Lives and Letters

Teimour Boris oghlu Radjabov – Maxime Vachier-Lagrave
8th Chess World Cup; match game 2; Khanty-Mansiysk, September 27, 2019
English Opening A34

Azerbaijani Grandmaster Teimour Boris oghlu Radjabov is the first finalist of the Chess World Cup 2019, thanks to another superb display of tactical skill in his today’s game against Maxime Vachier-Lagrave. 1. Nf3 Nf6 2. c4 c5 3. Nc3 d5 4. cxd5 Nxd5 5. e3 Nxc3 6. dxc3 Qc7 7. e4 e6. The alternative is 7. ... Nc6 8. Be3 (or 8. Bd3 Bg4 9. h3 Bh5 10. Be2 e6 11. Be3 Be7 12. 0-0 0-0 13. Nd2 Bxe2 14. Qxe2 Rad8 15. f4 Qd7 16. Nb3 b6 17. Rfd1 Qb7 18. Qb5 Nb8 19. Bxc5 Bxc5+ 20. Nxc5 Qa8 21. Nd7 Rxd7 22. Rxd7 a6 23. Qd3 Nxd7 24. Qxd7 Qxe4 ½ : ½ Lenderman – Vachier-Lagrave, 7th Chess World Cup, Tbilisi 2017, match game 1) 8. ... e6 9. Nd2 Bd6 10. Nc4 Be7 11. Qg4 0-0 12. Qg3 Qxg3 13. hxg3 b5 14. Nd2 Rb8 15. Be2 Rd8 16. f4 f6 17. 0-0-0 c4 18. Nf3 Rxd1+ 19. Rxd1 Bb7 20. g4 Rd8 21. Rxd8+ Bxd8 22. g5 fxg5 23. Nxg5 Bxg5 24. fxg5 a6 25. Kd2 Ne5 26. Bf4 Nf7 27. Ke3 e5 28. Bg3 Bc8 29. b4 g6 30. a4 Kf8 31. a5 ½ : ½ Giri – Vachier-Lagrave, 2nd 深圳龙岗 (Shēnzhèn Lónggǎng) Masters “读特杯” (“Dú Tè Cup”), 深圳 (Shēnzhèn) 2018. 8. Bd3!? So that’s Radjabov’s surprise. So far Vachier-Lagrave had met only 8. Be3 Bd7 [or 8. ... Be7 9. Nd2 (9. Be2 0-0 10. 0-0 Bd7 11. Qd2 Bc6 is just a little better version of the actual game, So – Vachier-Lagrave, 5th Grand Chess Tour, 1st stage, Côte d’Ivoire Blitz, Abidjan 2019) 9. ... 0-0 10. Qf3 Rd8 11. Qg3 Bd6 12. f4 b6 13. Qf2 Bf8 14. Be2 Ba6 15. 0-0 Bxe2 16. Qxe2 Nc6 17. f5 exf5 18. exf5 Re8 19. Rae1 Rad8 20. Nf3 f6= So – Vachier-Lagrave, 7th Altibox Norway Chess, Stavanger 2019] 9. Nd2 Bc6 10. Qg4 Nd7 11. Qg3 0-0-0 12. Bf4 e5 13. Bg5 f6 14. Be3 g6 15. Qh3 Kb8 16. Be2 Nb6 17. b3 h5 18. 0-0 Bh6 19. Bxh6 Rxh6 20. Qe3 Rh7 21. Rfd1 Rhd7 22. Nf1 Rxd1 23. Rxd1 Rxd1 24. Bxd1 Nc8 25. f3 Qd6 26. Be2 Ne7 27. Qh6 f5 28. Ne3 fxe4 29. Nc4 Qf6 30. fxe4 Kc7 31. g3 Ng8 32. Qh7+ Ne7 33. Qh6 Ng8 34. Qh7+ Ne7 35. Qh6 ½ : ½ Svidler – Vachier-Lagrave, 6th GRENKE Chess Classic Baden-Baden 2019. 8. ... Be7 9. Qe2 Bd7 10. 0-0 0-0? A careless move, as it gives White the opportunity to mount a lasting and powerful Kingside attack. 10. ... Bc6 followed by ... Nb8-d7 was perfectly playable. 11. e5!↑/→ Bc6 12. Ng5 h6. 12. ... g6 13. Re1(!) doesn’t seem make a difference. 13. Bh7+! Kh8 14. Bc2 c4. 14. ... g6 15. Nh3 may lead to something somewhat similar to that of the game. 15. Re1! Qd8 16. Nh3 Qd5 17. Nf4 Qc5 18. Bb1 Bg5

19. Nxe6! fxe6 20. Bxg5 Qd5 21. Qg4 Nd7. The ending ensuing from 21. ... Qxg2+ 22. Qxg2 Kxg2 23. Kxg2 hxg5 24. Bg6!±/+− was Black’s “best worst”, however unpleasant it might be. 22. Be4 Nxe5 23. Qh5 Qb5 24. Bxh6! Bxe4 25. Bf4+ Kg8 26. Qxe5. And after the fireworks end, White comes back home with a Pawn to the good and a crushing advantage. The rest is quite easy. 26. ... Bd5 27. Re2 Rf5 28. Qe3 Qe8 29. f3 Qg6 30. h4 Raf8 31. Bg5 a6 32. Rd1 Qe8 33. Rd4 Qc6 34. Rg4 Kh7 35. Bf4 R8f7 36. Be5 b5 37. Qf2 Qd7 38. Qg3 Rh5 39. Bd4 Qc7 40. Re5 Rhf5 41. Rg5 Kg8 42. h5 Rxg5 43. Qxg5 Qe7 44. Qg4 Rf5. A way as another to resign. 45. Qxf5 1 : 0.

Today’s win gave Radjabov not only the final of the Chess World Cup, but also the qualification for next year’s Candidates’ Tournament. Photo: FIDE World Cup 2019.