Land, Light, Wind and Water

Rescue workers set up a lamp after Typhoon Lekima hit a village in 温州 (Wēnzhōu), 浙江省 (Zhèjiāng province), China, August 11, 2019. Photo: Reuters/Stringer.

分號 (Semicolon)

谭中怡 (Tán Zhōngyí) – Nana Dzagnidze
4th “心桥杯” (“Xīnqiáo Cup”); match game 4; 温州 (Wēnzhōu), August 14, 2018
Caro-Kann Defence B12

谭中怡 (Tán Zhōngyí) tried today to turn herself into an unprejudiced attacking player, but in vain, and thus Nana Dzagnidze won the match 3–1 with two wins and two draws. 1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. e5 c5!? Dzagnidze poses as Botvinnik, and probably it is not an encouraging sign for her opponent. 4. dxc5 Nc6 5. Nf3 Bg4 6. Bb5 e6 7. b4 a5 8. c3 f6!? A novelty by Dzagnidze. If 8. ... g6 then 9. Qa4 Qc7 10. Nd4 Ne7 11. Bf4 and White’s powerful bind more than compensates for the Pawn, Onischuk – Motylev, 4th al-’Ayn (Al Ain) Chess Classic, al-’Ayn (Al Ain) 2015. 9. h3. 9. Nbd2(!) promptly followed by Qd1-a4 was probably White’s best way to carry on her game. 谭中怡 (Tán Zhōngyí) will soon regret the underdevelopment of her Queenside. 9. ... Bxf3 10. Qxf3 Be7 11. 0-0. Both 11. Qg4 and 10. Qg3 would be answered by 11. ... Kf7, giving sense to Black’s 8th move. 11. ... fxe5 12. Qh5+ Kf8 13. Bxc6 bxc6 14. Qxe5 axb4 15. Qxe6 Bf6

16. Bf4 Qc8 17. Bd6+. White actually exerts some pressure on Black’s position, which doubtless compensates for her horrible Pawn structure on the Queenside, but that hardly offers real winning chances. Here, according to engines, 17. Qe3! (intending both Bf4-e5 and Bf4-g5) was the most promising continuation to claim an advantage, but 17. ... Qf5! seems to offer a robust defence. 17. ... Ne7 18. Qe3 Kf7 19. Bxe7? 谭中怡 (Tán Zhōngyí)’s need to win leads her seriously astray. After 19. Qf4 Nf5 20. Qxb4 Nxd6 21. cxd6 Qb8 22. Qf4 Rd8 Black wins back a Pawn at once, and could soon restore equality of material, given the weakness of the a2- and c3- Pawns. 19. ... Re8! 20. Qf4 Rxe7 21. Qxb4 Qb7! Very wisely, Dzagnidze looks for the endgame, which, in spite of White’s two Pawns up, would favour Black, at least in a symbolic way —  again due to White’s awful Pawn structure on the Queenside. 22. Qf4. No compromise! 谭中怡 (Tán Zhōngyí) wants to win and sacrifices a Knight — for almost nothing. 22. ... Qb2! 23. Nd2 g5 24. Qf5 Qxd2 25. Qxh7+ Kf8. Dzagnidze gallantly offers her opponent the Solomonic solution of drawing by repeating moves. Of course, 25. ... Bg7−+ is the refutative alternative. 26. Qh6+ Kf7 27. Qh7+ Kf8 28. Qg6. 谭中怡 (Tán Zhōngyí)’s pride prevails and White, rather than repeating moves, consistently stages her own cupio dissolvi. 28. ... Qf4 29. Rae1 Be5 30. g3 Qf6 31. Qc2 Ra3! 32. f4 gxf4 33. Rxe5 Qxe5 34. Rxf4+ Rf7 35. Rxf7+ Kxf7 36. Qh7+ Qg7 37. Qf5+ Qf6 38. Qd7+ Kg6 0 : 1.

谭中怡 (Tán Zhōngyí) (left) vs. Nana Dzagnidze (right). Photo: qipai.org.cn.

庭外和解 (Settlement)

丁立人 (Dīng Lìrén) – Veselin Aleksandrov Topalov
4th “心桥杯” (“Xīnqiáo Cup”); match game 4; 温州 (Wēnzhōu), August 14, 2018
r7/1Rb2pk1/p1q1p1p1/2PpP2p/3P3P/3BK1P1/P7/1Q6 w - - 5 39

Position after 38. ... Bd8-c7

Although still in need of his crutches, 丁立人 (Dīng Lìrén) crushed Veselin Aleksandrov Topalov in their 4-game match held in 温州 (Wēnzhōu) – which is also the birthcity of Chinese Grandmaster. 丁立人 (Dīng Lìrén) won the first and the fourth games, and, indeed, he should have won the second as well. On the other hand, Topalov has played quite rarely since last two years. Today’s game had no story, as White dominated the board all the time, but the finish is quite pretty: 39. Bxg6! Rg8. If 39. ... fxg6 then 40. Qb6! forcing an easily won Rook ending. On other Rook moves simply Bg6xh5 follows. 40. Bxf7! 1 : 0. Repetita iuvant (40. ... Kxf7 41. Qb6!+−).

丁立人 (Dīng Lìrén) (left) vs. Veselin Aleksandrov Topalov (right). Photo: qipai.org.cn.

嚴酷的學校 (The Austere Academy)

Nana Dzagnidze – 谭中怡 (Tán Zhōngyí)
4th “心桥杯” (“Xīnqiáo Cup”); match game 3; 温州 (Wēnzhōu), August 13, 2018
Spanish Game C83

And thus – at least today – 谭中怡 (Tán Zhōngyí) did not succeed in making her coaches regret the choice of excluding her from the national Olympic team. On the other hand, she has little to regret about, because her coaches would never have changed their mind in any case. 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. 0-0 Nxe4 6. d4 b5 7. Bb3 d5 8. dxe5 Be6 9. c3 Be7 10. Nbd2 0-0 11. Bc2 f5 12. exf6 Nxf6 13. Qe2 Qd7 14. Re1 Bf5. Another way is 14. ... Bg4 15. h3 Bh5 16. Qe6+ Qxe6 17. Rxe6 Bd6 18. Bb3 Bf7 19. Re1 Rae8= Hmadi – Zafar, 24th Chess Olympiad, Valletta 1980. 15. Bxf5 Qxf5 16. Nf1!? Dzagnidze’s alleged improvement on 16. Nb3 Rae8 (Black, however, could have considered 16. ... Bd6!? so as to maintain some tension) 17. Qe6+ Qxe6 18. Rxe6 Bd6= van Baarle – Westra, 24th Dutch Open Chess Championship, Velp 1978. 16. ... Bd6 17. Be3 Rae8 18. Rad1 Ne5 19. Nxe5 Rxe5 20. f3 Rfe8 21. Qd2 Qe6 (21. ... Nd7!? 22. b4 c6=) 22. Bf2 Bc5! 23. Rxe5 Bxf2+ 24. Qxf2 Qxe5 25. Qc5 h5 26. b4 h4 27. Rd3 Qe2 28. Re3 Rxe3 29. Qxe3 Qxa2 30. Qe6+ Kf8 31. Qc8+ Ne8 32. Qf5+ Nf6 33. Qc8+ Ne8 34. Qf5+ Ke7!? Black has hardly anything better than a draw by repeating moves with 34. ... Nf6 35. Qc8+ Ne8, but 谭中怡 (Tán Zhōngyí) decides to play all out. 35. Qg5+ Kd7 36. Qg4+ Kc6 37. Qxh4 Nd6!? Still playing sharply. Simpler and safer was 37. ... Nf6 in order to answer 38. Qd4 by 38. ... Qc4 with quite an even game. 38. Qd4! a5! Not 38. ... g6? on account of 39. Ne3! heavily overloading Black’s position. 39. bxa5 Qxa5 40. Ne3! Of course, after 40. Qxg7? Qa7+! 41. Qd4 (41. Kh1?? Qf2−+) 41. ... Qxd4+ 42. cxd4 Nf5 Black regains her Pawn with interest.

40. ... Qa2? No wonder that on the last move before time control 谭中怡 (Tán Zhōngyí) misses a hidden drawing resource: 40. ... Qa1+! 41. Kf2 Qa2+ 42. Kg3 Qc4!! 43. Qxg7 (the pointe is 43. Nxc4 Nf5+ 44. Kf2 Nxd4 45. Ne5+ Kc5 46. cxd4+ Kxd4 and Black at least draws) 43. ... Qc5! 44. Qd4 (if 44. Qe5 then 44. ... Ne4+! 45. Kf4 Nxc3=) 44. ... Qxd4 45. cxd4 b4 46. Kf4 b3 47. Nd1 Kb5! and Black should draw. 41. h4! Now White’s Kingside majority meets no obstacles on its way to the crown. 41. ... g6. Black’s Knight can no longer take its step back, as if 41. ... Ne8 then 42. h5 Nf6 43. h6! and finis. 42. Kh2 Qb3 43. Kh3 Qa2 44. Kg4 Nf5! 45. Nxf5 gxf5+ 46. Kg3! Qe2 47. h5 Qe1+ 48. Kf4 Qh4+ 49. g4 fxg4 50. fxg4 Qh2+ 51. Kg5 Kd6 52. h6 Qc2 53. Kf6 c5 54. Qe5+ Kc6 55. Kg7 b4 56. h7 1 : 0.

Nana Dzagnidze (left) vs. 谭中怡 (Tán Zhōngyí) (right). Photo: qipai.org.cn.

One Sunday

谭中怡 (Tán Zhōngyí) – Nana Dzagnidze
4th “心桥杯” (“Xīnqiáo Cup”); match game 2; 温州 (Wēnzhōu), August 12, 2018
Sicilian Defence B49

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nc6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Be2 Qc7 7. 0-0 Nf6 8. Be3 b5? Grandmaster Vladimir Pavlovich Simagin gave this “unprudent” move a question mark, recommending instead 8. ... Bb4(!). Since he also was a remarkable theoretician, his advice could well be sound. 9. Nxc6 dxc6 (9. ... Qxc6? 10. e5+−) 10. f4 b4 11. Na4 c5. Of course, after 11. ... Nxe4 12. Bb6 Qd7 13. Bf3 Black stands very badly – Simagin’s vintage analysis. 12. c3! Rb8 13. cxb4. Simagin got his luck with 13. Bf3 e5? (but 13. ... bxc3 seems much better) 14. fxe5 Qxe5 15. g3 g5 16. cxb4 Rxb4 17. Rc1+− Simagin – Kan, 22nd USSR Chess Championship, Moscow 1955. 13. ... Rxb4 14. Rc1! “White seizes the initiative”, Grandmaster Mark Evgenievich Taimanov laconically concluded in his book “Winning with the Sicilian”, New York, Collier Books, 1991, p. 68. 14. ... Nxe4? The critical line is 14. ... Rxe4(!) 15. Nxc5! Rxe3 16. Nxa6 Qd8 17. Bb5+ Bd7 18. Nc7+ Ke7 19. Qa4 Bxb5 20. Nxb5 (Krogius – Taimanov, 30th USSR Chess Campionship, Yerevan 1962) and now 20. ... Qb6(!) could well make things really unclear. 15. a3 Rb8 16. Bf3 Bb7 17. Bxe4. Here 17. b4 could also be considered. 17. ... Bxe4 18. Bxc5 Rxb2!? Dzagnidze doesn’t resist the temptation to sacrifice the Exchange for a Pawn and a very impressive Bishop pair. Unfortunately for her, the powerful couple will soon have to part. 19. Nxb2 Bxc5+ 20. Kh1 Qb7. That’s it — Black cannot play 20. ... Qc6 as after 21. Rf2! White just defends and wins. 21. Qg4? It happened to 谭中怡 (Tán Zhōngyí) today just like it happened to Nana Dzagnidze yesterday. Here White apparently misses the quite simple 21. Rxc5 Bxg2+ 22. Kg1 Bxf1 23. Qxf1 0-0 24. Qc1 which leaves her with material superiority, a Knight against two Pawns. 21. ... Qxb2 22. Rxc5 0-0. Now it is all unclear. 23. Qg3 Rd8 24. Rfc1? A slip that could have ended in disaster. White ought to have played first 24. Re1 f5 and then 25. Rec1 Bb7∞ with something similar to what occurs in the game.

24. ... Bb7? Thousands light years far away from thinking that luck had knocked on her door, Dzagnidze misses 24. ... h6!! (with the terrific threat of ... Rd8-d2) 25. Rc8 Kh7!!−+ which results in too many deadly threats for Black. 25. h3 h6 26. R5c2 Qb5 27. Kh2 Rd3 28. Qf2 Rxa3 29. Rb2 Rb3 30. Rcb1 Rxb2 31. Qxb2 Qxb2 32. Rxb2 Bd5. After the storm calmed, a dynamically balanced ending is now on the board, and a pretty scholastic draw will be soon agreed. 33. Rb6 Bc4 34. Kg3 Kh7 35. Rb7 Kg6 36. Rc7 Bb5 37. Kf3 Kf6 38. g4 g5 39. Kg3 Bd3 40. h4 gxh4+ 41. Kxh4 Be2 42. Rc8 Bf3 43. Kg3 Bd5 44. Kf2 a5 45. Rc5 a4 46. Ra5 Bb3 47. Ke3 Bd1 48. g5+ hxg5 49. Rxg5 Bb3 50. Ra5 ½ : ½.

谭中怡 (Tán Zhōngyí) (left) vs. Nana Dzagnidze (right). Photo: qipai.org.cn.

Small in a Big World

Nana Dzagnidze – 谭中怡 (Tán Zhōngyí)
4th “心桥杯” (“Xīnqiáo Cup”); match game 1; 温州 (Wēnzhōu), August 11, 2018
Spanish Game C67

This year the 4th “心桥杯” (“Xīnqiáo Cup”) in 温州 (Wēnzhōu), China features two four-game matches with semi-classic time control (90 minutes for 40 moves, then 30 minutes to end, with a 30-second increment from move 1). On the one hand, former FIDE World Chess Champion Veselin Aleksandrov Topalov puts 丁立人 (Dīng Lìrén) on the test, Chinese Grandmaster being still convalescent from his injury in Norway. On the other hand, Georgian Grandmaster and current Women’s World Blitz Chess Champion Nana Dzagnidze gives 16th Women’s World Chess Champion 谭中怡 (Tán Zhōngyí) a chance to make Chinese coaches regret having excluded her from the national women’s team which will take part in the upcoming 43rd Chess Olympiad.

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. 0-0 Nxe4 5. Re1 Nd6 6. Nxe5 Nxe5 7. Rxe5+ Be7 8. Bf1. The copyright is by 1st World Chess Champion Wilhelm Steinitz. 8. ... 0-0 9. d4 Bf6 10. Re1 Nf5. The alternative is 10. ... Re8 11. c3 Rxe1 12. Qxe1 Nf5 (or else 12. ... Ne8 13. Bf4 d5 14. Bd3 g6 15. Nd2 Ng7 16. Qe2 c6 17. Re1 Bf5 18. Bxf5 Nxf5 19. Nf3 Ng7 20. Be5 still with an edge for White, Carlsen – Anand, Chennai 2013, World Chess Championship match game 8) 13. Bf4 d6 14. Nd2 Be6 15. Bd3 Nh4 16. Ne4 Ng6 17. Bd2 d5 18. Nc5 Bc8 19. Qe3 with a slight advantage to White, Steinitz – Zukertort, New York 1886, World Chess Championship match game 4. 11. d5 d6 12. Nd2 Bg5 13. Ne4 Bxc1 14. Rxc1 Bd7 15. c4 Re8 16. Qd2 Re5!? Apparently a novelty, just not to drift into the oblivion: 16. ... Qh4 17. g3 Qg4 ½ : ½ Brkić – Yemelin, 4th Premier League of Bosnia and Herzegovina Team Chess Championship, Neum 2005. 17. Bd3 Qh4 18. f4 Re7 19. c5 Rae8 20. b4 a5? 谭中怡 (Tán Zhōngyí) plays overenergetically, a little too fast for the beat. Here, among others, 20. ... a6 eventually followed by ... Bd7-b5 deserved consideration. 21. c6! bxc6 22. dxc6 Bc8 23. bxa5 d5? A very committal move which may even lose the game, but Black has no safer way to secure her own position, unless she plays 23. ... Kf8 (that doesn’t seem so rousing either). 24. Ng3 Ne3. Threatening ... Ne3-g4.

25. Nf1? Stockfish is not that impressed though. After 25. a6! Ng4 26. h3 Qxg3 27. Rxe7 Qh2+ 28. Kf1 Rxe7 29. hxg4 Black doesn’t seem to have anything better than 29. ... Bxa6 30. Bxa6 h5 (30. ... Re4? 31. Rc4!!+−) 31. Rc3! Re4 32. Kf2! Rxf4+ 33. Rf3 Rxg4 34. Bf1 which leaves White ahead, a Bishop against two Pawns. 25. ... Nc4! 26. Rxe7 Qxe7 27. Bxc4 dxc4 28. Rxc4 h6!? 29. Rc3. If 29. Rd4 then 29. ... Ba6 30. Ng3 Qa3 31. Ne4 Re6 and Black should easily regain at least a Pawn with very fine play. 29. ... Ba6! 30. Ne3. 30. h3 Qe1! also seems to give Black enough counterplay for her temporary material deficit. 30. ... Rd8 31. Qf2 Qb4 32. Rb3 Qxa5 33. h3 Qc5. 33. ... Bd3 followed by ... Bd3-e4 also seemed good enough. 34. Qf3 Bb5 35. Kh2 Bxc6 36. Qg3 Be4. Better seems 36. ... Ba4! 37. Rb2 Rd3 and it is White who should strive to save the day. 37. Ng4 Kh7 38. Re3 f5 39. Ne5 Qb6 40. Rb3 Qa6 41. Rb2 Rd6. Simpler seems to be 41. ... Rd1 42. h4 Qa7 43. Qg6+ Kg8 44. Qe8+ with a draw by perpetual check. 42. h4 Qa7 43. h5 Rd1? Lots of strange things may happen during the last few minutes! 谭中怡 (Tán Zhōngyí) believes to “force” Dzagnidze to draw by perpetual, but no. Instead, she ought to have played 43. ... Qa8(!) with roughly equal chances. 44. Qg6+ Kg8 45. Qe6+ Kh7 46. Qg6+ Kg8 47. Qe8+ Kh7 48. Qg6+? ½ : ½. After spending eight of her last nine minutes, deep in her thoughts, Dzagnidze contented herself with a draw by perpetual check. Of course, extravagances such as 48. Kh3?? Bxg2+!! could lead to a very unhappy end for her, but she could have well missed the “dual” 48. Kg3! Rg1 (idem to say 48. ... Rf1) 49. Qg6+ Kg8 50. Ng4! (the move that she might have overlooked!?) which appears to lock Black into an inexorable zugzwang (50. ... Kf8 51. a4!).

Nana Dzagnidze (left) vs. 谭中怡 (Tán Zhōngyí) (right). Photo: qipai.org.cn.