| Jul-01-02 | | borgianus: Maybe it's Krasenkov's best game! A very top indeed. |
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| May-13-07 | | notyetagm: Position after 6 ... ♘c6-b4
click for larger viewThis position is a great example of an important tactical theme: <USING CHECKS TO REPOSITION YOUR PIECES WITH GAIN OF TIME TO MEET THREATS>. When I first played through this game, I wondered how White was going to meet the threat to the c2-square in this position after having just opened the line c2-f5 with his previous move, 6 d3-d4. White in fact has an elegant solution. First he gives <CHECK>, with 7 ♗f1-b5+, Position after 7 ♗f1-b5+
click for larger viewand then he just slides his light-squared bishop back to a4 to cover the c2-square. Position after 7 ... c7-c6 8 ♗b5-a4
click for larger view<The <CHECK> 7 ♗f1-b5+ allows White to reposition his light-squared bishop to the b5-square with a <GAIN OF TIME> on the Black e8-king.> The difference between the White light-squared bishop being on b5 instead of f1 is -enormous-. On b5 the White light-squared bishop can easily <DEFEND> the c2-square with 8 ♗b5-a4. On f1 the White light-squared bishop must go to d3 to <DEFEND> the c2-square, which White does not want play because of the resulting damage to his pawn structure. |
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| May-13-07 | | notyetagm: If anyone thinks that this tactical theme <USING CHECKS TO REPOSITION YOUR PIECES WITH GAIN OF TIME TO MEET THREATS>. is too obvious or trivial, note that Topalov has overlooked it not once but -twice- this year. In his game against Svidler at Corus, Topalov (Black) missed the defensive repositioning of the White queen via the manoeuvre ♕f4-b8+!, ♕b8-b4. And then at Linares against Carlsen, Topalov (Black) resigned in a drawn position(!) because he failed to see the defensive manoeuvre ... ♕d8-d5+, ... e6-e5, ... ♕d5-g8 to meet the threat of a White queen invasion to h8. The lesson to be learned from both of these Topalov oversights is that a piece may be repositioned with <GAIN OF TIME> by <CHECKING> the exposed enemy king (♕f4-b8+!, ... ♕d8-d5+) to meet a threat that otherwise seems either impossible or very awkward to meet. |
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| Aug-26-07 | | sungura mjanja: One of the most brilliant games I've come across...classic simplicity!
Tactical shots galore like
7.B-b5+;10.f3;11.0-0;15.h3;16.R-e1+;18.Nxd5;21.Nxg7+ played to gain time,space and material in a well-conducted choreographed performance akin to a ballet dance! |
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| Feb-07-09 | | WhiteRook48: not Kind to the Mann |
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Jun-10-14
 | | perfidious: As noted elsewhere by <Phony Benoni>, this quiet opening is speedily converted into an apparently innocuous line of the Philidor Countergambit with White taking two moves to get d4 in; this merely underscores the dangers of this for Black, if his opponent can lose a tempo in this open position with impunity. |
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| Aug-02-14 | | gofer: Fritz must be getting pretty warmed up by this point. White looks completely
dominant, nothing material yet, but lots of opportunity. <18 Nxd5 ...>
18 ... cxd5?
19 Bxd7 
18 ... Qxd5?
19 Bb3 Queen Trap!
18 ... b5? (or any other move than Nxd5)
19 Nxf6 Bxf6
20 Bb3
<18 ... Nxd5>
<19 Qf5+ ...>
19 ... Bf6?
20 Ng5+ (winning the queen)
19 ... Nf6?
20 Bb3 Bg6
21 Nxg7+! ...
21 ... Kxg7
22 Qxd7 Nxd7
23 Rxe7+
21 ... Kf8
22 Qxd7 Nxd7
23 Bh6
So the king must move...
19 ... Kg8?
20 Qxh5
This seems very unwise as it still loses the bishop and invites Nxg7 winning another pawn and also retains the discovered check threat! <19 ... Ke8>
<20 Nxg7 Kd8>
<21 Ne6+ Kc8>
<22 Qxh5 ...>
Are two pawns enough for a Saturday? White has all the positional advantages he needs; Ra8 trapped, threats of Be6 an easy route to open up lines to the king with c4 etc. Yep, from my perspective Fritz will be cooking his bits with excitement... ~~~
Okay, what is so wrong with <19 ... Ke8?>? |
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| Aug-02-14 | | diagonalley: wow... way too hard for me... |
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| Aug-02-14 | | Doniez: After some minutes I found the starting move Nxd5 to remove the black knight from f6 and the following Queen attack. A nice way to start my weekend |
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| Aug-02-14 | | Nick46: Agreed, diagonalley...
No crass blunders by Kindermann, no child's play for Krasenkow, but enough jabs to win the bout. |
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| Aug-02-14 | | morfishine: This combination is well disguised. At least for me, I found this move-order so enjoyable, that the pain and frustration of not finding the
solution was washed away in a sea of admiration
After abruptly discarding 18.Nxd5, I settled on another theme: eliminating pieces near the enemy king with a view towards a tactical
advantage. I ended up with:
18.Ng5+ Kf8 <19.Rxe7> *****
<notyetagm> Nice post(s) ***** |
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Aug-02-14
 | | Penguincw: As sometimes, I only find the first move: 18.Nxd5. |
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| Aug-02-14 | | kevin86: No clue on this one...typical Saturday puzzle. |
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| Aug-02-14 | | patzer2: More a game to enjoy than a puzzle to solve on this Saturday morning! Here's my look with Fritz 12, beginning with White's 10th: <10. f3!> This maneuver is where White, with some help from Black, begins to secure a winning advantage.
<10...exf3?> This loses. Better was 10...Nf6 11. fxe4  .
<11. O-O!> I suspect many if not most club players would have played 11. Nxf3 or 11. Qxf3 , overlooking this simple but strong winning castling move.
<11...Nf6> Not 11... fxg2?? 12. Rxf5 .
<12. a3 Na6 13. Qxf3 Bg4 14. Qd3 Qd7 15. h3 Bh5 16. Re1+ Be7 17. Ne6 Kf7 18. Nxd5!!> This brilliant move is not one I would have considered, but it is strongest. However, it's not the only winning choice. The simple 18. Nf4 gives White a winning position after 18. Nf4 Bg6 19. Nxg6 hxg6 20. Bg5 .
<18... Nxd5> If 18... Qxd5, the Black Queen gets trapped after 19. Bb3! Qa5 (19... Qd6 20. Bf4 Qd7 21. Nc5+; 19... Bg6 20. Qe2 Qa5 21. Ng5+
Kf8 22. Qxe7#) 20. Bd2 .
<19. Qf5+ Nf6 20. Bb3 Bg6> If 20... Qc8, Black gets mated after 20...Qc8 21. Nxg7+ Kxg7 22.Rxe7+ Bf7 23. Rxf7+ Kg8 24. Qg5#.
<21. Nxg7+! Kf8 22. Qxd7 Nxd7 23. Bh6! 1-0> Black resigns in lieu of 23...Nf6 [23... Nc7 24. Nf5+ Ke8 25. Nxe7; 23... Rc8 24. Re3 Nf6 25. Rae1 Be4 (25... Bd6 26. Nf5#) 26. Rf1 Bd5 27. Bxd5 cxd5 28. Nf5+ Ke8 29. Nxe7 ] 24. Re5 Nc7 (24... Rd8 25. Nf5+ Ke8 26. Rxe7#) 25. Nf5+ Ke8 26. Nxe7 Kd7 27. Bg7 |
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| Aug-02-14 | | TheoNov: <gofer: ... Are two pawns enough for a Saturday? ... Okay, what is so wrong with <19 ... Ke8?>? 19. .. Ke8 20. Qxh5+ g6 21. Qh6
click for larger viewwith devastating threats. For instance,
A. 21. .. Qd6 22. c4 Qg3 23. Bd2 and Black has nothing better than to give up the Nd5. 
click for larger viewB. 21. .. Nac7 22. Qg7 Nxe6 23. Qxh8+ Bf8 24. Bh6 Ke7 25. Bg5+ Ke8 26. Qg8 Nc7 27. Bb3 netting another piece 
click for larger view |
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| Aug-02-14 | | M.Hassan: "Very Difficult"
White to play 18.?
Equal.
18.Nxd5
<if....cxd5 19.Bxd7 and Black Q is lost>
I would take the Knight with the Queen(analysis will follow) but the following is what Chessmaster thinks if the Knight is taken with the Knight on f6:
A) 18............Nxd5
19.Qf4+ Nf6
20.Bb3 Ke8
21.Nxg7+ Kd8
22.Bg5 Qxd4+
23.Rxe7 Qxf5+
24.Nxf5 Rf8
25.Rxh7 Nbd7
26.Rxh5
White has plenty of material advantage.
B) 18............Qxd5
19.Bb3 Qd6
20.Bf4 Bg6
21.Qe3 Nd5
22.Bxd5 Qxd5
23.Ng5+ Kf8
24.Qxe7+ Kg8
25.Be5 Bf7
26.Qxb7 Qd8
27.Qxa6
White is a piece+2pawns ahead. |
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| Aug-02-14 | | agb2002: The material is identical.
The knight sacrifice 18.Nxg7 doesn't seem to work after 18... Kxg7 19.Qe3 Rhe8 20.Qh6+ Kh8 21.Bg5 Bg6. An attempt to incorporate White's lsb into the attack suggests 18.Nxd5: A) 18... Nxd5 19.Qf5+
A.1) 19... Nf6 20.Bb3
A.1.a) 20... Rhe8 21.Ng5+ Kf8 22.Nxh7#.
A.1.b) 20... Bg6 21.Nxg7+
A.1.b.i) 21... Kxg7 22.Qxd7 Nxd7 23.Rxe7+ Kf6 24.Rxd7 + - [B+2P vs N]. A.1.b.ii) 21... Kf8 22.Qxd7 Nxd7 23.Bh6 seems to recover the piece with Nf5+ and two extra pawns (if the bishop moves then Nf5 mates). A.2) 19... Ke8(g8) 20.Qxh5 wins a pawn and keeps the attack. B) 18... Qxd5 19.Bb3
B.1) 19... Qd7 20.Nc5+ wins the queen for two pieces. B.2) 19... Qd6 20.Bf4 Bg6 21.Bxd6 Bxd3 22.Nf4+ seems to win material. B.3) 19... Bg6 20.Qe2 Qd6 21.Bf4 looks similar to B.2. C) 18... Bg6 19.Nxf6 Bxf6 20.Qg3 Bxd4+ 21.Kh1 and the threat Bb3 looks difficult to meet. |
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| Dec-17-16 | | Wulebgr: A friend brought this game to my attention because the final combination is in Nunn's Puzzle Book. It is a fine miniature worthy of further study. |
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Jun-04-18
 | | plang: The game quickly transposes to an offbeat form of the Philidors. 6..Nb4? was a new move that has not been repeated; 6..Nxd4 had been played a few times before. 11..Bg4 12 Qe1+..Be7 13 h3..h6 14 Nxf3..Bxf3 15 Rxf3..Nf6 16 Qg3 would have been strong for White. 17..Kf7? lost quickly; better was 17..Bg6 18 Qf3..Kf7 19 Nf4 with the threat of Nfxd5 and a solid White edge. 20..Ke8 21 Nxg7+..Kd8 22 Qa5+..Nc7 23 Ne6+..Kc8 24 Qxc7+..Qxc7 25 Nxc7 would have been winning for White. An attractive miniature |
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Mar-16-20
| | perfidious: Wonder whether our old friend <Dom> ever saw this game--I am sure he would have appreciated Krasenkov's anti-Dutch line. RIP, my man. |
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Mar-16-20
 | | moronovich: Indeed 2.d3 is a tricky and smart anti Dutch measure. |
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| Mar-17-20 | | paavoh: There is more discussion about this variation in Carlsen vs Dolmatov, 2004 |
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Kibitzing
sac: 18.Nxd5