Lessons from Boris Spassky

Boris Spassky became World Champion on the second attempt, defeating Petrosian in 1969 and losing his title to Fischer in 1972. He had something of a reputation of having a 'universal' style, able to play all positions well, but that is true of anyone who holds the crown of chess, and he has a marked facility with dynamic and attacking play.

Opening lessons

I got a lot out of thinking about Spassky's opening repertoire. He practised all the major systems of his day, of course, but there were some examples of "positions that are surprisingly hard to play for Black" -- the Closed Sicilian being an early example, and the dxc5 variation of the Queen's Gambit Accepted for another -- not regarded highly by theory, but in practise would score well. (I am reminded, as so often, by Tartakower: “Any opening is good if its reputation is bad enough”.)

Click [...] to see game list

[Event "URS-ch 1/4 final"]
[Site "Riga"]
[Date "1951.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Estrin, Yacov"]
[Black "Spassky, Boris V"]
[Result "*"]
[ECO "C44"]
[Annotator "DrDave"]
[PlyCount "38"]
[EventDate "1951.??.??"]
[EventRounds "15"]
[EventCountry "URS"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2009.11.30"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 (2... f5 3. Nxe5 Qf6 4. d4 d6 5. Nc4 fxe4 6. Ne3 {
Nimzowitsch, an idea that won me a game against an opponent who had learned
only the line with 3.Bc4} (6. Be2 {Bronstein})) 3. c3 f5 {"The two theory
moves are 3....Nf6 and 3...d5, and perhaps Spassky, at 14, did not know either
line.  But certainly Estrin could not show his famed theoretical knowledge
against 3...f5, which, in fact, seems perfectly playable.} (3... Nf6 4. d4 Nxe4
(4... exd4 5. e5 Nd5) 5. d5 Ne7 6. Nxe5 Ng6 (6... d6 $2 {falls into a filthy
trap:} 7. Bb5+ c6 8. dxc6 Qb6 9. cxb7+ Kd8 10. Nxf7+ Kc7 11. bxa8=N+) 7. Qd4 (
7. Nxg6 hxg6 8. Bd3 Nf6) 7... Qf6 8. Qxe4 Qxe5 9. Qxe5+ Nxe5 {with a dismal
equality}) (3... d5 4. Qa4 (4. Bb5 dxe4 5. Nxe5 Qd5 ({Emms has ruined this
line by advocating} 5... Qg5 6. Qa4 Qxg2 7. Bxc6+ bxc6 8. Qxc6+ Kd8 9. Rf1 Bh3
10. Qxa8+ Ke7 11. Kd1 Qxf1+ 12. Kc2 Bf5) 6. Qa4 Nge7 7. f4) 4... f6 (4... Bd7
5. exd5 Nd4 6. Qd1 Nxf3+ 7. Qxf3 Bd6 8. Bc4 f5) 5. Bb5 Nge7 6. exd5 Qxd5 7. O-O
e4 8. c4) 4. d4 fxe4 5. Nxe5 Qf6 6. Nc4 ({Clarke suggests that White can get
an advantage through} 6. Ng4 Qg6 {but that's not clear.}) 6... d5 7. Ne3 {This
is the sort of approach Nimzowitsch recommended against the Philidor
Counter-Gambit} Be6 8. Bb5 Bd6 9. O-O {There's nothing wrong with Black's
position.} Nh6 $1 {More accurate and aggressive than the 'natural' ...Nge7} 10.
f3 ({White should bale out with} 10. Qh5+) 10... Qh4 11. g3 Bxg3 $1 {Showing
his opponent no respect, Spassky is out to decide the game quickly, while
White's Queen's-side pieces are having a lie-in.} 12. hxg3 Qxg3+ 13. Ng2 Bh3
14. Qe2 O-O 15. Qf2 Qg6 16. Be2 Rf6 17. f4 Nf5 18. Kh2 $2 Qh6 0-1


[Event "Candidates qf4"]
[Site "Sukhumi"]
[Date "1968.??.??"]
[Round "6"]
[White "Spassky, Boris V"]
[Black "Geller, Efim P"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B25"]
[Annotator "DrDave"]
[PlyCount "63"]
[EventDate "1968.??.??"]
[EventRounds "8"]
[EventCountry "URS"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "1999.07.01"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nc3 d6 3. g3 Nc6 4. Bg2 g6 5. d3 Bg7 6. f4 ({Spassky's line is an
improvement on the older} 6. Nge2) (6. Be3 {is currently fashionable}) 6... Nf6
(6... f5 {is a forthright reply, practised by Botvinnik} 7. Nf3 Nf6 8. O-O O-O
9. Kh1 Kh8 10. Be3 Be6 11. Qd2 Qd7 12. Bg1 Rae8 13. Rae1 b6 14. b3 Bg8 15. Nh4
Ng4 16. Nd5 e6 17. Ne3 Nxe3 18. Bxe3 d5 19. e5 d4 20. Bf2 g5 21. Nf3 g4 22. Ng1
Rc8 23. Ne2 Rfd8 24. Rc1 Bh6 25. Qd1 Bf7 26. a3 Be8 27. b4 Bf8 28. b5 Ne7 29.
a4 a6 30. c4 dxc3 31. Nxc3 axb5 32. axb5 Nd5 33. Nxd5 exd5 34. Rb1 Ra8 35. d4
c4 36. Qe2 Bf7 37. Be1 Ra4 38. Bc3 Be6 39. Rfc1 Rda8 40. Rc2 Be7 41. Kg1 Kg8
42. Qd2 h5 43. Bf1 Kf7 44. Be2 Kg6 45. Rcb2 Ra3 46. Bb4 Bxb4 47. Qxb4 Kf7 48.
Rc1 R8a4 49. Qe1 Ra5 50. Rcb1 Qe7 51. Kf2 h4 52. Qc1 Ra8 53. Rc2 Rh8 54. Rc3
hxg3+ 55. hxg3 Ra2 56. Rb2 Rh2+ {0-1 (56) Medina Garcia,A-Botvinnik,M Wijk aan
Zee 1969}) (6... e6 7. Nf3 Nge7 {is the main line}) 7. Nf3 O-O 8. O-O Rb8 9. h3
b5 {Now, when I was a boy, we were advised not to make a weakness or give a
lever to the opponent on the side where they were stronger, and instead press
on with our own attack. Spassky resolutely ignores this advice, in a game
which is a nice counterpoint to Fischer's approach against Miagmasuren} 10. a3
(10. g4) 10... a5 11. Be3 b4 12. axb4 axb4 13. Ne2 Bb7 14. b3 Ra8 15. Rc1 Ra2
16. g4 {Finally, White starts to move on the King's-side.} Qa8 (16... Qc7) 17.
Qe1 Qa6 18. Qf2 Na7 19. f5 $1 Nb5 $6 20. fxg6 hxg6 21. Ng5 Na3 $2 {White's
Queen's-side is about to collapse, starting with c2, but it's all gone wrong
for Black on the King's-side.} 22. Qh4 Rc8 23. Rxf6 exf6 24. Qh7+ Kf8 25. Nxf7
$1 Rxc2 (25... Kxf7 26. Bh6 Rg8 27. Nf4) 26. Bh6 Rxc1+ 27. Nxc1 Kxf7 28. Qxg7+
Ke8 29. g5 (29. e5 $1) 29... f5 30. Qxg6+ Kd7 31. Qf7+ Kc6 32. exf5+ {Black
has escaped the mate, but the f-pawn will decide the game shortly.} 1-0


[Event "Varna ol (Men) fin-A"]
[Site "Varna"]
[Date "1962.??.??"]
[Round "9"]
[White "Spassky, Boris V"]
[Black "Schmid, Lothar"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "A43"]
[Annotator "DrDave"]
[PlyCount "47"]
[EventDate "1962.09.16"]
[EventRounds "11"]
[EventCountry "BUL"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "1999.07.01"]
[WhiteTeam "Soviet Union"]
[BlackTeam "Germany"]
[WhiteTeamCountry "URS"]
[BlackTeamCountry "GER"]

1. d4 c5 2. d5 d6 3. e4 g6 4. Nf3 Bg7 5. Be2 Nf6 6. Nc3 Na6 7. O-O Nc7 8. Re1 (
{There was a famous precedent, where Botvinnik forced through the thematic
e4-e5 break by a sharp Knight manoeuvre} 8. a4 a6 9. Nd2 Bd7 10. Nc4 (10. a5)
10... b5 11. e5 $1 dxe5 (11... bxc4 12. exf6 Bxf6 13. Ne4 Bg7 14. Bxc4) 12.
axb5 axb5 13. Rxa8 Qxa8 14. Nxe5 b4 15. d6 $1 bxc3 16. dxc7 Qc8 17. Bf4 cxb2
18. Nxd7 Nxd7 (18... Qxd7 19. Bb5) 19. Bb5 Bd4 20. c3 e5 21. cxd4 exf4 22.
Bxd7+ Qxd7 23. Qe2+ Kf8 24. Qe5 Kg8 25. Rb1 f6 26. Qxc5 Kg7 27. Rxb2 Re8 28.
Rb1 f3 29. gxf3 Qh3 30. Qc6 {1-0 (30) Botvinnik,M-Schmid,L Leipzig 1960}) 8...
O-O 9. a4 a6 10. Bg5 h6 11. Bf4 {Spassky is after the same end, but through
more straightforward development.} Bd7 12. Qd2 b5 13. e5 dxe5 14. Bxe5 b4 15.
Bxf6 Bxf6 (15... bxc3 16. Bxc3) 16. Ne4 Bg7 17. Nxc5 Bxb2 18. Rad1 {White has
broken through in the centre, and can turn his attention to the King.} Bf5 19.
Qxh6 Bg7 20. Qh4 Qd6 $2 21. Ng5 Rfe8 22. Bd3 Qxc5 23. Bxf5 Nxd5 (23... gxf5 24.
Qh7+ Kf8 25. Qh5) 24. Be6 (24. Bxg6) (24. Be6 fxe6 25. Qh7+ Kf8 26. Nxe6+ Kf7
27. Qxg7#) 1-0

He also specialised in some systems, like the King's Gambit, that hardly anyone else would touch, and not as a surprise weapon, but a thoroughly studied system which he knows well and can show many subtleties.

Click [...] to see game list


[Event "URS-ch27"]
[Site "Leningrad"]
[Date "1960.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Spassky, Boris V"]
[Black "Bronstein, David I"]
[Result "*"]
[ECO "C36"]
[Annotator "DrDave"]
[PlyCount "45"]
[EventDate "1960.??.??"]
[EventRounds "19"]
[EventCountry "URS"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "1999.07.01"]

1. e4 e5 2. f4 {Played against another player who has played the gambit, so
Spassky is confident of the depth of his understanding of this system.} exf4 3.
Nf3 d5 4. exd5 Bd6 5. Nc3 Ne7 6. d4 O-O 7. Bd3 Nd7 8. O-O h6 9. Ne4 Nxd5 10. c4
Ne3 11. Bxe3 fxe3 12. c5 Be7 13. Bc2 Re8 14. Qd3 e2 15. Nd6 {What a move...}
Nf8 {Black might as well pocket the Rook before anything else!} 16. Nxf7
exf1=Q+ 17. Rxf1 Bf5 18. Qxf5 Qd7 19. Qf4 Bf6 20. N3e5 Qe7 21. Bb3 Bxe5 {A
version of this finish was used as the "Kronsteen-MacAdams" game at the start
of the film, From Russia With Love.} 22. Nxe5+ Kh7 23. Qe4+ {Bronstein, and
MacAdams, resigned here.} (23. Qe4+ g6 24. Rxf8 Qg7 {is the most stubborn in
avoiding mate, but clearly} 25. Rf7 {is decisive}) 1-0


[Event "Belgrade"]
[Site "Belgrade"]
[Date "1964.??.??"]
[Round "8"]
[White "Spassky, Boris V"]
[Black "Matanovic, Aleksandar"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C32"]
[Annotator "DrDave"]
[PlyCount "81"]
[EventDate "1964.??.??"]
[EventRounds "17"]
[EventCountry "YUG"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "1999.07.01"]

1. e4 e5 2. f4 d5 3. exd5 e4 4. d3 Nf6 5. dxe4 Nxe4 6. Be3 $5 {I won a game
with this idea of Spassky} Qh4+ 7. g3 Nxg3 8. Nf3 Qe7 (8... Qh6 9. hxg3 Qxh1
10. Qe2 {and White has fine compensation for the exchange.}) 9. hxg3 Qxe3+ 10.
Qe2 Qxe2+ 11. Bxe2 Bg4 12. Nc3 Bb4 13. Ng5 Bxe2 14. Kxe2 Bxc3 15. bxc3 h6 16.
Kd3 Rf8 17. Nf3 Na6 18. Rae1+ Kd7 19. c4 f6 20. Kd4 b6 21. f5 Nc5 22. Nh4 Rfe8
23. Re6 g5 24. Ng6 Nxe6+ 25. fxe6+ Rxe6 26. dxe6+ Kxe6 27. Rxh6 Kf7 28. Ne5+
fxe5+ 29. Kxe5 c5 30. Kf5 Ke7 31. Kxg5 Rf8 32. Rh2 Kd6 33. g4 Rg8+ 34. Kf4 Rf8+
35. Kg3 Ke5 36. Re2+ Kd4 37. g5 Kxc4 38. Kg4 Kc3 39. g6 c4 40. Kg5 b5 41. g7
1/2-1/2


Middlegame lessons

Click [...] to see game list

[Event "Gothenburg Interzonal"]
[Site "Gothenburg"]
[Date "1955.09.06"]
[Round "14"]
[White "Spassky, Boris V"]
[Black "Pilnik, Herman"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B98"]
[Annotator "DrDave"]
[PlyCount "61"]
[EventDate "1955.09.15"]
[EventRounds "21"]
[EventCountry "SWE"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "1999.07.01"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Bg5 e6 7. f4 Be7 8. Qf3
h6 9. Bh4 g5 {A famous trio of games were played on the same day, with
Argentinean players using deep preparation to surprise their Soviet opponents.
Black gives up a pawn to secure an outpost on e5} 10. fxg5 Nfd7 11. Nxe6 {
Keres was first to resolve on this sacrifice.} fxe6 12. Qh5+ Kf8 13. Bb5 Kg7 (
13... Ne5 14. Bg3 Bxg5 15. O-O+ Ke7 16. Bxe5 Qb6+ 17. Kh1 dxe5 18. Qf7+ Kd6 19.
Rad1+ Qd4 20. Rxd4+ exd4 21. e5+ Kc5 22. Qc7+ Nc6 23. Bxc6 {1-0 (23) Geller,
E-Panno,O Gothenburg 1955}) 14. O-O Ne5 {Black has his wish!} 15. Bg3 Ng6 16.
gxh6+ Rxh6 17. Rf7+ Kxf7 18. Qxh6 axb5 19. Rf1+ Ke8 20. Qxg6+ Kd7 21. Rf7 Nc6
22. Nd5 Rxa2 23. h3 (23. h4 Qh8 24. Nxe7 Nxe7 25. Qg5 {1-0 (25) Keres,
P-Najdorf,M Gothenburg 1955 100 Jahre Schach [Knaak,R]}) 23... Qh8 24. Nxe7
Nxe7 25. Qg5 Ra1+ 26. Kh2 Qd8 27. Qxb5+ Kc7 28. Qc5+ Kb8 29. Bxd6+ Ka8 30. Bxe7
Ra5 31. Qb4 1-0


[Event "Bucharest"]
[Site "Bucharest"]
[Date "1953.??.??"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Spassky, Boris V"]
[Black "Smyslov, Vassily"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "E31"]
[Annotator "DrDave"]
[PlyCount "67"]
[EventDate "1953.??.??"]
[EventRounds "19"]
[EventCountry "ROU"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "1999.07.01"]

{A game showing the importance of development and the centre!} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4
e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Bg5 h6 5. Bh4 c5 6. d5 exd5 7. cxd5 d6 8. e3 Nbd7 9. Bb5 {The
Soviet School of Chess often looked to Tchigorin rather than Steinitz for
inspiration, and Tchigorin was rather sceptical about the idea that Knights
were worse than Bishops.} O-O 10. Nge2 Ne5 11. O-O Ng6 12. Bg3 Nh5 13. Bd3 Nxg3
14. Nxg3 Ne5 15. Be2 Bxc3 {Black swaps but without doubling the pawns.} 16.
bxc3 Qh4 17. f4 Ng4 18. Bxg4 {In the end, the Knight is exchanged on a distant
square.} Bxg4 19. Qa4 Bc8 20. e4 Qg4 21. Qc2 h5 22. Rf2 b5 23. e5 h4 24. Nf1
Bf5 25. Qd2 dxe5 26. fxe5 Bg6 27. Re1 h3 28. d6 Be4 29. Ne3 Qe6 30. Rf4 Bxg2 {
Black has achieved about as much as you can with a Bishop, yet White is
winning.} 31. Nf5 $1 Rfe8 32. Re3 Rad8 33. Nxg7 Rxd6 (33... Kxg7 34. Rg3+ Kf8
35. Rxf7+ Qxf7 (35... Kxf7 36. Qf4+) 36. Qh6+) 34. Nxe6 (34. Nxe6 Rxd2 35. Rg3+
Kh7 36. Rh4#) 1-0

I'm always interested in moves that are hard to spot, and how to spot them. Spassky shows a couple of examples, although how he spotted them, is still unknown to me.

Click [...] to see game list




[Event "Moscow zt"]
[Site "Moscow"]
[Date "1964.??.??"]
[Round "13"]
[White "Spassky, Boris V"]
[Black "Kortschnoj, Viktor"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "E18"]
[Annotator "DrDave"]
[PlyCount "47"]
[EventDate "1964.??.??"]
[EventRounds "14"]
[EventCountry "URS"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "1999.07.01"]

{A crushing win but for an interesting reason.} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4.
g3 Bb7 5. Bg2 Be7 6. O-O O-O 7. Nc3 d5 8. cxd5 exd5 9. Ne5 Qc8 10. Bg5 Qe6 11.
Rc1 c5 {Black is being boisterous.} 12. Nd3 $1 {This unobvious retreat undoes
the Black game. It's possible that Korchnoy didn't consider it, as the Knight
had spent so long getting to such a fine post as e5.} cxd4 13. Bxf6 Bxf6 14.
Nxd5 Bxd5 15. Nf4 Qd6 16. Nxd5 Bg5 17. f4 Bd8 18. Nc3 Na6 19. Bxa8 Qb8 20. Nd5
Qxa8 21. Qxd4 Nc5 22. b4 Ne6 23. Qd3 Re8 24. e4 1-0

[Event "Candidates final"]
[Site "Kiev"]
[Date "1968.??.??"]
[Round "7"]
[White "Spassky, Boris V"]
[Black "Kortschnoj, Viktor"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "E83"]
[Annotator "DrDave"]
[PlyCount "69"]
[EventDate "1968.09.06"]
[EventRounds "10"]
[EventCountry "URS"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "1999.07.01"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6 5. f3 O-O 6. Be3 Nc6 7. Nge2 a6 8. Nc1
e5 9. d5 Nd4 10. Nb3 Nxb3 11. Qxb3 c5 12. dxc6 bxc6 13. O-O-O Be6 14. Qa3 Ne8
15. h4 f6 16. c5 Rf7 17. Qa4 Qc7 18. Bc4 Bxc4 19. Qxc4 Bf8 20. h5 dxc5 21. hxg6
hxg6 22. Qe6 Rd8 23. Rxd8 Qxd8 24. Rd1 Qe7 25. Qxc6 Nc7 {A famous example. 
Many White attempts to conclude the game fail to ...Qe6, hitting the loose
Queen.} 26. Qb6 $1 {Preparing the reply} (26. Nd5 Qe6 $1) 26... Kg7 (26... Qe6
27. Bxc5) 27. Nd5 Qe6 28. Bxc5 Bxc5 29. Qxc5 Nb5 30. Qe3 Qc6+ 31. Kb1 Nd4 32.
Rc1 Qb5 33. Nc7 Qe2 34. Ne6+ Kh7 35. Qh6+ 1-0
[Event "Candidates qf4"]
[Site "Leningrad"]
[Date "1956.??.??"]
[Round "3"]
[White "Averbakh, Yuri L"]
[Black "Spassky, Boris V"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "E74"]
[Annotator "DrDave"]
[PlyCount "145"]
[EventDate "1956.??.??"]
[EventRounds "4"]
[EventCountry "URS"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "1999.07.01"]

1. c4 Nf6 2. Nc3 g6 3. e4 d6 4. d4 Bg7 5. Be2 O-O 6. Bg5 c5 7. d5 Qa5 8. Bd2 a6
9. a4 e5 10. g4 Ne8 11. h4 f5 12. h5 f4 13. g5 Qd8 14. Bg4 Nc7 15. Bxc8 Qxc8
16. Nf3 {Black's position is wretchedly passive, but who would play Black's next move?}
16...Nc6 17. dxc6 bxc6 

{Black has not enough compensation but there are some active ideas to hand.}

18. Nh4 (18. h6) 18... Qe8 19. hxg6 hxg6 20. Qg4 Rb8
21. Nd1 Ne6 22. Ra3 Nd4 23. Rah3 Qf7 24. Bc3 Rfe8 25. R3h2 Qxc4 26. Nxg6 Re6 $2
27. Bxd4 $2 (27. Rh8+ Bxh8 28. Rxh8+ Kg7 29. Rxb8 Kxg6 (29... Rxg6 30. Bxd4
exd4 31. Qd7+ Qf7 32. Qd8) 30. Bxd4 cxd4 31. Qf5+) 27... Rxg6 28. Qf5 Qe6 29.
Qxe6+ Rxe6 30. Bc3 d5 31. f3 Rb3 32. Rh3 c4 33. Kd2 Rg6 34. Rg1 d4 35. Ba5 Bf8
36. Rg4 Rd6 37. Kc2 Rd7 38. g6 Rdb7 39. Be1 c5 40. Rgh4 Bg7 41. Ba5 c3 42. bxc3
Ra3 43. cxd4 exd4 44. Rxf4 Ra2+ 45. Kd3 Rb1 46. Rh1 Rxa4 47. Kc2 Rb5 48. e5 d3+
49. Kxd3 Rxf4 50. Bc3 Rxf3+ 51. Ke4 Rg3 52. Kf4 Rxg6 53. Ne3 Rb8 54. Nf5 Rf8
55. Rh5 Re8 56. Ke4 Rg1 57. Rh3 Bf8 58. Kd5 Rd1+ 59. Ke4 Rc1 60. Kd5 Rd1+ 61.
Ke4 Rd7 62. Nh6+ Bxh6 63. Rxh6 Rh7 64. Rg6+ Kf7 65. Rf6+ Ke7 66. Rc6 Kd7 67.
Rxc5 Rh6 68. Kd5 Rb6 69. Ba5 Rb5 70. Rxb5 axb5 71. e6+ Rxe6 72. Kc5 Re5+ 73.
Kb6 1/2-1/2

Endgame lessons

Spassky's dynamic style means little attention has been given to his endgame technique, and few examples have become well-known.

Click [...] to see game list

[Event "URS-ch23"]
[Site "Leningrad"]
[Date "1956.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Spassky, Boris V"]
[Black "Taimanov, Mark E"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B68"]
[Annotator "DrDave"]
[PlyCount "81"]
[EventDate "1956.01.10"]
[EventRounds "17"]
[EventCountry "URS"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "1999.07.01"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 d6 6. Bg5 e6 7. Qd2 a6 8.
O-O-O Bd7 9. f4 Be7 10. Nf3 Rc8 11. Kb1 Qc7 12. e5 dxe5 13. fxe5 Nd5 14. Nxd5
exd5 15. Bxe7 Nxe7 16. Bd3 O-O 17. Qg5 {A game that starts as though it should
be filed under "opposite-side castling".} Bb5 18. Bxb5 axb5 19. Nd4 Ng6 20. c3
b4 21. cxb4 Nxe5 22. Rc1 Nc4 23. b3 h6 24. Qg4 Nd2+ 25. Kb2 Qb8 26. Qg3 Qxg3
27. hxg3 $11 {Stockfish declares this equal.  The rest of the game is a fine
example of making the most of your assets!} Rfd8 28. b5 Ne4 29. Rhe1 g6 30. a4
Kf8 31. b6 Ra8 32. Rc7 Rd6 33. Rf1 f5 34. Rxb7 Nc5 35. Ra7 Re8 36. a5 Re4 37.
Rd1 Ke8 38. b7 Rd8 39. Nc6 Re2+ 40. Ka3 Re3 41. Nxd8 1-0

[Event "URS-ch26"]
[Site "Tbilisi"]
[Date "1959.??.??"]
[Round "4"]
[White "Spassky, Boris V"]
[Black "Gurgenidze, Bukhuti"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "E89"]
[Annotator "DrDave"]
[PlyCount "107"]
[EventDate "1959.01.09"]
[EventRounds "19"]
[EventCountry "URS"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "1999.07.01"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6 5. f3 O-O 6. Be3 e5 7. d5 c6 8. Qd2 cxd5
9. cxd5 a6 10. g4 Nbd7 11. Nge2 h5 12. g5 Nh7 13. h4 b5 14. Ng3 Nb6 15. Bd3 Nc4
16. Bxc4 bxc4 17. O-O-O Rb8 18. Kb1 Bd7 19. Rc1 f6 20. Nxh5 gxh5 21. g6 f5 22.
gxh7+ Kxh7 23. exf5 Bxf5+ 24. Ne4 Bxe4+ 25. fxe4 Rf4 26. Rxc4 Rxh4 27. Rcc1 Rc8
28. Rce1 Rxh1 29. Rxh1 Qe8 30. Qe2 Qg6 31. Qxh5+ Qxh5 32. Rxh5+ Kg6 33. Rg5+
Kf7 {[#] Spassky has a pawn and a better bishop.} 34. Rg4 Rh8 35. a4 Rh3 36.
Bd2 Bf8 37. Kc2 Rh2 38. Kd3 Bh6 {[#]} 39. Bc3 {Keeping pieces on, for once:
Black's active Rook is a strong equalising factor once the bad Bishop leaves
the board.} Bf4 40. Rg1 Rh3+ 41. Kc4 Be3 42. Re1 Ke7 43. b4 Bb6 44. Re2 Kd7 45.
a5 Bd8 46. Bd2 Rh1 47. b5 Ra1 (47... axb5+ {is perhaps better, but Black is on
the ropes at best.}) 48. b6 Rg1 49. Rh2 Rg4 50. Rh7+ Kc8 51. Bb4 Rxe4+ 52. Kc3
Rxb4 53. Kxb4 Bg5 54. Kc3 1-0

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