Joel Benjamin vs Eduard Gufeld (1998) Hawaiian Punch

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

Kibitzing

Joel Benjamin vs Eduard Gufeld
"Hawaiian Punch" (game of the day Jan-02-2021)
99th US Open (1998), Kailua-Kona, HI USA, rd 8, Aug-08
Sicilian Defense: Chekhover Variation (B53) · 1-0

ANALYSIS [x]

FEN COPIED

Given 23 times; par: 53 [what's this?]

Annotations by Stockfish (Computer). [35436 more games annotated by Stockfish]

explore this opening	find similar games	4 more Benjamin/Gufeld games
sac: 30.Rxe4	PGN: download \| view \| print	Help: general \| java-troubleshooting

TIP: You can step through the moves by clicking the < and > buttons, but it's much easier to simply use the left and right arrow keys on your keyboard.

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

PREMIUM MEMBERS CAN REQUEST COMPUTER ANALYSIS [more info]

THIS IS A COMPUTER ANNOTATED SCORE. [CLICK HERE] FOR ORIGINAL.

< Earlier Kibitzing · PAGE 1 OF 3 · Later Kibitzing>
Aug-02-04		shr0pshire: Benjamin analyzes this game: http://video.chess.fm/benjamin/05-1... It is fun to watch Benjamin analyze his own game.

Aug-02-04		Dick Brain: A couple nice shots I bet most people would miss 32. Qxh6. A slight grumble in that neither 29...Qb5 or 32...Nf5 look like the best move.

Nov-25-04		morphy234: This is Joey's best game!! why not on his "best games" list??

Nov-27-04		mjk: Benjamin shows that 12...b5 is weak. That makes Black's ♕ poorly positioned, and he needs to look for an improvement earlier.

Jul-31-05		stijn: This game is really great.

Aug-08-05		Chessography: Why not 32... Rf6? (question mark representing confusion, not that it may be a bad move)

Aug-08-05		Chessography: I really don't understand 12... b5. It just seems that the pawn hanging by a thread.

Sep-22-05		Averageguy: I think that Gufeld was playing for tricks with the e4 pawn with 12...b5.

Apr-12-06		Chessography: I know that the pawn on b5 can't be taken right away, but it is a long-term weakness and Black probably does not have enough compensation in the open a-file.

Oct-09-11		FSR: Benjamin couldn't stand Gufeld, and had a rough time against (2-3 in five games, all with Benjamin playing White), http://www.chessgames.com/perl/ches..., so he must have particularly enjoyed this elegant win.

Nov-03-12		The Last Straw: <morphy237> Go to the chessgames FAQ page and you'll know.

Oct-16-15		FSR: I saw this one quickly, not surprisingly since I see that I've already commented on the game.

Oct-16-15		Phony Benoni: The position of White's queen, knight, and Bb2 brings to mind the familiar tactic (1) Qxh6 gxh6 (2) Nxh6#. But that needs to be set up, and neither 30.Nf7 nor 30.Ng4 go anywhere. What other forcing moves does White have? Well.... 30.Rxe4 would exploit the pin if it weren't for 30...fxe4. But wait--that opens up 31.Qe6+ Kh8 and there it is: 32.Qxh6 gxh6 33.Nf7+ Kg8 34.Nh6#.

Oct-16-15		al wazir: I wanted to play 32. Nf7+ Rxf7 33. Qxf7, threatening 34. Bxd5, but 33...e3 is good for black.

Oct-16-15		dfcx: black is about to take white rook, white has two bishops aiming at the black king. 30.Rxe4 gxe4 31.Qe6+ Kh8 Here white can win back the exchange with 32.Nf7+ Rxf7 33.Qxf7. But there is something even better 32.Qxh6! Rf6 (gxh6? 33.Nf7+ Kg8 34.Nxh6#) 33.Qh5

Oct-16-15		piltdown man: It looks so easy when the grandmaster does it.

Oct-16-15		diagonalley: <al wazir> .... as usual my thought processes mirrored yours!

Oct-16-15		consul: <diagonalley, al wazir>: so did mine.

Oct-16-15		gofer: The first thing that catches my eye the potential of a smothered mate, but it just doesn't seem to work! 30 Rxe4 fxe4 31 Qe6+ Kh8 32 Nf7+ Rxf7 33 Qxf7 ... At which point we have a nice Queen on f7 with a bishop pair bearing down on the black king but its hardly a "done deal". What about playing a far more sneaky attack... <30 Rxe4 fxe4> <31 Qe6+ Kh8> <32 Qxh6!! ...> The queen is immune! 32 ... gxh6 33 Nf7+ Kg8 34 Nxh6# <32 ... Rf6> At this point white has won N+B for a rook, so its all good. But how to "seal the deal"? <33 Qh5 ...> I have to look, too many options to see a clear win... ~~~ Hmmm, Black didn't find a decent defence, when there probably was one...

Oct-16-15		morfishine: <30.Rxe4> dismantling the Black position 30...fxe4 31.Qe6+

Oct-16-15		patzer2: For today's Friday puzzle, add me to the crowd that found <30.Rxe4! gxe4 31.Qe6+ Kh8> and followed up with 32. Nf7+. Now 32. Nf7+ does win slowly after 32...Rxf7 (not 32...Kg8? 33. Nxh6+ Kh8 34. Nf7+ Kh8? 35. Nd6+ Kh8 36. Nxb5 ) 33. Qxf7 (+2.70 @ 23 depth, Deep Fritz 14). However, it's not as strong or pretty as <32. Qxh6!> (+4.37 @ 23 depth, Deep Fritz 14) with the threat of mate-in-two after 32...gxh6 33. Nf7+ Kg8 34. Nxh6#. So where does Black go wrong? Instead of 29...Qb5, allowing <30. Rxe4! >, Fritz indicates Black should put up more resistance with 29... Rd8. However, after 29...Rd8 30. Bd4 Qa6 31. Qh5 Rf6 32. Ree1 Qc8 33. Nd3 Rg6 34. b5 (+2.54 @ 21 depth) the position still looks hopeless. Earlier, Fritz indicates 16...Na7 improves over 16...Ba6?! which allows 17. a4! with the threat 17...bxa4? 18. b5 . In the opening, instead of <10...Qa5 =>, I prefer 10...Qc7 = as in R Lallemand vs T Kosintseva, 2005, and instead of 12...b5 I prefer 12... Bd7=.

Oct-16-15		cocker: Guessed 30 Rxe4, but didn't see 32 Qxh6.

Oct-16-15		whiteshark: You gotta love these long-range ♗♗

Oct-16-15		morfishine: Uncharacteristically sloppy play by Gufeld

Oct-16-15		Oxspawn: I made a good start for a Friday with Rxe4 and Qe6+ but I did not see Qxh6 even after I'd seen it played on the board. I could feel the logic slowly unpeeling bits of my brain as I stared at this lunatic move. Oh, well. There are other things I'm quite good at.

Jump to page # (enter # from 1 to 3)
search thread:
< Earlier Kibitzing · PAGE 1 OF 3 · Later Kibitzing>

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.