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
8-+lwq-trk+(
7+-+-vlpzpp'
6p+pzp-+-+&
5sn-+-zp-+-%
4-tr-zP-+-+$
3+-+-+N+-#
2LzP-+-mKPzP"
1tRNvLQtR-+-!
xabcdefghy

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 

XABCDEFGHY
8-+-+-trk+(
7+-+-vlpzpp'
6pwqpzp-+-+&
5sn-+-zP-+-%
4-+-+-+-+$
3+-+-vLlmK-#
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1tRN+QtR-+-!
xabcdefghy

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 

XABCDEFGHY
8-+-+-trk+(
7+-+-vlpzpp'
6p+pzp-+-+&
5+q+-zP-+-%
4r+n+-+-+$
3vL-+-+KzP-#
2L+-+-+-zP"
1tRN+QtR-+-!
xabcdefghy

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 

XABCDEFGHY
8-+-+-trk+(
7+-+-vlpzpp'
6p+pzp-+-+&
5+q+-zP-+-%
4-+n+-+-+$
3tRL+-+KzP-#
2-+-+-+-zP"
1+N+QtR-+-!
xabcdefghy

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 

XABCDEFGHY
8-+-+-trk+(
7+-+-vlpzpp'
6p+pzp-+-+&
5+-wq-zP-+-%
4-+-+-+-+$
3sNL+-+KzP-#
2-+-+-+-zP"
1+-+QtR-+-!
xabcdefghy

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 

XABCDEFGHY
8-+-+-+-+(
7+-vl-+-mkp'
6p+p+-+p+&
5+-+-+p+-%
4L+-tr-+-+$
3+-wqN+QzP-#
2-+-+-+KzP"
1+-+R+-+-!
xabcdefghy

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++- 

XABCDEFGHY
8-+-+-+-+(
7+LtR-+-+p'
6p+Q+-mkp+&
5+-+-+p+-%
4-+-+-+-+$
3+q+r+-zP-#
2-+-+-+-zP"
1+-+-+-+K!
xabcdefghy

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
8-+-+-+-+(
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6p+-+-mkp+&
5+-+-+p+-%
4-+-+-+-+$
3+q+r+-zP-#
2-+-+-+-zP"
1+-wQ-+-+K!
xabcdefghy

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 3 – JARMULA 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 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.

Jarmula,Lukasz (2504) - Maghsoodloo,Parham (2649)

World Junior U20 Open 2018 Gebze (3.1), 07.09.2018

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 a6 4.Nc3 d5 5.cxd5 exd5 6.Bg5 D37: Queen's Gambit (5.Bf4) 
6...Be6 7.e3 Nbd7 8.Bd3 Bd6 [8...h6 9.Bf4 g5 10.Bg3 Nh5 11.Be5 Nhf6 12.Bg3 Nh5 13.Qb3 Nxg3 14.hxg3 1/2–1/2 (48) Karjakin,S (2773)-Caruana,F (2822) Saint Louis 2018] 
9.0–0 c6 10.Bf4 Qc7 11.Bxd6 Qxd6 12.Qc2 0–0 13.h3 g6 

XABCDEFGHY
8r+-+-trk+(
7+p+n+p+p'
6p+pwqlsnp+&
5+-+p+-+-%
4-+-zP-+-+$
3+-sNLzPN+P#
2PzPQ+-zPP+"
1tR-+-+RmK-!
xabcdefghy

14.Rab1N a5 15.a3 b5 16.Ne2 b4 17.axb4 axb4 18.Nc1 c5 19.dxc5 Nxc5 20.Nd4 Rfc8 21.Ncb3 Na4 22.Qe2 Bd7 23.Rfc1 Ne4 24.Ra1 Qf6 25.Bxe4 dxe4 26.Rxc8+ Rxc8 27.Qd2 Qd6 28.Rc1 Rxc1+ 29.Qxc1 f5 [29...Be6!?] 
30.h4 Kg7 31.Qd2 Kf6 32.Nc1 Be6 33.Nce2 Bf7 34.b3 Nb6 

XABCDEFGHY
8-+-+-+-+(
7+-+-+l+p'
6-sn-wq-mkp+&
5+-+-+p+-%
4-zp-sNp+-zP$
3+P+-zP-+-#
2-+-wQNzPP+"
1+-+-+-mK-!
xabcdefghy

35.Qb2 
White now has a winning threat on the board. Can you find the move?

00000

And Nc6 + would win now. 
35...Ke7 36.Qa1 Nd5 

XABCDEFGHY
8-+-+-+-+(
7+-+-mkl+p'
6-+-wq-+p+&
5+-+n+p+-%
4-zp-sNp+-zP$
3+P+-zP-+-#
2-+-+NzPP+"
1wQ-+-+-mK-!
xabcdefghy

37.Qa8 Nc6 + is a real threat. 
37...Be8 38.h5 Kf7 39.h6 Nf6 [39...Bd7!= keeps your balance.] 
40.Nf4!± g5 [40...Bd7±] 
41.Nfe6+- Kg6 

XABCDEFGHY
8Q+-+l+-+(
7+-+-+-+p'
6-+-wqNsnkzP&
5+-+-+pzp-%
4-zp-sNp+-+$
3+P+-zP-+-#
2-+-+-zPP+"
1+-+-+-mK-!
xabcdefghy

42.Ng7? 
Can you find the improvement on the move White played?

00000

[42.Qa5+- Nd5 43.Nf8+ Qxf8 44.Qxd5] 
42...Bd7µ threatens ...f4. 
43.Qd8? [43.Qh8µ Qe5 44.Nge6 Bxe6 45.Qg7+ Kh5 46.Qe7] 
43...Qc5 44.Nge6 Qc1+! 45.Kh2 Threatening Nf8+. 
45...f4?‚ Black has some attack. [worse is 45...Bxe6 46.Nxe6 Qa1 47.Qb6=; 45...Qe1!–+ ( -> ...Ng4+) 46.Nf8+ Kf7] 
46.f3? 

XABCDEFGHY
8-+-wQ-+-+(
7+-+l+-+p'
6-+-+NsnkzP&
5+-+-+-zp-%
4-zp-sNpzp-+$
3+P+-zPP+-#
2-+-+-+PmK"
1+-wq-+-+-!
xabcdefghy

46.f3 was a critical error. How would Black respond to 46.Nf8+ instead?

00000

What should White have played to save the position?

00000

[However not 46.Nf8+? Kf7–+; 46.exf4= Bxe6 47.Nxe6] 
Now find Black's crushing respomse.

00000

46...exf3! [Not 46...Bxe6 47.Nxe6 exf3 48.Qd3+ Kh5 49.gxf3µ] 
47.exf4 

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

47...Bxe6 
Black missed a forced Mate here. What was it?

00000

[¹47...f2 48.fxg5 Qg1+ 49.Kh3 Bxe6+ 50.Nxe6 Qh1+ 51.Kg3 Ne4+ 52.Kf4 f1Q+ 53.Ke5 Qf5+ 54.Kd4 Qa1+ 55.Kd3 Nxg5+ 56.Ke3 Qe1+ 57.Kd4 Qee4#] 
48.Nxe6 Qc2 And black Mates. 
49.f5+ Kh5 50.Ng7+ Kh4 51.Qd4+  0–1

WORLD JUNIOR CHAMPIONSHIP 2018 ROUND 2 – MAGHSOODLOO vs HALDORSEN

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 as top seed. 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, Morra Gambit, 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) - Haldorsen,Benjamin (2461)

World Junior U20 Open 2018 Gebze (2.1), 06.09.2018

1.g3 c5 2.Bg2 Nc6 3.f4 g6 4.Nf3 Bg7 5.e4 d5 [5...Nf6 6.d3 0–0 7.0–0 d6 8.Nbd2 Rb8 9.a4 a6 10.h3 b5 11.g4 Nd7 12.axb5 axb5 13.Rf2 Bb7 14.Nf1 Ra8 15.Rb1 Ra2 16.c3 Qa8 17.Be3 Qa4 18.d4 Qxd1 19.Rxd1 cxd4 20.Nxd4 Nxd4 21.cxd4 Rc8 22.Rd3 1/2–1/2 (22) Laznicka,V (2651)-Lupulescu,C (2609) Germany 2016] 
6.exd5 B21: Sicilian: 2 f4 and Morra Gambit 
6...Qxd5 7.0–0 Nh6 

XABCDEFGHY
8r+l+k+-tr(
7zpp+-zppvlp'
6-+n+-+psn&
5+-zpq+-+-%
4-+-+-zP-+$
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8.Nc3N The position is equal. [8.c3 Qd3 9.Ne1 Qd8 10.d3 0–0 11.Nd2 Qc7 12.h3 Nf5 13.Ne4 1/2–1/2 (33) Sulskis,S (2350)-Szymanski, A (2210) Warsaw 1992] 
8...Qh5 9.Ne4 0–0 10.d3 Rd8 11.c3 c4 12.d4 Bh3 

XABCDEFGHY
8r+-tr-+k+(
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6-+n+-+psn&
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13.Ne5ƒ 
White has a threat of an immediate and decisive win. What is the threat?

00000

Threatens to win with Qxh5. White has the initiative. 
13...Qxd1 14.Rxd1 Bxg2! 15.Kxg2 Rac8 16.Be3 e6 17.Nxc4 

XABCDEFGHY
8-+rtr-+k+(
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6-+n+p+psn&
5+-+-+-+-%
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17...Nxd4? 
Can you find the improvement on Black's error?

00000

[17...Nf5= and Black is okay.] 
18.Ned6+- [18.Bxd4 Rxc4 19.Bxg7 Rxd1±] 
18...Ndf5 19.Bxa7 Strongly threatening Bb6. [19.Nxc8 Rxc8 20.Bxa7 Rxc4²] 
19...Nxd6 

XABCDEFGHY
8-+rtr-+k+(
7vLp+-+pvlp'
6-+-snp+psn&
5+-+-+-+-%
4-+N+-zP-+$
3+-zP-+-zP-#
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20.Nxd6 
What would have happened if White had played 20.Rxd6 instead?

00000

[Weaker is 20.Rxd6 Rxd6 21.Nxd6 Rd8²] 
20...Ra8 21.Bb6 Rd7 22.a3 e5 [22...Ng4 is a better defense. 23.Ne4 Rad8] 
23.fxe5 Ng4 24.e6 fxe6 25.Nb5 [25.Nc4± Rd5 26.Rxd5 exd5 27.Ne3 Nxe3+ 28.Bxe3] 
25...Rf7? 

XABCDEFGHY
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4-+-+-+n+$
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What should black have played?

00000

[25...Rad8!= 26.Rxd7 (26.Bxd8 Ne3+ 27.Kf3 Nxd1=) 26...Rxd7] 
26.Rd6 [White should play 26.a4+- ] 
26...Ne5 [26...Rf5± 27.Nc7 Be5] 
27.Rxe6 Nc4 28.Nd6 

XABCDEFGHY
8r+-+-+k+(
7+p+-+rvlp'
6-vL-sNR+p+&
5+-+-+-+-%
4-+n+-+-+$
3zP-zP-+-zP-#
2-zP-+-+KzP"
1tR-+-+-+-!
xabcdefghy

28...Nxb2? 
This was Black's final error, leading to a resignation in five moves. There was an alternative that would have still offered resistance to White's initiative. What was it?

00000

[28...Nxd6 keeps fighting. 29.Rxd6 Re8] 
Find the move that seals Black's fate.

00000

29.Nxf7 White is clearly winning. 
29...Kxf7 30.Rae1 Bxc3 31.Re7+ Kf8 32.R1e2 Na4 33.Bf2  1–0

DUBOV vs CHEPARINOV - ABU DHABI MASTER 2018 ROUND 9

Dubov won the 25th Abu Dhabi Masters on tiebreak thanks to his final round game against Cheparinov.

Today’s game features a Queen vs minor piece end game out of an Open Catalan 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.

Dubov,Daniil (2691) - Cheparinov,Ivan (2718)

25th Abu Dhabi Master 2018 Abu Dhabi (9), 15.08.2018

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.g3 dxc4 5.Bg2 a6 6.0–0 Nc6 

XABCDEFGHY
8r+lwqkvl-tr(
7+pzp-+pzpp'
6p+n+psn-+&
5+-+-+-+-%
4-+pzP-+-+$
3+-+-+NzP-#
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xabcdefghy

7.b3N E04: Open Catalan: 5 Nf3 [7.e3 Rb8 8.Qe2 b5 9.b3 cxb3 10.axb3 Bd6 11.Rd1 Qe7 12.Bb2 0–0 13.Rc1 Bb7 14.Ne5 Nb4 15.Bxb7 Rxb7 1–0 (52) So,W (2778)-Mamedyarov,S (2808) Leuven 2018] 

7...cxb3 8.Qxb3 Be7 9.Bb2 The position is equal. 

9...0–0 10.Nbd2 a5 11.a3 Bd7 12.Nc4 a4 13.Qc2 Na5 14.Nfe5 Nxc4 15.Qxc4 

XABCDEFGHY
8r+-wq-trk+(
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6-+-+psn-+&
5+-+-sN-+-%
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2-vL-+PzPLzP"
1tR-+-+RmK-!
xabcdefghy

15...Nd5! 16.Rfc1 [16.Bxd5 exd5] 

16...c6 17.e4 Nc7 18.Qc2 Be8 19.Rd1 f6 20.Nc4 Ra6 21.Qe2 Kh8 22.f4 Bf7 23.Kh1 Qd7 24.g4 b5 25.Ne3 b4 26.axb4 Bxb4 27.Rac1 a3 28.Ba1 Be7 29.e5 Rfa8! Strongly threatening ...a2. 

30.exf6 Bxf6 31.g5 Be7 32.d5 exd5 33.Nc4 Bd6 34.Nxd6 Qxd6 35.f5 Re8 [35...Kg8–+ 36.f6 g6] 

36.Qf2 [36.Qd2³] 

36...Nb5!–+ 37.g6 hxg6 

XABCDEFGHY
8-+-+r+-mk(
7+-+-+lzp-'
6r+pwq-+p+&
5+n+p+P+-%
4-+-+-+-+$
3zp-+-+-+-#
2-+-+-wQLzP"
1vL-tRR+-+K!
xabcdefghy

38.Qh4+ 

What was the "forced" move in this position?

[38.f6 was forced. 38...g5 39.fxg7+ Kg8 40.Rf1] 

38...Kg8 39.f6 

XABCDEFGHY
8-+-+r+k+(
7+-+-+lzp-'
6r+pwq-zPp+&
5+n+p+-+-%
4-+-+-+-wQ$
3zp-+-+-+-#
2-+-+-+LzP"
1vL-tRR+-+K!
xabcdefghy

39...Re5! 40.Bxe5 Qxe5 41.fxg7 Kxg7 [41...Qxg7 42.Qh3µ] 

42.Rd3? 

XABCDEFGHY
8-+-+-+-+(
7+-+-+lmk-'
6r+p+-+p+&
5+n+pwq-+-%
4-+-+-+-wQ$
3zp-+R+-+-#
2-+-+-+LzP"
1+-tR-+-+K!
xabcdefghy

What would have been the better option for White?

00000

[42.Qf2 was called for.] 

42...a2 43.Rh3 

XABCDEFGHY
8-+-+-+-+(
7+-+-+lmk-'
6r+p+-+p+&
5+n+pwq-+-%
4-+-+-+-wQ$
3+-+-+-+R#
2p+-+-+LzP"
1+-tR-+-+K!
xabcdefghy

43...Qh5? 

What would have been a better option for Black in this position?

00000

[Black should try 43...Kg8!–+ 44.Rf1 Nd6 45.Qh7+ Kf8 46.Qh6+ Qg7] 

44.Qf4‚ Black needs to defend precisely. 

44...a1Q 45.Rxh5 gxh5 46.Rxa1 Rxa1+ 47.Bf1 Qe5+ is the strong threat. 

47...Nc3 

XABCDEFGHY
8-+-+-+-+(
7+-+-+lmk-'
6-+p+-+-+&
5+-+p+-+p%
4-+-+-wQ-+$
3+-sn-+-+-#
2-+-+-+-zP"
1tr-+-+L+K!
xabcdefghy

[47...Rd1!=] 

48.Qe5+!± Kg8 49.Kg1 Rxf1+? [49...d4± is a better chance.] 

50.Kxf1+- Ne4 51.Qb8+ Kg7 52.Qe5+ Kg8! 53.Ke2 c5 54.Ke3 c4 55.Kd4 c3 [55...Kh7 was necessary. 56.Qf4 Kg7] 

56.Qc7 Kg7 57.Ke5 Kg8 58.Qc8+ Kg7 59.Qc6 Kh7 60.Kd4 Kg7 61.Qc7 Kg8 62.Kd3 Kg7 63.Qe5+ Kh7 64.Kc2 Kg8 65.Qd4 Kh7 66.Kb3 Bg6 67.Qe5 Kg8 68.Kb4 Kh7 69.Qc7+ Kh6 70.Qf4+ Kh7 71.Kb3 Kg8 [71...d4 keeps fighting. 72.Kc4 c2 73.Kxd4 Nf6] 

72.h4 Kh7 

XABCDEFGHY
8-+-+-+-+(
7+-+-+-+k'
6-+-+-+l+&
5+-+p+-+p%
4-+-+nwQ-zP$
3+Kzp-+-+-#
2-+-+-+-+"
1+-+-+-+-!
xabcdefghy

73.Qc7+ 

Does White have a better option? What is it?

[White should play 73.Ka3+- ] 

73...Kg8± 74.Kb4 And now Qd8+ would win. 

74...d4? [74...Bf7± 75.Qe5 Kh7 76.Qf5+ Kg8] 

75.Kc4 [¹75.Qc8+ Kg7 76.Qd7+ Kf6 77.Qxd4+ Ke6 78.Qb6+ Kf7 79.Kb3] 

75...c2 76.Kxd4 Nf2 77.Ke3 Ng4+ 78.Kf4 Hoping for Kg5. 

78...Kf8 79.Kg5 

XABCDEFGHY
8-+-+-mk-+(
7+-wQ-+-+-'
6-+-+-+l+&
5+-+-+-mKp%
4-+-+-+nzP$
3+-+-+-+-#
2-+p+-+-+"
1+-+-+-+-!
xabcdefghy

79...Bf7? 

What alternative did Black have instead of the blunder played?

00000

What is White's decisive reply to Bf7?

00000

[79...Bd3 80.Kxh5 Nf6+ 81.Kh6 Nh7] 

80.Qxc2  1–0

Adams vs Ghasi - 105th British-ch 2018 Hull - Round 6

Adams moved back into the sole lead of the 2018 British Championship with this win.

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.

Adams,Michael (2706) - Ghasi,Ameet K (2494)

105th British-ch 2018 Hull (6), 02.08.2018

1.e4 d6 2.d4 Nf6 3.Nc3 g6 4.Be3 Bg7 5.Qd2 c6 6.Bh6 Bxh6 7.Qxh6 Qa5 8.Bd3 c5 9.Nf3 B07: Pirc Defence: Miscellaneous Systems 

9...cxd4 10.Nxd4 Nc6 11.Bb5 Bd7 12.0–0–0 

XABCDEFGHY
8r+-+k+-tr(
7zpp+lzpp+p'
6-+nzp-snpwQ&
5wqL+-+-+-%
4-+-sNP+-+$
3+-sN-+-+-#
2PzPP+-zPPzP"
1+-mKR+-+R!
xabcdefghy

12...Nxd4N [12...Rc8 13.Kb1 Ne5 14.Nb3 Qc7 15.Bxd7+ Qxd7 16.Rhe1 Qc6 1–0 (41) Van Kampen,R (2640) -McNab,C (2433) Reading 2017] 

13.Bxd7+ Nxd7 14.Rxd4 0–0–0 15.Kb1 Kb8 16.Nd5 e6 17.Ne3 Ne5 18.Rhd1 Qc7 19.a3 a6 20.f4 Nc6 21.R4d3 Rhe8 22.g4 b5 23.Qh4 Ka8 24.g5 Na5 25.Qe1 [¹25.Qxh7 Nc4 26.Qg7] 

25...Rd7 26.Rc3 Qb6 27.b3 Rc7 28.Rxc7 Qxc7 29.Qb4 Rd8 30.Rd3 Nb7 31.Kb2 [31.Ng4±] 

31...Nc5= 32.Rd4 Qc6 33.Nd1 Rc8 

XABCDEFGHY
8k+r+-+-+(
7+-+-+p+p'
6p+qzpp+p+&
5+psn-+-zP-%
4-wQ-tRPzP-+$
3zPP+-+-+-#
2-mKP+-+-zP"
1+-+N+-+-!
xabcdefghy

( -> ... Nd3+!) 

34.Nc3 Rc7 35.Rd2 Nb7 36.a4 a5 37.Qd4 bxa4 38.Nxa4 Kb8 39.Nb6 

XABCDEFGHY
8-mk-+-+-+(
7+ntr-+p+p'
6-sNqzpp+p+&
5zp-+-+-zP-%
4-+-wQPzP-+$
3+P+-+-+-#
2-mKPtR-+-zP"
1+-+-+-+-!
xabcdefghy

39...Qb5? 

What was the better option for Black in this position? 

00000 

[39...Nc5± is a better chance. 40.Qxd6 Nxe4 41.Nd7+ Kb7 42.Qxc6+ Kxc6 43.Ne5+ Kc5] 

What can White do to immediately punish the error? 

00000 

40.Qh8++- White is clearly winning. 

40...Ka7 41.Nc8+ Ka6 [¹41...Rxc8 42.Qxc8 Qf1] 

42.Nxd6 Qb4 43.c3  1–0