Chess: Bronstein - Ljubojevic, 1973
Oct. 30th, 2020 12:55 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ellerBecause Bronstein is one of my favorite chess players in history, I had to do a fangirl post: I simply can't accept that Bronstein is introduced in the Stean book as the guy who gets his ass kicked by Tal (no matter how awesome Tal is!), so here's a game in which Bronstein kicks ass for a change! :D
Actually... This isn't just one of my favorite Bronstein games, it's one of my favorite grandmaster games ever! Comments are all my own this time: I know Bronstein did a self-commentary of this but I don't own the book. (That is, I went and ordered it right now: a Bronstein book I don't own is kind of inacceptable.) Because Bronstein was a very (very very!) tactical player, I think I sort of understand what's going on in this game, and I'm confident enough to do this commentary. Enjoy! :D
David Bronstein (White) vs. Ljubomir Ljubojevic (Black)
played 1973, Petropolis
1. e4 Nf6
This Nf6 thingy is called "Alekhine's Defense" because... a guy called Alekhine invented it. (Duh.) It's a very old-fashioned opening, and also extremely aggressive: the knight is chased across the board, costing Black many, many tempi - but at the same time, Black is trying to provoke these pawn moves in order to get White to overextend himself.
2. e5 Nd5
Already, the knight is attacked for the first time! Basically, there are only two ways this can end:
- White ends up with enourmous spatial advantage and wins, or
- White overextends his center, ends up with a bunch of weak central pawns and sooner or later loses those pawns and subsequently the game.
(I don't think there are many Alekhine's Defense games that ended in a draw!)
The only question is whether White will be able to develop fast enough to prevent Black from undermining White's center. Hint: in these days of computers, there's consensus that White, indeed, will usually be fast enough, so Alekhine's Defense doesn't show up all that often in tournaments anymore. It's not considered solid anymore - but, of course, that wasn't known in 1973. We're looking at a historical relic, here! :D
3. d4 d6
You can see how this goes... White occupies the center - and already, Black is starting to gnaw at White's central pawns.
4. c4 Nb6
Aaaand the knight is chased. Again! (Interestingly, Black has a lot of compensation for those lost tempi. Just... maybe not quite enough.)
5. f4 dxe5
White chooses to play something called the Four Pawns Attack. (Because it... involves four pawns. LOL) It's certainly the most aggressive way to handle this: White f*cks his own king's position in order to ATTACK and hopefully be faster than his opponent. (This... is VERY likely not going to be a draw: someone is going to die horribly. LOL) It's considered, uh, a bit risky - but very strong.
6. fxe5 c5
Again, Black plays directly against the center.
7. d5 e6
White has to play this very accurately, or die horribly. Of course, if Black doesn't destroy those pawns, Black will die horribly, so it's very fair, actually! :D This opening is fun, and I really regret it's not considered solid anymore... Otherwise, I'd love to play it!
8. Nc3 exd5
After that exchange, the two remaining white center pawns are going to be weak: they can't be backed up with more pawns, and they're far away from their pieces, so, difficult to defend.
9. cxd5 c4
Yep, the white center is very extended now, indeed. Whether it's overextended, time will tell!
Black's c4 is played to
- grab space,
- rob White's light-squared bishop of interesting squares (d3, maybe even b5!),
- open the square c5 for Black's dark-squared bishop who's going to be very happy there
10. Nf3 Bg4
Development... Also, Black is going to try and eliminate some defenders of White's center pawns.
11. Qd4 Bxf3
Heh. XD That's one very active queen, very early - but the move is justified: Black won't be able to play Bc5 now.
Black's bishop, of course, had to react. The exchange on f3 was to be expected - anything else would just have lost a tempo, which Black really can't afford, having sacrificed so many tempi already.
12. gxf3 Bb4
White, indeed, happily opens his king's position... Of course, he can only afford this because Black sacrificed so many tempi. It's still, uh, slightly horrifying - but there's no immediate way for Black to attack, so I think White's position is already better.
13. Bxc4 O-O
Black kind of had to remove his king from the center, though of course his new position also has some risks...
14. Rg1 g6
Rooks belong on open files! Threat was 15. Bh6, with bishop and rook both bearing down on g7... Ljubojevic tries to solve this with g6, which was a theoretical novelty at the time. And this is where the game gets really weird...
15. Bg5 Qc7
It looks like Bronstein made a horrible blunder, oh noes! XD (Spoiler: nope, he didn't. Tactical geniuses only very rarely overlook simple skewers... Which should have told Ljubojevic there might be a, you know, trap... XD) Right now, the bishop on c4 is attacked twice (by queen and knight) and defended only once, so he has to move...
16. Bb3 Bc5
...and there's the skewer! See bishop, queen and rook in one diagonal? That rook will be lost.
17. Qf4 Bxg1
Spoiler: The rook is lost and Bronstein doesn't give a f*ck, here. White controls all those lovely dark squares now - that's certainly worth a rook!
18. d6 Qc8
ATTACK! KILL!!!KILL!!!KILL!!! XD
This position is fun. White is a rook down, and White is winning.
19. Ke2 Bc5
White has the nicest active king, too. LOL
20. Ne4 N8d7
The knight is kind of pointing in the black king's direction, too... Heh. Black has a real problem on the dark squares around the king that are almost indefensible... Indefensible but for Black's dark-squared bishop, that is. Suddenly, that bishop is Black's most valuable piece. Bronstein, of course, realizes this.
21. Rc1 Qc6
Can you see what's going to happen?
22. Rxc5 Nxc5
Yeah, Bronstein sacrifices his second rook, too. Who needs rooks when you can kill? :D
23. Nf6+ Kh8
Do I need to point out the Black king is in deep sh*t now?
24. Qh4 Qb5+
Actually, Black has a bit of a trap, here... Look at this check for a while. Take your time. How should White react?
25. Ke3!! h5
I'm glad to say that when Kiddo!Eller was shown this game in training, Kiddo!Eller was able to find Ke3. The point of this move is that the absurd-looking e3 is really the safest square for the white king: in most other variations, Black manages to save himself with tricky knight checks. I'll spare you the variations, but... this is probably the most complicated part of this whole tacticalclusterf*ck combination. LOL
(Anecdote has it that Ljubojevic said later that Bronstein was "lucky" to find Ke3. That's... one way of interpreting it, I guess: Bronstein was just very good at this "luck" thing. Indeed. Nothing to do with... uh... tactical skill, or anything. LOL)
Black's h5 is pretty much forced because of the threat Qxh7#.
26. Nxh5 Qxb3+
Of course, White can afford to sacrifice more material, no problem: that knight can't be captured! Look at
26. ... gxh5
27. Qxh5+ Kg8
28. Qg6+ (the f-pawn is pinned!) Kh8
29. Bf6#
or
26. ... gxh5
27. Qxh5+ Kg7
28. Bf6+ Kg8
29. Qg6#
Black chooses to give his queen instead: looks horrible but is probably the only thing that averts immediate checkmate. LOL
27. axb3 Nd5+
Will this help Black?
28. Kd4 Ne6+
NOPE!!! Bronstein plays a fork - with his king. In the center. And it works. :DLook, this doesn't even belong in the chess folder anymore; this is sheer p0rn...
29. Kxd5 Nxg5
Kings totally belong in the center - and the white attack continues...
30. Nf6+ Kg7
LOL. I mean, I'm looking at this game for the... hundredth time or something, and I can never keep myself from laughing out loud!
31. Qxg5 Rfd8
White is even ahead in material now. This is surreal.
32. e6 fxe6+
And, of course, with a very attack-happy king.
33. Kxe6 Rf8
I do feel a bit sorry for Ljubojevic, really.
34. d7 a5
Even sacrificing another queen will not keep Bronstein from winning this in the weirdest imaginable way.
35. Ng4 Ra6+
Ohhhh, black "counterattack", how cute! XDDD
36. Ke5 Rf5+
Yes, this gets the queen, but who even cares?
37. Qxf5 gxf5
It's all going fine...
38. d8=Q fxg4
...there's another queen! LOL
39. Qd7+ Kh6
And I guess the rest is technique.
40. Qxb7 Rg6
White is leading in material and will win this endgame without problems.
41. f4
Black realizes this, too.
Black resigns.
1-0
Yeah... I guess that was Bronstein at his best. XDDD
Actually... This isn't just one of my favorite Bronstein games, it's one of my favorite grandmaster games ever! Comments are all my own this time: I know Bronstein did a self-commentary of this but I don't own the book. (That is, I went and ordered it right now: a Bronstein book I don't own is kind of inacceptable.) Because Bronstein was a very (very very!) tactical player, I think I sort of understand what's going on in this game, and I'm confident enough to do this commentary. Enjoy! :D
David Bronstein (White) vs. Ljubomir Ljubojevic (Black)
played 1973, Petropolis
1. e4 Nf6
This Nf6 thingy is called "Alekhine's Defense" because... a guy called Alekhine invented it. (Duh.) It's a very old-fashioned opening, and also extremely aggressive: the knight is chased across the board, costing Black many, many tempi - but at the same time, Black is trying to provoke these pawn moves in order to get White to overextend himself.
2. e5 Nd5
Already, the knight is attacked for the first time! Basically, there are only two ways this can end:
- White ends up with enourmous spatial advantage and wins, or
- White overextends his center, ends up with a bunch of weak central pawns and sooner or later loses those pawns and subsequently the game.
(I don't think there are many Alekhine's Defense games that ended in a draw!)
The only question is whether White will be able to develop fast enough to prevent Black from undermining White's center. Hint: in these days of computers, there's consensus that White, indeed, will usually be fast enough, so Alekhine's Defense doesn't show up all that often in tournaments anymore. It's not considered solid anymore - but, of course, that wasn't known in 1973. We're looking at a historical relic, here! :D
3. d4 d6
You can see how this goes... White occupies the center - and already, Black is starting to gnaw at White's central pawns.
4. c4 Nb6
Aaaand the knight is chased. Again! (Interestingly, Black has a lot of compensation for those lost tempi. Just... maybe not quite enough.)
5. f4 dxe5
White chooses to play something called the Four Pawns Attack. (Because it... involves four pawns. LOL) It's certainly the most aggressive way to handle this: White f*cks his own king's position in order to ATTACK and hopefully be faster than his opponent. (This... is VERY likely not going to be a draw: someone is going to die horribly. LOL) It's considered, uh, a bit risky - but very strong.
6. fxe5 c5
Again, Black plays directly against the center.
7. d5 e6
White has to play this very accurately, or die horribly. Of course, if Black doesn't destroy those pawns, Black will die horribly, so it's very fair, actually! :D This opening is fun, and I really regret it's not considered solid anymore... Otherwise, I'd love to play it!
8. Nc3 exd5
After that exchange, the two remaining white center pawns are going to be weak: they can't be backed up with more pawns, and they're far away from their pieces, so, difficult to defend.
9. cxd5 c4
Yep, the white center is very extended now, indeed. Whether it's overextended, time will tell!
Black's c4 is played to
- grab space,
- rob White's light-squared bishop of interesting squares (d3, maybe even b5!),
- open the square c5 for Black's dark-squared bishop who's going to be very happy there
10. Nf3 Bg4
Development... Also, Black is going to try and eliminate some defenders of White's center pawns.
11. Qd4 Bxf3
Heh. XD That's one very active queen, very early - but the move is justified: Black won't be able to play Bc5 now.
Black's bishop, of course, had to react. The exchange on f3 was to be expected - anything else would just have lost a tempo, which Black really can't afford, having sacrificed so many tempi already.
12. gxf3 Bb4
White, indeed, happily opens his king's position... Of course, he can only afford this because Black sacrificed so many tempi. It's still, uh, slightly horrifying - but there's no immediate way for Black to attack, so I think White's position is already better.
13. Bxc4 O-O
Black kind of had to remove his king from the center, though of course his new position also has some risks...
14. Rg1 g6
Rooks belong on open files! Threat was 15. Bh6, with bishop and rook both bearing down on g7... Ljubojevic tries to solve this with g6, which was a theoretical novelty at the time. And this is where the game gets really weird...
15. Bg5 Qc7
It looks like Bronstein made a horrible blunder, oh noes! XD (Spoiler: nope, he didn't. Tactical geniuses only very rarely overlook simple skewers... Which should have told Ljubojevic there might be a, you know, trap... XD) Right now, the bishop on c4 is attacked twice (by queen and knight) and defended only once, so he has to move...
16. Bb3 Bc5
...and there's the skewer! See bishop, queen and rook in one diagonal? That rook will be lost.
17. Qf4 Bxg1
Spoiler: The rook is lost and Bronstein doesn't give a f*ck, here. White controls all those lovely dark squares now - that's certainly worth a rook!
18. d6 Qc8
ATTACK! KILL!!!KILL!!!KILL!!! XD
This position is fun. White is a rook down, and White is winning.
19. Ke2 Bc5
White has the nicest active king, too. LOL
20. Ne4 N8d7
The knight is kind of pointing in the black king's direction, too... Heh. Black has a real problem on the dark squares around the king that are almost indefensible... Indefensible but for Black's dark-squared bishop, that is. Suddenly, that bishop is Black's most valuable piece. Bronstein, of course, realizes this.
21. Rc1 Qc6
Can you see what's going to happen?
22. Rxc5 Nxc5
Yeah, Bronstein sacrifices his second rook, too. Who needs rooks when you can kill? :D
23. Nf6+ Kh8
Do I need to point out the Black king is in deep sh*t now?
24. Qh4 Qb5+
Actually, Black has a bit of a trap, here... Look at this check for a while. Take your time. How should White react?
25. Ke3!! h5
I'm glad to say that when Kiddo!Eller was shown this game in training, Kiddo!Eller was able to find Ke3. The point of this move is that the absurd-looking e3 is really the safest square for the white king: in most other variations, Black manages to save himself with tricky knight checks. I'll spare you the variations, but... this is probably the most complicated part of this whole tactical
(Anecdote has it that Ljubojevic said later that Bronstein was "lucky" to find Ke3. That's... one way of interpreting it, I guess: Bronstein was just very good at this "luck" thing. Indeed. Nothing to do with... uh... tactical skill, or anything. LOL)
Black's h5 is pretty much forced because of the threat Qxh7#.
26. Nxh5 Qxb3+
Of course, White can afford to sacrifice more material, no problem: that knight can't be captured! Look at
26. ... gxh5
27. Qxh5+ Kg8
28. Qg6+ (the f-pawn is pinned!) Kh8
29. Bf6#
or
26. ... gxh5
27. Qxh5+ Kg7
28. Bf6+ Kg8
29. Qg6#
Black chooses to give his queen instead: looks horrible but is probably the only thing that averts immediate checkmate. LOL
27. axb3 Nd5+
Will this help Black?
28. Kd4 Ne6+
NOPE!!! Bronstein plays a fork - with his king. In the center. And it works. :D
29. Kxd5 Nxg5
Kings totally belong in the center - and the white attack continues...
30. Nf6+ Kg7
LOL. I mean, I'm looking at this game for the... hundredth time or something, and I can never keep myself from laughing out loud!
31. Qxg5 Rfd8
White is even ahead in material now. This is surreal.
32. e6 fxe6+
And, of course, with a very attack-happy king.
33. Kxe6 Rf8
I do feel a bit sorry for Ljubojevic, really.
34. d7 a5
Even sacrificing another queen will not keep Bronstein from winning this in the weirdest imaginable way.
35. Ng4 Ra6+
Ohhhh, black "counterattack", how cute! XDDD
36. Ke5 Rf5+
Yes, this gets the queen, but who even cares?
37. Qxf5 gxf5
It's all going fine...
38. d8=Q fxg4
...there's another queen! LOL
39. Qd7+ Kh6
And I guess the rest is technique.
40. Qxb7 Rg6
White is leading in material and will win this endgame without problems.
41. f4
Black realizes this, too.
Black resigns.
1-0
Yeah... I guess that was Bronstein at his best. XDDD
no subject
Date: 2020-10-31 08:10 pm (UTC)28. Kd4 Ne6+
NOPE!!! Bronstein plays a fork - with his king. In the center. And it works. :D Look, this doesn't even belong in the chess folder anymore; this is sheer p0rn...
When he FORKS TWO KNIGHTS WITH A KING, OMG. I almost expired of delight.
What a wonderful game. =D =D =D
no subject
Date: 2020-10-31 08:13 pm (UTC)YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!! And this is not beginner chess either; it was played at the world level... Which makes it... Yeah, essentially, chess p0rn: this is what tactical players dream of at night. ;)