Quicker Than the Eye

Richárd Rapport – 韦奕 (Wéi Yì)
79th Tata Steel Chess Tournament; Wijk aan Zee, January 20, 2017
Russian Defence C42

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nxe5 d6 4. Nc4 Nxe4 5. Qe2 Qe7 6. Ne3 Be6 7. Nc3. Another try is 7. g3 Nc6 8. Bg2 Nf6 9. 0-0 Qd7 10. f4 g6 11. f5 gxf5 12. Nxf5 0-0-0 13. Ne3 Bg7 14. a4 d5 15. d3 h5 16. a5 a6 17. h4 Ng4 18. Nxg4 Bxg4 19. Qf2 Rde8 20. Ra4 Re2 21. Qxf7 Bd4+ 22. Kh1 Qxf7 23. Rxf7 Re1+ 24. Rf1 Rxf1+ 25. Bxf1 Rf8 26. Bf4 Bxb2 27. Bg2 Re8 28. Nd2 Re1+ 29. Kh2 Re2 30. Kh1 Re1+ 31. Kh2 Re2 ½ : ½ Mestel – Taruffi, 14th World Junior Chess Championship, Tjentište 1975. 7. ... Nf6 8. g3 Nc6 9. Bg2 Qd7 10. b4! Rapport opens the hostilities. 10. ... d5 11. b5 Nd4 12. Qd3 c5 13. 0-0 0-0-0. Faithful to their attacking fame, they castle on opposite wings. 14. Re1 h5! 15. h4 g5!? 韦奕 (Wéi Yì), too, launches his furious assault. Stockfish evaluates it as unsound, but from a human point of view it appears quite natural. 16. b6! a6 17. hxg5 Ng4 18. Ncxd5 h4 19. Nc7? This could be the real mistake by Rapport. Stockfish’s long (and not easy to calculate) line 19. Nxg4 Bxd5 20. Nf6 Bxg2 21. Nxd7 Nf3+ 22. Qxf3 Bxf3 23. Bb2 Rh5 24. Nxf8 Rxf8 25. Bf6 hxg3 26. fxg3 apparently leaves White two Pawns up. 19. ... h3 20. Bxb7+? A wild Bishop sacrifice – in Rapport’s style – which Stockfish decidedly condemns. More advisable was 20. Nxg4 hxg2 21. Nxe6 Rh1+ 22. Kxg2 Rxe1 23. Nxd8 Qxg4∞ with very unclear game; for instance: 24. Bb2 (24. Nxf7?? Qh5-+) 24. ... Rxa1 25. Bxa1 Kxd8 26. Bxd4 cxd4 27. Qc4 Qd7 28. f4 Ke8∞ – unclearly unbalanced. 20. ... Kxb7 21. Qxa6+ Kc6 22. Nxg4 Bxg4. White’s four Pawns for the Bishop just don’t mean anything as Black’s attack is irresistible. Now the deadly threat is ... h3-h2+. 23. b7+ Kxc7 24. Qa5+ Kb8. Just to gain some time on the clock. 25. Qa8+ Kc7 26. Qa5+ Kd6! 27. Qb6+ Kd5 28. Re3 h2+ 29. Kh1

29. ... Qc6! Not the only way to win, but certainly one of the most elegant. 30. Rb1. The Rook is taboo, for if 30. Qxd8+ then 30. ... Kc4+ and mate in three moves. 30. ... Qxb6 31. Rxb6 Bd6 32. Bb2 Rde8 0 : 1 Mate is unavoidable.

Richárd Rapport vs. 韦奕 (Wéi Yì)
Photo: Tata Steel Chess (Facebook)