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Samuel Reshevsky vs Tigran Petrosian
"The Noble Art of Self-Defense" (game of the day Apr-06-2025)
Zuerich Candidates (1953), Zuerich SUI, rd 2, Aug-31
Nimzo-Indian Defense: Normal Variation. Bernstein Defense (E58)  ·  1/2-1/2

ANALYSIS [x]

FEN COPIED

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Kibitzer's Corner
< Earlier Kibitzing  · PAGE 2 OF 2 ·  Later Kibitzing>
Dec-10-06  Plato: I love this game. An early and beautiful example of the modern exhange sacrifice by its main pioneer, Petrosian.
Dec-10-06  who: <rookfile> like <backward development> quotes - h4 a move earlier would have given white a strong advantage.
Jan-05-09  Lt.Surena: 11.Bb2? looks weak. Instead, 11.Re1 looks better. Black notices the bad move and seals the bishop at b2 with 11.. c4.

Petrosian is smart. He doesn't take knight at f3 (ie plays 13... Ne4 instead). White's bishop gets sealed at b2. Black effectively takes over the e4 square. Great game !

Mar-17-09  WhiteRook48: 30 Rxd3... why sac the exchange?
Jun-02-09  marknierras: The 25... re6 sacrifice shows that sometimes a material loss can create a superior position... in this case 29...bd3; it looks like the sacrifice worked and white eventually realized that he had to give back the rook that he won on move 30 because of the strong black attack!
Jan-02-10  AnalyzeThis: <Plato: I love this game. An early and beautiful example of the modern exhange sacrifice by its main pioneer, Petrosian. >

The moral of the story is, when Capablanca sacrifices the exchange, it's old fashioned, but then Petrosian does it, it's modern.

Jan-17-10  BISHOP TAL: Bernstein defense cant say ive heard that before Petrosian sure plays it well rook e6 looks patzerish offhand but petrosian is anything but that,it makes the knight good.
Jan-30-10  larsenfan: I agree with many kibitzers, it is funny, to say the least, that such an amazing game has so few comments. Yes, it is a draw, but even so... By the way, I have just shown this position to Rykba and the exchange sac is its second option.

To Analyzethis: could you please provide examples of similar sacs by Capa or other calsics ? Thanks in advance.

Sep-03-10  DoubtingThomas: It's one of my favourites:

http://streathambrixtonchess.blogsp...

Nov-16-10  Knight13: 25...Re6 seems forced to me. Play it or die. I wonder if Petrosian saw this position many moves ahead and decided on ...Re6 some moves ago.
May-24-11  Llawdogg: The positional exchange sacrifice: 25 ... Re6!

Petrosian spent quite a lot of time looking for this move. When he finally found it he smiled. Reshevsky was watching him. When he saw the smile and then the move, it was like someone dumped a cold bucket of water on him. His win was gone.

Story told by Petrosian's student Melik Khachiyan.

Jun-09-11
Premium Chessgames Member
  offramp: Most of the comments on this game are about how few comments there are on this game.
Jun-09-11  Petrosianic: Not just this game, it's amazing how many comments on the whole site are requests for others to make comments.

I wonder if Khachiyan's story isn't embellished slightly. Are we really to believe that Reshevsky never even remotely considered R-K3, but once he saw it, he knew in an instant that it saved the game? I doubt it all happened quite that quickly. If it were that obvious, surely he'd have considered it before, wouldn't he?

Jul-17-11  Big Pawn: <Sep-10-05 ARTIN: how does fritz evaluate Re6?>

ARTIN asked how Fritz evaluated 25...Re6 back in 2005. Fritz wasn't seeing it back then. However, I just let Houdini think about this move and within ten minutes (perhaps sooner - I left my chess table for a few minutes) it gave 25...Re6 as the second best move.

First choice is 25...Ra7 with only a slight advantage to White - almost equal. 25...Re6 is given as second best but it is given a far worse evaluation.

25...Ra7 +0.35
25...Re6 +0.75

Nov-11-11
Premium Chessgames Member
  kingscrusher: Nice strategic positional sac - Nimzo would be proud.
Dec-04-11  iamdeafzed: @ Big Pawn

A .40 unit difference between an engine's first choice and second choice move isn't exactly what I'd call "a far worse evaluation". Especially considering that, as I recall, different engines can vary on their analysis of a position by as much as .50 units. Engine analysis isn't gospel truth.

In other news, I'm not surprised by Petrosian's 25th move in hindsight. He seems to have been pretty big on exchange sacrifices in general.

Apr-06-14  Howard: "One of the jewels of the tournament", as Bronstein stated in his famous book on the 1953 tournament.
Sep-07-14  fisayo123: On 25...Re6!!

"This purely positional sacrifice made an indelible impression on me." -- Tal

Sep-01-16  Howard: Can't help but wonder if Reshevsky could have somehow pocketed the exchange, and thus kept winning chances, but that doesn't seem likely.
Mar-01-18  tgyuid: he got his donkey to e4 though; then it was all about the other donkey
Apr-01-22
Premium Chessgames Member
  perfidious: <iamdeafzed....Engine analysis isn't gospel truth....>

This should be required reading for all engine slaves.

Apr-06-25
Premium Chessgames Member
  HeMateMe: Terrific game. Is the title a reference to a famous book?
Apr-06-25  goodevans: For my fellow patzers who, like me, wondered why Reshevsky didn't try to hang on to his extra pawn with <41.Bc3?>


click for larger view

... it's because <41...Qxa6 42.Qxa6 Rxa6 43.Bxb2 Rb6> would implement a paralysing pin on White's B.

He can avoid losing it with <44.Kh2> (so that 44...Nc3? can be answered with 45.Rc1) but trying to relieve the pin with <44.Kf1?> would fall foul of <44...Ne3+ and 45...Nc4>. White can't do anything constructive and is a mere onlooker as Black does whatever he wants.

Apr-06-25  mrknightly: <HeMateMe> There is a book by that title written in 1935 (?) by Ned Donnelly, a British boxer. However, apparently it was an accepted phrase prior to that since it was used in the 1870's in the writing of Alfred Lister, a British civil servant stationed in Hong Kong during the 19th century. He was impressed with the way the Chinese studied different self-defense techniques as opposed to general bar room brawling.
Apr-06-25  ewan14: Kasparov was pretty obsessed with this game in
OMGP
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