Double check all the sacrifices that your opponent dishes out! Sometimes even at the higher level of the game, an established player might err and offer a piece or pawn by mistake but those instances are not many.. Always try to smell or sense danger when a player sacrifices something and try to calculate a few moves ahead. It is better to be extra careful and check out when a pawn or piece is given freely rather than rushing headlong into accepting it .
In the game which follows, the players play solidly till the middle-game stages without much fireworks. However in the middle-game, Black offers a pawn in the center which Black accepts. Two moves later ,White suddenly finds himself in a losing position when the game had been going along equal lines till then.
White: Semen Dvoirys (2615) – Black: Vitaly Shinkevich (2375)
Tomsk , 1997
The Spanish opening.
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5.
The Ruy-Lopez or the Spanish opening is one of the oldest and most analyzed Openings in chess.
3. ..a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0–0 b5 6.Bb3 Bc5 7.d3 h6.
If 7...0–0 8.a4 Rb8.
8.a4.
This Opening is so well studied and dissected that one can see very few surprises in the first few moves.
11. ..Bxd4 12.Qxd4 d6 13.c3.
If 13.f4 c5 14.Qd2 Nc6 15.c3 (15.e5 dxe5 16.Qxd8+ Nxd8 (16...Kxd8 17.fxe5 Nxe5 18.Bf4 Nfd7 19.Bxf7) 17.fxe5 Ne4 18.Nd2 Nxd2 19.Bxd2 Be6) 15...0–0 with a balanced position.
13...0–0 14.Bc2 c5 15.Qe3 Bb7 16.Nd2.
Worth a look was 16.f4.
16...Re8 17.f3 Qc7 18.Nb3 Bc6.
Black has easily equalized as White has also been playing solidly without taking any risk or initiative.
19.Qf2 b4.
Black is interested in laying on the queen side.
20.cxb4 Rxb4 21.Bd2 Rbb8 22.Bc3.
White is enjoying a double bishop advantage and it would be interesting to see how he uses this!
23. ..Ra8.
Contesting for the open file
23.Rxa8 Bxa8.
If 23. ..Rxa8 24.Bxe5 dxde5 25.Nxc5 Nh5 26.Rd1 Nf4.
24.Rd1.
he decides to keep the rook on the center file rather than 24.Ra1.
24. ..Bb7 25.Na5 Ba8 26.Bxe5.
If 26.b4 cxb4 27.Bxb4 d5.
26...dxe5 27.Nc4 Bb7 28.Ba4.
White could have tried out 28.Qe3.
28...Ra8 29.Bb3.
After moving many times, the bishop land son a good diagonal.
29. ..Ba6 30.Ne3 Rb8 31.Qc2 Rb4 32.Bc4 Bxc4 33.Nxc4 Nd7 34.Qc3.
At this point, White appears to hole a slight edge.
34...Kh7.
Taking the King onto a safe square.
35.h4 Qa7.
Black tempts white with a pawn offer.
Diagram 1
36.Nxe5
A blunder! He decides to go for the pawn . Also playable is 36.b3 f6 37.h5 with slight advantage for White.
36...Rd4.
In an abrupt turn, things have suddenly become worse for White after he was tempted by the pawn.
37.Rxd4 cxd4 38.Qc8.
Another bad move. He could have tried to shut the open file and exchange queens with 38.Qa3.
38. ..d3+ (discovered) 39.Kh2 Nxe5.
White has lost a knight.
40.Qf5+ Ng6.
Black can save his knight.
41.h5.
Desperate measures but the game is lost and White accepts it by resigning rather than continuing with 41.h5 d2 42.hxg6+ fxg6 43.Qd5 Qf2 44.Kh3 Qe2 with a hopeless position.
Diagram 2
White to play and checkmate
1.Qg4+
Sacrificing the queen.
1.. Bxg4.
Black has no choice and the sequence is forced.
2.Rxh6+ gxh6 3.Bf7 checkmate.
Manisha Mohite
