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Gata Kamsky vs Nigel Short
Ch World (match) (cand.) (1/2) (PCA) 1994  ·  Nimzo-Indian Defense: Huebner Variation (E41)  ·  1-0


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Given 9 times; par: 31 [what's this?]

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sac: 23.d5 PGN: download | view Help: general | java-troubleshooting

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Kibitzer's Corner
Jun-05-04
Premium Chessgames Member
  acirce: Weak play by Short.
Jun-05-04   seoulmama: <acirce> you must understand that Nigel was short of chances in this game :-)
Jun-05-04
Premium Chessgames Member
  acirce: hee hee ;)
Oct-25-04   Apocalypse79: What will happen if 23... exd5 ??
Oct-25-04   Cyphelium: <Apocalypse79> 23.- exd5 24. Nxf6+ Bxf6 25. Rxe8+ Qxe8 26. Qxf6 and black has to give the queen.
Jun-03-05   aw1988: A good move(!)

Shut up already!

Oct-17-05   Poisonpawns: First 18 moves are Theory!! and Nigel loses in 26 moves so much for being prepared this is gm 5 of the match/beating Kamsky put on this guy.Which is worse than the one Kasparov gave him a year earlier.It is hard to believe Nigel was playing for a World Title or even in contention for that matter looking at these games.23.d5!! is an awsome move but 23..Nxe4?? is one of the worse blunders you will see in chess losing the queen and mate is threatened after the simple 24.dxe6.
Nov-12-05   chessnewbie: what about 23....Nxd5? or 23..Bxd5?
Nov-13-05
Premium Chessgames Member
  suenteus po 147: <chessnewbie> If 23...Nxd5, then 24.Ng5! I'm not sure about 23...Bxd5, but the idea is that black's position is too precarious, and taking the pawn allows white to strike at already existing weaknesses.
Jan-22-06   something1234: hey seoulmama i have a funny one for kasparov games say that gary was kasparov of chances in this game thats a rib tickeler
Oct-10-06
Premium Chessgames Member
  Marmot PFL: Perhaps this was the game that Short had to lose or else be killed by Mr. Kamsky's father.
Oct-24-06
Premium Chessgames Member
  notyetagm: <Marmot PFL: Perhaps this was the game that Short had to lose or else be killed by Mr. Kamsky's father.>

Rustam Kamsky to Short: "If you keep breaking the rules, I will kill you!"

And everyone thinks Danailov was bad.

Jul-25-07   piroflip: Nigel described Rustam Kamsky as a "thug"
Jan-16-08   UdayanOwen: What a beautiful game, a model for white isolated d-pawn strategy.

The question has been posed about what would happen if 23...Bxd5 or Nxd5. There is actually an embarrassment of tactical riches for white in this position and both moves fail rather dramatically:

23...Bxd5 24.Nxf6 Bxf6 25.Bxd5, when the piece can't be recaptured (25...exd5 26.Rxe8+ Qxe8 27.Qxf6, when immediate mate on g7 can't be avoided without catastrophic material loss, eg., 27...Qe5 28.Qxe5 f6 ). An alternative win in this line after 25...exd5 is the more spectacular 25.Qxf6!, since if 25...Rxe1+ 26.Rxe1 Qxf6 27.Re8#).

So 23...Bxd5 leads to a forced loss, what about 23...Nxd5? The correct move is 24.Bxd5, and now there are two options for recapture:

24...exd5 25.Nf6+ Bxf6 26.Rxe8 (or 26.Qxf6! wins again) Qxe8 27.Qxf6 ; if after 25.Nf6+, black tries 25...Kh8, then 26.Nxe8 wins a whole rook, since if 26...Qxe8 white has 27.Qf6+! Bxf6 28.Rxe8#.

After 23.Nxd5 24.Bxd5, the other recapture is 24...Bxd5, but now white has the pretty 25.Rxd5!

If 25...Qxd5, now 26.Nf6+ Bxf6 (or else lose the queen) 27.Qxf6 with the winning mate threat on g7. White also has 27.Qxd5, when the queen can't be recaptured because of back rank mate.

In the line 23.Nxd5 24.Bxd5 Bxd5 25.Rxd5!, if black tries 25...exd5 then white plays 26.Nf6+, when 26...Bxf6 loses to the familiar idea of 27.Rxe8 Qxe8 28.Qxf6 (but this time not 27.Qxf6?? Rxe1+ 28.Kh2 Qxf6 ).

In the previous line after 26.Nf6, if black instead tries 26...Kh8, then simply 27.Nxe8 when the knight is again immune (27...Qxe8 28.Qf6+! Bxf6 29.Rxe8#). Hence, white is a piece ahead, and furthermore, black can't stop both threats 28.Nxc7 and 28.Qxf7. Game over.

Jan-16-08   UdayanOwen: <Poisonpawns: 23..Nxe4?? is one of the worse blunders you will see in chess losing the queen and mate is threatened after the simple 24.dxe6.>

Yes this move loses a queen and pawn for rook and knight, with a bad position to boot, but it is not a blunder, since everything else is worse!!

All captures on d5 fail miserably, and if black doesn't play 23...Nxe4, he will get severely smashed after 24.dxe6 with the threat of exf7+. The line 23...Nxe4 allows 24.dxe6 to be met with 24...f5, which reduces the dynamic potential of the white attack and cuts the losses... but of course Short quickly admits its totally lost anyway.

Jun-14-08
Premium Chessgames Member
  hedgeh0g: It's unbelievable that Kamsky was able to get away with winning the match after his thug of a father's campaign of violence and intimidation against his opponent. I'd have thought behaviour like that would merit disqualification for the offending party.

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