Crime and punishment

"We learn from History that we do not learn from History" - Hegel


........  Gerald Abrahams substituted "history" with "experience" and wrote "good chess players are always struggling to give the lie to Hegel's dictum...."that one only learns from experience the fact that one does not learn from experience"!

Pawn grabbing is a Sin .....we know this from history. The emphasis is on the word 'grabbing' which indicates that the act is done at the cost of something else....

....neglect of development....
....neglect of King safety....

....and a Grandmaster is well aware of this....yet.....

Virat Kohli too is well aware of the danger of poking outside the off-stump and in such English conditions. Yet....he flirted with danger in a over by Woakes yesterday.....and was reprieved once....yet he perished to the same shot to the same bowler in his next over!


Istratescu, Andrei - Anand Nadar, Abu Dhabi - 2018


1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.c3 Nf6 5.d3 OO 6.OO d5 7.ed5 Nd5 8.Re1 Bg4 9.h3 Bh5 



10.g4?! 

I am surprised that this move has been played 30 times (as per my database) in the past!

10.....Bg6 11.Ne5 Ne5 12.Re5 c6 13.Bd5 Bd6! 14.Re1 cd5 15.Qf3 Bc7 16.Na3




.....astonishing to note that someone can believe in this White position!

A little digression .......

Yates - Reti, New york - 1924



White had just played 20.b3! leaving the a3 pawn unprotected, luring Black's Bishop. Reti obliged with 20......Be7? to which Alekhine, commented thus, in his excellent tournament book on New york 1924,  "To remove all protecting pieces from the King's side of the board is astonishing thoughtlessness"!


Coming back to the game .....

16.....Qd6! 


The position already looks lost for White......and the funny part is that there is a game upto this point.....between Antipov, M - Ashwin Jayaram which went 16......f5 which is also a powerful move 17.g5 f4! 18.h4 Qd7 19.Kh1? Bh5!   0-1


17.Nb5 Qh2 18. Kf1 Rae8 19.Rd1 f5 20.Qd5

There is a saying in Tamil, "தலைக்கு மேலே வெள்ளம் போனால் ஜான் என்ன முழமென்ன" which means, when the flood level is over your head what matters if it is by one foot or one yard.....


20......Kh8 21.Qg2 Qe5 22.Nd4 fg4 23.Kg1




23.....Qe1!! 24.Qf1

24.Re1 Re1 25.Qf1 Bh2 wins


24.....Bh2 25.Kg2 Rf2!    White Resigned


......one only learns from experience, that one does not learn from experience! Istratescu proved this!

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