Sacking the Citadel The History, Theory and Practice of the Classic Bishop Sacrifice by
Jon Edwards
Foreword by Karsten Muller
2011 Russell Enterprises, Inc. Milford, CT USA
Sacking the Citadel The History, Theory and Practice of the Classic Bishop Sacrifice by Jon Edwards ISBN: 978-1-888690-74-3
© Copyright 20 11 Jon Edwards All Rights Reserved No part of this book may be used, reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any manner or form whatsoever or by any means, electronic, electrostatic, magnetic tape, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the express written permission from the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews. Published by: Russell Enterprises, Inc. P.O. Box 3131 Milford, CT 06460 USA http://www.russell-enterprises.com
[email protected] Cover design by Janel Lowrance
Printed in the United States of America
Table of Contents
Signs & Symbols
5
Foreword
7
Introduction
8
The Classic Bishop Sacrifice Part I: History Chapter 1 The Life & Times of Giaocchino Greco
13
The Classic Bishop Sacrifice Part II: Theory Chapter 2 "On Attacking the Castled King"
26
Chapter 3 The Art ofChess Combination
30
Chapter 4 The Art ofAttack
36
Chapter 5 Contemporary Theory The 'itJg8 line The 'itJg6 line The 'itJh6 line The ~xg5 line The 'itJh8 line The '/¥txg5 line
49
50 56 72 78 84 88
The Classic Bishop Sacrifice Part III: Practice
Chapter 6 Games Greco's Greco's Greco's Greco's Greco's
94 Sacrifice, the Early Years Sacrifice, through 1910 Sacrifice, 1911-1935 Sacrifice, 1936-1959 Sacrifice, 1960-2010
94 95 126 161 200
Chapter 7 Greco's Quiz
361
Chapter 8 Related Literature
381
Bibliography
387
Index of Openings
390
Index of Asset Combinations
392
Index of Players
394
Signs & Symbols
1-0
White wins
0-1
Black wins
'i1-'i1
Draw agreed
+
check
""
mate a strong move
!!
a brilliant or unobvious move
?
a weak move, an error
!?
a grave error
!?
a move worth consideration an equal position
~
White stands slightly better
±
White has a clear advantage
+-
White has a winning position
'f
Black stands slightly better
'" -+
Black has a clear advantage
00
an unclear position
00
with compensation
ol
Olympiad
m
match
ch
championship
wch
world championship
corr
correspondence game
(D)
see the next diagram
Black has a winning position
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Sacking the Citadel
6
Foreword
Greco's Greek Gift
A whole book on the single motif Axh7+? Is this really worth it and is enough relevant material available, I hear you ask. I can assure you that there is. The theme is so deep and rich that Jon Edwards has even decided to deal only with Greco's version of the classical Greek Gift sacrifice, Axh 7 +. After .tlg5+, Black's king can go to g8, h8, g6 and h6, when White again has different ways to continue the attack. Edwards deals with all of them in detail and even constructs a complete taxonomy of all motifs. Usually this is not done, as there is simply not enough space in a book to cover all themes and to analyze when it is likely that the combination of assets makes the sacrifice successful. Edwards does it, and does it well. Consequently, important motifs lie entirely open before your eyes and you can see how all the details and aspects of the "Greco" tactics work. This attention to detail is very important to the understanding of the royal game both in a general way and in great depth. Tactical motifs like Axh7+ followed by .tlg5+ are the ABC of chess, and understanding their essence will enable you to use them almost on intuition alone. But accurate calculation is of course also an extremely important skill. So you might want to try to figure out on your own if the sacrifice works, ifit is speculative or just unsound, then find Black's best defense and calculate to the end. As a result, you will have fun enjoying the fireworks, while learning one of the most important skills ofthe royal game.
Karsten Muller Hamburg November 20 10
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Introduction In or around 1620, Giaocchino Greco, an aspiring chess master from the Italian province of Calabria, made a remarkable discovery, a complex bishop sacrifice on h7 that often results in mate or material gain. More remarkable perhaps, he recorded the idea. This book attempts to fill two voids in the literature. The first is an accessible biography of Greco, whose unearthing of and willingness to share the sacrifice surely warrants some historical reward. His usual biographical treatments fill a few paragraphs. With a bit of sleuthing, I've been able to offer a somewhat lengthier narrative and to place his life within the broader context of his times and his contribution to modem chess. The second, and of more immediate interest to chess players, is my attempt to construct a comprehensive taxonomy of Greco's bishop sacrifice, to classify the conditions required for the sacrifice to succeed, to delineate its possibilities, and to chart its progress through the years. 8 7
6
5 4
3 2
abc
d
e
f
g
h
Greco's Sacrifice on h7 (or h2 by Black) has figured in thousands of games and is well known by all serious chess players. The sacrifice is almost always accepted to prevent the loss of a pawn (there are a few, interesting exceptions), and the attacker soon follows with 4:\g5+ and then often with a queen move to attack h7 seeking a quick checkmate, a king hunt, or material (or positional) gain. The defender has four and sometimes five options, retreating the king to g8 (common) or h8 (uncommon and almost always awful), advancing the king to g6 (a dangerous but often stubborn defense), 'it'h6 (an interesting defense when White's dark square bishop has been exchanged or cannot easily reach the c I-h6 diagonal), or capturing the 4:\g5 (dangerous, especially if White has a pawn on h4 and a rook on hI). Some call the bishop sacrifice the "Greek Gift," likely an obscure reference to the Trojan Horse and Virgil's famous intonation in Aeneid 11.49 "timeo danaos et dona ferentes." ("I fear the Greeks even when they are bringing gifts.") It is possible that another master, the Italian Giulio Cesare Polerio, discovered it first. Simply
8
Introduction put, we will never know for sure. And some have named it after Edgard Colle, who used it to secure a brilliancy prize in 1930 at Nice (see game 62). In my view, the sacrifice, at least in the classic line involving 4:Jg5+, should be named after the Italian master who effectively shared it with the world. In The Art ofAttack in Chess, (London, 1965) Vukovic proposed that the name ought to be the Classic Bishop Sacrifice in deference to its early origin and simplicity. To make the question more confusing, there are other interesting sacrifices on h7 that do not involve a subsequent 4:Jg5+ or queen attack upon h7. Although it truly does not matter, I suggest simply that the notion ofthe Classic Bishop Sacrifice or Greek Gift ought to apply generically to the sacrifice of the bishop on h7. When the maneuver is followed classically within two or three moves by 4:Jg5+ and a queen attack upon h7, it is then a Greco Sacrifice, the focus of this book. As Vladimir Vukovic reminds us, Greco's Sacrifice "is the oldest and most explored of all the sacrifices involved in the attack of the castled king." Modern chess players are fully acquainted with the sacrifice and work hard to prevent it. And yet, thousands of modern games involve the sacrifice, often in complex, sophisticated, and pleasing circumstances. Greco's Sacrifice has been a regular topic in the popular chess literature. It appears, notably, as a 14-page chapter in Eugene Znosko-Borovsky's The Art of the Chess Combination (1936); chapter five of George Renaud and Victor Kahn's The Art of the Checkmate (1953); chapter six (and part of chapter 7) of Vladimir VukoviC's The Art of the Attack in Chess (1965); section 27 of Euwe and Kramer's The Middle Game, Book 2 (1965); sections 32-35 of Murray Chandler's popular How to Beat Your Dad at Chess (1998); in a delightful article by Pete Tamburro "A 400 Year-Old Attack," Chess Lifefor Kids (June, 2007); as a four-page section in Karsten Milller's challenging Chess Cafe Puzzle Book; and just last year (2009) in approximately half of J!xh7+ by David Rudel. The individual game with Greco's first bishop sacrifice appears notably as game #25 in Hoffmann's The Games of Greco, as game #199 in Irving Chernev's 1000 Best Short Games of Chess, and as game 31 in ChessBase's MegaBase 2010. Most publishers place strict limits on how much material authors can include in their work. Authors of books about chess tactics agonize over what they can include and what they must leave out. The point? The depth and length required for a complex taxonomy of the Greco Sacrifice are incompatible with publishers' usual requirements for more generalized texts. With regard to the Greco Sacrifice, Renaud and Kahn acknowledge: "A complete description of Greco's Mate would need at least one hundred pages and cannot, therefore, be included in this book, especially as this sacrifice does not necessarily lead to a forced mate."
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Sacking the Citadel Although Euwe and Kramer emphasize the importance of noting even "little accidental circumstances which may prove vital in assessing the correctness of the offer," they add: "It would not be possible to make a systematic explanation of every possible variation of the Bishop sacrifice on KR7 (h7) within the compass of this book. We shall have to limit ourselves to some of its most typical forms." And, despite coverage in four sections of his book, Murray Chandler agrees: "There are so many different positions where the classic Greek gift sacrifice can be played that an entire book could be written on the subject." And so, apart from Greco's biography in Chapter 1, that's what this book attempts to do. The book contains three sections. The first section provides the brief history of Greco and his discovery. The second section winds through the efforts made by Edwin Voellmy, Eugene Znosko-Borovsky, Vladimir Vukovic and others to explain the inner workings of the sacrifice. It ends with chapter 5, a contemporary classification that contains useful explanations for beginners and surprises even for the strongest chess players. The third and, by far, longest section contains more than 300 annotated games. I have made an effort to locate every published game that involved the sacrifice through to 1959 when Vukovic wrote about the sacrifice. More than a few ofthose 127 games have appeared in the literature, but often with significant errors. I have made an effort to correct the record. Among these games, for those who simply want to sample the remarkable history of the sacrifice, I recommend several of these contests. Game number 1, Greco's discovery, is of more than historic importance. Play through it, and marvel at the care required to achieve victory. It is not a coincidence that many sources include games 12 (Fritz- Mason 1883), 41 (Capablanca-Molina 1911), 65 (AlekhineAsgeirsson 1931), and 95 (Kottnauer-Kotov 1946). The most complex game by far in these early years was game 62 (Colle-O'Hanlon 1930) which will continue to challenge chess players for decades to come. I have made every effort to offer a verdict on the game, but the strongest players will want to examine that game and its many variations carefully. In the period from 1960 to the present, I was able to include less than ten percent of all the sacrifices I found. I spent months playing through every game and hand selecting the games that appear here. They form a remarkable lot, with varied and often quite challenging themes.
10
Introduction Those looking for a more instructive experience might start with chapter 5, the modern classification, and then run through this interesting set of games: 137 (Kranzl-Matrisch), 151 (Vieweg-Kadner), 170 (Short-Agdestein), 183 (ChandlerAnagnostopoulos), 195 (Harris-Trimpi), 237 (Hellsten-Jakobsen), 251 (AvrukhRamesh), and 284 (Fridman-Tan). For more advanced players, one group of the games are notable because they have significant theoretical interest within their respective openings. Such games include 147 (polugaevsky-Tal), 168 (Borg-Veer), 181 (Sax-Timman), and 261 (Blanco Gramajo-Salcedo Mederos). Although you can surely treat every game in the book as a test, I have also added a separate quiz in chapter 7. Some of you may be tempted to start there, but you will undoubtedly fare better by first reviewing the modern classification and at least an assortment of games. I must express my profound appreciation to the publisher, Hanon Russell. He was throughout willing to support this lengthy undertaking, and he was memorably compassionate when I underwent surgery earlier this year. I acknowledge a special debt of gratitude to Peter Tamburro, a well-known chess author and regular contributor to Chess Life, for his persistence in locating published examples and his many words of personal and chess encouragement. And, of course, I would never have completed the book without the love and support of my wife Cheryl, who has never once complained about my passion for the royal game. I express my gratitude to Alessandro Sanuito for permission to use the photograph of the Lisbon codice. Just before press time, German grandmaster Karsten MUller forwarded two remarkable games that were included as games 307 and 308. I thank Lorene Lavora for her friendship and for transforming many of the book's images. I hope to complement this effort in the years ahead by looking at other great players, notably Damiano, Philidor, Boden, Blackburne, Morphy, and their mates. Who were the people who passed down such wonderful mating patterns and sacrifices? How did their lives and times affect the contemporary game and our modern chess culture? And look at what their ideas have wrought! Jon Edwards Pennington, NJ December 20 10
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Sacking the Citadel
The Classic Bishop Sacrifice Part I: History
12
Chapter 1 The Life & Times of Giaocchino Greco
Despite many disadvantages, a shortened lifespan, underprivileged roots, and no formal education, Giaocchino Greco (1600-1634) brought chess almost singlehandedly from the Renaissance to the Enlightenment and, in important respects, established the discipline for modem chess play. I would agree with Euwe, himself a former world champion, that Greco "was the first great genius in the history of modem chess."
A short but prolific life Very little is known of Greco's first two decades. He grew up in Southern Italy, in Celici (East ofCosenza) in Calabria, and hence his affectionate nickname, il Calabrese. As a common man, his life just two centuries earlier would have been significantly restricted. In an inventory of households, Wickrnann records that most households of the late Renaissance had a chess set. Even a man of average means, now with some spare time and growing self confidence, could have chess as part of his life. Greco's creative talent could find a memorable outlet. The Kingdom of Naples, of which Calabria was a province, was, with Madrid, one of the world's great chess centers. Under secure Spanish rule since 1501, the city of Naples had become a cosmopolitan city of approximately 400,000 people, in Europe second or third in population only to Paris and London. Home to artists such as Gian Lorenzo Bernini, Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio, and Salvator Rosa, philosophers such as Giordano Bruno, Tomrnaso Campanella, and Bernardino Telesio, and writers such as Giovan Battista Marino, Naples represented an important cultural center that undoubtedly encouraged the freedom for personal exploration and philosophical inquiry that cultural breakthroughs usually demand. During the culmination of the Renaissance, the century before Greco was born, Italy had produced other chess masters, notably Paolo Bol, "il Siracusano" (15281598), Giovanni Leonardo, "The Wandering Knight" (1542-1587), Giulio Cesare Polerio (c. 1550-1610), Dr. Alessandro Salvio (c. 1570-1640), and Michaele di Mauro. It is a tribute to the Renaissance and its ideals that these were not nobles but common men who could marshal their talent and aspire to greatness in the art of chess. The last of Italy's Renaissance chess masters, Greco acquired knowledge ofthe game in local Italian clubs and improved quickly by reading the work ofRuy Lopez Libro de la invencion liberal y arte del juego del Axedrez ("Book of the Liberal Invention and Art of Playing Chess" 1561) and Salvio's first book, Trattato
13
Sacking the Citadel Dell' Inventione Et Arte Lieberale Del Gioco Di Scacchi (1604). On showing promise, Greco began studying with Don Mariano Marano, a celebrated local player who invited Greco into his home. Johanes Gutenberg's invention of moveable type printing in 1439 enabled the mass production of books. Years ago, I had the good luck to tour the rare book vault at Princeton University. Here were the fruits of Gutenberg's efforts. What struck me the most was that the bibles and other religious texts from that early period were magnificent and quite pristine. By remarkable contrast, the early chess books were haggard and worn to the bone, a clear sign of their esteem and use through the years. Among Greco's Italian contemporaries, only Salvio published books during his lifetime. Salvio's writings drew upon his own knowledge and experiences as well as others, and so it was natural perhaps that Greco's writings would borrow heavily from those he had read, especially Salvio's. His three chess works were all published in Naples, and so the two masters were very likely personally acquainted. By 1600, when Greco was born, Salvio was considered a leading player and perhaps even the unofficial world champion. Given to criticisms of other players and perhaps irritated that Greco appropriated his writings, Salvio intimated that Greco had not surpassed the ability of his instructor, Marano, but there seems little doubt that Greco, not unlike many modem prodigies, quickly surpassed the ability of his teacher and moved on. In 1513, Niccolo Machievelli (1469-1527), perhaps the Italian Renaissance's most famous political thinker, wrote The Prince, a summary of his political thinking. One of the book's key themes dealt with those qualities that a prince would need to prosper, to retain honor, glory, and fame. More than just a sound army and good fortune, a prince required certain qualities of leadership or "virtus." The Prince contains no definition of the word, but it appears to be a set of qualities that permit leaders to withstand blows to fortune. While a prince might not have all of the needed qualities for leadership, it was vitally important that he appear to have those qualities. Chess was a very small part of the equation, but its characteristics were well suited to a leisurely life, and it seems clear that an aristocrat incapable of playing well had at least to appear capable of doing so. Moreover, a merchant aspiring to a higher social level would be inclined to adopt the social trappings of the aristocracy. Skill at chess would help. In order to maintain their power and legitimacy, Renaissance rulers and noblemen understood the need for conspicuous sponsorship of the arts. Indeed, they competed amongst themselves to attract the finest practitioners. Jakob Burckhardt's "the state as a work of art," expresses in a single phrase the central role of the arts in personal and institutional settings. The role of chess and its masters appears remarkably similar to other forms of Renaissance creativity. Like Renaissance art,
14
The Life & Times of Giaocchino Greco music, mathematics, and architecture, chess could provide its experts with recognition and remuneration. Mathematicians and musicians, for example, traveled from town to town, impressing the local gentry with their skill in return for their financial support. In these areas of culture and inquiry, Italy exerted an almost hypnotic influence over the western world. Kings, princes, and affluent merchants competed for the services ofItaly's great painters and sculptors in an effort to bring culture and distinction to their courts and so, it was natural that they would also seek to attract Italy's great chess players. During the 16th century, it was common for artists to travel to Italy to work with the masters, and that may have been true with chess as well, but by 1620 when Greco set out to travel, the Renaissance was ebbing in Italy in the wake offoreign invasions and the Church's conservative reaction to the Reformation. And so, following the course of many accomplished chess players in the 15th and 16th centuries, Greco sought fame and fortune through matches and patronage. Around 1619, he obtained support from a number of Rome's wealthy prelates by providing them with a personally written collection of openings "Trattato del nobilissimo e militaire esercitio dei Scacchi, nel quale se contengano molti bellissimi tratti." In Rome, Monsignor Corsino della casa Minutoli Tegrini, Cardinal Savelli, and Monsignor Francisco Buoncompagni all received manuscripts. Copies of these manuscripts, dated 1620, are in the Corsiniana library in Rome. This member of the Buoncompagni family, who inherited his interest in chess from his father, the Duke of Sora, later became Archbishop of Naples. Later, as was also the custom for chess masters of the time, Greco traveled through France, England, and Spain, searching for the adventure of worthy opponents and the financial support oflocal nobility. Leaving Italy at the young age of 21, he impressed the court of Duke Enrico of Lorraine at Nancy and then took on Paris, where he earned the considerable sum of 5,000 crowns for defeating the leading players of France, Amault
15
Sacking the Citadel Ie Carabon. Chaumont de la Salle, and the Duke de Nemours. That may make Greco, suggests Andy Soltis, the world's first great money player. Unfortunately, we are told that Greco soon thereafter lost that sum to thieves while en route to London, although he regained at least a portion of his monies by defeating the best English players, notably Sir Francis Godolphin and Nicholas Mountstephen. Greco so impressed the English public that he very likely inspired the playwright Thomas Middleton to write A Game o/Chess. The satirical play, an allegory for the strained relationship between England and Spain, enjoyed considerable success until the Spanish Ambassador officially protested the play's insults. A contemporary French poem commemorated Greco's skill and provides some estimation ofthe French reverence for Greco's aggressive style of play: A peine dans la carriere Contre moi tu fais un pas, Que par ton demarche fiere Tous mes projets sont abas Je vois, des que tu t'avances Ceder tous mes defenses, Tomber tous mes champions Dans ma resistance vaine, Roi, Chevalier, Roc, and Reine Sont moindre que tes pions.
(Barely having begun the game) (Against me you make a move,) (Which, by your proud step) (Bring all my projects down) (I see, as soon as you advance) (Crushing all my defenses) (The defeat of all my champions) (In my vain resistance) (My King, Knight, Rook, and Queen) (Are less than your pawns.)
Having achieved entrepreneurial success and recognition as one of the world's best players, Greco spent three years towards the end of his short life at the Madrid court of Philip IV who, like his more famous predecessor, Philip II, took delight in the game. Spain had become the foremost western European power while Philip II (15271598) was king (from 1556 until his death). He massively increased the importation of silver, established the first Pacific trade routes, began settlements in the Philippines (which was named after him), and launched the famed Armada against England (which helps to explain the glaring antipathy of English historians). A Spanish priest, Rodrigo (Ruy) Lopez de Segura (c. 1540-1580) became the first modem chess writer and analyst and a favorite at the court of Philip II. An article in Harper's, "The Game of Chess: A scene in the Court of Philip II," describes the extent to which the King adored and embraced the game. History records that, at age 31, Greco died in the West Indies. He was in the company of a Spanish nobleman, undoubtedly another supporter. Apart from his obviously premature departure, there is no hint of impropriety in the history,
16
The Life & Times of Giaocchino Greco although other Italian chess masters of the time met untimely deaths, poisonings, at the hands of jealous adversaries. Leonardo, "the Wandering Knight," had traveled to the court of Philip II to challenge the great Ruy Lopez and Alfonso Ceron. In a match played before Philip II, Leonardo lost. Later, in Portugal, he defeated EI Morro, the strongest player there. He died years later in Naples, apparently poisoned by rivals. Having defeated the competition in Italy, Paolo Boi also traveled to the court of Philip II. Later, he became a favorite of Pope Pius V. On his return to Naples, Boi played Salvio. A five move combination won Salvio's queen, but Salvio had seen two moves deeper and won back his queen. Boi is said to have commented: "Youth can do more than age. You are in the prime of life, and I am seventy years old." Three days later, Boi also died from poison, though perhaps of his own doing.
Greco's manuscripts It was common at the time for masters to maintain notebooks offrequently played variations, the rough equivalent of today's databases. In an era when openings were not deeply analyzed, ideas were more easily discovered or improved, and masters seeking an edge would gather up and try to improve upon the ideas of the day. It is natural that Greco would have done so as well.
In return for the support of patrons, Greco shared with his benefactors handwritten manuscripts or codices that set forth his theories and thoughts about chess. His documents were all written in Italian and most have decorated title pages dedicated to a patron. Most included a dedication, a history of the game, a detailing of the game's remaining regional variations, summaries drawn from the works ofRuy Lopez and Salvio, and collections of Greco's own opening ideas, page after page ofthem. It is likely that others prepared the elaborate introductions, and that the sloppier Italian script of the games was in Greco's own hand. There are also variations within Greco's manuscripts. Not all contain introductions and, over time, they appear to be longer and somewhat better written. His handwriting, like his grammar, "improves by degrees," suggests White in Greco and His Manuscripts. And, suggests White, "there is so great a difference in the various signatures that it may be doubtful whether they are all by him." It may be, as White believes, that Greco had the early parts of the manuscripts calligraphed by artists and then wrote himself the body of the text, a hypothesis confirmed in part by the simplistic chess errors in the calligraphed portions of the manuscripts.
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Sacking the Citadel
Their handwritten nature imposed practical limits on their length and number. Approximately 22 of his manuscripts have survived including several from the early Italian period. Alessandro Sanvito provides a detailed bibliography with wonderful images of the existing Greco manuscripts. Murray and White list and describe the existing manuscripts from Italy, France, and Great Britain. Murray, observes that by the time of Greco's second visit to France, the manuscripts "are no longer collections of openings only but are collections of games in which the play is continued until the mate is reached or in sight." He adds that these manuscripts "were treasured by their owners and their friends." By sharing complete games rather than simple opening variations, Greco departed from the practices of the other masters of his age. We know that Greco presented a beautiful copy of the manuscript to the Duke of Lorraine dated July 5,1621. In London, Greco presented copies of his manuscript to Sir Francis Godolphin and Nicholas Mountstephen. These, the first two manuscripts that contain complete games, are preserved today in the Bodleian Library and the British Museum. His recording ofthe games and their variations relied on a wordy notation that seems primitive by today's standards but which nonetheless permits any reader to replay Greco's exact moves and thoughts. Although the games contain many simplistic mistakes, they are particularly noteworthy for their consistent commitment to rapid development, the use ofthe initiative, and for the compelling punishment of weak play. When Greco returned to Paris in 1624, he replaced the longer and less attractive games and variations with many spectacular brilliancies. Throughout, Greco's notes were written in a style that exposed his limited education, but they also reveal a wondrous time of the exploration of new opening lines, not just the Giuoco Piano and Two Knights' Defense but also the Queen's Gambit, the Sicilian Defense,
18
The Life & Times of Giaocchino Greco many lines of the King's Gambit, and even some fianchetto defenses. Greco appears to deserve the credit for discovering the Sicilian Wing Gambit (1.e4 c5 2.b4), From's Gambit (1.f4 e5) and an aggressive variation of the Falkbeer Counter Gambit (l.e4 e5 2.f4 d5 3.c x d5 c6). Chess in the Renaissance While the literature ofthe late Middle Ages occasionally portrayed lower classes as chess players, the reality was that chess was the predominant preserve of the nobility. The still preserved jewel-encrusted sets are clearly regal. Only slowly did the game map European social structure into the rules and the pieces. When chess arrived in Europe, the rules of the contemporary Arabic game were preserved. Indeed, until about 1200, Europeans played with Muslim rules and sets. But the Muslim pieces were abstract in deference to the Koran's prohibition of casting naturalistic figures in art. With time, medieval Europe, with its tradition of animistic worship, preferred more realistic images. At first, members of the aristocracy vied to commission the most unusual sets depicting real or legendary conflicts. In the process, the male counselor, the vizier, having no place in the European political order, became the queen, the tusks ofthe elephant, rising as two points, began to resemble the animal itself and then became the headdress of the bishop (in France, the jester), the horse became the knight (with eyes), and the chariot became the tower, today's rook. Only the king and pawn, at opposite ends of the social hierarchy, retained their original identities, even though their form also became far more realistic. The emergence of more schematic pieces, less pretentious and less expensive, appealed to the emerging group of serious players who could travel from region to region and still recognize the pieces. Indeed, Greco's pieces would be recognized instantly today. It is remarkable, to me at least, that the histories of the Italian Renaissance almost never mention chess, especially given the game's long-standing association with intellectual achievement. One of the rare exceptions is Fernand Braudel's Capitalism and Material Life, 1400-1800 in which, within the context of humanism and the urgent desire for order and human control, he discusses an emerging cadre of European town planners during the Renaissance to put forth plans in chessboard patterns. The transformation may help to account for such configurations in European colonies and even for the town square in Marostica, a small town in the province ofVicenza where, every two years, the townspeople play out a game of human chess in the town's square, itself a giant chessboard. The "Renaissance" or rebirth, sought to emulate the glories and high civilization of the Greeks and Romans. Renaissance humanism emphasized the notion that
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Sacking the Citadel while God created the universe, humans developed and industrialized it. And so, the Italian Renaissance, the rebirth, is best remembered for its human achievements, its music, its art, its literature, its architecture, and its science. Inevitably, perhaps, these efforts also laid the foundation for our modern world, the emergence of secular states, and the remarkable growth of the natural sciences. As it transpired, the great cultural change and achievements ofthe period also involved remarkable changes in the game of chess. Within 20 miraculous years at the end of the 15th century, near the penultimate years of the Renaissance, the game of chess emerged with a set of invigorating, new rules. During the same era in which Michelangelo carved the Pieta, Copernicus gazed into the stars, da Vinci conceptualized a helicopter, and Columbus began his journeys across the Atlantic, the chess queen and bishop gained the ability to move more than a single square, the king and rooks could now castle, the pieces representing the king and queen now towered over all the others, and pawns that had not yet moved could thrust forward two squares. This latter adjustment in the rules required one additional change, the en passant pawn capture, which was undoubtedly introduced to prevent a pawn from queening without the opponent's pawn on an adjacent rank having a chance to stop it. Marilyn Yalom offers a wonderful discussion in Birth of the Chess Queen about how the queen, initially the weakest piece resting at the side of the king, came to assume such great powers despite her secondary status in society. When the game reached Europe, all ofthe pieces were of approximately the same size. By the 16th century, the king and queen tower above the other pieces. To what extent did the emergence ofthis powerful piece reflect the growing power of real-life queens and women of privilege? Did her presence on the chessboard symbolize an enduring, monogamous partnership, and perhaps also the reality that in some European countries, most notably Isabella of Castile, women ruled alone and determined the inheritance ofland? Undoubtedly inspired by Europe's desire to see itself in the game and to speed it up, the new moves harmonized astonishingly well. The books and travels of masters like Greco helped to standardize the rules and spread enthusiasm for the superior, new version. Under the old rules, even slight material advantages were easy to sustain. Players tended to build up their positions patiently, laying siege to their opponent's positions over dozens of moves. I suspect that the former rules suited Europe's aristocracy because anyone could quickly learn and feel that they were playing competitively. In this regard, chess differed dramatically from the other arts. Not every prince could paint or play an instrument well, but all could claim some ability at chess. Now, in the new, more dynamic game, material could be sacrificed even early in the game to obtain significant counterplay or to achieve attractive checkmates. Wonderfully complex combinations could net significant material gain or significant
20
The Life & Times of Giaocchino Greco strategic advantages. In many ways, chess now brought to Europe the kind of harmony and beauty that we normally attribute to the art, music, and architecture of the period. To the detriment of the aristocracy, the new rules appealed to the growing intellectual elite in Europe and, over time, helped to change chess from a noble pursuit to one in which even a common man like Greco could hope to achieve greatness. I have already noted the widespread availability of inexpensive sets during the Renaissance which obviously reduced the exclusivity of the game. During the Renaissance and through Greco's life, as we have seen, the nobility sought to sustain its command over the game by contracting for lessons and information from the most talented players. Over a century or more, however, the nobility grew discouraged with chess as a leisure activity, abandoning the game to players recognized for their skill. Perhaps it is more remarkable, as suggested by Colleen Schafroth, that chess survived at all during this period of re-examination and inquiry. As a consequence of the apparent powers of concentration required to play the new game, youngsters were advised by Baldassare Castiglione Libro del Cortegiano (Book of the Courtier), 1528 to seek out more profitable endeavors. Around the time of Greco's youth, England's King James I, who was evidently frustrated with the royal game, revealed: "I thinke it over fond because it is overwide and Phiosophicke a folly. For where all such light playes, are ordained to free mens heads for a time, from the fashious thoughts on their affaires; it by the contrarie filleth and troubleth mens heads, with as many fashious toyes of the play, as it was filled with thoughts on his affaires" (Yachnin, p.316). Ironically, Greco's travels throughout Europe did not include a return to Italy where the new castling conventions were not yet agreed upon in every community, notably that a king, once placed in check, could not subsequently castle. The centers of chess would soon pass to the other locales in Europe that adopted all of the modern rules. Starting a chess game in Italy would for years require that competitors first agree on the rules, while elsewhere in Europe, players could benefit from a consistent approach. Italy, perhaps the most important chess region in the world, would quickly become its backwater.
Into the Enlightenment By the late 18th century, with a growing leisure class, interest in chess was exploding throughout Europe. A game that had been dominated by kings and princes was now the rage, especially in French and English coffee houses. And, in the restless age of the enlightenment, ambitious common men could aspire to excel at chess, and they had Greco largely to thank.
21
Sacking the Citadel Like many artists whose work becomes celebrated only after their death, Greco's legacy became apparent only decades and centuries after his life had ended. The first English edition of Greco's work appeared in London in 1656 when Francis Beale published The Royale Game of Chesse-play, Sometimes the recreation of the late King, with many of the Nobility, Illustrated with almost an hundred Gambetts, Being the Study of Biochimo the famous Italian, a selection of games from one of Greco's English manuscripts. This edition by Beale was the most important chess book written in English to that time, and inspired the poet Richard Lovelace to pen an epigraph: Sir, now unraveled is the Golden Fleece: Men that could only fool at Fox and Geese Are new made politicians by thy book, And both can judge and conquer with a look. The hidden fate of princes you unfold; Court, clergy, commons, by your law controlled; Strange, serious wantoning, all that they Blustered, and cluttered for, you play. A more usefully compiled and combined edition, "Chess Made Easy, or the Games ofGioachino Greco, the Calbrain, with additional games and openings, illustrated with remarks and general rules" appeared in 1750 and thereafter generated 41 editions in French, English, German, Dutch, Danish, and Italian. A facsimile of the German edition, which was compiled in 1784 by Moses Hirschel, appeared as recently as 1979. These editions of Greco's treatise on chess play made Greco the first chess master to supply the masses with complete games that illustrated carefully honed opening and middlegame strategies.
Greco's games Most ofthe Greco games that fill these editions contain brilliant combinations and sacrifices that anticipate remarkably the 19th century's Romantic Age ofAnderssen, Morphy, and Blackburne. Here, the first recorded smothered mate:
(a)NN-Greco Giuoco Piano [C50] Europe 1620
1.e4 e5 2.4)0 4)c6 3.Ac4 Ac5 4.0--0 4)f6 5.13e1 0--0 6.c3 fIe7 7.d4 exd4 8.e5 4)g4 9.cxd4 4) xd4 10.4) xd4 fIh4 1l.4)f3
22
The Life & Times of Giaocchino Greco
8
7
6
5 4
3 2
abc
d e
f
g
h
11 ... ~xf2+ 12.\fIhl ~gl+ 13.{)xgl {)f2# 0-1 (b) Greco - NN Europe 1620 Sicilian Defense [B20]
l.e4 c5 2.b4 cxb4 3.d4 e6 4.a3 bxa3 5.c4 11,b4+ 6.11,d2 11,xd2+ 7. ~xd2 d5 8.e5 dxc4 9.11,xc4 {)c610.{)e2 {)ge711.laxa3 0-012.0-0 {)f513.lad3 a6 14.f4 b515.J1.b3 a5 16.g4 {)h617.h3 a418..1lc2 b419.f5 exf5 20.g5 b3 21.Jl.dl ~a5 22. ~f4 ~b5 23.lag3 11,d7 24.gxh6 g6 25. ~g5 f6 26.exf6laf7 27.{)f4 {) xd4 28.{) xg6 {)e6 8
7
6
5 4
3 2
abc
d e
f
g
h
29.{)e7+ \fIh8 30.~g7+ {)xg7 31.fxg7+ laxg7 32.hxg7# 1-0
23
Sacking the Citadel (c) Greco Composition 1623 Black to move and draw 8
7
6 5 4
3 2
abc
d
e
f
g
h
1...~a1+ 2.~f1 ~xf1+ 3.~xf1 Ah3 4.~f2 Axg2 when White, unable to control the h8-queening square, cannot force the h-pawn home. VI-VI
More than simply learning the rules, seventeenth century readers might discern from these complete games appropriate lines of opening play and even middlegame strategies. Here were also magnificent finishes, with breathtaking queen sacrifices, king walks, and checkmates. Perhaps, Greco found that placing such ideas and games in his manuscript would boost his immediate standing and his financial support, but there is no doubt that the games had a powerful impact on the 17thand 18th-century public. There is considerable debate among the chess historians regarding whether these were real games or composed variations. None of his opponents' names are recorded, for example, and many seem simply to be interesting variations chosen for their appeal rather than complete games. For most players, the discussion is unimportant because there is no debate about the lasting effect of these editions, revelation of the enchanting possibilities of chess to a public hungry for such knowledge. And so, the 1750 English edition promised, as a subtitle, "The whole, so contrived, that any person may learn to play in a few Days without any farther Assistance. " Losing no opportunity to appeal to the common man, the edition also contains a clever frontispiece, an image by C. D. Moor that represents an older man and young boy sitting and playing chess, with a man overlooking them holding a glass of wine. Note also the guitar hanging upon the wall, and the cloth and furniture representative of common usage in the 16th century. Having risen from humble and uneducated roots, Greco had emerged long after death as an educator of the masses, a true Renaissance man in the age of the Enlightenment.
24
The Classic Bishop Sacrifice Part II: Theory
C H E S S Made Eafy: OR, THE
GAM E S OF
GIOAClllNO GRECO, The CALAIlRJAN; With Additional GAMES and OPEN1NGS, llluJ\.nteJ with
RemarkJ and Gmeral Rilles. The Whole fo contrived. thr.t 11")' Per {on may leam to play in. kIV Days,
witho.t any fartb"
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LONDO Printed {(It J 3114 P«K)'APT.' Jlmt, and W £.\111)' \" 1111 MtlC, t.
25
Sacking the Citadel
Chapter 2 "On Attacking the Castled King"
In his 1000 Best Short Games o/Chess, Irving Chernev's coverage of Greco's 1620 sacrifice was especially notable for its mention of Erwin Voellmy's taxonomy. Without that mention, subsequent writers might well have failed to credit Voellmy with his fine achievement.
Erwin Voellmy In 1911, Dr. Erwin Voellmy (1886-1951) was the first chess player to attempt to construct a functional taxonomy or classification of Greco's sacrifice.
(On Attacking the Castled King), was the first to examine the conditions that must exist for the Greco sacrifice to succeed. Voellmy's first attempt leaves useful principles, the basis for every future taxonomy. Voellmy's efforts fall well short of a comprehensive classification, but given the material and tools available to him in 1911, he certainly provides a remarkably firm foundation.
Voellmy taught mathematics, authored several chess books, notably Die An/angsgriinde des Schachspiels, (Basel: H Majer) 1927 and Schachtaktic (in three volumes) (Basel: H.Majer) 1928, and for 40 years contributed a chess column in Basler Nachrichten, a German-language daily newspaper published in Basel, Switzerland. He won the Swiss chess championship in 1911, 1920, and 1922 and represented Switzerland in the first three chess Olympiads. Undoubtedly his most notable chess achievement was a shared first with Alexander Alekhine at Bern 1932. Unfortunately, I have found no record of a Voellmy game using the Greco sacrifice.
Voellmy adds annotated games at the end of each part of his two-part article. Finding the games in 1911 without the help of a database was itself an impressive achievement. The 13 games he provides are especially useful because seven of them do not appear in the ChessBase's large Mega database. Three of the 13 games that Voellmy includes are entertaining but strangely are not Greco Sacrifices. All three involve bishop sacrifices onh7, but are not followed at any point by a subsequent knight check on g5 or any
His 1911 article in Schweizerischen Schachzeitung, the Swiss Chess Review, "Vom Rochadeangriff: Ein Beitrag zur Theorie des Mittelspiels"
26
"On Attacking the Castled King" of the themes that Voellmy discusses. One of the games is simply an instructive but concocted variation of the French Defense, provided below. The remaining nine Greco sacrifices are discussed in chapter 6 as games 7, 8, 12,17,21,22,23,36,and38. I review his efforts at classification in detail because his article is very difficult to locate, because many readers may not be able to read or translate effectively Voellmy's original German text, and because the following findings are useful for what follows. Voellmy begins his essay by emphasizing that the Greco Sacrifice is marked first and foremost by the bishop capture on h 7. A successful subsequent attack, he continues, requires a combination of factors such as better development, superior control of space, and the displacement of key defending pieces. When these factors are present, the defending side can be exposed to a ferocious assault. These observations are generalized fore bearers of the observations put forth in 1959 by Vladimir Vukovic (see chapter 4). In his second paragraph, Voellmy presents basic and sound strategy for the ~g8 line. In the following diagram, when the queen arrives on h5, it threatens checkmate on h 7 but also brings influence over the f7-square. It often proves to be impossible to defend against both attacks. In this fragment, we can presume that the black queen cannot defend safely with ~d8-d3. Therefore, to create a safety square for the king, the 1:!f8 must often leave f8, in this case to e8, giving the white queen the choice of capturing either the f-pawn or the h-pawn. Voellmy uses the
27
following diagram fragment to illustrate that it is often best to capture first on f7 rather than on h7. In this fragment, it's mate in five if Black defends with 1...1:!e8, but only if White continues correctly with 2.i!ltxf7, setting up the checkmate by removing the black fpawn. For implementations of the checkmate that Voellmy might well have seen, see games 6,14,22,32,36 and 39.
VoeUmy's fragment Mate in five moves after 1...1:!e8
1 ... §e8 2. ~xf7+ 2.~h7+ <M8 3.~h8+ ~e7 4.~xg7 2 •.• ~h8 3.~hS+ ~g8 4.~h7+ ~f8 S.~h8+ ~e7 6.~xg7.
Voellmy draws useful principles from the above example. (1) For the sacrifice to succeed, Black's h7-square must be protected only by the king. The normal 4Jf6 defender has left or been driven off, customarily by e4-e5 advance. And the defender will not have control over the bl-h7 diagonal or be able to play ~c8-f5 owing to the closed nature of the pawn structure with a black pawn on e6, a structure common in several openings, notably the Queen's Gambit and the French Defense. In such openings, White often advances the e-pawn to e5, driving off the 4Jf6 to d7.
Note that Voellmy does not mention the possibility of maneuvering the black
Sacking the Citadel queen onto the b1-h7 diagonal, a theme that will occur regularly in later chapters. It is also odd that the fragment does not include a black pawn on e6, a customary feature whose absence will often result in a successful defense with J1cS-f5.
often rests on d8 or c7) or other significant material, and ii1txg7 +. In order for White's attack in this line to succeed, Voellmy emphasizes that Black must not be able to force the white queen off the g-file. Voellmy draws no distinction whatever between the two variations (1.~d3 and 1. ii1tg4) and offers no other possibilities for White or Black in the ~g6 line. There's no hint, for example, ofh4-h5 as a main line, of the effect of Black's .. .£7-f5, or the complexities of White's en passant capture on f6.
(2) For checkmate to occur after the ~h7-gS retreat, the d6 and dS escape squares must be occupied or controlled, and the attacking queen must be able to capture safely on f7 once the ~fS moves away. Therefore, there must be no .£\g6 or ~d7. The defender must not be able to distract the attack with a successful counter-attack on the attacking king or queen. If Black retains a knight on e7, White should play ii1txh 7 + rather than ~xf7.
Voellmy expressed surprise that it was hard to find an example to illustrate adequately his points about the ~g6 line. "Examples with a straight forward character are far more rare than one would think." He therefore offered the following example, an interesting line in the Steinitz variation of the French Defensem[Cll].
As we will see later in some detail, Voellmy is substantially correct in these observations but lacking in the detail that generations of future chess now allow. It is remarkable, given the lack of any supporting games or examples, that Voellmy recognized that Black might have a successful counter-attack. Although he acknowledges its importance, Voellmy gave no example of why a black knight on e7 significantly changes the analysis.
1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3 ..£le3 .£lf6 4.e5 .£lfd7 5.f4 e5 6.dxe5 .£le6 7 ..£lf3 Axe5 8.Ad3 O-O? (S .. .f6 Probably best, challenging the center)
Ifthese criteria are set for the ~gSline, continues Voellmy, the only hope for the defender will lie in the advance of the king to g6. (3) In the line with ... ~g6, White should seek to play 1.ii1td3+ f5 2.~g3 or 1.ii1tg4 f5 2.ii1tg3 when the discovered check by the knight will have at least two threats: .£\e6+ winning the queen (which
abc
d
e
f
g
h
9.Axh7+!? 9.a3!? 9 •.. xh/lO..£lg5+ g6! 10 ... ~h6? 11.~d3! with the idea of ~h7# (11.~g4+) 11...~hS
28
"On Attacking the Castled King" 12.g8 line, Znosko-Borovsky correctly observes that the 4Jg5 and ~h5 are usually sufficient with their combined attack on h7 and f7. Like Voellmy, he adds that the attack is called into question ifthe defender can defend the f7 pawn with a piece other than the Elf8. In the \t>g6 line, Znosko-Borovsky becomes the first commentator to distinguish between the ~d3+ and ittg4, but here too his conclusions are simplistic and misleading. We shall later observe that there are conditions under which each move can be superior. Znosko-Borovsky concludes his introductory remarks instead that the check along the diagonal seldom leads to gain because the 4Jg5 is often en prise and because Black can parry the attack in several ways, notably with f7f5. He therefore recommends ~g4, when White, even after .. .f5 ~g3 .. .f4 ittg4, gains the immediate threat of a powerful discovered check that often will net a queen, a rook or a powerful double attack upon the g7 pawn. In the main, these observations are inaccurate and unhelpful. Znosko-Borovsky suggests that even the capture of the ElfS in the \tlg6 line provides adequate compensation, a finding that is very often inaccurate. He concludes that "When none of these threats is realizable, the combination is doomed to failure; but it is rarely that discovered checks are innocuous." Again, his conclusions are simplistic, even in the first main example that he reviews. As we shall see, the \tlg6 is
Sacking the Citadel There were certainly far more instructive games at Znosko-Borovsky's disposal.
often the most complex of the lines, but there are other possibilities for White in this line beyond the choice of ~d3 and ~g4. It is often useful to use the continuing threat of the discovered check to bring in reinforcements, but there are also many positions in which the discovered checks are indeed, remarkably innocuous.
Colle-O'Hanlon, 1930 Znosko-Brorovsky switches abruptly from a simplistic, unhelpful example to one that is unarguably the most complex Greco Sacrifice at his disposal, ColleD'Hanlon, from 1930 (see game #62).
Yates - Marin, 1930
Here too, he notes that the three pieces are appropriately posted for the sacrifice and the white ~c1 assists the attack by guarding the .£lgS.
Rather than use Greco's discovery from 1620, Znosko-Borovsky starts his discussion of specific examples with Yates-Marin, 1930 (see game #64), a strange choice because the position in that game at the time of the sacrifice involves a white queen on g4 rather than on dl. After the acceptance of the sacrifice, White's best continuation is not the usual 2 ..£lgS but rather the more powerful and unthematic 2.~hS+! forcing the black king back to g8 and obviating even the possibility of the other variations.
He emphasizes from the start that the black kingside is insufficiently defended and yet we know from even a casual glance at Black's position that the previous movement of the black rook to e8 (creating the flight square to f8) and the absence of a white pawn on e5 controlling the key f6-square should cause at least some pause in drawing optimistic conclusions. Without the need to create a flight square for the king in the 'it>g8 line by moving the rook from fB-e8, Black can use that move to bring a piece to f6 or to defend the f7 square laterally, with a queen on f6, or with a knight on eS.
Znosko-Borovsky suggests that this first example "Shows the matter very simply," because all three pieces, the bishop, knight, and queen are present, because the black king defends the h7pawn by itself, and because there is no black knight on f6 to prevent the combination from succeeding. But in tenns of pedagogy, the use of the Yates -Marin game is a poor choice. Its sacrifice involves only the single variation, it involves an inversion of the usual attacking move order, and does nothing to show off even the possibility of~g6, ~h6, ~h8, or a capture ofthe .£lgS. Given the queen's placement and its quick access to h5, the game barely meets my definition of a Greco Sacrifice.
Although he provides no analysis whatsoever, he concludes that careful analysis demonstrates that White wins in all lines. "We see the valuable lesson for White that in such a case the sacrifice may be made without hesitation and for Black that he must foresee the sacrifice and parry the menace. In the present position, Black's previous move was cxd4, a grave blunder, for a defending
32
The Art of Chess Combination move such as 4Jf6 would have removed all danger." There are numerous errors and distortions in this quotation. There are world-class players who are willing to rely primarily upon intuition, at least in simultaneous exhibitions, but the sacrifice in the Colle game was so remarkably complex that at least some preparatory analysis was advisable. In the actual game, Black crumbled under the defensive chore, a common occurrence as we will see throughout the games, but few players would want to bank regularly on their opponents' future errors. 4Jf6 would have prevented the sacrifice, but its absence cannot be reasonably faulted given the ultimate unsoundness of Colle's move. Finally, Znosko-Borovsky's failure to offer any analysis of this amazing game, and his overarching desire simply to draw intuitive conclusions, seem to me to brand his treatment as intellectually lazy and pedagogically unhelpful. These are, for me, strong conclusions, but as we shall see, not as strong as the conclusions that Vukovic reached. To further the embarrassment, ZnoskoBorovsky asserts that success is easy against the ~g8 retreat owing to the double threat against the undefended h7- and f7-squares when the knight reaches g5 and the queen reaches h5. As we will see in the analysis of the game, Black's best hope rests precisely in this challenging line. There are perpetual checks to be had and Black may obtain drawing if not winning chances when able to run the king to the queenside. Throughout his entire chapter on the Greco Sacrifice, Znosko-Borovsky has only two mentions of the ~h6Iine, that
33
Black is lost whenever the king goes there, without emphasizing the key role of White's dark-square bishop and whether Black can successfully play ... §'h8. As we will see, there are many positions in which ~h6 comes into consideration because the dark-square bishop has been traded or is off the c1h6 diagonal. His most useful observations in the Colle game come in the ~g6Iine, in no small part because that line represents a convincing win for White. Although he began the chapter by emphasizing the importance of following ~g6 with ~g4, this queen sortie does not succeed in the Colle game because Black can play 4Jf6 or f5 and the white queen cannot successfully retreat to g3. "We see then that this attack is only possible when the g3-square is neither blocked nor attacked." Znosko-Borovsky's final generalization that "generally the king's flight to g6 is not advisable, for there he is too exposed to attacks" is simply unhelpful. There are, as we will see, many times when '
He uses this game, our Game #65, to note an additional role for white h-pawn, not simply as support for the 4Jg5 and
Sacking the Citadel to threaten h5+ as in Colle-O'Hanlon, but to respond to the capture of the knight by a ~e7 with the h-pawn and using the opening of the h-file to fuel the attack and "to justify the original sacrifice." These are useful observations, but they are again spoiled by Znosko-Borovsky's lethargic lack of analysis:
8
7
6 5 4
3 2
abc
"It is impossible to analyze all the variations here, or even the principal one, comprising as it does no less than 19 moves. It is plain, too, that White could not imagine all of the tactical combinations which sprang out of the main combination. The essential point is to have so favorable a position that without a clear vision of the result a bold sacrifice is justified ... In our example, the bishop sacrifice is justified because the essential conditions which we have laid down are fulfilled. There is nothing to fear."
(Game #12):
h
Mason-Fritz is one of the few games in which Znosko-Borovsky offers an opinion based on calculation. He suggests that, after 'it'g6, White cannot play 12.~g4 owing to ~xg5, 13.hxg5 ~xg5 when "the attack is repulsed," but he overlooks a much stronger, winning plan, 13 ..£Je2! with the idea of .£Jf4 and
8 Il!lli!~§~"..!~I.i.• 7
6 5 4
3 2
~h5.
e
g
Znosko-Borovsky correctly observes that the rook on f8 hurts the defense because 'it'g8 is no longer a viable option. The black king must therefore migrate forward to g6, "which as we know," suggests Znosko-Borovsky, "leads to disaster." The verdict, of course, is correct, but the reliance on generalizations rather than some analysis leaves much to be desired.
Znosko-Borovsky redeems himself somewhat by comparing two nearly identical positions from AlekhineAsgiersson, 1931 and Mason-Fritz
d
f
There is enormous pedagogical power in comparing variations from very similar positions. In these two games, White's position is identical. In Alekhine-Asgiersson in the first diagram, Black has played t!e8 and c5, while in Mason Fritz, Black chose a queenside fianchetto that leaves the rook on f8.
Mason - Fritz, 1883
abc
d e
f
g
h
34
The Art of Chess Combination Capablanca-Molina, 1911 After looking at three games, MarshallBum (Paris, 1900), Capablanca-Becker (Carlsbad, 1929), and lanowski-Chajes (New York, 1916) in which Black prevents a possible Greco Sacrifice by compromising each kingside with f-, g-, and h-pawn advances, ZnoskoBorovsky concludes with a discussion ofCapablanca-Molina (Game # 42). He correctly notes that the 'ittgB line loses quickly owing to blocking of the king's escape by the ~fB. In the 'ittg6 line, Black's only hope, White's i£1g4, is not decisive, he adds, because the queen cannot safely remain on the g-file after 14.i£1g4 f5 15.i£1g3 f4! 16.exf4 4Jf5 17.i£1g4 4Jh6 with a perpetual. Not content with the verdict of a forced draw, having already suggests that the 'it>g6 line is inherently too dangerous to consider, Znosko-Borovsky attempts
35
to demonstrate that White does indeed have significant winning chances with 16.i£1g4 e5 17.4Je6+ (a powerful discovered check, but the knight is selfpinned!) 17 ... 'it>fB IB.~adl (lB.4JxdB Axg4) IB ... i£1eB19.i£1d6 "with manifold threats," but Black wins trivially there with 19 ... 4Jxe6. Along the way, ZnoskoBorovsky also misses an easier win for Black with IB ... Axe6! 19.i£1h4+ g5 20.i£1h6 4Jg6 21.~xdB ~axdB-+. I have no meaningful knowledge about the machinations among the French chessplayers of the 1930s, but I cannot help but wonder whether Renaud and Kahn, in expressing consternation over Znosko-Borovsky's failure to cite Voellmy's work, may rather have been using that complaint as a substitute for the kind of criticism that The Art of Chess Combination, or at least his coverage of the Greco Sacrifice, appears to deserve.
Sacking the Citadel
Chapter 4 The Art of Attack
Vladimir Vukovic (1898-1975), a Croatian chess player and writer, obtained his international master title in 1922, represented Yugoslavia on second board at the first Chess Olympiad in London in 1927, and for decades edited 8ahovski Glasnik, the official chess magazine of the Yugoslavian chess federation.
Vladimir Vukovi6
The sixth and seventh chapters of his book were able to draw upon more material and helped him to reach remarkably useful insights. Most notably, Vukovic postulates that at least two active supporting pieces (other than the light-square bishop, the knight that reaches g5, and the white queen) are required for the Greco Sacrifice to succeed.
Vukovic is best remembered for The Art ofAttack in Chess. Published originally in Croatian in 1959 and soon thereafter translated into English, the volume became an instant classic, appearing in most masters' lists of the top ten chess books. Having read the general considerations contained in VukoviC's third chapter, "On castling and attacking the castled position in general," one amateur on the web lamented, "I will never castle again."
Although new technologies, more games, and the test of time have permitted me to draw more detailed conclusions in my fifth chapter, there is no doubt that Vukovic deserves enormous praise for this observation which appears to be substantially correct. He uses this observation to estimate intuitively that Colle's 1930 effort must be unsound, but he mysteriously fails to apply that same intuitive grasp to Kottnauer-Kotov, 1946. In that game, the attacking side does not have at least two additional assets, and indeed the sacrifice is flawed, but Vukovic incorrectly concludes that the sacrifice is sound.
Aware of both Voellmy's and ZnoskoBorovsky's work, Vukovic significantly expanded our understanding of the conditions required for Greco's Sacrifice to succeed. Vukovic correctly logged the most common attributes of the sacrifice and helped to guide generations of chess players to pursue the sacrifice intuitively and correctly. In evaluating VukoviC's work, I have relied upon the modem 1993 edition because it contains a preface and editorial notes and corrections by grandmaster John Nunn that make the book that much more valuable. 36
The Art of Attack Like the other annotators of the period, Vukovic did not have a computer to test his findings. The result is that errors do infiltrate the analysis in the book, in no small part because Vukovic admirably attempts to analyze the positions in substantial depth. Readers of his work will gain a significant intuitive feel for when the sacrifice works, and I must acknowledge that his analytical errors do not significantly detract from the worth of his effort.
The sacrifice is indeed sound here, as White has enormous advantages in this position, including the secure e5-pawn and the dark-square bishop as additional assets. The e5-pawn has driven off the 4:Jf6, the dark square bishop itself discourages the ~h6 line, and the e6-pawn and Black's poor development prevents Black from gaining control over the bl-h7 diagonal. Here, the ~g8 line results in the instructional mate in five. The ~h6line permits devastating discovered checks on e6 or f7, but Vukovic, committed to pedagogy, remarks that the discovered check succeeds because Black's queen is within easy reach on d8. Were the black queen on a5, for example, White would win with the ~g4-h4 maneuver.
To his credit, Vukovic begins with a summary of Greco's 1620 game that involves the sacrifice (game #1). With an obvious interest in sound pedagogy, he then presents a series of composed situations to illustrate the main concepts.
The most interesting line is the ~g6 line. Vukovic correctly notes that h4 with the idea ofh5 is often the strongest idea, at that time a new addition to the writing about the line.
His first diagram is unlikely to occur in real life because, as in the game score I have created, Black has to lose a tempo with ... c6 and ... c5 to reach it. (a) Vukovic, page 122
12.Axh7+ 'it'xh7 13.{)g5+ 'it'g6 13 ... ~h614.4:Jxe6+; 13 ... ~g814.~h5 Ele8 15.~xf7+ ~h8 16:i*h5+ ~g8
1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.{)c3 {)f6 4.e5 {)fd7 5.{)f3 Ab4 6.a3 j'txc3+ 7.bxc3 c6 8.j'td3 c5 9.0-0 cxd4 10.cxd4 {)c61l.c3 0-()
17.~h7+~f818.~h8+~e719.~xg7#
14.h4 .§h815.h5+ .§xh516..~d3+ f516 ... ~h617.~h7# 17.exf6+ 'it'xf6 17 ... ~h6 18.~h7# 18.'~f3+ 'it'e7 18... ~g619.~f7+ ~h6 20.4:Jxe6+ Elg5 (20 ... ~h7 21.~xg7#) 21.~xg7+ ~h5
8
7
6
22.~h7+ ~g4 23.~h3# 19"~xh5+-
5 4
Vukovic uses this example to introduce important pedagogical ideas and to pose the question: how to judge the correctness of the sacrifice. What are the necessary conditions in the white and black positions required for the classic bishop sacrifice?
3 2
abcdefgh
37
Sacking the Citadel Ovemll:
•
•
The sacrifice involves three main lines ...'ittg8, ... 'itth6, and
•
All three variations must be sound for the sacrifice to be sound. If any contain a loophole, the combination "falls to the ground."
black knight should be able to reach f6 and that neither the bishop nor queen should be able to reach the bl-h7 diagonal.
... 'ittg6;
For the attack to succeed: •
For White: • •
•
•
•
•
White must have a queen, a knight, and a bishop; The White bishop must attack h 7 "to force the tempo of the attack"; It is not essential that the attack be check (worth mentioning, though the database contains only 18 games in which the sacrifice commences without check by the bishop); It is not essential that Ah7 capture a pawn. (here, I found no such examples); A knight must be able to be within easy, safe reach of the g5-square; The queen must have access to h5 ... though in some cases enough to be able to get to the h-file.
•
•
For Black: • •
•
It is more important that no
The defender should not be able to decline the sacrifice (here, I have found only a single example); The arrangement of the Black pieces should not deviate greatly from the normal (a disappointing conclusion, as the games in chapter 6 make abundantly clear); White, in addition to the bishop, queen, and knight, must have at least two other supporting pieces for the attack to succeed. The two most common members ofthis supporting cast are the e5-pawn and the dark-square bishop (as we will see, this asset combination is actually the second most common pair), but many other combinations are also possible involving the queen's knight and an active rook on the e-file or occasionally, on an open f-file.
The final point just above is, without question, Vukovic's most important contribution to the taxonomy. He arranges the additional assets into fine categories, distinguishing for example, the specific location of the dark-square bishop on cl or f4. There- are a few missing possibilities as I point out in chapter 5, but his main point is clear,
Black will customarily have pawns on fl, g7, and h7; There will be a bishop rather than a pawn on g7 on rare occasions; The presence of the ~d8 and ~f8 points to but does not assure the correctness of the sacrifice;
38
The Art of Attack and correct. It is, as he suggests, a simple, practical criterion for the sacrifice and away for both attacker and defender to get their approximate bearings. To explore these findings, and to illustrate the importance of each of the three main variations, Vukovic turns next to eight additional composed positions. (b) Vukovic, page 124 8
7
6 5 4
6.4Je4+
~e7
7.AgS+ +-; 4 ... 4Jb8 6:ffxg7 ~e8 7.4Jh7 4Jd7 8.§xe6++-] S.~h4+- )3 ... §h84.~d3+ (4.hS+ §xhS S.~d3+ fS; and not4.~g4 when Black can force the queen off the g-file with ... 4Jf6-hS and ... fS) 4 .. .fS S.~g3 ~g8 (S ... ~f6 6.§xe6#) 6.4Jxe6+ ~f7 (6 ... ~h7 7.hS +-) 7.4JgS+ ~g6 (7 ... ~f8 8.Ad6#; 7 ... ~f6 8.§e6++-) 8.hS+ §xhS 9.§e8 ~xe8 lO.4Je6+ ~f7 1l.~xg7+ ~xe6 12.§el ++-. 3.'lth5 ~f64.'lth4~e8 4 ... g6 S.~h6 with AeS and §e3-h3; 4... eS! (Vukovic fails to mention Black's best defense, which succeeds in getting the Ac8-fS) S.dxeS AfS 6.exf6 ~xf6 preventing the mate and halting White's attack, but Black remains a clear pawn down. 5.-'le5 'lte7 S... Ac7 6.§e3 +S:~h7 ~e7
6.~e3+-
3 2
(c) Vukovic, page 125 abcdefgh
8
7
In this composed position, White has two additional assets, the dark-square bishop on f4 and the active §el. Vukovic created this position to illustrate the ~g8 line, in which White must compensate for the lack of control over f6 by seizing control over eS with the bishop and then swinging the §el to h3. The 'g4 7.~h3#; 2 ... 'it'gS! 3.~h5 EleS 4.Elfel (Vukovic instead recommends 4.lb7 no longer defends the e6-pawn, a significant target if Black defends by advancing the f-pawn. 1 . .1lxh7+ lb7 were instead on e8. 4.exf6 Had the e6-pawn been far better defended, White would have considered the retreat with ~g3 to sustain the threat of a discovered check. 4 ... e4 6 ..§.dl with itrf3# to follow; 4 ... e5 5..§.el +-. Likely with a winning advantage, depending of course on the rest of the Black setup. 5.lael g6 6.~h6 lahS 7.4)h7+ laxh7S..1lg5#
8
7
6
5 4
3 2
abcdefgh
The 4Jg3 is so powerful that moving a knight there from f1 or e2 is often the most efficient path for the attack. 1•.1lxh7+ \t'xh7 2.4)g5+ \t'g63.4)g3 Black has only one move to prevent ~h5. 3 ..• lahS But the rook move weakens the f7-square. 4.~d3+ f5 4 ... ~h6 The .§.hB prevents ~h7, but the obvious knight fork is also checkmate, 5.4Jxf7 #. 5.4) xe6 With two powerful threats, 4JxdB and ~xf5. 5.exf6+ If Black has a bishop defending e6, White can try the en passant capture. 5 ... \t'xf6 Avoiding the mate after 'it>h6, but now giving the queen a path to f7 with ~f3+. 5 ... 'it>h6 6.4Jf7#. 6.~f3+ \t'e7 7. ~f7+ with a powerful attack.
Trangoni - Rigo Venice 2005 Queen's Pawn Game [DOS] l.d4 e6 2.4)f3 4)f6 3.4) bd2 c5 4.e3 4)c6 5.c3 d5 6 ..1ld3 .1le7 7.0--0 0--0 S.~e2 b6 9.dxc5 bxc5 10.e4 ~c7 1l.h3 .1lb7 12.lael 4)d7 13.4)f1 laaeS 14.4)g3 .1ld6 15.e5 4)cxe5 16. .1lxh7+ \t'xh7 17.4)g5+ \t'gS 17 ... ~g6
For examples involving 4Jf1-g3, see games 115, 135, 161,240, and 295. 4)g3 without e5 abc
d
e
f
g
h
8
IB.4Jxe6! Here, the immediate itrh5+ permits the Black king to reach e7. IB.itrh5+ 'it>f6. IB .. .fxe6 allows a pretty mate in two. IB ... 'ltfbB 19.4Jxf8+ AxfB 20.'ltfh5+ 'it>f6 21.Ag5+ 'it>e6 22.f4 +19.~h5+ 'f6 20.Ag5#.
7
6 5 4
3 2
IS.4)h5 f619.4) xg7 \t'xg7 20. ~h5 lahS 21.4)xe6+ laxe6 0--1
abcdefgh
71
Sacking the Citadel .•• g6, White plays f5 8 8
7
7
6
6
5
5
4
4
3
3
2
2
abcdefgh abc
d
e
f
g
h
convincing continuation. 16.h4 .I1b6+ 17.~h2 .I1f5 18.h5+ ~f6 (18 ... ~h6 19.4Jxf7+) 19.94 ~c8 20.gxf5 ~xf5 21.Jld2 'It'e7 22.E!.el + 'It'f8 23.E!.xe8+ ~xe8 24.~e2+ ~f8 25.E!.e1 4Jd7 26.~e7+ 'It'g8 27.E!.eU. 16... Axf5 17.Elxf5! Ab6+ 17 ... 'lt'xf5 18.~f3+ ~g6 (18 ... 'lt'e5 19.~e4+ ~f6 20.4Jh7#) 19.~xf7+ ~h6 20.4Je6++-; 17 ... ~d7 18.E!.xf7+- 18.hl ~e7 19 . .£)e6 h7 19 ... fxe6 20.~h5# 20.Elxf7 ~xf7 21..£)g5+ g8 22 . .£) xf7 xf7 23. ~h5+ f8 24.Jtg5 .£)a6 25.~h71-0
Another interesting resource for White, f5+, opens the diagonal for the darksquare bishop and the f4-square for the knight. 1.ltxh7+ xh7 2 ..£)g5+ g6 3.f5+ It should be evident that the combination has sting even without the E!.f1 in support. 3 ...exf5 4 ..£)f4+ with the obvious threat of~h5 #. 4 ... xg5 4 .. .'it'h6 5.~h5# 5.~h5# For examples off5 in action against the 'It'g6Iine, see games 151, 170,205,219, and 253. Yanayt- Grabowski Las Vegas 2009 Schmid Benoni [A60]
The h6line The 'It'h6 line is a much less common defensive choice for an obvious reason. When White has a dark-square bishop on the c1-h6 diagonal, the ~h6 is often subject to a brutal discovered check from the 4Jg5, which has a versatile reach notably including the d8-square where the black queen often resides.
1.d4 .£)f6 2.c4 c5 3.d5 e6 4 •.£)c3 exd5 5.cxd5 Ad6 6.e4ltc7 7.f4d6 8.Ad3 0-0 9 •.£)f3 Ele810.0-0 c411.ltxc4 .£)xe412..£)xe4 Elxe413.Ad3 Ele8 14.Axh7+ xh715..£)g5+ g6 (D) White cannot successfully play either or ~g4 owing to the influence of Black's Jlc8. Even 16.h4 meets Jlb6 check and .I1f5. 16.f5+ The only
~d3
The number of squares that the knight can reach in one or two moves is impressive. Practically speaking, the list includes d8, the queen's starting square, as well as many of the squares to which the queen often develops, c7,
72
Contemporary Theory d6, c5, d4, and f6. Add the h8-square to the list, an important square because Black may move a rook or the queen there to prevent the i;l'd3-h7 and ~d3h3-h7 maneuvers.
games 217,255, and 270). When the 4Jg5 is anchored, as is almost always the case when White has a dark-square bishop on the key diagonal, ~d3 threatens ~h7 as well as ~d3-h3-h7 (which works well after ... g6).
8
With the bishop on the diagonal but blocked by a mobile f-pawn, f4-f5, activating the discovered check is often the answer. See games 133,200, and 242. One of the disadvantages off4-f5 is that the e6xf5 capture can open the e-file to the defender's advantage (see game 162).
7
6 5 4
3 2
abc
d e
f
g
h
White plays ~d3
When unable to prevent the discovered check, the defender will often move the queen to a safer square. Movements off the eighth rank, however, run the risk that 4Je6+ or 4Jf7 + will snag a now undefended rook. For the defender, there are three useful, central squares that are immune in one or two moves from the 4Jg5 's discovered checks, e8, d7, and especially e7. For examples of games involving a black queen on those three squares, see games 131, 141, 160, 165, 216,219,237, and 306, all still won by White because the attacking side often has possibilities even more powerful than the discovered check. Even when the black queen can be caught by a discovered check, White's best move with the discovered check in the air is often not actually to move the 4Jg5, but rather to threaten mate with i;l'g4-h4-h7 (see games 159, 162, 167, 242, 243, and 255) or with ~d3 (see
73
Even when the dark-square bishop has been traded or cannot easily reach the key c1-h6 diagonal, White has other resources, notably ~g4-h4 and ~d3, again with the idea of~h7 # as well as i;l'd3-h3-h7. 8
7
6
5 4
3 2
abc
d e
f
g
h
Both ideas work well here .... §f8-h8 defending on h7 simply encourages 4Jxf7 forking the king and queen. 1.~d3 1.i;l'g4 §h8 (1...~c7 2.i;l'h4+ 'it'g6 3.~h7#) 2.4Jxf7++- 1 ... Eth8 1...g6 2.~h3+ h8 5.'ffi'h6+ \t>g8 6.§cgl + +-; 2 .. .f5 3.exf6 §xf6 4.hxg6+ 'it'g7 5.§h7+ r,t>f8 (5 ... r,t>g8 6.§chl +- ) 6.4Jxe6+ +-. 3.hxg6+ ~g7 3... Ah4 4.§cgl r,t>g7 5.§g4+- 4.Elh7+ ~gS 5.gxf/+ Elxf/ 6:~g6+ +-
In addition to whether or not there's a dark-square bishop, the other key consideration is whether Black can play ... §h8 defending the h7-square with support from the other rook or queen. Obviously, without such support, the white queen in the 'ffi'd3-h3 line will simply capture the §h8. For games with rook support when White has a darksquare bishop, see games 159, 162,242, 243, and 255. For games with a dark square bishop without support for the §h8, see game 167 . For games without rook support when White has a dark-square bishop, see games 129, 173,201,227,246,247,248, and 256. For games without a darksquare bishop and without support for the §h8, see games 161, 166,226,251, and 270. Rendle - Guido Bratt02005 Sicilian Defense [B40]
In game 127, Teschner-Spassky, the verdict hung by a tempo. Here is the position in that game after move 17 in which White has an extra tempo, 0-0-0.
1.e4c5 2.~f3 e6 3.b3 ~f6 4.e5 ~d5 5 •.Q.b2 .Q.e7 6.~c3 ~ xc3 7 ..Q.xc3 0o S..Q.d3 ~c6 9.h4 f510.exf6 .Q.xf6 11:~e2d5
75
Sacking the Citadel 1l.exf4 Af6 12.-'\.xh7+ xf3 [IB ... 'it>e3 19.~f4#] 19.~g2+ 'it>e3 20.E!.h3#)17.~g3+- 14••• ~g515.g4+ gl ~h4 16 ..§el ii;Yxf2+ 17.'it>hl ii;Yh4+ 18.'e2 ii;Yxg2#; IS.'it>h3 walks right into 15 .. .'ijxf2+-+ although IS ... ii;YgS with the idea of ii;YhS is also devastating. 15 .• :~d6+ ... ii;Yd6 brings on a quick mate thanks to the rook's ability to reach e3. 16.f4 Both king retreats walk into mates in one: 16.'it>h4 ii;Yh2*; 16.'
In the 'it>g6 line, White mates in four with 12 ... 'it>g6 13.~c2+ 'hS (IS ... 'it>g316 ..§h3*) 16.~h7*. 13.~e2 The main alternatives fare no better: 13.~d3 g6-+ and 13.~g4 ii;Ye7 14.~f4 cxd4 IS.lLle6+ 'it>h7 16AJxf8+ ~xf8-+. 13 ... ,Axg5 Simpler is 13 ... g6-+. 14.hxg5+ 'It>xg5 Clearly dangerous but the only chance for a win. 14 ...'f618.~e5+ 'It>g5 19.Eih5+! gxh5 20. ~g7+ 'It>h4 21.~xf5+ Eixf5 22.~g3410 1--0
6
(24) Pillsbury - Judd St Louis 1898 Queen's Indian Defense [EI2]
5 4
3 2
abc
d e
f
g
l.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.~c3 b6 4.~f3 ,Ab7 5.,Af4 ,Ad6 6.,Axd6 ~xd6 7.cxd5 ,Axd5 8.e4 ,Ab7 9.Eic1 a6 10.Ad3 ~e711.0--0 0--0 12.e5 ~d8
h
White relies here on the lLlc3 and the h4-pawn as additional assets. The absence of the dark-square bishop and the closed nature of the c1-h6 diagonal make 12 ... 'it>h6 a winning move. Yet again, however, poor defense permits White's attack to prevail. White finishes the game with a lovely rook sacrifice and a pretty mate. 1l.,Axh7+ 'It>xh7 12.~g5+ 'It>h6 White overwhelms 12 ... 'it>g8 with 13.ii;YhS-f7 and the capture of the unanchored ilb7. 12 ... 'it>g8 13.ii;YhS .§e8 (13 ... ilxgS 14.hxgS fS IS.g6+- ) 14.ii;Yxf7+ 'it>h8 IS.ii;Yxb7 +-.
8
7
6 5
4
3 2
abc
d e
f
g
h
Another lovely win for the American champion. White has two additional
114
Games assets, the secure e5-pawn and the 4Jc3-e2-f4. Given the absence of White's dark-square bishop, the ~h6 line is the real test. After 14 ... \t>h6 15:i£rd2 ~g6, White no longer has 16.~g4, but 16.4Je2 with the idea of 4Jf4, is fully sufficient for the win. 13•.1lxh7+! eS 17.i£rxg6+ ~d7 18.4:Jxd5 exd5 (avoiding lS ... i£ra5+ 19.b4 4:Jxb4 20.4:Jxe7 4:Jd5+ 21.~f1 4:Jxe7 22 ..§.d1+ 'it>c6 23 ..§.d6+ ~xc5 24 ..§.xe7±) 19.i£rd6+ ~eS 20.i£rg6+=. White fails in the 'it>h6 line, because 13. i£rd3 meets f5, and 13.i£rd2 meets fxg5. 12 ... 'it>h6 13.'~d3 (13.'ii¥d2 fxg5 14.hxg5+ ~g6) 13 .. .f5. In the ~g6Iine, 13.i£rd3 f5 when there's no en passant capture to keep the attack alive. 13.~h5 fxg5 14.hxg5 ~ xe515.g6 ~ xg6 Black eliminates the mating threats by giving back only one ofthe two extra pieces. 16.~xg6 -'tf6
Revolution, a second in the Great Depression, and a third to the Nazis. In a chess career that spanned six decades, Bernstein had many successes, notablya first in Berlin 1902/3, a shared first in Stockholm, 1906, and first in the Moscow City championship of1911. Following the end of the second world war, Bernstein represented France at the 11th Chess Olympiad in Amsterdam. 1.e4 e5 2.~f3 ~f6 3.~c3 ~c6 4 ..1lb5 .1lc5 5.~xe5 0--0 6.0--0 fIeS 7.~f3 ~ xe4 S.d4 .1lfS 9.~ xe4 fIxe4 10..1ld3 fIe8 8
7
6
5
17.~h7+ ~f718.~h5+ g619.~e2 fIhS-+ 20.0-0-0 -'td7 21.~f3
4
3
fIxhl 22.fIxhl ~g7 23.~e3 .1lg5 24.f4 .1lf6 25.~e2 ~e7 26.g4 fIhS 27.fIel ~f7 2S.c3 fIcS 29.c6 bxc6 30.g5 .1lg7 31.~g3 ~d6 32.~xa7
2
abc
d
e
f
g
h
~xf4+ 33.~bl ~eS 34.~e2 ~h4 35.~gl
c5
Another game in which even inaccurate play by White garners the full point. For additional assets, White relies on the dark-square bishop and the .§.el. For Black, only 'it>g6 makes sense here given the presence of White's darksquare bishop and the queen's access to h5. Following the sacrifice, 13.h4 gives White a strong pull by forcing the black king into the center. 1l..1lxh7+ ~xh712.~g5+ ~g6 With the bishop on fB, there's no point in considering 12 ...'it>gS13.i£rh5+-.13.~d3+ One of the advantages of the ~g6-line is that the white queen cannot immediately move to h5. On 13.d5!? Ae7! (superior to 13 ... 4:Je5 14.f4 and 13 ... f5 14.h4 4:Je5 15.h5+ 'it>f6 16.'ii¥d4+-)
36.~c1
fIbS 37.fIe2 j},xc3 38.~xc5 ~b4 39.~f2 -'td4 40.~h2 ~xb2+ 41.fIxb2 fIxb2+ 42.~xb2 -'txb2 43.~xb2 ~e7 44.~d3 ~d6 45.~c3 e5 46.~el d4+ 47.~b4 -'tf5 4S.a4 -'te4 49.a5 ~c6 50.~c4 ~b7 51.~b3 j},d5+ 52. ~b4 .1le4 53. ~c4 ~c6 54.~b4 ~d5 55.~b5 d3 56.a6 ~d4 57.a7 ~c30--1
(28) Bernstein - Kulomzin Kiev, 1903 Four Knights Game [C48] A grandmaster and businessman, Ossip Bernstein (1882-1962) gained and lost three fortunes, one to the Bolshevik
117
Sacking the Citadel 14:~d3+
f5 15 ..£Jf31.lJ6 16.dxc6 dxc6 White's best isI3.h4! f5 14.h5+ 'it'f6 15.d5 .£Je5 16.~d4 transposing to a favorable variation of the 13.d51ine.13...f514.~g3 Jld615.f4 lit'f6 16.Ad2 White can take a perpetual with 16 ..£Jh7+ 'it'f7 17 ..£Jg5+ 'it'f6=. 16••• Ab4? White's gamble pays off. 16... Ae7=; 16 ... .£Jxd4=. 17.Jlxb4 17.~b3;!;.
4)xb418.~h3+- d519.~xb4~e7
20.~c3 ~e3+ 21.~xe3 Elxe3 22.Elael Elxe123.Elxel Ad724.Ele5 c6 25.lit'f2 Ele8 26.lit'e3 c5 27.Elxe8 cxd4+ 28.lit'xd4 Axe8 29.lit'xd5 Jlc6+ 30.lit'd6 Axg2 31.c4 lit'g6 32.lit'e5 Ac6 33.b41~
(29) Kemeny - Schrader St Louis 1904 French Defense [C 14] 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.4)c3 4)f6 4.Ag5 Jle7 5.Jlxf6 Axf6 6.4)f3 0-0 7.e5 Ae7 8.Ad3 c5 9.h4 cxd4 8 IL__,_:;.I~~_~ 7
6
lit'xh711.4)g5+ lit'h6! The 'it'g8line and the .Q.xg5 line fail in the usual way, with the opening of the h-file and the advance of the g-pawn to g6. 11...'lt'g8 12.~h5 Axg5 13.hxg5 f6 14.g6+-; 11...Axg5 12.hxg5+ 'it'g613.~h5+ 'It'f5 14.g4+ 'it'f4 (14 ... 'it'xe5 15.~h2#) 15 ..£Je2+ 'It'e4 16.~h2+-. Black can survive in the 'It'g6line because the king can escape to the center after 11 ... 'it'g6 12.~d3+ f5 (12 ... 'it'h5 13.g4+ 'it'xg4 [13 ... 'it'h6 14.~h7#] 14.~f3#) 13.exf6+ 'it'xf614.~xd4+ e5=. 12. ~d3 With the idea of~h7 #. 12•••g613.4)e2 No better is 13.h5 'it'g7 14.hxg6 fih8-+ .13... lit'g714.f4 Elh815.0--4o 4)c6 16.4)xd4 4)xd4 17.~xd4 ~b618.~d3 Jld719.h5 AxgS Black is close to winning after 19 ... Ab5 20.~g3 ite2 21.h6+ fixh6 22.fixh6 Axdl 23.'lt'xdl Axg5 24.fxg5 ~d4+ 25.'it'c1 fih8=+'. 20.fxg5 gxh5 21.Eldfl Jlh5 22.~3 Jlxfl23.Elxfl Elaf8 24. ~f6+ lit'h7 25. ~e7 ~e3+ 26.lit'dl ~xe5 Or simply 26 ... ~d4+ 27.'it'c1 ~xe5 -+. 27.Elxf7+ Elxf7? Sti11 winning is 27 ... 'it'g6-+. 28.~xf7+ ~g7 29.~xh5 = lit'g8 30.~e8+ ~f8
Yz-Yz
5 4
(30) Schlechter- Wolf Ostend 1905 Queen's Gambit Declined [040]
3 2
abc
d
e
f
g
h
For additional assets, White relies upon the .£Jc3-e2, the e5-pawn, and the h4pawn. For Black, the e5-pawn is insecure and Black hopes to dominate the dark squares on the kingside. Black gains a large edge with 11 ... 'it'h6, as in the game. After 24 moves, Black is winning easily, but Black's horrible 27th move tosses away the win. 10.Jlxh7+
118
Carl Schlechter (1874-1918) is best remembered for seriously challenging Emanuel Lasker in the 1910 world chess championship match, needing only a draw in the last game but falling short. Beginning in 1883, he played in more than 50 international chess tournaments. He carne in first place at Munich 1900, Coburg 1904, Ostend 1906, Stockholm 1906, Vienna 1908, Prague 1908, Hamburg 1910, and in the
Games Trebitsch Memorial Tournaments in Vienna (1911 , 1912, 1913). l.d4 d5 2.4)f3 4)f6 3.e3 c5 4.c4 e6 5.Ad3 4)c6 6.0-0 a6 7.4)c3 dxc4 S.Axc4 b5 9.Ad3 Ab7 10.a4 c4 1l.axb5 axb5 12.E!xaS AxaS n.Abl ~b814.e4 Ae715.Ag5 0o16.e5 4)d517.4) xd5 exd51S.Axe7 4)xe7 8
7
6 5 4
3 2
abcdefgh
The conditions are once again set for a successful Greco Sacrifice. The white e-pawn has driven Black's knight off f6, the white queen has quick access to h5 for use in the 'iftgB variation and to g4 if Black chooses to play 'ifth6 or 'iftg6. And Black's poor development gives White the time to bring up the .§f1-el-e3. White's 22nd move is especially instructive, keeping the attack alive with 22.exf6 rather than 22.~g3, which gives Black a chance to gain the development needed for a successful defense. 19.Axh7+ ~xh7 20.4)g5+ ~g6! In the 'iftgBline, White's makes good use of the undefended e6-square. 20 ... 'iftgB 21.~h5 .§cB (21.. ..§eB 22.~xf7+ 'it'hB 23.f4 with the idea of.§f3-h3) 22.~xf7+ 'ifthB 23.4Je6 4Jf5 24.~xf5+-. In the 'ifth6Iine, White has ~g4-h4, as well as f4-f5 if Black plays ... 4Jg6 and ~cB. 20 ... 'ifth6 21.~g4 4Jg6 22.f4 ~cB 23.f5 +-. 21. ~g4! The usual alterna-
tives fare less well. 21.h4 ~cB+ keeps the queen off g4 and prepares ... ~f5. And White wins only an exchange after 21.~c2+ f5 22.exf6+ 'iftxf6 23.4Jh7+ 'it'f7 24.4JxfB 'it'xfB~. 21 .•. f5 21...f6 without the attack upon the white queen, White can afford to play 22.4Je6+ 'iftf7 23.exf6 gxf6 24.~g7+ offering the 4Je6 24 ... 'it'xe6 (24 ... 'ifteB 25.~xfB++-) 25 ..§el++-. 22.exf6 Much less convincing is the familiar 22.~g3!? 4Jc6 23.4Je6+ 'iftf7 24.4Jg5+ 'it'eB 25.4Je6=. 22 ••. gxf6 White's attacks are instructive: 22 ... 4Jf5 23.4Je4+ the most powerful discovery 'it'f7 24.4Jg3 g6 25.4Jxf5+-; 22 ... 'it'xf6 23 ..§eltaking aim on e6. 23.4)e6+ ~f7 24.~g7+ ~xe6 25.E!el+ ~f5 26.~h7+ White has a slightly faster mate with 26.g4+ 'it'f4 27.~h6+ 'iftf3 (27 ... 'it'xg4 2B.h3+ 'it'f5 [2B ... 'iftf3 29 ..§e3#] 29.~h5+ 'it'f4 30.~g4#) 2B ..§e3+ 'iftxg4 29.h3+ 'it'f5 30.~h5+ 'iftf4 31.~g4#. 26 .•. ~g5 27.E!xe7+It's mate in six with 27.h4+ 'it'g4 (27 ... 'iftf4 2B. ~h5 +-) 2B.f3+ 'iftf4 (2B ... 'it'g3 29.~g7+ 4Jg6 30.~xg6+
'it'xh4 31.~g4#) 29.~h6+ 'it'g3 (29 ... 'it'f5 30.g4#) 30.~g7+ 4Jg6 31.~xg6+ 'it'xh4 (31...'it'f4 32.~g4#) 32.~g4#. 27 ..• E!gS 2S.E!e3 b4 29.E!g3+ ~xg3 30.~xgS+ 1-0 (31) Burn - Marshall Ostend 1906 Queen's Pawn Game [D02]
119
Frank Marshall (1877-1944) was the U.S. chess champion from 1909-1936 and competed unsuccessfully for the world championship against Lasker in 1907. He finished fifth at the 1914 St. Petersburg tournament behind Lasker, Capablanca, Alekhine, and Tarrasch. Tsar Nicholas II is said to have con-
Sacking the Citadel ferred the title of Grandmaster on Marshall and the four other finalists. Known for his great tactical skill, he introduced the famous Marshall Gambit in the Ruy Lopez.
l.d4 d5 2.~f3 c5 3.c3 e6 4.M4 ~c6 5.e3 ~f6 6.~bd2 .1ld6 7.Ag3 0-0 S..1ld3 EteS 9.~e5 .1lxe5 10.dxe5 ~d711.f4 c412.Ac2 ~b613.~f2 ~xb2 14.Etcl ~xa2 15.~e2 f5 16.exf6 ~xf617.Ah4 EtfS1S.Axf6 Etxf619.~f3 ~a3
ing for trouble. 23.g4+ ~xg4 (23 ... ~h4 24.~f3+ ~xg4 [24 ... ~h3 25.~cgl +-] 25.~cgl + ~h5 26.~h7+ ~h6 27 .~g5 # ) 24.~hgl + +- . 22. ~h5 ~e5 Simpler is 22 ... ~f5 -+ when Black can sacrifice the exchange to relieve the pressure. 23.~h7+ ~fS 24.~hS+ ~e7 25.~xg7+ ~d6 More accurate is 25 ... ~e8! 26.~g3 ~d7-+. 26.~g3 Not 26.~xf6 ~g4+. 26 ... ~d7 27.e4 ~c6 2S.e5 ~fS? 28. .. ~f8 is playable, but Black's best chance lay with 28 ... ~xf4! 29.~xf4 ~c5 30.~c2 .ild7 31.~bU. 29.exf6 ~xf6 30.~gS Missing the transition to a winning endgame with 30.'li11xf6 ~xf6 31.h4+when the h-pawn is a flier. 30 ... ~c5 31. ~eS+ Ad7 32. ~xaS e5 33.~h3 better is 33 .Rhfl ~g6+ 34. ~f2 ~d3+ 35.~f1 ~xcl 36.~f2 ~c2 37.g3 ~d3 -+ 38.~xa7d439.~xd3Ah3+ 40.~e1cxd30-1
abc
d
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g
(32) Bernstein - Maroczy Ostend 1906 Queen's Gambit Declined [D37]
h
Down material against the future American champion, Bum prepares and plays the sacrifice. Black can easily parry the attack with ~h6 or, even better as in the game, use the ~f6 to aid the ~g8 retreat. Marshall's errors on moves 25 and 28 ought to have cost him the full point, but Bum returned the favor on moves 30 and 33 to decide the course of the game. 20.Axh7+ ~xh7 21.~g5+ ~gS Bum lacks a dark-square bishop to aid the ~h6 line and has no meaningful way to bring up reinforcements. 21...~h6! 22.~g4 ~b2+ 23.~g3 ~f8 24.'li11h4+ ~g6-+. Less convincing is 21...~g6? 22.'li11c2+ when Black has 22 ... m5 23.g4 e5 24.~hgl 'li11e7 25.~g3=. Of course, Black should avoid king retreats since 22 ... ~h6 meets 23.'li11h7# and 22 ... ~h5 is clearly ask-
l.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.~c3 ~f6 4.~f3 Ae7 5.Af4 0-0 6.e3 b6 7.cxd5 exd5 S.Ad3 a6 9.0-0 Ab7 10.~e5 c5 11. ~f3 Eta712.Etadl c413.Abl b5 14.e4dxe415.~xe4~bd716.~c6 Axc617.~xf6+ ~xf618.~xc6 ~d5 19.~b6 Etd7 20.Etfel Ab4 21.Ad2
Ad6 22. ~a5 ~xd4 23.Ac3
ahcdefgh
120
Games Black does not appear to have the requisite additional assets here, but the ~d4's starting position already exerts pressure upon f2. The movement of the white rook to the e-file relinquished control over that key f2-square, permitting Black, upon sacrificing on h2, to infiltrate powerfully on f2 as well. In the game, Bernstein settled upon 25.~h1, a relative rarity in these positions, and Black missed crushing shots on his next two moves. 23 .•• Axh2+ 24.~xh2 .£Jg4+! Black has to settle for a draw after 24 ... ~h4+ 25.~gl 4Jg4 26.'§'xd7
8
7
6
5 4
3 2
abc
faces ~xf2+ and it's mate in five because the dl- and d3-squares are occupied or covered. 25.~gl? ~xf2+ 26.~h1 ~h4+ 27.~gl ~h2+ 28.~f1
Black's king is 4Jxf2+
too exposed after
25.~h3
26.~g3 (26.~h2
~h4+
e
f
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A rematch of the two competitors in game 31 played at the same tournament just one year later. Playing White this time, it is Marshall's turn to try the Greco Sacrifice which he prepares spectacularly with an exchange sacrifice on h5 that nicks Black's pawn structure. White's additional assets include the dark-square bishop, the 4Jd2-f3, and the possibility, albeit slow, of bringing the '§'a1 into the game on hI. Note, of course, that a bishop rather than a pawn rests on g7, often a key in the ~g6line because White will capture a bishop rather than a pawn on g7. Black's only hope was to decline the Greco Sacrifice with ~f8 because, after 11.4Jg5, all of the defenses crumble quickly despite the ability of the black knight to reach f6. 10.Axh7+ ~xh711 ..£Jg5+ ~g6 In the ~gB line, White infiltrates on f7, driving the king to h8 where 0-0-0 decides. 11...~gB 12.~xh5+- 4Jf6 (12 ... 4JfB 13.~xf7+ ~hB 14.0-0-0+provides a similar end) 13.~xf7+ ~hB 14.0-0-0+- with .§.h1 to come. 12..£Jdf3 e5 The queen and knights work harmoniously to deliver a mate in four after 12 ... 4Jf8 13.4Jh4+ ~f6 14.~xh5 4Jg615.4Je4+ ~e616.'~f5#. 13•.£Jh4+ ~f614..£Jh7+ ~e7There's a remarkable mate in two after 14 ... ~e6 15.d5+ ~e716.4Jf5#. 15•.£Jf5+ ~e6
~xf2+ 27.~h1 ~h4+=. 25.~hl ~gl
~h1 + 29.~e2 ~xg2 #.
d
27.~gl
4Jxd1-+ ) 26 ... ~g4+willingly ditching the knight 27.~xf2 (27.~h2 .§.xd1-+) 27 ... .§.xd1-+. Black wins quickly after 25.~g3 ~xf2+ 26.~xg4 (26.~h3
g5-+) 26 ... ~xg2+ with a fun mating exercise for the reader: 27.~f4 ~f2+ 28.~g4 h5+ 29.~h3 g5 -+. 25 .. :~xdl Simpler is 25 ... ~f4-+. 26.f3 It's hopeless even after White's best move 26.Af5 4Jxf2+-+. 26 ... ~d5 Missing a game ending shot with 26 .. ..§.eB! -+ . 27.fxg4 .§d6 2S.~c7 b4 29.Ae4 .§h6+ 30.~gl ~b5 31.Ad2 .§e6 32.Af3 .§feS 33.'§xe61--O (33) Marshall - Burn Ostend 1907 Queen's Pawn Game [A48] 1.d4 .£Jf6 2 ..£Jf3 d6 3.Af4 .£Jbd7 4.e3 g6 5.Ad3 Ag7 6 ..£Jbd2 0--0 7.h4 .§eS S.h5 .£J xh5 9 ..§xh5 gxh5
121
Sacking the Citadel 16.4) xg7+ There's a mate in six involving a pretty knight sac with 16.d5+ 'it'xf5 17.~xh5+ 'it'e4 18.'lii'f3+ c;t>f5 19.94+ 'it'g6 20.~e4+ f5 21.~xf5*. 16... f1 +-. Avoiding the tempting 10 ... ~xg51Utxg5 4Jxc312.~d3++-. 11. ~h5 E!eS When White has the customary mate in five.12.~xf7+ ~hS
the light-square bishop has both g2 and f3 covered. 21.)fj>gl ~h4 22.4Jf3 ~xf3-+ . . 21. .. ~g5 Avoiding 21...~d6+ 22.f4+-. 22.Axh7+ Black triumphs with a queen sacrifice after 22.f4 4Jxe3+ 23.fxg5 4Jxfl + -+. The best try for White is 22.f3 4Jxe3+ 23.)fj>f2 4Jg4+! 24.'it'el (24.fxg4 ~xd2+) 24 ... ~h4+ 25.)fj>e2 4Je5 -+. 22 .•• ~xh7 23.f4 ~g6 24.E!hl + ~gS 25.E!agl 4)f6+0-1
13.~h5+ ~gS 14.~h7+ ~fS 15.~hS+~e716.~xg7# 1-0
(40) Capablanca - Davis Chicago 1910 French Defense [CI4]
(39) Lasker,Em. - Schenzen Buenos Aires simul. exhibition 1910 Queen's Gambit [D06]
Jose Raul Capablanca (1888-1942) reigned as world chess champion from 1921 to 1927 and most rank him among the best players of all time. Among many outstanding achievements was first place at San Sebastian 1911, one of the strongest tournaments ever held, and second place at the famous St. Petersburg tournament of 1914.
l.d4 d5 2.c4 4)f6 3.cxd5 ~xd5 4.4)c3 ~dS 5.e4 e6 6.4)f3 Ab4 7.Ad3 ()....() S.e5 4)d5
l.d4 d5 2.4)c3 4)f6 3.Ag5 e6 4.e4 Ae7 5.Axf6 Axf6 6.4)f3 0-0 7.Ad3 c6 S.e5 Ae7 9.h4 f510.exf6 Axf6 8
abc
d e
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7
White has two additional assets, the secure e5-pawn and the dark-square bishop, and Black has only a modest counter-attack upon the queens ide. The reality is that Black's development is poor, and it's a quick win for the world champion. The selected defense with 'it'g8 leads to an excellent example of the checkmate with ~f7+ followed by ~h5+ and ~h7+. 9.Axh7+ ~xh7 10.4)g5+ ~gS In the )fj>g6line, the .§.hl supports the powerful advance of the h-pawn. 10 ... )fj>g6 11.h4 4Jxc3 (11..J':l.h8 12.h5+ 'it'f5 [12 ... )fj>h6
125
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White's additional assets in the position are the 4Jc3-e2-f4, and the h4-pawn that provides an entry for the rook after a capture on g5. The black position, though poorly developed on the queenside, features notably the .§.f8 on
Sacking the Citadel an open file. In the game, Black selects the 'lttg8 line, which should lead to a quick draw with 13 ... E!.e8. Black blunders by capturing the knight, permitting Capablanca to demonstrate his accurate technique. 1l.Jlxh7+ c418.4)xd6# 1--0
17.iiJ'h7#) when there are two pretty mates from which to choose: 17.iiJ'h7+ 'itlg4 1B.f3+ ~g3 19 . .§.h3+ ~xg2 20 ..§.gl# and 17.g4+ 'itlxg4 1B ..§.dg1 + 'itlh519.~h7#. The line with 15 ... Axg5 16.hxg5+ activates the .§.h1 and gives Black a horrible choice between 16 ...'gB 17.~h5+- f5 1B.g6+- and 16 ... 'itlg617.~h5+ ~f5 18.~h3+ 'itle4 (18. .. ~g619.~h7#) 19.~f3#.16.~h5 Ete8 The exchange this late is hopeless. 16 ... Axg5 17.hxg5 f5 1B.g6+- and Black cannot capture the g-pawn. 17.~xf7+ Cit>h818.h511--O White finishes in style, sacrificing the Ag5 to bring all of the other white pieces into the attack. 1B ... Axg5 (lB ... .§.e719.~g6 Axg5 20.Axg5+-) 19.h6 gxh6 20.'§'xh6+ Axh6 21..§.h1 +-.
(45) Rastrelli - Falchetto Correspondence 1914 French Defense [C I 0]
l.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.4)c3 dxe4 4.4) xe4 4)f6 5.4)xf6+ ~xf6 6.4)f3 ~d8 7.j},e3 4)c6 8.c3 j},e7 9.j},d3 j},f6 10.~e2 b6 1l.Ae4 Ab7 12.~ 0--0 13.h4 4)a5 8 7 If-~,r-~
(46) Pearsall- Marshall USA 1915 Scotch Game [C45]
6 5 4
3
l.e4 e5 2.4)f3 4)f6 3.d4 exd4 4.4) xd4 4)c6 5.4)xc6 bxc6 6.j},d3 d5 7.exd5 cxd5 8.0--0 j},e7 9.4)c3 0--0 10.j},g5 c6 1l.~f3 Etb8 12.b3 h6 13.j},xh6 gxh6 14.~g3+ Cit>h8 15. ~xb8 j},d616. ~xa7
2
abc
d e
f
g
h
In what appears to be the first successful Greco Sacrifice to occur in a preserved correspondence chess game, White relies upon the dark-square bishop and the h4-pawn as additional assets. Black responds with the 'itlgB line, the only choice that does not lead to immediate mate or significant material loss. As is typical for correspondence chess, Black's resignation requires some explanation, notably the unstoppable threat of iiJ'g6 and h6. 14.j},xh7+ Cit>xh715.4)g5+ Cit>g8 In the 'itlg6 line, the presence of the ~J6 hurts the defense by blocking ... f5. 15 ... 'itlg6? 16.iiJ'c2+ 'itlh5 (16 ... 'itlh6
8
7
6
5 4
3 2
abc
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Trailing badly at the time of the sacrifice and with only the light-square bishop as an additional asset, Marshall
131
Sacking the Citadel may have launched it knowing how difficult a time defenders have often had. But the white queen on a7, seemingly out of play, solidly covers the critical f2-square making the '.t'gl line a very simple win. 16 .•• .1lxh2+ 17.'it>xh2 4)g4+ IS.'it>gl Up a rook and pawn, White can afford to return some material. The open g-file may have encouraged Marshall, but even after IS .. J::!gS, the discovery nets nothing more than an exchange on f1. IS.~g3 .!::!gS (IS ... ~gSI9.f4 V;f;Jg7 20.f3 f4 34.lale61--O (47) Boucher-Robbins Correspondence 1916 Vienna Game [C33] l.e4 e5 2.4)c3 4)c6 3.f4 exf4 4.4){3 .1lb4 5.4)d5 4)f6 6 ..1lc4 0--0 7.0--0 4) xe4 S.c3 .1la5 9.d4 4)f6 10..1lxf4 4)xd511..1lxd54)e712•.1le4d5
8
7
6
5 4
3 2
abc
d
e
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h
Another nice sacrifice from a correspondence player. White relies on the dark-square bishop and the .!::!f1 as additional assets. The '.t'g61ine represents the toughest defense, since Black may survive after IS.~d3+ g6 The ~gS line holds no hope here for the defender because White can sacrifice the Jlf4 in order for the .!::!f1 to take full advantage of the open f-file: 14 .. .'~gS IS.Jlxc7! Jlxc716.~hS .!::!eSI7.~h7+ '.t'fS IS ..!::!xf7#. 15.h4 With the threat of 16.hS+. IS.~d3+!? gains back the piece after f6 18. ~e2 ~e8 19.f!e3 ~c6 20.~h51-O
(48) Capablanca - Borochow New York 1918 Queen's Gambit Declined [D63] 1.d4 d5 2..£lf3 .£lf6 3.c4 e6 4.Ag5 .£lbd75..£lc3Ae76.e30-07.f!c1 b6 8.cxd5 .£lxd5 9.j'txe7 .£lxe710.j'td3 Ab711.0-0c512.dxc5.£lxc5 8 7
6
5 4
3 2
abc
d
e
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h
Relying upon only one additional asset, the .£Je3, the sacrifice is unsound here, but the world champion exhibits stronger will power. In the actual game, Capablanca's opponent misses the best defense in the g6 line with 18 ... .£Jd4 or 18 ... .£Jd3. 13.Axh7+? 'it>xh7 14. .£lg5+ 'it>g6 In the g81ine, Black defends the threats on h7 and f7 either by retreating the .§f8 to create an escape-square, or by playing ~d3 in an effort to control the b I-h7 diagonal. 14 ... rtlg815.~h5 ~d3 The queen move looks promising, but White can simply block the diagonal, reinitializing the threats. 16.e4 .§fe8 17.~xf7+ rtlh8
133
18.~h5+ g8 19.~h7+ f8 20.b4 when 20 ... .£Jxe4 21..£Jexe4 .Q.xe4 22.~h8+ .£Jb8 23 ..§e7 ends the discussion. Instead, the rook retreat withI5 ... .§e8 loses more quickly, 16.~xf7+ rtlh817 ..§fdl with 18.b4 to follow. The simplest defense is the h6 line. There, given the absence of a darksquare bishop, White can only try 14 ... h615.~g4 when 15 ... .£Jf5 threatens ~xg5. 14 ... h6! 15.~g4 .£Jf5 16.f4. It would have been interesting to see what Capablanca had in mind in that line, since the logical 16.f4 gives Black the opportunity to counter with 16 ... ~d3 17 ..§fel g6 18.~h3+ g7 19.~h7+ rtlf6 20 ..§edl ~e4 21.g4 .£Jd3 22.gxf5 exf5 23 ..§e2 .§ad8=. To make matters worse for White, Black could also try 15 ... .£Jd5 a likely improvement because 16.~h4+ rtlg6 17.~h7+ rtlf6 gives the king an escape to e7: 18 ..§fdl ~b8 19 ..£Jee4+ .£Jxe4 20 ..£Jxe4+ rtle7 21.~xg7 .§g8 22.~d4 .§e8 23.~g7 .§xc1 24.~g5+ f8 25 ..§xc1 ~d8+. 15.~g4 15.~e2+? fails to both 15 ... xg5 when there's no support for the mate or simply to 15 ... ~d3. 15...f5 16. ~g3 'it>f6 There's no relief to be found in 16... ~b8 17.f4 .§h8 because 18.b4 .£Ja6 pries open White's access to g7. 19 ..§fdl f6 20 ..§d7+-. 17.b4 .£ld7 After 17 ... .£Je4 White can recover an exchange with 18 . .£Jh7+ rtlf7 19 ..£Jxe4 .llxe4 20 ..£Jxf8 rtlxf8 21.f3 .Q.e6 22 ..§fdl ~e8 but the final position offers relatively even chances for both sides. 18.f!cd1 More accurate is 18 ..§fdl with the idea of .£Jb5-d6. 18 ... .£lg6? Black's best defense is 18... .£Je8 to discourage incursions on d6. 19.f!d6 f!e8 20.f!fd1 +- .£lgf821.e4 The simplest win is 21..£Jh7+ f7 22 ..£Jxf8+- removing the defender of the .£Je7. 21 ...g6 22. ~h4 'it>g7 23.f!xd7+ .£lxd7 24.~h7+ 'it>f625.f41-0
Sacking the Citadel the queen sacrifice on g5 was a significant improvement over the actual course of the game, the usual mate in five. 18 ... 'l1i'xg5 19 ..llxg5 4Jxh2 20.Af4 ±. 19. ~xf7+ ~h8 20. ~h5+ ~g8 21. ~h7+ ~f8 22. ~h8+ ~e7 23.~xg7# 1--0
(49) Leise - Wellington Correspondence 1919 Ruy Lopex [C80] 1.e4 e5 2.4)0 4)c6 3.Ab5 a6 4.Aa4 4)f6 5.0-0 4) xe4 6.d4 b5 7.Ab3 d5 8.a4 §.b8 9.ax b5 ax b5 10.dxe5 Ae6 1l.c3 Ac5 12.4)bd2 0-0 13:~e2 Af514.Ac2 4)xd215.Axf5 4)xfl
(50) Pahl- Delbner Berlin 1921 Vienna Game [C29]
8
7
1.e4 e5 2.4)c3 4)f6 3.f4 d5 4.fxe5 4)xe4 5.4)f3 4)xc3 6.bxc3 c5 7.d4 4)c6 8.Ae2 Ae7 9.0-0 0-0 10. ~e1 Ae611. ~g3 ~h812.Ad3 c4
6 5 4
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7 abc
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6
Although White relies upon a familiar pair of additional assets, the dark-square bishop and the e5-pawn, this is an unusual example because the sacrifice follows an exchange sac on fl. The black knight on fl controls the g3-square, preventing the usual 'l1i'g4-g3 maneuver in the 'it'g61ine. 16.Axh7+ ~xh7 17.4)g5+ ~g8 Black can claim an advantage after 17 ... 'it'g6! 18.'l1i'd3+ (not 18.~g4 4Jxe5) 18 .. .f5 because White is able to recover an exchange but Black emerges with a small but persistent material edge, 19.exf6+ (19.4Je6 4Jxe5 20.4Jxf8+ 'l1i'xf8 21. ii:t'xfl 4Jg4 -+ ) 19 ... 'it'xf6 20.4Jh7+ (20.ii:t'f3+ 'it'e7 21. 'l1i'e2+ 4Je3 22.A xe3 A xe3 23.~xe3+ 'it'f6 24.4Jh7+ 'it'f7 25.ii:t'f4+ 'it'g8 26.4Jxf8 'l1i'xf8 27. 'l1i'xc7 ii:t'f6 =+') 20 ... 'it'f7 21.4Jg5+ 'it'e7 22.~e2+ 4Je3 23.Axe3 Axe3 24.ii:t'xe3+ 'it'f6 25.4Jh7+ 'it'f7 26.ii:t'f3+ 'it'g8 27.4Jxf8 ii:t'd6! 28.4Jg6 ii:t'xg6 29.ii:t'xd5+ 'it'h7=+'. 18. ~h5 §.e8 Already up an exchange,
134
5 4
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abcdefgh
This is the second game in this book in which the sacrifice occurs without giving check. The black bishop on e6 gives Black far more mobility than a pawn on that square, but the open f-file prevents Black from playing Af5. Black incorrectly decides to play Jlxg5 when the 'it'g8 retreat appears to equalize. 13.Axh7 ~xh7 Black may have assumed that by playing 'it'h8, ... g6 was a useful response, but the reality is that ... g6 fatally weakens the dark squares around the black king. 13 ... g6 14.4Jg5 with the idea of 'l1i'h4 14 ... Axg5 15.Axg5 ~c716.Af6+ 'it'xh717.'l1i'h4+ 'it'g8 18.~h8#. 14.4)g5+ Axg5 Despite White's obvious assets, the e5-
Games pawn, the dark-square bishop, and the open f-file, Black has a saving, iftoughto-find sequence in the 'gSline. Black can count here on the bishops to prevent the white rooks from reaching the h-file, and Black can manufacture significant counterplay on the the a7-g1 diagonal. 14 ... 'gS! 15.,,*h4 ~xg5 16.~xg5 (with the threat of ~f6) 16 ... ,,*a5 (not immediately 16 ... ,,*b6 17 ..E!abl) 17 ..E!f3 (correctly avoiding 17.~f6
[IS.~xg7
'l11xc3 IS.'l11g5
,,*xd4+-+] IS ... 'l11xd4+ 19.'hl "i£rg4) and only now when the .E!al cannot move to bl 17 ... ,,*b6 18.~f6 4Jxe5!, a remarkable resource. 19.~xe5 f6 20.Af4 §aeS 21.§afl ~d7 22."i£rh5=. 15..1lxg5 ~d7 White emerges with the initiative and a material edge after 15 .. .f6 16.'l11h4+ ~gS 17.exf6 gxf6 IS.Axf6 .E!xf6 19.§xf6+-. 16..1lf6! gxf6 The mate is trivial after 16 ... g6 17.'l11h4+ 'gS IS.,,*hS#.17.ru4.1lg418.~h4+~g7
19.Elxg4+ ~xg4 20.~xg4+ ~h6 On 20 ... ~hS, 21.exf6 forces 21.. ..E!gS when 22.'l11h5 is checkmate. 21.Elfl Elg8 22.~h4+1-O
(51) Brach - Jares Bmo 1921 Queen's Gambit Declined [D63] 1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.{)c3 {)f6 4 ..1lg5 {)bd7 5.e3 .1le7 6.{)f3 0--0 7.Elel c6 8.cxd5 exd5 9 •.1ld3 {)e4 10..1lxe4 .1lxg511 ..1lbl Ele812.h4 .1le7
Here, Black has already played §eS and is able to defend with 4Jf6 or 4JfS. The absence of a black pawn on e6 also gives Black the opportunity to develop the ~cS, especially with ~f5. It is very useful to compare this position to Game 62, Colle-O'Hanlon, where Black has most though not all of these defensive possibilities. In this game, White relies upon a tame pair of additional assets, the 4Jc3 and the h4-pawn. Black defends well by selecting the ~gSline and winds his way successfully through the complications. 13•.1lxh7+? ~xh7 14.{)g5+ ~g8 White does not have dark-square bishop, but 14... 'h6walks straight into 15.4Jxf7+. With the rook off f8, Black can consider 14 ... ~xg5 15.hxg5+ 'gS (not 15 ... 'g616.'l11h5+ ~f5 17. "i£rxf7 + +-) because after 16. 'l11h5 the king can escape toward the queenside. 16 ... 'fS 17. "i£rhS+ 'e7 IS."i£rxg7 .E!gSI9.,,*h6 'eS 20.f4 4Jf8+. Correct play in the 'g6line leads here to an uneasy equality. 14... ~g6 15."i£rc2+ (on "*g4, Black can capture on g5) 15 .. .f5 16.4Je6 (not 16.g4 4Jf8-+) 16 ..."i£rb6 17.4Jf4+ (better than 17.h5+ 'h6 IS."i£rxfS 4Jf819."i£rf4+ 'h7 20.4Jc7 "i£rxb2 21.0--0 ~d7 22.4JxaS .E!xaS=i=) 17... 't7 (17 ... 'f6? walks into a fork IS.4Jfxd5+ cxd519.4Jxd5++-) IS."i£rxf5+.
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Sacking the Citadel (52) Alekhine - Lovewell New York simul. 1923 Englund Gambit [A40]
Now Black can try: (a) 18 ....iU6 19. ~h5+ 'it'f8 (avoiding the knight fork after 19 ... 'it'e7 20 . .£Jfxd5+ exd5 21 ..£Jxd5+ and a white pull after 19 ... g6 20.~xg6+ 'it'f8 21.~h7 ~g7 22.h5 .£Jf6 23 ..£Jg6+ 'it'f7 24 ..£Je5+ 'it'f8 25.~g6 ~e7 26.h6 ilh8 27.f4 ~e6 28.g4 ~g8 29.~e2 ~h7 30.~h2 Ele6 31.~h4±) 20.~h8+ 'it'f7 (trying for more with 20 ... 'it'e7 walks into another knight fork 21..£Jfxd5+ exd5 22 ..£Jxd5+ 'it'd8 23 ..£Jxb6 Elxh8 24 ..£Jxa8±) 21.~h5+ is a perpetual; (b) 18 ... 'it'g819.~e6+ 'it'h8 (avoiding 19 ... 'it'f8 20 ..£Jg6# and 19 ... 'it'h7 20.~g6+ 'it'g8 21.~xe8+ +- ) 20.~f7+-; and (c) 18 ... .£Jf6 when White barges through with 19.~g6+ 'it'fS (19 ... 'it'g8 20 . .£Jh5 .£Jxh5 21.~xe8++-) 20.h5 ~d8 21.h6 gxh6 22.Elxh6+-. 15.~h5 .1lxg5! Black's other plausible defensive tries lead to equality: (a) 15 ... .£Jf6 (bringing the knight to f6 where it defends h7 but White enters on f7) 16.~xf7+ 'it'h8 17.h5 (no better is 17.~g6 Elf818 ..£Jf7+ Elxf7 19.~xf7 ~f5 20.h5 ~e8 21.~xe8+ Elxe8 22.f3=) 17 ... Elf818.h6 Elxf7 19 ..£Jxf7+ 'it'h7 20 ..£Jxd8 ~xd8 21.hxg7+ 'it'xg7=; (b) 15 ... .£Jf8 (forcing a quick perpetual) 16.~xf7+ 'it'h8 17.~h5+ 'it'g8 18.~f7+=; and (c) 15 ... M6 (also drawing with a perpetual)
l.d4 e5 2.dxe5 .£)c6 3 ..£)f3 .1lc5 4.-'lf4 .£)ge7 5.e3 0--0 6 ..£)c3 .£)g6 7.-'ld3 .£)xf4 8.exf4 Ete8
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16.~xf7+ 'it'h817.~h5+= (17.~g6.£Jf8 18.~h5+
'it'g8
19.~f7+=).
16.hxg5 Etg8 19. ~h6 .£)f8 20.f4 .£)g6 21.0-0 ~f8 21 ... ilf5 -+ is more accurate. 22. ~h5 Eth8 23.~e2 ~d8 24.e4 dxe4 25.~xe4 f5 26.~e3 ~e7 27.~d2 .1le6 28.Etfel ~f7 29.g3 .1ld5 30.Ete2 ~d7 31..£)xd5 ~xd5 32.Etg2 b6 33.h3 Eth3 34.Etc2 Etah8 35. ~c3 '£)xf40--1 ~f817.~h8+ ~e718.~xg7
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Alekhine provides us with a Greco miniature. White can count on the .£Je3 and a secure e5-pawn, but Black has developed the king's rook on e8. 9.-'lxh7+ ~xh710 ..£)g5+ ~g8 The game ends abruptly after only 11 moves, but it would have been very interesting to see what Alekhine would have played after 10 ... 'it'g6. White has many options there, 11.h4, 11.Qg4, and 11.~d3, but the former is the most forcing continuation. (a) 1l.h4! (taking advantage of the uncastled king, aiming with h5+ to drive the king to h6 with .£Jxf7 to follow) 11.. ..£Jxe5 (a standard defensive try, returning material but undermining the white center) 12.fxe5 Elxe5+ 13.'it'fl d6 (not 13 ... ~f6 when 14.~d3+ ~f5 15 ..£Jee4 and White can continue with .£Jee4, h5+, and after ... 'it'h6, ~d2; and there's no relief in giving back the exchange with 13 ... Elxg5 14.hxg5 ~xg5 15 ..£Je4 ~f5 16.~d3+-) 14 ..£Jd5 aiming for .£Jf4 14 ... ~d7 15 ..£Jf4+ 'it'f6 (avoiding 15 ... 'it'f5 16.~f3+- or 15 ... 'it'h6 16.~h5#) 16.~d3 Ele8
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Games 17 .§h3 +- and the rook enters the game with effect; (b) 11. ~g4 here is complex and interesting. 11 .. .f5 the standard response. 12.~h4 aiming to play ~g3 only when the rook vacates its support oft7 (12.~g3 4Jxe5 13.0-0 4Jg414.h3 d5 15.hxg4 fxg4 16.§ad1 c6 17.4Jce4;!;) 12 ... §hS13.~g3 4Jxe5 (the knight, of course, is immune thanks to the threat of ~xg5) 14.4Je6+ when Black has a remarkable response to the discovered check, 14 ... 4Jg4! 15.4JxdS Jlxf2+ 16.~xf2 4Jxf2 17.'it'xf2 ±. Black will recover the knight, but the immediate capture encourages IS. 4Jb5; and (c) Less compelling is 11. ~d3+ f5 12.~h3 because Black has a nice central shot with §xe5+ 13.'it'd2 ~gS;!;. There's no point in dwelling on 1O...'it'h6 l1.4Jxt7+ or 10 ... 'it'hS 11.~h5+ 'it'gS 12.~h7+ 'it'fS13.~hS+ 'it'e714.4Jd5#. 11.~h5 f6 1--0 and Black resigned rather than face an easy mate in three: 12.~h7+ 'it'fS 13.~hS+ 'it'e7 with two mates in one 14.4Jd5# or 14.~xg7#. (53) Przepiorka - Makarczyk Warsaw 1926 Slav Defense [D45] V~~f3 .£Jf6 2.c4 c6 3.d4 d5 4 •.£Jc3 e6 5.e3 .£Jbd7 6.a3 ~d6 7.cxd5 exd5 8.~d3 0-0 9.0-0 §e810.~c2 ~e7 11.M .£Je4 12.§el .£Jdf613.~xe4 dxe414..£Jd2
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With a clearly superior position, Black ought to continue here with ... 4Jd5 or ... Af5. Instead, Black embarks on the sacrifice which, with the white rook on e1, is speculative, despite two strong assets, the light-square bishop and the secure e4-pawn. Selecting the 'it'glline, White has 17.4Jf1 simultaneously defending the key f2- and h2-squares. Unlike many of the games decades earlier, White organizes and maintains a successful defense. 14 ••• ~xh2+ 15.~xh2 .£Jg4+ 16.~gl 16.'it'g3 ~d6+! (16 ... ~g5 is less convincing because White can gain time against the queen with 17.4Jdxe4 ~g618.~d2 [lS.4Jf6+ ~xf6 19.§h1 h6-+] lS ... 4Jf6+ 19.'it'h2 4Jxe4 20.4Jxe4 §xe4=t=) l7.f4(17.'it'h4~h6+ 18.'it'g3 ~h2#) 17 ... exf3+ lS.'it'xf3 ~f6+ 19.'it'g3 (the alternative 19.'it'e2 walks into mate 19 ... §xe3+ 20.'it'd1 4Jf2#) 19 ... ~f2+ 20.'it'h3 4Jxe3+ -+ with mate quickly to follow. 16•.. ~h4 With the rook already off f1, White can easily cover both f2 and h2. 17. .£Jf1 ~f5 Black likely assumed that he needed to defend the central pawn, but more powerful is the idea of a rook swing. 17 ... §e6! lS.Ab2 (capturing the pawn with lS.4Jxe4 walks into lS ... §xe4 followed by a queen capture on f2 and ... Af5) IS ... §h619.4Jg3 4Jxe3 20.§xe3 Ag4 21.f4 exf3 22.gxf3 ~xg3+ 23.~g2 ~f4 24.§e4 ~xf3 25.~xf3 Axf3 26.§e7;!;. 18. .£Jg3 ~g6 19 . .£Jce2 More consistent is 19.'it'fl 4Jh2+ 20.'it'e2 ~g4+ 21.'it'd2 +- and the king will find safety on the queenside. 19 .••h5 20 ..£Jf4 ~h2+ 21.~f1 h4 22..£Jge2 h3 To push the h-pawn, Black can sacrifice another piece: 22 ... Ah5 23.4Jxh5 h3 24.4Jef4 hxg2+ 25.4Jxg2 ~xh5:j: when the idea of... ~h1 + forces 4Jf4, which will remain exposed to a g5-
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Sacking the Citadel push. 23.4)xh3 ~hl + 24.4)egl Ah5 25.~e2 4)e5+ 26.~d2 4)d3 27.§fl a5 Black's best chance for advantage. 27 ... ~xg2 28 ..llb2 .llg4 (forcing a weakening of the pawn structure) 29.~f4 ~xf4 30.exf4 (and now the e-pawn is mobile) 30 ... e3+ 31.~c3 e2 32.§fe1 ~xf2 33.'it'b3 ~xf4+. Black has three pawns for the piece, the advanced epawn, and superior development. 28 . .11,b2 ~xg2 29.~c3 axb4+ 30.axb4 §xaI31.§xal.11.g4 32.4)f4 4)xf4 33.exf4 e3 34.f3 e2 35.§el Axf3 36.~d3 .11,g4 37.~d2 ~f2 38.4)xe2 Ah5 39.d5 Axe2 4O.§xe2 ~xf4+ 41.~c2 §xe2+ 42.~xe2 ~f5+ The simplest path to the draw is 42 ... ~xb4=. 43.~d3 ~xd5 44.~xd5 cxd5 45.~d3 f6 46.~d4 ~f7
Relying upon two additional assets, the active dark-square bishop and the h4pawn, Alekhine tries the sacrifice in a position that contains a black pawn on f6. White's bigger problem is that, without a pawn on e5, Black can play ~f6 (after fxg5), providing time to defend fully with ~e8-g6. 15..11,xh7+ ~xh7 16.4)g5+ fxg5 White can win back an exchange in the 'it'g8 line, but nothing more. 16 ... 'it'g8 17.~e6 ~c8 18.h5 (18.~xf8 ~xf8 19.h5 ~f5+:j:) 18 ... §t7:j:; while the 'it'g6 line walks into h5+ and a discovered knight fork, 16 ... 'it'g6? 17.h5+ 'it'h6 (17 ... 'it'f5 18.g4 #) 18.~e6+ +-. 17.hxg5+ ~g8 Remarkably, Black can also hold in 'it'g6 line with 17 ... 'it'g6 18.~h5+ 'it'f5 19.~h7+ (Alternatives offer nothing more than even chances: 19.~h3+ 'it'g6 20.~h5+ is a perpetual; Black is simply winning after 19.96+ .llg5 -+; and 19.e4+ dxe4 20.g4+ 'it'xf4 21.~h2+ ~xg5 22.~h5+ is another remarkable perpetual.) 19 ... 'it'e6 (19 ... 'it'g4 walks into a mate with 20.~h3# as does 19... g6 20.~h3+ ~e4 2l.f3#) 20.~xg7 (With the king ready to run towards the queenside, White ought to settle here for a perpetua120.~h3+ 'it't7 21.~h5+ ~e6=) 20 ... §xf4 21.exf4 'it'd6:j:. 18.~h5 Axg5 19.Axg5 4)f6 20.~h4 ~e8 21.f3 ~g6+ 22.~al ~f7 23. ~f4 §ae8 24.g4 Ac6 Black is fully safe and winning after 24 ... 'it'g8-+. 25.Ah4 ~g8 26.~d6 Aa4 27.§d2 ~f7 28.g5 4)e4! 29.fxe4 ~fl+ 30.§dl Axdl 31.~xd5+ ~h832.e5.11,f3+ 33.§xfl Axd5 34.§el Ag2 35 ..11,g3 §fl 36.§xfl Axfl 37.d5 Ag2 38.d6 .11,d50--1
47.~xd5 ~e7 48.~c5 ~e649.b5 g5 50.~b6 f5 51.~xb7 f4 52.~c61~
(54) Alekhine-- Perez Gomar Buenos Aires simul. exhibition 1926 Queen's Indian Defense [E12]
l.d4 4)f6 2.4)f3 e6 3.c4 b6 4.4)c3 .11,b7 5..11.g5 .11,e7 6.e3 ~ 7 ..11,d3 d6 8.~e24)bd79.~c510.~bld5
1l.cxd5 4) xd512.4) xd5 exd513.h4 f614.Af4c4 8
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138
Games (55) Makarczyk - Kohn Lodz 1927 Caro-Kann Defense [D05] 1.d4 e6 2.e4 d5 3.exd5 exd5 4.j},d3 .£le6 5.e3 e6 6 ..£lf3 'itJe7 7.0--0 j},d6 8.Ele1.£lf6 9 ..£lbd2 0--0 10.'itJe2 b6 1l..£le5 j},xe512.dxe5 .£ld713..£lf3 Ele8
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Although White can rely upon the e5pawn and the dark-square bishop, the sacrifice fails because Black, having already played .§.eB and 'lfic7, has 4JfB defending both ofthe key entry squares with one move. White should instead have tried 14.Af4 with an undisputed advantage. 14.j},xh7+ ~xh7 15. .£lg5+ ~g8! In the 15 ... 'it'g6 line, White has two familiar options: (a) 16.~g4 invites the capture of the e5pawn. 16 ... 4Jdxe5 17.~g3 and now the black king can run towards e7 17 ... 'it'f6 IB.4Jh7+ rtie7 19.Af4 'it'd7 20 ..§.e3 .§.gB 21..§.ael f6 22.4Jxf6+ gxf6 23.~xgB ~dB 24.'lfih7+ ~e7=; or (b) 16.~d3+! avoids the capture on e5 and the queen can now force its way to f7. 16 .. .f5 (not 16 ... 'it'h5 17.'lfih3+ 'it'g6 IB.~h7# or 16 ... rtih6 17.~h7#) 17.exf6+ rtixf6 18. ~f3+ and the king is in a mating net. 18 ... rtig6 (IB ... rtie7 19..§.xe6+ rtidB 20.4Jf7#) 19.~f7+ 'it'h6 20.4Jxe6+ rtih7 (20 ... g5 21.Axg5#).
21. 'lfixg7 # 16.'itJh5 And again, the rook on e8 aids the defense 16 ... .£lf8! 17.j},f4 .£lg6 Black's best continuation is probably 17 ... Ab7! preparing the advance of the d-pawn, countering White's flank attack with a counter in the center. IB ..§.e3 '§'adB 19 ..§.ael d4 20 ..§.h3 4Jg6 21.4Je4 4Jcxe5 22.~h7+ 'it'fB 23.Ag5 f5 (23 .. .f6 24.4Jxf6 gxf6 25.Ah6+ +-) 24.4Jf6 ~f7 25.4JxeB .§.xeB 26.cxd4 4Jd7=. 18.Ag3 .£lee7 19.h4 .£lf5 20.'itJh7+ ~f8 21.h5 .£lge7 22.h6 .£l xh6 23. 'itJh8+ .£leg8 Not 23 ... 4JhgB when White has a remarkable smothered mate with 24.4Jh7 #. 24.Ah4 Tempting is 24.4Jh7+ rtie7 25.4Jf6 gxf6 26.exf6+ 4Jxf6 27.'lfixh6 'lfid7 when White recovers the piece. 2B ..ilh4 'it'd6 29 ..ilxf6 but the final position has no meaningful winning chances for either side. 24 ••. ~e7 25 •.£le4+ ~d7 26 •.£ld6 Aa6 27.'itJxg7 ~e6 28.e4 dxe4 29. 'itJg3 'itJd 7 30. 'itJa3 +- Ae8 31. 'itJf3+ ~e5 32. 'itJe3+ ~e6 33. 'itJe4+ ~e7 34. 'itJxa8 .£lf5 35.'itJxa7+ ~e6 36.'itJa4+ ~e7 37..£lxe8+ 1-0
(56) Mansfield - Znosko Borovsky Cheltenham 1928 Ruy Lopex [C78] In this game, defeat ofthe Greco Sacrifice means victory for Znosko-Borovsky and a possible source of inspiration, seven years prior to the publication of his treatment on the Greco Sacrifice. 1.e4 e5 2..£lf3 .£le6 3.Ab5 a6 4.Aa4 .£lf6 5.0--0 j},e5 6.e3 Aa7 7.d4.£l xe4 8.d5 .£le7 9 ..£lxe5 0--0 10.Ae2 d6 1l . .£lxf7? (11.4Jf3 was necessary) 1l •.• .£lxf2!-+
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Sacking the Citadel and 1929), but is best remembered as a chess endgame theorist and composer of endgame studies. In 1959, the first year of the award, he became FIDE International Master of Chess Composition. His life's work is the monumental four-volume Handbook of Endgames including detailed proofs and hundreds of endgame studies. abc
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White embarks on the sacrifice, an act of desperation, relying upon a single additional asset, the dark-square bishop. The.§.fl has been neutralized, and take note of the powerful Aa7. Any movement of the h5 20.~h7+ r,t>g4 21.h3#. 20. ~g3 The two main alternatives both result in the win of an exchange, but it is rare that an exchange will improve the attacker's chances. After 20.g6, when vtJd3+is more accurate than i;¥g4. After15 ... i;¥g4, Black can capture the
l.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.~c3 ~f6 4 •.Q.g5 .Q.e7 5.e5 ~fd7 6 . .Q.xe7 ~xe7 7. ~d2 0--0 8.f4c5 9.~b5 a610.~d6 cxd411.~f3 ~c612 •.Q.d3 f613.0Ofxe514.fxe5 ~dxe5
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Games
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e5-pawn with tempo, and after 15.'~d3 f5 White need not play 16.'~g3 but has the option of 16.exf6+ and capturing on e6 with the lLlg5. 13.Axh7+! 'it'xh7 14.~g5+ 'it'g6 The h6 24.d5 §ad8 25.d6= . 20.Ah6+ ~g8 21 . .£le5 f6 21...§d5 demonstrates that rooks are poor blockaders 22.§ae1 f6 23.4Jxc4 ~c7+
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Games 24 ..£JeS fxeS 2S ..llb3 with a winning skewer 25 ... e4+ 26.~gl +-. 22. .£\xc4 'It:Jc7+ 23.Af4 'It:Jg7 Obviously not 23 ... ~xc4 24 ..llb3. 24.-'\.b3 ~hS 25..£\d6 +- §d7 26.§ael g5 27.-'\.g3 §fS 28. ~gl 'It:Jg6 29.-'\.e6 §e7 30.d5 h5 31..£\f5 §ee8 32.Ad6 h433.Ac5 g4 34.AxfS §xfS 35. .£\xh4 'It:Jg5 36..£\f5 'It:Jd2 37.§e4 §eS 3S.§xg4 ~h7 39.§f3 'It:Jel+ 40.~h2 'It:Je5+ 41.§fg31-O (77) Lasker, Em. - Troxler Luzem simul. exhibition 1935 French Defense [C II]
'it'g6line invites a mate in two: 10 ... ~g6 11.hS+ ~fS (11... 'it'h6 12 ..£Jxe6+ +- ) 12.g4#. 11.hxg5+ ~gS 'it'g6 again walks into a mate in two: 11...~g6 12.~hS+ ~fS 13.g4#. 12.'lt:Jh5 It's mate in six with 12.§h8+! 'it'xh8 (12 ... 'it't7 13.~hS+ g6 14.~h7+ 'it'e8 lS.~xg6#) 13:~hS+ ~g8 14.g6+-. 12 ... §f5 13.f4 .£\fS 14.g4 g6 14 ... §xf4! lS.Axf4 g6 16.~h8+ 'it't7 17.0-0-0 .lla6 when an easy win is nowhere to be found. 15. 'It:JhS+ ~f7 16.gxf5 exf5 17.0-0-0 a5 IS.§h6 ~e619.'lt:JgS+ ~d7 20.'lt:Jxd5+ 1-0 (78) Koltanowski - Reilly Barcelona 1935
l.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3 . .£\c3 .£\f6 4.e5 .£\fd7 5..£\f3 Ae7 6.-'\.e3 0-07.Ad3 b6S.h4f6
Queen's Pawn Game [A47] l.d4 .£\f6 2..£\f3 b6 3.e3 Ab7 4.Ad3 c5 5 ..£\bd2 .£\c6 6.c3 e6 7.a3 'It:Jc7 S.e4 cxd4 9.cxd4 -'\.e7 10.0-0 0-0 11.b4 §ac812.Ab2 d613.§c1 'It:Jb8 14.'lt:Je2 §feS 15..£\b3 AfS 16.e5 .£\d5
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This time, it's Lasker's tum to try the sacrifice with a black pawn on f6, and here, the sac is fully sound thanks in no small part to the fact that White can rely on four additional assets, the .£Jc3, the secure eS-pawn, the dark-square bishop, and the h-pawn. Black's advance of the f-pawn leaves e6 weak, and so, Black has no choice but to capture the knight. The lines are beautiful, marred only by Lasker's unfortunate miss of a mate in six. 9.Axh7+! ~xh7 10..£\g5+ fxg5 The retreat to 10 ... 'it'g8 invites 11..£Jxe6 ~e8 12 ..£Jxc7 +- ; the
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White can rely here upon three additional assets, the eS-pawn, the darksquare bishop, and the §c1, although the .llb2 is offthe key diagonal and the §c1 does not have a quick entry into the position. Black correctly selects the ~g6 line, where the correct attack beginning with ~e4 is complex and in-
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Sacking the Citadel structive. ~e4+ eliminates the possibility of .. .f6 and still provides direct access to ~h4. White selects ~g4, when f6 is playable because the discovered check nets insufficient compensation. 17.Axh7+! <jfjlxh7 18.4)g5+ <jfjlg6 The g6 would have provided a somewhat stiffer defense, but Black has no
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meaningful way here to prevent White's queen from staying on the g-file after ~g4 or from continuing with h4-h5. After 10 ... 'it>g6: (a) 11.~g4 f5 12.~g3 f4 13. ~g4 maintaining the queen on the g-file ~h6 to avoid the discovered check (13 ... e5 14.e4 22.f3+ 'it>e3 23.f4+ ~e4 24. ~f3 "") 21.'it>h1 and the rook joins in on gl +-) 18.f!ae1 ~f8 (18 ... ~xg5 19.~xg7+ 'it>h4 20.~h6+ ~g4 21.f3+ 'it>f5 22.f!e5 "") 19.f4 (both rooks have become active) 19... ~e7 20.f5+-; and (b) 11.h4 f5 (11...f!h812.~g4 f5 13.~g3 f4 14.~g4 ~f6 15.~xf4+ xh712. .£lg5+ Iit>gS! In the 12 ... g6Iine, White has two main alternatives, 13.~d3 and 13.'£\f4 with the idea of~h5+. (a) 13.~d3+ f5 (once again, the retreats lead to forced mates) 14.'£\f4+ ~xg5 (take it now or take it later: 14 ... h6 15.~h3+ xg5 16.~h5#) either way is a quick mate, 15.~g3+ ~h616.~g6# or 16.~h4#; and (b) 13.'£\f4+ f5 (the .£\g5 capture makes no sense against the queenknight combination, 13 ... xg5 14.~h5#) 14.~d3+ xg5 (14 ... ~g4 15.~h3+ xg5 16.~h5#) 15 ..£\xe6+ ~h5 16.~h7+ (White wants the mate, not the rook) 16 ... g4 17.h3#. After 12 ... h6 13.~d3 once again, the discoveries are less interesting than the mates, 13 ... g614.~h3+g715.~h7#. 13. ~d3 Against .£\e2-g3, the queen can again force its way onto the key bl-h7 diagonal: 13 ..£\g3 ~xd414.~h5 ~d3+.13 •••f5? Missing a path to equality with the obvious 13 ... .!"!.e8!, taking
Sacking the Citadel full advantage of the queen's inability to attack f7 and h7 at the same time. 14.'~h7+ ~f81S.'~·h8+ ~e7 16.'~xg7
~d8 17.1.te3 15.~h5 +-
1.te7=. 14.~h3 ~eS 4:}fS 16.~f7+ ~hS 17.~xeS ~c7 IS..1le3 b6 19.~c1 .1lb7 20.4:}xe6 ~xeS 21.4:}xc7 ~dS 22.a3 .1le7 23.4:}f4 .1lg5 24.4:}fe6 4:}xe6 25.4:}xe6 .1lxe3 26.fxe3 ~eS 27.4:}g5 ~fS 28.g3 4:}a5 29.~c7 ~b8 30.~f2 4:}c4 31.~c14:}xb2 32.~xb7 4:}d3+ 33.~g2 1--0
ture the 4JgS: 18.~h4 ~g6 19.flh7+ ~xgS 20.h4 ~g4 -+) 18 ... ~xf8 19.bxc3 1.tcS+ 20.~hl .ilf2-+. 15.~h4 ~xg51 16.~xg5 cxb2 17.~adl.1le6 The minors are ready to swann. IS.h4 .1lc319.h5 ~h7 20.g4 .1lxe5 21. ~h4 .1ld4+ 22.~hl.1le3 23.g5 ~aeS 24.g6+ ~gS 25.~gl d4 0-1 White's attack has evaporated. If anything, it is the white king that is exposed after ...1.tdS. (121) Prokhorovich - K1avins Pamu 1958 Nimzo-Indian Defense [E55]
(120) Milotai - Fichtl Bmo 1957 Vienna Game [C29] l.e4 e5 2.4:}c3 4:}f6 3.f4 d5 4.fxe5 4:} xe4 5.4:}f3 .1lc5 6.d4.1lb4 7 ..1ld2 c5 S..1lb5+ 4:}c6 9.0--0 0--0 10..1ld3 4:}xd211.~xd2cxd412.~f4dxc3
8
l.d4 4:}f6 2.c4 e6 3.4:}c3 .1lb4 4.e3 0--0 5 •.1ld3 c5 6.4:}f3 d5 7.0--0 dxc4 S..1lxc4 4:}bd7 9.dxc5 4:} xc510..1ld2 .1la5 1l.a3 .1lc7 12. ~c2 b6 13.b4 4:}cd714.4:}b5 AbSI5.~fdl.1lb7 16.~acl a617.4:}bd4e51S.4:}e2e4 19.4:}fd4
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Counting on two additional assets, the e5-pawn and the §fl, White initiates the sacrifice already down a piece. The material edge penn its Black to gain an overwhelming advantage with ... ~xgS, obtaining three minor pieces and a pawn for the queen. 13 . .1lxh7+ ~xh7 14.4:}g5+ ~gS More difficult to calculate but also winning is 14 ... ~g6 lS.4Jxf7 fle7 16.flg3+ ~h7 17.4JgS+ ~h6 18.§xf8 (the usual idea of flh4h7 fails because Black can safely cap-
194
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Black's additional assets include the light-square bishop off the main c8-h3 diagonal, the e4-pawn, and the 4Jd7 which does have access to eS and then f3. In tum, the white rook is already posted offfl, and White has excellent control over the c-file and is effectively challenging the black e-pawn. The Greco Sacrifice appears to provide a significant advantage with correct play. In
Games the 'it'glline, Black avoids his best possibilities with ~h4 and the 4:Je5-f3 maneuver. 19.~.Jixh2+ Black was clearly in an aggressive mood, but 19 ... 4:Je5 with the idea of 4:Jxc4 is a perfectly reasonable continuation. 20.lit'xh2 .£)g4+ 21.lit'gl In the 'it'g3line, Black can sustain the queen on the g-file. 21.'it'g3 ~g5 (there's no point in trying 22 ... ~c7+ 23.4:Jf4 when Black does not have time for ... g4 because the 4:Jg4 is hanging) 22.f4 ~g6 23.f5 (23.~b2 4:Jxe3+ 24.'it'f2 4:Jxdl+ 25.Elxdl ElacS-+) 23 ... ~g5 (the queen will remain on the g-file) 24.4:Je6 fxe6 25.Jlxe6+ 'it'hS 26 ..ilxd7 and now, according for Fritz 12, it's mate in 1O! 26 ... 4:Jxe3+ 27.r.t>f2 EI xf5+ 2S.Jlxf5 ~xg2+ 29.'it'xe3 ~f3+ 30.r.t>d4 EldS+ -+. After 22.f3 rather than 22.f4, Black walks into a self-pin with 22 ... 4:Jxe3+ but is fine in all lines: (a) 23.'it'f2 4:Jxdl +:;:, breaking the pin by capturing the rook with check; (b) 23.'it'h3 ~xg2+ 24.r.t>h4 ~h2+ 25.r.t>g5 h6"" or 25 ... ~h6""; and (c) 23.r.t>h2 ~xg2"". 21 .•. b5 Black's best shot is 21...~h4! with fantastic complications: 22.4:Jg3 (Black is winning after 22.4:Jf4 ~xf2+ 23.'it'hl ~h4+ 24.'it'gl and now 24 ... 4:Jde5 25.4:Jh3 ~g3 with the idea of ... 4:Jf3+ 26.'it'fl 4:Jf3 27.4:Jf5 4:Jgh2+ 2S.'it'e2 ~xg2+ 29.4:Jf2 4:Jg4 30.Elfl .§.fdS-+) 22 ... 4:Jde5 23.4:Jdf5 ~h2+ 24.'it'fl 4:Jf3. Obviously, White cannot capture the knight because Black would have 24 ... ~xf2 "" 25. r.t>e2 (25.4:Jxe4 ~gl + 26.r.t>e2 ~xg2 27.Elfl [27.4:Jed6 4:Jxf2 2S.4:Jxb7 4:Je4+ 29.r.t>d3 ElfdS+ 30.4:JxdS ElxdS+ 31..1ld5 (31.4:Jd4 4:Je5 ""] 31...EI xd5+ 32. r.t>c4 4:Jexd2+ 33.'it'c3 Eld7 -+) 27 ... 4:Jge5 and Black is winning) 25 ... ~xg2 26.Jlel EladS 27.Eld6 r.t>hS:;:. Less compelling for Black is 21...4:Jde5 22.4:Jf4= (22.4:Jg3
ElcS 23.~a2 ~h4 24 . .ilc3 Elxc4 25.4:Jdf5 ~h2+ 26.r.t>fl Elxc3 27.Elxc3 h5 2S.Elc7 h4 29.Elxb7 hxg3 30.4:Jxg3 4:Jxe3+ 3l.fxe3 4:Jg4-+). 22.Jixb5 The bishop sacrifice is unnecessary. White is winning after 22 ..ilb3 ~h4 23.4:Jg3 ~h2+ 24.'it'fl 4:Jde5 25 ..ilc3+-. 22 .•. axb5 23.~e7 ~h4 24.~g3 ~xg3 25..£)xg3 .£)de5 26.Ete7 j}.d5 27..£)xb5 EtfdS 28.j}.e3 .£)d3 29.Etd2 Etde8 30.£3 exf3 31.gxf3 .£)gf2 32.Etxf2 .£)xf2 33.lit'xf2 Jib3 34.Etxe8+ Etxe8 35 . .£)f5 Ete4 36.j}.xg7 Ete2+ 37.lit'g3 Jie6 38..£)bd6 Eta2 39.j}.h6 f6 40..£)e7+ Iit'h841 ..£)e81--O
(122) Furman - Geller Riga 1958 Nimzo-Indian Defense [E54] Semyon Furman (1920-1978) is best known as the trainer of Botvinnik, Bronstein, and Karpov. He played often in Soviet events, achieving fourth place in the 1965 Soviet Championship and becoming a grandmaster in 1966. Efim Geller (1925-1998) became a grandmaster in 1952, won the Soviet Championship twice in 1955 and 1979, and qualified for the candidates' cycle six times (1953,1956,1962,1965, 1968,and 1971). He won four Ukrainian championship titles, shared first in the 1991 World Seniors' Championship, and won that title outright in 1992. Geller is wellknown as coach to both Spas sky and Karpov during their world championship matches. 1.d4 .£)f6 2.e4 e6 3 . .£)e3 Jih4 4.e3 e5 5.Jid3 0--0 6 ..£)f3 d5 7.0--0 dxe4 8.Jixe4 b6 9. ~e2 j}.b7 10.dxe5 j}.xe311.bxe3 bxe512.j}.d3 .£)bd7 13.e4e414.j}.e2 ~a515.Etbl.£)e5 16.Etxb7 .£)xb717.e5 .£)d5
195
Sacking the Citadel
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In a battle between titans, White sacrificed the exchange in order to play e5, driving off Black 's
ElfeB 25JheB f'!xeB 26.~xb7 'l1i'c5=
24•.• ~f5 25.Eid3 Eid5 26.Eifdl Eie8 27.h4 Eie4 2S.Ei3d2 a5 29.Eid3 ~e6 30.~h3 Safer is 30.'it'h2 +=. 30•.• ~xh3 31.gxh3 Eie2-+ 32.h5+ ~xh5 33.Eild2 f3 34.Eixd4 Eig5+ 0-1 The white king has been caught in a net, 35.'it'fl (35.'it'h2 f'!g2+ 36.'it'h1 f'!e1 #) 35 ... f'!e1 + 36.'it'xe1 f'!gl #.
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(172) Malikov - Yudovich Soviet Union 1985 Sicilian Defense [B80] l.e4 c5 2 ..£Jf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4 ..£J xd4 .£Jf6 5 ..£Jc3 a6 6 ..1l.e3 e6 7.~d2 h5 S.f3 b4 9 ..£Jce2 d510.e5 .£Jfd711.f4 .1l.c5 12•.£Jh3 .1l.xe3 13.~xe3 0-0 14..£Jgl .£Jc6 15..£Jf3 a5 16..1l.d3 a4 8
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In this position, White has only one additional asset, the secure e5-pawn, and the white knight on b3 is en prise. Moreover, the white queen has access to the h-file only on h3. In the 'it'gBline, Yudovic exploited the attack on the 4:)b3 by sacrificing his queen for the 4:)g5 and obtaining adequate play. 17..1l.xh7+ ~xh71S. .£Jg5+ ~gS In the 'it'g6Iine, the queen reaches g3 so quickly that the discovered check is potent, providing a mate in four. 1B ... 'it'g6 19.~g3 (White gains only an exchange after 19:~d3+!? f5 20.4:)xe6 ~b6 21.4:)xf8+ 4:)xfB:j:) 19 ... ~b6 (the discovery wins a queen after both 19... 4:)dxe5 20.4:)xe6+ 4:)g4 21.4:)xdB f'!xdB 22.4:)c5+- and 19 ... f6 20.4:)xe6+ +-). Removing the queen from the reach of the knight leaves the king in a mating net, 20.4:)xe6+ 'it'f5 2 1. 4:) xg7 + 'it'e4 22. 'l1i'f3 #. In the 'it'h6 line, the queen's entry on h3 forces mate in two, lB ... 'it'h6 19.~h3+ 'it'g6 20.~h7#. 19.~h3
Sacking the Citadel 19.~d3 !!e8 20.~h7+.
In the game with White gains the option of playing ~h5! . 19 ... E!e8 20:~'h5 20.~h7+ r.t>f8 21.~h8+ r.t>e7 22.~xg7 !!f8-+ and White's attack has stalled. 20 ... ~xg5 It's a perpetual after 20 ... h8 22.~h5+ r.t>g8 23.~f7+=; giving back the piece for the e-pawn is tempting but insufficient: 20 ... g6 40.r.t>f4± 37 ... ~f7 38. ~h4 g5 39. ~g3 e5 40.h4 d4+ 41.Cit'e2 ~d5 42.E!xf7 Cit'xf7 43. ~xe5 gxh4 44. ~h5+ Not 44.~xe4f8 32.§xc5 bxc5 (32 ... ~xc5 33.Ab4+-) 33.Aa5+- (b) 30... \t>f6 31.~h8# (c) 30 ... \t>f8 31.~h8 .lld3 32.f7 33.Ac3 +-. On 20 ... §e8 White infiltrates with 21.~h7+ \t>f8 22.~h8+ xg4 (18 ... 'it'h4 19.~g3#) 19.~g3+ 'it'f5 (19 ... 'it'h5 20.~g5#) 20.~g5#. 16. ~d3 f!fe8! Giving the king a clear escape path to the queenside. Instead, on 16 .. .f5 17.exf6 §xf6 and White wins the §f6 with 18.~h7+ \t>f8 19.~h8+ 'it'e7 20.~xg7+ 'it'd8 21.~xf6++-; 16... §fd817.~h7+ 'it'f818.~h8+ 'it'e7 19.~xg7 Ae8 (after 19 ... §f8 White gains time against the exposed queen 20.g6 17.'l11h7#) 16.'l11h3+ 'it'g7 17.'l11h7#. 15.i?td3 E!eS Black's main decision is where to repost the §f8. After §e8, as in the game, the black king gains the option of running to the queens ide via d8. Instead, two players tried 15 ... §d8 16.'l11h7+ r.t>f8 : (a) 17.'l11h8+ r.t>e7 18.'l11xg7 §f8 19.xe6 20.§ xd5 +- 'l11e3+ 21.'it'b1 xd7 23.'l11xf8 'l11xf4 24.§d1 + r.t>c7 25.'l11xb4 'l11xb4 26.c6 27.c5 28.c1.llf5 30.§f1.llxd3 31.cxd3 §a7 32.e6 fxe6 33.r.t>d2 §g7 34.g3 §g6 35.§f4+ r.t>e5 36.d4+ r.t>d5 37.r.t>d3 §g8
Sacking the Citadel 3S.~e3 .§.cS 39 ..§.f2 .§.c4 40.h4 e5 41.dxe5 'i!!txe5 42.~f3 ~f5 43 ..§.d2 .§.c6 44.g4+ ~g6 45.b3 .§.f6+ 46.'i!!te4 .§.e6+ 47.~f4 .§.c6 48.h5+ 'i!!th6 49.g5+ 'i!!tg7 50 ..§.d7+ 'i!!thS 51.g6 .§.c1 52.h6 .§.f1+ 53.~e5 .§.el+ 54.'i!!td6 .§.dl+ 55.'i!!tc6'§'c1 + 56.~b71--O StellwagenMa Yu, Groningen 1999; (b) 17.~h5 g6 18.~h7 f3 24.~h6+-) and it's mate in six with 23.f!hfl + f!f4 24.f!xf4+ 'it>xf4 25.~g3+ 'it>f5 (25 ... 'it>e4 26.f!el + 'itff5 [26 ... 'itfd4 27.~c3#] 27.f!f1+ 'it>e4 2S.~f4#) 26.f!f1 + 'it>e4 27.~f4#; and (c) There's no point in 21...'it>h4 22.g3+ +-. 19...f6 20.4)xe6+ Cit'f7 On 20 ... 'it>h7 White wins an exchange and maintains the initiative: 21.4JxfS+ ~xf8 22.~h4+ 'it'gS (22 ... 'it>g6 23.exf6 gxf6 24.f! xd5 +- ) 23.exf6 gxf6 24.f!xd5+-. 21.~xg7+ Cit'e8 21...'itfxe6 22.f5+ (forcing the king to the open and winning the black queen) 22 ... 'it>xe5 (22 ... 'it>xf5 23.~xe7) 23.~xe7+. 22.~xe7+ Cit'xe7 23.4)xc5 Or more simply with 23.4JxfS 'it>xfS 24.f! xd5 +-. 23 ... E! xf4 24.exf6+ E!8xf6 25.E!hel + Cit'd6 26.4)e4+ E!xe4 27.E!xe4 E!f2 28.E!ed4 Ae6 29.E!4d2 E!f4 30.b31-0 (186) Ftacnik - Seul Gennany 1990 Schmid Benoni [A43]
Sacking the Citadel there's no escape since 17 ... ~e 7 invites 18.i;j"g5+. 16.g3 j}"xgS Simple development is harshly punished, 16 ... 4::1c6 17.gxf4 Axg5 1B.hxg5 +-. 17.hxgS j}"xhl IS.g6 dS Not 1B ... .§.e4+ 19.~f1 +-. 19.'ll\'h7+ <jf(fS 20.'ll\'hS+ <jf(e7 21.'ll\'xg7+ 1-0 21...i;j"xg7+ ~eB 22.4::1d6+ +- wins the queen.
l.d4 cS 2.dS .£)f6 3..£)f3 bS 4.a4 j}"b7 S.e4 b4 6 ..£)bd2 e6 7.dxe6 f xe6 S.eS .£)dS 9 ..£)c4 Ae710.j}"d3 0--0 11.h4 .£)f4 8
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(187) Borge - Laptev Gyor 1990 French Defense [C05]
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l.e4 e6 2.d4 dS 3 ..£)d2 .£)f6 4.eS .£)fd7 S.f4 cS 6.c3 .£)c6 7 ..£)df3 'll\'b6 S.g3 cxd4 9.cxd4 j}"b4+ 10.<jf(f2 f6 11.<jf(g2 gS 12.h3 gxf413.Axf4 j}"fS 14.13.h2 j}"g7 IS.<jf(hl 0--016.Ad3 fxeS 17.dxeS .£)cS (D)
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White might claim three additional assets here, the e5-pawn, the 4::1c4, and h4!Elh1, but Black's position is active, given the Ab7 on the unopposed diagonal, the aggressive 4::1f4, and the .§.fB. Black has adequate defense in the ~gB line by returning the piece. Once Black misses his opportunity, Ftacnik demonstrates his great skill with a lovely rook sacrifice on hI. 12.Axh7+ <jf(xh713•.£)gS+ <jf(gS Capturing on g5 only brings the .§.h1 into play. 13 ... Axg5 14.hxg5+ ~gB 15.Axf4 .§.xf4 16.i;j"h5 ~fB17.g6
When well played and defended, the sacrifice can lead to an endgame in which White's passed kingside pawns are advancing against an extra piece.
i;j"eB (17 ... .§.xc41B.i;j"hB+
~e7
19.i;j"xg7+ ~eB 20 ..§.hB#) 1B.4::1d6+-. In the ~g6line, White infiltrates quickly after Axf4. 13 ... ~g6 14.Axf4 .§.xf415.i;j"d3+ (there's no safe way to block the check) 15 ... .§.f5 (15 ... ~h5 16.i;j"h7+ ~g4 17.4::1e3#) 16.h5+ ~h6 (16 ... ~xg5 capturing the knight brings on mate in two 17.i;j"g3+ ~h6 1B.i;j"g6#) 17.4::1f7+ .§.xf7 18.i;j"g6#. 13 ... ~h6 14.i;j"g4+- when the 4::1f4 must move, reinitializing the discovery. 14.Axf4 13.xf4 14 ... i;j"eB! 15.i;j"g4 i;j"g6 when White has, at best, only a small advantage. 15. 'll\'hS j}"e4 15 ... Axg5 16.hxg5 ~fB 17.g6+- and
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Here, White has the e5-pawn, the darksquare bishops, and two rooks that can join the fray. For his part, Black's position is active and distinctive for the Ag7 and the .§.f8 on an open file. Black selects the ~gB retreat, and the sequence of the next dozen moves results in an endgame that pits the white queen and
254
Games knight and two passed kings ide pawns against a plethora of black pieces. As you will see, the white position gains in strength with each pawn advance on the kingside. IS.Axh7+ xg5 (23.ii1xg5 i£1h2#) 23 ... i£1f6#.19 ... ~h4Threatening entry on h2 with l'! xf2 # to follow, as well as i£1xf2 winning the Ab2. 20.Axh7+ Or 20.4Jf3 i£1xf2+ 21.\t>hl i£1xb2 picking off the undefended piece.
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20 ... \fIxh7 To win, Black needed to capture the bishop with either 20 ... 'it'h8! 21.4Jf3 ii1xf2+ 22.\t>hl 'it'xh7 23.ii1e2 ii1g3 24.l'!fl l'!f5-+ or 20 ... ii1xh7 21.4Jf3 Ae6-+. 21.~e2+ \fIg8 22.4)f3 ~h6 Black can win forcefully with the exchange sacrifice: 22 ... l'!xf3! 23.gxf3 4Jh2 24.i£1c3 4Jxf3+ 25.'it'fl (25.'it'g2 ii1h3#) 25 ... d4 (closing the diagonal) 26.exd4 Ah3+ 27.'it'e2l'!e8+ (forcing the king into the center) 28. 'it'd3 Afl + (a bishop offer that aims to open the e4 entry square for the queen) 29.l'!xfl (29.\t>c2 ii1xf2) 29 ... i£1e4+ 30.'it'c4 i£1e6+ 31.'it'd3 (31. \t>c5 ii1d5 #) 31... i£1e2 #. 23.e4 Ae6 24.~d2 Better is 24.ii1c5=. 24... ~h7 25.Ad4 And here, White should try 25.ii1d4+. 25 ... dxe4 26.4)g5 ~h2+ 27.\fIfl Ae4+-+ 01 (194) Lehti - Vaatainen Vantaa 1991 Sicilian Defense [B33] 1.e4 e5 2.4)f3 4)c6 3.d4 cxd4 4.4) xd4 e5 5.4)f3 4)f6 6.4)c3 Ab4 7.Ad3d58.exd54)xd59.0-04)xe3 10.bxc3 Axc311 ..§.bl ~e712..§.b3 Ab4 13.a3 Ad6 14.Ae4 4)d8 15. .§.d3 Ac7 16.a4 ~b4 17.4)xe5 Ae6 18..§.d4 ~a5 19.4)f3 0-0 8 7
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Games When, as here, the sacrifice occurs during the middlegame, there is far more likelihood that both sides will have active pieces. White can rely upon the dark-square bishop and the actively placed Eid4, but Black also has active bishops and obviously firm control over the key f5-square. In the 'it'g6 line, the black Ae6 prevents ~g4 but White has Eid4-h4 and ~h5, driving the black king into the center where Ab2-a3 closes the net. 20.Jtxh7+ ~xh7 21.ldg5+ ~g6 In the ~gS line, Black's defense with ... Af5 or ... ~f5 is foiled by the immediate Eid4-h4 when Black can delay but not prevent mate. 21... ~gS 22. ~h5 with three possibilities: (a) 22 ... EieS 23. ~h7 + 'it'f8 when 24.Aa3+ +- eliminates any possibility of escape; (b) 22 ... Af5 23.Eih4+-. The immediate rook swing focuses the attention on h8 rather than h7; and (c) 22 ... ~f5 23.Eih4 Axh2+ 24.'it'hl +-. Once again, with a killing rook swing. 22.Eth4! The idea of a kingside pawn storm fails: 22.h4 EihS 23.g4 Eixh4. 22 .•. Etg8 On 22 ... 4Jc6 23.'iiYh5+ 'it'f6 (not 23 ... ~f5 when White mates in two moves, 24.4Je4+ [24.4Jh7+ g5 25.'iiYxg5#] 24 ... g5 25.~xg5#) The knight check centralizes the knight and forces the king into a powerful attack from the dark-square bishop: 24.4Je4+ 'it'e7 25.Aa3+ 4Jb4 26.4Jc5 (avoiding the exchange of queens and subjecting the 4Jb4 to a second attack) 26 ... 'iiYb6 27.4Jxe6 ~xe6 (27 .. .fxe6 28.Eixb4+-) 2S.Axb4+ with a crushing attack. 23. ~h5+ ~f6 White wins with careful play against 23 ... 'it'f5 24.4Jf3+ g5 (24 ... ~f6 25.Ag5+ ~f5 26.4Jd4+ ~e5 27.Ae7+ +-) 25.Axg5 +- when it's mate in five. 24.Jta3 Most accurate is 24.Eie4 g6 25.~h7 'it'e7 (25 ... EieS 26.Ab2+ +-) 26.Eixe6+ 4Jxe6
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27.'iiYxf7+ +-. 24 .•• .Q.f5 On 24 ... 'iiYxg5 25 ..ile7++- wins the queen. 25 •.Q.b4 g6 26.4)h7+ ~e6 The other king moves are quickly mated: 26 ... ~g7 27.~h6+ ~hS 2S.4Jf6#; 26 ... ~e5 27.Eiel+ 'it'd5 28.'iiYf3++-. 27.Etel+ .Q.e5 28. ~g5 ~c7 29.Etd4 1-0 It's mate in three: 29 ... Ae4 30.Eidxe4+-. (195) Harris - Trimpi Corr 1991
French Defense [C 19] l.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.4)c3 .Q.b4 4.e5 c5 5.a3 Jtxc3+ 6.bxc3 4)e7 7.a4 4)bc6 8.4)f3 ~a5 9.Jtd2 Jtd710.Jte2 f6 11.0-0 f xe5 12.dxe5 0-0 13..Q.d3 c4 8 7
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Ironically here, Black encourages the sacrifice with ... c5-c4. For additional assets, White pits the dark-square bishop and e5-pawn against Black's active EifS. In the ~gS line, Black can post the active rook on f5 to delay the attack, but the white pawns can trap the rook and arrange a central breakthrough on f5 and e6. 14 . .Q.xh7+ ~xh7 15.4)g5+ ~g8 In the 'it'g6Iine, White is committed to 'iiYg4 despite Black's ability with ... 4Jxe5 to capture the e5pawn and to gain time on the queen. The line after 19.'iiYxg7 is instructive. Black would be forced to give up his queen for a rook and two minor pieces,
Sacking the Citadel but the white kings ide provides White with highly favorable chances in the endgame. 15 ... g6 16.~g4 4Jxe5 17.~g3 4J5c6 (17 ... 4J7c6 IS.f4 4Jf7 19.4Jxe6+ f6 20.f5 ~xe6 2l.fxe6+ 'itlxe6 22. ~g6+ [winning the knight with interest] 22 .. .'~d7 [22 ... e5 23.El.ael # or 22 ... 'itle7 23.El.ael + 'itld7 24.El.xf7++-] 23.El.xf7++-) 18.4Jxe6+ 'itlf7 19.~xg7+ (offering the knight, which Black must accept) 19 ... xe6 (19 ... 'itleS 20.~xfS#) and now, the tough decision for White, is which rook to place on el? 20.El.fel + Best, to preserve the possibility of placing the El.al on the open b-file. (20.El.ael + 'itld6 [20 ... f5 21.~g5#] 21.~g3+ c5 22.Ae3+ [22.~e3+ d6 23.~g3+=] 22 ... d4 23.Axd4+ 4Jxd4 24.El.xe7 4Jf3+ 25.gxf3 El.gS 26.El.g7=) 20 ... d6 21.~g3+ c5 22.El.abl 4Jf5 23.El.b5+ ~xb5 24.Ae3+ 4Jxe3 25.~xe3+ 'itld6 (25 ... d4 26.cxd4+ 4Jxd4 27.axb5 El.aeS 28.~a3++-) 26.~g3+ c5 27.axb5 xb5 28.~d6 El.adS 29.h4± with, yet again, a high favorable endgame. 15 ... h6. White should delay the discovery by playing 16.~g4+- when 4Jxe6+ will come with the threat of ~xg7. 16.'~h5 Etf516 ... El.fcS17.~f7+ hS 18.El.ael (with the idea of a rook swing to h3) IS ... ~eS (but once the bishop leaves its defense of e6, the knight can eye it) 19.~fS+ 4JgS 20.4Jxe6+- . 17.tth7+ lit'fS1S.tthS+ .£lgS19.f4 .£lee7 20.g4 Etf7 21.Etae1 tte5+ 21...g6 does not prevent the breakthrough with 22.f5 gxf5 23.4Jxf7 'itlxf7 24.gxf5 4Jxf5 setting up an obvious exchange sacrifice to enable the e5pawn to run. 25.~h7+ fS (25 ... eS 26.~xgS+ e7 27.~g5#) 26.El.xf5+ exf5 27.e6+-. 22.Ae3 tteS 23.f5+Etxf5 24.gxf5 .£lxf5 25.Etxf5+ exf5 26.e6 1-0 26.e6 threatens the bishop
and opens e5 for the bishop. 26 ... Axe6 27.Ad4 e7 28.~xg7+ d6 (28. .. 'itldS 29.4Jxe6++-) 29.4Jxe6 and the rest is just another fun mating exercise: 29 ... 4Je7 30.Ac5+ c6 (30 ... 'itld7 31.~xe7+ c6 32.4Jd4#) 31.4Jd4+ xc5 32.~xe7+ b6 33.~b4+ c7 34.~c5+ bS 35.~d6+ ~c7 36.El.eS#.
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(196) Gazi - Jurcisin Trencin 1991 French Defense [C06] 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3 ..£ld2 .£lf6 4.e5 .£lfd7 5.Ad3 e5 6.e3 .£le6 7 ..£le2 ttb6 S..£lf3 f6 9.exf6 .£lxf610.0--0 Ad611.Ete1 0--0 12..£lf4 .£le413.g3 exd414.exd4 Ab415.Axe4 Axel 8
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With the Ae4 en prise, the decision to initiate the sacrifice was an easy one here, but it comes nonetheless after an apparent exchange sacrifice. White can count here on two additional assets, the dark-square bishop and the 4Jf4 which powerfully assists the queen in reaching h5 in the h6 line. In the gS line, the 4Jf4 delivers the mate if the El.f8 retreats to dS. And so, once again, Black must defend with El.f5 when the knight delivers the breakthrough on e6. 16.Axh7+ lit'xh717..£lg5+ lit'gS The knight on f4 plays the same support role here as would a knight on g3. 17 ... 'itlh6 18.~h5#. lS.tth5 Etf5 The best re-
Games sistance comes from IS ... ~xf2+ but White is not obligated to accept the offer: 19.~g2 §f6 20.'l11h7+ g8, when White, playing aggressively, triumphs with help from Black. The key line with 23.i£1h8+ once again involves an endgame in which White has a persistent edge thanks to the passed kingside pawns. 19.j},xh7+ ~xh7 20.4)g5+ ~g8 In the 'it'h6Iine, White quickly forces the black king to capture the 4Jg5 when the activity of the Elfl-f3 eases the finish. 20". 'it'h6 21.Yffh4+ 'it'g6 22.i£1h7+ 'it'xg5 23.h4+ 'it'g4 24.Yffxg7+ 'it'xh4 25.Elf3+-. With the white queen already on the g-file, 'it'g6 steps into a nasty discovered check and mate. 20".'it'g6 21.4Jxe6+ 'it'h6 22.Yffxg7+ 'it'h5 23.Yffg5#. 21.'~h4 f5 21...f6 invites a rook sacrifice on f6 22.i£1h7+ 'it'fB 23.Elxf6++-. 22. 'lth7+ ~f8 23.E!xf5+ Opening the d5-square for the knight fork. Somewhat less forcing is 23.i£1h8+ 'it'e7 24.i£1xg7+ 'it'd6 25.Elad1 + 'It'c6 when the black king reaches the queenside: 26.i£1g6 Elf8 27.4Jd5 i£1b7 28.Yffh6 Elg8 29.i£1f6 4Jd7 30.4Je7+ 'it'b6 31.'lii'h6 Elxg5 32.Yffxg5 i£1c7 33.Elxf5 ~b7 (33".exf5 34.4Jd5+) 34.Elf2 but White, with the connected kingside passers, once again has a highly favorable endgame. 23 ...exf5 24.'lth8+ 24.4Jd5 Yfff7! and Black emerges with a rook and two pieces for the queen: 25.4Jxf7 4Jxf7 26.4Jc7 Ele6 27.4Jxe6+ (27.4Jxa8 Elh6) 27 ... ~xe6:j:. 24••• ~e7 25.4)d5+ ~d6 Correctly avoiding 25 ... 'lt'd7 26.'lii'xg7+ +-. 26.'ltxe8 ~xd5 27.E!d1 + ~c4 28.E!xd8 Ad7? Necessary was 28 ... b4! 29.a4 b3+.29.'ltf7+! 4)e6 Or 29 ... 'lt'd4 30.4Je6+ 4Jxe6 31.Elxd7+ +- . 30.E!xd7 1-0
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(202) Al Modiahki- Handoko Doha 1992 Petroff Defense 1.e4 e5 2.4)f3 4)f6 3.4) xe5 d6 4.4)f3 4)xe4 5.d4 d5 6.Ad3 j},d6 7.0-0 0-0 8.c4 c6 9.cxd5 cxd5 10.4)c3 4) xc3 1l.bxc3 Ag4 12.E!b1 b6 13.E!b5 AC714.h3 a615.hxg4 axb5
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The sacrifice is problematic when the initiator has only one additional asset, in this case the dark-square bishop. In the 'It'g8 line, the g4-pawn prevents the white queen from reaching h5, forcing White to try i£1d3. The result is that the white queen must enter the kings ide on h7, giving the black king an opportunity to run to and hide on b7. 16.Axh7+ ~xh717.4)g5+ ~g8 The 'It'g6 line turns the g4-pawn into the second asset, and White wins quickly with i£1d3+. 17 ... 'lt'g6 18.i£1d3+ f5 19.Ele1 +- with the unstoppable threat of Ele6+. If instead Black tries to run with 18".'ittf6 19.i£1f5+ 'It'e7 20.Ele1 + 'It'd6 White can continue with the impressive 21.Ele6+! 'It'd7 (not 21...fxe6 22.i£1xe6#) 22.Elf6+ 'It'e8 (22".'itte7 23.Elxf7+ Elxf7 24.i£1xf7+ 'it'd6 25.'lii'e6#) 23.Elxf7 +-. 18.'ltd3 E!e8 18".g6 White simply swings the queen: 19.Yffh3 +- when ". i£1xg5 will be needed
Sacking the Citadel to prevent mate. 19. ~h7+ gB line, White can only draw because, with the gB1B.'itihS .§.feB19.'itixf7+ (with the dark-square bishop unavailable to the attack, White cannot make significant progress after 19.'itih7+ 'it'fB 20.'itihB+ h6 20.'l1Yh3+ 'it'xg5 21.'l1Yh5 #) 20.~g3+ \t>h6 21.~h3+ \t>g5 22.~h5 #. White picks up only an exchange after 1B.'l1Yg3? f5 19.h7 20.gB line, Black defends well, selecting the right .§.c6 on move 30. The black king is able to escape safely to the queenside, and his queenside pressure and superior development obviates White's hope of advancing the h-pawn. 28.Axh7+ \tlxh7 29.4)g5+ \tlg8 In the \t>g6line, the f5 (30 ... 'it'h5 31.e8 31...'f7 32.t:if6+ 'gB (32 ... 'eB 33.t:ie6+ 'dB 34.§d1 + transposes to the game's final position) 33.t:ig6+ 'hB with a rook swing to end the discussion 34.§c3 +-. 32. ~e6+ Iit>d8 33.Etdl + 1-0 There's no adequate response to the rook check, and the .Ilc6 is pinned to the unanchored queen. 33 ... 'c7 34.t:id6+ 'cB 35. t:ixf8+ +-
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(261) Blanco Gramajo - Salcedo Mederos Correspondence 2002 Nirnzo-Indian Defense [E54]
l.d4 ?Jf6 2.c4 e6 3.?Jc3 Jlh4 4.e3 0--0 5.Jtd3 c5 6.?Jf3 cxd4 7.exd4 d5 8.0--0 dxc4 9.Jlxc4 a610.a3 Jtxc3 1l.bxc3 ~c712.Jtd3 ~xc313.M4 ?Jc614.Etel ?Jd515.Jld6 Etd8 8
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Sacking the Citadel Complex, unusual, and one of my personal favorites. White has two additional assets, the .E!e1 and the darksquare bishop on d6. In the r.t>g6 line, 4Jg5-e4 gains a critical tempo on the black queen, and all of White's pieces contribute harmoniously in a late middlegame with a significant material imbalance. 16..1lxh7+ 'it>xh717.~g5+ 'it>g6 Throughout many of these lines, the ~d6 simply sits there, but it also plays a key role in the r.t>g8Iine, blocking the king's escape to f8 and helping to deliver the final blow with ~f8. 17 ... r.t>g8 18.'li{h5 when Black can try: (a) 18 ... 4Jf6 19.'li{xf7+ r.t>h8 20.~f8+ forcing an exchange sacrifice when a rook swing will then end the game; (b) 18 ... 'li{d3 19.~xf7+ r.t>h8 20 ..E!e4+blocking the queen's access to h7 and threatening the rook swing to h4; and (c) not 18... .E!xd6 (White mates on the back rank) 19.'li{xf7+ r.t>h8 20.~f8#. Quite unromantic is the knight fork and skewer after 17 ... 'it'h6 18.4Jxf7++r.t>g6 19.4Jxd8 4Jxd8 20.'lii'g4+ r.t>f6 21.~h4+. lS.~e4! Hitting the queen, protecting the ~d6, and making ready for ~g4+. If instead 18.~g4 f5-+ or 18 ... 4Jf6-+. And after 18.h4, Black can pounce with 18 ... 'li{xd4 -+ . IS ••• ~xe1 + Black does not have time to retreat the queen with 18 ... 'li{a5 19.~g4+ r.t>h6 (19 ... r.t>h7 20.'lii'h5+ r.t>g8 21.4Jg5 and Black cannot defend with ... 4Jf6 because of 'li{xf7 and ~e5) 20.'li{g5+ r.t>h7 21.'li{h5+ r.t>g8 (White resorts only now to the typical 4Jg5 maneuver after ... r.t>g8) 22.4Jg5 4Jf6 (Black cannot safely vacate the back rank with 22 ... .E!xd6 23.'li{xf7+ r.t>h8 24.~f8#) 23.'li{xf7+ r.t>h8 24.~e5+ (but not 24.~f8? 'li{xg5). 19. ~xe1 f5 20.f3! fxe4 21.fxe4 ~f6 21.. ..E!xd6 22.~g3+ +- picking up the rook and
sustaining the attack. 22.e5 Etxd6 White should proceed patiently after 22 ... 4Jd5 23.'li{e4+ 'it'f7 24 ..E!f1 + 'it'g8 25.g4 ~d7 26.'li{g6 .E!fB 27.~xf8 .E!xfB 28 ..E!xfB+ r.t>xfB 29.'li{e4+- with a winning endgame thanks to the kingside pawn majority and the inactivity of Black's minor pieces. 23. ~g3+ 'it>h7 24.exd6 Ad7 25.Etfl EtfS 26.~f4 'it>gS 27.g4 ~h7 2S.~d2 Etxfl+ 29.'it>xfl ~f6 30.g5 ~d5 31.g6+h5 32.h4 ~f6 33.h5 ~d5 Black's position is clearly too loose after 33 ... 4Jxh5 34.d5 4Je5 (34 ... e xd5 35. 'li{xd5+ +-) 35. 'li{e3 +-. 34. ~f2 ~dS 35.'it>e2 a5 36.~h4 ~c6 37.'it>d2 ~f6 3S.~f4 'it>hS 39.'it>c1 ~a7 4O.h6 a441.h7 ~c842.d5exd5 43. ~e5 d4 44. ~c5 d3 45. ~e51-0
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(262) Kasparov - Deep Junior New York 2003 Nimzo-Indian Defense [E48] 1.d4 ~f6 2.c4 e6 3.~c3 Ab4 4.e3 0--0 5.Ad3 d5 6.cxd5 exd5 7.~ge2 EteS S.O--O Ad6 9.a3 c610. ~c2
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This is Kasparov's second game involving a Greco Sacrifice against a worldclass computer and, in this case, it's the computer attempting the move against the world champion. The computer can count on two additional assets, the
Games light-square bishop and the f1e8, but Kasparov has key assets of his own, notably the-,~k2 helping to defend on f2, the pressure upon h7, and the 4Je2g3- Kasparov correctly brings his king to g3, when, after ... ~g5, f4 drives the black queen off the g-file. Kasparov selects a drawing line, rather than 16.g3! perhaps to avoid a tactical bloodbath against the machine. 10 ... j}.xh2+ IViljlxh2 ~g4+ 12.Cjfjlg3 There's no hope for White in the ~gl line owing to ~xf2 and the rook swing via e6. 12.'it'gl ~h4 13.f1d1 ~xf2+ 14.'it'h1 f1e6 -+ . The 'it'h3line walks into a game ending discovery. 12.~h3 4Jxe3+-+. 12 .• :~g5 There's nothing for Black after 12 ... ~d6+? 13.4Jf4 g5 (White gains control over the h3-c8 diagonal) 14.~xh7+ ~f8 15.~f5+- and after 12 ... h5?, 13.f1h1 combines with f4 to shut down the attack: 13 ... ~g5 14.f4 ~h6 15.e4+-. 13.f4 13.~xh7+ ~h8 14.f4 ~h5 likely transposing to the game. 13 •.• tPth5 14.j}.d2! tPth2+ 14 ... f1xe3+? 15.~xe3 4Jxe3 16.~d2 4Jxf1+ 17.f1xf1+- 15.CjfjlH tPth4 16.j}.xh7+ Kasparov settles for a forced draw. The only try for a win is 16.g3!, a tactical continuation that might have seemed daunting against the machine. 16... ~h2 (not 16... 4Jh2+ 17.~f2 4Jg4+ 18.'it'el+-) 17.f1ae1! g6 18.e4 with what appears to be a winning advantage. 16 ... Cjfjlh8 With better development, White has a slight edge after 16... ~xh7 17.~xh7+ ~xh7 18.f1hl+ 'it'g6 19.e4;l;. 17.~g3 It's too late to play for a win with 17.g3!? ~xh7 18.~xh7+ 'it'xh719.f1h1 + 'iftg6 20.f1h4 f5 21.4Jc1 (with the idea of 4Jd3-e5) 21...4Jd7 22.4Jd3 b6 23.f1ah1 ~a6 24.4Je5+ 4Jdxe5+ 25.fxe5 ~d3=. 17... ~h2+ 18.Cjfjlf2 ~g4+ 19.Cjfjlf3 ~h2+
Yz-Yz
(263) Kovalev - Kochetkov Minsk 2003 French Defense [CI4] 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.~c3 ~f6 4.j}.g5 j}.e7 5.e5 ~fd7 6.j}.xe7 tPtxe7 7.f4 a6 8.~f3 c5 9.tPtd2 ~c6 10.dxc5 tPtxc5 11.0-0-0 b5 12.Cjfjlbl ~b6 13.j}.d3 Ad714.Ethel 0-0 8
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It seems tough to believe that a 2300+ player would castle into the attack here, especially since Black has promising moves such as 14 ... f1b8 or g6. The sacrifice occurs immediately after Black's committal move, and White relies on the secure e5-pawn, the 4Jc3, and the rooks as additional assets, while Black does have counterplay on the queens ide. In the game, Black played ~g6, walking into the familiar 4Je4 fork. 15.j}.xh7+ CjfjIxh716.~g5+ CjfjIg6 Especially given the unanchored ~c5 and White's delay in playing the queen to the h-file, the ~g8 line represents Black's best chance because the king is able to escape and the black attack has merit. 16 ... ~g8! 17. ~d3 (the queen obviously does not have direct access to hS) 17 ... f1fe8 (the queen has only one entry on h7) 18.~h7+ ~f8 19.~h5 (19.~h8+ ~e7 20.~h4 f1h8 21.4Jh7+ 'ifte8 22.4Jf6+ gxf6 23.~xh8+ ~f8 24.~xf6± when White's advantage is
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Sacking the Citadel obvious and he can proceed with the advance of the h-pawn) 19 ... 'it'e7 (aiming to escape to the queens ide) 20.4Jxf7 (with the idea of cutting off the king's retreat) 20 ... 4Ja4 (20 ... 4Jc4 21.fS 4Jb4 22.f6+ gxf6 23.exf6+ ~xf6 24:i£rgS+ 'it'xf7 2SJ~f1 + +- ) 21.fS 4Jxc3+ 22.bxc3 exfS 23.e6 'i£rxc3 24.'i£rh4+ 'i£rf6 2S.4JgS d4 (2S ... AcS 26.§xdS+-) 26.c3;!;. 17:~d3+ f5 IS.exf6+ Cit'xf6 After the king retreat, White must proceed carefully, but the mate is still there: lS ... ~hS 19.'i£rh7+ ~g4 20.4Jf3 gxf6 (20 ... ~xf4 21.§e4+ dxe4 22.'i£rxe4#) 21.'i£rh4+ 'it'fS 22.'i£rhS+ ~xf4 23.g3 #. 19.4)ce4+ 1--0 (264) Lugovoi - Kallio Gausdal,2003 N irnzo-Indian Defense [E51] l.d4 4)f6 2.c4 e6 3.4)c3 -'lb4 4.e3 0--0 5.-'ld3 d5 6.4)f3 4)bd7 7.a3 dxc4 S.-'lxc4 -'le7 9.e4 4)b610.Ad3 c5 1l.dxc5 -'lxc512.e5 4)fd5 8
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esting for the brutal attack after 18.'i£rxcS+.13.Axh7+ Cit'xh714.4)g5+ Cit'g6 In the 'it'gS line, Black can delay the mate in five only by capitulating with ... 4Jf6 or ... 'i£rxgS. 14 ... 'it'gS lS.'i£rhS+- §eS 16.'i£rxf7+ ~hS 17.'i£rhS+ ~gS lS.'i£rh7+ 'it'fS19.'i£rhS+ ~e7 20.'i£rxg7#. 15:~c2+11S.'i£rc2 is more accurate because, in lines involving 4Je4+, the queen can also capture on c5. On lS.'i£rd3+ fS 16.exf6+ 'it'xf6 17.4Jce4+ 'it'e7 White is certainly winning but can only capture on c5 with the knight. lS.4JxcS +-; lS.'i£rg4? fS 16.'i£rh4 (there's no direct way to keep the queen on the g-file with 16.'i£rg3 f4 17.'i£rg4 'i£rxgS -+) 16 ... §hS 17.'i£rg3 'i£re7 (the queen is out of reach of the discoveries) lS.4Jxe6+ 'it'h7 19.4JxdS 4JxdS 20.4JxcS 'i£rxcS and White must settle for a perpetual with 21.'i£rh4+ 'it'gS 22.'i£rdS+=. 15 ••. f5 16.exf6+ Cit'xf6 17.4)ce4+ Cit'e7 IS.~xc5+ Cit'eS 19.4)d6+ Cit'd719 ... 'it'e7 20.4Jxb7+ +wins the queen. 20.4)df7 White also wins easily with 20.4Jge4 'i£rc7 21.'i£rd4 §f6 22.AgS +-. 20 ••• ~e7 21. ~b5+ Cit'c7 22.Af4+ 4) xf4 White crashes through after 22 ... eS 23.JlxeS+ +-. 23.Etc1 + Cit'bS 24. ~e5+ 1--0 (265) Thorhallsson - Balinov Plovdiv 2003 Sicilian Defense [B27]
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Once again, the unanchored piece on cS should conjure up images of 4Je4+ forks and 'i£rc2 attacking the ~g6. For additional assets, White has the eSpawn, the dark-square bishop, and a clearly useful4Jc3-e4. In the 'it'g6 line, White obviously plays 'i£rc2+ aiming at the AcS. The game is especially inter-
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l.e4 c5 2.4)£3 b6 3.d4 cxd4 4.4) xd4 -'lb7 5.4)c3 a6 6.-'le3 e6 7.~d2 -'lb4 S.£3 4)f6 9.a3 Axc310. ~xc3 d511.e5 4)fd712.0--0--0 4)c513.f4 ~d7 14.4)f3 0-0 15.-'ld3 EtcS 16.Cit'bl a517.Ethel-'la61S.-'lxc5 lS.Axh7+ 'it'xh7 19.4JgS+ 'it'gS 20.AxcS transposing. IS ... bxc5
Games (266) Roese - Coenen Germany 2003 Reti Opening [A47] 1.4)f3 4)f6 2.b3 c5 3.,1lb2 e6 4.e3 j'te7 5.d4 0--0 6.j'td3 b6 7.4)bd2 j'tb7 8.0-0d69.c4 4)c610.~e2 ~c7 11.~adl ~fe812.dxc5 bxc513.4)e4 4)xe414.,1lxe4 4)b415.j'tbl j}.f8? abcdefgh
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White's capture on c5 opens the third rank for ~c3-h3. White can count here on the two centralized rooks and the secure e5-pawn as additional assets. In the ~gSline, ~h3 attacks only the h7square, giving Black a bit oftime to organize a defense, but White's assets are ready to overwhelm the black kingside, with ideas such as f4-f5, Ele3-g3, and ~h7-hS-g7. 19.,1lxh7+ 'ifjlxh7 20.4)g5+ 'ifjlg8 In the ~g6line, Black cannot safely defend with ... ElhS. 20 .. .'.t;>g6 21.~h3+-. In the ~h6line, ~h3 comes with check and White delivers mate in two with ~c3-h3-h7. 20 ... ~h6 21.~h3+ ~g6 22.~h7#. 21. ~h3 ~d8 If Black tries to run with 21 ... ~f8. White can break through with 22.f5 ~e7 (the capture on f5 is too dangerous because White, with the rook on e I, can quickly advance the e-pawn, 22 ... exf5 23.~hS+ ~e7 24.~xg7 Elc6 25.e6+-) 23.~h4 ~eS 24.~hS+ ~e7 25.~xg7 ~dS and a rook swing to finish things off. 26.Ele3 +-. 22. ~h5 Eta7 22 ... ~eS 23.Elxd5 exd5 24.e6+and Black cannot safely capture the pawn owing the double attack on e6. 23.f5 exf5 24.e6 g6 25. ~h7+ 'ifjlf8 26.e7+ 1--0 Black resigns rather than face mate in three: 26 ... 'it'eS (26 ... El xe7 27.~hS#) 27.~xf7+ 'it'd7 2S.eS~+ ~d6 29.Ele6#.
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Black's 15 ... .1lfS was a clear error, taking the bishop off its defense ofthe g5square. White can rely here on the darksquare bishop and the Eld1, and even the Elfl after a timely f4. In the ~g6 line, ~g4 is the correct path when, after ... f5, White can win with either ~g3 or ~h4, often a wise choice when the black rooks cannot safely reach hS. 16.j'txh7+ 'ifjlxh717.~g5+ 'ifjlg6 In the ~gSline, Black can delay the attack with .1le4, but White then has time to bringuptheElfl.17 ... ~gSl8.~h5.1le4 19.4Jxe4.:te7 20.f4 ~c6 21.4Jg5 .1lxg5 22.fxg5 Ele7 23.Elf4+-. After 17 ... ~h6 White wins quickly with 18.~g4 and 19.~h4. 18.~g41 18.h4? gives Black time to play 18. ..f6-+ .18•••f51S ... ~e7 is easily parried with 19.4Jxe6+ ~h7 (19 ... ~h6 walks into a mate in four 20 ..1lxg7+ ~h7 [20 ....1lxg7 21.~xg7+ ~h5 22.~h7+ ~g4 23.~h3# or 23.h3#] 21.~h5+ ~gS 22.~hS#) 20.4Jxg7 +- taking full advantage ofthe
Sacking the Citadel .llb2. 19. ~h4 e5 20.f4 ~c8 The mate threat on g2 is trivially parried: 20 .. .'lii'c6 21.e4+-. 21.e4 White also has a crushing attack after 21.g4. 21 ... E!d8 22.fxe5 jlxe4 23.~h7+ h7 20.4J xf6+ 4J xf6 21.gxf5 exf5 22. tlYxf5+ 'it>g8 23 . .Q.h6 .Q.e4 24. tlYg5 .Q.f8 25.j},xg71-0
(269) Eriksson - Zetterberg Gothenburg 2005 English Opening [A34] 1.4Jf3 4Jf6 2.c4 c5 3.4Jc3 d5 4.cxd5 4Jxd5 5.d4 cxd4 6.tlYxd4 4Jxc3 7. tlYxc3 4Jc6 8.e4 e6 9.j},b5 j},d7 10.0-0 tlYb6 11.a4 tlYc5 12.tlYd3 tlYd6 13. tlYe2 .Q.e7 14.e5 tlYc7 15..Q.d2 a6 16..Q.d3 4Jb4 17.Etfcl .Q.c618.j},e40-0 19..Q.xb4 .Q.xb4 8
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The sacrifice is somewhat optimistic here. White does have the e5-pawn, an active §el, and the unanchored Ab4 towards which to aim, but Black's ~e7 protects the f7-pawn laterally. In the ~gSline, however, the §e4 rook swing drives the Ab4 to d2 where it disrupts White's efforts with the threat ofAxg5. Black fails to find the best defense with 25 ... §adS after which the queen and rook triumph on the kingside. 20..Q.xh7+ 'it>xh7 21.4Jg5+ 'it>g8 In
Sacking the Citadel the ~g6 line, White finds the unanchored ,ilb4 to be useful after both ~g4 and a well-timed §c4. 21...'it>g6 22.~g4! (22.~d3+ f5 23.~g3 'I11e7 24.xf6 (23 ... ~a5 24.g6 [not 23 ... 'it>xg5 24.~g4#] 24.~h5+ ~f5 25.h5 25.~h3+ ~g5 26.f4#) 25.~f4#. 22.'i!\'h5 ElfeS White can again count on gaining a tempo for the attack by playing against the ,ilb4, 22 ... §fd8 23.~h7+ 'it>f8 24.~h8+ 'it>e7 25.~xg7 §f8 26.§dl ,ild5 27.§acl. (the point. A rook is headed for the fourth rank) 27 ... ~a5 28.§d4 ,ilc5 29.b4 Axb4 30.§f4 §ae8 31.f1 +-. 23.Ele4 Ad2 24.Elh4 ~fS 25.EldI25.g8 26.e7 28.f8 [Black must obviously avoid 27 ... gxf6 28.~h8#] 28.f6 33.~xe8 ,ila5= and Black's activity compensates for the material deficit) 27.§xd2 §xd2
28.'I11g5+ f6 29.exf6+ gxf6 30.~xd2= when White emerges a pawn to the good but Black has excellent activity after 30 ... ~e5. White cannot meaningful gain an advantage with 25 ... §ad8 26.~h8+ 'it>e7 27.~xg7 §f8 28.§h8 ,ild5 29.g6 32.§xc7 ,ila5 and White is unlikely to advance the extra kingside pawns successfully. 26.'i!\'xg5 ~gS 27. 'i!\'h5 White repeats the position first rather than simply playing 27.§g4+-. 27•.• ~fS 2S.'i!\'g5 ~gS 29.Elg41 g6 30.Elh4 EladS 31.Elfl f6 Black cannot successfully exchange queens with 31...~e7 32.~h6+- when a capture of the rook would be needed to stave off mate. 32.exf6 'i!\'f7 33.Elh6 .1l,e4 34.'i!\'h41--O
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(270) Zezulkin - Urban Germany 2005 Sicilian Defense [B40] l.e4 e5 2.4)e3 e6 3.4)f3 a6 4.d4 b5 5.dxe5 .1l,xe5 6.e5 .1l,b7 7 ..1l,d3 f5 S. 'i!\'e2 'i!\'e7 9 ..1l,e3 4)e7 10.0--0--0 Ab411 ..1l,d2 4)bc612.~bl.1l,xe3 13.Axe3 4)d5 14..1l,d2 0--0 15.a3 Elac816.Elhe14)a517.g4f4 8 7
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In this Sicilian, Black has organized the familiar counter play down the c-file. White has prepared the sacrifice with a
Games g-pawn sacrifice to open the b1-h7 diagonal. White can count here on the dark-square- bishop, albeit blocked along its key diagonal by Black's f4pawn, and the centralized rooks. In the game, Black selected the ~h6Iine, taking advantage of the relative inactivity of White's dark-square bishQP, but White correctly found the winning method with itYd3-h3-h7 and the advance of the kings ide pawns. 18.Axh7+ \tIxh719. .£jg5+ \tIh6 In the ~g8 line, the mate in five morphs into a nice mate in nine because the d8square is vacant.19 ... ~g8 20.itYd3 (the capture on a5 distracts the black queen and also enables victory: 20.Axa5 itYxa5 21.itYd3 §fe8 22.itYh7+ ~f8 23.itYg6 ~e7 24.4Je4+- with domination over key entry squares) and now, with the f-pawn on f4 and the white gpawn on g4, there's no safe way to block the check. And so: (a) 20 ... §fe8 21.itYh7+ ~f8 22.itYh8+ ~e7 23.itYxg7+ ~d8 24.4Jf7+ (forcing the king back into a discovery) 24 ... ~e7 25.4Jd6+ ~d8 26.itYg5+ §e7 (26 ... 4Je7 27.4Jf7# with a lovely smothered mate) 27.'ti11g8+ §e8 28. itYxe8 # ; (b) To stop the attack, Black can give back a rook: 20 ... itYxc2+ 21.'ti11xc2 §xc2 22.~xc2 +- with an extra pawn and far better development; and (c) Black cannot manufacture a path to the queens ide with 20 ... §f7 21.Axa5 itYxa5 22.itYh7+ ~f8 23.itYg6 §e7 24.itYh5+-. In the ~g6Iine, itYd3+ requires that Black return material with ... §f5. 19 ... ~g6? 20.itYd3+ when Black cannot block the check with .. .f5. Instead: (a) 20 ... §f5 21.gxf5+ exf5 22 ..ilxa5 itYxa5 23.§gl; (b) 20 ... ~xg5 when the normal 'ti11h7 resource fails to ...'ti11xc2, but White has 21.h4+! ~h6 (21...~xg4 22.§gl + ~xh4 and now the queen will arrive on h7 with check
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[22 ... ~h5 23.'ti11h7#] 23.'ti11h7#) 22.g5+ 23.itYh7+ ~g4 and now it's mate in eight, 24.f3+ ~xf3 (24 ... ~g3 25.§gl + +-) 25.'ti11e4+ ~g4 26.§gl + ~h5 (26 ... ~h3 27.'ti11hl#) 27.'ti11h7#; and (c) 20 ... ~h6 when White has a mate in two in two ways: 21.'ti11h7+ (21.'ti11h3+ ~xg5 22.itYh5#) 21...~xg5 22.'ti11h5#. 19 ... ~h8looks as if it might have promise because the white queen cannot reach h5 directly, but White has 20.'ti11d3 threatening mate on h7 as well as 'ti11h3+. 20 ...'ti11xc2+ 21.'ti11xc2 §xc2 22.~xc2+-. 20.Axa5 ttxa5 21. ttd3 g6 22. tth3+ \tIxg5 Black might as well capture on g5 in view of 22 ... ~g7 23.itYh7#. 23.tth7! .§g8 24.f3 1-0 Best is 24.§gl! holding the g-pawn, threatening h4#, and starting a mate in eight after 24 .. .f3. ~h5
(271) Godnjavee - Zufie Portoro 2005 Nimzo-Larsen Opening [AOl] l.b3 e5 2.Ab2 .£jc6 3.e3 d5 4.Ab5 Ad6 5..£je2 4)f6 6.Axc6+ bxc6 7.000-0 8.d3 e4 9 ..£jd2 8
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White's modest opening has permitted Black, in just nine moves, to establish the e4-pawn and to set the sacrifice in motion. In addition to the e4-pawn, Black can count on the light-square
Sacking the Citadel bishop as additional assets. In the game, White played 'it'g3 when Black establishes the queen on the g-file and finishes off the king in an accurately played king hunt. 9 ••• Jtxh2+ 10.~xh2 .£\g4+ 1l.~g3 In the 'it'h3Iine, Black has i;t"g4 with the idea of playing .£le3+ or transferring the queen to the h-file with mate on h2. 11.'it'h3 i;t"g5 12 ..£lf4 (12.dxe4 .£lxe3+ 13.'it'h2 i;t"xg2#) 12 ... i;t"h6+ 13.'it'g3 i;t"h2#. In the 'it'gl line, Black is able to barge straight through with i;t"xf2 and .£lxe3, threatening both the white queen and an immediate checkmate. 1 I. 'it'gl 'lii'h4 12.Ele1 i;t"xf2+ 13.'it'h1 .£lxe3 -+. 11 ••• ~g51 with the idea of .£lxe3+. Less convincing is 1l ... h5 when White is happy to give back a knight: 12 ..£lf3 exf3 13.gxf3 .£le5 14 ..£lf4 Ele8+ and not 11...i;t"d6+ 12 ..£lf4 g5 (gaining back the knight but ceding the center) 13.dxe4± 12.f4 ~g613.f513.i;t"c1 is more prudent, safeguarding the queen though inviting Black to seize the center, 13 ... .£lxe3+ 14.'it'f2 (not 14.'it'h2 "i!'rxg2# or 14.'it'h4 .£lxg2#) 14 ... exd3 15.cxd3 (it's much too dangerous to capture the knight 15. 'it'xe3 El e8+ 16..Ile5 dxe217.'it'xe2 f6-+) 15 ... Ele8 threatening ... 'lii'xg2# 16 ..£lg3 (16.Elg1 .£lg4+ 17.'it'f1 [17.'it'e1 "i!'rxd3 -+; 17. 'it'f3 i;t"xd3 #; 17. 'it'g3 El xe2 -+ ] 17 ... "i!'rxd3-+) 16... .£lxfl17 ..£ldxfl h5 with an obvious advantage. The same idea with 13.i;t"e1 walks into 13 ... .£lxe3+ 14.'it'f2 .£lxc2-+. 13•.• ~g5 14.~h3 White can safeguard the queen, but Black then opens up the center with 14."i!'rc1 .£lxe3+ 15.'it'f2 exd3-+. 14••• ~h5+ 15.~g3 ~h2+ 16.~xg4 h5+ 17.~g5 f6+ IS.Jtxf6 gxf6+ 19.~h6 19.'it'g6 walks into a simple mate with19 ... i;t"xg2+ 20.'it'xh5 (20.'it'h6
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"i!'rg5#) 20 ... i;t"g5#. 19...~f7 0-1 Closing the net, 20.'it'h7 .Ild7 -+. (272) Stojanovic - Vasovski Struga2005 French Defense [C14] l.d4 .£\f6 2.Jtg5 e6 3 . .£\f3 Ae7 4.Jtxf6 Axf6 5.e4 d5 6 . .£\c3 0-0 7.e5 Jte7 S.Jtd3 c5 9.h4 f610.exf6 Jtxf6 8
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In a flash back to 1895, the players reach the same position as De Visser-Young (game 18). In that game, Black selected the 'it'h6 line, a wise course given the absence of a dark-square bishop and the presence of the h4-pawn. Here, Black played the 'it'g8Iine, when White, still the victor, missed the most accurate course with 0-0-0, Elhe1, and .£lxd5. 1l.Jtxh7+ ~xh7 12..£\g5+ ~gS For 12 ... 'it'h6 see game 18. 13.i;t"d3! Jlxg5 (13 ... g6 14.h5 +-) 14.hxg5+ 'ittxg5 15.'lii'g3+;!;; the 'it'g6 line invites an mate in three because Black cannot block the check from the "i!'rd3+. 12 ... 'it'g613.'lii'd3+ 'it'h514.g4+. 'ittxg4 (14 ... 'itth6 15.'lii'h7#) 15.'lii'f3#. 13. ~h5 E!eS 14. ~f7+ ~hS 15.dxc51? White's best is continued development with 15.0-8-0! .£ld7 16.Elhe1 .£lf8 in preparation for 17 ..£lxd5! i;t"xd5 18. i;t"xe8 .Ilxg5+
Games 19.hxg5 'it'gS 20.dxc5 ~xg5+ 21.'it'b1 +- with EldS on the next move. 15.~g6 'it'gS -16.0-0-0 .£Id7 17.'li¥f7+ 'it'hS lS.Elhe1 .£IfS 19 ..£Ixd5 transposing to the line just above. 15 ... ~d7 16.0-0-0 ~f8 17.~ce4 ,1}.d7 18. ~h5+ g819.~f7 dxe4? Crumbling at a critical moment. Black holds with 19 ... ~e7 20 ..£Ied6 .£Ih7 21.~g6 ElfS when the threat on f7 forces White to deliver a perpetual check. 22 ..£Ih6+ 'it'hS 23 ..£Ihf7+=. 20.~xdS +- EtexdS 21.Etd6 J1,c6 22.Ethd1 Etxd6 23.Etxd6 J1,e8 24.~e2 Etc8 25.b4 J1,c6 26.Etxc6 Etxc6 27.~xe4 Etc7 28.a3 Etd7 29.h5 Etd5 30.f4 a5 31.g4 ,1}.c3 32.~c4 axb4 33.axb4 J1,d2+ 34.h2 ,1}.e3 35.~e4 J1,d4+ 36.c3 ,1}.f6 37.g5 J1,d8 38.h3 f7 39.f5 Etd7 40.fxe6+ ~xe6 41.~f5+ e7 42.h61--O (273) Arutinian - Snorek Pardubice 2005 Queen's Gambit Accepted [D26]
1.d4 d5 2.c4 dxc4 3.~f3
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e6 5.,1}.xc4c5 6.~e2 a6 7.dxc5 ,1}.xc5 8.0--0 h5 9.J1,d3 0--0 10.e4 ~b611.e5 ~d5 8
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White's e-pawn has just driven off the .£If6, allowing White to initiate the sacrifice with two additional assets, the e5-
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pawn and the dark-square bishop. In the game, Black played ~g6, when White has the efficient ~e4+ (or ~g4) h4-h7 maneuver and a familiar king hunt to end the game. 12.,1}.xh7+ xh7 13.~g5+ g6 In the ~gSline, the customary mate is in six moves, not five, owing to the black queen's departure from dS. 13 ... ~gS14:li¥h5 EldS (there's no anchor for the rook on eS: 14 ... EleS 15.'li¥xf7+ ~hS 16.'li¥xeS+ AfS 17.'li¥xfS#) 15.'li¥xf7+ 'it'hS 16.'li¥h5+ ~gS 17.'li¥h7+ ~fS lS.'li¥hS+ ~e7 19.'li¥xg7+ 'it'eS 20.'li¥f7#. In the ~h6 line, 'li¥g4 has two threats, 'li¥h4 and the knight discovery supporting 'li¥g7 # : 13 ... ~h6 14.~g4 ElhS 15 ..£Ixe6++-. 14.~e4+ 14.'li¥g4 f5 15.'li¥h4 transposes to the game. But not 14.'li¥d3+ f5 15.'li¥h3 .£If6 16.exf6 ~xf6 when White does not have .£Ie4 double-check as in the game. 14.••f5 Both king retreats lose once again: 14 ... ~h5 15.'li¥h7+ ~g4 16.h3 # or 16. 'li¥h3 #; and 14 ... 'it'h6 15.'l1i'h7#. 15.~h4 f4 15 ... .£If6 16.exf6 ~xf6 (not 16 ... gxf6 17.~h7#) and White has a powerful double check. 17 ..£Ie4+ ~f7 (the queen and knight work well together, and Ag5 is also in the air, 17... ~g6 IS. 'li¥g5+ ~f7 19.'li¥h5+ +- ) lS.'li¥h5+ when the knight and queen again show offhow well they coordinate: (a) After lS ... ~gS the knight simply returns to g5: 19 ..£Ig5 EldS when White's fastest path is 20.'li¥h7+ ~fS 21.'li¥hS+ 'it'e7 22.'li¥xg7+ ~d6 23 ..£If7++-; (b) lS ... g619.~h7+ 'it'eS 20.'li¥xg6+ +- with the rook entering on dl if the king tries the d-fiIe; and (c) lS ... 'it'e7 Delivering check and preparing Elc1, 19.Ag5+ 'it'd7 20 ..£Ixc5+ 'l1¥xc5 21.Eldl+ ~c7 22.Elc1 +-. 16.~h7+ xg517.h4+ g418.~g6+ xh4 19.93+ 1-0 It's mate in three with 19 ... fxg3 (19 ... ~h3 20.'l1¥h5 #) 20.'li¥xg3+ ~h5 21.'li¥g5#.
Sacking the Citadel (274) Rendle- Guido Bratt02005 Sicilian Defense [B40] 1.e4 c5 2.4)0 e6 3.h3 4)f6 4.e5 4)d5 5.Ah2 Ae7 6.4)c3 4)xc3 7.Axc3 0o8.Ad3 4)c6 9.h4 f510.exf6 Axf6 11.'li:\'e2 (1 Ulxh7+ ~xh7 12.4JgS+ ~h6-+) l l ...d5 8
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White nicely prepares the sacrifice with 11.'ltfe2, a requirement in lines in which the queen requires immediate access to the d3-square. White relies here upon the dark-square bishop and the h4pawn as additional assets. In the game, Black tried the h6 line, undoubtedly counting on the immediate absence of the dark-square bishop and the presence ofthe h4-pawn, but White shows the correct path with 'ltfd3+ and hS!. 12.Axh7+ h8 17.4Jxe6+-. In the \t>g6Iine, Black cannot dislodge the white queen from the g-file, and White can capture on e6 with check or take time to transfer the 4Jc3f4. 14 ... \t>g6 15.'l'ifg4! f5 16.ii'fg3 f4 (safeguarding the queen with 16 ... 'l'ifc8 gives White the time to bring up reserves: 17 .4Je2 [with the idea of 4Jf4] 17 ... 4Jd5 [on 17 .. .f4, 18.ii'fh4 4Jxe5 19.dxe5 \t>f5 20.~xf4+ 'it'g6 21.ii'fh4+with ii'fh7 and h4+ to follow] 18..§xc7+and Black cannot successfully capture the rook) 17.'l'ifg4 and the queen cannot now be dislodged: 17 ... 'l'ifb818.4Je2 .§f5 19.4Jxe6+ \t>f7 20.ii'fxg7+ \t>xe6 (20 ... \t>e8 21.4Jxc7+ +-) 21.d5+ making room for4Jd4+. (D) Now: (a) 21...4Jxd5 22.4Jd4#; (b) 21...itxd5 22.4Jd4#; and (c) 21...'it'xd5 22.0-0 (to bring the other rook to dl) 22 ... ii'fe8 (22 ... c5 23.ii'fxe7 +- since the
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king retreat to c6 meets 4Jd4+) 23 ..§fd1 + 'it'e6 24.4Jd4+ \t>d5 when the discovery provides a mate in two: 25.4Jxb5+ 'it'e6 (25 ... \t>e4 26 ..§d4#) 26.4Jxc7#. 15.h4 is too slow because the capture on e5 permits Black to relieve the pressure by exchanging queens. 15 ... 4Jxe5=. 15.~d3+? 4Jf5! (too dangerous is 15 ... 'it'xg516.~h7 cutting off the king's retreat: 16... 4Jxe5 17.dxe5 .§h8 and White commences a torturous king hunt: 18.f4+ \t>xf4 19.0-0+ 'it'xe5 20.~xg7+ 'it'd6 21..§xf7 .§f8 22 ..§xe7 'l'ifxe7 23.'l'ifd4+ itd5 24.4Jxd5 exd5 25.~c5+ \t>d7 26.'l'ifc6+ 'it'c8 27.~xa8++- and White will also pick up the d-pawn with check) and now there's nothing to be gained from 16.g4 ii'fxg5 -+. 15. 'll1td21 Very tempting is 15.ii'fg4 4Jg6 16.~h3+ (forcing the black king to capture on g5) 16... 'it'xg5, when White, without the ability to play 4Je4+ safely, cannot mate the king. 17.~e3+ (17.f4+ 4Jxf4 18.~g3+ \t>h6 19.ii'fxf4+ ~g5 -+) 17 ... 'it'h5 18.g4+ 'it'h4 19.~g3+ \t>g5 20.h4+ 'it'h6 and Black has survived the assault. 15... hS 20 ..£lg6#. 19.9xf4 Jclh3+ The effort to develop simply loses the bishop: 19 ... Ad7 20.~f7+ 'tlhS 21.'iI1xd7 +-. 20.t\'xh3 Jclxd4 20 ... ~xd4+ 21.'tlh1 'iI1f6 22.'iI1h7+ r,t>f8 23.~hS+ 'tle7 24 ..£lxe6 (exploiting the pinned bishop) 24 ... Jlxe6 (24 ...'tld6 25 ..£lxg7 +with .£leS next) 25.'iI1xaS+-. 21.t\'h7+ fS 22.t\'hS+ e7 23.t\'xg7+ d6 24.hl Ad7 25.Jclf7+ More accurate is 25.§ac1 trapping the king in the center. 25 ••. c7 26. t\'e5+ cS 27.E!acl + Jclc6 Black would also have to resign after 27 ... Jlc6 28.§gl +- . 2S.E!gll-O
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(287) Boesenberg - Herzog ICCF e-mail 2006 Ruy Lopez [C78]
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A very exciting game in which Black, with the .£lf2, pressure on the white d4pawn and the §fS, has considerable
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l.e4 e5 2.Jclf3 Jclc6 3.Ab5 a6 4.Aa4 Jclf6 5.0-0 b5 6.Ab3 Ac5 7.a4 Ab7 S.c3 0--0 9.d4 Ab610.dxe5 Jclxe4 1l.Ad5 Jclc512.axb5 axlJ.513.E!xaS t\'xaSI4.b4 Jcla415.Ae4 Jcla7
Games
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I~.-'_h4 ~h2+ 19.'g5 ~h6# or 19 ... h6#; and (c) 18.'h3 ~h2#. 17... ~xd4! Best first to capture the knight. On 17 ... ~h4? White can defend by forcing a knight back to f3: 18..£J4f3 exf3 19 ..£Jxf3+-. IS •.Q.xd4 tith4 19.Jl.e5 ~xe5 20.Jl.e2 Jl.g4 21.f3 exf3 22.Jl.xf3 titg5! 23.titel gxd2 24.Jl.xg4 White can recapture and survive: 24.~xd2 Axf3 25.l~a2 (25.l:hf3 .£Jxf3+ -+ forking the queen) 25 .. .l:~d8-+. 24... ge2 25.Jl.h3 ~d3 26.titdl titxe3+ 27.'\tIh2 ge2 28.titb3 tite5+ 29.~gl ~f4 30.titf3 g5 31.~hl gfS 32. titg3 ~ xh3 The first, even minor inaccuracy. 32 ... h5 -+ overwhelms without risk. 33.~xh3 White returns the favor. There's a slight bit of hope in the double rook endgame: 33.~xe5 !!xe5 34.gxh3 f5 =+=. 33 ... ge4 34.g3 ge3 35.gg1 tite4+ 36. titg2 ~e6 37.ga2 gdS 3S.gf2 ~h6+ 39.~h2 ~xh2+ 40.~xh2 gxa3 41.gel gd7 42.geS+ ~g7 43.gaS ga4 44.gb2 ge7 45.~g2 a5 46.gxa5 gxa5 47.bxa5 gxe5 48.gxb7 gxa5 49.g4 ga4 50.~g3 gf4 51.gbS h5 52.gxh5 gh4 53. gaS f6 54.ga7+ ~h6 55.gaS ~xh5 56.ghS+ ~g6 57.gxh4 gxh4+ 5S.~g4 h3 0-1 (290) Pugachov - Yurkov
Vitebsky 2006 Sicilian Defense [B42] l.e4 e5 2.~f3 e6 3.d4 exd4 4.~xd4 a6 5.~e3 b5 6 ..Q.d3 d6 7.0-0 ~f6 S. tite2 Jl.e7 9.f4 0-0 10.~hl Jl.b7 1l.Jl.d2 b4 12.~dl 'ltb6 13.~f3 ~e6 14.e5 dxe5 15.fxe5 ~d7 16.~f2 ~e517.Jl.e3 tite71S.Jl.xe5 Axe5
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Another example with an unanchored piece on c5, although White's mating attack is strong enough that the win of the piece is unimportant. White has an unusual collection of additional assets, the e5-pawn, the .£Jf2-h3-f4, and the !!fl. In the game, Black defended with the 'h6 line, but .£Jg4-f6 opens lines for White's major pieces to mate. 19.J}.xh7+ ~xh7 20.~g5+ ~h6 In the 'g8line, .£Jg4 usefully opens the ffile with unstoppable mating threats. 20 ... 'g8 21.~h5 !!fe8 22 ..£Jg4 .£Jxe5 23 ..£Jxe5 ~xe5 24.~h7+ ~f8 25.!!xf7#. In the ~g6Iine, the .£Jh3-f4 maneuver is devastating. 20 ... ~g6 21..£Jfh3 ~xe5 22 ..£Jf4+ ~xg5 (22 ... ~h6 23.~h5# or 22 ... ~f5 23.~h5+- or 22 ... ~f6 23 ..£Jd3++-) 23.~h5+ ~f6 24 ..£Jd5#. 21.~g4+ ~xg5 Careful readers will by now have no difficulty defeating the alternative king retreat 21...'g6 22.~e4+ when: (a) 22 .. .f5 23.exf6+ (the king is forced to capture on g5) 23 ... 'xg5 (23 ... 'h5 24 ..£Jxe6+- and it's mate in four) 24.h4+ 'h5 (24 ... ~xh4 25 ..£Je5+ ~h5 [25 ... 'g5 26.~g4+ 'h6 27.~h4#] 26.~g6+ +-) 25.~h7+ (a second knight sacrifice) 25 ... 'xg4 26.~g6+ ~xh4 27.!!f3+-; (b) The immediate capture on g5 gives White a mate in five: 22 ...~xg5 23.h4+ ~h5 (23 ... ~xh4
343
Sacking the Citadel 24.4Jf6+
~gS
[24 ... ~g3 2SJH3 #]
2S.~g4+ ~h6 26.~hS#) 24.'~h7+ ~xg4 2S.~xg7+ ~xh4
(2S ... ~hS 26. ~gS #) 26.E1.f3 +- and there's no way to stop E1.h3 #; and (c) 22 ... ~hS 23.~h7+ ~xg4 (23 ... ~xgS 24.~xg7+ ~h4 [24 ... ~hS 2S.E1.f4+- ] 2S.4Jf6+-) 24.4Je4+-. After 21...~hS White mates in four: 22.4Jf6+ ~xgS (22 ... ~h6 23.~hS# or 22 ... ~h4 23.~hS#) 23.~hS#. 22.4)f6 1-0 22.h4 is also winning, but 22.4Jf6 initiates a mate in seven: 22 ... gxf6 (22 ... E1.h8 23.~g4+ ~h6 24. ~hS #) 23.h4+ ~xh4 (23 ... ~g6 24.E1.xf6+ ~g7 2S.~g4+ ~h7 26.~gS+-or 23 ... ~h6 24.E1.xf6+ 'if)h7 2S.~hS+ ~g8 26.~gS++-) 24.E1.f4+ 'if)gS (24 ... ~g3 2S.~g4#) 2S.E1.g4+ 'if)hS (2S ... 'if)fS 26.~e4# or 2S ... ~h6 26.E1.h4+ ~g6 27. ~g4 #) 26. ~f3 +with ~h3 to follow. (291) Ezat - Faranka Beirut 2007 Queen's Gambit [D06]
sacrifice with h4 and can count on the secure eS-pawn, 4Jc3-e4, and the h4/ E1.hl as additional assets. In the ~g6 line, ~d3+ (or ~c2+) requires .. .fS, when the en passant capture forces the black king to f6 and 4Jc3-e4+ drives the black king into murderous discovered checks. 10.Axh7+ ~xh711.4)g5+ ~g6 In the ~g8Iine, Black must capture on gS and then push the f-pawn to stave off the mate, but gS-g6 once again ends the discussion.l1...~g812.~hS AxgS (12 ... E1.e8 13.~h7+ ~f8 14.~h8#) 13.hxgS fS 14.g6 1-0 Perun-Erofeev, Kiev2003.12:~'d3+ 12.~c2++- transposes to the game. With the pawn already on h4, White also prevails easily after 12.~g4 fSI3.hS+ forcing the king on to a dark-square. 13 ... ~h614.4Jf7+ ~h7 IS.~g6+ 'if)g8 16.4Jh6+ ~h8 17.4JxfS E1.xfS 18.h6+-. 12 ... f5 13.exf6+ ~xf6 White has a mate in four, but it's even worse after the king retreats to the h-file. 13 ... ~h614.~h7# and 13 ... ~hS 14.g4+ ~h6 (14 ... ~xg4 IS.~f3#) IS.~h7#.14.4)ce4+ ~g6
l.d4 4)f6 2.c4 d5 3.cxd5 4)xd5 4.e4 4)f6 5.4)c3 e6 6.4)f3 Ae7 7.Ad3 0o S.e5 4)d5 9.h4 c5 8
7
6 5 4
3 2
abc
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14 ... ~fS when it's mate in three with either IS.4Jg3+ ~g4 (IS ... ~f6 16.4JhS#) 16.~f3+ (16.~e2+ E1.f3 17.'~xf3#) 16 ... E1.xf3 17.gxf3# or IS.4Jd6+ 'if)g4 (IS ... 'if)f6 16.4Jh7#) 16.~e2+ E1.f317.~xf3# 15.h5+ ~h6 After IS ... ~fS it's a pretty mate in one, 16.~h3#. 16.4)f7+ 1-0 And the knights provide an attractive finale 16 ... ~h717.4Jf6#. (292) Gagunashvili - Gurevich Oak Brook 2007 Semi-Slav Defense [D4S]
h
Black's horrible opening ceded the center and permitted White to drive off the 4Jf6 with eS. With the Ae7 ready to capture the 4JgS, White prepares the
344
l.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.4)f3 4)f6 4.4)c3 e6 5.e3 4)bd7 6.~c2 Ad6 7.b3 0-0 S.Ae2 b6 9.0-0 Ab7 10.Ab2 ~e7 I1.Etadl EtadS 12.Ad3 EtfeS
Games 13.E!fel e5 14.cxd5 cxd5 15.dxe5 ~xe516.~d4 ~xd317. ~xd3 8
7
6 5
4 3 2
abc
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h
Black's sacrifice is marginal here. Two minors have already been exchanged, and Black must rely upon two additional assets, the buried light-square bishop and the EleS. In the 'it'g3Iine, Black cannot maintain his queen on the g-file and after ... ~d6+, White can safely capture the 4Jg4. 17.••Axh2+ 18"~i'xh2 ~g4+ 19.h5 allows a mate in four: 23.4Jf4+ 'it>h6 24.'~h3+ 'it>g5 25.'~h5+ 'it>xf4 26 ..§.d4#. 23.'lt/xg7# 1-0 (304) Ernst - On rust Vlissingen 2009 Slav Defense [Dl6] 1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.{)f3 {)f6 4.{)c3 dxc4 5.a4 e6 6.e3 Ab4 7.-'l,xc4 0--0 8.0-0 {)bd7 9.'lt/e2 'It/a5 10.!3d1 {)b6 1l.-'l,d3 c5 12.{)a2 cxd4 13.{)xb4 'It/xb414.a5 {)bd515.e4 {)e7 16.e5 {)fd5 17.Ad2 White could have undertaken the sacrifice right here in part because the Rook swing he sought to arrange with .§.a3h3 was in fact available earlier with .§.d4h4. 17 ..Ilxh7+! 'it'xh7 18.'§'xd4+-. 17..• 'lt/b318.!3a3 'It/xb2
[White wants mate, not just the knight] 22 ... 'i'ii'c2 [not 22 ... 4Jxh7 23.~h5#] and it's mate in three: 23.4Jxf8+ 'it'f5 24.g4+ 4Jxg4 25 ..§.f3 #) 22. ~e4+ f5 (22 ... 4Jf5 meets 23.'i'ii'xf4 with ~g4 next, and not 22 ... 'it>xg5 23.~xf4+ 'it'g6 24.~g5#) and the en passant check resembles a bomb going off around the black king: 23.exf6+ 4Jf5 24.'i'ii'xf4+-. 21.~h5 ~c2 22.!3h31--O (305) Ganguly - Shirov Montcada 2009 Ruy Lopez [C78] 1.e4 e5 2.{)f3 {)c6 3.-'l,b5 a6 4.Aa4 {)f6 5.0--0 b5 6.Ab3 -'l,c5 7.a4!3b8 8.c3 d6 9.d4 -'l,b610.a5 -'l,a711.h3 0-0 12.Ae3 !3a8 13.{)bd2 -'l,b7 14.Ac2 exd415.cxd4 !3e816..1lbl {)e717.e5 {)fd5 8
7 8
6
7
5
6
4
5
3
4
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3 2
abc abc
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In the diagrammed position, White has an easy win with three additional assets, the e5-pawn, the .Ild2, and the .§.a3 ready to swing. In the 'it>g8Iine, as played in the game, the black queen can enter the bl-h7 diagonal on c2, but .§.a3-h3 trumps that defense. 19.Axh7+ f1 ~d4 30.b3 a5 31.~d2 ~c2 32.£3 a4 33.~ge4 Jlxe4 34.fxe4 a3 35.\t>f2 ~b4 36.§c5 ~xa2 37.§xb5 §a8 38.b4 ~c3 White will have to give up the knight to stop the a-pawn. 0-1
1l.Jlxh7+ \t>xh712.~g5+ \t>g6 12 ... ~g8 13.~h5 §e8 14.~xt7+ ~h8 when White wins easily with 15 ..tle6 or 15.f4 or 15.~h5+ ~g8 16.f4. 12 ... ~h6
13.~g4+-
threatening both and 14 ..tle6 when the discovery supports 15.~xg7#. 14.~h4-h7,
13.~g4
Also winning is 13.~d3+ f5 (13 ... .tlf5 14.g4+-) 14.exf6+ r,!txf6 (14 ... r,!th5 15.~h7+ [15.g4+ also mates next move] 15 ... r,!tg4 16.f3#) 15.~f3+ r,!tg6 (15 ... .tlf516.g4+-) 16.~g4sinceBlack cannot avoid a killing discovery with 16 ... ~f617.~e6#.
#3 Ludvigsson - Lehikoinen Additional assets: White has only the dark-squared bishop as an additional asset and indeed, White's center is crumbling and the king is exposed. Verdict: The sacrifice fails.
13••.f5 14.exf6 \t>xf6 15. ~e6 .... 1-0 12.Jlxh7+ \t>xh713.~g5+ \t>g8 #2 Schuett - Steiner Additional assets: White has the active §e1 and the .tlf1-g3 Verdict: The sacrifice fails. Black's lightsquared bishop is very active and the black queen can reach the key bl-h7 diagonal. 19.Axh7+ \t>xh7 20.~g5+ \t>g8! 20 ... ~g6 21..tlg3 §h8 22.~g4 ~f6 23.h4+- threatening 24 ..tlh7+ and 25.~g5#.
In the r,!tg6 line, White can win back only an exchange. 13 ... ~g6 14 ..tlxe6 (14.~g4 .tlf615.~g3 exf416.1.txf4 .tlh5 17.~g4 §xf4) 14 ... ~h4+ 15.g3 ~e7 16 ..tlxf8+ .tlxf8 and Black, not White, is on the attack. 13 ... r,!th6 walks into a potential discovery after 14.f5 fIe7 15 ..tlxe6+ ~h7 16 ..tlg5+ ~g817.~xd5+ r,!th818.~f3 .tlf6 19.fIh3+ ~g8 20.~b3+ §f7 21.~xt7+ ~xt7 22 ..tlxt7 r,!txt7 and it's Black with the advantage.
369
Sacking the Citadel #5 Spassov - Panchenko In the 'it'gS line, White has to settle for winning back an exchange. Without a pawn on e5, 14.~h5 meets 14 ... 4:lf6. 14•• :~f615.~xf8 ~xf816.t\'xd5+ Jle6 17.t\'e4 exf4 With a winning edge. 18.Eibl Eie8 19.Jlb2 t\'d8 20.'\t'fl Aa2 21.t\'xf4 .Q.xb1 22.~d6 Eie7 23. t\'g3 .Q.xc2 24•.Q.f6 Eif7 25.~ xf7 t\'d1 + 0-1 #4 Kuzmin - Mukhin Additional assets: White relies on the active E!.f1 and the dark-squared bishop as additional assets. Verdict: The sacrifice succeeds. 15.e5 In order to cany out the sacrifice, White must first toss away the e-pawn.
Additional assets: Black can count on the light-squared bishop, the e4-pawn, the active E!.eS, and the 4:lfS-g6. Verdict: The sacrifice succeeds. 14•••.Q.xh2+ 15.'\t'xh2 ~g4+ 16.'\t'g3 There's no hope for White in the ~gl line because the king has no escape path to the queenside. 16.~gl ~h4 17.Ad3 Trying to create an escape. 17 ... ~xf2+ 18.~h1 But now, with the king unable to move, Black needs only find a check. lS ... E!.e6-+ 16.•• t\'d6+ Fastest 17.f4 17.~h4 and Black can choose from among three mates in two. 17 ... ~h2+ (17 ... g5+ lS.'it'xg5 ~h6#; 17 ... ~h6+ 18.~g3 ~h2#) lS.'it'g5 f6#.
17••• exf3+ 18.'\t'xf3 Once again, the king retreats are quickly mated. Note also the active placement of the white queen, eliminating the 'it'g6 line from consideration. Black is still losing after 15 ... 4:lcxe5 16.Axh7+ 'it'xh7 17.4:lg5+ ~gS lS.4:lxe6. The fork aims to support E!. xfS and then ~xg7 # lS ... ~b619.E!.xfS+ E!.xfS 20.~xg7#.
18... t\'f6+ 19.'\t'e2 Eixe3+ 0-1
16.Axh7+ '\t'xh717.~g5+ '\t'g8
#6 Bernat - Lipnowski
Or 17 ... ~g6 when White has a powerful discovery, but better is mate in three with lS.~h4+-.
Additional assets: White has three additional assets, the dark-squared bishop, the secure e5-pawn, and the h4pawnlE!.h1. But Black is well developed, with pressure upon the d4-pawn and the active .ila6 which can directly reach d3. Verdict: The sacrifice fails.
18. t\'h4 g6 To prevent ~h 7 #. 19.~ce4
when, to prevent 4:lf6 and Black would have to play 19 ... 4:lg4.1-0
~h7#,
370
19 ... E!.xe3+ E!.xe1+-+
20.~d1
4:lf2+
21.~c1
Greco's Quiz 16.Axh7+~xh717.4)g5+~g8
17.. :~·g518.f4 ~g619.~f3 exd5 opening the e-file for the rooks.
There's no point in entering the ~h6 line with the dark-squared bishop on cl. But even there, there's no win for White. 17 ... 'lt'h6 18 . .£\e4+ ~h7 19 ..£\g5+ when Black gets a second chance to pick the ~g8 line.
19 ... .£\h2+ 20.'lt'f2 .£\g4+ 21.'lt'f3= 20.E!c3E!ae821.4)g3h5Pressingfor more than a draw. 21.. ..£\h2+ 22.'lt'f2 .£\g4+=
17 ... 'lt'g6 18.~g4 and only here in the 'It'g6 line is White winning. The threat is h5 forcing the king to h6 when .£\xe6 is crushing.
22.E!h1 4)h2+
23.~f2
4)g4+
24.~f3
Black becomes more active if White tries for more than a draw 24.'lt'gl .£\xe3 25.~f3 .£\g4 26.'£\f1 §.e4.
18. ~h5 Ad3 Ending the attack. 0-1 #7 Browne - Benjamin
24 ... 4)h2+ Yz-Yz Additional assets: Black can only rely on the rooks as additional assets, although after the capture on d5, the open e-file provides useful scope for the rooks. Verdict: A draw.
#8 Sieiro Gonzalez - Paneque
15...Axh2+ 16.~xh2 4)g4+ 17.~g3 To survive, the king must come forward. In the 'It'gl line, the black queen enters the attack on h5 where it pressures both h2 and f2. 17.'lt'gl ~h4 18,):"::(el. To avoid mate on h2 18 ... ~xf2+ 19.~h1 but now the king cannot move, empowering §.f8-f6-h6. 19 ... §.f6 20.'£\f4 §.h6+ 21.'£\h3 and it's mate in two with 21...§.xh3+ 22.gxh3 ~h2#. In the 'It'h3 line 17. ~h3 prevents ~h4, but encourages the rook swing to h3 17 ... §.f6 18.'£\f4 §.h6+ 19.~g3 '£\h2 (19 ... ~g5 20.'£\h3 ~g6 21.'£\f4=) 20.'£\h3 '£\xfl + 21.~xfl ~h4+ 22.~h2 exd5 with relatively even chances.
371
Additional assets: White has a secure e5-pawn, but not a dark-square bishop. The .£\c3 does not have easy access into the position, and the ~d2 does not have ready access to the h-file, resulting in the black king's successful escape to the queenside. Moreover, Black's counter-attack is already developing on the queenside. Verdict: The sacrifice fails. 14.Axh7+ ~xh715.4)g5+ ~g81 15 ... 'lt'h6? 16.~d3 aiming for h7 and h3 16 ... §.h8 (16 ... g6 and it's mate in two 17.~h3+ 'It'g7 18.~h7#) 17 ..£\xf7+ 'It'h5 18.g4+ ~xg4 19.~g3+ 'It'f5 20. ~g5 # when even the .£\c3 plays a role. 15 ... 'lt'g6 16.~d3+ f5 (after 16 ... ~h5 it's mate in two. 17.~h3+ 'It'g6 18.~h7#) 17.exf6+ ~xf6 (17 ... ~h5 18..£\f7 with mate in five after 18 ... §.xf7
Sacking the Citadel 19.94+ ~h6 20.~h3+ ~g6 21.~h5+ ~xf6 22.~g5#) 16.~d3 E!fe8 18. ~h4 E!ec8
17.~h7+
~f8
18... 4Jd4! 19.4Jh7+ ~g8 20.4Jf6+ 21.4Jh7+=
~f8
19.~h8+ ~e7 20.~xg7 ~d8 21.~xf7
20. ~h3 The queen enters on h3. 20 ••. E!fc8 21. ~h7+ ~f8 22. ~h8+ .£Jg8 23 . .£Jh7+ ~e7 With a position common to those in which Black has a knight on e7. 24.Ah4+ and here, the dark-square bishop enters the attack on h4 rather than gS. 24 ..• .£Jf6 25. ~xg7+- Ae8 26.j},xf6+ 1-0 26.Axf6+ 'it'd7 27.4Jf8# #10 Jasnikowski - Votava
2l.f5 exf5 22.4Jxf7+ ~c7 23.e6 Elg8 24.~h7 ~e7 25.exd7 Elaf8= 21 ... ~e7 22.~g6 ~c7 23.h4 E!g8 24. ~d3 E!ac8 25•.£Je2 ~b8 26•.£Jd4 .£J xd4 27. ~xd4 .£Ja4 28.h5 28.c3 should hold. 28 ••• E!c4 29. ~d2 E!gc8 30.E!c1 .£Jc3+ 31.hxc3 31.~al
Ela4-+
31 ••• ~a3 32.E!ce1 E!8c5 0-1 #9 Pablo Marin - Marin Corresa Additional assets: White can rely here upon the secure e5-pawn, a dark-square bishop with an entry on h4, a 4Je2-g3, and a Elcl ready to swing to the g- or hfiles. Verdict: The sacrifice succeeds. 18.j},xh7+ ~xh719 •.£Jg5+ ~g8 19 ... 'it'h6 walks into a mate in two 20.~h3+ ~g6 21.~h7#.
19 ... 'it'g6 when White prevails with many ideas, including 20.~g3, 20.~d3, 20.Elf3, and even 20.f5+.
372
Additional assets: The eS-pawn and the active rooks. Verdict: The sacrifice succeeds. 19.j},xh7+! ~xh7 20•.£Jg5+ ~g6! There's no mate in 'it'g8 line because the advance of the e-pawn to e6 opens the d6 escape square, but that retreat simply permits 4Jf7 + winning the queen. 20 ... 'it'g8 21.~h4 Ele8 (So instead, Black can take advantage of the knight's attack on d 1 by sacrificing the queen 21...~xg5 22.~xg5 4Jxdl 23.Elxdl but even here, White has a pronounced advantage.) 22.~h7+ 'it'f8 23.e6+- fxe6 24.~h8+ 'it'e7 25.~xg7+ 'it'd6 26.4Jf7+. 21.h4 Holding the knight and threatening hS+, exposing the king to a rook swing. Not 21.~g4 ~xg5. 21 ••. .£Jxd1 21...~e7 takes the queen out of the reach of discoveries 22.Ele3 Elc4 23.h5+ but White has time thanks to h5+ to bring up the rook. 23 ... 'it'h6 24.4Je4+ The knight blocks the rook's attack on the queen and prepares 4Jf6+. 24 ... 'it'h7 25.~f5+ 'it'h6 (25 ... 'it'g8 26.4Jf6++- and the knight wins the house; 25 ... g6
Greco's Quiz 26.4Jf6+ ~g7 27 ..§.g3+- with three attacks on g6) 26 ..§.g3 Threatening .§.g6+. 26 ... .§.xe4 27 ..§.g6+ 'i!th7 28 ..§.e6++-.
winning the bishop while sustaining the attack. #12 Sziraki - Olah
Black's best defensive try is 21.. ..§.c4 22 ..§.d4 '§'xd4 23.~xd4 .§.h8 24.e6 ~f6 2S.~g4 ~fS 26.hS+ ~f6 (26 ... .§.xhS 27.~xfS+ ~xfS 28.exf7+- and the pawn will queen) 27.~d4++- and the king has no good moves. 27 ... 'i!txgS (27 ... ~e7 28.exf7+) 28.~xg7+.
Additional assets: In support of the sacrifice, White has the e5-pawn, the dark-square bishop, and a pesky 4JbS. Verdict: The sacrifice succeeds. 15.Axh7+ Cif,>xh716.4)g5+ Cif,>g6 The toughest defense.
22.h5+ Cif,>xh5 23.g4+ 1-0 16 ... 'i!tg8 17.~hS .§.e8 18.~xf7+ 'it'h8
19 ..§.d1 there's no mate in five because the black queen is off d8 19 ... ~d7 Black must play actively to counter the gameending rook swing. 20.~hS+ ~g8 21.~h7+ 'it'fB 22.~h8+ ~e7 23.~xg7+ 'i!td8 and now the 4JbS rears its head. The black king cannot flee to c7. 24.4Jf7+ The queen will have to capture the knight to avoid 24 ... 'i!te7 2S.~gS+ 4Jf6 26.exf6#.
#11 Groszpeter - Linker Additional assets: The advance of the e-pawn has dislodged the 4Jf6 and activated the light-square bishop for the sacrifice. White can rely upon the e5pawn, the dark-square bishop, and the 4Jc3-e4. Verdict: The sacrifice succeeds. 13.Axh7+ Cif,>xh7 14.4)g5+ White wins in all lines. 14... Cif,>g6
17. ~d3+ A bit more accurate is 17.~e4+ fSl8.~h4+-.
In the ~g8 line, Black would have to give up his queen to capture the 4JgS or else face mate on h7 or the usual mate in five. 14 ... 'it'g81S.~hS .§.e816.~xf7+ ~h8 17.~hS+ 'i!tg8 18.~h7+ 'i!tf8 19.~h8+
17...f5 18. ~h3 f4 And it's mate in six. 18 ... 4Jf6 19.exf6 ~xf6 20.4Jc3+19.~h7+
'i!te7 20.~xg7#.
Cif,>xg5 20.h4+ Cif,>g4
21.~g6+ Cif,>xh4 22.g3+ fxg3
15. ~c2+ The correct response, taking aim at the unanchored ~cS. 15 ...f5 23.~g5+0r23.~xg3+.1-0
lS ... ~hS when it's an easy mate in two, 16.~h7+ 'it'g417.h3# or 17.~h3#.
#13 Sanchez Almeyra - Rodriguez 16.exf6+ 1-0 16.exf6+
~xf6
~g4 18.~h3#
(16 ... 'it'hS 17.~h7+ or 18.h3#) 17.4Jce4+
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Additional assets: The sacrifice occurs here quickly out of a Winawer French. White relies upon an e5-pawn and the dark-square bishop.
Sacking the Citadel Verdict: The sacrifice succeeds.
#15 Ivanov - Katrein
8.Jl.xh7+! Cit'xh7 9.4)g5+ Cit'g6
Additional assets: Black has played .. .f6 to inhibit g810:~h5 fle8 when both queen captures provide easy wins. 11.'l£th7 + (11.'l£txf7+ «t>h8 12.xd2 g8line, the threat of~h7 forces Black to capture the g8 12.~h5 fxg5 13.hxg5 as in the game.
10.h4! Also winning is 1O.~g4 f5 11.'l£tg3 f4 12.'l£th4 flh8 13.'l£tg4.
10••• ~e8 Retreating the queen out of the reach of the knight discoveries. 11.~g4 4)f5 12.h5+ Cit'h6 13.4)ge4+! Cit'h714.h61-0 14.h6 g612.h5+ 'itlh6 (12 ... 'itlf513.g4+ 'itlxf414.h8 13.g6 11.~g4 f5 12.exf6 gxf6 (12 ... «t>xf613.'l£txe6#) 13.g8 with a list of the conditions that make it possible, White's attack with itlxfl and .£\xe6 when Black has knights on d7 and e7, coverage in the