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 

XABCDEFGHY
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5+pzPp+-vL-%
4-+-+-+-+$
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1tR-+-mKL+R!
xabcdefghy

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?

00000

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 

XABCDEFGHY
8-+-+r+k+(
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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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8-+-+-+-+(
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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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8-+-+-+-+(
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49...h5? 
The first grave error by the new World Junior Champion. Can you find the improvement?

00000

[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 10 – MAGHSOODLOO vs VAVULIN

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 Sicilian Najdorf 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) - Vavulin,Maksim (2559)

World Junior U20 Open 2018 Gebze (10.1), 14.09.2018

1.Nf3 c5 2.e4 d6 3.d4 Nf6 4.Nc3 cxd4 5.Nxd4 a6 6.h3 e5 7.Nde2 h5 B90: Sicilian Najdorf: Unusual White 6th moves, 6 Be3 Ng4 and 6 Be3 e5 
8.Bg5 Be6 [8...Be7 9.Ng3 g6 10.Bc4 Be6 11.Bb3 Nbd7 12.Qf3 Nc5 13.0–0–0 Nfd7 14.Bxe7 Qxe7 15.Qe3 1/2–1/2 (43) Xiong,J (2650)-Kovalyov,A (2644) Irving 2018] 
9.Bxf6 Qxf6 10.Nd5 Qd8 11.Qd3 g6 12.0–0–0 Bh6+ 13.Kb1 Nd7 14.Qa3 Nc5 15.Nec3 

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15...0–0N 16.h4! b5 17.f3 f5 

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18.Be2 
White missed an attacking opportunity here. What was it?

00000

[White should try 18.exf5!± gxf5 19.g3] 
18...Bg7 
How could Black have retained equality in this position?

00000

[18...f4= remains equal.] 
19.g4 

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19...hxg4 
What should Black rather have played?

00000

[Black should play 19...fxg4² 20.fxg4 Bxg4] 
20.fxg4 
Find an even more attacking move for White.

00000

[20.exf5!± gxf5 21.fxg4] 
20...fxg4 21.Rhg1 Rb8 22.Bxg4 

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22...Bf7? 
This was a grave error. Find the alternative.

00000

[22...Bxg4± 23.Rxg4 Rf3] 
Find the move that punishes Black's error.

00000

23.h5!+- gxh5 [23...g5 is a better defense. 24.b4 a5] 
24.Bf5 Kh8 

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25.Ne2 
What is White's winning threat?

00000

Threatens to win with Rxg7! 
25...Bh6 26.Qh3 
What would have been wrong with 26.Qg3?

00000

[Weaker is 26.Qg3 a5²] 
26...Rg8 27.Rxg8+ Qxg8 28.Rg1 Qf8 

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29.Ng3? 
There was an even stronger move available. What was it?

00000

[29.Nf6+- has better winning chances.] 
29...Rb7? 
What was the correct defense in this position?

00000

[29...Qg7±] 
30.Nf6? 
This was another missed opportunity to kill the game. What move did White overlook?

00000

[30.Nxh5 Bxd5 31.exd5] 
30...b4? 
Black seems to have overlooked the looming Check Mate threat. What was a better defense here?

00000

[30...Qg7 31.Nfxh5 Qg5] 
31.Ngxh5 a5 32.Nh7 Bxa2+ 33.Kxa2 Rxh7 34.Bxh7 Kxh7 35.Qg4 White mates. 
35...Qf7+ 36.Kb1 Ne6 

XABCDEFGHY
8-+-+-+-+(
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White's next move forced an immediate resignation. What was it?

00000

37.Nf6+!  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 

XABCDEFGHY
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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 

XABCDEFGHY
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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

ARONIAN vs GRISCHUK – SINQUEFIELD CUP 2018 ROUND 9

I certainly wasn’t expecting to see 18.Rxf7!! Even more impressive was the speed at which Aronian played the move. I may be wrong, but it looked like the f7 pawn was off the board before Grischuk had even pressed his clock.

The win gave Aronian a share of first place and confirmed his spot in the London series finale.

Today’s game features an Old Indian, Ukrainian variation 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.

Aronian,Levon (2767) - Grischuk,Alexander (2766)

6th Sinquefield Cup GCT 2018 Saint Louis (9), 27.08.2018

1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 d6 3.g3 Nbd7 4.Bg2 e5 5.c4 c6 6.Nc3 e4 7.Nh4 A54: Old Indian, Ukrainian variation 
7...d5 8.0–0 Bb4  9.cxd5 White is a little better. 
9...cxd5 

XABCDEFGHY
8r+lwqk+-tr(
7zpp+n+pzpp'
6-+-+-sn-+&
5+-+p+-+-%
4-vl-zPp+-sN$
3+-sN-+-zP-#
2PzP-+PzPLzP"
1tR-vLQ+RmK-!
xabcdefghy

10.f3N [10.Nf5 0–0 11.Qb3 Bxc3 12.Qxc3 Nb6 13.Ne3 Be6 14.b3 Qd7 0–1 (57) Kovalenko,I (2642)-Kabanov,N (2501) Moscow 2014] 
10...Bxc3 11.bxc3 0–0 12.Ba3 Black now has to pay attention to fxe4. 
12...Re8 13.Nf5 Nb6 14.Nd6 Nc4 15.Nxc4 dxc4 16.fxe4 Nxe4 17.Qc2 Qd5 

XABCDEFGHY
8r+l+r+k+(
7zpp+-+pzpp'
6-+-+-+-+&
5+-+q+-+-%
4-+pzPn+-+$
3vL-zP-+-zP-#
2P+Q+P+LzP"
1tR-+-+RmK-!
xabcdefghy

Can you find White's killer blow in this position?

00000

18.Rxf7!  
18...Kxf7–+ 
How would you have responded if Black had replied with 18...Qxf7 instead?

00000

[Rather not 18...Qxf7 19.Bxe4 Qh5 20.Re1²] 
19.Rf1+ Bf5! 20.g4 g6 21.Qc1 

XABCDEFGHY
8r+-+r+-+(
7zpp+-+k+p'
6-+-+-+p+&
5+-+q+l+-%
4-+pzPn+P+$
3vL-zP-+-+-#
2P+-+P+LzP"
1+-wQ-+RmK-!
xabcdefghy

21...Kg7 
Can you find a better option for Black instead of the move he played?

00000

[21...Re6!–+ 22.Qg5 (22.gxf5? gxf5 23.Qg5 Qxd4+ 24.cxd4 Nxg5µ) 22...Qxd4+! 23.cxd4 Nxg5] 
22.gxf5³ gxf5 Threatens Re6 
23.Bxe4 fxe4 [A no go is 23...Qxe4 24.Qg5+ Kh8 25.Qf6+ Kg8 26.Rxf5=] 
24.Qf4 

XABCDEFGHY
8r+-+r+-+(
7zpp+-+-mkp'
6-+-+-+-+&
5+-+q+-+-%
4-+pzPpwQ-+$
3vL-zP-+-+-#
2P+-+P+-zP"
1+-+-+RmK-!
xabcdefghy

What is Black's best option to fend off the looming attack?

00000

24...h6! 25.Qc7+ Kh8 [25...Kg6µ 26.Kf2 Rac8] 
26.Bd6!‚ White attacks. 
26...Rg8+ 27.Kf2! Rg6! 28.Be5+ Kg8 aims at ... Rf8 +. 
29.Ke3 

XABCDEFGHY
8r+-+-+k+(
7zppwQ-+-+-'
6-+-+-+rzp&
5+-+qvL-+-%
4-+pzPp+-+$
3+-zP-mK-+-#
2P+-+P+-zP"
1+-+-+R+-!
xabcdefghy

29...Rd8?
What should Black have played instead?

00000

[29...Re8=] 
Black's error exposes a vicious mating attack. Find the move.

00000

30.Qe7!+- b5 31.h4 a5 32.h5 Rg5 33.Rf6 Rxe5 34.Rg6+  1–0