琵琶记 (Tale of the Pipa)

丁立人 (Dīng Lìrén) – Pyotr Veniaminovich Svidler
4th Sinquefield Cup; Saint Louis, August 11, 2016
King’s Indian Defence E60

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. g3 c5 4. d5 Bg7 5. Bg2 0-0 6. Nc3 d6 7. Nh3! Old wine in a new bottle. 7. ... a6 8. a4 e6!? The première ran as follows: 8. ... Nbd7 9. 0-0 Ne5 10. b3 Ne8 11. Bd2 b6 12. Qc1 Bd7 13. f4 Ng4 14. Ng5 Nc7 15. h3 Nh6 16. e4 f5 17. e5 dxe5 18. fxe5 Bxe5 19. Nf3 Bxc3 ½ : ½ R. Byrne – P. C. Benkö, 14th U.S. Chess Championship, New York 1961/1962. 9. Nf4 exd5 10. Nfxd5 Nxd5 11. Nxd5 Nc6 12. 0-0 Re8 13. Ra2 Rb8 14. b3 b5!? Very enterprising as usual. 15. axb5 axb5 16. cxb5 Nd4 17. b6 Be6 18. e3 Nb5 19. Bd2 Bxd5 20. Bxd5 Qxb6 21. Qf3. White achieved the better game without particular efforts. 21. ... Re7? A tactical hazard, after which Black falls into a very difficult situation. Such things often happen to Svidler, who is as gifted as lazy as impatient. Maybe he felt that ordinary measures such as 21. ... Rf8 22. Rc1 or 22. Rd1 would have left White an easy edge and less temptations to go astray.

22. Ba5 Qa7 23. Bd8 Rxd8. Sadly forced, for after 23. ... Qxa2 24. Bxe7 f7 collapses. 24. Rxa7 Rxa7. Rook and Knight might even compensate for the loss of Her Majesty, but the lack of coordination of Black’s forces and the precarity of the hanging c- and d-Pawns enhance the power of White’s Queen. 25. Bc4. It’s always so hard to guess what a Grandmaster’s gonna play! From the coffee drinkers’ point of view 25. h4 would appear so natural, but most likely – and most rightly! – White was not willing to give up either his Bishop or the diagonal a2-g8 after 25. ... Nc3 (and if 26. Bc4 then 26. ... d5). 25. ... Nc3 26. Qc6 d5 27. Bd3 Ra3 28. Qb6 Rc8 29. Kg2 Bf8 30. Rc1 Na2 31. Ra1 Bg7 32. Rb1 Nb4 33. Bb5 Bf8 34. e4! And, finally, a step forward towards the enemy’s fortress. 34. ... Raa8 35. Bf1 Rab8 36. Qa7 Ra8 37. Qb7 Rab8 38. Qa7. 丁立人 (Dīng Lìrén) just repeated moves to gain time on his clock. 38. ... Ra8 39. Qd7 c4. After a strenuous defence Svidler seem to lose his patience, so strong is the wish to keep away the Bishop from the diagonal a2-g8 – and possibly to gain the diagonal a7-g1 for his own Bishop. Whetever it is, the text appears to make things a bit easier for White. 40. bxc4 dxe4 41. Qb7 Nc6 42. Re1 Rab8 43. Qd7 Ne5 44. Qd5 Rc5 45. Qxe4 Rbc8 46. Rc1 R8c7 47. Be2 Rc8 48. f4 Nd7 49. Ra1 Nf6 50. Qf3 Re8 51. Ra8. The “epiphania” of a win which was builded brick by brick through cool nerves and steady technique. 51. ... Re6 52. Qd3! Kg7 53. Bf3! The Bishop is heading for the long aimed d5-square. 53. ... Rd6 54. Qc3. Threatening g3-g4-g5. 54. ... h5 55. h3 Kg8 56. Qb4 Nd7 57. Bd5 Rb6 58. Qd2 Rc7 59. f5! 1 : 0. 丁立人 (Dīng Lìrén) didn’t stop at 温州 (Wēnzhōu)!

丁立人 (Dīng Lìrén)
Photo: Lennart Ootes/Grand Chess Tour