Games from Recent Events

[Hans Jung]

Exciting game! I enjoyed Black's attack but 23.Qg4, 24.Qe6+ and Qe7+ trading queens was a great find.

[Hans Jung]

This was also before computers were superstrong.

[Hans Jung]

Does anybody know what year smoking stopped over the board in Canada? Its not thought about much now but at the time it was remarkable.

[Wayne Komer]

Games from Recent Events

June 12, 2019

From Johannes Fischer in chessbase:

https://en.chessbase.com/post/karthi...e-on-move-nine

A Queen Sacrifice on Move Nine

Chances to sacrifice your queen after nine moves are rare. But in round five of the Asian Continental Championship in Xingtai, China, the Indian Grandmaster Karthikeyan Murali had such a chance. He used it to win a brilliancy against Alireza Firouzja and to take the lead in the tournament.

A surprising queen sacrifice

Host of the Asian Continental Chess Championship 2019 is the Chinese Chess Federation. The Open Championship and the Women's Championship are played in parallel in Xingtai, a city with about 700,000 inhabitants in the Northeast of China.

Number one seed is the Indian Grandmaster Vidit Gujrathi, who is the only player in the tournament who has a rating of more than 2700. However, the field is strong and among the favourites are players like Adhiban Baskaran from India, the two Iranian talents Parham Maghsoodloo and Alireza Firouzja or Le Quang Liem from Vietnam.

With 3½/4 Alireza Firouzja, the world's best player U16, had a good start and was about to cross the 2700-mark on the Live-Rating list, when he had to play against Karthikeyan Murali, World Champion U12 2011 and World Champion U16 in 2013. After nine moves Karthikeyan sacrificed his queen for two pieces to create a masterpiece – and to become sole leader with 4½/5.


Asian Continental Open
Xing Tai, China
Round 5, June 11
Firouzja, Alireza (2682) – Karthikeyan, Murali (2593)
E71 King’s Indian, Makagonov System

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.h3 O-O 6.Be3 c5 7.Nf3 Qa5 8.Nd2 cxd4 9.Nb3 Qxc3+ 10.bxc3 dxe3 11.f3 Nh5 12.Qc1 Bh6 13.g4 Nf4 14.Kd1 Ne6 15.Kc2 Nc6 16.h4 Bf4 17.Qd1 Ne5 18.Nc1 Bd7 19.a4 Rac8 20.Ne2 Bh6 21.g5 Bg7 22.Bh3 Nxf3 23.Qd3 Ne5 24.Qxe3 Nxc4 25.Qf2 Rc5 26.Rhb1 Bc6 27.Bg2 f5 28.gxf6 Bxf6 29.Rf1 Bxc3 30.Qxc5 Nxc5 31.Rxf8+ Kxf8 32.Kxc3 Ne5 33.a5 Nxe4+ 34.Bxe4 Bxe4 35.Nd4 Bd5 36.Nb5 a6 37.Nc7 Bc6 38.Rf1+ Kg7 39.Ne6+ Kh6 40.Rf8 Kh5 41.Rh8 h6 42.Rh7 Kxh4 43.Rxh6+ Kg4 44.Nd4 Kg5 45.Rh2 Bd5 46.Re2 Kf4 47.Rf2+ Nf3 48.Re2 e5 49.Nc2 Be4 50.Ne3 d5 51.Kb4 Nd4 52.Re1 Kf3 0-1

Position after 9…Qxc3+

[Hans Jung]

A brilliant queen sacrifice!!, which can be described as in the style of Tal or Bronstein

[Wayne Komer]

Games from Recent Events

July 15, 2019

Dortmund

This is an eight-player round-robin featuring Nepomniachtchi, Wojtaszek, Rapport, Radjabov and Dominguez, among others.

July 13 - 21, 2019

From the first round:

Round 1, July 13
Radjabov, Teimour – Wojtaszek, Radoslaw
C92 Ruy Lopez, Closed, Flohr-Zaitsev System

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 d6 8.c3 O-O 9.h3 Bb7 10.d4 Re8 11.Nbd2 Bf8 12.a3 h6 13.Bc2 d5 14.Nxe5 Nxe5 15.dxe5 Rxe5 16.Nf3 Re8 17.e5 Ne4 18.Qe2 c5 19.Nd2 Rxe5 20.f3 c4 21.fxe4 Bc5+ 22.Kh1 dxe4 23.Nf1 e3 24.Bxe3 Bxe3 25.Nxe3 Qh4 26.Qg4 Qe7 27.Qxg7+ Kxg7 28.Nf5+ Rxf5 29.Rxe7 Rf2 30.Rxb7 Rxc2 31.Rf1 Rf8 32.Ra7 Rxb2 33.Rxa6 f5 34.Rf3 Rf6 35.Rg3+ Kf7 36.Ra7+ Ke6 37.Ra6+ Kf7 38.Ra7+ Ke6 39.Ra6+ Kf7 40.Ra7+ 1/2-1/2

It was a day of sacrifices, with 2017 champion Radek Wojtaszek following a correspondence game to play 19…Rxe5!? 20.f3 c4!?:

Position after Black’s 20…..c4




Teimour Radjabov barely blinked as he went for 21.fxe4 Bc5+ 22.Kh1 dxe4 23.Nf1 e3 24.Bxe3 Bxe3 25.Nxe3 Qh4! 26.Qg4 Qe7!

As you can see, this is the kind of stuff you want to have all worked out in the comfort of your own home! At this stage Black would simply be a pawn up (you can’t save the e3-knight as 27.Qe2 is met by 27...Re8), if not for 27.Qxg7+! Kxg7 28.Nf5+! and the game soon raced towards a draw.

Commentary by Colin McGourty at chess24

https://chess24.com/en/read/news/dor...st-kramnik-era

[Wayne Komer]

Games from Recent Events

July 22, 2019

Three from the Turkish Super League

Vassily Ivanchuk is playing first board for Tatvan, with Ivan Saric and Alireza Firouzha on second and third. Three of his decisive games:

Round 1, July 17
Ivanchuk, Vassily (2684) – Iljiushenok, Ilia (2520)
E63 King’s Indian, Fianchetto, Panno System

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nf3 Bg7 4.g3 O-O 5.Bg2 d6 6.Nc3 Nc6 7.O-O a6 8.Bf4 Rb8 9.Rc1 h6 10.h4 Ng4 11.d5 e5 12.dxe6 fxe6 13.b3 e5 14.Bd2 Bf5 15.Ne1 Qd7 16.Bd5+ Be6 17.Bg2 Rf7 18.Nc2 Rbf8 19.f3 Nf6 20.e4 Nh5 21.Kh2 Qd8 22.Ne2 g5 23.g4 Nf4 24.h5 Nxg2 25.Kxg2 Bxg4 26.fxg4 Rxf1 27.Qxf1 Rxf1 28.Rxf1 Nd4 29.Nexd4 exd4 30.Rf5 c6 31.Nb4 Qe8 32.Kf3 Qe6 33.Bc1 Be5 34.Nd3 c5 35.Bd2 b5 36.Nb2 d3 37.Nxd3 bxc4 38.Nxe5 dxe5 39.bxc4 Qxc4 40.Be3 Qf1+ 41.Kg3 Qe1+ 42.Kf3 Qd1+ 43.Kg3 c4 44.Rf6 Qe1+ 45.Kf3 Qf1+ 46.Kg3 Qxf6 0-1

Round 4, July 20
Ivanchuk, Vassily (2684) – Inarkiev, Ernesto (2693)
D27 QGA, Classical, Rubinstein variation

1.d4 d5 2.c4 dxc4 3.e3 Nf6 4.Bxc4 e6 5.Nf3 c5 6.O-O a6 7.a4 Nc6 8.Qe2 Be7 9.Rd1 O-O 10.Nc3 Qc7 11.Bd2 Rd8 12.Be1 cxd4 13.exd4 Bd7 14.Rac1 Rac8 15.d5 exd5 16.Nxd5 Nxd5 17.Bxd5 Bf6 18.b4 Bg4 19.Qe4 Bxf3 20.gxf3 Re8 21.Qg4 Qe7 22.b5 axb5 23.axb5 h5 24.Qh3 Na7 25.Rxc8 Nxc8 26.Qxh5 Qc7 27.Be4 Qc4 28.Bd5 Qc7 29.Be4 Qc4 30.Qh7+ Kf8 31.Rb1 Re5 32.Bb4+ Ke8 33.Qh8+ Kd7 34.Qh3+ Qe6 35.Qf1 Rg5+ 36.Kh1 Be5 37.Bxb7 Qh6 38.f4 Nd6 39.Bc6+ Ke6 40.Re1 Qh4 41.Bd2 f6 42.fxe5 Rxe5 43.f4 1-0

Round 6, July 21
Ivanchuk, Vassily (2684) – Tomashevsky, Evgeny (2702)
E32 Nimzo-Indian, Classical variation

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Qc2 O-O 5.a3 Bxc3+ 6.Qxc3 d5 7.Bg5 dxc4 8.Qxc4 b6 9.Rc1 c5 10.dxc5 bxc5 11.f3 Nbd7 12.e4 a5 13.Nh3 Ba6 14.Qc3 Bxf1 15.Rxf1 h6 16.Be3 Rb8 17.Rf2 a4 18.Rfc2 Rb3 19.Qd2 Qb8 20.Bf4 Qb6 21.Nf2 Rd8 22.Qd6 Qb5 23.Nd1 Rc8 24.Nc3 Qb7 25.Qd2 Qc6 26.Rd1 Nb6 27.Qe2 Qb7 28.Rcd2 Nfd7 29.Bd6 Qc6 30.h4 e5 31.g3 Re8 32.Kf2 Re6 33.Qa6 Re8 34.Kg2 Ra8 35.Qe2 Re8 36.Kh2 Re6 37.Kg2 Re8 38.Na2 Re6 39.Nc1 Rb5 40.Bc7 Nf6 41.Na2 Nbd7 42.Nc3 Rb7 43.Bd8 Nh5 44.Nd5 Nf8 45.f4 g6 46.f5 Re8 47.Ba5 Nh7 48.Nc3 Qf6 49.Nxa4 Ra7 50.Bd8 Qg7 51.Nxc5 Kh8 52.Qf3 Rg8 53.Rd3 Ra8 54.f6 N7xf6 55.b4 Nh7 56.Rd7 Rf8 57.Bc7 Rae8 58.Bd6 1-0

Final position with the Black men squeezed into the corner

[Wayne Komer]

Games from Recent Events

October 6, 2019

Ivanchuk in the Spanish League

Vassily Ivanchuk is playing first board for CAC Beniajan Duochess in the Spanish League Honours Division (Sept. 30 to October 6). His pairings and scores in the first six rounds:

Ivanchuk – Cheparinov 1-0
Iturrizaga – Ivanchuk 1-0
Ivanchuk Sasikiran 1-0
Bacrot – Ivanchuk 1-0
Ivanchuk – Rakhmanov 1-0
Kuzubov – Ivanchuk 1-0

All white wins. Naturally, for the last round, one would think that Vassily would win as White. But alas, Ponomariov played first board and drew against Abasov.

I give all the Ivanchuk games.

Beniajan Duochess vs Magic Extremadura 2.5-3.5
Round 1, Sept. 30
Ivanchuk, Vassily – Cheparinov, Ivan
B72 Sicilian, Dragon, Classical, Nottingham variation

1.e4 c5 2.Nc3 d6 3.f4 g6 4.Nf3 Bg7 5.d4 cxd4 6.Nxd4 Nc6 7.Be3 Nf6 8.Be2 O-O 9.Nb3 Be6 10.g4 d5 11.f5 Bc8 12.exd5 Nb4 13.Bf3 gxf5 14.a3 fxg4 15.Bg2 Na6 16.Qd3 Bd7 17.O-O-O Qc8 18.Rhf1 Ne8 19.Bd4 Bh6+ 20.Kb1 f6 21.Ne4 Rf7 22.d6 f5 23.Qg3 fxe4 24.Rxf7 Kxf7 25.Qh4 Bf5 26.Qxh6 Qe6 27.Qg5 h6 28.Qf4 Nxd6 29.Be5 Nc4 30.Bc3 Kg6 31.Nd4 Qe5 32.Qxe5 Nxe5 33.Nxf5 Kxf5 34.Rd5 1-0

Collado Villalba – Beniajan Duochess 2.5-3.5
Round 2, Oct. 1
Iturrizaga, Eduardo – Ivanchuk, Vassily
A13 English Opening, Agincourt variation

1.c4 e6 2.Nf3 d5 3.e3 Be7 4.b3 Bf6 5.Nc3 Ne7 6.Ba3 d4 7.Ne4 Nbc6 8.Bd3 a5 9.O-O dxe3 10.Nxf6+ gxf6 11.dxe3 Nb4 12.Ne1 Ra6 13.Qh5 Rd6 14.Be4 c6 15.Nc2 f5 16.Nxb4 fxe4 17.Na6 Ng6 18.Bxd6 Qxd6 19.Rad1 Qe7 20.Nc5 f5 21.Na4 e5 22.f3 O-O 23.fxe4 f4 24.c5 Kh8 25.Rd6 Rg8 26.Nb6 Be6 27.exf4 exf4 28.Qe2 Ne5 29.Rxf4 Qg5 30.Qf2 Bh3 31.g3 h5 32.Nc4 Ng6 33.Qd4+ Kh7 34.Rf7+ Kh6 35.Rxg6+ Kxg6 36.Ne5+ 1-0

Beniajan Duochess – Solvay A 4-2
Round 3, Oct. 2
Ivanchuk, Vassily – Sasikiran, Krishnan
C45 Scotch, Tartakower variation

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 exd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nxc6 bxc6 6.Nd2 d5 7.exd5 cxd5 8.Bb5+ Bd7 9.Bxd7+ Qxd7 10.O-O Be7 11.b3 O-O 12.Bb2 c5 13.Qf3 Rad8 14.Rfe1 Rfe8 15.h3 h6 16.Rad1 Nh7 17.Qg4 Qxg4 18.hxg4 d4 19.Re5 Bf8 20.Rxe8 Rxe8 21.c3 Nf6 22.f3 dxc3 23.Bxc3 Nd5 24.Ba5 Nb4 25.Bxb4 cxb4 26.Kf1 Re6 27.Nc4 Ra6 28.Rd2 Be7 29.g3 g6 30.f4 Kg7 31.Kg2 Bf6 32.Kf3 Be7 33.Ne3 Bc5 34.Nd5 Rd6 35.f5 gxf5 36.gxf5 Rd8 37.g4 a5 38.Rd3 Re8 39.Nf4 Kf6 40.Nh5+ Ke5 41.Rd2 Rc8 42.Rc2 Rc7 43.Nf4 Bb6 44.Re2+ Kd6 45.Rd2+ Ke5 46.Nd3+ Kd4 47.Nb2+ Kc5 48.Nc4 a4 49.Rd6 Ba7 50.Ke4 Re7+ 51.Kd3 a3 52.Rxh6 Rd7+ 53.Kc2 Bb8 54.Rh3 Rd4 55.Rh8 Bg3 56.Rc8+ Kb5 57.g5 Rg4 58.Rg8 Bf4 59.g6 Rg2+ 60.Kd3 fxg6 61.f6 Rxa2 62.f7 Bh6 63.Rxg6 Bf8 64.Rg8 Bh6 65.Rg5+ 1-0

Gros Xake Taidea – Beniajan Duochess 3.5-2.5
Round 4, Oct. 3
Bacrot, Etienne – Ivanchuk, Vassily
E10 Queen’s Pawn game

1.c4 Nf6 2.d4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.e3 Nbd7 5.b3 c5 6.Bd3 b6 7.O-O Bb7 8.cxd5 Nxd5 9.Bb2 Be7 10.dxc5 Bf6 11.Qe2 Nxc5 12.Bb5+ Kf8 13.Rd1 Bxb2 14.Qxb2 Qf6 15.Ne5 Qg5 16.Bc6 Bxc6 17.Nxc6 Qf6 18.Ne5 Kg8 19.Nd2 h5 20.Qd4 h4 21.h3 Rh5 22.Ndf3 Qf5 23.Rac1 Qe4 24.Qb2 f6 25.Rc4 Qh7 26.Nc6 a5 27.Nfd4 Kh8 28.Qe2 Re8 29.Qf3 Ne4 30.Nb5 Nc5 31.e4 Nb4 32.Nxb4 axb4 33.Nd6 Rf8 34.Rxb4 Nd7 35.Nc4 Ne5 36.Nxe5 Rxe5 37.a4 Qg6 38.Rxb6 Rxe4 39.a5 f5 40.a6 Kh7 41.a7 Ra8 42.Rb7 Kh6 43.Qc3 Re2 44.Rb8 Rxa7 45.Rh8+ Kg5 46.f4+ Kxf4 47.Qf3+ 1-0

Beniajan Duochess – Escola Escacs Barcelona 4-2
Round 5, Oct. 4
Ivanchuk, Vassily – Rakhmanov, Aleksandr
C42 Petrov, Nimzowitsch Attack

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nxe5 d6 4.Nf3 Nxe4 5.Nc3 Nf6 6.d4 Be7 7.Bd3 O-O 8.O-O Re8 9.Re1 c6 10.d5 cxd5 11.Bg5 Nc6 12.Bxf6 Bxf6 13.Rxe8+ Qxe8 14.Nxd5 Bd8 15.c3 Ne5 16.Be4 Bd7 17.Nd4 g6 18.Qe2 Bc6 19.g3 Nd7 20.Re1 Nc5 21.Nxc6 bxc6 22.Nb4 d5 23.Bc2 Qxe2 24.Rxe2 Bf6 25.Nxc6 a5 26.b4 Rc8 27.Ne7+ Bxe7 28.Rxe7 axb4 29.cxb4 Na6 30.Bb3 Nxb4 31.Rb7 Nd3 32.Bxd5 Rc1+ 33.Kg2 Ne1+ 34.Kh3 Rc5 35.Bxf7+ Kf8 36.Bb3 Rh5+ 37.Kg4 Nd3 38.f4 Rxh2 39.Bc4 Nc5 40.Rf7+ Ke8 41.Rf6 Kd7 42.Kf3 Rd2 43.Rf7+ Kd6 44.Rxh7 Rc2 45.Bb5 Rxa2 46.Rg7 Ra3+ 47.Kg2 Ne4 48.Rxg6+ Kc5 49.Bd7 Kd4 50.Bc6 Ra2+ 51.Kh3 Nf2+ 52.Kh4 Nd3 53.Re6 Rh2+ 54.Kg5 Rh8 55.Re8 Rh7 56.Be4 Rg7+ 57.Kf6 1-0

Final position



Jaime Casas Monzon – Beniajan Duochess 3-3
Round 6, Oct. 5
Kuzubov, Yuriy – Ivanchuk, Vassily
E15 Queen’s Indian Nimzowitsch variation

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 b6 4.g3 Ba6 5.Qc2 Bb4+ 6.Bd2 Be7 7.e4 d5 8.cxd5 Bxf1 9.Kxf1 exd5 10.e5 Ne4 11.Nc3 Nxd2+ 12.Qxd2 Qd7 13.Kg2 Nc6 14.Rad1 O-O 15.Ne1 Bb4 16.Nc2 Bxc3 17.bxc3 Ne7 18.Rhe1 Rac8 19.Qd3 Qf5 20.Nb4 Qe6 21.Qf3 c6 22.h4 Rc7 23.Nd3 Qf5 24.Qe2 h5 25.Nf4 g6 26.e6 f6 27.Rd3 Kg7 28.Qd2 Rh8 29.Nh3 Qg4 30.f3 Qf5 31.Qd1 g5 32.hxg5 Ng6 33.gxf6+ Kxf6 34.Rde3 Rg7 35.Kh2 a5 36.e7 Re8 37.g4 Qd7 38.g5+ Kf7 39.f4 Kg8 40.Qxh5 Rexe7 41.Rxe7 Nxe7 42.Qe2 Qf5 43.Qe6+ Kh7 44.Qxf5+ Nxf5 45.Re5 Kg6 46.Re6+ Kh5 47.Nf2 Rg6 48.Re5 Ng7 49.Re7 1-0

Final Team Standings (board points)

1 Magic Extremadura 27.5
2 Gros Xake Taldea 21.5
3 Beniajan Duochess 22
4 Escola Escacs Barcelona 20.5
5 Solvay A 20.5
6 Jaime Casas Monzon 18.5
7 Collado Villalaba 17
8 GranDama Santa Lucia 14.5

[Wayne Komer]

Games from Recent Events

October 7, 2019

World Cup Brilliancy

The FIDE World Cup took place in Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia with 128 initial participants on September 9 to October 4.

Before the main prize-giving ceremony, Mark Glukhovsky, Executive Director of the Chess Federation of Russia, announced the winner of the Brilliancy Prize, provided by Russian Chess Federation in cooperation with AB InBev Efes.

We remind you that a jury led by Maxim Notkin, Chief Editor of 64-Chess Review, made shortlists of 4-5 most exciting games after the rounds 1-2, 3-4, and 5-6. After that, an online poll was created and announced on the official site of the event and social media. The candidate games of the main and consolation finals were nominated by the jury.

The final shortlist consisted of four games: Firouzja - Dubov, Xiong - Duda, Radjabov - Vachier-Lagrave, and Ding Liren - Radjabov.

The experts awarded the Brilliancy Prize to Ding Liren for his victory vs. Radjabov. The Chinese grandmaster received an elegant trophy.

https://khantymansiysk2019.fide.com/en/news/465/

The three finalists and the winning game:

Round 2, Game 2, Sept. 14
Firouzja, Alireza – Dubov, Daniil
B31 Sicilian, Nimzowitsch-Rossolimo Attack

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 g6 4.O-O Bg7 5.c3 Nf6 6.Re1 O-O 7.h3 Qb6 8.a4 a6 9.Bxc6 bxc6 10.e5 Nd5 11.a5 Qd8 12.d3 d6 13.Qa4 dxe5 14.Nxe5 Bxe5 15.Rxe5 Qd6 16.Re1 Bf5 17.Na3 Rfe8 18.Nc4 Qc7 19.Be3 Nxe3 20.Rxe3 Rad8 21.Ne5 f6 22.Qxc6 Qd6 23.Qxd6 exd6 24.Ng4 Rxe3 25.fxe3 Rb8 26.Nxf6+ Kg7 27.Nd5 Rxb2 28.e4 Bd7 29.Rf1 Be6 30.Nc7 Bd7 31.Nxa6 Rb7 32.c4 Be8 33.e5 Ra7 34.Nb8 Rb7 35.Na6 Ra7 36.Nb8 Rb7 37.exd6 Rxb8 38.Re1 Kf8 39.Re7 Rd8 40.a6 Rxd6 41.a7 Rd8 42.Rb7 Bc6 43.Rc7 Be8 44.Kf2 g5 45.Ke3 h6 46.g3 Bg6 47.Rb7 Rxd3+ 48.Kf2 Ra3 49.Rb8+ Kg7 50.a8=Q Rxa8 51.Rxa8 Bd3 52.Ra4 Kf6 53.Ke3 Bf1 54.h4 gxh4 55.gxh4 Ke5 56.Ra6 Bxc4 57.Rxh6 Be6 58.Rg6 Bf5 59.Rg1 Kf6 60.h5 Bh7 61.h6 Bg6 62.Kd2 Kf7 63.Kc3 Kf6 64.Kc4 Bf7+ 65.Kxc5 Bg6 66.Kd6 Kf7 67.Ke5 Bd3 68.Rg7+ Kf8 1-0

Final Position



Round 4, Game 2, Sept. 21
Xiong, Jeffery - Duda, Jan-Krzyztof
C24 Bishop’s Opening Berlin Defence

1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Nf6 3.d3 c6 4.Nf3 d5 5.Bb3 Bb4+ 6.Bd2 Bxd2+ 7.Qxd2 Qd6 8.Qg5 Nbd7 9.exd5 cxd5 10.d4 e4 11.Ne5 O-O 12.Nc3 Nb6 13.f3 Be6 14.O-O-O Rac8 15.Qd2 a6 16.Rhe1 exf3 17.gxf3 Nfd7 18.h4 f6 19.Nd3 Bf7 20.Qf4 Rc6 21.Qxd6 Rxd6 22.Nc5 Rb8 23.Re7 Kf8 24.Rde1 Nxc5 25.dxc5 Rd7 26.Rxf7+ Kxf7 27.cxb6 Rbd8 28.Nxd5 Kg6 29.c4 Kh5 30.Re4 Rc8 31.Kd2 g5 32.Ke3 Rf7 33.hxg5 fxg5 34.Ba4 Kh6 35.Be8 Rf8 36.Bd7 Rb8 37.b4 Kg6 38.Nc7 Rfd8 39.Re7 Rh8 40.Be8+ Kf6 41.Nd5+ 1-0

Final Position




Round 6, Game 2, Sept. 27
Radjabov, Teimour – MVL
A34 English, symmetrical, Three Knights System

1.Nf3 Nf6 2.c4 c5 3.Nc3 d5 4.cxd5 Nxd5 5.e3 Nxc3 6.dxc3 Qc7 7.e4 e6 8.Bd3 Be7 9.Qe2 Bd7 10.O-O O-O 11.e5 Bc6 12.Ng5 h6 13.Bh7+ Kh8 14.Bc2 c4 15.Re1 Qd8 16.Nh3 Qd5 17.Nf4 Qc5 18.Bb1 Bg5 19.Nxe6 fxe6 20.Bxg5 Qd5 21.Qg4 Nd7 22.Be4 Nxe5 23.Qh5 Qb5 24.Bxh6 Bxe4 25.Bf4+ Kg8 26.Qxe5 Bd5 27.Re2 Rf5 28.Qe3 Qe8 29.f3 Qg6 30.h4 Raf8 31.Bg5 a6 32.Rd1 Qe8 33.Rd4 Qc6 34.Rg4 Kh7 35.Bf4 R8f7 36.Be5 b5 37.Qf2 Qd7 38.Qg3 Rh5 39.Bd4 Qc7 40.Re5 Rhf5 41.Rg5 Kg8 42.h5 Rxg5 43.Qxg5 Qe7 44.Qg4 Rf5 45.Qxf5 1-0

Final Position



Final, Game 2, Oct. 1
Ding, Liren – Radjabov, Teimour
A19 English, Mikenas-Carls, Sicilian variation

1.c4 Nf6 2.Nc3 e6 3.e4 c5 4.e5 Ng8 5.Nf3 Nc6 6.d4 cxd4 7.Nxd4 Nxe5 8.Ndb5 a6 9.Nd6+ Bxd6 10.Qxd6 f6 11.Be3 Ne7 12.Bb6 Nf5 13.Qb4 Nc6 14.Qc5 Qe7 15.O-O-O d6 16.Qa3 O-O 17.g4 Nh6 18.Rg1 Nf7 19.f4 Bd7 20.h4 a5 21.g5 Kh8 22.Qb3 Rfc8 23.Kb1 e5 24.Nd5 Bf5+ 25.Ka1 Qe6 26.gxf6 gxf6 27.a3 Rab8 28.Bg2 Rg8 29.Ne3 Nd4 30.Bxd4 exd4 31.Nxf5 Qxf5 32.Bd5 Rxg1 33.Rxg1 Nh6 34.Qb6 Qd7 35.Qxd4 Qe7 36.Ka2 Nf5 37.Qc3 b6 38.h5 Re8 39.h6 Ne3 40.Re1 1-0

Final Position



All the above games were played with the classical time limit

[Hans Jung]

The Iturrizaga-Ivanchuk game is particularly interesting. Chucky plays for tricks in the opening but the counter trick 17.Na6 is fascinating to me. Chucky continues in his original way (having fun!?) and it seems both players have completely different ideas of how to play the positions. Chucky goes for kingside attack but his opponent puts on the clamp at the end.

[Wayne Komer]

Games from Recent Events

November 12, 2019

35^th European Club Cup

The 35th edition of European Club Cup and the 24th edition of European Club Cup for Women will simultaneously take place from 9th-17th November 2019 in Ulcinj, Montenegro.

The teams shall be composed of six players and two reserves in Open competition, while in the Women’s competition teams shall be composed of four players and one reserve.

The events will be played in 7 rounds, Swiss system, with time control 90 minutes for 40 moves plus 30 minutes for the rest of the game, with an increment of 30 seconds per move, starting from move one.

Fast forward to Round Three. If Howell can win, the match will be tied. In fact, Novy Bor beat Valerenga 3.5-2.5

Round Three, Nov. 12
Valerenga – AVE Novy Bor
Board 1
Howell, David – Harikrishna, Pentala
B51 Sicilian, Canal-Sokolsky Attack

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.Bb5+ Nc6 4.O-O Bd7 5.Re1 a6 6.Bxc6 Bxc6 7.d4 cxd4 8.Nxd4 Nf6 9.Nxc6 bxc6 10.c4 e6 11.Nc3 Be7 12.b3 Nd7 13.Be3 c5 14.Bf4 Qc7 15.Qd2 Rd8 16.Rad1 Ne5 17.Bxe5 dxe5 18.Qc2 O-O 19.Rxd8 Rxd8 20.Rd1 Rd4 21.Ne2 Rxd1+ 22.Qxd1 Qa5 23.a4 Qb4 24.g3 g6 25.Kg2 Kf8 26.Qd3 Qb7 27.Ng1 f5 28.f3 Ke8 29.Nh3 Qd7 30.Qxd7+ Kxd7 31.Nf2 Bd6 32.Nd3 Kc6 33.Kh3 a5 34.Kg2 Kd7 35.Kf2 Kc6 36.Ke2 Bc7 37.Nf2 Bd8 38.Nd1 Bg5 39.Nc3 Bc1 40.Nd1 Kd6 41.Kf1 Bd2 42.Ke2 Bc1 43.Kf1 Bd2 44.Kg2 Ke7 45.Kh3 Kd6 46.Nf2 Be3 47.Nd3 Bg5 48.Kg2 Be3 49.Kh3 Bg5 50.Kg2 Be3 51.g4 Bg5 52.Kg3 f4+ 53.Kf2 Bd8 54.Kg2 g5 55.Kh1 Bc7 56.Kg1 Kc6 57.Kf1 Bd6 58.Ke1 Bc7 59.Kd1 Bd6 60.Kc1 Bc7 61.Kb1 Bd6 62.Ka1 Bc7 63.Ka2 Bd6 64.Kb2 Bc7 65.Kc2 Bd6 66.Kd2 Bc7 67.Ke2 Bd6 68.Kf2 Bc7 69.Kg2 Bd6 70.Nf2 Be7 71.Nh1 Bd6 72.Kh3 Be7 73.Nf2 Bd6 74.Nd1 Be7 75.Nc3 Bd6 76.Nb5 Be7 77.Na7+ Kb7 78.Nb5 Kc6 79.Kg2 Bf8 80.Na3 Bd6 81.Nc2 Bc7 82.Na1 Bd6 83.Kh1 Bc7 84.Kg2 Bd6 85.Kf1 Bc7 86.Ke2 Bd6 87.Kd1 Bc7 88.Kc2 Bd8 89.Kc1 Bc7 90.Nc2 Bd6 91.Kb2 Be7 92.Ne1 Bd6 93.Ka3 Be7 94.Ka2 Bd6 95.Nd3 Bc7 96.Nf2 Bd6 97.Ka1 Be7 98.Kb2 Bd6 99.Kb1 Be7 100.Kc2 Bd6 101.Kd3 Be7 102.Ke2 Bd6 103.Kf1 Be7 104.h3 Bd6 105.Kg2 Be7 106.Nd3 Bd6 107.Kf2 Bc7 108.Ke2 Bd6 109.Kd2 Bc7 110.Kc2 Bd6 111.Kb2 Bc7 112.Ka2 Bd6 113.Ka1 Bc7 114.Kb1 Bd6 115.Kc1 Bc7 116.Kd1 Bd6 117.Ke1 Bc7 118.Kf1 Bd6 119.Kg1 Bc7 120.Kh1 Bd6 121.Nc1 Bc7 122.Na2 Bd6 123.Nc3 Be7 124.Nb5 Bf8 125.Na7+ Kb7 126.Nb5 Kc6 127.Kg1 Be7 128.Kf1 Bf8 129.Ke1 Be7 130.Kd1 Bf8 131.Kc1 Be7 132.Na3 Bd6 133.Nc2 Be7 134.Kd2 Bd6 135.Ke2 Be7 136.Kf2 Bd6 137.Kg2 Be7 138.Kh2 Bd6 139.Na1 Be7 140.Nc2 Bd6 141.Ne1 Be7 142.Nd3 Bd6 143.Nb2 Be7 144.Kh1 Bd6 145.Kg2 Be7 146.Nd1 Bd6 147.Nf2 Be7 148.Kg1 Bd6 149.Kh1 Be7 150.Kg2 Bd6 151.Kh2 Be7 152.Nd3 Bd6 153.h4 h6 154.Kh3 Bc7 155.Kg2 Bd6 156.Kf1 Bc7 157.Kg2 Bd6 158.Ne1 Be7 159.Kh3 Bd6 160.Kh2 Be7 161.Ng2 Bd8 162.Kh3 Be7 163.Kh2 Bd8 164.Kh3 Be7 165.h5 Bd8 166.Kh2 Be7 167.Kh1 Bd8 168.Kg1 Be7 169.Kf1 Bd8 170.Ke1 Be7 171.Kd1 Bd6 172.Kc1 Be7 173.Kb1 Bd6 174.Ka1 Be7 175.Ne1 Bd6 176.Nd3 Bc7 177.Nf2 Bd6 178.Nh3 Be7 179.Ka2 Kd6 180.Kb2 Kc6 181.Kc2 Kd6 182.Kd2 Kc6 183.Ke2 Kd6 184.Kf2 Kc6 185.Kg2 Kd6 186.Kh2 Kc6 187.Nf2 Bd6 188.Nd3 Bc7 189.Kh3 Bd6 190.Kg2 Bc7 191.Kf1 Bd6 192.Ke2 Bc7 193.Kd1 Bd6 194.Kc2 Bc7 195.Kb1 Bd6 196.Ka2 Bc7 197.Kb2 Bd6 198.Kc1 Bc7 199.Kc2 Bd6 200.b4 cxb4 201.Kb3 Bc7 202.c5 Bb8 203.Kc4 Bc7 204.Nc1 Bd8 205.Nb3 Bc7 206.Kd3 Bd8 207.Ke2 Bc7 208.Kf1 Bd8 209.Kg2 Bc7 210.Kh1 Bd8 211.Kh2 Bc7 212.Kg1 Bd8 213.Kf2 Bc7 214.Ke1 Bd8 215.Kd2 Bc7 216.Kc1 Bd8 217.Kb2 Bc7 218.Ka1 Bd8 219.Ka2 Bc7 220.Kb1 Bd8 221.Kc2 Bc7 222.Kd1 Bd8 223.Ke2 Bc7 224.Kd3 Bd8 225.Kc4 Bc7 226.Nc1 Bd8 227.Nd3 Bc7 228.Kb3 Bb8 229.Ka2 Bc7 230.Ka1 Bb8 231.Ka2 Bc7 232.Kb1 Bb8 233.Kc2 Bc7 234.Kb2 Bb8 235.Kc1 Bc7 236.Kd1 ½-1/2

Position after White’s 150.Kg2



Position after White’s 200.b4



I have to have sympathy for the arbiter watching this. This is what Howell tweeted afterwards:

- I resisted the temptation to tweet about the standard of arbiters at the European Team Champs but today’s experience at the Euro Club Cup was even worse. Being shouted at aggressively, simply because I asked him to stop breathing down my neck (literally), was most unpleasant.

Comments by his compatriots on the EC Forum:

- The game Howell v Harikrishna in round 3 is one for masochists; currently on move 197, and it's 167 moves since the last capture.

- Isn't the arbiter supposed to declare the game a draw at 75 moves if the one of the players hasn't already claimed?

- There have been pawn moves though. David has now made the only possible try, 200 b4

- With any pawn moves left for White blockaded, Black will presumably claim the draw at around move 252.

- That's still one of the longest ever, no? And if we include only longplay games....

- Just noticed that Howell v Harikrishna from last year's European Club Cup, also in round 3, went a mere 85 moves, with David eventually winning.

- "On the face of it, David Howell did an awful lot of messing around in that game, but maybe it was with a view to gaining time on the increment, so as to be able to have a good think at critical points."

- In the good old days, you did that to reach time-control, now it's to get extra time.

- Did his opponent set a world record for the number of consecutive moves with the same piece, I wonder? I'm too idle to (a) count the consecutive moves and (b) try to find it on (presumably) Tim Krabbe's website. (Sorry about missing accent.) It must have been handy having all those bishop moves on the right side of the board and near the clock!

Leonard Barden - Seems it's the fourth longest game in chess history, and would have been No2 if they had made another four moves....

https://www.chess.com/article/view/t...mes-in-history

Added on Nov. 14:

From Peter Doggers

https://www.chess.com/news/view/2019...ll-harikrishna

The third round was marked by the game between David Howell and Pentala Harikrishna, the top boards for their teams Valerenga of Norway and Novy Bor of the Czech Republic respectively. (Note that last year's top board for Valerenga, a certain Magnus Carlsen, is not playing this year.)

The Howell-Hari game was special for its sheer length: 236 moves! At move 54 the following endgame was reached. Howell was forced to play a pawn on move 104, to avoid the 50-move rule. On move 153 he played another pawn move, then on move 165 another one and then on move 200 "action" started, after White had played his king back and forth to the queen- and kingside several times. A most curious game.

According to Tim Krabbé's list only three games in history lasted longer. Using the TWIC database, this author found one more: Felber-Lapshun, New York 1998 (238 moves).

The longest chess game in history, played over the board by humans, is still Ivan Nikolic vs. Goran Arsovic, Belgrade 1989 in which the infamous RB vs. R endgame appeared at a time when one still had 100 moves without captures to try and win it, instead of 50. Arsovic held the draw, by the way.

Chess.com reached out to Howell. His comment:

"Yes, I understand the game looks odd. Guess it's just my warped sense of chess enjoyment. At first I was playing on so that our board six, a young player (17-year-old IM Tor Fredrik Kaasen) didn't feel alone. But then I realised it's very rare to get the chance to go for 200 moves, so I couldn't resist continuing.

"I'm just annoyed at myself for not going for the world record (which would have been easily attainable if I hadn't pushed h5 or b4 so soon and then scrificed my knight on c7)..."

[Wayne Komer]

Games from Recent Events

November 17, 2019

From the European Club Cup, who could not want to play over this game after reading the following description? And who would not feel some sympathy for the loser?

Nick Faulks - Therein lies a story, and yet another example of Gawain's amazing resourcefulness. He was busted, playing essentially a piece down, but found chances which led to perpetual check. His opponent, short of time, tried too hard to escape and got mated. A great result when I think many players, including really good ones, might have gone down without a fight.

https://www.ecforum.org.uk/viewtopic...3b9852#p237318


European Club Cup 2019
Mednyi Vsadnik – Obiettivo Risarcimento
Round 6, Board 5, Nov. 15
Rodshtein, Maxim – Jones, Gawain
E87 Grunfeld, Exchange, Spassky variation

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 d5 4.cxd5 Nxd5 5.e4 Nxc3 6.bxc3 Bg7 7.Bc4 c5 8.Ne2 O-O 9.O-O Nc6 10.Be3 b6 11.Rc1 Bb7 12.Qd2 Qd7 13.Bb5 Rad8 14.d5 Qc7 15.Bxc6 Bxc6 16.Bh6 e6 17.Bxg7 Kxg7 18.c4 exd5 19.cxd5 Bb7 20.Rfd1 Qe7 21.f3 Kg8 22.Nf4 Qe5 23.a4 Rd6 24.Nd3 Qd4+ 25.Kh1 f5 26.Qa2 Qg7 27.a5 g5 28.a6 Ba8 29.Nb2 fxe4 30.Nc4 Rdf6 31.fxe4 Rf2 32.Qa1 Qg6 33.Re1 Qh5 34.Ne5 R8f4 35.Qc3 g4 36.Kg1 Ra2 37.Ra1 Raf2 38.Rac1 Ra2 39.Ra1 Raf2 40.Rad1 Ra2 41.Rf1 Rxe4 42.Nd7 Rxg2+ 43.Kxg2 Re2+ 44.Rf2 Bxd5+ 45.Kg1 Rxf2 46.Kxf2 Qxh2+ 47.Ke1 Bf3 48.Qc4+ Kg7 49.Qc3+ Kg8 50.Nf6+ Kf7 51.Rd7+ Kg6 52.Rg7+ Kf5 53.Qd3+ Kxf6 54.Rxh7 Qg1+ 55.Kd2 Qd1+ 56.Kc3 Qc1+ 0-1

Final Position





A possible line:

(56...Qc1+ 57.Qc2 Qxc2+ 58.Kxc2 Be4+ 59.Kd2 Bxh7 60.Ke2 c4 61.Kd2 Ke5 62.Ke2 c3 63.Ke3 Be4 64.Ke2 Kf4 65.Kf2 Bf3 66.Ke1 g3 67.Kf1 c2 68.Kg1 c1=Q#)


And the icing on the cake:

The board list is also showing Gawain (5/6) as the Board 5 individual gold medallist. And his team, Obiettivo Risarcimento Padova ended in first place.

[Wayne Komer]

Games from Recent Events

November 17, 2019

From ChessBase.com

We would like to show you a game that happened between the leaders Obiettivo Risarcimento Padova and Team Vugar Gashimov. It was the fifth board clash between Ivan Saric with white and Aydin Suleymanli with Black. Saric is a world-class GM from Croatia. His opponent Suleymanli is one of the brightest young talents of Azerbaijan chess, who recently won the gold medal at the World Youth under-14. Quite a lot was at stake on this game as the score was 3:2 in favour of the Italian team when the game reached the endgame.

Position after White’s 36.fxe3



Let's take stock of this position. White has a pawn and a minor piece for a rook. But look at his pawns. Aren't they hideous? Well, they look ugly, but the h4 pawn is fantastic passed pawn and the knight is well-placed on f6. Black on the other hand has a nice structure, but his g4 pawn is slightly weak, and he has absolutely no control on the dark squares. All in all the position is dynamically even.

In the following position, White is quite bit of material down! But he has managed to trap the rook on h8 and also the central pawns are free to move!

Position after 51.Bg8



Black loses but a brilliant game by both sides! (ChessBase)

https://en.chessbase.com/post/an-ama...-club-cup-2019


European Club Cup 2019
O.R. Padova – Vugar Gashimov
Round 5, Board 5, Nov. 14
Saric, Ivan – Suleymanli, Aydin
C18 French, Winawer, Advance variation

1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.e5 c5 5.a3 Bxc3+ 6.bxc3 Qa5 7.Bd2 Qa4 8.Qg4 Kf8 9.Qd1 Ne7 10.Qb1 c4 11.Ne2 Nbc6 12.Nf4 b6 13.Nh5 Bd7 14.Qc1 Rg8 15.h4 Ke8 16.Rh3 Kd8 17.Rf3 Kc7 18.g3 Raf8 19.Bh3 Be8 20.Nf4 Bd7 21.Kf1 Kb7 22.Kg1 Nf5 23.Rb1 Nce7 24.Rb4 Qc6 25.Ng2 h5 26.Nf4 f6 27.Qe1 g5 28.Nxh5 g4 29.Rxf5 Nxf5 30.Bg2 fxe5 31.dxe5 a5 32.Rb1 Qc5 33.Nf6 Rg7 34.Be3 Nxe3 35.Qxe3 Qxe3 36.fxe3 Ba4 37.Rc1 b5 38.e4 d4 39.cxd4 b4 40.axb4 axb4 41.Bf1 Rc8 42.Rb1 b3 43.c3 Kb6 44.h5 Bb5 45.h6 Ra7 46.h7 Rh8 47.Be2 Ra2 48.Bxg4 Rc2 49.Bxe6 b2 50.Rxb2 Rxb2 51.Bg8 Rc2 52.Nd5+ Ka5 53.e6 Bc6 54.e7 Ka4 55.Nb6+ Kb3 56.d5 Bb5 57.d6 Rd2 58.Nxc4 Rd1+ 59.Kf2 Kxc3 60.Na3 Be8 61.e5 Kd4 62.e6 Ke5 63.Nc4+ Kf6 64.g4 Rd5 65.d7 Rxd7 66.exd7 Bxd7 67.Nb6 Kxe7 68.Nxd7 Kxd7 69.Kg3 Ke7 70.Kh4 Kf6 71.Kh5 1-0

[Wayne Komer]

Games from Recent Events

January 3, 2020

The Ten Best Games of 2019

Lists are being made for the best games of 2019.

This one from chess.com, with the games.

https://www.chess.com/news/view/the-...19#Gunina-Sebg


10th: Gunina-Sebag (Cairns Cup)
9th: Dubov-Giri (Moscow Grand Prix)
8th: Carlsen-Ding (Sinquefield Cup)
7th: Grischuk-Vachier-Lagrave (Riga Grand Prix)
6th: Anton-Grischuk (FIDE Chess.com Grand Swiss)
5th: Mchedlishvili-Rathnakaran (Goa Open)
4th: Moiseenko-Korley,(Xtracon Open)
3rd: Saric-Suleymanli (European Club Cup)
2nd: Dubov-Svane (European Team Championship)
1st: Firouzja vs Karthikeyan (Asian Continental)

10 Cairns Cup, St. Louis, MO
Round 5, Feb. 10, 2019
Gunina, Valentina – Sebag, Marie
B90 Sicilian

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Nb3 e6 7.g4 b5 8.g5 Nfd7 9.Bg2 Bb7 10.f4 Nc6 11.h4 Nb6 12.Qg4 b4 13.Ne2 Nc4 14.O-O a5 15.c3 e5 16.fxe5 dxe5 17.Qf3 Qc7 18.cxb4 Nxb4 19.Nc3 a4 20.Nb5 Qd7 21.Bh3 Qxb5 22.Qxf7+ Kd8 23.g6 h6 24.Bxh6 gxh6 25.Rad1+ Nd5 26.g7 Bxg7 27.Qxg7 axb3 28.Rf7 Qc5+ 29.Kh2 Ke8 30.Rf8+ 1-0

- Who needs Tal when you have a smoking Gun-ina?
- Game of the tournament! Now this is what I call chess

For more comments on the game, see:

https://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1944888

9 Moscow Grand Prix, Moscow, RUS
Round 1, May 18, 2019
Dubov, Daniil – Giri, Anish
D44 QGD, Semi-Slav, Botvinnik System

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.Bg5 dxc4 5.e4 b5 6.a4 c6 7.Nc3 b4 8.Nb1 Ba6 9.e5 h6 10.Bxf6 gxf6 11.exf6 c5 12.Nbd2 c3 13.bxc3 bxc3 14.Ne4 cxd4 15.Bb5+ Bxb5 16.axb5 Qd5 17.Qxd4 Qxb5 18.Nxc3 Bb4 19.O-O-O Qa5 20.Nb5 Na6 21.Qd7+ Kf8 22.Kb1 Ba3 23.Rd3 Qb4+ 24.Kc2 Qa4+ 25.Kd2 Bb4+ 26.Ke2 Kg8 27.Ne5 Qc2+ 28.Kf3 Rf8 29.Rhd1 h5 30.Qd4 Rh7 31.Qf4 Bc5 32.Nd4 Qa2 33.R1d2 Qd5+ 34.Ke2 Bb4 35.Ndc6 Qc5 36.Ne7+ Kh8 1-0

- There's another book out there, <Bobby Fischer's Outrageous Chess Moves> by Bruce Pandolfini. The physiogonomical resemblance between Dubov and the teenage Fischer being so marked, that, if one were so minded, the possibility of reincarnation cannot be ruled out.

- Did Dubov say what he had planned against <19...Qb6>? I think it was probably still <20.Nb5>.
Now after <20...Qxd4> white can get a good game with 21.Nc7+ Kd7 22.Rxd4+ Kxc7 23.Rxb4 but I think he'd have chosen instead to keep up the pressure with <21.Rxd4 Na6 22.Ne5>>

Yeah, he actually mentioned in an interview at the studio after the game that he planned Nb5 after 19...Qb6 as well, though without giving variations

https://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1956850

8 Sinquefield Cup, St. Louis, MO
Round 15, August 29, 2019
Blitz Playoff
Carlsen, Magnus – Ding, Liren
C84 Ruy Lopez, Closed

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O Be7 6.d3 b5 7.Bb3 d6 8.c3 Na5 9.Bc2 c5 10.d4 cxd4 11.cxd4 O-O 12.h3 Re8 13.d5 Bd7 14.Nc3 Qb8 15.Bd3 Rc8 16.Ne2 Nb7 17.g4 Nc5 18.Ng3 Nxd3 19.Qxd3 b4 20.Re1 Qb5 21.Qd1 Rc7 22.Be3 Rac8 23.Nd2 g6 24.b3 Qb7 25.Nc4 Bb5 26.Na5 Qb8 27.Qd2 Rc3 28.a3 bxa3 29.Nc6 Bxc6 30.Qxc3 Bxd5 31.Qa5 Bxe4 32.g5 Ba8 33.Qxa6 Nd5 34.Ba7 Qc7 35.Rec1 Qxc1+ 36.Rxc1 Rxc1+ 37.Kh2 Bc6 38.Qxa3 Bxg5 39.Qxd6 Bf4 40.Bc5 Ne7 0-1

Ding equalized comfortably as Black in the Spanish and then put pressure along the c-file. Carlsen complicated matters as expected, and a slugfest was underway. In wild complications, Ding kept his cool and gave up material for the initiative. Carlsen risked more, but Ding was ready. He gave up his queen and made good use of Carlsen's weakened position in what may be the best blitz game of the year!

https://www.chess.com/news/view/the-...9#Carlsen-Ding

7 Riga Grand Prix, Riga LAT
Round 3, July 19, 2019
Grischuk, Alexander – MVL
E60 King’s Indian Defence

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.h4 c5 4.d5 b5 5.cxb5 a6 6.e3 Bg7 7.Nc3 O-O 8.Nf3 d6 9.a4 Bg4 10.Ra3 axb5 11.Bxb5 Na6 12.e4 Nb4 13.Be2 Nd7 14.O-O Qb6 15.Re1 Qb7 16.Bg5 Bxf3 17.gxf3 Ne5 18.Rf1 c4 19.b3 Rfc8 20.Bd2 Nbd3 21.f4 Qb4 22.Nb1 c3 23.fxe5 Nb2 24.Qc2 cxd2 25.Qxb2 Qxe4 26.Qxd2 Rc2 27.Qd3 Rxe2 28.Qxe4 Rxe4 29.exd6 exd6 30.Nd2 Rg4+ 31.Kh1 Rxh4+ 32.Kg2 Rd4 33.Nf3 Rg4+ 34.Kh3 Rb4 35.Rb1 Rc8 36.Kg2 Rc3 37.Ng1 Rc2 38.Nf3 Rg4+ 39.Kf1 Rf4 40.Kg2 Rg4+ 41.Kf1 Rf4 42.Kg2 g5 43.Rf1 Rg4+ 44.Kh1 Rc3 45.Rg1 Rf4 46.Nh2 Rxf2 47.Rxg5 Rcc2 0-1

- 3 h4? moves a pawn in the opening and makes an attacking move hardly justified by any advantage.
However Grischuk may have prepared this, and this suggests that it is not so easy for Black to make White's loss of tempo count.

Vachier Lagrave does however find a way to make it count.
He plays 3...c5! and now because of White's loss of tempo on h4 Black has taken over the advantages of the first move in a Reti opening reversed.
He transposes into a Benko gambit with an extra move, plays with sufficient knowledge and skill ( and that means masterly knowledge and skill) in order to make his attacking prospects count, and prevails not at once or even quickly but only eventually.

The White h pawn falls in the end.

This suggests that the way for Black to make count the move 3 h4? does not have to be immediate or obvious and in that case it may appear to gain the advantage or win if Black does not find the best course.

https://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1967483

6 Isle of Man Grand Swiss, Douglas IMN
Round 8, Oct. 18, 2019
Anton, David – Grischuk, Alexander
A20 English, Kingside Fianchetto

1.c4 e5 2.g3 Nf6 3.Bg2 Bc5 4.Nc3 c6 5.Nf3 e4 6.Nh4 d5 7.cxd5 cxd5 8.d3 Ng4 9.O-O g5 10.d4 Be7 11.h3 Nxf2 12.Rxf2 gxh4 13.Qb3 hxg3 14.Rf4 Nc6 15.Qxd5 f5 16.Bxe4 fxe4 17.Qh5+ Kd7 18.Be3 Qg8 19.d5 Nd8 20.Nxe4 Qg6 21.Qe5 Nf7 22.Rxf7 Qxf7 23.Rc1 Rf8 24.Bg5 1-0

- The plan with 11...Nh6 followed by 12...Ng8 is so slow, White should think about how to sacrifice a piece.
I think the answer is 11...Nh6 <12. Qb3> Ng8 <13. Qxd5!> gxh4 14. Qe5 with huge complications, but White has two pawns and a big lead in development for the piece.

they fought like gladiators, fearless to die..

- chess should be played like this one.

https://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1976606

5 Second Goa Open, Taleigao, IND
Round 3, June 19, 2019
Mchedlishvili, Mikhei – Rathnakaran, K.
A27 English, Three Knights System

1.c4 e5 2.Nc3 Nc6 3.Nf3 f5 4.g3 Nf6 5.d4 e4 6.Nh4 d5 7.Bg5 Bb4 8.cxd5 Nxd5 9.Bxd8 Nxc3 10.Qb3 Nxe2+ 11.Kd1 Nexd4 12.Qe3 Be6 13.Bg5 h6 14.Bf6 gxf6 15.Kc1 O-O-O 16.Bh3 Bc5 17.Bxf5 Nxf5 18.Qxc5 Nxh4 19.gxh4 Rd4 20.b3 Rhd8 21.Rb1 Bg4 22.Kb2 Nb4 23.Ka1 b6 24.Qc3 c5 25.a3 Nd5 26.Qc1 h5 27.Rg1 Rd3 28.Qc4 Rd4 29.Qc1 Rd3 30.b4 Nc3 31.Qb2 Nxb1 32.Rxb1 Rf3 33.bxc5 Rdd3 34.Qb5 Rxa3+ 35.Kb2 Bd7 36.Qc4 Ra4 37.Qg8+ Kb7 38.Rd1 Rxf2+ 39.Kb3 Rf3+ 40.Kb2 Rb4+ 41.Kc1 Rc3+ 42.Kd2 Rxc5 43.Ke1 Ba4 44.Qf7+ Rc7 45.Qd5+ Bc6 46.Qxh5 Rg7 47.Rd6 Rb2 0-1

https://www.365chess.com/game.php?gid=4200296

- Mikheil Mchedlishvili is an Olympic player for Georgia while his opponent is a strong Indian IM, who is nicknamed Indian Tal. Rathnakaran K was relatively unknown at the global level but not anymore. If you think my compatriot's nickname is unwarranted, please check for yourself!

In this game, Rathnakaran doesn't go for the normal recapture and gives up his queen on move eight! He gains tremendous compensation in terms of development advantage, activity and initiative. His play is far from perfect, but the energy and style in which Black plays are sure to leave a smile on your face! (Chess.com)

[Wayne Komer]

Games from Recent Events

January 3, 2020

The Ten Best Games of 2019 (continued)

4 Xtracon Open, Helsingor, DEN
Round 4, July 22, 2019
Moiseenko, Alexander – Korley, Kassa
D35 QGD, Exchange, positional line

1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.cxd5 exd5 5.Bg5 c6 6.e3 Bd6 7.Bd3 O-O 8.Qc2 h6 9.Bh4 Re8 10.Nge2 a5 11.h3 Na6 12.a3 Nc7 13.O-O Ne6 14.f3 Ng5 15.e4 Nfxe4 16.fxe4 Nxh3+ 17.gxh3 Qxh4 18.Rf2 Bxh3 19.Rd1 Re5 20.dxe5 Bc5 21.Nd4 Bxd4 22.Rd2 Qg3+ 23.Kh1 Bg4 24.Bf1 Bf3+ 25.Bg2 Qh3+ 0-1

Danish-American IM Kassa Korley scored a sensational win over seasoned campaigner Alexander Moiseenko of Ukraine at the Xtracon Open in Denmark. In this game, Korley played an idea that two others had already played, including himself!

Korley's knights maneuver majestically to blow up White's kingside. He then shows no mercy to his former-2700 opponent and mates in 25 moves! (chess.com)

https://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1968792

3 European Club Cup. Ulcinj, MNE
Round 5, November 14, 2019
Saric, Ivan – Suleymanli, Aydin
C18 French, Winawer, Advance variation

1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.e5 c5 5.a3 Bxc3+ 6.bxc3 Qa5 7.Bd2 Qa4 8.Qg4 Kf8 9.Qd1 Ne7 10.Qb1 c4 11.Ne2 Nbc6 12.Nf4 b6 13.Nh5 Bd7 14.Qc1 Rg8 15.h4 Ke8 16.Rh3 Kd8 17.Rf3 Kc7 18.g3 Raf8 19.Bh3 Be8 20.Nf4 Bd7 21.Kf1 Kb7 22.Kg1 Nf5 23.Rb1 Nce7 24.Rb4 Qc6 25.Ng2 h5 26.Nf4 f6 27.Qe1 g5 28.Nxh5 g4 29.Rxf5 Nxf5 30.Bg2 fxe5 31.dxe5 a5 32.Rb1 Qc5 33.Nf6 Rg7 34.Be3 Nxe3 35.Qxe3 Qxe3 36.fxe3 Ba4 37.Rc1 b5 38.e4 d4 39.cxd4 b4 40.axb4 axb4 41.Bf1 Rc8 42.Rb1 b3 43.c3 Kb6 44.h5 Bb5 45.h6 Ra7 46.h7 Rh8 47.Be2 Ra2 48.Bxg4 Rc2 49.Bxe6 b2 50.Rxb2 Rxb2 51.Bg8 Rc2 52.Nd5+ Ka5 53.e6 Bc6 54.e7 Ka4 55.Nb6+ Kb3 56.d5 Bb5 57.d6 Rd2 58.Nxc4 Rd1+ 59.Kf2 Kxc3 60.Na3 Be8 61.e5 Kd4 62.e6 Ke5 63.Nc4+ Kf6 64.g4 Rd5 65.d7 Rxd7 66.exd7 Bxd7 67.Nb6 Kxe7 68.Nxd7 Kxd7 69.Kg3 Ke7 70.Kh4 Kf6 71.Kh5 1-0

https://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1980288

Saric started with a side line in the French Winawer. A typical fight ensued with the position being closed but with plenty of tactical possibilities. Saric sacrificed some material and then some more. On move 51, the position imbalance was bishop, knight and six pawns for White versus two rooks, bishop and a pawn for Black. Saric then played beautifully (but Black missed a draw on move 65)—a spectacular game with high instructive value. (chess.com)

2 European Team Championship, Batumi, GEO
Round 7, Oct. 31, 2019
Dubov, Daniil – Svane, Rasmus

1.c4 e6 2.Nc3 d5 3.d4 Nf6 4.Nf3 Be7 5.Bf4 O-O 6.e3 b6 7.Qc2 Ba6 8.O-O-O dxc4 9.Ng5 Nc6 10.a3 g6 11.h4 Bd6 12.g3 Qe7 13.h5 e5 14.hxg6 hxg6 15.Bg2 exf4 16.Bxc6 fxg3 17.Kb1 Rad8 18.f4 Bc8 19.Rde1 Kg7 20.Nd5 Nxd5 21.Rh7+ Kg8 22.Rxf7 Rxf7 23.Qxg6+ Kf8 24.Qh6+ Rg7 25.Bxd5 Ke8 26.Qh5+ Kd7 27.Qh3+ Ke8 28.Qh5+ Kd7 29.Be6+ Kc6 30.Qf3+ Kb5 31.Bxc4+ Ka5 32.Qd5+ Bc5 33.b4+ Ka4 34.Qg2 Bxb4 35.Qc6+ Kxa3 36.Bb3 Bd7 37.Qc1+ Kxb3 38.Qc2+ Ka3 39.Qa2# 1-0

- How many times did white offer his bishop? Amazing!
- The black king’s wanderings on the queenside remind me a little of that Kasparov-Topalov piece of fluff.
- Wow. This is inSvane!

- from a chess magazine advert---

That other inspiration of Magnus Carlsen, his friend Russian dare-devil GM Danill Dubov, annotates his fantastic win against Rasmus Svane at the European Team Championship. Dubov writes, tongue-in-cheek: it’s my favourite kind of game: two strong players have no idea what is going on and neither do a very big number of so-called experts. Mikhail Tal would have liked the fireworks!

1 Asian Continental, Xingtai, CHN
Round 5, June 11, 2019
Firouzja, Alireza – Karthikeyan, Murali
E71 King’s Indian, Makagonov System

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.h3 O-O 6.Be3 c5 7.Nf3 Qa5 8.Nd2 cxd4 9.Nb3 Qxc3+ 10.bxc3 dxe3 11.f3 Nh5 12.Qc1 Bh6 13.g4 Nf4 14.Kd1 Ne6 15.Kc2 Nc6 16.h4 Bf4 17.Qd1 Ne5 18.Nc1 Bd7 19.a4 Rac8 20.Ne2 Bh6 21.g5 Bg7 22.Bh3 Nxf3 23.Qd3 Ne5 24.Qxe3 Nxc4 25.Qf2 Rc5 26.Rhb1 Bc6 27.Bg2 f5 28.gxf6 Bxf6 29.Rf1 Bxc3 30.Qxc5 Nxc5 31.Rxf8+ Kxf8 32.Kxc3 Ne5 33.a5 Nxe4+ 34.Bxe4 Bxe4 35.Nd4 Bd5 36.Nb5 a6 37.Nc7 Bc6 38.Rf1+ Kg7 39.Ne6+ Kh6 40.Rf8 Kh5 41.Rh8 h6 42.Rh7 Kxh4 43.Rxh6+ Kg4 44.Nd4 Kg5 45.Rh2 Bd5 46.Re2 Kf4 47.Rf2+ Nf3 48.Re2 e5 49.Nc2 Be4 50.Ne3 d5 51.Kb4 Nd4 52.Re1 Kf3 0-1

- From the novelty 9... Qxc3+!! til 32... Ne5 -+, what a game by Murayi Karthikeyan

- This game seems to have gone under the radar for most. Nevertheless, Murali played the game of his life here. Not easy to see where Firouzja went wrong.

- WHAT A GAME, holy moley!

- Amazing game with an amazing bit of trivia--White's move 8.Nd2 does not appear in the CG database, so if it is a true innovation, then Karthikeyan found the Queen sacrifice *over the board!* However, the variation might have been known to the pros. Doesn't really matter, still quite mind-blowing.

- If 9...Qx3+ is indeed found to be sound, this could be the game of the century so far.

https://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1964305

The best games of 2018 are at:

https://forum.chesstalk.com/forum/ch...-events/page12

See post #175

_________

Later: Game of the year (2019) -

The vote for the "Game of the Year" was close. 26% of all voters liked the intuitive queen sacrifice best with which the Indian Grandmaster Karthikeyan Murali had won against Alireza Firouzja at the Open Asian Championships 2019. 22% of the voters favoured Dubov's creative win against Anish Giri at the FIDE Grand Prix in Moscow 2019.