Lesson 7: My exciting draw from Holland

The power of active play

Smirin discusses his unusal draw against Ivan Sokolov from the 1993 Wijk aan Zee Open held in Holland. Unlike many grandmaster draws, this draw was the result of a continuous fight by both sides. Throughout the game, Smirin finds resources through active play.

Reference: Smirin, ``Ivan Sokolov vs. Ilya Smirin,'' New in Chess, No. 3 (1993), 40-41.

Game 1: Sokolov-Smirin (Wijk aan Zee, 1993)

1 d4 Nf6
2 Bg5 Ne4
3 Bf4 c5
4 f3 Qa5
5 c3 Nf6
6 d5 Qb6
7 b3 e6
8 e4 ed5
9 ed5 Bd6
10 Nh3 0-0
11 Qd2 Re8
12 Be2 c4!
13 Bd6 Qd6
14 bc4 b5
15 cb5 a6!
16 c4 ab5
17 cb5? Qe5
18 Nc3 Nd5
19 Qd5 Qc3
20 Kf2 Bb7!!
21 Qc4 Qe3
22 Kg3 h5?!
23 Qf4 Qf4
24 Nf4 g5
25 Nh5 Re2
26 Rhc1 f5!
27 Rc7 f4
28 Kh3 g4!
29 Kh4 gf3
30 Rb7 fg2
31 Nf4 Rf2!
32 Rg2 Rc1!
33 Rh2
1/2-1/2

How curious that the a8 rook, b8 knight, and d7 pawn never moved!