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Viktor Korchnoi vs Mijo Udovcic
"A Wrench in the French" (game of the day Nov-14-05)
Leningrad 1967  ·  French Defense: Tarrasch. Closed Variation (C05)  ·  1-0


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Given 31 times; par: 45 [what's this?]

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Kibitzer's Corner
< Earlier Kibitzing  · PAGE 2 OF 2 ·  Later Kibitzing >
Nov-14-05
Premium Chessgames Member
  KingG: Great game by Korchnoi.
Nov-14-05
Premium Chessgames Member
  dakgootje: very nice game by Viktor Korchnoi indeed
Nov-14-05   CeeFoR: Excellent pun as well!
Nov-14-05
Premium Chessgames Member
  kevin86: "Pins and needles,needles and pins-it's a happy man that grins" Ralph Kramden.

A rare double pin on move 23 by white.

Nov-14-05
Premium Chessgames Member
  Dres1: this is a cool old man
Nov-14-05   TigerPawns: 17...Kf8 looks strange, but 17...O-O is in fact not much fun after the simple attacking move 18. Qg4 when the immediate threat 19.Bxh6 must be met by weakening the king side and being subject to prolonged pressure.
Nov-14-05
Premium Chessgames Member
  YouRang: Udovcic must have felt like a pin cushion during this game.
Nov-14-05   Marvol: <blingice: Why does white's dark bishop never get taken?>

Well apart from move 22, it is not that hard.
At move 23 black would lose the queen; at move 24, black would also lose the queen after 25 Nxe6+; at move 25, it is check; 26 attacks the queen; 27 is check; if 28...Bxb4 then 29.Rf3+ mates or wins the queen (and still mates :P); 29 attacks the rook; and by move 30 I don't think it matters anymore.

But at move 22 it seems a valid alternative to capture the bishop. After 22...Bxb4 and the obvious recapture 23 Qxb4+, Fritz embarks on a long and rather tactical variation. The main point seems to be that black is very tied up... in many variations white threatens to win a pawn or a piece with Qa5.

Nov-14-05   BARROCCO: You know, 17..Kf8 was a real bummer for Black. The King's Rook only suffocates. And in England, a wrench is called a spanner, and 19. Qg4 really made the span from Queenside to Kingside. Great game for Mr. Korchnoi!
Nov-14-05   Hesam7: IMO 23... g5 is the main mistake on Black's side. Before that Black's position is difficult but not lost.
Mar-23-06   Daodejing: Also a "classic"!

Korchnoi has a lot of fun by analysing this game in his lesson on Fritz 9.

Jul-19-06
Premium Chessgames Member
  notyetagm: Korchnoi playing the Korchnoi Gambit against the French.

This game is a pinning masterpiece. I particularly liked 29 Qg4-h4!, with a wicked <CROSS-PIN> of the Black e7-bishop.

Jul-19-06
Premium Chessgames Member
  keypusher: Wow, what a game! I didn't know there even WAS a Korchnoi Gambit -- usually Korchoi grabs pawns rather than giving them up. 23. Qh4 is indeed amazing.
Jul-20-06
Premium Chessgames Member
  notyetagm: <keypusher: Wow, what a game! I didn't know there even WAS a Korchnoi Gambit -- usually Korchoi grabs pawns rather than giving them up. 23. Qh4 is indeed amazing.>

Yes, this is a really great game by Korchnoi.

Jul-20-06
Premium Chessgames Member
  diagonal: (usually) Victor Korchnoi grabs pawns rather than giving them up *lol* - and he paid a lot for grabbing (poisoned) pawns.

Well, contrary to many other players Korchnoi is NOT looking for the rules (to a routine down to perfection), he is looking for the "exception of the rules":

This game is most certainly one of VK's top-ten ever.

Jul-20-06   A.Alekhine: GM Larry Christiansen annotated this game in Chessmaster 10th edition..
Oct-02-06
Premium Chessgames Member
  notyetagm: This game should be called <The Immortal Pinning Game>.

Never before have I seen a game in which there is simply pin (22 Bb4 g6 23 Qh4! <pile on the pinned Black e7-bishop>) after pin (25 Bb5+ Bd7 26 Nxe6! <take what the pinned Black d7-bishop doesn't defend>) after pin (30 Qxh6 Bxb5 31 Rg3 <pile on the pinned Black g7-rook>).

An incredible pinning masterpiece.

Mar-23-07
Premium Chessgames Member
  tatarch: notyetagm--I totally agree. Black has a piece or pawn pinned, more or less, on every single move for his last 10 moves. Fundamentals!
Apr-25-07   SNoland: 13...Nc5 instead of 13...h6 seems to solve some of blacks issues. If 14. Bh7 then Qh4 for black.
Aug-07-07
Premium Chessgames Member
  whiteshark: From the <My Life for Chess> CD

Kortchnoi starts to replay his white game against Mijo Udovcic, which begins 1.d4 e6 2.e4 :

<Well, some time ago the then world champion Mikhail Botvinnik said that a young player had to arrange his opening repertoire in a way that he would never have to play against himself. What does it mean? It means that if I play the Grunfeld with black against d4 and the French Defence against e4, I should not play against the French myself. Somehow I had to avoid openings which I play myself. But I got tired of playing closed openings and decided to take the challenge. The guy wanted to play the French against me, I take it! But if possible I would avoid the most modern lines.>

Sep-11-08   jovack: udovic just got completely stranded with his pieces clumsily defending
Jan-21-09
Premium Chessgames Member
  notyetagm: A <PINNING> masterpiece.
Jan-21-09
Premium Chessgames Member
  notyetagm: 23 ?


click for larger view

23 Qg4-h4! <pin: f8>


click for larger view

23 Qg4-h4! Black e7-bishop pinned against Black f8-king.

Apr-21-09   Alphastar: <notyetagm> It's the pinnacle of Korchnoi's career!
Jun-30-09   WhiteRook48: 23 Qh4!! the e7-bishop is also pinned to the black queen
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