Some interesting chess (Part 2)
Part 2
As we saw in the first part of this series, Grandmaster Spiridonov could really dish out punishment when his opponents deserved it. He played numerous games where he demonstrated exactly this.
But there is another side to consider: the learning curve. Spiridonov — like many of us — often had to learn the hard way. Following is a short selection of painful losses by the Bulgarian star. Enjoy!
Shianovsky,V – Spiridonov,N
Kiev 1966
A rare example where Spiridonov gets caught in the opening and soon pays a very high price. Particularly painful because the CaroKan was one of his favourite defences.
An accident waiting to happen
Chaprazov,I – Spiridonov,N
Ch Bulgaria 4.18.1965
Here Spiridonov’s opening is not a problem, but for some reason his sense of danger completely failed him. Rather than slide his King into the corner, he kept it on b8 and ultimately paid the price for it, losing an exchange and all hope of saving the game.
A very painful, and unnecessary, loss. I mean, the only ‘trick’ that White had in the position for a very long time was some Be5 move taking advantage of the alignment of Black’s pieces on the dark squares. He could have simply moved his King into the corner a severa moments without any reprecussions.
Meeting the mighty Tal
Spiridonov,N – Tal,M
Tbilisi 1969
It is no shame to lose to the great Tal. At the time when this game was played, Tal was near to the top of his game, while Spiridonov was a shell shocked admirer who must have felt honored just to be able to sit down in front of the Magician from Riga.
Tal did not disappoint….and wiped Spiridonov off the board with some beautifully precise attacking play.
The immortal Tal! In those days it seemed , at times, that you needed the gods on your side to beat Tal. That being said, Spiridonov actually got his revenge against him in 1984 when he beat Tal with his favourite Caro Kann!
