Hans-Joachim Hecht vs Raymond Keene (1972) "To Hecht with It"

Hans-Joachim Hecht vs Raymond Keene
"To Hecht with It" (game of the day Aug-31-08)
Teesside (England) 1972 · Sicilian Defense: Closed Variation (B26) · 0-1

[Event "Teesside (England)"]
[Site "Teesside (England)"]
[Date "1972.??.??"]
[EventDate "?"]
[Round "?"]
[Result "0-1"]
[White "Hans-Joachim Hecht"]
[Black "Raymond Keene"]
[ECO "B26"]
[WhiteElo "?"]
[BlackElo "?"]
[PlyCount "64"]

1. e4 { Notes by Raymond Keene. } g6 2. Nc3 Bg7 3. g3 {3 d4,
returning to the Pirc or Modern, is a more severe test of
Black's resources.} 3...c5 4. Bg2 Nc6 5. d3 d6 6. Be3 Rb8 {I
like this move very much. I first saw a similar idea in
Christoffel - Petrosian, Zuerich 1961, and since then I have
had several opportunities to use it in my own games. Black
wants, ideally, to establish a queenside advantage rapidly,
before committing the development of his kingside to any set
pattern.} 7. Nf3 {Hartston - Keene, Hastings 1971/72 (a few
months before this game) had gone: 7 Qd2 b5 8 Nge2 b4 9 Nd1
Qb6 10 O-O a5 11 f4 f5 12 Bf2 Nf6 13 Ne3 O-O 14 e5 dxe5 15 Nc4
Qc7 16 Bxc5 Rd8 17 Kh1 Ba6=/+, although White succeeded in
holding the draw after 29 moves.} 7...Nf6 8. h3 b5 9. Qd2 b4
10. Nd1 {? The further course of the game reveals that the
knight is badly placed on this square. 10 Ne2 was indicated.}
10...Ba6 {Aiming, eventually, for ...c5-c4 to hit at the base
of White's pawn chain.} 11. Nh4 O-O 12. O-O c4 13. f4 Qc7
14. Rf2 {To unpin the d-pawn.} 14...Rfd8 {Only this plan, in
connection with the sacrifice at move 17, leaves Black on
top. If White could play d3-d4 free of charge and follow this
with c2-c3, cementing the foundations of his centre, he could
be winning.} 15. d4 {To advance the f-pawn would concede too
many squares, e.g. 15 f5 cxd3 16 cxd3 Ne5.} 15...d5 16. e5 Ne4
17. Bxe4 c3 {! 17...dxe4? 18 c3 leaves White's centre like a
rock and Black's queen's bishop totally out of play.} 18. bxc3
dxe4 {For his pawn Black has achieved two very important basic
advantages: a) his pawn structure is superior (White's huge
centre, with its unwieldy doubled pawns is subject to severe
pressure) and b) his king is more secure. In addition, Black
dominates the light squares and White's minor pieces are badly
congested and incapable of cO-Ordination.} 19. Kh2 {To guard
against ...bxc3 followed by ...Qd7, forking d4 and h3. If,
instead, 19 cxb4 Nxb4 20 a3 Nc6 followed by ...Na5 heading for
the weak c4 square.} 19...e6 20. Qe1 Bf8 21. f5 {?! A
practical decision - White gives back the pawn to enliven his
queen's bishop and create some counterplay. I had expected 21
Bd2 but then comes 21...bxc3 22 Bxc3 Nxd4! 23 Ba5 Nxc2 24 Bxc7
Nxe1 25 Bxb8 Rxb8 with such threats as ...e4-e3, ...Bc5 or
...Nd3.} 21...exf5 22. Bg5 bxc3 {! Another practical decision
- I wanted to keep the initiative and wipe out White's centre
without stopping to save the exchange, but 22...Be7 or
22...Rd7 were doubtless playable. Not surprisingly, my 22nd
move was partly prompted by Hecht's habitual time shortage,
which was not absent in this encounter.} 23. Bxd8 Qxd8
24. Qxc3 Rc8 25. Ne3 Qxd4 {25...Nxd4 is also excellent.}
26. Qxd4 Nxd4 27. Rd1 Nc6 28. Rd5 Re8 29. g4 {The best try in
the circumstances.} 29...Bh6 30. Nexf5 {? In time-trouble it
is difficult to make rational decisions, and after this a rout
ensues. There was still tough resistance possible with 30 Nhg2
Nxe5 31 gxf5 Nf3+ 32 Kh1 Bf8 33 fxg6 hxg6 34 c4 Rb8 35 Rc2,
although Black should win with 35...Bc5! planning ...Bd4 and
an advance of the f-pawn. Note that 36 Rxc5 loses to
36...Rb1+.} 30...gxf5 31. Nxf5 Bf8 32. Nd6 Rxe5 0-1

To move:

Last move:

Given 1 time; par: 57 [what's this?]

Annotations by Raymond Keene. [404 more games annotated by Keene]

explore this opening	find similar games	7 more Hecht/Keene games
sac: 22...bxc3	PGN: download \| view	Help: general \| java-troubleshooting

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Jun-19-06		Marmot PFL: A game well worth study for any Sicilian player.

Aug-31-08		Bobsterman3000: I make that Rb8 move all the time, but it never works out like this for me...

Aug-31-08		Once: A modern transposes to a closed sicilian. There is a good chance that our game with GMAN can transpose to this one by move five. click for larger view

Aug-31-08		Domdaniel: <Once> It may seem trivial but don't forget this page can be read by anyone -- unlike forums and the challenge page. Not that you're giving away trade secrets, or anything ... BTW, I agree with a lot of what you've said, over there.

Aug-31-08		medstu56: poor title, it implies Hecht wins

Aug-31-08		YouRang: The notation says: <There was still tough resistance possible with 30 Nhg2 Nxe5 31 gxf5 Nf3+ 32 Kh1 Bf8 33 fxg6 hxg6 34 c4 Rb8 35 Rc2, although Black should win with 35...Bc5! planning ...Bd4 and an advance of the f-pawn. Note that 36 Rxc5 loses to 36...Rb1+.> However, doing some computer checking down this line, it appears that after 31...Nf3+, white should play 32.Kg3! [diagram] click for larger view If 32...Bg7, then 33.Nf4 Bd4 34.Rxf3 exf3 35.Rxd4 Rxe3 (unclear) If 32...Bf8, then 33.Nh4 Bb7 34.Nxf3 exf3 35.Rd3 Bc5 36.Rxf3 Bxf3 37.Kxf3 (unclear)

Aug-31-08		Helios727: What happens after 33. Rd1 ?

Aug-31-08		The Bycote: Helios727: "What happens after 33. Rd1 ?" After 33.Rd1? black wins easily with 33...e3 34.Rg2 e2 35.Re1 Bxd6

Sep-02-08		kevin86: It's funny how this game "sneaks" into the Sicilian. Maybe it's all that Romano cheese and garlic dip around the chess table. lol

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