Reason is often buttressed by a gut feeling to find the right move.
Donald Dean White
Randal Andrews Black
Correspondence 1978-1980
Ruy Lopez, Exchange Variation C68
1 e4 e5 2 ♘f3 ♘c6 3 ♗b5 a6 4 ♗xc6 dxc6 5 0-0 f6 6 d4 ♗g4 7 c3 exd4 8 cxd4 c5
Black wants influence on dark squares, e.g. 9 d5 ♗d6 and ...♘e7-g6.
9 ♕b3!?
How would this occur to you? First, you want your queen off d1 so that dxc5 is possible. Second, you can see that the b7-pawn is unprotected.
But you may have a gut feeling that Black would be vulnerable if a center file is opened. That is, after 9...cxd4 10 ♕xb7 and 10...♗xf3 11 ♕c6+!.
9...♕c8?
Black wrongly shies away from 9...♗xf3 10 ♕xf3 cxd4 because of 11 e5 (11...fxe5 12 ♕h5+ and 11...c6 12 ♖e1).
10 e5!
But now White opens the center under better conditions than that. For example, 10...cxd4 11 exf6 and 12 ♖e1+ is more than worth a pawn.
10...♗xf3 11 ♕xf3 cxd4 12 ♗f4
Question 233: What was stronger?
12...f5! 13 ♘d2 ♗c5? 14 ♖ac1
Black has weak pawns after 14...b6 15 ♘b3 ♘e7 16 ♘xc5. He should have tried 13...c5 (14 ♘c4 ♕c6).
14...♗a7 15 ♘c4! ♕d8 16 ♕xb7 ♘e7 17 ♘d6+! resigns.
It’s hopeless after 17...cxd6 18 exd6 (18...♘g6 19 ♕xg7).
Alexander Voltschok White
Roman Kreslavsky Black
Kiev 1970
1 e4 e5 2 ♘f3 ♘c6 3 ♗b5 a6 4 ♗xc6 dxc6 5 0-0 f6 6 d4 ♗g4 7 c3 exd4 8 cxd4 ♗xf3 9 ♕xf3 ♕xd4 10 ♖d1 ♕c4 11 ♗f4 ♕f7 12 ♕g3 ♗d6 13 ♗xd6 0-0-0? 14 e5! fxe5? 15 ♕g4+ ♕d7 16 ♗e7! ♕xg4 17 ♖xd8 mate.