Just A Moment

Levon Grigori Aronian – 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán)
4th GRENKE Chess Classic; Baden-Baden, April 21, 2017
Queen’s Gambit Declined D37

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Nbd7 5. Qc2!? dxc4! “A logical modern idea of Igor Ivanov’s, instead of the old 5. ... c6 or 5. ... Be7(b4). A rapid ... c7-c5 promises Black a comfortable game”, Garry Kimovich Kasparov wrote in his book “Garry Kasparov on Garry Kasparov, Part 3: 1993-2005”, London, Everyman Chess, 2014, p. 11. 6. e4 c5 7. Bxc4 a6 8. d5!? It might be a novelty. 8. dxc5 Bxc5 transposes into a very fascinating classic: 9. a4 Qc7 10. 0-0 Ng4 11. h3!? Nxf2 12. Rxf2 Bxf2+ 13. Qxf2 Qxc4 14. Qg3 f6 15. Qxg7 Qc5+ 16. Kh1 Qf8 17. Qg4! Qf7? 18. e5! Rg8 19. Qc4! f5 20. Bg5! h6? 21. Bh4 Qg6 22. Rg1 Nf8 23. Qb4 Rg7 24. Ne2 b5 25. axb5 Rd7 26. Nf4 Qf7 27. Rc1 Bb7 28. bxa6 Bxf3 29. gxf3 Rda7 30. Rg1 Rxa6 31. Nh5! Qc7 32. Rg7 Ra1+ 33. Kg2 Qc2+ 34. Bf2 1 : 0 Kasparov – Seirawan, 10th Max Euwe Memorial, Amsterdam 1996. 9. ... Nb6 9. Be2 exd5 10. e5 Ne4 11. Nxe4 dxe4 12. Qxe4 Qd5 13. Qf4 Be7 14. 0-0 0-0 15. Rd1 Qe6 16. Ng5 Qf5 17. Bf3. In order to enhance pressure on Black’s Queenside (that seems a bit convoluted), Aronian sacrifices a Pawn. 17. ... Qxf4 18. Bxf4 Nc4 19. b3 Bxg5 20. Bxg5 Nxe5 21. Be4 Re8 22. f3 h6 23. Bh4. After 23. Be7? Bf5! Black would solve most of her problems 23. ... c4 24. bxc4 Nxc4 25. Rac1

25. ... Be6? Black — who spent much time so far — decides to give back her extra Pawn, in the hope of unlocking her Queenside and reach an endgame which she could have perceived as drawish. But, indeed, she might have underestimated White’s Bishop pair and her own lack of time. Instead, 25. ... Ne3 26. Re1 f5! 27. Bd3 f4 28. Bg6 Re6 29. Be4 Rb6 was well worth considering and perfectly playable as well, though a bit artificial. 26. Bxb7 Ra7 27. Be4 a5 28. Rd4 Ne5 29. Bg3 f6 30. a3 Rd7. This ugly move leads to the loss of a Pawn, but also 30. ... Bb3 31. a4! followed sooner or later by Rc1-c5 just seems one of those stories that doesn’t end well for the defender. 31. Bxe5 fxe5 32. Rxd7 Bxd7 33. Rc7 Bb5 34. Rc5 Rb8 35. Rxe5 a4 36. h4 Kf7 37. Rc5 Be8 38. Bc2 Rb2. Another Pawn goes, and with it also the game. 39. Rc4 Ra2 40. Bxa4 Ra1+. On 40. ... Rxa3 41. Rf4+ gains the Bishop. 41. Kh2 Bxa4 42. Rxa4 1 : 0.

Levon Grigori Aronian vs. 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán). Photo: Georgios Souleidis/GRENKE Chess Classic.