[Event "USSR Championship"] [Site "Moscow"] [Date "1950.11.23"] [Round "8"] [White "I. Lipnitsky"] [Black "L. Aronin"] [Result "1-0"][ECO "B90"][FEN "rnbqkbnr/pppppppp/8/8/8/8/PPPPPPPP/RNBQKBNR w KQkq - 0 1"]{ <sub><em>Click or tap on a move in the game text for a popout display board.</em></sub>[#]}
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3{<br />
I take note when I see 2. Ne2, which got Capablanca’s recommendation as the best move, and which Lipnitsky played against Taimanov in the ’51 USSR championship. <br />}2... d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Bc4 e6 7. O-O ({ <br />
Janetschek-Kormanyos, Kecskemet 1795 is the oldest example I could find:} 7. Bb3 Be7 8. f4 Qc7 9. Qf3 Bd7 10. Be3 Nc6 11. O-O-O O-O-O 12. f5 Nxd4 13. Rxd4 d5 $2 14. exd5 exd5 15. Nxd5 Nxd5 16. Bxd5 Bc6 17. Bxc6 Qxc6 18. Qxc6+ bxc6 19. Rhd1 {, and White won after 49. b7. In spite of that rousing success, the next-oldest examples are Levenfish-Aronin, USSR 1950, and this game. How did Aronin get to be so lucky, losing the first two grandmaster-level Sozin-Fischer Najdorfs of the post-18th century? <br />}) 7... b5 8. Bb3{<br />
Lipnitsky: “Bb3! White offers a gambit; Aronin accepted the challenge.”[#]}8... b4 9. Nb1 ({<br />
Another “!”. The knight’s retreat to its starting position, said Lipnitsky, is noteworthy. “The outwardly more active 9. Na4 would have been weaker, since the a4-square should be reserved for White’s bishop. Moreover, from b1 the knight can be brought into the action more easily.” <br />
} 9. Na4 { remains the popular move: Dalsrud-Carlsen, Stjernen GP Grp A:} 9... Nxe4 (9... Bd7 {Fischer-Sherwin, US Ch 1957} ) 10. Re1 d5 11. f3 Nc5 12. f4 Nxb3 13. axb3 Be7 14. f5 exf5 15. Bg5 Ra7 16. Qe2 h6 17. Bf4 Rc7 18. Bxc7 Qxc7 19. Kh1 Kf8 20. Nb6 Bb7 21. Nxf5 Qxb6 22. Qxe7+ Kg8 23. Nd6 { 1-0<br />}) 9... Nxe4 10. Qf3 d5 ({<br />
} 10... Bb7 11. Nd2 Nc5 12. Ba4+ Nbd7 13. Bc6 d5 14. Re1 Be7 15. Bxb7 Nxb7 16. Rxe6 $5 fxe6 17. Nxe6 Qb6 {is followed by another half-page of analysis. <br />
“The variations I have given are only samples, and do not exhaust the content of this gambit, but it seems to me that in other cases too, White’s initiative is worth the pawn.”<br />}) 11. c4 bxc3 ({<br />
}11... Bb7 12. cxd5 Bxd5 13. Bxd5 Qxd5 14. Rd1 Be7 { is a shade better for Black, said Stockfish. Hundredths of pawns oughtn’t concern us, but rather Stockfish’s lack of a clear course for White’s queenside development (conflicting with Lipnitsky’s view of 9. Nb1!).<br />}) 12. Nxc3 Nxc3 13. bxc3 ({<br />
}13. Qxc3 Be7 14. Nf5 $1 exf5 15. Qxg7 Bf6 $2 (15... Rf8 {is equal. Gambit players thrive because whereas Stockfish can maintain equality against an initiative, humans (like the Italian term says) get tripped up.} )
16. Ba4+ Ke7 17. Re1+ Be6 18. Bg5 Bxg5 19. Qxg5+ Kd6 20. Qf4+ Ke7 21. Qh4+ f6 22. Qb4+ Kf7 23. Rxe6 $1 Kxe6 24. Re1+ Kf7 25. Qb7+ { 1-0 in 37, Khenkin-Yudovich Moscow 1954. <br />}) 13... Bd6
({[#]
Two more: <br />
}13... Bc5 14. Qg3 O-O 15. Bh6 Bxd4 16. cxd4 Qf6 17. Bf4 Nc6 18. Rfd1 Bd7 19. Bc2 g6 20. Bg5 Qh8 21. Qf4 f6 22. Bh6 Rf7 23. Qd6 f5 24. Ba4 Nxd4 25. Bxd7 {, and White won, Khasin-Krogius, Leningrad 1954.}) ({<br />
}13... Be7 14. c4 O-O 15. cxd5 exd5 16. Bxd5 Ra7 17. Bf4 Bd6 18. Bxd6 Qxd6 19. Rad1 Rd7 20. Nf5 Qf6 { 1/2 in 36, Sherwin-D. Byrne US Open 1952, which didn’t find its way to Lipnitsky while he worked on his book.<br />}) 14. Nf5 $1{<br />
“Without this move, it would not be easy for White to develop his initiative.” — Lipnitsky.<br />}14... O-O $1{<br />
“14…O-O! but the initiative is firmly in White’s hands.”} (14... exf5 15. Qxd5 Ra7 (15... Bxh2+ 16. Kxh2 Qxd5 17. Bxd5 Ra7 18. Re1+ $16) 16. Re1+ Be6 (16... Kf8 $2 17. Ba3 $1 $18) 17. Qd4 { “And now,” said Lipnitsky, “a problem-like mating position arises after } 17... Re7 18. Qxg7 Rf8 19. Bh6 Nd7 20. Ba4 $1 {.” With an additional half-page of analysis that Lipnitsky did by hand in 1952. Botvinnik and Fischer surely loved Lipnitsky’s work ethic.<br />}) 15. Nxd6 Qxd6 16. Bf4 Qd8 17. c4 {<br />
Three extra moves in development plus an initiative confer enough compensation for the pawn, though today’s players see the computer evaluation -0.13 as a refutation).
<br />}17... Nc6 18. Rad1 Ne7 19. Qh5 d4{<br />
Stockfish said Black should’ve improved a piece by 19…Bb7 or 19…Ng6. Mr. Shaibel would agree.<br />}20. Bc2 f5{<br />
The K3-KB2-KN3-KR3 pawn structure is one of my favorite topics, but it won’t arise here:} (20... g6 ({or} 20... h6 21. Bxh6 $16) 21. Qc5 $18{.<br />}) 21. Rd3 Ng6 22. Bg5 Qe8{ <br />
Stockfish prefers moves headed west, but humans won’t — the white pieces are sneaking around the pawn wall to the east, so Black prepares on that wing (while 22…Qe8 threatens a discovery for whatever it’s worth).<br />}23. Rxd4 Bb7 24. Rd6 ({ <br />
}24. Qh3 {is a move that White will probably play soon, which makes it a good candidate for White’s move now.<br />}) 24... h6 ({<br />
}24... Bxg2 25. Rfd1 (25. Kxg2 $4 { makes the discovery a killer.}) 25... Be4 26. Bxe4 fxe4 $10 { is equal.<br />}) 25. Re1 ({<br />
White is well coordinated on }25. Bxh6 Bxg2 (25... gxh6 26. Ba4 Qf7 27. Bd7) 26. Ba4 Qf7 27. Bd7 Rfe8 28. Rfd1{.}) 25... Be4 26. Bxe4 fxe4 27. Be3{[#]
The material is equal, but the imbalances in piece activity and piece quality, pawn structure, and king safety favor White. <br />
“The basic daim of the opening pawn sacrifice”, said Lipnitsky, “is to seize the initiative, and to improve the placing of one’s pieces. … Increasing that initiative is made possible by the presence of specific positional advantages (for instance: more space, better development). … Striving to assail the king at all costs and as fast as possible — which was the essence of gambit play in the past — is not obligatory … [but] comes as the logical culmination of the intiative.” <br />}27... Nf4 28. Qxe8{ <br />
Not only does White retain the initiative, a material imbalance goes in his favor.<br />}28... Raxe8 29. Rxa6 Nd3{<br />
Black probably counted on a “very good knight equal to a good bishop”, but White’s queenside promenade is too much. <br />}30. Rb1 Rb8 31. Rxb8 Rxb8 32. h3 Rb1+ 33. Kh2 Kf7 34. c5 e5 $2 {<br />
These are miserable positions to play: too early to resign, with no active counterplay or plan. White’s lead increases after 34…e5, but the best Stockfish could muster were 34…Rb7 and 34…Rb8, and what are those about?<br />}35. Ra7+{<br />
From the Stockfish point of view, it’s resignable, but from the unfortunate human perspective, Black has to keep playing.<br />}35... Ke6 36. Rxg7 Kd5 37. Rd7+ Kc6 ({<br />
Enabling a fork on the 6th rank, but} 37...Kc4 38. c6 { is worse.<br />}) 38. Rd6+ Kc7 39. Rxh6 Rb2 40. Rh4{<br />
Stockfish doesn’t like this, but a human finds it sensible. When the knight’s outpost dissolves, Black is out of practical chances.<br />}40... Kc6 41. Rxe4 Kd5 42. Ra4 Nxf2 43. Ra3{<br />
I like this move, cutting the knight off from the d-file (directly and indirectly), while avoiding bishop harassment and set to get behind the c-pawn.<br />}43... e4 44. Rc3 Kc6 45. Rc4 Kd5 46. c6 $1{<br />
No one would criticize Black for giving up now.<br />}46... Kxc4 47. c7 Kd3 48. Bc5 e3 49. c8=Q Ne4 50. Qa6+ Kd2 51. Bxe3+ Ke1 52. Kg1 Ng3 1-0 *
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