Even a strong player can concentrate too much on one wing.
David Bronstein White
Yefim Geller Black
Moscow 1961
Nimzo-Indian Defense, Saemisch Variation E27
1 d4 ♘f6 2 c4 e6 3 ♘c3 ♗b4 4 a3 ♗xc3+ 5 bxc3 0-0 6 f3 d5 7 cxd5 exd5 8 e3 ♗f5!
Now 9 ♗d3 ♗xd3 10 ♕xd3 c5! gives Black an easy game, e.g. 11 ♘e2 ♕a5 12 0-0 ♕a6!.
9 ♘e2 ♘bd7 10 ♘f4 c5 11 ♗d3 ♗xd3 12 ♕xd3 ♖e8 13 0-0 ♖c8 14 ♖b1
Black wants to play ...♕a5 followed by ...♘b6 to attack the queenside. Therefore he avoids 14...b6 or 14...♘b6.
14...♕a5? 15 ♖xb7! ♘b6
White’s rook is trapped and threatened by 16...c4 and 17...♕a6. Now 16 dxc5 ♖xc5 17 ♘e2 ♖c4 is the kind of pressure Black had in mind.
16 g4!
White points out that there’s another side of the board: 16...c4 17 ♕f5 ♕a6 18 ♖xb6! and 19 g5!.
Also 16...cxd4 17 cxd4 ♖c3? fails to 18 ♖xa7 ♕xa7 19 ♕xc3 (or 18 ♗d2).
16...h6 17 h4! cxd4 18 g5! dxe3
Black bets on 19 ♗xe3 hxg5 20 hxg5 ♖xc3 (21 ♗d2?? ♕c5+).
19 gxf6 ♖xc3
And he may have hoped for 20 ♕d4? ♖c4.
20 ♕g6! resigns.
Now 20...fxg6 21 ♖xg7+ and ♘xg6 mate.
Question 258: Was there another winning 20th move?
Sayed Hassan White
Catalina Ros Black
Dos Hermanas 2003
1 d4 ♘f6 2 c4 e6 3 ♘c3 ♗b4 4 f3 d5 5 a3 ♗xc3+ 6 bxc3 0-0 7 cxd5 exd5 8 e3 ♗f5 9 ♗d3 ♗xd3 10 ♕xd3 ♘bd7 11 ♘e2 ♖e8 12 0-0 c6? 13 ♘g3 ♘b6 14 e4! h6? 15 e5 ♘h7 16 f4 ♘f8 17 f5! ♘c4 18 f6 ♘g6 19 ♘h5 ♕b6? 20 fxg7 ♖xe5 21 ♘f6+ ♔xg7 22 ♘d7! and wins.