It was two years earlier that Nezhmetdinov had played his immortal game against Polugaevsky: here it is, with notes that barely scratch the surface of its fiendishly complex beauty: 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 d6 3.Nc3 e5 4.e4 (a slightly unusual move by Polugaevsky — giving up time in exchange for space — also favoured by Karpov) exd4 5.Qxd4 Nc6 6.Qd2 g6 7.b3 Bg7 8.Bb2 0-0 9.Bd3 Ng4! (In an almost identical position against Karpov — the difference was that the ex-world champion's Knight was still on g1 and his Bishop was already on b2 — I played the routine 9...Re8. Shame on me!) 10.Nge2 Qh4 11.h3 Nge5 12.0-0 f5 13.f3 Bh6 14.Qd1 f4 15.Nge2 g5 16.Nd5 g4 17.g3 fxg3 18.hxg3 Qh3 19.f4 Be6!! (with the idea that after 20.Nxc7 Bxf4! 21.Rxf4 Rxf4 22.Nxa8 Rf7! 23.Bxe5 Nxe5 Black's vice-like grip is more than enough for the sacrificed material) 20.Bc2 Rf7 21.Kf2 Qh2+ 22.Ke3 Bxd5 23.cxd5 Nb4 24. Rh1 (Nezhmetdinov's attack now seems thoroughly refuted. His simultaneous offer of queen and rook envisaged when playing 19...Be6!!, is truly astounding) Rxf4!! 25.Rxh2 Rf3+ 26.Kd4 Bg7 27.a4 (The best defensive try was the obscure 27.Ng1, although computer analysis shows that Black would still be winning) c5+ 28.dxc6 bxc6 29.Bd3 (a desperate last try to avoid mate) Nxd3+ 30.Kc4 d5+ 31.exd5+ cxd5+ 32.Kb5 Rb8+ 33.Kb5 Nc6+ and Polugaevsky resigned: after 34.Ka6 Black would have the choice of no fewer than three checkmates to conclude the hunt of the King: Nd3-b4, Rb6 or Nc5!

The last word should be Polugaevsky's description of what it was like to be on the receiving end of this display of Nezhmetdinov's genius: "Sunk in thought for a long time, I understood that I was to say good-bye to all hope and was losing a game that would be spread all over the world."