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Joel Johnson vs John Cline
""Magic" Johnson" (game of the day Mar-02-2022)
Northeast Chess League (1979), Nashua, NH USA, rd 1, Feb-15
Sicilian Defense: Grand Prix Attack (B23)  ·  1-0

ANALYSIS [x]

FEN COPIED

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Kibitzer's Corner
May-27-10  sneaky pete: That's what happens when you let your queen go Walkin' After Midnight.
Feb-11-12  King Death: White overwhelms his opponent with a brilliant attack in this position:


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22.Qe7!

Jan-10-13
Premium Chessgames Member
  perfidious: This game brings back memories; it was annotated in Chess Horizons and is a nice example of my old friend Joel's attacking flair, which he was capable of displaying against even the strongest opposition.

White's 22.Qe7 is a move to remember, and the final position presents a pleasing tableau: all Black's far-flung earthly goods are unable to give his beleaguered king the shelter it desperately needs from the storm clouds lurking at the door.

Jan-10-13
Premium Chessgames Member
  HeMateMe: Very interesting; white trades off all of his pieces in the opening and doesn't seem to get anything, but his control of the seventh rank wins.

Maybe black should not have gone pawn hunting with his queen. The Bishop hemmed in by pawns is a headache that allows white to get control of the seventh rank and make his combination.

Jan-10-13  King Radio: This is a game that anyone would be proud of.
Dec-01-13
Premium Chessgames Member
  GrahamClayton: Johnson's annotations to this game can be found here, especially in regard to the move 22. ♕e7!:

http://www.masschess.org/chess_hori...

Feb-23-20
Premium Chessgames Member
  FSR: Great game!!
Feb-23-20
Premium Chessgames Member
  FSR: Cline Bottled.
Mar-02-22
Premium Chessgames Member
  Sally Simpson: Glad to see the political trend continuing. Johnson, as in our Boris. Not bad.
Mar-02-22
Premium Chessgames Member
  perfidious: Two former foes going at it yet again in a GOTD. Though Black was the stronger player, my results were better against him than vs Joel, who gave me an awful go of it for a long while. Then I broke the spell and managed to score decently against him.
Mar-02-22
Premium Chessgames Member
  HeMateMe: Patsy Cline...
Mar-02-22  nalinw: Great game - especially Qe7 - but rather silly pun - FSR's Cline Bottled is far superior - especially when you consider Blacks convoluted plan to defend from a1 with his Queen - Patsy Cline also nice
Mar-02-22  goodevans: White's 22nd would make a great puzzle. Maybe one for 'Queen-sac Monday'?
Mar-02-22
Premium Chessgames Member
  Teyss: Aaah, a politically neutral title even though <Sally Simpson> makes a worthwhile effort (Sally, before you answer I know all your posts are second degree).

<goodevans> Maybe a tad difficult for a Monday because one has to see Black has no defence after the quiet 27.Re1!

(a) 27...Qd8 28.Ree7 Qxe7 29.Rxe7 and the BB and BR are hanging.


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29...Rfd8? 30.Rh7+ Kg8 31.Rg7+ Kf8 (Kh8 32.Nf7#) 32.Nh7+ Ke8 33.Nf6+ Kf8 34.Rxd7# So Black will lose the B and the exchange because he needs to control the f column against mate.

(b) 27...Rbe8 28.Rxe8 Bxe8 (Rxe8 29.Nf7#) 29.Rxc7 Kg8 (Rf6 30.Bg7+ or Rg8 Rh7#) 30.Bxf8 Kxf8 31.Ne6+ Kg8 32.Rg7+ Kh8 33.Re7 also winning the B.


click for larger view

Beautiful combination. 21...Be7 was a blunder, Black should have played Be5 blocking the e column.

Mar-02-22  Ironmanth: Wonderful finish here! Thanks, chessgames. Y'all have a great day out there today; spread lots of peace.
Mar-02-22  Saniyat24: A Jo-Jo punch...!
Mar-03-22
Premium Chessgames Member
  fredthebear: NCAA college basketball March Madness paired future Hall of Famers "Magic" Johnson and Larry Bird for the college basketball national championship game in this same year, 1979:

https://www.si.com/college/2020/03/....

and...

https://www.latimes.com/archives/la...

Wikipedia says: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1979_...

Bob Ryan's perspective: https://www.theringer.com/march-mad...

These two legendary players were bitter rivals professionally in the 1980s, but later became friends during the making of television commercials. The two then played for the gold medal Olympic Dream Team (when professional athletes were eventually allowed to play in the Olympics), easily the absolute greatest basketball team ever to be assembled.

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