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Boris Alterman vs Deep Fritz (Computer)
"The Alterman Wall" (game of the day Mar-28-2008)
KC Human-Machine (2000), KasparovChess INT, rd 9, Nov-15
Bird Opening: Dutch Variation (A03)  ·  1-0

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 7s/ply)better is 7...c5 8.Ne5 Ne4 9.Nxe4 Bxe4 10.O-O Nd7 11.Nd3 Rc8 = -0.35 (24 ply)= +0.40 (25 ply)better is 8...h6 9.O-O Nbd7 10.b4 h5 11.Bb2 a5 12.b5 Nb6 13.Ng5 = 0.00 (26 ply) ⩲ +0.67 (28 ply) 14.Ngxe4 dxe4 15.Nxe4 Nc7 16.a4 Qh4 17.Qf1 Qd8 18.g5 Qd5 ⩲ +1.36 (26 ply) 14...Nc7 15.Ngxe4 dxe4 16.Nxe4 a5 17.bxa5 Rxa5 18.a4 f5 = +0.35 (29 ply)better is 15.Ngxe4 dxe4 16.g5 Rad8 17.a4 Nc7 18.c4 f5 19.gxf6 Qxf6 ⩲ +1.26 (24 ply)better is 15...h6 16.Nxf7 Rxf7 17.Nf2 g5 18.Nd3 Nc7 19.Qc2 gxf4 ⩲ +0.54 (26 ply) ⩲ +1.20 (26 ply)better is 16...f5 17.Ng5 Nc7 18.Qb3 b5 19.a4 Kh8 20.axb5 cxb5 ⩲ +0.82 (24 ply) ± +1.52 (27 ply) 17...b6 18.g5 Qb7 19.Kf3 Nc7 20.h4 Ne8 21.h5 gxh5 22.c4 ⩲ +1.08 (26 ply)better is 18.g5 Qxh3 19.Nf2 Qf5 20.a4 f6 21.b5 cxb5 22.axb5 Nc7 ± +2.00 (27 ply)better is 18...Nc7 19.Ng5 Ne8 20.Rag1 Nd6 21.Nf3 Qe7 22.h4 a5 ⩲ +1.39 (25 ply) ± +1.89 (27 ply) after 19.a4 Nc7 20.c4 b5 21.axb5 cxb5 22.c5 Nd5 23.Rag1 h6 better is 19...h6 20.c4 b5 21.c5 Nc7 22.Nd6 Rf8 23.e4 Ra8 24.Bc3 ± +1.54 (27 ply) ± +2.17 (24 ply) after 20.c4 Nc7 21.a4 f5 22.Ng5 b5 23.axb5 cxb5 24.c5 Nd5 29...Rd8 30.Kf2 Nc8 31.Rd1 Rfd7 32.b5 Bf8 33.Bd2 Re8 ± +2.42 (26 ply)better is 30.Rd1 Red8 31.Kf2 Bf8 32.a5 Nc8 33.b5 Ne7 34.bxc6 bxc6 +- +3.55 (26 ply) 30...Nc8 31.b5 Ne7 32.Bd2 Bf8 33.Bb4 Nc8 34.Ba5 Ne7 ± +2.31 (25 ply)+- +3.58 (26 ply) after 31.b5 Nc8 32.bxc6 bxc6 33.Rb1 Ne7 34.Qb4 Bf8 35.Qa5 c5 31...Kh8 32.b5 Nc8 33.Rhg1 Ne7 34.Bc1 Kg8 35.Ba3 Bf8 +- +2.70 (25 ply)+- +6.99 (26 ply) after 32.d5 Nc7 33.d6 Bxe5 34.fxe5 Ne8 35.Bxa7 Ng7 36.Bb6 Re8 better is 53.Nd6 Rc7 54.Ra8 Kd7 55.Ne8 Rc8 56.Nf6+ Kd8 57.Ra6 Nxe3 +- +3.83 (28 ply) 53...c5 54.Ba3 Rc7 55.Rb1 Kf7 56.dxc5 bxc5 57.Nd6+ Ke7 ± +2.40 (27 ply)better is 54.Nxb6 Nc2 55.Nxd7 Nxa1 56.Nb8 Nb3 57.Be3 Na5 58.Bd2 +- +4.21 (30 ply) 54...c5 55.dxc5 bxc5 56.Bb2 Rd8 57.Ra7+ Rd7 58.Ra8 Rd8 ± +2.06 (31 ply)+- +2.86 (29 ply) after 55.Ra6 Nxd4+ 56.Kf2 c5 57.Rxb6 Rc7 58.Ba3 Nc2 59.Nb5 Rc8 59...c5 60.dxc5 bxc5 61.Nb7+ Ke7 62.Bc3 Na3 63.Nxc5 Nb5 +- +2.91 (37 ply)+- +4.39 (33 ply)better is 65.Nh8+ Kg7 66.Kf2 Kxh8 67.Kxg2 Kg7 68.Kf3 Kf7 69.Kf4 +- +4.52 (37 ply)+- +10.96 (32 ply)+- mate-in-24 after 78...Kf7 79.Bb4 Kg6 80.Bd2 b4 81.Bxb4 Kh6 82.Bd687...Kg6 88.e6 Kf6 89.e7 Kf5 90.Kxc6 Ke6 91.e8=Q+ Kf5 +- mate-in-111-0

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

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Given 4 times; par: 193 [what's this?]

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

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Kibitzer's Corner
< Earlier Kibitzing  · PAGE 4 OF 4 ·  Later Kibitzing>
Jan-29-09  WhiteRook48: how frustrating for Deep Fritz!
Jan-31-09  WhiteRook48: I don't want to set a record, but why 39...Bxb6? it just seems pointless
Feb-04-09  WhiteRook48: this was one of the only games in which a human won
Mar-29-10  gauer: A wall of 6 ♙s on the 4th rank occurs as early as Cochrane vs Mohishunder, 1855.
Oct-01-10  eightbyeight: Whiterook48's wall of short postings is longer than this wall.
Feb-16-11
Premium Chessgames Member
  Domdaniel: 11.Kxe2 is beautiful. It stops the Bishop escaping via c2, and leads to the win of a key central pawn. The computer may have calculated that White's loss of castling rights was adequate compensation, but the King turns out to be safe.

Alterman then plays to snuff out counterplay. As ...f5 is impossible due to Nxe6, he simply leaves the Bishop on e4 until he has to take it, getting in useful prophylactic moves such as b4.

Later we see the same idea repeated: clamp down, create a weakness, extract a concession ... but don't actually cash it in until you've choked the counterplay. Exquis.

Nimzo put it better: Restrain, Blockade, Destroy.

Jan-08-12  King Death: The position after 26.e4 must be unique. The hypermoderns would have approved.
Jan-08-12
Premium Chessgames Member
  FSR: I thought of S Mariotti vs Gligoric, 1969, but Mariotti only attacked with six pawns in that game. I once saw a game between Bernard Parham and Allen Kornfeld where Kornfeld advanced all his pawns to the fourth rank by move 15 or so. His pawns looked pretty imposing, but he lost.
Jan-08-12
Premium Chessgames Member
  Penguincw: < Jan-24-09 WhiteRook48: 26. e4!! is a sign of great superiority >

I agree. Sometimes when I play chess, my opponent likes to built a wall on their 3rd rank. I sometimes do so on my 4th rank. I always break through though (they make blunders).

Jul-06-12  KnightPusher: Hah, I love it. He punked that computer. Still, he might've been sweating after his wall was broken up, after all if he'd gone to all this beautiful trouble and lost it would be a reverse-punking.
Jun-30-13  hudapri: Always very interesting to see where the Achilles heel is. That way of winning the pawn is somehow beyond the machine (although this is from 2000). Great game, and great formation on move 26. Go humans!
Aug-06-13
Premium Chessgames Member
  GrahamClayton: Here is another wall that I have just come across - A Martin- BO Donahue, Blackpool 1978, after 14. h3:


click for larger view

http://streathambrixtonchess.blogsp...

Jan-22-14  davide2013: It is very interesting to listen GM Alterman commenting this game, because he gives a clear explanation of his ideas behind most moves, and they are based on sound positional principles. It is also great to see how GM Alterman navigates through the middlegame using timeless principles of avoiding the opponent to have counterplay, How he weakens Black's position, and traps the enemy pieces.
Mar-18-14  Cemoblanca: 26.e4!! Wowzy! Wonderful game on both flanks.
Mar-18-14  Cemoblanca: I liked also the moves 38.Qc4!/39.Nd2! & 41.Qe2! Anticipated 38...Bd8/39...Bxb6/40...Nxb6 & without the ladys on the board it was certainly easier for White to win this 1. I really enjoyed the whole concept of White. A strategical masterpiece.
Aug-23-14  Mudphudder: I think this is a good game example of how computers can be weaker than humans in evaluations of closed positions.
Aug-23-14
Premium Chessgames Member
  OhioChessFan: The top computers of today would crush the Fritz of 2000. Still a great game.
Nov-11-14  engineerX: Strange decision by Alterman to exchange Black's Queen which was trapped on h5 on move 41. Though of course he was already a piece up.
Nov-30-15
Premium Chessgames Member
  Domdaniel: Around move 20, I think White starts to see the possibility of having all 8 pawns abreast on the 4th rank. This isn't a plan in any real sense - nobody sets out from the start to do such a thing. But when the possibility comes in sight, it becomes an aesthetic option as much as a practical one.

Very occasionally, imaginative players like Tal allow aesthetic possibilities to trump pragmatic choices.

Here, Fritz suggests 20.a4 -- but 20.Nd2!, clearing a path for the e-pawn, is the aesthetic choice.

Nov-30-15
Premium Chessgames Member
  Domdaniel: Black's 25...Nb6 seems designed to encourage White to push the 8th pawn. If Black was human, I'd assume this was a psychological ploy -- "Go on, you can't resist having all 8 pawns abreast, can you?".

But Black is an engine. And they don't 'think' like that -- uh, do they?

Feb-02-19  Albanius: 26 e4 threatening f5 was played to exploit the position of the B Q, already intended by W's 23rd move according to Alterman's notes. http://www.balterman.freeservers.co...

He says he didn't even notice the wall at the time.

Feb-02-19  scholes: After white 35 move almost all black pieces were trapped. And since black knight was trapped on open file, it was going to fall soon after white piled queen and rook on a file.
Sep-12-22  Saniyat24: I heard that pawn-pushing moves used to mess up the engines back then...!
Jan-29-23
Premium Chessgames Member
  Korora: <1. f4 is an interesting way to open> I suppose you could call it... fowl play.
Jul-07-23  generror: THAT'S how you play a Stonewall, folks. I can't believe this was actually played, and even less that the guy actually won with it. Try that against Stockfish today :D
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