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Joel Lautier vs Boris Gelfand
FIDE World Championship Knockout Tournament (1999) (rapid), Las Vegas, NV USA, rd 3, Aug-08
Russian Game: Modern Attack. Center Variation (C43)  ·  0-1

ANALYSIS [x]

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sac: 20...Nxh3+ PGN: download | view | print Help: general | java-troubleshooting

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Kibitzer's Corner
< Earlier Kibitzing  · PAGE 2 OF 2 ·  Later Kibitzing>
May-03-12  sevenseaman: Looks <M. Hassan>' line is same as mine.

Though I do prefer brilliancies while defending, any bets Gelfand comes out as White tomorrow?

May-03-12  lost in space: Not than complicated.

20...Nxh3+ and thats it, as <whiteshark> tend to say.

Saw in the meantime that all the lines are already analyzed in depth, so I don'nt need to repeat them here.

May-03-12  DrWeevil: I had Bxd5 after 22.Re1: I don't think it's quite as good as the game line, but white is still hopelessly lost, unless I've missed something!
May-03-12  morfishine: After <20...Nxh3+ 21.gxh3 Qxh3> I don't see an adequate defense for White.

(A) 22.f4 Qxe3+ (others prefer 22...Qg3+) or

(B) 22.Re1 Bh2+ 23.Kh1 Bxd5+

I like the coordination between Black Queen and Bishops; reminds me of Van Wely vs Acs a couple of weeks ago

May-03-12  gofer: <20 ... Nxh3+>

21 Kh1+ Ng5+ 22 Kg1 Qh2#

<21 gxh3 Qxh3>

Black threatens Qh2#. Bf4 doesn't help, so black must advance the pawn.

<21 f4 Qg3+>
<23 Kh1 Bxd5+>
<24 Rf6 Bxf6+>
<25 Qxf6 Qxf6+>
<26 Kh2 Qxe6>
<27 Bf1 Bxf4+>
<28 Kh1 Qg3>
<29 any Qh2#>

~~~

Missed <21 Re1>, pity!

May-03-12  mikmik777: Black to play
Lautier vs Gelfand
"Medium"

20. ...Nxh3+
21gxh3 Qxh3
22.Re1 Bh2+

(22.f4 Qg3+ 23.Kh1 Bxd5+ and Black has decisive material advantage)

23.Kh1 Bxd5+
24.f3 Bxf3+

Black won a queen for 2 minor pieces.

Let's see...

24. ...Bf4+ was a better move.. I missed that..

May-03-12  moodini: I went for 20. .. Nxh3 21. gxh3 Bxd5 and I can't see a good defence for white.

However nobody else mentioned this, so I wonder if I missed something obvious that white can do to repel the attack? I don't have an engine here so cannot check. Any ideas?

May-03-12  CHESSTTCAMPS: White is a pawn up, but lags in development Black has developed a dangerous attack against a castled position that is not directly defended by any pieces. Black's continuation is straightforward: ignore the dxc6 threat and strip black's pawn shelter, gaining a tempo with the mate threat.

20... Nxh3+! 21.gxh3 (otherwise 21... Nxf2+) Qxh3 and white must drop decisive material to stop mate:

A) 22.f4 Qg3+ 23.Kh1 Bxd5+ 24.Rf3 Bxf3+ wins the Q.

B) 22.Re1 Bh2+ 23.Kh1 Bxd5+ 24.f3 Bd6+! (better than 24... Bxf3+ 25.Qxf3+ Qxf3+ 26.Kxh2 Rfe1 27.Nd2 which costs black an additional minor piece) 25.Kg1 Bxf3 26.Qxf3 (other Q moves allow 26...Qh1+ 27.Kf2 Qg2#) Qxf3 with a winning material advantage (Q+3pawns for two minor pieces.)

Time for review....

May-03-12  Memethecat: 20...Nxh3+

21gxh3 (21Kh1 Ng5+ 22Kg1 Qh2#) Qxh3

22f4 (22Re1 Bh2+ 23Kh1 Bxd5+ 24f3 Bg3+ 25Kg1 Qh2+ 26Kf1 Qh1+ 27Bg1 Bxf3 28Qe2 Qh3+ 29Qg2 Qxg2#) Qg3+

23Kh1 Bxd5+ 24Rf3 Bxf3+ 25Qxf3 Qxf3+ wins easily.

Stupid amount of work for a Thursday. I don't hold out much hope for Fri & Sat at this rate.

May-03-12  gofer: <moodini:>: <Crafty EGT> find a good reason why not to play 21 ... Bxd5 too soon.

http://www.chessvideos.tv/endgame-t...

May-03-12  TheTamale: Well, I got the basic idea, which is better than I usually do on a Thursday puzzle.
May-03-12  whiteshark: It seems that all of this week's puzzles are one day to easy.

Possibly an anomaly in the chessgames.com space-time continuum.

http://www.cartoonstock.com/lowres/...

And for the sake of completeness, well, --> <lost in space> already said it. :D

May-03-12  kevin86: Black threatens mate...and the queen. White strikes his colors.
May-03-12  goldenbear: This puzzle is easy because this is the kind of position that happens quite often. For a person who just learned chess, this might actually be a "Thursday" puzzle.
May-03-12
Premium Chessgames Member
  chrisowen: Dingdonged all the way to the bank rob the 20...Nxh3+ and rest falls

into place.

Kingsiding him knight in gives too lines i found just thinking

21.gxh3 qxh3 22.re1 bh2+ 23.kh1 bxd5+

21.gxh3 qxh3 22.f4 qg3+ 23.kh1 bxd5+

Both finger in helluva hip trendy it zip clinch free in damnation 10.qh5

leads nowhere for Joel so have devious in do it hope in bishops aid for

Boris is qd1 finish open altogether it goofed in bxd5 to stop in e3.

May-03-12  eatingcake: I think that a puzzle is not necessarily easy just because the initial motif is a common one. The variations here aren't completely trivial and if someone automatically played moves like ...Nxh3, they'd lose a lot of games!
May-03-12  mworld: i'd automatically play nxh3 with this setup from the looks alone...the worst that could happen is a draw.
May-03-12  dragon player: Today several moves come up to my mind. Black would like to mate white, but therefore the c6-bishop has to be activated. But maybe other combinations also work:

20...Nxh3
21.gxh3 Qxh3
22.Re1 Bxd5

and mate in a few moves seems unevitable.

Time to check.

-------------

Gelfand chose another move, but I don't think this will make a big difference.

4/4

May-03-12  sorokahdeen: @Eatingcake
The position in question is common, but more importantly, it is *known.* The attack with the queen and the dark-squared bishop is known to produce at least perpetual check when a piece protects the F2 pawn at a distance. With a bishop protecting the f2 pawn at e3, moving the f2 pawn to f4 to block the action of black's dark-squared bishop leaves the bishop at e3 en prise.

Playing nxh3 "by reflex" might be a statement too far, but the pattern is there and, with white having used multiple queen moves to finally "undevelop" the queen by putting it back on d1, there aren't enough white pieces near the king to provide a defense.

Looks like it just works and it certainly worked for Gelfand.

May-03-12  Patriot: White's a pawn up.

White threatens 21.dxc6.

The obvious try is 20...Nxh3+.

21.Kh2/Kh1 Nxf2+ 22.Kg1 Bh2#

21.gxh3 Qxh3 22.f4 Qg3+ 23.Kh1 Bxd5+ 24.Rf3 Bxf3+

21.gxh3 Qxh3 22.Re1 Bxd5 (23.Kf1 Bf3 ) 23.f3 Bxf3

May-03-12  Zatrikion: Found a slightly different winning line:

20…Nxh3+
21.gxh3 Qxh3
22.Re1 Bh2+
23.Kh1 Bxd5+
24.f3 Bg3+
25.Kg1 Qh2+
26.Kf1 Be6 0-1 (mate cannot be avoided)

In case white plays 22.f4 then (22…Qg3+ 23.Kh1 Bxd5+) and white loses almost all of his army.

May-03-12  Patriot: Hmm...I made some illegal moves.
May-03-12  Jambow: Pretty straight forward if you ask me, the fact that material to start a mating attack was at hand and the knight can + the white king or be taken should get the gears turning. After that all roads lead to perdition for white.
May-03-12  stst: Actually easier than yesterday -
20..... Nxh3+

IF (A): 21.gxh3 Qxh3 ===> No rescue, except 22.Bf4 to delay mate, but Bxf4 leaves White the same lurch. Qh2# is next whatever White's move.

IF (B): 21.Kh1 Nxf2 dbl+; 22.Kg1 Bh2#
Essentially White K is trapped by its own pieces, and all other pieces stood around giving no helping hand at all, including the P@d5 (xB?, uesless.)

May-06-12  David2009: Lautier vs Gelfand, 1999 Black 20...? Insane

Much less insane than normal - unless I have missed something 20...Nxh3+ picks up three Pawns for a piece in the main variation 20...Nxh3+ 21.gxh3 Qxh3 22.Re1 (to prevent mate on h2, surely? - the alternative 22.f4 allows Qxe3+) 22...Bh2+ 23.Kh1 Bxd5+ 24.f3 and one analyses OTB the most precise Bishop discovered check, probably 24...Bd6+ 25.Kg1 Bxf3 and it is all over. The alternative 24...Bxf3+ allows 25.Qxf3 Qxf3+ 26.Kxh2 and White fights on with three minor pieces for the Q. Time to check:
====
Puzzle position colours reversed:


click for larger view

Crafty End Game Trainer link: http://www.chessvideos.tv/endgame-t... The EGT defends with the colours-reversed equivalent of the 20...Nxh3+ 21.gxh3 Qxh3 22.f4 line, and the win presents no particular difficulty - swap off the pieces and win the ending the exchange and Pawns ahead.

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