The following game was brought to our attention by a frequent correspondent. It is from the 1963/64 Israel championship. At the time, the early 1960s, the "old guard" of Czerniak, Aloni, Porat and others was being replaced at the top with young talented playes, like Shimon Kagan, who won this game and annotated it in Mordechai Rosenfeld's chess column in Herut.
Kagan,Shimon - Bernstein,Ya'acov
English Opening (A23)
Israeli Championship, 1963/64
Source: Herut, 17.1.64, p. 7
Annotator: Shimon Kagan
1.c4 e5 2.Nc3 Nf6 3.g3 c6 4.Bg2 d5 5.cxd5 cxd5 6.d4 Theory prefers 6.d3 or 6.Qb3, which seems to win a pawn but might make White uncomfortable, for example: 6...Nc6! 7.Nxd5 Nd4 8.Nxf6+ Qxf6 9.Qd1 Bf5 and Black has a decisive advantage. 6...e4 7.Bg5 Nc6 8.Bxf6 gxf6 9.a3 Be6 10.e3 h5 11.h4 Leaves Black with a rickety pawn structure on the KS.11...Qd7 12.Nge2 Bd6 13.b4 Rc8 14.Qb3 Ne7 15.Rc1 Kf8 16.Kd2 The Rh1 is crucial for the c file and the king must let it pass. 16...Kg7 17.Rc2 Rc4 18.Rhc1 Rhc8 19.Bf1 Nf5 If the Ne2 moves, Black has a promising rook sacrifice on d4. 20.Na4 b5? b6 is better, but Bernstein counter on his sacrifice. 21.Nc5 Bxc5 22.bxc5 R8xc5!
A bold rook sacrifice. Accepting it will require very accurate defense from White and leave Black with some counter-chances.23.Nf4! White's dominating Nf5 wins despite Black's temporary pawn advantage. 23...Rxc2+ 24.Rxc2 Rxc2+ 25.Kxc2 a6 26.Nxh5+ Kg6 27.Nf4+ Kh6 28.Qb4 Qc6+ 29.Qc3 Qb6
30.Be2 It is not recommended to play 30.Qc5 due to 30...Qxc5+ 31.dxc5 d4. 30...Ne7 31.Qc5 Qxc5+ 32.dxc5 Nc6 33.Kc3 Kg7 34.Bd1 f5 35.Bb3 d4+ a desperate attempt to free himself. 36.exd4 Bxb3 37.Kxb3 Nxd4+ 38.Kc3 Nc6 39.Ne2 Kf6 40.Nd4 Ne5 41.c6 Black resigns. (1-0).
Despite the equal material, Black can do nothing about White's passed c and h pawns, and cannot create his own passed pawn for counterplay.
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