Victor Mikhalevski vs Irina Krush (2012)

Members · Prefs · Laboratory · Collections · Openings · Endgames · Sacrifices · History · Search Kibitzing · Kibitzer's Café · Chessforums · Tournament Index · Players ·

Kibitzing

Victor Mikhalevski vs Irina Krush
Edmonton International (2012), Edmonton - Canada, rd 8, Jul-01
Catalan Opening: General (E00) · 0-1

ANALYSIS [x]

FEN COPIED

explore this opening	find similar games	3 more Mikhalevski/I Krush games
sac: 51...Qg8	PGN: download \| view \| print	Help: general \| java-troubleshooting

TIP: You can change the color of the light and dark squares by registering a free account then visiting your preferences page. Or, you can change it with the "SETTINGS" link in the lower right.

For help with this chess viewer, please see the Olga Chess Viewer Quickstart Guide.

PREMIUM MEMBERS CAN REQUEST COMPUTER ANALYSIS [more info]

Jul-02-12		weisyschwarz: Nice job by the lowly American.

Jul-02-12		goodevans: For big chunks of this game it looked like it might be heading for a draw before black got the important <46...Nxa2> breakthough. <56...Nd4> threatened to slowly crush white, who instead opted for instant death with <57.Qg4+?> and <58.Qh4>.

Jul-02-12		PhilFeeley: 58. Qh4?? Was he in time trouble?

Jul-02-12		Shams: <PhilFeeley> There aren't any better moves. Krush just gritted this one out.

Jul-02-12		luzhin: 51...Qg8 is of course forced, but a neat resource nonetheless.

Jul-02-12		Eyal: The last moment in which Mikhalevsky could still save the game was apparently on move 47 with an immediate Qh6: 47…Rf7 (47...Qxe4 48.Rg4 and if the queen retreats 49.Ne8! wins) 48.Ne6 Rxg3 49.Rxg3 and Black has nothing better than forcing a perpetual by 49...Qxe4 50.Rg7 Qh4+ etc.; 49...Qg8 doesn't work here because of 50.Rxg8+ Kxg8 51.Qe3 Nb4 52.Qg3+ Kh8 53.Nd8! with a decisive attack, e.g. 53...Rf8 54.h6 or 53...Rd7[/g7] 54.Qh4 Kg7 55.h6+. 47.Rg4? was a crucial waste of tempo. I wouldn't be surprised if Mikhalevsky was in time trouble close to the time control on move 40, since he missed a forced win that stems rather directly from his previous play on the K-side: 38.gxf6 gxf6 39.Qh6 Rxg2 40.Rxg2 Rg8 41.Rxg8+ Kxg8 42.Nxf6+ Kh8 43.Nd5!

Jul-02-12		wordfunph: sorry loss for Mikhalevski, elegant 51...Qg8 by Irina.

Jul-02-12		OBIT: It was actually Krush who had the serious time pressure, as her clock ran down to a few seconds numerous times before the time control at move 40. Mikhalevski still had several minutes, along with strong pressure along the g-file, but apparently he went with noncommittal moves to get to the time control before working out a plan to break through. Unfortunately for Milhalevsky, however, by that time Krush had figured out the best squares for her pieces to make the breakthrough difficult. As for 46...Nxa2!, I think Mikhalevski just missed it, or at least miscalculated the consequences. When his attack failed by the narrowest of margins, this pawn snatch carried the day.

Jul-02-12		hellopolgar: the black knight pair after black's 54. ... Nbc2 reminds me of this game Kamsky vs Shirov, 2007

Jul-02-12		Eyal: <It was actually Krush who had the serious time pressure, as her clock ran down to a few seconds numerous times before the time control at move 40. Mikhalevski still had several minutes, along with strong pressure along the g-file, but apparently he went with noncommittal moves to get to the time control before working out a plan to break through.> Thanks for the info, I wasn't following the game live. Sometimes this kind of noncommittal play can turn out badly, because it gives the opponent a critical opportunity to improve his/her position before the time control. Though in fact, I now see that the idea of opening the g-file and bringing the queen to h6 was still winning right after the time control, though in a far from obvious way: 41.gxf6 gxf6 42.Qh6 Rxg3 43.Rxg3 Rf7 (a way to defend against Rg7 that's made possible by bringing the rook to the f-file) 44.Rg6! Qf8 45.Nxf6 Rxf6 46.Rxf6 Qxh6 47.Rxh6 Nxa2 48.f6 Ne6 (48...Kg8 49.Bh5) 49.f7 Nf8 (49...Nb4 50.Rxe6 Kg7 51.Re7 a2 52.Ra7 and the rook is in time to stop the pawn) 50.Rxd6 Nb4 51.Rd8 Kg7 52.Ra8 a2 53.Bg4: click for larger view And White has a clear winning plan: bring the bishop to f5 in order to exchange it with the black knight if the latter moves, and with the king either invade the k-side or march it to a1/b2 if Black blocks the k-side by playing h5. In the latter case, once the white king reaches the q-side it frees the rook for action, and if the bishop & knight have already been exchanged then Rxa2 leads to a winning pawn endgame. One move later, however, with the black knight played to c6, the same idea doesn't work anymore because of 42.gxf6 gxf6 43.Qh6 Rxg3 44.Rxg3 Rf7 45.Rg6 Qf8 46.Nxf6 Ne7!

Jul-02-12		HeMateMe: Well done by Krush, quite a game.

Sep-24-14		Ke2: Awesome game. Lecture by Krush https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cgi...

Jun-27-15		jith1207: If I were white, I would have placed Rook on g4 on 44th move and would have played Nf6! on the next move. I think that spells disaster for Black and Irina did not seem to discuss about this in the analysis so she probably did not notice as it was with her opponent as well.

NOTE: Create an account today to post replies and access other powerful features which are available only to registered users. Becoming a member is free, anonymous, and takes less than 1 minute! If you already have a username, then simply login login under your username now to join the discussion.

Please observe our posting guidelines:

No obscene, racist, sexist, or profane language.
No spamming, advertising, duplicate, or gibberish posts.
No vitriolic or systematic personal attacks against other members.
Nothing in violation of United States law.
No cyberstalking or malicious posting of negative or private information (doxing/doxxing) of members.
No trolling.
The use of "sock puppet" accounts to circumvent disciplinary action taken by moderators, create a false impression of consensus or support, or stage conversations, is prohibited.
Do not degrade Chessgames or any of it's staff/volunteers.

Please try to maintain a semblance of civility at all times.

See something that violates our rules? Blow the whistle and inform a moderator.

NOTE: Please keep all discussion on-topic. This forum is for this specific game only. To discuss chess or this site in general, visit the Kibitzer's Café.

Messages posted by Chessgames members do not necessarily represent the views of Chessgames.com, its employees, or sponsors.
All moderator actions taken are ultimately at the sole discretion of the administration.

This game is type: CLASSICAL. Please report incorrect or missing information by submitting a correction slip to help us improve the quality of our content.