In a Nutshell

Levon Grigori Aronian – 丁立人 (Dīng Lìrén)
7th Chess World Cup; tie-break game 1 (25+10); Tbilisi, September 27, 2017
Queen’s Gambit Declined D30

Levon Grigori Aronian proved to be too strong for 丁立人 (Dīng Lìrén) and deservedly won the World Cup. As usual 丁立人 (Dīng Lìrén) showed his defensive stubbornness, but he wasn’t able to amend in extremis his stereotyped openings, and moreover, he also arrived here quite tired after his long march. This time Aronian showed as much creativity as temper, and maybe the fact that he is actually a happy man made the difference. 1. c4 Nf6 2. Nf3 e6 3. Nc3 d5 4. d4 c6 5. Bg5 h6 6. Bxf6 Qxf6 7. Qb3. In the footsteps of Alexander Alexandrovich Alekhine. 7. ... Nd7 8. e4 dxe4 9. Nxe4 Qf4 10. Bd3 e5. The immaculate matrix was 10. ... Be7 11. 0-0 0-0 12. Rfe1 Rd8 13. Rad1 Qc7 14. Ng3 Nf8 15. Qc3 a5 16. a3 a4 17. Ne5 Qa5 18. Qc1 Bd7 19. c5! b5 20. Be4 Qc7 21. Qc3 Be8 22. Ne2! Ra6 23. Nc1 Nd7?! 24. Nxd7 Rxd7 25. Nd3 Rd8 26. Ne5 Bf8 27. h4! Raa8 28. Bb1 h5 29. Qf3 g6 30. g4! hxg4 31. Qxg4 Bg7 32. Ba2! b4 33. Bc4! bxa3 34. bxa3 Qa5 35. Qe4 Qc7 36. Qf4 Rab8 37. h5 gxh5 38. Kh1 Rb7 39. Rg1 Qe7 40. Rxg7+! Kxg7 41. Rg1+ Kh7 42. Nxf7! 1 : 0 Alekhine – Asztalos, Kecskemét 1927. 11. 0-0 Be7 12. Rae1!? A romantic spot for a wedding. 12. Rfe1 is almost invariably played. 12. ... exd4 13. Bb1 0-0 14. Ng3 Bd8!? It is a novelty which costed 丁立人 (Dīng Lìrén) much of his time: perhaps a sign that he got entangled in Aronian’s computer chess theory. 14. ... Nc5 15. Qa3 Qc7 16. Nxd4 Rd8 17. Ndf5 Bxf5 18. Nxf5 Bf8 19. Qh3 Re8 20. Nxh6+ gxh6 21. Qf5 Bg7 22. g3 Rad8 23. Rxe8+ Rxe8 24. Rd1 Rd8 25. Rxd8+ Qxd8 26. Kg2 a6 27. Be4 Qc7 28. f4 Qd8 29. Kh3 Qc7 ½ : ½ Ivanišević – Schenk, French Team Championship Top 16, Gonfreville 2006. 15. Qd3 g6 16. h4! Nf6 17. h5 g5 18. Ne5! Aronian took the upper hand and pushes hard on Black’s nutshell. 18. ... Ba5 19. Ng6!

19. ... Qd2! 丁立人 (Dīng Lìrén) has yet the strength to defend his own with desperate stubbornness despite the very few time left. 20. Ne7+ Kg7. 20. ...Kh8 21. Qf3! Qf4 22. Qa3! Bxe1 23. Nd5! doesn’t look any better. 21. Qb3! Qf4 22. Rd1!? Almost all chess engines give 22. Ngf5+ Bxf5 23. Nxf5+ Kh8 24. Re7 with a decisive White’s preponderance, but, of course, Aronian’s way is not bad... 22. ... Bb6 23. Ngf5+ Bxf5 24. Nxf5+ Kh8 25. g3 Qg4 26. Nxh6 Qxh5? Black finally disappears under the avalanche. 27. Kg2! d3 28. Qc3 Kg7 29. Nf5+ Kg6 30. Rh1 1 : 0.

Garden Without Flowers

Levon Grigori Aronian – 丁立人 (Dīng Lìrén)
7th Chess World Cup; match game 1; Tbilisi, September 23, 2017
English Opening A18

1. c4 Nf6 2. Nc3 e6 3. e4 d5 4. cxd5 exd5 5. e5 Ne4 6. Nf3 Bf5 7. Be2 d4!? 8. Nxe4 Bxe4 9. Bc4!? Shimanov’s move, instead of 9. d3 Bd5 10. 0-0 Nc6 11. a3 a5 12. Bf4 a4 13. Nd2 Be7 14. Bg3 0-0 15. Rc1 which gave White a minimal edge, Topalov – Nakamura, Grand Chess Tour Blitz Paris 2017, Paris 2017. 9. ... Bd5!? 丁立人 (Dīng Lìrén)’s novelty – but not a substantial one. For 9. ... Be7 10. 0-0 Nc6 11. Re1 Bd5 12. Qb3 Bxc4 13. Qxc4 Qd7 14. d3 Qe6 take a look at Shimanov – 居文君 (Jū Wénjūn), 1st Fall Chess Classic, Saint Louis 2017. 10. Qb3 Bxc4 11. Qxc4 Nc6 12. 0-0 Qd7 13. d3 Qe6 14. Qxe6+ fxe6 15. Ng5 Kd7 16. f4 Be7 17. Ne4 Raf8 18. Bd2 g5 19. g3 Rhg8 20. Kh1 gxf4 21. gxf4 Rg6 22. Rac1 Rfg8 23. a3 a5 24. Rf3 b6 25. Rh3 R8g7 26. Ng3 Nd8 27. b4! axb4 28. axb4 b5!

29. Kg2. Aronian felt not ready to dare the most critical and consistent 29. f5! exf5 30. Nxf5 Rf7 31. Nxd4 as he apparently saw no convincing way to capitalize his material advantage after 31. ... Ne6! 32. Nxb5 (32. Nxe6? Kxe6 33. d4 Kd5 couldn’t worry Black anymore) 32. ... Rg4! with powerful dynamic compensation for the two Pawns. Whatever it was, it would have been a hard fight! 29. ... Nc6 30. Rb1 Rf7 31. Rh5 Rg8 32. Rh6 Bf8 33. Rh3 Be7 34. Rh6 Bf8 35. Rh3 Be7 ½ : ½.

Lonely Are the Brave

Wesley So – 丁立人 (Dīng Lìrén)
7th Chess World Cup; tie-break game 1 (25+10); Tbilisi, September 21, 2017
2r5/4k1pp/p3pp2/P7/3PP3/N1rb1PP1/1Rp2K1P/2R5 w - - 3 36

Position after 35. ... Rc7-c3

In the other semifinal tie-break, 丁立人 (Dīng Lìrén) beat Wesley So in the superrapid games (10+10), and maybe the result could be regarded as a surprise, even if not by me. So in fact played lazily all the tie-break games as if he didn’t care too much about it. On the other hand, 丁立人 (Dīng Lìrén) showed significant progress in his play, thanks to a more flexible approach to his goals. Wesley’s nightmare is well illustrated by the position of the diagram, which immortalizes the first rapid tie-break game. White finds himself in a deadly Zugzwang and he can no longer move anything, and yet 丁立人 (Dīng Lìrén) will succeed in his impossible mission of not winning. After such a disaster, he could well have collapsed in the second rapid tie-break game, but he was clever enough to offer his opponent a draw after only nine moves, taking all the time necessary to recover his strength and serenity. 36. Ra2 f5 37. e5 g5 38. Ke1 f4 39. Kd2 Bf5 40. gxf4 gxf4 41. Nxc2 R8c4 (41. ... Rxf3 42. Nb4 Rg8−+) 42. Rb2 Rxf3 (42. ... Kf7 would have kept White short of moves: 43. Kd1 Kg6−+) 43. Rb7+ Ke8 44. Nb4 Rxd4+ 45. Ke2 Re3+ 46. Kf1 Be4 47. Rg7! (Houdini’s escape!) 47. ... Kf8 48. Ra7 Rd8 49. Nxa6 Bd3+ 50. Kg1 Rxe5 51. Rd1 Rxa5 52. Nc7 Rxa7 53. Nxe6+ Ke7 54. Nxd8 Bb5 55. Rb1 Bd7 56. Nb7 Ra2 57. Nc5 Bc6 58. Nd3 Rg2+ 59. Kf1 f3 60. Rb6 Bd5 61. Rb4 Rxh2 62. Ne1 Ke6 63. Rf4 Rh1+ 64. Kf2 Rh2+ 65. Kg3 Re2 66. Nxf3 Re3 67. Kf2 Rxf3+ 68. Rxf3 Ke5 ½ : ½.

The Screenplay Anniversary

Levon Grigori Aronian – Maxime Vachier-Lagrave
7th Chess World Cup; tie-break game 2 (25+10); Tbilisi, September 21, 2017
King’s Indian Defence E81

In the end, Levon Grigori Aronian won, even if only in the ultimate Armageddon. Moreover, the Armenian Grandmaster never could have lost such a campal fight on the Independence Day of Armenia. 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. f3 c5 4. d5 d6 5. Nc3 e6 6. e4 Bg7 7. Nge2 0-0 8. Ng3 a6 9. a4 h5 10. Bg5 Qc7 11. Qd2 exd5 12. cxd5 Nh7. For 12. ... Nbd7 13. Be2 Rb8 14. 0-0 c4 see Giri – Bacrot, 30th European Chess Club Cup, Bilbao 2014. 13. Bh6 h4 14. Bxg7 Kxg7 15. Bc4!? A novelty and a very interesting Knight sacrifice. The older try was 15. Nge2 Qe7 16. Nf4 Nd7 17. Be2 Ne5 18. 0-0 f5 19. Rad1 Nf6 20. Ne6+ Bxe6 21. dxe6 Qxe6 22. Qxd6 Qxd6 23. Rxd6 fxe4 24. fxe4 Nfg4 25. Rb6 Rxf1+ 26. Bxf1 Ra7 27. Nd5 Nd7 28. Rd6 Nge5 29. a5 Ra8 30. Nf4 Rc8 31. Nxg6 Rc6 32. Nxh4 Kf8 33. Nf5 Nf6 34. Rd8+ Kf7 35. Rb8 Nxe4 36. Rxb7+ Ke6 37. Ne3 Nd6 38. Rb6 Rxb6 39. axb6 a5 40. h4 Kd7 41. h5 Kc6 42. h6 Kxb6 43. Nc4+ Ndxc4 44. Bxc4 Kc6 45. h7 Ng6 46. Kf2 Kd6 47. Ke3 Ke5 48. Bf7 Nh8 49. Be8 1 : 0 Dreev – Gladyszev, 25th Open, Metz 2007. 15. ... hxg3 16. hxg3 Rh8 17. e5 Qe7 18. 0-0-0 Nd7. After winning the first tie-break game, Vachier-Lagrave probably relied upon his ability to keep the complications under control, and objectively the situation is quite unclear. I think, however, that here he could have dared something more with 18. ... b5(!), aiming, he, too, for a win-win solution. 19. exd6 Qxd6 20. Ne4 Qe5 21. d6!

21. ... g5? Black suddenly becomes too ambitious and goes too far in weakening his King’s position. Best was 21. ... Ndf8 (intending ... Bc8-e6), after which it could have followed 22. d7 Bxd7 23. Qh6+ Kg8 24. Rxd7 Nxd7 25. Qxg6+ Qg7 26. Bxf7+ Kf8 27. Qd6+ Kxf7 28. Qxd7+ with perpetual check (Stockfish’s analysis). 22. Rhe1! b5 23. Bd5 Rb8 24. f4! Qd4?? Black collapses, but after 24. ... Qf5 25. Qc3+ Ndf6 26. d7! his situation was also bad enough. 25. Qe2 Qb4 26. Qh5! 1: 0.

Jingle Bells

丁立人 (Dīng Lìrén) – Wesley So
7th Chess World Cup; match game 2; Tbilisi, September 20, 2017
Queen’s Indian Defence E17

Today, it was 丁立人 (Dīng Lìrén)’s turn to not cash in on his luck. 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. g3 d5 4. Bg2 Be7 5. Nf3 0-0 6. b3 b6 7. 0-0 Bb7 8. Nc3 Nbd7 9. Bb2 c5 10. Ne1!? An interesting novelty. 10. cxd5 may well transpose into 10. ... Nxd5 11. Nxd5 Bxd5 12. Qd2 Rc8 13. dxc5 ½ : ½ T. V. Petrossiàn – Spassky, 3rd International Chess Tournament, Bugojno 1982. 10. ... cxd4. 10. ... Ne4 was worth considering. 11. Qxd4 Bc5 12. Qf4 Bb4 13. Nd3 Bxc3 14. Bxc3. Black succeeded in simplifying the position, but at the cost of moving his Bishop three times, thus conceding White a slight but enduring edge that might have its influence in the ensuing ending. 14. ... Qc8 15. Rfc1 dxc4 16. Bxf6 Nxf6 17. Rxc4 Qb8 18. Qxb8 Rfxb8 19. Ne5 Bxg2 20. Kxg2 Ne8 21. Nc6 Rb7 22. Rd1 Kf8 23. e4 Nf6 24. f4 b5 25. Rcd4 g6 26. Ne5 h6 27. Rc1 Ke8 28. Kf3 Nd7 29. Nd3. White isn’t interested in changing pieces, of course. 29. ... a5 30. Rc6 Ke7 31. a3 Raa7 32. Ke3 Nb8 33. Rc8 Nd7 34. Rc6 Nb8 35. Rc8 Nd7 36. Nc5 Nb6. This could be the only mistake Black actually made, and it might have been fatal. 36. ... Rc7(!) would have led to a liquidation to a Rook ending in which the drawing prospects were quite high.

37. Rc6. With only a few minutes to the time control, 丁立人 (Dīng Lìrén) does not appreciate duly the strength of the enveloping maneuver 37. Rh8! Rc7 38. Rdd8! Rxc5 39. e5! (Δ Rh8-e8 mate) 39. ... f5 40. Rb8 (Δ Rh8-h7 mate) 40. ... Rc8 41. Rbxc8 Nxc8 42. Rxc8 which would have ensured White a very favourable endgame. 37. ... Rc7 38. Rxb6 Rxc5 39. e5 g5! 40. Rd3 gxf4+ 41. gxf4 Rc2 42. h3 Ra2 43. b4 axb4 44. axb4 Rh2 45. Ke4 Rc7 46. Rxb5 Rc4+ 47. Rd4 Rc7 48. Rc5 Rxc5 49. bxc5 Rc2 50. f5 exf5+ 51. Kxf5 Rxc5 52. Rd6 Rc1 53. Rxh6 Rf1+ 54. Ke4 f6 55. exf6+ Rxf6 56. Rxf6 Kxf6 57. h4 Kg6 58. h5+ Kxh5 ½ : ½.

Faith and Fade

Wesley So – 丁立人 (Dīng Lìrén)
7th Chess World Cup; match game 1; Tbilisi, September 19, 2017
Giuoco Piano C54

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. d3 Bc5 5. c3 d6 6. 0-0 0-0 7. Re1 a5 8. Nbd2 Be6 9. Bb5!? Qb8!? 10. Nf1 Qa7 11. Be3 Bxe3 12. Nxe3 Ne7 13. a4 Ng6 14. Bc4 Bxc4. Here 丁立人 (Dīng Lìrén) offered a draw, which So refused. 15. Nxc4 Qa6 16. g3 Rfe8 17. Qb3 Nf8 18. Qb5 Qxb5 19. axb5 b6 20. Ra3 Ne6 21. Ne3 Nc5 22. c4 a4. This is not an easy decision, but Black had to do something against his opponent’s aim to double Rooks on the a-file and then advancing b2-b4. 23. Rea1 Nb3 24. Rd1. After 24. Ra2 Black would have been only too happy to repeat the position by 24. ... Nc1. 24. ... Rec8 25. Nd2 Nxd2 26. Rxd2 Nd7 27. Rd1 Nc5 28. Nd5 Kf8 29. f4 Ra5 30. Nb4 Raa8 31. Kf2 Ke8 32. Ke3 f6 33. f5! Kd7 34. g4! White’s got a manifest advantage in space and position, but its exploitation depends on the possibility to break through into Black’s blockhouse. 34. ... Rh8 35. h4 h6 36. Nd5 Ra5 37. Rg1 Kc8 38. g5 hxg5 39. hxg5 Rh3+ 40. Kd2 Nb3+. I don’t understand too much why 丁立人 (Dīng Lìrén) did not play to maintain the status quo by 40. ... Rh2+ 41. Kc3 Rh3, leaving his opponent the task of demonstrating an eventual win.

41. Kc3. So thought for less than 3 minutes, apparently skeptical about White’s chances after the eventual Exchange sacrifice. If Emanuel Lasker had reasoned thus in his game against Capablanca at Saint Petersburg in 1914, he would have been wrong, so maybe So is not right – and surely not from a practical viewpoint. After 41. Rxb3! axb3 42. gxf6 gxf6 43. Rg8+(!) Kd7 (43. ... Kb7 44. Rg7 looks even worse) 44. Nb4! Rh2+ 45. Kc3 Ke7 (not 45. ... Ra2?? because of 46. Nc6! catching His Majesty in a mating net) 46. Rc8! Black might even come up with a miraculous way to draw (even though it’s hard to believe), but in any event he should have earned it dearly. Now, instead, 丁立人 (Dīng Lìrén) finds an elegant and quick way out: 41. ... Nd4! 42. gxf6 Rh2! 43. Nxb6+. Clearly not 43. fxg7?? on account of 43. ... Rc2+ 44. Kb4 c5+ 45. bxc6 Nxc6 mate. 43. ... cxb6 44. fxg7 Rc2+ 45. Kb4 Rxb2+ 46. Kc3 Rc2+ 47. Kb4 Rb2+ ½ : ½.

Le Masque de Fer

Pyotr Veniaminovich Svidler – Maxime Vachier-Lagrave
7th Chess World Cup; tie-break game 2 (25+10); Tbilisi, September 17, 2017
English Opening A34

No doubt, the character and temper of Maxime Vachier-Lagrave will have to be taken seriously by the screenwriters of the next World Chess saga. 1. c4 c5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nc3 d5 4. cxd5 Nxd5 5. e4 Nb4 6. Bc4 Nd3+ 7. Ke2 Nf4+ 8. Kf1 Ne6 9. h4 Nd4 10. d3 e6. In the first of their two classical games followed 10. ... Nbc6 11. Nb5 Be6!? 12. Bf4 Nxb5 13. Bxb5 Qb6 14. Ba4 Qa6 15. Rc1 b5 16. Bb3 Bxb3 17. Qxb3 e6 18. Be3 Na5 19. Qc3 b4 20. Qc2 Nb7 21. Qc4 Qxc4 22. Rxc4 Be7 23. Ke2 0-0 24. Nd2 Rfc8 25. Nb3 a5 26. a4 bxa3 27. bxa3 a4 28. Nd2 Nd6 29. Rxc5 Rcb8 30. Rb1 Rxb1 31. Nxb1 Bxh4 32. Rc6 Be7 33. Bc5 Nb5! 34. Ke3 Kf8 35. Bxe7+ Kxe7 36. Rb6 Nd6 37. Nc3 h5 38. f4 f6 39. Nb5 Nxb5 40. Rxb5 h4 41. Rb7+ ½ : ½ Svidler – Vachier-Lagrave, 7th Chess World Cup, Tbilisi 2017, match game 1. 11. Bf4 a6! This is surely an improvement on 11. ... Bd6 12. e5 Be7 13. Nxd4 Qxd4 [Diermair – Paravyan, 14th Aeroflot Open (B-group), Moscow 2016] and now 14. Qg4 Kf8 15. Nb5 should ensure White the initiative. 12. Nxd4 cxd4 13. Ne2 Nc6 14. a3 Bd6 15. Bxd6 Qxd6 16. Qd2 Bd7 17. f4. Somewhat committal, but otherwise, what else could Svidler have done? 17. ... e5! 18. f5 g6! Unlike his opponent, Vachier-Lagrave seems to have studied very carefully the subtleties of the opening. 19. Ng3. The immediate 19. Qh6 might be a little better, after which Stockfish considers 19. ... Qf8 – but I guess it should not be excluded that Black might have castled Queenside (as in the game). 19. ... Ne7 20. Qh6 0-0-0 21. h5

21. ... Kc7! A simple and economical way for defending the Queen. Black’s position appears already easier and more comfortable. 22. Bxf7 gxf5 23. Qxd6+? This hasty move significantly worsens White’s situation. After 23. Rc1+ Bc6 24. Qxd6+ Rxd6 Black stands somewhat better, but the game is not yet over. Now the White King remains too troubled and constipated in his own harmless realm. 23. ... Kxd6 24. exf5 Nxf5 25. Ne4+ Ke7 26. Bb3 Ne3+ 27. Ke2 Bc6 28. Rac1 Rhf8 29. Rh3 Nxg2. Black is totally winning, so Svidler tries a last desperate Exchange sacrifice: 30. Rxc6 bxc6 31. Rg3 Nf4+ 32. Ke1 Rb8! 33. Rg7+ Kd8 34. Bf7. White was just looking for a way to resign. 34. ... Rb7 0 : 1.

Golden Fleece

Wesley So – Vladimir Vasilyevich Fedoseev
7th Chess World Cup; match game 2; Tbilisi, September 16, 2017
Russian Defence C42

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nxe5 d6 4. Nf3 Nxe4 5. d4 d5 6. Bd3 Be7 7. 0-0 Nc6 8. Nbd2 Bf5 9. Re1 Nxd2 10. Qxd2 Bxd3 11. Qxd3 0-0 12. c3 Qd7 13. Bf4 a6 14. Re2. Or 14. Re3 Rae8 15. Rae1 Bd8 16. h3 Rxe3 17. Rxe3 (17. Qxe3 Qf5!) 17. ... f6 18. Re2 Rf7 19. Nd2! with a very slight plus for White, Kasparov – Karpov, Tournament of the Stars, Moscow 1981. 14. ... Rae8 15. Rae1 Bd8 16. Nd2 Rxe2 17. Qxe2 a5!? The older try is 17. ... Be7 18. Nb3 Rb8 19. h3 h6 20. Qg4 Qxg4 21. hxg4 Bd6 22. Bxd6 cxd6 23. Nc1 Kf8 24. Kf1 b5 25. a3 Re8 26. Rxe8+ Kxe8 27. Nd3 ½ : ½ Brkić – Jovanić, 13th Open, Zadar 2016. 18. Nb3 b6 19. Nc1 f6. This is not wrong in itself, but Fedoseev is following a wrong idea. 20. a4 Ne7 21. Nd3 g5? This super-ambitious strategy will immediately show its intrinsic weakness. After 21. ... Rf7 followed by ... Ne7-g6 Black’s position is just a little cramped, but apparently tenable. 22. Bc1 Ng6 23. b3 Be7

24. h4! This straight blow has a demolishing effect on Black’s position. 24. ... gxh4. Fedoseev has apparently no choice because of the threat h4-h5. If 24. ... Rf7 there might follow 25. h5 Nf8 26. f4! with sad consequences for Black. 25. Nf4 Rf7 26. Qe6! Qxe6 27. Rxe6 Nxf4 28. Bxf4 Bd8 29. b4 Kg7. If 29. ... axb4 then 30. cxb4 Kg7 31. Rc6! Be7 32. a5! Bxb4 33. a6 and White, in spite of being (temporarily) two Pawns down, should win. 30. bxa5 bxa5 31. Ra6 c6 32. Rxc6. White has finally won back his Pawn and is dominating the board. Despite a strenuous defence by Fedoseev, as usual So performs his technical execution in the most effortless and elegant way. 32. ... Kg6 33. Rc5 Rd7 34. f3 Kf5 35. Bd2 Ke6 36. Rc6+ Kf5 37. Be1 Kg5 38. Rc5 f5 39. Kh2 Kh5 40. Bf2 Rd6 41. Be3 Bb6 42. Rb5 Bd8 43. Bf4 Rd7 44. Be5 Kg5 45. Rc5 f4 46. Rc6 Kf5 47. Ra6 Kg5 48. Kh3 Kf5 49. Rc6 Kg5 50. Re6 Be7 51. Rc6 Bd8 52. Bd6 Kf5 53. Kh2 Rg7 54. Be5 Rd7 55. Rd6 Rxd6 56. Bxd6 Kg5 57. Kg1 Kf5 58. Kf2 Kg5 59. Kf1 Kf5 60. Ba3 Ke6 61. Ke2 Kf5 62. Bc1 Kg5 63. Kf1 Bc7 64. Bd2 Bd8 65. Be1 Kf5 66. Ke2 Ke6 67. Kd3 Kd7 68. c4 Kc6 69. Bc3 Bb6 70. Bb2 Bd8 71. Bc1 Bc7 72. Bd2 h5 73. Bc3 Bb6 74. Bb2 Bc7 75. Ba3 Bd8 76. Bf8 Bg5 77. Bg7 Kd6 78. Be5+ Kc6 79. Kc3 Bh6 80. Bf6 Bf8 81. Kd3 h3 82. gxh3 Bd6 83. Be5 1 : 0.

The Tiny Warrior

丁立人 (Dīng Lìrén) – Richárd Rapport
7th Chess World Cup; match game 2; Tbilisi, September 16, 2017
Queen’s Indian Defence E18

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4. g3 Bb7 5. Bg2 Be7 6. 0-0 0-0 7. Nc3 Ne4 8. Bd2 Bf6 9. Re1!? Rapport had lost two important games in Wijk aan Zee early this year, but in both cases his opponents have chosen a different move from that of 丁立人 (Dīng Lìrén). After 9. Rc1 Nxd2 10. Qxd2 d6 11. d5 e5 12. e4 Nd7 13. h4 a5 14. Bh3 Nc5 15. Kg2 Bc8 Black could (and should) be quite content with his position, So – Rapport, 79th Tata Steel Chess Tournament, Wijk aan Zee 2017, whereas, instead, after 9. Be1 Re8 10. Qc2 d5 11. Nxe4 dxe4 12. Nd2 Bxd4 13. Rd1 Black soon found himself in a very unpleasant position, Aronian – Rapport, 79th Tata Steel Chess Tournament, Wijk aan Zee 2017. 9. ... a6!? 10. Ne5 Nxc3 11. Bxc3 Bxg2 12. Kxg2 d6 13. Ng4 Be7 14. e4 b5 15. Qe2! bxc4

16. d5! White energetically sacrifices a Pawn to put a powerful bind on Black’s centre. 16. ... Qc8. This move does not help Black’s cause, but it was not easy to find a good one. 17. e5! As suggested by Norwegian Grandmaster Johan Salomon, another pleasant way was 17. Qxc4 exd5 18. Nh6+! (18. ... Kh8 19. Qd4 Bf6 20. Qxf6! gxf6 21. Bxf6 mate) 18. ... gxh6 19. Qd4 f6 20. Qxd5+ winning the Rook. So Black should have been content with 17. ... e5 18. Ne3 which, however, would have left him in a horrible situation. 17. ... exd5 18. exd6 cxd6. Not 18. ... Bxd6? 19. Qf3! c6? 20. Nh6+! Kh8 21. Qf6! with mate in a few moves. 19. Qxe7 d4. If 19. ... Qxg4 then 20. f3! Qf5 21. g4 and Black cannot parry both threats (Qe7-b7 and Qe7-g5). 20. Qe4 Qc6 21. Bxd4 f5. Indian Grandmaster Surya Shekhar Ganguly gives a pretty variation: 21. ... Qxe4 22. Rxe4 f5 23. Re7 Nc6 24. Rxg7+ Kh8 25. Rg8++! Kxg8 26. Nh6 mate. So Black must enter an endgame which is completely hopeless. 22. Qxc6 Nxc6 23. Ne3 Nxd4 24. Rad1 f4 25. Rxd4 fxe3 26. Rxe3 Rab8 27. Re2 c3 28. bxc3 Rb6 29. Rb4! Rxb4 30. cxb4 Rb8 31. Rb2. Now – irony of fate – White is a Pawn ahead and – even most importantly – has Pawn majorities on both wings. The win is very easy. 31. ... Kf7 32. Kf3 Ke6 33. Ke4 d5+ 34. Kd3 Kd6 35. a4 Rb7 36. f4 h5 37. b5 axb5 38. axb5 Kc5 39. Rc2+ Kxb5 40. Kd4 Rf7 41. Kxd5 1 : 0.

The Agony of Modern Manners

Levon Grigori Aronian – Vassily Mykhaylovych Ivanchuk
7th Chess World Cup; match game 1; Tbilisi, September 15, 2017
English Opening A13

Strange things keep happening in the 7th Chess World Cup, and everyone may have his own ideas of what all this means. 1. c4 e6 2. g3 d5 3. Bg2 dxc4 4. Qa4+ c6 5. Qxc4 b5 6. Qc2 Bb7 7. Nf3 Nd7!? Ivanchuk deliberately takes his opponent on a sideline route, otherwise he would have played 7. ... Nf6 (8. d4 Nbd7). So I don’t understand why some commentators speak of Ivanchuk’s falling into a prepared trap by his opponent. He did everything on his own. 8. Nc3 Rc8 9. 0-0 a6!? Vassily Mykhaylovych takes another deliberate step off from his past experience: for 9. ... Ngf6 10. a4 a6 11. d3 Be7 12. e4 0-0 13. Be3 Ng4 14. Bf4 Ngf6 15. Rfd1 Qb6 16. a5 Qa7 17. e5 Nd5 see Ivanchuk – Grischuk, 4th Chess World Cup, Khanty-Mansiysk 2011. 10. d4 c5? Played after more than 40 minutes of thinking! The old try was 10. ... Ngf6, but after 11. Ne5 Qb6 12. Be3 c5 13. Nxd7 Nxd7 14. dxc5 Bxc5 15. Bxb7 Qxb7 16. Ne4 things turned out to be quite unpleasant for Black, Benidze – Aleksandrov, 11th International Chess Open, Nakhchivan 2011.

11. d5! exd5 12. Nh4 Ndf6? This is actually the first and only novelty, and certainly it is not an improvement on 12. ... Ngf6; then Ukrainian Grandmaster Mikhail Vladimirovich Golubev gives 13. Rd1 (13. Bg5 Qb6 14. e4 d4 15. Nd5 Bxd5 16. exd5 h6 17. Rfe1+ Kd8 18. Bd2 c4 is quite unclear, Nguyễn Thị Thanh An – Gvetadze, 1st World Women’s Team Chess Championship, Yekaterinburg 2007) 13. ... Qb6 14. Nxd5 Nxd5 15. Bxd5 Bxd5 16. Rxd5 Qe6 17. Rd3, which is obviously more favourable to White (for instance: 17. ... Ne5 18. Re3 c4 19. f4!), but it also was by far the most lesser evil. 13. Rd1. Here is no good news for Ivanchuk: Aronian has still 1 hour and 12 minutes left (as well as an imposing position), whilst he remains with only 12 minutes. The rest is not hard to foresee: 13. ... g6 14. Nxd5 Nxd5 15. e4 Bg7 16. exd5 Nf6 17. Qe2+ Kf8 18. a4! b4 19. Be3 Qd6 20. Rac1 Nd7 21. Nf3 h6 22. Nd2 Kg8 23. Ne4 Qf8 24. d6 1 : 0.

同城德比

丁立人 (Dīng Lìrén) – 王皓 (Wáng Hào)
7th Chess World Cup; match game 2; Tbilisi, September 13, 2017
3r4/R2nk1p1/2p1p1Bp/4P2P/2R5/6P1/4rPK1/8 w - - 5 37

Position after 36. ... Rb2-e2

Thanks to an unfortunate opening choice by his opponent, 丁立人 (Dīng Lìrén) could enjoy the Catalan endgame in its best possible version, but his “way of implementation” was nevertheless very instructive: 37. Re4! Much stronger than 37. Rxc6 Rxe5 38. Rcc7, which yet did not seem to be bad. 37. ... Rxe4. The trade of Rooks is forced, otherwise follows Re4-f4. 38. Bxe4 Rc8 39. f4 Kd8 40. Kf3 c5 41. Ke3 Rc7 42. Ra8+ Rc8 43. Ra6 Ke7 44. Ra7 c4 45. Kd2 c3+ 46. Kc2 Kd8 47. Bd3 Rc5 48. Ra8+ Ke7 49. Ra7 Kd8 50. Ra3. That’s all White’s got. The Black c-Pawn falls, and after the change of Rooks White’s Bishop will dominate the Black Knight. 50. ... Nb6 51. Rxc3 Rxc3+ 52. Kxc3 Nd5+ 53. Kd4 Ke7 54. Be4 Nb4 55. Kc5 Na2 56. Kc4 Nc1 57. Bd3! 1 : 0. The triumph of the Catalan Bishop: if Black does not trade on d3 (losing the Pawn ending), White will play Bd3-f1(!) trapping and winning the Knight.

Mission: Impossible

Anish Giri – Vassily Mykhaylovych Ivanchuk
7th Chess World Cup; match game 2; Tbilisi, September 13, 2017
King’s Indian Defence E68

1. c4 e5 2. Nc3 d6 3. g3 g6 4. d4 Nd7 5. Nf3 Bg7 6. Bg2 Ngf6 7. 0-0 0-0 8. e4 a6 9. Qc2 exd4 10. Nxd4 Re8 11. Re1 Ne5 12. b3 c5 13. Nf3 Nfg4!? Maybe a new promise ring. For 13. ... Nc6 14. Bf4 Bg4 see Donchenko – Shoker, 32nd Open, Metz 2014. “Giri has to take on e5 and try to play with Bc1-b2, f2-f4, Qc2-d2 preparing f4-f5 at any appropriate moment with a lot of tricks”, Azerbaijani Grandmaster Teimour Radjabov argued. 14. Nxe5 Nxe5 15. Bb2 Nc6 16. Qd2 Qa5 17. Rad1 Bg4 18. f3 Be6 19. Nd5. Maybe it was time for White to move on by f3-f4 eventually followed by f4-f5. 19. ... Qxd2 20. Rxd2 Bxb2 21. Rxb2 Bxd5 22. cxd5 Nd4 23. f4? As often happens in must-win situations, the one committed to win ends up playing all out when it is, by now, too late. White had probably nothing better than 23. b4 b6 (if 23. ... cxb4 then 24. Rd1 followed by Rb2xb4) 25. bxc5 bxc5 with an approximate equality. Now Ivanchuk promptly takes the upper hand: 23. ... a5! 24. Kf2 f6! 25. h4 Re7 26. g4 h6! 27. Ke3? 27. e5 fxe5 28. fxe5 Rf8+ 29. Kg3 was White’s last chance to hope for a draw. However, Giri couldn’t afford anything but the win... 27. ... f5! 28. Kd3. White’s King abandones the ship. However, White would also stand very badly after 28. gxf5 gxf5 29. Kd3 Kf7 followed by ... Ra8-g8. 28. ... fxg4 29. e5 Kg7 30. Re4 Nf5. Game over. 31. Kc4 Ra6 32. a3 h5 33. Ree2 Nd4 34. Re4 b5+ 35. Kc3 b4+ 36. Kc4 bxa3 37. Ra2 Rb7 38. Rxa3 Nf5 39. Kc3 Rab6 40. Bf1 g3 41. Bh3 Nd4 42. Kd2 Nxb3+ 43. Kd3 Nd4 44. exd6 Rxd6 45. Kc4

45. ... Rb4+! An elegant way to offer a draw to a defeated opponent. In other circumstances, Ivanchuk would have surely played 45. ... Rdb6! 46. Rxg3 (both 46. Rxa5 Nb3 and 46. Kxc5 Nb3+ lose right off) 46. ... Rb4+ 47. Kxc5 Nb3+ winning heavy material. 46. Kxc5 Rdb6 47. Rxd4 R6b5+ 48. Kc6 Rb6+ 49. Kc5 R6b5+ ½ : ½. A noble soul!

Basil The Great Mouse Detective

Vassily Mykhaylovych Ivanchuk – Anish Giri
7th Chess World Cup; match game 1; Tbilisi, September 12, 2017
Russian Defence C43

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. d4 Nxe4 4. Bd3 d5 5. Nxe5 Nd7 6. Nxd7 Bxd7 7. 0-0 Bd6 8. Qh5 Qf6 9. Be3!? The alternative is 9. Nc3 Qxd4 10. Be3 Qe5 11. Qxe5+ Bxe5 12. Nxd5 Nf6 13. Rae1 (or 13. Rfe1 0-0 14. Nxf6+ Bxf6 15. c3 ½ : ½ Tiviakov – Giri, 14th Univé Chess Festival, Hoogeveen 2010) 13. ... Nxd5 14. Bd4 0-0-0 15. Bxe5 Nb4 with more or less equality, Efimenko – Giri, 29th European Club Cup, Rhodes 2013. 9. ... 0-0-0!? Giri is in fighting mood, even though he took about 30 minutes to decide on avoiding the temptation of a draw: 9. ... Bf5 10. f3 g6 11. Qh6 Bf8 12. Qf4 Bd6 13. Qh6 Bf8 14. Qf4 ½ : ½ Iordachescu – Landa, New Year’s Tournament 2006/2007, Reggio Emilia 2006. 10. Nc3 Nxc3 11. bxc3 Qe6 12. Rfe1 f6 13. Bd2 Qg8 14. Rab1 Kb8 15. h3? It would be hard to call this a waiting move, as it loses time and creates a target (more precisely a breaking point) at g4. 15. ... b6 16. Ba6 g5 17. Qf3? White is playing with fire. More consistent and better was 17. c4 dxc4 18. Qf3 Bc8 19. Bxc8 Rxc8 20. a4 g4! 21. hxg4 h5 22. g5! fxg5 23. a5 Rh6 with a decidedly unclear game. 17. ... g4! 18. hxg4 Bxg4. Ivanchuk seems to be on the verge of the abyss; he can only rely upon Giri’s notorious non-aggressivity. 19. Qxf6 Rf8 20. Qh4

20. ... h5? Here 20. ... Rf5!! was very strong, intending ... Rf5-h5. 21. Bg5 Rh7. And now 21. ... Qg6 seemed far more promising, intending ... Rh8-g8. 22. Re3 Bc8 23. Bxc8 Kxc8 24. Rbe1 Qg6 25. Be7. The worst is over. 25. ... Bxe7 26. Rxe7 Qxc2 27. Qg3 Rxe7 28. Rxe7 Qc1+ 29. Kh2 Qf4 30. f3 a5 31. Re5 Qf7. 31. ... Qd2 32. Re7 Qxc3 should lead to a substantial balance. 32. Qh3+ Kb7 33. Rxh5. The nerves are dominating now. Safer was 33. Qe6 Qf4+ 34. Kh3 with unclear play, possibly with some chances more for White. 33. ... a4. Giri, too, does not play at his best. 33. ... Qf4+ 34. Qg3 Qd2 could be rather annoying for White. 34. Rh7 Qf4+? Now this is fatal. 34. ... Qe8 was good and fine as after 35. Qd7 Qxd7 36. Rxd7 Black has both the time and the way to infiltrate the Rook to the 2nd (7th) rank: 36. ... Re8 37. Rxd5 Re2 with equality. 35. Qg3 a3 36. Qxf4 Rxf4 37. Re7. Now the Black Rook has no access and the two united passed Pawns win easily. 37. ... Rf6 38. Re3 Rh6+ 39. Kg1 Ka6 40. f4 c5 41. f5 1 : 0. Youth triumphed.

New South Far West

Vladimir Borisovich Kramnik – Vassily Mykhaylovych Ivanchuk
7th Chess World Cup; match game 2; Tbilisi, September 10, 2017
Caro-Kann Defence B13

1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. exd5 cxd5 4. Bd3 Nc6 5. c3 Nf6 6. Bf4 Bg4 7. Qb3 Qc8 8. Nd2 e6 9. Ngf3 Be7 10. 0-0 Bh5 11. Rae1 Bg6 12. Bxg6 hxg6 13. h4!? This seems like a doubtful attempt to search for something more than what the position is actually offering. For 13. Ne5 Nxe5 14. dxe5 Nd7 see Gazik – J. P. Santos, 8th European Junior Chess Championship, Groningen 1978/1979. 13. ... a6 14. c4!? a5 15. a3 a4 16. Qd3 0-0 17. c5 b6! It seems like they are following the screenplay of the 1886 World Chess Championship match between Steinitz and Zukertort, with Kramnik playing like Zukertort. 18. cxb6 Qb7 19. Bc7 Nd7 20. Rc1 Rfc8 21. b4? This is probably the critical juncture as Kramnik’s super-ambitious move will ultimately lead him to lose a Pawn without any certainty of a compensation. Ivanchuk afterwards suggested 21. Rc3 Nxb6 22. Bxb6 Qxb6 23. Rfc1 Na7 with approximate equality. 21. ... axb3 22. Qxb3 Bxa3 23. Rc3 Be7 24. Rfc1 Nb4 25. Ne5 Nxe5 26. Bxe5 Rxc3 27. Qxc3 Qxb6. Thus, now Black is a Pawn ahead which Ivanchuk will convert into a win with flawless technique: 28. Nf3 Qd8 29. Qb3 Rc8 30. Ra1 Rc4 31. g3 Qc8 32. Kg2 Nc6 33. Qb5 Bf8 34. Ra4 Rxa4 35. Qxa4 Nb4 36. Qb5 Qc2 37. Qf1 Qe4 38. Qe1 f6 39. Bc7 Nc2 40. Qxe4 dxe4 41. Nd2 f5 42. Nb3 Ne1+ 43. Kf1 Nf3 44. Ke2 Kf7 45. Bb6 Bb4 46. Ke3 Ke8 47. Bc5 Bc3 48. Ba3 Kf7 49. Bd6 Kf6 50. Bc7 Ke7 51. Bb8 Bb2 52. Bf4 Kd8 53. Bd6 Kd7! Black gives back the extra Pawn for decisively infiltrating with the King. 54. Bf8 Kc6 55. Bxg7 Kd5 56. Bf6 Bc3 57. Ke2 Kc4 58. Nc5

58. ... e5! 59. Nd7 exd4 60. Bd8 d3+ 61. Kd1 Bd4 62. Bb6 Bxb6 63. Nxb6+ Kd4 64. Nc8 Ne5 65. Ne7 Ng4 66. Ke1 Kc3 67. Nd5+ Kb3 68. Kd2 Nxf2 69. h5 gxh5 70. Ne3 h4 71. Nxf5 h3 0 : 1.

Coin flipping

Alexander Igorevich Grischuk – David Navara
7th Chess World Cup; match game 1; Tbilisi, September 9, 2017
8/8/3K2k1/4P2p/5n2/8/6P1/4N3 w - - 0 58

Position after 57. ... h6-h5

58. e6. The only winning try. Nevertheless Grischuk is perfectly aware that the game will end as a draw. 58. ... Nxe6! 59. Kxe6 Kg5 60. Ke5 Kg4 61. Nd3 h4 62. Nf4 Kg5 63. Nd3 Kg4 64. Ke4 Kg3 65. Nf4 Kg4 66. Ke5 Kg5 67. Ke4 Kg4 68. Ng6! One last trick. 68. ... h3! Not 68. ... Kg3?? 69. Nxh4! Kxh4 70. Kf4 and White wins. 69. Ne5+ Kg3 70. gxh3 Kxh3 ½ : ½.

Mario Baldanello – Giorgio Porreca
2nd International Festival (Section A), Imperia 1960
5k2/7p/1n2P3/4KNP1/8/8/8/8 w - - 6 1

White to move and win

In the above diagram is illustrated a much more favourable version of the same ending. Curiously enough, however, Mario Baldanello, under severe time pressure, did not succeed in finding the right way and a draw was soon agreed. Instead, the solution was 1. e7+ Kf7 (1. ... Ke8?? 2. Ke6 and mate next move) 2. Kd6 Nc4+ 3. Kc6! Ne5+ (or 3. ... Ke8 4. Kd5) 4. Kd5 winning easily.

After a dream

Magnus Carlsen – 卜祥志 (Bǔ Xiángzhì)
7th Chess World Cup; match game 1; Tbilisi, September 9, 2017
Two Knights Defence C55

Today 16th World Chess Champion Magnus Carlsen lost a very strange game to 卜祥志 (Bǔ Xiángzhì), but – who knows – perhaps he only wished to call for Caïssa’s attention... 1. e4 e5 2. Bc4 Nf6 3. d3 Nc6 4. Nf3 Be7 5. 0-0 0-0 6. Bb3 d6 7. c3 Be6 8. Re1 Qd7 9. Nbd2 Rab8!? This is quite an absurd move as it seems of no use, even though, strangely, it does not imply any negative effect upon Black’s position. The most usual continuation is 9. ... Rae8, e.g. 10. Nf1 a6 11. Ng3 Bd8 12. Bc2 Qc8 13. d4 Bg4 14. Be3 d5 15. h3 exd4 16. cxd4 dxe4 17. hxg4 exf3 18. Bf5 Nd7 19. g5 Ne7 20. Bh3 Nd5 21. Qxf3 c6 22. Qg4 Nxe3 23. Rxe3 Rxe3 24. fxe3 Qc7 25. Rf1 Nb6 26. e4 Qe7 27. Rf5 ½ : ½ Nunn – E. P. Geller, 2nd Phillips & Drew Kings Chess Tournament, London 1982. 10. Bc2 d5. Black has in mind a kind of Marshall Counter-gambit. 11. h3. I guess this might be really superfluous. 11. ... h6 12. exd5 Nxd5 13. Nxe5 Nxe5 14. Rxe5 Bd6 15. Re1. Carlsen cashed in the Pawn without too many doubts as to his technical skill, but 卜祥志 (Bǔ Xiángzhì) is going to play something shocking:

15. ... Bxh3! 16. gxh3 Qxh3 17. Nf1 Rbe8 18. d4 f5. Black has only a Pawn for the Bishop, but enough play to compensate his losses. 19. Bb3 c6 20. f4 Kh7 21. Bxd5? This is a terrible mistake, apparently due to White’s unwillingness to resign himself to a dynamic balance. Stockfish’s first line 21. Re2 Nxf4 22. Rh2 Qg4+ 23. Qxg4 fxg4 24. Bxf4 Rxf4 25. Nd2 Rxd4 26. cxd4 Bxh2+ 27. Kxh2 Re2+ 28. Kg3 Rxd2 should ultimately lead to a draw. 21. ... cxd5 22. Re3? 22. Re2 was still White’s only move, even if in worse circumstances than before: after 22. ... Qg4+ 23. Kf2 g5! 24. fxg5 Re4 Black stands much better. 22. ... Rxe3 23. Bxe3 g5! Carlsen must have had bad dreams last night for reducing himself in such a horrible position. 24. Kf2. His Majesty hopes to sneak away. If 24. fxg5 then 24. ... f4 25. Qc2+ Rf5 with sad consequences for White. 24. ... gxf4 25. Qf3 fxe3+ 26. Nxe3 Qh2+ 27. Kf1 Rg8 28. Qxf5+ Rg6! Material is eventually equal, but Black’s attack is irresistible. 29. Ke1 h5? An inaccuracy that could cost 卜祥志 (Bǔ Xiángzhì) dearly. After 29. ... Kg7! 30. Qd7+ Kh8 31. Qd8+ Kh7! 32. Qd7+ Rg7 33. Qf5+ Kh8 there was nothing left for White to do. 30. Kd1? With only a few seconds on the clock, Magnus misses the last chance for a draw with 30. Rd1! (Stockfish) 30. ... Kh6 31. Rd2 Rg1+ 32. Nf1 and White – quite incredibly – should succeed in consolidating. 30. ... Kh6 31. Nc2 h4 32. Ne1 h3 33. Nf3 Qg2 34. Ne1 Qg4+ 35. Qxg4 Rxg4 36. Nf3 Rg1+ 0 : 1.

Between Mars and Jupiter

Richárd Rapport – 韦奕 (Wéi Yì)
7th Chess World Cup; tie-break game 1; Tbilisi, September 8, 2017
6k1/8/4K1p1/5p1p/5P1P/3R2P1/1b6/8 w - - 17 59

Position after 58. ... Bc3-b2

The young Chinese prodigy 韦奕 (Wéi Yì) was another excellent victim of the tie-break system, even if Richárd Rapport, Hungary’s youngest ever Grandmaster, may well be regarded as a talent of equal stature with him. In the first of the two tie-break games, Rapport played with great brilliancy and soon gained the Exchange, showing an almost encyclopaedic knowledge of technique in finally converting his material advantage into a "book” win: 59. g4! hxg4. Or 59. ... fxg4 60. f5! gxf5 61. Kxf5 Kf7 62. Rd7+ Kf8 63. Kg6 g3 64. Rd8+ Ke7 65. Rd2 Ba3 66. Kxh5 with a theoretical win. 60. h5! Kg7 61. Rd7+ Kh6 62. hxg6 Kxg6 63. Rf7 Bc1 64. Rxf5 Kh6 65. Ke5 1 : 0.

She forgot to put sugar in the cake

Daniil Dimitriyevich Dubov – Sergey Alexandrovich Karjakin
7th Chess World Cup; match game 2; Tbilisi, September 7, 2017
English Opening A29

The “cooked” menu with which Karjakin was served by Dubov was one of the surprises of the day: 1. c4 Nf6 2. Nc3 e5 3. Nf3 Nc6 4. g3 d5 5. cxd5 Nxd5 6. Bg2 Bc5 7. 0-0 0-0 8. d3 Bb6 9. Nxd5 Qxd5 10. b4 e4 11. Ng5 Qd4 12. Ba3!? It’s not passed much time from 12. Be3 Qxb4 13. Nxe4 Bg4 14. h3 Bh5 15. Rb1 Qe7 16. Qd2 Rad8 17. Nc3 f6 18. Nd5 Qd7 19. Rfc1 Bf7 20. Bxb6 axb6 21. Nb4 Nd4 22. Nc2 Nc6 23. Nb4 Nd4 24. e3 Nf5 25. d4 c5 26. Nc2 cxd4 27. Nxd4 Nxd4 28. exd4 Qxd4 29. Qxd4 Rxd4 30. Rxb6 Bxa2 31. Rxb7 Rdd8 32. Ra7 Be6 33. Re7 Rfe8 34. Rxe8+ Rxe8 ½ : ½ Nakamura – Karjakin, 5th Sinquefield Cup, Saint Louis 2017. Anyway, Dubov did not improvise anything: what follows is a line (engine tested) that should lead to a draw, and of which they both had knowledge! 12. ... e3 13. b5 exf2+ 14. Kh1 Ne5 15. Bxf8 Kxf8 16. a4 a5 17. bxa6 Rxa6

18. a5 Ba7? “I knew that 18. ... Rxa5 is a draw, but over the board got confused and played 18. ... Ba7. I even repeated this line today, but it did not help...“, Karjakin tweeted afterwards. 19. Qc1 Qd8 20. Qf4 h6 21. Ne4 Qe7 22. Nc3 g5 23. Qc1! Back again! 23. ... Ng4. 23. ... c6 is equally met by 24. Nd5! with powerful effect. 24. Nd5 Qxe2 25. Qxc7 Rc6 26. Qd8+ Qe8. After 26. ... Kg7 27. Ne7 White ends up winning the second Exchange, which should be enough for him to sit and eat. 27. Qxe8+ Kxe8 28. d4 Kd8. Or 28. ... Bxd4 29. Ra4 followed by Nd5-b6. 29. h3 Nf6 30. Nb6 Rc2 31. Nxc8 1 : 0.

蜘蛛女之吻 (Kiss of the Spider Woman)

[Event "7th Chess World Cup"]
[Site "Tbilisi GEO"]
[Date "2017.09.07"]
[Round "2.2"]
[White "Aronian, Levon Grigori"]
[Black "侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán)"]
[ECO "E06"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[PlyCount "68"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. g3 Be7 5. Bg2 O-O 6. O-O dxc4 7. Qc2 b6 8. Rd1 Bb7 9. Qxc4 c5 10. Nc3 Nbd7 11. Bg5 cxd4 12. Rxd4 h6 13. Bxf6 Bxf6 14. Rd2 Rc8 15. Qa4 Bc6 16. Qb4 Bxf3 17. exf3 Bxc3 18. bxc3 Qc7 19. f4 Nf6 20. Rd3 Qc4 21. Bf1 Qc5 22. Bg2 Qc4 23. Bf1 Qc7 24. Bg2 Rfd8 25. Rad1 Rxd3 26. Rxd3 Rd8 27. Rd4 Rxd4 28. Qxd4 Qd7 29. Qxd7 Nxd7 30. Kf1 Kf8 31. Ke2 Ke7 32. Kd3 Kd6 33. Kd4 Nc5 34. Bf1 Nd7 1/2-1/2

Diatonic scale

侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) – Levon Grigori Aronian
7th Chess World Cup; match game 1; Tbilisi, September 6, 2017
Giuoco Piano C54

侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán), the only woman still in the camp, can be quite content with the result of her first game, if nothing else because she’s got entangled with Aronian’s computer opening preparation: 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. 0-0 Nf6 5. d3 0-0 6. Re1 d6. For the sharp alternative 6. ... Ng4 7. Re2 Kh8 8. h3 f5 just take a look at So – Giri, 9th Ninth Grand Slam Masters Final, Bilbao 2016. 7. c3 Ne7 8. Nbd2 Bb6 9. Bb3 c6 10. Nf1 Ng6 11. Ng3 h6 12. h3 d5 13. exd5 Nxd5 14. d4 exd4 15. Nxd4 Be6!? Aronian’s prepared sideline. More common is 15. ... Kh8 16. Bc2 (for 13. Qf3 Bxd4 17. cxd4 f5 see Fressinet – Bacrot, 16th Corsica Masters Knockout, Ajaccio 2012) 16. ... Re8 17. Rxe8+ Qxe8 18. Bd2 Bxd4 19. cxd4 Qe7 20. Qf3 Bd7 21. Re1 Qf6 22. Qxf6 Nxf6 23. Nf5 Bxf5 24. Bxf5 Rd8 25. Bc3 Kg8 26. g3 Nd5 27. h4 Kf8 28. Kf1 Nge7 29. Bh3 Nxc3 30. bxc3 Nd5 ½ : ½ Spraggett – Bacrot, 57th Spanish Team Chess Championship (División de Honor), Linares 2013. 16. Nxe6!? White boldly decides to see her opponent’s cards since 16. Bc2 Ndf4 17. Nxe6 Qxd1 18. Rxd1 Nxe6 19. Nf5 Rad8 does not seem to offer any chances for an advantage, Brkić – Wagner, 17th Styrian Open, Bad Gleichenberg 2014. 16. ... fxe6 17. Rxe6 Rxf2! 18. Kh1 Nh4

19. Qg4. After a long thought. 19. ... Qf8. Now White thought for another twenty minutes looking for a hole in her opponent’s analysis, but apparently she did not find any. Let’s consider, just for instance, Stockfish’s computations: 20. Bxh6 Rxg2 (Δ ... Rg2-h2+) 21. Bxd5 cxd5 22. Bf4 (not 22. Qxh4?? Qf2 with mate coming) 22. ... Qc5 (on 22. ... Qf7? 23. Rh6! forces Black to give up the Exchange) 23. Re3 Qf8 24. Ree1 Rf2 25. Rf1 (or 25. Nh5 Ng2! 26. Re5 Nxf4 27. Rf5 Nxh5 28. Rxf8+ Raxf8 29. Qxh5 R8f5 with rough dynamic balance) 25. ... Qf6! 26. Nh5 Qg6 with equality. Whatever it is, she wisely prefers not to play further into enemy’s hands. 20. Qxh4(!) ½ : ½. For after 20. ... Rf1+ 21. Kh2 Bg1+ it is draw by perpetual check.