The Miracle is a Fact!

Perhaps nobody believed this after the disastrous start of the match (0-2) that Karjakin will make it to the rapid and blitz tie-breaks. None, but his wife I suspect, maybe even Sergey had huge doubts.
But he did it, in style in the last, fourth classical game in Baku:

[Event "FIDE World Chess Cup"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2015.10.04"]
[Round "58.1"]
[White "Karjakin, Sergey"]
[Black "Svidler, Peter"]
[Result "1-0"]
[WhiteElo "2753"]
[BlackElo "2727"]
[Annotator "Bojkov, Dejan"]
[PlyCount "113"]
[EventDate "2015.??.??"]
[WhiteClock "0:12:23"]
[BlackClock "0:15:27"]

1. Nf3 {Diagram [#] In the decisive game of the match Karjakin decides to
avoid the open games. Wise decision, especially taking into account the fact
how well Svidler did there at this tournament. Another argument about
Karjakin's opening choice is the fact that he also avoids the Gruenfeld.} d5 2.
d4 c5 {Svidler had already played like that, in a rapid game against
Nepomniachtchi.} 3. c4 cxd4 4. cxd5 Nf6 5. Qxd4 {The above-mentioned game saw:}
(5. Nxd4 Nxd5 6. e4 Nf6 7. Nc3 e5 8. Ndb5 a6 9. Qxd8+ Kxd8 10. Na3 Be6 {and
Black solved his opening problems, Nepomniachtchi,I (2702)-Svidler,P (2740)
Nizhnij Novgorod 2013}) 5... Qxd5 6. Nc3 Qxd4 7. Nxd4 {Diagram [#] Curiously,
this position was discussed in the match for the world championship between
Lasker and Tarrasch, roughly 100 years ago!} Bd7 {The second main move and the
beginning of Black's problems. Tarrasch reacted with} (7... e5 {but this also
allowed the white knight the b5 squre. After} 8. Ndb5 Kd8 9. Be3 Nc6 10. g3 Bd7
11. Rd1 Kc8 12. Bg2 {White had an edge, Lasker,E-Tarrasch,S Berlin 1916}) ({
The main move is} 7... a6) 8. Ndb5 Kd8 {Or} (8... Na6 9. Bf4 g6 10. e4 Bg7 11.
O-O-O Bc6 12. f3 {with advantage for White, Lindberg,B (2426)-Berkell,P (2249)
Sweden 2004}) 9. Be3 $1 {[%csl Ya7,Rb6][%cal Re3b6,Rb6a7] Diagram [#] Support
the white knight on b5.} Nc6 ({Black does not have the move} 9... a6 10. Bb6+
Kc8 11. Nc7) 10. f3 $146 {A novelty. The idea is to limit the black knights.} (
{A recent GM game saw Black demolished in mere seventeen moves after} 10. g3
Ng4 11. Bd2 Nb4 ({However, Black had plenty of improvements along the way, for
example here} 11... a6 12. Na3 e5) 12. Rc1 Nxa2 13. Nxa2 Bxb5 14. Bg2 e6 15.
Ba5+ Ke8 16. Bc7 Bc6 17. Rxc6 {[%csl Ya8,Ye8] Diagram [#] 1-0 (17) Grigoriants,
S (2606)-Gleizerov,E (2501) Dresden 2015}) 10... h5 {Stops the positional
threat g2-g4.} 11. O-O-O Kc8 12. Bg5 {[%csl Gb5,Gd1,Yf8,Gg5,Yh8] Diagram [#]
White can be very happy with the opening. He has better development, extra
space and on the top of this Black has huge difficulties in bringing his
dark-squared bishop out.} g6 {A sad choice but the alternatives were no better:
} ({Bad is} 12... e6 13. e4 Be7 14. Nd6+ Bxd6 15. Rxd6 $16) ({Even worse is
the attempt to get rid of the annoying knight:} 12... a6 13. Na4 axb5 14. Nb6+
Kb8 15. Nxa8 Kxa8 16. Bxf6) 13. Nd6+ exd6 14. Bxf6 Rg8 15. e4 {[%csl Yd6]
Diagram [#] One more advantage is added to white's position- the isolated d6
pawn.} Be6 16. Kb1 Kd7 17. Nd5 Bg7 18. Bxg7 Rxg7 19. Bb5 {The pins along the
a4-e8 diagonal and the half-open d file make Black's position very difficult.
White intends to double his rooks along the d file (or sometimes along the c
one too!) The e4-e5 threat is always in the air and the g7 rook is stuck on
this ugly square.} Kd8 $1 (19... Rd8 20. Rd2) (19... Bxd5 $2 20. exd5) 20. Rd2
Bxd5 21. Rxd5 Kc7 22. Rc1 Re8 $1 23. Rd4 ({Another idea was} 23. Bd3 {
intending to meet} Re5 {with} 24. f4 Re6 25. b4 $1) 23... Re5 {[%csl Yc1][%cal
Ga8e8,Ge8e5,Ge5c5] Diagram [#]} 24. Ba4 {The bishop is clearly superior to the
knight and Karjakin wants to keep it on board. The endgame of this game has
similarities with the one that the Russian GM won against P. Eljanov at the
decisive second rapid game of their tie-break.} ({The rook endgame promises
good drawing chances to Black} 24. Bxc6 bxc6 25. Rdc4 c5 26. f4 Re6 27. e5 g5
28. exd6+ Kxd6 29. Rxc5 gxf4) 24... b5 25. Bb3 Rc5 26. Rd5 Rxc1+ 27. Kxc1 a6 {
Svidler did the best that he could-traded one of the active white rooks, got
rid of the pins, but his position still remains clearly worse.} 28. Rd3 g5 {
Black plays for fortress.} (28... f5 $1 {[%csl Rg1][%cal Rg8g1] Diagram [#] to
exchange pawns and open files was better, for example} 29. Bd5 (29. exf5 gxf5
30. g3 h4) 29... Nb4 30. Rc3+ Kd7 31. Bb3 fxe4 32. fxe4 Re7 {with excellent
chances for a draw.}) 29. Kd2 h4 30. Rc3 Kb6 31. Rd3 Kc7 32. Ke3 f6 33. Rc3 Kb6
34. Rd3 {Karjakin does not hurry.} Kc7 35. Rc3 Kb6 36. Bd5 Ne7 37. Kd4 Rh7 38.
Be6 $1 {[%csl Rc8,Yd6,Rf5][%cal Gd4d5,Gd5d6,Re6c8,Re6f5] Diagram [#] All the
white pieces are optimally placed. The bishop took under control important
squares (c8 in particular) and opened the road for the white king. It is time
to somehow break the black fortress.} Rh8 39. a3 Rd8 {Perhaps Black should
have tried to take the open file with} (39... Ra8 40. Rc2 Ra7 41. g3 hxg3 42.
hxg3 Rc7) 40. Rc2 $1 {[%cal Gc2f2,Gf3f4] The idea is to open a second front
after Rc2-f2 and f3-f4!} Rh8 41. Rf2 Ng6 $1 {The best defense. Otherwise f3-f4
would be played but now the white king gets in.} 42. Kd5 Rd8 {With the threat
Ng6-f4xe6.} 43. Bf5 Nf4+ 44. Kd4 {Diagram [#]} Re8 $2 {This loses. The
critical line was} (44... d5 $1 45. e5 fxe5+ 46. Kxe5 d4 {It seems as Black
will soon lose this pawn and the last hope, but the position somehow holds.
For example} 47. Rd2 Kc5 48. Rc2+ Kb6 49. Be4 d3 50. Rd2 Kc5 51. g3 hxg3 52.
hxg3 Nh5 53. Bxd3 Nxg3 54. Rc2+ Kb6 {Diagram [#] A lot of pawns have been
traded and what is best, White does not have time to win the g5 one-} 55. Bg6
Rf8 {and Black should hold this.}) 45. g3 Ne6+ 46. Bxe6 $1 {Diagram [#]
Probably Svidler has spent most of his time calculating the line} (46. Kd5 hxg3
47. hxg3 Nc5 48. Kxd6 g4 $1 49. Bxg4 (49. fxg4 Rxe4 50. b4 Nb7+ 51. Kd7 $16)
49... Rxe4 50. fxe4 Nxe4+ 51. Ke6 Nxf2 52. Bf5 Kc5 {and maybe he found a draw
there, but Karjakin found a better way.} (52... b4 $5)) 46... Rxe6 47. Kd5 {
White wins a pawn which together with the active pieces secures him the win.}
Re5+ 48. Kxd6 hxg3 49. hxg3 g4 50. fxg4 Rxe4 51. Rf4 $1 {[%cal Gg4g5,Gg5g6,
Gg6g7,Gg7g8] Diagram [#] Much better than} (51. Rxf6 Rxg4 52. Ke5+ Ka5 53. Rf3
Rg8 54. Kf5 Rf8+ 55. Kg4 Rg8+ 56. Kh3 b4) 51... Re3 52. Rxf6 Rxg3 53. Ke5+ Kb7
54. Kf5 Rb3 55. g5 Rxb2 56. g6 Rg2 57. Ke6 {[%csl Yg2][%cal Ge6f7,Gg6g7,Gg7g8,
Rf6a6] Diagram [#] Followed by Ke6-f7 and wins the rook. An important detail
is that the white rooks cuts the black king along the sixth rank and Black
cannot create a dangerous passer.} 1-0

Report.

Miracles in Game Three

Those of you who have followed closely the matches from the World Cup remember how easily Svidler went through the semi-final. After a win with the black pieces in game one against Anish Giri, he simply did not let a single chance to his opponent in game two by choosing an ultra-solid opening line as White. Soon many of the pieces disappeared and the Russian GM comfortably went into the final.
Many people expected a similar scenario in game three of the final match. Svidler needed only a draw to win the event outright after the furious 2-0 start. At the beginning everything seemed fine with his strategy, although Karjakin tried to complicate matters at an early stage of the game:

[Event "FIDE World Chess Cup"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2015.10.03"]
[Round "57.1"]
[White "Svidler, Peter"]
[Black "Karjakin, Sergey"]
[Result "0-1"]
[WhiteElo "2727"]
[BlackElo "2753"]
[Annotator "Bojkov, Dejan"]
[PlyCount "60"]
[EventDate "2015.??.??"]
[WhiteClock "0:12:32"]
[BlackClock "0:16:45"]

1. e4 c5 {In a must-win situation Karjakin probably did not even consider the
Berlin as an option.} 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Qxd4 {Diagram [#] The last time
Svidler played this solid was back in 1999 against Garry Kasparov.} a6 5. c4
Nc6 6. Qe3 Nf6 7. h3 g6 8. Nc3 Bg7 9. Be2 Nd7 {[%cal Gg7a1] Diagram [#] Sooner
or later this knight will step back to open up the bishop and get to a better
position. Black can also start with the castling:} ({Relevant:} 9... O-O 10.
O-O Rb8 11. Rd1 Nd7 12. Rb1 Qb6 13. Qd2 Nde5 {as in Lagarde,M (2540)-Edouard,R
(2634) Saint Quentin 2015}) 10. Rb1 {White carefully finishes the development.}
Nde5 11. O-O O-O 12. Rd1 Nxf3+ 13. Bxf3 {Both sides achieved what they wanted-
approximate equality. However, we should not forget that Karjakin is in a
must-win situation.} f5 {The typical Accelerated Dragon counter-play.} 14. exf5
$146 {[%csl Re7][%cal Re1e7,Rd1d8] Diagram [#] And a standard reply which
appears to be a novelty. Svidler does not want to allow the f5-f4 advance. In
correspondence game another player with the white pieces did:} ({Predecessor:}
14. Nd5 e6 15. Nf4 e5 16. Ne2 f4 17. Qa3 Qg5 18. Rxd6 Bxh3 {with complications
in Szymanski,R (2372)-Chomicki,H (2229) ICCF email 2011. Karjakin definitely
would not mind these.}) 14... Bxf5 15. Be4 Qd7 16. Nd5 Qe6 17. Bxf5 Qxf5 {
Diagram [#] One more light piece disappeared. At least Black got some activity
along the half-open f file.} 18. Bd2 {Of course not} (18. Nxe7+ $4 Nxe7 19.
Qxe7 Rae8 20. Qxd6 Qxf2+ 21. Kh1 Re1+ 22. Rxe1 Qxe1+ 23. Kh2 Be5+ $19) 18...
Rae8 19. Bc3 e6 20. Nb6 d5 $1 {[%csl Yb6,Rg1] Diagram [#] The only chance to
complicate matters. Black starts an attack through the center while the white
knight is away from the main battlefield.} 21. Bxg7 Kxg7 {Third light piece
leaves the board...} 22. Qc5 ({Black is somewhat better in the endgame after}
22. cxd5 $6 exd5 23. Qc5 d4 24. Qxf5 Rxf5 25. Rd2 $15) 22... Rf6 {A risky
decision, the only real chance to play for a win! If this was an ordinary game
Karjakin would have opted for} (22... dxc4 23. Qxf5 exf5 24. Nxc4 Re7 $11 {
Diagram [#]}) 23. b4 {With the idea b4-b5. Once again the d5 pawn is poisoned
due to} (23. cxd5 exd5 24. Nxd5 Re2 25. Qb6 Qxf2+ 26. Qxf2 Rfxf2 {and the
rooks rock.}) 23... Ne5 24. cxd5 Nd3 {This was the position that Karjakin had
in mind. He will regain the pawn on f2 and open up the white king. True, in
the process his knight might get trapped, but did he have anything to lose?}
25. Qe3 ({Another way to defend is} 25. Qc7+ $5 {when Black has to choose
wisely where to go with the king. The obvious square} Kg8 $2 {is a bad choice
because of} (25... Kh8 {is better but then the line} 26. Qc3 Nxf2 ({White has
risk-free advantage in the line} 26... Qxf2+ 27. Kh1 e5 28. Qxd3 Qxb6 29. d6
$14) 27. Nd7 {is good for White.}) ({According to the computer, the best move
is} 25... Kh6 {but then White can win a tempo with a timely check against the
enemy king as in the line} 26. Qg3 Nf4 27. Qh4+ $1 {(away from the fork on e2)}
Kg7 28. dxe6 g5 29. Qg4 $11) 26. Nd7 Qxf2+ 27. Kh2 Rf7 28. Rf1 Qxf1 29. Rxf1
Rxf1 30. dxe6) 25... Nxf2 {The match situation is not about rational decisions
any more! Once again, from objective perspective best was} (25... Qxf2+ 26.
Qxf2 Nxf2 27. Re1 Nd3 28. Re3 Nf4 {Diagram [#] with a draw.}) 26. Rf1 {The
knight is trapped.} Qe4 27. Rbe1 {Svidler plays according to the position. He
had probably calculated the line which happened later in the game. A draw
could have been achieved by simple means with} (27. Qxe4 Nxe4 28. dxe6 Rfxe6
29. Nd5 Nd2 30. Nc7 $11) 27... exd5 (27... Ref8 28. Qxe4 Nxe4 29. Rxf6 Nxf6 $16
{leaves Black no hint of a chance.}) 28. Rxf2 $6 {Diagram [#] Not yet a
mistake but a huge step forward it. White could have won the knight with} (28.
Qd2 Nxh3+ 29. gxh3 Rxf1+ 30. Rxf1 {Diagram [#] when Black has chances for a
draw. But only in this game, not in the match...}) 28... Qh4 {Probably Svidler
was hoping for the nice line:} (28... Qxe3 29. Rxe3 Rxe3 30. Rxf6 Kxf6 31.
Nxd5+) 29. Qd2 $4 {[%csl Re1] Diagram [#] Unbelievable! The exhausting matches
and the final pressure came too much for Svidler. He blunders the game away.} (
{Instead} 29. Qxe8 Qxf2+ 30. Kh2 Qxb6 {would give some winning chances for
Black but should be still a draw with careful play. For example} 31. Re7+ Kh6
32. Rd7 Qxb4 33. Qg8 Qf4+ 34. Kh1 Qe5 35. Rxh7+ Kg5 36. Qd8 {followed by
Rh7-d7. Black cannot win with his king that exposed.}) 29... Rxf2 30. Qc3+ (30.
Qxf2 Rxe1+) 30... d4 {Diagram [#] Svidler resigned due to} (30... d4 31. Qc7+
Rf7) 0-1

Report.

Almost There

Peter Svidler made a huge step towards the overall win at the FIDE World Cup 2015. He was successful in the second game against Sergey Karjakin. Excellent opening preparation gave him a chance to almost effortlessly equalize and when the game was heading to the logical result...Karjakin blundered badly:

[Event "FIDE World Chess Cup"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2015.10.02"]
[Round "56.1"]
[White "Karjakin, Sergey"]
[Black "Svidler, Peter"]
[Result "0-1"]
[WhiteElo "2753"]
[BlackElo "2727"]
[Annotator "Bojkov, Dejan"]
[PlyCount "76"]
[EventDate "2015.??.??"]
[WhiteClock "0:14:23"]
[BlackClock "0:02:37"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 {Diagram [#] The Ruy Lopez was the most expected
opening in this game. It served very well Svidler so far and Karjakin would
not mind the complex, rich positions that he can get.} a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7
6. Re1 b5 7. Bb3 O-O 8. c3 d6 9. h3 Nb8 {Diagram [#] Today's choice is the
Breyer line. Black reroutes the c6 knight to d7 and opens up the bishop on b7.
The other one may go to g7 in order to open the e file and put more pressure
on white's center. This line was a favorite one to the twelfth world champion-
Anatoly Karpov in the mid-seventies and the beginning of the 1980-ties.} 10. d4
Nbd7 11. Nbd2 Bb7 12. Bc2 Re8 13. a4 Bf8 14. Bd3 c6 15. Qc2 ({Another plan is}
15. Nf1 Qc7 16. Ng3 g6 17. Bg5 {as in Dominguez Perez,L (2732)-Adams,M (2742)
Baku 2015}) 15... Rc8 16. axb5 axb5 17. b4 c5 $1 $146 {[%csl Rc2][%cal Rc8c2]
Diagram [#] "A very new interesting, sharp idea which probably solves Black's
problems" Svidler. The Russian GM revealed also that this was an idea of a
friend(s) of his which he received in a conversation through Skype. The name(s)
of the helper(s) remained a secret.} ({Previously Black had developed with}
17... Qc7 18. Bb2 Ra8 19. Rad1 Nb6 20. c4 {as in the game...Karjakin,S (2767)
-Carlsen,M (2868) Stavanger 2013. Svidler also mentioned that he lost a
similar position to his opponent before and was aware how strong Karjakin is
in these type of positions.}) 18. bxc5 {The only move to play for the
advantage. Both} (18. dxc5 dxc5 19. Bxb5 cxb4) ({And} 18. Bxb5 cxb4 {promise
White no advantage at all.} (18... cxd4)) 18... exd4 19. c6 $5 {[%csl Gc6]
[%cal Gc5c6] Diagram [#] A surprise for Svidler, who criticized himself for
the following play.} ({The main line which he analyzed was} 19. Nxd4 {when
Black should continue} b4 {and then} 20. c6 {is best and might have transposed
to the game. Instead, the obvious} (20. cxb4 $6 dxc5 21. bxc5 $2 {loses to}
Bxc5 {and White cannot escape with the d4 knight due to the discovered check
on f2.})) 19... dxc3 {Black believed this should lead to a forced draw.
Otherwise he would have gone back into the main line of his analyzes with} (
19... Bxc6 20. Nxd4 b4 {Let's go a bit further here} 21. Ba6 (21. cxb4 {is
immediately equal after} Bxe4 22. Qb3 Bxd3 23. Rxe8 Nxe8 24. Qxd3 Qb6 $11) {
Now I suspect that the main line was this-} 21... bxc3 ({Although Black may go
as well for} 21... Rc7 22. cxb4 Bxe4 (22... Bb5 $5) 23. Qd1 {The computer
claims slight advantage for White but since ,amy pawns were already traded and
the queen's flank pawns have almost disappeared completely, Black should hold.
And Black had definitely analyzed this further.}) 22. Bxc8 cxd2 23. Bxd2 Bxe4
24. Bxd7 Bxc2 25. Bxe8 Nxe8 {Diagram [#]}) 20. cxb7 ({Not} 20. cxd7 cxd2 21.
Qxd2 Nxd7 {where White has to hold.}) 20... cxd2 21. Qxd2 $1 {Diagram [#]
Clearly better than} (21. bxc8=Q dxe1=Q+ 22. Nxe1 Qxc8 23. Bxb5 Qxc2 24. Nxc2
Rxe4 {when everything disappears and the game peters out to a draw.}) 21... Rb8
22. Bxb5 Qb6 {From far away Svidler was planning} (22... Rxb7 23. Bc6 Rb6 24.
Nd4 ({But here he saw the unpleasant resource} 24. Ra8 $1 {Diagram [#] and
dismissed the line. Actually, after} Qc7 25. Rxe8 Nxe8 26. Ba4 Nef6 {the
position will be very similar to the one in the game.}) 24... Qc7 $11) 23. Rb1
Qxb7 24. Bd3 Qa8 25. Rxb8 Rxb8 26. Bb2 {Plenty of things have been traded but
Black is not yet quite there. Karjakin owes the bishop pair and the pawn on d6
might be a target, thus Svidler has to play energetically.} Qa2 $1 {[%cal
Ga2b2] Diagram [#]} 27. Re2 $1 {[%csl Gb2,Gd2,Gd3,Ge2] The best move to keep
as many pieces on the board as he can.} (27. Bd4 Qxd2 28. Nxd2 g6 {should be a
draw.}) 27... h6 {Svidler wanted to trade off everything after} (27... d5 {but
was not sure about the line} 28. e5 (28. Bxf6 Qxd2 29. Rxd2 Nxf6 30. exd5 $14 {
was fine with Black, he knew he can hold this.}) 28... Ne4 {It seems as Black
is fine indeed-} 29. Qc2 Ndc5 30. Bd4 Qxc2 31. Bxc2 Ne6 $11) 28. Qc1 {[%csl
Ya2][%cal Rb2f6] Diagram [#] Karjakin regroups and creates a simple threat in
the process Bb2xf6} Qb3 29. Bc4 Qb7 30. Qd1 {A tough position for both the
players. White has a slight edge but no real way to increase it. Black on his
turn has no safe path to the draw. On the top of that Svidler was getting low
on time.} ({Nothing gives} 30. Qf4 Qc6 {when the bishop has no good squares-}
31. Ba2 Qa6 $1 {(Svidler) Although this is a draw after} 32. Qe3 Qxa2 33. Bxf6
$11) ({An important resource for him is} 30. Bxf6 Nxf6 31. e5 Qb1 $1 $11 {
(Svidler)}) (30. e5 dxe5 31. Nxe5 Nxe5 32. Bxe5 Qb1 $11) 30... Re8 {The
pressure on the e4 pawn forces White to trade pieces.} 31. Bxf6 Nxf6 32. e5
dxe5 33. Nxe5 Re7 34. Qd4 ({Karjakin suggested the semi-waiting move} 34. g3 {
in the post-mortem, but also showed what he did not like} Nd7 35. Bd5 Qb5 36.
Bc6 Qxe5 (36... Qc5 $11 {is easier}) 37. Rxe5 Nxe5 {with a fortress.}) ({Low
on time and close to his aim Svidler saw ghosts in the lines after} 34. Qd8 Qb4
{is a third way to defend.} (34... Qc7 35. Nxf7 $1 {Diagram [#] he thought
this is winning for White but Black has the cold-blooded} Qxc4 36. Rxe7 Qc1+
37. Kh2 Qf4+ {with perpetual.}) ({And in the beautiful line that he had
calculated} 34... Qb1+ 35. Kh2 Qf5 36. Ng6 $1 {White indeed wins after the
obvious} Rxe2 ({But} 36... Re8 $1 {Diagram [#] which Svidler also saw (but was
not sure about) was a forced draw} 37. Rxe8 Nxe8 38. Qxe8 Qxg6 $11) 37. Qxf8+
Kh7 38. Bxf7 $18 {as Black has only one check (Svidler).})) 34... Nd7 35. Nxf7
{Which is OK. A more interesting attempt was} (35. Rb2 $5 {when Black has to
avoid} Qxb2 $2 ({And has to defend with} 35... Qc7 {White can still try
various things, say} 36. Bxf7+ Rxf7 37. Nxf7 Kxf7 38. Qd5+ Kg6 39. Qe4+ Kf7 40.
Rb7 Qd6 41. Qf5+ Ke8 {but Black should hold.}) 36. Bxf7+ $1 {Diagram [#]
(Svidler)}) 35... Rxf7 36. Rb2 Qc6 {The critical position of the game and
maybe the match. The game was heading towards the draw which meant that
Karjakin will have only one white color till the end to try and level the
score. He tried} 37. Rb5 $4 {[%csl Yb5][%cal Rc4f7,Rc4b5] Diagram [#] A
tragical mistake!} ({It was time to force a draw with} 37. Qd5 Qxd5 38. Bxd5 g5
39. Rb7 Ne5 $11) 37... Kh8 $1 {All of a sudden, Black wins a piece. With two
minutes on the clock Svidler almost went for the prepared drawish line after} (
37... Nf6 $11) 38. Rd5 {Makes things easier, but Black was already winning
anyway after} (38. Bxf7 Qxb5) 38... Nb6 {Diagram [#] It is over, Black wins a
whole rook.} 0-1

Report.

Svidler Takes the Lead in Baku

Peter Svidler managed to make an important step towards the overall win of the World Cup 2015. Yesterday, he was more creative and outwitted his compatriot Sergey Karjakin to take an early lead in their match of four games:

[Event "FIDE World Chess Cup"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2015.10.01"]
[Round "55.1"]
[White "Svidler, Peter"]
[Black "Karjakin, Sergey"]
[Result "1-0"]
[WhiteElo "2727"]
[BlackElo "2753"]
[Annotator "Bojkov, Dejan"]
[PlyCount "57"]
[EventDate "2015.??.??"]
[WhiteClock "0:22:20"]
[BlackClock "0:02:14"]

1. Nf3 Nf6 2. g3 d5 3. Bg2 e6 4. O-O Be7 5. d3 O-O {Diagram [#]} (5... c5 6. e4
$5 Nc6 7. Qe2 O-O 8. e5 Nd7 9. c4 d4 10. h4 $5 {Svidler,P (2758)-Karjakin,S
(2766) Khanty-Mansiysk 2014 CBM 160}) 6. Nbd2 c5 7. e4 Nc6 8. Re1 b5 9. exd5 {
Diagram [#]} ({The two players have also discussed the positions arising after:
} 9. e5 Nd7 10. Nf1 b4 (10... Bb7 11. h4 Qc7 12. Bf4 Rfc8 13. Ne3 Qd8 14. Ng4
Bf8 15. c4 Ne7 16. b3 Bc6 17. h5 h6 18. Ne3 Nb6 19. Qe2 bxc4 20. dxc4 dxc4 21.
bxc4 Na4 22. Qc2 Rab8 23. Reb1 Qa5 24. Rb3 Nb6 25. Qe2 Nd7 26. Rab1 Qc7 27. g4
Be4 28. Rxb8 Rxb8 29. Rxb8 Qxb8 30. Nf1 Bc6 {1/2-1/2 (30) Karjakin,S (2753)
-Dominguez Perez,L (2734) Khanty-Mansiysk 2015}) 11. h4 a5 12. Bf4 a4 13. a3
bxa3 14. bxa3 Ba6 15. Ne3 Rb8 16. c4 dxc4 17. Nxc4 Nb6 18. Nd6 Nd5 19. Qxa4 Rb6
20. Rac1 Nxf4 21. Qxf4 Nxe5 22. Nxe5 Bxd6 23. Qe3 Rb3 24. a4 Qc7 25. Nc4 Be7
26. Ne5 Bd6 27. Nc4 Be7 28. Ne5 {1/2 (28) Svidler,P (2756)-Karjakin,S (2772)
Loo RUS 2014}) 9... Nxd5 {A slight surprise.} ({"Generally, Sergey takes"} 9...
exd5 {"which is fine for Black." Obviously Svidler put his efforts in the
study of that line.}) 10. Ne4 ({"I suppose I should play"} 10. a4 {Diagram [#]}
b4 11. Nc4 {"But then Black simply develops with Qd8-c7, Bc8-b7, Ra8-d8 and I
am not sure what is my plan." Svidler}) 10... Bb7 11. c3 $146 {Diagram [#]} ({
Predecessor saw:} 11. Bd2 Qc7 12. c4 bxc4 13. dxc4 Ndb4 14. Bc3 {Grossmann,S
(1886)-Lindenberg,G (1889) Greifswald 2003}) (11. Bg5 f6 12. Bd2 e5) 11... a6 (
{Svidler suggested instead} 11... h6 {[%csl Rf7,Yg5][%cal Rf7e6] Diagram [#]
to rule out Bc1-g5 and to keep the pawn on f7 thus depriving White of targets.
After the possible} 12. d4 cxd4 13. Nxd4 Nxd4 14. Qxd4 {he explained that
without the dark-squared bishops on the board his position would be better,
but since it is still alive he would rather prefer to have the black pieces.})
12. a4 {Before White does anything he wants to weaken the black queenside.} ({
White considered teh curious idea} 12. Bg5 f6 13. Bc1 $5 {Not to obstruct the
queen in its support for the d3-d4 break. However, he could not convince
himself that he is better in the line} e5 ({Some preparatory move like} 13...
Qd7 $5 $11 {Diagram [#] though looks good for Black. He can bring his rooks
first on d8 and e8 and play e6-e5 later.}) 14. d4 cxd4 ({Another option for
Black is} 14... exd4 $5 15. cxd4 c4 {with good position.}) 15. cxd4 f5 16. Nc5
Bxc5 17. dxc5 e4 {However, in the final position White has the strong} 18. Ng5
{and if} Qd7 19. f3 $1 {to break open his bishops with advantage.}) 12... b4 {
This is not forced at all. A reasonable alternative was} (12... h6 {followed
by Qd8-c7 with equality.}) 13. Bg5 f6 14. Bd2 e5 15. Rc1 {[%csl Rc5][%cal
Rc1c5] Diagram [#] For a moment White felt optimistic as he has targets on the
queenside.} Rf7 {Svidler suggested as a better defense the move} (15... Rc8 $1
{With the idea to take control of the c5 square. The point becomes obvious in
the line} 16. d4 ({Probably Karjakin was afraid of the move} 16. Bh3 {and after
} f5 {Either} {Or} 17. Neg5 (17. Nfg5 {However, if he is careful with} Qd7 $1 {
he should be fine. The main thing Black needs to avoid is greediness after} (
17... fxe4 $2 18. Be6+ Kh8 19. Nxh7 $1 {[%csl Yh8] Diagram [#] A typical trick
as} Kxh7 20. Qh5#)) 17... Qd6 {but in both cases Black holds.}) 16... cxd4 17.
cxd4 Nxd4 18. Nxd4 exd4 {and in comparison to the game c5 is under control.})
16. d4 $1 {White got the initiative and what followed next was connected with
oversight by Black.} bxc3 17. bxc3 cxd4 18. cxd4 {Diagram [#]} Nxd4 $2 {
Svidler did not mention this but that move might be the worst mistake Karjakin
did today. The fact that these two knights were traded was very favourable for
White who made excellent use of his fianchettoed bishop.} (18... exd4 $1 {
Instead was more tenacious. White still keeps an edge but he has to play first
of all very energetically with} 19. Qb3 Rb8 20. Nfg5 $1 fxg5 21. Nc5 Ncb4 22.
Nxb7 Rxb7 23. Bxb4 Rxb4 24. Qxd5 Rb8 25. Qc4 {And then it is not yet clear of
the opposite bishop position after} d3 $1 {[%cal Rd3d2] Diagram [#]} 26. Bd5 (
26. Rcd1 d2 27. Re2 Rb1 28. Rxb1 d1=Q+ 29. Rxd1 Qxd1+ 30. Bf1 Qd6 {is also
better for White but maybe hold able.}) 26... d2 27. Bxf7+ Kh8 28. Qxa6 Bc5 $5
$16 {is actually won for White.}) 19. Nxd4 exd4 20. Qb3 ({Karjakin only
expected} 20. Nc5 Bxc5 21. Rxc5 Nc3 {with massive liquidations and a draw after
} 22. Bxc3 Bxg2 23. Kxg2 dxc3 $11) 20... Rb8 $6 {Objectively, a mistake. From
far away Karjakin considered this a good move and good position for him, but
White's next reply clarifies the situation.} ({Better was} 20... Qd7 $1 {
Diagram [#] although after} 21. Rc4 {White is clearly better. For example} f5
22. Ng5 Bxg5 23. Bxg5 Nf6 $1 {to break the pin at once} 24. Bxb7 Qxb7 25. Qxb7
Rxb7 26. Bxf6 gxf6 27. Rxd4 $16 {Although White keeps winning chances Black
has hopes to hold this endgame.}) 21. Rb1 $1 {[%csl Yb7,Rb8,Yd5,Rg8][%cal
Rb1b8,Rg2a8,Ra2g8] Diagram [#] This pin is more than annoying.} Qd7 (21... Rf8
22. Bf4 $1 {reveals one point behind the pin.}) 22. Rec1 ({Worse is the greedy
} 22. Ng5 fxg5 23. Bxd5 Bxd5 24. Qxb8+ Rf8 {[%csl Gd5,Yg1] Diagram [#] with
huge compensation for a pawn (Svidler).}) 22... Qe6 {The last mistake
according to White. Svidler was afraid of the move} (22... h6 {Diagram [#]
when he could not see a clear win. True, after} 23. Nc5 ({Or} 23. Rc4 {which
would practically lead to the same after} f5 24. Nc5 ({As} 24. Rxd4 fxe4 25.
Bxe4 Bc5 {is good only for Black.}) 24... Bxc5 25. Rxc5 Nc3) 23... Bxc5 24.
Rxc5 ({Once again White should avoid capturing the exchange} 24. Bxd5 $2 Bxd5
25. Qxb8+ Rf8 {with a win for Black actually!}) 24... Nc3 25. Bxc3 dxc3 {
Diagram [#] Now Svidler considered two winning attempts:} {White can take the
exchange} 26. Bd5 ({The quiet} 26. Rxc3 {when Black is completely tied up but
it is not that easy to pick up the black bishop as Black is always threatening
to move away his rook with a tempo, or sacrifice the exchange:} Kh7 {If White
tries to triple his pieces along the b file there is} 27. Qc2+ (27. Qb2 Bxg2 ({
Or even the preparatory} 27... Re7 28. Rb3 Bxg2 29. Rxb8 Be4 (29... Qh3 $5 {
looks good too.})) 28. Qxb8 Be4 {and White still has to prove his win.}) 27...
f5 28. Rcb3 $2 Rc8 $1 $11) 26... Bxd5 27. Qxb8+ Rf8 (27... Kh7 28. Rd1) 28. Qc7
{And Black can still fight} (28. Qf4 $1 {is best with decent winning chances.})
28... Qe6 {In all these lines White is close to winning but there is still
plenty of play going on.} ({But Karjakin has to avoid E. Miroshnichenko's
discovery} 28... Qf5 $2 29. Rb7 $1)) 23. Nc5 Bxc5 24. Rxc5 Rd8 25. Ba5 $1 {
Diagram [#]} Rd6 ({In case of} 25... Rdd7 {Svidler saw the beautiful win after}
26. Re1 Qf5 ({But he was not so sure about the line} 26... Qd6 {when he had to
find an even more stunning win} 27. Bb4 $3 {[%csl Gb4] Diagram [#] when Black
is doomed, since} Nxb4 28. Re8+ {loses the queen to start with.}) 27. Qxb7 Rxb7
28. Re8+ Rf8 29. Bxd5+) 26. Qc4 {White is completely dominating and Rb1xb7 is
a deadly threat. Unstoppable.} Nc3 27. Rxb7 ({Svidler saw another win} 27. Qxe6
Rxe6 28. Bxc3 Bxg2 29. Rc8+ Rf8 30. Rxf8+ Kxf8 31. Bb4+ Kf7 32. Kxg2 Rb6 33.
Rb2 $18) 27... Qe1+ 28. Bf1 Ne2+ 29. Qxe2 {Diagram [#]} 1-0

Report.

Nakamura on the Ropes

Only eight players remain at the World Cup. The first match games were played yesterday and the rating (and not only) favorite of the event Hikaru Nakamura suffered painful defeat with the black pieces against Pavel Eljanov. The Ukrainian GM has the tournament of his life so far:

[Event "FIDE World Chess Cup"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2015.09.23"]
[Round "37.2"]
[White "Eljanov, Pavel"]
[Black "Nakamura, Hikaru"]
[Result "1-0"]
[WhiteElo "2723"]
[BlackElo "2814"]
[Annotator "Bojkov, Dejan"]
[PlyCount "115"]
[EventDate "2015.??.??"]
[WhiteClock "0:07:59"]
[BlackClock "0:05:58"]

1. d4 d5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. c4 e6 4. g3 Be7 5. Bg2 O-O 6. O-O dxc4 7. Qc2 a6 8. a4
Bd7 9. Qxc4 Bc6 10. Bg5 Bd5 11. Qc2 Be4 12. Qc1 {Diagram [#] "A rare, sideline
of the Catalan" Eljanov.} (12. Qd1 {is much more popular. Giri-Leko was played
in this theme in Baku a couple of rounds earlier.}) 12... h6 13. Bxf6 Bxf6 14.
Rd1 a5 15. Nbd2 Bh7 $146 {[%csl Gf6,Gh7] Diagram [#]} ({In the recent
predecessor Black chose} 15... Bxf3 {and Eljanov considered this move the
critical line.} 16. Bxf3 c6 {but after} 17. Nc4 Nd7 18. Qd2 Be7 19. h4 $1 {
Diagram [#] White had slight but long lasting advantage without any
counterplay for his opponent, Sasikiran,K (2682)-Svetushkin,D (2592) Moscow
2015}) 16. Nb3 c6 17. Qc3 {White puts pressure on the a5 pawn thus obstructing
Black's development.} Be7 ({White wins a pawn in case of} 17... Nd7 $6 18. Ne5
$1 {Diagram [#]} Qc7 ({Or alternatively will have large positional advantage
after} 18... Bxe5 19. dxe5 Qc7 20. Rd6 $16) 19. Nxd7 Qxd7 20. Nxa5) ({Or} 17...
Na6 $6 18. Nxa5) 18. Nc5 Qc7 19. Ne5 {Now the d7 square is locked for the
black knight, but a6 is still available. This is where Nakamura goes.} Na6 {
[%cal Ga6b4] Diagram [#] Black wants to put the knight on b4 after which he
will be completely fine. Obviously Nakamura was not afraid of what came next.}
({If Black was afraid of the move in the game he might have chosen the
preperatory} 19... Ra7 {To which White has two interesting plans to pressurize}
20. Bf3 $5 ({Or he may simply push the pawns forward} 20. f4 Na6 21. e4) 20...
Na6 21. Bh5 {In both cases White is somewhat better.}) ({The computer
suggestion} 19... Rd8 {leads to stable advantage for White after} 20. Rac1 Bxc5
21. dxc5 $14 ({Or} 21. Qxc5 $14)) 20. Nxb7 $5 {The only way to create troubles
for Black.} Qxb7 21. Bxc6 Qc7 $6 {Diagram [#] But this is a mistake. The
general rule says that a rook and two pawns are usually better in the endgame
when facing the two light pieces. It is so as the rook becomes significantly
more active as the game opens and has more room to maneuver.} ({I believe
Nakamura should have opted for} 21... Qa7 $1 22. Bxa8 Qxa8 {and after} 23. Qxa5
Rb8 {True, White has three pawns and a rook now (practically an extra exchange)
but the black pieces control the board after say} 24. Qd2 Be4 {Diagram [#] and
the white queenside passers do not go anywhere.}) ({Or} 21... Qc8 $1 {which
would lead to the same.}) 22. Bxa8 Qxc3 ({Or else White will take control of
the open file} 22... Rxa8 23. Rac1 $16) 23. bxc3 Rxa8 24. Nc6 $1 {[%csl Ye7]
Diagram [#] A good practical decision. Eljanov deprives his opponent of the
bishop pair. The les pieces there are on the board, the more dangerous the
passers become.} Bd8 25. Nxd8 Rxd8 26. f3 {"Now I have a clear plan to put my
king on f2 and then slowly push the pawns. It is very unpleasant position for
Black" Eljanov.} Rc8 27. Ra3 $1 {[%cal Ga3a2,Gd1d2,Ga2b2,Rb1b8,Rb8b1] Diagram
[#] At a glance this move seems illogical, but its idea is not only to defend
the c3 pawn. White also wants to occupy the b file and for this reason both
white rooks stand better on the second rank, away from the black bishop. This
is better than} (27. Rac1 Bg6 28. e4 Kf8 {when the white pawns cannot go fast
forward-} (28... Rb8 29. Rb1) 29. c4 Ke7 30. c5 f5 $1) 27... Bg6 {Please, note
that the black rook cannot occupy easily the b file} (27... Rb8 28. e4 Rb2 29.
Raa1 $1 Rb3 30. Rdb1 Rxc3 31. Rb6 Nc7 $4 32. Rb8+ Ne8 33. Rxe8# {Diagram [#]})
28. Kf2 Rb8 29. Rd2 f6 {"After this move, strangely enough he offered a draw"
Eljanov, "I am technically winning."} 30. Raa2 $1 {Now we can clearly see the
idea behind Ra1-a3. White wins the only open file.} Rb3 (30... Rc8 31. Rab2)
31. Rab2 Rxc3 32. Rb5 {[%csl Ra5][%cal Gb5a5] Diagram [#] "I thought it is
already over for Black, but he put some pressure on me" Eljanov.} Bc2 33. Rxa5
Nc7 34. Ra7 f5 35. a5 Kh7 36. Rb7 Rc4 37. Rb6 Ba4 38. a6 Bc6 39. a7 Bd5 40. Ra2
{"I am forced to sacrifice the pawn on d4 as the one on a7 is the most
important." Eljanov} Rxd4 41. Rc2 Na8 42. Ra6 Rd1 43. h4 $1 {[%cal Gh4h5,Ga6d6,
Gd6d7,Rc2c8,Rd7h7,Rc8h8] Diagram [#] "I have a clear plan to play h4-h5 and
then to penetrate with the rooks along the seventh rank and attack the black
king" Eljanov.} h5 {But now the g5 square is weakened and the white king can
march there.} 44. Ke3 Rg1 45. Kf4 Rg2 46. Rd6 Rg1 47. Rc8 Ra1 48. Kg5 {[%csl
Gg5,Yh7] White wins two pawns by force and the game.} ({Eljanov demostrated
the alternative winning plan after} 48. Rxd5 exd5 (48... Nb6 49. a8=Q) 49. Rxa8
g6 50. Ke5 Ra5 51. e3 Kg7 52. Kd6 Kh7 53. Kc6 {[%csl Yd5][%cal Rc6b6,Yc6d5,
Ge3e8] Diagram [#] and the threat Kc6-b6 forces the black rook to abandon the
d pawn. After this White simply advances the e pawn into queen.}) 48... Rxa7
49. Rdd8 g6 50. Rh8+ Kg7 51. Rcg8+ Kf7 52. Rxg6 Ra6 53. Rh7+ Kf8 54. Kxh5 Nb6
55. Kg5 Nc4 56. h5 Nd6 57. Rf6+ Kg8 58. Rd7 {Diagram [#]} 1-0

Nakamura will fight for survival today. Report.

The Chinese Wall!

If you ahve enjoyed the previous game between Wei Yi and Ding Liren, you would definitely like to know what happened next. In the second game of their match in Baku, in a must-win situation, Ding Liren goes for the quiet Anti-Marshall line:

[Event "FIDE World Chess Cup"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2015.09.21"]
[Round "29.8"]
[White "Wei, Yi"]
[Black "Ding, Liren"]
[Result "1-0"]
[WhiteElo "2734"]
[BlackElo "2782"]
[Annotator "Bojkov, Dejan"]
[PlyCount "159"]
[EventDate "2015.??.??"]
[WhiteClock "0:02:45"]
[BlackClock "0:00:58"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. d3 {The Anti-Marshall
is almost a must at the top level.} b5 7. Bb3 d6 8. a3 O-O 9. Nc3 h6 {Diagram
[#] Black has plenty of choice in the current situation. Ding Liren had
successfully tried:} (9... Nb8 10. Ne2 c5 11. Ng3 Nc6 12. c3 Be6 13. Bxe6 fxe6
14. b4 Qd7 {in the fresh game Malakhov,V (2706)-Ding,L (2755) China 2015}) 10.
h3 Re8 11. Bd2 Bf8 $146 {[%cal Ge8e5,Yc6e7,Yf8g7] Diagram [#] A novelty. Black
supports the e5 pawn, opens the e7 square for the knight and prepares
fianchettoe of his dark-squared bishop.} ({Previously only} 11... Rb8 {has
been tested with the usual slight edge for White after} 12. Nd5 Bf8 13. Ne3 Be6
14. Bxe6 Rxe6 15. Nd5 Ne7 16. Nxf6+ Rxf6 17. b4 {Miranda Mesa,E (2416)-Becerra
Rivero,J (2546) Merida 2014}) 12. a4 Rb8 ({In the spirit of Black' previous
move was the following play in the center} 12... Na5 $5 13. Ba2 b4 14. Ne2 d5 {
with counterplay.}) 13. axb5 axb5 14. Re1 $14 {[%cal Ga2g8,Ra1a8] Diagram [#]
Wei Yi can be satisfied with the opening. He has slight but long lasting
advantage thanks to his Spanish bishop and the open a file.} Be6 15. Nd5 Nd7 {
Prepares the following maneuver. The capture} (15... Bxd5 16. exd5 Ne7 17. c4
$14 {is less convincing as Black has hard time organizing his forces on the
kingside.}) 16. c3 Ne7 {Now Ne7xd5 is a positional threat, thus...} 17. Ne3 $1
{[%csl Ye7] Diagram [#]} Bxb3 18. Qxb3 {Black managed to trade a pair of light
pieces but he is not yet equal as his dark-squared bishop can do better.} Ng6
19. g3 Nc5 20. Qc2 Qd7 21. b4 Ne6 22. d4 {Probably a bit premature. White is
steadily better if he plays along the a file:} (22. Ra7 Ra8 23. Rea1 Qc6 24.
Qa2 Rxa7 25. Qxa7 $16 {[%cal Ra1a8,Ra8a1] Diagram [#]}) 22... exd4 23. cxd4 c5
$1 {Ding Liren is practically sacrificing this pawn but in return gets play
along the c and e files.} 24. d5 Nd4 ({Or the Benoni-style play with} 24... Ng5
25. Nxg5 hxg5 26. Kg2 Ne5 $14 {where White is better.}) 25. Nxd4 cxd4 26. Nf5 {
Now the d4 pawn is practically doomed, but Black can organize threats while
White is taking care of it.} Ne5 27. Kg2 Rbc8 28. Qb3 d3 29. Ra2 (29. Rac1 $5)
29... Ra8 {Too slow. The correct way was} (29... g6 $1 {and after} 30. Nxh6+
Bxh6 31. Bxh6 f5 $1 {Diagram [#] Black gets counter play on the light squares.
For example} 32. Bf4 (32. exf5 $6 Qxf5) (32. f4 $6 Nf7 $1) 32... fxe4 33. Rxe4
Qf5 {followed by Rc8-c2. In these lines Black makes good use of the doomed d3
pawn.}) 30. Rea1 (30. Rxa8 Rxa8 31. Bf4 {looks simpler.}) 30... Rxa2 31. Rxa2
Qc8 $6 {Only this move makes Black's position really suspicious. Correct was} (
31... Qc7 $1 {[%cal Rc8c1,Re8e1] Diagram [#] as the queen is placed nicely
along the seventh rank, ready to attack along both the c and e files.} 32. Ne3
(32. f3 g6 33. Nd4 Qc4 $1) 32... Qe7 33. f4 (33. f3 g6) (33. Nd1) 33... Nc4 34.
Qxd3 (34. Nxc4 $2 Qxe4+) 34... Nxd2 35. Rxd2 Qxe4+ 36. Qxe4 Rxe4 $11) 32. Ne3
g6 33. Bc3 {Now Wei Yi finally wins the annoying d pawn.} h5 34. Bxe5 Rxe5 35.
Qxd3 Qe8 36. Re2 {Setting a small trap.} Bg7 (36... Rxe4 $2 {loses material
due to} 37. Ng4 $1) 37. Nc2 f5 $1 {[%csl Ye4] Diagram [#] The best chance for
Ding. He weakens the e4 pawn.} 38. f3 fxe4 39. fxe4 Re7 40. Nd4 {White could
have maneuvered further with} (40. Ne1 {but since the juicy e6 and c6 squares
lay on the road of the black bishop this trade will be more or less forced
later.}) 40... Bxd4 41. Qxd4 Re5 {Wei Yi won a pawn but the remaining pieces
give good chances for a draw to his opponent. In both the possible queen or
rook endgames Ding Liren will keep good drawing chances. On the top of this
the blockade of the extra e pawn makes White's task rather difficult.} 42. Qd3
Kh7 43. Qc2 Qe7 44. h4 Kg7 45. Qd3 Kh7 46. Kh2 Kg7 47. Qd4 Kh7 48. Re3 {
Diagram [#] A mini-zugzwang. The king moves seemingly will allow the
improvement of the white rook.} g5 {Ding Liren decided to defend actively.
This was not forced.} ({True} 48... Kg7 49. Rc3 $1 {is good for White.}) ({But
} 48... Kg8) ({And even} 48... Kh6 {were perfectly possible as} 49. Rc3 {does
not lead White anywhere after} Rxe4 50. Qh8+ Qh7) 49. hxg5 Qxg5 (49... Kg6 $1)
50. Rf3 Re7 51. Rf4 Qg6 52. Rf6 $1 {Diagram [#] White made a lot of progress
and once that the blockade is gone his winning chances rose very high.} Qg5 (
52... Rxe4 $2 {loses to} 53. Qa7+) ({And} 52... Qxe4 $2 {is refuted by the cute
} 53. Rf7+ $1) 53. Qf2 Kg7 54. Rxd6 {Forces matters. Around this moment of the
game Wei Yi had around three minutes left on the clock and Ding Liren-six.} (
54. Rf5 Qg4 55. Rf4 {followed by Qf2-f3 and Rf4-f5 should also win.}) 54... h4
55. Kh3 {Too sophisticated. White has serious winning chances after} (55. gxh4
Qe5+ 56. Qg3+ Qxg3+ 57. Kxg3 Rxe4) 55... hxg3 56. Qf5 ({Or else there will be
an instant draw after} 56. Qxg3 Qxg3+ 57. Kxg3 Rxe4 $11) 56... Qxf5+ 57. exf5 {
Diagram [#] Now a rook endgame with limitted number of pawns promises Ding a
rest day and participation in the next round. Until one moment everything
seems fine for him.} Re4 (57... Re5 $5 {with the idea} 58. f6+ Kf7 59. Kxg3 Re4
{seems good for Black.}) 58. Rg6+ Kf7 59. Rxg3 Rxb4 (59... Rd4 $1 {demolishing
the most dangerous passer was the way to do it.}) 60. Rd3 Rc4 ({Black misses
another draw} 60... Rf4 $1 61. d6 Ke8 62. Rd5 Kd7 63. Kg3 Rc4 $11) 61. d6 Rc8
$2 {Why? The rook should be left to work and it is the king's job to take care
of the passer!} (61... Ke8 $1 {[%csl Yd3,Yd6][%cal Ge8d7] Diagram [#] should
lead to a draw.}) 62. Kg4 Kf6 63. Kf4 {Now White wins but it ain't over yet.}
b4 64. Ke4 Rb8 65. Kd5 {Allows a chance to the black rook to do something. But
I suspect that Wei Yi simply calculated faster than the computer that he
promotes his pawn into a queen and went for it with his thirty seconds
increment.} (65. Rb3 $1 {Diagram [#] was the clear-cut win} Rb5 (65... Rh8 66.
Kd5) 66. d7 Ke7 67. Rd3 Kd8 68. f6 Rh5 69. f7 Rh8 70. Ke5 b3 71. Rxb3 Kxd7 72.
Kf6 $18) 65... b3 66. d7 $1 {The only chance as} (66. Rd1 b2 67. Rb1 Rb5+ 68.
Kc6 Rb3 $11 {followed by long-distance checks is an instant draw.}) 66... b2
67. Rb3 Rxb3 68. d8=Q+ Kxf5 {Diagram [#] It seems as White should be easily
winning but the computer claims it is a draw!} 69. Qd7+ Kg5 70. Qe7+ Kg4 71.
Qe4+ Kg3 72. Qg6+ Kh4 {My hand is preventing me to give a question mark to
this move although it loses the game.} ({Strong is} 72... Kf3 $1 {whe the
difference in comparison to the game is that the black king is closer to its
rook and can save it from the sad destiny-} 73. Qb1 Kf4 74. Kc4 Rb7 75. Qf1+
Ke5 76. Qe2+ Kd6 $11 {Diagram [#]}) 73. Qb1 Kg5 74. Kc4 $1 {The rook's lost on
the open board.} Rb8 (74... Rb6 75. Qg1+ $18) (74... Rb7 75. Qg1+ Kf5 76. Qc5+
Kf4 77. Qf2+ Ke5 78. Qd4+ Kf5 79. Qd5+ $18) 75. Qg1+ Kf5 76. Qc5+ Kg4 77. Qd4+
Kf3 78. Qf6+ Ke4 79. Qe6+ Kf3 80. Qf5+ {Diagram [#] If thе previous game
between the two Chinese top GMs was a thriller, how should we name this one?}
1-0

Report.

The Chinese Wall?

I do not know about you but for me the first association that comes with China is the Great Wall. Build long time ago to protect against the aggressors it remains one of the world's miracles.
One might expect that the players from this country will play solid chess, build a wall in front of the enemy pieces before doing anything else. Nothing is even close to the truth. Take a look at the first game of the formidable match between Wei Yi and Ding Liren, two of the best Chinese players at the World Cup:

[Event "FIDE World Chess Cup"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2015.09.20"]
[Round "28.8"]
[White "Ding, Liren"]
[Black "Wei, Yi"]
[Result "1-0"]
[WhiteElo "2782"]
[BlackElo "2734"]
[Annotator "Bojkov, Dejan"]
[PlyCount "77"]
[EventDate "2015.??.??"]
[WhiteClock "0:02:35"]
[BlackClock "0:00:47"]

1. Nf3 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 4. cxd5 Nxd5 5. h4 Bg7 6. h5 Nc6 7. g3 Bg4 8. h6
Bxc3 9. dxc3 Qd6 10. Bg2 O-O-O 11. Ng5 $146 {[%csl Yf7] Diagram [#] A novelty
which Ding Liren prepared for the game in the morning. He eye-witnessed the
predecessor a couple of months ago:} (11. Qa4 Qe6 12. O-O f6 13. Qc4 Bh3 14.
Bxh3 Qxh3 15. a4 g5 {and Black was doing fine in Wang,Y (2721)-Wei,Y (2725)
Zaozhuang 2015}) 11... Ne5 12. Qa4 ({"The computer suggested"} 12. Qxd5 Qxd5
13. Bxd5 Rxd5 14. c4 {"but I did not like"} Rd7 15. b3 f6 16. Bb2 Nc6 17. f3
Nd4 {Diagram [#] "and the position seems drawish" Ding Liren.}) 12... Nb6 ({
Black's difficulties are demonstrated by the line} 12... Kb8 13. Qe4 f6 14. Bf4
$16 {(Ding Liren)}) ({Maybe} 12... f6 13. Nf7 Nxf7 14. Qxg4+ Kb8 15. O-O {
which leads to very complicated line, but I think White should be better (Ding
Liren).}) 13. Qd4 {Only move.} f6 (13... Qxd4 14. cxd4 Rxd4 15. b3 {followed
by Bc1-b2 is very strong for White (Ding Liren).}) 14. Bf4 {[%csl Yd8,Re5,Yh8]
[%cal Rf4e5,Rg5f7] Diagram [#] And Wei Yi sang into deep thought (about
half-an hour).} Qxd4 15. cxd4 Nc6 $5 {A very interesting idea. Overall, Ding
Liren felt that he has better chances as his play is not that forced. For
instance in the lines:} ({Black was probably afraid of} 15... Rxd4 16. Bxe5
fxe5 17. Rc1 {when White wants Rh1-h4 or Rc1-c5. If} Bf5 18. Rh4 {anyways.
After} Rxh4 19. gxh4 {Black has problems with the knight-} Nd7 $2 {Diagram [#]}
({And if} 19... Kb8 20. Rc5 Nd7 21. Rb5 b6 22. e4 Bg4 23. f3 Bh5 24. Rd5 {and
Ding felt White has better chances.}) 20. e4 Bg4 21. f3 Bh5 22. Bh3 $18 {(Ding
Liren)}) 16. Nf7 (16. Bxc6 $2 fxg5 {wins material for Black.}) 16... Nxd4 17.
Rc1 ({The other choice was} 17. f3 {and White liked the position after} Nc2+ ({
But Ding was not that sure about the position arising after} 17... e5 $5 18.
fxg4 (18. Nxh8 Rxh8 19. fxg4 {is a better move order.}) 18... exf4 19. Nxh8
Nc2+ 20. Kf2 fxg3+ 21. Kxg3 Nxa1 22. Nxg6 hxg6 23. Rxa1 (23. Be4 $5 {alos
looks good for White.}) 23... Rh8 24. g5 fxg5 25. Rh1 Nc4 26. Kg4 {Diagram [#]
Ding Liren calculated all the way here, but somehow was not that convinced
about that line. In the final position White should win, say} Ne3+ 27. Kxg5
Nxg2 28. h7 {and the h7 pawn will cost Black the rook.}) 18. Kf2 Nxa1 19. fxg4
Nc2 20. Rc1 {with advantage for White.}) 17... e5 18. Rh4 ({White discarded
the move} 18. Be3 {due to} Nxe2 19. f3 (19. Rb1 $1 {is strong instead when
many black pieces are hanging.}) 19... Nxc1 20. fxg4 Nd3+ {and Black wins.})
18... exf4 {"I totally overlooked this"(Ding Liren) He was worried instead
about the move} (18... Bxe2 {Diagram [#] where he could not see anything for
White. Indeed, the lines that he showed are quite convincing:} 19. Be3 (19.
Bh3+ Kb8 20. Be3 Bc4 $1) (19. Nxh8 Rxh8 (19... exf4 20. Rxf4) 20. Be3 (20. Bh3+
Kb8 21. Be3 Re8 $1 22. Bxd4 exd4) 20... Bf3 21. Bh3+ Nf5) 19... Bf3 20. Bh3+
Nf5 {in all the lines Black seems OK.}) 19. Nxd8 ({Now White saw the line} 19.
Rxg4 Nxe2 20. Kxe2 ({But it seems as they both missed the strong in-between
shot} 20. Bxb7+ $1 {Diagram [#]} Kxb7 21. Nxd8+ Rxd8 22. Kxe2 {with big
advantage for White.}) 20... Rhe8+ 21. Kf1 Rd7 {when the knight is trapped.})
19... f3 $1 {The only move as if} (19... Nxe2 20. Bxb7+ Kxd8 21. Rd1+ {wins
material for White.}) 20. exf3 Nxf3+ ({The in-between check is a bad idea due
to} 20... Re8+ 21. Kf1 Nxf3 22. Rxg4 Nh2+ 23. Kg1 Nxg4 24. Nxb7 {and White is
better.}) 21. Bxf3 Re8+ $1 {[%csl Ye1] Diagram [#] Now this is strong. In
comparison} (21... Bxf3 $6 22. Ne6 Re8 (22... c6 {is better although White
keeps extra material.}) 23. Rxc7+ Kb8 24. Rxh7 Rxe6+ 25. Kd2 {simply wins for
White.}) 22. Kd2 $1 {It is important that White has this move as in the line:}
(22. Kf1 Bxf3 23. Nf7 Re7 24. Nd6+ Kd7 {the white knight is trapped due to the
bad position of the king} 25. Nb5 (25. Nc4 Be2+) 25... Be2+ {[%csl Yb5,Rf1]
Diagram [#] (Ding Liren)}) 22... Bxf3 {Or else White saves the bishop} (22...
Rxd8+ 23. Ke3 Re8+ 24. Be4 f5 (24... Bd7 25. Kd4) 25. f3 {with advantage for
the first player.}) 23. Nf7 Bc6 24. b4 {[%csl Yf7] Diagram [#] White emerged
an exchange up in the complications. He is not worse, but since his knight is
in danger he has to play very energetically. Another interesting option was} (
24. Re1 Kd7 25. Rxe8 Kxe8 26. Nh8 g5 {with unclear position.}) 24... a6 ({The
knight is saved after} 24... Rf8 25. Nd6+ cxd6 26. b5) ({However} 24... Kd7 $1
{might have ben better, for instance} 25. Rd4+ (25. Rf4 $1 {looks stronger
instead with the idea} Ke7 26. b5 $1) 25... Bd5 26. a4 c6 27. a5 Na8 28. b5 Nc7
29. a6 Nxb5 {(Ding Liren)}) 25. a4 Nxa4 $6 {Diagram [#] This is a mistake
which White missed to punish.} 26. Re1 ({Ding Liren missed in the line} 26. Rf4
$1 Nb6 27. Rxf6 Nd5 28. Rfxc6 ({The strong} 28. Rxg6 $1 {Diagram [#]} hxg6 29.
h7 $16 {which keeps the knight alive and White will enjoy an extra exchange.})
28... bxc6 29. Ng5 Nxb4 {with unclear play.}) 26... Nb6 27. Rg4 $6 {A mistake.
The correct way to sacrifice the knight was} (27. Rd4 Rf8 28. Re7 Nd5 29. Nd6+
cxd6 30. Rxh7 f5 31. Rg7 Nf6 32. Rxg6 Kd7 33. h7 {Diagram [#] (Ding Liren).
Indeed White looks fine.}) 27... Rg8 $1 {A strong move by Wei Yi that stops
the rook sacrifice on g6.} 28. Re7 Nd5 29. Nd6+ $1 ({Or else the knight will
be surrounded slowly but surely after} 29. Re1 g5) 29... cxd6 30. Rxh7 g5 {
White also gave the line} (30... f5 31. Rg7 Rxg7 32. hxg7 Ne7 33. Rxg6 Bd5 34.
Rxd6 Bg8 {with possible draw (Ding Liren)}) 31. Re4 Rg6 32. Re6 g4 (32... Kd8
33. Rxd6+ Ke8 {might be OK for Black (Ding Liren).}) 33. Rxd6 {After a long
and tensed battle with plenty of tactical nuances Wei Yi goes wrong last.} Nxb4
$2 {Diagram [#] Instead both} (33... Kb8) (33... Nb6 {were playable.}) 34. Rh8+
Kc7 35. Rd4 $1 {The rook joins the kingside battle with decisive effect.} Nd5 (
35... f5 36. Rxb4) 36. h7 Rh6 37. Rxg4 Ne7 38. Rg7 Kd7 39. Rf8 {Diagram [#]}
1-0

Report.

Ivanchuk Goes Home

Dmitry Jakovenko's first classical win at round 3 of the World Cup came in the best possible moment. The Russian GM managed to defeat the legend of the Ukrainian chess- Vassily Ivanchuk.

[Event "FIDE World Chess Cup"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2015.09.18"]
[Round "20.10"]
[White "Jakovenko, Dmitry"]
[Black "Ivanchuk, Vassily"]
[Result "1-0"]
[WhiteElo "2748"]
[BlackElo "2726"]
[Annotator "Bojkov, Dejan"]
[PlyCount "69"]
[EventDate "2015.??.??"]
[WhiteClock "0:19:12"]
[BlackClock "0:31:05"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6 5. h3 O-O 6. Nf3 a6 {Diagram [#]
Ivanchuk chose a rare line which Jakovenko had analyzed long time ago, but
could not remember his preparation.} 7. Bd3 c6 8. O-O b5 ({Another way for
Black to play is} 8... Nfd7 9. Bg5 h6 10. Be3 b5 11. Qd2 Kh7 12. Rac1 e5 {as
in Khairullin,I (2642)-Onischuk,V (2563) Khanty-Mansiysk 2012}) 9. Re1 {Solid
play.} Nbd7 ({The only thing Jakovenko remembered about his prep was that the
line} 9... bxc4 10. Bxc4 d5 11. Bd3 {is considered slightly better for White.})
10. Bg5 h6 {Jakovenko was a bit afraid of the line} (10... bxc4 11. Bxc4 c5 {
but the brief after-game analyzes revealed that White is better after} 12. e5
cxd4 13. exf6 exf6 14. Nxd4 fxg5 15. Bd5 ({Or} 15. Nc6)) 11. Be3 bxc4 $146 {
Diagram [#] A novelty.} ({A predecessor saw} 11... Nb6 12. b3 Nfd7 13. Rc1 b4
14. Ne2 {when White is very stable and enjoys extra space and stronger center,
Grivas,E (2499)-Sigalas,F (2069) Chania 2000}) 12. Bxc4 d5 13. Bd3 dxe4 14.
Nxe4 {[%csl Rc5,Yc6] Diagram [#] Black freed himself a bit, but the problems
with the weak pawn on c6 and the weak c5 square remain. This is probably the
great difficulty of the whole line,White does not even have to do anything to
get better position.} Nd5 ({On} 14... Bb7 {White was planning} 15. Rc1 {
followed by Ne4-c5 with an edge.}) 15. Bd2 Qb6 16. b4 ({On} 16. Qa4 {Jakovenko
was afraid that Ivanchuk may free himself with} c5 (16... a5 {might be better.}
) {but the analyzes show that White has} 17. Qc4 Bb7 18. Nxc5 Nxc5 19. dxc5 {
just winning a pawn.}) 16... Nxb4 {Jakovenko did not analyze this move
seriously as he had explain after the game that he has a special feelings for
the queens.} 17. Rb1 a5 ({Better than} 17... Nxd3 18. Rxb6 Nxb6 19. Re3 Nf4 20.
Nc5 {when White can use the a5 square later.}) 18. a3 Nxd3 19. Rxb6 Nxb6 {[%csl
Ya8,Yb6,Yc6,Gd1] Diagram [#]} 20. Re3 ({At first White wanted to play} 20. Re2
{but he did not like} Nd5 (20... Nc4 21. Bxh6 Bxh6 22. Qxd3 Ba6) (20... Ba6 $5
{was dismissed by White but might not be bad at all after} 21. Bxa5 Nd5 {with
counterplay.} (21... Nc4 22. Bb4)) 21. Nc3 Nxc3 22. Bxc3 Nf4 {and the black
knight lands on d5.}) 20... Nb2 21. Qc1 N2c4 22. Rc3 Nxd2 23. Qxd2 {For the
queen Ivanchuk has enough material- a rook, a bishop and a pawn. However, his
pieces are not yet co-ordinated and he has problems.} Rd8 24. Qe1 ({Better than
} 24. Rxc6 Bb7 25. Rxb6 Bxe4 $11) 24... Nd5 25. Rxc6 Bb7 26. Rc5 Nf4 ({
Jakovenko believed Black's best chance is} 26... a4 {Diagram [#]} 27. Qb1 Ba6
28. Ne5 Rab8 29. Qc1 $16 {alhtough White dominates with his central pieces.})
27. Rc7 Rab8 {A crtical moment of the battle. Now Ivanchuk had the very nice
tactical idea} (27... Rac8 $1 {Diagram [#] and if} 28. Rxb7 ({White can also
be tricky with} 28. Rxe7 Rc1 29. Nf6+ $1 {Now the rook covers the e2 square,
but Black has decent chances to survive after} Bxf6 30. Qxc1 Nxh3+ 31. gxh3
Bxe7) 28... Rc1 29. Qxc1 Ne2+ {leads to a draw.}) 28. Rxe7 Nd5 29. Rxb7 $1 ({
The forced line} 29. Rxf7 Kxf7 30. Neg5+ hxg5 31. Nxg5+ {Diagram [#] leads
only to draw after} Kg8 $1 (31... Kf8 $2 32. Qe6 {is mate}) 32. Qe6+ Kh8 33.
Qxg6 Nf6 34. Nf7+ Kg8 35. Nh6+ $11 {Jakovenko.}) 29... Rxb7 30. Qxa5 Rbb8 {One
advantage was transformed into another. The queen and the pawn are superior as
they have the strong support of the white knights. This allows White a chance
to attack on the kingside.} ({Perhaps Black needed to defend the seventh rank
with} 30... Rc7 31. Ne5 $16) 31. Ne5 Ra8 32. Qc5 Rac8 ({Or} 32... Bf8 33. Qc4
Bxa3 (33... Rac8 34. Nc5) 34. Nf6+ Nxf6 35. Qxf7+ {and White wins (Jakovenko).}
) (32... Nf6 {to relief the pressure from the white knights was another try.})
33. Qa7 Rc1+ {Once that the rooks get separated, the game is over.} 34. Kh2 Nc7
35. Nc5 {Diagram [#]} ({Ivanchuk resigned due to the line} 35. Nc5 Bxe5+ 36.
dxe5 Rd5 37. Ne4 $1 Rxe5 38. Qb8+ ({Even better than} 38. Qd4 {(Sutovsky)
which also wins.}) 38... Kg7 (38... Kh7 39. Nf6+ Kg7 40. Nd7 $18) 39. Qb2 $18 {
with decisive attack.}) 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.

The Perfect Must-Win Game

In a short match of two games it is quite easy to get your back to the wall. This is exactly what happened to Michael Adams after losing his first game to Victor Laznicka at the second round of the World Cup. He, however managed to coma back in the classical part of the match:

[Event "FIDE World Chess Cup"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2015.09.15"]
[Round "11.15"]
[White "Adams, Michael"]
[Black "Laznicka, Viktor"]
[Result "1-0"]
[WhiteElo "2742"]
[BlackElo "2676"]
[Annotator "Bojkov, Dejan"]
[PlyCount "57"]
[EventDate "2015.??.??"]
[WhiteClock "0:15:53"]
[BlackClock "0:06:11"]

{A must win situation for Adams.} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nc6 5.
Nc3 a6 {And a mini-surprise by Laznicka. Even though this is one of his pet
lines, he had not played it since 2013.} 6. Nxc6 bxc6 7. Bd3 d5 8. O-O Nf6 9.
Qf3 Be7 10. Qg3 O-O 11. Bh6 Ne8 12. Bf4 Bh4 13. Qf3 Be7 ({The trade of one of
the attacking white pieces makes sense} 13... Bg5 $5 14. e5 Bxf4 15. Qxf4 c5 {
as in Nepomniachtchi,I (2705)-Andreikin,D (2720) Moscow 2015}) 14. Na4 $1 $146
{[%cal Gc2c4,Gb2b3] Diagram [#] A strong, fundamental novelty. Adams intends
to stop the opponent's play in the center and on the queenside and start
kingside attack.} ({Previously only the obvious} 14. Rad1 {has been seen. After
} Nf6 15. h3 Nd7 16. Qg3 Bh4 17. Qh2 Ra7 18. Na4 Re8 {Black managed to hold in
Nepomniachtchi,I (2714)-Grachev,B (2669) Kazan 2014}) 14... Nf6 15. b3 Qa5 ({
Black cannot win the bishop pair as after} 15... dxe4 16. Bxe4 Nxe4 17. Qxe4
Bb7 18. Rad1 {Diagram [#] his queen lacks good squares} Qc8 (18... Qa5 19. Rd7)
19. Nb6 $18) ({Perhaps} 15... Bb7 {was better} 16. e5 Nd7 17. c4 $14 {At least
Black stops the kingside advance for the time being. Next he can try to
fianchettoe the dark-squared bishop.}) 16. e5 $1 {The attack can be successful
only with the center closed.} Nd7 17. Qg3 {With the threat Bf4-h6.} Re8 18. h4
c5 19. c4 $1 {[%csl Yc5,Yd5,Rg8][%cal Gh4h5,Gh5h6] Diagram [#] Once that the
center is blocked White can concentrate his efforts on the kingside.} d4 20. h5
Qc7 21. Rae1 {[%csl Ge5,Yg8][%cal Ge1e5,Rh1h8,Rb1h7,Rg3g8] Overprotects the
key e5 square. In case of a need, White can also lift this rook along the
fourth rank. It is curious to find out that the computer considers this
position equal. For the human eye it is very obvious that White has all the
play, it is quite one-sided. He can prepare the attack in many ways- along the
fourth rank, along the h file, battery on the b1-h7 diagonal. And if these
resources are not enough, he can redeploy the knight from a4 to d3-f4 and h5.
At the same time Black does not even have room to maneuver on the kingside.}
Bf8 ({The same computer suggests now as best the defense} 21... Kh8 22. h6 Rg8
{which only shows how bad Black's position is.}) 22. Bg5 g6 {This makes things
easier for White as he now has a clear target. However, standing should not
help neither, for example} (22... Bb7 23. f4 Qc6 24. Re2 a5 {and now say
battery with} 25. Bc2 {[%csl Rh7][%cal Rg3d3,Rc2h7] Diagram [#] and Qg3-d3.
Sooner or later Black will have to weaken his kingside.}) 23. f4 Bg7 24. Qh4 {
Adams simply doubles his pieces on the h file.} Bb7 25. Kf2 $1 {Diagram [#]}
Rf8 ({Nothing changes} 25... Qc6 26. Be4 Qc7 27. Bxb7 Qxb7 28. Rh1 $18) ({If}
25... Nf8 26. Bf6 Bxf6 27. exf6 {and White will find a way to reach the black
king via the dark squares or the h file.}) 26. Rh1 f5 {Desperation.} 27. hxg6
hxg6 28. Qh7+ Kf7 29. Rh6 {Diagram [#] A very convincing win for the English
top GM.} 1-0

Adams then managed to win the rapid-blitz game(s) at the end of a long and exhausting match.
Report.

How Good Was the Preparation?

Round two of the World Cup continued with many interesting games. The rating favorite did well in most of the games, but there were a couple of exceptions. Sergey Karjakin lost to Alexander Onischuk with the black pieces, and the other surprise was pleasant for the hosts:

[Event "FIDE World Chess Cup"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2015.09.14"]
[Round "10.25"]
[White "Guseinov, Gadir"]
[Black "Navara, David"]
[Result "1-0"]
[WhiteElo "2634"]
[BlackElo "2728"]
[Annotator "Bojkov, Dejan"]
[PlyCount "101"]
[EventDate "2015.??.??"]
[WhiteClock "0:13:58"]
[BlackClock "0:44:32"]

1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. Nd2 dxe4 4. Nxe4 Bf5 {Diagram [#] Navara's great memory
gives him the advantage of diversity in the opening.} 5. Ng3 Bg6 6. h4 h6 7.
Nf3 Nd7 8. h5 Bh7 9. Bd3 Bxd3 10. Qxd3 e6 11. Bd2 Ngf6 12. O-O-O Be7 13. Ne4 {
This knight is quite a problematic piece in the Caro- Kann for White and
Guseinov hurries to bring in back in the center.} Nxe4 {On the other hand
Black is happy to trade some pieces.} 14. Qxe4 Nf6 15. Qd3 {Diagram [#] A
fighting move.} ({The main line is considered harmless for Black} 15. Qe2 {due
to the maneuver} Qd5 16. c4 Qe4 17. Qxe4 Nxe4 18. Be3 f5 19. Nd2 Nf6 20. Nf3
Bd6 {1/2-1/2 (20) Harikrishna,P (2740)-Berkes,F (2659) Kocaeli 2015}) 15... c5
{A relatively rare move. The main continuations are} (15... O-O) ({and} 15...
Qd5) 16. Kb1 cxd4 17. Nxd4 O-O $6 {What can be more natural than that?!
Instead, both} (17... Rc8) ({and} 17... Qd5 {would be playable.}) 18. Bxh6 $5 {
[%csl Yd8][%cal Rd1d8,Rd3g3] Diagram [#] Kaboom! Something went wrong with
Navara's preparation as this move is not even a novelty! Or maybe he just
considered the complications favourable for him? Judging by the speed with
which he was banging the moves, it should have been the latter.} gxh6 19. Qg3+
Kh8 20. Nxe6 fxe6 21. Rxd8 Raxd8 22. Qe3 Ng8 23. Qxa7 $146 {Diagram [#] Both
players are blitzing, Guseinov comes up with a novelty. The stem game saw} (23.
f4 Rf5 24. g4 Rfd5 25. a3 e5 26. fxe5 {with advantage for White Kokarev,D
(2628)-Gavrilov,A (2456) Moscow 2014}) 23... Bf6 24. f3 {Finally, both players
start thinking. The material balance is weird. A queen and three pawns are
fighting a rook, bishop and knight. Techically speaking we have 9+3=5+3+3.
White should be up a pawn. Concretely speaking, White should be better thanks
to his safe king. However, if Black managed to co-ordinate his pieces, the
evaluation will change as the pieces can easily outnumber the queen in the
attack against the white pawns for instance.} Ne7 (24... Rf7 $5 {looks more
solid.}) 25. Qe3 {Diagram [#] White wins pawn number four but the black rooks
occupy the open files.} Bg7 26. Qxe6 Nd5 27. c3 Rfe8 28. Qf5 {Compy criticizes
this move and suggests instead} (28. Qg6 {presumably to defend the g2 pawn
with the queen. However then Black has} Re2 {and if} 29. Rc1 Nf4 $1 {is
unpleasant for White to say at least.}) 28... Re2 {Creates concrete threats.}
29. Rc1 {Or else Black can sacrifice on c3} (29. g4 Bxc3 {Diagram [#]} (29...
b5) (29... Ne3 {are not bad neither.}) 30. bxc3 Nxc3+ 31. Kc1 Nxa2+ {with
guaranteed draw.}) 29... Rxg2 {Now Navara rejects the draw, possible after} (
29... Ne3 30. Qb5 Rdd2 {[%csl Re8,Yh8][%cal Re8g6,Rg6e8,Rb5e8] Diagram [#]} 31.
Qe8+ Kh7 32. Qg6+ $11) 30. a3 b5 31. Qf7 Nf6 {The position is very complicated.
Navara had other interesting options:} (31... b4 $5 {might lead to a forced
draw (!) after} 32. axb4 Nxb4 33. Qc7 Bf6 34. Re1 Rgd2 35. cxb4 Rxb2+ 36. Kc1
Ra8 37. Re5 $1 {Diagram [#]} Rg2 38. Kb1 Rd8 39. Re1 Ra8 (39... Rb2+ 40. Kc1
Ra8) 40. Re5 Rd8 $11) ({While} 31... Ne3 32. Re1 Nc4 33. Re8+ Rxe8 34. Qxe8+
Kh7 35. Qxb5 {is not that great as the endgame after} Rxb2+ 36. Qxb2 Nxb2 37.
Kxb2 $18 {Diagram [#] is lost for Black. The pawns easily outnumber the bishop.
}) 32. Qb7 Rd5 ({White is better after} 32... Rdd2 33. Qxb5 Nxh5 34. Re1) 33.
f4 $1 {[%csl Gf4] Diagram [#] Surprisingly, Black has problems with the moves
after this. The queen is taking care of everything.} Kh7 34. Re1 {The rook got
active and Black decided to give the b5 pawn but to activate the pieces.} Rdd2
35. Qxb5 Nd5 36. Ka1 $1 {Nice prophylaxis as if White carelessly advances the
pawn} (36. a4 $2 {[%csl Ye1] Diagram [#] there is} Rxb2+ 37. Qxb2 Rxb2+ 38.
Kxb2 Bxc3+ {and Black wins.}) 36... Rgf2 ({Here} 36... Rxb2 $2 {is bad due the
counter-attack} 37. Qd3+ Kh8 38. Re8+ Bf8 39. Qxd5 $18) 37. Qe8 {Diagram [#]
Threatens mate in two.} Nxf4 38. Qe4+ Kh8 39. Qa8+ Kh7 40. Qe4+ Kh8 {Guseinov
made the control moves just in time to get the needed time to find the right
continuation.} 41. Qf5 $1 Rd8 {[%csl Yd8] Diagram [#] Once that the active
black pieces go back, White gets the time he needs to push his queenside pawns.
} 42. Qb5 (42. Qf7 $5 {was not bad neither.}) 42... Rd5 {This makes things
easier for White.} (42... Kh7 {was more stubborn but White is much better
anyway.}) 43. Re8+ Kh7 44. Qc4 {[%csl Rh7][%cal Rc4e4] Diagram [#] The threat
Qc4-e4+ forces the black king out.} Rxh5 45. Qg8+ Kg6 46. Re7 Rh1+ 47. Ka2 Nh5
48. Qe6+ {And the powerful white pieces finished the job.} Nf6 ({Or} 48... Kh7
49. Qe4+) ({Hopeless is} 48... Bf6 49. Qg4+ Bg5 50. Qe4+ Kf6 (50... Rf5 51.
Re6+) 51. Qe6# {Diagram [#]}) 49. Qf7+ Kf5 50. Qxg7 Rhh2 51. Rb7 {Diagram [#]
An epic, irrational battle.} 1-0

Report.

Slow Grinding

The general strategy in a short match of two games is to try and play without any risk whenever possible, especially with the white pieces. Things went very well for the experienced Peruvian GM in the second game of the match Granda Zuniga-Fier at the World Chess Cup 2015 in Baku.

[Event "FIDE World Cup 2015"]
[Site "Baku AZE"]
[Date "2015.09.13"]
[Round "1.52"]
[White "Granda Zuniga, Julio E"]
[Black "Fier, Alexandr"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "A29"]
[WhiteElo "2667"]
[BlackElo "2624"]
[Annotator "Bojkov, Dejan"]
[PlyCount "123"]
[EventDate "2015.09.11"]

1. c4 e5 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. Nf3 Nc6 4. g3 Bb4 {This game followed
Khismatullin-Tomashevsky from the Russian Superfinal that we have annotated
for chess.com not long time ago.} 5. Bg2 O-O 6. O-O e4 7. Ng5 Bxc3 8. bxc3 Re8
9. f3 {This is one of the main lines in the English opening, which was heavily
investigated after Garry Kasparov used it against his great rival Anatoly
Karpov in their match in Sevilla 1987.} exf3 10. Nxf3 Qe7 {Diagram [#]} ({A
couple of weeks ago Anand tried} 10... d5 11. d4 dxc4 12. Bg5 h6 13. Bxf6 Qxf6
14. e4 Bg4 {and held the game to a draw against the future winner of the
tournament in Aronian,L (2765)-Anand,V (2816) Saint Louis 2015}) 11. e3 Ne5 12.
d3 ({Nothing promises} 12. Nxe5 Qxe5 13. Rb1 Rb8 14. Rb5 Qe7 15. d3 d6 16. e4
Bg4 $1 {as seen in another encounter Aronian,L (2780)-Anand,V (2804) Stavanger
2015}) 12... d6 13. Nd4 c5 {Better than} (13... Bg4 14. Qc2 c5 {to which
Tomashevsky explained that the positional exchange sacrifice after} 15. Nf5
Bxf5 16. Rxf5 d5 17. cxd5 c4 18. d4 Nd3 19. Bd2 Ne4 20. Re5 $1 {is good for
White.}) 14. Nc2 $5 $146 {[%cal Rc1a3] Diagram [#] Granda Zuniga comes well
prepared for the game.} ({After the usual} 14. Nf5 Bxf5 15. Rxf5 d5 $1 $146 {
Tomashevsky uncorked a strong novelty. This was only the start of a superb
opening preparation by the former European champion which helped him win the
Russian title, Khismatullin,D (2642)-Tomashevsky,E (2747) Chita 2015.}) 14...
Bg4 15. Qd2 d5 {Fier follows Tomashevsky's footprints but this is exactly what
Granda wants. Instead} (15... Qe6 $5 {will be tested in the future.}) 16. cxd5
c4 17. Ba3 {The point behind White's knight retreat.} Qd8 {The only move as} (
17... Qd7 18. d4 Nd3 19. Rxf6 $1 {Diagram [#]} gxf6 20. e4 {followed by Nc2-e3
is awful for Black.}) 18. dxc4 (18. d4 Nd3 19. Rab1 {was another possibility.})
18... Nxc4 19. Qd4 Rc8 ({White is better after} 19... Nxa3 20. Nxa3 Qe7 21. Nc2
) 20. e4 {White managed to stabilize the situation and keep the extra pawn.
His play is easier.} Qb6 21. Rf4 Ne5 {Psychologically it was difficult to
retreat pieces, but} (21... Bd7 {followed by} 22. Bb4 Ng4 {[%cal Gg4e5]
Diagram [#] and Ng4-e5 with blockade might have been the better choice.}) 22.
Ne3 ({Better than} 22. Qxb6 axb6 23. Bb4 Nd3 {with counter play for Black. For
example} 24. Ne3 Nxf4 25. gxf4 Bd7 26. e5 g5 $1 {Diagram [#]}) 22... Be2 {This
makes things worse as the white knight can take advantage of the f5 square.} (
22... Bd7 {was still best.}) 23. d6 (23. Nf5 {at once was also very good. In
the forced line} Rxc3 24. Ne7+ Kh8 25. Qxb6 axb6 26. Bb2 Nf3+ 27. Bxf3 Rxf3 28.
Bxf6 ({Better than} 28. Rxf3 Bxf3 29. Bxf6 gxf6 30. d6) 28... gxf6 29. d6 {
White has serious winning chances.}) 23... Qa6 24. Bb4 Rcd8 25. Rxf6 $1 {
Diagram [#] This sacrifice is always good! Well sorry, it is not even a
sacrifice here.} gxf6 26. Nd5 Kg7 27. Nc7 Qc6 28. Qe3 {Solid and in accordance
with the general match strategy-no counter play at all for the opponent like in
the line} (28. Nxe8+ Rxe8 29. Qxa7 Bf3 30. Qd4 Bxg2 31. Kxg2 f5) 28... a5 $1 {
Diagram [#] Fier defends very well and takes care of the most dangerous white
pawn.} 29. Bxa5 (29. Bc5 Bf3 $1 {is OK for Black.}) 29... Qxd6 30. Nxe8+ Rxe8
31. Bb4 Qa6 32. Bc5 {Diagram [#] The tactical skirmish is over. Now the
grinding starts.} Qd3 33. Qxd3 Bxd3 34. Rd1 Ra8 35. a3 Bb5 36. Bh3 Bc6 37. Bf5
Nc4 {Misses the excellent chance} (37... Nf3+ 38. Kf2 Ng5 $1 {Diagram [#]} 39.
Re1 Re8 $14) 38. Kf2 h6 39. Bb4 b5 40. Bc5 Be8 41. g4 {White made a lot of
progress, activated his pieces and now the king.} Bc6 42. Kg3 Re8 43. Kf4 Re5
44. Bb4 Re8 45. h4 Ne5 46. Rd6 Ba8 47. h5 $1 {[%csl Yf6,Yf7,Rg7,Yh6][%cal
Gh4h5] Diagram [#] The signature of the great master. There will be no
annoying checks on g6, the black king will be in constant danger (if the black
rook leaves the back rank, the white one will occupy it and Bb4-f8 would prove
deadly).} Nc4 48. Ra6 Nd2 49. Bc5 ({Not bad was} 49. Rb6 Nxe4 50. Bd7 Rd8 51.
Bxb5 $18) 49... Bxe4 (49... Nxe4 $2 50. Rxa8) 50. Bd4 Bxf5 51. Bxf6+ Kh7 52.
Kxf5 {Diagram [#] A pair of pawn were traded but the most important
achievement for White is that he broke the blockade. His pieces are dominating.
} Nc4 53. Kf4 Ne3 54. Rd6 Nc4 55. Rd7 Kg8 56. g5 {The most convincing win.
White plays for an attack.} hxg5+ 57. Kxg5 Nxa3 58. Kh6 {With the idea
Rd7-d5-g5+} Kf8 59. Kh7 Re6 60. Rd8+ Re8 61. Rxe8+ Kxe8 62. Kg8 {Diagram [#]
The h pawn decided the game.} 1-0
Report.

The Start of The World Chess Cup

The FIDE World Chess Cup started yesterday in Baku. A lot of interesting games were played, I chose the following one for you:

[Event "FIDE World Chess Cup"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2015.09.11"]
[Round "1.19"]
[White "Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar"]
[Black "Idani, Pouya"]
[Result "1-0"]
[WhiteElo "2736"]
[BlackElo "2569"]
[Annotator "Bojkov, Dejan"]
[PlyCount "61"]
[EventDate "2015.??.??"]
[WhiteClock "0:28:46"]
[BlackClock "0:17:38"]

{In the first round of the World Cup I would like to pay a tribute to the
hosts with a game of their main hope. Shakriyar Mamedyarov has a dangerous
opponent in this game- the former world youth champion Idani Pouya of Iran.}
1. d4 d5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. e3 e6 4. Bd3 Be7 5. b3 b6 6. Bb2 Bb7 7. Nbd2 Nbd7 8. O-O
O-O 9. c4 {Diagram [#] The position is quite symmetrical but since White is
the first one to play he has more options. He may now like to put the queen on
e2 (c2), connect the rooks and then decide in which moment to open the center.
Pouya decides not to allow this.} Ne4 ({The more usual way is} 9... c5 {which
generates pressure in the center. For example} 10. Qe2 Ne4 11. Rfd1 Qc7 12.
cxd5 exd5 13. Rac1 Bf6 14. Nf1 Rac8 15. Ng3 g6 16. Bb5 {with complex play,
where White seems somewhat better, Short,N (2664)-Ganguly,S (2603) Kolkata
2015}) 10. Rc1 Bd6 ({Also} 10... Rc8 11. Qe2 a5 12. Rfd1 f5 {has been seen,
Danielian,E (2490)-Zhu,C (2461) Sharjah 2014}) 11. Qc2 f5 {The point behind
Black's last move. He wants to create a nice Stonewall position with the dark
squared bishops on the board.} 12. Rfd1 $146 {[%csl Gd1,Yd2,Yd3,Yd4,Yd5,Yd6,
Yd7,Rd8][%cal Gd1d8] Diagram [#] The mystery rook move is a novelty.
Mamedyarov sees in the future.} ({Previously only} 12. Ne5 {has been tried} Rf6
(12... Nxe5 {is not bad neither} 13. dxe5 Bb4 $11) 13. c5 $6 {This drops a
pawn.} bxc5 (13... Nexc5 14. dxc5 Bxe5 15. Bxe5 Nxe5) 14. Bxe4 {and so on,
Cordero,D (1984)-De Leon,P (1741) Montevideo 2009}) 12... Qe7 ({It is quite
understandable that Black does not want to open the files for the white rooks
with} 12... c5 {but that was objectively the correct decision.}) 13. cxd5 exd5
14. Ne5 c5 {Black changes his mind.} ({Bad was} 14... Ndf6 15. f3) ({However}
14... Rac8 {deserved attention as it creates the threat} 15. f3 (15. Ndf3 {is
better to which Black would most likely react with} c5) 15... Nxd2 16. Qxd2
Nxe5 17. dxe5 Bxe5) 15. Nxe4 $1 {The mistery is about to get reveal...} fxe4
16. Bxe4 $3 {[%csl Rd6,Rd7][%cal Rd1d7] Diagram [#]} dxe4 ({There is no choice
} 16... Bxe5 $2 17. Bxh7+) 17. Nxd7 Qxd7 ({Perhaps} 17... Rf5 $1 {[%csl Yd7]
Diagram [#] was the way to play. The idea is to somehow surround the white
knight. True, after} 18. dxc5 ({Or} 18. Ne5 Raf8 {with good compensation for a
pawn.}) 18... bxc5 {Both} 19. Qc4+ ({and} 19. Rxd6 Qxd6 20. Nxc5 Rc8 21. Bd4)
19... Kh8 20. Rxd6 Qxd6 21. Nxc5 Qd2 22. Qc2 Qxc2 23. Rxc2 {give more than
enough for the exchange but it is doubtful that White's advantage will be
sufficient for the whole point.}) 18. dxc5 {[%csl Gd1,Rd6,Rd7] Diagram [#] Now
the mystery of the rook is fully revealed. It wins something along the d file.}
Bxh2+ {The bishop is doomed anyway. For example} (18... bxc5 19. Be5 Rf6 20.
Bxf6 gxf6 21. Qxc5 Bxc5 22. Rxd7 Ba3 23. Rcc7 {and White wins.}) 19. Kxh2 Qc7+
(19... Qg4 {is a bit more active but White is in control after} 20. Kg1 Rac8
21. Qc4+ Kh8 22. Qd4) 20. Kg1 {Diagram [#] White won a pawn and has more
active pieces.} Rac8 21. Qc4+ Rf7 22. cxb6 Qxb6 ({Or else Black loses another
pawn in the endgame} 22... Qxc4 23. Rxc4 Rxc4 24. bxc4 axb6 25. Rd8+ Rf8 26.
Rd6) 23. Qa4 Rcf8 (23... Rxc1 24. Rxc1) 24. Rd7 {Now Mamedyarov decides the
game with direct atack on the seventh and the eight ranks.} Rxd7 25. Qxd7 Rf7
26. Qe8+ Rf8 27. Qa4 {[%csl Ga4,Yb6] Diagram [#] Avoids the possible technical
problems in the opposite colored bishop endgame after} (27. Qe5 Qf6 28. Qxf6
gxf6 29. Rc7 Rf7) 27... a6 28. Qc4+ Rf7 ({White would not mind this endgame
though} 28... Kh8 29. Qc7 Qxc7 30. Rxc7) 29. Rd1 Qc7 30. Qe6 Qe7 {This allows
a beautiful finish.} 31. Ba3 $1 {[%csl Rg8][%cal Rd1d8,Rd8g8] Diagram [#]} ({
Black resigned not willing to see the mate} 31. Ba3 Qxe6 32. Rd8+ Rf8 33. Rxf8#
) 1-0

Report.