1955: The Bishop pair

Submitted by DrDave on

Game Clapp,BW - Bonner,DP, Devon vs.  Somerset, 1955

The Bishop Pair

In a wild game on an open board two Bishops can be irresistible. Here, White's 10th move looks anti-positional, but clears the way for the Bishops. The move had recently been played in another variation of the Winawer by Smyslov or the like. It took my opponent, a former Exeter champion, by surprise, and was probably the turning point of the game. — BWC

French Winawer, 4.  a3

1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. a3 Bxc3+ 5. bxc3 dxe4 6. Qg4 Nf6 7. Qxg7 Rg8 8. Qh6 c5 9. Bg5 Nbd7

+-----------------+
|r+b1k+r+|
|0p+n+p+p|
|.+.+ph.!|
|+.0.+.G.|
|.+.)p+.+|
|).).+.+.|
|.+P+.)P)|
|$.+.IBHR|
+-----------------+

10. dxc5 Rg6 11. Qh4 Qa5 12. Ne2 Nd5 13. Bd2 Qxc5 14. Qxe4 N7f6 15. Qd4 Qc7 16. Nf4 Nxf4 17. Bxf4 Qc6 18. Bd3

+-----------------+
|r+b+k+.+|
|0p+.+p+p|
|.+q+phr+|
|+.+.+.+.|
|.+.!.G.+|
|).)B+.+.|
|.+P+.)P)|
|$.+.I.+R|
+-----------------+

18...Nd5 19. Bxg6 Nxf4 20. Bxf7+ Kf8 [20...Kxf7 21. Qxf4+ Ke8 22. Qg3 holds everything] 21. Qxf4 Qxc3+ 22. Ke2 Qxc2+ 23. Kf1 Qd3+ 24. Kg1 e5 25. Bc4+ exf4 26. Bxd3 1-0

[Notes by Brian Clapp]

Legacy nid: 

407