty move can be costly. But all's well that ends well.}
1-0
[Event "Moscow"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1979.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Kasparov"]
[Black "Polugayevsky"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "73"]
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 e6
{The Scheveningen Variation of the Sicilian Defense, where Black's pawn cover all the central squares.}
6.Be3 a6 7.g4
{This is Keres' idea and is played with the obvious intention of disorganizing Black's development, while launching a kingside attack.}
Nc6 8.g5 Nd7 9.Rg1 Be7 10.h4 O-O
{This move appears to be castling into the attack. However, where else is the king to go?}
11.h5 Nde5 12.Nxc6 Nxc6 13.f4 b5 14.Qf3 Bb7 15.Bd3
{White intends to open up the b1-h7 diagonal for his bishop.}
Nb4 16.f5 exf5 17.Qxf5 Nxd3+ 18.cxd3 Qc8
{Black, not wishing to be mated in the middlegame, proposes an ending with the exchange of queens.}
19.h6 Re8 20.hxg7 Qxf5 21.exf5 Bxg5
{Black reminds me that my king, having stayed in the center, is also exposed to attack.}
22.Rxg5 Rxe3+ 23.Kd2 Rf3 24.Ne4 Bxe4 25.dxe4
{The rook and pawn ending favors White due to my menacing pawn on g7.}
Re8 26.Rc1 d5 27.e5
{Reminds Black of his weakened back rank.}
h6
{Played to make a flight square for his king at h7. 27...Rxe5 allows a forced mate.}
28.Rh5 Rxe5
{This move allows me to take advantage of Black's weakened back rank. For better or worse Black had to try 28...Kxg7.}
29.f6 Rf2+
{29...Rxh5 Leads to a forced mate, and 29...Re8 30.Rxh6 is winning for White since Black has no defense against 31.Rh8+ mate.}
30.Kd3 Rf3+ 31.Kd4 Re4+ 32.Kxd5 Re8 33.Rxh6 Rf5+ 34.Kd4 Rf4+ 35.Kc5 Re5+
36.Kb6 Re6+ 37.Rc6
{Black resigned as he has no good defense to 38.Rh8+ mate.}
1-0
[Event "USSR"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1979.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Kasparov"]
[Black "Butnoris"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "81"]
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 Bb4+ 4.Nbd2
{I prefer this to 4.Bd2.}
O-O 5.e3 b6 6.Bd3 Bb7 7.O-O d5 8.a3 Bxd2 9.Bxd2
{White has the better game because of the two bishops.}
Nbd7 10.cxd5 Bxd5
{10...exd5 11.b4 Holds no prospects for Black.}
11.b4 c5 12.Rc1
{12.dxc5 bxc5 13.Bc3 Ne4 14.Bb2 was also possible.}
cxd4
{Black considers that his active pieces and the hole at c4 give him good chances. However, this is a mistaken evaluation, as White's two bishops and Black's hole on c6 gives White the initiative.}
13.Nxd4 Ne5 14.Ba6
{White leaves no doubt to his control of the c-file by taking away the c8 square from the Black rook.}
Ne4 15.Be1
{It is important for White to retain the two bishops.}
Qg5
{Black is trying to solve his problems in a tactical way. 15...Nd6 16.Qe2 Nf5 17.Bc3 is better for White because of his two bishops and control of the c- file.}
16.f4 Qg6 17.fxe5 Nc5
{Threatening mate on g2.}
18.Bg3 Nxa6 19.Nf5 Rae8
{19...exf5 20.Qxd5 when White's bishop is much stronger than the Black knight.}
20.Nd6 Re7 21.Rf4
{A strong move as the rook increases the pressure on the f-file and threatens the Black king position.}
h5 22.e4 Ba8 23.Bh4 Rd7
{23...f6 24.exf6 gxf6 25.Rc3 Threatening to pin the queen with 26.Rg3.}
24.Rc3 Qh6
{24...Nc7 25.Rg3 Qh7 26.Rg5 g6 27.Qa4 b5 28.Qxa7 f5 29.exf6 Rxd6 30. f7+ Rxf7 allows White to win material.}
25.Qf1 Nc7 26.Rcf3
{Tripling on the f-file.}
f5 27.exf6
{I spent more than 30 minutes calculating the consequences. It was clear that the complications were in favor of the more active White pieces, but I was seeking the simplest way to victory.}
Rxd6
{27...e5 28.Qc4+ Kh7 29.fxg7 exf4 30.Nf5 is also winning for White.}
28.f7+ Kh7 29.Be7 e5 30.Bxf8 exf4 31.Bxd6 Qxd6 32.Qd3
{White's passed f-pawn combined with Black's ineffective minor pieces give me a winning position.}
Qe7 33.Qc4
{33.Qd7 Qxd7 is also winning for White.}
Kh6 34.Rxf4
{This move allows unnecessary complications. 34.f8Q Qxf8 35.Qxc7 g5 36.Rd3 was the simplest path to victory.}
Ne6 35.Qc8 Qd6 36.Qh8+ Kg6 37.f8=N+ Nxf8 38.Qxf8 Qd1+ 39.Kf2 Qd2+ 40.Kg3
Qe1+ 41.Kh3
{Black resigned since ...Bxe4 allows White to further his material gains.}
1-0
[Event "Banja Luka"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1979.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Hernandez"]
[Black "Kasparov"]
[Result "0-1"]
[PlyCount "59"]
1.c4 g6 2.Nc3 Bg7 3.d4 c5 4.d5 Nf6 5.e4 d6 6.Bd3 O-O 7.f4
{By transposition we have reached the Four Pawns variation.}
a6
{Preparing to weaken White's grip on the center with 8...b5.}
8.Nge2
{A mistake that allows Black to strike at the White center. 8.a4 would put a stop to Black's queenside play as ...b5 could be answered with 9.axb5 and Black would be unable to recapture.}
b5
{Black gains a strong initiative with this pawn sacrifice.}
9.cxb5 axb5 10.Nxb5
{10.Bxb5 Ba6 11.Bxa6 Nxa6 12.O-O gives Black has good play against White's queenside, as numerous Benko Gambit's have shown.}
( 10.Bxb5 Ba6 11.Bxa6 Nxa6 12.O-O )
9...Ba6 11.Nec3 c4 12.Bc2
{12.Bxc4 Nxe4 13.Nxe4 Bxb5 14. Bxb5 Qa5+ 15.Bd2 Qxb5 is good for Black as the White king is stranded in the center.}
( 12.Bxc4 Nxe4 13.Nxe4 Bxb5 14.Bxb5 Qa5+ 15.Bd2 Qxb5 )
11...Bxb5 13.Nxb5 Qa5+ 14.Nc3 Nfd7
{Opening the h8-a1 diagonal for the dark squared bishop.}
15.Qf3
{A mistake, nce White should remove his king from the center as quickly as possible with 15.O-O, while the queen is needed for the defense on the queenside.}
Na6 16.O-O Nb4 17.Qe2
{White has lost a valuable tempo with his queen.}
Nc5 18.Be3 Nbd3
{The occupation of the d3 square spells doom for White's queenside.}
19.Bxd3 Nxd3 20.e5
{20.Kh1 Nxb2 21.Qxb2 Bxc3 is thematic in this type of position.}
( 20.Kh1 Nxb2 21.Qxb2 Bxc3 )
19...dxe5 21.fxe5 Bxe5 22.Bh6 Rfb8
{Black's queenside play is at full speed.}
23.Qf3 f5 24.g4 Rxb2 25.gxf5
{White decides to sacrifice a piece for some attacking chances, as his position was lost anyway.}
Qxc3 26.fxg6 Qd4+
{White resigned due to his material deficit and exposed king position.}
27.Be3 Qh4 28.gxh7+ Kxh7 29.Qf7+ Kh8 30.Rf2 0-1
[Event "Montreal"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1979.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Tal"]
[Black "Larsen"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "43"]
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 d6 6.Bg5 e6 7.Qd2 Be7 8.O-O-O
a6 9.f4 Qc7
{This is too slow. White's space edge allows him to prepare simultaneously for an attack either in the center or on the kingside, so Black should go straight for counterplay by 9...Bd7 and 10...b5.}
10.Be2 Nxd4
{10...O-O 11.Bf3 Bd7 12.Rhe1 White has a bind and Black doesn't have any comfortable defence to the threat of 13.e5.}
11.Qxd4 b5 12.e5 dxe5 13.fxe5 Nd5
{Black has lost too much time and can no longer play normal moves. 13...Nd7 14.Bxe7 Kxe7 15.Qh4+ Ke8 16.Ne4 White has a huge bind.}
14.Bxe7 Nxc3
{The first of several zwischenzugs by both sides. Black prevents White from winning a pawn on d5 before recapturing the bishop. 14... Nxe7 15.Nxb5 axb5 16.Bxb5+ Black is getting mated on d8 in two moves.}
15.Bf3
{Black missed this zwischenzug which keeps the initiative for White. Now Black's best chance would be 15...Ne2+, forcing White's bishop to retreat.}
Nxd1 16.Bd6 Qc4 17.Qb6
{Another intermediate move, which maintains all the threats and brings the queen a perfect attacking square.}
Nf2
{Black tries one last intermediate move, hoping for:}
18.Bc6+
{18.Qxf2 Qf4+ 19.Kb1 Bd7 when White's bishop is pinned onto his queen.}
Bd7 19.Bxd7+ Kxd7 20.Qb7+ Kd8 21.Qxa8+ Qc8 22.Qa7
{The final tactic: White threatens both mate on e7 and the knight on f2.}
1-0
[Event "Soviet Championship"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1979.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Kasparov"]
[Black "Yusupov"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "81"]
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O Nxe4 6.d4 b5 7.Bb3 d5 8.dxe5
Be6
{This is the standard position of the Open Variation of the Spanish Game. Yusupov is perhaps the leading advocate of this opening among the players of his generation.}
9.Be3
{This is not the most common move, but at the time the game was played it was being analyzed frequently among my compatriots.}
Be7 10.Nbd2 O-O 11.c3
{There is no real point in capturing at e4, after which things can become interesting in a way which might just be favorable for Black. After 11.Nxe4 dxe4 12.Bxe6 exf3 13.Bd5 Nxe5 14.Bxa8 Qxa8 15.g3 Qc8 the invasion at h3 will prove deadly.}
Bg4
{I think he should have captured at d2. 11...Nxd2 12.Qxd2 Qd7 Black has a solid position.}
12.Nxe4 dxe4 13.Qd5 exf3
{What happens if Black trades queens instead, heading for an endgame? The answer to that one was known from a game between Alekhine and Teichman, back in 1921! 13...Qxd5 14.Bxd5 exf3 15. Bxc6 fxg2 16.Kxg2 Rad8 17.a4 White has a clear advantage. Of course both Yusupov and I were familiar with this classic!}
14.Qxc6 fxg2 15.Qxg2 Qd7
{Now I have a lot of pressure on the g-file. I set up a pin via a piece sacrifice.}
16.Bh6 gxh6 17.f3
{A critical position. Black plays an obvious move, but it does not turn out well. He should have taken the opportunity to give check at c5.}
h5
{17...Bc5+ 18.Kh1 Rae8 and Black has no serious problems here.}
18.Rad1 Qf5 19.fxg4 Qxe5
{Now White uses the technique of deflection to drive the enemy queen away and win a piece. 19...Qxg4 20.Rd7 This move, made possible by the pin on the g-file, guarantees White a significant advantage.}
20.Rde1 Qc5+
{The queen must defend the bishop at e7. 20...Bc5+ 21.Kh1 Qd6 22.Rxf7 The attack on the rook at a8 by the queen at g2 prevents Black from capturing the rook at f7.}
21.Kh1 Rad8
{A mistake, which leads to an instructive example of deflection at work. 21...Bh4 22.Rf5 Qd6 23.Rxf7 Kh8 24.Re6 is similar to the previous variation. 21...Rae8 was the best move, supporting the bishop. Still, I would have had a good game.}
22.Rf5 Qd6
{There is no other square which defends the bishop.}
23.Rd5 Qg6 24.Rxe7
{Black is now a piece down, and the remainder of the game is of little interest.}
Rxd5 25.Bxd5 hxg4 26.Qe4 Qxe4+ 27.Bxe4 Rd8 28.Rxc7 h5 29.Bc2 Rd5 30.Bb3
Rf5 31.Kg2 a5 32.Rxf7 Rxf7 33.Kg3 a4 34.Bxf7+ Kxf7 35.Kh4 Kg6 36.b3 a3
37.c4 bxc4 38.bxc4 Kf5 39.Kxh5 Ke4 40.Kxg4 Kd4 41.h4 1-0
[Event "Training Match"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1979.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Magerramov"]
[Black "Kasparov"]
[Result "0-1"]
[PlyCount "28"]
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 c5 4.g3 cxd4 5.Nxd4 d5 6.Bg2 e5 7.Nf3
{Provoking Black's pawns yet further.}
e4 8.Nd4 dxc4
{Now White's knight is exposed, and he should probably give up on getting the pawn back right away.}
9.Nc3 Bc5 10.Qa4+
{This gets the pawn back, but White's pieces become very tangled up. 10 Be3 was better.}
Bd7 11.Qxc4 Qb6 12.Be3 Nc6
{Black threatens 13...Na5, so White should take on c6 and live with a rotten position after 14...Bxe3 15 fxe3 Bxc6.}
13.Nc2 Bxe3 14.Nxe3 Na5
{White's queen is trapped.}
0-1
[Event "Soviet Championship"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1979.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Kasparov"]
[Black "Georgadze"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "81"]
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 d6 3.Bc4 Be7 4.d3 Nf6 5.c3 O-O 6.O-O c6 7.Bb3 Be6 8.Bc2 h6
9.Re1 Nbd7 10.Nbd2 Qc7
{Black has adopted an unpretentious opening, and I also played quietly. But now I am ready to stake my claim in the center and secure a spatial advantage.}
11.d4 Rfe8 12.h3
{Time out! I don't want any enemy pieces reaching g4!}
Nf8 13.c4 Ng6
{Georgadze appreciated that it would not be wise to open up the game while I am in control of the center. 13...exd4 14.Nxd4 Qb6 15.N2f3 Bxc4 16.Nf5 In return for the pawn I have a dangerous kingside attack.}
14.d5
{I keep advancing my central pawns and control a lot more space.}
Bd7
{14...cxd5 would have been wiser. Then Black could have played on the queenside.}
15.Nb1
{I have plenty of time here, so I bring the knight to a more useful square.}
Bf8 16.Nc3 c5 17.Ba4
{I wanted to eliminate the light-squared bishops because mine doesn't do much (it is a bad bishop) and his defends the light-squares.}
a6 18.Bxd7 Nxd7 19.g3 Be7 20.h4
{These moves are designed to limit the scope of the enemy pieces.}
Nf6 21.Nh2
{I want to use f3 for the queen.}
Qd7 22.a4 Qh3
{This is nothing to worry about. There is no way for Black to attack my king.}
23.Qf3 Qd7 24.a5
{Tightening the screws on the queenside.}
Nf8 25.Bd2 Rec8 26.Nf1 Ng4 27.Na4
{Threatening a nasty fork at b6.}
Bd8 28.Rec1 Rab8
{OK, everything is ready for a decisive breakthrough on the queenside.}
29.b4 cxb4 30.Bxb4 h5 31.Nb6 Bxb6 32.axb6 Qe7
{Now I have a target at d6 and will advance my c-pawn at the appropriate moment .}
33.Qa3 Rd8 34.f3 Nh6 35.c5 dxc5 36.Bxc5 Qf6 37.Kg2
{Just a bit of safety, in case I want to move my queen.}
Re8 38.Be3 Nd7 39.Rab1 Qe7
{Here Black lost the game, because the rules required the completion of 40 moves by each player in 150 minutes each. But it doesn't matter, because I could just exchange queens and take the seventh rank with my rook.}
40.Qxe7 Rxe7 41.Rc7
{I doubt Black could hold this position. Try it against Gambit if you wish!}
1-0
[Event "Malta"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1980.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Kasparov"]
[Black "Natsis"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "63"]
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 d5 4.cxd5 Nxd5 5.e4 Nxc3 6.bxc3 Bg7 7.Nf3
{This move has become increasingly popular over the years.}
c5 8.Rb1
{The key idea to placing the knight on f3, the rook ties the Black bishop down to the defense of the b-pawn.}
O-O 9.Be2 Nc6 10.d5
{A pawn sacrifice which excepted will weaken the dark squares around Black's king.}
Bxc3+
{10...Ne5 is also possible.}
11.Bd2 Bxd2+ 12.Qxd2 Nd4
{12...Na5 13.h4 Bg4 14.h5 Bxh5 allows White a winning attack.}
13.Nxd4 cxd4 14.Qxd4
{White stands better because of his control over the center.}
Qa5+ 15.Qd2 Qxd2+ 16.Kxd2 Rd8 17.Ke3
{The ending is superior for White because of his potential passed d-pawn.}
b6 18.Rbc1 e6 19.Bc4 e5
{A mistake which gives White a passed d-pawn with nothing in return. 19...Kf8 20.Rhd1 Ke7 keeping pressure on White's center was better.}
20.Bb3
{Clearing the c-file for the White rooks.}
Bd7 21.Rc7 a5 22.d6 b5 23.f4
{With the idea of opening up the f-file to attack Black's weak f-pawn.}
exf4+ 24.Kxf4 Ra6 25.e5 a4 26.Bd5 a3 27.Rf1
{White has a won game thanks to his passed d-pawn and Black's weak pawn on f7.}
Ra4+ 28.Ke3 Be6 29.Bxe6 fxe6 30.R1f7
{White has exchange one advantage for another, namely control of the seventh rank.}
Rh4 31.Rg7+ Kh8 32.Rge7
{Black resigned because of White's pawn which will shortly promote into a queen.}
1-0
[Event "Malta Olympiad"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1980.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Kasparov"]
[Black "Ligterink"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "47"]
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 b6 4.g3 Bb7 5.Bg2 Be7 6.O-O O-O 7.Nc3 Ne4 8.Bd2
Bf6 9.Rc1 c5 10.d5 exd5 11.cxd5 Nxd2 12.Nxd2 d6 13.Nde4 Re8 14.Qd2 a6 15.b4
Be7 16.bxc5 bxc5 17.Qf4 Qc7 18.Na4 Qa5 19.Rb1 Bxd5 20.Nb6 Bxe4 21.Bxe4
Ra7
{Black's position does not look too bad, since White does not have much attacking force on the kingside. But since Qf5 will threaten mate (Qxh7+ and Qh8 mate), Kasparov sets up a double attack.}
22.Nc8
{The knight cannot be captured because then Qf5 will attack the rook and also threaten mate at h7.}
Nc6 23.Nxa7 Nxa7 24.Bd5
{Black resigned, because if 24...Rf8, then 25.Rb7 is deadly.}
1-0
[Event "World Junior Championship"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1980.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Kasparov"]
[Black "Hjorth"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "53"]
1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 c5 4.cxd5 exd5 5.g3 Nc6 6.Bg2 Nf6 7.Nc3 Be7 8.O-O
O-O
{The Classical Tarrasch is an interesting defense which I have played from both sides of the board.}
9.Bg5 c4
{This is a risky variation. For a while, this game stood as the refutation of the line, though improvements for Black have been found.}
10.Ne5 Be6 11.f4 Nxe5 12.fxe5
{I introduced this move in the present game. The idea is that the f-file will be a useful asset in the attack and that a pawn at d4 may be helpful too.}
Ne4 13.Bxe7 Nxc3 14.bxc3 Qxe7
{The only strategy available to White is to try to eliminate Black's pawn at d5 so that the central pawns can advance. Black will try to thrust the queenside pawns forward as quickly as possible.}
15.e4 Qd7 16.a4
{A very important move, restraining Black's queenside play. That accomplished, White can turn his attention to the kingside.}
Rfd8 17.Qh5 Rac8
{The battle lines are drawn. Now White doubles rooks on the f- file. This will leave the a-pawn hanging, but if the attack is fast enough it won't matter.}
18.Rf4 Rc7 19.Raf1 Qxa4
{Black should be worrying about the defense of his kingside, so 19...Qe8 was best, although White would retain a strong initiative.}
20.exd5 Rxd5
{Forced, since otherwise f7 loses its most valuable defender. The f7- square is the cornerstone of Black's position, and obviously White would like to play Rxf7 as soon as feasible.}
21.Bxd5 Bxd5
{The material is not important. If White does not break through quickly Black will make a new queen on the other flank. The goal is achieved effectively.}
22.e6
{What is surprising about this move is that it seems to contribute nothing to the task of deflecting the bishop from f7. In fact, however, it opens up the d5-square so that the White pawn can chase the bishop from the key square.}
Bxe6 23.d5 Qb5
{This creates a pin on the 5th rank, but the pin can be easily broken. 23...Rc5 24.Rxf7! 23...g6 24.Qh4 with the threat of Qd8+.}
24.Rh4
{The simultaneous threats at e6 and h7 force victory.}
Qc5+ 25.Rf2 Bxd5 26.Rd4
{This breaks the pin at f2 while exploiting the pin along the 5th rank.}
Rd7 27.Rf5 1-0
[Event "W Junior Championship Dortmund"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1980.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Kasparov"]
[Black "Kuijpers"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "55"]
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 c5 4.d5 exd5 5.cxd5 d6 6.e4 g6
{The Benoni Defense leads to sharp and unbalanced positions.}
7.f4
{I consider this to be the true test of the Benoni Defense.}
Bg7 8.Bb5+
{This move poses Black a serious problem, since he must decide which piece to interpose with.}
Nfd7
{Theory considers this to be the best move.}
9.a4
{This prophylactic move keeps Black from expanding on the queenside with 9...a6 and then 10...b5.}
O-O 10.Nf3 a6 11.Be2 Nf6 12.O-O
{White can already lay claim to a space advantage.}
Qc7
{12...Bg4 13.e5 Nh5 14.Ng5 Bxe2 15.Qxe2 when White intends to trap Black's knight with 16.g4.}
13.e5 Ne8 14.e6
{With this central thrust White is able to turn his space advantage into a kingside attack.}
fxe6 15.Bc4 Qe7
{15...exd5 allows White to win material.}
16.dxe6 Nc7 17.f5 Nc6 18.Bg5 Bf6 19.Ne4 Bxg5 20.Nfxg5
{White now intends to roll Black off the board with 21.f6.}
gxf5 21.Nxd6
{White's passed e-pawn combined with the exposed nature of Black's king add up to a winning advantage.}
Nd4 22.Qh5 Bxe6
{Black had to do something about the e-pawn, but now more pressure is added to the e-file.}
23.Rae1
{The pin on the e-file proves decisive.}
Rf6 24.Nxf5 Nxf5 25.Nxe6 Nxe6 26.Rxe6 Rxe6 27.Qxf5
{A new pin by the bishop ends the game.}
Re8 28.Re1
{Black resigned as material loss is unavoidable.}
1-0
[Event "World Junior Championship Dortmund"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1980.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Danailov"]
[Black "Kasparov"]
[Result "0-1"]
[PlyCount "60"]
1.c4 g6 2.Nf3 Bg7 3.Nc3 d6 4.d4 Nf6 5.e4
{The game has transposed to a King's Indian Defense.}
O-O 6.Be2 e5 7.dxe5 dxe5 8.Qxd8 Rxd8
{The Exchange Variation, which has a drawish reputation.}
9.Bg5 Nbd7 10.Nd5
{With the idea of exchanging off as many pieces as possible. However, this takes time and allows Black a slight advantage. Better was 10.O-O-O Rf8 11.Rhe1 c6 12.Nd2 Nc5 13.f3 a5 when it's unclear is Black can make anything of the hole on d4.}
c6 11.Ne7+ Kf8 12.Nxc8 Rdxc8 13.O-O-O Nc5 14.Bxf6
{Forced in view of the threat to White's e-pawn.}
Bxf6 15.Bd3
{Although the position may look equal Black has a small advantage thanks to White's hole on d4.}
a5
{So White will be unable to drive the knight away with b4.}
16.Rhe1 Re8
{Relieves the bishop from the protection of the e-pawn.}
17.Bf1 Bd8 18.g3 a4 19.Kc2 Ba5 20.Re3 Rad8 21.Rxd8 Rxd8
{With control of the d-file Black advantage will grow quickly.}
22.Bh3
{22.Nxe5 Rd2+ 23.Kc1 Rxf2}
( 22.Nxe5 Rd2+ 23.Kc1 Rxf2 24.Be2 Rxh2 25.Ng4 Rh1+ 26.Kc2 )
21...f6 23.Re2 Ke7 24.Bg2 Nd3 25.a3 Nc5
{The knight returns to c5 to take advantage of the new hole at b3.}
26.h4 h5 27.Re3 g5 28.hxg5 fxg5 29.Re2
{29.Nxg5 allows Black to win material.}
( 29.Nxg5 Bd2 30.Rf3 Bxg5 )
28...Nb3 30.Kb1 Kf6
{White resigned since he is in zugzwang.}
0-1
[Event "Baku"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1980.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Kasparov"]
[Black "Csom"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "65"]
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.e3 c5 5.Nge2 cxd4 6.exd4 O-O 7.a3 Be7
{If White does not advance the d-pawn now, Black will be able to plant a pawn at d5.}
8.d5 exd5 9.cxd5 Re8
{This is an interesting position. Black's pawn at d7 does not look very good, but the e-file can prove dangerous for White.}
10.g3 Bc5 11.Bg2
{A new move at the time, though it is very logical. Perhaps players of the White side were afraid of an attack on f2, but it doesn't go anywhere.}
d6
{11...Ng4 12.O-O Qf6 13.Nf4 Nxf2 14.Rxf2 Bxf2+ 15.Kxf2 g5 16.Ne4 Rxe4 17.Bxe4 gxf4 18.Qg4+}
12.h3
{This is a good move. White wants to castle, but doesn't want me to be able to use the g4-square.}
Bf5 13.O-O Nbd7
{This move is the cause of all of Black's problems. He should have played Ne4 first.}
14.g4
{Now I have the initiative, and I will never let go! Black's knights will be left with very little room for maneuver, and the bishop turns out to be misplaced at c5.}
Be4 15.Ng3 Bxg2 16.Kxg2 Nf8 17.g5 N6d7 18.h4 Ne5
{Instead, tougher resistance would have been provided by 18...Re8, 19...Bb6 and 20...Nc5.}
19.h5
{The threats are becoming clear: Ne4, and later h6, with b4 and Bb2 also in the air.}
f6 20.Nce4 fxg5 21.Bxg5 Qb6 22.h6 Nf7 23.hxg7 Nd7 24.Nf6+ Nxf6 25.Bxf6
{Black's king is doomed.}
Qb5 26.Rh1 Bb6 27.Qf3 Ne5 28.Nf5 Nf7
{Here I finish off the game with a bit of flair. Do you see the winning sacrifice?}
29.Rxh7
{Here Csom resigned.}
Kxh7 30.Qh5+ Kg8 31.Qh8+ Nxh8 32.gxh8=Q+ Kf7 33.Qg7# 1-0
[Event "Baku"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1980.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Garcia"]
[Black "Kasparov"]
[Result "0-1"]
[PlyCount "78"]
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 c5 3.d5 e6 4.Nc3 exd5 5.cxd5 d6 6.e4 g6
{The Benoni fense, which leads to sharp play because of its unbalanced pawn structure.}
7.Bf4
{Played with the hope of exploiting Black's d-pawn, which is somewhat weakened by the fianchetto of the dark squared bishop.}
Bg7 8.Qa4+ Bd7 9.Qb3 Qc7 10.Nf3
{10.Bxd6 Decoying the queen from the protection of the b-pawn. would backfire after 10...Qxd6 11.Qxb7 O-O 12.Qxa8 Qb6}
O-O 11.e5 Re8
{Thus Black is able to take advantage of White's king which has remained in the center. 11...dxe5 12.Bxe5 Re8 13.O-O-O Rxe5 14.Nxe5 Qxe5 15.Qxb7 Wins material for White.}
12.Be2
{12.O-O-O dxe5 13.d6 is also possible.}
Nh5
{In this way Black is able to alleviate the pressure on his d-pawn.}
13.Be3
{13.exd6 Bxc3+ 14.Qxc3 allows Black to win material.}
dxe5 14.O-O Qb6 15.Nd2 Nf4 16.Bc4
{16.Bf3 Keeping the c4 square open for the knight makes more sense.}
Na6 17.Rfc1 Bf5 18.Qd1
{Going backwards with his development in not to be recommended. Better was 18.Nde4. 18.Nde4}
g5
{An amazing idea the Black queen will be able to use the 6th rank to transfer over to the kingside.}
19.Nb3 Qg6 20.Bxa6 bxa6 21.Nxc5
{Black's lost pawn is only temporary as White will be unable to protect his isolated d-pawn.}
Rad8 22.Qa4
{Understanda bly White is nervous about his queen being on the d- file. But moving so far from the protection of his king should make him feel worse. 22.Qd2 would have been wiser.}
e4 23.Qxa6 Qh5
{While White has been chasing after pawns Black has been getting ready for a kingside attack.}
24.Qf1 Be5
{I am now threatening to play 25...Ne2+ followed by 26...Qxh2+ mate. 24...Rd6 25.N5xe4 Bxe4 26.Nxe4 Rxe4 27.Rc8+ Bf8 28.Bc5 Ne2+ 29.Kh1 allows Black a forced mate.}
25.Bxf4 Bxf4 26.g3 Bxc1 27.Rxc1 Rd6 28.Re1 Rh6 29.Qg2 Bh3
{Black has a winning position due to his kingside attack combined with his material advantage.}
30.g4 Qxg4 31.Qxg4 Bxg4 32.N5xe4 Kf8 33.Rc1 Bf3 34.Nd2 g4 35.Nxf3 gxf3
36.Rd1 Re5
{White resigned as his d-pawn is unable to advance. For example...}
37.Kh1 Reh5 38.d6 Rxh2+ 39.Kg1 Rh1# 0-1
[Event "USSR Teams"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1980.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Kasparov"]
[Black "Pribyl"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "61"]
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 d5 4.cxd5 Nxd5 5.e4 Nxc3 6.bxc3 Bg7 7.Nf3
{In this position Black usually strikes at the White center with 7...c5 or 7... O-O 8.Be2 c5.}
b6 8.Bb5+ c6 9.Bc4 O-O 10.O-O Ba6 11.Bxa6 Nxa6 12.Qa4
{12.Bg5 Qd7 13.Qd2 is also better for White due to his strong center and the Black knight which is out of the game at c6.}
Qc8 13.Bg5 Qb7 14.Rfe1 e6 15.Rab1 c5
{A natural and practically forced move. Since, 16.c4 was threatened. 15...h6 16.Be3 is better for White due to his control of the center.}
16.d5 Bxc3 17.Red1 exd5 18.exd5 Bg7
{The strong passed d-pawn and the unfortunate placement of Black's pieces compensate White for the small material loss.}
19.d6 f6
{Now White would have a pretty good position after 20.Bf4, but I preferred a more energetic and interesting continuation.}
20.d7 fxg5
{20...Rad8 21.Qc4+ Kh8 22.Ne5 with the threat of 23.Nf7+. 22...fxg5 23.Nf7+ Kg8 when White has a forced mate in three.}
21.Qc4+ Kh8 22.Nxg5 Bf6
{22...Bd4 23.Rxd4 cxd4 24.Qxd4+ Kg8 25.Ne6 is winning for White due to the dual threats of mate on g7 and the pawn promotion.}
23.Ne6 Nc7 24.Nxf8 Rxf8 25.Rd6
{With the terrible threat of 26.Rxf6 followed by the promoting of White's d- pawn. 25.Qxc5 Qxg2+ 26.Kxg2 bxc5 27. Rb7 Ne6 28.Rd6 Nf4+ 29.Kf1 Bd8 30.Rxa7 is also better for White, but I wanted more!}
Be7 26.d8=Q Bxd8 27.Qc3+ Kg8 28.Rd7 Bf6 29.Qc4+ Kh8 30.Qf4
{The forcing variation has concluded and White will regain his piece.}
Qa6 31.Qh6
{Black resigned since he has no good defense against the intended 32. Qxh7+ mate.}
1-0
[Event "Malta Olympiad"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1980.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Kasparov"]
[Black "Marjanovic"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "49"]
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 b6 4.g3 Bb7 5.Bg2 Be7 6.O-O O-O
{So far, we ave a boring old Queen's Gambit. But now I adopt a vigorous sacrifice that was popular briefly around 1980, thanks to the patronage of Grandmaster and theoretician Lev Polugayevsky.}
7.d5 exd5 8.Nh4
{This unleashes the power of the bishop on the h1-a8 diagonal. The departure of the pawn from e6 makes the f5-square available.}
c6 9.cxd5 Nxd5 10.Nf5
{In the past dozen years this position has been carefully examined, and the revised Encyclopedia of Chess Openings had to devote a lot of discussion to it. At the time, however, it was not clear what the best move for Black was.}
Nc7
{This move has survived the test of time.}
11.Nc3 d5
{Black establishes his stake in the center. White must react quickly to reduce Black's central control.}
12.e4 Bf6 13.exd5
{Now 13.Bf4 is more established, but White cannot establish any advantage against best play.}
cxd5
{13...Nxd5 14.Nxd5 cxd5 15.Ne3}
14.Bf4 Nba6 15.Re1
{This is the critical position. Now it seems that Black can equalize with an attack on the f5-square.}
Qd7
{A serious mistake, which walks into a powerful pin on the h3-c8 diagonal. 15...Bc8 16.Qh5 g6 17.Nh6+ Kg7 18.Qf3 Bg5 was seen in a 1986 game. Black has no problems.}
16.Bh3
{I have a strong threat here. Do you see it? Suppose Black plays Re8. How would I win?}
Kh8
{16...Rfe8 17.Nh6+}
17.Ne4
{This move takes advantage of the new pin on the d-file.}
Bxb2
{Who cares about such minor pawns!}
18.Ng5 Qc6
{18...Bxa1 19.Qxa1 f6 20.Re7 Qd8 21.Rxg7}
19.Ne7 Qf6
{Now I finish up with a simple combination.}
20.Nxh7 Qd4
{20...Kxh7 21.Qh5+}
21.Qh5 g6 22.Qh4 Bxa1
{Nothing matters now.}
23.Nf6+
{Here Black resigned, because mate comes quickly.}
Kg7 24.Qh6+ Kxf6 25.Bg5# 1-0
[Event "Baku"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1980.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Kasparov"]
[Black "Csom"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "57"]
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.e3 c5 5.Nge2 cxd4 6.exd4 O-O 7.a3
{This effectively forces the bishop to retreat.}
Be7 8.d5 exd5 9.cxd5 Re8 10.g3 Bc5 11.Bg2
{At the time this game was played this natural developing move was a new idea!}
d6
{11...Ng4 12.O-O Qf6 13.Nf4 Nxf2 14.Rxf2 Bxf2+ 15.Kxf2 g5 16.Ne4 With White's superior development having the last word.}
12.h3 Bf5 13.O-O Nbd7
{This simple move is the primary cause of Black's later difficulties. 13.. .Ne4 14.Na4 Nd7}
14.g4
{The unexpected advance of the pawns on the king-side is fully justified: it seriously restricts Black's knights and promises to overgrow into a serious attack, while the bishop on c5 cannot take part in the coming battle.}
Be4
{14...Bg6 15.Ng3 Ne5 16.g5 Nfd7 17.Nce4 is better for White due to his kingside initiative.}
15.Ng3 Bxg2 16.Kxg2 Nf8 17.g5 N6d7 18.h4 Ne5
{Black's last chance to generate any counterplay was connected with the moves 18...Rc8, 19...Bb6 and 20...Nc5.}
19.h5
{Played with the option of loosening Black's kingside with pawn h6.}
f6 20.Nce4
{With Black's dark squared bishop unable to defend his kingside, White in effect is attacking with an extra piece.}
fxg5 21.Bxg5 Qb6 22.h6 Nf7 23.hxg7 Nd7 24.Nf6+ Nxf6 25.Bxf6
{It is difficult to say where Black could have played more strongly. White simply throws his forces onto the kingside. White now threatens to win the Black's bishop with 26.b4.}
Qb5 26.Rh1 Bb6 27.Qf3 Ne5 28.Nf5 Nf7
{28...Nxf3 would allow White a mate in one.}
29.Rxh7
{With this sacrifice, Black resigned since he has no way of stopping the numerous threats; 29...Kxh7 would allow White a forced mate.}
1-0
[Event "Amsterdam"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1981.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Hort"]
[Black "Karpov"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "40"]
1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 e6 3.c4 d5 4.Nc3 Be7 5.Bg5 h6 6.Bh4 O-O 7.e3 b6
{This is the Tartakower Variation of the Queen's Gambit Declined, a subtle and refined opening which has held great appeal to Karpov.}
8.Rc1 Bb7 9.cxd5 exd5 10.Be2 Nbd7 11.O-O c5 12.Qc2 a6 13.Rfd1
{The Tartakower Variation requires good positional sense and an understanding of the dynamics of this particular pawn structure.}
c4
{Although White did not capture at c5 on move 12, he is now ready to do so, and that is why Karpov advanced the pawn. His strategy will prove correct if he can also play b6-b5, but Hort puts an end to that idea.}
14.a4 Bc6
{A full question mark for this positional blunder. The advance b6-b5 has become an idee fixe for Karpov, notwithstanding Hort's anticipation. While Black has eyes only for the queenside, Hort has not forgotten about the center!}
15.Ne5
{White can occupy this outpost since the base of Black's pawn chain at d5 is without sufficient support. If Black captures at e5, he loses a pawn. But as things stand, White threatens to remove an important defender.}
Qc7
{15...Bb7 temporarily keeps the defense intact, but after}
16.Bf3
{the threat f Ne5xc4 is quite real, and even after 16...Rac8, an eventual break with e3-e4 is inevitable. Nxc6 Qxc6 Bf3 There is an immediate threat of 18.Nxd5 Nxd5 19.Bxe7!, exploiting the pin on the long diagonal.}
Bb4
{This move not only removes the threat at e7, but also creates the possibility of eliminating the Nc3 which is putting pressure on d5. But Hort realizes that the pin can be effective immediately.}
17.Nxd5 Nxd5 18.Qf5
{White regains his material, since 19...N7f6 is met by 20.Bxf6 and the Nd5 falls. Qxa4 Bxd5}
Rac8
{Karpov should have defended along his second rank with 20...Ra7, but he must have overlooked White's next move.}
19.b3
{Hort found this move because he was examining positions with the Rf8 moved off the f-file. This move opens the c-file, and forces the Rf8 to move.}
cxb3
{21...Qb5 22.bxc4 Qa4 23.Ra1 and the Nd7 is dead. Rxc8 Rxc8}
20.Qxf7+ Kh8
{Bxb3 Qb5 Be6 and the pin wins! Rf8 Bxd7! Karpov resigned, since after 26...Rxf7 27.Bxb5 axb5 28.Rb1 his endgame is lost, while 26...Qe2 is met by 27.Qb3.}
1-0
[Event "Soviet Championship"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1981.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Tukmakov"]
[Black "Kasparov"]
[Result "0-1"]
[PlyCount "58"]
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6
{Somehow I always keep putting the King's Indian aside and then come back to it at critical times in my career.}
3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.Be2 O-O 6.Bg5
{This system, named for Yuri Averbakh, has never caused me much concern.}
c5 7.d5 b5
{This sacrifice is similar to that of the Benko Gambit. It is not the best move, speaking objectively, but when I want to introduce complications it serves the purpose well.}
8.cxb5 a6 9.a4
{I know this is the best move. I played it as White against Spassky the same year. But as Black I had a better reply prepared.}
h6
{Before reacting in the center I wanted to drive the bishop back.}
10.Bd2 e6 11.dxe6 Bxe6 12.Nf3 axb5 13.Bxb5
{13.axb5 Bb3 14.Qxb3 Rxa1+}
Na6 14.O-O Nc7
{I have a lot of pressure for the pawn, but not more than enough for equality .}
15.Re1 Nxb5 16.Nxb5 d5
{An important moves which opens up the center. The delayed advance of the pawn is typical of hypermodern play.}
17.exd5 Nxd5 18.Ne5
{A good move. The threat is Nxg6, because if I capture the knight then my bishop on e6 is loose.}
Re8 19.Rc1
{A natural move, but it leads to disaster. I am employing the equivalent of a "full court press" in basketball, keeping up the pressure all over the board. I must keep the initiative at all costs.}
Bf5
{Now the knight at e5 is under attack. Should it advance or retreat?}
20.Nc6
{20.Nc4 Rxe1+ 21.Bxe1 Nf4 22.Qxd8+ Rxd8 I would have control of the important d-file.}
Qd7
{This sacrifices a second pawn. But keep your eye on the c5-square, it plays a very important role from here on!}
21.Rxc5 Rxe1+ 22.Qxe1
{22.Bxe1 Re8 The back rank is very weak, and I threaten Nf4!}
Re8 23.Qc1 Nb6
{I must keep attacking. If my opponent gets time to breathe my attack will end and those queenside pawns will race down the board and kill me.}
24.b3 Re2 25.Ba5
{Everything seems under control. As it turns out this is an error, which allows me to create new threats. 25.Bc3 Rc2 26.Qe1 Be4 This would have been a very messy position.}
Be4 26.Ne5 Qe7
{Now Tukmak ov had to play 27.Qe1 which would have led to a very messy position. I have no idea how the game would have turned out. But fortunately for me he made a mistake.}
27.Nd4 Ra2 28.Bxb6 Bxe5
{Things are beginning to happen on the a7-g1 diagonal, and White has a back rank weakness.}
29.Qe3
{I will never forget this position. The next move brought me the championship of the Soviet Union, and a tremendous amount of aesthetic pleasure as well.}
Qxc5
{Black resigned. I threaten Ra1.}
0-1
[Event "Tilburg"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1981.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Kasparov"]
[Black "Andersson"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "59"]
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 b6 4.a3
{My favorite variation during the 1980's was this old and forgotten line which Petrosian used to play. Now it is considered one of the main lines of the Queen's Indian Defense!}
Bb7 5.Nc3 Ne4
{Until this game, the violation of the opening principle which says never to move a piece twice without good reason was considered acceptable in this position. But after the game, it disappeared from the tournament arena.}
6.Nxe4 Bxe4 7.Nd2 Bg6
{The bishop has switched sides of the board. It was more common to retreat back to b7.}
8.g3
{Since Black has abandoned the long diagonal, it makes sense for White to take it over for himself.}
Nc6
{This square would have been better occupied by a pawn.}
9.e3 a6 10.b4
{I am taking control of a lot of territory on the queenside, so my Swedish opponent chooses to take some action there.}
b5 11.cxb5 axb5
{Now there is a trap. Suppose I capture on b5. Do you see what Andersson had in mind?}
12.Bb2 Na7
{A very subtle move, typical of the style which has kept Andersson among the world's elite for two decades already. The idea is to play d7-d5, and then bring the knight to c4 via c8 and b6! Wonderful!}
13.h4
{But while all that is going on, I have my sights set on the kingside.}
h6
{Just a little weakness, but it gets the creative juices flowing.}
14.d5
{Who cares about a little pawn? I want my bishop in the game.}
exd5 15.Bg2 c6 16.O-O
{My advantage has grown. I have a big lead in development and control a lot of space -- just the kind of position I love! Now I just have to smash open the kingside with e2-e4. But not yet, let's get some more pieces involved.}
f6 17.Re1 Be7 18.Qg4 Kf7
{Well, if the king occupies this square then the bishop cannot, so it is time to push it into the corner.}
19.h5 Bh7 20.e4 {Now!} dxe4 21.Bxe4 Bxe4 22.Nxe4
{The g6 square is very weak, but so is g7, though it is harder to appreciate at the moment.}
Nc8
{22...Rf8 23.Rad1 d5 24.Nxf6 Bxf6 25.Qe6++ 22...Re8 23.Qg6+ Kf8 24. g4 and I can bring my knight to f5 via g3.}
23.Rad1
{This is a strong move. To attack successfully means getting all the pieces involved in the attack. This rook will soon be on g4, believe it or not!}
Ra7
{Black wants to move the d-pawn and use the rook at a7 to help defend the king. So I had better get the attack moving quickly. Now comes a series of sacrifices.}
24.Nxf6 gxf6
{24...Bxf6 25.Qg6+ Kf8 26.Bxf6 gxf6 27.Re6}
25.Qg6+ Kf8 26.Bc1 d5 27.Rd4
{Now you can see why I brought this rook into the game at move 23.}
Nd6 28.Rg4 Nf7
{So the h-pawn is protected, right?}
29.Bxh6+
{Wrong. I can capture it anyway!}
Ke8
{29...Rxh6 30.Qg8++}
30.Bg7
{Here Andersson resigned. As he stopped the clock, he said "I will not play with Kasparov anymore!" Of course he has, and we have had many exciting games, but I think this is still the best!}
1-0
[Event "Tilburg"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1981.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Kasparov"]
[Black "Sosonko"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "66"]
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.Nc3 Bb4
{By transposition we have reached a line from the Nimzoindian Defense.}
5.cxd5 exd5 6.Bg5 h6 7.Bh4 c5
{7...c6 8.Qc2 g5 9.Bg3 Ne4 with the idea of 10...Bf5 is also possible.}
8.e3 g5 9.Bg3 Ne4 10.Bb5+
{This check would not have been possible had Black played 7...c6.}
Kf8
{10...Nc6 11.O-O Bxc3 12.bxc3 Nxc3 13.Bxc6+ bxc6 14.Qc2 Ne4 15.dxc5 is better for White thanks to the numerous holes in Black's position.}
11.dxc5
{With Black's king exposed White wants an opened position as possible, even at the cost of material.}
Nxc3 12.bxc3 Bxc3+ 13.Ke2 Bxa1 14.Qxa1
{As compensation for the lost exchange White has a huge lead in development and an iron grip on the dark squares, not to mention the exposed position of Black's king.}
f6
{The only move. 14...Kg8 would lose to 15.Be5 Rh7 16. Bf6 Qa5 17.Bd3 Regaining the lost material with a winning position.}
15.h4 g4
{A mistake which hastens the end. Black probably could not have defended anyway.}
16.Nd4 Kf7 17.Bd3 Nd7
{17...a6 taking away the b5 square from White's knight fails to 18.Rb1 Nc6 19.Rb6}
18.Qc3 Ne5 19.Nb5
{The knight heads for an outpost at d6.}
Qe7 20.Nd6+ Kf8 21.Rd1 b6 22.Bc2 Ba6+
{22...bxc5 23.Rxd5 Be6 24.Rxe5 fxe5 25.Bxe5 Rg8 26.Bf4 Qxh4 27. g3 and Black's queen is overworked.}
23.Ke1 Bc4 24.Nxc4 dxc4 25.Rd6 Re8
{25...bxc5 allows White to win material.}
26.Bxe5 fxe5 27.Qxc4 Qf7
{27...Rd8 28.Bb3 Rxd6 29.cxd6 Qd7 30.Qd5 is also hopeless for Black. If you don't see why setup this game and try defending Black against Gambit.}
( 26...Rd8 28.Bb3 Rxd6 29.cxd6 Qd7 30.Qd5 )
28.Qe4
{Black is defenseless against White's intended 29.Bb3.}
g3
{A last trick.}
29.fxg3
{Black resigns as he is defenseless against 30.Bb3. If you don't see why try defending Black's position against Gambit.}
bxc5 30.Bb3 Qh5 31.Rd7 Re7 32.Qa8+ Qe8 33.Qf3+ Qf7 1-0
[Event "W Junior Championship Graz"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1981.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Kasparov"]
[Black "Dur"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "49"]
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 d5 4.Nf3 Be7 5.Bg5 O-O 6.e3
{The Queen's Gambit Declined, which gives Black a solid yet somewhat passive position.}
h6 7.Bxf6 Bxf6 8.Qd2 c6
{Although Black has the two bishops, his light squared bishop is blocked by his own pawns.}
9.h4 Nd7
{This move allows White a strong initiative on the kingside. Better was 9...g6 10.O-O-O Bg7}
10.g4
{Now it's too late to try and block the position with 10...g6.}
Re8
{10...g6 would fail to block the kingside after 11.g5 hxg5 12.hxg5 Bg7 13.O-O-O}
11.O-O-O b5
{Owing to White's initiative on the kingside Black tries to counter- attack on the opposite wing. Even though it will cost him a pawn to open up the queenside, this is Black's best practical chance.}
12.cxb5 cxb5 13.Bxb5 Rb8 14.g5
{Returning the pawn in order to open up the g-file, which leads directly to Black's king.}
hxg5 15.hxg5 Bxg5 16.Nxg5 Qxg5 17.f4
{Clears the second rank for White's queen to attack on the h-file.}
Qf6 18.Qh2 g6 19.f5 Qg7
{19...gxf5 20.Rdg1+ Kf8 21.Qd6+ Re7 22.Bxd7 Rb6 allows White to win material.}
20.fxe6 fxe6 21.Rdg1
{It's easy to see that White stands better, since Black's attack has never gotten farther than the first stage.}
Rf8 22.Bd3 Rf6 23.e4 e5 24.Nxd5 Rf7 25.Rxg6
{Black resigned since his queen is deflected from covering the h8 square.}
1-0
[Event "Moscow"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1981.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Vaiser"]
[Black "Kasparov"]
[Result "0-1"]
[PlyCount "81"]
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.f4
{The Four Pawn's Attack, once thought to be the refutation of the King's Indian Defense. A sharp and little investigated position arises which promises a tense struggle.}
O-O 6.Nf3 c5 7.d5 e6
{Vaiser stated after the game that this variation had served him well for the past 14 years.}
8.Be2 exd5
{Three years previous to this game Vaiser and I had played a blitz match. Every time I played Black we reached this position and Vaiser continued with 9.cxd5. However, I was in for an unpleasant surprise.}
9.e5
{The exclamation mark is based on psychological considerations. My opponent knew that of the three principal continuations, 9. exd5, 9.cxd5, and 9.e5, the third would come as the greatest surprise. Now I was improvising.}
Ng4 10.cxd5 dxe5 11.h3 e4 12.hxg4
{Before this game was played theory had ignored this move with 12.Nxe4 being preferred.}
exf3 13.gxf3
{Black's chief problem is his lack of useful squares for the development of his pieces on the queenside. Perhaps my experience at the board influences my pessimistic evaluation, today I would prefer to play White's position.}
Re8
{If I tried to prevent the advance f4-f5 by 13...f5, then the a2-g8 diagonal would be weakened, and that could prove the road to Black's destruction in the near future.}
14.f5
{Played with the idea of developing the dark squared bishop to h6 where it will disturb the only defender of the Black king, which is also Black's only active piece.}
Qb6
{14...gxf5 15. Bh6 Bxh6 16.Rxh6 Qg5 17.Qd2 Qxd2+ 18.Kxd2 fxg4 19.Ne4 Nd7 20.Rah1 With a winning initiative for White on the h-file.}
15.Bh6
{White pays no attention to the "mosquito bites" of his opponent and carries on with his general plan.}
Qxb2
{I recognized the danger facing the Black position, but decided to be consistent and took the pawn. Perhaps it will turn out all right...}
16.Bxg7 Kxg7
{The abundance of White's attacking possibilities is noticeable at first glance , but I comforted myself with the thought that not just any move would win.}
17.f6+
{Well here the pace picked up...White couldn't hold himself back from storming the walls of the king's fortress and sends in a single column of attack. 17.Rc1 During the game it seemed to me that this move was not sufficiently forcing. Detailed analysis, however, later showed that I was wrong.}
Kg8
{In this position I began to glance at the White king which has remained in the center.}
18.Qc1
{Vaiser proposes an endgame, where his opponent's lag in development and the strong pawn on f6 would be factors operating in White's favor. But has he got a surprise coming!}
Qb4
{This move seems suicidal, since the entrance of the White queen to h6 creates two deadly threats. However, I was well prepared for this.}
19.Kf1
{White should have regrouped and, putting aside his ambitious thoughts, come to terms with the leveling of chances. 19.Qd2 should be preferred. 19.Qd2 Nd7 20.Rb1 Qd4 21.Qxd4 cxd4 22.Ne4 d3 23.Bxd3 Nxf6 24.Kf2 Nxd5 25.Rb5 is good for White due to the weak f6 square.}
Nd7 20.Bb5
{This move looks pretty convincing-there seems no way to keep the White queen from reaching the coveted h6 square. 20.Qh6 Nxf6 when Black's king is safe.}
Qd4 21.Kg2
{21.Qh6 Nxf6 22.Bxe8 Qxc3 23.Kg2 Bxg4 24.Bxf7+ Kxf7 25.fxg4 Re8 when White's can do nothing against the united strength ofBlack's}
Re3
{This move is much stronger than the "greedy" 21...Qxf6, which would give White considerable counterplay. 21...Qxf6 22.Qh6 Qg7 23.Ne4 when Black has problems developing his queenside due to the pinned knight.}
22.Ne2 Qe5 23.Kf2 Rxe2+ 24.Bxe2 Nxf6
{Now one can sum up the results of White's "blitzkrieg". His attack has been exhausted, and the extra exchange hardly carries any importance. Black has two pawns for it, and the open position of White's king allow favorable tactics.}
25.Qxc5
{In avoiding the worst, White heads for an endgame, but Black manages to win another pawn, after his advantage is beyond doubt. It should be noted that we were both in time trouble at this point.}
Bxg4 26.Qe3
{26.fxg4 allows Black to win White's queen.}
Qxe3+ 27.Kxe3 Nxd5+ 28.Kf2 Be6 29.Rab1
{This position is superior for Black, as he has three pawns for the exchange.}
b6 30.Rbc1 Nf4 31.a3 Nxe2 32.Kxe2 b5 33.Rc7 a5 34.Rb1 Bc4+ 35.Kf2 a4
{Such an antipositional pawn structure is justified, since supported by the pawn the bishop is no less strong than the rook.}
36.Re1 Rd8 37.Re3 Rd2+ 38.Kg3 Kg7 39.f4 Rb2 40.Rc5 h5
{Here the game was adjourned, but White, having sealed 41.Kh4, resigned before resumption. One could argue with this, but Black does have a clear path to victory. For example (see variation). 40...h5 41.Kh4 Rb3 42.Rg3 Rb1 43.Re3 Rg1 44.Rg5 Rh1+ 45.Kg3 f5 cutting off the rook from the queenside.}
41.Kh4 0-1
[Event "Moscow"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1981.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Kasparov"]
[Black "Petrosian"]
[Result "0-1"]
[PlyCount "82"]
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 b6 4.a3
{I am playing the Petrosian variation of the Queen's Indian Defense, so named after my opponent who popularized it for White!}
Bb7 5.Nc3 d5 6.cxd5 Nxd5
{6...exd5, not giving up control of the center so easily, is also playable.}
7.e3 Be7 8.Bb5+
{Played to disrupt my opponent's normal development.}
c6 9.Bd3 Nxc3 10.bxc3 c5 11.O-O O-O 12.Qc2
{White weakens Black's kingside before advancing in the center with e4.}
g6 13.e4 Nc6
{Played with the intention of putting pressure on White's d-pawn.}
14.Bh6 Re8 15.Rfd1 Qc7
{15...cxd4 16.cxd4 Nxd4 17.Nxd4 Qxd4 allows White to win material.}
16.Qe2 Red8 17.Qe3
{Played in order to protect the d-pawn while eyeing the dark squares around Black's king.}
e5
{A committal move which gives White a passed d-pawn. However, Black believes it will do no harm since he can easily set up a blockade. 17...Rd7 18.Bf4 Qd8 19.Bb5 is better for White because of the pressure his bishops exert on the Black position.}
18.d5 Na5
{This posit ion reminds me of the Grunfeld Defense, where Black also allows a passed d-pawn.}
19.c4
{Otherwise Black will expand on the queenside with 19...c4.}
Nb3 20.Ra2 f6 21.h4 Bc8 22.Rb1 Nd4 23.Nxd4 cxd4 24.Qg3 Bf8 25.Bd2
{Although both sides have protected passed pawns, White also has a kingside initiative.}
Bd6 26.Rf1 Qg7 27.a4
{White plays on both sides of the board in order to spread the Black pieces away from their king.}
a5 28.Rb2 Bc5 29.f4
{With the Black bishop on c5 this advance is more powerful.}
Bd7 30.h5
{Played with a pawn sacrifice in order to break through on the kingside.}
Bxa4 31.h6 Qc7
{31...Qxh6 32.fxe5}
32.f5 g5
{32...Qf7 33.fxg6 hxg6 34.Bg5 is good for White thanks to the pin on the f-file.}
33.Bxg5
{An interesting sacrifice which unfortunately I did not follow up correctly.}
fxg5 34.Qxg5+ Kf8 35.Qf6+
{A mistake. Correct was 35.f6. (It should be noted that I was in serious time trouble.) Then 35...Qf7 is forced otherwise White will play 36.f7. So now 36.Qxe5 Re8 37.Qg5 Qg6 38.Rf5 Qxg5 39.Rxg5 when White's three passed pawns prove decisive.}
( 35.f6 Qf7 36.Qxe5 Re8 37.Qg5 Qg6 38.Rf5 Qxg5 39.Rxg5 )
34...Ke8 36.Ra1 Qe7 37.Qe6
{37.Qxe7+ Kxe7 38. Rxa4 Rd6 would retain drawing chances because of the opposite colored bishops.}
Rd6 38.Qg8+ Qf8 39.Qg3 Qxh6 40.Rxa4 Qc1+ 41.Kf2 Qxb2+
{White resigned.}
0-1
[Event "Moscow"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1981.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Belyavsky"]
[Black "Kasparov"]
[Result "0-1"]
[PlyCount "53"]
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.f3 O-O 6.Be3 Nc6
{This is the most hypermodern of the usual moves here. Recently I have come to enjoy playing 6...e5 as well.}
7.Qd2 a6 8.Nge2 Re8
{The normal 8...Rb8, aiming for a rapid advance of the b-pawn, is more principled, but I wanted to avoid the main lines of opening theory.}
9.Nc1
{9.h4 is sharper.}
e5 10.d5 Nd4 11.N1e2
{White wants to get rid of the Nd4 at all costs, but this is not the right square for the knight. 11.Nb3 would have been my choice.}
c5 12.dxc6 Nxc6
{See, I couldn't have done this if his knight were at b3 because then after 13.Rd1 Be6 his c-pawn would be defended by the bishop at c1.}
13.Nd5
{Here I thought for over an hour, a personal record at the time. Usually when I think for a long time, I tend to play the most aggressive line. Here it involves a sacrifice. 13.Rd1 Be6 14.Nc1 Rc8 15.Qxd6 Nd4 16.Qxd8 Rexd8 17.b3 b5 Black has an initiative on the queenside.}
b5 14.Bb6 Qd7 15.Nc7 Rb8 16.Nxe8 Qxe8
{Now it was Belyavsky's turn to think. There are a lot of complicated lines here, and it is not easy to find the best move for White. I think that capturing at b5 was the correct move.}
17.Be3
{Black may b e the exchange down, but I have an initiative due to the lack of development in White's camp. 17.cxb5 Rxb6 18.bxc6 d5 The game is opening up and I have pressure on the center, while White's king is stuck in the center.}
bxc4 18.Nc3 Be6 19.Be2
{19.Nd5 I would have many options here. One interesting variation entails yet another sacrifice.}
Nd5 20.exd5 e4 21.dxe6 Qxe6
{Here I would have just two pawns for a rook, but the rook sits idly at h1 while I am preparing to shove the pawns down White's throat! Nd4}
22.O-O d5 {exd5} 23.Nxd5
{Nxd5 Bxd5 Now I have one pawn for the exchange and much more active pieces, plus total control of the center. Rf2 23.f4 Nxe2+ 24.Qxe2 exf4 25.Rxf4 Rxb2}
h5
{Rc1 Qe6 Bf1}
24.h4
{Re1 Qc6 Nobody's perfect! I should have played 26...Nf5 here.}
Bh6
{Belyavsky could have escaped here, but missed his chance. One must take into account that he had only 4 minutes left for 14 moves! 27.f4 Nf5 28.fxe5 Nxe3 29.Rxe3 Bh6 30.e6 The key move in the variation. 30...Qc5 31.exf7+ Bxf7 32. Re8+ Rxe8 33.Qxh6 Re4 34.Qd2 This position should be drawn. Bh8 I needs to keep my pieces so that I can continue the attack.}
25.f4
{A mistake. 28.h3 is better. e4 Rd1 Be6}
f5
{30.Bg5 Nf5 Nxf5 Qf4 This sets a trap. What happens if I play 31...Rxb2? Do you see the refutation? Re8 31...Rxb2 32.Rd8+ Kh7 33.Rxh8+ Kxh8 34.Qe5+ Rfd2 Qc5+}
26.Kh1
{Be5 Qg5}
Kh7
{White could have resigned, but we each had less than a minute left, so we blitzed out a few more moves. Some of mine were less than optimal. Rd8 Rxd8 Rxd8 Qf2 I should have just taken the bishop with my knight. Rd1 Nxh6 That should have been played a move ago. Here I should have advanced the e- pawn instead. Qxe5 e3}
27.Qc3
{h3 Qe1 Ng4 Again, advancing the e-pawn another square was correct. But Belyavsky resigned anyway, since his game is lost.}
0-1
[Event "Moscow"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1981.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Geller"]
[Black "Kasparov"]
[Result "0-1"]
[PlyCount "54"]
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nc6 5.Nc3 d6 6.Be2
{The Scheveningen variation of the Sicilian Defense has served me well over the years.}
Nf6 7.O-O Be7 8.Be3 O-O 9.f4 e5
{Today I would prefer to keep the tension in the position with 9...a6. The game continuation is also interesting.}
10.Nb3 exf4 11.Bxf4 Be6 12.Kh1
{Black's weakened d-pawn is offset by White's weakened e-pawn, giving rise to equal chances.}
d5
{In this way Black solves his opening problems.}
13.e5 Nd7 14.Nxd5 Ndxe5 15.c4
{15.Nxe7+ Qxe7 and White's two bishops advantage are balanced by Black's more centralized pieces.}
Bg5 16.Nc5 Bxf4 17.Rxf4 b6 18.Ne4
{18.Nxe6 fxe6 19.Rxf8+ Qxf8 20.Nc3 Rd8 gives Black a pull thanks to his more active pieces.}
b5 19.b3
{19.cxb5 Bxd5 20.bxc6 Ng6 21.Rg4 f5 wins material.}
bxc4 20.Bxc4 Kh8 21.Qh5
{An empty gesture. I have nothing to fear from the combined forces on the kingside because my king has plenty of protection nearby.}
Bxd5 22.Bxd5 Qxd5 23.Rh4 h6 24.Rd1 Qa5
{The queen seems to be a long way from home, but it keeps an eye on the e1- square and the weakness of the back rank. So Geller tries to chase it away.}
25.b4 Qxb4 26.Nf6
{At first glance, this is impressive because my queen is under attack from the rook at h4. But the knight doesn't do anything at f6.}
Qe7 27.Rf1 Rfd8
{Here Geller gave up, since he has no compensation for the material.}
0-1
[Event "USSR Championship"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1981.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Kasparov"]
[Black "Gavrikov"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "65"]
1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3
{This move order gives White more options against the Tarrasch than 3.Nc3, when Black, in addition to the "normal" lines has several sharp and unclear gambit variations to choose from.}
c5
{The Tarrasch Defense is well known to Gavrikov who has played it on a regular basis. Black's idea is to take an isolated d-pawn in exchange for active piece play.}
4.cxd5 exd5 5.g3 Nc6 6.Bg2 Nf6 7.O-O Be7 8.dxc5 Bxc5 9.Bg5
{I prefer the pinning of Black's knight to the newer systems involving 9.Nbd2.}
O-O 10.Nc3 d4 11.Bxf6 Qxf6 12.Nd5
{It was Jan Timman who first employed this move, securing the central light squares. The older 12.Ne4 presents fewer problems for Black.}
Qd8
{This retreat is Black's safest. 12...Qd6 Blocks the a3-f8 diagonal, which may be needed by the dark squared bishop.}
13.Nd2
{Now the light squares are covered by an impressive army of two knights and a bishop, and the b3 and c4 squares are open for occupation by the Nd2.}
a6
{It is tempting to regard this move as an outright blunder, even though until this game was played it was considered playable.}
14.Rc1 Ba7 15.Nc4
{Previously this piece had been wandering to the less effective e4 square, where it only got in the way. This new idea was well prepared.}
Rb8
{Such timidity is not a permitted luxury in this opening. 15...Bh3 16.Bxh3 Qxd5 17.Bg2 Qe6 is only slightly better for White due to Black's isolated d- pawn.}
16.Nf4 b5 17.Nd6 Qxd6 18.Rxc6 Qd8
{18...Qe5 19.Nd3 Qf5 20.Rd6 is much better for White since Black's pieces are tied down to each others defense.}
19.Qc2 a5
{With the idea of developing the bishop to a6.}
20.Rc1
{White's advantage is mounting and the tripling on the open c-file is the cause of Black's future problems.}
Re8 21.Bd5
{The beginning of a fantastic attack based on Black's light squared weaknesses.}
Bb6 22.Qb3
{Not a single light squared wasted!}
Re7 23.Bf3
{Keep your eye on this piece.}
Re5 24.Bh5 g6
{Now White is able to take advantage of Black's f-pawn which is pinned on the a2-g8 diagonal.}
25.Bxg6
{The point. It is not the move itself which deserves our admiration but the incredible build up, the epic journey of that bishop, which just 5 moves ago stood on g2!}
hxg6 26.Rxg6+ Kf8 27.Rh6 Ke7
{27...Kg7 would allow White a brilliant mating attack.}
28.R1c6 Rf5
{Played with the idea of covering the f7 square. 28...Bd7 would allow White a mating continuation.}
29.Qf3 Bc7
{The Black rook is overworked on the 5th rank.}
30.Qe4+ Re5 31.Ng6+ fxg6 32.Rh7+ Kf8 33.Qxg6
{Black resigns as despite his two extra bishops, he cannot avoid mate.}
1-0
[Event "Moscow"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1981.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Smyslov"]
[Black "Kasparov"]
[Result "0-1"]
[PlyCount "54"]
1.Nf3 c5 2.c4 Nf6 3.g3
{The English opening, where White is not as concerned about getting a big advantage as with developing his pieces.}
b6 4.Bg2 Bb7 5.O-O e6 6.Nc3 Be7 7.b3 O-O 8.Bb2 d6 9.e3 Nbd7 10.d4 a6 11.Qe2
Ne4
{This well-timed knight sortie gives Black control of the center. 11...Qc7 12.e4 is better for White on account of his space advantage.}
12.Rfd1 Qb8
{12...Qc7 13.Rac1 Ndf6 leads to play with equal chances.}
13.Nxe4 Bxe4 14.Ne5
{White appears to be gaining a material advantage. However, Black will obtain a bind on the light squares for his investment.}
Bxg2 15.Nxd7 Qb7 16.Nxf8 Bf3 17.Qd3 Rxf8
{17...Bxd1 would allow White a forced mate.}
18.Rd2 f5
{Although Black has nothing concrete for the lost exchange, his control of the light squares cannot be taken lightly.}
19.Re1
{A mistake, since Black's light squared bishop remains stronger than either of the White rooks. Better was 19.Bc3.}
Qc8
{A strong move. Black intends to transfer the queen over to the light squares on White's kingside.}
20.Qc3 Rf6 21.a3 Qe8 22.dxc5 Qh5
{With the horrible threat of 23...Qh3 followed by 24...Qg2++.}
23.h4
{23.cxd6 gives Black has two different ways of forcing mate. One is 23...Qxh2+ 24.Kxh2 Rh6+ 25.Kg1Rh1+}
Qg4 24.Kh2
{Forced in view of the threatened 24...Qh3.}
bxc5 25.Rh1 Rg6 26.Kg1 Bxh4
{Taking advantage of the pin on the g-file.}
27.Qa5
{27.Rxh4 loses material.}
h6
{White resigned, as he has no good defense to 28...Bxg3.}
0-1
[Event "Tilburg"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1981.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Kasparov"]
[Black "Petrosian"]
[Result "0-1"]
[PlyCount "83"]
1.d4 d5 2.c4 dxc4 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.e3 Bg4 5.Bxc4 e6 6.h3 Bh5 7.Nc3 a6 8.g4 Bg6
9.Ne5 Nbd7 10.Nxg6 hxg6 11.Bf1 c6 12.Bg2 Qc7 13.O-O Be7 14.f4 Nb6 15.g5
Nfd7 16.Qg4 O-O-O
{I have emerged from the opening with a clear advantage and can attack the queenside at will and with abandon -- or so I thought!}
17.Rb1 Kb8 18.b4 Nd5 19.Na4 f5 20.Qg3 Nxb4
{How dare he! Well, Petrosian was a great player and achieved the highest award holding the World Championship title. Still, it is hard to believe that one can open up a file that leads directly to the king.}
21.Bd2 Nd5 22.Rfc1 Ka7 23.Qe1 Ba3 24.Rc2
{Black has plenty of pieces to help defend the king. Still, I had plenty of confidence in my attacking position.}
Qd6 25.Rb3 Qe7 26.Qe2 Rb8 27.Qd3
{Finally my queen has taken up an active post.}
Bd6 28.Nb2 Rhc8 29.Nc4 Bc7 30.a4
{I am ready to advance the pawn to a5.}
b5
{A desperate move, but a very strong one.}
31.axb5 cxb5 32.Ra2
{Black cannot afford to capture the knight, becuase it would leave the king trapped on the edge of the board. If you don't believe me, capture the knight and play against Gambit at tournament strength. You won't last long!}
Kb7
{An incredible move which had a tremendous psychological effect on me. I just couldn't find a way to get at the enemy king and chose a bad plan. But the position continued to haunt me, and back in Moscow I finally worked it out.}
33.Bb4
{This is so natural, but what I really needed to do was swing my knight to this square and break in the center. 33.Na3 Bb6 34.Nc2 Ra8 35.Nb4 Qd6 36.e4 fxe4 37.Qxe4 Ra7 38.Qxg6 Bxd4+ 39.Kh1 N7b6 40.f5 Well, I didn't see this far in the game.}
Qe8 34.Bd6 Ra8 35.Qb1
{Now I was beginning to get worried. I figured that I could just swim for a bit, placing my pieces on better squares and eventually coming up with some brilliant combination. But Petrosian came up with a shocker...}
Kc6
{What a great move! The king boldly leaves the safety of the fortress and goes out into the exposed area controlled by White's army, But suddenly that army seems to be in disarray. My pieces are not coordinated and I have no plan.}
36.Rba3
{A bad move. Now instead of winning the game, I lose quickly.}
bxc4 37.Rxa6+ Rxa6 38.Rxa6+ Bb6 39.Bc5 Qd8
{Black has defended well and has an extra piece.}
40.Qa1 Nxc5 41.dxc5 Kxc5
{It is only fitting that the Black monarch have the final word, so I resigned. The moral of the story is that you need nerves of steel to defend. If you can keep your head, then you might just find an effective counterattack.}
42.Ra4 0-1
[Event "World Junior Championship"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1981.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Kasparov"]
[Black "Fedorowicz"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "67"]
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 b6 4.a3
{This is the Petrosian variation of the Queen's Indian Defense.}
c5 5.d5 Ba6 6.Qc2 exd5 7.cxd5 g6
{Black adopts one of the sharpest continuations in response to the Petrosian System.}
8.Nc3 Bg7 9.g3 O-O 10.Bg2 d6 11.O-O Re8 12.Re1 Qc7
{A new idea at the time this game was played. It turns out that Fedorowicz had already played this move in the 1981 USA championship but I was unaware of this.}
13.Bf4
{Trying to take advantage of Black's queen by the indirect attack on the h2-b8 diagonal.}
Nh5 14.Bd2 Nd7 15.Qa4
{15.a4 is the thematic continuation holding back Black's queenside play. However, after ...c4 I saw no clear way to improve my position.}
Bb7 16.Qh4
{Although no immediate attack is associated with this move. The idea is to attack on the queenside first diverting the Black pieces away from the protection of the king.}
a6 17.Rac1 b5 18.b4
{The point of White's plan. In this way he jams his opponent's operation.}
Qd8
{18...cxb4 would allow White to win material due to the discovered attack on the c-file.}
19.Bg5 f6 20.Bd2 f5
{In this way the e4 is under Black's control and the Nh5 is marked for central activity.}
21.Bg5 Qb6
{21...Bf6 With the idea of exchanging off pieces should be preferred.}
22.e4 cxb4 23.axb4 Rac8
{The critical position. Both sides have achieved what they have been striving towards, maximally activating "their own" areas of the board.}
24.Be3 Qd8 25.Bg5 Qb6
{This move was made quickly, and it was clear that my opponent had no objection to a draw by repetition. Contemplating the position, I detected that there were some hidden combinational possibilities.}
26.exf5
{This move carries with it a piece sacrifice. White will not obtain any immediate gain. But there are all sorts of little things amiss in Black's position of his queen, like the Bb7 and the Nh5, which weaken their king's cover.}
Rxe1+ 27.Rxe1 Bxc3 28.Re7 Rc4 29.Qh3
{A simple an d strong answer: the queen lies in ambush. Her transfer from the queenside has proved most successful!}
Bc8 30.fxg6 Ndf6
{30...hxg6 31.Qe6+ Kh8 allows White a mating attack.}
31.Bxf6 Nxf6 32.gxh7+ Kf8 33.h8=Q+ Kxe7 34.Qg7+
{Black resigned because the two queens will easily take care of his king.}
1-0
[Event "Soviet Union Championship"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1981.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Tseshkovsky"]
[Black "Kasparov"]
[Result "0-1"]
[PlyCount "50"]
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nc6 5.Nc3
{5.Nb5 d6 6.c4 setting up a bind is also possible.}
d6 6.g3
{White intends to control the center by the fianchetto of his light squared bishop.}
Nf6 7.Bg2 Bd7 8.O-O Be7 9.a4
{Played to deter Black from expanding on the queenside with a6 and b5.}
O-O 10.Nce2
{Going backwards with his development cannot be recommended. Better was 10. Ndb5 Qb8 11.Be3 which leads to complicated play with chances for both sides.}
Rc8 11.c3
{11.Nb5 d5 12.exd5 Nxd5 is a little better for Black thanks to his lead in development.}
a6
{Played to prevent White from attacking the d-pawn with Nb5.}
12.h3 Qc7 13.g4 d5
{Following the advice of the old saying "an attack on the flank is best countered with an attack in the center".}
14.exd5
{14.Nxc6 Bxc6 15.e5 Ne4 16.f3 Nc5 17.f4 f6 is better for Black since White will be unable to hold onto the center.}
Nxd5 15.Bxd5
{Parting with the light squared bishop is suspicious. However, Black has a good game anyway.}
exd5 16.Nf4 Bc5 17.Nb3
{A mistake which fatally weakens the a7-g1 diagonal. Better was 17.Be3.}
Ba7
{Black sacrifices a pawn, since the a7-g1 diagonal is more important.}
18.Qxd5 Be6 19.Nxe6 fxe6 20.Qe4
{20.Qxe6+ Kh8 21.Be3 Bb8 22.f4 Rce8 wins the bishop on e3.}
Rxf2
{Shattering White's kingside while setting up a deadly pin.}
21.Rxf2 Qg3+ 22.Qg2
{22.Kh1 Qxh3+ 23.Kg1 Bxf2+ 24.Kxf2 Rf8+ 25.Ke2 Qf1+ 26.Ke3 Qe1+ 27.Kd3 Rd8+ 28.Nd4 allows Black to win material.}
Bxf2+
{The point! White's queen is unable to capture the bishop thanks to the pin on the g-file.}
23.Kf1
{This move only hastens the end. Better was 23.Kh1.}
Qe5 24.Bf4
{24.Kxf2 Rf8+ 25.Kg1 Qe1+ 26.Kh2 Rf2 pins the queen.}
Qxf4 25.Qxf2 Qc4+
{White resigned as he cannot save his knight on b3.}
0-1
[Event "USSR Championship"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1981.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Kasparov"]
[Black "Yusupov"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "78"]
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 Bb4+ 4.Bd2 a5 5.g3 O-O 6.Bg2 b6 7.O-O Ba6 8.Bg5
Be7 9.Qc2 Nc6 10.a3 h6 11.Bxf6 Bxf6 12.Rd1 Qe7 13.e3
{This leads to overcrowding on the queenside. Better was 13...g6.}
Rae8
{In this slow opening, Black has actually outstripped White's development. But White controls the center, and d7-d5 will not be appropriate because of the position of the White queen, putting pressure on the c-file.}
14.Nfd2
{A strong move which threatens to post the knight effectively at e4, while opening up lines for the Bg2 and threatening to disrupt Black's pawn structure . In addition, the Pc4 is guarded so that the other knight can enter the game.}
g5
{Black overreacts to the positional strength of White's game. 14...g6 would have been more solid.}
15.Nc3 Bg7
{White should probably bring Black's extended fianchetto into question by playing 16.f4, but he is concentrating on the queenside, and in particular, on the c-file.}
16.Nb5 Qd8 17.f4 Ne7
{Black has taken advantage of White's faulty plan by reorganizing his pieces so that the Ne7 can take part in the defence. Unfortunately, Yusupov soon forgets why he wanted the knight at e7.}
18.Nf3 Nf5 19.Qf2
{Kasparov notes that this was not the correct square for the queen. It would have been better placed at e2, where it could protect the pawn at c4.}
c6 20.Nc3 gxf4 21.gxf4 Bxc4
{Although White is a pawn down, he is at the same time almost a piece ahead, because Black's light-squared bishop is incapable of reaching the kingside to help in the defence. In addition, White now takes charge of the center.}
22.e4
{Now Yusupov makes a major strategic error. He must return the knight to its defensive post at e7.}
Nd6
{22...Ne7 23.Kh1! f5 24.e5 brings White sufficient compensation for his pawn, because Black's kingside is very weak.}
23.Ne5 f5 24.Nxc4 Nxc4
{Black does not mind parting with his bishop, but the problem is that the Nc4 is far away from the kingside. Kasparov now chases it to an utterly useless position on the back rank.}
25.b3 Nd6 26.e5 Nc8
{At this point White must determine his strategy for the remainder of the game. His goal is to infiltrate the kingside, and exploit the weak light squares. 26...Ne4 27.Bxe4 fxe4 28.Nxe4 is clearly better for White, with a SuperKnight at e4 and threats along the g-file.}
27.Bf3
{Clearly the bishop must get involved in this task.}
Kh7
{Black escapes the g-file, and hopes to use it to exchange rooks, lessening White's attacking force.}
28.Bh5 Re7 29.Kh1 Rg8
{Although thi s is consistent with Black's plan, he chooses the wrong rook. The correct strategy was 29...Bh8! followed by Re7-g7.}
30.Rg1 Bh8
{If White's stood on f5, and were not attacked, then mate in two. But how do we realize this fantasy? The solution is stunning! 30...Bf8? 31.Qh4 sets up a very nasty pin!}
31.Ne4
{Because of the threat of Nf6+, the knight must be captured. But this gives White access to the f5-square. The sacrifice of material is not so important because Black's knight is so out of play.}
fxe4 32.f5 Rg5
{An error in time pressure. Black should have brought the queen over to help with the defense: 32...Qf8 33.Rxg8 Kxg8 34.f6! Rg7!}
33.Rxg5 hxg5 34.f6 Kh6
{34...Qf8 35.fxe7 Qxf2 36.e8Q wins because Black has no checks.}
35.fxe7 Qxe7
{35...Nxe7 36.Qf7 Bg7 37.Rf1 Bh8 38.Rf6+ Bxf6 39.exf6}
36.Bf7 d6
{36...g4 37.h4! gxh3 38.Rg1 Bg7 39.Qf4+ Kh7 40.Qxe4+ Kh8 41.Qg6}
37.Rf1 g4 38.Bxe6 Qxe6 39.Qh4+ Kg7
{and here Black resigned before I could play 40.Rf6.}
1-0
[Event "Merano"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1981.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Karpov"]
[Black "Korchnoi"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "91"]
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O Nxe4 6.d4 b5 7.Bb3 d5 8.dxe5
Be6 9.Nbd2
{White wishes to exchange Black's strong knight on e4 and is willing to give up his Bb3 to ...Nc5 and ...Nxb6.}
Nc5 10.c3 d4 11.Bxe6 Nxe6 12.cxd4 Ncxd4 13.Ne4
{White's knight is strong on this square and gives him some initiative. This should not be too troubling for Black, but Korchnoi was confused and thought for over an hour about his response.}
Be7 14.Be3 Nxf3+
{Black trades off his best piece and activates White's queen for him, but the alternative wasn't inviting. 14...c5 15.b4 This move gives White a powerful initiative. 15...Nxf3+ 16.Qxf3 And the attack on c5 is still a problem for Black.}
15.Qxf3 O-O 16.Rfd1 Qe8
{This is a blunder. Black locks in his own kingside and puts his queen on a bad square. 16...Qc8 17.Rac1 Will keep some initiative for White.}
17.Nf6+
{White takes immediate advantage of Black's misplaced pieces on the kingside.}
Bxf6
{If 17...gxf6 18.exf6 Bd6 19.Rd5, White will overwhelm the Black monarch.}
18.exf6 Qc8
{Black allows his kingside to be shredded, but 18...g6 loses the exchange to 19.Bh6.}
19.fxg7 Rd8
{After 19...Kxg7 White has a sacrificial win by 20.Bh6+}
20.h4
{White prepares to defend his g7 pawn by h4-h5-h6.}
c5 21.Rac1 Qc7 22.h5 Qe5 23.h6 Qxb2 24.Rd7
{White continues his attack by combining mating threats on f7 and the back rank.}
Rxd7 25.Qxa8+ Rd8 26.Qxa6 Qe2 27.Rf1 Rd1 28.Qa8+ Rd8
{28...Nd8 29.Rxd1 Qxd1+ 30.Kh2 Qh5+ 31.Kg3 Qg6+ 32.Kh4 Qf6+ 33.Kh3 And after g4 and Kg2 White will escape from further checks.}
29.Qc6 b4 30.Qa4 Qd3 31.Rc1 Qd5 32.Qb3 Qe4 33.Qc2 Qxc2 34.Rxc2 f5 35.f4
Kf7 36.g4
{White plays actively to remove all obstacles to his kingside pawns.}
Rd5
{36...fxg4 37.f5}
37.gxf5 Rxf5 38.Rd2 Rf6 39.Rd7+ Kg8 40.f5 Rxf5 41.Re7 Nxg7 42.Rxg7+ Kh8
43.Rc7 Kg8 44.Bxc5 Rg5+ 45.Kf2 Rg6 46.Be3
{Black has no chance of eliminating White's two pawns, so he resigns.}
1-0
[Event "Moscow Interzonal"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1982.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Christiansen"]
[Black "Kasparov"]
[Result "0-1"]
[PlyCount "80"]
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.f4
{The Four Pawns Attack is the most aggressive response to the King's Indian Defense. If Black is well-prepared, however, he can wind up with a strong initiative.}
O-O 6.Nf3 c5
{This is the most principled reply, attacking White's broad pawn center in true hypermodern style.}
7.d5 e6
{Black can also adopt the strategy of the Benko Gambit by playing 7...b5, but I have never really liked that opening and prefer to stick to a King's Indian or Benoni style.}
8.dxe6
{8.Be2 is the normal move. This capture weakens my pawn structure a bit but also gives me useful central pawns, which play a major role in this game.}
fxe6 9.Bd3
{I think 9.Be2 would have been a better move.}
Nc6 10.O-O Nd4 11.Ng5 e5 12.f5 h6 13.Nh3
{13.fxg6 hxg5 14.Bxg5 Be6 15.Nd5 This looks like a promising sacrificial line, but there is a strong reply. 15...Bxd5 16.exd5 e4 17.Bxe4 Qe7 The three pawns are not sufficient compensation for Black's active piece.}
gxf5 14.exf5 b5 15.Be3 bxc4 16.Bxc4+ Kh8 17.Bxd4 cxd4
{These central pawns give Black a big advantage.}
18.Nd5
{Now I need to get the pawns marching forward.}
Ba6 19.Nxf6 Bxc4 20.Nh5 Bxf1 21.Qg4
{White has sacrificed the exchange for a small kingside attack. But the real issue is still the central pawns.}
Qd7 22.Rxf1 d3 23.Qf3 d2 24.g4 Rac8 25.Qd3 Qa4 26.Nf2 Qd4 27.Qxd4 exd4
{The pawns are tripled and seemingly weak, but they still get the job done.}
28.Nf4 Rfe8 29.Ne6 Rc1 30.Nd1 Bf6 31.Kf2 Bg5 32.Ke2 Rc5
{The rook cannot be captured because of the pin on the e-file.}
33.Kd3 Re5 34.Nxg5
{34.Kxd4 Re1}
hxg5 35.Rf2 Re4 36.h3 Re3+ 37.Kxd4 R8e4+ 38.Kd5 Re2 39.Rf3 Re1 40.f6 Rf4
0-1
[Event "Lucerne Olympiad"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1982.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Kasparov"]
[Black "Nunn"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "51"]
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 c5
{John Nunn is a famous theoretician who loves sharp openings. In this game we "discuss" the main line of the Modern Benoni Defense.}
4.d5 exd5 5.cxd5 d6 6.e4 g6 7.f4
{White takes control of the e5-square, which is often home to a Black knight in other variations.}
Bg7 8.Bb5+ Nfd7 9.a4
{Now castling would be sensible, but Nunn had prepared something else. Since the advance of the a-pawn to a6 often makes it difficult to bring the knight into the game from b8, Nunn develops it immediately.}
Na6 10.Nf3 Nb4 11.O-O a6
{Consistent, but this turns out to be a serious error because I can attack immediately. True, not all of my pieces are in the game, but on the other hand Black's pieces are all in awkward positions.}
12.Bxd7+ Bxd7 13.f5 O-O 14.Bg5
{Now my pieces are developed and a fierce attack begins.}
f6
{14...Bf6 15. Qd2 14...Bd4+ 15.Kh1 f6 16.Bh6 Re8 17.Rc1 I would have a much better position.}
15.Bf4 gxf5
{A mistake, which hastens the end. 15...Qe7 16.fxg6 hxg6 17. Nh4 Kh7 18.Bg3 Black is still in deep trouble.}
16.Bxd6 Bxa4
{16...Re8 1 7.Bxc5 fxe4 18.Nd4 Nd3 19.Nxe4 Rxe4 20.Qxd3 f5 21.Qg3 Kh8 22.Nxf5 Bxb2 23.Nh6 The weakness at f7 is fatal.}
17.Rxa4 Qxd6 18.Nh4 fxe4 19.Nf5
{The occupation of this square signals the beginning of the end.}
Qd7
{19...Qe5 20.Qg4 Rf7 21.Nh6+ Kf8 22.Nxf7 Kxf7 23.Qxe4}
20.Nxe4 Kh8
{After 20...Rae8 21.Qg4 Rxe4 I can win Black's queen 22.Nh6+ Kh8 23.Qxd7}
21.Nxc5
{Nunn resigned. A series of exchanges on d5 leaves Black in a hopeless position .}
Qxd5 22.Qxd5 Nxd5 23.Ne6 Rf7 24.Nfxg7 Rxg7 25.Nxg7 Kxg7 26.Rd4 1-0
[Event "USSR"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1982.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Kupreichik"]
[Black "Kasparov"]
[Result "0-1"]
[PlyCount "60"]
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nc6 5.Nc3 d6 6.Be2
{The first surprise. Kupreichik usually chooses a more aggressive system, involving f2-f4 and Qf3.}
Nf6 7.Be3 Be7 8.f4 O-O 9.Qd2
{Kupreichik remains true to himself, heading for a complicated position with opposite side castling. White's chosen plan seems quite promising, since there are good prospects for a kingside pawnstorm.}
e5
{An energetic Black counterblow in the center, turns the game into different channels.}
10.Nf3
{10.Nf5 Bxf5 11.exf5 d5 gives Black an initiative.}
Ng4 11.f5
{Now all th at remains for White is to play 12.Nd5 and his advantage will be beyond doubt. But as so often happens, that one tempo just isn't there.}
Nb4
{With the threat of 12...Nxe3 and 13...Nxc2 winning White's queen.}
12.Bd3
{12.O-O-O d5 13.a3 Nxe3 14.Qxe3 d4 15.Qf2 Qc7 with an attack on the White king.}
d5 13.Nxd5 Nxd5 14.exd5 e4
{The unfortunate position of White's pieces and especially of his king makes this combination possible. The coming pin on the e-file destroys White, aided by the diagonal pins on c1-h6 and g1-a7.}
15.Bxe4 Re8
{Now the combination yields two almost symmetrical variations, depending on which side White castles.}
16.O-O-O
{Black's task would have been much more complicated after 16.O-O.}
Bf6
{A powerful move which opens the open file for the Black rook while taking command of the a1-h8 diagonal.}
17.Bg5
{Having come to terms with the unavoidable loss of a piece, White vainly tries to exploit Black's slightly backward development. 17.h3 Nxe3 18.Qxe3 Bxf5 19.Nd2 allows Black to win material.}
Rxe4 18.h3 Ne5 19.Bxf6 Qxf6 20.Nxe5 Qxe5 21.g4 Bd7
{The rest is a matter of technique.}
22.Rhe1 Re8 23.Rxe4 Qxe4 24.Qa5
{This hastens the inevitable. 24.b3 would have been more solid, and allowed further resistance.}
Qe3+ 25.Kb1 Qxh3 26.Qxa7 Qxg4 27.Rc1 Bxf5 28.Qxb7 h5 29.b3 Qd4 30.a4 Qc3
0-1
[Event "Bugonjo"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1982.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Kasparov"]
[Black "Najdorf"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "49"]
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 b6 4.a3
{I don't want my opponent to pin a knight on c3 by a later Bb4.}
Bb7 5.Nc3 d5 6.cxd5 Nxd5 7.e3 Be7 8.Bb5+
{Since Black will have to play a later ...c5 to chip away at my pawn center, this check confuses his pieces a little.}
c6 9.Bd3 Nxc3
{Black wants to exchange pieces because he is cramped, but this trade strengthens my pawn center.}
10.bxc3 c5 11.O-O Nc6 12.e4
{Finally I achieve the most desirable pawn center. Notice how limited Black's options are for his minor pieces.}
Rc8 13.Be3 cxd4 14.cxd4 O-O 15.Qe2 Na5 16.Rfe1 Qd6 17.d5
{Now that my pieces are all centralized I'm ready to break through. Black's knight is out of play and his Be7 is unprotected, so I've got a big edge in the center to attack with.}
exd5 18.e5 Qe6
{18...Qc6 19.Nd4 Qe8 20.Qg4}
19.Nd4 Qxe5
{Black can't allow 19...Qd7 20. Bf5, but the text allows the rest of my pieces to flood his king position.}
20.Nf5 Bf6
{20...Qf6 21.Bd4}
21.Qg4
{I'm threatening to win a piece here by Bd4 and Black doesn't have any good defense.}
Rce8
{21...Nc6 22.Bd4 Nxd4 23.Rxe5 Bxe5 24.Ne7+}
22.Bd2 Qxa1
{Black is desparate, but he gets mated after 22...Qb8 23.Nxg7 Bxg7 24.Bh6}
23.Rxa1 Bxa1 24.Nxg7 Bxg7 25.Bh6
{Black resigned because he can't stop the mate on g7.}
1-0
[Event "Toluca Interzonal"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1982.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Adorjan"]
[Black "Spassky"]
[Result "0-1"]
[PlyCount "46"]
1.c4 b6 2.d4 Bb7 3.Nc3 e6 4.e4 Bb4 5.Bd3 f5
{White has grabbed a lot of space, but given Black a target in the process. Black last move sharpens things up a lot. Since White can't play 6.exf5 Bxg2 7.Qh5+ Kf8, he has to leave e4 as a target.}
6.Qh5+ g6 7.Qe2 Nf6 8.f3 Nc6 9.e5
{The losing move. White has committed to a big center and was feeling the heat, but now the tactics explode in his face. 10.Be3 f4 would be fine for Black, so White would've done better with a more modest buildup.}
Nxd4 10.Qf2 Nh5 11.Qxd4 Bc5
{No more queen. If White had left the knight alone he'd just be out a pawn. Now he could resign, but in an Interzonal one doesn't give up easily.}
12.Qxc5 bxc5 13.Be3 Qh4+ 14.g3 Nxg3 15.Bf2 f4 16.Be4 O-O-O 17.O-O-O Ne2+
18.Ngxe2 Qxf2 19.Rhf1 Qe3+ 20.Rd2 d5 21.Nd1 Qxd2+ 22.Kxd2 dxe4+ 23.Kc2
g5 0-1
[Event "Las Palmas Interzonal"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1982.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Timman"]
[Black "Petrosian"]
[Result "0-1"]
[PlyCount "42"]
1.d4 d5 2.c4 dxc4 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Nc3 c6 5.a4 Bg4 6.Ne5 Bh5 7.f3
{The idea i s to build a strong pawn center but this plan makes it very hard for White to castle.}
Nfd7 8.Nxc4 e5
{A temporary pawn sacrifice which allows Black to develop quickly and take over the initiative.}
9.Nxe5 Nxe5 10.dxe5 Nd7 11.f4 Bb4 12.Qc2 Qe7
{Played with the idea of gaining the e4 square after 13...f6 14 exf6 Nxf6.}
13.e4 g5 14.Be2
{14.g4 Bxg4 15.Rg1 h5 16.h3 Qc5 17.Rg3 gxf4 when Black is winning because of White's shattered position.}
gxf4 15.e6
{This pawn th rust is to ambitious. 15.Bxh5 Qh4+ 16.Qf2 Qxh5 17.Bxf4 was a better way to play.}
Qh4+ 16.Kf1
{16.g3 fxg3 17.exd7+ Ke7 leaves Black with an overwhelming position.}
Bxe2+ 17.Qxe2 fxe6
{Black has a won game due to his material advantage and White's exposed king.}
18.Qf2 Qe7 19.e5 Nxe5 20.Bxf4 Rf8 21.Rd1 Bc5
{White resigned because of Black's winning attack down the f-file.}
0-1
[Event "Wijk aan Zee"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1982.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Huebner"]
[Black "Tal"]
[Result "0-1"]
[PlyCount "26"]
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Bxc6 dxc6 5.O-O f6
{Usually advancing this pawn in the opening is a bad idea, but here it is appropriate because the pawn at e5 needs support.}
6.d4 Bg4 7.dxe5 Qxd1 8.Rxd1 fxe5
{This isola ted pawn, which can no longer be defended by a pawn on either side, is very weak.}
9.Rd3 Bd6 10.Nbd2 Nf6 11.Nc4
{This move, leading to the exchange of White's e-pawn for Black's, is harmless. 11 b3 is the only way to keep tension in the position.}
O-O 12.Ncxe5 Bh5
{Since White can't hold onto his e-pawn anyway, Tal decides to keep the bishop pair.}
13.Bf4 Bxf3
{This wins a piece, since 14 gxf3 or Rxf3 both fail to 14...Nh5.}
0-1
[Event "Moscow"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1982.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Kasparov"]
[Black "Sax"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "75"]
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 d5
{I have enjoyed playing this from both sides of the board.}
4.cxd5 Nxd5 5.e4 Nxc3 6.bxc3 Bg7 7.Bc4
{Also very popular is 7.Nf3.}
O-O 8.Be3 b6
{Attacking the center immediately with 8...c5 is more thematic.}
9.h4 Bb7
{9...Nc6 10.h5 Na5 11.hxg6 allows White a winning kingside attack.}
10.Qf3
{This move reinforces White's center and is a plus for leaving the knight at g1.}
Qd7 11.Ne2 h5 12.Bg5 Nc6 13.Nf4
{White intends to play 14.Nxg6 taking advantage of the pin on the a2-g8 diagonal.}
e6
{13...Na5 would allow White to win material.}
14.Rd1 Na5 15.Bd3
{White's strong center guarantees a lasting initiative.}
e5
{15...c5 16. Nxh5 gxh5 17.Bf6 Bxf6 18.Qxf6 Qd8 19.Qh6 With the idea of lifting the rook to g3 via h3 with a winning attack for White}
16.dxe5 Bxe5 17.O-O
{White is much better in this position since Black's kingside has been seriously weakened with pawn h5, while Black's pieces are misplaced in particular the knight on a5.}
Qg4
{17...Qa4 18.g4 with a formidable kingside attack.}
18.Qe3 Rfe8 19.Be2 Bxf4
{19...Qc8 20.Nd5 Bxd5 21.Rxd5 when White stands much better because of his two bishops and kingside initiative.}
20.Bxf4 Nc4
{Embarking on an interesting combination which unfortunately fails to a counter not easily foreseen. Black refrained from 20...Qxh4 21.e5 because of his weakened dark squares.}
21.Bxc4 Rxe4 22.f3 Qxf4 23.Bxf7+ Kg7
{23...Kxf7 allows White to win material by the use of a pin.}
24.Qd3
{White has achieved an ending in which Black will be hard pressed to maintain material parity.}
Qe3+ 25.Qxe3 Rxe3 26.Rd7
{This gains the seventh rank while threatening a discovered check with the bishop.}
Kh6
{26...Rxc3 would drop a piece.}
27.Rxc7 Ba6 28.Rd1 Bd3 29.Rd2 Bf5 30.Kf2 Re5 31.Rd5
{As a general rule when one is ahead in material you should try to exchange pieces and not pawns, since the pawns will be able to promote later in the game.}
Rxd5 32.Bxd5 Rd8 33.c4 b5 34.Ke3 a5 35.Kf4 Bb1 36.g4
{The Black king finds itself in a mating net, the threat being 37.g5+ mate.}
hxg4 37.fxg4 Rf8+ 38.Kg3
{Black resigned since to avoid mate he must part with further material.}
1-0
[Event "Bugonjo"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1982.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Kavalek"]
[Black "Kasparov"]
[Result "0-1"]
[PlyCount "54"]
1.c4 g6 2.d4 Bg7 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.e4 d6 5.Nf3 O-O 6.h3
{This is a fairly harmless system, but it does lead to sharp play.}
e5 7.d5 Na6
{Usually knights do not belong on the rim, but here it makes sense because the knight can operate effectively from c5 or b4.}
8.Be3 Nh5 9.Nh2
{An experiment. The usual move is 9.Nd2.}
Qe8 10.Be2
{This is a bit too quiet. Better was 10.g4, since White can castle queenside.}
Nf4 11.Bf3
{Now d3 will be very weak.}
( 11.Bxf4 exf4 12.O-O Bxc3 13.bxc3 Qxe4 )
10...f5 12.h4 Qe7
{The point of this move is to set up pressure on the e-file.}
13.g3
{Kavalek no doubt expected the knight to retreat, but I had my sights set on d3 .}
Nb4
{A pretty surprising move! But because my queen is on e7, he can't take my knight.}
14.Qb3
{14.gxf4 fxe4 15.fxe5 Nd3+ 16.Kd2 Rxf3 17.Nxf3 Bg4 18.Nxe4 Nxe5 The pin wins! 14.O-O g5 15.exf5 Bxf5 was what I expected. If he ever takes the knight, I recapture with the g-pawn and have a very strong kings}
( 14.gxf4 fxe4 15.fxe5 Nd3+ 16.Kd2 Rxf3 17.Nxf3 Bg4 18.Nxe4 Nxe5 )
13...Nfd3+ 15.Ke2
{15.Kd2 f4}
f4 16.Bd2 fxg3
{I played this in less than a minute, and started kicking myself right away. I saw the right move immediately after I had completed the capture. I threw away the chance to play a brilliancy! 16...Nxf2 This would have led to a fantastic finish. For example: 17.Qxb4 fxg3 18.Raf1 gxh2 19.Rxf2 Rxf3 If you spend some time analyzing this position, and other lines after 16... Nxf2, you will see that I would have won in all cases.}
( 15...Nxf2 17.Qxb4 fxg3 18.Raf1 gxh2 19.Rxf2 Rxf3 )
17.fxg3 Rxf3
{This is the best move, but my sacrifices should now lead only to a draw.}
18.Nxf3 Bg4 19.Raf1 Rf8
{Now White's position looks precarious, but Kavalek could have drawn had he found the right move.}
20.Nd1
{20.Be3 Bh6 21. Bxh6 Bxf3+ 22.Rxf3 Rxf3 23.Kxf3 Qf6+ 24.Kg2 Qf2+ 25.Kh3 Qf3 26.Kh2 Black has nothing better than a draw. This is the}
Qf7
{Now the game is effectively over.}
21.Be3 Bxf3+ 22.Kd2
{22.Rxf3 Qxf3+ 23.Kd2 Qxh1}
Qd7 23.Rhg1
{23.a3 This was the best move, but Kavalek would still be in deep trouble.}
Qh3 24.a3 Bxe4 25.Rxf8+ Bxf8 26.axb4 Qh2+ 27.Kc3 Nc1
{White resigned, since when the queen moves I can play Ne2, forking the king and rook.}
0-1
[Event "London"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1982.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Seirawan"]
[Black "Karpov"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "61"]
1.Nf3 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 d5 4.d4 Be7 5.Bg5 h6 6.Bh4 O-O 7.Rc1
{White avoi ds committing his e-pawn, hoping to find a brighter future for his light-squared bishop on g2.}
b6 8.cxd5 Nxd5 9.Nxd5
{Not 9...Bxh4 10 Nxc7. With the pawn structure clarified White intends to put pressure on d5 and c7, while Black hopes to get play on the e-file and possibly break with ... c5.}
exd5 10.Bxe7 Qxe7 11.g3 Re8
{Now if 12.Bg2 Black will play 12...Ba6 and gang up on e2, catching White's king in the center.}
12.Rc3
{A multi purpose move. The rook may lead a battery attack on c7 and may also go to e3 to neutralize the pressure on e2.}
Na6
{If 12...c5 then 13 dxc5 bxc5 14 Qxd5 Bb7 15 Qb3 and White will consolidate after Re3. Karpov's move covers c5 and c7, and the knight may jump to b4 later.}
13.Qa4
{Very aggressiv e--White attacks both the knight and the rook, but leaves his back rank exposed.}
c5
{It isn't clear whether this is a sacrifice or a blunder, but Black seems to get a strong attack for his knight.}
14.Re3 Be6 15.Qxa6 cxd4 16.Rb3
{Preventing checks on b4. It now seems that Black should be able to keep up the pressure on the e-file, but Seirawan consolidates beautifully.}
Bf5 17.Bg2 Bc2 18.Nxd4
{Giving back material to kill Black's initiative.}
Bxb3 19.Nxb3 Rac8
{Black might try 19...Qb4+, but after 20 Kf1, White will consolidate by 21 Bf3 and 22 Kg2, and Black's pieces will be even more confused than in the game.}
20.Bf3 Rc2 21.O-O Rxb2
{Now Black has got back almost all his material, but his pieces don't work together well, while White will calmly prepare a nasty counterattack.}
22.Rd1 Rd8 23.Nd4
{White's position is a wonderful picture of harmony, while Black is just trying to keep out the flood. Notice how all of Black's light squares are potential targets: b5,c6,f5 and d5.}
Rd7 24.Nc6 Qe8 25.Nxa7
{Now White offers a piece sacrifice, but, in contrast to Black's offer on move 13, he has a concrete mating continuation in mind.}
Re7 26.a4 Qa8 27.Rxd5 Qxa7 28.Rd8+ Kh7 29.Qd3+ f5
{29...g6 allows 30 Qd4.}
30.Qxf5+ g6 31.Qf6 1-0
[Event "Moscow"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1982.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Kasparov"]
[Black "Murey"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "51"]
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 b6 4.Nc3 Bb7 5.a3
{The Petrosian system of the Queen's Indian Defense has brought me many victories.}
d5 6.cxd5 Nxd5
{A continuation which has been becoming more popular recently. It is difficult to explain why Black should give up the center without a fight, but perhaps good practical results are the reason why.}
7.Qc2
{At the time of this game this was a new twist to the position. White had usually played 7.e3. The idea of 7.Qc2 is to play e4 in one move instead of two.}
c5 8.e4 Nxc3 9.bxc3 Nc6 10.Bb2
{Simple and strong! The pawn is well protected and the rook is ready to occupy the d1 square.}
Rc8
{Natural but bad. Black will not be able to take advantage of the position of the White queen, while the loss of a tempo will cost him dearly. It was necessary to play 10...Be7, preparing to castle.}
11.Rd1 cxd4 12.cxd4 a6
{Played to keep White's bishop off the a4-e8 diagonal. 12...Nxd4 allows White to win material. 12... Ne5, trying to take advantage of White's queen being on the c-file, would backfire after...13.Bb5+ Bc6 when White can win material.}
13.Qd2
{Now the cou nterchances connected with the pressure on the c-file are prevented and the d-pawn threatens to advance to d7. In order to thwart d5 Black would have to play Ne7, but what sort of position is that?}
Na5
{Understanding that the strategic struggle has been lost, Black is trying to find some tactical resources, but in vain - chess justice is on White's side.}
14.d5 exd5
{14...Nc4 15.Bxc4 Rxc4 16.O-O is much better for White because of his lead in development.}
15.exd5 Bd6
{15...Qe7+ 16.Be2 Nc4 17.d6 Nxd6 18.O-O is winning for White since Black's king is stuck in the center.}
16.Bxg7 Qe7+ 17.Be2 Rg8 18.Qh6
{Now the main drawback of the Black position is visible. His pieces cannot join in the fight quickly, and his king is left to defend himself.}
f5 19.Bf6 Qf8 20.Qxh7 Qf7
{20...Rxg2 21.Ne5 With the deadly threat of 22.Bh5+ is winning for White.}
21.Qxf5
{The rest is a matter of artistic interpretation.}
Rg6 22.Qe4+ Kf8 23.Ng5 Rxg5 24.Bxg5 Re8 25.Bh6+ Kg8 26.Qg4+
{Black resigned because of his material deficit.}
1-0
[Event "Moscow Interzonal"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1982.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Kasparov"]
[Black "Gheorghiu"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "53"]
1.d4 Nf6
{This is a good move, and is the main alternative to 1...d5. Both moves have the same basic idea -- to stop White from building a strong pawn center with 2.e4.}
2.c4
{Now if Black plays 2...d5, White will capture and then whichever piece recaptures at d5, there will be ample opportunity to attack it. We can already see the battle of ideas begin. The fight for the center is underway!}
e6
{Since Black cannot contest the center directly, a path is made for the bishop. Once it is deployed, Black will be able to castle. Also, the move 3...d5 is possible, since if White captures, Black can recapture with a pawn.}
3.Nf3 b6
{Now the other bishop will have a home.}
4.Nc3 Bb7 5.a3
{Now Black cannot develop the bishop at b4 (though that was possible at the previous turn), so it is time to focus again on the center.}
d5 6.cxd5 Nxd5
{After 6...ed the bishop at b7 would have had less scope. Black has other plans for contesting the center.}
7.Qc2
{7.e4 Nxc3 8.bxc3 Bxe4 Black wins a pawn, so the central advance was premature.}
c5
{Black gives up the battle for e4, and tries to shift the conflict to d4.}
8.e4 Nxc3 9.bxc3
{But now the d4-square is supported by a pawn, so White has obtained a strong center. As a result, I control more space, and my opponent is at a disadvantage.}
Be7 10.Bb5+ Bc6 11.Bd3
{Why did I move to b5, only to retreat to d3? My idea was simply to lure the bishop to the c6-square, which would have been a better home to the knight.}
Nd7 12.O-O h6
{Black should just have castled. The idea was to prevent my moving a piece to g5, but this wasn't really a threat. So it amounts to a waste of precious time.}
13.Rd1
{I bring the rook to the d-file, because I plan to blast it open very soon now!}
Qc7 14.d5
{There is some old but valid chess wisdom that states that whoever has the advantage had better act quickly, before it disappears! First formulated by World Champion Steinitz, I really do believe it. So I sacrificed a pawn here.}
exd5 15.exd5 Bxd5 16.Bb5
{The bishop returns to b5 to pin the enemy knight. Notice that the pin is even stronger because I have a rook on the d-file which can add to the pressure.}
a6
{Gheorghiu tries to drive my bishop away. I can take his bishop at d5, but that can wait.}
17.Bf4
{My idea is to deflect the queen from its defensive tasks.}
Qxf4 18.Bxd7+ Kxd7 19.Rxd5+
{Now I have a real attack. All of my pieces can participate, while the enemy forces are scattered all over the place. I love these positions!}
Kc7 20.Re1
{I grab another open file with gain of time, since the bishop is under attack.}
Bd6 21.Rf5
{A double attack on queen and pawn.}
Qc4 22.Re4 Qb5 23.Rxf7+ Kb8 24.Re6 Rd8 25.c4 Qc6
{Circling the wagons. But now there is a pin on the 6th rank, and I know what to do with it!}
26.Ne5 Qc8 27.Qb1
{All those pieces, but how can the b-pawn be protected? Gheorghiu gave up here, but if you think you can defend, go ahead and let Gambit finish up!}
1-0
[Event "Hamburg"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1982.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Seirawan"]
[Black "Karpov"]
[Result "0-1"]
[PlyCount "60"]
1.Nf3 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 d5 4.d4 Be7 5.Bg5 h6 6.Bh4 O-O 7.Rc1 b6 8.cxd5
Nxd5 9.Nxd5 exd5 10.Bxe7 Qxe7 11.g3
{White hopes to get pressure on the h1-a8 diagonal, espescially against Black's d5 pawn.}
Re8
{Black hopes to punish White for leaving his pawn on e2.}
12.Rc3
{White hopes to neutralize Black's pressure by Re3.}
Na6 13.Qa4 b5
{Black deflects White's queen from its attack on the Re8.}
14.Qa5
{Now White's queen is cut off from the defence of his king. 14.Qxb5 Rb8 And Black will play 15...Rxb2 with a powerful initiative.}
Qe4
{This move paralyzes Whites whole army: his bishop must cover the mate on e2, his knight is pinned onto his rook and his Rc3 must protect c1.}
15.Kd2 Re6 16.b3 b4 17.Re3 Qb1 18.Rxe6 Qb2+ 19.Kd1 Bxe6 20.Qxa6
{White has won a piece, but his kingside isn't playing and his king is exposed to all of Black's pieces.}
Qa1+ 21.Kd2 Qc3+ 22.Kd1 Bf5 23.Ne1 Rb8 24.Qxa7 Rb6 25.e3 Rc6
{Black threatens 26...Bg4+ followed by queen checks on c1 and b2.}
26.Bc4
{White could have tried to establish a fortress, but this doesn't work. 26.Qa8+ Kh7 27.Qxc6 Qxc6 28.Bd3 Bxd3 29.Nxd3 Qc3 30.Nc1 c5 31.dxc5 d4 And Black will win more material.}
Qa1+ 27.Kd2 Qb2+ 28.Kd1 dxc4 29.Qa8+
{White wins a rook by this fork, but his king is in a hopeless situation.}
Kh7 30.Qxc6 c3
{White has no defense to the mate on d2. If you don't see Black's reply to 31.Nf3, play this against Gambit.}
0-1
[Event "Bugonjo"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1982.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Kasparov"]
[Black "Petrosian"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "55"]
1.d4
{Former World Champion Petrosian beat me twice in 1981. My aggressive play did not bring me any luck, so at the super-tournament at Bugojno, I decided to try to play positionally against him. The result was one of my best games.}
Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 Bb4+ 4.Bd2 Qe7 5.g3 Bxd2+ 6.Qxd2 O-O 7.Bg2 d5
{A quiet system. I just want to get my pieces developed comfortably.}
8.O-O dxc4 9.Na3 c5 10.dxc5 Qxc5 11.Rac1 Nc6 12.Nxc4 Qe7
{Petrosian reacts a bit nervously, and will find it hard to develop his bishop.}
13.Nfe5 Nxe5
{13...Bd7 14.Nxd7 Qxd7 15.Qxd7 Nxd7 16.Nd6}
14.Nxe5 Nd5
{An attempt to limit the power of my bishop, but the d5-square is now a target.}
15.Rfd1 Nb6 16.Qa5
{An interesting move. The idea is to transfer my queen to c5 at the appropriate time. As it turns out, that moment will be the final move of the game!}
g6
{This creates holes in the kingside, but without a dark-squared bishop there is not too much I can do with them.}
17.Rd3 Nd5 18.e4
{One might think that Petrosian welcomed this development, since now my bishop is cut off by its own pawn. But I have other ideas for the bishop.}
Nb6 19.Bf1 Re8 20.R3d1
{The rook is no longer accomplishing anything on the third rank, and I need to bring my bishop into the game.}
Rf8 21.a3 Kg7 22.b3 Kg8 23.a4
{My pawns are sneaking up the queenside with a purpose. I can now plan on moving a rook to c5 and then bringing the queen behind it for support from c3 which also operates on the long diagonal.}
Rd8
{Black must try to contest the open files, but now the weakness of the back rank becomes important.}
24.Qc5
{Here Petrosian resigned. If 24...Re8, then I would have exchanged queens and then checked on the 8th rank, followed by an advance of the a-pawn, which would have deprived the bishop at c8 from its defense.}
Qxc5 25.Rxd8+ Qf8
{25...Kg7 26.Rxc5}
26.Rxf8+ Kxf8 27.Rc7
{The invasion of the rook on the seventh rank is decisive, even though the material is even.}
f6 28.Ng4 1-0
[Event "Niksic"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1983.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Ljubojevic"]
[Black "Kasparov"]
[Result "0-1"]
[PlyCount "56"]
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d3
{White decides to play a quiet set up rather than fight it out in the main lines.}
Nc6 4.g3 d5 5.Nbd2 g6 6.Bg2 Bg7 7.O-O Nge7 8.Re1 b6 9.c3 h6
{I don't want to commit my king to one side or the other yet.}
10.h4 a5 11.a4 Ra7 12.Nb3
{The knight is misplaced here, since it has nothing to attack or defend. He should have moved his knight toward the kingside. 12.Nf1 O-O 13.Bf4 White is still equal in this position.}
d4
{Now I take the initiative in the center. White must either exchange on d4, when I will have a space advantage, or let me exchange on c3, when he will be tied down to the defence of c3 and d3.}
13.cxd4 cxd4 14.Bd2 e5 15.Nc1
{White doesn't have any natural plan in this position, while I will expand in the center and on the kingside.}
Be6 16.Re2 O-O 17.Be1 f5 18.Nd2
{White doesn't want to trade on f5, when I would have a very strong pawn center but now his misplaced pieces on e1, e2 and c1 will become a big embarrassment to him.}
f4 19.f3
{He had to prevent ...f3.}
fxg3 20.Bxg3 g5
{Now I will gain more space and open lines on the kingside. Note that White can't keep things closed by 21.h5, because he will lose the h5 pawn.}
21.hxg5
{21.h5 Qe8}
Ng6
{I'm happy to sacrifice a pawn, since to take it White will have to open up the g and h-files onto his king, transfer my Bg7 to a better diagonal and open the d8-h4 diagonal for my Queen.}
22.gxh6 Bxh6 23.Nf1 Rg7 24.Rf2 Be3 25.b3
{25.Nxe3 dxe3 26.Re2 Nf4 27.Bxf4 exf4 I have a won position here.}
Nf4
{White resigned because the pins on the a7-g1 diagonal and the g-file would soon cost him material. Had he played on, the game might have gone:}
26.Bxf4 Bxf2+ 27.Kxf2 exf4 28.Ra2 Kf7
{And I will follow up with ...Rfg8 and win the Bg2.}
0-1
[Event "Yurmala"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1983.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Pytel"]
[Black "Tal"]
[Result "0-1"]
[PlyCount "46"]
1.Nf3 c5 2.c4 Nc6 3.Nc3 g6 4.e3 d6 5.d4 Bg7 6.d5 Ne5 7.Nd2 f5 8.Be2 Nf6
9.h3
{Preparing to drive back Black's knight, but weakening his king side.}
e6 10.f4
{White drives the knight from its good square, but his kingside is now quite porous.}
Nf7 11.dxe6
{If White had let Black take on d5 he would have had no compensation for the hole on e4, but now he falls behind in development.}
Bxe6 12.Bf3 O-O 13.O-O
{White doesn't like the looks of 13 Bxb7 Nh5. Now, however, Black dissolves his only weakness and prepares to go to work on White's king position.}
Rb8 14.a4
{White can't allow ... b5, when Black would have the initiative all the way across the board.}
d5 15.cxd5 Nxd5 16.Nxd5 Bxd5 17.e4 Be6
{Black avoids trading on e4, which would give White a square for his knight.}
18.Qc2 Qh4
{A great square for the queen, and the consequence of White's risky pawn moves.}
19.Nb3 fxe4 20.Bxe4 Ng5
{Beautiful. Now White must either allow the f-file to be opened onto his king or let Black's knight join the party after, e.g. 21 Bd3 Bxh3.}
21.fxg5 Rxf1+ 22.Kxf1 Rf8+ 23.Bf3
{23 Kg1 Qf2+ followed by Be5+ isn't any better.}
Bc4+
{White gets mated after 24 Kg1 Qe1+ 25 Kh2 Be5+ 26 g3 Rxf3 27 Qxc4+ Kh8.}
0-1
[Event "Niksic"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1983.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Kasparov"]
[Black "Portisch"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "69"]
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 b6 4.Nc3 Bb7 5.a3 d5 6.cxd5 Nxd5
{This, though more fashionable, is hardly better than 6...cxd5.}
7.e3 Nxc3 8.bxc3 Be7 9.Bb5+ c6 10.Bd3 c5 11.O-O Nc6 12.Bb2
{Before advancing with pawn e4 White improves the stationing of his pieces.}
Rc8 13.Qe2 O-O 14.Rad1 Qc7
{14...h6 15.dxc5 Bxc5 allows White to win material.}
15.c4
{This completely transforms the nature of the game. There is a threat for White's d-pawn to advance and to be backed up by e4; additionally the White bishops can rake Black's king's position.}
cxd4
{15...Bf6 16.d5 Ne5 17.Nxe5 Bxe5 when White can win material.}
16.exd4 Na5 17.d5
{All White's pieces spring into action; Black's plan to tie White down to defense in the center proves futile.}
exd5
{17...Nxc4 18.Qe4 g6 19.Bxc4 Qxc4 20.Qe5 f6 21.Qxe6+ Rf7 22.Rc1 Qa6 23.Nd4 when Black's pieces have been pushed to the side of the b}
18.cxd5 Bxd5
{Black's king appears safe but White's following play does away with that illusion. Can you find the killer move?}
19.Bxh7+ Kxh7 20.Rxd5 Kg8
{Now, though White's pieces are ideally poised, there's nothing that is obviously decisive. Until it dawned on me...what else? Yes! Yes! That's it. Sacrifice again!}
21.Bxg7
{This piece sacrifice is positional in nature. It enables White to centralize his rook and knight and they, together with the queen, will make up aformidable team to attack the exposed Black king.}
Kxg7 22.Ne5
{An astonishing state of affairs. White has no direct threats. His pieces have no grip. Despite this Portisch chooses the only way that does not lose immediately.}
Rfd8
{22...f5 23.Rd7 Qc5 24.Nd3 Takes advantage of the pin on the seventh rank 22...Qc2 23.Qg4+ Kh7 24.Rd3 Rc6 25.Qf5+ Kg7 allows White to win material.}
23.Qg4+ Kf8 24.Qf5 f6
{This further weakening is practically forced. 24...Bd6 25.Qf6 Kg8 26.Qg5+ Kf8 27.Qh6+ Kg8 28.Ng4 With numerous mate threats.}
25.Nd7+ Rxd7
{25...Kg7 26.Rd4 leaves Black defenseless against White's intended 27.Rg4+.}
26.Rxd7 Qc5 27.Qh7 Rc7 28.Qh8+
{28.Rd3 would allow the pretty..Qxf2+ 29.Kxf2 Bc5+ 30.Kg3 Rxh7 when Black has escaped.}
Kf7 29.Rd3 Nc4 30.Rfd1 Ne5
{A mistake which only hastens the end. 30...Bd6 31.h4 The advance of this pawn combined with the threats to the Black king continue to give White a big advantage.}
31.Qh7+ Ke6 32.Qg8+ Kf5 33.g4+ Kf4 34.Rd4+ Kf3 35.Qb3+
{This game was later awarded the USSR Sports Committee prize for the supreme creative achievement of 1983.}
1-0
[Event "Simultaneous Exhibition"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1984.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Kasparov"]
[Black "Cuadras"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "57"]
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 b6 4.a3
{The Petrosian variation in answer to the Queen's Indian Defense. White's idea is to prevent Black from pinning his knight after Nc3.}
Bb7 5.Nc3 d5 6.cxd5 exd5
{This natural recapture continues Black's fight for the center. Also possible is 6...Nxd5, though 7.Qc2 (with the idea of gaining control of the center with 8.e4) has brought me a number of victories.}
7.g3 Be7 8.Bg2 O-O 9.O-O Nbd7 10.Bf4
{White intends to play against Black's somewhat exposed c-pawn.}
Nh5 11.Be3 c6 12.Qc2
{Black's main problem in this position is the passive position of his pieces, while White's position has no obvious weaknesses to attack.}
f5
{This pawn advance only succeeds in making holes at e5 and g5.}
13.Rad1
{Played with the idea of dropping the bishop back to c1 in event of f4.}
f4 14.Bc1 Bd6 15.e4
{An attack on the flank is best countered by an attack in the center.}
fxe3
{If15...dxe4 16.Nxe4}
16.fxe3 Ndf6
{16...Ba6 17.Rfe1 Nxg3 18.hxg3 Bxg3 is an interesting alternative.}
17.e4
{Opening up the position for my two bishops.}
Nxe4 18.Nxe4 dxe4 19.Ng5
{This strong intermediate moves gives White a noticeable initiative.}
Rxf1+ 20.Bxf1
{The bishop intends to transfer to the a2-g8 diagonal with threats to Black's king.}
Qe7 21.Bc4+ Kf8 22.Nxh7+ Ke8 23.Bg5
{For all practical purposes the game is over.}
Nf6 24.Rf1
{The pin on Black's knight brings White further material rewards.}
Kd7 25.Rxf6
{This small combination removes all Black resistance.}
gxf6 26.Nxf6+ Kc8
{26...Kc7 allows White to win material.}
27.Nxe4 Qf8 28.Nxd6+ Qxd6 29.Qf5+
{Black resigned since he must part with his queen.}
1-0
[Event "USSR vs.World"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1984.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Kasparov"]
[Black "Timman"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "67"]
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.Nc3 Be7
{The Queen's Gambit Declined which gives Black a solid if somewhat passive position.}
5.Bg5 O-O 6.e3 h6 7.Bxf6 Bxf6
{White has parted with the two bishops. However, in a closed position this is not so important.}
8.Qc2 c5 9.dxc5 Qa5
{9...dxc4 I ed this move for Black against Karpov in the 25 game of our 1985 World Championship Match.}
10.cxd5 exd5 11.O-O-O
{Black's isolated d-pawn is a weakness which needs immediate attention.}
Be6 12.Nxd5
{Black has succeeded in opening the position for his bishops but at the cost of two pawns.}
Rc8 13.Kb1
{If this move fails Black's initiative will become menacing.}
Bxd5
{13...Rxc5 14.b4 Rxc2 15.Nxf6+ gxf6 16.bxa5 With an extra rook for White.}
14.Rxd5 Nc6 15.Bc4
{I preferred this aggressive move over the cautious 15.a3.}
Nb4 16.Qd2 Rxc5 17.Rxc5 Qxc5 18.Rc1 Qb6
{Timman, a pawn down, elects for attacking play based on pressure against b2.}
19.Qd7 Rf8
{This move is an admission of defeat. 19...Nxa2 20.Rc2 Nc3+ 21.Kc1 Ne4 22.Bxf7+ Kh8 23.Ne5 Bxe5 leads to a winning attack for White.}
20.Qb5 Qd6 21.e4 Nc6 22.Bd5 a6
{22...Nd4 23.Qd3 Qb6 24.e5 Nxf3 25.exf6 Ne5 26.Qf5}
23.Qxb7 Ne5 24.Rc8 Rxc8 25.Qxc8+
{With a two pawn advantage the rest is just a matter of technique.}
Kh7 26.Qc2 Kg8 27.Nd2 g5 28.a3 Kg7 29.Nf1 Qb6 30.Ng3 Kg6 31.Ka2 h5 32.Qc8
h4 33.Qg8+ Bg7 34.Nh5
{Black resigned.}
1-0
[Event "World Championship"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1984.??.??"]
[Round "32"]
[White "Kasparov"]
[Black "Karpov"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "89"]
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 b6 4.Nc3
{Karpov could play 4...Bb4 if he wished to transpose into the Nimzo-Indian defence. But he likes the Queen's Indian.}
Bb7 5.a3
{One of my favorite systems. I won a lot of games with it on my way to the World Championship.}
d5 6.cxd5 Nxd5 7.Qc2 Nd7 8.Nxd5 exd5
{The scope of the bishop at b7 is now limited by the pawn at d5.}
9.Bg5 f6
{Now the e6 square is weakened. But exchanging bishops would not have helped Black. 9...Be7 10.Bxe7 Kxe7 Black can't take with the queen because then the c-pawn falls. 11.e3 Re8 12.Bd3 h6 13.O-O Kf8 White's bishop is much more effective than Black's.}
10.Bf4 c5 11.g3
{11.dxc5 bxc5 Black's hanging pawns would be an asset here, as both are defended. And Karpov knows a lot about playing such position}
g6 12.h4
{This is the customary method of attacking a weakened kingside.}
Qe7 13.Bg2 Bg7 14.h5 f5
{Black now has some pressure at d4.}
15.Qd2 Bf6 16.Rc1
{Neither side has castled. I want to leave my rook at h1 to support the pawn advances on the kingside. If I have to, I can move my king to safety by walking it to g1. Black's king will have more difficulty finding shelter.}
Rc8 17.Rc3
{The threat is 18.Re3.}
Rc6
{Here I failed to find the best move.}
18.Re3 Re6 19.Rxe6 Qxe6 20.Ng5 Qe7 21.dxc5
{Now by capturing with the knight, Karpov threatens to push his pawn to d3 and exploit the pin on the e-file.}
Nxc5
{21...bxc5 22.hxg6 hxg6 23.Rxh8+ Bxh8 24.Bxd5 Bxd5 25.Qxd5 Bxb2 26.Bd6}
22.hxg6 d4
{22...hxg6 23.Rxh8+ Bxh8 24.Bxd5 Bxd5 25.Qxd5 Bxb2 26.Bd6}
23.g7
{I should have just captured the bishop at b7. 23.Bxb7 Qxb7 24.f3 hxg6 25.Rxh8+ Bxh8 26.b4 Nd7 27.Qa2! Nf8 28.Ne6 White has the better game.}
Bxg7 24.Bxb7 Qxb7 25.f3
{25.O-O My king would be safe but I would have no pressure on the h-file. Black's pieces can't get at my king, which is well-protected.}
Qd5 26.Rxh7 Rxh7 27.Nxh7
{I have an extra pawn. Karpov makes my job easier by playing inaccurately here.}
Qb3
{27...d3 28.b4 Ne6 29.Qxd3 Qxd3 30.exd3 Nxf4 31.gxf4 Bb2 32.a4 Bc3+ Black maintains the balance.}
28.Bd6
{Black's king is still in danger.}
Ne6 29.Ng5 Bh6
{29...Nxg5 30.Qxg5 Qf7 31.Qc1 Qd7 32.Qc7}
30.Bf4
{Now there is a series of exchanges which lead to a clarification of the position.}
Bxg5 31.Bxg5 Nxg5 32.Qxg5 Qxb2 33.Qxf5 Qc1+ 34.Kf2 Qe3+ 35.Kf1
{My king is sheltered, but Black's isn't. That is actually more important than the extra pawn here.}
Qc1+ 36.Kg2 Qxa3 37.Qh5+ Kd7 38.Qg4+ Kc6 39.Qxd4 b5
{Black tries to win the footrace. But the safety of my king makes all the difference. In queen endgames most advances are accomplished in conjunction with checking maneuvers, so the safer king has a big advantage.}
40.g4 b4 41.g5
{Black resigned. Even though the b-pawn seems to be flying, White will win.}
b3 42.Qe4+ Kd7
{Or else my queen will get to e8 and provide an escort for my pawn.}
43.Qh7+ Ke6 44.g6 b2 45.g7
{And my queen guards b1!}
1-0
[Event "Zurich"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1984.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Spassky"]
[Black "Seirawan"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "45"]
1.e4 d6 2.d4 Nf6 3.Nc3 g6 4.Nf3 Bg7 5.h3 O-O 6.Be3 a6
{White's slow development lets Black go for counterplay on the wings.}
7.a4 b6
{Black takes aim at White's center, but this move is risky. With the bishop off the c8-h3 diagonal White can often get an attack going quickly by e4-e5-e6 and jumping in with the rest of his pieces. Black should play 7...d5.}
8.Bc4 Bb7
{With White ready to jump in on e6 this is a mistake. He should try 8...Nc6, though Black's funny piece placement should let White keep the initiative.}
9.e5 Ne4
{Black hopes to trade pieces to dull White's attack, but this loses time when he can least afford it. 9...dxe5 would have been a better try, though White has a plus after 10.dxe5 Qxd1+ 11.Rxd1 due to space and Black's queenside.}
10.Nxe4 Bxe4 11.Ng5
{Black underestimated this move. White offers a pawn to get his pieces into the attack at warp speed.}
Bxg2
{Madness. Black simultaneously opens a line onto his own king and gives up two tempi. He would have done better to try 11...d5 or Bf5, though it's pretty bad anyway.}
12.Rg1 Bc6
{Black is probably lost after this. 12...d5 would have closed the a2-g8 diagonal. White could reopen it by 13.Bb3 Be4 14.Nxe4 dxe4 15.Qg4, but at least White would have one piece fewer to mate with.}
13.Qg4 e6
{Black finally does something about the a2-g8 diagonal, but with five pieces already aiming at his king, it's too late.}
14.O-O-O Nd7 15.h4 dxe5 16.dxe5 Qe7
{Black hopes to get his knight to f6 to defend his king, but...}
17.Rxd7
{Spassky nixes that idea with this fine sac. White now has all his pieces trained on Black's king, while Black's queen, queen bishop and queen rook aren't playing.}
Bxd7 18.h5 f5
{Getting the queen in, but exposing e6.}
19.Qh3 f4
{Trying to keep White's bishop out, but now e6 is terminal.}
20.hxg6 Bxe5
{Opening the g-file looks suicidal, but it doesn't matter anymore. After, e.g. 20...h6 21.Bd2 White adds the possibility of Nf7-h6+ to his bag of threats.}
21.Nxe6 Bxe6 22.Bxe6+ Kg7 23.gxh7+ 1-0
[Event "Federal Republic of Germany"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1984.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Hunerkopf"]
[Black "Spassky"]
[Result "0-1"]
[PlyCount "32"]
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 exd4 4.Bc4 Nf6 5.e5 d5 6.Bb5 Ne4 7.Nxd4 Bc5 8.Be3
Bxd4 9.Qxd4 O-O 10.Bxc6 bxc6
{White lost time in order to weaken Black's queenside pawns. He should now play to consolidate by 11.O-O.}
11.f3
{This weakens White's kingside.}
c5 12.Qa4
{This is a big mistake. White's queen now gets cut off from the center and the kingside and Black's knight gives him a ready made attack on the weakened e1-h4 diagonal.}
Bd7
{It is important to drive White's queen off the fourth rank, so that after a subsequent ...Qh4+ Black's knight is not pinned onto his queen.}
13.Qa3 Qh4+ 14.g3
{Losing immediately. White has missed Black's 16th move. His best try would be 14.Kd1, though Black would keep an attack after 14...Qh5.}
Nxg3 15.Bf2
{White had counted on this counter pin, but by leaving the c1-h6 diagonal the bishop has exposed White's other weakness, the first rank.}
Qh6
{White resigned here, since he has only one way to avoid the check on c1 without losing his rook,}
16.Be3
{Which leaves him helpless after:}
Qh5
{Black will end up at least two pawns ahead with a continuing attack.}
0-1
[Event "Candidates'"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1984.??.??"]
[Round "12"]
[White "Smyslov"]
[Black "Kasparov"]
[Result "0-1"]
[PlyCount "80"]
1.d4 d5 2.Nf3 c5 3.c4 e6 4.cxd5 exd5
{Play has transposed into the Tarrasch Defense. Smyslov chooses the approved line.}
5.g3 Nf6 6.Bg2 Be7 7.O-O O-O 8.Nc3 Nc6
{This is the starting position of the Classical Tarrasch, which I adopted during my rise to the World Championship in 1983-84. It is a fighting defense which also requires positional understanding.}
9.Bg5
{White has many options here, but this remains the favorite, just ahead of the capture at c5.}
cxd4
{The normal move. 9...c4 was popular for some time, but I had some great successes with White against it and then it faded for a while. Recently, however, new resources have been found for Black.}
10.Nxd4
{The stage is set. Black has an isolated pawn which is blockaded by the White knight. The pawn is a weakness, but if it can advance, it will cramp White's position. A dynamically balanced game usually results.}
h6 11.Be3 Re8
{In order to achieve an advantage White will eventually capture an enemy bishop on e6, weakening Black's kingside and gaining the bishop pair. On the other hand it will be difficult to fight against Black's pawn center.}
12.a3
{Many plans have been tried here, including bringing the queen out to b3 or a4, moving the rook to c1 etc. This move keeps the Black knight from getting to b4, and making Qc2 or Qd3 possible without risk.}
Be6 13.Nxe6 fxe6 14.Qa4
{White plans Rad1 and Kh1. I decided to move my king to a safer post at h8 and then operate against e3. I guessed that Smyslov might want to play f4, which would weaken e3. Also, I knew that my Nc6 belonged at c4.}
Kh8 15.Rad1 Rc8 16.Kh1 a6 17.f4 Na5
{I am about to achieve my objective, so Smyslov correctly makes a sharp move which alters the character of the struggle.}
18.f5
{Now it looks tempting to move a piece to c4, but I couldn't find any good continuation.}
b5
{18...Rc4 19.Qc2 e5 20.Qd2 d4 21.Bxh6 dxc3 22.Qg5 18...Nc4 19.Bc1}
19.Qh4
{Smyslov makes menacing gestures on the kingside, threatening to sacrifice at h6. My next move not only defends h6, but also takes the initiative by attacking the enemy queen.}
Ng8 20.Qh3
{This was the wrong square. 20. Qg4 Nc4 21.Bc1 Bg5 Now Smyslov would have had a promising sacrificial line. Tal would certainly have seen this entire line: 22.fxe6 Bxc1 23.Rxd5 Qb6 24. Rf7 Bg5 25.Rxg5 hxg5 26.Qh5+ Nh6 27.Qg6 Nf5 28.Qxf5 Nd6 29.Qg6 Qd4 30.Be4 Nxe4 31.Nxe4 Rc1+ 32.Kg2 Rg1+ 33.Kh3}
Nc4 21.Bc1 Bg5
{This is a strateg y based on control of the dark-squares, which is common in the Tarrasch. Once the dark-squared bishops are gone the e3-square becomes a serious weakness.}
22.fxe6 Bxc1 23.Rxc1 Ne3
{White cannot permit this knight to sit there and rule the kingside and center, so Smyslov sacrifices the exchange for two pawns, but these pawns are weak and Black's pieces are ideally placed.}
24.Nxd5 Nxf1 25.Rxf1 Rf8 26.Nf4
{Smyslov should have exchanged rooks, but he was short of time and way behind in the match (I led 7-4 at the time).}
Ne7 27.Qg4
{Another World Champion, Mikhail Tal, suggested 27.Qh5 here.}
g5
{This move effectively wins the game. The White knight is driven back, rooks are exchanged, and the bishop will be badly placed. Also, the White queen is in a poor position. The rest is simple.}
28.Qh3 Rf6 29.Nd3 Rxf1+ 30.Bxf1 Kg7 31.Qg4 Qd5+ 32.e4 Qd4 33.h4 Rf8 34.Be2
Qe3 35.Kg2 Ng6 36.h5 Ne7 37.b4 Kh7 38.Kh2 Rd8 39.e5 Rxd3 40.Bxd3+ Qxd3
0-1
[Event "World Championship"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1985.??.??"]
[Round "24"]
[White "Karpov"]
[Black "Kasparov"]
[Result "0-1"]
[PlyCount "84"]
1.e4
{This game was for all the marbles. If Karpov won, he would retain his title. I needed only a draw, but it is very dangerous for me to play without risk. I decided that I would accept any invitation to an open battle.}
c5
{I reply with the sharpest of my weapons -- the Sicilian Defense.}
2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Be2 e6
{The Scheveningen Variation is appropriate for championship play. It is sharp, but also subtle. A complicated, double-edged struggle usually arises. We both knew the opening well, and continued our previous "discussions".}
7.O-O Be7 8.f4 O-O 9.Kh1 Qc7 10.a4 Nc6 11.Be3 Re8 12.Bf3 Rb8 13.Qd2 Bd7
14.Nb3 b6 15.g4
{Karpov attacks rather earlier than usual, deviating from his play in the 18th game. He was inspired by a game which was played after that encounter, in the Candidates' tournament in France. Wonders of modern communication!}
Bc8 16.g5 Nd7 17.Qf2
{And here Karpov introduced an improvement over that game.}
Bf8 18.Bg2 Bb7 19.Rad1 g6 20.Bc1
{A very good move, played after almost 45 minutes of thought. The idea is that the 3rd rank can be used by a rook to transfer to the kingside and bring pressure against my king.}
Rbc8
{I should have played 20...Nc5, because time was important. 20...Nc5 21.Nxc5 bxc5 22.Rd3 Nd4 23.Rh3 Qe7 My defenses should be sufficient.}
21.Rd3 Nb4 22.Rh3 Bg7
{A careless move in such a critical game. I should have played 22...f5 in order to more easily defend my second rank. 22...f5 23.gxf6 Nxf6 24. Qd4 e5 25.Qxb4 d5 26.Nxd5 Nxd5 27.Qe1 Nxf4 Black stands better.}
23.Be3
{One of the most important decisions of Karpov's World Championship career, and one which may have cost him the title. Deep analysis later revealed the best line, but Karpov played this move after just a few minutes. 23.f5 exf5 24.exf5 Bxg2+ 25.Kxg2 Qb7+ 26.Kg1 Rc5 A complicated position, with chances for both sides. But there are many byways toexplore!}
Re7
{If I had captured on c3, disaster would have struck quickly. Do you see how? 23...Bxc3 24.bxc3 Qxc3 25.Bd4 Qxc2 26.Rxh7 Kxh7 27.Qh4+ Kg8 28.Qh8++}
24.Kg1
{Karpov now waits to see what I have in mind, but this is not so simple, since my next move is seemingly absurd.}
Rce8
{Why am I doubling rooks on the closed e-file? Karpov must have asked himself this question more than once. But there is a good reason. Now if White plays 25.f5, I can open up the e-file. And I have kingside aspirations, too.}
25.Rd1
{The best reply. Now it is my turn to find an effective move.}
f5
{I am planning to sacrifice a pawn and use the power of my bishops to good effect.}
26.gxf6
{26.Qd2 e5 27.exf5 gxf5 28.Nd5 Nxd5 29.Bxd5+ Kh8 Black controls the center.}
Nxf6
{I give up the b-pawn which, however, cannot be taken right away.}
27.Rg3
{27.Bxb6 Qb8 The threat is Ng4. 28.Bf3 e5 29.f5 gxf5 30.exf5 e4 31.Bg2 e3 32.Qe2 Bxg2 33.Qxg2 Qxb6}
Rf7 28.Bxb6 Qb8 29.Be3
{Despite the presence of many pieces, the White kingside is vulnerable.}
Nh5 30.Rg4
{30.Rf3 Bxc3 31.bxc3 Na2}
Nf6 31.Rh4
{If 31.Rg3 Nh5, then Karpov would be repeating move and accepting a draw, which would have cost him his title. 31.Rg5 Bh6 32.Rg3 Nh5 33.Rf3 Ref8 34.Bh3 Bc8 White is in trouble. If you think you can defend, try playing the position against Gambit.}
g5 32.fxg5 Ng4
{I want to get rid of the bishop at e3.}
33.Qd2 Nxe3 34.Qxe3 Nxc2 35.Qb6
{A strong move. But Karpov was running short of time and my next move added further confusion to the position.}
Ba8
{At the time, I thought Karpov's position was indefensible, but it turns out that it was more complicated than I thought. Fortunately, he blundered here.}
36.Rxd6
{After this move Karpov is lost, if I play correctly. 36.Qxb8 Rxb8 37.Bh3 Re7 38.Rxd6 Rxb3 39.Rd8+ Kf7 40.Rxa8 Rxb2 This is still a very messy position, but my analysis indicates that I come out on top.}
Rb7 37.Qxa6 Rxb3
{I missed a more effective line here. I moved too quickly, influenced both by Karpov's time pressure and the feeling that victory was near. 37...Nb4 38.Qa5 Qxd6 39.e5 Qd3 40.Bxb7 Qe3+ 41.Kf1 Nd3 Mate at f2 is threatened.}
38.Rxe6 Rxb2 39.Qc4 Kh8 40.e5
{Karpov had just a few seconds left. Had he found the best move, his "reward" would have been a losing endgame. 40.g6 h5 41.Rxe8+ Qxe8 42. Nd1 Na3 43.Qf7 Qxf7 44.gxf7 Rb1 45.Bf3 Nc4 46.Rf4 Rb8 My extra piece is worth more than the three scattered pawns.}
Qa7+ 41.Kh1 Bxg2+ 42.Kxg2 Nd4+
{This wins a whole rook. Karpov pondered for a few minutes and then congratulated me both on my victory in this game and on winning the World Championship.}
0-1
[Event "Candidates Matches"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1985.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Kasparov"]
[Black "Belyavsky"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "81"]
1.d4
{This game was played in the quarter finals of the Candidates Matches, the final steps to the World Championship.}
d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.cxd5 exd5 5.Bg5
{The Queen's Gambit Declined was also reached in our first and third match games.}
Be7 6.e3 h6 7.Bh4 O-O 8.Bd3 b6 9.Nf3 Bb7 10.O-O c5 11.Ne5 Nbd7
{11...Nc6 was chosen by Belyavsky in game one.}
12.Bf5
{This move was found after three days homework, as the third match game had continued with 12.Qf3.}
Nxe5
{12...cxd4 13.Nxd7 Nxd7 14.Bxe7 Qxe7 15. Qxd4 dooms Black to prospectless defense, on account of his isolated d-pawn.}
13.dxe5 Ne8
{13...Ne4 14.Nxd5 Bxd5 allows White to keep his material advantage.}
14.Bg3 Nc7 15.Qg4 Qe8 16.Bd7 Qd8 17.Rad1 h5
{Trying to deflect the White queen from the protection of his light squared bishop.}
18.Qh3 h4 19.Bf4 Bg5 20.Bf5
{White intends to take advantage of the pin on Black's d-pawn with 21.Ne4.}
g6 21.Ne4
{A piece sacrifice which aims to open up Black's kingside.}
Bxf4 22.exf4 gxf5 23.Qxf5 dxe4
{23...f6 24.Qg4+ Kh7 25.Qxh4+ Kg7 26.Qg4+ Kh7 with mate soon to follow.}
24.Qg4+ Kh7 25.Rxd8 Rfxd8 26.Qxh4+ Kg8 27.Qe7 e3 28.Re1
{28.Qxc7 would be a horrible mistake allowing Black a winning continuation.}
exf2+ 29.Kxf2 Rd2+ 30.Re2 Rxe2+ 31.Kxe2 Ba6+ 32.Kf2
{Black's pieces prove no match for the White queen and numerous pawns.}
Ne6 33.f5 Nd4 34.e6 Rf8 35.Qg5+
{The queen clears off the file to make way for the e-pawn.}
Kh7 36.e7
{The passed e-pawn decides the game.}
Re8 37.f6
{This move leaves no doubt about the strength of the passed e-pawn.}
Ne6 38.Qh5+ Kg8
{Black resigned since the loss of further material follows.}
39.Qg4+ Kh7
{Now White could win with a queen sacrifice.}
40.Qxe6 fxe6 41.f7
{When his passed pawns prove decisive.}
1-0
[Event "World Championship"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1985.??.??"]
[Round "19"]
[White "Kasparov"]
[Black "Karpov"]
[Result "*"]
[PlyCount "83"]
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Nf3 Ne4
{An unusual move, especially from Karpov, a Classical player. Still, he clearly wanted to disrupt the opening, to neutralize anything I might have prepared.}
5.Qc2 f5 6.g3 Nc6
{This was completely new. 6...b6 7.Bg2 Bb7 This would have transposed into a Classical Dutch defense.}
7.Bg2 O-O 8.O-O Bxc3 9.bxc3 Na5
{Karpov is combining some of the ideas he had used in previous games from this match. But I have two trump cards, a lead in development and the bishop pair .}
10.c5 d6 11.c4
{This is a strong pawn sacrifice. If Karpov accepts, then 12,Ba3 is a good reply.}
b6
{But declining the sacrifice was incorrect. Probably Karpov thought that I was going to play 12.Nd2, but I have better uses for that square.}
12.Bd2 Nxd2
{12...dxc5 13.Bxa5 bxa5 14.Rfd1 White has much better prospects.}
13.Nxd2 d5
{All the commentators seemed to disapprove of this move, but in fact the error was in the entire opening strategy. At this point he was already in deep trouble.}
14.cxd5 exd5 15.e3 Be6
{Black is doomed to passive play while White can easily improve the position of the major pieces.}
16.Qc3 Rf7 17.Rfc1 Rb8 18.Rab1 Re7 19.a4 Bf7 20.Bf1 h6 21.Bd3 Qd7 22.Qc2
Be6
{22...g6 would have been a little stronger.}
23.Bb5 Qd8 24.Rd1 g5
{Finally Karpov gets tired of waiting and launches a counterattack. But there is no piece support for the pawnstorm.}
25.Nf3
{I will plant this knight at e5. In addition, I will be able to place my bishop at e4, though that takes quite a bit of preparation.}
Rg7 26.Ne5 f4 27.Bf1
{The bishop did its job on the queenside. Now I need it in the center.}
Qf6 28.Bg2 Rd8 29.e4
{It is time to open up the game. I am effectively a piece ahead, since the enemy knight is stranded at a5.}
dxe4 30.Bxe4 Re7 31.Qc3 Bd5 32.Re1 Kg7 33.Ng4
{Now the weakness at g5 is felt.}
Qf7 34.Bxd5 Rxd5 35.Rxe7 Qxe7 36.Re1 Qd8 37.Ne5 Qf6 38.cxb6
{Opening more lines.}
Qxb6
{38...cxb6 39.Qc7+ Kg8 40.Ng4 Qg7 41.Re8+ Kh7 42.Re7}
39.gxf4
{Open lines on the queenside. Open lines in the center. Open lines on the kingside!}
Rxd4
{A blunder in time pressure, but the game would not have lasted long anyway. 39...gxf4 40.Qf3 Qe6 41.Kh1 Rxd4 42.Qg2+ Kh7 43.Rg1}
40.Nf3 Nb3 41.Rb1 Qf6
{The game was adjourned here, but I played my move in public anyway.}
42.Qxc7+
[Event "Montpellier"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1985.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Spraggett"]
[Black "Smyslov"]
[Result "0-1"]
[PlyCount "28"]
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 Bb4+ 4.Bd2 a5 5.Nc3 O-O 6.e3 d6 7.Qc2 Nbd7 8.Bd3
e5 9.O-O Re8
{Black threatens to win a piece by 11...Bxc3 and 12...e4.}
10.e4 exd4
{Now Black will have good squares for his pieces on c5 and e5.}
11.Nxd4 c6 12.Rae1 Ne5 13.h3
{This creates a weakness in White's kingside. He wanted to play f4 to get the knight off of e5, but Black's next move prevents that and sets a traps that White falls right into.}
Bc5 14.Be3 Bxh3
{This wins a pawn, since 15 gxh3 allows 15...Bxd4 16 Bxd4 Nf3+, and Spraggett was too disgusted with himself to play on.}
0-1
[Event "World Championship"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1985.??.??"]
[Round "47"]
[White "Karpov"]
[Black "Kasparov"]
[Result "0-1"]
[PlyCount "72"]
1.Nf3 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.d4 d5
{Karpov's first move was with a knight, but we have arrived in a Queen's Gambit Declined by transposition.}
4.Nc3 c6 5.Bg5 Nbd7 6.e3 Qa5
{This Queen move introduces the Cambridge Springs Variation. The idea is to pin the knight at c3, weakening its grip on e4. As a result, Black may be able to take possession of that square.}
7.cxd5
{7.Nd2 would have kept the stress in the position. However, Karpov has seen enough stress in this match and is looking for ways to keep the positions simple.}
Nxd5 8.Qd2 N7b6
{8...Bb4 is a popular alternative.}
9.Nxd5 Qxd2+ 10.Nxd2 exd5 11.Bd3 a5 12.a4
{White has willingly given me a target on a4. 12.O-O is one alternative, while 12.Ke2 would keep the King centralized for the up coming endgame.}
Bb4 13.Ke2
{Black must break the pin.}
Bg4+ 14.f3 Bh5 15.h4 O-O 16.g4 Bg6
{White has driven the bishop back, but the pawns can become weak in the endgame .}
17.b3 Bxd3+ 18.Kxd3 Rfe8 19.Rac1 c5
{While White has been busying himself with Pawn moves, Black will attempt to exploit the semi-exposed White monarch.}
20.Bf4 Rac8 21.dxc5 Nd7
{Not only does the Knight threaten to capture the C5-pawn with check, it will also attack the backward b3 pawn.}
22.c6
{Karpov closes the c-file in an effort to move his King to the queenside where it can be defended more easily, and also be used to defend the queenside pawns.}
bxc6 23.Rhd1 Nc5+ 24.Kc2 f6 25.Nf1 Ne6 26.Bg3 Red8 27.Bf2
{White places more pressure on the a7-g1 diagonal so that the d-pawn will not be able to advance.}
c5 28.Nd2 c4 29.bxc4 Nc5 30.e4 d4 31.Nb1 d3+
{The d-pawn races towards d1 in the way a soccer player charges at the opponent's goal.}
32.Kb2 d2
{White resigned, because the position quickly falls apart.}
33.Rc2 Nxa4+ 34.Ka2 Rd3 35.Nxd2 Ra3+ 36.Kb1 Nc3+ 0-1
[Event "Hamburg"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1985.??.??"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Huebner"]
[Black "Kasparov"]
[Result "0-1"]
[PlyCount "56"]
1.c4 e5 2.Nc3 d6 3.d4 exd4
{On the one hand, Black concedes the center with this move. On the other hand, he gains time since the queen will be exposed at d4. 3...Nd7 4.Nf3 Ngf6 5.e4 g6 6.Be2 Bg7 7.O-O O-O This could have transposed into the King's Indian Defense. However, I decided to take the game elsewhere.}
4.Qxd4 Nf6 5.g3
{My opponent readies the g2-square for his light-squared bishop, which will be placed on the longest diagonal, and the important central squares e4 and d5 will be in its domain.}
Nc6
{Developing a piece with a threat, as a general rule, is a good idea. In this case, White must answer the attack on the queen.}
6.Qd2 Be6 7.Nd5
{Moving a p iece twice in the opening is generally considered a bad idea. But in this case the threat against the pawn at c4 was most annoying. 7.b3? d5! 8.cxd5 Nxd5 Here if White moves the bishop to b2 Black is still ahead in development.}
Ne5 8.b3
{8.Nxf6+ Qxf6 9.b3 Nd3+! 10.exd3 Qxa1 An unpleasant fate for White!}
Ne4
{Once again the Black army is moving forward while attackng the White Queen.}
9.Qe3 Nc5 10.Bb2 c6 11.Nf4 Ng4
{Again the White Queen is under attack.}
12.Qd4 Ne4 13.Bh3 Qa5+ 14.Kf1 Ngxf2
{Black's pieces are swarming around the enemy king.}
15.Bxe6 fxe6 16.Nxe6 Kd7
{17. Nxf8 Raxf8 would only lose more quickly for Huebner.}
17.Nh3 Nxh3 18.Qxe4 Re8 19.Nc5+ Qxc5 20.Qg4+ Kc7 21.Qxh3
{Now I begin the final wave of attack against the White monarch.}
Be7 22.Bxg7 Rhf8+ 23.Bxf8 Rxf8+ 24.Ke1
{White is vulnerable on the dark squares due to the fact that his dark- squared bishop is gone. Observe how Black utilizes this asset to his advantage.}
Qf2+ 25.Kd1 Qd4+ 26.Kc2
{Huebner tries to keep his King off the dark squares. Yet this becomes an impossible task.}
Qe4+ 27.Kd2
{Going back to the first rank would have cost White his rook at h1.}
Bg5+ 28.Kc3 Qe5+
{If 29.Kc2 Qxe2+ 30.Kb1 Rf2 and White will be checkmated.}
0-1
[Event "World Championship"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1985.??.??"]
[Round "11"]
[White "Kasparov"]
[Black "Karpov"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "55"]
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Nf3 O-O 5.Bg5 c5 6.e3 cxd4 7.exd4 h6 8.Bh4
d5
{Black finally stakes a claim in the center of the board. This is typical of hypermodern strategy, where central action is delayed for some time, but in this case the resulting position has quite a classical flavor.}
9.Rc1 dxc4 10.Bxc4
{Accepting an isolated d-pawn indicates that White is looking for a complex middlegame with attacking chances. There are many different strategies available to White, while Black tries to blockade the d5-square.}
Nc6 11.O-O Be7
{The bishop no longer serves any useful function at b4 so it retreats to e7 where it breaks the pin.}
12.Re1 b6 13.a3 Bb7 14.Bg3 Rc8
{Black threatens a discovered attack against the bishop at c4.}
15.Ba2
{White retreats the bishop but now Black can take over the initiative.}
Bd6
{Now I should have moved the bishop to e5, maintaining my attacking chances.}
16.d5
{This is a premature resolution of the tension in the center. 16.Be5! Bxe5 17.dxe5 Nd7 18.Bb1 There are still chances here to develop a successful kingside attack.}
Nxd5 17.Nxd5 Bxg3 18.hxg3 exd5 19.Bxd5 Qf6 20.Qa4 Rfd8 21.Rcd1 Rd7
{21...Qxb2? 22.Bxc6 Rxd1 23.Bxb7 White wins material.}
22.Qg4 Rcd8
{A costly oversight. Take a moment to try to find my next move. It isn't all that easy, but Karpov really should have seen it coming.}
23.Qxd7
{The attack plays itself.}
Rxd7 24.Re8+ Kh7 25.Be4+
{Karpov resigned, since he was about to lose more material.}
g6 26.Rxd7 Ba6 27.Bxc6 Qxc6 28.Rxf7# 1-0
[Event "World Championship"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1985.??.??"]
[Round "16"]
[White "Karpov"]
[Black "Kasparov"]
[Result "0-1"]
[PlyCount "80"]
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nc6 5.Nb5 d6 6.c4 Nf6 7.N1c3 a6 8.Na3
d5
{This gambit was introduced in the 12th game of the match. It was popular for a while and was called the "Garry Gambit" by some. Karpov came well- prepared this time.}
9.cxd5 exd5 10.exd5 Nb4 11.Be2
{Karpov returns the pawn for rapid development. Usually this is a reasonable strategy. But I wasn't interested in regaining the pawn. I wanted to fight!}
Bc5
{I played this quickly, and Karpov knew it was all prepared at home.}
12.O-O O-O 13.Bf3
{Karpov decides to continue the fight. Otherwise he would have just let a lot of pieces come off the board. 13.Bg5 Nbxd5 14.Nxd5 Qxd5 15.Bxf6 Qxd1 16.Rfxd1 gxf6 Despite the fractured pawns, this position would have been drawn fairly easily}
Bf5 14.Bg5 Re8
{It was essential to take control of the open file, and, in particular, the e4- square.}
15.Qd2 b5
{For the rest of the game the White knight suffers quietly at a3.}
16.Rad1 Nd3
{A more eminent position could not have been dreamed of by the knight, which is destined to play a brilliant role in the ultimate victory of the Black army.}
17.Nab1
{Hardly an improvement. 17.d6 would have been best.}
h6 18.Bh4 b4
{Not only does this drive the knight at c3 away, it also limits the options for the poor cousin at b1.}
19.Na4 Bd6
{Both of White's knights lie along the edge of the board.}
20.Bg3 Rc8
{I take control of another open file.}
21.b3
{Now Karpov is getting ready to redeploy his knight from a4 to b2 to c4, where it will be useful. But by attacking on the other side of the board I deprive my opponent of the opportunity to bring the knight to b2.}
g5
{I am not concerned with the weakening of the kingside because White's pieces cannot get at my king, and now I threaten to advance the pawn and trap the enemy bishop (remember that I took control of e4 earlier!).}
22.Bxd6
{22.h4 might have been a wiser choice.}
Qxd6 23.g3 Nd7
{It seems that White can finally play the knight to b2, but then there would have been a fantastic combination which would have trapped the queen in the middle of the board.}
24.Bg2 Qf6
{Now I have a firm grip on b2 again, and I won't let go!}
25.a3 a5 26.axb4 axb4 27.Qa2 Bg6
{This prevents 28.Nd2. I keep those horses corralled!}
28.d6
{28.Nd2 Re2 28.Bh3 Rcd8}
g4
{Even though there are plenty of pieces on the board, White has almost no moves !}
29.Qd2 Kg7 30.f3
{30.f4 Bf5}
Qxd6 31.fxg4 Qd4+ 32.Kh1 Nf6
{Finally I am ready to begin the final assault.}
33.Rf4 Ne4
{My knights are certainly better than Karpov's!}
34.Qxd3
{A sacrifice, but what else was there to do?}
Nf2+ 35.Rxf2 Bxd3 36.Rfd2 Qe3 37.Rxd3
{Only two of White's pieces, the rooks, are coordinated. But now I break them down, too.}
Rc1 38.Nb2 Qf2 39.Nd2 Rxd1+
{One of the finest games I have ever played.}
40.Nxd1 Re1+ 0-1
[Event "Hilversum"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1985.??.??"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Timman"]
[Black "Kasparov"]
[Result "0-1"]
[PlyCount "102"]
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 d6 8.c3 O-O
9.h3 Bb7 10.d4 Re8
{This is the Flohr-Zaitsev Variation of the Spanish Game, which is a relatively recent development, being pioneered in the professional arena in 1976. Both Anatoly Karpov and Garry Kasparov are fond of it.}
11.Nbd2 Bf8 12.a3 h6
{With this move the game returns to an older line, named after former World Champion Vassily Smyslov.}
13.Bc2 Nb8 14.b4 Nbd7 15.Bb2 g6
{A typical position in the Zaitsev/Smyslov hybrid of the Spanish Inquisition. White has two options: quiet play with 16.Qb1 or aggressive queenside action.}
16.c4
{Jan Timman has played this bold line against both Karpov and Kasparov.}
exd4 17.cxb5 axb5 18.Nxd4 c6
{In this position, White aims at the targets on the queenside, and therefore the best move is probably 19.Bd3, but that hadn't been discovered yet.}
19.a4 bxa4 20.Bxa4 Qb6
{Kasparov's novation, prepared for this game. Black's plan is illustrated nicely by the present game. He will aim for the liberating advance d6-d5 when his pieces will be better placed than their White counterparts.}
21.b5
{With this move White hopes to highlight the weakness at d6, but the plan fails and in the third game of the match Timman improved with 21.Nc2 which became the standard move in 1986.}
cxb5 22.Bxb5 d5
{This move eliminates Black's only weakness and puts strong pressure on the center. White already suffers from a pin on the b-file and his pieces do not seem to be doing anything.}
23.Rxa8 Bxa8 24.Qa4 Nc5
{More pressure on the center. And in addition, Black has taken the initiative.}
25.Qc2 Rb8
{Because of the pin, this move allows the rook to escape without losing time, because sooner or later White will have to waste a move to break it.}
26.exd5 Nxd5
{A strange sight! Most of the pieces remain on the board but the queenside pawns have been swept clear. One would assume that the position is equal, but in fact Black still holds a slight initiative.}
27.Nc4
{Timman fails to appreciate the danger and tries to regain the initiative. The best move here would have been the double retreat 27.Ba1 Nf4 28.Bf1! with a solid defensive formation. Now Black expands his domination of critical lines.}
Qc7 28.Ne5
{The final chance for equality lie in 28. Re8, exchanging off the dangerous Black rook. But now Kasparov was able to develop a plan to exploit his spatial advantage, based on control of the b-file and the h8-a1 diagonal.}
Bg7 29.Nec6
{29.Bc6? would have met with an impressive refutation: Bxe5! 30.Qxc5 Rxb2 31.Qxd5 Bxd4 32.Re8+ Kh7 33. Qxd4 Rb1+}
Bxc6 30.Bxc6 Nf4
{Black's control of the b- and c-files, combined with the pin on the diagonal and more active knights gives him a decisive advantage!}
31.Bb5
{Timman tries to cut off the b-file, establish his own pin on the c- file, and free his game with Rc1. Black would just love to get his queen onto the a8-h1 diagonal with deadly threats at g2. This is easily done! 31.Re8+ Rxe8 32.Bxe8 Nce6 exploits the pin at d4, with a little help from the threatened fork at e2.}
Rxb5 32.Nxb5 Qc6 33.f3 Qxb5
{and Black has a decisive material advantage. But with the symmetrical pawn structure the win still requires the creation of an effective plan. It is easy to see that a knight planted at g3 would be nice, but it needs support.}
34.Bxg7 Kxg7 35.Qc3+ Kg8 36.Qe5 Nfe6 37.Ra1 Qb7
{First Black organizes his defense. The next step is to advance the h- pawn so that the eventual infiltration of the knight to g3 can be accomplished.}
38.Qd6 h5 39.Kh1 Kh7 40.Rc1 Qa7 41.Rb1 Ng7 42.Rb8 Nce6 43.Qe5 Nd4 44.Rb1
h4
{One cannot avoid being impressed by the ease with which the World Champion achieved his objectives. The maneuvering of the knights makes sense only in hindsight.}
45.Qb8 Qe7 46.Qb4 Qf6 47.Qf8 Ne2 48.Rd1 Nf5 49.Qb8 Ne3 50.Qd8 Qf4
{Black has properly declined all offers to exchange queens. It is mate he is after!}
51.Re1 Nf1
{And Timman, seeing that inevitable Nf1-g3-e2-f2, gave up.}
0-1
[Event "World Championship"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1985.??.??"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Kasparov"]
[Black "Karpov"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "83"]
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Nf3
{Until now I had mostly played 4.e3, the most common move. But I wanted to surprise Karpov in this initial game of our match.}
c5 5.g3
{This system, often used by Oleg Romanishin, really caught Karpov off-guard, and he thought for a long time before responding. This may explain why he quickly deviated from the best-known variations.}
Ne4 6.Qd3 Qa5
{Capturing at d4 is normal.}
7.Qxe4 Bxc3+ 8.Bd2 Bxd2+ 9.Nxd2 Qb6
{A mistake. For a few years this position had been bouncing around, and I had prepared it well. But even after 9...Nc6 White stands well.}
10.dxc5 Qxb2 11.Rb1 Qc3 12.Qd3
{This forces an endgame which is clearly better for White. If the queen retreats then after 13.Bg2 Black is paralyzed.}
Qxd3 13.exd3 Na6
{13...Nc6 14.Bg2 b6 15.Ne4 Ke7 16.Kd2 f5 17.cxb6 axb6 18.Nc3 Black has too many weaknesses to hold out for long.}
14.d4 Rb8
{Better was 14...e5, but I still would have had a superior position. Karpov rarely parts with pawns unless it is absolutely necessary.}
15.Bg2 Ke7 16.Ke2
{I slipped up here. Usually in the endgame the king belongs in the center, but there are a few tactics lying around which should have led me to simply castle onto the kingside.}
Rd8 17.Ne4 b6 18.Nd6 Nc7
{Karpov's idea -- exchanging for the knight at d6 via Ne8 -- is a good one, but there was an even stronger move available. 18...bxc5 19.Nxc8+ Rdxc8 20.Bb7 Rxb7 The point! 21.Rxb7 cxd4 22.Rxa7 Nc5 Black has a strong position in the center and a well-posted knight, which provide a lot of compensation for the exchange.}
19.Rb4
{I am preparing to double rooks on the b-file.}
Ne8 20.Nxe8
{Not best. I should have taken the bishop instead. Perhaps I was influenced by the fact that it hadn't made a single move yet!}
Kxe8
{Karpov returns the favor by capturing with the wrong piece! His forces all lie powerless on the back rank -- a pretty pathetic sight that could only appeal to a player like Petrosian.}
21.Rhb1 Ba6 22.Ke3 d5 23.cxd6
{An example of an en passant capture.}
Rbc8 24.Kd3
{In this first game I was not a full strength and missed the simple and effective winning line. 24. Ra4 Bxc4 25.Bb7 b5 26.d7+ Kxd7 27.Bxc8+ Kxc8 28.Rxa7}
Rxd6 25.Ra4 b5 26.cxb5 Rb8 27.Rab4
{Breaking the pin on the b-file, but now Black can regroup.}
Bb7 28.Bxb7 Rxb7 29.a4
{We have reached a double-rook endgame where I have an extra pawn, but it is a rather weak one. Still, with proper technique such positions are easy to win .}
Ke7 30.h4 h6 31.f3 Rd5 32.Rc1
{Black's rooks are in no position to contest the only open file.}
Rbd7 33.a5 g5 34.hxg5 Rxg5
{34...hxg5 35.b6 axb6 36.axb6 Rb7 37.Rc5}
35.g4 h5 36.b6 axb6 37.axb6 Rb7 38.Rc5 f5
{There was nothing better. But now it is all over.}
39.gxh5 Rxh5 40.Kc4 Rh8 41.Kb5 Ra8 42.Rbc4
{The game was adjourned here, but Karpov resigned before the game was resumed.}
1-0
[Event "World Championship"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1985.??.??"]
[Round "11"]
[White "Kasparov"]
[Black "Karpov"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "49"]
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Nf3 O-O 5.Bg5 c5 6.e3 cxd4 7.exd4 h6 8.Bh4
d5 9.Rc1 dxc4
{The game has developed along Classical lines. Even though Karpov chooses the Nimzoindian Defense, he isn't really a Hypermodern player at heart. So it is somewhat strange that he prematurely concedes the center with this move.}
10.Bxc4 Nc6 11.O-O Be7
{Actually, I have an extra tempo by comparison with most Queen's Gambit positions. We have left the world of the Nimzoindian for good, and the excursion of the bishop from f8 to b4 and back to e7 is just a waste of time.}
12.Re1 b6 13.a3 Bb7 14.Bg3 Rc8 15.Ba2 Bd6
{A good move. Karpov eases the pressure on his position by preparing to trade bishops. He also creates a nice square at e7 for the knight. I over- reacted.}
16.d5
{I should have moved the bishop to e5 or h4, but instead I started a fierce battle in which many soldiers left the battlefield.}
Nxd5 17.Nxd5 Bxg3 18.hxg3 exd5 19.Bxd5 Qf6
{What have I accomplished with all this? Not much. But my bishop is powerful and I found a creative plan.}
20.Qa4
{The real point of this move is to transfer the queen to the kingside. But it also sets a trap.}
Rfd8 21.Rcd1
{I am dangling the b-pawn as bait. Karpov is much too good a player to fall for the trap, but perhaps the distraction caused him to create a situation on the h3-c8 diagonal he would quickly come to regret.}
Rd7
{Correct was 21...Rc7.}
22.Qg4
{Now Karpov blunders horribly.}
Rcd8
{It all seems so logical, pinning the bishop at d5. But it loses by force.}
23.Qxd7 Rxd7 24.Re8+ Kh7 25.Be4+
{Karpov resigned, because after 25...g6 26.Rxd7 Ba6 I simply capture at c6.}
1-0
[Event "Hilversum"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1985.??.??"]
[Round "3"]
[White "Timman"]
[Black "Kasparov"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "81"]
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 d6 8.c3 O-O
9.h3 Bb7 10.d4 Re8 11.Ng5 Rf8 12.Nf3 Re8 13.Nbd2 Bf8 14.a3 h6 15.Bc2 Nb8
16.b4 Nbd7 17.Bb2 g6 18.c4 exd4 19.cxb5 axb5 20.Nxd4 c6 21.a4 bxa4 22.Bxa4
Qb6 23.Nc2 Qc7 24.Bb3 Ba6 25.Rc1 Bg7 26.Ne3 Bb5 27.Nd5 Nxd5 28.Bxg7 Kxg7
29.exd5 Ne5
{Here Timman could have maintained the balance with 30.dxc6, but he chose to comlicate matters.}
30.Ne4
{Now Black can fork White's rooks. Do you see how?}
Nd3 31.Qd2
{I should have set up a strong pin on the e-file with 31...Qe7 but he didn't, perhaps because he failed to appreciate that his king is actually vulnerable. There was no need to take either rook just yet.}
Ra3
{This brings another piece into play and looks strong, but Timman comes up with a magnificent defense.}
32.Nf6
{A positively brilliant move. The threat is Nxe8+ forking king and queen.}
Rxe1+ 33.Rxe1 Kxf6
{33...Qd8 34.Ng4 Nxe1 35.Qxh6+ Kg8 36.dxc6 Rxb3 37.c7 Qxc7 38.Nf6++}
34.Qc3+ Ne5 35.f4
{The game has turned around completely. Black is on the defensive, suffering from a severe pin at e5 which makes up for the missing piece. Kasparov now misses his last chance to save the game, hoping in vain for a win!}
Ba4
{35...Kg7 36.fxe5 dxe5 37.Qb2 Ra8 38.Rxe5 Kg8 Perhaps there would still be a possibility for a half-point here.}
36.fxe5+ dxe5
{Now White needs to open a pathway to f7.}
37.d6 Qxd6 38.Qf3+ Ke7 39.Qxf7+ Kd8 40.Rd1
{The pin wins!}
Ra1
{A counter-pin temporarily saves the day, but the pins are not over!}
41.Qf6+
{and Black resigned.}
1-0
[Event "World Championship"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1986.??.??"]
[Round "14"]
[White "Kasparov"]
[Black "Karpov"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "80"]
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 d6 8.c3 O-O
9.h3
{Black has many choice's at this point. 9... Na5, Nd7, Nb8, and Be6 have all been tried with various degrees of success. Karpov prefers the plan which was developed by his trainer, Igor Zaitsev.}
Bb7 10.d4 Re8 11.Nbd2 Bf8
{This is a very flexible formation for Black, who has no weaknesses that can be exploited easily.}
12.a4 h6 13.Bc2 exd4
{This releases some of the tension in the center.}
14.cxd4
{The ideal pawn center for White is one with pawns at d4 and e4, provided that they cannot easily be attacked.}
Nb4 15.Bb1 c5
{This line has been very popular because it puts the question to the pawn center right away.}
16.d5
{Now the knight at b4 is a bit offside, but this is not a serious problem. On the other hand the bishop at b7 has no scope.}
Nd7
{An attempt to keep me from advancing a pawn to e5 and to use this square for one of his own pieces.}
17.Ra3
{Bringing my out of play Rook so it may be transfered to the e-file or kingside. This maneuver is known as a rook lift.}
c4
{Creating a outpost on d3 and freeing up the c5 square for use by the knight at d7. Also, there is some potential for action on the g1-a7 diagonal.}
18.axb5
{The knight aims to go to d4 with gain of tempo, by attacking a weak pawn at b5.}
axb5 19.Nd4 Rxa3 20.bxa3 Nd3 21.Bxd3 cxd3 22.Bb2
{The bishop is getting ready to participate in the attack the kingside.}
Qa5 23.Nf5 Ne5
{I expected 23...g6 with a sharp struggle.}
24.Bxe5
{A very strong capture, which took some analysts by surprise. But that knight was so strong, that giving up a beautiful bishop for it makes sense.}
dxe5
{24...Rxe5 25.Nf3 Re8 26.Qxd3 g6 27.N5d4 I will advance my e-pawn at an appropriate moment and achieve a passed pawn.}
25.Nb3 Qb6 26.Qxd3
{Now Karpov should have retreated his bishop to c8 and get rid of my splendid knight at f5.}
Ra8 27.Rc1 g6
{27...Rxa3 28.d6 g6 29.Ne7+ Kg7 30.Qg3 Kf6 31.Rd1 I have a winning position.}
28.Ne3 Bxa3 29.Ra1 Ra4
{Once again, the Ex-World Champion does not play the best move. 29...h5! 30.Qc3 f6 31.g4! hxg4 32.Nxg4 Be7 33.Rxa8+ Bxa8 34.Qc8+ Qd8 35.Qa6 Black is condemned to a difficult defense.}
30.Ng4 Bf8 31.Rc1 Qd6
{31...f6!}
32.Nc5 Rc4 33.Rxc4 bxc4 34.Nxb7 cxd3 35.Nxd6 Bxd6
{This is a case of a bad Bishop versus good knight.}
36.Kf1
{36.Nxh6+?! g7 37.Ng4 f5 38.exf5 gxf5 39.Ne3 Kf6 40.Kf1 e4 The win is no longer a simple matter.}
Kg7 37.f3 f5 38.Nf2 d2 39.Ke2 Bb4 40.Nd3 Bc3 1-0
[Event "World Championship"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1986.??.??"]
[Round "8"]
[White "Kasparov"]
[Black "Karpov"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "67"]
1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Be7 4.cxd5 exd5 5.Bf4
{In most of the lines of the Exchange Variation the bishop is deployed at g5, but Black's clever move order has prevented this plan.}
Nf6 6.e3 O-O 7.Bd3 c5
{Attacking White's center point at d4.}
8.Nf3 Nc6 9.O-O Bg4 10.dxc5 Bxc5
{Black is saddled with an isolated pawn, but this is only temporary.}
11.h3 Bxf3 12.Qxf3 d4 13.Ne4
{13.exd4 Bxd4 This position is fine for Black.}
Be7 14.Rad1
{A clever move. Now can you see why 14...dxe3 would lose material?}
Qa5
{14...dxe3 15.Nxf6+ Bxf6 16.Bxh7+ Kxh7 17.Rxd8 exf2+ 18.Rxf2 Raxd8}
15.Ng3 dxe3 16.fxe3
{Karpov has successfully traded away his isolated d-pawn. However, he now faces my bishop pair which is particularly effective in the open position. I can also use the f-file to put pressure on f7.}
Qxa2
{The a-pawn is irrelevant. Karpov is looking for the shortest way to e6, where the queen will be well posted for both defense and attack.}
17.Nf5 Qe6
{Karpov defends, but I am about to turn up the heat!}
18.Bh6
{Do you see why 18. ... gxh6 loses quickly for Black?}
Ne8
{Black defends the g7-square with the knight, but the kingside has become very congested. My advantage in space is the key to winning the game. 18...Ne5 19.Qxb7 Nxd3 20. Nxg7 Qe4 21.Qc7 Ne5 22.Nf5 with a decisive attack for White.}
19.Qh5 g6
{This fork is harmless.}
20.Qg4 Ne5
{As a general rule, it is a good strategy to exchange off the opponents attackers when you are defending. Karpov is counting on Nxd3 to make his defensive work easier. My next move is forced.}
21.Qg3
{I wanted to win by a direct attack. However, 21. Nxe7 followed by Bxf8 would have sufficed.}
Bf6
{21...Nxd3 22.Nxe7+ Qxe7 23. Bxf8 Kxf8 24.Rxd3 Black does not have enough compensation for the material.}
22.Bb5
{I want to keep my bishop! The rook on f8 is barely worth capturing.}
Ng7 23.Bxg7 Bxg7
{Now I don't give up my beautiful steed for the useless bishop. Instead, I bring the rook into the game. To win against a player of Karpov's ability requires the use of the entire army.}
24.Rd6 Qb3
{Now that the queen has been chased away, the knight on e5 is defended only by the bishop, which I now remove from the board.}
25.Nxg7 Qxb5
{Things don't look so bad for Black, because my knight seems to be trapped at g7. 25...Kxg7 26.Qxe5+}
26.Nf5
{But is isn't! The pin on the g-file provides an escape route. 26.Nh5 Nf3+ 27.Qxf3 Qxh5 28.Qxh5 gxh5 and it is White who would have to play for a draw.}
Rad8 27.Rf6
{I don't want to trade, I want to attack!}
Rd2
{Black's invasion of the seventh rank is not worrying because I have plenty of defensive resources.}
28.Qg5
{A nasty move which threatens all sorts of discovered attacks on the 5th rank. For example, if Karpov plays 28...d3 I reply 29.Nh6+ and take his queen!}
Qxb2
{A great mistake. The king should have retreated into the corner. This was no time to be greedy!}
29.Kh1
{Now Karpov cannot take the pawn at g2 with check.}
Kh8
{Even though Black is lost at this point, 30...Rd7 would have put up more resistance.}
30.Nd4
{Now the knight at e5 is undefended, and if it moves to another square, then the pawn at f7 falls.}
Rxd4
{A sad necessity.}
31.Qxe5
{Here Black' s time ran out and I was awarded the point. But I was winning anyway.}
Rd2 32.Qe7 R2d8 33.Rxf7 Rxf7 34.Rxf7
{Black cannot defend this position.}
1-0
[Event "Simultaneous Exhibition"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1986.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Kasparov"]
[Black "Comas"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "37"]
1.Nf3 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.d4
{By transposition we have reached the King's Indian Defense.}
O-O 6.Be2 e5 7.O-O Nbd7
{More commonly seen is 7...Nc6.}
8.Qc2 c6
{Black should take the opportunity to open up the a1-h8 diagonal for his dark squared bishop with 8...exd4 9.Nxd4 Re8, when Black has solved his opening problems.}
( 7...exd4 9.Nxd4 Re8 )
9.Rd1 Re8 10.Rb1 a5
{Black should open up the position before White gains a space advantage with 11.d5. Better was 10...exd4.}
11.d5 cxd5 12.cxd5
{Black's main problem in this position is the inactivity of his pieces.}
Nc5 13.Be3 Bd7 14.Bxc5
{Giving Black the two bishops in exchange for a powerful passed pawn.}
dxc5 15.Bb5 Nh5 16.g3
{Played to keep Black's knight inactive on h5.}
Bg4
{A miscalculation which costs Black material. Still, White has a winning position because of his passed pawn, combined with Black's inactive pieces.}
17.Bxe8 Bxf3 18.Rd3 Bg4 19.Bb5
{Black resigned perhaps a bit prematurely, though he is the exchange down with no counter play.}
1-0
[Event "World Championship"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1986.??.??"]
[Round "22"]
[White "Kasparov"]
[Black "Karpov"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "91"]
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.Nc3 Be7 5.Bg5 h6 6.Bxf6
{This exchange is not necessary, but it has become popular in the past decade.}
Bxf6 7.e3 O-O 8.Rc1 c6 9.Bd3 Nd7 10.O-O dxc4
{When Black s the center in this way, it is already a minor victory for White.}
11.Bxc4 e5 12.h3
{This both keeps pieces off of g4, but also provides the possibility of Nf3- h2- g4 later on. This move was my idea, introduced a year before this game was played.}
exd4 13.exd4
{The isolated pawn is well-supported, and the knight at d7 is misplaced.}
Nb6 14.Bb3 Bf5
{Otherwise the knight gets to e4.}
15.Re1 a5 16.a3 Re8 17.Rxe8+ Qxe8 18.Qd2
{Here Karpov should have placed his queen at d7, not waiting for my rook to occupy the e-file. Instead, he puts the knight there, a puzzling choice.}
Nd7
{A poor move which allows an effective reply.}
19.Qf4 Bg6 20.h4
{I have an initiative on the kingside now.}
Qd8 21.Na4
{Parrying the threat of 21. ... Qb6.}
h5
{Now the g5-square is weakened.}
22.Re1
{The rook was doing nothing on the c-file, but here it has a magnificent view!}
b5 23.Nc3 Qb8 24.Qe3
{24.Ne5 This was a tempting alternative.}
b4 25.Ne4 bxa3 26.Nxf6+ Nxf6 27.bxa3 Nd5
{A good move really. I can't understand why some of the commentators criticized it. I do get a superior knight versus bishop endgame, but there was hardly a better move to be found.}
28.Bxd5 cxd5
{After a few exchanges, the position looks quite dull. But my control of the e-file must not be underestimated. The most important thing, however, is the fact that my knight is better than Karpov's bishop.}
29.Ne5 Qd8 30.Qf3
{There is no way I would have traded my prize steed for the useless bishop!}
Ra6 31.Rc1
{Since the e-file is closed, the rook returns to the c-file, which is now open.}
Kh7 32.Qh3 Rb6
{Preparing an invasion, via the c8-square.}
33.Rc8 Qd6 34.Qg3 a4
{This drops a pawn, but Karpov's position was already very bad.}
35.Ra8 Qe6 36.Rxa4 Qf5 37.Ra7
{The seventh rank is always useful!}
Rb1+ 38.Kh2 Rc1 39.Rb7 Rc2 40.f3 Rd2
{Here the game was adjourned. I sealed a strong move which forces the win, but my seconds were a bit annoyed, because they had only considered the defensive move 41.Rb4.}
41.Nd7
{There is a very strong threat here.}
Rxd4
{This sets up the exchange of queens following 42...Qf4, but Karpov never has time to play it!}
42.Nf8+ Kh6
{42...Kh8 43.Rb8}
43.Rb4 Rc4
{43...Rd1 44.Rb8 Bh7 45.Qg5+ Qxg5 46.hxg5+ Kxg5 47.Nxh7+}
44.Rxc4 dxc4 45.Qd6
{White is setting up a check on the c1-h6 diagonal.}
c3 46.Qd4
{My best game of this match. My 13th win over Karpov. 13 is my lucky number!}
1-0
[Event "Simultaneous Exhibition"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1986.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Pares"]
[Black "Kasparov"]
[Result "0-1"]
[PlyCount "54"]
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 g6
{The Dragon variation is favored by those who enjoy razor sharp tactics.}
6.Be3 Bg7 7.f3 Nc6 8.Qd2 O-O 9.Bc4
{The Yugoslav variation which is considered the most aggressive line in White's quest to slay the Dragon.}
Bd7 10.O-O-O Rc8 11.Bb3 Ne5 12.h4 h5
{This position has been debated by theory without any conclusion having yet been reached.}
13.Bg5
{13.Bh6 Bxh6 14.Qxh6 Rxc3 15.bxc3 also leads to unbalanced positions with chances for both sides.}
Rc5
{In order to support the pawn at b5.}
14.Rhe1
{14.Kb1 b5 15.g4 hxg4 16.h5 is more testing of Black's opening play.}
b5 15.f4 Nc4 16.Bxc4 bxc4
{Clearing the b-file for the attack.}
17.e5 Qb6
{Black has an advantage thanks to his queenside initiative coming ahead of White's kingside attack.}
18.exf6 exf6
{The point! White's bishop is trapped!}
19.Re7 Rb8
{Black doesn't waste time recapturing the piece, as it isn't going anywhere.}
20.b3 Qd8 21.Rde1 fxg5
{Black's dark squared bishop, commonly referred to as the eye of the Dragon, exerts strong pressure on the h8-a1 diagonal.}
22.hxg5 cxb3 23.axb3
{23.cxb3 Rxc3+ 24.Qxc3 Rc8 wins material while maintaining the dark squared attack.}
Qa5
{White's dark squares collapse and with them goes the king.}
24.Nb1 Qa1
{Continuing with the dark squared theme.}
25.c3 Rbc8 26.c4 Rxc4+ 27.bxc4 Rxc4+
{White resigned as material loss is unavoidable.}
0-1
[Event "Simultaneous Exhibition"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1986.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Kasparov"]
[Black "Wahls"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "51"]
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 c5 4.d5 exd5 5.cxd5 d6 6.Nc3 g6
{The Benoni efense is favored by aggressive players due to the unbalanced pawn structure.}
7.Bf4 Bg7 8.Qa4+
{With the idea of disrupting Black's defense of his queenside.}
Bd7 9.Qb3 Qc7 10.e4
{10.Bxd6 Qxd6 11.Qxb7 O-O 12.Qxa8 Qb6 with the idea of trapping the queen with 13...Na6 is good for Black.}
Nh5 11.Be3 O-O 12.Nd2 Bd4 13.Be2 Bxe3 14.fxe3
{The weakened dark squares around Black's king are far more serious than the doubled White e-pawns.}
Ng7
{14...a6 15.Bxh5 gxh5 is clearly better for White on account of Black's shattered pawn structure.}
15.O-O
{White has the advantage due to Black's weak dark squares and backward development.}
a6 16.e5
{A pawn sacrifice which allows White's knights to take advantage of Black's dark squared weaknesses.}
dxe5 17.Nce4 b5
{17...f5 allows White a winning continuation.}
18.Rac1 c4 19.Nf6+ Kh8 20.Qb4 Qd8 21.Nde4
{White's knights have a total lock on the Black army.}
Bf5 22.Qe1
{With the idea of transferring the queen over to the kingside attack.}
Nd7 23.Qh4 g5
{23...h5 24.Qg5 Nxf6 25.Nxf6 when Black has no defense to 26.Qh6+ mate.}
24.Qh6 Bg6
{24...Qe7 25.Rxf5 Nxf5 26.Qxh7+ mate. Now for a somewhat difficult quiz!}
25.Nxh7
{This sacrifice on h7 does away with any resistance Black might have offered.}
Bxh7 26.Nxg5
{Black resigned since he has no good defense to White's intended 27.Qxh7+ mate.}
1-0
[Event "World Championship"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1986.??.??"]
[Round "4"]
[White "Kasparov"]
[Black "Karpov"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "81"]
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Nf3 c5 5.g3 cxd4 6.Nxd4
{This position could also be reached via transposition from the English Opening.}
O-O 7.Bg2 d5 8.Qb3
{The central battleground is focused on d5.}
Bxc3+ 9.bxc3
{This entails a weakening of the pawn structure but keeps the pressure on at d5. 9.Qxc3 e5 10.Nb3 d4 and Black has seized the initiative.}
Nc6
{The best move, continuing to develop pieces. 9...dxc4 10.Qa3! For the pawn White has sufficient compensation.}
10.cxd5
{10.Nxc6 bxc6 (White has the problems. He is behind in development, and Blacks Pawn center is secure.}
Na5
{This chases away the queen and allows Black to recapture the pawn.}
11.Qc2 Nxd5 12.Qd3
{Best, because the queen helps support the center, and the pawns at c3 and g3 keep away the annoying horses. 12.O-O Bd7 13.Ba3 Re8 14. c4 Rc8 15.c5 b6 Karpov would have a perfectly good game.}
Bd7
{Not the be st move. 12...Qc7 13.Nb5 Qc6 14.O-O Bd7 15.a4! a6! 16.e4 axb5 17.exd5 Qc4 This is risky, but how else do you play for a win?}
13.c4
{Opening up the h1-a8 diagonal for use by the bishop at g2.}
Ne7 14.O-O
{The king must not spend too much time in the center.}
Rc8
{Although this is an obvious move, it has some drawbacks which I manage to exploit. 14...Bc6! 15.Ba3 Bxg2 16.Kxg2 White retains the initiative, although Black's position, without any obvious weaknesses, is defensible.}
15.Nb3 Nxc4 16.Bxb7 Rc7 17.Ba6
{My advantage lies in the fact that I have the bishop pair in a open position and my vulnerable c-pawn has been exchanged for the b7-Pawn.}
Ne5 18.Qe3
{Again the centralized queen is a powerful tool, controlling useful diagonals and the e-file.}
Nc4 19.Qe4
{My lady continues to dance. Taking the knight would certainly have been inferior. 19.Bxc4? Rxc4 20. Qxa7 Bc6 Black would have chances to attack the White king using the h1-a8 diagonal.}
Nd6 20.Qd3 Rc6
{Black's pieces are very awkwardly placed and do not cooperate with each other.}
21.Ba3
{Pressure is building on diagonals and files.}
Bc8 22.Bxc8 Ndxc8 23.Rfd1
{A good move, keeping control of the d-file.}
Qxd3 24.Rxd3 Re8
{The pin at e7 must be broken.}
25.Rad1 f6
{25...h6 26.Rd8 Rxd8 27.Rxd8+ Kh7 28.Rd7 White wins a Pawn.}
26.Nd4
{Centralizi ng the knight, which, like most pieces, operates more effectively from the middle of the board.}
Rb6 27.Bc5 Ra6
{A good general rule is to put your Rook on the second or seventh rank. This position is no exception. But even more importantly, the rook at a6 is passive and rooks really do prefer active positions. 27...Rb2}
28.Nb5 Rc6 29.Bxe7
{Giving up the Bishop to reach a forcing variation that is favorable for White.}
Nxe7 30.Rd7
{The occupation of the seventh rank is an important achievement.}
Ng6 31.Rxa7 Nf8
{Black's pieces are very passive.}
32.a4 Rb8 33.e3
{I can afford to play with care. My passed pawn will not disappear!}
h5 34.Kg2 e5 35.Rd3
{When you have more material, in this case a pawn, it is a frequently a good idea to exchange pieces, and to avoid the exchange of pawns. I want to exchange rooks.}
Kh7 36.Rc3 Rbc8 37.Rxc6 Rxc6 38.Nc7 Ne6
{Karpov is hoping for a rook and pawn endgame with some drawing chances.}
39.Nd5
{Exchanging Knights by 39.Nxe6 Rxe6 would create a rook ending in which Karpov could put up more resistance than this position deserves. My centralized Knight on d5 allows me to set up tactical threats.}
Kh6 40.a5 e4 41.a6 1-0
[Event "Brussels"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1986.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Kasparov"]
[Black "Nunn"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "43"]
1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 g6 3.c4 Bg7 4.g3 O-O 5.Bg2 c6 6.Nc3 d5
{Black hopes to equalize by creating a symmetrical pawn center.}
7.cxd5 cxd5 8.Ne5
{My knight is strong here, and I hope to use it to cramp Black's position.}
e6 9.O-O Nfd7 10.f4
{I don't want to trade off my strong knight.}
Nxe5
{10...f6 11.Nf3}
11.fxe5 Nc6 12.e4 dxe4 13.Be3 f5
{Black wants to free himself, so he forces me to exchange off my pawn on e5, but he weakens his own king position.}
14.exf6 Rxf6
{14...Bxf6 15.Nxe4 Bxd4 16.Rxf8+ Kxf8 17.Qf3+ Kg8 18.Rf1}
15.Nxe4 Rxf1+ 16.Qxf1 Nxd4
{Black hopes to win a pawn, but he walks into an ugly pin.}
17.Rd1 e5
{Black saves his knight but he opens up the a2-g8 diagonal onto his own king.}
18.Ng5
{Nunn resigned here because he can't keep me from setting up a battery with queen on c4 and my knight on f7. Had he played on the game might have ended as follows:}
Qe8 19.Bxd4 exd4 20.Bd5+ Kh8 21.Nf7+ Kg8 22.Nd6+ 1-0
[Event "Sochi"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1986.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Tal"]
[Black "Garcia Gonzalez"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "31"]
1.e4 c6 2.c4 e5 3.d4 Nf6 4.Nc3 Bb4
{Black wants to take over e4, and is willing to give up the bishop pair to get it.}
5.dxe5 Nxe4 6.Qd4
{Black should play 6...Bxc3+ 7 bxc3 d5 when White has a tiny edge. Instead he wins a pawn but gets his pieces uncoordinated.}
d5 7.cxd5 Qa5 8.Qxe4 Bxc3+ 9.Kd1 cxd5
{He had to play 10...Bb4 and try to take advantage of White's king position.}
10.Qc2
{This wins a piece.}
d4 11.bxc3 dxc3 12.Ne2 O-O 13.Qxc3 Qa4+ 14.Ke1 Be6 15.Nd4 Rc8 16.Bb5 1-0
[Event "World Championship"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1987.??.??"]
[Round "11"]
[White "Karpov"]
[Black "Kasparov"]
[Result "0-1"]
[PlyCount "100"]
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 d5
{The Grunfeld Defense is a hypermodern opening. The strategic idea for Black, is to cede the center, then launch a counterattack against it, throwing White on the defensive.}
4.cxd5 Nxd5 5.e4 Nxc3 6.bxc3 Bg7 7.Bc4 c5
{Challenging White's center. 8.dxc5 would be a horrible blunder due to Black's response of 8. ... Bxc3+.}
8.Ne2 Nc6 9.Be3 O-O
{White has set up his forces to over protect his d4 pawn. Black on the other hand is putting maximum pressure against this square.}
10.O-O Bg4 11.f3
{Black hopes that the Pawn advance to f3 will provide an avenue of attack via the a7-g1 diagonal.}
Na5 12.Bxf7+ Rxf7 13.fxg4 Rxf1+ 14.Kxf1
{The pawn is not the most important thing here. For year theoreticians held that this line was harmless, with Black obtaining significant counterplay due to the hole at c4. Karpov has overturned this verdict, at least temporarily.}
Qd6 15.Kg1 Qe6
{My queen is well placed on this square. It puts pressure on e4, a2, c4 and g4 squares.}
16.Qd3 Qc4
{Exchanging queens would ease my defensive burden. 16...Qxg4 17.Rf1 For the price of the returned pawn, White would have play on the f-file and the a2-g8 diagonal.}
17.Qxc4+
{If 17. Qd2 then Black plays his Queen to e6 or a6 and threatens the Knight to c4.}
Nxc4 18.Bf2 cxd4 19.cxd4
{My queenside pawn majority should insure the possibility of an eventual passed pawn.}
e5
{My last move has two points. First it greatly reduces the scope of the White pieces, and if Black can successfully post his Knight on d6, then e4 is very weak. But it gives Karpov a passed pawn, and limits the scope of the Bg7.}
20.d5 Bh6 21.h4
{Karpov tries to cut off the Black bishop with g5.}
Bd2 22.Rd1 Ba5 23.Rc1 b5 24.Rc2 Nd6 25.Ng3 Nc4 26.Nf1 Nd6 27.Ng3 Nc4
{A draw from this position would be satisfactory for me. The match score was even at this time, and the position is somewhat equal.}
28.g5 Kf7 29.Nf1
{Karpov wants the full point, but objectively he doesn't have a sufficient advantage to be so ambitious. The extra pawn is the useless one at g2, and the passed pawn at d5 is no threat at all.}
Nd6 30.Ng3 Nc4 31.Kf1 Ke7 32.Bc5+ Kf7 33.Rf2+ Kg7
{White tries another avenue of attack but it cannot lead to success because there is no way for the knight to help out.}
34.Rf6 Bb6 35.Rc6
{Karpov somehow failed to realize that the rook is trapped at c6. My next move seals the victory.}
Na5 36.Bxb6
{Any move of the rook along the 6th rank would have left the bishop undefended.}
Nxc6 37.Bc7 Rf8+ 38.Ke2 Rf7 39.Bd6
{39.dxc6 Rxc7 I could win this in my sleep!}
Rd7 40.Bc5 Na5 41.Nf1 Rc7 42.Bd6 Rc2+ 43.Kd3 Rxa2
{Karpov could have resigned here with a clear conscience.}
44.Ne3 Kf7 45.Ng4 Nc4 46.Nxe5+ Nxe5+ 47.Bxe5 b4
{Passed pawns must be pushed!}
48.Bf6 b3 49.e5 Rxg2 50.e6+ Kf8 0-1
[Event "World Championship"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1987.??.??"]
[Round "4"]
[White "Kasparov"]
[Black "Karpov"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "81"]
1.c4 Nf6 2.Nc3 e5 3.Nf3 Nc6 4.g3 Bb4
{Karpov has great deal of experience with this variation, most notably in his match games against Viktor Korchnoi.}
5.Bg2 O-O 6.O-O
{Now if Black plays 6...e5 we have a Sicilian Defense with colors reversed. But there is a more energetic plan.}
e4 7.Ng5 Bxc3
{This disrupts my pawn structure.}
8.bxc3 Re8
{Black has to defend this pawn.}
9.f3 exf3 10.Nxf3
{OK, Black has a better pawn structure. Still, White is going to be able to build a very strong central formation, and the f-file leads right to Black's king.}
Qe7
{A new approach. More common is 10. ... d5 which is favored by former World Champion Vassily Smyslov.}
11.e3 Ne5 12.Nd4
{Playing for the f5 square and to create pressure on the f-file. Eventually this square might be well-suited for a pawn. But the knight is in a beautiful position here. 12.Nxe5 Qxe5 13. Rb1 White has the freer position.}
Nd3
{The hole at d3 is not very important.}
13.Qe2 Nxc1 14.Raxc1
{Karpov went to great lengths to eliminate my bishop. Although it didn't seem to be doing anything special, in the long run it could have become a powerful attacker.}
d6 15.Rf4
{Open files should be occupied by doubled rooks.}
c6 16.Rcf1 Qe5 17.Qd3
{The f5-square belongs to me!}
Bd7 18.Nf5 Bxf5 19.Rxf5 Qe6 20.Qd4
{Now Karpov has to be constantly worried about the possibility of an exchange sacrifice at f6.}
Re7 21.Qh4
{Not yet! 21.Rxf6 gxf6 22.Rxf6 Qe5 23.Rxd6 This position is not so easy to win.}
Nd7 22.Bh3
{This threatens a discovered attack on the queen, but her majesty has no useful flight square because of the congestion in the forecourt.}
Nf8 23.R5f3 Qe5 24.d4
{See. I told you this square would eventually make a nice home for the pawn!}
Qe4 25.Qxe4 Rxe4 26.Rxf7
{The game is now effectively over. I have won the pawn at f7, but more importantly have seized the seventh rank.}
Rxe3 27.d5
{This adds to my control of the e6-square, thus limiting the options for Karpov's knight.}
Rae8 28.Rxb7 cxd5 29.cxd5 R3e7
{29...Rxc3 30.Rff7 Rc1+ 31.Bf1 Ree1 32.Rxg7+ Kh8 33.Rgf7 Kg8 34.Rxa7}
30.Rfb1 h5 31.a4 g5 32.Bf5
{Avoiding 32...g4 which would drive the Bishop to a more passive location.}
Kg7 33.a5 Kf6 34.Bd3 Rxb7 35.Rxb7 Re3 36.Bb5 Rxc3 37.Rxa7 Ng6
{The passed pawn is decisive.}
38.Rd7 Ne5 39.Rxd6+ Kf5 40.a6 Ra3 41.Rd8
{Karpov decides, with good reason, that further moves are unnecessary.}
1-0
[Event "World Championship"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1987.??.??"]
[Round "8"]
[White "Kasparov"]
[Black "Karpov"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "99"]
1.c4 e5 2.Nc3 d6 3.g3 c5
{A opening experiment. Karpov fixes his grip on d4 but there is a gaping hole at d5.}
4.Bg2 Nc6 5.a3
{It is worthwhile to take time out to contest the b4-square.}
g6 6.b4 Bg7
{6...cxb4 7.axb4 Nxb4 8.Qa4+ Nc6 9.Ba3 White would have excellent pressure for the sacrificed pawn.}
7.Rb1 Nge7 8.e3
{The idea is to make room for the knight at g1.}
O-O 9.d3 Rb8 10.Nge2 Be6 11.b5 Na5
{The Knight is not well placed on the edge of the board.}
12.Bd2 b6 13.O-O
{Both sides have developed their forces, but I control considerably more space on the queenside.}
Nb7 14.e4
{I have a hole at d4, but Black will find it very difficult to place a knight there.}
Kh8
{A poor move. Karpov should have played 14...h6 in preparation for the advance of the f-pawn, keeping my bishop off of g5.}
15.Qc1 f5 16.Bg5 Qe8
{Black breaks the pin.}
17.Bxe7
{I like bishops, but in this case the exchange helps me, because now I can sink a knight at d5 without it being captured by Karpov's knight.}
Qxe7 18.exf5 Bxf5
{18...gxf5 19.f4 Black's center is beginning to crumble.}
19.Nd5 Qd7 20.Qd2
{Now I have an outpost at d5, in addition to my advantage in space.}
Na5 21.Nec3 Rbe8 22.Ne4 Nb7 23.a4
{Now it is time to expand on both flanks.}
Na5 24.h4 Nb7 25.Kh2 Rb8 26.Ra1 Na5
{Karpov threatens a fork at b3.}
27.Ra3 Rf7 28.Qc3 Rd8
{Black's rooks are pretty useless.}
29.Ra2
{This rook will transfer to the e-file.}
Bh6 30.Ng5 R7f8
{30...Bxg5 31.hxg5 Qe8 32.f4 The pressure at e5 will build.}
31.Re2 Bg7 32.Qc2
{I will not allow 32...e4!}
Rde8 33.Ne3 Bh6 34.Bd5
{I have decided to use that outpost at d5 for the bishop, controlling even more territory.}
Bg7 35.Qd1
{I am almost ready to go king-hunting.}
h6
{Another weakness for me to attack!}
36.Ne4 Qd8 37.Ra2
{Now the knight cannot be redeployed because if it moves to b7 I can capture it and play a4-a5.}
Bc8 38.Nc3 h5 39.Be4
{The advance of the pawn from h7 makes the g-pawn vulnerable.}
Re6 40.Ncd5 Bh6
{40...Nb7 41.f4 exf4 42.Nxf4 the g-pawn falls.}
41.Ng2 Kg7 42.f4
{Finally! But now the game is all but over.}
exf4 43.Ngxf4 Re5
{43...Qe8 44.Nxe6+ Bxe6 45.Qa1+}
44.Nxg6 Rxf1 45.Qxf1 Rxe4 46.dxe4 Kxg6 47.Rf2
{My attack is overwhelming.}
Qe8
{47...Bg7 48.Rf7 Nb7 49.Ne7+ Kh6 50.Qf4+ Kh7 51.Qf6 Qh8 52.Qg6++}
48.e5 dxe5 49.Rf6+ Kg7 50.Rd6
{Karpov can do nothing about the threat of 51.Qf6+, so he resigned.}
1-0
[Event "Cannes Simultaneous Exhibition"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1988.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Kasparov"]
[Black "Weemaes"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "47"]
1.c4 Nf6 2.Nc3 e6 3.e4
{3.d4 Bb4 would transpose to the Nimzoindian Defense.}
d5 4.e5 d4 5.exf6 dxc3 6.bxc3 Qxf6 7.d4
{I prefer White in this position since my strong center more than compensates for the doubled c-pawns.}
c5 8.Nf3 cxd4
{8...Be7 9.Bg5 Qg6 10.Bd3 Qh5 11.Bxe7 Kxe7 is good for White on account of Black's king being caught in the center.}
9.cxd4 Nc6 10.a3
{In order to prevent Bb4+ which could be good for Black in many variations.}
h6 11.Bb2 Bd6 12.Bd3
{White stands better thanks to his active pieces. Notice Black's light squared bishop is locked in by his own pawns.}
O-O 13.O-O e5 14.d5
{In freeing his light squared bishop Black has allowed White a passed d- pawn.}
Nb8
{14...Nd4 15.Nxd4 exd4 allows White to win material. Now White wants to eat the e-pawn. How can this be achieved?}
15.c5
{A deflection move which takes Black's dark squared bishop off the protection of his e-pawn.}
Bxc5 16.Nxe5 Qf4 17.Rc1
{White has a winning position thanks to his passed d-pawn and lead in development.}
b6 18.Rc4 Qg5
{18...Qf6 allows White to win material.}
19.h4 Qd8
{One by one Black's pieces are forced back to their original squares.}
20.Qf3 Qd6 21.Rf4
{Forcing weaknesses on the kingside since White is threatening to take the f-pawn.}
f5 22.Nc4 Qd7 23.Re1 Bb7 24.Bxf5
{Black resigned as he has no good defense to White's threat of 25.Be6. If you don't see why try defending Black against Gambit.}
1-0
[Event "Cannes Simultaneous Exhibition"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1988.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Kasparov"]
[Black "Arlandi"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "51"]
1.c4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 e6 6.g3
{Played with the idea of controlling the center by the fianchetto of the light squared bishop.}
Bb4 7.Bg2 O-O
{7...Bxc3+ 8.bxc3 would leave Black's dark squares weak.}
8.O-O d5 9.cxd5 exd5
{A type of Tarrasch Defense has been reached where Black's bishop has no right to be on b4.}
10.Bg5 Bxc3 11.bxc3 Be6
{11...Nxd4 12.Qxd4}
12.Rb1
{White stands much better thanks to his two bishop and Black's isolated d- pawn.}
Na5 13.Rb5
{In this way White is able to bring more pressure against Black's isolated d- pawn.}
a6 14.Bxf6 gxf6 15.Rb4
{White has a winning position on account of Black's shattered pawn structure.}
Rc8 16.e4 dxe4 17.Bxe4 f5
{Or 17...Rxc3 18.Bxh7+ Kxh7 19.Qh5+ Kg7 20.Nxe6+ fxe6 21.Rg4+}
18.Bxf5 Bxf5 19.Nxf5 Qxd1 20.Rxd1
{The ending is winning for White thanks to my more active pieces.}
Rxc3 21.Rd7 Rf3 22.Rd5 b5
{22...Nc6 23.Rxb7}
23.a4 Rb3 24.Rg4+ Kh8 25.Nh6 Nc6 26.Rf5
{Black resigned since mate is not far off. If you don't see how try defending Black against Gambit.}
1-0
[Event "Simultaneous Exhibition"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1988.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Kasparov"]
[Black "Schweizer"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "55"]
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 d5
{The Grunfeld Defense, which I have played many times with the Black pieces!}
4.cxd5 Nxd5 5.e4 Nxc3 6.bxc3
{The exchange variation is considered one of White's most violent attempts to gain an advantage.}
Bg7 7.Bc4 c5 8.Ne2
{The knight goes to e2 thus avoiding the unpleasant pin of Bg4.}
Nc6 9.Be3
{White's center has just enough protection to maintain itself.}
O-O 10.O-O cxd4 11.cxd4 Bg4 12.f3 Na5 13.Bd3
{13.Bxf7+ Rxf7 14.fxg4 Rxf1+ 15. Kxf1 is a pawn sacrifice I have played many times with Black!}
Be6 14.d5
{This move carries with it an exchange sacrifice, the aim of which is to weaken Black's dark squares.}
Bxa1 15.Qxa1 f6
{15...Bd7 16.Bh6 threatening mate on g7. 16...f6 17.Bxf8}
16.Rb1 b6 17.Bh6
{17.dxe6 would be a mistake because of ...Qxd3}
Re8 18.Nf4
{Forcing the Black bishop to move, thanks to the threat of 19.Nxe6.}
Bf7 19.e5
{With the threat of trapping Black's bishop by e6.}
Bxd5
{19...e6 is the alternative.}
20.Rd1 e6 21.Bb5 f5 22.Bxe8 Qxe8 23.Rxd5
{In this way White is able to open up the a1-h8 diagonal to advantage.}
exd5 24.e6 d4 25.Qxd4 Qe7 26.Nd5 Qc5 27.Qxc5 bxc5 28.Nf6+
{Black resigned since he is unable to stop White's passed e-pawn from promoting.}
1-0
[Event "National Open"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1988.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Tal"]
[Black "Chiu"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "47"]
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 g6 4.c3 Bg7 5.d4 cxd4 6.cxd4 Qb6
{Black let White get a big center in the hope of getting pressure against it. Tal renders this irrelevant by simply giving up a pawn, in return for which he gets a six tempo lead in development.}
7.Nc3 Nxd4 8.Nd5
{8...Qxb5 would lose to 9.Nc7+, so Black has to develop White's queen and retreat his own.}
Nxf3+ 9.Qxf3 Qd8 10.Bf4
{Forcing a decisive weakening.}
e5 11.Be3
{White has more than enough for the pawn, but 11.Qc3 would have won on the spot.}
Ne7 12.Bg5 f6 13.Nxf6+ Bxf6 14.Qxf6 Rf8 15.Qxe5 Qa5+ 16.Kf1 Qd8 17.Bh6
Rg8 18.Bc4 d6 19.Qf6 d5 20.exd5 Nf5 21.Re1+ Kd7 22.Bb5+ Kc7 23.Rc1+ Kb8
24.Bf4+ 1-0
[Event "Thessaloniki"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1988.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Kasparov"]
[Black "Short"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "55"]
1.c4 e6 2.Nc3 d5 3.d4 Be7 4.cxd5 exd5 5.Bf4 c6 6.Qc2 g6 7.e3
{Black weakens his kingside in order to develop his Bc8 to and active square.}
Bf5 8.Qd2 Nf6 9.f3
{I want to keep control of e4, and I like the possibility that I might gain space later by pushing my pawn to g4.}
c5 10.Bh6
{I don't want Black to castle.}
cxd4 11.exd4 a6
{Black doesn't want me to pin his knight. 11...Nc6 12.Bb5}
12.g4 Be6 13.Nge2 Nbd7
{Black hopes to bring this knight to c4, but I can stop this, and now his Be6 will become a target. 13...Nc6 14.Bg2 Bf8 15.O-O Bxh6 16.Qxh6 Qb6 I would have some initiative in this position, but Black would still be in the game.}
14.Bg2 Nb6 15.b3 Rc8 16.O-O Rc6 17.h3
{I want to push my pawn to f5, so I must protect my pawn on g4.}
Nfd7 18.Nd1
{I want this knight on the kingside.}
Rg8 19.Nf2 f5
{Black doesn't want me to push my pawn to f5, but in preventing this he lets me open up his king position. 19...g5 20.f4 f6 21.Ng3 Rg6 22.f5 Rxh6 23.fxe6 Rxe6 24.Rfe1 In this position Black can't keep me from invading along the e- file.}
20.Rae1 g5 21.gxf5 Bf7
{21...Bxf5 22.Ng3 Be6 23.Nh5 Rg6 24.Ng4 Qc7 25. Ng7+ Kd8 26.Nxe6+ Rcxe6 27.Rxe6 Rxe6 28.Bxg5}
22.Ng4 Bh5 23.Ng3
{Short resign ed here because he can't keep me from penetrating on the e-file. One possible finish might be:}
Bxg4 24.Bxg5 Rxg5 25.Qxg5 Kf8 26.f6 Nxf6 27.fxg4 Nbd7 28.Bxd5
{And Black must lose more material because he can't prevent both 28.Bxc6 and 28.Qg8++.}
1-0
[Event "Soviet Championship"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1988.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Kasparov"]
[Black "Smirin"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "81"]
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.Nf3 O-O 6.Be2 e5 7.O-O Nc6 8.d5 Ne7
9.Nd2
{This is the main alternative to 9.Ne1.}
a5
{The most popular reply.}
10.a3 Nd7 11.Rb1 f5 12.b4
{Black's 9th move succeeded in holding this back for a while, but now White is back on track on the queenside. I like to have the initiative!}
b6
{Black can ignore this the attack at a5 and play 12...Kh8, preparing to use the g-file for a kingside onslaught.}
13.f3 f4
{It is still not too late to opt for 13...Kh8.}
14.Na4 axb4 15.axb4 g5
{In this footrace, White has a headstart.}
16.c5 Nf6 17.cxd6 cxd6 18.b5 Bd7 19.Nc4 Nc8
{An ugly move, but the b-pawn must be protected.}
20.Ba3
{Another ugly move is now forced, to defend the d-pawn.}
Ne8 21.g4
{With this move I try to keep the kingside closed. Black has to capture en passant here, or face a long battle with no counterplay at all.}
fxg3 22.hxg3 g4 23.Bc1
{I keep an eye on the dark squares of the kingside this way.}
gxf3 24.Bxf3 Nf6 25.Bg5 Ra7 26.Rf2 Rb7 27.Rb3 Ra7 28.Rb1 Rb7 29.Rb3 Ra7
{Hmm, I am not getting anywhere!}
30.Rb4
{This is the right move. Next I will sacrifice the b-pawn and then I will be the one attacking on kingside.}
Kh8 31.Qf1 Bxb5 32.Rxb5 Rxa4
{So Black has a pawn. Big deal. I can sacrifice more than that!}
33.Bg2 h6 34.Bh4
{The bishops step aside so that the big pieces can get into the act.}
Qe8 35.Bxf6 Rxf6 36.Rxf6 Qxb5 37.Re6
{Black's pieces are so useless that I can afford to part with the knight.}
Kg8
{37...Qxc4 38.Re8+ Kh7 39.Qf5+ or 37...Rxc4 38.Qf7 Rc1+ 39.Kh2}
38.Bh3 Rxc4 39.Rxh6
{There goes the last barrier! Now nothing can stop me.}
Bxh6 40.Be6+ Kh8 41.Qf6+
{Black resigned, because there is no way to prevent mate. If you don't believe me, try making Gambit white then let Gambit show you!}
1-0
[Event "Cannes Simultaneous Exhibition"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1988.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Kasparov"]
[Black "Gueye"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "47"]
1.d4 f5
{The Dutch Defense which is a somewhat risky way of stopping White from playing pawn e4 due to the weakening of Black's kingside.}
2.g3 e6 3.Bg2 Nf6 4.c4 d5 5.Nd2 c6
{The Stonewall variation gives Black a solid yet passive position.}
6.Nh3
{A high class move which aims to control the f4 square while keeping open the h1-a8 diagonal.}
Bd6
{6...Be7 is also possible with the idea of not having to worry about White exchanging off dark squared bishops,.}
7.Qc2 b6
{7...dxc4 8.Nxc4 is winning for White thanks to the holes and inactive pieces in Black's position.}
8.Nf3
{Because most of Black's pawns are on white squares his light squared bishop has limited mobility. Therefore, White wishes to exchange Black's good bishop, the dark squared one.}
O-O 9.O-O Qe7 10.Bf4
{Played to eliminate Black's good bishop.}
Bxf4 11.Nxf4
{A new weakness has appeared in Black's position, namely the hole on e5.}
Ne4
{11...Nbd7 12.cxd5 cxd5 13.Qc6 Rb8 14.Qxe6+ Qxe6 15.Nxe6 Re8 16.Nf4 is good for White on account of his material advantage.}
12.Ne5 Bb7 13.cxd5 cxd5 14.Rfc1
{White has a winning position thanks to his outposted knight on e5 combined with his control of the c-file, not to mention Black's bad bishop.}
Na6
{14...Rc8 allows White a winning combination.}
15.Qa4 Nd6 16.e3
{With the threat of attacking the knight on a6 with 16.Bf1}
b5 17.Qa3
{Pins the knight on d6.}
Rfe8 18.b3
{Played to take the c4 square away from Black's knight.}
Qd8 19.Bf1
{The bishop joins in the queenside attack.}
Qb6
{An oversight which only hastens the end.}
20.Nd7
{Now Black's queen has no good square to protect the d6 knight from.}
b4 21.Nxb6 bxa3 22.Nxa8 g5 23.Bxa6 Bxa6 24.Nc7
{Black resigned as his material losses are mounting.}
1-0
[Event "Simultaneous Exhibition"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1988.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Kasparov"]
[Black "Schurer"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "31"]
1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Nc3 Nbd7 5.cxd5 cxd5 6.Bf4
{The effect of the bishop on the h2-b8 diagonal will be felt throughout the game.}
e6 7.e3 Ne4
{Black should complete development before moving the knight a second time.}
8.Bd3 f5
{8...Bb4 was necessary here, to get rid of the knight at c3.8... Nxc3 would also have been reasonable.}
9.O-O Be7
{Now the capture at c3 was mandatory. The knight wreaks havoc immediately.}
10.Nb5 O-O 11.Nc7 Rb8 12.Nxe6
{A fork and discovered attack in a single move! Both rooks and the queen are attacked.}
Qb6 13.Nxf8 Bxf8 14.Bxb8 Nxb8
{Now White is up a double exchange, for which Black has no compensation at all.}
15.Ne5 Qxb2 16.Rc1 1-0
[Event "Amsterdam"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1988.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Kasparov"]
[Black "Karpov"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "125"]
1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.Nd2 dxe4 4.Nxe4 Nd7 5.Ng5
{An odd move, in that this is the second move of the knight and no other pieces have been developed. It has only recently become acceptable in professional play.}
Ngf6
{5...h6 6.Ne6 fxe6 7.Qh5+ g6 8.Qxg6++ This is a trap which all grandmasters know about.}
6.Bd3
{Often I choose to transpose back to the main line of this variation with 6.Bc4.}
e6 7.N1f3 Bd6 8.O-O h6
{Now it is safe to expel the knight.}
9.Ne4 Nxe4 10.Bxe4 O-O 11.c3
{Karpov considers this to be the best move. His next move was an innovation prepared at home.}
e5
{Previously 11...Qc7 was the normal move, but it is not good.}
12.Bc2 Re8 13.Re1
{It is important to occupy the e-file, which will cut off the escape route of Black's king when I carry out my plan of bringing my queen to d3 and hurling her at h7.}
exd4
{Well-timed! Karpov gets the rooks off the board.}
14.Rxe8+
{14.cxd4 Rxe1+ 15.Qxe1 Nf6 This would leave me with a weak d-pawn.}
Qxe8 15.Qxd4
{15.cxd4 would create an isolated pawn for no reason, and Black could easily blockade it.}
Qe7
{If Karpov had retreated the bishop I would have gone into "Aggressive" mode with a sacrifice at h6. 15...Be7 16.Bxh6 gxh6 17.Re1 Nf8 18.Qe3 Be6 19.Qxh6 White has a strong attack.}
16.Bf4 Bxf4 17.Qxf4 Nf8 18.Re1 Be6 19.Nd4 Rd8
{19...Re8 20.Nxe6 Nxe6 21.Qe4 g6 22.h4 White stands better, but the advantage is nothing special.}
20.h4 Qc5 21.Re3 Qd6 22.Nxe6 fxe6
{A voluntary and unexpected weakening of Black's pawn structure. 22...Nxe6 23.Qe4 Nf8 24.Rg3 Clearly White has the better game, though converting it into a win will not be easy.}
23.Qg4
{Eyeing the vulnerable e6 and g7-squares.}
Qd2 24.Bb3 Kh8 25.Re2 Qd6 26.g3 a6
{Or 27.Kh2.}
27.Kg2
{With the next series of moves I simply improve the position of my pieces.}
Re8 28.Re3 Re7 29.Rf3 Rd7
{Taking control of an important open file.}
30.Qh5 Qe7 31.Qe5 Rd8 32.a4 b5 33.Qe4 Qc7 34.Rf4 c5 35.Qf3
{Threatening the knight at f8, which must not move since it is the sole defender of the pawn at e6.}
Qd6 36.axb5 axb5 37.Rf7
{All of White's pieces are working. The bishop is attacking the weak e6-Pawn, the rook owns the seventh rank, and the queen is ready to assault g7, e6, or anything else that is not nailed down.}
Rb8 38.Ra7
{38.Qg4 Qe5 Black might be able to hold.}
b4 39.Bc2 bxc3 40.bxc3 Qe5 41.Rf7 Nh7 42.Qg4
{The pressure is becoming intense, and Black has to work very hard just to prolong the game.}
Kg8 43.Re7 Nf8 44.Qf3 c4 45.Be4 Kh8 46.Bc6 Nh7 47.Qf7
{This occupation of the seventh rank seals Black's fate, even though it takes many moves to exploit it. The point is that the defense of g7 and e6 ties down Karpov's pieces.}
Nf8 48.Re8 Rxe8 49.Bxe8
{With the rooks out of the way the e-pawn must fall.}
Nh7
{49...Qd6 50.Bb5 Qc5 51.Bxc4 Qxc4 52.Qxf8+ Kh7 53.Qf3}
50.Bd7 Nf6 51.Bxe6 h5 52.Bxc4 Qe4+
{Black is trying to set up an active defense where his pieces can work against the White king, even though this has cost him two pawns.}
53.Kh2 Kh7
{A last mistake. But even against best play I would have achieved a winning position. 53...Qf3 54.Qf8+ Kh7 55.Qc5 Ne4 Black could not have taken my pawn without losing his queen.}
54.Qe6 Qf3 55.Qe1 Ng4+ 56.Kg1 Qc6 57.Bd3+ g6 58.Qe7+ Kh6 59.Be4 Qb6 60.Qf8+
Kh7 61.Qf7+ Kh6 62.c4 Qa6 63.c5 1-0
[Event "Simultaneous Exhibition"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1988.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Rosich"]
[Black "Kasparov"]
[Result "0-1"]
[PlyCount "48"]
1.e4 c5 2.f4
{The Grand Prix variation, so named after the English players who have scored a number of victories with it in their yearly competitions.}
d5 3.exd5 Nf6
{This move involves a pawn sacrifice in exchange for a lead in development.}
4.c4
{4.Bb5+ Bd7 5.Bxd7+ Qxd7 6.c4 e6 7.Qe2 is the true test of Black's pawn sacrifice.}
e6 5.dxe6 Bxe6
{5...fxe6 is also quite good as numerous games have shown.}
6.Nf3 Nc6
{Black's missing pawn is more than compensated for by the holes in White's position.}
7.Nc3 Bd6 8.d4
{8.d3 O-O 9.Be2 Trying to catch up in development makes more sense.}
cxd4 9.Nxd4 O-O
{Black has six pieces developed to White's two. As a general rule three tempi is worth at least a pawn - here I have four extra moves!}
10.Nxe6 fxe6 11.Be3 Qe7 12.Qf3 Bb4
{White's main problem is that his king is stuck in the center.}
13.Be2 e5
{Opening up the center to get at the White king.}
14.O-O-O
{14.O-O was safer.}
Bxc3 15.bxc3 exf4 16.Bd4 Rae8 17.Bxf6 Rxf6
{White's king finds himself just as exposed on the queenside as he was in the center.}
18.Rd2 Kh8
{There is no need to rush, as the White king has nowhere to hide. 18. ..Qa3+ is also very strong, with play similar to the game.}
19.Rhd1 Qa3+ 20.Rb2 Ne5 21.Qh3 f3
{An important move which cuts White's queen off from the protection of the d3 square, deciding the game.}
22.gxf3 Rb6
{Forcing White's reply due to the pin.}
23.R1d2 Nd3+
{Now you see the importance of f3. Had it been omitted White could play 24.Qxd3. Black is now able to take advantage of White's weakened back rank.}
24.Bxd3 Re1+
{White resigned since mate is unavoidable.}
0-1
[Event "Federal Republic of Germany"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1988.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Andruet"]
[Black "Spassky"]
[Result "0-1"]
[PlyCount "56"]
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 Bb4+ 4.Bd2 Bxd2+ 5.Qxd2 d5 6.Nc3 O-O 7.e3 Qe7 8.Rc1
Rd8 9.Qc2
{White aims for pressure on c7, but he lets Black get his knights to strong squares on the kingside.}
Nbd7 10.cxd5 exd5 11.Bd3 Nf8 12.Ne2
{The beginning of a dubious maneuver. White can't decide whether to use this knight for attack or defence, and doesn't get his queenside play going soon enough.}
c6 13.O-O Ng6 14.Ng3
{After this White will always have to worry about a knight coming into e4 or h4.}
Re8 15.Qc5
{This just loses time, since Black's queen is just as close to the kingside on d8, while White's queen will have to retreat.}
Qd8 16.Nd2
{Heading for the queenside to aid his attack there, but allowing Black's knight a great attacking square.}
Nh4 17.b4 a6 18.a4 Bd7 19.Rb1 Ng4
{Yipe. White hasn't got his break in on the queenside yet, but Black's knights are doing a dance on White's king.}
20.Qc2 g6
{Preventing White from simplifying by Bf5 or Nf5.}
21.b5 axb5 22.axb5 h5 23.bxc6 bxc6 24.Rfe1
{Weakening f2, but Black was threatening things like ...Nxg2 Kxg2 Rxe3.}
Qf6
{Attacking the new weakness and preventing any possible future counterplay by Bxg6.}
25.Ndf1 Ra3
{Threatening 26...Rxd3, and further ganging up on e3.}
26.Re2 c5
{Threatening 27...c4 or cxd4.}
27.dxc5 Ne5
{Very pretty. White only sees one of the threats, but he's long gone anyway.}
28.Bb5 Qf3 0-1
[Event "Thessaloniki Olympiad"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1988.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Kasparov"]
[Black "Short"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "53"]
1.c4 e6 2.Nc3 d5 3.d4 Be7
{A finesse with the idea of provoking White to move his knight to f3, thus taking away the plan of f3 followed with e4.}
4.cxd5 exd5 5.Bf4 c6 6.Qc2 g6 7.e3 Bf5 8.Qd2
{White removes his queen in the hope of later gaining time against the Black bishop.}
Nf6
{8...Nd7 9.f3 g5 10.Bg3 h5 11.e4 is also better for White thanks to his control of the center.}
9.f3 c5
{Black does not intend to give up the center without a fight!}
10.Bh6
{Now the Black king must remain in the center.}
cxd4
{10...Nc6 11.dxc5 d4 12.exd4 Qxd4 13.Qxd4 Nxd4 14.O-O-O Bxc5 allows White to win material.}
11.exd4 a6
{Played in order to prevent Bb5.}
12.g4 Be6 13.Nge2 Nbd7
{This move is a mistake as it takes the d7 square away from the other knight. Better was 13...Nc6. Then 14.Bg2 Bf8 15.O-O Bxh6 16.Qxh6 Qb6 17.Rad1 O-O-O 18. Rd2 is only slightly better for White because of his more active pieces.}
14.Bg2 Nb6 15.b3
{Preventing Nc4 once and for all.}
Rc8 16.O-O Rc6 17.h3
{Black's two main problems are: his king is stuck in the center, and he has no targets to attack.}
Nfd7 18.Nd1 Rg8 19.Nf2 f5
{Black hastens the end, since obviously one should not open the center with one's king still there.}
20.Rae1 g5 21.gxf5 Bf7
{21...Bxf5 22.Ng3 Be6 23.Nh5 Rg6 24.Ng4 Qc7 25.Ng7+ Kd8 26.Nxe6+ Rcxe6 27.Rxe6 Rxe6 28.Bxg5 leaves White a pawn ahead.}
22.Ng4 Bh5 23.Ng3
{Black resigned as he has no place to hide his king. For example...}
Bxg4 24.Bxg5
{taking advantage of the pin on the e-file.}
Rxg5 25.Qxg5 Kf8 26.f6 Bxf6 27.fxg4
{When the new pin on the f-file would decide the game.}
1-0
[Event "Belgrade"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1989.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Kozul"]
[Black "Kasparov"]
[Result "0-1"]
[PlyCount "42"]
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4
{The Nimzoindian Defense, named after the great hypermodern played Aaron Nimzowitsch.}
4.Qc2
{White intends to keep his pawns intact with Qxc3 in the event Black plays Bxc3.}
O-O 5.Bg5
{A very committal move since White's bishop is forced off the c1-h6 diagonal, with Black's next move.}
h6 6.Bh4 c5 7.dxc5 Na6 8.a3
{8.e4 Bxc3+ 9.bxc3 e5 is better for Black due to White's tripled c-pawns.}
Bxc3+ 9.Qxc3 Nxc5
{Black's lead in development fully compensates for White's bishop pair.}
10.Bxf6
{White wishes to do away with Black's initiative by going into an endgame.}
Qxf6 11.Qxf6 gxf6
{Black stands a little better because of White's lagging development and queenside weaknesses.}
12.b4 Na4 13.e3 b6
{Black has a natural target to attack, the pawn on c4.}
14.Nf3 Ba6 15.Nd2 Bb7 16.Bd3 Rac8
{16...Bxg2 would allow White to win material.}
17.Rc1
{Walks into a pin on the c-file.}
d5
{Taking advantage of the pin on the c-file.}
18.Ke2 dxc4 19.Nxc4 Rfd8
{Black's more active pieces carry over into an endgame initiative.}
20.Rhd1 Ba6 21.Rd2 b5
{White resigned since material loss in unavoidable because of the pin on the c-file.}
0-1
[Event "Barcelona"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1989.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Kasparov"]
[Black "Speelman"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "49"]
1.d4 d6 2.e4 g6 3.c4 e5 4.Nf3 exd4 5.Nxd4 Bg7 6.Nc3 Nc6 7.Be3 Nge7 8.h4
{I want to make Black think twice about putting his king on the kingside.}
h6
{This pawn becomes a target. He might have dared me by 8...f5.}
9.Be2 f5
{9...O-O 10.Qd2 Kh7 11.g4}
10.exf5 Nxf5 11.Nxf5 Bxf5
{Now Black doesn't know what to do with his king.}
12.Qd2 Qd7
{This isn't a good square for the queen.}
13.O-O O-O-O
{Black is daring me to go after his king. 13...h5 14.Rae1 O-O}
14.b4 Nxb4
{Black is opening lines onto his own king. He should try to hide by 14...Kb8. 14...Kb8 15.b5 Ne5 16.Nd5 Ng4 17.Bxg4 Bxg4 18.Rab1 I have a strong attack here, but Black might have a defense.}
15.Nb5 Nc2
{15...Bxa1 16.Qxb4 Be5 17. Nxa7+ Kb8 18.Bf3 c5 19.Qa3 Qc7 20.g4 Bc2 21.Rc1 Rhf8 22.Bd5 Qb6 23.Nb5}
16.Bf3 d5
{Black wants to block the a8-h1 diagonal.}
17.Bxd5 Nxa1 18.Nxa7+ Kb8 19.Qb4 Qxd5
{Black is desparate, but he could let me play 20.Nc6+. Black also gets mated after 19...c5 20.Bf4+ Ka8 21.Qa5}
20.cxd5 Nc2 21.Qa5 Nxe3 22.fxe3 Rhe8 23.Nb5 Rxd5 24.Qxc7+ Ka8 25.Qa5+
{Black resigns because I have more material and a powerful attack. White will win more material soon.}
1-0
[Event "New York"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1989.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "DEEP THOUGHT"]
[Black "Kasparov"]
[Result "0-1"]
[PlyCount "104"]
1.e4 c5 2.c3
{It is truly a pity that the programmers chose this wimpy variation for such an important encounter!}
e6 3.d4 d5
{This position resembles a French Defense.}
4.exd5
{4.e5 Transposes to the Advanced variation of the French Defense.}
exd5 5.Nf3 Bd6 6.Be3 c4
{Hampering White's natural development by taking away the d3 square.}
7.b3 cxb3 8.axb3 Ne7
{Before this game 8...Nf6 was favored leading to a slight advantage for White. However, after this game no one plays 8...Nf6 anymore!}
9.Na3 Nbc6 10.Nb5
{Although most commentators think this move loses time, this is wrong since Black also losses time with his bishop.}
Bb8 11.Bd3 Bf5
{With the majority of White's pawns standing on dark squares Black welcomes the exchange of White's good bishop.}
12.c4
{We were later informed that the computer had a bug in it that gave other moves priority over castling! Perhaps the computer was hooked up to a 900 number?}
O-O 13.Ra4 Qd7 14.Nc3 Bc7 15.Bxf5 Qxf5 16.Nh4 Qd7 17.O-O
{The computer fails to realize that its pieces belong in the center of the board.}
Rad8 18.Re1 Rfe8
{Black has an obvious advantage thanks to his control of the center which gives his pieces greater mobility. For some reason the computer thought it had the advantage here.}
19.c5 Ba5
{This is the key to Kasparov's winning plan. No computer can look at this position and figure out that a good knight versus bad bishop endgame lies ahead, but even an average human is capable of understanding this.}
20.Qd3 a6 21.h3 Bxc3 22.Qxc3 Nf5 23.Nxf5 Qxf5
{Black has a technically won game due to his good knight against bad bishop.}
24.Ra2 Re6
{Preparing to double on the e-file.}
25.Rae2 Rde8 26.Qd2 f6 27.Qc3
{The main problem with White's position is his inability to engage in an active plan. He can only sit and wait to see where Black will strike.}
h5 28.b4 R8e7 29.Kh1 g5 30.Kg1 g4 31.h4 Re4 32.Qb2 Na7
{Black allows White no counter play by controlling the b5 square.}
33.Qd2 R4e6 34.Qc1
{White's play has been gradually reduced to shuffling his queen around with nothing to attack.}
Nb5 35.Qd2 Na3 36.Qd1 Kf7 37.Qb3 Nc4 38.Kh2
{38.b5 a5 would be similar to the game continuation.}
Re4 39.g3
{With all of White's pawns on dark squares it is hard to tell where the bishop stands.}
Qf3 40.b5 a5
{Black's passed a-pawn gives White something else to worry about besides his king.}
41.c6 f5 42.cxb7 Rxb7 43.Kg1 f4
{Shatters White's position.}
44.gxf4 g3 45.Qd1 Rbe7
{Black is now threatening to win material with 46...gxf2+ to which there is no defense.}
46.b6 gxf2+ 47.Rxf2 Qxd1 48.Rxd1 Rxe3 49.Rg2 Nxb6
{Black is simply a piece ahead. The remaining moves were...}
50.Rg5 a4 51.Rxh5 a3 52.Rd2 Re2
{White resigned since he will be unable to stop the promotion of Black's a-pawn.}
0-1
[Event "Evry Simultaneous Exhibition"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1989.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Kouatly"]
[Black "Kasparov"]
[Result "0-1"]
[PlyCount "62"]
1.d4 g6 2.c4 Bg7 3.Nc3 d6 4.Nf3 Nf6 5.e4
{After jockeying for position we have reached the King's Indian Defense.}
O-O 6.Be2 e5 7.d5
{The Petrosian variation so named after former World Champion Tigran Petrosian, who added many new ideas to White's set up.}
a5
{Played in order to gain space on the queenside.}
8.h4 Na6 9.Nd2 Nc5 10.g4
{White's attack may look threatening but remember that White has left his king in the center.}
a4 11.h5 gxh5 12.g5 Ng4
{The knight heads towards the White king.}
13.Nf1 f5
{The opening of the f-file with White's king remaining in the center signals that my opponent has done something wrong.}
14.f3 Nf2
{A piece sacrifice the aim of which is to draw White's king into a mating attack.}
15.Kxf2 fxe4
{Black has plen ty of compensation for the piece thanks to White's backward development.}
16.Kg2 a3
{With the idea of weakening the h8-a1 diagonal.}
17.Rxh5 exf3+ 18.Bxf3 e4 19.Be2
( 19.Nxe4 axb2 20.Bxb2 Bxb2 )
18...Bf5
{White's pieces have lost communication with one another.}
20.Qd2 Bg6 21.Rh3 Qd7
{With the disguised idea of doubling on the f-file.}
22.Rg3 Qf7 23.Qe1 Rae8
{Black's remaining piece enters the attack!}
24.Be3 Nd3 25.Qd2 axb2 26.Rb1 Be5
{White is unable to stop the flood of Black's pieces from crashing through on the kingside.}
27.Rg4 Nf4+ 28.Bxf4 e3
{This clearance move allows Black's bishop on g6 to enter as well.}
29.Bxe3 Bxc3 30.Qxc3 Bxb1 31.Rf4 Rxe3
{White resigned since the further loss of material is unavoidable.}
0-1
[Event "Madrid Rapids"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1989.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Speelman"]
[Black "Kasparov"]
[Result "0-1"]
[PlyCount "78"]
1.c4 g6
{When I am in the mood to play a King's Indian, I sometimes play this against the English Opening.}
2.e4 Bg7 3.d4 d6 4.Nc3 Nf6
{And here we are!}
5.Nf3 O-O 6.Be2 e5 7.Be3
{White normally castles in such positions, but in the King's Indian this is a viable alternative. The only problem is that the bishop at e3 can be attacked by a knight.}
Ng4 8.Bg5 f6 9.Bh4 g5
{My bishop at g7 looks pretty bad, but White's is no better.}
10.Bg3 Nh6 11.h3 Nc6 12.d5
{Now I have a choice. It is almost certainly better to retreat the knight to e7 but I was in the mood for a sharp game, especially since we were playing at a very fast time control. So I took a chance.}
Nd4 13.Nxd4 exd4 14.Qxd4 f5
{In return for the pawn I have a bishop which is once again alive and well, ready to exert a lot of pressure on the diagonal. White's bishop at g3, however, is pathetic. But is this worth the material investment?}
15.Qd2 f4 16.Bh2 Nf7
{Now Speelman over-reacts and tries to immediately free his trapped bishop. If he had castled queenside, it is not clear my plan would have been justified and in fact in 1991 a practical example cast doubt on my plan.}
17.h4
{17.O-O-O Ne5 18.f3 c5 19.dxc6 bxc6 20.h4 The delay of the advance of the h- pawn has resulted in a clear advantage for White.}
h6 18.hxg5 hxg5 19.g3
{It looks like White is achieving his objective but I now sacrifice a pawn to thwart his plans.}
f3 20.Bxf3 Ne5 21.Be2
{I have given up a second pawn to open up a line and also bring my knight into the attack with tempo.}
g4 22.Bg1 c5 23.dxc6 bxc6 24.O-O-O
{Obviously the king could not remain in the center much longer! Now what will I do about the d-pawn which is now under attack?}
Be6 25.Qxd6 Qg5+ 26.Kb1 Qg6
{This little maneuver is worth much more than a pawn. Look at Speelman's silly bishop at g1, and see how my pieces are lining up against his king. The White queen is needed for defense, but it is far from home.}
27.Ka1 Rab8
{White is in deep trouble. Jon Speelman is a very creative player and his next move is ingenious, especially in a game played in just a few minutes. But it was perhaps not best.}
28.Rh5
{In return for the rook, White gets my bishop in addition the pawns he has already been given. 28.f4 gxf3 29.Bf1 This strange series of moves was suggested by Viktor Korchnoi, and it is probably best.}
Qxh5 29.Qxe6+ Kh8 30.Qe7 Nf3 31.Bxf3 Rxf3 32.Na4 Re8 33.Qxa7 Qe5
{Notice how well my pieces are centralized. White's are scattered all over the place.}
34.Qb6 Qxe4 35.Qb4 Qc2
{This invasion of the seventh rank brings the game to a quick close.}
36.Rb1 Rd3
{The queen will be joined by at least one rook.}
37.Qc5 Re2 38.Qh5+ Kg8 39.Qxg4
{Now Black mates in two moves.}
Qxb1+ 0-1
[Event "Belgrade"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1989.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Agdestein"]
[Black "Kasparov"]
[Result "0-1"]
[PlyCount "113"]
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.g3 c5 4.d5 d6 5.Bg2 Bg7 6.Nh3
{The knight is hoping to get to f4 to overprotect d5, and restrict Black's pawn to e6. Later, White may play his h-Pawn to h4 and h5, followed by an attack on g6. On the other hand, this move neglects the d4 square.}
b5 7.cxb5 Qa5+ 8.Bd2
{8.Nc3? Nxd5 White is swimming in rough waters.}
Qxb5 9.Bc3 Ba6 10.Na3 Qb6
{The whole idea of putting the knight at h3 has not panned out.}
11.O-O O-O 12.Qd2 Nbd7 13.Rab1 Rab8
{White must deal with the pressure on b2.}
14.b3 Bb5 15.Rfe1 Ng4 16.Bxg7 Kxg7 17.Nc2 a5 18.f3 Ngf6 19.Nf2 Ba6 20.f4
Rfc8 21.e3 a4 22.g4 axb3 23.g5 Ne8 24.axb3 h5 25.gxh6+ Kh7 26.Kh1 Nef6
{Only 26 moves have been played, but we were both running out of time, having just 3 minutes left for 14 moves. My Norwegian opponent has the advantage here since his king is safer.}
27.e4
{If he can get this pawn to e5, he may be able to do some real damage.}
c4 28.e5
{Here we go!}
cxb3 29.Nd4
{29.exf6 Rxc2 30.Qxc2 bxc2 31.Rxb6 Nxb6 32.fxe7 Nc4 33.Be4 Ne3!! The threat of 34...Rb1 is winning for Black.}
Rc4
{When short of time, tactics are everything. If he has to worry about his pieces then he can't spend precious seconds thinking about strategy.}
30.Nc6
{This mistake gives me plenty of chances. He should have just taken the pawn at b3.}
Rc2 31.Qe3 Qxe3 32.Rxe3 Rb6
{The position is getting messier. Agdestein gets my knight, but the initiative swings back to me.}
33.exf6 Nxf6 34.Ne4
{Probably 34.Kg1 was best.}
b2 35.Nxf6+ exf6 36.Be4
{White may be a piece ahead, but I have a monster pawn at b2!}
Rc1+ 37.Re1 f5
{This must have come a surprise to my opponent. I give up one powerful passed pawn, but get another in return.}
38.Rbxc1 bxc1=Q 39.Rxc1 fxe4
{My pawns are much stronger than my opponent's.}
40.Re1 Bc4
{The time control has been reached and the rest is just a matter of technique .}
41.Ne7 f5 42.Rg1 e3 43.Re1
{43.Rxg6 Bxd5+! 44.Nxd5 Kxg6 45.Nxb6 e2}
Rb3 44.Kg2 Kxh6 45.Kf3 e2+ 46.Kf2 Rh3 47.Rg1 Rxh2+ 48.Kg3 Rh5 49.Nc8 Kg7
50.Nxd6 Ba6 51.Ne8+ Kf7 52.Nc7 Bc4 53.Rc1 g5 54.Kf2 gxf4 55.Ne6
{55.Rxc4 Rh2+ 56.Ke1 f3 Even though White has an extra knight, Black wins. If you don't believe me, try defending the position again.}
Rh2+ 56.Kg1 Rh4 57.Nd4 0-1
[Event "Belgrade"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1989.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Damljanovic"]
[Black "Kasparov"]
[Result "0-1"]
[PlyCount "64"]
1.Nf3 c5 2.g3 g6 3.Bg2 Bg7 4.d4
{White decides he is not in the mood for hypermodern play after all.}
cxd4 5.Nxd4 Nc6 6.Nb3 d6 7.Nc3 Nf6 8.O-O O-O 9.e4
{After a few moves of shadow boxing, we have transposed into a Sicilian defence. The kingside fianchetto plan adopted by White is considered quite harmless.}
Bg4 10.f3
{This creates a weakness on the dark squares.}
Be6 11.Kh1
{Correctly removing his king from the vulnerable g1-a7 diagonal.}
b5
{I waste no time in getting my queenside going.}
12.a4
{Capturing the pawn would lose. Do you see why? 12.Nxb5 Bc4}
bxa4 13.Rxa4 Nd7 14.f4 Nb6 15.Ra1 a5 16.Nd5 a4 17.Nd2 Bd7 18.Ra3
{This rook lift accomplishes nothing since the rook can't get to the kingside and White is not attacking there in any event. 18.c3 Na5! I would have been quite happy with this position!}
Na5 19.f5 Nxd5 20.exd5 Qb6
{The queen is well placed on this square, which is the intersection of an important file and an important diagonal.}
21.fxg6 fxg6 22.b3 Rxf1+ 23.Nxf1 axb3 24.cxb3 Rb8
{I increase the pressure.}
25.Bg5 Nxb3 26.Bxe7 Nd4
{Not the most efficient move. 26...Qb4! 27.Ra6 Be5 Black is better.}
27.Rd3
{But my opponent falls for the trap.}
h6
{The Bishop on e7 is trapped.}
28.Ne3 Re8 29.Nc4 Qb4 30.Nxd6 Rxe7 31.Ne4
{White could have resigned here.}
Nf5 32.Qf3 Qe1+ 0-1
[Event "Tilburg"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1989.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Piket"]
[Black "Kasparov"]
[Result "0-1"]
[PlyCount "62"]
1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 g6 3.c4 Bg7 4.Nc3 O-O 5.e4 d6 6.Be2 e5 7.O-O
( 7.dxe5 dxe5 8.Qxd8 Rxd8 9.Nxe5 Nxe4 10.Nxf7 Bxc3+ 11.bxc3 Kxf7 )
6...Nc6
{This is the classical treatment of the King's Indian Defense. White maintains the broad center, which will eventually become closed. Then it will become a battle on both flanks.}
8.d5 Ne7 9.Ne1
{This retreat is well-established, but the alternative 9.Nd2 is also popular. In either case White needs to regroup on the kingside, and find a home for the dark-squared bishop.}
Nd7 10.Be3 f5
{Here we go. Black is going straight after the enemy king. If the plan does not succeed then White will have a free hand on the queenside.}
11.f3 f4 12.Bf2 g5 13.b4
{White has many other possibilities, but this is the most direct move. Still, there is much to be said for 13.Nb5.}
Nf6 14.c5 Ng6 15.cxd6 cxd6
{White has opened the c-file and will now occupy it.}
16.Rc1 Rf7
{This guards the critical f7-square.}
17.a4 Bf8
{A good move, because d6 will need support, and in any event the bishop is no longer very useful at g7, because it is blocked in by the pawn wedge.}
18.a5 Bd7 19.Nb5
{See how useful Bf8 turned out to be! White should perhaps have attended to the safety of the king with 19.Kh1.}
g4
{Black can't afford to waste any time.}
20.Nc7 g3 21.Nxa8
{Perhaps this is the decisive mistake. After 21.hxg3 the position would be very complicated, but there is no immediate win. Here is one suggested line . 21.hxg3 fxg3 22.Bxg3 Bh6 23.Nxa8 Nh5 24.Bf2 Ngf4 25.Nd3 Rg7 26.Nxf4 Bxf4 27.g4 Bxc1 28.Qxc1 Nf4 29.Qe3 h5 30.Rc1 hxg4 31.fxg4 Nxe2+}
Nh5
{By resisting the temptation to advance the h-pawn, I managed to keep this square free for the knight.}
22.Kh1 gxf2 23.Rxf2 Ng3+ 24.Kg1 Qxa8 25.Bc4
{Now how do I continue the attack? I need to involve my queen somehow.}
a6
{Aha! I can use it on the a7-g1 diagonal.}
26.Qd3 Qa7 27.b5 axb5 28.Bxb5
{Now for the kill! Do you see the move?}
Nh1 29.Kxh1 Qxf2 30.Rb1 Bxb5 31.Qxb5 Rc7 0-1
[Event "Groningen"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1989.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Smyslov"]
[Black "Martinovic"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "50"]
1.Nf3 Nf6 2.d4 g6 3.c4 Bg7 4.Nc3 O-O 5.Bg5 c5 6.e3 cxd4 7.exd4 d5
{The Opening has transposed to a variation of the Panov-Botvinnik attack from the Caro-Kann Defense.}
8.cxd5 Nxd5
{White excepts the isolated d-pawn in exchange for active piece play.}
9.Qb3 Nxc3
{9...Nb6 would keep pressure on the isolated d-pawn at the expense of moving the knight for the third time.}
10.bxc3 Nc6 11.Be2 b6 12.O-O Qd6
{This commits Black's queen too early. 12...Bb7 would have been better.}
13.Rad1 e6 14.Nd2 Na5
{14...Bb7 15.Ne4 Qd7 16.Nf6+ Bxf6 17.Bxf6 would be better for White due to the dark square weaknesses around Black's king .}
15.Qb4 Qc7
{15...Qxb4 16.cxb4 Nc6 With pressure against the isolated d-pawn was better.}
16.Ne4 h6 17.Qe7
{With this intermediate move White is able to gain the bishop pair.}
Qxe7 18.Bxe7 Re8 19.Nf6+
{Now the position without queens will favor White, who has the bishop pair.}
Bxf6 20.Bxf6 Bb7 21.Rd3
{Played with the idea of attacking on the h-file after a future Rh3.}
Bd5 22.Rh3 Kh7 23.Re1 e5
{23...h5 24.g4 would win a pawn while keeping a powerful attack on the h- file.}
24.dxe5 Nc4 25.Bxc4 Bxc4
{Black resigned before White could play a winning combination. Do you see it? If not, Gambit can demonstrate it for you if you set Gambit up as White..}
1-0
[Event "World Championship"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1990.??.??"]
[Round "20"]
[White "Kasparov"]
[Black "Karpov"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "81"]
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 d6 8.c3 O-O
9.h3 Bb7 10.d4 Re8 11.Nbd2 Bf8 12.a4 h6 13.Bc2 exd4 14.cxd4 Nb4 15.Bb1
c5 16.d5 Nd7 17.Ra3 f5 18.Rae3 Nf6
{This was not known to the chessplaying public at the time but I was prepared for it. 18...f4 19.R3e2 Qf6 20.e5 18...Nb6}
19.Nh2
{I made this move almost instantly, demonstrating to Karpov that I was the one who had the opening under control. At this point White, speaking objectively, has a clear advantage, with more active pieces.}
Kh8
{19...fxe4 20.Nxe4 Nbxd5 21.Nxf6+ Nxf6 22.Rxe8 Nxe8 23.Qd3}
20.b3 bxa4
{20...c4 21.bxc4 bxc4 22.Nxc4 fxe4}
21.bxa4 c4
{This takes control of the d3-square.}
22.Bb2
{My plan is simple. I want to attack, attack, attack! Karpov should have completed his development now with 22...Rc8, but instead he panics and releases the tension in the center.}
fxe4
{22...Rc8 23.Rf3 fxe4 24.Nxe4 A very messy position with unclear complications.}
23.Nxe4 Nfxd5
{23...Nbxd5 24.Bxf6 Nxf6 25.Nxf6 Rxe3 26.Rxe3 Qxf6 27.Qc2}
24.Rg3
{I am really putting on the pressure. Black's next move is necessary to defend the weak squares on the sixth rank.}
Re6
{24...Nd3 25.Bxd3 cxd3 26.Qh5}
25.Ng4
{25.Nf3 Qe8}
Qe8
{But here Karpov goes astray. Still, it is hard to find a good defense. 25...Nd3 26.Bxd3 cxd3 27.Nxh6 Rxh6 28.Ng5 Qd7 29.Re6}
26.Nxh6 c3
{26...Rxh6 27.Ng5 Qh5 28.Kh2 There is no defense for Black.}
27.Nf5 cxb2 28.Qg4 Bc8
{Black has an extra piece and an advanced passed pawn, but his king is still in serious danger. In fact, there is no defense.}
29.Qh4+
{29.Nxg7 Rxe4}
Rh6
{29...Kg8 30.Ng5 Rxe1+ 31.Kh2 Bxf5 32.Bxf5 Rh1+ 33.Kxh1 b1Q+ 34.Bxb1 Qe1+}
30.Nxh6 gxh6 31.Kh2
{31.Nf6 Qxe1+ 32.Kh2 Bg7 (32...Qe5) 33.Qxh6+ Bxh6 34.Rg8+ 31. Nxd6 Qxe1+ 32.Kh2 Qe6}
Qe5
{31...Ra7 32.Nf6 Qf7 33.Re8 Nxf6 34.Qxh6+}
32.Ng5 Qf6 33.Re8 Bf5 34.Qxh6+
{34.Nf7+ Qxf7 35.Qxh6+ Bh7 36.Rxa8}
Qxh6 35.Nf7+ Kh7 36.Bxf5+ Qg6 37.Bxg6+
{37.Rxg6 Ne7 38.Rxe7}
Kg7 38.Rxa8 Be7 39.Rb8 a5 40.Be4+ Kxf7 41.Bxd5+ 1-0
[Event "World Championship"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1990.??.??"]
[Round "18"]
[White "Kasparov"]
[Black "Karpov"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "113"]
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5
{I switch back to the Spanish Game. Karpov responded quickly with a new pawn sacrifice.}
a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 d6 8.c3 O-O 9.h3 Nd7 10.d4 Bf6 11.a4
Bb7 12.Na3 exd4 13.cxd4
{We had been here before, in the final game of the New York leg.}
Nb6 14.Bf4 {Best!} bxa4 15.Bxa4 Nxa4 16.Qxa4
{Black has gotten rid of the famous "Spanish bishop", but aside from that he hasn't done much. My pieces occupy better squares. He has no good squares under control, so now he takes over b4 for his knight.}
a5 17.Bd2 Re8 18.d5 Nb4 19.Bxb4
{So much for the big square! Well, Karpov has the bishop pair, but the one at b7 certainly doesn't impress.}
axb4 20.Qxb4 Rb8 21.Qc4 Qc8 22.Nd4 Ba6 23.Qc3
{OK, so now he has both bishops working as compensation for the pawn and miserable pawn structure. And I am going to make something of the pawn!}
c5
{23...Rb6 24.Nac2 Qb7 25.b3 Bb5 This would have been a tougher nut to crack!}
24.dxc6 Bxd4 25.Qxd4 Qxc6 26.b4
{Here we go!}
h6 27.Re3 Re6 28.f3 Rc8 29.Rb3
{Having secured the kingside I can give the queenside my undivided attention.}
Bb5 30.Rb2 Qb7 31.Nc2 Qe7 32.Qf2 Rg6 33.Ne3 Qe5 34.R2b1
{These retre ats are justified by the fact that I must eliminate all counterplay before returning to the advance of the b-pawn.}
Bd7 35.Ra5 Qe7
{Maybe 35...Qd4 would have provided more resistance.}
36.Ra7 Qd8 37.Nd5 Kh7 38.Kh2 Rb8 39.f4 Re6 40.Qd4 Qe8
{Here I sealed my move and went home. The rest of the game was simple and I wrapped it up quickly the following day.}
41.Re1 Bc6 42.Qd3 Qf8 43.Rc1 Bxd5 44.exd5+ Rg6 45.Qf5 Kg8 46.Rac7 Rf6 47.Qd7
Rd8 48.Qxd8 Qxd8 49.Rc8 Qf8 50.R1c4 Rf5 51.Rxf8+ Kxf8 52.Rd4 h5 53.b5 Ke7
54.b6 Kd7 55.g4 hxg4 56.hxg4 Rf6 57.Rc4 1-0
[Event "Linares"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1990.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Yusupov"]
[Black "Kasparov"]
[Result "0-1"]
[PlyCount "126"]
1.Nf3 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.g3 Bg7 4.Bg2 O-O 5.d4 d6 6.O-O Nbd7 7.Nc3
{We have reached a standard King's Indian Defense by transposition.}
e5 8.h3 c6 9.e4 Qb6
{This is a useful square for the queen, putting pressure on d4 and forcing the bishop to stay at home to guard the pawn at b2. A typical hypermodern strategy.}
10.c5
{This is an interesting move, attempting to derail Black's strategy. 10.d5 used to be the main line, but it is no longer considered strong.}
dxc5 11.dxe5 Ne8 12.Na4 Qa6 13.Bf4
{Both 13.Bg5 and 13.Qc2 are interesting alternatives.}
Nc7 14.Qc2 Ne6 15.Rfd1 Re8 16.Rd6
{16.Nc3 might have been better, planning to swing the knight to e2. Now I take control of the middlegame, making significant progress on the queenside.}
Qa5 17.Rad1 Nb6 18.Nxb6 axb6 19.a3 Qa4 20.Qe2
{20.Qd2 Qxe4 Now White can win the queen but still winds up with a bad game. 21. Nd4 Qxd4 22.Rxd4 Nxd4 Black has a only rook and a bishop for the queen, but there is pressure at e5 and the minor pieces will work well together.}
b5 21.Qe3
{Yusupov should have played to complicate the game with 21.h4, which would at least contest the initiative.}
b4 22.axb4 Qxb4 23.R6d2 Ra2 24.Rb1 c4
{White is completely on the defensive.}
25.Rc2 b5 26.Bh6 Qc5 27.Qc1
{It was better to exchange queens and try to tough it out in the endgame. 27.Qxc5 Nxc5 28.Bxg7 Kxg7 29.Nd4 Bd7}
Nd4 28.Bxg7 Kxg7 29.Nxd4 Qxd4
{The position should be won for Black, who has a better pawn structure and a more useful bishop. I was getting into serious time pressure, and tried to make simple, logical moves.}
30.b3 Rxc2 31.Qxc2 c3 32.Rd1 Qc5 33.b4 Qxb4 34.Rd3 c5 35.Rxc3 c4 36.f4
Qc5+ 37.Kh2 Qd4 38.Rf3 b4
{My opponent thought this was a blunder in a position where 38...Rd8 would have led to a simple win. But the move I played actually leads to an aesthetically pleasing conclusion.}
39.Qa4 c3
{Here the rook cannot be taken because of the passed pawns.}
40.Rxc3
{40.Qxe8 Qd7 41.Qxd7 Bxd7 The pawns cannot be stopped.}
Bd7 41.Rc4 Bxa4 42.Rxd4 Rb8 43.Bf1 Bc2
{This sets up a situation where the passed pawn has an escort.}
44.Bc4 b3 45.Bxb3
{There is no choice. Now I am winning.}
Rxb3 46.g4
{White has two pawns for the piece, but as long as I avoid a couple of traps the win is easy.}
Re3 47.f5 gxf5
{47...Rxe4 48.f6+ Kh6 49.Rxe4 Bxe4 50.e6 fxe6 51.g5+ Kxg5 52.f7}
48.exf5 Rxe5 49.Rd2 Ba4 50.Kg3 Re3+ 51.Kh4 Bb5 52.Rd5 Bd3
{52...Bf1 53.f6+ I lose!}
53.Rc5 h6 54.Rc3 Rf3 55.Rb3 Be2 56.Rb2 Bf1 57.Rh2 Kf6 58.Rh1 Ke5 59.Rh2
f6 60.Rh1 Ke4 61.Rh2 Kf4 62.Rh1 Bg2 63.Rh2 Rg3 0-1
[Event "World Championship"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1990.??.??"]
[Round "2"]
[White "Kasparov"]
[Black "Karpov"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "87"]
1.e4
{I decided that 1.e4 was going to be my first move during this match.}
e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5
{Later on I switched to the Scotch Game, but at the start of the match I was happy to provide the Spanish Inquisition. Karpov was hardly surprised. After all, in chess, EVERYBODY expects the Spanish Inquisition!}
a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 d6 8.c3 O-O 9.h3 Bb7 10.d4 Re8
{The familiar variation worked out by Igor Zaitsev, Karpov's trainer, in the late 1970's. It is the most popular line these days.}
11.Nbd2 Bf8
{The point of this move order is that White cannot immediately adopt the plan of swinging the knight to the kingside via f1.}
12.a4
{12.Nf1 exd4 13.cxd4 Nxe4}
h6 13.Bc2 exd4 14.cxd4
{Having exchanged at d4, Black can now attack my bishop at c2.}
Nb4 15.Bb1 bxa4
{This is an important position. Black has pressure at e4, so White must build up the center.}
16.Rxa4 a5 17.Ra3
{The rook will be able to get to the kingside along the third rank.}
Ra6
{Pretty much the same idea. The d-pawn can advance and then the rook helps protect the kingside.}
18.Nh2 g6 19.f3
{This was my prepared innovation. All of a sudden this position looks very bad for Black, whose pieces are uncoordinated.}
Qd7 20.Nc4 Qb5 21.Rc3 Bc8
{Probably an error. Advancing the d-pawn was best, but does not solve all of the problems. 21...d5 22.Na3 Qb6 23.e5 Nd7 24.f4 c5 25.Be3}
22.Be3 Kh7 23.Qc1 c6
{This is a b ad move, because it defeats the purpose of placing the rook at a6. Now it can play no role on the kingside. Better was 23...Qd8.}
24.Ng4 Ng8
{This was no time to play passively! It was still possible to escape immediate disaster by taking the knight. 24...Bxg4 25.hxg4 Qb8 26.Kf2d5}
25.Bxh6
{A killer move! A lot of the commentators at the site thought I had made and error in my calculations, but they werewrong!}
Bxh6 26.Nxh6 Nxh6 27.Nxd6 Qb6 28.Nxe8 Qxd4+ 29.Kh1 Qd8
{The knight is trapped. This is what the "experts" thought I missed. But I knew what I was doing. Black's pieces are scattered and cannot work together. That there are more of them is not the point.}
30.Rd1 Qxe8 31.Qg5 Ra7
{31...Ng8 32.Qh4+ Kg7 33.Rd8 Qe6 34.f4 Black has a two knights for a rook and a pawn, but can't possibly survive.}
32.Rd8 Qe6 33.f4 Ba6 34.f5 Qe7 35.Qd2 Qe5 36.Qf2 Qe7 37.Qd4 Ng8 38.e5 Nd5
39.fxg6+ fxg6 40.Rxc6 Qxd8 41.Qxa7+ Nde7 42.Rxa6 Qd1+ 43.Qg1 Qd2 44.Qf1
1-0
[Event "World Championship"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1990.??.??"]
[Round "16"]
[White "Kasparov"]
[Black "Karpov"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "87"]
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4
{I used the Scotch Game in this match in part because I knew it would have some surprise value, and also because I felt there were some untapped resources to be exploited. The opening really is unjustly neglected!}
exd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nxc6 bxc6 6.e5 Qe7 7.Qe2 Nd5 8.c4 Nb6
{8...Ba6 This was Karpov's choice in the previous game in which he had Black, and it worked for him there.}
9.Nd2 Qe6 10.b3 a5
{A waste of time. 10...Be7 This would have been a safer choice.}
11.Bb2 Bb4
{11...a4 This would obviously have been a more consistent move. But I could have obtained the advantage. 12.Qe3 Bb4 13.Bd3 d5 14.O-O Bxd2 15.Qxd2 dxc4 16.bxc4 Nxc4 17.Bxc4 Qxc4 18.Ba3 Black's king would be trapped in the center.}
12.a3
{OK, my friend, what do you want to do with the bishop?}
Bxd2+ 13.Qxd2
{This is a key position. I have the bishop pair and can attack on the kingside, but Karpov has some chances on the queenside.}
d5
{13...a4 14.c5 Nd5 15.b4 d6 would have been interesting.}
14.cxd5 cxd5 15.Rc1 O-O
{This sacrifices a pawn, but it was probably the best move. Especially since I took it. 15...c6 16.Qc2}
16.Rxc7
{I should have resisted this temptation! 16.Bd3 a4 17.O-O axb3 18.f4 Now I would have sacrificed a pawn for the initiative. Much more my style!}
Qg6 17.f3 Bf5
{17...a4 This would have given Karpov more chances.}
18.g4 Bb1
{18...Bxg4 19.Rg1 18...Be6 19.Bd3 Qh6 20.Qxh6 gxh6 21.a4}
19.Bb5 Rac8 20.Rxc8 Rxc8 21.O-O
{21.Qxa5 Qc2}
h5
{21...Rc2 22.Qd4 Qh6 23.Rf2}
22.h3 hxg4 23.hxg4 Bc2 24.Qd4
{24.Rc1 Bxb3 25.Rxc8+ Nxc8 26.Qc3 Qc2 24.Qe3}
Qe6
{24...Bxb3 25.e6}
25.Rf2 Rc7
{25...Bxb3 26.Rh2 Bc2 27.Bc3}
26.Rh2 {26.Bc3} Nd7
{26...Bxb3 This would allow a double attack.}
27.Qd3
{b4 A mistake. I had played well up to this point. I should have moved the other pawn. axb4 axb4}
Nf8
{Bf1 29.Be2 Bb3 Bd3}
28.Bc4 {Bf5} Qe7 29.Qd2
{32.Bc3 Ne6 33.Qd2 Rd7}
Rc6 30.Bd4 Ra6
{Bb1 Ra3}
31.Rh3
{35.Bc3 Qa7+ 36.Bd4 Qe7 Rb3 Bc2}
Qb4 32.Qf2 Ng6
{37...Ne6 38.Qh4 Rb1+}
33.e6
{I had played pretty well for a few moves, but now I threw away my advantage. 38.Bxb3 Bxb3 39.f4 The win would have been quite easy here. Rb1+}
Bb1
{39.Kh2 Qd6+ Qxb1+}
34.Kh2 fxe6
{Here the game was adjourned. Karpov's sealed move gets the queens off the board, and is an expression of confidence that the endgame can be drawn.}
35.Qb2
{Qxb2+ Bxb2}
Nf4
{42...e5 43.Kg3}
36.Rh4
{43.Rg3 Be2 I would have a hard time getting the rook into the game.}
Nd3 37.Bc3 e5 38.Kg3
{d4 45...Kf7 46.Rh5 Ke6 47.Rh8 Bd2 Bd5 Rh5}
Kf7
{Ba5 Ke6}
39.Rh8 Nxb2
{49...e4 50.fxe4 Bxe4 51.Bb6}
40.Re8
{Kd6 Bb4+ Kc6 Rc8+ 52.Rxe5 Nd3 Kd7 Rc5 Ke6 Rc7}
g6
{54...Kf6 55.Bf8}
41.Re7+ Kf6 42.Rd7 Ba2
{56...Nd3 57.Rxd5 Nxb4 58.Rd6+ Kf7 59.f4}
43.Ra7
{Bc4 Ba5 Bd3 f4 exf4+ 59...e4 60.Bb6 Kxf4 Bc2 Ra6+ Kf7 Ke5}
Nd3
{62...d3 63.Ra7+ Ke8 64.Ke6 Bb3+ 65.Kf6 Bc4 66.Re7+ Kf8 67.Bb4 62...Nc4+ 63. Kxd4 Nxa5 64.Rxa5 Kxd4 Nf2}
44.g5+
{Bf5 Bd2 Ke7 Kd5 Ne4 Ra7+ Ke8 Be3 Nc3+ Ke5 Kd8 Bb6+ Ke8 Rc7 Ne4 Be3 Ng3 Bf4 Nh5 The knight is trapped at the edge of the board, but helps to defend the key f6-square. I want to dominate the knight by playing Be5. Ra7 Kf8 Bh2 Ng7 Bg1 Nh5 Bc5+ Kg8 Kd6 Kf8 Bd4 Bg4 Be5 Now I have to get my king to d8. Karpov defends well and I have some difficult work ahead of me. I played for a while, knowing that adjournment was coming. Bf5 Rh7 81.Kc6 Kg8 Rc7 Kf8 Kc6 Kg8 Re7 84. Ra7 Kf8 Bd6 85.Ra7 Kg8 Re8+ Kf7 Re7+ Kg8 Be5 Kf8 Here the game was adjourned and I was able to seal my move and go home. This is the kind of positions computers can chew on all night! Ra7 89.Kd6 Bg4 90.Ra7 Bg4 Kd6 Bh3 Ra3 Bg4 Re3 Bf5 Kc7 Kf7 Kd8 Mission accomplished! Now the winning plan is clear. Bg4 Bb2 Be6 95...Nf4 96.Re7+ Kf8 97.Ba3 Bc3 Bf5 96...Nf4 97.Rf3 Re7+ Kf8 Be5 Bd3 Ra7 Be4 Rc7 Bb1 Bd6+ Kg8 Ke7 Karpov resigned. 102.Ke7 Ng7 103.Rc8+ Kh7 104.Be5 Nf5+ 105.Kf8}
1-0
[Event "Paris"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1991.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Bareyev"]
[Black "Kasparov"]
[Result "0-1"]
[PlyCount "38"]
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.Nf3 O-O 5.e3
{This move is too passive for White to gain an opening advantage. Better is to continue normally with 5.e4.}
c5
{Black intends to exchange a wing pawn for a valuable center pawn.}
6.Be2 cxd4 7.exd4 d5
{Black has solved his opening problems.}
8.O-O
{8.cxd5 Nxd5 leaves White with an isolated d-pawn. 8.c5 b6 9.b4 bxc5 10.dxc5 allows Black to win material.}
Nc6 9.h3 Bf5
{Black already has a slight advantage since he has better development and his pieces are more active.}
10.cxd5 Nxd5
{A new weakness has appeared in White's position namely, the isolated d-pawn.}
11.Qb3 Be6 12.Qxb7 Nxd4
{Black stands better, as he controls the center.}
13.Nxd4 Bxd4 14.Bh6 Rb8 15.Qa6 Rxb2
{Black intends to give up an exchange for control of the center and active piece play.}
16.Nxd5
{16.Bxf8 Nxc3 17.Bxe7 Qxe7 is much better for Black, as the two pieces are stronger than the lost rook.}
Qxd5 17.Bxf8 Kxf8 18.a4
{This must be viewed as a mistake since it gives Black control of the third rank. However, due to Black's active pieces, a good move is hard to suggest.}
Rb3 19.Rad1 Rg3
{White resigned since he has no good way of stopping Black's plan of 20...Qxg2+ mate. Notice that White's f-pawn is pinned.}
0-1
[Event "Tilburg"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1991.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Timman"]
[Black "Kasparov"]
[Result "0-1"]
[PlyCount "70"]
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nf3 Bg7 4.g3
{The kingside fianchetto is a popular plan for White against the King's Indian.}
O-O 5.Bg2 d6 6.O-O Nbd7 7.Nc3 e5 8.Qc2
{This is a somewhat passive plan.}
c6 9.Rd1 Qe7
{This is a good move, because Black's future plans involve the e-file, which will play an important role to the very end of the game.}
10.b3 exd4 11.Nxd4 Re8 12.Bb2 Nc5
{I am going to control e4 forever!}
13.e3 a5
{This is an important move, and is typical of such formations. Now the knight cannot be dislodged by an advance of the b-pawn to b4.}
14.a3
{White takes measures to remedy the situation. But this costs precious time.}
h5
{White works on the queenside, I can now take action on the kingside because I control the center.}
15.b4 Nce4 16.b5 Bd7 17.Rac1 h4 18.a4
{White has eyes only for the queenside. Timman should have captured at e4, trading the ineffective knight at c3 for my attacking piece. He will soon regret letting me use both of myknights!}
hxg3 19.hxg3
{White's pieces are not well posted for defense. Black is in a position to sacrifice now, primarily thanks to the control of the center.}
Nxf2 20.Qxf2 Ng4 21.Qf3 Nxe3
{I have just two pawns for the knight, but the e-file is a highway to victory.}
22.Re1 Bxd4 23.Nd5
{This is an impressive attempt to get out of danger. If I take the knight then Timman would grab my bishop at d4, with horrible consequences for me. But I up the ante by offering my queen for a strong attack.}
Ng4+ 24.Bxd4 Qxe1+ 25.Rxe1 Rxe1+ 26.Bf1
{White has a material advantage, but that soon dissipates.}
cxd5 27.Qxd5 Rae8 28.Bf2 Be6 29.Qxb7 Rc1
{The two rooks are more useful than the queen. White's queenside pawns have no way of advancing and the rooks will soon be joined together in a mighty attacking force.}
30.Qc6 Rc8 31.Qe4 R8xc4 32.Qa8+ Kh7 33.b6 Rb4 34.Qxa5 R4b1
{Now it is all over.}
35.Kg2 Rc2 0-1
[Event "Tilburg"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1991.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Bareyev"]
[Black "Kasparov"]
[Result "0-1"]
[PlyCount "96"]
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.Be2 O-O 6.Nf3 e5 7.d5 a5 8.Be3 Ng4
9.Bg5 f6 10.Bh4 Na6
{The knight's future is on c5, which aims at White's center, especially e4.}
11.Nd2 h5
{This was a fairly new move at the time.}
12.a3 Bd7 13.h3
{13.O-O was more accurate. This just weakens the kingside.}
Nh6 14.Rb1 Nc5 15.b4 axb4 16.axb4 Na4 17.Qc2
{A poor move. Bareyev should have exchanged knights. 17.Nxa4 Bxa4 18.Qc1 Be8 19.f3 g5 20.Bf2 f5 Black's kingside attack is impressive, don't you think?}
Nxc3 18.Qxc3 g5 19.Bg3 h4 20.Bh2 f5 21.c5 g4
{The weakening of the kingside by 13.h3 now comes back to haunt my opponent.}
22.c6 Bc8
{This is stronger than capturing at c6, which would have opened up the a2-g8 diagonal for potential counterplay. 22...bxc6?! 23.dxc6 Bc8 24.Bc4+ Kh8 White has some chances for a counterattack on the a2-g8 diagonal.}
23.hxg4 fxg4 24.cxb7 Bxb7 25.O-O Qg5 26.Ra1
{26.g3 Rf7 27.Nc4 Qg6 The weakness at e4 makes itself felt.}
Rxa1 27.Rxa1 Bxd5
{27...Nf5! 28.exf5 e4 29.Nxe4 Qxf5 30.Qa3 Bxa1 31.Qxa1 Qxe4 32.Bf1 Bxd5 Black's material advantage is decisive.}
28.Ra7
{28.exd5 e4 I win more material on the a1-h8 diagonal.}
Be6 29.Rxc7 Qf6 30.Qe3 Nf7 31.Bc4 Bh6 32.Qe2 Bxd2 33.Bxe6 Qxe6 34.Qxd2
Qb3
{Not the most efficient move. Later I found a better plan. 34...Qg6 35.Qd3 Ng5 36.Qc4+ Qe6 37.Qxe6+ Nxe6 My control of the d4 square would be more important than the seventh rank.}
35.Kh1
{A good move, creating a home for the bishop.}
Qb1+ 36.Bg1 Qxe4 37.Qc2 Qxc2 38.Rxc2
{One would think that White has some chances in this endgame, thanks to the passed pawn on the b-file. But it is an optical illusion. My protected passed pawn, though still at d6, is stronger.}
d5 39.b5 d4 40.f3 g3
{Now the White king is trapped on the back rank.}
41.b6 Rd8
{This is the winning move. Rooks belong behind passed pawns. The win comes remarkably quickly.}
42.Rc6 Nd6 43.Rc7
{43.Rc5 Nb7 44.Rxe5 d3 45.Re1 d2 46.Rd1 Rd3 White is in zugzwang, where any move loses.}
Rb8 44.Rc6 Nf5 45.Re6 Ne3
{Here Bareyev resigned, having calculated the rest.}
46.Rxe5 Rxb6 47.Re4 Rb1 48.Rxd4 Nd1
{And Nf2+ follows.}
0-1
[Event "Linares"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1991.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Kasparov"]
[Black "Belyavsky"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "73"]
1.c4 e6 2.Nc3 Nf6 3.e4
{3.d4 would have transposed into more normal lines. This formation is designed to discourage 3...d5 at all costs, though it is possible for Black to play it anyway.}
c5
{My opponent's last move is an attempt to create a hole on the d4-square. This is a potential weakness in White's center, specially if a Black knight can be posted there.}
4.e5 Ng8 5.Nf3 Nc6 6.d4
{6.Be2 d6 7.exd6 Bxd6 8.O-O Nf6 White no longer has any serious threats in this position.}
cxd4 7.Nxd4 Nxe5
{For the price of a pawn, I have maintained the initiative.}
8.Ndb5 a6
{8...Nf6 9.Bf4 d6 10.c5! The perch that the e5-Knight is resting on iscollapsing . In other words, Black has lost control of the center.}
9.Nd6+ Bxd6 10.Qxd6 f6 11.Be3 Ne7 12.Bb6 Nf5 13.Qc5 d6 14.Qa5 Qd7
{Since his Black square bishop is missing, Belyavsky's position is vulnerable on the dark squares.}
15.f4 Nc6 16.Qa3 e5
{As a general rule, it is unwise to open the position up when your opponent has two bishops and you have only one. Furthermore, advancing the pawn from e6 to e5 creates a hole in the d5-square.}
17.Bd3 O-O 18.O-O exf4 19.Rxf4 Nfe7 20.Rd1 Ng6 21.R4f1 Nge5
{My opponent fight's back by centralizing his Knight to e5. However, he has a horrible gash in his position in the shape of the d5 hole.}
22.Be4
{I now have four pieces aiming at the d5 square. Also, the isolated pawn at d6 is under attack due to the combined efforts of the White queen and rook. Lastly, Belyavsky has yet to develop his queenside. Black is lost.}
Qf7 23.b3
{23.Bd5 is met by 25...Be6.}
Be6 24.Qxd6
{White has achieved material equality with out giving up his initiative.}
Kh8 25.Qc7 Qxc7 26.Bxc7 Rf7
{My queenside pawn majority, combined with the bishop, gives me every expectation of winning.}
27.Bb6 Re8 28.h3 Rd7 29.Nd5
{Utilizing the d5-square which has been a terminal weakness in Black's position.}
Rc8 30.g4 Ng6 31.Kh2 Nce5 32.a4 Rd6 33.a5 Nd7 34.Nc7
{Here Black resigned, since his position was hopeless.}
Rxd1 35.Rxd1 Nxb6 36.axb6 Bf7 37.Bxb7 1-0
[Event "Amsterdam"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1991.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Korchnoi"]
[Black "Kasparov"]
[Result "0-1"]
[PlyCount "62"]
1.Nf3 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.d4 O-O 6.Be2 e5 7.O-O Nc6 8.d5 Ne7
9.Ne1 Nd7 10.Be3 f5 11.f3 f4 12.Bf2 g5 13.a4
{Piket played 13.b4 against me in this position. You can load that game and examine it, noting that the plan is quite different here. The idea is to play Nb5, and if Black plays b7-b6, I can play a4-a5.}
Ng6
{This is the most common move, though there are lots of other possibilities. 13...h5 is an agressive and interesting line that leads to a pawn sacrifice. 13...h5 14.Nb5 Nf6 15.Nxa7 Bd7 16.Nb5 g4}
14.Nd3 Nf6 15.c5 h5 16.h3 Rf7
{This is a typical defensive maneuver. The rook protects c7.}
17.c6 a5
{Even though I want to continue with my kingside attack, I have to stop for a moment to protect my queenside.}
18.cxb7
{18.b4 b6 19.bxa5 bxa5 White will not be able to make progress on the queenside.}
Bxb7 19.b4 Bc8 20.bxa5 Bh6
{This is the critical position. I think that White could have won some valuable time by playing 21.a6 which would have deflected the bishop from c8.}
21.Nb4 g4 22.Nc6 Qf8 23.fxg4 hxg4 24.hxg4
{24.Bxg4 Nxg4 25.hxg4 f3 Black has an overwhelming attack.}
( 24.Bxg4 Nxg4 25.hxg4 f3 )
23...Bg5 25.Bf3 Qh6 26.Re1 Nh4
{The threat is Nxf3+ followed by Bxg4. So White captures at h4.}
27.Bxh4 Bxh4
{This is the right capture, because the bishop has a role to play in the final assault.}
28.g5 Qxg5 29.Re2 Ng4 30.Rb1 Bg3 31.Qd3 Qh4 0-1
[Event "Belgrade"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1992.??.??"]
[Round "29"]
[White "Fischer"]
[Black "Spassky"]
[Result "1/2"]
[PlyCount "85"]
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 d6 8.c3 O-O
9.h3 Nb8
{We return to the Breyer Variation which dominated the early games of the match .}
10.d4 Nbd7 11.c4
{Fischer tries a different plan, which dates back to the 1950's, when it scored heavily for White.}
c6
{The approved reaction, which has been established for 30 years.}
12.cxb5
{There are many alternatives here. It should come as no surprise that Fischer chooses the continuation which was most popular in the early 1970s.}
axb5 13.Nc3 Bb7
{An interesting decision, since 13...Ba6 has long been considered best.}
14.Bg5 b4 15.Nb1 h6
{An attempt to improve upon previous games.}
16.Bh4 c5 17.dxe5
{17.d5 Nb6 18.Nbd2 Ba6 19.Rc1 Ne8 and the knight will leap to b5 via c7.}
Nxe4
{17...Nxe5 18.Nxe5 dxe5 19.Nd2 would leave Black with big problems on the queenside.}
18.Bxe7 Qxe7 19.exd6 Qf6
{19...Qxd6?! 20.Qxd6 Nxd6 21.Rd1 Ra6 22.Nbd2 and White would play Rc1 with pressure at c5.}
20.Nbd2 Nxd6 21.Nc4 Nxc4 22.Bxc4 Nb6 23.Ne5
{This is forced, since otherwise the pawn at b2 is lost. But White's pieces are not as well-coordinated as they seem.}
Rae8
{Spassky aims for complications, but he could have settled for a slight edge with quieter play. 23...Nxc4 24.Nxc4 Rfd8 25.Qe2 Qg5 26.f3 Ba6}
24.Bxf7+ Rxf7 25.Nxf7 Rxe1+ 26.Qxe1 Kxf7 27.Qe3
{Black has a small material advantage, but his king is vulnerable and the queenside pawns are weak.}
Qg5
{The idea is to exchange queens and eliminate mating threats. 27...Qxb2 28. Re1 and Black is in trouble. 27...Nd7 28.Re1}
28.Qxg5 hxg5 29.b3 Ke6
{Now Black has the advantage, with a more active king and two pieces for the rook and pawn.}
30.a3 Kd6
{30...bxa3! 31.Rxa3 Kd6 32.f3 Nd5 33.Ra1 g6}
31.axb4 cxb4 32.Ra5
{Now there are no longer any winning plans, since 32...Bd5 is met by 33.Rb5!}
Nd5 33.f3 Bc8 34.Kf2 Bf5 35.Ra7 g6
{35...Bc2 36.Rxg7 Bxb3 37. Rxg5 Bc4 38.Ke1 b3 39.Kd2 and the king can handle the b-pawn all by itself.}
36.Ra6+ Kc5 37.Ke1 Nf4
{Black attacks the kingside pawns, as the queenside offers nothing. 37...Bc2 38.Kd2 Bxb3 39.Rxg6}
38.g3 Nxh3 39.Kd2
{White hopes to be able to advance the pawn to g4.}
Kb5 40.Rd6 Kc5 41.Ra6 Nf2
{The knight re-enters the game, but a draw by repetition is forced.}
42.g4 Bd3 43.Re6 1/2
[Event "Belgrade"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1992.??.??"]
[Round "28"]
[White "Spassky"]
[Black "Fischer"]
[Result "1/2"]
[PlyCount "70"]
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.f3 O-O 6.Be3 Nc6 7.Nge2 a6 8.h4 h5
9.Nc1 e5 10.d5 Nd4
{Fischer does not repeat his mistake from game 12.}
11.Nb3 Nxb3 12.Qxb3
{12.axb3 Kh7! 13.Qd2 Ng8 and Black will play Bh6, solving his major problem in this opening.}
Kh7 13.Be2 Bh6 14.Bxh6 Kxh6 15.O-O-O Kg7 16.Kb1 Qe7 17.Rdg1 Rh8 18.g4
{Spassky tries the same attacking method as in game 8, but Black's defense is easier here because his pieces are better coordinated.}
hxg4 19.fxg4 Nd7 20.g5 Nc5 21.Qd1 a5
{This preserves the knight's outpost at c5, which is very important in this formation. Positionally, it can already be said that Black has a better game, so White must attack on the kingside.}
22.Rf1 Bd7 23.Qe1 Rh7
{Fischer pressures the h-pawn, by doubling rooks a few moves from now.}
24.Qg3 Rf8 25.Rf6 Rfh8
{The advance of the h-pawn is no longer possible, even if it were desirable.}
26.b3
{26.Rhf1 Be8 and White would have to worry about the dangling h- pawn.}
Be8 27.Bg4 Bd7 28.Bd1 Be8 29.Bg4 Bd7 30.Bd1 Be8 31.Rf2
{Spassky avoi ds the repetition of moves, but objectively the game is completely even.}
c6 32.a4
{A wise choice, as if White plays with too much ambition he can find himself in a difficult position. 32.a3 b5! 33.cxb5 cxb5 34.b4 axb4 35.axb4 Na6 36.Rb2 Qa7! with a slight advantage for Black.}
Qd8 33.Ka2 Qe7 34.Bg4 Bd7 35.Bd1 Be8 1/2
[Event "Belgrade"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1992.??.??"]
[Round "26"]
[White "Spassky"]
[Black "Fischer"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "115"]
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 c5 3.d5 d6 4.Nc3 g6 5.e4 Bg7
{Fischer plays a Benoni-style King's Indian. After a brief spell in a transpositional Twilight Zone, the game returns to well-known channels.}
6.Bd3
{This is a more reliable move than 6.Bg5.}
O-O 7.Nf3
{Spassky plays conservatively, confident that Black's formation is not a solid one. The point is that by delaying e7-e6, Black will allow his opponent to recapture at d5 with the e-pawn, and the pawn structure will be good for White}
Bg4
{This is a well-known maneuver to fight for the e5 square, but we think that Black could have occupied that key square immediately with a good game. 7...e5 8.O-O Ne8 and f7-f5 will give Black an excellent position.}
8.h3 Bxf3 9.Qxf3
{The exchange of bishop for knight is a common theme in this variation. The bishop has little future in this pawn formation, and the two knights can be used effectively. Fischer has shown a preference for knights in this match.}
Nbd7 10.Qd1
{White avoids Ne5, which would have forked the bishop and queen, leading to the elimination of the powerful bishop.}
e6 11.O-O exd5 12.exd5
{We would reach, by transposition, a position from an older game.}
Ne8
{12...Re8 13.Bd2 a6 14.a4 Re7}
13.Bd2 Ne5 14.Be2 f5
{Fischer employed an analogous idea in his game against Korchnoi from the Sousse Interzonal, 1967. The idea is to take control of e4 and stop f2-f4- f5.}
15.f4 Nf7
{The e6-square looks weak, but it is not easy to take advantage of this. Still, the knight should have gone to d7, from which it could retreat to f8 later if needed, or work on the queenside via b6.}
16.g4
{White's goal is to increase the activity of his bishop pair and take control of all the important dark squares, in particular e5 and f6.}
Nh6
{It is not easy to give a recommendation for Black here, but inviting g4- g5 was hardly the correct plan. There are two alternatives which come to mind, each of which may help justify Fischer's play in the opening. 16...fxg4 17. hxg4 g5!? undermines White's pressure at e5.}
17.Kg2
{17.g5 immediately would have been more accurate.}
Nc7 18.g5 Nf7 19.Rb1 Re8 20.Bd3 Rb8 21.h4 a6 22.Qc2 b5 23.b3
{White's general plan is to advance his h-pawn, while Black's potential queenside counterplay has been neutralized by this move. Fischer is a player who requires active piece play, and here he is suffocating.}
Rb7
{Fischer's play on the b-file will be futile. Spassky now increases the pressure slowly and surely.}
24.Rbe1 Rxe1 25.Rxe1 Qb8
{The threat is to capture on c4 and infiltrate on b2, but Spassky deprives Fischer of any such play with his next move.}
26.Bc1 Qd8 27.Ne2
{The knight is being transfered to an attacking post at g3.}
bxc4 28.bxc4 Ne8 29.h5 Re7 30.h6
{White continues to press against Black's pieces. Now Spassky steers straight for the thematic sacrifice of the knight at f5.}
Bh8 31.Bd2 Rb7 32.Rb1 Qb8 33.Ng3 Rxb1 34.Qxb1 Qxb1 35.Bxb1
{The elimination of the heavy pieces favors White, since Black's remaining forces have no scope.}
Bb2 36.Kf3 Kf8
{White has achieved a winning position. Now perhaps the most efficient path to victory is the one which both Deep Thought and our analytical team prefer, namely the immediate sacrifice at f5.}
37.Ke2
{37.Nxf5 gxf5 38.Bxf5 Kg8 39.Bc8 and the a-pawn falls. Spassky chooses another path, and it is also convincing.}
Nh8
{An ugly move, but otherwise disaster could strike quickly. 37...Ke7 38.Nxf5+ gxf5 39.Bxf5 and the h-pawn falls.}
38.Kd1 Ke7 39.Kc2 Bd4 40.Kb3 Bf2 41.Nh1
{The knight would have been better stationed at e2, covering the d4 square and depriving Black of the outpost there.}
Bh4 42.Ka4 Nc7 43.Ka5 Kd7 44.Kb6
{intending Kb7.}
Kc8 45.Bc2 Nf7 46.Ba4 Kb8 47.Bd7 Nd8
{47...Bxg5 was the last chance, but even here White would win with accurateplay.}
48.Bc3 Na8+
{Black's knights are utterly useless. 48...Nf7 49.Be6 Nd8 50.Bg8}
49.Kxa6 Nc7+ 50.Kb6 Na8+ 51.Ka5 Kb7 52.Kb5 Nc7+ 53.Ka4 Na8 54.Kb3
{The king has accomplished its task of eliminating Black's pawn and now returns home to safety.}
Kc7 55.Be8 Kc8 56.Bf6 Nc7 57.Bxg6 hxg6 58.Bxd8 1-0
[Event "Belgrade"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1992.??.??"]
[Round "27"]
[White "Fischer"]
[Black "Spassky"]
[Result "1/2"]
[PlyCount "50"]
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Bxc6 dxc6 5.O-O f6 6.d4 exd4 7.Nxd4 c5 8.Ne2
Qxd1 9.Rxd1 Bd7 10.Nbc3 Ne7
{This takes control of the important d5 square, and the knight can be developed later at g6.}
11.Bf4 O-O-O 12.Rd2
{This is a new idea. Fischer intends to create pressure on the d-file. But the standard plan with 12.Bg3 makes more sense.}
Ng6 13.Bg3 Ne5 14.Bxe5
{14.b3 prevents the knight from entering at c4, but the pawn can go there instead.}
c4 15.Nd5 Bd6 16.Rad1 Be6
{This position is even. fxe5 Rad1 c4}
17.Kf1 Bc5
{Black's active bishops give him the advantage, but Fischer manages to redeploy his knights and keep the balance.}
18.Ng1 Bg4
{Rxd8+ Rxd8 Rxd8+ Kxd8 Nce2 Ke7}
19.Ke1 b5 20.c3 {Kf6 h3} Bh5
{Ng3 24.g4 is more active. Bf7}
21.Nf3 g6
{Nf1 g5!? This is an attempt to rattle White's position and create some targets for the bishops. But it allows White to establish strong outposts on the weakened light squares.}
22.Ke2
{Bg6 N3d2! With this move Fischer completes his defensive program. Now the game is even, but Spassky presses on. h5 Ne3}
c6
{Kf3 Bf7 The exchange of dark-squared bishop for knight would bring Black nothing. Ndf1 a5 Ke2 Be6 Ng3 Kg6}
23.a3
{Bf7 Ngf5 6 Kf3 Bd7 Kg3 Be6 h4! Fischer loses patience, but 38.Ke2 would also have been equal. Bd7 hxg5 Kxg5 Nh4}
Bg4
{Now Black has to play carefully in order to maintain the balance. Nxg4 41.Nf3+ Bxf3 42.Kxf3 h4 hxg4 Nf5}
24.a4
{f3 gxf3 Kxf3}
Bf8
{This prevents the White knight from reaching e7 and d6.}
25.Ne3
{Kh5 Nf5}
Bc5
{The bishop at c5 dominates the knight at f5, preventing it from entering. So a draw was agreed. g4+ would have been too risky: Kg5 Ng7 Kf6 Ne8+? Kf7 Nc7 Be7 followed by Bg5 and Black is better.}
1/2
[Event "Belgrade"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1992.??.??"]
[Round "30"]
[White "Spassky"]
[Black "Fischer"]
[Result "0-1"]
[PlyCount "54"]
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.f3 O-O 6.Be3 Nc6 7.Nge2 a6 8.h4 h5
9.Nc1 Nd7
{Fischer decides to innovate, using a less direct method of placing pressure at d4. Eventually, he will move the knight from c6 and play c7-c5.}
10.Nb3
{This seems logical, but as we will see it turns out to be a dubious idea. 10.Qd2 e5 11.d5 Nd4 12.Nb3 would have been stronger.}
a5
{This is another component of Fischer's new plan. He threatens to advance the pawn and drive away the knight at b3, thus indirectly undermining the support of the d4-square.}
11.a4
{A direct reply, but it weakens b4 and allows Black to establish a strong outpost there. The knight should have retreated to c1, even though that would amount to a waste of time. Still, b5 would be a target. 11.Nc1 e5 12.d5 Nd4 13.Nb3}
Nb4 12.Be2 b6
{This prepares the important advance of the c-pawn to c5, adding to the pressure at d4.}
13.g4
{Spassky, in a desperate situation in the match, tries to play sharply but this is a premature break. In game 20, it succeeded, but only because the center was closed. 13.Qd2! was correct, e.g., c5 14.Rd1 Bb7 15.O-O Here White would have had a very good game.}
hxg4 14.fxg4 c5 15.h5 cxd4 16.Nxd4
{A mistake, although Black is already gaining the upper hand because White's king is stuck in the center and the pawn at e4 is becoming a liability. 16. Bxd4 Nc5! 17.Bxg7 Kxg7 and in this unclear position Black has good chances.}
Nc5 17.Nd5
{This is an empty gesture which only weakens the pawn at e4. Still, it is hard to find anything convincing for White. 17.h6 Be5 17.Qd2 e5! 18.Bh6 Bh8 19.Bxf8 Qxf8 20.hxg6 exd4?? 21.Qg5 f6 22.Rxh8+}
Bb7
{17...Nxe4? 18.Nxb4 axb4 19.hxg6 fxg6 20.Qc2 Ng3 21.Qxg6 Nxh1 22.Bd3 White will win.}
18.Nf5
{This may have some psychological effect, but objectively Fischer has nothing to worry about. 18.Bf3 The idea is to pave the way for the queen to get to e2.}
gxf5 19.gxf5 Bxd5 20.exd5
{Now 20...Bf6 is a solid defense, but Fischer calculated that he could afford to grab the pawn at b2.}
Bxb2 21.Kf1 Qd7
{An important component of Black's defense. He attacks the pawn at f5 and ties down White's pieces. 21...Bxa1 22.Qxa1 f6 23.Rg1+ Kh8 24.Rg6 and White has serious threats.}
22.Qb1 Bxa1
{Now the rook can be safely captured.}
23.Rg1+
{23.Qxa1 Qxf5+}
Kh8
{23...Kh7? would have been dangerous for Black. 24.f6+ Kh8 25.Bg4! and if 23... Bg7 then 24.Bh6!}
24.Qxa1+ f6 25.Qb1
{The f-pawn is once again protected.}
Rg8 26.Rg6 Rxg6 27.hxg6 Kg7
{Spassky resigned the game, and the match comes to an end. Final Score: Fischer 10, Spassky 5, 15 draws.}
0-1
[Event "Belgrade"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1992.??.??"]
[Round "22"]
[White "Spassky"]
[Black "Fischer"]
[Result "1/2"]
[PlyCount "51"]
1.e4 c5 2.Ne2 Nf6 3.Nbc3 d6 4.g3 Nc6
{Finally we have a fairly normal Closed Sicilian. Spassky has a great deal of experience in these positions from the White side, as it used to be his speciality. But this game does not flow into his well-traveled territory.}
5.Bg2 g6
{5...Bg4 is a sensible try, pinning the knight and encouraging the weakening move f2-f3 but it hasn't been seen in a while.}
6.O-O Bg7 7.d3 O-O
{The game is in the classical spirit. Nowadays Black usually prefers to place the knight at e7 when fianchettoing the king bishop.}
8.h3
{Here Black has a wide range of options.}
Rb8
{Black aims for early queenside play.}
9.f4 Bd7
{9...Ne8 comes into consideration.}
10.Be3
{10.g4 is premature, since White has not completed development. An unconvincing example is presented in Koskela-Gerelma, below.}
b5 11.a3
{11.Qd2 is consistent with White's opening strategy. If the knight is attacked with b5-b4 then it can transfer to the kingside.}
Ne8
{The idea is to use the power of the Bg7 to support the invasion of the knight at d4.}
12.d4 cxd4 13.Nxd4 b4
{On the one nd this entails a weakening of the pawn at a7, but the rook will be active at b4, where it can place pressure on White's center from the flank, another hypermodern idea.}
14.Nxc6
{14.axb4 Bxd4 15.Bxd4 Rxb4 16.Bf2 Rxb2}
Bxc6 15.axb4 Rxb4 16.Rxa7 Rxb2 17.e5
{This leads to a great simplification of the position. White could have played with a bit more ambition. 17.Nd5 Bxd5 18. exd5 is slightly better for White.}
Bxg2 18.Kxg2 Nc7 19.exd6 exd6 20.Na4 Ra2 21.Bb6 Qe8
{The only move, but a sufficient one. Now the game comes to a quick and quiet conclusion.}
22.Rxc7 Qxa4 23.Qxd6 Rxc2+ 24.Rxc2 Qxc2+ 25.Bf2 Qe4+ 26.Kg1 1/2
[Event "Dortmund"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1992.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Kasparov"]
[Black "Anand"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "35"]
1.Nf3 d5 2.c4 c6 3.d4 Nf6 4.Nc3 dxc4 5.a4 Bf5 6.e3 e6 7.Bxc4 Bb4 8.O-O
O-O 9.Qe2 Nbd7 10.Ne5 Re8 11.Rd1 Qc7 12.Nxd7 Qxd7 13.f3
{The threat here is 14.e4. For some reason, Anand not only allows the advance, but gives it winning force!}
Nd5
{This seems to create threats at c3. But the threats vanish when the knight goes away!}
14.Na2
{Now Black is lost, since I threaten not only Bxd5 followed by Nxb4, but also the fork 15.e4.}
Bf8 15.e4 Bg6 16.Qe1 f5 17.exd5
{There is no point in continuing the discussion, so Anand resigned.}
exd5 18.Be2 1-0
[Event "Belgrade"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1992.??.??"]
[Round "23"]
[White "Fischer"]
[Black "Spassky"]
[Result "1/2"]
[PlyCount "159"]
1.e4 c5 2.Nc3 e6 3.Nge2 Nc6 4.g3 d5
{Spassky repeats the opening which did not bring him success in game 17, but he must have had some improvement in mind. Fischer does not let him spring it.}
5.exd5 exd5 6.d3
{Fischer deviates from game 17.}
Nf6
{6...Bg4 is not so good here: 7.Bg2 Nd4 8.h3 and White has the better game.}
7.Bg2 Be7 8.Bg5
{White threatens to exchange at f6, and increase pressure on the center. In the present match Fischer seems to have evidenced a disrespect for the common wisdom that bishops are stronger than knights.}
d4
{8...Be6 9.Nf4! Bg4 10.f3 Be6 11.Nxe6 fxe6 12.O-O will leave Black with the difficult task of defending the pawn at e6.}
9.Bxf6 Bxf6 10.Ne4 Be7 11.Nf4 O-O 12.O-O Re8 13.Qh5
{White has harmoniously developed his forces and Spassky must now be careful.}
g6 14.Qd5 Bf5
{14...Qxd5?! 15.Nxd5 and the knights round up all the critical dark squares, especially f6 and c7.}
15.Rfe1 Kg7 16.a3 Rc8 17.h3 Qxd5 18.Nxd5 Bf8
{Spassky has successfully repulsed the initial wave of the attack, and chances are roughly level. Even without queens, Fischer goes after the kingside.}
19.g4 Be6 20.Nef6 Rcd8 21.g5 Bd6 22.Re4
{Fischer prepars his beloved march of the h-pawn. But Black's resources are up to the defensive task.}
Ne7 23.Rh4 Rh8 24.Re1 Nf5 25.Rhe4 h6
{Now it is White who must be careful on the kingside, where Black is setting up a counterattack.}
26.h4 hxg5 27.hxg5 Rh4 28.Rxh4 Nxh4
{Black now has a slight advantage, threatening to capture at g2 and use the bishop pair to great effect.}
29.Re4
{Fischer is willing to argue that the knights are as strong as the bishops. 29.Be4 c4! leaves White in an uncomfortable position.}
Nf5
{The most sensible decision. 29...Nxg2 30.Kxg2 Rh8 31.Nf4! Bxf4 32. Rxf4 Rd8 33.Rh4 and now White stands better, as any exchange of rooks will provide an easy win.}
30.Nf4 Ba2
{Spassky wants to hang onto his bishop pair, trying to squeeze a full point from the position. The idea is to attack the base of the pawn chain with Bb1. 30...Bxf4 31.Rxf4 b6 would have provided an even endgame.}
31.N4d5 Bxd5 32.Nxd5 Kf8 33.Kf1 Re8 34.Rxe8+ Kxe8
{This endgame is likely to be drawn as a result of the bishops of opposite colors.}
35.Nf6+ Kd8 36.Bxb7
{36.Bd5 Bf4 37.Bxf7 Nd6 38.Bxg6 Bxg5 39.Ne4 Nxe4 40.Bxe4 b6 41.a4 Kd7 42.Ke2}
Bf4
{The weakness of the g-pawn now provides Black with the necessary target.}
37.Ne4 Bc1 38.a4 Bxb2 39.Nxc5 Bc1 40.Be4
{Fischer decides to continue the battle. 40.Ne4 Ke7 41.Bd5 Bf4 and Black will follow with Nd6, with an easy draw.}
Bxg5 41.Bxf5 gxf5 42.Nb3 Bf6 43.Kg2
{White starts the long trek to the pawn at f7.}
Kd7 44.Kg3 Ke6 45.Na5
{White's plan is simple. Capture the enemy pawn at a7 and then advance the pawn at a2 to the 8th rank.}
Be5+
{45...Kd5?! 46.Kf4!}
46.Kh4 Bf6+
{Spassky helps Fischer toward the objective at f7, confident in the counterplay on the queenside.}
47.Kh5 Kd5 48.Kh6 Kc5
{48...Ke5 49.Nc6+ Kf4 50.Nxa7 Kf3 51.Nc6 Kxf2 52.a5 and White achieves the goal more quickly than in the game.}
49.Kh7 Kb4 50.Nc6+ Kc3 51.Kg8
{51.Nxa7 Kb4 gets rid of the pesky a-pawn.}
Kxc2 52.Kxf7 Bh8
{The only move.}
53.a5 Kxd3 54.a6 Ke2 55.Nxa7 d3 56.Nc6 d2 57.a7 d1=Q 58.a8=Q
{Black has the advantage in this endgame, and it is up to Fischer to display strong defensive technique.}
Qd5+ 59.Kg6 Qe6+ 60.Kh7 Bc3 61.Nd8
{The final finesse in the long game. The draw is now unavoidable, but Spassky tries to create a mating net anyway.}
Qe7+ 62.Kg6 Qf6+ 63.Kh5 Qh8+
{63...Bd2 64.f4 Bxf4 65.Qg2+!?}
64.Kg6 Qg7+ 65.Kxf5 Qf6+ 66.Kg4 Qg6+ 67.Kf4 Bd2+ 68.Ke5 Bc3+ 69.Kf4 Qd6+
70.Kf5 Qd7+ 71.Kg5 Qe7+ 72.Kf5 Qf6+ 73.Kg4 Qg7+ 74.Kf5 Qf6+ 75.Kg4 Qg6+
76.Kf4 Bd2+ 77.Ke5 Qg5+ 78.Ke6 Qg4+ 79.Kf7 Qd7+ 80.Kg6 1/2
[Event "Belgrade"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1992.??.??"]
[Round "24"]
[White "Spassky"]
[Black "Fischer"]
[Result "1/2"]
[PlyCount "78"]
1.e4 c5 2.Ne2 Nf6 3.Nbc3 d6 4.g3 g6 5.Bg2 Nc6 6.O-O Bg7 7.d4
{Finally, a real Sicilian!}
cxd4 8.Nxd4
{The kingside fianchetto is not considered dangerous against the Dragon formation, but there was some interest in the line in the 1980's.}
Bg4
{8...Nxd4 9.Qxd4 O-O is the normal line.}
9.Nde2
{9.f3 Bd7 10.Be3 ought to be at least slightly better for White.}
Qc8 10.f3 Bh3
{Black has equalized.}
11.Bxh3 Qxh3 12.Bg5
{The idea is to provoke Black into playing h7-h6.}
O-O 13.Qd2 h6 14.Be3
{14.Nf4 Qd7 15.Bxf6 Bxf6 16.Nfd5 Bg7 is about even.}
Kh7 15.Rac1 Qd7 16.Nd5
{White plays methodically. This formation makes it hard for Black to achieve counterplay on the c-file.}
Nxd5 17.exd5 Ne5 18.b3 b5
{The idea here is to limit White's activity on the queenside. Black has at the very least achieved equality, even if White manages to transfer the knight to c6.}
19.Bd4 Rac8 20.f4
{20.c3 is a reasonable alternative, e.g., Qb7 21.Be3}
Ng4 21.Bxg7 Kxg7 22.Nd4 Nf6
{This attacks the weak pawn at d5, and forces White's reply.}
23.c4
{23.Nc6? Nxd5!}
bxc4 24.bxc4 e6
{A useful break, and clearly better than the alternatives. 24...Qa4 25.Nc6 and 24...Rfe8 25.f5!}
25.dxe6
{25.Nc6 exd5 26.cxd5 Rfe8 27.Qb2 can be met by 27...Qf5! 28.Rfd1 Kh7 and now Nxd5 is threatened.}
fxe6 26.Rfe1 Rfe8 27.Nb3 a6
{Now the queen can make use of the a7-square.}
28.Qd4 Rc6
{The weaknesses at c4 and d6 offset each other. and the game is now dead even.}
29.Red1 e5 30.Qxe5 Rxe5 31.fxe5 dxe5 32.Rxd7+ Nxd7 33.Rd1 Nf6 34.c5 Kf7
35.Rc1 Nd7 36.Kf2 Ke6 37.Ke3 Kd5 38.Rd1+ Ke6 39.Rc1
{There is no avoiding the draw now.}
Kd5
{Agreed drawn, since no progress can be made.}
1/2
[Event "Belgrade"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1992.??.??"]
[Round "25"]
[White "Fischer"]
[Black "Spassky"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "69"]
1.e4 c5 2.Nc3 Nc6 3.Nge2 d6 4.d4 cxd4 5.Nxd4 e6
{Another open Sicilian, this time a Scheveningen.}
6.Be3
{This is used to steer the game into a specific variation of the Scheveningen, namely, a delayed Keres Attack. The idea of a Keres Attack is to play an early g2-g4-g5, aiming directly at the enemy king.}
Nf6 7.Qd2 Be7 8.f3
{This introduces the English Attack, favored by Nigel Short and other British Grandmasters.}
a6 9.O-O-O
{Black can also launch the kingside attack before castling.}
O-O
{With players castled on opposite wings the life-or-death struggle begins.}
10.g4
{This is the basic idea of the English Attack, which is sort of a delayed Keres Attack. White launches a pawnstorm against the Black king.}
Nxd4
{10...Nd7 will just transpose below after an eventual g4-g5.}
11.Bxd4
{11.Qxd4 b5 12.h4 Bb7}
b5
{11...Nd7 is also possible.}
12.g5
{Technically this is a theoretical new idea, but in fact the game steers back into charted territory quickly. 12.Kb1 is the alternative.}
Nd7 13.h4 b4
{13...Bb7 14.Bd3 Rc8 15.Kb1 Ne5 16.Qf2 White stands better.}
14.Na4 Bb7
{Here is the true new idea. 14...Qa5 15.b3 Nc5}
15.Nb6
{This is Fischer's new idea. 15.Qxb4? Bc6 Intending Rb8, an idea that had already been noticed by theoreticians, though it had not yet been played in an attested game.}
Rb8
{15...Nxb6 16.Qxb4 d5 17.Qxb6 Qxb6 18.Bxb6 dxe4 19.Rd7! wins for White.}
16.Nxd7 Qxd7 17.Kb1
{White has the superior position because of a spatial advantage and prospects for a kingside attack.}
Qc7 18.Bd3 Bc8 19.h5 e5 20.Be3 Be6
{Spassky could have reached a similar position some time ago, with less danger to himself on the kingside. Now Fischer quickly builds his attack.}
21.Rdg1 a5 22.g6
{A typical example of the g6-break, seen many times in the games of Mikhail Tal.}
Bf6
{Relatively best, since any capture at g6 could prove deadly.}
23.gxh7+ Kh8 24.Bg5
{White eliminates Black's most effective defender.}
Qe7
{24...Bxg5 25.Rxg5 f6 would have provided stiffer resistance, though White would still have had an impressive attack.}
25.Rg3
{White wants to double rooks on the g-file.}
Bxg5 26.Rxg5 Qf6
{26...f6! would have been a stronger defense.}
27.Rhg1 Qxf3
{Otherwise Wh ite will play his queen to g2 with an overpowering attack. Now Fischer must work for the win.}
28.Rxg7 Qf6 29.h6
{A problem-like solution. White must sacrifice both h-pawns to expose the enemy king to the mating attack.}
a4 30.b3
{A prophylactic move to eliminate any counterplay.}
axb3 31.axb3 Rfd8
{Black tries to play d5, and get something going.}
32.Qg2 Rf8 33.Rg8+ Kxh7 34.Rg7+ Kh8 35.h7
{Since Rg8+ followed by a check on the h-file is inevitable, Black resigned. Score: Fischer 9, Spassky 4, 12 draws.}
1-0
[Event "Sveti Stefan"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1992.??.??"]
[Round "9"]
[White "Fischer"]
[Black "Spassky"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "41"]
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Bxc6 dxc6
{Fischer abandons the Spanish Inquisition in favor of one of his old weapons, the Exchange Variation.}
5.O-O f6 6.d4 exd4 7.Nxd4 c5 8.Nb3 Qxd1 9.Rxd1 Bg4 10.f3 Be6 11.Nc3
{This is an important move order finesse. 11.Be3 b6 12.Nc3 Ne7 Black has a comfortable position since 13.Bf4 can be met by 13...c4, when the d-file will be blocked.}
Bd6 12.Be3 b6 13.a4 O-O-O 14.a5 Kb7 15.e5
{A strong move, but contrary to some opinion, not a new idea.}
Be7 16.Rxd8 Bxd8
{Here is where Fischer innovates, improving on a 1976 game.}
17.Ne4
{Exploiting the possibility of a fork at c5. 17.axb6 cxb6 18.Ne4 Bxb3 19.Nd6+ Kc6 20.cxb3 Ne7 21.Rxa6 Nd5 was agreed drawn in Adorjan-Ivkov, Skopje 1976.}
Kc6
{17...Bxb3 18.cxb3 f5 19.Rd1! Ne7 20.Ng5 Nc6 21.axb6 Bxg5 22. Bxg5 Kxb6 23.Rd7 Re8 24.Rxg7 Rxe5 25.Rxh7 Re1+ 26.Kf2 Rb1 27.h4!}
18.axb6 cxb6
{18...Bxb3 19.b7! Kxb7 20.Nxc5+ and White should win easily. Or 18.. .fxe5 19.b7 Kxb7 20.Nbxc5+ and White wins.}
19.Nbxc5 Bc8
{19...bxc5 20.Rxa6+ Kb7 21.Nxc5+}
20.Nxa6 fxe5 21.Nb4+
{and Spassky resigned. An effective opening preparation leading to a quick kill and a big match lead.}
1-0
[Event "Buenos Aires Simultaneous Exhibition"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1992.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Kasparov"]
[Black "Amura"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "55"]
1.c4 e6 2.Nc3 d5 3.d4 Be7 4.Nf3 Nf6 5.Bg5 O-O 6.e3 Nbd7
{The Queen's Gambit Declined is known for it's extreme solidity.}
7.Qc2 c6 8.Rd1
{8.Bd3 is incorrect because of 8...dxc4 9.Bxc4 when White's bishop has had to move twice in reaching the c4 square.}
b6 9.Bd3
{Only now that White is out of waiting moves does he play Bd3.}
h6
{9...dxc4 10.Bxc4 Bb7 is slightly better for White thanks to his spaceadvantage.}
10.Bh4 Bb7 11.O-O c5 12.Bg3
{Keeps Black's queen from moving to c7 thus stopping Black from connecting his rooks. 12.cxd5 exd5 13.dxc5 bxc5 is also playable since it leaves Black with hanging pawns.}
cxd4 13.exd4 dxc4 14.Bxc4
{White's isolated d-pawn is compensated for by his more active pieces.}
Bxf3 15.gxf3 Nh5
{15...Rc8 16.Ba6 Ra8 17.Bb7}
16.d5 Nxg3 17.hxg3 exd5 18.Nxd5
{White's central piece play gives him a small advantage.}
Bd6 19.Ne3
{White's rook on the d-file ties down Black's queen to the defense of her minor pieces.}
Bc5
{Or 19...Qe7 20.Rfe1 with White's rooks dominating the open files.}
20.Nf5 Rc8
{A mistake, as Black overlooks the threat.}
21.Nxh6+ gxh6 22.Qg6+
{The point Black is unable to capture the queen thanks to White's pin on the a2-g8 diagonal.}
Kh8 23.Qxh6+ Kg8 24.Qg6+ Kh8 25.Qh5+ Kg7 26.Qg4+ Kh6 27.Rxd7 Qe8 28.Kg2
{Black resigned since he has no defense to 29.Rh1+ mate.}
1-0
[Event "Sveti Stefan"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1992.??.??"]
[Round "8"]
[White "Spassky"]
[Black "Fischer"]
[Result "0-1"]
[PlyCount "80"]
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.f3 O-O 6.Be3 Nc6 7.Nge2 a6 8.Qd2 Rb8
{This is the starting position of the hypermodern Saemisch.}
9.h4
{An aggressive move. Alternatives include 9.Nc1, 9.a3, 9.Rb1, 9.Bh6 and 9.O-O-O.}
h5
{Black does not allow the h-file to be opened easily with h4-h5.}
10.Bh6
{Probably Spassky thought that his attack will be assisted by the inclusion of the pawn moves on the h-file, but the pawn at h5 is better than at h7.}
e5
{Evidently a new idea, though very much in the spirit of the position.}
11.Bxg7 Kxg7 12.d5
{12.O-O-O is more logical, because with the bishops gone it does not make sense to keep the position closed.}
Ne7 13.Ng3
{To stop b7-b5.}
c6
{Time to chip away at the central wedge!}
14.dxc6 Nxc6 15.O-O-O
{Black could now defend his backward pawn with ...Nd4, but the weakness of White's c-pawn and the presence of the king on the c-file provide options.}
Be6 16.Kb1
{16.Qxd6 Qxd6 17.Rxd6 Nd4 and White would have difficulty extricating the rook, while the eventual occupation of the c-file by a Black rook.}
Ne8
{Now Black protects the d-pawn and the g5-square against the idea of Nf5+. This disrupts the coordination of Black's rooks but the knight will be redeployed at c7 or f6 at an appropriate moment.}
17.Nd5 b5 18.Ne3 Rh8
{Since there is no possibility of playing f7-f5 without great risk, Fischer supports the h5-square. Fischer is playing in the style of Nimzowitsch here, using prophylactic moves.}
19.Rc1 Qb6 20.Bd3 Nd4 21.Nd5 Qa7
{Black will capture at d5 at a more opportune moment. From a7 the queen can be transferred to e7 and help protect the kingside. 21...Bxd5 22.cxd5 Nf6 23.Rc3 Rbc8 24.Rhc1 with control of the c-file.}
22.Nf1 Nf6
{The knight has done its tour of duty at e8 and now it gets out of the way and reconnects the rooks. But this is a bit risky.}
23.Nfe3
{Spassky could have more aggressively exploited the kingside structure.}
Bxd5 24.cxd5
{24.Nxd5 Nxd5 25.cxd5 and the knight is obviously much more powerful than the bishop.}
Rbc8 25.Rcf1
{Spassky avoids the exchange of rooks and prepares the advance of the f- pawn. But he never gets a chance to play it.}
Qe7 26.g4
{This break turns out to be ineffective. 26.f4!? The idea is to play f5.}
Nd7 27.g5
{White gains some space, but his pawn structure will be more vulnerable in an endgame.}
Kf8
{This is heavy-duty prophylaxis. Perhaps Fischer re-read Nimzowitsch's My System before the match. But he may have missed the redeployment of White's bishop at h3.}
28.Rf2 Ke8
{Black is m oving his king to a secure position. It can reoccupy the kingside later. The immediate effect is to discourage f3-f4.}
29.Bf1 Nc5 30.Bh3 Rc7 31.Rc1
{A good move or an oversight? As Spassky handles it, things turn out badly, but perhaps this move is actually very strong! 31.f4? Nxe4 31.Rhf1 intending Bg2 and f4 comes into consideration since Black has no immediate threats.}
Ncb3
{A simple but effective combination.}
32.axb3 Nxb3
{This is the critical position.}
33.Rc6
{33.Qc2!? is Kasparov's preference.}
Nxd2+ 34.Rxd2 Kf8 35.Rxa6
{35.Rdc2 Ra7 Intending Kg7.}
Ra7 36.Rc6 Kg7 37.Bf1
{White could probably have resigned here.}
Ra1+ 38.Kxa1 Qa7+ 39.Kb1 Qxe3
{Finally the queen achieves an active position!}
40.Kc2 b4
{White resigned, facing threats of b4-b3 and Qxf3. One of the most dramatic games in the first part of the match. Score: Fischer 3, Spassky 2, 3 draws.}
0-1
[Event "Linares"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1992.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Timman"]
[Black "Kasparov"]
[Result "0-1"]
[PlyCount "50"]
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.f3 O-O 6.Be3 e5 7.d5 Nh5 8.Qd2 f5
9.O-O-O Nd7 10.Bd3 Nc5 11.Bc2 a6 12.Nge2 b5
{An old idea, from a game played 20 years ago. Timman had seen some analysts claim that it was better than 12...b6. But in an old book by Boyd it had already been criticized.}
13.b4
{A somewhat risky move, but as Timman wrote "White should not have stifled his urge for expansion".}
Nd7 14.cxb5
{Timman spent more than 40 minutes on this move. In the old Boyd book, the c- pawn was advanced rather than exchanged. 14.c5 a5 15.c6 axb4 16.Nxb5 Nc5 17.Qxb4 Rxa2 The position is complicated, and much to my liking. 14.exf5 gxf5 15.Ng3 Nf4 Now if White captures at f4, then I would recapture with the pawn and open up the diagonal for my bishop.}
axb5 15.Nxb5
{This was actually the first new move of the game. Some authorities think that 15.Kb2 would have given White a clear advantage, but this is an opinion that neither I nor Jan Timman would agree with. 15.Kb2 Nb6 So what is wrong with Black's position? Surely it is too dangerous to capture the b-pawn.}
Rxa2 16.Nec3 Ra8 17.Kb2
{A consistent move which plans to bring the rooks to the a-file. Some critics think that White should have sunk his knight into a7, headed for c6. Timman does that at his next turn.}
Ndf6 18.Na7
{18.Ra1!? Rb8}
fxe4 19.Nc6 Qd7 20.g4
{Several commentators attacked this move, most unfairly, as it turns out. Is it the best possible move? That is not clear. But the situation called for action and this forces me to sacrifice a piece in a few moves.}
Nf4 21.g5 N6xd5
{Pretty much forced, not that I need much encouragement to embark on such sacrifices! 21...N6h5 22.fxe4}
22.Nxd5 Nd3+
{A strong mov e, which provokes a reaction Timman later admitted was "impulsive" .}
23.Bxd3
{This was a major error. White should have moved his king to comparative safety at b1. Then it would not be clear whether I could win, or whether I even had an advantage. Maybe I would have been worse! 23.Kb3 Qxc6 24.Ne7+ Kh8 25.Nxc6 Be6+ I would have loved to have had a chance to play this at the board!}
exd3
{Now we shall see that the bishop at g7, which has been asleep for most of the game, wakes up just in time to help deliver the final blow. The long diagonal is a tremendous weapon for Black in the King's Indian Defense!}
24.Nce7+
{I wished he had played his king up to b3. Then I would have had a fantastic finish with a fine mating combination: 24.Ra1 Bb7 25.b5 Bxc6 26.bxc6 e4+ 27.Nc3 Rfb8+ 24.Kb3 Qxc6 25.Ne7+ Kh8 26.Nxc6 Be6+ 27.Kb2 e4+ 28.Kb1 Ra1++}
Kh8 25.Nxc8 e4+
{Timman resigned. There is no point in planting the knight at f6 because I will just take it with my rook. 25... e4+ 26.Nc3 Qa4 27.Ra1 Qxb4+}
0-1
[Event "Sveti Stefan"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1992.??.??"]
[Round "10"]
[White "Spassky"]
[Black "Fischer"]
[Result "1/2"]
[PlyCount "135"]
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4
{The Nimzoindian Defense, another of Fischer's hypermodern favorites.}
4.Qc2
{Spassky responds with the Classical variation, which has surged in popularity in the last decade. Has Fischer kept up with thetheory?}
d5
{This is an proved plan, which takes advantage of the abandonment of the d-file by the White queen, undermining the support of d4.}
5.cxd5 exd5 6.Bg5
{A natural con tinuation, keeping up the battle for d5 and employing themes of the Queen's Gambit Declined, Exchange Variation.}
h6
{There are all sorts of alternatives here, but Fischer sticks to the main line.}
7.Bh4 c5 8.dxc5 Nc6 9.e3
{Black continues to develop quickly, rather than waste time picking up the weak pawn at c5.}
g5 10.Bg3 Qa5 11.Nf3 Ne4 12.Nd2 Nxc3 13.bxc3 Bxc3
{The critical position of the opening. Fischer clearly is happy to get into a theoretical brawl.}
14.Rb1 Qxc5 15.Rb5 Qa3 16.Rb3 Bxd2+ 17.Qxd2 Qa5 18.Bb5
{Spassky plays for a win after three disappointing games. 18.Rc3!? was probably wiser, avoiding the exchange of queens. Spassky is enough of a specialist in the Tarrasch to appreciate that!}
Qxd2+ 19.Kxd2
{Once again we have an early endgame.}
Bd7 20.Bxc6 Bxc6 21.h4 Ke7 22.Be5 f6 23.Bd4
{The bishops of opposite color, and the fact that White's is more active, suggest an evaluation of the position as roughly level.}
g4 24.Rc1 Ke6 25.Rb4 h5 26.Rc3 Rhc8 27.a4
{This creates a weakness. 27.a3 was wiser, with a balanced game.}
b6 28.Kc2 Be8
{Black wants to exchange rooks. Fischer has the advantage now.}
29.Kb2 Rxc3 30.Bxc3 Rc8 31.e4
{After this advance Black's bishop gains additional scope. 31.Bd4 Bg6 32.Bc3 was a safer option, though White's game would be very passive.}
Bc6 32.exd5+ Bxd5 33.g3 Bc4
{This locks in the White rook. Black plans Kd5, and then Re8-e2+.}
34.Bd4 Kd5 35.Be3 Rc7 36.Kc3 f5 37.Kb2 Ke6 38.Kc3 Bd5+ 39.Kb2 Be4 40.a5
bxa5 41.Rb5 a4 42.Rc5 Rb7+
{42...Rxc5? 43.Bxc5 would be a dead draw.}
43.Ka3 a6 44.Kxa4 Bd5 45.Ka5 Ke5 46.Kxa6
{The position appears very drawish but Fischer is determined to fight to the end and he almost succeeds. The basic idea is to sacrifice the exchange at just the right moment, when the pawns can be activated.}
Rb3 47.Rc7 Ke4 48.Rh7
{This is the only chance for counterplay. Spassky tries to get a passed h- pawn. The complications which follow are both interesting and instructive.}
Rxe3 49.fxe3
{49.Re7+? Kf3 50.Rxe3+ Kg2 51.Ra3 Bf3 52.Ra2 Kf1 intending Be2+ and Kxf2.}
Kxe3 50.Rxh5 Be4 51.Rh8
{White is ready to advance his pawn.}
Kf3 52.Re8 Kxg3 53.h5 Bd3+ 54.Kb6 f4
{All the passed pawns are racing toward the goal line, but who get the prize first?}
55.Kc5
{The most accurate move, forcing a draw. Even against less precise play a draw would still be likely, however. 55.h6 f3 56.Rf8 f2 57.Kc5 Kg2 58.Kd4 Bh7 59.Ke3 g3 60.Rf7 Kg1 61.Ke2 Bg8 62.Rf6 Bc4+ 63.Ke3=}
f3 56.Kd4 Bf5 57.Rf8 Kf4 58.h6 g3
{58...f2 59.h7 f1Q 60.h8Q and a draw is likely, since Black cannot do anything with his initiative, since the bishop is pinned.}
59.h7 g2 60.h8=Q g1=Q+ 61.Kc4
{Now all White has to do is avoid the exchange of queens.}
Qc1+ 62.Kb3 Qc2+ 63.Kb4 Qe4+ 64.Kc3 Qc6+ 65.Kb3 Qd5+ 66.Kc3 Qc5+ 67.Kb2
Qb4+ 68.Ka2 1/2
[Event "Sveti Stefan"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1992.??.??"]
[Round "11"]
[White "Fischer"]
[Black "Spassky"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "91"]
1.e4 c5
{After the disaster of the previous Spanish Inquisition, Spassky slides into Sicilian territory.}
2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5
{Somewhat of a surprise. Fischer usually prefers the well-traveled paths of more topical lines, enjoying the theoretical duels.}
g6 4.Bxc6 bxc6
{Theory prefers 4...dxc6, but there is nothing wrong with this choice.}
5.O-O Bg7 6.Re1 e5
{A critical advance, which prevents White from playing e4-e5 or d2-d4. But the blocking of the long diagonal creates an interesting opportunity for White. Spassky consistently rejects previous praxis, but opts for 6...f6 in game 13.}
7.b4
{A typical example of a move which is trivial when played prematurely (at move 2) but which can be quite effective if delayed until an appropriate moment.}
cxb4 8.a3
{This gambit underlines the defects of 6...e5.}
c5
{8...d6 9.axb4 Ne7 10. h3 O-O 11.d3 gives White a slightly better position, because there are some weaknesses in Black's position. But 8...bxa3 9.Bxa3 d6 gives White sufficient compensation for the pawn, but how much more?}
9.axb4 cxb4 10.d4
{10.Bb2 d6 11.d4 exd4 would transpose back to the game.}
exd4
{10...d6?! 11.dxe5 dxe5 12.Qxd8+ Kxd8 13.Bd2! regains the pawn with interest.}
11.Bb2 d6
{Now the long diagonal can be the site of some tactical operations.}
12.Nxd4
{12.Bxd4 Nf6 would be roughly equal, with the bishop pair working to Black's advantage.}
Qd7
{12...Qb6 13.Nd2 Bxd4 14.Nc4 Bxf2+ 15.Kh1 Qc5 16.Nxd6+ Ke7 17.Nf5+! wins for White.}
13.Nd2 Bb7
{13...Ne7 would have been more cautious but White would have had a strong position in any case.}
14.Nc4 Nh6
{Now the White knight makes a brilliant leap.}
15.Nf5 Bxb2
{15...Nxf5 16.exf5+ Kf8 17.Bxg7+ Kxg7 18.f6+ Kg8 19.Qxd6 Qxd6 20.Nxd6 Bc6 21. Ra6! Bd5 22.Rxa7! would lead to a rapid White victory.}
16.Ncxd6+ Kf8 17.Nxh6 f6
{The losing move.}
18.Ndf7 Qxd1 19.Raxd1 Ke7 20.Nxh8 Rxh8 21.Nf5+
{A reprise of the main theme. This time, it is decisive.}
gxf5 22.exf5+ Be5
{The only way to avoid losing a rook. 22...Kf8 23.Rd8+ Kg7 24.Re7+}
23.f4 Rc8 24.fxe5 Rxc2
{24...fxe5 25.Rxe5+ Kf6 26.Rb5 and Black has no counterplay at all.}
25.e6
{The protected passed pawn will remain a pain in Black's side for some time.}
Bc6 26.Rc1
{This forces the exchange of rooks.}
Rxc1
{26...b3 27. Rxc2 bxc2 28.Rc1 Be4 29.g4 a5 30.Kf2 a4 31.Ke3 and Black can give up.}
27.Rxc1 Kd6 28.Rd1+ Ke5
{28...Ke7 29.Ra1 and the a-pawn goes.}
29.e7 a5
{Black's last gasp. 29...Kxf5 30.Rd6 Ba4 31.Ra6}
30.Rc1 Bd7 31.Rc5+ Kd4 32.Rxa5
{The rest is simple.}
b3 33.Ra7 Be8 34.Rb7 Kc3 35.Kf2 b2 36.Ke3 Bf7 37.g4 Kc2 38.Kd4 b1=Q 39.Rxb1
Kxb1 40.Kc5 Kc2 41.Kd6
{and Black resigned, since a losing endgame is inevitable:}
Kd3 42.Kd7 Ke4 43.e8=Q+ Bxe8+ 44.Kxe8 Kf4 45.Kf7 Kg5 46.Kg7 {etc.} 1-0
[Event "Belgrade"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1992.??.??"]
[Round "12"]
[White "Spassky"]
[Black "Fischer"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "107"]
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.f3 O-O 6.Be3 Nc6 7.Nge2 a6 8.h4
{A very unusual move in this position, but it can lead to more normal lines if White chooses to transpose.}
h5 9.Nc1
{This is the real new idea. It is perhaps not an appropriate move in this position, though the real test does not come in the present game. 9.Qd2 Rb8 is also possible.}
e5
{9...Rb8!? 1 0.Nb3 Bd7 is more consistent with Black's strategy, aiming for an early break with b5.}
10.d5 Ne7
{10...Nd4 is probably stronger.}
11.Be2 Nh7
{Black prepares to launch kingside counterplay with f7-f5, after which the pawn at h4 can become very weak. His knights suffer from the lack of entry squares on the kingside, a situation brought about by 8...h5.}
12.Nd3
{White now contr ols f4 as well as g5, so there really is no possibility of kingside counterplay for Black.}
f5 13.a4
{White prevents Black from playing a freeing b7-b5. This shuts down any queenside action on Black's part.}
Nf6 14.Nf2
{This is the logical continuation of White's strategy, limiting Black's counterplay at each turn and taking control of more squares, in this case g4 and e4.}
a5
{A simply horrible move. it prevents a4-a5, but eliminates any chance of getting in b7-b5.}
15.Qc2 c5
{Another error, but a consistent follow-up to the previous mistake. Fischer must have underestimated White's potential energy on the kingside. 15...f4 16.Bd2 Bh6 17. g3 fxg3 18.Bxh6 gxf2+ was a better plan.}
16.O-O-O b6 17.Rdg1 Nh7 18.Nb5 Kh8
{Pointless, since the knight at e7 cannot be brought to h6 because White will plant a pawn at g5. 18...f4 might still be best, for example 19.Bd2 Rf7 20.g4 fxg3 21.Rxg3 Nf8 22.Nh3 Bxh3 23.Rgxh3}
19.g4
{The prelude to a direct kingside attack, which is difficult to counter. The main basis of the attack is the weakness of g6.}
hxg4 20.fxg4 f4
{Much too late.}
21.Bd2
{It is now clear that Black has no counterplay, and his king is in danger on the h-file.}
g5
{Fischer did not want to endure White's persistent pressure, but this is a desperate sacrifice which only hastens the end.}
22.hxg5 Ng6 23.Rh5
{The threat is 24.Rhg1.}
Rf7 24.Rgh1 Bf8 25.Qb3 Rb8 26.Qh3
{White dominates the entire board and the success of his attack is beyond question.}
R8b7 27.Nd3
{This is a decisive transfer of White's knight to the blockading square f3.}
Kg8 28.Ne1 Rg7
{28...Qe8 is possibly a bit more resistant, but there are serious problems anyway.}
29.Nf3 Rbf7 30.Rh6
{Desperation, but well justified.}
Qd7 31.Qh5
{Strong and simple. There is no way to save the knight.}
Qxg4 32.Rxg6 Qxh5 33.Rxg7+ Rxg7 34.Rxh5 Bg4
{Black is just down a piece here.}
35.Rh4 Bxf3 36.Bxf3 Nxg5 37.Bg4
{A last finesse. Black cannot capture at e4 because of the check at e6.}
Rh7 38.Rxh7 Kxh7 39.Kc2 Be7
{39...Nxe4 40.Bf5+}
40.Kd3 Kg6 41.Nc7 Kf7 42.Ne6 Nh7 43.Bh5+ Kg8
{43...Kf6 44.Be1! and Black's king must worry about getting mated!}
44.Be1 Nf6 45.Bh4 Kh7 46.Bf7 Nxd5
{This regains a little material, but the win is still simple.}
47.cxd5 Bxh4 48.Bh5 Kh6 49.Be2 Bf2 50.Kc4 Bd4 51.b3 Kg6
{Black's king cannot protect his soldiers.}
52.Kb5 Kf6 53.Kc6 Ke7 54.Ng7 1-0
[Event "Dortmund"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1992.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Adams"]
[Black "Kasparov"]
[Result "0-1"]
[PlyCount "52"]
1.d4 d5
{I don't always play the King's Indian. Against young star Michael Adams I decided to play in a more classical style.}
2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 c6 4.e3 Nf6 5.Nf3 Nbd7 6.Qc2 Bd6
{I am just developing sensibly. Now Adams goes wild.}
7.g4
{Another young star, Shirov has played this move, and I was not caught by surprise. Classical wisdom holds that such flank actions should be met by a reaction in the center.}
dxc4
{Now this was a new move, so now Adams was on his own, and he immediately loses his way.}
8.e4
{8.Bxc4 b5 9.Be2 b4 10.Na4 Bb7 11.g5 Nd5 12. Bd2 c5 13.Nxc5 Bxc5 14.dxc5 Rc8 I have good counterplay here.}
e5 9.g5 exd4 10.Nxd4 Ng4
{I have the initiative here, and that means that White has mishandled the opening.}
11.h3
{11.Nf5 Nde5 12.Nxg7+ Kf8 13.Nh5 Nf3+ 14. Ke2 Ngxh2 My bishop will slide to g4 with great effect!}
Nge5 12.Be3
{12.f4 Bc5 13.Nf5 Nf3+ 14.Ke2 Nd4+}
Nc5 13.O-O-O
{Castling is not going to solve White's problems. The twin horses dominate the center of the board.}
Ned3+ 14.Kb1 Qe7
{The e-pawn is hard to defend.}
15.Rg1 g6
{I'll castle soon, but I wanted to stop any attempt at counterplay, and so I bring the f5-square under control.}
16.Bg2 O-O 17.Ka1
{Not a good move, but White was in big trouble anyway.}
Bf4 18.Bxf4 Nxf4 19.h4 Rd8 20.Qd2 Ncd3 21.Qe3 Bg4
{White's forces are completely uncoordinated.}
22.Rd2 Qe5
{Adams resigned . He realized what would happen if he played 23.Nc2. Do you? If not Gambit can display the final combination, but try to find it yourself first.}
23.Nc2 Nxb2 24.Kxb2 Rd3 25.Rxd3 Nxd3+ 26.Kb1 Qxc3 0-1
[Event "Sveti Stefan"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1992.??.??"]
[Round "7"]
[White "Fischer"]
[Black "Spassky"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "87"]
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 d6 8.c3 O-O
9.d3
{Fischer decides to avoid the main lines, rather uncharacteristically.}
Na5
{Spassky shifts from the Breyer to the Classical Chigorin formation.}
10.Bc2 c5 11.Nbd2 Re8
{11...Nc6 is a good alternative.}
12.h3
{12.Nf1 might lead to some messy complications, for example h6 13.a4 b4 14.cxb4 cxb4 15.Ne3 Bf8 16.d4 Qb6}
Bf8 13.Nf1 Bb7 14.Ng3 g6 15.Bg5 h6 16.Bd2 d5
{A tactical error. Black must be very careful with this methodical break. The Spassky himself succeeded with d5 vs. Tal in a fairly similar situation. 16... Nc6 is correct.}
17.exd5 c4
{Apparently Spassky overlooked a tactical point here or at the next move. 17...Qxd5 18.c4! Qd8 19.Ne4 is clearly better for White.}
18.b4
{It is even more effective, then the same break in the first game.}
cxd3
{18...cxb3 19.axb3 and there is no way to prevent c4, after which White is cruising.}
19.Bxd3 Qxd5
{19...Nc4 20.Bxc4 bxc4 21.Nxe5 Qxd5 22.Qf3! Rxe5 23.Rxe5 Qxe5 24.Qxb7 and Black has no compensation for the pawn.}
20.Be4
{This is the point.}
Nxe4 21.Nxe4 Bg7 22.bxa5 f5
{Spassky decides that he is going to sacrifice a piece for active counterplay, the bishop pair, and a pawnstorm.}
23.Ng3 e4 24.Nh4 Bf6
{The critical mistake. 24...Rad8 would have provided adequate counterplay.}
25.Nxg6 e3
{This sharp continuation regains the piece, because of the threat of mate at g2 , but the endgame nevertheless favors White.}
26.Nf4
{Guarding g2 and forcing the next few moves.}
Qxd2 27.Rxe3 Qxd1+ 28.Rxd1 Rxe3 29.fxe3
{The smoke clears and Spassky's bishops are not enough compensation for the pawns.}
Rd8
{29...Bxc3 30.Nxf5 is an easy win for White.}
30.Rxd8+ Bxd8 31.Nxf5 Bxa5
{Black hopes that the bishops will compensate for the missing pawns, but the clerics are not all-powerful ayatollahs!}
32.Nd5 Kf8
{32...Bxd5 33.Ne7+ Kf7 34.Nxd5}
33.e4 Bxd5
{What else? 33...Ke8 34.Nd6+}
34.exd5 h5 35.Kf2 Bxc3
{Black finally gets this pawn out of the way, but White has one passed pawn and one potential passed pawn, which prove decisive.}
36.Ke3 Kf7 37.Kd3 Bb2 38.g4 hxg4 39.hxg4 Kf6 40.d6 Ke6 41.g5 a5
{41...Kxf5 42.d7}
42.g6 Bf6 43.g7
{The pawns are just too active. Even sacrificing the remaining piece will not help.}
Kf7
{43...Bxg7 44. Nxg7+ Kxd6 45.Kd4 a4 46.Nf5+ is a simple winning endgame, since Black cannot eliminate the White pawn.}
44.d7 1-0
[Event "Sveti Stefan"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1992.??.??"]
[Round "4"]
[White "Spassky"]
[Black "Fischer"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "101"]
1.d4 d5 2.c4 dxc4
{Perhaps influenced by the renewed interest in the opening in the 1980s. The Queen's Gambit Accepted is an unusual choice from Fischer, who usually prefers a more hypermodern treatment of 1.d4.}
3.Nf3
{3.e4 is a popular alternative which has been the subject of much scrutiny lately.}
Nf6 4.e3 e6 5.Bxc4 c5 6.O-O a6 7.dxc5
{Spassky shows a definite preference for endgames in this match! 7.Qe2 and 7.a4 are the more common moves.}
Qxd1
{7...Bxc5 8.Qxd8+ Kxd8 9.Nbd2 Ke7 10.b3 b6 11.Bb2 Bb7 12.Be2 Nbd7=}
8.Rxd1 Bxc5 9.b3
{9.a3 with the idea of playing b4, is more common here.}
Nbd7 10.Bb2 b6
{The cautious approach. The extended fianchetto (10...b5) is riskier because the pawn chain can be undermined by a2-a4.}
11.Nc3 Bb7 12.Rac1 Be7
{12...O-O? 13.Na4 Be7 14.Bxf6 Nxf6 15.Nxb6}
13.Nd4 Rc8 14.f3 b5 15.Be2 Bc5
{Black has achieved full equality.}
16.Kf1
{A very lame move. 16.Kf2 Ke7 17.a4 bxa4 18.Nxa4 Ba7 maintains equality.}
Ke7 17.e4
{A strategic disaster. White weakens the long diagonal without any good reason, allowing Fischer to develop an interesting counterattack. 17.Kf2 was the correct move.}
g5
{Black intends to advance the g-pawn, capture at f3, bring a knight to f4 and put a rook on the g-file, a simple and effective plan.}
18.Nb1
{The point of this move is to try to exchange dark squared bishops after Ba3.}
g4
{18...Bd6 might have been more accurate, e.g., 19.Kf2 g4 with at least equality.}
19.Ba3 b4
{It is hard to believe that Fischer overlooked the obvious exchange sacrifice which follows. 19...Bxa3 20.Nxa3 gxf3 21.gxf3 Rhg8 22.Kf2 Ne5 with good play for Black.}
20.Rxc5 Nxc5 21.Bxb4
{Now White's position is superior thanks to his ferocious bishop and the vulnerable Black king. The distance between a very good position and a very bad one is very small indeed!}
Rhd8 22.Na3 gxf3 23.gxf3 Nfd7 24.Nc4
{White has already achieved a completely dominating position because all of his pieces are active, while Black lacks any counterplay.}
Ba8 25.Kf2 Rg8 26.h4 Rc7 27.Nc2 Rb8 28.Ba3
{This prevents Fischer from countersacrificing the exchange, and maintains the strong pin.}
h5 29.Rg1 Kf6 30.Ke3 a5 31.Rg5
{Spassky intensifies the pressure with every move.}
a4
{This makes 's task easier, but it is hard to find an alternative. Now White gets a powerful passed pawn.}
32.b4 Nb7 33.b5 Nbc5 34.Nd4
{White's domination is complete. Fischer now embarks on a desperate sacrifice, but it doesn't work.}
e5
{A mistake.}
35.Nxe5 Nxe5 36.Rf5+ Kg7 37.Rxe5 Nxe4
{The point of the combination. If Black takes the knight Fischer will escape.}
38.Bd3
{38.fxe4 Rc3+}
Rc3 39.Bb4
{Spassky's ship steers clear of the final reef and the game heads for home.}
Rxd3+ 40.Kxd3 Nf6 41.Bd6 Rc8 42.Rg5+ Kh7 43.Be5 Ne8 44.Rxh5+ Kg6 45.Rg5+
Kh7 46.Bf4 f6 47.Rf5 Kg6 48.b6
{This modest pawn decides the outcome of the game.}
Rd8 49.Ra5 Bxf3 50.h5+ Kf7
{50...Bxh5 51.b7}
51.Ra7+
{Black resigns. The worst game by Fischer in the first half of the match. Spassky played quite well.}
1-0
[Event "Sveti Stefan"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1992.??.??"]
[Round "6"]
[White "Spassky"]
[Black "Fischer"]
[Result "1/2"]
[PlyCount "122"]
1.d4 d5 2.c4 dxc4 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.e3 e6 5.Bxc4 c5 6.O-O a6 7.dxc5 Qxd1 8.Rxd1
Bxc5 9.b3
{9.Nbd2 b5 10.Be2 Bb7 11.Nb3 Be7 12.Na5 Forced Spassky to grovel with the Black pieces against Bronstein at Moscow 1964, so Spassky chose another plan.}
Nbd7 10.Bb2 b5
{Fischer departs from the path of the fourth game, which saw 11..b6.}
11.Be2 Bb7 12.Nbd2 Ke7
{12...O-O is probably playable, for example 13.a4 bxa4 14.Rxa4 Nb6!?}
13.a4
{It is precisely this move which often discourages the extended fianchetto by Black. The following exchange leaves the a-pawn weak. Few players seem to enjoy the Black side of these positions.}
bxa4
{13...b4 is not on because of 14.Nc4 with tremendous pressure.}
14.Rxa4 Rhb8
{14...Nb6 seems best. 15.Ra5 Bb4 16.Ba3 Bxa3 17.Rxa3 Nfd5 18.Rda1 Nb4 secures the defense.}
15.Rc1
{This ties down the Nd7 and Bc5 therefore Black experiences some discomfort.}
Bd5
{15...Nd5? 16.Rxc5 Nxc5 17.Ba3 is reminiscent of game 4 of the match!}
16.Ne5
{The weakness of c6 is important. Black's light-squared bishop can easily be placed in a position where it has too much work to do.}
Bd6 17.Nxd7 Nxd7 18.Rxa6 Rxa6 19.Bxa6 f6
{A mistake. 19...Bxb3 20.Bxg7 19...Nc5}
20.Bc4 Bxc4 21.Rxc4 Nc5 22.Rc3
{The inactivity of White's pieces reduces the advantage of the extra pawn.}
f5 23.Ba3 Ne4
{An interesting move.}
24.Rc7+ Kd8 25.Bxd6 Nxd2 26.Rxg7 Rxb3 27.h4 h5 28.Bf4
{One might well expect White to win from this position.}
Ke8 29.Kh2 Rb2 30.Kh3 Ne4 31.f3 Nf2+ 32.Kh2 Nd3 33.Bg5 e5 34.Kh3 Nf2+ 35.Kh2
Nd3 36.Bh6 Ne1
{The pin on the g-pawn is most annoying.}
37.Kg1 Nd3 38.Bg5 Rb1+ 39.Kh2 Rb2 40.Re7+
{Instead, 40.Rh7 would have won, as discovered by the computer program Deep Thought II.}
Kf8 41.Re6 Kg7 42.Kh3 Re2 43.Rd6 Ne1 44.Bf6+ Kg8 45.Bxe5 Rxe3 46.Bf4
{46.Rd5 The computer program Deep Thought II claimed that White would have won here, but human analysts felt that 46...Kf7 would pro}
Re2 47.Rg6+
{More problems would have followed 47.Rf6.}
Kf7 48.Rg5 Ke6 49.Bc7 Ra2 50.Bb6 Nd3 51.Kh2 Ne1 52.Kh3 Nd3 53.Bc7 Rc2 54.Bb6
Ra2 55.Kg3 Ne1 56.Rxh5 Rxg2+ 57.Kf4 Nd3+ 58.Ke3 Ne5 59.Rh6+ Kd5 60.Bc7
Rg7 61.Bxe5 Kxe5
{Score: Spassky 2, Fischer 1, 3 draws.}
1/2
[Event "Sveti Stefan"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1992.??.??"]
[Round "3"]
[White "Fischer"]
[Black "Spassky"]
[Result "1/2"]
[PlyCount "78"]
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 d6 8.c3 O-O
9.h3 Nb8 10.d4 Nbd7 11.Nbd2 Bb7 12.Bc2 Re8 13.Nf1 Bf8 14.Ng3 g6 15.Bg5
h6 16.Bd2 exd4
{Spassky deviates from the first game of the match. The idea is to create more scope for the dark-squared bishop.}
17.cxd4 c5 18.Bf4
{This is the most logical reaction, targeting the weak pawn at d6. Black's position is solid however, with the bishop guarding d6 from f8.}
cxd4
{This second exchange brings Spassky good fortune. It is hardly a new idea, however. The idea was used in a game between Tal and Keres, at Curacao 1962. Black gets active piece play in return for his suspect pawn structure.}
19.Nxd4
{19.Qxd4 Nc5}
Ne5 20.b3 d5
{This classical central thrust gives Black an active game.}
21.Qd2
{21.Bxe5 Rxe5 22.f4 Rxe4 23.Nxe4 dxe4}
dxe4 22.Nxe4 Nd5 23.Bg3 Rc8 24.Re2
{Perhaps this was an error. 24.Rad1 f5 25.Nc5 Bxc5 26.Bxe5 Rxe5 27.Rxe5 Bxd4 28.Qxd4 Rxc2}
f5 25.Bxe5 Rxe5 26.Ng3 Rxe2 27.Ngxe2 Nb4 28.Rd1 Nxc2
{28...Nxa2 29.Bxf5 gxf5 30.Qxa2 Qg5 In this complicated position both sides have chances.}
29.Nxc2 Qxd2 30.Rxd2
{We have reached a position where Black should hold the advantage thanks to his bishop pair, but in fact it is hard to achieve much.}
Rc7 31.Ne3 Kf7 32.h4 Bc8
{32...h5 looks good, too.}
33.Nf4 g5 34.hxg5 hxg5 35.Nd3 Bg7
{Black could have tried for a little more with 35...Be6.}
36.Nd5 Rc6 37.N5b4 Rc7 38.Nd5 Rc6 39.N5b4 Rc7 1/2
[Event "Linares"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1992.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Kasparov"]
[Black "Karpov"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "81"]
1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.Nd2 dxe4 4.Nxe4 Nd7 5.Ng5
{This has become all the rage in the past couple of years, despite the fact that it was considered harmless for decades! I am just fooling around, really. I intend to transpose back to the main lines soon enough.}
Ngf6 6.Bc4 e6 7.Qe2
{Now we are back in the familiar territory of opening theory.}
Nb6 8.Bb3
{This retreat offers more chances for complications than moving to d3, so it is just my kind of move.}
h6 9.N5f3 c5
{9...a5 is a promising alternative, but it does weaken the queenside and gives up any thoughts of castling queenside.}
10.Bf4 Bd6
{Unusual. More typical is 11...a6, which prepares a future b5. But this is very much in keeping with Karpov's style. He likes to simplify the position by exchanging pieces.}
11.Bg3 Qe7
{Black can also try 11...Qc7 or 11...O-O. But to exchange bishops at g3 would be pointless, from a strategic point of view, because I could use the h- file to great advantage.}
12.dxc5 Bxc5 13.Ne5 Bd7
{13...Nbd7 14.Ngf3 Nxe5 15.Nxe5 I would be satisfied with such a position as White.}
14.Ngf3
{14.O-O-O This would have laid a trap, but Karpov would no doubt have avoided it: 14...O-O-O?? 15.Nxf7 Qxf7 16.Qe5 Winning.}
Nh5 15.O-O-O Nxg3
{Now I get an open h-file but otherwise the bishop could have become a useful weapon. 15...O-O-O 16.Nxd7 Nxd7 17.Be5 Now Black would get in trouble if he captured at e5: 17...Nxe5 18.Nxe5 Nf4 19.Qc4}
16.hxg3 O-O-O
{This is a c ritical position. Black can claim equality against normal moves like Nxd7 or Rd3, but I came up with a very effective plan. Not only the spectators, but even my opponent had to re-evaluate the position.}
17.Rh5
{Karpov started to get visibly worried here. The threat is simply Nxf7, with a discovered attack on the bishop at c5. The pressure on the 5th rank is immense. The Gordian Knot can only be cut at very great cost.}
Be8
{17...g6 This was probably the best defense, even though it entails a serious weakening of the kingside pawn structure.}
18.Rxd8+ Kxd8 19.Qd2+ Bd6
{19...Kc8 20.Qc3 f5 21.Bxe6+ If Black takes the bishop, then I capture at c5. So the position is very good for me here.}
20.Nd3 Qc7 21.g4
{The advance of the g-pawn is part of my new strategy. Here Karpov plays rather passively.}
Kc8 22.g5 Bf8 23.Rh4 Kb8 24.a4 Be7
{This is a serious mistake which costs Karpov a critical tempo. 24...Nc8 25.g6 fxg6 26.Nd4 Black is under considerable pressure, but the game may not be lost yet.}
25.a5 Nd5 26.Kb1
{The point of this move is to get off of the c-file, so that I can advance the c-pawn.}
Bd8
{26...Rf8 27.Bxd5 exd5 28.Nb4 Bc6 29.gxh6 Bxh4 Now I have a very pretty combination to wrap things up: 30.Na6+ bxa6 31.Qb4+ Ka8 32.Qxf8+ Kb7 33.h7 The pawn reaches the promotion square.}
27.a6 Qa5 28.Qe2
{A quiet but effective move. Now I threaten to play 29.Qe5+.}
Nb6 29.axb7 Bxg5
{29...Bc6 30.Nfe5 Bxb7 31.Nxf7 Re8 32.Nxd8 Rxd8 33.gxh6 gxh6 34. Rxh6 Bxg2 35.Rxe6}
30.Nxg5 Qxg5 31.Rh5
{Back to the 5th rank! This rook is headed to the a-file, and then the pawn at a7 becomes a tasty morsel which I can devour a little later.}
Qf6 32.Ra5 Bc6 33.Nc5 Bxb7 34.Nxb7 Kxb7 35.Qa6+ Kc6 36.Ba4+ Kd6 37.Qd3+
Nd5 38.Qg3+ Qe5 39.Qa3+ Kc7 40.Qc5+ Kd8
{We have reached the time control and Karpov gives up quickly.}
41.Rxa7
{Karpov resigned. I am very pleased with this game, in which I think that I found all of the best moves.}
1-0
[Event "Belgrade"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1992.??.??"]
[Round "13"]
[White "Fischer"]
[Black "Spassky"]
[Result "1/2"]
[PlyCount "90"]
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 g6 4.Bxc6 bxc6 5.O-O Bg7 6.Re1 f6
{Here Spassky deviates from game 11, where 6...e5 7.b4! proved problematic.}
7.c3
{Preparing a classical central advance. 7.b3!? comes into consideration, and seems more appropriate for the position, given Black's doubled pawns.}
Nh6 8.d4 cxd4 9.cxd4 O-O 10.Nc3 d6
{Black's position has a couple of holes on the light squares, but these do not seem to be serious weaknesses.}
11.Qa4
{This allows Black to exchange queens almost by force, which gives him a comfortable position. 11.Qc2 seems more promising.}
Qb6 12.Nd2
{An ugly little move, which hopes to drive Black's queen from its strong position. 12.h3 Nf7 13.Be3? Qxb2 14.Qxc6??Bb7}
Nf7 13.Nc4 Qa6
{13...Qxd4?? would be a horrible blunder: 14.Be3 Qd3 15.Rad1 and the queen is lost.}
14.Be3 Qxa4 15.Nxa4 f5
{This essential move activates Black's bishop pair.}
16.exf5
{16.f3 fxe4 17. fxe4 Bd7 gives Black a fluid position with a great deal of counterplay.}
Bxf5
{16...gxf5 is an interesting alternative.}
17.Rac1 Rfc8
{This is a dynamically balanced position, with each side having to worry about a weak pawn (d4, c6).}
18.Na5 Bd7 19.b3 Rab8 20.Nc3 Kf8 21.a3 Nh6
{The knight will be transferred to a strong position at f5. 21...c5 22.dxc5 dxc5 23.Nd5! is clearly favorable for White.}
22.b4 Nf5 23.Red1 Ke8
{23...Nxe3 24.fxe3 Bh6 25.Kf2 gives Black two bishops against two knights, but the bishops lack natural targets.}
24.Ne4 Rb5
{Spassky realizes that the knight on f5 is a major asset.}
25.h3 h5
{Black does not want the horse to be chased away!}
26.Rd2 a6 27.Kf1 Rd5 28.Rcd1 Rb5
{The position is fully equal and the rest of the game contains mostly minor thrusts and parries of little interest.}
29.Ke2 Be6 30.Rc1 Kd7 31.Nc3 R5b8 32.Kf1 h4 33.Ke2 Bf6 34.Ne4 Bd5 35.Kd3
{35.Nxf6+ exf6 36.f3 Re8 37.Rd3 Nxe3 38.Rxe3 Rxe3+ 39.Kxe3 Re8+ gives Black better chances, because the Na4 is dominated by the Bd5.}
Bg7 36.Rdc2 Rc7 37.Re1 Rf8 38.f3 Rb8 39.Nc3 Bg8 40.Ne2 Bf7 41.Bd2 Bf6 42.Rec1
Rbc8 43.Nc4
{This threatens Nb6+ and brings the game to a drawn conclusion.}
Rb7 44.Na5 Rbc7 45.Nc4 Rb7 1/2
[Event "Belgrade"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1992.??.??"]
[Round "14"]
[White "Spassky"]
[Black "Fischer"]
[Result "1/2"]
[PlyCount "64"]
1.d4 d5 2.c4 dxc4 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.e3 e6 5.Bxc4 c5 6.O-O a6 7.dxc5 Qxd1 8.Rxd1
Bxc5
{Another quiet opening. In the other games the action heated up eventually. Not this time.}
9.b3 b5
{Fischer boldly plays the extended fianchetto again!}
10.Be2 Bb7 11.Bb2 Nbd7 12.Nbd2 O-O
{In game 4, Fischer played 12...Ke7 but found 13.a4! uncomfortable. Here he reserves e7 for his bishop.}
13.Rac1
{13.a4 bxa4 14.Rxa4 Nb6 gives Black a fully satisfactory game, as does 14...Be7.}
Rfc8 14.h3 Kf8 15.Kf1
{Both kings head for the center.}
Ke7
{Now the occupation of this square by the king is appropriate.}
16.Ne1
{16.a4 bxa4 17.bxa4 Bc6 with good counterplay, since White's rooks aremisplaced.}
Bd6
{The position is completely equal.}
17.a4 Bc6 18.axb5 axb5 19.Rc2 Rc7 20.Rdc1 Rac8 21.Bf3 Bxf3
{Now the pieces fly off the board and a peace pact is forthcoming.}
22.Ndxf3 e5 23.Rxc7 Rxc7 24.Rxc7 Bxc7 25.Nc2 Ne4 26.Na3 b4 27.Nc4 f6 28.Ne1
Ndc5 29.Nc2 Nxb3 30.Nxb4 Nbd2+ 31.Nxd2 Nxd2+ 32.Ke2 Nc4 1/2
[Event "Belgrade"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1992.??.??"]
[Round "20"]
[White "Spassky"]
[Black "Fischer"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "85"]
1.e4 c5 2.Ne2 Nf6 3.Nbc3 e6 4.g3 Nc6
{4...d5 is playable.}
5.Bg2 Be7 6.O-O d6
{This gives White a free hand on the kingside and fails to achieve Black's opening objective: the advance d7-d5. Black should choose 6... g6 instead, and Fischer does so in game 22.}
7.d3 a6
{7...Rb8 is logical.}
8.a3
{8.h3 was played in Fischer-Garcia, Buenos Aires 1970.}
Qc7 9.f4
{White unleashes his kingside pawnstorm.}
b5 10.Kh1 O-O 11.Be3 Bb7 12.Bg1 Rab8 13.h3 Ba8 14.g4
{This shows the Closed Sicilian in its most aggressive form.}
b4
{This is dubious, because it creates light-square weaknesses on the queenside. Still, it is hard to find convincing alternatives, since White seems to have a strong game all over the board.}
15.axb4 cxb4 16.Na4 Nd7 17.Qd2 Rfc8 18.b3
{Now White will be able to transfer a knight to a strong position at c4.}
a5 19.g5 Bf8 20.Ra2 Ne7 21.Nd4 g6
{21...e5? is perhaps what Fischer originally had in mind, but it doesn't work: 22.fxe5! dxe5 23.Bh2 and the pin on the pawn at e5 gives White the better game.}
22.Nb2 Bg7 23.Nc4 d5
{Fischer's psychology does not permit him to suffer without counterplay, so he tries to introduce some complications.}
24.Nxa5
{Why not? The knight may be offside for a while but Black is in no position to do anything about it.}
dxe4 25.dxe4 e5 26.Ne2 exf4
{Otherwise the f-pawn will advance with devastating effect.}
27.Nxf4 Ne5
{Black's outpost at e5 does not give sufficient counterplay, and White easily eliminates it.}
28.Nd3 Rb5 29.Nxe5 Qxe5 30.Nc4 Qxg5
{Black loses the exchange and really doesn't get anything in return.}
31.Be3 Qh4 32.Nd6 Bc3 33.Qf2 Qxf2 34.Rxf2 R5b8 35.Nxc8 Rxc8 36.Ra7
{The infiltration of the rook is decisive.}
Kf8 37.Bh6+ Ke8 38.Bg5 f6 39.Bxf6 Bxf6 40.Rxf6 Bc6 41.Kg1 Bd7 42.Rd6 Bc6
43.Bf1 1-0
[Event "Belgrade"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1992.??.??"]
[Round "21"]
[White "Fischer"]
[Black "Spassky"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "133"]
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 e6 5.Nb5 d6 6.c4 Nf6 7.N5c3 Be7 8.g3
{This seems to be a new idea. The bishop is usually developed at e2.}
O-O 9.Bg2 a6 10.O-O Rb8
{This prepares a break with b7-b5, which had to be delayed because of pressure on the long diagonal.}
11.Na3 Qc7
{11...b6 is a more convincing defence, setting up a hedgehog.}
12.Be3 Bd7 13.Rc1
{White is setting up threats of Nb5 and Nd5.}
Ne5 14.h3 Rfc8 15.f4 Ng6
{This is not the normal position for a knight in this setup, but it is playable.}
16.Qd2
{16.f5 Ne5 would provide Black with a useful outpost.}
Be8
{16...b6 might be better played immediately.}
17.Rfd1 b6 18.Qf2 h6 19.Kh2
{A useful waiting move in a position in which no immediate action is useful.}
Qa7
{The idea is to prepare to establish a battery on the long diagonal with Bc6 and Qb7.}
20.Qe2 Qc7
{Perhaps Spassky decided that Nc3-d5 was no big deal, but in any event 20...Bc6 would have been a useful move.}
21.Bf3 Bc6 22.Nab1 Qb7 23.Nd2 b5 24.cxb5 axb5 25.b4
{It is necessary to stop Black's b-pawn from advancing and taking control of valuable territory.}
Qa8
{Now that there are weaknesses on the a-file, this is a good place for the queen. 25...Ra8 also comes into consideration.}
26.Rc2 d5
{This is gener ally a strong strategic move in the Sicilian, but there was an interesting alternative in 26...Qa3!?}
27.e5 Ne4 28.Bxe4 dxe4 29.Bc5
{This is very strong, achieving the strategic goal of closing the c-file. Spassky now counts on the pressure on the long diagonal and his active pieces.}
Bxc5 30.bxc5 Rd8 31.Re1
{31.Ndxe4? Rxd1 32.Qxd1 Bxe4}
Ne7
{The knight prepares to occupy d5.}
32.Ncxe4 Nf5
{32...Qa4 is an interesting option, leading to unclear complications.}
33.Nb3 Nd4 34.Nxd4 Rxd4 35.Nd6 Qa4 36.f5
{An important thrust!}
Ra8 37.Rb2 Qa3
{This is better than 37...Rb4.}
38.fxe6 fxe6 39.Nxb5 Bxb5 40.Qxb5 Rd3
{Spassky targets g3.}
41.Rg2 Qc3 42.R1e2 Ra3 43.Rc2 Qxe5 44.Rce2 Re3 45.Rxe3 Rxe3 46.a4 Rc3 47.c6
Qd6
{The c-pawn just marches along...}
48.c7 Rxc7
{This is the decisive mistake. Black should have played 48. ..Qxc7 49.Qe8+ Kh7 50.Qxe6 and tried to grovel in the endgame.}
49.Qb8+ Kh7 50.a5 h5
{50...Rc6 51.Qxd6 Rxd6 52.Ra2 Ra6 53.Kg2 and White will win.}
51.h4 Qc5 52.a6 Rf7 53.Qb1+ Kh6 54.Qa2 Re7 55.Qd2+ Kg6 56.Re2 Kh7 57.Qc2+
Qxc2 58.Rxc2 Kg6 59.Ra2
{Simple technique brings the game to a close.}
Ra7 60.Ra5 e5 61.Kg2 Kf6 62.Kf2 Ke6 63.Ke3 Kf5 64.Kf3 g6 65.Ra3 g5 66.hxg5
Kxg5 67.Ke4 1-0
[Event "Dortmund"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1992.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Kasparov"]
[Black "Anand"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "33"]
1.Nf3 d5 2.c4 c6 3.d4 Nf6 4.Nc3 dxc4
{The Slav Defense where Black trades a center pawn for active piece play.}
5.a4
{White wants to stop Black from protecting his c-pawn with 5...b5.}
Bf5 6.e3 e6 7.Bxc4 Bb4
{Black pins the knight on c3.}
8.O-O O-O 9.Qe2 Nbd7 10.Ne5
{White intends to advance his center with pawn f3 followed by e4.}
Re8 11.Rd1 Qc7 12.Nxd7 Qxd7 13.f3 Nd5 14.Na2 Bf8
{14...Bg6 would allow White to win material.}
15.e4 Bg6 16.Qe1
{A subtle move which frees the e2 square for the light squared bishop. 16.exd5 exd5 17.Qf1 dxc4 is better for Black because of his two bishops and White's isolated d-pawn.}
f5
{An oversight which costs Black a piece.}
17.exd5
{Black resigned.}
1-0
[Event "Buenos Aires Simultaneous Exhibition"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1992.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Zarnicki"]
[Black "Kasparov"]
[Result "0-1"]
[PlyCount "54"]
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 d6 6.Be2 Be7
{The Scheveningen variation is one of my favorites.}
7.O-O O-O 8.f4 a6
{Notice how Black's e and d pawns keep White's piece off of the center.}
9.Be3 Qc7 10.Qe1
{White intends to transfer the queen over for a kingside attack. 10.a4 holding back Black's queenside, is more frequently played.}
b5 11.Bf3 Bb7 12.a3
{A necessity in order to stop Black's intended 12...b4.}
Nbd7 13.Qg3 Rac8 14.Rae1
{14.Rad1, which protects the knight on d4 with the idea of advancing in the center, may be better.}
Ba8 15.Kh1 Kh8
{Both king's tuck away in the corners, in mutual respect for each others' attacks.}
16.Qf2 Qb8
{A strong move, with ideas of advancing the b-pawn, while clearing the c-file for the rook.}
17.Bc1
{An admission that White has no concrete plan.}
Nb6 18.g4 d5
{Following the maxim that an attack on the flank is best countered by one in the center.}
19.e5 Ne4 20.Nxe4 dxe4 21.Bxe4 Bc5
{Pinning the knight.}
22.c3 Bxd4 23.Qxd4
{23.cxd4 Rxc1 24.Rxc1 Bxe4+ when Black's two pieces are stronger than the rook.}
Rc4 24.Qd3 Rd8 25.Qf3
{As a result of Black's pawn sacrifice, his rooks have been able to enter the game with tempo. Black now takes advantage of White's king being on the same diagonal as Black's light squared bishop.}
Rxe4
{With this temporary sacrifice Black is able to capitalize on a pin along the a8-h1 diagonal.}
26.Rxe4 Na4
{With the intention of playing 27...Nc5.}
27.b4 Rc8
{White resigned since he has no defense against 28...Rc4 winning material due to the pin on the a8-h1 diagonal.}
0-1
[Event "Belgrade"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1992.??.??"]
[Round "19"]
[White "Fischer"]
[Black "Spassky"]
[Result "1/2"]
[PlyCount "168"]
1.e4 c5 2.Nc3 Nc6 3.Nge2 e5 4.Nd5
{This knight immediately occupies Black's weak square.}
Nge7 5.Nec3 Nxd5 6.Nxd5 Be7 7.g3
{The fianchetto of the bishop is an innovation which leads to quite different play from that of the normal lines. It is probably more flexible than the development of the bishop at c4. 7.Bc4 is a major alternative.}
d6 8.Bg2 h5
{This threatens to advance the h-pawn with great effect.}
9.h4
{9.h3 h4 10.g4 Bg5! gives Black excellent counterplay.}
Be6
{9...Bg4!? deserves consideration.}
10.d3 Bxd5 11.exd5 Nb8
{11...Nd4?! 12.c3 Nf5 13.Bh3!}
12.f4
{Fischer tries to grab the initiative right way, since otherwise Black will simply complete his development and enjoy a comfortable game.}
Nd7 13.O-O g6 14.Rb1
{Fischer now turns his attention to the queenside. 14.f5 is tempting, but it is not strong: Nf6! 15. fxg6 fxg6 16.Bg5 O-O and control of g4 gives Black a good game.}
f5 15.b4 b6 16.bxc5 bxc5 17.c4 O-O 18.Qa4 Bf6
{How should this position be evaluated? A bishop pair is useful, of course, but these clerics are not very active right now, compared with Black's pieces.}
19.Rb7
{It is clear that White's strategy must involve penetration of the queenside.}
Nb6 20.Qb5
{20.Qc6 Rc8 accomplishes nothing for White.}
Rf7 21.Rxf7 Kxf7 22.Bd2 Rb8 23.Qc6
{White wants to play Rb1, but that could not be played right away. 23.Rb1 Nd7 and Black has no problems.}
Nc8
{This parri es the threat of Rb1, but now Black's forces are too far from the important strategic ouposts at e5 and d7.}
24.Re1 Ne7 25.Qa4 Qc7 26.Kh2 exf4
{Opening up the position now favors White, who controls the e- file. 26...Rb2?! 27.Bc3 Rf2? 28.Kg1 26...Ng8! is a strange move, but it is best, because the knight will be able to gallop to g4. Nevertheless, White will still have an advantage.}
27.Bxf4 Be5 28.Re2
{Now we can see that the second rank needs protection. 28.Bxe5?! dxe5 and Black can cover the sixth rank with Rb6, and then adopt the knight maneuver with Ng8-f6-g4.}
Rb6
{Preventing Qc6, and thus freeing the knight from the defensive chore.}
29.Kh3
{White's king finds the safest square.}
Ng8
{An outrageous blunder, though Black's position was in any event difficult. 29...Bxf4 30.gxf4 Rb8}
30.Rxe5
{This is the easiest way to win. 30.Bxe5 dxe5 31.Rxe5 Nf6!}
dxe5 31.Bxe5 Qe7
{31...Qxe5 32.Qxa7+ Ne7 33.Qxb6 and the safety of the White king means that the a-pawn flies.}
32.d6
{Opening up d5 for the bishop.}
Rxd6 33.Bxd6 Qxd6 34.Bd5+ Kf8 35.Qxa7 Ne7 36.Qa8+ Kg7 37.Qb7 Kf8 38.a4
f4
{Black is busted, but Spassky creates some complications.}
39.a5 fxg3 40.a6 Qf4 41.Bf3
{41.Bg2?? Qg4++}
Nf5 42.Qe4 g2 43.Qxf4 g1=Q 44.Be4 Qa1 45.a7 Qxa7 46.Bxf5 gxf5 47.Qxf5+
Kg7 48.Qg5+ Kf8 49.Qh6+ Kg8 50.Qxh5 Qc7 51.Qg6+ Kh8 52.Qf6+ Kg8 53.Qe6+
{53.Kg4 Qd7+ 54.Kg5 Qxd3?? 55.Qg6+ and White wins easily.}
Kh8 54.Qd5
{54.h5! was best.}
Qf7 55.Kg2
{55.Qxf7 is stalemate! 55.d4 Qf1+ 56.Kg4 Qg1+ 57.Kh5 Qd1+ 58.Kg6 Qg4+ 59.Kf7 Qg8+! 60.Ke7 Qh7+ 61.Kd8 Qxh4+ 62.Kc7 Qxd4=}
Qg6+ 56.Kh3 Qf7 57.Qe5+ Kh7 58.Kg4 Qg6+ 59.Kf4 Qh6+ 60.Kf3 Qg6 61.Qe4 Kh8
62.Ke2
{62.Qxg6 is also stalemate.}
Qd6 63.Qe3 Qh2+ 64.Kd1 Qh1+ 65.Kd2 Qh2+ 66.Kc3 Qxh4 67.d4 Kh7
{67...cxd4+ 68.Qxd4+ Qxd4+ 69.Kxd4 and White wins.}
68.d5
{68.dxc5! would have won, since the pawns create a barrier against perpetual check.}
Qf6+ 69.Kd3 Qd6 70.Qg5 Kh8 71.Kd2 Qb6 72.Qe5+ Kg8 73.Qe8+ Kg7 74.Qb5 Qc7
75.Kc2 Kf8 76.Qa6 Qh2+ 77.Kb3 Qb8+ 78.Qb5 Qc7 79.Ka3 Qa7+ 80.Kb3 Ke7 81.Kc2
Kd8 82.Kd2 Qc7 83.Qa6 Qf4+ 84.Kc2
{Now there is no avoiding the perpetual check. Fischer's endgame play in this game was simply terrible, and he must have been kicking himself all night.}
Qe4+ 1/2
[Event "Belgrade"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1992.??.??"]
[Round "18"]
[White "Spassky"]
[Black "Fischer"]
[Result "1/2"]
[PlyCount "72"]
1.d4 d5 2.c4 dxc4 3.Nf3 a6 4.e3 Nf6 5.Bxc4 e6 6.O-O c5 7.dxc5 Qxd1 8.Rxd1
Bxc5 9.Nbd2
{Spassky decides not to repeat the fianchetto plan of the previous games.}
O-O
{According to reports from the scene, Fischer spent 25 minutes on this move.}
10.a3
{Finally Spassky returns to the realm of ordinary theory.}
b5 11.Be2 Bb7 12.b4 Be7 13.Bb2 Nbd7
{Both sides have employed the extended fianchetto and there is a great deal of symmetry. The presence of the rook at d1 has little effect.}
14.Rac1 Rfc8 15.Nb3
{The idea behind this plan, initiated at the ninth turn, is to bring the knight to a5. But so many pieces leave the board that Fischer reaches a drawn game without difficulty.}
Rxc1 16.Rxc1 Rc8 17.Rxc8+ Bxc8 18.Nfd4 Nb8 19.Bf3 Kf8 20.Na5 Bd6 21.Ndb3
{Spassky methodically increases the positional pressure on the queenside.}
e5
{This takes control of the critical d4-square and limits the scope of the Bb2.}
22.Nc5 Ke7 23.h3 Nfd7 24.Nd3 f6
{Fischer defends accurately. The game is now level.}
25.Be4 g6 26.f4
{A last attempt to try to stir up some action, but it does not succeed.}
exf4 27.exf4 Nb6 28.Nb7 Bc7 29.Nbc5 Nc4 30.Bc1 Nd7 31.Kf1 Nxc5 32.Nxc5
Bb6 33.Bd3 Bxc5 34.bxc5 Be6 35.Kf2 Kd7 36.Bxc4 Bxc4 1/2
[Event "Belgrade"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1992.??.??"]
[Round "15"]
[White "Fischer"]
[Black "Spassky"]
[Result "1/2"]
[PlyCount "66"]
1.c4
{Something of a surprise, although Fischer did play the English in the first match too.}
e6 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.g3
{The choice of the kingside fianchetto means that we are headed for a Tarrasch, Catalan, English, or Hedgehog. Still a wide choice!}
d5 4.Bg2 Be7 5.O-O O-O 6.d4
{Now we have a Catalan Opening, and Spassky opts for the closed variation.}
Nbd7 7.Nbd2
{This is a fairly popular line, but does not place much pressure at d5, and White can hope for a minimal advantage, at best.}
b6 8.cxd5
{The double fianchetto approach.}
exd5 9.Ne5 Bb7 10.Ndf3
{10.Ndc4 perhaps makes better use of the long diagonal, exploiting the pin at d5.}
Ne4 11.Bf4 Ndf6
{Black has achieved full equality.}
12.Rc1 c5 13.dxc5 bxc5
{Black's hanging pawns at c5 and d5 are strong in this configuration. One can compare game 6 of the first match, where they proved to be weak.}
14.Ng5 Nxg5 15.Bxg5 Ne4
{The excellent coordination of Black's forces lead to simplifications without risk.}
16.Bxe7 Qxe7 17.Bxe4 dxe4
{17...Qxe5 18.Bf3 maintains strong pressure at d5.}
18.Nc4 e3
{This is a bold attempt to punish White for ignoring Nimzowitsch's principle that central pawns must be blockaded.}
19.f3
{Now the question is whether the pawn at e3 is strong or weak. 19.Nxe3? Qe4}
Rad8 20.Qb3 Rfe8 21.Rc3 Bd5
{This preserves the important e-pawn.}
22.Rfc1
{22.Rxe3 Bxc4 23.Rxe7 Bxb3 24.Rxe8+ Rxe8 25.axb3 Rxe2 with a drawish endgame.}
g6 23.Qa3
{23.Qa4 was preferred by Deep Thought.}
Bxf3
{Spassky pl ays with youthful vigor. The piece sacrifice is romantic and worthy of consideration, but there was a less interesting drawing line. 23...Bxc4 24. Rxc4 Rd2! 25.Re4 Qd7 26.Qxe3 Rxe4 27.Qxe4 Qd4+! 28.Qxd4 cxd4 with equal chances in the endgame.}
24.exf3
{24.Rxe3? Be4!}
e2 25.Re1 Rd1 26.Kf2 Rxe1 27.Kxe1 Qd7
{There are two threats here: Qd1+ and Qh3. Now White must play with extreme caution.}
28.Qb3
{28.Rd3 Qh3 29.Ne3 Rxe3! 30.Rxe3 Qf1+ 31.Kd2 Qd1+ and a draw will result.}
Qh3 29.Ne3 Qxh2
{29...Rxe3? 30.Rxe3 Qf1+ 31.Kd2 and the d1-square is covered by the Qb3.}
30.g4 Rb8 31.Qd5
{31.Qc2?? would lose to Rxb2!! 32.Qxb2 Qg1+ 33.Kxe2 Qh2+ 34.Kd3 Qxb2 and White's pawns will fall quickly.}
Rxb2
{Now White must force the draw.}
32.Qd8+ Kg7 33.Nf5+ gxf5 1/2
[Event "Belgrade"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1992.??.??"]
[Round "16"]
[White "Spassky"]
[Black "Fischer"]
[Result "0-1"]
[PlyCount "68"]
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 c5 3.d5 d6
{Like a conjurer, Fischer pulls yet another surprise opening out of his sleeve. He plans to go his own way in this opening, neither opting for the popular Benko Gambit nor playing the standard modern Benoni idea of e7- e6.}
4.Nc3 g6 5.e4 Bg7 6.Bg5
{This is played in the spirit of the Averbakh Variation of the King's Indian. Other ideas include 6. Nf3 and 6.Bd3. This line leads to greater complications appropriate to the match standing.}
h6 7.Bh4
{An unusual choice. Usually the bishop retreats along the c1-h6 diagonal and later forms a battery with the queen. Now Black can develop counterplay quickly.}
g5 8.Bg3 Qa5
{Black must not delay his counterplay! 8...O-O 9.Bd3 would give White excellent attacking prospects.}
9.Bd3
{Inviting immediate complications, but this is still known to theory. 9.Qd2 is correct.}
Nxe4 10.Bxe4 Bxc3+ 11.bxc3 Qxc3+ 12.Kf1
{After a few forced moves Black is a piece down for two pawns, but White's material advantage cannot be maintained.}
f5
{By sacrificing a piece for two pawns, Black attacks both of White's bishops, deprives the enemy monarch of his castling privilege and thereby disrupts the communication of the rooks. 12...Qxc4+ 13.Bd3 Qxd5?? 14.Bb5+ wins the queen.}
13.Rc1
{13.Ne2 Qf6 14.Bc2 f4 15.h4 Rf8 and White has a hopeless position.}
Qf6 14.h4
{14.Qh5+ Kd8 15.h4 g4! A theme later exploited by Fischer.}
g4 15.Bd3
{White has to part with one of his bishops, but which one? The dark- squared bishop seems more important. 15.Bxf5!? deserves consideration, enabling White to complete his development.}
f4 16.Ne2 fxg3 17.Nxg3
{Things have calmed down a bit, and Black has an extra pawn, but some weak light-squares.}
Rf8 18.Rc2
{White is almost out of the woods, but his rook still stands idly at h1, and this is all Fischer needs to get things going.}
Nd7
{Black returns the pawn for rapid mobilization.}
19.Qxg4 Ne5 20.Qe4 Bd7 21.Kg1 O-O-O
{Black is now ready for action, while his opponent is still playing without a rook, and it cannot be brought into the game quickly.}
22.Bf1
{22.Kh2 Ng4+ 23.Kg1 Qa1+ 22.Nh5 Qf7 22.f3 Rg8!}
Rg8 23.f4 Nxc4
{A crucial intermediate move. 23...Rxg3 24.fxe5 would have given White some chances.}
24.Nh5 Qf7 25.Qxc4 Qxh5 26.Rb2 Rg3
{The beginning of the final offensive.}
27.Be2 Qf7 28.Bf3 Rdg8 29.Qb3
{29.Kf2 Qg7 30.Rhb1 Rxg2+}
b6 30.Qe3 Qf6 31.Re2 Bb5 32.Rd2
{32.Qxe7 Qxe7 33.Rxe7 Rxf3!}
e5
{Fischer finishes with surgical precision.}
33.dxe6
{33.Rf2 exf4}
Bc6 34.Kf1 Bxf3
{Spassky resigned in the face of Qa1+.}
0-1
[Event "Sveti Stefan"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1992.??.??"]
[Round "2"]
[White "Spassky"]
[Black "Fischer"]
[Result "1/2"]
[PlyCount "117"]
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7
{The King's Indian, another Fischer favorite.}
4.e4 d6 5.f3
{The sharp Saemisc h variation, though dulled somewhat by Spassky's choice of continuations.}
c5
{Normal is 5...O-O, but the early hypermodern advance is also seen.}
6.dxc5
{6.d5 would lead to an ultra-sharp Modern Benoni, but Spassky prefers the accepted line, which lead to an early endgame.}
dxc5 7.Qxd8+ Kxd8 8.Be3
{8.e5?! Nfd7 9.f4 f6! 10.exf6 exf6 11.Bd2 Re8+ 12.Be2 Nc6 13.O-O-O Nd4= was agreed drawn in Marovic-Ivkov, Malaga 1981.}
Nfd7 9.Nge2
{9.O-O-O b6 10. f4 Bxc3 11.bxc3 Bb7 12.Nf3 Ke8 13.e5 Bxf3 14.gxf3 f5 15.exf6 Nxf6 16.f5 gave White an advantage in Spassky-Gheorghiu,}
b6 10.O-O-O
{Now Fischer introduces a completely new plan, developing his knight on the flank.}
Na6 11.g3 Nc7 12.f4 e6
{The Black knights look very artificial.}
13.Bh3
{This connects the rooks and prepares f4-f5, but White could have played more strongly by exchanging light-squared bishops. 13.e5!? Bb7 14.Rg1 Ke7 15. Bg2 Bxg2 16.Rxg2 f6 17.g4! fxe5 18.f5! and White has a strong attack.}
Ke7 14.Rhf1 h6 15.e5 Bb7 16.g4
{White prepares to play Ng3 and f5.}
Rad8 17.Ng3 f6 18.Nce4 fxe5 19.f5
{White has full compensation for the sacrificed pawn, but Fischer defends well.}
Bxe4 20.Nxe4 gxf5 21.gxf5 Nf6 22.Rg1
{This lets Fischer escape. 22. Ng3!? Rxd1+ 23.Kxd1 Rd8+ 24.Ke2 gives White a dangerous initiative. After capturing on e6, the light squares will be very weak.}
Rxd1+ 23.Kxd1 Bf8 24.Nxf6 Kxf6 25.Rf1 exf5 26.Rxf5+ Kg7 27.Rxe5
{This is natural, but nevertheless questionable, since Black can now both consolidate his position and win the important pawn at h2. 27.Rf2! deserved consideration, for example Be7 28.Bd2 Rd8 29.Ke2 intending 30.Bc3.}
Bd6 28.Re4 Bxh2 29.Ke2 h5
{This modest pawn will reach the seventh rank in a few moves and dramatically grow in stature.}
30.Re7+ Kf6 31.Rd7 Be5 32.b3 h4 33.Kf3 Rg8 34.Bg4
{This is wrong, though few commentators noticed it at the time. Alternatives promised excellent drawing chances. 34.Bf4! Bxf4 35.Kxf4 Ne6+ 36. Bxe6 Kxe6 37.Rxa7 Rh8 38.Rg7 h3 39.Rg6+! Ke7 40.Rg1=}
h3 35.Rh7 h2 36.Bf4 Rf8
{A very strong move. White now must part with the exchange because of the threat of 37...Kg6.}
37.Bxe5+
{37.Bxh2 Kg6+ 38.Ke4 Kxh7 39.Bxe5 gives White more chances to escape.}
Kg6+ 38.Ke4 Kxh7 39.Bxh2 Re8+ 40.Kf5
{Intending to tether Black's king to the edge of the board. 40.Kd3 is no better.}
Ne6 41.Kf6 Nd4
{Fischer has achieved a technically winning position, but surprisingly he does not find the resources to crush his opponent.}
42.Bd6 Re4 43.Bd7 Re2 44.a4 Rb2
{44...Nxb3 was more logical, but even after the text the position is still a win.}
45.Bb8 a5 46.Ba7 Rxb3 47.Ke5 Nf3+ 48.Kd6 Nd2 49.Be6 Rb4 50.Kc6 Nb3
{This throws away the win. 50...Nxc4 51.Bxc4 Rxc4 52.Kxb6 Rxa4 53.Kxc5 Kg6 54.Kb5 Ra2 55. Bc5 a4 56.Kb4 Kf5 and the Black king will march to d3.}
( 49...Nxc4 51.Bxc4 Rxc4 52.Kxb6 Rxa4 53.Kxc5 Kg6 54.Kb5 Ra2 55.Bc5 a4
56.Kb4 Kf5 )
51.Bd5 Rxa4 52.Bxb6 Ra1 53.Bxc5 a4 54.Bb4
{Now the winning chances are gone, since the c-pawn is preserved.}
a3 55.c5 Nd4+ 56.Kd7 Rd1
{56...a2 57.Bxa2! Rxa2 58.c6=}
57.Bxa3 Nc2 58.c6 Rxd5+ 59.Bd6
{Agreed drawn, because a piece must be sacrificed to stop the pawn. Try playing on against Gambit if you need proof.}
1/2
[Event "Belgrade"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1992.??.??"]
[Round "17"]
[White "Fischer"]
[Black "Spassky"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "115"]
1.e4 c5 2.Nc3
{Again Fischer avoids the main lines of the Sicilian. This variation, however, comes as quite a surprise since it has always been a favorite of Spassky's.}
Nc6 3.Nge2
{This flexible approach allows White to transpose back into the main lines, should that prove appropriate.}
e6
{Black aims for the traditional d7-d5 break. 3...e5 is considered stronger.}
4.g3 d5
{4...d6 could have led back to a Scheveningen Sicilian, e.g., 4... d6 5.d4 cxd4 6.Nxd4 Nf6 7.Bg2}
5.exd5 exd5 6.Bg2
{6.d4 stops the advance of Black's d-pawn but it is a weak move because of Bg4 7.Bg2 Nxd4 8.h3 Bf3! and White is already in trouble.}
d4 7.Nd5 Nf6 8.Nef4 Nxd5 9.Nxd5 Bd6 10.O-O O-O 11.d3
{11.c4!? is an interesting alternative.}
Be6 12.Nf4
{A new move. 12.Qh5 was played in an earlier game.}
Bf5
{Yet again Spassky fails to react properly to an opening surprise. Black must preserve the light-squared bishop, of course, but this was not the best way to accomplish the task. 12...Bxf4 13.Bxf4 Bd5 14.Re1 Qd7 15.Qh5! f5 16.a3 gives White a slight initiative and the bishop pair.}
13.h3 Rb8
{Black has difficulty countering White's pressure on the light- squares.}
14.Bd2 Re8 15.Re1 Rxe1+ 16.Qxe1 Qd7
{This allows White to eliminate one of Black's bishops, but there were no happy alternatives. 16...Bd7 17.Qe4! 16.. .h6 17.g4! and White will punish Black for weakening the kingside pawn structure.}
17.g4 Re8 18.Qd1 Bxf4 19.Bxf4 Be6 20.Qf3
{This prevents Bd5 by Black.}
Nb4
{Spassky introduces some interesting complications with this move, but they turn out better for White. 20...Rd8 seems more sensible, e.g., 21.a3 f6 and Black will be able to transfer the bishop to d5.}
21.Qxb7
{21.a3 Bd5}
Nxc2 22.Rc1 Qxb7 23.Bxb7
{Yet again we have an early endgame!}
Nb4
{The pawn at d3 is now under attack, as well as the pawn at a2.}
24.Be4 Bxa2 25.Bd2
{A necessary finesse. 25.Rxc5? Bb1! 26.Rc4 Bxd3 27.Bxd3 Nxd3 28.Rxd4 Nxf4 29.Rxf4=}
Bd5
{There is no saving the c-pawn, so Black at least occupies the d5 square. 25...a5 26.Rxc5 Bb1 27.Bxb4 axb4 28.Rc4! and Black will not be able to save the pawns or the game.}
26.Bxd5 Nxd5 27.Rxc5 Nb6 28.Kf1 f6 29.Ra5
{White's superiority is beyond doubt. he has an active rook and Black has weak pawns. Still, it is not all that easy to get the full point, because there are sources of counterplay in the Black position, as Spassky demonstrates.}
Re7 30.Bb4 Rd7 31.Bc5 Kf7 32.Ke2 g5
{32...Ke6 33.Ra6 Rb7 34.Bxd4 and White wins.}
33.Kf3 Kg6 34.Ke4
{Fischer starts sending the king on a fantastic voyage.}
h5 35.Bxd4 Re7+ 36.Kf3 h4
{This fixes the pawn at h3, giving some chance of picking it off later.}
37.Bc5 Re1
{Passive play simply will not do! 37...Rd7 38.Ke4 Nc8 39.d4 etc.}
38.Rxa7 Nd5
{Black's pieces are finally active, but it has cost two pawns. The threat is Nf4.}
39.Bf8
{White responds with a threat of his own: 40.Rg7+!}
Re8 40.Bd6
{40.Rg7+ Kh6 41.Rd7+ Rxf8 42.Rxd5 Rb8 and Black can hold.}
Re6
{40...Rd8 41.Ra6! Rd7 42.Ke4}
41.Rd7
{41.Ra6 Nb4! exploits the pin on the sixth rank.}
Nb6 42.Rd8 Nd5 43.b4 Re1
{Another counterattack is launched.}
44.b5
{Fischer sees deeply into the endgame pool, plumbing the depths in an effort to find his way to victory. 44.Bc5 Nf4 45.b5 looks logical, but Black has real drawing chances after 45...Ne6.}
Rb1 45.Rb8 Rb3
{This is the decisive error. The problem is that Spassky will lose an important tempo. 45...Kf7! was the correct move, intending to centralize the king.}
46.Ke4
{Fischer provides an instructive endgame lesson here.}
Nc3+ 47.Kd4 Nxb5+ 48.Kc4 Rc3+ 49.Kxb5 Rxd3 50.Kc6 Rxh3
{Black has sacrificed the knight for a single pawn, but it is a very dangerous passed pawn. Still, Fischer plays with great precision in this problem- like endgame.}
51.Kd5 Rf3 52.Ke6 Rxf2 53.Rg8+ Kh7 54.Kf7
{The Black monarch cannot be spared from the intrusion into his home.}
Ra2
{54...h3 55.Rg7+ Kh6 56.Bf8 with a mating net.}
55.Rg7+ Kh6
{55...Kh8 56.Kg6 Ra6 57.Rf7 Ra8 58.Rf8+ Rxf8 59.Bxf8 h3 60.Bd6}
56.Bf8 Ra7+ 57.Kxf6
{57.Kg8?? Rxg7+ 58.Bxg7+ Kg6 59.Bf8 f5! 60.gxf5+ Kxf5 and Black wins!}
Ra6+ 58.Kf7
{There is no longer any defense to Kg8, so Black resigned.}
1-0
[Event "Sveti Stefan"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1992.??.??"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Fischer"]
[Black "Spassky"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "99"]
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5
{Quite brave of Spassky, to test Fischer in the latter's favorite opening. But then Spassky is also the master of the Black side of the Spanish Game!}
a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 O-O 8.c3 d6 9.h3 Nb8
{The Breyer System, Spassky's pride and joy.}
10.d4 Nbd7 11.Nbd2 Bb7 12.Bc2 Re8 13.Nf1
{13.b4 a5! prevents the planned advance of White's a-pawn to a5.}
Bf8 14.Ng3 g6 15.Bg5 h6 16.Bd2 Bg7 17.a4 c5 18.d5 c4 19.b4
{This is an , and perhaps a strong one. It is not just the move that is new, but the idea of a delayed b4 after Black has advanced to c4.}
Nh7 20.Be3 h5 21.Qd2 Rf8 22.Ra3
{Spassky must have been feeling a creeping uneasiness, caused by the potential problems on the a-file, where White's heavy artillery will congregate.}
Ndf6
{Black lacks adequate counterply, since there is no real hope of playing f7-f5. Therefore he tries to regroup his pieces to prevent a capture at b5, and also prepares to sacrifice a piece for the dominating central pawns.}
23.Rea1 Qd7 24.R1a2 Rfc8 25.Qc1 Bf8 26.Qa1 Qe8 27.Nf1 Be7 28.N1d2
{28.N3d2 is an interesting alternative, intending to advance the f-pawn.}
Kg7 29.Nb1
{This threatens to liquidate a lot of pieces following captures on a5 and a8, after which Nb1-a3 will win the weak pawn at b5. So Black must try a desperate sacrifice.}
Nxe4 30.Bxe4 f5 31.Bc2 Bxd5 32.axb5 axb5 33.Ra7 Kf6 34.Nbd2
{The knight has done its duty on the queenside and returns to provide support for the center and for its fellow steed at f3.}
Rxa7 35.Rxa7 Ra8 36.g4
{Fischer strives to open the position, even if this entails exposing his king to some danger. This is better than exchanging at a8, as the resulting simplification would not help White's attack.}
hxg4 37.hxg4 Rxa7 38.Qxa7 f4
{Well-timed! 38...Qa8 would lead to an easy win for White.}
39.Bxf4
{Fischer's superb technique is evident as he returns his trophy immediately. If he had tried to hang on to it, victory would have been less likely. 39.Bb6?! Qa8! 40. Qd7 Bxf3 41.Nxf3 Qxf3 42.Bd8 Bxd8 43.Qxd8+ is unclear.}
exf4 40.Nh4
{Another strong move which is not obvious. The natural path would lead White astray: 40.Qd4+ Ke6 41.Qg7 Nf8 and Black can hold on.}
Bf7
{The fatal err or. The knight retreat was called for. 40...Nf8! 41.Qd4+ Ke6 42.Nf5 Bf6! 43. Qxf4 Be5 and Black could still put up a fight.}
41.Qd4+ Ke6 42.Nf5
{There is the threat of a big fork at g7.}
Bf8
{42...gxf5 43.Bxf5++}
43.Qxf4 Kd7 44.Nd4
{The b5-pawn is unprotected. Spassky makes one more attempt at counterplay.}
Qe1+ 45.Kg2 Bd5+ 46.Be4 Bxe4+ 47.Nxe4 Be7 48.Nxb5 Nf8 49.Nbxd6 Ne6
{Spassky resigned here, rather than face...}
50.Qe5 1-0
