Victor Korchnoi who was an immense figure in the chess world when
I was learning my trade passed away a few days ago. (June 6th 2016).
About the time of his 1978 match with Anatoly Karpov I had started
to get an inkling what the game was all about and understood it better.
I’d rush out to get the Times, Telegraph or Guardian to get the
latest moves and me and a few pals would look at the games in
the Edinburgh Chess Club till very late at night (or early morning.)
No instant news, live games or souped up computers back in 1978.
It was graft by trial and error and I reckon it did me/us a lot of good.
The match made the front pages and the TV. when the yoghurt scandal broke.
(Karpov was sent a yoghurt without asking for one. Camp Korchnoi thought
they would lighten the tense atmosphere by claiming it was a signal from the
Russians to tell Karpov he was winning/losing. As if Karpov would not know?)
This picture is from the 1981 match, you can tell because there are flags.
In 1978 The Russians refused to allow Korchnoi to play under a Swiss flag.
They wanted him with a white flag with the words ‘Stateless’ written on it.
Korchnoi asked if he play under a Skull and Crossbones. Raymond Keene
says Korchnoi even suggested playing under a Soviet flag with the words.
“I’ve Escaped” written on it. In the end it decided no flags was the way to go.
Picture from the back of the above book. (a very good book by the way.)
Keene possibly telling Korchnoi he cannot play under a Skull & Crossbones.
It was a Korchnoi game that nearly turned me away from chess
but in truth it actually drove me forward to get better. Much better.
It was 1974 and although I could see and understand more than the basics
in the 1972 Fischer- Spassky match I was far from being anywhere near a
player who could get to grips with what was going on on the Chessboard.
This game scared me witless. It’s one of those moments in Chess that I
knew when I first saw it I was looking at something that made an impact.
V. Korchnoi - T. Petrosian, Odessa 1974
[FEN "8/5k1p/1p1n2p1/p1p3P1/2P2P1P/1P1BK3/P7/8 w - - 0 1"]
1. f5 {This starts it off.} 1... gxf5 2. Kf4 Kg6 3. a4 {Placing Black in Zugzwang, Petrosian has to play a move he does not want to make.} 3... Ne4 4. Bxe4 fxe4 5. Kxe4 Kh5 6. Kf5 Kxh4 7. g6 hxg6+ 8. Kxg6 Kg4 {My 1974 thinking would have gone. Black has that opposition thing that is so important in endings. This is a draw.} 9. Kf6 Kf4 10. Ke6 Ke4 11. Kd6 Kd4 12. Kc6 Kc3 13. Kxb6 Kxb3 14. Kb5 {WOW! a move Korchnoi must have seen way back when he played 1.f5 and I never saw coming till now. 14. moves deep. I'm never going to be this good. What chance do I have v players like this. 1-0.}
Another ‘Korchnoi Magic Moment’ was the game.
I. Csom, - V. Korchnoi, Asztalos memorial, Gyula 1965
Korchnoi won this event with played 15. Won 14 and drew one.
In 1965 he also won the Russian Championship by two clear points.
This game, more than other, showed me the dangers of making attractive
aggressive looking pawn moves in the opening and how the weak squares
they leave behind can suddenly be exploited by a few deft flicks of the wrist.
This one too crossed my board about the same time as the game above.
I will try to give in my notes how each move was hitting me at the time.
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. d5 {An experiment which had been played before and since.} 3... Bg7 4. Nc3 O-O 5. e4 d6 6. Be2 c6 7. Be3 a6 8. a4 a5 {A double pawn move freeing a6 for a Knight and planning to plant it on b5.} 9. g4 Na6 10. f4 Nd7 11. h4 {There was a time when I would have sold my teeth to have such a White position. It just looks crushing.} 11... Ndc5 12. Bf3 Qb6 {Walking into a pin and is Black really going to take on b2.} 13. Qd2 {Now h4-h5, chop on g6, get the Queen to h2 and mate on h7. Infact I still think like this.} 13... Qxb2 {Eh?} 14. Qxb2 Nd3+ {Ahhh.... The penny drops. But wait a minute....} 15. Kd2 Nxb2 {...the b2 Knight is not coming out of there.} 16. Be2 {The Knight is trapped!} 16... Bxg4 {Eh? And White resigned!! Eh? How could White get undone so quickly.....he was winning.} 17. Bxg4 Nxc4+ {The King is left to defend both e3 and c3.} 18. Kd3 Bxc3 19. Rc1 {This seems best.} 19... Nxe3 20. Kxe3 {21.Rxc3 Nxg4 leaves Black a Knight up.} 20... Bb4 {White is three pawns down.} 21. dxc6 {But he is going to win one back.} 21... Bc5+ {No.} 22. Ke2 bxc6 {A game I went though time and time again wondering at the miracle of it all.}
There is a lovely fantasy variation in the above game
.
[FEN "r1b2rk1/1p2ppbp/n1pp2p1/p2P4/P1P1PPPP/2N1BB2/1n1K4/R5NR w - - 0 16"]
16. Be2 Bxg4 17. Bxg4 Nxc4+ 18. Kd3 {Instead of Bxc3 or Nxe3 how about.} 18... cxd5 {Black can take time out for this, he is still winning.} 19. Nge2 {Good move. Develops a piece, bolsters the c3 Knight, connects the Rooks, prevents Nxe3 and d4+ pawn forking ideas....} 19... Nb4 {Checkmate.}
The two great players side by side at the opening ceremony of Odessa 2007.
Thank you for 1978 Victor Korchnoi. I’ve been reading some of the other
dedications from other sites. Most declare you as the strongest player never
to win the world title. I’m sure you do not want to be remembered as that.
I’ll remember you as the player most apt to have the song ‘My Way’
dedicated to you and those magic moments that were alas all too few.
We cross the Grim Bridge that spans the River of Tears to pay a visit to....
antonioromao - Nelio Rodrigues RHP 2011
White can win a Queen but instead loses a Queen, all this in two moves.
[FEN "r1b1k1nr/2p3pp/ppn1pq2/3p4/3P4/P1NB1N2/1PP2PPP/R2QK2R w KQkq - 0 11"]
11. h3 Nge7 12. Qd2 Nxd4 {That is a lemon. White can play Nxd4 as Qxd4 losses the Black Queen to Bg6+} 13. Qg5 {But this move simply losses the Queen.} 13... Nxf3+ 14. gxf3 Qxg5 {White resigned.}
For our pleasure next we see the same trick, this time it was missed.
vimalbuck - genygeny RHP 2013
[FEN "r1b1k3/ppp2p2/4pqpr/3p2Np/3n4/2NB4/PPPQ1PPP/R3K2R w KQq - 0 12"]
12. Nf3 Rh7 13. Qg5 {OOPS! Black can now play Nxf3+ and Qxg5. Instead we see...} 13... Qg7 {...and Black went onto lose.}
Again like a broken record we follow the theme of the week.
Boriss - jorma123 RHP 2009
We look at the whole game simply because if I had too then so do you.
A misery shared is a misery halved as my old grandmother use to say.
1. e4 e5 2. Qh5 Qf6 {You just know when two RHP lads kick of a game thus one of them is going to lose a Queen.} 3. Nf3 Nc6 4. Bc4 g6 5. Qg5 Bc5 6. Nc3 Nd4 {Will White spot the trick and play 7.Qxf6 or will White guard against Nxc2+.} 7. Bb3 {He defended the Nxc2+ idea...which was not the idea at all.} 7... Nxf3+ {It was this.....} 8. gxf3 {...here Black played 8....Bxf2+ and then took the Queen. He was worried about 8....Qxg5 9.d4 attacking the c5 Bishop and the Queen. But it was not a threat.} 8... Qxg5 {And in answer too....} 9. d4 Qg2 {...and Black is not losing a piece. Black went onto win.}
Same opening, just look at the mess both players get themselves into in this game.
Vincentl - djking01 RHP 2011
Black misses a mate in two, White misses a mate in one. Neither player is checkmated.
1. e3 e5 2. Qh5 Qf6 3. e4 {A pretty unique way of reaching this position. White loses a move based on the RHP theory that who ever has the move is bound to blunder.} 3... Bc5 4. f3 {A common reply but it cuts off a Queen retreat path, now d6 and g6 trap the White Queen.} 4... Qd6 {Where is this going....Ahh I see...now f3 has been played the only route to f2 is via d4.} 5. Bc4 {But first Black must protect his own weak f7 square.} 5... Nh6 6. Nc3 {Careful, Watch those unprotected pieces. Black can now play 6...Bxg1 7.Rxg1 Qd4 attacking both the c4 Bishop and the g1 Rook.} 6... Qd4 {This too looks good. Hitting the c4 Bishop and the square f2.} 7. d3 Qf2+ 8. Kd1 Qf1+ 9. Kd2 {Now how about 9..Qxg2+ nicking the h1 Rook or castles.} 9... Bf2 {That's a crafty one. Threatening 10...Qe1 checkmate.} 10. Qxe5+ Kf8 11. d4 {White has to give the King some running room. Black should now take the c4 Bishop with the Queen but instead tries....} 11... Nc6 {12.Bxf1 Nxe5 13.dxe5 and White is a piece up. Now it all goes skew-whiff.} 12. Qxc7 {Black should now play 12...Qe1+ 13.Kd3 Nb4 mate.} 12... Nb4 {Black has played it in the wrong order. White can now checkmate Black with 13.Qd8 mate.} 13. Bxf1 {Instead of taking the mate White took the Queen. Black resigned.}
