No bloodshed...no knife....and yet.... - Karpov - Timman a clinical assassination!

Thrown into despair, when people could not understand his great work in the film "The Mirror",  Andrey Tarkovsky, that great Russian filmmaker, asked "....who was I working for, and why?"

When a great filmmaker can ask that question....not out of non-viewership....but out of non-understanding of his great art....

....I too in my own little way, can pose that question at me.... and let Fernando Pessoa defend my audacity ....with his own words...."because I am nothing, I can imagine myself to be anything!"

Why am I writing....no no..it is never out of compulsion....

.....I am always amazed and humbled at observing the act of creation....whatever be the field and understanding that fine thread which runs invisibly under anything that is created and makes us feel that in creation....true creation...there is a point where everything converges....unity....!

....and at times....its effulgence overflows....despite everything....that is me....


I am well aware of the futility of language and as Kafka said, ".....language is only lent to the living, for an undefined period. All we have is the use of it. One must be careful in one's possession of it."


......and I went through the following game, yet again, annotated by Karpov himself....classical and acclaimed 


Anatoly Karpov - Jan Timman, Montreal, 1979

1.e4 d6; 2.d4 Nf6; 3.Nc3 g6; 4.g3 Bg7; 5.Bg2 OO; 6.Nge2 e5; 7.OO Na6; 8.Re1 c6; 9.h3 Re8; 10.Bg5 h6; 11.Be3 Qc7; 12.Qd2 Kh7; 13.Rad1 Bd7; 14.g4 Rad8; 15.Ng3 Bc8; 16.f4 b5; 17.a3 b4; 18.ab4 Nb4; 19.Nce2 ed4; 20.Nd4 a5; 21.c3 Na6; 22.Qc2 Bd7; 23.Nf3 Re7; 24.Bf2 Be8; 25.Qd3 Qb7; 26.Ra1 Nc7; 27.Ra5 Rdd7; 28.b4 Ne6; 29.Be3 c5; 30.f5 Nd8; 31.b5 Kh8; 32.Bf2 Qc7; 33.Ra4 Qb8; 34.c4 Ra7; 35.Ra7 Ra7; 36.e5 de5; 37.Ne5 Ra2; 38.Bc5 1 - 0

       

                        (Before the first move)                             (After the last move)

.....and what happened between these two moments was a great dialogue between two masters....through their ideas.....where one prevailed over the other!

Before the first move, what transpires in the mind's of chess players, as they sit face to face...facing or not facing each other, is a very interesting and intriguing story.

Each one will have different pattern and it might vary from game to game....corresponding to whom and when they meet...!  The pregame home preparation is another subject of its own.....!!

In this same event, Tal wrote thus on facing Larsen....."Preparing for a game with Larsen is a matter which is either too complicated, or too simple. The Dane's repertoire contains practically all opening systems, and one's chances of guessing the variation are no better than in a lottery. Therefore at home it was decided to begin the game with the advance of the King's pawn. At that the preparation came to an end...."

For this game, Karpov knew for sure that in reply to 1.e4 he would end-up countering the Pirc-Ufimtsev....a favourite of Timman.

"....the Pirc-Ufimtsev defence has acquired the reputation of being a not altogether correct opening and all possible attacking schemes have been intensively worked out for White. Years have been required to get away from such an incorrect approach, but even now, many unhurried strategic plans are, from inertia, still in the background...." - Karpov

6.Nge2 and its precursor 4.g3 and 5.Bg2....occurred rarely, it seems, as Karpov mentioned.  And this Knight made only one more move in the entire game...and yes, that fianchettoed Bishop stayed where it was but yet....Karpov ensured that their presence was felt even if they weren't willing to move!!

"To all appearances, not the best solution. Now any attempt to bring this Knight into play will involve either giving up the center (.....ed4), or a considerable loss of time. For the moment these considerations may seem rather too general, and even abstract in nature. But as the middlegame approaches, and particularly in the middlegame itself, the scattered state of Black's forces will cause him much inconvenience." - Karpov

7....Na6
Like in life, where we go through every day with certain plans....which work at times and fails at times....and yet the journey itself never ceases; so in chess, a master conceives something and goes through the moves and moments during a game...eschewing or entertaining a past...with great expectations in the present....!  If it succeeds, it succeeds....if it fails, it fails....yet the journey of a true artist of this great royal game continues....unabated....till his last breath!

Chess thrives on the diversity of views....on positions, possibilities....and the varied ways of looking at it....both between various minds and by the same mind at varied periods!

...it is precisely due to this diversity, chess thrives and attains greatness!

"Again a typical device, which pursues the same aim - the accumulation of small advantages. Then all these imperceptible factors merge together to form that superiority of one set of pieces over another, which is customarily called a positional advantage." Karpov

Whether to play ....h6 now or after a preliminary exchange in the center....or not to play at all is a basic unresolved conundrum. Karpov gives one beautiful variation for it's abstention: 10.....Qb6 whatever you do in Chess....at least till the point where the game drifts to a particular geographical location on the chessboard....is oriented towards the control of center and avoiding weakness, especially your pawn structure.  The move .....Qb6 is towards this end, but has its flaws....11.Rb1! ed4; 12.Nd4 Nc5; 13.b4! Nce4; 14.Be4! Ne4; 15.Ne4 Bd4; 16.Nf6 exposes the dark-holes around the Black King!

"One thing that is indisputable is that the movement of this powerful piece always reflects markedly on the position, and therefore a post for it must be sought with particular care. If there is no necessity, as, for example, in the present case, this should in general not be hurried. It follows that Black should perhaps have restricted himself to the prophylactic 11.....Kh7 - since all the same this move will have to be made sooner or later!" Karpov

11.....Qc7
Prophetic words by Karpov! But how often we see masters, however great they may be, succumb to this...

Compare this with Karpov's much acclaimed Qc2!! 11 moves later!

Why Chess is often associated with life and life situations...?  It is because of this futility of human perception......despite his great experience and knowledge...  Like in life, in Chess too, we commit 'sins' minor or major....notwithstanding our 'knowing'!!  Otherwise, many great masters who profess such profound ideas would turn undefeatable....at all times....and the fact that even that great Cuban who came closest to immortality, had to lose 36 games in his career is a proof enough....!

Such is the fleetingness of this life and its moments.....such is the fleetingness of Chess and its moves...!

"On the threshold of the middlegame it is always useful to weigh up the resources of both sides, and to make adjustments to one's initial plans. Here I sank into thought, and soon came to the conclusion that straight-forward play in the centre would not get me anywhere. Now, with the aim of seizing fresh territory, the Kingside pawns must be advanced. But I did not wish to play 14.f4 immediately, it would be illogical to increase the tension straight away - all the same White will subsequently have to play g3-g4, so why not first utilise a resource for strengthening the position, such as g3-g4 and Ng3. At the same time White also solves an important strategic problem - he reinforces his e4 pawn." Karpov

13......Bd7 (and 14.g4)
It is such sort of internal dialogues, that a master entertains during play....makes him produce profound creations which stand and shine like cornerstones in the history of this great art!  These dialogues are not restricted within oneself...it coalesces and colludes with that of his opponent's inner dialogue and the divergence and discordance in that coalition which results in results!

And most importantly, there is a great deal of disparity in ascertaining such critical moments....which define true mastery and its advancements.

"A subtle move, which, firstly, prevents the Black Knight from moving to c5 (in view of the reply b2-b4!), and secondly, continues the previous strategic policy of strengthening of the e4 pawn." Karpov

22.Qc2!!
Karpov's words are as economical and profound as his moves!  If we take a stock of the position; first and foremost....White has two beautiful pawn islands which exercise greater control over important squares both in the center and on the wings, hampering Black pieces activity.  Whilst Black's three islands and weak isolate a-pawn is precipitating the cause.  whilst none of the pieces....the Queens; Rooks; Bishops and the Knight on d4 and f6 are not equal despite their almost similar posting...in terms of control of squares and exerting pressure on the opposition; the chief determining factor is that estranged Black Knight on a6 is awfully bad in comparison to the White's which is standing fine on g3.

Karpov now commences a regrouping, giving final touches before concrete action to reap the benefits!

"Another subtle move, which essentially concludes the game. Black is unable to defend his Q-side weaknesses, while 26.....Qb2?? loses to 27.Reb1 trapping the Queen." Karpov


And one does not require comment to the process of plucking the ripe fruits....leading to the final position that we saw in the beginning!


"A walk is, instead, an investigatory exercise that begins with energy and ends when...(and only when)...exhausted..." wrote Alexandra Horowitz in her great book "On looking" which deals about how observant or rather non observant we are, in our day to day life....with our tunnel vision and the much repeated and adored trite term "focus".

And we tire only if we embark on a journey on compulsion and not on purpose!

To take a journey in life and chess are not different....there are countless ways to approach both life and a chess game....and we tire only if we fall in a pattern and look for mundane stuff which does not trigger our creative instincts.....makes us think....differently!


...till we meet again!

Silent assassin!

"In character, manner....in style, and in all things, supreme excellence is...simplicity!" - Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

....wrote E.H.Aitken, the great naturalist, in his wonderful book "A Naturalist on the prowl"...."I have always felt a strange pleasure in seeing without being seen. Even when I was an indolent little man of six, it gave me rare delight to hide under a sofa and peep at the feet of everybody who passed through the room. "Ha! he does not know that I am here," I said to myself, and "chortled." I cannot quite satisfactorily analyse this kind of enjoyment and am not sure it is very respectable, but it is very human. Stolen waters are sweet, and bread eaten in secret is pleasant.

I have long since given up the pastime of prying into the secret ways of my kind, and to crawl under furniture would now be irksome to me; but I wander into the jungle, where "things that own not man's dominion dwell," and there I prowl, climb into a tree, sit under a bush, or lie on the grass, and watch the ways of my fellow-creatures, seeing but unseen, or, if seen, not regarded; for beasts and birds and creeping things, except when they fear men, ignore him, and so they go about their various occupations, their labours and their amusements, without affectation and without self consciousness. This is the way to read the book of nature....."

.....and this...incidentally, is also the way to read, observe and indulge in a game of chess.....allowing what the game has, has to offer you....and it corresponds to the level of your interest, intensity....never mind about the level of mastery....

.....for, what we know is what we know....and what we can ingest!

And, do not forget, you grow with every passing move, game, hour.....years!

Fasten your seatbelts....you are going to get jolted violently by a most improbably assassin....

.....therefore, I am not going to give the players names in the beginning....not willing to spoil the fun!


Vassily Smyslov vs Vladimir Liberzon ; Riga - 1968


1.c4 e5; 2.Nc3 Nc6; 3.g3 g6; 4.Bg2 Bg7; 5.Rb1 d6; 6.b4 a6; 7.e3 f5; 8.Nge2 Nf6; 9.d3 OO; 10.OO Bd7; 11.a4

"The opening phase is over and White sets about implementing his main strategic plan." - ...........

And his strategic plan is to gain space on the Queenside, push back the c6 Knight so that he gains more control over the center and carry out an advance in the center to gain space, control more squares and lines!

Simple!

11.....Rb8; 12.b5! ab5; 13.ab5 Ne7; 14.Ba3!

A cunning move, whose purpose is revealed in the next move that White makes!

14.....Be6; 15.Qb3!

This move not only defends the c4-pawn to enable the push 16.d4, but also forestalls ....c5; which would be met with, as the player himself gave, 15.....c5? 16.bc6 bc6; 17.Qb8 Qb8; 18.Rb8 Rb8; 19.Bd6!

15.....b6; 16.d4! e4

Black has to keep the center closed as allowing 17.de5 would only give space and line for White in the center too.....

17.d5 Bf7; 18.Nd4 Qd7; 19.Bb2!

.....Black pieces suffocate for space...and squares.....so.....

19......g5; 20.Nce2 Kh8; 21.Ra1!? Ng6; 22.f4!

"This move nips Black's counterplay in the bud. If 22.....gf4, then 23.Nf4 Nf4; 24.Rf4 and the f5 pawn is doomed, or if 22.....g4; 23.Ra7! followed by Nc6 or Ne6, when Black's position is unenviable." ...........

So far, like Aitken, we were hiding under the furniture to see the pieces move here and there.....now, we shall slowly move into the forest and let the pieces......!

22.....ef3; 23.Rf3 Ne7; 24.Nc6! Rbe8; 25.Ned4!

One by one, the beasts are showing up....!

25......Nfd5!?; 26.cd5 Bd5

.....and we thought only we were unaware of what was coming...

......and was hoping for 27.Qc2 Bf3; 28.Bf3 Ng6!

27.Nf5!!

"An unexpected Queen sacrifice that precipitates a storm of complications.
If now 27.....Nf5; 28.Qd5 Bb2; 29.Raf1!  

Or if 27......Bb3; 28.Bg7 Kg8; 29.Nce7 Re7; 30.Bf8 Kf8; 31.Ra8 Kf7; 32.Nd4 Kg7; 33.Nb3 wins"

So....

27.....Rf5; 28.Bg7 Kg8!

If instead 28.....Kg7; 29.Qc3 followed by Rf5 etc.  Now, comes the second jolt....!!

29.Rf5!!

The White Queen obstinately refuses to move......and this time Black Bishop embraces her!

29.....Bb3; 30.Rg5 Ng6; 31.Bh6 Qe6; 32.h4!!

This move underlines the helplessness of Black!

32.....Qe3; 33.Kh2 Qc3; 34.Rf1 Bc4; 35.Rf2 Qe1; 36.Rgf5! Bb5; 37.Bd2! Qb1

Leads to a poetic mate, befitting the masterpiece game!

38.Bd5 Kh8; 39.Bc3 Ne5; 40.Ne5 de5; 41.Re5! & Liberzon who played Black Resigned


Want to know who played the White side.......

please go and double click on the space where his name should be.....!!

Tal Tal Tal.....the fearless warrior!

"But here is the finger of God, a flash of the Will that can,

Existent behind all laws, that made them and, lo, they are!

And I know not if, save in this, such gift be allowed to man,

That out of three sounds, he frame, not a fourth sound, but a star.

Consider it well: each tone of our scale in itself is nought;

It is everywhere in the world - loud, soft, and all is said:

Give it to me to use! I mix it with two in my thought:

And, there! Ye have heard and seen: consider and bow the head!

-Robert Browning 

Give Mikhail Tal a piece or two and he will mix it with his thought and you will him put those pieces in some most improbable squares and create a very unique constellation....

.....you would love seeing it .....with a gaping mouth....irrespective of the outcome!

Meanwhile, as Bronstein said, don't believe those who claim to have seen it all....!


The beauty is in the human 'ability' for imperfection.....and those who do not wish to thrive with imperfections, uncertainty and chaos and claim to have 'analysed perfectly' 'understood completely'....have no place in the realm of art!

I shall show you glimpses of Tal's unusual disposition of his pieces, which has beauty written all over it.....!

Botvinnik wrote in his 100 Selected Games: "The player's greatest art consists in exploring the possibilities of bringing the game to a position where the normal relative value cease to operate....for instance, a Queen may become weaker than a pawn. One cannot arrive at such a critical position by way of simple, superficial moves. The road lies through sacrifices..."

The magician from Riga is peerless, in this art...!

The purpose of this article is not to analyse those incredible positions......you have innumerable sources for that!  But, just to engulf us with joy of merely seeing those extinct specimens.....and if possible, try finding clues for what induced Tal to go for it in the first place.

I pre-warn the readers not to use engines in search of 'correctness' and arrive at conclusions....it will only succeed in marring the beauty....

Moreover, the games played between two human minds on most occasions will not pass the test of the brute force of Chess Engines....then as well as now......for the considerations of human minds are vastly different from what the emotionless machine considers.

......the beauty lies in the interludes .....where the two human minds sitting across the board meet....surreptitiously between the moves......and what makes one decide on a particular choice....

Position - 1
Mikhail Tal - Hans Joachim Hecht, Varna - 1962

Tal, after sacrificing his Queen for the Knight on f6, had just played 21.Bd3-f5!!....

.....now three of his pieces are enprise!!  This intuitive concept draws strength from the control of all squares around the Black King....we cannot undermine the role played by that little pawn on 'g7'!

Black has three captures; none of which gives him respite....the seeds for which was sown by him on move 12....

Black had just played 12.....Nf8.....where he could have castled....instead.

Tal always has an eye on the opponent's King....even if it is pushed to the corner......and if you leave it in the center for undue length of time....!?

13.c5!?

The purpose of this pawn sacrifice is to open the line of Bishop.

13.....dc5; 14.de5! Qe5; 15.Qa4 c6?!

This weakens the d6 square, which, along with the weakness of e5-square amplifies the trouble. But the other option 15....N6d7 is not an easy move to make over-the-board as it ties up the other Knight from going to his intended e6 or g6, enabling castling.

16.OO! Ng6; 17.Nc4 Qe6; 18.e5! b5; 19.ef6!! ba4; 20.fg7 Rg8; 21.Bf5!!

And we have arrived.....though this is not a linear line, with no options.....

The moves 12.....Nf8 and 15.....c6 were the chisels with which Tal sculpted the initial position.....!

......it always gives pleasure to explore the options oneself using a chessboard.....not computer and engine.....


Position-2
Efim Geller - Mikhail Tal, Alekhine Memorial - 1975

You rarely get to see a King travelling this far in the middlegame and aid in delivering mate!!

The White King commenced its journey on move 29 and travelled via h2-g3-f3-g4-g5-f6-e6-f7 to reach the f8 square after 12 moves....of course with the help of Black!


Position - 3
Mikhail Tal - Bent Larsen, Denmark - 1969

Is that a misprint.....that Bishop on f7!?  ......how on earth did it reach there?

Though Tal lost this game (after taking undue risk, as he usually does!), the diagram begs to be showcased.....sheerly for the audacity to put that Bishop on f7, deep in the enemy camp!

....this is how it landed there....on move 20.....on the strength of the pawn on f5 and Knight on f4.

.....and remained there



Position - 4
Pionerskaia Pravda Readers - Mikhail Tal, Telephone - 1969

The game started thus...

1.e4 e5; 2.Nf3 Nc6; 3.Bc4 Nf6; 4.Ng5 Bc5; 5.Nf7 Bf2; 6.Kf2 Ne4; 7.Kg1 Qh4......

......till it reached the above position after White's 26th move.

White was either busy going for Black's King or fending the threats against his own King and hence did not get time to attend to his Queenside pieces!!

Here, Tal could have delivered an incredible mate with 26.....Nf4!! 27.Kh6 (if 27.Kh4 h5!! locks the White King and mates him on g4 square!) Rg6; 28.Kh7 Rg7; 29.Kh6 Kg8!! followed by mate on g6 square!

 

Missing which, the game ended in a draw!



Position 5
Mikhail Tal - Rafael Vaganian, USSR Ch - 1974

In this game, Tal was on the receiving end of the combination.

Having got an overwhelming position, Tal's Rook got lured by Vaganian to h8. Even after that, Tal enjoyed an advantage and in the position above, 31.e4 would still have secured him a clear advantage.  Instead, he played.....

31.Be4? Nf3!! 

A shocker! Tal receiving in Tal style!!  Now, 32.gf3 leads to straight perpetual checks and if 32.Bf3 Bf3; 33.Rh2 (33.gf3 Qe1=) Be4!! followed by perpetual checks as trying to escape PP by playing Kh3 leads to mate after ......Qh4!

32.Qd3 Ng1!!

Brilliant resource! Now 33.Qe2 Ne2; 34.Kf2 (34.Kf3? Ng1! 35.Kf2 Be4 followed by .....b5 wins!) 34.....Nc3 and White's a-pawn falls and Black's queenside pawns turn mobile and dangerous

33.Kh2 Nf3! 34.Kg3 Ng1 Drawn!



Position - 6
Mikhail Tal - Leonid Stein, USSR Ch - 1969

Riddle: How the Rook landed on g6 square.....with his Bishop on h4 already en-prise !!

This was the position from where it started!

Without getting too much by way of assessment, we can safely conclude that White has a good game with fully blown pieces ready for an offensive!

As Tal would never be satisfied with normal comfortable position, he initiated complications with.....

14.Rd6!? g5; 15.Rg6!!

Neither of the two pieces could be captured: the Rook is immune because of the pin on the f7 pawn and 15....gh4?? 16.Qh6 mates!

15......e6; 16.Rg7! 

This is what Tal was aiming for, the control of dark squares, with the exchange sacrifice Rook for that dark-squared Bishop!

Stein conducted a very active defence; first by removing the King from the Kingside and taking him for a walk across the board and then counter-attacked White to hold the game!


Position - 7
Mikhail Tal - Filipowicz, Halle - 1974

How did the Rook land on b3....hemmed by Black's pawns and Bishop on the front and his own pawns on the rear!?

The seeds were sown on move 34....position below!

After complicated play in the early part of the middlegame, the above position was reached where Tal had just played 34.Rc1! with the idea, 34....Bb3? 35.cb3 Rd3; 36.Kd3 maintaining equilibrium! The game subsequently ended in a draw!



We shall conclude this article by a very amusing incident, narrated by Tal himself! Tal was suffering from persistent kidney problem and despite that -as he does in chess- he risked his life with smoking and consumption of alcohol. During 1969, the situation became really serious and they decided to remove his diseased kidney. He was deeply in love with the game and never allowed even his poor health to come in the way of his creations on the chessboard!

"I travelled to Tbilisi, and there they removed my diseased kidney, which evidently should have been done 2-3 years earlier. If it is possible to talk at all about renaissance, that was how I felt when I came around after the operation. On roughly the fifth day (from the date of operation), I was already impatiently awaiting my next tournament!

It was just at this time that a rumour began to spread, to the effect that during the operation, I had suffered a complete and final 'defeat'. It reached Yugoslavia, and my friends from the Moscow 'Mossovyet' Theatre, who were on tour there at that time, were saddened to read in a number of Yugoslav newspapers of the death of Tal. I hastened to reassure my friends, quoting them the words of one of the classic humorist: 'The rumours about my death are greatly exaggerated!'

The tournament about which I had been dreaming began in Tbilisi roughly a month after the operation and I played there with particular pleasure. I don't know whether this really happened, but later I was told that when I sacrificed my Queen against Suetin, the following comment was made: 'not bad for a dead man, don't you think!"


Position - 8
Mikhail Tal - Alexey Suetin, Goglidze memorial - 1969

Tal had just played 20.Qe5!! and after 20....de5; 21.ef7 1 - 0

....as 21.....Kf8; 22.Bh6# and 21.....Kd8 and .....Kd7 loses to 22.Bf5!


Seldom you will find Tal not jeopardising his pieces and make them overwork.....both to attack and mate or at times escape!  They were so unfathomable that on many occasions, his opponents could not succeed in finding the right resource, retort, defence.

Tal was absolutely fearless both in life and in his games....for a man who could let-go his kidney and pain, letting go his pieces was never difficult.....

.....but his opponents suffered on most occasions!

Hope you enjoyed this short journey!

Chess played in poker style!!

"You must take your opponent into a deep forest where 2+2=5, and the path leading out is only wide enough for one" - Mikhail Tal


As Tarrasch said, Chess has the power to make men happy like music and love....

.....and when it is played in poker style, it is loveliest and makes us happiest!

Walter Browne, the co-author of the game, which I am dealing in this article, was also an accomplished Poker master......and he perceived chess no different from.....!

Walter Browne - Anthony Miles: Tilburg, 1978


1.c4 b6

The Brit had an infatuation with the corner pawns and had the audacity to reply Karpov's 1.e4 with 1.....a6??!!! and 2.d4 with 2......b5!?!! and....... win!

2.d4 e6; 3.e4 Bb7; 4.Bd3 f5; 5.ef5!!?

And this position, introduced by Browne, survived the test of time and stayed in master class chess even in engine era!

"I had not planned to sacrifice a Rook before the game!" said Browne; which makes it all the more beautiful........ and I know, to most of the players of today, who are accustomed to engine preparation, this may not make any sense!   For, the engine would have already spat on the face of "his follower" with a "-1.66" and made him shiver!

 

"Fear is not even an option" said Alex Honnold - the free rock climber who has the habit of climbing solo, without straps and rope, on the steep 90 degrees (at times 45 degrees defying gravity!) rocky mountains which are as high as a kilometer and more!  A slip would mean death in mid air, much even before the body hits the ground far below!

If that is so, then parting a mere Rook in a corner is as cozy as living in mother's womb!  That is how great masters like Morphy, Alekhine, Keres, Tal, Bronstein, Spassky.....perceive giving material!

It will not be out of place to quote this fine anecdote!

Bronstein was playing White against Tal in USSR Championship, Riga in 1968.....and he played KingsGambit to reach the following position:

........when he suddenly played 15.g3! parting the Rook for Knight.  Keres commenting on the game wrote: "This move is typical of Bronstein! Few players would have considered a move like this here. When I asked Bronstein after the game why he did not play simply 15.Re1 check first, he looked at me as if I could not understand anything about the position and then said: 'I could not miss the opportunity to play a move like 15.g3 against Tal, which I may never get in my whole life'!


5....Bg2; 6.Qh5 g6; 7.fg6 Bg7; 8.gh7 Kf8; 9.Ne2!!

In such positions, you don't count material, but care about activity of your pieces and count on the inactivity of your opponent's! And.... of-course, an incarcerated or naked opponent's King makes one bolder and the choice easier!

What about the much hyped calculations.....I have seen Robert Hubner gobbling pages and pages of informant.... that too for the type of game that he plays (in non computer and engine era!) and if he had seen 99 % of those what he gave, he should have landed in mental asylum long back!

Of course, he would not have spent an hour of his limited time on what would happen in the US Presidential election or planning his vacation!

Browne wrote; "I spent around an hour weighing all the options. First off, capturing the Knight didn't work, but if I didn't take it I'd be a whole Rook down for two measly pawns! OK, the pawn on 'h7' has value and if I could develop quickly and use the g-file!? It all finally sunk in that it was all or nothing so I felt compelled to go for it!"

Very sensible comment and probably he would have seen a few options to a depth of 3 to 5 moves and weighed the end positions: for eg.,he considered:

9.hg8=Q Kg8; 10.Qg6 Bh1; 11.Bg5 Qf8; leading to Position- A &
9.Nf3 Nf6; 10.Qh4 Bh1; 11.Ne5 d6; 12.Ng6 Kf7; 13.Nh8 Qh8; 14.Nc6 leading to Position -B
&
9.Ne2! (the game continuation)

                 Position - A                                                              Position - B

                       

                                                             (analysis diagrams)

.....and both the above positions doesn't look optically pleasing enough to letgo a Rook!

The time spent would be more towards imagining where you want your pieces to be so that they look threatening and effective and how to go about bringing them to such squares! Probably, you might even put yourself in the shoes of your opponent and see how you feel!

You need to imagine where your pieces will be optimally placed so that they become worrisome for your opponent and would appear uncomfortable in his mind's eye!

Purely a mind game and what you need is great vision and imagination!  Chess problems are conceived and solved imaginatively and not through raw calculations.....calculations are mere tools to execute strategic plan and check the tactical viability and generally they extend only to a few moves deep.

Calculating myriad of variations and which branch out like a tree 'a la Kotov' should not be taken too seriously!

9.Ne2!!

The Knight gets the additional option of going 'h5' by taking this route, where it would reinforce the pin on f6!

9.....Bh1; 10.Bg5

What does Browne consider here!? "A very important point, setting up a lethal pin. Two clearly inferior alternatives were 10.hg8=Q? Kg8 and Black can offer a trade of Queens, which I abhorred. And 10.Nf4? would be an error since 10.....Ne7 covers g6 and my Bishop is blocked from g5."

10......Nf6

......and what else could Black consider here?  How can he adequately defend 'g6' square whilst thwarting White's pieces from attacking his King?  Two principle options fail miserably:

10.....Ne7 11.Nf4 Qe8; 12.Ng6 Ng6; 13.Bg6 Qc8; 14.Qh4! threatens Be7# as well as Qf4-f6#

(analysis diagram)

10......Bf6 so as to challenge that lethal Bishop which landed on g5 11.hg8=Q Rg8; 12.Qh6 Kf7; 13.Qh7 Rg7; 14.Bg6! Kf8; 15.Bh6 Nc6; 16.Nf4 followed by Nh5 and mate.

(analysis diagram)

More than the moves, visualising the position with prospective placement of pieces is what a player strives.

11.Qh4 Nc6; 12.Nf4 Kf7?

This move was admonished and 12.....Nd4!? or 12.....e5 were suggested as better try.  But as you can see both these moves and its responses does not give relief to Black King and his Knight on f6. White will bring out the Queen side Knight, Castle long and make his Rook participate in the attack and in the meanwhile Black will barely be able to keep the play going and his chief problem, besides attack on his bare King is the inactivity of his Queen and the Queen Rook.  Also, the lethal pawn on h7 will bring in unexpected twists in the tale!

But the move played and the follow up precipitates the issue by reducing all his three major pieces to puppets.

13.Bg6 Ke7

This is an attempt to take the King away to Queenside, but in the process Black loses material which decides the issue.  13....Kf8; 14.Nd2 Nd4; 15.OOO Nf5 (16.Nh5 was threatened!) 16.Bf5 ef5; 17.Ng6 Kf7; 18.Nh8 Qh8; 19.Bf6 Bf6; 20.Qh5 and 21.Rh1 wins is a linear variation given by both the player and the analysts.  But a mere look at the position after 13......Kf8 (below) indicates how precarious Black's position is and the very discomfort of Black and the active pieces of White would ensure that the moves flow!  Of course, the players might engage themselves in working out a few moves and stop to weigh the resulting positions and...... yet will play the move which their mind throws at that particular moment driven by the desire and pressure and what not.....!

(analysis diagram)

Never think that a master will always play 'the correct' move.....'correct' or 'wrong' are very subjective terms!  Korchnoi said, "all obvious moves look dubious in analysis after the game'!

14.Nh5 Qf8; 15.Nd2 e5; 

If 15.....d5, then 16.OOO Be4; 17.Ne4 de4; 18.Be4 is not rosier for Black.  The move played was an attempt to eliminate that Bishop on g5 and hoping for lessening the pressure on f6 Knight.

16.OOO Nd4; 17.Rh1 Ne6; 18.f4! d6; 19.Ne4 Ng5; 20.Qg5 Bh6; 21.Qh4! Bg7

If 21.....Bf4; 22.Nf4 ef4; 23.Re1 crushes Black!

22.fe5 de5; 23.Rf1

The last nail on the coffin!

23.....Kd7; 24.Nef6 Bf6; 25.Nf6 Kc8; 26.Be4 c6; 27.Qh3 Kb7; 28.Bc6!

The acceptance of this gift mates the King in three moves and abstention delays it a little further!

Hence Miles Resigned!

A fine game by Walter Browne where he remained a Rook down from move 9 to 17.....but ensured that Black remained two Rooks down!!

One King is struck in the center, while the other wanders.....both willingly!

A word of caution for those who are in their early stage of understanding this great game of Chess: Don't follow this example, until you reach a level of chess comprehension.....I mean, leaving the King in the center......!

.......and, pure chess lovers and masters.....are invited to take a stroll along with the Kings.....how inviting they were!

Paul Keres.....one of my favourite chess player (if I had a son, he may well have got that name or Alekhine!); is one of the true artist of chessboard whose creations will remain etched in the minds of true chess lovers..... and is one of those greats like Rubinstein and Bronstein...on whose head, Caissa would loved to have placed her crown....and smiled!

Alas......

This game is for celebrating the centenary of this great player....!

Siebold - Paul Keres, Correspondence - 1932


1.e4 e6; 2.d4 d5; 3.Nc3 Nf6; 4.Bg5 Bb4; 5.e5 h6; 6.Bd2 Bc3; 7.Bc3 Ne4; 8.Qg4 Kf8

The first movement sideways! A typical move in certain variations of French Defence.

9.Bd3

9.Bb4 c5; 10.Bc5 Nc5  does nothing great for White and 10.dc5? Nc6 will only end up in disintegrating White's center.

9.....Nc3; 10.bc3 c5; 11.h4 Qa5; 12.Kd2

......and White King follows his counterpart's footsteps....!  Yet, this too is a typical French move.

12.....Nc6

French center is very unique and mastering the various center formations and their resolutions would lead one to make a great stride in understanding chess! 

13.Nf3 cd4; 14.Nd4 Ne5; 15.Qg3 Nd3; 16.Qd6!

16.......Ke8!?

......there he goes again!  The choice was between aiding his Bishop to come out or to travel to 'h7' so that....that Rook does not remain tucked in that corner!

17.cd3 Bd7; 18.Rhe1 Rc8!

Responding to a threat with a threat!  The threat was.....19.Nf5!    As Keres himself wrote, both the players threw caution to winds and were aiming for the 'other' King!

19.Rac1 Qc5! 20.Qe5! Kf8!

Back again!

Because of the positioning of both the Kings, there are various possible ways of continuing the attack and defence.  Such play creates poetry with both players writing the verses in tandem!

21.g4

As Keres mentioned, 21.Re3 followed by 22.Nb3 and a subsequent d4 merits attention.  But, White has other ideas!

21......b5; 22.f4 b4; 

23.cb4!?

Who wants peace.....which 23.c4 would have ensured!?

23......Qb4; 24.Ke3! f6; 25.Qh5 e5!?

"Nowadays I would have prepared this thrust with 25.....Re8 but at that time I was especially entranced by the forced continuation of the text-move with all its combinative possibilities. And indeed it must be granted that the ensuing portion of the game is not lacking in complications." - Keres

26.fe5 Re8; 27.Rf1!

Now, 27.....Kf8 (so as to threaten ......Re5!) is impossible as 28.Rf6! would mate the Black King

27.....Qb6! 28.Rb1 Qc7; 29.Nf3 Qc5; 30.d4 Qc2!?

Wow!  What a position!!  White Queen is in grave danger as .....g7-g6 intends gobbling it and his King is roaming in the center, shelter less. Despite this, he derives strength, to continue the fight, from the activity of his Rooks, Knight and that lethal pawn on e5!

31.Ng5!! g6; 32.Rf6 Kg7; 33.Rb7!!

Truly a remarkable position....which generally occurs only in Chess Compositions!!

Human mind has limitations in calculating accurately....but Chess can sustain its beauty only by nurturing this limitation of human minds and not by subjecting such positions to gruesome rape by the 'chess-engines'.

The games that I deal with, in this blog, may not stand the test of those goddamn engines.....to hell with them!  I am least bothered by the assessment of this position arrived through consulting engines.... I am least bothered about the "correctness"....

......rather I wish to deal with imperfections and languor and devour the 'imperfect beauty' that the human limitations bring in!

33.....gh5

Of course, 33......Re7 leads to a perpetual after 34.Ne6!

34.Rd7?

"But this mistake makes things much easier for Black. White should continue here with 34.Rf7 Kg8; 35.Rfd7! threatening mate in two. During the game I had prepared the following variation:

35.....Qg6; 36.gh5! Qf5 (36.....Qh5; 37.Rg7 Kg8; 38.Nh7! Rh7; 39.Rh7! =) 37.Rg7 Kf8; 38.Rgf7 Qf7; 39.Nf7! Rh7; 40.Nd6, though all the same a win for Black here is not certain.

It is natural that, in the case of a young player, his concrete analyses betray far fewer inaccuracies than his positional assessments. This example is a case in point. Whereas in this game I formerly judged quite a number of positions in a manner either open to dispute or even incorrect, the concrete analysis reproduced above is in fact quite good. Only the conclusion is open to doubt, because after 40.....Rb7; 41.Nb7 Ke7 Black retains excellent winning chances (or does he!?)

But the analysis also is itself not wholly accurate. At the time I had not at all noticed that instead of playing 36.....Qf5 Black could also try 36.....Qf6! Apparently this move wins without much difficulty since both 37.Nh7 Rh7; 38.Rh7 Qf5! and 37.Rf7 Re5; 38.de5 Qe5; 39.Kd3 hg5; 40.Rfe7 Qf5 and Qe8 wins......

Nevertheless White disposes of a most surprising defensive resource here, to wit, 37.Rf7 Re5; 38.Kd2!!

It becomes manifest that Black's own Rook renders the win difficult. If the Rook on e5 is removed (from the board.....literally!) then Black wins simply by 38.....Qd4 followed by 39.....hg5.Now, however, if Black wants to play on for a win, he has nothing better than 38.....Qd8whereupon there follows 39.de5 hg5. A detailed analysis of this position would lead us too far and in any case does not pertain to the annotations already made here, but it is clear that Black retains some winning prospects. In any event a most interesting variation." - Keres

Coming back to the game.....after 34.Rd7?

34.....Kg8; 35.Rff7 Qc3! 36.Ke2 Re5!

Made possibly only by the presence of White Rook on f7 thereby threatening no mate!

37.de5 Qe5; 38.Kd3 hg5; 39.Rf5 Qe4 White Resigned

On a open board with the White King so naked, White Rooks have no chance of survival!


Very sad to see a side lose this game!  A pure poetry!