This Week’s ChessBase Show: Lilienthal-Ragozin, Moscow 1935
Last week, we took a look at the famous Mikhail Botvinnik-Jose Capablanca game from AVRO 1938. That game is famous not only because of the concluding combination starting with 30.Ba3, but for Botvinnik’s powerful strategy. The “pawn roller” he used to push through the center and create a kingside attack is not unique to that game, but has been used many times over the generations to steamroll helpless opponents in the Nimzo-Indian and certain Exchange Queen’s Gambit lines. It is a very simple but powerful plan.
But despite this, it’s not unstoppable and not an automatic win. This week, we’ll have a look at a 1935 game between Andor Lilienthal (the world’s oldest living grandmaster – he’s 98!) and Viacheslav Ragozin (also a grandmaster, but no longer with us, having passed away in 1962). Ragozin, ironically one of Botvinnik’s sometime trainers*, demonstrated Black’s defensive resources in a poorly known gem. It required patience, and for quite a while all he did was prevent Lilienthal from achieving the e4 break. Finally, when it seemed as if it would finally happen, a timely exchange sacrifice reversed the initiative, and now it was White’s turn to defend. He didn’t manage to do so, however, and Ragozin finished the game in style.
Just like last week’s game, the game was a battle between opposing strategies, and the triumphant strategy was crowned with accurate tactical play. In short, both were complete games with both instructional and aesthetic value.
To watch, go to the Playchess server at 9 p.m. ET Wednesday night (= 3 a.m. CET Thursday morning), enter the Broadcast room and find Lilienthal-Ragozin in the games list. (Note: Only premium members can watch for free; other viewers will have to pay 50 ducats (about five euros). ChessBase will make further announcements about premium memberships soon [I note some details here], but at the moment the only premium members are those with an activated copy of Fritz 12.)
* Perhaps the best-known story about Ragozin and his work with Botvinnik is this. Botvinnik, as a non-smoker, had a difficult time when his opponents smoked at the board. So he set up some training games with Ragozin where the latter not only smoked, but blew the smoke in Botvinnik’s face as well. (Now that’s training!)
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