A Joy of Less

Michael Adams – Nils Axel Grandelius
16th Tradewise Gibraltar Chess Festival; Catalan Bay, February 1, 2018
Sicilian Defence B52

Armenian Grandmaster Levon Grigori Aronian won the 16th Tradewise Gibraltar Chess Festival after tie-break against French Grandmaster Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, replicating the outcome of the 7th Chess World Cup’s semifinal, so that he will likely face the next Candidates Tournament in the best possible mood! Among the non-winners, English Grandmaster Michael Adams was remarkable as usual, if nothing because he made the same score as the winner (7½ points out of 10)! 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. Bb5+ Bd7 4. Bxd7+ Nxd7 5. 0-0 Ngf6 6. Re1 e6 7. d4 cxd4 8. Nxd4 Be7 9. c4 0-0 10. b3 Re8 11. Bb2 Nc5!? 11. ... a6 after 12. Nc3 Bf8 13. Qd2 Rc8 14. Rad1 Qc7 15. Nf3 Qb8 16. h3 b5 may transpose into Hammer – Nakamura, 3rd Norway Blitz Chess Tournament 2015. 12. Nc3 d5?? This is really an awful mistake that makes Black’s position disintegrate in a few moves. Among other moves, 12. ... Qb6!? 13. Qd2 Ng4 deserved consideration here. 13. exd5 exd5 14. Nf5 Bf8. Not 14. ... dxc4?? 15. Rxe7! winning on the spot. 15. Rxe8 Qxe8 16. Nxd5 Nxd5

17. Nh6+! Giving the last nail one last tap, but even without this pretty “intermezzo” White shouldn’t have to be worried about the final result. 17. ... Kh8. Not 17. ... gxh6?? because of 18. Qg4+ followed by mate. 18. Qxd5 Qe6 19. Nxf7+ Kg8 20. Qxe6 Nxe6 21. Ne5. With two Pawns minus (one on each wing), Black could well resign here. 21. ... Rd8 22. Bc3 Bc5 23. Kf1 Bd4 24. Bxd4 Rxd4 25. Re1 Nc5 26. Nf3 Rd6 27. Ng5 Rd8 28. g3 h6 29. Ne6 Nxe6 30. Rxe6 Kf7 31. Re5 Rd2 32. a4 Rb2 33. Rb5 b6 34. h4 Ke6 35. h5 Kd6 36. a5 Kc6 37. axb6 axb6 38. Kg2 1 : 0.

Michael Adams vs. Nils Grandelius. Photo © John Saunders.

The Sudden Star

Luca Moroni – Pia Cramling
16th Tradewise Gibraltar Chess Festival; Catalan Bay, January 31, 2018
Catalan Opening E01

Swedish Grandmaster Pia Cramling, 54, wrote today one of her most memorable chess pages by winning undefeated the prize for the best woman in the 16th Tradewise Gibraltar Chess Festival. The newly Italian Chess Champion, Luca Moroni, may therefore feel himself proud of having given (just yesterday) his personal contribution to Pia’s brilliant achievement. 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. g3 d5 4. Bg2 Bb4+ 5. Bd2 Bd6 6. Nc3 0-0 7. cxd5 exd5 8. Nxd5 Nxd5 9. Bxd5 Be7!? Cramling’s sensible improvement over 9. ... Bxg3(?) 10. Qb3 Bd6 11. Nf3 c6 12. Bc4 Bf5 13. Ng5 Qe7 14. Qf3 Bg6 15. h4 Bb4 16. 0-0-0 Bxd2+ 17. Rxd2 h5 18. Rg1 which gave White a dream position, So – 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán), 80th Tata Steel Chess Tournament, Wijk aan Zee 2018. However, I still keep thinking that 9. ... Ba3(!) might be very interesting. 10. Be4 Qxd4 11. Qc2 h6 12. Nf3 Qb6 13. 0-0 Nd7 14. Rfc1 c6 15. Be3 Qc7 16. Nd4 Nf6 17. Bg2 Bd7 18. h3 a5 19. Rd1 Rfe8 20. Rac1. Strangely White’s Knight won’t never jump on f5: 20. Nf5 Bf8 21. Bd4 Nh7 22. h4 with a promising position. 20. ... a4 21. Bf4 Qc8 22. h4 Be6 23. a3. 23. Nxe6 Qxe6 24. Qc4 seemed like a good ending for White. 23. ... Bg4 24. Qc4 Bf8 25. Re1 Qd7 26. e4 b5 27. Qc3 c5. White played quite erratically, and Cramling did not hesitate in seizing her opportunity to assume the initiative. 28. Nc2 Rad8 29. Ne3. A strange Pawn pseudo-sac that could even work. Not 29. Bxh6? on account of 29. ... b4! and Black hits back with interest. 29. ... Nxe4 30. Qa5 Nf6 31. f3?? White should absolutely have gotten rid of Black’s light-squared Bishop with 31. Nxg4, still with the possibility to somehow hold his position together. The reason will soon become obvious. 31. ... Be6! 32. Rcd1 Qc8 33. Qxb5. Material equality is restored, but Black dominates the board. 33. ... Bb3! 34. Rxd8 Qxd8 35. Re2 Qd4! White is in Zugzwang.

36. Kf1 c4! 37. Qa5 c3! 38. bxc3 Qd3! Threatening both ... Bb3-c4 and ... Bb3-d1. 39. Kf2 Nd5 40. Bf1 Nxf4 41. gxf4 Qd6 42. Kg3 Qg6+ 43. Kf2 Qf6 44. Kg3 Qg6+ 45. Kf2 Qc6 46. Nf5 Bc5+ 47. Nd4 Ra8 0 : 1. White’s Queen ended up trapped.

Luca Moroni vs. Pia Cramling. Photo © Sophie Triay.

Pia Cramling. Photo © Sophie Triay.

Thrasymachus

Valentina Evgenyevna Gunina – Nigel David Short
16th Tradewise Gibraltar Chess Festival; Catalan Bay, January 31, 2018
Alekhine Defence B04

British Grandmaster Nigel David Short decided today to give an impulse to women’s chess by losing a “book” game to Valentina Evgenyevna Gunina, at least showing that she had read and studied Nigel Davies’s monograph “Alekhine’s Defence” (Everyman Chess, London, 2001) with much attention! 1. e4 Nf6 2. e5 Nd5 3. d4 d6 4. Nf3 g6 5. Be2 Bg7 6. c4 Nb6 7. exd6 cxd6 8. 0-0 0-0 9. Bg5!? Nc6 10. h3 Bf5 11. Nc3 h6 12. Be3 d5 13. c5 Nc4 14. Bc1 (Δ b2-b3) 14. ... b6 15. b3

15. ... bxc5!?? Black opts for the most controversial line. As Davies argues, after 15. ... N4a5 16. cxb6 axb6 17. Be3 (or 17. Bf4 g5 18. Bg3 Nb4 19. Qd2 Nac6 20. Rfc1 Be4 21. Nb5 Bxf3 22. Bxf3 Rc8 23. h4 with an edge, Sermek – Moscatelli, Vienna 1991) 17. ... Kh7 18. Rc1 Be6 19. Qd2 White also stands better, Brodsky – Pesotsky, 57th Ukrainian Chess Championship, Kharkiv 1988. 16. bxc4 cxd4 17. Nxd5 e6. If 17. ... d3 then 18. Bxd3 Bxd3 19. Qxd3 Bxa1 20. Bxh6 Bg7 21. Bxg7 Kxg7 22. Qc3+ Kg8 (22. ... f6 23. Ng5 Qd6 24. Nc7 is also good for White, Khmelnitsky – Pesotsky, Kiev 1989) 23. Re1 Re8 (if 23. ... Qa5 then 24. Qe3 threatening Qe3-h6, Khmelnitsky – Kozlov, Naberezhnye Chelny 1986) 24. Ne5 Nxe5 25. Qxe5 with powerful threats, Hervet – Cimolai, correspondence game, 1993. 18. Ba3 exd5. Jumping right into the book. The alternative is 18. ... Re8 19. Nf4 e5 20. Nd5 d3 21. Bxd3 Bxd3 (the immediate 21. ... e4 deserves consideration) 22. Qxd3 e4 23. Qe3 exf3 24. Qxf3 with clear advantage to White, Khmelnitsky – Palatnik, Kherson 1989. 19. Bxf8 Kxf8 20. cxd5!? That’s Gunina’s first new move, and it is not worse than 20. Rc1 dxc4 (no better at all is 20. ... Kg8 21. Bd3 Be6 22. Qa4 Ne5 23. Nxe5 Bxe5 24. f4 Bc7 25. c5 Qf6 26. Qc6 Qd8 27. Rce1 1 : 0 Sermek – Řezníček, Komerční Banka Open, Pardubice 1997) 21. Bxc4 (Black has no worthy compensation for the Exchange) 21. ... Qd6 22. Bd3 Bd7 23. Bb5 Rd8 24. Qa4 Ne5 25. Nxd4 Qxd4 26. Qxd4 Nf3+ 27. gxf3 Bxd4 28. Bxd7 Rxd7 29. Rfd1 Ke7 30. Kg2 Bb6 31. Rxd7+ Kxd7 32. f4 Ke6 33. Kf3 Kf5 34. Rc6 Bd4 35. Rd6 Bb6 36. a4 f6 37. a5 Bc7 38. Rd7 1 : 0 Sermek – Sutter, Biel/Bienne 1994. 20. ... Qxd5 21. Bd3. Gunina knows already everything about how to win. Short resignedly goes to his doom: 21. ... Nb4 22. Bxf5 Qxf5 23. Rb1 Nd3 24. Rb7 Kg8 25. Qb1 Qd5 26. Rb5 Qc4 27. Rd1 Nf4? Just blundering the Knight, but other moves would not have saved the day either. 28. Rb8+ 1 : 0.

Valentina Evgenyevna Gunina vs. Nigel David Short. Photo © Sophie Triay.

Flip-flop

居文君 (Jū Wénjūn) – Boris Abramovich Gelfand
16th Tradewise Gibraltar Chess Festival; Catalan Bay, January 30, 2018
Nimzo-Indian Defence E21

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Nf3 0-0 5. Bg5 c5 6. e3 cxd4 7. exd4 h6 8. Bh4 d5 9. Rc1 Be7. The historic alternative is 9. ... dxc4 10. Bxc4 Nc6 11. 0-0 Be7 12. Re1 b6 13. a3 Bb7 14. Bg3 Rc8 15. Ba2 Bd6 16. d5 Nxd5 17. Nxd5 Bxg3 18. hxg3 exd5 19. Bxd5 Qf6 with a perfectly playable game, that then Black blundered in a most dramatic way: 20. Qa4 Rfd8 21. Rcd1 Rd7 22. Qg4 Rcd8?? 23. Qxd7! Rxd7 24. Re8+ Kh7 25. Be4+ 1 : 0 Kasparov – Karpov, Moscow 1985, World Chess Championship match game 11. 10. c5 b6 11. b4 a5 12. Na4. If Black’s refutation will prove to be correct – as it seems – it’s likely that at this point White has to play 12. Bxf6 Bxf6 13. b5. 12. ... axb4 13. Nxb6 Ra3!! A powerful novelty, which promises much more than 13. ... Rxa2 14. Qb3 Ra7 15. Qxb4 Nbd7 16. Nxd7 Bxd7 17. Bd3 Ra4 18. Qd2 Ne4 with comfortable equality, Wojtaszek – 王玥 (Wáng Yuè), 45th Sparkassen Chess Meeting, Dortmund 2017. 14. Bxf6. White’s situation seem quite unpleasant even after other moves. 14. ... Bxf6 15. Qd2? This loses brilliantly, but White didn’t have an easy time, anyway. If 15. Bb5 (or elsewhere along the f1-a6 diagonal) then 15. ... Ba6! and Black stands much better.

18. ... Rxf3! Black’s Exchange sacrifice, promptly followed by the fall of the d4-Pawn, is simply devastating. 16. gxf3 Nc6! 17. Bb5? Making things even easier, but by now nothing could stop the unavoidable. Gelfand concludes his attack in grand style: 17. ... Nxd4 18. Qxb4 Nxf3+ 19. Kd1 e5 20. Be2 Nd4 21. c6 Bg5 22. Rc3 Qf6 23. Nd7 Bxd7 24. cxd7 Qxf2 25. Re1 Rd8 26. Rc8 Qf5 27. Qb7 Kh7 28. Rf1 Qe4 29. Qb2 Rxd7 30. Rc3 Nxe2 0 : 1.

居文君 (Jū Wénjūn) vs. Boris Abramovich Gelfand. Photo © John Saunders.

Old Acquaintances

Vassily Mykhaylovych Ivanchuk – Mariya Olehivna Muzychuk
16th Tradewise Gibraltar Chess Festival; Catalan Bay, January 29, 2018
Neo-Grunfeld Defence D76

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. g3 Bg7 4. Bg2 d5 5. cxd5 Nxd5 6. Nf3 Nb6 7. Nc3 Nc6 8. e3 0-0 9. 0-0 Re8 10. Re1 a5 11. h3 a4 12. Rb1 a3!? A (temporary) positional Pawn sacrifice. After 12. ... e5 13. d5 Ne7 14. e4 Bd7 15. b3 axb3 16. axb3 c6 17. dxc6 bxc6 18. Be3 Nec8 19. Bf1 Bf8 20. Na4 Nxa4 21. bxa4 Nd6 22. Bb6 Qc8 23. Kh2 c5 24. a5 c4 25. Rc1 Qc6 Black finally managed to pass thru the crowd without attracting attention, van Wely – Sutovsky, 41st Chess Olympiad, Tromsø 2014, but it’s quite obvious that White could have improved his play on more occasions. 13. bxa3 e5 14. dxe5 Nxe5 15. Qxd8 Nxf3+ 16. Bxf3 Rxd8 17. Nb5 Be5 18. Nd4

18. ... Bxh3? However natural this move, it will condemn Black to permanent inferiority. Stockfish gives 18. ... Ra7! (defending b7 and intending ... Nb6-a4) 19. Kg2 (if 19. Nb5 then 19. ... Ra5 offering a draw by repetition) 19. ... Bxd4 (19. ... Na4!?) 20. exd4 Be6 with quite a reasonable game. 19. Bxb7 Bxd4!? If 19. ... Rab8 then 20. Bf3 and White stands much better anyway. 20. exd4 Rab8 21. Bf3 Be6. After 21. ... Rxd4 22. Bf4 Rf8 23. Rb4! Rd3 24. Rb3 Rd4 25. Bxc7 Black’s ending would be quite hopeless. 22. Bf4 Nd5 23. Bd2. Also strong seems to be 23. Rxb8 Rxb8 24. Bh6! nailing down the weakness of Black’s first rank. 23. ... Rxb1 24. Rxb1 Ra8? 24. ... Nb6 probably gave Black a little more hope; for instance: 25. Bf4 Rxd4 26. Bxc7 Nc4 27. a4 Nd2 28. Rb8+ Kg7 29. Be5+ f6 30. Bxd4 Nxf3+ 31. Kg2 Nxd4 and there is no easy win for White in sight – of course, this variation is not forced. 25. Rb5! If nothing else, now it’s considerably easier to win. 25. ... c6 26. Ra5 Rb8 27. Bh6 f5 28. Ra6 Rc8 29. Ra7 Nc3 30. a4 Bd5 31. Bxd5+ cxd5 32. a5 Ne2+ 33. Kg2 Nxd4 34. a6 Nc6 35. Rg7+ Kh8 36. Rb7 d4 37. a7 d3 38. Rc7! 1 : 0.

Vassily Mykhaylovych Ivanchuk vs. Mariya Olehivna Muzychuk. Photo © Sophie Triay.

In the Wind

Fernando Peralta – Salome Melia
16th Tradewise Gibraltar Chess Festival; Catalan Bay, January 29, 2018
Nimzo-Indian Defence E48

Wild winds stormed around Gibraltar today, causing serious damage to buildings and structures, but of course don’t think it’s Aeolus’s fault! 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e3 0-0 5. Bd3 d5 6. cxd5 exd5 7. Ne2 Re8 8. 0-0 Bd6 9. Nf4 c6 10. f3 b6. The alternative is 10. ... a5 11. Kh1 Bxf4 12. exf4 b6 13. f5 Ba6 14. Bxa6 Nxa6 15. Bg5 Qd6 16. Qd2 Nd7 17. Rae1 b5 18. Re3 Nf8 19. Rfe1 Rxe3 20. Qxe3 f6 21. Bf4 Qd7 22. g4 Kf7 23. Ne2 Re8 24. Qd2 Qe7 25. Bg3 Qb4 and Black eventually held his own, Galliamova – Polugaevsky, Women vs. Veterans, Aruba 1992. 11. Kh1 Qc7 12. g4 Bxf4 13. exf4 Ba6 14. f5 Bxd3 15. Qxd3 Nbd7 16. Ne2 c5 17. Bf4 Qb7? Time is priceless in such positions, so I think that Black should have saved it by the zwischenzug 17. ... c4(!). 18. Ng3 c4 19. Qd2 Nf8 20. Be5 Qc6 21. Rae1 Rac8 22. Rg1 N6d7? The situation was not too pleasant, but this “preventive” move turns out to be Black’s decisive mistake.

23. Bxg7! Kxg7 24. Nh5+ Kh8 25. Qg5 Ng6 26. fxg6 fxg6. After 26. ... Qxg6 27. Qxd5 White must equally win, if more prosaically. 27. Qh6! Rg8. 27. ... gxh5 28. Rxe8+ loses the Queen. 28. Re7 Nf8 29. Qf4! 1 : 0. The threat of Qf4-e5+ is imparable.

Fernando Peralta vs. Salome Melia. Photo © John Saunders.

Rocket Man

Hikaru Nakamura – Nils Axel Grandelius
16th Tradewise Gibraltar Chess Festival; Catalan Bay, January 26, 2018
Sicilian Defence B80

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Be3 e6 7. f3 b5 8. Qd2 b4 9. Na4 Nbd7 10. 0-0-0 Qa5 11. b3 Bb7 12. a3 Qc7 13. axb4 d5 14. Bf2(!) Bd6!? 14. ... dxe4 15. Bg3 Qc8 (but 15. ... e5!? 16. Bc4!? g6!? should be taken into consideration) 16. Bc4 yielded White a powerful edge in Yoo – Preotu, 10th Calgary International Chess Classic, Calgary 2017. 15. exd5 Nxd5 16. Bg3! Rc8 17. c4! Bxb4 18. Qg5! Qa5 19. Qxg7 Rf8 20. Nc2! Bc6. 20. ... Nc3? 21. Nxb4! Nxd1 22. Nc2! wins material for White.

21. Qa1! The climax of Nakamura’s theoretical prep. Grandelius was probably hoping for 21. cxd5? Bxa4 22. dxe6 Rxc2+! 23. Kxc2 Bxb3+! 24. Kxb3 Nc5+ and Black has at least perpetual check. 21. ... Nc5. In the tournament bulletin, John Saunders also considers 21. ... N7b6 22. Nxb6 Qxa1+ 23. Nxa1 Nxb6 24. Nc2 and Black has no worthy compensation for his Pawn deficit. 22. Nxc5 Qxa1+ 23. Nxa1. Game over. 23. ... Ba3+ 24. Kd2 Bb4+ 25. Kd3 Nc3 26. Nxa6! Rd8+ 27. Kc2 Rxd1 28. Nxb4 Rxa1 29. Kxc3 Kd7 30. Nc2 Rb1 31. Ne1 Ra8 32. Bd3 Rc1+ 33. Kd2 Raa1 34. Be5 Rd1+ 35. Ke2 Rac1 36. Bb2 1 : 0. Not an everyday picture: both Black’s Rooks ended up trapped on White’s first rank!

Hikaru Nakamura (right) vs. Nils Grandelius (left). Photo © Sophie Triay.

Between Certainty and Uncertainty

雷挺婕 (Léi Tǐngjié) – Boris Abramovich Gelfand
16th Tradewise Gibraltar Chess Festival; Catalan Bay, January 27, 2018
Semi-Slav Defence D45

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 c6 5. e3 Nbd7 6. Qc2 Bd6 7. b3 0-0 8. Be2 b6 9. 0-0 Bb7 10. Bb2 Qe7 11. Rad1 Rad8. The historic reference is 11. ... Rac8 12. e4 dxe4 13. Nxe4 Nxe4 14. Qxe4 Rfd8 15. Bd3 Nf8 16. Rfe1 Qf6 17. Qg4 c5 18. Be4 Bxe4 19. Qxe4 Qg6 20. Qxg6 Nxg6 21. d5 exd5 22. Rxd5 Bc7 23. Rxd8+ Rxd8 24. g3 f6 ½ : ½ Capablanca – Flohr, 3rd International Tournament, Moscow 1936. 12. Rfe1 Rfe8 13. Bf1 e5 14. dxe5. Both 雷挺婕 (Léi Tǐngjié) and Gelfand were lucky enough to play with Black when two different opponents dared to hazard 14. cxd5? after which it followed 14. ... e4! 15. Nh4? [15. dxc6? exf3! 16. cxb7 Bxh2+! 17. Kxh2 Qd6+! 18. Kh3 Re5! 0 : 1 Estremera Paños – 雷挺婕 (Léi Tǐngjié), 23rd Abu Dhabi Interanational Chess Festival Masters Tournament, Abu Dhabi 2016] 15. ... Bxh2+! 16. Kxh2 Ng4+! 17. Kh3 Ndf6! with an overwhelming attack for Black, Pelletier – Gelfand, 6th Kortschnoi Zürich Chess Challenge, Zürich 2017. 14. ... Nxe5 15. Nxe5. If 15. Nd4 then 15. ... dxc4 16. Nf5 Qe6 17. Nxd6 Rxd6 18. Rxd6 Qxd6 19. Rd1 cxb3 20. axb3 Qb8 21. Ne4 Nxe4 22. Qxe4 f6 23. Bxe5 Rxe5 24. Bc4+ Kh8 25. Qd4 Re7 26. Qd8+ Re8 27. Qd7 Qc8 28. Qf7 Rf8 29. Qe7 Re8 30. Qf7 ½ : ½ Svidler – Gelfand, Grand Prix 2017, second stage, Moscow 2017 15. ... Bxe5 16. cxd5 Qc5!? Gelfand tries for something more than 16. ... cxd5 17. Nb5 Rc8 18. Qb1 d4 19. h3 Ng4 20. hxg4 Qh4 21. f4 dxe3 22. Rxe3 Bxf4 23. Rh3 Qxh3 24. gxh3 Be3+ 25. Kh2 Bf4+ 26. Kg1 ½ : ½ 王皓 (Wáng Hào) – 丁立人 (Dīng Lìrén), 8th 海南 (Hǎinán) 儋州 (Dānzhōu) Super Grandmaster Chess Tournament, 儋州 (Dānzhōu) 2017. 17. Qd2 h6 18. Rc1 Nxd5 19. Nxd5 Qxd5 20. Qxd5 Rxd5 21. Bxe5 Rexe5 22. Red1 Kf8 23. g3 c5 24. Rxd5 Rxd5 25. Bg2 Rd7 26. Bxb7 Rxb7 27. Kf1. 雷挺婕 (Léi Tǐngjié), who’s playing in Gibraltar for higher stakes, managed to exchange virtually everything, with the certainty that the ensuing Rook ending will be drawable quite easily. 27. ... Ke7 28. Ke2 Kd6 29. a4 Kc6 30. Kd3 Rd7+ 31. Kc3 g5 32. f4 gxf4 33. exf4 Re7 34. Kd3 f5

35. h3 h5 36. g4 hxg4 37. hxg4 fxg4 38. Rg1 Rd7+ 39. Ke4 Rd4+ 40. Ke5 Rd3 41. f5 Re3+. After 41. ... g3 42. Ke6 Rxb3 43. f6 White likewise draws. 42. Kf6 Rxb3 43. Kg7 Rf3 44. f6 c4 45. f7 Kd5 46. Rg3 Rf4 47. f8=Q Rxf8 48. Kxf8 a6 49. Rxg4 c3 50. Ke7 b5 51. axb5 axb5 52. Rg5+ Kc4 53. Kd6 b4 54. Rg4+ Kb5 55. Rg5+ Ka4 56. Rc5 Kb3 57. Kd5 Kb2. If 57. ... c2 then 58. Rc4 with a draw. 58. Kc4 c2 59. Kxb4 c1=Q 60. Rxc1 Kxc1 ½ : ½.

雷挺婕 (Léi Tǐngjié). Photo © Sophie Triay.

Winter Wind

Maxime Vachier-Lagrave – Aleksandra Yuryevna Goryachkina
16th Tradewise Gibraltar Chess Festival; Catalan Bay, January 25, 2018
Neo-Grünfeld Defence D78

1. Nf3 d5 2. g3 g6 3. Bg2 Bg7 4. d4 Nf6 5. 0-0 0-0 6. c4 c6 7. Qb3 Qb6 8. Nc3 Rd8 9. Rd1 Qxb3 10. axb3 Bf5 11. Ne1 Na6 12. Bf4 Ne4. After 12. ... Be6 13. Ra4 h6 14. Be5 Ne8 15. Bxg7 Kxg7 16. cxd5 cxd5 17. Rda1 Bd7 18. Ra5 e6 19. Nd3 Nd6 20. e3 Nc8 Black somehow managed to consolidate herself, Goganov – Goryachkina, 12th Ugra Governor’s Cup, Khanty-Mansiysk 2016, but probably Goryachkina feared some improvement by her opponent. 13. Ra5!? Vachier-Lagrave goes for something more than 13. cxd5 cxd5 14. Ra5 Nb4 15. Rb5 Nxc3 16. bxc3 Na2 17. Bd2 Rac8 18. Rxb7 e6 19. e3 Nxc3 20. Ra1 e5 21. Raxa7 Be6 22. Nd3 exd4 23. Nf4 dxe3 24. fxe3 Bf6 25. Nxe6 fxe6 26. Bh3 Rc6 27. Rc7 Rxc7 28. Rxc7 Ne4 29. Bxe6+ Kh8 30. Bc1 Rd6 31. Bg4 Rb6 32. Bd1 Ra6 33. Bc2 Ra1 34. Bxe4 dxe4 35. Kg2 Rb1 36. Ba3 Rxb3 37. Bc5 ½ : ½ Tkachiev – 白金石 (Bái Jīnshí), 6th London Classic Open, London 2014. 13. ... e6 14. e3 h6 15. h3 g5 16. g4 gxf4 17. gxf5 Nd6 18. fxe6 fxe6 19. Bf1 fxe3 20. fxe3 Nc7 21. Ng2 Rf8 22. Be2 a6 23. Raa1 Nf5 24. Bg4 Rad8 25. Na4 h5!? Black embarks on a wild journey. 25. ... e5 26. dxe5 Ng3 27. Nc5 h5 (Stockfish) was also worth considering. 26. Bxh5 e5 27. dxe5 d4? Black sacrifices a second Pawn, but perhaps the same idea could be better worked out by 27. ... Bxe5 28. Nc5 b6! 29. Nxa6 Nxa6 30. Rxa6 d4! with apparently better drawing chances than what she got in the game. 28. exd4! Nxd4. If 28. ... Rxd4 then 29. Nc5! Bxe5 30. Nd7! Rxd1+ 31. Rxd1 Bd4+ 32. Rxd4 Nxd4 33. Nxf8 Kxf8 34. Bd1 with an extra Pawn and a winning endgame. 29. Nc5 Bxe5 30. Nxb7 Rb8 31. Nc5 Nxb3 32. Nd7 Nxa1 33. Nxe5 Nc2

34. Bg6! Rxb2 35. Rd7! White is an Exchange down, but the Black King got caught in a mating net. 35. ... Rc8 36. Nf4! With the threat of 37. Bh7+ Kf8 38. Nfg6+ Ke8 39. Re7+ Kd8 40. Nxc6#. 36. ... Rb1+ 37. Kf2 1 : 0.

Maxime Vachier-Lagrave vs. Aleksandra Yuryevna Goryachkina. Photo © John Saunders.

Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

Aleksandra Yuryevna Goryachkina – Vassily Mykhaylovych Ivanchuk
16th Tradewise Gibraltar Chess Festival; Catalan Bay, January 23, 2018
Catalan Opening E00

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. g3 Bb4+ 4. Bd2 Qe7 5. Bg2 Nc6 6. e3 Bxd2+ 7. Qxd2 d5 8. Nf3 dxc4 9. 0-0 e5 10. Nxe5 Nxe5 11. dxe5 Qxe5 12. Na3 Be6!? Just two lines from the Magna Carta: 12. ... 0-0 13. Nxc4 Qe7 14. Rac1 Rd8 15. Qa5 c6 16. b4 Be6 17. Qc5 Qxc5 18. bxc5 Nd7 19. Na5 Rab8 20. a4 g6 21. h3 Nxc5 22. Rxc5 b6 23. Rxc6 bxa5 24. Rc5 Rd2 25. Rxa5 Rbb2 26. Rc5 Ra2 27. a5 Ra3 28. g4 Rda2 29. Bd5 Bxd5 30. Rxd5 Rxa5 31. Rfd1 Rxd5 32. Rxd5 h6 33. Kg2 a5 34. h4 Kg7 35. h5 g5 36. Kf3 Ra4 37. Rc5 Kf6 38. Rc6+ Kg7 39. Ra6 Kh7 40. Kg3 Ra3 41. Kg2 ½ : ½ Carlsen – Papaioannou, 20th European Team Chess Championship, Reykjavík 2015. 13. Rac1 Ne4

14. Qd4. The two-time Russian Women’s Chess Champion, in spite of her young age, plays safe and prefers not to challenge Ivanchuk’s resourcefulness and creativity in lines such as 14. Qb4 Nd6 15. Bxb7 Nxb7 16. Qxb7 0-0 17. Nxc4 Qh5 for the mere satisfaction of a Pawn. 14. ... Qxd4 15. exd4 Nd6 16. d5 Bd7 17. Nxc4 Kd8 18. Nxd6 cxd6 19. f4 Re8 20. Kf2 Rc8 21. Rxc8+ Kxc8 22. Re1 Rxe1 23. Kxe1. And now not even Mandrake will beat her. 23. ... Kc7 24. Kd2 Kb6 25. Kc3 Kc5 26. b4+ Kb6 27. Be4 h6 28. Bd3 Kc7 29. Kd4 Kd8 30. h4 Ke7 31. a3 Kf6 32. Ke3 g5 33. hxg5+ hxg5 34. Bc2 Bf5 35. Bd1 Kg6 36. Be2 Kh6 37. g4 Bc2 38. f5 Kg7 39. Kd4 Bb3 40. Bf3 Kf6 41. Be2 Ke7 42. Bf3 f6 43. Kc3 Ba4 44. Kd2 Kd8 45. Bd1 Bb5 46. Be2 Bd7 47. Bd1 Kc7 48. a4 Kb6 49. Kc3 a5 50. Kc4 Ka6 51. b5+ Kb6 52. Bc2 ½ : ½.

Aleksandra Yuryevna Goryachkina vs. Vassily Mykhaylovych Ivanchuk. Photo © Sophie Triay.

Ignis fatuus

Alan Tate – Hikaru Nakamura
16th Tradewise Gibraltar Chess Festival; Catalan Bay, January 23, 2018
Pirc Defence B07

1. Nf3 g6 2. e4 d6 3. d4 Nf6 4. Bd3 Bg7 5. 0-0 0-0 6. Re1 Nc6 7. d5 Nb8 8. c4 e5 9. Nc3 h6 10. c5. After more than half an hour of thinking. 10. ... Ne8 11. b4 f5 12. Nd2 Nd7 13. c6 bxc6 14. dxc6 Ndf6 15. Bc4+. White didn’t play badly so far, but he has only four minutes left on his clock. 15. ... Kh8 16. Nf3? There is no more time for making combinations. 16. ... fxe4 17. Nxe5 Kh7! 18. Nf7? White’s will-o’-the-wisp finally turns on its sparks. However, after both 18. Bb2 Bf5 and 18. Qd2 Qe7! Black would also gain the upper hand. 18. ... Qe7 19. Qb3

19. ... d5! 20. Nxd5 Qxf7 21. Nb6 Nd5! 0 : 1. A brilliant touch.