Paul Keres "special" in ChessBase Magazine #199

by ChessBase
1/11/2021 – 105 years ago, on January 7, 1916, Paul Keres, one of the best chess players of all time, was born. On the occasion of the anniversary, the new ChessBase Magazine #199 dedicates a "special" to the Estonian grandmaster: 18 players present and annotate their favourite Paul Keres games - 18 wonderful games and 18 stories that show how chess players from all over the world still admire this extraordinary player and personality.
Special: AVRO 1938. "All in One": Anish Giri and Igor Stohl dissect two topical opening lines. Analyses from Norway Chess 2020 by Duda, Firouzja et al. Videos by Erwin l'Ami, Daniel King and Mihail Marin. 11 opening articles and much more!

Paul Keres in ChessBase Magazine #199

Paul Keres, who was born on January 7, 1916 in Narva, in Estonia, and died from a heart attack on June 5, 1975 in a hospital in Helsinki, while returning from a tournament in Vancouver, Canada, is a true chess legend.

In 1938, at the age of 22, Keres won the AVRO tournament, in which eight of the world's top players of that time took part, and established himself among the world's best. After this victory, he hoped to get the chance to play a match for the world championship against Alexander Alekhine, but such a match never came to pass. The 1938 AVRO tournament is also the main topic in ChessBase Magazine #199 (see below).

In the World Championship tournament 1948 in The Hague and Moscow he finished third behind Mikhail Botvinnik and Vassily Smyslov, and in the 1950 Candidates Tournament he came fourth. In the following four Candidates Tournaments between 1953 and 1962 he finished second four times, and 1965 he lost to Boris Spassky in the quarter-finals of the Candidates Matches. Keres won against no fewer than nine world champions in individual games, but he never played a match for the world championship.

In Estonia, Keres was and still is a hero, and he was and is also held in high esteem in the chess world, not least because of his impeccable demeanour and elegant appearance. He wrote numerous books and is still regarded as an outstanding analyst who mastered all facets of the game. However, he was particularly strong when attacking and many chess players appreciated and still appreciate his enterprising, tactical style.

The 18 games by Keres presented in ChessBase Magazine #199 show him as a brilliant strategist and endgame player, and they also show how imaginative and creative Keres was in attacking the enemy king. The following game, presented by Yago Santiago, is just one example among many.

 
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1.d4 Paul Keres For many, the greatest player in history who did not become world champion. His results speak for themselves (three-time Soviet champion 1947, 1950, 1951. And second place four times in the candidates 1953, 1956, 1959, 1962). But for me, more than his results, he always impressed me a lot for his creativity. That´s why I chose this game, which despite its little competitive importance, shows the maximum creative power of Keres. Let´s go to the game! Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 d5 4.Bg5 Be7 5.e3 0-0 6.Nf3 b6?! Smyslov plays the Tartakower without 6...h6 - a solid variation but a little imprecise. 7.cxd5 White takes on d5 when Black has already defined the structure on the queenside. exd5 7...Nxd5 is a solid option too. 8.Bd3 The best place for the bishop in these structures. Bb7 9.Qc2 Nbd7 10.0-0 h6 10...Ne4 11.Bf4! Ndf6? 12.Bxc7! Qxc7 13.Nxe4 Qxc2 14.Nxf6+ Bxf6 15.Bxc2+- 10...c5 11.Rfd1 c4 12.Bf5! with a very good position for White. 10...g6?! is very ugly with the bishop on b7. 11.Bf4! Exploring the inaccuracy of Black's 6...b6?!. Now, White places his bishop on the best square. From f4, it supports the knight on e5 in the future while keeping an eye on the queenside. a6 11...c5 12.Rfd1 c4 13.Bf5 a6 14.a4 Bb4 15.b3! And again White has a clear advantage. 11...Nh5 12.Be5! Nxe5 13.dxe5! g6 14.Rad1± 12.Rfd1 Ne8? Smyslov wants to change the bishop, but this move is too passive. 12...Re8 13.Rac1!? c5 14.Bf5 c4 15.a4 /+/- 13.Rac1 Bd6 14.Ne2! A perfect distribution for the white pieces. Qe7 15.Bxd6 15.Ng3!? 15...Qxd6 15...Nxd6 16.Ne5!± 16.Qxc7?? Rac8-+ 16.Ng3 g6 17.h4! Like alphazero! h5 Forced. 18.Ng5! c5 Smyslov searches for counterplay, but he will be punished for it. 19.Bf5! The engine says 19. Nxh5 is better, just because machines have no aesthetic sense :) cxd4 Smyslov finds the only way to fight. 19...gxf5? 20.Nxf5 Qc7 20...Qc6 21.Ne7+ 20...Qg6 21.Ne7+ 21.Ne7+ Kg7 22.Qh7+ Kf6 23.Ng8+ Rxg8 24.Qxf7# 20.Be6‼ The whole brilliant idea! 20.Bxd7? Qxd7 21.Rxd4± 20...d3! Again Smyslov finds the only move. 20...Ne5 21.exd4! fxe6 22.dxe5 Qxe5 23.Qxg6+ Qg7 24.Qxe6+ Kh8 25.Nxh5+- 20...Kg7 21.Nxh5+! Kh6 21...gxh5 22.Qh7+ Kf6 23.Bxf7+- 22.Nxf7+ Rxf7 23.Bxf7 gxh5 24.Bxe8 Rxe8 25.Qc7!+- 21.Qxd3 Ne5 22.Qb1! Keres needs his queen on the b1-h7 diagonal. fxe6! 22...Kg7 23.Nxh5+! Kh6 23...gxh5 24.Qh7+ Kf6 25.f4!+- 24.Bxd5! Bxd5 25.Nf4 Nf6 26.Nxd5 Nxd5 27.e4 Ng4 28.Nf3+- 22...Nc7 23.Nf5! Qd8 24.Bxf7+ Nxf7 25.Ne7+! Kh8 25...Qxe7 26.Qxg6+ Kh8 27.Qh7# 26.Nxg6+ Kg7 26...Kg8 27.Ne7+ 27.Rxc7!+- 23.f4! Kg7! Smyslov defends with all his forces. 24.fxe5 24.Nxh5+! 24...Qxe5 25.Rf1?! The only inaccuracy by Keres in the game. Now, Black has an opportunity to survive. 25.Nxh5+! Kh6 26.Rf1‼ Rxf1+ 27.Rxf1 Qxe3+ 28.Kh1 Kxh5 29.Qd1+ Kh6 30.Rf3 Qc5 31.Rf7 Ng7 32.Qd2+- 25...Rxf1+ 25...Qxg3 26.Nxe6++- 25...Nf6? 26.Rc7+ Kh6 27.Rxf6! 26.Rxf1 Nd6? After a huge defence, Smyslov finally collapsed. 26...Qxg3?? 27.Rf7++- 26...Qxe3+ 27.Kh2 Nf6 28.Rxf6! Kxf6 29.Qf1+ Ke7 30.Qf7+ Kd6 31.Qxb7 26...Nf6! This is the only way to survive for Black. 27.Rxf6!? Kxf6 27...Qxf6 28.Nxh5+! gxh5 29.Qh7+ Kf8 30.Qxb7+- 28.Qf1+ Ke7 29.Qf7+ Kd6 30.Qxb7 Qxg3! Now Black escapes. 31.Qxb6+ Kd7 32.Qb7+ Kd6 33.Qxa8 Qxe3+ 34.Kf1 Qc1+ 35.Kf2 Qxb2+= 27.Nxh5+!+- No mercy by Keres. Kh6 28.Nf6! Qxe3+ 28...Kg7 29.Ng4!+- 29.Kh1 Qd4 29...Kg7 30.Ng4 Qe2 31.Rf6 Ne4 32.Rf7+ Kh8 33.Rh7+ Kg8 34.Nf6+! Nxf6 35.Qxg6+ Kf8 36.Qf7# 30.Nxe6 Qxh4+ 31.Kg1 A curious position of the knights :) d4 31...Rc8 32.Rf4 Qg3 33.Rf3+- 32.Qc1+ g5 33.Qc7 A great piece of creativity by Keres! 1–0
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Keres,P-Smyslov,V-1–01939D55Leningrad & Moscow15

Main topic of CBM #199:AVRO 1938 

The AVRO tournament, staged from 6th to 27th of November 1938, saw the world's eight best players of that time fighting in a doubleround-robin. With the reigning world champion and two ex-title holders - Alexander Alekhine, José Raúl Capablanca and Max Euwe - facing a bunch of aspiring young talents - Mikhail Botvinnik, Reuben Fine, Salo Flohr, Paul Keres and Samuel Reshevsky - the event was perceived by the public as a clash of generations and attracted a lot attention. 

Reuben Fine dominated the field from the start and after his victory over Alekhine in round six had a whopping 5/6. But on the next day the American was defeated by Paul Keres (see Renato Quintiliano's annotations in "My favourite game by Paul Keres" and also Karsten Müller's article "Endgame Special"). 

After 29...dxc4! 30.Nxb4 cxb3 Black went on to win a fascinating endgame.

Fine remained half a point ahead of Keres until round 11 when he suffered yet another defeat, allowing the latter to draw level. The big highlight of that day, however, was Botvinnik's brilliant victory over Capablanca, culminating in a spectacular finishing combination.

The game is featured both in Oliver Reeh's column "Tactics" and in Dorian Rogozenco's video analysis "The Classic" .

White to play and win!

On the last day, the duel between the two leaders ended in a short draw after 19 moves. The result of their direct encounter was to decide the overall outcome, and thus the Estonian Paul Keres was declared winner of the AVRO tournament 1938. Keres and Fine both scored 8.5/14; third was Botvinnik, a full point behind them. 

On the DVD, Simon Williams invites you to replay the game Alekhine,A-Capablanca,J 1-0 in his interactive column “Move by Move”.

And Mihail Marin's article bears the name of the tournament right in the title.

ChessBase Magazine # 199 offers a lot more: analyses by top players such as Alireza Firouzja or Jan-Krzysztof Duda, 11 opening articles with new repertoire ideas, opening videos by Erwin l'Ami, Daniel King and Mihail Marin and much more.

Take a look and download the booklet of ChessBase Magazine #199 as a pdf file and for free.

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