Andrei Sokolov vs Rafael Vaganian (1986)

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Andrei Sokolov vs Rafael Vaganian
Sokolov - Vaganian Candidates Semifinal (1986), Minsk URS, rd 4, Jan-17
French Defense: Winawer. Retreat Variation General (C18) · 1-0

White to move.

ANALYSIS [x]

1-0

rnbqkbnr/pppppppp/8/8/8/8/PPPPPPPP/RNBQKBNR w KQkq - 0 1

FEN COPIED

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Apr-07-13		Everett: Sokolov wins a third game in a row vs Vaganian, a near-insurmountable lead. This game is one for the Q vs RR aficionados.

Nov-14-15		Howard: Sokolov may have won this game, but he was quite lucky. He actually was completely lost several moves before the end, but a blunder by Vaganian turned the tables completely. This was Game 4. Had Vaganian won--like he definitely should have--he'd be trailing by only one point, not three.

Nov-14-15		Sally Simpson: Was it a win on time, I cannot see a win on the board. In the final position. click for larger view 54....e2! and White cannot go for the win of the Queen with 55. Rhc7+ and Rd7+ because Black promotes with a check and both Rooks are hanging. 54...e2 55.Rhc7+ Kd6 56.Rd7+ Kc6 57.Rbc7+ Kb6... White has to take the perpetual.

Nov-14-15		Retireborn: Geoff, wouldn't be the first time a GM has resigned in an equal position! Possibly Vaganian touched a piece or sealed a losing move that is not shown, though.

Nov-24-15		Howard: All I know is that Soltis mentioned the conclusion to this game in a column of his back in the late 80's, and I recall that the final position appeared to be a win for Sokolov. I'm too lazy (right now) to look at it more closely. Could someone shed some light on this, please ?

Nov-27-15		Howard: Looked in the Informant last night to see if it had anything to say about the final position in this game, but all it gave was some brief analysis to the opening, while analyzing a different game. In other words, the final position wasn't commented on at all. It stated, by the way, that 21.Qb4 was an error on Sokolov's part. But.....let's get back to the final position, as per the comment posted less than a week ago. Isn't it a win for White ?! If Vaganian had actually resigned in a "drawn" position, I have to believe that I would have read that somewhere. Would someone with an engine (I don't have one.) please clear this up for us, so we can digest our Thanksgiving leftovers more easily ?

Nov-27-15		Nerwal: According to the engine seven different black moves do draw the final position. From the human perspective 54... e2 is the most convincing one.

Nov-28-15		Howard: It suddenly occurred to me last night that I have the 1986 issues of NIC stashed away, so I decided to consult them since they, presumably, would have all the games from this important match.... ....guess again! They had most of the games from the other Candidates semi-final (Yusopov-Timman), but not a single game from Sokolov-Vaganian. At any rate, it looks as if Nerwal has cleared up the mystery. Vaganian lost in a drawn position...but why? One thing is for certain though---Vaganian did have a completely won position several moves before the end---right ?!?!

Jul-18-16		zydeco: 46...e2 wins, right? Yeah, resigning this position is inexplicable - I guess an emotional reaction to throwing away a win.

Jun-01-19		Olavi: I see the result has baffled commentators here. Vaganian indeed lost on time.

Jan-27-24		Tabanus: Vaganian lost on time according to report in newspaper "Sports" (Riga) 21 Jan 1986.

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