Igor Zaitsev
Notable Games

Igor Zaitsev

19 celebrated games · 361 in the full archive
Player Index ◈ Biography 361 CURATED GAMES

Notable Games

  • 1956 Zaitsev, Igor A vsShekhtman, Eduard 1-0 Zukertort Opening: Lisitsyn Gambit 17 moves Moscow Moscow 1956 — the earliest game in an archive that runs to 2011, and Zaitsev is eighteen, playing the Lisitsyn Gambit. Seventeen moves: 14.dxc6+ Kh8 15.Nf7+ Rxf7 16.Qxf7 gives the knight to reach f7 with the queen, and 17.Bg5 threatens mate with nothing to answer it.
  • 1960.08 Zaitsev, Igor A vsSpassky, Boris Vasilievich 1-0 Queen's Gambit Accepted: Normal Variation 23 moves URS-ch28 Semifinal USSR Championship semifinal, August 1960 — Boris Spassky, then twenty-three and already a Candidate, beaten in twenty-three moves. Zaitsev doubles his own f-pawns to open the g-file at move six and plays the whole game down it: 16.h4, 19.h5, 20.O-O-O, and 21.hxg6 hxg6 22.Rd6 Kh7 23.Qc4 leaves the king with no cover at all.
  • 1960.08 Zaitsev, Igor A vsGurgenidze, Bukhuti 1-0 Sicilian Defense: Richter-Rauzer Variation 39 moves URS-ch28 Semifinal The same semifinal, against Bukhuti Gurgenidze — whose name is on the Caro-Kann system Zaitsev himself would face later in this archive. The rooks reach the seventh together: 23.Rb7 Bh8 24.Rfb1 e6 25.Nb6, 30.Raa7 Kf8 31.Rxf7+, and the a-pawn runs to 38.a7 while both black passers are stopped.
  • 1964 Vasiliev, Victor Andreevich vsZaitsev, Igor A 0-1 Sicilian Defense: Dragon Variation, Yugoslav Attack, Czerniak Variation 28 moves Moscow-ch41 Semifinal Moscow championship semifinal 1964 with Black in a Yugoslav Attack — the Dragon played from the other side. 20...Qxb3 gets the queen behind the white king, 22...Nxe4 23.fxe4 Bxe5 opens the long diagonal, and 26...Raxa5 27.Nxc5 Qa2+ 28.Kc2 Rxc5+ mates by force.
  • 1967.12 Nezhmetdinov, Rashid vsZaitsev, Igor A 0-1 Caro-Kann Defense 34 moves URS-ch35 Final USSR Championship final 1967 with Black against Rashid Nezhmetdinov — the great Soviet attacking player, and a study player here. Zaitsev takes the a-file and never gives it up: 23...Rxa4 24.Rxa4 Rxa4, 29...Ra2, and 32...Qa3 33.Qd1 Ne6 34.Bg1 Qc3 walks the queen into the position with everything defended.
  • 1968 Gulko, Boris F vsZaitsev, Igor A 0-1 Queen's Pawn Game: Symmetrical Variation 33 moves Moscow-ch 46th Moscow championship 1968 with Black against Boris Gulko — also a study player here, and later the only person to have won both the Soviet and the United States championships. Zaitsev gives the exchange on f3 to plant a pawn there: 23...Rf3 24.Bxf3 exf3+ 25.Kh2, and 30...Bxg3+ 31.fxg3 f2 32.Qf1 e3 33.Qh3 exd2 queens one of them.
  • 1968 Zaitsev, Igor A vsSuetin, Alexey S 1-0 Sicilian Defense: Velimirovic Attack 21 moves Moscow-ch 46th The same Moscow championship, twenty-one moves, and a Velimirović Attack played at full speed. 15.Nd5 exd5 16.Bxd5 gives the knight for the diagonal, 17.g6 Kh8 18.gxf7 Rxf7 19.Bxf7 wins the exchange back, and 20.Qh5 Be6 21.Qh6 arrives with mate unstoppable.
  • 1968.12.11 Tal, Mikhail vsZaitsev, Igor A 0-1 Ruy Lopez: Closed 73 moves URS-chT Cup 06th Soviet team cup, December 1968 with Black against Mikhail Tal, a former World Champion. Seventy-three moves of rook ending that Zaitsev wins by keeping a pawn on a4 as bait: 69.Rb5 Rf8 70.Kxa4 Rf4+ 71.Kb3 Rxg4 wins it back with interest, and 72.Kc3 Re4 73.Kd3 Re1 finishes.
  • 1969.09.24 Zaitsev, Igor A vsSavon, Vladimir A 1-0 Ruy Lopez: Open 29 moves URS-ch37 Final USSR Championship final 1969 against Vladimir Savon — a study player here, and two years from winning this championship himself. Zaitsev gives back both bishops to open the position: 21.Ba3+ b4 22.Bxb4+ c5 23.Bxa5 Qxa5, and 24.Ne6+ Bxe6 25.fxe6 sends the pawn to f7 — 27.exf7 Ke7 28.Rf5 Qe6 29.Qxg7.
  • 1970.08.07 Zaitsev, Igor A vsIvkov, Borislav 1-0 Ruy Lopez: Closed, Smyslov Defense 29 moves Rubinstein Memorial-08 Rubinstein Memorial 1970 against Borislav Ivkov — a study player here, and the first World Junior Champion. Zaitsev lets a black pawn reach b2 and ignores it: 18.dxe5 bxc3 19.exf6 cxb2 20.Bxb2 g6, and 22.e5 Bxf3 23.Bxg6 Nxe5 24.Bxf7+ Nxf7 25.Qg6+ Kh8 26.Re7 wins the game outright.
  • 1970.08.10 Zaitsev, Igor A vsAdamski, Jan 1-0 Modern Defense: Pseudo-Austrian Attack 19 moves Rubinstein Memorial-08 The same tournament three days later — nineteen moves against the Polish master Jan Adamski, and a piece thrown at the king on every second move. 10.f5 cxd4 11.fxg6 dxc3 12.gxf7+ Nxf7 13.Nxf7, then 16.Bxh7+ Kxh7 17.Ng5+ Kg8 18.Qe6+ Rf7 19.Qxf7+.
  • 1971.08 Zaitsev, Igor A vsReshko, Aron G 1-0 Sicilian Defense: Open 83 moves URS-chT Cup 07th Group1 Soviet team cup 1971 — eighty-three moves, the longest game in the archive, rook against knight for the last thirty. Zaitsev wins it by squeezing the knight out of squares: 73.Rf2 Nf5 74.Ra2 Kh7 75.Ra7 Ng7+ 76.Kxh4 takes the pawn, and 79.Ra1 Nf5 80.Rf1 Kg6 81.Rf2 Nh6+ 82.Kf4 finishes.
  • 1975 Sveshnikov, Evgeny vsZaitsev, Igor A 0-1 Scotch Game: Mieses Variation 41 moves URS Soviet event 1975 with Black against Evgeny Sveshnikov, the theoretician whose name is on the most-analysed Sicilian of the modern era. Sveshnikov runs a pawn to h7 and it costs him the game: 36.Rg7 Rh8 37.h7 a3 38.Ne4 Nd2 39.Nc3 Bxc3 40.Rxc7+ Kxc7 41.Bxh8 Nxf1 leaves Zaitsev a piece up with an a-pawn on the third.
  • 1976 Zaitsev, Igor A vsGeller, Efim P 1-0 Vienna Game: Falkbeer Variation 43 moves Chigorin Memorial-11 Chigorin Memorial 1976 against Efim Geller, six times a Candidate. Zaitsev gives up a bishop on b4 to open lines — 24.b4 Bxb4 25.cxb4 Raa8 — takes the a-file back with 31.Rxa4, and the b-pawn plus a rook on the seventh do the rest: 32.Rxc7, 35.b6, 37.Rxf7+, 38.Rxg7.
  • 1976 Zaitsev, Igor A vsKholmov, Ratmir D 1-0 Queen's Indian Defense: Classical Variation, Traditional Variation, Main Line 50 moves Dubna Dubna 1976 against Ratmir Kholmov, also a study player here and one of the hardest men in the Soviet Union to beat. Fifty moves: Kholmov's f- and h-pawns get to the second rank and are both stopped — 42.Rb6 h2 43.Rb5+ Kg6 44.Rxh5 Kxh5 45.Kxh2 — and the bishop holds the b-pawn from a1 while the king walks in.
  • 1980.05 Vaganian, Rafael A vsZaitsev, Igor A 0-1 English Opening: Agincourt Defense, Neo-Catalan Declined 57 moves URS-chT Cup 11th Soviet team cup 1980 with Black against Rafael Vaganian, later a world top-ten player. The queens come off at 40.Qxe6+ Qf7 41.Qxf7+ Kxf7, and Zaitsev's a- and b-pawns beat the bishop: 48...Bxa3 49.Rxa4 Bd6, and 55...Rxb5 56.h5 Ra5 57.Rb8 with the last white pawn falling.
  • 1983.01 Bronstein, David Ionovich vsZaitsev, Igor A 0-1 Queen's Gambit Declined: Neo-Orthodox Variation 58 moves Moscow-ch61 Moscow Championship 1983 with Black against David Bronstein, who in 1951 had tied a World Championship match with Botvinnik. Fifty-eight moves: 44...Re8+ 45.Re3 Rxe3+ 46.fxe3 Rxh5 wins the pawn, and 51...Rh2+ 52.Kd3 Ra2 53.Nf7+ Kg7 54.Ne5 Rxa5 collects the queenside with the bishop covering everything.
  • 2011.08.15 Zaitsev, Igor A vsIvkov, Borislav 1-0 Ruy Lopez: Morphy Defense, Modern Steinitz Defense 40 moves Botvinnik Memorial Senior Botvinnik Memorial senior event, August 2011 — Ivkov again, forty-one years after the first time, both men now in their seventies. A Modern Steinitz Ruy Lopez, the opening family Zaitsev spent his life on: 30.Nd5 Qd6 31.Nxf6+ gxf6 32.Re8+ Rxe8 33.Qxe8+ wins the exchange, and 38.Qg3+ trades into a won ending.
  • 2011.08.18 Uhlmann, Wolfgang vsZaitsev, Igor A 0-1 King's Indian Defense: Averbakh Variation, Nc6 Defense 51 moves Botvinnik Memorial Senior Three days later, the last game in the archive — fifty-five years after the first, with Black against Wolfgang Uhlmann, the great East German grandmaster. Zaitsev wins the exchange at 36...Nxb6 37.Rxa1 Bxa1, trades the queens, and the knight and bishop walk in: 48...Nd5 49.Bc4 Ne7 50.Kf4 Ng6+ 51.Kf3 Ne5+.
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