Gert Jan Timmerman vs Mikhail Markovich Umansky (2005) "Are Umansky 'Nough?"

Gert Jan Timmerman vs Mikhail Markovich Umansky
"Are Umansky 'Nough?" (game of the day Jun-09-08)
WebChess Gambit Match, games 1 & 2 2005 · King's Gambit: Accepted. Bishop's Gambit Bogoljubow Variation (C33) · 0-1

[Event "WebChess Gambit Match, games 1 & 2"]
[Site "ICCF"]
[Date "2005.07.10"]
[EventDate "?"]
[Round "-"]
[Result "0-1"]
[White "Gert Jan Timmerman"]
[Black "M Umansky"]
[ECO "C33"]
[WhiteElo "2706"]
[BlackElo "2670"]
[PlyCount "84"]

1.e4 { This is the only decisive game of the Gambit Match
between former world champions of correspondence chess,
Mikhail Umansky and Gert Jan Timmerman. Six daring openings
were tested and the match was finished after nearly 2 and a
half years. Notes by Jan van Reek. } e5 2.f4 {Can we regard
the King's Gambit as 'The Royal Opening', or a premature
weakening of the kingside? Important lines are 2...Bc5
(Classical Defence) and 2...d5 (Falkbeer Counter-Gambit).}
exf4 {Obligated moves bring the King's Gambit Accepted} 3.Bc4
{Timmerman avoids the pawn avalanche of the Knight's Gambit. I
agree with him, because the line 3. Nf3 g5 4. h4 g4 5. Ne5 d6!
6. Nxg4 Be7 is sunny for Black.} 3... Nf6 {3... Qh4+!? 4. Kf1
was often played in the nineteenth century, but this variation
is less suitable for correspondence chess at top level.} 4.Nc3
Bb4 {4... c6! gives a positional edge in the Bishop's Gambit,
Spielmann-Bogoljubow, Karlsbad 1923. Umansky wants tactics!}
5.Nf3 O-O 6. Nd5 {!? Usual is the quiet 6.O-O Paulsen -
Kolisch, ninth match game London 1861.} 6... Nxd5 7.exd5 Re8+
8.Kf2 {Timmerman has followed De Riviere - Morphy, eleventh
match game, Paris 1863. White plans to further develop his
centre pawns and hopes to regain the gambit pawn on f4.}
8... b5 {! Umansky sacrifices a pawn for a quick development
of the queenside.} 9.Bxb5 c6 10.Bc4 cxd5 11.Bxd5 Nc6 12.d4
{White avoids 12.c3 Ba6! 13.cxb4 Bd3! 14. Bxf7+ Kf8!} 12...Ba6
13.c4 Rc8 14.a3 {14.Bxf4 Ne7 15.Bg5 Bxc4 16.Bxc4 Rxc4 17.Qb3
d5 18.Rac1 Rxc1 19.Rxc1 leads to equality by exchanges.}
14...Bd6 15.b3 Bb8 16.Bxc6 {? I found 16.Qd3 very strong
during the game, but 16...Qf6 17.Be4 Ne7! 18.Qc2 g6 is okay
for Black.} 16... Rxc6 17. d5 Qb6+ 18. Qd4 Rg6 19. Bd2 Rxg2+
{!! Suddenly, a lightning strikes: the quasi-sacrifice opens
the white defence.} 20.Kxg2 Re2+ 21.Kf1 Qxd4 22.Nxd4 Rxd2
23.Nf3 {23.Re1 Kf8 24.Re4 f5 25.Nxf5 Rd1+ 26. Re1 (26. Kg2
f3+) 26... Rxd5! wins for black.} 23...Rb2 24.Re1 Kf8 25.Nd4
Rd2 {The rook on the second rank restrains the white pieces.}
26.Nb5 {26.Nf3 Rd3 27.Kg2 Rxb3 28.Rb1 Rxb1 29.Rxb1 Bd6 30.Rc1
Bc5! exchanges rooks but brings another restriction.}
26...Bxb5 27.cxb5 g5 28.Rg1 f6 29.Rg2 Rxd5 30.a4 f3 31.Rc2 Kf7
32.h3 h5 33.Rc4 f5 34.Rcc1 Rd2 35.Rcd1 Rh2 36.Rxd7+ Kf6
37.Ree7 g4 38.Rf7+ Ke5 39.hxg4 hxg4 40.Rh7 Rb2 41.Rhe7+ Kf4
42. Rd4+ Kg3 {The feared avalanche of pawns has struck at the
end.} 0-1

To move:

Last move:

Annotations by Jan van Reek. [1 more game annotated by Jan van Reek]

explore this opening	find similar games	12 more G Timmerman/M Umansky games
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Jul-25-07		whiteshark: It looks to me that <5. Nf3> but than <6. Nd5?!> are misarrangements. Thereafter <Timmerman> is already fighting with his back up against a wall. Strong play by <Umansky>!

Aug-06-07		cotdt: incredible game! mikhail umansky's positional play is the wave of the future!

May-23-08		RandomVisitor: 10...Bb7 11.d4 cxd5 12.Bd3 Bd6 13.g3 leads to good play for black.

Jun-09-08		Jedithious: Magnificent! That rook sacrifice is awesome! The Kings Gambit opening leads to the most exciting games.

Jun-09-08		DeltaHawk: Very deep game.

Jun-09-08		sallom89: wow a very nice game, worth being game of the day!

Jun-09-08		Nikita Smirnov: Talking about funny things the word um in russian means smartness.

Jun-09-08		psmith: 5. e5 seems to me to be worth a try. Looking at it with Old Fritz (=fritz 5.32) it seems to be good for White.

Jun-09-08		whiteshark: <psmith: <Old Fritz (=fritz 5.32)>> Analog, comparable with old windows 3.11 or the like ?

Jun-09-08		Vollmer: A Rook sac seems to be one of the most psychologically damaging moves in chess (Queen sacs almost always lead to a pretty mate) . In my first tourney game , a Queen's Indian , facing a 1700 rated player I offered to sac a Rook for the f3 pawn early in the game . A Q+B battery on the h1-a8 diagonal would have ended the game quickly if the Rook was accepted . The poor guy thought for a while , declined the Rook and maneuvered his now exposed King to the Queenside . The rest of the game was a technical exercise in playing for mate and at the end of the game all of the other players were watching us . After the mating move Boris Men nodded to me and said "Well done" in a thick Russian accent . My opponent went 0-4 in the tourney while I went on to lose to a 2200 master from Cleveland (who said that I should have the Brilliancy Prize in the bag for the previous game) , drew a 2050 , and crushed a 1500 in a short Sicilian to win the reserve section . I have won almost every game that I have been able to maneuver for a (sound) Rook sac .

Jun-09-08		jeeky1996: Nice! Let's call it "Umansky's Immortal"!

Jun-09-08		Chessmensch: And Black's bishop just sits on b8 from move 15 to the end!

Jun-09-08		kevin86: Black gives up a rook for a piece but he has those beautiful pawns!! Eventually,they will come home to roost-lol.

Jun-09-08		whiteshark: <14.Bxf4 Ne7 15.Bg5 Bxc4 16.Bxc4 Rxc4 17.Qb3 d5 18.Rac1 Rxc1 19.Rxc1 leads to equality by exchanges. (van Reek)> van Reek missed <14...Nxd4!> which leads to a superior position for black after e.g. <15.Nxd4 Qf6 16.Kg3 Bxc4! > click for larger view

Jun-09-08		Waitaka: Since this is correspondence chess, a computer analysis is worth: Analysis of the game final position with Deep Shredder 11, depth 18: 1. (-8.74) 43.Rd3 Rh2 44.Ke1 Kg2 45.Kd1 f2 46.Re1 fxe1Q+ 47.Kxe1 Rh1+ 48.Kd2 Kf2 49.Kc2 f4 50.Rd8 2. (-9.38) 43.Re3 Rh2 44.Kg1 Bc7 45.a5 Bxa5 46.Rd6 Bb6 47.Rxb6 axb6 48.Rd3 Rc2 49.Rd1 Rg2+ 50.Kf1 Rh2 3. (-13.24) 43.Red7 Rh2 44.Ke1 Rh1+ 45.Kd2 f2 46.Kc2 f1Q 4. (-13.59) 43.Re8 Rh2 44.Ke1 f2+ 45.Ke2 Rh1 46.Rd1 Rxd1 47.Re3+ Kg2 48.Kxd1 5. (-14.09) 43.b6 Rh2 44.Ke1 f2+ 45.Ke2 Rh1 46.Rd1 Rxd1 47.Re3+ Kg2 48.Kxd1 f1Q+ 49.Kc2 axb6 50.Re7 Kf3 51.Rd7 Qf2+ I believe this shows that GMT is a hard resigner... ;)

Jun-09-08		pacorrum: I am extremely impressed by this game, this is indeed chess of the future

Jun-09-08		Vollmer: ...and of the past , my dear pacorrum . All that is good is not new and all that is new is not good . The King's Gambit bites both ways as a good sword should .

Jun-10-08		pacorrum: But the rook sacrifice is an astounding conception! (to me, actually unfanthomable)

Jun-29-08		ajile: Why not 23..Rxd5?

Jun-29-08		whiteshark: <ajile: <Why not 23..Rxd5?>> My guess is for the same reason as stated in the comment on 25th move: <The rook on the second rank restrains the white pieces.> After <23...Rxd5 24.Ke2 Rf5 25.Rad1> white's rooks are connected and active and white's king is freed.

Feb-04-09		m0nkee1: Am not clever enough to comment really... but Umansky is artful here, seems to combine tactics and posistion perfectly... on move 15 white looks dominant... but black peaces hold together in a perfect tactical sequence. It's not like normal posistional play...

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