Here's what Nigel had to say to Chess Tales about this modern classic:
"I think I could have won with Nh4! (threatening Nxg6! and Rh4 at some moment) I didn't see it at all at the time: I think it was pointed out by Krasenkow (or maybe even his wife) later. Actually I was in quite a bit of time trouble. And yes, I did see the idea of K to h6 when I played Kh2.", Nigel Short
Nigel Short - Jan Timman, Tilburg 1991
1.e4 Nf6 2.e5 Nd5 3.d4 d6 4.Nf3 g6 5.Bc4 Nb6 6.Bb3 Bg7 7.Qe2 Nc6 8.O-O O-O 9.h3 a5 10.a4 dxe5 11.dxe5 Nd4 12.Nxd4 Qxd4 13.Re1 e6 14.Nd2 Nd5 15.Nf3 Qc5 16.Qe4 Qb4 17.Bc4 Nb6 18.b3 Nxc4 19.bxc4 Re8 20.Rd1 Qc5 21.Qh4 b6 22.Be3 Qc6 23.Bh6 Bh8 24.Rd8 Bb7 25.Rad1 Bg7 26.R8d7 Rf8 27.Bxg7 Kxg7 28.R1d4 Rae8 29.Qf6+ Kg8
This is where Nh4! would have been strong.
30.h4 h5
And now Nigel treated us to his incredible king march:
31.Kh2!! Rc8 32.Kg3 Rce8 33.Kf4 Bc8 34.Kg5 1-0
3 comments:
Fantastic. Like Carlos Albertos brilliant goal for Brazil in the 70 world cup final. The king races up to kill the game and claim the glory.
Cool work Nigel.
Yep, Timman's position definitely reminds you of the Italian team exhausted under the sweltering Mexican sun.
I suspect Jarzinho is one of the elegant rooks cutting in from the wing.
The game was incredibly complicated throughout with lots of different variations possible, and even after Kh2!! Black can try ... Bc8, when White has to find g4! sacrificing pieces, but again leading to mate. Excellent stuff.
Knaak has a detailed analysis on Chessbase (with input from Anand amongst others); surprisingly he doesn't give the Nh4! possibility though.
The game also gets detailed coverage in John Nunn's "Understanding Chess: Move by Move"
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