Boris Gulko

Agzamov – Gulko · 1963 · 0–1

Burevestnik club championship 1963 — the earliest game in an archive that runs to 2020, and Gulko is sixteen. Forty-one moves with Black: 31...Nxc3 32.Nxc3 Rxd3 wins the pawn back with interest, 34...Nf3+ 35.Kh1 Nxe1 removes a rook, and 36...e4 37.Rc1 e3 38.fxe3 Bxc3 39.Bxc3 Rcxc3 leaves nothing standing.

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Gulko – Geller · 1966 · 1–0

Soviet event 1966 against Efim Geller, six times a Candidate — and Geller's king never gets to castle. 21.Nh4 Nd5 22.Nf5+ Kd7 fixes it on d7, the bishops pick off the queenside at 26.Bxb4 and 27.Bc5, and 35.Nd6 a6 36.b5 axb5 37.Ba3+ Kb6 38.Nxc8+ finishes the hunt.

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Bronstein – Gulko · 1968 · 0–1

Moscow Championship 1968 with Black against David Bronstein, who in 1951 had tied a World Championship match with Botvinnik. The white king is chased across the entire board: 28.Kxg4 Qg2+ 29.Kf5 fxg5 30.Rxh3 Rf8+ 31.Kg6 gxf4+ 32.Kh7 Qxh3+ 33.Kxg7 Qh8+ 34.Kg6 Rg8+ 35.Kf5 Qh7+ 36.Ke5 Qe4+ 37.Kd6 Rg6+ 38.Kc5 Rxa6 — from g1 to c5, and out of moves.

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Taimanov – Gulko · 1976 · 0–1

USSR Championship final 1976 with Black against Mark Taimanov, a study player here and a former Candidate. Sixty-five moves, and Gulko's king does the work: 45.Re5 Kg4 46.Rxd5 Rxb2 47.Ke1 Kxh4 collects the kingside, and 59.Ra3+ Kg4 60.Ra8 Kg3 61.Rg8+ Kf3 62.Rh8 Rb1+ walks it to f2 with the f-pawn one square from a queen.

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Gulko – Ivkov · 1977 · 1–0

Rubinstein Memorial 1977 against Borislav Ivkov — a study player here, and the first World Junior Champion. A Closed Ruy Lopez in which Gulko gives the exchange back to open the king: 34.Rxf7 Qxf7 35.Nxf7 Bxc1 36.d6 Nb7 37.Be4 Rab8 38.Bd5 Kg7 39.Qd4+, with the d-pawn on the seventh and the bishops on both diagonals.

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Gulko – Smyslov · 1977 · 1–0

USSR Championship final 1977 against Vasily Smyslov, a former World Champion — the championship Gulko shared and then took outright in the play-off, making him Soviet champion. Thirty-five moves: 23.Nb6 exf4 24.Rxf4 g5 25.Rff1 loosens the black king, 26.Nc4 Bxc4 27.Rxc4 f4 28.Be4 wins the light squares, and 33.Qg5 Ne2 34.Rc7 Rg8 35.Qf5 ends it.

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Gulko – Portisch · 1978 · 1–0

Nikšić 1978 against Lajos Portisch, eight times a Candidate. Gulko sends a knight to f6 and a pawn to e6: 26.f5 Nxf5 27.Nf6+ Kh8 28.Bxf5 gxf5 29.Bg5 Rg8 30.e6 opens everything at once, and 33.Nh5 f6 34.Bxf6 Bxf6 35.Qxf6 Rg8 36.Nxg7 takes the last defender with it.

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Gligoric – Gulko · 1978 · 0–1

The same tournament, with Black against Svetozar Gligorić — Yugoslavia's leading player for three decades. Sixty-one moves of two bishops against knight and bishop: 49.cxb5+ Kxb5 50.Kc3 Kc6 51.Nf6 Bf5 keeps both bishops, 53...a4 54.bxa4 Ba5+ breaks through, and 58.Nd5+ Kxa6 59.Kxc5 h4 sends the h-pawn home.

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Gulko – Reshevsky · 1978 · 1–0

Vilnius 1978 against Samuel Reshevsky, the dominant American player of the previous thirty years — and a pure king-and-pawn ending from move twenty-nine. 29.Nxd5 cxd5 takes the last pieces off, 30.b4 c6 31.g4 g6 32.Kg2 Kf8 fixes the pawns, and 36.bxc5 bxc5 37.Kd3 gxf5 38.gxf5 leaves Black in zugzwang by move forty-one.

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Gulko – Chiburdanidze · 1978 · 1–0

Vilnius 1978 again, against Maia Chiburdanidze — who took the Women's World Championship that year and held it until 1991. The finish is a queen sacrifice for a new queen: 31.f6 Bf7 32.Qxd7 Be6 33.f7 Bxd7 34.fxg8=Q+ Qxg8 35.Rf8, promoting with check and winning the piece straight back.

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Gulko – Kasparov · 1981 · 1–0

USSR Championship final 1981 against an eighteen-year-old Garry Kasparov, four years from the world title — a Benoni that Gulko dismantles from the queenside. 21.Nxc4 Bxc4 22.Bxc4 g4 23.fxg4 fxg4 takes the wing apart, 28.Rxf8+ Rxf8 29.Bf4 the file, and 35.Rxb7 Qc8 36.Re7 Qd8 37.Bg5 finishes.

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Kasparov – Gulko · 1982 · 0–1

Soviet team cup 1982 with Black — Kasparov again, six months later, and twenty-four moves. Kasparov throws a knight at the king: 18.Nxg7+ Kf8 19.Qh3 h5 20.Qg3 Kxg7 21.Bxf6+ Kxf6, and Gulko's king simply walks out of it — 22.Rd4 Bd6 23.Qc3 Kg6 24.h3 Bc7, a piece up with the attack spent.

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Gulko – Larsen · 1988 · 1–0

Hastings 1988/89 against Bent Larsen, also a study player here. Gulko gives the b- and g-pawns to keep the h-file: 27.Qh4 Rxb5 28.Bh3 Kg8 29.Rh5 Nxe4 30.Rf3 Rxb2 31.Be6+ Kh8 32.Bf5 drives the king into the corner, and 34...Qxg3+ 35.Qxg3 Nxg3 36.hxg7+ mates.

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Gulko – Seirawan · 1989 · 1–0

US Championship 1989 against Yasser Seirawan, four times US champion — and a rook goes on move twenty-three. 23.Rxc7 Bxc7 24.Qxc7 Qb5 25.Bh3 a5 26.Ne1 Qa6 gives rook for bishop and pawn with the queen on the seventh, and 28.Bc5 Nxd3 29.Rd1 Bc4 30.Nxd3 Bxd3 31.Bf1 wins everything back by force.

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Gulko – Short · 1990 · 1–0

Reykjavik 1990 against Nigel Short, three years from a World Championship match. Another exchange sacrifice, this time for the long diagonal: 25.Rf2 exf5 26.Rxd5 Be6 27.Be3 Qa6 28.Bh6 cxd5 29.Bxd5 Bxd5 30.Qxd5+ Kh7 31.Bxf8 Rxf8, and the e-pawn walks in — 32.e6, 33.e7, 34.Qe5.

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Portisch – Gulko · 1990 · 0–1

Linares 1990 with Black against Portisch — twenty-one moves, the shortest win in the archive. Gulko plants a knight on f4 and White cannot live with it: 16.Qb3 Nf4 17.Bf1 e5 18.Qc4 Qd8 19.Bxf4 Bxf4 20.dxe5 dxe5 21.Ne4 Rc8, and the bishop pair plus the open c-file are already decisive.

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Gulko – Karpov · 1994 · 1–0

Dos Hermanas 1994 against Anatoly Karpov, then FIDE World Champion — the fourth World Champion in this archive. Fifty-four moves: 38.exf6 Qxf6 39.Ng5+ Rxg5 40.hxg5 Qxg5 41.Rxe6 wins the pawn structure, and the rooks finish alone — 46.fxg5 Nxd1 47.g6+ Ke7 48.Kg2 Ne3+ 49.Kxg3, and 53.Kxd5 Re1 54.Rxe6+.

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Gulko – Short · 1994 · 1–0

The third game of the 1994 PCA Candidates match with Short — twenty-four moves. Gulko takes a knight on e5 and gives a queen for two rooks: 16.Nxe5 Rxe5 17.d4 Rg5 18.dxc5 Qxd1 19.Raxd1 Rxc5, and the rooks eat the position from the eighth rank — 20.Rd8 f6 21.Rfd1 Kf7 22.R1d4 Ke7 23.h4 Nc4 24.R8d5.

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Gulko – Nakamura · 2003 · 1–0

US Championship, January 2003 against a fifteen-year-old Hikaru Nakamura. Forty-five moves: 25.Nd5 Qxe3+ 26.Nxe3 Rd2 27.Rfe1 Bxa2 28.Bc4 Bxc4 29.Nxc4 Rd4 trades into a knight-and-rook ending, and the queenside pawns decide it — 36.b5 Kf7 37.bxa6 bxa6 38.Rb6 Ra8 39.Ra2, with both rooks coming off on a6.

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Gulko – Roiz · 2020 · 1–0

Israeli team championship, February 2020 — the last game in the archive, fifty-seven years after the first, and Gulko has just turned seventy-three. Fifty-eight moves: 48.g5 hxg5 49.hxg5 opens the h-file, 50.Qf5 Bxf6 51.gxf6 Kf8 leaves a pawn on f6 that never falls, and 55.Qxc4 Qh1+ 56.Ke2 Qh5+ 57.Qg4 Qh6 58.Bh7 shuts the last check out.

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