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Jan Sefc vs Yuri Averbakh
Dresden (1956), Dresden GDR, rd 3, Feb-??
Sicilian Defense: Richter-Rauzer Variation. General (B60)  ·  1/2-1/2

8
7
6
5
4
3
2
a
1
b
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d
e
f
g
h
White to move.
ANALYSIS [x]
1/2-1/2

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

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Kibitzer's Corner
Aug-24-05  Resignation Trap: The endgame after 83 moves is a theoretical draw, and Averbakh was unable to make any headway.
Apr-02-06  who: I wouldn't have thought it possible for this to be a draw.
Oct-11-06  ToTheDeath: It ain't over till it's over. Stellar defense.
Nov-27-20  nummerzwei: <The endgame after 83 moves is a theoretical draw, and Averbakh was unable to make any headway.>

Except that it isn't! A number of endgame books, as late as <Fundamental Chess Endings> (2001), treat it that way, but the tablebase confirms that Black is winning all along.

First of all, 85...h4! is both strong and urgent, although it's not trivial to explain why it is necessary. Basically, White is threatening 86.Nf7+ Kg7 87.Ng5, when 87...h4 88.Nf3 h3 allows White to set up a proper fortress by Kg3-h2 and Nf3-g1-e2. Anything else allows White to either repeat moves (immediately or after 87...Kf6 88.Nh7+ Kg7 89.Ng5), or to transfer his king to h4 with again an impregnable fortress.

Averbakh continued accurately, and around move 90, the winning procedure could have been completed with a nice tactical stroke:


click for larger view

The quickest way to win is 90...Be6 91.Ng5, and now to corral White's knight with 91...Bd5!. At first glance, this looks like a mistake, allowing White to approach the h-pawn with 92.Kg4. However, Black then has 92...h3!!:


click for larger view

Black wins the pawn endgame after 93.Nxh3 Be6+ 94.Kg3 Bxh3 95.Kxh3 Kh5.

Instead, ironically, the position became drawn after Averbakh's own 92...h3?.

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