Deja vu in London. Once more Hikaru Nakamura was the only trouble maker and winner in round four. His victim- the former world champion Veselin Topalov:
Showing posts with label round four. Show all posts
Showing posts with label round four. Show all posts
13.12.16
21.1.16
Chinese Perfection
The fourth round of Tata Steel was extremely interesting. Fabiano Caruana came very close to increasing his lead even further but slipped in the rook endgame and only drew to Anish Giri.
Somewhat surprising, but fully deserved the pack of followers was joined by the former women world champion Hou Yifan. She played a true masterpiece:
A game that I liked (ChessBase 13)
[Event "Tata Steel Chess - Masters"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2016.01.19"]
[Round "4.4"]
[White "Hou, Yifan"]
[Black "Navara, David"]
[Result "1-0"]
[WhiteElo "2673"]
[BlackElo "2730"]
[Annotator "Bojkov, Dejan"]
[PlyCount "79"]
[EventDate "2016.??.??"]
[WhiteClock "0:54:33"]
[BlackClock "0:38:20"]
1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. e5 {The Advanced line of the Caro Kann was considered
inferior for White up to the 1990-ies. Nowadays it is the main choice of the
top players.} Bf5 {It is all about this bishop- is it better placed outside
the pawn chain or not?} 4. Nf3 e6 5. Be2 Nd7 6. O-O Bg6 7. Nbd2 Nh6 8. Nb3 Nf5
9. Bd2 {Diagram [#]} ({Navara had also faced} 9. a4 a6 10. a5 c5 11. dxc5 Bxc5
12. Nxc5 Nxc5 13. c3 {Grischuk,A (2774)-Navara,D (2734) Berlin 2015}) 9... Be7
10. g4 Nh4 {A small surprise. Previously, the Czech GM had only tested} (10...
Nh6 {for example} 11. Ne1 O-O 12. Ng2 c5 {as in Motylev,A (2649)-Navara,D
(2734) Berlin 2015}) 11. Nxh4 Bxh4 12. f4 {This is what the Advanced line is
all about. White has strong center and likes to attack on the kingside. The
black bishop(s) helps her providing some extra tempos.} f5 13. c4 {An
interesting move that Hou had prepared before, but checked only briefly as
"David plays many openings".} (13. exf6 {is more common. Caruana had played it
in 2011.}) ({And} 13. Bd3 {has been seen as well.}) 13... a5 $146 {[%cal Ga5a4]
Diagram [#] A sharp novelty in comparison to} (13... Be7 14. cxd5 cxd5 15. Rc1
O-O {Mortensen,E (2450)-Rasmussen,K (2466) Denmark 2008}) 14. a4 {Hou fixes
the pawn on a5. To more tactical play will lead:} (14. cxd5 cxd5 15. Bb5 {
When White considered} Be7 ({While Navara intended to go for} 15... O-O 16.
Bxa5 Rxa5 17. Nxa5 Nxe5 {with huge complications.}) 16. a4 O-O 17. g5 {with
some advantage for White after} h6 (17... Nb8 18. Rc1) 18. h4) 14... O-O ({
Black could have transposed to the line from above with} 14... Be7 15. cxd5
cxd5 ({Weaker is} 15... exd5 16. Qc2 O-O 17. Bd3 {when the f5 square will be
cracked.}) 16. Bb5 {and this was probably the lesser evil for Black.}) 15. g5 {
[%csl Yh4][%cal Ga1c1,Gc1c3,Gc3h3,Gh3h4] Diagram [#] With the idea
Ra1-c1-c3-h3 to trap the bishop (Hou).} h6 ({In case of} 15... dxc4 16. Bxc4
Re8 {White planned} 17. Rc1 ({Although} 17. Qf3 {with the idea} Nb6 18. Be2 h6
19. gxh6 gxh6 20. Bxa5 {is equally good.}) 17... h6 18. gxh6 gxh6 {with
advantage for White.}) 16. gxh6 gxh6 17. Kh1 {White's position is extremely
promising. Navra had to open the kingside in order to save the bishop and this
only strengthened Hou's attack.} Kh7 18. cxd5 {Before White starts the attack
she saveguards her center.} ({The computer suggests the direct approach} 18. c5
b6 19. Rg1 $1 {[%csl Yg6,Yh7][%cal Ge2h5] Diagram [#] with the tactical point}
bxc5 20. Bh5 Rg8 21. Bxg6+ Rxg6 22. Qh5 Nf8 23. Nxc5 {and White is in total
command.}) 18... cxd5 19. Rc1 b6 {This weakens the c6 square but takes away
the c5 one from the white knight.} ({If Navara had foreseen what is coming
next, he would have chosen} 19... Rg8 20. Rc3 Be8 {in order to build some
kingside barricades although it is questionable if his position is bulletproof
enough.}) 20. Rc6 {[%csl Ye6][%cal Gc6e6] Diagram [#]} Rc8 {This was Black's
idea as} (20... Bf7 21. Qc2 (21. Bb5 $5 {with the idea} Rc8 $2 22. Rd6 {
also looks nice for White.}) 21... Rc8 22. Rc1 {is awful from positional point
of view.}) 21. Rxe6 $3 {How is not afraid to sacrifice the rook! Black would
be happy after both} (21. Rxc8 Qxc8) ({And} 21. Qc2 Nb8 (21... Rxc6 22. Qxc6
Nb8)) 21... Bf7 22. Rd6 Be7 23. Bd3 {[%csl Yf5,Rh7][%cal Gd3f5] Diagram [#] So
far all moves are forced. White had also considered:} (23. Nxa5 bxa5 24. Bxa5
Qxa5 25. Rxd7 {but abandoned this line for} Rc7) 23... Bxd6 24. Bxf5+ Kh8 25.
Qg4 $1 {Diagram [#] Super-precision. If} (25. exd6 {then} Rg8 {will
significantly slow White's attack.}) 25... Rc7 ({In the other principled line}
25... Rg8 26. Qh3 Bf8 27. Bxd7 {Hou charmingly admitted that she missed} Bg6 {
Still, her position is so strong that her advantage is indisputable after} 28.
Bf5 Rc6 29. Bxg6 Rcxg6 30. f5 Qc8 31. Be3 {(Hou) is also good for big advantage
} (31. Bf4 {followed by Nb3-d2 and e5-e6 will soon win for White.}) 31... Qc2
32. Nd2) 26. Qh3 $1 {[%csl Yh6,Rh8][%cal Yh6h5] Diagram [#] Insted of taking
the bishop with a tempo this! Another cool move that weakens the black king
further.} (26. exd6 Rb7 27. Qh3 {would actually transpose.}) 26... h5 27. exd6
Ra7 28. Be6 $1 {[%cal Gf4f5,Yd2f4,Yf4e5,Yf4g5,Yg5h6] Diagram [#] With the idea
f4-f5 in order to insert the dark-squared bishop in the attack.} ({Not} 28.
Bxd7 Qxd7 29. f5 {with the idea Bd2-f4-e5+ and mating attack due to the strong
resource} Bg6 $1 {(Hou) when tables will be turned in Black's favour.}) (28.
Nc1 Nf6 29. Nd3 Qxd6 30. Ne5) 28... Nf6 {A bit more stubborn was} (28... Qe8 {
Although after} 29. Re1 Nf6 30. d7 $1 Qe7 31. Bf5 Qd6 32. Nc1 {White is
winning since} Nxd7 {leads to mate after} 33. Re6 $1 {Diagram [#]} Bxe6 34.
Qxh5+ Kg7 35. Qg6+ Kh8 36. Qh7#) ({A cute mate will happen after} 28... Bxe6
29. Qxh5+ Kg7 30. Rg1+ Kf6 31. Qg6#) 29. f5 Qxd6 30. Bf4 Qd8 31. Be5 {Black is
completely paralized and the rest is curtains.} Bg8 (31... Kh7 32. Rg1) 32.
Qxh5+ Rh7 33. Qg5 Qe7 34. Nc1 $1 {[%csl Re7,Rf8,Rh8][%cal Gc1d3,Gd3f4,Gf4g6]
Diagram [#] The last piece joins the action.} Qg7 35. Qxg7+ Rxg7 36. Nd3 Rg4
37. Nf4 {[%csl Rg4][%cal Gf4g6,Gh2h3] Diagram [#] As a desert- a rook trap.}
Kh7 38. h3 Rg3 39. Ng6 Rxh3+ 40. Kg2 {A model game by Hou!} 1-0
Report.
Somewhat surprising, but fully deserved the pack of followers was joined by the former women world champion Hou Yifan. She played a true masterpiece:
[Event "Tata Steel Chess - Masters"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2016.01.19"]
[Round "4.4"]
[White "Hou, Yifan"]
[Black "Navara, David"]
[Result "1-0"]
[WhiteElo "2673"]
[BlackElo "2730"]
[Annotator "Bojkov, Dejan"]
[PlyCount "79"]
[EventDate "2016.??.??"]
[WhiteClock "0:54:33"]
[BlackClock "0:38:20"]
1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. e5 {The Advanced line of the Caro Kann was considered
inferior for White up to the 1990-ies. Nowadays it is the main choice of the
top players.} Bf5 {It is all about this bishop- is it better placed outside
the pawn chain or not?} 4. Nf3 e6 5. Be2 Nd7 6. O-O Bg6 7. Nbd2 Nh6 8. Nb3 Nf5
9. Bd2 {Diagram [#]} ({Navara had also faced} 9. a4 a6 10. a5 c5 11. dxc5 Bxc5
12. Nxc5 Nxc5 13. c3 {Grischuk,A (2774)-Navara,D (2734) Berlin 2015}) 9... Be7
10. g4 Nh4 {A small surprise. Previously, the Czech GM had only tested} (10...
Nh6 {for example} 11. Ne1 O-O 12. Ng2 c5 {as in Motylev,A (2649)-Navara,D
(2734) Berlin 2015}) 11. Nxh4 Bxh4 12. f4 {This is what the Advanced line is
all about. White has strong center and likes to attack on the kingside. The
black bishop(s) helps her providing some extra tempos.} f5 13. c4 {An
interesting move that Hou had prepared before, but checked only briefly as
"David plays many openings".} (13. exf6 {is more common. Caruana had played it
in 2011.}) ({And} 13. Bd3 {has been seen as well.}) 13... a5 $146 {[%cal Ga5a4]
Diagram [#] A sharp novelty in comparison to} (13... Be7 14. cxd5 cxd5 15. Rc1
O-O {Mortensen,E (2450)-Rasmussen,K (2466) Denmark 2008}) 14. a4 {Hou fixes
the pawn on a5. To more tactical play will lead:} (14. cxd5 cxd5 15. Bb5 {
When White considered} Be7 ({While Navara intended to go for} 15... O-O 16.
Bxa5 Rxa5 17. Nxa5 Nxe5 {with huge complications.}) 16. a4 O-O 17. g5 {with
some advantage for White after} h6 (17... Nb8 18. Rc1) 18. h4) 14... O-O ({
Black could have transposed to the line from above with} 14... Be7 15. cxd5
cxd5 ({Weaker is} 15... exd5 16. Qc2 O-O 17. Bd3 {when the f5 square will be
cracked.}) 16. Bb5 {and this was probably the lesser evil for Black.}) 15. g5 {
[%csl Yh4][%cal Ga1c1,Gc1c3,Gc3h3,Gh3h4] Diagram [#] With the idea
Ra1-c1-c3-h3 to trap the bishop (Hou).} h6 ({In case of} 15... dxc4 16. Bxc4
Re8 {White planned} 17. Rc1 ({Although} 17. Qf3 {with the idea} Nb6 18. Be2 h6
19. gxh6 gxh6 20. Bxa5 {is equally good.}) 17... h6 18. gxh6 gxh6 {with
advantage for White.}) 16. gxh6 gxh6 17. Kh1 {White's position is extremely
promising. Navra had to open the kingside in order to save the bishop and this
only strengthened Hou's attack.} Kh7 18. cxd5 {Before White starts the attack
she saveguards her center.} ({The computer suggests the direct approach} 18. c5
b6 19. Rg1 $1 {[%csl Yg6,Yh7][%cal Ge2h5] Diagram [#] with the tactical point}
bxc5 20. Bh5 Rg8 21. Bxg6+ Rxg6 22. Qh5 Nf8 23. Nxc5 {and White is in total
command.}) 18... cxd5 19. Rc1 b6 {This weakens the c6 square but takes away
the c5 one from the white knight.} ({If Navara had foreseen what is coming
next, he would have chosen} 19... Rg8 20. Rc3 Be8 {in order to build some
kingside barricades although it is questionable if his position is bulletproof
enough.}) 20. Rc6 {[%csl Ye6][%cal Gc6e6] Diagram [#]} Rc8 {This was Black's
idea as} (20... Bf7 21. Qc2 (21. Bb5 $5 {with the idea} Rc8 $2 22. Rd6 {
also looks nice for White.}) 21... Rc8 22. Rc1 {is awful from positional point
of view.}) 21. Rxe6 $3 {How is not afraid to sacrifice the rook! Black would
be happy after both} (21. Rxc8 Qxc8) ({And} 21. Qc2 Nb8 (21... Rxc6 22. Qxc6
Nb8)) 21... Bf7 22. Rd6 Be7 23. Bd3 {[%csl Yf5,Rh7][%cal Gd3f5] Diagram [#] So
far all moves are forced. White had also considered:} (23. Nxa5 bxa5 24. Bxa5
Qxa5 25. Rxd7 {but abandoned this line for} Rc7) 23... Bxd6 24. Bxf5+ Kh8 25.
Qg4 $1 {Diagram [#] Super-precision. If} (25. exd6 {then} Rg8 {will
significantly slow White's attack.}) 25... Rc7 ({In the other principled line}
25... Rg8 26. Qh3 Bf8 27. Bxd7 {Hou charmingly admitted that she missed} Bg6 {
Still, her position is so strong that her advantage is indisputable after} 28.
Bf5 Rc6 29. Bxg6 Rcxg6 30. f5 Qc8 31. Be3 {(Hou) is also good for big advantage
} (31. Bf4 {followed by Nb3-d2 and e5-e6 will soon win for White.}) 31... Qc2
32. Nd2) 26. Qh3 $1 {[%csl Yh6,Rh8][%cal Yh6h5] Diagram [#] Insted of taking
the bishop with a tempo this! Another cool move that weakens the black king
further.} (26. exd6 Rb7 27. Qh3 {would actually transpose.}) 26... h5 27. exd6
Ra7 28. Be6 $1 {[%cal Gf4f5,Yd2f4,Yf4e5,Yf4g5,Yg5h6] Diagram [#] With the idea
f4-f5 in order to insert the dark-squared bishop in the attack.} ({Not} 28.
Bxd7 Qxd7 29. f5 {with the idea Bd2-f4-e5+ and mating attack due to the strong
resource} Bg6 $1 {(Hou) when tables will be turned in Black's favour.}) (28.
Nc1 Nf6 29. Nd3 Qxd6 30. Ne5) 28... Nf6 {A bit more stubborn was} (28... Qe8 {
Although after} 29. Re1 Nf6 30. d7 $1 Qe7 31. Bf5 Qd6 32. Nc1 {White is
winning since} Nxd7 {leads to mate after} 33. Re6 $1 {Diagram [#]} Bxe6 34.
Qxh5+ Kg7 35. Qg6+ Kh8 36. Qh7#) ({A cute mate will happen after} 28... Bxe6
29. Qxh5+ Kg7 30. Rg1+ Kf6 31. Qg6#) 29. f5 Qxd6 30. Bf4 Qd8 31. Be5 {Black is
completely paralized and the rest is curtains.} Bg8 (31... Kh7 32. Rg1) 32.
Qxh5+ Rh7 33. Qg5 Qe7 34. Nc1 $1 {[%csl Re7,Rf8,Rh8][%cal Gc1d3,Gd3f4,Gf4g6]
Diagram [#] The last piece joins the action.} Qg7 35. Qxg7+ Rxg7 36. Nd3 Rg4
37. Nf4 {[%csl Rg4][%cal Gf4g6,Gh2h3] Diagram [#] As a desert- a rook trap.}
Kh7 38. h3 Rg3 39. Ng6 Rxh3+ 40. Kg2 {A model game by Hou!} 1-0
Report.
25.12.15
A blunder or not?
The Polish Grandmaster Radoslaw Wojtaszek is known for his strong white color. After his loss in round three against Anish Giri in Qatar he wanted to recover as quick as possible with the white pieces. Things did not go so well for him at the beginning of his game against the yesterday's hero D. Vocaturo:
A game that I liked (ChessBase 13)
[Event "Qatar Masters Open"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2015.12.23"]
[Round "4.14"]
[White "Wojtaszek, Radoslaw"]
[Black "Vocaturo, Daniele"]
[Result "1-0"]
[WhiteElo "2723"]
[BlackElo "2597"]
[Annotator "Bojkov, Dejan"]
[PlyCount "75"]
[EventDate "2015.??.??"]
[WhiteClock "0:09:06"]
[BlackClock "0:01:36"]
1. d4 e6 2. c4 Bb4+ {Diagram [#] How to name this opening? Advanced
Bogo-Indian? Or flexible Bogo-Indian?} 3. Bd2 Bxd2+ 4. Qxd2 Nf6 5. Nc3 d5 6. e3
{Wojtaszek wants to develop his knight on e2.} ({Now} 6. Nf3 {will switch
into proper Bogo-Indian and this move was a choice of Mamedyarov and Bacrot
among others.}) 6... O-O 7. cxd5 ({The move} 7. Nf3 {is still possible, for
example} Qe7 8. Qc2 c6 9. Bd3 dxc4 10. Bxc4 Nbd7 11. O-O e5 12. Bb3 exd4 13.
exd4 {and White was better in Riazantsev,A (2646)-Roiz,M (2600) Berlin 2015})
7... exd5 8. Bd3 Nc6 {[%csl Yc8,Yd3][%cal Gc6e7,Gc8f5] Diagram [#] This was
played only once before but seems very, very logical. In the arising Carlsbad
pawn structure Black would love to swap off the light-squared bishops. In
the usual Carlsbad the black queenside knight is already on d7 and in order to
achieve the desired trades the knight has to take the long route via f8-e6-g7
and on the top of this Black has to spend time on Rf8-e8 and g7-g6. Vocaturo
is more clever, he creates the positional threat in just two moves.} 9. Nge2
Ne7 10. Qc2 {Stops Bc8-f5.} g6 $146 {Diagram [#] A novelty. Black consistently
plays for Bc8-f5.} ({The only predecessor saw} 10... b6 11. b4 c6 12. Rb1 Bd7
13. O-O {with slight but long-lasting advantage for White, Vaisser,A (2555)
-Bricard,E (2460) France 1993}) 11. h3 {Agressive play. White wants to prove
that g7-g6 was not perfect and that the kingside is weak as well.} (11. O-O Bf5
{should be fine for Black.}) 11... Bf5 12. g4 Bxd3 13. Qxd3 {"I thought this
position is promising for me" Wojtaszek "but Black's next move is very strong."
} Nc8 $1 {[%csl Ge4][%cal Gc8d6,Gd6c4,Gd6e4,Gf6e4] Diagram [#] The knight is
heading for the optimal d6 square and then it will have the pleasant choice
between the e4 and c4 beauties.} 14. O-O-O Nd6 15. f3 {If White had now the
time to play Ne2-g3 followed by g4-g5 everything would be great, but...} Re8
16. Nf4 {White found nothing better than this move, but it has a flaw.} ({
It transpires that} 16. Ng3 {is too slow due to} b5 $1 {[%csl Re4][%cal Rb5b4]
Diagram [#]} 17. e4 ({Worse is} 17. Nxb5 Nc4 $1 ({Or} 17... Nxb5 18. Qxb5 Rxe3
{in both cases with advantage for Black.})) 17... dxe4 (17... b4 18. Nxd5 Nxd5
19. exd5 Qg5+ $17 {is even stronger.}) 18. fxe4 b4 {with Black's edge
(Wojtaszek)}) ({Black is also doing great after} 16. g5 Nh5 17. Nxd5 Qxg5 {
(Wojtaszek)}) 16... c6 17. h4 Nc4 $1 18. e4 Qd6 $1 {[%cal Rd6b4,Rb4b2,Rd6f4]
Diagram [#] A very nice maneuver, missed by the Polish GM.} 19. e5 Qb4 {
With the double threat of checkmate in one and Nc4xe5! Wojtaszek thought for a
moment that he is lost, but then managed to put himself together and found an
excellent resource.} 20. Qe2 $1 {[%csl Rf4][%cal Ga2a3] Diagram [#]} ({White
also calculated the line} 20. Qc2 Ne3 21. Qd2 Nxd1 22. Kxd1 Nd7 23. h5 {
but came to the conclusion that there is not enough compensation after} c5 ({
Or first} 23... Nb6)) 20... Nxe5 21. a3 {The black queen feels overburdened.}
Qc4 22. g5 $1 {Diagram [#]} Nfd7 (22... Qxe2 23. Ncxe2 {drops a piece.}) 23.
Qc2 $1 {Suddenly, the black knight is in danger.} ({Wojtaszek dismissed} 23.
Qd2 {due to the pretty resource} Nc5 $1 {Diagram [#]} 24. dxc5 Nxf3 $17) ({
He also did not like} 23. Qh2 $5 {for the same reason-} Nc5 {but here he
missed a simple move for White in the line} ({However, Black can play for
compensation with} 23... b5 $5 24. Kb1 (24. dxe5 Nxe5 25. Kb1 a5) 24... a5 {
and nothing is clear at all.}) 24. dxe5 (24. dxc5 Nxf3 25. Qg3 Re3 {is indeed
good for Black (Wojtaszek)}) 24... d4 25. Qe2 $1 {and White wins a piece.})
23... Nxf3 ({The familiar trick} 23... Nc5 {was still there when Black can
save the knight but lose precious time. Wojtaszek planned} 24. Kb1 Ned7 {
and now either} 25. Nfxd5 ({But not} 25. Ncxd5 cxd5 $1) (25. h5 $1 {with
strong attack is also great for White.}) 25... cxd5 26. dxc5 {with advantage
for White.}) ({Black can sacrifice the knight for three pawns in the line}
23... Nf8 24. b3 Qa6 25. dxe5 Qxa3+ 26. Qb2 Qxb2+ 27. Kxb2 Rxe5 {but it is
clear that White has the better chances.}) 24. Qf2 $1 {[%csl Rf3] Diagram [#]
The queen dance is over, the knight is trapped.} Nde5 25. Kb1 (25. dxe5 $2
Qxf4+) 25... Nxd4 $2 {A time-trouble blunder.} ({White expected} 25... Rad8 {
(to stop the knight sacrifice on d5)} 26. dxe5 Nxe5 (26... Qxf4 27. Rd3 {
In both cases White has the upper hand but there is plenty of play ahead.}))
26. Rxd4 Qc5 27. Ncxd5 {The correct idea, but in the wrong move order.} ({Not}
27. h5 Nf3 $1 {(Wojtaszek)}) ({However, the preliminary} 27. Rc1 $1 {and only
after} Qf8 28. Ncxd5 $1 {Diagram [#] was the correct move order.} cxd5 29. Nxd5
) 27... cxd5 28. Rc1 (28. Nxd5 Nf3 $1 {is again good for Black.}) 28... Qf8 $2
{Now the attack is unstoppable.} ({Correct was} 28... Qb5 $1 29. a4 (29. Nxd5
$2 Nd3 $1) 29... Qa6 30. Nxd5 Nd3 31. Nf6+ Kh8 {when nothing is clear. Most
likely the players should split the point after something like} 32. Qf3 Nxc1
33. Nxe8 Rxe8 34. Qxf7 Qe2 35. Kxc1 Qe1+ 36. Kc2 Rc8+ 37. Rc4 Qe2+ 38. Kb3 Qd3+
39. Rc3 Qd1+ 40. Ka2 Qxa4+ 41. Ra3 Qc4+ 42. Qxc4 Rxc4 43. Rxa7 Rxh4 44. Rxb7
Ra4+ 45. Kb3 Ra5 46. Rb8+ $11 {Diagram [#]}) 29. Nxd5 {Once that the knight
occupies f6 outpost, the "h" pawn will rush in and open the file for the heavy
pieces.} Rec8 30. Re1 Nc6 31. Rde4 (31. Nf6+ Kh8 32. Rd7 $18) 31... Rd8 32.
Nf6+ {[%csl Gf6,Yg8,Rh7][%cal Rh1h7] Diagram [#]} Kh8 33. h5 gxh5 34. Rh1 Rd6
35. Rxh5 Rxf6 36. gxf6 (36. Qxf6+ Qg7 37. Reh4 $18) 36... Qd6 37. Rxh7+ $1 Kxh7
38. Qf5+ {[%csl Rh7] Diagram [#] Black resigned as it is mate in three.} (38.
Qf5+ Kh8 39. Rh4+ Kg8 40. Qg4+ Kf8 41. Rh8#) 1-0
Report.
[Event "Qatar Masters Open"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2015.12.23"]
[Round "4.14"]
[White "Wojtaszek, Radoslaw"]
[Black "Vocaturo, Daniele"]
[Result "1-0"]
[WhiteElo "2723"]
[BlackElo "2597"]
[Annotator "Bojkov, Dejan"]
[PlyCount "75"]
[EventDate "2015.??.??"]
[WhiteClock "0:09:06"]
[BlackClock "0:01:36"]
1. d4 e6 2. c4 Bb4+ {Diagram [#] How to name this opening? Advanced
Bogo-Indian? Or flexible Bogo-Indian?} 3. Bd2 Bxd2+ 4. Qxd2 Nf6 5. Nc3 d5 6. e3
{Wojtaszek wants to develop his knight on e2.} ({Now} 6. Nf3 {will switch
into proper Bogo-Indian and this move was a choice of Mamedyarov and Bacrot
among others.}) 6... O-O 7. cxd5 ({The move} 7. Nf3 {is still possible, for
example} Qe7 8. Qc2 c6 9. Bd3 dxc4 10. Bxc4 Nbd7 11. O-O e5 12. Bb3 exd4 13.
exd4 {and White was better in Riazantsev,A (2646)-Roiz,M (2600) Berlin 2015})
7... exd5 8. Bd3 Nc6 {[%csl Yc8,Yd3][%cal Gc6e7,Gc8f5] Diagram [#] This was
played only once before but seems very, very logical. In the arising Carlsbad
pawn structure Black would love to swap off the light-squared bishops. In
the usual Carlsbad the black queenside knight is already on d7 and in order to
achieve the desired trades the knight has to take the long route via f8-e6-g7
and on the top of this Black has to spend time on Rf8-e8 and g7-g6. Vocaturo
is more clever, he creates the positional threat in just two moves.} 9. Nge2
Ne7 10. Qc2 {Stops Bc8-f5.} g6 $146 {Diagram [#] A novelty. Black consistently
plays for Bc8-f5.} ({The only predecessor saw} 10... b6 11. b4 c6 12. Rb1 Bd7
13. O-O {with slight but long-lasting advantage for White, Vaisser,A (2555)
-Bricard,E (2460) France 1993}) 11. h3 {Agressive play. White wants to prove
that g7-g6 was not perfect and that the kingside is weak as well.} (11. O-O Bf5
{should be fine for Black.}) 11... Bf5 12. g4 Bxd3 13. Qxd3 {"I thought this
position is promising for me" Wojtaszek "but Black's next move is very strong."
} Nc8 $1 {[%csl Ge4][%cal Gc8d6,Gd6c4,Gd6e4,Gf6e4] Diagram [#] The knight is
heading for the optimal d6 square and then it will have the pleasant choice
between the e4 and c4 beauties.} 14. O-O-O Nd6 15. f3 {If White had now the
time to play Ne2-g3 followed by g4-g5 everything would be great, but...} Re8
16. Nf4 {White found nothing better than this move, but it has a flaw.} ({
It transpires that} 16. Ng3 {is too slow due to} b5 $1 {[%csl Re4][%cal Rb5b4]
Diagram [#]} 17. e4 ({Worse is} 17. Nxb5 Nc4 $1 ({Or} 17... Nxb5 18. Qxb5 Rxe3
{in both cases with advantage for Black.})) 17... dxe4 (17... b4 18. Nxd5 Nxd5
19. exd5 Qg5+ $17 {is even stronger.}) 18. fxe4 b4 {with Black's edge
(Wojtaszek)}) ({Black is also doing great after} 16. g5 Nh5 17. Nxd5 Qxg5 {
(Wojtaszek)}) 16... c6 17. h4 Nc4 $1 18. e4 Qd6 $1 {[%cal Rd6b4,Rb4b2,Rd6f4]
Diagram [#] A very nice maneuver, missed by the Polish GM.} 19. e5 Qb4 {
With the double threat of checkmate in one and Nc4xe5! Wojtaszek thought for a
moment that he is lost, but then managed to put himself together and found an
excellent resource.} 20. Qe2 $1 {[%csl Rf4][%cal Ga2a3] Diagram [#]} ({White
also calculated the line} 20. Qc2 Ne3 21. Qd2 Nxd1 22. Kxd1 Nd7 23. h5 {
but came to the conclusion that there is not enough compensation after} c5 ({
Or first} 23... Nb6)) 20... Nxe5 21. a3 {The black queen feels overburdened.}
Qc4 22. g5 $1 {Diagram [#]} Nfd7 (22... Qxe2 23. Ncxe2 {drops a piece.}) 23.
Qc2 $1 {Suddenly, the black knight is in danger.} ({Wojtaszek dismissed} 23.
Qd2 {due to the pretty resource} Nc5 $1 {Diagram [#]} 24. dxc5 Nxf3 $17) ({
He also did not like} 23. Qh2 $5 {for the same reason-} Nc5 {but here he
missed a simple move for White in the line} ({However, Black can play for
compensation with} 23... b5 $5 24. Kb1 (24. dxe5 Nxe5 25. Kb1 a5) 24... a5 {
and nothing is clear at all.}) 24. dxe5 (24. dxc5 Nxf3 25. Qg3 Re3 {is indeed
good for Black (Wojtaszek)}) 24... d4 25. Qe2 $1 {and White wins a piece.})
23... Nxf3 ({The familiar trick} 23... Nc5 {was still there when Black can
save the knight but lose precious time. Wojtaszek planned} 24. Kb1 Ned7 {
and now either} 25. Nfxd5 ({But not} 25. Ncxd5 cxd5 $1) (25. h5 $1 {with
strong attack is also great for White.}) 25... cxd5 26. dxc5 {with advantage
for White.}) ({Black can sacrifice the knight for three pawns in the line}
23... Nf8 24. b3 Qa6 25. dxe5 Qxa3+ 26. Qb2 Qxb2+ 27. Kxb2 Rxe5 {but it is
clear that White has the better chances.}) 24. Qf2 $1 {[%csl Rf3] Diagram [#]
The queen dance is over, the knight is trapped.} Nde5 25. Kb1 (25. dxe5 $2
Qxf4+) 25... Nxd4 $2 {A time-trouble blunder.} ({White expected} 25... Rad8 {
(to stop the knight sacrifice on d5)} 26. dxe5 Nxe5 (26... Qxf4 27. Rd3 {
In both cases White has the upper hand but there is plenty of play ahead.}))
26. Rxd4 Qc5 27. Ncxd5 {The correct idea, but in the wrong move order.} ({Not}
27. h5 Nf3 $1 {(Wojtaszek)}) ({However, the preliminary} 27. Rc1 $1 {and only
after} Qf8 28. Ncxd5 $1 {Diagram [#] was the correct move order.} cxd5 29. Nxd5
) 27... cxd5 28. Rc1 (28. Nxd5 Nf3 $1 {is again good for Black.}) 28... Qf8 $2
{Now the attack is unstoppable.} ({Correct was} 28... Qb5 $1 29. a4 (29. Nxd5
$2 Nd3 $1) 29... Qa6 30. Nxd5 Nd3 31. Nf6+ Kh8 {when nothing is clear. Most
likely the players should split the point after something like} 32. Qf3 Nxc1
33. Nxe8 Rxe8 34. Qxf7 Qe2 35. Kxc1 Qe1+ 36. Kc2 Rc8+ 37. Rc4 Qe2+ 38. Kb3 Qd3+
39. Rc3 Qd1+ 40. Ka2 Qxa4+ 41. Ra3 Qc4+ 42. Qxc4 Rxc4 43. Rxa7 Rxh4 44. Rxb7
Ra4+ 45. Kb3 Ra5 46. Rb8+ $11 {Diagram [#]}) 29. Nxd5 {Once that the knight
occupies f6 outpost, the "h" pawn will rush in and open the file for the heavy
pieces.} Rec8 30. Re1 Nc6 31. Rde4 (31. Nf6+ Kh8 32. Rd7 $18) 31... Rd8 32.
Nf6+ {[%csl Gf6,Yg8,Rh7][%cal Rh1h7] Diagram [#]} Kh8 33. h5 gxh5 34. Rh1 Rd6
35. Rxh5 Rxf6 36. gxf6 (36. Qxf6+ Qg7 37. Reh4 $18) 36... Qd6 37. Rxh7+ $1 Kxh7
38. Qf5+ {[%csl Rh7] Diagram [#] Black resigned as it is mate in three.} (38.
Qf5+ Kh8 39. Rh4+ Kg8 40. Qg4+ Kf8 41. Rh8#) 1-0
Report.
23.9.15
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:
A game that I liked (ChessBase 13)
[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.
[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.
22.9.15
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:
A game that I liked (ChessBase 13)
[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.
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.
24.4.15
An Excellent Technique
Just like Magnus Carlsen in the second round Wesley So demonstrated great technique against Rauf Mamedov. Round four saw the Philippine-born American Grandmaster take the lead in Shamkir with remarkable start- 3.5/4!
A game that I liked (ChessBase 13)
[Event "Shamkir Chess"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2015.04.20"]
[Round "4.4"]
[White "So, Wesley"]
[Black "Mamedov, Rauf"]
[Result "1-0"]
[WhiteElo "2788"]
[BlackElo "2651"]
[Annotator "Bojkov, Dejan"]
[PlyCount "81"]
[EventDate "2015.??.??"]
[WhiteClock "1:04:30"]
[BlackClock "1:00:27"]
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 g6 {The Accelerated Dragon has a
reputation of a solid but passive opening. The main reason for this is White's
next move.} 5. c4 {Which leads to the Maroczy bind.} Nf6 6. Nc3 d6 7. f3 ({A
game of Mamedov's coach recently went} 7. Be2 Nxd4 8. Qxd4 Bg7 9. Be3 O-O 10.
Qd2 a5 11. O-O a4 12. f3 Qa5 {and transposed into one of the main lines, Van
Wely,L (2665)-Khalifman,A (2613) Jurmala 2015}) 7... Bg7 8. Be3 O-O 9. Be2 Nh5
{Mamedov decided to weaken the kingside before trading the knights.} ({It
makes sense to trade a pair of knights at once with} 9... Nxd4 {Then after} 10.
Bxd4 Be6 11. Rc1 Qa5 12. Qd2 Rfc8 13. b3 a6 14. Be3 b5 15. Nd5 {The things
have developed more or less normally with White enjoying his usual slight
space advantage until Black came up with the spectacular} Nxd5 $1 16. Qxa5 Nxe3
17. Kf2 Bd4 {and White could not prove advantage in Negi,P (2633)-Istratescu,A
(2671) Graz 2014}) 10. g3 Nxd4 11. Bxd4 {Diagram [#]} Be6 $146 {I suspect an
over-the-board novelty and a very logical move.} ({Previously only the
immediate} 11... Qa5 12. O-O Bh3 {has been tried in an email game. After} 13.
Re1 (13. Rf2 $5 $14) 13... Qg5 {Black did well in Huzita,S (1865)-Hassim,U
(2308) ICCF email 2011}) ({The move} 11... Bh3 {looks suspicious as the bishop
can easily can get trapped there, say} 12. Bxg7 Kxg7 13. Qd4+ Nf6 14. g4) 12.
f4 Nf6 13. O-O Rc8 14. b3 Qa5 $6 {[%csl Ra5,Ye6][%cal Gf4f5] Diagram [#] The
beginning of Black's problems. The next move should not have been allowed.} ({
Instead} 14... Bh3 15. Rf2 {and only then} Qa5 {is somewhat better for White,
but playble for the second player.}) ({Normally Black wants to trade the
dark-squared bishop but here the straightforward attempt simply loses} 14...
Nd7 $4 15. f5) 15. f5 $1 {Now White grabs a lot of space and slowly squeezes
his opponent.} Bd7 ({The pawn is poisoned} 15... gxf5 $2 16. exf5 Bxf5 17. b4
Qxb4 18. Rxf5 {wins a piece for White.}) 16. a3 e6 {Black has to defend
passively as any pawn push creates weaknesses in his camp.} ({For example}
16... e5 17. b4 Qc7 18. Be3 {with a huge hole on d5.}) ({And if} 16... b5 17.
b4 Qc7 (17... Qd8 18. Nxb5) 18. Bxf6 $1 Bxf6 19. Nd5 Qd8 20. Nxf6+ exf6 21.
cxb5 {will clear edge for White.}) 17. b4 Qd8 ({In case of} 17... Qc7 {White
can continue in a similar way as in the game} 18. fxe6 fxe6 19. e5 dxe5 20. Bc5
Rf7 21. Bd6 {with advantage.}) 18. fxg6 fxg6 ({White is also much better after
} 18... hxg6 19. e5 dxe5 20. Bxe5) 19. e5 $1 {[%csl Ga3,Ya7,Gb4,Yb7,Gc4,Ye6]
Diagram [#] Wesley So modifies the pawn structure into his favour with the
last two moves. Now he will have a queenside majority, which is always useful
whenever the game approaches the endgame. Mamedov on his turn will have a weak
pawn on e6.} dxe5 20. Bxe5 {White wants to further improve his position with
Qd1-b3, Ra1-d1(e1), c4-c5. His play is very simple and obvious and Black
decided to try his luck in the edngame.} Bc6 21. b5 Ne4 22. Qxd8 Rcxd8 {"I
think this was a mistake" said So at the press-conference. meaning that this
was the mistake in the game. He suggested instead} (22... Rfxd8 {as best. But
as we shall see from the analyzes, White has a strong continuation which both
the players missed.} {White indeed has nothing in case of} 23. Bxg7 ({But after
} 23. bxc6 Nxc3 {[%csl Yb7,Yc3,Yg7][%cal Rc6b7,Re5g7,Re5c3] Diagram [#] White
is not obliged to take the pawn on b7 as they both thought} 24. Bxc3 {as this
indeed leads White nowhere after} ({White has however a clear road to the
advantage with} 24. cxb7 $1 Nxe2+ 25. Kg2 Rb8 ({Or else Black loses one of the
light pieces with} 25... Bxe5 26. bxc8=Q Rxc8 27. Rae1) 26. Bxb8 Rxb8 27. Rad1
{This is more precise than} (27. Rab1 Nc3 28. Rb3 Na4 {with chances for a draw.
}) 27... Nd4 ({The back rank is weak after} 27... Rxb7 $2 28. Rd8+) 28. Rb1 {
A rook and a pawn are usually much better than the two light pieces in the
endgame. Especially when the rook is assisted by a pawn on the seventh rank!})
24... Bxc3 25. cxb7 Bxa1 26. Rxa1 (26. bxc8=Q Bd4+ 27. Kg2 Rxc8 {is equal
instead.}) 26... Rc7 27. Rb1 Rb8 28. Bf3 Rxc4 {when only Black can be better.})
23... Kxg7 24. Nxe4 ({Or} 24. Na4 Be8 25. Rad1) 24... Bxe4 25. Rad1 {(So)}) 23.
Rxf8+ Rxf8 24. Bxg7 Kxg7 25. Rc1 Nxc3 26. Rxc3 Bd7 {[%csl Ga3,Ya7,Gb5,Yb7,Gc4]
Diagram [#]} ({The bishop cannot stay active on the long diagonal due to the
pawn loss after} 26... Be4 27. Re3 Bf5 28. g4) 27. c5 {White achieved his
dream endgame with well advanced queenside pawn majority and active pieces. As
his king is easily entering the play the game is practically decided.} Rc8 28.
a4 Kf6 29. Kf2 Ke5 30. Ke3 Be8 31. Bf3 Rc7 32. Kd3 $1 {[%cal Gd3c4] Diagram [#]
Excellent technique! Before advancing the pawns So activates his pieces to the
maximum.} g5 33. Kc4 h5 34. a5 g4 35. b6 axb6 36. axb6 Rd7 37. Re3+ Kf6 38. c6
bxc6 39. Bxc6 Rd8 40. Bxe8 Rxe8 41. b7 {Diagram [#] Next Re3-b3 will follow
and march of the white king to c7. Just like in the second round Magnus
Carlsen needed only one mistake to defeat his opponent, Wesley So won a nice
positional game to grab the sole lead!} 1-0
Report.
[Event "Shamkir Chess"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2015.04.20"]
[Round "4.4"]
[White "So, Wesley"]
[Black "Mamedov, Rauf"]
[Result "1-0"]
[WhiteElo "2788"]
[BlackElo "2651"]
[Annotator "Bojkov, Dejan"]
[PlyCount "81"]
[EventDate "2015.??.??"]
[WhiteClock "1:04:30"]
[BlackClock "1:00:27"]
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 g6 {The Accelerated Dragon has a
reputation of a solid but passive opening. The main reason for this is White's
next move.} 5. c4 {Which leads to the Maroczy bind.} Nf6 6. Nc3 d6 7. f3 ({A
game of Mamedov's coach recently went} 7. Be2 Nxd4 8. Qxd4 Bg7 9. Be3 O-O 10.
Qd2 a5 11. O-O a4 12. f3 Qa5 {and transposed into one of the main lines, Van
Wely,L (2665)-Khalifman,A (2613) Jurmala 2015}) 7... Bg7 8. Be3 O-O 9. Be2 Nh5
{Mamedov decided to weaken the kingside before trading the knights.} ({It
makes sense to trade a pair of knights at once with} 9... Nxd4 {Then after} 10.
Bxd4 Be6 11. Rc1 Qa5 12. Qd2 Rfc8 13. b3 a6 14. Be3 b5 15. Nd5 {The things
have developed more or less normally with White enjoying his usual slight
space advantage until Black came up with the spectacular} Nxd5 $1 16. Qxa5 Nxe3
17. Kf2 Bd4 {and White could not prove advantage in Negi,P (2633)-Istratescu,A
(2671) Graz 2014}) 10. g3 Nxd4 11. Bxd4 {Diagram [#]} Be6 $146 {I suspect an
over-the-board novelty and a very logical move.} ({Previously only the
immediate} 11... Qa5 12. O-O Bh3 {has been tried in an email game. After} 13.
Re1 (13. Rf2 $5 $14) 13... Qg5 {Black did well in Huzita,S (1865)-Hassim,U
(2308) ICCF email 2011}) ({The move} 11... Bh3 {looks suspicious as the bishop
can easily can get trapped there, say} 12. Bxg7 Kxg7 13. Qd4+ Nf6 14. g4) 12.
f4 Nf6 13. O-O Rc8 14. b3 Qa5 $6 {[%csl Ra5,Ye6][%cal Gf4f5] Diagram [#] The
beginning of Black's problems. The next move should not have been allowed.} ({
Instead} 14... Bh3 15. Rf2 {and only then} Qa5 {is somewhat better for White,
but playble for the second player.}) ({Normally Black wants to trade the
dark-squared bishop but here the straightforward attempt simply loses} 14...
Nd7 $4 15. f5) 15. f5 $1 {Now White grabs a lot of space and slowly squeezes
his opponent.} Bd7 ({The pawn is poisoned} 15... gxf5 $2 16. exf5 Bxf5 17. b4
Qxb4 18. Rxf5 {wins a piece for White.}) 16. a3 e6 {Black has to defend
passively as any pawn push creates weaknesses in his camp.} ({For example}
16... e5 17. b4 Qc7 18. Be3 {with a huge hole on d5.}) ({And if} 16... b5 17.
b4 Qc7 (17... Qd8 18. Nxb5) 18. Bxf6 $1 Bxf6 19. Nd5 Qd8 20. Nxf6+ exf6 21.
cxb5 {will clear edge for White.}) 17. b4 Qd8 ({In case of} 17... Qc7 {White
can continue in a similar way as in the game} 18. fxe6 fxe6 19. e5 dxe5 20. Bc5
Rf7 21. Bd6 {with advantage.}) 18. fxg6 fxg6 ({White is also much better after
} 18... hxg6 19. e5 dxe5 20. Bxe5) 19. e5 $1 {[%csl Ga3,Ya7,Gb4,Yb7,Gc4,Ye6]
Diagram [#] Wesley So modifies the pawn structure into his favour with the
last two moves. Now he will have a queenside majority, which is always useful
whenever the game approaches the endgame. Mamedov on his turn will have a weak
pawn on e6.} dxe5 20. Bxe5 {White wants to further improve his position with
Qd1-b3, Ra1-d1(e1), c4-c5. His play is very simple and obvious and Black
decided to try his luck in the edngame.} Bc6 21. b5 Ne4 22. Qxd8 Rcxd8 {"I
think this was a mistake" said So at the press-conference. meaning that this
was the mistake in the game. He suggested instead} (22... Rfxd8 {as best. But
as we shall see from the analyzes, White has a strong continuation which both
the players missed.} {White indeed has nothing in case of} 23. Bxg7 ({But after
} 23. bxc6 Nxc3 {[%csl Yb7,Yc3,Yg7][%cal Rc6b7,Re5g7,Re5c3] Diagram [#] White
is not obliged to take the pawn on b7 as they both thought} 24. Bxc3 {as this
indeed leads White nowhere after} ({White has however a clear road to the
advantage with} 24. cxb7 $1 Nxe2+ 25. Kg2 Rb8 ({Or else Black loses one of the
light pieces with} 25... Bxe5 26. bxc8=Q Rxc8 27. Rae1) 26. Bxb8 Rxb8 27. Rad1
{This is more precise than} (27. Rab1 Nc3 28. Rb3 Na4 {with chances for a draw.
}) 27... Nd4 ({The back rank is weak after} 27... Rxb7 $2 28. Rd8+) 28. Rb1 {
A rook and a pawn are usually much better than the two light pieces in the
endgame. Especially when the rook is assisted by a pawn on the seventh rank!})
24... Bxc3 25. cxb7 Bxa1 26. Rxa1 (26. bxc8=Q Bd4+ 27. Kg2 Rxc8 {is equal
instead.}) 26... Rc7 27. Rb1 Rb8 28. Bf3 Rxc4 {when only Black can be better.})
23... Kxg7 24. Nxe4 ({Or} 24. Na4 Be8 25. Rad1) 24... Bxe4 25. Rad1 {(So)}) 23.
Rxf8+ Rxf8 24. Bxg7 Kxg7 25. Rc1 Nxc3 26. Rxc3 Bd7 {[%csl Ga3,Ya7,Gb5,Yb7,Gc4]
Diagram [#]} ({The bishop cannot stay active on the long diagonal due to the
pawn loss after} 26... Be4 27. Re3 Bf5 28. g4) 27. c5 {White achieved his
dream endgame with well advanced queenside pawn majority and active pieces. As
his king is easily entering the play the game is practically decided.} Rc8 28.
a4 Kf6 29. Kf2 Ke5 30. Ke3 Be8 31. Bf3 Rc7 32. Kd3 $1 {[%cal Gd3c4] Diagram [#]
Excellent technique! Before advancing the pawns So activates his pieces to the
maximum.} g5 33. Kc4 h5 34. a5 g4 35. b6 axb6 36. axb6 Rd7 37. Re3+ Kf6 38. c6
bxc6 39. Bxc6 Rd8 40. Bxe8 Rxe8 41. b7 {Diagram [#] Next Re3-b3 will follow
and march of the white king to c7. Just like in the second round Magnus
Carlsen needed only one mistake to defeat his opponent, Wesley So won a nice
positional game to grab the sole lead!} 1-0
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