The importance of CCT: example #3 - Szabo-Reshevsky, Zurich 1953

I'm continuing to work my way through Bronstein's Zurich 1953 International Chess Tournament during my lunch hours at work and recently came across the following game (Szabo-Reshevsky, round 19 game 130 in the tournament book).  I have to admit that Reshevsky is one of my all-time favorite players and I always enjoy going over his games.  In this one, on move 20 he overlooks that, instead of the obvious recapture on f6 by White, there is a mate in 2 by his opponent after Qxg6+.  Szabo however also overlooks this and Reshevsky then eliminates the Bd5, which was the source of the tactic.  According to Bronstein, Szabo then realized his mistake and was thoroughly shaken for the rest of the game and for some time afterwards in the tournament.

This is another simple, clear example at the professional level that highlights the utility of CCT (Checks, Captures and Threats) in the thinking process.  There are two possible checks on the board for White on move 21.  Bxf7+ can be calculated very quickly as not working, while Qxg6+ can be calculated almost as quickly as leading to the mate.  Because the g6 pawn is optically protected by the f7 pawn, but is not protected in reality due to the pin on f7 by the Bd5, the capture with check is a non-obvious move unless the pin is explicitly recognized in the thinking process.  The "obvious recapture" on f6 is another distraction from recognizing the critical tactic.

The benefit of CCT comes from literally forcing the player to recognize this type of critical tactical element, which as we see from the game can otherwise be overlooked, even by world-class players.  Once Qxg6+ is contemplated, it immediately becomes apparent that fxg6 is impossible.  This requires very little expenditure of calculating time and energy, in exchange for a great reward.

[Event "Zurich ct"] [Site "19"] [Date "1953.10.04"] [Round "19"] [White "Laszlo Szabo"] [Black "Samuel Reshevsky"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D42"] [Annotator "ChessAdmin"] [PlyCount "54"] [EventDate "1953.??.??"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 c5 5. cxd5 Nxd5 6. e3 Nc6 7. Bd3 Nxc3 8. bxc3 Be7 9. Qc2 g6 10. h4 h5 11. Rb1 Rb8 12. Be4 Qc7 13. O-O Bd7 14. d5 exd5 15. Bxd5 Bf6 16. Ng5 Nd8 17. c4 Bc6 18. Ne4 Bg7 19. Bb2 O-O 20. Nf6%2B Bxf6 21. Bxf6 (21. Qxg6%2B) 21... Bxd5 22. cxd5 Qd6 23. Qc3 Qxd5 24. Rfd1 Qf5 25. e4 Qe6 26. Bg7 b6 27. Bxf8 Kxf8 1/2-1/2'/>