Long Names...Part 1

For some reason, a lot of good chess players have long names. For example, there is Ponomariov, Mamedyarov, and Morozevich - and longest of all, Dzindzichashvili. Now don't get worried if your name is short. There is also Tal, Keres, and Fine. But the game we are going to see is between two of the players with the longest names - Polugaevsky and Nezhmetdinov.

The winner, Rashid Nezhmetdinov (pronounced "Nej-met-DEEN-off") was a great attacking player. People said if he got an attacking position against you, you were just finished. In a quieter, more slow-tempo type of game, he could be beaten. However, he is known as one of the most creative and talented players ever, even though he never became a grandmaster.

His opponent, Lev Polugaevsky, was one of the best players in the world, so this game was a bit of an upset (when the normally-stronger player loses).

Let's see how it happened:

The game started with an usual opening, and they reached this colorful position. Black has just played 15...g5, starting a pawn storm against the white king. His plan is to play ...g4 and ...gxf3 (or maybe ...g3) opening up lines to attack the king. However, White has the square d5 and more control of the center in general. The Black queen is also out of play for the moment. Let's see if Polugaevsky can start a counterattack!

The white king has run out to the middle of the board. It looks a little dangerous, but he is surrounded by his own pieces. Meanwhile, Polugaevsky has just attacked the black queen. If the queen moves, then the bishop on h6 is lost.

At first it seems that Nezhmetdinov has let his attacking spirit misguide him, and that his hopes of getting to the white king have only caused him to destroy his own position. But at this moment, he played a surprising shot that he had prepared several moves before. Look for the continuation next week!