[Event "Olympiad-15 Final A"] [Site "Varna"] [Date "1962.09.29"] [Round "3"] [White "Hort, Vlastimil"] [Black "Byrne, Robert Eugene"] [Result "1-0"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [ECO "E81"] [PlyCount "35"] [GameId "1114897329852416"] [EventDate "1962.09.27"] [EventType "team-tourn"] [EventRounds "11"] [EventCountry "BUL"] [SourceTitle "MCD"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "1999.07.01"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "1999.07.01"] [SourceQuality "1"] [WhiteTeam "Czechoslovakia"] [BlackTeam "United States"] [WhiteTeamCountry "CSR"] [BlackTeamCountry "USA"] 1. c4 g6 2. Nc3 Bg7 3. d4 Nf6 4. e4 d6 5. f3 a6 6. Be3 c6 7. Qd2 b5 {Byrne is "Byrne-ing", that is, he's playing the Byrne Variation. Unfortunately, in this game, his position is soon burning.} 8. Bd3 Nbd7 9. Nge2 O-O 10. h4 {Very anti-Dragon-ish.} e5 {Not a bad move, and it's in keeping with the classical advice that one meet an attack on the flank with counterplay in the center.} (10... h5 {was best - and it's also considered best in many Dragons, too, to prevent h4-h5 rather than saving the tempo and using it for queenside counterplay.}) 11. h5 $5 {Subtle, like a U.S. President.} (11. d5 $14) 11... Nxh5 12. g4 $6 {Continuing to attack as if it's a Dragon. It works, but Black had a path to an advantage.} Nhf6 $2 {The "safe" option isn't always best. White's attacking momentum continues unabated, while Black's play in the center and/or on the queenside isn't going anywhere for a while.} (12... Ng3 {Flashy, but not the best option.} 13. Nxg3 exd4 14. Qh2 h5 15. Nxh5 (15. gxh5 g5 16. Nf5 $1 Ne5 17. Be2 dxe3 18. Nxg7 Kxg7 19. f4 gxf4 20. Qxf4 bxc4 21. Rg1+ Kh7 22. O-O-O $44) (15. Nf5 $5) 15... gxh5 16. Qxh5 Nf6 17. Qh2 dxe3 18. g5 Re8 $1 {Good luck finding and assessing this back on move 12 (or earlier).} 19. gxf6 Qxf6 20. O-O-O Kf8 $1 21. Rdg1 $44) (12... Nf4 $1 13. O-O-O (13. Nxf4 exd4 $1 {is the point.} 14. Qh2 h6 {This resource wouldn't be present with White's knight on g3 rather than f4 - that's an important difference between 12...Ng3 and 12...Nf4.} 15. Bxd4 Bxd4 16. Qxh6 Re8 17. O-O-O Bg7 18. Qh7+ Kf8 19. Nxg6+ $1 fxg6 20. f4 $1 Nc5 21. e5 Bxg4 22. Bxg6 Bxd1 23. Rxd1 Re6 24. b4 Nd7 25. Ne4 Qe7 $1 26. exd6 Qd8 27. c5 a5 $1 28. Rg1 Nf6 29. Ng5 $1 Re3 $1 30. Qh2 axb4 $19 {is an obviously overly long variation that shows the complexity of the position and some of the resources available to both sides.}) 13... Nxd3+ 14. Qxd3 Nb6 $17 {White will obviously enjoy some attacking chances, but so will Black - who also has an extra pawn.}) 13. Bh6 $16 {Continuing the anti-Dragon style attack.} exd4 $2 (13... Re8 {was better, clearing f8 for the knight to safeguard the h-pawn.} 14. Bxg7 Kxg7 15. Qh6+ Kh8 16. d5 {To keep the center and queenside as closed as possible.} Bb7 17. g5 Nh5 18. Ng3 Rg8 $1 19. O-O-O Nf8 20. Nxh5 gxh5 21. Rdg1 $16 {White is better but there's no win in sight.}) 14. Bxg7 (14. Nxd4 $142 $18) 14... Kxg7 15. Qh6+ Kh8 16. Nxd4 Ne5 $2 {Missing a nice tactic.} (16... Rg8 $142 $16 {/+-}) 17. Nxc6 $1 Nxd3+ (17... Nxc6 18. Nd5 Nh5 (18... Nxd5 19. Qxh7#) 19. Rxh5 gxh5 20. Nf6 $18) 18. Kd2 (18. Kd2 Qe8 19. Nd5 {leads to a speedy mate.}) 1-0 [Event "Havana Armies-ch04"] [Site "Havana"] [Date "1967.??.??"] [Round "4"] [White "Hort, Vlastimil"] [Black "Zheliandinov, Viktor"] [Result "1-0"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [ECO "C69"] [PlyCount "23"] [GameId "1114897506578432"] [EventDate "1967.06.??"] [EventType "tourn"] [EventRounds "17"] [EventCountry "CUB"] [SourceTitle "EXT 2001"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "2000.11.22"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2000.11.22"] [SourceQuality "1"] {[%evp 0,23,11,25,8,19,20,0,24,16,16,16,0,-17,-6,92,32,23,12,131,16,29,80,92,209,208]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Bxc6 dxc6 5. O-O f6 {Not especially popular at the present time, but then Black's main reply.} 6. d4 exd4 7. Nxd4 c5 8. Nb3 (8. Ne2 {became popular later.}) 8... Qxd1 9. Rxd1 Bd6 $6 (9... Bg4 10. f3 Be6 $11) (9... Be6 $11) 10. Na5 $1 $14 Bg4 (10... b5 $142 11. c4 Ne7 12. Be3 f5 13. Nc3 f4 14. e5 Bxe5 15. Bxc5 Bxc3 16. bxc3 Ng6 17. Nc6 Be6 18. cxb5 axb5 19. Na7 Rb8 20. Rdb1 Kf7 21. Nxb5 Rhd8 22. Rb4 Bxa2 23. Nxc7 Rbc8 24. h4 Rd2 25. Bb6 f3 26. Be3 Re2 27. Nb5 Ra8 28. h5 Ne5 29. Rf4+ Ke7 30. Rd1 Rc8 31. Re4 Kf6 32. Rd6+ Kf5 33. Rf4+ Kg5 34. Rxf3+ {1-0 Fischer,R-Portisch,L Olympiad-17 Final A Havana 1966 (6)}) 11. f3 $16 O-O-O $4 {A number of strong players have made this error, most notably Li Ruifeng (2571) in 2017. Black aims to surrender both bishops for White's d1-rook after 12.fxg4 Bxh2+ 13.Kxh2 Rxd1, when White is only a little better. There's a problem, though.} (11... Bc8 $8) 12. e5 $1 {Oops! Black loses a piece. Zheliandinov decided to call it quits straight away, while Li and others decided to battle on. It didn't matter: White won in every case.} (12. e5 $1 Bxf3 13. gxf3 fxe5 14. Nc3 Nf6 15. Be3 e4 16. Nxe4 Nxe4 17. fxe4 Rde8 18. Nc4 Bxh2+ 19. Kxh2 Rxe4 20. b3 b5 21. Bxc5 Re2+ 22. Kg3 bxc4 23. c3 Rhe8 24. b4 h5 25. Rh1 g6 26. Rh4 Kb7 27. a4 Rd2 28. Rd4 Rc2 29. Rxc4 g5 30. Rh1 h4+ 31. Kg4 Rg2+ 32. Kf5 Rg3 33. a5 h3 34. Rh2 Rh8 35. Rg4 Rxc3 36. Rxg5 Rh7 37. Rg6 Rb3 38. Re6 Rf3+ 39. Ke4 Rb3 40. Kd5 Rg3 41. Re3 Rg5+ 42. Kc4 Rgh5 43. Kb3 R7h6 44. Ka4 Rh7 45. Rc3 Rh4 46. Bf2 R4h5 47. Bg3 Rg5 48. Kb3 Kc8 49. Rh1 Kb7 50. Rhc1 c5 51. bxc5 Kc6 52. Bd6 h2 53. Rh1 Rgh5 54. Rc2 Rh3+ 55. Kb2 R7h5 56. Kc1 R3h4 57. Rb2 Kd5 58. Kb1 Kc6 59. Rb6+ Kd5 60. Rxa6 Rb4+ 61. Kc1 Rc4+ 62. Kb2 Rg4 63. Rb6 Rg1 64. Rxh2 Rxh2+ 65. Bxh2 Rg2+ 66. Kb3 Rxh2 67. a6 Rh1 68. Rb4 Rb1+ 69. Ka4 {1-0 Burke,J (2489)-Li,R (2571) Philadelphia int op 11th 2017 (6) Impressive fighting spirit by Black, but nevertheless...}) 1-0 [Event "Zonal Halle"] [Site "Halle/Saale"] [Date "1967.??.??"] [Round "7"] [White "Hort, Vlastimil"] [Black "Minic, Dragoljub"] [Result "1-0"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [ECO "E74"] [PlyCount "55"] [GameId "1114897488252928"] [EventDate "1967.??.??"] [EventType "tourn"] [EventRounds "19"] [EventCountry "DDR"] [SourceTitle "EXT 2000"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "1999.11.16"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "1999.11.16"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6 5. Be2 O-O 6. Bg5 c5 ({A PSA: Don't play} 6... e5 $2 7. dxe5 dxe5 8. Qxd8 Rxd8 9. Nd5 {which leaves White a pawn ahead or, on what's probably Black's best try, up the exchange after} Nxd5 10. Bxd8 Nf4 11. Bf1 $16) 7. d5 h6 8. Be3 Kh7 $6 (8... e6 {is better.}) 9. Nf3 $16 (9. h4 $1 $16) 9... Re8 $6 {Black is dawdling; he should race to get some counterplay going.} (9... e6 $142) 10. O-O (10. h4 $1 e6 11. h5 $1 {gives White a winning kingside initiative. A couple of lines for your viewing pleasure:} g5 (11... Nxh5 12. g4 Nf6 13. Qd2 exd5 14. Bxh6 Rh8 15. O-O-O d4 16. Nd5 Be6 17. Bxg7+ Kxg7 18. Rxh8 Qxh8 19. Nxf6 Kxf6 20. Nxd4 $1 $18) 12. Bxg5 $1 exd5 $1 13. cxd5 hxg5 14. h6 $1 Bh8 15. Nxg5+ Kg8 16. Bh5 Re7 17. h7+ Kf8 18. Qf3 Qb6 19. Qg3 $1 Qxb2 20. Rb1 Qa3 21. O-O $1 Nxh5 $2 22. Ne6+ Rxe6 23. Qg8+ Ke7 24. dxe6 Bxe6 25. Qxh8 $18) 10... Nbd7 {So passive.} 11. Qc2 e6 {Finally! It needed to be played, even if it's not a cure-all for Black's problems.} 12. dxe6 Rxe6 13. Rad1 Qe7 14. Rfe1 $5 {Bluffing? Black decides to find out.} (14. Nd2 $1 {may have been best. It's not a purely passive move aimed only at defending the e-pawn; it's also to play f4 and go headhunting on the kingside.}) 14... Nxe4 $6 15. Nd5 Qd8 16. Bd3 $18 f5 (16... Nef6 17. Nf4 Re7 18. Bxg6+ fxg6 19. Nxg6 Re4 20. Nfh4 Nb6 21. b3 Kg8 {isn't good for Black, but it's more resilient than the game.}) 17. Nf4 Re8 18. Bxe4 Rxe4 19. Rxd6 {Regaining the pawn while keeping his huge positional advantage.} Qc7 20. Rxg6 $1 Rxf4 21. Bxf4 Qxf4 22. Rxg7+ $1 Kxg7 23. Qc3+ Nf6 (23... Kf7 {keeps the rook out, but the queen is an even more unpleasant uninvited guest after} 24. Qh8 $18) 24. Re7+ Kg6 25. Ne5+ Kh5 26. Rg7 {The end is near.} Be6 27. Qh3+ Qh4 {Now for a beautiful finishing move.} 28. Ng6 $1 (28. Ng6 $1 Qxh3 29. Nf4+ Kh4 30. g3+ Qxg3+ 31. hxg3#) 1-0 [Event "Olympiad-20 Final A"] [Site "Skopje"] [Date "1972.10.11"] [Round "14"] [White "Hug, Werner"] [Black "Hort, Vlastimil"] [Result "0-1"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [ECO "E18"] [PlyCount "54"] [GameId "1114897749577728"] [EventDate "1972.09.27"] [EventType "team-tourn"] [EventRounds "15"] [EventCountry "YUG"] [SourceTitle "EXT 2000"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "1999.11.16"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "1999.11.16"] [SourceQuality "1"] [WhiteTeam "Switzerland"] [BlackTeam "Czechoslovakia"] [WhiteTeamCountry "SUI"] [BlackTeamCountry "CSR"] {[%evp 0,54,24,9,9,-69,26,7,19,20,24,30,30,27,32,27,46,60,38,14,31,8,-36,12,27,-39,36,24,-9,4,-13,-14,5,13,1,-12,14,-35,-25,-45,-10,-93,-98,-28,-14,-83,-11,-123,61,-146,-442,-77,-182,-437,-526,-526,-526]} 1. c4 Nf6 2. Nf3 e6 3. g3 b6 4. Bg2 Bb7 5. O-O Be7 6. d4 O-O 7. Nc3 Ne4 {This excruciatingly dull line was popular for Black in the 1960s and '70s. Why, I have no idea.} 8. Nxe4 $6 (8. Qc2 {was more common then, while}) (8. Bd2 {has been the most popular line for a while, and one that gives White a definite edge.}) 8... Bxe4 9. Bf4 d6 10. Qd2 Nd7 11. Rfd1 h6 12. Ne1 f5 (12... Bxg2 {is also fine.}) 13. Bxe4 fxe4 14. Qc2 Nf6 15. f3 g5 $5 16. Be3 Qe8 17. Kg2 $6 {Playing Kg2 is often useful in positions like this, when the light-squared bishop has been exchanged away. The king covers the potentially weak h3 square (and sometimes f3 and g3 need shoring up as well), stepping up into the role the fianchettoed bishop had been playing. Here, it's not so good, as the king will end up more exposed and vulnerable rather than functioning as a hale and hearty defender.} Qh5 $17 18. h3 Qg6 {Black isn't confused; rather, White's h2-h3 forces Black to push his h-pawn if he wants to (safely) achieve ...g4.} (18... d5 $1) 19. Rac1 (19. fxe4 $1) 19... Rf7 20. fxe4 g4 $2 (20... Raf8 $1 $19) 21. h4 e5 $2 22. Qd3 $2 (22. dxe5 dxe5 23. c5 $132) 22... Nxe4 $19 23. Nc2 $2 {Now Hort finishes in style.} Raf8 (23... Rf3 $3 24. exf3 gxf3+ 25. Kxf3 Rf8+ 26. Ke2 Qg4+ 27. Ke1 Qxg3+ 28. Ke2 Qg2+ 29. Ke1 Bxh4+ 30. Bf2 Qxf2#) 24. Bg1 (24. Rf1 $142) 24... Bxh4 $1 25. gxh4 Rf3 $3 26. Ne3 (26. exf3 gxf3+ 27. Kf1 Qg2+ 28. Ke1 f2+ 29. Bxf2 Qxf2#) 26... Rg3+ 27. Kh1 Rf2 $1 (27... Rf2 $1 {Threatening ...Rh3+.} 28. Bxf2 Nxf2+ 29. Kh2 Rh3+ 30. Kg1 Nxd3 $19) 0-1 [Event "Candidates qf Spassky-Hort +2-1=13"] [Site "Reykjavik"] [Date "1977.03.??"] [Round "10"] [White "Hort, Vlastimil"] [Black "Spassky, Boris Vasilievich"] [Result "1-0"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [ECO "C68"] [WhiteElo "2620"] [BlackElo "2610"] [PlyCount "67"] [GameId "1114897979215872"] [EventDate "1977.02.??"] [EventType "match"] [EventRounds "16"] [EventCountry "ISL"] [SourceTitle "Candidates"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "1999.07.01"] [SourceVersion "2"] [SourceVersionDate "1999.07.01"] [SourceQuality "1"] {[%evp 0,67,24,11,18,46,24,10,25,25,0,19,27,24,24,-16,-2,-20,-11,-33,-35,-21,-10,-12,-6,-6,1,-27,-37,-22,-22,-21,-9,-28,-31,-13,-22,8,-45,-1,-34,-18,-19,-1,22,21,32,-5,56,76,3,16,21,104,24,1,111,151,174,186,216,170,231,179,263,333,298,344,417,417] Hort was down a point in the match, which was nearing its end.} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Bxc6 dxc6 5. O-O Qd6 6. Na3 b5 (6... Be6) 7. c4 $5 (7. c3 {followed by Nc2 and then d4 (sometimes a4) is standard here.}) 7... Nf6 $6 (7... Bg4 $1) (7... Ne7 $5) 8. Qe2 $6 (8. d4 $1 $14) 8... Bg4 9. Rd1 Be7 (9... Bxf3 $1 10. Qxf3 Qd4 $1 $15) 10. d3 $11 Qe6 11. b3 Nh5 (11... Nd7 $142) 12. Nc2 Qf6 13. h3 $6 (13. Nce1 $1 $14) 13... Bxf3 14. Qxf3 Qxf3 15. gxf3 O-O-O $11 16. Be3 f5 $1 17. cxb5 cxb5 18. a4 b4 19. d4 $2 exd4 $6 (19... f4 $1 20. Bd2 a5 21. Rac1 Kb7 22. d5 c6 $3 23. dxc6+ Kc8 $1 $17 {This brilliant idea eliminates all of White's play. Black will play ...g5, freezing the kingside, then bringing everyone to the center and queenside. White's passive pieces and inferior pawn structure leave him in serious trouble.}) 20. Nxd4 Bf6 21. exf5 $1 {Ugly but forced in light of the threatened ...f4.} Rd5 $6 22. Nc6 $1 $14 Rxf5 23. Rac1 Nf4 24. Rc4 Nd5 25. Bd4 Re8 26. Bxf6 gxf6 27. Kf1 (27. a5 $1 $14) 27... a5 $2 (27... Nc3 $1 $11) 28. Re4 $1 {Suddenly White's pieces control all the key squares while Black's pieces are vulnerable.} Kd7 29. Nxa5 {Another (predictable) drawback of Black's 27th move.} Rg8 30. Rxb4 h5 31. h4 $1 c6 32. Rc4 Rc8 33. b4 Ra8 34. Rc5 {The c6 pawn will drop and the h5 pawn is probably headed for the sidelines as well. It's too much, and Spassky resigns. The match is now level.} 1-0 [Event "Candidates qf Spassky-Hort +2-1=13"] [Site "Reykjavik"] [Date "1977.03.??"] [Round "15"] [White "Spassky, Boris Vasilievich"] [Black "Hort, Vlastimil"] [Result "1-0"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [ECO "E14"] [WhiteElo "2610"] [BlackElo "2620"] [PlyCount "69"] [GameId "1114897979236352"] [EventDate "1977.02.??"] [EventType "match"] [EventRounds "16"] [EventCountry "ISL"] [SourceTitle "Candidates"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "1999.07.01"] [SourceVersion "2"] [SourceVersionDate "1999.07.01"] [SourceQuality "1"] {[%evp 0,69,24,11,17,21,19,12,20,13,0,5,20,1,15,14,16,6,24,17,19,20,24,18,43,12,42,44,45,25,50,262,99,7,34,0,7,289,37,47,102,78,26,109,37,-26,30,26,21,36,23,-20,12,0,8,21,12,70,35,-54,-39,-101,-211,-181,-209,-233,-176,-203,-212,-177,-252,-482]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4. e3 Bb7 5. Bd3 d5 6. O-O Nbd7 7. b3 Be7 8. Bb2 O-O 9. Nc3 c5 10. Qe2 Rc8 11. Rfd1 Qc7 12. Rac1 Rfe8 13. cxd5 exd5 14. Bf5 g6 15. Bh3 Rcd8 16. Na4 Ne4 17. dxc5 bxc5 18. Bxd7 Qxd7 19. Ne5 Qc7 20. f3 Nf6 21. Nd3 (21. Bd4 Qb8 $1 22. Rxc5 $1 Bxc5 23. Nxc5 Rxe5 24. Nxb7 Rc8 $1 25. Nc5 Ree8 $14) 21... c4 $11 22. Ndc5 Bc6 23. Bd4 Bb5 24. Qf2 Nd7 25. Nxd7 Bxd7 26. Nc3 Bf5 27. e4 $6 (27. g4 $142 Be6 28. h4 $14) 27... dxe4 28. Nxe4 (28. fxe4 $142) 28... Bxe4 29. fxe4 c3 $1 $15 30. Rf1 (30. g3 $142) 30... Bb4 $17 31. Bxa7 $2 (31. a3 $1 Rxd4 $1 (31... Bxa3 $2 32. Rxc3 $11) 32. axb4 Rd3 $17) 31... Rd2 $19 32. Qe3 Ra8 33. Bb6 Qd7 34. a4 c2 35. Bc5 {Hort didn't have a lot of time to reach move 40, but from what I recall of reading about this in contemporaneous sources his flag wasn't about to fall, either. Black's position is completely winning here - we're talking +5 territory - and the only "difficulty" is deciding between 35...Bxc5 34.Qxc5 Qg4 and the immediate 35...Qg4. Unfortunately, Hort became a living exemplar of Buridan's philosophical thought experiment about a donkey who, facing two equidistant, equally appealing bales of hay starved to death because there was no basis for choosing one over the other. Hort lost on time and did not manage to win the next, final game, and so he was eliminated from the Candidates. Spassky went on to win his next match as well, against Lajos Portisch, before falling to Korchnoi in the final Candidates match. As for Hort, he never reached the Candidates stage again, sadly.} 1-0 [Event "IBM-21 Herinnerungs Toernooi"] [Site "Amsterdam"] [Date "1981.05.??"] [Round "?"] [White "Hort, Vlastimil"] [Black "Karpov, Anatoly"] [Result "1-0"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [ECO "D58"] [WhiteElo "2575"] [BlackElo "2690"] [PlyCount "51"] [GameId "1114898286465024"] [EventDate "1981.05.24"] [EventType "tourn"] [EventRounds "11"] [EventCountry "NED"] [EventCategory "13"] [SourceTitle "MCL"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "1999.07.01"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "1999.07.01"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 e6 3. c4 d5 4. Nc3 Be7 5. Bg5 h6 6. Bh4 O-O 7. e3 b6 {The Tartakower Variation was almost automatic back then once the game started with the QGD.} 8. Rc1 Bb7 9. cxd5 exd5 10. Be2 Nbd7 11. O-O c5 12. Qc2 a6 $5 (12... Ne4 13. Bxe7 Qxe7 14. dxc5 Nxc3 15. Qxc3 bxc5 {is more or less equal, but with White having whatever winning chances are to be had. Karpov probably chose the text out of ambition rather than objective merit.} 16. Qa3) 13. Rfd1 c4 {Shielding the d-pawn and avoiding hanging pawns. Positively, Black wants to activate his queenside majority (with ...b5-b4), so Hort stops it.} 14. a4 Bc6 $2 {Renewing the idea of ...b5, but this completely disregards White's possibilities.} (14... Bb4 {was a better way to renew the ...b5 idea (after swapping on c3).} 15. Ne5 Bxc3 16. bxc3 Qc7 17. Nxd7 $14 {and White is slightly better after either recapture.}) 15. Ne5 $1 $18 Qc7 (15... Nxe5 16. dxe5 $18 {will almost certainly result in the loss of at least one of Black's central pawns. This is a main reason why 15...Bb4 was better - White won't easily win d5 without the help of his knight.}) 16. Nxc6 $6 (16. Bg3 $1 Qb7 17. Nxc6 Qxc6 18. e4 $1 Nxe4 (18... dxe4 19. d5 Qc8 20. Nxe4 b5 21. d6 Bd8 22. b3 $18 {The cramp and the clamp of the d-pawn leaves Black in a nearly hopeless position.}) 19. Nxe4 dxe4 20. Qxc4 Qxc4 21. Rxc4 Rac8 22. Rxc8 Rxc8 23. Bxa6 Rc2 24. Bb5 Nf8 25. Kf1 Rxb2 26. Bc7 $18 {White's bishop pair and queenside passers (after Bxb6) should lead to a straightforward win.}) 16... Qxc6 17. Bf3 $16 {White is still clearly better, but must win the game anew.} Bb4 $2 {Better never than late in this case. Karpov wasn't Kasparov's equal when it came to tactics, but you're not going to be World Champion for 10 years - 16 years if you throw in the divided era - without being a superlative tactician. Here, however, he simply drops the ball--just a bad day at the office.} (17... Rae8 $1 {was best, protecting the bishop to unpin the knight. (Given the possibities of a capture on d5 and/or the e3-e4 advance, freeing the f6-knight makes very good sense.)} 18. b3 b5 19. bxc4 bxc4 20. e4 $1 Nxe4 21. Nxd5 $1 Bxh4 (21... Qxd5 22. Bxe4 Qa5 23. Bg3 $1 $16) 22. Bxe4 Qd6 23. Bf3 $16) 18. Nxd5 $1 $18 {Well calculated - by Hort.} Nxd5 19. Qf5 Qxa4 20. Bxd5 Rac8 21. b3 $1 {Karpov's position was terrible in any case, but this really turns the screws. Black's queen and f8-rook are both overloaded, and Hort takes full advantage.} cxb3 (21... Qxb3 22. Qxd7 $18 {illustrates the overload on Black's queen.}) 22. Rxc8 Rxc8 23. Qxf7+ {And this shows how the rook was overloaded.} Kh8 24. Bxb3 Qb5 25. Be6 {Another overload on the poor rook, which would like to protect the knight with ...Rc7 but must also prevent Qg8#. Karpov gives Hort one last problem to solve.} Rf8 26. Bxd7 $1 {This was Karpov's only loss in the tournament, and as a result he finished tied for second with Lajos Portisch, half a point behind Jan Timman. Hort finished the event undefeated, tied with Vassily Smyslov and Lubomir Kavalek a further half a point behind Karpov. It was a very strong event by the standards of the day, with two World Champions, four Candidates, and two others who really should have been Candidates at some point in their career. So it was an impressive result for Hort.} (26. Bxd7 $1 Rxf7 27. Bxb5 axb5 28. Rb1 $18 {is too easy for White, even against Karpov. Hort will have two extra pawns, two connected passers, no weaknesses, and no counterplay to contend with.}) 1-0 [Event "Hoogovens"] [Site "Wijk aan Zee"] [Date "1982.01.23"] [Round "7"] [White "Hort, Vlastimil"] [Black "Chandler, Murray G"] [Result "1-0"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [ECO "B19"] [WhiteElo "2590"] [BlackElo "2470"] [PlyCount "49"] [GameId "1114898352070656"] [EventDate "1982.01.15"] [EventType "tourn"] [EventRounds "13"] [EventCountry "NED"] [EventCategory "12"] [SourceTitle "MCD"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "1999.07.01"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "1999.07.01"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. Nd2 dxe4 4. Nxe4 Bf5 5. Ng3 Bg6 6. h4 h6 7. Nf3 Nd7 8. h5 Bh7 9. Bd3 Bxd3 10. Qxd3 e6 11. Bd2 Ngf6 12. O-O-O Be7 13. Ne4 a5 $6 {A rare move, at least here. I vaguely recall that Yasser Seirawan was a fan of this move in the 1980s, at least in a very similar position.} (13... Nxe4) (13... O-O) 14. Kb1 (14. Nxf6+) 14... Nxe4 15. Qxe4 Nf6 16. Qd3 (16. Qe2) 16... Qd5 (16... c5) (16... a4) 17. Rde1 $6 (17. Ne5 $1 $16) 17... b5 $6 ({In those long-ago days Black generally castled long in the Classical Caro-Kann, and hadn't yet figured out the best way to handle positions where castling kingside might be preferred. Here it was important to play} 17... Ng4 $1 $11 {, not just to contest the e5 square but to nip g2-g4 in the bud (or at least make it difficult to achieve).}) 18. Ne5 O-O 19. g4 $16 {Black is already in serious danger.} c5 $2 {Yes, Black does want to play this. The only problem is that it's too slow.} (19... Nd7 $8) 20. g5 $18 {Of course.} c4 21. Qg3 hxg5 22. Bxg5 Ne4 {Trying to mix it up tactically. White has too many attackers, so it's not going to work.} 23. Rxe4 $1 Bxg5 24. Qxg5 $1 f6 {White has many ways to win, and Hort finds the prettiest and fastest.} (24... Qxe4 25. Rg1 Qh7 26. h6 Ra7 (26... g6 27. Nd7 $18 (27. Ng4 $18)) 27. hxg7 Rfa8 28. Ng4 $1 Qg6 29. Qf6 $1 $18 {There's no coping with Nh6+ (except for taking on f6 and getting mated by 30.Nxf6#).}) 25. h6 $1 (25. h6 $1 fxg5 (25... Qxe4 26. Qxg7#) 26. h7+ Kh8 27. Ng6#) 1-0 [Event "Trans Europa Schach Express"] [Site "Potsdam"] [Date "2012.10.14"] [Round "7.5"] [White "Hort, Vlastimil"] [Black "Short, Nigel D"] [Result "1-0"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [ECO "B20"] [WhiteElo "2463"] [BlackElo "2707"] [PlyCount "103"] [GameId "1166656221462528"] [EventDate "2012.10.13"] [EventType "team-tourn"] [EventRounds "9"] [EventCountry "GER"] [SourceTitle "CBM 150 Extra"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "2012.10.19"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2012.10.19"] [SourceQuality "1"] [WhiteTeam "Czech Republic"] [BlackTeam "Great Britain"] [WhiteTeamCountry "CZE"] [BlackTeamCountry "GBR"] {[%evp 0,103,27,27,27,-20,10,-2,-9,-18,-8,-7,-6,-4,0,-7,0,-10,22,37,-38,14,-192,4,28,0,74,162,80,76,68,68,160,166,200,212,208,192,171,175,184,142,157,153,161,126,182,202,127,95,159,119,209,201,216,189,246,203,250,311,190,337,308,351,236,342,378,299,312,299,342,359,318,415,284,332,325,383,363,299,446,430,450,306,488,536,510,559,556,594,662,659,681,677,1289,738,738,793,29989,835,913,635,29989,1143,29989,1292] Is it impossible to play high-quality competitive chess at the age of 68? It's more difficult, I'm sure - certainly to maintain anything close to one's best. But impossible? Clearly not, as the 2700-rated Nigel Short undoubtedly discovered to his surprise.} 1. e4 c5 2. g3 d5 3. exd5 Qxd5 4. Nf3 Bg4 5. Bg2 Qe6+ 6. Kf1 Nc6 7. h3 Bh5 8. d3 Rd8 9. Be3 c4 10. Nc3 Nf6 11. g4 Bg6 12. Nh4 a6 13. Nxg6 hxg6 14. g5 Nd7 15. d4 Qd6 16. d5 Ncb8 17. Qd4 Rc8 18. Ne4 Qe5 19. Rd1 Qxd4 20. Rxd4 f5 21. Nc3 b5 22. Ne2 Nc5 23. Nf4 Kf7 24. Ke2 Na4 25. b3 Nb6 26. h4 N8d7 27. Rd2 a5 28. Bf3 Rg8 29. h5 gxh5 30. g6+ Ke8 31. Rxh5 Rb8 32. Rxf5 Rh8 33. Rh5 Rxh5 34. Bxh5 e5 35. dxe6 Nf6 36. Bf3 Bb4 37. Rd1 Ke7 38. Bc6 cxb3 39. axb3 Rc8 40. Bxb6 Rxc6 41. Bd8+ Kf8 42. Bxf6 gxf6 43. Rd8+ Kg7 44. Rd7+ Kf8 45. g7+ Kg8 46. Kf3 f5 47. e7 Bxe7 48. Rxe7 Rxc2 49. Nd5 Rc6 50. Kf4 a4 51. bxa4 bxa4 52. Ke5 1-0 [Event "Biel Accentus rapid 50th"] [Site "Biel"] [Date "2017.07.23"] [Round "1.2"] [White "Hort, Vlastimil"] [Black "Harikrishna, Pentala"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [ECO "B13"] [WhiteElo "2428"] [BlackElo "2737"] [PlyCount "85"] [GameId "1144348639694848"] [EventDate "2017.07.23"] [EventType "k.o. (rapid)"] [EventRounds "3"] [EventCountry "SUI"] [SourceTitle "CBM 180"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "2017.09.13"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2017.09.13"] [SourceQuality "1"] {[%evp 0,85,21,-3,18,5,4,2,-31,0,17,0,7,-5,-11,-54,-27,-22,-46,-36,-20,-56,-52,-49,-55,-62,-45,-56,-50,-84,-56,-51,-37,17,5,-5,-42,-40,33,27,28,31,27,7,26,53,27,14,-26,4,36,-6,-7,0,4,0,0,-8,-66,-12,-15,3,7,-5,-5,-37,-16,-28,-40,-131,-208,-134,-100,-77,-87,-87,-144,-76,-1,-1,-1,-1,-1,-1,-1,-1,-1,-1] Here's Hort at 73 holding his own against another 2700-rated player. To be fair, it was a shakier performance than the win against Short. But still!} 1. d4 Nf6 2. Bf4 d5 3. e3 c5 4. Nc3 cxd4 5. exd4 a6 6. a3 Nc6 7. h3 Bf5 8. Nf3 e6 9. Bd3 Be4 10. Ne2 Bxf3 11. gxf3 Nh5 12. Be3 Bd6 13. Qd2 Qc7 14. O-O-O Na5 15. Kb1 Nc4 16. Bxc4 Qxc4 17. Nf4 Nxf4 18. Bxf4 Qc7 19. Bxd6 Qxd6 20. Qg5 g6 21. Qf6 Rg8 22. Rd3 Rc8 23. Re1 Qe7 24. Qf4 g5 25. Qg4 Qf6 26. f4 Kf8 27. f5 Qxf5 28. Qxf5 exf5 29. Re5 f4 30. Rxd5 Rg6 31. a4 h6 32. Rb3 b6 33. Rd7 Re6 34. f3 Rc4 35. Kc1 Re2 36. Rxb6 Rexc2+ 37. Kb1 Rc1+ 38. Ka2 Rxa4+ 39. Kb3 Ra5 40. Rf6 Rb5+ 41. Ka2 Ra5+ 42. Kb3 Rb5+ 43. Ka2 1/2-1/2