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Sergey Karjakin vs Zahar Efimenko
Karpov Poikovsky (2011), Poikovsky RUS, rd 8, Oct-12
Bishop's Opening: Berlin Defense (C24)  ·  1-0

8
7
6
5
4
3
2
a
1
b
c
d
e
f
g
h
White to move.
ANALYSIS [x]
1-0

rnbqkbnr/pppppppp/8/8/8/8/PPPPPPPP/RNBQKBNR w KQkq - 0 1
FEN COPIED

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Kibitzer's Corner
Oct-13-11  Sularus: 15. Bh6 now that is just WOW!
Oct-14-11  PYCJacobson: 28. Ne5 is also a pretty move
Oct-14-11  Gilmoy: <Sularus: 15. Bh6 now that is just WOW!> Well, it's all thematic in Spanish/Ruy. This is what you do at coffeehouse levels until Black gets to, say, 1800 and knows how to snuff it :)

<10.Nh4?!> is wacky because it can't possibly work at this level -- White should develop. <12.Qf3!?> is silly in that it commits White to a blah line.

The tyro threat is Q-sees-g, so now all standard g7-sacs are on: B(f6,h6) with a hidden-triple on g7 is canonical. Hence <14.Nf5> is book in Ruy, but usually with the QN: Re1, then Nd2-f1-(g3,e3)-f5. Black cannot deflect g open because of the mate-in-2.

The flaw is simply 14..Bxf5 15.Qxf5. Efimenko is pretty good, so he must have judged it a slow positional loss: White has Nf3/Nc4 doubling on e5, already owns a, and can jump on d.

It's fairly bizarre to see two super-GMs try this line: White for even thinking it worth playing, and Black for letting it happen. Note 13..Bc7 to hide from both Nc4 and Nf5: he's already planning to decline the Nf5 and sac an exchange.

Dec-09-13  davide2013: I don't understand the comment relative to: "This is what you do at coffeehouse levels until Black gets to, say, 1800 and knows how to snuff it :)" Efimenko is 2700, so surely is quite beyond and above whatever 2000-2200 player will ever be, let's not speak of a 1800. To lose in 29 moves, means the other opponent is quite beyond 2700, but he is not. So did Karjakin use a computer to win? Did Efimenko sell the game? Because this game is strange, for being played between +2700 GMs.
Dec-09-13  davide2013: I just noticed that Efimenko was the best man at Karjakin wedding, so maybe between the two there is a big friendship, and knowledge of each other repertoire.
Aug-26-15  capafischer1: Great tactics by karjakin to win the exchange and pawn then get his rook on the seventh rank.

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