Documente Academic
Documente Profesional
Documente Cultură
FINDING
CHESS
JEWELS
improve your imagination and calculation
Contents
About the Author
Contents
Introduction
1 Jewels
Jewels: Solutions
4
5
6
14
77
2 Brooches
Brooches: Solutions
100
172
3 Necklaces
Necklaces: Solutions
207
299
Introduction
In general I consider that in chess everything rests on tactics. If one thinks
of strategy as a block of marble, then tactics are the chisel with which a
master operates, in creating works of chess art.
Tigran Petrosian
I am sure this is not the first workbook of chess tactics you hold in your
hands. However, it is a bit different from the collections of exercises based
on the principle of competition, in which you collect points and then proudly
count yourself amongst experts or, regretfully, amongst dullards. Here,
however, you will enjoy every exercise, whether you find its solution or
have to look back after seemingly fruitless efforts. Thats because the
solutions are always hidden, unexpected and spectacular that was the
criteria of selection.
There are two kinds of beauty in chess: the beauty of paradox, where the
Gordian knot of problems is cut with a tactical strike or a subtle, hidden
manoeuvre; and the beauty of logic, where a player, using his opponents
minor inaccuracies, consistently imposing more and more strokes, paints
the canvas of victory. This book deals with the first kind of beauty. Pay
attention to the fact that I have not said anything about sacrifices. Indeed, a
sacrifice, a break from the routine notion of material relations, always
causes fascination, but it is by no means a compulsory condition of
brilliancy.
enemy pawns. Such moves are relatively easy to find in attack, but very
hard in other circumstances. Only training and experience can help here.
Calculation
The other important issue related to chess tactics is how to calculate
variations. A number of theories have been created on this matter by
various authors, from Alexander Kotov to Valeri Beim. However, I agree
with Mark Dvoretsky, who said: A human is not a machine, hence there is
no ideal algorithm of calculation. Some tips are indisputable: you should
calculate in sharp, critical positions and stop if the position can be
evaluated without further calculation or when the calculation doesnt impact
your choice of a move. Here are some others, based on my own
experience and practice:
i. I recommend that before you start calculating, you set up a target,
adequate to the evaluation of the current position. It can be, for instance, a
win, an advantage, but also, for instance, the way of putting up the most
stubborn resistance in a poor position. If you have a lot of time, you can set
up a more ambitious target; under approaching time pressure it can be
more modest. It often happens that you must choose between a simple
move, easy to evaluate and not requiring extra calculation, and a
complicated continuation, which demands deep immersion. In that case the
target of calculation is clear: to get more than the simple continuation
promises. Knowing what you want to achieve will help you to accept or
decline particular moves and variations. It will be your guide in looking for
your or your opponents candidate moves (i.e. those which can help you to
achieve your goal or to prevent that, respectively).
ii. Dont move too fast into the variations: it is more important not to miss
anything, to take into consideration as many candidate moves as possible,
especially at the beginning of each line. It is less essential at the end of
variations, when you are approaching your target and just need to find one
of the ways, such as how to deliver a mate or to reach a draw.
iii. Regarding the order of variations to examine, there are two main criteria:
effectiveness and simplicity. Start with the variations which are most likely
to lead to the target (or for your opponent, to prevent his target), and,
ceteris paribus, the apparently easiest to calculate, the simplest and most
forcing.
iv. When you find a way to reach the target, you can either stop the
calculation, picking the continuation you have just found and skipping the
remaining options (a final check, including the Blumenfeld test, is still
needed see below) or, if you have a lot of time and feel that you have
made a bad bargain, try to find something better: raise your target, correct
your set of candidate moves accordingly, and go on.
v. It is much worse if you have apparently examined all possibilities and
have not found a way to reach the target. Then everything depends on your
feeling and the time on your clock. If it is running out, lower your target,
adjust your candidate moves accordingly and continue your calculation
within the new framework. It must be easier now; one of the variations you
have already found may fit the new target. If, however, the moment is
crucial, you have a lot of time and feel that your target should be reachable,
try to find new ideas, new candidate moves at some points of your variation
tree, and continue calculating.
vi. Of course, there can be various situations during the calculation phase.
Although normally you should try to calculate every variation to the final
conclusion (first of all, whether it suits you or not), you can, however,
abandon it if you feel that you are going in a wrong direction (the line is too
complicated and hardly right); at other times a new idea may cross your
mind, and if it is really crucial, you sometimes have to switch to it
immediately.
Additionally, Mark Dvoretsky has formulated several methods, which work
in particular situations:
i. Exclusion: when one of the moves (difficult to calculate) is definitely not
worse than all the others (for example, all the others lose, or they lead to a
draw while the move in question, being also good for a draw, may give
some winning chances), it can be made without calculation.
ii. Comparison: if one of the moves is definitely worse than another (for
instance, it simply loses a tempo), then you neednt calculate it.
iii. The emergency exit: in the middle of a promising variation you have a
simple way that doesnt completely satisfy you, but minimizes your losses.
It could be, say, a perpetual check or an opportunity to keep a small
advantage. Then you can go for that line, reach the critical point, and look
for a way to reach your target from a shorter distance without risking too
much in case that way doesnt exist.
It often happens, however, that a promising variation is too complicated to
calculate and that you dont see an emergency exit either. If there is no
other line leading to the target, experienced players often take a risk and go
for complications, trusting ther intuition. Alas, their intuition occasionally
betrays them, causing spectacular disasters.
The Exercises
The exercises collected in this book are taken from my own games and
from the grandmaster practice of recent decades. In fact, it is a collection of
jewels I have met on my road as a player and chess commentator. Most of
them are probably unknown to you. Indeed, game continuations dont
always coincide with solutions. Alas, grandmasters are humans too and
their imagination is not perfect. You will, of course, have the advantage of
knowing that the position contains something unusual; still, it will not always
be easy to find the hidden point.
The whole set of exercises consists of three parts. The first one (Jewels)
contains a number of relatively easy positions with single, although
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1.01
Plisetsky,D - Krasenkow,M Moscow 1980
27...b1+! deflected White's knight from the c-file. White resigned
in view of 27...b1+ 28.xb1 c1+. 0:1
1.02
Zlotnik,B - Krasenkow,M Moscow 1981
34...xf2+! dragging White's king into the knight fork 35.xf2 e4+
36.g1 xd6 and Black converted his extra pawn.
1.03
Krasenkow,M - Fedorov,A Leon 2001
44.g8+! cleared f8 and forced mate; 1:0
44.g8+ h6 (or 44...xg8 45.f8# ) 45.h4+ h5 46.f6+ xf6
47.xf6#.
1.04
Krasenkow,M - Karpov,A Wijk aan Zee 2003
29...e1! deflected White's rook. White resigned in view of 29...e1
30.g2 (or 30.xe1 xf3# ) 30...xf1 31.xf1 xf3+. 0:1
1.05
Krasenkow,M - Strutsovsky Moscow 1978
1.12
Krasenkow,M - Nogly,C Dortmund 1992
34.xd5! Destroying the defence of Black's king. c7 Or 34...exd5
35.b7+ with a quick mate. 35.xc5 and Black resigned. 1:0
1.13
Krasenkow,M - Mikhalevski,V Saint Vincent 2000
16.xb5+! Black resigned in view of 16.xb5+ axb5 17.xb5+ d7
18.xd7+ xd7 19.e5+. 1:0
1.14
Krasenkow,M - Eremeev Moscow 1980
9.xf7+! was a typical decoy blow followed by a double attack:
xf7 10.g5+ e8 11.f3 h6 12.xa8 c6 13.e6 e7 14.e1
and Black resigned. 1:0
1.15
Bekman - Krasenkow,M Moscow 1981
With 14...xc4! Black removes the defender of the b5-pawn and
decoys White's knight into a pawn fork; a tactical trick, typical for the
Albin Counter-gambit, as was played in this game. After 15.xc4
axb5 16.xb6 xb6, Black had no material advantage, but his
1.19
Krasenkow,M - Frog,I Moscow 1985
After 12...h5? 13.xd5! , White won a pawn, since cxd5? 14.c7
would have lead to the loss of the queen. This tactical trick has been
seen plenty of times in this so-called Carlsbad structure, but there
will always be new victims.
1.20
Krasenkow,M - Kovalev,A Blagoveshchensk 1988
32...xg3! destroyed the defences of White's king and cleared the
e4- square for the black queen. 32...f3? 33.g2 is ineffective, but
Black had a better option.; White resigned, since if 32...xg3
33.fxg3 then e4, threatening both 34...Rh1+ and 34...Qxe3+. 0:1
1.21
Krasenkow,M - Westerinen,H Palma de Mallorca 1989
18.g5! This deflecting double attack wins Black's poorly placed
knight on h4. f6 Alternatively, 18...xg5 19.c8+ e7 20.e8+ f6
21.e4+; or 18...f3+ 19.xf3 xg5 20.a8+. 19.xh4 h5 20.g3
e5 21.gxh5 xh5 22.e4 g6 23.xd6 cxd6 24.a1 and Black resigned. 1:0
1.22
Krasenkow,M - Steinbacher,M Ostend 1990
23.c6! was a double interference motif. White is threatening both
24 Qxe6+ (if Black takes the knight with a minor piece) and (in the
event of d6 ) 24.xb5, with decisive material gains in both cases.
1:0
1.23
Krasenkow,M - Lehti,J Jyvaskyla 1991
Of course, Black's awful knight on g4 attracts White's attention:
16.e6! Another interference sacrifice. xe6 17.xg4! xe1+
18.xe1 and Black resigned, having lost a piece xg4 leads to
19.e8#. 1:0
1.24
Morozevich,A - Giri,A Biel (part one) 2012
Morozevich continued 33 f4? and finally lost (see also 3.89). Both
players underestimated Black's tactical weaknesses (f7 and the queen on d6), and so missed a typical decoy: 33.h6+! g8 Not
33...f6?? 34.f4+. 34.h8+! xh8 35.xf7+ g7 36.xd6, winning a pawn and certainly the game. 1:0
1.25
Krasenkow,M - Bacrot,E Wijk aan Zee 2008
30...e2+ 31.h1 b1! There is a similar deflection in 1.4) 32.h3 If
32.xb1 xf2# 32...xf2+ 33.h2 xf1 34.xf1 c3 and White
resigned.
1.26
Glek,I - Krasenkow,M Moscow 1982
34.d7! e5 35.xg7+! Black resigned in view of 35.xg7+ xg7
36.f6+ h8 37.c8+ f8 38.xf8#.
1.27
Krasenkow,M - Kharlov,A USSR Championship, Moscow 1991
Black's main tactical weakness is his knight on b8: 11.dxe6! White
meets the attack on his knight with a powerful counterblow. He now
wins heavy material. e7 Instead, 11...bxc3 12.exf7+ e7
13.fxg8+! is a nice underpromotion borrowed from the famous variation of the Albin Countergambit; (although in this case it is not
obligatory since 13.fxg8 xd1+ 14.xd1 xg8 15.xb8 also
wins.); Likewise 11...fxe6 12.xd8+ xd8 13.xb8 bxc3 14.bxc3 is
winning for White. 12.a4 12.a4 was equally good.; After 12.a4,
Black loses his ill-fated knight on b8: for example, a6 (if 12...a7
13.xb8 xb8 14.d7# ) 13.xc4 fxe6 14.xa6. Therefore he re-
signed. This has been my quickest win against grandmaster opposition so far. 1:0
1.28
Krasenkow,M - Shabodash,B Dnepropetrovsk 1985
After 14.de4! A spectacular move, exploiting the pin on Black's dpawn, and again a typical blow - this time for the Open Spanish;
after the deflection or exchange of the f6-knight the d-pawn will be
lost) xe4 If 14...h8 15.xf6 xf6 16.xd5 xg5 17.xc6.
15.xe4 h8 16.xf6 xf6 17.xd5 xd5 18.xd5, White went
on to convert his material advantage.
1.29
Krasenkow,M - Vovk,A Vlissingen 2009
32.e6! 32.xe5+ leads nowhere after g7; the text move clears
the seventh rank, which decides the game ] 32...xc4 Desperation;
In view of 32...xe6 33.xe5+ g8 34.xe6+; and 32...xb7
33.xe5+ g8 34.xd8+. 33.xe5+ Even better than 33.xc4
xe6. 33...g8 34.xd8 xd8 35.e7 c8 36.bxd7 xd7
37.xd7 xd7 38.xd7 fxe4 39.e7 and White won quickly. 1:0
1.30
Krasenkow,M - Tukmakov,V Ostend 1990
Black's f5-knight is trembling like an autumn leaf. Therefore it is easy to find the following tactical blow: 26.xg7! This clearance of the
h3-c8 diagonal is quite spectacular. Black resigned in view of
26.xg7 xg7 (or 26...xg7 ) 27.xf5. 1:0
1.31
Krasenkow,M - Macieja,B Polish Championship, Warsaw 2004
14.c5! A nice discovered attack followed by an intermediate move
prompted by Black's unprotected a6-bishop. xf1 14...dxe5?
15.a4+ wins. 15.cxd6! d7 16.xf1 with an extra pawn and a
winning position.
1.32
Krasenkow,M - Babu,S Calcutta 1995
17.g7! A typical clearance of the h-file. 17.xf6!? exf6 18.e4 was
far less effective: xg2+! 19.xg2 d4! 20.xf6 f5! with an excellent position. 17...h5 The only defence from the deadly check on
the h-file. As shown by 17...xg7? 18.h7+ f8 19.xf7#. 18.xh5
gxh5 19.xf6 exf6 20.xf6 Black is lost because White wins the
crucial f7-pawn. The game lasted only two moves: e5? 21.xf7
e2 22.d6 and Black resigned. 1:0
1.33
Krasenkow,M - Sokolov,I Cesme 2004
Black's pieces are extremely formidable, but the weakness of his
back rank allows White to defuse the situation: 26.xa5! Instead, I
played 26.c3? and, after f6, quickly lost the c5-pawn and the game. 26...xa5 27.xe4 xe4 28.xe4!, although his position is still
worse after xc5 29.d4 c3.
1.34
Krasenkow,M - Fier,A Barcelona 2009
Black is suffering a lot, but he could have relieved the pressure:
17...xe4! Clearing the f6-square will be followed by a double attack. Instead, my opponent didn't pay attention to White's unprotected rooks and continued 17...e7?, although he finally saved this
decisive game in the Sants Open thanks to White's enormous help.
18.fxe4 f6 19.e5 xg7 and White's compensation for the exchange is under doubt.
1.35
Jakovenko,D - Ponomariov,R Astrakhan 2010
Tactical weaknesses on the b-file attract White's attention: 22.xb5!
xb5 23.b1 c6 24.b3+ c4 25.xb7 and White won. 1:0
1.36
Hou Yifan - Krasenkow,M Wijk aan Zee 2007
White played 22 Rb8+?, missing the motif of a double attack:
22.xf4 xf4 23.d5! cxd5 24.xd5+ h8 25.xa8 and wins. 1:0
1.37
Wang Hao - Carlsen,Ma Biel 2012
46...b6! A spectacular deflection. 47.f2 Alas, 47.xb6? is impossible due to a3, when the pawn queens, which means that Black
now blockades White's passed pawn and keeps his own strong extra pawn. 47...fd7 48.e3 f8 49.f4 f5 50.exf5 exf5 51.d3 e7
and Black won. 0:1
1.38
Krasenkow,M - Notkin,M Moscow 1980
22.e3! g8 The only defence to 23 Rh3, but now a destructive queen sacrifice occurs. 23.xh7+! xh7 24.h3+ Black resigned in
view of 24.h3+ g7 25.h6+ h7 26.f8#. 1:0
1.39
Krasenkow,M - Kimelfeld,R Moscow 1988
53.c2! Clearing the h-file and preventing 53...Qxd2 for one decisive moment. e2 Desperation. 53...xc2 loses to 54.g5!, which
now threatens 55 Rh8+ - the main idea behind 53. Bc2 - and if e8
55.xg7; instead, in the case of 53...e8, White can mount his decisive attack in various ways: for example, 54.f4 (or 54.g5 f8
55.h8 d7 56.1h7 ) 54...xc2 55.h8+ e7 56.g5+ d7
57.xg7 ] 54.g5! f3+ 55.xf3 gxf3+ 56.xf3 8b3+ 57.g4
and Black resigned. 1:0
1.40
Sharipov,S - Krasenkow,M Samarkand 1979
How to exploit White's pinned bishop on c4? It is not difficult to find
38...e3!, clearing the fourth rank and threatening 39...Qh4. Black
obtains a strong attack. 39.c2? White collapses. In the case of
39.fxe3 h4 40.g3 e4!, Black wins the c4-bishop and obtains fair
winning chances; But not immediately 40...xc4? 41.d8+ g7
42.d7+! g6 43.xc7 xc7 44.xc7 xc7 45.f2, followed by
Kf3-e4 with a draw; 39.g3 is probably even worse, since Black maintains strong pressure after f4! 40.fxe3 fxg3 41.hxg3 g5. You
needn't calculate all these variations when playing 38...e3, since it is
the only way to pose problems for White. It is up to him to solve
them. 39...h4! 40.xf5 xh2+ 41.h1 d6+ 42.h3 Alternatively, 42.g1 e2! 43.xe2 h2+ 44.f1 h1#. 42...xc4 43.fxe3 f2
and White resigned. 0:1
1.41
Gasanov,E - Grachev,B Moscow 2010
29...xg4 Instead, Black played 29...f7? and the game finally ended in a draw. 30.xe8+ f7!. Chess is not draughts, so capturing
is not obligatory. Due to his mating threats, Black captures the e8rook on the next move and ends up with an extra piece: for example, 31.b7+ xe8 32.e1+ f8 33.e7+ g8.
1.42
Krasenkow,M - Astrom,G Stockholm 1989
26.g6+! hxg6 27.fxg6 g7 28.e6 and Black resigned, since his
collapse along the h-file is inevitable. 1:0
1.43
Tomashevsky,E - Grischuk,A Moscow 2012
27.e4 is the right move, with mutual chances. Instead, Tomashevsky played 27.e6? and after xe6 28.dxe6 Black's d-pawn unexpectedly moved forward: d5!. Since 29.xd5? d8 costs White a
piece, Black's central pawns suddenly became extremely dangerous and White was very lucky to eventually save this poor position.
1.44
Krasenkow,M - Mueller,M Erfurt 1999
With the opponent's king in the centre, even unexpected ideas can
occur: 32.xd4!! e7 The bishop can't be taken: 32...xd4
33.e5#; or 32...xd4 33.d2+. 33.xe7 xe7 34.f6 and Black
resigned. 1:0
1.45
Krasenkow,M - Georgiev,V Cappelle la Grande 1992
I played 25.g6?!, after which Black could have resisted by means
of 25...Raf8. Instead, 25.f7+!! (a decoying check from an unprotected square is never easy to find) leads to immediate mate or huge
material gains: for example, xf7 (or 25...d8 26.xg8+ ) 26.g6+
e7 27.f6+ e8 28.g6#.
1.46
Gorelov,S - Krasenkow,M Moscow 1988
After 35.f4+! Blockade of the f4-square, clearance of the f-file and a
decoy - a number of tactical motifs are combined in a single move.
Instead, 35.f3+ obtains nothing after f4. 35...xf4 If 35...exf4
36.f3#; 35...h4 is equally hopeless: for example, 36.f3+ g3
37.xe5+ xf4 38.f7, etc. 36.f1+ g5 37.f3+ f4 38.d4+
The simplest. 38.g5!? hh8 39.gxf6 is more sophisticated. 8...g5
39.e6+ h4 40.xf6 [ 40.xd8 xd8 41.c8 e7 42.f3 was go-
1.58
Anastasian,A - Krasenkow,M Moscow 1989
As was mentioned in the Introduction, some of the most difficult moves in chess are those which place your own pieces under attack by
enemy pawns. Once this psychological barrier has been overcome,
a lot of brilliant tactical possibilities become available. Here after
42.b5!!, The bishop is untouchable. (Black can't stop White's apawn), and so White wins the a6-pawn and subsequently the game.
Instead, 42.b5? c4+ 43.d2 d6 44.b6 merely leads to a draw.
1:0
1.59
Krasenkow,M - Abdulla,AR Mumbai 2008
To 20.xb5?!, Black replied with an amazing capture of a tripleprotected pawn: Instead, White had a good possibility in 20.b4 d4 (if
20...b6 21.xb5 and xf2+ doesn't work due to 22.xf2) 21.g2
b6 22.e3 with favourable complications. 20...xf2+!! Double deflection and a decoy, regaining the material. As a result, he traded
his weak b5-pawn for White's important f2-pawn. After 21.xf2
21.xf2?! c5+ 22.e3 xb5 is even worse for White. 21...xb7
22.xa7 xb2? Correct was 22...xd1 23.xd1 xb2 24.c5
xa3!, and it is Black who wins a pawn. 23.xd8 xd8 24.c6,
Black was still fine, but then he lost his way and the game.
1.60
Pirisi,G - Krasenkow,M Balatonbereny 1988
36...a2?? was a grave error: Black should have played 36...e2
with a clear advantage. 37.b8+ f7 38.f8+!!, and Black had to
resign himself to a draw; Due to the perpetual: 38.f8+ g7 (xf8
39.d8+ f7 40.f6+ e8 41.h8+) 39.g8+! h7 40.h8+!, etc.
A similar accident happened in V.Smyslov-M.Tal Zagreb 1959.
1.61
Urban,K - Krasenkow,M Polish Championship, Warsaw 2001
35.d7?? falls directly into a beautiful trap: Instead, White should
have played 35.d8 . In that case the pinned rook could not deliver
mate, and the queen sacrifice only leads to perpetual check.
35...exf2+ 36.xf2 xh2+!! There was also a second solution in
36...g2+!!. 37.xh2 Or 37.xh2 f1+ 38.g2 8f2#. 37...xf2+
38.g1 f1+ 39.g2 8f2#.
1.62
Krasenkow,M - Tregubov,P Nancy 2009
26...c3!! A clearance of the e5-square by placing the bishop under
the attack of the opponent's pawn, but as I said above, such moves
are always difficult to find. Instead, 26...xb2?? 27.xb2 e5 didn't
work due to 28.f1; and 26...d4? was actually played in the game,
where White parried all the threats with 27.f4 and eventually won.
27.bxc3 Otherwise White loses an Exchange. e5 and wins. After
27...e5, White's queen can't retreat in view of 28...Nf3 or, in the
case of 28.e3, then g4. 0:1
1.63
Krasenkow,M - Koneru,H Mumbai 2008
After 39.h6+ g6 40.c1!!, Black's rook is suddenly trapped. If
40.c1 b1 , then (or 40...c2 ) 41.e4+. In the game White failed
to find 40 Bc1, played 40.e4+, and the fight continued after f5.
XIIIIIIIIY
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2.01
Krasenkow,M - Schmidt,Wl Lubniewice 1994
After 23.f6+ f8 24.h7+ g8 or ...e8 25.xf7+! xf7
26.b3+, Black resigned; In view of 26.b3+ e8 27.g8+ f8
28.xg6#.
2.02
Umansky,V - Krasenkow,M Moscow 1980
34...a6! 35.xb5 xc3! The typical 'four-rook dance' wins a piece.
36.xb7 c2 37.b1 fxf2+ 38.g1 g2+ 39.h1 xg3. White
resigned.
2.03
Krasenkow,M - Markowski,T Polish Championship, Warsaw 2004
White's pieces are concentrated formidably against Black's king, so
it's time to look for a final blow: 39.gf6+! xf6 40.xg5!. A double
deflection. Black resigned, as capturing the rook leads to mate on
h7 or h8.
2.04
Chekhov,V - Krasenkow,M Lubniewice 1994
Following 14.d5! A typical tactic in this and similar structures.
exd5 15.cxd5 b4 White will regain the piece with a huge advanta-
ge in any case, but it was probably best not to yield him the bishop
pair. 15...cxe5 16.xe5 xe5 17.xe5 d6 does just that; although, of course, after 18.xg7, Black has little chance to survive
anyway. 16.d6 xd6 17.xd6 f8 18.h3+ e6 19.g5 xd6
20.exd6 c6 21.f3 b8 22.xe6 fxe6 23.f7, Black soon resigned.
2.05
Gaprindashvili,V - Lupulescu,C European Ch-ship, Warsaw 2005
23...g5! Obtaining a material plus. Since 23...xd2 24.xd2 d8??
doesn't work due to 25.xd8, the solution comes easily. 24.fxg5
24.d1 xd2+ 25.xd2 xd2 26.xd2 (and 26.xg5 xe3 27.xh6
d8+ 28.e2 c1 should be winning too) 26...gxh4 must be winning
for Black in the long term. 24...xd2 25.xd2 d8 26.f1 xd2
27.e1 c2 28.d1 Or 28.xc3 xc3 29.d1 hxg5 30.e2 g7.
28...c1 29.xc3 xd1+ 30.e2 g1 31.f3 hxg5 and Black gradually won.
2.06
Krasenkow,M - Ivanov,SA Moscow 1981
Black's king is the target: 26.f5+! gxf5 27.xe7 xe7 28.h6+
g8 29.xf6 Threatening both 30 Rxe7 and 30 Bh6) d6 30.xe7
2.17
Krasenkow,M - Keitlinghaus,L Dortmund 1992
White's queen is attacked and the first impulse is to retreat. Don't
hurry, though! Black's pieces are overloaded and White can strike a
powerful counterblow followed by a quick mating attack: 32.xd3!
Here Black resigned in view of xc3 33.xd7 c8 34.gxg7+ h8
35.e5.
2.18
Krasenkow,M - Dvoirys,S Rostov on Don 1993
28.d4! I was concerned about the poor position of my knight so
this blow was easy to find despite the psychological barrier mentioned in the Introduction. exd4 29.xd4+ h6 30.d7 Threatening
both 31 Qg7+ and 31 Qe3+; Black has no defence. b1+ 31.h2
xf2 32.e3+ g5 33.h3+ g6 34.h7+ f6 35.g7+ e6
36.e7#.
2.19
Krasenkow,M - Rahman,Zia Dhaka 1995
By deflecting Black's overloaded queen, White's rook enters the
game with some effect: 42.a2! e7 ...xa2 leads to a forced mate: 43.xf7+ h7 44.g8+ g6 45.e8+! h7 46.g8+ h8
47.f7+ h7 48.g8#; Instead, 42...d7! was the best way to put
up resistance, but after 43.xf7+! h7 44.h5, White keeps a decisive positional advantage. 43.a8+ h7 43...d8 loses to 44.xf7+!
44.f5+ g6 45.c8 and Black resigned.
2.20
Janovsky,S - Krasenkow,M Voskresensk (part one) 1992
18.xh7! A typical destructive combination. xe5 White wins after
18...xh7 19.h5+ g7 20.h6+ g8 21.xg6! fxg6 22.xg6+
h8 23.e3 f4 24.h6+ g8 25.g3+; Instead, 18...fe8 was
probably the best way to keep on fighting, although hardly for too
long, a pawn down with a weak king, after, say, 19.f6+ xf6
20.exf6. 19.f4 White could have simply taken the f8-rook - 19.xf8
xd3 20.xg6! fxg6 21.xd3 - but he preferred to continue his attack. 19...d6 20.f6+ g7 and we've reached the next position.
2.21
Janovsky,S - Krasenkow,M Voskresensk (part two) 1992
21.xb7!! There is no immediate mate after this deflection, but
White's threats along the a1-h8 diagonal prove decisive. xd3
Desperation. In the case of 21...xb7 22.xe5 xe5 23.xe5,
Black is helpless. 22.xd3! Of course, it was quite possible to take
the queen: 22.xc7 xf4 23.d1 xc7 24.xd7, but White's choice
is more consistent and convincing. 22...xb7 23.xd6 Threatening
'corner blindness', who often miss moves to corner squares and further actions of such pieces in their calculations.
2.38
Kozul,Z - Predojevic,B Sarajevo 2005
36.xf7! 36.2d6?! was played in the game, to which Black could
have offered resistance by means of the continuation h6! 37.b6
g7. 36...xf7 37.d8+ f8 38.e6+ g7 39.e7+! f7 40.e5+
A nice pirouette, which White certainly overlooked in his calculations. h6 41.xc8 and White is winning; for example, 41.xc8 b2
42.h8+ h7 43.c8! xc8 44.f4+! g7 45.xc8 b1 46.f8#.
2.39
Charbonneau,P - Krasenkow,M Bled Olympiad 2002
White's f3-knight is the target: 20...f4! 21.d2 If 21.e2 xc2
22.xc2 xf3! 23.gxf3 xh3 with the deadly threat of 24...Nh4.
21...xf3! and White resigned. 21...xc2 is now harmless due to
22.xf4 xd1 23.xd1; However, after the text move, 21...xf3
22.gxf3 xc2 Besides which Black can play the move 22...h4 directly. 23.xc2 xh3 leads to the 21 Qe2 line, above.
2.40
Bocharov,D Kamsky,G Khanty-Mansiysk 2005
29.xf5! leads to a big advantage for White: Instead, Dmitry Bocharov played 29.a5?, and after d4 the initiative passed to Black. It
is hard to say whether White missed 29 Bxf5 altogether or didn't like
something in the line. 29...xc5 If 29...xf5 30.xe7. 30.bxc5 xf5
Or 30...gxf5 31.cxb6 e6 32.dxe6 xe6 33.bxa7 xa7 34.e2 35
followed by Nf4. 31.cxb6 axb6 Or 31...e6 32.bxa7 xa7 33.d6!
32.xe7 with a clear pull.
2.41
Seirawan,Y - Yermolinsky,A US Championship, Seattle 2000
White wins after 34.g5+! 34.xf6+?! exf6 35.g5+ is the wrong
move order due to e7! 36.e6+ d8!; Unfortunately Seirawan
missed this chance, playing 34.g5?. 34...g7 After 34...f8
35.xf6+! exf6 White has several ways to win, the simplest being
36.c8+ e8 (note that 36...g7 37.d7+ would transpose to
34Kg7) 37.a3+ g7 38.c7+ g6 39.xh7+ xg5 40.c1+
g4 41.h3#. 35.xf6! exf6 White wins too after both 35...xf6
36.xh7+ f8 37.e6+; and 35...xf6 36.e6+ g7 37.xe7+
h6 38.f3+. 36.d7+ h8 37.f7+ g7 38.e5+ .
2.42
Krasenkow,M - Olafsson,H Reykjavik 2004
Can Black play 25...Rxc5 - ?
Under time pressure White played the obvious 28.xf8+? and offered a draw, which Black gladly accepted. Even after 28.xf8+, instead of giving perpetual check, White could have kept some chances by means of xf8 29.xf7+ g8 30.g7+ f8 31.bf7+ (but not
31.xh7 f6 32.bf7+ g8) 31...e8 32.c7! f8 33.gf7+ g8 (if
33...e8 34.xh7 d8 35.a7) 34.fd7! a8 35.g7+ f8 36.xh7
g8 37.cg7+ f8 38.a7 xa7 39.xa7.; Let's look for other possibilities. The deflecting 28.b8 comes in mind, but Black has a
satisfactory defence: d6.; The solution is now easy to find: another
deflection is required! 28.c5! xc5 (or 28...xe2 29.xe6+)
29.b8!. Now 29...Qd6 is impossible and xb8 leads to a quick mate after 30.xf7+: for instance, h6 31.xh7+ g5 32.h4+ f5
33.f4#.
2.45
Pedzich,D - Krasenkow,M Polish Championship, Sopot 1997
Black plans 18...Qe6 so White should hurry: 18.g5!! fxg5 19.xe5
d6 Or 19...b6 20.d5 ] 20.f3! Threatening both 21 Nf7+ and
21 Qxa8) c7 21.xa8 b7 22.xa7 with a winning position.
2.46
Maciejewski,M - Krasenkow,M Lubniewice 1993
h3+ 36.g6 h7+ 37.f7 and it is now Black who must give perpetual check with g8+ 38.g6 h7+.; Instead, 26.e3?! doesn't
solve White's problems due to xe6 27.xe6 (or 27.dxe6 f4 28.e1
f3 29.g3 c2 with advantage to Black) 27...xe6 28.dxe6 g8
when his e6-pawn is in danger. 26...xe6 26...gxh6? loses a queen
due to the intermediate 27.c3+. 27.d2+ g8 28.dxe6 xe6
29.d3. This fully consolidates White's position. However, in the
game Rustam Kasimdzhanov didn't notice 26 Bxh6! and reluctantly
played 25 dxe6.
2.50
Ellers,H - Lauber,A Leipzig 1995
17...d7! With two threats, one of them being 18...Bg4. Instead,
17...f6? was played in the game, which ended in a draw; and
17...e8 is less accurate than 17...Qd7 as White can defend by
means of 18.db1 xg6 19.e2. 18.xg5 18.db1 now leads to a
completely hopeless position after g4 19.h2 f3 20.g2 f5
21.a3 d4 , etc ] 18...a4! This was the second threat. In fact,
18...xa2+! 19.xa2 a4 is less spectacular but equally good.
19.b3 Or 19.xa4 xa2#. 19...xa2+ 20.xa2 xb3 and Black
wins.
2.51
Krasenkow,M - Yuldashev,S Istanbul Olympiad 2000
White's defences break down after Black's spectacular bishop move: 25...d4!! Alexander Alekhine was a big lover of such blows
and we can see them in some of his famous games. Totally shocked, I immediately resigned. Not prematurely in fact, as after the
only defence 25...d4 26.f1 (both 26.cxd4; and 26.xd4 lose an
exchange to xc2 27.xc4 bxc4 ;while 26.xd4 leads to mate after
e1+ 27.xe1 xe1+ 28.h2 f1) 26...b6, threatening 27.-- xd2
28.xd2 e2, White can't avoid further material losses.
2.52
Dautov,R - Krasenkow,M Essen 2002
Some consolation for the previous game occurred not too long after.
Here White has just played 22 Bc4-f7, certainly expecting 22...Qe7
23 fxe3 Bxh1 24 Rxh1 or 22...Qd7 23 Be6 with good counterplay.
However, his hopes proved in vain. 22...e4!! 23.d3 23.xe8 leads to a wellknown mate albeit in an unusual arrangement, with
c8+ 24.c3 (or 24.c2 xc2+) 24...xc3+ 25.bxc3 a3#; while
23.fxe3 c6+ loses the h1-rook. The text move is the most stubborn, but still won't save the game. 23...e7 24.c3?! 24.xe3!? is
better, but Black still wins after xh1: for example, 25.f3 g5
26.d5+ a7 27.c3 d6! 28.f4 (or 28.xd6 xd5 ) g1+ 29.e1
It is curious that Viktor Gavrikov scored two victories with this trap. A
month before the Soviet Championship, he had ensnared Peter Lukacs at the Barcza Memorial in Budapest. In those times, though,
we had no databases and information travelled much slower than
nowadays.
2.57
Zueger,B - Kindermann,S Munich 1989
It is far from easy to notice that Black can trap White's queen in the
middle of the board. Bravo, Stefan Kindermann! 20...xc5!!
21.xc5 f8! 22.xe5 d6! 23.xd4 xh2+ 24.xh2 xd4 and
Black won.
2.58
Harika,D - Volokitin,A Moscow 2007
32.h4!! The game saw 32.d6? b2! 33.xb2 g5+ 34.f2 d2+
35.g3 g5+ with a draw by perpetual. The Indian player was probably content with such a result against a strong grandmaster. However, she could have done even better had she found the hidden
possibility to exploit the position of Black's king. 32...f5 White's main
idea is 32...c1 33.g5+!! xg5+ (or 33...g7 34.xc1) 34.hxg5+
xg5 35.xc1 and wins; while in the case of 32...d1, White stops
her opponent's pawns by means of 33.e3+ g7 34.c3+ h6
26.xd1 c2 27.b1, White keeps two extra pawns and should win
in the long run despite Black's active king and rook.
2.60
Nakamura,H - Krasenkow,M Le Port Marly 2009
Both players had overlooked a brilliant mating idea: 30.d4!! Instead, Hikaru Nakamura played 30.d6?!, to which Black could have put
up stubborn resistance by means of a5. 30...f7 Or 30...g8.
31.xg7+!! xg7 32.f6+ h8 33.e8+ f8 34.xf8+ g8
35.xg8#.
2.61
Wojtkiewicz,A - Krasenkow,M Palma de Mallorca 1989
Instead of capturing the c-pawn (with a drawn rook ending), White
deflects it: 27.b5!! 27.xc6 xc6 28.xc6 leads to a theoretical
draw after c7 29.ac3 xc6 30.xc6 xc6 31.xc6 b5 32.c4 h5
33.f1 a3 34.c3 xb4 35.xa3. 27...cxb5 In the case of 27...c5
28.f4 White wins the c-pawn without trading minor pieces, h5?
29.g4 h4 30.xc5 being obviously bad for Black. 28.c8 b4
29.a1 d7 Or 29...a6 30.c6. 30.c6 This is White's main idea;
he wins a rook and successfully stops Black's pawns. b6 31.b8
e6 32.xa7 b3 33.c6 b2 34.f1 c4 35.d5 d2 36.xe6.
Black resigned.
2.62
Krasenkow,M - Hickl,J Jakarta 1996
Can Black play 21...Qxa5 - ?
My opponent was happy to trade his poor light-squared bishop for
White's knight. However, it was just a trap: 21...xa5? 22.xb7
xc3 23.c7! Instead of capturing the f7-pawn, White made a
'quiet' move. Black doesn't fear either 23.xf7+ h8; or 23.xf7+
h8. 23...d4 It turns out that Black's rook has no place to hide:
23...e8 loses to 24.xf7+; and 23...f8 to 24.xf7+!. 24.d5! was
a decisive interference, so Black resigned.
2.63
Bohlke,C - Krasenkow,M Copenhagen 2003
Can Black force a win?
This position is a 'spoiler'. The apparently decisive 29...xe5? is
somewhat inferior due to an intermediate move. Instead, Black should play quietly: 29...c6!, threatening both 30...Bxe5 and 30...b4,
when White can't avoid the loss of material: for example, 30.f1 (or
30.e3 b4 31.b1 c2) 30...xe5! 31.xf4 xf4 and Black should
eventually win. 30.xd5! 30.dxe5? f2 happened in the game, and
after 31.f1 f3 32.g2 g3 my opponent resigned. 30...exd5
31.dxe5 d4! 31...f2 is now harmless due to 32.xd5+ g7
33.b7+ f7 (or here 33...h6 34.f1 f3?? 35.d6+ and it is
h7 60.h4+ g8 61.g5! again protected the c1-square, whereupon a draw was agreed.
2.69
Topalov,V - Ponomariov,R Sofia 2006
It is not easy to see that the b1-h7 diagonal plays the key role here:
32.xf6!! xf6 33.d4!! White is threatening 34 Bb1 and Black has
no other defence than giving up his queen. xa2 34.xa2 xd4
35.b4! e6 Not 35...cxb4? 36.e5!. 36.e5 g7 37.bxc5 and White converted his advantage.
2.70
Sakaev,K - McShane,L German League 2003
The pin along the b-file allied to the diagonal battery enables hidden
tactics based on the themes of decoy, diagonal clearance and intermediate check: 34.g5! f6 In the game Black just left his knight
unprotected and resigned after 34...e7?? 35.f3 f6 36.xc6
xb2 37.xb2 d8 38.cb6. 35.xh7!! xh7 Or 35...f5 36.xc6.
36.xc6! xb2 37.c7+. White wins a pawn and due to his twopawn advantage on the kingside, should be able to convert it.
2.71
Sheldon,R - Rowson,J Southend 1999
All Black's activation attempts are based on knight moves (...Nc6b4, or d4, or a5). White, however, can paralyze that knight, and therefore Black's pieces in general, using a tactical motif: 31.dh2!! If
now. In the game Ruth Sheldon missed her chance, playing 31.e5?
and after a5 Black started his counterplay and eventually won the
game. 31...b4? Or ... Nd4, ...Na5, then 32.e5!! xe5 33.fxe5
with inevitable mate. Otherwise White plays 32 e5, or first 32 Rh7,
and her attack easily decides.
2.72
Kobalia,M - Vakhidov,T Abu Dhabi 2004
How can Black unravel the position without material loss? There is
only one way: 32...d8!! Tahir Vakhidov failed to find this amazing
move; he gave up two bishops for a rook with 32...e7? 33.xe7+
xe7 34.f6+ g7 35.xd5 b7 39, when Black's position was still
defensible, but he lost on time on move. 33.g5+! Otherwise Black
keeps three pawns for the exchange: 33.xd8 xe4; or 33.xe6
xe6 34.d1 e7. 33...xg5 34.c7+ e7 35.cxe7+ xe7
36.xe7+ h6 37.xe5 c4 and with two connected passed
pawns, Black keeps fair winning chances.
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3.01
Rogers,I - Krasenkow,M Hastings 1993
18...b6! 19.c5 If 19.b5 a6. 19...xd5 20.cxb6 c6! 21.a2 It
is hard to say whether White overlooked the intermediate move 20...
Bc6, or the fact that 21.f3 doesn't help due to e4. 21...xg2
22.f1Black wins too after 22.0-0-0 xg4 23.xa5 xa5 24.xa5
c4+. 22...xg4 Black has won material and White's king is vulnerable. The game continued: 23.xa5 23.c2 was relatively best,
but of course the endgame after g6 24.c5+ d6 25.xd6+ xd6
26.xa5 f3 is winning for Black. 23...b5 24.b2 e4 25.b7 a6
26.g1 d8! 27.c1 d3 28.b2 f6. White resigned.
3.02
Krasenkow,M - Garcia Ilundain,D Las Palmas 1993
White won after 24.xf7! xf7 25.h7+ e6 Or 25...f6 26.xh6+
f7 27.h5+, winning the e8-rook. 26.g6+ f6 27.e5 f8 To
d8 28.xf6 g8, White can simply reply 29.d5+! d6 30.xh6.
28.xf6 xf6 29.e4+ 29.e8+ is equally good. f7 30.h7+ f8
31.xa7.
3.03
Kempinski,R - Krasenkow,M Krynica 1997
3.08
Ftacnik,L - Krasenkow,M Dortmund 1992
White opens up the key diagonal and starts a decisive attack by
means of a knight sacrifice: 23.xf4! exf4 24.e5! xe5 [In the case
of 24...d8 25.e6, White's passed pawns easily crush Black's pieces: for instance, f8 26.ce1 xd5 (or 26...f6 27.g6) 27.e4
c5 28.xc5 bxc5 29.e7 fe8 30.xa8 and wins, as indicated by
Ftacnik. 25.h4 An experienced player can stop his calculation here as it is obvious that Black's king is doomed. Let's, though, see the
brilliant finale of the game: f5 To 25...xd5 , White can simply play
26.xh3 xd2 27.e6! d7 28.e4 and the Doomsday occurs
along the b1-h7 diagonal.; Instead, 25...d7 is hopeless due to
26.g5 e2 (or 26...f6 27.cg1) 27.xh5+ g8 28.cg1 and, say,
xd2 29.xg7+ xg7 30.h7+. 26.xh5+ 26.xf4 was even simpler: xd5 (26...f6 27.xh5+ g8 28.xf5 xf5 29.xg7+! xg7
30.h6+ wins) 27.xh5+ g8 28.g5 (or 28.xg7+ xg7 29.xf5
with a decisive attack.) 28...af8 29.cg1 b7 30.xf5 xf5
31.xg7+ xg7 32.xg7+ xg7 33.e5+ xe5 34.xe5+ with a
technically won position. 26...g8 27.xf5 27.g5 af8 28.cg1
b7 29.c1!!, followed by Bc1-a3, was a very nice positional solution. White prefers a tactical one, but it is less convincing. 27...xf5
Alternatively, if 27...xf5 28.xg7+! xg7 29.g1+: e.g., f8
(29...f6 30.h4+! f7 31.h7+ e8 32.e1 wins) 30.h6+ e7
fairly simple refutation. It may look surprising that neither of the opponents (high-level grandmasters) found it over the board, but the
reason is obvious: they forgot to pause at this point and look for
candidate moves. exf5!! 24.xd8 24.xe8+ xe8 25.xe8+ xe8
26.d7 xd7 27.xg2 c5 28.d6 e2 is also hopeless. xe2
25.xe2 f3! 26.e6 xe2 27.d7 d8!! Here xd7 28.xd7 g5 (or
28...f3 29.xg7+ h8 30.h3, and now, say, d5 31.e7 c4 should be enough for White to renounce 23 Nxf7, but the text move is
even better.) 28.d2 Or 28.xd8 xd1 and 29...Nxd7. 28...xd7
29.xe2 f7 and wins.
3.10
Krasenkow,M - Moroz,A Kemerovo (part two) 1985
After 29.d5+! 29.xf6? is obviously poor due to xe1+ 30.g2
xf6. cxd5 30.xd5, Black's a8-rook is hanging, and White, using
checks on c5 or b7, can always construct an appropriate position to
capture Black's queen: aa6 Otherwise, 30...d8 31.c5+ dd6
32.xf6 xe1+ 33.g2; 30...c8 31.b7+ d8 32.xf6 ;or 30...f8
31.c5+ d7 32.d1+. 31.b7+ d8 32.b8+ e7 White wins
too after 32...d7 33.xb5+ d8 34.xf6 xe1+ 35.g2 (or simply
here 35.f1) 35...xf6 36.xa5+ d7 37.xe1. 33.xe6+ xe6 If
33...xe6 34.f8+ ] 34.xf6 xf6 35.xb5 and White won.
3.11
Aronian,L - Karjakin,S Sao Paolo (part one) 2012
Black is an exchange down, but White's king is unsafe and his pieces are slightly uncoordinated. That makes possible a brilliant tactical blow: 23...d3!! In the game Sergey Karjakin played 23...d7?
and after 24.e4!, White regained full control of the position. (See
3.38 for a later position from this game.) 24.xd3 xc4 25.d8
25.d1 xc3 is obviously favourable for Black. This ...Qxc3 idea will
be at the centre of the struggle over the next couple of moves.
25...a6! 25...xc3? now loses to 26.h6 e1+ 27.g2 e2+ (or
27...xe5 28.b4 c5 29.xc5 bxc5 30.e3) 28.h3 xe5 (otherwise Black gets mated, such as after 28...f1+ 29.h4) 29.g5!
xg5 30.xg5 f6 31.c1, when Black can't prevent 32 Ba3 since
f7 loses the other bishop: 32.d7+. 26.h4 26.h3? xc3 27.d2
xe5 is good for Black. 26...f1+ And here 26...xc3? 27.d2 is
again favourable for White, in view of the threats of Qb4 and Bb4.
His king will run away via g4 if necessary; for example, a1+
28.h2 xe5 29.b4 e2+ 30.h3 f1+ 31.g4 h5+ 32.f4 e5+
33.xe5, etc. 27.h2 f2+. It's perpetual check.
3.12
Shirov,A - Krasenkow,M Polanica Zdroj (analysis) 1998
Kg2 g5 55 Kh3). Without such option, White can't stop Black's pawn
avalanche. Therefore he resigned.
3.14
Laznicka,V - Ponomariov,R Karlovy Vary 2007
22...xc3! This tactical blow is not very difficult, but should be accurately calculated. 23.bxc3 a4 Threatening 23...Qb6+. 24.xd4
24.cxd4 b6+ 25.c2 b2+ 26.d3 is clearly hopeless as such a
king has no right to survive: both c8 (and 26...c5+ 27.dxc5 d8+
are quite sufficient); instead, 24.xd4 loses to b6+ 25.b4 xc3+.
exd4 25.c2 Desperation. Both players obviously saw the main
line: 25.cxd4 b6+ 26.b3+ xb3+ 27.axb3 c3+ 28.c2 xd1
29.xd1 f1+ , when Black wins the knight and the game. f7 Of
course, Black now keeps a decisive attack, but 25...b6 26.b1
f2+! 27.xf2 d3+ was the prettiest way to win. 26.xd4 Or 26.d5
xc3 27.1xd4 xd5 28.xd5 f1 29.f3 c8+ 30.d2 h8!,
threatening both 31...Bh6+ and 31...Bb2!. xa2+ 27.d3 b1+
28.d2 b2+. White resigned.
3.15
Krasenkow,M - Pavlenko,O Leningrad 1983
21.h7+! h8 If 21...f8 22.e6+. 22.xf7+! xh7 23.f5+ g8
24.xh6+ h8 After 24...gxh6 25.g6+ Black loses his queen and,
32.g2?! h3+ 33.xh3 xh1, it is White who must fight for a draw.
32...f4+ 33.e2 f3+ 34.d2 d3+ 35.c1 xa3+ 36.c2
a2+ 37.d1 b3+ 38.c1 a3+ 39.c2 a2+ 40.c3 a3+
White's king has no place to hide. Moreover, 41.c4?? even loses
in view of d3+ 42.c5 a6! 43.b5 Or 43.d5 d6+ 44.d4 d3#.
43...a3+ 44.b4 [if 44.c4 d5# ] 44...d6+ 45.c4 d3#.
3.17
Krasenkow,M - Bachelis Moscow 1979
Here I noticed a combination based on the motifs of decoy and ambush. Surprisingly, Black's crucial tactical weakness is his unprotected queen. 32.f5! 32.a8+ h7 33.f5 is less accurate, as after c2!
34.g3 xf5 35.d4 Black can reply xg3+ 36.xg3 c8!. The
endgame after 37.xc8 xc8 is obviously better for White due to his
outside passed pawn, but it is unclear whether it is winning.; However, a direct attack on the black king is fruitless: 32.d8+ h7
33.a8 xe3 (but not 33...c2? 34.h4!) 34.g8+ g6 and the
king escapes. 32...xf5 32...c2 is now hopeless due to 33.g3
xf5 (33...xg3+ 34.xg3 xf5 35.d4) 34.d4 b2 35.xf2 xf2
36.g1! and White wins a piece.; 32...c8 was relatively best, but
then White can simply play 33.xd5 If instead
A) 33...c2 can be parried by means of 34.d8+ (34.g3 is probably even better) 34...h7 35.d2 xd2 36.xd2 xd2 37.xd2 xf5
38.a4 and White's extra pawn will now bring him victory.;
B) 33...xe3, then Black has no counterplay anymore and White
starts a decisive attack by means of 34.f6!, threatening to continue - 35.f8+! xf8 36.d8+ e8 37.xe8+ xe8 38.fxg7.
33.a8+ h7 In the case of 33...c8; or 33...c8, Black simply loses a piece. 34.f4! The bishop is hanging and 35 Ng5+ is threatened. c2 35.d4. The finishing touch. Black now lost on time.
3.18
Krasenkow,M - Xie Jun Shanghai 2000
White wins with a perfectly designed kingside break: 27.c4! 27.g6
is premature due to g7. 27...d5 Otherwise, if 27...e6 28.g6 hxg6
29.g2; 27...d3+ is obviously senseless due to 28.d2. 28.g6!
hxg6 If 28...xg6 29.xg6 dxc4 30.g2 and Black can only give a
dying check: d3+ 31.d2. 29.g2 29.xg6 is possible too: xg6
(or 29...xg6 30.g2) 30.xd5+ e6 31.g2. 29...dxc4 30.xg6.
Black resigned as she couldn't parry the mating threats.
3.19
Krasenkow,M - Sveshnikov,E Moscow 1992
(25.e5 is now less strong due to a3! , and if 26.gxf5? then d6!
27.xd6 xf3 ) 25...e7 26.xc1 fxg4 27.hxg4 ac8 28.xc8 xc8
29.e3 with more or less the same outcome as in the previous line.;
21...xd4 was probably the least evil. After 22.xd4 xc2 23.xc2
xa3 (or 23...fxe6 24.xe6) 24.e7 (24.a1 c5 25.xa6 xd4
26.f5 is also good) 24...fe8 25.c7, White keeps the upper hand
in the endgame.
22.f5! f6 22...fxe6 now loses in view of 23.d6! xd6 24.g6+
h8 25.xh6+ g8 26.xe6: for instance, d3 27.g5+ f7
28.xd6.; Other lines are 22...g5 23.xg5 hxg5 24.exf7+ xf7
25.h6+ g7 26.xf7 xf7 (if 26...xd4 27.c3) 27.h7+ f6
28.c3 xd4 29.e7+ g6 30.d6+ followed by 31 Re7+; and
22...e8 23.exf7+ xf7 24.e6 with a decisive attack.
23.exf7+! h8 White wins too after 23...xf7 24.xh6+ g7
25.xf7 xf7 26.h7+ f8 27.g6 g7 (or d8 28.e6) 28.g5.
24.d6! c7 24...d8 25.g6 g7 fails to 26.e8. 25.g6 g7
26.g5! d3 27.f5 xf5 28.gxf5. Black resigned.
3.24
Macieja,B - Sedlak,N European Championship, Rijeka 2010
White's pressure along the g-file is very strong and the h6-pawn is
hanging, but Black still has a beautiful way to obtain sufficient counterplay using his advanced a-pawn: 28...a3! In the game Nikola
satisfactory for Black. xe3 19.exf7+ h8 20.f4! 20.e6 is premature due to b7, threatening 21...Qxe4, whereas after the text
Black's rook encounters problems. c6 20...c8, bringing the queen into the defence, was insufficient due to 21.d5 (21.e6 is less
strong in view of c6 , and 22.d5 will be met by d4) a3 22.e6!
c6 (or xe6 23.c7) 23.f8+! xf8 24.b2+ g7 25.xa3 and
wins. 21.f2! Threatening both 22 Qxe3 and 22 Nxg6+. xe4
22.e6 c8 23.xg7 xg7 24.f6+ h6 25.c3 xe5 Black resigned without waiting for 25...xe5 26.f8+ xf8 27.h3+.
3.30
Bu Xiangzhi - Adly,A Khanty-Mansiysk 2011
The Chinese Grandmaster missed a tactical motif based on the Xray attack of his queen on the g6-pawn: 22.f4! White played
22.c3, but after c5 23.d5 ac8 24.h3 c6, Black's position proved defensible. 22...d3 The motif works after 22...g4 23.f2!,
when White wins due to the threat of 24 Qxg6+; 22...d7 is also
poor since after 23.d6!, Black is completely passive and White obtains a decisive attack, such as after f8 24.f6+ h8 25.c3!
xd6 26.d5+. 23.xd3 xe4 24.xd8 xe3+ 24...xc2
25.xe8+! xe8 26.xc2 wins. 25.h1 xd8 26.xg6+ f8
27.xh6+ g8 28.g5+ f8 29.f1 sees White winning a pawn
and Black's king is still unsafe.
3.31
Krasenkow,M - Mitenkov,A Moscow 1981
17.fxg6 White can start with 17.xe4, which leads to the same positions after xg5! 18.fxg6! fxg6 (or 18...hxg6. ) fxg6 Or hxg6 18.xe4
(18.xf7!? xf7 19.xe4 g8 20.xg6+ e6 leads to unclear complications) 18...xg5 (if dxe4 19.xf7! with an immediate collapse)
19.f2! e7 (otherwise, f5? 20.xf5! dxe4 21.g3; or f8 20.xf8
xf8 21.xg6! fxg6 22.g2) 20.xg5 xg5+ 21.g2, when Black
hasn't sufficient compensation for the piece. 18.xe4 xg5! This
counterblow is the point of Black's defence. 18...dxe4? leads to a
forced mate: 19.c4+ h8 20.g7+! (20.f7 g8 21.e6 is quite
enough too) 20...xg7 21.f7+ h8 22.xh7+! xh7 23.f7+ h8
24.xg6#. 19.f5! And this is White's 'adequate response'. xh6?
Black falls into the main trap. 19...gxf5 was much more stubborn.
White must play 20.g2 dxe4 21.xf5! (but not 21.xg5? e3!
22.g3 f4! 23.xf4+ h8 24.g5 xg5 25.xg5 g8) 21...h8
22.xg5 g8! (22...c8, or elsewhere, is hopeless due to 23.f7,
and if g8 then 24.xh7+! xh7 25.h3+ g6 26.h6+ with a quick mate) 23.xd8 xg2+ 24.xg2 e3+! 25.f1 xd8 26.e2, keeping a clear advantage in the endgame. 20.xh6+ g7 21.f7+!
xh6 If 21...h8 22.g4! f6 23.xh7+ xh7 24.f7+. 22.xh7+!
A familiar blow - see 3.6 too. xh7 23.h5+ g7 24.xg6+ f8
3.33
Winsnes,R - Krasenkow,M Stockholm 1989
White's attack looks powerful. Indeed, blows like Ng5xh7 and Ne4f6+ suggest themselves. However, a correct move order is required.
19.xc6! 19.f6+ gxf6 20.xh7 is premature, because after xe5!
21.xf6+ g7, White has nothing better than perpetual check with
22.g5+ g6 23.h5+ h7 24.f6+.;
19.xh7! was, however, another possible solution: and
A) 19...xe4 20.xe4 fe8 21.xc6 xe5 22.xe5 xe5 23.f4 e2
24.g5 and White keeps an extra piece.;
B) White wins too after 19...xe5 20.ef6+! gxf6 (or 20...h8
21.h4) 21.h6 d6 22.d3;
C) 19...xh7 20.f6+! gxf6 21.h4+ g7 22.g4+ h8 23.d3
e4 24.h3+ h7 25.f5.
19...xc6 20.f6+! 20.xh7? doesn't work now due to xe4! (but
not 20...xh7 21.f6+ gxf6 , which leads to the game continuation)
21.f6+ gxf6 22.exf6 e6. 20...gxf6 21.xh7! Not 21.exf6? e2.
21...xh7 21...fxe5 was a way to prolong resistance, but after
22.f6+ xf6 23.xf6 d6 24.xe5 , White should certainly convert his extra queen. 22.h4+ g7 23.g4+ h8 24.d3 e4
Desperation. 25.h3+ 25.xe4? f5 26.xf5 f6! with unclear consequences, was Black's last hope. 25...h7 26.f5. Black resigned.
3.34
Krasenkow,M - Kishnev,S Moscow 1983
Can White play 10 Qe4 - ?
This opening trap in the Petrosian system of the Queen's Indian Defence was found several months before the present game. Its first
victim was Arshak Petrosian in his encounter with Gennady Zaichik
(Telavi 1982). The flow of information was very slow in those days
and being engaged in studies rather than chess, I failed to buy the
magazine where that game was published. Here is the outcome:
10.e4? Later practice mostly saw 10.b5 0-0 11.d6, but after
Black found a nice blow in e3!! 12.fxe3 xf3 13.exf3 xg5, when
White's active pieces don't fully compensate for Black's extra pawn,
the whole line practically went out of use. xc3! 11.xb7 11.xe7+
xe7 12.xe7 xe7 13.bxc3 just leaves White a pawn down, without any compensation. c6 12.xe7 xe7! 13.bxc3 b8 14.a6
b5 The point. White's queen is trapped and he can't free it without
big losses. 15.e5 Arshak Petrosian preferred 15.a4 b6 16.axb5
xa6 17.xa6, but after b8 18.e4 e5, Black gradually converted
his material advantage. My continuation was even worse. 15...xe5
16.c4 16.xa7 b6 17.d1 doesn't help in view of e8! and the
threat of 18...Nc6 can't be parried; (but not, of course, c6?? at once in view of 18.xd7+! . ) b6 17.a5 The queen apparently esca-
whether Black can secure the draw. However, he had a more convincing way.
53.c1 c5!! The point. 54.e6+ Not 54.xc4? d5 and the e6square is protected. e7 55.xc4 After 55.xc5 xd5, it is White
who must secure the draw by means of 56.a4 xb5 57.c3 c5
58.xd5+ xd5 59.c7+ e6 60.xa7. xc4 56.xc4 xe6 and
the peaceful outcome becomes obvious.
3.38
Aronian,L - Karjakin,S Sao Paulo (part two) 2012
27...h6!! Black had already mentally resigned and did so formally
after 27...a3? 28.d4 h6 29.d6 h7 30.xf8. However, with the
text he had an excellent possibility to continue resistance. 28.d4!
The strongest. Black's idea is that, after 28.e7, he has an unexpected blow: d3!!
Therefore, White should play
A) 29.xf8+? h7 now leads to an inevitable perpetual check: for
example, 30.f4 c2 31.f3 c1+ 32.g2 c2+ 33.f2 (33.h3??
e2 wins) 33...e4+ 34.f1 (or 34.g1 c1+ 35.f1 e3+ 36.f2
c1+) 34...d1+ 35.e1 f3+ 36.f2 d1+.;
B) 29.xd3 xe7 30.d2 and then try to win the game for a second
time.
3.44
Krasenkow,M - Fedorov,A Polanica Zdroj 2000
21.xg5! Breaking down the king's defences. hxg5 The intermediate move 21...xg4 doesn't help too much, although White should
react accurately, Therefore,
A) as 22.e3 meets an unexpected response: cxd5! 23.xf6 (or
23.cxd5 hxg5 24.h6 fc8 ) 23...d4 with unclear play.;
B) 22.g2! hxg5 23.h6 is correct. The only subtlety is that after
xe2, White should not fall into a trap. The right continuation is (h8
24.h7+! g7 25.xg4 is hopeless for Black) 24.hxg7 (but not
24.xg5?? xc3+! 25.xc3 fxe4+, when everything turns around)
24...fe8 25.h8+! xg7 26.xg5+ xh8 27.xf6+ g8 28.h1
with mate to follow.
22.h6 h8 22...xg4 23.g2 leads to the previous line; (and here
White can also play 23.e3 xe2 24.hxg7) 23.h7+ g7 24.h3
xg4 25.xg4 f6 26.f1 White has regained the piece and dominates on light squares. Black is helpless. e7 27.e3 f5 28.xf5
xf5 29.xf5+ xf5 30.xf5 f8 31.xg5+ d7 32.f3 a6
33.e3 . Black resigned.
3.45
Carlsen,Ma - Krasenkow,M Gausdal 2007
Evaluate 23...Ng4
3.46
Krasenkow,M - Grabarczyk,M Lubniewice 2002
36.xg6! xc1+ 37.h2 d7 37...fxg6 38.xg6+ h8 39.f6
wins. 38.g5! The key move of the combination. e7? This leads to
mate in two. 38...fxg6 was not better due to 39.xg6+ h8 (if g7;
or g7 then 40.f6+) 40.f6 with a quick mate in all variations.;
38...g7 was the last attempt to fight on; only for a short while, however: 39.h7+ f8 40.xg7+ e8 41.h8+ e7 42.f6+ f8 (or
e8 43.g7+ f8 44.xe6+ e8 45.g7+ f8 46.f5) 43.f4!
(threatening 44 Nxg6+) e8 (if 43...a7 44.xe6+) 44.h8+ e7
45.g6+! fxg6 46.xg6 with inevitable mate. 39.h7+. Black resigned.
3.47
Krasenkow,M - Swiercz,D Polish Championship, Warsaw 2010
White ignores the threat of Black's a-pawn promoting, preferring to
set up a mating net for Black's king: 40.d6! a2 41.f7+! f8
41...d8 42.e6! a1+ 43.h2 e8 leads to the same position.
42.e6! a1+ 43.h2 (threatening 44 Ra8+) e8 Or d8 44.f7+
g8 45.f6+ h8 46.f8#. 44.g7! xg7 45.hxg7 f1 46.g8+
f8 47.d7+. Black resigned.
3.48
Krasenkow,M - Nicevski,R Nimes 1991
24.e4! The retreats of White's bishop are not dangerous for Black:
24.xe5?! fxe5; or 24.e3 xc3 25.bxc3 c4 26.xd4 xe3+
27.fxe3 xd4 28.exd4 d5 29.d3 f7 30.f2 b5 31.f5 h6, and
White's material advantage is inconvertible. After the text move White wins at least a pawn in a much more favourable situation.
24...gxf4 Or else: 24...xd2 25.xf6+ f7 26.xe8 xe8 27.xd2.;
24...g7 25.xd4 xd4 26.xd4 gxf4 (if 26...c5 27.xe5) 27.xb4:
for example, d3 28.d4! (better than 28.b3 e1+ 29.f1 xf3
30.xf3 xe4) 28...e1+ 29.h1! xf3 30.d7+ g6 31.f1!, preventing xe4 in view of 32.d3, and thereby securing material gains. 25.xf6+ f7 26.xe8 xd2 26...xe8 27.xd4 is obviously
hopeless for Black ;but 26...b5!? was an interesting if desperate
attempt, to which White could reply 27.e2 ( 27.c7!? is also interesting ) 27...xe8 28.a4 d6 29.xd4 c5 30.xf4+ g7 31.xe5!
xe5 32.b4 , ending up with two extra pawns. 27.xc7 fxg3 White
wins too after 27...a5 28.e6. 28.xd2 gxh2 29.d1 g8+
30.h1. Here Black lost on time.
3.49
Mamedyarov,S - Naiditsch,A Dortmund 2010
55.f8+ After this move Black's king escapes from its cage. The
main line was 55.e6+ g7 56.e7+ g8 57.e8+ h7 58.e4+
g6, reaching the same position as on move 45, with one major difference: White's pawn is on h4, and he can't give a check on that
square. Therefore Black wins. 55...e5. Here White lost on time.
3.51
Giorgadze,G - Krasenkow,M Kemerovo 1985
Should Black play 25...Nd3 - ?
Black's position is better due to White's poor pawn structure;
25...d3 is a logical attempt to increase his advantage, but the tactical riposte 26.xd3 26.e3 e5 looks quite pleasant for Black.
26...xd3 27.b4 is the main problem to cope with. Obsessed with
27...Rf3, I didn't consider other candidate moves and missed a
strong counterblow. e5! The solution in the game was wrong:
27...f3? 28.xc6 xf4 29.gxf4 bxc6. The rook endgame looks very
promising, but Giorgi Giorgadze proved that this impression was
deceptive: 30.d1! xa4 31.d7+ f8 32.g2! (it is important for
White to keep three pawns versus four on the kingside) xc4
33.g3. White's idea is to trade the a- and c-pawns, after which,
with all the remaining pawns on the kingside, he should not lose.
Note the doubled f-pawns don't hamper White's defence: e5
(33...e8 allows White to create kingside play: 34.g7) 34.fxe5 fxe5
35.c7 e8 36.a4 xa4 (36...d8 was the last attempt, but White
should hold on after 37.a7: for instance, g4+ 38.h3 c5 39.a5
c4 40.b5 d7 41.a5 c6 42.b6+ d5 43.a6 a4 44.g3 c4
45.f3 c5 46.e6 c3 47.e2!, etc) 37.xc6 f7 38.f3 and the
game was soon drawn. 28.c1 xg3+! 29.fxg3 c5+ 30.f2
xb4. Black wins a crucial pawn on the kingside and obtains excellent winning chances.
3.52
Krasenkow,M - Heika,M German League 2003
A winning line does exist: 25.g4!! The threat of 26 Rh3+ proves deadly. Instead, 25.xd8+ xd8 26.xb7 is the most obvious continuation. After fxg5! 27.d5 f7 28.g6 h6, White is clearly better,
but the game is far from over.; The other idea which comes to mind
is to bring a major piece to the h-file, but how? 25.e2 can be parried by means of g6!. If 26.xc6 xe2 27.xd8+ then after g7
28.d7+ g8!, White has nothing better than a perpetual check.;
25.d1 meets the same response: g6! (but not 25...e8?
26.g6!!.); Finally, to 25.e3, Black can play d7, and White should
probably bring his rook back with 26.d3. 25...e5 The knight is
invulnerable: 25...fxg5 26.h3+ g8 27.b3+ f7 28.h8+; or
25...xd3 26.xd3 fxg5 27.h3+ g8 28.d5+, but the text move
3.59
Krasenkow,M - Rozentalis,E Krynica 1997
White is clearly better and looks for a decisive combination.
15.xe6! fxe6 16.g5, threatening 17 Nxh7, is easy to see but
Black has a tricky defence: a5!
Others are quite satisfactory for White:
16...f8 17.xh7! xh7 (or 17...xh6 18.xg6+ g7 19.xf6+)
18.xg6+ h8 19.g5 bd7 20.e4, winning.;
16...e5!? 17.xh7 (or 17.b3+ d5 18.xd5 cxd5 19.b5! xg5
20.xd5+ h8 21.xg5 wins) 17...e4 18.xe4 xe4 (both
18...xh7 19.f6+!; and 18...h5 19.ef6+! xf6 20.xg6+ g7
21.b3+ h8 22.g5 are hopeless too) 19.xe4 d6 20.f4 wins.;
I didn't see 16...g4!?, but it doesn't look serious in any case:
17.xh7 e5 18.g3 xd4 (or 18...xh7 19.dxe5 g8 20.h3)
19.d1 (better than 19.xg6 g4 20.xe8 xg3 21.hxg3 xh7)
19...h4 20.xe5 xh6 21.xe6+ g7 (if 21...xh7 22.f7+)
22.f6 gives White a decisive attack.;
The problem after 16...a5! is that 17.xh7 can be parried by means of f5. However, there is a nice deflecting blow: 17.b4! f5
The idea is that after 17...xb4 18.xh7!, Black's f6-knight is unprotected and f5 doesn't help anymore: 19.xf5 gxf5 20.xf6+ f7
21.xe8 xc3 22.c7.; Otherwise, 17...xb4 obviously loses to
18.xh7; and 17...a6 makes no sense either, in view of 18.b5.
Hence Black chose 17...Qf5, but that fails as well: 18.e3 18.c4!
is equally strong.; After the text move Black resigned, since he had
no defence: 18.e3 g4 (18...xc2 19.xe6+ h8 20.f7 g8
21.xh7+! xh7 22.f7#; or 18...d5 19.xf5 xe3 20.xe6+
h8 21.f7+ g8 22.d6+ h8 23.xe8) 19.h3 h4 20.xe6+
h8 21.f7+ g8 22.d6+ h8 23.xe8 wins.
Was it easy to find 17 b4 - ? Yes, since I knew the following game:
Alekhine,A-Euwe,M World Championship, Netherlands (1) 1935
19.b4! c7 If 19...xb4 20.b3 c7 21.e4 20.b5 c5 21.f5 f6
22.e3 e6 23.d5 and White won.
3.60
Michiels,B - Krasenkow,M Amsterdam 2004
23...xe5! 24.dxe5 xe5 looks promising, but after 25.e2 xe2+
26.xe2 f3+ 27.h1 e5 Threatening 28...Qe4. 28.d1! In order
to meet 28... Qe4 with 29 Qd3, it is easy to get confused. However,
the quiet move b7! puts everything in its place. White is absolutely
helpless and can't parry Black's attack. 28...d7! is equally strong;
whereas 28...g5 (again threatening 29...Qe4+, as well as 29...Rf3)
leads to unclear consequences after 29.xb6+! axb6 (and not
29...c7? 30.h2) 30.a6+. 29.b2 g5 30.e1 f3 31.g1
xh3+ 32.g2 g3+ 33.f1 f3 and White resigned.
3.61
Milov,V - Krasenkow,M European Championship, Warsaw 2005
Evaluate 29...Kh7
Black is under heavy pressure. I had earlier pinned my hopes on
29...h7 (preparing 30...f6), but then spotted a tactical blow: In the
game I preferred 29...e8, but after 30.f5 White kept a strong attack and eventually won. 30.f5! gxf5 31.d3 d6 The only defence against 32 Qxh5+ and 33 Rg3+. 32.g3 h6 Otherwise,
32...g6 33.xe7 wins; or 32...f6 33.xh5+ h6 34.xf7+ h8
35.xe7, when g8 doesn't help due to 36.e5+ g7 37.xf5 and
White's pawn avalanche decides the game. 33.xe7 33.xf5+ h8
is less convincing. 33...f8 Or 33...a6 34.xf7+ h8 35.xf5, etc.
34.g5! But not 34.xb7 xf4 35.e7 fxe4 36.xf8 xh4+, when
Black either gives perpetual or recaptures the rook, also with a
draw. 34...c8 If 34...a8 35.e5! with the deadly threat of -36.xf5+ h8 37.xh5. 35.e5. Black is completely paralysed, and
White's central pawns will bring him victory.
3.62
Shirov,A - Svidler,P Khanty-Mansiysk 2009
Peter Svidler found the most accurate way to parry White's attack.
23...a7! 24.f6+ White's queen can't escape along the diagonal:
24.c3 b4! ;or 24.a1 xa2. h8 25.h4 g7!! Steinitz would be
Black can now reply 28...Rg7. However, White has another resource: 28.g6+! g7 f8 is hopeless: 29.g5 f6 30.e1. 29.e6+
h8 Once again the only move. 29...f7? 30.g5+ f8 31.h6+
e8 32.e1+ wins. ] 30.h5+ h7 31.xh7+ xh7 32.f7+ h8
33.e1 f6! This position arises more or less by force after 22
Bxg6. When the position arises on the board, White can delve into it
once again and discover the strongest continuation. In fact, in the
game I did manage to find the following way when starting the combination: 34.e6! If White can't find the best further course, he can
easily notice an 'emergency exit': 34.e7 f8 35.xf8+ xf8
36.xc7 with a superior ending. That is quite sufficient reason to
play 22 Bxg6. 34...h7 35.e7 This is quite enough for a win; but
it's a pity that I failed to find the most lovely and convincing continuation: 35.g6! f8 36.d5! (threatening 37 Qd4+) c5 (the only defence) 37.f3! d5 38.cxd5 b7. Black finally covers the long diagonal, but after 39.c3+ g7 40.d6, White's d-pawn triumphs.
35...g8 36.h5 36.f5! was more accurate. Black can't play either
f8 (or 36...e8 in view of 37.xh7+!) 37.xh7+. 36...c6 36...f8,
stopping g3-g4, was the best defence, but of course after 37.xc7,
Black's position was hopeless enough. 37.g4! f8 38.g5 xf4
38...f6 39.xh7+ xh7 40.xh7+ xh7 41.gxf6 leads to a winning
pawn endgame for White. 39.g6 and Black resigned.
3.64
Drozdovskij,Y - Almasi,Z European Championship, Dresden 2007
White's position looks very grim. However, he had a marvellous
path to salvation: 27.xe4! Instead, Yuri Drozdovskij continued
27.b1?, and after f5 28.g3 a3, Black gradually converted his
huge positional advantage; (and 28...f4! 29.g4 f3+ 30.h1 fxe3
31.fxe3 xe3 was probably even stronger.); 27.d7 was insufficient
too: after f3+ 28.h1 f6, White should play 29.b1 (Black's epawn is untouchable: 29.xe4? e5 30.h5 g6 ; 29.xe4 g5
30.f5 xc2!) 29...c4 and Black keeps a clear plus. 27...g5+
28.h1 xc2 Winning a piece? Not half! 29.d4! Now the best
Black can do is f5 30.xc2 xd4 31.exd4 d5+ 32.g1 xd4,
but after 33.d1 , despite White's inferior pawn structure, he should
not have big problems keeping the balance.
3.65
Krasenkow,M - Epishin,V Brno 1994
Evaluate 19 Rc1
Black's last move was 18...Ra8-a7, preventing 19 Rc7. He now
threatens 19...Nxe5, but also, in the case of the normal 19 f4, wants
to push White's rook away from the c-file: 19...Nb8 20 Rc3 Bb4 (or
20... b4).
27.xd5 exd5 28.g3 c3 29.f3 and wins; 26...e2! is the best defence, but after 27.xe2 c3 28.e3 xe4 29.xe4, Black's broken
kingside gives him no chances to survive. 27.g3 Black resigned in
view of 27.g3 e2 28.f3 h8 29.f6! xf6 30.xf7, followed by
mate.
3.67
Krasenkow,M - Peng Xiaomin Shenyang 1999
White has sacrificed a piece and is now going to regain it, thereby
keeping a strong attack. Black rejected 30...xf5! The game continued 30...f8? 31.f1 g7 32.fxg6 xg6 33.f5 b7 34.h3 f7
35.f2 and White squashed his opponent's position. 31.exf5 xf5
in view of 32.g6. Both players calculated the following line: e4+
33.g2. However, we missed a splendid defence: h6!! [ instead of
33...e1+ 34.f1! xf1+ 35.g1 xg1+ 36.xg1, when White wins.
34.ag3 Now after 34.xh6 xg6, Black obtains excellent compensation for the piece: if 35.ag3, Black can force a draw by means of
(loses to 35.e3? b1+ 36.g1 xg1+! 37.xg1 xh6+ 38.g2
g8+ 39.g3 xg3+ 40.xg3 g6+; or if 35.f1 then bg8)
35...e1+ 36.g1 e4+ , as 37.3g2? bg8 is bad for White.; To
34.h3 xg6 35.xh6 , Black can equalize by means of (or 35.xh6
bg8 36.f1 xd5 with good counterplay) 35...xg2 (and the simple
retreat 35...g7 may be even stronger) 36.xg2 xc4 37.g5
xd5! 38.xd6 g8! with the of idea 39.xd5 xg5! 40.d8+ g8.
34...e1+ 34...xg6 35.xg6 xc1 is more risky due to 36.6g4 f4
37.h4. 35.g1 xg1+ 36.xg1 f8! with mutual chances.
3.68
Lara Ruiz,J - Ilinca,A correspondence 2003
White's position looks uncomfortable. His rook is hanging and keeping it on the h-file is apparently impossible. However, White can
balance the game by means of an intermediate bishop sacrifice:
23.xc4! After 23.h6 xd4! 24.d1 (White can't play 24.h5 (or
24 Qh3) in view of c2+ 25.e2 f4+ ;and 24.xd5+ xd5
25.xd5 c2+ loses an exchange) 24...f5 Black just keeps an
extra pawn.; If the rook retreats 23.e4 (or 23 Rg4), then White loses most of his counterplay and Black, with his stronghold on d5,
keeps the better prospects after, say, cb4. 23...bxc4 24.h6 and
after f4! It turns out that 24...xd4? now loses to 25.h5 c2+
26.f1. Clearing this square was the point behind 23 Bxc4.
25.xc6 xd4 26.f1 d3 27.d1, an approximately equal, although quite tense position arose. The game ended in a draw in a
few moves: f7 28.g6+ f8 29.g1 xf2 30.xf2 xf2 31.h1
xb2 32.d1 e5 33.h7 f4 34.h6+ g8.
3.69
Avrukh,B - Sutovsky,E Ashdod 2004
Most probably, Boris Avrukh had not enough time to calculate
30.dh3! White continued 30.e6 xh6 31.f3, keeping some pressure. However, he missed a chance to win the game by force.
xg2+. A pity as the way White's king escapes Black's queen resembles the Russian 'Nu, pogodi!' cartoon series about the hare
and the wolf: 31.d1 f1+ 32.c2 e2+ 33.c1! It is too early to
go to the third rank: 33.c3? b4+ 34.b3 c4+! 35.xc4 xc4+
36.xc4 xh6 37.xh6 g7; or 33.b3? c4+ and White can't play
34.a3? due to b4+! 35.a4 xa2+ 36.b5 b8+. e1+ 34.b2
e2+ And not 34...b4+? 35.c2 a4+ 36.c1. 35.a3! b4+
36.a4 a6+ 37.b3 c4+ If a3+ 38.c2 b3+ 39.d1. 38.c2 Of
course, White should not allow Black's rook (the fox?) to join the
hunt: 38.xb4? b8+ 39.c3 a3+ 40.d4 b2+ 41.e3 c1+
42.f3 f1+ 43.g4 g2+ 44.g3 e2+ 45.h3 f1+ 46.g4
e2+ draws; and 38.b2? spoils everything too: c3+ 39.c2 e2+
40.b3 b2+ 41.a4 a3+ 42.b5 b8+ 43.c5 a5+ 44.d4
xd5+ 45.exd5 xh6 46.xh6 c8 and the rook endgame is drawn.
38...xa2+ 39.d1 The hare runs back. b1+ 40.e2 c2+
41.f1! 41.f3 is possible too, but after d3+!, White must find an
accurate move in (41...c3+ 42.g4) 42.f2! (and not 42.g4?
e2+ ;or 42.xd3?? xh6+) 42...c2+ (if 42...xd5 43.xg6#)
43.g3 c3+ 44.g4, when he wins. 41...c1+ 42.g2 c2+ After 42...g5+ 43.f3, the checks are over. 43.g3 c3+ 44.g4.
The wolf can only powerlessly shout: "Nu, pogodi!" ("Well, just you
wait!").
3.70
Schandorff,L - Borge,N Danish Championship, Aarhus 1999
21.c4! The guiding idea of bringing the b2-bishop into play is implemented in a spectacular tactical way. e6 The text move is probably the worst of Black's three options, due to the following point:
Or 21...xd2 22.xf6 and now:
A) 22...e3+ 23.h1 d4 (23...xc4 24.e1 xf4 25.d7 c7??
26.e8 wins ) 24.e7 xc4 25.e1 e6 26.xf8 xf8 27.g4! and
White's d-pawn guarantees him a clear advantage.;
B) 22...xc4 23.f3!? b5 24.e7 b8 25.d7 a5 26.f5!, again with a
pull for White. ;Instead, in the case of 21...f5 22.e2 e6
23.xe6 fxe6 24.b5, Black's position is very unpleasant, despite
his extra pawn.
22.f5!! xd2 Alas, this is now forced in view of the threat of 23 Qh6;
For instance, in the case of 22...xf5? 23.h6.; If 22...gxf5 then
23.f4 with a crushing attack: for example, xc4 24.d7! g6
25.xf5 h5 26.g3+. 23.fxe6 fxe6 24.xf8+ xf8 25.f6! e3+
26.h1 d4 27.g5 e5 28.d7 c7 29.b5! b1 30.d8+ xd8
31.xd8 Despite having three pawns for the piece, the endgame is
hopeless for Black. e4 32.g1 b7 33.f2 f7 34.g3 h6 35.h4
e5 36.c7 e6 37.e3 g5 38.hxg5 hxg5 39.b8 a6 40.a4 c8
41.c7 b5 42.cxb5 axb5 43.xb5 f5 44.d6 g4 45.xe5.
Black resigned in 10 more moves.
3.71
Heberla,B - Krasenkow,M Rethymnon 2003
Can Black play 15...Ng4 - ?
15...g4? was a big mistake leading to a forced loss: 16.xf7! Other attempts don't bring any benefit:
16.d6 xe3 17.xf7 b6! and White must play 18.a4! (18.h6+
h8 19.xf8+ xf8 is somewhat inferior) 18...xd1+ 19.xb6 d4+
20.h1 f5!! with unclear complications; (rather than 20...axb6
21.dxe7 f2+ 22.xf2 xf2 23.g5+ g7 24.exf8+ xf8 25.xe4
and White ends up with an extra pawn.);
16.xf7 xe3! 17.xg7+! xg7 18.d4+ g8 19.xe3 f5 20.d6+
g7 21.xe4 xg5! 22.xa8 e3+ 23.h1 g3+ (23...xd6!?)
24.hxg3 h6+ with a perpetual.
16...c7! If xf7 17.d6 xe3 18.dxe7 wins; or xe3 17.xd8 xf1+
(if 17...xd1 18.d6+) 18.xf1 xf1 19.d6+ f8 20.xf1+ f5
21.g4!, when White should win. 17.d6! xc4 18.dxe7 xe3 Black
doesn't see the danger until the very end. However, his position is
ned. 31.d6 f6! and the fight goes on. But not 31...g7? 32.xf8
xf8 33.d8+.
3.73
Krasenkow,M - Arbakov,V Moscow 1989
27.h8+ f7 28.h6 Of course, this move is the most natural, but
White has a number of other possibilities. To any of them, however,
Black possesses sufficient defensive resources:
28.f6+ e8 29.h8 d7 30.g8 (threatening 31 Bxe7 Qxe7 32
Rg7) h7! 31.xf8 xf6 32.exf6 (if 32.xf6 ah8) 32...xf8 33.xf8
e8 34.c5 h4 with counterplay.;
28.g5 (planning g6-g7) e8! (preparing 29...Qd5 or 29...Qxd4) (loses after e4? 29.g6+! xg6 30.f3+ f5 31.f6+ e8 32.xf5!
exf5 33.xe7 xe7 34.c6+) 29.xe7 d5! (but not xe7? 30.g6
d7 31.g7 g6 32.xa8 xa8 33.g8) 30.xf8+ d7 31.f3 xf3
32.xf3 xf3, again with good counterchances.;
28.d5!? xd5 29.g5 e8 30.g6 d7 31.xe7 xe7 32.g7 g6
33.xa8 xg7! (in the 28 g5 line, without 28 d5 Bxd5, this was impossible because Black's bishop was unprotected) 34.d1! (after
34.a7?? xe5+ 35.g3 f3+ , the a1-rook is hanging) 34...f4+!
(34...xe5+ is inferior due to 35.g3 f3+ 36.g2! ) 35.g3 e2+
36.f1 xg3+ 37.hxg3 xe5 38.xa6 e4 39.xb5+ c8 and
White must give perpetual.
It was not necessary for White to delve into these variations since I
found the decisive continuation after 28 Rh6. 28...e8 29.xe6!
xe6 30.xf8+ d7 31.f7+ e7 32.e6+ c6 32...c8 loses immediately after 33.xe7, but what to do now?; After 32...c6 it appears White should take Black's rook. Let's try:
A) 33.xe7 xd4 34.d7+ xd7 35.exd7 xd7, when Black's queenside pawns can be quite strong and White's victory is far from
certain.;
B) 33.xe7 xd4 34.f3+ b6 35.e3 (or 35.d1 xf3 36.xd4
e8) 35...xe3 36.fxe3 e8 37.f6 xe6 38.g5 b4 is even less clear
than the previous line.;
C) 33.f3+!? d5 34.xd5+ xd5 35.xe7 e8 36.b4 xe6.
Compared to the first line, White has kept his d-pawn, but Black's
pieces are more active.
Should White now choose between the first and the third option?
Fortunately, he has one more possibility, which I saw when beginning the combination: 33.f6!! White renounces (in fact, delays) the
rook recapture, first protecting his d-pawn. d5 Or else:
33...g8? 34.f3+ b6 35.c5+ a5 36.c3+ and mate in one.;
33...f8 34.e5! threatens both 35.c5# (and 35.e4+ b6
36.c5+ a5 37.e1+. Black has no defence.);
33...f7!? 34.xd8 xd8 35.exf7 wins.;
has temporarily escaped checks. This was the most stubborn, but
also an insufficient defence. White parries Black's mate threat by
means of 35.h4 and continues his decisive attack: for example,
h3+ (or 35...d3+ 36.h2 e4 37.f3!?) 36.h2 xe6 37.xe6+
d8 (if 37...f7 38.h6) 38.g5+ e7 39.g7. The text move leads to a simpler but nice finale. 33.g8+! xg8 34.g5+ h7
35.f8+ h8 36.xh6+ g8 37.g3+ f7 38.e6+ and Black resigned.
3.75
Krasenkow,M - Kelecevic,N Wattens 1990
At first glance, White's position appears quite unpleasant: he is
about to lose his e-pawn and face a long fight for a draw. However,
he solves his problems and obtains the better prospects by means
of a fantastic combination. It often happens that brilliant tactics are
used just for small gains. That's chess! 32.dxe6!! xa8 32...xa8?
loses to 33.exf7+ h8 34.xa8 xa8 35.e6 c5 36.d7 g5
37.xc7, etc.; Had Black foreseen the consequences of his natural
move, he would have probably looked for alternatives and found a
nice counterblow in 32...xf2+!? 33.xf2 xa8 34.e7 e8 35.c5.
White has protected his passed pawn, but it is difficult for him to
make further progress due to the poor position of his king. 33.e7! c5
33...e8 34.d8 c6 doesn't help due to a typical deflection:
lose. 38.d5 h5 39.xc5 Here too Black should hold his ground, but
it is now a bit more difficult. h4 39...b7, leading to a theoretically
drawn rook ending, was a good idea. 40.g2 g6 40...hxg3 41.hxg3
b7! was still possible. Instead, Black loses the game just in a few
moves. 41.d5 b2?! 42.d6 b7? 43.e6 d2? 44.exf7+ h7
45.f8. Black resigned.
3.76
Pisa Ferrer,J - Krasenkow,M Borriana 1991
25...xg2! 26.xg2 xh3+ 27.g1 g4 28.d4 The only defence
against the threat of 28...Bf3; For example, 28.dxc6 f3 29.xd8+
xd8 30.xd8+ f8 and wins. 28...c5! Immediately attacking White's
knight. 28...c7 was less forcing and less clear: for instance,
29.xg5 xd1 30.xd1 af8 31.e2 xf2 32.e6+! xe6 33.xe6
b6! 34.h1! 8f3 35.a5! xa5 36.g1 f7 37.c1 and White keeps chances to survive. 29.xg5! a5! 29...cxd4?? is obviously
impossible here due to 30.xd8 f3 31.e8+ f8 32.g5+; while
29...c7? allows a wonderful escape: 30.d8!! xd8 31.d6!! xd6 (if
31...xd6 32.g5+) 32.e8+ g7 33.e6+! xe6 34.xe6 xe6
35.g5+ f8 36.d8+! xd8 37.xd8+ with perpetual check.
30.xa5 cxd4 30...xf2 is premature in view of 31.xf2 f8+
32.df5. 31.b5 [ 31.d3 also fails to xf2!. 31...xd1? Not the
most accurate continuation, if a typical mistake: Black makes a mo-
3.79
Krasenkow,M - De Firmian,N Polanica Zdroj 1995
Has White got anything better than 58 Bxa4 - ?
White had a possibility to finish the game off by means of a nice
combination: 58.xf5! I saw this move, but was too lazy to calculate
it - and yet the price could have been high. Instead, I played
58.xa4?! without long meditation and won after xa4+ 59.xa4
b6 60.a6! b8 61.a4 d7 62.a5 c7 63.c3 c8 64.c6 d7
65.c2 c8 66.a6 d7 67.a7 a8 68.a6 c8 69.a1! d8 70.f6
b7 71.e1.;
However, Black could have defended better: 58.xa4?! xa4+
59.xa4 d7! (with the idea of ...Bd8-b6 and ...Kd7-c7), after which
it turns out that White has only one, study-like winning continuation.
White wins by means of a seemingly senseless intermediate check:
A) The obvious 60.a6? probably lets the victory slip. It is important
that neither the bishop nor the pawn endgame is winning unless
White's king invades the b5-square. Here are some variations: c7
61.c3 (or 61.a4 b8!) 61...b8! 62.c2 (Black is OK too after
62.a3 b6 ;and 62.a4 c8 ;and 62.a5 xa5 63.xa5 c7)
62...c8 63.a4 (or 63.a5 xa5 64.xa5 b7) 63...b7 64.c6
a8 65.b3 a6 66.a5 xc6 67.dxc6+ xc6 68.a4 b8 69.g7
c7 70.f6 b8 71.d8 a7 with a draw.;
position arose on the board, it turned out that Mark Tseitlin had not
calculated it properly. He continued 25...e2+? and after 26.f1!
xc3 27.c8 d1+ (27...xc4+ 28.e1) 28.e1 d3+ 29.g1
d4+ 30.h1 e4 31.c7+ g8 32.h3, I parried his threats and
eventually brought home my material advantage.; 25...b6? was
also insufficient, as after 26.c8 Black has nothing more than a few
checks: f3+ 27.f1 g1+ 28.e2 xg2+ 29.e3. The other
knight check was correct. 26.h1! 26.gxf3 is obviously poor in view
of b6+.; After 26.f1 xh2+ 27.e1, Black can choose between
xb2 (and 27...xe8 28.c8+ f7 29.xc6 xb2) 28.c8 xc3+,
when White can't escape the perpetual. 26...xc4! 26...b6 is no
good anymore due to 27.e7+! (protecting the pawn) f6 (if xe7
28.c8+!) 28.gxf3 f2 (28...b7 29.xh7 is hopeless) 29.e6+!
f7 30.e2! xf3+ 31.g1 and Black's checks soon peter out: for
instance, g4+ 32.f2 h4+ 33.g2 g4+ 34.g3.; However,
Black had a good alternative: 26...xb2! 27.gxf3 xc3! (not
27...f2? 28.e2) 28.c8 xf3+ 29.g1 g4+ 30.f2 xf4+
31.e1 c1+ 32.e2 xc4+ 33.d2 d4+ 34.c2 c4+ and
White's king has no place to hide. 27.e2 After 27.e2? xf4, again threatening mate on f1, White loses his c-pawn. 27...xe8
28.c8+ e7 29.c7+ e8. White must either give the perpetual
check or continue 30.b8+ f7 31.a7+ f8 32.e3, but then af-
27.f5!! gxf5 28.g1. That's why 24 Kh1 should have been played,
so that White can mate along the cleared g-file. The same tactical
blow (Bd3-f5!) decides after 25...Be5. 26.f4 More accurate than the
immediate 26.f5, to which Black can put up resistance by giving up
an exchange: e7! (rather than 26...gxf5 27.g1 f8 28.h6+ e7
29.f4.) 26...d4 26...xf4 leads to a quick mate after 27.e8+ g7
28.f6+ xf6 29.h8+ g5 (29...e7 30.e1+) 30.g1+ h6
31.f8+ h5 32.e2+ h4 33.g4+, etc. 27.e8+ g7 28.f5!!
gxf5 29.g1. Once again White is winning down the open g-file.
3.83
Lagunow,A - Krasenkow,M Dnepropetrovsk 1985
This position is not just a calculation exercise, but also an example
of a beauty you will never appreciate without trying to discover it
yourself. It looks obvious that Black should try to exploit the hanging
position of White's bishops and the weakness of his back rank.
23...a4! Instead, let's try:
23...d1 24.f1 h5 (or 24...a4 25.d2) 25.d2 b5+
(25...xh2 is harmless due to 26.f3) 26.g1 xb2 27.e3 b4
(27...c3 28.e2) 28.c1! c3 29.c2 c7 30.d1 and White successfully defends.;
23...b4 24.c1 c5 25.c2! c7 26.d2 f6 and now either
27.f4, threatening 28 Qd8+, (or even 27.b3 fxg5 28.xe6+.);
C1) in the case of 34.d7+ e7, White should play 35.d5+ anyway; (since neither 35.xb8 c4+; nor 35.f5+ e8 36.g6+ d7
37.g4+ c6 38.f3+ b6 39.xb8 c4+ 40.c3 e2+ 41.d2
c4+ 42.d1 xa2 is convincing);
C2) 34.d5+ and then:
C2a) 34...g6? 35.e6+.;
C2b) 34...e8 35.xb8 (35.c6+ f7 36.f3+ is possible too)
35...xf2+ (or 35...e2+ 36.b3 b5+ 37.c3 xf2 38.e4+ d8
39.e5) 36.b3 f6 37.e5 e3+ (if c4+ 38.a4 c2+ 39.b5)
38.c3 xc3 39.bxc3 xh3 40.c4 with a winning queen endgame.;
C2c) 34...f8 35.f3+! (probably the most accurate) (but 35.xb8
apparently wins too: xf2+ 36.b3 e3+ 37.a4 e8+ 38.a3
xb8 39.f5+ e7 40.e4+ f8 41.xh4) 35...g8 (White also
wins after both 35...e7 36.xb8 c4+ 37.c3 e2+ 38.d2 c4+
39.d1 xa2 40.d6+ f7 41.xc5; and 35...e8 36.xb8 c4+
37.d1 d4+ 38.e1 b4+ 39.c3! e4+ 40.f1) 36.xb8 c4+
37.c3! e2+ 38.d2 c4+ 39.b1 f1+ 40.c1 d3+ 41.a1
xf2 42.xa7 and White should win.
Of course, no human can calculate these variations to the end. However, White went for these lines without any risk: a draw was guaranteed, and if there was something more promising, I could always
find the right continuation later on. Whereas, the 26...Bxh4 line (wit-
21.xe7, gaining a queen for two rooks, was the lesser evil: xe7
22.a3 (or 22.xf6 xf6 23.xb6 xb6 24.e4 be6) 22...e8
23.xb6 xb6, although Black has a clear advantage here.
21...xf2+!! Believe it or not, I did see this queen sacrifice, but was
convinced that Black couldn't expect more than a draw. What really
surprised me was the enthusiasm and agitation with which my opponent made this move. 22.xf2 22.h1 xf6 23.e4 a7 is obviously hopeless. 22...c5+ 23.f3?! The perplexity continues.
23.f1 loses immediately to c3+; but 23.d4 xd4+ 24.f3, deflecting Black's bishop from the important e7-square, was more stubborn. Black could continue in the same way as in the game, f6+
25.g4 e5+! , and now:
A) 26.xe5 c8+ wins.;
B) 26.h4 c8 27.h5 (otherwise, 27.b8 g6+ 28.h5 f5+
29.g4 h5+ 30.h3 f3+ 31.xc8 f4+ 32.h4 f6# ;or 27.h3
h6+ 28.g5 xh3 29.f4 d3+ 30.f3 xe1+ ) 27...f4+!
28.g5 (if 28.gxf4 f2+ 29.g5 f6# ) 28...f2! 29.h4 xg2 is hopeless too.;
C) 26.g5! c8! and White's king can't escape the mating net: Finally, in the case of (better than 26...g6+ 27.h4)
C1) 27.g4 g6+ 28.h5 (28.f4 d3+ 29.g3 f2+ wins) 28...c5
(threatening 29...Be7) (28...f2 is good too) 29.b7 h6+ 30.g5
f6+ 31.f4 d3+ 32.f3 (or 32.g3 f2+ 33.f3 xg4+! 34.xg4
25...g6+ 26.h5 It's all over too after 26.f5 c8+ 27.e4 d3+
(or 27...d6) 28.d5 xe1 ;and 26.f4 d3+ 27.f3 f6+ 28.g4
c8+ 29.h4 xe1. f6 c8 was equally good. 27.xe5 27.d5+
f8 doesn't change anything. xe5+ 28.h4 c8. Black resigned.
3.86
Vaisser,A - Vachier Lagrave,M French Ch-ship, Chartres 2005
Can Black play 29...Rb8 - ?
29...b8? loses in a fantastic way: 29...b8 was the right continuation, after which Black's knight could move to c6 or b5. For example:
A) 30.g4 c6 (30...b5!?) 31.h8 (or 31.f7 b4) 31...c7
32.8h7 b8 and White must repeat moves.;
B) 30.a3!? b5!?.;
C) 30.h8!? xh8 (or 30...c7 31.8h7!? b8) 31.xh8 xh8
32.d8+ (32.d7? doesn't work due to f5+! 33.exf5 d4+)
32...b7 33.d7+ draws.
30.g4!! Amazingly, despite an extra knight, Black is completely tied
up. b7 Black gives up material at once. The rest is clear. If c7
then 31.xg8!.; Knight moves (say, 30...c6?) allow 31.e6+ b7
32.xg8; or if 30...b5 then 31.xc5+ c6 32.d1 with the deadly
threat of 33 Rd8 (+).; After the exhaustion of a-pawn moves Black
will be in zugzwang: for instance, 30...a6 31.f3 a5 32.f2 a4
33.g2 a3 34.f2 (zugzwang!) b7 35.xg8 xg8 36.h8 xe7
37.xg8+ c7 38.xg6 f7 39.h3 with a winning endgame.; Finally, 30...c2+ doesn't help either: 31.f3 d4+ (or 31...b4
32.e6+ b7 33.xg8) 32.g2, etc. 31.xg8 xg8 32.h8 xe7
33.xg8+ b7 34.xg6 f7 35.h3 c2+ 36.e2 d4+ 37.f1
and Black resigned.
3.87
Carlsen,Ma - Shirov,A Sofia 2009
A sharp position in which both players have dangerous passed
pawns. However, Black had a subtle way to obtain an advantage.
He should have built a shelter for his king: 33...a5!! Instead, Alexei
Shirov made a natural move in 33...c3?!, and after 34.bxc3 bxc3
35.xf7+ c7 (35...a6 is hardly enough to win either: for example,
36.a2+ b5 37.h7 c2 38.b2+ b4 39.c1 a3 40.f1+ a4
41.h8 c1 42.xc1 xc1+ 43.h2 d2 44.e8+, etc) 36.b3+
b6 37.f7+, the players started repeating moves since Black's
king couldn't escape the checks. If a6 (or 37...c7 38.d5+)
38.a2+ a5, then 39.e2+ b6 40.e3+ b7 41.e7+ c7
42.b4+, etc. 34.xf7+ a6! Now after ...c4-c3 White will not be
able to give a check on a2. Here are possible variations: 35.h7
35.g6 e5 36.h7 xf6 37.h8 xg6 38.xe5 c6 and the queen
ending is probably winning for Black as his passed pawns are much
the stronger.; 35.h7 f8! 36.g6 c3 37.bxc3 bxc3 38.d3+ b7
It is clear that taking the knight with the pawn allows Black to comfortably finish his development. Indeed, we would like to exploit the
position of his king in the centre. There seems to be a lot of possibilities. The most energetic continuation, which took me most of my
time, fruitlessly spent, was: 20.h3! After a long meditation (an hour
or so), not finding a decisive continuation, I reluctantly played
20.bxc4? and after c5 21.e3?! (it was better to keep the darksquared bishop: for instance, 21.h5+ g6 22.g4 d8 23.xd8+
xd8 24.xd8+ xd8 25.g5 f8 26.f3 c7 27.h4 , although
Black should not lose here either) 21...0-0 22.xc5 xc5, Black's
blockade on the dark squares fully compensated for White's extra
pawn. The game ended in a draw on move 36. However, a winning
continuation did exist and might have been found over the board,
despite the fact that a full analysis of this position would take perhaps a few pages. ;Let's start with 20.h5+ g6, and then:
(20...e7? 21.bxc4 is obviously favourable for White)
A) 21.h3 , followed by:
A1) 21...d8? 22.g5;
A2) 21...f7!? 22.bxc4 (22.xc8 d6!) 22...d8 23.g5 e7 with a
defensible position.;
A3) 21...b6 22.g5 (if 22.xg6+ hxg6 23.xh8 f7; or 22.d2
a3) 22...c6 23.xg6+ hxg6 24.xh8 bd7 and White is better,
but the fight goes on.;
c8 34.f5! xd7 35.xd7 wins) 30.d3 xe5 31.f7! 32, threatening Qxb7 and 32 Qf5;
B) 28.exd6, followed by 29 d7, are quite enough to win.
28.xc1 xe5 29.bxc3 xc3 30.d2. White should gradually convert his material advantage.