Yefim Geller

"What about White's combinations? Has White weighed all the factors in his swift attack against the enemy King? At one time nearly all of White's pieces are in danger, and should he not take this into account and strenghten his defenses?

These and other questions are discussed by the two players right after their unusual game  in which it was not at all easy to determine why Black lost.

It all becomes clear when one of the players describes the major turning points of the struggle. As this stocky young man speaks about the game and the many possibilities which lay concealed in each position, even the apparent simple ones, his eyes light up. His love of chess and of the fascinating battle of ideas which arises in every game is self-evident.

Already then, in 1946, one could have said with confidence that Yefim Geller (1925-1998), undergraduate at Odessa University, would go far."

(Alexander Kotov)

Now let us examine the game mentioned above.