Playing for Mate!
A small selection of uncompromising, attacking games played this past week at the Serbian Championship in Novi Sad. I find them especially interesting because in each game White plays for mate in a different way! I think my readers will also enjoy them.
gm Perunovic, M – Ratkovic, M
Serbia-Ch 14.3.2018
1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.e5 Bf5 4.h4 h5 5.c4 dxc4 6.Bxc4 e6 7.Nc3 Nd7
8.Nge2 Nb6 9.Bd3 Bxd3 10.Qxd3 Qd7 11.Bg5 f6 12.Bf4 O-O-O 13.O-O
f5 14.a4 Be7 15.a5 Na8 16.a6 b6{[#]
<div class="custom_attn_box" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #000000;"><strong>Black has not played the opening very well, but even so, if he had just one extra move and could play the Knight to c7 then he would be quite solid.</strong></span></div>
} 17.d5! {[#]
<div class="custom_attn_box" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #000000;"><strong>The stronger the opponent, the less likely one will be ‘forgiven’ for one’s poor opening play. Perunovic has a well deserved reputation amongst grandmasters for his stylish ‘executions’, and this game is just one more to be added to the list. With the text move White gains the square d4 for his Knight and as we will see Black’s game quickly falls apart after a few precise moves.</strong></span></div>
} exd5$5{[#]
<div class="custom_attn_box" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #000000;"><strong>The pawn has to be taken as otherwise the pawn advances. Taking with the other pawn is no better:</strong></span></div>
} ( 17...cxd5 18.Nb5!{[#]}
Kb8 19.Ned4 Rc8 20.Nxe6!{[#]} Qxe6 21.Nd4 Qg6 22.e6+ Nc7 23.Qb5{[#]
<div class="custom_attn_box" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #000000;"><strong>When there is no defence to Qc6 and mate! Very pretty. I am not sure if Black had seen this possibility, but unfortunately for him the move he played instead is little better.</strong></span></div>
<div class="custom_attn_box" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #000000;"><strong> <span style="color: #800000;">NOW LET’S GET BACK TO THE GAME CONTINUATION:</span></strong></span></div>
} ) 18.e6!{[#]
<div class="custom_attn_box" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #000000;"><strong>Gaining a tempo to allow the White Bishop to gain immediate control of the f4 to b8 diagonal, creating immediate threats against the Black King.</strong></span></div>
}
Qe8 ({<strong style="color: black;">Not pretty, but even worse is</strong> }18...Qxe6 19.Nd4 Qf6 20.Ncb5! cxb5 21.Rac1+ Kd7 22.Qxb5+$18 )
19.Nb5$3{[#]
<div class="custom_attn_box" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #000000;"><strong>As I wrote, Perunovic has a reputation for stylish executions! Black has little choice but to capture the Knight. The game quickly ends, and it is bloody!</strong></span></div>
} cxb5 20.Rac1+{[#]} Bc5 21.b4 Nc7 22.bxc5 Nxe6 23.cxb6+{[#]}
Kd7 24.Qxf5{[#]
<div class="custom_attn_box" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #000000;"><strong>It must have been a relief to throw in the towel here! Had Black been masochistic and played on, for instance Ke7, then simply Nd4 opening the e-file would have followed. It is important to know when to give things up…</strong></span></div>
} 1-0
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gm Perunovic,M – Djordjevic,VSerbia-Ch 12.3.2018
1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.e5 c5 5.a3 Bxc3+ 6.bxc3 Qa5 7.Bd2
Qa4 8.h4 Ne7 9.h5 h6 10.Nf3 Nbc6 11.Rh4 c4 12.Rf4 Bd7 13.g3 Rf8
14.Nh4 a6 15.Bh3 Rg8 16.Kf1 Nd8 17.Ng2 Ndc6 18.Ne3 b5 19.Kg1
Qa5 20.Kh1 Rh8 21.Qg4 Rg8 22.Qf3 Nd8 23.g4 Rh8 24.Rg1 g5 25.hxg6
Nxg6 26.Rf6 Qxa3{[#]
<div class="custom_attn_box" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #000000;"><strong>I haven’t written anything up to now as both sides have ,more or less, played logically. But White has made more progess in creating serious threats. The game now comes to a crisis</strong></span></div>
} 27.Nf5!{[#]} exf5 28.gxf5 Nh4{[#]} ( 28...Nf8 29.e6
fxe6 30.Qh5+ Ke7 31.Bf4! ) 29.Rxh6!{[#]} Qf8 ( 29...Rxh6 30.Rg8+ )
( 29...Rf8 30.Rxh4 ) 30.Rxh8 Qxh8 31.Qh5$3{[#]} Qxh5 32.Rg8+ Ke7
33.f6# 1-0
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gm Savic, M – im Rabrenovic,VSerbia-Ch 14.3.2018
1.e4 d6 2.Bc4 Nf6 3.d3 e5 4.Nf3 Be7 5.c3 h6 6.O-O O-O 7.Re1 c6
8.Bb3 Re8 9.Nbd2 Bf8 10.Nf1 Nbd7 11.h3 a5 12.Ng3 d5 13.exd5 cxd5
14.Ba4 Qc7 15.Be3 b6 16.Qc1 Bb7 17.d4 Bc6 18.Bc2 e4 19.Nh4 b5
20.Ngf5 Re6 21.Bd1 b4 22.Bf4 Qd8 23.Re3 Kh7 24.Rg3 Rc8 25.Be2
Bb7 26.Qd2 Nb6 27.cxb4 axb4 28.b3 Qe8{[#]
<div class="custom_attn_box" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #000000;"><strong>This game was played in the last round of the tournament and this influenced White’s next move. White can get a small but lasting positional advantage by playing his Knight to d6 immediately. But White wanted to attack, and he therefore played a more risky continuation.</strong></span></div>
} 29.Nxg7$6{[#]
<div class="custom_attn_box" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #000000;"><strong>A typical Tal sacrifice! Not objectively correct, but this direct continuation puts lots of psychological pressure on the opponent. As Tal often put it, ‘Fortune favours the brave!’</strong></span></div>
} ( 29.Nd6! Rxd6
30.Bxd6 Bxd6 31.Rxg7+ Kxg7 32.Nf5+ Kg6 33.Nxd6$14 ) Bxg7 30.Nf5
Bf8 31.Bxh6 Ng8$6 ( 31...e3! {<strong style="color: red;">would have turned the tables on White!</strong>} ) 32.Bxf8 Qxf8 33.Rg5!{[#]} Rg6 34.Rh5+
Nh6 35.Bg4!{[#]
<div class="custom_attn_box" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #000000;"><strong>Now it is clear that Black’s defence has been broken. His position soon collapses. Once more the grandmaster does not forgive!</strong></span></div>
} Rcc6 36.Rc1 {!} Rxc1+ 37.Qxc1 Bc8 ( 37...Rc6 38.Qg5 )
38.Qc7 Bxf5 39.Bxf5 Kg7 40.Bxg6 Kxg6 41.g4 Nc8 42.Rxd5{[#]
<div class="custom_attn_box" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #000000;"><strong>There is nothing to be done. The best Black could achieve is exchange Queens, but then he would be helpless against the advance of White’s pawns.</strong></span></div>
} 1-0
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