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Efim Geller vs Lajos Portisch
Portoroz Interzonal Playoff (1973), Portoroz YUG, rd 5, Sep-10
Spanish Game: Morphy Defense. Breyer Defense Zaitsev Hybrid (C95)  ·  0-1

ANALYSIS [x]

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Kibitzer's Corner
Dec-01-03  Resignation Trap: Geller tried very hard to win this Knight endgame (which started at move 53). He thought so hard that he lost it on time at move 86 (the time control was at move 88). A win (or even a draw, based on the tiebreaks from the Petropolis Interzonal) would have allowed Geller into the 1974 Candidates Matches, instead of Polugaevsky.

Geller could have avoided this playoff altogether, if he hadn't lost to the Canadian representative at Petropolis. I think that this was also "on time":

Biyiasas vs Geller, 1973

Dec-01-03  Resignation Trap: This game can be placed in "Life's Most Embarrassing Moments."

The time control was 40 moves in 2 hours, with 16 moves each hour after that. The time controls came at moves 40, 56, 72, and 88.

For reasons known only to himself, Geller thought that the fourth time control was at move 84.....

Jan-07-06  WMD: <A win (or even a draw, based on the tiebreaks from the Petropolis Interzonal) would have allowed Geller into the 1974 Candidates Matches, instead of Polugaevsky.>

True as far as it goes, ceteris paribus, but this wasn't the final round in the playoffs.

Feb-06-11  wordfunph: "If Geller had only whispered to Portisch the word "draw!" a few seconds before his flag fell while a pawn up and unaware of the approaching time control, Geller and not Polugaevsky would have been among the candidates."

- GM Svetozar Gligoric

Aug-23-16  Howard: Mednis analyzed this endgame in his CL&R column back in 1977, plus he mentioned the embarrassing (for Geller) conclusion to this game.
Aug-23-16
Premium Chessgames Member
  perfidious: <RT....Geller could have avoided this playoff altogether, if he hadn't lost to the Canadian representative at Petropolis. I think that this was also "on time"....>

It was.

Oct-29-16  paavoh: <For reasons known only to himself, Geller thought that the fourth time control was at move 84.....>

Another chessplayer who could not "count";-)

Oct-29-16  Olavi: A plausible reason might be unusual design of the scoresheet, for instance 24 moves / column. Has happened to many players.
Oct-29-16
Premium Chessgames Member
  perfidious: If the scoresheet were designed such that the first time check of 40 moves is on one side, the next 48 moves on the other, that coincides perfectly with the end of the fourth time control, at move 88, in bygone days.

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