[pgn][Event "Bucharest"]
[Site "Bucharest"]
[Date "1953.??.??"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Spassky, Boris V"]
[Black "Smyslov, Vassily"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "E31"]
[Annotator "Smith,Bryan"]
[Plycount "67"]
[Eventdate "1953.??.??"]
[Eventtype "tourn"]
[Eventrounds "19"]
[Eventcountry "ROU"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[CurrentPosition "rnbqkbnr/pppppppp/8/8/8/8/PPPPPPPP/RNBQKBNR w KQkq - 0 1"]
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Bg5 { The Leningrad Variation - White answers
Black's pin with a pin of his own. The question will be - will White miss the
bishop from the queenside, or will Black find himself under pressure (or
forced to weaken himself) by the pin? } 4...h6 { It was long considered that Black
should take the opportunity to chase the bishop to h4, but nowadays many
players avoid this move in order to try to exploit the position of the bishop
tactically (by a ...Ne4 move, for instance). } 5.Bh4 c5 { It is logical and
practically necessary to attack the center this way, emphasizing the bishop's
absense from the queenside. Otherwise, White plans a setup with e3, Bd3 and
Nge2 - an ideal position. } 6.d5 { This irruptive move is typical of the
variation. } 6...exd5 { Black decides to trade in the center - one of the systems
which can be used. However, now a subsequent ...Bxc3 won't double the white
pawns. Alternatives are 6...Bxc3+ followed by 7...d6 (or 7...e5, as we will
see in a later game) or the pawn sacrifice 7...b5!?. } ( 6...Bxc3+ { Black often
makes this capture without provocation in this line, since it is in danger of
being left out of the game after e3, Bd3, and Nge2. Playing it now ensures
that the pawns will be doubled. } 7.bxc3 d6 { The safest move - 7...e5 has a
big defect! } ) ( 6...b5!? { This pawn sacrifice is critical. Spassky met it
many times and always accepted it by 7.dxe6 fxe6 8.cxb5. However, there are
other good options such as 7.e3, 7.e4!? or 7.cxb5!? } ) 7.cxd5 d6 8.e3 Nbd7 { By protecting his Nf6 Black prepares ...Qa5. White's next move is aimed
against that. } 9.Bb5!? { Spassky is not worried about having to give up the
two bishops, and plans to meet 9...Qa5 with 10.Bxd7+ followed by 11.Ne2. But
later he came to the conclusion that 9.Bd3 could be played, meeting 9...Qa5
with a promising pawn sacrifice 10.Ne2 Nxd5 11.0-0. This became the main line. } 9...O-O ( 9...Qa5 10.Bxd7+ Bxd7 11.Bxf6 gxf6 12.Nge2 { And the two bishops are
not very meaningful, while Black's structure is aweful. } ) ( 9...g5 10.Bg3 Qa5 { was possible, but risky due to the weakening of Black's kingside. The point
is to get counterplay on the light squares, since White has to trade off his
bishop. } 11.Bxd7+ { That bishop was threatened. } 11...Bxd7 12.Nge2 Bb5 13.a3 Bxc3+ 14.Nxc3 { Black now has to play 14...Ne4, with a playable game. But in the
game Spassky-Porath, Amsterdam 1964, Black played instead } 14...Bc4 15.Qf3! { And
the attack is already fatal. Black problably missed that after } 15...Ke7 { there is } 16.Bxd6+! Kxd6 17.Qxf6+ ) 10.Nge2 Ne5 { A typical method to break the pin -
the black knight goes to g6. } 11.O-O Ng6 12.Bg3 Nh5 { Naturally, Black wants
to trade off this bishop which is putting unpleasant pressure on d6. } 13.Bd3 Nxg3 14.Nxg3 Ne5 15.Be2 Bxc3 { Black considers that the bishop will be
useless on the queenside and trades it off, although it was possible to play
other moves. } 16.bxc3 Qh4 { It looks like a good kind of Benoni (at least the
central structure), where Black has traded some pieces and has no weakness of
the kingside. However, looking closer you see that Black lacks the usual
counterplay while White's central pawns can become a dangerous force. } 17.f4! Ng4 18.Bxg4 Bxg4 { Better than 18...Qxg4, after which the ending would be
worse for Black. But after White's next move, Black's pieces prove to be
awkward as well. } 19.Qa4! { White creates some unpleasant threats on the
fourth rank - for instance, f4-f5, creating a strong pin. Meanwhile, White
prevents the bishop from going to its most natural square on d7. } 19...Bc8 20.e4 { The pawns storm forward. Black faces a difficult defense. Additionally, in
this position the knight is stronger than the bishop. } 20...Qg4 21.Qc2 h5! { Smyslov fights back with resolve. The advance of the h-pawn will mean that at
least White doesn't have an easy life. } 22.Rf2 b5 { Black could play 22...h4
right away, but the answer would be the same. } 23.e5 h4 24.Nf1 { The knight
couldn't go to e4 due to the pin 24...Bf5. Nevertheless, it will be perfectly
good on e3. } 24...Bf5 25.Qd2 dxe5? { Black is holding, but he must walk on a
tightrope. This move, however, is capitulation, allowing the opening of the
f-file. Black had to play something like 25...Rfe8. } ( 25...Rfe8 26.Re1 Qg6 { Black will have to continue to step lightly, but he has reasonable chances of
defending. } ) 26.fxe5 Bg6 { The threat was 27.Ne3 (which was not as big a
threat when the f-file was closed). But now the bishop is out of the fight
against White's center pawns. } 27.Re1 h3 28.d6 { Probably the immediate 28.
Ne3 was even better, not giving the queen the opportunity to go to e6. } 28...Be4 29.Ne3 Qe6 30.Rf4! { Now White chases the bishop to gain the f5 square for his
knight. } 30...Bxg2 ( 30...Qxe5 31.Ng4 { wins a piece. } ) 31.Nf5! { White had no
intention of capturing the bishop, which does not coordinate with Black's
other pieces. Instead the knight leaps in, with an immediate threat of 32.Ne7+
followed by 33.Rh4+. } 31...Rfe8 { Black will be more than happy to capture the
knight if it goes to e7. If instead 31...g6, then the clearest win is 32.Rh4!,
meeting 32...gxf5 (or 32...Qxf5 33.Qh6) with 33.Rh6!, forcing Black to give up
the queen. } ( 31...g6 32.Rh4! gxf5 ( 32...Qxf5 33.Qh6 ) 33.Rh6! { If the
queen moves then 34.Qg5#, so White captures the queen, while the passed pawn
on d6 and the exposed Black king promises an easy win. } ) 32.Re3! { Another
piece enters the attack. } 32...Rad8 { Black is completely helpless. For instance, if
32...g6 then 33.Nh6+ followed by 34.Rxf7+; or if 32...Qd5 then White can trade
queens followed by Ne7+, remaining with a pawn on e7. } ( 32...g6 33.Nh6+ Kg7 34.Rxf7+ Kxh6 35.Rxh3# ) ( 32...Qd5 33.Qxd5 Bxd5 34.Ne7+ Rxe7 35.dxe7 { Black cannot capture this pawn, because } 35...Re8 { is met by } 36.Rd3 { followed by
37.Rd8. } ) 33.Nxg7! { This knight sacrifice blasts open the king position and
opens the road for White's rooks and queen to enter. } 33...Rxd6 { A desperate move
which, however, had to be taken into account as there is only one refutation.
Taking the knight would demonstrate the huge amount of force White has
gathered. } ( 33...Kxg7 34.Rg3+ Kf8 35.Rxf7+! Kxf7 ( 35...Qxf7 36.Qh6+ ) 36.Qf4+ { followed by mate. } ) 34.Nxe6 { Now taking the white queen allows 35.Rg3+
followed by 36.Rh4#, so Smyslov resigned. }
1-0[/pgn]
