Asking a move to defend against a threat and make its own threat may be too much.
Carlos Sumiacher White
Lev Polugayevsky Black
Mar del Plata 1971
Reti Opening
1 c4 ♘f6 2 g3 c6 3 ♘f3 d5 4 ♗g2 ♗f5
Black aims for the solid setup of ...e6, ...♘bd7 and ...♗d6.
5 ♕b3
If Black stops ♕xb7 with 5...b6? he runs into trouble after 6 d3 e6 7 0-0 ♘bd7? 8 ♘d4! and 9 ♘xc6 or 9 ♘xf5.
5...♕b6 6 cxd5?
On 6 ♕xb6 axb6 7 cxd5 cxd5 White may claim a tiny edge because he can occupy b5 later with a knight. However, 7...♘xd5! is fine for Black.
6...♕xb3! 7 axb3 ♘xd5!
Black is better because ...♘b4 cannot be stopped by a2-a3. For example, 8 d3 e6 9 e4? ♘b4 (10 exf5 ♘c2+ or 10 ♔e2 ♗g6 11 ♘a3 ♘8a6 and ...♘c5).
8 ♘c3 ♘b4!
Now 9 0-0 ♘c2 10 ♖a5 ♗e6 or 10 ♖b1 ♘a6 is annoying.
9 ♘d4?? e5!
White’s threat had less punch than Black’s. He would lose after 10 ♘-moves ♘c2+.
10 ♖xa7
White might have tried 10 ♖a5 and then 10...exd4 11 ♖xf5 dxc3 12 bxc3.
But even 12...♘c2+!? 13 ♔d1 ♘a1 14 b4 is lost after 14...♘b3 15 ♗b2 a5!.
10...♖xa7 11 ♘xf5 ♘c2+ 12 ♔d1
White could resign here but played another ten moves before doing so.
Julian Hodgson White
Robert Huebner Black
Bundesliga 1995
1 c4 ♘f6 2 g3 c6 3 ♘f3 d5 4 ♗g2 ♗f5 5 ♕b3 ♕b6 6 d3 e6 7 ♗e3?! ♕xb3 8 axb3 a6 9 ♘d4 ♗g6 10 cxd5 ♘xd5! 11 ♗d2 ♘d7 12 0-0 ♗e7 13 e4 ♘c7 14 b4 0-0-0 15 ♗c3 ♘e5! 16 b5 axb5 17 ♘xe6 ♘xe6 18 ♗xe5 f6 19 ♗c3 ♔b8 20 f4 ♘c5 White resigns.
Question 91: How bad is 16 ♖d1 ?