Aron Nimzowitsch vs Friedrich Saemisch (1926)

Aron Nimzowitsch vs Friedrich Saemisch
Dresden (1926) · English Opening: King's English. Four Knights Variation Botvinnik Line (A28) · 1-0

[Event "Dresden"]
[Site "Dresden DEU"]
[Date "1926.04.14"]
[EventDate "1926.04.04"]
[Round "9"]
[Result "1-0"]
[White "Aron Nimzowitsch"]
[Black "Friedrich Saemisch"]
[ECO "A28"]
[WhiteElo "?"]
[BlackElo "?"]
[PlyCount "61"]

1. c4 {Notes by Nimzowitsch In this game Black does not
succeed in getting the adverse double complex to advance
(White stays "put") and therefore the symptons of the malady
are not clearly distinguishable. there is compensation,
however, in the observation of atypical secondary sympton, the
helplessness of the White pieces. These pieces would, in the
ordinary way, be quite ready to attack, but the enthusiasm for
an attack is damped by the consciousness that the cO-Operation
of the "pawn-party" cannot altogether be depended upon. As the
incriminated body of pawns is unreliable also in a defensive
sense, (for there always is a danger of its being rolled up by
...c6 and ...d5) the undecided attitude of the pieces (10 Qc2
11 Qd2) is sufficiently explained. And so the hidden weakness
of the pawns is projected to a plane where it is clearly
noticeable by the learner, and the study of the game is made
highly valuable.} e5 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. Nf3 Nc6 4. e4 Bb4 5. d3 d6
6. g3 Bg4 7. Be2 {This is not as inconsistent as it may
appear, for g3 was primarily intended to cover a knight move
to h4 and on the other hand Bg2 would permit ...Nd4.} h6
8. Be3 Bxc3+ 9. bxc3 Qd7 10. Qc2 {White realizes that the
mobility of his center pawns is small as d4 and still more so
d5, would paralyse him on account of the weakness of
c5. Therefore he seeks to adapt the movement of his pieces to
his modest circumstances in space. In this sense he could also
have played 10 Nd2 (to effect a strategic retreat with f3)
e.g., 10 Nd2 Bxe2 11 Qxe2 Ng4 12 f3 Nxe3 13 Qxe3 O-O 14 O-O
with an approximately even position. But 10 Qd2 must be looked
upon as a misuse of the modest space available, for that
square should remain open and the queen, in any event, would
be better placed at c2 with an eye on a4 and the eventual
threat of ...d5 in view. After 10 Qd2 we recommend 10...Na5 11
Qc2 O-O followed by ...Rfe8, ...c6, and ...d5, and Black has
the better position.} O-O {Here too we should prefer ...Na5
(d4? ...Nxc4)} 11. Qd2 {Now in order as Black's castled
positionis in jeopardy.} Nh7 {In order to play ...f5, but this
proves impractical, and the only result is a decentralised
knight on h7.}12. h3 {Nh4 would also have been sufficient.}
Bxh3 {This loses a piece. black had only reckoned with 13 Bxh6
which by the way would also have been strong, e.g., 13 Bxh6
Bg2 14 Rh2 Bxf3 15 Bxf3 gxh6 16 Qxh6 f6 17 Bg4.} 13. Ng1 Bg4
14. f3 Be6 15. d4 {Black cannot save the piece.} exd4 16. cxd4
d5 17. cxd5 Bxd5 18. exd5 Qxd5 19. Rd1 Rfe8 20. Kf2 Nf6 {The
decentralised knight returns in sackcloth and ashes.} 21. Rh4
Ne7 22. Bd3 Nf5 23. Bxf5 Qxf5 24. Kg2 Re7 25. Bf2 Rae8 26. Rf4
Qg6 27. d5 Re5 {If 27...Rd7 28 Qa5.} 28. Rd4 Rd8 29. Qa5 Nh5
30. Qxc7 Rde8 31. d6 1-0

To move:

Last move:

Given 4 times; par: 41 [what's this?]

Annotations by Aron Nimzowitsch. [48 more games annotated by Nimzowitsch]

explore this opening	find similar games	9 more Nimzowitsch/Saemisch games
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Jun-24-03		sangfroid: Why not 26 ... Qd5? A far better move I in my opinion.

Jun-24-03		crafty: 26. ... d5 27. c2 d7 28. d2 d5 29. h4 a5 30. h5 (eval 1.56; depth 14 ply; 500M nodes)

Aug-03-04		e4Newman: Yes, I think Nimzo got lucky here!

Sep-23-09		whiteshark: crafty's manouvre 26...Qd5/27...Qd7 seems to be a waste of time. 29... a5 looks stupid, too.

Sep-23-09		whiteshark: Nimzowitsch could have won a pawn with <25.Bxh6!> click for larger view - 25...Nd5 26.Rg4 - 25...Qg6 26.Bg5 - 25...Ne8 26.Bf4 Probably a non-system-coherent move/continuation...

Apr-30-12		bystander: <Jun-24-03 Crafty: 26. ... d5 27. c2 d7 28. d2 d5 29. h4 a5 30. h5. Or maybe 26..d5 27.c2 d6 28.d2 a6 29.e2 c6 but white still has an advantage

Apr-30-12		bystander: 8...c3x. Is black really forced to make this move and what does he gain with it? An alternative: 8..h3 9.f1 e6 10.g2 0-0 11.0-0 with more or less equal play.

Apr-30-12		bystander: 11...Nh7. Nimzowitch: In order to play ...f5, but this proves impractical, and the only result is a decentralised knight on h7. Is preparing an attack on the queenside an option for black? E.g. 11..a6 12.h3 e6 13.g4 b5?

Apr-30-12		bystander: 12..Bh3x: Nimzowitch: This move loses a piece. What about 12..e6 13.g4 e7 14.h4 c6 15.g1 although white still has an advantage.

Apr-30-12		bystander: 16..d5. 16..f5 17.d5 fe4x 18.de6x e6x 19.f4 f6 does nog save the game either, but looks better for black.

Apr-30-12		bystander: <Sep-23-09 Whiteshark: Nimzowitsch could have won a pawn with 25.Bxh6!Probably a non-system-coherent move/continuation...> Maybe overprotection of g3? After 24..Re6 25.Bxh6 is not possible any more.

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