Jul-21-25 Seirawan vs M Narciso Dublan, 2011
| |
| nummerzwei: White could have chosen a different plan with 15.e4!? (or 14.Bb2 Bb7 15.e4!?): [DIAGRAM] Unlike the "regular" Botvinnik setup, White's b5-pawn keeps the Black knight out of c6 and d4. Moreover, Black's light-squared bishop is very passive. In his book <The English - Move by ... |
|
|
|
May-13-25 Kramnik vs Kasparov, 2000
| |
| nummerzwei: After 10.Bxb5?, Black should play 10...Qa5 ∓ rather than 10...cxd4?! allowing 11.Nxd4!?, which is not that great for Black. |
|
|
|
Feb-22-25 Timman vs Kasparov, 1999
| |
| nummerzwei: In this blitz game, Kasparov played the middlegame powerfully, but only got a drawn endgame from his winning position. Instead of 60.Ra5+??, 60.Ra4 was an easy draw, e.g. 60...Rb3 61.g4+!? hxg4 62. Kg2 =. |
|
|
|
Jan-26-25 S Schweber vs Browne, 1979
| |
| nummerzwei: Rook endgames with two isolated passed pawns against one are very generally drawn, and this one is no exception: [DIAGRAM] White should try to strengthen his position with 53.f3 and 54.Kg3, e.g. 53.f3 h4 54.Kh3! Rxf3+ 55.Kxh4 with a theoretically drawn endgame. The attempt to ... |
|
|
|
Jan-26-25 J Szmetan vs S Schweber, 1979
| |
| nummerzwei: 11. e5! is a notable omission, all the more so having already played 8.Re1. Since 11...Ng4 12.Nxd5 Nc6 13.Bg5 is obviously unsatisfactory, Black really has to play 11...d4 12.exf6 Qxf6: [DIAGRAM] Of course, this is not one hundred percent clear, but Stockfish proposes the ... |
|
|
|
Jun-02-24 L'Ami vs Y Yu, 2018
| |
| nummerzwei: The B+P vs B endgame is winning for Black. The most direct way to put White in zugzwang is 76...Bd7!, when White must allow either 77...Kf2 (which is instantly disastrous) or 77...Kg2: [DIAGRAM] After 77.Bc4 Kg2! 78.Bd5+ Kh2 79.Kf1 Bh3+ 80.Ke1 Bg2 81.Bc4 Bc6 82.Bf1, [DIAGRAM] the |
|
|
|
May-19-24 A Erigaisi vs Y K Erdogmus, 2024
| |
| nummerzwei: At the venue, we were distracted from this game by M Vavulin vs G Meier, 2024 , which seemed more likely to deliver a decisive result. Nevertheless, White always had practical chances in the five-man endgame and Erigaisi made the most of them. [DIAGRAM] White is poised to pick up |
|
|
|
May-09-24 V Kazakouski vs M Hess, 2024
| |
| nummerzwei: A retread of the classic E Cohn vs Rubinstein, 1909 (with colors reversed and Black's queenside pawns on a7 and b7). Instead of 28.f4, White could have won more <according to Rubinstein> with 28.e4, e.g. 28...Kg8 29.f4 Kh8 30.g4 Kh8 31.h3!? Kg8 32.h4 Kh8 33.g5 fxg5 34.fxg5! |
|
|
|
Mar-24-24 J Gustafsson vs G Hertneck, 2001
| |
| nummerzwei: White could (also) have won by 19.Bxh6!:
A) 19...gxh6?? 20.Nf6+
B) 19...Qd6 20.Bf4 +,-
C) 19...Qe6 20.Nc7! Qxh6 21.Nxa6 bxa6 22.Rxc6
Nevertheless, I imagine Gustafsson chose 19.Bf4 deliberately. |
|
|
|
Feb-11-24 Hort vs Psakhis, 1982
| |
| nummerzwei: The position after 26...Red8 is discussed in Hort's book <Der beste Zug> (1982, co-written with Vlastimil Jansa ). [DIAGRAM] The solver must reconcile himself to the fact that White is worse, making this exercise <not quite one of the easiest> (Hort). After the first ... |
|
|
|
|
Kibitzing
