Wednesday, June 24, 2020

Petrosian - Israeli Players, 0.5:1.5

Edward Winter noted the following in his review of Alexander Alekhine’s Chess Games, 1902-1946 (Leonard M. Skinner and Robert G.P. Verhoeven, Jefferson (NC): McFarland, 1998):
[A] major attraction will be the hundreds of simultaneous games, which may be regarded as the chess artist’s pencil sketches... Not unexpectedly, Alekhine’s losses are over-represented in the book, because of the tendency of parochial columnists to publish the club hero’s isolated or fluke defeat of the maestro. Over the years, how many chess masterpieces have been lost through journalistic provincialism?
This is indeed true, as can be seen by the two simultaneous games played by Petrosian, played after the close of the 1964 of the Tel Aviv Olympiad, published by Mordechai Rosenfeld in his chess column  (Herut, 4.12.64, p. 7). 

But nevertheless, it depends how the master's "isolated or fluke defeat" - or draw - occurred. Was it good play from his opponent? Here are two games, one a draw (against Rosenfeld himself), and the other a defeat by the "talented Ramat-Gan player", Avraham Kaldor, who also "drew against Smyslov" the day before. The draw is unremarkable, but Kaldor's win is interesting - in particular, giving back an exchange to simplify into a winning ending. 

Petrosian, Tigran - Rosenfeld, Mordechai
Sicilian Rossolimo (B30)
Simultaneous display, Ramat Gan, 29.11.64
Source: Herut,  4.12.1964, p. 7

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 e5 4. Bxc6 dxc6 5. O-O Bd6 6. Na3 Be6 7. d3 h6 8. Nc4 Qc7 9. Nxd6+ Qxd6 10. a4 a5 11. b3 Ne7 12. h3 O-O-O 13. Be3 g5 14. Nd2 Rhg8 15. Nc4 Bxc4 16. dxc4 b6 17. Qxd6 Rxd6 18. Rfd1 Rgd8 19. Rxd6 Rxd6 20. Kh2 f5 21. exf5 Nxf5 22. Re1 Nd4 23. Bxd4 exd4 24. Kg3 


24...Rf6 25. f3 Kd7 26. Kg4 b5 27. Kh5 b4 28. Re4 Rd6 29. Re2 d3 30. cxd3 Rxd3 31. Rb2 Rd6 32. h4 gxh4 33. Kxh4 Ke6 34. f4 Kf5 35. Rf2 Rd3 36. g4+ Kg6 37. Re2 Rxb3 38. Re6+ Kg7 39. Rxc6 Rb1 40. Rb6 b3 41. Kg3 b2 42. Kg2 Rc1 43. Rxb2 Rxc4 44. Rb7+ Kf6 45. Rb6+ Drawn (0.5-0.5)



Petrosian, Tigran - Kaldor, Avraham
Symmetrical English (A34)
Simultaneous display, Bat Yam, 27.11.64
Annotations: Rosenfeld

1. c4 Nf6 2. Nf3 c5 3. g3 d5 4. cxd5 Nxd5 5. Bg2 Nc7 6. Nc3 Nc6 7. O-O e5 8. b3 Be6 9. Ne1 Nd5 10. Bb2 Be7 11. Na4 b6 12. f4 exf4 13. gxf4 f6 14. Rc1 Rc8 15. a3 Nd4 16. e3 Nc6 17. e4 Nc7 18. Nf3 Na5 19. Rc3 Nb5 20. Re3 Nd4 21. Bxd4 cxd4 22. Rd3 b5 23. Rxd4 Qc7 24. Nc3 Bc5 25. b4 Bxd4+ 26. Nxd4 Qb6 27. Qh5+ Ke7 28. bxa5 Qxd4+ 


29. Rf2 Rc5 30. Qh4 h6 31. h3 Kf7 32. Kh2 Rf8 33. Bf3 g5 34. fxg5 Qe5+ 35. Kg2 Qxg5+ 36. Qxg5 hxg5 37. Bg4 Rd8 38. Bxe6+ Kxe6 39. Nd5


39... Rdxd5!! 40. exd5+ Rxd5 41. Re2+ Kf7 42. Kf3 f5 43. Rg2 Rd3+ 44. Ke2 Rxh3 45. Rxg5 Kf6 46. Rg8 Rxa3 47. Rb8 Rxa5 48. Ke3 Ke5 49. d4+ Kd5 50. Rd8+ Kc6 51. Rc8+ Kd7 52. Rf8 b4 53. Rb8 Ra3+ 54. Kf4 a5 55. Kxf5 b3 56. Ke5 a4 57. Kd5 Ra2 58. Rb7+ Kc8 59. Rb4 b2 60. Kd6 a3 61. Rc4+ Kb7 62. Rb4+ Ka6 63. Kc6 Ka5 White resigns (0-1


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