Meaningful Coincidences

Bollywood Express

Goat in a Cage

Magnus Carlsen – Alireza Firouzja

Freestyle Chess G.O.A.T. Challenge; Quarterfinal match game 2; time control: 90 minutes per 40 moves plus 30 minutes for the rest of the game plus 30 seconds per move starting on move 41; Wangels, February 12, 2024

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Position #607

1. e4 e5 2. g3 c6 3. c3 g6 4. Ne3 Ne6 5. Ne2 Ne7 6. Rf1 Rf8 7. f4 f5 8. fxe5 fxe4 9. Rxf8+. Finally breaking the symmetry!
9. ... Nxf8 10. Qxe4 Qxe5 11. Qb4

11. ... b6? Very bad. 11. ... a5! was a much more enterprising line of play: 12. Qxb7 Rb8 13. Qa6 Rxb2 14. Kc1 (14. 0-0-0?? Qb8!−+) 14. ... Qb5 with a fairly balanced game.
12. d4! Qa5. If this was Firouzja’s idea of playing for a draw, it was not a success.
13. Qxa5 bxa5

14. d5! cxd5 15. 0-0-0! Whether believe or not, the rest is only a matter of technique.
15. ... Rc8 16. Nxd5 Nc6 17. Be3 Ne6 18. Bg2 Ke8 19. a3 Bf7 20. Nef4 g5 21. Nh3 h6 22. Nf2 d6 23. Ne4 Be5 24. Nef6+ Kf8 25. Nd7+ Kg7 26. Nxe5 dxe5 27. b4 axb4 28. axb4 g4 29. Kb2 Rb8

30. Nc7! Nxc7 31. Bxc6 Nb5 32. Rd7 Kf6 33. Bxa7 Nxa7 34. Rxa7 Bg6 35. Ra6 Kg5 36. Ra8 Rb6 37. b5 Bd3 38. Ra5 e4 39. Kb3 e3 40. c4 Kf5 41. Ra8 1 : 0.

Not surprisingly, Carlsen did not betray the expectations of the sponsor. Photo: Amruta Mokal/ChessBase India.

Buzz to Brilliance

Alireza Firouzja – Fabiano Caruana
11th Norway Chess; Stavanger, June 3, 2023
French Defence C11

1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. e5 Nfd7 5. f4 c5 6. Nf3 Nc6 7. Be3 cxd4 8. Nxd4 Qb6 9. Qd2 Qxb2 10. Rb1 Qa3 11. Ncb5. It is interesting to note that Caruana, with White, preferred here instead 11. Bb5 Nxd4 12. Bxd4 a6 13. Bxd7+ Bxd7 14. Rb3 Qe7 15. Rxb7 Qd8 16. 0-0 Rb8 17. Rxb8 Qxb8 18. f5 Qc8 19. f6 gxf6 20. Qf4 Qc4 21. exf6 Rg8 22. Nxd5 exd5 23. Re1+ Kd8 24. Qb8+ Bc8 25. Qa7 Be6 26. Bb6+ Kc8 27. Qa8+ Kd7 28. Qb7+ Kd6 29. Ba7 Rxg2+ 30. Kxg2 Qg4+ 31. Kh1 Qf3+ 32. Kg1 Qg4+ 33. Kh1 Qf3+ ½ : ½ Caruana – Robson, 60th U.S. Chess Championship, Saint Louis 2016.
11. ... Qxa2 12. Rd1 (12. Rb3 Rb8∞)
12. ... Rb8 13. Nc7+ Kd8 14. Ncb5 Nc5 15. Bd3 Nxd3+ 16. Qxd3 Bd7. A new move by Caruana, but more of form than of substance, because 16. ... Qa5+ 17. Kf2 Nxd4 18. Bxd4 Bd7 also looks playable, Abergel – Fridman, 34th German Schach Bundesliga, Viernheim 2014.

17. Nd6? As it will be demonstrated, this is not the way to find compensation for the two Pawns minus. White should have castled now.
17. ... Bxd6 18. exd6 Qc4 19. Qd2 f6! The Black King is heading to f7, so as to free the h8-Rook.
20. Nxc6+ bxc6 21. Qa5+ If 21. Bxa7 then 21. ... Rb2 with a dominating position.
21. ... Ke8 22. Qxa7 Rb2!

23. Qa8+? The Black Rook has apparently been a temptation that was hard to resist. However, it must be said that White’s situation was already compromised enough without Firouzja making it worse.
23. ... Kf7 24. Qxh8 Qxc2 25. Bd2 Qe4+ 26. Kf1 Qd3+! 27. Ke1

27. ... c5! The threat of ... Bd7-b5 with mate to follow forces Black to give up a piece.
28. h4 Bb5 29. Kf2 Rxd2+! 30. Rxd2 Qxd2+ 31. Kg3 Qe3+ 32. Kh2 Qxf4 33. Kg1 Qd4+ 34. Kh2 Qxh4+ 35. Kg1 Qd4+ 36. Kh2 Qe5+ 37. Kg1 Qxd6. Caruana can be happy with his five Pawns for the Exchange.
38. Rxh7 Qf8! 0 : 1.

Another brilliant attack was carried out by Caruana, who is leading the pack so far. Photo: Lennart Ootes/Norway Chess.

Near & Far

Fabiano Caruana – Alireza Firouzja
8th Grand Chess Tour; 1st stage; 4th Superbet Chess Classic; Bucharest, May 12, 2023
English Opening A11

1. c4 c6 2. Nf3 d5 3. g3 g6 4. Qa4 dxc4 5. Qxc4 Bg7 6. d4 Be6 7. Qa4 Bd5 8. Nbd2 Nf6 9. Qc2 Qa5 10. Bg2 c5. Of course 10. ... Bxa2?? 11. b4+− loses a whole piece for Black.
11. 0-0 cxd4 12. b4!? A novel move, and yet a very natural one. If 12. Qc8+ then 12. ... Qd8 13. Qxd8+ Kxd8 14. Nxd4 Bxg2 15. Kxg2 Kd7= with equality, 余泱漪 (Yú Yāngyī) – 丁立人 (Dīng Lìrén), 1st 深圳龙岗 (Shēnzhèn Lónggǎng) Masters “读特杯” (“Dú Tè Cup”), 深圳 (Shēnzhèn) 2017.
12. ... Qd8 13. Bb2 0-0 14. Bxd4 Nc6 15. Bc3 Rc8 16. Qb2 a5 17. bxa5 Nxa5 18. Rac1 Nh5 19. Bxg7 Nxg7 20. Rxc8 Qxc8 21. Rc1 Qd8 22. Ne5 Bxg2 23. Kxg2 Ne6 24. Ndf3 Qd5

25. Rc3! Heading for d7 via d3.
25. ... Ra8 26. Rd3 Qc5 27. Rd7 Re8 28. a4 Nc4 29. Nxc4 Qxc4 30. Qb5 Qxb5 31. axb5 Nc5 32. Rc7 b6 33. Ne5 f6 34. Nc4 Na4 35. Ne3

35. ... e6. For fear of Ne3-d5.
36. Rb7 Rc8 37. Ng4 Rf8 38. Nh6+ Kh8 39. Nf7+ Kg8 40. Nd6 f5

41. Nc4? How very strange! Here Caruana contents himself with a draw instead of playing for a win with 41. Rc7! Rd8 42. Rc6 yielding White a manifest advantage.
41. ... Rf7 42. Rb8+ Rf8 43. Rb7 Rf7 44. Rb8+ Rf8 45. Rb7 ½ : ½.

“It was a reminder that, at his peak, Caruana was rated 2851, the all-time No 3 on official figures behind Magnus Carlsen and Garry Kasparov. Caruana is still only 30, so Carlsen’s abdication provides an opportunity for another tilt at the crown that he narrowly missed in 2018”, Leonard Barden wrote in his column on The Guardian on Friday, May 12, 2023. Photo: Lennart Ootes/Grand Chess Tour.

Globally Speaking

Alireza Firouzja – Fabiano Caruana

5th Champions Showdown: Chess 9LX; tie-break game 1; time control: 10 minutes plus 2 seconds per move; Saint Louis, September 16, 2022

qrkrnbbn/pppppppp/8/8/8/8/PPPPPPPP/QRKRNBBN w DBdb - 0 1

Position #878

1. b4 Ng6 2. Nf3 f6 3. e4 e5 4. c4 a5

White’s last two moves were incongruent, to say the least, and Black didn’t miss his chance to seize the upper hand.
5. b5 Bc5 6. d4 exd4 7. Nxd4 Nd6 8. f3 Bf7 9. Qc3 0-0 10. Kb2 Ne5 11. Ka1. At least White managed to castle by hand in the far corner.
11. ... Bb4 12. Qc1 Nexc4 13. Bxc4 Nxc4 14. Nf5 d5 15. Bd4 Bg6 16. Nhg3 Rbe8 17. h4 Qc8

With his last move, Black showed his obliviousness or indifference to his opponent’s threats. In the specific, White’s pseudo-sacrifice of the Knight at g7 calls everything into question again.
18. Nxg7 Kxg7 19. h5 Ne5 20. hxg6 hxg6 21. f4 Ng4 22. e5 c5 23. bxc6 Qxc6 24. exf6+ Kf7 25. Qb2 Ne3 26. Rdc1 Nc4 27. Qf2 Rh8 28. Rh1 Na3 29. Rhc1 Nc4 30. Qf3 Rh4 31. Nf1 Qd7 32. g3 Rh3 33. Rd1 Rc8 34. Qg2 Rhh8

35. Nh2! Na3! 36. Nf3 Nc2+ 37. Kb2?? In the end, they both running utterly short of time, Firouzja very melodramatically falls into a self-mate. The only move was 37. Qxc2 Rxc2 38. Ne5+ Ke6 39. Nxd7 Kxd7 with roughly even chances.
37. Ba3+ 0 : 1. Mate follows after 38. Kb3 a4# (idem to say 38. ... Qb5#).

And thus, in his own words, Caruana “Was just crowned Global Chess 9LX Champion of St. Louis!” after winning a heartbreaking tiebreaker against Firouzja. Photo © Lennart Ootes.

Reloaded

Alireza Firouzja – Ian Alexandrovich Nepomniachtchi
Candidates Tournament 2022; Madrid, June 30, 2022
Russian Defence C42

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nxe5 d6 4. Nf3 Nxe4 5. c4 Nc6 6. d3 Nf6 7. d4 Be7 8. d5. Through a different order of moves (1. c4 e5 2. e3 Nf6 3. Nc3 Nc6 4. Nf3 Be7 5. d4 exd4 6. exd4 d5), the position after 8. Nc3 d5 arose in Paulsen – Englisch, Anderssen Jubilee, Leipzig 1877. 8. ... Ne5 9. Nd4. The other half of the sky says 9. Be2 Nxf3+ 10. Bxf3 h5 11. h3 Bf5 12. Nc3 Qd7 13. Be3 a6 14. a4 c5 15. dxc6 bxc6 16. a5 Rb8 17. 0-0 0-0 18. Na4 and White stands better, Kosteniuk – 谭中怡 (Tán Zhōngyí), 1st Women’s Chess World Cup, Krasnaya Polyana 2021, match game 2. 9. ... 0-0 10. Nc3 Bg4 11. f3 Bd7 12. Be2 c6 13. 0-0 cxd5 14. cxd5 Qb6 15. Kh1 Rac8

16. g4?! Evidently White got nothing out of the opening, but maybe he might still hope to hold the balance (16. f4 Nc4 17. b3 Ne3 is roughly even). Instead, Firouzja decides to launch an unsubstantiated Pawn attack on the Kingside — something that resembles much — with reversed colours — of yesterday’s game between Duda and Caruana. 16. ... h6 17. h4?! White’s last two moves took up about an hour, but not everyone was impressed. “Is this the ‘How can I help Nepo qualify’ Candidates?”, Swiss Grandmaster Noël Studer caustically asks. “16.g4? 17.h4? are two of the most absurd moves I’ve ever seen in top-level chess”. 17. ... Rfe8 18. g5. If you have said A and B, you must also say C. 18. ... hxg5 19. hxg5 Nh5 20. Kg2

20. ... Ng6! 21. f4 Nhxf4+! 22. Bxf4 Qxb2 23. Ne4 Rc4 24. Be3 Bxg5! 25. Rb1 Qxa2 26. Ra1

26. ... Rxd4! 27. Rxa2 (18. Bxd4 Qxd5−+) 27. ... Rxd1 28. Bxd1 Bxe3 29. Nxd6 Re7 30. Bb3 Bc5 31. Nxb7 Bb6 32. Bc4 Re3 33. Kh1 Bh3 34. Rc1 Bf5 35. Bf1 Be4+ 0 : 1.

Nepomniachtchi is doing it again. Photo: Stev Bonhage/FIDE.

As Life Goes By

Hikaru Nakamura – Alireza Firouzja
Candidates Tournament 2022; Madrid, June 29, 2022
Sicilian Defence B90

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Be3 e5 7. Nf3 Nc6 8. Bc4 Be6 9. Nd5 Rc8 10. Nxf6+ gxf6?!

An ugly move which can be reminiscent of Bobby Fischer’s 11. ... g7xf6 against Gligorić at the Candidates Tournament 1959 — a move so ugly that made two Soviet giants raise their eyebrows. As Fischer himself wrote in “My 60 Memorable Games” (Simon and Schuster, New York, 1969, p. 80), “Petrosian and Tal both happened to stroll by the board at this instant. Petrosian made a wry face which looked to me like ‘Can Black do this and live?’”. Back to Firouzja, it was better for him to follow the beaten track: 10. ... Qxf6 11. Bxe6 fxe6 (11. ... Qxe6 12. 0-0 Be7 13. Nd2 d5 14. exd5 Qxd5 15. Qg4 0-0 16. Bh6 Bf6 17. Ne4 Qe6 18. Qxe6 fxe6 19. Be3 Nb4 20. c3 Nd5 21. Rfe1 Rc6 22. a4 Rfc8 23. g3 Be7 24. Kg2 Nf6 25. Ng5 Rd8 26. Nf3 Rd5 27. Rac1 e4 28. Nd4 Rcd6 29. h3 Kf7 30. Nb3 Rc6 31. Nd2 h6 32. Re2 b5 33. axb5 axb5 34. Nb3 e5 35. Ra1 b4 36. cxb4 Bxb4 37. Ra7+ Rd7 38. Rxd7+ Nxd7 39. Nc1 Nf6 40. Na2 Bd6 41. Nc3 ½ : ½ Vachier-Lagrave – Morozevich, 42nd Biel International Chess Festival, Biel/Bienne 2009) 12. 0-0 Qg6 13. Nd2 Be7 14. c4 0-0 15. Rc1 Rc7 16. f3 Bg5 17. Bxg5 Qxg5 18. Rc3 a5 19. Rf2 Rfc8 20. g3 Nd4 21. Kg2 Qd8 22. f4 exf4 23. Rxf4 Nc6 24. a4 Ne5 25. Qe2 Qe8 26. b3 g5 27. Rf2 g4 28. Qe3 Qh5 29. Rc1 Ng6 30. Rcf1 Qe5 31. Qh6 Rg7 32. h3 gxh3+ 33. Qxh3 Rf8 34. Rxf8+ Nxf8 35. Qh4 Ng6 36. Qh3 Nf8 37. Qh4 Rf7 38. Rxf7 Kxf7 39. Nf3 Qb2+ ½ : ½ M. Adams – Bologan, 18th Turkish Chess League, Konya 2012. 11. Bb3 Ne7?! In his YouTube commentary, Nakamura suggested 11. ... Na5 as an improvement for Black, though even then after 12. Bd5 Nc4 13. 0-0 Nxb2 14. Qb1 Nc4 15. exd5 Nc4 16. Qxb7 f5 17. Qxa6 with ideas such as Ra1-b1 and Be3-g5 “White should be better”. 12. 0-0 Bxb3 13. axb3 d5 14. exd5 Qxd5 15. Qe2. The modest 15. c3 has also its merits, aiming for a favourable endgame. 15. ... Nf5 16. Rfd1 Qc6 17. c4 Bg7 18. Rd5 0-0 19. Rad1 Rfe8

20. h3 b5 21. c5 (⌓ 21. Bc5!) 21. ... Bf8 (⌓ 21. ... a5!) 22. b4

22. ... Nd4. Black goes in for the gain of the Exchange, which, however, will leave White a free hand in carrying out his Kingside attack. 23. Nxd4 Qxd5 24. Nf5 Qe4 25. Qh5. Threatens Rd1-d7. 25. ... Red8 26. Ra1! Rc6 27. Bh6 Kh8 28. Ra3 Qxb4 29. Bxf8 Rxf8 30. Qh6 Rg8 31. Rg3 Rxg3 32. fxg3 1 : 0.

Once again Nakamura bounced back, looking for a second act in his American life. Photo: Stev Bonhage/FIDE.

Lumos

Alireza Firouzja – Fabiano Caruana
Candidates Tournament 2022; Madrid, June 23, 2022
Catalan Opening E06

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. g3 d5 4. Bg2 Be7 5. Nf3 0-0 6. Qd3. This is a Gelfand trademark. 6. ... c5 7. 0-0 cxd4 8. Nxd4 Nc6 9. cxd5 Nxd4 10. Qxd4 Nxd5 11. Rd1 Bf6 12. Qg4?! Firouzja is eager to attack, but Her Majesty does not stand too well here. More scientific seems 12. Qd3 Qb6 13. Na3 Rd8 14. Nc4 Qc7 15. Qb3 Bd7 16. Bd2 Nb6 17. Rdc1 Ba4 18. Qb4 Rd4? (⌓ 18. ... Bc6) 19. Nxb6! Rxb4 20. Nxa8 Qb8 21. Bxb4 Bxb2 22. Rc7! Bxa1 23. Bxb7 Be5 24. Rc8+ Qxc8 25. Bxc8 Bc6 26. Bc5 Bxa8 27. Bxa7 with a won ending, Gelfand – Cyborowski, 29th Czech Team Chess Championship — Extraliga, Brno 2022. 12. ... Bd7 13. Nd2 Qe7 14. Nf3 Rac8 15. e4 e5 16. Qh5 Nb4 17. Bg5 Bxg5 18. Nxg5 h6 19. Nf3 Nc6

Black has already an easier game, which could have pushed Firouzja to “demonstrate” something, thus in fact worsening his situation: 20. Rxd7? Qxd7 21. Bh3

21. ... f5! An unpleasant surprise. 22. exf5?! If 22. Bxf5 then 22. ... Qe8! frustrating all White’s hopes of compensation. But the text is no better. 22. ... Rce8 23. Nh4 e4 24. Rd1 Qf7 25. Qe2 Qxa2 26. Ng6 Rf7 27. Nf4 Qb3 28. Bg4

Caruana concludes with great energy: 28. ... e3! 29. Kg2 Rd8 30. Rxd8+ Nxd8 31. fxe3 Rc7 32. Kh3 Nf7! 33. Bf3 Rc2 34. Qd1 Ng5+ 35. Kg4 Nxf3 36. Qd8+ Kh7 37. Kxf3 Qxb2 38. Qe8 Qf6 39. e4 Rxh2 40. Qd7 Qc3+ 41. Kg4 Qd2 42. Qa4 0 : 1. And White resigned, without waiting for 42. ... h5+! 43. Nxh5 Qe2+ leaving Black a Rook up.

And so the question arises, who will be able to stop Caruana? Photo: Stev Bonhage/FIDE.

The hug of the bear

Ian Alexandrovich Nepomniachtchi – Alireza Firouzja
Candidates Tournament 2022; Madrid, June 21, 2022
Sicilian Defence B90

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. f3 e5 7. Nb3 Be6 8. Be3 Be7 9. Qd2 0-0 10. 0-0-0 Nbd7 11. g4 b5 12. g5 b4 13. Ne2. 13. gxf6 bxc3 14. Qxc3 Nxf6 would cause Black little or no problem: 15. Na5 Qd7 16. Qc6 Rfc8 17. Qxd7 Nxd7 18. b3 f5 19. Bc4 Bxc4 20. Nxc4 Rc6 21. exf5 Rf8 22. f4 Rxf5 23. fxe5 Nxe5 24. Nxe5 Rxe5 25. Rhe1 Bh4 26. Re2 d5 27. Kd2 Rce6 28. Kd3? (28. c3 Rxe3 29. Rxe3 Bg5 30. Rde1 Rh6 31. Re2 Rh3!∓) 28. ... d4 29. Bf2 (if 29. Kxd4 then 29. ... Rxe3 30. Rxe3 Rd6+!−+) 29. ... Rxe2 30. Bxh4 Rxh2 31. Be1 Rh3+ 32. Kd2 h5 33. Bf2 Rh2 34. Rf1 Rf6 35. Ke2 g5 0 : 1 Shankland – 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán), 22nd Hawaii International Chess Festival “Grandmaster Challenge”, Blitz Tournament, Waikīkī Beach, Honolulu 2015 (time control: 5 minutes with no increment). 13. ... Ne8 14. f4 a5 15. f5

15. ... Bc4!? Firouzja walks the sidelines. The usual continuation is 15. ... a4 16. fxe6 axb3 17. cxb3 fxe6 18. Bh3 Rxa2 19. Bxe6+ Kh8 20. Ng3 Nc7 21. Bc4 Qa8 22. Rhf1 Rxf1 23. Rxf1 Ra1+ 24. Kc2 Rxf1 25. Bxf1 d5 26. Qf2 g6 27. h4 Qf8 28. Qxf8+ Nxf8 29. Ba7 dxe4 30. Bb8 Nfe6 31. Nxe4 h6 32. Bc4 hxg5 33. hxg5 Kg7 34. Kd3 Kf8 35. Ke3 Bd8 36. Bxe6 Nxe6 37. Bxe5 Nxg5 38. Bd6+ Ke8 39. Bxb4 Nxe4 40. Kxe4 Kd7 41. Kd5 ½ : ½ Radjabov – Vachier-Lagrave, FIDE Grand Prix 2014–15, 2nd stage, Tashkent 2014. 16. Kb1 a4 17. Nbc1 d5 18. f6 gxf6 19. gxf6. Strict epistolary theory says 19. Ng3 Nd6 20. gxf6 Nxf6 21. Bh6 Kh8! 22. Qg5 Rg8 23. Qxe5 Ra5 24. Bf4 Re8 25. Bg5 a3 26. b3 d4 27. Qxd4 Rxg5 28. Bxc4 Qa5 29. Rhe1 Rd8 30. Qa1 Qb6 with a dynamic balance, Vornanen – Salonen, 43th Finnish Veteran’s Championship, by e-mail, 2011–12. 19. ... Ndxf6 20. Ng3

20. ... Bxf1?! Maybe this will be subject of debate by Firouzja and his seconds. 20. ... Kh8!?∞ seems here more appropriate and useful. 21. Rhxf1 a3. After an eternity of thought. 22. b3 Kh8 23. exd5 Nd6? Good or bad, Black just ought to play 23. ... Qc7, though after 24. Rxf6! Bxf6 25. d6 Qc6 26. Qxb4 White has more than enough compensation for the Exchange. 24. Qxb4 Rc8. Not 24. ... Nde4? on account of 25. d6! winning at once, while if 24. ... Nd7 then 25. c4 f5 26. c5 Rb8 27. Qe1 with a crushing advantage. 25. Bb6 Qd7 (25. ... Qe8 26. Rxf6+−)

White is winning now, and Nepomniachtchi concludes energetically: 26. Qe1! Rb8 27. Ba5 Nc4 28. d6! Bd8 (28. ... Nxd6 29. Qxe5+−) 29. Bc3 Qe6 30. Nd3 Nd5 31. Nf4 Nxf4 32. Rxf4 f6 33. Qe2 Nb2 (33. ... Nxd6 34. Bxe5+−) 34. Rdf1 Re8 35. Rh4 f5

36. Rxh7+! Kxh7 37. Qh5+ Kg8 38. Nxf5 Bf6 39. Rg1+ 1 : 0. Because of 39. ... Kf8 40. Qh6+ Kf7 41. Rg7+ followed by mate in two.

Today Nepomniachtchi taught his young opponent much, if not all, about the Najdorf. Photo: Maria Alekseevna Emelianova/chess.com.

An Escape in Time

Levon Grigori Aronian – Alireza Firouzja
7th Grand Chess Tour; 1st stage; Superbet Chess Classic; Bucharest, May 7, 2022
Slav Defence D17

1. c4 c6 2. Nf3 d5 3. d4 Nf6 4. Nc3 dxc4 5. a4 Bf5 6. Ne5 Nbd7 7. Nxc4 Qc7 8. g3 e5 9. dxe5 Nxe5 10. Bf4 Nfd7 11. Bg2 g5 12. Ne3 gxf4 13. Nxf5 0-0-0 14. Qc2 Kb8 15. gxf4 (15. a5 Nc5!) 15. ... Nc4 16. e3 Nc5 17. Rd1 Rxd1+ 18. Nxd1 Qa5+. This is all theory so far. 19. Ke2? A gross mistake, which loses a Pawn by force. Usual is 19. Nc3 Qb6∞ 20. 0-0 Qxb2 21. Qxb2 Nxb2 22. Rb1 Ncd3 23. Be4 Kc7 24. Kf1 a5 25. Bxd3 Nxd3 26. Ke2 Nc5 27. h4 Ne6 28. Ne4 Nc5 29. Nc3 Ne6 30. Rc1 Bb4 31. Ne4 h6 32. h5 b6 33. Rg1 b5 34. Ra1 bxa4 35. Rxa4 Nf8 36. Nf6 Nd7 37. Nxd7 Kxd7 38. Kd3 c5 39. Kc4 Ke6 40. e4 Rd8 41. f3 Rd1 42. Nxh6 Rd4+ 43. Kb5 Rd3 44. Nf5 Rxf3 45. h6 Bd2 46. Kxc5 Rh3 47. Nd4+ Kd7 48. f5 Rxh6 49. e5 Rh4 50. e6+ ½ : ½ 王皓 (Wáng Hào) – Nakamura, 40th Chess Olympiad, Istanbul 2012.

19. ... Qa6! 20. Kf3 Qxa4 21. Qxa4. It took an hour for Aronian to resign himself to the inevitable. 21. ... Nxa4 22. Ke2. Unfortunately for White, the Pawn fork on b3 would be refuted by the Knight check at d2. 22. ... Ncxb2 23. Nxb2 Nxb2 24. Rb1 Na4. Once again a little tactics: White cannot recover the Pawn with 25. Bxc6?? on account of the Knight check at c3 forking King and Rook. 25. Kd2 Nb6. Black has one extra Pawn and three united passed Pawns. All in all, it should be enough for Firouzja to do whatever he wishes. 26. Bf3 Bc5 27. Nh6 Bc5 27. Nh6 f6 28. Rg1 a5 29. Rg8+ Rxg8 30. Nxg8 f5 31. Kc2 a4 32. Nh6 Nc4 33. Be2 Nd6 34. Bd3 Ne4 35. Bxe4 fxe4 36. Ng8 b5 37. Nf6 Kc7 38. Nxh7 b4 39. Ng5 b3+ 40. Kb2 Bb4. Time control is reached. The e-Pawn falls, leaving White with four passed Pawns, but Black’s better King gives his Pawn triad irresistible strength. 41. Nxe4

41. ... c5? Firouzja will no doubt be told by his coach that his technique still needs a lot of work. The correct method is 41. ... Kb6! 42. f5 Ka5 43. f6 Bf8!−+ blocking White’s Pawns. On the other hand, Aronian must be credited for achieving a study-like draw: 42. Nc3! Bxc3+ 43. Kxc3 c4 44. Kb2 Kd6 45. f5! Ke5

46. f3! And not 46. e4?? because of 46. ... Kd4! 47. f6 c3+ 48. Kc1 Kd3 49. f7 a3 50. f8=Q b2+ 51. Kb1 c2+ 52. Ka2 b1=Q+ 53. Kxa3 c1=Q+ 54. Ka4 Qc4+ followed by mate. 46. ... Kxf5 47. h4! As FIDE Master Yosha Iglesias first noted via Twitter, a position of reciprocal zugzwang appeared on the board: “Black to play, White draws. White to play, Black wins. Unfortunately for Alireza, it’s his move”. 47. ... Ke5 48. h5 Kf5 49. f4! Ke4 50. h6 Kd3 51. h7 c3+ 52. Ka3 c2 53. h8=Q c1=Q+ 54. Kxa4! b2

55. Qh7+! Kxe3 56. Qh3+ Kxf4 57. Qh4+ Kf5 58. Qh3+ Ke5 59. Qh5+ Kd6 60. Qg6+ Kc7 61. Qg7+ Kb6 62. Qxb2+! Forcing a stalemate. 62. ... Qxb2 ½ : ½.

“Not every day one gets a reciprocal zugzwang in a game! Can’t say I am happy with my play, but definitely a memorable moment!”, Aronian eventually said. Photo: Lennart Ootes/Grand Chess Tour.

My Kingdom for a Knight!

Alireza Firouzja – Ian Alexandrovich Nepomniachtchi
7th Grand Chess Tour; 1st stage; Superbet Chess Classic; Bucharest, May 6, 2022
1b4k1/1p3pp1/5r2/pN6/P1PPpr1q/4Qn1P/1PK2P2/3NRR2 w - - 28 41

Position after 40. ... Ng5-f3

Woman Grandmaster Sabina-Francesca Foişor, in her daily recap, assessed the position in the diagram as “completely winning” for Black — and indeed it is, especially from a machine standpoint! 41. d5 Be5 42. c5 Nxe1+. “Nepo seemed to have given up part of his advantage by choosing to take the Exchange on e1, with 42. ... Nxe1+, instead of taking his time with 42. ... Qxh3. Firouzja may have had the chance to hold on to the position, but he missed it and Nepomniachtchi ended up scoring an important victory for the day”, writes Foişor. 43. Rxe1 Rxf2+! 44. Nxf2

44. ... Rf3? A bit too sophisticated. 44. ... Rxf2+ 45. Re2 Rxe2+ 46. Qxe2 Qf4! 47. d6 e3! leaves Black with a very strong initiative. 45. Nxe4? Firouzja panics and cracks. 45. Qxe4! Rxf2+ 46. Kd1 Qxh3 may be a little better for Black, but also basically holdable for White. 45. ... Rxe3 46. Rxe3 f5 47. Nec3 Bxc3! 48. Nxc3 Qf2+ 49. Kd3 f4 50. Re4 Qg3+ 51. Kd2 f3

52. d6 Qg2+ 53. Ne2. Or 53. Ke3 f2 54. d7 f1=N+!−+ — an underpromotion to Knight which may have been overlooked by Firouzja. 53. ... f2! 54. Re8+ Kf7 55. Re7+ Kf6 0 : 1.

At a time when Firouzja ought to have been riding the tiger, he lost the thread of the story. Photo: Lennart Ootes/Grand Chess Tour.

A Day at a Time

Wesley So – Alireza Firouzja

Champions Chess Tour 2021; 4th stage; Magnus Carlsen Invitational 2021; Quarterfinal match game 6; time control: 15 minutes plus 10 seconds per move; chess24.com, March 17, 2021

Caro-Kann Defence B12

1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. e5 Bf5 4. Nf3 e6 5. Be2 Ne7 6. 0-0 h6 7. Nbd2 Nd7 8. Nb3 g5 9. Bd2 a5 10. a4 Qc7 11. c3. In a relatively recent game, So preferred 11. Rc1 Bg7 12. c4 0-0 13. h4 g4 14. Ne1 f6 15. exf6 Nxf6 16. g3 dxc4 17. Bxc4 Ned5 18. Qe2 Ne4 19. Ng2 Nxd2 20. Qxd2 Qf7 21. Rfe1 b6 22. Re2 Rad8 23. Rce1 Kh8 24. Ne3 Rd6 25. Nxf5 Qxf5 26. Bd3 Qf7 27. Bb1 Nb4 28. Qe3 Qf3 29. Qxf3 Rxf3 30. Nd2 Rf8 31. Rxe6 Rxd4 32. Ne4 Rfd8 33. Kg2 Kg8 34. Nf6+ Bxf6 35. Rxf6 R4d6 36. Ree6 Rxe6 37. Rxe6 h5 38. Bg6 Rd5 39. b3 Kg7 40. Be4 Rc5 41. Rg6+ Kf7 42. Rh6 Kg7 43. Rh7+ Kf6 44. f4 gxf3+ 45. Bxf3 Kg6 46. Rh8 Rc2+ 47. Kh3 Rc5 48. Be4+ Kg7 49. Rh7+ Kf6 50. Rh6+ Kg7 51. Rg6+ Kf7 52. Rg5 Rxg5 53. hxg5 b5 54. Kh4 bxa4 55. bxa4 c5 56. Kxh5 c4?? (56. ... Kg7) 57. Kh6 Kg8 58. Bh7+ 1 : 0 So – Artemiev, 4th Speed Chess Championship, chess.com, December 5, 2019, Semifinal match game 10 (time control: 5 minutes plus 1 second per move). 11. ... f6?! An impromptu novelty which can be hardly regarded as an improvement on 11. ... Bg7 12. Ne1 c5 13. Bb5 Nc6 14. f4 c4 15. Nc1 0-0-0 16. b3 Nb6 17. fxg5 hxg5 18. Bxg5 f6 19. Bf4 fxe5 20. Bg3 Rdg8 21. Bxc6 Qxc6 22. dxe5 Bh6 23. Bf4 Nd7 24. Qd4 Be4 25. Bxh6 Rxh6 26. Ra2 Qc7 27. Raf2 Qxe5 28. Qxe5 Nxe5 29. bxc4 Nxc4 30. Ned3 Rhh8 31. Nc5 Bxg2 32. Rxg2 Rxg2+ 33. Kxg2 Ne3+ 34. Kf2 Nxf1 35. Kxf1 Rxh2 36. Ne2 e5 37. Nd3 Rh5 38. Ng3 Rg5 39. Kf2 Kc7 40. Nf1 Kd6 41. Ne3 Rg8 42. Ke2 Rh8 43. Nf2 Rc8 44. Kd2 e4 45. Nf5+ Ke5 46. Ne3 Rd8 47. Nc2 Rg8 48. Ne3 Rg1 49. Nfg4+ Ke6 50. Kc2 Re1 51. Kb3 Re2 52. Nc2 Rd2 53. Nd4+ Kd6 54. Nc2 Kc5 55. Nd4 Rxd4 56. cxd4+ Kxd4 57. Kc2 e3 58. Kd1 Kd3 59. Ne5+ Kc3 60. Ke2 Kb3 61. Kxe3 Kxa4 62. Kd4 Kb3 63. Kxd5 a4 64. Kc5 b6+ 65. Kb5 a3 66. Nd3 Kc2 67. Nb4+ Kb3 68. Nd3 Kc2 69. Nb4+ Kc3 70. Na2+ Kb2 71. Nb4 a2 72. Nxa2 Kxa2 73. Kxb6 ½ : ½ Najer – Lobanov, 25th Russian Team Chess Championship, Sochi 2018. 12. exf6 Ng6. Only consistent. If 12. ... Nxf6 then 13. Ne5 with great advantage to White. 13. c4 Bd6 14. cxd5 exd5

15. Bd3! White sacrifices the Bishop for two Pawns and a strong attack. 15. ... Bxd3 16. Bxa5 Rxa5 17. Qxd3 Kf7. After 17. ... Nf4 18. Rfe1+ Kf7 19. Qf5 White’s attack continues. 18. Nxa5 Qxa5? An automatic answer that loses the game. Black had to play 18. ... g4! 19. Ne5+ Ndxe5 20. dxe5 Bxe5 21. Nb3 Bxh2+ 22. Kh1 Qe5 (Δ ... Qe5-h5) 23. Nd4 Qh5 25. Qf5 Qxf5 25. Nxf5 Be5 26. Ra2 h5! with good chances for compensation. 19. Qf5 Qd8 20. Rae1. White’s massive centralisation looks quite Morphy-like. 20. ... Ngf8. After 20. ... Ndf8 the same move follows as in the game.

21. Re7+! Bxe7 22. fxe7+ Kxe7 23. Re1+ Kd6 24. Ne5 Rh7 25. Nxd7 Qxd7 26. Qe5# 1 : 0.

U+00BD

Anish Giri – Alireza Firouzja
83rd Tata Steel Chess Tournament; Wijk aan Zee, January 30, 2021
French Defence C11

1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. e5 Nfd7 5. f4 c5 6. Nf3 Nc6 7. Be3 a6 8. a3 cxd4 9. Nxd4 Bc5 10. Qd2 0-0 11. Be2 Qc7 12. 0-0. As they say, “slow and steady wins the race”. A very famous game went on 12. Bf3 Nxd4 13. Bxd4 Nb6 14. Ne2 Bxd4 15. Qxd4 Bd7 16. b3 Bb5 17. Nc3 Rfc8 18. Nxb5 axb5 19. Be2 Nd7 20. Ra2 Nb8 21. 0-0 Nc6 22. Qd2 Qb6+ 23. Kh1 Qa5 24. Qxa5 Rxa5 25. Raa1 Rca8 26. Rad1 Rxa3 27. Bxb5 Nb4 28. c4 R8a5 29. f5! (29. Rb1 d4∓) 29. ... exf5 30. g4 Rxb3 31. gxf5 Re3 32. Rb1 Nd3? (both are short of time; correct was 32. ... Ra2 33. Rxb4 Ree2 forcing perpetual check) 33. e6? (33. Ra1!⩲↑) 33. ... d4 34. Be8 Nc5 35. Bxf7+ Kf8 36. f6 gxf6 37. Rxf6 Ke7 38. Rh6 d3 39. Rxh7 d2 40. Rg1? Re1 41. Bh5+ Kxe6 42. Rg7 Ne4 43. Rg6+ Ke5 0 : 1 Topalov – Ivanchuk, 4th M-Tel Masters, Sofia 2008. 12. ... b6 13. Nxc6 Qxc6 14. b4 Bxe3+ 15. Qxe3 Bb7 16. Bd3 d4 17. Qe4 Qxe4 18. Nxe4 Bd5 19. Ng5 g6 20. Nf3 Bxf3 21. Rxf3 b5 22. Be4 Rad8 23. Rd3

23. ... Nb6. Black’s Knight proves to be a valiant defender. 24. Bb7 Na4 25. Bxa6 Nc3 26. Bb7 Ne2+ 27. Kf2 Nxf4 28. Rd2 d3. Who knows, maybe 28. ... f6!? might have been better here. 29. c3

29. ... Ne2? 29. ... Rb8 seems much better, with a tenable game for Black (30. Ke3 g5 31. Be4 Rbc8). 30. Ke3 Nxc3 31. Rxd3 Rxd3+?! This probably doesn’t help much, since after the exchange of Rooks White carries the siege of the b5-Pawn more easily. 32. Kxd3 Na4 33. Rc1 Rd8+ 34. Ke2 Kg7 35. Bc6 Rb8 36. Rc2 Kf8 37. Kd2 Ke7 38. Kc1 f6 39. exf6+ Kxf6 40. Kb1 Ke5 41. Ka2 Kd4 42. Kb3 Kd3 43. Rf2. It might have been simpler to enter a Rook endgame a Pawn up by 43. Bxb5+ Rxb5 44. Kxa4 with what seems to be a win for White (44. ... Rb8 45. Rc5 Re8 46. b5 e5 47. b6 e4 48. Ka5!+−). 43. ... e5 44. Rf7 Nb6 45. Bxb5+. The target Pawn has finally fallen, and now White should somehow be able to bring home the full point, even though there are still many remarkable technical difficulties to overcome. 45. ... Kd4 46. a4 Nd5 47. Rxh7 e4 48. Rf7 e3 49. Rf1 Nc3 50. Rf4+ Ke5 51. Rf3 Nxb5 52. Rxe3+. Not 52. axb5? on account of 52. ... Kd4 drawing at once. 52. ... Kd4 53. Rg3 Nd6 54. Rxg6 Ne4 55. a5 Kd5 56. a6 Nc5+ 57. Ka3 Nd3 58. a7 Ra8 59. Rg7 Kc6 60. h4 Nf4

61. g4? Nemesis falls, and White only draws. True, the mighty machines give here as winning for White 61. Ka4! followed by the Pawn check; for instance: 61. ... Ng6 62. b5+ Kb6 63. Rg6 Rxa7+ 64. Kb4 Re7 65. h5 and Black shouldn’t be able to keep at bay all White’s Pawns. But when there is only one solution, there are always too many ways not to spot it. 61. ... Ne6 62. Rf7 Nc7 63. g5 Rxa7+ 64. Kb2 Ra8 65. g6 Ne6 66. h5 Rh8 67. Rh7 Rg8 ½ : ½.

Almost unnoticed, on the eve of the last day of January, Giri arrived on the top of the mountain, but, as a consequence of today’s draw, he will have to go all out for a win in his final round game with David Antón Guijarro to clinch his first ever title in Wijk aan Zee — and if this ever were to happen, he would be the second Dutchman to do so, following Jan Timman in 1985. Photo © Jurriaan Hoefsmit/Tata Steel Chess Tournament 2021.