U+00BD

Anish Giri – Alireza Firouzja
83rd Tata Steel Chess Tournament; Wijk aan Zee, January 30, 2021
French Defence C11

1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. e5 Nfd7 5. f4 c5 6. Nf3 Nc6 7. Be3 a6 8. a3 cxd4 9. Nxd4 Bc5 10. Qd2 0-0 11. Be2 Qc7 12. 0-0. As they say, “slow and steady wins the race”. A very famous game went on 12. Bf3 Nxd4 13. Bxd4 Nb6 14. Ne2 Bxd4 15. Qxd4 Bd7 16. b3 Bb5 17. Nc3 Rfc8 18. Nxb5 axb5 19. Be2 Nd7 20. Ra2 Nb8 21. 0-0 Nc6 22. Qd2 Qb6+ 23. Kh1 Qa5 24. Qxa5 Rxa5 25. Raa1 Rca8 26. Rad1 Rxa3 27. Bxb5 Nb4 28. c4 R8a5 29. f5! (29. Rb1 d4∓) 29. ... exf5 30. g4 Rxb3 31. gxf5 Re3 32. Rb1 Nd3? (both are short of time; correct was 32. ... Ra2 33. Rxb4 Ree2 forcing perpetual check) 33. e6? (33. Ra1!⩲↑) 33. ... d4 34. Be8 Nc5 35. Bxf7+ Kf8 36. f6 gxf6 37. Rxf6 Ke7 38. Rh6 d3 39. Rxh7 d2 40. Rg1? Re1 41. Bh5+ Kxe6 42. Rg7 Ne4 43. Rg6+ Ke5 0 : 1 Topalov – Ivanchuk, 4th M-Tel Masters, Sofia 2008. 12. ... b6 13. Nxc6 Qxc6 14. b4 Bxe3+ 15. Qxe3 Bb7 16. Bd3 d4 17. Qe4 Qxe4 18. Nxe4 Bd5 19. Ng5 g6 20. Nf3 Bxf3 21. Rxf3 b5 22. Be4 Rad8 23. Rd3

23. ... Nb6. Black’s Knight proves to be a valiant defender. 24. Bb7 Na4 25. Bxa6 Nc3 26. Bb7 Ne2+ 27. Kf2 Nxf4 28. Rd2 d3. Who knows, maybe 28. ... f6!? might have been better here. 29. c3

29. ... Ne2? 29. ... Rb8 seems much better, with a tenable game for Black (30. Ke3 g5 31. Be4 Rbc8). 30. Ke3 Nxc3 31. Rxd3 Rxd3+?! This probably doesn’t help much, since after the exchange of Rooks White carries the siege of the b5-Pawn more easily. 32. Kxd3 Na4 33. Rc1 Rd8+ 34. Ke2 Kg7 35. Bc6 Rb8 36. Rc2 Kf8 37. Kd2 Ke7 38. Kc1 f6 39. exf6+ Kxf6 40. Kb1 Ke5 41. Ka2 Kd4 42. Kb3 Kd3 43. Rf2. It might have been simpler to enter a Rook endgame a Pawn up by 43. Bxb5+ Rxb5 44. Kxa4 with what seems to be a win for White (44. ... Rb8 45. Rc5 Re8 46. b5 e5 47. b6 e4 48. Ka5!+−). 43. ... e5 44. Rf7 Nb6 45. Bxb5+. The target Pawn has finally fallen, and now White should somehow be able to bring home the full point, even though there are still many remarkable technical difficulties to overcome. 45. ... Kd4 46. a4 Nd5 47. Rxh7 e4 48. Rf7 e3 49. Rf1 Nc3 50. Rf4+ Ke5 51. Rf3 Nxb5 52. Rxe3+. Not 52. axb5? on account of 52. ... Kd4 drawing at once. 52. ... Kd4 53. Rg3 Nd6 54. Rxg6 Ne4 55. a5 Kd5 56. a6 Nc5+ 57. Ka3 Nd3 58. a7 Ra8 59. Rg7 Kc6 60. h4 Nf4

61. g4? Nemesis falls, and White only draws. True, the mighty machines give here as winning for White 61. Ka4! followed by the Pawn check; for instance: 61. ... Ng6 62. b5+ Kb6 63. Rg6 Rxa7+ 64. Kb4 Re7 65. h5 and Black shouldn’t be able to keep at bay all White’s Pawns. But when there is only one solution, there are always too many ways not to spot it. 61. ... Ne6 62. Rf7 Nc7 63. g5 Rxa7+ 64. Kb2 Ra8 65. g6 Ne6 66. h5 Rh8 67. Rh7 Rg8 ½ : ½.

Almost unnoticed, on the eve of the last day of January, Giri arrived on the top of the mountain, but, as a consequence of today’s draw, he will have to go all out for a win in his final round game with David Antón Guijarro to clinch his first ever title in Wijk aan Zee — and if this ever were to happen, he would be the second Dutchman to do so, following Jan Timman in 1985. Photo © Jurriaan Hoefsmit/Tata Steel Chess Tournament 2021.