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What I can see is 1…Nxf2 2. Bxf2 Qxf2, then the g-pawn next and then either a rook or knight.
1 b5 & white position crumbles.
1… b5
if
2. Qxb5 Nd4
3. Qa4 Nc2+
4, Kb1 Nxg3
0-1
there is no adequate defense for white.
2. Qa6 Nd4
3. a3 Nc3
4. bxc3
(4. Rxd4, Qb1#)
4. … Rxc3
and white king is totally exposed.
now, 5. Rxd4 loses to 5…. Rc1+ 6. Kb2, Qb1#
else, black is threatening 5… Nb3+ and … Qc2
Nice game from Botvinnik!
b5
b5
1. .., b5
2. Qc2, Nb4 (2. Qxb5, Nd4 3. Qa4, Nc2+ 4. Kb1, Nd2+ 5. Rxd2, Na3++ 6. Ka1, Rc1#)
3. Qe2, Nc2+
4. Kb1, Nxg3 (taking the Knight loses the Queen through Nd4 discovered check)
5. Qd3, Ne4
6. Ne2 and Black can win by doubling the rooks and using the material advantage
Seems to me that the sequence Nd4-c2 is the matchwinner for black; the idea should be to prevent the queen from defending these squares. Say:
1… b5
2. Qxb5 Nd4!!
Now it seems to me that the game is lost. White can get out of checkmate only by sacrificing his queen.
3. Qd3 Nc2+
4. Kb1 Nb4
Now white can resign, since he has to give up his queen to escape checkmate. If he tries to save the queen (the queen has to give up the b1-h7 diagonal), then:
5. Qe2 Nd2+
6. Ka1 Nc2#
The above doesn’t work. Instead of moving the G-pawn, white defends against the rook/ knight fork with Knight to f3 instead of moving the G-pawn. He will still lose only a pawn, but not a piece.
1…b5 !
2.Qxb5 Nd4!
0-1
The suggestion
1…Nxf2 2. Bxf2 Qxf2, then taking g-pawn next, is exactly the same as I have found myself, I can’t see what is wrong with it.
But it must probably be wrong, since it is shown that early….
About the next post shown, telling that white now shall save his pieces with 3. Nf3.
This is correct, but after 3… Qxg2, black has now taken two pawns and is up with a total of 3 pawns, winning in my opinion.
Well, I see something “fishy” about Nxf2, white shall certainly answer with Rf1, supposing to have pinned knight against queen!
But in this case, may black then find some creative attack against king, based on blacks 1st rank weaknesses? Moving queen to a better field, opening c-file, and setting f-rook in e-file?
I’m not quite able to see a successfull atack here, but I’m out of other ïdeas…
I first tried 1… Nc5 2Qb5 Qc2 but after 3Nf3 there seems to be nothing.
So
1…. b5
2Qxb5
2Qc2 Nd4
3Qd3 Nc2+
4Kb1 Nb4
5Qd4 Nc3++
6Ka1 Nc2#
2…. Nd4
3Qa4
3Qd3 transposes to sub variation above.
3…. Nc2+
4Kb1 Nd2+
5Kc1
5Rxd2 Na3+
6Ka1 Qb1#
5…. Nb4+
6Kxd2 Qd3+
7Ke1 Rfe8+ wins.
A famous game between the two Soviet heavyweights, but clearly not one of Keres’ better efforts. As more than a few commenters have shown, 1. …b5 destroys the white position since the knight comes to d4 with more threats than white can counter, including smothered mate lines in some cases. The great Botvinnik, of course, found, 1. …b5 and 2. …Nd4, Keres did play 2.Qb5, but resigned a couple of moves later (a 24 move game). And, no doubt, studied harder this variation of the Nimzo-Indian. A tournament played in the Spring of 1941, just a couple of months before the Nazi invasion of WWII.
Hi Susan Polgar,
Nice puzzle.
Well,most of them said “b5”,it also sounds to be one among the best.
Black wins the game but my set of moves are too lengthy [ variations exist ]
Example
=======
1… Ne5
2.B*Ne5 Q*Be5
3.Nf3 Qf6
4.Rf1 Rc4
5.Qb5 Rc8
6.Q*d5 Rc2
7.Rb1 Nc3
8.Q*b7 N*Rb1
9.R*Nb1 Rc7
10.Qb8+ Kg7
11.a3 Qa6
12.Qb3 Rc1
13.Nd2 Qd6
14.Ne4 Q*h2
15.Qe3 R*Rb1+
16.K*Rb1 Qh1+
17.Ka2 Qd1
18.Nc5 Qd5+
19.Nb3 a5
20.f4 a4
21.f*g a*Nb3+
22.Q*b3 Q*g5
23.a4 Rc1
24.Qf3 Qg6
25.g4 Qb1+
26.Ka3 Qa1+
27.Kb3 Rc8
28.g5 Rb8+
29.Kc4 Q*a4+
30.Kd5 Qa8+
31.Kd6 Q*Qf3
32.g*h+ K*h6
33.b4 Rb5
34.Kd7 Qb7+
35.Kd6 Qb6+
36.Kd7 Qa6
37.Kc7 Rb7+
38.Kc8 Qa8++ Mate
Black wins the game.
By
Venky [ India – Chennai ]
Nc5 wins. It combines threats on the Queen with Smothering mate ideas. Perhaps white continues Qb5 then Nb4 is enough for resignation.
Reuben Salimu