Tigran Vartanovich Petrosian vs Igor Bondarevsky (1950)

Tigran Vartanovich Petrosian vs Igor Bondarevsky
USSR Championship (1950) · Zukertort Opening: Queen's Gambit Invitation (A04) · 1-0

[Event "USSR Championship"]
[Site "Moscow (RUS)"]
[Date "1950.12.11"]
[EventDate "1950.??.??"]
[Round "17"]
[Result "1-0"]
[White "Petrosian"]
[Black "Igor Bondarevsky"]
[ECO "A04"]
[WhiteElo "?"]
[BlackElo "?"]
[PlyCount "82"]

1. Nf3 {Notes by Peter Clarke} e6 {There are people who play
this against any opening move by White. Perhaps it is the only
reply that unquestionably deserves such a strange
distinction.} 2. g3 f5 3. Bg2 Nf6 4. O-O Be7 5. d4 O-O 6. c4
c6 {He intens to adapt the stonewall formation and decides on
this order of moves to avoid the possibility of his
black-squared Bishop being exchanged by b3 and Ba3 (this way
he has ...d6 in reserve); not that there is anything really to
be feared in that.} 7. Qc2 Qe8 {The manouver ...Q-e8-g6 (or
h5) is the normal method of preparing the K-side attack. Here
he starts it while waiting for White to reveal his hand more.}
8. Nbd2 d5 9. Ne5 {Petrosian is employing the same strategy as
he did against Pirtskhalava-placing his Knights on d3 and f3
in order to exploit the hole on e5. What is interesting is
that he has found an entirely different route for them to
take.} Nbd7 10. Nd3 Ne4 11. Nf3 {White has avoided relieving
Black's game by exchanges and is now ready to begin the drive
forward in the center. This is a critical moment for the
second player, for he must seek counter-play on the K side and
yet not overreach himself there; 11...Qh5 seems
natural. Instead Bondarevsky tries to combat White's plans by
striking out first on the other wing, a policy as wrong as it
is anti-thematic.} Nd6 12. b3 b5 13. c5 {!} Nf7 14. a4 {The
new extension to the wall must fall, after which Black is left
with a weakened and exposed Q side, not at all what he had
bargained for.} bxa4 15. Rxa4 Bf6 16. Bb2 a6 {For the one and
only time he could have played ...e5 here. Although it would
have greatly freed his pieces-after, for instance, 17.dxe5
Nfxe5 18.Rfa1 Nxd3 19.exd3 Bxb2 20.Qxb2 Nxc5 21.Rxa7-White's
too would have had the board opened up for them. And open
positions invariably favor the side with the initiative.}
17. Nfe5 Nfxe5 18. dxe5 Be7 19. f4 Rb8 {If 19...g5 20.fxg5
Bxg5 21.Bc1! Black's problem is to find a constructive plan
which does not help his opponent.} 20. Rfa1 Rb5 21. b4 {!
21.Bd4 was superficially correct, but White would like to see
his Knight on d4; moreover, he wishes to preserve the
possibility of Bc1, as mentioned in the previous note.} h5
{Bondarevsky has not yet had all the fight squeezed out of
him.! He is aiming to win some space on the K side and so
perhaps put White out of his methodical stride.} 22. Bc3 h4
23. e3 Nb8 {Unfortunately this passive step is necessary, as
White is threatening to bring his KB to bear on the a-pawn.}
24. Ne1 Rb7 {Better was the prelimanary 24...hxg3. As played,
Black loses the benefit he expected from the advance of the
h-pawn.} 25. gxh4 Bxh4 26. Nf3 Bd8 27. h4 {! It is clear that
Black's last chance of doing anything active- ...g5-has
gone. The outlook is one of grim defence behind his pawn
barrier.} Qh5 28. Be1 Bd7 29. Qf2 Kf7 {? A final error,
shortening the game by many moves. He had to return his Bishop
to c8 to protect his a-pawn, in which event it still would
have required a long campaign of White to breach the defences
(the g-file is the weak spot). As soon as the pawn is removed,
there is nothing to hold the attacker off.} 30. Bf1 Rh8
31. Bxa6 Nxa6 32. Rxa6 Be7 33. Ra7 Rhb8 {He attacked the enemy
h-pawn in vain and now he has had to give up. The end is not
far away.} 34. Rxb7 Rxb7 35. Nd4 Qh8 36. Qg3 Qb8 {Black was
almost in Zugzwang; for instance, Bishop moves permit Ra8,
whilst the threat of b5 continually hangs over him.} 37. h5
Ra7 38. Rc1 {Avoiding a subtle trap-38.Rxa7 Qxa7 39.Qg6+ Kf8
40.Ne6+ Bxe6 41.Qxe6 Qa1! 42.Qc8+ Kf7 48.Qxf5+ Kg8, and White
must either give perpetual check or lose his Bishop.} Qg8
39. Qg6+ Kf8 40. b5 {This inevitable breakthrough is the
stronger for being delayed. If 40...cxb5, then 41.c6 Bc 8
42.Nxb5 and 43.Nd6 wins.} Qf7 41. bxc6 Bc8 {Black sealed this
move and the next day, in view of the continuation 42.Qxf7+
Kxf7 43.Nb5 Ra8 44.Nd6+ Kf8 45.c7, he resigned.} 1-0

To move:

Last move:

Given 22 times; par: 85 [what's this?]

Annotations by Peter Hugh Clarke. [6 more games annotated by P Clarke]

explore this opening	find similar games	2 more Bondarevsky/Petrosian games
	PGN: download \| view	Help: general \| java-troubleshooting

TIP: To flip the board (so black is on the bottom) either press F or click on the d7 square.

For help with this chess viewer, please see the Pgn4web Quickstart Guide.

Apr-15-05		fgh: Good notes. Who is Peter Clarke, btw?

Apr-16-05		Benzol: <fgh> Peter H Clarke

Apr-16-05		Maroczy: I don't know if this can be done but is there any way Clarke's notes can be included on the printed copy of the game? I like to e-mail the games I like to work and print them out; then I go over them at home with my set.

Apr-16-05		refutor: <maroczy> yes, click on "view text"

Apr-16-05		Maroczy: <refutor> Thanks. I hope it fits on a standard 81/2 X 11 sheet and doesn't run off past the margin.

May-15-05		lentil: some people play 1...g6 against any first move... so 1. ...e6 in not unique

Aug-10-05		notyetagm: A sign of Petrosian's great positional understanding is the fact that these annotations give exclamation points to three of Tigran's non-threatening pawn moves: 13 c5!, 21 b4! and 27 h4!. <I really like 27 h4!, a beautiful, strong prophylactic move taking away Black's only active plan of playing ... g7-g5.> It is exactly similar to White playing g2-g4 in certain Ruy Lopez and King's Indian positions to impede Black from playing ... f7-f5. After 27 h4! Black has no winning chances and must try to grovel for a draw. Petrosian and Capablanca really did make chess look like a simple game.

Aug-10-05		notyetagm: This game shows that Black is as dead as a doornail if he plays the Dutch and does not get a kingside attack going.

Oct-03-05		Kriegspiel: I should have thought that the purpose in playing 6...c6 was to prepare (8...)d5, so that if White should play cxd, Black could reply in a way that keeps two pawns in the center (also opening up the c-file while protecting his kingside by retaining a pawn on the e-file), not the reason given in the notes. He could then fianchetto his c8 bishop (prepared by b6) and position his a8 rook at c8. But at any rate, to exchange a less central pawn for a more central one. Kriegspiel

Feb-27-07		mormonchess: <notyetagm>: Petrosian and Capablanca really did make chess look like a simple game. Indeed they did! I often find Petrosian's games to be incredibly profound. I enjoy his knight maneuvers in this game. Very Nimzowitschian. <notyetagm> This game shows that Black is as dead as a doornail if he plays the Dutch and does not get a kingside attack going. I would resign immediately if I were foolish enough to play the Dutch against Iron Tigran!

Apr-12-09		blacksburg: i told myself i wasn't going to buy any more chess books for a while...and then i just ordered Clarke's book...and i also ordered Keene's book on Petrosian so i could qualify for free shipping...i have a problem. :(

Apr-12-09		acirce: Tell me about it. But those two are both good.

May-03-09		ToTheDeath: <38. Rc1 {Avoiding a subtle trap-38.Rxa7 Qxa7 39.Qg6+ Kf8 40.Ne6+ Bxe6 41.Qxe6 Qa1! 42.Qc8+ Kf7 48.Qxf5+ Kg8, and White must either give perpetual check or lose his Bishop.> Lovely variation and a classic game. Petrosian was deadly against the Dutch.

Nov-08-09		WhiteRook48: Petrosian had his opponent in a death grip

Dec-02-10		sevenseaman: Petrosian, a 'positionologist', eh?

Apr-26-11		xombie: This is a study in non-committal chess. How often does the average patzer force matters too soon? It is testament to Petrosian's great positional and tactical insight that he does not force, and avoids traps. This is a very harmonious game.

Oct-02-11		64rutor: Winning Chess Strategies by Seirawan, Silman, gives 12...b5? "The best move was 12...b6, which restrains White's next move" [13.c5].

NOTE: You need to pick a username and password to post a reply. Getting your account takes less than a minute, totally anonymous, and 100% free--plus, it entitles you to features otherwise unavailable. Pick your username now and join the chessgames community!

If you already have an account, you should login now.

Please observe our posting guidelines:

No obscene, racist, sexist, or profane language.
No spamming, advertising, or duplicating posts.
No personal attacks against other users.
Nothing in violation of United States law.

See something which violates our rules? Blow the whistle and inform an administrator.

NOTE: Keep all discussion on the topic of this page. This forum is for this specific game and nothing else. If you want to discuss chess in general, or this site, you might try the Kibitzer's Café.

Messages posted by Chessgames members do not necessarily represent the views of Chessgames.com, its employees, or sponsors.

Spot an error? Please submit a correction slip and help us eliminate database mistakes!
This game is type: CLASSICAL (Disagree? Please submit a correction slip.)

Featured in the Following Game Collections [what is this?]

Book of Samurai's favorite games 4
by Book of Samurai

Dutch Opening
from Petrosian by Romeo82

The Russian Tiger
by 67JediChessMaster

Weak squares should be exploited!
from Games Elaine should study! by OneArmedScissor

Foobob's guess-the-move games
by Foobob

zukertort opening
from benjobench's game collection by benjobench

franskfranz's 1. Nf3
by franskfranz

...And knocks it down again!
from 1. h4's favorite games by 1. h4

kozo's favorite games
by kozo

samsloan's favorite games of Petrosian
by samsloan

G7
from P.H.Clarke: Petrosian's Best games by setuhanu01

USSR Championship 1950
by suenteus po 147

petrosian's methodical approach
from fav Smyslov & Petrosian games by guoduke

Logical Chess
by alligator

Dutch Stonewall
from Games to begin with by 64rutor

Dutch stranglehold
from chess strategems ix - under construction by gauer

MY TRIBUTE TO THE "IRON TIGER"
by Malacha

zakir's favorite games
by zakir

Petrosian squeezes the Stonewall
from Fusilli's favorite games by Fusilli

don't play on both flanks!
from Brilliant games by madhatter5

plus 4 more collections (not shown)