Danger in the Reti

Some quiet openings are not as innocent as they seem. True, there are no quick checkmates against the uncastled king (in most of the cases) but a long-term strategical danger often watches for the good opportunity. Check Sanan Sjugirov's effort against D. Jakovenko from round seven of Qatar Masters Open and you know what I mean:

[Event "Qatar Masters Open"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2015.12.27"]
[Round "7.7"]
[White "Sjugirov, Sanan"]
[Black "Jakovenko, Dmitry"]
[Result "1-0"]
[WhiteElo "2646"]
[BlackElo "2737"]
[Annotator "Bojkov, Dejan"]
[PlyCount "69"]
[EventDate "2015.??.??"]
[WhiteClock "0:28:19"]
[BlackClock "0:31:11"]

1. Nf3 d5 2. g3 Bg4 {The Reti opening is again popular nowadays and the system
with Bg4 remains a very reliable weapon for the second player. Especially of
he/she uses the Slav defense against 1.d4.} 3. Bg2 c6 4. O-O e6 5. h3 {Diagram
[#]} ({More common is the continuation} 5. d3 Bd6 6. c4 Ne7 7. cxd5 exd5 8. Nc3
O-O 9. h3 Bh5 10. e4 {as played very recently in Carlsen,M (2850)-Adams,M
(2744) London 2015}) (5. d4 {is also an option.}) 5... Bh5 6. d3 Nd7 7. e4 Bd6
8. exd5 {[%cal Gc2c4] Diagram [#] Quite a venomous plan as we shall see soon.}
cxd5 (8... exd5 {will be met with} 9. c4 {anyway. After} Ne7 10. Nc3 dxc4 11.
dxc4 {White got very nice position in Khairullin,I (2657)-Pashikian,A (2603)
Legnica 2013}) 9. c4 Ne7 {Looks better than} (9... Ngf6 {when after} 10. Nc3 {
White has the additional threat g3-g4-g5 to win the d5 pawn.}) 10. Nc3 O-O 11.
cxd5 exd5 {Perhaps Black should have traded a pair of knights} (11... Nxd5 12.
Nxd5 exd5 {although White has pressure with} 13. Qb3 $1 ({Rather than the
preliminary} 13. g4 Bg6 14. Qb3 Nc5 $1) 13... Nb6 14. a4 a5 15. Be3) 12. g4
$146 {[%csl Rd5,Yh5] Diagram [#] A very unpleasant novelty to meet. The d5
pawn becomes vulnerable.} ({All five predecessors saw} 12. Re1 {which gave a
chance to Black to defend after} Rc8 13. d4 h6 14. Qb3 Nb6 15. Ne5 Nc6 {
as in the blitz game Kramnik,V (2769)-Adams,M (2745) London 2014}) 12... Bg6
13. Nh4 Nb6 {P. Svidler explained in his live commentary that Black's main
plan is to try and sacrifice the ill d5 pawn for counterplay on the dark
squares. Besides this defense Jakovenko had two other interesting options:} (
13... d4 {which is generally not desirable as it prolongs the diagonal of the
light squared bishop. Play may continue} 14. Nb5 Bc5 {When White has various
ways of developing the initiative. There is an interesting pawn sacrifice:} 15.
b4 ({As well as solid mounting of pressure} 15. Qb3 a6 16. Na3 Ra7 17. Bf4) ({
And classical approach-} 15. f4) 15... Bxb4 16. Rb1 a5 17. Bf4 {In all cases
White seems favourite.}) ({Probably Blac needed to drag the d4 pawn closer to
his camp with} 13... Nc5 $5 14. d4 Ne6 15. f4 Nc6 16. Nxg6 (16. f5 $2 Qxh4)
16... hxg6 17. Be3 Nc7 {this still looks better for White but Black can try to
counter-attack on d4 later.}) 14. Bg5 {with the obvious intention to grab the
pawn after some trades. This move causes confusion in Jakovenko's camp.} (14.
a4 {at once was also good.}) 14... Qd7 ({White is better after} 14... h6 15.
Nxg6 fxg6 16. Be3 Bf4 17. Bd4) 15. a4 $1 {[%csl Yd7][%cal Rb6d7,Ra4a5] Diagram
[#] Now that the queen is no longer protecting the knight on b6 and is taking
the d7 square of it this is specifically painful.} Rae8 ({The bad black knight
is concern in the line} 15... a5 16. Be3 Qd8 17. Qb3 (17. Nb5 $5) 17... Bb4 18.
Na2 $16) 16. a5 Na8 {Awkward to say at least.} 17. Nxg6 ({Svidler revealed
that Black's idea to sacrifice a pawn would have worked well after} 17. Bxe7
Bxe7 (17... Qxe7 {is actually simpler and better} 18. Nxg6 hxg6 19. Nxd5 Qe5 {
with counterplay along the dark squares.}) 18. Nxg6 hxg6 19. Nxd5 Nc7 {[%csl
Rd6,Re5,Rf4,Rg3,Rh2] Diagram [#] and Black will prepare battery on the b8-h2
diagonal.}) 17... Nxg6 (17... hxg6 {was more stubborn.}) 18. Qa4 $1 {[%csl Ya8,
Rd5,Gf4] Diagram [#] A powerful move. White is not in a hurry to capture the
"d" pawn and offers the queen exchange instead. If these two disappear there
will be no counterplay along the dark squares and the drawbacks in Black's
position will be exposed. The "d" pawn will go west, and yes-the knight on a8
would not be the jewel in the crown. The queen controls the "f4" square and
thus kills any counter chances by Black.} Qe6 (18... Qxa4 19. Rxa4 {is
practically lost for Black.}) 19. Bd2 {Another cool move that moves the bishop
away from the vulnerable g5 square, but which prepares Ra1-e1 as well as the
advance of the "f" pawn.} ({No need to allow any counterplay after} 19. Nxd5 f5
) 19... Qe5 ({If} 19... Nc7 20. Rae1 Qc8 {White would finally take the pawn}
21. Nxd5) 20. f4 Bc5+ 21. Kh1 Qb8 22. Nxd5 $18 {Diagram [#] Sjugirov won the
pawn and kept all the positional advantages.} Bd6 23. Qd4 Rd8 24. Bc3 f6 {
After some preparation White opens the game.} 25. g5 Ne7 26. gxf6 Nf5 (26...
gxf6 {is hopeless-} 27. Nxf6+ Kg7 (27... Kf7 28. Bd5+ Nxd5 29. Qxd5+) 28. Nd7+)
27. Qc4 Rf7 (27... Ng3+ 28. Kh2 Nxf1+ 29. Rxf1 $18) 28. fxg7 Rc8 29. Nf6+ {
Diagram [#]} Kxg7 30. Nd7+ Kg8 31. Nxb8 Rxc4 32. dxc4 Ng3+ (32... Bxb8 33. Bd5)
33. Kg1 Ne2+ 34. Kh2 Nxf4 35. Kh1 {Sanan Sjugirov joins Magnus Carlsen in the
lead!} 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.

A Win in the Last Round

The last round of the Russian Super Final saw no huge surprises. Evgeny Tomashevsky comfortably drew his game with the white pieces against Peter Svidler and this proved enough for a clear first place as his nearest riva, Sergey Karjakin could not win as black against D. Jakovenko.
The already former Russian champion Igor Lysyj managed to score his only win in the event:

[Event "Russian Championship Superfinal"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2015.08.20"]
[Round "11.1"]
[White "Lysyj, Igor"]
[Black "Artemiev, Vladislav"]
[Result "1-0"]
[WhiteElo "2673"]
[BlackElo "2671"]
[Annotator "Bojkov, Dejan"]
[PlyCount "99"]
[EventDate "2015.??.??"]
[WhiteClock "0:17:56"]
[BlackClock "0:24:31"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 4. Nf3 Bg7 5. Qb3 dxc4 6. Qxc4 Be6 {Diagram [#]
"An obvious idea. Somehow nobody had played like that and I did not seriously
analyze it." Lysyj} 7. Qa4+ $6 {Now Artemiev's opening play will be pure
success and he will get a chance to fight for the bronze medal.} ({White can
also consider grabbing a pawn with} 7. Qb5+ {and I suspect that this is the
way that White should fight for the advantage. One example} Bd7 8. Qxb7 Nc6 9.
Qb3 O-O {although Black has compensation thanks to his better development,
Agdestein,S (2637)-Lei,T (2450) Warsaw 2014}) 7... Bd7 8. Qc2 $146 {[%csl Yc2]
Diagram [#]} ({In all three predecessors White continued} 8. Qb3 {but had
horrible results.}) (8. Qa3 $5 {might be an option although it is evident that
White has less than nothing out of the opening.}) 8... c5 9. d5 ({Black is at
least equal after} 9. dxc5 Na6 10. e4 Nxc5) 9... O-O 10. e4 e6 11. Be2 exd5 12.
exd5 {Lysyj made an interesting parallel with the line of the English opening,
in which White has much better version of this line with his queen on d1 and
the black bishop on c8 instead of d7.} Na6 13. Bg5 {From far away Lysyj
thought that he could castle but here he realized that} (13. O-O {is strongly
met with} Nb4 14. Qb3 {[%csl Yb3] Diagram [#]} Nfxd5 $1 15. Nxd5 Be6 $17) 13...
Bf5 14. Qb3 Nb4 15. O-O h6 ({Once again Artemiev could have won a pawn after}
15... Nbxd5 16. Nxd5 Qxd5 17. Bc4 Qc6 18. Rfe1 {Diagram [#] and although White
has some compensation for it, it is hardly sufficient.}) 16. Bxf6 Qxf6 17. Rac1
{White can be happy for not losing the pawn but it is still his opponent who
is calling the shots.} a6 ({Black has plenty of choice, e.g} 17... Nd3 18. Bxd3
Bxd3 19. Rfe1 c4 {looks tempting.} 20. Qxb7 Rfb8 21. Qc7 Rxb2 {to open up the
bishops.}) 18. Rfd1 b5 19. Ne1 {Lysyj believed his opponent missed this
resource. Now the knight on b4 is in danger.} Rfe8 $2 ({The easiest way to
save the knight was} 19... Qe7 {Diagram [#]} 20. a3 Bxc3 21. bxc3 Nxd5 22. Qxd5
Qxe2 23. Qxc5 Rfd8 {with advantage to Black.}) 20. a3 Bf8 ({Artemiev suggested
after the game} 20... Na2 $5 21. Qxa2 b4 {Indeed, in the complication after}
22. axb4 cxb4 23. Nf3 bxc3 24. bxc3 Be4 {Black has compensation for the pawn.})
21. Rd2 $1 {[%csl Yb4] Diagram [#] Now the knight remains in trouble and Black
has to demonstrate resourcefulness.} ({But not} 21. axb4 $6 cxb4 22. Bf3 bxc3
23. Qxc3 Qxc3 24. bxc3 Ba3 {with clear edge in the endgame.}) 21... Nd3 22.
Nxd3 c4 23. Qd1 cxd3 24. Bxd3 {Black did everything he could, but lost a pawn
in the process.} Bd6 ({Perhaps Black's best chance was to at least keep the
bishop pair on board after} 24... Bd7) 25. g3 Re5 26. Bxf5 Qxf5 27. Kg2 {[%csl
Rc5,Rc6,Gd5] Diagram [#] "I understood that the situation of the pawn on b5
will make it much easier for me to convert the extra pawn" Lysyj. The c6 and
c5 squares in particular are of paramount importance for White.} Rae8 28. Qf3
Qd7 29. h4 Qb7 (29... h5 $5) 30. Re2 $1 {[%csl Gd5,Ye2,Ye5] Diagram [#] The
rook swap makes it easier to White to co-ordinate his forces as the d5 pawn is
no longer a huge target.} Rxe2 31. Nxe2 Be5 32. b4 Rd8 33. Rd1 $1 {The correct
set up. The rook is placed behind the passer and next the knight goes to the
wonderful outpost on c5.} (33. Rc6 Qd7 {complicates matters} 34. Rxa6 Qxd5 35.
Qxd5 Rxd5 36. Ra5 Bf6 {as in the R+B versus R+N endgame the latter usually has
the advantage over the former combination and in many cases they manage to
compensate for the extra pawn.}) 33... h5 34. Nc1 {[%csl Gc5][%cal Gc1b3,Gb3c5]
Diagram [#]} Rd6 35. Nb3 Rf6 36. Qe4 Bd6 37. Qe8+ Kg7 38. Nc5 {In addition to
the extra pawn White added more active pieces. All of them are optimally
placed to help the pawn go forward.} Qa7 39. Ne4 Rf5 40. Qc6 Bc7 41. d6 Bd8 42.
d7 a5 43. Rd5 axb4 44. axb4 Qa2 45. Rxf5 gxf5 46. Qc3+ Kg6 47. Nc5 Qd5+ 48. Qf3
Qd6 49. Qa8 Qb6 ({White wins everything in the line} 49... Bb6 50. Qg8+ Kf6 51.
Qg5+ Ke5 52. Qxh5 Bxc5 53. Qh8+) 50. Qd5 {Diagram [#] Vladislav Artemiev could
not make it to the medals but proved that has bright future, while the already
former Russian champion Igor Lysyj won his first game at the end of the event.}
1-0

Report.

Jakovenko and the Stalemate

Dmitry Jakovenko shared the win at the last stage of the Grand Prix series in Khanty-Mansiysk. His result was great and he came very tiny bit short of qualifying for the Candidates matches.
The following mishap might have been the reason:

[Event "FIDE Grand Prix - Khanty-Mansiysk"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2015.05.24"]
[Round "9.1"]
[White "Jakovenko, Dmitry"]
[Black "Gelfand, Boris"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[WhiteElo "2738"]
[BlackElo "2744"]
[Annotator "Bojkov, Dejan"]
[PlyCount "105"]
[EventDate "2015.??.??"]
[WhiteClock "0:01:46"]
[BlackClock "0:15:13"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 {Gelfand switches to his
beloved Najdorf.} 6. h3 e5 7. Nde2 h5 8. g3 b5 {Diagram [#]} ({Another
interesting line is} 8... Nbd7 9. Bg5 Be7 10. a4 Nc5 11. Bg2 Be6 12. a5 b5 13.
axb6 Qxb6 {Caruana,F (2811)-Nakamura,H (2776) Zuerich 2015}) 9. Nd5 Nbd7 10.
Bg5 Bb7 11. Nec3 Rc8 12. Bg2 Be7 13. Nxe7 Qxe7 14. O-O Qe6 15. Re1 b4 16. Nd5
$146 {[%csl Gd5][%cal Re4d5] Diagram [#] A novelty. In these positions people
usually try to keep the d5 square clear for the pieces and do not hurry to
trade the knight there as the nice outpost vanishes. This was the reason why
Leko played:} (16. Na4 {but this did not yield him much after} Rc4 (16... O-O
$5) (16... d5 $5) 17. f3 h4 18. g4 d5 19. b3 Rd4 {Leko,P (2737)-Mamedyarov,S
(2761) Beijing 2013}) 16... Bxd5 {Now forced play starts.} 17. exd5 Qf5 18. Bd2
({Of course not} 18. Bxf6 Nxf6 {which would be horrible for White from
positional point of view.}) 18... Rxc2 19. Rc1 (19. Bxb4 $4 Qxf2+ 20. Kh1 Qxg2#
) 19... Rxc1 20. Qxc1 {It seems as White can exploit his better development to
reach the black weaknesses on the queenside and/or the king in the middle, but
Gelfand is well prepared.} Nc5 21. Bxb4 Nd3 22. Qc6+ Qd7 23. Qa8+ Qd8 24. Qc6+
{Diagram [#] As the Israeli GM confessed at the press-conference all of this
was home preparation. But here he decided to play for more than a draw and went
} Nd7 $4 (24... Qd7 $11 {with a draw was mandatory.}) 25. Re4 {Gelfand missed
this simple move. "I had to resign"- said the Israeli GM.} f5 26. Rc4 e4 27.
Qxa6 {Jakovenko saw his chance and went for a decisive attack. Somewhere
around here both players were low on time.} (27. Bxd6 {was also good.}) 27...
Nxb4 28. Qxd6 $1 Nd3 29. Qe6+ Kf8 30. Qxf5+ Kg8 31. Qe6+ (31. Rxe4 N3c5 32. Re3
{is another way to play for a win.}) 31... Kf8 32. Qd6+ Kg8 33. Qe6+ Kf8 34.
Qxe4 {Diagram [#] For the knight white has four pawns and strong threats. On a
high level the game is practically over.} N3e5 35. Qf5+ Kg8 36. d6 Rh6 (36...
Nxc4 37. Bd5# {is a nice mate.}) 37. Re4 h4 ({Perhaps Black should have
defended the position after} 37... Rxd6 38. Rxe5 Nxe5 39. Qxe5) 38. Rxh4 Rxh4
39. gxh4 Qxh4 40. Bd5+ Kh8 41. Kh1 {The time trouble is over and Jakovenko has
time to find the winning plan. He prepares the f2-f4 advance which will spoil
the comfort of the black horses.} Qh6 42. f4 g6 43. Qe6 Qf8 44. Bb3 $1 {[%cal
Yf8c8,Yc8c1] Diagram [#] "Brilliant idea! Qf8-c8 was a threat and Bb3 is a
great prophylaxys." Gelfand.} ({For example} 44. b4 Qc8 45. fxe5 Qc1+ {with
perpetual check.}) ({Another profilactical move should also win-} 44. h4 {with
the idea} Qc8 45. fxe5 Qc1+ 46. Kh2 Qd2+ 47. Bg2 Qf4+ 48. Kg1 Qd4+ 49. Kh1 {
and White escapes from the checks.}) 44... g5 45. f5 (45. fxe5 $4 Qf1+ 46. Kh2
Qf2+ {is another perpetual.}) 45... Nd3 {In desperation, Gelfand sacrifices a
knight hoping for another escape. The stalemate idea this time.} 46. Qxd7 Qa8+
47. Kg1 ({The only move, as if} 47. Kh2 $4 Nf4 $1 {[%csl Rh2] Diagram [#] it
will be White to has to make the draw after} 48. Bd5 Qxd5 49. Qd8+ Kh7 50. Qe7+
Kh6 51. Qf6+ {and perpetual for a change.}) 47... Nf4 48. Kf2 g4 {The last
chance that...} 49. hxg4 $2 {Works! As GM Sergey Rublevsky mentioned at the
press-conference both} (49. Kg3 Qg2+ 50. Kh4 Qf2+ 51. Kg5 Nxh3+ 52. Kg6 Nf4+
53. Kf7 $18) ({and} 49. Ke3 Qf3+ 50. Kd4 Qf2+ 51. Kc4 {would ahve won for
White.}) 49... Qg2+ 50. Ke3 Nd5+ $1 {Diagram [#] Jakovenko saw the stalemate
idea, but being short in time again he could not figure out the correct move
order. He espected only queen checks and forgot that Black can get rid of the
knight first. With it's disappearance, the black queen fells desperately in
love with the white king and starts chasing it for one last hug.} 51. Kd4 ({Or
stalemate after} 51. Bxd5 Qd2+ 52. Kf3 Qf2+ 53. Kxf2) ({And} 51. Kd3 Qg3+ 52.
Kd4 Qf4+ 53. Kc5 Qb4+ 54. Kc6 Qb6+ 55. Kxd5 Qc5+ 56. Ke6 Qe5+ 57. Kf7 Qf6+ 58.
Ke8 Qf8+ 59. Kxf8) 51... Qf2+ 52. Kxd5 Qd4+ 53. Kxd4 {Diagram [#] Stalemate!
Very unusual for this level!} 1/2-1/2

Time Trouble

The ninth round of the Tashkent Grand Prix saw more exciting chess with two black wins. Shakhriyar Mamedyarov was quite lucky to turn the tables in his favour against Dmitry Jakovenko:

[Event "Tashkent FIDE GP"]
[Site "Tashkent UZB"]
[Date "2014.10.31"]
[Round "9"]
[White "Jakovenko, D."]
[Black "Mamedyarov, S."]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "A04"]
[WhiteElo "2747"]
[BlackElo "2764"]
[Annotator "Bojkov, Dejan"]
[PlyCount "72"]
[EventDate "2014.10.20"]

1. Nf3 {In this game Mamedyarov surprised his opponent with the Dutch defense.
One should be looking forward to those surprises at a top level. Especially
after the free days!} f5 {"It is the second time in my life that I play 1...f5.
I just wanted to play chess." Mamedyarov} 2. c4 Nf6 3. g3 g6 4. b4 d6 5. d4 Bg7
6. Bb2 {However, it seems as something went wrong with Shakh's preparation as
after the game he called his next move a mistake} e5 $6 7. dxe5 Nfd7 8. Bg2
dxe5 ({Probably the lesser eveil for the second player is} 8... Nc6 9. Qb3
Ndxe5 10. Nxe5 dxe5 $14 {Kovalyov,A (2599)-Mastrovasilis,A (2539) Leros 2010})
9. O-O Qe7 {Diagram [#]} 10. e4 $1 $146 {A powerful novelty which Jakovenko
found over the board.} ({Black hoped he will have time to play e5-e4 himself,
for example} 10. Nc3 c6 11. b5 e4 $132 {Gagliardi,V (2034)-Fister,B (2235)
ICCF email 2008}) 10... O-O ({Black suggested the following line at the press
conference as advantageous for White} 10... f4 11. gxf4 (11. Ba3 $1 {also
looks fine as} O-O 12. b5 Nc5 13. Qd5+ {loses a piece for Black.}) 11... exf4
12. Bxg7 Qxg7 13. e5 $16) (10... Qxb4 $2 {would be horrible and will give a
chance to Shakh to become part of the miniature textbooks} 11. Ba3 Qxc4 12.
exf5 {and if Black is still greedy the game might rapidly finish} gxf5 13. Ng5
$1 Nf6 ({There is also the fancy line} 13... h5 14. Bd5 Qa6 15. Bf7+ Kd8 16.
Ne6+) 14. Re1 $18 {with decisive attack in the center, say} e4 15. Nd2 Qa6 16.
Ndxe4 $1 fxe4 17. Bxe4 {[%csl Ge4,Re8][%cal Ge1e8,Gd1d8,Ga3f8,Gg5f7,Ge4g6,
Ge4c6] Diagram [#]}) 11. b5 $1 {Energetic play! Jakovenko will tie up the
black pieces before they wake up from the slumber.} Nc5 12. Nc3 Be6 13. Nd5 Qd6
14. Ng5 $16 {"It is very bad", repeated Mamedyarov, shaking his head.} Nbd7 15.
Ba3 Bf7 {A critical moment.} ({Black wanted to play} 15... Rae8 {but did not
like the lines after} 16. exf5 gxf5 {is even worse} (16... Bxf5 17. g4 $1 Bd3 (
17... Be6 18. Ne4 $1 {[%csl Rd6] Diagram [#] curiously traps the queen in the
middle of the board.}) 18. Qxd3 Nxd3 19. Bxd6 cxd6 {with big advantage for
White as he wins at least a pawn after} 20. Ne4 Re6 21. Rad1 Nb2 22. Nc7 $16)
17. Qh5 h6 18. Nxe6 Rxe6 (18... Qxe6 19. Nxc7) 19. Rad1 $18) 16. Qc2 {A good
move with the idea Ra1-d1, but it gives some time to Black to catch his breath
up.} (16. exf5 $1 {would have increased White's advantage. The timely capture
on f5 is a common theme in both the KID and the Dutch. It is curious to know
what did the former European champion Jakovenko miss in this line. White is
most likely winning after} gxf5 17. Ne3 $1 {Mamedyarov} Qxd1 18. Raxd1 {with
the threats Ne3xf5, Bg2xb7, Ng5-e6, Bg2-d5 and maybe five more that I am
missing.} e4 19. Nxf5 Bxc4 20. Nxg7 Bxf1 21. Rxf1 Kxg7 22. Nxe4 b6 (22... Nxe4
23. Bxf8+) 23. Nxc5 Nxc5 24. Bxa8 Rxa8 25. Bxc5 bxc5 26. Rc1 $18) 16... c6 17.
Nb4 a5 {Now the games follows a forced line.} 18. Rad1 ({The computer suggests
} 18. Na6 $5 bxa6 19. Rad1 Qf6 20. bxc6 Qxc6 (20... Qxg5 21. cxd7 Qe7 22. exf5
$16) 21. exf5 e4 22. Nxe4 Nxe4 23. Bxe4 Qc7 24. Bd6 Qa7 25. Bxf8 Rxf8 26. fxg6
hxg6 27. Bxg6 $16 {and if this was played during the game I suggest that we
replace the human players with computers for the next cycle.}) 18... Qf6 19.
Nd3 Qxg5 ({Clearly worse is} 19... Nxd3 20. Rxd3 Qxg5 21. Rxd7 $18) 20. Nxc5
Nxc5 21. Bxc5 {Black managed to trade the horses but his position remains
unpleasant. White can push for the win without any risk. Unfortunately for the
Russian player, he got into time trouble.} Rfd8 $5 {Lures the bishop on the
less active b6 square.} ({After} 21... Rfc8 22. Rd7 $1 cxb5 23. Be7 Qh5 24. c5
$16 {White's clearly better due to the miscoordinated black pieces.}) 22. Bb6
Rdc8 23. exf5 $6 {Seven moves ago this was winning, now it lets the advantage
slip away. Chess that is...} (23. Rd7 $1 {Diagram [#] suggested by Shakhriyar
was best. He also showed the principled line} cxb5 24. c5 $1 Be8 {this is what
he wanted to play but Black is not doing great at all} (24... f4 25. Rxb7 Bc4
26. Rd1 Rab8 27. Rxb8 Rxb8 28. a4 $1 {wins for White.}) ({As does also} 24...
Bc4 25. exf5 Bxf1 26. Kxf1 $18 {and Black is helpless.}) 25. Rxb7 Bc6 {Here
Mamedyarov was not sure about the line} 26. Qb3+ ({But instead} 26. exf5 $1
Bxg2 27. Kxg2 Qxf5 28. Qb3+ Kh8 29. Qd5 {is huge advatage for White}) 26... Kh8
27. Rf7) 23... Qxf5 24. Be4 {Surprisingly the most natural move is inaccuracy.
It is interesting to see how differently the two players were evaluating the
position. Jakovenko thoought that he might be already worse, while Mamedyarov
stated that after his next move he is OK.} (24. Qxf5 gxf5 25. bxc6 bxc6 26. Rc1
Ra6 27. Bc5 Bf8 {with chances for a draw was suggested at the press conference.
}) (24. Rd2 $5 {was still leaving White somewhat better} Qxc2 25. Rxc2) 24...
Qe6 $11 25. bxc6 bxc6 26. c5 {In the time trouble Jakovenko tries to force a
draw, but this is very hard task against the mischievous Mamedyarov.} (26. Rc1
{was safer} Bh6 27. Be3 Bxe3 28. fxe3 $11) 26... Qxa2 27. Qxa2 Bxa2 28. Rd6 Bc4
29. Rb1 $2 {This is the actual mistake!} (29. Ra1 Bb5 30. Rxa5 Rxa5 31. Bxa5
Bf8 32. Re6 {was sugegsted by Mamedyarov at the press conference and he added
that the rook is not trapped after} ({White can aslo defend with} 32. Rd2 Bxc5
33. Bc3 Re8 34. Bc2) 32... Kf7 33. Rxe5 Bg7 ({In this line the Azeri GM missed
the geometrical motif} 33... Ra8 $1 {when the white bishop will have to stand
on the same diagonal with the bishop sooner or later} 34. Bd2 (34. Bb4 Ra4 35.
Bc3 Rc4 36. Bb2 Bg7 $19) (34. Bc3 Bg7) (34. Be1 Ra1 35. Bf3 Bg7 36. Re3 Bd4 37.
Re4 Bc3 $19) 34... Bg7 35. Rg5 Bh6 {still, it is hard to say if Black can win
this after the counter trick} 36. Rxg6 $5 Bxd2 37. Rd6 Bb4 38. Bxc6 Ra1+ 39.
Kg2 Bf1+ 40. Kf3 Bxc5 41. Bd5+ $17) 34. Rg5 {but if we continue the line with
the move} Be2 {we shall see that White's problems are still there. The rook is
not feeling comfortable at all, pour some zeitnot to that and you know how it
feels.}) 29... a4 $19 {Now the a passer is obviously much stronger than the c
one.} 30. Rxc6 a3 31. Rxc8+ (31. Rd6 {was suggested by Shakh as a last chance
for his adversary, but Black should win that too} a2 32. Ra1 Ra4 {with teh
idea to clear the diagonal for the dark-squared bishop.}) 31... Rxc8 32. c6 a2
33. Ra1 Bf8 34. c7 Bd6 35. Bb7 {Diagram [#]} Bxc7 $1 {The last finesse.} ({
Jakovenko was hoping for} 35... Rxc7 36. Bxc7 Bxc7 37. Be4 {followed by
Be4-b1! and chances for a draw.}) 36. Bxc8 Bxb6 {White loses the rook and
resigned. Jakovenko got big advantage out of the opening. He missed to
increase it by opening the position and then let it all slip away in the time
trouble.} 0-1

Shakhriyar is now sharing the second place with Nakamura. A sole leader is Dmitry Andreikin who won also with the black pieces to the former co-leader Baadur Jobava. Standings.