Retrocomputing

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Just two lines by HAL 9000

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Sabino Brunello – Narayanan Sunilduth Lyna
7th Chennai International Open; Chennai, January 2, 2015
Queen’s Gambit Declined D59

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Be7 5. Bg5 h6 6. Bh4 0-0 7. e3 b6. The Tartakower Defence. 8. cxd5 Nxd5 9. Bg3 Bb7. The alternative is the immediate 9. ... c5 as in the game – inter alia – Botvinnik – Bondarevsky, 11th USSR Chess Championship, Leningrad 1939. 10. Bd3 Nd7 11. e4 Nxc3 12. bxc3 c5 13. 0-0 Nf6 14. Qe2 Nh5. Another try is 14. ... Rc8, e.g. 15. Rfd1 cxd4 16. cxd4 Rc3 17. Be5 Nd7 18. Bf4 Qa8 19. Ne5 Rd8 20. Nxd7 Rxd7 21. d5 exd5 22. Be5 Rxd3 23. Rxd3 Bf8 24. exd5 Rxd5 25. Rxd5 Bxd5 26. Qg4 Bxa2 (a grave blunder) 27. Rxa2 Qd5 28. Qe2 1 : 0 Golombek – Platz, Budapest 1952. 15. Be5. No better is 15. Rad1 Nxg3 16. hxg3 cxd4 17. cxd4 Bf6 with fairly even chances, Relange – Dorfman, Marseille 2001, tie-break blitz game 2. 15. ... cxd4 16. cxd4 f6. Quite a natural reaction against White’s grip on the centre, but it weakens the light squares on the Kingside, so – I guess – 16. ... Nf6 was sounder. 17. Bg3 Nxg3 18. hxg3 Qd6 19. Bc4. Transferring the Bishop on the a2-g8 diagonal. 19. ... Rac8 20. Bb3 Rfe8 21. Nh4 Bf8 22. Qg4. The White’s pieces converge for a decisive onslaught. 22. ... h5 23. Qg6. Less incisive looks 23. Qxh5 Bxe4 and Black can hope to survive. 23. ... Qxd4 24. Rfe1. Brunello’s play is simple but effective. 24. ... a5? A careless mistake. Black cannot build up a counter-attack with 24. ... Bc5 because of 25. Rad1 Qxf2+ 26. Kh2 (threatening Rd1-d7) 26. ... Bc6 27. Nf5 Bf8 (27. ... Rc7 28. Rd7!+-) 28. Nh6+ Kh8 29. Nf7+ Kg8 30. Ng5! fxg5 31. Bxe6+ easily winning. Relatively best was 24. ... Qd2 (intending ... Qd2-g5), but even Black’s best would also have been quite hopeless for him after 25. Re3! renewing the attacking scheme. 25. Rad1 Qb4 26. Nf5 a4 This loses, but if 26. ... Bc6 then 27. Nh6+ Kh8 28. Nf7+ Kg8 29. Ng5! fxg5 30. Bxe6+ winning as in the previous variation.

27. Rd7! 1 : 0. The coping stone. Black’s King is doomed after both 25. ... Re7 26. Bxe6+ and 27. ... Qxe1+ 28. Kh2.