G Code

Erwin l’Ami – Fabiano Caruana
SchachBundesliga Championship Tournament; Karlsruhe, September 18, 2020
Queen’s Gambit Declined D37

In today’s round, Caruana suffered an unexpected defeat at the hand of Erwin l’Ami. 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 h6 5. Bf4 Bb4!? Quite a rare move, but a very interesting one. 6. cxd5. 6. Qa4+ Nc6 7. e3 0-0 8. Qc2 transposes into the game Gadaliński – Ziembiński, 11th Polish Chess Championship, Kraków 1953. 6. ... Nxd5 7. Bd2 0-0 8. g3 Nxc3 9. bxc3 Ba5

10. g4! c5! 11. Rg1 Nc6 12. dxc5 e5 13. Qc2 Re8? The sacrifice of the second Pawn by 13. ... e4! 14. Qxe4 Re8 — quite in Morphy’s style — seems to give Black powerful compensation. 14. g5 g6? 14. ... hxg5 15. Nxg5 e4 16. 0-0-0 would leave White a Pawn up, but Black may reasonably cultivate hopes of recovery or of compensation. 15. gxh6. With the brutal threat of Rg1xg6+. Black can avoid immediate disaster, but no longer save the game. 16. ... e4 16. Ng5 Bf5 17. 0-0-0 Qf6 18. Bh3 e3 19. Bxf5 exd2+ 20. Rxd2 Re5. After this, Black’s position disintegrates under heavy blows, but it would be difficult to suggest any improvements; for instance, after 20. ... Rad8 21. Bxg6!+− Black couldn’t defend himself anyway.

21. Nxf7! Qxf7 22. Bxg6 Qxf2 23. Bf7+! Kh8. If 23. ... Kf8 then 24. Rg8+ Kxf7 25. Qg6+ Ke7 26. Rd7+! Kxd7 27. Qd6#. 24. Qg6 Rg5 25. Rxg5 Bxc3 26. Kc2 Ne7 27. Qe4 Bf6 28. Re5! Rf8. The Rook is taboo because of mate in three. 29. e3 Qf1 30. Bc4 Qa1 31. Rxe7 Qc3+ 32. Kd1 Qa1+ 33. Kc2 Qc3+ 34. Kd1 Qa1+ 35. Ke2 Bxe7 36. Qd4+ Qxd4 37. exd4. Of course, White’s three extra Pawns will win despite Bishops of opposite colour. 37. ... Rf4 38. Bd5 Bf6 39. Ke3 Rh4 40. Rd3 Rh3+ 41. Kd2 Rxh2+ 42. Kc3 Kh7 43. Bxb7 Rxa2 44. Kb3 Ra1 45. c6 Bd8 46. d5 Ba5 47. d6 Rc1 48. Rd5 Bd8 49. Rd4 1 : 0.

If nothing else, Caruana can console himself that his defeat did not affect at all his team’s final score. Photo: Christian Bossert.