FIDE Surveys – Michael Khodarkovsky

1

Michael Khodarkovsky:
Tribute to Efim Geller

Grandmaster and TRG Hall of Famer Efim
Geller would turn 90 on March 8, 2015. He
was one of those special individuals, who
moved chess theory forward in many
directions. Efim Geller's ideas and strategic
revelations in various openings as well as his
constant search for the essence of the
position and the best moves made him not
only one of the finest grandmasters of the
20th century, but one of the best
theoreticians in chess history as well. I had
the privilege to know him personally and
take the opportunity to pay tribute to
Grandmaster Efim Geller by presenting a
few examples of his heritage.

Petrosian T. : Geller E.
USSR 1961

1.c4 g6 2.d4 Bg7 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.e4 d6 5.Be2
0–0 6.d5?!
Geller noticed that the last move by his
opponent looked "quite strange", because
white deliberately moved his d-pawn to fifth
rank a bit prematurely. However, this move
aimed to limit black's natural course of
development.
6...Na6
Black have chosen the strategy of
maneuvering from the "right flang" as noted
by Geller, instead of immediate
confrontation with 6...e6.
7.Bg5 Nc5 8.f3 c6 9.Qd2
9.b4 Na6 10.Rb1 cd5 11.cd5 Bd7 favours
black, since c-file will be under his control.
9...cd5 10.cd5 Bd7 11.h4 Rc8 12.Nh3 b5
13.Nd1
13.Nb5 Bb5 14.Bb5 Nfe4! 15.fe4 Ne4
16.Qb4 Ng3 and Black has compensation for
the sacrificed piece.
13...Nh5 14.g4 Ng3 15.Rg1 Ne2 16.Ke2

XIIIIIIIIY
9-+rwq-trk+0
9zp-+lzppvlp0
9-+-zp-+p+0
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9-+-+P+PzP0
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9tR-+N+-tR-0
xiiiiiiiiy

16,,,b4!
Strong positional move prepares an invasion
by using weakened squares ...
17.Kf2 Qa5 18.Ne3 Qa6
18...Bb5 could be met by 19.Be7 Rfe8
20.Bd6.
19.Kg2 h6
Important intermediate inclusion.
20.Bf4 Nd3 21.Rgb1 h5 22.Bg5 hg4 23.fg4
Rc7 24.Nf2 Bb5 25.Nh3
25.a4!? - White should try active counter
game, i.e. 25...Nf2 26.Kf2 (26.ab5 Ne4)
26...Bd3 27.Rd1 Be4 28.Qb4 although his
position still looks dangerous.
25...Rfc8

XIIIIIIIIY
9-+r+-+k+0
9zp-tr-zppvl-0
9q+-zp-+p+0
9+l+P+-vL-0
9-zp-+P+PzP0
9+-+nsN-+N0
9PzP-wQ-+K+0
9tRR+-+-+-0
xiiiiiiiiy

Strategically, black achieved maximum he
could wish for and now it is just a matter of
technic to conclude the game in his favour.

FIDE Surveys – Michael Khodarkovsky

2

26.h5 Qb6 27.hg6 fg6 28.Kh2 Qd4 29.Qg2
Rf8 30.b3 Nc5 31.Rd1 Qe4 32.Rac1 Bd3
33.Rd2 Bc3 34.Rf2 Qg2 35.Kg2 Be4
36.Kg3 Nd3 37.Rf8 Kf8 38.Rf1 Kg7 39.Nf4
Be5 40.Nc4 Nf4 41.Bf4 Bc3 42.Rd1 Rc5
43.Be3 Rd5 44.Rd5 Bd5 45.Ba7 Be4
46.Bb6 d5 47.Na5 Kf6 48.Nc6 e5 49.Bc5
d4 50.Nb4 d3 0:1.

Geller E. : Fischer R.
Curacao 1962

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cd4 4.Nd4 Nf6 5.Nc3
a6 6.Be2 e5 7.Nb3 Be7
7...Be6 8.0–0 Nbd7 9.a4 Be7 10.f4 Qc7
11.f5 Bc4 12.a5 0–0 13.Be3 b5 14.ab6 Nb6
15.Kh1 Rfc8 16.Bb6 Qb6 17.Bc4 Rc4
18.Qe2 occured in their other game (16

th

round) at the same tournament just in one of
the latest rounds. Black still experienced
difficulties, but game finished a draw.
8.0–0 0–0 9.Be3 Qc7 10.a4 Be6 11.a5 Nbd7
12.Nd5 Nd5 13.ed5 Bf5 14.c4 Bg6 15.Rc1
Nc5
Perhaps, Black should continue: 15...f5
16.c5 f4 (16...dc5 17.Nc5 Nc5 18.b4 f4
19.Bc5 Bd6) 17.cd6 Qd6 18.Bc5 Nc5
19.Nc5. It would give more chances for the
counter game, rather to rely on the blockade
of the square c5, as it is happened in the
game.
16.Nc5 dc5 17.b4!

XIIIIIIIIY
9r+-+-trk+0
9+pwq-vlpzpp0
9p+-+-+l+0
9zP-zpPzp-+-0
9-+P+-+-+0
9+-+-vL-+-0
9-zP-+LzPPzP0
9+-tRQ+RmK-0
xiiiiiiiiy

Now blockade is falling and the counter
game with 17...f5 would lead just to
additional weaknesses.
17...Rac8 18.Qb3
18.bc5 Bc5 19.Bc5 Qc5 doesn't look
convincing for advantage.
18...Bd6 19.Rfd1!
19.bc5 Bc5 20.Bc5 Qc5 21.Qb7 Qa5 22.Ra1
Qd2 was again not enough for the advantage.
19...Qe7 20.bc5 Bc5 21.Bc5 Rc5

XIIIIIIIIY
9-+-+-trk+0
9+p+-wqpzpp0
9p+-+-+l+0
9zP-trPzp-+-0
9-+P+-+-+0
9+Q+-+-+-0
9-+-+LzPPzP0
9+-tRR+-mK-0
xiiiiiiiiy

22.Ra1!
White is planning to maneuver his Rook to
square b6. It is hard to obtain an advantage
without this maneuver, because White is
aiming to combine threats of winning the
pawn b7 as well as to promote his pawn "d".
22...Rd8 23.Ra4 Bf5 24.Rb4 Bc8 25.Rb6
Mission accomplished, Rook is on b6 and
now White is proving his superiority.
25...Rd6 26.Qb4 Qc7 27.Rd6 Qd6 28.Rb1
Qc7 29.Qa4 Bd7 30.Qa3 Ra5 31.Rb7 Qb7
32.Qa5 g6 33.h3 Qb1 34.Kh2 Bf5 35.Qc3
Qe4 36.Bf3 Qd4 37.Qd4 ed4 38.g4 Bc8
39.c5 a5 40.c6 Kf8 41.d6 1:0.
Black resigned in view of: 41...Ke8 (41...a4
42.c7 a3 43.Bc6 a2 44.d7 Bd7 45.Bd7 a1Q
46.c8Q) 42.Bd1 Ba6 43.g5 Bb5 (43...Kd8
44.Bg4) 44.c7 Bd7 45.Ba4.

One more encounter between Efim Geller
and Bobby Fischer. This time Fischer played
with White and used his favourite Sozin

FIDE Surveys – Michael Khodarkovsky

3

Attack. Geller was prepared for that and the
game was a real "rollercoaster", according to
his post-game comments.

Fischer R. : Geller E.
Skopje 1967

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cd4 4.Nd4 Nf6 5.Nc3
Nc6 6.Bc4 e6 7.Be3 Be7 8.Bb3 0–0 9.Qe2!
This is very instructive approach showed by
Fischer- White didn't commit yet which side
his King is going to castle and keeps his
options open. the same time it leaves Black
puzzled what is the real plan White is going
to use. Accordingly, Black needs to make a
decision what to do in this situation. For
example, if Black would play with the
standard 9...a6, then White could castle long
10.0–0–0 and on 10...Qa5 follow with
11.Rhg1!, preparing a direct attack with g4,
following g5. Geller preferred not to waste
time on 9...a6 and employed active:
9...Qa5 10.0–0–0
Seems most logical continuation. If 10.0–0,
then one of the options for Black is 10...Nd4
11.Bd4 b6 with the threat of Ba6.
10...Nd4
Not good is immediate 10...Bd7, because of
10...Bd7 11.Ndb5 Ne8 12.Bf4 a6 13.Nd6
Nd6 14.Bd6 Bd6 15.Rd6 Qg5 16.Qd2 Qg2
17.Rd1 Be8 18.Qf4.
11.Bd4 Bd7 12.Kb1
Useful prophilactic move, because
immediate 12.Rhg1 could lead to position
with mutual chances, for example, after
12...Rfc8 13.g4 b5 or (13...e5 14.Be3 Rc3
15.Bd2 Bb5! 16.Qe1 Rc2 17.Kc2 Qa6
threatening Bd3 or Be2 and having a solid
compensation for the sacrificed exchange.).
12...Bc6?
It is better to consolidate Rooks first, playing
either Rfc8 or Rfd8, while Bishop on d7 is
placed quite well.
13.f4 Rad8
In the occured position deserved serious
consideration bold contiuation 14.g4!? For
example: 14…e5 (14...d5 15.ed5 Nd5

16.Nd5 Bd5 17.Bc3 Qc5 18.Bd5 Rd5
19.Rd5 Qd5 20.Rd1 Qc5 21.f5 ef5 22.gf5)
15.fe5 de5 16.Bf2 Rd1 17.Rd1 Rd8 18.Rf1
or 14.f5 ef5 (14...e5 15.Bf2 d5 16.ed5 Nd5
17.Nd5 Bd5 18.Qe5) 15.ef5 Rfe8 16.Qf2.]
14.Rhf1 b5

XIIIIIIIIY
9-+-tr-trk+0
9zp-+-vlpzpp0
9-+lzppsn-+0
9wqp+-+-+-0
9-+-vLPzP-+0
9+LsN-+-+-0
9PzPP+Q+PzP0
9+K+R+R+-0
xiiiiiiiiy

15.f5! b4 16.fe6
White has to sacrifice a piece, because Black
would obtain an initiative otherwise, for
instance: 16.Nd5 ed5 17.ed5 Nd5 18.Bd5
Bd5 19.Qe7 Qa2 20.Kc1 Rc8! 21.Qa7 Qc4
22.Rf2 Be4 23.Rdd2 b3.
16...bc3 17.ef7
White missed a spectacular 17.Rf6! gf6
18.ef7 Kh8 (18...Rf7 19.Bf7 Kf7 20.Qc4)
19.Qg4 Rb8 20.Qe6 Qd8 21.Rf1 Rb4 22.Bc3
Re4 23.Rf6! Re1 24.Be1 Bf6 25.Ba5!!
17...Kh8 18.Rf5 Qb4 19.Qf1 Ne4 20.a3?

XIIIIIIIIY
9-+-tr-tr-mk0
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9+-+-+R+-0
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9zPLzp-+-+-0
9-zPP+-+PzP0
9+K+R+Q+-0
xiiiiiiiiy

Fischer commented later after the game that

FIDE Surveys – Michael Khodarkovsky

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during the post-game analysis he found that
White was winning by study-like
continuation 20.Qf4!! cb2 21.Rh5! Nc3
(21...Bf6 22.Qf5 h6 23.Rh6!! gh6 24.Qg6;
21...Nf6 22.Rh6!) 22.Kb2 Nd1 23.Kc1 Rf7
24.Bf7.
20...Qb7 21.Qf4

XIIIIIIIIY
9-+-tr-tr-mk0
9zpq+-vlPzpp0
9-+lzp-+-+0
9+-+-+R+-0
9-+-vLnwQ-+0
9zPLzp-+-+-0
9-zPP+-+PzP0
9+K+R+-+-0
xiiiiiiiiy

21…Ba4!!
Black is turning table around. The essence of
this move fully would be revealed after
22.Qh6 Bf6 23.Rf6 Bb3 24.Rd6 (24.cb3 Qb3
25.Rf2 Qd1) 24...Ba2!
22.Qg4 Bf6! 23.Rf6

XIIIIIIIIY
9-+-tr-tr-mk0
9zpq+-+Pzpp0
9-+-zp-tR-+0
9+-+-+-+-0
9l+-vLn+Q+0
9zPLzp-+-+-0
9-zPP+-+PzP0
9+K+R+-+-0
xiiiiiiiiy

23…Bb3! 0:1.

Geller E. : Reshevsky S.
Palma de Mallorca 1970

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cd4 4.Nd4 Nc6 5.Nc3
d6 6.Be2 Nf6 7.0–0 Be7 8.Be3 0–0 9.f4 Bd7
10.Nb3
Knight's maneuver is standard in such
positions since it prevents Black to "unload"
by Nd4 to follow by Bc6.
10...a5?!
Back then, at the time game was played this
move was a novelty, introduced by
Reshevsky. Usual continuation was 10...a6
11.a4 Na5.
11.a4 e5
More logically looked 11...Nb4, however,
Reshevsky, likely analyzed this position in
connection with his novelty, showed on
move 10 and preferred this particular order
of moves, reaching the same position if he
could of played 11...Nb4 first.
12.Kh1 Nb4 13.Bf3 Rc8

XIIIIIIIIY
9-+rwq-trk+0
9+p+lvlpzpp0
9-+-zp-sn-+0
9zp-+-zp-+-0
9Psn-+PzP-+0
9+NsN-vLL+-0
9-zPP+-+PzP0
9tR-+Q+R+K0
xiiiiiiiiy

14.Rf2!
This is the key move in this position and
requires explanation. Rook is playing a role
not only of a piece that suppose to take care
control over the second rank and protection
of pawn c2, but also is ready to be
remaneuvered to d2 and keep pressure over
d-file, including the weakness on d6.
14...Rc4 15.fe5 de5 16.Rd2 Qc7

FIDE Surveys – Michael Khodarkovsky

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XIIIIIIIIY
9-+-+-trk+0
9+pwqlvlpzpp0
9-+-+-sn-+0
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9Psnr+P+-+0
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xiiiiiiiiy

17.Qg1!
Another maneuver, which deserved
applause! In addition to the standard
weakness on b6 in the Sicialian
Schewenningen variation, White identified
one more weakness - on a5!. On the top of
that Black Rook, which bravely challenged
opponent's army got trapped. All of a sudden
Black's position appeared to be strategically
losing.
17...Bd8 18.Rad1 Bc6 19.Bc5 Re8 20.Qf1
Rc5 21.Nc5 Qe7 22.Nb3 Bb6 23.Qe2 g6
24.Nb5 Ra8 25.Nc1 Na6 26.Na2 Nc5
27.Nac3 h5 28.Re1 Qf8 29.Rd6 Ncd7
30.Rdd1 Qh6 31.Qd2 Qf8 32.Qd6 Qh6
33.Qd2 Qf8 34.h3 Re8 35.Nd6 Rd8 36.Nc4
Bc7 37.Nd5 Nd5 38.ed5 Nf6 39.Qg5 Nd5
40.Ne5 Qg7 41.c4 f6 1:0.

Geller E. : Gligoric S.
USSR : World Match, 1970

One more illustration of Geller's mastery.

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0–0
Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 d6 8.c3 0–0 9.h3 h6 10.d4
Re8 11.Nbd2 Bf8 12.Nf1 Bb7 13.Ng3 Na5
14.Bc2 Nc4 15.b3 Nb6 16.Bb2 Nbd7 17.Qd2

17.a4! would be stronger continuation
instead of the move played in the game.
Black would need to take care of the
weakness on b5.
17...c5 18.Rad1 Qa5
18...Qc7 19.de5 de5 20.c4 Nb8! This
continuation would be better for Black,

which would let him to oppose White's
domination over d-file.
19.dc5 dc5

XIIIIIIIIY
9r+-+rvlk+0
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xiiiiiiiiy

20.c4!
Now White decisively taking control of the
game.
20...b4 21.a4 Qc7 22.Nf5
The beginning of the demolition of
opponent's defence.
22...Nb8 23.Ne5 Re5 24.Be5 Qe5 25.f4!
Qe6 26.e5 Ne8

XIIIIIIIIY
9rsn-+nvlk+0
9+l+-+pzp-0
9p+-+q+-zp0
9+-zp-zPN+-0
9PzpP+-zP-+0
9+P+-+-+P0
9-+LwQ-+P+0
9+-+RtR-mK-0
xiiiiiiiiy

27.Nh4!
The precision of the capitalization of the
strategically winning game. Geller provided
an exceptional illustration of tactical
solutions in such situations.
27...Nc6 28.Qd3 g6 29.f5 gf5 30.Nf5 Qg6
31.Qe2 Qg5 32.h4 Qf4 33.g3 Qe5 34.Qg4
Qg7 35.Ng7 Nf6 36.Qf4 Bg7 37.Qc7 Rb8
38.Rd6 Ng4 39.Rc6 Bd4 40.Kf1 1:0.