Stop and Stare

Jan-Krzysztof Duda – Francesco Rambaldi
54th World Junior Chess Championship; Khanty-Mansiysk, September 14, 2015
Pirc Defence B07

1. e4 d6 2. d4 Nf6 3. Bd3 e5 4. c3 Nc6 5. Nf3 Bg4 6. d5 Ne7 7. h3 Bd7 8. Bg5 Ng6 9. Nbd2. For 9. c4 Be7 10. Nc3 h6 11. Be3 0-0 12. Qd2 Nh5 see Abu Sufian – Mohammed Abdul, 32nd Bangladesh Chess Championship, Dhaka 2006. 9. ... Be7 10. h4 Ng4 11. g3 c6 12. Nc4 Qc7

13. h5 Bxg5? This is bad judgment if not bad luck. First 13. ... cxd5 14. exd5 (14. hxg6 is answered by 14. ... dxc4 15. Rxh7 Rf8 16. Bxe7 Kxe7 17. Bf1 fxg6! 18. Rxg7+ Kf6! 19. Rh7 Rh8!) 14. ... Bxg5 15. Nxg5 Ne7 was more to the point, although after 16. h6! Nxh6 17. Ne4 White keeps the initiative. 14. dxc6. Rambaldi evidently underestimated the strenght of this zwischenzug. 14. ... Qxc6 15. Nxg5 Ne7 16. Be2 Nc8 17. Bxg4. Very tempting – and apparently more energetic – is 17. Na5!, e.g. 17. ... Qb6 18. Bxg4 Bxg4 19. Qxg4 Qxa5 20. h6! with crushing effect. 17. ... Bxg4 18. Nxe5. Duda doesn’t want to take any risks and plays safely for staying inside his own “comfort zone”. Here 18. Qxg4 Qxc4 19. h6! was probably stronger. 18. ... Bxd1 19. Nxc6 Bxh5 20. Nd4 Bg6 21. 0-0-0 0-0. Francesco is already in serious time trouble, but he keeps defending stubbornly. 22. f3 Rd8 23. Rh2 h6. “Black miraculously maintained the material balance, and now he misses the last chance to put up a stubborn resistance: 23 ... Nb6! 24. Nb5 h6 25. Nh3 Nc4!. He chose instead to assume a passive defence, and Jan-Krzysztof gradually tightened the noose”, writes International Master Vladimir Barsky. 24. Nh3 f6 25. Nf4 Bf7 26. Nf5. Meanwhile Duda also got into grave time trouble. 26. ... Kf8 27. b3 a5 28. Kb2 Ra6 29. Nd4 Rd7 30. Rhd2 Rb6 31. c4 Na7 32. c5 Ra6 33. Nf5 Nc8 34. cxd6 Rc6 35. g4 a4 36. Nh5 axb3 37. axb3 g6. This hastens the end, but Black’s game was already past recovery. 38. Nxf6 Rd8 39. Nh7+ Kg8 40. Nxh6+ Kg7 41. Nxf7 Kxf7 42. Ng5+ Kf6 43. f4 1 : 0.

Jan-Krzysztof Duda vs. Francesco Rambaldi
Photo: Vladimir Barsky