Springtime

Baskaran Adhiban – Mishra Swayams
1st Sharjah Masters International Chess Championship; Sharjah, March 23, 2017
Torre Attack D03

1. d4 Nf6 2. Bg5 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. e3 c5 5. c3 h6 6. Bh4 Nc6 7. Nbd2 Qb6 8. Rb1 Be7 9. Bd3 0-0. Also after 9. ... Nh5 10. Bxe7 Nxe7 11. 0-0 Nf6 12. Ne5 0-0 13. f4 White set up an ideal “Pillsbury Formation”, Andreikin – Karjakin, 5th Chess World Cup, Tromsø 2013. 10. 0-0 Re8 11. dxc5 Qxc5 12. b4 Qd6 13. Qe2 Nh5 14. Bxe7 Qxe7 15. b5 Na5 16. Ne5 Nf6 17. f4 b6 18. g4! Nd7 19. Ndf3 Nxe5 20. Nxe5 Bb7 21. g5! Nc4 22. Bxc4 dxc4 23. gxh6 gxh6? Possibly Swayams’s crucial mistake. Despite all Black suffered (and will suffer) it seems that after 23. ... g6! he might still have defended himself. 24. Qh5 f6

25. Kf2! Making room for the Rook on g1. 25. ... Be4. Or 25. ... fxe5 26. Rg1+ and mate in a few moves. 26. Qxh6 1 : 0.

Baskaran Adhiban (L.) vs. Mishra Swayams
Photo: Maria Alekseevna Emelianova