Tigran Vartanovich Petrosian vs Yuri M Kotkov - URS-ch U18 1946.??.??

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Tigran Vartanovich Petrosian vs Yuri M Kotkov
URS-ch U18 Leningrad URS 1946.??.??
Blumenfeld Countergambit 1-0

[Event "URS-ch U18"]
[Site "Leningrad URS"]
[Date "1946.??.??"]
[EventDate "?"]
[Round "?"]
[Result "1-0"]
[White "Tigran Vartanovich Petrosian"]
[Black "Yuri M Kotkov"]
[ECO "E10"]
[WhiteElo "?"]
[BlackElo "?"]
[PlyCount "39"]

1. d4 {Notes by Peter Clarke} Nf6 2. Nf3 e6 3. c4 d5
{Sometimes it is more trouble naming an opening than playing
it. 'Obviously this is a Queen's Gambit Declined,' one might
say, but so far there has been no gambit offered, let alone
declined. And with his next move -typycal Petrosian- White
gives the game a rather different character.} 4. Nbd2 c5 5. e3
{With 5.g3 we would have had a sort of Catalan.} Nc6 6. a3 {A
harmless-looking, yet insidious little move. Whereas an
experienced master would probably have reacted at once with
the exchange of pawns, Kotkov plays right into White's hands.}
Bd6 7. dxc5 {!} Bxc5 8. b4 {Petrosian's tactics have
triuphed. He has reached a Queen's Gambit Accepted with not
only the additional tempo of colours reversed but also a whole
move extra. Considering the good reputation the defence has in
normal circumstances, the outlook for Black is grim.} Be7
9. Bb2 O-O 10. Bd3 dxc4 {Otherwise White may tighten his grip
by c5, leaving Black with little or no chance of
counterplay. With another open file, he can hope to relieve
his position by exchanges.} 11. Nxc4 a6 {Black underestimates
the attacking potential of his opponent's Bishop battery. If
he is to organize his defences properly, he must complete his
development as quickly as possible and without setting up more
targets. Better, therefore was 11...Bd7 to be followed by
...Rc8.} 12. Qc2 {! A very fine move, suddenly bringing into
sharp relief the dangers Black is exposed to. At first sight
it might seem a blunder, for Black can play 12...Bxb4+ 13.axb4
Nxb4 14.Bxh7+ Nxh7 15.Qc3 Nd3+ and ...Nxb2, finishing a pawn
up. Only a closer examination reveals White's cunning
idea-12...Bxb4+ 13.Ke2!! The Bishop would then have nothing
better than to go back to e7, after which White could either
recover the pawn at once by Bxf6 and Bxh7+ or, still stronger,
continue 14.Rad1 Qc7 15.Ng5 h6 16.Bh7+ Kh8 17.h4 with a
tremendous attack. Here we can appreciate the quality of
White,s conception-his King is absolutely safe on e2 while his
KR takes on an aggresive role from its initial square.} h6
13. O-O b5 {? Now 13...Bd7 was essential. The text move leaves
a gaping hole on the q side. It is true that it is not by any
means obvious how White can exploit it; for instance, 14.Nce5
Nxe5 15.Nxe5 Bb7 and Black has a playable game. Petrosian
solves the problem in a most original way.} 14. Bxf6 {!} Bxf6
{14...bxc4 15.Bxe7 Qxe7 simply loses a pawn, whilst 14...gxf6
is positional suicide, e.g. 15.Rad1 Qe8 16.Bh7+ Kg7 17.Nd6
Bxd6 18.Rxd6 Ne7 19.Be4, etc.} 15. Rad1 {Threatening a
discovery on the Queen. Attempts at flight fail as follows:
(i) 15...Qc7 16.Na5, and the pin leads to gain of material;
(ii) 15...Qe7 16.Nb6 etc. (iii) 15...Qe8 16.Nd6 Qd7 17.Be4!}
Bd7 16. Bh7+ Kh8 17. Be4 {! One must admire the precision of
White's manouvers. Each move makes a telling blow. Black finds
that 17...Rc8 is inadequate on account of 18.Rxd7 Qxd7 19.Nb6
and wether he plays 19...Qc7 20.Nxc8 Rxc8 21.Rc1 or 19...Nxb4
20.Nxd7 Nxc2 21.Nxf8 a piece is lost.} Nxb4 {Despair, which as
usual merely hastens the end.} 18. axb4 Rc8 19. Rxd7 {!} Qxd7
20.Nb6 {Again White comes out a piece ahead. It is a pleasing
touch that the Knight, en prise for six moves, should have the
last word.} 1-0

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Updated: 26 November, 2021
Created: 26 November, 2021