Vasily Smyslov vs Henrique Mecking (1973) Mecking the Most of It

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Vasily Smyslov vs Henrique Mecking
"Mecking the Most of It" (game of the day Sep-21-2007)
Petropolis Interzonal (1973), Petropolis BRA, rd 11, Aug-07
English Opening: King's English. Four Knights Variation Fianchetto Lines (A29) · 0-1

ANALYSIS [x]

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Sep-21-07		al wazir: 30...Rxe5 is a cool move. If 31. Rxc3, then 31...Re1+, and mate in two.

Sep-21-07		Guguni: a good tactical game.

Sep-21-07		Sergei Prokofiev: mecking, so much natural talent, so little practice and so much illness!

Sep-21-07		Eggman: Lovely game. :)

Sep-21-07		kellmano: Delightful game. Enjoyable from start to finish.

Sep-21-07		King mega: wow symyslov lost!

Sep-21-07		ColonelCrockett: white's problems start with 12.Nc3 but I'm not even going to get started on it (it's true the c-pawn doesn't mean much but Black gets an open field for his bishop pair, etc.). However, I think worse is 26.Be4. Rxe3 gives white an advantage (as Black's material advantage will vanish after 26. ... Rxa8 27.b3 (not 27.Re4? when Black gets 27. ... a3! . . . this is what Smyslov feared (in my opinion . . . I didn't read his mind . . . boy wouldn't that be nice).

Sep-21-07		Rodrigo Gutierrez: I think Smyslov was a bit unwise to let the game become so full of complications (IMO 12. Nc3 was a really poor move). This was quite unlike his usual style and instead moves into Mecking's comfort zone. Black's 17... Qb6 is an absolutely superb move: it forces white to repair black's weakened pawn structure and from there on black gets to call all the shots.

Sep-21-07		Rodrigo Gutierrez: <ColonelCrockett: 26. Rxe3 gives white an advantage> Mmmh... I don't know: 26... Rxa8 27. b3 axb3 28. axb3 Ra1+ looks very nasty for white.

Sep-21-07		kevin86: A delightful game by Meckling against a former World Champion. White is faced with a trilemma at the end. Either he could: 1 capture the pawn and allow for black to have three connectors on the kingside. 2 defend the pawn and give up a piece for the advanced pawn/queen. 3 resign-as he did.

Sep-21-07		Honza Cervenka: <IMO 12. Nc3 was a really poor move> But what else? 12.Nxf6+ Qxf6 seems to be in black's favour as well. Maybe 12.Be3!? played in Smejkal vs H Huenerkopf, 1985 was worth of consideration.

Sep-21-07		xrt999: Smyslov is dominated

Sep-25-07		ColonelCrockett: 12.Ne3 is perhaps passive but I see the possibility of double fianchetto and that means a catching up in development (Black's only real plus in the position).

Sep-25-07		gmgomes: White needs time to deal with the threath of black Qside pawns; then black grabs all Kside pawns. It reminds me Lasker vs Capablanca, 1936 when balck gradually grabed white Kside pawns

Nov-12-12		gars: <Sergei Prokofiev>, you are a thousand percent right!

Aug-15-15		jerseybob: The move I don't like is white's 10.Qd3, leading to loss of several tempi. In Mecking-Tan earlier in this tourney which used this same variation up to black's 6th, Mecking recaptured with the pawn. Smyslov may have assumed he could easily recover the pawn on a4, but Mecking came up with one tactical threat after another and the right moment never arrived. I do agree with <Colonel Crockett> that 12.Ne3 was worth looking into, but at that point Smyslov didn't realize how serious his situation was.

Oct-12-18		Mateo: I agree with < ColonelCrockett>. I don't like 12.Nc3?! which is losing a pawn. The simple 12.Nxf6+ was okay. I don't understand why it <seems to be in black's favour>. 29.Bf3? is simply losing material. 30...Rxe5! and 31...Rc5! were exactly calculated. About Mecking, it has been said that his strength to calculate variants and his ability at the endings were his strengths. Like in this game or in the game he played against Savon in the same tournament.

Oct-12-18		Mateo: Reuben Fine called 12.Nc3? 'the losing move' in The World's Great Chess Games.

Oct-12-18		Granny O Doul: <Mateo> Do you perhaps mean Reshevsky in "Great Chess Upsets"? The Fine book was written years earlier and I don't see any evidence of an updated version.

Apr-20-21		nummerzwei: Smyslov settled for a slight advantage in space with 9.d3, but Mequinho outplayed him anyway. More modern would be 9.e3 followed by 10.f3 so as to restrict Black's bishop and generate a central pawn majority.

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