Skype coaching session, 04 August 2019. The game discussed (27 moves) is given below with annotations and without annotations. Re-structuring of the sessions now offers the option for guests to bring their own games for group discussion. Recordings of some previous coaching sessions can be found at: http://www.open-aurec.com/Skype/PaulBenson/PaulBenson.htm Paul Benson. * * * Annotated Game. White: G. Sanakoev. Black: Y. Shaposhnikov. Event: Russian Correspondence Championship, 1963-64. Result: 1-0 in 27 moves. Opening: Sicilian Defence, Taimanov Variation, B47. | Editorial. This game was played about 4 years before Elo ratings were invented. However it is possible to retro-calculate to give close approximations of strength. Consider both these players to be approximately 2400. It is also a correspondence game, much more time available to think about the, "Apparently Unthinkable!" || 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 | Many choices here which begin to determine the system to emerge. The ECO for this move order is B32, but since subsequent play steers the game into a different system, for purposes of home research, the game code is given as B47. Sometimes black will make the defining choice, such as. 2. ... g6, or, 2. ... Nf6. More often it is white in the early stages who gets to make the choice of variation. As it happens this game will, as far as the opening is concerned, be in footballing terms, a game of two halves. || 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 e6 | An important juncture. This is now the Taimanov Variation, looks a little passive but do not be fooled. Black will get on with development anticipating to get to grips with white as the middlegame begins. The only interactive move here for black is, 4. ... e5, giving the white d4 knight a kick, other pawn moves are playable but do not affect the white development plan. || 5. Nc3 Qc7 | Beginners might be staring at this strange queen move wondering what is happening. If black develops with the natural-looking, Nf6, white might pin it with, Bg5. So the black queen escapes a potential pin by shuffling to c7. || 6. g3 | White is similarly content to postpone fisticuffs until the middlegame. The tempting tempo-gaining attack on the black queen with, 6. Ndb5, in reality gains little. After, 6. Ndb5 Qb8 7. Be3 a6 8. Nd4 Qc7, both of the sparring pieces have returned to their initial positions, all that has happened is that both players now have a couple of extra moves on the scoresheet. Instead, 6. Be3, and, 6. Be2, are more popular than the game move, with, 6. f4, less common, there are of course other 6th moves for white, but they are not as popular as the stated choices. || 6. ... a6 7. Bg2 Nf6 8. O-O Be7 9. Be3 | Far more popular here is, 9. Re1. White must not be too hasty, 9. f4 Nxd4 10. Qxd4 Bc5, loses the queen to a royal skewer. || 9. ... O-O | The easy-to-find developing moves have been flicked out as fast as correspondence play permits. Now each player must construct their middlegame plan, there must be some interaction eventually, but neither is yet interested in disturbing the plans of the other. || 10. Kh1 | Part of the plan of launching a kingside attack. Instead, 10. Qe2, has similar kingside ambitions, while restricting the black queenside play with, 10. a4, is a different approach. || 10. ... Rd8 | A rarity in the limited database used to research these sessions. If the idea is to hit in the centre with, pawn d5, there is only a single example of this plan. Z. Domnitz - I. Gat, Tel Aviv 1966, showed black handling it like a French Defence: 10. ... Rd8 11. f4 d5 12. e5 Nd7 13. Nce2 Nc5 14. c3 Bd7 15. g4 b5 16. Rc1 Qb7 17. Rf3 f5 18. exf6 Bxf6 19. Rh3 Ne4 20. Ng3 e5 21. Nxe4 dxe4 22. Qb3+ Kf8 23. Ne6+ Bxe6 24. Qxe6 Qd7 25. Qxd7 Rxd7 26. Bxe4 Rc7 27. Bc5+ Be7 28. Bb6 Rcc8 29. fxe5 Rab8 30. Rf1+ Ke8 31. Rxh7 Rxb6 32. Rh8+ 1-0. Instead black should choose between either, 10. ... Bd7, with the plan, Nxd4, then, Bc6, to pressure the white e4 pawn, or, 10. ... Rb8, intending to expand with, pawn b5, then, Bb7. || 11. f4 | Instead, 11. a4, preventing black, pawn b5, is worth considering. || 11. ... d6 12. Bf3 | A strange-looking move which will only be appreciated once the kingside assault gets rolling. || 12. ... Rb8 | Black plans, pawn b5, so removing the rook out of the x-ray glare of the white f3 bishop is a wise precaution. || 13. Qe2 | A doubler. Firstly, the white rooks are connected, the a1 rook can swing centre/kingside according to the needs of the forthcoming attack. Secondly, the d1 square is vacated, fine, but who might be thinking of needing it? || 13. ... Na5 | A typical black Sicilian queenside manoeuvre, the black knight is heading for c4, nibbling the white e3 bishop while threatening to swallow whole the white b2 pawn. White to play has adequately prepared for the attack, so time to roll, and that applies to black as well. || 14. g4 b5 15. g5 Ne8 16. f5 b4 | So far each player has been following the strategy of only moving on the side of the board where the opponent is attacking when it is absolutely necessary. When white pushed, pawn g5, hitting the black f6 knight, it retreated, so we expect the white c3 knight to copy this plan, right? || 17. fxe6 | Just because a unit is attacked it does not automatically need to flee. This passive piece offer can be justified on strategic grounds, white is playing to open up the black kingside for an attack. If black wishes to spend a tempo capturing on c3 then the white attack can accelerate, but simplistic thinking like this is rarely enough. Once the inspiration of offering a piece in return for opening up the opposing king have been made then some serious calculations will be required to confirm the strategic thinking. || 17. ... fxe6 | Black reckons the white c3 knight is poisoned, it is, the ideas run: (A). If, 17. ... bxc3 18. exf7+ Kh8 19. fxe8=Q+ Rxe8 20. b3, white has won a pawn, opened up the black centre/kingside, and stabilised the queenside where black wishes to attack. (B). Or if, 17. ... bxc3 18. exf7+ Kxf7 19. Bh5+ Kg8 20. Bf7+ Kh8 21. Qh5, threatening, pawn g6, when if black tries, pawn h6, white crashes through with, Bxh6, leading to a quick mate. Note that once white plays, pawn g6, an attempted black defence of, Nf6, is refuted by white, Rxf6. Black could respond differently on the kingside with, 17. ... Bxe6, but after, 18. Nxe6 fxe6 19. Bg4 bxc3 20. Bxe6+ kg8 21. Qh5, when white threatens, pawn g6, crashing through, note that black, 21. ... g6 22. Qh6 Ng7 23. Rf7 Rg8 24. Bd4, threatens to keep capturing on g7 giving mate, the only way to stop this is, 24. ... Bf8, but, 25. Rxc7, black loses the queen. White to play must think about the Fischerism: "In chess it is important to know when to punch and when to duck." || 18. Bh5 | Punch! White is trying to get into the variations just given. Fine, but surely black can interfere with this plan with a simple pawn push? || 18. ... g6 | And now white has 2 pieces en prise, the c3 knight and now the h5 bishop. White to play is in need of some inspiration. || 19. Qf2 Aha, the white queen is planning an invasion on the f7 square with some nasty threats in the air when she does. This strong queen invasion is impossible to prevent due to the awkward formation of the pieces who began the game on the black kingside. Black to play must discover the white threats and then try to neutralise them. || 19. ... Ng7 | This might appear to be an attack against the white h5 bishop, perhaps so, but that is not the reason for the knight move. The white queen is about to charge in with, Qf7+, black must eliminate her presence as quickly as possible. The black idea is to play, Rf8, but this needs the black rooks to be connected, if the black c8 bishop remains unmoved then white ends it all with, Qxf8+ Bxf8, Rxf8+ mate. Instead the greed philosophy receives punishment, though some imagination is required to refute it. In these very tactical lines take note of how an unhappy, "Cornered Defensive King", is extremely vulnerable to a check and how a piece vacates a square for another piece to occupy: (Note: All calculations done using aging bio-organic software, there could be errors or improvements.) (A). If, 19. ... bxc3 20. Qf7+ Kh8 21. Bxg6 hxg6 22. Rf4 Ng7 23. Rh4+ Nh5 24. Qxg6, with no sensible defence against white, Rxh5+ mate. (B). Or if, 19. ... bxc3 20. Qf7+ Kh8 21. Bxg6 hxg6 22. Rf4 Bxg5 23. Qf8+ Kh7 24. Rf7+ Qxf7 25. Qxf7 +Kh6 26. Bxg5+ Kxg5 27. Qe7+, picking off the loose black d8 rook, white would have a queen for 2 black minor pieces. (C). Or if, 19. ... gxh5 20. Qf7+ Kh8 21. Nxe6 Bxe6 22. Bd4+ Nf6 23. Bxf6+ Bxf6 24. Qxc7, white would have a queen for 2 black minor pieces, but note that white now has only the c3 knight en prise, while black has the f6 bishop and the a5 knight en prise. (D). Or if, 19. ... gxh5 20. Qf7+ Kh8 21. Nxe6 Qd7 22. Bd4+ Nf6 23. Qg7+ mate. (E). Or if, 19. ... gxh5 20. Qf7+ Kh8 21. Nxe6 Qd7 22. Bd4+ Bf6 23. Bxf6+ Nxf6 24. Qxf6+ Kg8 25. Qf8+ Rxf8 26. Rxf8+ mate. Fischerism: "Tactics flow from a positionally superior game", and having a couple of pieces en prise does not automatically mean positional inferiority. || 20. Qf7+ Kh8 | So the white queen, "Corners", the black king but must be careful herself, when the black c8 bishop gets off the black back rank, black will have, Rf8, probably trapping her. White to play and decide between, "Punching", or, "Ducking", as if that could ever be in any doubt in such a position as this. || 21. Bxg6 | With the general idea of lifting the f1 rook to f3 or f4, across to the h-file, threatening, Rxh7+ mate, a bit slow but how can black prevent this? Furthermore, with the white bishop sitting on g6, the black g7 knight is immobilised, if it moves white has, Qxh7+ mate. || 21. ... Nc4 | To have 1 piece en prise is unfortunate, to have 2 pieces en prise smacks of carelessness, to have 3 pieces en prise indicates either genius or lunacy. The black knight on c4 is attacking the white e3 bishop, fine, but if black is rejecting capturing either the white c3 knight or g6 bishop, then why put an attack on the e3 bishop? The answer is that the attack on the e3 bishop is not deliberate, there is no intention to capture with, Nxe3, whatsoever. The real plan is to play, 22. ... Ne5, forcing the white queen off the f7 square, which breaks all of the potential white mating nets. Other means of kicking the white queen off f7 seem too slow, some ideas run: (A). If, 21. ... Bb7 22. Nxe6 Nxe6 23. Qxh7+ mate. (B). Or if, 21. ... Bb7 22. Nxe6 Rg8 23. Nxc7, black drops the queen. (C). Or if, 21. ... Bd7 22. Qxe7 hxg6 23. Rf7 Rg8 24. Nxe6 Nxe6 25. Rh7+ mate. (D). Or if, 21. ... Bd7 22. Qxe7 hxg6 23. Rf7 Rg8 24. Nxe6 Qc8 25. Rxg7 Rxg7 26. Qxg7+ mate. White to play must keep the queen on f7, but how? || 22. Nc6 | ...and to have 4 pieces en prise should be the leading headline on the 6 o'clock news. Note also that for once black now has a piece en prise, white has a double-attack on the black e7 bishop which is pinned to the unprotected black c7 queen. Eliminating the black e7 bishop would be beneficial to the white cause, but remember pieces can threaten backwards. The true purpose of white playing, 22. Nc6, is to maintain the queen on f7, if black tries, 22. ... Ne5, it can be traded off. But could white have had the same defence against a possible black, Ne5, with, 22. Nf3, to fight for e5? No, an important support-line up the f-file gets cut, 22. Nf3 Rf8, the white queen is trapped, there is no support from the white f1 rook so a double capture on f8 giving mate can no longer occur. This is a correspondence game, black has plenty of time to calculate the consequences of making a variety of captures. However, imagine the mind-spin black would be suffering if this was a real-time game, though could white have found the mental energy plus courage to create this position face-to-face? || 22. ... Ne5 | Perhaps the only capture to examine is, Qxc6, some ideas run: (A). If, 22. ... Qxc6 23. Qxe7 Qd7 24. Qf8+ Rxf8 25. Rxf8+ mate. (B). Or if, 22. ... Qxc6 23. Qxe7 Bb7 24. Rf7 Rg8 25. Bxh7 Nxe3 26. Qf6 bxc3 27. Qh6 cxb2 28. Bg6+ mate. (C). Or if, 22. ... Qxc6 23. Qxe7 Bb7 24. Rf7 Rg8 25. Bxh7 Nxe3 26. Qf6 Nef5 27. Bxf5 exf5 28. Qh6+ mate. (D). Or if, 22. ... Qxc6 23. Qxe7 Bb7 24. Rf7 Rg8 25. Bxh7 Kxh7 26. g6+ Kh8 27. Qh4+ Nh5 28. Rh7+ mate. (E). Or if, 22. ... Qxc6 23. Qxe7 Bb7 24. Rf7 Rg8 25. Bxh7 Kxh7 26. g6+ Kxg6 27. Rg1+ Kh7 28. Qh4+ mate. (F). Or if, 22. ... Qxc6 23. Qxe7 Bb7 24. Rf7 Rg8 25. Bxh7 Kxh7 26. g6+ Kxg6 27. Rg1+ Kh5 28. Qg5+ mate. (G). Or if, 22. ... Qxc6 23. Qxe7 hxg6 24. Qxd8+ Kh7 25. Rf8 Nh5 26. Rh8+ Kg7 27. Qf8+ mate. (H). Or if, 22. ... Qxc6 23. Qxe7 hxg6 24. Qxd8+ Ne8 25. Rf8+ Kg7 26. Qe7+ mate. (I). Or if, 22. ... Qxc6 23. Qxe7 hxg6 24. Qxd8+ Ne8 25. Rf8+ Kh7 26. Qe7+ Ng7 27. Rf7 Rb7 28. Rxg7+ Kh8 29. Qf8+ mate. So on the grounds that white has pieces en prise across the board, black reasons that deflecting the white c6 knight from ganging up on the black e7 bishop makes sense. || 23. Nxe5 | The white queen must remain on f7 if the attack is to continue. Anything else starts to shed material without compensation, 23. Qf2 Nxg6, and white will still have a pair of c-file knight en prise. || 23. ... Bb7 | Connecting rooks, black will next move have, 24. ... Rf8, when the white queen is trapped, and there will still be a white minor piece, probably the c3 knight, to be taken. White has tried so hard to magic-up something from nothing since the c3 knight was threatened back on move 16, so much inspiration for no reward, right? White to play must choose between throwing in the towel or throwing in the kitchen sink, take as much time as you wish over this next white move. || 24. Qxg7+ It did not take white much time to get the, "En Prise Count", back up to 4 units, only this time black cannot decline the offer. If the ultimate voluntary, "En Prise", move of, Qxg7+, did not occur to you, then perhaps seek the compensation prize of working out the game continuation. || 24. ... Kxg7 25. Rf7+ Kh8 | Instead, 25. ... Kg8 26. Bxh7+ Kh8 27. Ng6+ mate. || 26. Rxh7+ Kg8 | The immediate punching has stopped, white needs reinforcements, but who can get in there quickly? || 27. Ng4 Black resigns, 1-0 | Expectations are that an aggressive campaign proceeds by pieces moving towards the focus of attack, in this case the black king. But here we have an example of a unit retreating to make progress. White is about to win much material or force mate. An immediate threat which must be met is, 28. Nh6+ Kf8 29. Rf1+ Bf6 30. Rxf6+ Qf7 31. Rfxf7+ Ke8 32. Rh8+ mate. The precise reasons for resignation are: (A). If, 27. ... Bf8 28. Nf6+ mate. (B). Or if, 27. ... Bxg5 28. Rxc7 Bxe3 29. Nf6+ Kh8 30. Rh7+ mate. (C). Or if, 27. ... Bxg5 28. Rxc7 Bxe3 29. Nf6+ Kf8 30. Rf7+ mate. (D). Or if, 27. ... Bxg5 28. Rxc7 Bh4 29. Nh6+ Kh8 30. Rh7+ mate. (E). Or if, 27. ... Bxg5 28. Rxc7 Bh4 29. Nh6+ Kf8 30. Rf1+ Bf6 31. Rxf6+ mate. || * * * ## Unannotated Game. White: G. Sanakoev. Black: Y. Shaposhnikov. Event: Russian Correspondence Championship, 1963-64. Result: 1-0 in 27 moves. Opening: Sicilian Defence, Taimanov Variation, B47. 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 e6 5. Nc3 Qc7 6. g3 a6 7. Bg2 Nf6 8. O-O Be7 9. Be3 O-O 10. Kh1 Rd8 11. f4 d6 12. Bf3 Rb8 13. Qe2 Na5 14. g4 b5 15. g5 Ne8 16. f5 b4 17. fxe6 fxe6 18. Bh5 g6 19. Qf2 Ng7 20. Qf7+ Kh8 21. Bxg6 Nc4 22. Nc6 Ne5 23. Nxe5 Bb7 24. Qxg7+ Kxg7 25. Rf7+ Kh8 26. Rxh7+ Kg8 27. Ng4 Black resigns, 1-0 * * *