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Alexander Goldin vs Alexander Stripunsky
Chessmaster US Championship 2005 (2004), San Diego, CA USA, rd 9, Dec-04
Scandinavian Defense: Bronstein Variation (B01)  ·  0-1

8
7
6
5
4
3
2
a
1
b
c
d
e
f
g
h
White to move.
ANALYSIS [x]
Notes by Stockfish (minimum 8s/ply) 1...c5 2.c3 e6 3.d4 d5 4.exd5 exd5 5.Nf3 Nc6 6.Be2 = +0.08 (35 ply) 3...Qd8 4.d4 Nf6 5.Nf3 e6 6.Be2 Bb4 7.O-O O-O 8.Bf4 = +0.21 (38 ply) 4.Nf3 = +0.48 (37 ply)= +0.31 (34 ply) 6...Nc6 = +0.19 (24 ply) ⩲ +0.72 (30 ply) 9.Nd2 e5 10.Nce4 Nxe4 11.Bxe4 Bxe4 12.Nxe4 Qg6 13.Ng3 Bd6 = +0.83 (30 ply)= +0.21 (32 ply) 20...Nb6 21.Be5 Nxa4 22.Nxa4 Qxa4 23.Bc4 Qa5 24.Ra1 Qb4 25.Nc2 = -0.78 (30 ply)= -0.13 (34 ply) 24.Bb1 h5 25.Rxd7 Nxd7 26.Be4 Bc8 27.Na5 Ne5 28.Bh7+ Kxh7 = -0.18 (31 ply) 24...Nh5 25.Bb1 Ndf6 26.Qh3 Qxh3 27.gxh3 Nf4 28.Rd3 g6 29.Na5 = -1.3 (32 ply)= =0.00 (33 ply) 26.Bb1 Ba8 27.Nd4 Bb8 28.Qh3 Qxh3 29.gxh3 Ba7 30.Nce2 g5 = -0.06 (28 ply) ⩱ -0.9 (32 ply) 28...Ba7 29.Qg5 Nh4 30.Rf2 Rd8 31.Kh2 Rxd4 32.Qxh5 Nxh5 33.Rfd2 = -0.91 (29 ply)= +0.14 (32 ply) 30...Re8 31.Qd2 Bc7 32.Rf5 Qh4 33.Nf3 Bxf3 34.Rxf3 Ne5 35.Rff1 = +0.08 (35 ply) 31.hxg4 Qh2+ 32.Kf2 Qxg2+ 33.Ke1 Bg3+ 34.Rf2 Bh4 35.Nde2 h6 = +1.27 (29 ply)-+ -4.07 (29 ply) 37...Bb8 38.Kg1 Ba7+ 39.Nd4 Bxd5 40.Nxd5 Qg5 41.Qe4 Ne3+ 42.Kh1 = -6.38 (31 ply) 38.Ne7+ Kh8 39.Nxg6+ Qxg6 40.Rxf7 Bd6 41.Rxf8+ Bxf8 42.Rd3 Bc5 = -0.14 (31 ply) ⩱ -0.64 (32 ply) 39...Qxg6 40.Nh4 Qc6+ 41.Qe4 Qxe4+ 42.Nxe4 Ne3+ 43.Kxh2 Nxf1+ 44.Kg1 = -0.66 (32 ply) 40.Nxg7 Qc5 41.Rxf8+ Qxf8 42.Qe8 Qxe8 43.Nxe8 Bb7+ 44.Kh3 Nf2+ = +3.9 (45 ply)-+ -6.24 (29 ply)45.Kd2 Qg5+ 46.Ke1 Qxd8 47.Qxe5 Qe7 48.Qxe7 Bxe7 49.Nd5 Bd6 -+ -7.16 (40 ply)0-1

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

Annotations by Stockfish (Computer).      [35437 more games annotated by Stockfish]

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Kibitzer's Corner
< Earlier Kibitzing  · PAGE 2 OF 2 ·  Later Kibitzing>
Dec-07-04
Premium Chessgames Member
  IMlday: Yeah there was big timescramble. 33..Qh4?! seems to let White back into the game. The initial gambit was pretty impressive. The audience got their money's worth! :-)
Dec-08-04  Poisonpawns: It was a great game to see live! Goldin put up a good defense but time scambles are a killer
Dec-08-04  whiskeyrebel: It's encouraging to see such hard fought chess at a high level. This game was more enjoyable for me to watch live than most I've followed this year. I kept bouncing back and forth between the Nakamura endgame and Stripunsky's brave attack. Goldin of course almost managed to pull his chestnuts out of the fire..it was a great game. I expect a Scandanavian defense fad to follow here in the US at the amateur level I play at.
Dec-08-04  InspiredByMorphy: <Lawrence> Good catch. 40.Nxg7!
Dec-30-04  aw1988: The knight sacrifice is sound and leads to equality.
Apr-01-05  trogdor: NO, 40.Nxg7! wins
So does 31.hxg4!

For Black better was
33..Qh5! and
37...Bb8!

Apr-01-05  aw1988: I believe both Nxg7 and hxg4 lead to equality.
Apr-01-05  aw1988: Actually, Nxg7 wins, but hxg4 is even.
Jun-18-11  wordfunph: quote of the game..

"Intuition let me down that day."

- GM Alexander Goldin

May-09-12  Shams: Poor Stripunsky, his howler at Round 1 of the US Championships yesterday sticking out like the sorest of thumbs: Stripunsky vs Onischuk, 2012

Here he is in much better form, playing with great energy to wrest the initiative from White right out of the opening. This must be among his finest games.

Goldin's post-game comment that his “intuition let [him] down” quoted by <wordfunph> seems a bit perverse. While White could have ensured a tiny edge immediately after Black's exchange sacrifice with 24.Rd3 [+0.72 13/13], playing against Black's ominous bishops looks very tricky. It’s no surprise that White committed an inaccuracy right after grabbing material, and Stripunsky immediately pounced. If anything failed Goldin, it wasn't his intuition so much as his inability to walk a knife-edge of complications as well as that Baryshnikov, Shredder.

<IMlday>'s 2004 comment that <33..Qh4?! seems to let White back into the game> is at first borne out by Shredder, but after a minute or it kick's Black edge back up to around three pawns. Chess engines, you’ve come a long way, baby.

Stripunsky's only misstep was <37...Bc8?> [ -0.66 10/36] squandering the bulk of Black's huge edge. Alexander must have been in horrific time trouble. Instead most DSB retreats preserve the win, but best is the triumphant 37...Bb8! heralding a feast on the dark-squared diagonals pointing at White's king: [ 7.36 13/42]


click for larger view

The Bb7 cannot be taken due to 38...Qh2+ and 39...Qh3+ forcing White's king on to the e-file.

Aug-18-14  ColeTrane: trying to make a beer pun from Red Stripe and Golden Monkey Ale....
Jan-09-25  Mayankk: White King is encircled by enemy vultures, but they seem to hinder each other and prevent a quick mate. Do we have time for a counterattack? Let's see.

My initial thought was 40 Qe7 as I thought it was important to prevent 40 ... Bb7+ threat. But 40 ... Rxf5 41 Rd8+ Kh7 42 Bxf5 and White is likely worse.

I then tried 40 Nxg7. 40 ... Kxg7 41 Qe7+ loses quickly. 40 ... Bb7+ Ne4 41 Kxg7 Rd7+ doesn't seem good too. And 40 ... Bb7+ 41 Ne4 Bxe4 42 Qxe4 Kxg7 can't be good for Black either.

So yes, maybe 40 Nxg7.

Jan-09-25
Premium Chessgames Member
  An Englishman: Good Evening: As if the Game of the Day for 8 Jan 2025 didn't give me a big enough headache, the Puzzle of the Day just made it even worse.
Jan-09-25  mel gibson: I chose the correct move straight away.
40. Nxg7

White played a blunder with 40. Nd6.

Stockfish 17 says:

40. Nxg7

(40. Nxg7 (1.Nxg7 Bb7+ 2.Ne4 Qe5 3.Rxf8+ Kxg7 4.Rd7+ Kxf8 5.Rxb7 Bf4 6.Qd3 Ne3+ 7.Kf2 Nd5 8.Rd7 Nb6 9.Rd4 a5 10.b3 Qf5 11.Qf3 Ke7 12.Ng3 Qc2+ 13.Ne2 Be5 14.Rd3 Qc5+ ) +4.42/45 398)

score for White +4.42 depth 45.

If I force SF to play the game ply:

40. Nd6 Rxf1

(40. .. Rxf1 (1. ... Rxf1 2.Nxc8 Rf2+ 3.Qxf2 Nxf2 4.Kxf2 Qh4+ 5.Ke3 Qf4+ 6.Ke2 Qg4+ 7.Kd3 Qf5+ 8.Ke3 Qxc8 9.Re1 g5 10.Kd4 Qf5 11.Re2 Bd6 12.Ne4 Be7 13.Re3 g4 14.b4 Bxb4 ) +7.38/36 132)

score for Black +7.38 depth 36.

Jan-09-25  King.Arthur.Brazil: Well, with an exposed ♔ and a threatened ♘, my first try is to save the the horse, but after: 40. Ng3?! Ne3+ 41. Qxe3 Qh3+ 42. Kh1 Bxg3+ 43. Kg1 Qh2#, it didn't work. If directly 41. Kh1 Bb7+ then: A)42. Rf3 Bxf3+, or B)42. Nd5 Bxd5+ 43. Rxd5 Qxd5+ 44. Rf3 Rxf3 45. Kxh2 Ng4+ 46. Kg2 Rf2+ or 46 Kh3 Nf2+ 47. Kh4 Rf4+ etc. C)42. Nce4 (or Nge4) Bxe4+ 43. Nxe4 Rxf1+ 44. Qxf1 Nxf1 wins the ♕.

Based on these previous analyses, W can try to survive with: 40. Nd6 (which prevents the terrible 40... Bb7+). And now, 40... Ne3 simply 41. Qxe3. However, B wins! (I didn't see it before! My mistake is in the following line). With 40... Bxd6 41. Rxf8+ Bxf8 42. Rh1 Bb7+ 43. Ne4 Bxe4+! 44. Qxe4 Qxh1+! 45. Kxh1 Nf2+ 46. Kg2 Nxe4 (I didn't see it before).

Or 40. Nd6 Bxd6 41. Rh1 Bb7+ 42. Ne4 Bxe4+ 43. Qxe4 Rf2+ 44. Kg1 Bh2+ 45. Rxh2 Qxh2#. Also, 40. Nd6 Bxd6 41. Rh1 Bb7+ 42. Nd5 Bh2 (43. Qd3 Rf2#) 43. Rhf1 Bxd5+ 44. Rxd5 Qxd5+ 45. Kh3 Qh5+ 46. Kg2 Bf4 and B attack continues and has two extra pieces.

Jan-09-25  vajeer: White needs to clear f file to eliminate black rook to take sting out of black's attack. But white would want to exchange rooks on f8 rather than f1. The only move that achieves this is Nxg7. After this i was a bit afraid of 40...Qg5. Luckily there is no draw by perpetual checks. For example 41.Rxf8+ Kxg7 42. Rxc8 Ne3+ 43. Kxh2 Qh4+ 44. Kg1 Qg3+ 45. Kh1 Qh3+ 46. Qh2 Qf3+ 47. Kg1 Qg4+ 48. Kf2 and white has avoided perpetual checks. Now after Nxd1+ 49. Nxd1 Qxc8 white is knight up.


click for larger view

Jan-09-25  green ink: After 40. Nxg7 Bb7+ 41. Ne4 Rxf1 42. Nxh5 Rf2+ 43. Kh3!! (or 43. Qxf2 Bxe4+ with a likely draw) Rxe2 there is a surprise checkmate: 44. Rd8+ Kh7 45. Ng5+ Kh6 46. Nf7+ Kxh5 47. Rh8+ Nh6 48. Rxh6 mate.
Jan-09-25
Premium Chessgames Member
  scormus: <vajeer> nice discussion. 40 Nxg7 looked the right move to me but I thought it was going to be the move W played, and lost. I was anxious about 40 ... Bb7+ and wasn't confident that 41 Ne4 would hold things together.

SF16 rates the replies 40 ... Bb7+ and ... Qc5 as fairly comparable, the latter slightly "better" for B. I didn't consider 40 Nd6, it looked wrong and it was.

Jan-09-25
Premium Chessgames Member
  chrisowen: I buff v jewellery q soup dark z Nd6 give Nxg7 its acrid mid its aoh jah its a fog pug its affect pet Nd6 bud x Nxg7 ebb;
Jan-09-25  TheaN: I played <40.Ng3?<>> assuming the queen had to move but no, 40....Ne3+! is perfectly fine because of the discovered defense of h3. Otherwise I'd argue Ng3 is a better try than Nd6. SF is clear, 40.Nxg7! +- keeps major advantage and everything else loses terribly. Very much an only-move.

Also, Thursday my ass, this is one of those positions that's completely ablaze with an unclear counterstrike as best move, that a GM missed (albeit in a time scramble, I reckon). Ngl that I'm getting annoyed that the difficulty curve seems to be all over the place. Weekend puzzles are relatively simple to spot intuition sacs whilst midweek puzzles are tactical minefields, to me it seems there is zero quality control what's posted. Genuinely interested how puzzles are measured nowadays.

Jan-09-25
Premium Chessgames Member
  takebackok: Headache so many lines Thursday went with the natural looking 40. Ng3 completely missing the over & out 40...Ne3+ and mate incoming. Thinking Friday will be a Queen sac & mate.
Jan-09-25  vajeer: <scormus> yep 40...Bb7+ or 40...Qc5 come out on top as best moves from black's perspective. But some other competing lines need to be checked. Agree with < TheaN> that this is a tactical minefield. And certainly feels lot more difficult than Thursday.
Jan-09-25
Premium Chessgames Member
  Teyss: Couldn't figure out this one either, but I am in good company and have never been able to spot combinations in an open & complex position anyhow. (Memo to self: change username if playing online.) Always admired players who could see the light through a deep dark forest where 2+2=5.

Agree with <TheaN> (despite the language 😉), there's a few quality control issues here. Yesterday was White to play and lose (B Chesney vs Gulko, 1986), Tuesday was ok (E Relange vs Van der Wiel, 1993), Monday wasn't very easy (I Raicevic vs D Anic, 1989).

Impatiently waiting for a simple weekend to boost morale.

Jan-09-25
Premium Chessgames Member
  rodchuck: I initially thought Nxg7, but rejected it because of 40...Bb7+ 41. Nd5 Bxd5+, 42.Rxd5 Qxd5+ which is as far as I went. I didn't consider 41. Ne4. It just didn't look good for white
Jan-10-25  TheaN: <Teyss: Agree with <TheaN> (despite the language 😉)>

I know I shouldn't, but it's starting to annoy me. We get very vague difficulty curves, common solvers have been complaining for a while, there's no feedback whatsoever.

I don't even mind helping the team if they need more people; been playing for over 30 years with a 1940 rating, and CG is a big cause of my jump from 1500-1600 to 1900. Atm we don't know why the quality's been in a decline. Been thinking about renewing my premium membership but not doing it because I don't feel like the site's going forward.

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