The Frog Prince

王皓 (Wáng Hào) – Raunak Sadhwani
1st Sharjah Masters International Chess Championship; Sharjah, March 26, 2017
King’s Indian Defence E81

1. c4 Nf6 2. Nc3 g6 3. d4 Bg7 4. e4 d6 5. f3 0-0 6. Be3 c5 7. dxc5 dxc5 8. Qxd8 Rxd8 9. Bxc5 Nc6 10. Be3 b6 11. Rc1 Ba6. 11. ... Nd7 12. Nh3 Nc5 is here more usual; for instance: 13. Nf4 Ba6 14. Nfd5 e6 15. Nc7 Rac8 16. Nxa6 Nxa6 17. f4 Nc5 18. e5 g5 19. g3 gxf4 20. gxf4 f6 21. exf6 Bxf6 22. Be2 Nd4 23. b3 Nf5 24. Bf2 Kf7 25. 0-0 Rd2 26. Rfe1 Rg8+ 27. Kf1 Bd4 28. Bh5+ Kf6 29. Re2 Bxf2 30. Rxd2 Be3 31. Rcd1 Rg1+ 32. Ke2 Rg2+ 33. Ke1 Rg1+ 34. Ke2 Rg2+ 35. Ke1 Rg1+ ½ : ½ Édouard – Shyam, 49th International Master Open, Biel/Bienne 2016. 12. Nh3 Rac8 13. Nf2 e6!? Sadhwani’s new one. For 13. ... Nd7 14. Be2 Nd4 15. b3 Ne5 see Kroll – Søgaard, Aarhusmesterskabet, Aarhus 1991. 14. Be2 Nb4. I don’t like this move, which shows really bad judgment. The immediate 14. ... Nd7 seems more to the point. 15. b3 Nd7 16. 0-0

16. ... Bxc3? Here is the (radically bad) corollary to the previous idea: Black gives up the Bishop pair, weakens the dark squares around the King, and uncoordinates his Knights on the Queenside for the sake of a mere Pawn. After 16. ... Nc5(!) Black’s position seems perfectly tenable. 17. Rxc3 Nxa2 18. Rc2 Nb4 19. Rd2 Nc5 20. Rfd1 Re8? This is a gross blunder, but after 20. ... Rxd2 21. Bxd2 Nc2 22. b4 Nb3 23. b5 Ncd4 24. Bf1 Bb7 25. Bg5 Kg7 26. Ng4 White stands very much better and should win anyway. 21. Ng4 Kg7 22. Bh6+ Kh8 23. Nf6. The Black Rook has any good square. 23. ... Nc6 24. Nxe8 Rxe8 25. b4 Nb3 26. Rd6 Ncd4 27. R6xd4 Nxd4 28. Rxd4 1 : 0.

王皓 (Wáng Hào) vs. Raunak Sadhwani
Photo: Maria Alekseevna Emelianova