A Time to Stand

Georg Meier – Fabiano Caruana
5th GRENKE Chess Classic; Karlsruhe, April 2, 2018
Spanish Game C69

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Bxc6 dxc6 5. 0-0 Qf6 6. d4 exd4 7. Bg5 Qd6 8. Nxd4 Be7 9. Be3 Nh6 10. Qd2 g5!? Vladimir Borisovich Kramnik docet. 10. ... Qg6 11. f3 Bd7 12. Nc3 0-0-0 is the old vague “book”, Naiditsch – Maiorov, 21st Corsican Circuit “Open Oscaro”, Bastia 2013. 11. Nf3 Rg8 12. h4? It is hard to approve this move without scientific counterdeductions. From a beginner’s viewpoint, White ought to have exchanged Queens. 12. ... Qg6 13. hxg5 Ng4! 14. Nc3 h6! 15. Bf4. I have to confess I thought White was about to get mated, so I changed channel. But then I was surprised by how many moves it took for Caruana to finish it! 15. ... Be6. 15. ... hxg5 16. Bxc7 Rh8 17. Rfd1 Be6 18. Qd4 Qh7 19. Kf1 Rc8 it’s also very good for Black, but not particularly better than the text. Sooner or later Black has to play ... Bc8-e6 anyway. 16. Bxc7 Rc8 17. Bb6 hxg5 18. Ne2 c5 19. Ng3 Rh8 20. Rfd1 Qh6. Threatening 21. ... Nh2 22. Ne1 Bg4 23. f3 Qxb6 and finis. 21. b4!? This looks like desperation, because 21. ... Nh2 seems still very strong. But, of course, Black’s move is not bad either. 21. ... cxb4 22. Bd4 f6 23. c3 bxc3 24. Bxc3

24. ... Kf7? This could have been Caruana’s only regret. Best was 24. ... Nh2! 25. Ne1 (if 25. Nd4 then 25. ... Nf1! 26. Kxf1 Bc4+ 27. Ke1 Qh1+! and mate next move) 25. ... Bg4 26. f3 Rc4! (Δ ... Be7-c5+) 27. Kf2 Qh4 with an irresistible attack. 25. Rac1 Rc4 26. Bd4 b5 27. Qa5 Nh2 28. Qxa6? It’s doubtful Black would have ever won without such a gift. 28. Ne1! seems to offer a robust defence. 28. ... Nxf3+ 29. gxf3 g4. 29. ... Qh2+ 30. Kf1 Rhc8 was a kind of “dual”. 30. f4 Qxf4 31. Rxc4 bxc4 32. Be3 Qf3 33. Rd6 Rh3! 34. Rxe6 Rxg3+ 35. fxg3 Qxe3+ 36. Kh2 Qf2+ 37. Kh1 Qf1+ 0 : 1.

Georg Meier (right) vs. Fabiano Caruana (left). Photo: Georgios Souleidis/GRENKE Chess Classic.