| Sep-12-05 | | Resignation Trap: A good start for Bronstein at the Candidates Tournament! Here is what Botvinnik had to write about this game in his notebook on Bronstein: "Nimzo-Indian with a3 and f3. The opponent played the fanciful ...Nh5 and ...f5 and 'Br' refuted it very energetically. First defended his weaknesses on the queenside, consolidated in the center and skilfully switched to the kingside. In a difficult position Szabo blundered the exchange, then two pieces for a rook... In general, 'Br' played well. The game, incidentally, was a closed one!" |
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| Dec-07-08 | | Everett: Botvinnik must have soon realized that Bronstein was strong in all aspects of the game (except, perhaps analysis of endgames, or analysis and prep in general). KIDs' create pretty closed games. Why Botvinnik would be surprised by this in 1950 is strange. |
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| Mar-04-09 | | JonathanJ: this is no KID |
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| Jul-23-10 | | Everett: <JJ> of course. I suggested that Botvinnik's writing seems to imply that Bronstein is weak in closed games. Yet a KID, for which Bronstein is well known for at this point, often became closed, and Bronstein was second to none at that time... And he ended up equally adept in French set-ups too. It seems that Bronstein actually preferred closed, counterattacking structures as black. |
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Jul-23-10
 | | Eric Schiller: I don't think you understand the meaning of "closed" game which is usually defined by pawns at d4 and d5. KID is an Indian Game, never a Closed Game. Gruenfeld is closed. "Open" Game is e4, e5. |
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| Jul-23-10 | | I play the Fred: I never did understand why d4-d5 meant "closed" and e4-e5 meant "open". "Open" positions should refer to pawn formations with open files/diagonals and "closed" positions should refer to games with blocked centers. IMO. |
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| Jul-24-10 | | Everett: <IPlayTheFred> Exactly, though Schiller has a point, that Botvinnik maybe meant "closed" in the d4-d5 sense... Except that wasn't played here either. So basically, old appellations of closed and open are meaningless now, pretty much since WWII, whentypical opening strategies become greatly diversified. |
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| Oct-05-17 | | whiteshark: What's wrong with <8... fxe4> 
click for larger viewwhen 9.fxe4 Qh4+ should be in Black's favour? |
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Oct-05-17
 | | Retireborn: <whiteshark> Nothing wrong with that. Possibly he was afraid of 9.Bg5 but after 9...Nf6 10.fxe4 h6 Black is OK. |
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| May-13-22 | | cehertan: An interesting computer line is 8..fxe4 9.♗g5 ♘f6 10.fxe4 h6 11.e5 hxg5 12.♗d3! ♕e8 13.O-O which looks like something Bronstein would happily play. |
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| May-13-22 | | cehertan: PS I think my old friend Eric is a little cuckoo, it is commonplace for positions to be categorized as open, closed, or semi-closed, although an Open Game implies the opening 1.e4 e5, as in Bronsteins amazing book 100 Open Games. I would call the Grunfeld a semi-closed opening and some mainline KIDs closed positions. Botvinnik often referred to these different types of positions, as when he said that the technique for playing open positions had not advanced significantly since Morphy, incredibly high praise for the American. |
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| Nov-20-22 | | Everett: Move 21 White to play and win immediately |
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Apr-17-25
 | | Breunor: 21 c5! And it is all over! 21 .. Nxc5 22 Bxa6. If
21 … Bxe2 22 cxb6 and black has nothing better than Qxc1 23 Rxc1. If 22 Qd8 23 b xa7. |
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Apr-17-25
 | | HeMateMe: When I see a pun that good I think "Why didn't EYE think of that!?" |
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| Apr-17-25 | | goodevans: <Breunor: 21 c5! And it is all over!> Yes, I think that's worth a diagram:
click for larger viewBlack simply has no answer to the joint threats od 22.Bxa6 and 22.cxb6. Nice! |
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Apr-17-25
 | | Teyss: <goodevans: <Breunor: 21 c5! And it is all over!> Black simply has no answer to the joint threats of 22.Bxa6 and 22.cxb6.> Maybe White saw 21.c5 but wasn't sure it would win after 21...Bxe2, that's why he moved the Queen to e1 to protect the Bishop first, after which c5 is still a threat. But Black finally saw this since he blocked the Pawn with 21...Nc5. Indeed it was a missed opportunity because as in <Breunor>'s second line: 21...Bxe2 22.cxb6 Qd8 23.bxa7 Ra8 24.Qxb7 and White's position is crushing despite being only two Pawns up. 
click for larger viewAnyhow, White switched from winning tactics to winning strategy. Good pun but could apply to many games or did I miss a reference? |
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| Apr-17-25 | | goodevans: <Teyss> I believe the pun is referring in particular to the discussion in the early comments regarding whether this game can be considered 'closed' without 1.d4 d5 having been played. If that's true then I like the pun both because it's clever and because I agree with its assertion. |
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Apr-17-25
| | Teyss: Hi goodevans,
Thanks for the explanation. I had read the comments but failed to understand the pun was referring to them as well as the game, which actually makes it better. Also agree that games can be closed without d4-d5 and open without e4-e5. It's a quick way of categorising openings together with semi-, yet doesn't mean much. |
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Apr-17-25
 | | Honza Cervenka: The pun apparently refers to Botvinnik's private comment to the game made in his legendary notebook on Bronstein. I can just agree with his conclusion that ... in general, 'Br' played well. |
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Apr-17-25
| | HeMateMe: I think the pun refers to how the middlegame progressed, not the opening categorization. Black is locked down, locked out. |
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Kibitzing
