Monday, August 7, 2023

Going Forward by Looking Back

Daniele Vocaturo – Daniil Dmitrievich Dubov
10th Chess World Cup; round of 64 match game 2; Baku, August 6, 2023
Four Knights Game C47

The game was annotated by International Master Vladimir Leonidovich Barsky in the Chess Federation of Russia web site, and its translation is given below.

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. d4 exd4 5. Nxd4 Bb4 6. Nxc6 bxc6 7. Bd3 d6 8. 0-0 Ng4 9. h3 Ne5 10. Be3 0-0 11. f4 Nxd3 12. cxd3 d5 13. Qa4


13. ... a5! Daniil Dmitrievich knows how to find unexpected ideas! He now seizes the initiative by sacrificing two Pawns.
14. Qxc6 Ra6 15. Qxd5 Rd6 16. Qg5 f6 17. Qh5 Bb7 18. Rad1 f5 19. a3. Vocaturo, for obvious reasons, acts with extreme caution; he does not cling to the material, but aims at simplifying the position.
19. ... Bxc3 20. bxc3 fxe4 21. dxe4 Bxe4 22. Bc5 Rf5 23. Qe2 Rxc5 24. Rxd6 Qxd6 25. Qxe4 Qc6!? 26. Qe7. White could feel uncomfortable in the Rook ending despite the extra Pawn: 26. Qxc6 Rxc6 27. Rf3 Rc4. Black has the more active King, and can always win back his Pawn with ... Rc4-a4.
26. ... Rxc3 27. Qd8+ Kf7 28. Re1 Qd6 29. Qe8+ Kf6 30. f5 Kg5. A beautiful, sweeping game! Alas, no miracle occurred.


31. Qg8 Qd4+ 32. Kh1 Rc5 33. f6! Qxf6 34. Qxh7 Rf5 35. Re3 c5 ½ : ½. The draw was offered by Black, who by now had everything to lose in continuing to play.

So, Vocaturo kept his nerves cool, and made it through to the round of 16. Photo: Maria Alekseevna Emelianova/chess.com.

2 comments:

  1. FIDE's report (https://worldcup2023.fide.com/news/46-fide-world-cup-round-3-game-2-intense-showdowns-and-surprises): "Daniil Dubov is out. After a shocking loss in the first game, he could not make more than a draw with black pieces against Daniele Vocaturo in the second. In fact, throughout the second game, Dubov was notably weaker and made errors. At the moment when the draw was agreed, Vocaturo had a better position in a rook and queen endgame."

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  2. Text by Milan Dinic.

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