Black to move. How should black proceed?
Nakamura – Gelfand (Tata Steel A group – round 3)
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Black to move. How should black proceed?
Nakamura – Gelfand (Tata Steel A group – round 3)
The main line should be like this:
1. … Bxf3+!!
2. Kxf3 e4+!
3. Bxe4 Qe5 and I believe Black has a decisive attack…
At move 3, White cannot take at e4 which will result in connected passed pawns + decisive attack.
Bad miss by Gelfand, but too hard to spot in an actual game. It is different when presented as a problem 🙂
Qa3
Qa3
Bxf3+ Kxf3 Qa3 Rd1 Rh3+ Kg2 Re3 with e5
I think Qa3 loses on the spot due to cxd5, opening the c-file for the R, simply winning the B.
No i would go for:
1 …., Bxf3+,
2 Kxf3, e4+
3A Kxe4, Qe5+ next Qf4+ and mate follows
3B Bxe4, Qa3+ and now:
4A Bd3, Rh3+ winning the B and enough for the game by position
4B Qd3, Qxc1 winning the R and enough for the game
4C K e2-f2-g2 lets either the R in or closening the Q, forced checks, and mate to follow.
Hard to see any idea here.
All I can see right now is:
1. Bxf3 Kxf3
2. e4+ Bxe4
3. Qe5!
Seems like a strong intrusion via f4/h2.
3. … Rh8(?)
4. Qf4+ Kg2
5. Qxg4+ Kf2
I must admit, this is highly unclear to me…
I must try this:
1. … Bxf3+
2. Kxf3 e4+
3. Bxf4
If white avoids any of this, black must be better.
3. … Qe5!
The threat is Qf4+ Ke2 Rh2+ Ke1 Qd2+ Kf1 Qf2#. I can’t see how white avoids to play:
4. Rh1(!) Qf4+
5. Kg2 Qxg4+
6. Kf2 Qf4+
7. Kg2 Re8!
How to protect bishop now? If Re1? then f5! and bishop is pinned due to Qd2+ gaining rook! I think white must move bishop now.
8. Bd3 Qg4+
9. Kf2 Re3!
This looks like a mate net…
Bxf3
Kxf3 e4
Bxe4 Qa3
Be4 Rh3
I followed this game live on the internet and none of the live commentators (apparently except for seirawan) found the win suggested by Houdini and stockfish. Even Gelfand and nakamura failed to find it in their analysis after the game until it was pointed out to them to which Gelfand replied ” he does not care about computer analysis” and Nakamura “oh yeah, Boris should have won”.
Anyway, its 1) bxf3+, kxf3; 2) e4+, bxe4, 3) qa3+!!! And white has a winning attack with the h rook and with blacks queen in a bad position unable to defend the king.
I had already seen this from the game itself. Nakamura had just played Qb1 in a bad, nearly losing position. Gelfand could have closed the deal with Bxf3, but missed it- I don’t remember right now what he played, but the game ended up a draw, I think. In any case, it is probably best to go to Chessbomb.com and play through the various lines to get the full flavor of this move- it was quite complex.
Bxf3, Kxf3, then either Qa3? Or maybe Rh3?
Some of the mates after .. Bxf3+ are very, very difficult to spot, so one can only be sympathetic to Boris on this one. Boris was faced with the choice of possibly losing the game and perhaps winning it after .. Bxf3+, or had at least a sure draw playing something else. It is amazing that in some of the variations, White is so helpless that Black has the time to play a move like Rh4, followed by Rxg4, White’s pieces being so disarrayed.