Memorization: Huzman-Ravia 1996
As indicated in the image above, the game between Huzman and Ravia was played in Tel Aviv. Born and raised in Ukraine, Huzman currently lives in Israel as a naturalized citizen. He made the news in 2017 when his opponent at a tournament in Gibraltar, 15-year-old Borna Derakhshani of Iran, defied the Iranian chess federation's prohibition on competing against Israelis and was consequently banned from representing his country in future tournaments.
1. Opening: Queen's Gambit Declined, Lasker Defense
White opens with 1.d4; and after 1...Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3, Black appears intent on playing the Nimzo-Indian Defense with 3...Bb4. However, 3...d5 is played and the opening is a Queen's Gambit Declined. White pins with 4.Bg5, Black unpins with 4...Be7, White supports d4 with 5.e3, and Black pokes White's bish with 5...h6. After White retreats the bish with 6.Bh4, maintaining the pressure toward Black's queen, Black castles with 6...0-0. White normally continues 7.Nf3 here but instead centralizes a rook with 7.Rc1, staking an early claim to the c-file. Black replies 7...c6, effectively locking his c-pawn in place and forming a pawn pyramid from b7 to f7. White develops his kingside knight with 8.Nf3, and it is with 8...Ne4 that the Lasker Defense is introduced: Black discovered-attacks White's bish on h4 and at the same time offers an exchange of knights. Capturing with 9.Nxe4 would be a mistake on White's part; instead White and Black exchange bishes with 9.Bxe7 Qxe7.
2. Tel Aviv Stock Exchange
White could continue 10.Bd3, targeting Black's knight on e4, but plays 10.Qc2, which not only targets the e4-knight but also redoubles his c-file claim. With 10...Nxc3, it is Black who initiates the exchange of knights, prompting White to recapture with 11.Qxc3. Black normally waits for White to develop the light-square bish before initiating an exchange of pawns on c4, but in this game 11...dxc4 is played, subsequent to which White recaptures with 12.Bxc4. What has Black achieved? Although Black lags in development, he has succeeded in trading off two minor pieces, reducing his own attacking potential but also White's.
3. Hotspot: c6
Black needs to develop the light-square bish but can't push 12...e5 on account of White's grip on the e5-square. Instead, Black plays 12...b6, prepping a queenside fianchetto. This, however, weakens the pawn on c6, and White wastes no time in availing himself of his grip on e5 play and 13.Ne5 and attack the c6-pawn. Black fianchettoes with 13...Bb7, which defends c6; but when White retreats the light-square bish with 14.Be2, it discovers an attack on c6 from the c-file queen-and-rook battery. Black meets White's pressure on c6 with 14...Rc8, and for now the pawn is adequately defended.
4. Rooks connect, knights eject
White, continuing to develop, castles with 15.0-0, and Black delays 15...c5 -- because after 16.b4 cxd4, White continues 17.Qxc8+ Bxc8 18.Rxc8+ Kh7 19.Bf3, winning two rooks and a bish for a queen. Instead, Black connects rooks and challenges White's knight on e5 with 15...Nd7. White chops with 16.Nxd7, and White rechops with 16...Qxd7.
5. c5-hotspot
White seeks to keep Black's b7-bish passive, and that means discouraging 17...c5. With 17.b4, White dominates the c5-square. Black tries 17...a5 in an effort to loosen White's grip, but 18.a3 holds everything together. Black prompts an exchange of a-pawns with 18...axb4 and 19.axb4, and that opens the a-file for his rook -- but his c-pawn still can't be pushed.
◄ Halftime recap ►
Alexander Huzman's game against Mosi Ravia ended with the latter resigning on move 40. Move 19 is therefore a convenient point in the game to check if the first half has been accurately absorbed into memory.
White opens with 1.d4, and the next few moves suggest the game is a Nimzo-Indian: 1...Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3. Black, however, transposes to the QGD with 3...d5. White continues normally with 4.Bg5, and Black unpins with 4...Be7. White pushes 5.e3, and Black pokes with 5...h6. White retreats the bish with 6.Bh4, and Black castles with 6...0-0. Black moved a rook, and White moves a rook with 7.Rc1. Black replies 7...c6, building a pawn pyramid, and White develops his kingside knight with 8.Nf3. Black's next move, 8...Ne4, introduces the Lasker Defense. White and Black exchange bishops with 9.Bxe7 Qxe7, and White develops the queen with 10.Qc2, targeting Black's knight on e4. Black and White exchange knights with 10...Nxc3 and 11.Qxc3, and next they exchange pawns with 11...dxc4 and 12.Bxc4. Black preps a queenside fianchetto with 12...b6, weakening the c6 pawn, and White immediately puts pressure on the pawn with 13.Ne5. Black fianchettoes with 13...Bb7, and White intensifies the pressure on c6 with 14.Be2. Black responds to the pressure with 14...Rc8. White castles with 15.0-0, and Black connects rooks and offered a knight trade with 15...Nd7. And exchange of knights follows, this time initiated by White, with 16.Nxd7 Qxd7. White wants Black's bish on b7 to remain passive and discourages 17...c5 with 17.b4. Black replies 17...a5, and White supports his b-pawn with 18.a3. Black and White exchange pawns with 18...axb4 and 19.axb4. The situation is that both players have a queen, two rooks and a light-square bish.
✓ Success
6. Align and realign
Black identifies the g2-pawn as a potential weakness in White's camp and plays 19...Qd5 to align with the light-square bish and aim at the pawn. White parries with 20.Bf3, prompting the queen to move with 20...Qb5. White repositions a rook across from Black's queen with 21.Rb1, and Black replies by making use of the open a-file to infiltrate with 21...Ra2. White continues 22.Rfc1, restoring the c-file battery and triple-attacking the pawn on c6, and Black replies 22...Ba6, finally activating the light-square bish and realigning with the queen on the a6-f1 diag.
7. Gimme that a-file
Nothing is defending Black's rook on a2, so White attacks it with 23.Qb3. The rook didn't venture all the way to the second rank only to turn around and go back: it proceeds to the only safe square on the second rank with 23...Rd2. White begins building pressure on Black's a6-bish with 24.Qa3; and since Black can't reply 24...Ra8 because it would hang the c6-pawn, 24...Rc7 is played to give the a6-bish a retreat square where it may yet have prospects. White intensifies the pressure with 25.Ra1, and sure enough the bish retreats with 25...Bc8.
8. The fall of c6
Now, however, Black has another problem. After White attacks Black's rook on d2 with 26.Qc3, it no longer has the a2-square to escape to. Black's only reply that saves the rook is 26...Qd2. What changed on the board after Black's queen moved? White has three pieces aiming at the pawn on c6, and the only piece defending it is Black's rook on c7. White and Black exchange queens with 27.Qxd3 Rxd3, and Black's c6-pawn not only hangs but is pinned to the rook on c7. White, rather than capturing the pinned pawn with 28.Rxc6, attacks it with 28.b5. Black replies 28...Kf8, activating the king, and White claims space on the kingside with 29.h4. Black's king inches closer to the c-file with 29...Ke7, and now White chops with 30.Rxc6. Black rechops with 30...Rxc6, and White rechops not with 31.bxc6 but with 31.Bxc6 -- since pawns should support bishops and not the other way around.
9. I check, you check
Black pushes 31...e5, sacrificing a pawn for the sake of activating the bish on c8, but White rejects Black's offer and instead checks with 32.Ra7+. The king runs with 32...Kf6, but that means White can accept the earlier pawn sac and check a second time with 33.dxe5+. Black recaptures with 33...Kxe5; and after capturing with 34.Rxf7, White's material advantage increases to two pawns and his e-pawn becomes a passer. Now it's Black who gives a check with 34...Rd1+, forcing 35.Kh2. Black offers to exchange pawns with 35...g5, but again White forgoes capturing in favor of giving a third check with 36.f4+. Black captures with 36...gxf4, and White's recapture comes with a fourth check and turns the passed e-pawn into a passed f-pawn: 37.exf4+, defended by the rook on f7.
10. Late to the party
After Black's king runs with 37...Kd4 and White continues 38.Rf8 with an attack on Black's bish, the bish takes up a defensive position vis-a-vis the rook on d1 with 38...Bg4. White's king attacks Black's bish with 39.g3, and Black defends with 39...h5. Black resigns after 40.Rd8+ as White will trade off the rooks and win the game with his two extra pawns.
◄ Blind recap ►
Below is an attempt to replay Huzman-Ravia 1996 from start to finish without looking at the board:
White opens 1.d4, and Black replies in Indian spirit with 1...Nf6. White continues 2.c4, and Black replies in Nimzo-Indian spirit with 2...e6. After 3.Nc3 d5, the game is a Queen's Gambit Declined. White continues 4.Bg5, pinning, and Black unpins with 4...Be7. White supports his d-pawn with 5.e3, and Black pokes White's bish with 5...h6. White retreats the bish with 6.Bh4, and Black castles with 6...0-0. White stakes a claim to the c-file with 7.Rc1, and Black connects pawns on the c-file with 7...c6. White develops the kingside knight with 8.Nf3, and that is Black's cue to engage the Lasker Defense with 8...Ne4. White and Black exchange bishes with 9.Bxe7 Qxe7, and White double-attacks Black's e4-knight with 10.Qc2. Black and White exchange knights with 10...Nxc3 and 11.Qxc3, and Black and White exchange pawns with 11...dxc4 and 12.Bxc4. Black preps a queenside fianchetto with 12...b6, and White puts pressure on c6 with 13.Ne5. Black fianchettoes with 13...Bb7, and White reveals a battery attack on c6 with 14.Be2. Black relieves pressure on c6 with 14...Rc8, and White and Black connect rooks with 15.0-0 and 15...Nd7. White and Black exchange knights with 16.Nxd7 Qxd7, and the pawn structures are now as follows: White has pawns on a2, b2, d4, e3, f2, g2, and h2; and Black has pawns on a7, b6, c6, e6, f7, g7, and h6. White continues 17.b4 to discourage 17...c5, so Black attacks b4 with 17...a5. White defends with 18.a3, and Black and White exchange pawns with 18...axb4 and 19.axb4. Black takes aim at g2 with 19...Qd5, and White parries with 20.Bf3. Black repositions the queen with 20...Qb5, and White repositions the c-rook with 21.Rb1. Black infiltrates on the a-file with 21...Ra2, and White restores the c-file battery with 22.Rfc1. Black aligns bish and queen with 22...Ba6, and White attacks Black's a2-rook with 23.Qb3. Black's rook moves to the only safe square on the second rank with 23...Rd2 (White's bish on f3 controls e2), and White takes control of the a-file with 24.Qa3. Black preps a bish retreat with 24...Rc7, and White intensifies pressure on the bish with 25.Ra1. Black retreats the bish with 25...Bc8, and White switches to an attack on Black's d2-rook with 26.Qc3. Black has to play 26...Qd3, and White and Black exchange queens with 27.Qxd3 Rxd3. White has a rook and a bish aimed at Black's c6-pawn and the pawn is only defended by a rook, so White attacks a third time with 28.b5. Black can't reply 28...cxb5 because that would lose the c7-rook, so he activates the king with 28...Kf8. White continues 29.h4 to take space, and Black's king gets a file closer to the c6-pawn with 29...Ke7. White captures with 30.Rxc6, and Black and White exchange rooks with 30...Rxc6 and 31.Bxc6. Black, desparate to involve his bish in the game, sacs a pawn to open the c8-h3 diag with 31...e5, but White's pawn on d4 doesn't capture and instead White gives a check with 32.Ra7+. Black's king moves with 32...Kf6, but this allows White's d4-pawn to capture and give a second check with 33.dxe5+. Black recaptures with 33...Kxe5, and White takes a break from giving checks to capture a pawn with 34.Rxf7. Black gives a check with 34...Rd1+, forcing 35.Kh2. Black offers to exchange pawns with 35...g5, but White declines and gives a third check with 36.f4+. Black and White exchange pawns with 36...gxf4 and 37.exf4+, and Black's king moves to the e-file with 37...Kd4. White attacks Black's c8-bish with 38.Rf8, and the bish repositions with 38...Bg4 to defend the rook on d1. White's king attacks the bish with 39.Kg3, Black defends with 39...h5, and the game ends after 40.Rd8+.
✓ Success
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