Fortunate Isles

Hikaru Nakamura – 熊奕韬 (Jeffery Xióng)
5th Isle of Man International Chess Tournament; Douglas, October 26, 2018
English Opening A34

A crucial game for 熊奕韬 (Jeffery Xióng) against Hikaru Nakamura. 1. c4 c5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nc3 d5 4. cxd5 Nxd5 5. e3 Nc6 6. Bb5 Nxc3 7. bxc3 Bd7 8. Rb1 e6 9. d4 Be7 10. 0-0 0-0 11. Be2. Likewise after 11. Re1 Qc7 12. e4 Rfd8 13. g3 Bf6 14. Bf4 Qa5 15. Bf1 cxd4 16. cxd4 b6 Black managed to equalise, Ganguly – 熊奕韬 (Jeffery Xióng), 2018 Spring Chess Classic (Group A), Saint Louis 2018. 11. ... Qc7 12. e4 Rfd8 13. Be3 Na5 14. Bd3 Rac8 15. h4!? Indeed, this somewhat strabic move is not out of theme, but maybe White could wait a little longer and play e4-e5 at once. 15. ... Be8! 16. e5 cxd4 17. cxd4 Nc4!? Nakamura’s got almost nothing from the opening, so 熊奕韬 (Jeffery Xióng) even dares to offer a Pawn on purely positional grounds. 18. Ng5. And maybe it could be worthwhile to cash it in. But no, apparently not Nakamura’s taste. 18. ... h6 19. Ne4 Bc6 (Δ ... Nc4xe5) 20. Qe2 b5 21. Rbc1 Bxe4 22. Bxe4 Bxh4 23. a4 a6 24. Bd3 Qb7 25. Bxc4 bxc4 26. Rxc4 Bg5 27. Rfc1 Rxc4 28. Rxc4 Bxe3 29. fxe3 Qb1+ 30. Kh2 Qb3 31. a5 Qb5 32. Qa2 Qd5 33. Ra4 Qe4 34. Qe2

34. ... Rc8. Perhaps it is not enough to claim a win, but the “dual” 34. ... Rb8! 35. Qf2 Rb3 gains a whole tempo (as compared to the actual game) and, at least on relative terms, the difference could be important. 35. Rc4 Rb8 36. Qf2 Rb3 37. Rc7 Kh7 38. Rxf7 Rxe3. Now the extra tempo saves Nakamura from working overtime: 39. Rxg7+! Kxg7 40. Qf6+ Kh7 ½ : ½. Draw by perpetual check.

Hikaru Nakamura (right) vs. 熊奕韬 (Jeffery Xióng) (left). Photo © John Saunders.