Hi, how are you doing today? Hope you are keeping well!

I would
like to take two minutes of your time to discuss something
interesting to you and me. I am talking about Chess.
There is an aphorism in Chess that is well worth remembering:
forty moves are often not enough to win a game, but a single bad
one is often enough to lose a game.
Each one of us, from beginner to world champion, knows how true
this is. Let's consider a well known situation that occurred in a
game played between the 7th world champion Vasily Smyslov and
one of the best Russian Grandmasters, Alexander Kotov. Kotov
was playing white and Smyslov black.
Let's see now the position. White has achieved a winning position
while in Black's camp there are organic weaknesses. The Black
King is under attack by White's heavy pieces. The pawn structure
at the castled side of Black is badly compromised.
At the same time, White pieces are very active in attacking the
Black King. White's Knight at f5 square is ideally posted and
White Rooks are aimed at square h7. A properly executed attack
against the Black King should end in a win for White.
All White has to do is involve the Queen in the offensive. But
White's plan of attack should be properly streamlined. Because
Black got play on the Queenside. At the same time, Black can use
the open g-file to bring his Rook and Queen to attack the White
King on the g2 square as it seems weak and need better protection.
Nevertheless White launches a headlong attack without
consideration of the weakness of the vertical g-file. Let's see what
happened in the game.
White plans to bring the Queen to attacking front by playing the
Queen to e2. Black Rook takes the unsupported pawn at b4. White
sacrifices the Rook and takes the Pawn at h7 and give a check.
Black Knight captures the Rook at h7. Now the White Queen joins
the attack of Black King by reaching to h5.
Black supports the pinned Knight at h7 by playing the Queen to
g8. The White Knight uses the opportunity and moves to e7 and it's
fork attack on the Rook at g6 and the Queen at g8.
At the same time, if we look at the vertical g-file we will see that
the Queen and the Rook in tandem attack the g2 square and it's
weak square in White's camp. Only the White King is protecting
the g2 square. Bishop at b1 square is also sitting supportless and
being attacked by Black Rook.
The World Champion takes the opportunity based on his deep
calculation and captures the pawn at g2. It's check. White is forced
to move his King to f3.
Now what, how Black can continue? Where is the check possible?
The checking piece will be captured.
But there is no mistake in the World champion's calculation. Rook
moves to f2 and it's another check. What? The Rook will be
captured? That's what Black wanted. And the White King is forced
to capture the Rook at f2 and there is no other safe square for the
King to move.
The other Black Rook jumped into activity and reached to b2 and it
a horizontal attack on the White King. Now the Black Rook at b2
and Black Queen at the vertical g-file get a geometrical connection
there at g2. i.e., it is going to be a checkmate for White King. The
hunter is being hunted....
The White Queen rushed back to block the Rooks horizontal check
at e2 and tried to save his King. Rook takes the Queen and check
again. King takes the Black Rook. Queen comes to g2 and check
again. King goes to d1 and resigned later as White loses his other
Rook also.
Why the debacle happened to White? He was attacking very well.
Because he did not take up the weakness at g2 seriously. Before
attacking the Black King, he should have protected his King side
by just playing pawn from g2 to one square ahead to g3. If that was
the case, he would have won the game as he was attacking Black
King heavily.
That's why we mentioned in the beginning that : forty moves are
often not enough to win a game, but a single bad one is often
enough to lose a game.
Thanks for watching this short video. Hope you have learned
something today. Keep visiting here and keep updating your chess
wisdom. My name is Varghese, I am a FIDE approved Trainer and
an Arbiter. Please feel free to ask any questions about chess and I
will be happy to respond. May all your games end well!
See you soon. Take care. Bye for now.