Imagination in Chess E-Book

Paata Gaprindashvili

• Herausgeber: Batsford
• Kategorie: Lebensstil
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 377

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2020

Beschreibung

There is much published on chess tactics, strategy, openings and endings, but little on how to come up with imaginative solutions through logical thinking and evaluation. This book is dedicated to that task and provides over 700 'fresh' positions, incorporating a variety of schemes of thought for the reader to solve. The examples emphasise the power of logical and resourceful thinking, quick wit and imagination. In each chapter the author presents little-explored concepts, such as progressive and reciprocal thinking, to help the reader achieve decisive results and to make fewer mistakes in calculation. The material has been accumulated by the author over many years as a trainer and will be of great benefit to competitive players seeking to improve their methods of thinking.

Leseprobe

Imagination in Chess

How to think creatively and avoid foolish mistakes

Paata Gaprindashvili

Contents

Foreword

1 Progressive Thinking

2 Reciprocal Thinking

3 Reciprocal Thinking – Logic

4 Reciprocal Thinking – Auxiliary Idea

5 Mental Agility

6 Mental Agility – Reciprocal Thinking – Auxiliary Idea

7 Imagination

Solutions to Exercises

Index of Players

Foreword

Chessplayers possess plenty of manuals on tactics, quite a few textbooks on strategy, and stacks of books on the opening and endgame. Yet there are hardly any publications dealing with the main thing—the process of thought, the evaluation and development of the brain’s reflective activity.

It is to these issues that the present work is devoted.

The author would like to share his ideas and the pedagogical material that he has accumulated over many years of intensive labour. Over 700 “fresh” positions are collected in the book, incorporating a variety of schemes of thought. Attention is drawn to the role of logic and resource; light is shed on the problem of imagination. In sum, there is much here that the reader will find useful.

The book is intended for trainers and competitive players.

How should you work with the book? To make the best use of it, we recommend the following:

(1) Carefully study the introductory article to the first chapter.

(2) To consolidate the material, solve a few exercises.

(3) Go on to the second chapter, and proceed in the same way.

In other words, you need to acquaint yourself with all the theoretical material and then extend your mastery equally in all directions.

Asterisks above the diagrams indicate the level of complexity. The exercises should, of course, be solved without moving the pieces, though an exception may be made with positions on level four (****).

We believe that regular solving of these exercises will improve the cogitative action of the brain and raise your standard of play.

The author is grateful to those who helped him collect the material and who collaborated in the production of this book.

1 Progressive Thinking

What should I undertake? How am I to continue? Chessplayers are faced with such questions at every turn. To answer them correctly, you have to perform a specific task which comprises a number of steps:–

(1) Study the position, that is, identify all the tactical and strategic peculiarities of the configuration of pieces and pawns. Note the word study. We are not talking about “evaluating” the position but about “studying” it, because an evaluation just by itself (without study) doesn’t supply the key to further action. For instance it may be a case of “White stands better”, and a young player may give the correct assessment—but he won’t know what to do next. What is he to do with this “better” position?

(2) Studying the position generates ideas with their corresponding “candidate moves”. These ideas aim at exploiting some particular characteriestics of the situation (the characteristics you previously identified!).

(3) Now calculate the variations and assess the positions to which they lead. In other words, weigh up an idea and assess it for suitability.

(4) If the verdict on the idea is positive, you carry it out, that is you make the corresponding move.

Let us take an example.

Toshkov-Russek

Saint John, 1988

White to move

As we study the situation, our attention is drawn to the following:

(a) the opposition of the queens, and the fact that the bishop on d6 is to some extent “hanging”;

(b) the alignment of the king and bishop on the a2-g8 diagonal (the pawn on f7 is pinned, which means the knight on g6 is unprotected).

Such are the tactical features. Of the strategic ones, we notice:

(c) White’s pawn superiority in the centre, and Black’s on the queenside.

From the above, some ideas and “candidate moves” emerge:

(A) White could try to pick up the bishop on d6 by jumping to b5 or f5 with a knight: 1 ♘cb5; 1 ♘db5; 1 ♘f5.

(B) He might attempt to win the knight on g6 after clearing the pawn from e4; thus, 1 e5.

(C) He could prepare the advance of his e- and f-pawns: 1 ♘de2; 1 ♛d2.

You might ask about the order in which the candidate moves should be examined. The answer is, first of all look at the most promising ones, those which are forcing and tactical in character. Only then examine the moves which aim to carry out a strategic plan.

So let us proceed to the calculation of variations.

(A) It’s clear that knight excursions to b5 promise nothing good, while 1 ♘f5 doesn’t lead to a forced line of play, and would require detailed investigation.

So we switch to the following possibility:

(B) 1 e5 — a fairly straightforward analysis shows that White wins. The verdict on the idea is positive. The move can be played.

As you see, then, we never got round to examining the strategic moves 1 ♘de2 and 1 ♛d2.

In the game, the continuation was: 1 e5! ♘xe5 2 f4 (the knight perishes) 2...♘eg4 3 hxg4 ♘xg4 4 ♗c1 ♖ad8 5 ♘e4 ... 1-0.

In this case the winning idea was “on the surface”, the variations proved very simple and White didn’t need to “dig deep”. Let us visualize the scheme of thought like this:

But is what we have said above realistic?

Usually it all happens a bit differently. When a player turns his attention to the placing of the queens and the vulnerability of the bishop on d6, and notes the corresponding moves 1 ♘cb5 and 1 ♘db5, it’s hard to imagine him not looking immediately at the capture of the knight—l...cxb5. In other words, a preliminary, cursory inspection of the elementary forced variations takes place as soon as the idea emerges. In this way, idea “A” is discarded without more ado.

Next, the player will notice the opposition of the bishop and king, the pin on the f7-pawn and the unprotected position of the knight on g6. The move 1 e5 comes into his head, and he immediately starts working out the variations.

With this, the preparatory work is practically finished. The player will dispense with any further investigations. He will re-check his variations and play 1 e5.

It’s easy to see that this scheme differs substantially from the previous one.

If idea “B” cropped up first (as well it might), the scheme of thought would be simplified still further:

We will agree to classify this scheme as progressive thinking, by which we mean a simple, straightforward train of thought.

In chess as in life, battles are fought between ideas. As a rule, the more sophisticated ones prevail. We now offer 180 positions for solution, which we hope will help young players to pursue their mental development and conceive new, interesting ideas.

2 Reciprocal Thinking

After noticing an idea and briefly familiarizing ourselves with it, we proceed to its detailed examination. What do we do if we find that it doesn’t work? Do we discard it and try another one, and then the next one and so on? Then do we come back to the first one, and study it more closely? This is hardly sensible. If we fail to make an idea work, we need to stop and ascertain the cause of failure (i.e. answer the question “why?”), and then attempt to correct our design.

Let’s take an example.

Aronin-Kholmov

Yerevan, 1962

Black to move

It’s interesting to acquaint ourselves with Kholmov’s comments: “Black’s advantage is undeniable. It looks as if 32...♘d4 would be very strong, removing the last obstacle—the knight on f5. But then there could follow 33 ♘xd4 ♛e3+ 34 ♔h1 cxd4 35 ♛xa5, and White obtains saving chances based on the threat of perpetual check. This variation didn’t satisfy me, so my thoughts took a new direction. What about 32...♛d2 ? Then White evidently has to play 33 ♖f2, to defend against mate. But after that, it’s simple: 33...♛d1+ 34 ♖f1 f2+! 35 ♔xf2 ♖xf5+ 36 exf5 ixf5+ 37 ♔e3 ♛xf1, and Black wins.

“That’s it! I’ve found the solution—let’s go!

“And yet just as my hand was reaching out towards the queen, an uneasy feeling came over me. On 32...♛d2, White has 33 ♘h4!. What then? Black would gain nothing from 33...♘d4, in view of 34 ♛xd6. The threats of 35 ♛g6+ and 35 ♛xc5 would be quite unpleasant. After a little more thought, I came to the conclusion that the knight on f5 had to be eliminated at once.”

32...♖xf5! 33 exf5 ♛d2, and White resigned.

What did Kholmov do? He corrected his idea. How? By altering the order of moves.

Let’s look at another episode from play.

Purins-Inglitls

Correspondence game, 1971

White to move

After 1 ♛xd6+ ♔b7, or 1 ♘xd6 hxg6, no decisive continuations are to be found. What is White to do?

1 ♘b5+!! An important interpolation! With this intermediate check, White causes the long diagonal to be opened, allowing his bishop to join in the attack with tempo: 1...cxb5 (or 1...♔b7 2 ♘cxd6+ ♔a6 3 ♘c7 mate) 2 ♛xd6+ ♔b7 3 ♗xe4 (check!) ♘c6 4 ♗xc6+ ♔a6 5 ♛a3 mate. Therefore, Black resigned.

By inserting a useful intermediate move, White brought about a favourable change in the position. Thus, an idea may be corrected by:

(a) altering the order of moves;

(b) inserting an intermediate move.

A simplified representation of the “reciprocal” scheme of thought would look like this:

A problem that many young players have is that they don’t think about the reason why one idea doesn’t work; they set about examining the next one straight away. In other words in the logical chain of their thought there is a link missing, namely “ascertain the cause”, and consequently “correct the idea”.

This results in missed opportunities and a low quality of play.

Experience has shown that the reciprocal manner of thinking is easy for a player to develop.

3 Reciprocal Thinking – Logic

Quite often a player succeeds in physically eliminating the reason why an idea doesn’t work. This is achieved with the aid of logic.

Sax-Partos

Biel, 1985

White to move

The straightforward 1 ♖xe6 ♗xe6 2 ♖xe6 looks obvious, but then Black parries the threat of 3 ♖g6+ by playing 2...♛xc2.

1 c4!! bxc3 Now the queen can’t get to c2!

2 ♖xe6 ♗xe6 3 ♖xe6 ♗f6 4 ♖xf6, and Partos resigned.

In this case White eliminated the direct defensive possibility (♛c8xc2).

Now let us look at another example.

Bednarski-Ghitescu

Bath, 1973

White to move

White can’t play 1 ♖h3 because of mate on g2.

1 ♗d5! Depriving Black of his counter-threats on the long diagonal—a logical decision!

1...♘xf3 If 1...exd5, then 2 ♖h3.

2 ♗xc6 ♗xc6 3 gxf3 ♗xf3+ 4 ♔g1... 1-0.

Here White parried his opponent’s counter-threat with tempo, that is he deprived him of an indirect defence.

Sometimes more complex cases arise.

Lukin-Yuneev

Leningrad, 1989

White to move

The knight on a1 is short of mobility. White can try to win it with 1 ♖c4, but Black replies 1...♖b8 and saves his piece by exploiting the weakness of the back rank: 2 ♖c1 ♘c2!. So let’s try to stop the black rook from coming into play: 1 ♖d4+ ♔c8 (the square b8 is now inaccessible) 2 ♖c4, and wins. However, the king isn’t forced to retreat to the eighth rank—Black has 1...♔e6. Well, can we deprive him of this possibility too?

1 e6+!! fxe6 2 ♖d4+!, and Yuneev laid down his arms.

In this case, how will the reciprocal train of thought be schematically represented?

4 Reciprocal Thinking – Auxiliary Idea

Sometimes, to carry out one idea, you need to find another auxiliary one.

Gulko-Vaganian

Reggio Emilia, 1981

Black to move

Black is in a difficult situation. To save himself, he will have to pick up the h-pawn (which is a long way away) and get back to the f5-square. But analysis shows that he is one tempo short. His position looks hopeless.

1...♔c5 2 ♔a4 Playing 2 h4 would be silly—the opposing king is in the “square”.

2...♔c4!! The auxiliary idea! By threatening to take the e3-pawn, Vaganian forces his opponent’s next move:

3 h4 After 3 ♔a5 ♔d3, the game would be dawn.

3...♔d5! Reverting to the original idea—the route to the h-pawn is now one square shorter!

4 ♔a5 ♔e5 5 ♔a6 ♔f5 6 ♔xa7 ♔g4 7 ♔b6 ♔xh4 8 ♔c5 ♔g4! But not 8...♔g3? on account of 9 ♔d5! ♔f3 10 ♔d4.

9 ♔d5 ♔f5 ½-½

5 Mental Agility

Every chess teacher watches his pupils and evaluates their mental capabilities. One of the criteria for this evaluation is their mental agility (quick-wittedness, resourcefulness). This quality is easy to detect by means of tests. Let’s look at the following example.

F.Olafsson-Karpov

Valletta, 1980

Black to move

To find the winning idea, you have to show resource.

1...♛b1+! 2 ♖e1 ♛a2! A delicate manoeuvre—an ambush is laid for the white queen. On 3 ♖e2, Black has prepared 3...♘d2+. Therefore White resigned.

Regarding the development of the mental faculties (and resourcefulness in particular), heredity and the age of the pupils are highly significant factors. As specialists will tell you, at the age of three, children should already be receiving a large quantity of the most varied information. This fortifies their nervous system and advances their mental development. Subsequently their brainwork must be stimulated by a variety of exercises, problems, puzzles, etc. There is no time to lose—the older they are, the less chance there is of developing their wits.

We would strongly urge coaches working with young chessplayers to use more exercises with original, unconventional solutions, since it is at a young age that mental agility can be successfully developed. This quality sometimes helps a chessplayer to find the main idea in a position, but far more often it comes into play when searching for a auxiliary idea.

The exercises offered in Chapters V and VI can be effectively used to assess your mental agility, but not to develop it.

6 Mental Agility – Reciprocal Thinking – Auxiliary Idea

Think about the following position and find the strongest continuation.

Behrhorst-Diždar

Berlin, 1985

Black to move

Now let us follow your train of thought. What did you look at in the first place? You thought about taking the rook, didn’t you? But White replies 2 ♗h6, and by threatening mate he recovers the lost material. Next you will have studied the logical move 1...h5. Its aim is to drive the queen off the g-file and thus destroy the mating set-up. But in this case logic is powerless: 2 ♛g3 h4 3 ♛g4.

It is only after this that you go a little more deeply into the position and unearth the winning auxiliary idea.

In the game, there followed:

1...f5!! Unblocking the seventh rank with tempo.

2 exf5 ♖xd1 3 ♗h6 ♖d7! 4 ♖c1 ♛d4, and White resigned.

What helped you (and Diždar) to find the winning auxiliary idea? Your mental agility and resourcefulness, I believe. It is something you must keep testing!

7 Imagination

Kronlack-Kneller

Liepaja, 1972

White to move—assess the position

The kingside pawns are blocked, and there’s no possibility of creating a passed pawn on the opposite wing. Does this mean it’s a dead draw?

1 ♔d6 ♗c3 2 ♔c6 ♗a5 3 ♗c2!! ♔h6 4 b4! cxb4 If 4...♗xb4, then 5 ♔xb6, and the a-pawn is set in motion.

5 ♗b3! Extraordinary! The bishop is walled in! It was soon all over.

What helped Kronlack to discover his remarkable idea? Logic? No. Mental agility? Hardly. Imagination? Of course! That was what led him to the thought of shutting off the bishop.

But what part did knowledge play? How does knowledge affect imagination? Let us take an example.

A.Selezniev, 1923

(conclusion of a study)

White to move

We have shown the diagram position to many a junior chessplayer. The task—“White to play and win”, or again “White wins in one move”—left them bewildered. Hardly anyone could find the solution. Why? Let us look into it. Two factors should be noted:

(1) The pupils possessed the indispensable knowledge for solving the position; they knew about the right to castle.

(2) They also knew that castling usually takes place at the beginning of the game, and that if it doesn’t, something will happen to deprive the player of his castling rights. In other words, they had systematized and generalized their knowledge. As a result, the children subconsciously inferred that castling must be impossible in an advanced stage of the endgame. It was this inference that prevented them from finding 1 0-0-0+.

Most of the small number who did give the right solution had come across something similar before—see the next diagram.

mate in one move

Discovery of the solution made such a strong impression on them that the idea stuck in their memory. Thus they found the concluding move of the Selezniev study with the aid of an analogy, that is, through knowledge and recollection. What about the remainder of those who found that move? They had managed independently to rid themselves of false inferences restricting their imagination.

Let’s take a practical episode from a game between young players.

Kamsky-Tiviakov

Daugavpils, 1986

Black to move

Of course, when Kamsky made his last move, ♘e2-d4, he had considered what would happen if Black captured on that square. Yet he was only thinking about a knight exchange, which is characteristic of such positions. The unconventional move 1...♗xd4! escaped his attention. After 2 ♗xd4 e6 3 ♘e3 e5, Black emerged with an extra piece.

Why did White overlook 1...♗xd4 ? Kamsky (just like any other chessplayer) had probably seen a knight exchange dozens of times before in this type of position. Black’s surrender of the fianchettoed bishop, which in most cases runs counter to common sense, was something he had perhaps never once come across. His knowledge had become generalized; for him, the knight exchange had become the typical precept. Hence 1...♗xd4 was subconsciously excluded as a possibility.

We may say that imagination is endangered not by knowledge but by generalizations from it, for they entail various subconscious inhibitions. And yet generalizations from knowledge are a human characteristic that is essential to life. How can this contradiction be resolved?

Clearly, the ability to think in a non-standard manner needs to be developed in young players from the time of their very first steps in chess. This means the coach must not merely impart knowledge and teach them the principles and methods of combat, but also demonstrate exceptions to the rules, and, most importantly, stimulate their own investigations.

Solutions to Exercises

1 Short-Topalov, Linares 1995

The rook on d6 has two defenders. 1...♗c4! With the idea of first removing one, and then—the other. 2 ♛xf3 2 ♖a5 f2 3 ♛xf2 ♛xd6. 2...♗xd5 3 ♖xd5 ♖xc3 The rest is a matter of straightforward technique. 4 ♛f6 ♛c7 5 ♛f2 ♛c4 6 ♔b2 ♛b4+ 7 ♔a1 ♖h3 8 ♛f1 ♖e3 0-1

2 Ehlvest-Kir.Georgiev, Vrsac 1987

1 ♛d4! The pin allows him to win a knight. 1...♛d6 2 c7 ♛xc7 3 ♛xd5 etc.

3 Matanović-D.Byrne, Vincovci 1968

1 ♗b6! The d4 square is needed for the knight. 1...♖e8 2 ♘d4 ♛a4 3 ♘xe6... 1-0

4 Krasenkov-Gleizerov, Poland 1993

The black rooks are very restricted in their movement. 1 ♖d8+ ♔f7 2 ♗c6 ♖ec7 2...♖bc7 3 ♗e8+. 3 ♖dd1! and Gleizerov resigned. 1-0

5 Stein-R.Byrne, Sousse 1967

1 c4! 1-0 If 1...dxc4 2 ♖cb1! ♛a6 3 ♗xe7; 1...♛a6 2 cxd5.

6 Mukhamedzianov-Pelts, Ryazan 1976

1 h5! gxh5 1...♖e4 2 hxg6 ♔xg6 4 ♖xb4. 2 ♘h4! ♖xh4 2...♖e4 3 ♛f3. 3 gxh4 ♛a3 4 ♛e2 ♗e7 5 ♛xh5 ♛c5 6 ♖b3 ♛a7 7 ♖g3+ ♔f8 8 ♕xh6+ ♔e8 9 ♖g8+ ♔d7 10 ♕f4 ♕a1 11 ♕xf7 ♕xe5 12 ♕e8+ 1-0

7 Mirković-Gluzman, Belgrade 1991

1 d6! ♖d5 1...♖c6 2 ♖e8+! (2 ♖e7?? ♕xe7) 2...♕xe8 3 ♕xe8+ ♘xe8 4 d7; 1...♕f7 2 ♖e8+!. 2 ♖e7 1-0 2...♖d1+ 3 ♔g2 ♕c6+ 4 ♔h3 ♕c8+ 5 d7 ♕f8 6 ♖e8.

8 Rozentalis-Nikoloff, USA 1994

1 ♘b4! 1-0

9 Kupreichik-Gavrikov, Lvov 1984

1 ♖f1! Kupreichik drives the queen away from the e5 square. 1...♕g4 1...♕g6 2 ♕e5!. 2 ♗f3 ♕g7 3 ♕e5! 1-0

10 Pismenny-Shwartz, Moscow 1968

Black is counting on moving his rook back and forth from g6 to e6. 1 g5 ♖e6 2 ♕f6!! ♔f8 The pawn ending is hopeless. 3 ♔d8 ♔g8 4 ♔d7 ♖e1 4...♔f8 5 ♕h8 mate. 5 g6 1-0

11 Khalifman-Ulibin, Sochi 1989

1 ♘xe6!! ♕xe6 2 ♖e1 ♕xe1+ 2...♘e5 3 ♘xc5; 2...♕f7 3 ♖e7. 3 ♕xe1 ♗b7 4 ♕e6+... 1-0

12 Reshevsky-Larsen, Lugano 1968

1...♘f6! 2 ♘xe5 ♖xc2 3 ♗xc2 ♕a1!! 0-1

13 Lein-Flesch, Ordzhonikidze 1964

1 d5! exd5 1...♗xc3 2 dxe6+ ♔xe6 3 ♖xd7 ♘a5+ 4 ♔c2! ♗e5 5 c5 etc. 2 ♖xd5! 1-0 2...♖xd5 3 cxd5.

14 Magergut-Bykov, Vladimir 1960

1 ♘d2! 1-0 There is no defence against the manoeuvre of the knight to g5.

15 Matanović-Dumpor, Novi Vecey 1986

1...g4! With the idea of clearing the second rank of pawns. Already then the well known manoeuvre ♖b1-h1-h2+ will be decisive. 2 hxg4 The threat was 2...exf2 3 ♔xf2 g3+. 2...h3! 3 gxh3 exf2 4 ♖b7+ ♔f6 5 ♖b6+ ♔e5 6 ♖b5+ ♔d4 6...♔f4!. 7 ♔xf2 ♖h1 8 ♔g3 b1=♕ 9 ♖xb1 ♖xb1 10 ♔f4 ♔d5 11 h4 ♖f1+ 12 ♔g5 ♔e6 13 ♔g6 ♖f6+ 14 ♔g7 ♖f7+ 15 ♔g8 ♖a7! 0-1

16 Van der Wiel-Hübner, Wijk aan Zee 1987

1 ♖hh1! ♘e7 2 ♕h3 ♘f5 3 g4 1-0 Since the variation 3...♘h6 4 g5 ♘f5 5 ♕h8+ ♔f7 6 g6+ ♔e7 7 ♖xf5! is easy to find.

17 De la Villa Garcia - Illescas Cordoba, Spain 1995

1...♕h3! Black exploits the opponent’s pieces on the third rank. 2 ♘xg6 Other continuations are also unsatisfactory, e.g. 2 ♗xe5 ♘xe5 3 ♕xf6 (3 ♕g2 ♖xh4) 3...♖xh4 4 ♕f8+ ♔d7 5 ♖d1+ ♔c6 6 ♕f6+ ♔b5; 2 ♖e3 ♗xc3 3 ♖xc3 ♘d4 4 ♕e3 g5 5 ♖xc5 ♖xh4. 2...♗xc3 3 ♘xh8 ♗xe1 4 ♕xf6 ♘d4 0-1 Since there is no perpetual check: 5 ♕f8+ ♔d7 6 ♕f7+ ♔c6 7 ♕f6+ ♔b5.

18 Salov-Wahls, Le Havre 1980

1 f5!! Threatening 2 ♕e3. 1...d4 Or 1...♖b7 2 f6 ♗f8 3 ♕g5 and 4 g4. 2 ♕f4 ♗f8 2...g5 3 ♕e4. 3 ♖xd4 ♕b8 4 fxg6 fxg6 5 ♕g5 ♗g7 6 ♖d6 ♕c8 7 ♗xg6 1-0

19 Kofidis-Stefansson, Athens 1993

1...c5! The winning idea! 2 dxc5 ♖e5 3 ♖g1 ♖xe6 4 ♗xe6 ♘h4! A clear-cut move! 5 ♖xg3 fxg3 6 ♗d5 g2+ 7 ♔g1 ♗e5 8 ♗e4+ ♔h8 0-1

20 Veličković-Musil, Yugoslavia 1984

1 ♗xe5!! ♖e8 1...fxe5 2 ♘xe5 ♕e7 3 ♘f7+ ♔g8 4 ♕c4! with irresistible threats. 2 ♗c3 ♕e6 3 e5 ♘d7 4 ♕f3 fxe5 5 ♘xe5! ♔g8 5...♘xe5 6 ♕xf8+. 6 ♘xc6 ♗d6 7 ♘b4 ♖f8 8 ♕d1 Black lost on time.

21 Machulsky-Cvitan, Shibenuk 1987

1...♗h3!! 2 gxh3 ♕xh3 3 ♕f3 ♖ed8 Exploiting the overloading of the knight, Cvitan wins back the piece and remains a pawn ahead. 4 ♘ab3 ♘c4! 5 ♕xh3 ♘xh3+ 6 ♔h1 ♘xd2 7 ♘xd2 ♖xd2 ... 0-1

22 Dely-Suetin, Kecskemet 1972

1...♖h5! 0-1 2 h4 ♕f3+ 3 ♔g1 ♘d3; 2 ♖h1 ♕f3+ 3 ♔g1 ♘d3 4 ♖c2 ♖e5!.

23 Karpov-L.Portisch, Tilburg 1988

1 ♖f3! The black rook is in an extremely poor position. 1...♕b7 Of course it is possible to shed a pawn by 1...♗e5 2 ♘xe5 dxe5 3 ♕b2 but it would hardly affect the outcome of the game. 2 ♖xf6 ♕b5 3 ♕c3 ♕f1+ 4 ♔g3 ♕g1+ 5 ♔h4 1-0

24 Jokšić-Werner, Biel 1975

1 f3!! A winning move and a theoretical novelty! 1...♕h4 1...♕xd5 2 ♕e2; 1...♕f5 2 ♗d3! and 3 dxe6. 2 ♗g5 ♕h5 3 ♗xd8 ♖xd8 4 ♕a5! But not 4 dxe6—4...♖xd2 5 e7 ♖xg2+!. 1-0 4...b6 5 dxe6!.

25 Matanović-Soos, Israel 1965

1 ♘d5!! exd5 1...♗c5 2 ♘f6+! ♔h8 3 ♖h3 h6 4 ♗xc5 ♕xc5 5 f5. 2 ♖c3 dxe4 2...♕a4 3 ♖g3. 3 ♖xc4 bxc4 4 ♕c3 g6 5 ♕xc4 ♗b7 6 ♕c7! ♗c6 7 ♕e5 f6 8 ♕xe7... 1-0

26 Ogaard-Barczay, Lublin 1975

1...b3! Freeing the b4 square for the knight. 2 ♕c4 2 ♕xb3 ♕xb3 3 axb3 ♘b4; 2 ♕b1 ♘b4. 2...♘b4 3 ♖d2 ♖d4 4 ♕xb3 ♖hd8 0-1

27 Henkin-Karpman, Minsk 1989

1 ♖f4! The knight cannot be saved (2 ♖c4) 1-0

28 Kopye-P.Gomez, Correspondence 1987/89

1 e6! fxe6 1...♖fe8 2 e7 ♖d7 3 ♕d4 ♘c6 4 ♖xg7+ ♔h8 5 ♖g8+; 1...♕xe6 2 ♕d4 f6 3 ♕xb4 ♖xd6 4 ♖ge1 ♕d7 5 ♗a3. 2 ♕d4 ♘d5 2...♘c2 3 ♖xg7+ ♔h8 4 ♖g8+ ♔xg8 5 ♕h8+ ♔f7 6 ♗h5+! ♕xh5 7 ♕xh7+; 2...♘c6 3 ♗xc6. 3 ♗xd5 1-0

29 Vistanetskis-Kholmov, Vilnius 1953

1...g5! 2 ♗e3 d5!! The threat of d5-d4 forces White to accept the sacrifice. 3 cxd5 exd5 4 ♘xd5 ♘xd5 5 ♗xd5+ ♔h8 6 ♖ac1 b6 7 ♗xg5 On 7 a3 follows 7...♕e5 8 ♖fd1 ♘e7. No good is 7 ♗xc6 ♖xd2 8 ♗xd2 because of 8...♕d6!. 7...hxg5 8 e4 ♘d4 9 f4 gxf4 10 gxf4 ♖xd5! 11 exd5 ♘e2+ 12 ♔g2 ♕e4+ 13 ♖f3 ♘xf4+ 0-1

30 Ehlvest-Fominykh, Helsinki 1992

1 f6!! Creating irresistible threats on the 8th rank. 1...♕d6 2 ♖d1 ♕xd8 3 ♖xd8 c5 4 ♖g1 cxb4 5 ♖gd1 1-0

31 Instructive example

1...d4!! After 2 exd4 (2 ♗xc6 dxc3!) the cl-h6 diagonal is opened and Black wins a bishop: 2...♘xc3 3 ♗xc3 ♗xc3 4 ♕xc3 ♕g5+.

32 Browne-Sax, London 1975

1 ♘c6!! Browne prepares to seize the long diagonal. 1...♗xc6 1...bxc6 2 ♗xa6 ♖b8 3 ♖xc3 ♕xc3 4 ♗d4. 2 dxc6 The c6 pawn must be taken, but after 2...♖xd1+ 3 ♕xd1 ♖xc6 follows the blow 4 ♖xc3! (4...♕xc3 5 ♕d8+ ♔g7 6 ♗d4+). 1-0

33 M.Gurevich-Bareev, Belgrade 1988

1 f5!! Freeing the f4 square for the knight, 1...♖c6 1...gxf5 2 ♘f4 ♖e7 3 ♘g6+ ♔g7 4 ♘xe7 ♔xh6 5 ♖d6 etc. 2 fxg6 e3 There is no salvation —2...♗g7 3 ♘f7+ ♔g8 4 ♘e7+ ♔f8 5 ♘xc6. 3 ♖h7 mate

34 Smyslov-Robatsch, Amsterdam 1954

1 ♖e3! Smyslov finds a way to ‘put pressure’ on the knight. 1...♕e7 2 ♖f3 e4 3 ♘xe4 ♘h4 4 ♘f6+ ♗xf6 5 ♖xf6 ♖xf6 6 ♗xf6 ♕xf6 7 ♕h7+ ♔f8 8 ♕xd7 ♖e8 9 ♕xc7 g4 10 hxg4 ♕f4 11 ♗f5 1-0

35 Yurkov-Belinkov, Moscow 1967

1...♖f6! Bad is 1...♖xf3—2 ♕xe5 (2 d8=♕♖f2) 2...♖f2 3 ♕g3. 2 ♔g1 ♕e1+ 3 ♔h2 ♕f2 4 ♕c1 The threats to his king force White to leave the d-pawn to its own fate. 4...♖g6 5 ♕g1 ♕d2 6 ♗b2 ♕xd7 7 ♗xe5 ♕xa4 ... 0-1

36 Balashov-Sunye, Wijk aan Zee 1982

1 ♖c6! Now 1...♗xc6 is no good because of 2 dxc6 ♖c8 3 ♘d5+ ♔e6 4 ♕xf6+ ♔xd5 5 ♕xf7+ ♔xc6 6 ♖c1+ ♔b6 7 a5 mate, while on 1...♗c8 comes the very strong 2 ♖fc1 with numerous threats. 1-0

37 Jansa-Böhm, Amsterdam 1975

1 h4! ♗d8 On a clear board the bishop has no decent square. 1...♗xh4 2 ♕c4; 1...♗d2 2 ♖d1 ♕e6 3 ♗e2!; 1...♖f6 2 ♕c4 ♔h8 3 ♘xf6 gxf6 4 ♕d4 ♔g7 5 ♖e3. 2 ♖e8 Black has no moves. The threat is 3 ♕c4!. 2...g6 2...♖b5 3 ♖xd8; 2...♖c8 3 ♕xc8! ♕xc8 4 ♘e7+. 3 ♗xg6 ♖b5 4 ♖xd8 ♕xd8 5 ♕xb5 ♘xg6 6 g3 ♘e5 7 ♕b7 a5 8 ♘e7+ ♔h8 9 ♘xf5 ♕f6 10 ♕e4 ... 1-0

38 Larsen-Pomar, Las Palmas 1975

1...d3!! Excellent! On 2 exd3 follows 2...♕xf3 3 ♗c1 (otherwise 3...♘f4) 3...♗f4! and all the same the knight gets to f4. 2 ♘c3 ♗e5 3 ♘d1 3...dxe2 was threatened. 3...♗xb2 4 ♖g3 4♘xb2 dxe2 5 ♖xe2 ♕xf3+ 6 ♖eg2 ♘f4. 4...♕f5 5 ♘xb2 dxe2 6 ♘c4 ♕d3 7 h3 ♕c3 0-1

39 Gauglitz-Hever, Budapest 1985

1...♕e4!! The decisive move! On 2 ♕d2 comes the planned 2...♘h2!!. 2 ♖c2 Bad is 2 ♕xe4 fxe4, since the rook comes under double attack and if 2 ♖e1, not allowing the move in the game, then 2...♖e8! 3 ♕xe4 ♖xe4! 4 ♖b1 ♖e2+ 5 ♔f1 ♖h2! and Black wins. 2...♘e3+ 3 ♕xe3 ♕xc2+ 4 ♖f2 ♕e4+ 5 ♕xe4 fxe4... 1-0

40 Lobron-Schüssler, West Germany 1983

At present it is difficult to see what White can exploit in the enemy position. 1 d5! ♘b8 1...♘e5 2 f4; 1...♘e7 2 ♕g4!. 2 ♘g4 By combining threats on the king and bishop, Lobron achieves victory. 2...♕g5 2...♕d6 3 ♕e3!; 2...♕d8 3 ♕f4 ♗c2 4 ♕h6+ ♔g8 5 ♘f6+ ♕xf6 6 ♖e8 mate. 3 h4! ♕f5 4 ♖e5 Unclear is 4 ♗d3 ♕xd5 5 ♕f4 ♖d6. 4...♕c2 5 ♕f4 ♖d6 6 ♖e7 ♕f5 7 ♕xa4 ... 1-0

41 Azmaiparashvili-Ye Jiangchuan, Peking 1988

1 ♕c6!! 1 ♕xa5 lets slip the win: 1...♕d6+ 2 ♕b6+ ♔a8! 3 ♔b5 ♕b4+. 1...♕b4 1...♕d3+ 2 ♕b5+. 2 ♕d7! 1-0

42 Kosikov-Bezman, USSR 1986

1 ♖f2! The f7 pawn is more important than the knight! 1 ♖d2 does not achieve its objective: 1...♖e7+! (1...♖xb3? 2 ♖g2) 2 ♔d1 ♖xf7 3 ♖xd6 ♖d7. 1...♖xb3 2 ♖g2 ♖b1+ 3 ♔f2 ♖b2+ 4 ♔g1 ♖xg2+ 5 ♔xg2 ♘g6 6 ♔f2 ♘f8 7 ♔e3 ♘e6 8 ♔d3 d5 9 ♔e3 1-0

43 Bagirov-Vooremaa, Tallinn 1981

1...♘f4! 2 f3 Or 2 gxf4 gxf4 3 ♖ee1 ♕g6+ 4 ♔h1 ♖c2 5 ♕b1 ♕c6+ 6 ♔g1 f3 7 ♔h1 ♕h6. 2...♕b6 3 ♖ae1 ♘d3 0-1

44 Hort-Sigurjonsson, Reykjavik 1978

1 ♗f6! ♘f3+ 1...♖xf6 2 ♖e7 ♖e6 3 ♖xd7 ♖xe4 4 ♘f6+; 1...c6 2 ♗xg7 cxd5 3 ♗xd4!; 1...♘c6 2 ♖e6 ♘e5 3 fxe5 ♕xe6 4 ♘f4. 2 ♔g2 c6 3 ♖e7! ♘e1+ 4 ♕xe1 ♖xe7 5 ♕xe7 ♕xe7 6 ♗xe7 cxd5 7 cxd5 1-0

45 Wirtensohn-Niklasson, Reggio Emilia 1977/78

1 ♗g5! Picking up on the h7 square. 1...hxg5 1...♗e7 2 ♘xe7+ ♘xe7 3 ♕xd8+ ♖xd8 4 ♗xf6 gxf6 5 ♖xe7 ♖d1+ 6 ♘e1. 2 ♘xg5 ♘e4 2...g6 3 ♘xf7!. 3 ♘xf7 ♘c5 3...♔xf7 4 ♕xe4. 4 ♘g5! 1-0

46 E.Vladimirov-Agzamov, Vilnus 1978

1 ♘e6! The struggle for the h6 square. 1...♖xe6 1...fxe6 2 ♗g6+ ♗xg6 3 fxg6+ ♔h8 4 ♖xh6+; 1...♕f6 2 ♘g5+ ♔h8 3 ♕xa5 ♘b4 4 ♕xc5. 2 fxe6 ♕xe6 3 ♗g4 ♕d6 4 ♗f5+ ♔h8 5 ♖g6! The h6 square falls! 1-0

47 Torre-Kinlay, London 1977

1...b2!! 2 c5 2 ♖xb2 ♗d2+! 3 ♖xd2 ♖b3+ 4 ♔c2 ♖e3+; 2 ♗a2 ♗c1. 2...♖b3+ 3 ♔c4 d5+! 4 ♔xd5 ♖g8 5 c6 ♖d8+ 6 ♔c5 ♖b5+ 7 ♔c4 ♖d4+ 8 ♔c3 ♖b3+ 9 ♔c2 ♖c4+! 0-1 10 ♔d1 ♖e3+.

48 Adorjan-Ostojić, Polanica Zdroj 1970

1 d6! Adorjan finds a profound idea. 1...♕xd6 1...♘xd6 2 ♘d5 ♕d8 3 ♗xd7 ♕xd7 4 ♗c5; 1...♗xd6 2 ♘d5 ♕d8 3 ♗xd7 ♕xd7 4 ♘b6. 2 ♘e4 ♕d5 2...♕xd4 3 ♕b3+ ♕c4 4 ♕xc4+ ♖xc4 5 ♖xd7. 3 ♗xd7 ♕xd7 4 ♕b3+ ♔h8 5 ♗e3! In this move also lies White’s idea. The bishop sacrifice on h6 is inevitable. 5...♕c6 6 ♗xh6 ♗xb4 7 ♗xg7+! ♔xg7 8 h6+ ♔xh6 9 g7 ♖g8 10 ♖g2 1-0

49 V.Milov-A.Hoffman, Martini 1994

1 ♗a5! A highly unpleasant surprise! It looks like Hoffman was anticipating the natural 1 ♗xc4. True, ‘surprises occur more often when least expected’. The queen comes under attack by the white pieces. 1...♕c8 Or 1...♕b8 2 ♖ab1 ♕a7 3 ♖b7 ♕xd4 4 ♖xd7 ♔xd7 5 ♕b7+ ♔d6 6 ♗b4+ ♔e5 7 ♕c7+. 2 ♖fc1 0-0 No better are the other continuations: 2...♘d5 3 ♗xc4 ♕c6 4 ♗xd5 ♕xd5 5 ♕xd5 exd5 6 ♖e1+ ♔f8 7 ♖ab1 or 2...♖a7 3 ♖xc4 ♕a8 4 ♗b4 ♘d5 5 ♖ac1 ♘7b6 6 ♖c6 ♖b7 7 ♗e4. 3 ♖xc4 ♕e8 He cannot avoid defeat: 3...♕b8 4 ♖b1 ♕d6 (4...♕a7 5 ♖b7) 5 ♗b4. 4 ♔b4 ♘d5 5 ♗xf8 ♕xf8 6 ♖c6 a5 7 ♖b1... 1-0

50 Dobsza-Svensson, Correspondence 1985

1 ♖f1! Dobsza transfers the rook to perform the function of defending the f-pawn, thereby releasing the queen for a meeting with the black monarch. Svenson cannot prevent this. 1...♖c3 1...♖e4 2 ♕g3 ♖g4 3 ♕c3 ♖g7 4 ♕xg7+!; 1...♕e7 2 ♕f5 ♖e6 3 ♕xh7. 2 ♕h4 1-0

51 Halasz-Meyer, Budapest 1984

1 ♕a4! Creating irresistible threats. 1...♖fa8 1...♖aa8 2 ♘d4. 2 ♕b5 a4 3 ♘d4 ♗xd4 4 ♖xc6 ♔d8 5 ♖d6+ ♔c8 6 ♖c1+ ♔b8 7 ♖d7 ♕f8 8 ♖b7+1-0

52 Tal-Hulak, Novi Sad 1974

1 b4!! In anticipation of mass exchanges Tal prepares a break on the queenside. 1...g5 2 ♖xf6 ♖xf6 3 a4 Gaining the maximum number of tempi. 3...♔f7 4 ♕xf6+ ♕xf6 5 ♖xf6+ ♔xf6 6 a5! ♔e6 7 b5 ♔d7 8 b6 h6 9 ♔f3 1-0

53 Schüssler-Vaganian, Tallinn 1983

1...♗d2!! 2 ♖xc8 2 ♘xd2 ♕xg3 and 3...♖fh8. 2...♖xc8 3 ♘b7 3♘xd2 ♕xg3 4 ♕b7+ ♘e7. 3...♕c7 4 ♘xd2 ♕xg3 5 ♘f1 ♕xe1 6 ♘d6+ ♔f6 7 ♘xc8 g3 8 ♕d3 ♕f2 mate

54 Ivanović-Z.Nikolić, Budva 1986

1 f4! Ivanović prepares an invasion of the rook on the eighth rank. 1...♗xf4 1...♗g7 2 ♗xg7 ♖xg7 3 ♕xd4; 1...♗f6 2 ♗d5. 2 ♗d5! ♔xh6 2...♗e3+ 3 ♖xe3! dxe3 4 ♕xe3 ♕b6 (4...♗e6 5 ♕xe6) 5 ♗xf7+ ♔xf7 6 ♖f1+ ♗f5 7 g4. 3 ♖e8+ ♗f8 3...♔g7 4 ♕xd4+ ♕f6 5 ♕xf6+ ♔xf6 (5...♖xf6 6 ♖g8 mate) 6 ♖f1+ ♗f5 7 ♗xf7. 4 ♕f3 ♕d7 4...♗e6 5 ♖xe6! (5 ♗xe6 ♕xe6) 5...♖xf3 6 ♖xg6+ ♔h8 7 ♖g8 mate. 5 ♖f1 ♕f5 6 ♗xf7+ ♔xf7 7 ♖xc8 1-0 7...♖xc8 8 ♕d5+ ♔f6 9 ♕xd4+ ♔g5 10 h4+ ♔h5 11 ♖xf5+ gxf5 12 ♕f6.

55 Naumkin-V.N.Kozlov, Pinsk 1986

1 ♘h4!! White wants to surround the bishop on g4. 1...♖h6 2 g3 ♗e5 3 f4 ♗d4 4 f5! ♘d7 4...♗h3 5 ♘g5. 5 h3 ♘e5 6 f6! ♖d7 7 ♗xa6 ♗f3 8 ♘xf3 ♘xf3 9 ♘xd6+ ♔d8 10 ♖e8+ ♔c7 11 ♘c4 ♘d2+ 12 ♘xd2 ♖xf6 13 ♖c8+ ♔b6 14 ♘e4 ... 1-0

56 Burger-Keglević, Correspondence 1977

1 h6!! 1 ♘e4 h6; 1 ♘b5 ♖f6. 1...♖e6 1...bxc3 2 ♕e5. 2 ♖xe6 ♕xc3 3 ♖e5 ♕a1+ 3...c6 4 ♔g2! (4 ♕f6 ♕c1+ 5 ♔g2 ♕xh6). 4 ♔g2 ♕a6 5 c5 1-0 5...♔h8 6 c6 f6 7 ♖e8!.

57 Browne-Mariotti, Venice 1971

1 ♕b3 ♘c6 2 ♗g8! Cutting off the black king’s way back. 2...♖xg8 2...♖d7 3 ♖e6!; 2...♕c7 3 ♖e7!. 3 ♕xg8 d3 4 h4! h5 5 ♖ed1 ♖b8 6 ♗d6 1-0

58 Evdokimov-Madl, Budapest 1990

1...♘xf2 2 ♔xf2 2♖xf2 ♗xc3. 2...♗g4! Preparing the manoeuvre ♗g7-d4xc3. 3 ♘d5 ♖xd5! 4 ♔g1 ♖d7 0-1

59 Yudasin-Kramnik, 1st match game, Wijk aan Zee 1994

1...♘f5! The white king is holed up in the corner of the board so Kramnik plans an opening of the h-file. But first he needs to eliminate the f2-pawn. 1...♘f3 leads only to a draw: 2 gxf3 ♕xf3+ 3 ♖g2 ♖g5 4 ♖eg1 ♖xg2 5 ♖xg2 ♕d1+ 6 ♖g1 ♕f3+. 2 ♕c7 There is no acceptable continuation: 2 ♕c5 e3 3 ♖gf1 exf2 4 ♖xe5 ♘g3+; 2 ♕b4 ♕xf2 3 ♖xe4 ♖ae8 4 ♖f4 (4 ♖xe5 ♖xe5 5 h3 ♖e1 6 ♖xe1 ♕xe1+ 7 ♔h2 ♕g3+ 8 ♔g1 ♘e3 9 ♕e4 ♕e1+ 10 ♔h2 ♘f1+) 4...♘g3+! 5 hxg3 ♕xg3 6 ♖gf1 (6 ♖h4 ♖e1) 6...♖h5+ 7 ♔g1 ♖e2 8 ♕f8+ (8 ♖1f2 ♖e1+ 9 ♖f1 ♕e3+ 10 ♖4f2 ♖xf1+ 11 ♔xf1 ♖h1 mate) 8...♔xf8 9 ♖xf7+ ♔g8 10 ♖f8+ ♔g7 11 ♖1f7+ ♔h6. 2...e3 3 ♖xe3 3 ♘d4 exf2 4 ♕xe5 ♘g3+; 3 ♖gf1 exf2 4 ♖xe5 ♘g3+. 3...♕xe3!Iterum Crispinus. 4 ♘d6 ♖e7 5 ♘xf5 gxf5 6 ♕d6 ♕e5 ... 0-1

60 Panno - Gomez-Baillo, Santiago 1987

1 d6! ♗xd6 1...♗f8 2 h6!. 2 ♔c2 ♖d5 3 h6! 1-0 3...b3+ 4 ♔xb3 ♗f8 5 hxg7 ♗xg7 6 ♖xg7 ♖d3+ 7 ♔c4 ♖xe3 8 ♔d4.

61 Rivas-Mestel, Marbella 1982

1 ♘e7!! ♕g8 1...♖xg5 2 hxg5 ♕xe7 3 fxe7 ♗e6 4 ♗d1+ ♔g8 5 ♗a4!; 1...♕f8 2 ♗xg6+ ♔h8 (2...fxg6 3 h5) 3 ♗f5 ♗xf5 4 exf5 ♔h7 5 ♘g8!. 2 ♗d1 ♔h8 3 ♕h6+ 1-0

62 R Byrne-Korchnoi, Sousse 1967

1 ... ♗e6! 2 ♕c3? Byrne overlooks his opponent’s threat. Better is 2 c4, though after 2...♗f5+ 3 ♖c2 ♔g8! (3...♖a4? 4 ♕d4! with very dangerous threats) Black should win. 2...♖a1+! 0-1

63 A.Sznapik-Vl.Schmidt, Poland 1977

1 ♗h5! In this original way Sznapik demolishes his opponent’s king’s position 1...♖d5 1...♔h8 2 ♗g7+ ♔g8 3 ♗xg6! hxg6 4 ♕h6; 1...♗f8 2 ♗xf8 ♖xf8 3 e7 ♖e8 4 ♕c4+. 2