Himmel und Erde

Ian Aleksandrovich Nepomniachtchi – Georg Meier
46th Dortmund Sparkassen Chess Meeting; Dortmund, July 22, 2018
French Defence C10

After winning the 4th Gideon Japhet Cup in Israel, Ian Aleksandrovich Nepomniachtchi, freshly convened in the Russian Olympic Team by the head coach Andrey Vasilievich Filatov, also won the 46th Dortmund Sparkassen Chess Meeting in Germany, with Georg Meier continuing to be his summer talisman. 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 dxe4 4. Nxe4 Nd7 5. Nf3 Ngf6 6. Nxf6+ Nxf6 7. Ne5. “This move was first shown to me by the talented Venezuelan amateur, M. Ayala. The object is to prevent the development of Black’s Queen’s Bishop via b7, after ... b7-b6, which is Black’s usual development in this variation. Generally it is bad to move the same piece twice in an opening before the other pieces are out, and the violation of that principle is the only objection that can be made to this move, which otherwise has everything to recommend it”, José Raúl Capablanca wrote in his book “Chess Fundamentals”, Library of Alexandria, 1922, p. 81. 7. ... Bd6 8. Bg5. Capablanca’s recommendation. If 8. Df3 Black should reply 8. ... c5! (after 8. ... c6 9. c3 0-0 10. Bg5 Be7 11. Bd3 Ne8 12. Qh3 White stands much better already, Capablanca – Blanco, Havana 1913) 9. Bb5+ Ke7 (Capablanca preferred 9. ... Kf8) 10. 0-0 cxd4∞ Domínguez Pérez – Meier, Chess.com 3rd Speed Chess Championship Invitational Qualifier, 2018, match game 12. 8. ... h6 9. Bh4 0-0. Or else 9. ... c5 10. Bb5+ Ke7 11. 0-0 cxd4 12. Qxd4 Qc7 13. Ng4 e5 14. Nxe5 Rd8 15. Rfe1 Be6 16. Bg3 a6 17. Bd3 Kf8 18. Qh4 with fair attacking chances for White, Rogers – Gerber, 29th Crédit Suisse Chess Tournament, Biel/Bienne 1996. 10. Bd3 c5 11. Qe2 Qa5+ 12. c3 cxd4 13. Nc4 Qc5 14. Bxf6 gxf6 15. Qg4+ Kh8 16. cxd4 Qb4+ 17. Kf1 Bc7. Maybe Meier was thinking Nepomniachtchi’d have contented himself with a draw by repetition. 18. Qe4! But no. 18. ... f5 19. Qh4

19. ... Kg7? After this White’s attack develops by itself. Stockfish argues there is a hidden saving by 19. ... Kh7! 20. g4 b5 21. g5 Bf4!!∞ – but even if it were true, it was really hard to see. 20. g4! f4 21. Rg1! Of course, after the naïve 21. g5? h5! 22. Qxh5 Rh8 Black would suddenly feel happy again. 21. ... Bd7. Mutatis mutandis, 21. ... Rh8 22. Qh5! Bd7 23. g5 simply transposes into the game. 22. Qh5! (22. g5? h5!) 22. ... Rh8 23. g5 hxg5 24. Qxg5+ Kf8 25. Qf6! Rxh2 26. Rg7 Be8. (26. ... Qe7 27. Rg8++−) 27. Bh7 1 : 0. For after 27. ... Rh1+ 28. Kg2 Bc6+ 29. f3 the curtain falls.

Ian Aleksandrovich Nepomniachtchi (right) vs. Georg Meier (left). Photo: sparkassen-chess-meeting.de.