Dimitar I Donchev vs Sasho Nikolov (1987) Hurts, Donchev?

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Dimitar I Donchev vs Sasho Nikolov
"Hurts, Donchev?" (game of the day Feb-06-2025)
Bulgaria (1987)
Sicilian Defense: Najdorf. Poisoned Pawn Variation (B97) · 1-0

ANALYSIS [x]

FEN COPIED

explore this opening	find similar games	1 more D Donchev/S Nikolov game
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May-22-09		hedgeh0g: 20. f6!!

May-22-09		garcimitch: The whole game is fantastic : the combination with a queen sacrifice and then the endgame with various stages. A book could be written about this!

Feb-06-25		An Englishman: Good Evening: My first thought--how did Black manage to resist for so long? His resourcefulness impressed me. Have doubts about one of White's moves, 42.c4. Black succeeded in forcing a Queen ending where he had real chances of escaping with a draw, and it would not surprise me if he missed a game saving resource late. 42.a4!? seems to compel 42...bxa4, and then White's King and Bishop will cooperate in stopping the e-pawn. What sayeth the silicon monsters?

Feb-06-25		Saniyat24: What a wild game...!

Feb-06-25		goodevans: <An Englishman> I don’t think White was ever in any danger of letting the win slip but it’s interesting just how different it becomes after 42.a4 compared with 42.c4. After 42.a4, if White concentrates on stopping Black’s e-pawn (which I think he must) then it’s not obvious how he can force either of his own pawns home. I would say there’s more danger of Black escaping with a draw in that scenario than with what was played. After 42.c4 bxc4 43.Bxc4, Black faces a real dilemma. If he doesn’t trade minors then White’s connected passed pawns are more easily forced home than the disconnected pair that results from 42.a4. If he trades minors then the resulting Q v Q+P ending is most likely lost. He’s caught between a rock and a hard place. Great game but I’m lost when it comes to the pun.

Feb-06-25		goodevans: Further to my last post, since there’s 9 pieces on the board we can use tablebases to give a definitive answer after we swap a couple of pawns off. click for larger view After <42.a4 bxa4 43.bxa4> it’s a tablebase draw (but only if Black’s next move is to bring to his K to the f-file). <42.c4 bxc4 43.bxc4?> is also a draw but the game’s <42.c4 bxc4 43.Bxc4> is a tablebase win. However... There’s well over a hundred moves to mate and I’ve never been sure where tablebases stand regarding the 50 move rule. Anyone?

Feb-06-25		Teyss: <goodevans (...) I’ve never been sure where tablebases stand regarding the 50 move rule.> It depends on the program. "Before creating a tablebase, a programmer must choose a metric (...) To date, three different metrics have been used (...) DTZ is the only metric which supports the fifty-move rule (...)" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Endga... Also clueless about the pun. Maybe "Hurts, Don't It?" in relation to the <Poisoned> Pawn Variation. Could we push as far as to evoke the Bulgarian umbrella? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bulga...

Feb-06-25		Teyss: 20.f6!! was incredibly bold. You have to see the mate threats here click for larger view 24.g5# and here click for larger view 25.g5+ Rxg5 26.Bxg5+ Kg7 27.Bf6+ Kh6 28.Bg7# or 27...Kf8 28.Rg8# Most of all you have to see White is winning after the Q counter-sac, despite the slight material imbalance of minor vs Rook (+3.1 at 31 ply). click for larger view Beautiful game until the end despite Black's desperate attempt to hang on.

Feb-06-25		OhioChessFan: The pun is along the lines of, hurts don't you (cha)?

Feb-06-25		beatgiant: <goodevans> Besides distance to mate, tablebase can also give distance to "zeroing" (i.e. a capture or pawn move that zeros the count for the 50-move rule). For example, try https://syzygy-tables.info/?fen=8/8... and you'll see the 50-move rule is never a problem here, because White can always reset the count with a pawn move.

Feb-06-25		goodevans: Thanks for explanations both of DTZ and of the pun (though the latter is a bit of a stretch!).

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