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Garry Kasparov vs Anatoly Karpov
"Spanish Influenza" (game of the day Jan-15-2015)
Karpov - Kasparov World Championship Match (1985), Moscow URS, rd 5, Sep-14
Spanish Game: Closed Variations. Flohr System (C92)  ·  0-1

ANALYSIS [x]

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Kibitzer's Corner
< Earlier Kibitzing  · PAGE 2 OF 2 ·  Later Kibitzing>
Feb-13-05  Albertan: The move 24.Bd4!? would have been an interesting try. ie. 24. Bd4 Qc2 25. Qxc2 Rxc2 26. Bd5 Bb7 27. Rd1 Ba3 28. Nb3 Ba6 29. Ne1 Rc7 30. f4 Ne6 31. Bxe6 fxe6 32. Ra1 b4 =.
Feb-13-05  Albertan: Karpov, in his analysis of the game, gives the move 24....Qb4 a ! and assigns the move 25.Nb3 a ?!
Feb-16-05  siu02jm: what a game!!! the pieces are well cordinated throughout(well until the end at least) on both sides. i guess kaspa must have underestimated the power of pawn on b file. can someone tell me how he was compensated for this loss of material?

this game is A BAR CANDY TO MY MIND; reminds me computer vs computer games. PERFECT!!!

May-19-05  ksasidhar: Karpov didnot play Caro-Kann against Kasprov becuase he lost four of the eight games and didnot win even one. True that he is master of Caro-Kann but may be he didnot have the confidence to try it again against Kasprov.
May-09-08  marcus231084: Surely white's move 31 has to be Nd4-e6? double the attack on the g7 square, attack the black queen at the same time. all black can do to stop the rot is g7-g6, Be4 - g6 or Nd6-f5. the black queen is gone on the next move and surely a win for kasparov would follow?
Sep-01-08  dzhafner: marcus231084,
31...Bf5 deals very cleanly with 31 Ne6. fxe6 picks up the knight for free. Even the barbaric Rxe6 leaves black ahead about a pawn.
Sep-01-08  Woody Wood Pusher: Call that a passed pawn?...THIS is a passed pawn!
Feb-18-09  nelech: Very nice play by Karpov but in his book Kasparov writes that he could have saved the game with 30 Ne6! So 28...Nd6 ? which was so much praised by commentators at the time was not in fact good . Instead 28...Ra8! is winning according to Kasparov . Fascinating example of modern analysis with the help of computers.
Jun-26-09  Knight13: <offramp: <chessgames.com> Could Crafty give us the next dozen moves? I can't see how black wins from the end.>

So if you were White you'd offer a draw in this game and also if you were Black you would accept it?

Nov-10-09  WhenHarryMetSally: why throw in the towel. its a huge battle on plenty left in the game yet.
Dec-20-09  Hesam7: <offramp: <chessgames.com> Could Crafty give us the next dozen moves? I can't see how black wins from the end.>

Here is what Kasparov has to say:

<<41...Nd3>

The sealed move. Although White can still offer some resistance, I resigned the game without resuming (0-1): the conversion of Black's advantage is a matter of straightforward technique. Times: 2.28-2.34>> "Kasparov vs Karpov 1975-1985" by Kasparov

Dec-20-09  zanshin: Rybka 3 on final position:


click for larger view

[-1.55] d=17 45.Bd4 Bd6 46.Qe3 Qd5 47.g3 Bf5 48.h4 Kf8 49.Nd2 Be5 50.Nf3 Bxd4 51.Nxd4 Ne5 52.Be2 Bh3 53.f3 (0:05.19) 4957kN

Dec-20-09  Hesam7: A condensed version of Kasparov's commentary of critical points of the game:

<<26 Ba1?> is a losing mistake and 26 Nxc5 should hold; now Karpov is winning.

<28...Nd6?> 28...Ra8! was the right path to win.

<30 Qg4?> Kasparov does not exploit Karpov's mistake on the 28th move despite seeing the saving (?) tactical stroke 30 Ne6! during the game.>

Dec-20-09  Hesam7: Actually I really like Kasparov's 30 Ne6!


click for larger view

<The capture of the knight leads by force to an endgame with a rare balance of forces: 30...fxe6 31 Bxe6+ Kh8 32 Bxc8 Qxc8 33 Be5! Bg6 (not 33...Bc6? 34 Bxd6 Bxd6 35 Qe6!, winning a piece) 34 Bxd6 Bxd6 35 Qxb5, and White has every reason to hope for a draw.

30...Qc2 was recommended as a refutation, but after 31 Qxc2 Rxc2 32 Nxf8 Rxa2 33 Be5 Nc4 34 Rxe4 Kxf8 35 Bd4! Ra8 (or 35...h6 36 Bc5+ Kg8 37 Re8+ Kh7 38 Rb8) 36 Bc5+ Kg8 37 Re7 h5 (37...Rb8 38 Ba7) 38 g4 hxg4 39 hxg4 White again has real chances of draw.

Finally, 30...Qf5 seems very strong, but the unexpected 31 g4! makes it very hard for Black to convert his advantage, for example: 31...Qf3 32 Qxf3 Bxf3 33 Nxf8 Kxf8 34 Be5 Nc4 35 Bxc4 (35 Bc3!?) 35...bxc4 36 Re3 or 31...Qg6 32 Nxf8 Rxf8 33 Be5 Bc6 34 Rc1 with prospects of a draw.

It seems to me that here White could have held on. At any event, the move 30 Ne6! was an excellent practical chance, after the missing of which I lost the game without a fight.>

Jan-15-15  Whitehat1963: Simple and basic question: What's the best finish?
Jan-15-15  crafty: 45. Bd4 Bd6 46. h4 Be5 47. Qe3 Bxd4   (eval -2.08; depth 17 ply; 2000M nodes)
Jan-29-15
Premium Chessgames Member
  offramp: Thanks Crafty. Was I on a waiting list?
Jul-22-15  evilasio: Very long match world champlonship
Aug-18-15
Premium Chessgames Member
  AylerKupp: <evilasio> Not really. Maybe you're confusing this 1985 match with the unlimited 1984 match which was stopped after 48 games had been played. This maximum 24-game match was the same maximum length as all WC matches played since 1951 through 1972 (10 matches) and from 1985 – 1996 (8 games). And of these 19 matches, 7 went the maximum 24 games.
Aug-18-15
Premium Chessgames Member
  AylerKupp: Kasparov vs Karpov, 1985 (part 1 of 2)

<offramp> Since have patiently spent so much time on the waiting list, I think that you deserve additional analyses of the final position:

Here is a summary of 3 engines' evaluations, sorted in order of descending Ratings Adjusted Average:

White's Houdini Komodo Stockfish
Move d=32 d=28 d=40 <St.Avg> <RAdj.Avg>

45.Qe3 [-1.64] [-1.62] [-1.61] <[-1.62]> <[-1.62]>

45.Bd4 [-1.67] [-1.54] [-1.72] <[-1.64]> <[-1.63]>

45.Na5 [------] [-1.79] [------] <[-1.79]> <[-1.79]>

45.Qe2 [------] [------] [-1.95] <[-1.95]> <[-1.95]>

45.g3 [-2.03] [------] [------] <[-2.03]> <[-2.03]>

Here is a summary of how the 3 engines ranked the moves, without regard for the value of the evaluation, although you can see from the evaluations that it's a tossup whether White plays 45.Qe3 or 45.Bd4.

White's Houdini Komodo Stockfish
Move d=32 d=28 d=40 <Avg> <Rank>

45.Qe3 1 2 1 <1.3> <1>

45.Bd4 2 1 2 <1.7> <2>

45.Na5 4 3 4 <3.7> <3>

45.Qe2 4 4 3 <3.7> <3>

45.g3 3 4 4 <3.7> <3>

And here are the 3 top lines for each engine:

Houdini 4, d=32:

1. [-1.64]: 45.Qe3 Qd5 46.Qd4 Qa8 47.Qe3 Qa2 48.Qe2 Qb1 49.Qc2 Qxc2 50.Bxc2 Nc5 51.Bd1 f6 52.Nd4 Bf7 53.Kf1 Bc4+ 54.Be2 Bd5 55.Nc2 Nb3 56.Bb2 Nd2+ 57.Ke1 Nc4 58.Bxc4 Bxc4 59.Kd2 Kf7 60.Ne3 Be6 61.Kc2 Bc5 62.g4 Bb6 63.Kd3 Bc7 64.Bd4

2. [-1.67]: 45.Bd4 Bd6 46.h4 Bf5 47.Qe3 Nf4 48.Bb2 Be6 49.Nd4 Bd5 50.Qe8+ Bf8 51.Nf5 Qe4 52.Qxe4 Bxe4 53.Ne3 Bc5 54.g3 Nd5 55.Nxd5 Bxd5 56.Kf1 f6 57.f4 Kf7 58.Ke2 Bc4+ 59.Kf3 Ke6 60.Bc2 Bg1 61.Kg2 Be3 62.Kf3 Bd2 63.h5 Kd6 64.Bg6 Kc5 65.Ke4 Bc3 66.Bxc3 bxc3 67.Ke3

3. [-2.03]: 45.g3 Qd5 46.Nc1 Bc5 47.Nxd3 Bxd3 48.Bc2 Be4 49.Qxd5 Bxd5 50.Kf1 f6 51.Ke2 Bc4+ 52.Ke1 Kf7 53.Bb2 Ke6 54.Bg6 Kd6 55.g4 b3 56.f3 Be3 57.h4 Kc6 58.Be4+ Kb5 59.Ba3 Bc5 60.Bb2 Bd6 61.Kd1 Bf7 62.Kc1 Kc4 63.Kb1 Bd5

Aug-18-15
Premium Chessgames Member
  AylerKupp: Kasparov vs Karpov, 1985 (part 2 of 2)

Komodo 9.1, d=28

1. [-1.54]: 45.Bd4 Bd6 46.h4 f6 47.g3 Be5 48.Be3 Be4 49.Na5 Qc7 50.Qa2+ Kh7 51.Qc4 Qxc4 52.Nxc4 Nb2 53.Nxb2 Bxb2 54.Bc5 Bc3 55.Kf1 Bd3+ 56.Kg2 Bc4 57.Bc2+ Kg8 58.Kf3 b3 59.Be4 Kf7 60.Ke3 Ke6 61.Bd4 Bb4 62.g4 Bd5 63.h5 Bxe4

2. [-1.62]: 45.Qe3 Nf4 46.Bb2 Nd5 47.Qd4 Qxd4 48.Nxd4 Bd3 49.Bb3 Nc3 50.g4 Bd6 51.Nf5 Bc5 52.Kg2 Be4+ 53.Kf1 Bf3 54.Ne3 Kf8 55.Ke1 f6 56.Bc4 Ne4 57.Be2 Bh1 58.Bd3 b3 59.Ke2 Ng5 60.h4 Bf3+ 61.Kd2 Nh3 62.Bc4 Nxf2

3. [-1.79]: 45.Na5 Qd5 46.Nb3 Be4 47.Bd4 Bd6 48.h4 Bf4 49.Qe2 Ne5 50.Bxe5 Bxe5 51.Nd2 Bd3 52.Qe1 Bb5 53.Bb3 Qc5 54.Qd1 Qd4 55.Qc2 Bd3 56.Qa2 Qa1+ 57.Qxa1 Bxa1 58.Nc4 Kf8 59.g3 Bc3 60.Kg2 Ke7 61.Kf3 Bd4 62.Kf4 Kf6 63.Nd6

Stockfish 6, d=40/61:

1. [-1.61: 45.Qe3 Nf4 46.Be5 Ne6 47.Bb2 Bd6 48.Nd4 Qa2 49.Qd2 Bc5 50.Nb3 Be7 51.Be5 Qxd2 52.Nxd2 Bd3 53.Bg4 Kh7 54.g3 Kg6 55.Bxe6 fxe6 56.f4 Bc5+ 57.Kg2 Be2 58.Nb3 Bb6 59.Nd2 Be3 60.Nb3 Bd1 61.Nd4 Kf7 62.f5 g6 63.fxg6+ Kxg6 64.Nxe6 Kf5 65.Bd4 Bxd4 66.Nxd4+ Ke4 67.Ne6 b3 68.Nc5+ Ke5 69.Nd3+ Kd4

2. [-1.72]: 45.Bd4 Bd6 46.Be3 Bf4 47.Bxf4 Nxf4 48.h4 Ne6 49.Na5 Qc3 50.Nb3 Bd3 51.g3 g5 52.hxg5 hxg5 53.f3 Bc4 54.Qxc3 bxc3 55.Na1 Kg7 56.Kf2 Kf6 57.Bb3 Bxb3 58.Nxb3 Ke5 59.Ke3 c2 60.Nc1 Nd4 61.Nd3+ Kd5 62.Kd2 Nxf3+ 63.Kxc2 Kd4 64.Nb4 Kc4 65.Nd3 f5 66.Nf2 Kd5 67.Nh3 Kd4

3. [-1.95]: 45.Qe2 Qd5 46.Bd4 Bd6 47.Qf3 Be4 48.Qg4 Bf8 49.h4 Nc1 50.Nxc1 Qxd4 51.Bc2 f5 52.Qe2 Qc3 53.Bb3+ Kh7 54.Qc4 Qe1+ 55.Qf1 Qxf1+ 56.Kxf1 Kg6 57.g3 f4 58.gxf4 Be7 59.Ke2 Bxh4 60.f3 Bb7 61.Bc2+ Kh5 62.Ke3 Be7 63.Be4 Bc5+ 64.Kd2 Ba6 65.Nd3 Bd6 66.Kc2 Bc4 67.Kd2 Bb5 68.Ne5 Ba4

So, as Fischer famously said, "White can always play differently, in which case he merely loses differently."

And perhaps this game (#5 of their 1985 match) was the inspiration for Kasparov's immortal "Octopus Knight" of game #16: Karpov vs Kasparov, 1985. If that's the case, then Kasparov got something out of the loss.

Jun-06-17  Saniyat24: This game is an absolute gem...! Can someone tell me what Kasparov was trying when he voluntarily gave away his rook?
Jul-16-17
Premium Chessgames Member
  offramp: <AylerKupp> your time and that of Crafty has been wasted. It was pointed out many times in the kibitzing that the last move in this game was 41...Nd3.


click for larger view

I have no idea where the other moves came from.

Jul-16-17
Premium Chessgames Member
  offramp: In that final position Stockfish 8 thinks that Black has a definite advantage:


click for larger view

Analysis by Stockfish 8 64:

1. (-1.19): 42.Qe3 Qxe3 43.fxe3 Bd6 44.Kf1 Kf8 45.Ke2 f6...

Sep-07-18  Everett: Karpov +7 -4 after 53 championship games with Karparov. Not too bad.
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