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Wesley So – Samuel Sevian
59th U.S. Chess Championship, Saint Louis, April 3, 2015
Queen’s Gambit Declined D45

1. Nf3 d5 2. d4 Nf6 3. c4 e6 4. Nc3 c6 5. e3 Nbd7 6. Qc2 Bd6 7. Bd3 0-0 8. 0-0 dxc4 9. Bxc4 b5 10. Bd3 Bb7 11. a3 Rc8 12. Ng5 c5! Voted “Novelty of the Year” by New In Chess magazine in 2014. 13. Bxh7+. So successfully strives for improving on 13. Nxh7 Ng4! 14. f4 (14. h3) 14. ... cxd4 15. exd4 Bc5! as in the game Aronian – Anand, 75th Tata Steel Chess Tournament, Wijk aan Zee 2013. 13. ... Kh8 14. f4 g6 15. Bxg6 fxg6 16. Nxb5 Qe7? The right idea but in the wrong order of moves! Correct was 16. ... Bb8 17. Qxg6 Qe7 transposing to the game. 17. Qxg6? White misses his chance! He had to play 17. Nxd6 Qxd6 18. Qxg6 followed by e3-e4 and Rf1-f3-h3+ with a massacre. 17. ... Bb8 18. dxc5 Rxc5 19. Nd4 Rg8 20. Qh6+ Nh7 21. e4 Ndf6 22. b4 Rcxg5 23. fxg5 Be5

“White had to go 24. Nb3! with the possible lines 24. ... Bxe4 25. Ra2! Ng4 26. Qh5 Bxh2+ 27. Kh1 Bf5 28. Nd4 or 24. ... Bxa1?! 25. Nxa1 Nd7 26. g6. White’s chances are much more weighty in both the cases”, Grandmaster Andrey Deviatkin writes. 24. Bb2? “Neglecting the importance of the g5-Pawn which was a good cover for his King”, Deviatkin writes. 24. ... Ng4 25. Qh5? “The second bad move in succession leads to the loss; after the cold-blooded 25. Qh3 Rxg5 26. Rac1! the engines still say White is better”, Deviatkin writes. 25. ... Qxg5 26. Qh3. No better is 26. Qxg5 Nxg5 with an overwhelming advantage for Black. 26. ... Qe3+ 27. Qxe3 Nxe3 28. Rf2 Ng5 29. Kh1 Nc4 30. Bc3 Nxe4. “[...] White’s position collapsed. The 14 years old GM confidently converted his huge advantage”, Deviatkin writes. 31. Rf7 Nxc3 32. Rxb7 Bxd4 33. Rf1 Rg7 34. Rb8+ Kh7 35. g3 e5 36. Rff8 Ne3 37. h4 Ne4 38. Rh8+ Kg6 39. h5+ Kg5 40. h6 Rf7 41. h7 Rf1+ 0 : 1. Because of 42. Kh2 Ng4+ 43. Kh3 Rh1+ 44. Kg2 Rh2+ 45. Kf1 Ne3+ 46. Kg1 Rg2+ 47. Kh1 Nf2 mate. “It was a mistake, going for such a dangerous line without knowing all of the subtleties”, then So said.

Samuel Sevian
Photo: Lennart Ootes

Garry Kimovich Kasparov (@Kasparov63)