Moving On

Wesley So – Rauf Mamedov
2nd Vugar Gashimov Memorial; Shamkir, April 20, 2015
Sicilian Defence B38

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 g6 5. c4 Nf6 6. Nc3 d6 7. f3 Bg7 8. Be3 0-0 9. Be2 Nh5 10. g3 Nxd4 11. Bxd4 Be6 12. f4 Nf6 13. 0-0 Rc8 14. b3 Qa5. Black starts to drift. 14. ... Bh3 15. Rf2 b6 looks sounder.

15. f5! Seizing the initiative. 15. ... Bd7. Clearly not 15. ... gxf5 16. exf5 Bxf5?? because of 17. b4+-. 16. a3 e6 17. b4 Qd8 18. fxg6 fxg6. 18. ... hxg6 19. e5± is quite similar to the game. 19. e5! dxe5 20. Bxe5 Bc6 21. b5 Ne4 22. Qxd8 Rcxd8. “He should have taken with the other Rook”, then So said, but even after 22. ... Rfxd8 23. bxc6! Nxc3 24. cxb7 Nxe2+ 25. Kg2 Rb8 26. Bxb8 Rxb8 27. Rad1 Nd4 28. Rb1 White stands better. 23. Rxf8+ Rxf8 24. Bxg7 Kxg7 25. Rc1 Nxc3 26. Rxc3 Bd7 27. c5. The material is even, but Black’s position is far from tenable due to White’s decisive Queenside majority. 27. ... Rc8 28. a4 Kf6 29. Kf2 Ke5 30. Ke3 Be8 31. Bf3 Rc7 32. Kd3 g5 33. Kc4 h5 34. a5 g4 35. b6! As they say, the win is only a matter of technique. 35. ... axb6 36. axb6 Rd7 37. Re3+ Kf6 38. c6 bxc6 39. Bxc6 Rd8 40. Bxe8 Rxe8 41. b7 1 : 0.

Wesley So
Photo: Shamkir Chess 2015