4r1k1/3nbppp/bqr2B2/p7/2p5/6P1/P2N1PBP/1R1QR1K1 b - - 0 21



The game was played in Barcelona, Spain on October 19, 2007. The players were:

White: Krasenkow, M
Black: Nakamura, H

I will post the game later. Have fun! Use your brain or your engine, but try your brain 1st. It's a nice little nutcracker.

The same for me. I wonder if the player itself could have figured out all the consequences of his move.
He might have thought that, well, this move can give a good head ache to my opponent : let us see.
And it worked.

I'd move Rxf6

But after RxQb6 and RxR white is better;
I think black has no classical good move : the queen and the bishop are together under fire.
May be that's why black found an astonishing move.

Annotation by GM Lubomir Kavalek

[Event "Magistral d'Escacs"]
[Site "Barcelona SP"]
[Date "2007.10.19"]
[Round "2"]
[White "Krasenkow,M"]
[Black "Nakamura,H"]
[Result "0-1"]
[WhiteElo "2668"]
[BlackElo "2648"]
[EventDate "2007.10.19"]

1.Nf3 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.g3 d5 4.Bg2 Be7 5.0-0 0-0 6.b3 a5 (Played with the intention of 7.d4 a4! 8.bxa4?! dxc4, clearing the queenside.) 7.Nc3 c6 8.d4 Nbd7 9.Qc2 b6 10.e4 Ba6 11.Nd2 (The best way to protect the pawn on c4 is 11.e5 Ne8 12.Ne2.) 11...c5!? (A well-timed strike in the center, attacking white's d-pawn.) 12.exd5 (After 12.dxc5 d4! 13.Na4 bxc5 14.e5?! Nxe5 15.Bxa8 Qxa8 black has excellent compensation for the exchange.) 12...cxd4 13.Nb5 exd5! (13...Bxb5 is met by 14.dxe6!) 14.Nxd4 Rc8 (White's c-pawn is suddenly under strong pressure.) 15.Re1 b5 16.Bb2 Re8 17.Qd1 (Giving up the pawn with 17.Rad1 bxc4 18.bxc4 Bxc4 19.Nxc4 Rxc4 20.Qf5 is better.) 17...bxc4 18.bxc4 Qb6! (A prelude to a deep tactical sequence. Taking a pawn 18...Bxc4 19.Nxc4 Rxc4 gives white the chance to fight back with 20.Nf5 Bc5 21.Qd2!) 19.Rb1 dxc4! (Provoking white into a wrong combination.) 20.Nc6? (A blunder. White should have tried 20.Bc3 Qc5 21.Qa4.) 20...Rxc6 21.Bxf6? (Krasenkow most likely overlooked black's next move. He should have played 21.Rxe7 Rxe7 22.Bxf6 Nxf6 23.Rxb6, although after 23...Rxb6, black has a clear advantage.)


Position after 21. ... Qxf2+

21...Qxf2+!! (This explosive queen sacrifice is a brilliant refutation of white's play. The white king is flushed out and the hunt begins.) 22.Kxf2 (After 22.Kh1 Rxf6 23.Ne4 Qa7 black wins.) 22...Bc5+ 23.Kf3 (The alternatives are not good either: 23.Kf1 c3+ 24.Re2 c2! wins; or 23.Re3 Bxe3+ 24.Ke1 Bxd2+ 25.Kxd2 Rd6+ wins; 23.Bd4 Bxd4+ 24.Kf3 Rf6+ 25.Kg4 Ne5+ 26.Rxe5 Bc8+ wins.) 23...Rxf6+ 24.Kg4 Ne5+ 25.Kg5 (25.Rxe5 is met by 25...Bc8+; and after 25.Kh4 Rh6+ 26.Kg5 Rg6+ 27.Kh5 Bc8! wins.) 25...Rg6+ 26.Kh5 (Black also wins after 26.Kf4 Nd3+; and after 26.Kf5 Bc8+ 27.Ke4 Rd6!) 26...f6 (26...Bc8! 27.Ne4 Be7 closes the mating net faster.) 27.Rxe5 (27.Bd5+ only prolongs the game after 27...Kh8 28.Kh4 Rh6+ 29.Qh5 g5+ 30.Kh3 Rxh5+ and black wins.) 27...Rxe5+ 28.Kh4 Bc8! (Black mates either after 29.Bf3 Rh6+ 30.Bh5 g5 mate; or after 29.Bd5+ Rxd5 30.g4 Rd3 31.Qf3 Bf2+ 32.Kh3 Rxg4 33.Rb8 Rg3+ 34.Kh4 Rh3 mate.) White resigns.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: TedSummers,

I would move the queen to the bottom next to the rook bishop and knight.
This will defend the black bishop, if that was to be captured than with rook and queen will be able to reply the capturing incase the white bishop or white rook was to attack the black bishop.

quote:

Originally posted by ebutaljib:

quote:

Originally posted by CrUeL_KNIGHTS:
I would move the queen to the bottom next to the rook bishop and knight.
This will defend the black bishop, if that was to be captured than with rook and queen will be able to reply the capturing incase the white bishop or white rook was to attack the black bishop.

What about the c6 rook?

Yeah that's even a better move, didn't notice that

Well it looks like our little gem will be the topic of a lecture.

"Hikaru Nakamura: my best game ever"

02.01.2008 – When one of the most successful players at the end of 2007 calls it the best game he has ever played we take notice. It was a brilliancy against Polish GM Michal Krasenkow, produced by the American GM Hikaru Nakamura, at the Barcelona tournament. This game is dissected on Playchess.com by Dennis Monokroussos in tonight's New Year's lecture.

http://chessbase.com/newsdetail.asp?newsid=4354