Gennadi Kuzmin
Notable Games

Gennadi Kuzmin

18 celebrated games · 705 in the full archive
Player Index ◈ Biography 705 CURATED GAMES

Notable Games

  • 1963 Podgaetsky, Alexander vsKuzmin, Gennadi P 0-1 Sicilian Defense: Scheveningen Variation 22 moves Kiev Avantgard-ch Kiev club championship 1963 — the earliest game in an archive of more than seven hundred wins that runs to 2010, and Kuzmin is seventeen. Twenty-two moves with Black: 16.b4 Qxb4 17.c3 Qa4 takes the pawn and keeps the queen active, and 20.Rf3 Qd1+ 21.Nf1 Bc5+ 22.Be3 Bxe3+ wins a piece with the white king stuck on g1.
  • 1968.12.19 Kuzmin, Gennadi P vsBagirov, Vladimir 1-0 Grünfeld Defense: Three Knights Variation, Vienna Variation 32 moves URS-chT Cup 06th Soviet team cup 1968 against Vladimir Bagirov — a study player here, and later Kasparov's first trainer. The queenside pawns decide it: 19.Nxb5 axb5 20.Bxb5 gives a knight for two pawns and the file, and 27.a6 Be4 28.b6 Bf8 29.d5 Re8 30.Qa4 Bc2 31.Qxe8 Bxd1 32.b7 queens by force.
  • 1970.10 Korchnoi, Viktor Lvovich vsKuzmin, Gennadi P 0-1 Queen's Gambit Declined 52 moves Sochi GM vs Young Masters Sochi 1970, the Grandmasters against Young Masters match — Viktor Korchnoi, later twice a World Championship challenger, and Kuzmin twenty-four years old with Black. He gives the exchange to break the bind: 32.Bxe4 Nf5 33.Bxf5 Rxe3 34.Qxe3 Bxf5, trades everything at 45...Qd2 46.Re2 Qxc2, and the king-and-pawn ending is won at 52.Ke2 Ke6.
  • 1970.10 Kuzmin, Gennadi P vsKorchnoi, Viktor Lvovich 1-0 Nimzo-Indian Defense: Reshevsky Variation 56 moves Sochi GM vs Young Masters The same match — Korchnoi beaten twice in one event. Fifty-six moves: 40.f4 Rc4 41.f5 g5 42.Re5 fixes the kingside, 46.hxg5 hxg5 47.Qe3 opens it, and 48.f6+ Qxf6 49.Rxg5+ Kf8 50.Qg3 leaves the black king with nothing to hide behind.
  • 1971.11 Matanovic, Aleksandar vsKuzmin, Gennadi P 0-1 Sicilian Defense: Scheveningen Variation, Classical Variation 49 moves Match/Nation URS-YUG 35,5-19,5 USSR–Yugoslavia match 1971 with Black against Aleksandar Matanović — also a study player here, and the founder of *Chess Informant*. Kuzmin trades all four rooks — 33.Bxe4 Raxe4 34.Rxe4 Rxe4 35.Bd4 — and then simply outplays the queen and bishop, 45...Rc2 46.Kh2 a5 47.Qg3 Qxf5 with everything hanging.
  • 1972 Kuzmin, Gennadi P vsStein, Leonid 1-0 Benko Gambit Accepted: Fully Accepted Variation 41 moves URS Games Soviet event 1972 against Leonid Stein, three times Soviet champion. A Benko Gambit met head-on: Kuzmin gives the material back at 26.Nb8 Rxc1 27.Nxd7+ Ke8 28.Nb8 Rxa5 29.Bxa5, keeps the extra piece, and converts through 33.Bxg5, 35.dxe6+ and 41.Rf4.
  • 1972.03.02 Taimanov, Mark E vsKuzmin, Gennadi P 0-1 Pseudo Queen's Indian Defense 40 moves URS-chT Republics 12th Group1 Soviet republics team championship 1972 with Black against Mark Taimanov, a study player here and a former Candidate. Kuzmin pushes a pawn to c3 on move twenty-one and never stops: 27...Bxb3 28.Nxb3 Nd5 29.Be1 Rxd4 30.Rc1 Rdc4 wins the exchange back, and 34...Rxa3 takes the last queenside pawn.
  • 1973.06.14 Kuzmin, Gennadi P vsTal, Mikhail 1-0 Benoni Defense 63 moves Interzonal-09a Leningrad Interzonal 1973 against Mikhail Tal, a former World Champion. Sixty-three moves in which Kuzmin's queen holds off four black minor pieces: 55.f6 Nh5 56.Kd1 Ng6 57.Qxa7 Ne5 58.Qe7 Rf7 59.Qxd6 Nxc4 60.Qh2 Nxf6 61.gxf6 Rxf6 62.Qh4 finally forces the win.
  • 1973.10.16 Smyslov, Vasily V vsKuzmin, Gennadi P 0-1 English Opening: King's English Variation, Four Knights Variation 76 moves URS-ch41 Final USSR Championship final 1973 with Black against Vasily Smyslov, a former World Champion. Seventy-six moves of knights against bishop: 57.Nxb4 Nxb4 58.Bxb4 Nxg3+ leaves Kuzmin two knights for the bishop, and 69.b3 cxb3 70.Kxb3 Ke4 71.Kc4 Ne3+ shepherds the e-pawn to 76.Kf6 Nf4.
  • 1973.10.21 Kuzmin, Gennadi P vsSveshnikov, Evgeny 1-0 Sicilian Defense: Taimanov Variation, Bastrikov Variation 21 moves URS-ch41 Final The same championship five days later — twenty-one moves against Evgeny Sveshnikov, and both bishops go into the black king. 17.Bxh7+ Kxh7 18.Qh5+ Kg8 19.Bxg7 Kxg7 20.Qg4+ Kh7 21.Rf3: the classical double bishop sacrifice, played in a Taimanov Sicilian.
  • 1974.08.26 Kuzmin, Gennadi P vsAverbakh, Yuri L 1-0 Ruy Lopez: Closed, Chigorin Defense 27 moves URS-chT Cup 08th Soviet team cup 1974 against Yuri Averbakh — a study player here, and the great endgame theoretician. Twenty-seven moves, and it never reaches an endgame: 19.f4 exf4 20.Bxf4 opens the file, 21.Ng4 Ne5 22.Rf1 Kh8 23.Qd2 Nxg4 24.hxg4 f6 25.Bh6 wins the dark squares, and 26.g5 fxg5 27.c4 finishes.
  • 1977.12.09 Kuzmin, Gennadi P vsPetrosian, Tigran V 1-0 French Defense: Paulsen Variation 61 moves URS-ch45 Final USSR Championship final 1977 against Tigran Petrosian, World Champion from 1963 to 1969 — the third World Champion in this archive. Sixty-one moves: 42.g3 Nxg4 43.Bxg4 Qxg4 44.Re5 wins a piece back, the queens come off at 48.Qxd4+, and the queenside pawns walk in — 52.c5, 57.b4, 59.a5.
  • 1978 Geller, Efim P vsKuzmin, Gennadi P 0-1 Pirc Defense: Classical Variation, Quiet System, Parma Defense 25 moves Zonal Lvov Lvov Zonal 1978 with Black against Efim Geller, six times a Candidate — twenty-five moves. Kuzmin trades queens early and lets the knights do everything: 21...Nf5 22.c5 Nc3 23.Rxe8 Rxe8 24.g4 Nd4, and 25.cxd6 Nde2+ forks the king and rook with the other knight already on c3.
  • 1978 Kuzmin, Gennadi P vsSmyslov, Vasily V 1-0 Ruy Lopez: Closed 68 moves Zonal Lvov The same Zonal — Smyslov again, and sixty-eight moves this time. Rook and knight against rook and bishop from move fifty: Kuzmin corners the bishop with 55.Rd2+ and 57.Rd6+, wins it at 61.Rd7+ Kb6 62.Nxb7 Kxb5, and 63.Rxf7 leaves the black h-pawn hopeless.
  • 1979.09.23 Kuzmin, Gennadi P vsLarsen, Bent 1-0 Queen's Indian Defense: Fianchetto Variation 42 moves Interzonal-11a Riga Interzonal 1979 against Bent Larsen, also a study player here. Kuzmin plants a knight on f6 and gives it up for the g-file: 35.Nf6 Rxf6 36.exf6 g5 37.Qd6 Bc8 38.Re7 seizes the seventh rank, and 41.Qe4 Bf5 42.Rxf5 takes the last defender.
  • 1985.03.12 Tal, Mikhail vsKuzmin, Gennadi P 0-1 Ruy Lopez: Morphy Defense, Arkhangelsk Variation 43 moves Keres Memorial-05 Keres Memorial 1985 with Black against Tal, twelve years after the Interzonal game. Kuzmin's knight lands on f3 and stays: 25...Nf3 26.Rf1 Ne5 27.Bb3 Bg5, and 30...Nd2 31.Bc4 Nxc4 32.dxc4 wins the bishop pair, after which 36...Qxe5 37.Qxe5 Rxe5 trades into a won ending.
  • 1999.08.06 Tobak, Andrey vsKuzmin, Gennadi P 0-1 Queen's Gambit Declined: Modern Variation, Knight Defense 118 moves MK Cafe Cup-B MK Café Cup 1999 with Black — 118 moves, the longest game in the archive. Rook and bishop against rook for the last forty, and Kuzmin never lets go: 104.Ra4+ Kf3 105.Rb4 Rg1 drives the king to the first rank, and 115.Rh5 Be3 116.Rh4 Bg5 117.Rh7 Bf4+ 118.Kh1 Rg3 builds the mating net.
  • 2010.12.19 Poliakov, Vladimir vsKuzmin, Gennadi P 0-1 Grünfeld Defense: Makogonov Variation 20 moves Lugansk Stanitsa Lugansk, December 2010 — the last game in the archive, forty-seven years after the first. Twenty moves with Black: the a-pawn walks to the second rank while White develops, 14...bxa3 15.O-O a2 16.Rfd1 b6, and 19.Ra3 Rxa3 20.Bxa3 c5 leaves the pawn one square from a queen.
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