Author: Jürgen Hartmann
Date: 02:29:33 12/04/98
The thing I enjoy to do with a chess program is interactive analysis. Trying
different lines with a program gives you the illusion to do something
intelligent and achieves superior results to just letting it run endlessly on
one position on its own.
In the famous game Maroczy vs. Tartakower from 1922, Black build up a typical
Stonewall kings attack and crowned it with an intuitive rook sacrifice. For a
human it is easy to see the immense practical chances of this sacrifice and it
would be the first candidate move to calculate. But Junior5 and the Crafty
engine don't find it overnight on my P300.
The position after 17.Nd2 was
r1b3k1/pp1n3p/2pbpq1r/3p4/2PPp1p1/PP2P1P1/1BQN1P1P/3RRBK1 b - - 0 17
17... Rxh2!!
Does any program see this?
The question is: Do we have a fantastically tough testing position in the league
of Nolot here or is it simply incorrect? I tried to improve White by going
backwards from the end of the game. Maroczy slipped with 25.Bc3 and Junior
suggests 25.Rg2. However I think it is also won then with the below analysis. If
others agree with that, it is worthwhile to go further backwards and so try to
prove the correctness.
Jürgen Hartmann
[Event "Teplitz-Schoenau"]
[Date "1922.??.??"]
[White "Maroczy, Geza"]
[Black "Tartakower, Saviely"]
[Result "0-1"]
[Annotator "Junior5"]
1. d4 e6 2. c4 f5 3. Nc3 {Whites modern setup delays Nc3 and fianchettoes
the Bf1 because this piece vitally increases king safety and exerts pressure on
e4/d5.} 3... Nf6 4. a3 Be7 5. e3 O-O 6. Bd3 d5 7. Nf3 c6 8. O-O Ne4 9. Qc2 9...
Bd6 {The standard Stonewall attack pieces fall into place.} 10. b3 Nd7 11. Bb2
11... Rf6 {Which chess program finds this typical scheme? Junior5 insists
on exchanging the Nf3 first: 11... Nxg5 12.Nxg5 Qxg5 and 13... Rf6. The Crafty
engine doesn't go for the king and plays 11... Nxc3 12.Bxc3 dxc4.} 12. Rfe1 {
Better is 12.Ne2 with the defense idea Ne5.} 12... Rh6 13. g3 Qf6 14. Bf1 g5 15.
Rad1 g4 16. Nxe4 fxe4 17. Nd2 Rxh2 18. Kxh2 Qxf2+ 19. Kh1 Nf6 20. Re2 Qxg3 21.
Nb1 Nh5 22. Qd2 Bd7 23. Rf2 Qh4+ 24. Kg1 Bg3 25. Bc3 { After this White is
clearly lost.} (25. Rg2 Rf8 26. Qe2 Rf3 27. Bc1 (27. Bc3 Ng7 28. Bd2 Nf5 29. a4
{White cannot do much - e3 is under attack.} 29... Bf2+ 30. Rxf2 Ng3 31. Rh2
Nxe2+ 32. Bxe2 32... Rg3+ {and Mate in 9.}) 27... Bc7 { The threat is Ng3.} 28.
Rh2 Bxh2+ 29. Qxh2 Qg5 30. Bg2 g3 31.Qh3 31... Rf7 $1 32. Re1 e5 33. Qh1 Rf2 34.
cxd5 cxd5 35. Nc3 exd4 36. exd4 36... Nf4 $19)
25... Bxf2+ 26. Qxf2 g3 27. Qg2 Rf8 28. Be1 Rxf1+ 29. Kxf1 e5 30. Kg1 Bg4 31.
Bxg3 Nxg3 32. Re1 Nf5 33. Qf2 Qg5 34. dxe5 Bf3+ 35. Kf1 Ng3+
0-1
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