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Anatoly Karpov vs Boris Spassky
"AK-74" (game of the day Mar-16-2017)
Karpov - Spassky Candidates Semifinal (1974), Leningrad URS, rd 9, May-03
Sicilian Defense: Scheveningen. Modern Variation (B83)  ·  1-0

ANALYSIS [x]

FEN COPIED

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Kibitzer's Corner
< Earlier Kibitzing  · PAGE 5 OF 5 ·  Later Kibitzing>
Jul-06-18  RookFile: Right. You can be sure Spassky was well prepared for both of those choices.
Aug-09-18  malt: Good game, me thinks 35...R:d8 36.Be7
Aug-09-18
Premium Chessgames Member
  harrylime: Boris was not into this match....

A Good Boris v A Good Karpov

Boris wins

Nov-20-18  Mini Morphy: Beautiful end!
Nov-20-18
Premium Chessgames Member
  HeMateMe: great pun!
Apr-09-19  Everett: <30.Ng5> looks quite awkward to meet.

<30.Ng5 fxg5 31.Rxf8 Kxf8 32.Qe6> looks pretty rough, with Rf2 or Rd2 coming.

Oct-27-19  GrenfellHunt: Is there something wrong with the game score? At move 23 White plays the subtle Rf1 (+1.4 engine), but Stockfish wants the obvious Bc5 which wins the exchange (+2.4 at depth of 28). If it's not a mistake in the score, what was Karpov thinking that he declined Bc5?
Oct-27-19  GrenfellHunt: Okay. CG's computer eval has the same note. 23 Rf1 gets flagged with ? for not playing Bc5. Still would like to know what was going through Karpov's head that he declined to play such an obvious move.
Oct-27-19  ewan14: Boris played a '' creeping move '' against Victor in their 1968 match
Nov-02-19  N.O.F. NAJDORF: It is true that White can win the exchange, but after

23 Bc5 Qg5

24 Rd7 Nxc2

25 Rb1

Black has a pawn in compensation and after winning the exchange, White will no longer have a bishop to attack Black's king.

Oct-05-20  fisayo123: 24. Nb1! Typical Karpovian knight sorte! Moves like this are very difficult for even the best players in the world to contemplate yet Karpov made such moves routine over the course of his career.
Oct-05-20  fisayo123: What Karpov did to Spassky in this game is fully comparable if not superior to what Fischer did to him in game 6 of their match.

You'll struggle to see a great player like Spassky so badly routed .

Oct-08-20
Premium Chessgames Member
  woldsmandriffield: 26..Na6 was the losing move - Black had to try 26..Rxd2 27 Nxd2 Nc2. Karpov’s continuation after 26.. Na6? is startling: he simply played 27 Re2! making way for Nb1-d2-f3 then he went back with Rd2 & penetrated with Qe6. When he saw 27 Re2 Spassky must have realised the game was up.
Oct-30-20  Ulhumbrus: Karpov may have not said - at least in any book or interview in English - whether Fischer's move 13 Rf2 in the game Fischer vs F Olafsson, 1961 provided the inspiration for Karpov's manoeuvre 14 Rf2 clearing the back rank for the queen to come to f1
Dec-02-20  Justin796: Someone should have checked out Karpov's chair, this game is suspect. Also, the amount of mind control Karpov's parapsychologsists exerted on Spassky is simply unforgiveable.
Dec-03-20  Ulhumbrus: <Justin796: Someone should have checked out Karpov's chair, this game is suspect. Also, the amount of mind control Karpov's parapsychologsists exerted on Spassky is simply unforgiveable.>

One example of an alternative explanation is found in the previous game in which Spassky started a promising looking attack but which Karpov succeeded in drawing.

Kasparov quotes Tal as saying <The match was effectively concluded in the 8th game, when Spassky was unable to win it. Personally I didn't doubt for a second that after White began his attack with 24 h6 the game would soon come to a spectacular end. But after 25...Nf6 (Karpov made this move quickly) no win could be found! Such a blow is even greater than a defeat. When such positions cannot be won, you begin to lose confidence. All sorts of devilish thoughts creep into your mind, such as: is it altogether impossible to win against him?>

If this worsened Spassky's playing form for the present game it could have improved Karpov's playing form for the present game.

Dec-05-20  Ulhumbrus: <Justin796: Someone should have checked out Karpov's chair, this game is suspect. Also, the amount of mind control Karpov's parapsychologsists exerted on Spassky is simply unforgiveable.>

One example of an alternative explanation is found in the previous game Spassky vs Karpov, 1974 in which Spassky started a promising looking attack but which Karpov succeeded in drawing.

Kasparov quotes Tal as saying <The match was effectively concluded in the 8th game, when Spassky was unable to win it. Personally I didn't doubt for a second that after White began his attack with 24 h6 the game would soon come to a spectacular end. But after 25...Nf6 (Karpov made this move quickly) no win could be found! Such a blow is even greater than a defeat. When such positions cannot be won, you begin to lose confidence. All sorts of devilish thoughts creep into your mind, such as: is it altogether impossible to win against him?>

If this worsened Spassky's playing form for the present game it could have improved Karpov's playing form for the present game.

Sep-27-21  N.O.F. NAJDORF: Compare

Yanofsky vs J F Donovan, 1942

Black's bishops and king pawn are on different squares, but Yanofsky plays Rf2 and Bg4, as did Karpov 32 years later!

Dec-26-21  probabilitytheorist: Amazing game.
Aug-03-23  N.O.F. NAJDORF: An afterthought:

23. Bc5 Qg5 24. Rd7 Nxc2 25. Rf1 Ne3 26. Bxe3 Qxe3+ 27. Kh1

and white wins.

For example,

27... Bf2 28. Nd1 Qc5 29. Qa2 Qc1 30. Rxf2 Rad8 31. Rxd8 Rxd8 32. Qxf7+ Kh8 33. Qf6+

Aug-30-23  N.O.F. NAJDORF: 23. Bc5 Qg5 24. Rd7 Nxc2 25. Rf1 Ne3 26. Bxe3 Qxe3+ 27. Kh1 Ra7 28. Rfxf7 wins
Jan-28-24  N.O.F. NAJDORF: < N.O.F. NAJDORF: It is true that White can win the exchange, but after 23 Bc5 Qg5

24 Rd7 Nxc2

25 Rb1

Black has a pawn in compensation and after winning the exchange, White will no longer have a bishop to attack Black's king.>

White would not win the exchange!

23. Bc5 Qg5 24. Rd7 Nxc2 25. Rb1 Rad8 26. Rbd1 Ne3 27. Bxe3 Qxe3+ 28. Kh1 Rxd7 29. Rxd7 Qe1+ 30. Kh2 Bg3#

Jan-28-24  N.O.F. NAJDORF: 23. Bc5 Qg5 24. Rd7 Rad8 25. Rad1 Rxd7 26. Rxd7 Qf6 27. Ne2 Ra8 28. Be7 Qf2+ 29. Kh2

and black is hanging on

Sep-23-24  ColdSong: One of Karpov's greatest game Imo.Protects everything cooly,invade all the weakpoints and finally simply destroys quickly Spassky.
Sep-23-24
Premium Chessgames Member
  perfidious: Karpov played outstanding chess after dropping the first game. This was a fine positional effort.
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