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Aleksander Sznapik vs Yuri Balashov
Warsaw (1990), Warsaw POL, rd 11, Jan-??
Spanish Game: Closed Variations. Keres Defense (C92)  ·  0-1

ANALYSIS [x]

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sac: 56...Nf3+ PGN: download | view | print Help: general | java-troubleshooting

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Kibitzer's Corner
< Earlier Kibitzing  · PAGE 3 OF 4 ·  Later Kibitzing>
Dec-03-05  dakgootje: <ruger> Well after 66...a1=♕ 67. ♕xa1 ♕d2+ 68. ♔h4 ♕f2+ 69. ♔g5 ♕e3+ 70. ♔h4 ♕g3+ just 71. ♔xg3 as the queen on g3 is not defended.
Dec-03-05  dakgootje: ow and <ruger> Welcome to the site ;-)
Dec-03-05
Premium Chessgames Member
  chessgames.com: <offramp: <chessgames.com> 61.Qc5 should almost certainly be 61.Qc3.> That sounds very reasonable. Some people have a bad habit of scribbling threes so that they look just like fives. (I know, because I have this habit myself.)
Dec-03-05  TopaLove: The first line I tried was 66 ... ♕d2+ 67.♕xd2 a1=♕ but then follows 68.♘e8+ ♔f8 69.♕d6+ ♔g8 70.♕xh2
Dec-03-05  monad: <An Englishman: you're missing out on something special. 39...Qh8 and 57...Qd8 are great, amazing moves. >

You mean rather than 39...Bxg5?
I am not so sure. If I were White, I might not have seen the danger of playing 40.Qxg5, (with 40...Ne6 to follow), rather than the safe 40.hxg5..

Especially in time trouble, you have to give your opponent the chance of going wrong, don't you agree?

Dec-03-05  monad: This is GREAT FUN!!

A puzzle within a puzzle. Just as well we all wondered about move 61.

Dec-03-05  EmperorAtahualpa: <monad> I really AM a novice player, I just lose my patience easily. :)
Dec-03-05  itz2000: FANTASTIC ending!
Dec-03-05  DP12: This puzzle was actually decently difficult because when you look at the position, you think about 66...a1=Q+ 67 Qxa1 Qd2+ and then try to find a way to make that work. Of course you then hit on the idea that 68. Kh4 h1=Q+ is a useful resource which mates in the case of Bxh1 but you keep running up against the annoying Qxh1 when everything is so close but so far from working. For me personally it didn't occur to me for about 5 minutes that I could reverse the order and play h1=Q first and then win easily. It merely serves to reemphasize the point that if you are going deeper into a subvariation, always return to the initial moves of the line to make sure they really are the most critical
Dec-03-05  esticles: <TTLump: if 66... Qa5+ then
67.Nd5+ and white wins!>
Where is white's win after 68. Kh7?
Dec-03-05  esticles: below 68. Kh7 should be 67...Kh7
Dec-03-05  TTLump: <esticles>
after 66... Qa5+, 67.Nd5+ Kh7, here is one possible way for white to win. I think this is sound, but I may have overlooked something ...

68. Qxh2+ Kg8
69. Kh6! Qd8
70. Nf6+ Kf8
71. Qe5 Be6
72. Qc5+ Qe7
73. Qd4 a1=Q
74. Qxa1 Qc5
75. Qa8+ Ke7
76. Kg7 Bc8
77. g5 Qc3
78. Qa7+ Ke6
79. Qxf7+ Kd6
80. Kxg6 Qe5
81. Qf8+ Kc7
82. Nd5+ Kd7
83. Nb6+ Kc7
84. Qxc8+ Kxb6
85. Qc6+ Ka5
86. Qd5+ Qxd5
87. Bxd5 1-0

Dec-03-05  TTLump: <DP12> I know am probably starting to sound like a broken record here, but 66... a1=Q DOES work just as well as 66... h1=Q. Review the earlier posts to see why.
Dec-03-05  esticles: Thanks TTLump--your analysis looks very sound.
Dec-03-05  marcwordsmith: Doesn't 66. . . . Bd3 win just as clearly, if much more prosaicly?

Also, what's this move 61 gaffe everyone is talking about? I don't see it!

Dec-03-05  franksp: if 65.Bxa3, Black has a perpetual check 65 ... Qd2+ 66 Kh4 Qf2+ 67 Kg5 Qd2+ etc. The White Q must never interpose as Black exchanges Qs and plays ... a1=Q. I cannot see anything better for Black in this case.
Dec-03-05  TTLump: <AnEnglishman> your comment re: 30... Qh8 being a powerful move. I am with <Monad> on this. To me, 30...Bxg5 is better and more direct. What are you seeing that we are not?
Dec-03-05  panthercat: <marcwordsmith> I don't think 66...Bd3 wins as quickly as the score. For example: 66...Bd3 67. Bh1 Qa5+ 68. Nd5+ Kg7 69. Qa1 and now black spends some time chasing the king around.
Dec-03-05  TTLump: <marcwordsmith> 66... Bd3 does look sound to me and ChessMaster agrees: score -13.45 at 9-ply.
Dec-03-05  TTLump: <panthercat> after 66...Bd3 67.Bh1, black should play Qe7 (not Qa5+), (threatening 68.Qe3+ Kh4, 69.g5+! Kh5, 70.Qh3+ Kxg5, 71.Qh6#), 68.Kf4 (forced) Qxf6+, 69.Qxf6+ Kxf6, followed shortly by ... a1=Q
Dec-03-05  TTLump: One of the keys to this position is the white knight. It represents a potential double-discovered check for white, but he can't make that move as long as black maintains the pin on the same knight! The tension is delicious! White must keep his Queen on the a1-h8 diagonal in order to maintain the potential threat as well as guard the a1 square against the new potential black Queen!. Black must keep his Queen on the d8-h4 diagonal in order to keep the white night at bay, so he must avoid the tempting Qa5+. White can't release the pin without losing the knight and allowing Black to force a queen exchange at the same time, but black must not move his king if he hopes to eventually win the knight! Add to this the tension created by the double queening threats on a1 and h1 and you have a delightful chess masterpiece in the making.
Dec-03-05  panthercat: <TTLump> After 66...Bd3 67. Bh1 Qe7, instead of 68. Kf4, I think white could play 68. Qd4 instead, covering checks at e3, e5, and c5. Then black has some problems figuring out what to do next.
Dec-03-05  TTLump: <panthercat> I am sure that GM Balashov would have no trouble figuring out what to do since a mere patzer such as myself can figure it out...

If 68.Qd4 then ... a1=Q! and now there is nothing for white to figure out except which way he wants to be mated ... if he takes the newly promoted queen, then it is mate as follows: (69.Qxa1 Qe3+ Kh4, 69.g5+! Kh5, 70.Bg6#),

If he declines to take the new queen what is white going to do? If he leaves the queen on the diagonal, black will just take it with his new Queen. If he moves it off the diagonal, black takes the night with check and it is all over but the crying! Do you have a response to 68 ... a1=Q?

Dec-03-05  TTLump: <panthercat> sorry about the typo in my last post. that first mating sequence should read as follows:

69.Qxa1 Qe3+
70.Kh4 g5+!
71.Kh5, Bg6#

Dec-03-05  panthercat: <TTLump> Whoops...didn't analyze a1=Q all the way through. My bad. I had a feeling it still wasn't good for white, but I was lazy and didn't work it out. ;) We agree on one thing - white has some big problems. :)
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