[Event "Candidates qf1"] [Site "Bad Kissingen"] [Date "1983.??.??"] [Round "3"] [White "Korchnoi, Viktor"] [Black "Portisch, Lajos"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "A33"] [WhiteElo "2600"] [BlackElo "2620"] [PlyCount "69"] [EventDate "1983.03.??"] [EventType "match"] [EventRounds "9"] [EventCountry "GER"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "1999.07.01"] {The Sublime master (Victor Korchnoi) does it again here, with a tremendous display of skill, against the Hungarian Grandmaster Lajos Portisch. Here he creates a mating net around Lajos's King which quite remarkable happens despite the King being in the center of the board during the endgame.} 1. c4 c5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nc3 Nc6 4. d4 {this is one of the main lines of the Symmetrical English Opening} cxd4 5. Nxd4 e6 6. Ndb5 d5 $6 (6... Bb4 $142 {with equality.}) 7. Bf4 $1 e5 {White was threatening Nc7+ forking the King and Rook and as the Rook is a superior piece to the Knight then e5 needed to be played to avoid the situation.} 8. cxd5 $5 exf4 9. dxc6 bxc6 10. Qxd8+ Kxd8 11. Nd4 $6 {Victor, in his book 'My Best Games', he tells how with his aides he studied this position to find a good move and strategy. After not finding one he found this strategy over the board which worked brilliantly.} Kc7 12. g3 Bc5 (12... Rb8 $15 {Black could have threatened b2 in compensation for the f4 pawn and got his Rook off the dangerous diagonal.}) 13. Rc1 (13. Nxc6 $4 Bb7 $1 (13... Kxc6 $4 14. Bg2+ Kc7 15. Bxa8 $18) 14. Bg2 Bxc6 $19) 13... fxg3 (13... Bxd4 $6 14. Nb5+ Kb6 15. Nxd4 Bb7 $14) 14. hxg3 Ba6 $2 $16 (14... Rb8 $15) 15. Nxc6 $3 Bb7 $1 (15... Kxc6 $6 16. Na4 Rac8 17. b4 Kd6 18. Nxc5 Ke7 19. Rd1 $16) 16. Na4 $1 Bxf2+ $6 {this whole strategy of counter attack by Lajos is flawed but it sets in motion a blow for blow series of moves which more closesly resembles a Boxing Match than the civilised world of Chess, which is great for the spectator.} (16... Bxc6 17. Rxc5 Kd6 18. Rxc6+ Kxc6 19. Bg2+ Kd6 20. Bxa8 Rxa8 $16) 17. Kxf2 Ne4+ $5 18. Kg1 $6 (18. Kf3 Bxc6 19. Rxc6+ Kxc6 20. Kxe4 $18) 18... Bxc6 19. Bg2 Rae8 20. Rh4 $1 f5 $1 21. g4 $1 f4 $1 22. Rxc6+ $3 Kxc6 23. Nc3 $5 Kc5 24. Bxe4 Kd4 25. Bf3 Rb8 26. Na4 $1 Rb4 $6 (26... h6 $142 $18 {its about to get very iffy for the Lajos King-h6 prevents the Victor Rook from entering with such decisive effect into the fray. after 26...h6 27.Rh5 would have been answered by 27...g5.}) 27. Rh5 $3 Rd8 $1 (27... Rxa4 $4 28. Rd5+ Ke3 (28... Kc4 29. b3+ Kc3 30. bxa4 $18) 29. Rd3#) 28. b3 h6 29. Kf2 Rd6 30. Rf5 g5 $5 {its not just the f4 pawn thats threatened, the Rook is left hanging by the threat of Rxf4+, which is now averted.} (30... a6 $4 31. Rxf4+ Ke5 32. Rxb4 $18 ) 31. Rf7 $1 Ke5 $5 {the Victor Rook was heading for the e4 square.} (31... Rb5 32. Re7 Re5 33. Rxa7 $18) 32. Rxa7 Rd2 33. Nc5 $1 Rbd4 34. Ra6 $1 Rd6 (34... Rd8 35. Re6+ Kd4 36. Na4 Rd7 37. Re4+ Kd5 38. Ke1 Rd4 39. Nb6+ Kc5 40. Nxd7+ $18) 35. Ra5 $1 {the rest is easy as Ne4+ is threatened with a discovered Check winning the exchange (ie Knight for Rook) then the King only has one square to go and its an exchange anyway:- 35...Kf6 36.Ne4+} 1-0