Oyster Card

With about 3 months to the start of the World Chess Championship match between Magnus Carlsen and Fabiano Caruana, which is to take place from November 9–28 in London, United Kingdom, still many details have to be defined, but the venue at least is now known, according to what reported by Leon Watson: it is The College, a Victorian house with interconnecting rooms in downtown London. Of course, World Chess, the company organiser, could announce a change of venue at any time, so buy your London Oyster Card in advance. Keep in mind, however, that that could well be a minor event in comparison with the 137th Varsity Chess Match between Cambridge and Oxford Universities, which is due to be held at the Royal Automobile Club in London, United Kingdom in the early days of March 2019.

Marcel Duchamp, Study for Portrait of Chess Players, 1911. Courtesy of Francis M. Naumann Fine Arts.

Pergamon Museum

The Chinese delegation arrived in Berlin, Germany on March 8, 2018. 丁立人 (Dīng Lìrén) came accompanied by his second 韦奕 (Wéi Yì), his coach 徐俊 (Xú Jùn), and Chinese Chess Association’s Delegate & Vice General Secretary 田红卫 (Tián Hóngwèi). Once checked in at the hotel, they discovered with surprise that they had not been the first to arrive. Russian Grandmaster Vladimir Borisovich Kramnik, indeed, was already there, escorted by two “super helpers”: Anish Giri, and Evgeny Yurievich Tomashevsky. “It seems that everybody pays great attention to this competition”, 田红卫 (Tián Hóngwèi) smilingly said. The Candidates Tournament will start on March 10.

From left: 徐俊 (Xú Jùn), 丁立人 (Dīng Lìrén), 韦奕 (Wéi Yì), and 田红卫 (Tián Hóngwèi). Photo: cca.imsa.cn.

Who Framed Roger Rabbit

Everything is ready for the Candidates Tournament which will take place in Berlin, Germany from 10 to 28 March 2018. The winner will gain the right to challenge the reigning World Chess Champion, Magnus Carlsen from Norway, in the next World Chess Championship match, scheduled to be held in London, England from 9 to 28 November 2018. FIDE’s commercial partner, Agon Limited, worked out a new style of broadcasting, in order to capture and render the “dramatic” narrative of such a struggle. So, a series of emoji stickers will accompany – with a cartoon variety of expressions from the heart – the nearly live commentary of Grandmaster Judit Polgár and International Master Lawrence Trent. For further details, visit http://business.worldchess.com/.

Indoor voices and outdoor voices... Image: World Chess.

Big bet game

• Leonard Barden, London confirmed as venue for Magnus Carlsen’s world title defence in 2018, The Guardian, December 1, 2017

The actual venue has yet to be announced although the organisers say they have several short-listed options. The prize fund is the world body FIDE’s minimum of $1m, which could yet present a problem if Fabiano Caruana wins the eight-man candidates in Berlin in March. In that case the billionaire Rex Sinquefield, who has made his home city of St. Louis into a global chess capital and who could easily fund a much larger purse, may try to have the match switched to the U.S. [Read more].

Through the Looking Glass bench

Agon Limited has finally announced that the 12-game World Chess Championship match between Magnus Carlsen and the challenger who will be the winner of the next Candidates Tournament will be held in London, United Kingdom from 9 to 28 November 2018 with a money prize of one million €uros. No venue has been yet announced.

Ralph Steadman’s Through the Looking Glass bench. Photo: Chris O’Donovan for the National Literacy Trust.

Cat in the Castle

Russian chess Grandmaster Dmitry Olegovich Jakovenko won on tie-break over Levon Grigori Aronian the fourth and last stage of the Grand Prix 2017 held in Palma de Mallorca, Spain from 16 to 25 November 2017. Photo: Francisco Javier Ochoa de Echagüen (@echaguen).

Form and Object

Maxime Vachier-Lagrave – Dmitry Olegovich Jakovenko
Agon Grand Prix; fourth stage; Palma de Mallorca, November 24, 2017
Giuoco Piano C54

So Maxime Vachier-Lagrave did not succeed in conquering a chair for the next Candidates Tournament, in spite of his desire to fight for it till the very end. 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. c3 Nf6 5. d3 a6 6. 0-0 d6 7. a4 Ba7 8. Re1 0-0 9. h3 h6 10. Nbd2. For 10. b4 Ne7 11. Nbd2 Ng6 12. Nf1 c6 13. Bb3 Re8 14. Ra2 d5 15. Ng3 Be6 16. Rd2 Qc7 see Vachier-Lagrave – Giri, 2017 “Your Next Move” Grand Chess Tour Rapid, Leuven 2017. 10. ... Re8 11. b4 Ne7. The alternative 11. ... Be6 12. Bxe6 Rxe6 13. Nf1 Ne7 14. Ng3 Ng6 15. d4 Qd7 16. d5 Ree8 17. a5 c6 also seems to be okay for Black, Vachier-Lagrave – Carlsen, Grand Chess Tour Blitz Paris 2017, Paris 2017. 12. Qb3 Rf8 13. d4 exd4 14. cxd4 d5 15. exd5 Nexd5 16. b5 Be6 17. bxa6 bxa6 18. Ba3 Re8 19. Ne5. White seems to have seized the initiative, but Jakovenko defends strenuously his “uncomfortability”. 19. ... Nf4 20. Ndf3 Bxc4 21. Qxc4 Qd5 22. Qxd5 N6xd5 23. Nc6 Rxe1+ 24. Rxe1 a5 25. g3 Ng6 26. Nxa7 Rxa7 27. Re8+ Kh7 28. h4 Rb7 29. Nd2 Nc3 30. h5 Nh8 31. Nc4 Nxa4 32. Ne5. White desperately pushes for a win. On the other hand, if 32. Nxa5 Black might answer 32. ... Rb5 33. Re5 c5! with almost equality. 32. ... Nb6 33. Bc5 a4. Black’s passer more than compensates for the sad position in which the h8-Knight is placed. 34. d5!? When you should play for a draw it’s hard to play for a win. Stockfish gives 34. Nc6 Nd7 35. Ra8 Nxc5 36. dxc5 Rb5 37. Ne5 Rxc5 38. Nd7 Rxh5 39. Nf8+ with a draw by perpetual check. But it was obviously not enough for Vachier-Lagrave. 34. ... f6! 35. Nc6 Nd7 36. Bd4 Rb5

Objectively speaking, White has now nothing better than 37. Ra8 Rxd5 38. Rxa4 Rxh5 39. Ra7 Rd5 40. Rxc7 playing for a draw in an ending a Pawn down. Understandably, Vachier-Lagrave keeps looking for something more that he won’t find. 37. Nd8?? It looks like a broken dream. 37. Re7 was also not good, but not that bad: after 37. ... Rxd5 38. Bb2 Nb6! 39. Rxc7 (or 39. Bxf6 Rd7) 39. ... Rd7 Black successfully consolidates his plusses. 37. ... Rb8! 38. Bb2. White goes even deeper into his drama. 38. ... Rxb2 39. Ne6 a3 40. Re7 Nf7! Sic et simpliciter. 41. Rxf7 a2 42. Rxg7+ Kh8 43. Rxd7 a1=Q+ 44. Kg2 Qe1 0 : 1.

“I’ll Do It All Tomorrow”

Boris Abramovich Gelfand – Teimour Boris oghlu Radjabov
Grand Prix 2017; 4th stage; Palma de Mallorca, November 24, 2017
Queen’s Indian Defence E18

Also Teimour Radjabov will play all out tomorrow, thanks to his remarkable victory in today’s game against Israeli Grandmaster Boris Abramovich Gelfand. 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 Nxd2 9. Qxd2 d6 10. Rad1 Nd7 11. Rfe1 c5 12. e4 a6 13. d5. Playing for space. 13. e5 Bxf3 14. Bxf3 cxd4 15. Qxd4 Nxe5 was the (quite complex) alternative, Moroni – Romanov, 6th International Open, Llucmajor 2017. 13. ... e5 14. b3 g6 15. Rf1 Bc8 16. Ne1 Rb8 17. a4 f5 18. f4 exf4 19. gxf4 fxe4 20. Nxe4 b5 21. a5 bxc4 22. bxc4 Rb4 23. Rc1 Nf6 24. Ng5 Qxa5 25. Nd3 Ra4 26. Qe3 Qd8 27. Rce1 Bf5 28. Bh3. I have not much to say except that such a game could well have ended in a draw.

28. ... Nxd5! Bravo, Radjabov! In a must-win situation, and without particular certainties, he does the only thing he has to do: so he sacrifices the Knight for three Pawns, hoping to get more possibilities from such an unclear balance of powers. 29. cxd5 Bxg5 30. Bxf5. 30. fxg5 Re4 31. Qg3 Rxe1 32. Nxe1 Bxh3 33. Rxf8+ Kxf8 34. Qxh3 Qxg5+ 35. Qg2 Qe5 was another version of the same story. White should not lose such and endgame, but he is definitely the only one who may lose it. 30. ... Rxf5 31. Qe6+ Kg7 32. fxg5 Qxg5+ 33. Kh1 Ra2 34. Qe7+? This might be Gelfand’s crucial mistake (if not the only one), who wrongly thought that without Queens the ending might have been more easily drawable. On the contrary, without the help of Her Majesty, the White Rook and Knight won’t succeed in stopping (all) the enemy Pawns. Stockfish gives here 34. Qe4(!) Qd2 35. Qe7+ with a likely perpetual check – and if it were right (and if it had happened), it might have been all another story to tell. 34. ... Qxe7 35. Rxe7+ Kf8 36. Ree1 Rxf1+ 37. Rxf1+ Ke7 38. Re1+? According to Grandmaster Dejan Bojkov, who analysed the game in detail for the chess.com website, here White in time trouble misses the not easy to see 38. Nf2! which should eventually ensure him a draw. Just take a look at his analysis. 38. ... Kd7 39. Re3 a5! 40. Rh3 h5! 41. Nf4 a4 42. Nxg6 a3 43. Rf3. 43. Rc3 is probably less complacent, but after 43. ... Ra1+ 44. Kg2 a2 45. Ra3 c4 it’s hard to imagine that White will survive. 43. ... c4! 44. Nf4. 44. Rc3 Ra1+ 45. Kg2 a2 46. Ra3 c3! is just a preview of what is to come. 44. ... Ra1+ 45. Kg2 a2 46. Ra3 c3! 47. Ne2 c2 48. Kf2 Rh1! 0 : 1. For if 49. Rxa2 then 49. ... Rxh2+ 50. K~ Rxe2+ 51. Kxe2 c1=N+ with a didactic win.

Still Another Day

Ernesto Kazbekovich Inarkiev – Maxime Vachier-Lagrave
Grand Prix 2017; 4th stage; Palma de Mallorca, November 24, 2017
Grünfeld Defence D84

With today’s draw against Ernesto Kazbekovich Inarkiev, French Grandmaster Maxime Vachier-Lagrave has delayed his final audition for the Candidates until tomorrow, when he will have to play all out for the win. 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 4. Bf4 Bg7 5. e3 0-0 6. cxd5 Nxd5 7. Nxd5 Qxd5 8. Bxc7 Na6 9. Bxa6 Qxg2 10. Qf3 Qxf3 11. Nxf3 bxa6 12. Rc1 f6 13. Rg1 Rf7 14. b3 Bd7!? Vachier-Lagrave changes his way. 14. ... Bf8 15. Nd2 Bb7 16. Ke2 Re8 17. f3 e5!? proved to be quite unclear (but substantially balanced) in Giri – Vachier-Lagrave, 2017 “Your Next Move” Grand Chess Tour Blitz, Leuven 2017, whilst for 14. ... Bb7 15. Ke2 Bf8 16. Ba5 e6 see 李超 (Lǐ Chāo) – Giri, 4th Norway Chess 2016, Stavanger 2016. 15. Ba5 e6 16. Nd2 Rc8 17. Rxc8+ Bxc8 18. Ne4 Bf8 19. Ke2 Bb7 20. f3 Kg7 21. Rc1 g5 22. Nc5 Bxc5 23. dxc5 Bc6 24. Rd1 Bb5+ 25. Kf2 Rd7. Certainly Vachier-Lagrave was not unfamiliar with what having Bishops of opposite colour would have meant. 26. Rxd7+ Bxd7 27. Bc7 e5 28. Bb8 Kg6 29. Bxa7 Kf5

30. Kg3. If 30. e4+ Black’s answer would equally have been 30. ... Ke6 (and certainly not 30. ... Kf4?? 31. c6! ~ 32. Be3 mate). 30. ... h5 31. e4+ Ke6 32. h4 gxh4+ 33. Kxh4 f5 34. Kxh5 fxe4 35. fxe4 Bc6 36. Kg4 Bxe4 37. Kg3 Bb1 38. a3 Bc2 39. b4 Ba4 40. Kf3 Kd5 41. Ke3 ½ : ½.

Another virtuality to be real

Teimour Boris oghlu Radjabov – 李超 (Lǐ Chāo)
FIDE Grand Prix 2017; 4th stage; Palma de Mallorca, November 23, 2017
English Opening A10

Azerbaijani Grandmaster Teimour Boris oghlu Radjabov has today bounced back from yesterday’s débâcle, slowly outplaying 李超 (Lǐ Chāo) in a vintage 1980s English Opening, and thus still hoping for a pyrotechnic réentrée into the Candidates. 1. c4 g6 2. e4 e5 3. d4 Nf6 4. Nf3 exd4 5. e5 Bb4+ 6. Bd2 Qe7 7. Bxb4 Qxb4+ 8. Qd2 Qxd2+ 9. Nbxd2 Nh5 10. Nxd4 Nc6 11. N2f3!? An unsubstantial novelty. For 11. Nxc6 dxc6 12. 0-0-0 Bf5 13. f3 Ng7 14. g4 Be6 15. Ne4 h5 see Polugaevsky – Timman, 2nd International Tournament, Bugojno 1980. 11. ... b6 12. Nb5 Kd8 13. 0-0-0 Re8 14. g3 a6 15. Nbd4 Bb7 16. Nxc6+ Bxc6 17. Bh3 f5 18. Bg2 b5 19. Rhe1

19. ... bxc4? This really seems to be a bad positional error, after which Black’s position gets scattered, eventually causing him to lose first a Pawn and then also the (end)game. Black should rather have consolidated by ... Nh5-g7-e6 with reasonable chances to hold. 20. Nh4 Bxg2 21. Nxg2 Rb8 22. Rd4 g5 23. Red1 Rxe5 24. Rxd7+ Kc8 25. Rxh7 Nf6 26. Rh8+ Kb7 27. Rxb8+ Kxb8 28. Ne3 f4 29. Nxc4 Re2 30. Rd2 Re1+ 31. Kc2 Kb7 32. Kd3 Rh1 33. gxf4 gxf4 34. f3 Rf1 35. Ne5 Re1 36. Ng4 Nd5 37. h4 c5 38. h5 Nb4+ 39. Kc4 Rc1+ 40. Kb3 Nc6 41. h6 Nd4+ 42. Ka3 Nxf3 43. h7 Nxd2 44. h8=Q Nc4+ 45. Ka4 Nb6+ 46. Kb3 a5 47. Qf6 a4+ 48. Ka3 Ka6 49. Qxf4 Nc4+ 50. Kxa4 Nxb2+ 51. Kb3 Nd3 52. Qd6+ Kb5 53. a4+ 1 : 0.

The Half Hour

Maxime Vachier-Lagrave – Evgeny Yurievich Tomashevsky
Grand Prix 2017; 4th stage; Palma de Mallorca, November 23, 2017
Spanish Game C84

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. 0-0 Be7 6. d3 b5 7. Bb3 d6 8. a3 0-0 9. Nc3 Bg4 10. Be3 Nd4 11. Bxd4 exd4 12. Nd5 Nd7. If 12. ... Nxd5 there might follow 13. Bxd5 Rc8 14. Bc6 (14. h3 Bd7 15. Nxd4 c6 16. Bb3 Bf6 17. c3 Bxd4 18. cxd4 Qf6 19. Qd2 ½ : ½ Vachier-Lagrave – Aronian, 7th Chess World Cup, Tbilisi 2017, match game 2) 14. ... Bf6 15. a4 Bd7 16. Bxd7 Qxd7 17. Qd2 Qc6 18. b3 Rfe8 19. Rfe1 Qc5 20. g4! with the initiative, Vachier-Lagrave – Aronian, 7th Chess World Cup, Tbilisi 2017, tie-break game 1 (25+10). 13. h3 Bxf3 14. Qxf3 a5 15. Nxe7+. The alternative was 15. c3 dxc3 16. bxc3 c6 17. Nxe7+ Qxe7 18. d4 c5 19. Rfe1 Rab8 20. Re3 b4 21. axb4 axb4 22. dxc5 Ne5 23. Qg3 dxc5 24. Bd5 Rb6 25. f4 which after 25. ... Nd7? (25. ... Nc6) 26. e5! ended badly for Black, Naiditsch – Ponomariov, 8th 海南 (Hǎinán) 儋州 (Dānzhōu) Super Grandmaster Chess Tournament “人民网 (People’s Daily Online) Cup”, 儋州 (Dānzhōu) 2017. 15. ... Qxe7 16. Qg3 a4 17. Ba2 Qe5 18. f4 Qc5 19. Rfe1!? Vachier-Lagrave presents his novelty Pawn sacrifice. In any event, it cannot be worse than 19. Qf2 which after 19. ... Rab8 20. c3 dxc3 21. d4 Qc6 22. e5 cxb2 23. Qxb2 Nb6 24. Rab1 Nc4 gave Black a more than satisfactory position, A. Mista – D. Wagner, 37th Schachbundesliga, Griesheim 2017. Aesthetically speaking, however, it seems to me that the most natural move would be 20. Rf2, but Vachier-Lagrave apparently needs something more to accomplish his mission impossible.

19. ... Rae8. Tomashevsky does not dare to grab the Pawn for fear of drowning into a computer-based flood. After 19. ... Qxc2 20. e5! White has plenty of compensation, but a conclusive assessment requires further analysis. The rest is foreseeable. 20. Re2 Re7 21. b4 axb3 22. Bxb3 Qb6 23. Rb1 Qa6 24. Qg5 Rfe8 25. Qd5 Qxa3 26. Qxb5 Qc5 27. Bd5 Qxb5 28. Rxb5 Rc8 29. Bb7 Rb8 30. Re1 Nc5 31. Bc6 Rxb5 32. Bxb5 f5 33. e5 dxe5 34. fxe5 g6 35. Kf2 Kg7 36. Kf3 g5 37. h4 Kg6 38. Bc4 Nd7 39. e6 Nf8 40. g4 fxg4+ 41. Kxg4 gxh4 42. Re4 ½ : ½.

A Shortcut in Time

Levon Grigori Aronian – Anish Giri
Grand Prix 2017; fourth stage; Palma de Mallorca, November 19, 2017
English Opening A16

1. Nf3 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 4. cxd5 Nxd5 5. d3 Bg7 6. Bd2 0-0 7. g3 c5 8. h4!? Nc6. 8. ... h5 9. Bg2 Nc6 may transpose into Bacrot – Lékó, 4th SportAccord World Mind Games, Blitz Event, 北京 (Beijīng) 2014. 9. h5 Nxc3 10. bxc3 c4 11. hxg6. Not 11. d4 because of 11. ... e5! with a very comfortable game for Black. 11. ... hxg6 12. Qa4 Na5? This leads Black to a sad situation. Giri probably didn’t like Stockfish’s line 12. ... cxd3 13. Qh4 f6, which, however, seems quite sustainable; for instance: 14. Bh6 Qa5 15. Qc4+ Rf7 16. Bxg7 Kxg7 17. Rh7+ Kxh7 18. Qxf7+ and draw by perpetual check. 13. d4 b6 14. Bg2 Bb7 15. Qc2 Qd5 16. Nh4 Qd7 17. e4! White finally breaks through the wall and prepares for the assault on the Kingside. 17. ... e5 18. d5 Bc8 19. f4! Qe7 20. f5 g5

21. Qd1! Maybe not necessary, but brilliantly correct! 21. ... gxh4 22. Rxh4 Rd8 23. Qh5 Kf8 24. Rg4!? 24. Bh6 was possibly simpler, but Aronian is following his aesthetic plots, or maybe only his own computer preparation. 24. ... Bf6? A tough, tougher and toughest defence was 24. ... Qd6, but after 25. Rxg7! Kxg7 26. Qg5+ Kf8 27. Kf2! (Δ Ra1-h1) 27. ... Ke8 28. Qg7! Qf8 29. Qxe5+ Qe7 30. Qg7 Qf8 31. Qxf8+ Kxf8 32. Bg5! (Stockfish’s analysis) Giri would have found out that, even without Queens, White’s attack was strong enough to force him to give back (too) much of his extra material. 25. Bh6+ Ke8 26. Rg8+ Kd7 27. d6! A most romantic pointe. 1 : 0.

The Evanescence of the Ineffable

Maxime Vachier-Lagrave – Levon Grigori Aronian
Grand Prix 2017; 4th stage; Palma de Mallorca, November 18, 2017
Spanish Game C84

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. 0-0 Be7 6. d3 b5 7. Bb3 d6 8. a3 0-0 9. Nc3 Na5 10. Ba2 Be6 11. b4 Bxa2 12. Rxa2 Nc6 13. Bg5 Nd7. At least from a theoretical viewpoint, this makes more sense than 13. ... Qd7 14. Bxf6 Bxf6 15. Nd5 a5 16. c4 Ne7 17. Rc2 Nxd5 18. cxd5 axb4 19. axb4 Ra4 20. Qd2 Rfa8 21. Rfc1 Bd8 22. h3 Ra1 23. Rxa1 Rxa1+ 24. Rc1 Ra4 25. d4 exd4 (25. ... f6 is probably more solid) 26. Nxd4 Bf6 27. Nc6± Carlsen – 丁立人 (Dīng Lìrén), Champions Showdown, Saint Louis 2017, match game 9 (20 minutes). 14 Bd2 Nf6 15. Re1 Qd7 16. Nd5!? This novelty might have been suggested to Vachier-Lagrave by Étienne Bacrot as a result of a review of his own summer games: 16. Qb1 Rab8 17. Nd5 Nxd5 18. exd5 Nd4 19. Nxd4 exd4 20. a4 Rfe8 21. axb5 axb5 22. Ra7 Ra8 23. Ra5 Rac8 24. h3 Bh4 25. Rxe8+ Rxe8 26. Qa1 Bf6 27. Ra8 h5 28. Kf1 g6 29. Rxe8+ Qxe8 30. Qa7 Qc8 31. Bc1 c6 32. dxc6 Qxc6 33. Qa2 Kg7 34. Bd2 Be5 35. Qb1 Bf6 36. Qa2 Be5 37. Qb1 Bf6 ½ : ½ Bacrot – Lékó, 50th International Chess Festival, Biel 2017. 16. ... Nxd5 17. exd5 Nd8. I think it would have been advisable for Black to play 17. ... Nd4, similarly to what done by Péter Lékó in the abovementioned game. 18. a4! Rb8 19. c4! Now White seizes a distinct initiative on the Queenside which will soon result in a favourable endgame. 19. ... bxc4 20. dxc4 f5 21. b5 Ra8 22. Bc3 Nb7 23. Qc2 Bf6 24. Nd2 axb5 25. cxb5 Qf7 26. Qxf5 Qxd5 27. Qc2 Nc5 28. Ne4 Bh4 29. g3 Nxe4 30. Rxe4 Bd8 31. Bb4 Rf3 32. Ra3 Rf7 33. Qc4 Qxc4 34. Rxc4 d5 35. Rc2 d4

36. Rc5. This allows Black to exchange Bishops, finally simplifying into a drawish four-Rook ending. Maybe 36. Rc4 Rd7 37. Kf1 (Stockfish) would have offered better chances of playing for the win. 36. ... Be7 37. Rc4 Bxb4 38. Rxb4 Rd7 39. Kg2 d3 40. Ra1 d2 41. Rd1 Rd4 42. Rxd4 exd4 43. Rxd2 Rxa4 44. Rc2 Ra5 45. Rxc7 Rxb5 46. Rc8+ Kf7 ½ : ½.

Fire and Ice

Anish Giri – Maxime Vachier-Lagrave
Agon Grand Prix; fourth stage; Palma de Mallorca, November 17, 2017
Sicilian Defence B96

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Bg5 e6 7. f4 h6 8. Bh4 Qb6 9. a3 Be7 10. Bf2 Qc7 11. Qf3 Nbd7 12. 0-0-0 b5 13. g4 Bb7. The alternative is 13. ... g5!? 14. h4 gxf4 15. Be2 Rg8 16. Rdg1? (Grandmaster Rafael Duailibe Leitão recommends 16. g5! Ne5 17. Qxf4 hxg5 18. hxg5 Nfd7 19. Nxe6!? fxe6 20. Rh7 with a dynamic mess of complications) 16. ... d5! 17. exd5 Ne5 18. Qh3 exd5 19. Re1? Kf8 20. Nf5 Bxf5 21. gxf5 Bc5 22. Qf1 d4 23. Nb1 Ne4−+ Giri – Vachier-Lagrave, 4th Altibox Norway Chess, Stavanger 2016. 14. h4. Giri is not curious to find out Vachier-Lagrave’s amendments with respect to 14. Bg2 Rc8 15. Kb1 g5 16. Qh3 Nc5 17. Rhe1 h5 18. Nf5! Ncxe4 19. Bxe4 Nxe4 20. Bd4 Rg8 21. Nxe7 Kxe7 22. gxh5± Nakamura – Vachier Lagrave, 8th London Chess Classic, London 2016. 14. ... Nc5. If, instead, 14. ... d5 then 15. e5 Ne4 16. Rh3 Nxf2 17. Qxf2 b4 18. axb4 Bxb4 19. f5 Nxe5 20. fxe6 0-0 21. Qg1 Rae8 22. g5 h5 23. Be2 g6 24. exf7+ Qxf7 25. Nb3 Nc4 26. Rf3 Qg7 27. Rxf8+ Rxf8 28. Qd4 Qxd4 29. Rxd4 Rc8 30. Bd3 Nxb2 31. Rxb4 Nxd3+ 32. cxd3 Rxc3+ 33. Kd2 Rc7 34. Ke3 Bc8 35. Kd4 Kf7 36. Nc5 Ra7 37. Kxd5 a5 38. Rf4+ Bf5 39. Kc6 Ke7 40. Rd4 a4 41. Kb6 Ra8 42. Nxa4 Bxd3 43. Nc5 ½ : ½ Caruana – Vachier-Lagrave, 4th GRENKE Chess Classic, Karlsruhe 2017. 15. Bd3 h5 16. g5 Ng4 17. Rhg1!? With this move, followed by the next Exchange sacrifice, Giri introduces a powerful novelty in a sharp Najdorf. White’s compensation appears to be more than worthy of further analysis by the mighty supercomputers. 17. ... g6

18. Rxg4! hxg4 19. Qxg4 e5 20. Nf3 Rc8 21. fxe5 dxe5 22. Kb1 Rd8 23. Nd5 Bxd5 24. exd5 Nxd3 25. Rxd3 0-0. Stockfish evaluates 25. ... Qc4 26. Nxe5 Qxg4 27. Nxg4 f6!? 28. gxf6 Bd6 29. Rc3 Kf7 30. Rc6 Bf4 as a safer option for Black, but, from a human viewpoint, it was not so easy to assess. 26. h5. And here, 26. Bg3! Bd6 27. Nd2!± (Stockfish) apparently gave White a manifest advantage. 26. ... Qc4! Well, Vachier-Lagrave doesn’t miss his chance and equalises through a very elegant Queen forth and back. 27. Qh3 Qc8! 28. Qxc8 Rxc8 29. Nxe5 Bxg5 30. d6 Bf4 31. d7 ½ : ½. For after 31. ... Bxe5 32. dxc8=Q Rxc8 the game is equal.

Intermezzo

Maxime Vachier-Lagrave – Boris Abramovich Gelfand
Agon Grand Prix; fourth stage; Palma de Mallorca, November 16, 2017
Sicilian Defence B35

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Nc3 g6 4. d4 cxd4 5. Nxd4 Bg7 6. Be3 Nf6 7. Bc4 0-0 8. Bb3 d5 9. exd5 Na5 10. 0-0. 10. Qd2 Nxb3 11. Nxb3 b5 12. Nxb5 Qxd5 13. Qxd5 Nxd5 14. Bd4 Rb8 resulted eventually in a laborious draw, Vachier-Lagrave – Gelfand, Grand Prix 2017, second stage, Moscow 2017. 10. ... Nxb3 11. Nxb3 b6 12. d6. 12. Qd2 Bb7 13. Rad1 Qc7 14. Bf4 Qc4 15. Rfe1 Rfd8 did not give Black any problems, Negi – 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán), Showdown Blitz, Saint Louis 2015, match game 1. 12. ... e6. Gelfand has recently favoured this line. The alternative is 12. ... Qxd6 13. Qxd6 exd6 14. Rfe1 Bf5 15. Nd4 Bd7 16. h3 a6 17. Rad1 Rfe8 18. Nb3 b5 19. Rxd6 b4 20. Ne2 Bb5 21. Ned4 Rac8 22. Rd1 Ne4 23. Rb6 Rcd8 24. Rb1 Rd5 25. Nxb5 axb5 26. Na5 Nd2 27. Re1 Bd4 28. Rb7 Bxe3 29. Rxe3 Rxe3 30. fxe3 Rc5 31. Nb3 Rxc2 32. Rxb5 Rxb2 33. Nxd2 Rxd2 34. Rxb4 Rxa2 35. Kh2 Ra3 36. Re4 h5 37. Kg3 Kg7 38. Kf3 Ra1 39. h4 Rf1+ 40. Kg3 Ra1 ½ : ½ Oparin – Gelfand, Nutcracker Generations Tournament (Kings vs. Princes), Moscow 2016. 13. Qf3 Rb8 14. Rfd1. Just a little departure from 14. Rad1 Bb7 15. Qh3 Nd5 16. Nxd5 Bxd5 17. Bd4 Bxd4 18. Rxd4 Rc8 19. Qh6 Qf6 20. Rc1 b5 21. Rh4 Qg7 22. Qxg7+ Kxg7 23. Rb4 a6 24. a4 bxa4 25. Na5 a3 26. bxa3 Rc5 27. Nb7 Rb5 28. Rxb5 axb5 29. Nc5 Rd8 30. d7 Kf6 31. Rb1 Bc6 32. Rb4 Bxd7 33. Nxd7+ Rxd7 ½ : ½ Adhiban – Gelfand, 4th Isle of Man International Chess Tournament, Douglas 2017. 14. ... Bb7 15. Qh3 Rc8 16. Bd4 Nd5 17. Nxd5 Bxd5 18. Bxg7 Kxg7 19. Rac1 b5? This seems untimely under contingent position. 19. ... Rc6 20. Qg3 Qf6 (Stockfish) seems harder to break up. 20. Qg3 Qf6. Now 20. ... Rc6 is no longer any good, as after 21. Nd4 Rxd6 22. Nxb5 Rd7 23. c4 Black stands badly. 21. Nd4 b4

22. c4! bxc3. If 22. ... Rxc4 then 23. Rxc4 Bxc4 24. Nc6± and White stands much better. The text, however, carries far worse consequences. 23. Rxc3 Rxc3 24. bxc3. White’s united passers win by themselves. 24. ... Rd8 25. h4! Monsieur Vachier-Lagrave doubles his bet. 25. ... e5. Black had any good move here, but this one loses by force. 26. Nf5+ Qxf5 27. Rxd5 Qe4 28. c4! f6 29. Qc3 Qb1+ 30. Kh2 Qxa2 31. Rd2 Qa4 32. g3 Qc6 33. c5 Rd7 34. Qc4 1 : 0.

Уайлд-кард (Wild card)

14th World Chess Champion Vladimir Borisovich Kramnik has been nominated by Agon Limited/FIDE as the “wild card” to enter the Candidates Tournament scheduled in Berlin, Germany from 10 to 28 March 2018. The decision came in advance of the 4th and last stage of Grand Prix 2017 that will take place in Palma de Mallorca, Spain from 16 to 27 November 2017, upon which outcome the names of the last two candidates still depend.

Cold Turkey

Agon Limited, the commercial interface of the Fédération Internationale des Échecs (FIDE) has finally announced the venue for the eight-player Candidates Tournament to be held from 9 to 28 March 2018. It will be the Kühlhaus Berlin at Luckenwalder Straße 3, 10963 Berlin, Germany, a seven-floor building with a long story behind it. The Kühlhaus was originally build at the end of the 19th century and, as its name (ice house) implies, it served as a place to keep fresh foods cool. Then it barely survived the World War II years and its subsequent decadence until the early 1990s, when the city administration decided to restore and convert it into a monumental open space designed to host art exhibitions, concerts, shows, happenings, and cultural events of any kind. We have no doubt that the scenic representation on stage will be worthy of Agon Limited CEO Ilya Lvovich Merenzon’s renowned “Gothic imaginary reality”. As usual, EG Capital Advisors, Kapersky Lab, S.T. Dupont, and Isklar will sponsor the primaries, and as usual the show will be accessible through tickets (physical reality) and pay-per-view online coverage (metaphysical reality). The names of participants who will take part is not yet announced officially, except for Sergey Alexandrovich Karjakin, Levon Grigori Aronian, and 丁立人 (Dīng Lìrén). Five names are still missing, but will be announced pretty soon: two from the Grand Prix, two by official rating, and only one wild card. So don’t forget to shuffle the cards!

Kühlhaus Berlin
Photo courtesy of kuehlhaus-berlin.com

Second Screen

Ernesto Kazbekovich Inarkiev – 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán)
Grand Prix 2017; second stage; Moscow, May 21, 2017
Giuoco Piano C54

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. 0-0 Nf6 5. d3 d6 6. c3 a6 7. Re1 0-0 8. Bb3 h6 9. Nbd2 Ng4 10. Re2 Kh8. Intending ... f7-f5. 11. h3!? f5! This is probably not improvisation. The unbalanced outcome that will emerge from the following skirmishes is quite an unclear game. 12. exf5. Not 12. hxg4 fxg4 13. Nh2 g3 with a very dangerous initiative for Black. 12. ... Nxf2 13. Rxf2 Bxf2+ 14. Kxf2 Bxf5 15. Qe2 d5 16. Kg1 Qd6 17. Bc2 Rf7 18. b4 a5 19. Bb2 axb4 20. cxb4 Nxb4 21. Nxe5 Re7 22. Ndf3 Kg8 23. Qd2 Nxc2 24. Qxc2 c5 25. Qb3 Kh7 26. Kh1? As it will be soon clear, this is a bad mistake. Best was 26. d4 which would have probably been answered by 26. ... c4 eventually followed by ... b7-b5 with roughly equal chances. 26. ... d4 27. Bc1 Rxe5! 28. Bf4. Inarkiev stubbornly pursues his fatal Fata Morgana, but also after 28. Nxe5 Qxe5 29. Qxb7 Rf8 White’s position – in spite of the temporary material balance – is indefensible.

28. ... Qd5! Inarkiev apparently overlooked this pseudo-zwischenzug. 29. Rb1 Qxb3 30. Rxb3 Rd5 31. Ne5 Rxa2 32. Rxb7 Re2 33. g4 Be6 34. Nc4 Rd8 0 : 1.

“I’m happy with my play in Moscow as I did better than at Grand Prix’s first stage in Sharjah”, 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) told R-Sport. “Although I was defeated twice with White, I may notice that my overall results against men improved. I’m finally playing more steadily”. Photo © Vladimir Fedorenko/RIA Novosti.

侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) (left) posing with Viktoria Korol (right), President of the charity fund “Наше наследие” (“Our Heritage”). Photo: chess-in-schools.org.

Mayflies and Stoneflies

侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) – 丁立人 (Dīng Lìrén)
Grand Prix 2017; 2nd stage; Moscow, May 14, 2017
Giuoco Piano C54

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. d3 Bc5 5. 0-0 0-0 6. a4 d6 7. c3 a5 8. Bg5 h6. For 8. ... Ne7!? 9. Nh4 d5! 10. Bb3? (sounder was 10. exd5 followed by Nb1-d2) 10. ... dxe4 11. Bxf6 gxf6 12. Nd2 Ng6 13. Nxe4 Be7 14. Nxg6 hxg6 see 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) – Ivanchuk, “尚街杯” (“MEWE Cup”) 2017 World Champion Summit Chess Match, 深圳 (Shēnzhèn) 2017, match game 4. 9. Bh4 g5 10. Bg3 Kg7!? 丁立人 (Dīng Lìrén) goes on his own track. In Nijboer – Janssen, Dutch Championship Qualifier Chess Tournament, Delft 2017 was seen 10. ... g4 11. Nh4 Nh5 12. Na3 Qg5 13. Nb5 Bb6 14. d4 exd4 15. cxd4 Qg7 16. Nf5 Bxf5 17. exf5 Nxd4 18. f6 Qxf6 19. Qxg4+ Qg5 20. Qe4 Rae8 21. Qxb7 Nf5 22. Ra3 Nhxg3 23. hxg3 Ne3 24. fxe3 Rxe3 25. Rxe3 Bxe3+ 26. Rf2 Bxf2+ 0 : 1. 11. Re1 g4 12. Bh4!? White offers a very interesting Knight sacrifice which, if accepted, would provide her enough play to achieve at least a draw, so 丁立人 (Dīng Lìrén) goes for more. 12. ... Ne7 13. Bxf6+ Kxf6 14. d4 Bb6 15. Nh4 Kg7 16. Na3 exd4 17. cxd4 Nc6 18. Nf5+ Bxf5 19. exf5 h5 20. Nc2 Qf6. White must cede a Pawn, but luckily for her, she’s gonna get something for it. 21. Re4 Qxf5 22. Bd3 Qg5. With the deadly threat of ... d6-d5. White, however, finds an ingenious way – maybe the only one – to put her Rook in a limb. 23. g3 f5 24. Rf4. Curiously enough, White’s Rook ended up stalemated, but 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán), through the sacrifice of a second Pawn, will succeed in finding interesting counterchances. 24. ... Rae8. If Black could bring his Knight to d5 (... Nc6-e7-d5) the game would be over, but unluckily for him 24. ... Ne7 would be met by 25. Ne3. 25. h4 gxh3 26. Qf3 d5. Already having the positional Exchange sacrifice in mind. 27. Rd1. Not 27. Qxd5? because of 27. ... Ne5! (28. dxe5?? Qxg3+), but 27. Rh4 might have been better (27. ... Re4 28. Rxh5 Qg6∞).

27. ... Re4! Perhaps the exclamation mark shouldn’t appear on your screen, because such a sacrifice was very easy to play and did not require any particular calculation, and nevertheless such things are never obvious. 28. Bxe4 fxe4 29. Qe3 Rxf4 30. Qxf4 Qxf4 31. gxf4 Ne7 32. Kh2 Ng6 33. f5. 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) is tremendously short of time and now cannot but rely upon little more than her own intuition. The alternative 33. f3 Nxf4 34. fxe4 dxe4 35. Re1 Nd3 36. Rxe4 Nxb2 also would have given Black exuberant compensation and good winning chances, but not necessarily a win. 33. ... Nf4 34. f3? Stockfish’s emergency line 34. b4 axb4 35. Nxb4 Kf6 36. Nc2 Kxf5 was probably White’s last chance to reach time control without having to contemplate a disaster. 34. ... c6! 35. fxe4 dxe4 36. Re1? With no more time to think about what to do, White goes down following a chimera (the e-Pawn), even though it’s not easy to suggest how to spend better the lost time – 36. Rg1+ Kf7 saves time, but probably not the game. 36. ... Bc7! 37. Rg1+. Not 37. Rxe4?? Nd3+ followed by a double check to King and Rook. 37. ... Kf7 38. Rf1 Kf6 39. Kg3 Kxf5 40. Ne3+ Kg5 41. Nc4 h4+ 42. Kf2 Nd3+ 43. Ke2 Bf4 44. Nxa5 h2 45. Nxb7 Nc1+. 45. ... Nxb2?? 46. Nc5 was too unreal to happen. 46. Kf2 e3+ 47. Kg2 e2 48. Re1 Bd2 49. Rh1 Nb3 50. Kxh2 e1=Q 51. Rxe1 Bxe1 0 : 1.

侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán). Photo © Valery Sharifulin/TASS.

侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) and 丁立人 (Dīng Lìrén). Photo: Mikhail Vasin.

The Bitter Drink

Jon Ludvig Nilssen Hammer – Ian Aleksandrovich Nepomniachtchi
Grand Prix 2017; second stage; Moscow, May 13, 2017
Pirc Defence B07

1. e4 d6 2. d4 Nf6 3. Nc3 g6 4. Be3 c6 5. Qd2 b5 6. e5 Ng4 7. exd6 Nxe3 8. Qxe3 Qxd6 9. 0-0-0? A grave error of judgment. Here opposite-side castling simply favours Black’s initiative. White should have looked for improvement between the lines of 9. a4 Bg7 10. Nf3 bxa4 11. Rxa4 0-0 12. Ne4 Qc7 13. Qa3 Bf5 14. Bd3 Nd7 15. 0-0 Nb6 16. Ra6 Rfd8 (which gave Black an excellent play), van der Wiel – J. Piket, Leiden 1986, match game 3, or, alternatively, settling out for a dry balance with 9. Nf3 Bg7 10. Be2 0-0 11. 0-0 Bf5 as occurred in Levitt – Akhsharumova, World Chess Festival, Saint John 1988. 9. ... Bg7! 10. g3 Nd7 11. Bg2 Nb6 12. Qf3 Bd7 13. Ne4 Qc7 14. Nc5 Rc8 15. h4. White’s conceptful but convoluted attacking “work in progress” is suddenly overcome by his opponent’s hits. 15. ... Na4! 16. Nxd7 Qxd7 17. h5 0-0 18. hxg6 hxg6 19. Ne2 Qd6 20. c3? This sounds a bit too for Black to decline, but also after 20. Kb1 c5 Black’s initiative spreads itself easily and powerfully.

20. ... b4! 21. c4 c5 22. b3 Nc3 23. Nxc3 bxc3 24. Qxc3 Bxd4 25. Qd2 Qa6 26. Kb1 Rb8 27. g4 Bg7! Threatening ... Qa6-f6. 28. g5 Qxc4 29. Bd5 Qg4 30. Rhe1 e6 31. Be4 c4! 32. Qe3 cxb3 33. axb3 Rb4 34. Rd3 Rfb8. White’s position is disastrous. The water-loving mammal (© Hammer), however, decides to drink the bitter drink to the very end. 35. f3 Qg2 36. Re2 Qh1+ 37. Re1 Qh2 38. Re2 Qe5 39. Ra2 a5 40. Kc2 a4 41. Rxa4 Rxa4 42. bxa4 Qa1 43. Rd2 Qb1 mate.

Ian Aleksandrovich Nepomniachtchi. Photo © Valery Sharifulin/TASS.