Wolfgang Unzicker
Notable Games

Wolfgang Unzicker

14 celebrated games · 546 in the full archive
Player Index ◈ Biography 546 CURATED GAMES

Notable Games

  • 1949 Unzicker, Wolfgang vsSaemisch, Friedrich 1-0 Ruy Lopez: Morphy Defense, Steinitz Deferred 23 moves Oldenburg Oldenburg 1949 against Friedrich Sämisch, in the Ruy Lopez. Black's 21...g5 and 22...gxh4 win the knight on h4, but 23.Ng7+ forks king and queen and ends the game at once.
  • 1950.05.15 Bogoljubov, Efim vsUnzicker, Wolfgang 0-1 Nimzo-Indian Defense: Classical Variation, Noa Variation 46 moves GER-ch39 (DSB) German Championship, Bad Pyrmont 1950, which Unzicker won, with Black against Efim Bogoljubov, twice a challenger for the world title. The kingside pawns open the g-file with 38...hxg5, 40...fxg5 and 43...gxf4, and 44...Rc1+ 45.Kf2 Rxg1 46.Kxg1 Qg2 is mate.
  • 1953 Unzicker, Wolfgang vsUhlmann, Wolfgang 1-0 Dutch Defense: Stonewall Variation 17 moves GER-ch42 (DSB+DSV) The all-German championship in Leipzig, 1953, which Unzicker won, against Wolfgang Uhlmann's Stonewall Dutch. The queen walks in: 12.Qc6 Ba6 13.Qxe6+ Kh8 14.Ng5, then 15.Qxf5, and 17.Qxh7 is mate.
  • 1954.09.17 Unzicker, Wolfgang vsCzerniak, Moshe 1-0 French Defense: Classical Variation, Normal Variation 28 moves Olympiad-11 Final A Amsterdam Olympiad 1954 against Moshe Czerniak, in the Classical French. The white queen reaches h6 at move 9 and stays there; 26.Qxh7+ Nxh7 27.Rxh7+ Kf8 28.Rxd8+ gives it up to break through, and Czerniak resigns.
  • 1955.09.12 Unzicker, Wolfgang vsDonner, Jan Hein 1-0 French Defense: Paulsen Variation 31 moves Interzonal-03 Gothenburg Interzonal 1955 against Jan Hein Donner. White's d-pawn decides: 21.d6, 22.Nd5 Bxd5 23.Rxd5 and 25.d7 tie Black down, and 30.Qf6 Ra8 31.Qxe7 wins a rook.
  • 1956.10.24 Unzicker, Wolfgang vsKeres, Paul 1-0 Ruy Lopez: Closed, Chigorin Defense, Panov System 39 moves Alekhine Memorial-01 Alekhine Memorial, Moscow 1956, against Paul Keres, in the Chigorin Ruy Lopez. 22.Na5 Rxc2 23.Nxb7 starts a run of exchanges that ends with 27.Bxc2, the passed d-pawn reaches d6 at move 32, and Keres resigns after 39.Bc2.
  • 1960.07.07 Unzicker, Wolfgang vsFischer, Robert James 1-0 Sicilian Defense: Najdorf Variation 22 moves Buenos Aires International Buenos Aires 1960 against the seventeen-year-old Bobby Fischer. At move 12 Fischer touched his h-pawn meaning to play ...h6, saw that Bxh6 would follow, and under the touch-move rule played 12...h5 instead. 18.Nf6+ and 21.Qxh5+ break through, and Fischer resigns after 22.Qg4+.
  • 1961.06.25 Unzicker, Wolfgang vsBotvinnik, Mikhail 1-0 French Defense: Winawer Variation, Advance Variation, Smyslov Variation 31 moves EU-chT 02nd Final European Team Championship, Oberhausen 1961, against the reigning World Champion Mikhail Botvinnik, in the Winawer French: the first win by a German player over a reigning World Champion in a tournament game after the Second World War. 27.Bxd5 opens the center, 30.Rxb6 leaves White a pawn up, and Botvinnik resigns after 31.e6.
  • 1964.11.14 Smyslov, Vasily V vsUnzicker, Wolfgang 0-1 English Opening: Agincourt Defense 33 moves Olympiad-16 Final A Tel Aviv Olympiad 1964 with Black against the former World Champion Vasily Smyslov, in West Germany's 3–1 win over the Soviet Union. The material is level after 29...Qxa4; Smyslov then tries 30.Nxe5 fxe5 31.Qxe5, a knight for two pawns, and resigns after 33...Qc6.
  • 1966.08.04 Larsen, Bent vsUnzicker, Wolfgang 0-1 English Opening: Symmetrical Variation, Full Symmetry Line 40 moves Piatigorsky-Cup 2nd Second Piatigorsky Cup, Santa Monica 1966, with Black against Bent Larsen, who finished third. The rook goes to g1 with check, 34...Rg1+ 35.Kf2 Be5 36.Qe4 Qh3, and after 37.Kxg1 Bh2+ the queen mates on h1 at move 40.
  • 1969.11.24 Hort, Vlastimil vsUnzicker, Wolfgang 0-1 Queen's Gambit Declined: Semi-Tarrasch Defense 59 moves Palma de Mallorca Gran Torneo-05 Palma de Mallorca 1969, round two, with Black against Vlastimil Hort, who later wrote that Unzicker played the complicated position better and deservedly won. 21...Nc1 22.Rxc1 Qxc1+ wins the exchange, the b-pawn runs to b2, and 48...Rxd5 takes the bishop.
  • 1970.09.11 Unzicker, Wolfgang vsSarapu, Ortvin 1-0 Sicilian Defense: Nimzowitsch Variation 19 moves Olympiad-19 Preliminaries F Siegen Olympiad 1970 against Ortvin Sarapu. Black's 9...Bxf2+ drives the white king to e2, but White wins in 19 moves: 17.Bf4 Nxf4 18.Qxf7+ Kh8 19.Qg8+, when the queen can only be taken by the rook and a smothered mate on f7 follows.
  • 1975.08.20 Unzicker, Wolfgang vsTal, Mikhail 1-0 Sicilian Defense: Kan Variation, Knight Variation 32 moves Milan Milan 1975 against Mikhail Tal, the former World Champion, in the Kan Sicilian. 24.Rxf7 Rxf7 25.Qxg6 opens the attack, 27.Bxc6+ and 28.Rxf7+ follow, 31.Bxa8 collects a rook, and Tal resigns after 32.Qxe5+.
  • 1989 Unzicker, Wolfgang vsTal, Mikhail 1-0 Benoni Defense: Fianchetto Variation, Hastings Defense, Main Line 44 moves Bundesliga 8990 Bundesliga 1989/90, at sixty-four, against Tal again, in the Fianchetto Benoni. The exchanges from 24.Bxe4 to 27.Nxe4 Bxe4 leave White the exchange for a pawn, the queens come off with 33.Rb8 Qxe8 34.Rxe8, and Tal resigns after 44.c4.
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