JOIN USEvery chess follower likes to watch games which become thrilling and exciting when there are plenty of sacrifices on board with the objective of dragging the king into a checkmating net. However these type of fireworks most often occur only when the opponent has erred and cannot put up any resistance.
In the game which follows, white first systematically brings his queen and rooks into good attacking positions and then starts sacrificing his pieces. Black on the other hand is passive and after the exchange of the dark square bishop, lands in big time trouble. White first sacrifices both his knights and then a promoted pawn which paves the way for his queen and rook to set up a check-mating net.
White: Vasily Yemelin (2495) – Black: Evgeny Shaposhnikov (2320)
St Petersburg, 1996
Sicilian Defence
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 a6 5.Bd3 Nf6 6.0–0 Qc7 7.c4
A rather surprising move even though it has been played before! The usual continuation is 7.Qe2.White can even play 7.Qf3 or 7.Nc3
7...Nc6 8.Be3 If 8.Nxc6 dxc6 9.f4 e5 10.f5 Bc5+ 11.Kh1 h5
8...Ne5. Black can also develop his bishop with 8...Bd6
9.h3 d6 10.f4. An aggressive pawn advance which is also a novelty. If 10.Nc3 b6 11.f4 Nxd3 12.Qxd3 Bb7
10...Nxd3
If 10...Nxc4 11.Qc2 b5 12.b3
11.Qxd3 Be7 12.Nc3 0–0 13.a4 b6 14.f5
White is getting aggressive
14. ..Bd7
If 14...e5 15.Nc2 Bb7 16.Nb4
15.Rad1 Rac8 16.b3 Rfe8 17.Bg5
White can also try 17.fxe6 fxe6
17...Qc5 18.Kh1
Getting out of discovered attack
18. ..Rcd8 19.Qg3. If fxe6 Bxf6
19...Nh5. If 19...Kh8 20.Qh4
20.Qh4 Bxg5. Black is more or less forced to exchange the dark squared bishop which works well for white
21.Qxg5 Nf6 22.Rd3
The rook now starts positioning himself to get into the attack. White could have also thought about 22.Rg3
22...h6 23.Qh4 e5
Black could have taken his King to 23. ..Kh7 and then tried to open at the centre
24.Rg3. A good position to take!
24...Kh7. Not the right move this time but then things are already becoming difficult. If 24...Kh8 25.Nd5 Nxd5 26.f6 Nxf6 27.Rxf6 Kh7 28.Rxf7 Rg8 29.Qf6
25.Nf3 Rf8. Trying to defend
26.Nd5. It is interesting to see how active the White pieces are! The game also produces lot of fireworks from now onwards
26...Nxd5 27.Ng5+ Kg8
If 27...Kh8 28.Nxf7+ Rxf7 29.Qxd8+
Diagram 1
28.f6. Interesting move! White has already sacrificed one knight and now has kept the second one also hanging
28...Ne3.
If 28...Nxf6 29.Rxf6 hxg5 30.Qxg5 g6 31.Rxg6+ fxg6 32.Qxg6+ Kh8 33.Qh6 check-mate and if 28...hxg5 29.Qxg5 g6 30.cxd5 with a win for White
29.fxg7
A good choice. Also interesting to note is 29.Ne6
29...Nxf1
If 29. …Nf5 30.gxf8 (Q) Rxf8 31.Ne6+ And if 29...Kxg7 30.Ne6+ Kh7 31.Rg7+ Kh8 32.Qxh6 checkmate
30.gxf8Q+
If 30.Qxh6 Nxg3+ 31.Kh2 Nf1+ 32.Kh1 Ng3+ And if 30. ..Kxf8 31.Nh7+ Ke8 32.Rg8 checkmate
30...Rxf8
If 30...Kxf8 31.Nh7+ Ke8 32.Rg8 checkmate
31.Ne6+
And Black resigned in this hopeless position. If 31...Kh7 32.Rg7+ Kh8 33.Qxh6 checkmate.
1–0
Diagram 2
White to play and checkmate
1.QxRf6+ Qxf6 2.Rg8 checkmate.