PART NINE
PLAY LIKE GEORGE

By Grandmaster Rashid Ziatdinov, edited by Brad Ashlock

"A chess master should be a combination of a beast of prey and a monk." -- Alexander Alekhine.

My friend, George Agzamov, proved that he was a great player because he was able to compete with the all-Russian chess school. The Russian chess school is extremely strong, partly because the players are so supportive of each other. To belong to this team you need to spend a couple years in Moscow (being Russian was not important). In 1963, Fischer refused to play chess due to how much the Russian/Soviet players helped each other as a team (not because the communist party or KGB ordered them, but from a genuine camaraderie).  Fischer could not understand this teamwork, and knew at the time that he could not fight against them in candidate tournaments.                            
Since Agzamov was from the provinces, the Russians automatically assumed that he could not understand chess; only after 1981 did they begin to respect and fear him. 1983 through 1985 were his best years. Here is a sample of his play from that period:

Tal - Agzamov [D32]
Sochi 1984
1.c4 c5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nc3 e6 4.e3 Nc6 5.d4 d5 6.cxd5 exd5 7.Be2 cxd4 8.Nxd4 Bd6 9.0-0 0-0 10.Nf3 a6 11.b3 Re8 12.Bb2 Bc7 13.Qd3 Qd6 14.Rfd1 d4 15.exd4 Bg4 16.g3 Nb4 17.Ba3 Nxd3 18.Bxd6 Bxd6 19.Rxd3 Bb4 20.Bf1 Bf5 21.Nd1 Bxd3 22.Bxd3 Nd5 23.Bc4 Rad8 24.a4 Kf8 25.Kf1 g6 26.a5 Re7 27.h4 h5 28.Kg2 Kg7 29.Kf1 Kf8 30.Kg2 Kg7 31.Kf1 Rc7 32.Kg2 Kf8 33.Kf1 Kg7 34.Kg2 f6 35.Kf1 Re7 36.Kg2 Rc7 37.Kf1 Rcd7 38.Ra4 Be7 39.Ra1 Bb4 40.Ra4 Be7 41.Ra1 Bf8 42.Kg2 Kh7 43.Ra4 Re8 44.Ra1 Bb4 45.Ra4 Be7 46.Ra1 Bb4 47.Ra4 Bf8 48.Ra1 Nb4 49.Nc3 Kg7 50.Ra4 Rdd8 51.Ne2 Nd5 52.Ra1 Kh6 53.Kf1 Rd7 54.Kg2 Be7 55.Kf1 Bd8 56.Ra4 Bc7 57.Ra1 Bb8 58.Nc1 Nc3 59.Nd3 Ba7 60.Rc1 Ne2 61.Re1 Rde7 62.Bd5 Bxd4 63.Bxb7 Bc3 64.Bxa6 Bxe1 65.Nfxe1 Ra8 66.Nc5 Nd4 67.b4 Rxe1+ 68.Kxe1 Nc2+ 69.Kd2 Nxb4 70.Bc4 Rxa5 71.Ne4 Kg7 72.Be2 Nc6 73.Nc3 Nd4 74.Bd1 Re5 75.Kd3 Ne6 76.Bf3 Ra5 77.Bd5 Nf8 78.Bc6 g5 79.hxg5 fxg5 80.Bg2 Ra3 81.Kd2 Ne6 82.Nd5 Nd4 83.Bh3 Nf3+ 84.Kc2 Ra2+ 85.Kd3 g4, 0-1.

Agzamov's style was to win by making no mistakes; he was determined to make no errors. This puts titanic pressure on opponents. He played similar to how a computer plays now: no "great plans", but no tactical mistakes. This strategy was successful against many of Agzamov's powerful opponents.

Tal-Agzamov is one of George's best games. Look how the great Tal missed d4! (but not George!). White won the Exchange but not the game. The next step was to force Tal to make another mistake, to make him tired; this sounds dishonorable, but it's not, it's an honorable stratagem. George repeated the position many times and finally, when the real battle began, Tal made another mistake (Bd5) induced not from time-trouble, but from fatigue. Every moment in this game deserves deep consideration. Tal was an extremely strong player who was beaten not by missing an amazing magical combination (Tal lost many games that way), but by a very methodical system akin to eastern martial arts, where patience is more important than anything else, where guerilla ambushes are better than direct attacks.