Nearly half a century ago, at Brighton 1977, the 10-time British champion, Jonathan Penrose, faced a 12-year-old boy, Nigel Short, in round three of the national title contest.

Short already had a fast-growing reputation after defeating the legendary Viktor Korchnoi in a simultaneous display in London the previous year. David Bronstein, watching that game, compared the winner’s rook infiltration via the fifth rank after move 40 to José Capablanca’s strategy against Aron Nimzowitsch at New York 1927.

Penrose disliked his position from the opening and offered an early draw, which Short declined, going on to score in 41 moves . The final stage illustrates the aphorism, attributed to Adolf Anderssen and Wilhelm Steinitz, that with a knight on the sixth rank, you can go to sleep and let the game win itself.

4048: Alexander Bagrationi v Alireza Firouzja, Titled Tuesday 2020. Firouzja chose 1…d5 and went on to win. However, there was a more spectacular finish available.…