Today’s winning 5-sec tactics
Happy New Year everybody! Today I present the very pleasing finish of a game that I only recently came across. It was played in 2015 between 2 very strong grandmasters.
Best tactic in recent years !?
gm Sokolov,A – gm Naiditsch,AMontpellier 2015
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 exd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 Be7 6.Be2 O-O 7.O-O
Re8 8.f4 Bf8 9.Bf3 c5 10.Nde2 Nc6 11.f5 Ne5 12.Nf4 Bd7 13.Nfd5
Nxd5 14.Nxd5 Bc6 15.Bf4 b5 16.b3 a5 17.Qd2 a4 18.Rad1 Ra7 19.Qf2
axb3 20.axb3 Ra2 21.Nc3 Ra3 22.Nd5 Kh8 23.Bh5 Qd7 24.h3 Qa7 25.Kh2
b4 26.Qh4 Ra2 27.Rd2 Bxd5 28.Rxd5 Nc6 29.Bxd6 Bxd6+ 30.Rxd6 Qc7
31.Qg3 Nd4 32.e5 Rxc2 33.e6 Rc3 34.exf7 Rf8 35.Qe5 Rxb3 36.f6
g6 37.Qe7 Qb8 38.Re1 Ra3{[#]
<div class="custom_attn_box" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #000000;"><strong>Up to now a very sharp and fascinating struggle with the advantage changing hands several times. Now Sokolov, once number_3 rated player in the world, sees he has the opportunity to bring the game to a conclusion.</strong></span></div>
} 39.Qxf8+! Qxf8{[#]} 40.Rd8$3{[#]
<div class="custom_attn_box" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #000000;"><strong>As beautiful as it is unexpected! Sokolov does not fall for the clever little trick that Naiditsch was hoping for.</strong></span></div>
}
( 40.Re8$2 Ra8!$13 {<strong style="color: black;">would have allowed Black back into the game</strong> })
Ra8{[#]} ( 40...Qxd8 41.Re8+{<strong style="color: red;">is the whole point of Sokolov’s tactic</strong>} ) 41.Rxa8 ( 41.Rxf8+ Rxf8 42.Re8 Ne6
43.Rxe6 ) Qxa8 42.Re8+{[#]} 1-0
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A very impressive finish! It is instructive to notice how much the White pawn on f7 leaves Black helpless. This theme reminds me of another beautiful finish, namely from an old game of Vasiukov against Uhlmann:
gm Vasiukov,E – gm Uhlmann,WBerlin 1962
1.e4 e6 2.d3 d5 3.Nd2 c5 4.Ngf3 Nc6 5.g3 Nf6 6.Bg2 Be7 7.O-O
O-O 8.Re1 Qc7 9.Qe2 b5 10.e5 Nd7 11.Nf1 a5 12.h4 b4 13.Bf4 a4
14.b3 Ba6 15.Ne3 Ra7 16.h5 Rfa8 17.h6 {!} g6 18.Nxd5 {!} exd5
19.e6 Qd8 20.exf7+ {!} Kh8 ( 20...Kxf7 21.Ng5+ {!} $18 ) 21.Ne5!{[#]
<div class="custom_attn_box" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #000000;"><strong>It is curious how the pawn on f7 can give rise to complications that permit White to make all of sorts of sacrifices, even his own Queen!</strong></span></div>
}
Ncxe5 ( 21...Nd4 22.Nxd7 {!!} Nxe2+ 23.Rxe2 Bf6 24.Rae1 {!}
$18 ) 22.Qxe5+ $3{[#]
<div class="custom_attn_box" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #000000;"><strong>Absolutely beautiful! Despite Black’s best efforts to keep his game together, as we shall witness, the presence of the f7 pawn does not allow Black to save himself</strong></span></div>
} Bf6{[#]} ( 22...Nxe5 23.Bxe5+ Bf6 24.Bxf6+ Qxf6
25.Re8+ Rxe8 26.fxe8=R+ Qf8 27.Rxf8# ) ( 22...Nf6 23.Bg5 {!}
Qb6 24.Bxd5 $18 ) 23.Qe8+ Nf8{[#]} 24.Be5!{[#]} Qb6 25.Bxd5 Rc8
( 25...Bb7 26.Bxb7 $18 ) 26.Be6 {!} Bxe5 27.Bxc8 Bd6 28.Bxa6
Rxa6 29.bxa4 {!} Ra7 30.Re6 Qc7 31.Rae1 c4 32.Rxd6 {!}
Qxd6 33.Re6! Qc5 34.d4!{[#]}1-0
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