Kladdkaka

Jon Ludvig Nilssen Hammer – Nils Axel Grandelius
Altibox Norway Chess Qualifier; Fagernes, March 23, 2016
Queen’s Gambit Declined D38

1. c4 Nf6 2. Nc3 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. d4 Nbd7 5. cxd5 exd5 6. Bg5 Bb4 7. Nd2 c6 8. e3 Nf8 9. Bd3 Ng6 10. 0-0 0-0 11. f4. Aronian’s move. 11. ... h6 12. Bxf6 Qxf6 13. f5

13. ... Nh4!? Not 13. ... Ne7?? on account of 14. Nde4! dxe4 15. Nxe4 Qh4 16. g3 Qh3 17. Nf2 (Her Majesty is trapped) 17.. ... Qxf1+ 18. Kxf1 Nxf5 19. Qf3 Nd6 20. e4 with overwhelming advantage for White, Aronian – Mamedyarov, Candidates Tournament, Khanty-Mansiysk 2014. Another bad idea is 13. ... Nh8 14. Qc2 and if 14. ... Qd6 then 15. f6! getting Black into serious trouble. Probably best is 13. ... Qg5 in order to answer 14. Qe2 by 14. ... Nh4 with chances for both sides. 14. Qh5. Consistently committal. On the other hand, to give up the whole centre by 14. g3 Nxf5 15. Bxf5 Bxf5 16. g4 Qg5 17. Rxf5 Qxe3+ 18. Kg2 Qxd4 appears to be a very unsound decision. 14. ... Bxf5 15. Rxf5. This is a must, since 15. Bxf5 g6 16. Bxg6 fxg6 17. Rxf6 gxh5 18. Rxh6 Nf5 gives White no significant advantage. 15. ... Nxf5 16. Qxf5 Qxf5 17. Bxf5. Everything ended up in an unbalanced position in which White’s chances are infinitesimally better, but indeed nothing more. 17. ... Rae8 18. Kf2 g6 19. Bd3 Re6 20. g4 Rfe8 21. Re1 Be7 22. Nf3 Bg5 23. Nd1 Rf6 24. Kg2 Rfe6 25. Kf2 Rf6 26. Ke2 Rfe6 27. Kd2 Rf6 28. Ke2 Rfe6 29. Kd2 Rf6 30. Be2. Hammer doesn’t want to resign himself to a draw, but Black’s position appears impregnable, and in forcing matters hastily White can only hurts himself. 30. ... Rfe6 31. Bf1 Kg7 32. a3 Bd8 33. Bd3 Bc7 34. h4. “[Hammer] was in too much of a hurry to play h2-h4 and g4-g5. He had waited for it, he most likely would have kept the upper hand. Instead, after h2-h4 and g4-g5 it’s fairly easy to defend”, then Grandelius told Tarjei J. Svensen. 34. ... Rf6 35. Rf1 Ba5+ 36. Ke2 Bb6 37. g5 hxg5 38. hxg5 Rfe6 39. Ne5 R6e7 40. b4 Rxe5! Grandelius decides to play sharply and gives back the Exchange for emerging with three extra Pawn as a compensation for the minus Knight. 41. dxe5 Rxe5 42. Rg1 Bd8. The third Pawn is doomed. 43. Kf3 Bxg5 44. e4 Bc1! I’m quite sure that Bobby Fischer would handily win such an endgame, and so... c’mon Nils! 45. a4 Ba3 46. exd5 Rxd5 47. Bc4 Rf5+ 48. Ke4 Bxb4. Black has now four Pawns for the piece! 49. Rf1 b5 50. axb5 cxb5 51. Ne3 Rxf1 52. Bxf1 a6 53. Nd5 Bd6 54. Ne3 Kh6 55. Kd5 Bf4 56. Nc2 Bd2 57. Nd4 f5 58. Nxb5. A desperate attempt to seek salvation in an opposite coloured Bishop endgame with two Pawns less. I’m just not sure it’s the best thing for White. 58. ... axb5 59. Bxb5 Kg5 60. Ke6 f4 61. Kf7 f3 62. Bc6 f2 63. Bb5 Bc3 64. Bf1 Kh6 65. Be2 g5 66. Ke6 Kg6 67. Bd3+ Kh5 68. Kf5 Kh4 69. Be2 Bd2 70. Bf1 Kg3 71. Ke4 Kh2 72. Kd3 Kg1 73. Ke2 g4 0 : 1.

Jon Ludvig Nilssen Hammer vs. Nils Grandelius
Photo: Ingemar Falk