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Lajos Portisch vs Vasily Smyslov
Amsterdam Interzonal (1964), Amsterdam NED, rd 8, May-29
Queen's Indian Defense: Fianchetto. Nimzowitsch Variation Nimzowitsch Attack (E15)  ·  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)better is 6...d5 7.cxd5 exd5 8.Bg5 Be7 9.Bg2 Bb7 10.O-O O-O = +0.20 (25 ply)better is 7.e4 d6 8.Qc2 h6 9.b3 O-O 10.Be2 c5 11.d5 exd5 12.exd5 ⩲ +0.82 (23 ply)= +0.11 (22 ply) 9...b5 10.cxb5 cxb5 11.Nxb5 Qe8 12.Nc3 Qxa4 13.Nxa4 = +0.22 (25 ply) ⩲ +1.01 (21 ply)better is 12...Rd8 13.Qc2 h6 14.Qe2 Re8 15.e5 dxe5 16.dxe5 Nh7 ⩲ +0.60 (20 ply)better is 13.Be3 Nhf6 14.Bh3 Qb8 15.d5 b5 16.Qa3 c5 17.cxb5 exd5 ⩲ +1.10 (20 ply)= +0.50 (24 ply)better is 15.Nf3 Qc7 16.Qc2 c5 17.d5 exd5 18.exd5 Rae8 19.Nh4 g6 ⩲ +0.78 (22 ply)= +0.25 (23 ply)better is 22...Rae8 23.Qf3 b5 24.b3 Qb6 25.fxe5 Nxe5 26.Qf4 Ned7 = -0.44 (22 ply)= +0.14 (25 ply) after 23.fxe5 Nxe5 24.Nf3 Rfe8 25.Re1 Nxf3+ 26.Bxf3 Rxe1+ better is 24.fxe5 Nxe5 25.Re1 Nxd3 26.Qxd3 Rxe1+ 27.Rxe1 Re8 = +0.12 (26 ply)= -0.42 (24 ply) 32.Rxe7 Rxe7 33.Nd3 Rxe1+ 34.Qxe1 Qb8 35.Qd1 Qe8 36.Qd2 = 0.00 (31 ply) ⩱ -0.83 (24 ply)better is 35.Bxd7 Nxd7 36.Qd3 g6 37.d6 Kg7 38.Kg2 Qb2 39.Kf2 Ne5 = -0.30 (26 ply) ⩱ -0.99 (23 ply)better is 38...Qd1 39.Nc1 a5 40.Nb3 a4 41.Nxc5 Nf3+ 42.Kf2 Nd2 ⩱ -0.78 (25 ply) 39.Nc1 Qe4 40.Nb3 h5 41.Kf2 h4 42.Nd2 Nf6 43.Kg1 Qe1 = -0.17 (26 ply) ⩱ -1.42 (22 ply) 40.Ng2 Nf3+ 41.Kf2 Ng5 42.g4 Qb1 43.Qe3 Ne4+ 44.Kg1 Ne5 ⩱ -1.15 (21 ply) ∓ -1.97 (24 ply) 42.Bg2 Qd4+ 43.Qxd4 cxd4 44.g4 fxg4 45.Ng3 Nxc4 46.Nf5 ∓ -1.63 (24 ply) ∓ -2.49 (25 ply) 43.Qe3 Kf7 44.Be2 Qxe3+ 45.Kxe3 Nb6 46.Kd2 Nexc4+ 47.Kc3 ∓ -2.25 (26 ply)-+ -7.02 (27 ply) after 43...g4 44.Qa2 gxh3+ 45.Kxh3 Qg4+ 46.Kg2 Qf3+ 47.Kg1 44...g4 45.Nf6+ Kg7 46.Nh5+ Kf8 47.Bg2 gxh3 48.Bxh3 Qe2 -+ -6.17 (25 ply)-+ -3.33 (24 ply) after 45.g4 fxg4 46.hxg4 Qd4+ 47.Kg2 Qe4+ 48.Kg1 Qxg4+ 49.Ng3 46...Kg6 47.Nf4+ gxf4 48.gxf4 Nf7 49.Qf3 Nd6 50.Qf2 Qc3 -+ -5.44 (24 ply)-+ -3.33 (24 ply) after 47.g4 fxg4 48.hxg4 Qd4+ 49.Kg2 Qe4+ 50.Kg1 Qxg4+ 51.Ng3 47...Qe1+ 48.Kh2 Qe2 49.Qb1 Qxh5 50.Qxf5+ Kg7 51.Qe4 Qg6 -+ -4.64 (24 ply)-+ -2.85 (25 ply) 48...fxg4 49.Ng3 Qxc4 50.Qxc4 Nxc4 51.Nf5 gxh3 52.Nxh6+ -+ -3.06 (24 ply) 49.d6 f3 50.Bf1 Qe4 51.Kf2 Ke6 52.Ng3 Qf4 53.Qb7 Qd4+ ⩱ -1.26 (26 ply)-+ -2.71 (25 ply) 51.Qxd3 Nxd3 52.d6 Nb6 53.d7 Nxd7 54.Bd5+ Ke7 55.Ng7 Kf6 ∓ -2.43 (26 ply)-+ -7.06 (24 ply) after 51...f3 52.d6 fxg2 53.Kxg2 Qe2+ 54.Kg3 Qxc4 55.Qb1 Qc3+ 57...Ke7 58.Qc1 Nd3 59.Qb1 Ne1 60.Qe4+ Kd8 61.Ng3 Qxg3 -+ -5.15 (25 ply) 58.d6 Kf8 59.Qa1 a5 60.a4 Qd2 61.Ng3 Qxd6 62.Qe1 Qa6 ⩱ -0.86 (26 ply) 58...Kf7 59.d6 Ke6 60.Qd1 Qd4 61.Qe1 Kxd6 62.Ng3 Kc7 ∓ -1.75 (28 ply) ⩱ -0.97 (28 ply) 61.Qb1 Kf8 62.Qa1 Kg8 63.Qd1 Nf7 64.Qa1 Qd4 65.Qe1 Qxd6 ⩱ -0.73 (27 ply) 61...Kf8 62.Nh5 Nxc4 63.Qd3 Nce5 64.Qf5+ Nf7 65.Qd3 Nb6 ∓ -2.15 (28 ply)-+ -3.36 (25 ply) after 62.Qa1 Nb6 63.Qb1 Nc8 64.Ne6+ Kd7 65.Nf8+ Kxd6 66.Qb8+ 66.Ne6+ Kc8 67.Qb7+ Kxb7 68.Bg2+ Ka7 69.Nf4 gxf4 70.g5 -+ mate-in-60-1

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

Annotations by Stockfish (Computer).      [35437 more games annotated by Stockfish]

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Kibitzer's Corner
< Earlier Kibitzing  · PAGE 3 OF 3 ·  Later Kibitzing>
Mar-31-10  mworld: i grabbed at Nxc4 and missed the Mate in 10 Nxg4.
Mar-31-10  kevin86: I saw the whole thing-except I didn't see that the final position was inescapable mate. I thought the solution had to do with promoting the pawn.
Mar-31-10
Premium Chessgames Member
  Jimfromprovidence: Earlier, I liked 52 Qd4+ before playing f3.


click for larger view

If 53 Kh2, then 53...f3 wins a piece.

If 53 Kh1, then 53...Qd1+ 54 Kh2 f3.

Mar-31-10  VincentL: In this "medium" position, the move that pops out at me straight away is 62....Nxg4.

Does it work? Let's see.

Firstly white has mating threats, but nothing immediate, due to black's knight on d7.

So, 62.....Nxg4.

If 63. hxg4 then 63.....Qh4+ 64. Kg1 Qg3+ 65. Kh1 f2. Now the only way to avoid Qg1 mate is to move the bishop. But Bd2/Be3 allows Qh3 mate. If Bg2, black plays Qh4+ and now the white king cannot move to g2. So white only has Bh3 whereupon Qxh3 is mate.

Other white responses on move 63 fail immediately.

63. Bg2 Qxg2 mate. 63. Any other move (apart from the spite check Qb8+). Qh2 mate.

Time to check.

Mar-31-10  VincentL: <Re SRILANKANMASTER>Has anyone ever seen any actual analysis on here from this kibitzer?
Mar-31-10  awfulhangover: Must be my lucky day. I at once saw the whole finish up to 65.-f2. But, it's only wednesday ..
Mar-31-10  Samagonka: I had considered 62Nxg4 but I could'nt really work out the following moves up to mate so I discarded it. Another lesson and I never seem to stop learning...
Mar-31-10  jfshade: Another elegant endgame from the master; the solution was a bit quicker to see than yesterday's, for me. I can't recommend "Smyslov's 125 Selected Games" highly enough. He was a brilliant annotator.
Mar-31-10  Eduardo Leon: Were the h3 pawn not there, ...♕h4+ would end the game. Thus, black forces the removal of the h3 pawn from its place with...

<62...♘xg4 63.hxg4>

The spite check 63.♘e6+ only delays the game one move.

<63...♕h4+ 64.♔g1>

Of course, not 64.♗h3 ♕xh3+ 65.♔g1 ♕g2#.

<64...♕g3+ 65.♔h1 f2 66.♗g2>

The only move to guard both g1 and h3.

<66...♕h4+ 67.♗h3 ♕xh3#>

Mar-31-10  turbo231: Doesn't anyone want to talk about yesterday's puzzle, since EVERY ONE GOT IT WRONG.......
Mar-31-10  turbo231: Fruit 2.3.1 is a free engine.
Mar-31-10  mworld: <Eduardo Leon: Were the h3 pawn not there, ...h4+ would end the game. Thus, black forces the removal of the h3 pawn from its place with... <62...xg4 63.hxg4>

The spite check 63.e6+ only delays the game one move. >

you might want to go recalculate that...it delays it by a lot more moves than that. Superfluous for sure, but good to be able to see these things.

for instance: 66.Ne6+ Kc8 67.Qb7+ Kxb7 68.Bg2+ Kb6 69.Nf4 gxf4 70.a4 Qh4+ 71.Bh3 Qxh3#

Mar-31-10  wals: I was thinking Qg3, f2, Qg1#, but overlooked Qb7, Qc7#

Qb1 was a blunder,( Nxg4 #10.)
Either Nf5 or Qa1 -2.58, was better.
(Rybka 3 1-cpu: 3071mb hash: depth 16)

Mar-31-10  Once: <turbo231: Doesn't anyone want to talk about yesterday's puzzle, since EVERY ONE GOT IT WRONG.......>

I posted a reply to this on yesterday's puzzle page...

Mar-31-10  turbo231:

< Once >

I apologize, I set my board up wrong. I put a bishop at h2 instead of a pawn. I must be going crazy, I'll take that back I'm already crazy. I worked on that puzzle for 20 hours! I'll quietly leave now with my tail tucked in between my legs.

Mar-31-10  Once: <turbo231> No worries - it's very easily done! I've done it many times before.

One thing that might help. I used to set up positions "by hand" for analysis in Fritz. And I found that I kept on making mistakes. Little things like misplacing a pawn, but they sometimes made a lot of difference to the analysis.

A better way is to use cut and paste. Two ways to do this - right click on the position and then "copy position" or right click on the game score and click on "copy game". Then go to Fritz (or whatever engine you use) and click on "paste game" or "paste position". That way you get an exact copy of the position, and a heck of a lot faster than setting it up a piece at a time.

Mar-31-10  turbo231: < Once >

Thank you for your help. I happen to be using Arena 1.1 will that cut and paste work on Arena? I tried it but I must be doing something wrong because I can't get it to work. I right clicked on the chessgames board and selected copy position then went to my Arena board. Were can I find "paste position" on my arena board. I'm a older guy so I'm not that good with computers.

Mar-31-10  Once: <turbo231> Don't know Arena, I'm afraid. Holding control and V often pastes ... might be worth a try,
Mar-31-10  johnlspouge: < <turbo231> wrote: I happen to be using Arena 1.1 will that cut and paste work on Arena? I tried it but I must be doing something wrong because I can't get it to work. >

Hi, <turbo231>.

Pull down the Position Menu. Select Menu->Position->(Copy FEN to Clipboard). With the FEN for Arena's position in the Clipboard, you can paste it anywhere you want.

Mar-31-10  johnlspouge: Wednesday (Medium/Easy)

Portisch vs Smyslov, 1964 (62…?)

Black to play and win.

Material: N for B. The White Kh1 is stalemated. The White Bf1 has the absolute burden of preventing 62…Qg2#, because of the advanced passer Pf3, which Bf1 also blockades. Thus, the White Qb1 has the burden of defending Bf1. The White Ng7 is loose. The Black Nd7 prevents 63.Qb8+. (The configuration Kd8+Nd7 of adjacent squares is generally the strongest defensive position for K+N against Q). The Black Kd8 is also vulnerable to 63.Ne6+.

Candidates (62…): Nxg4, Nxc4

I went for 62…Nxc4, which Toga evaluates at -1.8 P for White, but I missed

62…Nxc4 63.Ne6+ Kc8 64.<Qd3>

which seems the only move to initiate a viable counterattack. Although I initially analyzed as far as

62…Nxg4 63.hxg4 Qh4+ 64.Kg1

I went for 64…<Qxg4+>, which seemed (and is) relatively indecisive, compared to 64…Qg3+.

Mar-31-10  turbo231: How can I transfer a position on a chessgames board to a arena board using "copy position (EPD)"
Mar-31-10  turbo231: I got it! ( on the sixth try )
Mar-31-10  Skylark: Nxg4 is a rather simple move to find - perhaps even easier at the board than in a puzzle mode, because the safety net of perpetual is always there. It took me a little while to see f2 though; I was a little disappointed in how long it took me to visualise this move (it seems like the obvious conclusion to the knight sacrifice). But overall I'm happy having solved it. Part of my problem at the board and what I want to cure with these problems is my economy of time at the board, and in that I think I failed though.
Sep-06-10  jerseybob: I love the way Smyslov plays the opening and early middle game, and I bet Nimzo would love it too. Portisch can't do a thing against Black's central pawn shield in the opening, then with 20..e5 Smyslov entices white into grabbing the "advantage" of a passed pawn, which turns out to be an energy-consuming weakness, easily blockaded.
Apr-01-14  zydeco: In several games in this tournament, knights beat bishops in the endgame.

Maybe 41.Ng2 is an improvement (the knight would stand well if it go to e3). Black can think about pushing 41....g4 to take the f3 square.

Very pretty king walk from 57....Kg8 to 61.....Kd8 -- with the point that, before the king gets to d8, ....Nxg4 never works because white's queen and knight form a mating net.

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