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.
1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 dxe4 4.Nxe4 Bf5{[#] <strong style="color:red;">It was after the loss of this game that Spiridonov decided to make the alternative 4…Nd7 his ‘main’ line, and with which he stuck with for the rest of his life. Spiridonov even managed to defeat Tal with it in a game in 1984!</strong>} 5.Ng3 Bg6 6.Bc4 e6 7.N1e2{[#] <strong style="color:red;">A popular variation that Tal used frequently against Botvinnik.</strong>}
Nf6{[#] <strong style="color:red;"></strong>}
({<strong style="color:black;">Some Caro experts prefer the immediate </strong> } 7...Bd6 8.O-O (8.h4$5 h6 9.Nf4 Bxf4!) Qc7 {<strong style="color:black;">so that after </strong> } 9.f4 Ne7!{<strong style="color:black;">it is more difficult for White to force f5. However, there is nothing wrong with Spiridonov’s move. </strong> } )
8.O-O Bd6{[#] <strong style="color:red;"></strong>} 9.f4{[#] <strong style="color:red;"></strong>} Qc7$6{[#] <strong style="color:red;">It will soon become apparent that Spiridonov has not done his homework.</strong>}
({<strong style="color:black;">A better idea would be </strong> } 9...Bf5$5 10.Nxf5 exf5 11.Ng3 g6 12.Re1+ Kf8 {<strong style="color:black;">though Black should have to be attentive of White’s attempts at a later d5 (opening up lines for his Bishops) or Bd3 followed by a sacrifice on f5. </strong> } )
({<strong style="color:black;">The BEST move could be the awkward looking </strong> } 9...Qd7!{<strong style="color:black;"> but which the theoreticians consider to be a fully satisfactory deterrent to a later f5 </strong> } )
10.f5!{[#] <strong style="color:red;">First played by Keres in 1956. White offers a pawn sacrifice on h2 but gets a strong initiative.</strong>} exf5{[#] <strong style="color:red;"></strong>} 11.Nxf5{[#] <strong style="color:red;"></strong>}
Bxh2+{[#] <strong style="color:red;">Jumping into the fire. Could it be that Spiridonov was not aware of the Keres game?</strong>}
({<strong style="color:black;">Objectively, the best line for Black is </strong> } 11...Bxf5 12.Rxf5 Nbd7!{<strong style="color:black;">which minimizes White’s attacking chances. </strong> } )
12.Kh1{[#] <strong style="color:red;">Now Black has some real problems to deal with, and it is not clear what Black should do.</strong>} O-O {[#] <strong style="color:red;"></strong>}
({<strong style="color:black;">After the logical </strong> } 12...Bxf5 13.Rxf5
Bd6 14.Bh6!{<strong style="color:black;">is not simple for Black. </strong> } )
( {<strong style="color:black;">And after the tricky </strong> }12...Nh5 {<strong style="color:black;">White has </strong> }13.g4! )
13.Qe1$5{[#] <strong style="color:red;"></strong>}
( {<strong style="color:black;">Considered even stronger than Keres’ move </strong> } 13.g3 {<strong style="color:black;">which is also strong! I give the entire game with a few notes: </strong> } Bxf5
( 13...Ng4 14.Rf4 {!} Bxf5 15.Rxf5 Bxg3 16.Qg1 Nf2+ 17.Kg2 {!}
Ne4 18.Qe3 ) 14.Rxf5 Bxg3 15.Rxf6 {!} Qe7 ( 15...gxf6 16.Qg1 )
16.Qf1 Qe4+ 17.Qf3 Qh4+ 18.Kg2 Qh2+ 19.Kf1 Qh3+ 20.Qg2 Qxg2+
21.Kxg2 gxf6 22.Nxg3 Nd7 23.Bh6 Rfe8 24.Kf3 Kh8 ( 24...Nf8 25.Nh5
Re7 26.Nxf6+ Kh8 27.Rh1 $18 ) 25.Nh5 Rg8 26.Bxf7 Rg6 27.Bxg6
hxg6 28.Ng3 Re8 29.Bf4 Kg7 30.Ne4 g5 31.Nd6 Re6 32.Bg3 b6 33.Re1
Rxe1 34.Bxe1 Kg6 35.Nc8 c5 36.dxc5 Nxc5 37.Nxa7 f5 38.Bf2 Nd7
39.Bd4 Kh5 40.Nc8 Nf8 41.Ne7 f4 42.Nf5 Ng6 43.Ng7+ Kh6 44.Kg4
Nf8 45.Nf5+ {<strong style="color:black;"> 1-0, Keres P – Golombek H , Moscow 1956 Memorial A.Alekhine</strong> }
)
Bd6{[#] <strong style="color:red;">Pulling the Bishop back</strong>}
(13...Bxf5 14.Rxf5 Bd6 15.Rxf6!)
14.Nxg7!{[#] <strong style="color:red;">Pretty, but not a difficult move to find. White’s pieces soon flood into Black’s broken Kingside , which proves impossible to defend for very long. The opening of the f-file by White has allowed virtually all of his pieces to participate in the attack.</strong>} Kxg7 {[#] <strong style="color:red;"></strong>} 15.Rxf6!{[#] <strong style="color:red;">Trying to draw the Black King out</strong>} Nd7
(15...Kxf6 16.Qh4+ {<strong style="color:black;">is forced mate in 6 moves. </strong> } )
( 15...b5 16.Bb3 Re8 {<strong style="color:black;">does not prevent White from delivering the decisive blow:</strong> } 17.Qh4! Nd7
18.Bh6+ Kg8 19.Rxf7!! Bxf7 20.Qg5+ {<strong style="color:black;"> 1-0, Kastelic M – Simic D , Bled 1996 Ch Slovenia (team)</strong> }
)
16.Qh4{[#] <strong style="color:red;"></strong>} Rfe8 {[#] <strong style="color:red;"></strong>}
({<strong style="color:black;">Another grandmaster victim of this opening ‘trap’ saw: </strong> } 16...b5 17.Bd3 Rfe8 18.Rf3 Qd8 19.Bg5 Be7 20.Bxg6
hxg6 21.Qh6+ Kg8 22.Rh3 Bf6 23.Rf1 {<strong style="color:black;"> 1-0, Belotti Bruno (ITA) 2423 – Solozhenkin Evgeniy (RUS) 2544 , Montecatini Terme 1999 It (open)</strong> }
)
17.Bh6+{[#] <strong style="color:red;"></strong>} Kh8{[#] <strong style="color:red;"></strong>}
( 17...Kg8 18.Rxf7!! Bxf7 19.Qg5+ )
18.Raf1{[#] <strong style="color:red;"></strong>}
( 18.Bxf7$518 ) Qd8{[#] <strong style="color:red;"></strong>}
( 18...Re4 19.Nf4! )
19.Bg5{[#] <strong style="color:red;"></strong>} Be7{[#] <strong style="color:red;"></strong>} 20.Rxg6!{[#] <strong style="color:red;">Here Black resigned. Understandable since after</strong>} fxg6 21.Rf7!
h5 22.Nf4!{[#] <strong style="color:red;">Black’s game is in ruins.</strong>} 1-0
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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.
1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 dxe4 4.Nxe4 Bf5 5.Ng3 Bg6 6.Nf3 Nd7 7.h4
h6 8.h5 Bh7 9.Bd3 Bxd3 10.Qxd3 Qc7 11.Bd2 e6 12.O-O-O Ngf6 13.Kb1
Bd6 14.Ne4 Nxe4 15.Qxe4 Nf6 16.Qe2 O-O-O 17.c4 Kb8 18.Bc3 Qe7
19.Ne5 Bxe5 20.Qxe5+ Qc7 21.Qe2 Rhe8{[#] <strong style="color:red;">Black is ok, but notice that if White gets his Bishop to e5 he will win atleast an exchange.</strong>} 22.Qf3$5{[#] <strong style="color:red;"></strong>} Re7{[#] <strong style="color:red;">But this is unnecessarily ignoring the potential danger. He should just put his King into a8 with a safe game.</strong>} 23.Rhe1 Ne8{[#] <strong style="color:red;"></strong>}
({<strong style="color:black;">Now it is too late for </strong> } 23...Ka8?! {<strong style="color:black;">because of </strong> } 24.d5! exd5 (24...cxd5 25.Bxf6 gxf6 26.Qxf6$16) 25.Ba5! b6 26.Bxb6!)
24.Qg4{[#] <strong style="color:red;">Probing</strong>}
b5?{[#] <strong style="color:red;">Unbelievably, Spiridonov’s sense of danger really betrayed him in this game. He had to move his King into the corner. It was his last chance.</strong>} 25.d5!$16{[#] <strong style="color:red;">Of course! As Black did not solve the position of his King when he could, it is only reasonable to assume that sooner or later an accident would take place to punish him!</strong>} exd5 {[#] <strong style="color:red;"></strong>}
(25...cxd5 26.Be5 Nd6 27.cxd5)
26.Ba5!{[#] <strong style="color:red;">The winning move</strong>}
Qd7{[#] <strong style="color:red;"></strong>} 27.Qg3+ Kb7{[#] <strong style="color:red;"></strong>} 28.Bxd8$5{[#] <strong style="color:red;"></strong>}
({<strong style="color:black;">Even more precise would be </strong> } 28.Rxe7 Qxe7 29.Re1! {<strong style="color:black;"> and then take the Rook on d8</strong> } )
Rxe1$6{[#] <strong style="color:red;"></strong>} 29.Rxe1 Qxd8{[#] <strong style="color:red;"></strong>}
30.cxb5{[#] <strong style="color:red;">Black’s position has been decimated.
Black could resign but plays on, probably very short of time. White does not let Black escape</strong>} cxb5 31.Qe3{[#] <strong style="color:red;"></strong>} Nc7 32.Qc5!{[#] <strong style="color:red;"></strong>} Ne6 33.Qxb5+{[#] <strong style="color:red;"></strong>} Ka8 34.Qc6+ Kb8 35.Re3{[#] <strong style="color:red;"></strong>}
Nd4 36.Qc5 Qf6 37.Re8+ Kb7 38.Re7+{[#] <strong style="color:red;"></strong>} 1-0
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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.
1.Nf3 g6 2.d4 Bg7 3.c4 d6 4.Nc3 Nf6 5.e4 O-O 6.Be2 e5 7.O-O{[#] <strong style="color:red;">Playing against the main line Kings Indian was contrary to the Bulgarian’s style of play (he liked to play irregular lines) and his results were never very convincing.</strong>} Nbd7
8.d5 Nc5 9.Qc2 a5 10.Nd2{[#] <strong style="color:red;">At least White is playing solidly</strong>} Bh6$5{[#] <strong style="color:red;"></strong>} 11.Nb3 Bxc1 12.Nxc5{[#] <strong style="color:red;"></strong>} Bh6!{[#] <strong style="color:red;">If anyone is better, it is Black.</strong>} 13.Nd3 Nd7{[#] <strong style="color:red;"></strong>}
14.Bg4$5{[#] <strong style="color:red;">Original, and not so bad</strong>} f5{[#] <strong style="color:red;"></strong>} 15.Bh3{[#] <strong style="color:red;">The White Bishop is quite nice here.</strong>} Qh4 16.Rae1{[#] <strong style="color:red;"></strong>} Nf6 17.f3 Rf7 18.Qf2 Qh5{[#] <strong style="color:red;">The game is roughly equal, despite White’s unusal treatment of hte opening. He should now capture the pawn on f5 and then play c5. Instead, he provokes complications…a dangerous undertaking against Tal.</strong>} 19.c5$6{[#] <strong style="color:red;"></strong>} fxe4!
20.Bxc8{[#] <strong style="color:red;"></strong>} e3!{[#] <strong style="color:red;"></strong>} 21.Qc2 Rxc8{[#] <strong style="color:red;"></strong>} 22.Qa4{[#] <strong style="color:red;">I believe that this is what Spiridonov was counting on. Black has problems defending his pawns on the Queenside. Unfortunately for White, Black can ignore these threats because he has quite a promising buildup on the Kingside.
</strong>} Rcf8{[#] <strong style="color:red;"></strong>} 23.cxd6 cxd6{[#] <strong style="color:red;"></strong>} 24.Nc1{[#] <strong style="color:red;">Spiridonov now realizes that something has not gone according to plan, but it is too late to defend.</strong>}
( 24.Qxa5 e2!$17 25.Rxe2 Ng4! 26.h3 Ne3 )
e2!{[#] <strong style="color:red;"></strong>} 25.Rxe2{[#] <strong style="color:red;">There is no really good option</strong>}
( 25.N1xe2 Ng4
26.h3 Be3+ 27.Kh1 Nf2+ )
Ng4{[#] <strong style="color:red;"></strong>}
( 25...b5$5 )
26.h3 Ne3{[#] <strong style="color:red;"></strong>} 27.Rfe1{[#] <strong style="color:red;"></strong>}
( 27.Rff2 Nxg2! ) b5!{[#] <strong style="color:red;">Tal in his element!
He no doubt had already calculated the coming finish. White is helpless</strong>} 28.Qxb5{[#] <strong style="color:red;"></strong>}
( 28.Qe4 Nxg2! 29.Rxg2 Rf4 30.Qe2
Rxf3 31.Nd3 Be3+$17 ( 31...Qh4!{<strong style="color:black;">is even stronger! </strong> } ) )
Rxf3!{[#] <strong style="color:red;"></strong>} 29.gxf3 Qxf3{[#] <strong style="color:red;"></strong>} 30.Nd3 Qg3+{[#] <strong style="color:red;"></strong>}
31.Kh1 Qxh3+ 32.Kg1 e4$5{[#] <strong style="color:red;"></strong>}
({<strong style="color:black;">There is more than one way to win: </strong> } 32...Rf1+ 33.Rxf1 Qxf1+ 34.Kh2 Bf4+
35.Nxf4 Ng4+ 36.Kg3 Qxf4+ )
33.Nxe4 {[#] <strong style="color:red;"></strong>} Rf1+{[#] <strong style="color:red;"></strong>} 34.Rxf1 Qxf1+ 35.Kh2
Qxe2+ {[#] <strong style="color:red;"></strong>} 36.Nef2 Bf4+!{[#] <strong style="color:red;"></strong>} 0-1
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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!
