LAGOGIANNI vs GUERINI – EUROPEAN CLUB CUP 2018 ROUND 7

Silvia Guerini

This game is from round 7 of the 2018 European Club Cup. It is between Niki Vasiliki Lagogiani with White against Silvia Guerini with Black.

This game features a Sicilian Defence. To learn more about the Sicilian Defence, here is the best instruction book I could find on Amazon.

Lagogianni,Niki Vasiliki (1152) - Guerini,Silvia jr (1977)

23rd European Women Club Cup 2018 Halkidiki (7), 18.10.2018

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Bd3 d6 6.0–0 Be7 7.Be3 B40: Sicilian: 2...e6, Unusual lines

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7...0–0 Black castles and improves king safety 

8.Nf3N [8.f4 Nbd7 (8...Nc6 9.Kh1 Bd7 10.Nc3 a6 11.Qf3 Rc8 12.Qg3 Nxd4 13.Bxd4 Bc6 14.Rad1 Qc7 15.e5 Nh5 16.Qh3 g6 17.Qe3 Ng7 18.Bb6 Qb8 19.Ba7 Qc7 20.Bb6 Qb8 21.Ne2 Nf5 22.Bxf5 exf5 23.c4 Suvalic-Udovcic,M/Zagreb 1961/MCD/½–½ (58)) 9.Nb3 b6 10.N1d2 Bb7 11.c3 e5 12.f5 d5 13.Qf3 Qc7 14.Rae1 Rfe8 15.g4 h6 16.Bf2 Rad8 17.h4 dxe4 18.Nxe4 Nxe4 19.Bxe4 Ba6 20.c4 Nf6 21.Bc6 e4 22.Bxe4 Bb4 Wilke,M (2230)-Maiwald,J (2210)/Krumbach 1991/TD/0–1; 8.Kh1 a6 9.Nc3 Qc7 10.f4 b5 11.Qe2 Bb7 12.a3 Nc6 13.Nf3 e5 14.f5 Na5 15.Rad1 Rfd8 16.h3 d5 17.exd5 Nxd5 18.Nxd5 Bxd5 19.Nd2 Bf6 20.Ne4 Qc6 21.Qg4 Kf8 22.Nxf6 gxf6 Hardt,H-Rehberg,R (2098)/Unna 2002/CBM 092 ext/0–1 (56)] 

8...Nc6 9.Nc3 Black has a cramped position 

9...Ng4 10.Bd2 a6 White has an active position 

11.h3 White threatens to win material: h3xg4 

11...Nf6 12.Re1 White prepares the advance e5 

12...Bd7 13.e5 dxe5 14.Nxe5 Nxe5 

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15.Rxe5 Black has a cramped position 

15...Qc7 Black threatens to win material: Qc7xe5 

16.Re1 Bc6 17.Ne4 Rfd8 18.Qc1 Nd5 

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19.a3 Consolidates b4 

19...Rac8 20.Bg5 Bxg5 21.Qxg5 Qf4 22.Qxf4 White king safety improved 

22...Nxf4 23.Rad1 Nxd3 24.Rxd3 Rxd3 25.cxd3 Rd8 26.Re3 

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26...b6 Covers c5 

27.f3 Prevents intrusion on e4 

27...Bb5 Exerts pressure on the isolated pawn. Black threatens to win material: Bb5xd3 

28.Nf2 Rc8 29.Re2 Rc1+ 30.Kh2 Kf8 31.Rd2 Ba4 32.Kg3 Ke7 33.f4 f5 34.d4 Kd6 

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35.Nd3 White threatens to win material: Nd3xc1 

35...Rc2 Black threatens to win material: Rc2xd2 

36.Ne5?? [¹36.Rxc2 had to be tried to avoid defeat 36...Bxc2 37.Nb4=] 

36...Rxd2–+ 37.Nc4+ Kd5 38.Nxd2 Kxd4 39.Nf3+ Kd5 [39...Kd3 40.b4–+] 

40.Kf2? [40.Ne5 a5µ] 

40...h6 [¹40...Kc4!? 41.g4 Kb3–+] 

41.Ke3µ Bc6 

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42.b3? [¹42.Ne5!?µ] 

42...Kd6–+ 43.Ne1 Be4 44.Kd4 g5 45.g3 gxf4 46.gxf4 Bd5 

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47.Kc3? [47.Nd3 Bxb3 48.Ne5 h5–+] 

47...e5 48.Nd3 exf4 49.Nxf4 [49.Kd4–+] 

49...Ke5 

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50.Nxd5 [50.Nd3+ is the last straw 50...Ke4 51.h4–+] 

50...Kxd5 51.Kd3 f4 52.h4 Ke5 53.Ke2 Ke4 54.h5 

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54...Kf5 [¹54...f3+ and Black has triumphed 55.Kd2 Kd4–+] 

55.Kf3 Kg5 56.b4 b5 57.Ke4 Kg4 58.Kd5 

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58...f3 [¹58...Kxh5 might be the shorter path 59.Kc6 f3 60.Kb6–+] 

59.Kc6 f2 [59...Kh4 60.Kb6 f2 61.Kxa6–+] 

60.Kb6 f1Q 61.Kxa6 

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61...Qd3 [61...Qd3 62.Ka5 Kxh5–+]  0–1

WORLD JUNIOR CHAMPIONSHIP 2018 ROUND 11 – ESIPENKO vs MAGHSOODLOO

The style of analysis in today’s game is the same as that used in my new book: Hidden Lessons From The 2018 Batumi Chess Olympiad.

The  winner of the 2018 edition of the World Junior Championship was the phenomenally talented Parham Maghsoodloo of Iran. He won in spite of losing his final round game, his only loss of the tournament. He finished with nine wins, one draw and one loss for a tournament performance well in excess of 2800.

 Winning this tournament is a massive opportunity as it is a direct seeded slot into the 2019 World Cup, which in turn is a gateway to the next Candidates cycle. In addition it opens the door to invitations to the lucrative super tournament circuit.

He has already accepted an invitation to the Challenger tournament at Tata Steel 2019.

It might seem strange to many, but when I look at chess players I always take a close look at the physical condition of the player. This comes from my background in the health and fitness industry.

Physical fitness is a vital ingredient on the classical tournament circuit where it is possible to have consecutive days at the chess board of seven hours or longer. As chess players we know how physically draining long tournament games can be.

Remember how Peter Svidler lost a lot of weight before the Candidates in 2013? It made a huge difference to his performance over the final two rounds when tension was at an extreme level.

It is clear that Parham does not rate working on his fitness highly at all. During an interview Parham indicated that he works at least ten hours every day on his chess. From my perspective, if he took just 30 minutes a day from that schedule for physical training he would be able to absorb so much more during his study sessions.

Aspirant higher level players all realize that having a coach is an important step to improvement. It is just as important to have a coach or personal trainer for the physical aspect of your chess training as well.

Today’s game features a Queens Gambit Declined that includes some Q&A style annotations.

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.

Esipenko,Andrey (2593) - Maghsoodloo,Parham (2649)

World Junior U20 Open 2018 Gebze (11.1), 15.09.2018

1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 e6 3.c4 a6 4.Nc3 d5 5.cxd5 exd5 6.Qb3 D37: Queen's Gambit Declined: 5 Bf4 
6...b5 7.Bg5 next Bxf6 is good for White. 
7...Be6 8.Qc2 The position is equal. 
8...Nbd7 9.e3 c5 10.dxc5 

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10...Nxc5N [10...Bxc5 11.Bd3 h6 12.Bh4 Rc8 13.0–0 0–0 1/2–1/2 (39) Gelfand,B (2728)-Mamedyarov,S (2800) Geneva 2017] 
11.Bd3 Rc8 12.0–0 h6 13.Bh4 Be7 14.Nd4 0–0 15.Qd1 Nfd7 16.Bxe7 Qxe7 17.Nce2 Nxd3 18.Qxd3 Ne5 19.Qd1 Bg4 20.b3 

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20...Nc6 
What is Black threatening here?

00000

And now ...Nxd4 would win. 
21.Qd2 Bxe2 22.Nxe2 Rfd8 23.Rfd1 Qa3 24.h3 Rd6 25.Rac1 Rcd8 26.Nf4 

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26...d4 
Yet another strong threat from Black. What is it?

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Threatens to win with ...dxe3. 
27.e4 Nb4 28.e5 Rc6 29.Rxc6 Nxc6 30.Nd3 Ne7 31.Nf4 Nc6 32.e6 fxe6 33.Nxe6 Re8 

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34.Nf4 
What would have been wrong with 34.Nxd4?

00000

[But not 34.Nxd4 Rd8µ] 
34...Qd6 35.Nd3 a5 36.Qc1 Re2 37.a4 bxa4 38.bxa4 Kh8 39.Qc4ƒ White has the initiative. 
39...Qf6 40.Kf1 Re6 41.Rb1 Qf5 42.Qb5 Qf6 43.Rd1 Qf8 44.Rc1 [44.Qd5 feels hotter. 44...Rd6 45.Qc5 Qf6 46.Re1 Kh7 47.Qc4] 
44...Qa3 [44...Nb4²] 
45.Kg1± Ne7 46.Rc7 Kh7 

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47.Rd7 
White missed a very strong attacking move. What was it?

00000

[47.Qb1!+- Rf6 48.Ne5+ Nf5 49.Qe4] 
47...Qc3 48.Qb1 Ng6 49.h4 

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49...h5? 
The first grave error by the new World Junior Champion. Can you find the improvement?

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[49...Re4± 50.g3 Ne5 51.Nxe5 Qe1+ 52.Qxe1 Rxe1+ 53.Kg2 Rxe5] 
50.Rd5+- Kh6? [50...Qc7 51.Rxh5+ Kg8] 
51.Qd1 White is clearly winning. 
51...Kh7 52.Rc5 Qa3 53.Qxh5+ Kg8 54.Qd5 Kf7 55.Rc7+ Ne7 

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56.Nf4 
Even though Black resigned in this position, White missed a forced Mate in 13. See if you can find it.

00000

[¹56.Ne5+ Kf6 57.Nd7+ Kf7 58.Qh5+ Rg6 59.Ne5+ Ke6 60.Nxg6 Qd6 61.Nf8+ Kf6 62.Nh7+ Ke6 63.Ng5+ Kf5 64.Nf7+ g5 65.Nxd6+ Ke5 66.Qe2+ Kd5 67.Qe4+ Kxd6 68.Qxe7+ Kd5 69.Rc5#]  1–0

WORLD JUNIOR CHAMPIONSHIP 2018 ROUND 9 – MAGHSOODLOO vs SINDAROV

The style of analysis in today’s game is the same as that used in my new book: Hidden Lessons From The 2018 Batumi Chess Olympiad.

The 2018 edition of the World Junior Championship has as top seed the phenomenally talented Parham Maghsoodloo of Iran. He has only just turned 18 and already has a live rating of 2667. Winning this tournament now is a massive opportunity as it is a direct seeded slot into the 2019 World Cup, which in turn is a gateway to the next Candidates cycle. In addition it will open the door to invitations to the lucrative super tournament circuit.

It might seem strange to many, but when I look at chess players I always take a close look at the physical condition of the player. This comes from my background in the health and fitness industry.

Physical fitness is a vital ingredient on the classical tournament circuit where it is possible to have consecutive days at the chess board of seven hours or longer. As chess players we know how physically draining long tournament games can be.

Remember how Peter Svidler lost a lot of weight before the Candidates in 2013? It made a huge difference to his performance over the final two rounds when tension was at an extreme level.

It is clear that Parham does not rate working on his fitness highly at all. During an interview Parham indicated that he works at least ten hours every day on his chess. From my perspective, if he took just 30 minutes a day from that schedule for physical training he would be able to absorb so much more during his study sessions.

Aspirant higher level players all realize that having a coach is an important step to improvement. It is just as important to have a coach or personal trainer for the physical aspect of your chess training as well.

Today’s game features a Kings Indian Attack that includes some Q&A style annotations.

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.

Maghsoodloo,Parham (2649) - Liang,Awonder (2575)

World Junior U20 Open 2018 Gebze (9.1), 13.09.2018

1.Nf3 c5 2.g3 Nc6 3.Bg2 e5 4.d3 g6 5.0–0 Bg7 6.c3 Nge7 7.a3 0–0 8.b4 d6 9.e4 b6 10.Bb2 A04: Unusual lines after 1 Nf3 and King's Indian Attack [10.Nbd2 h6 11.Re1 Be6 12.Bb2 Qd7 13.Nc4 Rad8 14.b5 Nb8 15.a4 Qc7 16.a5 Nd7 17.axb6 axb6 18.Qa4 1–0 (65) Petrosian,T (2601)-Vachier Lagrave,M (2789) Riadh 2017] 
10...Bb7 11.Nbd2 Qd7 12.Qb3 h6 13.Rfe1 Kh7 

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14.d4N [14.Nc4 f5 15.b5 Nd8 16.a4 f4 17.a5 Qc7 18.axb6 axb6 19.Rxa8 Bxa8 0–1 (34) Hofegger,J (2072)-Vitouch,A (2320) Austria 2016] 
14...cxd4 15.cxd4 Nxd4 16.Nxd4 exd4 17.Nf3 

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17...Ng8 
Find an improvement for Black.

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[17...d5= 18.Bxd4 Bxd4 19.Nxd4 dxe4 20.Bxe4 Bxe4 21.Rxe4 Rad8] 
18.Nxd4 Nf6 19.Rad1 Rfe8 20.f3 Rac8 

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Time to Attack! Find the move.

00000 

21.Bf1! a6 

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Don't be shy. Continue building the attack...

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22.b5! Ra8 23.bxa6 Bxa6 24.Nb5 Re6 25.a4 Bxb5 26.axb5 Qc7 27.Rc1 Qa7 28.Ra1 Qb7 29.Ra6 d5 30.Rea1 Rf8 31.Bh3 Ree8 

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Find the move that will capitalize on your space advantage.

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32.e5! Nd7 33.Ra7 Nc5 

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34.Qc2 [Not 34.Rxb7 Nxb3 35.Raa7 Bxe5±] 
34...Qb8 35.f4 Ne6 36.Bxe6 Rxe6 37.Qd3 Kg8 38.Qxd5 Rd8 39.Qf3 Bf8 40.Ra8 Qc7 41.Rxd8 Qxd8 42.Ra8 Qd7 43.Ba3 Re8 44.Rxe8 Qxe8 

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Find White's next move.

00000

45.Qc6! Qd8 46.Bd6 Kg7 47.Kg2 h5 48.Kh3 Kg8 49.Kg2 Kg7 50.Kf3 Kg8 51.Ke4 

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51...Kg7? 
This was Black's final, critical error. Can you find the improvement?

00000

[51...Bg7 was called for. 52.Ke3 Bf8] 
52.Kd5 Kg8 53.Qb7+- 1–0

WORLD JUNIOR CHAMPIONSHIP 2018 ROUND 7 – MAGHSOODLOO vs SINDAROV

The style of analysis in today’s game is the same as that used in my new book: Hidden Lessons From The 2018 Batumi Chess Olympiad.

The 2018 edition of the World Junior Championship has as top seed the phenomenally talented Parham Maghsoodloo of Iran. He has only just turned 18 and already has a live rating of 2667. Winning this tournament now is a massive opportunity as it is a direct seeded slot into the 2019 World Cup, which in turn is a gateway to the next Candidates cycle. In addition it will open the door to invitations to the lucrative super tournament circuit.

It might seem strange to many, but when I look at chess players I always take a close look at the physical condition of the player. This comes from my background in the health and fitness industry.

Physical fitness is a vital ingredient on the classical tournament circuit where it is possible to have consecutive days at the chess board of seven hours or longer. As chess players we know how physically draining long tournament games can be.

Remember how Peter Svidler lost a lot of weight before the Candidates in 2013? It made a huge difference to his performance over the final two rounds when tension was at an extreme level.

It is clear that Parham does not rate working on his fitness highly at all. During an interview Parham indicated that he works at least ten hours every day on his chess. From my perspective, if he took just 30 minutes a day from that schedule for physical training he would be able to absorb so much more during his study sessions.

Aspirant higher level players all realize that having a coach is an important step to improvement. It is just as important to have a coach or personal trainer for the physical aspect of your chess training as well.

Today’s game features a Spanish Opening that includes some Q&A style annotations.

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.

Maghsoodloo,Parham (2649) - Sindarov,Javokhir (2484)

World Junior U20 Open 2018 Gebze (7.1), 11.09.2018

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.a4 b4 10.a5 Rb8 11.Bc4 [Nxe4! C90: Spanish Opening (early deviations) 
12.Bd5! [12.Rxe4 d5] 
12...Nxf2! 13.Kxf2 Nxa5! The position is balanced. 
14.cxb4 c6 15.Ba2 Rxb4 ...e4 is a real threat. 
16.d4 

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16...Bg4N [16...exd4= 17.Na3 c5; 16...exd4 17.Kg1 d5 18.Bd2 Be6 19.Bxb4 Bxb4 20.Nxd4 Bxe1 21.Qxe1 1/2–1/2 (36) Dubov,D (2661)-Kovalev,V (2598) Moscow 2017] 
17.dxe5± Qb6+ 18.Be3 Rxb2+ 19.Kg3 Bxf3 

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20.Kxf3 [20.Bxb6± Bxd1 21.Bxa5] 
20...Qb5 21.Bc1! Threatening Nc3. 
21...Rb4 22.Ba3 And Nc3 would win now. 
22...Ra4 23.g3 Black must now be aware of Kg2. 
23...Nc4 

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24.Bb3 
What would be wrong with 24.Bxd8?

00000

[Don't play: 24.Bxd6 Bxd6 25.exd6 Qh5+ 26.Kf2 Rxa2+ 27.Rxa2 Qxh2+ 28.Kf3 Qxa2=] 
24...Rxa3 [¹24...Nxe5+ 25.Kg2 Ra5] 
25.Rxa3 

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Why would 25.Nxa3 have been a mistake?

00000

[Of course not: 25.Nxa3?! Qxb3+ 26.Qxb3 Nd2+ 27.Kg2 Nxb3²] 
25...Nxa3 26.Nxa3 Qc5 

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27.exd6! Bxd6 28.Nc4 Bc7 29.Kg2 g6 30.Qf3 Kg7 31.Rd1 Threatens Rd7. 
31...Rd8 32.Nb2 f5 33.Nd3 Qc3 34.Ba4ƒ White has a well-coordinated game. 
34...Rd4 

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35.Bxc6 
Can you improve on 35.Bxc6?

00000

[Better is 35.Qxc6± Qxc6+ 36.Bxc6] 
35...Qc2+!= 36.Kh1 Rd6 [36...Bd8=] 
37.Bb7± Qb3 38.Rc1 Rxd3 39.Rxc7+ Kf6 [39...Kh6± 40.Qf4+ g5] 
40.Qc6++- 

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40...Kg5? 
Find the improvement on this error?

00000

[40...Qe6 41.Bxa6 Rd1+ 42.Kg2 Qxc6+ 43.Rxc6+ Ke5] 
41.Qc1+? 
White failed to capitalize on Black's error. Can you?

00000

[41.h4+ Kh6 42.Qc1+ Re3 43.g4 (43.Bxa6 Qd5+ 44.Kg1 Qe5=) ] 
41...Kf6 

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42.Kg2! Rd1? 
What should Black have played instead?

00000

[42...Qb4 43.Qa1+ Qd4 44.Qxd4+ Rxd4 45.Bxa6 Rd2+ 46.Kg1 h6 47.Rc6+ Kg7 48.Rc7+ Kf6 49.Rc6+ Kg7] 
Find the move that exploits Black's error?

00000

43.Qh6 Intends Qg7 + and Mate. White is clearly better. 
43...Qb2+ 44.Kh3 Threatens Mate with Qh4 +. 
44...Qb4 45.Bf3  1–0

WORLD JUNIOR CHAMPIONSHIP 2018 ROUND 5 – BHARATHAKOTI vs MAGHSOODLOO

The style of analysis in today’s game is the same as that used in my new book: Hidden Lessons From The 2018 Batumi Chess Olympiad.

The 2018 edition of the World Junior Championship has as top seed the phenomenally talented Parham Maghsoodloo of Iran. He has only just turned 18 and already has a live rating of 2667. Winning this tournament now is a massive opportunity as it is a direct seeded slot into the 2019 World Cup, which in turn is a gateway to the next Candidates cycle. In addition it will open the door to invitations to the lucrative super tournament circuit.

It might seem strange to many, but when I look at chess players I always take a close look at the physical condition of the player. This comes from my background in the health and fitness industry.

Physical fitness is a vital ingredient on the classical tournament circuit where it is possible to have consecutive days at the chess board of seven hours or longer. As chess players we know how physically draining long tournament games can be.

Remember how Peter Svidler lost a lot of weight before the Candidates in 2013? It made a huge difference to his performance over the final two rounds when tension was at an extreme level.

It is clear that Parham does not rate working on his fitness highly at all. During an interview Parham indicated that he works at least ten hours every day on his chess. From my perspective, if he took just 30 minutes a day from that schedule for physical training he would be able to absorb so much more during his study sessions.

Aspirant higher level players all realize that having a coach is an important step to improvement. It is just as important to have a coach or personal trainer for the physical aspect of your chess training as well.

Today’s game features a Bogo-Indian that includes some Q&A style annotations.

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.

Harsha Bharathakoti (2474) - Maghsoodloo,Parham (2649)

World Junior U20 Open 2018 Gebze (5.1), 08.09.2018

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.e3 0–0 5.Bd2 b6 6.Nf3 Bb7 7.Bd3 a5 8.0–0 d5 E11: Bogo-Indian 
9.cxd5 exd5 10.Ne5 Nbd7 11.f4 c5 12.a3 Bxc3 13.Bxc3 c4 

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14.Bf5N [14.Bc2 b5 15.Rf3 Ra6 16.Rg3 1/2–1/2 (31) L'Ami,E (2628)-Anand,V (2810) Wijk aan Zee 2011 ] 
14...b5 15.Qe1 Nb8 16.Rd1 Ne8 17.Rf3 Nd6 18.Bc2 Ne4 19.Rh3 Bc8 20.g4 Ra7 [20...Ra6=] 
21.Bxe4² dxe4 

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22.d5 
Can you find an improvement for White?

00000

[White should play 22.f5!² ] 
22...f6!= 23.Nc6 Nxc6 24.dxc6 Qe8 25.Qh4 [Better is 25.Rd6² ] 
25...h6! 

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26.Rg3 
What is White's threat?

00000

Strongly threatening g5. 
26...Qxc6 27.g5 Hoping for gxf6. 
27...fxg5 28.fxg5 Rd7 29.gxh6 Rxd1+ 30.Kg2 g6! 31.h7+‚ White has some attack. 
31...Kf7 32.h8Q Rxh8 33.Qxh8 Bf5! 34.Qg7+ Ke8! 35.Qg8+ Kd7 36.Bxa5 Qd8+ is the strong threat. 
36...Qf6 

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37.Bc3? 
This was the critical error of the game. What should White have played instead?

00000

[37.Qh7+= Ke6 38.Qg8+ Kd7 39.Qh7+ Ke6 40.Qg8+ Kd7] 
Find a way to punish the error that White made.

00000

37...Bh3+! 38.Kxh3 Qf5+  0–1