chessgames.com
Members · Prefs · Laboratory · Collections · Openings · Endgames · Sacrifices · History · Search Kibitzing · Kibitzer's Café · Chessforums · Tournament Index · Players · Kibitzing
Lev Aronin vs Rashid Nezhmetdinov
"Catch 22" (game of the day Mar-09-2025)
RSFSR Championship (1947), Kuybyshev URS, Jun-??
Old Indian Defense: Ukrainian Variation (A54)  ·  0-1

ANALYSIS [x]

FEN COPIED

Click Here to play Guess-the-Move
Given 23 times; par: 34 [what's this?]

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

explore this opening
find similar games 3 more Aronin/R Nezhmetdinov games
PGN: download | view | print Help: general | java-troubleshooting

TIP: Games that have been used in game collections will have a section at the bottom which shows collections which include it. For more information, see "What are Game Collections?" on our Help Page.

PGN Viewer:  What is this?
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.

Kibitzer's Corner
Jan-26-11  birthtimes: Aronin's 22nd move was a lemon, as Nezh quickly demonstrates. Better for White was 22.Bxe4 Nf6 23.Qe2 Nxe4 24.fxe4 Qh4+ 25.Bf2 Rxf2! 26.Qxf2 Qxe4+ 27.Kf1 Qxd5 28.Qc2 h5 29.Rd1 Qf7+ 30.Qf2 Qe6 31.h4 Rxa2 and Black is slightly better but a draw seems likely.
Jan-26-11  birthtimes: Aronin would have been better off playing his 22nd move on move 20 instead...20.Bb6 Qxd5 21.Rd1 Qc6 22.b5 Qc8 23.Nd6 Qc3+ 24.Qd2 Qxd2+ 25.Rxd2 Be6 26.Nxb7 Bh6 27.Rb2 Rxa2 28.Rxa2 Bxa2 29.Bc7 Ra8 30.Nc5 Bd5 31.Na6 Be3 32.Nb4 Bb3 33.Ke2 Bd4 34.Kd2 Ra1 35.Nc2 Ra2 36.Bd3 Rb2 37.b6 Nf6 38.Re1 Nd7 39.Kc1 Bxc2 40.Bxc2 Rb4 and White is better due to his outside passed pawn, the bishop-pair, better king position, and the weakness of Black's pawns.
Jan-26-11
Premium Chessgames Member
  Benzol: <birthtimes> <Aronin's 22nd move was a lemon, as Nezh quickly demonstrates. Better for White was 22.Bxe4 Nf6 23.Qe2 Nxe4 24.fxe4 Qh4+ 25.Bf2 Rxf2! 26.Qxf2 Qxe4+ 27.Kf1 Qxd5 28.Qc2 h5 29.Rd1 Qf7+ 30.Qf2 Qe6 31.h4 Rxa2 and Black is slightly better but a draw seems likely.>

Instead of 27...Qxd5 in the above line Nezhmetdinov himself thought 27...Ra8 would give Black a decisive attack.

Nov-20-11  birthtimes: If 22.Bxe4 Nf6 23.Qe2 Nxe4 24.fxe4 Qh4+ 25.Bf2 Rxf2! 26.Qxf2 Qxe4+ 27.Kf1 Ra8 28.Kg1 Rf8 29.Re1 Qxb4 30.a3 then White may eventually be a pawn down with 2 rooks for a queen and drawing chances...
Jan-01-21
Premium Chessgames Member
  plang: Nezhmetdinov was critical of 4 e4 though after 10 Qd2 the game had transposed into the Samisch variation of the Kings Indian. 10..Nc5 was a new move that has not been repeated; 10..a6 is the main line. Nezhmetinov is critical of White's queenside attack but does not make a very convincing case. White was doing OK until his 22nd and 23rd moves - then the end came suddenly.
Jan-02-21
Premium Chessgames Member
  fredthebear: My screen reads 15.Nxa7 0-1.

Here's the full game score:

[Event "7th RSFSR championship"]
[Site "Kuybyshev URS"]
[Date "1947.06.??"]
[EventDate "?"]
[Round "?"]
[Result "0-1"]
[White "Lev Aronin"]
[Black "Rashid Gibiatovich Nezhmetdinov"]
[ECO "A54"]
[WhiteElo "?"]
[BlackElo "?"]
[PlyCount "50"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 d6 3. Nc3 e5 4. e4 c6 5. Nge2 Nbd7 6. d5 cxd5 7. cxd5 g6 8. f3 Bg7 9. Be3 O-O 10. Qd2 Nc5 11. b4 Ncd7 12. Nb5 Nb6 13. Nec3 Nh5 14. Qf2 f5 15. Nxa7 Nd7 16. Nab5 fxe4 17. Nxe4 Ndf6 18. Nbxd6 Nxe4 19. Nxe4 Bf5 20. Bd3 Ra3 21. Bc2 Bxe4 22. Bb6 Qc8 23. Rc1 Qc3+ 24. Qd2 Qxd2+ 25. Kxd2 Bh6+ 0-1

Jan-02-21  morfishine: Wow, Aronian's a lot older than I thought
Jan-02-21
Premium Chessgames Member
  perfidious: Played a different style in those days, too.
Mar-09-25
Premium Chessgames Member
  An Englishman: Good Evening: Sometimes it becomes impossible for me to distinguish between Nezhmetdinov's attacks and his blunders. Moves 10-12 look like a complete waste of time; why not play ...Nh5 three moves earlier? But if those moves *were* best, that only proves my point.
Mar-09-25  goodevans: <plang: ... White was doing OK until his 22nd and 23rd moves - then the end came suddenly.>


click for larger view

Against the 'automatic' <22.Bxe4> Black has <22...Nf6> threatening both 23...Nxe4 and 23...Ng4. White can’t avoid Black winning back the piece and sustaining his initiative. The game shows, though, that this would nevertheless have been a hugely preferable choice.

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:

  1. No obscene, racist, sexist, or profane language.
  2. No spamming, advertising, duplicate, or gibberish posts.
  3. No vitriolic or systematic personal attacks against other members.
  4. Nothing in violation of United States law.
  5. No cyberstalking or malicious posting of negative or private information (doxing/doxxing) of members.
  6. No trolling.
  7. 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.
  8. Do not degrade Chessgames or any of it's staff/volunteers.

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

Blow the Whistle

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.

<This page contains Editor Notes. Click here to read them.>

Home | About | Login | Logout | F.A.Q. | Profile | Preferences | Premium Membership | Kibitzer's Café | Biographer's Bistro | New Kibitzing | Chessforums | Tournament Index | Player Directory | Notable Games | World Chess Championships | Opening Explorer | Guess the Move | Game Collections | ChessBookie Game | Chessgames Challenge | Store | Privacy Notice | Contact Us

Copyright 2001-2025, Chessgames Services LLC