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Bobby Fischer vs Borislav Ivkov
Havana (1965), Havana CUB, rd 10, Sep-10
Spanish Game: Closed Variations. Keres Defense (C96)  ·  0-1

8
7
6
5
4
3
2
a
1
b
c
d
e
f
g
h
White to move.
ANALYSIS [x]
Notes by Stockfish 9 v010218 (minimum 6s/ply)14.Nh2 was played in Tal vs A Grushevsky, 1963 (1-0)better is 17.Qh5 Qc7 18.Nf1 Be6 19.Rd1 Rd7 20.Rxd7 Qxd7 21.f4 Bf7 ⩲ +0.62 (27 ply)= -0.04 (27 ply)better is 21.Rb1 Rc8 22.Be3 Nb7 23.Red1 Nbc5 24.Rxd7 Qxd7 25.Bxa4 = +0.30 (26 ply)= -0.45 (28 ply) 25.Ba3 Nc6 26.Re3 Rxe3 27.fxe3 Rd8 28.Rf1 Bxf5 29.exf5 = 0.00 (35 ply) ⩱ -0.82 (30 ply)better is 27...Qxf5 28.exf5 Kf7 29.Rac1 Ne7 30.Bxe7 Kxe7 31.Rc2 ⩱ -0.68 (32 ply)= 0.00 (38 ply) 36.Ke1 Kf7 37.f3 f4 38.Bb4 Kg6 39.Kd2 Kh5 40.Rg1 Kh4 = -0.40 (32 ply) ⩱ -1.18 (30 ply) 37.b3 Kf7 38.Ke1 Kf6 39.Kd2 Kxf5 40.c4 axb3 41.axb3 Nd4 ⩱ -0.96 (28 ply)-+ -3.66 (29 ply)54.f3 Nd6 55.Kh4 Kf4 56.Kh5 Kxf3 57.Kg6 Ke4 58.Kh5 Nc4 -+ -132.70 (45 ply)0-1

rnbqkbnr/pppppppp/8/8/8/8/PPPPPPPP/RNBQKBNR w KQkq - 0 1
FEN COPIED

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Kibitzer's Corner
< Earlier Kibitzing  · PAGE 2 OF 2 ·  Later Kibitzing>
Nov-03-04
Premium Chessgames Member
  IMlday: A good effort by Ivkov, but Fischer was handicapped by playing from NY by telex since Cuba travel was embargoed. F's games took about 2 hours extra for transmission time. In a 'gumby' error Fischer playing Black went 1.d4 Nf6 and White (Ciocaltea?) played 2.e5, Fischer's first Alekhine's Defence. Lots of propaganda value in Cuba's bid for the 1966 Olympiad.
Dec-12-04  tacticsjokerxxx: what do you mean fischer played 1.d4-Nf6 2.e4 transposing to the alekhine defense, in that line black plays -Nxe4??.
Mar-15-05
Premium Chessgames Member
  keypusher: <tactics> he means that Ciocaltea played 1 e4 and it was mistransmitted to Fischer as 1 d4.
Mar-20-05
Premium Chessgames Member
  keypusher: It seems that Fischer underwent something of a "Spanish crisis" in this tournament -- Kholmov and Ivkov beat him in the main lines, while Wade and O'Kelly held him to draws with the Marshall. The next year at Havana Fischer trotted out the exchange variation.
Dec-19-05
Premium Chessgames Member
  Sneaky: 16. Qg4! (instead of 16.Nxe7?) Kh8 17.h4! threatening h5 followed by Nf3-h4 is in White's favor: e.g., 17...g6 18.Nh6 Rg7 19.Qf3 etc. -- Fischer
Mar-08-06  vizir: Sneaky
16. Qg4 Kh8 17. h4 g6 18. Nh6

Bxg4

;-)

Mar-08-06  sneaky pete: 16.Qg4 Kh8 17.h4 g6 18.Nh6 Bxg4? 19.Nxf7+ K moves 20.Nxd8 .. winning.
Oct-04-08  drukenknight: More Havana: Ivkov was a really good player at this pt. but I guess he fell apart a year or so later. This game resembles the Holmov game as white allows open files on the K side and blacks R is much more active. OConnel and Wade give 33 Kf1 as the losing move but what is the pt. of 34 g4 he should be defending the f pawn..

Does 34 b4 equal?

Fischer's fantasy line mentioned above is pure imagination.

Nov-16-08
Premium Chessgames Member
  Fusilli: <Knezh: ... I think the most instructive move in the game is 20. .. Na4> I agree. Very instructive for those of us who play the closed Spanish with black. White has to trade so as not to get tied up. Then you have to be skillful handling the black knights, but having played many closed Spanish with black, I definitely see the appeal of killing that damned bishop, even at the cost of pawn structure.
May-06-09
Premium Chessgames Member
  ajk68: Should Fischer have been centralizing his King on move 34?
Jul-08-09  Ulhumbrus: According to Reti a sense of enjoyment is essential for success. Ivkov may have enjoyed himself acquiring ragged looking pawns after after 20...Na4 21 Bxa4 bxa4, the pawns nevertheless fixing White's Queen side like little clamps, and so getting the better of White's position.

36 exf5 frees Black's e pawn for 36...e4 supporting the d3 pawn. Is it necessary? 36 f3 supports the e4 pawn and prepares to bring White's King into the game. Perhaps Ivkov intended in that event to get his own King into play on e6, supporting his e pawn and so freeing his N for the manoeuvre ...Nc6-a5-c4

Jul-08-09  kurtrichards: Fischer's king was trapped and Ivkov's knight will just take all white pawns with ease.
Jan-05-11  shonetu: Ivkov is Serbian chess player, no Russian!!!
Oct-01-12  RookFile: An excellent game.
Dec-31-13  dunamisvpm: In that year 1965, in my opinion, we can rate this as good game for black. But I the database, this system still favors white, 38% ot the time! compared with black 20% of the time. Happy new year! GOD bless.
Dec-31-13  dunamisvpm: But in the database I mean.
Nov-28-15
Premium Chessgames Member
  perfidious: <drukenknight: More Havana: Ivkov was a really good player at this pt. but I guess he fell apart a year or so later....>

When did Ivkov 'fall apart', and how?

Nov-29-15
Premium Chessgames Member
  beatgiant: <perfidious>
Maybe it seemed that way to <drukenknight> because Ivkov finished near the bottom of the star-studded field in Santa Monica 1966. In fact Ivkov was probably among the top 20 players in both years.
Nov-29-15
Premium Chessgames Member
  perfidious: <beatgiant> Not to mention that Ivkov had qualified as a candidate from Amsterdam the year before this game was played.

Someone had to finish as a tail-ender; no less than the reigning world champion fared no better than breaking even at the Second Piatigorsky Cup.

Nov-29-15  Pulo y Gata: Beautiful play by Ivkov.
May-15-22  Ulhumbrus: 16 Nxe7+ moves the knight a fourth time to exchange it for a bishop moved once, making a loss of three tempi. Can Black make this count? One thing that happens later is that Ivkov is the first to seize the d file and after that an invasion along it by ...Rd3 induces White to take the rook and so to improve Black's pawn structure. In his book <My 60 memorable games> as <Sneaky> has indicated Fischer gives the improvement 16 Qg4.
May-15-22
Premium Chessgames Member
  harrylime: Ivkov was Bobby's <Meat> .. to coin a phrase from Capablanca
May-15-22
Premium Chessgames Member
  harrylime:

Ivkov was a lovely man and a great chess player ...He loved and respected Bobby big time and the respect and feelings were mutual.

May-15-22  Granny O Doul: "Borrow" a phrase, not "coin". A phrase can only be coined once.
May-15-22
Premium Chessgames Member
  harrylime: <<Granny O Doul: "Borrow" a phrase, not "coin". A phrase can only be coined once.>>

Subscribe to this site and I'd take ya more seriously.

Other wise ...

Fook off .

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