Mamedyarov vs Carlsen - Biel - Round 9

For the last time Mamedyarov beat Carlsen in a classical game, we have to go all the way back to the Baku FIDE Grand Prix tournament in 2008, won by Carlsen, Wang Yue and the late Vugar Gashimov.

While playing through the game, scroll slowly so that when you get to the questions you can put some time on the clock (ten to fifteen minutes) and try and find the solution.

Mamedyarov,Shakhriyar (2801) - Carlsen,Magnus (2842)

ACCENTUS Biel GMT 2018 Biel (9), 31.07.2018

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.g3 Bg7 4.Bg2 0–0 5.Nc3 d6 6.Nf3 c5 7.0–0 Nc6 8.e3 d5 E65: King's Indian: Fianchetto: 6...c5 7 0–0 without d5 by White [8...Bd7 9.b3 cxd4 10.exd4 a6 11.a4 Rc8 12.Re1 d5 13.c5 Bg4 14.h3 Bxf3 15.Bxf3 e6 16.Rb1 Nxd4 17.Qxd4 1–0 (48) Nepomniachtchi,I (2721) -Wang,H (2735) Beijing 2013] 

9.cxd5 Nxd5 10.Nxd5 Qxd5 11.Ne5 Qd6 

XABCDEFGHY
8r+l+-trk+(
7zpp+-zppvlp'
6-+nwq-+p+&
5+-zp-sN-+-%
4-+-zP-+-+$
3+-+-zP-zP-#
2PzP-+-zPLzP"
1tR-vLQ+RmK-!
xabcdefghy

12.Nc4N [12.Nxc6 bxc6 13.dxc5 Qxc5 14.Qf3 Ba6 15.Rd1 Rfd8 16.e4 0–1 (39) Mader,L (1880)-Caliebe,N (1427) Erfurt 2017] 

12...Qc7 13.d5 Rd8 14.Bd2 Nb4 15.Bxb4 [15.e4²] 

15...cxb4= 16.Rc1 a5 17.a3 bxa3 18.bxa3 a4 19.Qd3 Bf5 20.e4 Bd7 21.Qe3 Ra6! 22.e5 b5 23.d6 Qb8 24.dxe7 Re8 25.Rfd1ƒ Black is under pressure. 

25...Rxe7 26.Qc5 Qf8 [26...Bf8!= 27.Nd6 Re8] 

27.Ne3± Be6 28.Qxb5 Raa7 29.Nd5 Bxd5 30.Rxd5 Reb7 31.Qd3 Rb8 32.h4 Qe8 33.Qd4 Qe7 34.f4 [Better is 34.Rc4 ] 

34...Bf8 35.Kh2 Rab7 

XABCDEFGHY
8-tr-+-vlk+(
7+r+-wqp+p'
6-+-+-+p+&
5+-+RzP-+-%
4p+-wQ-zP-zP$
3zP-+-+-zP-#
2-+-+-+LmK"
1+-tR-+-+-!
xabcdefghy

[35...Rc7± 36.Rxc7 Qxc7 37.Qxa4 Qc3] 

36.Qxa4 [White should play 36.Rd6!+- ] 

36...Qxa3 37.Qxa3 Bxa3 38.Rcd1 Be7 39.Kh3 Rc7 40.h5 gxh5 41.f5 Hoping for f6. 

41...f6 42.e6 Rb3 43.Rd7 Rbc3 44.Ra1 

XABCDEFGHY
8-+-+-+k+(
7+-trRvl-+p'
6-+-+Pzp-+&
5+-+-+P+p%
4-+-+-+-+$
3+-tr-+-zPK#
2-+-+-+L+"
1tR-+-+-+-!
xabcdefghy

White threatens to win immediately using which move? 

00000 

Threatens to win with Ra8+. 

44...Kg7 45.Ra8 Kh6 46.Re8 Bb4 47.Rb8 Be7 48.Be4 R3c4 49.Bd5 R4c5 aiming for ...Rxd7. 

50.Be4 

XABCDEFGHY
8-tR-+-+-+(
7+-trRvl-+p'
6-+-+Pzp-mk&
5+-tr-+P+p%
4-+-+L+-+$
3+-+-+-zPK#
2-+-+-+-+"
1+-+-+-+-!
xabcdefghy

[50.Rb7± Rxd7 51.Rxd7] 

50...Rc4!= 51.Bd5 [51.Rxc7= Rxc7 52.Kg2] 

51...R4c5!± 

XABCDEFGHY
8-tR-+-+-+(
7+-trRvl-+p'
6-+-+Pzp-mk&
5+-trL+P+p%
4-+-+-+-+$
3+-+-+-zPK#
2-+-+-+-+"
1+-+-+-+-!
xabcdefghy

What is the direct threat in this position? 

00000 

Strongly threatening ...Rxd7. 

52.Rb7 Rxd7 53.Rxd7 And now Bb7 would win. 

53...Ra5 [53...Bf8± might work better.] 

54.Bc6 

XABCDEFGHY
8-+-+-+-+(
7+-+Rvl-+p'
6-+L+Pzp-mk&
5tr-+-+P+p%
4-+-+-+-+$
3+-+-+-zPK#
2-+-+-+-+"
1+-+-+-+-!
xabcdefghy

Why would 54.Rxe7 be weaker in this position? 

00000 

[Worse is 54.Rxe7 Rxd5 55.g4 Rd3+ 56.Kh4 Rd4=; 54.Bc4+- Ra4 55.Bb5 (55.Rxe7 Rxc4 56.Re8 Kg7±) ] 

54...Ba3 55.Rf7 Black must now prevent e7. 

55...Re5! 56.Kh4 Bc1? [56...Bb4²] 

57.Kh3? 

XABCDEFGHY
8-+-+-+-+(
7+-+-+R+p'
6-+L+Pzp-mk&
5+-+-trP+p%
4-+-+-+-+$
3+-+-+-zPK#
2-+-+-+-+"
1+-vl-+-+-!
xabcdefghy

[57.e7+- Re2 58.Kh3] 

57...Rxf5? [57...Ba3= and Black is okay.]  

1–0

Fodor vs Adams - 105th British-ch 2018 Hull - Round 3

While playing through the game, scroll slowly so that when you get to the questions you can put some time on the clock (ten to fifteen minutes) and try and find the solution.

Fodor,Tamas Jr (2506) - Adams,Michael (2706)

105th British-ch 2018 Hull (3), 30.07.2018

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Qc2 d5 5.cxd5 exd5 6.Bg5 h6 7.Bxf6 Qxf6 8.e3 E35: Nimzo-Indian: Classical: 4...d5 5 cxd5 exd5 [8.a3 Bxc3+ 9.Qxc3 0–0 10.Nf3 Bf5 11.e3 Rc8 12.Bd3 Bxd3 13.Qxd3 Nd7 14.0–0 c6 15.b4 a6 16.Rfc1 b5 17.Qc3 Nb6 18.Ne5 Nc4 19.a4 ½–½ (37) Andreikin,D (2736)-Giri,A (2767) Novi Sad 2016] 

8...0–0 9.a3 Bf5 10.Qb3 The position is equal. 

10...Bxc3+! 11.bxc3 

XABCDEFGHY
8rsn-+-trk+(
7zppzp-+pzp-'
6-+-+-wq-zp&
5+-+p+l+-%
4-+-zP-+-+$
3zPQzP-zP-+-#
2-+-+-zPPzP"
1tR-+-mKLsNR!
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11...Qb6N [11...c6 12.Nf3 Nd7 13.c4 dxc4 14.Bxc4 b5 15.Be2 Nc5 1–0 (46) Papadakis,M-Dimitriou,G (2249) Nikea 2002] 

12.Qa2 Qa5 13.Qb2 c5 Hoping for ...cxd4. 

14.Nf3 Nd7 15.Bb5 Rfc8 16.Bxd7 Bxd7 17.0–0 Rc7 18.h3 Rac8 19.Rfc1 Qa6 20.Qd2 Bf5 21.dxc5 Rxc5 22.Nd4 Bd7 23.Nb3 Rb5 24.Nd4 Ra5 25.Rcb1 b6 26.Rb3 Rc4 27.Nf3 Bf5 28.Nd4 Bd7 29.Nf3 Rca4 30.Rb4 Rxb4 31.cxb4 Rxa3 32.Rxa3 Qxa3 33.Qxd5 Qc1+ 34.Kh2 Qc7+ 35.Ne5 Be8 [35...Be6!? 36.Qa8+ Bc8³] 

36.f4 a5 37.b5! Kf8 38.Nc4 Qd7 39.Nd6 f6 40.e4 Ke7 41.e5 fxe5 [41...Kf8!=] 

42.Qxe5+± 

XABCDEFGHY
8-+-+l+-+(
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6-zp-sN-+-zp&
5zpP+-wQ-+-%
4-+-+-zP-+$
3+-+-+-+P#
2-+-+-+PmK"
1+-+-+-+-!
xabcdefghy

Why is 42.fxf5 an error in this position?

00000

[But not 42.fxe5 Qe6=] 

42...Kf8 43.Nxe8 Qxe8 Endgame KQ-KQ 

44.Qd6+ Kg8? [44...Qe7± was worth a try. 45.Qxb6 a4 46.Qb8+ Qe8] 

45.Qxb6+- a4 

XABCDEFGHY
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46.Qc5?

This error gave the initiative to Black. What was the alternative?

00000

[46.Qc6+- Kf8 47.Qc4] 

46...a3± 47.b6 a2 48.Qd5+ Qf7 49.Qa8+ Kh7 50.Qe4+ Qg6 51.Qxg6+ Kxg6² KP-KP 52.b7 a1Q ( -> ...Qb2) 

53.b8Q KQ-KQ 

53...Qd4 54.Qe8+ Kf6 55.Qf8+ Kg6 56.Kg3 Qe3+ 57.Kh4 Qe1+ 58.g3 Qe6 59.Qc5 Kf6 [59...Kh7=] 

60.Qc3+!± Kf7 

XABCDEFGHY
8-+-+-+-+(
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4-+-+-zP-mK$
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61.Qe5?

This was Whites final error. What alternative did he have?

00000

[61.g4±]

The reply by Black forced an immediate resignation. What was it?

00000

61...g5+!  0–1

Yu vs Vidit - 9th Hainan Danzhou GM 2018 - Round 4

While playing through the game, scroll slowly so that when you get to the questions you can put some time on the clock (ten to fifteen minutes) and try and find the solution.

Yu,Yangyi (2762) - Vidit,Santosh Gujrathi (2718)

9th Hainan Danzhou GM 2018 Danzhou (4), 30.07.2018

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 d5 4.cxd5 Nxd5 5.e4 Nxc3 6.bxc3 Bg7 7.Nf3 c5 8.Be3 Qa5 9.Qd2 0–0 10.Rc1 Nd7 11.Bd3 D85: Exchange Grünfeld: Unusual White 7th moves and lines with 7 Nf3 

11...e5 12.d5 f5 

XABCDEFGHY
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13.Qe2N [13.Bg5 Nf6 14.Nxe5 Nxe4 15.Bxe4 fxe4 16.Nc4 Qa6 17.Ne3 Bd7 18.c4 Rae8 0–1 (49) Vovk,Y (2600)-Zubov,A (2604) Lvov 2017] 

13...fxe4 14.Bxe4 Nf6 15.d6 Nxe4 16.Qc4+ Kh8 17.Qxe4 Bf5 18.Qd5 Qa4 

XABCDEFGHY
8r+-+-tr-mk(
7zpp+-+-vlp'
6-+-zP-+p+&
5+-zpQzpl+-%
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19.Ng5 

What would have been wrong with 19.Bxc5 in this position instead of the move played?

00000

[Much weaker is 19.Bxc5 Be4³] 

19...h6 20.Ne6 Bxe6! 21.Qxe6 Qc6 22.Qxg6 Rf6 23.Qg4 Rxd6 24.0–0 c4 25.Rfd1 Rd3 26.Rxd3 cxd3 27.f3 Rd8 28.Qe4 d2 29.Rd1 Qxc3 30.Kf2 b6 31.a4 Qa5 32.g4 [32.Qc6±] 

32...b5 

XABCDEFGHY
8-+-tr-+-mk(
7zp-+-+-vl-'
6-+-+-+-zp&
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4P+-+Q+P+$
3+-+-vLP+-#
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Black missed the chance to retain positional equality here. Can you find the move?

00000 

[32...a6!= remains equal.] 

33.axb5! Qxb5 34.Rxd2 Rxd2+ 35.Bxd2 Qb2 36.Ke2 Qb5+ 37.Qd3 Qb6 38.h4 

XABCDEFGHY
8-+-+-+-mk(
7zp-+-+-vl-'
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5+-+-zp-+-%
4-+-+-+PzP$
3+-+Q+P+-#
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1+-+-+-+-!
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38...a6 [38...a5²] 

39.h5 Qe6 40.Bc3 Kg8 41.Qe4 Qa2+ 42.Ke3 Qe6 43.Qb7 Qc4 44.Qb4 Qc6 45.Qa5 Qf6 46.Qd5+ Kh8 47.Ke4 Qf4+ 48.Kd3 Qf6 [48...Qc1± might work better.] 

49.Ba5 

XABCDEFGHY
8-+-+-+-mk(
7+-+-+-vl-'
6p+-+-wq-zp&
5vL-+Qzp-+P%
4-+-+-+P+$
3+-+K+P+-#
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1+-+-+-+-!
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49...Qf8? [49...e4+ 50.Kxe4 (50.Qxe4 Qd6+ 51.Ke2 Qh2+ 52.Kd1 Qd6+ 53.Bd2 Kg8+-) 50...Qb2] 

50.Qd8 Qxd8+ 51.Bxd8 Kg8 52.Ke4 Bf8 53.Ba5 Bd6 54.Kd5 Bb8 55.Bc3 Ba7 56.Kxe5 Bb6 57.Kf6 Be3 58.Kg6 Bf4 59.Bb4 Bc1 60.Bd6 a5 61.f4 a4 62.f5 1–0

Shankland vs Duda - 9th Hainan Danzhou GM 2018 - Round 4

Just one day after Shankland’s first loss of 2018 He bounces back with a win over the Polish Champion.

While playing through the game, scroll slowly so that when you get to the two questions you can put some time on the clock (ten to fifteen minutes) and try and find the solution.

Shankland,Samuel L (2727) - Duda,Jan Krzysztof (2737)

9th Hainan Danzhou GM 2018 Danzhou (4), 30.07.2018

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 d6 6.Be3 Be7 7.f3 0–0 8.Qd2 Nc6 9.0–0–0 d5 10.Be2 dxe4 B80: Sicilian Scheveningen: 6 g3 and 6 Be3, including English Attack [10...a6 11.Kb1 Qc7 12.exd5 Nxd5 13.Nxd5 exd5 14.Nb3 Rd8 15.Bg5 d4 16.h4 Be6 17.Bd3 a5 18.Bxe7 Qxe7 ½–½ (34) Giri,A (2752)-Van Wely,L (2657) Amstelveen 2017] 

11.Nxc6 bxc6 12.Qxd8 Bxd8 13.Nxe4 Nxe4 14.fxe4 Bb6 15.Bxb6 axb6 

XABCDEFGHY
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6-zpp+p+-+&
5+-+-+-+-%
4-+-+P+-+$
3+-+-+-+-#
2PzPP+L+PzP"
1+-mKR+-+R!
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16.Kb1N [16.a3 Ba6 17.Bxa6 Rxa6 18.Rd6 ½–½ (67) Valutanu,M (2645)-Stull,N (2576) ICCF email 2011] 

16...Ba6 17.Bxa6 Rxa6 18.Rd6 Rfa8 19.Rhd1 g5 20.Rxc6 Rxa2 21.c4 R2a4 22.Rd7 g4 23.h3 [23.Rcc7!?] 

23...h5 24.hxg4 hxg4 25.Rd3 Kf8 26.Kc2 b5 [26...R8a5= remains equal.] 

27.cxb5 Rxe4 28.b6 Rb8 

XABCDEFGHY
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5+-+-+-+-%
4-+-+r+p+$
3+-+R+-+-#
2-zPK+-+P+"
1+-+-+-+-!
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29.Rb3 Does White have a stronger option here? 

00000

[White should play 29.Kc3!± ] 

29...Ke8 [29...Ke7!²] 

30.Kd3! Ra4? 

XABCDEFGHY
8-tr-+k+-+(
7+-+-+p+-'
6-zPR+p+-+&
5+-+-+-+-%
4r+-+-+p+$
3+R+K+-+-#
2-zP-+-+P+"
1+-+-+-+-!
xabcdefghy

What should Black have played instead of 30...Ra4? 

00000

[30...Rf4± was called for.] 

31.Rc7! Ra6? [31...e5 32.Ke3 (32.b7 Rd4+ 33.Ke3 Rd7+-) 32...Rd4] 

32.b7 Rd6+ 33.Kc4 Rdd8 34.Rd3 1–0

DORTMUND 2018 ROUNDS 1 & 2

When I looked at the line-up of players for the seven round Dortmund 2018 tournament I fully expected to only report on the first decisive game in round 3. A score of plus two will likely be enough to at least have a share in first place.

Now that I’ve put that out there – so that the prediction is bound to fail, allow me to elaborate. Of the 8 players, the top two seeded players stand out for one specific reason. My prediction for top seed Vladimir Kramnik is that he will go all out in round three with White against bottom seed Georg Meier, as well as the next low seed that he faces with White. This ought to give him his plus 2, while at the same time putting on the squeeze in all his other games, happy to pounce on any blunders. At the same time he will be more than happy to split the point in his remaining 5 games. Next, the second highest rated player at the tournament is none other than Mr 50% - Anish Giri. On their own, these two players will be responsible for twelve of the twenty eight games that make up this tournament.

Therefore it is not inconceivable that we will have a 75% draw rate for Dortmund 2018. That equates to seven decisive games. I’ll go out on a limb and predict 6 decisive games across the seven rounds.

Now that we have the predictions out of the way, let’s have a look at how the first two rounds transpired.

In the opening round the biggest potential upset was the game between Nepomniachtchi and Giri on the former’s twenty eighth birthday. Although Giri gifted White a winning position in a Queen endgame, perhaps Nepomniachtchi was still honed in on the half point he was hoping for at the start and failed to convert his opportunity. The result keeps the net score between the two in classical chess at 50% after four games.

Another near escape was in the game between Kramnik and Nisipeanu. The fourteenth World Champion played a line with White that Carlsen had used to crush him at the 2016 Norway Chess Tournament. However, two years is a long time in super GM chess – plenty of time to find a solution to the problems posed by Carlsen back then.

Net outcome of the round was four draws, right on target.

On to round two and the two to seeds did not disappoint at all.

Kramnik, who has won in Dortmund on ten previous occasions, had the Black pieces against the 2017 champion - Radek Wojtaszek. This is their fifth meeting over the board and the fifth consecutive draw.

Second seed Giri had black against football fan Georg Meier on the same day as the World Cup final. Hardly surprising that the point was split and the score sheets were signed in time to order a beer in the bar and watch the teams walk out onto the pitch. Incidentally this was the first game of the day to finish.

That opened the door for the young Polish champion Jan-Krzysztof Duda. Duda has done some serious preparation for Dortmund as seen by his opening round game against Kramnik. In round 2 he uncorked 3.Bb5+ in the Sicilian for the first time ever. The tactic seemed to work as Nisipeanu couldn’t find the line do deal with the problems that Black was posing and in the end gave away a pawn for zero compensation.

That advantage was all Duda needed to convert the full point ruthlessly. 

Nisipeanu,Liviu-Dieter (2672) - Duda,Jan-Krzysztof (2737)

Sparkassen Chess-Meeting 2018 Dortmund (2), 15.07.2018

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.Bb5+ Bd7 4.Bxd7+ Qxd7 5.0–0 Nf6 6.Re1 Nc6 7.c3 e6 8.d4 cxd4 9.cxd4 d5 10.e5 Ng8 B52: Sicilian: Moscow Variation with 3...Bd7 [10...Ne4 11.Nbd2 Nxd2 12.Bxd2 Be7 13.Rc1 0–0 14.Rc3 Rfc8 15.h4 Bd8 16.Rd3 Qc7 17.Ng5 h6 18.Nh3 Ne7 19.Bc3 b5 20.Nf4 Nf5 21.Qg4 Bxh4 22.Nh5 ½–½ (52) Nakamura,H (2769)-Grischuk,A (2766) Paris 2018] 

11.a3 Nge7 12.Nc3 h5 13.Bg5 Nf5 

XABCDEFGHY
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7zpp+q+pzp-'
6-+n+p+-+&
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4-+-zP-+-+$
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14.Rc1N [14.b4 Be7 15.Bxe7 Qxe7 16.Qd3 g6 17.Rac1 0–0 18.Ne2 0–1 (46) Lagerman,R (2354)-Gunnarsson,J (2437) Reykjavik 2008] 

14...Be7 15.Bxe7 Qxe7 16.Qd3 0–0–0 17.Na4 Kb8 18.Nc5 g5 19.Rc3 [19.b4= remains equal.] 

19...g4 20.Nd2 Ncxd4 21.Rec1 

XABCDEFGHY
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21...Rc8! 22.Nf1 Rc6 23.Ng3 Ka8 24.Nxf5 Nxf5 25.b4 Rhc8 26.a4 b6 27.Nb3 Rxc3 28.Rxc3 Rxc3 29.Qxc3 Kb7 30.a5 [30.b5µ war angesagt.] 

30...Qd7 31.Nd4 Nxd4 32.Qxd4 Qc7–+ 0–1