Warsaw League, Warsaw 1982

1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 g6 3. c4 Bg7 4. Nc3 d6 5. g3

At that time I was using this fianchetto against the King's Indian Defense.

5...0-0 6. Bg2 c5 7. 0-0 a6?!

This is the first reason for Black's problems. After White's answer, this move turns out to be not only the waste of time, but also to weaken the b6 square. A normal continuation is 7...Nc6 8. d5 Na5 9. Nd2 a6. I played a lot of games in this line.

8. dc! dc 9. Be3 Nbd7

With this pawn structure, a natural square for the black knight is c6.

10. Qc2 Ng4?

Hunting for the bishop, Black substantially weakens his central squares. The question mark is for the whole plan starting with this move.

11. Bf4 e5 12. Bg5 f6 13. Bd2 Nb6

Strategically, Black is already much worse. He has problems with coordination (the knights occupy random positions), and the d5 square is in White's possession. With his last move, Black is trying to cover d5 and complete the development of the queenside.

14. Rad1! Qc7

14...Nxc4 loses a piece after 15. h3.

15. a4! Be6

This time, 15...Nxc4 is met by 16. Nd5.

16. b3 Rad8 17. Qc1!!

Such "innocent" moves make the chess game beautiful! A simple threat 18. h3 forces Black to give up the crucial g5 square for the white knight (17...g5 18. h3 Nh6 19. h4 +-), after which his position collapses.

17...f5 18. Ng5 Bc8?

This already loses material. More stubborn was 18...Bf7. Black probably rejected this move because of 19. a5 Nd7 (the knight has to protect c5 pawn; if 19...Nc8 then, e.g., 20. Nd5 Qb8 21. Nxf7 Kxf7 22. Bg5 Rd6 23. h3 Nf6 24. Nxf6 Bxf6 25. Bd5 Ke8 26. Be3 Qc7 27. Qa3 +-) 20. Nxf7 Kxf7 21. Bd5 Ke8 and the black king is back in the center. White certainly maintains a stable advantage in this case, but a straightforward win is hardly seen. Therefore, attention deserves also more positional 20. Nd5 (instead of 20. Nxf7) 20...Qb8 21. Bc3 with the pressure on the diagonal a1-h8, e.g., 21...Ngf6 22. Nxf6 Nxf6 23. Qb2 Rxd1 24. Rxd1 Re8 25. f4 Rd8 26. Re1 Ng4 27. e4 +-.

19. a5 Na8

Here we see the difference between 18...Bf7 and 18...Bc8. The knight cannot go to d7 because of 20. Ne6.

20. Nd5 Qd6

At first glance, better looks the immediate 20...Qb8, but then White had the unexpected 21. Be3!! with the idea 21...Nxe3 (or 21...Qd6 22. Nb6 Qb8 23. Bxc5 +-) 22. Ne7 Kh8 23. Rxd8 Rxd8 24. Nf7#. Very nice!

21. b4

Winning was also less prosaic 21. h3! Nf6 (if 21...Nh6 then 22. Ne4 fe 23. Bxh6 and Black has to give up the e4 pawn, or simply 22. Be3 Rfe8 23. Nb6 winning the c5 pawn) 22. Nxf6 Qxf6 (22...Bxf6 23. Bd5 Kg7 24. Nf7! Rxf7 25. Bh6 +-) 23. Bd5 Kh8 24. Nf7! Rxf7 25. Bg5!

21...h6

Black could play longer after 21...Rfe8, e.g., 22. bc Qb8 (if 22...Qf8 or 22...Qxc5 then 23. Bb4!) 23. Bc3 Bd7 24. h3 Nh6 25. Nb6 Nxb6 26. cb +-.

22. bc Qb8

Or 22...Qd7 23. h3 Rde8 (23...hg 24. Bxg5!) 24. Bb4! hg 25. c6 winning. The rest of the game needs no comments.

23. Ne7 Kh8 24. Nxg6 Kg8 25. Bd5 Rxd5 26. cd hg 27. Nxf8 Kxf8 28. Bxg5 Bd7 29. c6 bc 30. dc Be8 31. Qc5

1 - 0

[Warsaw, 1/28/2001]