Sunday 20 June 2010

Subjective v Objective

The other day I had a scoresheet thrust into my hand, with the suggestion that the game it contained appear on this blog. To provide me with further incentive to publish it, the phrase "The Greatest Chess Game Ever Played" was written across the top. Curious, I said I would look at it, before making up my mind. (To be fair I also suggested that I was liable to mock the hyperbole of the game's title).
As it turns out it wasn't the greatest game of chess ever played. (Feel free to read that sentence again in a different tone of voice). The chess engine Fruit was particularly scornful of it, finding a number of moves of dubious quality. But still, there were a couple of nuggets of gold in amongst the quartz. In the diagrammed position White missed a chance to elevate the game to a slightly higher plane by playing 15.Rh8+, when 15.Nd5! was the winning move. Ironically the very next move he did find Nd5, but instead of it now being the winning move, it was the losing one! And after a few more missed opportunities, White collapsed completely and Black won.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

is the idea behind nd5.... Qb4+?

TrueFiendish said...

yes