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David Bronstein vs Efim Geller

Nimzo Indian

David Bronstein plays against the Nimzo Indian Defense with Efim Geller in the USSR Championship of 1961. This online chess lesson will show you a stunning queen sacrifice that ends the game instantly.

Video Analysis
PGN ANALYSIS

You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess game visualization.
jQuery(document).ready(function($) { var selector = '#' + "rpbchessboard-64760f76b2c78-1" + ' .rpbchessboard-chessgameAnchor'; RPBChessboard.renderPGN($(selector), {"pgn":"[Event \"USSR Championship 1961a\"] [Site \"Moscow URS\"] [Date \"1961.01.10\"] [Round \"1\"] [White \"David Bronstein\"] [Black \"Efim Geller\"] [Result \"1-0\"] [ECO \"E27\"] [Annotator \"Mac\"] [PlyCount \"39\"] [EventDate \"1961.??.??\"] [SourceDate \"2014.01.17\"] {This game features two of the best players to never become World Champion, David Bronstein and Efim Geller. David Bronstein at one point was leading a World Championship match against Botvinnik but lost his lead with only one game to go. Geller gave Fischer a hard time as well as many other leading Grandmasters of his time. He was always close to the top but never quite got there.} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 {[#][%csl Ye4][%cal Rb4e1,Yf6e4]} 4. a3 { This is an interesting and relatively unpopular line.} (4. Qc2 {[%cal Yc2c3, Yc2e4,Ye2e4]}) (4. e3 {[%cal Yf1d3,Yg1f3,Yg1e2]}) 4... Bxc3+ 5. bxc3 O-O 6. f3 {[%cal Ye2e4]} d5 $6 {I’m not a big fan of this move. It allows white to trade off his weak c-pawn and remove a potentially important center pawn from black.} (6... b6 {I’m more partial to this move. It plans to target the c4-pawn. Black will play Ba6, Nc6-a5, and Ne8-d6 to relentlessly attack it.} 7. e4 Ne8 $1 8. Bd3 Ba6 {[%cal Yb8c6,Yc6a5,Ye8d6,Yd6c4]}) 7. cxd5 exd5 8. e3 {[#][%csl Yc3,Yd4, Ye3,Yf3][%cal Yf1d3] White has an impressive center. If white’s bishop makes it to d3 it will be a dream position for white.} Bf5 {[%cal Yf5d3]} 9. Ne2 Nbd7 10. Nf4 $1 $14 c5 (10... Re8 11. g4 g5 {This was an interesting suggestion from the computer but white should still be slightly better.}) 11. Bd3 $6 (11. g4 $1 Bg6 {[%csl Rg6]} 12. h4 $1 $16 {[%cal Yh4h5]}) 11... Bxd3 12. Qxd3 Re8 13. O-O Rc8 14. Rb1 Qa5 $2 {The last few moves have all been very natural but it’s hard to explain this move. It provokes white to carry out their plan. In essence black is claiming they now have some kind of followup that is even stronger than what white was planning. Unfortunately, Geller underestimates the incoming kingside attack…} (14... Nb6 $1 {[#][%csl Yc4][%cal Yb6a4,Yb6c4]}) 15. Rxb7 Nb6 {[%csl Rb7][%cal Yc5c4,Ya5a6]} 16. g4 $1 {[%cal Yg4g5]} h6 (16... c4 17. Qf5 Qa6 18. Rxb6 axb6 19. g5 {[%csl Rf6][%cal Yf4d5] White blasts away the defenders of d5 and will be left with an avalanche of pawns heading towards the black king.}) 17. h4 {[%cal Yg4g5]} cxd4 $2 18. g5 $1 (18. cxd4 { Even this would be extremely strong.}) 18... dxe3 $2 19. gxf6 Rxc3 20. Qg6 $3 {[#] What a move! Forcing immediate resignation.} 1-0","nboSquareSize":50,"idoSquareSize":50,"nboCoordinateVisible":true,"idoCoordinateVisible":true,"nboColorset":"greenvintage","idoColorset":"greenvintage","nboPieceset":"new-set-mac","idoPieceset":"new-set-mac","nboAnimated":true,"nboMoveArrowVisible":false,"nboMoveArrowColor":"b","pieceSymbols":"native","navigationBoard":"frame","withFlipButton":true,"withDownloadButton":true}); });

David Bronstein vs Efim Geller

Nimzo Indian

David Bronstein and Efim Geller were two of the best players never to earn the title of World Champion. Both players were very combative and creative players. In this matchup between these two legends, Bronstein comes out on top. He dabbles with an adventurous and somewhat suspicious line of the Nimzo-Indian Defense from the white side. Geller allows white’s center and kingside space to get out of control which brings the game to a screeching halt after Bronstein finds an epic queen sacrifice, one of the most famous moves ever played.

Bronstein Vs Geller Chess Lesson
David Bronstein
Efim Geller
Moscow,USSR
USSR Chess Championship
10 January 1895
Nimzo Indian

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