White to Play

Pete Tamburro on Sep 6, 2024

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In a great irony at Hastings 1929, Koltanowski, as Black, found himself in a bad way out of a Philidor Defense. His opponent, Tylor, found the winning line.

1.Bxf7+ Kxf7 2.Ne6 Kxe6 3.Qc4+ d5 4.exd5+ Kf7 5.d6+ Kf8 5...Nd5 6.dxe7 Rxe7 7.Nxd5 Ne5 8.Qf4+ Kg8 9.Nxe7+ Qxe7 10.Qe4 Nc6 11.Qxe7 Nxe7 12.Re1 6.dxc7 and mates the queen, so to speak! That Kolty fell victim to a Bxh7+ attack is remarkable, considering how many variations of that attack he had done himself. What’s really funny is that modern players still fall into this as Black. If you’re curious about how this position comes about-- 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 exd4 4.Nxd4 Nd7 5.Nc3 Be7 6.Bc4 Ngf6 7.Qe2 0–0 8.0–0 Re8. Philidor players, take note!

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