长城 (The Great Wall)

Nils Axel Grandelius – 李超 (Lǐ Chāo)
4th Altibox Norway Chess; Stavanger, April 27, 2016
Caro-Kann B16

Nobody ever says a word about how 李超 (Lǐ Chāo) used to spend his free days in Stavanger. Did you notice that? 1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 dxe4 4. Nxe4 Nf6 5. Nxf6+ gxf6!? The Bronstein-Larsen Variation. My friend Doriano Tocchioni should be very happy that his ancient sword is not yet hung on the wall. 6. c3 Bf5 7. Nf3 Nd7 8. g3 Qc7 9. Bg2 e6 10. Nh4 Bg6 11. Bf4. An anthologic miniature is 11. 0-0 0-0-0 12. Qe2 Bd6 13. Be3 f5 14. Bg5 Rde8 15. c4 c5 16. b4 cxd4 17. c5 Bf8 18. Rac1 Nb8 19. b5 Bg7 20. b6 1 : 0 Chiburdanidze – Borner, 24th Masters Tournament Open, Biel/Bienne 1991. 11. ... Bd6 12. Bxd6 Qxd6 13. 0-0 f5 14. b4 Nf6 15. a4 a6 16. Re1 0-0 17. a5 Rad8 18. Qc1. Black has no counterplay worth the opening variation, while White has got a very comfortable position, with much more space. That doesn’t mean, however, that the game is already won as Black’s position is fundamentally sound. 18. ... Kg7 19. Nf3 Nd7 20. Nd2 Qc7 21. Nc4 Rfe8 24. Re3 Nf6 25. Ne5 Ng4 26. Nxg4 Bxg4 27. Re5 Bh5 28. Bf1 Rd5 29. R5e3. Faithful to the rule to avoid exchanges with a space advantage. 29. ... Qe7 30. Bc4 Rdd8 31. Re5 Qg5 32. R1e3 Bg6 33. Bb3 Rd6 34. h4 Qf6 35. Re1 Red8 36. Qf4 Bh5 37. Kh2 Bg6 38. R1e3 h5 39. Re1 Bh7 40. Kg2 Qh6 41. Qg5+ Bg6 42. R5e3 R8d7 43. Kf1 Rd8 44. Ke2 R6d7 45. Kd2 Rd6 46. Kc1 R6d7 47. Kb2 Rd6. Black cannot but wait his opponent’s breakthrough; on the other hand, White must find a way to break in. 48. Bc4 Re8 49. Kb3 Rd7 50. Bf1 Qxg5 51. hxg5 Rh8 52. Bg2 Rdd8 53. Rh1 f6 54. gxf6+ Kxf6 55. Kc4 Ke7 56. Kc5 Bf7 57. Rh4 Kd7 58. Kb6 Kc8 59. Bf3 Kb8 60. Re1 Rh6 61. Re5 Rd6 62. Kc5 Kc7 63. Re1 Rd8 64. c4 Rh7 65. Reh1 Rdh8 66. Rb1 Be8 67. Re1 Bd7 68. Re5 Rh6

69. d5. Swedish Grandmaster pushes hard to win – maybe a bit impatiently. 69. ... exd5 70. cxd5 cxd5 71. Bxd5 b6+ 72. Kd4 bxa5 73. bxa5 Rb8 74. Bc4 Rb2 75. Rc5+ Kd6 76. Rd5+ Kc7 77. Rf4 Rc6 78. Rc5 Rd2+ 79. Kc3 Rxc5 80. Kxd2 Rxa5 81. Bf7 Kd6 82. Rd4+ Ke7 83. Bxh5 Re5 84. g4 fxg4 85. Bxg4 Bxg4 86. Rxg4 a5 87. Kc3 Rf5 88. Ra4 Rxf2 89. Rxa5 Rf3+ 90. Kb4 Rf4+ 91. Kb5 Rf5+ 92. Ka4 Rxa5+ 93. Kxa5 ½ : ½. A hard-fought draw! Bravo to both the outsiders for their combativity.

Nils Grandelius vs. 李超 (Lǐ Chāo)
Photo: 4th Altibox Norway Chess (‏@NorwayChess)