Super Nezh Chess Assassin

by Alex Pishkin ICCF-IM

Thinkers' Press, Inc. Davenport, Iowa 52802 ©2000 CopyriKhl ll'l 2000 by Al�x 1'1shkin

All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced nor transmitted in any form nor by any means, electronic nor mechanical, including photocopying and recording, nor by any information storage nor retrieval system, except as may be expressly permitted by the 1976 Copyright Act or in writing from the publisher. Included in these reserved rights are publishing on the Internet or in annotated databases.

Super Nezh, Chess Assassin September 2000

ISBN: 0-938650-91-2 (f) ISBN: 0-938650-94-7 (h)

Requests fo r permissions and republication rights should be addressed in writing to:

Bob Long, Editor-in-Chief Thinkers' Press, Inc. P.O. Box 8 Davenport, lA 52805-0008 USA office phone: 319-323-1226 e-mail: [email protected]

=ii= Nt•zhnwt d tnov. Clwss Assassin

Contents

Explanation of Symbols ...... iv

Preface by Alex Pishkin ...... v

An Appreciation by IM Rashid Ziyatdinov ...... x

Publisher's Foreword ...... xv

1 Biography ...... 1 7

2 Masterpieces ...... 33

3 The Fight ...... 63

4 Attack ...... 91

5 Defense and Counterattack ...... 123

6 Strategy ...... 141

7 Opening Novelties ...... 153

8 The Endgame ...... 171

9 Small Raisins ...... 191

Opponents ...... 206

Openings' Index ...... 209

Main Tournament and Match Results ...... 211

Bibliography and Databases ...... 214

Colophon ...... 215

Crosstables ...... 14,90,122, 140,152,170,190,205,210,216-221s

= iii = Explanation of Symbols

x = captures

t = check +- = White has a winning advantage -+ = Black has a winning advantage ± = White has a definite advantage + = Black has a definite advantage ;:t = White has the better game + = Black has the better game eo = Unclear N/f3 = Knight on f3 (for example)

A triptychby Galin Satonin of the clash between Polugaevsky (leftpanel) and Nezhmetd.inov (right panel) which was heard round the world. As Polugaevsky said on page 36:

"Sunk in thought for a long time,I understood that I was to say good­ bye to allhope and thatI was losing a game that would be spread all over the world."

=iv= Preface

he world of chess is multifaceted. Yet, of all its sides, three are considered T the most important: sport, science, and art. It is impossible to achieve complete success by developing your mastery in only one of these areas. Any outstand­ ing master combines in himself these three sides to this or that extent. Happy are those in whom they have been harmoniously developed: Fischer, Spassky, and Kasparov. Lasker and Petrosian were outstanding sportsmen, and fr om the present­ Karpov. Steinitz, Euwe, and Botvinnik were distinguished by their scientific approach. Alekhine and Tal can be called brilliant high priests of chess art. It goes without saying that these champions were blessed by additional chess qualities as well, otherwise the list of champions would be different. There are masters in whom certain chess qualities are developed to such a phenomenal extent that few of the recognised geniuses of chess can challenge them. Are there many among the greatest who can compete in the theory of the endgame with Yuri Averbakh, Nikolai Grigoriev or Andre Cheron? Perhaps, only Smyslov and Rubinstein .. Are there many among the greatest who might surpass in the fieldof analy­ sis Isaac Boleslavsky, Igor Zaitsev or Mark Dvoretsky? But chess theory and analysis are still the applied side of chess. They are certainly necessary for a chessplayer, no less than the mastery of versification is necessary for a poet, and solfeggio, fo r a musician. What we value most of all in the poet and musician is the gift of creativity, that intangible, ephemeral thing which is called "a God's spark." Among those who were endowed with "the God spark," and created many unforgettable masterpieces (though they never became world champions) were: Chigorin, Reti, Bronstein, Larsen, Ljubojevich ... To this list we should un­ doubtedly add Spielmann, Simagin, Tolush, Kupreichik and especially Nezh­ metdinov. The name of Rashid Gibyatovich Nezhmetdinov is not as well known to the western lover of chess. Indeed he is not included among "the greatest" of the chess world. He wasn't a grandmaster, though in the former Soviet Union one l'rt'l'un• can count about two hundred owners (remember Fischer, Morphy, l'lll�hury, of this title. Mecking ... 7). He wasn't fa mous in the international Nezhmetdinov gained his best results arena,simply because he had few chances after 40. He made his debut in the USSR to play outside of his own country. chess championship at 41, and the last Still, if you ask any chess master, no time he became the Russian champion not even that, if you ask any man who was at the age of 45. The last time he likes art in chess and has become ac­ played in the fmals ofthe all-Union cham­ quainted with the creative heritage of pionship was when he was almost 55! the chess masters of the past, he will In chess history you will seldom find surely say, "Ah, he is that master who similar cases of a chess player going regularly defeated Tal and who attacked on the "big stage" at such an "elderly" so beautifully!" age. Some might remember GeorgSalwe, And that is true. the Russian champion of 1905, who also Despite his lack of the grandmaster became a master after the age of 40. title, Rashid Nezhmetdinov was a unique Contemporary chess practice shows personality in the chess world. that chess champions "are younger and

• In the USSR and, quite possibly, younger," and that a chess player reaches in the whole world, he was the only his peak by the age of25-30, and after "master squared," that is, he was a chess 35, his sporting fo rm slowly decreases. master and a checkers master at the At that age, the ability to accurately same time. Once Mikhail Tal jokingly calculate variations lessens. The abil­ called chess "algebra" and checkers ity to endure many hours of intensive "arithmetic." He hinted at a certain mental exercise also declines, something second-rate quality of a checkers game which a chess master seriously needs. in comparision with a chess game, a If this is true, and we cannot doubt the game which many consider the "royal truthfulness of the conclusions of spe­ game.'� AfterNezh metdinov had finally cialists, then how can we account fo r given up checkers, he noted one time the phenomenal chess ofNezhmetdinov? that all checkers contests can be reduced This is even more remarkable if we take to Rook endgames. On the other hand, into consideration that his style of playing checkers players have oftencommented chess was primarily based on the in­ on the depth of calculations of varia­ crease of tension on the chessboardan d tions in their favorite game, and espe­ the extremely intensive calculation of cially its oriental varieties, like the Japa­ variations. nese "Go," as surpassing chess. We won't It is impossible to explain this, just argue about this; these arguments in­ as it is impossible to answer the ques­ crease the significance ofNezhmetdinov's tion "How can one become a genius?"

double mastery of both games. • Rashid Nezhmetdinov holds an un­

• His talent fully blossomed and re­ equaled record: he was chess champion vealed itself when he was no longer of Russia five times. All in all, he played young. He was 37 when he received the in the finals of the Russian champion­ title of chess master. At that age, and ships 16 times. even at· a younger age, many famous Besides those five first places, an­ chess masters disappeared fr om the scene other five times he was among the prize-

=vi= Nl•zhnwt dlnov, t'lwss Assassin winm•rs. lll'l'l' also should be addl'd a war. He gained access to serious chess silver medal in one, till' checkers cham­ competitions only when he was 35. It pionship. His closest rival among Rus­ was much later when young talents in sian chess champions is the great Chi­ the Soviet Union could achieve won­ gorin, who won three championships derful conditions fo r growth and blos­ at the beginning of the century. soming. They had experienced teachers

• His chess talent was unique. Lev in the Pioneer palaces, regular train­ Polugaevsky called him "the greatest ing meetings during school vacations. master of the initiative." Chess Informants, and computers. M. Tal says: "His games reveal the Rashid had no dreams of anything beauty of chess and make you love in like that. Practically speaking, he alone chess not so much the points and high created the brilliant chess master Nezh- placings, but the wonderful harmony metdinov. This might explain why Nezh­ and elegance of this particular world." metdinov was not only a master, but Tal was a good fr iend and admirer of also a brilliant coach who trained many Nezhmetdinov's creative activity. In the masters and gave many young people preface to Nezhmetdinov's book Selected their access to chess. Games he wrote: "In Nezhmetdinov, more I hope this book will broaden the than in anybody else, you can see the circle ofadmirers for the creative abilities difference between his creative and sport­ of this wonderful chess player and per­ ing achievements." haps arouse in some ambitious young When a game was dry and there was man an aspiration to achieve something much maneuvering, he got bored and in the cruel and beautifulworld of chess. sometimes played negligently.As a result, Perhaps, another Super Nezh. he lost more often than was expected. There were tournaments in which he Personal Thoughts for the Westerner never experienced a fe eling of ins pi- I have never been Rashid Nezhmetdinov's ration and creative enthusiasm. He didn't pupil or friend. I met him only twice win laurels in those events. at team championships, but not at the On the other hand, when he man- chessboard. aged to achieve a position that aroused In the 50s when I was making my the desire to create, when he succeeded first steps in chess, Nezhmetdinov's in luring his opponent onto the slip­ games appeared quite often on thepages pery ice of combinational complications, of chess magazines. It so happened that when he obtained the initiative, then it was through his creative play that I he was fe arsome and irrepressible. It began to comprehend the beauty and didn't matter then who was facing him depth of chess. Since that time I have across the board. always remained an unfailing admirer of his wonderful talent. Rashid Nezhmetdinov's talent re­ Unlike many other great Soviet mas­ sembles a tree that, by some miracle, ters, Nezhmetdinov enjoyed the respect has grown on a bare cliff. He had a dif­ of his contemporaries, and many of his fi cult childhood and was a youth of hun­ games have become known to thousands ger. During his best years for chess he of chess lovers; some very famous grand­ was in the army, and then came the masters cannot boast that. During his

- vii - PrL"fucr lifetime he had a book published about the gamr� IItH! to rommttnt on them his life in chess (Kazan, 1960). The book all over again. was published by the provincial pub­ I tried to use Nezhmetdlnov ' s original lishing house and the circulation was analyses on those parts of the games small. Unfortunately, not all of his best that required detailed analysis. I also games were included. As for the sec­ used his brilliant evaluations of posi­ ond edition of that book, which was tions which disclosed the real situation considerably expanded, Nezhmetdinov with utmost clarity and in few words. never saw it for he had passed away. In these cases Nezhmetdinov's notes It was republished in 1978, and this were quoted. printing was larger, 50,000 copies. The selection of games has been Later J. Damsky authored an excel­ changed according to their composition, lent book in 1987 to commemorate Nezh­ as well as order of their arrangement. metdinov's 75th birthday. Rashid Nezh­ I have rej ected the common method of metdinov was published in an edition chronological order in arranging the of 100,000 copies where Nezh is pre­ games. This approach to chess art is a sented not only as a bright chess mas­ good one for those great men of the ter, but also as a self-made man who chess worldwhose creativework is many­ devoted his life to chess, enduring many sided, and whose mastery is universal. difficulties along the way. The average level of games of those type Before I decided to write one more of masters is high. Thus, even at the book about Rashid Nezhmetdinov, I peak of their creative work, their very studied thoroughly all that had been best games do not offer a sharp con­ published, and primarily his games and trast to the other games in their game commentaries on them. Nezhmetdinov's collections. own notes are characterized by a la­ Nezhmetdinov was a player of in­ conic, terse style, and concrete analy­ spiration. Such masters cannot have, sis. My task was to remove some ana­ and don't have, an even graph of first­ lytical inaccuracies and some very rare rate games. A chronological graph of mistakes, as well as to refreshhis opening Nezh's games looks rather like a moun­ theories. tain range in which alongside with the Damsky's commentaries on some highest peaks of his creative achieve­ games are also good, especially if he ments-his eight thousand meter high himself witnessed those games or saw mountains-thereare quite a lot of mod­ them demonstrated by Rashid. Unfor­ est hillocks and separate rocks. There­ tunately, Damsky's commentaries on fore, I divided select samples of Nezh­ some games are too curt and fail to fully metdinov's creative work into several reveal the depth of their contents. There approximately equal sized groups. are some analytical mistakes as well In the first group I included genu­ in Damsky's book. Some of Nezhmet­ ine masterpieces. I am not afraid to call dinov's brilliant games didn't get into them masterpieces, as any of the chess Damsky's book or were only given as greats might envy these games. fr agments. In the second group I put games which In the end I came to the conclusion are saturated with big fights. They are that it would be necessary to reselect distinguished by the high quality of play

=viii= Nl'1.hnll'tdlnov, Chl'ss Assassin from both combatants, though not devoid row that Alex Pishkin diedjune 7, 1999 of mistakes. and that it was necessary fo r Mr. Chuchin The remaining games and fragments (his translator) , Don Aldrich and my­ are divided among: attack, defense and selfto finish up the polishing of Alex's counterattack, strategy, the opening, prose, suggestions and changes. In some the endgame, and "small raisins." cases (near the back of the book), I began to make editorial decisions to clarify Alex Pishkin questions he had left unanswered. May Syktyvkar, 1999 Alex rest in peace. He is survived by his wife Zina. She referred to this work Editor's Note: It must be noted with sor- as Alex's "third child."

-ix- An Appreciation

by IM Rashid Ziyatdinov

"Nobody sees combinations like Rashid Nezhmetdinov." -Mikhail Botvinnik

ashid Gibyatovich Nezhmetdinov was famous among professional players for R his way of creating warfare on the chessboard. Masters understand that com­ binations will only appear after preparation. His style of fight was so specific that many world class players had unexpected and very beautiful losses to him. Maybe he never thought or talked about the fo llowing; but for me it is clear. Let's introduce a European chronicle about some of Rashid Gibyatovich's ances­ tors. First of all Nezhmetdinov was a Tartar. Tartar is a collective name applied to the peoples ofTurkic origin who invaded parts of Asia and Europe under Mongol lead­ ership in the 13th century. Also known as Tartars, the original Tartars probably came from east-central Asia or central Siberia, and, unlike the Mongols, spoke a language belonging to theTurkic branch of the Altaic languages fa mily. In conjunc­ tion with the encyclopedia Encarta, I would like to introduce two stories. One is very interesting to me. It is the game Flohr-Nezhmetdinov USSR eh. 21, Kiev, 1954 (by the way, to qualify for a USSR championship you had to win at least 3 tourna­ ments against strong Russian masters). Flohr was in his prime and preparing to play a match with Alekhine. Alekhine was fr om a group of chess gods or at least their messenger.

The second story is a historic chronicling and we will try to make a parallel. Poland still celebrates April 9 [Ed. Note: Brittanica.com gives April 15 as the Battle of Liegnitz.] as the day they repulsed an Asiatic invasion of Europe in 1241. Their Tartar enemies saw things differently-at Liegnitz, they won their third victory in a row over a European army, all with only a diversionary fo rce of 20,000 warriors. On April 9, 1241, Duke Henry 11 of Silesia, marched out of his city of Liegnitz to meet the dreaded Tartars. The invaders from the East had already attacked Lublin and sacked Sandomir. Henry had known of that weeks earlier. His army was about 30,000. Opposing him was a host of about 20,000 Tartars, commanded by Kaidu, a great-grandson ofGenghis Khan. The real mastermind of the expedition, however, was Subotai, longtime lieutenant of Genghis Khan. A Ta rtar commander might be anywhere in his fo rmation, directing his troops

as Ill' saw fit. Nt•zhnwtdlnov, Clwss Assassin

Salo Flohr-Rashld Nezhmetdlnov ing it diflicult to accurately count the ir H60 numbers. The first of Duke Henry's divi­ 21st USSR Championship sions charged into the Tartar ranks to Kiev 1954 begin hand-to-hand combat, but the more lightly armed Tartars on their agile po- 1. NfJ Nffi2. c4 d6 3. d4 g6 4. b3 Bg7 S. Bb2 nies easily surrounded them and show­ o-o 6. g3 BfS 7. Bg2 Qc8. ered them with arrows. A second charge To contrast, the leader of the Euro- by the second and third divisions was pean army often fo ught alongside his mounted under Sulislav and Meshko of men in the thick of battle where he was Opole. Unlike the first, this assault easily identified, in danger, and unable seemed successful-the Tartars broke to respond to developments in the fight. into what appeared to be a disorderly re­ Such leadership by example made a cer- treat. Encouraged, the knights pressed tain amount of sense where battles were on with their attack, eager to meet the seen as opportunities fo r the display of Tartars with lance and broadsword. Their personal bravery, and the obj ect of the adversaries continued to fleebefore them, contest was honor as well as victory. evidently unable to fa ce the charge of the But to the Tartars, victory was all that heavy horsemen. Then, an odd thing hap­ mattered. Consequently, their approach pened. A single rider from the Tartar lines was to kill or defeat the enemy as effi- rushed about the Polish lines shouting ciently as possible-that is, with the least "Byegaycze! Byegaycze!" or "Run! Run!" cost to themselves. in Polish. The Polish chronicler is uncer- 8. o-oBh3 9. Nbd2 aS 10. a3Qg4 11. e3 QhS tain whether the man was a Tartar or one 12. Nh4 Bg4 13. f3 Bc8 14. f4 Qxd1 1S. of the conquered Russians pressed into Raxd1. their service. Tartar tactics resembled those of the 31... hS 32. RxaS h4 33. g4 Nxf4 34.Bxc6. hunter, who uses speed, finesse and de- Meshko did not take the outburst for ception to herd his prey where he will, a trick and began to retire fr om the battle­ and then kill it with as little risk to him- field with his knights. Seeing Meshko's self as possible. In the case of their con- retreat, Henry led his fourth battle group frontation with Duke Henry's army, Kaidu into the Tartar lines and once again en­ decided to try a common steppe tactic- gaged in close combat. Aftera fiercefight, attack, false flight and ambush. When the the Tartars again began to flee. Their stan­ engagement began, the Europeans were dard was seen to pull back-its bearer disconcerted because the enemy moved had joined the retreat, and the Polish without battle cries or trumpets; all sig- knights pressed ahead. nals were transmitted visually. 34 ... Rb3 3S. Bg2 Nxg2 36. Kxg2 NdS 37. 1S... Ng4 16. Rfe1c6 17. Nhf3Nd7 18. Ba1 Re4. Rb8 19. e4 bS 20. h3 Ngffi 21. es NhS 22. Things were not as they seemed. The Kh2Nb6 23. exd6 exd6 24. cS NdS 2S. Ne4 European knights had fallen victim to one BfS26. Nxd6 Bc2 27. Rc1 Bxb3 28. Nd2 Bc4 of the oldest tricks in the Tartars ' book- 29. N2xc4 bxc4 30. Rxc4Nhffi 31. Ra4. the fe igned retreat. The riders of the The overall Tartar discipline was steppes, unlike the knights, had been greater than that of the knights, their fo r- taught to retreat as a tactical move, and mations were looser in appearance, mak- in so doing, they drew the knights away

-xi- An Appn•ciutlon

fmm tlu�ir infantry. Once that was accom­ Hungarian rear. By 7 a.m., thL• Europe· plishNI, the Ta rtars swept to either side ans, completely outmaneuvered, were of the knights, who had strung out and fa lling back and took refuge in their camp. lost their own measure of order, and 49 ... Kh6 SO. Rd7 Nf6 51. Re7. showered them with arrows. Other Tar­ For the next several hours, the Tartars tars had lain in ambush, prepared to meet assailed Be la's camp once morewith cata­ the knights as they fe ll into the trap. pults, throwing stones, burningtar, naph­ 37... f5 38. gxfS gxfS 39. Rxh4 f4 40. RbS tha and even Chinese firecrackers. Rxa3 4t. Rbt at 42. Kfl. 51... Nh5 52. Bb2 Bf6 53. Re6 Rg6 54. d5 The dismounted knights were then Bh4 SS. Rxg6t Kxg6 56. Rd2 BgS 57. Rg2 easy prey fo r the Tartar heavy cavalry­ Nf4 58. Rd2 NhS 59. Rg2. men, who ran them down with lance or Then another strange thing occurred. saber with little danger to themselves. The Hungarians discovered that the Ta r­ The Tartars employed one further trick­ tar army that now surrounded the camp smoke drifted across the battlefield be­ had left a conspicuous gap to the west. tween the infantry and the knights who Cautiously, a few of the Hungarians tried had charged ahead, so the fo ot soldiers to escape through the gap and passed and horsemen could not see each other through without difficulty. Others fol­ as the Tartars fe ll upon the knights and lowed and soon the flight became uncon­ virtually annihilated them. trollable. 42 ... f2 43. Nc4 Ra4 44. RhS Nf6 45. Rf5 59 ... Kf560. BeS RxcS61. Bb8 RxdS62. Re2 Rxc4 46. Rxf2. RbS 63. Bc7 Rb7 64. Bd6 Rb3 65. ReSt Kg6 Duke Henry tried to gallopoff the field, 66. Re6t Kf'7 67. Re2 Be3 68. Bc7 Kg6 69. but he was run down by Tartars who Ra2 Nf6 70. Kg2 NdS 71. Bd6 Kf5 72. Ra3 killed him, cut off his head and paraded Rb6 73. Bg3 Ke4 74. Ra4t Kd3 75. RaS Nc3 about Liegnitz with it on top of a spear 76. KO Rf6t 77. Kg4 RfB 78. Bd6 Rf'7 79. as a trophy. With the aid of catapults, the Ra3 Bel 80. Rat Bd2 81. Ra8 Ne4 82. Bh2 Tartars occupied the only bridge over the Nf2t 83. KhS Rf684. Rh8 Ke4 85. Bc7 Kf5 Saj6. On April 10, however, the Hungar­ 86. Bd8. ians charged the bridge, and the lightly As the Hungarians retreated they be­ armored Tartars, having little room to came strung out-at which point the maneuver, took a beating. Again impro­ Tartars reappeared info rce, riding along vising a fo rtified camp on the west side their flanks and showering them with of the river by lashing wagons together, arrows. The Hungarian retreat degener­ Be la pushed on and established a strong ated into a panicky, disorderly rout-just bridgehead on the east side as well. Even as Subotai had calculated it would when while the Tartars were being driven from he deliberately left them that tantaliz­ the bridge, however, Subotai had fo und ing but deceptive escape route. a fo rding point to the south. 86 ... Ne4 87. Bc7 BgS 88. Rh7. 46... Kh7 47. Kg2 Rg8 48. Kh2 Nd549. Rb7. Now, moving in for the kill, the Tar­ just before dawn on April 11, he led tars rode the Hungarians down and killed 30,000 of his horsemen across. Batu then them with lance and saber. swept to the leftflank of the Hungarians, 88... RfB o-t. causing them to turn, while Subotai's Depending on the source, anywhere men hurried northward to strike at the from 40,000 to 65,000 Hungarians and

=xii= Nl•:t.hml•tdlnov, Chl•ss Assassin other European men-at-arms were killed. been their objective. They had, in fa ct, Almost as astonishing as the Ta rtars' in- carried out their assigned task brilliantly. vasion of Europe was their sudden dis- appearance. After their victory at Lieg- Source Used With Permission: Warriors nitz, the northern army left Poland and of the Steppe, A Military History of Central never returned. The truth was that Kaidu Asia, 500 B. C. to 1700A.D. by Erik Hildinger, and Baidar had no intention of ventur- Sarpedon Publishers (Aug. 1997), 272 pgs. ing deeper into Europe-that had never ISBN: 1-885119-43-7.

'1\vo of the Spartak Te am. Tigran Petrosian and Rashid Nezhmetdinov

-xiii - 7th Russian eh. I Yaroslavlt947 Playen 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 to 11 12 13 t4 Polnta Placr Novotyelnov . . . . � ...... 11.5 1 2 Ivashin • • • • • • • • • • • • • 9.5 2-) 3 Nezhmetdinov • • • • • • 11 • • • • • 9.5 2·3 4 Ilivitsky � • • 11111 • • • • • • • 8 4 5 Aronin • • • • • • • • • • 7.5 5 6 Dubinin 11 • • • • • • ••• 7 6-8 7 Sedov • • • • • • • •• 7 6-8 8 Suetin • 11111 • • • •••• 7 6-8 9 Aratovsky • • • • • • ••• 6.5 9 10 Isakov • • ••• • • • • 5.5 10-11 11 Iiskov • • • ••••• 5.5 10-11 12 Nogovitsin • • ••••• 4.5 12 13 Iasvoin • • • • 2 13 14 Petrov 0 14 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14

Candidate to Master 1 Yaroslavl 1947 Players 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 ro 11 12 13 H B Points Place 1 Holmov • • • • • • • • • • • • 10.5 1 2 Nezhmetdinov • • • • • ••••• 11111 8.5 2-4 3 Tarasov • • • • • ••••••• 8.5 2-4 4 Zefirov • • • • • • • • •••• 8.5 2-4 5 Borisenko • • • • • • • •••• 8 5 6 Sopkov 1!!11 • • • • • • • • • • • 7.5 6 7 Nogovitsin • • • • • • • ••• 7 7 8 Bastrikov • • • • ••••• 6.5 8-12 9 Ivashin 11111 . • • • • • •• 6.5 8-12 10 Estrin • • • • • • • • • 6.5 8-12 11 Magergrut • • • • • • • • • • • • 6.5 8-12 12 Gorenstein • • • • • 11 • • • • 6.5 8-12 13 Zherlev • • 11111 11 • • • • • • 5.5 13 14 Bogdanov • • • • 11 • • • • 14 15 Lapin 11111 ••• • 3.5 15 2 4 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15

Board 8 Teameh. I 1948 Players 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Points Place Nezhmetdinov • • • • • • 4.5 1 2 Kogan ••Ill • 11111 . 4 2 3 Klaman • 11111 .1 .2. 3.5 3 4 Kan 3 .. . 11111 .3. 3 4 5 Gongadze •••4 2.5 5-6 6 Perevoznikov • • • 2.5 5-6 7 Forber .5 5 • 7 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

1 Played Shamaev. 2Played Chekhover. 3Played Konstantinopolsky. 4 Played Buslaev. 5 Played Tinovskis. Publisher's Foreword

e've published nearly 100 books dinov and his games. It helped that he W on chess since 1973. In none of also had the requisite enthusiasm fo r them do I recall writing a fo reword, but the project. And, it helped that he could there is always that first time. unearth games not fo und in the regu­ I don't exactly recall how Pishkin and lar chess databases. I got hooked up, but it began with his I have worked on some wonderful huge history of chess championships proj ects in my life as a chess editor, in Russia and the fo rmer Soviet Union. but I haven't had as much fu n and horror This book, when we finally publish it, as this one. will have about 400 games, photos, and Retranslating the "translation" was lots of commentary about the cham­ taxing, but it made me learn so much pionships, the games, the players, and more, and appreciate more-Nezh, the the history of chess behind the scenes­ games, and the job Pishkin did. it will be called 100 Years of Gladiato­ Nezhmetdinov was a creator, of that rial Chess. there is no doubt-look at the games. Because that work took awhile to The man was also a shark, a killer, and translate accurately fr om Alex's Rus­ a magician. He can terrify you-will sian into American English by Alex right now be the time when the "bomb" Cherniak, and because it was so big, I is dropped? wanted to see if I could get another Even when the bomb was dropped proj ect to press before that one. the repercussions weren't always im­ So was born Super Nezh. mediately fe lt. Sometimes he would be For a number of years I wanted to two pawns down in a late middlegame, start an auxiliary publishing firm called or early endgame, and tell himself, "I Ninj a Press, and its works would be am going to win this, it is all calcu­ devoted to true chess assassins such lated." And sure enough, the opponent's as Nezhmetdinov, Kurt Richter, and Leo­ advantage would drift away like smoke. nid Stein. These artistic geniuses would His rival would become desperate and just as soon pound you into chessic fight back with incredible energy, but ground beef as to look at you. And, they generally to no avail. did it with originality, flair, eagerness, His input on the Poisoned PawnVaria­ and repeatedly. tion preceded Fischer's by years. In fact, It helped that Alex knew Nezhmet- his imprimatur was established in a semi- l'uhlislwr's Jlm'l•wnrd nul �illlll' way bark in 19541 llis other seemed to know how to h;uullt• him. idt•;ts in tht• openings also inspired a He played some well known opponents m•w generation of players in the So­ many times while some others most viet Union. of us never knew. But most of all, I picked this guy be­ Playing through his games is exhila­ cause he was just your average-look­ rating. The opening ideas and the proof ing giant killer! When the conditions that many games aren't over until they were right he was afraid of no one. are over- is proven time and time The list of bigshots he defeated, a again-the fat lady was always warming number of them repeatedly, is likea Who's up for Super Nezh's opponents! Who of Important Chess Fatalities: Even the endgames fascinated me. Bagirov I wish I could play like Nezh (I borrowed Boleslavsky the name from the game playing sys­ Bronstein tems, SUPER NES®, because this guy Estrin is action personified). Flohr While proofing the games in the Mas­ Geller terpieces section I was awestruck not Gurgenidze only by their complexity, but by the idea Holmov that some were conceived so far in ad­ Krog1us vance that even chess analysis programs Le in couldn't find some of his diabolical Lutikov winning moves, even if they were left Mikenas (many times) running all day! Polugaevsky Pishkin emphasizes Nezh's unre­ Savon strained imagination. While Nezh had Shamkovich (many times) his losses, he must have scared most Spassky (twice) of his opponents witless! Even if you Sue tin might "see" his coming hammerblow, Tal (three times) the complications seemed to be some­ Vasiukov thing he relished. He would think, and Yu dovich think, and think-then, it would be over. ' He had perseverance in spades, and Ye t, this talented chess assassin never an indomitable will for self discipline received the title of grandmaster! Many even when losing. It didn't matter who of his opponents were, or became, grand­ you were-he sat down at that table masters and world champions. And there with one idea: To Beat Yo u. are many I have not listed (check the Bob Long disk, available from Thinkers' Press). Davenport, 2000 As Purdy would've said, "There must be something wrong with chess." Information about the disk of 450+ Only Furman, Korchnoi, and Taimanov games is on the Colophon page.

=xvi=

Blo�rnphy

t• wns bornon December 15, 1912 Rashid mechanically put the paper in H of a poor Ta rtar family, of a farm­ his pocket and forgot about it. In the hnnd in Aktubinsk, an out-of-the-way evening he remembered the mysteri­ �trppl' town. He remembered little of ous signs, but he was having trouble his parents; they died while he was understanding what was written-he young. His elder brother Kavi took the still could read Russian, though he orphaned children (there were four of couldn't read it well. It turned out that them) to his fa ther's native land, to a the sheet of paper was torn out of the small village in the Nizhegorodskaia prov­ magazine "Smena" and contained the Ince where his fa ther's brother lived, rules of chess. his uncle Gumer. Some days passed. Having come to It was a time of horror and fa mine: a pioneer meeting at the "Communist 1919, the Civil War, and devastation. Club" before the appointed time, Ra­ Little Rashid had remembered an un­ shid entered the reading hall and there pretentious fishsoup on the bank of a saw people sitting at small tables. On lake as a big deal. the tables there were nearly the same Some months later his brother Kavi "thingummies," as he said, that he had took Rashid to an orphanage in Kazan, seen on the scrap of paper. the ancient Tartar capital on the Volga. Rashid came closer to them and be­ He always recalled that home with warm gan to watch with interest the move­ fe elings since it was there that he was ments of the people sitting around the saved from starvation during the 1921 tables. In a couple of minutes he guessed fa mine in the Volga area. He was taught that they were moving the pieces ex­ to read and write in the native Tartar actly as was explained on that scrap language, as well as Russian. He made of paper. fr iends and received an education. From then on Rashid, as if magne­ Rashid lived inthe orphanage fo r three tized, was drawn to the chess tables. years, then his brother brought him to He would stand by for hours, silently his own fa mily. watching them play. Finally, he dared, Kavi was much older than Rashid and in a tremulous voice, to ask permission was like a fa ther to him. All his life Kavi to play a game when one of the adult helped him, fo stering in him a love fo r players stood up from the table. literature and music. Rashid had much Unexpectedly, fo r himself and fo r all to learn from his brother, who later be­ those present, he won! The game was came the fa mous Tartar writer, Kavi played on the condition that the loser Nadzhmi {1901- 1957). He wrote a number leaves, so another player sat dawn at of novels and stories about the years the boy's table. Again a victory! It goes of the revolution and the Civil War on without saying, the chess level of those the Volga and was even awarded the amateurs was not high, but all of them Stalin prize fo r them. were shocked that they were defeated Rashid got acquainted with chess by a youngster who could barely be seen quite by accident. Once, while running over the table. on the staircase during hide-and-seek, A chessplayer by the name Samsonov, he noticed a sheet of paper lying on a well-known in the city, came up to see stair, with some signs and drawings. what all the noise was about. Having

=18= realized what was going on, he imme­ on the Vo lga such a territorial strut:­ diately wrote a note for Rashid, address­ ture, with an unclear name, that united ing it to the city chess club . The note seven republics and regions. went: "I ask you to accept him. He is Even the fa mous V. Medkov, who was very promising." at that time checkers champion of the Overwhelmed with delight, Rashid USSR, came to take part in that cham­ went home and the next day he hur­ pionship. ried back to the chess club. However, All of Rashid's 14 rivals were much he was disappointed as he lost one game more experienced than he. after another. Asit was to be expected, the country's Later Nezh recalled: "Everybody beat champion won the tournament, but Nezh me until 1927." Could anything differ­ took second place and the title of the ent be expected from him? At that time RARO champion. Maestro Medkov gave he didn't have any idea of chess theory high praise to the young checkers player and was fa scinated with blitz. Beaten and even published his games. and discouraged, he stopped playing For several months Rashid was in­ for a year. vited to the Russian checkers champi­ At the end of 1927 Rashid took part onship in Moscow. The newcomer did in his first tournament. It was a city not disgrace himself-he tied fo r sixth championship of Pioneers. Nobody ex­ place and became a firstcategory check­ pected him to be a success. Rashid himself ers player. couldn't even imagine that he would Checkers was not enough fo r Nezh. win all his games-15 victories out of Chess attractedhim no less than checkers. 151 For this result, Nezhmetdinov im­ In his heart these two passions were mediately became a third categoryplayer, fighting, and sometimes checkers got even though before the tournament he the upper hand, but most often chess wasn't even a fo urth category player. won out. After this success his chess career In the spring of 1929 Rashid, encour­ stopped without actually getting started. aged by his victories at checkers, turned Checkers was to blame. He began playing to chess again and began to get suc­ checkers at the beginning of 1928, and cesses there as well. To begin, he won for some time his passion for checkers the small championship of Kazan, and caused him to turn away fro m chess. a year later he scored a victory in the In addition, his success in checkers came "big" championship of the city. andwith to Nezhmetdinov at once, literally at it he became a first category player. the first tournament. Still, checkers once again took the Within a month, afterhe had played lead. In his memoirs Nezh remarked: checkers for the firsttim e, Rashid won "In checkers my improvement came the semi-finals of the city champion­ quicker, and by 1931 I was close to ship, and after that he was second in mastership in skill." By this time the the city finale. 18-year old Rashid had finished school, He had further successes such as in and the time came fo r him to look for the RARO championship held in Kazan his own place in life. He could no longer (RARO-the area of autonomous republics stay with his brother's family-he had and regions). There was at that time to make his own way.

=19= Blo�ruphy

And so he went south, to Odessa. in a fe w years many of 11 s pnrt Id punts First he worked there as a stoker and became famous masters who partici­ spent every evening until the late hours pated in the USSR championships. at the chess club. At last, luck favored Nezh started well, scoring three vic­ him and he got a modest job at the club. tories. Then the more experienced con­ Rashid became a "professional," so to testants sized him up and the sweet speak, chess and checkers player at the life was over. As a result, he didn't even same time. get into the group of the top ten play­ And then began a merry-go-round ers, having lost the majority of his games. of continuous contests. Nezhmetdinov's The tournament threw light on the flaws unique, sparkling style of playing gradu­ of his game: poor knowledge of open­ ally began to take shape. Pretty soon ing theory, the lack of solidity, and self­ all the leading players of Odessa felt control. Going back home he sat down Rashid's heavy hand. In 1933 Rashid to study theory and spend sleepless became the double champion of Odes sa nights over analyses. It was at that time which had a glorious tradition of checkers that Rashid managed to develop a taste and chess. for tedious analysis and constant theo­ Odessa's tough opponents helped retical research. At a mature age, these Rashid when he returned to Kazan. Ac­ qualities compensated, to some extent, cording to him, he learned to defeat for the classical heritage of the chess first category players regularly, and in culture he didn't receive in his youth. the outlying districts of the country Rashid keenly became aware of his where there weren't any masters, that lack of general education: it was required meant a lot. Checkers continued to oc­ for his job since he worked at a stan­ cupy first place in Nezhmetdinov's ac­ dards' bureau;it was also required during tivities. In 1934 he managed to get into his contact with students of the local the finaltournament of the Ru ssia cham­ university since he ran a chess circle pionship where he took fourth place. there. Heentered the department of phys­ It's interesting that newspapers didn't ics and mathematics of a teaching in­ praise his results much. They wrote: stitute. That workload at two places, "The former infant prodigy Nezhmet­ and studying too, would have been more dinov took only the fourth place play­ than enough for any ordinary man. ing, in our opinion, beneath his poten­ Rashid's impetuous nature wasn't like

tial. .." that. In addition, he took part in all At the beginning of 1936 Rashid again the tournaments that he could. won the city championships in chess In 1937, the Kazan team won the chess and checkers. He began to feel that, for tournament for the Vo lga region, and him, it was such a familiar situation it's leader, Nezhmetdinov, became a that it was time to take a more aggressive winner on a personal basis. Next year approach in more than just checkers. Rashid was allowed to take part in the The firstcategory chess tournament All-Union tournament for firstcategory in Rostov-on-Don at the end of 1936 players. In the 30s such annual tour­ became a touchstone. Despite the modest naments were a good school for chess qualification level for the tournament, mastery for the many chess players who in reality it wasn't a modest affair since later became famous. In the 1938 tour-

= 20 = Nt•zhnwt idov, Clwss A�s11�sin nament, held in Gorki, the 16-year old tom part of the tournamentcr osstablt•. Smyslov (he became a master the fo l­ He again lacked theoretical knowlt•dv,t• lowing year), Ufimtsev (the author of and a well-prepared opening rept•rtoin•. the Pirc/Ufimtsev Defense), Stohlberg Who would have believed that Nezhmt•l (a very talented chess player who was dinov would become the Nezl! m!'tcllrwv, killed in the war), and many others the one who would inflict defeat on t• vt• n played. the greatest players of the day if lw Nezhmetdinov didn't succeed in get­ had not become so battle hardened'? ting into the winners circle. Summing Failures only shook Rashid up. lit• up his results, P. Romanovsky, twice a developed a habit in which he analyzt•cl USSR champion, wrote a couple oflines his defeats thoroughly. After the 1940 about Rashid: "Nezhmetdinov's play­ tournament he decided not to try to ing in Kazan was very interesting. Far­ do everything at once and fo r awhile sighted calculation, resourcefulness, and he gave up checkers. a fiery imagination have made him very That year he graduated from the teach­ dangerous fo r every player. Unfortu­ ing institute and was immediately called nately, a rather poor knowledge and up for military service. He was to serve understanding of opening problems in the army in the faraway Baikal re­ turned out to be a serious stumbling gion. In the first months of his service block fo r him." Rashid managed to play chess, and he Ye t, in the next tournament of this won the championship of the Baikal kind, held in the summer of 1939, Nezh military district. It was his last tour­ was beyond compare: he scored 9 points nament for many years to come, June out of 10. For this success he got the 1941 came, and with it, the war. rankingof candidate-master, a title which The war was favorable for Nezh. He had only been recently introduced. Many served on the Amur banks, far away will read that and smile, since now there from the battlefields. It goes without are thousands of candidate-masters and saying though that it was no picnic there, even in very small towns there are plenty since on the other bank of the river, in of first-categoryplayers. However, a smile China, was the mighty Kwang-tung army is inappropriate here, since a present of Imperial japan. A small number of day candidate-master cannot be com­ garrisons posted along the river were pared with his counterpart of 1939, just required to be ready for action on a as a present day ruble can not be com­ moment's notice. In general, chess would pared with a ruble of that era. Suffice be put off until a better time. it to say, that almost all participants He spent nearly five years of his mili­ of that pre-war tournament period tary life on the border of China. In the became masters, and again, masters of summer of 1945, Lieutenant Nezhmet­ the coinage ofthe 40s, not ofthe present­ dinov got a new appointment-he was day. sent to do Soviet military administra­ Again, history repeated itself as in tion in Berlin. In a year he returned to the first category tournament of 1936. the world of chess. The first tourna­ The All-Union candidate-master tour­ ment in which he took part was a cham­ nament of 1940 was equally unsuccessful pionship for military administrators in for Rashid. He took a place in the bot- Germany.

=21 = BioKntphy

Quite surprisingly the tournament ing chess so seriously as to achieve his composition turned out to be rather a long cherished goals, to become a Master good one, because many fine chessplayers of Sport first in chess, and then incheck­ had not yet taken offtheir military uni­ ers. He understood how difficult this form. Hun�ry for chess, Nezh attacked task was afterhis first tournament during his opponents and won all his games peacetime. but two which ended in draws. Only In the Kazan championship he man­ Isaac Lipnitsky, who in a couple of years aged to take only third place out of the became one of the best masters in the six participants. However, this result USSR and a notable theoretician, could can hardly be considered a failure. Among compete with him. the contestants was S. Furman, who At last, in the fall of 1946, Rashid later became a famous grandmaster and was demobilized and returned to Kazan a coach for the world champion Kar­ to resume a peaceful life. He was al­ pov. Master V. Saigin also took part in ready 34, and a half a lifetime was be­ the tournament, and in a few years it hind him. It was necessary to reflect would be no other but Saigin who would on what he had been through and to pave the way to the highest chess moun­ choose what he wanted to do. He had tain for Mikhail Tal when Saigin lost a not yet achieved much success in chess. master qualification match to Riga's Besides, to a great extent, he had lost young chessplayer. Later, and for many the experience and knowledge he had years, a creative friendship connected gained before the war. Nezhmetdinov and Saigin; they often Unfortunately, many records of games analyzed games together and prepared that Nezhmetdinov had played before for tournaments. the war were lost. Only a few were pub­ A signal success came to Rashid in lished, and his personal archives had 1947 when he won the zonal tourna­ not been preserved during the war. ment for the Volga area in Gorki and Essentially, Rashid was to start his got into the championship of the Rus­ chess career over again. His name was sian Federation. In the finals tourna­ not on the list of highly qualified chess ment held in Kuibyshev, Nezh startled players who might count on support all with his start: 7 points out of 7. His from the state. On the other hand, could finish was much less spectacular, and Nezhmetdinov make another career ... master N. Novotyelnov won the cham­ in chess? Like in the humble position pion's title. Even sharing the second of a school teacher? It goes without place was evidence of success for the saying his indomitable nature , that of debutante of the championship. How­ a fighter and a sportsman to the core, ever, the title of master was still far couldn't be satisfiedwith such a future. away. The reason was that ... only three Thus, Rashid had made his choice long masters took part in the championship before, in the years of his youth, and for the whole of all Russia. It's not that it was his choice for all his life. He was they didn't want to play in the cham­ sorry for the lost years, but nothing pionship of the republic, but the fact could be done about that. was that in the post-war years there Nezhmetdinov set a benchmark in were few masters still continuing to which it was necessary to begin play- play.

=22= Nt•zhnwtldov, Chess Assassin

The Sl'Wnd place in lhl' champion­ his play and understanding of the end· ship of Russia didn't bring Nezh the title game. He later wrote a basic manual, of master. Nevertheless, it gave him a Fi nishing Part of a Chess Game. In the chance to be in the almost inaccessible artistic aspects, Lisitsin was Nezhmet­ circle of the bearers of the cherished dinov's exact opposite; he preferred, and title: he was given a right to play a quali­ brilliantly oriented himself in, those po­ fication match with a master. sitions which Rashid had never liked Requirements for the challenger fo r and in which he wasn't very strong. the title were extremely severe. They However, Nezh wasn't distressed when were the same Car! Schlechter was to he learned the name of his rival. He meet in his famous match with Lasker even joked that he would play with the for the world championship: he was not champion of. .. China, Li-Si-Tsin. just to win the match, but to achieve Rashid thoroughly prepared fo r this a victory by two points. {Ed.: This is still match. For three months he had been being debated, but at this time it appears studying the games of the Leningrad that this two point advantage was a myth.] master, especially the endgame. His fate, The Chess Federation appointed Geor­ in the guise of chess bureaucrats, pre­ gy Lisitsin to examine Nezhmetdinov. sented him with a surprise a couple of It was difficult to select a more dan­ days before the beginning of the match: gerous rival. Even before the war Lisitsin a telegram came fr om Moscow stating successfully played in the USSR cham­ that the international master V. Mike­ pionships and the tournaments of nas would come instead of Lisitsin. masters. He possessed a wonderful fe el­ As the old saying goes, it's not worth ing fo r positions and was brilliant in choosing between two evils. The Lithu-

For the ultimate leadership ... Championship of ZabVO. At the chess board is Nezhmetdinov (leftl and V. Baturinsky.

=23 = Hin�raphy anian master had gotten a high inter­ of his life. national reputation as fa r back as the It was necessary to make a new 30s. At that time, fo r many years run­ dash-now or never-Rashid was al­ ning, he had been a leader for the Lithu­ most 38. Success came to him and came anian team at chess competitions and to him where nobody, including him­ even defeated the great Alekhine at the self, expected him to become a success­ prestigious tournament in Kemeri. Rashid in checkers. For 15 years (!) Nezh hadn't had no time to study his new rival, he taken part in any checkers tournament, was to play on sight. The only help he and was not going to take part in any had was Mikenas's article on Alekhine's more. Then fa te offe red him an oppor­ Defense, published inthe magazine Chess tunity. in the USSR shortly before the match. In the fall of 1949 in Kazan, there The study ofthe article brought Nezh­ was held a semifinal fo r the USSR cham­ metdinov success in the first game of pionship in checkers. One of the mas­ the match (February, 1948), and it was ters couldn't come to the tournament a great success. The experienced mas­ and Nezhmetdinov was offered to take ter was defeated in his favorite Alekhine's the vacancy. None of the favorites of Defense in 17 moves. The unexpected the tournament objected to including result encouraged both rivals: it made him into the competition, a notorious Nezhmetdinov more confident, and the outsider who hadn't played checkers examiner more angry. And, it deprived in a long time. Mikenas of an easy assurance ofhis su­ It's quite possible that what happened periority. In the next game Mikenas took at that tournament will never be re­ his revenge on Nezh. Later the match peated, though there are precedents of went on with variable success in a sharp a participant who is included into the and lively struggle. tournament at the last moment being The result was an honorable draw: a success. Nezh didn't have any sports +4, -4, =6, which to some extent sat­ goal in his mind and he played quite isfied both sides. The venerable mas­ freely, fo llowing his intuition. He de­ ter retained his reputation, and though fe ated one favorite after another. The the ambitious competition didn't suc­ result was absolutely spectacular: he ceed in getting Nezh the title of mas­ didn't have a single defeat and he took ter, still he understood that he had first place, leaving his competitors far reached the level of master play and a behind. He reached the master's norm fo rmal presentation of the title was just scoring many more points than were a question of time. necessary. Ye t, two years passed before Nezh­ In the spring of 1950 a collision ap­ metdinov acquired the master's norms. pearedin his world of chess and checkers. During those two years he played a lot Almost simultaneously there was to be in tournaments (for that time). He took held a final for the USSR checkers cham­ part in two Russian championships and pionship and a finaltournament fo r the in the semifinals fo r the 17th champi­ Russian chess championship. This col­ onship of the USSR. He didn't score big lision touched only one man; once again successes there. The reasons were his Rashid was to choose between chess charged emotions and the unsettled state and checkers. In similar situations he

= 24 = Nl•zhnwttdov, Chl'ssAssassin always chose chess. The samr thing second, although a draw in I Ill' last gall\ I' happened that time, and there was a could have made him champion. chance to become unique-to become The people ofKazan, and all the peopl1• a double master. So Nezhmetdinov went ofTartaria who were fo nd of both rlwss to the chess championship in Gorki. and checkers, rejoiced. Many Ta rtar ad The tournament composition was no- mirers of ancient games, and not only table. There was one of the world 's most Ta rtar fa ns but Moslem fa ns as Wl'll, famous grandmasters at that time, Bole­ now had their own hero. A hero? Isn't slavsky; also international masters Kan, it an overly impressive phrase about a Aronin, Dubinin, Novotyelnov, the ex­ chessplayer who had not smelled powdl'l' perienced Ilivitsky and many others. at international tournaments, or who This didn't discourage Rashid. In the had not yet played in the USSR cham first half of the tournament he had al­ pionships, and only recently became a ready broken away fro m the contestants master? and he gained the master's norm long Of course, fo r a present day chess before the finish. Playing with enthu­ fan who is spoiled by a continuous se· siasm to the very end, Nezh took first quence of great tournaments, who hears place. the names of scores and hundreds of grandmasters, it would be funny to hear such an epithet describing just a m as· ter. Stalin's stern era is almost as far away from us as the era of Peter the Great and Catherine the Great. It may so happen that even the pre-revolutionary years of the beginning of the century are perceived as something closer than the phantasmagoric period of the de­ cline of the Stalin regime. In those days "an iron curtain" was raised, but only in one direction-to let an elite group, hardly including more than a dozen of the best chessplayers, go to fo reign tournaments. Even the world champion, and best known So· viet claimants of that title, couldn't go Nezhtnetdinov, 1950 abroad every year. In the period between (fromChess in the USSR} 1948 and 1956 no international tour­ naments were held inside the country. It came true-he was a master and The intramural calendar of compe­ champion of the Russian Chess Federa­ titions was very limited even fo r the tion. With a rush he tried to duplicate leading masters. There were the cham­ the title of champion in the finals of pionships of Moscow, Leningrad and the the Russian checkers championship of Union Republics. Then there were the 1950. Nezh led all the way through, but individual victory and team champion­ at the end he caved in and finished ships, but the latter weren't held ev-

=25= Jlio�o:raphy ery year. There were championships of never have spent all ni�o:ht playtng cards sport societies, but only some of them and have never drank a gla ss of alco­ could boast of being composed of mas­ hol? ters. There were alsoquar ter-finals, semi­ Can we reproach this man who be­ finals, and finals for the USSR champi­ came used to the unsettled life of a bach­ onship and some rare masters' tour­ elor, fo r whom a nomadic way of life naments. That was about it. An active in hotels and dormitories was quite master could hardly play in more than normal? It was this bachelor's nomadic 2 or 3 tournaments a year. life which trained him to endure Spar­ It must be clear now why even an tan-like conditions in his life. He took ordinary master's tournament became his teapot from one hotel to another an event, especially if it was held not and learned to make wonderful tea. in Moscow or Leningrad, but in some Nezhmetdinov's tea was famous among provincial city. If grandmasters took part chessplayers. in such a tournament, it was regarded When he was approaching 40, his as the descent of gods to the earth. A life radically changed-Nezh married. halo of grandeur, of something unat­ Now he had to put an end to the bach­ tainable by ordinary mortals accompa­ elor parties and all-nighters. In addi­ nied leading masters too. It is possible tion, Rashid had gotten tired of the no­ to understand the delight ofKazan fans madic tournament life. At that same when Nezhmetdinov was ordained into time he had gotten a forced break in the dignifed group of "immortals." competitions, such as during the semi­ This delight increased even moreafter finals of the USSR championship, when Rashid's victory in the next Russian cham­ he, together with masters Tarasov and pionship (Yaroslavl, 1951). He didn't start Holmov, ventured into "weakenings of the tournament in the best possible way. their character." This became known but he made a dash toward the finish to those chess functionaries who were line and left behind his main rival, N. "observers" of communist ethics. As a Krogius. result Tarasov, who had especially "dis­ It was time to get into the main tour­ tinguished himself" (he was a brilliant nament of the country, the USSR cham­ chess player, a participant in a number pionship. He didn't make this leap though of USSR championships and a winner it was certainly quite possible for him of one of Russian championships) was to do so. He didn't manage to get into deprived of the title of master, and in either the 19th or 20th championships those years it wasn't, of course, the worst of 1951 and 1952. As Nezh himself ac­ punishment one could get. Nezhrnetdinov knowledged, "some underestimation of and Holmov were fo rbidden to play in opponents who made poor showings tournaments for a year. When the pe­ at the tournaments" had let him down. riod of their disqualification had ex­ There was another reason which, in pired, and the selection of participants our country, was diffidently called a "vio­ for the USSR championship semifinals lation of tournament regimen." How into groups was being made, they were many chess players can go about from dispersed to different cities as a pre­ one tournament to another, and from caution. one hotel to another, and say that they Rashid decided not to lose any time

= 26 = N1•zhnll't idov. Clll'ss Assassin

and lwgan writing his nrsl book. 11 was No. 54), Flohr (Game No. Hl). and Lilienlhal a chess manual in the Ta rtar language, (game No. 55), scoring 4.5 points out the first serious book on chess for his of 7 in the games against grandmas­ nation. It was hard work because some ters. Only Ta imanov's extraordinary per­ terms didn't exist in the Ta rtar language. severance allowed him to draw. At the same time work on this book He was less successful with the (in­ enriched Nezhmetdinov's storehouse of ternational) masters, although Nezh chess knowledge; he was very much didn't spare either himself or his op­ preoccupied with the analyses of games ponents. For instance, playing against and real opening ideas. Bannik he made 144 moves, finishing The year passed and at the begin­ the time controls repeatedly and spend­ ning of 1953 Rashid returned to the chess ing sleepless nights in adjournment world. He started off by playing suc­ analysis. He derived no benefit from cessfully in the championship fo r the that undertaking. Sometimes he didn't sports' team "Spartak," where he took have the strength to play other games. second place after Holmov, ahead of a In the course of the tournament Rashid large group of masters. Then he took had successes as well as failures, but part in the Ru ssian championship which in general, the result was not bad­ was held in April in Saratov. In the first he got into the group of the top ten halfofthe tournament there shone the best players. Some other masters also 18-year old Lev Polugaevsky. After 9 perfo rmed well, among them Korchnoy, rounds Rashid lagged behind him by Furman, Holmov, and Suetin. 1.5 points. Nezh won the remaining six Then something totally unexpected games and once again, for the third time, happened: fo r the first time in many he became champion of Ru ssia, thus years the decision had been made to equalling the legendary Chigorin in send a contingent of completely unknown number of titles. masters abroad to the prestigious in­ Finally the last divide was conquered: ternational tournament in Bucharest. in the semi-finals of the 21st USSR cham­ Undoubtedly, changes in the political pionship, Rashid managed to get a plac­ climate had played a certain role in that ing which gave him the right to play decision. The icy atmosphere of the Stalin in the finals. era was substituted by Khrushchev's Thus, at 41 he was making his de­ wish, although still a very weak wish, but in the USSR championship. fo r a thaw. Nezhmetdinov was among Could he hope to succeed? It goes the lucky ones. without saying Nezh understood it was Before going to Bucharest, the par­ nearly impossible. It was inconceivable ticipants in the coming tournament to expect to get a grandmaster's title, among who, besides Nezh, were Korch­ as one had to become the champion noy, Furman, and Holmov, were invited fo r that. Even second place would get to Moscow for preparation under the one a medal (!). Those were the classi­ guidance of D. Bronstein and I. Bole­ fication strata in those times. He was slavsky. There was such emphasis at­ going to fight even if it was just for tached to the performances of Soviet the sake of his own self- esteem. And chessplayers at that time that no money, he fo ught. He defeated Geller (Game and no time or strength, even from the

=27= lliov;raphy t• lite grandmasters, was spared in their It wa s a USSR team tournnmt•nt held preparation. Only a small group of So­ in Riga. The team " Sparta k ," fo r which viet chess-players, including the world Rashid played, won. Those who play champion M. Botvinnik, members of the very well in team tournaments are es­ Soviet Olympic team, and a number of pecially respected by chessplayers at older grandmasters, enjoyed renown any level. Nezh was a real team player. in the West. His playing on a team made him more This time the Soviet functionaries strict and responsible. He didn't spare decided to demonstrate to the world himself, not only in the analysis of his that the Soviet chess elite had power­ own adjourned games, but as a rule, fu l reserves. The "novices" didn't do too he would become the team analyst. It badly. Viktor Korchnoy most assuredly was so in that championship as well. was the winner ofthe tournament, and Rashid not only won playing on his board, Nezh came immediately behind him, but also brought his team points in the considerably overfulfilling the norm fo r games with the higher placed boards, an international master. Indeed, all fo ur which was especially valuable. Soviet participants fulfilled that norm. The years from 1950 to 1954 were In Bucharest Rashid played with en­ another peak in Nezh's career. It was thusiasm and many wonderful games unlikely that he would achieve anything resulted. His wife Tamara's telegram more at his age with regards to sport­ saying that a son had been born to him, ing titles, but there are no age barri­ which he received at the beginning of ers for creative activity, and Rashid Gib­ the tournament, was also an excellent yatovitch would demonstrate that for encouragement. many years to come. Although with the

Socbi, Chigorin Memorial. MarinaBronnikova, AnatolyLein, Tamara Ivanovna (wife), Iskander (son), Rashid, and arbiter Karen Ogadzhsanian.

1954 was a lucky year for Nezh. He passage oftime, his creative successes became the hero of another tournament. considerably outshone his sporting

=28= Nl•zhnwt idov. Clwss Assassin achievements. being awarded. An award raised the social Nezh didn't manage to win the 1954 status of the citizen, and Rashid was and 1956 Ru ssian championships. He very proud of his medal. took second place and tied for second Who knows whether the govermental place, respectively. In both cases it was award inspired his fu rther chess suc­ fe lt that he lacked the strength to even cess, but the years of 1957 and 1958 go the distance. Then he had success became, again, another peak in his career. in the semi-finals of the 24th USSR cham­ Nezhmetdinov won, twice in a row, the pionship where he divided first place championship of Russia and became a honors with Boleslavsky and his fr iend 5-time champion. The magazine Chess Ta rasov. in the USSR wrote about him: "One can The finals tournamentwhich was held become a competition winner ifhe plays in Moscow at the beginning of 1957 especially attentively and energetically, went down in the annals ofSoviet chess and in an interesting way." history as one of the most important With the same creative enthusiasm and interesting among the Soviet Union he was now known fo r, Nezhmetdinov championships. Its significance lay in played in the semi-finals of the 26th the fact that it became a springboard USSR championship and tied with Spassky fo r the swift upward flight of Mikhail fo r first place. In the same fighting mood Tal. The 20-year old master, fo r the first Rashid went to the finals of the cham­ time, became champion of the coun­ pionship which was held in Tbilisi in try, leaving the grandmaster elite be­ 1959. At the opening ceremonyhe learned hind. Nezhmetdinov didn't win laurels with regret that he was the oldest par­ in that championship, placing in the ticipant. Of course, that couldn't en­ lower half of the tournament table, but courage him. The composition of the he did manage to create a stir by de­ tournament was remarkable and it was fe ating the fre shly baked champion Tal easy to be lost among its participants and his rival, Boris Spas sky. Spas sky was where any one could better than any the same age as Tal and, at that time, other. Still nobody expected that Nezh was the youngest grandmaster in the would come to such a disaster-last world as well as world junior cham­ place but one. In the majority of cases pion. the game would fo llow this scenario: Throughout the whole of Soviet his­ a well played opening, a promising tory, the country's leaders, whoever they middlegame, and then near the end there might be, Stalin, Khrushchev, or Brezhnev, would be mistakes and time trouble. had always treated the leading sportsmen One had to note that Nezh reached very favorably, and fr om time to time that point when, as one master who showed them many kindnesses, awarding was his age put it, "When I am at the them prizes and medals. In 1957 Ra­ chessboard, I see everything, I under­ shid Nezhmetdinov got his turn on the stand everything, but ... " Success left list. It is true, he was not awarded the him even in the Russian championships, highest of orders, he was honored only his favorite tournament.In 1959 he could with a medal. However, for a Soviet man, only split fifth place, and it was even it was not the rank of the award that worse in 1960 when he tied for ninth. was important, but the very fa ct it was Ye t, there was a third peak of sue-

=29= Biownphy rr�s. till' yt•ar 196 1. St•ven years after I lost to Nezhmetdinov(l l)." his first internationaltournament, Rashid That was Tal all over-the objective plil yt•d in his second international com­ knight of chess beauty. At the same time pt•tition. lt was the Chigorin Memorial it was the highest praise for Nezh who in Rostov - on - Don. Foreigners who were also belonged to that limited circle of not used to his impetuousness were de­ Caissa's priests. Before the 1960 World ft•ated, one after another. He was also championship match between tal and successful when he played against his Botvinnik, Tal could have chosen any compatriots as well. As a result, he took of the leading grandmasters as his as­ second place after Taimanov. just like sistant in preparing fo r the big match. Bucharest 1954, he made spectacular He invited Nezhmetdinov, whom he be­ attacks and sacrifices. With this same gan to greatly respect aftertheir memo­ enthusiasm Nezh played at the next rable game in the 24th USSR champi­ Ru ssian championship in Omsk. The tour­ onship, and he considered it a wise de­ nament was also a semi-final fo r the cision. He recalled: "Nezhmetdinov hasn't 29th USSR championship. He didn't be­ been a theorist in the usual sense­ come a champion for a sixth time, but he hasn't got card indexes or overly thick with a powerful finish he managed to notebooks, but his ideas are remem­ take second place even though it was bered. They attract attention because divided among four other contestants. they are out of the ordinary; they have These five were to play for two "tick­ not always withstood the test of time, ets" to a Union championship in an­ but at the beginning they have always other competition. The veteran Nezhmet­ been very dangerous for the opponent." dinov turned out to have the best tie­ In the last ten years of his life he breaks. was rarely a success at tournaments. Nezh didn't have any ambitious plans The logical train of struggle in his games in the country's championship where was more and more often distorted by he again was the oldest. But he was mistakes and time trouble. Even though always eager to fight; he used to say: the sporting results of his performances "Our day will come." He definedhis tour­ were modest, at any tournament, as a nament fate exactly: his result was very rule, he was one of the first to get a modest, but still he had his successful prize for the best game. moments ! When Rashid Gibyatovich was Grandmaster V. Simagin, who was playing his famous game with Mikhail one of the admirers ofNezh's play and Tal (Game No. 10), the commentators who himself was a bright, creative nicknamed him "Evergreen Rashid." chessplayer, wrote: "A youthful fre sh­ Some years later Tal, who by that ness is characteristic of play by the chess time was an ex-world champion and veteran Nezhmetdinov. His talent doesn't who had experienced to the fullest all lose its luster with the years. For many sorts of troubles under the sun, was years running I have been observing asked when was the happiest day of Nezh's creative activity and I have come his life. Usually one would expect an to the conclusion that in the sphere of answer like: "When I became the world sharp combinational play he doesn't champion." finishsecond to the best grandmasters Nothing ofthe kind.Ta l replied: "When in the world."

= 30 = Nt•zhnll't idov, Cl!l'ss Assassin

Sonw sratll'l'l' d tournanwnt sutTessl'S Hl' dividl'd third and fo urt h placl's. Ill' continued to come to Rash id Gibyatovich: didn't fi nish his last game . he was third in the Baku international tournament in 1964; he won in the cham­ pionship of the sports league "Spartak" in the same year; he took part in the 35th USSR championship in 1967. Neverthe­ less, the successes of his pupils and his team, the combined team of the Tartar Republic, were gradually becoming more and more important to him. In the 60s some young chess play­ ers fr om Kazan (Damsky, Voloshin and Smirnov) became masters. Each of them was schooled by Rashid Gibyatovich. He trained them in chess, not only shar­ ing with them his knowledge and ex­ perience, but influencingthem with his personal example. In those years the Tartar team was young. The chess vet­ Super Nezh eran played only on Board One. If we look at the games of the team players, Shortly before he died he started a we can see that it was Nezhmetdinov game with the readers of the newspa­ who demonstrated the most energetic per Socialistic Ta tarstan. Nezhmetdinov and crucial play. One cannot measure never refused to meet with amateur his contribution to the team's success chessplayers and fans. He never played only by looking at the points he brought carelessly in those games, such as by to the team's scorebox. The team's gen­ using only half of his strength, either eral attitude, created by the victories in the performance of a simultaneous of their leader and the example of his exhibition or with a group of amateurs. desire to struggle to the end without He never showed them any difference sparing himself, was even more impor­ in his level of mastery. In the very same tant. The other participants of the team way, he played that last game in ear­ just could not slacken or avoid the nest. Making moves, he even commented struggle. If they did, they would fo r­ on them, thus turning a game into an ever lose the respect of their coach and original chess.lesson fo r thousands of idol. Though the Tartar team of the 60s inexperienced readers of the newspa­ were considered underdogs to other per. Even when bedridden in the hos­ teams in terms of qualificationand sports pital, he didn't stop playing the game. titles, quite often those same teams In June of 1974 the readers didn't finishedlower in the tournament tables see the next move of the Master; in­ than the Ta rtars. stead, in the place of a blackened chess Rashid Gibyatovich was 60 when he diagram therewas an obituary. The game took part in his last tournament. It was was still played to the end-his pupils an open championship in Latvia in 1972. finished it.

=31 = JIIO)(I'Uphy

The author of this book has often "llor me chess is an etl.'rnalenigma thought: what if Rashid had been born and a miracle. Space flight doesn't im­ 50 years later? Wo uld he have been the press us today. It has become ordinary. same Nezhmetdinov7 Could he have been It's nearly impossible to predict a move able to create masterpieces at the chess in a chess game. Even chess pieces are board of the same high standard? capable of behaving in the most incom­ Had he been bornin the 60s, he might prehensible way fo r us chessplayers, have gone to Botvinnik's school, from as well as fo r outside spectators." which came Kasparov. He might have received immeasurably better conditions "For playing well, I need inspiration. for developing his talent: better coaches, Like a capricious woman, it either vis­ a great number of chess books and mag­ its me or it stands me up. Without in­ azines, a lot of competitions and con­ spiration there is no playing well. I am stant contacts with leading figures... not rational enough; therefore games There is no doubt he would have be­ where one should play positionally and come a grandmaster, which he never capture necessary squares, and hold back achieved during his lifetime. He might the opponent, most often end unhap­ have even become a great and promi­ pily fo r me." nent grandmaster. Could he have be­ come the Nezhmetdinov? It's seems "I think, many ofmy chess colleagues hardly possible; the multifaceted per­ have experienced the fo llowing fe eling: son seldom creates masterpieces. you think you are close to success; all At present, chess is, in essence, dif­ you need is to extend a hand anda firebird fe rent fr om chess in the times of Ra­ will be caught. All of a sudden, every­ shid Gibyatovich. At present, results thing falls to the ground. Yo ur hand is (sporting rationalism) reigns supreme, empty, and the firebird of luck has flown and creative improvisation is contra­ to another." indicative. At present, ratings and prizes are fo remostin the minds ofalmost every In commentaries to his game with master, and everything else is second­ Tal, Nezh devoted the fo llowing curi­ ary. To urnament organizers prefer to ous eulogy to a chess knight which was invite mediocre players who have a high one of the main heroes of that remarkable rating, but not those romantics who chess perfo rmance: do not. It is a pity, but chess Don Quixotes, like Nezhmetdinov, To lush, Simagin, and "There is nothing more enigmatic than later Kupreichik, could not survive in a knight. Its possibilities in a definite the present chess climate. situation surpass any imagination. A I would like to conclude this short knight is presented sometimes as a biographical excursion with some of dragon, as a fo rce that cannot be ei­ Nezhmetdinov's statements: ther held back or tamed."

"With every game a door to a mys­ Isn't it true to write that it is not terious world of fantasy, adventure, enough to be a chessplayer, one should enigma and exact mathematical calcu­ also be a real artist? lations is opened for me."

= 32 =

Mu5ll'rplt'Ct's

1. Nge5 Whitl' would sl111ply n•treot to L. Polugaevsky-Super Nezh 11. Bc2, re taining thl' possibility of driv­ A 53 ing the Knight away by f2 -f4. 18th Russian eh. 11. Ng3 Nges Sochi 1958 Nezh rejected the more active 11 ... Nce5 because of 12. Bc2 Bh6 13. f4 1 for 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 d6 3. Nc3 es. fe ar that after White castles long he This is one of the ways of avoiding might lose the initiative. The fa ct is, Siimisch'ssyst em. Black should be ready on 13 ... Nxh2 there was 14. Nce2 and for an early exchange of Queens. Usually 14 ... Nhf.3t 15. gxf.3 Qxhlt 16. Nxh1 Nezh regarded this prospect without Nxf.3t 17. Kd1 Nxd2 18. Kxd2 was not enthusiasm, but he still chose this varia­ dangerous. Afterthe move in the game, tion quite often. castling is not yet possible because of 4. e4 Bh6. Nezh preferred 4. Nf.3. However, 11 ... Bd4!? should be taken 4. exd4 into consideration. After 12. Nd1 Bxb2 5. Qxd4 Nc6 13. Qxb2 (if 13. Nxb2, then 13 ... Nxh2 6. Qd2 g6 14. Be2 Be6 and White will not be able 7. b3 Bg7 to castle long] Nce5 14. Bc2 Nxh2 15. 8. Bb2 0-0 Ne3 then Black had the nice 15 ... Qf6 9. Bd3 Ng4 with the threat of ...NdJt. 10. Nge2 12. 0·0 In the game Alatortsev-Boleslavsky, 18th USSR Ch., 1950, there was: 10. Nf.3 Nge5! 11. Be2 Nxf.3t 12. Bxf.3 Nd4 13. Bd1 f5,and Black captured the initia­ tive.

10. ... Qh41

That is just sol Despite the usual conceptions of open· ing strategy, proceeding from the concrete peculiarities It was necessary to castle as there of the position, Block makes was no time to make moves like 12. on early move with theQueen Bc2 because of 12 ... Nd4!, or 12. Be2 without completing the de· Bh6 13. Qd1 f5. velopment of his pieces, thus 12. ... fSI making White determine the position immediately. Now In this position fe w would the game enters a period refuse the "easily winning" of violent tactical compli· move 12 ... Ng4. It appears cations. that after 13. h3 Nxf2 Block R. N. might win a pawn in the unceasing attack (14. Kxf2 It can be added here that after 10 ... Bd4t 15. Kfl Nest. or 14.

= 34 = Nczhnwtldov, Chess Assussln

Rxf2 QxgJ, or at lost, 14. He5 lb. Qd5l Rt7 1 7. 14 Hxf4. Yet, ufter Qxfl Bd4). If you consider 18. Nce2 Bxg3 19. Nxg3 White would the position more deeply, create some serious counterplay. you con understand that all 14. Qd1 f4 this is not os simple os it It was worth paying attention to appears to be at first sight. 14 ... Be3t 15. Kh1 and only now 15 ... After 12 ... Ng4 13. hJ Nxf2 f4 16. Nge2 Nxd3 17. Qxd3 Nb4. 14. Qxf2 Bd4White may sud· 15. Nge2 gs denly sacrifice the Queen 16. NdS g4 fo r two minor pieces: 15. 17. g31 Qxd411 Nxd4 16. Nd51. Here White's crafty defense certainly in­ the usual material consid· creased the worth of the game and erotions recede into the back­ presented serious problems to Rashid ground and the concrete pe­ because if Black's pieces were driven culiarities of the position away from the attacking position, come to the foreground. De­ White's counterattack wouldn't take spite Block's solid material long to begin. advantage, White's position Of course White couldn't play 17. is in no way worse than Nxc7? because of 17 ... g3. Then 18. h3 that of Block, and psycho­ Bxh3! with a decisive attack. logically o sudden turn of 17. fxg3 events isonly in White's fovor. 18. hxg3 Qh3 R. N. 19. f4 Be61 The stereotypical continuation of It was a pity, but the sacrifice of 19 ... Nf3t canbe ruinous for Black the Queen, suggested by Nezh, was fan­ because of the attack 20. Kf2 Qh2t 21. tasy of the first order. After 16 ... c5! Ke3. Instead ofthat, Black found a witty 17. Ne2 Nxe2t 18. Bxe2 f5 19. Rf4 Qd8 resource allowing him to keep the Knight 20. exf5Bxf5 21. g4 Qg5, and 22 ... Rae8, at the most important e5-square. White has no compensation for the 20. Bc27 Queen. That's why 12 ... Ng4 was good, 20. fxe5 was forbidden because of and may well be the best move. After 20 ... Bxd5 threatening 21... Be3. 13. h3 Nxf2 14. Rxf2 Qxg3 15. Ne2 Qh4 16. Bxg7 Kxg7 17. Rafl. Sure,Black can't attack, but as compensation he had a healthy extra pawn. 13. f3 White had to defend, but the move played was not best. Now Black gets the initiative for a long time. There was a way to equalize: 13. exf5Nxd3 14. Qxd3 Bxf5 15. Nxf5Rxf5 16. Rael. 13. ... Bh61 As the game went on to show, this No doubt Black can win the pawn retreat was unsuccessful. It would be with 13 ... Nxd3 14. Qxd3 Bd4t 15. Kh1 difficultfo r White to defend, mainly

=35 = Mustrrplrcrs because of the diffe rent ways of ut­ Sunk In thought fo r o long tacking the f4 -square_ So, in the event time, I understood that I of 20. Bel, then 20 ___ BxdS 21. cxdS was to soy good-bye to oil Nd41. The fork wouldn't work either: hope and that I was losing 20. Nxc7? Rxf4! 21. Rxf4 Bxf4 22. Nxf4 a game that would be spread Qxg3t 23. Ng2 Rf8, and Black's threats all over the world. were irrefutable. L. Polugaevsky 20. Bxe5 wasn't any better because of 20 ... NxeSI And again, 21. Nxc7 25. Rxh2 wouldn't work because of 21. .. Rxf4!. All this time the helpless position The position in this diagram has of the Bishop on c2 had been telling been analyzed by many. Another re­ upon White's position: 2S. Nxf4 Nxc2t; treat was offered by 20. Bbl!? It was 2S. gxf4 Bxf4t 26. Nxf4 [26. Kd4 Qf2t clear that the white Bishop must be 27. Kc3 QcS#] Nxc2t. moved because of20 ... Bxf4. After 20 ... 25 .... Rf3t BxdS 21. QxdSt Rf722. Kf2 Bg7 23. Bc3 26. Kd4 Bg711 Nf324. Bxg7 Kxg7. Black's attack was dangerous, but White can still defend himself. 20. ... Rf7 Black takes a time out to make a defensive move. Now there won't be a check on d5. 21. Kf2 Qh2t 22. Ke3 Bxd5 23. cxd5 In case of 23. QxdS [23. exdS? Re8] Black has few men for his Queen, there is 23 ... Nb4 24. Qd2 Rxf4! 2S. gxf4 and still ... he makes a quiet move! A Bxf4 26. Nxf4 Nxc2t, and it would be threat had been prepared: 27 ... est 28. over. That would be the result of the dxc6. If 28 ... bxc6, then 29. Bd3 would mistake on move 20. stop the immediate mate, but not the 23. ... Nb4 loss of the game. On 28 ... bS, then 29 ... 24. Rhl Nexc6#. 27. a4 Alas, this would have warded off only the second threat, not the first. Let's put ourselves in Polugaevsky's place. It's our move, we have an ex­ tra Queen. How can White be finished off? Let's try something:

• 27. Ngl Ned3t [certainly it was possible to include 27 ... Rxg3 28. Ne2 Rf3 29. Ngl est 30. dxc6 Ned3t-+ ] 28. 24 .... Rxf411 Kc4 Nxb2t 29. Kxb4 Bc3t 30. Ka3 bS! 31. Qd4 Bxd4 32. Nxf3 Bc3! 33. b4 Nc4t

=36= Nl'7.hml'tldov, Chl'S!Ass!l!!ln

34. Kb3 Bxa l 35. Ng5 Be51, und Block 32. KbS Rb8t would be winning. 33. KaS Nc6f. • Or 27. Nf4 b5 28. Qxf3 Nxf3t 29. White re signed (O-tt. Ke3 Bxb2-+. I think this is the most beau­ tiful game of all I hove played. -R. N.

As for most us, we think that hl'is too modest in the evaluation of t ht• game. Let everybody who considl'rs himself a more powerful chess pluyrr than Rashid Gibyatovich ask himself: "Can I ever create anything like it?". After 27. Nc317 (analysis below} However, a chess game is a canvus made by two artists, and to create such

• Or lastly 27. Nc3!? Rxg3 [threat­ a masterpiece the opponent's compo­ ening 28 ... a6!!, followed by 29 ... Nec6t sure and persistence are necessary us 30. Kc4 Rxc3tl 31. Bxc3 bS#!] 28. RhS well. So Polugaevsky should certainly Nbd3!, or 28. NbS a6!, or 28. Ne2 Rf3 be considered the co-author. with a transposition after 29. Ngl to the firstvariation already considered. The variations are fantastically com­ 2. plicated. Certainly, in the interests of Super Nezh-A. Suetin the chess truth they ought to be studied B62 to the end. Is it in our power to do 7th Russian eh. this? Let's give this opportunity to the Ku ibyshev 1947 meticulous reader. We shall confi ne ourselves to Nezhmetdinov's quote: 1. e4 cS 2. Nfl Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 d6 6. BgS It goes without saying it e6 7. Bc4. was impossible to consider at the chessboard (lt oilprob­ able continuations. The com­ binationwas intuitive, there­ fo re it was because of this that it was hard to decide upon it. -R. N.

27. est 28. dxc6 bxc6 This move is justly condemned by 29. Bd3 Nexd3 1 theory.Black can get a comfortable po­ 30. Kc4 dstr sition by a natural and logical way: 3L exds cxdst to castle soon and then Nf6xe4 and d6-

=37= Muatrrplt'Cl'' because of the different wuys of ut­ Sunk In thought fo r o long tacking the f4-square. So, in the event time, I understood that I of 20. Be 1, then 20 ... Bxd5 21. cxd5 was to soy good-bye to all Nd41. The fo rk wouldn't work either: hope and that I was losing 20. Nxc77 Rxf4 ! 21. Rxf4 Bxf4 22. Nxf4 o game that would be spread Qxg3t 23. Ng2 Rf8, and Black's threats all over the world. were irrefutable. L. Polugaevsky 20. Bxes wasn't any better because of 20 ... Nxe5! And again, 21. Nxc7 25. Rxh2 wouldn't work because of 21 ... Rxf4!. All this time the helpless position The position in this diagram has of the Bishop on c2 had been telling been analyzed by many. Another re­ upon White's position: 2S. Nxf4 Nxc2t; treat was offe red by 20. Bbl!? It was 2S. gxf4 Bxf4t 26. Nxf4 [26. Kd4 Qf2t clear that the white Bishop must be 27. Kc3 QcS#) Nxc2t. moved because of20 ... Bxf4. After20 ... 25 .... Rf3t BxdS 21. QxdSt Rf7 22. Kf2 Bg7 23. Bc3 26. Kd4 Bg711 Nf324. Bxg7 Kxg7. Black's attack was dangerous, but White can still defend himself. 20. ... Rf7 Black takes a time out to make a defensive move. Now there won't be a check on d5. 21. Kf2 Qh2t 22. Ke3 Bxd5 23. cxd5 In case of 23. QxdS [23. exdS? Re8) Black has few men for his Queen, there is 23 ... Nb4 24. Qd2 Rxf4l 2S. gxf4 and still ... he makes a quiet move! A Bxf4 26. Nxf4 Nxc2t. and it would be threat had been prepared: 27 ... est 28. over. That would be the result of the dxc6. If28 ... bxc6, then 29. Bd3 would mistake on move 20. stop the immediate mate, but not the 23. ... Nb4 loss of the game. On 28 ... bS, then 29 ... 24. Rhl Nexc6#. 27. a4 Alas, this would have warded off only the second threat, not the first. Let's put ourselves in Polugaevsky's place. It's our move, we have an ex­ tra Queen. How can White be finished off?Let's try something:

• 27. Ngl Ned3t [certainly it was possible to include 27 ... Rxg3 .28. Ne2 Rf3 29. Ngl eSt 30. dxc6 Ned3t-+ ] 28. 24.. .. Rxf411 Kc4 Nxb2t 29. Kxb4 Bc3t 30. Ka3 bS! 31. Qd4 Bxd4 32. Nxf3 Bc3! 33. b4 Nc4t

=36= Nrlhnwtldov, Chr�s Assussln

34. Kb3 Bxa l 35. Ng5 Be51, ond Black 32. KbS Rb St would be winning. 33. KaS Nc6t. • or 27. Nf4 b5 28. Qxf3 Nxnt 29. White re signed (O-lt. Ke3 Bxb2-+. I think this is the most beau­ tifulgame of oilI hove played. -R. N.

As for most us, we think that he is too modest in the evaluation of the game. Let everybody who considers himself a more powerful chess player than Rashid Gibyatovich ask himself: "Can I ever create anything like it?". After 27. Nc317(analysis below} However, a chess game is a canvas made by two artists, and to create such

• Or lastly 27. Nc3!? Rxg3 [threat­ a masterpiece the opponent's compo­ ening 28 ... aG!I, followed by 29 ... NecGt sure and persistence are necessary as 30. Kc4 Rxc3t! 31. Bxc3 b5#1) 28. RhS well. So Polugaevsky should certainly Nbd31, or 28. NbS aG!, or 28. Ne2 Rf3 be considered the co-author. with a transposition after 29. Ng 1 to the first variation already considered. The variations are fantastically com­ 2. plicated. Certainly, in the interests of Super Nezh-A. SUetin the chess truth they ought to be studied 862 to the end. Is it in our power to do 7th Russian eh. this? Let's give this opportunity to the Ku ibyshev 1947 meticulous reader. We shall confine ourselves to Nezhmetdinov's quote: 1. e4 cS 2. NO Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 S. Nc3 d6 6. BgS It goes without saying it e6 7. Bc4. was impossible to consider at the chessboard (lt all prob­ able continuations. The com· binotionwas intuitive, there· fore it was because of this that it was hard to decide upon it. -R. N.

27. est '28. dxc6 bxc6 This move is justly condemned by 29. Bd3 Nexd3 t theory. Black can get a comfortable po­ 30. Kc4 dStl sition by a natural and logical way: 31. exds cxdst to castle soon and then Nf6xe4 and dG-

=37= Mu�tt•rpll'n•s d5 with a re leose of the tension. Nezh A new loss of trm po whlrh pla ced himself recommended this particular Black into a ditt1cult situot ion. Though plan. Another promising idea was dem­ 12 ... Bxd6 13. Qf3 would give White onstrated by Larsen in one of his games an opportunity to develop an attack at the Olympiad in Siegen, 1970: 7 ... Qb6 in the center, it would still allow Black 8. Bxf6 gxf6 9. Ndb5?! [9. Nb3 was better to defend. though it's high time for White to 13. Qf3 fS struggle for equality) Ne5 10. Bb3 Rg8, 14. Rd1 Qc7 and White had gotten into difficulties. 15. g41 Nezh's choice of his seventh move For the sake of opening lines, White could very likely be explained by his was ready to w� aken the cover of his desire to entice his young rival, who own King. There was no fear of a coun­ later became a prominent opening theo­ terattack on Black's part because of rist, to still unknown paths. Black's lack of development. 7. ... a671 15. ... fxg4 White's intention was justified:Black 16. Qxg4 Bb77 lost time in vain. A critical moment in the game. Black 8. Nxc6 bxc6 has serious defensive problems which 9. e5 Qa5 are difficult to solve by simple means. Nezh considered this move best, but Black's passive move can only be ex­ the course of the game didn't confirm plained so: Suetin saw White's oppor­ this viewpoint. If9 ... dxe5 he proposed tunity to begin a direct attack with the following: the Bishop sacrifice on e6. However, he also saw that the attack was not 10. Qfl Bd7 11. 0-0·0 Be7 necessarily deadly, and knowing Nezh's 12. Bxf61 Bxf6 13. Rd3 Qc7 passion for swift attacks, he played 14. Rhd1 RdB 15. Ne4 Be7 Bb7 provoking the sacrifice. 16. Nd6t Bxd6 17. Rxd6 Ke7 If we rej ect psychological specula­ 18. Qgl. and White restores tion, we see that Black's move is not the material equilibrium in good. He should have looked at 16 .... a considerably better posi­ Rb8, and if 17. Ne4 then 17. ... Qe5 tion. with Be7 to follow. White retains the initiative, but Black retains defensive Damsky proposed reinforcement: opportunities. 10 ... Be7! 11. Bxf6 [or 11. Qxc6t Bd7 12. Qf30-0 13. 0-0 Qc7) Bxf6 12. Qxc6t Bd7 13. Qf30-0 14. Rd1 Qc7 15. Bd3 Rab8, and Black would achieve good play. 10. Bxf6 gxf6 11. exd6 Qe5t 12. Kfl l Playing without prejudices. After 12. Qe2 Bxd6 13. 0-0-0 Rb8, White would castle but lose the initiative. 12. ... Qxd67

=38= Nrzhml•tldov, Chrss Assussln

Now comes o rombinotion colculoted Storting the socrifice ot move 17, fm ohead, which befittingly crowns White had to have foreseen this "royal" the game. After 16 ... Bd7 17. Ne4 Be7 move after which Black would have 1S. Qg7 Black probably wouldn't es­ had to part with his Queen. cape either, but would have retained 24. Qd6 practical chances fo r defense. Trans­ 25. Rd1 Qxd1t ferring the Bishop away from defending 26. Kxd 1 Bxf6 the e6-square, Black certainly saw the 27. Qxf6t Kc7 subsequent outcome but hoped to re­ 28. Qe7t Kb6 fu te it ... 29. c4 17. Bxe6?1 Afterseveral more moves Black sur­ The tempting bishop sacrifice leads rendered. (1·0t. to the win, but should have lost the The game was awarded a prize for advantage. 17. Qh5! is a clever ma­ "its beauty." neuver which makes it difficultto defend against the threatened Bxe6. Perhaps 17 .... BcS must be play1ed, when Black 3. must regret his provocation, and now Super Nezh-M. Kamysbov after 1S. Rg1 or 1S. Ne4 White has a B 10 siginificant advantage. 10th Russian eh. · 17. ... fx e6 Gorki 1950 18. Qxe6t Be7 For 1S... Qe7 Nezh had prepared 19. 1. e4 c6 2. Nf3 d5 3. Nc3 Nf6. QfS!BcS 20. Qf3! [But not 20. Qh5t Qf7 just like 3 ... d4, this continuation 21. RdSt Ke7 22. Qg5t Qf6 23. ReSt Kf7 was not the best one. The line with a 24. Qh5t Qg6 and Black is winning, safe reputation is 3 ... Bg4 4. h3 Bxf3 or 21. Qe5t Qe7 22. QxhS? Bh3t.J with 5. Qxf3 e6, a position which is solid the following effective variant: 20 ... and for which there are no problems. Qc7 [Ed.: The defensive move 20 ... Ra7 If 3 ... d4, White gets the advantage poses some real problems for White by playing 4. Ne2 c5 5. Ng3 Nc6 6. Bc4 as there is no obvious killer reply such es 7. d3 Be7 s. 0-0. as in Nezh's response to 20 ... Qc7.) 21. 4. e5 Ne4 Re1t Be7 22. Rg1 RfS 23. Qh5t KdS 24. 5. Ne21 Rg7 ReS 25. Nd5! Qa5 26. QxeS!!. This idea, which is now universally 19. Ne4 Bc8 acknowledged, belongs to master L. 20. Nf6t Kf8 Savitsky. This talented chessplayer only 21. Rd71 lived 24 years yet managed to play in Now there would be nothing to de- two USSR championships in the 30s. fend the white squares. On 5 ... Bg4, Savitsky answered6. Nfg 1 (! !) 21. Bxd7 and Black was obliged to retreat, though 22. Nxd7t Ke8 the black Knight's path of retreat was ·23. Nf6t Kd8 awkward: 6 ... Bd7 7. f3Nc5 S. d4 Nca6 After 23 ... KfS White would have 9. c3. The Knight's wandering led Black won immediately with 24. Rgl. to be restrained in his play, Savitsky­ 24. Ke21 Ve resov, 9th USSR Ch., 1934.

=39= Mastl'rpll'fl'S

5. ... Qb6 12. Nxb s Qxbs Nezh consideredthis move to be weak, 13. Ret l Nf671 but here it looks as if the question isn't 13 ... e6 looked better, but ... it would about one isolated move. After 5 ... e6 have lost immediately because of 14. [or 5 ... g6] 6. d3 NcS 7. d4 White would c41 Qa5 [or 14 ... Qb6] 15. Rxe41 and get an advantage in the center, since not 15 ... dxe4, due to 16. Qd7#!. The on 7 ... Ne4 we would get the already only chance to resist [and to resist with fa miliar 8. Nfg 1!. persistence] was 13 ... Rd8!. Damsky 6. d4 CS points out the following: 14. Nxf7Kxf7 7. dxc5 Qxcs 15. Rxe4 dxe4 16. Qxd8 g6 17. Qd4 Bg7 Boleslavsky considered 7 ... Nxc5 as 18. Qxe4 Rd8 19. Qf3tKg8 20. c3 aS, preferable, but still not sufficientfor and White should make a great effort equalization: 8. Nf4 e6 9. Be2 Be7 10. to use the extra pawn. After 13 ... Rd81, 0-0 0-0 11. c4 dxc4 12. Bxc4 Nc6 13. Qe2 White shouldn't have sped up the play. Na5 14. Nh5! with White having the 14. Qf3 was worth considering, and initiative. if 14 ... Nf6, then there was 15. g4 h6 8. Ned4 Nc6 16. h4, and on 14 ... Nd6-15. a4 QaS 9. BbSI 16. c3 White would have strong pres­ It was possible to play more qui­ sure for the pawn. etly: 9. Be2, as in the game Solcolslcy­ 14. Bg5 e6 Holmov, 17th USSR Ch., 1949. Nezh didn't 15. c41 like the unclear complications which A calculated blow in the cent er was could come from 9 ... gS!?. the beginning of the finalassault. Black 9. ... Bd7 shouldn't take that pawn: 15 ... dxc4 16. Bxf6 gxf6 17. a4! Qd5 18. QxdS exd5 If 9 ... o6, then 10. Bxc6t 19. Ng6t. bxc6 11. 0-0 Bg4 12. Bel Qc4 15. Qa5 13. cl e6 14. bll Qxcl 15. 16. Bxf6 gxf6 Rcl Qb2 16. Rc2 Qol 17. Nxc6 with the threat Bel. R. N.

10. 0-0 Here there was no going back: it was necessary to sacrificea pawn, as 10. Bxc6, can not be seriously regarded. 10. ... Nxe517 Of course, this is risky, and Nezh put a question mark to this move. What 17. Nxf711 he recommended, namely 10 ... e6, is With the King stuck in the center even worse: after 11. Be3 Nxd4 (11 ... of the board, this sacrifice was as logical Qb4 12. c4 dxc4 13. Qc2] 12. Bxd7t Kxd7 and natural as it was spectacular. 13. Nxd4 the position of the black King 17. ... Kxf7 in the center is fraught with danger. 18. Qh5t Ke7 11. Nxes Bxb5 18 ... Kg8 would have been followed

=40 = Nc:r.hmctldov, Chess A�su�sln by 19. Qg41 Bg7 20. Qxe6'1 Kf8 21. Qd6'j 10. b4 Kg8 22. Re7 and, it would have been Sharp play with the intention to at­ all over. tack on the Queen's wing . As Black had 19. cxds es no weaknesses, such a move could allow 20. f4 QxdS counterplay as well. [Ed.: If 20 ... Qb6t. then 21. Kh1 Bg7 10. Ne6 draws. We do not knowwhy Black didn't 11. Nb3 Nd7 play it except he probably thought that 12. Bb2 NeS 20 ... Qxd5 wins because of his extra 13. NaS Nd4 Rook.) This is an attempt to maneuver the 21. fx es f5 Knight to c6. 22. e6 Kf6 23. h41 But of course Black has at Using very limited forces, White at­ his disposal the "normal" tacked successfully, and now came the 13 ... Rb8 14. Rct f5 with final touch. approximatelyequal chances. 23 .... BeSt 24. Kh1 Qxe6 14. Na4 25. Qh6t The flanking attack of a Knight's Black surrendered 11-0t. detached force on the queenside looks rather suspicious when opposed to the centralization of the black Knight on 4. d4. Nevertheless, it is not a bad idea A. Lilienthal-Super Nezh as Black must defend against the pressure A 54 along the h1-a8 diagonal. Perhaps 14. Semi:finals 19th USSR eh. Nb5?! Nxb5 15. cxb5 Rb8 16. Bd4! is Baku 1951 more energetic, and Black has some difficultydefending his queenside. If 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 d6 3. Nc3 es 4. the game wereto follow this line, Black NO Nbd7 5. g3 exd4?1. would probably regret his Knight's raid This was, by no means, a fo rcedsur­ in the center [13 ... Nd4). In this posi­ render of the center. The usual continu­ tion, Nimzovich's well known apho­ ation is 5 ... c6 6. Bg2 e4 and 7 ... d5. rism 'A threat is stronger than its ex­ 6. Nxd4 ecution' finds real confirmation. The Taking into account that the Knight fact is that the immediate exchange could no longer attack the Queen, it on b7, i.e., 14. Nxb7 (14. Bxb7 Bxb7 15. was worth looking at 6. Qxd4. Nxb7 Qb8 16. Nd5 Qxb7 17. Bxd4 c6 6. g6 18. Ne3 Qxb4 is equal) Bxb7 15. Bxb7 7. Bg2 Bg7 Rb8 16. Nd5 Ne6 17. f4 Rxb7 18. fxe5 8. 0-0 0-0 c6 gives White nothing. 9. b3 14. ... cS?I After 9. e4, White could have moved Nezh excitedly pours oil on the flame into the usual positions ofthe King's of the battle. Objectively, 14 ... Ndc6 Indian Defense. 15. Nxc6 Nxc6 16. Bxg7 Kxg7 is stron­ 9. ... NcS ger. Though Black'� position remains

=41 = solid, it lost•s oct ive ploy, sonwthill!J 22. QxfJ Bxo l 23. Nb'.l Be5 24. Qxd3. Nezh would never consent to volun­ The attack wasn't a success; the move tarily. 17 ... h5 derives no benefit for Black] 15. a3 18. Bxa8 [18. f3 doesn't strengthen the Solid, but 15. Nxb7! is more ener­ position: 18 ... Bh3 19. Bxa8 Qxa81 20. getic-now this exchange is convincing: Rf2 d3 21. Ra2 Bh61 22. f4 Ng4 23. exd3 15 ... Bxb7 16. Bxb7 Rb8 17. bxc5! dxc5 Nxf2 24. Rxf2 Bg7 25. Nb3 Re3! with 18. Bd5 and White has an extra pawn the most dangerous threatofQe8.) Qxa8 and a nice position. 19. f3 Bh6!. And now: 15. ... Bg41 a) 20. Qxd4 Nxf3t 21. exf3 Be3t Black again tempts his rival with the 22. Qxe3 Rxe3 23. fxg4 Re2 24. Rf2Qe8 b7-pawn. Froma chess expediency point 25. Nb2 [Bad are 25. b5 Re1 t or 25. Nc3 of view it would be 'better' to continue Rf1 t.J Qe3, and Black's chances are better; 15 ... Qe7 16. Bxd4 cxd4 17. Rc1 leaving b) 20. Kh1 d31 21. e4 Bxf3t 22. Rxf3 White with a pawn advantage on the Qxe4 23. Kg2 d2 with a dangerous at­ queenside, but material equality. As a tack, e.g., 24. Nc3 Qxf3t 15. Qxf3 Nxf3 matter offact, psychology begins to play 26. Nd1 Nd4; the leading role. It reminds one of poker, c) 20. Kg2 d3 21. e4 Nxf322. Qxd3 where each of the players, acting with Rxe4! and here White's position is in an assurance of success, raise the bet trouble. higher than their cards warrant, and B. 17. Nxb7 Qd7 18. Na5 d3 19. Nc3 finallyan opponent folds, takinghis word dxe2 20. Nxe2 Nf3t 21. Bxf3 Bxf3 22. for it. Ra2 Rfe8 23. Qd3. This position is pref­ 16. Bxd4 cxd4 erable for White, but instead of 19 ... dxe2 Black can play 19... Rac8 20. Rc1 Rfe8 with compensation for his pawn. So, we can conclude that Lilienthal made the wrong decision by not tak­ ing on b7. It would have been better to play 17. Nxb7 with equal chances. Now, the initiative is in Black's hands. 17. Be6 18. cS

17. h3 Aftera long think, Lilienthal believed his opponent and refused to take the b7 pawn. It's a critical point in the game. Let's examine what this deci­ sion means-was it a fatal hesitation or prudence? Observe: A. 17. Bxb7 ReS! [Nezh gives the following variation in his analysis: 17... h5 but this is hardly correct: 18. Bxa8 18. ... bSI Qxa8 19. f3Bh3 20. Rf2 d3 21. e4 Nxf3t The decisive blow. Now White was

= 42 = forced to take material nnd leave his 5. King without a defender. Super Nezh-Luslkal 19. cxb67 085 Ta king on a8 in such a position is Simultaneous Exhibition no doubt unacceptable. White should Ka zan 1951 have stepped back: 19. Nb2 dxc5 20. Nb7 Qc8 21. Nxc5 Bxh3 and Black has 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 dS 4. the advantage but after the move in cxds Nxds 5. e4 Nxc3 6. bxc3 the game White's position quicklywors- CS 7. BbSt. ens. It's interesting to note that this very 19.. .. axb6 continuation is now at the center of 20. Bxa8 attention of both practical players and At last White takes the exchange theorists. offered by Black. However, it is prac­ 7. ... Nc6 tically forced. There is nothing good Nowadays 7 ... Bd7 is usually played. fo r White after 20. Nc6 Nxc6 21. Bxc6 8. dS QaS Rc8 22. Rc1 [22. Bg2 d3] Bxh3. 9. Qa4 Qxc3t 20. Qxa8 10. Ke2 Bd7 21. Nxb6 Qa6 Black can't take the Rook: 10 ... Qxa1 22. Na4 Bxh3 11. dxc6 Kd8 12. Nf3Qf6 13. Rd1 t Kc7 23. Rc1 14. Bf4t Qxf4 15. cxb7 Bxb7 16. Qa5t On 23. Re1 there would have followed Kb8 17. Qd8t with a quick mate. A better the same blow [23 ... d3] as in the game. continuation was found not long ago. 23. ... d31 The game S. Kiselev-Dvoirys, Russian 24. exd3 eh., Elista, 1994 continued: 10 ... Bg7!? On 24. e3, Nezh had prepared 24 ... 11. dxc6 0-0 12. cxb7 Bxb7 13. Rb1 c4! d21!, putting a stop to any remaining 14. Bxc4 Rac8 15. Bb5 a6 16. Bd2 axb5 resistance. 17. Qxb5 Qc2 18. Qxb7 Rfd8 19. Nf3Qd3t 24. ... Qa8 20. Kd1? [20. Ke1!=] and now 20 ... 25. f3 Ng41 Rc2 and White surrendered. By energetic strokes Rashid Gibyato­ 11. dxc6 bxc6 vich finishedthe canvas with a pow­ 12. Bxc6 Rd81 erful attack. White was helpless. 26. Nc4 A beautiful variation finished the game after 26. Rf2 Bd4 27. Rcc2 Re8 28. Nc4 Qxf3!! with an inevitable mate. 26. Bd4t 27. Kh1 QdS 28. Rc2 Bxfl White resigned (0·1t.

Here ECO stops its analysis, taking a stand in favor of Black. True, on the e�pected 13. Rb1, Black prepared 13 ...

=43= Ma!terpieces

Qd3"jll 14. Kxd3 Bxc6t and 15 ... Bxa4, not make one of his own moves, and getting an endgame with an extra pawn. he received a prize fo r 'Beauty.· It cannot but arouse admiration how 22. KhS Nezh, in an offhand manner during 23. g4tl Kxg4 the simul (!!), found the correct solu­ 24. Qxe6t Kf4 tion of a position which was beyond In Klarenbeek-Van Gaalen, Ghent, 1992, such venerable theoreticians as A. Kar­ Black played 24 ... Kh5 and was mated. pov, an author of the corresponding 2S. BeSt Kxe4 section in ECO, and Boleslavsky, who 26. NgS#I had written a monograph on Griinfeld's (1-0t. Anderssen would have envied Defense (Berlin, 1976) and who recom­ such a game. mended 13. Bxd7t Rxd7 14. Nf3 Qd3t with a perpetual check. 13. Qb311 Qxa1 6. After 13... Qxb3 14. Bxd7t Black SUperNezh-E. Paoli would have remained down a piece. 895 14. Bb2 Qb1 Bucharest 1954

1. e4 cs 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 s. Nc3 a6 6. BgS e6 7. Qf3. The continuation 7. f4 , later re­ cognised as the main one, was just pav­ ing its way at that time. It was Nezh who, together with Tolush, first dis­ covered this new idea, which later became very popular. 1S. Nf311 7. ... Be7 Brilliant! The romantic games of the 8. 0-0-0 Qc7 19th century immediately come to mind. It was very risky to leave the Queen 1S. ... Qxh1 in the line of fire from the white Rook: 16. NeS e6 8 ... Nbd7 [It was no good to play 8 ... 17. Bxd7t Rxd7 Bd7 9. eS! dxeS 10. Nxe61 fxe6 11. Qxb7 18. Qb8t Rd8 Nc6 12. Bxf6 Bxf6 13. Rxd7!, and White 18 ... Ke7 19. Nc6#. would quickly win, Khavin-Borisenko, 19. QbSt Ke7 Riga 1954.] 9. Rgl Qc7 10. g4 bS ll. a3 20. Qb7t Kf6 Bb7 12. Bxf6 Nxf6 13. gS Nd7 14. Qh3, 21. Qxf7t KgS with an obvious advantage in White's 22. Nf3t favor, Rossetto-Letelier, Mar del Plata The game Yu supov-Morenz, Graz, 1955. 1981 is an exact, but incomplete copy 9. Rg1 ofNezh's masterpiece. It's incomplete because Black offeredno resistance and resigned here. Well, there are reasons to study the old masters! Yusupov did

=44= Nl':r.hmetidov, Chl'ssAssussln

15. ... Ng87 Black should have tried the lunge 15 ... Nfg41. After 16. Bf4 Qc5 17. Be2 Ng61 18. Qxg4 Rh4 19. Bxd6 Bxd6 20. Qf3 Bf4t 21. Kb1 Bxg5 Black should be okay. 16. f4 Nc4 17. Bxc4 Qxc4 18. f5 Not bad, but not the only path of 9 .... Bd77 attack. It would have been acceptable This was a passive and senseless to play 18. g6 f6 19. f5,or 18. Rh1 Rxh1 move. It might have been better ifBlack, 19. Rxh1 Bf8 20. Rh8 Ne7, and White instead, simply missed a move. In such would have the h-file. dynamic systems only purposeful, brisk 18. ... b5 play has a right to live. In replyto White's 19. Kb1 attack on the kingside it was neces­ Nezh's biographer, Master J. Dam­ sary to prepare a counterattack in the sky, who was always rapturously com­ center: 9 ... 0-0 10. g4 b5 11. a3 Bb7 menting on Nezh's creative ability, put 12. h4 with sufficientcounterplay for two exclamation marks to this move Black. asserting that Rashid had by this time 10. g4 Nc6 calculated all the moves remaining to 11. Be3 h6 mate! 12. h4 ReS? Of course, I too am delighted by the It was suicide for Black to castle short. brilliant attacks played in this game, His last move doomed his King to a but I don't think that it was possible difficult trial in the center. In essence, to make this King move only by hav­ it was the losing move. Meanwhile, ing calculated the whole attack to the Black still had a choice of acceptable very end. continuations: 12 ... Ne5 13. Qe2 [af­ ter 13. Qh3 there was no threat of g4- g5 because of the simple answer hxg5] 13 ... 0-0-0 and White would have a spatial superiority, but not a decisive advantage; 12 ... h5 13. gxh5 Nxh5 14. Bg5 Nf6 with definite counterplay in Roizman-Polugaevslcy, Leningrad 1953. 13. g5 hxg5 14. hxg5 Ne5 15. Qg2 19. ... b4 15. Qe2 is a little better because after 20. g61 15 ... ·Nfg4 16. g6! [Nothing comes of The beginning of the final assault. 16. Rxg4 Nxg4 17. Qxg4 e5 18. Nf5g6.] Why hadn't Nezh made this move ear­ Nxe3 17. gxf7tNxf7 18. Qxe3 Bf6 White lier? As we shall soon see, 19. Kb1 took will gain a coqsiderable advantage. away Black's hopes for counterplay.

=45= Most!!rpleces

20. ... e5 initiative, fo r example: IJ. Rd I"/NeS 10. 21. b31 Qe2 d4 11. Nbl d31. This move deprived the f7-square 9. ... d4?1 of the Queen's protection. There was This move deserved no cheers. The another move, though less spectacu­ Knight goes into temporary retreat, lar: 21. NdS f6 22. b3. but on the other hand, nothing will 21. Qxc3 prevent White from initiating an at­ 22. gxf7t Kd8 tack on the kingside. He should have 23. Qxg7 exd4 shown more restraint with, say 9 ... When the white King was on cl it Ne7. might have been possible to play 23 ... 10. Nbl e5 Qxe3t 24. Kbl Qh3, dragging out the 11. d3 Ne7 resistance. 12. f4 Qc7 24. Bxd41 13. a4 0-0?1 The shortest way to victory as the A debatable decision. It was on this King could not run away through the very wing where White had the ad­ c7-square. vantage. It would have been safer to 24. Qxc2f play 13 ... 0-0-0. 25. Kat Rh2 14. fS f6 26. Bb6f Rc7 15. Nd2 27. Qxg8t Black resigned fl·Ot. This game was awarded the first prize for beauty. Nezhmetdinov's son was born the day before, and the happy father dedicated this victory to him.

7. Super Ne�. Kasparyan Bll 15. Bh61 Riga 1955 To exchange black-squared Bishops was a strategically correct decision, 1. e4 c6 2. Nf3 d5 3. Nc3 Bg4 4. as the cl-Bishop might be more dan­ h3 Bxf3 5. Qxf3 e6 6. g3 g6. gerous than its opponent. This is Kasparyan's patent, which 16. Kh2 Kh8?1 nowadays is covered with dust on the Afteran impressive move he made shelf. In the return-match of 1958, Bot­ a dull, unconvincing one. It might have vinnik successfully used it against been better to play 16 ... Kg7, so that Smyslov. Smyslov developed his Bishop if 17. fxg6 hxg6, it was possible to have with less success on e2. the h-file for counterplay. 7. Bg2 Bg7 1 7. fxg6 hxg6 8. 0-0 Nd7 18. Nf3 Bxct 9. Qe2 19. Raxct Nc5?1 Black had been ready to take the Black wanted to make the Knight

= 46= Nl'zhml'tidov,Chl's5 Assussin more active yet it hud nothing to do but allow his opponent to have the ini­ tiative. It was worthwhile to think about 19 ... cS, preparing a pawn storm on the queenside, or 19 ... Kg7, correct­ ing the inaccuracy which was made at move 16. 20. c31 Nb3 Accepting the sacrifice of a white pawn would have been a very weak­ minded idea: 20 ... dxc3 21. bxc3 Nxa4 After incomprehensible play, Black 22. d4, as Black will have to continue finally realizedthat he was on the verge yielding even more: 22 ... exd4 23. cxd4. of defeat and his only chance was in With a powerful mobile center White some sort of counterplay. The tension had all the chances for a successful grew. attack. 21. Rcd1 Rad8 Aftera prolonged reflection 22. Nh4 Qc8 I managed to realize a mol· It was necessary to switch over to tifaceted combination. defense as it would have been dangerous R. N. to let the white Queen get to g4. 23. Bf3 Qe6 33. d41 exd4 24. Bg4 Qf7? 34. cxd4 Nxd4 This was an inaccuracy which re­ 35. Nxd4 Rxd4 sulted in the loss of a tempo. It would 36. es f5 have been better to play 24 ... Qg8 im­ 37. BxfS QdSI mediately. 25. Nf3 Qg8 26. h4 Kg7 27. Rf2 Rd6?1 Black has no counterplay and can make no headway, still, 27 ... cS might have been better. 28. Rdfl Rdd8 29. Qc2 b6 30. hs CS Strategically this was a hopeless at­ tempt to close off play. Upon 30 ... gS, This is a strong move which White, with the help of a very simple had to be seen in all its regrouping, might move his Knight to detail before starting the g4 and onto f6 where Black would have combination. awaited a catastrophe. R. N. 31. hxg6 dxc3 32. bxc3 c41 And really, the impression was that White "had gone too far:" the eS pawn

= 47= Mu�tt•rph�Ct'5 wos honging. und counterthreots could I was mentally checking the have sprung up along the h-file. position once again and col· 38. Be611 culoting this line again, I The resource which Nezh had ear­ suddenly fo und out that in· lier taken into account. This move proved stead of 41 ... Qxg2f7 Block the correctness of his attack. might ploy even more pow· 38. ... Rh8t erfully: 41. .. Rd2 42. R1f2 The following wouldn't be of any Rxf2!43. Rxf2 (On 43. Qxf2 use here: 38 ... Rxf2t 39. Qxf2 Qxe6 40. Nxg6, Block has the odvon· Qf8t. or 39 ... Rd2 40. Bxd5 Rxf2t 41. toge.) and then after 43 ... Rxf2 NxdS with an easy victory for White Qxg2f 44. Kxg2 Nxg6, White in the endgame. hasn't got anything, os of· 39. Bh3 ter 45. e6 there is simply 45 ... Ne7 46. Rc2 (46. Rf7 Rh7) Nd5! 47. Rd2 Rh5.

Only after checking and re· checking did I find the fol· lowing line: 40. Qe2 Nxg6 (o thematic mote is discov· ered in the line 40 .. . Rh6 41. Rf7f Kh8 42. g7f Kh7 (42 ... Kg8 43. Rxe7ft 43. Qg4

39. ••. Nxg6 Ng8-or 43 ... Rd2f 44. Kgl This lead to the end at once. Qc5f 45. Rlf2 Ng8, which leads to the some result- The most complicated lines 44. Qf5 f Rg6 45. Qh5f Rh6 of the combination start with 46. Bf5#.) 41. Rf7tQxf7 [Dam­ 39 ... Rd3!. First I thought sky amended Nezhmetdinov's that White was winning after extensive analysis: 41. .. Kg8 40. Rf7t.While at the chess· 42. Qg4 Rd2t 43. Kg l Qd4t 44. board I sow the fo llowing Qxd4 Rxd4 45. BeG, or 41 . .. line which leads to o victo· Kh6 42. R15 with mate com­

rious pawn endgame: 40 ... ing.)42 . Rxf7t Kxf7 43. Qg4. Kg8 41. Qg2 Qxg2f 42. Kxg2 Rd2t 43. R1f2Rxf2f 44. Kxf21 This position is fovoroble Nxg6 (44 ... Rxh3 45. Rxe7 fo r White. Only after hov· with o winning Rook end· ing checked all the vorio· game) 45. Be6 Rh7 [I will tions did I decide to con· add such a fe ature: 45... c3 tinue 33. d4!. 46. Ke3 c2 47. Kd2 Rh2? 48. Rf2ti-A. P.) 46. Rxo7f Kh8 This is the longest combi· 47. Rxh7f Kxh7 48. Bf5 Kh6 notion in my practice. 49. Bxg6 Kxg6 50. g4! and R. N. White is winning. But when

=48= Nl'zhml'tldov,Chess Assussln

The game ended so: 10. Ng4 d6 with equal chances,janow­ 40. Rf7f Kh6 sky-Lasker, Nuremberg 1896, or 8 ... Bf6 41. Qxg6fll 9. Ng4 Bd4 10. Ne2 Bb6 11. Nf4 Ne8 12. Black surrendered (t-ot.because there Nd5 d6, also with equality, Stein-Smy­ was a mate in six moves: 41. .. Kxg6 slov, 1961. 42. Rlf6t Kg5 43. RfSt Kg6 44. R7f6t All the same, one cannot say that Kh7 45. Rh5t Kg7 46. Rg5t Kh7 47. BfS#. the continuation chosen by Block is hardly worse than those recommended by theorists. 8. 9. Rxe5 Bf6 Super Nezh-Y. Kotkov 10. Re3 g6 C67 11. Qf3 Bg771 17th Russian eh. Steinitz long ago recommended the Krasnodar 1957 preliminaryattack on the Rook-11 ... Bd4!, making it leave the active posi­ 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb56. Nf tion on the third rank where it is ready It was a "Berlin Defense," rare nowa­ to support the attack on the King. days, also sometimes called the "Rio 12. b3 Ne871 de Janeiro System." It was used as far Even though losing a tempo it would back as 1886 by Zukertort in a match have been better to play 12 ... Bd4 to with Steinitz at the world champion­ prevent the white pieces from gain­ ship. Nearly one hundred years later ing active posts. the Berlin Defense again appeared at 13. Ba3 d6 the highest level-in the second game 14. Rae1 of the match of Karpov against Korch­ noy, Merano 1981. 4. 0·0 Nxe4 5. Rel Karpov preferred 5. d4 Be7 6. Qe2 Nd6 7. Bxc6 bxc6 8. dxe5 Nb7 9. Nc3 0-0, achieving little advantage. 5. Nd6 6. Nxe5 Be7 7. Bd3 More "natural" continuations 7. Bfl A picturesqueparade of white pieces Nxe5 8. Rxe5 0-0 9. d4 Bf6 doesn't give on the third rank is unusual to the eye White any advantage. ECO gives 7. Nc3 of a present-day chess-player! Such no­ Nxb51 8. Nd5 0-0 9. Nxc6 dxc6 10. Nxe7t tions as "the pawn center" and "pawn Kh8, but this is erroneous as after 8 ... structure" don't mean anything here. Nbd4! Black keeps the extra piece. White has an overwhelming advan­ 7. ... 0·0 tage in development, and it was very 8. Nc3 Nxe5 difficultfor his opponent to defend. From the point of view of theory 14. ... Nf6 this was on inaccuracy. Preferable was 15. h3 either the age old 8 ... Ne8 9. Nd5 Bf6 Maybe it is emphasized too much,

=49= Ma�tl'rpll'l'l'! nnd deliberately basic. but the Bishop 19. Nf6 on c8 hasn't had a chance to move be­ 20. Rxfst Bxf8 cause it would lose the b7-pawn. It was 21. Bb21 possible to skip over to the main plan The pinning of the Knight turned of the attack: 15. Bc4 Rb8 16. Nd5. out to be fatal, though it looked as if 15. Nd7 Black had a way to defend. 16. NdS fS? 21. ... Bg7 21 ... Kg7 was rejected because of 22. Bc4, and the Queen breaks through to g8.

A win,on 21 ... Qg7,is achieved in a very interesting way. White prepared the follow· ing fo rced variation: 22. Qd41 Ne4 [22 ... Be7 23. Qel Bf8 for 23 ... Bd8 24. Qe8t Qg8 This was a mistake which can be 25. Bc41t 24. Qg5 Be7 25. fully explained by the extreme defen­ Rxe7) 23. fld5 24. fxe4 fxe4 sive difficulties.It allows White to go [if24 ... dxe4, then 25. Qd81) over to a combinational attack. 25. Bxe41 (Ed.: Nezh misses 25. Qf2!1) dxe4 26. Qd81 and After 16 ... Ne5 there might so on. have followed 17. Rxe51 Bxe5 R. N. [17 ... dxe5 18. Be7 Qd7 19. Nf6t Bxf6 20. Qxf6, which Nezh's analysis is convincing, but might have given White a nevertheless, instead of 23 ... d5, the chance to win at least a following line is even stronger: 23 ... pawn in a better position.] Qxd4t 24. Bxd4t Bg7 25. Bxg7t Kxg7 18. Rxe51 dxe5 19. Be7 Bg4 26. fxe4 and 26 ... Kf6 avoids the mating 20. hxg4 Qb8 [Ed.: 21. Nf6t net and keeping unpretentious hopes leads to mate! 21 ... Kg 7 22. for saving the game in the ending. Nh5t! gxh5 23. Qf6t Kg8 24. 22. Qd4, which was suggested by Qg5t Kh8 25. Bf6#.) ... One Nezhmetdinov, was good. A. Magergut's should remember to try and recommendation of 22. Bxf6 Qxf6 23. develop the queenside by Bc4 Kg7 (23... Qg7 24. Re8 with a threat 16 ... Rb8 and then b6. 25. Qxd6.) 24. Qg8t Kh6 25. Re8 Bg7 R. N. 26. Rxc8 Rxc8 27. Qxc8 Qa1t 28. Bfl Qxa2 29. Qd8!, and 29 ... Be5 was bad 17. Nxc711 Qxc7 because of 30. d4!. 18. QdSt Kh8 22. Bc41 Bd7 19. Re81 23. Bxf6 Of course not 19. Bxd6? because of 19 ... Nb6! 20. Qc5 Qxc5 21. Bxc5 Rg8 White might carry out the 22. Re8 Bd7. beautiful blow 23. Qfl Rf8

=50= Nezhm�tidov, Ch�ss Assassin

24. ReBII. but he didn't want 9. to prolong Black's resistance L. Belov-Super Nezh by playing 24 ... BxeB 25. C59 Qxc7, and besides, the end 21st Russian eh. of the game is no less in· Omsk 1961 teresting. R. N. 1. e4 es 2. N£3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. NgS dS 5. exdS NaS 6. BbSt 23. Bxf6 c6 7. dxc6 bxc6 8. Be2 h6 9. 24. Qf7 N£3. Over a hundredyears ago there was a major discussion about this varia­ tion between Steinitz and Chigorin. The then champion Steinitz persistently defended the position of White after 9. Nh3?1, but in games with the Rus­ sian champion he made no headway. In spite of the unfavorable conclusions of theory and practice on the effec­ tiveness of Steinitz' move, Fisc her tried 24. ... Qd8 to bring it back to life. In his game Black didn't have a wide choice; the with Bisguier, New Yo rk 1963, after9 ... more persistent 24 ... Bg5, still required Bc5 10. 0-0 !Later Fischer preferred 10. checking, and Nezh gave the follow­ d3.) 0-0 11. d3 Bxh3 12. gxh3 Qd7 13. ing line: 25. g3! !The exclamation mark Bf3Qxh3 14. Nd2 Rad8 15. Be2 QfS 16. is mine.) Rc8 26. h4 BeG 27. ReSt! Rxe8 Qe1, he got the better chances, but then 28. Qxc7 Re1 t 29. Bfl Bxd2 30. Qxd6 he was Fischerl Bh6 31. Qd4t Bg7 32. Qd2 Re7 33. Bg2 9. e4 fo llowed by the win. I can add that 10. NeS Bd6 after 25 ... Qd8 !instead of 25 ... Rc8) 11. d4 exd3 26. h4 Bc6 l26 ... Bh6 27. Re7!) 27. hxg5 12. Nxd3 Qc7 and 27 ... Qxg5 is bad because of 28. In different published versions of Re7. After 27 ... Qf8 28. Re7 Qxf7 29. this game there are differences in move Bxf7and White's advantage should be order, therefore, I prefer to stick to the sufficientfor the win. sequence of moves which was given 25. ReStll by Nezh himself, though there certainly An unusually effe ctive blow: any isn't any difference in principle com­ taking of the Rook leads to mate. pared to the version 10 ... Qc7 11. d4 Black surrendered (t-Ot. exd3 12. Nxd3 Bd6. Nezh liked this game and often After a hundred-year old research showed it at meetings of his fa ns. of this variation, the verdict of the theo­ rists was as fo llows: Black's initiative is sufficientto compensate for the miss­ ing pawn. but no more. Certainly, this evaluation, however

=51 = Masterpieces fa ir it may be, was not indisputable for Nezhmetdinov-he always placed possession of the initiative as supe­ rior to material losses; and, it must be confessed, sometimes he went too far. 13. Nd2 This was an obvious move, but not the best. The best move is considered to be 13. b3, for example: 13 ... 0-0 14. Bb2 Nd5 15. h3 Bf5 16. 0-0 RodS 17. Nc3, Another attempt at defense, 18. g3, and the prospects are approximately would have lost quickly and simply: the same, Honfi-Ciocaltea, Wijk aan 18 ... BcS 19. Rf1 Qb6 20. Qe1 [or 20. Zee 1969. Kg2 Nxf2 21. Qd2 Rxe2! 22. Qxe2 Nxd3 13. ... Ba6 23. cxd3 Bxd3 24. Qe1 Bxfl tl Rxd3! 21. In the well-known game Ragozin­ cxd3 Bxd3.

Botvinnik, 14th USSR eh., 1945, Black played 18. ... Nxf21 13 ... 0-0. The move made by Nezh­ 19. Kxf2 metdinov was not appreciated by theo­ After 19. Nxf2Bh2t White would lose rists: it is not mentioned in the Yu go­ his Queen without any compensation. slavian ECO. The aim of the move was 19. Qb6t to be able to play Nc4 in case of the 20. Kfl Bg3 push b2-b4. 21. Qd2 14. Nf3 0-0 15. 0-0 Rad8 16. b3 Rfe8 17. Rel? White doesn't take into account that the f2 -square is now weakened, and Black would have made immediate use of that. Certainly, 17. Bb2 was correct, finishing development without any com­ plications as yet. Damsky recommended 17. Be3?, asserting that Nezh would White had escaped the mate [21 ... have answered that with 17 ... Ne4. Bxd3 22. Bxd3, and the f2-square was Hardly so. Nezh would certainly have defended.). but, played 17 ... Ng4, which makes the rec­ ommendation senseless. The idea of the combina­ 17. Ng4 tion is quite different, the 18. h3 attackwon't go along "weak" black squares, but along the "strong" white squares! R. N.

21. . .. cSII

=52= Ne:r.hmetldov, Chess Assassin

It's a surprise, but o very impor­ 10. tant re source in the attack: there is Super Nezh-M. Tal the threat of 22 ... c4 23. bxc4 Nxc4 884 with a quick and complete defeat. 29th USSR eh. 22. c4 Baku 1961 An attempt to blockade the pawns doesn't ease the position. Thereis another, 1. e4 cS 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. more stubborn defense: 22. Bb2! c4 23. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 e6 6. Be2 Nbd7. Qc3 f6 24. Nd4 cxd3 25. Bxd3 Rxel t 26. Nezh preferred6 ... Nc6 with the ex­ Rxel Bxel but little by little, Black still change on d4 and the transference of would have had winning chances. the Bishop through d7 to c6. A simi­ 22. ... Bxe1 lar plan: [6 ... Nc6] 7. 0-0 Be7 8. Be3 23. Kxe1 0-0 9. f4 Qc7 10. Khl Bd7 11. Qel Nxd4 It was worth noting that (23. Nfxe l] 12. Bxd4 BeG is considered one of the would be terrible because of23 ... QfGt best even today. and 24 ... Qxa 1. 7. 0·0 a6 23. ... Nxc41 8. f4 Qc7 Black literally rammed the defen­ 9. g4 sive fo rtifications of his opponent. A morereserved setup is usually pre­ 24. bxc4 Bxc4 ferred, connected with 9. Bf3,then Khl, 25. Kf2 Qel and Be3. The move g2-g4 was one If 25. Kfl , one more sacrificewould of Nezhmetdinov's favorite methods have been required from Black: 25 ... against the Sicilian. Rxe2 26. Kxe2 Rxd3 27. Qxd3 Bxd3t 28. 9. bS Kxd3 and, 28 ... Qf6 ! wins a whole Rook. 10. a3 25. Bxd3 26. Bxd3 c4t The ..active" 10. g57 b4 11. 27. Kg3 Rxd3 gxf5bxc3 would be to Block's 28. Qb2 profit. White was in a deplorable state from R. N. other threats as well: 28. Qf.2 Qf6 29. Bb2 (29. Rbl Qg6 30. Kh2 Rxf3and 31 ... 10. ... Bb7 Qxbl] QdGt 30. Be5 Qxe5t. 11. Bf3 NcS 28. ... Qg6t Later, opening theorists recommended 29. Kf2 11 ... e5 12. NfS g6 13. Ne3 exf4 14. Ned5 Or 29: Kh2 QdGt 30. Kg l (30. Khl Bxd5 15. Nxd5 Nxd5 16. Qxd5 ReS with Rdlt 31. Ngl Reel] Rxf3 31. gxf3 Qg3t equal chances. In response to 11 ... e5 and then 32 ... Rel#. Nezh recommended 12. Nde2 Nc5 13. 29. Qe4 Ng3 exf4 14. Bxf4 Nfd7 15. NfSNe5 16. 30. Bd2 Rxf3tl Ne3!, considering that in the struggle 31. gxf3 Qh4t fo r the center, White has the better White surrendered (0·1J. prospects. Damsky had suggested an Nezh received a prize fo r the most intermediate leaping away ofthe Knight, beautiful game in this championship. that is, 14 ... Ne6! 15. Be3, and now White couldn't transfer the Knight on

=53= Mast�rpl�c�s g3 fo r a hold on the d5-square via g3- 5-e3. 12. Qe2 e5 This was very courageous, but risky. Spassky's recommendation 12 ... Nfd7, preventing the advance e4-e5, is more reliable. 13. Nf5 g6 Later Spassky suggested the more solid 13 ... exf4 14. Bxf4 Nfd7. 14. fx e5 dxe5 The attempt to close the f- file doesn't work out: 16 ... Nf4 17. Bxf4 exf4 18. e5! with a powerful attack.For example, 18 ... Bxh6 19. exf6t Kf820. Qe7t! with the win of a piece, or 18 ... Nd7 19. e6. Bxh6 20. exd7t Kf8 21. Bxb7 Qxb7 22. Qe5 with irresistible threats. 17. Rxf61 This non-evident sacrificefo r equality was the introduction to a powerful at­ tack on the black King stuck in the 15. Nh61? center. Tal confessed that he hadn't envisaged One must notice that after the ex­ this jump of the Knight onto the edge of travagant jump 15. Nh6 the logic of the chessboard. Meanwhile, the Knight the struggle demands White continue stands quite well there, and more than in the same way. The fa ct is that an that, it was a dangerous attacking piece. ordinarycontinuation gives White noth­ Rashid Gibyatovich was good at finding ing: 17. Qf2 Bxh6 18. Qxf6 Bg7 19. Qf2 similar exceptions to generally accepted 0-0; or 17. g5 Bxh6 18. gxf6 Nf4 and rules of strategy. both players feel fine. Nevertheless, it should be admitted 17. ... Bxf6 that in this position the line 15. Bg5 18. Nd5 Qd8 Nfd7 16. Ne3 Ne6 17. Ned5 is consid­ It is one of the most important mo­ ered to be the more usual continua­ ments in the game. Tal didn't take ei­ tion with approximately equal play. ther Knight, and it was to no avail. 15. Ne6 After 18 ... Bxd5 19. exd5 Black chooses 16. Bg2 Bg7 between 19 ... Nd4 and 19 ... Qc5t: A. 19 ... Nd4 20. Qf2 Qd6 [20 ... Qa7 21. Be3 is worse for Black. 21 ... Bg7 (Ed. Note: 21 ... Bh4 is mind-boggling, but if Black plays like a genius, he can probably draw.) 22. Re1 0-0-0 23. c3 and Black is the loser.] 21. g5 Be7 22. Nxf70-0! 23. Nxd6 Rxf2 24. Kxf2Rf8t 25. Kg3 Nxc2 26. Rb1 Bxd6 27. Be4 and

=54= Nt'7.hnwtidov, Chl'ss Assassin the ending is equnl. 24. Qf21 Bxd5 25. Bxd5 Qd7 {25 ... Qc8 B. 19 ... Qc5'j'l [In order to deprive 26. Qb61} 26. Bf3Qc7 27. Bxa8 Bxh6 28. White of the opportunity d5-d6) 20. Khl Rd6 and Black is unprotected.) 24. Qa7 [After 20. Be3 Nf4 21. Qf2 Qd6 White Bxd5 25. Rxd5 [25. Bxd5 Qc7 26. Qxa6 has no compensation fo r the exchange.] Ke71 and Black has successfully de­ Nd8 21. Bg51 Qd6 22. Bxf6 Qxf6 23. Rfl fe nded.) Qc7 26. Qxa6 Rb8 27. Rxb5 Bg5 Qd6 24. g5 Ra7 25. Rf6, or 24 . .. f5 25. 28. Rxb8t Qxb8 29. Qc6t Kd8 30. Qd5t gxf6 Rf8 26. Ng4. In this variation (B) Ke8, and White has nothing but a draw, White would have to prove his initiative as the Knight is in a precarious place. was worth more than the lost mate­ 22. Re1 f6 rial. 23. Nxf6t Qxf6 19. Qf2 Nf4 24. Qd41 Quite possible was 19 ... Bxd5 20. It goes without saying, such play exd5 Nf4 21. Bxf4 exf4 22. Qxf4 [Nezh is art. analyzed 22 ... Qb6t 23. Kh1 0-0-0 24. 24. ... Kf8 c3! Rhe8 25. g5 Be7 26. Nxf7as giving 25. Rxe5 Qd8 White a strong advantage.) Ra71 23. After 25 ... Rd8, the end would be Rfl I [23. Re1t Re7 24. Rxe7t Qxe7 doesn't like this: 26. ReSt! Kg7 27. Re?t. go anywhere.) Bg7 [23 ... Bxb2 is dan­ 26. RfSt gxfS gerous fo r Black because of 24. Nxf7 27. Qxh8t Ke7 Qb6t 25. Kh1 Rg8 26. Nd6t Kd8 27. Qg5t.J 28. Qg7t Ke6 24. Qf2! Qd7 25. Re1t Kd8 26. d6 Qxd6 29. gxfSt 27. Qxa7 Bd4t 28. Kh1 Bxa7 29. Nxf7t Black surrendered (1·0,. Kc7 30. Nxd6 Kxd6 and White doesn't It was clear why this game was have much for his extra pawn. Per· awardeda prize as the best in the cham­ hops more flexiblepiece play through pionship. 27. Nxf7t [instead of 27. Qxa7) Rxf7 28. Qxf7 Bxb2 is worth considering. 20. Bxf4 exf4 11. Even here it would have been pos­ D. Ciric-Super Nezh sible to take on d5. C72 21. e51 Bxe57 ChigorinMe morial Tal could no longer stand the psy­ Rostov-on-Don 1961 chological stress and made an error. White's threats are dangerous. For in­ 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. stance, bad is 21 ... Bxd5 22. exf6 f3 Ba4 d6 5. 0·0 Bg4 6. h3 Bh5. [22 ... Bxg2? 23. Re1 tJ 23. Bxf3 and23 ... Many lances had been broken around Bxf3or 23... Qxf6 both fail to 24. Re 1 t. the 6 ... h5 gambit until it was finally However, the cool headed thrust 21 ... rejected. What is interesting is that Bh4! gives Black defensive chances. In Nezh, who was an aggressive, attacking my analysis, I cannot find any deci­ chessplayer, didn't accept nor use this sive continuations: 22. Qd4 Rf8 23. Rd1 gambit. Rc8! [23 ... Bxd5? 24. Bxd5 Rc8 25. Nxf71 7. c3 Nf6 Rxf7 26. Bxf7t Kf8 27. Bb3, and White 8. Qe2 has nice chances to win; or 23 ... Bg5? This is a rare continuation. Usually

=55= Masterpl�c�s

8. Re I or 8. d4 are played at once. the advantage.] Nh7 1'7. t• xl?l Bxt7 18. 8. ... g571 Bxf7t Kxf7 19. Bf4 Qxg41 20. Bg3 Nf6 A dubious experiment whose only 21. Re1 and Black is down a pawn with aim was to thrust onto his opponent no compensation. At least 13 ... Qd7 a non-standard move. A good solid con­ or 13 ... Qc8 are completelyunsuccessful tinuation is 8 ... Be7. only because of the surprising 14. Nxe5! 9. g4 bS dxe5 15. Bxf6. 10. Bb3 Bg6 13. BhS 11. d4 h517 14. BdS In essence, Black should continue in the same aggressive style; if 11 ... h6 12. dxe5 dxe5 and the Bishop on g6 is turned into a big pawn. 12. Bg571 After 12. Nxg5 hxg4 13. hxg4 exd4 14. Rd1 dxc3 15. Nxc3 Ne5 16. f3 Be7 Nezh's risky experiment with 8 .... g5 proves to be correct as the play would be equal. [Ed. Note: While the B/g6 appears to be incarcerated it's also true 14. ... NxdSII? that White's piece play is somewhat By playing 12. Bg5, White certainly limited. White might consider 16. f4 !?.] had no inkling of this Queen sacrifice, 12. ... hxg4 carried out in the best traditions of 13. Nh4 the great romanticists of the previous The tempting thrust 13. Bd5 is nicely century. refuted by 13 ... Nxd5! 14. Bxd8 Nf4 15. We can't say the Queen sacrificed Qe3 Nxh3t 16. Kh1 Bxe4! 17. Bf6 Rh6 was fo rced. Black could play 14 ... Kd7, 18. Nbd2 Bxf3t 19. Nxf3 gxf3 20. Kh2 and after 15. a4! Rg8! 16. Bxc6t [16. Nf4t 21. Kg3 Rxf6 and Black, with suf­ Bxf6? gxh3t and 17 ... Bxe2] Kxc6 17. ficient material compensation for the axbSt Kd7 [17 ... axb5 loses to 18. dst Queen, has brilliant attacking pros­ Kb6 19. Rxa8 Qxa8 20. Qe3t Kb7 21. pects. Bxf6] 18. Qe3 gxh3 he can calculate Ciric's move is hardly good. 13. hxg4! to an advantage. Of course, Nezh didn't is more convincing. With that move calculate and simply was not able to White could achieve some advantages: realize all the after effects of his de­ 13 ... Be7 14. Bxf6 Bxf6 15. dxe5 dxe5 cision. Had he seen the main point of 16. Rd 1 Qc8 17. Nh2 and Black has no this sacrifice, that it abruptly changes compensation fo r the pawn; or, 13 ... the nature of play, gives the probability NoS 14. Bd5! c6 [Here the Queen sac­ of obtaining future compensation, and rifice 14 ... Nxd5 15. Bxd8 isn't enough: places him on the attack with a psy­ 15 ... Nf4 16. Qe1 Rxd8 17. dxe5 Nh3t chological advantage, he would have 18. Kg2 Nf4t 19. Kg3 and Black has no believed in his opportunities. attack.] 15. dxe5 Qc8! 16. e6! [16. Nh2 15. Bxd8 Nf4 is worse: 16 ... Nh7 17. Bf6 Nxf6 18. 16. Qe3 Nxh3t exf6 cxd5 19. exd5t Kd8, and Black has 17. Kg2

=56= Nr:r.hml'tldov, Chess Assassin

Upon 17. Qxh3 gxh3 18. Bxc7 Rg 81 22. Kh2 Bh6 23. Qe I Nf4 24. Rh I and 19. Kh I Rg4, all the chances were with White has beaten off the attack and Black. has the advantage.J 22. Qe1 g31 23. f3 g21 24. Nxg2 Rg8 25. Rf2 Bxf3! 26. Rxf3 Nxg2 27. Qf2 Be3! and Black has an even better position. In this beautifu l variation, Black's attacking potential is completely realized. So, after18. Kg1 ?! Black does not lose. 18. Kg3! is stronger: 18 ... Rxd8 19. Rh1 ! [19. Nf5? Bg6 20. Kxg4 (20. Qd2 Rh3t 21. Kxg4 Bh5t 22. Kg5 Ne6t 23. Kf6 Rf3! and 24 ... Be7 is mate.) Rg8! and there are no satisfactory defenses 18. Qxf4? from threats of21 ... Bh5t 22. Kh4Rg4# Shocked by the recklessness and fa n­ or 21 ... Bf5t (after 21. Kg5) 22. Kxf5 tasy of his rival, Ciric prefers to stay Ne7t 23. Kf6 Rg6#. 19. Nd2 looks better down a pawn. It was possible to dis­ than 19. Rh11, but it is difficultto cor­ play composure and try to cast doubt rectly evaluate the complex lines: 19. on the sacrificeof the Queen. For this, Nd2 Bh6 20. Nf5 Bg5 21. Rh1 Nh3 22. it was necessary to choose correctly Qe2 Kd71. Tal, who analyzed this po­ between 18. Kg3 and 18. Kgl. sition with interest,remarked, "I'd rather The continuation 18. Kg1 ?!was unani­ play the Black pieces here!" However, mously rejected by all the commen­ 19. Rh1! is stronger, and this is differ­ tators because of 18 ... Bh6. However, ence between 18. Kg3 and Kg1-the after19. Bf6!, nothing results from the Rook can take part in the defense.J Bh6 attack. 19.00 Nh3t 20. Qxh3 and after 20. Nf5Bg5 21. a4. Black's attack has 21. Bxh8 Black is done fo r. If 19 ... Rh7 gotten him nothing, and White's ma­ White might simply play 20. Kh1 ! as terial advantage must give him a win. the Knight on h4 is defended by the So, Nezh's courageous project was not Bishop and dams the h-file. Blackmust irreproachable, but it is difficultto find choose between 18 ... Rxd8 and 18 ... a refutationeven in post mortem analy­ Nh3t. sis. Thus, the risk over the board was A. 18.00 Rxd8 19. Nf5 Bg6 20. Rd1 minimal. Bxf5 21. exf5 Nh3t [21 ... Rh3 22. Qe1 18.. .. exf4 g3 23. fx g3 Rxg3t 24. Kf2(The straight­ 19. BgS fo rward 24. Qxg3 gives nothing: 24.00 A pawn would not have been gained Ne2t 25. Kf2 Nxg3 26. Kxg3 exd4 and back by 19. Bxc7, because of 19 ... Kd7 the ending is not bad fo r Black.) Rg2t 20. Bb6 Rb8. 25.Kf3 Re2 26.Qh1 Rxb2 27. Rd2 and 19. Be7 White has the better position.J 22. Kfl 20. Bxe7 Nxe7 Nf4 and after23. Kg1 it's a draw. 21. Nd2 Kd7 B. 18 ... Nh3t! 19. Kh1 Rxd8 20. a4 22. Rh1 f6 Nf4 21. Kg1 [21. axb5 Bg6 22. Kg 1 Rxh4 23. b3 Bf7 23. bxc6 Nh3t drawsJ Bh6 [21... Nh3t 24. dS Rh6

=57= Mustl't'pil'n•s

25. Rh2 Rah8 Chernikov wus sun• I hut his oppo­ 26. Rahl NxdSI nent wanted to rest thut dny. There­ 27. exds Bxdst fo re he quietly strolled ubout in the 28. f3 g3 tournament hall. Meanwhile time went White surrendered (O·Jt. on and Nezh continued to think. Ev­ eryone was puzzled "what was Rashid Gibyatovich thinking about," there was 12. no avoiding a draw ... At last a boy, Super Nezh-o. Chernikov out ofbreath, ran up to Chernikov and BJS said: "Dyadya, a Queen was sacrificed Russian Team eh. to you!" Rostov-on-Don 1962 12. Qxf61 White only has two pieces fo r the 1. e4 cS 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 Queen, but he hoped to attack the weak­ 4. Nxd4 g6 5. Nc3 Bg7 6. Bel ened black squaresnear the enemy King. Nf6 7. Bc4 0·0 8. Bb3 Ng4. 12. ... Ne2tl Now 8 ... a5 is preferable, and on An obligatory check which makes 9. f3 a blow would have been dealt in White expend an unnecessary tempo. the center: 9 ... d5. If 12 ... Nxb3, White might win with­ 9. Qxg4 Nxd4 out any difficulty: 13. axb3! Qxa1 14. 10. Qh4 Qxe7 Qa5 15. Bh6 Qd8 16. Nd5!. Then, more than thirty years ago, 13. Nxe2 exf6 as well as today, 10. Qd1 was consid­ 14. NcJ Re8 ered to be the strongest move, after Immediately after the game, and which it is difficultfor Black to equalize. later, this position underwent numerous

10. . . . QaS analyses, and Nezhmetdinov's idea was Nezh recommended 10 ... Nxb3. given practical study. The main con­ 11. 0·0 Bf6 clusion drawn on the basis of these analyses was that 14 ... d5! was stronger. After 14 ... d5 15. Nxd5 Rd8 16. Bd4 Rxd5 17. exd5 Kg7 18. Rae1 Bf5, the chances ofboth sides turned out to be approxi­ mately equal in Chervinsky-Grabczewski, Poland eh. 1963. Or 15 ... Be6 16. Nxf6t Kg 7 17. Bd4 Kh6, Petzh-Medler, DDR ch. 1963. After 18. Be3t Black will probably have to agreeon 18 ... Kg7 19. Bd4 with a repetition of moves. Long ago this position was known Thus, Nezhmetdinov didn't succeed to be drawn because White could choose in overturningthe conclusions of theory. between 12. Qh6 Bg7 13. Qh4 Bf6 with Does that belittle the depth of his plan? a repetition of moves, or 13. Qg5 Qxg5 Does that make the flight of his fan­ 14. Bxg5 Nxb3 15. axb3 Bxc3 with a tasy more prosaic? drawn endgame. If 12. Qg3 or 12. Qf4, Rashid Gibyatovich was readyto play Black would reply 12 ... Qxc3!. this line again. He thought that even

=58= Nt•zhnwtldov, Clwss Assnssin

after 14 . . . d5 there might appeur po· Qh8 ]26 ... \)g827. Rf6 1 Kh5 28. �J4 unci sitions in which it is more difficult for 29. Rh6#] 27. h41 Be2 28. Bxg5"j Kh5 Black to play than fo r White. 29. f3 Bxf3 30. gxf3, and the King was 15. NdS Re6 in ci mating net. 16. Bd4 Kg7 23. Rh3 ReS 17. Rad1 d6 17 ... b5! was the most efficientcon· 23 ... Bxfldidn't suit Block tinuation. Now 18. Bc3 Qd8 19. Nxf6? in view of 24. Ng5 ReS 25. doesn't work because of the interme· Nxf7,o complete defeat. In diate stroke 19... b4! and 20. NhSt doesn't the very some way 23 ... Bh5 work: 20 ... Kh6 21. Bxe6 bxc3 22. Bd5 wasn't good either because Ba6 and Black must win. In the echo of 24. Bxe6 fxe6 25. Nf6f variation 20. NeSt Kf8 21. Bxe6 bxc3 and then 26. g41 22. Bd5 Ba6 Black is on top. R. N. Instead of19. Nxf6?, 19. Nb4! is better. However, after 19 ... aS! 20. Bxe6 fxe6 24. f4 1 Bxfl 21. Nd3 b4 22. Bd4 e5 23. Be3 d6 Black 25. Kxf1 must realize his advantage. After the 25. Ng5! is stronger and with dan­ text move, Black's position begins to gerous threats. deteriorate. 25. ... Rc8 18. Rd3 Bd7 26. Bd41 19. Rfl BbS Certainly, the Bishop was more valu­ 20. Bc3 Qd8 able than any of the Rooks. However, 21. Nxf61 Be2? for a victory the prosaic 26. fxe5 dxe5 27. Rd3 Qh4 28. Bxe5 Qxh7 29. Rh3 is certainly sufficient. 26. ... bS 27. NgS Rc7 An attempt to close the diagonals with the Rooks would not have been successful: 27 ... Rc4 28. Bxc4 bxc4 29. Bxe5 dxe5 30. Rh8t!.

27... Qf6 wouldn't save ei· White's advantage cannot be repulsed ther because it would be in such a way. It would better to use fo llowed by 28. Bxf7t Kg7 the alternative: 21... Rc8! (Bad is 21... 29. Rh7f Kf8 30. Ne6f Ke7 Bxfl 22. Ng4t Kf8 23. Bxe6.] 22. Bxe6 31. Bxg6fl Kxe6 32. f5, and Rxc3! 23. bxc3 Bxfl 24. Nh5t Kh6! 25. Block loses the Queen and Rxf7 Qg5 and Black's position, at a mini­ the Rook. mum, isn't worse. R. N. . 22. Nxh7tl Kg8 Before takingthe pawn, Nezh thought 28. Bxf7tl Rxf7 over the following: 22 ... Kxh7 23. Rxf7t 29. Rh8tl Kxh8 Kh6 24. Bd2t g5 25. Bxe6 Bxfl 26. BfS 30. Nxf7t Kh7

=59 = Must�rplc�c�s

31. Nxd8 Rxe4 White threnteut•d In tlrlw 1 he Knight 32. Nc6 Rxf4t back by f2-f4 giving him the advan­ 33. Ke2 tage. Black's task is to prevent this. Black surrendered f1·0t. 17. Nd5 c61 The game produced such an impres­ 17... BxfSdoesn't look bad, but af­ sion on the many participants ofthe ter 18. BxgS QxgS 19. exfS Nf4 20. Nxf4 championship team that none of them Qxf4 21. Re4! White has achieved a stable presented their games to the judges advantage in a calm position, as 21... for the beauty prize-it was guaran­ QxfS? is bad because the Knight is lost teed in advance to Nezh. after 22. f4 . 18. Nc7

13. B. Kalinkin-SUper Nezh C76 Vologda 1962

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 d6 5. c3 Bd7 6. d4 g6 7. 0·0 Bg7 8. Be3 Nf6 9. Nbd2 0·0 10. Rel. In Game No. 65 (Boleslavsky-Nezh­ The most important point in the metdinov) White played 10. dxeS. Re­ game. With great excitement and op­ jection of this pawn exchange would timism, Nezh is risking complications have been favorable for Black as it fa­ in preferring not to be led by his op­ cilitated creationof counterplay on the ponent. In case of 18 ... Qxc7 19. Bxgs king side. BxfS 20. exfS Ng7 21. fxg6 fxg6 White 10. Nh5 would have a better position due to 11. Nft b5 the advantage of the two Bishops, and 12. Bc2 exd41 Black would have to forget about win- However White might have taken ning. on d4, Black would have gotten some 18. ... Nf41 advantage: when taken by a pawn, 19. Bxg5?1 the activity of the Bishop on g7 increases, Ye s, Nezh evidently excelled over his and if taken as in the game, Black gets young rival in strength of character. the strong point eS. Black wouldn't have The only way to call Black's bold plan gotten allof this if White had exchanged into question is by 19. Nxe81 Bxe8 [19 ... in a timely manner on eS. gxfS20. Qxd6 is weak, as mate is now 13. Nxd4 Ne5 threatened on :ffi.] 20. Re31 [20. h4 doesn't 14. NfSI work: 20 ... Bxh6 21. Nxh6t Kg7 22. Ng4 White was struggling desperately Qxh4 23. Qxd6 Qxg4 24. Qxest f6 25.Qe7t to keep his initiative from slipping. Bf7 26. g3 Nh3t 27.Kh2 (27. Kg2 Nf4t) 14. Bf6 Nxf2]Bxh6 [Finally, 20 ... gxfSdoe sn't 15. Bh6 ReS work because of 21. Bxgs QxgS 22. Rg3 16. N1e3 Bg51 Ng4 23. exfS h524. h3] 21. Nxh6t Kg7

=60= Nt•zhmrtldov, <:hrs5 Assnssln

22. N�J4 Q�J5 2:3. Rg"J Nh5 24. Nxe5 Nx�J) 14.

25. Nf:J and Black ' s position is a di- V. Tlmofeev-Super Nezh suster. E67 19. Qxg5 Leningrad 1969 20. Ng3 h5 21. Nxa8 Rxa8 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 d6 3. c4 Nbd7 22. Qxd6 h4 4. g3 g6 5. Bg2 Bg7 6. Nc3 0·0 23. a4 7. 0·0 e5 8. Qc2 c6 9. Rd1 Re8 10. h371. After this passive move White had virtually lost the advantage of the first move. Universally acknowledged con­ tinuations today are 10. e4 or 10. d5. 10. e4 11. Nh2 d5 12. cxd5 cxd5 13. Bf4 a6 14. Ng471 23. h311 The active position of the Bishop on This was startling! Black doesn't need f4 made the plan of preparing fo r an the Knight at all, just the g2-square. invasion on the c7-square promising. It has become clear that it was the main For this to succeed it was first neces­ weak square in the vicinity of the King. sary to secure the stability of the Bishop Even looking at the diagram it is dif­ on the h2-b8 diagonal, and so White ficult to findsuch a shot, but Nezh had had to play 14. g4. But instead, White fo und it as far back as the 18th move! had something else on his mind: he If White had foreseen the opponent's saw a temping tactical idea ... idea, he would have probably played 14. Nxg4 23. Re3, trying with all his strength 15. Nxd5 Ndf61 to defend the f3 square. 16. Nc7 24. axb5 cxb5 25. Rxa6 Rxa6 26. Qxa6 hxg2 27. Bd1 There was another way to defend h3: 27. Re3 but Black has 27 ... Bg4 and there is no satisfactory defense from the terrible check on f3. 27. Bg4 28. Qa1 Bf3 29. Qa8f Kh7 16. ... e311

· 30. Qc8 Bxd1 White had sown the wind and reaped White surrendered (0·1t. the whirlwind! Nezh was not only ready to accept the combinational challenge of his opponent, but having calculated

=61 = Mustt•rpit•t'l'� the voriotions, he fo und some shots which had not been taken into account by White. 17. hxg4 exf2t 18. Kfl Nxg4 19. Nxe81 White was right to rej ect 19. Nxa8. Now on 19 ... Bxd4 20. Bf3Ne3tl 21. Bxe3 Bh3t 22. Kxf2 (22. Bg2 Qd5!!) Bxe3t 23. Kel Qg5 24. Qc7 Bf2t 25. Kxf2 Qe3t26. Kel Qxf3 and Black is winning. White 21. ... gSII might have tried: 20. e3, but then 20 ... 22. Bxa8 Bd7! (Better than 20 ... Bxe3 which meets There was nothing better than this. with 21. Rxd8! Nh2t 22. Ke2 Bg4t 23. Kd3 On 22. Bd6 or Bc7 there might have Bf5t 24. Be41.) 21. Rxd4 (21. Bxb7 Nxe3t fo llowed 22 ... Qe3!. For example: 23. 22. Bxe3 Bh3t wins.] BbSt 22. Rc4 Rxe3 Bxa8 Nh2t 24. Kg2 Qxe2 25. Rfl Nxfl 23. b3 g5 wins. 26. Rxfl Bh3t 27. Kxh3 Qxflt 28. Kg4 Black had a wonderfulresource [after (28. Bg2 g4t) hSt! 29. Kxg5 Qcl t 30. 19. Nxa8] in 19 ... g5!!. Suddenly it be­ Bf4 Qbl! with a quick victory. comes clear that after this non-obvi­ On 22. Bel there was the simple 22 ... ous move, White's affairs at once go Rb8 23. Bc6 Qxc6!, with the threat of bad. For example, 20. Qc7 (20. Bf3gxf 4 mate on hl. 21. Bxg4 Bxg4, or 20. Bel Qf6 with the 22. gxf4 threat of 21 ... Nh2# and sending the 23. gxf4 Be61 black Queen on the route f6-h6-h2.) gxf4 24. Qb7 21. Qxd8 Rxd8! (Damsky's suggestion Neither 24. d5 Qxa8, and after 25. was also good: 21. .. Ne3t 22. Kxf2 Nxdl t dxe6 (Ed.: On 25. e4, after 25 ... Bd7 23. Rxdl Rxd8 24. gxf4 Bxd4t 25. Kfl Black has White tied down.] there was Bf6, and because of the bad Knight, a mate on hl, nor 24. Bd5 Bxd5 25. Qxd5 White would have lost a pawn at the Ne3t work. very minimum.) 22. gxf4 Bxd4 with 24. Bc4 a strong attack even without the Queens. 25. Qe4 Qd8 19. ... Qxe8 26. Kg2 fS I 20. Qb3?1 27. Qc6 Kh71 How many games have been spoiled 28. Kf3 f1 =Qtll by excessive optimism! First of all,White White had struggled honorably and should have thought of the danger con­ had repulsed nearly all the brilliant cealed in the combination around the blows of his 57-year old rival, but he f2-pawnand the Knight. The e3-square was in no condition to withstand Nezh's was defended only by the Bishop. There­ unrestrained imagination. fore, it was worthwhile to pay atten­ 29. Rxfl Qh4 tion to 20. Qe4 or even 20. e4. In view of the inevitable mate, White 20. h6 surrendered (0-1t. 21. Bxb7

= 62 =

15. 13. b4 axb4 V. Mlkenas-Super Nezh 14. axb4 Rxa1 H 91 15. Qxa1 Match, 14th game Ka zan 1948

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 d6 3. Nf.J g6 4. Nc3 Bg7 5. e4 0-0 6. Be2 c6 This was the last game of the match. The score was 6-1/2-6-1/2 and even a 15. ... Nxe4?1 victory wouldn't bring Nezhmetdinov The play follows the principle "all master status, since the exceptionally or nothing." Te n or fifteen years later, rough norms of those times required Tal surprised everybody with the same a win by a margin of two points. Nev­ unexpected approach. It was quite plau­ ertheless, a victory over such a favored sible to play the very good move 15 ... rival was very important. Nd7, but that evening Nezh wouldn't That fa ct can explain Black's refusal play cautiously. to play the theoretically preferable 6 ... 16. Ndxe4 f5 eS. That same fact also explains Black's 17. Nd2 extravagant play at various points in Boleslavsky advised 17. 0-0! fxe4 18. the game. Nxe4, and White's position would be 7. h3 Nbd7 better due to the firm grip on e4. This 8. Be3 e5 was nice advice, but it's always easier 9. d5 to give away someone else's pieces. Of course, even Mikenas, an expe­ 17. ... e4 rienced player, didn't think about the 18. Nb31 draw, which could have been fo reseen White must be precise in his defense. if 9. dxes. 18. 0-0 f4 19. Ba7 f3 ! was unsuitable, 9. cxd5 as the piece must retreat [20. gxf3QgSt 10. cxd5 Nc5 and 21... Qxd2]. 18. g3 Qf6 19. Ndb1 11. Nd2 a5?1 gS can't be recommended either, as over An unnecessary weakening and loss the long haul White's position will be­ of time. Better would have been 11 ... come difficult. Ne8 at once. 18. f4 12. a3 19. Bd4 f3 White still wanted to drive the Knight 20. gxf3 exf3 from cS, and this vindicates the pre­ 21. Bd3 Qg51 ceding mistake by Black. More logical As the game moves on, Black's ini­ was 12. 0-0, and on 12 ... Ne8, 13. Nc4, tiative increases. It was clear the white organizing an attack on the queenside. King will be in trouble. The threat was 12. ... Ne8 22 ... Bxd4 23. Nxd4 QeSt.

=64 = Nt•:r.hnll'tdlnnv, Chess Assassin

22. Bel Qh4 I !ere Black saw with horror the threat­ 23. Kd2 Qxb4 ened mate, and during the next few 24. Rb1 Qh4 seconds wasn't able to fi nd the ma­ 25. Qa7 BeS neuver 38 ... Qg7 39. Qb8 Qh6. 26. Nd4 Bf41 38. ... Bb1t? A �I rong move, which gives new mo- As revealed during the postmortem, 1111'111um to Black's attack in connec­ this led to the defeat. In time trouble, tion with the threat ...Qxf2. Nezh didn't realize that it was high 27. Kc2 time to pull his legs in, and head fo r '1.7. Rfl Bxh3 or 27. Ndl Bxe3t 28. the ending. 38 ... Qg 7 was obligatory. fxr:J 1'2wouldn't have helped. Then 39. Qxg7t Nxg7 40. Bc4 [40. Nxd6 27. ... Bxe3 Rxfl 41. Ra8t Ne8 42. Rxe8t Kg7 43. 28. fx e3 Qf2t Re7t Kh6 44. NxfSt gxfS 45. Re3 Ral t 29. Kb3 Qxe3 46. Kxal f1 =Qt] Ne8 41. h4 Bh3 42. Chasing the King, Black won two Kb3 f1 = Q43. Bxfl Bxfl. Black's chances 11nwns which equalized material and were better. 11reserved the attack. It can be assumed 39. Nxbl Re2tl that Black's position was now won. At the last moment Nezh takes himself 30. Bfl f2 in hand and decided to take the draw, 31. Ndbs Qg3 though it was too late. 32. Qa2 Rfl?l A zeitnot [time pressure] move. Black continues to attack, though the light pieces don't take part. After32 ... Bxh3, the victory would have been achieved without considerable difficulty. 33. Qa8 Bd7 34. Ka2 QeS? This was from the same series of misadventures because of the hang­ ing flag.The Knight should have been 40. Bxe21 protected by the Rook, 34 ... Re3; then ...Bxh3 would have been possible. Mikenos fe lt the danger just 35. Rb4 Re3 intime: 40.Kb3 (40. Kol Qoltl 36. Qxb7 BfS? Qb2t 41. Ko4 (41. Kc4 Re4t The pawn could have been taken 42. Kdl Qxb1 tl Qo2t 42. Nlol on h3: 36 ... Bxh3 37. Bxh3 Rxh3 38. Re4t 43. Ko5 Qd2t 44. Ko61 Re47 fl =Q. 36 ... BxbS was very good (If 44. Kb6, then 44 ... Qelt also. fo rces 45. Ko5 os 45. Kc6 37. Ra4 Rel? (45. Ko6 Ro4#.) Qc5t 46. Kd7 The question mark was put here for Nf6t leads to mote.) Ro4t the same reason. After 37 ... Rxc3 38. 45. Kb6 Qelt 46. Kc6 Qcl tr Nxc3 Qxc3 39. Ra7 Qd2t there was a 47. Kd7 Rxo7 and 48 ... Qxh. perpetual check. R.N. 38. Ra7

=65= Thl' Jllght

Alns,Nezh's nnnlysis wns inexnct. used for till' tlrst tlmt• by F. Marshall 40. Kb3 won. 40 ... Qb2"t 41. Ka4 Qa ll in the 1927 New Yo rk tournament, but 42. N5a3 Re4l 43. Kb3 Re3t 44. Kc4 Re4t didn't gain popularity and would seldom 45. Kd31 Qd4t 46. Kc2, and the checks be encountered until the 1950s. The would have been over. revival of this system is usually con­ 40. ... Qxe2t nected with the names Tal, Fischer, Bole­ 41. Kat? slavsky, Gligorich, and other GMs. The Time pressure had eased, but this merits of other masters, whose rank didn't stop White from losing the op­ is lower, shouldn't be underestimated­ portunity to win [nobody mentioned namely, their important contributions this opportunity). to the creation of the system [and, more Now we get a draw, the goal of both specifically, the rebirth of interest in players, and deserved by both. But fo r it) as played in this game. the sake of chess truth, I'll point out 7. Bg7 that 41. Kb3! could have brought home 8. N£3 o-o the victory: 41 ... Qf3t! [41 ... Qe3t loses 9. o-o ReS simply because of 42. N5c3!, and Black 10. Nd.2 b6 would be obliged to play 42 ... Qxa7t In his famous 1984 monograph, Indian 43. Qxa7 f1=Q 44. Qe3, which would Defences, A. Kapengut said this posi­ end Black's chances.) 42. N5c3! Qf6 43. tion was "a seldom occurring and com­ Qxh7t Kf8 44. Qh6t Kg8 45. Nd2, and paratively passive continuation." This Black wouldn't get an extra Queen. conclusion, based on many years of 41. ... QeSt intensive research andpractice, is prob­ Here a draw was agreed (lf2-lf2t. ably indisputable. "But," says A. Sue­ The Queen now controls the h8-square; tin, "it shouldn't be forgotten that this that's why there wasno mate, and White game was the very first one." Nowa­ has to give perpetual check: 42. Ka2 days, we moreoften see the plan wherein f1=Q 43. Qxh7t Kf8 44. Qh6t Kg8 45. the Knight moves Nb8-a6-c7, and b7- Qh7t. b5 is prepared; this helps preserve de­ fe nsive positions in the center and on the kingside. 16. 11. a4 Ba6 I. Boleslavsky-Super Nezh Black's exchange of white-squared A 77 Bishops is not approved of theoretically, 10th Russian eh. because the current pawn structure Gorki 1950 makes Black's white-squared Bishop "better" than White's. Preferable was 1. d4 Nf6 11 ... a6, intending to transfer the b8- 2. c4 e6 Knight to e5 and the a8-Rook to e7. 3. Nc3 CS 12. BbSI 4. dS exdS The same idea can be seen in the 5. cxdS d6 French Defense: White shows his will­ 6. e4 g6 ingness to exchange Bishops and cre­ 7. Be2 ates pressure on Black's flank at the The "Modern Benoni" system was same time.

=66= N�zhm�tdinov, Ch�ss Assassin

12. ... Bxbs Still-was Nezh right, did the Block More precision would be shown with position give him a chance to win? 12 ... Re7 13. Re i Bb71 14. Bfl Nbd7 15. Instead of the game move he offered Nc4 Ne5 and some advantage to White, 17 ... Nc51, ond in cose of 18. Nd4, 18 ... Bobotsov-Bilek, Moscow 1967. Nfxe41 19. Nc6 Qh4 20. Rfl with one 13. axbS Nbd7 extra pawn and on active position for 14. Qc2 NeS Block. 15. f4 Ned7 Instead of18. Nd4, better would hove Block instigated White's 15. f4 to been 18. Bd2 Qd7 19. Re2, and it would weaken the g1-d4 diagonal and cre­ be too early to talk about the possi­ ate counterploy by on eventual ...Ng4. bilities of a Block win. White could hove deprived his rival Unfortunately, the possibility of over­ of these opportunities by the simple estimating his chances never bothered 16. h3 and would hove gotten a stable Roshid Gibyotovich. He dealt with his advantage. 17... Nc5 18. Nd4 annotation inaccu­ 16. N£371 c41 racy by fo iling to mention the reply A typical pawn move, which White 18... Nfxe4!. should hove prevented os soon os pos­ 18. Ra4 a61 sible. Block mode the c5-squoreavailable 19. Rxa61 fo r his Knight. Boleslovsky found the right way to 17. Re1 stop Block's initiative. 19. bxo6 was a false lead: ... b5! 20. Nxb5 Qc5t 21. Nbd4 Nb6 22. Ro3 NfxdS! and Block stands better. An example could hove been: 23. Qdl Nf6! 24. Be3 Ng4 25. Qd2 Rxe4. 19. Rxa6 20. bxa6 bS 21. NxbSI In spite of the apparent danger, this was the only way White con preserve the balance. 17. Qc7 21. QcSt A move characteristic ofNezhmet­ 22. Nbd4 NxdS dinov's playing style. He wrote in his 23. exdS Rxe1t commentaries: "It is possible that I 24. Nxe1 Bxd4t missed a chance to win here." This move 25. Kfl QbS illustrates not only optimism, which An attempt to get the advantage is characteristic of chess players who by 25 ... Qxd5 26. Qo4 Nf6 [26 ... Nb6 prefer on attacking style, but also Nezh's 27. Qe8t Kg7 28. o7 Qo8 29. Qb8!J 27. confi dence in both his power and the o7 Qo8 28. Qxc4 was not successful. rectitude of his assessment of the po­ 26. Qe2 Qxa6 sition. This was a type of confidence 27. Nc2 Bf6 without which no creative risk or cour­ 28. Na3 age in carrying out one's intentions Now the position was equal. is possible. 28. ... Nb6

= 67 = 29. Qe8t Kg7 18. axb3 Rd8 30. QbS QxbS 19. h3 Be6 31. Nxbs Be7 More energetic was 19 ... h5. 32. Na3 Bf6 20. Kh2 hS 33. NbS Be7 21. N3a2 (1/2·1/2). Black played a good opening and seized the initiative; that's why it was difficultfo r White to find theright way. 17. So, the response fo r the pseudoenergetic L. Polugaevsky-Super Nezh 21. f4 was the unpleasant move 21 ... E 68 h4! The same move could have followed 13th Russian eh. on 21. Rd2: 21... h4! 22. Red1 Nh5! 23. Saratov 1953 N3e2 Bxb2 24. Qxb2 Nxe4! 25. Bxe4 Qxf2t 26. Kh1 Bxh3 with a strong attack 1. d4 Nf6 [mentioned by Polugaevsky]. 2. c4 d6 21. ... dS 3. N£3 Nbd7 Black decides to open the center, but 4. g3 g6 it was a pivotal decision for both players. 5. Bg2 Bg7 21 ... h4 would have been good here, 6. 0·0 ().() and White could have responded with 7. Nc3 es 22. Bd4. 8. Qc2 Re8 22. cxdS cxdS 9. Rd1 c6 23. exds 10. e4 Qe7 23. Bd4 wouldn't work: 23 ... Nfxe4! 11. b3 as 24. Rxe4 dxe4 25. Bxc5 Qc7 26. Rxd8t For more than 40 years, the Qc2 vari­ Rxd8 27. Bxe4 Rc8. ant didn't undergo any serious change. 23. ,;. Bf5 Today, this position is considered one 23 ... Nxd5 was bad because of 24. of the main lines. Bxg7 Kxg7 25. Re5. 12. Bb2 exd4 24. Qc4 Nxb3 13. Nxd4 NcS 25. Nxb3 Rxa2 14. Ret 26. Bd4 Qd6 Inconsistent, but Polugaevsky was 27. BcS Qb81 afraid ofthe flank attack h7-h5-h4 after Worse was 27 ... Qd7 28. Re7 Qc8 29. 14. f3. d6 Be6 30. Qd3 with the advantage to 14. ... Qc7 White. 15. Radt Qb61 28. Natl? A good repositioning of the Queen, Black had a good choice of active providing Black with active play on replies: ...b5, ...Bc2, ...Rc2. If 28. Rd2, the Queen's flank. then 28 ... b5 29. Qb4 Ra4. If 28. Nd4, 16. Nde2 then 28 ... Rxf2!29. Ne2 Rxg2t! 30. Kxg2 White's reply is aimed at the back­ Be4t. Instead 28. Na1!? is an extra­ ward d6-pawn. ordinary move by White to repel di­ 16. a4 rect threats. 17. Net axb3 28. ... Qa8

=68= Nl•:r.hnwldinov, Chl'ssAssassin

29. d6 Be6 41. d7 Rf8 42. Kh3 Kg6 43. f4 KfS 44. Kh4 Bd8f 45. Nxd8 Rxd8 46. Bc6 Rh8 47. Bf.3 Kf6 48. Be4 On 48, Bxh5, 48 ... KfS ! and White would be in zugzwang. 48. Rd8 30. Rxe61 49. Bc6 KfS The eighteen-year-old Polugaevsky 50. Ba4 Rh8 was very resourceful in defending. It 51. Bdl Kf6 wasn't easy to find a good retreat for 52. Bc2 Rd8 the Queen: 30. Qb5 Rb2!, 30. Qf4 Ra4. {lf2·1f2). 30. ... fxe6 31. Qxe6f Kh7 32. Bd4 ReS 18. 33. Qb371 Super Nezh-L. Shamkovich A prolonged struggle brings both c 84 rivals to zeitnot. Best is 33. Qf7Rf8 34. 16th Russian eh. Qe71 [worse was 34. Qxb7 Qxb7 35. Bxb7 Kislovodsk 1956 Nd7! and White was in a difficult po­ sition] with adequate chances. 1. e4 e5 33. ... Qa47 2. Nf.3 Nc6 This returned the favor. A resolute 3. Bb5 a6 33 ... Ree2! gives Black the advantage, 4. Ba4 Nf6 for example, 34. Qxb7 Qxb7 35. Bxb7 5. o-o Be7 Nd7 followed by ...Red2. 6. d4 b5 34. Qxa4 Rxa4 7. Bb3 d6 35. Nb3 Rb4 The text of this game, as well as 36. Nc5 Ng4f Game No. 9 [Belov-N.), involves some An instinctive tendency in time pres­ confusion as to move order. Nezh main­ sure [zeitnot] to simplify the position. tained that the game line was 5 ... b5 Black had already lost his chance to 6. Bb3 Be7 7. d4 d6, but his biographer, win anyway. Damsky, witnessed that Rashid Gibyat­ 37. hxg4 Rxd4 ovich never recorded his games-he 38. Rxd4 Bxd4 just remembered them. In this case we 39. Nxb7 Bb6 should rely on Damsky, since he com­ 40. gxh5 gxh5 pared the text of the game with the Zeitnot had passed, and so has the tournament fo rm. smoke from the battle. White's end­ 8. cl Bg4 game was better, but he couldn't have 9. h3 won. This was a pawn sacrifice, but no

=69= Thl' I'IKht

othrr woy to fi ght for the advontoge 13. Qg4 dxc3 14. Nxr'J Nd4 15. Qxh5 in this frequently occurring position gxh6 16. f4 , when White preserves the has been found. advantage and Black has no compen­ 9. ... Bxfl sation fo r the damaged pawn struc­ It's interesting to compare differ­ ture. ent commentaries on this exchange. 13. BdS Qd7 Nezh believed that this is exactly where Black's troubles began. and recom­ ·� �41Bw� mended 9 ... Bh5 10. d5 [He considered � %�·il•f�. -�r 10. Rel stronger here, however] Na5 i���-�- · �%% �- 0:'�.. .. -· ... ·r� 11. Bc2 c6 12. dxc6 Qc7 with equal �,£ ���%%�� �%% chances, as in his game with Zhilin, � - �.ft� � semi-finals 26th USSR eh., Rostov 1958. � ,.,��%%��r Matanovich, the author of this section r� -�%%�1ff�-t�%% � in ECO, prefers the game move, and ...... ,"U� � �� offers 9 ... Bh5 [by the way, seen for ·· "' the first time in Geller-Keres, 1947} as 14. Qg41 preferablefo r White because of the weak­ A typical Nezhmetdinov tactic: ness of the d5-square. the abrupt offer of a Queen exchange 10. Qxfl exd4 at a moment most inconvenient for his rival. It looks like a wrestler'schop­ the opponent loses the initiative at once. The same thing can be seen in Games 80 [N.-Krogius, 25th move] and 67 [Shishov-N., 18th move]. 14. Qxg4 15. hxg4 gxh6 16. Bxc6 dxc31 Forced; otherwise White just wins back the pawn, preserving all positive 11. Qg31 aspects of the position. Nezhmetdinov's idea, which was ac­ 17. Nxc3 Rb8 cepted at once by many chess play- 18. NdS Bd8 ers. Here Black's material advantage 11. ... ()-() means nothing; White had a consid­ Other possibilities are not so good: erable positional and spatial advan­ 11 ... g6 12. Bd5! Qd7 13. Bh6 Rb8 14. tage. The only imperative here was ac­ f4 with the initiative to White, Ta l­ curate play. Tesehner,European eh., Vienna 1957; 11 ... 19. f4 ? Qd7 12. Qxg7! 0-0-0 13. Qxf7 Kb7 14. Be6, and Black had no compensation Being in a joyf�l mood he for the pawn, Pietzseh, W-Spassky, Ha­ makes a mistake. vana 1962. R.N. 12. Bh6 Ne8 Worse would have been 12 ... Nh5 The right method was demonstrated

=70= Nt•zhnwtdinov, Clll'ssAssassin by Nezh in the gume with G. Zhuravlev, 37. Re4 Kffi? Cheboksary 1959: 19. f3 Kg 7 20. b41, Again Black doesn't grasp the es­ strengthening the advantage that White sence ofthe position-he shouldn't allow had lost. g4. 19. Nffi 3S. g4 h6 20. Ne3 Nxe41 39. Kg2 ReS 21. NfSI To prevent the loss of the pawn; White Not 21. Bxe4, because of 21... Re8. intends 40. Rcl, and 40 ... Rc8 was no 21. NcS good because of 41. Rxd4. 22. Nxh6f KhS 40. Rh1 Kg7 23. b4 Ne6 41. fS Rf8 Dangerous was 23 ... Nd3 24. Rabl 42. Rc1 RfdS and the Knight would be out of moves. 43. Kg3 Kfl) 24. Rad1 Bffi The attempt to undermine with 43 ... 25. BdS RbeS hS might have deplorable results: 44. 26. Bc6 RdS RflRf8 4S. Rxd4! cxd4 46. gS, and White 27. g3 Nd4 would get a pair of dangerous passed 2S. BdS Rd7 pawns. Black missed his chance to simplify: 44. Kf4 Kg7 28 ... Ne2t 29. Kf2 Nc3 30. Nxf7t Rxf7 45. Rc3 Kffi 31. Bxf7 Nxdlt 32. Rxdl cs, retaining 46. Rh3 Kg7 adequate chances. 29. gS Bg7 �� -i ���� 30. Rfe 1 c6 � �-� 31. Bg2 cS? �t !Wi�� �,-� ��!Wi"� �,.�-� A mistake caused by an incorrect � ��-�� �� "". evaluation of the situation. Now the ���� A���.ft�A��!Wi dS-square would be in White's hands. % -���- "'� • With 31... dS!, Black could have lim­ ������� ited the activity of the white Bishop �:� ������ and had good chances. � � � 32. Ng4 ffi? 47. gSI As the proverb says, "When it rains, A change in piece activity which it pours." For the second time in the was so great that it gave White an op­ game, the advantage was White's. Black portunity to attack the King. himself destroys the main drawing fac­ 47. hxgst tor: opposite-colored Bishops. 48. KxgS Rf8 32 ... aS! would be good, as recom­ 49. ffil Rxfl) mended by Nezhmetdinov, and if 33. so. Rh7fl Kxh7 bxaS, then 33 ... Ra7 with equal chances 51. Kxfl) fo r Black. The attack had reached its goal­ 33. gxfl) Bxffi the Knight must be sacrificed to es­ 34. Nxffi Rxfl) cape mate. 35. ReSt Kg7 51. Nf.3 36. BdS Rf8 52. Rf4 Rg7

= 71 = Thl.' Jllght

53. RxO Rg6t Nb5 from winnin!J iht• d6-pawn. 54. Kf7 Rg7t 9. Be2 Bd7 55. Km Rg4 10. o-o Be7 56. Rfl) cxb4 11. Kh11 57. Be6 Rh4 A move both useful and expected: 58. Kf7 White let his opponent decide where Black resigned (1·0t. as his King was to put his King-a difficult problem. trapped in a mating net. If 11 ... 0-0-0 12. Be3 Qc7 13. Na4! Nxe4 14. Qd3 Nc5 15. Naxc5 dxc5 16. Nxc5 Bxc5 17. Bxc5, White would get a big 19. advantage. Super Nezb-L. Sbamkovicb 11. ... h6 8 63 Black decided to leave his King in 17th Russian eh. the center, where its position [as will Krasnodar 1957 be shown] was not sufficientlysecure. In spite of the apparent danger, it was 1. e4 c5 easier to provide protection fo r the King 2. N£3 Nc6 after castling short: 11 ... 0-0!? 12. Bxf6 3. d4 cxd4 gxf6 13. f4 Kh8 14. Bh5 Be8. Then Black 4. Nxd4 Nft; could transfer the Rook to g7 and suc­ 5. Nc3 d6 cessfully defend, due to the "hedge­ 6. Bg5 e6 hog" pawn structure. Also important 7. Qd2 Qb6?1 was the absence ofWhite's black-squared A Shamkovich experiment, now Bishop. largely forgotten; it's not mentioned 12. Bxft; gxf6 in modern opening reference books. At 13. Bh51 that time, Black experienced some This was the best place for the Bishop. definite difficultiesin traditional lines Nowadays, this maneuver has become of Rauzer's system: 6. Bg5 e6 7. Qd2 standard in similar positions. Be7 or 7 ... a6. That's probably why 13. Ne5 Shamkovich, who always worked ex­ 14. f4 Nc4 tensively on opening problems, decided 15. Qe2 ReS to test a new idea. Its lifetime was short, It would be dangerous to take on and the reason was this game. b2 [15 ... Nxb2) because of 16. f51 8. Nb3 16. f5?1 White gets nothing after8. o-o-o Nxd4 16. Rae1! first, would be stronger, 9. Qxd4 Qxd4 10. Rxd4 a6. It's early discouraging ... Qe3. Perhaps Nezh was for 8. Ndb5 a6 9. Be3 (but not 9. Nxd6t? afraid of an invasion of the white Queen Bxd6 10. Qxd6 Qxb2) Qd8 10. Nd4 Ng4, to e6. and Black gets an excellent position. 16. ... Qe31 Besides the game continuation, Nezh And here 16 ... Nxb2 wouldn't work: considered8. Bxf6 gxf6 9. Nb3 as worthy 17. fxe6 Bxe6 18. Nd5 Bxd5 (18 ... Qd8 of attention. 19. Nd4 Bxd5 20. exd5 Kf8 21. Bxf7!; 8. ... a6 18 ... Qb5 19. c4! Nxc4 20. Nd4 Qd7 21. Necessary to stop 9. Bxf6 gxf6 10. Nxe6 Qxe6 22. Bg4) 19. exd5 Kd8 20.

=72= NL•zhnwtdlnov, l'lll'SS Assussln

Hnh I, nnd Nezh gives I he fo llowing tine rounterplay. continuation: 20 ... Nn4 21. Ne 51 Qxc5 26. Bxe4 22. Rxb7 Rc7 23. Rb8t ReS 24. Re il Qc7 27. Rxe4 Rxc2 25. Rxc8t Kxc8 26. Qxa6t. 28. Rxe6 Rf2? 17. Qg4 Kf8 A Zeitnot cheapo which sped his 18. Rae1 defeat. More chances were offe red by An inaccuracy taken advantage of 28 ... Kg7. very resourcefully by Black. Better was 29. ReSt Kg7 18. Rf3, fo r after 18 ... Rg8, 19. Qh3. 30. Rxg8t Kxg8 18. ... Rg81 31. Qc8t Kg7 Based on the fa ct that if 19. Rxe3 32. Rxf2 Qxh5 Rxg4 20. Re2 Rg5, then 21 ... Nxb2 would 33. Qxb7t Kg6 make it unprofitablefo r White. 34. Qf3 Q:xf3 19. Qh4 QgS 35. gxf3 1-0. 20. Qh3 Nd2? Black tenaciously strove fo r a de­ fe ndable position. 20 ... Nxb2! would 20. have offered equal chances after 21. G. Borisenko-Super Nezh Re3 Qg7. The game move was a seri­ A42 ous tactical mistake, and it led to de­ 17th Russian eh. fe at. Krasnodar 1957 21. Nxd2 Qxd2 1. d4 g6 On 1. d4 Nezh usually chose the King's Indian Defense. This time, he played a different way ...

The choice of this order of moves is explained by sport· ing and tactical reasons. G. Borisenko ... was my main rival .. . that's why I was 22. eSII obliged to ploy only fo r vie· A terrificshot, blowing up Black's tory. entire defense. 22. ... Bc6 G. Borisenkois onoutstanding Sadly, it was not a good idea to take theorist who knows well how on e5: 22 ... fxes 23. Re2 and 24. fxe6, to ploy the opening stage and after22 ... dxes 23. Rd1 the Bishop of a game ... He seldom loses would be lost. when playing White. Hav­ 23. Re2 Qg5 ing studied his games, I come 24. fxe6 fxe6 to the conclusion that Bori· 25. exf6 Bxf6 senko is very uncertain when 26. Ne4 playing the games with un· Easier was 26. Bf3!,stifling Black's familiar schemes and o com·

=73= Thl' I'IKhl

pllcoted tactical beginning. ter t4 und e4. That's why I mode up my 12.. .. Nfd7?1 mind to choose a new or· Based on the previously mentioned der of moves. points, 12 ... Bxf3 and 13... h4 would R.N. be stronger. 13. Bel 2. c4 Bg7 Again, 13. Nd2 was preferable; Nezh 3. Nc3 c5 offered 13... Ne5 14. f4 Nd3 15. Re3 Nxc1 4. d5 d6 16. Rxc1 Bd7 17. e5 "with equally sharp 5. g3 Nd7 positions." We can hardly agree with 6. Bg2 Bxc3tl? this estimation. The strong center gives White better chances. Andhere, on unfamiliar situ· By the way, Nezh himself recom­ otion fo r Borisenko emerged mended 13. h3 Bxf3 14. Bxf30-0-0 with from theposition. It resembled equal chances. a Nimzo·lndion Defense, but 13. h41 with on unpromising place­ 14. Nxh4 ment of the Bishop at g2. R.N. With 14. gxh4 Bxfll 15. Bxfl Ne5 16. Be2 Rxh4 17. f4 Ng4 Nezh certainly managed to move Block has o big initiative. the fa mous theorist away from his stud­ Safer would be 14. Nd2 hxgl ied and well-known ways. Still, his de­ 15. hxgl 0·0·0 with mutual cision to part with the "Indian" Bishop chances. was risky from a strategical point of R.N. view-White's black-squared Bishop possesses the c1-h6 diagonal, where 14. ... Ne5 it can act unopposed. 15. Qb5t 7. bxc3 Qa5 An obligatory exchange. After 15. 8. Qb3 Ngf6 Bfl , 15 ... Rxh4! and 16 ... Nf3t. 9. Nf3 Nb6 15. Qxb5 10. ().() Bg4 16. cxb5 11. Re1 11. Bh6!? was worth thinking about. 11. . .. h51? 12. e4?1 Done without considering the plans of his rival, who was eager to open the h-file. It would havebeen better to protect the Knight from a Bishop exchange: 12. Nd2! h4 13. h3 Bd7 14. g4, and if 14 ... Ba4, then 15. Qa3 with better chances for White since he would be avoiding opening the h-fileand could Block preceded this position create a pawn-roller in the center of- with the sacrifice of a pawn.

=74= Nt•:t.hnwtdinov, Chl'ss Assassin

The endgame Is convenient fixes the weak position In fo r him because of White's White's camp. numerous weaknesses on the R.N. queen side. R.N. 24. Rabl Nezh offered a more definite plan 16. ... Na4 of defense: 24. Nf3g4 25. Nd2 Nb6 26. 17. Reel e4 Rc8 27. a4 Nd7 28. aS Ne5 29. Ra4, Looking toward the endgame, Nezh but even here Black preserved oppor­ often examined long, concrete continu­ tunities to reinforce his position. ations: 17. f4 Nd3 18. Reb1 Nxc3 19. 24. Nb6 Rb3 Ne2t 20. Kfl c4 21. Ra3 Nexf4 22. 25. Rdl g4 gxf4 Rxh4 with difficultplay fo r White. 26. ltd4 fS 17. ... Nc4 27. Nc2 Rh5 18� Bfl? 28. a4 Nxa4 Being in an unfamiliar situation, 29. Rxc4 Nb6 White was in time trouble by this time 30. Rd4 and he committed an error. He should On 30. Rc7, there was the simple have chosen 18. Bf4 Rg8 19. Nf3 Bxf3 30 ... Rb8 followed by ... Kd8. 20. Bxf3 or 18. Nf3 Nxe3 19. fxe3 Nb6. 30. ... Rc81 Black had excellent compensation fo r the pawn, but nothing more. The a-Rook must be fo rced 18. Nxe3 to take a passive position 19. fxe3 g51 at bl. 20. Ng2 R.N. Not good would have been 20. NfS, since after 20 ... Kd7 the Knight would 31. Rb3 Kd7 be in danger by ...e6. 32. e4 Rch8 20. Bf.J 33. h4 gxh3t 21. Net Bxe4 34. Kh2 fxe4 22. Bg2 Bxg2 35. Ne3 Rf8 23. Kxg2 36. Rb2 Rf.J 37. Re2 Rg5 38. c4 Rgxg3 39. Rxe4 RgS 40. Ng4 Rg7 41. Ra2 Here the game was adjourned; upon resumingthe game, Nezh demonstrated the most efficientway to win. 41. Kc71 42. Rxa7 Rc3 23. ... c41 43. Ne3 Nd7 44. Ra2 Ntl; An important move, which 45. NfS Ng4t

=75= Tlw Jllght

White resi9 ned (0-lt- teresting to 1101 !' !hut, huving misun­ derstood that lol refused the draw, Nezh started analyzing and began to move 21. pieces-but the game was to be con­ Super Nezh-M. Tal tinued. B 48 16. ... a5?1 Spartakiade USSR Not the best move. Nezh recommended Moscow 1959 16 ... fS!17. Ng5 Bc5 18. Ngf3 with ap­ proximate equality and disruption of 1. e4 CS the attacking ideas involving f4-f5. 2. Nf.3 Nc6 17. Rac1 Ba6 3. d4 cxd4 18. Rfe11 g6 4. Nxd4 Qc7 Black didn't have the stomach for 5. Nc3 e6 18 ... Bxd3 because of White's possible 6. Bel Nf6 19. f5 with a dangerous initiative. The 7. Bd3 a6 move played can't stop this pawn'spush. 8. o-o Ne5 Therefore it was worth thinking about 9. h3 b5 18 ... Be7, and if 19. fS, then 19 ... 0-0 10. f4 Nc4 20. fxe6 Bxd3, though it looked dan­ 11. Bxc4 Qxc4 gerous. 12. Qd3 19. f5?1 It was determined in the 1960s that This was a typical Nezh pawn sac­ 12. e5 Nd5 13. Nxd5 Qxd5 14. Qe2 Bb7 rifice in order to create a sharp posi­ 15. Nb3 was better with a small ad­ tion. Subsequent play showed that White vantage for White, Va siukov-Suetin, had no advantage. The balanced player USSR eh., 1965. would have preferred 19. Nc5 Bxc5 20. 12. ... d5 Rxc5 0-0 21. Nc6 Bxd3 22. Ne5 BaG, and 13. exd5 now after23. Rxa5 or 23. Nc6, it would Another approximately equal reply probably be drawn. was used by Fischer against Petrosian, 19. ... Bg7 Santa Monica 1966: 13. e5 Nd7 14. Qxc4 If19 ... gxf5,then 20. Nxf5!,and if20 ... dxc4 15. f5 Nxe5 16. fxe6 Bxe6 17. Rae1 exfS?,then 21. Nf6t and mate in one. with compensation fo r the lost pawn. 20. f6 13. Qxd3 The alternative pawn sacrifice [he 14. cxd3 b41 had to give up a pawn] doesn't give 15. Ne4 Nxd5 White chances to get an advantage 16. Bd2 either: 20. Nc6 gxfS 21. Nd6t Kf8 22. White didn't manage to gain the ad­ d4 Rg8 23. Ne5 Bxe5 24. dxe5 Ke7. vantage, and, because this was a team 20. ... Nxf6 tournament, Nezh [as a team leader Not 20 ... Bxf6? 21. Nxf6t Nxf6 22. for Russia) offered draw.a Tal, the leader Nxe6! fxe6 23. Rxe6t Kf7 24. Rcc6. of the Latvian team [and also twice­ 21. Nd6t champion of the USSR by that time], Here, the similar combination 21. also defending his team's interests, Nxf6t Bxf6 22. Nxe6? fxe6 23. Rxe6t decided to continue the game. It's in- Kf7 24. Rcc6 Bxd4t was flawed because

=76= Nt•zhnwt dinov, <:lwss Assassin of the check. Kf831. Bh6t Ke8 32. Re6t Kd8 33. 21. ... Ke7 Rc5 Kd7 34. Rb6 Bxd3 35. Bf4 Rhf8 36. Rd6t Ke7 37. Rc7t Ke8 38. Bg5 Rftt 39. Kh2 Bbt 40. Rh6t, Block resigned (t-Ot.

22. Super Nezb-1. Boleslavsky B 62 USSR Team eh. 1960 22. Nxf'l?l White decided on a questionable sac­ 1. e4 cS rificeof the Knight having found nothing 2. Nf.3 Nc6 good in 22. Rc7t Nd7 [22 ... Kxd6 23. 3. Nc3 d6 Bf4t Kd5 24. Nb3 with on irresistible 4. d4 cxd4 White attack] 23. N6b5 Bxb5 24. Bg5t S. Nxd4 Nf6 Bf6 25. Bxf6t Kxf6 26. Nxb5 Rhd8, and 6. BgS e6 Block would keep the extra pawn. 7. g3 Be7 22. Kxf'l In Game 30 [N.-Zilber], Block played 23. Rc7t Kg8 the weaker 7 ... Qo5? 24. Nxe6 Ne8 8. Bg2 0-0 2S. Rd7 Bf6? 9. o-o Bd7 A mistake which would lead to defeat. After 9 ... Nxd4 10. Qxd4 h6, Block Meanwhile, after 25 ... Bb5 26. Rd5 Bc6 achieved equality without problems 27. ReS Bd7 and then 28. Nxg7 Nxg7 in Bronstein-Geller, 1954. 29. Re7 Be8 30. Bh6 Bf7 [30... Nf5? 31. 10. Nb3 Qb8 Rxf5 gxf5 32.Rg7t Kf8 33. Ro7t +-] More exacting was 10 ... Qc7, and 31. Rcc7 Nf5 32. Rxf7 Nxh6 33. Rfd7. Boleslovsky corrects himself with the The activity of the white Rooks ore next move, unafraid oflosing a tempo. at a maximum here, but it's not clear 11. f4 Qc7 if that's enough to balance the posi­ 12. Qe2 as tion on the board. 13. a4 Nb4 26. Rfl l In spite of the loss of tempo, it should Block didn't take into account the be assumed that Block had solved his threat27. Rxf6 Nxf6 28. Rg7#, and even opening problems and achieved good 26 ... Bb5 doesn't help because of 27. ploy. Rxf6 Bxd7 28. Rf8#. 14. Ral? 26 .... Ng7 An unusual move which solves two 27. Rxf6 Nxe6 problems: it closed the g1-o7 diago­ 28. Rxe6 BbS nal [usually, the players put the King 29. Rc7 hS in the corner] and protected the c2- 30. Rxg6t pawn. Aftersome meaningless moves (30 ... 14. ... Rac8

= 77= 15. Rd1 Rfd8 A resource previously considered by 16. Nd4 Qb6 Nezh. After 27. Rxt5 ext5 28. Nxd8 Rxd8 More accurate would be 16 ... h6. 29. Rd1 Bxa4; and after 28. Nd6 Rxd6 17. e51 29. exd6 Qxd6 Black's chances were It should be noted that fo r quite some preferable. time both sides couldn't begin active 27. ... Kh7 play because they were busy with the The Knight can't be taken because improvement of their pieces' positions. of the mate threat 27 ... Nxh6 28. Rf8t The right of the first movemakes White Kh7 29. Qe7t Nf7 30. R1xf7t Bxf7 31. obliged to attack first. Rxf7t. etc. 17.. .. dxe5 28. Nxf5 exf5 18. fx:e5 Nfd5 29. d5 19. Ne41 Bxg5 Here was the difference in compari­ 20. Nxg5 son with 27. RxfS: the d-pawn was not It was now evident that Boleslavsky pinned and can move in tandem with didn't play ...h6 in time, giving his op­ its neighbor. ponent a chance to organize a strike. 29. ... Rc2 20. ... Be8 The Black position hung by the thread 21. c3 Nc6 called "pinning the Rook." Now every­ 22. Qe4 g6 thing depended upon the strength of 23. Rdfl the thread. There was a threat to the black King. 30. Qe7t Kh6 In addition to the pressure on f7, there 31. d6 Bxa41 was the threat of Ndxe6 unless ... Black had no time for 31 ... Rxb2 23. ... Nxd41 because of 32. Bf3 Bxa4 33. Kg2 and The timely exchange of an active White would be free from the pin. Now Knight. after31 ... Bxa4! there was the threat 24. cxd4 Ne71 32 ... Bb5; White should have done some­ This calmly defended. If 25. Nxf7, thing until the pair of pawns in the 25 ... Bxf726. Rxf7 NfS and 27 ... Qxd4t. center could advance. 25. Qh4 h5 32. Qxb7 Qc5 26. Nxfll 33. Qd5 Qb6 And still the pressure was on. 34. Qf3 Bb5 26. ... Nf5 35. Khl Black wouldn't equalize with 35 ... Bxfl because of 36. Rxc2. 35. ... Rdc81 The activity of the black pieces is offset by the potential of the pair of white pawns. If36. Rxc2 Rxc2, the threat was Rxg2! and Bc6. 36. Qf4t g51 A decisive response, afterwhich White had nothing better but to try to draw. 27. Nh6tl 37. Qxf5 Rxf2

= 78 = Nt•zhnwtdlnov, Chl'ssAssassin

38. Rx� 14. Qe2 Nxb2 11 '38. Qe61. then on 38 ... Kg7 39. Qe71 15. Rb171 Kh81 it would have taken a lot of precise The Knight got stuck in White's camp, t'hecks by Black to force the win. and Nezh hoped to punish it. As will 38. Rc1t be clear later, it wasn't worth the loss 39. Bfl Rxflt of time. Preferable at once was 15. h5. 40. Rxfl Bc6tl 15. ... Qc7 The last detail. In case of 40 ...Bxfl? In his commentaries of this game, 41. Qxfl Qc6t 42. Kg 1 Qc5t 43. Qf2 Qxe5 Damsky rejected 15 ... Qb6 as a losing 44. Qd2 Black couldn't have saved the move after16. Qd2 Nbc4 17. Bxc4 Nxc4 Queen and pawn endgame. 18. Rxb6 Nxd2 19. Rb4 a5 20. Ra4 Bd7 41. R£3 g4 21. Ndb5 and the black Knight would (1/2-1/2t. as White had only the per­ be lost. In reality it was not so: 21. petual check. Kxd2! and both sides would have had This excellent game did credit to both chances. players. Still, neither considered it im­ 16. NdbS QcS portant enough to include in their col­ 17. Rxb2 a6 lection of selected games. It was worth 18. hSI mentioning that, even for the top mas­ The expedition for the stray Knight ters. the result was more important was not successful, and White, though than the dynamics of any one game. late, got back on the right path of the King hunt. 18. ... axbS 23. 19. Qd2 gxhSI Super Nezh-N. Padevsky A cool-headed defense. 19 ... Rh8 B 76 wouldn't work because of 20. hxg6 hxg6 Sofia 1961 21. Rxh8 Kxh8 22. Qh6t Kg8 23. Qxg6t. 20. NdS Kh8 1. e4 CS 21. Kfll 2. Nf.3 Nc6 Freeing the Rook from its watch over 3. d4 cxd4 gl. 4. Nxd4 g6 5. NcJ Bg7 6. Bel Nft; 7. Bc4 ()-() 8. BbJ d6 9. f.3 NaS 10. Qd2 Nd7 11. Bh6 Nb6 12. Bxg7 Kxg7 13. h4 A dangerous move. White didn't want to lose a tempo by castling, but did let his opponent make his move. 13. . .. Nbc4 24. RgSI

=79= Tht- Jli�ht

As Nezh confessed later, he wus ubout 40. Rb6 Kg7 to fa ll into the devil's trap here. In plan­ 41. Rxd6 J{ft; ning 24. Nf6 he worked out 24 ... Ne3t 42. f4 Rg3t 25. Ke2 Rxg2t 26. Kd3 with a win. But (112·112t. at the last moment he saw the poi­ On the whole, a well played and event­ sonous 24 ... BfS!!, after which White ful game. would be left with nothing: 25. RxfS Ne3t; 25. exfSexf6. 24. ... Ne3t71 24. Here Black could think of victory. B. Shipov-Super Nezh He had to play 24 ... Rxg5 25. Qxg5 Be6 E 83 [but not 25 ... Nxb2? 26. Qxe7 Be6 27. 22ndRussian eh. Qf6t Kg8 28. Ne7t Kf8 29. Bxe6J, and Cheliabinsk 1963 if26. Qxe7, then 26 ... Bxd5 and White's attack would be busted. 1. d4 Nf6 25. Ke2 Rxg5 2. c4 g6 26. Qxg5 Nxd5 3. Nc3 Bg7 27. Bxd5 Be6 4. e4 d6 28. Qxe7 Qc31 5. f.3 o-o Full equality can be achieved after 6. Be3 Nc6 28 ... Bxd5 29. Qf6t Kg8 30. Qg5t Kf8 7. Qd2 a6 31. Qxd5. s. o-o-o ReS 29. Bxe61 A prophylactic move to prevent the Nezh saw the dangers and realizes black-squared Bishop from being ex­ that he must play fo r a draw, so he changed. Usual is 8 ... Rb8 followed by sacrificed. ...b5. 29. ... fxe6 9. g4 e5 On 29 ... Qxb2 there follows 30. Bb3, 10. Nge2 Na571 and all the black pawns were weak, Not a successful novelty. Nezh had though it is unclear as to whether White made up his mind to provoke Ng3 by could win. attacking the pawn, exchanging on d4, 30. Rb3 Qxc2t and, after the Bishop took the pawn, 31. Ke3 Qc5t move the Knight back to c6 to push 32. Kd3 Qc4t away the Bishop. Afterwards, the long 33. Ke3 Qc1t diagonal would be in Black's hands. 34. Kd3 Qc4t All this took a lot of time, which White 35. Ke3 Qc5t used fo r offense on the kingside.Standard 36. Kd3 Qe5 play was needed with the idea oflO ... Having entered into time pressure, b5!, striving to open the lines. Padevskydecides to continue the battle, 11. Ng3 exd4 but Nezh assured his opponent, very 12. Bxd4 Nc6 quickly, that a draw was certain. 13. Be3 b5 37. Qxb71 Rxa2 Being behind fo r three moves, Black 38. Qxb5 Qxb5t gets back to the standard plan. 39. Rxb5 Rxg2 14. g5 Nd7

=80= N1•t.hnw1clinov, ClwssAssassin

15. f4 NaS 16. h41 Bb7 After 16 ... Nxc4 17. Bxc4 bxc4 18. h5 White "takes the bull by the horns" without any obstacles. 17. hS The situation had sharpened con­ siderably. White's chances were looking better as he managed to bring his pawns into the fray. There was the threat of 22. Qh8t and mate to fo llow, but Black shouldn't be in a hurry to return his extra piece. 21 ... f6 !? was worthy of a serious examina­ tion. 22. Qh7t Kf7 23. f5 Rg8 24. Qxg6t Kf8 25. Nh5 Qe8 [Weaker was 25 ... Bh8 26. Qh6t Ke8 27. gxf6 Ne5 28. Qh7 Rf829. Ng7t Bxg7 30. fx g7, or 28 ... Kf8 29. Nf4! Bc8 30. Qxh8!. Black would lose with ei­ ther variation.] 26. gxf6. Now Black had 17. b41 two opportunities. 18. NdSI c6 A.26 ... Qxg6 27. fx g7t Qxg7 28. Nxg7 19. hxg61 Rxg7 29. Bxg7t Kxg7 30. cxd5. Nezh's young rival was not shy and B. 26 ... Nxf6 27. Nxf6 Qxg6 28. fx g6 was not going to give in. Bxf6 29. Bxf6 Rxg6 30. e5!. 19. ... hxg6 In both variations there appeared After 19 ... cxd5 20. gxf7t Kxf7 21. positions in which White's chances were Rxh7 the black King findshimself in better, but Black kept certain resources a desperate position. fo r his defense. 20. Bd41 22. exdS?I A good continuation ofthe attack. A mistake would have been 20. Nxb4 c5 21. Nd5 Bxd5!, and after any cap­ ture Black would seize the initiative with 22 ... Rb8. 20. ... cxds 21. Qh2 White also had another line of at­ tack: Zl. Bxg7 Kxg7 22. Qd4t but, 22 ... f6 ! would have created a deadlock. Now an attack on the h-file fa ils because Here we can see various possibilities Black can always play Re8-h8. to capture something, but the move cho­ 21. ... NeS?I sen by Shipov was unsuccessful and he lost the chance to win. Afterthe correct 22. fxe 5! it would have been doubtful if

=81= Aluck could hove ovoided defeut: Otherattem pts wouldn't help either: A. 22 ... Qxgst 23. Kbl Nc6 [23 ... 25. b3 Nxb31 26. Kxb3 RobS and the Rxe5 24. cxd5 Rc8 25. Bh3 and White's King would be threatened everywhere; position was preferable] 24. Nf51 gxf5 25. Qc2 Qg41 25. Rg l Qg6 26. Rxg6 fxg6 27. exf5Nxd4 25. Naxc4 28. f6 1 with a decisive attack. 26. fxe5 Bxd51 B. 22 ... b3 23. Qh7t Kf8 24. e6! [not 27. Kb1 so clear was 24. Qxg7tKxg7 25. e6t f6 27. Qh7t KfB28. Qxg7 Kxg7 29. e6t was 26. Bxf6t Qxf6 27. gxf6t Kxf6 28. exd5 not dangerous because of 29 ... Nest. bxa2 29. Kc2 because of29 ... Rac8] Qxg5t 27. Na3tl 25. Kbl f6 26. exd5 bxa2t 27. Kxa2 Qxg3 28. bxa3 Rabst 28. Rh31 Qg5 29. Be3. White's threats 29. Kc1 Qa4 were numerous and dangerous. 30. Bb2 Rec8t 22. ... b3 White surrendered (0-1). Afterthe strongest 22 ... Rc8! Black was to be preferred: 23. Qh7t Kf8 24. Kbl or 24. b3 Bxd5. Not a trace of White's 25. attack remains. Super Nezh-V. Zagorovsky 23. Kb17 c 90 All of a sudden there was a chang­ Russian Sp artakiade ing ofthe board situation, causing White Gorki 1963 to weaken his confidence in himself. He stumbled on an even playing field. 1. e4 e5 Meanwhile, after23. fxe5 bxa2 [worse 2. N£3 Nc6 was 23 ... Qxgst 24. Kbl Kf8 25. e6 Bxd4 3. BbS a6 26. Rxd4 fxe6 27. dxe6! with a strong at­ 4. Ba4 Nf6 tack, or 24 ... Rxe5 25. Bd3] 24. Qh7t Kf8 5. 0-0 Be7 25. Qxg7t Kxg7 26. e6 f6 27. gxf6t Qxf6 6. Re1 b5 28. Bxf6tKxf6 29. Kc2 Rac8 thereappeared 7. Bb3 0-0 the position which was examined in the 8. d3 notes to the 22nd move, part (B), the par­ When playing White, Nezh usually enthetical move 29 ... Rac8. At least this preferred the classical Chigorin setup was not worse for White. resulting from 8. c3. The choice of a However, there was another interest­ more restrainedcontinuation was prob­ ing opportunity: 25. Kc2 [instead of 25. ably due to psychological considerations. Qxg7t] Rxe5 26. Ne4 Qc7 27. Bxe5 Bxe5 8. d6 28. Nf6! Nxc4 29. Qg8t Ke7 30. Qxf7t! Kxf7 9. c3 Na5 31. Rh7t Kf8 32. Rh8t!. and a perpetual 10. Bc2 cS check. In any event, after23. fxe5 White 11. Nbd2 ReS was safe from losing. Afterthe timid re­ 12. Nfl h6 treat of the white King, Nezh the Assas­ 13. a4 b4 sin did not miss his chance. Yielding the c4-square; 13 ... Rb8 was 23. ... bxa2t preferable. 24. Kxa2 Qd7 14. cxb4 cxb4 25. Bd3 15. Ne3 BfB

=82 = Nl•zhnu•tdlnov, Chl'ss Assilssin

16. d4 Qb6 choice: o Kni9ht retreat would hove 17. b3 exd4 added the loss of initiative to the ab­ Another positional concession. In­ sence of the pawn. However, he had stead of building the center, Black was a draw up his sleeve. eager to create pressure on the e4-pawn. 24. ... gxf6 As a rule, strategic advantages out­ 25. QxhS Rd8? weigh tactical ones. Worthwhile at­ This was a fatal piece of careless­ tention could have been given to fi­ ness. Perhaps Black supposed that White anchettoing the black-squared Bishop had to give a perpetual. White's win to put pressure on the e4-pawn. was forced, and he missed it! White's 18. Nxd4 Bb7 threats were extremely dangerous but 19. Bb21 Black did have the opportunity fo r a White was not interestedin protecting defense, it was just that a better move the e4-pawn. but in developing the ini­ was difficult to find in the time re­ tiative. maining. He could have tried 25 ... e3!. 19. Nxe4 20. Ndf5 dS 21. Ng41 The serious threat 22. Nfxh6t gxh6 23. Bxe4 and 24. Nf6t was created by two Knight moves. 21 .... hS?I Energetic, but a very risky defense. Now the game enters a period of tac­ tical complications which are advan­ tageous fo r White. There were some (A nalysisaft er 25 ... e3} other possibilities which could have been used to stop White's attacking After the forcing sequence, 26. Qg4t impulses: 21 ... Re6, protecting the im­ Kh8 27. Qh4t Kg8 28. Bxf6 exf2t 29. portant points, or 21 ... Rad8. Khl Bg7 there were two continuations: 22. Bxe4 Rxe4 23. Rxe4 dxe4

(Analysisaft er 29 ... Bg7}

24. Nf6tl? A. 30. Bxg7 Bxg2t 31. Kxg2 Qg6t 32. White began a direct onslaught on Kfl [32. Khl? Qc6t and mate next move] the King's position. In fact, he had no Qglt 33. Ke2 ReSt 34. Ne7t Rxe7 [34 ...

=83= KX�J7?1 35. Qd4"j" KfB 36. Rxg I fxg I =Q 37. 28. Qh4t Kg6 Qxg l Rxe?t 38. Kf3 Nc6 (38 ... Nxb3? 39. 28 ... Kg8 offered more opportuni­ Qdl Nc5 40. Qd4 +-) 39. Qc5 Nest 40. ties to oppose White. 29. Bxf6 Qxf21 Kg3+-] 35. Qxe7 Kxg7 36. Qe5t Kg8 37. 30. Qxf2 Rxf2 31. Kxf2 Nxb3 32. Rb l Qg3t Qxg3 38. hxg3 Nxb3 39. Rbl fl =Qt NcS 33. aS Kh7 34. Be7. White's chances 40. Rxfl NcS. In spite of White's mate­ in the ending were better. rial advantage he could hardly win since 29. Bd41 the position should be Rook and g-pawn A tactical nuance, which ensured the against Knight and f- pawn. Instead of37. way to a win. Its essence was that 29 ... Qg3t, stronger would be 37. Rfl. Then Rxd4 would lose to 30. g4 and mate would 37 ... Nxb3 38. Qe3 Qg4t 39. Kxf2 Qf5t 40. come. With the threat of mate, the sac­ Kg2 Qg6t 41. Qg3 Qxg3t 42. Kxg3 NcS. rificeof the Queen was inevitable in this The ending was also Rook versus Knight, disadvantageous situation. but this time it is the h-pawn against 29. Qxd4? the f-pawn. Possibly this could have been 30. Qg4t Kh7 in White's favor. 31. Nxd4 Rxd4 B. 30. Nxg7 Qc6 31. QgS Kh7 32. Rf1 32. Qf5t Nxb3 33. Qh4t Kg8 34. Qxf2 ReS 35. BeS The Knight was lost and there was Qc4! This not only defended, but it no compensation fo r the Queen. planned the exchange of Queens. 36. NeB 32. ... Kg8 Qxflt 37. Qxfl Rcl. In the resulting end­ 33. Qxas Rd3 ing thereare chances for both sides, but 34. Qb6 Bc8 the presence of opposite-colored Bishops 35. Qxf6 Be6 made a draw possible too. This long 36. QgSt Bg7 analysis shows that the move 25 ... e3 37. h3 Rxb3 was necessary to clear the hl-a8 diago­ 38. Rxe4 Rb1t nal, and to obtain counterplay against 39. Kh2 b3 the white King by any means. 40. Qd8t Bf8 26. Re1?1 41. ReS b2 Such carelessness was not typical 42. RgSt Kh7 of Nezh's play when he was attack­ 43. Qxf8 ing. However, the win wasn't gone. 26. Black surrendered (1-0). Qg4t Kh7 27. Qh4t Kg8 [27 ... Kg6 28. One would say, "Nezhmetdinov won g4! with mate ahead] 28. Bxf6! by chance!" Luck likes strong people: he 26. ... Rd2 fo ught up to the end and used all his 27. Qg4t chances, and Caissa smiled upon him. This was better than 27. Re3 Qxe3! [weaker is 27 ... Rd3 28. Qg4t Kh7 29. Qh4t Kg8 30. Rg3t Rxg3 31. Qxg3t Kh7 26. 32. Qh4t Kg8 33. Bxf6] 28. Nxe3 Rxb2 Super Nezh-A. Lein 29. QxaS Rbl t 30. Nfl Rxb3 31. Qb6 Bc8 c 14 32. Qxf6 Rc3 33. QgSt Bg7 34. Ng3 e3! Chigorin Memorial 35. h4! White should win, though there Sochi 1965 could be difficulties. 27. ... Kh7 1. e4 e6

=84 = Nl•zhnwtdtnov, Chl'ss Assassin

2. d4 dS 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. BgS Be7 S. eS Nfd7 6. Bxe7 Qxe7 7. f4 o-o 8. NO CS 9. dxcS White wanted to follow Nimzovich's way: relinquishing the pawn center to gain a piece blockade or pressure Wrong in principle, as it eliminated on the squares d4 and eS. More often a piece which was important fo r the we see 9. Bd3 or 9. Qd2, aiming to pre­ control of d4 and eS. White managed serve the pawn center and prepare, to control these squares. It was nec­ under its cover, piece pressure on the essary to play 14 ... a6. central squares. 1S. BbSI Rac8 9. ... f6 16. Bxc6 Bxc6 White had now lost his grip on the 17. Nd4 pawn center. 17. Qe3 was not better because of 10. exf6 Qxf6 17... d4! 18. Qe2 dxc3. 11. g3 Nc6 17. ... bSI 12. Qd21? Having lost the battle fo r the cen­ Nezh chose the sharpest plan with ter, Black tried to find counterplay on opposite-side castling. After 12. Bd3, the flank. It was no use takingthe pawn: a transposition of moves yielded the 18. NcxbS BxbS 19. NxbS Rb8 20. Nd4 position from Keres-Lilienthal, 17th USSR Ne4, and Black would stop White's ini­ eh., 1949: 12 ... Nxc5 13. 0-0 Bd7 14. Qd2 tiative. Be8 15. Rae1 Rd8 16. NeS with a small 18. QeSI but firm advantage for White based Nimzovich would have been glad on control of the d4- and eS-squares. to see this systematic move which goes 12. Nxcs hand in hand with White's fi ght for 13. Q-0.0 Rd8 the center. 14. Qe11 18. ... b4 This not only parried the threat 14 ... Black still hopes to create counter­ Ne4, but, more importantly, contrib­ play. However, when White predomi­ uted to the gradual success of the plan nates in the center, it's impossible. That's to control the center. why now, and during the usual moves, 14. ... Bd7? a defensive Queen exchange deserves attention, afterwhich the white eS-pawn could become a weakness. 19. Nce2 Be8 20. g4 as 21. Qxf6 White considered the consequences of a subsequent ...es in refusing to block-

=85= Tlw Jll�hl odl' t lw cl'nter. thing with his extw pawn. 21. . . . gxR; 30. axb3 Rc1 t 22. Ng3 e5? 31. Rxc1 Rxc1t In this case the counterattack was 32. Ka2 Bxd3 wrong since it just lost a pawn. Black Black's goal was in sight: perpetual probably missed something. The more check. White was to move, and he brings tranquil 22 ... Bf7 could sufficiently his threats home in time to escape the preserve the position. draw. It was interesting that Black was 23. fxeS fxeS hindered by his own h-pawn: if it hadn't 24. Ndf5 been there, White wouldn't have man­ The threats RxdS and Ne7t put both aged to attack, and Black would have central pawns in danger. been able to draw. 24. ... Rc7 33. ReSt Kf'l 25. Rhe1 BbSI 34. Nd6t Kg6 On the verge of defeat, Black remained If 34 ... Kg 7 there was a fo rced win: elusive and so complicated the fight. 3S. NhSt Kh6 [3S ... Kg6 36. Rg8t and 26. Kb1 37. Nf7#J 36. Nflt Kg6 37. NeSt Kh6 It was early fo r 26. RxeS? because 38. Nxd3. of 26 ... Nd3t. 35. Re6t KgS 26. d4 36. Nf'7tl Kf4 27. RxeS d31 36 ... Kxg4 37. NeSt; 36 ... Kh4 37. Rh6t Kxg4 38. NeSt KgS 39. RhSt and 40. Nxd3. 37. Ne2t Bxe2 38. Rxe2 It was time to surrender, but the game continued: 38. Kxg4 39. NeSt Kh3 40. Nxd3 Rc7 41. Nf4t Kg4 A witty counterattack which made 42. NdS Rf'7 White more cautious. 43. Re3 Rf2 28. Ka1 Rdc8 44. Rg3t Kh4 On 28 ... a4 Nezh planned 29. Ne3 45. Ne3 Rxh2 b3 30. cxd3 Bxd3 31. NdS! 46. Rg7 29. cxd3 Nb3t Black surrendered (1·0t. In reply to this attempt to force the draw, White found the best way out. Better was 29 ... Nxd3; Nezh consid­ 27. ered that after 30. Ne7t Kh8 31. Nxc8 Super Nezh-L. Shamkovich Nxes 32. Nd6 Rd7 33. b3 White's chances 8 13 were better [33 ... Nxg4? 34. Rd4 and Moscow 1970 3S. NxbS]. but stronger was 32 ... Bd3! and it was hard fo r White to do any- 1. e4 c6

=86= Nrzhnwldinnv, Clwss Assassin

2. d4 d5 3. exd5 cxd5 4. Bd3 Nc6 5. cl Nffi 6. Bf4 Bg4 7. Qb3 Qc8 8. Nd2 e6 9. Ng£3 Be7 10. Ne5 Nxes An alternative was an idea offered by Larsen, 10 ... Bh5 and ...Bg6. To counter the threat 19. Ne3, yet 11. Bxes o-o it allowed White to sharpen the play. 12. Qc2 Bf51 19. f4 1? Weaker was 12 ... h6 or 12 ... g6, White decides to make a calculated which would have createdopportunities push, cutting offthe retreat squares fo r White to open the g- or h-file af­ fo r his own Bishop because he saw no ter the march of pawns on the king­ other prospective opportunities. On 19. side. The continuation 12 ... Kh8 13. axb5 axb5 [weaker was 19 ... Qxb5 20. h3 Bh5 14. Bxf6 Bxf6 15. Bxh7 g6 16. Qxb5 axb5 21. f3 Nd2 22. f4 Nxfl 23. g4 wouldn't work in this case because KxflBh6 and White would have a small White is probably winning after16 ... advantage] 20. f3 Nd2 21. Qc2 Nxfl 22. Bxd4 [16 ... Kxh7 transposes] l7. gxh5 Kxfl f6 23. Bg3 f4 24. Bf2 g6 and the Kxh7 18. Rgl!. play would be about equal; and there ·13. Bxf5 exf5 was no advantage from 19. f3 Nd2 20. 14. QbJ Nxd2 Bxd2 21. Re2 Bh6. White can't achieve an advantage 19. ... a; this way, but after 14. 0-0 g6 15. Rfel Black missed an opportunity with Qc6 16. Re2 Ne4 Black would have gotten 19 ... Bh4!. Then 20. g3 [20. axb5 Bf2tl good chances. 21. Khl axb5 22. Reel Rxal 23. Rxal 14. ... Qc6 f6 24. Bc7 Qxc7 25. Qxd5t Kh8 and White Possibly more precise would have wouldn't have had enough compen­ been 14 ... Re8; after 15. 0-0 Qc6 16. f3 sation fo r the lost piece.] bxa4! 21. Rxa4 Nh5 17. c4 Rad8 18. cxd5 Qxd5 19. Qxd5 [21. Qxa4 Qxa4 22. Rxa4 and after 22... Rxd5, as in Baier-Kramer, 1974, Black Bd8 the Bishop on d5 would be lost: might have had the better endgame 23. Ne3 f6 24. Nxd5 fxe5 25. fxe5 Rf7 ! chances. and Black would have chances for vic­ 15. 0-0 tory.] Bd8 [If Black played the straight­ 15. a4 was worthwhile to prevent forward 21 ... f6 , then 22. Bc7! Qxc7 ...b5. 23. Qxd5t and 24. Qxf51 would be in 15. bS White's favor because the Bishop on 16. a4 a6 h4 would have nowhere to go.] 22. Ne3 17. Rfe1 Ne4 Nd2! 23. Qdl f6 [Black should not try 18. Nfl Bg5 to win with 23 ... Nf3t? because 24. Qxf3Qxa4 25. Qxd5 would give White a strong attack.] 24. Bd6! Re8 25. Rb4

=87= Ne4. lt should be noted that these moves Both sides Wl'l'l' li�Jhl in�J veryresource­ were not obligatory but have been shown fully, and after 30 ... Rd7 the natural to demonstrate the potential of Black's outcome of the Queen exchange would double-edged possibilities. have been a draw. Black's game move, 20. fxg5 fxe5 however, allows his rival to launch a 21. Ne3 exd4 dangerous attack. 22. Nxd5 Kh8 31. Nf'7tl Kg8 23. cxd4 Rad8 32. Ne5 Qd61 24. Nf4 Shamkovich cooly defends. "A more The game was equal. White might reliable" 32 ... Qd5 would actually be hope fo r a minimal advantage after beaten at once because of the knock­ 24. Nb4 Qd6 25. Nc2 Rb8 26. axbS Rxb5 out punch 33. Nc6! 27. Qa3 Qxa3 28. bxa3 Nxg5 because 33. Qb3t Qd5 of a little better ending. 34. Rat! g61 24. ... Rxd4 Again, the only way to defend. All 25. axb5 axb5 other lines would have lost: 34 ... h5 26. Qe31 35. Ra8t Kh7 36. g6t Kh6 and 37. Rh8#; The attractive 26. Ne6? would bring 34 ... Kf8 35. Ra8t Ke7 36. Qa3t with difficulties to White because of 26 ... the decisive invasion of the Queen, as Rd2 27. Qe3 (27. Nxf8? Rxg2t 28. Kxg2 36 ... Qc5 37. Qxcst followed by 38. Nc6t Nd2t) Rc8! and the initiative would would be the end. soon pass to Black .. 35. Ra8t Kg7 26. ... Rfd8 36. Ra7t Kg8 27. h4 Qd6 37. Qxd5t Rxd5 Perhaps 27 ... Rd2 would be more 38. Nf'71 Rdtt energetic, but after 28. Re2 Rdlt 29. 38 ... Rd2 would have been better. Rel Rxel t 30. Rxel Rd2 31. g4! White 39. Kh2 Rf1 would have equalized. 40. Nh6t Kf8 28. Ra7 Qc5 41. Rxh7 f4 Owing to active play, Black prepared The only hope would be to create to seize the initiative. counterthreats to the white King. It 29. Ne61 seems the draw was easy to achieve Wrong would have been 29. Rxg7? after 41. .. Rf4. For example: 42. Kh3 because of the winning 29 ... Rdl!. (42. g3 Rf2t43. Kh3 Rxb2 44. Rf7tKe8 29. ... Qxa7 45. Rg7 Nf2t46. Kg2 Ng4t 47. Kfl Ne5) 30. Nxd8 Qd7? Rfl 43. g4 f4 44. Kg2 Rf2t 45. Kh3 Rfl. There was more subtle play after ��� �� �� �w 41. .. Rf4: 42. Rf7t! Ke8 43. Rg7 Rxh4t � � �_p{ 44. Kgl Rh5 (44 ... NxgS 45. Rxg6 fol­ �������5, lowed by 46. Nxf5] 45. Rxg6 Nxg5 46. �" ��1� �� � �1%�'""�- � Nxf5 Nf3t 47. gxf3Rxf5 48. Kf2 ReS 49. � "a..;'�-·l�- Rg2! and it would have been difficult . . ··' ��� -,��� - fo r Black to achieve the draw. �%"���- .i�f� 42. b4 Ke871

� �.. . . . � 43. Ng4 � � �. ! � =BB = Nezhmetdlnov, Chess Assassin

Now the game was quickly becoming drawn. However, on 43. Rg71 Black had serious, perhaps unsolvable problems. For example, 43 ... Ng3 44. Kh3 Ne4 45. Kg4 Nf2t 46.Kxf4 Nd3t 47. Ke4 Nf4 48. g3 and then 49. Rxg6. Only not 43. Kh377Nf2t 44. Kh2 #.Rhl 43. Ng3 44. Nf6t Kf8 45. Kh3 Nf5 46. Rd7 It was still possible to lose: 46. Nd57 Ne31. 46. ... Ne3 47. Kh2 Rf2 48. Nh7t and White declared perpetual check. A game wherein both rivals showed themselves at their best.

=89 = The Plght

9th Ruulan eh. / Ylroalavl 1949 Pia yen 1 2 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 Polnll Place 1 Dubinin • • • • • • • • ••••••• 9.5 1·2 2 !livitsky • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 9.5 1·2 3 Aratovsky • • • • • • • • • • • • 8.5 l4 4 Konstantinov • • • • • • • • • •••• 8.5 l4 5 Aronin • • • • • • • • ••••• 8 S-8 6 Grechkin • • • • • •••••• 5-8 7 Kamyshov ••• • • • •••• • 5-8 8 Sopkov • • • •• • • • ••••• S-8 9 Knishenko •• • ••• • • • • • • 7.5 9-10 10 Krogius • • • • • ••• • • • • • 7.5 9-10 11 Nezhmetdinov • • • • • • ••• • • • • 11-12 12 Novotyelnov • • • • • • • • •• 7 11-12 13 Bastrikov • • • • • • • • • 6.5 13 14 Zagorovsky • • • •••• • • 6 14 IS Ivashin • • • • • •• • • 5.5 IS 16 Ly ublinsky • • • • • • • • • • 16 I 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 IS 16

Semi·finals,17thUSSR eh./ Tbilisi 1949 Players 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 Points Place 1 Geller . • • ••••••••••••• 11.5 1 2 Petrosyan • . • • •••••••••••• 11 2 3 Hobnov • • . • • • • • • • • • • • • 10 3 4 Novotyelnov • • . • • • • • • • • • • 9 4-5 5 Chistyakov • • • . • • • • • • • • • 9 4-5 6 Grechkin • • • . • • • • • • • • • 8.5 6-9 7 lliv itsky • • • • . • • • • • • • • • • 8.5 6-9 8 Makagonov • • • . • • • • • • • • • 8.5 6-9 9 Ebralidze • • • • • • • . • • • • • • • 8.5 6-9 10 Vasiliev • • • • • • • . • • • • • • 8 10 11 Klaman • • • • • • . • • • • 7.5 11 12 Nezhmetdinov • • • • • • . • • • 7 12 13 Kasparyan • • • • • • . • • • 6.5 13 14 Lubensky • • • • • • • . • • • 6 14-15 15 Sobnanis • • • • • • • • . • 6 14-15 16 Pogrebiddky • • • • • • • • . • 5.5 16 17 Aramanovich • • • • • • • • • . 5 17 18 Pirtshalava • • ·-· ------· withdrew 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17

= 90 =

Attack

28. ing wasn't •wressmy yet. The most pas­ Super Nezh-N. Novotyelnov sive black piece was the Bishop on d7. 883 That was why it was worth paying Semifinals 17th USSR eh. attention to 16 ... Nb4 17. c3 Nd5 to Tbilisi 1949 vacate the c6-square fo r the Bishop. 17. Neg5 dxe5 1. e4 c5 2. N£3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 18. fxe5 Nb4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 d6 6. Be2 e6 19. c3 Nd5 7. 0-0 Be7 8. Be3 a6 9. f4 Qc7. Nowadays the Scheveningen line is played with an attempt not to lose a tempo on a7-a6. For example: 8 ... 0-0 9. f4 Qc7 10. Ndb5 Qb8 11. a4 Rd8 12. Bf3 Bd7 13. Qd2 Be8, with approximately equal chances, Larsen-Ko rchnoy, Lone Pine 1981. 10. Qe1 0-0 11. Qg3 20. Rxd51 The sacrifice of material was cor­ rect owing to the weakening of the e6- square. An energetic attack begins. 20. ... exd5 21. Qh3 h6 22. e61 Bxg5 23. Nxg5 Bc6 24. Bh5 Qe7 25. Nf7t Kg8 11. ... Kh8? 26. QxfS A trite, non-concretepreventive move. The position was hopeless for Black: It's bad to play this way in the dy­ 26 ... Nd6 27. Qg6 Nxf7 28. exf7t Kh8 29. namic Sicilian Defense. A good plan Bd4; 26 ... Qf6 27. e7 Qxe7 [27 ... Rxf728. is 11... Bd7 with the aim 12... Nxd4 Bxf7tKh8 (28 ... Kxf7 29. Qh5t and 30. and 13... Bc6. Rf6t)] 28. Qxc8; 26 ... Rc7 27. Qg6 Nf6 28. 12. Rad1 Bd7 Nxh6t Kh8 29. Nf7t Kg8 30. Bd4. 13. Kh1 Rac8 26. Nf6 Also playable was 13 ... Nxd4 14. 27. Nxh6tl gxh6 Bxd4 Bc6. 28. Bf7t Rxf7 14. N£3 b5 29. exf7t Kxf7 15. e51 30. Qxc8 d4 Just in time. Now White would have 31. Bxd4 Bxg2t excellent prospects for attackingthe King. 32. Kxg2 Qe4t 15. ... Ne8 33. R£3 Qg6t 16. Ne4 fS? 34. Kh1 Qb1t "Fear has big eyes." This weaken- 35. Bg1

=92= Nl'zhnwtdlnov. Chess Assassin

lllack resi�Jned (1·01. exd5l Kd7 13. Nc6 Qb6 14. Qf31 with a strong attack. 11. Bg3 eS 29. 12. Nf5 Super Nezh-L. Shamkovich B94 14th Russian eh. Rostov-on-Don 1954

1. e4 cs 2. Nf.3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. BgS Nbd7 7. Bc4. By 1954 this system was very topical and its theory was makingits firststeps. Nezh actively participatedin the process. 12. Be6 He wrote that he had studied it since 1950 Bad was 12 ... Ncxe4 13. Nxe4 Nxe4 and had prepared some interesting ideas because of 14. Qd5. in the line: 7 ... e6 8. 0-0 b5 9. Bxe6!. This 13. BdSI sacrificeis so effective, that 7 ... e6 van­ The main advantage in White's po­ ished from tournamentpractice. sition was his possession of the d5 and 7. ... h6 f5 squares.

To day even this move has lost its 13. . . . Bxf5 reputation, and in the majority of cases Black's troubles were illustrated by you'll see 7 ... Qa5 8. Qd2 e6 9. 0-0-0. 13 ... Bxd5 14. Nxd5. After 14 ... Nxd5 8. Bh4 15. Qxd5 his position was strategically Literally each move in this game's hopeless, and if14 ... Nfxe4 15. b4! Nxg3 opening needs comment, because in the 16. bxc5 NxfS 17. Qg41 he threatened last 40 years its theory has advanced not only to take the Knight, but also considerably. Now it's admitted that 8. to give a lethal check at a4. On 14 ... Bxf6 Nxf6 9. Qd2 or 9. Qd3 is stronger. Ncxe4 possible was 15. Qf3 Nxd5 16. 8. ... e6 Qxe4 Nf6 17. Qxb7 Rb8 18. Qxa6 with 9. 0·0 NcS 18 ... Rxb2 being no good because of The "natural" 9 ... Be7 almost leads 19. Bxe5!. to catastrophe: 10. Bxe6! fxe6 11. Nxe6 In the spirit ofplaying the best line, Qa5 12. Nxg7t Kf7 13. NfS, with three Nezh recommended13 ... Nxd5 14. Nxd5 pawns and the initiative for the piece. BxfS [14 ... Nxe4 15. Rxe4 Bxf5 16. Rxe5t! The same sacrifice of the Bishop was dxe5 17. Bxe5 with the strongest at­ possible after9 ... b5, namely 10. Bxe6. tack.] 15. exfSNd7, and considered this 10. Re1 gS? position as plausible for defense. This Being afraid of10 ... Be7, 11. b4 Ncd7 was a rare case of mistaken advice 12. Bxe6, Black wants to fully get rid in his analysis. After 16. f6 ! Black was of the sacrificial threaton e6 by means close to surrender, as 16 ... Nxf6 17. of weakening his flank.This could hardly Bxe5! dxe5 18. Rxe5t wouldn't have given be a good idea. Also dangerous was him any chance. 10 ... b5 because of 11. Bd5! exd5 12. All these variations led to the con-

=93= Attack el usion that Block's position was hope­ White's ottock wouldn't weaken. less, and the decisive mistake was prob­ 26. hS ably 10 ... g5. Instead, 10 ... Bd7 could 27. Rd7t Kh6 have been recommended, preparing b7- 28. g41 b5 and then ...Be7. Not being satisfied with the extra 14. exf5 material,White preparedmating threats. 28. h4 29. BhS ReS 30. Rd6t Kg7 31. f6t Kh6 32. Ne71 Rb8 Other lines:32 ... Rxc2 33. NfSt etc.; 32 ... Rc7 33. f7t Kg734. NfStand it would be mate in one. 33. Nf5t Kh7 34. f1 14. Qc8 Black surrendered (1-0J. By protecting the b7-pawn, Black made it easier fo r his opponent to begin an attack. A lesser evil would have been 30. 14 ... Be7 15. b4 Ncd7 16. Bxb7 Rb8 17. Super Nezh-1. Zilber Bxa6 Rxb4. 862 15. BxeSI dxes USSR Team eh. 16. Rxest Be7 Voroshilovgrad 1955 17. Qe2 Qc7 18. Re1 Nce4 1. e4 cs 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Worse was 18 ... Ng8, because of 19. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 Nc6 6. BgS e6 f6 . 7. g3. 19. Rxe4 Like any other self-respecting re­ 19. Bxe4 is also very good for White. searcher, Nezh was very jealous about 19. Nxe4 the correct attribution of authorship 20. Qxe4 Kf8 for opening ideas, ofwhich he had plenty. 21. Bxf11 In this line he declared: This not only provided the continu­ ation for the attack, but enough ma­ White repeats a peculiar line terial advantage to win. by fionchettoing his white·

21. •.. Bf6 squaredBishop. which I used If 21 ... Kxf7, good was 22. Nd5 and against G. Ilivitsky in 1947. 23. Qxe7t. This variant was worked out 22. Bg6 Qe7 by me. but since my game 23. Qxe7t Bxe7 with Ilivitsky was not well­ 24. NdS Bd8 known. some theorists an­ 25. Re6 Kg7 nounced in 1954 that it was 26. Rd6 founded by D. Bronstein. Even after the Queen exchange, R.N.

=94= Nezhmetdlnov, Chl'ssAssassin

Of course, tlw practical value ofthis variant was low, os Block could hove easily equalized, but it was the prin­ cipal that mattered, and of course, Nezh was right. The reason fo r this claim was Koblents' book Sicilian Defense, pub­ lished in 1955. In it the origin of7. g3 was said to be the game between Bran­ stein and Geller from the 1953 Candi­ dates' To urnament. There is no reason to look for hidden meanings. In those White reacted strongly to Black's times there were no computers and In­ inaccuracy. In similar pawn structures fo rmants, the majority of a master's with the isolated h-pawn, the h5-square games weren't found anywhere, and can oftenbe a good place for the Queen, many opening discoveries were "found" and the Bishop located on the diago­ again by others. nal f1-a6 would be more active. The Speaking about the authorship of move g2-g3 doesn't necessarily imply the 7. g3 variant, I should add that that a fianchetto of the Bishop was having looked through the Encyclope­ obligatory. dia of Chess Openings, I saw that only 11. ... Be7?1 one line [without noticing any names] IfBlack was planning to castle short, was devoted to this move. castling long is more difficulthere, it "Everything has gone before ..." would have been better for him to move 7. ... QaS? the Bishop to g7. Having come across this surprise, 12. f4 Bd7 (Koblents' book was issued a bit later, 13. f5 0-0 and the famous book by Bronstein about 14. Rfl NeS the Candidates' Tournament appeared 15. Rf4 Kg7 only the next year.] Zilber reacted un­ Black finds the only move which successfully. In the mentioned game allowed him to escape immediate de­ Nezhmetdinov-Ilivitsky, Black played struction. better: 7 ... Be7 8. Bg2 0-0 9. 0-0 Nxd4, 16. Rh4 Rh8 and Black got the better game. 17. Qh6t Kg8 8. Bxf6 gxf6 Paying for the inaccuracy at move 9. Nb3 Qc7 11, and walling in the Rook. 18. 0-0-0 Qd8 On o recommendation by A. 19. Nd4 Bf8 Koblents after the game, that 20. QhS Qe7 9 ... Qg5 would be better, 10. 21. Nf3 Bg7 f4 Qg7 11. Nb5 prevents Block 22. Nxes dxes from costling. 23. Bc4 R.N. Here we clearly see Nezh's prudence. He chose exactly, in the opening, the 10. QhSI a6 correct diagonal for the Bishop. 11. Be21 23. ... bS

=95= Attack

24. fx e6 Kg7 37. Rxh!l Kxh!l 3!!. Bf7 Bg l 39. h3 Bf2 40. Bxh5. Then, after 40 ... Bxg3, White would play b2-b4 and Bh5-g4- c8, picking the pawns off the queen­ side. l6. Rh6 l7. Kc2 h4 l8. Kdl Bgt l9. gxh4 Rxh4 40. Rf7t Ke8 4t. Rxf6 Rxh2 24. fx e6 42. b4 Rhlt After24 ... Bxe6, the d5-squarewould 4l. Kc2 Rh2t have been in White's possession for 44. Kbl Bel free. 45. Rxa6 Bet 25. NdSI 46. Bc6t A splendid combinational shot, given Black surrendered (t-Ot. exactly in the most painful spot. The Knight couldn't be taken, but to not take it would also be bad. 31. 25. ... Qf7 Super Nezh-M. Vasiliev 26. Nc71 Qxhs 847 27. Rxhs Be8 16th Russian eh. 28. Bxe6t Kf8 Kislovodsk 1956 29. Nxa8 BxhS lO. Rd7 t. e4 CS 2. N£3 a6 l. Ncl e6 4. The invasion of the Rook decided d4 cxd4 5. Nxd4 Qc7 6. Be2 Nf6 the outcome, but some accuracy in the 7. 0-0 bS?. realizationof the advantage was needed. lO. ... Bh6t Premature. He should hove

lt. Kbt Bel played either 7 ... Nc6, or 7 ... l2. Nc7 Be8 Bb4. White was obliged to agree upon R.N. the appearance of opposite-colored Bish­ ops. However, the difference in the power 8. B£3 Bb7 of the Rooks was so obvious, that this 9. eSI "opposite-calor" couldn't have saved White was ready to begin active play. Black. 9. Ng8 ll. Nxe8 Kxe8 tO. Bxb7 Qxb7 l4. Rb7 Kf8 tt. Ret Ne7 lS. cl hS t2. a41 l6. BdS One more result of an early pawn Here it was also possible to make move on the flank-Blackwas obliged a calm exchange of Rooks. This possi­ to make a further weakening of his bility was given by Damsky: 36. Rb8t pawn structure.

=96= Nl':t.hml'tdinov, Chess Assassin

1 2. b4 needed to add to the attack of the un­ 13. Ne4 Ng6 developed pieces. 14. Qf3 22. ... Nxe5 Nezh considered this as provocative, 23. Bf4 Nd3 but not the best way of developing the Allthe white pieces were at last joined initiative, so he recommended 14. Nf3! in the attack. Now, in the middle of Nc6 15. Nd6t Bxd6 16. Qxd6, captur­ the board, they have a decisive effect. ing important squares. The move in This was proven in Nezhmetdinov's the game was not bad. analysis of other retreats by the Knight.

14. •.. Nc6 Another idea was 14 ...Qd5. For this For example, 23 ... Nc4 24. Nezh gave: 15. Nf5! Nxe5 16. Ned6t! b31 Nb6 25. Bc7 NcS 26. Rod1 Bxd6 17. Qxd5 exd5 18. Nxd6t Ke7 19. Qxh5 27. RdSt Ke7 2S. Red1. Nxf7! Kxf7 20. Rxe5 Re8 21. Rxe8 Kxe8 If 23 ... Nd7, then 24. Rod1 22. Be3 Nc6 23. Rd1, winning the pawn. Qxh5 25. Qdll, and in spite Easier was 15. Nd6t Bxd6 16. Qxd5 exd5 of the three extra pawns, 17. exd6t with an overwhelming White Block's position is hopeless: advantage. 25 ... Qd5 26. Qc2; 25 ... RdS 15. Ng5 Nd8 26. Bc7; 25 ... Nb6 26. Nd6t 16. Qg3 Qd5 Ke7 [26 ... Bxd6 27. Qxd6 ReS 17. c3 Nc6 2S. Rxe6t fxe6 29. Qxe6t Kf8 18. Nxc6 dxc6 30. Bd6#) 27. Nf5t KeS 2S. 19. h4 h6 Qc2 ReS 29. oS Nd5 30. Rxd5!, and White wins. R.N.

24. Rad1 Nxe1 After 24 ... 0-0-0 25. Re3 Nxf4 26. Rxd5 Nxd5 27. Rd3 f5, resistance would have been more persistent. 25. Rxd5 cxd5 26. Nd6t Bxd6 27. Bxd6 Nc2 20. c41 28. Bc51 A note, explaining this position: 29. A driving away sacrifice, done Qd6 was threatened, and the Knight fo r the transference of the had no way to escape. Knight to o powerful posi­ 28. Rd8 tion in the center. 29. Qc7 Rd7 R.N. 30. Qc8t Rd8 31. Qc6t Rd7 20. Qxc4 32. Bb6 Ke7 21. Ne4 Qd5 33. Qxc2 d4 22. h51 34. Qc5t Kf6 The sacrificeof one more pawn was 35. Qxb4 d3

=97= Attack

36. Qf4t Ke7 10. h3 Bd7, hut ht> didn't get any ad­ 37. BeSt Ke8 vantage. 38. Bb4 Rg8 7 .... d6 39. Qb8t Rd8 8. 0·0 Nbd7 40. Qb7 Rd7 This opened things up a little bit. The time control move was made Black's inventiveness did not include and Black, having no wish to adjourn castling short, though 8 ... Be7 9. f4 a hopeless game, surrendered (1·0t. 0-0 was, of course, possible. 9. f4 bS 10. BO Bb7 32. 11. g4 h6 Super Nezh-V. Zhilin 12. Re1 Nb6 843 13. Qe2 18th Russian eh. Sochi 1958

1. e4 cs 2. NO e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 a6 s. Nc3 Qc7 6. a3. The history of this move in Paulsen's system has seen peaks and valleys. It was first seen in the game Aronin­ Ko nstantinopolsky, 20th USSR eh., Mos­ cow 1952. The new move went unnoticed until it was given a second life by Nezh 13. eS?I in this game. Then the move gained In search ofcounterplay Black weak­ some definite popularity, and it con­ ened some squares in the center. Such tinued for a short period of time. In serious measures were not needed yet. the 70s it again disappeared from tour­ 13 ... Nc4 was better. nament practice, and not only from 14. NfS g6 there. It wasn't even mentioned in the 15. Ne3 Be7 second edition of ECO, so today we can 16. NedSI consider the move 6. a3 as a fo rgot­ White began active play first. Af­ ten one. The reason for that, the threat ter the forced Knight exchange, Black of the pinning 6 ... Bb4, was of no danger will be obliged to castle long to escape for White, so it was not necessary to problems on the e-file, andthen White lose a tempo to avoid it. will make a solid plan to open up play Nezh analyzed a lot and used this on the queenside. It should be clear system with White. 6. Bd3, 6. Be2 and that White had won the opening battle. 6. g3 also were played in his practice. 16. NfxdS 6. ... Nf6 1 7. exdS 0·0·0 Preferable was 6 ... b5 7. g3 Bb7. 18. a41 b4 7. Be2 19. as Nd7 In the game Olafsson-Bilek, Stock­ holm 1962, White played more aggres­ sively: 7. f4 !? d6 8. g4 h6 9. Bg2 Nc6

=98= Nl•zhml•tdlnov, Chess Assassin

token their ideol positions, the only thing left was to removethe black Bishop. 3L ... ReS 32. d61 32. Rxb7 and then 33. d6 led towards victory, but the text move chosen by White was easier. 32. Bxg2t 33. Kxg2 Qc6t 34. Kg1 RdS 20. Na21 3S. Ra8tl A sudden retreat. White, without Black surrendered because of an in­ worrying about the loss of a pawn, escapable mate in 3 (1·0t- was eager to get in c2-c3, important fo r the attack and an advanced out­ post for the Knight on b4. 33. 20. Bh4 Super Nezh-V. Sergievsky 21. Rfl exf4 B47 22. Bxf4 BgS Russian Spartakiade It was important for Black to ex­ }oshkar-Ola 1963 change the black-squared Bishop, as it could have been dangerous in an 1. e4 cS 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. attack. Nxd4 a6 S. Nc3 Qc7 6. Be2 Nc6 23. Bg2 QxaS? 7. Be3 Bb4 8. Nxc6 dxc671. Absolutely unexplainable and even Better was 8 ... Bxc3t 9. bxc3, and suicidally greedy.White hadn't yet broken only then 9 ... dxc6. open a single file on the queenside and 9. Qd4 Bf8 Black did it for him! It was worth noting Inexact. This gave White a compli- that 23 ... Kb8 24. Qd2 QcSt 25. Kh1 mentary tempo for development. Ne5 presented opportunities for a per­ 10. 0-0 es sistent defense. After the move played 11. Qd2 Nf6 in the game White used the open file 12. f4 1 Be7 energetically. 13. Qe1 exf4 24. Kh11 QcS Black decided against castling be­ 2S. c3 b3 cause he was afraid of an attack. Still, 26. Nb4 Rhe8 he should have castled. 27. Qd3 Bxf4 14. Bxf4 Qb6t 28. Nxa61 1S. Kh1 Be6 Necessary, otherwise Black would 16. a41 have gotten to play ...Ne5. It turned out that on 16 ... 0-0-0 he 28. Qb6 faced the very unpleasant 17. as and 29. Rxf4 NcS 18. Na4. 30. Nxcs dxcs 16. as 31. Rxf7 17. es Ng4 The work was done: the Rooks had 18. Bxg4 Bxg4

=99= Attuck

19. Ne41 Be6 28. Qd6 Kb7 20. Nd6t Bxd6 29. Qe7t Ka8 21. exd6 QcS? 30. Rd8t Rxd8 31. Qxd8t Kb7 32. Qe7t 32. Bf4 at once was too soon, as af­ ter 32 ... Ra8 the King would hide on a6. 32. ... Ka8 33. Qd8t By checking White saved time in zeitnot, while 33. Rdl was easier. 33. Kb7 Black had a finalchance to castle. 34. Qe7t Ka8 After 21 ... 0-0 22. Be5 Black would have 35. Rdl BdS been in trouble, but he would have been 36. Qd8t Kb 7 able to offe r resistance. 37. Qd7t 22. d7tl Accurate to the end: not 37. Bf4?, Now the black King had problems. because of 37 ... Ra8. 22. ... Kxd7 37. ... Ka8 23. Rdtt Kc8 38. Bf4 After 23 ... Ke8, then 24. Bd6 and Black surrendered (1·0). the weaknessof the black squareswould have quickly decided the matter. 24. Qg3 b6 34. Black was trying to get the King to Super Nezh--A. Niltitin a7, but now he created a new weak B53 square at b6. It was instructive to see Kaluga 1970 how Nezh, like a tick, clung to this weak- ne ss. 1. e4 cs 2. N£3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. 25. Be3 Qb4 Qxd4. 26. Rf41 In this game with a famous candi­ Forcingthe capture at b2 and opening date master, Nezh preferred to aban­ up one more file for the White attack. don traditional systems and wanted 26. ... Qxb2 to test the inexperienced opponent in 27. Rffi l his play, where all book lines would In a few moves Black's position looked be set aside. like a ruins. Nezh achieved this by sac­ 4. Nc6 rificing only twopawns. The concluding 5. BbS Bd7 stage began: the breakthrough of pieces 6. Bxc6 Bxc6 into the camp of the opponent and 7. c4 Nf6 smashing the King. 8. Nc3 g6 27. ... Ra6 9. 0-0 Bg7 Very awkward, but 27 ... Rb8 was 10. Ret no better. The game has come to regular sys-

=100= Nl•zhm('tdinov, Ch('ssAssassin tems. which hove oppeored in Mnroczy's !Bind] system or could turn into the English Opening. White's last move was not necessary.The scheme. recommended by theorists, provided for a retreat of the Queen to d3, then Nd4, b3, and lastly, Bb2. The resulting position was a very firm yetflexible setup. It was hard for Black to findan effective plan of coun­ terplay. In the main, Nezh provided the 16. ... e6? same plan, but it has some bias. White had achieved an ideal posi­ 10. ... 0-0 tion in the placement ofhis forces,though 11. Qd2 ideal doesn't mean a winning one. Black So that's why 10. Re1 was played, could defend persistently, but on the to protect the e4-pawn and to make condition of not creating weak points. it possible for the Queen to retreat to 16 ... Nxd5 17. exd5 ReS coincided with a more prospective square. this aim to defend. Black's position was 11. ... ReS passive yet, at the same time, firm 12. h3 enough. Unfortunately, Black couldn't The almost closed position made it "stop the jolt," and he fatally weak­ unnecessary to hurry. Moreover, Black ened the main diagonal. couldn't fi nd other active opportuni­ 17. NfSI ties. Effective, and instructive. Black would 12. ... b6?1 part with his black-squared Bishop, and A passive move. Black was prepar­ the result would be the same as when ing the retreat of the Bishop in case we take the pendulum out of a clock! of Nf3-d4, but even in a closed posi­ 17. ... BxdS tion tempi should be taken into account. The sacrifice of the piece was quite 12 ... Nd7 or 12 ... a6 would have been correct: 17 ... exd5 18. Nxg7 Kxg7 19. more active. Qd4 Qe6 20. exd5 Qf521. g4 Qg5 22. 13. Nd4 Ba8 f4 Qh4 23. Kg2 h6 24. g5. 14. b3 Qd7 18. Nxg7 eS Even here 14 ... Nd7 would have been 19. exdS Kxg7 more expedient, though White's ad­ 20. f4 1 vantage was solid. Black was helpless against this simple 15. Bb2 Rfd8 undermining. since he couldn't afford 16. NdS to open the long diagonal. He was forced to surrender thepawn, and at that point the fight came to an end. 20. Ne8 21. fx es dxes 22. Rxes f6 23. Qe31 Anartist is always an artist! Of course

=101 = Attack any retreat of the Rook would be enough 11. Qxb3 to win, but at the moment Nezh was 11. axb3 was considered to be the not interested in the score. stronger move, but Nezh aimed to get 23. ... fx es a position he had prepared in advance. 24. Qxest Kf7 11. Qd7 Alas, the King had no escape. 12. Nbd2 Rfe8 2S. Rfl t QfS 13. Nfl exd4?1 26. Rxf5t gxfS A voluntary surrenderingof the center. 27. Qxf5t In the game Smyslov-Bolbochan, Hel­ Black surrendered soon (l·Ot. sinki (01.) 1952, Black played the bet­ ter: 13 ... h6 14. Ng3 Bf8 1S. dS NoS 16. Qc2 c6 with the chances of success 35. being approximately equal. Super Nezh-Y. Estrin 14. cxd4 NaS C78 1S. Qc3 Semi-finals 19th USSR eh. Nezhmetdinov was eager to get to Baku 1951 this position. It was evidently in White's favor. He had a strong mobile center, 1. e4 es 2. N£3 Nc6 3. BbS a6 4. under the cover of which it was pos­ Ba4 Nf6 S. 0·0 bS 6. Bb3 d6 7. sible to preparean attack on the kingside. c3. 1S. Nc4 In his notes Nezh recommended A. 16. Ng3 cS Rabihovich's line: 7. NgS dS 8. exdS 17. b3 Nb6 Nd4 9. Re1 BcS 10. c31 (R.N.) Nxb3 11. 18. Bb2 b4?1 Rxest Kf8 12. axb3 Ng4 13. d4 "with Black drove the Queen to a place it enough compensation for the mate­ was eager to be-on the kingside. It rial." Later V. Hort and J. Pribyl found would have been better to play either the refutation: 12 ... Bxf2t!13. Kh1 Ng4, 18 ... aS, or 18... Bf8, in order to move and White dies! the Bishop to a defensive post. 7. Be7 19. Qd2 as 8. Re1 0-0 20. dxcs dxcs 9. h3 Be6 21. QgSJ h6 By a transposition ofmov es, the game 22. Qf4 c4?1 follows the regular lines of Chigorin's The d4-square shouldn't have been System in the Ruy Lopez and, by playing given to White before the attack. Bet­ 9 ... NaS 10. Bc2 cS instead, it would've ter would have been 22 ... Qe6, pro­ been possible to continue following that tecting the Knight and then aS-a4. strategy, tested in many games. The 23. Bd4 Ra6? text, played by Estrin [an outstand­ 23 ... Qe6 was necessary.to have 24... ing analyst and lover of rare, lesser­ Nbd7 against 24. NfS. known lines, and at the same time a 24. NfS future world corespondence champion! was second-rate, since Black can't hope for equality. 10. d4 Bxb3

=102 = Nczhmetdlnov. Chess Assassin

Ng8 13. d4 exd4 14. Nxd4 g6 15. c3 Bb7 16. Bc2 Bf6 17. Nfl ReS 18. h4 Nc4 19. Ng5 Nh6.

24. ... Qe6 If it had been possible to play 25 ... Nbd7. Black would have been okay. 25. Bxb611 G. Borisenko had the reputation as Suddenly, White exchanges his pride an outstanding theorist who had pub­ and joy, his attacking Bishop. Of course. lished much opening analysis. it was done for a definite reason: Ra­ He participated in 8 USSR champi­ shid had planned a decisive combination. onships. and later was a successful cor­ using the insecure g7-square. To bring respondence player [becoming an ICCF it to life the d4-square must be made grandmaster]. That's why Nezh had free for his Knight. deliberately chosen an unpretentious 25. Rxb6 opening variation and obtained a con­ 26. Nxg71 Kxg7 siderable advantage. 27. Nd4 Qc8 Another. almost identical variation This tactic often brings suc· was: 27 ... Qd7 28. NfStKg8 29. Qg3t cess against the theorists,who Ng4 30. Qxg4t Rg6 31. Nxh6t and 32. rely upon their knowledge Qxd7. of openings too much. 28. NfSt Kg8 R.N. 29. Qg3t Ng4 30. Qxg4t White got the initiative on the king­ Black surrendered (t-Ot, as on 30 ... side and now he was going for a di­ Rg6. 31. Nxe7t would follow. rect attack. 20. Nh51

36. Super Nezh-G. Borisenko C60 21st USSR eh. Kiev 1954

1. e4 e5 2. Nfl Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. 0·0 d6 6. d3 b5 7. Bb3 Na5 8. Nc3 Be7 9. h3 0-0 10. Rel c6 11. Ne2 Kh8 12. Ng3 20. gxh5

=103 = Attack

After taking the Knight, things hap­ hod to win. pened quickly and there was no es­ R.N. cape. It would have also been bad to exchange the f6-Bishop for the Knight. 29. ... Rb8 Probably best was 20 ... Be7 followed Not likely was 29 ... BcS 30. ReSt Kh7 by f7-f6, though this was also diffi­ 31. RxcS! RxcS and 32. Bxf5t. cult. 30. Rae1 21. QxhS Bg7

Unfortunately, I didn't delib­ erately sacrifice my Queen in this game: 21... Kg7 22. Qxh6tfl Kxh6 23. Ne6t Kg6 [or 23 ... Kh5 24. Bdtt. and mote is achieved one move earlier] 24. est Kh5 25. Bdtt Kg6 [25 ... Kxh4 26. g3t Kh3 27. Nf4#] 26. hSt Kf5 27. Nd4#. 30. NeS R.N. Because of the threat 31. ReS and 32. Bf5#, Black had little choice, but 22. est 30 ... Be5! would have been better. Nezh A white-squared Bishop also joined gave the following line: (30 ... Be5j 31. the attack and the threat 23. Nxf71 f4 Bxf4 32. ReSt RxeS 33. RxeSt Kg7 appeared. 22 ... Nxe5 wouldn't stop it: 34. Re7t Kg6 35. Rxb7, thinking, that 23. Rxe5!, and on 22 ... Qd7, the reply after he took the Bishop everything 23. e6! was a very strong move. Then would have been easy. After35 ... Nxb2 23 ... fxe6 24. Nxh7. 36. g4 Kxg5 37. gxf5 Be5 3S. Rb6 c5 39.

22. . . . f5 Rxa6 Nc4, the victory might have been 23. Nxh7f Re6f in doubt. However, this line could not On 23 ... Kxh7, 24. Bxf5twould follow. serve as a refutation of White's attack. Then 24 ... KgS 25. Bxh6, and the King Instead of 31. f4 , 31. Bxf5 was stron­ would have been helpless. ger, with a new threat, namely 32. Re4 24. Nf6 Rxf6 and 33. Rh4, uniting the Rooks for the 25. exf6 Qxf6 attack. 26. BgS Qf7 If 31 ... c5, good enough would have Having returned the extra material, been 32. f4 Bxf4 33. ReSt RxeS 34. RxeSt Black escaped mate and even managed Kg7 35. Re7t Kf836. Rxb7, and this end­ to exchange Queens, but White orga­ game was easily won. nized the second wave of his attack. 31. f4 Bf8 27. Qxf7 Nxf7 After31 ... Ng6 32. ReSt RxeS 33. RxeSt 28. Re7 Nxgs Kh7 34. Bxf5re signing would have been 29. hxgS okay. 32. Rc7 Everythingwas calculated up If White had won two pieces for the to this point. Ye t, White still Rook: 32. Rxb7? Rxb7 33. fxe5 dxe5 34.

=104= Nl•zhml'ldinov. Chl•ss Assassin

Rxe5, it could hove turnedinto o loss- - some compensation fo r the bad pawn an extra doubled pawn with Bishops structure in the fo rm of the Bishop pair. of opposite colors not being enough 19. g41 of an advantage for victory. Nezh felt the inner workings of "Ruy 32. Ng6 Lopez" positions through his "finger­ 33. BxfS Nxf4 tips." Before starting a massive offense 34. Re4 Nxg2 using the e- and f- pawns, he reinforced 3S. Rh7t Kg8 his pressuring piece, the Knight on f5. 36. g61 19. ... hxg3 No further comment. 20. Bxg3 Nf8?1 36. Bc8 Black was going to transfer the Knight 3 7. Bxc8 Rxc8 to e6, freeing the Bishop fromprotecting 38. Kxg2 as the c7-pawn. This plan was too slow. 39. Rd7 dS White was already beginning the of­ 40. Re6 Bh6 fensive, so Black should have played 41. Rdd6 Bel moreactively: 20 ... Bf6!, and if21. Bxc7, 42. b3 cS then 21 ... Bxc3 22. bxc3 BxfS 23. exf5 43. RxdS Bb2 Rxel t 24. Rxel Nh4, taking the f5-pawn 44. Rd7 Bxc3 and having enough chances in the end­ 4S. g7 Kh7 game. 46. Re3 Bxg7 21. Kh2 Ne6 Black resigned (l·Ot. 22. f4 bs 23. Rgl g6 By failing to address the issue that 37. passive defense was not enough, Black Super Nezh-R. Romanovsky was eager to make more serious weak­ Semifinals24th USSR eh. enings. The defense should have been Kharkov 1956 more cool-headed: 23 ... Kh7, preserved the opportune g7-g6 for a more con­ venient time. 24. Nh6t Kg7 2S. Ng4 f6 26. Ne5 or 26. f5 was threatened, that's why the position had to be weak­ ened again. 26. f5 NgS 27. Rgfl CS The situation had grown even more It is easy to recognize the outlines agitated. The counterthreat b5-b4 had of the Exchange Variation of the Ruy appeared, and it forces White to ac­ Lopez. Usually White, having extra celerate his plans. pawns on the king side, develops there, 28. eSI BxfS and what is left for Black is to move Black was now at the edge of the his pawns on the queenside in the hope abyss and inexact play will bring de­ of creating a passed pawn. Black has feat. So, 28 ... fxe5 29. Bxest Kh7 30.

=105= Attuck

Rxd81 Rxd8 31. fxgoj Kxg6 32. Rt6"jKh7 c3 d6 8. 0-0 0-0 9. Rd1 Qe7 10. 33. Rh6t Kg8 34. Rh8t would have won h3 Bb6 11. d4 Bb7 12. d5 Na5 by fo rce. The only precise way across 13. Bc2 c6 14. dxc6 Nxc6 15. this chasm was 28 ... gxB! 29. Nxf6 Bg5 h6 16. Bxf6 Qxf6 17. Nbd2 Bxf6 30. exf6t Kxf6! [Damsky] 31. Bh4 Ne7 18. Nfl . Rh8, and it was possible to equalize, for example: 32. Ne4t Kg6 and it would have been quite unlikely to have won the Knight. Or 32. Rf4? Rxh4!. Finally, after 32. NdSt Kg6 33. Bxg5 Kxg5 34. Rg1t Kh6 35. Nxc7 Ra7 36. Rd6t Kh7! [36 ... Kh5 37. NdS Ra6 38. Nf4t and White would have won.] 37. Nd5 Ra6 38. Nf6t Kh6, and the black King would have been in an extremely precarious position, but White can't achieve more Nezh played the opening better and than a draw. grabbed the initiative. Now his aim The move in the game was not enough was to open up the diagonals for the to come to the rescue. Bishops and point them at the white 29. exf6t Kf8 King's position. 29 ... Bxf6 could not have be played 18. Ng6 on account of 30. Nxf6 Kxf6 31. Bh4 19. g3 Rh8 with 32. NdSt and 33. Bxg5. 30. Ne51 b4 After 19. Nel, 19 ... Nf4 20. On 31 ... Bxf6 there would have been: QO Qg6, would fo llow stop· 32. Nd7t Kg7 33. Nxf6 Kxf6 and 34. Bh4. ping 21. Nd5, because of21 ... 31. Nd5 Bxc2 Bxd5 22. exd5 Qxc2. A last defensive chance was 31. .. R.N. Nf7!. 32. f7 Re6 19. ... Qe6 32 ... Rxes would not have helped. 20. Ne37 After 33. Bxe5, 33 ... Bxd1 wouldn't have This was an underestimation of done anything because of 34. Bg7t. Black's attacking potential. Better was 33. Nd7t 20. Bb3, and if20 ... Qd7, then 21. Bd5!, Black surrendered (1·0t. which would have neutralized the dan­ gerous white-squared Bishop. 20. ... Qxh3 38. 21. Rxd6 B. Gurgenidze-Super Nezh Poor was 21. NdS because ofthe Queen C60 take on g3, and if21. NB Nezh planned

24th USSR eh. 21 ... dS! 22. exds Bc8 and 23 . .. fS,rolling Moscow 1957 out the attack. White was obliged to go along with the plans of his oppo­ 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. nent. Ba4 Nf6 5. Qe2 b5 6. Bb3 Bc5 7. 21. ... Bc5

= 106 = Nl'zhmctdinov, Chess Assassin

22. Rxg6 1. e4 eS 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. BbS a6 4. It turned out that it was too late Ba4 Nf6 S. 0·0 Be7 6. Ret bS 7. to retreat the Rook: 22. Rd2, then 22 ... Bb3 d6 8. c3 0·0 9. h3 Be6 10. 51. For example, 23. Nx5 Rx5 24. ex5 d4 Bxb3 11. Qxb3 Qd7 12. Nbd2 Qxg3t 25. Kfl Qh3t 26. Kel Bxf3 and ReS 13. Nft h6. the fat lady would have been warm­ Up to this move Game No. 35 [N.- ing up. Estrin] was repeated. 22. ... fxg6 14. Ng3 Bf8 23. Nxes Kh71 tS. Qdt NaS Nezh complained about not play­ 16. b3 CS ing 23 ... Rxf2 atonce, and showed as 17. Bb2 Nc6 proof: 24. Qxf2 Rf8 25. Nf7!Kh7 "with 18. a4 Qb7? the unavoidable threat of ...Rxf7 [26. Until this move, both sides enjoyed Bb3 Bxe4]." But after 26. Rel! Rxf727. equal chances in combat maneuvers, Qxf7 Qxg3t 28. Kfl Bxe3 29. Bb3! he but now Black allowed his opponent would have missed the win! to lock up the queenside, and on the 24. Rdl? king side, accordingto the usual themes Unfortunately, none ofthe commen­ of the Ruy Lopez, White was in charge tators [including Nezh] mentioned this of the position. 18 ... cxd4 was neces­ error. From the previous note it can sary in order to open the c-filefor coun­ be seen that 24. Rel! was correct be­ terplay. cause it overprotected the Knight. In 19. dSI Ne7 that event ...Rxf2 wouldn't work, and 20. as g6 Black would have had to work hard 21. Nh2 Bg7 to prove his advantage. 22. Bet Nd7 24. ... Rxf21 Black was taking measures to pre­ Now this combination led to a quick vent f2-f4, but let the white Knight get victory. to g4. More precise would have been 2S. Kxf2 22 ... Kh7, for to reply to 23. f4 by 23 ... The same result would come after exf4 would have met with 24. Bxf4 Nd7!. 25. Qxf2Rf8 ! 26. Qel [26. Nf3 Bxe3 27. 23. Ng4 Kh7 Qxe3 Qxg3t] Rflt! 27. Qxfl Bxe3t. 24. h4 hS?I 2S. Qh2t White's pressure was tangible, but 26. Ket QxgJt it was not so great that Black could 27. Kd2 Qxes afford to weaken his position allow­ 28. NdS QgSt ing his opponent such good objects of White surrendered (O·tt. attack: the h5-pawn, the weak point g5, and with it all the black squares near the King. 24 ... Ng8 should have 39. been considered. Super Nezh-L. Lengyel 2S. Nh2 Rh8 C78 26. BgS f6 Russia-Hungary 27. Bel Raf8 Budapest 1963 The King could not stay on the weak­ ened wing any longer, that's why it

=107= AtlilCk was high time to evocuote-27 ... Kg8 and then move towards the closed queen­ side. 28. c4 Rb8 29. Nf3 Ng8? Black lost his last chance to save his King: 29 ... Kg8. 30. cxbSI axbS After30 ... Qxb5 31. Nd2 more grief would have been added to Black's prob­ lems on his kingside, namely, the c4-square for the Knight on the queen­ side.

37. Qh31 After such a sacrificial beginning the further pressing of the attack con­ tinues with slow moves which always exerts psychological influenceson the opponent, and an aesthetic influence on the audience. 37. Bh6 32. NxhSI 38. bxcs Bxe3 This sacrificecan't be called intui­ 39. Rxe3 dxcs tive, but real. Spielmann, a fine theorist Now one more actor appeared on and combinational wizard, referred to the attacking scene, the passed d-pawn. the intuitive sacrifice as a sacrifice 39 ... NxcS would have led to a quick which doesn't lead at once to the fi­ defeat after40. Nxc5 Qxc5 41. Rc3 Qa7 nal result. [41 ... Qd4 42. Qe6t Ke8 43. Racl] 42. White only gets a prospective at­ Qe6t Ke8 43. Qxd6. E.g., 43 ... Rb6 44. tacking position with the possibilities Qc7. of various threats, and this was na­ 40. Rg3 Rhg8 tive ground for Nezh. 41. Rxg8 Rxg8 32. ... gxhS Pay attention and know that this 33. NgStl Kg6 is not a good method of attack, ow­ It would have been bad to take an­ ing to the exchanges. These exchanges other Knight: 33 ... fx gS 34. QxhSt Nh6 affected Black badly. The secret was [34 ... Bh6 35. Qf7t Bg7 36. Q5t Kh6 not much of a secret:the pieces needed 37. Bxgst and 38. g4#] 35. hxgs, and for the defense should not be exchanged. White would have gotten three pawns 42. d61 c4 fo r the piece without slowing the at­ This was desperation, but on 42 ... tack. Nc6 or 42 ... Nc8 therewas the unpleasant 34. Qf3 Ne7 43. Nc7.

=108= Nl•zhmt•tdinov, Cht.'ss Assassin

43. dxe7 Kxe7 on h3 and did not let the other Bishop 44. QfS Rh8 have an active place on b2. 15. Bb2 45. Rdl b4 was preferable. 46. Ng7 NcS 15. Nf7 47. Ne81 16. Ne3 Nd6 Elegance to the end. There were dif­ 17. Nd2 f4 fe rent ways to win, but this move is 18. Nec4 Nf71 the stroke of an artiste. While White shiftedhis Knights, Black 47. ... Qxa6 went about activating his kingside, The Knight could not be taken. and it was there that a general offen­ 48. Nc7 Qc6 sive began, that's why exchanges should 49. Qg6 Rf8 be avoided. One thing more:poorly placed 50. NdSt Ke6 enemy pieces should be apprehended. 51. QfSt 19. Ba3 gS Black surrendered (l·Ot. 20. Nb2 g4 21. Nd3 NgS 22. NcS Bc8 40. 23. bS 01 Y. Kotkov-Super Nezh Of course, it would not be good to C76 accept the pawn: 23 ... axb5 24. axb5 Gorki 1963 Qxb5? 25. Ba4 Qb6 26. Nd7. 24. g3 Nh3t 1. e4 es 2. NO Nc6 3. BbS a6 4. 25. Kfl axbS Ba4 d6 s. c3 Bd7 6. 0·0 g6 7. d4 26. axbs NgS Bg7 8. dxes dxes 9. b4. As has been said, taking the b5-pawn The play was a bit obtuse, but it was only to White's benefit. defined some things, e.g. that the main 27. Nc4 QhS fightwill be on the wings. More flex­ 28. Kgl Ng6 ible continuations were offered by 9. 29. Ne3 Be3 or 9. Bg5. 9. Nge7 10. Qc2 0-0 11. Rdl Qe8 12. Bb3 Black threatened 12 ... Nxb4. 12. Kh8 13. Nbd2 f5 14. a4 Nd8 This maneuver can be seen in Game No. 65 [Boleslavsky-N.]. Black not only 29. ... Nf41 transfered the Knight to the king side, A thematic sacrificein this type of but also slowed White's offensive. position, as 30. gxf4 exf4 was bad for 15. Nc4 White. Black wanted to play 30 ... Ne2t The Knight did not have a good po­ 31. Kh1 Nh3 32. Rfl Bh6, or 30 ... Ng2. sition here, since it blocked the Bishop 30. h4

=109= Attack

It was possible that 30. Bc4 could 7. BcS have given more defensive chances. 8. c3 d6 30. ... Ngh3t 9. d4 Bb6 31. Kfl Ng2 10. aJ 32. Ne6 Bxe6 A less active move, but 10. a4 also 33. Bxe6 Qh61 wouldn't have given White an advan­ With an eye on the e3-square, and tage, for example: 10... h6 11. axb5 because ofthat, Black wasn't concerned axb5 12. Rxa8 Qxa8 13. Na3 exd4!, about his own material deficits. Kostro-Tseshkovsky, Va rna 1969. 34. Bxf8 Rxf8 10. Qe7 3S. Bxg4 11. QdJ NaS 35. B5 Nxe3t 36. fxe3 Qxe3 37. Qh2 12. Bc2 cS Qxc3 38. Racl [38. Qd2 Qc5] Qb3 39. 13. Nbd2 Rd5 c6 40. bxc6 bxc6 also fails, and Unless Black castled, it would not White would have had to let the black have been advantageous to play 13. Queen give a ruinous check. Bg5, because of 13 ... h6 14. Bh4 g5. 3S. ... Nxf21 13. Nc6 36. NfS 14. dS c4 On 36. Qxf2ther e would have fol­ 1S. Qe2 NaS low 36 ... Nxe3t and 37 ... Nxg4 and, 16. a4 the same thing would have happened Agreeing that on his lOth move a on 36. Kxf2. tempo was lost. 36 .... Nxd1 16. ... 0-0 37. Rxd1 RxfS 38. Rd8t If38. exf5the rare "quadrangle" fork 38 ... Ne3t crunches White's pieces. 38. ... Rf8 39. Rxf8t Bxf8 40. Kg1 Ne3 41. Qf2 Nxg4 42. Qxf3 BeSt White surrendered (0-1). 17. Nb1?1 Instead of this slow maneuver it 41. would have been worthpaying attention A. Suetin-Super Nezh to 17. h3, preparing 18. Nfl. 17. Nfl C78 at once was worse, because then 17... Yalta 1964 Ng4 18. Ne3 5!. 17. ... Nd71 1. e4 es 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. BbS a6 4. Black had planned to open the f-file, Ba4 Nf6 S. 0·0 bS 6. Bb3 Bb7 7. and was ready to do it, without wor­ Re1. rying about the sacrifice of material. Worth some attention was: 7. Ng5 18. NaJ NcS d5 8. exd5 Nd4. 19. axbS axbS

=110= Nt':t.hmetdinov, Cht•ss ·Assassin

20. NxbS fSI 38. ... Rxh4tl 21. exf5 Qd71 This was an easy material sacrifice, The immediate 21 ... Bxd5 was weaker still, it needed calculation. because of 22. Nbd4 and 23. Ne6. 39. Bxh4 Qxh4t 22. Na3 e41 40. Qh3 Rxf2t 23. Nd4 41. Rxf2 Qxf2t Of course it would have been dan- 42. Qg2t Qxg2t gerous to take on e4. 43. Kxg2 e3t 23. Bxd5 44. Kg3 d2 24. Bel Nd3 45. Rgl Kf71 25. Ne6 Rxf5 A careless45 ... e2 would have missed 26. Bxb6 Qxe6 a victory-46. Kf2 with check. Wrong was 26 ... Nxe1 27. Nd4 Nxc2 46. Nb1 e2 28. Naxc2, and the Knight and Rook 4 7. Nxd2 Nxd2 would have been attacked. 48. Re1 Bf3 27. Bxd3 cxd3 49. b4 Bh5 28. Qe3 Nb3 50. bs Nxc4 29. Rad1 Qg6 and Black won (O·lJ. 30. Khl The Queen was threatened:30 ... Rf3!. 30. ... Raf8 42. 31. Rfl Qh5 Super Nezh-A. Chistyakov 32. c4 Ba8 c 12 33. Rde1 R8f6 Semi:finals24th USSR eh. Black owned the elements of space Kharkov 1956 and the initiative, and so he started a direct attack. It's difficultto finda 1. e4 e6 2. d4 ds 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. defense. BgS Bb4 5. eS h6 6. Bd2 Nfd7. 34. Bd8 Rh6 A connoisseur and adherent of the 35. h4 Qg4 French Defense, master Chistyakov had 36. Kh2 prepared a small opening surprise for Bad at once was 36. Qh3?, because of Nezh-an old move of Tartakower's. 36 ... Qxh3t J7. gxh3 e3t and 38 ... e2. Except for the effect of unexpectedness, 36. ... g51 it had no other value when compared 37. g3 gxh4 with the traditional 6 ... Bxc3 7. bxc3 38. gxh4 Ne4. 7. Qg4 Another good plan was shown in the game Alatortsev-Bondarevsky, Mos­ cow 1945: 7. Nce2 Bxd2t 8. Qxd2 b6 9. Nf4 (Keres' opinion: 9. f4 c5 10. c3 with 11. Nf3was more natural.] Ba6 10. Bxa6 Nxa6 11. Nf3 c5 12. c3 with a small, but firm advantage for White. Nezh was unaware of this idea. He said that

=111= Attuck the move 7. Nce2 came to mind only To rtokower's onolysis. He should have after the game. played 9 ... cxd4 anyway. Ta rtakower 7. ... Bf8 offered the fo llowing: 10. Nd6t Bxd6 In the old game Reti-Vukovich, Vi­ 11. Qxg7 Bxe51 12. Nxe5 Qf6. In real­ enna 1922, after7 ... Kf8 8. f4 c5 9. a3 ity, this position was advantageous for Bxc3 10. bxc3 Nc6 11. Qd1! White had Black. an obvious advantage. The fa ct was, Nezhmetdinov didn't 8. Nf3 know this analysis and hadn't planned Nezh considered this continuation to play in such a way. After 9 ... cxd4, stronger than 8. f4 , basing this on the he would've sacrificed the pawn: 10. game Va siukov-Chistyakov from Mos­ c3! dxc3 11. Bxc3 with enough com­ cow eh. 1956, in which after8. f4 c5 9. pensation, as now the e5-pawn was Bd3?! Nc6 10. Nf3 c4 11. Bg6? Nb6 12. strengthened. f5Qd7 13. 0-0 fxg6 Black took the piece 10. Bd3 and then rejected the attacking attempts of his opponent. Stronger was 9. dxc5! Nxc5 10. Nf3 Nc6 11. 0-0-0 a6 12. Be3 Qa5, with some advantage to White, owing to the possession of the impor­ tant d4-square,Koga n-Chistyakov, Mos­ cow 1956.

8. . .. cS?I A careless move which allowed White to make an unpleasant Knight move. However, White's next move wasn't 10. Rg8 a surprise for Chistyakov, as 30 years earlier this move had been analyzed There was the threat of a by Tartakower and was thought ad­ sacrifice on g6. If 10 ... h5, vantageous to Black. then 11. Qxe611 fxe6 12. Bxg6t Instead of8 ... c5, Nezh recommended Ke7 13. Bg5t NR; 14. exR;t playing 8 ... a6 first, even though that Kd7 15. Ne5#!. "could be replied to by 9. b4!, with the R.N. initiative." This advice was tested in the game Nikitin-Chistyakov, Moscow 11. c411 1957: 8 ... a6 9. b4! b6 10. Na4 c5 11. A bold shot, ruining the center. Owing bxc5 bxc5 12. Nxc5 Nxc5 13. dxc5 Qc7 to Black's lack of development, there 14. Be2 Nd7 15. 0-0 g6 16. c4!, and White was the threat of a quick catastrophe. got the advantage. 11. ... cxd4 9. NbS g6? If H... Nb6, then 12. dxc5 Bxc5 13. This was a mistake, as the whole Bxh6 was good enough and all the black king side was seriously weakened. As squares were hopelessly weak. On 11 ... a rule, such a move is always bad in dxc4 Nezh gives the following: similar positions. It's difficult to ex­ plain this choice of move by an expe­ 12. Bxc4 a6 13. Nd6tl Bxd6 rienced master. Maybe he'djust forgotten 14. exd6 Qb6 15. 0·0 Qxd6

=112= NL•zhnwtdinov, Chess Assassin

16. dxc5 Nxc5 17. Bxh6, and on without any obstacles. It wasn't prof Block Is helpless In defense. itable fo r Black to exchange Knights­ He can't transfer the King in this case the black squares will become into safety and pull up the unprotected-but allowing this Knight reserves. to live was also bad. R.N. 19. ... g5 Black didn't dare to castle long, as 12. cxd5 Nc5 the black diagonals are absolutely un­ These two lines are bad: 12 ... exdS protected: 19 ... 0-0-0? 20. NbS Qb8 [or 13. e6! NcS 14. exf7tKxf7 1S. Nest [or 20 ... Qd7 21. Rac1 Kb8 22. Bf4t Ka8 13 ... Nf6 14. exf7tKxf7 1S. NeSt]; 12 ... 23. Nc7t] 21. Rac1 Kd7 22. Qf3 NeS 23. a6 13. dxe6 axbS 14. exf7tKxf7 1S. e6t Qg3 (Nezh's analysis]. The idea ofBlack's with total devastation. move was to take the f4-square away 13. Qxd4 exd5 from the Bishop. Nezh considered this move as the 20. Rac1 Kd7 decisive mistake, offering instead: 13 ... 20 ... 0-0-0? was weak because of Nc6!. an easy 21. Nxc6 bxc6 22. Qa6t, and on 20 ... Rg6 he preparedthe thunderbolt Now 14. dxc6 Nxdlt 15. Ke2 21. Qxg6!. gives nothing to White be­ 21. NfS Qf8 . cause of the handsome zwisch­ 22. Qb51 ReS enzug 15 ... bxc61. On 22 ... Rb8 White planned to play R.N. 23. ReS! with an inevitable taking on dS. It's hardly possible to agree with 23. Qxb7t Rc7 him. Let's continue: 16. Qxd8t Kxd8 24. Qb5 a6 17. BaSt Ke7 18. Kxd3. In the endgame 25. Qd3 Qb8 Black couldn't manage to normalize After 2S ... Rg6!, it would have been this position, for example: 18 ... Ba6 possible to defend much better, and 19. Nfd4 Kd7 20. Rac1 Bg7 21. Ke4 and it would be hard for White to go home White would break through to the 7th a winner. rank. 26. Nxh6 Rg6 It turned out the fatal mistake was 27. Nxf71 Bxf7 made earlier by Black, probably his 28. QfSt Kd8 9th move. 29. Rxc61 Rcxc6 14. Nd6tl Bxd6 30. Ba5t Qc7 15. exd6 Qxd6 31. Qxf7 16. 0-0 Nxd3 Black surrendered (t-Ot. 17. Qxd3 Nc6 18. Rfe1t Be6 19. Nd41 Black almost had his development finished and he even obtained an ex­ tra pawn, but it was only an illusion of well-being. The attack by White went

=113= Attack

43. 17. RxeStl Super Nezh-A. mizarov A surprise. After 17. Qxe5 Qxe5 18. c 17 Rxe5t BeG, the endgame was bad for Ka zan 1964 Black, but not hopeless. 17. Be6 1. e4 e6 2. d4 dS 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. 18. Rxe6tl Nxe6 eS cS 5. a3 BaS 6. Bd2 cxd4 7. 19. BbSt Kf8 NbS Bc7 8. Qg41?. 20. Qd6t Ne7 An interesting gambit continuation, 21. NeS which is not allotted much attention The sacrificehad given White a pow­ in opening textbooks. They examine erful attack. How would Black defend only 8. f4 Nh6 9. Qh5 Nf5 10. Nf3 g6 against the threat of 22. Nd7? 11. Qh3 h5, Vasiukov-Koc, 29th USSR 21. ... NcSI eh., 1961. A sharpwitted resource, which al- 8. Bxes lowed the fight to continue. 9. NO hS 22. Qxcs Qxes 10. Qh3 Bc7 23. Re1 b6 11. Nfxd4 Bd7?1 24. Qb4 aS Preferable is 11 ... Nc6 or 11 ... a6. 25. Qg4 12. O·O·O Na6 Damsky reproached Nezh that the [Ed.: Damsky believed that White has latter missed a chance to win easily: the advantage after 12... 13. Nxc7t Qxc7 25. Rxe5 axb4 26. Bxb4 Ra7 27. Rxd5 14. Nb5 Qb8 15. Qf3 Nf6 16. Bf4 e5 17. Bg5 g6? 28. Rd8t Kg7 29. Bc3t f6 30. BxfGt Ne4 18. Bh4 Be6 19. Bc4, but for some rea­ and 31. Rxh8. Stronger was 27 ... Kg8!, son he "overlooks" 19 ... Bg4, and Black and the material can't be won back. holds and intimidates.] Perhaps, Rashid Gibyatovich was right. 13. Re1 Qf6 25. QfS Hoping to castle queenside. 26. Qa4 Ng6 14. Nxc7t Nxc7 27. Bd3 Qf6 15. NO eS 28. Kb1 Kg8 By preventing the threats of16. Bg5 29. Bc3 Qxf2? and 16. Bc3, Black hoped that having Beginning with the 21st move, Black returned a pawn, he would be able to defended well, and could have held on exchange Queens. after29 ... Qg5. Opening the f-filewas 16. Qg3 h4 a suicidal decision. - * --­ 30. Rfl QcS � ��lW'� � 31. Bxg61 ��- -""/.' ! ��� -- '.1.��1� Black resigned (l·Ot. as the game � � .< � would finish: 31... fxg6 32. Qd7 Rh7 � �� ��-J�- � � 33. Rf7. �� ,�.:� �lfi"--� %"/%�� �� ��'� ��% '""� ��.ft00 M� �j'�"§"%�"<> � � ----� � ;§' � '· " ····�,,, �

= 114 = Nl•zhml•tdinov, Chess Assassin

44. 22. NO Nxe3 G. Ilivitsky-Super Nezh 23. Rxe3 BfSI H68 Adding a Bishop held in "reserve" 21st USSR eh. finallydefined Black's decisive advan­ Kiev 1954 tage. 24. Qdl Qf6 1. N£3 Nf6 2. c4 d6 3. d4 g6 4. 2S. Qc2 Nc3 Bg7 S. g3 0-0 6. Bg2 Nbd7 White had no more useful moves. 7. 0-0 es 8. e4 exd4 9. Nxd4 2S. Bg4 Ncs 10. £3 as 11. Be3 Nfd7 12. 26. b4 Bh6 Rf2 a4 13. Rbl c6 14. b4 axb3 27. Ret Bx£3 tS. axb3 Qe7 16. Ra2 Rxa2 17. 28. es Nxa2. In case of 28. bxcs it was possible to play 28 ... Qd4t 29. Qf2 Qxc3 30. Bxf3 Rf8 31. Kg2 Rxf3! 32. Qxf3 Qxel. Also weak was 28. Bxf3Qxf3 with the threat ...Be3t. 28. Rxes 29. Rxes Qxes 30. Bx£3 Qe3t 31. Kg2 Nd3 32. Ndl Nett 33. Kfl Nxc2 Black had won the opening phase White surrendered (O·tt. of the King's Indian duel. It was enough to see that the Bishop on e3 was threat­ ened and the Knight on a2 driven back 45. to the flank. Nezh immediately began L. Shamkovich-Super Nezh his attack. E97 17. ... fSI 29th USSR eh. 18. Nc3 fxe4 Baku 1961 19. fx e4 Nf6 20. Qc2 ReS 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. Through forcing moves, White had e4 0-0 S. N£3 d6 6. Be2 eS 7. 0-0 been put into a critical situation. The Nc6 8. dS Ne7 9. Nd2 Ne8. trouble was not in the weakness of his Afterthe most effe ctive ways of de­ e-pawn, but that his pieces would have veloping an attack on the queenside no support in the center. had been found for White, this con­ 21. Rel Ng41 tinuation was almost abandoned, since Black had no appetite for the e-pawn. it didn't prevent the plan b2-b4, c4- For example: 21 ... Ncxe4 22. Bg5 or c5, and Nd2-c4. In the plan's foreground 21 ... Nfxe4 22. Nxc6! bxc6 23. Bxc5. It will come 9 ... c5 and 9 ... Nd7. was more important to use the lack 10. b4 f5 of coordination ofWhite's pieces without 11. £3 f4 losing time. 12. cS gS

=115= Attack

13. Nc4 Rf7 23 ... Bxb5; retrent for deli.'ndin�J d6 ]23 ... The previous moves wereclear enough Ne8]; or sacrifice the pawn, but in that and needed no comment. The Rook's case White would have had a chance move was a multi-faceted one. It gets to increase his opportunities to invade. ready for the defense of the c7-square, 23. Rh7 and fo r participation in the attack via 24. Nb5 h7 or g7. 14. Bd2? This fe eble move should not have been made in such a dynamic posi­ tion. There was no time to lose in bringing the plan to life. If the thematic 14. a4! was played, then 14 ... Ng6 15. Ba3 Bf8 16. b5 would give White chances to be successful with a quicker push than Black. 14. Ng6 Being late by a move allowed Black 15. Bel Bf8 to crash through: 16. Bf2 24. ... Ng41 White used three tempi to establish 25. h3 his Bishop at a place where it could The Knight couldn't be taken: 25. see both flanks-for attack and de­ fxg4 hxg4 26. Bg 1 Rxh2t and 27 ... Qh4. fe nse. However, it would have been of It became clear that transferring the no practical importancewhen defending Bishop was time lost because it had the King, and the time lost would not no role in the defense of his King. be regained. 25. ... Qh4 16. h5 26. Qd2 Ne31 17. Rcl Nf6 A false trail would exist with 26 ... 18. cxd6 cxd6 Nf2t 27. Kg1 Bxh3 28. gxh3 Qxh3 29. 19. Nb5 g4 Rxf2gxf2t 30.Kxf2 , and the King would 20. Nxa7 have had time to escape from the chase. If, at the end of its multi-move route, 27. Bd3 the Bishop had taken on a7, then a If27. Bxe3, then 27 ... Bxh3! also wins possible continuation could have been: at once. 20 ... Rxa7! 21. Nxa7 Bd7 22. a4 g3, pro­ 27. Bxh31 ceeding with a direct attack on the 28. gxh3 g2t King. 29. Kgt gxn = Qt 20. Bd7 30. Bxn Qg3t 21. a4 g31 31. Bg2 Nh4 22. Bb6 Qe7 32. Qf2 Nexg2 23. Khl ?l 33. Qxg3t fxg3 A logical but imprecise move. Bet­ White surrendered (0-lJ. ter would have been 23. NbS!, giving Black these choices: either be down a piece, important for his attack, after

=116= Nl•zhnll'tdinov, Cht'ss Assassin

46. 13. Nb3 Rb41 V. Zhelyandlnov-Super Nezh This was played because of a prof­ H84 itable change for Black concerning the Vologda 1962 situation in the center, the result of which will be a combined attack by 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. the dark-squared Bishop and Black's e4 d6 s. f3 o-o 6. Be3 Nc6. Rook, which intersect at the b2-square. Nezh always tried to keep himself A similar attack is very effective in in the avant garde of the theory of his various King Indian and Indian schemes, pet openings. The system with 6 ... Nc6 and also in the Benko Gambit. was becoming popular at that time. 14. NdS NxdS 7. Nge2 a6 14 ... Nxc4 15. Bxc4 Rxc4 16. NoS NxdS! 8. Qd2 Rb8 17. Nxc4 Nxe3 18. Nxe3 Be6 was also 9. dS?I possible. As compensation Black had This gives Black an object for his the pawn, powerful Bishops, and an counter-attack-the c4-pawn-and to­ opened b-file. gether with that, the initiative. The 15. cxds as right way for White was found later­ 16. Rb1 fSI an immediate attack on the kingside- 17. f4 9. h4!. 9. ... NeS 10. Nd4?1 A logical continuation of the plan used by White, but not a successful one since the Knight was in danger and this circumstance allowed Black to attack for a long time. Better was 10. Ng3, for which there was a good response in 10 ... hS. 10. ... cSI White has not only been defeated 11. dxc6 in the strategic battle on the queen­ Anopening ofthe fileon the queenside side, but also in the center. He had run can't be averted by White. On 11. Nc2 out of normal defensive moves and so or 11. Nb3, Black would play 11 ... bS. he was obliged to complicate matters, 11. ... bxc6 hoping to confound the ensuing play. 12. Be2 17. ... a41 Perhaps clearer was 12. b3 cS 13. Black's adding oil to the fire. Clearly Nc2 QaS 14. Nd1 Qc7 15. Be2 e6 16. 0-0 17... Nc4 18. Bxc4 Rxc4 19. Nxas Rxe4 Bb7, with the initiative belonging to 20. Nc6 and 21. 0-0 would let White Black, Ustinov-Stein, 1965. It was not hold on. worth paying much attention to 12. 18. Nxcs dxcs f4 , because Black had 12 ... c5 13. fxes 19. fx es Rxe4 cxd4 14. Bxd4 dxes 15. Bxes Qxd2t 16. 20. 0-0 Kxd2 Rxb2t. 20. e6 was bad because of20 ... Rxe3!. 12. ... cS 20. ... Bxes

= 117= Attack

21. Khl 10. Bg3 NhS On 21. Bxc5 possible was 21 ... Bxh2i" 11. 0-0 Nf4 22. Kxh2 Qc7t 23. d6 Qxc5 24. dxe7 Qxe7 12. Net?! with a big advantage. This position had been seen before 21. ... Qd6 by Nezh in his 1961 game with Yu do· 22. Bf3 Rxe31 vich. In it he obtained the advantage A simple sacrificeof material, which after 12 ... Nxe2t 13. Qxe2 f5!14. exf5 ruins the defense of the black squares. Nf6 15. f3 Bxf516. Ne4 fo llowed by g5- It was possible, of course, to play 22 ... g4. One of the reasonsfor Black's success Rb4 or 22 ... Rh4 23. h3, but Black's was the bad placement of the white decision was more rational. Knight on el. That's why 12. Nd2 would 23. Qxe3 Bxh2 have been better, to allow the Knight 24. Rbel Bg3 control of e4. 25. Bd1 12. fS On 25. Qxe7 Black would win at once 13. exfS Nxe2t with 25 ... Qf4 and the threat of 26 ... 14. Qxe2 Nf6 Qh6t. 15. Nf3 25 .... Rf7 After 15. f3 the position from the 26. Bxa4 Ba6 Yu dovich-Nezhmetdinov game would In this game Bishops had an advan­ emerge. tage over the Rooks. 15. . .. BxfS 27. Qe6 Bxfl 16. Nd2 28. Rxfl After losing two tempi the white If 28. Qxd6, then 28 ... Bxg2t and Knight reached the desired square. 29 ... Bxd6. 16. ... Qe8 28. ... Qb8 17. Nde4 Qg6 29. d6 Qb4 The firsttime this plan, the trans­ 30. Rc1 Qxa4 ferring of the Queen to g6, was used 31. d7 Qh4t was by Fischer against Wexler, Mar del 32. Kg1 Qd4t Plata, 1960. White surrendered (0-1t. 18. f3 NhS Black can play comfortably and he leisurely prepared his attack, as White's 4'1. counterplay on the queenside doesn't V. Chernikh-Super Nezh amount to anything. ASS 19. cS Nf4 Yalta 1964 20. Qc4 Rf7 21. a4 hS 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 d6 3. Nc3 eS 4. 22. as g4 Nf3 Nbd7 5. e4 g6 6. dS Bg7 7. 23. fxg4 Bxg4 Be2 0·0 8. BgS. 24. h4 The game transposed to Petrosyan's He had to defend against the threat system. In the 1960s it was played often. of24 ... h4 25. Bxh4 Be2. 24. Rf2wouldn't 8. h6 have helped because 24 ... h4 25. Bxh4 9. Bh4 gs Nh3t 26. gxh3 Be2t 27. Rg2 Qxg2t 28.

=118= Nt'zhml'tdinov, Chl'ssAssassin

KX�J2 Bxc4. 48. 24. BfS J. Ruchldn-Super Nezh 25. Rae1 Bh6 E63 26. a6 b6 23rd Russian eh. 27. b4 Raf8 Kazan 1964 28. Kh2 Rg7 29. RO? 1. NO Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. g3 Bg7 4. Bg2 0-0 5. 0-0 d6 6. d4 Nc6 7. Nc3 Rb8 8. h3 a6 9. Be3 b5 10. Nd2 Bd7 11. cxb5 axb5 12. d5 Ne5 13. b4.

Better was 29. Qa2, but White can't hold on for long. 29. ... Nxg21 When one has such a big advantage, there must be a combination. Nezh plays his King's Indian Defense 30. Kxg2 with purpose and so began active play: 30. RxfS QxfS 31. Kxg2 Qf3t 32. Kh2 13. ... Qc81 Bf4 33. Rg1 Rg4 wouldn't have helped 14. g4?1 either. White was obliged to weaken his

30•. .. Bh3t King's guard, as they found that the 31. Kf2 Rxf3t planned 14. Kh2 didn't work because 32. KxO QfSt of14 ... Neg4t! 15. hxg4 [15. Kg1 Nxe3 33. Ke2 Rxg31 16. fxe3 Bxh3J Nxg4t 16. Kg1 Nxe3 and 34. Kd1 17 ... Bxc3. Ifit was necessary to weaken It was over, as 34. Nxg3 failed be- his position, 14. h4 should have been cause of 34 ... Bg4t. chosen. On 14 ... Neg4 [or 14 ... Nfg4J 34.. . . Rg2 the response could have been 15. Ba71 35. Rfl Bg4t Ra8 16. Bd4. 36. Ke1 Bd2t 14. ... h51 37. Nxd2 Qc2 15. g5 38. Nce4 Qd1#1 Worse was 15. gxh5 because of15 ... (0-1). Bxh3. If15. f4 , then it would be strong to take twice by the Knights on g4, but then even 15. f3hxg4 16. hxg4 Nexg4! would not help White. 15. ... Bxh31 The sacrifice ofthe piece came from the previous play.

=119= Attack

16. Bxh3 Not 16. gxf67 because of 16 ... Qg4 with mate next. 16. ... Qxh3 17. gxf6 exf6 18. £3? Not the best defense, and after this Black quickly progressed. Black's task would have been made more difficult by 18. Nf3!. In that event a pawn at­ tack would have ensued: 18 ... f5 19. A seldom seen move, though know11 Rc1 gS! and a taking on gS would have in the last century. The usual continu led to the loss of an extra piece: 20. ations 11. f4, or 11. d4, are better. Bxgs Qg4t 21. Kh1 Nxf3and 22 ... QxgS. 11. Bxg4 At the same time it's also bad not to 12. Bxg4 Bc5 take the pawn. 13. Be2 18. ... Qg3t A tempo would be lost if 13. 0-0?. 19. Kh1 Ng41 then 13 ... hS! 14. Be2 Ng4, and White 20. fxg4 Qh3t would be under attack. 21. Kg1 Qxe3t 13. Rd8 22. Kg2 hxg41 14. cl Nb7 Taking the Knight wasn't clear: 22 ... 15. 0·0 h51 Qxc3 23. gxhS. It was clear that an attempt to lead 23. Rf2 f5 his opponent into anunknown line boom­ 24. Nfl erangs-White has had a catastrophic Now Black can take the Knight. struggle in his play and now he can't 24. ... Qxcl stop the attack. and Black won easily after 25. Rb1 16. d4 exdl Qc4 26. e3 Qe4t 27. Kg1 Be5 28. Rbl 17. Bxd3 Ng4 Kg7 29. Qdl gl 30. Rc2 Qh4 31. Qe2 18. Qe2t Kf81 Rh8 32. Qfl Rh5 33. o3 Rbh8 34. Castling was of no importance for Rd2 Qh1t 35. Qxh1 Rxh1t 36. Kg2 Black-the Rook on h8 had become an R8h2t (0·1t. attacking piece by doing nothing. 19. gl Qd7 20. Be4 h4 49. 21. Bf4? V. Ciocaltea-Super Nezh C59 Bucharest 1954

1. e4 e5 2. N£3Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. Ng5 d5 5. exd5 Na5 6. Bb5t c6 7. dxc6 bxc6 8. Be2 h6 9. N£3 e4 10. Ne5 Qc7 11. Ng4?1.

=120= Nl'zhml'tdlnov, Chl'ss Assassin

This led to White's immediate de­ have to give up: 23. Kgl Qh3 24. Bxg3 lrnt. White would also lose in an ab­ Qxg3t. •urd way after 21. Bxc6? Qxc6 22. Qxg4 22. Ng4 h'JI. 23. Bfl Nxf2 Obligatory should have been 21. Bg2, 24. Be3 hxg3 though after 21... hxg3 22. hxg3 QfS 25. Bxcst Nxcs White had no chance to defend against 26. Bxc6 Nh3t the attack. 27. Kfl Qf5t 21. ... Nxh21 White surrendered fO·tt because of 22. Ret the variant 28. Bf3g2t! 29. Qxg2 Rd3 After22. Kxh2 hxg3t White would 30. Nd2 Rxd21.

The 1954 USSR SpartakTe am Champions Tigran Petrosian flankedby Nina Voitsuk and arbiter Yu. Karakhan In the back, from right to left masters: S. Furman, V. Simagin, R. Nezhmetdinov, R. Holmov, and I. Lipnitsky

= 121 = Attack

Russian eh. / Moscow/Gorkl777 1950 Playen 1 z 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 1Z 13 Points Place 1 Nezhmetdinov . • • • • • • • • • • 8 1 2 Aronin . • • • • • • • • • 7.5 24 3 Boleslavsky • • . • • • • • • • • • 7.5 2-4 4 Novotyelnov • • . • • • • • • • 7.5 2-4 5 Zagorovsky • • . • • • • • • • 7 5-6 6 llivitsky • • • • . • • • • • 7 5-6 7 Kamyshov • • • • • • • • 6.5 7 8 Dubinin • • • • . • • • 6 8·9 9 Kan • • • • . • • • 6 8·9 10 Shaposhnikov • • • . • • • 5.5 10 11 Kavtorin • • • • • 4.5 11 12 Grechkin • • • • • • . 3.5 12 13 Te telbaum • • . 1.5 13 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13

Semi·finals, 18th USSReh./ Gorki 1950 Ployen 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 Points Place 1 Aronin . • • ••••• • ••••• 10.5 1 2 Ly ubinsky . • • • • • • • • • •• • 10 2·3 3 Petrosyan • • • • • • • • • • • • 10 2·3 4 Furman • • . • • • • • • • • • • 9.5 4 5 Nezhmetdinov • • • . • • • • • • • • • • 9 5-6 6 Ufimtsev • • • . • • • • • • • • • 9 5-6 7 Kanstantinov • • • • • . • • • • • • • • 8.5 7 8 Dubinin • • • • . • • • • • • • 7.5 8 9 Levenfish • • • • • • • • • 7 'HO 10 Soloviev • • • • • • • . • • • • 7 9-10 11 Bivshev • • • • • . • • • • • 6.5 11 12 Makarov • • • • . • • • 5.5 12-13 13 Ratner • • • • • • • . • • • 5.5 12·13 14 Sidorov • • • • • • • . • 5 14-15 15 Estrin • • • • • • • 5 14-15 16 Guldin • • • • • • . 4.5 16 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16

=122 = and ounterattack

ceeded by offering hirrl �Cllng.,.ar play, aimed at pressuring tion. Obliged to defend, Nezh ways on the lookout fo r --···'-..·•­ play, or a tactical subtlety, a turnover. When he fo und it, he truly inspired and played with energy. Detense and Counterattack

50. 20. Qxa8 dxe4 G. Medvedev-Super Nezh 21. Qa4 Kazan 1934 Better was 21. Qa7, keeping control over the a7-g 1 diagonal. The preliminary moves are not known. 21. d3 22. Qxb4 Qd4t 23. Kg2 e3

It seems that the opening was prof­ itable for White: the pawns clearly out­ stripped Black by their advances. The It's difficultfor Rooks to fight against threat of 19. Bb4 was on, and 18 ... Qe7 an advanced pair of pawns. This po­ 19. Rab1 would not have helped. How­ sition was an ample illustration. Inspite ever, Black has a hidden resource: of Black's poor development, he had 18. ... dSI aneasy win due to the dangerouspawns. which changed the estimation of the 24. Qe1 Qe4t position. 25. Rfl e2 19. Bxb47 26. Qd2 Rd8 Not having seen the danger, White 27. Re1 es decided to take the material. Stron­ 28. Kf2 ger was 19. cxd5. I'm sure that what The four strongest pieces stand near Nezh had in mind was not the recom­ the pawns, but were helpless to coun­ mendations of the commentators, teract them. namely 19 ... Nxd5 and after20. f51White 28. Bg4 would still hold on to his threats. In­ 29. Re3 Qd4 stead he would have seen 19... exd5!. 30. fxes Rf8t Now White was obliged to play 20. Bxb4, 31. Kg2 Rfl l and after 20 ... axb4 (Worse was 20 ... 32. R3xe2 dxe4 21. Bxf8 Qxf8 22. Qb3t Qf7(bad Or 32. Rxfl Bh3t followed by 33 ... was 22 ... Kh8 because of 23. Qd5 with exfl =Qt or 32. R1xe2 Bxe2 33. Rxe2 the taking of one of the pawns) 23. Qg1t and then 34. Kh3 dxe2. f51b6 24. Rac1, and Black would not 32. Qg1#1 have been able to keep the pair of center (0-1 ). pawns.J 21. Bxdst BeG and Black would have had active play. 22. BxeGt Qxe6 23. Qxb4 Qe3t, or 22. Qb3 Bxd5 23. Qxdst Kh8 24. Qxb7 Rfd8. 19. ... axb4

= 124 = Nrzhmrtdinov, Chess As sassin

51. wos typical for such o structure, but L. Aronin-Super Nezh at the same time was very effective A 53 because of the backwardness and lack 7th Russian eh. of development of White's pieces, es­ Ku ibyshev 1947 pecially the insecure position of the King. 13 ... a6 was a loss of time be­ 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 d6 3. Nc3 eS 4. cause of 14. Qf2. e4 c6. 14. Qf2 f5 Concerning 4 ... exd4, see Game 1. 15. Nxa7 Nd7 5. Nge2 Nbd7 16. NabS 6. dS?I The threat of 16... Rxa7 and 17... b6 Releasing the tension in the center, maked White move his Knight away. White let Nezh finishhis development Nezh recommended 16. Qd2, trying to without trouble. Aronin planned a setup neutralize the pressure on the f-file, similar to Samisch's system and he went but it would have hardly helped. this way. 16. fxe4 6. cxdS 17. Nxe4 Ndf6 7. cxdS g6 18. Nbxd6 8. f3 Bg7 In other continuations Black would 9. Be3 0-0 have had an increasing initiative: 18. 10. Qd2 NcS Qh4 Nf4!; 18. Nexd6 e4!. 11. b4? 18. Nxe4 Having an undeveloped queenside, 19. Nxe4 BfS White started the attack on the a7- 20. Bd3 Ra31 and d6-pawns. White wanted to castle, but Black's constant prickliness would not have In the beginning this errant let him do that. tactic seems to achieve it's It was interesting that Black used goal, but then there's my re­ threats typical of King's Indian posi­ venge-active block pieces tions for the entire game. attackhis rash ploy, and White 21. Bc2 Bxe4 is doomed_ R.N.

Instead of this hasty attack how should White have moved his King away from the center? For this he should have chosen between 11. 0-0-0 and 11. g3 with the further Bg2 and 0-0. 11. Ncd7 12. NbS Nb6 13. Nec3 NhSI 22. Bb6 Paying no particular attention to On 22. Bxe4 Nezh gave the follow- the activity of his opponent, Black calmly ing pretty line: 22 ... Nf6 23. Qe2 Nxe4 continued with his play.This counterplay 24. fxe4 Qh4t 25. Bf2 Rxf2! 26. Qxf2

= 125 = Dcfensc and Counterattack

Qxe4'1 27. Kfl Ra81 with a decisive ot­ Black would have had both on extra tack. It was really true, fo r example: pawn and a very fine position. 28. Rel Qc4t 29. Qe2 Rf8t 30. Kgl Qd4t 21. cxd4 31. Qe3 e41, and there was no protec- 22. Qxd4 Nxg4tl tion from 32 ... Qxe3t and 33 ... Bd4. 23. Kg2 22. ... QcS After23. hxg4 Qh4t 24. Kg2 Qxg4t 23. Rc1 Qc3t 25. Kfl Qxf4t Black had three pawns 24. Qd2 Qxd2t for the piece, and a good deal of vari­ 25. Kxd2 Bh6t ous opportunities to press on with the White resigned (0-1t. attack. 23. Qh4 24. Bb3 Bg7 52. 25. e5 M. Shishov-Super Nezh The end would be nigh if 25. Qd2 C91 Bxc3 26. bxc3 Rxc3!. USSR Team eh. 25. ... Nxe5 Leningrad 1953 26. Qe4 Nd31 Black had no desire to win like an 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. inchworm with 26 ... Nc4 27. Qxe8t Rxe8 Ba4 Nf6 5. 0-0 Be7 6. Re1 b5 7. 28. Rxe8t Bf8 29. Bxc4 bxc4 30. Nd5. Bb3 0-0 S. c3 d6 9. d4 Bg4 10. Nezh began complicating matters, mat­ h3 Bxf311. Qxf3 exd4 12. Qd1 ters which had to be carefully calcu­ dxc3 13. Nxc3 Na5 14. Bc2 c5 lated. 15. f4 Nc6 16. Be3 ReS 17. Kh2 27. Bxf7tl Kf811 ReS 1S. a3 Bf8 19. Bf2 g6 20. This retreatshould have been foreseen g4. since after 27 ... Kxf7 28. Qd5t Kf8 29. Qxd6t Kg8 30. Qd5t Kh8 31. Rxe8t Rxe8 32. Qxd3 Qxf4 Black would only get one extra pawn and there ore some problems concerning the use of it. 2S. Bxes Nxf4tl 29. Kf3 White had few choices. In the end­ game after29. Qxf4t Qxf4 30. Rfl Qxfl t 31. Rxfl t Kxe8 White would be abso­ lutely hopeless. Having sacrificeda pawn in the open­ He could have thought over 29. Kfl ing, White couldn't get enough com­ [on 29. Kgl there is 29 ... Bd4t!] Qxh3t pensation for it. Nezh had neutralized 30. Kf2Nd3t 31. Ke2 Nxel 32. Rxel [on his opponent's activity by accurate de­ 32. Bc6 good enough is 32 ... QdJt!] Rxe8 fense, and from this point on you will 33. Rfl t Qxflt. see how he activated his play. 29. ... Rc41 20. ... Nd41 The move that made everything dear. 21. Bxd4 White was obliged to give up his Queen. In fact, this was forced. On 21. Bd3 30. Bd7 Rxe4

=126= Nr:r.hm�tdlnov,Chess Assassin

31. Rxe4 BeS 11. Bg2 dS 32. NdS Qd8 12. exd571 33. Nxf4 Qxd7 The tension in the center was gone 34. h4 Qf7 and this was good for Black. Perhaps 35. Rae1 Kg7 White didn't want to exchange Queens: 36. b4 QfS 12. f4 dxe4 13. dxe4 Qxd1 14. Rxd1, but 37. Rg1 ds here White's chances were better. At 38. Rxes Qxes this point the position of the Bishop 39. RgS Qe4t on f6 could have been justified. 40. Kg3 d4 12. Nxds 41. hs d3 13. Nf4 Nxf4 42. hxg6 hxg6 14. Bxf4 Qd7 White surrendered (0·1t. 15. c371 White lessened the activity of the black pieces, but created a weak pawn. 53. Instead, it would have been better to Super Nezh-L. Aronin play 15. Rb1, offeredlater by Nezh, fol­ 850 lowed by a2-a3 and b2-b4. This plan 13th Russian eh. would underscore the importance of Saratov 1953 the possession of the two Bishops. 15. 0-0 1. e4 CS 2. Nf3 d6 3. g3 Nc6 4. 16. Qa4 Rac8 Bg2 Bg4. 17. Rad1 Rfd8 A rare instance in Nezh's practice­ 18. Rfet b6 he chooses a continuation which is far 19. Qa617 removed from the regular systems of The idea of this maneuver was to the Sicilian Defense. Perhaps, this de­ discourage the transfer of the Knight cision was made for psychological rea- via e7 to d5. On 19... Ne7, 20. Bb7 would sons. have followed. 5. h3 BhS 19. ... g57 Preferable is 5 ... Bxf3. Black's position was good, but not 6. d3 e6 good enough to allow such a weak­ 7. Nc3 Be7 ening. It wasn't worth paying much 8. 0-0 Bf671 attention to 19 ... e5? 20. Bxc6 Rxc6 21. It's not clear why Aronin liked this Bxe5 Bxe5 22. Rxe5 Qxh3 23. Rde1! Rf8 maneuver better than the normal 8 ... 24. Qb7 with White still having had Nf6. the advantage. That's why there was 9. Ne2 Bxf3 no point to sudden movements. 19 ... This is the consequence of Black's h6 or 19... ReS would have been bet­ previous move. The point here is that ter. the move 9 ... Nge7 is dangerous. 10. 20. Bel NaS g4 Bg6 11. g5 Be5 12. Nh4 d5 13. f4 Bc7 14. f5.So, Black had lost a tempo, though it was not so important. 10. Bxf3 Nge7

=127= Defense and Counterattack

o pawn and under stron�J pressun•. 32. Bxd6 Black resigned (l·Ot. because 32 ... Qxd6 would have been stopped by Tl. Qg4t.

54. Super Nezh-E. Geller A07 21. d41 21st USSR eh. An excellent sacrificeof a pawn. The Kiev 1954 idea was to have opened the way for the Queen to the kingside which had 1. Nf3. been weakened voluntarily by Black. A rare beginning in Nezh's praxis. 21. ... cxd4 In this game his choice can be explained 22. Qe2 h6 by his tournament position. It was the Nezh gave: 22 ... Qe7 23. QhSI dxc3 4th round and his debut in the first 24. Be4 cxb2 25. Bxg5!. three rounds was modest: a loss in the 23. Qh5 Kg7 first round then two draws. Taking into 24. h4 Qe7 account that the tournament length 25. cxd4 Nc4 was considerable (19 rounds), Nezh de­ 26. b3 Nd6 cided to play with restraint and to 27. d5 e5 conserve his strength in this game. Did he succeed in this task against one of the world's greatest openings theorists? 1. ... Nf6 2. g3 d5 3. Bg2 BfS 4. o-o e6 5. d3 Be7 6. Nc3 White was eager to play e2-e4. Usually White plays for this by 6. Nbd2, then 28. f4 11 Qel and only then e2-e4. Maybe even This explosive move resolved every­ 6. Qel!?. thing. The opening of the King's posi­ 6 .... 0-0 tion was inevitable. 7. Nh4 Bg4 28. ... gxf4 8. h3 Bh5 29. Bxf4 Rh8 9. g4 Bg6 30. Rxe51 Qd7 10. Nxg6 30 ... Bxes was bad because of 31. The plan of forcing the retreat of QxeSt!. the Bishop with its ultimate exchange 31. Re2 Rh7? by the Knight was used often by Chi­ Time trouble, but Black was still down gorin, though, only when he had the

= 128 = Nezhmetdlnov, Chess Assassin black pieces. Nezh wosn't ufraid ofweok­ his position: rnlng his King's position as a result A. 24... g6 [recommended by NezhJ. of the g-pawn move. then Kg7 would have created threats 10. hxg6 on the h-file; 11. e4 dxe4 B. To play 24 ... e5!? at once. 25. dxe5 12. Nxe4 c6 Nxe5 and Black's threats on the e- and 13. c371 f-fileswould have quickly become dan­ 13. Bf4 was preferable. gerous. 13. Nbd7 Problems with the game move: the 14. Qe2 Nxe4 f-filewould remain closed, and the black lS. Bxe4 Bd61 Queen would have lost its influence An unexpected sacrificeof a pawn in the center. fo r the initiative. 2S. Bel es 16. Bxg67 26. dxes RxeS?I The pawn shouldn't have been taken, 26... Nxe5was stronger since it would as Black would have gotten a good com­ not have let the white Queen get ac­ pensation for it. 16. d4 would have been tive. good. 27. Qc4 BcS 16. Qh4 28. Rh2 bS 17. Kg2 NeS It was worth thinking about 28 ... 18. Be4 fSI g6, to have had a shelter on g7 for the 19. Bf3 Rf6 King. 20. d4 Nxg41 29. RdSt Bf8 30. Qb3 Rfe6 31. Rdl Rg6 32. Rd7 Be7 33. Bd2 After Black's inaccurate 24th and 26th moves White had managed to coun­ terattack and the tension of the fight had increasedconside rably. A calm move could not have been made though Nezh had dreamed about it. At that moment Black was very energetic in this part both players were into zeitnot. of the game and now White must play 33. ... as accurately or he will be swatted like 34. a4 bxa4 a fly. Black shouldn't take on a4 since the 21. Rhll pawns on the queenside would have Worse would have been 21. Bxg4 be­ become weak. cause of 21... Rg6!. 3S. Qxa4 RegS 21. Nh6 36. Qb3 Rglt 22. Kfl Nf7 37. Ke2 Qf6 23. Be3 ReS 38. Rd4 cS 24. Rdl f4 7 39. QbSt Black had two ways to strengthen 39. Rxf4 would have been better at

=129= Detensc and Counterattack once because it would have preserved 46. Bc21 Qd5 47. Bxh6 (47. Rh I Rxh I the pin of the Knight on f7. 48. Rxh6t Nxh6 49. Qxg6"t Kh8), as o 39. Kh7 possible way to win fa ster.J Qd 1 t (46 ... 40. Rxf4 Qa6t Rxhl 47. Rxh6t Nxh6 and 48. Qxg6 j. 41. C4 Bd67 If 46 ... Rxh4, then an easy 47. Rxg 11 47. Ke3.

Time trouble was over, but Black automatically made one more move, {Analysisaft er 47. Ke3) and as so often happens, a bad one. Moreover it was a move that brought This position looked more like the defeat! Black lost the game because product of a chess composer than a he lost control over h4. After the right position in a tournamentgame between move, 41... Bg5, the position remained masters. Here were, for example, varia­ tense and a good deal of interesting tions mentioned by Nezh: 47 ... Ne5 48. fi ght would have remained after 42. Rxh6t Kxh6 49. Qh8t Kg5 50. Rxglt Qxgl Be4. For example: 42 ... Qxc4t 43. Bd3 51. Ke4#1; or 47 ... Ng5 48. Qxg6t; or Bxf4! 44. Qxf4 Qxf4 45. Bxf4 Kg8 46. 47 ... Rxh4 48. Qxf7t Kh6 (48 ... Kh8 49. Bxg6 Rxg6 47. Kd3 and the endgame Qf6tl 49. Rxgl Qxgl [49 ... Rxh3t 50. would have been in White's favor, but Ke4t!. or 49... Bf4t 50. Qxf4!J 50. Kf3t! it would have been scarcely a winning Bf4 51. Bxf4t Rxf4t 52. Qxf4t. and White one. remained with an extra piece. It was After 41... Bd6 the game was ad­ interesting to note that in many lines journed. The sealed move was clear: the white King was an active player 42. Rh4t in the execution of his opponent. It turned out during the analysis 43. Qe8 Qa7 after the game that Black had placed The Rook was untouchable: 43 ... Bxh2 himself under an irresistible attack. 44. Bd5!.

42. •.• Nh6 44. Be4 Qe7 The most interesting of all the varia­ 45. Qxe7 Bxe7 tions could have been: 42 ... Rh6 43. Be4t 46. Rg41 g6 (43 ... Rgg6 44. Rxh6t Nxh6 45. Bxg6t Black gave up (l·Ot. Kxg6 46. Rg2t Kh7 47. Qb5, and White On 46 ... Nxg4 the victory would have would have won without any trouble.J been easy: 47. hxg4t Bh4 [47 ... Kg8 48. 44. Qe8! Qxc4t 45. Bd3 Qb3 [45 ... Qxh4 Bd5t with mate looming.J 48. Rxh4t 46. Qxf7t Kh8 47. Bc3t; 45 ... Qd5 46. Kg8 49. Bxg6. Bxh6J 46. Rhll [Mikenas & Ragozin offered

= 130= Nezhmetdlnov, Chess Assassin

55. 17. Qd2 d5 A. Llllenthai-Super Nezh 18. exd5 exd5 A 56 19. 0-0 21st USSR eh. It seems like there was a contra­ Kiev 1954 diction here-White had opened the h-file and then moved the Rook away 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 c5 3. d5 d6 4. from it. Actually, nothing could be done Nc3 g6 5. e4 Bg7 6. Bd3 0·0 7. on that file.Simultaneously the cen­ Nge2 Nbd7 8. Ng3 e6 9. dxe617. terwould get opened and on the queen­ White had shown some of his hand: side the King would have had nothing to attack immediately on the king side. to do. However, in the normal system 9. 0-0 19. ... Bb7 exd5 10. cxd5, it would have been hard 20. a41 for him to rely upon his advantage as This had been done fo r two reasons: the position of the Knight on g3 and to overprotect the Knight and to open the Bishop on d3 wouldn't have worked an outlet for the a-Rook and to trans­ well with the existing pawn structure. fer it to the kingside. 9. ... fx e6 20. ... Qd7 10. h41 21. Bxf6 It was the beginning of a flank at­ White was eager to start a tacti­ tack, which could have been enough cal operation which had as its aim to provided Black hadn't yet createda coun­ leave the black King without an es­ terstrike in the center. cort. Black managed, in an unimag­ 10. Ne5 inable way, to counteract the pressure. 11. Be2 a6 21. Ra3 was worth attention. 12. h5 Qe7 21. Bxf6 13. hxg6 hxg6 22. Qc2 Kg7 14. Bg5 b517 Black was in a hurry to create coun­ -� � . � terplay as his opponent had managed �����,-� to open the h-file.This counterattack "����-�- � would be effective, if and only if, when ���-�,�····· ·�� the center pawns weremoved forward, !�';!.·������ Black would sacrifice a pawn on the � �� � ��:"/.�� wing. However there was an alterna­ ��-/.-/.�� ��-��� tive, 14 ... Nf7,with the aim to escape, ""�a' ��,,�� j� whether the Bishop retreated or White � played 15. Qd2. 23. Bh517 15. cxb5 axb5 Lilienthal was very resourceful. If 16. Nxb5 he had estimated the consequences of 16. Bxb5 might be preferred for cre­ his attack more definitely, he would ating troubles for Black when he coun­ have chosen the simple 23. Qxc5, and terattacked with d7-d5 in the center, it would not be easy for Black to prove but White had his own plan. he had compensation for the pawn. 16. ... Nf7 23. ... Nh8

= 131 = Drtt-nsc und Counterattuck

24. Ra3 Be5 Qxc8 Rxc8, then White could still prolong 25. Bxg6? the game after 36. Rd l Rd8 37. a5. White was carrying out his plan, Now, afterthe text move, White would but it would hove been better to in­ have been obliged to take the pressure clude one more Rook-25. Rel, and offthe c8-squore and lose at once. thereby preserve good chances to do better. 25. ... Nxg6 56. 26. Nh5t Kh6 Super Nezb-M. Filip 27. Rh3? C64 Bucharest 1954

1. e4 eS 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. BbS BcS 4. 0-0 Nd4 5. Nxd4 Bxd4 6. c3 Bb6 7. d4 c6 8. Bc4 d6 9. a4 Nf6 10. dxes dxes 11. Qxd8t Bxd8 12. Re1 0-0 13. Nd2 Bc7 14. h3 Rd8 15. Nf3 h6 16. g4 gs 17. Kg2 Be6 18. Bxe6 fx e6 19. Nd2 aS 20. f3 Rd3 21. Rh1 27. ... Qxh31 Kg7 22. h4 Nh7 23. hxgs hxgs This refuted White's attack. More­ 24. Kf2 Bb6t 25. Ke2 Re3t 26. over, Block proceeded to create active Kd1 Rd8 27. Re1 Rxf3 28. Re2 counterploy. Right would hove been Rf4 29. Kc2 Rxg4. 27. Qe2 Qf5, and only now 28. Rh3 d4 29. Ng3t Qxh3 30. gxh3 Rf3. In this case [compared to the con­ tinuation in the game] White would hove kept both Knights. 28. gxh3 Kxh5 29. Qxc5 Rf31 30. Nd4 Rxh3 The threat of31 ... Bh2t 32. Kg2 Nf4t 33. Khl Bglt! 34. Kxgl Rg8# was cre­ ated. White's position looked absolutely 31. Ne2 Nf4 hopeless. His pieces were not developed, On 32. Ng3t there was 32 ... Rxg3t two pawns have been lost, and his op­ 33. fxg3 Bd4t 34. Qxd4 Ne2t and 35 ... ponent had a passed pawn. Nezh re­ Nxd4. fu sed to lose his optimism. 32. Nxf4t Bxf4 30. Ra3 BcS? 33. Kg2 Rc81 Black was in a good mood and he The concluding point, after which didn't believe that his opponent had White resigned (0·1t. any counterplay. If he had it together, The ideo of the move was, that if he would have played 30 ... Bc7. pro­ instead 33 ... Rg8t 34. Kxh3 BeSt 35. tecting the e5-pawn and the whole corn-

= 132 = Nr:r.hmt'tdlnov, Chess Assassin plex of block squnn•s on tht' queen­ Bg51 Kf7 White's nttnck would lwvt• side. exhausted itself, and the pnir of pnwns 31. Rb3 b5 in the center would COIII IH'Ilsnlt• lor 32. Nfl the loss of material very nin•ly. This Of course 32. axb5 was unplayable was exactly how Filip had to plny. l luvin!l because of 32... a4!. lost this opportunity, he put hinlst•ll 32. ... Kf6 in a lost position. 33. c41 b4 36. Rbh3 b3t Damsky didn't like this "normal" 37. Kxb3 Rdt move and offered the sharper 33 ... bxc4, Having noticed the danger, Hlul'k and he agreed that the weakening of tried to create counterthreats. b u t ht• his pawn structure for the sake of ac­ could not change the game to his ud tivity was good: 34. Rb7 Rd3, but af­ vantage. ter 35. Nd2! Rh3 (Black's main trouble 38. Nfl Bd4 was not the bad pawns, but the very 38... Rxcl wouldn't have worked bt• poor position of his Knight.] 36. Nxc4 cause of 39. Nxe5t Kg5 40. Rh5 1 Kf4 Bd4 37. Nxa5 Black was placed in a 41. Nxg4 and the Bishop on c5 would very difficult situation. "hang." 38... Rxe4 was also bad: ]I.J. 34. Rh2 Nf8 Rh6t KfS40. R2h5t Kg4 41. Nxe51. This Knight was of no use, but it 39. Kc2 Rft still caused enough problems. 34 ... Rd7 40. Be31 wouldn't have worked because of 35. One more tactical prick which aimed Rh6t Kg7 36. Rxe6, which would have to create an advantageous exchange. won the pawns back and preserved 40. Kf6 the advantage. Nezh gave an interesting 41. Nxd4 exd4 variation: 34 ... Rxe4 35. Rxh7 Rxc4t 36. 42. Bxd4t e5 Kbl Rdl 37. Rf7t! Kxf7 38. Nxe5t and 43. Bc3 39. Nxc4 would be victory at last. By It was time to adjourn the game. the way, the motifwith the Knight fork Home analysis won't help Black. Tlw on e5 could have been seen in other game entered the easy technique stage. lines. 43. Rff4 35. Nxg51 44. Rd3 Rxe4 A nice shot. Whitecould findresources 45. Rd6t Ke7 for a mating attack even in the end­ 46. c5 Rxa4 game. Tactical proof: 35 ... Rxg5 36. Rf3t 47. Rxc6 Rac4 Kg6 37. Bxg5 Kxg5 38. Rg2t Kh4 39. 48. b3 Rce4 Rfl Kh3 40. Rg8 Kh2 41. Rf6 with the 49. Rh8 Rh4 inevitable mate. 50. Rc7t Kd8 35. ... Kg67 51. Rxh4 Rxh4 On 35 ... Ng6 Nezh had prepared the 52. Bxa5 Ke8 following: 36. Rh6! Rg2t 37. Kbl Rdl 53. c6 Rh6 38. Rf3t Kg7 39. Rf7t! with mate in 54. ReSt Kf7 two. If instead of 37 ... Rdl, stronger 55. Bb41 Ne6 would have been 37 ... Rxg5 38. Rf3t 56. c7 Rh2t RfS! 39. exfS exfS. If 40. Rg3 Rg8 41. 57. Kbl Nxc7

= 133 = Dcfense nnd Counterattack

58. Rxe7t 42. Re41 QdS Black surrendered (l·Ot. On 42 ... Qc3 there would have fol !owed 43. Ne51, and then there would have been nothing better than to agn'(' 51 . to a perpetual check after 43... fxe•, Super Nezh-J . Kluger 44. Qf7t.42 ... Qf7fa iled because of 4:.!. C85 Qxf7t Kxf7 44. NeSt. Bucharest 1954 43. gSI fS Trying to overcome the problems ol 1. e4 es 2. Nf3 Ne6 3. BbS a6 4. the position by means of 43 ... Rxf344. Ba4 Nf6 5. 0-0 Be7 6. Bxe6 dxe6 Rxf3 Qxgst 45. Kf2 Rd2t 46. Kel Rxh2 7. d3 Nd7 8. Nbd2 0-0 9. Ne4 f6 47. Qe8t Kg7 48. Qd7t Kh6 49. Rh31 10. a4 NeS 11. b3 Bg4 12. Ne3 Rxh3 50. Qxh3t Kg7 51. Qd7t or 51. Be8 13. Bb2 g6 14. Nd2 Ne6 Re7t which would have led to a draw. 15. Khl BeS 16. Nde4 Bd4 17. 44. Rh4 Qd7 e3 Ba7 18. b4 Rf7 19. Qf3 Qf8 45. Rxh7 Qxe7 20. Radl Bd7 21. as Rd8 22. 46. Rxe7 R3d7 Ne2 eS 23. N2e3 exb4 24. exb4 47. Rfe1 Be6 25. NdS BxdS 26. exdS Nd4 White managed to achieve a lot: one 27. Qe4 NfS 28. Bel Rfd7 29. pawn was won back, but the main thing g4 Nd6 30. Qg2 NbS 31. Bal was that his pieces were active. Rxds 32. f4 exf4 33. Rxf4 Bd4 47. ... Ne3 34. Bxd4 Rxd4 35. Rffl e6 36. 48. Rle6 Rd1 t Rdel Rxd3 37. Qe2 Qf7 38. NeS 49. Kg2 NdS QdSt 39. Nf3 Kh8 40. Kg1 Qe4. 50. ReSt No good was 50. Rxg6t Kf8 as both � � � 111 Rooks would have hung. �'� .•. %!j %!j "�%!j�'"<- ���- so. Rxe8 � � 51. Rxest Kg7 �/.�,��':.:�,� 52. Rb8 Nf4t ����- --�%%·�%%�%% �%%�%%ft %% 53. Kg3 NhSt � -- � � �� 54. Kf2 Rd7 ��%!j� � �i� �%"<}. SS. NeS Re7 � � ��LJ �� � 56. Nd3 Kf7 57. NeS Nf4 White had two fewer pawns and 58. Nxb7 two others were hanging. Not every­ Black finallyagr eed to a draw af­ thing was lost: the ever optimistic Nezh ter 29 moremoves (1/2-1/2t. 58 ... Nd3t mentioned that the black King was iso­ 59. Kfl Ke6 60. Ke3 Nxb4 61. Kd4 lated. Rd7t 62. Kc5 Nd3t 63. Kxe6 Re7 64. 41. Qe71 Kg8 Kb6 f4 65. Rf8Nb4 66. NeSt Ke5 67. Black didn't fe el obliged to take on h4 Nd5t 68. Kxa6 Kd4 69. Kb5 Ke3 g4: 41... Qxg4t 42. Khl Qd7 43. Qxf6t 70. Kc6 Nb4t 71. Kd6 Ra7 72. ReSt Qg7 44. Qh4! R3d7 45. Ne5, or 42 ... R3d6 Kfl 73. Rb8 Na6 74. Rb3t Kg4 75. 43. Ne5!. Nd3 Nc7 76. Rb4 Kxh4 77. Rxf4 t Kxg5

= 134 = N�zhm�tdlnov, Ch�ss Assassin

71. Ra4 Kf5 79. Rf4t Kg5 80. Ra4 28. exf6 QhSI KB Bt. Rat g5 82. Rflt Ke4 83. Nc5t The sacrifice of the pawn was forced: Kfl 84. Rat g4 85. Kc6 NaB 86. Ra3t 28 ... gxf6 29. fS I. Kf4 . 29. fxg7 Bxg7 Black got active play immediately for his pawn, and then White went 58. on the defensive. Psychologically this E. Vasiukov-Super Nezh would be very difficult, even though Semifinals24th USSR eh. his position was objectively better. Kharkov 1956 30. Qe3 Nh4 31. Rc17 The preliminary moves are not known. 31. Rgl should have been played right away. 31. Qg6 32. Rgl

In this game Nezh wasn't able to solve the opening problems in his fa­ vorite "Ruy Lopez." White was more active. so on the next move he started 32 .... Bxd411 attacking the King. More than a surprise move, this was 23. ... dSI required by the position: the threatfr om The counterpunch in the center was the fS-square must be eliminated, as just in time. that would have allowed the black 24. f4 Knight to remove the Queen blockade After 24. exd5 all of Black's troubles of the e-pawn, and then add a white­ would have flown away: 24 ... Qxd5 25. squared Bishop to the attack. Ne4 Ned7!. When everything was explained, the 24. ... Ng6 brilliance of Black's play became clear. 25. es Ne41 And how was it explained? Was it easy Of course not 25 ... Nd7?, that would to give a valuable Bishop away and have lost chances for counterplay. weaken the long diagonal that led to 26. Nxe4 dxe4 the black King? 27_ Khl 33. Qxd4 NfS On 27. Bxe4 possible was 27 ... Bxe4 34. Qd1 28. Rxe4 f6 ! 29. e6 Qd5 30. Rel Bc5, and The check on h8 was a pernicious a pawn most likely would have been mirage: 34. Qh8t? Kf735. Qc3 Ng3t and won. then 36 ... Ne2 with a loss of material.

27. --· f6 34. ... e3

= 135 = Defense and Counterattack

35. Be57 back as on 26. Bxa8'? Bg3 27. Bd5 Qe7 Losing. It was necessary to play 35. Black would get a dangerous attack. Bxf51 Qxf5 36. Qg4t [but not 36. Qe2 26. ... Rab8 Qh3#1] Qxg4 37. hxg4 Rd8 38. Bc3!, 27. Bxf41 Rxb2? and White wouldn't have lost. Black still continued to fo rce the play, 35. ... e21 even though the position should be se­ 36. Qe1 Ng3t riously reevaluated. Things became 37. Kh2 Nfl t alarming: White had two strong Bishops; 38. Kh1 Qg31 besides threatening the d6-pawn, he It was inevitable, either mate, or threatened to advance the g-pawn up the appearance of a new Queen: 39. the board, after which the black King Qxg3t Nxg3t 40.Kh2 Nfl t and 41... el =Q. would be doomed. Careful defense with White quit (0·1). 27 ... Nc61 should have been played. On 28. Qg3, then 28 ... Rbd8, hampering White's play which was connected to 59. e4-e5. In that case the whole fightwould Super Nezh---1. Veltmander have continued. 18th Russian eh. 28. Qg3 Qb6 Sochi 1958 29. Kh2 Rbl 30. Rxb1 Qxb1 The preliminary moves are not known. 31. g5 Black had no satisfactory defense as the Knight on a5 was out of play and the Queen was far away and could not have helped. 31. ... Qd1 It was too late fo r 31... Nb7 because of 32. Qh3 with threats 33. g6 or 33. Qd7. 32. Qh3 Qfl 33. Bxd6 Qf2 Black has played 21... b3?! think­ 34. g6 h6 ing that he will get the initiative. 35. Be51 22. Bxb31 Nxg4 The threat was 36. Qh6#. If 35... 23. hxg4 exf4 Qd2, then 36. Qd7 would have followed. Black's intention, after24. Bxf4, was Black resigned (t-Ot. to play 24 ... Rab8. The pawn on b2 was a weakness since White would hardly play 25. Ra3. As for the e6-pawn, 60. Black had prepared ...Bh4 with a double B. Pozarsky-Super Nezh threatifit would have been taken. Yet ... C41 24. Bxe61 Bh4 Russian Spartaldade 25. Bd5 Bxe1 ]oshkar-Oia 1963 26. Qxe1 The material should have been given 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 d6.

= 136= Nl":r.hm�tdlnov, Chess Assassin

It's the llnll ("l.t•sst•r") (;luoco Pi ono, pressure. On the whole, Whltt•'s dtiiiii i'N introduced to new oudiences by Ale­ for a positive result Wl'l"l' quilt• hluh khine. 15. 0-0-0 0-0 4. d4 Bg4 16. Rhg1 ReS 5. h3 Bh5 17. Nd2 c61 5 ... Bxf3was preferable. Black had only one hopl' lo r ro1111 6. d5 terplay: to prepare, and to promol t' h"/ White closes the position and it has b5, but that would hove het'll d l lllntl l the fa miliar shape of schemes from the because of his lack of s pu n· . Whllt''\ Old Indian Defense. best target was the h5-pnwu. To ul 6. ... Nb8 tack it three tempi would ht• nt•t•clt•cl 7. Bd3 transferring the Knight to g3 and pluyluu White disclosed his plan-to strength­ Qe2. Black had to hurry, he hucl lilllt• en his spatial advantage by building time to create counterthreots. a powerful pawn center, and then to 18. Nfl Qa5 attack on one of the flanks under its 19. Ng3 Nc5 cover. It was difficultfor Black to create 20. Bxc571 counterplay but, his position was very A premature exchange, whirh mu cl•• firm. Black's life easier. Correct wos 20. ()t•:l., 7. Nf6 and only after20 ... b5, then 21. llxr'>l 8. c4 Nbd7 dxc5 22. cxb5 cxd5 [22 ... cxb5 23. ()xh'>l 9. Be3 Nc5 23. Rxd5 a6 24. b6!, and White would 10. g41 have gotten chances to win. White had been right in avoiding 20. ... Qxc5 10. Bxc5 Bxf31 11. Qxf3dxc5. Both sides 21. Qe2 b51 would have had "bad" Bishops and few Black had improved his opportunll h•s prospects for interesting and pithy play. to createcounterpla y. 22. Nxh5 b4 would 10. ... Nxd3t not have helped White. A forced exchange. On 10... Bg6 11. 22. dxc6 a61 Bxc5 dxc5 12. Nxe5 Bxe4 13. Bxe4 Nxe4 After 22 ... bxc4 White could hnvt• White could have chosen charming re­ comfortably taken on h5. If 22 ... ()xr4 plies among 14. Qe2 Bd6! 15. Qxe4 Qe7 23. Qxc4 bxc4 24. Nd5 it would lHIVI' 16. f4 f6 17. Nc3 fxe5 18. f5,or 14. Qa4t been a hardendgame for Black. So, tnki 1111 Ke7 15. Qc2. In both lines he would have into consideration that "normal" roll had an obvious advantage. tinuations are not enough, Nezh clt• 11. Qxd3 Bg6 cided to sacrificematerial, hopin!t lo 12. Nc3 Nd7 get chances of getting his Bishops ln•t• 13. h4 h5 and improving his game. 14. g5 Be7 23. cxb5 axb5 Some preliminary observations can 24. Qxb5 Qxf2 be made here: White had managed to Of course the endgame with 24 ... restrict his opponent, Black's Bishops Qxb5 25. Nxb5 Rxa2 26. Kb1 woulclu'l had nothing to do yet, Black's posi­ have promised anything good. tion looked like a compressed spring, 25. c7 Rec8 that's why White could not let up the 26. Nd5 Bd81

= 137= Dcfense and Counterattack

27. Kbl Bxc7 34. Qc2 28. Ne7t Kh7 Panic seized White and he ceded his 29. Nxc8 position little by little. It was hard to find a good way to defend from thl' surprise threats. Of course, 34. Qxd5? was poor because of34 ...Rd8. Also dan­ gerous was 34. exd5 e4! 35. Qfl e3 with an increasedinitiative in Black's hands. 34. ... Rb41 35. Qxa4 White exchanged Queens to ease his position, but in reality it would not solve his problems. That's why 35. b3 29 .... Rxc8? would have been better. A long fo rced series of moves had 35. ... Rxa4 brought White extra material and, ob­ 36. Re2 Rxe4 jectively, a won position. It became won The same move would have been after this mistake by Black. The inter­ played on 36. Ng3 or 36. Rxd5. mediate move 29 ... Rb8! should have 37. Rf2 Rxh4 been played. After30. Qe2 Qxe2 31. Nxe2 38. Rxd5 Rg4 Bxe4t 32. Kal Rxc8 33. Rcl BfS34. Ng3 39. Kc1 Bb6 Bg4 Black had a pawn for the Exchange 40. Rfl Rxg5 and good chances in a sharp endgame. 41. Rxe5 h4 Now White had the advantage, which The time scramble had ended, and was enough to win. Black must res­ a non-standard endgame appeared on cue his white-squared Bishop, and for the board. The material correlation of this the d6-d5 move must be played. forces had no importance. It was crucial 30. Qfl to outrun his opponent in the pawn­ Now White played with uncertainty. promotion. In such play Bishops would Perhaps the onset of zeitnot had be­ be as strong as Rooks, especially when gun. 30. Qc4 would have been okay, they areplayed as a pair. Right offWhite, and if 30 ... Rb8, then 31. Qc2. who had been worn out by the pin­ 30. ... Qa7 ning of his Knight, was eager to ex­ 31. Nf5 change Rooks. 31. Qc4 was good. 42. Rb5 Be3tl 31. ... Rb8 43. Kd1 Ba7 32. Rg2?1 44. Nd6 Rxb5 White could not stand the heat, and 45. Nxb5 Bb8 so Nezh continued the pressure with­ 46. a4 out letup. 32. ... Qa41 33. Qd3?1 Black's dream came true. 33. Qe2 would have been right. 33. ... d51

= 138= Nezhml'tdinov, Chess Assassin

An educational example: how strong was the Bishop by pawns at different flanks against the Knight. It neither let the white King go, nor missed the pawns. 56. Ke2 Kg4 57. Nfl Kf4 58. b4 f6 59. bS Kg4 Zugzwang. 46. ... Be41 60. Nh2t Kg3 A splendid move which clarifiedthe 61. Nf3 f5 position. It turnedout that the queening 62. Nd2 Bb6 squares arecontrolled by the far ranging The Bishop had one other advan­ white-squared Bishop (aS and hl]. The tage over the Knight: it could give its Rook could not do it. The h-pawn will turn of the move to the opponent, but have cost White a piece and end the the Knight could not. game. 63. Nf3 BcS 47. Ke2 h3 64. Nd2 Ba7 48. Nd4 65. Nf3 f4 White had no time to move his pawns, 66. Nd2 Kg2 and even his threepieces could not have Everything was ready for the end: averted the fatal promotion of Black's the f-pawn was moving forward, and pawns. the Bishop was so far away that the 48. ... Bg21 Knight could not reach it. Hindering the closing of the long 67. Nf3 Bf2 diagonal by the Knight. 68. Nh4t 49. Nf3 White had nothing else. Alas, material should have been re­ 68. Bxh4 turned, otherwise there would be no 69. a7 f3t chance to stop the pawn. 70. Kd3 h2 49. Bxflt 71. aS =Q ht =Q SO. Kxfl Kh6 White resigned (O-tt. 51. aS gS Beginning from the 30th move, Nezh 52. a6 played with great resourcefulness. It would have been useless to move the b-pawn, the black g-pawn is fu r­ ther along. 52. ... g4 53. Nd4 g31 An elegant, even study-like decision: Black sacrificed his pawn, but made his King extremely active. 54. NfSt KgS 55. Nxg3 Ba71

= 139 = Defense and Counterattack

Board 1 Teamcb. l 1953 Playen 1 z 3 4 5 6 7 8 Points Place 1 lipnitsky . • • • • • • • 5 I 2Funnan • • • • • 4 2·3 3 Shishov • • . • • • 4 2-3 4 Antoshin • . • • • • 3.5 4-5 5 Suetin • • . • • • 3.5 4-5 6 Nezhmetdinov • • . • • 3 6 7 Arulaid • • • . • 2.5 7-8 8 Koblents • • • • • . 2.5 7-8 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

Semi-finals, 21stUSSR eh.Rostov-on-Don I 1953 Playas 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 1Z 13 14 15 16 Points Place 1 Iivshin •• • •• • •••••• 10.5 1-2 2 Funnan • . • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 10.5 1-2 3 Bannik . • • • • • • • • • • • • • 9.5 3-4 4 Nezhmetdinov • • . • • • • • • • • • • • 9.5 3-4 5 Koblents • • • • . • • • • • • • • 9 5 6 Antoshin • • . • • • • • • • • • 8 &8 7 Kotlennan • • • • . • • • • • • • • 8 &8 . 8 Sharnayev • • • • • • • • • • 8 &8 9 Budo • • • • • . • • • • • 7.5 9-11 10 Fridshtein • • • • • • • . • • • • • 7.5 9-11 11 Chistyakov • • • • • • . • • • • 7.5 9-11 12 Reshko • • • • • • . • • • 6 12 13 Kasparyan • • • • • • . • • 5.5 13 14 Konstantinov • • • • • • . • 5 14 15 Zagorovsky • • • • • • • . 4.5 15 16 Bagin • • • • • • . 3.5 16 _ 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16

=140=

Strategy

61. the Knight to t4 could also be made. V. Zurakhov-Super Nezh 16. Ng3 Rfe8 C99 17. Bd3 Bf8 14th Russian eh. 18. a4?1 Rostov-on-Don 1954 This was a violation of one of the most important strategic principles of 1. e4 es 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. BbS a6 4. chess: never start play on the wing when Ba4 Nf6 s. o-o Be7 6. Re1 bs 7. you don't have the advantage, or a least Bb3 0·0 8. c3 d6 9. h3 NaS 10. a calm situation, in the center. That's Bc2 CS 11. d4 Qc7 12. Nbd2 why a strengthening of the cent er by cxd4 13. cxd4 Bb7 14. Nfl Rac8. means of 18. d5 was necessary. 18. b4 19. Bd2

At that time this was one ofthe main positions in Chigorin's variation of the Ruy Lopez. This setup of black pieces 19.. .. exd41 (Bb7, Rc8) with the exchange of pawns It was inconvenient to defend the in the center, was introduced into tour­ pawn at b4: 19 ... Qb6 20. Be3 with the nament practice before the war_ threat 2L dxe5, and it's not necessary, 1S. Bb1 as there was an opportunity given by Simagin's continuation. Here 15_ Re2 his kind opponent to begin active play or 15. Bd3 are often used_ in the center. 1S. ... g6 20. Bxb4 In the Moscow championship, 1944, This pawn should have been taken, Panov struck in the center with: 15 __. as on 20. Nxd4 there was 20 ... d5, and d5!? 16. exd5 e4 17_ Bxe4 Nxe4 18. Rxe4 Black would grab the initiative. Bxd5_ For the pawn he got two active 20. Nc6 Bishops and ideas to create different 21. Bd2 Nd7 attacking positions, Verlinsky-Panov. 22. as Later the correct reaction was found Nezh recommended 22_ b4, but most to 16 ... e4: 17_ Ng51 and 18. Nxe4, and likely there was no big difference be­ White has the better chances. That's tween these two continuations_ why instead of a sharp pawn sacrifice 22. ... NdeS Black usually plays more calmly_ To ­ 23. Nxes Nxes gether with the plan ofregrouping pieces A move which demonstrated Black's chosen by Nezh [with the same aim as aggressive intentions. Others would have

15 ___ Rfe8], 15 ___ Nh5, the transfer of chosen 23_ . _ dxe5, returningto a regular

=142= Nezhmetidnov, Chess Assassin pawn structure, ond they ... would also White refused to play 35. Ne2 because have been right. of the ruinous 35 ... f3 36. gxf3 Bxf337. 24. Rc1 Qd7 Qxa6 QdS with an unrelenting attack. 25. Bfl Bg7 35. ... C31 26. f4 Rxc1 36. g3 f2tl 27. Bxc1 Nc6 The long diagonal was clear and there 28. Bd2 were no means to stop the threats. In case of 28. Qa4, Black would have 37. Nxf2 used the back rank fo r protection by 37. Bxf2 QdS. the Rook and would have played 28 ... 37. Bf) dS, after which White would then go 38. Qb3 Bxd1 on the defensive. 39. Nxd1 h5 28. ... Nd8 40. Bf2 Re1 29. Qb37 White surrendered (0·1t. The maneuvers of the Queen were unfruitful, as the small threatscreated by it, were not dangerous. Simpler is 62. 29. Bd3 Ne6 30. b4. Super Nezh-A. Matsukevich 29. ... Ne6 BOt 30. Qb6 d31 Riga 1955 The clumsy moves of the Queen only created tactical troubles for White. 1. e4 d5 2. exd5 Qxd5. 31. Be3 Nc5 In spite of the obvious defect-the 32. e5 loss of tempo as a result of the attack by the Knight on the Queen-the Scan­ dinavian Defense didn't vanish fromtour­ nament practice. It's also [if not popular] an exciting and healthy opening. 3. Nc3 Qa5 4. d4 c6 5. Bc4 Ntl; 6. h3 White doesn't want a pinning of the Knight after it's arrival to f3, though Bad was 32. b4? Na4 33. Qa7 Ra8 catch­ 5. Nf3 Bg4 6. h3 is a main system used ing the Queen. After 32. Bxcs dxcs 33. against the Scandinavian Defense. Kh2 c4 Black would have had a deci­ 6. Bf5 sive advantage. 7. NC3 Nbd7 32.. .. dxe51 8. o-o e6 This foreseen sacrificeof a piece led 9. Bf4 to a quick victory. The motif of the com­ 9. Rel was worthy of attention. bination was the passed d-pawn. 9. Nd5 33. Bxc5 d2 10. Bd2 Nxc3 34. Rd1 exf4 11. Bxc3 Bb4 35. Nh1 12. Bxb4 Qxb4

=143= Strategy

13. Bb3 0-0 23. ... Nxe6 14. Re1 cS? Black did not want to take the Rook, An overestimation of the position. but he had to: on 23 ... Qxd5 the Knight The activity in the center was in White's would be lost after 24. ReS and 25. Qc4. favor. Black's position would be solid 24. Nxe6 Rfe8 if the maneuvering would remain ac­ 2S. c4 Ra8 curate. Good wouldhave been 14 ... Rad8, 26. Kh1 Re7 14 ... h6 or 14 ... Qd6 [the last one was 27. QeS a6 recommended by Nezh]. 28. Rg1 Rae8 1S. c3 Qb6 29. Rg3 Rf7 16. dSI Rad8 30. Kg2 Qe7 Black's mistake had brought him 31. f4 g6 trouble-he should have played more This, of course, was a serious weak­ accurately. 16 ... exd5 (16 ... Nf6? 17. ening, but Black had almost no useful g4] 17. Qxd5 Be6 18. Rxe6! Qxe6 19. Qxe6 moves. fxe6 20. Bxe6t Rf721. Ng5 wouldn't have 32. f5 Qf6 worked for Black either. 33. Qxf6 Rxf6 17. g4 c41 Black was resourcefully defending � �-��� a hard position. The pawn was sacri­ ��� ¥%���� ficedas a temptation: in case of 18. Bxc4 �1,£� �;ma �4)�� �1�,£ therewould have been 18 ... exd5, getting � ;ma�r � f� ;ma rid of the object of attack on e6. �������� 18. gxfSI cxb3 �?j���� 19. fxe6 fxe6 �%'""���� -'� 20. Rxe6 QbS ¥%'����¥%'� ¥%'� �� 21. axb3 NcS � 22. Nd4 Qd7 34. d61 Rexe6 The alternative 34 ... Rf7 wouldn't have promised anything better: 34 ... Rf7 35. c5 Kh8 36. Rd3 gxf5 37. d7 Rxd7 38. Rxd7 Rxe6 39. Rxb7 Re2t 40. Kf3Rxb2 41. c6 Rc2 42. c7. 3S. fxe6 Rxe6 36. Rd3 Black had no chances here. 36. ... ReS 37. b4 Rd8 23. Qe21 38. CS Kf7 The sacrificeof material was forced. 39. R£Jt Ke6 At the same time it was strong enough 40. Re3t KdS to preserve and strengthen the center. 41. Re7 b6 A retreat of the Rook would not have 42. Rc7 as been profitablebecause of the shots at 43. cxb6 axb4 d5 and h3. 44. b7

= 144 = Nr1.hmrtldnov, Chess Assassin

Block surrendered (l·Ot. 11. Bd3 Bxd3 12. Qxd3 Nbc6 13. Bd6 Qd7 14. a4 Na5 and equalized. 10. Be2 Nc6 63. 11. o-o o-o Super Nezh-M. Tal On 11 ... cxd4 Rashid Gibyatovich had c 17 planned to sacrifice a pawn: 12. Nxd4 24th USSR eh. Ncxe5 [12 ... Ndxe5 13. Nxc6 Nxc6 14. Moscow 1957 Bxg7] 13. Nb5 Qb8 14. f4 Ng6 15. f5,start­ ing an attack. This game was played in an atmosphere 12. bxcs bxcs of high anxiety. It was the 6th round 13. dxcS of the championship. The 20-year old master Tal, having 4.5 points of5, was suddenly leading the tournament. He had defeated such GMs as Taimanov and Bronstein. Now, a not young, nor fa­ mous master, was on his way. Tal knew Nezh was strong in attack and was good at playing the Sicilian Defense with White. That's why he chose the French Defense as an opening surprise fo r Nezh. However, Tal was playing this defense One ofNezh's favorite ways of opening only for the second time in his life-a the center in "French" positions. In this mixture of reckless bravery and giddi­ situation this opening was justifiable ness from success. At this point Tal's after Black's castling. opening "preparation" was over. 13. ... Ncxe571 Brave, but very optimistic. 1. e4 e6 2. d4 dS 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. es cS 5. Bd2 Ne7 6. a3 Bxc3 7. Bxc3 Block agreed to open the di­ b6 8. b4. agonals for the white Bish· This was a novelty, from the times ops, relying upon his strong Nezh worked together with his pupils. center. But os the furtherde­ The aim is to "enliven the black­ velopment of events showed, squared Bishop" (in Nezh's words). Af­ the block pawns in the cen­ ter 8. Qg4 Nf5 9. Bd3 h5 10. Qh3 Qg5! ter couldn't move and were Black equalized the play in the game put under fire. Krogius_:._Furman, sf 24th USSR eh., 1957. -R.N. 8. ... Qc7 Only not 8 ... c4?. In this case Black Correct would have been 13 ... Nxc5 would have gotten zero counterplay. 14. Bd3 Ne41 [After 14 ... Nxd3 15. Qxd3 9. Nf.3 Nd771 White's position was better.] 15. Re1 Bb7! The novelty by White brought results. [offered by Keres] with enough chances A year later [at 13th Olympiad] in the by Black. game Sanguinetti-Fuchs Black played 14. Nxes Nxes more precisely: 9 ... cxb4! 10. Bxb4 Ba6 15. Qd4 f6

=145= Strategy

16. f4 Nc67 Bb7 22. Bc4"j" Kh8 23. Rf7 Rd7 24. Rdfl The pawn on cS was disagreeable Rxf7 25. Rxf7 Ne7 26. Qg4 Rg8 27. Bb41 for Black and it should have been at­ and White is winning.] Kh8 22. QgS Be6 tacked: 16 ... Nd7. Nezh planned to re­ (Ed.: Tal gave 22 ... h61 28. Qg6 Ne7 os spond 17. f5or 17. Bg4, because a capture uncleor.j 23. Bxe6 dxc3 24. BdS, Black's on cS would be unlikely due to the pin central pawns would hove fallen. by the Bishop. In case of 17. f5 Re8 18. 21. Qg3 fxe6 NxcS, 19. Rxf6? could not have been played because of19 ... Ne4 (19 ... gxf6? 20. Qxf6 Bxe6 21. Rf1with anunavoidable mate, or 20 ... Rxe6 21. Qh8t and 22. Qg7t with the win of the Queen]. And after 19. Bf3Bxe6 20. BxdS White would have had only a small advantage. As for 17. Bg4, 17 ... Nxc5 18. f5 Ne4! also provided Black with satisfactory play. 17. Qe3 Rd8 It was time to defend, and 17... Ne7 21. Rd771 or 17 ... Bd7 were best suited for this Neither Nezh, nor Domsky commented purpose. on this move. Black had missed his last 18. Rad1 chance for a counterattack: 21 ... Rf81 (offered by A. Hasinj. For example: 22. Rxf8t Rxf8 23. RxdS? Nd41, and Black would hove had the advantage-24. Rxd4 (24. Rd7 Qxd7! 25. Bxd7 Ne2t; 24. c6 Bxc6 25. Rxd4 BxbS; 24. Bc4 Ne2t 25. Bxe2 BxdSJ Qxcs 25. Bc4t Kh8 26. QgS h6 27. QhS Rc8, and White would lose material. After the better 23. Bxc6 Qxc6 24. Bxes (but not 24. QxeS? d4J Qxcst 25. Bd4 Qe7 26. Re1 Qd7 27. Bxa7 White 18. ... e571 gets an extra pawn, but it's difficult This was a continuation of the same to do anything with it. optimistic scenario. The opening of the 22. R£ZI game, and two strong Bishops, would Taking on c6 at once won't score a give the advantage to White. Black's point: 22. Bxc6 Qxc6 23. Qxes Qxcs (with handsome pawn center will bring White check]. some problems. 22. ReS 19. fxeS fxeS 23. h3 Ba8 20. BbS Bb7 24. Ba4 Bb7 It became an accepted reality that 25. Kh1 the counterattack had failed. In his opponent's approaching Zeitnot, 20 ... d4 would have been bad, as after White was not in a hurry.This tactic was 21. Bc4t (Ed.: Tal thought 21. Qe4! was not pleasant for Black, who was pressed better and he was correct. E.g., 21 ... not only by time, but also fo r space.

= 146 = Nczhmctidnov, Chess Assassin

25. ... Ba8 the initiotive. 26. IUS e4 6. Qe2 Black couldn't stand the pressure, and Nowadays 6. Rel 0-0 7. d4 cxd4 8. preferred to reinforce his play instead cxd4 or even 8. e5 Nd5 9. cxd4 d6 10. of engaging in aimless maneuvering. Nc3! is more often played. All the same, it was impossible to hold 6. ... 0-0 the position: 26 ... d4 27. Bb3t Kh8 28. 7. e5 Ne8 Rdfl Qd8 29. Rf7Rxf7 30. Rxf7, or 26 ... That, as Nezh confessed later, was g6 27. Bxc6 Qxc6 28. Rxe5 Rf8 29. Bd4. why he played 6. Qe2. In both cases Black's position was be­ He suggested that on 7 ... Nd5, 8. Qc4 yond redemption. would have been unpleasant due to the 27. Qxc7 Rxc7 loss of the c5-pawn. Later it was dis­ 28. Rfxd5 e3 covered that in playing 8 ... Nc7 9. Bxc6 29. Rd7 e2 dxc6 10. Qxc5 Qd3! Black got compen­ 30. Bb3t Re6 sation for the pawn. 31. Bxe6t Km 8. d4 Nc7 32. Bxg7t 9. Ba4 Black surrendered (1-0). White could have won the pawn: 9. Bxc6 bxc6 10. dxc5, but after 10 ... Ba6 11. c4 d5 12. cxd6 exd6 13. Rd1 Re8 14. 64. Be3 d5! Black would have gotten ac­ Super Nezh-8. Spassky tive play. 831 9 .... cxd4 24th USSR eh. 10. cxd4 d5 Moscow 1957 Nezh admitted that 10 ... d6 was weaker because of the line 11. Rd 1 Bg4 1. e4 c5 2. Nf.3 Nc6 3. Bb5 g6 4. 12. h3 Bxf3 13. Qxf3dxe5 14. Bxc6 bxc6 o-o. 15. dxe5 and White would have had the This system, with the devlopment better chances. After 15 ... Nd5 16. Nc3 of the Bishop to b5 was used by Nezh e6 there was no advantage. many times in different situations. For 11. h3 Rb8 example, in the semi-finalin this USSR 12. Bc2 b6 championship he played 4. c3 in the game 13. Bd2 Ba6 with Boleslavslcy, but the experienced 14. Bd3 Bxd3 theorist of the openings managed to 15. Qxd3 Qd7 get a good position, playing [as Black): The chances for both sides were ap­ 4 ... d5 5. Qa4 [later Nezh offered 5. e5) proximatelyequal, although Nezh evalu­ dxe4 6. Ne5 Bd7 7. Nxd7 Qxd7 8. Qxe4 ated [in his commentaries) the whole Nf6. plan for Black, concerning the exchange 4. ... Bg7 of white-squared Bishops, as the wrong 5. c3 Nf6 one. He thought that it would be hard 5 ... e5 could also have been played. to undermine White's cent er by means Its aim would have been to stop White's off7-f6 without a Bishop. play in the center. Still, White would 16. Nc3 Nb471 play 6. d4! cxd4 7. cxd4 exd4 8. Bf4, taking Afterthis unnecessary move, which

=147= Strat�gy will give White tempi to invade his space, 26. Nf4 Rc4 the play became easier for White. The 27. Nxe6 Qxe6 most logical move would have been 16 ... 28. Ret Qd6 f6 . 28 ... Qd7 wasn't better because of 17. Qe2 Rbc8 29. Bf4. Nezh offered the following varia­ Still, 17 ... f6 should have been played. tion: 29 ... Rc8 30. Qe2 Bf6 31. Qe6t! Qxe6 18. a3 Nc6 32. Rxe6 Nd7 33. Rc6! Re8 34. Rc7 with 19. b4 Ne6 a winning endgame. 20. Qd3 f6 29. g3 Nd7 30. Bf4 Qf6 �-� �*� 31. BgS Qf8 �--�%%� �-r,{ i� /.� �.... -� f§· 4)��·�� �t 32. Rxe7 Nf6 ��f� 33. Qe21 h6 �-----�i��" Alas, 33 ... Ne4 would have failed, "�·"" "�-r- " W'�«''�%%� %%� because 34. Rxe4 would have followed, � ����4J��ft and there would have been no check · --..-�. �- -���1nl� at cl. ... %% . �, � .. ·· ·� l��f �%% Without waiting for Nezh's response, � Black resigned(t-ot. as there would have ) Now the interesting �sacrifice been no defense after 34. Qe6t Kh8 35. of a piece won't work: 20 ... Bxf6 Bxf6 36. Rf7. Instead of this line Nexd4 21. Nxd4 Nxe5 because Nezh offeredthe following poetic varia­ of 22. Qb51 Qxb5 23. Ndxb5 tion: 35. Ne5 Qg8 36. Bxf6 Qxe6 37. Nxg6t Nc4 24. Nxd5 Nxd2 25. Nxe7t Kh7 38. Rxg7#!. Kh8 26. Nxc8 Nxfl 27. Rxfl Rxc8 28. Nxo7 Ro8 29. Nb5 Bb2 30. Rbl with on extra 65. pawn. 1. Boleslavsky-SUperNezh R.N. C76 USSR Team eh. 21. exf6 Bxf6? Vilnius 1958 For the sake of easily repelled threats to the pawn on d4, Black gave himself 1. e4 es 2. NO Nc6 3. BbS a6 4. a serious weakening on the e-file. Af­ Ba4 d6 5. c3 Bd7 6. d4 g6 7. o-o ter 21 ... exf6 he had a comparatively Bg7 8. Be3. good position. Both players, as was known, were 22. Ne2 Bg7 great researchers in the openings, and There was an absence of counterplay they made many discoveries, especially due to the d-pawn, and it became more in the Ruy Lopez. As for this very posi­ and more difficultfo r Black because of tion, the players used it three times dur­ White's opportunities to attack by h3- ing their meetings. It first happened in h4-h5. the 24th USSR eh., Moscow 1957, whereNezh 23. Ract as preferred8 ... Nge7, but Boleslavskyused 24. bS Nb8 the novelty 9. dxe51 [Earlier 9. c4 exd4 25. Rxc8 Rxc8 10. Nxd4 Q-0 11. Nc3 Nxd4 had been played

=148= Nl'zhmetidnov, Chess Assassin with equal chances, Keres- - Capablanca, pionship. The difference here was that Buenos-Aires, 1939.] dxeS 10. BcSI b6 11. in that game, the Bishop pinned the Ba3 bS 12. Bc2 0-0 13. Nbd2 aS 14. BcS Knight and owing to this, it handcuffed and owing to the strong position of the Black's forces, and here there was no Bishop on cs he got the better game. pin. That's why the Bishop's move was Then in the semi-finalsof the 25th USSR aimless. Moreover,White had lost control eh., Kiev 1957, this position was seen over the important square f4. again. Remembering the problems caused Some other, more useful continua­ by the Bishop on c5, Nezh played 8 ... tions (11. Qc2, 11. b4, 11. Bxc6] could b6 at once. Not long before that time, be made in this position. Perhaps the master Ussov had played against him most preferable would have been 11. in the 17th Russian eh., Krasnodar 1957. Re1, vacating the fl-squarefor the Knight. Boleslavsky gained an advantage by 11. ReS purely positional means: 9. d5! (He men­ 12. Re1 b6 tioned that the c5-squareshould be taken 13. Ba3 under control by Black only after the It would have been better to accept pawn exchange on e5. This is a splen­ his mistake and returnthe Bishop to e3. did example of the way a great strate­ 13. Qc8 gist thinks: not to use variations, but 14. Nn bs schemes, structures, and setups!} Nce7 10. 15. Bc2 as Bxd7t Qxd7 11. c4 h6 12. Nfd2 f5 13. f3 It became clear that the Bishop's Nf6 14. Nc3 0-0 15. b4. The game took wandering maneuvers brought noth­ shape for White as a kind of King's In­ ing but trouble to White. dian Defense: 16. Bc5 Nd81 The Knight moves with tempo to f4 . Block is still preparing his 17. a4 Qb7 forces on the kingside, and 18. axb5 Bxb5 White has already prepared 19. Ba3 o breakthrough onthe queen­ side. It's also in White's fovor that there ore no white­ squared Bishops on the chess­ board.

-Boleslavslcy

8. Nf6 9. Nbd2 ()-() 10. dxes dxe5 10 ... Nxe5 11. Nxe5 dxe5 12. f3 Bxa4 19. Ne61 13. Qxa4 Qd3 brought equality in the Black sacrificeda pawn, and because gamejansa-Filip, Marianske Lazne 1960. of that almost all of his pieces appeared 11. Bc5? in attacking positions. Perhaps Boleslavsky was caught off 20. Nxe5 Rad8 guard by his pleasant memory of this 21. Qcl? move in the game from the 24th cham- 21. Qf3 was obligatory, as the basic

= 149= Strategy

events should happen on the kingside. played this opening system fo r the first Black planned to play 21 ... NgS 22. Qf4 time, he would never have played the h6 with the threat 23 ... NhS and get the move 11. BcS. initiative for the pawn. Now the Queen turns out to be a passive bystander. 21. ... NhS 66. 22. N£3 Nhf4 Super Nezh-A. Shestoperov 23. Ng3 hS B94 24. h4 Bh6 21st Russian eh. 25. Kh2 Kg7 Omsk 1961 26. Qb1 Qb6 27. Kg1 1. e4 CS 2. N£3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf65. Nc3 a6 6. BgS Nbd7 7. Bc4 QaS 8. Qd2 e6 9. o-o Be7 10. Rad1 h6 11. Bh4 NeS 12. Be2 bS 13. Bxf6 gxf6 14. f4 b4 15. Nb1 QcS 16. Kh1 Nc4 17. Bxc4 Qxc4 18. b3 QcS . � �. �...� -- � � rlt�" 1� �-� ----t �i/0�-,� �" -� Alas, the simple attack on the pawn ��-d�· li�:""< �-��-----,�-���---- at f2 can't be repelled: 27. Re3 Nxg2! i/0� �� ft�� � 28. Kxg2 Bxe3 29. fxe3 Qxe3, or 27. Nhl �A---- - �,c. ��------� %�--� Nxg2! 28. Kxg2 Nf4t 29. Kgl Qe6 and ft� ft� �il� � the Queen would have rushed to the ��4J·�-�0<����<;ft-----­ h3-square. After the continuation of the game White's position was more active, the same sacrifice would have put an but he should "hurry up," as Black was end to the battle. eager to quickly finishhis development. 27. Nxg21 19. c31 Bb71 28. Kxg2 Nf4t Black was ready to sacrificea pawn, 29. Kh1 as after 19, .. bxc3 20. Nxc3 Bb7 21. fS! The logical ending of the game was: White would have begun an offensive. 29. Kgl Nh3t 30. Kg2 Qxf2t 31. Kxh3 20. cxb4 Qb6 Bd7t 32. NfSt BxfSt33. exfS Qxf3t and 21. Nc31 34 ... Rd2 with mate. White also considered that activity 29. ... Qxf2 was more important than material. The White surrendered (0·1t. clumsy 21. Rfel allowed 21... dS!. This is a good example of how cliches 21. Qxb4 and false associations influence even 22. Nc2 QaS the greatest chessplayers, and perhaps, 23. Ne3 Rg8 even more so than less practical play­ Black still can't solve the problem ers. I believe that if Boleslavsky had of shelter for his King: 23 ... 0-0 is just

=150 = Nrzhmetldnov, Chess Assassin bad, and on 23 ... 0-0-0 the attack 24. 37. ... Rdg8 b41 would commence. 38. Rc1t Kb7 24. Nc4 Qc571 38 ... Kd8 39. Ne4 Rxg2 40. Nxf6 R8g3 Black shouldn't have allowed the loss 41. d7 isn't any better and there would of a tempo with an attack on his Queen. be no defense from 42. ReS. 24 ... Qc7 was better. 39. Ne4 Rxg2 25. f51 40. d7 Rxa2 Winning the pawn by 25. Nxd6t Bxd6 41. Nd6t Ka7 26. Qxd6 Qxd6 27. Rxd6 Ke7 would have 42. ReS R8g2 let the black King get rid of his prob­ Black lost with honor-with his last lems. blink he had also createda mate threat. 25. o-o-o 43. Ra8t 26. Na4 Qb5 Black surrendered (1·0t. 27. Qf4 Kb81 A good defensive move, based on a tactical point: 28. Nxd6? Bxd6 29. Rxd6 Qxfl tl 30. Qxfl Rxd6, and Black would have gotten two Rooks for the Queen. In the opened position, that would also have been in his favor. 28.. Rfe1 h5 29. h3 e5 White's pressure forced Black's un­ easy decision. An attempt to open the diagonal [h 1-a8] wouldn't have worked: 29 ... exf530. Nc3! and 31. Nd5. 30. Qf2 d5 The pawn sacrifice was needed be­ cause of the threat to occupy the d5- square. 31. Nc3 Qc5 32. Qxc5 Bxc5 33. Nxd5 Bxd5 34. exd5 Wrong would have been 34. Rxd5? Rxd5 35. exd5 Rg5 36. Rfl Rg3, with se­ rious counterplay for Black. 34. Bd4 35. d6 Rg5 36. Rn Kc8 37. Nd21 A decisive transfer of the Knight would be made to e4. The Knight would be strong both in attack and defense on this square.

=151 = Strategy

21stUSSR eh. / Kiev1954 Players 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 Points Plou 1 Averbakh • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 14.5 I 2 Korchnoy • • • • • • • • • • • • ••••• 13 2-'1 3 Ta imanov • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 13 2-'1 4 Lisitsin • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 12.5 4-C, 5 Petrosyan •••• • ••••••••••••••• 12.5 4-C, 6 Holmov • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •• 10.5 b 7 Nezhmetdinov • • • • • • • • • ••••• 10 7-9 8 Suetin • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 10 7-9 9 Funnan • • • • • • • • • • • ••• 10 7-9 10 Bivshev • • • • • • • • • •••• 9.5 lQ-1 1 11 Geller • • • • • • • • • • • • 9.5 to-l l 12 Borisenko • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 8.5 12-J:J 13 Flohr • • • • • • • • • ••••••• 8.5 12-lJ 14 Bannik • • • • • • • • • • • • • 8 14-16 15 llivitsky • • • • • • • • • ••••• 8 14-16 16 Lilienthal • • • • • ••• • •••• 8 14-16 17 Rogozin • • • • • • • • • • • • 6.5 17-18 18 Shamkovich • • • • • • • • • • • 6.5 17-18 19 Livshin • • • • • • • • • 6 19 20 Sokolsky • • • • • • • • • • 5 20 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 W U U 13 M B � U U � 20

Board4 USSR Team ch./1954 Players 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Points Place 1 Nezhmetdinov • • • • • • • 7 2 Mikkov • • • • • • • • 6 2 3 Cherepkov • • • • • • • • 5.5 3 4 Sokolsky • • • • • • • 5 4 5 Zilber • • • • • • • • �5 5 6 Kots • • • • • • • 4 &7 7 Sorokin • • • • • • 4 &7 8 Antoshin • • • • • 3.5 8-9 9 Ostrauskos • • • • • 3.5 8·9 10 Hodzhaev • • • 2 10 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 w

= 152 = ezhmetdinov's longstanding work on _ ...�. -­ theory was responsible fo r his rep1ur

61. Unfortunately, not one of my M. Sbisbov-Super Nezb opponents wonted to go there. C74 And in voinl The sacrifice of Tbilisi 1947 the Knight could give White the chance fo r o very don· 1. e4 e5 2. NflNc6 3. Bb5 o6 4. Bo4 gerous attack. d6 5. cl f5. R.N. This sharp pawn move was intro­ duced into practice by Capablanca. Now This was written by Nezh in 1958. the system has lost its popularity, but It's interesting that theorists, headed it was developed and used oftenaf ter by Keres, had a very skeptical attitude the war. toward this Knight sacrifice. In 1961, 6. exfS playing with Shianovslcy [Black], Rashid The continuation 6. d4 was also seen Gibyatovich had a chance to prove his in Nezh's practice. It begins a hand-to­ theories. After9. Re1 t Be7 10. Qxf3Bxb1 hand fight at once: 6 ... fxe4 7. Nxe5 11. Bg57 [Correct was 11. Rxb1 Nf6 12. dxe5 8. Qh5t Ke7 9. Bxc6 bxc6 10. Bg5t Bxc6t bxc6 13. Qxc6t K£7 14. Bg5, White Nf6 11. dxe5 Qd5 12. Bh4 Kd7!7 [After had two pawns for a piece and chances 12 ... Ke6 13. Bxf6 gxf6 14. Qe8t White for an attack.) Bg6 12. Bb3 [Ed.: 12. Rxe7t announced perpetual check in the game can lead to winning the Queen but the Foltys-Kottnauer, Amsterdam 1950.] 13. price is too high.) Nf6 13. Bxf6 gxf6 14. Qg5 Be7! 14. exf67! [Stronger was 14. Re3, and then 14 ... Kf8.Black can hold Na3, preserving the sharpness of the onto his position and win. position.] Bxf6 15. Qxdst cxd5 16. Bxf6 It should be mentioned that he didn't gxf6, Black has a considerable advan­ manage to do this. Later a more defi­ tage, Natarius-Nezhmetdinov, Kazan nite refutationof the sacrificewas found: 1948. 10 ... Bg6! 11. Bg5 Nf6 12. Bxf6 gxf6 13. 6. . .. BxfS Bb3 Kf8 14. Nd2 Kg7. 7. d4 At any rate, Nezh's ideas should have Another, and perhaps the best, pos­ been examined, as he wasn't afraid of sibility was 7. o-o. without being bothered trying even the most speculative ones. by 7 ... Bd3, on which both 8. Re1 and 8. ... dS 8. Qb3 would have been possible. In the 9. f.3 h6 last variation, 8 ... Bxfl would be weak 9 ... e3 was usually played. The most because of 9. Qxb7 Bb5 10. Bxb5 axb5 famous example was the game Euwe­ 11. Qxc6t. Keres from the match-tournament fo r 7. e4 the 1948 Wo rld Championship: 9 ... e3 10. 8. Ng5 f4 Bd6 11. Qf37 [A weakness. Correct was 11. Qh5t g6 and only then 12. Qf3.) When playing this line os Qf6 12. Qxe3t Nge7 13. Bxc6t bxc6 14. Block, I was always appre­ 0-0 0-0. Black got active play for his hensive, and ot the some time pawn. (os I tried it on the chess· 10. fxe4 hxg5 board) waited for the piece 11. exfS sacrifice-s.0-0 e:xfl9. Qxfl.

= 154 = Nezhm�tdinov, Ch�ss Assassin

Qg3 Qe7t 16. Kdl Ne4 17. Qf3Rxf5 Black had the advantage, Baturinsky-Estrin, Moscow 1947. 14. bxc6 lS. Qg6 Qd7 16. BgS ReSt 17. Kdl Ne4 18. Kc2

� � --"''.. �"" � 11. ... Bd61 �rara rara d1lii."� irara·�rara ·"i(:;1i:ii"

= 155 = Opening Novelties

32. Nxcs Rxa2t got the attack. 33. Kb4 Rgb2t In this game Mikenas reinforced his 34. Nb3 ast play, creating the threat of capturing White surrendered (0·1t. the piece on d6. 11. Qe2 Details are always important dur­ 68. ing the fightfo r the advantage, namely, Super Nezh-V. Mikenas it's difficult to find them in an unfa­ 802 miliarposition. 11 years later this "detail" Match, game 11 was discoveredby E. Vasiukov in his game Kazan 1948 with B. Spassky{2 6th USSR championship). He played 11. Qf3t Kg8 12. Qe3!. The 1. e4 Nft;2. e5 Nd5 3. c4 Nb6 4. cS subtlety was that Black was not capable NdS S. Bc4 e6 6. Nc3 d6 7. NxdS of sacrificing back the piece at d6 and exdS 8. Bxd5 c6. destroying the aggressive white pawns. The line beginning with Black�s 6th After 12 ... Be6 13. Ne2 Nd7 White could move was the Lithuanian Grandmas­ have created a prospect-filledposition ter Mikenas' invention. His idea: 8 ... by the move 14. f4 !. dxeS at once was bad because of9. Qf3. 11. CS In the text, after 9.Bc4, 9 ...dS! would 12. Nf3 Bxd61 follow, and then 10 ...Bxcs. On the re­ treat 9. Bb3, 9 ... dxeS is likely. A timdysacrifice, which can't 9. Bxf?tl be accepted by White. After The firsttime Mikenas used his line 13. exd6 Qxe2t 14. Kxe2 ReSt was in the third game of the match. 15. Kd1 Bg4 and then ...Nc6, Rashid, having come across the nov­ Block has dangerous threats. elty.understood the position well enough R.N. to respond likewise with an unexpected piece sacrifice. 13. NgSt Kg6 9. ... Kxf7 14. Qdlt KxgS 10. cxd6 Qe81 1S. Qxd6 In the third game, the source of this variation, Black made the natural move 10 ... Be6 and on 11. f4 returnedthe extra piece: 11 ... Bxd6! 12. exd6 ReS 13. Kf2 Qxd6. It turned out that Black had the advantage. which was used at once. During the analysis afterthe game Nezh offered the right plan: 11. Nh3!, then d2-d4 with the threat Nh3-gSt. Evalu­ ation of this position as a good one fo r White, was corroborated in the game Everyone, who looks at the diagram Petriaev-Sholohov, Novosibirsk 1955: 11. [being unfamiliar with the moves Nf3 Nd712. 0-0 g6 13. d3 h6 14. Nd4 played), will think: "This was a mis­ Qe8 15. f4 Kg8 16. Bd2, and White soon take. The King and Queen should ex-

=156= Nezhmetdlnov, Chess Assassin change their places." It was not a mis­ the move 7. f4 got it's baptism by fire take, and having seen it, it was hard here. to believe that Block wasn't losing, but Thus, Roshid Gibyatovich was the actually hod a good position after 15 ... author of a whole section of the Sicil­ Nc61 16. d4t KhS 17. Qxcs Qe7!. ian Defense. 15. ... Qd8? 7. ... Qb6 "Thereis one step from hatredto love." And master Vitaly Shcherbokov, Alas, in chess it's enough to take one Nezh's partner, held first claim in the short step to turn a good position into gambit system B97. a hopeless one. Block's King is in a cross­ 8. Qd2 Qxb2 fire. 9. Nb3 16. d4t Kf5 At once, after this variation had ap­ 17. g4tl Ke4 peared,both the theorists and the prac­ 17... Kxg4 18. Rglt Kh3 19. QxcS titioners concentrated upon the con­ wasn't better, and nothing con help the tinuation 9. Rbl. Tal, Fischer, Boleslavsky, King. Geller, Lilienthal and others participated 18. Qxcs Rf8 in its analysis. However, in the Reykjavik On 18 ... Qxd4 White could hove match (1972], Spassky brought new life played 19. f3t Kd3 20. Qo3t Kc4 21. Qb3t to Nezh's move 9. Nb3. It was a sur­ KcS 22. Be3. prise to Fischer.

19. ()..() Kf.3 9 •.•• Nc6 20. h31 10. Bd3 dS This shows how horrible the King's 11. Bxf6 gxf6 position was. 12. Na4 Qa3 20. b6 13. Nb6 21. Qc3t Ke4 22. Qc41 Mote on the open board is inevitable. Block resigned (1·0t.

69. Super Nezh-V. Shcherbakov 897 USSR Team eh. Riga 1954 In spite of the lock of any informa­ tion about this line, and with no home 1. e4 cS 2. NfJ d6 3. d4 cx.d4 4. preparation, the players managed to Nxd4 Nft;5. Nc3 o6 6. BgS e6 7. f4 . findgood continuations. Repeated use A sharp continuation, which became of the line, up to White's 13th move in the basis for the creation of some very the games of1970-1980, serve as proof. popular systems of the Sicilian Defense, 13. •.. Nd4 played in thousands and thousands of Only this move, which was marked games. It's hard to believethat this game with an exclamation mark by Nezh, was was the firstone among them, and that refuted many years later, but this refu-

= 157= Opening Novelties tation was a masterpiece of analyti­ This was the way Steinitz liked to cal thought. 14.Rb111 should have been play and we've alreadyseen that in simi­ played and Black would suffersome ma­ lar "French"schemes Nezh oftenfo llowed terial losses: 14 ... Qxa2 15. c31 Qd2 16. the principles of the first world cham­ Nxd2! won the piece, or 14 ... Nxb3 15. pion. Rxb3, and the Rook would be lost. 6. Nc6 Instead of 13 ... Nd4, 13 ...d4 was 7. NO Bxc5 found for the following sequence: 14. 8. Bd3 a; 0-0 Rb8 15. Nc4 Qb4 16. Qe2, and by 9. extl; Nxtl; Boleslavsky's analysis White can count 10. Qe2 o-o on having the advantage. 11. Bd2 e571 14. Kfl Afterthis game the push of the pawn Who would have enough courage to to the center was considered premature. put question marks to the last moves In the game Tringov-Fuchs, Sofia19 58, of these chessplayers? consideredto be seminal, therewas: 11 ... 14. Nxb3 Bd7 12. 0-0-0 Kh8 13. Rde1 b5!, and Black 15. cxb3 Rb8 obtained a position with prospects. 16. exdS Qb4 12. fxe5 Bg4 17. Qxb4 Bxb4 18. Rc1 0-0 19. Kf2 Bd2 20. Rxc8 Rbxc8 21. Nxc8 Rxc8 22. dxe6 fxe6 23. Bc4 Km 24. Kf3 Ke7 25. Rd1 Ba5 Afterthe opening revelations the po­ sition was equalized and brought to a This position was thoroughly ana­ calm endgame. Play continued a long lyzed by Nezh. Here's what he wrote: time, up to the 60th move, and finished as a draw. We'll draw the curtains, as The lost two moves brought the continuation of the game doesn't immense complications to add anything interesting to the char­ Block. I hod to think o lot, acteristics of Nezh's creation. because hismoves were quick, A draw (1f2·1f2t. and I understood that I could become o victim of home preparation.First, the oil lines '10. connected with accepting the Super Nezh-R. Wade sacrifice of the piece should Cll be enumerated. It should be Bucharest 1954 mentioned that in dealing withdiffi cult, tangled, double· 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Nft; 4. e5 edged positions of different Nfd7 5. f4 c5 6. dxc5. kinds, composureand o clear

=158 = Ne:t.hmetdlnov,Chess Assassin

mind ore needed. lt'1 very tonishing, re fined mastery of the de­ Important not to be carried tails. The last two elements arethe very away by the chose fo r the core of "composure and a clear mind." "Luck of the mating attack." Secondly, the way Nezh thinks dur­ R.N. ing the game is quite contrary to that of such geniuses ofpositional flair such lEd.: Nezh noticed this "chase" in the as Capablanca and Petrosyan. Undoubt­ alluring line: 13. exf6 Re8 14. Ne4 (If edly, neither Capablanca nor PetrosyOan 14. f7t, then 14 ... Kxf7 15. Ng5t Kg8 would spend so much time over the de­ 16. Bxh7t Kh8 17. Nf7tKxh7 18. Nxd8 tails of the variations connected with doesn't work because of 18 ... Raxd8 19. 13. exf6. Most likely they would refute Kd1 {19. Qxe8 looks like there might this move at once, by intuition. be a perpetual check, but after 19 ... And thirdly, it's really true that "our Rxe8t 20. Kfl Rf8t 21. Ke1 Bf2t22. Kf1 deficienciesmerit a continued study. " Nd4 23. Rc1 Bh3! wins} Rxe2 20. Nxe2 Still, one cannot say how Nezh should Nd4 21. Re1 Re8 22. c3 Bxe2t 23. Kc1 rationally spend his analytical powers Nc6 and Black has the advantage.) dxe4 and time during the game [and dur­ 15. Bc4t Kf8? 16. Ng5 Bxe2 17. Nxh7#.] ing the tournament]. A chess-player with a high discipline of thinking [e.g. Kar­ I thought 90 minutes over pov] would have never let himselflose the next move! Having dealt energy [like Nezh] on the secondary ac­ with variations for the first counting of a doubtful continuation. 15·20 minutes and finding That was one of the reasons for Nezh's that they were unacceptable, uneven play: sharp changes between I dove into the positionagain. the inspiration and fantasy on the one The move 13. 0-0-0 strikes hand, and the frequent and unexplain­ the eye at once. But how able defeats from weaker rivals on the should the pieces be rear­ other hand. It was just impossible for ranged successfullyafter 13 ... a "mere" mortal to perform miracles Nd47 It took another 35-40 all the time. minutes to find the best de­ 13. 0-0-0 Nd4 fensive moves [it is more dif­ 14. Qe1 Nh5 ficultto find"tranquil" moves 15. Be21 than the forcing ones). Then As Nezh said, this was the hardest I got back to the lines with move to find in the game, or it was 13. exf6again, checked them, perhaps the most tabor-intensive. His and then finallyspecified the labor was justifiedby the fact that White rearranging of the position could easily solve the problems around in the game. the f3-square.The attempt by 15. Nxd4 R.N. Bxd4! 16. Be2 Bf2 would not reach its goal. This long quotation tells us moreabout 15.. .. Rxf317 the artistic credo of Nezh than ten of This was stronger than 15... Nxf3 his games. First, we see that the basis 16. Bxf3 Bxf3 17. gxf3 Rxf3 18. Qe2 Rf5 of his surprising creations was an as- 19. Rhfl Rxfl 20. Rxfl g6 21. Qf3 with

= 159= Opening Novelties n decisive advantage for White. 30. Qe4 Qf5 16. gxf.3 NxO Besides the extra pawn, White has Worse would have been 16 ... Bxf.3 strong positional pressure which Black 17. Bxf3 Nxf.3 18. Qe2 Nxd2 19. QxhS. couldn't stand. Black had preferred an 17. BxO BxO endgame. It was a relief fo r White to 18. Rf1 Bxd1 achieve victory. 30 ... Qd6 was better. 19. Qxd1 There was no need to fear 31. RgS with the threat 32. Rxhst because of 31 ... Bh61. 31. Qxf5 Rxf5 32. Rg2 Bh6 33. a4 gs 34. b4 g4 35. as Rf3 36. Kc2 Bf8 37. bs BcS 38. Re2 RQ Hard thinking about the various pos­ 39. Rxf2 Bxf2 sibilities brought an important result: 40. Kd3 h4 the d-pawn was very weak, and the 41. Ke2 black Knight is out of play. These ad­ Black surrendered (1-0t. vantages should be enough to win. 19. ... g6

On 19 . .. Qh4, very strong was 20. '11. Qf.3. A.Zamikhovsky-Sup er Nezh 20. Qf3 E81 The ever self-critical Nezh considered Semi-finals24th USSR eh. 20. Bh61 to be stronger. Kharkov 1956 20.. .. Qd7 21. NxdS Rm 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. 22. Nf6t Nxf6 e4 d6 s. f3 o-o 6. Be3 Nbd7. 23. exf6 Bd4 Nowadays this continuation isn't the 24. Qd3 Rf7 normal line of Somisch's system. The 25. c3 BeS Knight on d7 is not in a good position 26. Qe31 as it doesn't participate in the fightfo r In spite of the preservation of the the key square d4. It also closes a di­ extra pawn, it was too early to start agonal for the Bishop. Black had a definite the endgame since the f6-pawn would plan: to play c7-c5, bringing to life the be returned. black-squaredBishop, and creatingactive 26.. .. Bxf6 play on the queenside. Of course, this pawn was more dan- 7. Qd2 gerous than the one on h2. Nezh's opening idea in this game pro­ 27. Qxa7 hS duced such an impression that, as an 28. Rg1 Kh7 alternative, the move 7. Nh3 became 29. Qe3 Bg7 popular.

=160= Ne7.hmetdlnov, Chess A . n

7. c5 Bxg7 Kxg7 17. h5 White's attack on the 8. Nge2 a6 kingside turned out to be too impetu- 9. o-o-o ous. For the past ten years or so, White 13. Nxe3 has used many other continuations: 9. 14. Rc1 Rd1, 9. Ng3, 9. g4, 9. dxc5, and 9. Ncl. The last novelty is 9. Bh6, but let's not The most dangerous line for get distracted. Block was the line 14. Rxd7 9. ... Qa5 Bxd7 15. Qd2 with the offer· 10. Kb1 b5 ing of two pieces. And then 11. dxc5 after 15... Nxc41 16. Qxd7 We'll discuss the continuation 11. Nd5 RodS 17. Qxe7 Rd1t 18. Net later. [18. Kc27 doesn't do the job 11. ... dxc5 since after 18 ... Rd2t White 11 ... Nxc5 12. Bxc5! dxc5 13. Nd5 Qxd2 is obliged to move the King 14. Nxe7t brings about the loss of a pawn. to b1, and in that case sim­ 12. Nd5 ply 19 ... Rfd8 with a win­ ning attack.) Bh6 19. Bxc41 Rxh1 20. Bxf7tl Rxf7. White should be sotisfed with the perpetual check-21. QeSt Kg7 22. Qe5t, etc. We will mention that on 15 ... Nxfl 16. Rxfl Be6 Block has Rook, Bishop and pawn fo r the Queen, all placed in active positions. A threatening move because after R.N. 12 ... Qd8 13. Nxf6 Bxf6 14. Nc3 Black just has a bad position. We can add to Nezh's detailed analysis 12. ... Nxd51 that in the last variation 16. Qxd7 A radical way to solve the problem­ wouldn't work [instead of 16. Rxfl]. be­ with the help of an unforeseen [at that cause of 16 ... Rad8 17. Qxe7 Rd1t 18. time!] sacrifice of his Queen. Nc1 Bh6. 13. Qxas 14. ... Nxc4 It had been supposed fo r a long time 15. Rxc41 that White should take the Queen if he A timely return of material, because wanted to fightfor the advantage. In after the retreat of the Queen. Black the game Va n der Sterren-Dejong, Wijk would take on b2 with the Knight and aan Zee 1990, White responded with 13. get chances to attack, having almost cxd5!?. Not willing to play an endgame, equal material [two pieces and two where problems with the pawns on the pawns for the Queen]. queenside [afterthe undermining a2- 15. bxc4 a4] could arise. Black preferred 13 ... 16. Nc3 Rb8 Qc7. After 14. Bh6! aS 15. h4 Nb6 16. 17. Bxc4

= 161 = This position has been analyzed and 31. Re2 Rb3 practically tested since then. 32. Kc2 Rb6 Geller and Boleslavsky offe red 17. 33. Nc3 Bb3t Kc21?, although Boleslavsky thought that 34. Kc1 Rc6 White's chances were better, and Gel­ 35. Kd2 ReS ler considered that Black had enough 36. Re1 RaS compensation for the Queen. 37. Bc2 Bc4 Geller's thoughts might be more re­ 38. Bdl Bb3 alistic. An indirect proof of this was a 39. Bc2 Bc4 comparatively fresh correspondence 40. Bdl Bb3 game Hempel-Eger, 1989/1991, in which, 41. Bc2 after 17. f4 Bd4! 18. Bxc4 Rb4! 19. Nd5 Drawn (1/2-1/2). Rxc4 20. Nxe7t Kg7 21. Nxc8 Rb4 22. b3 Inits time this game didn't gain much Rxc8, Black had achieved a decisive ad­ attention, but one and a half years later vantage. the game Bobotsov-Tal caused a furor Zamikhovsky's move was weaker at the student's team world champi­ than the one offeredby theorists [17. Kc2). onship, Va rna 1958. Here White played 17. NeS 11. Nd5 instead of 11. dxcS, which seemed 18. Be2 Be6 weaker. Tal responded with the same 19. Rd1 Bc47 Queen sacrifice 11 ... Nxd5 12. Qxa5 Nxe3 A serious inaccuracy, which spoiled 13. Rc1 Nxc4 14. Rxc4 bxc4 15. Nc1 Rb8 Nezh's brilliant opening idea. He could 16. Bxc4 Nb6 17. Bb3 Bxd4, quickly got have obtained the advantage by play­ an attack, and won. ing 19 ... Nc6! 20. Qxcs Nb4. Later Black could choose between the doubling of his Rooks along the b-file,or play along 72. the d-file. SUper Nezh--Y. Sakharov 20. Rd2 Nc6 B32 21. Qa3 Be6 Match, Russia-Ukraine Though he lost two tempi, Black had Leningrad 1957 an idea: he would let White stabilize the position and then [Black) would prove 1. e4 c5 2. ND Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. that White's material advantage would Nxd4 e5 5. Nb5 a6. not be a decisive fa ctor. At that time this line was an inno­ 22. QxcSI Nb4 vation. Why was this? Black is giving 23. a3 Rfc8 the d5-square to White, he's also ready 24. Qxc8t Rxc8 to be checked at d6, and is going to play 25. axb4 BeS with the backward d-pawn?! After25 ... Bxc3 26. bxc3 Rxc3 27. Bxa6 The firsttime this revolutionarymove Black would have had a bad endgame. was played was by the young master 26. Bxa6 Rb8 A. Lutikov [later a grandmaster, alas, 27. g3 Rxb4 now deceased) in his game with A. Lein 28. Kc1 Kg7 in the semi-finalsof the 23rd USSR eh., 29. Bdl Bd4 1955. 30. Nd1 hS 6. Nd6t Bxd6

= 162 = Nezhmetdlnov, Chess Assassin

7. Qxd6 Qf6 Black was defeated in the opening 8. Qc7 battle, and now the decisive climax be­ It wasn't easy to decide, which was gan. better here: five(I) continuations (8. QxfG, 17. ... ReS 8. Qd3, 8. Qd2, 8. Qd1, or 8. Qa3) were An attempt to get rid of the Queen used, not including the move given in by paralyzing the queenside didn't work: this game. It was finally settled: ex­ 17 ... Qd8 18. RxcGI [Damsky recom­ cept for the firsttwo lines, these varia­ mended 18. Qxd8 Rxd8 19. ReS fG 20. tions would provide White with the Rfcl. That was not very reassuring since advantage. That's why Lutikov's move Black could defend in a good way.)bxcG almost disappeared from modern prac­ 19. Qxe5, tice. But at that time nothing was clear and they played relying on intuition. and Blockcan't repelthe com· The move chosen by Nezh is very logi­ ing attack (f4, etc.t. cal: White is going to block the promotion R.N. on the queenside. Inthe first source game Lein reactedbadly to the novelty: 8. Qd2 18. a4 Nd8 QgG 9. f3 dG 10. Bc4 BeG 11. BxeG fxeG After having protected the e5-pawn, 12. 0-0 Rd8, and Black had splendid play. by 17 ... Re8, 18 ... Qd8 was playable 8. Nge7 as it was hard to get a worthwhile po­ 9. Nc3 Nb4 sition without the Queens. Black still 10. Bd3 dS hoped to strengthen his queenside. 11. o-o d471 19. RcSI Qg7 A strengthening of the center wasn't The Bishop was still unable to move profitablefor Black. Taimanov recom­ into the open: 19 ... Bg4 20. f3 Rc8 21. mended 11... 0-0 12. exd5 Nexd5 13. fxg4. Nxd5 Nxd5 14. Qa5 BeG 15. Be4 with a 20. RdS Bg4 better position for White. 21. Rc11 12. Ne2 N:x:d3 More exact was 12 ... 0-0 13. Bd2 and only now 13 ... Nxd3 14. cxd3 NcG with a small advantage to White. 13. c:x:d3 g571 Black was radically blockingthe open­ ing of lines by means of f2-f4, but this was too straightforward.Black, of course, was in a weaker position. The more pru­ dent 13 ... NcG 14. f4 Qe7 15. Qxe7t Ke7 1G. fxe5 Nxe5 17. b3 Rd8 would have 21.. .. Kh711 let him defend, Lukin-Gizhdavu, Bucha­ Being under pressurethe whole game, rest 1968. Sakharovbelieved White and didn't make 14. Bd2 Nc6 his planned move, 21 ... Rc8. White would 15. Rac1 o-o obtain a material advantage by force: 16. Ng3 h6 22. Qxc8 Bxc8 23. Rxc8 Qf8 24. Nh5 Qe7 17. b41 (After24 ... fG 25. Rd7 Black has no useful

= 163 = Opening Novelties moves.] 25. Rd71 Qe6 26. RcxdB RxdB 73. 27. RxdBt Kh7 28. Kfl l Qb3 29. Ke2 Qxa4. Super Nezb-D. Bergin However, Black kept chances to continue C63 the fightin this line. Naturally it was Russian Spartakiade hard to evaluate everything correctly, ]oshkar-Ola 1963 but Black missed a good practical chance. 22. h3 Be6 1. e4 eS 2. ND Nc6 3. BbS 15. 23. Nf51 Perhaps, Rashid Gibyatovich's repu­ Again, as in some other games, the tation as an expert on the Ruy Lopez, text of the game is different in vari­ against whom it was difficultto play ous sources. Nezh himself missed the against in the classical lines, influenced moves 22. h3 Be6 and pointed at once the choice of Jaenisch's gambit by the to 22. Nf5 [R.Nezhmetdinov's Best Games]. young chess master. In this case it leads only to an unim­ 4. Ne3 fxe4 portant rearrangement of the h-pawn. S. Nxe4 d5 White doesn't distract his attention by 6. Ng3 taking the pawn: 23. Rxe5? RcB 24. Qd6 Nezh didn't want to get involved in Rxcl 25. Bxcl Nc6, and Black gets coun­ major complications after 6. NxeS dxe4 terplay. 7. Nxc6 because he was afraid of some 23.. .. Bxf5 trick prepared by his rival at home. 24. exf5 Qf6 6. Bg4 2S. g4 Re7 7. h3 B:x£3 26. Rd7 Rxd7 8. Q:x£3 Nf6 27. Qxd7 Kg7 9. ().() Bd6 28. ReS 10. NhS e4 Now Black was obliged to go in fo r It was known that 10 ... NxhS 11. a fu rther weakening of his position be­ QxhSt g6 12. Qf3 a6 13. Ba4 Qh4 14. c4! cause of the threat 29. Qc7, winning a gives the advantage to White. pawn. 11. Qf5 Qd77 28. ... b6 29. Re7 bS 30. as Rb8 31. QdS Kg8 Here Nezh inverted the moves Rb8 and Kg8 [in his text version]. It doesn't matter, as it is zugzwang on the board. 32. Bet Qg7 33. QeS QfB 34. Qa7 Black surrendered (l·Ot. A novelty, in which the main idea is 12. Nxf6t gxf6 13. Qxf6 Rg8, when Black would get the initiative aftersacri­ ficing the pawn. Nezh found an oppor­ tunity to accept the pawn in another way, which clearly wasn't counted on

= 164 = Nr1.hmrtdlnov, Chess Assassin

by Bergin. That's why 11. . . 0-0 12. Nxfo"j" ond rank, but the cost was a great deal Qxf6 13. Qxd5"j" Kh8 was better since of material. At the same time White Black would take the initiative into his can return some of the extra material own hands. to make Black's counterthreats less dan­ 12. Qxf61 gerous. A plain enough refutation and Black 27. Rfl Rxc2 was obliged to play the endgame down 28. Rf8 RxfB a pawn [instead of playing his attack­ 29. Bxfll Bf2t ing ambitions]. 30. Kh2 Bxe3 12. gxf6 31. Rfl hS 13. Nxf6t Ke7 31 ... Ra2 32. b5 Rb2 33. Rf5 also of­ 14. Nxd7 Kxd7 fered nothing. Black's last hope was to lS. d3 Rhg8 make a seige of the white King, but White 16. dxe4 dxe4 kept the situation under control. 17. Rdl Rg6 32. RfS h4 18. Bc41 33. BcSI Bel Accuracy was essential in order to 34. a4 Rc4 extinguish any possible Black initiative. 3S. as Bf4t 18. Rf8 36. Kgl Bg3 19. BdS RgR; 37. a6 Rctt 20. Be3 ReS 38. Rfl Bh2t 21. a3 39. Kf2 Rc2t Black couldn't use his advantage in 40. Ke3 Ra2 development and the position was be­ 41. bS RaS coming volatile. White was able to make 42. Ke4 c6 use of the extra pawn. 43. Rf8t Kd7 21. ... Kc871 44. a7 This was a desperate attempt to get Black surrendered fl·O). counterplay at any price. However it quickly turned out that the price of the counterchance was too high. More con­ 74. sistent would have been 21 ... b6, ab­ V. Bagirov-Super Nezh staining from the weakened pawn A21 structure. Baku 1964 22. Bxc6 bxc6 23. Bxa7 CS 1. c4 es 2. Nc3 f5 3. d4 exd4 4. 24. b4 e3 Qxd4 Nc6 S. Qe3t Kf717. Continuing in the same search for An original novelty ofNezh's, which counterplay at any cost. Perhaps chances worked in this game with a ruinous would have been better with 24 ... cxb4 effect. In the game Matulovich-Kozo­ 25. axb4 Bxb4, reducing the number of mara, Sarajevo 1960, White achieved a backward pawns. clear advantage after 5 ... Be7 6. Nd5! 2S. fxe3 Bg3 Nf6 7. Nxf6t gxf6 8. Nf3d5 9. cxd5 Qxd5 26. Bxcs Rf2 10. Bd2. The Rook broke through to the sec- Much later, 5 ... Nce7 was offered

= 165 = Opening Novelties instead of 5 ... Kf7. 6. Nh3 Later Taimanov offe red 6. Nf3 Nf6 7. Nd517 with the continuation: 7 ... Nxd5 8. cxd5 Bb4t 9. Bd2 ReS 10. Qf4 Bxd2t 11. Nxd2 Ne7 12. d6! with advantage. 6. ... Nf6 7. Ng5t7 A naive check which let Black ac­ tively develop his fo rces. The right plan was again offeredby Taimanov: 7. Qd2! 19. Nb41 (stopping d7-d5]. Now on 7 ... h6 would 20. f4 follow 8. Nf4!, controlling the d5-square 20. Bxb7 was dangerous, 20 ... c6! for certain and then playing g2-g3, Bg2 21. a3 Nxd3t 22. Kc2 f4 23. gxf4 Bg6!. and Nf4-d5. In case of7 ... Bb4 8. a3 Bxc3 20. Nxd3t 9. Qxc3 d5 10. cxd5 Nxd5 11.Qb3 White's 21. Kb1 gxf4 chances would also be better. 22. gxf4 7. ... Kg8 Moreconsistent would have been 22. 8. g3 h6 Bxf4. 9. Nh3 d51 22. ... Bg7 This thrust provides Black with good There was the threat of 23 ... Nxb2 play. 24. Kxb2 Rd3. 10. cxd5 Nxd5 23. Rd1 Kh7 11. Qd.2 24. Bxb7 Bad was 11. Nxd5 Qxd5 12. Rg1 Nb4 In a good position this move would with dangerous threats. rarely come to mind, but here White 11. Ndb4 had nothing to lose. 12. Qxd8 Nxd8 24. Bh5 13. Kd1 Be6 25. Rg1 Rhe8 14. Nf4 Bf7 26. Bxa7 Bxc3 It's strange, but ECO rated this po­ 27. bxc3 Re2 sition as equal. That is not true, since 28. Rg2 Re1t Black had the initiative in his hands. White surrendered (0·1t. 15. Be3 Ndc6 16. Bg2 Rd8t I don•t see that White has 17. Kc1 g5 made a clear mistake in the 18. Nd3 next game. Perhaps. it's a White was ready tosurrender a pawn. difficulttask toplay the JCing•s The Knight had no prospects on h3. Gambit against Nezhmet· 18. Nxd3t dinov. 19. exd3 V. Simagin

= 166= Ne:r.hmetdlnov, Chess Assassin

75. V. Heuer-SuperNezh C37 Moscow 1964

1. e4 e5 2. f4 exf4 3. Nf.J h6 4. d4 g5 5. Bc4 Bg7 6. cl. This modest treatment of a double­ edged gambit, such as the King's Gambit, can't create problems for Black. In times of yore preferable was 5. g3 fxg3 6. Nc3, 18.. .. bxa41 or 5. Nc3 Bg7 6. g3. 6. Ne7 It's characteristic of Nezh to 7. ()..() 0-0 lead a dynamic fight onboth 8. gl d51 wings. Black had already obtained better V. Simagin play. 9. exd5 fxgl 19. Bxa4 Rab8 10. hxgl Nf5 20. bl Nb6 11. Kg2 b51 21. Bc6 Be4 A struggle for the diagonal {a8-hl) 22. Nbd2 Bxd5 had begun. 23. Bxd5 Nxd5 12. Bbl Qd7 A sound strategy which brought good 13. Qdl Nd6 fruit, an extra pawn. 14. Rh1 Qf51 24. c4 Nxe3t Black was steadfa stly imposing his 25. Rxe3 Nf5 willon his opponent. The Queen exchange 26. Re4 Rfd8 was a forced one. 27. Rxa5 Nxd4 15. Qxf5 Bxf5 28. Nxd4 Bxd4 16. Re1 Here the struggle was finished. Black There was no wish to let the Bishop won easily. For the record, the other go to e4, but to prevent it by any other moves were: 29. Rf5 Bg7 30. Re2Rd3 way [e.g., 16. Nbd2] was bad, as the 31. Rf.J Rxfl 32. Kxfl f5 33. Re3 Kf7 Knight will stop up the whole queen­ 34. Rd3 Ke6 35. Nfl Ra8 36. g4 h5 side. 37. gxf5t Kxf5 38. Ne3t Ke6 39. b4 16. ... Nd7 Rfllt 40. Kg2 Be5 41. b5 g4 42. c5 17. Bel as Rfl 43. b6 cxb6 44. cxb6 h4 45. b7 18. a4 h3t 46. Kh1 g3 47. Rb3 g2t 48. Kgl h2t f0-1,.

=167= Opening Novelties

16. choice: 11. Bc7 [I!. Nxd47 e51 12. Bxr'> V. Karasev-Super Nezh Qa5t] Qd7 12. Bxb8 axb5 13. Be5 RdH A32 14. cxb5 [14. e3? d3] Qxb5 gives him n Daugavpils 1973 tough position.

11. ••• Ra7 1. Nf.J Nft; 2. c4 c5 3. d4 cx.d4 4. 12. Nb57 Nxd4 e6 5. NcJ Bb4 6. Ndb5. The Knight was in danger and, af This is played to avoid doubled pawns, ter 12 ... Nc6, it would have been doomed. but it also lets Black have an extra tempo That was why White had no time to for development. Nevertheless, this con­ linger. The lack of protection for the tinuation is considered by theory to be Knight on b8 should be noted. White one of the best. would have done better by 12. NdS exdS 6. ... o-o 13. Bxb8 Ra8 14. BeS dxc4 15. Qxd4 Be6, 7. Bf471 though even therethe play ofBlack would Instead of the logical 7. a3 Bxc3t 8. have been much better. Nxc3 dS, White chose a way in which 12. axbs tactical complications were not dan­ 13. Bxb8 bxc41 gerous for Black. 14. Bxa7 Qast

7. .•• d5 15. Qd2 Qxa7 8. aJ 8. Nc7? would not be good because of 8 ... NhS 9. BeS Nc6. Also 8. e3 could be played, but after 8 ... a6! 9. a3 BaS 10. Nd6 Nc6 11. Bg3 Bxc3t 12. bxc3 QaS, Black got excellent chances, Chernikov­ Polugaevsky, Rostov 1971. 8. ... Bxc3f 9. Nxc3 Preventing the pawn from being doubled, White agrees to lose a tempo Though it doesn't happen often,even again, but it would give the initiative grandmasters can blindly walk into to Black. In the game Raichevich-Ber­ fo rced opening lines and end up in a tok, Yugoslavia 1977, White preferred 9. disaster. bxc3 Nc6 10. Bd6 ReS 11. cs, but after Why does it happen? Well, in chas­ 11... Ne4 12. Nc7 Qf6 1 13. Qd3 Qxf2t ing some material or tactical advan­ 14. Kd1 Bd7 15. Nxa8 Rxa8 Black got tages, even an experienced chessplayer nice play for the sacrificedmaterial. can be carried away and forget the basic

9. ..• d4 laws of chess strategy, which are as 10. Nbs a617 natural for him as the rules of gram­ The best move here should be 10 ... mar or arithmetic. Herethe strongmaster Nc6, which allows Black fullcontrol over Karasev [Leningrad's champion and a the center, but Nezh decided to make participant in three USSR champion­ an interesting sacrifice. ships] was leftwith nothing. He either 11. Nc7 fell victim to some theorist's piece of Practically speaking, White had no advice, or had prepared this "strength-

= 1 68 = Nt-zhmetdlnov, Chess Assassin ening" during his honlt' umtlysis. Let's hove u look at the position: the white pieces ore absolutelyundevelo ped, and the King has no suitable shelter. At the some time Block has a strong pawn moss in the cent er and good pos­ sibilities for success. All he has to do is just smash the white King who has gotten stuck in the center. 16. e3 d3 17. g3 On 17. f3 Nezh planned 17 ... Nd5 18. Kf2 5 19. g3 e5 with a sizeable attack in the center. 17. Ne4 18. Qb4 d2t 19. Ke2 Qa61 20. KO 20. f3 doesn't help. 20 ... c3t 21. Kd1 cxb2 22. Rb1 [22. Qxb2 loses at once to 22 ... Qo4t 23. Ke2 Rd8, or 23. Qc2 Nf2t 24. Kxd2 Rd8t 25. Kc1 Rdlf.] Qc6 23. Bc4 [23. fxe4 Qc1tl Rd8 24. Rf1 b5! 25. fxe4 bxc4 26. Rxb2 c3 27. Rc2 Qo6! 28. Rf2 [28. Rf3 Qe2!!] e5 and there is no defense from the Bishop's check. 20. ... Qc6 21. Ke2 QdS 22. Rd1 eS 23. h3 b6 24. Rg1 c3 25. bxc3 Nxc3tr Mote was inevitable and so White su�ndered(0.1t. One ofNezh's lost tour­ nament games and his lost prize "for beauty."

= 169= Opening Novelties

Seml·ftnals Z4thUSSR cb. f Kharkov 1956 Play en 1 z ] 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 1Z 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 Points Place! 1 Boleslavsky . • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 11.5 1·3 2 Nezhmetdinov • . • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 11.5 1·3 3 Tarasov • • . • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 11.5 1·3 4 Bannik • • • . • • • • • • • • • • • • 11 4-5 5 Holmov • • • • . • • • • • • • • • • • 11 4-5 6 Aronson • • • • . • • • • • • • • • • • 10.5 6-7 7 Borisenko • • • • • . • • • • • • • • • • 10.5 6-7 8 Vasiukov • • • • . • • • • • • • • • 10 8-10 9 Klarvin • • • • • • . • • • • • • • 10 8·10 10 Nei • • • • • • . • • • • • • • • 10 8-10 11 Suetin • • • • • . • • • • • • 9.5 11 12 Romanovsky • • • • • • • • • • • 8.5 12 13 Chistyakov • • • • • • • • . • • • • 8 13 14 Vasillchuk • • • • • • • . • • • • 7.5 14-15 15 Shamkovich • • • • • • • • . • • • • 7.5 14-15 16 Maknrov • • • • • • . • • • 7 16 17 Zamikhovsky • • • • • • • • • . • 5.5 17·18 18 llvshin • • • • • • • . 5.5 17-18 19 Matsukevich • • • • • • . 4.5 19 20 Simagin • ·--· ·------·-· ·- withdrew 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19

= 170= The Endgame f course, Rashid Nezhmetdinov can't be regarded as a King of uu.5aJLue.Still, many intere can be fo und in his ric The Endgame

17. White hod overroted his chonces ond R. Holmov-Super Nezh then Black took the initiative by exchon�J E61 ing Queens. A more accurate idea wos Ya roslav/ 1947 28. R4c2 Rfd7 29. Rxd2 Rxd2 30. Ra. which would lead to an equal position. 1. d4 Nf6 2. NO d6 3. h3 g6 4. Bf4 28. Qb21 Bg7 s. c4 o-o 6. Nc3 Nc6 7. e3 Nd7 29. Qxb2 Rxb2 8. dS NceS 9. Be2 N:xf3t 10. B:xf3t 30. a4 Rd7 es 11. dxe6 fxe6 12. o-o NeS 13. 31. Rxe6 Be2 b6 14. Bg3 Ba6 15. f4?1. It was too late to transfer the Bishop White started complications which via el: 31. Bel Re2 32. Rxe6? Bxe3!. lead to nothing. Better, to keep equal­ 31. ... Rdd2 ity, were lS. Qb3 or lS. Qa4. 32. h4 15. Nxc4 Surely, the timid 32. Rg 1 would not 16. Qa4 Nxb2 have helped because of 32 ... Re2. 17. Qxa6 32. Rxg2t 17. Qb3? doesn't work because of 17 ... 33. Kh3 Rge2 Nd3 18. Qxe6t Kh8 19. Bxd3 Bxd3 20. 34. Rd1 Rfcl Qe8!, and the endgame is favor­ White had nothing to do except to able for Black. attempt to activate his Rooks and to 17. Bxc3 threaten the King, but it was too late 18. Qa3 Bg7 fo r that. 19. Rab1 Qf6 34.. .. Kf'll 20. Rfc1 dS 35. Re4 hSI Black had a rather difficult choice This locked out the escape square for at this point. Because of the desperate White's King and createdmating threats. situation of the Knight on b2, Black had This was Nezh's typical way to realize to returnsome extra material. Nezh chose an advantage even inthe endgame. There the way which led to a more active was another choice, for example, 3S ... position with material equality. A better Rbd2, aiming to realize the advantage possibility was 20 ... cS. Then 21. Rc2 by technical means. Qf5 22. Rbxb2 Bxb2 23. Rxb2 dS. Black 36. ReS has a compact pawn mass. White has A more aggressive plan, 36. Rd7t Kf6 a Rook and two pawns fo r the Bishop 37. Rxa7, wouldn't have worked because pair. It is not easy to say which is the of the crunch er 37 ... Rbl. way to go. Nezh chose the way which 36. ... Kf6 looked "easier." 37. f51 21. Rxc7 Rf7 The best chance in a difficult posi­ 22. Rc2 Nc4 tion. 23. Bxc4 dxc4 37. ... Rxe3 24. Rxc4 Rd8 38. Rd6t? 25. Rbc1 Bf8 Most likely it was time trouble which 26. Qb3 BcS preventedHolmov from finding 38. fxg6!. 27. Kh2 Rd2 After 38 ... Kxg6 39. Rxe3 Bxe3 40. Rd6t 28. Re41? Kf5 41. RdSt Ke4 42. ReSt Kd3 43. aS!

=172= Nt':t.hml"tdlnov, Chess Assassin b544. Rxh5 cmd White would kt•t•p some 18. Rx.el Qxf5 chances fo r o druw. lEd.: White could 19. Qxf5 Rx.f5 also try 39. Rg5"jKf6 40. Rxh5 tor drawing 20. f4 1 chances.] From earlier moves Nezh considered 38. Bxd6 that this endgame was good for White. 39. Rx.e3 Bxg3 40. Rx.g3 gxf5 The ending here is, undoubt· Here the game could have ended, but edly advantageous to White, White went on with aimless defense whose pieces hove o more fo r another 20 moves. The rest of the active position and o pawn score was: 41. Rg5 RbJf 42. Kg2 Rb4 advantage on the queenside. 43. Rx.h5 Rx.o4 44. KO Ke5 45. Rh8 R.N. Ro3f 46. Kg2 Kf4 47. h5 RgJf 48. Kh2 Rg7 49. h6 Rb7 50. Rg8 Rh7 51. Rg6 20. Rf7 b5 52. KhJ b4 53. Kh4 bJ 54. Kh5 21. Rest RfB b2 55. Rgl Rb7 56. Rbl o5 57. Kg6 22. Re3 Kf7 o4 58. h7 Rxh7 59. Rxb2Ro7 60. Rb4f 23. Bel KeJ 61. Kxf5 oJ (O·lt. White is hindering both 23 ... ReS ond 23.. . Ne7, because 18. in both instances Block loses Super Nezh-A. Ivashin the g7·pown. Yaroslav/ 1947 R.N.

The initial game moves are not known. 23. Rg8 •.. ·.�· ······��� 24. Rh3 h6 ���Ji;(i '"{'''� 'Ji;(i'� 25. Kf2 Ne7 � t. �"" <1i'�-�� �.. ·�·· t. 26. Ne3 c6 1� � � 27. a4 Bc7 28. f5 Bb6 ::fi!i:; 29. Rf3 dS � 30. f61 gxf6 %"/��� %"/�� attempt to exchange pieces didn't .ft. �-· "�· · 00- ·· · ���- ..u.. ��- An � � �· · ·' "�· " come about: 30 ... d4 because of31. txc'7 1 Ke8 [31 ... Kxe7? 32. Nf5t and33. Bxcl-11 16. Qh3 32. Nd5! cxd5 33. Bb4! and there would Black created counterplay with his have been no defense from 34. RIH. last move, 15 ... f5!, and Nezh madethe 31. Rxtl; Ke8 decision to go over to the endgame to 32. Bd2 Rf8tl shut down this activity. Black made the right decision. lie· 16. ... Qf771 didn't rely upon the Rook end i nq ul t r 1 A waste of tempo. Better was 16 ... 32 ... dxc4 33. Rxh6 Nf534. Ref> I K I'/ I') Ne5, which would have caused White ReS Nxe3 36. Bxe3 Bxe3 37. Rxc'l. to return the Queen (17. Qc3). In the text the connectl'cl 1"''·�•·11 17. exf5 Rx.el pawns [g and h] were to brinq VII I Ill y

=173= The Endgame to White. Still, Ta rtakower said: "A ll Rook 41. Ke61 endings aredrawn !" Perhaps that's why The King will win pawns on thr Nezh approved of this very defense. queenside and at the same time "push" 33. Rxf8t Kxf8 his opponent away. 34. Kf3 Kg7 41. Nft; 35. cxdSI 42. b4 Ne4 43. Bel as White was threatening to play a4- a5 to stop the black pawns, and then to come toward them with his King. 44. bxas Nc3 45. Kd6 Kf5 46. Kc71 This wasn't even the sacrifice of a piece, it was a technical trick: 46 ... Nd5t 47. Kxb7 Nxe3 48. a6, and the pawn would I've put an exclamation mark here queen. because White was again making Black Black surrendered (1·0t. choose: either to play a 4-piece ending after35 ... cxd5, or to choose the con­ tinuation in the game. There was no 79. third way, 35 ... Nxd5, because of 36. SUper Nezb--V. Nfikenas Nf5tand 37. Nh6. C16 35. ... Bxe37 Match, game 13 Now White should win without any Kazan 1948 serious problems. His task would have been more complicated after35 ... cxd5!. 1. e4 e6 2. d4 dS 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. es Mter 36. Bb4 Bxe3 37. Bxe7 Bel it would b6 5. Qg4 Bill 6. Nh3. be a same color Bishop ending. After More widely used is 6. Bg5 or 6. Nf3. 37. Kxe3 Nc6 Black could have resisted 6. ... Ba671 for a long time with his Knight against It seems that it was not important the Bishop because of the passed pawn. concerning what to do first: move the 36. Kxe31 Bishop or play 6 ... Qd7. The thing is, It was very important to activate that after the move played by Black, the King before Black could respond in he couldn't play a7-a6, that's why the kind. following attack was so strong. 36. Nxdst 7. NbSI Qd7 37. Kd4 hS It's worth mentioning the immedi­ 38. KeS ate exchange 7 ... Bxb5 8. Bxbst c6 since The main square where White had after White's next move it was not con­ to go in order to have an active King venient to take on b5 because of axb5!. in the center. This was decisive. 8. a4 hS? 38. Kg6 This weakening of the flank could 39. g3 Nb6 only be justified in cases of extreme 40. b3 NdS necessity. Development should have con-

=174= Nr:t.hm�tdlnov, Chess Assassin tinued: H ... Nr7. The following set of possibilities would 9. Qg3 Ne7 not work: 19 ... f6 20. Qg6t Qf7 21. Rxe61, 10. Qc31 nor 19 ... g6 20. Nf4 Qxd6 21. Nxd5! [Ed.: Now Black was obliged to ruin the Though 21. Qf6 looks strong because coordination in the placement of his of 22. Nxe6, Black has 21 ... Rh7. Black pieces. should consider 19 ... Kf8.] 10. ... Nec6 20. Nf4 Qe771 10 ... Nbc6 wouldn't have worked be­ Damsky recommended 20 ... Ne71 21. cause of 11. Nxc7t. Qxg7 Kd7 22. Qxf7e5, and Black would 11. Qd2 NaS get serious counterplay for the pawn. 12. b3 c67 22. Qxf7wasn't mandatory. 22. Nd3 was preferable, since it would preserve some advantage, even though the material was equal. 20 ... Nd41 should be taken into consideration, since after 21. Qxg7 0-0-0 22. Qxd4 cxd4 23. Bxd6 Nxd6 White has no advantage. 21. Qxg7 ()-()-() 22. NxdSI QfB 23. Qxfll RhxfB 24. Ne3 It was not yet time to be in a hurry.It White won the pawn by tactical was time to play a preliminarilyclumsy means, but his backward development move, 12 ... Nb7. Black has just underes­ gave Black some counterchances. timated the next pawn-sacrifice: 24. ... h41 13. Nd6tl Bxd6 25. f3 f5 The Knight on d6 should be taken, An unnecessary weakening. Better since on 13 ... Kd8, then 14. Ng5. was 25 ... Kc7 with the idea of ...Nd4 14. exd6 B:xfl or ...Nb4, to defend the c5-pawn with 15. Kxf'l Nb7 the King. 16. Ba3 cS 26. Nc4 Nd4 17. Re1 Nc6 27. Kf2 Nxc2 Better was 17 ... Qxd6, to open the It was also worth White's thinkinu way for the Knight via d7 to f6 . about 27 ... Rfe8. 18. dxcS bxcs 28. Rxe6 Nd4 The pawn on c5 should be taken by Black was right in refusing to pluy the pawn, since after18 ... Nxc5 19. Bxc5 28 ... Nxa3, because after 29. Nxo'l Nu'l bxc5 20. Qxd5 the c5-pawn would be 30. Rb1 Rd2t 31. Re2 Rxe2t 32. Kxt•:l.Kcl' / lost. It wouldn't be lost ifthe Queen were 33. b4! White would realize his nn!'lcl on d6. erable advantage. 19. QgS 29. Re7 After 19. Qxd5 0-0-0 20. Qg5 f6 21. Qe3 Qxd6, and then 22 ... Nd4, White will have lost the initiative. 19. ... Qxd6

= 175 = The Endgame

38. Kfl Nxb4 39. Rxh4 NdS 40. Rh7 Ne3t 41. Kf2 Ndtt 42. Kgt Ne3 43. Ra7 Kf8 44. Ra4 Black had a dilemma: either to re­ spond 44 ... Nec2! making the Knights temporarily immune, after45. Rc4, or 29. ... Rfe8 to play 44 ... Ne6. Dangerous was 29 ... Nxb3 30. Rbl, In the first case, White, in order to and on 30 ... Rd3, good would have been rescue his King from the "onslaught," 31. Rxb7! Kxb7 32. Rxb3t Rxb3 and 33. will be obliged to play g2-g4, and af­ Na5t. It was also worth looking at 29 ... ter ...fx g3, passed pawns [f and g] will Rd7, as the move played allows a com­ result.It was a little easier for the Knights bination. to fight against them than with the 30. BxcSI Nxcs pawns [g and h], as in the game. 31. Rxe8 Rxe8 44. ... Ne6 32. Nd6t Kd7 33. Nxe8 Kxe8 34. b41 White thoroughly investigated the endgame and prepared the following plan: take the black pawn (a7), even if it costs both pawns on the queenside, and then break up the pawns on the kingside, with the h-pawn being tar­ geted first, having a lack of protection. Lastly, to create two connected passed 45. g41 pawns, against which the black Knights Owing to tactics, White obtained the would not have been able to fight. passed pawns [g and h]. The point was 34. ... Nxa4 that now 45 ... fxg3 was bad because 35. Rat Nb2 of 46. Re4 gxh2t 47. Khl!. The Knight 36. Rxa7 will be lost and the f- pawn would be Perhaps only at this point did Black left on the board. fe el sorry for the mistake on his 25th 45. Kg7 move [25 ... f5]. If the pawn had been 46. h4 Kf6 on f7,it would have been hard for White 47. hS NdS to keep connected passed pawns. 48. Ra6 Ne7 36. ... f4 1 49. gst Kf7 The mobility of the white King and 50. RaS Kf8 the pawns needed to be reduced as much On 50 ... Ng7, White would win even as possible. quicker: 51. g6t Kf6 52. h6 Ngf553. Ra6t. 37. Rh7 Nd3t etc.

= 176= Nrzhmrtdlnov, Chess Assassin

51. Kg2 Kf'7 example, just equalized in his game with 52. KhJ Nc6 Khasin, Kislovodsk 1968, when he played 53. RfSt Kg8 7 ... Nd7 8. d4 exd4 9. Nxd4 Nc5 10. Qe3 54. Kg4 Ncd4 0-0 11. Nc3 Re8 12. Rd1 Bd6. 55. RdS Nc6 A good plan was shown by Ragozin: 56. g6 Kg7 7 ... BeG 8. b3 Nd7 9. Bb2 f6 10. d4 Bd6 57. Rd7t Kg8 11. Nbd2 0-0, equalized in his game with 58. Rd6 Ncd8 Fichtl, Prague 1956. 59. h6 8. bJ Black surrendered (1·0t. This only gave equality. The fight for The value of the game was in its in­ the advantage could have continued structive endgame. It was also inter­ with 8. Nxe5, a move that was delayed esting that Nezh considered it the best in its use for 15 years and proven wor­ of the match in spite of the abundance thy by Czech chessplayers headed by of sharp tactical collisions in the other Hort. The game could have followed this games. scenario: 8. Nxe5 Qd4 9. Nd3 [In the game Kupka-Kozma, Luhacovice 1969, 9. Nf3 didn't give White any advantage: 9 ... 80. Qxe4 10. Qxe4 Nxe4 11. Re1 Nf6 12. Nc3 Super Nezh-N. Krogius h6.] c4 10. Nf4 g5 11. Ne2 Qxe4 12. d3! C85 cxd3 13. cxd3 Qxd3 14. Bxg5 Rg8 15. 13th Russian eh. Nf4 Qf516. Bxf6 Qxf6 17. Nc31 Qxf4 18. Saratov 1953 Qxe7t with good prospects fo r White's endgame. 1. e4 es 2. N£3 Nc6 3. BbS a6 4. 8. Bd6 Ba4 Nf6 s. o-o Be7 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. 9. Bb2 Qe7 Qe1. 10. NcJ o-o One more invention of Nezh's. His ll. hJ Be6 idea was not only to prevent the Knight White didn't justify his Queen's po­ from being pinned, but also to put the sition on e1, that's why Black equal­ Queen on the square from which it will ized. be possible to reach the squares g3, h4 12. QeJ c47 or c3. For the sake of getting rid of his Originalisn't it? This move was shown doubled pawn Black voluntarily gave by its creator to master Bonch-Osmo­ up his position in the center. A good, lovsky. Bonch used it for the firsttime solid position could've been obtained in the Moscow championship of 1948. after 12 ... Rad8. It would be hard to figure out what the 13. bxc4 Bxc4 advantage would be in playing with 14. d3 Be6 such originality. That's why later Nezh preferred 7. Nc3. Nowadays 7. d3 and 8. Nbd2 are often played. 7. ... cS Black prevented the move d2-d4 at once. It was not obligatory. Geller, for

= 177 = The Endgame

ish the game. Nezh was in a hurry herr. Therewas no reason to hurry since Black had no counterplay. The King could easily be moved to the center, fo r example, to e4, and only then play g4 and fS. 29. ... Re81 Of course, as 29 ... RxfS30. Rxf5exf5 31. e6 was bad for Black. Black must stop the march of the pawn on its way to queening. 15. d41 exd4 30. fxe6 Rxnt 16. Nxd4 BcS 31. Rxn Bxes 17. es Nd7 32. Rf'1 Kg8 17 ... NdS? would have been wrong. 33. Rxb7 Rxe6 After 18.Nxd5 Bxd5 19. Nf5! a piece would 34. Rb6 Re81 be lost. Afterthe Rook exchange White would 18. Ne4 Ba7 have easily won. That's why Black pre­ Black had one more trap in: 18 ... ferred to sacrificethe second pawn, to NxeS? 19. Nxcs Qxcs 20. Nxe6, and again get counterchances. a piece would be lost. 35. Rxa6 Bg31 19. Qg3 Kh8 Suddenly the white King found him­ 20. Ba3 cS self in an unpleasant position. 21. f4 Bb8 36. Bg1 hSI Nezh censured this move, because Why did Black rej ect 36 ... Re1 with the cS-pawn became weak. Black's at­ the threat 37 ... Bf2 ? Nezh gives the fol­ titude can be explained: something had lowing: to be done about the coming pawn ad­ vances. If 36 ... Rel, then 37. RaSt

22. Rad1 Bc7 Kf1 38. Ra3 Bd61 (38 ••• Be5 23. Kh1 Rg871 39. Re3; 38 ... Bb8 39. g4) 39. 23 ... Rfe8 would have been prefer­ Rflt Kg8 (39 ... Kg6 40. Re3 able, though White would have had 24. Rd1 41. Rd3) 40. Rcl Ro1 (40 ... Nxe6 fxe6 25. Nd6. Black will lose the Bb4 41. ReSt and 42. g4) 41. pawn. g4 Rxa2 42. Rc6 and 43. Kg2. 24. Nxe6 fxe6 R.N. 25. QgSI Rge8 28 ... QxgS?? would have been very As usual, his analysis was concrete bad because of 26. Nxg5. and convincing. 26. Qxe7 Rxe7 37. Ra3 h4 27. Nxcs Nxcs 38. Be3 Rc81 28. Bxcs Rf'1 Neither 38 ... Rd8, nor 38 ... Rb8 were 29. fS? good for Black, as White would respond Every chessplayer knows this feel­ respectively 39. Rd3 or 39. Rb3, and then ing of impatience, being in a winning he would put his Rook on the firstrank, position, and the wish to quickly fin- which would have removed all threats

= 178= Ntt:t.hmetdinov, Chess Assassin to his King. 44. Bb61 Rb2 39. Kgt Rxc2 45. Rg51 Rb4 40. Ra8t Kf7 46. Rg4 Bf4 41. Kfl. Ke6 47. Bell g5 48. Bxf4 gxf4 49. as Ra4 50. Rxh4 Kf5 51. Rh8 Ralt 52. Kf2 Ra2t 53. Kgl Kg5 54. Rg8t Kf5 55. Ra8 Ralt 56. Kh2 Kg6 57. h4 Ra3 Here the game was adjourned and 58. a6 Kg7 in the opinion of the majority of the 59. a7 Ral participants, the position would have 60. Kh3 Ra2 led only to a draw, as the white King 61. h5 Kh7 would be hemmed in. 62. h61 Nezh wrote: Black surrendered (1-0t.

Duringthe analysis Whitewas obliged to distract his otten· 81. tionfrom the enormous nom· Super Nezh-G. St!hlberg ber of lines and to talk in c 12 general about the peculiori· Bucharest 1954 ties of this position [a chess­ player should also be a phil­ 1. e4 e6 2. d4 ds 3. Nc3 Nffi 4. Bg5 osopher). I found out grad­ Bb4 5. e5 h6 6. Bd2 Bxc3 7. bxc3 ually, that instead of the pro­ Ne4 8. Qg4 g6 9. Bd3 Nxd2 10. voking move 42. o4, it would Kxd2 c5 11. Nf.3 Nc6 12. h4 Qc7 bemore convenient todeprive 13. dxcSI. the black Kingof the 5th rank. A novel opening surprise. The Mac­ The squares d5, e5 and f5 Cutcheon system had a long history by ore "critical" for Black, they then and, according to the theory of ore needed to approach the the day, White tried to hold the pawn white King. center. Here White radically changed R.N. the direction of the game, aiming to open the center for an active piece brawl. 42. Ra511 13. ... Nxe571 Having solved the main "philosophi­ Black meets his opponent's wish half­ cal" problem, White was clearly on the way. It was worth looking at 13 . .. Bd7 way to the win, though it wasn't easy. and 14 ... 0-0-0, to finish development, 42. g6 and then proceed to attack White's weak 43. a4 Ra2 squares.

= 179= The Endgame

14. Nxe5 Qxe5 26. Rxg4 Bxg4 15. Rab1 Qf6 16. Qd41 This made the Queen exchange obliga­ tory. White now had a convenient end­ game with every prospect for developing the initiative on the kingside. 16. ... Qxd4 Black was practically obliged to take on d4 and to correctWhite's pawn struc­ ture. However, after 16 ... Ke7 17. g4 Rd8 it would not have been clear how 27. Rfll to finishhis development on the queen­ The main principle in Rook endings side without positional concessions. is activity. Because of that, no sorrow 17. cx:d4 Kd8 over losing a pawn is necessary. 18. g4 Kc7 27. ... Bxh5 19. h5 g5 Worse was 27 ... BeG 28. BfS!. If28 ... 20. f4 gxf4 BxfS29. RxfS Rh7 30. Kxd5, and Black 21. Rbfl e51 is out of useful moves. (Ed.: However, The correct decision by an experi­ 28 ... Rg8 is not clear.] enced grandmaster, providingBlack with 28. Rf6 Kd7 counterplay. 29. Bf5t Ke7 22. dxe5 Bxg4 30. Rd6 Rb8 23. Rxf4 Be6 31. Rxh6 It was time to take stock of the po­ White had achieved a winning po­ sition. Inspite of the defects of White's sition and now he could've done a little pawn structure, the endgame was in better with: 31. Rd7t Kf8 32. c3! Ke8 33. his favor owing to the major activity Rd6. of his pieces and the weak position of 31. ... Bf3 the pawns on f7 and h6. Black also had 32. Rd67 a trump of his own, the g-file. Rashid didn't mention Black's tac­ 24. Kc3 RagS tical resource which would cost him Nezh recommended24 ... d4t!. "to get the advantage. 32. Rh7 also wouldn't maneuvering space for his Bishop and have done anything because of 32 .. . to open another line for his Rooks." We'll Be4! 33. Bxe4 dxe4 34. Kxe4 Rg8 and 35 .. . add that White would lose an ideal place Rg2 with sufficientcounterpla y. Instead, for his King on d4. Thus, Black had to 32. e6! would have preserved chances sacrifice the pawn, but on 24 ... d4t 25. fo r winning: 32 ... Rf8 [After 32 ... Be4 Kxd4 Bxa2?? 26. c4, the f7-pawn would 33. Bxe4 dxe4 34. exf7 Kxf7 the Rook have become terribly weak, and the endgame would have been good for Bishop would also have been in danger. White.] 33. Rh7 Kf6 34. Rxf7t Rxf7 35. 25. Kd4 Rg4? exf7 Kxf7.Further, Nezh continued: 36. The wrong decision. Black will ex­ c3! (This move was important to block change the active Rook and keep the the possible sacrificeof a pawn (d5-d4) passive one. after the King would have vacated the

= 180= Ntt:t.hm�tdlnov, Chess Assassin d4-squon•.l KH, '1'/ . llh'l I'J7. Bc8 b6 38. berg. Meanwhile, though White had o c6 (Ed.: 38. Bh7 looks like it wins a pawn, passed pawn, and the black King was but the win is probobly not there.) Ke7 cut off on the back rank, there was no 39. KeS Kd8 would do nothing for White victory against correct defense. For ex­ because the black King goes to c7 with ample, after the natural 43. Kb6 Rei tempo: 40. BeG Kc7 41. BxdS Be2!, and 44. c6 Rbl t 45. Kc7 Ke7 46. KcSt (Ed.: a draw would be the result.] Bhl 38. And for basically the same reason, the a4 Ke7 39. KeS and then threatening "obvious" 46. Rb7 doesn't win either!l 40. aS with the further threats a5-a6 Kd6 47. c7 f548. Kd8 Rc1 49. c8=Q RxcSt and c5-c6. 50. Kxc8 KeS and it would be drawn. 32. ... Be41 The move played by Nezh also would 33. Bxe4 not win. He reminded himself, upon see­ Black had a trick up his sleeve: 33. ing no win, that he would make: Rd7t Ke8 would draw because if34. Bg4, then 34 ... Bf3! 35. Bh3 Bg2, etc. A waiting Uust as it was re­ 33. dxe4 layed after the game by S. 34. Kxe4 Rh8 Purman) move. which pro­ 35. c6 bxc6 duces no threat. This move 36. Rxc6 Rh4t? turned out to be a surprise The draw would have been easier to to Stcihlberg and made him achieve after36 ... Rh2 or 36 ... Rhl. By go into a long think. playing about at the rear, the Rook R.N. wouldn'thave allowed White to activate his King, and the black King wouldn't 43. ... Re6t have been buried on the 8th rank. This was played to get the King off 37. KdS Ra4 of the back rank. Nezh considered this 38. Rc7t Ke8 move to be the losing move, yet Black 39. c4 Rxa2 had played correctly. 40. CS Rd2t 44. Kc7 f5 41. Kc6 Re2 In his book Nezh transposed moves 42. Rxa7 RxeS and said that Stdhlberg played 44 ... 43. Rb71 Ke7. However, that move would lose at once: 45. KcSt Ke8 46. Rb6, or 45 ... Kf6 46. Rb6. 45. c6 Ke7 46. RbS Kf67 The losing move! Inspite of its out­ ward simplicity, the ending turned out to be a stumbling block not only to Stdhl­ berg, but also for many other masters who analyzed it later, including Rash id to some extent. Black's idea was cor­ Inspite of it's apparent simplicity, rect: to promote the pawn with the help this Rook ending contained serious subtle­ of the King and to sacrifice a Rook fo r ties which weren't understood by Stdhl- the white pawn, but the implementa-

= 181 = The Endgame tion was wrong. Correct was 46 ... f4 1. At this point possible was: 47. R5 Re4 48. Kb6 Rb4t 49. Kc5 Rbl 50. Rxf4 Kd8, which would have achieved a theoretical draw, or: 47. Kb7Kd6! (Nezh offered47 ... f3?48. c7 f2 49. R5 Rf6 50. Rxf6 Kxf6 51. c8=Q fl =Q 52. Qf8t.] 48. R5 Re7t 49. Kb6 Rel 50. Rf6t Ke5 51. c7 Rbl t 52. Ka7 Rcl and it would have been drawn. 47. Kb7 47. Kd7 would also have won. 47 ... Black has an extra piece, but not a Re7t 48. Kd8 Rel 49. c7 Rdlt 50. Ke8 single pawn. A draw? No! Nezh was Rcl 51. Kd7 Kg5 52. Kd6! with the threat playing for mate. [Ed.: See page xi for of 53. ReS. the beginning moves.] 47. ... Kg5 67. Bell 48. e7 ReS 68. Be7 Kg6 48 ... Re7 wouldn't haved saved Black 69. Ra2 Nil; either: 49. Kc6 Rxc7t 50. Kxc7 Kg4 51. 70. Kg2 Nd5 Kd6 f4 52. Ke5 f353. Ke4 f254. R5 Kg3 71. Bd6 K3 55. Ke3. 72. Ra3 Rb6 49. Ke6 ReS 73. Bg3 Ke4 50. RbS Rxe7t 74. Ra4t Kd3 51. Kxe7 Kf4 75. Ra5 Ne3 Or 51... f4 52. Kd6 Kg4 53. Ke5 f3 Black managed to activate his pieces, 54. Rf8 Kg3 55. Ke4 f2 56. Ke3. and most important of all, his King. 52. Kd6 76. K£3 Rtl;t Black resigned (l·Ot. 77. Kg4 Rf8 The correct evaluation of the end­ 7S. Bd6 Rf'7 ing. beginning with the 43rd move, was 79. Ra3 Bel first given by V. Smyslov in the third SO. Ral Bd2 issuance of his monograph (written to­ Sl. Ra87 gether with G. Levenfisch), Rook End­ Afterthis White couldn't escape losing. ings, Moscow 1986. Correct was 81. Ra3! and on 81 ... Ke4, 82. Bb4! Rg7t 83. Kh5.There was no mate, but Black couldn't avoid the exchange. 82. Sl. Ne4 s. Flobr-Super Nezh S2. Bh2 Nf2t E60 S3. Kh5 Rtl; 21st USSR eh. 84. RhS Kiev 1954 An important achievement for Black. The white Rook must take a passive po­ sition because of the mate threat, and yet the King had to be moved up. 84. Ke4 S5. Be7 K3

= 182= Nt'zhmetdinov, Chess Assassin

86. Bd8 case the presence of opposite·colon•d Bishops was very useful fo r the OJ'!JU­ nization of an attack, even in o posi­ tion with few pieces. 41. ... Belt 42. Kg7 The path to the center was closed: 42. Kh5 ReSt 43. Kg4 Rc4t. which would another pawn. 42. ... Ke71 43. f4 86. ... Ne411 43. Rel would have fa iled becouse A small raisin, based on the fa ct that of43 ... Rg2t 44.Kh7 KfB!,and the mating White's own pawn was in the way, as net would be ready. it took a square which was needed for 43. ... Rh2 the King's escape. The Rook could not 43. Rh2 is good play. There was an­ have been taken because of mate in two. other, moreintensive , way, namely 43 ... 87. Bc7 BgS Rg2t 44. Kh7 Kf8! 45. Kh6 Rb21 46. Rf3 88. Rh7 Rf8 Bxf4t 47. Rxf4 Rxb7. Therewas no defense from 89 ... Nf6t, 44. Ret so White gave up (O·tt. Another defensive attempt, 44. Kg8, had more possibilities. Nezh planned 44... Bd2 with the continuation 45. Bxc6 83. Bc3 46. Rhl Rb2 47. Bb5 a6 48. Rh3 Bd4, A. Matsukevich-Super Nezh and Black would be winning a piece, Semi:finals24th USSR eh. as the Bishop could not leave the Kharkov 1956 b5-square, and the Rook could not leave the h-file. However, stronger was 45. Rf31 and the mating attack would dis­ appear. Perhaps Black would have played 45 ... c5 and returned to the plan of pro­ moting his c-pawn. This plan had all the earmarks of success because of the uncomfortableposition ofthe white King, but it would mean a long game. 44. Rg2t 45. Kh6 l{ft; A deep endgame, wherea normal plan 46. Kh7 would be to make something of the On 46. Kh5, simply 46 ... Bxf4 with c-pawn. But, Bishops of opposite col­ the variation 47. Bxc6 Rg5t 48. Kh4 Bgll . ors werepresent, and this "detail" made or 47. Rfl KfS 48. BeSt Ke4 49. Bb7 Rh2"1 it hard to bring the plan to life. Nezh­ and 50 . .. fS#. metdinov's refined tactical feeling of­ 46. ... Bd21 fered another way: the white King was at the edge of the board, and in this

= 183 = The Endgame

21. Qd2 Rb7 22. Rc4 NeS? It is always difficult to defend, es­ pecially if there is no counterplay. Here Nezh had such a problem, but the ability to defend in a passive position is an obligation of every skilled master. It was not necessary to offer the pawn. 23. Rxb4 QaS 24. Rdl Ra7 47. Rhl? 25. Rh4 This accelerated the defeat, which Convincing is 25. NxeS. can be delayed by playing 47. Re4. 25. Qxd2 47. ... Rg7t 26. Rxd2 Nxd3 48. Kh8 CS 27. exd3 49. RhS The Rook exchange would not have worked: 49. Rh6t Rg6 50. Rxg6t fxg6, as the f4·pawn would have been lost. 49. ... Be3 50. Be4 Bd4 51. RdS Rg4 White surrendered (O·lt.

84. The ending seems to be hard for A. Kolarov-Super Nezh Black-he was not only minus a pawn, E63 but he had to fight against the pair of Sofia 1957 passed pawns. 27. ... dSI 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf.3 g6 3. c4 Bg7 4. g3 o-o 5. Bg2 d6 6. 0..() Nc6 7. Nc3 Rb8 A very important move, which 8. b3 a6 9. Bb2 bS 10. cxbS axbS doesn't let the white Rook 11. Ne1 NaS. on h4 get back to e4 or c4. Here the Knight has nothing to do. R.N. Better was 11 ... dS. 12. Nd3 b4 28. Rb41 Ra3 13. NdS NxdS 29. Rb7 14. BxdS Qd7 Nezh recommended 29. RbS, and af­ 15. Bg2 QbS ter 29 ... e6 30. ReS, and then Rcc2, White 16. d5 Bb7 had chances to win, but stronger was 17. Bxg7 Kxg7 29 ... Rd8, and if30. Rc2, then 30 ... Rd7 18. Rcl CS and 31. RccS Rxa2 32. RxdS RxdS 33. 19. dxc6 Bxc6 RxdS Rb2 34. RbS Rd2! will draw. 20. Bxc6 Nxc6 29. ... Kf6

= 184= Nt:r.hmttdinov,Chess Assassin

30. Re? Rfa8 43. Rcf2 Rgf'7 31. Rcc2 es 44. Re2 d41 32. Kn 44 ... Rxf3 45. Rxg5 would have It would have been hard for White brought unfavorable exchanges. to move the a- and b-pawns without 45. Kc2 Ra7 help from his King. When the King moves 46. Kb2 Rag7 to help, Black would have had time to 47. Ref2 Rgf'l create counterplay on the other wing. 48. Re2 Rxf3 32. ... Ke6 49. RxgS Re3 33. Ke1 Kd6 SO. Rxe3 dxe3 34. Kd1 f5 35. f3 The pawns shouldn't be moved where Black had been advancing. 35. ... gs 36. Kc1 hS 37. Kb1 R3a7 38. hl? After this White probably had no chance of winning. Moreover, further play shows that he should have played 51. Rg41 more accurately to avoid problems. The A subtle move which preserved the pawn should be advanced. 38. a4 Rb7 balance. 39. Ka2. 51. Rf4 38.. .. Rh8 52. Rg6t KdS 39. Kb2 h4 53. Kc3 40. Rg2 Rg71 If the Rook had been on f7,there would 41. g4 have been a check [on the c-file]. which Forced, as 41 ... hxg3 42. Rxg3 f4 and would have brought the King back. 43 ... Rxh3 will threaten. 53. Rf1

41. •.. Rf8 54. Rg2 Rc1t 42. gxf5 ss. Rc2 Rh1 The sealed move. The other opportu­ 56. a4 Rxh3 nity was 42. b4 fxg4 43. fxg4 Ra7!. An 57. Re21 important detail: the white pawns Mandatory. The a-pawn couldn't hr shouldn't get far. 44. a3 [44. Rg£2Rf4 ! 45. advanced immediately: 57. o'>Hh I 'l" a3 Raf7 {Ed.: I believe, however, that Ra2 Rclt 59. Kb4 Kd4 60. a6 HI'H hl n'/ White can play 46. Rxf4, and his two Ra8. passers on the queenside stall Black's 57. Rg3 queening. See the disk for lengthy de­ 58. aS h3 tails.)] Rf345. Rg£21Rxd3 46. Rf6t Ke7 47. 59. a6 Kcfi Rh6 Rdxa3 48. Rh7t. and it's a draw, since 60. d41 Black risks getting mated and therefore Guaranteeing the drnw. must keep his King on the d-file. 60. rxd4f

42. ••. RxfS 61. Kxd4 Kbft

=185= The Endgame

62o Ke4 Rg81 Kf8 45. fxe8 = Qt Kxe8 46. Rxe6t Kd8 47. The last attempt to win. Rb6 Rclt 48. Kg2 bl =Q 49. Rxbl Rxb l 63o K£31 50. g7. The careless 63. Kf4? would have 43o fxe6 Rc1 t brought defeat: 63 ... Rh8 64. Re1 [64. And again there would be no time Rh2 e2) h2 65. Rh 1 e2. Also bad is 63. for 43 ... axb3 because of 44. e7 ReS 45. Rh2 e2! 64. Rxe2 ReSt. R£5! b2 [or 45 ... Rxe7 46. Rxe7 b2 47.

63o 000 Rh8 Rb7 Rclt 48. Rfl wins] 46. Rf8t! Rxf8 64o Rh2 ReS 47. Rh8t Kg7 48. exf8 =Qt with mate 65o Ke2 coming. However, if we back up and Drawn f1/2o1/2)o look at what might be Black's best chance, viz., 45 ... Rc1 t, we will see that it too ultimately fails. Now, 46. Kg2 Rxe7 85o 47. Rxe7 b2 48. g71 [48. Rd5? Rg1t=) Super Nezb-loSlepoi Rg1t 49. Kh3 Rhlt [49 ... Rxg7 doesn't Frunze 1959 help, because 50. ReSt Kh7 51. Rb8 c4 52. Rxb2 c3 53. Rc2 Rd7 54. Rg5 Rd6 and 55. Kg4 stops Black cold due to the mate threat.) 50. Kg4 Rglt 51. Kh5 [a nice advance) Kh7 [If Black keeps checking with 51 ... Rhlt 52. Kg6 Rg1t he runs into a looming mate after 53. Kf6.). In a show of intensity, White will queen the pawn, sac it, and fo rce the win, all while keeping the black pawn mass at bay. Thus, 52. g8=Qt! Kxg8 53. You can see in this position that White Kh6 Rh1t 54. Kg6 Rg1t 55. Kf6, and a was attacking the King, irrespective of neat piece of "doom" will be delivered action by Black on the queenside, and with: 55 ... Kf8 [55 ... Rh1 loses to 56. even not caring that his own King re­ Rg5t) 56. Ke6t Kg8 57. ReSt Kh7 58. Rf7t mained vulnerable. Black managed to ex­ Rg7 59. Rb8 and the pawns arestopped! change Queens, and after playing 40 ... 44o Kg2 a4, he was eager to go afterthe King in the event of 41. bxa4?, then 41... Rb8. Here the game was adjourned and many people thought Black had the better chances. Meanwhile, Nezh was seriously thinking about the sealed move, and afterhaving sealed the envelope he said that ...White would win! After the re­ sumption there was: 41o Rh7t Kg8 420 g6 Rf8 A forced series of moves would bring defeat after42 ... axb3 43. f6 b2 44. f7t

= 186 = Nt'zhmetdlnov, Chess Assassin would havt• ht•t• n 45. KgJ RcJt 46. Kg4 Qxd3 22. Qxd3 Rxd3 23. Rxa6 0·0 Re3 47. e711 ReB (47 ... Rxe5 48. Rh811 24. Rcl Rfd8 25. Rc7 R3d7 26. and 49. exfB=Q#) 48. Kf51Rxe5t (if48 ... Rxd7 Rxd7. axb3 49. Rxe3 dxe3 50. Kf6 b2 51. Rg7t Kh8 52. Rf7 Kg8 53. g7 bl = Q 54. Rf8t Rxf8t 55. exf8 =Qt Kh7 56. g8=Q#) 49. Kxe5 axb3 50. Kf6 b2 51. Rg7t and the rest like in the note.] 45. e7 Rgtt 46. Kh3 Damsky considered in his book that only this move would win, and that the variation 46. Kf3 Rcflt 47. Ke4 Relt 48. Kd5 Rxe5t 49. Kxe5 Relt 50. Kf6 axb3 It would have been hard to believe meant that White should look for help. that White's spatial advantage was a White's help comes with a killer: 51. decisive one. Nezh proved it in short Rhl! Re2 52. e8=Qt Rxe8 53. g7! Re6t order. 54. Kxe6 Kxg7 55. Kd5. 27. b41 46.. .. Rhtt White conquered the outpost c5, be­ 47. Kg4 Rhgtt cause 27 ... Bxb4 was weak due to 28. 48. KfS Rent Ra8t Bf829. Bc5. 49. Ke6 27. ... Be8 After 49. Ke4 Rel t 50. Kd5 Rxe5 51. 28. BcS Kf7 Kxe5, the variation from the notes to 28 ... Bd8 was moreconsistent, though the 46th move would appear again. in this case the lack of air told upon

49. ..• Rxg6t Black's defensive capacity. 50. KdS Kxh7 29. g6tl 51. e8=Q axb3 52. RhSt Rh6 53. Qe7t Black surrendered (l·Ot.

86. Super Nezh-H. Luik 830 Kharkov 1958 A tactical stroke which fettered Black 1. e4 CS 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. BbS Ntli 4. completely. Qe2 a6 5. Bxc6 dxc6 6. d3 Bg4 7. 29. ... hxg6 h3 BhS 8. a4 bS 9. g4 Bg6 10. NeS 30. fxg6t Kfll Nd7 11. Nxd7 Qxd7 12. f4 tli 13. h4 30 ... Kxg6 was bad because of 32. eS 14. f5 Bf7 15. Nd2 Be7 16. gS Nxe5t. Qd6 17. Nf3 c4 18. axbS cxbS 19. 31. hSI Be3 cxd3 20. cxd3 Rd8 21. Kf2

= 187= The Endgame

White wasn't worried about the at­ In this position the game was ad­ tack on his pawn after the exchange journed and Nezh sealed his move. Ser­ on c5. The possession of the fS-square gievsky and many masters figured this was more important, as it was to there situation was a winning one for White. the Knight would go. Nezh didn't lose hope. Afterthe resump­

31 ...• Bxc5t tion there was: 32. bxc5 Rc7 42. ... Rd61 33. Ra8 Rxc5 43. Rxd6 34. h61 gxh6 It was discovered that Black had 35. Nh4 strong counterplay in the line 43. Rdg8t It was too soon to play 35. g7t Kxg7 Kf7 44. Nd8t Rxd8 45. Rxd8 Rxc3. For 36. Rxe8 Kf737. Rb8 fS!38. exf5Kf6 39. example: 46. Rh7t [Ed.: 46. Rc8 is a quag­ Rf8t (39. Nh4 Kg5) Kg7 40. Rb8 Kf6. mire. However, it seems that 46 ... Rb3 35. ... Rc6 47. Rh7t KeG 48. Rc6t Ke5 49. Rxb6 Rblt 36. Nf5 Re6 50. Kf2 Rb2t 51. Kel a4! 52. Re7t Kd4 37. Rb8 h5 53. Rd7t Kc4 54. Rc7t Kb4 55. RaG Kxb5 38. Kg3 56. Ra8 Kb6! saves the day because of The King's march finishedthe fight, the vulnerability of White's king side and moving the b-pawn wouldn't help. pawns.) KeG 47. Rdd7 Rcl t 48. Kf2Rc2t 38. ... b4 49. Kel Nxg2t with perpetual check. 39. Kh4 b3 43. Kxh8 40. Kxh5 b2 44. Rxf6 Kg7 41. Kh6 Kg8 45. Rd6 42. Rxb2 The f4-pawn was untouchable: 45. (1·0). Nezh expected the following Rxf4? g5. finale:42 ... Kf843. Rb8 Kg8 44. Rc8 Kf8 45. ..• Nc4 45. g7t Kg8 46. Rxe8t Rxe8 47. Kg6 and 46. Rd4 Na3 48. Nh6#. 47. c4 Nc2 48. Rd6 It was worth trying 48. Rd3 Ne3 49. 81. Rc3, or even 49. c5, to restrictthe Knight's V. Sergievsky-SUper Nezh activity. 21st Russian eh. 48. ... a41 Omsk 1961 Black had more than enough play in this demonstration.

=188= Ntzhmetdlnov, Chess Assassin

49. Rd2 Nel 50. c57 White was still hoping to win. As often happens in these cases, he was too obstinate in his chasing the miracle of happiness. Now he couldn't even hope for a draw, which could have followed after50. Ra2 Rd7 51. Rxa4 Rdl t 52. Kf2 Rd2t. 50. ... bxc5 51. e5 Another line: 51. Ra2 Rd7 52. Rxa4 Rdl t 53. Kf2 Rd2t 54. Kel Rb2, also wouldn't give any chances for survival. (Ed.: Extensive analysis seems to show that 55. Ra7t. 55. e5, 55. Nd8, 55. Ne5, and 55. Ra6, White's best moves, draw! See the disk for many details.). 51. c4 52. Ra2 cl 53. Rxa4 c2 54. Ra1 Rd7 White surrendered (0·1t.

=189 = Mth USSlleh./ Moscow 1957 Players 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 I 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 Poials Place 1 Ta l • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •••••• 14 1 2 Bronstein • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 13.5 2-3 3 Kfres • • • ••••••••••••••••• 13.5 2-3 4 Spassky • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •••••• 13 4-5 5 lblush • • • • • • • • • • • • • •••• 13 4-5 6 Holmov • • • • • • • • • • •••••••••• 12.5 6 7 Korchnoy • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •••• 12 7-8 8 Petrosyan • • • • • • • • • • •••••••• 12 7-8 CJ • 11.5 9 8 9 Boleslavsky • • • • • • ••••••••••••• ea 10 Aronin • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 11 10.11 bO 11 "Cl 11 Taimanov • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 11 10.11 � - s:: 12 Furman • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •• 10 12 ll:J 11 CJ 13 Bannik • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •• 9.5 13-15 .c E-- 14 Klaman • • • • • • • • • ••••• 9.5 13-15 15 Nezhmetdinov • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 9.5 13-15 16 Antoshin • • • • • • • • • ••••• 9 16 17 Stolyar • • • • • • • • • • ••••• 8.5 17 18 Mikenas • • • • • • • • • • • • 8 18 19 Aronson • • • • • • •• • ••• 7.5 1�22 20 Gurgenidze • • • • • • • • • •• 7.5 1�22 21 Tarasov • • •••••••••• 7.5 1�22 22 Hasin • • • • • • • • • • • • • 7.5 1�22 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 Small Rais· Small Raisins

88. tling long: 13. Bxe4 dxe4 14. Qe2 [14. A. Korchmar-Super Nezh Nxe47 Qh4tl cxd4. In this instance White 031 lost the initiative but had a solid po­ Odessa 1931 sition. 13. ... f51 1. d4 d5 2. Nf.3 Nf63. BgS e6 4. e3 Nezh suppressed White's hope of at­ Be? 5. Bd3 ().() 6. Nbd2 cS 7. c3 b6 tacking the pawn base. Now 14. exf6 8. NeS Bb7 9. f4 Nbd7. Rxf6 would have been bad because the fork on f2would have been inevitable, 15. Qh5 g6 or 15. Qh3 Rh6 16. Qf3Rf8 . 14. Rdfl.? White continued to "attack" with stubborness, though it was high time to think of defense. Right was 14. Kbl. 14. ... Rac8 15. Rhg1? Alas, White still remained aggres­ sive and didn't see that Black had pre­ The players, not being so up-to-date paredeverything necessary for a decisive in opening theory, played the popu­ combination. There was a last chance lar, at that time, Colle System. The Bel­ to defend: 15. Bxe4. gian master had many successes with 15. ... cxd4 it as White. His plan usually included 16. exd4 preparation for a piece attack against the King. To achieve that he castled short and transferred the pieces through the f3-square to attack. In this game White decided to "strengthen" Colle's plan: he decided to castle long to make a considerable advance, including pawns, on the kingside. 10. Qf.3?1 Nxes 11. fxes 16.. .. Nxc31 Allowing the dangerous move 17. bxc3 Rxc3t of the block Knight. Correct 18. Kb1 would hove been 11. dxe5. Moving towards the center wouldn't R.N. have helped: 18. Kd1 Qa3 19. Ke2 Rxd3! 20. Qxd3 Ba6. 11. Ne41 18. Qa3 12. Bxe7 Qxe7 19. Nb3 Ba6 13. ()-().() 20. Rd1 Bc41 Bad was 13. Nxe4 dxe4 14. Bxe4 be­ That was all. White was finished. cause of 14 ... Qh4t. but it wasn't too 21. Nc1 Rxc1tl late to repair the damage done by cas- 22. Rxc1 Qxa2#

= 192= Nl"7.hm�tdinov, Chess Assassin

89. 14. Nf4 Rg8 Super Nezh-S. Pimenov 15. Qe3 Kd8 C13 16. o-o-o Bd7 Rostov-on-Don 1936 17. Be2 The weak pawns at hS and e6 were 1. e4 e6 2. d4 dS 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. BgS good targets for attack. Be7 5. eS Nfd7 6. h4 h671. 17. Rh8 This is not the best reaction to the 18. Bf.3 Nc6 Alekhine-Chatard Attack chosen by 19. Qe2 Be8 White. More circumspect responses are 20. Rhe1 Kd7 6 ... cS, 6 ... f6, or even 6 ... QxgS. Black protected the weak pawns with 7. QhS great effort. It didn't matter, White had Besides this enterprising move, White some additional resources. could afford retreats of the Bishop to 21. Na4 Rd8 e3 or f4 . The white Knight will be allowed 7. a6 to go cS because, if 21 ... b6, a strong 8. Bd3 NIB? blow to the center would be 22. c41. 22. Nest Kc8 8 ... c5 was necessary. Block 23. Nxa61 was afraidof the"awful" sac­ The elementary 23. Ncxe6 would bring rifice 9. Nxd5 exd5 10. e6. Af. victory without any troubles, but as

ter 10 ... Ne51 11. dxe5 Bxe6 usual, the artist in Nezh was awakened. there was nothing dangerous He preferredto not calculate a long varia­ for him. tion, but to carry out a smart combina­ R.N. tion. 23. bxa6 9. Bxe7 Qxe71 24. Qxa6t Kd7 This move would lead to hard con­ sequences. If Black had seen the threat, he would have chosen 9 ... Kxe7! with a defendable position. 10. Qg41 Besides taking at g7 there was the threat of 11. NxdS. 10.. .. f5 11. exf6 gxf6 12. Nh3 Not 12. NxdS? because of12 ... exdS 24 ... Kb8 would have lost at once: with check. 25. Re3 Nb4 26. Rb3 Qe7 27. a3. 12. ... hS?I 25. Nxe61 Qxe6 A worthless move. The pawn would On 25 ... Nxe6 there was 26. BxdS. have been weak here. Moreover, the 26. Rxe6 Kxe6 white Queen will get a stronger posi­ On 26 ... Nb8, then 27. Rd6tl should tion. Right was 12 ... Nc6 or 12 ... Bd7. be foreseen (!). 25 ... cxd6 [27 ... Ke7 13. Qg3 Qf7 28. Re1 Kf7 29. Rxf6t etc.] 28. Qb7t Ke6

= 193 = Small Raisins

29. Qxd5t Kd7 30. Qb7t Ke6 31. Re l'l' [Ed.: for example, 20 ... Nd41 21. Bxd4 K5 32. Qe4#. exd4 22. Qe l Nh3t 23. Khl Nxf2tetc .]. 27. Rett Kf7 t8. Bgt Qxg3 28. Rxe8 Nb8 t9. Net? 29. Rxd81 Nxa6 This was the weakest of the three 30. Ra8 Nb4 possible defenses. After 19. Rf2 Rxh2t 3t. a3 20. Bxh2 Qxf2 White would have lost Black surrendered (t-Ot. a pawn, but would have gone right So, instead of a dull victory after on playing. 23. Ncxe6, Nezhmetdinov preferred to Better was 19. Ne3!. Besides defending . sacrifice:a Knight, another Knight, the against mate, the Knight controlled Exchange, and finally, the Queen!! the squares g4 and d5. Nezh was pre­ pared to continue the attack with the unexpected move 19 ... Rh4!, prepar­ 90. ing ...Nh5. For example: 20. Qe1 Nh51 N. Kosolapov-super Nezh 21. Qf2Qxf2 22. Bxf2g3 23. Bg1 f4, and C47 then 24 ... gxh2 25. Bf2Ng3t 26. Bxg3 Kazan 1936 fxg3, shutting out the King and remain­ ing with an extra pawn. 20. fxg4 fxg4 t. e4 eS 2. Nf3Nc6 3. Nc3 Nft;4. d3 21. Qe1 Nh5! 22. Qf2 Ne7,tran sferring ds s. exdS Nxds 6. Be2 Bb4 7. Bd2 the Knight to g6, and then ...Rf8 , is o-o 8. Ne4 Be7 9. o-o f5 tO. Ng3 gS stopped by 23. Bxg4 Bxg4 24. Qf7t. tt. Net Nf4 t2. f3 Best t3. Kht Instead, 22 ... Rd8 gives the edge to Rm t4. c3 Be6 ts. Nc2 Rh6 t6. Black after 23. d4 Qxf224. Bxf2 Be3. t9. ... BdSI 20. b4 A useless move, but no other wor­ thy moves remained: 20. c4? Nd4! 21. cxd5 Ndxe2 followed by ...Nxg 1 or ...Qxg2t; 20. Qd2 Rf8 21. Bd1 and now Nezh planned 21... Qxh2t!! 22. Bxh2 g3 23. d4 Rxh2t 24. Kg1 Rf6 and 25 ... Rfh6. On 23. Nc2 [instead of23. d4] Rxh2t 24. Kg 1 Rf6 25. Qf2gxf2t 26. Kxh2 Rh6t 27. Kg3 Nxd3 28. c4 f4t 29. Kg4 Be6t The opening part of the game had 30. Kg5 Kg7 with mate looming. practically no value: White had played 20. ... NhS weakly and imprecisely in the open­ The same idea of the Queen sacri­ ing. Black had a big advantage. The ficewas still possible: 20 ... Qxh2t 21. impending attack should be noted. Bxh2 g3 22. d4 Rxh2t 23. Kgl ReS, and t6. ... g41 eventually Re6-h6. t7. Bxcs Qh4 2t. Bf2 17 ... Rxh2t wouldn't have won for Mates are threatened everywhere: Black. 18. Kxh2 Qh4t 19. Kg1 Qxg3 20. 21. Be3 f4 22. fxg4 Qxh2t 23. Kxh2 Ng3t Rf2,and the Rook would've defended 24. Kg1 fxe31 and 25 ... Rh1#; 21. fx g4

= 194 = Nezhmetdlnov, Chess Assassin

Qxg211 220 NX1J2 Ny:J# o 26. Nxb7 fXg2t 21. ... Qf4 27. Bxg2 Rxd1t 22. fXg4 28. Rxd1 Nxg2 29. Qxa7 The routine 29. Qxg2 Qxg2t 300 Kxg2 Rxb7 would have made it a hard end· game for White, that's why he hoped to get lucky in complications, with lines like 29 ... Rf8 300 Rg l or 29 .. 0 Re8 300 Nd6. 29. ... Nf411 The venerable P. Romanovsky wrote after this game: White's torture was at an end. Was it possible to prolong it by 22. Kgl g3 Very nice. Block is not only 23. hxg3 Nxg3 24. Bxg3 Qxg3, or 22. sacrificing the whole Rook, Qcl g3 23. Bgl Qh4, etc.? but he is also letting it be 22. ... Qxh2tl token with check. 23. Kxh2 Ng3t 24. Kxg3 f4#1 White was doomed because he would (0·1t. have been unable to reach the diago· nal hl-a8 with his Queen. 30. Qxb8t Kh7 91. 31. Rd2 Qg41 G. Lapin-SuperNezh 32. h4 Gorki 1938 How do you defend yourself from the threat 32 ... Qf3tand 33 ... Nh3#7

The preliminary moves are not known. 32. ..• Qh3t 33. Kg1 Qe3t White surrendered (0·1t.

92. SUper Nezh-P. Ermolin B71 Kazan 1946

1. e4 CS 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4.

24. .•. e4 Nxd4 Nft; 5. Nc3 g6 6. f4. 25. NcS Nezh chooses the old LevenfishVa ria· If 25. fxe4 Bxe4 26. Nc5 there would tion, but in his notes, written in the have been 26 ... Nh3!, giving the ad­ 50s, he considered Rauzer's system the vantage to Black: 27. Rxdst Rxd8 29. one with the better prospects: 60 Be3 Qg3 Qxcs 29. Qxh3 Rd2o Bg7 70 f3 0-0 8. Qd2 Nc6. He had cor· 25. ... e:xfll rectly foreseen the chief direction along

= 195= Small Raisins which the "Dragon" would later be de­ vt•loped. 6. ... Bg7 Nezh put a question mark to this move, and considered it the losing move. Such a "wholesome" developing move wouldn't lead to defeat, though the better move was 6 ... Nc6. 7. e5 dxe5 8. fxe5 Nd57 This seemed to be the most reasonable On 13 ... Qxb5 or 13 ... Qxd1 there Knight retreat but it was wrong. Later was a mate in one. Averbakh found the correct move: 8 ... 14. Bel Qc7 Nfd71 9. e6 Ne5 10. Bb5t Nbc6 11. exf7t 15. Nh6t Kxf7 12. 0-0t Bf6 13. Nxc6 bxc6 in the and mate on the next move (1·0). game against Ka myshov, Moscow 1948. Later Boleslavsky mentioned that af­ ter 14. Qxd8 Rxd8 15. Ba4 White's chances 93. would have been preferable. In the 70s, Super Nezh-V. Baskin Black, in a correspondencegame, played css 10 ... Nec61 [instead of 10 ... Nbc6) 11. Moldovian eh. exf7tKf81 12. Nxc6 Qxd1 t 13. Nxd1 Nxc6, Kishinev 1948 and he solved his opening problems. 9. Bb5t Kf8 1. e4 e5 2. NO Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. 10. � Bxe5 o-o Nf6 5. d4?1. Bad would have been 10 ... Nxc3, By transposing moves, White had because of 11. NeGt!, as played in one chosen a somewhat doubtful variation ofNezh's games. Takingthe pawn would of the TwoKnights Defense. The alter­ also lead to defeat. After 10 ... e6 there native, 5. Nc3 d6 6. d3, would have were some fightingchances though the lead to the "calmest"system ofthe Italian position would remain difficult. game, but it wouldn'thave suited Nezh's 11. Bh6t Kg8 temperament. Better would have been 11 ... Bg7 5. ... Bxd4 12. Bxg7t Kxg7 13. Nxd5 Qxd5 14. Nf5t After 5 ... exd4 6. e5 d5 7. exf6 dxc4 Qxf5 15. Rxf5Bxf5, but now 16. Qd4t 8. fxg7 Rg8 therewas Max Lange's sharp f6 17. Re1 e5 18. Rxe5! would quickly attack, which had been analyzed over end Black's suffering. 100 years ago in great detail. 12. Nxd5 QxdS 6. Nxd4 Nxd4 13. Nf5 Qc5t 7. f4 d6 8. fxe5 dxe5 9. Bg5 c6?1 An unlucky novelty. The theoreti­ cal reference books offe red 9. . . Qe7, and only after 10. Nc3, then 10 ... c6. [Ed.: 10 ... Qc5 was played in Pesitz-

= 196= Nezhmetdinov, Chess Assassin

Sterk, Teme.war 1912. The game continued 14. ()-().0 11. Bxf7"j" Kxf7 12. Bxf6 (12. Qh5t doesn't 15. Rxft;l gxf6 go anywhere either) gxf6 13. Qh5t and 16. Qxg4t f5 White made no headway.] Black would 17. Qxf5tl Nxf5 get good chances in this variation, that's 18. Bxc5 cxd5 why instead of 10. Nc3 Nezh had pre­ 19. exf5 a6 pared 10. Kh1. It wasn't known whether This forced variation gave White two this novelty changes anything in its pieces for the Rook. Having moved his evaluation, but it hadn't been played pawns into the cent er, Black could still in anyone's praxis. hope for stubborn resistance.There was 10. Qd3 Bg4 a fatal problem: there was the threat 11. Nc3 b5 of a2-a4, afterwhich the queenside would have been ruined. 20. Kf2 Nezh put an exclamation mark af­ ter this move and wrote in his notes:

How surprising this is, but this "tranquil" King's move strengthens White's threats, ·which are connectedwith the move a2-a4. Black was optimistic and planned to win no less than the Exchange: 12. In fact, this move effectivelybrought Bb3 b4, and after the Knight's move, an end to the game. Actually, the King's 13 ... Be2. 11... Qe7 would've beenmuch move hardly strengthened the threat better, to prepare to castle long. of a2-a4. It was more like a loss of tempo. 12. Qg31 Qb6 This could have given Black another Black continued with tactical com­ chance: 20 ... Kb7! 21. a4 Rc8! 22. Bd6 plications, an area where it was al­ [Ed.: 22. b4 seems stronger.] d4. For ex­ most impossible to beat Nezhmetdiilov. ample, 23. Bxe5 dxc3 24. Bxh8 cxb2! Since Black decided to weaken the 25. Bxb2 Rxc2t. That's why 20. a4 should queenside, then that decision should have been played immediately. For have been justified by 12 ... bxc4. Af­ example, 20 ... bxa4 21. Rxa4 Kb7 22. ter 13. Bxf6 gxf6 14. Qxg4 Qb6, Black Rb4t KeG 23. Ba7! Rc8 24. RbGt. had good play, owing to a powerful 20. ... Rhg87 centralized Knight. 21. a4 bxa4 13. Bell On 21... Rg5, 22. f6 was playable. Avoiding the trap 13. Bxf7tKxf7 14. 22. Rxa4 Kb7 Qxg4 Nf3t!which would lose the Queen. 23. Rb4t Kc6 13. ... Qc5 24. Rb6tl Kxc5 14. Bd51 Having a hopeless position, Black White wouldn't have gotten any­ made up his mind to lose "to the mu­ thing special from 14. Bxf7tKxf7 15. sic." Qxg4 Rad8. 25. Na4t Kc4

= 197= Small Raisins

26. b3t Kd4 changed. It turned out that White had 27. Rb4# created real threats: 26. Ng4 with the t1·0t. fu rther Nh6t, or 26. Qg4 and NfS. In the final mate all the white pieces 25. ... Ne6 took part. The game was awarded the Hoping to complicate matters Black prize "for beauty." sacrificed his pride and joy, his cen­ tral pawn. 26. Nxd5 Nd4 94. The best continuationwas 26 ... RxdSI SUperNezh-Y. Sakharov 27. RxdS Nxf4 28. gxf4 QxdS. Nezh proved, Bll in his notes, that after 29. Rd61 White Semi-finals25th USSR eh. had the advantage everywhere, includ­ Kiev 1957 ing the line 29 ... QcS! [our mark) 30. Qg2 Rf7 31. Re6 Rd7 [or 31 ... Qc8 32. 1. e4 e6 2. N£3d5 3. Ne3 Bg4 4. h3 f5 Qxe6 33. fxe6 Rf2 34. b41 with the Bx£3 5. Qx£3Nf6 6. d3 e6 7. g3 Be? better ending] 32. Bc3 e3 33. Qe4 QdS 8. Bg2 0-0 9. o-o Na6 10. Qe2 Ne? 34. ReSt. etc. Alas, but sometimes a 11. f4 Nfe8 12. Kh2 b5 13. Nd1 fS master misses elementary refutations, 14. exd5 exd5 15. e4 bxe4 16. afterhaving calculated the most dif­ dxe4 Nf6 17. exd5 cxd5 18. Ne3 ficultvariations. After 30 ... Qf2! [in­ Ne4 19. Rd1 Qd7 20. Bd2 Be5 21. stead of 30 ... Rf7) the analysis of all Rae1 Bb6. other lines became unnecessary and Black's position wasn't worse. Still his intuition didn't let Nezh down! Instead of 29. Rd6, he should have played 29. Qg2! at once, and after 29 ... Qf7,take with 30. Qxe4, gaining a healthy ex­ tra pawn. The thing was, that on 30 ... Qxa2, 31. Bxg7! was possible, and af­ ter 31. .. Kxg7 32. QeSt Kg8 [32 ... Kf7? 33. Rf6t and 34.. QgSt) 33. Rc2! there would have been no satisfactory de­ Black seems to have a huge spatial fe nse to 34. Rg2. advantage, and his Knight and Bishop 27. Rxd41 Bxd4 were active, but in reality, his posi­ 28. Re? Bxe5 tion was not an easy one. Nezh proved After 28 ... QxdS there was a mate: this very energetically. 29. Rxg7t Kh8 30. Rxh7t Kxh7 31. QhSt 22. Bxe41 fxe4 Kg8 32. Qg6#. 23. Bel Rad8 29. Rxf1 Rxf1 Of course bad was 23 ... d4 because 30. Qxe4 Rfd7 of the obvious 24. Bxd4 Bxd4 25. Nc2 Worse was 30 ... Bxb2, as it would Ne6 26. Nxd4 Nxd4 27. Qc4t. have been very dangerous to allow the 24. Be5 Qf? Knight to accompany the Queen. 25. Re61 31. fxe5 Rxd5 The picture had been forcefully 32. h4 R5d7

= 198 = Nezhmetdinov, Chess Assassin

33. Qc4t Kf8 was eager to head for the endgun11•. The extra pawns provided White with 8 ... Bxd7 was more logical, and oft n a simple victory, as even the connected that developing the Knight with un Rooks wouldn't have seriously changed attack on the Queen would win o tempo. the position. 9. Qf4 NdS 34. Kh3 Re8 10. Qd2 35. Kg4 Rfl Everything was done fo r o continu 36. Qcst Kg8 otion of the bottle. White would evt•n 37. hS h6 lose tempi to keep the Queens on tIll' 38. QdS Kf8 board. 39. a4 R8e7 10. ... Bg7 40. b4 Re8 11. Be2 eS 41. bS Rc8 Zaitsev's natural optimism was cleur Black surrendered (1·01. from this move. He had not underes­ timated his position. Still, 11 ... 0-0 wus preferable, os on 12. Bc4, quite prob­ 95. able was 12 ... Rd8 13. 0-0 Kh8 14. Rd I SUperNezh-A. Zaitsev Nb6 with equality. B27 12. o-o Ne7 23rd Russian eh. Bad would hove been 12 ... 0-0 13. Kazan 1964 Bc4 Rd8 14. Rd 1. 13. Bc4 b57 1. e4 cS 2. ND g6. Block was going to drive the Bishop Black didn't wont o theoretical duel away from the o2-g8 diagonal by weak­ in the main lines of the Sicilian De­ ening his position. The defect of the fense, o defense in which Nezh was text move was that now the block King on authority. The Vlodivostok master, couldn't hove been sheltered on the who later become the firstgr andmaster queenside either. Also, equality couldn't in the Eastern port of the USSR, usu­ be obtained with o Queen exchange: ally tried to get through the opening 13 ... Qxd2 14. Nbxd2, and then there quickly, relying on his tactical abili­ was the threat of Nd2-e4-d6. Perhaps ties in the middlegome. the best would hove been 13 ... Nbc6 3. cl Nf6 14. Qe2, but even there 15. Rd1 would 4. es Nds hove providedWhite with the advantage. 5. d4 cxd4 14. Bb3 Na6 6. Qxd4 15. Qe2 NcS 6. cxd4 was no problem for Block. 16. Rd1 Qc6 6. ... Nc7 17. Bc2 Be6 7. e617 At this point castling would hove A tempting continuation, but it didn't been possible, but even then after: 17 ... give any advantage. Good would hove 0-0 18. b4 Nb7 19. Be4 Qe8 20. o4 bxo4 been 7. Bc4. 21. Qc4t Block would hove been un­ 7. ... f6 der o lot of pressure. 8. exd7t Qxd7 18. Nbd2 Rd871 Block was in o peaceful mood and At the very moment that costlin�J

= 199= Small Raisins would have been good, Black ignored 96. itl 18... 0-0 19. b4 Nd7 20. Ne4 Bc4 21. Super Nezh-V. Tatarintsev Bb3 Rfd8 with a worse, but defendable 830 position. 23rd Russian eh. 19. Nb3 Rxdtt Kazan 1964 20. Qxdt Nb77 This was the last time Black could 1. e4 cS 2. NO Nc6 3. BbS a6 4_ have castled: 20 ... 0-0 21. Nxc5 Qxc5 Bxc6 bxc6 s. d3 dS 6. Nbd2 e6 7. 22. Be3 Qc7 23. Bb3 with a hard, but o-o Nf6 8. c3 Be7 9. Qa4 Qc7 10. not hopeless position. Zaitsev had missed Re1 Q-0 11. NO aS 12. BgS h6 13. a disguised White combination, which Bh4 dxe4 14. dxe4 Ba6 1S. Ne3 gave a decisive advantage. Rfd8 16. Bg3 Qb6 17. NeS BbS 18. 21. a4 a6 Qc2 NhS 19. a4 Ba6 20. NSc4 Bxc4 22. axbS axbS 21. Nxc4 Qa6 22. b3 Qb7 23. Rabt Nf6 24. Redl Rxdtt 2S. Rxdl Nd7 26. Bd6 Bf8 27. g3 Nb6 28. Bxf8 Kxf8.

23. Nbd41 exd4 24. Nxd4 Qd7 2S. Nxe6 Qxe6 26. Ra8t Nc8 All this maneuvering brought about All these moves were forced: 26.,. a decisive positional advantage to Kf7 was terrible because of 27. Rxh8 White- he was the owner ofthe open and 28. Bb3. file. Black's pawn structure had been 27. Bb31 Qd7 seriously weakened. 28. Qe2t Kd8 Nezh realized this advantage quickly 29. Be6 ReS and elegantly. Did Nezh miscalculate, beginning 29. Nd6 Qe7 with the combination at the 21st move? 30. es Kg8 30. RxcStl 31. Qe4 NdS No, everything was accounted for! 32. c4 Nb4 30. ... Qxc8 33. Qe3 Qa7 31. Qdtt Ke7 The weak pawns on Black's queenside 32. Bxc8 Rxc8 doomed him, since in trying to defend 33. Qe2t them, the pieces were obliged to take Black surrendered (l·Ot. extremely passive positions. 34. Ne4 Na6

=200= Nezhmetdlnov, Chess Assassin

35. Nf61 White could have obtained on out Black had left his monarch to die post at dS and, in combination with alone, and White realized that Black the possession of the d-file ("Nimzo would be executed immediately. The vich"J, this could theoretically providl' Knight had to be taken because of the him with the advantage. Still, no protlt threat of Rd7. could have been gained from it by Whltt•, 35. ... gxf6 the offensive front was too narrow. 36. exf6 Kh7 22. h41 By playing 36 ... Qb8 37. Qxh6 Qf8 The idea was h4-h5 and h61 wit h 38. Qh5, Black looks to prolong. But, check and a quick mate. 38 ... Nb4 loses to 39. Rel. On 38 ... Nc7, 22. ... Bc6 White still plays 39. Rel. 23. NdS 37. Qe4t Kh8 The straightforward 23. h5 collidl's 38. Qg4 with 23 ... fS,and Black would have Black surrendered, (1·0J. as on 38 ... gotten considerable counterplay. Rg8 there was 39. Rd8!. 23. ... Bxds 24. exdS Rad87 As so oftenhappens, the "natural 97. move" turned out to be the fatal m is· SUper Nezh--B. Rabar take. It was still possible to defend, A04 although the hard-to-find move 24 ... Baku19 64 Nc8, aiming to transfer the Knight to d6, had to be found. 24 ... NfSwouldn't 1. e4 cS 2. Nf3 e6 3. d3 Nc6 4. g3 work for this purpose because of 25. g6 5. Bg2 Bg7 6. 0-0 Nge7 7. Re1 Bh3, and then there would be no 25 ... 0-0 8. es d6 9. exd6 Nf5 10. Nc3 Nd6 due to 26. Rxe5. Nxd6 11. Bf4 Nd4 12. BeS BxeS 13. [Ed.: However, Pishkin's idea doesn't Nxes Bd7 14. Ne4 Nxe4 15. dxe4 work so nicely in all the details. On Ba4 16. b3 Be8 17. c3 Nc6 18. Nc4 24... Nc8 Alex suggests 25. Qe4 as ont• es 19. Qf3 Kg7 20. Rad1 Qc7 21. possible idea, but Black gets the ednt• Ne3 Ne7. there. He also gives 25. h5, which is much better for White. Continuing with 25 ... fS 26. d6 Nxd6 27. Rxe5 Ne4 28. RedS he stops at 28 ... Nf6. But 29. Rd61 is a decent move for White as it puts

=201 = Small Raisins immediate pressure on Black's b7. Thus, Rb1?1. 29 ... Rf7 and then 30. hxg6 hxg6 31. Inspite of the fact that the prior­ c4 Ne4 and White has the interesting ity of this move belongs to Larsen, it 32. R6d5. Black plays 32 ... Re8 to protect can't be recommended, as it had no his Knight on e4 should White move value for White in a fightfo r the cen­ his Queen away from f3. But, 33. Qe3! ter. The traditional continuations were: anyway, and White has a small but 8. Rel or 8. d5, transposing to the Benoni. aggravating advantage.] 8. exd4 25. Qe4 f6 9. Nxd4 ReS 26. f4 1 Nf5 10. fl?l 27. fxe5 fxe5 In his match against Donner {1 958), 27 ... Nxg3 wasn't worth playing be­ Larsen played without the weakening cause of 28. d6! Qb6 [28 ... Nxe4 29. of the g1-a7 diagonal: 10. Qc2 Na6 11. dxc7 Rxd1 30. Rxdl and 31. Rd8 or 31. Be3 Ng4 12. Bxg4 Bxg4 13. Qd2, but Rd7t followed by 32. Bxe4 if30 ... Rc8.] he only achieved equality. 29. exf6t. and then 29 ... Rxf6 would 10. ... dSI have been awful because of 30. Qe7t At once Nezh found an opportunity Rf731. Qe5t and 32. Qxg3. A lesser evil to create a collision. The Knight on d4 would have been 27 ... Qxe5 28. Qxe5 was in an unstable position. fxe5 though the ending would have 11. exd5 Nxd51 been very bad. 12. cxdS Qb6 28. d61 13. Kh1 Qxd4 A simple tactical stroke, which will 14. Qxd4 give an irresistible attack. Not the best decision. The Queen ex­ 28. ... Rxd6 change wouldn't solve some of White's 29. Qxe5t Kh6 problems. He should have had enough 29 ... Rff6 wouldn't have worked be- courage to sacrificea pawn, thus 14. cause of 30. g4 and 31. g5. Bd3! cxd5 15. Nb5 Qb6 16. Bf4 Na6 17. 30. Qf4t Kg7 Qd2 with some activity. 31. g4 Rfl 14. ... Bxd4 32. Qe5t Kg8 15. Bc4 33. gxf5 Rxd1 15. Bd3 would have been more cau­ 34. QeSt Kg7 tious, as 15 ... Bxc3 16. bxc3 cxd5 would 35. Rxd1 have preserved chances for White to Black surrendered (1-0). defend owing to the possession of the two Bishops. 15. Bf5 98. 16. dxc6 Nxc6 K. Langeweg-Super Nezh 17. Ne41 E94 ChigorinMemorial Sochi 1964

1. NflNf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. d4 0-0 5. e4 d6 6. Be2 e5 7. 0-0 c6 8.

=202 = Nezhmetdlnov, Chess Assassin

99. Super Nezb-A. Cherepkov AOS Yalta 1964

1. Nf.3 Nf6 2. g3 g6 3. Bg2 Bg7 4. o-o o-o 5. d3 d6 6. c3 cs 7. Qa4 Nc6 8. Qh4 Ng4 9. h3 Nge5 10. Nxe5 Nxe5 11. d4 cxd4 12. cxd4 Nc6 13. Rd1 Bf5 14. Nc3 Bc2. If the Rook went to a 1, then 17 ... Nb4 would have been unpleasant. 17. ... Ne51 There wasa new combinational idea: 18 ... Nxf3! 19. Rxf3 Rxe4. 18. Bd571 This was not enough of a defense. The commentators of this game noted that 18. Bb5 was even worse because of the variation 18 ... Nxf3 19. Bxe8 Bxe4 20. Bxf7t Kg7 21. gxf3 Bxb1 22. Black expected 15. Rd2 Bf5 16. Rd I BhGt Kxf723. Rxb1 Re8 with a won Bc2, forcing the draw. But: ending for Black. Instead of 22. BhGt?. 15. d51 Bxc3 stronger was 22. Bd5!, and White would Black accepted the challenge and have been able to defend. Thus, 18. Bb5! was even ready to part with his black­ was correct. squared Bishop for the sake of a weak 18. ... Nd3 hope to win material. 19. Bg5 Nf2t 16. bxc3 Bxd1 20. Rxf2 Bxf2 17. dxc6 bxc6 21. Rd1 Bxe4 18. BgSI 22. fx.e4 Rac8 It was possible to play 18. Bh6 right 23. Bxb7 Rc2 away, but when there is a chance to 24. Rd77 weaken the opponents position "frer Despite winning the Exchange, Black of charge," it shouldn't be missed. would have had to work hard to win 18. ••. f6 if White had played 24. Bf6 instead of 19. Bh6 Bxe27 this. White had forgotten about the Black will get trapped. Right was weakness of the firstrank. 19 ... Bc2 20. Bxf8 Qxf8 21. Bxc6 Re!! 24. ... Bh41 22. Bd5t Kh8 and it's even. White surrendered (0·1t. 20. Bxftl Qxftl After25. Bh6 Black would have played 21. Qe41 25 ... Rd8 26. Rxd8 Bxd8 and the pawn An unpleasant surprise. The Bishop on b2 would be lost after which it was trapped, although it seemed to wouldn't have been difficult to real­ have plenty squares for retreat! ize the advantage. 21. ... Bh5

=203 = Small Raisins

Worse was 21 ... Bb5 22. a4 Ba6 23. sit ion, which was weak along the dark Qxc6. squares. Simultaneously, an open fi le . 22. g4 Bxg4 would have been of great importance . 23. hxg4 21. Nf.3 Qf6 Black had three pawns for the piece, The only defense to the threat of but here is exactly that case when the 22. Ng5. piece is more valuable than the pawns. 22. Rd1 e4 23. ... ReS 23. Rd61 Qe7 24. Qe6t Kg7 24. Rxb6 exb3 25. Qd7 QdS 25. axb3 f6 26. Qxa7 Ra8 26. Rd31 27. Qb7 Ra4 Using the open file, White controlled 2S. Qxe6 Rxg4 almost the whole chessboard. 29. a4 26. ... Be6 It was clear that Black had no com- 27. Nh41 pensation fo r the piece. Then: If 27. Rdd6, Black would have had 29. ... Qa5 a good defense in 27 ... Bd7 with the 30. Re1 Rxa4 Bishop protecting g6 [after ...Be8]. 31. Rxe7t Kh6 Now there was the threat of a sac­ 32. Qb7 Kg5 rifice at g6. That's why Black had no 33. Qf.3 Qf5 time to include the a-Rook in the game. 34. Qxf5 Kxf5 27. ... Bf7 35. Rxh7 Re4 2S. Rg3 BeS 36. Rh3 29. Nf5 Qd7 and White soon won (1·0). On 29 ... Qf7,the game would have been decided with 30. Re6. 30. Rd6 Qe7 100. 31. Re6 Rf7 SUperNezh-E. Stolyar 32. h41 Qd8 ChigorinMemorial 33. h5 g5 Sochi 1965 34. Rd6 Bd7 35. Rgd3 ReS The opening moves are not known. The slumbering Rook wanted to help, but it was too late.

White's advantage was in his pros­ pects of an attack on Black's King po- 36. Rxd71 Rxd7

=204 = Nezhmetdinov, Chess Assassin

37. Rxd7 Qxd7 38. Qxft; Qdtt 39. Kh2 QxhSt 40. Kg3 Here the flag had fallen on Black's clock. (1·0,.

Semi·finals 26thUSSR eh. / RostOV·OD·DOD 1958 Players 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 Polnta Placr 1 Nezhmetdinov • • • • • • • • • •••• 10 12 2 Spassky • • • • • • • • • • • ••• 10 I 2 3 Krogius • • • • • • • • • • • • • 9 ., 4 Makarov • • • • • • • • • • • • 85 4 5 Borisenko • • • • • • • • ••• 8 ,,, 6 Gurgenidze • • • • • • • • • • 8 �·'I 7 Zurakhov ••••• • • • • • • + 8 'j

19thRussian eh./ Vo ronezh 1959 Players 1 2 3 4 567 a 9 ro n u u wu un u Polntl Plau 1 Lutikov • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 12 2 Shamkovich • • • ••••• •••••••• 11.5 2 3 Polugaevsky • • • • • • ••••••••••• 11 4 Krogius • • • • • • • • • • • • ••••• 10.5 4 5 Aronin • • • • • • • • • • • • • •••• 9.5 5-H 6 Zhilin • • • • • • • • • •••• 9.5 'i· H 7 Nezhmetdinov • • • • • • • • • • • • • •• 9.5 'j H 8 Shahov • • • • • • • • • ••••• 9.5 '>H 9 Borisenko • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 9 'l· IO 10 Hodos • • • • • • • •••••••• 9 '.110 11 ilivitsky • • • • • • ••• •••••• 8.5 11 n 12 Kotkov • • • • • • • • • • ••• 8.5 11 n 13 Stolyar • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 8.5 11 n 14 Zagorovsky • •••• • • • • • • • • 8 14 15 Thprover • • • • • • • • • • • 6 I'> 16 Vastrikov • • • • • • ••• 5 lh 17 Zhelyandinov • • • • • • • • 4.5 1'1 18 Sergievsky • • • • • • • 3 IH 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18

=205= Opponents

Opponents

Aronin,Lev Solomonovich: 51, 53. 1920- IGM-1965. 1982, master (M) from19 46, IM-1950. 2-4th Elizarov,A.: 43. pl. in 18th USSR eh. (1950), Russian cham­ Ermolin, P.:92. pion-1952, Moscow champion-1965. Estrin, Yakov Borisovich: 35. 1923-1987, Bagirov, Vladimir Konstantinovich: 74. M-1949, IM-1975, IGM ICCF-1966. 2-4th 1936-2000, M-1958, IM-1963, IGM- pl. Russian ch., 1946; 3rd pl. Moscowch., 1949; 1978. 13 times champion of Azerbaijan. Now world correspondence champion-1975. lives in Latvia. Filip, Miroslav(Czechoslovakia): 56. b.1928, Baskin, V.: 93. IM-1953, IGM-1955. Belov, Lev Andreevich:9. b.1933, M-1960, Flohr, Salomon Mikhailovich: xi,82. 1908- 2-6th pl. in Russian eh., 1961. 1983, GM USSR-1942, IGM-1950. Won 19 Bergin, Dmitri: 73. b.1937, M-1964. international tournaments in the 30s. Boleslavsky. Isaac Efremovich: 16, 22, 65. Geller, Eflm Petrovich: 54. 1925-1998, 1919-1977, M-1939, GM USSR-1946, M-1949, IGM-1952. USSR Champion- IGM-1950. 1-2nd pl. in Candidate's tourna­ 1955, 1979; 2-3rd pl. in candidates tourna­ ment, 1950 (with D. Bronstein), 2nd pl. in ment-1962 (Cura�ao); won more than 20 USSRch.-1945, 1947; 3rd pl. in 1944; Russian international tournaments. champion 1946, Ukrainian champion 1938, Gurgenidze,Bukhuti Ivanovich: 38. b.1933, 1939, 1940; Belorussian champion 1952, 1964. M-1955, IM-1966, IGM-1970. 13 times Borisenko, Georgi Konstantinovich:20, 36. Georgian Champion. b.1922, M-1950, IGM ICCF-1966. USSR cor­ Heuer, Valter Petrovich (Estonia): 75. respondence champion-1957, 1963. b.1928, M-1960. Cherepkov, Alexander Vasilievich: 99. Holmov, Ratmir Dmitrievich: 77. b.1925, b.1920, M-1954, IM-1984. Leningrad cham­ M-1947, IM-1954, IGM-1960. Recurring pion-1967, 1968, 1982. champion of Lithuania; 1-3rd pl. in USSR ch.- Chernikh, Valentin: 47. b.1939, M-1965. 1963; Moscow champion-1987. Chemikov, Oleg Leonidovich: 12. b.1936, llivitsky. Georgi Alexandrovich: 44. 1921- M-1963, IM-1985, 3-4th pl. in Russian ch.- 1989, M-1947, IM-1955. Russian cham­ 1971. pion-1948, 1949. Interzonal tourn. 1955: Chistyakov, Alexander Nikolaevich: 42. 10-11th pl. 1914-1990, M-1938, Moscow champion- Ivashin, Alexey.: 78. 1915-1958. 1950. Kalinkin,B: 13. Ciocaltea, Victor (Romania): 49. 1932- Kamyshov, Mikhail Petrovich: 3. b.1909, 1983, IM-1957, IGM-1979. M-1945. Ciric, Dragoljub (Yugoslavia): 11. b.1935, Karasev, Vladimir Ivanovich: 76. b.1938,

=206= Nezhmetdinov, Chess Assassin

M-1965, IM-1976. Champion of Lenin­ b. l933, IGM-1964, recurringBulgurlun chum grad-1974. pion. Kasparyan,Genrikh Moiseevich: 7. 191o- Paoll, Enrico (Italy): 6. b. t908, IM-I 95 1, 'J 1995, M-1936, IM-1950, !GM (composi­ times Italian champion. tion)-1972. 10 times Armenian champion, Pimenov, Sergei lvanovich: 89. 1907 first Armenian master. 1981. Kluger, Julius {Hungary): 57. b.1914, IM- Polugaevsky, Lev Abramovich: I, 1'1. 1954. 1934-1995,M-1953, IM-1961, GM USSR Kolarov, Atanas Stefanov {Bulgaria): 84. 1960, IGM- 1962, USSR champion- 1967, b.1934, IM-1957. 1969; Russian champion 1961, participant In Korchmar, A.: 88. 1914-1978, M-1964. 20 USSR championships. Kosolapov, Nikolai Ivanovich: 90. Lived in Pozarsky. B.: 60. Kazan. Rabar, Braslav (Yugoslavia): 97. 1919-- Kotkov, Yuri Mikhailovich: 8, 40. b.1930, 1973, IM-1950, Yugoslavian champion M-1955, IM ICCF-1992. 1951. Krogius, Nikolay Vladimirovich:80. b.1930, Romanovsky. Rem: 37. b.1929, M-196:1. M-1952, IM-1963, IGM-1964. Russian Ruchkin,J.: 48. champion-1952, 1964, psychology (PhD). Sakharov, Yuri Nikolaevich: 72, 94. 1922- Langeweg, Kick(Holland) : 98. b.1937, IM- 1981, M-1956, IM ICCF-1971. Ukrainian 1962. champion-1966, 1968; 6th pl. in USSR eh.- -- Lapin, G.: 91. 1967. Lein, Anatoly Ya kovlevich:26. b.1931, M- Sergievsky. Vladimir Dmitrievich: 33, 87. 1956, IM-1964, IGM- 1968. Russian cham­ b.1936, M-1960, IM-1966. Ru ssian cham­ pion-1963, 6th pl. in USSR ch.-1966/67. He pion-1966. has lived in the USA since 1975. Shamkovich, Leonid Alexandrovich: 18, 19, Lengyel, Levente (Hungary): 39. b.1933, 27, 29, 45. b.1923, M-1950, IM-1962, IGM- IGM-1964. 1965. Russian champion-1954, 1956; 5-6th Lilienthal. Andor: 4, 55. b.1911, GM USSR- pl. in USSR ch.-1965. He has ived in the USA 1940, IGM-1950. USSR champion-1940, since 1976. now lives in Hungary. Shcherbakov, Vitaly Sergeevich: 69. b. 1931 , Luik. Helmut (Estonia): 86. b.1928, M- M-1954. 1967. Shestoperov, Alexei Nikolaevich: 66. Lusikal: 5. b.1935, M-1960. Matsukevich, Anatoly Alexandrovich.: 62, Shipov, Boris: 24. b.1941, M-1964. 83. b. 1938. Shishov, Mikhail Vasilievich: 52, 67. 1910--- Medvedev, G.: 50. 1981, M-1951, 5 times Georgian champion; Mikenas, Vladas Ionovich: 15, 68, 79. coach of N. Gaprindashvili. 191Q-1992, IM-1950, IGM -1987, 4 times Slepoi, IosefMoiseevich: 85. b.l934. Lithuanian champion, Estonian champion- Spassky. Boris Vasilievich: 64. b.l937, M- - 1929, 5-6th pl. in USSR eh. 1944. 1953, 1M-1953, IGM-1955, GM USSR-1956. Nikitin, Alexander.: 34. lOth world champion (1969-1972); USSR Novotyelnov, Nikolai Alexandrovich: 28. ch.-1961, 1973. Lives in France since 1976. b.1911, M-1945, IM-1951. Russian cham­ Sdhlberg, Gideon (Sweden): 81. 1908 pion-1947, Leningrad champion-1942. 1967, IGM-1950, recurring Swedish cham Padevsky. Nikola Bochev (Bulgaria): 23. pion.

=207= Opponents

Stolyar, EfimSamoilovich: 100. b.1923, M- Zagorovsky. Vladimir Pavlovich: 25. 1925- 1953, 2-4th pi. Ru ssian ch.-1956. 1994, M-1947, !GM ICCF-1965. World cor­ Suetin, Alexei Stepanovich: 2, 41. b.1926, respondencechampion -1965, 2nd pl.-1980. M-1950, IM-1961, GM USSR-1964, IGM- Moscow champion-1952. 1965. Played in the USSR championship 10 zaitsev, AlexanderNikolaevich: 95. 1935- times: 4-6th pi.: 1963, 4-5th pi.: 1965 1971, M-1962, IMC-1964, IM-1965, Tal, Mikhail Nekhemievich: 10, 21, 63. GMC-1966, IGM-1967, GM USSR-1967. 1- 1936-1992, M-1954, GM USSR-1957, 2nd pi. in USSR ch.-1968/69, Ru ssian cham­ IGM-1957. 8th world champion (196Q- pion-1968. 1961), 6 times USSR champion. Zamikhovsky. Abram Davidovich: 71. Tatarintsev, V.:96. 1908-1978, M-1954, Ukrainian cham­ Tim.ofeev, Vladimir Frolovich: 14. b.1937, pion-1931. M-1967. Zhelyandinov, Victor Savelievich: 46. Vasiliev, Mikhail Davidovich: 31. b.1945. b.1935, M-1962, Soviet Army champion- Va siukov, Evgeny Andreevich: 58. b.1933, 1966. M-1954, IM-1958, IGM-1961, GM USSR- Zhilin, Vitaly Valentinovich: 32. b.1934, 1962. 3rd pl. in USSR ch.-1967, Moscow M-1958, 5-8th pl. in Russian ch.-1959, So­ champion 6 times. viet Army champion-1962. Veltmander, Ioganess Gugovich: 59. Zilber, Iosif Zalmanovich: 30. b.1933, M- b.1921, M-1953. 1962, Latvian champion- 1958. Wa de, Robert Graham (Great Britain): 70. ZUrakhov, Vladlen Ya kovlevich: 61. b.1930, b.1921, IM-1950. M-1954, Ukrainian champion-1952.

=208= Openings' Index

Bold print indicates Nezhmetdinov had the black pieces. It should be noted that sometimes the ECO code in the book and the code on the CBH

disk do not always match. It depends on "when" the game is saved as it is entered as ChessBase retrieves the position to which that ECO code is assigned. Transpositions can change the ECO code.

A04-97; B 53 - 34; C67 -8; A07-54; B 62 - 2, 22, 30; c 72 - 11; A21-74; B 63 - 19; c 74 - 67; A32 - 76; B 71 - 92; c 76 - 13, 40, 65; A42 - 20; B 76 - 23; c 78 - 35, 39, 41; A 53 -1, 51; B 83 - 28; c 84 - 18; A 54 - 4; B 84 - 10; c 85 - 57, 80; ASS - 47; B 94 - 29; 66; c 90 - 25; A 56 - 55; B 95 -6; c 91 - 52; A 77 - 16. B 97 - 69. C99 - 61.

B 01 - 62; c 11 - 70; D 31 - 88; B 02 - 68; c 12 -42, 81; D 85 -5. B 10 - 3; c 13 - 89; B 11 -7, 94; c 14 - 26; E60-82; B 13 - 27; c 16 - 79; E 61 -77; B 27 - 95; c 17 -43, 63; E 63 -48, 84; B 30 - 86, 96; C37 - 75; E 67 - 14; B 31 - 64; C41-60; E 68 - 17, 44; B 32 - 72; c 47 - 90; E 81 - 71; B 35 - 12; c 55 - 93; E 83 - 24; B 43 - 32; c 59 -9, 49; E 84 - 46; B47-31, 33; C60 -36, 38; E 91 - 15; B 48 - 21; C63 - 73; E94-98; B 50 - 53; c 64 - 56; E 97 -45. 26th USSReh. 1 TbWsl 1959 Playen 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 Points Place I Petrosyan • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 13.5 1 2 Spassky • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 12.5 2-3 3 Tal • • • • • • • • • ••• • ••••• 12.5 2-3 4 Taimanov • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 12 4-5 5 Holmov • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 12 4-5 6 Polugaevsky • • • • • • • • • ••••••• 11 6 7 Averbakh • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 10.5 7-8 8 Keres • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 10.5 7-8 9 Korchnoy • • • • • • • • • • • • • •• 10 9 10 Geller • • • • • •••••••• 9.5 HH1 11 Lutikov • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 9.5 10.11 12 Bronstein • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 9 12-13 13 Gufeld • • • • • • • • ••• • •••• 9 12-13 14 Yuchtman • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 8.5 14 15 Furman • • • • • • • • • • • ••• 8 15 16 Vasiukov • • • • •• • • • • • • • 7 16-17 17 Gurgenidze • • • • • • • • • • • • • 7 16-17 18 Krogius • * • • • • • • • • . • • 6.5 18 19 Nezhmetdinov • • • • • • • • • • 6 19 20 Nikitin • • • • • • • • • •• 5.5 20 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20

20thRussian eh. 1 Perm 1960 Playen 1 2 1 4 s & 1 8 9 ro u u u wu uu u Points Place 1 Taimanov • • • • • • • • • • • • ••••• 12 1-2 2 Tarasov • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 12 1-2 3 Lutikov • • • • • • • • • • • • • •••• 11.5 3 4 Barisenko • • • • • • • • • • • • ••• 11 4 5 Krogius • • • • • • • • • • • •••• • • 10.5 5 6 Shamkovich • • • • • • • • •••••• 10 6 7 Vladimirov • • • • • • • • • ••• 9 7-8 8 Shaposhnikov • • • • • • • • • • •••• 9 7-8 9 Aronin • • • • • • • • • • •• 8.5 9-11 10 Nezhmetdinov • • • • • • • • • ••••• 8.5 9-11 11 Terentiev • • • • • • • • • • • • 8.5 9-11 12 Kotkov • • •• • • • • • • •• 8 12-13 13 Yudovich, Ml •• • • • • • • • • • • 8 12-13 14 Zhilin ••• • • • • • • • • 7 14 15 Arseniev ••• • • ••• • 6.5 15 16 Selesniev • • • ••• • •••• 6 16 17 Gusakov • • • • • • 3.5 17-18 18 Chernov • •• • • • 3.5 17-18 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 Main To urnament and Match Results Main lburnament and Match Results

Ye ar Competition Points Place

CHBSS (incomplete) 1936 Strongest players first category, Rostov-on-Don 5 (14) 11 1938 Russian tournament first category. Sverdlovsk 12.5 (17) 2 USSR's tournament first category, Gorki 7 (13) 5-8 1939 USSR's tournament first category 9 {10) 1 1940 USSR's tournament for candidates to master 4.5 {11) 9 1941 Baikal-Amur military district championship 15 {16) 1946 Soviet military administration championship, Berlin 12 {13) 1947 Semi-fmals of 8th Russian championship, Gorki 8.5 {11) 7th Russian championship, Ya roslavl 9.5 (13) 2-3 Candidate to Master, Ya roslavl 8.5 (14) 2-4 Championship of "Spartak" club, Riga 13.5 {19) 4 1948 Match with V. Mikenas, Kazan 7:7 Open championship of Moldavia, Kishinev 10 {12) 1-2 8th Russian championship, Saratov 8.5 {15) 5-6 "Spartak" club championship 4.5 {10) 4 1949 9th Russian championship, Yaroslavl 7 {15) 11 - 12 Semi-finals of 17th USSR championship, Tbilisi 7 {16) 12 1950 Semi-finals of 11th Russian championship, Arkhangelsk 1 10th Russian championship, Gorki 8 {12) 1 Semi-finals of 18th USSR championship, Gorki 9 {15) 5-6 1951 Semi-fmals of 19th USSR championship, Baku 10 {19) 8-10 11th Russian championship, Yaroslavl 9 {12) 1 1952 1/4 final of21s t USSR championship, Cheliabinsk 9.5 {16) 4 1953 "Spartak" club championship 9.5 (13) 2 13th Russian championship, Saratov 11 {15) 1 Semi-finals of 21st USSR championship, Rostov-on-Don 9.5 (15) 3-4 1954 21st USSR championship, Kiev 10 {19) 7-9 International tournament, Bucharest 12.5 {17) 2 14th Russian championship, Rostov-on-Don 11 {17) 2 Semi-finals of 22nd USSR championship, Gorki 10.5 {20) 10 -11 USSR Te am championship, Board 4 7 {9) 1 1956 16th Russian championship, Kislovodsk 11 (18) 2-4 Semi-finals of 24th USSR championship, Kharkov 11.5 {18) 1-3 1957 24th USSR championship, Moscow 9.5 {21) 13 -15 17th Ru ssian championship, Krasnodar 12 {17) 1 Semi-fmals of 25th USSR championship, Kiev 9.5 {19) 11 -13 Russia-Ukraine Match Bulgaria-USSR Match 1958 18th Russian championship, Sochi 13 {19) Semi-finals of 26th USSR championship, Rostov-on-Don 10 {15) 1-2 USSR Te am championships, Vilnius 9.5 {19) 11 - 13

=212= Ne1.hmrtdinov, Chess Assassin

1959 26th USSR championship, Tbilisi 6 (19) 19 19th Russian championship, Voronezh 9.5 (17) 5-8 Master's tournament, Frunze 12 (14) USSR Spartakiade, Moscow 2.5 (6) 1960 20th Russian championship, Perm 8.5 (17) 9-11 Russia-Ukraine Match 1961 Chigorin Memorial, Rostov-on-Don 7.5 (11) 2-3 21st Russian championship, Omsk 12 (19) 2-6 Complementary match-tournament 4(6) 29th USSR championship, Baku 7 (20) 19 22nd Russian championship, Cheliabinsk 10.5 (17) 3-5 1963 Open championship of Kazan chess club 6.5 (12) 8 Semi-fmals of Soviet trade-unions, Moscow 9 (13) 2-3 Semi-finals of 34th USSR championship, Moscow 7.5 (17) 12 -13 1964 "Spartak" club championship, Kazan 12.5 (16) 1 23rd Russianchampionship, Kazan 9 (15) 4-6 Internationaltournament, Baku 8.5 (12) 3 ChigorinMemorial, Sochi 8.5 (15) 6-8 1965 Chigorin Memorial, Sochi 7.5 (15) 8-10 International tournament, Ulan-Bator 11.5 (17) 5-6 Semi-finals 34th USSR championship, Irkutsk 7.5 (18) 12 -13 1%6 24th Russian championship, Saratov 10.5 (19) 6-9 1967 Russian Spartakiade, Leningrad 7 (11) 8-13 Internationaltournament, Varna 8 (14) 5-8

35th USSR championship (Swiss), Kharkov 7.5 (13) 27 -40 1969 1/4 finals of 37th USSR championship, Rostov-on-Don 10.5 (15) 1-2 Semi-fmals of37th USSR championship, Rostov-on-Don 9 (17) 7-8 Vasilievsky Memorial, Kaluga 8.5 (13) 3-4 1970 International tournament, Kislovodsk 6 (14) 9-11 1972 Open championship ofLatvia 10 (15) 3-4

CHECKERS 1928 Championship ofRARO, Kazan 11.5 (14) 2 Russian championship, Moscow 5.5 (8) 6-8 1929 Small USSR championship, Moscow 12 {21) 8-9 1934 Russian championship, Moscow semi-finals 7 (9) 1 finals 2 (5) 4 1938 "Uchiteli" club championship, Saratov 13 (16) 1-2 1949 Semi-fmals of USSR championship, Kazan 12 (16) 1 1950 Russian championship, Ma 11.5 (17) 2

As the heading on page 211 indicates, these are "main" results. Nezhmetdinov also participated in many team events (Russia-Hungary, Spartak ...) . There are also personal games that can be found in this book and on the diskette.

=213= Bibliography Chess: Encyclopedia and Dictionary, A. Karpov (editor-in-chief), Moscow 1990, 176 pp., hardcover, Russian language My Best Games, Rashid Nezhmetdinov, Kazan 1978, 200 pp., hardcover, Russian language Oxford Companion to Chess {2nd ed), The, David Hooper & Kenneth Whyld, Oxford/ New York 1992, 483 pp., hardcover Rashid Nezhmetdinov, J. Damsky, Moscow 1987, 176 pp., Russian language Shakhmatni Bulletin 1955-1972, Moscow Shakhmaty v USSR 1947-1972, Moscow Soviet Chess 1917-1991, Andrew Soltis, North Carolina/London 2000, 450 pp., hardcover Warriors of the Steppe, A Military History of Central Asia, 500 B.C. to 1700 A.D. by Erik Hildinger, Sarpedon Publishers (Aug. 1997), 272 pp., hardcover

Databases Chess Assistant 5.1. Helpful on some names and spellings. Does not contain all Soviet tournaments. In fa ct, the 1961 Russian championship was missing. ChessBase 7. Sometimes different name spellings, missing records of whole events also. lntimate. Occasionally has games the above two do not have. Different name spellings, and too much duplication at times. Does sort by name.

The different name spellings and lack ofvenue (place) or name of event makes some searches fo r information difficult. Chess Asssistant handles the name spellings the best. Interestingly, nearly all the Soviet sources consulted had non-duplicative information, most likely they were allcontrolled by Fizicultura i Sport. The big weakness was often a lack of date and/or name of the place the event was held. The Soviets had a fo ndness fo r Roman numeral anniversaries which increases the chance of error.

=214= Colophon

Typeset in Oranda and Thinkers' Press, Inc. chess dia­ gram fo nt, C.R. Horowitz®.

Cover Design: Bass Long Layout and editing: Bob Long Translators: Mr. Chuchin, Bob Long, Don Aldrich Supplemental editing: Don Aldrich Proofers: Bob Long, Alex Pishkin, Mark Donlan, Nate Long, Dianna Maynard ••• Special Thanks to GM Eduard Gufeld andJakov Damsky fo r procurring the photographs used in this work. Also a special thanks to AndyHarbertfo r the loan ofDamsky's book. Finally, another special thanks to Bragi Krist­ jansson fo r some detailed works from his library.

DISKETTE

It would be impossible fo r us to print in this book all the additional analyses contained on the diskette used in producing this book. The diskette contains at least 455 games and fr agments (the biggest commercial com­ puter database we know) , analyses and evaluations only, in ChessBase and PGN fo rmat (CBH). About half the games are annotated: lightly and heavily.

Price: $15 (PGN or CBH fo rmat) + $3 fo r S&H. Contact Thinkers' Press: 1-800-397-7117.

=215= 21st Russian eh. / Omsk 1961 Players 1 2 J 4 s 6 1 a g ro nuu « u un u u � PolntJ Place 1 Polugaevsky • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 12.5 1 2 Antoshin • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 12 2-6 3 Belov • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 12 2-6 4 Borisenko • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 12 2-6 5 Lein • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 12 2-6 6 Nezhmetdinov • • • • • • • • • • • • •••• 12 2-6 7 Divitsky • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 11 7-9 8 Shestoperov • • • • • • • • • • ••••• 11 7-9 9 Yudovich,Ml • • • • • • • • • ••••••••• 11 7-9 10 Ve ltmander • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •• 10.5 10 11 Krogius • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 9.5 11-12 12 Ta rasov • • • • • •• • •••••••• 9.5 11-12 13 Sergievsky • • • • • • • • ••••••• 9 13 14 Arseniev • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 8 14 15 Kotkov • • • • • • • • • • ••• 7.5 15 16 Zhilin • • • • • • • • • • • • 7 16-17 17 Selesniev • • • • • • • • • • ••• 7 16-17 18 Ostrovsky • • • • • • • • • • • 6.5 18 19 Gozin • • • • • • ••• • 5.5 19 20 Lepeshkin • • • • • • • 4.5 � 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20

29thUSSR eh./ Baku 1961 Playas t23456789ronuuuuunuu�n PointJ Place 1 Spassky • • • • • • • • • • • • •••••••• 14.5 1 2 Polugaevsky • • • • • • • • • •••••••••• 14 2 3 Bronstein • • • • ••••• ••••••••••• 12.5 3 4 Vasiukov • • • • • • • • • ••••••••• 12 4-5 5Tal • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 12 4-5 6 Averbakh • • • • • • • • • • • •••••• 11.5 6-7 7 Ta imanov • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •• 11.5 6-7 8 Gipslis • • • • • • • • • • •••••••• 11 8-11 9 Keres • • • • • • • • • • • • ••••••• 11 8-11 10 Smyslov • • • • • • • • • • • •••••• 11 8-11 11 Holmov • • • • • • • • • • • •••• 11 8-11 12 Sharukovich • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 10.5 12 13 Hasin,Ab • • • • • • • • • • • • • •• 9.5 13 14 Vladimirov • • • • • • • • • • • 8 14-16 15 Kots • • • • • • • • • • • • 8 14-16 16 Shiyanovsky • • • • • • ••• • • • • • 8 14-16 17 Lein • • • • • • • • • • • • •• 7.5 17-18 18 Savon • • • • • • •• • ••• 7.5 17-18 19 Nezhmetdinov • • • • • •• • • • • 7 19 20 Bagirov • • • ••• •• • • • • 6 20-21 21 Gurgenidze • • •• ••••• • 6 20-21 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 W 11 U 13 M B H TI � � � D

=216= 22nd Ru111an eh. / Chellabluk 1963 Playen 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 I 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 11 Points PicK·• I Lein • • • • • • • • • • • • • • + ll 2 llivitsky • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 11 I. 3 Va litinov • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • + Ill.� I� 4 Nezhmetdinov • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • + 111.'1 'I � . 5 Te rentiev • • • • • • • • •••••••• Ill.'• I � 6 Rusakov • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • l),") ,, ., 7 Ta rasov • • • • • • • • • • • • •••• ').') ,, '/ 8 Anoshin • • • • • • • • • • • • • • + 11 "11 9 Kopylov • • • • • • • • • • • • • + ., "11 10 Selesniev • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 11 "11 11 Sergievsky • • • • • • • • • • • • ••• 11 "11 12 Doroshkev:ich • • • • • • • • • ••• 7.'> ll 13 Bastrikov • • • • • • • • + 7 I'l l� 14 Belov • • • • • •• • ••• 7 I'l l� 15 Shipov • • • • • • • • • + 7 I'l l, 16 Kotkov • • • • • • • • • • • , 11> 1'1 17 Ostrovsky • • • • • • • • • • • • , 11> 1'1 18 Tatarintsev ·-·-· ·· 'I IH 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18

Semi·finlls34th USSRCh. l Moscow 1963 Playen 1 2 3 4 s 6 7 1 9 wn u u « u un u Points Plact 1 Nikolaevsky • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 13 2 Krogius • • • •••••••••••••• 11 l'l 3 Libe:rzon • • • • • • • • • ••••••• 11 l'l 4 Sakharov • • • • • • • • • • ••••• 10.5 4 5 Gurgenidze • • • • • • ••••••• 9.5 �., 6 Shmit • • • • • • • • •••••••• 9.5 �·I> 7 Zhidkov • • • • • • • • • • • • •• 9 7" 8Uusi • • • • • • • • • • • ••• 9 7-11 9 Balculin • • • • • • • • • • ••• 8.5 '1· 10 10 Danov • • • • • •••••• 8.5 '1· 111 11 Mukhin • • • • • • • • • • • • • 8 11 • 12 Muratov ••• • • • • • • • •• 7.5 12 1'1 13 Nezhmetdinov • • • • • • • • •••• 75 ll l'l 14 Kimelfeld • • • • • • • • • • • • 7 14 I'> 15 Kopylov • • • • • • • • • • • • 7 14 1, 16 Liavdansky • • • • • • •• • •• 6.5 11> 17 Kydriashov • • • • • • • • ••• 6 17 18 Pavlenko • • • • • • • • 4 IH 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 W 11 U 13 M B � 17 U

Russiavs IIDilgary / 1963 Playen 1 2 3 4 Points 1 Lengyel • 1 2 Nezhmetdinov • • • 3

=217= International'lburnament 1 Baku 1964 Players 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Points Place 1 Antoshin ••••••••••••• 9 1-2 2 Bagirov • • • • • •••••• 9 1-2 3 Nezhmetdinov • • • • • • • • • • •• 8.5 3 4 Gufeld • • ••• ••••••• 7 4-5 5 Yudovich • • • • • • • • ••• 7 4-5 6 Wienthal • • • • • • • • • • • 6.5 6 7 Robar • • •• • • ••••• 6 7 8 Capello • • • • • • • • 5.5 8-9 9 Cvetkov • • • • • • • • • 5.5 8-9 10 Khalilbeili • • • • • • • • • 5 10 11 Adamski • •• • • • • • 4.5 11-12 12 Ustengarten • • • • • • • • 4.5 11-12 13 Hosking 0 13 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13

23rdRussian Ch./ Kazan 1964 Players 1 2 3 4 567 8 9 ro 11 un « u u Points Place 1 Krogius ••• •••••• ••••••• 10 2 Borisenko • • • • • • • • • • • • 9.5 2-3 3 Lein • • • • • • • • •••••• 9.5 2-3 4 Zaitsev • • • • • • • • • ••• 9 4-6 5 Kotkov • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 9 4-6 6 Nezhmetdinov • • • • • • • • •••• 9 4-6 7 Belov • • • • •••••• 8.5 7 8 Gilinsky • • • • • • • • • • • • • 8 8 9 Baranov • • • • • • • • ••• 7.5 'HO 10 Te rentiev • • •• • • • • • • • • 7.5 9-10 11 Dorosbkevich • •• • • • • • ••• 7 11-12 12 Ruchkin • • • • • • • •• 7 11-12 13 Sokolov • • • • • • • • ••• 6.5 13 14 Kuzimichev • • • • • • • •• 5 14 • 15 Tatarintsev • • • • • 4 15 16 Ulianov • • • • • 3 16 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16

=218= M.l. Chlgorln Memorial 1 Socbl 1964 Play en 1 2 3 4 s 6 1 a 9 to n 12 13 14 n 16 Polntl Plaet 1 Krogius • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 11 I 2 Damjanovich • • • • • • • • ••••• 10 l 'J 3 Holmov • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 10 l 'l 4 Spassky • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • ':J.5 5 Matulovich • • • • • • • • •••••• 9 'J 6 Antoshin • • • • • • • • • • • •• 8.5 h K 7 Lein • • • • • ••••••• 8.5 h K 8 Nezhmetdinov • • • • • • • • •••• 8.5 h K 9 Bondarevsky • • • • • • • • • •• 8 'I 10 Baru:a • • • • • • • • •••• 7.5 10 11 11 Uitelky • • • • • ••••• 7.5 10 11 12 Doroshkevich • • • • • • • •••• 7 1:.1 13 Gheorghiu • • • • •••• • •• 6 l'J 14 Forintos • • • • • • • 3.5 14 15 Uitumen • • • • • 1 I� 16 Garda • • • 2.5 lh 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 W 11 U 13 M B �

M.LCbigorin Memorial I Socbi 1965 Playen 1 2 3 4 567 8 9 WU U 13 « H U Polntl Plact 1 Spassky • ••••••••••••••• 10.5 1 -:.1 2 Unzicker • • •••••••••••••• 10.5 1·:.1 3 Ciric •• • ••••••••••••• 10 4 Krogius • • • • • • • • • •••••• 8.5 4 5 Zaitsev • • • • • • • • • • • • • 8 5-7 6 Divitsky • • • • •••••••••• 8 H 7 Flohr ••••• • ••••••••• 8 H 8 Damjanovich • • • • • • • • • • • • 7.5 8·10 9 Nezhmetdinov • • • • • • •••• 7.5 8·10 10 jansa • • • • • • •••••• 7.5 K·IO 11 Antoshin • • • • • • • ••••• 7 11 12 Lein • • • • • • •••• 6.5 1:.1 13 Kotkov • • • • • • • • • • • • 6 13·14 14 Malich • • • • • • • • • •• 6 13·14 15 Uitumen • • • • • • • • • 4.5 15 16 Garda • • • • • • 4 16 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 M 15 16

=219= Ulan Bator 1965 Players 1 2 3 4 s 6 7 8 9 wn u u H u u u u Points Place 1 Antoshin • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 14 1 2 Miagmasuren • • •••••••••••••••• 13 2 3 Uitumen • • • • • • • • • • • • ••• 12 3-4 4 Shamkovich • • • •••••••••••••• 12 3-4 5 Vladimirov • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 11.5 5-6 6 Nezhmetdinov • • • • • • • • • •••••• 11.5 5-6 7 Yudovich •••••• • ••••••••••• 10.5 7 8 Zita • • • • •••••••••• 8.5 8 9 Tsaagan • • • ••••••••• 8 !HO 10 Cvetkov • • •• • •••••••• 8 9-10 11 Tsend • • • • • • • ••••••• 7.5 11 12 Shatar • • ••••• • •••••• 7 12 13 Chalhasuren • • • • • • • • • • • 6 13 14 Badamgarav • • • • • • • • •• 5.5 14 15 Zorigt • • • • • • • • • 4.5 15-18 16 Pliater •• • • • • • • 4.5 15-18 17 Purevzhav • • • • • •• • • 4.5 15-18 18 Tllmurbator • ••••••• 4.5 15-18 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 W 11 U 13 M � � TI U

24th Rnssian eh./Saratov 1966 Players 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 n 12 u 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 Points Place 1 Sakharov,I •••••• •• •••••••• U B 2 Lein • • •••••• •••••••••• U B 3 Sergievsky • • •• ••••••••••••• U B 4 Dorosbkevich • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 11.5 4 5 Rusakov • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 11 5 6 Kopylov,I •• • • •••••••••••••• W M 7 Nezhmetdinov • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 10.5 6-9 8 Rasbkovsky ••••• • •• •• • •••• W M 9 Terentiev ••••••• • ••••••••••• W M 10 Kotkov • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 10 10 11 Belov • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 9.5 11-13 12 Kopylov,N • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 9.5 11-13 13 Ostrovsky • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • �5 1�13 14 Chernikov • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 9 14-15 15 Shestoperov • • • • • •••• • • • • • 9 14-15 16 Zaitsev.A • • • • • • • • • • • • • 7.5 16-17 17 llivitsky • • • • • • • • • • • • • •• 7.5 16-17 18 Vasiliev • • • • • • • • • • • .6.5 18--19 19 Titenko • • • • • • • •• • • 6.5 18--19 20 Terpugov • • • • • • • • 5 20 1 i 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 W 11 U 13 M � � TI U � �

=220= semf.ftnal• 37th USSReh 1 Roltov-on-Don 1 !169 Play us 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 g 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 Point a PlaC't 1 Zhukhovitsky . • • • • •• • • • • • • • • • • ll I 2 Ta imanov • . • • • • • • • • • • • • • •• 11.'• � 3Furman • . • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 11 'I 4 Bagirov • • • . • • • • • • • • • • • • • Ill.'• 4h 5 Vasiukov • • • • . • • • • • • • • • • • • Ill.'• 41• . 6 Kuzmin • • • • • • • • • • • • • Ill.'• " " 7 Kanpengut • • • . • • • • • • • • • 'I 7H . 8 Nezhmetdinov • • • • • • • • • • • • ,, 7H 9 Kudryashov • • • • • • . • • • • • • M.� � 10 Dzindzhihashvili • • • • • • • . • • • • • M 10 11 Ageichenko • • • • . • • • • • • 7.'J 11 1'1 12 Grigorian, L • • • • • • • • • • • • • 7.'> IHI 13 Zaharov • • • • • • • . • • • 7,') 11-1'1 14 Pavlenko • • • • • • • . • • • 7 14 . 15 Bukhman • • • • • • • • • b,') 15 111 16 Kapelyush • • • • • • • • • 6.� I� Ill 17 Veselovsky • • • • • • . • 5.5 17 18 Gusev • • • • • • • 4.� IH 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18

=221 =