Seaside

Alexander Genrikhovich Beliavsky – Jure Borišek
20th Dr. Milan Vidmar Memorial; Bled, June 25, 2016
Grünfeld Defence D79

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. g3 c6 4. Nf3 Bg7 5. Bg2 d5 6. cxd5 cxd5 7. 0-0 0-0 8. Ne5 Bf5 9. Nc3 Ne4 10. g4!? Nxc3 11. bxc3 Be6 12. f4 Nc6. Hoping to improve on 12. ... f6 13. Nd3 Bxg4 14. f5 Bxf5 15. Rxf5 gxf5 16. Nf4 Kh8 17. c4 dxc4 18. Bxb7 Nd7 19. Qf1 Bh6 20. Ne6 Rg8+ 21. Kh1 Qb6 22. Bxa8 Qxe6 23. Qf3 Nb6 24. Bc6 Bxc1 25. Rxc1 Rg4 26. e3 Rg5 27. a4 c3 28. Rxc3 Qa2 29. Rc1 Qa3 30. Rb1 Qd3 31. Rd1 Qc2 32. Bb5 Nxa4 33. Bd3 Qc8 34. Rf1 e6 35. d5 Nc5 36. Rc1 Qf8 37. Bb1 1 : 0 Delchev – Stević, 9th Croatian Team Chess Championship, Pula 2000. 13. f5 Bc8 14. Nxc6 bxc6 15. Bg5 Ba6 16. Qd2 Qd6 17. Rf2 f6 18. Bh4 e5 19. Bg3 gxf5 20. gxf5 Bc4 21. e4 Rad8 22. exd5 cxd5 23. Kh1 Qc6 24. Rg1 e4 25. Bf4. Making room for Rooks and Queen on the open g-file. 25. ... Rf7 26. Bh3 Kh8 27. Rfg2 Bd3? Black should probably have preferred 27. ... Rg8 with the aim of not losing his touch with the g-file. 28. Bg4!! That’s the importance of being a contemporary of Anatoly Yevgenyevich Karpov! Do you remember 24. Ba7 in Karpov – Unzicker, 21st Chess Olympiad, Nice 1974? Also here, behind the cover of a Bishop, White may calmly pile up his heavy pieces on an open file, and then... “Open Sesame”. Black has no way of opposing it. 28. ... Re7 29. Rg3 Qd7 30. Be3 Rb8 31. Qg2 Rg8. Too late...

32. Bd1! Open Sesame! 32. ... Ree8 33. Ba4! 1 : 0. For if 33. ... Qxa4 then 34. Rxg7 and mate in two moves.

Beliavsky vs. Borišek. Photo: Vidmarjev Memorial via Facebook.

Alexander Genrikhovich Beliavsky taking on Anatoly Yevgenyevich Karpov in the 1975 USSR Team Chess Championship in Riga. Photo: Z. Mezavilks/ChessPro.ru.

The Day Today

On the free day of the Ukrainian Chess Championships, the cast moved to the LNU (Ivan Franko National University of Lviv) hostel to participate in a friendly blitz tournament. A jubilant group of superstars joined the party: Adrian Bohdanovych Mikhalchishin, Alexander Genrikhovich Beliavsky, Margeir Pétursson, Ołeksandr Sułypa, Mikhail Kozakov, Mykhaylo Oleksiyenko, the brothers Vovk, Yuri and Andrey, and Mariya Muzychuk’s sister Anna.

Photo © UkoDragon

Adrian Bohdanovych Mikhalchishin
Photo: ukrchess.com

Vintage Superbrand

Yannick Pelletier – Alexander Genrikhovich Beliavsky
20th European Team Chess Championship; Reykjavík, November 22, 2015
Queen’s Gambit Declined D46

1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. Nc3 e6 5. e3 Nbd7 6. Qc2 Bd6 7. Bd3 0-0 8. 0-0 dxc4 9. Bxc4 b5 10. Bd3 Bb7 11. Ng5 h6 12. Nge4 Be7 13. a3 a5 14. Rd1 Qb6 15. Qe2. For 15. Nxf6+ Bxf6 16. Bd2 e5 see So – Navara, Prague 2015, match game 4. 15. ... Nxe4 16. Bxe4 b4 17. Na4 Qc7 18. axb4 axb4 19. Bd2 c5 20. Bxb7 Qxb7 21. Nxc5 Nxc5 22. dxc5 Bxc5 23. Rxa8 Rxa8 24. Qc4 Be7 25. Rc1 Qa6 26. g3 Qd6 27. Be1

27. ... g5! “Think Like a Grandmaster”. 28. e4 Bf8 29. Kg2 Qe5 30. b3 Rd8 31. Qe2 Rd4. “Train Like a Grandmaster”. 32. f3 g4! “Play Like a Grandmaster”. 33. Bf2 gxf3+ 34. Kxf3? After 34. Qxf3 Rxe4 White is down a Pawn; however, this would be the lesser evil. 34. ... Qh5+ 35. g4 Qh3+ 36. Bg3 h5!? Here 36. ... f5! looks even stronger. 37. Ke3? Pellettier’s last chance was the (unpleasant) Pawn-down ending by 37. gxh5 Qxh5+ 38. Kf2 Qxe2+ 39. Kxe2 Rxe4+ and so on. Now Black wins by force: 37. ... Rd8! 38. Qb5 Bh6+ 39. g5 Qg2! 0 : 1. For after 40. gxh6 Qd2+ 41. Kf3 Rd3+ Black wins everything.

Douglas Griffin (‏@dgriffinchess)

Garry Kimovich Kasparov vs. Alexander Genrikhovich Beliavsky
Photo: ChessPro.ru

Legends of Tomorrow

Evgeny Surov: Who is stronger at the moment: Anna or Mariya Muzychuk? Alexander Genrikhovich Beliavsky: Well, if you take the rating, which is the summary of all the successes, then today Anna is stronger. But Mariya is younger, she is growing rapidly, and – who knows? – Maybe, after the match with Hóu, it will turn out that she is stronger.

• Alexander Belyavsky: “To go down in history as world champion, you need to win a match”, Chess-News.ru, April 28, 2015

Chess-News.ru (@Chess_News)

Adrian Bogdanovich Mikhalchishin, Oleg Mikhailovich Romanishin and Alexander Genrikhovich Beliavsky in their prime. Photo: GrandCoach.com.

米哈伊尔·塔尔 (Mikhail Nechemevich Tal)

Alexander Genrikhovich Beliavsky – Mikhail Nechemevich Tal
October Revolution 60th Anniversary Tournament; Leningrad, 1977
Sicilian Defence B69

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 Nc6 6. Bg5 e6 7. Qd2 a6 8. 0-0-0 Bd7 9. f4 Be7 10. Nf3 b5 11. Bxf6 gxf6 12. f5 Qb6 13. Kb1 0-0-0! 14. g3 Kb8 15. fxe6 fxe6 16. Bh3 Bc8 17. Qh6. The alternative was 17. Qe1 Rhe8 18. Ne2 Bf8 19. Nf4 Bg7 20. Rf1 Qc5 21. Rf2! Re7 22. c3! d5 23. Nd4! with an edge, Lékó – Timman, 57th “Hoogoven” International Tournament, Wijk aan Zee 1995. Grandmaster Efim Petrovich Geller also considers 17. Ne2 (Δ Ne2-f4). 17. ... Qc5! 18. Rhf1. If 18. Rhe1 then 18. ... b4! 19. Ne2 d5! (Ermenkov’s analysis). 18. ... a5! If 18. ... b4 then 19. Ne2 d5 20. exd5 Rxd5 21. Rxd5 Qxd5 22. Nf4 Qe4 23. Bg2± (Ermenkov). If, instead, 18. ... Rdg8 then 19. Ne2 Ne5 (19. ... Rg6 20. Qc1 Bf8 21. c3 Bh6 22. Qc2 Ne5 23. Nh4 Rg7 24. Nd4 Nc4 25. Ng2!± Suetin – N. Weinstein, Budapest 1976) 20. Nfd4 Ng4 21. Bxg4 Rxg4 22. Nf4 e5 23. Nb3+- Pietzsch – Palmason, 17th Chess Olympiad, Havana 1966. 19. Ne2. After 19. Qd2 (E. Geller) 19. ... b4 20. Na4 Qb5 21. b3 d5 the game is roughly even. 19. ... d5. Not 19. ... Nb4 on account of 20. Qd2! d5 21. e5 d4 22. Nexd4! fxe5 23. Nxe5! Bb7 24. a3 Qxe5 25. axb4 Bf6 (25. ... Bxb4 26. Qf4±) 26. Qf2!!+- Ermenkov – P. Kovačević, “Investbanka” Tournament, Belgrade 1991. 20. exd5 Nb4!

21. Ned4? (21. Nfd4 e5! ∞) 21. ... Qxd5-+ 22. b3 e5! 23. Ne6. 23. Ne2 is met by 23. ... Qe4-+ (E. Geller). 23. ... Qc6!! (Δ ... Qc6xc2+) 24. c3 0 : 1. Because of 24. ... Qe4+! 25. Ka1 Nc2+ 26. Kb2 (26. Kb1 Ne1+!) 26. ... Ba3+ 27. Kb1 Ne1+! and mate in three moves.

Misha Tal, “The Magician from Riga”

When Mikhail Nechemevich Tal fell ill in Curaçao (1962), Bobby Fischer was the only player who visited him in hospital, a gesture which touched Tal deeply, giving rise to the iconic photo of the two playing chess on Tal’s hospital bed.

A Precarious Balance

Alexander Genrikhovich Beliavsky – 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán)
4th NH Chess Tournament; Rising Stars vs. Experience; Amsterdam, August 30, 2009
Catalan Opening E06

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. g3 d5 4. Bg2 Be7 5. Nf3 0-0 6. 0-0 dxc4 7. Qc2 a6 8. a4 Bd7 9. Qxc4 Bc6 10. Bg5 Bd5 11. Qd3 Be4 12. Qe3 Bc6 13. a5TN Nbd7 14. Nc3 h6 15. Bxf6 Nxf6 16. Qd3 Bb4 17. Qc4 Qe7 18. Ne5 Bxg2 19. Kxg2 c5 20. dxc5 Bxc5 21. Ne4 Nxe4 22. Qxe4 Rfd8 23. Rfd1 Rab8 24. Rd3 Bd6 25. Nf3 Bc7 26. Ne1 g6 27. b4 h5 28. Rad1 Rxd3 29. Nxd3 Bd6 30. Rc1 Rd8 31. Rc4 Qd7 32. Rd4 Qe7 33. h4 Qc7 34. Rc4 Qd7 35. Qf3 Rc8 36. Rxc8+ Qxc8 37. Qe4 Qc7 38. Kf3 Kf8 39. Qd4 Ke7 40. e4 Qc6 41. Ke3 f6 42. f4 Kf7 43. e5. Beliavsky fights to the last ditch to avoid a draw, which, indeed, should be an “objectively” fair result. 43. ... Be7 44. Qe4. White offers the exchange of Queens, speculating on 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán)’s inexperience in defending a drawish — but not drawn — endgame.

44. ... Qc7? Too much anxiety of avoiding the exchange, and Black moves her Queen to the worst square! 45. exf6 Bxf6? Yet this may be the losing move! There was nothing better for Black than going into a bad ending a Pawn down with 45. ... Kxf6! 46. Ne5 Qc3+ 47. Kf2 Qd2+ 48. Kg1 Bxb4 49. Qxg6+ Ke7 50. Qg5+ Kf8 51. Qf6+ Ke8 52. Qxe6+ Kd8 53. Nf7+ Kc8 54. Qe5+ Kc8 55. Qh8+! Kc7 56. Qxh5 Bxa5 57. Qc5+ Kb8 58. Ne5 and hope not to get worse. 46. Nc5! Now the b7-Pawn falls and with it the game. 46. ... Qc8 47. Qxb7+ Qxb7 48. Nxb7 Bc3 49. b5 e5 50. bxa6 Bd4+ 51. Ke4 Ke6 52. fxe5 Bf2 53. Nd6 1 : 0.

The old fox got the best of her prey. Photo courtesy of Zsuzsa Polgár/Chess Daily News.

Generation Games

侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) – Alexander Genrikhovich Beliavsky
3rd NH Chess Tournament; Amsterdam, August 23, 2009
Philidor Defence C41

1. e4 d6 2. d4 Nf6 3. Nc3 e5 4. Nf3 Nbd7 5. Bc4 Be7 6. 0-0 0-0 7. Re1 c6 8. a4 a5 9. Ba2 h6 10. h3 Nh7 11. Be3 Ng5 12. Qe2 Nxf3+ 13. Qxf3 Bg5 14. Rad1 Qe7!? Probably sounder than the Pawn hunting by 14. ... Bxe3 15. Qxe3 Qb6∞ Spoelman – Reinderman, 46th SchaakFestival, Groningen 2008. 15. Ne2 g6 16. Ng3 Kg7 17. Qe2 Nf6 18. Qd2 Nh7 19. f4 exf4 20. Bxf4 Bd7 21. Rf1 h5 22. Rde1 Bxf4 23. Rxf4 Ng5? (23. ... h4 24. Nf1 Rae8 25. Nh2 f5) 24. h4. Even stronger appears to be 24. e5! d5 25. Rf6 Nh7 26. Ref1! with overwhelming effect. 24. ... Ne6? Black’s best was to play 24. ... Nh7, eventually followed by ... f7-f6.

25. Nf5+!+− gxf5 26. exf5 d5 27. f6+ Qxf6 28. Rxf6 Kxf6 29. c4 dxc4 30. Bxc4 Rg8 31. Qf2+ Ke7 32. d5 cxd5 33. Qc5+ Kd8 34. Qxd5 Kc8 35. Bb5 Bxb5 36. axb5 Kc7 37. Rf1 Rg7

38. Rxf7+! Rxf7 39. b6+! 1 : 0. For after 39. ... Kc8 40. Qxe6+ Rd7 41. Qf5! mate in three follows.

侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) played a superb attacking game to breakthrough into Beliavsky’s Philidor Defence. Photo courtesy of Zsuzsa Polgár/Chess Daily News.