Round 1 Game 1: Szabo-Geller

This was the first game of the Zurich 1953 Candidates Tournament, played between Laszlo Szabo (below, left) and Efim Geller (below, right).

 Each member of our study group is encouraged to play through this game, taking on the roll of Geller (playing Black).  Keep track of each move of Geller's that you are able to guess, award yourself 3pts for each correct guess, and report your results by replying to this post (par score for this game is 107 pts).  For those who are also members of chessgames.com, feel free to use the "Guess the Move" chess training tool to automate this process (and award partial credit for selecting good moves that weren't actually made in the game).  Here's a direct link to this game at chessgames.com:  Szabo-Geller 1953.

Here's a little puzzle before the game proper.  What three-move defensive maneuver did Geller make in this position?  What were the two primary goals for making this maneuver?

And now, the game itself:  Szabo vs. Geller, Round 1, Game 1.

Bronstein states that this game "provides a clear example of the method of exploiting a darksquare weakness".  With White's 8th move, Bronstein comments:  "Having hatched a plan to weaken the enemy dark squares, Szabo undertakes a delicate maneuver aimed at bringing about the exchange of the darksquare bishops, which will further strengthen his grip on the dark squares."

Reminder to the group:  Please reply to this post when you have completed your own review of this game, let us know how you scored and what you thought of the game and Bronstein's commentary (the above is only 1 of several insightful comments he makes on this game).

Bronstein discusses at some length a winning move that Szabo missed early in the middle-game.  What move should have Szabo made in this position:

For a somewhat long-winded, but interesting discussion of this position, see this YouTube video:  Szabo-Geller video.

Well, I solved the puzzle with no wrong moves, surprising myself. It looks as if I may be better at defence than I thought. Actually in my games I often miss the need for accurate defence or over react and try some kind of tactical counter which backfires. In this puzzle I nearly missed the threat of Be6+ on the 3rd move.

I've watched many videos by Sean Godley aka Killegar Chess on youtube about players from days gone by, and it's pretty cool to see them in this discussion forum.

I did not keep score, instead playing over the game while reading Bronstein's comments (as I now have the book). I like playing over games online. I'm not sure whether putting specific move comments here (about the puzzles) would be giving things away, so I won't add more, except to say that I was pleased to get both puzzles right.

Feel free to comment on the puzzles and games. Ill try to remember to add a spoiler-alert notice in the future. Everyone should just be aware, in general, that comments appearing after the game/puzzles may give things away. So, don't scroll to the end until you've done what you want with the puzzles. Interaction among our study group members is more important than anything else, so feel free to comment on any particular puzzle tactic or game position.

In that case, what I had in mind in the three-move defensive maneuver puzzle was ...Bc6 (to stop the c-pawn in its tracks), ...a5 (to keep the knight off b4), and ...Ne7 (to trade bishops and get a knight blockading the pawn). In the actual puzzle, however, White's moves after ...Bc6 forced other replies.

Great idea!!

 Im looking forward to the next game.

I finally found the time to play through this game myself via Guess-the-Move, scoring 104 pts vs. par of 107...which is pretty good for me as I seldom beat par. It was a very interesting game!

I then went back to review Bronstein's commentary, in which he discusses at some length Szabo's attempt to weaken the dark squares. I have to confess that I didn't see this strategy in my initial run-through or take any active motions to counter such a strategy. In fact, his discussion of this strategic motif begins after White's move 8.Qc6. What is it that I should look for in this situation to lead me to recognize a weakness in Black's pawn structure or bishop placement to make me consider hatching a plan to force the exchange of the dark-square bishops?