Trading Places

Jorden van Foreest – Nils Axel Grandelius
83rd Tata Steel Chess Tournament; Wijk aan Zee, January 31, 2021
Sicilian Defence B90

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Qd3!? Dernier cri. 6. ... Nbd7 7. Be2 b5 8. a4 Nc5!? This might be a novelty. In a game Ibadov – Afanasiev, 26th Chigorin Memorial, Saint Petersburg 2018 play continued 8. ... b4 9. Nd5 Bb7 10. Nxf6+ (10. Qc4!? may be an improvement) 10. ... Nxf6 11. Bf3 Nd7 12. a5 e6 13. Bd2 d5 with good prospects for Black. 9. Qe3 b4 10. Nd5 Ncxe4 11. a5 Nxd5 12. Qxe4 e6 13. 0-0 Bd7 14. Bd2 Be7 15. Bf3 0-0 16. Qd3 Qb8 17. c4 bxc3 18. bxc3 Ra7. 18. ... Bf6!? 19. c4 Nb4 20. Bxb4 Qxb4 21. Bxa8 Rxa8 it’s like the game (but with reversed colours): Black gave up the Exchange for a Pawn and a powerful Bishop pair. 19. Rfb1 Qc8 20. c4 Nf6

21. Nb5! A Knight sacrifice which eventually leaves White with a Pawn ahead and a powerful advantage. 21. ... axb5 22. cxb5 Bxb5 23. Qxb5 Nd7 24. Bb7 Qd8 25. a6 Bf6 26. Ba5 Qe8

27. Bc7!? A tempting but perhaps unnecessary Exchange sacrifice. 27. ... Bxa1 28. Rxa1

28. ... d5? An understandable desire, but the wrong way to pursue it, as White will never renounce his mighty Bishop pair for a mere Exchange. Best was 28. ... Nc5! 29. Qb6 Qd7 30. Qxa7 (30. Bxd6?! Qxb7!) 30. ... Qxc7 with unclear but likely balanced play. 29. Bd6+− Qd8 30. Rc1 g6 31. h3 Re8 32. Rc7 Nf6 33. Be5 Ne4 34. Qc6 Rf8 35. Bd4 Qb8 36. f3 Rxa6 37. Bxa6 Qb4 38. Be5 Qe1+ 39. Kh2 Nf2 40. Qc3 Qh1+ 41. Kg3 Qg1 42. Rc8 Nh1+ 43. Kh4 Qf2+ 44. g3 g5+ 45. Kxg5 f6+ 46. Kh6. Black’s checks are finally over. 46. ... fxe5 47. Qxe5 1 : 0.

In the end, Anish Giri got tied for first place with his fellow countryman Jorden van Foreest, thus requiring an all-Dutch tie-breaker, and it’s just the case to say that it was much ado about nothing. Such a tie-breaking format (two blitz games and an Armageddon game in case of draw), indeed, may be very ugly, and even uglier when it ends up in its worst outcome. Luckily enough, van Foreest, who played the best classical game of the last round, won the Armageddon at last and, for the first time, the Tata Steel title; he, too, being the second Dutchman to do so, following Jan Timman in 1985. Photo © Jurriaan Hoefsmit/Tata Steel Chess Tournament 2021.