Bulgaria - Summer of Chess

[Graham Kerr]

These Chessbase 'analyses' are grating on me, big time. Here is Ivanov–Rombaldoni

[pos]Q2r3k/3PN1pp/8/p7/P1P2PbP/1P4P1/8/3Rr1K1 w - - 4 1[/pos]

This arose by a tactic where W played Qa8! and Black, a 2486-rated player, probably a GM, had to give up his own queen with Qd1+ Rxd1 and then Re1+ reachind the diagram position.

Ivanov played Rxe1 and after Rxa8 Nc6 Black managed to take the d-pawn Bxd7 - a feat in itself - but was still 3 pawns down, so soon lost.

But instead of Ivanov's Rxe1, it struck me that after Kf2! Black is dead as a doorknob.

Now Houdini (also apparently present in Ivanov's shoe, remember) tells me that this is correct.

Not only that, but it tells me that both Kg2! and Kh2! also win immediately too. White gets a new queen or mates.

Chessbase are very keen to tell us about how Ivanov's extremely sharp style corresponds to the computer moves - but when, in a game that they featured, he played the fourth best move (by a very long way) in a position with pieces hanging, pawns about to queen and back rank mates on, it passes without comment from them.

Not only that, but Houdini also says that in the game even after Rxe1 Rxa8 W can keep his passed pawn by playing f5. This cuts off the B and Black would just resign as the pawn queens.

But it's far more eyecatching to make up a picture of a device in a shoe and tell us how easy it would be.

I agree that the Chessbase articles are heavily weighted