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In our previous article we saw one of the most famous moves in all of chess composition: Mitrofanov's immortal (and scarcely believable) deflection sacrifice. There was a follow-up question: has anything as fantastic as Mitrofanov’s deflection ever been successfully employed in over-the-board chess, at least in rudimentary fashion?" We take as our first inspiration the position from:
Ermenkov,E-Sax,G
Warsaw Int. Youth Tournament 1969
White to move
Materially, both sides are level. Still, the confusing tangle of possibilities seems to offer the better prospects to Sax. But appearances are deceptive: 1.d7! Qxf1+! A good counter. Black seeks salvation in a combination-based attack. 1...d2 is not good because of 2.Qa1+!. Now 2.Kxf1 d2 3.Qxf3! Rc1+, which leads us to the following position.
The black d-pawn is just about to promote and is a decisive nose ahead of its counterpart. Are things all over for White? No! Given up for dead, the latter astonished everyone with a sort of Mitrofanov-like deflection, here in the form of 4.Qd1!!, in order to slow down his opponent’s intended promotion. Here too, it was brilliant and brought about Black’s immediate resignation. The possible continuation 4...Rxd1+ 5.Ke2 Rb1 6.d8Q d1Q+ 7.Qxd1 Rxd1 8.Kxd1 demonstrates the drastic reversal in evaluation and Sax resigned. 1-0.
An even more impressive example from over-the-board chess can round off our chapter:
Möhring-Kaikamdzozov, Zamardi 1978
White to move (position after 76...Qf8)
White has a dangerous passed pawn, and in addition strong pressure against a cramped black position with an endangered king. Möhring has his f-pawn climb further up the board: 77.f7 Ng7 78.Qf6+! Kxh5 79.Kg3 b6. A better move was 79...Ne8 80.Qf5+ Kh6 81.Qe6+ Kh7 82.fxe8Q Qf4+. 80.Kh3 Ne8 81.Qf5+ Kh6 82.Qe6+! The immediate 82.fxe8Q would only be a draw. 82...Kh7 83.fxe8Q Qf3+ 84.Kh4! Qf2+ 85.Kh5 Qh2+
Things are looking like a draw: 86.Kg4 Qg2+ 87.Kf5 Qf3+ 88.Kg5 Qf4+ 89.Kh5 or 86.Kg5 Qf4+ 87.Kh5. But White has a magic trick at his command. Time for a Leopold Mitrofanov moment: 86.Qh3!!! A natural spectacle. The closer of the two white queens comes rushing in. One of the best moves ever played in over-the-board chess. 86...Qxh3+ 87.Kg5 Qg3+ 88.Kf6 Qf3+ 89.Ke7 Qxb3 90.Qh5+ Kg7 91.Qg4+, and Black resigned. After 91...Kh6 mate comes in at most four moves after 92.Kf6 Qf3+ 93.Qxf3 Kh7 94.Qg2 b5 95.Qg7#. 1-0.
The Joys of Chess is an unforgettable intellectual expedition to the remotest corners of the Royal Game. En route, intriguing thought experiments, strange insights and hilarious jokes will offer vistas you have never seen before.
The beauty, the struggle, the culture, the fun, the art and the heroism of chess – you will find them all in this sparkling book that will give you many hours of intense joy.
Christian Hesse is a Harvard-trained professor of Mathematics who has taught at the University of California, Berkeley (USA), and since 1991 at the University of Stuttgart. He has written a textbook called 'Angewandte Wahrscheinlichkeitstheorie'.
Chess and literature are his main hobbies, and he also likes fitness and boxing. His heroes are the ones who fall to the bottom and rise again, fall and rise again…
From the foreword by World Champion Vishy Anand: "A rich compendium of spectacular highlights and defining moments from chess history: fantastic moves, beautiful combinations, historical blunders, captivating stories, and all this embedded into a plentitude of quick-witted ideas and contemplations as food for thought."
