Ratmir Kholmov vs David Bronstein (1965) I Smell a Rat

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Ratmir Kholmov vs David Bronstein
"I Smell a Rat" (game of the day Dec-30-2012)
USSR Championship (1964/65), Kiev URS, rd 17, Jan-23
Sicilian Defense: Najdorf Variation. Main Line (B99) · 1-0

ANALYSIS [x]

FEN COPIED

Given 52 times; par: 35 [what's this?]

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< Earlier Kibitzing · PAGE 1 OF 3 · Later Kibitzing>
Nov-30-02		ughaibu: As has been recently mentioned elsewhere, Kholmov was a very strong player.

Nov-30-02		Vilkacis: The combination started by 18. Nc6 and 19. e5 is very deep and very deadly.

Nov-30-02		Kulla Tierchen: 19...Nxe5 appears to be black's best hope.

Nov-30-02		ughaibu: After 20 Ne4 how would black continue?

Nov-30-02		Vilkacis: How about 20...Nd7 21. Rxd6 exf5

Nov-30-02		ughaibu: 22 Rd7

Nov-30-02		pawntificator: 19...Bxe5 looks good too. Why on earth did black play ...Bg5+, that seems like a waste

Nov-30-02		ughaibu: If 19. ..Be5 then 20.f6, Bf6 21.Bd3

Nov-30-02		pawntificator: I guess that explains Bg5+... 19. ...Bxe5 20 f6 Bf6 21 Bd3 Bg5+ 22. Rxg5 f6 (f5? i'm not sure)

Nov-30-02		ughaibu: It would need to be f5, if f6 then Bh7.

Nov-30-02		PVS: <How about 20...Nd7 21. Rxd6 exf5> 22. Rxf6 Rg8 23. Rxg8+ Kxg8 24.Rxf5 Nf8 25. Nf6+ Kh8 26. Re5.

Nov-30-02		ughaibu: PVS. Just Rd7 is good enough I think. It attacks both the queen and the bishop and if white gets the bishop how can black defend h7?

Dec-01-02		PVS: You may be right, I have lost the thread.

Dec-02-02		Honza Cervenka: 19...Bxe5 20.f6 Bf6 21.Bd3 Bg5+ 22.Rxg5 f6 23.Bxh7! fxg5 24.Be4+ Kg8 25.Rg1! Ra7 26.Nd5! Qg7 27.Rxg5 Qxg5+ 28.Qxg5+ Rg7 29.Nf6+ Kf7 30.Qh4! Ne7 31.Nh7 Rfg8 32.Qf6+ Ke8 33.Qf4 Rf7 34.Nf6+ Kf8 35.Qh6+ Rgg7 36.Bh7! a5 37.Nh5 with advantage of white. Of course, there can be some improvements in this line for black but his position is difficult especially if he has to find right moves in game on the board.:-)

Dec-04-02		drukenknight: Interestingly enuf; Kholmov mentions both Kulla's try and pawntiff/ugi/HC line. On the pawntiff/ugi line Kholmov goes with 22..f5 23 R(1)g1 Ra7 24 Ne2 Ne5 25 Nf4 and threat of N-R5 and R-N7 compels blacks resignation. I'd go with Kullas suggestion: 19..Nxe5 But then Kholmov says 20 Ne4 Nd7 21 Rxd3 exf5 22 Rxf6 Rg8 23 RxR KxR and white mates on the 27th move. Id go with 19..Nxe5 20 Ne4 Ng6

Dec-04-02		ughaibu: Drukenknight: Ng6 looks like a good move. Where did you get Kholmov's comments?

Dec-04-02		drukenknight: Larry Evan's Modern Chess Brilliancies. I criticize Evan's a lot. Maybe more than he deserves. This book is a real treasure 101 of the greatest games from about 1958 to 1969. A little too much fawning over Fischer but still a really good book w/ fairly high level of annotations. The SPassky/SUetin game in there. It sort of resembles this in a way, no? So is Fischer/Gligorich (K indian). So is Smyslov/Liberson, fresh comments on that one by the way. So is Littlewood/Botwinnik another one we've kicked around.

Dec-04-02		Honza Cervenka: 19...Nxe5 20.Ne4 Ng6 21.Nxf6 Qxf6 22.fxg6 Qg7 23.Qxg7+ Kxg7 24.gxh7+ Kh8 (24...Kxh7?? 25.Rd4 and 26.Rh4#) 25.Rxd6 a5 26.Bd3 with advantage of white.

Dec-04-02		ughaibu: How about fg6 instead of Qg7?

Dec-05-02		Honza Cervenka: 19...Nxe5 20.Ne4 Ng6 21.Nxf6 Qxf6 22.fxg6 fxg6 23.Bg2 threatening 24.Bxa8 or 24.Rgf1.

Dec-05-02		ughaibu: Looks convincing.

Dec-21-04		notyetagm: I love 26 d7!, a <Novotny interference> move, simultaneously closing the line of the ♖a7 to h7 and the line of the ♗c8 to e6. One of those lines will still be closed no matter how Black takes the d7 pawn and that closed line will make it 1-0.

Aug-27-05		abcpokerboy: I always figured that Mikhail Tal, after seeing this game, probably greatly admired the move 18.Nc6!! and was probably envious he didn't get a chance to make this great sacrifice.

May-13-08		yxcvbnm: wow i now looked at the game 3 or 4 times and i still feel like having no idea what was going on there. seems like quite a lot of k´s moves are way too deep for my tiny little brain :-)

May-14-08		arsen387: I found this game with annotation in Chessmaster's database. According to it, black's decisive mistake was 14..b4. Also whites could have won quicker with 25.d7! and now if Bxd7 then Rxd7 finishes off quickly (notice that black Q is tied to the defence of R on f8 and can't recapture). This is really a fascinating game. Bravo Kholmov!

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