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1. d4
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GM Miguel Najdorf's favorite game, in which he sacrifices all of his minor pieces. |
 
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1... f5 2. c4 Nf6 3. Nc3 e6 4. Nf3 d5 5. e3
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?! - A dubious move - White should develop the dark-squared bishop outside the pawn chain first, i.e. 5. Bf4 as in Schlechter-John, Barmen 1905 -- another masterpiece.
Note that black was not really threatening to capture the c4-pawn, as Qa4+ would recover the pawn and leave black's e6-pawn weak and exposed to attack on the a2-g8 diagonal. |
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5... c6
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This position could also be reached from a Semi-Slav move order: 1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 (or 2...e6) 3. Nc3 e6 (or 3...c6). Black is threatening to grab the c4-pawn. Now 4. Nf3 dxc4 5. e3 b5 6. a4 Bb4 is the Noteboom variation. Or 4. e4 dxe4 5. Nxe4 Bb4+ 6. Bd2 Qxd4 7. Bxb4 Qxe4+, which is one of several gambits named after Frank Marshall. If white, plays the naturally cautious 4. e3 to defend his c-pawn, then 4...f5 transposes back to the Stonewall Dutch. The advantage of this move order for Black is that Black avoids several anti-Dutch variations, and White's dark-squared bishop is not developed outside the pawn chain as in the main game. The disadvantage of this move order, since ...Nf6 has not yet been played, is that here White's best move is 5.g4! |
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6. Bd3
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6...Be7 is playable. |
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6... Bd6 7. O-O
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If 7. cxd5, Black should recapture with the e-pawn, leaving the c6-pawn to keep the white knight out of b5. The f5-pawn is defended by the c8-bishop. Therefore, White should consider 7. Qc2 - by attacking the f5-pawn again White is now threatening 8. cxd5 which in turn would force the undesirable 8...cxd5. Black should respond to 7. Qc2 with 7 ...Ne4, e.g. 8. Nd2 O-O and now the f5-pawn is well protected by the f8-rook. |
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7... O-O 8. Ne2
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White conceives a faulty plan of attacking black's e6-pawn. |
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8... Nbd7
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Black is not afraid of 9.cxd5 here: 9...cxd5 is forced but there is no knight on c3 right now - if the knight returns to c3 then black has time for 10...a6. |
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9. Ng5
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? - A tactical error |
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9... Bxh2+
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! - The Greek Gift (or Greco) Sacrifice: The key conditions that make this sacrifice work are: (1) no defending knight on f3, (2) no defending piece can capture a knight on g4, and (3) the attacking queen has access to the h-file.
The undefended knight on g5 is a bonus for Black. |
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10. Kh1
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10. Kxh2 Ng4+ 11. Kg1 Qxg5 |
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10... Ng4 11. f4
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Protecting the knight. 14. Nxe6? Qh4 |
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11... Qe8 12. g3
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White has to make room for his king to escape the h-file. |
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12... Qh5 13. Kg2
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Of course not 13. Nxe6??
After 13.Kg2, White's king appears to be safe and White is actually threatening to trap and win the h2-bishop with 14. Rh1. Black's next brilliant move is FORCED. |
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13... Bg1
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!!!
A brilliant move and a terrible shock for white.
The bishop is sacrificed to make room for the queen. |
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14. Nxg1
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The first of Black's pieces must be captured.
14. Kxg1 Qh2 mate.
14. Rxg1 Qh2+ 15. Kf1 (or Kf3) Qf2 mate.
14. Kf3 Nf2+ etc.
14. Nf3 Bxe3, and black would be two pawns up. |
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14... Qh2+ 15. Kf3 e5
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!
White has compensation for the sacrificed piece - and needs to open up lines for the rest of his army to attack the white king.
Note that 15...N(any)e5+ would be a mistake. Black's 20th move in the game would not be possible. |
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16. dxe5
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Black was threatening 16 ...e4+, which would force white to sacrifice two pieces to avoid mate. Black would be a piece up and still have an attack. |
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16... Ndxe5+
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!
Piece number two. |
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17. fxe5 Nxe5+ 18. Kf4 Ng6+ 19. Kf3
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Black can repeat the position with 19...Ne5+ 20.Kf4 Ng6+. |
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19... f4
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! |
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