The Man Who Knew Fischer

Eugene Torre – Axel Rombaldoni
42nd Chess Olympiad; Baku, September 9, 2016
Dutch Defence A40

1. d4 e6 2. Bf4 f5 3. e3 Nf6 4. Nf3 d6 5. h3 h6!? Rombaldoni plays aggressively, hoping to outplay his expert opponent – that is a responsible decision, since Torre is a superb positional player. 6. Be2 g5 7. Bh2 Bg7 8. c4 b6 9. Nc3 Nbd7 10. 0-0 0-0 11. Rc1 Bb7 12. b4 a5 13. a3! Torre didn’t even consider the stereotyped 13. b5 Ne4 which, renouncing to aim for the opening of the a-file, would give Black much less problems. 13. ... axb4 14. axb4 Ne4 15. Nxe4 Bxe4 16. Nd2 Bc6 17. c5 Ba4 18. Nb3 bxc5 19. bxc5 d5? So far Romaldoni’s managed to elude particular trouble, but now his decision to create a light-square fortress will prove to be wrong. Sounder was 19. ... Qe7 with a tenable position. 20. Qd3 c6. If 20. ... e5 then 21. c6 e4 22. Qc3 followed by Nb3-c5 with advantage to White. 21. Bd6 Rf7 22. Bh5 Bb5 23. Bxf7+ Kxf7 24. Qc3 Bxf1 25. Rxf1! A superb display of chess understanding! It will become soon clear why the retake with the King would have been out of place. 25. ... Ra4? This runs into an inexorable refutation. 26. Ra1 Qa8 27. Rxa4 Qxa4

28. Qa5! An elegant and decisive Knight pseudo-sacrifice which crowns Eugene’s day. 28. ... Qxb3. It should be noted that had the White King been on f1, now the effect of this move would be more than satisfactory due to the threat of mate on d1! The text loses outright, but Black must not regret as after 28. ... Qxa5 29. Nxa5 the c6-Pawn falls, and with it the game. 29. Qc7! The coup de grâce. 29. ... Qb1+ 30. Kh2 Qe4 31. Qxd7+ Kg6 32. Qxc6 f4 33. Qe8+ Kh7 34. Qf7 fxe3 35. fxe3 1 : 0. I’ll say it once again: not bad for an old boy who was playing his 23rd Olympiad!

Eugene Torre
Photo by Josh Albelda/Rappler

我來，我看，我征服 (Veni, vidi, vici)

[Event "LXXIII Campionato Italiano Assoluto"]
[Site "Roma"]
[Date "2013.11.24"]
[Round "4"]
[White "Rombaldoni, Axel"]
[Black "De Filomeno, Simone"]
[ECO "D35"]
[Result "0-1"]
[PlyCount "140"]

1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. Nc3 Be7 5. cxd5 exd5 6. Bf4 c6 7. Qc2 g6 8. Ne5 Bf5 9. Qd2 Nbd7 10. f3 Nxe5 11. Bxe5 Bd6 12. g4 Be6 13. Bxd6 Qxd6 14. O-O-O O-O-O 15. Kb1 Kb8 16. h3 Nd7 17. e4 Nb6 18. e5 Qb4 19. a3 Qe7 20. Bd3 c5 21. Nb5 c4 22. Bc2 h5 23. Nxa7 Kxa7 24. Qa5+ Kb8 25. Qxb6 Rc8 26. Qb4 Qxb4 27. axb4 Rc6 28. Kc1 Rb6 29. f4 hxg4 30. hxg4 Rxh1 31. Rxh1 Bxg4 32. Rh8+ Ka7 33. Re8 Ra6 34. Kb1 Rc6 35. Re7 Be6 36. b5 Rb6 37. Ba4 Bf5+ 38. Bc2 Be6 39. Kc1 Kb8 40. Ba4 Kc8 41. Re8+ Kd7 42. Ra8 Ke7 43. Kd2 Bd7 44. Ra5 Ke6 45. Kc3 Kf5 46. Kb4 Ke4 47. Kc5 Re6 48. Bc2+ Kxf4 49. Ra7 Bc8 50. Kxd5 g5 51. Ra1 Re8 52. Kxc4 Bh3 53. Kd3 g4 54. Bb3 Re7 55. Bd5 g3 56. Rg1 Bf5+ 57. Kc4 Be6 58. Rf1+ Ke3 59. Rf3+ Ke2 60. Rxg3 Rc7+ 61. Kb4 Bxd5 62. Rc3 Rd7 63. Kc5 Be4 64. Rh3 Rc7+ 65. Kb6 Rc4 66. Rh6 Rxd4 67. Rf6 Bd5 68. Kc5 Rd2 69. Rd6 Be6 70. Kb6 Rxb2 0-1

Axel Rombaldoni vs. Simone De Filomeno
Foto: Scacchierando.it