FIDE Surveys – Jovan Petronic

1

Jovan Petronic:

Expect The Unexpected (ETU)

Always expect the unexpected!
Expect The Unexpected Quotes:
To expect the unexpected shows a
thoroughly modern intellect.
Oscar Wilde
If you do not expect the unexpected you will
not find it, for it is not to be reached by
search or trail.
Heraclitus
But life inevitably throws us curve balls,
unexpected circumstances that remind us to
expect the unexpected. I've come to
understand these curve balls are the beautiful
unfolding of both karma and current.
Carre Otis
I've got a couple of tricks up my sleeve. I'm
not ready to talk about them yet, but expect
the unexpected.
Brad Bird

Schlechter C. : Gunsberg I.
Monte Carlo 1901

In order to stimulate tourism to the seaside
resort of Monte Carlo during the winter
season, Prince Dadian of Mongrelia and
Arnous de Riviere organized the first in a
series of master chess tournaments to be held
from February 1st to March 1st in 1901.
Fourteen chess masters were invited to
participate, but play was delayed until the
4th of February to observe the funeral of
Queen Victoria I of England. The scoring
format for this tournament gave 1/4 of a
point to each player for a draw played. The
two players were then required to replay the
game with colors reversed, where a win was
worth 1/2 a point, a draw worth another 1/4
point, and a loss worth 0. David Janowski
won the tournament and the grand prize of
5000 Francs, while the second through sixth

place finishers enjoyed their share of a 7300
Franc prize pool. The remaining players
received minor compensation for their
participation. (source: chessgames.com). The
event was won by Janowski, followed by
Schlechter, and von Scheve and Chigorin
tying for third place.

XIIIIIIIIY
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White's forces are ready to deliver tactical
blows. Schlechter starts off with a poisonous
pawn sacrifice.

34.f5! g5
34...gf5? 35.Rdg3! fg4 36.Rg4 Re7 37.Qh8
Kf7 38.Rg7 Ke8 39.Re3!+– (39… Rdd7
40.Qh5 +–).
35.Qh5 Be8 36.Ne3! Rfd7 37.Nd5!!+–
The unexpected! If you need to do
something, don't wait until later. Do it now.
Your plans might not work out, so don't start
thinking about what you'll do after you
succeed. Wait until you've already
succeeded, and then you can think about
what to do next.
37...Rd5
37...Bh5? 38.Nf6! Kh8 39.Rh5 Bh6
(39...Nh7 40.Rh7#) 40.Rh6 Rh7 (40...Nh7
41.Nd7! Rf6 42.Rdh3!+–) 41.Nh7!+–;
37...Bf7 38.Nf6! Rf6 (38...Bf6 39.Qh8! Bh8
40.Rh8#) 39.Bf7 Rdf7 (39...Rff7 40.Qh8!+–)
40.Rd8+–;
37...Rf7 38.Nf6!+–.

FIDE Surveys – Jovan Petronic

2

38.Rd5
38.Bd5+– (38…Rd5 39.Rd5 Qd5 (39...Bh5
40.Rd8+–) 40.Qe8 Qf5 41.Re3+–).
38...Bf7?
38...Rd5 39.Bd5! (39.Qe8? Qe8 40.Bd5
Ne6! 41.Be6 Kf8 42.Rd3±) 39...Qd5
40.Qe8+–.
39.Rd7 Qd7 40.Rd3! Bb3
40...Qd3? 41.Bf7#.
41.Rd7 Nd7 42.Qe8 Nf8 43.Qc6
43.Qd8+–.
43...Nh7 44.a4!
44.Qb6 a4! with an attempt to later set up a
fortress. 1:0.

Euwe M. : Alekhine A.
Amsterdam 1926

Alexander Alekhine and Max Euwe played
two World Chess Championship matches, in
1935 (14th WCC) and in 1937 (15th WCC).
This training chess match played in the
Netherlands is lesser known. Reportedly,
Dutch Euwe supporters wished to sponsor a
match against a top chess master to be
played on home ground. Emanuel Lasker
declined, and Efim Bogoljubov's financial
conditions were not met. Alekhine, who was
expecting the 11th WCC match vs Jose Raul
Capablanca in 1927 - accepted.

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21...Nc3!
The best move, targeting White's two pawn
weaknesses, at e2 and b5, secures Black a
material advantage, with best play by both
sides.
22.Bc6!? Re2!
The unexpected! 22...Ne2? 23.Re2! Re2
24.Bd7 and compared to the game White is
doing great in a materially equal position.
22...Re7? 23.Nf5! Ne2 24.Re2! Re2 25.Bd7
or 22...Bc6 23.bc6 Nc5 or 22...Red8?
23.Rc2.
23.Rb3!
23.Re2? Ne2 24.Kg2 Nd4! 25.Bb7 Rb7
26.Be3 Nb5–+ and with two extra connected
passed pawns Black should win relatively
easily.
23.Bd7?? shows the main line of Black's
combination idea: 23...Rb2 24.Bb2? Ne2#;
23.Bb7? Rb7 24.Rb3 Nb5–+.
23...Bc6 24.Rc3 Bb5 25.Rc7 Ne5
With a pawn ahead, Alekhine went on to
win.
26.Nf5 Nf3 27.Kg2 Ne1 28.Kh3 Re5
29.Rh1 Nd3 30.Ne7 Kf8 31.Ba3 Nf2
32.Kg2 Nh1 33.Bd6 Re6 34.Bc5 Re8
35.Nf5 Kg8 36.Ne7 Kh8 37.Kh1 Bd3
38.Kg2 h6 39.Kf3 Kh7 40.h4 h5
0:1.

Lilienthal A. : Kotov A.
Moscow 1948

The 16th chess championship of USSR,
played in 1948 in Moscow, featured 19 top
Soviet chess players. After 18 rounds, David
Bronstein and Alexander Kotov shared 1st
place, followed by Semyon Furman.
1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 c6 4.Nf3 Nf6 5.Bg5
dc4 6.e4 b5 7.e5 h6 8.Bh4 g5 9.Ng5 hg5
10.Bg5 Nbd7 11.g3 Bb7 12.Bg2 Qb6 13.ef6
c5 14.dc5 Bc5 15.0–0 0–0–0 16.Qe2 Bd4
17.Rad1 Nc5 18.Bb7 Qb7 19.Rd4 Rd4
20.Qe5 Rd5 21.Nd5 Qd5 22.Re1 Qc6
23.Qe3 Nd3 24.Rb1 Rd8

FIDE Surveys – Jovan Petronic

3

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White is suffering from a back-rank
weakness, and combines defenses with
possible h-pawn promotion in the endgame.
25.h4 Nb2! 26.Qa7 Nd3 27.Rd1?
Not expecting Black's reply. 27.Qf7 would
have kept the position unclear, with
approximately equal chances for both sides.
For example 27...Ne5! 28.Qh7! Nf3 29.Kf1!
Nh2 30.Kg1 (30.Ke2? c3–+; 30.Ke1? c3–+)
30...Nf3=.
27...Rd7!–+
The unexpected! When you're really in need,
you think of creative solutions to your
problems. 27...Rd7!–+ …28.Qe3:
a) 28.Qa3 b4! In order to win with the
upcoming discovered attack, it is essential to
drive the White Queen away from
controlling the f8–square. (28...Nf4? 29.Qf8!
Kb7 30.Rd7 Qd7 31.Bf4+–) 29.Qa5 Nf4!–+;
b) 28.Qa5 Nf4!–+; 28...Nf4!–+.
27...c3? 28.Qa3 (28.Qe3 c2 29.Rd3 c1Q
30.Qc1 Qc1 31.Bc1 Rd3) 28...Rd6! (28...c2?
29.Rd3 c1Q 30.Bc1! Rd3 31.Qd3 Qc1
32.Kg2+–) 0:1.

Fischer R. : Schweber S.
Buenos Aires 1970

The Buenos Aires (Argentina) 1970 second
international 17–round event was
convincingly won by Robert Fischer (27),

ahead of Vladimir Tukmakov and Oscar
Panno. Fischer's score was 11.5–0.5!

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19…f5 20.ef6! e5 21.Qg3! Nd4
21...ed4? 22.Bf4+–;
21...Ka8? 22.de5 Qe5 (22...Ne5 23.Re3
Rde8 24.Rae1+–) 23.Re1 Qg3 24.Rg3 g5
25.f7+–;
21...Kc8 22.de5 Ne5 23.Rf4±;
21...g5 22.de5±.
22.Re3! e4
22...Nc6 23.Re5! Ne5 (23...Qe5? 24.Bf4+–)
24.Bf4 Rde8 25.Bg6 Ka8 (25...Rhg8 26.f7;
25...Kc8 26.Be8 Re8 27.f7+–) 26.Be8 Re8
27.f7+–.

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23.Re4!!

FIDE Surveys – Jovan Petronic

4

The unexpected!
23...Qg3
23...de4? 24.Bf4+–.
24.Rd4! Qg4
24...Qc7 25.Bf4 Rhf8 26.Bc7 Kc7 27.Bg6
(27.Rh4!?±) 27...Rf6 28.Bd3±.
25.Rg4 Bg4 26.Bg6±
And White went on to win.
26...Rhg8 27.Bh7 Rh8 28.Bd3 Rde8 29.f7
Re7 30.f8Q Rf8 31.Bb4 Rff7 32.Be7 Re7
33.f3 Bd7 34.a5 Kc7 35.Kf2 Rf7 36.Ke3
Kd6 37.g3 Kc5 38.f4 Bg4 39.Rb1 Re7
40.Kd2 b6 41.ab6 ab6 42.h3 Bd7 43.g4 d4
44.f5 Re3 45.f6 Rf3 46.Rf1 Rf1 47.Bf1 Be6
1:0.

Kasparov G. : Sokolov A.
Belfort 1988

GMA (Grand Masters Association) from
1988–1989 organised six international chess
tournaments as a World Chess Cup. The
second one was held in Belfort, France in
1988. 16 GMs formed a 16th FIDE category
event, which was after 15 rounds won by
Garry Kasparov, followed by Anatoly
Karpov and Jan Ehlvest.

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xiiiiiiiiy

29.Be7! Rf7
29...Rh6 30.d6 N8c6 (30...Rh2? 31.Bf6#)
31.Bc4± …Rg6 32.d7!±;
29...Rg6 30.Rg6 hg6 31.Bf6 Kg8 32.Be5±.

30.Bd6! Nf3 31.Rg3 e4 32.Be2
32.Bf4!? …Rg7 33.Bh3!±.
32...Rf6
32...Rg7 33.Bf3! Rg3 34.Be4!± …Rg5
35.Be7! Rg7 (35...Rh5? 36.Rg1+–) 36.Bf5
Re7 37.Bc8±.
33.Bf4! Rg6 34.Bf3! Rg3
34...ef3 35.Rf3±.
35.Be4!!
The unexpected! Chess players who bravely
go after what they want are more successful
than players who try to live safely. 35.Bg3
ef3; 35.hg3 ef3.
35...fe4
35...Rg4 36.Be5 Kg8 37.Bf5 Rg5 38.Bc8
Re5 39.Rd2±.
36.hg3 Kg7
36...Nf7 37.d6 Kg7 38.d7 Rg8 39.Bc7 Nd8
40.Rd4 Kf7 41.Re4+–.
37.Rd4!
37.Re1 Rc5 38.d6 Ne6 39.Re4 Kf7±.
37...Nf7
37...Rc5 38.b4 Rc8 (38...Rb5? 39.a4 Rb6
40.Bc7+–) 39.Re4±.
38.Re4 Rd8 39.Re7! Rd5
39...b5 40.d6 Kf6 41.Ra7+–.
40.Rb7 h5 41.Ra7! a5
41...Ra5 42.Bd2! Rd5 43.Bc3+–.
42.a4!+– 1:0.

Cabrilo G. : Petronic J.
Subotica 1992

A memorable invitational round-robin was
organised

in

Palic,

Subotica

(former

Yugoslavia, now Serbia) in 1992.

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Ne5 d6 4.Nf3 Ne4 5.d4
Be7 6.Bd3 Ng5 7.0–0 Nf3 8.Qf3 0–0 9.Re1
Nc6 10.c3 d5 11.Bf4 Be6 12.Nd2 Bd6
13.Re3 Bf4 14.Qf4 Qd6 15.Qh4 h6 16.Rf1
Rae8 17.f4 Bd7 18.Rg3 Kh8 19.Qh5 Re7
20.Nf3 Re3 21.Bb1 Ne7

FIDE Surveys – Jovan Petronic

5

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Until now, White enjoyed a long-lasting
initiative, has regrouped all his minor and
major pieces to squares with a full potential,
and now has calculated a basically decisive
knockout blow.
22.Ne5! Rg3
Not sensing the danger, but it was already
too late. What followed came as a complete
shock, and followed by a long time trying to
find a satisfactory defense, only to realise
there is none.
23.Qf7!!
The unexpected! The expected 23.hg3?
would not have caused Black any special
worries after 23...Be8˛ with hopes of
equalising the position still being far away.
23...Nc6
23...Rf7 24.Nf7 Kg8 25.Nd6 Re3 26.Nb7
Re2 27.Nc5 Bf5 28.Bd3±;
23...Qf6 24.Qf6 Rf6 25.Nd7! Re3 26.Nf6
gf6 27.Kf2±;
23...Ng6 24.Qd7 Ne5 25.Qd6 cd6 26.hg3±.
24.Qd7!
24.hg3 White's supremacy even offers this
variation, where he can temporarily sacrifice
the Queen for a Rook and a pawn only,
ending with a superior endgame. 24...Ne5
25.fe5 Rf7 26.Rf7 Kg8 (26...Qe6 27.Rf8
Qg8 28.Rg8 Kg8 29.Kf2±) 27.ed6 Kf7
28.dc7±.

24...Ne5
24...Qd7 25.Nd7 Rd8 26.Re1!+– Black's g3–
Rook remains trapped.
25.Qd6 cd6 26.hg3 Nc4! 27.b3
27.Bg6!?
27...Nd2 28.Rd1 Nb1
28...Ne4 29.Be4 de4 30.Kf2 d5 31.c4+–.
29.Rb1 Rc8 30.Rc1±
The resulting Rook endgame proved too
difficult to save. White continued to play
very well and went on to win. 1:0.

Karpov A. : Topalov V.
Dos Hermanas 1994

Dos Hermanas (Spain) hosted a major 10–
GM player tournament in 1994, which was
won by Boris Gelfand, ahead of Anatoly
Karpov and Vladimir Epishin.]

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29.Nd5!
White is nurturing a better postion, thanks to
the many weak squares in Black's position.
29...Qe4?
29...Qh4 30.Nf6! Re6 (30...Kf6? 31.Bg3+–;
30...Qf6? 31.Bh6+–; 30...Rd8? 31.Rd8 Nd8
32.g3! Qf6 33.Bh6+–) 31.Nd7±.
30.Nf6!!
The unexpected! Things that are offered for
free always have a hidden cost.
30.Qe4? Re4 31.f3 Re8 32.Bb5±.

FIDE Surveys – Jovan Petronic

6

30...Kf6
30...Qf3? 31.Ne8 Kg8 32.gf3+–;
30...Qe6 31.Ne8+–.
31.Be5! Ke5
31...Kg5? 32.Bf6#; 31...Ke6? 32.Qf6#;
31...Ke7? 32.Qf6#.
32.Qe4
32.Qf7!+– …Rd8 33.f4! Qf4 34.Re1 Qe4
35.Qc7! Bd6 (35...Rd6 36.Re4 Ke4
37.Qc8+–) 36.Qg7! Kf5 37.g4! Kf4 38.Qh6
Ke5 39.Qg7 Kf4 40.Qf6 Bf5 41.Re4 Ke4
42.Bg2 Ke3 43.Bc6+–.
32...Ke4 33.Re1 Kf5 34.Re8 Be6 35.Rf8+–
And Black resigned shortly. 1:0.

Anand V. : Lautier J.
Belgrade 1997

Former Yugoslavia Beograd's "Investbanka"
super-GM tournaments were very well
known, inviting top world chess players and
grooming local talents for world-class
successes. Daily spectator live audience
amounted to more than one thousand chess
fans. Together with legendary GM Svetozar
Gligoric, I had daily commented key games
via the leading national TV station. The
1997 edition sponsored by Investbanka, a
18th FIDE category event, was won by
Ivanchuk, ahead of Anand and Shirov.

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40.Qe6?

40.Qc4 Qa7!?
40...d2!–+ 41.Qf5!
The "natural" 41.Rd1 fails to 41...Qa1!
42.Ra1 Ba1–+.
41...Rf8!
While calculating his reply, Lautier noticed
that after 41...d1Q? White can play the
amazing 42.Be4! The unexpected was
expected! 42...Qf1! (42...Qh5 43.Qh5 Qe4=;
42...Kg8 43.Qh7 Kf8 44.Rd1 Qd1 45.Kg2)
43.Kf1 Kg8 44.Qh7 Kf8. To win this
materially equal position, Black would need
to display a very good technique,
compensated by White's five pawns and with
the White Queen still on the board.;
41...Rf8! 42.Qe4
a) 42.Qd5? Qd5 (42...Rf2–+) 43.Bd5 e3!–+;
b) 42.Qe4 d1Q–+;
c) 42.Qg4? Rf2!–+; 42...d1Q 43.Rd1 Qd1
44.Kg2 Qd2–+ 0:1.

Zhukova N. : Galojan L.
Beograd 2013

The 14th European Individual Womens'
Chess Championship took place in Belgrade,
Serbia from 23rd July to 3rd August 2013
and broke the record in participation with
169 female players. The event was won by
Grand Master Hoang Thanh Trang, who
represented the Hungarian Chess Federation,
followed by IMs Salome Melia and Lilit
Mkrtchian.

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Nf3 0–0
5.Bg5 h6 6.Bh4 b6 7.e3 Bb7 8.Bd3 c5 9.0–0
cd4 10.ed4 Be7 11.Re1 d6 12.b4 Nbd7
13.Rb1 Re8 14.a4 a6 15.Bg3 Nh5 16.d5!
ed5
16...Ng3 17.de6! Bf6 18.ed7 Qd7 19.Nd5
Bd5 20.cd5.
17.Nd5 Bd5
17...Ng3 18.hg3 (18.Ne7 Re7 19.Re7 Qe7
20.hg3) 18...Bd5 19.cd5 Bf6 20.Rc1˛ could
have transposed into a later game variation,
avoiding the ETU.

FIDE Surveys – Jovan Petronic

7

18.cd5 Ng3

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19.Nd4!?
The unexpected! This time around without a
decisive advantage, yet very pleasing to the
chess players' eye.
19.hg3 Bf6 20.Rc1˛ was also OK and
promised White chances of success.
19...Bf8
19...Bf6 20.Nc6 Re1 21.Qe1 Qe8 22.hg3;
19...Nh1 20.Kh1 Bf8 - White's Kingside
pawn structure in tact would offer her more
practical chasnces than in the game.
20.hg3 Re1 21.Qe1
White slowly increased her positional
advantage and obtained a material one, with
Black resisting throughout, her efforts in the
end being awarded with a draw. Strong
players don't give up when they come across
challenges. They just work harder.
21...Qg5 22.Qe2 Qe5 23.Rd1 Qe2 24.Be2
g6 25.Rc1 Bg7 26.Nb3 Kf8 27.Rc6 Ke7
28.Nd2 a5 29.ba5 ba5 30.Nc4 Be5 31.Rc7
Kd8 32.Rb7 f5 33.Rb5 Bc3 34.Nd6 Bb4
35.Nc4 Rc8 36.Na5 Rc1 37.Kh2 Be1
38.Nc6 Kc7 39.f3 Bf2 40.a5 Nf6 41.Bd3
Nd5 ½.

How can one improve on expecting the
unexpected, and which matter? I can
recommend to you the method I designed
myself and was successful with. I call it
ETU. Have your students trained to recall all
the unexpected moves played in their games
by their opponents. This can be done either
immediately after a tournament game, and
best during training games of standard time
control, by for example placing a dot next to
each unexpected opponent's move played.
Creating awareness of the unexpected moves
encountered, and then analysing their
relative value (did they matter?) will create a
unique platform for further individual chess
improvement. The ETU method is universal
and can be applied to all, up to World Chess
Champion.

I hope you enjoyed this brief survey, brought
to you by the FIDE Trainers' Commission.
Thank you and have a nice day.