chessgames.com

Boris Spassky vs Tigran Vartanovich Petrosian
"Taming the Tiger" (game of the day Oct-29-08)
Petrosian-Spassky World Championship Rematch (1969)  ·  Sicilian Defense: Najdorf Variation (B94)  ·  1-0
To move:
Last move:

Click Here to play Guess-the-Move
Given 63 times; par: 33 [what's this?]

explore this opening
find similar games 74 more Spassky/Petrosian games
sac: 23.Qg6 PGN: download | view Help: general | java-troubleshooting

TIP: If Java is not installed or isn't working, a small red "X" usually appears where the game should be. Most Java problems can be resolved by downloading and (re)installing Java from www.java.com.

PGN Viewer:  What is this?
For help with this chess viewer, please see the Pgn4web Quickstart Guide.

Kibitzer's Corner
< Earlier Kibitzing  · PAGE 6 OF 6 ·  Later Kibitzing>
May-13-12
Premium Chessgames Member
  whiteshark: for good reason known as <hurricane> game.
May-13-12
Premium Chessgames Member
  Tiggler: <<SamAtoms1980>: I actually found 21.e5 and 22.Ne4, but got stuck after 22....Nh5; the key move that I didn't find was 24.Ng5, which is critical for finding 23.Qg6> I also got the first two moves up to 22 ... Nh5, and then I thought 23 Nd6 would win. Actually I still think it does.
May-13-12
Premium Chessgames Member
  Marmot PFL: I would have played 21 e5 and 22 Ne4 without too much thought. Getting another piece near black's king could be decisive and is worth a pawn. 22...ed4 23 Nxf6+ gf 24 Qg8# and 22...Nxe4 23 Rxf8+ Rxf8 24 Qxg7# are both easy to find. Wasn't sure that 22...Nh5 23 Qg6 was winning though from the starting position.
May-13-12
Premium Chessgames Member
  Marmot PFL: I bet Fischer as black would have played 19...Qe5 instead of the passive Qd8. It seems like black's only fighting chance although white's attack may still be too strong.
May-13-12
Premium Chessgames Member
  Jimfromprovidence: I get the concept behind 21 e5, below, but the tactical execution required I found daunting.


click for larger view

The concept is if black does not take the e pawn or move the knight to h5, he gets mated after 22 Rxf8+, 23 Qxg7#

Let assume black replies 21…Nh5 and white follows with 22 Nf3 ( to control e5). Now if black follows with 22…Nf4, 23 Qg4 g5 (to prevent Qg6) seems logical.


click for larger view

I guess 24 h4 comes next but now I'm not sure what black should do here.

I'll try to pick this thread up later.

May-13-12  gregcz2000: Does anybody know the line if Black plays 23. Nf4 instead? It looks like White would have to move the Queen, and all I can get to is an endgame where White has a knight for two advancing pawns.
May-13-12  Jim Bartle: 24. Rxf4 followed by Nf3 and on to g5 and mate is inevitable.
May-13-12  CHESSTTCAMPS: In this middlegame attacking position, white is down a B+P for a N, but is employing the open lines on the kingside to maximum effect. All white pieces are in active positions, available to contribute to the attack, while few of black's passive pieces actually defend the king. Removal of Nf6 would allow Rxf8+, forcing mate on g7, while a capture on f6 in a position where g-pawn must recapture would allow Qg8#. These two observations suggest a method of breaktrhough:

21.e5!!

The clincher - there is no good defense:

A) 21... Nd5 (/g8/h7/d5) 22.Rxf8(+) Rxf8 23.Qxg7#

B) 21... dxe5 22.Ne4! Nh5 23.Qg6 exd4 24.Ng5! (tempo>piece) hxg5 25.Qxh5+ Kg8 26.Qf7+ Kh8/h7 27.Rg3 g4 (e5 28.Qh5#) 28.Rxg4 Qe7 (or Re7) 29.Qh5+ Kg8 30.Rh4 and black must give up the Q to stop 31.Qh8 mate.

B.1) 22... Nxe4 23.Rxf8+ Rxf8 24.Qxg7#

B.2) 22... exd4 23.Nxf6! (Rf6 is also strong) g5 (otherwise 26.Qg6 wins) 24.Qe4 Qe7 (Re7 25.Qg6 Rg7 26.Qxh6+ wins) 25.Qg6! Qg7 26.Rxg5!! Qxg6 (hxg5 27.Qh5+ forces mate; 26... Re7 27.Qxh6+! Qxh6 28.Rg8#) 27.Rxg6 Bg7 28.Nxd7 Re7 29.Nc5 leaves black no compensation for a piece deficit.

C) 21... Nh5 22.Qg6 dxe5 23.Ne4 transposes to B.

I think this is it - time for review....

May-13-12  master of defence: And what happens after 24...hxg5?
May-13-12
Premium Chessgames Member
  waustad: I saw the first two moves but didn't see how to carry on. I kept fixating on g8.
May-13-12  CHESSTTCAMPS: I'd hoped the game would go into B.2, with the beautiful Arabian mates. Nonetheless, Spassky at his best.
May-13-12
Premium Chessgames Member
  jahhaj: <master of defence: And what happens after 24...hxg5?>

25.Qxh5+ Kg8 26.Qf7+ Kh7 27.Rf3 looks decisive to me. The threat is 28.Rh3# and 27...e5 allows 28.Qh5#

May-13-12
Premium Chessgames Member
  sevenseaman: The concept behind 25. e5! Nice ratiocination <jimfromprovidence>. I was at a loss to grasp the import.

If such not-so-visible nuances start coming to mind the quality of input will surely improve and slowly one can hope to solve the subtler puzzles.

Thanks.

<Helios727> and <master of defense> <What happens after 24... hxg5 ?>

Read CHESSTTCamps analysis at B) carefully. It deals comprehensively with your doubt and you will have your question fully answered.

May-13-12  CHESSTTCAMPS: Try playing the game position against Crafty EGT at the following link:

http://www.chessvideos.tv/endgame-t...

I posted an incorrect version eralier and deleted the post.

May-13-12
Premium Chessgames Member
  Sneaky: Ah yes, the old e5 / Ne4 trick. As Spassky proves, you can even play it in positions where you can't play it. Try wrapping your head around THAT.
May-13-12
Premium Chessgames Member
  David2009: <CHESSTTCAMPS: Try playing the game position against Crafty EGT at the following link:> The link seems to be flawed the BK starts on g8?


click for larger view

Here's a Crafty EGT link to the puzzle position above: http://www.chessvideos.tv/endgame-t... The EGT defends with the 23...Nf4 line as suggested by <gregcz2000>. In reply to <Jim Bartle>'s suggestion <24. Rxf4 followed by Nf3 and on to g5 and mate is inevitable>, the EGT finds the ingenious 24...exf4 25.Nf3 Qb6 to reach:


click for larger view

which stuck me for a long time. The immediate Neg5 or Nf6 is well met by Qxg1+ etc and preparing things with Rb2 allows Qb5! holding on (turning the tables?). There is an extraordinary and paradoxial move which cracks it for White: can you find it in the diagram? Hint: block the Qb5 defence.

[Not enough time today to solve OTB. I saw almost none of this in the puzzle position - the Pawn sacrifice seemed promising but Nf6-h5-f4 seemed to me to hold everything, so I gave up and looksed at the solution. I still got stuck on the Nf4 defence but <Jim Bartle> gave me hope].

May-13-12  heurisko: <CHESTTCAMPS: B.2) 22... exd4 23.Nxf6! (Rf6 is also strong) g5 (otherwise 26.Qg6 wins) 24.Qe4 Qe7 (Re7 25.Qg6 Rg7 26.Qxh6+ wins) 25.Qg6! Qg7 26.Rxg5!! Qxg6 (hxg5 27.Qh5+ forces mate; 26... Re7 27.Qxh6+! Qxh6 28.Rg8#) 27.Rxg6 Bg7 28.Nxd7 Re7 29.Nc5 leaves black no compensation for a piece deficit.>

I don't see a forced mate in the case when black captures the rook on h5.

May-13-12  CHESSTTCAMPS: <David2009: ....The link seems to be flawed the BK starts on g8? .... There is an extraordinary and paradoxial move which cracks it for White: can you find it in the diagram? Hint: block the Qb5 defence.>

Right on both counts - sorry about the first one. I like the ingenuity of the win against the best defense, but it still requires careful follow-up.

May-13-12
Premium Chessgames Member
  chuter09: I hardly ever get Sundays and I stare at them for like 20 minutes. Today I got all the way to Qg6 in 2 minutes. Gotta remove the knight in order to remove the bishop.
May-13-12  TheBish: Spassky vs Petrosian, 1969

White to play (21.?) "Insane"

This looks vaguely familiar (maybe from their World Championship match?), but I still had to work at it. The key is noticing that if you can make the knight "disappear", then you will have Rxf8+ and Qxg7#.

21. e5! dxe5 22. Ne4! Nh5

This was the toughest nut to crack for me. Easier is 22...exd4 23. Nxf6 Re7 24. Qg6, or 22...Nxe4 23. Rxf8+ Rxf8 24. Qxg7#.

23. Qg6! exd4 24. Ng5!!

Opening the h-file for a quick mate.

24...hxg5

Or 24...Nf6 25. Rxf6 hxg5 26. Qh5+ Kg8 27. Qf7+ Kh8 28. Rf3 g4 (28...e5 29. Qh5#) 29. Rxg4 followed by 30. Rh3+.

25. Qxh5+ Kg8 26. Qf7+ Kh8 27. Rf3 and wins as in the variation above.

May-13-12  CHESSTTCAMPS: <heurisko: <CHESTTCAMPS: ....26.Rxg5!! Qxg6 (hxg5 27.Qh5+ forces mate......> I don't see a forced mate in the case when black captures the rook on h5.>

You're right - 27.Qh5+ does not force mate because of 27... Qh6. Although I got the game line, I made errors in the longer calculations and missed the 23... Nf4 defense.

May-13-12  BOSTER: Couple hours before looking at <POTD> I carefully studied the position from game <Fischer vs Benko>, where Fischer played e5 to gain time for Nce4 with a very strong attack.


click for larger view

And I knew very well that e5-Ne4 break was very popular during last 50 years.

Nevertheless, looking at <POTD> my knowledge were very fast disappeared.

May-13-12  LoveThatJoker: No answer submitted today: No points gained today.

5.60 out of 7 with a pass for the week.

LTJ

May-13-12
Premium Chessgames Member
  Abdel Irada: Black is a pawn ahead, but in such positions pawns and even pieces are mere wood, and by leaving his kingside so nearly bare, black ignites a fire to which white will happily add as much fuel as he can. This fact guides intuition to cry out for 21. e5, dxe5; 22. Ne4, and calculation confirms that taking the knight (or moving the black knight to any square except h5) is immediately fatal: 22. ...Nxe4?; 23. Rxf8+ with mate next move on g7.

However, black does have resources — some not readily apparent — and to follow up that intuition with calculation to bring home the win leads the player into a maze that might bewilder a latter-day Theseus, even with an Ariadne to aid him.

After the necessary 22. ...Nh5, white continues 23. Qg6, and insufficient to hold is 23. ...Qh4?, which is met by 24. Nf3, Qh2; 25. Nfg5 and black will have to choose between king and queen.

Therefore, black must try 23. ...Nf4, but the fire burns on: 24. Rxf4, exf4; 25. Nf3, menacing 26. Nfg5. Here black essays the resource 25. ...Qb6!, and if white plays, e.g., 26. Nf6?, his attack comes to a standstill after 26. ...Qxg1+.

White's reply looks paradoxical, since it deprives his knights of the projected invasion square, but it also stops all of black's counterplay and renews the threat of Nf6: 26. Rg5!. There follows 26. ...Qd8; 27. Ne5, Qe7; 28. Rf5!. The rook is immune: 28. ...exf5?; 29. Ng5, Qxg5; 30. Nf7+, Kg8; 31. Nxg5+, and white mates next move on h7.

Black has various moves here, but none of them seems to leave him well off: E.g., 28. ...Bc6; 29. Nf7+, Qxf7; 30. Rxf7, when he has avoided mate, but is left with rook and two pawns for a queen, and white will win prosaically.

(Now it's time to look at the game and see if I overlooked anything.)

May-13-12
Premium Chessgames Member
  Abdel Irada: Disappointing that Petrosian short-circuited the tactics by taking the knight on d4. I was hoping for a more stubborn defense.
Jump to page #    (enter # from 1 to 6)
< Earlier Kibitzing  · PAGE 6 OF 6 ·  Later Kibitzing>
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:
  1. No obscene, racist, sexist, or profane language.
  2. No spamming, advertising, or duplicating posts.
  3. No personal attacks against other users.
  4. Nothing in violation of United States law.
Blow the Whistle 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?]
Spassky Slays The Tiger
from Battles Of The Titans by TheAlchemist
Great Finishes
by williscreek
Master games of the day
by TheDestruktor
21.? (Sunday, May 13)
from Puzzle of the Day 2012 by Phony Benoni
A new tiger tames the old tiger.
from The 10 Greatest Games Of Boris Spassky by FischerSpasskyGuy
#7
from Sahovski Informator Best Game of Each Volume by Sui Generis
Chess Highlights of the 20th Century (2/3)
by 50movesaheadofyou
My favorite games from WCC matches
by skytzo985
barb's favorite games
by barb
Boris Spassky (1937-)
from PLayer of the day:notable game II by nikolaas
Game 171
from Guess-the-Move Chess: 1960-1979 (Part 3) by Anatoly21
VaselineTopLove's favorite games
by VaselineTopLove
Belles fins
by guiyaumed
21. e5!!
from Most brilliant moves of chess by Kinghunt
1969: Boris Spassky
from Chess Oscars by hscer
Echoside's favorite games
by Echoside
Puzzle:how to repair the tiger lair
from brilliacies by knight openings
m2g19-Tigran gets pummelled
from Wc-Petrosian vs Spassky by kevin86
Tactics - 1
by obrit
trovillion's favorite games
by trovillion
plus 78 more collections (not shown)


home | about | login | logout | F.A.Q. | your profile | preferences | Premium Membership | Kibitzer's Café | Biographer's Bistro | new kibitzing | chessforums | Tournament Index | Player Directory | World Chess Championships | Opening Explorer | Guess the Move | Game Collections | ChessBookie Game | Chessgames Challenge | Little ChessPartner | privacy notice | contact us
Copyright 2001-2013, Chessgames Services LLC
Web design & database development by 20/20 Technologies