The Jack Rabbit Chess Report (January 10): Youngsters Shine in Stockholm

[Jack Rabbit]

Wojtaszek and Bogner Share First in Stockholm



Grandmaster Radoslaw Wojtaszek of Poland, who turns 22 Tuesday, and German IM Sebastian Bogner, who turns 18 next Saturday, shared first place with with 7 points each out of nine rounds in the 38th annual Rilton Cup completed Monday in Stockholm.

Wojtaszek was given the trophy based on a superior tie break score. He also won last's years Rilton.

Another young grandmaster, David Berces of Hungary, who turned 18 Thursday, tied for third place with Yuriy Kuzubov of Ukraine, Evgeny Gleizerov of Russia and Pia Cramling of Sweden with 6½ points each.

Seventy-two players participated in this year's event.


Kurnosov Wins Hastings



Igor Kurnosov of Russia won the masters' tournament at the annual Hastings Chess Congress with 7½ points Monday in nine rounds.

The only player with a chance to catch Kurnosov was defending co-champion Valery Neverov of Ukraine, who needed a victory over Kurnosov when the two clashed in the final round. The game ended in a draw.

Neverov, who had taken or shared first place in the three previous editions of the Hastings, tied for second with Swedish GM Emanuel Berg with 7 points.

The Hastings Chess Congress is one of the oldest tournaments on the international circuit. A great tournament was held at Hastings, site of Norman conquest, in 1895. That event was attended by most of the top players of the day, including then-world champion Dr. Emanuel Lasker, his predecessor, Wilhelm Steinitz, Dr. Siegbert Tarrasch, the leading theortician of the day and Mikhail Chigorin, a two-time challenger to the world championship. However, the event was won by Harry Nelson Pillsbury, a young American playing in his first international tournament.

Starting in December 1920 an annual premier tournament was held at Hastings, sometimes cited as the Hastings Christmas Tournament. This was a round-robin event among the top players of the day and was won by such luminaries as José Capablanca, Alexander Alekhine and Salo Flohr. Despite losing much of its luster after World War II, the premier tournament continued until 2002-03. The last winner of the premier was Danish GM Peter Heine Nielsen.

Since then, the main attraction has been the Swiss system event, the masters' tournament.


Chorus Begins January 16; JRCR will return the weekend of January 23



The annual Corus Chess Tournament begins January 16 and runs through February 1.

In addition to the elite Group A, this year's Corus is going to feature one of the strongest B and C Groups ever.

The Jack Rabbit Chess Report will return in two weeks with coverage of the Corus Chess Tournament.



Calendar


Corus Chess Tournament, Wijk aan Zee 16 January-1 February.

Gibraltar Chess Festival 27 January-5 February.

Moscow Open 30 January-9 February.

Aeroflot Open, Moscow 16-27 February.

Topalov-Kamsky World Championship Semifinal Match, Sofia 16-28 February. Eight Rounds. Winner will challenge Anand for the world championship.

Linares Grandmaaster Tournament 18 February-8 March.

Cappelle la Grande Open 28 February-7 March.

Reykjavik Open 4-13 March.

European Individual Championships, Budva (Montenegro) 5-19 March.

Foxwoods Open, Mashantucket, Connecticut April 8-12.

MTel Masters, Sofia May 9-19.

Aerosvit International Tournament, Foros (Ukraine) June 9-20.

[Jack Rabbit]

1. This week's games

Your humble hare acknowledges the assistance of Fritz 6.0 on analysis.

Diagrams on the Jack Rabbit Chess Report are made with Chess Mérida, a true type font that can be downlaoded free here.

BLACK
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WHITE
White to move
(This position is a theoretical draw)

[Jack Rabbit]

2. Almasi - Ni Hua, Round 8, Reggio Emilia

Ni Hua won the 51st annual Torneo di Capadanno in Reggio Emilia, Italy by a point and a half over his nearest rival.



Ni Hua
Photo: ChessBase.com


Zoltan Almasi - Ni Hua
Torneo di Capadanno, Round 8
Reggio Emilia, 3 January 2009

Open Sicilian Game: Sveshnikov Defense (Chelyabinsk Opening)

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 e5 6.Ndb5 d6 7.Bg5

• If 7.Nd5 Nxd5 8.exd5 Nb8 9.c4 Be7 then:
• If 10.Be2 0-0 11.0-0 a6 12.Nc3 f5 13.f4 Bf6 14.Kh1 Nd7 15.Qc2 then:
• 15...exf4 16.Bxf4 Be5 17.Qd2 Qf6 18.Bxe5 Nxe5 19.Rac1 f4 20.Ne4 Qh6 21.c5 Bg4 22.c6 bxc6 23.dxc6 gives White an advanced passer (Schneider-Ramirez, IT, Richardson, Texas, 2007).
• 15...g6 16.Be3 exf4 17.Bxf4 Be5 18.Rad1 b6 19.a3 Ra7 20.Qd2 Bxf4 21.Qxf4 Ne5 is equal (Turunen-Topi Hulmi, Finnish ChT, Finland, 2000).
• If 10.Bd3 0-0 11.0-0 a6 12.Nc3 f5 13.f3 Bg5 14.Kh1 Nd7 15.b4 a5 16.a3 axb4 17.Bxg5 Qxg5 18.axb4 Rxa1 19.Qxa1 Qe3 20.Be2 then:
• 20...b5 21.Qc1 Qxc1 22.Rxc1 bxc4 23.Nb5 Bb7 24.Nxd6 Bxd5 is equal (Leko-Kramnik, Amber Blind, Monte Carlo, 2003).
• If 20...Nb8 then:
• 21.Qb2 Na6 22.Rb1 Bd7 23.Nd1 Qd4 24.Qxd4 exd4 25.Kg1 Rb8 is equal (Svidler-Timofeev, Russian Ch, Moscow, 2004).
• 21.Qc1 Qb6 22.Na2 Na6 23.Qc3 Bd7 24.g3 Ra8 25.Kg2 Qd4 26.Qxd4 exd4 27.Rd1 Nc7 28.Nc1 gives White better pawn structure and, for the moment, more activity (Xu Yuhua-Stefanova, No Urals Cup, Krasnoturinsk, 2005).
• 13...Nd7 14.Be3 Bg5 15.Bf2 Qf6 16.Qc2 Nc5 17.Be2 a5 18.Na4 Nxa4 19.Qxa4 e4 20.Qa3 Bf4 21.fxe4 Be5 22.Rab1 Qh6 23.g3 fxe4 is equal (Smeets-Pavlovic, Corus C, Wijk aan Zee, 2004).

7...a6 8.Na3 b5 9.Bxf6

• If 9.Nd5 Be7 10.Bxf6 Bxf6 11.c3 0-0 12.Nc2 then:
• If 12...Bg5 13.a4 bxa4 14.Rxa4 a5 15.Bc4 Rb8 16.b3 Kh8 17.0-0 then:
• If 17...f5 18.exf5 Bxf5 19.Nce3 Bg6 20.Bd3 then:
• 20...Bxd3 21.Qxd3 Bxe3 22.fxe3 Rxf1+ 23.Qxf1 Rxb3 24.Rc4 Rb5 25.Nc7 Rb6 26.Nd5 Rb5 27.Nc7 draw (Bologan-Timofeev, IT, Sarajevo, 2005).
• 20...Bf7 21.Be4 Bg8 22.Ra3 Na7 23.Qd3 Bxe3 24.Qxe3 Nb5 is equal (Leko-Topalov, Amber Blind, Monte Carlo, 2002).
• If 17...g6 18.Nce3 f5 19.exf5 gxf5 20.f4 exf4 then:
• 21.Nc2 Ne5 22.Nxf4 Bb7 23.Ne6 Qb6+ 24.Qd4 gives White the advantage in space (Rechel-Halkias, op, Pardubice, 2000).
• After 21.Nxf4 Qb6 22.Qf3 Ne5 23.Qf2 Bxf4 24.Qxf4 Ng4 has White fighting to preserve her Knight (Zdebskaja-Anhchimeg, Mindsports, Beijing, 2008).
• If 12...Rb8 13.Be2 Bg5 14.0-0 a5 15.Qd3 then:
• 15...Be6 16.Rfd1 Kh8 17.Nde3 Qb6 18.Bg4 Rfd8 19.Qe2 Qb7 20.Bf5 Bxe3 21.Nxe3 b4 gives White a slight advantage in space (Strautins-Sakai, Cyberspace, 2001).
• 15...Ne7 16.Nce3 Be6 17.Nxe7+ Qxe7 18.Nd5 Qa7 19.a3 Kh8 20.Rad1 f5 21.Qg3 Bh6 22.exf5 Bxf5 23.Bd3 Be6 is equal (Coenen-Gustafsson, Euro ChT, Panormo, 2001).

9...gxf6 10.Nd5 f5

• If 10...Bg7 11.Bd3 Ne7 12.Nxe7 Qxe7 then:
• If 13.0-0 0-0 14.c4 f5 15.Qf3 then:
• If 15...d5 16.cxd5 fxe4 17.Bxe4 Rb8 then:
• If 18.Rfd1 then:
• If 18...Qd7 19.d6 Rb6 20.Qd3 Rd8 21.Rac1 Bf8 then:
• 22.Rc7 Qxc7 23.Bxh7+ Kg7 24.dxc7 Rxd3 25.Bxd3 Rc6 26.Nc2 f5 27.Ne3 e4 28.Bb1 Rxc7 29.g4 fxg4 30.Bxe4 gives White an extra pawn.(Galkin-Khairullin, Aeroflot Op, Moscow, 2006).
• 22.Qg3+ Bg7 23.Qd3 Bf8 24.Qg3+ Bg7 25.Qh4 Rxd6 26.Bxh7+ Kf8 27.Qb4 Bb7 28.Nc2 gives White an extra pawn (Vallejo-Radjabov, IT, Linares, 2004).
• 18...Qh4 19.g3 Qg5 20.Qb3 Bg4 21.Bf3 f5 22.Bxg4 Qxg4 23.Rac1 f4 24.d6+ gives White an extra pawn and command of the open c-file, but Black has plenty of play (Topalov-Radjabov, IT, Linares, 2004).
• 18.Rad1 Rb6 19.Qd3 Qd7 20.Bxh7+ Kh8 21.Qe3 Rh6 22.Bc2 Qd6 23.g3 Bh3 24.Rfe1 f5 25.f4 exf4 26.Qe7 Qb6+ White resigns (P. Smirnov-Radjabov, FIDE Knock Out, Tripoli, 2004).
• 15...bxc4 16.Nxc4 d5 17.exd5 e4 18.Qe3 Bb7 19.d6 Qf6 20.Bc2 f4 21.Qh3 Rac8 22.b3 Qg5 23.d7 Rc6 24.Bxe4 gives White two extra pawns (Anand-Kasimdzhanov, World Cup, Hyderabad, 2002).
• If 13.c3 f5 14.Nc2 0-0 15.0-0 then:
• 15...Rb8 16.exf5 e4 17.Re1 Bxf5 18.Nd4 Bxd4 19.cxd4 d5 20.Qd2 Rb6 21.Rac1 Rg6 22.Bf1 Qh4 23.Re3 Qg5 24.g3 h5 25.Rc5 Be6 26.Re2 is equal (Short-Illescas, IT, Madrid, 1997).
• 15...f4 16.a4 bxa4 17.Rxa4 Qg5 18.Qe2 a5 19.Ne1 Bb7 20.Nf3 Qd8 21.Bc4 leaves White very comfortable for the time being (Goloshchapov-Jakovenko, Euro ChT, Saint Vincent, 2005).

11.Bd3

• If 11.c3 Bg7 12.exf5 Bxf5 13.Nc2 0-0 14.Nce3 Be6 15.Bd3 f5 then:
• If 16.Qh5 e4 17.Bc2 Ne7 18.Rd1 b4 19.0-0 bxc3 20.bxc3 then:
• 20...Kh8 21.g3 Rc8 22.Bb3 Bf7 23.Qe2 Bxd5 24.Nxd5 Nxd5 25.Bxd5 a5 26.c4 Rb8 draw (Ponomariov-Leko, World ChT, Yerevan, 2001).
• 20...Rc8 21.g4 Nxd5 22.Nxd5 Bxd5 23.Rxd5 Rxc3 24.Bb3 Kh8 25.Rxf5 Rf3 26.Be6 Qe7 27.Rxf3 Rxf3 28.Qd5 is equal (Langer-Aigner, US Ch, Stillwater, 2007).
• If 16.0-0 Ra7 17.a4 Ne7 then:
• If 18.Nxe7+ Rxe7 19.axb5 axb5 20.Bxb5 d5 21.Ra6 f4 then:
• 22.Nc2 Bc8 23.Ra8 Qd6 24.Nb4 gives White more activity (Anand-Leko, Corus A, Wijk aan Zee, 2005).
• 22.Rxe6 Rxe6 23.Qxd5 Qxd5 24.Nxd5 Kh8 25.f3 White's minor pieces and passed pawns look to have more potential than Black's Rooks (Agdestein-Johannesson, Norwegian Ch, 2005).
• 18.axb5 Nxd5 19.Bc4 Nf4 20.Bxe6+ Nxe6 21.Qd5 Qe8 22.Rxa6 Raf7 23.Qc4 f4 24.Nd5 e4 is equal (Topalov-Leko, Amber Rapid, Monte Carlo, 2004).

11...Be6 12.c3

• If 12.Qh5 Rg8 13.g3 then:
• If 13...Rg5 then:
• 14.Qxh7 Bxd5 15.exd5 Ne7 16.0-0-0 Qb6 17.Rhf1 Rg6 18.Qh3 e4 19.Be2 Bg7 20.Bh5 Rh6 21.g4 Qc5 22.gxf5 Qb4 23.c3 Bxc3 24.bxc3 draw (Mrugala-Brueckner, Corres, 1998).
• 14.Qd1 Bxd5 15.exd5 Ne7 16.c3 Bh6 17.Be2 Qb6 18.Nc2 Qb7 19.a4 Nxd5 20.0-0 Nf4 21.Bf3 e4 22.Qxd6 Rg6 23.Qe5+ Kf8 is equal (Sakai-Savchak, Corres, 2003).
• If 13...Nd4 14.c3 fxe4 15.Bxe4 Bg4 16.Qxh7 Rg7 17.Qh6 Nf3+ then:
• If 18.Ke2 Ng5+ 19.f3 Nxe4 20.fxg4 Qc8 21.Qe3 Qxg4+ 22.Qf3 Qxf3+ 23.Kxf3 f5 24.Nc2 Kf7 then:
• 25.Nce3 Ke6 26.Nxf5 Kxf5 27.Ne3+ Ke6 28.Kxe4 d5+ 29.Nxd5 gives White two extra pawns (K. Lie-Gabrielsen, Norwegian Ch, Moss, 2006).
• 25.Nde3 Ke6 26.Nxf5 Ng5+ 27.Kg4 Rg8 28.Rhf1 d5 29.Rae1 Ne4+ 30.Kh3 Bc5 31.Kg2 Raf8 32.Nfe3 b4 33.Nxd5 draw (Asrian-van Wely, Aeroflot Op, Moscow, 2004).
• If 18.Kf1 Rg6 19.Qe3 Bh6 20.Qd3 Nd2+ 21.Kg2 Nxe4 22.Qxe4 Rc8 then:
• If 23.f3 Be6 24.Rad1 Rc5 25.Nb4 Qc8 26.Rhe1 Kf8 27.Kf2 draw ((Turlej-Karasalo, Corres, 1991).
• 23.Ne3 Bd7 24.f3 Qg5 25.Nac2 f5 26.Qd3 f4 27.Nf1 Bf5 gives Black the initiative (Thi Diem Huong Nguyen-Nakhbayeva, World Youth Girls, Vung Tau, 2008).

12...Bg7

• If 12...Bxd5 13.exd5 Ne7 14.0-0 Bg7 15.Qh5 e4 then:
• If 16.Bc2 Qc8 17.Rae1 0-0 then:
• 18.Kh1 Ng6 19.Bb1 Re8 20.f3 b4 21.cxb4 Bxb2 22.Nc2 Bc3 23.Re2 Qc4 24.fxe4 Rxe4 25.Ref2 Re5 26.Qh3 f4 27.Na3 Qxb4 28.Bxg6 fxg6 29.Nc2 Qb2 30.Qd3 Rae8 31.Qxa6 Bd4 32.Nxd4 Qxd4 33.Rxf4 Qxd5 draw (Motylev-Reinderman, Euro Ch, Ohrid, 2001).
• If 18.Bb3 a5 19.Nxb5 a4 20.Bd1 Qc5 21.Be2 Nxd5 22.Qg5 then:
• 22...h6 23.Qg3 f4 24.Qh4 Rae8 25.c4 Nc7 26.Nxc7 Qxc7 27.Qxf4 gives White an extra pawn (Asrian-Ni Hua, World ChT, Beer Sheva, 2005).
• 22...Rab8 23.c4 Nc7 24.Nxc7 Qxc7 25.Qxf5 Rfe8 26.b3 axb3 27.axb3 Rxb3 28.Bd1 White retains the initiative (Pelletier-McShane, IT, Biel, 2004).
• If 16.Be2 0-0 17.Nc2 f4 18.Qg5 f5 19.Rfd1 f3 20.gxf3 Kh8 21.Kh1 then:
• 21...Be5 22.f4 Rg8 23.Qh4 Bg7 24.Bh5 Qf8 25.Ne3 Bf6 26.Qh3 Qh6 27.Nxf5 Nxf5 28.Qxf5 Raf8 is equal (P. Smirnov-Nijboer, Euro Ch, Istanbul, 2003).
• 21...Rg8 22.Qe3 Ng6 23.Nd4 Be5 24.Nc6 Qh4 25.Nxe5 Nxe5 26.f4 Ng6 is equal (Jakovenko-Maletin, Russian ChT, Sochi, 2004).

13.Nxb5

• If 13.Qh5 0-0 14.0-0 f4 then:
• If 15.Rfd1 Rb8 16.Nc2 Qd7 17.h3 f5 18.Ncb4 Nxb4 19.Nxb4 a5 20.exf5 then:
• 20...Bxf5 21.Nc6 Rbe8 22.Bxb5 Qc7 23.Qf3 gives White an extra pawn (Ramesh-Deepan, Op, Dubai, 2004).
• 20...Bf7 21.Qh4 axb4 22.f6 Bg6 23.fxg7 Qxg7 24.Bxg6 Qxg6 25.cxb4 gives White an extra pawn (Moranda-Bobras, Polish Ch, Poznan, 2005).
• 15.Nc2 f5 16.Ncb4 Nxb4 17.Nxb4 d5 18.exd5 Bd7 19.Rfd1 Be8 20.Qh3 Qg5 21.d6 gives White an extra pawn at d6 (Spraggett-Day, Zonal, Calgary, 1975).
• If 15.Rad1 Kh8 16.g3 Rg8 17.Kh1 Bf8 18.Be2 Rg5 19.Qf3 f5 20.gxf4 exf4 21.Nxf4 Bxa2 then:
• 22.c4 fxe4 23.Qxe4 Qe8 24.Bf3 Qxe4 25.Bxe4 Rc8 26.Ne6 Re5 27.Bxc6 Rxc6 28.Nxf8 b4 29.Nc2 gives White an extra piece (Anand-Hernandez, IT, Mereida, 2001).
• 22.exf5 Rxf5 23.Qe4 Rf7 24.Bh5 Rf6 25.c4 Ne5 is equal (Anand-Topalov, Amber Rapid, Monte Carlo, 2001).

13...axb5 14.Bxb5 Bd7 15.exf5

• White has three pawns for the piece.

15...Nb8 16.Qg4

• 16.a4 Bxb5 17.axb5 Rxa1 18.Qxa1 0-0 19.Qa4 Nd7 20.0-0 Nf6 21.Nxf6+ Bxf6 is equal (Murariu-Rogozenko, Op, Timisoara, 2005).

16...0-0!?

• 16...Kf8 17.Bc4 h5 18.Qf3 Bc6 19.f6 Bh6 20.0-0 Nd7 21.Rfd1 Ra7 22.Qd3 Bxd5 23.Qxd5 Qxf6 24.Qxd6+ Qxd6 25.Rxd6 Ke7 26.Rad1 Nf6 27.Rc6 e4 28.g3 Rb8 29.b4 Bg7 30.a4 Nd7 31.Bb5 draw (Istratescu-Felgaer, Ol, Dresden, 2008).

17.0-0

• The game is equal.

BLACK: Ni Hua
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WHITE: Zoltan Almasi
Position after 17.0-0

17...h5

• White's Bishop is perfectly safe.
• 17...Bxb5 loses in short order to 18.f6 Qxf6 (else White mates on g7) 19.Nxf6+.

18.Qf3 e4?!

• Black sacrifices a pawn, but all he gets for it is the pleasure of harrassing the Queen for a couple of moves.

19.Qxe4 Re8 20.Qd3 Bxb5 21.Qxb5 Nd7 22.Rfd1!?

• White has the material advantage with four pawns to a piece, but the text move allows Black to equalize.
• 22.Qd3 Nf6 23.Nb4 Ng4 24.a4 Qh4 25.h3 maintains White's advantage.

22...Rb8!

• That was easy, wasn't it?

23.Qa6 Rxb2

• The game is equal.

24.Rab1?!

• Black's more important Rook is the one in the center.
Better for White is
• 24.Re1 Rxe1+ 25.Rxe1 when White's remaining Rook, although on the seventh rank, can cause no further damage.

24...Rxb1 25.Rxb1 Nf6
BLACK: Ni Hua
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WHITE: Zoltan Almasi
Position after 25...Nd7f6

26.Qd3

• White's strongest asset is the passed pawn on the a-file. He can win if he can force an endgame in which he weakens and captures Black's kingside pawns, exchanges heavy pieces and advances his pawns on both sides of the board in an attempt to stretch and snap Black's defense.
• 26.c4 Nxd5 27.cxd5 Re5 28.Qd3 Qa8 29.Qf3 Qxd5 maintains Black's advantage in the position.

26...Nxd5 27.Qxd5 Re5

• Black demonstrates that his remaining Rook is the strong one.
• Black still has a piece for three pawns. His plan also involves picking off enemy pawns while preserving his own. The c-pawn is a specific pawn he needs to target in order to obtain a passed pawn on the d-file. Once that is done, Black will exchange heavy piece and use his Bishop to block White's a-pawn, but he must be careful of how he uses the Bishop in the event White breaks through with his kingside majority.
• Fritz is rating this position heavily in Black's favor, but your humble hare disagrees. Chances are about equal.

28.Qd3 Qf6 29.g3 Qxf5 30.Qxf5 Rxf5 31.Rd1 Bf8

• 31...Bxc3 32.Rxd6 Ra5 33.Rd3 Bb2 34.Rd2 Rxa2 removes White's biggest threats.

32.c4 Ra5 33.Rd5

• 33.Rd2 Ra4 34.Rc2 Bg7 35.Kg2 Kf8 36.f4 Ke7 gives Black the active Rook.

33...Rxd5

• 33...Rxa2 34.Rxh5 Re2 35.Rh4 f5 36.Kg2 Bg7 37.Rf4 gives White some counterplay.

34.cxd5 Be7 35.a4 Bd8!

• Black must challenge the right of the remote passer to advance.

36.f4!?

• This move is not as strong as it appears. There is nothing that White can threaten or restrain by advacing the f-pawn.
• 36.Kg2! Kg7 37.f4 Ba5 38.Kf3 f5 39.Kf2 Kf6 yields no advantage to either side.

36...f5!

• On the other hand, this makes it difficult for White to advance his g-pawn.

37.h3?!

• White weakens his g3 square, allowing Black to maneuver for a passed pawn or otherwise penetrating White's postion through h4.
• 37.Kf2 Ba5 38.Kf3 Kf7 39.Kf2 keeps Black a longs way from a win.
• 37...Bb6+ 38.Kg2 Kf7 39.Kh3 Bd8 40.Kg2 Ba5 is equal.

37...Kf7 38.Kf2 Kg6!?

• If 38...Ba5 then after 39.Kf3 Kf6 40.Ke3 Kg6 41.Kf3 Be1 Black threatens to play 42...h4 breaking up White's kingside pawns.

39.Ke2?

• If 39.Kg2 Kf6 40.Kf3 Ba5 then:
• 41.Kg2 h4 42.g4 fxg4 43.hxg4 Bd2 doesn't guarantee either side a win.
• No one is making progress after 41.Ke3 Be1 42.Kf3 Bb4 43.Kg2.

BLACK: Ni Hua
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WHITE: Zoltan Almasi
Position after 39.Kf2e2

39...h4!

• This is well-timed with g3 point uncovered and the King is just beyond reach of h4, the square on which Black invades.

40.g4

• After 40.Kf3 hxg3 41.Kxg3 Ba5 42.Kf2 Kh5 43.Kg2 Kh4 White's pawns start to fall.

40...fxg4 41.hxg4 Ba5 0-1

• If 41...Ba5 42.Kf2 Bd2 43.Kf3 Kf6 44.Ke4 then:
• If 44...h3 45.Kf3 Be1 then:
• 46.a5 Bxa5 47.Kg3 Bd2 48.f5 Ke5 Black wins.
• 46.f5 Ke5 47.a5 Bxa5 48.f6 Kxf6 49.Kg3 Bd2 Black wins.
• If 44...Be1 45.Ke3 h3 46.Kf3 Bd2 then:
• If 47.Kg3 Bxf4+ 48.Kxh3 Ke5 49.Kh4 Kxd5 then:
• If 50.g5 Ke6 then:
• 51.a5 Kf5 52.a6 Bxg5+ 53.Kg3 Be3 54.Kf3 Ba7 Black wins.
• 51.Kh5 Bd2 52.g6 d5 53.g7 Kf7 puts White in Zungswang.
• 50.a5 Kc5 51.Kh5 d5 52.g5 Kb5 53.g6 Be5 Black wins.
• 47.f5 Be1 48.a5 Bxa5 49.Kg3 Ke5 50.Kxh3 Kxd5 the Bishop stops the remainign pawns and the d-pawn advances forward, escorted by the Black King, winning.
• Grandmaster Almasi resigns.

[Jack Rabbit]

3. Wojtaszek - Hillarp Persson, Round 5, Stockholm

Radoslaw Wojtaszek
Photo: ChessBase.de (Germany)


Radoslaw Wojtaszek - Tiger Hillarp Persson
Rilton Cup, Round 5
Stockholm, 31 December 2008

Semi-Slav Queen's Gambit: Stoltz Opening

1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Nc3 e6 5.e3 Nbd7 6.Qc2 Bd6 7.b3

• (Stoltz-Shabalov Opening) If 7.g4 then:
• If 7...dxc4 8.Bxc4 then:
• If 8...e5 9.g5 Nd5 10.Bd2 exd4 then:
• If 11.Nxd4 11...0-0 then:
• 12.Nxd5 cxd5 13.Bd3 g6 14.h4 Nc5 15.f4 Bg4 16.Bc3 Re8 17.Kf2 Qd7 18.h5 Nxd3+ 19.Qxd3 Re4 20.hxg6 fxg6 is equal (Radjobov-Shirov, Rapid m, León, 2004).
• 12.0-0-0 Ne5 13.Nxd5 cxd5 14.Bxd5 Bg4 15.Bc3 Bb4 16.Ne2 Bxc3 17.Nxc3 Bxd1 18.Rxd1 Qe7 19.Qe4 Rad8 20.h4 Ng6 21.Qa4 gives White a huge advantage in space, but Black has a Rook for a pawn and a minor piece (Adly-Pantela, Op, Reykjavik, 2006).
• 11.Qe4+ Qe7 12.Qxd4 Ne5 13.Nxe5 Bxe5 14.Nxd5 cxd5 15.Bb5+ Kf8 16.Qxd5 Bxb2 then:
• If 17.Qb3 Ba3 18.Bc4Bc5 19.Bd5 Be6 20.Bxe6 fxe6 21.Rc1 b6 22.Rg1 Rd8 23.Rg4 Qd6 24.Bc3 gives White a slight advantage in space (Perelshteyn-Lugo, US Ch, San Diego, 2006).
• 17.Rb1 Be6 18.Qe4 Ba3 19.Bc4 Bxc4 20.Qxc4 b6 21.Rg1 gives White the advantage in space (Vallejo-Bareev, Amber Rapid, Monte Carlo, 2005).
• 8...b6 9.e4 Bb7 10.e5 c5 11.exf6 Bxf3 12.fxg7 Rg8 13.Qxh7 Nf6 14.Bb5+ Ke7 15.Bg5 Bf4 16.Qh3 Bxh1 17.Bxf4 Qxd4 18.Qg3 Ne4 19.Qh4+ Qf6 20.g5 Qxg7 21.0-0-0 Rad8 22.g6+ f6 23.Rxh1 Rh8 24.Qg4 Nxf2 25.Qf3 Nxh1 26.Bd6+ Kxd6 27.Qc6+ Ke5 28.Qe4+ draws by perpetual check (Onischuk-Becerra, US Ch, San Diego, 2004).
• If 8...b5 then:
• If 9.Be2 Bb7 10.g5 Nd5 11.Ne4 Be7 12.Bd2 Rc8 13.Nc5 Nxc5 14.dxc5 Bxg5 15.0-0-0 Bh6 16.Ne5 Qe7 17.Ng4 Bg5 18.f4 Bh4 19.e4 Nf6 20.Nxf6+ Bxf6 21.Ba5 gives White a huge lead in space (Nestorovic-Milenkovic, Yugoslav ChT, Cetinje, 1993).
• 9.Bd3 Bb7 10.g5 Nd5 11.Ne4 Be7 12.Bd2 Qb6 13.Rc1 Nb4 14.Bxb4 Bxb4+ 15.Ke2 c5 16.a3 c4 17.axb4 Bd5 18.Nfd2 0-0 19.Rhg1 e5 20.dxe5 Rad8 21.Nf6+ Nxf6 22.Bf5 Nh5 is equal (Shirov-Akopian, IT, Biel, 1993).
• 8...Nd5 then:
• If 9.Ne4 Be7 10.Bd2 b6 11.0-0-0 Bb7 12.Ne5 a5 13.h4 f6 14.Nd3 b5 15.Bb3 a4 16.Bxd5 cxd5 17.Nec5 Nxc5 18.Nxc5 Bxc5 19.dxc5 d4 20.e4 draw (Sargissian-Korneev, Euro Ch, Warsaw, 2005).
• 9.Bd2 b5 10.Be2 Bb7 11.Ne4 Be7 12.Nc5 Nxc5 13.dxc5 Qc7 14.a4 0-0 15.h4 a5 16.Rc1 bxa4 17.Bd3 h6 18.Qxa4 Ba6 19.Bxa6 Rxa6 20.b4 gives White a small advantage in space (Nakamura-Beliavsky, Op, Minneapolis, 2005).
• 7...Bb4 8.Bd2 Qe7 then:
• If 9.Rg1 Bxc3 10.Bxc3 Ne4 11.0-0-0 Nxc3 12.Qxc3 0-0 then:
• 13.Bd3 dxc4 14.Bxc4 c5 15.Kb1 a6 16.Bd3 b5 17.Qc2 g6 18.Be4 Ra7 19.g5 Rc7 20.h4 Nb6 21.dxc5 Rxc5 22.Qd3 Bb7 23.Nh2 Bxe4 24.Qxe4 Rc4 25.Rd4 gives White a small advantage in space (Milanovic-Lazic, Bosnian ChT, Jahorina, 2001).
• 13.g5 dxc4 14.Bxc4 b5 15.Bd3 Bb7 16.Qc2 g6 17.Be4 Rab8 18.Kb1 c5 19.Bxb7 Rxb7 20.dxc5 Nxc5 21.Ne5 Rc7 22.h4 Rfc8 23.Ng4 Na4 24.Qe4 Rc2 25.Qe5 Qc7 26.Nf6+ Kf8 27.Nxh7+ Ke7 28.Qf6+ Ke8 29.Qh8+ Ke7 30.Qf6+ Ke8 31.Qh8+ draws by repetition (Sargissian-Sveshnikov, Petrosian Mem, Stepanakert, 2004).
• If 9.Bd3 then:
• 9...e5 10.cxd5 Bxc3 11.Bxc3 e4 12.dxc6 exd3 13.cxd7+ Qxd7 14.Qb3 Qxg4 15.Qd1 0-0 16.Rg1 Qe4 17.Nd2 Qd5 18.Qf3 Bf5 19.Qxd5 Nxd5 20.Nc4 Rfd8 is equal (Vorobiov-P. Smirnov, Russian Ch semif, Krasnoyarsk, 2003).
• 9...Bxc3 10.Bxc3 dxc4 11.Bxc4 b5 12.Bd3 Bb7 13.e4 Nxe4 14.Bxe4 f5 15.Bd3 c5 16.Rg1 Bxf3 17.dxc5 fxg4 is equal (Moranda-Vitiugov, Belfort, 2005).
• 7...h6 then:
• If 8.Rg1 e5 9.cxd5 cxd5 then:
• If 10.Bd2 e4 11.Nb5 Bb8 then:
• If 12.Nh4 a6 13.Nf5 0-0 14.Nbd6 Bxd6 15.Nxd6 Nb8 is equal (Aronian-Topalov, Amber Rapid, Nice, 2008).
• 12.Rc1 0-0 13.g5 exf3 14.gxf6 Nxf6 15.Bb4 Re8 16.Nc7 Bxc7 17.Qxc7 Ne4 Black has an extra pawn, but White has more than enough space in compensation (Janssen-Smeets, Dutch Ch, Leeuwarden, 2005).
• 10.g5 hxg5 11.Nxg5 e4 12.Nb5 Nb6 13.Bd2 Bf5 14.h3 Bh2 15.Rg2 Rc8 16.Qb3 Bb8 17.Bb4 Nh7 18.Nxh7 Rxh7 19.Rg1 Rc6 gives Black a subtansial advantage in space (Zappa-Junior, World Computer Ch, Reykjavik, 2005).
• If 8.Bd2 then:
• If 8...dxc4 9.Bxc4 b5 10.Be2 Bb7 then:
• If 11.e4 Be7 then:
• If 12.g5 hxg5 13.Nxg5 Rc8 14.Rg1 Nf8 15.e5 b4 16.Na4 N6d7 17.Ne4 c5 18.Nexc5 Bxc5 19.Nxc5 Nxc5 20.dxc5 Qd4 21.Be3 Qxe5 22.Bb5+ Ke7 23.0-0-0 Bd5 24.Qe2 Ng6 25.Rg5 Qe4 26.f3 Black resigns in the face of material loss (Dronavalli-van der Bersselaar, Op, Gibraltar, 2008).
• If 12.e5 b4 13.exf6 bxc3 14.fxe7 cxd2+ 15.Nxd2 Qxe7 16.Bf3 Rb8 17.Nb3 0-0 18.0-0-0 c5 19.Bxb7 Rxb7 20.dxc5 Rc7 21.Kb1 Nxc5 22.Rc1 Rfc8 23.Nxc5 Rxc5 24.Qd2 Qf6 25.Rxc5 Rxc5 26.Rg1 Rd5 27.Qe2 Qf4 gives Black a small advantage in space (Dronavalli-Nakamura, Op, Gibraltar, 2008).
• If 11.g5 hxg5 12.Nxg5 Qe7 13.Nce4 Nxe4 14.Nxe4 0-0 15.Nxd6 Qxd6 16.Bf3 Rab8 17.0-0-0 Rfc8 18.Rhg1 gives White the advantage in space (Sargissian-Hillarp Person, Op. Reykjavik, 2006).
• If 11.Rg1 Rc8 12.g5 hxg5 13.Rxg5 Kf8 14.Ne5 Qe7 15.Bf3 Bxe5 16.dxe5 Nd5 17.Rh5 Rxh5 18.Bxh5 Kg8 19.0-0-0 Qh4 20.Be2 Qxf2 21.Rf1 Qg2 22.Qe4 Qxe4 23.Nxe4 Nxe5 24.Nc5 leaves Black up by two pawns (Radjobov-Anand, Rapid Ch, Mainz, 2006).
• 8...Qe7 9.Rg1 e5 10.cxd5 Nxd5 11.Ne4 Bb4 12.0-0-0 exd4 13.Nxd4 Bxd2+ 14.Rxd2 g6 15.Bc4 Nb4 16.Qb3 0-0 17.Nf5 gxf5 18.gxf5+ Kh7 19.Nd6 Nd5 20.Bxd5 cxd5 21.Qxd5 Nf6 gives Black a Bishop for two pawns (Kasimdzhanov-Bareev, Corus A, Wijk aan Zee, 2002).
• If 7.Bd3 0-0 8.0-0 dxc4 9.Bxc4 then:
• If 9...b5 10.Be2 Bb7 11.Rd1 then:
• 11...Qb8 12.e4 e5 13.dxe5 Nxe5 14.Nd4 Neg4 15.g3 g6 16.Bf3 gives White more activity (Koneru-Pérez, IT, Merida, 2008).
• If 11...Qc7 then:
• If 12.e4 e5 then:
• If 13.g3 Rfe8 14.dxe5 Nxe5 15.Bg5 then:
• 15...b4 16.Bxf6 gxf6 17.Nxe5 Rxe5 18.Nb1 c5 19.Nd2 Bf8 20.Bg4 Rae8 21.f3 Rg5 22.Bf5 Bd6 23.Nf1 c4 gives Black the advantage in space (Szeberenyi-Pavasovic, Hungarian ChT, Hungary, 2003).
• 15...Nxf3+ 16.Bxf3 Qe7 17.Bg2 Be5 18.Ne2 Qb4 19.Rd2 Rad8 20.Rad1 Rxd2 21.Rxd2 Qa5 22.b3 c5 23.Rd1 h6 24.Bd2 Qa6 25.Bc3 Bxc3 26.Nxc3 b4 27.Nd5 Nxd5 28.exd5 Qd6 is equal (Ibragimov-Asrian, Op, Dubai, 2000).
• 13.dxe5 Nxe5 14.Nd4 Bc5 15.h3 Qb6 16.Be3 Rad8 17.Nf5 Bxe3 18.Nxe3 Ng6 19.Rxd8 Rxd8 draw (Parker-Thorhallsson, Euro ChT, Saint Vincent, 2005).
• If 12.Bd2 Rfe8 13.Rac1 a6 14.b4 e5 then:
• 15.h3 h6 16.a3 exd4 17.exd4 Nb6 18.Re1 Nbd5 19.Nxd5 Nxd5 20.Bd3 a5 21.Bh7+ Kh8 22.Be4 gives White the advantage in space (Beliavsky-Pavasovic, Vidmar mem, Terme Zrece, 2003).
• If 15.a3 h6 16.Bd3 exd4 17.exd4 Nb6 18.Re1 Rad8 19.Ne2 Nbd5 20.Ng3 Rxe1+ 21.Rxe1 Ng4 22.Bh7+ Kh8 23.Bf5 gives White the advantage in space (Soltau-Benejam, Cyberspace, 2003).
• If 9...a6 10.Rd1 b5 11.Be2 Qc7 then:
• 12.Ne4 Nxe4 13.Qxe4 e5 14.Qh4 Re8 15.Bd3 h6 16.Bd2 Be7 17.Qg3 Bd6 18.Qh4 Be7 draw (Burmakin-Dreev, Op, Novgorod, 1999; several games since have ended here or after one or two more moves in an agreed draw).
• 12.e4 e5 13.g3 Re8 14.a3 exd4 15.Nxd4 Be5 16.Bf3 c5 17.Nde2 c4 18.Nd5 Nxd5 19.exd5 Bd6 20.Bf4 Ne5 21.Bxe5 Rxe5 22.Nd4 g6 is equal (Bologan-Karjakin, IT, Dortmund, 2001).

7...0-0 8.Bb2

• If 8.Be2 b6 9.0-0 Bb7 10.Bb2 Qe7 11.Rad1 Rad8 12.Rfe1 Rfe8 13.Bd3 then:
• If 13...e5 14.cxd5 cxd5 then:
• 15.dxe5 Nxe5 16.Nd4 Nxd3 17.Qxd3 Ne4 18.Nf5 Qg5 19.Nxe4 dxe4 20.Qb5 Ba6 21.Qxa6 draw (Gelfand-Anand, IT, Dortmund, 2007).
• 15.e4 dxe4 16.Nxe4 Nxe4 17.Bxe4 Bxe4 18.Qxe4 Nf6 19.Qf5 e4 20.d5 Bb4 21.Re2 Nxd5 gives Black an extra pawn (K. Georgiev-Kasimdzhanov, World Cup, Khanty Mansiysk, 2007).
• 13...c5 14.cxd5 exd5 15.dxc5 Nxc5 16.Bf5 Nce4 is equal (Shen Yang-Dolzhikova, Mindsports, Beijing, 2008).

8...Re8

• If 8...e5 9.cxd5 cxd5 10.dxe5 Nxe5 11.Be2 then:
• 11...Nxf3+ 12.Bxf3 d4 13.exd4 Re8+ 14.Kf1 Qa5 15.Qd2 Bg4 16.Bxg4 Nxg4 17.h3 Nf6 18.Qd3 a6 19.a3 Rad8 20.Rd1 Qh5 is equal (Radosztics-von Kempen, Corres, 1996).
• 11...Bg4 12.Nd4 Rc8 13.f3 Bh5 14.0-0 Bg6 15.Qd2 Nc6 16.Ncb5 Bb8 17.Rfe1 Re8 18.Bf1 Ne5 19.Rac1 Rxc1 20.Rxc1 a6 21.Nc3 Qd6 22.g3 h5 23.Nd1 Ba7 24.Be2 Bb8 25.Bf1 Ba7 draw (Grigoiants-P. Smirnov, Russian ChT, Sochi, 2007).

9.Be2 dxc4

• 9...b6 10.0-0 Bb7 11.Rad1 Qe7 12.e4 dxe4 13.Nxe4 Nxe4 14.Qxe4 Nf6 15.Qh4 is equal (Yurenok-Cast, 4NCL, Birmingham, 2001).

10.bxc4 e5 11.0-0 exd4

• If 11...Qe7 then:
• 12.Rfe1 e4 13.Nd2 Nf8 14.f3 exf3 15.Bxf3 Ng4 16.Nf1 Qg5 17.e4 Ne6 18.e5 Nxd4 19.exd6 Bd7 20.Rxe8+ Rxe8 21.Ne4 Nxf3+ 22.gxf3 Rxe4 23.fxg4 Rxg4+ 24.Ng3 h5 25.Re1 h4 26.Re5 Qh6 gives Black enough activity to compensate for his material deficit (Portisch-van der Wiel, IT, Tilburg, 1988).
• 12.Rae1 e4 13.Nd2 Nf8 14.f3 exf3 15.Bxf3 Ng4 16.Bxg4 Bxg4 17.e4 Ne6 18.Nb3 Rad8 19.Kh1 Qh4 20.e5 Nxd4 21.Nxd4 Rxe5 22.g3 Rxe1 23.gxh4 Rxf1+ 24.Kg2 Rf6 25.Ne4 Rg6 26.Ng3 Re8 27.c5 Be5 is equal (Petrosian-Nei, Yerevan, 1965).

12.exd4 Nf8 13.Rfe1

• 13.Rad1 Bg4 14.Ne5 Bxe2 15.Nxe2 N6d7 16.Ng3 Qc7 17.f4 c5 18.Qf5 Nb6 is equal ({lachatka-Buliev, Stare Mesto, 1992).

13...Bg4 14.Rad1

• 14.Ne5 Bxe5 15.dxe5 Bxe2 16.exf6 Bd3 17.Qb3 b6 18.Re7 Rxe7 19.fxe7 gives Black an extra pawn and better pawn structure (Kogan-Cvachoucek, Corres, 1978).

14...Ne6!?

• 14...Qc7 15.h3 Bh5 16.d5 Bg6 draw (Sturua-Bagirov, Yerevan, 1982).

15.h3?!

• 15.d5 cxd5 16.Nxd5 Nxd5 17.Rxd5 Bxf3 18.Bxf3 is equal.

15...Bh5?!

• If 15...Bxf3 16.Bxf3 Nxd4 17.Qd3 Qb6 then:
• 18.Rxe8+ Rxe8 19.Ba1 Nxf3+ 20.Qxf3 Qb4 gives Black an extra pawn.
• If 18.Ba1 then after 18...Nxf3+ 19.Qxf3 Rxe1+ 20.Rxe1 Qa5 Black has won a pawn.

16.Nh4

• After mutual inacuraccies, the game is level.

16...Bxe2 17.Nxe2

• 17.Rxe2 Qd7 18.Qf5 Rad8 19.d5 cxd5 20.cxd5 Nf4 remains equal.

17...Bb4 18.Rf1 Nh5

• After 18...b5 19.Nf5 Rb8 20.d5 cxd5 21.cxd5 Ng5 22.d6 White's advanced pawn gives Black some mobility problems..

19.Nf3 Nef4 20.Nxf4

• 20.Nc1 b6 21.a3 Ba5 22.Nb3 Re2 23.Qc1 b5 remains equal.

20...Nxf4 21.Qf5

• If 21.Qb3 Ba5 22.d5 cxd5 23.cxd5 Qd6 then:
• If 24.g3 Ne2+ 25.Kg2 h6 then:
• 26.Nd2 Qc5 27.Nc4 Rad8 28.Ne3 b5 29.Rd3 solidly fortifies White's d-pawn.
• 26.Qxb7 Rab8 27.Qxa7 Rxb2 28.Qxa5 Nxg3 29.Rb1 Reb8 remains equal.
• 24.Qxb7 Rab8 25.Qxa7 Ra8 26.Qb7 remains equal.

21...Ne2+ 22.Kh1 Qc8 23.Qc2

• 23.Qxc8 Raxc8 24.Rd3 Rc7 25.Rfd1 remains equal.

23...Nf4 24.Ng5 Ng6

• 24...f5 25.Bc1 Ne2 26.Qb3 Nxc1 27.Qxb4 c5 28.dxc5 gives White an extra pawn.

25.f4

• 25.Qb3 Bf8 26.Qf3 Qd7 27.Rfe1 Bb4 28.Rxe8+ Rxe8 remains equal.

25...h6 26.f5 Nh4
BLACK: Tiger Hillarp Persson
!""""""""#
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WHITE: Radoslaw Wojtaszek
Position after 25...Ng6h4

27.Nxf7!?

• The sacrifice shouldn't give White any more than a small advantage.
• 27.Ne4 Nxf5 28.Nf6+ gxf6 29.Rxf5 then:
• 29...Re2 30.Qxe2 Qxf5 31.d5 cxd5 32.cxd5 gives Black an extra pawn, but his kingside pawn structure renders it worthless.
• 29...Qe6 30.Rdf1 Qe2 31.Qb3 Be7 32.R5f2 White wins back the pawn with an active game.

27...Kxf7 28.c5

• If 28.Qb3! then:
• 28...Nxg2 29.c5+ Kf8 30.f6 g5 31.Kxg2 Re2+ 32.Rf2 gives White a little more space and an advanced passer.
• If 28...Ba5 29.Qd3 Kg8 30.f6 Rf8 31.Rf4 then:
• 31...Qc7 32.g3 Qd7 33.gxh4 Bd8 34.d5 gives White more activity.
• 31...Qe6 32.d5 cxd5 33.cxd5 Qb6 34.Rb1 allows White to recover the sacrificed Knight with advantage.

28...Qd8?

• 28...Qd7 29.d5 cxd5 30.Qb3 Kg8 remains equal.

29.d5! cxd5

• If 29...Qg5 then:
• If 30.dxc6 bxc6 31.f6 then:
• If 31...Qxg2+ 32.Qxg2 Nxg2 then:
• 33.Rd7+ Kf8 34.f7 Re7 35.Bxg7+ Kxg7 36.Rxe7 wins for White.
• 33.Kxg2? Re2+ 34.Rf2 Rxf2+ 35.Kxf2 Bxc5+ gives Black a strong initiative.
• 31...g6 32.Rd7+ Kf8 33.Bc1 Bd2 34.Qxd2 Qxd2 35.Bxd2 gives White a winning attack.
• 30.Rd4?! Nxg2 31.Rxb4 Ne3 32.Rxb7+ Kf8 33.Qf2 is equal.

30.f6 Re4

• 30...g6 31.Qb3 Qc8 32.Rxd5 Re6 33.Rf4 White wins back the piece with a won game.

BLACK: Tiger Hillarp Persson
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WHITE: Radoslaw Wojtaszek
Position after 30...Re8e4

31.fxg7+!

• White wins the Queen for a Rook and a pawn.

31...Kg8 32.Rf8+ Qxf8 33.gxf8Q+ Rxf8 34.Qb3

• 34.Rxd5 Re7 35.Qc4 Ng6 36.Rd7+ Rff7 37.Rxe7 Nxe7 38.Qxb4 leaves White a theoretical piece to the good.

34...Nf5

• 34...Kh7 35.Rxd5 Re7 36.Qxb4 leaves White with a Queen to a Rook.

35.Rxd5 Kh7

• If 35...Re1+ 36.Kh2 Re3 37.Rd3+ wins a piece.
• 36...Re7 37.Rxf5+ wins the Bishop after an exchange of Rooks.

36.Rd7+ Kg6

• 36...Re7 37.Rxe7+ Nxe7 38.Qxb4 wins the Bishop.

37.Qf3

• In this position, White has nothing but winning moves.
• 37.Qd5 Re2 38.Rd6+ Nxd6 39.Qxd6+ Kf7 40.Qd5+ wins a piece (the Rook after 41.Ke8 or 41.Kg6. the b7-pawn and the Bishop after anything else).
• 37.Qc2 Rfe8 38.Rxb7 a5 39.a3 wins the Bishop.
• 37.Qd3 Rfe8 38.Qf3 Bxc5 39.Rg7+ Nxg7 40.Qf6+ Kh5 41.g4+ wins the Rook for two pawns.

37...Re1+ 38.Kh2 h5

• Black is out of checks and out of luck.

39.Rg7+ Nxg7 40.Qxf8 Ne6 41.Qf6+ Kh7 42.Qf7+ Kh6 43.Bc1+ 1-0

• If 43...Rxc1 44.Qxe6+ Kg7 45.Qe5+ then White wins a piece:
• 45...Kf8 46.Qf4+.
• 45...Kg8 46.Qg5+.
• 45...Kh7 46.Qe4+.
• Tiger resigns.

[Jack Rabbit]

4. Kuzubov - Bogner, Round 8, Stockholm

Perhaps we should watch young Herr Bogner this year.



Sebastian Bogner
Photo: Wikimedia Commons


Yuriy Kuzubov - Sebastian Bogner
Rilton Cup, Round 8
Stockholm, 4 January 2009

Slav Queen's Gambit: Tikhi Opening

1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.e3 a6 5.Qc2 e6 6.Nbd2

• 6.Nc3 is the Stoltz Opening to the Semi-Slav Queen's Gambit. See Koneru-Pérez, IT, Merida, 2008.

6...Nbd7 7.b3 Be7

• 7...c5 8.Bb2 dxc4 9.bxc4 Bd6 10.Bd3 0-0 11.0-0 h6 12.Ne5 Qc7 13.f4 b6 14.Rf3 Bb7 15.Rh3 cxd4 16.exd4 Rac8 17.Rf1 Rfd8 18.Qd1 Bb4 draw (Inarkiev-Amonatov, Russian ChT, Sochi, 2005).

8.Bd3 0-0!?

• 8...c5 9.Bb2 0-0 10.cxd5 exd5 11.0-0 h6 12.Rad1 b6 13.e4 Bb7 14.dxc5 Nxc5 15.e5 Nfe4 16.Qb1 Nxd3 17.Qxd3 Rc8 18.Nd4 Qd7 19.Nxe4 dxe4 20.Qg3 is equal (Karpov-Mecking, Najdorf mem, Buenos Aires, 2001).

9.0-0

• 9.c5 b5 10.0-0 a5 11.Ng5 h6 12.Ngf3 Qc7 Is equal.

9...h6

• 9...b6 10.Rd1 Bb7 11.Bb2 Bd6 12.Ne5 gives White the traditional edge in space he usually gets from an opening.

10.Bb2 c5

• White has the advantage in space.
• 10...b6 11.cxd5 cxd5 12.Rfc1 Bb7 13.Qd1 Bd6 gives White the advantage in space.

11.Rad1 b6 12.e4 dxe4 13.Nxe4 Qc7

• 13...cxd4 14.Bxd4 Qc7 15.Nxf6+ Nxf6 16.Be5 Qc5 17.Bd4 Is equal.

14.dxc5

• 14.Nxf6+ Nxf6 15.dxc5 then:
• 15...Qxc5 16.Rfe1 Bb7 17.Ne5 Rfd8 Is equal.
• After 15...bxc5 16.Be5 Qb6 17.Qe2 White continues to enjoy the advantage in space.

14...bxc5 15.Qe2 Bb7 16.Ng3

• 16.Rd2 Rad8 17.Rfd1 Qf4 18.Bc2 Is equal.

16...Rad8 17.Bb1

• If 17.Bc2 then:
• If 17...Qf4 18.Rd3 Rfe8 19.Rfd1 Nf8 20.Be5 then:
• If 20...Bxf3 21.Bxf4 Bxe2 22.Nxe2 then:
• 22...Rxd3 23.Rxd3 Rd8 24.Rxd8 Bxd8 25.a3 White has the advantage in pawn structure and is ready to mobilize his queenside.
• 22...Rd7 23.Rxd7 N8xd7 24.Nc3 Rd8 25.Kf1 gives White better mobility.
• 20...Qg4 21.h3 Bxf3 22.Rxf3 Rxd1+ 23.Bxd1 gives White better pawn structure.
• 17...Qa5?! 18.Rd3 Nb6 19.Rxd8 Rxd8 20.Nf5 exf5 21.Qxe7 gives White the active game leaves Black's Queen awkwardly placed.

17...Rfe8 18.Rfe1 Qc6 19.Bc3 Nf8

• 19...Bd6 20.Rd3 e5 21.Re3 Bc7 22.Bf5 g6 23.Bh3 gives White a slight advantage in space.

20.Bxf6

• If 20.Bd3 N8d7 21.Rd2 then:
• 21...Qc7 22.Red1 Qf4 23.Qe3 g5 then:
• If 24.Ne1 Qxe3 25.fxe3 gives White more freedom.
• 24.Qxf4 gxf4 25.Ne2 Bxf3 26.gxf3 gives White's minor pieces more potenital.
• 21...Bd6 22.Red1 Bc7 23.Bc2 e5 24.Nf5 gives White the advantage in space.

20...Bxf6 21.Be4 Qc7 22.Bxb7 Qxb7 23.Nh5!?

• If 23.Ne4 Be7 24.Ne5 Qc7 then:
• 25.f4 Rxd1 26.Rxd1 Rd8 27.Rxd8 Qxd8 gives White better minor pieces.
• 25.Rxd8 Rxd8 26.Nd3 Nd7 is equal.

23...Bc3

• The game is equal.

BLACK: Sebastian Bogner
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WHITE: Yuriy Kuzubov
Position after 23...Bf6c3

24.Rxd8 Rxd8 25.Rc1 Bd4

• 25...Qb4 26.Nf4 Qa5 27.Nd3 Nd7 28.Qc2 Bf6 remaIns equal.

26.Nxd4 cxd4 27.Nf4 Qc7

• 27...Nd7 28.Nd3 Nf6 29.b4 Qc6 30.a3 Qa4 remaIns equal.

28.Nd3 Ng6 29.Qe4

• 29.b4 Nf4 30.Qf3 Nxd3 31.Qxd3 e5 32.a3 Qc6 remaIns equal.

29...Ne7

• 29...Qa5 30.Rc2 Qh5 31.Re2 Qg5 32.f4 Qa5 remaIns equal.

30.b4 Qd7 31.h3

• 31.Nc5 Qa7 32.Rd1 Qb6 33.a3 Nc6 34.f4 d3 remaIns equal.

31...Ng6?

• If 31...Qa4 32.Qb7 Nf5 33.c5 then:
• 33...Rf8 34.c6 Qb5 35.Qxb5 axb5 36.Kf1 Rc8 37.a4 gives White a slight advantage on the queenside.
• 33...Qxa2?! 34.c6 Rf8 35.c7 Ne7 36.Qb6 Qd5 37.Qxa6 gives White a huge advantage on the queenside.

BLACK: Sebastian Bogner
!""""""""#
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WHITE: Yuriy Kuzubov
Position after 31...Ne7g6

32.c5!

• White winning plan is to gain connected passed pawns on the queenside.

32...f5 33.Qf3 Qc7

• The text is more stubborn than 33...Ne7 34.Re1 Nd5 35.Qg3 Re8 36.a3 when White's queenside continues to give him excellent winning chances.

34.a4 Qc8

• If 34...Qd7 then White gains another passer after 35.c6 Qc7 36.Nc5 Qc8 37.Qg3 Ne7 38.b5.

35.c6 e5!?

• Black should lose. The text move is an idle threat of a pawn fork.
• 35...Rd5 36.Qg3 Kh7 37.h4 then:
• If 37...Ne7 38.h5 Kg8 39.Nf4 then:
• 39...Re5 40.c7 Kf8 41.Nd3 Rd5 42.Ne5 wins for White.
• 39...Rd8 40.c7 Re8 41.Qb3 d3 42.Qxd3 gives White an extra pawn.
• After 37...Nf8 38.b5 axb5 39.Nb4 bxa4 40.Nxd5 exd5 41.Qe5 Black central pawns fall.

36.c7!

• Black has no time for the fork.

36...Rd6 37.Rc6?

• If 37.Rc5! then:
• If 37...Kh7 38.Qg3 Re6 then:
• 39.Nxe5 Nxe5 40.Rxe5 Rg6 41.Qd3 Qxc7 42.Qxf5 leaves White up a pawn with majorities on both wings.
• After 39.b5 axb5 40.axb5 e4 41.Nf4 Rb6 42.Nd5 White's more advanced queenside pawns decide the game.


• 37...Nh4 38.Qg3! Ng6 gets Black nowhere.

37...Nh4!

• If 37...e4? then after 38.Rxd6! Qxc7 39.Qg3 exd3 40.Rxg6 White wins.

38.Rxd6

• If now 38.Qg3 Rxc6! (the resource Black did not have before in the previous note) 39.Qxh4 Qxc7 40.Qh5 e4 then:
• 41.Qe8+! Kh7 42.Nc5 d3 43.Qh5 Qe5 44.Qd1 leaves Black up by a pawn and an exchange.
• 41.Nc5? Qf7 42.Qd1 Qc4 43.Qh5 d3 is equal.

BLACK: Sebastian Bogner
!""""""""#
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WHITE: Yuriy Kuzubov
Position after 38.Rc6d6:R

38...Nxf3+!!

• If the taking of the Queen did not come with check, White could make a fight of it. The lost tempo costs him at least a half-point.

39.gxf3 Qxc7

• With strong central pawns and a Queen against an uncoordinated Rook and Knight combo, Black makes short work of the position.

40.Rd5 e4 41.fxe4

• If 41.Nc5 then after 41...exf3 42.Rxd4 Qe5! 43.Rd1 Qe7 the end is near.

41...fxe4 42.Nc5 e3

• also good is 42...d3 43.Nxe4 Qc4 44.Rd8+ Kh7 45.f3 Qxb4.

43.Rxd4 Qe5! 0-1

• If 44.Rg4 then 44...e2 45.Nd3 Qc3 46.Rg3 Qxd3 47.Rxd3 e1Q+ is quite convincing.
• Grandmaster Kuzubov resigns.

[Jack Rabbit]

5. Howell - Kurnosov, Round 7, Hastings

Igor Kurnosov
Photo: ChessBase.com


David Howell - Igor Kurnosov
Chess Congress, Masters' Tournament, Round 7
Hastings, 3 January 2009

Italian Royal Game: Neo-Classical Defense (Clam Opening) (Giucco Pianisimo)

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.c3 Nf6 5.d3

• 5.d4 is the move of the old romantic school, and we patiently await its return to style.

5...d6 6.Bb3 a6 7.h3 Be6

• 7...Ba7 8.Nbd2 0-0 9.0-0 h6 10.Re1 Nh5 11.Nf1 Qf6 12.Be3 Nf4 13.Ng3 g6 14.Nh2 h5 15.Ne2 Bxe3 16.fxe3 Nxe2+ 17.Qxe2 Kg7 18.Rf1 Qe7 19.d4 gives White the advantage in space (Bojkov-Borisek, Euro ChT, Saint Vincent, 2005).

8.Bc2!?

• If 8.Nbd2 0-0 9.0-0 Ba7 10.Re1 then:
• If 10...h6 11.Nf1 Re8 then:
• If 12.Bc2 d5 13.Bd2 Qd7 14.N3h2 Rad8 15.Qf3 Qe7 16.Rad1 then:
• 16...Rd7 17.Ng3 dxe4 18.dxe4 Red8 19.Nhf1 Nh7 20.Nf5 Qf6 is equal (Movsesian-Kramnik, Tal Mem Blitz, Moscow, 2008).
• 16...Rd6 17.Ng3 dxe4 18.dxe4 Red8 19.Bc1 Rxd1 20.Bxd1 Nb8 21.Bc2 Nbd7 is equal (Movsesuan-Stocek, Euro Ch, Plovdiv, 2008).
• 12.Ng3 d5 13.Qe2 Qd7 14.Bc2 Rad8 15.Kh2 Kh8 16.Nh4 Ng8 17.Qf3 Bc5 18.Ngf5 Bf8 is equal (Areshchenko-Alexandrov, Aeroflot Op, Moscow, 2007).
• 10...Bxb3 11.Qxb3 Rb8 12.Nf1 h6 13.Be3 Bxe3 14.Nxe3 Re8 15.Nd5 Nxd5 16.Qxd5 Ne7 is equal (Zhang PengxiangKarpov, FIDE Knock Out, Moscow, 2001).

BLACK: Igor Kurnosov
!""""""""#
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WHITE: David Howell
Position after 8.Bb3c2

8...d5!

• Black now has a slight advantage. Since White played the Clam Opening and left it for Black to form a classical pawn center, Black did.

9.Nbd2 0-0 10.Qe2 Qe7

• 10...d4 11.0-0 dxc3 12.bxc3 Nh5 13.Qd1 Bb6 14.Nb3 is equal.

11.Nf1!?

• White intends to set up his pieces with the Bishop at g5 and the Queen's Knight at g3.
• If 11.exd5 Bxd5 12.Ne4 then:
• 12...Nxe4 13.dxe4 Be6 14.b4 Bb6 15.0-0 Rad8 is equal.
• 12...Nd7 13.0-0 Bd6 14.Re1 Rfe8 15.Bg5 is equal.

11...b5

• If 11...d4 12.Ng3 Ba7 13.0-0 Rad8 14.Re1 Rfe8 then:
• font color="red"]15.Ng5 Bc8 16.Bb3 Rf8 17.Nf5 Bxf5 18.exf5 Qd6 is equal.
• 15.Bg5 h6 16.Bxf6 Qxf6 17.Bb3 Bd7 18.Bd5 gives Black the advantage in space.

12.Ng3

• 12.exd5 Bxd5 13.Ne3 Bxe3 14.Bxe3 e4 15.dxe4 Bc4 gives Black the initiative.

12...Rad8

• 12...d4 13.0-0 Rad8 14.Bb3 Bc8 15.Re1 Qd6 gives Black a small advantage in space.

13.Bg5

• If 13.exd5 Bxd5 14.b4 Bb6 15.a4 Rfe8 then:
• font color="red"]16.a5 Ba7 17.Bg5 h6 18.Bxf6 Qxf6 19.Ne4 Qe6 gives Black a small advantage in space.
• 16.axb5 axb5 17.Bg5 h6 18.Bxf6 Qxf6 19.Ne4 Qe6 giveds Black the advantage in space.

13...h6 14.Bh4

• 14.Bxf6 Qxf6 15.exd5 Bxd5 16.Ne4 Qe7 17.Bb3 Bb6 gives Black the advantage in space.

14...d4

• If 14...g5? 15.Nxg5!! hxg5 16.Bxg5 then:
• 16...Nd4 17.cxd4 Bxd4 18.0-0 turns the game around in White's favor.
• 16...Nxe4 17.Bxe7 Bxf2+ 18.Kd1 Nxg3 19.Qxf2 Nxh1 20.Qf6 gives White a vicious attack.

15.0-0 g6 16.Kh1?

• The King was perfectly safe at g1 and this move simply wastes a tempo with devastating results.
• Better is 16.Qd2 dxc3 17.bxc3 Kh7 18.Ne2 Rd6 19.d4 Bc4 with equality.

16...Kh7
BLACK: Igor Kurnosov
!""""""""#
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WHITE: David Howell
Position after 16...Kg8h7

17.Nxe5

• This is desperation rather a blunder. Black is lost any way.
• If 17.Qd2 then after 17...dxc3 18.bxc3 Rg8 19.Bxf6 Qxf6 20.Qe2 Rd6 Black maintains a huge advantage in space.

17...Nxe5 18.f4 Ned7 19.Qf3

• If 19.cxd4 Bxd4 20.e5 Ne4 then:
• 21.Qxe4 Qxh4 22.Qxd4 Qxg3 23.Rf3 Qh4 leaves Black a piece to the good.
• If 21.Bxe7 Nxg3+ 22.Kh2 Nxe2 23.Bxf8 Rxf8 then:
• 24.Rae1 Nxf4 25.Rxf4 Bxe5 leaves Black a piece to the good.
• 24.Rab1 Nxf4 25.Rxf4 Bxe5 leaves Black a piece to the good.

19...Qe8 20.e5 Bd5 21.Qf2
BLACK: Igor Kurnosov
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WHITE: David Howell
Position after 21.Qf3f2

21...Qe6!

• Black threatens to win a pawn.

22.Ne4 Bxe4 23.dxe4 d3!

• White saves his pawn, but is still a piece down.

24.Qf3 dxc2 25.exf6 Rfe8 26.e5 Nb6 27.Rac1

• If 27.Bf2 then after 27...Na4 28.b3 Bxf2 29.bxa4 Bb6 30.axb5 axb5 White continues to enjoy an extra piece.

27...Nc4 28.Rfe1 Rd2

• If 28...Qf5 29.g4 Qd3 then:
• 30.Qg2 Nxb2 31.Rxc2 Nc4 32.Rce2 Qxc3 wins a pawn for White.
• 30.Qxd3 Rxd3 31.Kg2 Ne3+ 32.Rxe3 Bxe3 33.Rxc2 Bxf4 leaves Black a Rook to the good.

29.Re2 Red8 30.Rxc2 R2d3

• If 30...Rxc2 then White wins after 31.Rxc2 Qf5 32.Re2 Rd1+ 33.Re1 Rd3.

31.Qg4 Rd1+ 32.Re1

• If 32.Kh2 then 32...Bg1+ 33.Kh1 Ne3 34.Rxe3 Bxe3+ is lights out.

32...Rxe1+ 33.Bxe1 Qxg4 34.hxg4 Ne3

• Also good is 34...Rd1 35.Re2 Nxb2 36.Rxb2 Rxe1+.

35.Re2 Nxg4 36.g3 g5 37.b4

• If 37.Rd2 then after 37...Rxd2 38.Bxd2 Be3 39.Bxe3 Nxe3.

37...Bb6 38.f5 Re8 39.e6 Nxf6 40.c4 fxe6 41.c5 Bxc5! 0-1

• 42.bxc5 exf5 43.Rxe8 Nxe8 leaves Black with pawn majorities on both wings.
• Mr. Howell resigns.

[Jack Rabbit]

6. Neverov - Williams, Round 4, Hastings

Valery Neverov
Photo: ChessBase.com


Valery Neverov - Simon Williams
Chess Congress, Masters' Tournament, Round 4
Hastings, 31 December 2008

West India Game: King's Indian Defense (Kramer Opening)

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.Nge2

• This move, the Kramer Opening, is realatively rare.
• More common are 5.Nf3 (the main line of the King's Indian), 5.Be2 (the root of several KID openings) and 5.f3 (the Sämisch Opening).

5...a6

• 5...0-0 6.f3 transposes into the Sämisch Opening.

6.Ng3 h5

• 6...0-0 7.Be2 c6 8.0-0 b5 9.e5 Ne8 10.f4 then:
• 10...Nd7 11.Be3 Bb7 12.c5 Nc7 13.cxd6 exd6 14.exd6 Nd5 15.Nxd5 cxd5 is equal (Miles-Dr. Nunn, IT, Amsterdam, 1985).
• If 10...Nc7 11.Be3 bxc4 12.Bxc4 Be6 13.Bxe6 Nxe6 14.Qf3 Qb6 15.Rad1 Qxb2 then:
• 16.Nce4? allows the simple shot 16...d5! and after 17.f5 dxe4 18.Nxe4 Qxa2 19.fxe6 Qxe6 Black soon won (Derieux-Fierro, Op, Cannes, 2007).
• 16.Nge2 Nd8 17.Rd2 Qb4 18.Rb1 Qc4 remains equal.

7.Be2 c6 8.a4

• 8.0-0 Nbd7 9.Re1 e5 10.Bg5 Qc7 11.Rc1 0-0 12.d5 gives White the advantage in space (Korchnoi-Piket, IT, Wijk aan Zee, 1992).

8...a5 9.0-0 h4!?

• Black's novelty is good for equality.9...Nbd7 10.Re1 0-0 11.Bg5 Nh7 12.Be3 e5 13.dxe5 dxe5 14.Nf1 Qe7 15.Nd2 Ng5 16.f4 exf4 17.Bxf4 Ne5 is equal (Winants-Sziva, Belgian League, Belgium, 2001).

10.Nh1 e5

• 10...h3 11.g4 0-0 12.Be3 d5 13.cxd5 cxd5 14.e5 gives White the advantage in space.

11.Be3 Nbd7 12.f4 Qb6 13.fxe5

• 13.Qd3 exd4 14.Bxd4 Qc7 15.Rae1 0-0 16.Nf2 gives White the advantage in space.

13...dxe5 14.c5 Qb4?!

• This move is somewhat risky in that Black whould have to make sure that the Queen can find a way out should trouble develop.
• Better is 14...Qxb2 15.Qd3 Qb3 16.Rab1 Qe6 is less clear, as White's space advantage is tempered by Black's extra pawn.

BLACK: Simon Williams
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WHITE: Valery Neverov
Position after 14...Qb6b4

15.Nf2 Bh6?

• If 15...exd4! then after 16.Qxd4 Qxd4 17.Bxd4 Nh5 18.Be3 Bxc3 19.bxc3 White continues to enjoy the advantage in space, but Black has a playable game.

16.Bxh6 Rxh6 17.dxe5!

• White finds the time ripe to open the center.

17...Nxe5 18.Qd6!

• White fixes the enemy King in the center.
• 18.Qc1? Rh7 19.Na2 Qb3 20.Rd1 Nfd7 is equal.

18...Nfd7

• 18...Ned7? 19.Nd3 Nxe4 20.Nxe4 Qxe4 21.Rae1 Kd8 22.Rxf7 threatens the devastating 23.Rf8+.

BLACK: Simon Williams
!""""""""#
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WHITE: Valery Neverov
Position after 18...Nf6d7

19.Nb5!!

• 19.Rac1? Qxc5 20.Qd2 Qf8 21.Nd3 Rh8 22.Rcd1 Qe7 leaves Black well defended with a pawn to give.

19...cxb5 20.Bxb5!

• The Black Queen has no easy escape from behind enemy lines.

20...Rh5

• If 20...Nc6 then after 21.Bxc6 bxc6 22.Ng4 Rh5 23.Nf6+ Nxf6 24.Qxf6 White wins.

21.Rad1 Ra6 22.Qc7 Ra8 23.Ng4

• White threatens 24.Nf6+ Kf8 25.Bxd7 Nf3+ when:
• If 26.Kh1 Rxc5 27.Qd8+ Kg7 28.Qg8+ then:
• 28...Kxf6 29.Rxf3+ Kg5 30.Qd8+ with mate to soon follow.
• 28...Kh6 29.Ng4+ Kg5 30.Qd8+ f6 31.Qxf6+ Kh5 32.Qh8+ Kg5 33.Qh6#.
• The main variation is even stronger than 26.gxf3 Qxc5+ 27.Qxc5+ Rxc5 28.Bxc8 Rcxc8 leaving White a piece to the good.

23...Kf8 24.Nxe5 Rxe5

• If 24...Nxe5 then after 25.Qd8+ Kg7 26.Qf6+ Kh6 27.Qh8+ Kg5 28.Qxe5+ it's time to turn out the lights.

25.Rxd7 Bxd7 26.Qxe5 Bxb5

• 26...Kg8 27.Bxd7 Rf8 28.Be6 Qxa4 29.Qf6 Kh7 30.Bxf7 gives White an extra piece.

27.Qh8+ Ke7 28.Qf6+ 1-0

• Black cannot escape a quick mate.
• If 28...Kd7 then White forces mate thus: 29.Qxf7+ Kd8 30.Qd5+ Ke8 31.Qe6+ Kd8 32.Rf8+ Kc7 33.Qd6#.
• Mr. Williams resigns.

[Jack Rabbit]

7. Nine-year-old defeats grandmaster in tournament play

From the Hindustan Times via Susan Polgar's blogspot
Dated Sunday, January 11

Hetul makes history after upsetting Kazakh GM
Press Trust Of India
New Delhi, January 11, 2009

Nine-year old Hetul Shah made history in the first round of the 7th Parsvnath International Open chess tournament defeating Grandmaster Nurlan Ibrayev of Kazakhstan, in New Delhi on Sunday.

Shah betterd Parimarjan Negi's record of being the youngest Indian to beat a GM by more than a year. Negi was 11 years old when he beat Grandmaster Ivan Nemet in the Biel Open in 2004.

The first round also turned out well for other Indians with six-time national champion Surya Sekhar Ganguly, Negi, GMs Abhijit Kunte and Dibyendu Barua starting with victories. Ganguly, who lead the Indian contingent, made short work of
compatriot Niraj Saripalli while Kunte got past DK Chopra and Barua defeated Dinesh Kumar Gupta.

Read more at the link.

Perhaps Hetul is another youngster we need to keep an eye on.

[Jack Rabbit]

8. Ibrayev - Hetul, Round 1, New Delhi

David and Goliath



Nine-year-old Hetul Shah
Photo: ChessBase.com


Nurlan Ibrayev - Hetul Shah
7th Parsvnath International Open, Round 1
New Delhi, 11 January 2009

Spanish Grand Royal Game: Chigorin Defense

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0-0 Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 d6 8.c3 0-0 9.h3 Na5

• The Chigorin Defense, named for Mikhail Chigorin (1850-1908), the greatest player from Tsarist Russia, is still one of the most frequently played and one of the best responses to the main line of the Spanish Royal Game.

10.Bc2 c5 11.d4 Qc7 12.Nbd2 cxd4 13.cxd4 Bd7

• If 13...Bb7 then:
• 14.Nf1 Rac8 15.Re2 d5 16.dxe5 Nxe4 17.Ng3 f5 18.exf6 Bxf6 19.Nxe4 dxe4 20.Bxe4 Rcd8 21.Qe1 Nc4 22.Ng5 Bxg5 23.Bxg5 Rd7 24.Bxb7 Qxb7 25.b3 Nb6 26.Re8 gives White an extra pawn and a fierce attack (Beliavsky-Diesen, IT, Hastings, 1974-75).
• If 14.d5 Rac8 then:
• 15.Bd3 Nd7 16.Nf1 f5 17.Ng3 f4 18.Nf5 Bd8 19.b3 g6 20.Nh6+ Kg7 21.Ng4 h5 22.Ngh2 Qb6 23.Bd2 gives White more freedom (Robson-Mahesh Chandran, IT, Richardson, Texas, 2007).
• 15.Bb1 Nh5 16.Nf1 Nf4 17.Bxf4 exf4 18.Bd3 Bf6 19.Qe2 Qc5 20.Rac1 Qb4 21.b3 Rfe8 is equal (Shirov-Timman, IT, Belgrade, 1995).

14.Nf1 Rfc8

• If 14...Rac8 then:
• If 15.Ne3 Nc6 16.d5 Nb4 17.Bb1 a5 18.a3 Na6 19.b4 then:
• If 19...axb4 20.axb4 Qb7 21.Bd2 Bd8 22.Bd3 Bb6 23.Nc2 then:
• 23...h6 24.Nh4 Nh7 25.Qf3 Ng5 26.Qg3 gives White the initiative (Leko-Kamsky, Corus A, Wijk aan Zee, 2006).
• If 23...Rfe8 24.Nh2 g6 25.Qf3 Nxe4 26.Bxe4 f5 27.Bh6 Bd8 28.Bd3 gives White the material advantage (Anand-Milos, IT, Novi Sad, 1990).
• If 19...g6 20.Bd2 axb4 21.axb4 Qb7 22.Bd3 Nc7 23.Nc2 Nh5 24.Be3 Ra8 25.Qd2 Rxa1 26.Nxa1 is equal (Tal-Hjartarson, Op, Reykjavik, 1987).
• If 15.Re2 Rfe8 16.Ng3 Nc6 17.a3 Nxd4 18.Nxd4 exd4 19.Qxd4 Be6 is equal (Palac-Guliev, Euro Ch, Warsaw, 2005).

15.Ne3 Nc6 16.a3 Bf8

• 16...a5 17.d5 Nd8 18.Bd2 a4 19.Bb4 is equal (Fischer-Bisguier, US Ch, New York, 1958).

17.b3?!

• White overlloks the sparkling combination that follows.
• Whis is better after 17.d5 Na5 18.b3 Nb7 19.b4 Qb6 20.Qd3.

BLACK: Hetul Shah
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WHITE: Nurlan Ibrayev
Position after 17.b2b3

17...Nxd4!!

• Starting with this Knight sacrifice, Black wins material.

18.Nxd4 Qc3 19.Ne2!?

• 19.Rb1 Qxd4 20.Qf3 Be6 21.Re2 Rc7 22.Bb2 Qa7 23.Rd1 Rac8 maintains Black's pawn (Szily-Bisguier, Ol, Helsinki, 1952).

19...Qxa1

• Black wins the exchange.

20.Qd2

• While White Black has a material advantage, it appears his Queen will have difficulty finding a way out.

20...d5 21.b4?

• White give the Black Queen an escape route.
• If 21.Nxd5 Nxd5 22.exd5 Bxa3 23.Qd3 then:
• After 23...f5 24.Bd2 Qa2 25.Bb1 e4 Black's problem is best solved with the exchange of Queens.
• After 23...g6 24.Bd2 Qa2 25.Nc3 Qb2 the Queen remains out of play.

BLACK: Hetul Shah
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WHITE: Nurlan Ibrayev
Position after 21.b3b4

21...d4!

• Black presses down with a vise in the center.
• The text is better than 21...dxe4 22.Bb3 Qb1 23.Bc2 Qa2 24.Nc3 Qe6.

22.Nd1 Rxc2!?

• Black gives back the exchange, but takes another pawn.
• 22...a5 23.f4 Qa2 24.Bd3 Qxd2 25.Bxd2 axb4 gives Black a strong material edge.

23.Qxc2 Rc8 24.Qd2 Nxe4 25.Qd3 Nd6 26.Bb2 Qa2

• The Black Queen escapes; Black need only press home his advantage.

27.f4 Qc4 28.Qb1

• 28.Qxc4 Nxc4 29.fxe5 d3 30.Nf4 d2 leaves White badly uncoordinated.

28...d3 29.Ne3 Qe4 30.Nc3 Qxf4 31.Ncd5

• If 31.Qxd3 Qd4 32.Rd1 Qxd3 33.Rxd3 f5 34.Ncd5 f4 35.Nb6 Rd8 36.Ned5 Bf5 leaves Black two pawns up with more activity.
• After 34.Ne2 e4 35.Rd2 g5 36.Be5 Rc6 Black remains up by two pawns.

31...Qg3 32.Nf1 Qg6 33.Bxe5 Nc4 34.Nf4

• 34.Bg3 Nxa3 35.Qd1 Nc2 36.Ne7+ Bxe7 37.Rxe7 Be6 leaves Black three pawns to the good.

34...Qb6+ 35.Kh1 Nxe5 36.Rxe5 Bd6 37.Re4 Bc6 38.Qc1

• 38.Qxd3 Bxe4 39.Qxe4 Qf2 40.Qe2 Qxf4 gives Black a prohibitive material advantage.

38...Qb7

• 38...Qc7 39.Nd5 Bxd5 40.Qxc7 Bxc7 41.Re3 Rd8 is lights out.

39.Re1
BLACK: Hetul Shah
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WHITE: Nurlan Ibrayev
Position after 39.Re4e1

39...Bxg2+!!

• Black begins the final phase by sacrificing the Bishop.

40.Nxg2 Rxc1 41.Rxc1 Bf4

• Even stronger is 41...Qd7 42.Kg1 Qxh3 43.Re1 d2 44.Nxd2 Qxa3.

42.Rc3 d2 43.Rd3 h6 44.Kg1 Qb6+ 0-1

• 45.Kh1 Qf2 46.Nxd2 Bxd2 Black is up by a Queen to a Rook.
• Grandmaster Ibrayev resigns.

[nickgutierrez]

9. Have we had any indication of who's playing at Linares? n/t

[Jack Rabbit]

10. Linares 2009

Source: Chessdom.com

February 18-March 8, 2009

Viswanathan Anand, Magnus Carlsen, Vassily Ivanchuk, Levon Aronian, Teimour Radjabov, Wang Yue, Alexander Grischuk and Lenier Dominguez.

[Jack Rabbit]

11. Update (Sunday January 18): Ganguly Leads in New Delhi with One Round Remaining

Indian grandmaster Surya Shekhar Ganguly is setting the pace after nine rounds of the ten-round 7th Parsvnath International Open in New Delhi with 8 points.

Ganguly took over first place by himself today by defeating fellow Indian grandmaster Dibeyandu Barua in 79 moves. Kazakh grandmaster Peter Kostenko and GM Mikhail Ulibin of Russia, who started the day tied with Ganguly for first place with 7 points each, drew against each other to drop to a tie for second.

The last round will be played in New Delhi tomorrow morning at 10 am (Sunday 8:30 pm PST) and can be viewed live by following the link to live games at the tournament website.

[Jack Rabbit]

12. Endgame: Ganguly-Kostenko, Round 8, New Delhi

This is a very instructive Rook vs. Knight and pawn(s) ending.



Surya Shekhar Ganguly
Photo: ChessBase.com


Surya Shekhar Ganguly - Petr Kostenko
7th Parsvnath International Open, Round 8
New Delhi, 17 January 2009

According to Fine (Basic Chess Endings), in Rook vs. Knight and pawn endings the Rule is:

• one pawn darws at best;
• two pawns depend on other factors:
• he Rook usually wins in unbalnced pawn positions;
• With the Knight's King near the passed pawns, a loss is less likely;
• Three pawns and a Knight almost always win against a Rook.

In the following game, Black never has three pawns for the exchange, but for the most part has two. He almost pulls out a draw, but a timely sacrifice prevents him from getting his King close to the pawns.

We pick up the game at White's 36th move, just following a series of exchanges and before it comes down to Knight and pawns against a Rook. As of now, Black has two pawns for a Bishop.

BLACK: Petr Kostenko
!""""""""#
$ + + + L%
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$+ + O N %
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$ +p+ + P%
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/(((((((()
WHITE: Surya Shekhar Ganguly
Position after 35...Rc6f6:R

36.Rg1 Kg8?

• Although a theoretical pawn down, Black sacrifices a pawn in order to activate his King.
• 36...Rf5 37.Ne4 Rf4 38.Ng3 Rf6 remains equal.

37.Nf3+ Kf7 38.Nxe5+ Ke6 39.Ng4 Nxc2

• Sacrificing the exchange in order to create two connected and advanced passers in a single stroke is Black's best shot.
• If 39...Nxg4 40.Rxg4 then:
• 40...Rf1+ 41.Kg2 Ra1 42.Bf8 d3 43.cxd3 c2 44.Bh6 White is prepared to sacrifice the Bishop for the pawn upon promotion and remain a pawn up in the Rook ending.
• 40...Kd5 41.Kg2 Re6 42.Kf2 Rf6+ 43.Ke2 Re6+ 44.Kd1 keeps White a piece to the good.

40.Nxf6 Kxf6 41.Bc5

• White is now up a Rook to two pawns and has a clear advantage. However, Black would be better without the minor pieces on the board.

41...Ke5
BLACK: Petr Kostenko
!""""""""#
$ + + + +%
$+ + + +o%
$o+ + + +%
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/(((((((()
WHITE: Surya Shekhar Ganguly
Position after 41...Kf6e5

42.Kg2!

• Activating the King is best.
• If 42.Rg5+!? Ke4 43.Kg1 d3 44.Kf2 Na1 then:
• If 45.b4 then:
• If 45...Nb3! then:
• 46.Rg4+! Kf5 47.Rg1 c2 48.Be3 gives White the advantage.
• 46.Be3?! d2 47.Bxd2 Nxd2 48.Ke2 Nb3 49.Kd1 is equal.
• 45...c2? 46.Be3 Nb3 47.Rg4+ Kd5 48.Ke1 transposes into a winning line for White.
• If 45.Rg4+?! then:
• 45...Kf5! 46.Rd4 then:
• If 46...Nxb3! 47.Rxd3 Nxc5 48.Rd5+ Ke4 49.Rxc5 Kd3 gives Black a fighting chance.
• After 46...c2 47.Ba3 Nxb3 48.Rxd3 White wins.
• After 45...Kd5? 46.b4 c2 47.Be3 Nb3 48.Ke1 wins for White.

42...Kd5 43.Be7 Ke4 44.Kf2 Ne3

• If 44...Kd3 then after 45.Rd1+ Ke4 46.Bf6 a5 47.Ke2 h6 48.Bh8 White wins.

45.Bc5 Kd3

• Black apparently plans to bring the passer to its goal escorted by the King. This turns out to be futile; his defense is stretched too thin.

BLACK: Petr Kostenko
!""""""""#
$ + + + +%
$+ + + +o%
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/(((((((()
WHITE: Surya Shekhar Ganguly
Position after 45...Ke4d3

46.Bxd4!!

• The sacrifice of the Bishop deflects the Black King to behind its passed pawn. It's all downfill from here.

46...Kxd4 47.Ke2!

• This is the point of the sacrifice. White shuts out the Black King; the pawn cannot reach the promotion square. Moreover, Black now has only one extra pawn (see the introductory remarks).

47...Ke4 48.Rg8 Nd5 49.Re8+ Kd4 50.Rh8 Nf4+

• 50...h5 51.Kd1 Nf4 52.Kc2 a5 53.Rc8 Nd5 54.Rc4+ drives the Black King away from the center of action.

51.Kd1 Kd3
BLACK: Petr Kostenko
!""""""""#
$ + + + R%
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/(((((((()
WHITE: Surya Shekhar Ganguly
Position after 51...Kd4d3

52.Rd8+!

• White wins the c-pawn by driving the defender away.

52...Ke4 53.Kc2 Kf3 54.Kxc3 Kg2 55.Rd6 h5 56.h4

• 56.Rxa6 Kxh2 57.b4 h4 58.b5 h3 59.b6 Nd5+ is equal.

56...Kg3 57.Rxa6 Kxh4 58.Kd4

• Better is 58.b4 Kg5 59.b5 h4 60.b6 Nd5+ 61.Kd4 when White wins.

58...Kg3 59.Ke4 h4

• If 59...Ne2 60.Rg6+ Kf2 61.Rh6 then:
• If 61...Ng3+ 62.Kd3 then:
• 62...Kf3 63.b4 Nf5 64.Rxh5 Nd6 65.b5 Black must give up the Knight to stop the pawn.
• 62...Kg2 63.b4 Nf5 64.Rxh5 Nd6 65.b5 Black must give up the Knight to stop the pawn.
• If 61...Nc1 62.b4 Ne2 63.Ke5 then:
• If 63...Nc3 64.Rxh5 Kg3 65.Rh6 Kg4 66.Rc6 Nb5 67.Rc5 Black must give up the Knight in order to stop the pawn.
• If 63...Nc1 64.b5 Nb3 65.b6 Nc5 66.Kd5 then:
• If 66...Nd7 67.b7 Nb8 68.Rh8 White will both queen the pawn and take the Knight.
• 66...Nb7 67.Rxh5 Na5 68.Rh7 Black must give up the Knight to stop the pawn.

60.Ra8 Ng2 61.b4 h3 62.Ra3+

• After 62.Rg8+ Kf2 63.Rh8 Ne3 64.Rxh3 Nc4 65.Rc3 Black is kaput.
• If 62.Rh8 Ne1 63.b5 Nc2 64.Kd3 then:
• 64...Nb4+ 65.Kc4 Nc2 66.b6 Ne3+ 67.Kc5 Kg2 68.b7 the b-pawn queens untouched.
• 64...Ne1+ 65.Kc3 Nf3 66.b6 Ne5 67.b7 Black must give up the Knight to stop the pawn.

62...Kg4 63.b5 h2 64.Ra1 Nf4 65.Rh1

• Black's pawn is stopped.
• It will take Black's Knight three moves to position itself to intercept White's pawn. The question is whether White can interfere with the effort.

65...Ne2

• If 65...Ng6 66.Rxh2 Ne7 67.Rh8 then:
• If 67...Kg5 68.b6 Nc6 69.b7 Kg6 then:
• 70.Kd5 Nb4+ 71.Kd6 Na6 72.Ra8 assures that the pawn will queen.
• 70.b8Q also wins, but with more difficulty.
• 67...Ng6 68.Re8 Nf4 69.Rg8+ wins the Knight.

66.Kd3 Nf4+ 67.Ke4 Ne2 68.Kd3

• 68.Rxh2 Nc3+ 69.Ke5 Nxb5 70.Rg2+ Kf3 71.Rb2 pushes the Knight too far away from the center of the action to partake in the defense.
• A similar position with the same motif arises from 68.Ke5 Nc3 69.b6 Na4 70.b7 Nc5! 71.Rxh2 Nxb7 72.Kd5.

68...Nf4+ 69.Kd2 Kg3 70.b6 1-0

• The pawn cannot be stopped.
• Grandmaster Kostenko resigns.

[Jack Rabbit]

13. Negi - Kostenko, Round 7, New Delhi

Petr Kostenko, a minor grandmaster from Kazakhstan, moved into first place clear with this fine victory over the young Indian prodigy, Parimarjan Negi.



Petr Kostenko
Photo: CyberChess (India)


Parimarjan Negi - Petr Kostenko
7th Parsvnath International Open, Round 7
New Delhi, 16 January 2009

Closed French Game: Nimzovich Defense (Winawer Defense)

1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Bb4

• The Nimzovich Defense, often called in English-speaking countries the Winawer Defense, was most popular in the forties and fifites when it was the pet line of then-world champion Mikhail Botvinnik.

4.e5 c5 5.Qg4

• If 5.a3 Bxc3+ 6.bxc3 Ne7 then:
• If 7.Qg4 then:
• If 7...0-0 8.Bd3 then:
• If 8...Nbc6 then:
• If 9.Qh5 Ng6 10.Nf3 Qc7 11.Be3 c4 12.Bxg6 fxg6 13.Qg4 Qf7 14.Ng5 Qe8 15.h4 h6 16.Nh3 then:
• 16...Ne7 17.Qe2 b5 18.g4 a5 19.h5 g5 20.f4 gxf4 21.Bxf4 Bd7 is equal (Airapetian-Abrahamyan, US ChW, Tulsa, 2008).
• 16...b5 17.h5 gxh5 18.Qe2 Bd7 19.Nf4 Rxf4 20.Bxf4 Qf7 21.Be3 Be8 22.g4 hxg4 23.Qxg4 gives White a material edge (Ruan Lufei-Mkrtchian, FIDE Knock Out W, Nalchik, 2008).
• 9.Nf3 f5 10.exf6 Rxf6 11.Bg5 Rf7 12.Bxe7 Rxe7 13.Qh4 transposes into the next set of notes.
• 8...f5 9.exf6 Rxf6 10.Bg5 Rf7 11.Qh5 g6 12.Qd1 Nbc6 13.Nf3 Qf8 14.0-0 c4 15.Be2 h6 16.Bc1 Bd7 17.a4 Qg7 18.Ba3 g5 19.Bd6 Nf5 20.Be5 Qf8 21.Qd2 g4 22.Ne1 Nxe5 23.dxe5 Qg7 24.Qf4 h5 25.a5 gives Black the advantage in space (Kojima-Barsov, Op, Doha, 2006).
• If 7...Qc7 8.Qxg7 Rg8 9.Qxh7 cxd4 10.Ne2 Nbc6 11.f4 Bd7 12.Qd3 dxc3 then:
• If 13.Nxc3 a6 14.Rb1 Na5 15.h4 Nf5 16.Rh3 0-0-0 17.h5 Nc4 then:
• 18.h6 Rg6 19.h7 Rh8 20.Ne2 Qc5 21.Bd2 Rg7 22.Bb4 Qb5 23.Rb3 gives White an extra pawn (Domínguez García-Muñoz Moreno, Op, Malaga, 2001).
• 18.Rb4 Bc6 19.Ne2 Bb5 20.a4 Qc5 21.Qc3 d4 22.Qb3 Na5 23.Rxb5 Nxb3 24.Rxc5+ Nxc5 25.Ng1 Rg3 is favorable to Black (Cheparinov-Grischuk, Grand Prix, Baku, 2008).
• If 13.Rb1 0-0-0 then:
• If 14.Qxc3 Nf5 15.Rg1 d4 16.Qd3 f6 17.g4 Nh4 18.exf6 e5 19.f7 Rxg4 20.Rxg4 Bxg4 21.Bh3 Qd7 22.Bxg4 Qxg4 23.Qg3 Qh5 24.Rb3 e4 then:
• 25.Qg7 d3 26.cxd3 Nf3+ 27.Kf2 Qxh2+ 28.Qg2 Qxg2+ 29.Kxg2 exd3 draw (Barnsley-Sinka, Cyberspace, 2001).
• 25.Qg8 Qh8? 26.Qxh8 Rxh8 27.Rh3!! Nf3+ 28.Kf2 Rxh3 29.f8Q+ Kc7 30.Ng1 Rxh2+ 31.Kg3 Rxc2 32.Qf7+ Black resigns as she must lose more material (Yu Ting-Gong Qianyun, Chinese ChTW, Suzhou, 2001).
• 14.Nxc3 Na5 15.g3 Kb8 16.Nb5 Bxb5 17.Rxb5 Rc8 18.Be3 b6 19.Bc5 Nf5 20.Bh3 Nb7 21.Bf2 Qxc2 22.Qxc2 Rxc2 23.0-0 Nh4 24.Rb3 Na5 is equal (Domínguez-Shulman, Amer Cont Ch, Buenos Aires, 2005).
• If 7.Nf3 then:
• If 7...Bd7 8.a4 Qa5 9.Bd2 Nbc6 10.Be2 c4 11.0-0 f6 then:
• 12.exf6 gxf6 13.Nh4 0-0-0 14.Bh5 Rhg8 15.g3 Ng6 16.Ng2 Nce7 17.Re1 Nf5 18.Bg4 Rde8 19.Bxf5 exf5 20.Rxe8+ Rxe8 21.Qh5 gives White the initiative (Bannik-Ivkov, TMatch, Rijeka, 1963).
• 12.Re1 fxe5 13.dxe5 0-0 14.Bf1 Ng6 15.g3 h6 16.h4 Rf7 17.h5 Raf8 18.Bg2 Nge7 19.Rf1 Kh8 20.Qe2 Qc7 21.Bc1 draw (Ciocaltea-Uhlmann, IT, Zinnowitz, 1966).
• 7...Qc7 8.a4 b6 9.Bb5+ Bd7 10.Bd3 Nbc6 11.0-0 h6 12.Re1 0-0 13.Ba3 Na5 14.dxc5 bxc5 15.Nd2 Bxa4 16.Qg4 Bd7 17.Nf3 Rab8 18.Bc1 Kh8 19.Qh4 Ng8 gives Black an extra pawn while White has enough space and activity to compensate (Chandler-Hertneck, Bundesliga 9394, Germany, 1994).

5...Ne7 6.dxc5

• If 6.Nf3 Nbc6 7.a3 then:
• If 7...Bxc3+ 8.bxc3 0-0 9.Bd3 f5 10.exf6 Rxf6 11.Bg5 Rf7 12.Bxe7 Rxe7 13.Qh4 then:
• 13...h6 14.0-0 c4 15.Bg6 Bd7 16.Rfe1 Be8 17.Bxe8 Qxe8 18.Ne5 Nxe5 19.Rxe5 Rf7 20.Qg4 Qa4 21.Qxe6 Qxc2 22.Qxd5 Qxf2+ 23.Kh1 Rc8 24.Re7 Kf8 is equal (Hjartarson-Jussupow, IT, Linares, 1988).
• If 13...g6 14.0-0 c4 15.Be2 Bd7 16.Rfe1 then:
• 16...Qa5 17.Ne5 Rae8 18.Nxd7 Rxd7 19.Qh3 Rde7 20.Bg4 Nd8 21.f4 Qa4 22.Ra2 Qc6 23.Qe3 Nf7 24.Qh3 Nd8 25.Raa1 Qa4 26.Ra2 draw (Khalifman-Huzman, IT, Sverdlovsk, 1987).
• 16...Qf8 17.Bf1 Rae8 18.Re2 Rg7 19.Ng5 Qf6 20.g3 Ne7 21.Nxe6 Qxh4 22.gxh4 Bxe6 23.Rxe6 gives White an extra pawn (Sax-W. Schmidt, Zonal, Warsaw, 1987).
• 7...Qa5 8.Bd2 cxd4 9.Nxd4 Nxd4 10.Qxd4 Nc6 11.Qg4 d4 12.Qxg7 Rf8 13.axb4 Qxa1+ 14.Nd1 Bd7 15.Bd3 Qa4 16.0-0 0-0-0 17.c3 is equal (Hebden-Botterill, IT, Brighton, 1984).
• 6.Qxg7 Rg8 7.Qh6 cxd4 8.a3 Qa5 9.axb4 Qxa1 10.Nb5 Nf5 11.Qd2 Na6 12.Ne2 Bd7 is equal (Fazekas-Sterner, Hastings, 1957).

6...Nbc6 7.Bd2 Ng6

• If 7...0-0 then:
• If 8.0-0-0 then:
• 8...f5 9.exf6 Rxf6 10.Bd3 Qf8 11.Nf3 e5 12.Qh4 h6 13.Nxe5 Nxe5 14.Qxb4 Nxd3+ Black gets some play for the two pawns, but whether it is enough is problematic (Sutovsky-C. Hansen, IT, Essen, 2000).
• 8...Ng6 9.Nf3 Bxc5 10.Qh5 Bd7 11.Kb1 Qe8 12.h4 Rc8 13.Ng5 h6 14.Nf3 f5 15.exf6 Rxf6 16.Qg4 Bxf2 gives Black an extra pawn (Movsesian-Bukal, Croatian ChT, Medulin, 1997).
• 8.Nf3 f5 9.exf6 Rxf6 10.0-0-0 e5 11.Qh5 Rf5 12.Qh4 Bxc3 13.bxc3 Qa5 14.Kb2 Ng6 15.Qg3 Qxc5 gives Black the advantage in space (Pietzsch-Uhlmann, East German Ch, East Berlin, 1963).

8.Nf3

• 8.f4 f5 9.exf6 Qxf6 10.a3 Bxc3 11.Bxc3 e5 12.Qf3 d4 13.Bd2 0-0 14.0-0-0 Be6 is equal (Kepper-Bilyap, Corres, 1968).

8...Bxc5 9.Bd3 Qc7!?

• 9...0-0 10.Qh5 Nb4 11.Ng5 h6 12.Nf3 Nxd3+ 13.cxd3 Qe8 14.d4 is equal; Black will try to preserve his good Bishop (al-Modiaki-Tukmakov, Op, Yerevan, 1996).

10.0-0-0

• 10.Nb5 Qb6 11.0-0 a6 12.Nd6+ Bxd6 13.exd6 Qxb2 14.Qg3 Nge5 is equal.

10...a6 11.h4 Bd7 12.Bxg6

• 12.h5 Ncxe5 13.Nxe5 Nxe5 14.Qxg7 Nxd3+ 15.cxd3 0-0-0 is equal.

12...hxg6 13.Qf4 f6 14.Nxd5

• 14.Qg3 0-0 15.Rhe1 Rac8 16.exf6 Qxg3 17.fxg3 gxf6 gives Black more freedom.

14...exd5 15.e6 0-0-0

• If 15...Qxf4 16.exd7+ Kxd7 17.Bxf4 then:
• 17...Ne7 18.Bg3 Kc6 19.Rhe1 Nf5 is equal.
• 17...Bxf2 18.Rxd5+ Ke6 19.Rd2 Kf5 20.Rf1 Kxf4 is equal.

16.exd7+ Qxd7 17.Qg3

• If 17.Rhf1 Rhe8 18.Rde1 Qf5 then:
• If 19.a3 then after 19...Re4 20.Qxf5+ gxf5 21.Be3 d4 Black has the initiative.
• 19.Be3 Bxe3+ 20.fxe3 Re4 21.Qxf5+ gxf5 is equal.

17.Qg3 Qf5 18.Rdf1 Rhe8 19.Qh3?!

• The invitation to exchange Queens is premature. White fails to see the danger to his f-pawn.
• 19.Ne1 Nd4 20.Qh3 Qxh3 21.Rxh3 remains equal.

19...Qxh3

• If 19...Re2 20.Qxf5+ gxf5 then:
• 21.Be1 Rhe8 22.Kd1 Nd4 23.Nxd4 Bxd4 24.b3 Kd7 gives Black more activity, but there is no immediate way for him to exploit it.
• 21.Kd1 Rxf2 22.Rxf2 Bxf2 wins a pawn for Black.

20.gxh3?

• White voluntarily weakens his own pawn structure.
• White will have better chances of saving a half point after 20.Rxh3 Re2 21.Be1 Rhe8 22.Kd1.

BLACK: Petr Kostenko
!""""""""#
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$+ Vo+ + %
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/(((((((()
WHITE: Parimarjan Negi
Position after 20.gh3:Q

20...Re4!

• Also good is 20...Rh5! 21.Rh2 Re4 22.Rg2 Ne7 23.Kd1 Rf5.

21.Rhg1 Ne7 22.Rg4 Kd7 23.Bc3

• 23.a3 Re8 24.Kd1 b5 25.c3 Bb6 26.Kc2 Re2 is a better defense.

23...Ke8 24.Re1

• 24.Kd1 Kf7 25.b4 Ba7 26.a4 Nf5 27.a5 Rc8 puts a serious strain on White's defense.

24...Rxe1+ 25.Bxe1 Kf7 26.Bb4

• If 26.b4 Ba7 27.a4 b5 then:
• 28.a5 Nf5 29.Rf4 Bb8 30.Rg4 Rc8 31.Kd2 Ba7 gives Black the more active game.
• 28.axb5 axb5 29.Nd4 Bxd4 30.Rxd4 Ke6 31.f3 Nc6 gives Black the initiative.

BLACK: Petr Kostenko
!""""""""#
$ + + + T%
$+o+ Mlo %
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$+ Vo+ + %
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/(((((((()
WHITE: Parimarjan Negi
Position after 26.Be1b4

26...Bxf2

• At last, the f-pawn falls.

27.Bxe7 Kxe7 28.Rxg6 Kf7 29.Rg4 Re8

• 29...f5 30.Rb4 b5 31.Kd2 Kf6 32.Rb3 Bxh4 leaves Black to the good by a pawn.

30.Kd2 Bc5 31.c3 Re4

• 31...Re3 32.Rf4 g6 33.b4 Ba7 34.a4 b5 Black maintains the greater activity.

32.b3 b5 33.a4

• If 33.h5 then after 33...a5 34.a4 b4 35.cxb4 Rxb4 36.Rxb4 Bxb4+,Black is much better with a Bishop and pawns on both sides of the board.

33...bxa4 34.bxa4 Re3

• If 34...Bd6 35.Nd4 Bf4+ then:
• 36.Kd3 g6 37.Ne2 Re3+ 38.Kd4 Bh6 forces the White Rook to a pssive position to avoid exchanging minor pieces.
• 36.Kd1 g6 37.Kc2 f5 38.Rg2 Be5 gives Black a more free hand.

35.Rf4 g6 36.c4

• White deprives the a-pawn of protection while simultaneously opening a line for Black to attack it.
• No better is 36.Nd4 Re4 37.Rxe4 dxe4 38.Nc6 Ke6 39.Nd8+ Ke7.

BLACK: Petr Kostenko
!""""""""#
$ + + + +%
$+ + +l+ %
$o+ + Oo+%
$+ Vo+ + %
$p+p+ R P%
$+ + Tn+p%
$ + K + +%
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/(((((((()
WHITE: Parimarjan Negi
Position after 36.c3c4

36...Ra3!

• Black meats out immediate punishment.

37.Ne5+ Kg7 38.Nd3 Ra2+ 39.Ke1

• If 39.Kc3 then after 39...d4+ 40.Kb3 Ra3+ 41.Kc2 Rxa4 Black wins a pawn.

39...Be3 40.Rf3 Bd2+ 41.Kd1

• 41.Ke2 dxc4 42.Nf2 Bb4+ 43.Kd1 c3 gives Black an easy win.

41...dxc4 42.Nc5 Bb4

• Also good is 42...c3 43.Nxa6 Rxa4 44.Nc5 Rc4 45.Nb3 Bf4.

43.Ne6+ Kf7 44.Nd8+ Ke8 45.Nc6 Bc5

• The text is stronger than 45...Bf8 46.a5 Bg7 47.Rc3 Ra4 48.Rg3 Kf7.

46.a5

• After 46.h5 gxh5 47.a5 Kd7 48.Rxf6 Bd6 49.Nd4 c3 Black's advanced pawn assures him of victory.

46...Kd7 47.Rxf6 c3!?

• 47...Bd6! 48.Nd4 Be5 49.Rf7+ Ke8 wins immediately.

48.Ne5+

• After 48.Nb8+ Ke7 49.Rc6 Kf8 50.Rxc5 Rd2+ 51.Kc1 Rd3 Black wins.

48...Ke7 49.Rc6 Rd2+

• The text is best.
• 49...Rxa5?! 50.Nxg6+ Ke8 51.h5 Bd4 52.h6 Ra1+ 53.Kc2 gives Black drawing chances.

50.Ke1

• This shortens White's agony.
• If 50.Kc1 Ba3+ 51.Kb1 Rb2+ then:
• If 52.Ka1 Re2 53.Nd3 c2 54.Rxa6 Rd2 then:
• 55.Rc6 Rxd3 56.Rxc2 Rxh3 57.Rc4 Bd6 is more stubborn, but Black still wins.
• After 55.Nc1 Bxc1 56.Rc6 Kd7 57.Rc4 Rh2 Black wins quickly.
• 52.Kc1 Re2+ 53.Kd1 Rxe5 leaves Black a piece to the good.

50...Bf2+ 51.Kf1 Bd4 52.Nxg6+ Kd7 53.Rc4 c2 0-1

• 54.Nf4 Rd1+ 55.Kg2 c1Q leaves Black at least an exchange to the good.
• Young Mr. Negi resigns.

[Jack Rabbit]

14. Update (Tuesday January 19): Ganguly, Ulibin tie in New Delhi; Wijk aan Zee underway

Ganguly, Ulibin Share First Prize in New Delhi



Surya Shekhar Ganguly with the first prize trophy
Photo: Delhi Chess Association (India)

Indian grandmaster Surya Shekhar Ganguly and GM Mikhail Ulibin finished in a tie for first place at the conclusion of the tenth and final round of the 7th Parsvnath International Open today with 8½ points each in New Delhi.

Ganguly-ji was awarded the tournament championship based on superior tie-break points.

The Indian GM entered today's activity alone in first place, needing only a draw to secure a share of the top prize. Ganguly played Indian IM P Karthikeyan to a 15-move draw while Uliban, who entered today a half point behind Ganguly, defeated M. S. Thejkumar, an untitled Indian player, in 42 moves to catch Ganguly in the standings.

Grandmaster Petr Kostenko of Kazakhstan, who drew his final game against Indian GM Neeloptal Das, finished third with 8 points.


Corus Tournament Begins in Wijk aan Zee



Five players are tied for first place in the A Group with 2 points each after three rounds in the annual Corus Chess Tournament, one of the premier annual events in the sport, in the Dutch seaside resort of Wijk aan Zee as of today.

The five are Sergei Karjakin (Ukraine), Gata Kamsky (United States), reigning Dutch national champion Jan Smeets, Teimour Radjabov (Azerbaijan) and Sergei Movsesian (Slovakia).

In the B Group, former FIDE Knock Out champion Rustam Kasimdzhanov, former world title challenger Nigel Short of Britain and Czech GM David Navara are tied for first place with 2½ points each.

Group C finds Venezuelan GM Eduardo Iturrizaga and Dutch IM Manuel Bosboom tied for first with 2½ points each.

The fourth round of each of the three events begins tomorrow at 13:30 CET (4:30 am PST) and will be broadcast live on the official tournament website. The website Chessdom.com will broadcast three games to be determined later today with commentary.