Intuition and Emotion

"The intuitive touch, the instinctive factor in winning chess, possessed in varying degrees by all good players, is self-acquired and cannot be learned in the text books. Its highest manifestation is in the flair for decisive combination, usually triggered by the sacrifice of material, even when the consequences are beyond calculation."        (Al Horowitz)

The game below takes place during the Yugoslav Championship of 1965, pictured Yugoslav GM Dragoljub Velimirovic (1942-) plays White against Jovan Sofrevski. Observe 14.Nf5, White sacrifices a Knight for positional and combinative considerations, which he hopes will add up to more than the piece. White wins this time. the result, however, could have been reversed, had Black found a sufficient defense in time. Under any analysis, whether White was justified in taking his initial risk or not, is beside the point. For chess is not pure reason. There is inspiration, a mote of luck, even a bit of chicanery. And the time clock.