Karpov – Hort Karpov Hort Result: 1-0 Metadata » Click to open. Date: 1971.??.?? Location: ? Tournament: Moscow Round: Opening: Submitted by: Published on: February 9, 2020 [Event "Moscow"] [Site "?"] [Date "1971.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "Karpov"] [Black "Hort"] [Result "1-0"] [PlyCount "65"] 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 e6 6.g4 Nc6 7.g5 Nd7 8.Be3 a6 9.f4 Be7 10.Rg1 Nxd4 {Hort played this reluctantly, since it concedes the center to White, who now has better control of e5. Therefore Black will have to occupy that square while he can.} 11.Qxd4 e5 {Black challenges White's central power and prevents White from advancing to e5 which would have created serious problems on the kingside. The weakness at d5 is not so important here but it, and the weak pawn at d6, will be later.} 12.Qd2 exf4 13.Bxf4 Ne5 {Black has executed his plan to take over the e5-square, but has had to accept a weak Pd6 in return.} 14.Be2 Be6 15.Nd5 {White correctly establishes a blockade at d5. If he had castled first, then Black would have been able to thwart this plan with 15...Qa5!} Bxd5 16.exd5 {A difficult choice. Generally, one uses a piece to blockade a pawn, but here the weakness at d6 would have a counterpart at e4. Karpov's choice also gives more scope to his light-squared bishop.} Ng6 {Hort, recognizing the passivity of his position, strives to create counterplay by tactical means. The threat is the capture at f4 followed by Qa5+.} 17.Be3 h6 {This is an error of judgement. Black reasoned that White would not capture, because that would result in a displacement of his king. But with the d-file sealed, the White king will rest comfortably at d1.} 18.gxh6 Bh4+ 19.Kd1 gxh6 20.Bxh6 {Black now had to reconsider the situation. White's extra pawn at c2 is not the most important factor. The question is, where should the Bh4 beposted?} Bf6 21.c3 Be5 {This is clearly a good square for the bishop, and there is a serious threat here of kingside infiltration with 22...Qh4, e.g., 23.Bg5 Qb6 24.Be3 Qc7. But Karpov, recognizing the danger, puts a stop to Black's plans.} 22.Rg4 Qf6 {Despite White's advantages (bishop pair, open lines in the center) Hort should have taken the opportunity to restore the material balance with 22...Bxh2. Instead, he chose to play for complications.} 23.h4 {A strong positional move, saving and advancing the h-pawn. It is based on the tactical point that 23...Nxh4? would be countered by 24.Bg7.} Qf5 24.Rb4 {This rook performs the double duty of protecting the fourth rank and attacking on the queenside.} Bf6 25.h5 Ne7 {Not 25...Ne5?, which drops a piece to 27.Rf4!} 26.Rf4 {26.Rxb7?? Rxh6! 27.Qxh6 Qxd5+ picks up the Rb7.} Qe5 {Black is almost out of the woods. All he has to do is castle. But the central files can still cause him problems.} 27.Rf3 Nxd5 28.Rd3 Rxh6 {No better was 28...Ne7 19.Bf4!} 29.Rxd5 {White had to avoid the tactical trick 29.Qxh6 Bg5 when 30...Ne3+ would have been very powerful.} Qe4 {Material equilibrium has been restored, but Black's pieces are not well placed. White's roaming rook now redeploys to a most menacing position.} 30.Rd3 Qh1+ {The threat of Re3, combined with pressure at h6, force Black to take this desperate measure. He was in time pressure as well.} 31.Kc2 Qxa1 32.Qxh6 Be5 33.Qg5 {Here Hort ran out of time and forfeited the game. White should win easily from this position in any case.} 1-0 [Event "Moscow"] [Site "?"] [Date "1971.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "Karpov"] [Black "Hort"] [Result "1-0"] [PlyCount "65"] 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 e6 6.g4 Nc6 7.g5 Nd7 8.Be3 a6 9.f4 Be7 10.Rg1 Nxd4 {Hort played this reluctantly, since it concedes the center to White, who now has better control of e5. Therefore Black will have to occupy that square while he can.} 11.Qxd4 e5 {Black challenges White's central power and prevents White from advancing to e5 which would have created serious problems on the kingside. The weakness at d5 is not so important here but it, and the weak pawn at d6, will be later.} 12.Qd2 exf4 13.Bxf4 Ne5 {Black has executed his plan to take over the e5-square, but has had to accept a weak Pd6 in return.} 14.Be2 Be6 15.Nd5 {White correctly establishes a blockade at d5. If he had castled first, then Black would have been able to thwart this plan with 15...Qa5!} Bxd5 16.exd5 {A difficult choice. Generally, one uses a piece to blockade a pawn, but here the weakness at d6 would have a counterpart at e4. Karpov's choice also gives more scope to his light-squared bishop.} Ng6 {Hort, recognizing the passivity of his position, strives to create counterplay by tactical means. The threat is the capture at f4 followed by Qa5+.} 17.Be3 h6 {This is an error of judgement. Black reasoned that White would not capture, because that would result in a displacement of his king. But with the d-file sealed, the White king will rest comfortably at d1.} 18.gxh6 Bh4+ 19.Kd1 gxh6 20.Bxh6 {Black now had to reconsider the situation. White's extra pawn at c2 is not the most important factor. The question is, where should the Bh4 beposted?} Bf6 21.c3 Be5 {This is clearly a good square for the bishop, and there is a serious threat here of kingside infiltration with 22...Qh4, e.g., 23.Bg5 Qb6 24.Be3 Qc7. But Karpov, recognizing the danger, puts a stop to Black's plans.} 22.Rg4 Qf6 {Despite White's advantages (bishop pair, open lines in the center) Hort should have taken the opportunity to restore the material balance with 22...Bxh2. Instead, he chose to play for complications.} 23.h4 {A strong positional move, saving and advancing the h-pawn. It is based on the tactical point that 23...Nxh4? would be countered by 24.Bg7.} Qf5 24.Rb4 {This rook performs the double duty of protecting the fourth rank and attacking on the queenside.} Bf6 25.h5 Ne7 {Not 25...Ne5?, which drops a piece to 27.Rf4!} 26.Rf4 {26.Rxb7?? Rxh6! 27.Qxh6 Qxd5+ picks up the Rb7.} Qe5 {Black is almost out of the woods. All he has to do is castle. But the central files can still cause him problems.} 27.Rf3 Nxd5 28.Rd3 Rxh6 {No better was 28...Ne7 19.Bf4!} 29.Rxd5 {White had to avoid the tactical trick 29.Qxh6 Bg5 when 30...Ne3+ would have been very powerful.} Qe4 {Material equilibrium has been restored, but Black's pieces are not well placed. White's roaming rook now redeploys to a most menacing position.} 30.Rd3 Qh1+ {The threat of Re3, combined with pressure at h6, force Black to take this desperate measure. He was in time pressure as well.} 31.Kc2 Qxa1 32.Qxh6 Be5 33.Qg5 {Here Hort ran out of time and forfeited the game. White should win easily from this position in any case.} 1-0 White to move: find the best move... click the ? for the solution Black to move: find the best move... click the ? for the solution Warning: This game can only be seen if JavaScript is enabled in your browser. No related posts.
