Independent Pursuits: Chess

OVER THE last month, I've been raving periodically about Dutchman Tim Krabbe's excellent Home Page of Chess Curiosities, which is on: http://www.xs4all.nl/timkr/chess/chess.html.

I was drawn to visit this again when told about his weekly instalments of "The Most Fantastic Moves Ever Played": a series which he completed 10 days ago on Friday 20 November.

Boris Spassky (Black to move)

Yuri Averbakh (White)

Krabbe's list, initially of 100 games, though later expanded by reader input to 110, was inspired by the poll of 50 such games in Murray Chandler's British Chess Magazine (0171-603 2877) but differs substantially. His top award shows the desperate ingenuity of a future world champion in trouble. Outplayed in the opening in the above game in Leningrad in 1956, Spassky decided that, with normal play, he would be slaughtered in his bed by a White kingside attack. And so, in extremis, produced the following extraordinary response: 16...Nc6!!? 17.dxc6 bxc6.

At least this gave him one pawn, the b file, a route to d4 for his previously moribund c7 knight and a potentially active pawn centre in return for the piece. Moreover, Averbakh must surely have been in shock.

The game rolled on: 18.Nh4 Qe8 19.hxg6 hxg6 20.Qg4 Rb8 21.Nd1 Ne6 22.Ra3 Nd4 23.Rah3 Qf7 24.Bc3 Rfe8 25.R3h2 Qxc4 26.Nxg6 Re6 27.Bxd4 Rxg6 28.Qf5 Qe6 29.Qxe6+ Rxe6 30.Bc3 d5! activating that centre. Presumably Spassky was still quite lost but he fought on as if nothing had happened, won a whole rook on move 48 and came within a whisker of victory!

Manuel Rivas (Black to play)

Gena Sosonko (White)

This game, one of my favourites, was placed 13th by Krabbe. In fact, I was present at the Amsterdam Zonal 1978, though sadly I don't believe I actually saw 15...Rd7 being played or its effect on Gena Sosonko.

At the cost of a whole rook, Rivas beat off the White attack and freed his game. Later he mobilised his queenside pawns and managed to win in 57 moves: 15...Rd7!! 16.exd7 Nxd7 17.Be2 h6 18.Be3 Qf6 19.Qxf6 exf6...