Zoltán Ribli
Notable Games

Zoltán Ribli

15 celebrated games · 818 in the full archive
Player Index ◈ Biography 818 CURATED GAMES

Notable Games

  • 1969 Ribli, Zoltan vsKarpov, Anatoly 1-0 Ruy Lopez: Morphy Defense, Anderssen Variation 54 moves Match/Nation HUN-URS Hungary–USSR match, 1969, as a teenager, against Anatoly Karpov, the future World Champion. The queens come off at move 16, and the knight and bishop pick up pawns: 35.Nxd5+, 39.Nxa6, 44.Rxf4 and 46.Rxh7. Karpov resigns after 54.Bh4.
  • 1974.08.29 Quinteros, Miguel Angel vsRibli, Zoltan 0-1 Nimzo-Indian Defense: Classical Variation, Berlin Variation, Pirc Variation 24 moves Montilla Moriles 4th Montilla 1974 against Miguel Quinteros. In the Nimzo-Indian, 18...dxe3 gives up the queen for a rook: after 19.Rxd8 Raxd8 the white queen on h4 is out of play, and 20...Rd2, 21...Bd3 and 22...Nxe2 break in. Quinteros resigns after 24 moves.
  • 1980.06 Ribli, Zoltan vsKarpov, Anatoly 1-0 Catalan Opening: Open Defense, Classical Line 55 moves IBM-20 Kroongroep IBM tournament, Amsterdam 1980, against the reigning World Champion, Karpov. A Catalan in which the queens come off at move 17. 35.Nxe5+ and 37.Rxh7 win pawns, the e-pawn runs to e6, and Karpov resigns after 55.Rd7.
  • 1982.02.11 Ribli, Zoltan vsChandler, Murray G 1-0 Queen's Gambit Declined: Harrwitz Attack 26 moves First Lady of Indonesia Cup Surakarta 1982 against Murray Chandler. After 10...Qa5+ 11.Ke2 the white king stays in the centre, 22.Bxc6 and 23.Nxe5 win a pawn, and 25.Rxc6 and 26.Rc8 finish the game.
  • 1982.07.27 Ribli, Zoltan vsSmyslov, Vasily V 1-0 Queen's Gambit Declined 66 moves Interzonal-12a Las Palmas Interzonal 1982, which Ribli won ahead of the former World Champion Vasily Smyslov. Here he beats Smyslov with 24.Bxg6 fxg6 25.Qxg6+, and by move 64 his b-pawn has reached b7.
  • 1983.01.14 Ribli, Zoltan vsKorchnoi, Viktor Lvovich 1-0 English Opening: Anglo-Indian Defense, Hedgehog System 37 moves Hoogovens Wijk aan Zee 1983, round one, against Viktor Korchnoi. 15.axb4 Bxf1 16.Qxf1 gives up the exchange for the queenside pawns, and at the end 36.Qc3+ Kg8 37.Nxe1 wins the black rook.
  • 1983.04.14 Ribli, Zoltan vsTorre, Eugenio 1-0 Semi-Slav Defense: Meran Variation, Blumenfeld Variation 20 moves Candidates qf Ribli-Torre +3=6-1 Candidates quarter-final 1983, game six, against Eugenio Torre. In the Meran, 11.Nxb5 and 13.Qf3 start the tactics, 16.Nxd7, 17.Bxb5 and 18.Bxd6 keep the black king in the centre, and Torre resigns after 20 moves. Ribli won the match +3 −1 =6.
  • 1983.11.23 Ribli, Zoltan vsSmyslov, Vasily V 1-0 Bogo-Indian Defense 42 moves Candidates sf Smyslov-Ribli +3-1=7 Candidates semi-final, London 1983, game two, against Smyslov, his only win of the match. 18.d5, 22.Nf5 and 24.g4 gain space, 27.d6 opens the position, and Smyslov resigns after 42.Rb6.
  • 1984.05.27 Ribli, Zoltan vsTal, Mikhail 1-0 Queen's Pawn Game 21 moves Bugojno Bugojno 1984 against the former World Champion Mikhail Tal. White castles long, 18.Rxd5 wins a pawn, and after 19.Bxe4 Bxb2+ 20.Kb1 Ba3 21.Bc1 Tal resigns in 21 moves.
  • 1984.06.29 Ribli, Zoltan vsVaganian, Rafael A 1-0 English Opening: Anglo-Indian Defense 26 moves Match/Team URS-World 21-19 USSR against the Rest of the World, London 1984, against Rafael Vaganian, Ribli's Soviet opponent. Black gives a pawn with 6...b5, and 21.e5, 22.Bxc5 and 25.Nc6 Bxc6 26.dxc6 break through in 26 moves.
  • 1985.10 Portisch, Lajos vsRibli, Zoltan 0-1 Semi-Slav Defense: Main Line 19 moves Candidates Tournament Montpellier Candidates Tournament, Montpellier 1985, against his compatriot Lajos Portisch, with Black in the Semi-Slav. 13...Qh4, 14...Bxh3 and 15...Bh2+ go for the white king, and 19...Qa6+ ends the game in 19 moves.
  • 1987 Korchnoi, Viktor Lvovich vsRibli, Zoltan 0-1 Semi-Slav Defense 49 moves Reggio Emilia-A 8788 30th Reggio Emilia 1987/88 against Korchnoi, with Black in the Semi-Slav. After 25...Qxd6 the queens come off, the black knight takes on f2 and later on g2, and Korchnoi resigns after 49...Ne3.
  • 1988 Ribli, Zoltan vsAnand, Viswanathan 1-0 English Opening: Anglo-Indian Defense, Hedgehog System 38 moves Reggio Emilia-A 8889 31st Reggio Emilia 1988/89 against Viswanathan Anand, the future World Champion. 11.c5 and 14.Bd6 fix the dark squares, 27.Bxe4 and 28.Rxe4 win a pawn, and Anand resigns after 38.Rf3.
  • 2003.02.08 Ribli, Zoltan vsYusupov, Artur 1-0 Queen's Gambit Declined: Barmen Variation 36 moves Bundesliga 0203 German Bundesliga 2003 against Artur Yusupov. 29.Rd8+ Rf8 30.Rxb8 exchanges a pair of rooks, the knight takes on b7 and c6, and Yusupov resigns after 36.Qd2.
  • 2005.09.21 Ribli, Zoltan vsThorfinnsson, Bjorn 1-0 King's Indian Attack 26 moves EU-Cup 21st European Club Cup 2005, at fifty-four, against Björn Thorfinnsson. 17.Rxd7 and 20.Bxf6 break up the black kingside, and 23.Ng6, 24.Qxf7+ and 25.Nce5+ finish it in 26 moves.
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