David Bronstein is widely considered to be one of the greatest post-World War II players not to have won the World Chess Championship, an unfortunate accolade he shares with the likes of Paul Keres, Reuben Fine, Samuel Reshevsky and Victor Korchnoi.

Chess writer Lev Khariton once described an interview with Luis Rentero, longtime organizer of the prestigious annual Linares chess tournament, in which Rentero tells how Bronstein consoled a young prodigy Bobby Fischer, who was teary-eyed after a loss to Boris Spassky in the 1960 Mar del Plata tournament. "Listen," Bronstein said to the future world champion. "They forced me to lose an entire match to Botvinnik, and I didn't cry."

Bronstein was born in Bila Tserkva, Ukraine, into a Jewish family. He learned chess at age six from his grandfather. As a youth in Kiev, he was trained by the renowned International Master Alexander Konstantinopolsky. He was second in the Kiev Championship at age 15, and achieved the Soviet Master title at 16 for his second-place result in the 1940 Ukrainian Chess Championship, behind Isaac Boleslavsky, who became a very close friend and chess companion. Much later in life, Bronstein married Boleslavsky's daughter, Tatiana, in 1984.

After completing high school, his plans to study Mathematics at Kiev University in 1941 were interrupted by World War II. Judged unfit for military service due to poor eyesight, Bronstein spent the war in various menial jobs including reconstruction of war-damaged buildings. His father was imprisoned for several years in the Gulag and later it was formally acknowledged that there was no evidence that he had committed any crimes. The rumour that Bronstein’s father was related to the disgraced former Soviet Communist leader Leon Trotsky (whose real family name was Bronstein), was refuted by Bronstein in his book The Sorcerer's Apprentice.

With the tide turning towards an eventual Soviet war victory over the Nazi invaders in WW II, Bronstein was able to once again play some competitive chess, and he defeated Soviet champion Mikhail Botvinnik at the 1944 USSR Championship, his first appearance, but with a dismal 15th position. Bronstein raised his skill dramatically to place third in the very next edition of USSR Championship in 1945. Later that year, he won both his games played on board 10, helping the Soviet team to victory in the famous 1945 USSR vs. USA Radio Chess Match. He then competed successfully in several team matches, and gradually proved he belonged to the Soviet chess elite. He twice finished joint champion at the strong USSR championship, in 1948 (with Kotov) and in 1949 (with Smyslov).

Bronstein's first major international tournament success occurred at the Saltsjöbaden Interzonal of 1948, which he won. He earned his Grandmaster title in 1950, when the World Chess Federation formalized the process. His Interzonal win qualified him for the Candidates' Tournament of 1950 in Budapest. Bronstein became the eventual winner over Boleslavsky in a Moscow play-off, after the two tied in Budapest. The period 1945-50 saw a meteoric rise in Bronstein's chess strength, as he reached the World Chess Championship challenge match, in 1951.

He came agonizingly close to his final dream when he drew the 1951 world title challenge match by a score of 12-12 with Mikhail Botvinnik, the reigning champion. In a match where the lead swung back and forth several times, the two titans tested each other in a wide variety of opening formations, and every game (except the 24th) was full-blooded and played hard to a clear finish. Bronstein often avoided lines he had favored in earlier events, and frequently adopted Botvinnik's own preferred variations. This strategy seemed to catch Botvinnik by surprise since the reigning champion had not played competitively for three years since winning the title in 1948. The quality of play was very high by both players, although Botvinnik would later complain of his own “weak play”. He only grudgingly acknow-ledged Bronstein's huge talent. Bronstein led by one point after game 22 with two games to go, but lost the 23rd game and drew the 24th and final game! In the 23rd game, Bronstein had 2 knights + pawn against Botvinnik’s 2 Bishops in the endgame, yet he sportingly resigned, something unheard of at this level! In the final game, Bronstein was a pawn down but he readily agreed to a draw. After the “tied” result, under then prevailing World Chess Federation rules, the title remained with the champion and Bronstein was never to come so close again. (See box: Tied” World Chess Championships).

Bronstein and Botvinnik had vastly contrasting chess playing styles, personalities, back-grounds and lifestyles and obviously disliked each other. Botvinnik, who had spent the war in comfort far from the front, played plenty of chess during those years, was highly educated and the privileged favorite of the Soviet power establishment. Bronstein, on the other hand, had spent much of the war as a common labourer, under arduous conditions, when his father was falsely imprisoned, had missed out on three years of chess, yet miraculously worked his way to a world title challenge!

Botvinnik wrote that Bronstein's failure was caused by a lack of ability in “simple” positions and a tendency to underestimate “endgame technique”. Both these charges seem unfair, given Botvinnik's enormous advantage in dealing with adjourned positions, which largely decided the 1951 match. Botvinnik won four virtually level endgames after the adjournments! Bronstein proved, both before and after that match, that he was a very skilled endgame player, and could handle any chess position as well as practically anyone else of world class. His game against Brzozka is regarded as one of the greatest endgames ever played!

It has been alleged that Bronstein was forced by the Soviet authorities to “throw the match” to allow Botvinnik to win. A similar charge was made against Keres in the 1948 World Championship. Similarly, in the 1953 Candidates' Tournament, it has been speculated that there was pressure on the top non-Russian Soviet players, Keres and Bronstein, to allow Vasily Smyslov to win. Even in the wake of glasnost, however, Bronstein never fully confirmed these rumors in his public statements or writings, admitting only to 'strong psychological pressure' being applied.

He explained his decision in The Sorcerer’s Apprentice (1995), a book about his life and games written with Tom Fürstenberg, “I had reasons not to become the World Champion,” he wrote, “as in those times such a title meant that you were entering an official world of chess bureaucracy with many formal obligations. Such a position is not compatible with my character.”

The obvious question, was why did he play in the World Championships to select a challenger? “The answer is very simple,” he wrote. “In those days there were very few international tournaments and if one wanted to be respected by the USSR Chess Federation, it was necessary to play to prove that you are amongst the best.”

There were ample reasons Mr. Bronstein would have been a less acceptable champion to the Soviet government. His father was arrested in 1937 on charges of being an “enemy of the people” and imprisoned in Soviet labor camps until 1944. David Bronstein was also Jewish in a state that was openly anti-Semitic.The real reason appears to be his “personal situation” where he was contemplating a divorce with his first wife, Olga and its likely adverse publicity after the effect of the false propaganda by the establishment against his father.

Then there was Bronstein’s style of play. Mr. Botvinnik had a “scientific approach” refined by study of his opponents’ psychology. The Soviet authorities held up the “Botvinnik Model”, saying his success had come from following “institutional principles”, not individual inspiration. Many future champions, namely Karpov and Kasparov are supposed to be a product of this model. Bronstein’s style was just the opposite. An intuitive player, he often sought complications and played wild, imaginative games. He wrote, “I always try to vary my openings as much as possible, to invent new plans in attack and defence, to make experimental moves which are dangerous and exciting for both players and the audience.” Ever the romantic at the board, Bronstein refused to play conservatively.

Even after 1951, Bronstein continued his pursuit in the next championship cycle and finished tied for 2-4 places, together with Keres and Samuel Reshevsky. This result qualified him directly for the 1955 Goteborg Interzonal, which he won with an unbeaten score. From there it was on to another near miss in the 1956 Candidates' tournament in Amsterdam, where he wound up in a large tie for 3-7 places, behind winner Smyslov and runner-up Keres.

Bronstein had to qualify for the 1958 Interzonal, and did so by placing third at the USSR Championship, Riga 1958. At the 1958 Interzonal in Portoro˛, Bronstein, who had been picked as pre-event favourite by Bobby Fischer, missed moving on to the 1959 Candidates' by half a point, dropping a last-round game to the much weaker Filipino Rodolfo Tan Cardoso, when the power failed during the game and he was unable to regain concentration. Bronstein missed qualification at the Soviet Zonal stage for the 1962 cycle. Then at the Amsterdam 1964 Interzonal, Bronstein scored very well, but only three Soviets could advance, by a prevailing World Chess Federation rule, and he finished behind countrymen Smyslov, Mikhail Tal, and Boris Spassky, who finished as the joint winners, along with Bent Larsen. His last Interzonal was Petropolis 1973, where at the age of 49 he placed a respectable sixth, but did not advance further.

David Bronstein, Paul Keres and Mikhail Botvinnik in Amsterdam 1954

He took many first prizes in tournaments, among the most notable being the Soviet Chess Championships of 1948 (jointly with Alexander Kotov) and 1949 (jointly with Smyslov). He also tied for second place at the Soviet Championships of 1957 and 1964-65. He tied first with Mark Taimanov at the World Students' Championship in 1952 at Liverpool. Bronstein was also a six times winner of the Moscow Championships, and represented the USSR at the Olympiads of 1952, 1954, 1956 and 1958, winning board prizes at each of them, losing just one of his 49 games in those events! Along the way he won four Olympiad team gold medals. In the 1954 team match against the USA, held in New York, Bronstein scored a complete sweep of all four of his games on second board.

Further major tournament victories were achieved at Hastings 1953-4, Belgrade 1954, Gotha 1957, Moscow 1959, Szombathely 1966, East Berlin 1968, Dnepropetrovsk 1970, Sarajevo 1971, Sandomierz 1976, Iwonicz Zdrój 1976, Budapest 1977, and Jurmala 1978.

In 1976, when Viktor Korchnoi, a top Soviet player, defected, Mr. Bronstein was one of the few Soviet grandmasters who refused to sign a letter denouncing him. As punishment, Soviet officials suspended Mr. Bronstein’s monthly stipend, a wage paid to all top Soviet masters that allowed them to devote themselves full time to chess.

He was also barred from competing in almost any elite tournament within the Soviet Union and from competing outside the country for 13 years. He once admitted that he had secretly helped Korchnoi to play against Karpov in 70s! What courage!

The James Bond movie, From Russia with Love has a game played between a certain Kronsteen(!) and McAdams. It was actually based on the King’s Gambit miniature between Bronstein and Spassky (White) at the USSR championship in 1960, won by the latter, at Leningrad!

David Bronstein also wrote many chess books and articles, and had a regular chess column in the Soviet newspaper Izvestia for many years. He was perhaps most highly regarded for his authorship of Zurich International Chess Tournament 1953 (English translation 1979). This book was an enormous seller in the USSR, going through many reprints. More recently, he co-authored the autobiographical The Sorcerer's Apprentice (1995), with his friend Tom Furstenburg. Both books have become landmarks in chess publishing history; Bronstein seeks to amplify the ideas behind the players' moves, rather than burdening the reader with pages of analysis of moves that never made it onto the scorecard. Bronstein's romantic vision of chess was shown with his very successful adoption of the rarely-seen King's Gambit in top-level competition. His pioneering theoretical and practical work (along with fellow Ukrainians Boleslavsky and Efim Geller) in transforming the King's Indian Defence should be remembered, and is evidenced in his key contribution to the 1999 book, Bronstein on the King's Indian. Bronstein played an exceptionally wide variety of openings during his long career, on a scale comparable with very few who ever reached the highest level. Two variations in Caro-Kann Defence and Scandinavian Defence are also named after him.

Bronstein was a chess visionary. Euwe wrote that Bronstein looked 15 moves ahead, three times as many as the rest. Arthur Bisguier regarded him as simply “the best.” Bronstein had the highest ELO rating in 1951-52. He was an early advocate of speeding up competitive chess, and introduced a digital chess clock which adds a small time increment for each move made, a variant of which has become very popular in recent years. His endlessly fertile mind thus co-invented rapid chess events, time-delay clocks and Fischer random chess. He showed that there was more to chess than mere scientific technique: imagine playing the “King’s Gambit” in the Soviet Championship! His book on the Zurich Candidates Tournament was so repetitively praised that he once said, “I am more than 12-12 and Zurich 1953.” He challenged computer programs at every opportunity, usually achieving good results.

In later years, Bronstein continued to stay active in tournament play, often in Western Europe after the breakup of the USSR. He maintained a very good standard (jointly winning the Hastings Swiss of 1994-5 at age 70!), wrote several important chess books, and inspired young and old alike with endless simultaneous displays, a warm, gracious attitude, and glorious tales of his own, rich chess heritage. His health was in decline in his last couple of years, suffering from high blood pressure, and he died on December 5, 2006 at Minsk, Belarus.

Mr. Bronstein’s feelings about the world championship were coloured by his egalitarian approach to chess. “I still wonder why people in general have respect only for world champions and not for all chess players,” he wrote. “Is it not clear that we all play the same game of chess?”

The most famous quote of Bronstein was: “Beauty is the most important aspect of chess ...We are passing our knowledge and our understanding of beauty to the next generations, and thus life goes on forever".

His games are timeless and show sparkling originality and creativity. A sample of his most famous games follows:

1.e4 Nf6 2.e5 Nd5 3.d4 d6 4.c4 Nb6 5.f4
Alekhine's Defence, Four Pawns' Attack (B03)
5...dxe5 6.fxe5 c5 7.d5 e6 8.Nc3 exd5 9.cxd5 c4 10.Nf3 Bg4 11.Qd4 Bxf3 12.gxf3 Bb4 13.Bxc4 O-O 14.Rg1 g6 15.Bg5 Qc7! 16.Bb3!!
Sacrificing a full rook.
16...Bc5! 17.Qf4 Bxg1 18.d6 Qc8
18...Qc5! 19.Ne4 Qd4 20.Rd1 (20.Kf1! as per Bronstein.) 20...Qxb2 21.Nf6+ Kh8 22.Rd2 Qc1+ (22...Qa1+! 23.Bd1! Be3!! 24.Qxe3 Nc4 25.Qd4 Qxd4 26.Rxd4 forces exchange of Queens and White loses.) 23.Ke2 Bc5 24.Ne4 N8d7 25.Bf6+ Nxf6 26.Qxf6+ Kg8 27.e6 Nc4 28.d7 =
19.Ke2 Bc5 20.Ne4 N8d7 21.Rc1 Qc6 22.Rxc5!!

A shocking move that has been analysed by Grandmasters over the years.
22...Nxc5 23.Nf6+ Kh8 24.Qh4 Qb5+ 25.Ke3!
The most accurate King move. 25.Kf2 Nd3+ 26.Kg2 Ne1+ 27.Kf2 (27.Qxe1! Nc4 28.Qh4 h5 29.Nxh5 Ne3+ 30.Bxe3 Qe2+ 31.Kh3 +-) 27...h5 28.Nxh5 Nxf3 29.Qf4 (29.Kxf3 Qf1+ 30.Ke3 Qg1+ 31.Kd3 Qf1+ =) 29...Nd7
25...h5 26.Nxh5! Qxb3+
26...Qd3+ 27.Kf2 Ne4+ 28.fxe4 Qd4+ 29.Kg2 Qxb2+ 30.Kh3 +-
27.axb3 Nd5+ 28.Kd4 Ne6+ 29.Kxd5 Nxg5 30.Nf6+ Kg7 31.Qxg5 Rfd8 32.e6 fxe6+ 33.Kxe6 Rf8 34.d7 a5 35.Ng4 Ra6+ 36.Ke5 Rf5+ 37.Qxf5 gxf5 38.d8=Q fxg4 39.Qd7+ Kh6 40.Qxb7 Rg6 41.f4 1-0
This is easily one of the most intriguing games of chess ever played. Dozens of books have picked this game as one of the best ever. (GM Andy Soltis, GM's J.Nunn, J.Emms, GM Jan Timman to name a few). Definitely one of the most difficult and complicated sacrifices ever played in a real game of chess. This game won a Brilliancy prize.

1.d4
This was a candidates final playoff match between Bronstein and Boleslavsky for the title match with world champion Botvinnik.
1...Nf6
Grunfeld defence, Spassky variation.
2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 d5 4.cxd5 Nxd5 5.e4 Nxc3 6.bxc3 c5 7.Bc4 Bg7 8.Ne2 O-O 9.O-O cxd4 10.cxd4 Nc6 11.Be3 Bg4 12.f3 Na5 13.Bd3 Be6 14.d5!!

Bronstein offers a far-seeing exchange sacrifice, which ties Black up, leading to a beautiful strategical win.
14...Bxa1 15.Qxa1 f6 16.Bh6 Qb6+ 17.Kh1 Rfd8 18.Rb1 Qc5 19.Bd2 b6 20.Bb4 Qc7 21.Rc1 Qb7 22.Qb1 Rab8 23.dxe6
After the complications, White has come out with a clear advantage.
23...Nc6 24.Bc3 Ne5 25.Bb5 Rbc8 26.Bxe5 Rxc1+ 27.Qxc1 fxe5 28.Bd7 Qa6 29.Ng3 Qxa2 30.h4 Rf8 31.Qg5 Rf6 32.Qxf6!
A beautiful Queen sacrifice concludes matters. If 32...exf6 33.e7 Qf7 34.e8Q+
1-0

During the 1962 Moscow vs Leningrad Match Bronstein played the top board for the Moscow team. With the white pieces he defeated Viktor Korchnoi in this game that ended with a tactic he would later describe as "one of the best combinations in my life, if not the best."
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O Nxe4
Ruy Lopez, Open defence. Korchnoi's patent.
6.d4 b5 7.Bb3 d5 8.dxe5 Be6 9.c3 Be7 10.Bc2 O-O 11.Qe2 f5!?
Sacrificing a pawn for a strong attack.
12.exf6 Bxf6 13.Nbd2 Bf5 14.Nxe4 Bxe4 15.Bxe4 dxe4 16.Qxe4 Qd7 17.Bf4 Rae8 18.Qc2 Bh4 19.Bg3 Bxg3 20.hxg3 Ne5 21.Nxe5 Rxe5 22.Rfe1 Rd5 23.Rad1 c5 24.a4 Rd8 25.Rxd5 Qxd5 26.axb5 axb5 27.Qe2 b4 28.cxb4 cxb4 29.Qg4 b3 30.Kh2 Qf7 31.Qg5 Rd7 32.f3 h6 33.Qe3 Rd8 34.g4 Kh8 35.Qb6 Rd2 36.Qb8+ Kh7 37.Re8!
It needs nerves of steel to play such a move!
37...Qxf3 38.Rh8+ Kg6 39.Rxh6+!!

According to Bronstein: "Korchnoi remained unruffled. He wrote down my move on his scoresheet and began carefully studying the position. I think it seemed incredible to him that White could sacrifice his last rook (I myself could not believe my eyes!). And only when he had convinced himself, did he stop the clocks.” These are the variations:
A) 39...Kf7 40.Qc7+ Kg8 41.Qc8+ Kf7 42.Qe6+ Kf8 43.Rh8#
B) 39...Kg5 40.Qe5+ Kxg4 41.Rg6+ Kh4 42.Qg5#
C) 39...gxh6 40.Qg8+ Kf6 41.Qf8+
D) 39...Kxh6 40.Qh8+ Kg6 41.Qh5+ Kf6 42.g5+!
1-0

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Bg5 e6 7.f4 Be7 8.Qf3 Qc7 9.O-O-O Nbd7 10.g4 b5 11.Bxf6 Nxf6 12.g5 Nd7 13.f5!

In a very deep theoretical variation, Bronstein comes up with some new ideas, and even Najdorf guru Browne, a six-time U.S. champion, can't find his way.
13...Bxg5+ 14.Kb1 Ne5 15.Qh5 Qd8 16.Rg1 h6 17.fxe6 g6 18.exf7+ Kxf7 19.Qe2 Kg7 20.h4! Bxh4 21.Nf5+ Kh7 22.Rxd6 Qf8 23.Qh2 Bxf5 24.Qxe5 Qe7 25.Qxe7+ Bxe7 26.Rc6 Rhc8 27.Rb6 Rxc3!
27...Bd7 28.Rb7 is unfavourable to Black. 28...Rd8 29.Bh3! Bxh3 30.Rxe7+ Kg8 31.Rxg6+ Kf8 32.Rh7 Rd2 33.Rgxh6 b4 34.Rxh3 bxc3 35.bxc3 +-
28.exf5! Re3 29.Bd3 Bc5 30.Rbxg6 Rae8 31.a4 bxa4 32.f6 Rxd3 33.Rg7+ Kh8 34.Rh1 1-0

1.c4 f5
Dutch Defence, Leningrad, Warsaw variation.
2.Nf3 Nf6 3.g3 g6 4.Bg2 Bg7 5.O-O O-O 6.d4 d6 7.Nc3 c6 8.Qc2 Kh8 9.b3 Na6 10.Bb2 Nc7 11.Rad1 Bd7 12.e3 Qe8 13.Rfe1 Rd8 14.Rd2 Nh5 15.d5 Qf7 16.dxc6 bxc6 17.Ne2 c5 18.Nf4 Nf6 19.Ng5 Qg8 20.Bc3 Rde8 21.Ba5 Ne6 22.Ngxe6 Bxe6 23.Nxe6 Qxe6 24.Qd3 Ne4 25.Qd5 Qxd5 26.Rxd5 Bc3 27.Bxc3+ Nxc3 28.Rd2 Ne4 29.Rb2 a5 30.f3 Nf6 31.Kf2 Rb8 32.Ke2 Rb6 33.Kd3 e5 34.f4 e4+ 35.Kc3 Kg7 36.Bf1 h5 37.h4 Rfb8 38.Be2 a4! 39.Reb1 a3 40.Rd2 Kf7 41.Rbd1 Ke7 42.Rd5!
After a3 the position had become blocked and sterile. Black's most useful piece appears to be his knight, hence the cunning offer of an exchange sacrifice by White to tempt Black into getting rid of it. When Black finally did trade it off, White must have been relieved to think that the game was easily drawn!
42...Ne8 43.R1d2 Nc7 44.Bd1 Na6 45.Bc2 Nb4 46.Bb1 Ra6 47.Rd1 Nxd5+ 48.Rxd5

48...Rxb3+!!
Black sacrifices a whole rook in the endgame merely to penetrate his rook deep into the White territory to win enough pawns to create a pair of connected central passers and then the winning plan would be simply to roll them forward. White probably didn't notice the subtle difference in the position between move 42 and move 48!
49.Kxb3
49.axb3 a2 50.Bxa2 Rxa2 51.Rd2 Ra1 52.Rg2 Ke6 is not good either.
49...Rb6+ 50.Kc2 Rb2+ 51.Kc1 Re2 52.Rd1 Rxe3 53.Rg1 Rc3+ 54.Kd2 Rxc4 55.Bc2 d5 56.Rb1 d4 57.Bd1 Rc3 58.Rb3 e3+ 59.Ke2 Rc1
White's extra Bishop is weak in a closed position and is helpless against Black's three connected passers. In fact both of White's pieces have no way to really get into play, and are confined to the space in front of Black's pawns, or defending their own. Bronstein’s main justification in his sacrifice was that he would open a file for his rook and win the e3-pawn by force.
60.Rxa3 c4 61.Ra7+ Kd6 62.Ba4 Rh1 63.Rd7+ Kc5 64.Rc7+ Kb4 65.a3+ Kc3 66.Bb5 Rh2+ 67.Kf1 d3 68.Rxc4+ Kb2 69.Kg1 e2 70.Kxh2 e1=Q
One of the greatest endgames ever played.
0-1

1.Bg5!!
A problem-like position. The text move is an extremely difficult move to find on the board!!
1...h1=Q
1...Qxg5 2.Qd8+ Kf7 3.Qc7+ Ke8 4.Qxh2 +-
1...fxg5 2.f6 leads to mate.
2.Qe8+ Kg7 3.Qg6+ Kf8 4.Qxf6+ Kg8 5.Qd8+ Kg7 6.Qe7+ Kg8 7.Qe8+
Black resigns 1-0

In this dazzling game of tactics, the old lion teaches a trick or two to the young Grandmaster.The defense is the quiet Caro-Kann.
1.e4 c6 2.c4 d5 3.cxd5 cxd5 4.exd5 Nf6 5.Nc3
5.Bb5+ Nbd7 6.Nc3 g6 7.d4 Bg7 8.d6 leads to a level position.
5...g6 6.Bc4 Bg7 7.Nge2 O-O 8.O-O Na6 9.d4 Nc7 10.Nf4 b6 11.a4 Bb7 12.Qb3 Rb8 13.Be3 a6 14.Rfc1 g5 15.Nfe2 h6 16.h4! b5! 17.axb5 axb5 18.Bd3 b4! 19.hxg5 hxg5 20.Na4 Ncxd5!?
20...Bxd5 21.Bc4 Bxc4 22.Rxc4 Ne6 looks more natural.
21.Bxg5 Qd6 22.Ng3 Ng4 23.Be2

White looks to be okay but appearances can be deceptive in the hands of a fierce attacker.
23...Nxf2!!
A bolt from the blue! White doesn't recover from the sacrificial shock.
24.Qf3?
24.Kxf2? Bxd4+ 25.Ke1 Ne3!
24...Bxd4 25.Nf5 Ng4+! 26.Kf1
26.Nxd4 Qh2+ 27.Kf1 Qh1#
26...Nh2+!
loses the Queen with check.
0-1

Concentrate on material gains. Whatever your opponent gives you take, unless you see a good reason not to. – Bobby Fischer My opponents make good moves too. Sometimes I don't take these things into consideration. – Bobby Fischer Tactics flow from a superior position. – Bobby Fischer Chess is a matter of delicate judgment, knowing when to punch and how to duck. – Bobby Fischer You have to have the fighting spirit. You have to force moves and take chances. – Bobby Fischer