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Grigor Minchev vs Dimitar Miraschiev
? (1986)
Three Knights Opening: Steinitz Defense (C46)  ·  1-0

ANALYSIS [x]

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Kibitzer's Corner
< Earlier Kibitzing  · PAGE 3 OF 3 ·  Later Kibitzing>
Feb-23-09  swordfish: I'm embarrassed to have missed this one, but how much more embarrassing it must have been to be Black in this game!
Feb-23-09  MaczynskiPratten: I've been enjoying a highly entertaining hour looking at some of Minchev's other games on the database - thanks <njchess> for the suggestion. Lots with the Halloween Attack (Muller-Schulze Gambit) of the Four Knights (which is shown as Three Knights due to the vagaries of ECO and chessgames.com) - a variation which looks at first as if it must be unsound, but seems to work very well! A couple with Black where he starts with 1... h5! And a win against Topalov; Topalov vs G Minchev, 1988 - I love the final position - nearly as weird and beautiful as the epic McDonnell vs La Bourdonnais, 1834. Minchev seems to be a highly imaginative player! Although, as several have pointed out, the only games on the database are his self-selected wins; it would be interesting to see some games where he lost ...
Feb-23-09
Premium Chessgames Member
  Domdaniel: Simple. But cute.
Feb-23-09
Premium Chessgames Member
  gawain: I loved this one. QxB, Nf6+ and Bh6 mate. Very pretty.

Well, I admit that I wanted to play Nf6+ first until I saw the Bishop on d4. How convenient that there happens to be a Queen handy to trade for that Bishop!

Feb-23-09
Premium Chessgames Member
  gawain: Oh, my bad! Like some others I did not even consider that Black might not capture the queen. Back to the drawing board to verify (I hope) that other variations also win for White.
Feb-23-09  ZUGZWANG67: <gawain>

Yeah ! In fact, it seems that after 9. ...f6, White has nothing more that a pawn (and the better position, certainly). In other words, once you noticed that White was down a piece, 9.Qxd4 gives White material equality + 1 pawn + the better position.

Feb-23-09  YoungEd: Score another one for YoungEd!
Feb-23-09  zb2cr: Hi <gawain>,

You wrote: " Back to the drawing board to verify (I hope) that other variations also win for White."

They do. AFAICS, 9. ... f6 and 9. ... O-O are Black's most potent defensive tries. Others have dealt with this above.

Feb-23-09  SmotheredKing: Well, 9. Qxd4 leads to mate if 9. ...Nxd4?? 10. Nf6+ Kf8 11. Bh6#, but white is already down a piece and so 9. ...Nxd4 is not necessary, leaving black with 9. ...O-O, when white is not immediately winning but has a very strong attack against the weak black king.
Feb-23-09  LIFE Master AJ: I actually took several minutes on this one, forgetting today is Monday!

After 9.Qxd4, f6[]; (forced) there is no immediate mate. Further, I could not decide between taking on f6 with the Knight or the Queen, exploring both options several moves deep.

In the end, I went with 10.QxP/f6, (feeling fairly sure that this was the strongest move); but felt rather dumb when Fritz chose taking on f6 with the Knight.

However, in the end, both 10.NxP/f6+ and 10.QxP/f6 are strong and win by force ... in fact White wins material in both lines. (After about 10 minutes, Fritz sees more than a four point advantage after 10.QxP/f6.)

Feb-23-09  LIFE Master AJ: In fact, 8.Bg5! is a very strong move, and a nice tactical trap.
Feb-23-09  SamAtoms1980: "Sacrificing your Queen on Monday is brilliant."

-- The Guinness Draught Spokesmen

Feb-23-09  TheaN: <patzer2> thanks for the credit on 9....f6, but <agb2002> actually posted before me, so he takes ALL credit regarding this variation as he also depicted the most optimal continuation for White. Not that THAT is on Monday level, but so isn't 9....0-0 10.Nf6 Kh8 11.Ng4†!! I guess the idea was just to spot White can at least level material, and having the superior position afterwards.
Feb-23-09  Smothered Mate: <TheaN>
MiCrooks found 9... f6 first (on page 1).
Feb-23-09  Eduardo Leon: Too easy, even for a Monday: 9. Qxd4 :)
Feb-23-09  TheBish: G Minchev vs D Miraschiev, 1986

White to play (9.?) "Very Easy"

I recognized the mating pattern right away, so only considered one move (the right one!) once I realized that the bishop on d4 was the only obstacle preventing doom on the dark squares!

9. Qxd4!

Now 9...Nxd4 10. Nf6+ Kf8 11. Bh6 is mate.

Also, 9...Nxd5 10. Qxh8+ Kd7 11. Bxd8 is totally crushing, so this game is resignable.

Feb-23-09  Kasputin: I noticed 9. Nf6+ followed by Bh6 but then noticed that the f6 square was protected by the bishop on d4. No problem, just play 9. Qxd4. White wins at least the bishop because the queen cannot be recaptured. If 9 ...Nxd4 then 10. Nf6+ followed by 11. Bh6#. Very nice.
Feb-23-09  Kasputin: Like others, I didn't realize that white was a piece down either - otherwise I would have looked a little further ahead. But I did think about 9. o-o and concluded that it didn't look very good for black.
Feb-23-09  thitho: Yeah, my problem is that I found the combination, but after having thought, the black knight is not forced to take the queen...
Feb-24-09  SamAtoms1980: <solskytz: After that you play your move, look at the clock and think 'how is it that only 2 seconds passed? It seems like I was engrossed in thought forever!">

Ha, with me it's always the reverse. I'll swear I was only thinking for a number of seconds, and then I'll look and see that my flag is about to fall. Wrraaughh!

Feb-24-09  TheaN: <Smothered Mate: MiCrooks found 9... f6 first (on page 1).>

Oh okay. Well, credit to him for the move (as he proposed Nxf6† also), credit for the refutation to <agb2002>.

Feb-24-09  kevin86: Typical queen sac Monday. White removes the black's strongest defender and enters the adverse position with two minor pieces and bad intentions. lol
Feb-26-09  LIFE Master AJ: Grigor Minchev - Dimitar Miraschiev [C46]
Open, 1986
[A.J.G.]

1.e4 e5; 2.Nf3 Nc6; 3.Nc3!?,

[Maybe better is: 3.Bb5]

3...g6; 4.d4! exd4; 5.Nxd4 Bg7; 6.Be3 d6; 7.Nd5!?,

This is sharp, but not necessarily the best.

[Better was: 7.Qd2, "Plus-over-equal" - "Power Book" Or 7.Bc4, - Fritz 11.]

7...Nge7?; A bad error.

[Black had to play: >/= 7...Nf6[]; 8.Bg5 a6; 9.c3, and maybe White is just a little better here.]

8.Bg5!!,
This is a brilliant move, I doubt that the average player would find this.

8...Bxd4??; An oversight.

[The only move was: 8...Qd7[]; 9.Bb5!, ± etc.]

9.Qxd4! Nxd4??; (Blunder.)
This allows mate. Black could prevent this with 9...f6[]; but this would leave him materially down.

10.Nf6+ Kf8; 11.Bh6#. 1-0
A.J. Goldsby, 2009.

Dec-03-09  AnalyzeThis: I know that the unusual 7...Nce7 has been played here. White retains just a normal opening advantage after this choice.
Jan-15-15
Premium Chessgames Member
  naresb: A conclusion, a Fianchettoed Bishop should be used preferably for defense, especially when opponent's combination is in place eyeing your King.
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