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Igor Smirnov vs Alexander Ipatov
Geller Memorial Open-A (2007), Odessa UKR, rd 4, Sep-11
Sicilian Defense: Dragon Variation. Yugoslav Attack (B78)  ·  0-1

ANALYSIS [x]

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sac: 25...Rxb4 PGN: download | view | print Help: general | java-troubleshooting

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Kibitzer's Corner
Jun-17-25
Premium Chessgames Member
  takebackok: Thats the way uh huh Tuesday. all forced 25...Rxb4 (threat # on b1) 26. cxb4 (Rd4 maybe?!) Qb2+ and good night.
Jun-17-25  King.Arthur.Brazil: At this time, many solvered: 25...Rxb4 26. cxb4 Qb2+ 27. Kd1 Qxb1+ 28. Rc1 Qxc1#. Refusing: 6. Rd4 Qxb1+ 27. Kd2 Rxd4+ 28. Qxd4 a2 win the ♖ too and the game.
Jun-17-25  Mayankk: White has nestled his king nicely between his minor and major pieces and probably feels confident enough to withstand Black assault. However it is a house of cards as demonstrated by 25... Rxb4.

Blakc threatens 26... Qxb1+ or 26... Rxb1+, necessitating 26 cxb4. And then 26 Qb2+ is suddenly available as the c2 Rook is pinned and can no longer protect the b2 square.

25... Rxb4 26 cxb4 Qb2+ 27 Kd1 Qxb1+ 28 Rc1 Qxc1# is a rather swift denouement to a reasonably looking position.

Jun-17-25  Walter Glattke: Banning Rc2 with 25.-Rxb4 26.cxb4? Qb2+ 26.mating 27.Kd1 Qxb1+ 28.Rc1 Q or Rxc1#, hence 26.Rb2 a2 27.Rxb4 axb1Q+ 28.Rxb1 Rxc3+ +3.0 for black this way
Jun-17-25
Premium Chessgames Member
  PawnSac: <takebackok: Thats the way uh huh Tuesday.>

lol I'm feelin u bro.. a real slick combo

Jun-17-25  Walter Glattke: b) 26.Rc2 Rxc2 27.Rxc2 (27.Bd3? Rxc3+) Qxb2+ 28.Kd1 Qxb1+ 29.Kd2 a2 30.Bd3 Qb2+ 31.Bc2 and now, surprise, surprise, 31.-Nc4+, petite combinaison
Jun-17-25  saturn2: 25...Rxb4 26.cxb4 and the open c file leads to a quick mating attack.
Jun-17-25  mel gibson: Not too hard today.

Stockfish 17 says mate in 14:

25. .. Rxb4

(25. .. Rxb4 (1. ... Rxb4 2.Rd4 Rb2 3.Kd2 Rxc2+ 4.Kxc2 Qb2+ 5.Kd1 a2 6.Ke1 axb1Q+ 7.Rd1 Rxc3 8.Qd2 Qxd2+ 9.Kxd2 Qb2+ 10.Ke1 Rc2 11.Rd2 Rxd2 12.Kf2 Rxe2+ 13.Kf1 Nxf3 14.e5 Rf2+) +M14/69 145)

Black wins _ mate in 14.

Jun-17-25  Walter Glattke: 26.Rd4 is in fact very nasty, I only found a zugzwang option with positional play. Can I play like Botvinnik? 26.-Rxb1+ 27.Kd2 Rh1 (>Qe1#) 28.Qf2 Nf4 29.Ke3 g5 30.h4 Rxc3+ 31.Rxc3 Qxc3+ 32.Bd3 Re1+ 33.Qxe1 Qxe1+ 34.Be2 Qxe2# Mating, but not all moves are forced.
Jun-17-25  TheaN: <25....Rxb4!> once you see it, you know this is curtains. Black abuses the clogged first two ranks. Black threatens R/Qxb1# and the key being 26.cxb4? absolutely pinning Rc2, so 26....Qb2+ 27.Kd1 Qxb1#.

Moving the d-rook is the only path to prolongation <26.Rd4> (if Rd1/Rd3 a2 -+) but <26....Rxb1+ -+> is just a full piece and pandemonium in the harmonious camp White was just two moves prior. I don't think Rd4 Rxb1+ need not be analyzed further, Black hasn't sacced anything, won a knight on b1, and the attack is ongoing.

Jun-17-25  Walter Glattke: Correction. 26.-Rf8 (not -g5 - white Pg5) 27.Bg5 (against a2) 27.-Re8+ or 27.R4c2 Nh3 28.Qg2 Qg1+ 29. Qxg1 Rxg1 30.Ra2 Nxg5 31.Rxa3 Ngxf3 32.h3 Rh1 -++
Jun-17-25
Premium Chessgames Member
  chrisowen: Kin with its o guy its pj its ez Rxb4 its aba its au la its gi guff its ace its me its imbibe its huh its ah its barb Rxb4 duh its x
Jun-17-25
Premium Chessgames Member
  takebackok: Yes <PawnSac> thanks, we like it.
Jun-17-25  Halldor: The key to solving this is to realize that after 25 ... Rxb4 26 cxb4, the Rook on c2 is pinned, so the queen can move safely to b2.
Jun-18-25
Premium Chessgames Member
  scormus: The POTD wasn't so difficult. What I found hard to figure out was how a 2800 player got into such a mess so quickly from a good position with the Yuugoslav attack. A number of times h4 was begging to be played, a decent club player would have made it.. 18 g5?? was a truly dreadful move.
Jun-25-25  James J. Henderson: The pawn sacrifice on move 10 by the 14-year-old Ipatov is apparently not sound. To be fair, when the position occurred in Anand vs Kasparov, 1995 Kasparov's move 10...Ne5 wasn't the best either (Stockfish prefers 10...Rc8).

Trading off the dark-square bishops with 14.Bh6 was probably not the best plan for White; 14.h4 followed by h5 seems stronger.

The move 20.Nb1, undefending the a-pawn, is perplexing to me. When analyzing games on his YouTube channel, Smirnov sometimes quips that a player is moving his pieces back to their starting squares to set up for the next game. They say that people who live in glass houses should not throw stones.

On move 20,


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apparently White can survive with 20.Re1, but it isn't easy; after 20...Rc6 21.a3 Nf4


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White has to play 22.Bf1 (Black's knight mustn't be taken because of Rxc3), and then after 22...Rxb2 23.Kxb2 Nfd3+


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White has to give up his queen with either 24.Rxd3 Nc4+ or 24.Qxd3, but with an extra rook and two pieces for the queen, despite some weak pawns he would have enough compensation for a draw.

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