(The annotations to this game, by S.

Gligorić are from the Russian-language tournament book,

Yubileinyi mezhdunarodnyi turnir Bled 1961 (published in Ljubljana, Yugoslavia, in 1962). The
translation is by Douglas Griffin.)

Najdorf – Gligorić
9 round, Bled International Tournament, 15th September 1961
th

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.g3 Bg7 4.Bg2 0–0 5.Nf3 d6 6.0–0 c5 7.d5 Na6 8.Nc3 Nc7 9.a4
If immediately 9.Bf4, then also deserving attention is a pawn sacrifice: 9...b5 10.cxb5 Rb8 11.a4
a6 12.bxa6 Bxa6 (Najdorf-Gligorić, Mar del Plata 1965); or 11.Qd2 Nxb5 with good play
(Szabó-Gligorić, Leipzig 1960).

9...Rb8 10.Bf4 a6 11.a5 b5 12.axb6 Rxb6

White had reckoned with all this in advance and now the turn had come for him to show his new
cards.

13.b3
This is stronger than 13.Ra2, as Korchnoi played against Khasin in one of the USSR
Championships, and against Gligorić in Buenos Aires in 1960. White’s plan is Ra3 and Na2
followed by b2–b4 with strong pressure on Black’s position. Therefore Black should undertake
energetic measures in the centre.

13...e5
13...e6 would have been too slow on account of 14.Na4.
XIIIIIIIIY
8-+lwq-trk+0
7+-sn-+pvlp0
6ptr-zp-snp+0
5+-zpPzp-+-0
4-+P+-vL-+0
3+PsN-+NzP-0
2-+-+PzPLzP0
1tR-+Q+RmK-0
xabcdefghy
14.dxe6
Another serious attempt to demonstrate the shortcomings of Black’s tactics could have been the
move 14.Bd2, not opening the position in the centre, after which Black’s knight on the queen’s
flank is activated. (Translator’s note: Interestingly, Najdorf later preferred this alternative against
Pietsch at the 1962 Capablanca Memorial tournament in Havana.)
14...Nxe6 15.Be3
15.Bd2 is seemingly more natural, but after this White feared the move 15...d5 with the
interesting continuation 16.Nxd5 Nxd5 17.Ba5!?, against which Black has several reliable replies.

(Translator’s note: Subsequently, the alternative 15.Na4!? was tried here. Thus: 15...Nxf4
16.Nxb6 and now: 16...Qxb6 17.gxf4 Nh5 18.Ra2 Nxf4 (Donner-Matanović, Utrecht 1961) or
16...Nxe2+ 17.Qxe2 Qxb6 (Marović-Janošević, Skopje 1970).)

15...Re8 16.Ra2 Rb8!

In all probability this is the most difficult move in the game, after which all of the black pieces
begin to act in concert. The difficulty consists in the fact that the position of the black rook on b6
is seemingly more active – from there it defends the pawn on d6; it was necessary to decide that the
positioning of the black pieces did not need to be improved, and finally to see that it is precisely an
intermediate attack by White on the rook that in many variations causes Black the most trouble of
all.

17.Na4
The attack 17.Rd2 is repulsed by a counter-attack on the b3–pawn with the move 17...Qb6.

17...Qc7 18.Ng5 Bb7 19.Nxe6 Rxe6 20.Bxb7 Qxb7 21.Rd2

XIIIIIIIIY
8-tr-+-+k+0
7+q+-+pvlp0
6p+-zprsnp+0
5+-zp-+-+-0
4N+P+-+-+0
3+P+-vL-zP-0
2-+-tRPzP-zP0
1+-+Q+RmK-0
xabcdefghy
21...Rxe3!
A correct exchange sacrifice, breaking up the opponent’s pawn phalanx. Worse was 21...Qxb3
on account of 22.Rxd6, with the further loss of the c4–pawn, while after 21...Ne4 22.Rd3 White
maintains a somewhat better position.

22.fxe3 Ne4 23.Rxd6!

White came to be convinced that after 23.Rd3 f5 24.Qc2 Be5 he had no hopes at all of victory
and therefore he prefers to return the exchange, in order to simplify the position.
23...Nxd6 24.Qxd6 Qxb3 25.Qf4!
Defending everything and attacking everything! The knight on the edge of the board is
invulnerable, because the rook on b8 is under attack.

25...Bh6!
Strongest of all, since it maintains the better chances for Black. The white queen has to leave
the diagonal f4–b8, but in return White trades the displaced knight for the strong bishop.

26.Qxh6
Worse would have been 26.Qxf7+ Kh8 27.Qf6+ Bg7 28.Qf4 on account of 28...Rf8 and the
knight is lost. (Translator’s note: In fact, after 29.Nxc5 the knight is saved; whereas after the correct
28...Rc8! (29.Qg4 Rg8! 30.Nxc5 Qxe3+) the knight is indeed lost.)

26...Qxa4 27.Qf4 Qe8 28.Ra1 Rb6

XIIIIIIIIY
8-+-+q+k+0
7+-+-+p+p0
6ptr-+-+p+0
5+-zp-+-+-0
4-+P+-wQ-+0
3+-+-zP-zP-0
2-+-+P+-zP0
1tR-+-+-mK-0
xabcdefghy
29.Qg5!
Preventing the improvement of the placing of the black pieces with the move 29...Qe7 etc.

29...Rc6 30.Ra5 Qc8 31.Qd5 h5 32.Ra1 Re6 33.e4 Kg7 34.Ra5 Qe8 35.Rxc5 Rxe4 36.Rc8!
Forcing the exchange of rooks and eliminating the danger that was threatening the white king.

36...Qxc8 37.Qxe4 Qc5+ 38.Kg2 a5 39.Qc2 Qc6+

Slightly better was 39...Kf8, so as to retain the blockade on the c4–pawn, but then White would
have cut off the black king from the queen’s flank with the move 40.Qe4 and retained the balance of
the position (40...a4 41.Qa8+).

40.Kg1 a4 41.c5
Agreed drawn. For instance: 41...Kf8 42.Qc3 Ke7 43.Qd4 etc.