9/1/2024 – One of the most popular ideas for my columns here has been to look at great attacking games. Various names have been mentioned, and I'm starting today with a fine example by the Soviet grandmaster Leonid Stein (pictured), one of the greatest attacking players of the mid-20th century. I've also continued with the theme of exploring the limits of analysis, with a game from the Sinquefield Cup between D. Gukesh and Maxime Vachier-Lagrave. | Photo: Dutch National Archive
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Baffling details
[Note that Jon Speelman also looks at the content of the article in video format, here embedded at the end of the article.]
When I've canvassed here about possible future columns, one of the most popular ideas has been great attacking games. Various names have been mentioned, and I'm starting today with a fine example by the Soviet grandmaster Leonid Stein (1934-73), one of the greatest attacking players of the mid-20th century.
I was recently asked by somebody to look at some of Stein's games and turned on my shelf to Ray Keene's book Leonid Stein - Master of Attack. Published in 1976, this is an old English descriptive notation and, like Keene's other early books such as Flank Openings and Aron Nimzowitsch: A Reappraisal, fascinating.
As I flicked through I found a fairly well-known game in which Viktor Korchnoi, as was his wont, pilfered one of Stein's pawns. It ruined his pawn structure but took an appreciable amount of time and led to a violent attack and ultimately a very satisfying king hunt.
I'll return to more of Stein's games in future columns: does anybody have favourite(s) - maybe Stein v. Smyslov from Moscow 1972? But I wanted to continue with the theme, which we've had on and off recently, of the limits of analysis with a game from the Sinquefield Cup last week, which many readers will already have seen, but if you haven't is extraordinary.
In this Fritztrainer: “Attack like a Super GM” with Gukesh we touch upon all aspects of his play, with special emphasis on how you can become a better attacking player.
Short of time, Gukesh very naturally exchanged on g4 here before pushing the a-pawn. However, our lords and masters beep frantically and tell us that 42.hxg4 was a mistake, which turns a win into a draw.
If you haven't seen this position before, then you might wonder why on Earth it would be to White's advantage to keep the h-pawns on the board. In my weekly column in The Observer (in the UK) I also invited people to speculate or rather guess what the last move of the main line might be if the h-pawns were on.
This is a really difficult position, and it would be cruel to cajole anybody but a really strong player to attempt it. But if you fancy a challenge, you might try to work through the variation to the splendid conclusion. I think that a good grandmaster could do so in 10 minutes, but of course Gukesh had only a couple of minutes at most.
Gukesh playing white against MVL in round 6 of the Sinquefield Cup | Photo: Lennart Ootes
I'm finishing with two more examples of analysis with a sting in the tail. I have given the first here before, but not I think the second.
Kotkov v. Dvoretsky
Dvoretsky played 54...Rb5 and the question is: What happens if White exchanges? There's a pretty forced line in which Black wins White's knight but then has to stop White's passed pawns. Can you work your way through to the crucial move that does so?
Rook ending
In this rook ending, White is obviously in serious trouble but will have excellent drawing chances, if he can eliminate the queenside. 1.Rb1 would be much too passive, so he needs to make luft for his king before activating the rook (or he could play 1.Rd8+ first and then sort the back rank out). What should he do about the back rank?
I think that this position appeared in a recent book or article, but I have forgotten the details. Please tell me and I'll make an acknowledgement
I hope you enjoy these as much as I did. Back on October 6th.
10...Qb6!?A serious provocation, but Victor Lvovich really loved his pawns!11.Be3Qxb212.Bf2Qb413.e5dxe514.fxe5Ne814...Nfd715.Nd5!exd516.Nf5g617.a3!15.Bd3I glanced at Nf5, but of course it's utter nonsense15.Nf5?exf516.Nd5Qa315.Rab1Qa515.Nb3is the engines preference, when Black can choose betweenQa3and15...Bd816.a316.Bc5?Bb616...Qe7And here I'd probably play Ne4 since I'd be very loth to take the exchange and the cost of allowing the line exchanging queens - though engines are reasonably happy about17.Bc517.Ne417...Qh418.Qxh4Bxh419.Nd4Nd720.Bxf8Nxf821.Ne4Nd722.Nf3Bd816.Bd315...Qa515...Nd716.Ne4Qa517.Nf3leads to the same position.16.Ne4Nd717.Nf3g6!?Keeping the position but again pushing his luck.Certainly not17...Nc5??18.Nxc5Bxc5when the Greek gift wins on the spot:19.Bxh7+Kxh720.Qh4+Kg821.Ng517...f518.exf6Ndxf619.Bd4is reasonable. Black has kept the pawn, but at the cost of weakening his pawn structure.18.Bd4Ng719.Nf6+?!19.Qh3!Maintain the attack.19...Bxf620.exf6Nh521.Qh4
21...Qd8?!Instead engines give an extremely delicate defensive sequence:21...e5!22.Qg5Qa4!22...exd423.Qxa5(which I have to admit I initially missed, since I was only looking at the kingside!)23.Qh6Ndxf624.Ng523.Bxe5Nxe524.Nxe5Qd4+25.Kh1Bf5!26.Rxf5?is the move you want to play but simply doesn't work26.Rad1h627.Qxh6Bxd326...h6!26...Qxa1+27.Rf1Qd428.g4leads to a draw.27.Qxh6Qxa1+28.Rf1Qxe522.Rae1?!Missing a fairly clean kill22.g4!Nhxf623.Ng5!23.Qh6e524.Nxe5Nxe525.Bxe5is also good, but this wins.23...h523...e524.Rxf6The engine likes Be3, but this is definitely what I'd calculate in a game.24.Be3h525.Bc424...Nxf625.Bxe5Qb6+26.Kg2Qc6+27.Be4Qxe4+28.Nxe4Nxe4±24.gxh5Nxh5
and here the very standard but still pretty25.Qxh5!gxh526.Bh7#22...Ndxf623.Ng5e524.Bxe5h625.Bxf6I'm a bit surprised by this - I suppose it does win. I would very much have wanted to take with the rook.25.Rxf6hxg525...Nxf626.Qxh626.Qxg5+-Nxf627.Bxf6Qb6+28.Kh1Bf5And here I spent some time wondering what to do before the penny dropped - simply Qh4 wins instantly.28...Qf229.Rf129.Qh429.Rf1Rfe830.Bxf5Qf231.Qc125...hxg526.Qxg5Nxf627.Rxf6Qd4+28.Kh1Qg429.Qh6Bf5If29...Qh530.Rxg6+!fxg631.Bc4+Be632.Bxe6+Rf733.Qxh533.Qf433...gxh534.Rf1Raf835.g4And since the pawn ending is winning, White wins trivially.30.h3Qd430...Qg331.Re330...Qb431.Re5Bxd332.cxd3Qb1+33.Kh2Qxd334.Rg5Rac835.Rg4Rc336.Rgxg6+Qxg637.Rxg6+fxg638.Qxg6+Kh839.Qh5+Kg840.Qg6+Kh841.Qb6Rc642.Qxb731.Rxf5gxf5
In this video course, experts including Dorian Rogozenco, Mihail Marin, Karsten Müller and Oliver Reeh, examine the games of Boris Spassky. Let them show you which openings Spassky chose to play, where his strength in middlegames were and much more.
Jonathan SpeelmanJonathan Speelman, born in 1956, studied mathematics but became a professional chess player in 1977. He was a member of the English Olympic team from 1980–2006 and three times British Champion. He played twice in Candidates Tournaments, reaching the semi-final in 1989. He twice seconded a World Championship challenger: Nigel Short and then Viswanathan Anand against Garry Kasparov in London 1993 and New York 1995.
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