The Golden Salamander

王皓 (Wáng Hào) – Sethuraman Panayappan Sethuraman
1st Sharjah Masters International Chess Championship; Sharjah, March 25, 2017
Spanish Game C88

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. 0-0 Be7 6. Re1 b5 7. Bb3 0-0 8. a4 Bb7 9. d3 d5 10. exd5 Nxd5 11. Nbd2 f6! 12. axb5 axb5 13. Rxa8 Bxa8 14. c4!?? White goes for tricky adventures (which will soon imply a Pawn sacrifice), since otherwise Black seems to have completely equalised (for instance: 14. Ne4 Na5 15. Ba2 c5=). 14. ... bxc4 15. Nxc4 Kh8 16. d4 Bb4 17. Re4. This was 王皓 (Wáng Hào)’s idea, heading for Black’s King. 17. ... Nde7 18. Rh4 Nf5. Clearly not 18. ... exd4?? on account of 19. Ng5! winning immediately. 19. Rh3 Ncxd4 20. Nxd4 exd4. All White’s hopes vanish: 20. ... Nxd4? 21. Nxe5! fxe5?? 22. Rxh7+ Kxh7 23. Qh5 mate. 21. Qg4. Yet believing. After 21. Qh5 Black gives back his extra Pawn by 21. ... Nh6 22. Bxh6 gxh6 23. Qxh6 Qe7 for securing a clear advantage. 21. ... Nh6?? And a miracle happens! Had Black played 21. ... Qd5! it would almost certainly have been another story. 22. Bxh6 gxh6 23. Rg3 Rg8

24. Nd6!! 1 : 0. For after 24. ... Rxg4 25. Nf7+ Kg7 26. Rxg4+ Kf8 27. Nxd8 White remains a Rook ahead.

Shaking hands before tea time. Photo: Maria Alekseevna Emelianova.