Grandmaster Mihai Suba, who died last week at the age of 78, had a distinguished career at the chessboard. Three times the national champion of his native Romania, the Spain-based Suba just missed qualifying for the world championship candidates cycle at the 1982 Las Palmas Interzonal, shared the world senior title with American Grandmaster Larry Kaufman in 2008, and at his peak in the mid-1980s ranked 20th on the global ratings lists.
But it is as a writer and theorist on the modern game that Suba is likely to be best remembered in the years to come. A grandmaster’s grandmaster, Suba’s 1991 “Dynamic Chess Strategy” has proven massively influential in explaining the modern synthesis that marries bedrock chess principles with the dynamics of actual play and a pragmatic embrace of what works in the heat of battle.
American International Master John Watson’s “Secrets of Modern Chess Strategy,” another classic theoretical work published in 1999, openly acknowledges its debt to Suba’s originality, willingness to question dogma and lucid exposition of his ideas.
“My first impression of [Suba’s] book was that, apart from the superb games, it was rather exaggerated and superficial,” Watson writes. “But as I was preparing my own work, I realized that he was perhaps the only writer who had worried about the same topics and come to the same conclusions as I had; and what’s more, he had expressed his views eloquently and humorously.”
Suba’s own games often were the best advertisements for his ideas, as can be seen in his 1977 win over Yugoslavian Grandmaster Milan Vukic. Suba was an early exponent of the now-highly popular “Hedgehog” formation for Black, which allows White to build up an impressive attacking array but gives the first player no real way to exploit his fine-looking deployment. A good position that cannot be improved, Suba argued, is in many ways inferior to a less-than-ideal position that offers multiple plans and paths to make progress.
What’s striking by 14. Nd4 Bf8 15. Rac1 is how perfectly placed all Vukic’s pieces are — and how little they get to do in the ensuing play. By contrast, Black’s little jabs such as 22. f3 Qb8!and 28. Nc2 Nh5! pick away at the one White weakness at g3 and also set the stage to seize the initiative on 29. f4 b5! 30. cxb5 axb5 31. Bf3 (Nxb5? Bxb2) Ne7!, when Black has all the play after 32. Bxh5?! Bxc3 33. Bxc3 Rxc3 34. Bf3 Rdc8.
White’s 34. e5? perhaps reflects his frustration with his beautiful, passive position, allowing Suba to establish a center-dominating post for his knight after 34…dxe5 35. fxe5 Bxf3 36. Nxf3 Nfd5. By 41. Qf2 Nf5 42. Re2 Be3, Black’s pieces are breaching White’s defenses in several areas, setting up a lethal final attack.
Thus: 43. Qe1 Qb5 44. Nd2 Qd3 45. Nf1 (Nc4 Nxg3 46. Rxe3 Nf1+ 47. Kg1 Nfxe3) Rc2 46. Rg2 (no better was 46. Rxc2 Qxc2+ 47. Kh1 Qe4+ 48. Kh2 Bg1+ 49. Kxg1 Qxe1, with mate in a few more moves) Rxg2+ 47. Kxg2 Qe4+, and White resigned as 48. Kh2 Bg1+ again picks off the White queen.
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Suba’s undogmatic attention to the demands of a given position — whatever classic chess theory may suggest to the contrary — was also on full display in his win over Iceland Grandmaster Margeir Petursson at the 1984 Olympiad held in Thessaloniki, Greece.
In a QGD Semi-Tarrasch line, Watson has high praise for Suba’s 18. Bb4 Qe8 19. a4 a6 20. Bxa5!, grossly violating traditional chess principles by voluntarily trading White’s active bishop for a low-value Black knight hanging out on the edge of the board. Whatever theory recommends, White calculates (correctly) that his resulting passed a-pawn will prove more of a headache than its Black counterpart.
Clever concepts are all well and good, but one must also calculate well. White finds some brilliant tactics to justify his unconventional bishop trade in the ensuing play: 23. Qe3 g6? (a mistake that creates a new hole at f6; tougher was 23…Ra8 24. a7 h6, though White keeps the advantage in lines such as 25. Rxc6! Qxc6 26. Ne5 Qc7 27. Bxa8 Rxa8 28. Nd7! Qxa7 29. Rb8+! Qxb8 [Rxb8 30. Qxa7] 30. Nxb8 Rxb8 31. Qa7) 24. a7 a4 25. Ne5 Bxg2 26. Rxc8 Rxc8 27. Kxg2 a3; the Black passed pawn also looks dangerous, but Suba has a clever combination already lined up.
White breaks clearly on top after 28. Nd7! Bb2 (see diagram; on 28…Qxd7, White has 29. Rb8 a2 30. a8=Q Rxb8 31. Qxb8+ Kg7 32. Qa3! Qd5+ 33. f3, blocking any perpetual check ideas) Qxa3!! Bxa3 30. Nf6+ Kf8 31. Nxe8 Ra8 (Kxe8 32. Rb8) 32. Rb7 Bc5 33. Nf6 Kg7 34. Ne4 Bxa7 35. Ng5 Kg8 36. Nxf7 Bc5 37. Ng5 — Suba is not only a clear pawn ahead, but his rook and knight keep the Black forces pinned down.
Black fights honorably to the end, but bows to the inevitable after 40. Ne5 g5 41. hxg5 hxg5 42. Nf3 Re7 43. Rb5!. Petursson resigns as another pawn will fall after 43…g4 44. Rg5+ Rg7 45. Rxg7+ Bxg7 46. Nh2!, and the ending is a technical win for White.
Vukic-Suba, Georgevic Memorial, Vinkovci, Yugoslavia, May 1977
1.Nf3 Nf6 2.g3 b6 3.Bg2 Bb7 4.O-O e6 5.c4 c5 6.d4 cxd4 7.Qxd4 d6 8.Nc3 a6 9.Rd1 Qc7 10.b3 Nbd7 11.Bb2 Be7 12.e4 O-O 13.Qe3 Rfe8 14.Nd4 Bf8 15.Rac1 Rad8 16.h3 g6 17.Kh2 Bg7 18.Qe2 Qb8 19.Qc2 Rc8 20.Qd2 Nc5 21.Re1 Qa8 22.f3 Qb8 23.Rcd1 Ba8 24.Nde2 Red8 25.Nd4 Ncd7 26.Qf2 Ne5 27.Qe2 Nc6 28.Nc2 Nh5 29.f4 b5 30.cxb5 axb5 31.Bf3 Ne7 32.Nd4 b4 33.Na4 Nf6 34.e5 dxe5 35.fxe5 Bxf3 36.Nxf3 Nfd5 37.Rc1 Bh6 38.Rc4 Ne3 39.Rcc1 N7d5 40.Rxc8 Rxc8 41.Qf2 Nf5 42.Re2 Be3 43.Qe1 Qb5 44.Nd2 Qd3 45.Nf1 Rc2 46.Rg2 Rxg2+ 47.Kxg2 Qe4+ White resigns.
Suba-Petursson, 26th Chess Olympiad, Thessaloniki, Greece, November 1984
1.c4 c5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nc3 e6 4.g3 Nc6 5.Bg2 Be7 6.O-O O-O 7.d4 d5 8.cxd5 Nxd5 9.Rb1 Bf6 10.Nxd5 Qxd5 11.dxc5 Qxc5 12.Qa4 Bd7 13.Be3 Qe7 14.Qe4 Rac8 15.b4 b6 16.Bd2 Rfd8 17.b5 Na5 18.Bb4 Qe8 19.a4 a6 20.Bxa5 bxa5 21.bxa6 Bxa4 22.Rfc1 Bc6 23.Qe3 g6 24.a7 a4 25.Ne5 Bxg2 26.Rxc8 Rxc8 27.Kxg2 a3 28.Nd7 Bb2 29.Qxa3 Bxa3 30.Nf6+ Kf8 31.Nxe8 Ra8 32.Rb7 Bc5 33.Nf6 Kg7 34.Ne4 Bxa7 35.Ng5 Kg8 36.Nxf7 Bc5 37.Ng5 Re8 38.h4 h6 39.Nf7 Bf8 40.Ne5 g5 41.hxg5 hxg5 42.Nf3 Re7 43.Rb5 Black resigns.
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