Malcolm Pein On…Remembering Dokhoian

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Oll-Dokhoian 25.Bxc1 Black to play
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Malcolm Pein On…
Remembering Dokhoian

Awful news from Moscow of the death of GM Yury Dokhoian at the age of 56 due to COVID. Dokhoian was qualified several times for the USSR Championships and won many international tournaments, including shared first at the Wijk aan Zee B Group in 1989. Dokhoian ended his tournament career in 1995 and worked as Garry Kasparov’s analyst and trainer until Kasparov retired in 2005.

Subsequently, Dokhoian was trainer of the Russian women’s team and open team. He trained world title contender Sergey Karjakin and the prodigy Andrey Esipenko.

 

L. Oll – Y. Dokhoian
USSR 1st League, Sverdlovsk 1987
French Winawer

1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.e5 c5 5.a3 Bxc3+ 6.bxc3 Ne7 7.Qg4 0–0 8.Nf3 Qa5 9.Bd2 c4 10.h4 f5 11.Qg5 Nbc6 12.h5 Qa4 13.Kd1 b5 14.Rh3 (14.h6 g6 15.Kc1 was better.) 14…a5! (An audacious counter, Black realises his kingside can withstand whatever threats White can generate.) 15.Rg3 Rf7 16.Qh4 f4 17.Rg4 Nf5 18.Qh3 b4 19.Rxf4 b3 20.g4 Rb8! 21.gxf5 bxc2+ 22.Ke2 Rb1 23.fxe6 Rxf4 24.Bxf4 c1Q 25.Bxc1 Black to play and win:

 

Test Your Strength

Oll-Dokhoian 25.Bxc1 Black to play
L. Oll – Y. Dokhoian
Black to move and win

 

Dokhoian won the Muenster Open and en route, as was quite common in the 1990s, he had to play a computer. Saitek’s chess computers included a range named after Kasparov! So in a sense, Dokhoian was playing against his boss. In the 1990s, silicon players were rudimentary compared with the monsters that are too strong for all humans nowadays.

 

Y. Dokhoian – Saitek Sparc
Muenster Open 1993
Semi Slav

1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 c6 4.e3 Nf6 5.Nf3 Nbd7 6.Bd3 Bb4 7.0–0 0–0 8.a3 Ba5 9.Qc2 Bc7 10.Bd2 dxc4 11.Bxc4 e5 12.Ba2 h6 13.Rad1 b6? (13…Re8) 14.Rc1 (14.Bc1!? Qe7 15.Nh4! Kh8 16.Nf5) 14…exd4 15.exd4 Bb7 16.Qf5 (One was always reticent to sacrifice against computers in those days, however 16.Bxh6 gxh6 17.Qg6+ Kh8 18.Qxh6+ Nh7 19.Bb1 f5 20.Nh4 was pretty good.) 16…Qc8? (16…Re8 preparing Nd7-f8 was essential) 17.Rfe1 Nb8

Dokhoian-Saitek Sparc 17...Nb8

18.Qg6! Nd5 19.Qh5 Nf6 20.Qh4 Nbd7 21.Bxh6 gxh6 22.Qxh6 Ba6 23.Re4 Nxe4 24.Nxe4 1–0

 

Here’s The Solution

Highlight the white space below by selecting it:

25…Qc2+ 0–1 In view of 26.Bd2 Qd3#; Or 26.Nd2 Rxa1, 26.Ke3 Qxc1+. 

 

Play Through The Games

 

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