Annotated Game #034: Mikhail Chigorin - Siegbert Tarrasch, St. Petersburg 1893 Adapted and Condensed from Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia Contents: ++1. Mikhail Chigorin ++1.A Chess career ++1.B Style and demeanour ++1.C Later life ++1.D Legacy ++1.E In popular culture ++2. Siegbert Tarrasch ++2.A Chess career ++2.B Chess teachings ++2.C Clash with hypermodern school ++2.D Contribution to opening theory ++2.E Famous Tarrasch combinations ++3. Mikhail Chigorin - Siegbert Tarrasch, St. Petersburg 1893 ++1. Mikhail Chigorin ++1. Mikhail Chigorin Mikhail Ivanovich Chigorin (also spelled Tchigorin or Tschigorin) (November 12, 1850 - (October 31 old style), Gatchina, Russia - January 25, 1908, Lublin, Poland) was a leading Russian chess player. He served as a major source of inspiration for the "Soviet school of chess", which dominated the chess world in the middle and latter parts of the 20th century. ++1.A Chess career Chigorin was born near Saint Petersburg and moved to the city some time later. His father worked in the Okhtensk gunpowder works. Chigorin's parents died young and Chigorin entered the Gatchinsk Orphans' Institute at the age of 10. He became serious about chess uncommonly late in life; his schoolteacher taught him the moves at the age of 16, but he did not take to the game until around 1874, having first finished his studies before commencing a career as a government officer. Once smitten with the game, he terminated his employment and started life as a chess professional. In 1876, he started a chess magazine, Chess Sheet, which he edited until 1881 (only 250 subscribers in all of Russia). He played a series of matches with established masters Emanuel Schiffers (1878-1880) and Semyon Alapin (1880) and notched up a large plus score against each. It was not long after that he was regarded as the best player in the city and possibly the whole of Russia. His first international tournament was Berlin 1881, where he was equal third (+10-5=1) with Simon Winawer, behind Johannes Zukertort and Joseph Henry Blackburne. There were 17 master competitors in this event. At the great London tournament of 1883, he finished fourth (+16 -10 =0) behind Zukertort, Wilhelm Steinitz and Blackburne. There were 14 competitors in this double round robin event. The tournament included practically all the best chessplayers in the world. At the very strong tournament of New York 1889 he was equal first with Max Weiss. Following this great success he challenged the world champion Steinitz for a match with the World Championship at stake. The match was played at Havana in 1889, but he lost 10.5-6.5 (+6-10=1). A second match was played also at Havana in 1892, but he still lost 12=-10= (+8-10=5). His overall record against Steinitz was very close (+24-27=8). He also played a much publicised 'telegraph match' against Steinitz in 1890, devised to settle a theoretical argument. Chigorin had the slight advantage of choosing the openings in advance from a list supplied by Steinitz and duly won both games. Towards the end of the century, his standing at home and abroad continued to rise, and he joined the ranks of the world's top four or five players. His reputation as a match player too, continued to grow. He drew an 1893 match with Siegbert Tarrasch in Saint Petersburg (+9-9=4) and in his lifetime, maintained a narrow plus score against the German (+14-13=8), who was a fearsome player in his own right. He had a strong plus score against Richard Teichmann (+8 -3 =1), but a poor record versus Dawid Janowski (+4 -17 =4). Most of his losses to Janowski occurred late in Chigorin's life, when he was past his best. In all likelihood, his best performance occurred at the Hastings 1895 chess tournament, where he placed second, ahead of reigning world champion Emanuel Lasker, Tarrasch and former world champion Steinitz. All of the greatest players of the time participated in the event and Chigorin's outstanding result included winning his individual encounter with tournament victor, Harry Nelson Pillsbury. Pillsbury had great respect for Chigorin's ability and for good reason, as Chigorin had a marginal lifetime plus score against him (+8-7=6). Although Chigorin had a poor record against Lasker in serious play (+1-8=4), he was victorious with the black pieces in their first game of this 1895 tournament, in which he outplayed Lasker in a classic two knights versus two bishops ending. In other major competitions, he was joint winner at Budapest 1896, and beat Rudolf Charousek (+3 -1) in the playoff. At Cologne in 1898, he was equal second with Charousek and Wilhelm Cohn after Amos Burn. His 7th place finish at London 1899 was disappointing in comparison, but this was another tournament notable for its impressive list of participants. At Monte Carlo 1901, he placed equal third after Janowski and Carl Schlecter. A highly skilled exponent of gambit lines, he won the King's Gambit-themed Vienna Tournament of 1903 and defeated Lasker (+2 -1 =3) in a sponsored Rice Gambit tournament in Brighton. The latter was however something of a hollow victory, as it was emerging that the Rice Gambit was unsound and so, playing the black side in each game gave him a distinct advantage. At Lodz 1906, in a four-person event, he finished second to Akiba Rubinstein. Alongside these international events, he also entered and won the first three All-Russia Tournaments of 1899, 1900-01 and 1903. These prestigious successes further cemented his reputation as Russia's best player. Upon losing the fourth such event in 1906, he challenged the winner Gersz Salwe to a match and came out the victor (+7=3-5). ++1.B Style and demeanour His playing style featured a well honed tactical ability and an imaginative approach to the opening. He rejected many of the inflexible doctrines put forward by Tarrasch and Steinitz, but accepted Steinitz' teachings about the soundness of the defensive centre. Indeed, he went on to add to the development of the concept through the work he carried out with closed variations of the Ruy Lopez. He also pioneered some variations of the Slav Defense. Although a large bearded man, Chigorin was also described as 'decidedly handsome'. Frank Marshall once commented on the highly agitated state that would possess Chigorin when faced with difficult positions. Aside from the usual frantic foot-tapping and crossing of legs, he would occasionally become "a bundle of nerves", at which point his temperament could turn "quite fierce". ++1.C Later life As an ambassador for Russian chess, Chigorin was a shining example; he gave many lectures, wrote magazine articles and chess columns and subsidised or otherwise supported a number of periodicals to keep them afloat despite low readership levels. He also founded a chess club in Saint Petersburg and tried for many years to establish a chess association, an attempt that finally succeeded just a few years after his death. According to the Canadian International Master Lawrence Day, Chigorin travelled with the young Fedor Bohatirchuk to Russian events in the 1905-1907 period, helping to train him. After moving to Canada following World War II, Bohatirchuk then trained Day. In 1907, Chigorin failed badly in a chess tournament and clearly not in good health, was diagnosed by doctors in Carlsbad with an advanced and untreatable case of diabetes. This prompted a prediction that he had only months to live, whereupon he returned to his estranged wife and daughter in Lublin and died the following January. In 1909, a Chigorin Memorial tournament was played in St. Petersburg, after that many more followed, from 1947 onwards mainly in Sochi and from 1990 back in St. Petersburg. ++1.D Legacy Through his original talent, lively games and prolific teachings, many Russians regard Mikhail Chigorin as the founder of their 'School of Chess', later to become known as the Soviet School of Chess. Overshadowed to some extent in the 1920s by the exciting new theories of the hypermodern movement, Chigorin's influence nevertheless demands a prominent and permanent place in the Soviet chess hegemony of the 20th century. Chigorin has several chess openings or variations of openings named after him, the two most important being the Chigorin Variation of the Ruy Lopez (1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. Re1 b5 7. Bb3 d6 8. c3 O-O 9. h3 Na5) and the Chigorin Defense to the Queen's Gambit (1. d4 d5 2. c4 Nc6). Whilst the former has remained popular through the 1900s, the latter struggled to attract a great many devotees until relatively recently. Igor Miladinovic has used the Chigorin Defense with great regularity, but its current revival owes much to the efforts of Alexander Morozevich, who has championed the opening both in play and in his book - The Chigorin Defense According To Morozevich (published 2007). Another opening line invented by Chigorin is 1.e4 e6 2.Qe2 in the French Defense. It is now generally regarded as a forerunner of King's Indian setups, but Chigorin also played it with other ideas (such as b2-b3) in mind. ++1.E In popular culture A famous Chigorin game played against Steinitz in 1892 is used as the base for the plot of The Squares of the City, a 1978 science- fiction novel by John Brunner. ++2. Siegbert Tarrasch Siegbert Tarrasch (March 5, 1862 - February 17, 1934) was one of the strongest chess players and most influential chess teachers of the late 19th century and early 20th century. Tarrasch was born in Breslau, Prussian Silesia. Having finished school in 1880, he left Breslau to study medicine in Halle. Later he lived most of his life with his family in Nuremberg, Bavaria, and later in Munich. He had five children. Tarrasch was Jewish, converted to Christianity in 1909, and a patriotic German who lost a son in World War I. Yet he faced antisemitism in the early stages of Nazism. Tarrasch was a highly esteemed chess writer. It was Tarrasch who wrote in his Preface to The Game of Chess (1931) that oft repeated line: " Chess, like love, like music, has the power to make men happy. " ++2.A Chess career A medical doctor by profession, Tarrasch may have been the best player in the world in the early 1890s. He scored heavily against the aging Steinitz in tournaments, (+3-0=1), but refused an opportunity to challenge for the world title in 1892 because of the demands of his medical practice. Soon afterwards, Tarrasch drew a hard-fought match against Steinitz' challenger Mikhail Chigorin (+9-9=4). Tarrasch also won four major tournaments in succession: Breslau 1889, Manchester 1890, Dresden 1892, and Leipzig 1894. However, after Emmanuel Lasker became world chess champion in 1894, Tarrasch could not match him. Fred Reinfeld wrote: "Tarrasch was destined to play second fiddle for the rest of his life." For example, Lasker scored much better against common opponents, e.g. vs. Chigorin, Tarrasch had +2 over 34 games while Lasker scored +7 in 21; vs. Akiba Rubinstein Tarrasch was -8 without a single win, while Lasker scored +2-1=2; vs. David Janowski Tarrasch scored +3 compared to Lasker's huge +22; vs. Giza Marsczy, Tarrasch was +1 over 16 games while Lasker scored +4-0=1, vs. Richard Teichmann Tarrasch scored +8-5=2, while Lasker beat him all four tournament games. However, Tarrasch had a narrow plus score against Harry Nelson Pillsbury of +6-5=2, while Lasker was even +5-5=4. However, Tarrasch remained a powerful player, demolishing Frank Marshall in a match in 1905 (+8-1=8), and winning Ostend 1907 over Schlechter, Janowski, Marshall, Burn, and Chigorin. There was no love lost between the two masters. The story goes that when they were introduced at the opening of their 1908 championship match, Tarrasch clicked his heels, bowed stiffly, and said, "To you, Dr. Lasker, I have only three words, check and mate" -- then left the room. When Lasker finally agreed to a title match in 1908, he beat Tarrasch convincingly +8-3=5. Tarrasch continued to be one of the leading players in the world for a while. He finished fourth in the very strong Saint Petersburg tournament of 1914, behind only World Champion Lasker and future World Champions Jose Razl Capablanca and Alexander Alekhine, and ahead of Marshall, Ossip Bernstein, Rubinstein, Nimzowitsch, Blackburne, Janowski, and Gunsberg. His win against Capablanca in the 19th round, though much less famous than Lasker's win against Capablanca the round before, was essential to enable Lasker to achieve his famous come-from-behind victory over Capablanca in the tournament. This tournament was probably Tarrasch's swan song, because his chess career was not very successful after this, although he still played some highly regarded games. ++2.B Chess teachings Tarrasch was a very influential chess writer, and was called Praeceptor Germaniae, meaning "Teacher of Germany." He was editor of the magazine Deutsche Schachzeitung in 1897 and wrote several books, including Die moderne Schachpartie and Three hundred chess games. Although his teachings became famous throughout the chess world, until recently his books had not been translated into English. He took some of Wilhelm Steinitz's ideas (e.g. control of the center, bishop pair, space advantage) and made them more accessible to the average chess player. In other areas he departed from Steinitz. He emphasized piece mobility much more than Steinitz did, and disliked cramped positions, saying that they "had the germ of defeat." Tarrasch stated what is known as the Tarrasch rule, that rooks should be placed behind passed pawns - either yours or your opponent's. Andrew Soltis quotes Tarrasch as saying " Always put the rook behind the pawn.... Except when it is incorrect to do so." ++2.C Clash with hypermodern school He was a great target of the hypermodern school, led by Richard Reti, Aron Nimzowitsch, and Savielly Tartakower, all of whom criticized his ideas as dogmatic. However, many modern masters regard Tarrasch's actual play as not dogmatic. For example, Tarrasch annotated his victory on the Black side of the Advance French against Paulsen (Nuremberg 1888): 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. e5 c5 4. c3 Nc6 5. Nf3 Qb6 6. Bd3 cxd4 (Tarrasch gives this an exclamation mark, and points out that 6 ... Bd7 allows 7. dxc5 with a good game. However, most accounts credit Nimzovitch with such anti-dogmatic hypermodern inventiveness when he played 7. dxc5 against Gersz Salwe almost a quarter of a century later (Karlsbad 1911) in this game) 7. cxd4 Bd7 8. Be2 Nge7 9. b3 Nf5 10. Bb2 Bb4+ 11. Kf1 Be7 12. g3 a5 13. a4 Rc8 14. Bb5 Nb4 15. Bxd7+ Kxd7 16. Nc3 Nc6 17. Nb5 Na7 18. Nxa7 Qxa7 19. Qd3 Qa6 20. Qxa6 bxa6 21. Kg2 Rc2 22. Bc1 Rb8 23. Rb1 Rc3 24. Bd2 Rcxb3 25. Rxb3 Rxb3 26. Bxa5 Rb2 27. Bd2 Bb4 28. Bf4 h6 29. g4 Ne7 30. Ra1 Nc6 31. Bc1 Rc2 32. Ba3 Rc4 33. Bb2 Bc3 34. Bxc3 Rxc3 35. Rb1 Kc7 36. g5 Rc4 37. gxh6 gxh6 38. a5 Ra4 39. Kg3 Rxa5 40. Kg4 Ra3 41. Rd1 Rb3 42. h4 Ne7 43. Ne1 Nf5 44. Nd3 a5 45. Nc5 Rc3 46. Rb1 Nxd4 47. Na6+ Kd8 48. Rb8+ Rc8 49. Rb7 Ke8 50. Nc7+ Kf8 51. Nb5 Nxb5 52. Rxb5 Ra8 53. f4 a4 54. Rb1 a3 55. f5 a2 56. Ra1 Ra4+ 57. Kh5 Kg7 58. fxe6 fxe6 59. Rg1+ Kh8 60. Ra1 Kh7 61. Rg1 a1=Q 62. Rg7+ Kh8 0-1 ++2.D Contribution to opening theory A number of chess openings are named after Tarrasch, with the most notable being: * The Tarrasch Defense, Tarrasch's favorite line against the Queen's Gambit. * The Tarrasch Variation of the French Defence (3. Nd2), which Tarrasch considered refuted by 3...c5, although this is certainly not thought so today. * The Tarrasch Variation of the Ruy Lopez, also sometimes known as the Open Defence (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0-0 Nxe4). ++2.E Famous Tarrasch combinations Diagram: White: King at g1, Queen at f3, Rooks at c1 and c2, Bishop at e5, Pawns at a5, b3, d3, f4, g2, h2 Black: King at b5, Queen at d7, Rooks at c8 and g8, Bishop at h6, Pawns at a6, b4, c5, d4, h7 Tarrasch versus Allies, Naples 1914 In the game Tarrasch versus Allies, Black seems to be holding here (at least against immediate catastrophe), because the black queen guards against Qb7+ (followed by Kxa5 Ra1#), while the black rook on c8 defends against Rxc5#. Tarrasch played the ingenious interference move 31. Bc7! (known as a Plachutta interference because the pieces both move orthogonally). This blocks off both defences, and whatever piece captures becomes overloaded. That is, if 31. ... Rxc7, the rook is overloaded, having to look after both the key squares, since the queen is blocked from b7. So White would play 32. Qb7+ Rxb7, deflecting the rook from defence of c5, allowing 33. Rxc5#. But if Black plays instead 31. ... Qxc7, the queen blocks off the rook's defence of c5 and becomes overloaded: 32. Rxc5+ Qxc5 deflects the queen from defence of b7, allowing 33. Qb7+ Kxa5 34. Ra1#. Black actually resigned after this move. Diagram: White: King at g1, Queen at d3, Rooks at f2 and f4, Bishop at b2, Knights at d2 and f5, Pawns at a4, b3, c2, g3, h2 Black: King at h8, Queen at e5, Rooks at g5 and g8, Bishops at d5 and d8, Knight at h5, Pawns at a6, b4, c5, d4, h7 Tarrasch versus Walbrodt, Hastings 1895 In the game against Walbrodt, Tarrasch played rather poorly, and his opponent had the better of it for a long time. But the game is redeemed by the following startling combination: 34. Rxd4 seems obvious, because 34. ... cxd4 allows 35. Bxd4 winning the queen. But Black has a seemingly strong counterattack which had to be foreseen ... 34. ... Nxg3 35. Nxg3 Rxg3+ 36. hxg3 Rxg3+ 37. Kf1! Rxd3 and now the startling 38. Rg4!! with devastating threats of 39. Rf8+ mating and Bxe5 not to mention cxd3 to follow. Black resigned. ++3. Mikhail Chigorin - Siegbert Tarrasch, St. Petersburg 1893 St. Petersburg 1893, Round 4 White: Mikhail Chigorin Black: Siegbert Tarrasch Result: 0-1 C00: French ECO: Defense, Chigorin Variation Notes by R.J. Macdonald 1. e4 e6 (The French Defense. Black is planning 2.... d5 to contest white's control of the center. A similar idea is the Caro-Kann Defense, where black plays 1. ... c6 and then 2.... d5.) 2. Qe2 (This theoretical oddity is known as the Chigorin Variation. White's second move prepares to advance the e-pawn, but raises the question of how to develop the white bishop on f1, since it is now blocked by the queen. Playing g3 and positioning the bishop on g2 is the most logical plan.) 2. ... c5 (Black has already reached equality. Other possibilities here are (a) 2. ... d5 3. exd5 Nf6 4. Nf3 Nxd5 5. g3 Nc6 6. Bg2 Be7 7. 0-0 0-0 8. Nc3 b6 9. d4; (b) 2. ... e5!? 3. Nc3 Nc6 4. Qc4 Nf6 5. Nf3 a6 6. d4 b5 7. Qd3 Bd6 8. Be2 Bb7 9. Bg5 exd4 10. Nxd4; or (c) 2. ... Nf6 3. Nf3 Nc6 4. Nc3 Bc5 5. Qc4 Be7 6. e5 d5 7. Qf4 Nd7 8. Bb5 0-0 9. 0-0 f6, in each case giving black full equality. With the text move there is the potential for transposition into the Sicilian Defense.) 3. g3 Nc6 4. Nf3 Be7 5. Bg2 d5 6. d3 Nf6 7. 0-0 0-0 8. Nc3 a6 (A dubious alternative is 8. ... dxe4 9. dxe4 Nd4 10. Nxd4 cxd4 11. e5 dxc3 12. exf6 Bxf6 13. bxc3 Bxc3 14. Rb1 Qc7 15. Rd1 Rb8 16. Ba3 Rd8 17. Qe3 Bf6 18. Qxa7 Be5 19. Qxb8 1-0, as in the game E. Ghaem Maghami (2604) - M. Manninen (2377), ICC INT 2009) 9. Bg5!? (Also playable is 9. a4 d4 10. Nd1 (10. Nb1 e5 11. h3 Bd7 12. Na3 b5 13. Bg5 Qb6 14. Bd2 Rfc8 15. Nh2 c4 16. axb5 0-1, as in the game I. Galant (1869) - W. Sobierska (2004), Wroclaw 2008) 10. ... Bd7 11. Ne1 b5 12. axb5 axb5 13. Rxa8 Qxa8 14. f4 Qa1 15. Bd2 e5 16. f5 Ne8 17. b3 f6 18. Nf2 Nd6 19. g4 Be8 20. h4 Bf7 21. g5 Ra8 22. Qg4 Kf8 23. h5 Ke8 1-0 in 48 moves, as in the game K. Hromadka - S. Alapin, Bad Pistyan 1912. Another possibility is 9. e5 Nd7, with equality.) 9. ... h6 (9. ... d4 10. Nb1 is slightly advantageous to black.) 10. Bf4 b5 (10. ... d4 11. Nb1 gives black a slight edge.) 11. Rfe1 (11. exd5 exd5 12. Ne5 Bb7 gives black a slight advantage.) 11. ... d4 (Black threatens to win material: d4xc3.) 12. Nd1 (12. Nb1 Qb6 gives black a slight advantage.) 12. ... Nd7 13. Kh1 (13. e5 Bb7 is strong for black.) 13. ... Re8 (13. ... e5 14. Bd2 gives black a moderate advantage.) 14. Rg1 (14. e5 Bb7 gives black a moderate advantage.) 14. ... e5 15. Bd2 Nf8 (15. ... Nb6 16. b3 gives black a moderate advantage.) 16. Ne1 Ne6 (16. ... Qc7 17. f4 and again black has a moderate advantage.) 17. f4 (The thematic attack. Now black has a slight advantage.) 17. ... Bb7 (White has a cramped position. 17. ... Qc7 18. f5 Nf8 19. Nf2 gives black a slight edge.) 18. f5 (White threatens to win material: f5xe6. 18. Nf2 Qc7 19. f5 Nf8 would give black a slight advantage.) 18. ... Ng5 (18. ... Nf8 19. Nf3 gives black a slight advantage.) 19. Nf2 Rc8 (19. ... Nh7 20. Nf3 and black is slightly better.) 20. Qh5 (20. Ng4 Qd6 slightly favors black.) 20. ... Nh7 21. Nf3 (21. Ng4 Nf6 22. Nxf6+ Bxf6 gives black a slight advantage.) 21. ... c4 (21. ... Nf6 22. Qh3 c4 would give black a moderate advantage.) 22. Bf1 (22. Ng4 Nf6 23. Nxf6+ Bxf6 and a slight edge for black.) 22. ... cxd3 (22. ... Nf6 23. Qh3 would give black a decisive advantage.) 23. cxd3 (23. Bxd3 Nf6 24. Qh3 gives black a moderate advantage.) 23. ... Ng5 (Better is 23. ... Nf6!? 24. Qh3 Bb4, giving black a moderate advantage.) 24. Bxg5 Bxg5 (Weaker is 24. ... hxg5 25. h4 Qd6 26. Nxg5 Bxg5 27. hxg5, where white would have a decisive advantage.) 25. Ng4 Kf8 (25. ... Be3 26. Be2 Qd6 27. f6 offers equal chances.) 26. Be2 (this move offers both sides equal chances.) 26. ... Bf6 (26. ... Kg8 27. Bd1 offers equality.) 27. h4 (27. Nxf6 Qxf6 28. g4 would give white a moderate advantage.) 27. ... Qd6? (27. ... Nb4 28. Nfh2 Nc2 29. Nxf6 Qxf6 30. Ng4 gives white a slight advantage.) 28. Nfh2 (Better is 28. Nxf6 Qxf6 29. g4 with a moderate advantage for white.) 28. ... Ne7 29. Raf1 (29. Nxf6 Qxf6 30. Raf1 gives white a moderate advantage.) 29. ... Ng8 (Now black has a moderate advantage.) 30. Bd1 Rc7 31. Bb3 Rec8 (31. ... a5 32. a3 gives black a moderate advantage.) 32. Nf2 (32. Nxh6!? is worth consideration: 32. ... gxh6 33. g4 with equality.) 32. ... Bd8 (Black has a moderate advantage.) 33. Qe2 (33. Nfg4 a5 34. a3 Bf6 gives black a moderate advantage.) 33. ... a5 (33. ... Rc5 34. Nf3 a5 35. g4 with a moderate advantage for black.) 34. Nf3 a4 (34. ... Rc5 35. Bd1 a4 36. g4 with a moderate advantage for black.) 35. Bd1 Bc6 (35. ... Ne7!? 36. Ng4 Nc6 37. h5 should be decisive for black.) 36. g4 (Black has a moderate advantage.) 36. ... f6 (36. ... Be8 37. g5 f6 38. Nh3 gives black a moderate advantage.) 37. Nh3 Be8 (37. ... Bb7 38. Rg2 gives black a moderate advantage.) 38. Qh2 (38. g5 Re7 is moderately good for black.) 38. ... Bf7 (38. ... b4 39. g5 Rc5 40. Rg3 would give black only a slight edge.) 39. a3 Bb3 (39. ... b4 40. axb4 Qxb4 41. g5 and black has a slight advantage.) 40. Nf2 (40. g5 Rc5 offers equal chances.) 40. ... Bxd1 (Black has a slim advantage.) 41. Nxd1 Rc2 (41. ... b4 42. axb4 Qxb4 43. g5 with a slight advantage for black.) 42. Qg3 b4 (Black threatens to win material: b4xa3. 42. ... Qe7 43. g5 R8c5 44. Rf2 slightly favors black.) 43. axb4 (White has a new passed pawn: b4 and has achieved equality.) 43. ... Qa6 (Black threatens to win material: Qa6xd3.) 44. Nf2 (44. g5 hxg5 45. hxg5 Qxd3 offers equal chances.) 44. ... Rxb2 (This gives black a slight edge.) 45. g5 hxg5 46. hxg5 Rcc2 (46. ... a3 47. gxf6 Bxf6 48. Nxe5 Bxe5 49. Qxe5 Qh6+ 50. Kg2 offers equal chances.) 47. Ng4 Key Move Diagram: 3b1kn1/ 6p1/ q4p2/ 4pPP1/ pP1pP1N1/ 3P1NQ1/ 1rr5/ 5RRK Position after white's 47th move. 47. ... Qd6?? (releasing the pressure on white's position. 47. ... fxg5 would be much better: 48. Nfxe5 Bc7, where Both sides would have equal chances. In this line if 48. ... Rxb4?? Black will choke on the pawn: 49. Qh3 Rbb2 50. Ng6+ Ke8 51. Qh8 is decisive for white.) 48. gxf6 (White now has a decisive advantage.) 48. ... Bxf6 (Or 48. ... gxf6 49. Ngxe5 Rg2 50. Ng6+ Ke8 51. Qxd6 a3 52. Rxg2 Ne7 53. Nge5 Rxg2 54. Qd7+ Kf8 55. Qxd8+ Kg7 56. Qxe7+ Kh6 57. Kxg2 fxe5 58. Rh1#) Key MMove Diagram: 5kn1/ 6p1/ 3q1b2/ 4pP2/ pP1pP1N1/ 3P1NQ1/ 1rr5/ 5RRK Position after black's 48th move. 49. Qh3?? (with this move White loses his initiative. Better is 49. Ra1. A shame that White overlooked this excellent chance. 49. ... Rxb4 50. Qh3 would give white a decisive advantage.) 49. ... a3 (this is a strong pawn. If instead 49. ... Rxb4?? the pawn grab will bring Black grief: 50. Nxf6 Qxf6 51. Rg6 and a decisive advantage for white.) 50. Nxf6 Qxf6 (50. ... gxf6 loses to 51. Qh7 Rg2 52. Rc1 Rbc2 53. Rxc2 Rxg1+ 54. Kxg1 Qe7 55. Rc8+ Qe8 56. Rxe8+ Kxe8 57. Qxg8+ Kd7 58. Qe6+ Kc7 59. Qc4+ Kd7 60. Kh2 Kd6 61. Qc5+ Kd7 62. Qa5 a2 63. Qxa2 Kd8 64. Qc4 Kd7 65. Qc5 Kd8 66. Qc6 Ke7 67. Qb7+ Ke8 68. Kg2 Kd8 69. Nxe5 fxe5 70. f6 Ke8 71. Qe7#) 51. Rg6 a2 Key Move Diagram: 5kn1/ 6p1/ 5qR1/ 4pP2/ 1P1pP3/ 3P1N1Q/ prr5/ 5R1K Position after black's 51st move. 52. Rxf6+?? (a weak move, ruining a winning position. Better is 52. Ng5 Ke7 53. Rxf6 Nxf6 54. Qh8 with equal chances.) 52. ... gxf6 (This gives black a winning game.) 53. Rd1 (53. Rg1 cannot undo what has already been done: 53. ... Rb1 54. Qg4 Rxg1+ 55. Qxg1 Rb2 is decisive for black.) 53. ... Rb1 54. Qf1 Rcb2 55. Nd2 Rxd1 56. Qxd1 Key Move Diagram: 5kn1/ 8/ 5p2/ 4pP2/ 1P1pP3/ 3P4/ pr1N4/ 3Q3K Position after white's 56th move 56. ... Rxd2! 57. Qc1 (Black has an easy win after 57. Qxd2 a1=Q+) 57. ... Rxd3 58. Kg2 (58. Qa1 Rd2 59. b5 Ne7 and black should win easily.) 58. ... Rc3 59. Qa1 (59. Qb2 is a last effort to resist the inevitable, but after 59. ... Rc2+!! black gives up material to nicely decide the game: 60. Qxc2 a1=Q and black should win easily.) 59. ... Rc2+ 60. Kf3 d3 61. Qd1 Rb2 62. Qa4 d2 (White resigned in view of62. ... d2 63. Ke3 Ne7 and black wins easily.) 0-1