A sudden and deadly move. It is possible because the black queen, which has come out ahead of its minor pieces, has very few squares. White defends the weakness on g5, whilst Black has no way to defend the e4-pawn.
The key point lies in the continuation 15...exf3 16.e4 f2+ 17.Ke2!, and the queen is trapped in the centre of the board.
White traps the queen in beautiful style in the variation 16...Nb4 17.Qb1 Nd3+ 18.Qxd3 exd3 19.e4.
White has won the central pawn for no compensation, and gradually realised it.
Unity Chess Club
Predrag Nikolic 2625 Alexander Khalifman 2660 Ter Apel 1994 Black to move
White wants to exert pressure on the c-file, considering that his knight on e5 is invulnerable. However, he has not castled, and this creates the preconditions for a tactical operation by Black:
The only move.
It turns out that he cannot capture with 14.dxe5, because of 14...Rac8. c1 hangs, and there is a threat of ...Bf5-c2, whilst after 15.Qd1 (15.Bc4 Nb6 is no better) 15...Bc2 16.Qd4 Bd3!, White suffers material losses.
It turns out that he cannot capture with 14.dxe5, because of 14...Rac8. c1 hangs, and there is a threat of ...Bf5-c2, whilst after 15.Qd1 (15.Bc4 Nb6 is no better) 15...Bc2 16.Qd4 Bd3!, White suffers material losses.
Black has almost sufficient material for the queen. However, the difference in piece and pawn positioning is enormous – Black has a lovely knight, a safe king, and simple play on the c- and d-files. White faces a difficult defence to save the game.
Unity Chess Club
Edwin Adams Carlos Torre Repetto New Orleans 1920 White to move
White begins a hunt for the black queen, which defends the back rank.
Not 19.a4 Qxe2 20.Rxe2, because of 20...Rc1+, and it is White who is mated!