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Boris Spassky vs Efim Geller
"Efim' Hell!" (game of the day May-27-2022)
USSR Championship (1959), Tbilisi URS, rd 13, Jan-31
Spanish Game: Morphy Defense. Wormald Attack (C77)  ·  1-0

8
7
6
5
4
3
2
a
1
b
c
d
e
f
g
h
White to move.
ANALYSIS [x]
Notes by Stockfish 9 v010218 (minimum 6s/ply)7...O-O was played in Tarrasch vs Bogoljubov, 1928 (0-1)better is 10.O-O Be6 11.Re1 Qd7 12.h3 h6 13.Nb3 dxe4 14.dxe4 Rad8 = +0.09 (21 ply)= -0.49 (20 ply)better is 12.Nf3 Nh5 13.Ne3 Nf4 14.Qd1 Bh5 15.O-O Bf6 16.exd5 Nxd5 = -0.30 (20 ply) ⩱ -1.05 (20 ply)better is 15...d4 16.O-O a5 17.a3 a4 18.Bd2 Be6 19.Kh1 Nd7 20.Ng4 ⩱ -1.18 (20 ply)= -0.50 (20 ply) 16...Bb6 17.Kh1 a5 18.f4 exf4 19.Bxf4 d4 20.Bb3 a4 ⩱ -0.91 (20 ply) ⩲ +1.00 (22 ply)better is 23.Qd2 Qd7 24.Rac1 Bg6 25.Rfe1 Bxc2 26.Qxc2 a5 27.Nd3 ⩲ +0.67 (21 ply)= 0.00 (23 ply) 24...Rxe3 25.Nxe3 Nxd4 26.Kh1 Nxc2 27.Qxc2 d4 28.Ng4 d3 = 0.00 (22 ply) ⩲ +1.00 (23 ply) 28.Be4 Ke7 29.Bb1 Be6 30.Qh7 Bg8 31.Qg6 Kd7 32.Qxf6 gxf6 ⩲ +0.67 (24 ply)-+ -2.76 (24 ply) 29.Bb1 dxe4 30.Bf2 Qh7 31.Qxh7 Bxh7 32.fxe4 Kg8 33.d5 ∓ -2.21 (24 ply) 29...Ke7 30.Nc5 Be6 31.Bg5+ Kf7 32.Rxe6 Qxe6 33.Nxe6 -+ -3.92 (26 ply) ⩱ -0.60 (23 ply) 30...Bxd4+ 31.Kh1 Nd3 32.Bxd5+ Ke7 33.Bxa8 Be6 34.Ng3 ∓ -1.51 (22 ply)= -0.07 (23 ply) 34...a5 35.Bd2 Kc8 36.Rc1 Re8 37.Bb7+ Kb8 38.Bc6 Re7 ⩱ -0.90 (23 ply)= +0.20 (24 ply) 36...Qg8 37.Bc6 Bg6 38.b3 Kc8 39.Re5 a5 40.Bd2 a4 41.Bd7+ = 0.00 (28 ply) ± +1.81 (28 ply) 39.Bc6 Bxd4+ 40.Kh1 Bg8 41.Re8+ Qxe8 42.Bxe8 Bxa2 43.Bc6 ± +1.67 (30 ply)= -0.07 (27 ply) 41...Qxa2 42.Bb6 Qxb2 43.Nf8 Be3 44.Rd1 Bd2 45.Be4 c4 = 0.00 (27 ply)+- +3.16 (29 ply) 43...Kd6 44.g3 Qc4 45.Nf8 cxb4 46.Ba8 b3 47.axb3 Qxb3 +- +2.86 (25 ply)+- +9.01 (36 ply)better is 54.Bh7 Kf6 55.Rc6+ Qe6 56.Rxe6+ Kxe6 57.Bxa5 Kd7 58.h5 +- +9.62 (33 ply) ± +2.00 (28 ply) 56.Rc6+ Kd8 57.Bd6 g5 58.Kh2 Ke8 59.h5 b4 60.Ne5 Bxe5+ +- +2.89 (23 ply) ⩲ +0.64 (39 ply)better is 59...Ke8 60.Bb4 Kf7 61.Bc5 Qc3 62.g4 Qd2+ 63.Kg3 Kg8 ⩲ +0.67 (44 ply) ⩲ +1.17 (44 ply)better is 65...Qc3 66.Kf2 b4 67.Ke3 Qf6 68.Ke2 Qd6 69.Bd2 b3 70.Bc1 ⩲ +0.97 (39 ply) ± +1.57 (37 ply) 66...Qb3 67.Ke3 Qa4 68.Bb2 Qa2 69.Bc3 Qc4 70.Bb4 Kh8 ⩲ +1.38 (42 ply) ± +2.47 (43 ply)75...Kf8 76.Nd3 Qg8 77.Nb4 Qf7 78.Nd5 Qb7 79.Ka4 Qa7+ ± +2.35 (47 ply)1-0

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

Annotations by Stockfish (Computer).      [35434 more games annotated by Stockfish]

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Kibitzer's Corner
< Earlier Kibitzing  · PAGE 3 OF 3 ·  Later Kibitzing>
Oct-16-10  Petrosianic: After such a glowing endorsement (great in a non-specific way), how could they refuse?
Dec-07-10  bastiaan0740: I believe white has an uneasy but guaranteed win here. For fun, I ran it crafty20 vs. crafty20; 10 sec/move. White won at move 179.
Dec-26-12  The Last Straw: 54.♗h7! wins, e.g. 54...♔d7 55.♗f5+ ♔e8 56.♖c8+ ♔f7 57.♖f8#, 54...♕a4 55.♘f4+ ♔e5 56.♖e1+ ♔f6 57.♖e6+ ♔f7 58.♗g6+ ♔g8 59.♖e8#, or 54...♔f6 55.♖c6+ ♔f7 56.♗g6+ ♔g8 ♖c8#.
Oct-25-16  zydeco: One of the most exciting chess games I've ever seen.
Oct-25-16
Premium Chessgames Member
  HeMateMe: Amazing game. I think Gellar should have played on a bit and hoped for a blunder by white.
Oct-25-16  ewan14: Incredible !

Not unusual for Boris though

Feb-08-21  dejandjakovic: This hasn't been GOTD yet?

Young Spassky - what a player!

Feb-08-21
Premium Chessgames Member
  OhioChessFan: I lean toward a loss on time. It seems to me to be an easier proposition to find best moves with a Queen than with 3 pieces. I sure don't find Black's position hopeless at the end. Here's what the SF run somebody ran says for the next 9 plies:

75...Kf8 76.Nd3 Qg8 77.Nb4 Qf7 78.Nd5 Qb7 79.Ka4 Qa7+ ± +2.35 (47 ply)


click for larger view

Besides the strange choice not to take the b Pawn, the most interesting point is White really does nothing. I don't know in this case, but engines can totally overvalue endgame positions, and generate do nothing lines like this. Anyway, in human terms, resigning this would surprise me.

May-27-22
Premium Chessgames Member
  Breunor: In playing through this game, between two exciting open players, I said to myself ‘This play is so Spassky! Stylistically’. He was a monster at his best.
May-27-22  Aminda: SF gives a 2.5 advantage to white which is significant but certainly not a clear win in the next 10-20 moves. Lots of grinding to do. Even after the obvious loss of the black pawn, the Queen can be a pest against the three minor pieces. And white pawn cannot easily advance without weakening the pawn structure. In other words, not so easily won it seems to me.
May-27-22  spingo: This is superb game all the way the through.

The fair result is that the game was a draw. Black can safely give up the b-pawn, that is irrelevant.

If White played really well he could get a nearly winning position:


click for larger view

But in a position like that it would still be a draw.

May-27-22
Premium Chessgames Member
  keypusher: Good golly, what a game! It seems like a Tal game (Tal vs Panno, 1958, specifically) except this time it's Black who winds up with the queen.

Amazing creativity and grit by both. Black's 29th move is wild!

May-27-22  Aminda: In the position you give Spigo, white could play Ne6, and it seems the g7 pawn would fall. Then you have an open black king.
May-27-22
Premium Chessgames Member
  MissScarlett: I wonder what relations between Spassky and Geller were like - I doubt they were particularly warm based on my (admittedly sketchy) perception of their characters - Spassky, romantic and anti-Soviet; Geller, dour and pro-Soviet. It seemed a strange choice that Geller was Spassky's main second (I believe) in Reykjavik.
May-27-22  spingo:


click for larger view

54. Bh7! (with the idea of 55. Bg8+) would have been a surprising winner. The queen is trapped.

May-27-22  spingo: <Aminda: In the position you give Spigo, white could play Ne6, and it seems the g7 pawn would fall. Then you have an open black king.>


click for larger view

I see your point, that White is winning a pawn, but I think that position is a draw:
77. Ne6 Qc8 78. Bd5 Qc2+ 79. Be4 Qc8=.

May-27-22  Aminda: Hi Spingo,
Following on your analysis:
If 77…Qc8, 78. Bxg7, simply get the g7 pawn.
May-27-22  Damenlaeuferbauer: This game shows, how incredible strong Boris Spassky was at the end of the 1950's and in the 1960's. Maybe from 1964 until 1970 he was the strongest player in the world - despite Robert James Fischer. It would be a big mistake to judge Boris Spassky's playing strength just because of his performance against Bobby Fischer in their Reykjavik match in 1972. According to Garry Kasparov, he was the first player in the history of chess, who had an "universal" style, which is common today, but not half a century ago.
May-27-22  goodevans: A hugely interesting game but with a sadly unsatisfying (for me) ending.

Both players missed opportunities to win this earlier. From an entertainment perspective, I'm glad Geller missed his but had Spassky taken one of his then I'd be adding this to my 'more favourites' collection. 54.Bh7! would have been a nice shot.

May-27-22  whiteshark: <goodevans:...a sadly unsatisfying (for me) ending> Well, there's not always a happy ending, neither in chess nor in real life....
May-27-22
Premium Chessgames Member
  MissScarlett: Unusually, no queried the meaning of the pun.
May-27-22
Premium Chessgames Member
  jessicafischerqueen:

<MissScarlett>

<Unusually, no queried the meaning of the pun.>?

Not an English sentence. Ironically, neither is "Not an English sentence."

Looks like we both failed our A-levels at Eton.

Never mind then...

May-27-22
Premium Chessgames Member
  Honza Cervenka: By far not perfect but perfectly entertaining game.
May-27-22
Premium Chessgames Member
  Honza Cervenka: 28.Ne4 is objectively unsound but it would by harsh to criticize such a nice idea, which led in the end to the win of game by white. But 29...Ke7!! 30.Nc5 Be6 31.Bg5+! Kf7! 32.Rxe6 Qxe6 33.Nxe6 Rxh8 34.Bd2 Kxe6 35.Bxb4 Bxd4+ gives black an Exchange and Pawn with easily won game.
Sep-18-22  Saniyat24: Адский огонь горячий...!
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