Saturday 18 January 2020

Most Extraordinary Finish To A Chess Game EVER!

THAT is a big claim, but I have certainly never experienced anything like the finish of my game today in round one of the Mariánské Lázně seniors (50+).
Black to make his 45th move in Spanton (1854) - Imrich Tamas (1520)
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45...Rxf5!?
A good practical choice. The pawn-ending is lost, but there are chances for White to go wrong, more so than if Black moves the rook away and gives up his h pawn, leaving him three pawns down.
46.Kxf5 a3 47.bxa3
Not 47.b3+?? Kc3 48.h3 (worse is 48.Kg5? as White does not even get to queen after 48...Kb2 49.Kxh5 Kxa2 50.g4 Kb2 51.g5 a2 52.g6 a1=Q etc) Kb2 49.g4 Kxa2 50.g5 (50.gxh5?? Kb1 etc) Kb2 51.g6 a2 52.g7 a1=Q 53.g8=Q Qf1+, when Black picks up the h3 pawn and wins thanks to having the only passed pawn and a relatively safe king. Note that 48.Ke4 loses to 48...Kb2 etc.
47...bxa3
White to play and win
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48.g4??
This is Komodo10's choice, until it switches to 48.h4?? which, like the text, also throws away the win. Correct is 48.Kg5 (or 48.Kg6) Kc3 49.Kxh5 Kb2 (49...Kxc2? is hopeless) 50.c4 Kxa2 51.c5 Kb1 52.c6 a2 53.c7 a1=Q 54.c8=Q, when the Nalimov endgame tablebase confirms the queen-and-pawn ending is won for White.
48...hxg4 49.Kxg4 Kc3 50.h4 Kxc2
Not 50.Kb2?? as the c pawn will win for White after both the h and a pawns promote.
51.h5 Kb2 52.h6 Kxa2 53.h7 Kb1 54.h8=Q a2 55.Qh1+ Kb2 56.Qb7+
Now comes the extraordinary part - Black to make his 56th move
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1-0
IT resigned, and took some convincing the position is drawn. Any king move not to the third rank, which allows 57.Qg7(+), draws. Simplest is 56...Ka1, setting up stalemate. A similar stalemate motif applies with a bishop's pawn against queen.

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