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Date: 13 Aug 2008 13:38:44
From: Chess One
Subject: 41st USSR, Moscow 1973
While exploring Rusbase I found this tournament in particular - it is
significant that the previous year Tal won it 2 points clear, then as they
say, came this: Readers wishing to play through games or even download them
[ .pgn ] go to http://www.ruschess.com/Rusbase/USSR/1973.html

One noticeable factor is the very high draw rate, especially among the top
boards. Spassky demonstrated the worth of clobbering the bottom of the field
more thorougly than anyone else.

41st USSR Championship
Moscow, 1973
N Player 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 Sc Pl
1 Spassky, Boris V X 1/2 1/2 1/2 1/2 1/2 1/2 1/2 1/2 0 1 1/2 1
1 1 1 1 1 11.5 1
2 Karpov, Anatoly 1/2 X 1 1 0 1/2 1/2 1/2 1/2 1 1/2 1/2 1 1/2
1/2 1/2 1/2 1 10.5 2-6
3 Korchnoi, Viktor 1/2 0 X 1/2 1/2 1/2 1/2 1/2 1/2 1 1/2 1/2 1
1 1/2 1 1 1/2 10.5 2-6
4 Kuzmin, Gennadi P 1/2 0 1/2 X 1/2 1/2 1/2 1/2 1/2 1/2 1 1/2
1/2 1 1 1 1 1/2 10.5 2-6
5 Petrosian, Tigran 1/2 1 1/2 1/2 X 1/2 1/2 1/2 1/2 1/2 1/2 1
1/2 1/2 1/2 1/2 1 1 10.5 2-6
6 Polugaevsky, Lev 1/2 1/2 1/2 1/2 1/2 X 1/2 1 1/2 1/2 1/2 1 1
1/2 1/2 1/2 1/2 1 10.5 2-6
7 Geller, Efim P 1/2 1/2 1/2 1/2 1/2 1/2 X 1/2 1 1/2 0 1/2 1/2
0 1/2 1 1 0 8.5 7-8
8 Grigoryan, Karen 1/2 1/2 1/2 1/2 1/2 0 1/2 X 1/2 (1) 1/2 1
1/2 1 1/2 0 0 1/2 8.5 7-8
9 Keres, Paul 1/2 1/2 1/2 1/2 1/2 1/2 0 1/2 X 1/2 1/2 0 1/2
1/2 1/2 1/2 1/2 1 8.0 9-12
10 Savon, Vladimir A 1 0 0 1/2 1/2 1/2 1/2 (0) 1/2 X 1/2 1/2
1/2 1/2 1/2 1/2 1/2 1 8.0 9-12
11 Taimanov, Mark E 0 1/2 1/2 0 1/2 1/2 1 1/2 1/2 1/2 X 1 0
1/2 1/2 1/2 1/2 1/2 8.0 9-12
12 Tal, Mikhail 1/2 1/2 1/2 1/2 0 0 1/2 0 1 1/2 0 X 1/2 1/2 1
1/2 1/2 1 8.0 9-12
13 Rashkovsky, Nukhim N 0 0 0 1/2 1/2 0 1/2 1/2 1/2 1/2 1 1/2 X
1/2 1/2 1/2 1/2 1 7.5 13-14
14 Tukmakov, Vladimir B 0 1/2 0 0 1/2 1/2 1 0 1/2 1/2 1/2 1/2 1/2
X 1/2 1/2 1/2 1 7.5 13-14
15 Averkin, Orest N 0 1/2 1/2 0 1/2 1/2 1/2 1/2 1/2 1/2 1/2 0 1/2
1/2 X 1/2 0 1 7.0 15-16
16 Smyslov, Vassily 0 1/2 0 0 1/2 1/2 0 1 1/2 1/2 1/2 1/2 1/2 1/2
1/2 X 1/2 1/2 7.0 15-16
17 Sveshnikov, Evgeny 0 1/2 0 0 0 1/2 0 1 1/2 1/2 1/2 1/2 1/2 1/2
1 1/2 X 0 6.5 17
18 Beliavsky, Alexander G 0 0 1/2 1/2 0 0 1 1/2 0 0 1/2 0 0 0 0
1/2 1 X 4.5 18

Sorry, uncure the significance of that (1) Grigoryan v Karen - assume game
defaulted.

Phil Innes






 
Date: 19 Aug 2008 08:36:34
From: RookHouse
Subject: Re: 41st USSR, Moscow 1973
On Aug 13, 1:38=A0pm, "Chess One" <[email protected] > wrote:
> While exploring Rusbase I found this tournament in particular - it is
> significant that the previous year Tal won it 2 points clear, then as the=
y
> say, came this: Readers wishing to play through games or even download th=
em
> [ .pgn ] go tohttp://www.ruschess.com/Rusbase/USSR/1973.html
>
Here is another page on that tournament: http://www.rookhouse.com/events/u=
ssr1973.html




 
Date: 15 Aug 2008 23:57:47
From: Arfur Million
Subject: Re: 41st USSR, Moscow 1973
"Chess One" <[email protected] > wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> While exploring Rusbase I found this tournament in particular - it is
> significant that the previous year Tal won it 2 points clear, then as they
> say, came this: Readers wishing to play through games or even download
> them [ .pgn ] go to http://www.ruschess.com/Rusbase/USSR/1973.html
>
> One noticeable factor is the very high draw rate, especially among the top
> boards. Spassky demonstrated the worth of clobbering the bottom of the
> field more thorougly than anyone else.
>

That was fairly typical of the time, though this tournament does look like
an extreme example. Cafferty comments that Spassky drew his last three
games in order to maintain a one point lead, so at least in some of the
games against the top half he didn't have much incentive to win.

<snip table >
> Sorry, uncure the significance of that (1) Grigoryan v Karen - assume game
> defaulted.
>

www.chessgames.com gives that game ( Karen Grigorian v Vladimir Savon) as:

1 h4
1-0 !

Apparently that is called the Kadas opening, which must be very powerful. I
surmise that Grigorian knew that Savon would default and played h4 as a
joke - but does anyone know what the story really is?

The crosstable in the Cafferty/Taimanov book on the Soviet Championships
give + and - for the game (rather than 1 and 0).

Regards,
Arfur






 
Date: 15 Aug 2008 23:56:50
From: Arfur Million
Subject: Re: 41st USSR, Moscow 1973
"Chess One" <[email protected] > wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> While exploring Rusbase I found this tournament in particular - it is
> significant that the previous year Tal won it 2 points clear, then as they
> say, came this: Readers wishing to play through games or even download
> them [ .pgn ] go to http://www.ruschess.com/Rusbase/USSR/1973.html
>
> One noticeable factor is the very high draw rate, especially among the top
> boards. Spassky demonstrated the worth of clobbering the bottom of the
> field more thorougly than anyone else.
>

That was fairly typical of the time, though this tournament does look like
an extreme example. Cafferty comments that Spassky drew his last three
games in order to maintain a one point lead, so at least in some of the
games against the top half he didn't have much incentive to win.

<snip table >
> Sorry, uncure the significance of that (1) Grigoryan v Karen - assume game
> defaulted.
>

www.chessgames.com gives that game ( Karen Grigorian v Vladimir Savon) as:

1 h4
1-0 !

Apparently that is called the Kadas opening, which must be very powerful. I
surmise that Grigorian knew that Savon would default an dplayed h4 as a
joke - but does anyone know what the story really is?

The crosstable in the Cafferty/Taimanov book on the Soviet Championships
give + and - for the game (rather than 1 and 0).

Regards,
Arfur





  
Date: 19 Aug 2008 08:00:49
From: Chess One
Subject: Re: 41st USSR, Moscow 1973

"Arfur Million" <[email protected] > wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> "Chess One" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
>> While exploring Rusbase I found this tournament in particular - it is
>> significant that the previous year Tal won it 2 points clear, then as
>> they say, came this: Readers wishing to play through games or even
>> download them [ .pgn ] go to
>> http://www.ruschess.com/Rusbase/USSR/1973.html
>>
>> One noticeable factor is the very high draw rate, especially among the
>> top boards. Spassky demonstrated the worth of clobbering the bottom of
>> the field more thorougly than anyone else.
>>
>
> That was fairly typical of the time, though this tournament does look like
> an extreme example. Cafferty comments that Spassky drew his last three
> games in order to maintain a one point lead, so at least in some of the
> games against the top half he didn't have much incentive to win.
>
> <snip table>
>> Sorry, uncure the significance of that (1) Grigoryan v Karen - assume
>> game defaulted.
>>
>
> www.chessgames.com gives that game ( Karen Grigorian v Vladimir Savon) as:
>
> 1 h4
> 1-0 !
>
> Apparently that is called the Kadas opening, which must be very powerful.
> I surmise that Grigorian knew that Savon would default an dplayed h4 as a
> joke - but does anyone know what the story really is?

I would make the same surmise.

> The crosstable in the Cafferty/Taimanov book on the Soviet Championships
> give + and - for the game (rather than 1 and 0).

I don't have that title, and Cafferty's book on Spassky ends in 1971.

Game 98 is his own annotation v Fischer at the Siegen Olympiad 1970 -
playing against Fischer's Grunfeld

Spassky is pretty honest, no? He say after his 19th move BxB that he varied
since the usual B-B2 'confirms the impression that the opeing variation is
not very promising for white'. So he is somewhat in his own preparation -
and this is now interesting, since how does Fischer deal with it?

By move 22 ... P-QN4 Spassky comments "Black clearly has the better of it"
and goes on to add that certain tactical factors should not be ignored!

At black's move 24 Spassky notes that Fischer is playing for a win and
mentions another move that would 'leave it level'.

Then at 29 Qxp Spassky says 'The majority of commenatators consider that
this move took Fischer by surprise since now [long analytical tree of
options supplied by Vasiukov] and then said "If in fact this is what Fischer
had overlooked, it is a terrible psychological shock, and from now his playu
deteriorates.

Black resigned at 39.

The final Spassky comment about 'psychological' loss reminds me of
Taimanov's own statement about himself and Fischer - I should write about
that - some of it is published, some not. But I did get to ask Fischer about
it...

Cordially, Phil Innes

> Regards,
> Arfur
>
>
>