The Smothered Rook

Sergey Karjakin joked on twitter after the third round of ETCC in Iceland that Russia may win the event without Alexander Grischuk. Indeed, the top GM did not take part in the first three matches but came in time for the decisive one in round seven against France:

[Event "Open European Team Championship"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2015.11.20"]
[Round "7.2"]
[White "Grischuk, Alexander"]
[Black "Fressinet, Laurent"]
[Result "1-0"]
[WhiteElo "2750"]
[BlackElo "2712"]
[Annotator "Bojkov, Dejan"]
[PlyCount "85"]
[EventDate "2015.??.??"]
[WhiteClock "0:22:13"]
[BlackClock "0:28:57"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 {Diagram [#] The Berlin is not as solid as it
used to be on Icelandic soil.} 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5
8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. h3 h6 10. Rd1+ Ke8 11. Nc3 Ne7 12. b3 Bf5 13. Nd4 Bh7 14. Nce2
Rd8 15. Bb2 a6 $146 {[%cal Gc6c5] Diagram [#] To prepare the c6-c5 advance.
Fressinet definitely knew something about the other game in this line:} (15...
Nd5 16. c4 Nb4 17. Nf4 Rg8 18. g4 Na6 19. Nf5 {with pressure for White in
Caruana,F (2805)-Carlsen,M (2876) Stavanger 2015}) 16. c4 c5 17. Nf3 Nc6 18.
Nf4 Bc2 {That forces the capture on d8 to which Black wants to reinforce the
control over the critical e6 square.} ({Worse is} 18... Rxd1+ 19. Rxd1 Nd8 {
Due to} 20. e6 $1 {[%csl Yc7,Re5][%cal Ge5c7] Diagram [#] Anyway!} Nxe6 (20...
fxe6 21. Be5) 21. Nxe6 fxe6 22. Be5 $16) 19. Rxd8+ Nxd8 20. e6 {[%cal Ge1e8]
Diagram [#] The main theme in the Berlin. If this break works, Black can never
finish the development and will play without his kingside rook and bishop.} f6
$2 {This pawn should not be allowed to stay there.} ({For good or for bad
Black should have taken the pawn-} 20... Nxe6 21. Re1 (21. Nxe6 fxe6 22. Re1
Kd7 23. Ne5+ Ke8 {looks OK for the second player.}) 21... Kd7 (21... Rh7 $5 22.
Nxe6 fxe6 23. Rxe6+ Kd8 24. Re1 g5 {may also be fine for Black.}) 22. Ne5+ Ke8
{White can repeat moves if he likes or transpose into the line from above} 23.
Nxe6 fxe6 {when Black is fine.}) 21. Rc1 (21. Re1 $5 {made sense too.}) 21...
Bf5 {One more inaccuracy after which Black can hardly save the game.} (21...
Be4 {was not ideal neither due to} 22. Nh4 Rg8 23. Nh5 {with the threat Bb2xf6
when the bishop on e4 is another target.}) (21... Bh7 {seemed best though,
moving it away from the white pieces and eventually defending the rook on g8.
After} 22. Re1 Nc6 ({But not} 22... Bd6 23. Nh5 Rg8 24. Bxf6 $1) 23. Nh4 (23.
Nh5 Rg8 {and if} 24. Bxf6 Bg6 25. e7 Bxh5 26. exf8=Q+ Kxf8 27. Be5 Bxf3 28.
gxf3 Nxe5 29. Rxe5 $11) 23... Bd6 {White is better, but not winning, say} {Or}
24. Nhg6 (24. Nh5 Rg8 25. Bxf6 gxf6 26. Nxf6+ Kf8 27. Nxg8 (27. Nxh7+ Kg7)
27... Kxg8) 24... Rg8) 22. Re1 Bd6 ({In case of} 22... Nc6 23. Nh5 {Black has
difficulties with the development of the flank as} (23. g4 $5) 23... Rg8 {
runs into} 24. Nh4 ({Not the hasty} 24. Bxf6 Bg6 $1) 24... Bd3 25. Bxf6 $1 gxf6
26. Nxf6+ {and wins.}) 23. Nh4 Bc2 ({Without the bishop pair Black's position
will be a mess} 23... Bxf4 24. Nxf5) 24. Nh5 Rh7 ({Or} 24... Rg8 25. f4) 25. f4
{[%cal Gf4f5,Gg2g4] Diagram [#] Grischuk is building a solid pawn chain on the
kingside to support the e6 pawn.} Nc6 26. g4 Nd4 27. f5 {On a high level, the
game is over. The rook is excluded from the game on h7 and White has decisive
advantage on the other side of the board.} a5 28. Kf2 a4 29. bxa4 {To open a
file for the rook.} (29. Rc1 $1 {Diagram [#] was actualy easier. After} axb3 (
29... Be4 30. Ke3 Bc6 31. Bxd4 cxd4+ 32. Kxd4 {wins without any chances.}) 30.
axb3 Bxb3 31. Bxd4 cxd4 32. Ra1 {[%csl Ye8][%cal Ga1a8,Gh4g6] The rook gets
the open file and intends to mate with Ra1-a8+ and Nh4-g6.}) 29... Bxa4 30. Re3
{The point behind White's last move. Re3-a3-a8 is on the agenda.} b6 31. Ng6
Kd8 32. Rd3 Kc8 33. Ke3 {In time trouble Grischuk forces matters. Another win
was} (33. Ra3 Bc6 34. e7 Kb7 35. Re3 Be8 36. Nf8 Rh8 37. Nxg7 $18) 33... Bc2
34. Ra3 {If White had more time he might have chosen the line} (34. Rd2 Nxf5+
35. gxf5 Bxf5 36. Rxd6 $1 Bxg6 37. Nf4 cxd6 38. Nxg6 {[%csl Ge6,Yf6,Gg6,Yg7,
Yh6,Yh7][%cal Re6d7,Re6f7,Rg6e7,Rg6f8,Rg6h8] Diagram [#] with picturesque
position where the rook on h7 is still in a super-secure prison.}) 34... Nxe6
35. fxe6 Bxg6 36. Ra8+ Kb7 37. Rg8 {White regains the pawn with interest and
the passer on e6 decides the game.} f5 ({Or} 37... Kc6 38. Nxg7) 38. Bxg7 Bxh5
39. gxh5 Kc6 40. a4 Kb7 41. Bf6 Kc6 ({The rook endgame leave no hopes for Black
} 41... Be7 42. Bxe7 Rxe7 43. Rg6) 42. Rg7 Rh8 43. Rxc7+ {Diagram [#]
Fressinet resigned due to the line} (43. Rxc7+ Kxc7 44. Bxh8 Kd8 45. Bg7 Ke7
46. Bxh6 Kxe6 47. Bf4 Be7 48. Bc7 {A crucial win for Grischuk and Russia!}) 1-0

Report.

Gamble

Pavel Eljanov made a decisive step towards qualification in the next round at his game against Alexander Grischuk at round three of the World Cup in Baku. The Ukrainian Grandmaster was the only player to win his game with the black pieces and remains the only player with perfect score in the classical chess 5/5! Both players gambled, but Eljanov got luckier.

[Event "FIDE World Chess Cup"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2015.09.17"]
[Round "19.7"]
[White "Grischuk, Alexander"]
[Black "Eljanov, Pavel"]
[Result "0-1"]
[WhiteElo "2771"]
[BlackElo "2723"]
[Annotator "Bojkov, Dejan"]
[PlyCount "112"]
[EventDate "2015.??.??"]
[WhiteClock "0:00:33"]
[BlackClock "0:05:54"]

1. c4 Nf6 2. Nf3 e6 3. g3 d5 4. Bg2 dxc4 5. Qa4+ Nbd7 6. Qxc4 c5 7. O-O b6 8.
Nc3 Bb7 9. d4 {Diagram [#] From the Reti the game transposes into the Catalan.}
Rc8 {Eljanov had played this line back in 2004. At the Olympiad he chose
instead} (9... a6 10. dxc5 Bxc5 11. Bg5 O-O 12. Rad1 Qc8 13. Qf4 h6 14. Bxf6
Nxf6 {with approximate equality in Harikrishna,P (2612)-Eljanov,P (2629)
Mallorca 2004}) 10. Qd3 $146 {A novelty. White is usually fighting for the
advantage with} ({Relevant:} 10. Bg5 cxd4 11. Qxd4 Bc5 12. Qh4 O-O 13. Rad1 Qe8
14. e4 {as in Andreikin,D (2580)-Vitiugov,N (2617) Plovdiv 2008}) 10... cxd4 {
Simple and good. Black trades a pair of light pieces and finishes the
development.} 11. Nxd4 Bxg2 12. Kxg2 Bb4 $5 {Diagram [#] An interesting idea.
Instead} (12... Bc5 13. Ndb5 a6 14. Nd6+ Bxd6 15. Qxd6 {would have transposed
to the game.}) 13. Ndb5 (13. Bd2 O-O {promises nothing at all for White.})
13... a6 {After some hesitation Eljanov decided to go to passive defense. He
could have gone for complications instead, seemingly favorable for him:} (13...
O-O $5 {with the idea} 14. Nxa7 (14. Bf4 a6 15. Nd6 Rc6 $11) (14. Rd1 a6 15.
Nd6 Rc6 (15... Bxc3 16. bxc3) 16. Nde4 Qa8 $11) 14... Bxc3 15. Nxc8 (15. bxc3
Rc5 16. Nb5 Qa8+ 17. f3 Ne5 18. Qb1 Qa4 19. Nd6 Qc6 {is great for Black.})
15... Be5 {when the white night is trapped. True, the position after} 16. f4
Bb8 17. Nd6 Nc5 18. Nxf7 Qxd3 19. exd3 Kxf7 20. Be3 {is not clear at all.}) 14.
Nd6+ Bxd6 15. Qxd6 Qe7 {Now White is a bit better, but the symmetrical
character of the positions should not allow much to him.} 16. Qd3 b5 17. Bf4 e5
18. Bg5 h6 19. Nd5 Qe6 20. Bxf6 Nxf6 21. Nxf6+ Qxf6 22. Qa3 {[%cal Ra3f8]
Diagram [#] Grischuk squeezed the maximum of the position and kept the black
king in the middle for the time being. But Black's defensive resources are
good enough to keep the balance.} Rc2 23. b3 {White would be happy to try and
win the open file, but} (23. Rac1 {is strongly met with} Qc6+ {when} 24. Qf3
Rxc1 25. Rxc1 Qxc1 26. Qa8+ Ke7 27. Qxh8 Qxb2 28. Qxg7 {Diagram [#] is equal.})
({Perhaps} 23. Rad1 $5 {was more interesting with the tactical idea} Rxe2 $2 (
{However Black can defend with} 23... Qc6+ $1 24. Kg1 Rc5 {[%cal Gc4c5,Ra3c5,
Ye8g8] Diagram [#] followed by 0-0.}) 24. Qd3 {and White wins a rook.}) 23...
Qc6+ 24. Kg1 Qc5 $1 {Nicely played! With all the heavy pieces on board king's
safety is top priority. Eljanov will compensate the pawn with activity.} 25.
Qxa6 O-O 26. a4 {Grischuk gives back the pawn but creates a passer immediately
as} (26. e3 b4 {blocks the white pawns.}) 26... Rxe2 27. a5 e4 {[%csl Ra5,Yg1]
[%cal Ge4e3,Ra4a5] Diagram [#] King's safety, remember? The threat is e4-e3,
White is forced to trade rooks.} 28. Rae1 Rxe1 29. Rxe1 f5 {The same policy,
f5-f4 is coming, the white king will be opened and Black can count on
perpetual check (at least).} 30. Qe6+ Kh7 31. Rd1 Rf6 32. Qd5 Qc2 (32... Qb4 $5
{might have been more subtle, with the idea} 33. Ra1 Qc3 34. Ra2 e3 35. a6 Qe1+
36. Kg2 e2 37. Rxe2 Qxe2 38. a7 Rf8 39. a8=Q Rxa8 40. Qxa8 $11 {Diagram [#]})
33. Rd2 Qc3 34. Ra2 Qe1+ {Eljanov is confident in his heavy pieces and
believes that the attack should be more important than a new white queen
coming on a8.} (34... e3 {would transpose to the above-mentioned line.}) 35. Kg2
f4 36. a6 {The culmination of the battle. One can be certain that time
trouble was involved when it comes to Grischuk.} f3+ 37. Kh3 Rg6 $2 {A blunder!
} ({It was time to force a draw with} 37... e3 $1 38. Qe4+ ({Or} 38. a7 exf2
39. Rxf2 Qxf2 40. a8=Q Qg2+ 41. Kg4 Rg6+ 42. Kf4 Rf6+ $11 {Diagram [#] as if}
43. Ke3 $2 Qe2+ 44. Kd4 f2 {wins for Black.}) 38... Rg6 39. Qxf3 exf2 40. Rxf2
Rxa6 41. Qf5+ Rg6) ({On the other hand bad was} 37... Qf1+ 38. Kh4 {when the
king escapes and White wins after} g5+ (38... Rg6 39. a7 Qg2 40. h3 $18) 39.
Kg4 h5+ 40. Kxg5) 38. Kh4 $2 {Grischuk returns the favor!} ({It seemd as Black
ia mating after} 38. a7 Qh1 {but White has} 39. Qf5 {[%cal Rf5h3] Diagram [#]}
Qg2+ 40. Kh4 Qxh2+ 41. Qh3 {and wins!}) 38... Qb4 {Once more Black was OK after
} (38... Rg5 39. Qd4 Qb1 {(Go find this move even without the time trouble...)}
) ({Or} 38... e3 {with similar line as above.} 39. Qxf3 exf2 40. Rxf2 Rxa6) 39.
Kh3 {With seconds on the clock Grischuk errs last.} (39. Qf5 $1 {[%csl Yg6]
[%cal Rh4h5,Rf5h7] Diagram [#] would have won instead. For example} Qxb3 (39...
e3+ 40. Kh5 $1) 40. Ra1 $1 {Better than} (40. Kh5 Qxa2 41. Qxg6+ Kh8 42. Qe8+
Kh7 43. Qxe4+ Kg8) 40... Qc3 41. Kh5 Qxa1 42. Qxg6+ Kh8 43. Qe8+ Kh7 44. Qxe4+
Kh8 45. Qb7 {when the white king will escape the checks.}) 39... Rg5 $1 40. Qf7
Qc5 {Move fourty missed a clear-cut win.} (40... Qe1 {with the threat
Qe1-h1-g2+ and mate on h2.} 41. Kh4 (41. a7 {does not help due to} Qh1 42. Qg8+
$1 {The last chance} Kxg8 43. a8=Q+ Kh7 44. Qxe4+ Rg6 45. Qf5 h5 $1) 41... Qb1
$3 {[%csl Rh4][%cal Rb3b4,Gc1c4] Diagram [#] What is the idea of this move? To.
..lure the white pawn to b4!!!} (41... Qc1 42. Qe8 Rg6 43. Qe5 {is defendable
for White.}) 42. b4 ({If the rook moves from the second rank} 42. Ra5 Qg1 {
lead to mate} 43. h3 Qxf2) 42... Qc1 43. Qe8 Qc4 {with the deadly threat
e4-e3+!}) 41. g4 Qc1 42. a7 h5 $1 {Eljanov's threats are still huge and
Grischuk has to part with his queen.} 43. Qxh5+ $1 {The best chance. Or else
Black wins after} (43. a8=Q Qf1+ 44. Kh4 Rxg4+ 45. Kxh5 Qh3# {Diagram [#]}) (
43. Qg8+ Kxg8 44. a8=Q+ Kh7 45. Qxe4+ Kh6 $1) 43... Rxh5+ 44. gxh5 Qc8+ 45. Kg3
Qa8 46. Ra6 {Both the black queen and king are arrested and this looks like a
fortress.} Kg8 47. b4 Kf8 48. Kf4 Ke7 (48... Ke8 49. h6 $1) 49. Ke3 {The last
mistake. Now the black king comes out and Black wins. Correct was} (49. h6 $1 {
Diagram [#]} gxh6 50. Rxh6 e3 ({The plan from the game would not work here}
50... Kd7 51. Ra6 Kc7 52. Ke3 Kb7 53. Ra5 Kc6 54. h4 Kd6 55. h5 $11) 51. Rh7+
Kf6 52. Kxe3 {and this seems like a draw, although Black can definitely try to
win further.}) 49... Kd7 50. Kd4 Kc7 51. Ke3 Kb7 52. Ra5 Kb6 53. Ra3 Kc6 54.
Ra5 Kd6 55. Kd4 {Leads to mate but otherwise White will sooner or later get
into zugzwang and allow the black king in} (55. h4 Ke6 56. Kf4 Kd5 57. Rxb5+
Kd4 58. Ra5 Kc3) 55... Qd5+ 56. Ke3 Ke5 {[%csl Ye3][%cal Rd5d3] Diagram [#]
Mate on d3 is coming. Caissa smiled to the brave Eljanov today!} 0-1

Report.

Fingerfehler

Norway Chess witnessed another amazing day. Round five saw three decisive games. Magnus Carlsen finally won his first game against Alexander Grischuk. However, it was the former world champion who stole the show as his win lifted him to the remarkable 4.5/5 and clear first place.

[Event "Norway Chess"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2015.06.21"]
[Round "5.4"]
[White "Hammer, Jon Ludvig"]
[Black "Topalov, Veselin"]
[Result "0-1"]
[WhiteElo "2677"]
[BlackElo "2798"]
[Annotator "Bojkov, Dejan"]
[PlyCount "148"]
[EventDate "2015.??.??"]
[WhiteClock "0:15:27"]
[BlackClock "0:09:05"]

1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. e3 Bf5 5. Nc3 e6 {The last time Topalov played
like that was back in 2008.} 6. Nh4 Bg6 7. Nxg6 (7. Be2 Nbd7 8. g3 Bd6 9. O-O
O-O 10. Nxg6 hxg6 11. Qc2 dxc4 12. Bxc4 c5 $11 {Aronian,L (2757)-Topalov,V
(2791) Nanjing 2008}) 7... hxg6 8. Bd2 Nbd7 9. Qc2 {Diagram [#]} ({Another
possibility is} 9. Qb3 Rb8 10. g3 Be7 11. Bg2 Nb6 12. cxd5 exd5 13. O-O Nc4 {
with complex game, Inarkiev,E (2664)-Artemiev,V (2671) Sochi 2015}) 9... a6 {
Both sides are making useful moves not willing to commit themselves in the
center. Black does not want to trade on c4 for the time being and White does
not want to touch his light-squared bishop yet.} 10. O-O-O Be7 11. Kb1 Qc7 12.
h3 Rd8 $146 {[%csl Rc4,Yf1] Diagram [#] The last useful move appears to be a
novelty.} ({Black finally blinked in the only predecessor} 12... dxc4 13. Bxc4
b5 14. Be2 c5 15. Bf3 Rc8 16. d5 exd5 17. Nxd5 Nxd5 18. Bxd5 {with some
pressure for White in Ehlvest,J (2594)-Lauk,U (2394) Puhajarve 2011}) 13. c5 {
Hammer closes the center. In comparison to Ehlvest-Lauk from above, the line} (
13. Bd3 dxc4 14. Bxc4 c5 {is great for Black.}) 13... e5 {Black carrries out
the standard central strike. But perhaps another way to attack the white pawn
chain was preferrable} (13... b6 $5 {[%cal Yb6c5] Diagram [#] for instance} 14.
cxb6 Qxb6 15. Bd3 (15. Na4 Qb7 16. Rc1 Rc8) 15... Rb8 16. Na4 Qb7 17. Rc1 c5 $1
{with good play for Black.}) 14. f4 $1 {Hammer reacts energetically in the
center.} exd4 {Looking back at what had happened with his position, Topalov
came to the conclusion that this move was the reason for his trouble later. He
thought he should have closed the center instead with} (14... e4 {but after}
15. Be2 Nf8 16. g4 {White definitely has the better chances.}) 15. exd4 Nh5 16.
Ne2 Nhf6 17. Nc3 Nh5 18. Ne2 Nhf6 19. Ng3 $1 {[%cal Gf4f5] Diagram [#] The
Norwegian GM corectly avoids the repetition.} Ng8 {Black wants to pus his pawn
to f5 and return with the knight to e4, but this plan is energetically
prevented.} ({Topalov did not like his position after the typical} 19... Nf8
20. Bd3 Ne6 21. Ne2 {"White has a lot of space and can easily advance his
kingside pawns." (Topalov)}) ({But} 19... b6 {was to be preffered again} 20.
cxb6 (20. Bxa6 $2 bxc5) 20... Qxb6 21. Bd3 O-O 22. f5 Bd6 {with playble
position.}) 20. Bd3 f5 21. Nxf5 $1 {[%csl Ye8,Gf4,Gg2,Gh3][%cal Rd3g6,Rg6e8,
Re1e8,Gg2g4,Gh3h4] Diagram [#] The black king is still in the middle and
Hammer is trying to get to it. However, the preliminary} (21. Rhe1 $1 {would
have been even better since in the line} Ngf6 22. Nxf5 $1 ({Not} 22. Re6 Nf8 {
and Black is in time.}) 22... gxf5 23. Bxf5 {Black's defense is more complex.})
21... gxf5 22. Bxf5 Ndf6 {Somehow surprisingly, the knight on g8 stays well
for the dense.} (22... Ngf6 23. Bg6+ Kf8 24. Rhe1 {transposes to the line
above.}) 23. Bg6+ Kf8 24. g4 {Diagram [#] For the knight White has two pawns,
plenty of open files and a lot of space. But the good thing about the extra
material is that you can always give some part of it back.} Ne4 $1 25. g5 Rh4 {
Tempting but misses an incredible resource.} ({Correct was another move,
suggested by Topalov} 25... Re8 $1 $11 {with the idea Be7-d8.}) ({Also good is
} 25... Qd7 26. h4 Qg4 {(Topalov)}) 26. Bc1 {Hammer missed the fantastic
resource} (26. Be1 $3 Rxf4 27. h4 {[%csl Rf8][%cal Ge1d2,Rf1f8] Diagram [#]
with the paradoxal idea to return with the bishop on d2. Then White wil occupy
the "f" open file with his rooks and everything will become clear.}) 26... Qd7
{Now Black is fine.} 27. Qg2 b6 ({Also good for Black was} 27... Rb8 28. f5 b6
29. cxb6 Rxb6 30. Ka1 {(Topalov)}) 28. cxb6 Bd6 29. Bxe4 dxe4 30. d5 {Diagram
[#]} ({Moving the pawns a bit further made more sense} 30. f5 Ne7 31. g6 {with
aproximate equality.}) 30... Ne7 31. dxc6 Qxc6 32. Rhe1 Qxb6 33. Qxe4 Bc5 34.
Rxd8+ Qxd8 {Diagram [#] The only one who can be better now is Black, but since
the few pawns left of the board the objective evaluation is a draw.} 35. Qc4
Qd4 36. Qxa6 g6 {Black could have also taken the pawn back at once} (36... Rxh3
{but he has to watch out for the tricks} 37. Qa8+ Kf7 38. g6+ Kf6 $1 (38...
Kxg6 $2 39. Qg2+ {wins the rook}) ({While} 38... Nxg6 $2 {is mate} 39. Qe8+ Kf6
40. Qe6#)) (36... Qd7 $11) 37. Re5 Qd6 38. Qa8+ Kg7 39. Qf3 Bd4 40. Re2 Qd7 41.
Qd3 Nc6 $6 {The last move before the time control is inaccuracy.} ({Safer is}
41... Nf5 $11) 42. Rh2 {White could have improved the position of his rook
instead with} (42. Rc2 $1 {when the lesser evil for Black would be to lose
time with} Ne7 {Topalov also revealed how tricky the position is} (42... Rxh3
$2 {loses to} 43. Qb5 Ne5 44. Qxd7+ Nxd7 45. Rc7) ({And} 42... Nb4 43. Rc7 $1 {
[%csl Yb4,Yd4] Diagram [#]} Qxc7 44. Qxd4+ Kf7 45. Qxb4 Rxh3 $16 {might be a
draw, but might not be one...})) 42... Nb4 43. Qc4 ({Black does not risk
anything after} 43. Qe4 Qf5 44. Qxf5 gxf5) 43... Rxh3 44. Rd2 Qf5+ 45. Ka1 Bc5
{[%csl Gb4,Gc5,Gf5,Gh3] Diagram [#] Now Topalov activates his remaining troops
and presses as much as he can.} 46. a3 Nd3 47. Rd1 {With idea to put the
bishop on c3 (Topalov)} Nxc1 48. Rxc1 Bf8 49. Qd4+ Kg8 50. Rc7 Qe6 51. Qc4 $1 {
Hammer defends flawlessly. The only thing he needs is to trade the last black
pawn for all his remaining pawns.} Qxc4 52. Rxc4 Kf7 53. a4 Rb3 54. a5 Rb5 ({
At first Black wanted to trade the rooks} 54... Rb4 55. Rxb4 Bxb4 {but
realized that he is hardly playing for a win after} 56. a6 Bc5 57. Ka2 Ke6 58.
Kb3 {and the only one to take care is Black. For instance} Kf5 $2 {loses the
game} (58... Kd5 $11) 59. Kc4 $1 {Diagram [#]} Be3 60. Kd5 Kxf4 61. b4 Kxg5 62.
b5 Kf4 63. Kc6 g5 64. b6 Bxb6 65. Kxb6 g4 66. a7 g3 67. a8=Q) 55. Ra4 Bg7 56.
Ra2 (56. Kb1 Rxb2+ 57. Kc1 Rb8 58. a6 Bf8 59. Kc2 $11) 56... Bd4 57. Ra4 Bxb2+
58. Ka2 Bc1 59. a6 Rb2+ 60. Ka1 Rb8 61. Rc4 Be3 {Diagram [#]} ({Hammer thought
that} 61... Ba3 {is more dangerous for him, but here too, White should hold
after} 62. Rc7+ Be7 63. a7 Ra8 64. Kb2 {as Black cannot untie his pieces
whithout the trade of his last pawn-} Ke6 65. Kb3 Bd6 66. Rg7 Kf5 67. Rf7+ Kg4
68. f5 $1 Kxg5 69. fxg6 $11) 62. Rc7+ Kg8 63. Rc6 Bd4+ 64. Ka2 Kf7 65. Rd6 Bc3
66. Rc6 Bh8 67. Ka3 Bd4 68. Ka4 Rf8 ({Topalov got excited by the line} 68...
Rb6 69. a7 Rb1 $1 {[%csl Ra4,Ra7][%cal Gb1a1,Ra1a8] Diagram [#] but then
spotted} 70. Rd6 $1 Bxa7 71. f5 $1 gxf5 72. Rf6+ $11) 69. Kb5 Kg7 70. Rc7+ Rf7
71. Rxf7+ Kxf7 {Now it is a draw but...} 72. Kc4 Ba7 73. Kd5 Ke7 (73... Bb8 74.
Kc6 $11) 74. Kc6 $4 {Diagram [#] Topalov described this as "fingerfehler"
speculating that his opponent belived he played 73...Ba7-b8 instead. Then this
move indeed is best. Instead of the unfortunate move in the game Black is
easily sharing the point with either} (74. f5 gxf5 75. Ke5 $11) ({Or even} 74.
Ke5 Bb8+ 75. Kd5 $11) 74... Ke6 0-1

Report.

Humans Too

The last tournament from the Grand Prix series is in progress in Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia.
Fabiano Caruana is leading before the free day with 3/4, but it could have been different if Evgeny Tomashevsky had won his game in round two. This game proved that the top GM are also human beings, tending to make mistakes.

[Event "FIDE Grand Prix - Khanty-Mansiysk"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2015.05.15"]
[Round "2.5"]
[White "Tomashevsky, Evgeny"]
[Black "Grischuk, Alexander"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[WhiteElo "2749"]
[BlackElo "2780"]
[Annotator "Bojkov, Dejan"]
[PlyCount "147"]
[EventDate "2015.??.??"]
[WhiteClock "0:03:00"]
[BlackClock "0:11:03"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6 5. Nf3 O-O 6. h3 {The Bagirov's is
Tomashevsky's beloved weapon against the KID.} e5 7. d5 Nh5 8. g3 {Diagram [#]
Tomashevsky's pet move. He is the guiding force behind the whole line and the
creator of the theory here.} (8. Nh2 {is considered to be the main line.}) 8...
Qe7 {Quite an unusual move by Grischuk that forced his opponent into some
thought. However, I doubt that it will attract any followers.} ({If you have
missed the last issue of the Master bulletin, then you missed a lot! GM
Abhijeet Gupta annotated extensively the topical theory after} 8... f5 9. exf5
gxf5 10. Nh4 Nf4 (10... Nf6 {is the other option.}) 11. Bd2 Qe7 12. Qc2 Na6 13.
a3 Bd7 14. O-O-O {Tomashevsky,E (2716)-Kasimdzhanov,R (2705) Tbilisi GEO 2015})
({The other main move is also covered there} 8... a5 9. Be2 Na6 10. Nh2 Nf6 11.
Ng4 {Ipatov,A (2592)-Bacrot,E (2711) Jerusalem ISR 2015}) 9. Nh2 Na6 $146 {
This is a novelty.} ({The only predecessor saw the illogical} 9... Nf6 10. Bg5
h6 11. Be3 Kh7 $16 {Stromer,A (2272)-Bremond,E (2300) Etang Sale 2001}) 10. Be3
{Tomashevsky proceeds with development.} (10. Be2 Nf6 {looks less convincing.})
10... Nc5 11. h4 $1 {[%csl Yf7][%cal Gg3g4,Gh4h5] Diagram [#] White's idea is
to gain space on the kingside and to basically kill any counterplay there. A
very mean strategy!} (11. Be2 {leads White nowhere after} Nf6 12. f3 Nh5 $1)
11... a5 12. Be2 Nf6 13. Qc2 c6 14. g4 {This is the position that White is
heading for. He is now better on both flanks. In comparison to some lines of
the Averbakh sistem Black did not have time to push the b pawn, or at least
bring his queen on a5.} Na6 ({If} 14... cxd5 {White can simply recapture} 15.
cxd5 ({but there is an even more decent option} 15. Bxc5 $1 dxc5 16. g5 Ne8 17.
Nxd5 {followed by Be2-g4 and total domination.})) (14... Bd7 15. g5 Ne8 16. h5
{is also great for White.}) 15. g5 Ne8 (15... Nd7 16. h5 $16) 16. h5 Nb4 17.
Qd2 cxd5 18. cxd5 Bd7 19. O-O-O {[%csl Yd7][%cal Gc1b1,Yd1c1,Yc1c2,Yh1c1,Ya2a3,
Re2b5] Diagram [#] White finished his development and intends to strengthen
the position with Kc1-b1, doubling of the rooks along the c file and of
course- trade of the light squared bishop via b5 whenever possible.} f5 {
Grischuk tries to counter attack.} 20. Kb1 b5 (20... f4 21. Bb6 {would leave
Black completely paralized.}) 21. hxg6 {White completely ignores the
opponent's provocations on the other wing.} ({Instead} 21. Bxb5 $2 Bxb5 22.
Nxb5 f4 23. Bb6 Qb7 {would drop a piece for White.}) ({And} 21. Nxb5 $6 Rb8 22.
Nc3 f4 {would work well for Black as well.}) 21... hxg6 22. f3 Nc7 23. Rc1 {
The kingside is stable, it is time to take care of his "own" one.} Nba6 24. Bd3
b4 25. Ne2 Nb5 {Grischuk need one more more to play Rf8-c8 and things would
not be that clear but...} 26. Rc6 $1 {[%csl Gc6][%cal Rb3g8,Rh1h8] Diagram [#]
Splendid!} Rfb8 ({The rook is not delicious} 26... Bxc6 27. dxc6 Nbc7 28. Bc4+
Ne6 {would lead to a completely helpless position for Black, e.g.} 29. Rd1 {
(not the only winnning move)} Kh8 (29... Rfd8 30. Bb6) 30. Qxd6 Qxd6 31. Rxd6 {
and White wins.}) 27. Rhc1 f4 (27... Bxc6 28. dxc6 d5 29. exf5 {is again bad
for Black.}) 28. Bf2 Bf8 (28... Qxg5 29. Bxb5 Rxb5 30. Rxd6 $18) 29. Ng4 {The
game is practically over. However, at the stage appears his Majesty, the
Time-Trouble.} Qxg5 30. Rh1 Qe7 ({Please note that the rook always invincible
due to the weakness of the light squares} 30... Bxc6 31. dxc6 Be7 32. Bc4+ Kg7
33. Qd5 {and in order to save the checkmate Black will have to give up the
knight on b5.}) 31. Bxb5 Rxb5 {Diagram [#]} 32. Nxf4 $1 {So far so good,
Tomashevsky acurately calculated the win.} Bxg4 ({The choice is decisive
attack for White after} 32... exf4 33. Bd4 Bg7 34. Nh6+ Kf8 (34... Bxh6 35.
Rxh6) 35. Qxf4+ Ke8 36. Bxg7 Qxg7 37. Qxd6 $18) 33. Nxg6 Qf6 34. Nxf8 Rxf8 35.
Rg1 {With seconds on the clock White plays it safe.} ({A more spectacular win
would have been} 35. Rxd6 Qxd6 36. Qg5+ Kf7 37. Rh7+ Ke8 38. Qxg4 Rb8 39. Qh5+
Kd8 40. Bh4+ Kc8 41. Qg4+) 35... Qxf3 36. Qg5+ Kf7 37. Rxg4 Ke8 (37... Qxf2 38.
Qg7+ Ke8 39. Rc8#) 38. Qg6+ Qf7 {Two more moves and the time trouble will be
over. Almost everything wins for White. Tomashevsky fevereshly calculates the
capture on d6 but at the last moment looks at the clock and realizes that
there are only four seconds left. He grabs the first available piece instead...
} 39. Qxf7+ {Which also wins.} (39. Qxd6 {is forced mate instead} Rb8 (39...
Qxf2 40. Rc8+ Kf7 41. Rxf8#) 40. Qxe5+) 39... Rxf7 {Diagram [#]} 40. Be3 $4 {
If the previous move had thrown away the mate, this one throws away the win!} (
{One more check would have done the job} 40. Rg8+ Kd7 41. Rxa6 {as the knight
is invincible} Rxf2 42. Ra7+ Rb7 43. Rxb7#) 40... Nc5 $2 {And Grischuk returns
the favour! Needless to say, he was also in time trouble.} (40... Rf1+ $1 {
would be a draw instead} 41. Rc1 {Best or else Black might get better.} (41.
Bc1 $2 Rc5 {is very good for Black.}) (41. Kc2 {fails to} b3+ 42. axb3 $2 Nb4+)
41... Rxc1+ 42. Bxc1 b3 $11) 41. Rg8+ {The time trouble is over, both players
have time to take breath and reasses the situation. Tomashevsky is still
winning, but miracles are not yet over...} Kd7 42. Ra8 Rb7 43. Bxc5 (43. Bg5 $1
{would have been better! The only way to stop the checkmate is} Rf1+ 44. Kc2
Rf2+ 45. Kd1 Ne6 {when White wins a piece and the game after} 46. dxe6+ Kxc6
47. e7 Rxe7 48. Bxe7 Rxb2 49. Rxa5 b3 50. a3 $1) 43... dxc5 44. Rxc5 {Diagram
[#] The wrong pawn!} (44. Rxa5 $1 {was still good enough for the full point as}
Rf4 45. Rh6 $1 {leaves Black no time to capture the pawn} Rxe4 46. Rh7+ Kc8 47.
Ra8+ Rb8 48. Rh8+) 44... Rf1+ 45. Rc1 Rxc1+ 46. Kxc1 b3 $1 {Grischuk creates
counterplay! We all know that "the rooks endgame are always draw".} 47. a3 Rc7+
48. Kd2 Rc2+ 49. Kd3 Rxb2 50. Rxa5 Rh2 51. Rb5 Rh3+ 52. Kd2 Kd6 $1 {Black
activated all his pieces and managed to hold the draw later.} 53. a4 Rh2+ 54.
Kc3 Rh3+ 55. Kd2 (55. Kb2 Re3 56. Rb4 Kc5 $11) 55... Rh2+ 56. Kc3 Rh3+ 57. Kc4
Re3 58. Rb6+ Kc7 59. Rxb3 Rxe4+ 60. Kc5 Rxa4 61. d6+ Kd7 62. Rb7+ Ke6 63. Re7+
Kf5 64. d7 {Diagram [#]} Rd4 65. Kc6 e4 66. Re8 Kf4 67. d8=Q Rxd8 68. Rxd8 e3
69. Kd5 e2 70. Re8 Kf3 71. Kd4 Kf2 72. Kd3 e1=Q 73. Rxe1 Kxe1 74. Kd4 {A
delightful conclusion- the top Grandmasters are human beings too!} 1/2-1/2

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No Jokes in the Poisoned Pawn

Round six of the Tbilisi Grand Prix was exciting as usual with Teimour Radjabov convincingly winning a short, but important game in the Poisoned Pawn variation of the Najdorf Sicilian.

[Event "FIDE Grand Prix - Tbilisi"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2015.02.21"]
[Round "6.3"]
[White "Radjabov, Teimour"]
[Black "Grischuk, Alexander"]
[Result "1-0"]
[WhiteElo "2731"]
[BlackElo "2810"]
[Annotator "Bojkov, Dejan"]
[PlyCount "47"]
[EventDate "2015.??.??"]
[WhiteClock "0:20:04"]
[BlackClock "0:04:11"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Bg5 {A small surprise.
In his younger days Teimour liked to play very sharp in the opening. However,
he did not play the Main line since 2011.} e6 7. f4 Qb6 {Diagram [#] The
Poisoned Pawn variation has its ups and downs. Of lately it seems as the
interest towards it is rising again. White waits until the second player gets
the deceptive feeling that all is good in this line for him and stops checking
the forced lines. And then White strikes! At least this is the way I explain
the fashionable trends in the line :)} ({In their previous encounter Alexander
chose a different plan} 7... Qc7 8. Bxf6 gxf6 9. f5 Nc6 10. fxe6 fxe6 11. Bc4
Nxd4 12. Qxd4 Rg8 {Radjabov,T (2744)-Grischuk,A (2728) Sochi 2008}) 8. Qd2 Qxb2
9. Rb1 Qa3 10. e5 h6 11. Bh4 dxe5 12. fxe5 g5 {This particular line dates
since the distant...2007 year!} 13. Bg3 ({Another line was tested by two
promising young players of lately} 13. exf6 gxh4 14. Be2 Nd7 15. O-O Qa5 16.
Kh1 Qg5 {Yu,Y (2697)-Robson,R (2628) Las Vegas 2014}) 13... Nh5 14. Ne4 Nd7 {
Black bought some time to develop a piece with his last moves, but created too
many weaknesses in his camp.} 15. Rb3 Qxa2 16. Be2 {[%csl Ya2,Gb3,Gd2,Gd4,Rd6,
Yd7,Ge2,Ge4,Rf6,Gg3,Yh5] Diagram [#] A very typical picture for the Poisoned
Pawn variation had arisen. Black has two extra pawns and White-three extra
pieces in the attack. It can hardly be sharper than that. Both the sides have
to be extremely precise in what they are doing. Grischuk came up with a novelty
} Nc5 $2 $146 {Which I personally doubt will attract many followers.} ({It was
mandatory to start with a check} 16... Qa1+ 17. Bd1 {and only then go for} ({
One point behind the check is that Black meets the witty} 17. Kf2 $6 {Not with
the natural capture} Qxh1 $2 ({But with the cunning} 17... Nxg3 $1 18. Nxg3 {
[%csl Rf2] Diagram [#]} (18. Rxa1 Nxe4+) 18... Qxd4+ $1 19. Qxd4 Bc5 {and
White is too many pawns down}) 18. Nxe6 fxe6 19. Bxh5+ Kd8 20. Qa5+ b6 21. Rxb6
) 17... Nc5 {This has been tested in three correspondence games with good
results for Black that far. One example} 18. Re3 Nxe4 19. Rxe4 Nxg3 20. hxg3
Qa3 21. O-O Bg7 22. Bh5 O-O {and Black seems in a good shape, Hervet,G (2352)
-Matei,C (2527) ICCF email 2009}) ({Black can also investigate the
consequences of the move} 16... Nxg3 17. hxg3 Bc5) 17. Nc3 $1 {A strong reply.
The knight moves away with a tempo.} (17. Bxh5 $6 Nxe4) (17. Nxc5 $6 Nxg3)
17... Nxb3 {Forced or else Black loses a piece after} (17... Qa1+ 18. Rb1 Qa5
19. Bxh5) 18. Nxb3 Bb4 ({Objectively speaking, Black's best try was} 18... Nxg3
19. Nxa2 Nxh1 {but since the knight is trapped after} 20. Kf1 Be7 21. Kg1 O-O {
White's chances are much better.}) 19. Bxh5 Qb2 {The vulnerable position of
the queen allows White decisive attack after} (19... Bxc3 20. Qxc3 Qb1+ (20...
O-O 21. O-O {with the threat Rf1-a1}) 21. Bd1 Bd7 22. O-O Rc8 23. Qf3 O-O 24.
Nd2 $1 {[%csl Yb1,Rg8][%cal Rd2e4,Re4f6] Diagram [#] and the knight is heading
for the juicy f6 square} Qb6+ 25. Bf2 Qb4 26. Ne4 {Once that this knight goes
to f6 it is all over.}) 20. O-O Qxc3 {Alas the king is not getting any peace
on the kingside as well} (20... O-O 21. Qf2 Qxc3 22. Bxf7+ Kh7 23. Qf6 Qxc2 24.
h4 $1 Qd3 25. h5 $1 {[%csl Yd3,Yh7] Diagram [#] and White wins.}) 21. Bxf7+ Ke7
22. Qf2 {The king stayed in the middle and the rest is a piece of cake for
Radjabov.} Kd7 ({Or} 22... Rf8 23. Qf6+ Kd7 24. Be1 Qc4 25. Bxb4 Qxb4 26. Bxe6+
Ke8 27. Bf7+ Kd7 28. c3 $1 Qa3 29. Ra1 {and the queen is deflected from the d6
square.}) 23. Qb6 Rf8 24. Be1 {One mistake in a sharp position proved one too
many for Grischuk. It is good to see Radjabov back in sharp battle!} 1-0

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