Bronstein and Anand....Tactical Beauty in Common, 58 Years Apart!

Hi! David Bronstein (1924-2006) is one of my favorite players of all time.

David Bronstein

Among modern players, Anand, Kramnik, Carlsen, Aronian are all players I like a lot.

Bronstein's book, "The Sorcerer's Apprentice", is an excellent resource for players who want to improve their game. In it, Bronstein reveals the method he used to study the games of the great Masters like Morphy, Steinitz, Zukertort, Tartakower and others.

In 1955, in a Hungary vs. USSR match, Bronstein played a great game against Bilek. In this game, Bronstein played his variation of the Caro-Kann with Black, where after 1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 dxe4 4.Nxe4 Nf6 5.Nxf6+, Black recaptures with 5....gxf6! The game is unique, quite a jewel.

58 years later, at the Wijk Aan Zee Tournament, Anand (1969-    ), playing Black against Aronian, scored a resounding victory in 23 moves!

Vishy Anand

What drew my attention is that both games reach a position in which, with a White pawn on d4, there is a Black bishop on c5 and a Black knight on e5, and it is White's move and White can capture either one, and both captures lose!

Let us see....first, the Bilek-Bronstein game:

and now, Anand's game against Aronian:

Did you see it? Here is a snapshot of the similar position from both games. First, the one from the Bilek-Bronstein game, after move 18 by Black!

and here is the position from the Aronian-Anand game, after move 16 by Black!

I find it quite interesting and unique that, in both games, the moves Bc5 and Ne5, offering a piece with each move, happened one after the other! Amazing!

58 years, different openings, same moves, Black wins!

Ah, the beauty of chess!