This week I would like to present to you a great attacking game from Vassily Smyslov, the 7th World Champion! It is not easy to say what was his biggest strength in chess. He was simply fantastic in all areas of the game! He played three World Championship matches with Botvinnik. In 1954 the score was tied and the old Champion retained his title. However in 1957, at the age of 36, Smyslov managed to win and completely deservedly took the crown! Here is an interesting game by Smyslov: with a great pawn sacrifice, he forces the king of his Polish opponent to stay in the center, then launches a devastating attack. Let's sit back and enjoy!
However, our hero had a devilish idea, started in the previous move. Can you find it?
So.... what did Smyslov have planned here???
How did Smyslov build his attack to decisive proportions here?
(You can play through the full game again by clicking on the first move, and then clicking forward). As you could see, just a very small inaccuracy by White in the opening (6.Ne5), was enough for Smyslov to take the initiative and use his brilliant fantasy! For more information about Chess Evolution see www.chess-evolution.com and www.chess-newsletter.com .