September 17, 1959 The Guardian Chess, London, Manchester

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Chess 17 Sep 1959, Thu The Guardian (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

Chess

The Guardian, Chess, Thursday, September 17, 1959, Greater London, England Problem No. 542 By C. R. B. Sumner...

Posted by Bobby Fischer's True History on Tuesday, May 17, 2022

Problem No. 542 By C. R. B. Sumner (Sevenoaks)
Black (6).
White (8).
White mates in two moves.
FEN B7/2Q2nB1/R2q1r2/2p1k3/R1p4N/7N/4K3/8 w - - 0 1
Solution: 1. Qb8 Qxb8 2. Bxf6#

Attack against the Sicilian
Among club players the Dragon variation of the Sicilian Defence still remains one of the most popular answers to the king's pawn. The most promising line against it is undoubtedly the storming advance of White's king's side pawns, which brought the Hungarian champion one of his few-recent defeats. Some players mistakenly imagine that a king's side attack excludes simultaneous actions on other parts of the board, but here White forces the win by switching his pieces to the centre.

Peter Dely (white) vs. Lajos Portisch (black)
Hungarian Championship, 1958
Sicilian Defense: Dragon Variation, Yugoslav Attack, Main Line

Descriptive 1. P-K4 P-QB4 2. N-KB3 N-QB3 3. P-Q4 PxP 4. NxP P-KN3 5. B-K3 N-B3 6. N-QB3 P-Q3 7. P-B3 B-N2 8. Q-Q2 O-O 9. B-QB4 NxN 10. BxN Q-B2 11. B-N3 B-K3 12. P-KR4 BxB 13. RPxB P-K3 14. O-O-O KR-Q1 15. P-KN4 QR-B1 16. P-R5 P-K4 17. B-K3 P-Q4 18. KPxP NxQP 19. PxP RPxP 20. B-N5 N-B3 21. Q-R2 RxRch 22. RxR Q-B3 23. R-Q3 P-N4 24. BxN QxB 25. N-K4 Q-N3 26. P-N5 R-Q1 27. RxRch QxR 28. Q-Q2 Q-N3 29. K-N1 Q-N8ch 30. K-R2 Q-KB7 31. Q-Q8ch K-R2 32. Q-K7 P-N5 33. QxRP QxP 34. N-B6ch BxN 35. QxPch K-R1 36. Q-B8ch K-R2 37. PxB Q-N2 38. Q-K7ch Resigns

Algebraic 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 g6 5. Be3 Nf6 6. Nc3 d6 7. f3 Bg7 8. Qd2 0-0 9. Bc4 Nxd4 10. Bxd4 Qc7 11. Bb3 Be6 12. h4 Bxb3 13. axb3 e6 14. 0-0-0 Rd8 15. g4 Rc8 16. h5 e5 17. Be3 d5 18. exd5 Nxd5 19. hxg6 hxg6 20. Bg5 Nf6 21. Qh2 Rxd1+ 22. Rxd1 Qc6 23. Rd3 b5 24. Bxf6 Qxf6 25. Ne4 Qb6 26. g5 Rd8 27. Rxd8+ Qxd8 28. Qd2 Qb6 29. Kb1 Qg1+ 30. Ka2 Qf2 31. Qd8+ Kh7 32. Qe7 b4 33. Qxa7 Qxf3 34. Nf6+ Bxf6 35. Qxf7+ Kh8 36. Qf8+ Kh7 37. gxf6 Qb7 38. Qe7+ 1-0

1. White can also play 9. O-O here, when the main line now runs 9. … P-Q4; 10. NxN PxN; 11. PxP NxP; 12. B-Q4 P-K4; 13. B-B5 B-K3; 14. B-B4 (the acceptance of the exchange sacrifice gives Black too strong an attack), Q-R5; 15. BxN KR-Q1; with great complications in which it is uncertain who stands better.
2. 10. … B-K3 is probably better, and is at present considered to be the correct reply to 9. B-B4 e.g., 11. B-N3 Q-R4; 12. O-O-O P-QN4; 13. K-N1 P-N5; 14. N-Q5 BxN; 15. BxB (so far Fischer-Larsen, Portoroz 1958), NxB; 16. PxN (best), QxP; 17. QxP with equality.
3. White threatened 14. BxN and 15. N-Q5—a consequence of Black's inaccurate tenth move.
4. The danger of such a routine attack as White's here is that it will be carried through as a reflex action and not with thought over each move. Here White could have captured the QRP; 16. N-N5 Q-Q2; 17. NxRP R-R1; 18. B-N6, followed by QxP, or 16. … Q-B3; 17. NxRP R-R1; 18. Q-R5 (not 18. NxQ R-R8 mate), Q-K1; 19. B-N6. A possibly still better continuation is 16. K-N1, after which Black's freeing line in the game no longer works (on move 19 White simply captures the knight).
5. After this retreat, Black loses his chance of freedom. Correct is 20. … R-Q2; and if 21. N-K4 then not 21. … N-N3; 22. N-B6ch BxN; 23. BxB and mates, but 21. … P-B3; 22. B-R6 N-K6; and wins. White would therefore have to answer 20. … R-Q2; with 21. NxN RxN; 22. Q-K2, with equal chances.
6. Outmanoeuvred in the centre, Black tries for counterplay on the wing, but it comes too late.
7. White's knight is secure in its dominating post, for if 25. … Q-R3; 26. K-N1 P-B4; 27. N-N5.
8. An excellent move which illustrates that you should look out for chances of transposing into a winning ending even when on the attack. If 28. … QxQch; 29. KxQ, when the black queen's side pawns are sitting ducks to the white king and knight, while the black majority on the other wing cannot get going.
9. Avoiding the lost ending, but permitting White an elegant attack with his remaining pieces. It is worth noting here that a queen, knight, and pawn often combine very well in an attack on the king.
10. If 32. … QxP; 33. N-B6ch BxN; 34. QxPch followed by 35. PxB and wins, so Black sets a final trap.
11. Avoiding the trap: if at once 36. PxB, Q-R1ch; 37. K-N1 Q-KR8ch; with perpetual check. An instructive game.