Unity Chess Club
Mikhail Golubev-Vlad Victor Barnaure Bucharest 2006 White quietly proceeded with 16.Qd2. Should Black complete his development with 16…Rad8?
No! With his last move White set a disguised trap, protecting the g5-bishop and taking control of the a5-square. Have you got the clue? Look what happened in the game:
Unity Chess Club
Vasily Smyslov-Iosif Rudakovsky Moscow ch-URS 1945 The best move for White?
16.Bxf6! Bxf6 17.Nd5! Bd8
After 17…Qxc2, White not only has great positional compensation for the pawn, but he can also win material straight away: 18.Rf2 Qc5 19.Rc1 Qd4 20.Nc7.
And Smyslov used his great knight on d5 to launch a decisive attack on the kingside:
18…b5 19.b3 Qc5+ 20.Kh1 Rc8 21.Rf3 Kh8 22.f6 gxf6 23.Qh4 Rg8 24.Nxf6 Rg7 25.Rg3 Bxf6 26.Qxf6 Rcg8 27.Rd1 d5 28.Rxg7
Taking up a strong central position a la Botvinnik. At the same time, now b6 is under attack and the d-file is closed, avoiding any rook exchanges.
Now, White can manoeuvre at his leisure. He increased his space advantage and obtained a clear advantage when Black lost patience and took on d5.
Unity Chess Club
Alexander Stripunsky-Aleksandr Shimanov Philadelphia 2018 How would you judge the position after 25…Nd4+ 26.Bxd4 Bxd4 ?
Black is clearly better: he has the attack with opposite-coloured bishops, with White’s king in the middle (not able to run away via g1). White’s bishop is almost a mere pawn, while Black’s is a superb Botvinnik bishop