Back to Basics / Reader annotations Stopping b2-b4.
31. b3 This square could be instead used by
the white queen to come to b6 and attack one of Black’s few weaknesses, such as the c5-pawn.
31. ... Rf5 32. Re2 Ref8 33. Rce1 b6 34. Rd1 Kg7 35. Qe1 Kf6
The king goes to b7 to protect the knight. Steinitz would love this “Long March”!
then 23. ... Nd6. After 21. ... Bxc1?! Black is down in material and should be lost— but such a sharp change in the course of the already bad (for Black) and getting worse game was psychologically, and prac- tically, not without merits. In this game, at least, it works out beyond Robert’s wildest expectations.
22. Nxd6 Nxd6
No better is 22. ... Bxb2 23. Nxc8 Bxa1 24. Nxa7!. 23. Raxc1 Rfe8
In this closed position, I figured Black is OK with the two knights. White is winning, but the road to victory isn’t easy or clear.
24. h5
Trying to open up the position. 24. ... g5 25. Qg4 h6
36. Qh1 Ke6 37. Kg1 Kd7 38. Qh3 Kc7 39. Qg4 R8f7 40. Rde1 Kb7
Black’s solid position is hard to crack,
especially in time-trouble, which my oppo- nent was mired in.
41. Kg2 Kc7
Just shuffling around to conserve time on the clock. In severe time trouble, it’s easier to
defend Black’s fortress than to search for a way to break it down.
42. Qh3 Kb7 43. Kg1 Kc7 44. Qh1 Kd7 45. Qd5??
70. ... Kf6 A blunder: 70. ... Ke8 or 70. ... Kf8 hold.
71. Rxd6??
With 20 seconds left, my opponent blun- ders. Eventually, I won. He who blunders next to last, wins. In
severe time pressure, White leaves his queen hanging—while 71. Qd8+ does win the knight, and the game.
45. ... Ne7??
Played quickly. 45. ... e4!! is very embar- rassing not to find.
46. Qa8 Nc6 47. Qh8 R5f6 48. b4 cxb4 49. axb4 Nxb4 50. Rxe5 At the time I thought this as a time-
I have no weaknesses. In my opponent’s
own words, a weakness is not a weakness unless it can be attacked. The last two moves make the game-
opening f2-f4 move more difficult to prepare. To justify his 24. h5, White had to follow up with 25. h6!? or 25. Qf3 (aim- ing at either f6 or d5).
26. Rfe1 (26. Qf3!—L.A.) 26. ... Nb4 27. Qf3 Rf8
Maybe Black can sacrifice a knight on
d3 here, e.g. 27. ... Nxd3 28. Qxd3 e4 29. Qa3 d3 30. Rcd1 Kh7. Well, it’s very good Robert is willing to
consider sacrificing the knight here—but actually playing 27. ... Nxd3 would be too reckless.
28. Qe2 Rce8 29. a3 Nc6 30. Qd2 a5 52. ... Nxe5
www.uschess.org 19
trouble blunder, but I now wonder if this sacrifice was made to open up Black’s position.
50. ... Nxd3 51. c5 bxc5 52. Qa8
Send in your games! If you are unrated or rated 1799
or be low, then GM Lev Alburt invites you to send your most instructive game with notes to:
Back to Basics, c/o Chess Life PO Box 3967 Crossville, TN 38557-3967
Or e-mail your material to
backtobasics@uschess.org
www.ChessWithLev.com
71. ... Rxc7, White resigned. Young Robert played this game—despite
an error or even an outright blunder here and there—with an impressive blend of maturity and élan. His opponent tried hard to win, even in severe time pressure—and came close to it, only to throw both a win, and even a draw, away on the 71st move. The game itself is an excellent tool to
study positional sacrifices, unusual material balances, and middlegame fortresses.
Instead, 52. ... Nxe1 takes the white rook out of action for some time.
53. Rxe5 Rxf2 54. Qa7+ Kd8 55. Qxa5+ Kd7 56. Qa7+ Kd8 57. Qb6+ Kd7 58. Qa7+ Kd8
Here, I was under five minutes so the
following moves were reconstructed later, but there is no way of knowing if the moves are accurate. My opponent was down to one minute.
59. Qxc5 R2f6 60. Qxd4 Kd7 61. Qa7+ Kd8 62. Qb6+ Kd7 63. Qa7+ Kd8 64. Qb8+ Kd7 65. Qa7+ Kd8 66. Qd4 Kd7 67. Rd5 Re6 68. Qa7+ Ke8 69. Qb8+ Ke7 70. Qc7+
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76