Measure for Pleasure

Chess-News.ru (@Chess__News)

“I really do get a lot of pleasure out of it!”. Evgeny Ellinovich Sveshnikov cracked down on Nona Terentevna Gaprindashvili (pictures, games). See http://chess-news.ru/node/22897. Evgeny Ellinovich Sveshnikov is actually leading 2½–½ after the first three games of his exhibition six game Rapid chess match with Nona Terentevna Gaprindashvili, which started yesterday in Jūrmala, Latvia. The five-time Women’s World Chess Champion almost invariably suffered her opponent’s deeper theoretical preparation, even though in the second game she missed a great chance to win the whole point:

Evgeny Ellinovich Sveshnikov – Nona Terentevna Gaprindashvili
Exhibition Rapid chess match game 2; Jūrmala, March 25, 2017
2r2k2/1r2pp2/p4bp1/1p1P2Np/1B3Pnn/3B4/PP2RP1P/4R1K1 w - - 10 29

Position after 28. ... Bd4-f6

29. d6! A quite interesting Exchange sacrifice in the breathlessly time scramble. 29. ... Bxg5 30. fxg5 Nf3+ 31. Kf1 Nxe1 32. dxe7+? Going astray. After 32. Rxe1 exd6 33. h3 Nxf2 34. Kxf2 White remains with Rook, two Bishops (even though two Pawns down) against two Rooks, but – by far more important – with a much better position. 32. ... Ke8 33. Rxe1 Rd7 34. Be2 Ne5 35. f4? I guess Sveshnikov should have played, for bad or for good, 35. Bxb5 Nc6 36. Bxa6 Ra8 37. Bb5 Nxb4 38. Rd1 Ra7 39. a3 Na6 40. Rxd7 Rxd7 41. Bxd7+ (or even 41. Bxa6) trying to make the opponent’s task harder (and possibly harder and harder). 35. ... Nd3 36. Bxd3 Rxd3. Now White is (should be) finished. 37. Re2 Rd4 38. Bc3 Rxf4+ 39. Ke1 Rxc3. There is nothing wrong about it, except that 39. ... Rc6! (intending ... Rc6-e6) would have been infinitely simpler. 40. bxc3 Rc4. You’d think that she had given back the Exchange just to play 40. ... Rg4! without fearing the ghost-Bishop going to f6, but rapid chess is not an exact science. 41. Kd2 Rc7. 41. ... Rg4! was still the simplest way to do the job. 42. Re4 Rxe7? The last careless inaccuracy that indeed throws away the win. It took just an intermediate check: 42. ... Rd7+! 43. Kc2 Rxe7 44. Rb4 Re2+ and Black must win. 43. Rb4 Kd7 44. a4! Kc6 45. axb5+ axb5 46. c4! bxc4 47. Rxc4+ Kd5. After all, it has remained on the board only a drawish 3 vs. 2 same side Pawn ending. 48. Rf4 Ke5 49. Ke3 Ra7 50. Rf6 Ra3+ 51. Kf2 Ra7 52. h4 Ra4 53. Kg3 Rg4+ 54. Kh3 Rf4 55. Ra6 Rf3+ 56. Kg2 Rd3 57. Rf6 Rd4 58. Kg3 Rg4+ 59. Kh3 Rf4 60. Ra6 f6 61. gxf6 Rxf6 62. Ra5+ Kf4 63. Rg5 Ra6 64. Rg3 Kf5 65. Rg5+ Kf6 66. Rb5 Ra3+ 67. Kg2 Ra4 68. Kg3 Rg4+ 69. Kh3 Re4 70. Rg5 Re5 71. Rg3 Rb5 72. Rf3+ Rf5 73. Rg3 Kg7 74. Ra3 Kh6 75. Ra7 Rf3+ 76. Kg2 Rb3 77. Rc7 ½ : ½.