One Way or Another

Chess-News.ru (@Chess__News)

Sometimes one way, sometimes the other | 5th Gashimov Memorial in Şəmkir, Azerbaijan: Magnus Carlsen is first, 丁立人 (Dīng Lìrén) second, and both are satisfied. For further details, visit: http://chess-news.ru/node/24620.

Alpha Beta

Anish Giri – Magnus Carlsen
5th Gashimov Memorial; Şəmkir, April 27, 2018
English Opening A29

1. c4 e5 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. Nf3 Nc6 4. g3 d5 5. cxd5 Nxd5 6. Bg2 Nb6 7. 0-0 Be7 8. a3 a5 9. d3 0-0 10. Be3 Be6 11. Rc1 a4 12. Nd2 f5 13. Bxb6 cxb6 14. Nxa4 Bg5 15. Nc3. After a long thought, Giri has found nothing better than to follow in the footsteps of Ian Alexandrovich Nepomniachtchi. 15. ... e4 16. Kh1. This novelty adds nothing to 16. Rb1 Ne5!? 17. Nb3 Ng4 18. Qc2 Be3! which should have been quite annoying for White (even though somehow wasn’t), Nepomniachtchi – Aronian, FIDE Grand Prix 2017, third stage, Geneva 2017. 16. ... Qd7 17. Rb1 Rad8 18. Nc4 Qf7 19. b3 exd3 20. exd3 f4! Black quickly seized a powerful initiative already, and Carlsen will give his opponent no chance to cope with it. Black will get methodically chopped by an inexorable crescendo. 21. Ne4 Be7 22. gxf4 Qxf4 23. a4 Nb4 24. Qe2 Qh6 25. Rbd1 Nd5 26. Rg1 Kh8 27. Bf1 Rf4 28. Ne5 Rdf8 29. f3 Rh4 30. d4 Nf4! 31. Qd2 Bxb3 32. Rb1 Bxa4 33. Bb5 Bxb5 34. Rxb5 Qe6 35. Qb2 Bd8

36. Ng5. In order to untie Her Majesty from the defence of the second rank, not allowing Black to play 36. ... Rxh2+ 37 Kxh2 Qh3 mate. 36. ... Qe8 37. Rb3 Bxg5. 37. ... Rf5 38. Ne4 Rxh2+ is the computer’s mode of finishing the game, by capturing the White Queen. Carlsen plays it another way. 38. Rxg5 Ne6 39. Rg4 Rxg4 40. fxg4 Qd8 41. Rh3. White was harmless, however it might appear. If 41. Rd3 then 41. ... Qd5+ 42. Kg1 Rf1+! winning handily, whilst after 41. Rf3 Rxf3 42. Nxf3 Qd5 43. Kg2 Ng5 White couldn’t prevent Black from forcing a won King and Pawn ending. 41. ... Qd5+ 42. Kg1 Qe4! 43. Qb4 Rf6 0 : 1.

Anish Giri (left) vs. Magnus Carlsen (right). Photo: Eteri Kublashvili.

俯卧撑 (Push-up)

丁立人 (Dīng Lìrén) – Rauf Mamedov
5th Gashimov Memorial; Şəmkir, April 27, 2018
4R3/5rk1/p5p1/R4p2/3Pp3/4P2P/1r3PK1/8 w - - 3 35

Position after 34. ... Rb3-b2

Today 丁立人 (Dīng Lìrén) was gifted by his opponent with an extra half point, in spite of Black’s exemplary play until that point. 35. Rxa6. White has finally won a Pawn, but Black’s dynamic counter initiative at least compensates for it. 35. ... f4! 36. exf4 Rxf4 37. Ra7+ Kh6?? With still enough time on the clock, Mamedov inexplicably blunders for self-mate. 37. ... Kf6 38. Rf8+ (or 38. Kg3 Rf3+ 39. Kg4 Rfxf2) 38. ... Kg5 would have brought Black nearer to a draw. 38. Kg3! Rf6. Both 38. ... Rfxf2 39. Rh8+ Kg5 40. h4+ Kf6 41. Rf8+ and 38. ... Rbxf2 39. Rh8+ Kg5 40. h4+ Rxh4 41. Ra5+ lose a whole Rook. 39. h4! g5 40. Rh8+ Kg6 41. Rg8+ Kf5 42. Rxg5+ 1 : 0. For after 42. ... Ke6 43. Re5+ Kd6 44. Ra6+ White wins a Rook.

增四度 (Augmented fourth)

David Navara – 丁立人 (Dīng Lìrén)
5th Gashimov Memorial; Şəmkir, April 26, 2018
8/2r2pk1/1q1p2pb/1pnPp2p/2p1P2P/2P3P1/RPB2PK1/4QN2 b - - 10 33

Position after 33. Kf3-g2

David Navara’s Anti-Marshall went wrong from the beginning, starting with his 12th move, which was soon followed by the exchange of White’s dark-squared Bishop for a Knight, thus allowing Black to mount a King’s Indian-like position on the Kingside. Seeking out new horizons, Navara soon ended up ceding ground on the Queenside too. Finally, a sequence of erratic moves precipitated White into the bleak position shown in the diagram. Black to move and win. 33. ... b4! 34. cxb4 Nd3! 35. Bxd3 cxd3 36. Ra1 Rc2 (Δ ... Rc2-e2) 0 : 1.

David Navara (right) vs. 丁立人 (Dīng Lìrén) (left). Photo: Shamkir Chess (@ShamkirChess).

The Breakthrough

Magnus Carlsen – Veselin Aleksandrov Topalov
5th Gashimov Memorial; Şəmkir, April 26, 2018
English Opening A28

1. c4 Nf6 2. Nc3 e5 3. Nf3 Nc6 4. e3 Bb4 5. Qc2 Bxc3 6. bxc3 d6 7. e4 0-0 8. g3 Ne8 9. Nh4 Ne7 10. d3!? Certainly no one could seriously expect Carlsen to follow Mihai Șubă’s footsteps: 10. Qb3 Rb8 11. d4? c5! 12. dxc5? dxc5 13. Qa3 b6 14. Qxa7 Bb7 15. f3 Bxe4! 16. Qa4 Bd3 17. Bg5 Bxf1 18. Rd1 Bd3 19. Bxe7 Qxe7 20. Rxd3 Nd6 21. 0-0 Ra8 22. Qb3 b5! with great advantage to Black, Șubă – Komarov, 43rd Romanian Team Chess Championship, Sovata 1998. 10. ... f5 11. exf5 Nxf5 12. Nxf5 Bxf5 13. Bg2 c6 14. h3 Nc7 15. 0-0 Ne6 16. Be3 Nc5 17. Rad1 Qd7 18. Kh2 Bg6 19. Rd2 Rae8 20. Qd1 b6 21. Re1 h6 22. Bxc5 dxc5. 22. ... bxc5!? might have been sounder. 23. Re3 Re6 24. Kg1 Rd6 25. h4 Rd8 26. Rxe5 Bxd3 27. Be4

27. ... Bxc4? This is a strange decision on Topalov’s part, who seems to have believed that Black could somehow establish a fortress. Stockfish’s 27. ... Kf8 28. Qf3+ Kg8 29. Bxc6 Qxc6 30. Qxc6 Rxc6 31. Rd5 Rxd5 32. cxd5 Rd6 33. Rxd3 b5 appears to lead to a drawish 3 vs. 2 Pawns on the same side Rook endgame. 28. Rxd6 Qxd6 29. Re8+ Rxe8 30. Qxd6 Rxe4 31. Qxc6 Re1+ 32. Kh2 Bxa2 33. g4. Carlsen denies Black any possible Rook + Pawn fortress set-ups, and finishes the game with great elegance. If, instead, 33. Qa8+ Kh7 34. Qxa7 there might follow 34. ... Re2 35. Qxb6 Rxf2+ and Black could still hope for survival. 33. ... Kh7 34. f4 h5 35. f5 hxg4 36. h5 Bf7 37. Qb7 Kg8 38. Qxa7 Bxh5 39. Qxb6 c4 40. Qd8+ Be8 41. Kg3 Kh7 42. Qc7 Kg8 43. Qxc4+ Bf7 44. Qd4 Re8 45. c4 Rf8 46. c5 Be8 47. Qd5+ Kh7 48. Qe6 Bb5 49. c6 Bxc6 50. Qg6+ Kg8 51. Qxc6 Rf6 52. Qe8+ Kh7 53. Kxg4 Rh6 54. Kf4 Rf6 55. Ke5 Rh6 56. Qe6! 1 : 0.

Magnus Carlsen (standing) and Veselin Aleksandrov Topalov (seated) shaking hands. Photo: Jeroen van den Berg (@Jvdbergchess).

Mirage

Anish Giri – David Navara
5th Gashimov Memorial; Şəmkir, April 25, 2018
Caro-Kann Defence B12

1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. e5 Bf5 4. Nf3 e6 5. Be2 c5 6. Be3 Qb6 7. Nc3 Nc6 8. Na4 Qa5+ 9. c3 cxd4 10. Nxd4 Nxd4 11. Bxd4 Ne7 12. 0-0. If 12. Nc5 then 12. ... Qc7 13. g4 Bg6 14. f4 Nc6 15. 0-0 Nxd4 16. cxd4 Bxc5 17. Rc1 0-0 18. Rxc5 Qd7 19. Qb3 Be4 20. Rfc1 Rac8= Vachier-Lagrave – So, 2nd Gashimov Memorial, Şəmkir 2016. 12. ... Nc6 13. b4 Qc7 14. Rc1 Be7 15. g4!? Theory changes continuously. A recent game ran as follows: 15. b5 Nxd4 16. cxd4 Qa5 17. Nc5 0-0!? 18. Nxb7 Qxa2 19. Bd3 Bxd3 20. Qxd3 Rfc8? (better was 20. ... Rab8 in order to reply 21. Rc7 with 21. ... Bb4 22. Rfc1 Ba5) 21. Rc6!± Bok – Saltaev, 37th SchachBundesliga, Bremen 2018. 15. ... Be4 16. f3 Bg6 17. f4 Be4 18. Nc5 a5!? 19. Be3! axb4? The opening of the c-file will soon prove to be much more dangerous for Black than the a-file for White. 20. cxb4 Ra3 21. Bf2 Bxc5 22. Bxc5 Rxa2

23. b5? 23. Ra1 Rxa1 24. Qxa1 Kd7 25. Qa4 seems a more straightforward way of putting Black in a terrible bind. 23. ... Bc2?? Really a mysterious mirage. 23. ... Na5 was called for, even though after 24. b6 (24. Bd6 Qb6+) 24. ... Qc6 25. Rf2 Black should have had to find 25. ... Rxe2! 26. Qxe2 Nb3 27. Rc3 Nxc5 28. Qe3 0-0 29. Qxc5 Qa4 with full compensation for the Exchange. 24. b6. Sic et simpliciter. It looks like Navara was hoping for 24. Rxc2 Rxc2 25. Qxc2? Nd4!, but even in that case 25. b6 (instead of 25. Qxc2) would be a trivial win for White. 24. ... Bxd1 25. bxc7 Kd7 26. Bxd1 Kxc7 27. Bd6+ Kd7 28. Rb1 1 : 0.

Anish Giri (right) vs. David Navara (left). Photo: Shamkir Chess (@ShamkirChess).

Roll of Thunder

Magnus Carlsen – Radosław Wojtaszek
5th Gashimov Memorial; Şəmkir, April 23, 2018
Sicilian Defence B23

1. e4 c5 2. Nc3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Qxd4 Nc6 5. Qd2!? Carlsen avoids to eventually transpose into the Chekhover Variation by 5. Bb5, preferring instead a more creative and personal approach as usual. 5. ... Nf6 6. b3 e6 7. Bb2 a6 8. 0-0-0 b5!? Theoretical novelty? The Alhambra’s book mentions a brief reference: 8. ... Qa5 9. Kb1 Be7 10. f4 ½ : ½ J. Fernández de Bobadilla – G. Fernández de Bobadilla, 2nd Nazarí Chess Festival “Hotel Corona”, Granada 2015. 9. f3! h5? Wojtaszek’s whole idea to... open the h-file seems totally unsound, and the main cause of his impending trouble. He should have played 9. ... Be7 at once. 10. Nh3 Be7 11. Ng5 h4? 12. f4! Bb7 13. Kb1 Rc8 14. Be2 Qc7 15. Rhe1. Black’s King does not look at home in the centre. 15. ... Nh7? 15. ... Nd7? 16. Nd5! is an even more didactic representation of Black’s nightmares. On the other hand, if Black were compelled to move his King to f8, then anyone could draw his own conclusions on the opening’s outcome. 16. Nxh7 Rxh7

17. g4!? Not only intuition, but also his chess culture should have moved Carlsen to dare the thematic pseudo-sac 17. Nd5! which secured White a crushing advantage; for instance: 17. ... exd5 18. exd5 Kf8 19. dxc6 Bxc6 20. Bg4 Re8 21. Qc3 and Black is tied like a knot. That said, however, I should say that the text is also good, because, as Aron Nimzowitsch wrote, “A position that is healthy has at least two ‘only’ moves”. 17. ... hxg3 18. hxg3 Bf6 19. Bd3 Rh8 20. g4 Nd4 21. Re3 Kf8 22. Ne2. 22. g5? Nxb3! would have made Black’s dreams come true. 22. ... Nxe2 23. Rxe2 Bc3 24. Bxc3 Qxc3 25. Qe3 Rc5. After a long and vain struggle, and with shortage of time dominating the finale, Wojtaszek ended up precipitating his defeat, which, however, even after 25. ... e5 26. fxe5 dxe5 27. Rf2 would have been almost inevitable. 26. e5! dxe5 27. fxe5 Rh1? This loses almost immediately, but, objectively speaking, 27. ... Rc7 28. g5 (Δ g5-g6) cannot last much longer either. 28. Rxh1 Bxh1 29. Rh2. Threatening both Rh2-h8+ and Rh2xh1. 29. ... Rxe5 30. Rh8+ Ke7 31. Qa7+ 1 : 0.

Magnus Carlsen (right) vs. Radosław Wojtaszek (left). Photo: Shamkir Chess (@ShamkirChess).

The Great Mysteries of Cajón

Chess-News.ru (@Chess__News)

“The great mysteries of cajón” | A photo-reportage by Evgeny Anatolyevich Surov from Şəmkir, Azerbaijan: http://chess-news.ru/node/24570.

• Evgeny Anatolyevich Surov, Великие тайны кахона | The great mysteries of cajón, Chess-News.ru, April 19, 2018

Time dilation

On April 18, the opening ceremony of the 5th Gashimov Memorial was held in Shamkir, Azerbaijan at the presence of FIDE President Kirsan Nikolayevich Ilyumzhinov, and of the representatives of the Ministry of Youth and Sports of Azerbaijan Republic. Here are the participants (in alphabetical order): Magnus Carlsen, 丁立人 (Dīng Lìrén), Anish Giri, Sergey Alexandrovich Karjakin, Rauf Mamedov, Shakhriyar Hamid oglu Mamedyarov, David Navara, Teimour Radjabov, Veselin Aleksandrov Topalov, and Radosław Wojtaszek. The tournament starts today with all eyes pointed at Magnus Carlsen.

The 5th Gashimov Memorial was opened in Shamkir, Azerbaijan on April 18, 2018. Photo: Eteri Kublashvili/Russian Chess Federation.

Война и мир (War and Peace)

So the 4th Gashimov Memorial in Şəmkir, Azerbaijan ended also this year with a win of Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (seated, second from right), but the big news came from the backstage, with Veselin Aleksandrov Topalov (seated, first from left) and Vladimir Borisovich Kramnik (seated, first from right) – both former World Chess Champions – finally making peace after eleven year of small chess wars. Photo: Chess-News.ru.

A latere

王玥 (Wáng Yuè) – Danyyil Dvirnyy
42nd Chess Olympiad; Baku, September 5, 2016
Queen’s Gambit Declined D12

1. Nf3 d5 2. d4 Nf6 3. c4 c6 4. e3 Bg4 5. h3 Bh5 6. g4 Bg6 7. Ne5 e6 8. Nxg6 hxg6 9. Bg2 Nbd7 10. Qd3 g5!? 11. Nc3 Bb4 12. Bd2 Qe7. Formally a novelty. For 12. ... a5 13. a3 Bxc3 14. Bxc3 Nb6 15. cxd5 Nbxd5 16. Bd2 Qc7 17. Rc1 see Lysyj – Korchmar, 11th International RSSU Chess Cup “Moscow Open”, Moscow 2015. 13. a3 Bxc3 14. Bxc3 Nf8 15. cxd5 exd5 16. Qf5 Ne4 17. Bxe4 Qxe4 18. Qxe4+ dxe4

19. d5! A timely break in the centre which appears to ensure White the initiative. 19. ... cxd5 20. Rd1 0-0-0? This was bad judgement on the part of Dvirnyy. After 20. ... f6 21. Rxd5 Ne6 22. Kf1 followed by Kf1-g2 and Rh1-d1 White stands better, but probably not enough to bet on a win. 21. Bxg7 Rg8 22. Bf6 Rd7. If Black manages to carry his Knight out, he would be quite well, but 王玥 (Wáng Yuè) hits a breakthrough which will prove to be decisive. 23. f4! exf3 24. Rf1 Ne6 25. Rxf3 Kc7 26. Rf5 Kc6 27. Rc1+ Kb6 28. Ke2 Rg6 29. Rcf1 Rh6 30. R1f3 Kc6. After 30. ... Rg6 31. Be5 the f7-Pawn is doomed, but Danyyil’s decision to renounce to the g-Pawn does not produce better outcomes. 31. Bxg5 Nxg5 32. Rxg5 d4 33. e4 d3+ 34. Kd2 Re6 35. e5 Rd5 36. Rxf7 1 : 0.

The Man Who Knew Fischer

Eugene Torre – Axel Rombaldoni
42nd Chess Olympiad; Baku, September 9, 2016
Dutch Defence A40

1. d4 e6 2. Bf4 f5 3. e3 Nf6 4. Nf3 d6 5. h3 h6!? Rombaldoni plays aggressively, hoping to outplay his expert opponent – that is a responsible decision, since Torre is a superb positional player. 6. Be2 g5 7. Bh2 Bg7 8. c4 b6 9. Nc3 Nbd7 10. 0-0 0-0 11. Rc1 Bb7 12. b4 a5 13. a3! Torre didn’t even consider the stereotyped 13. b5 Ne4 which, renouncing to aim for the opening of the a-file, would give Black much less problems. 13. ... axb4 14. axb4 Ne4 15. Nxe4 Bxe4 16. Nd2 Bc6 17. c5 Ba4 18. Nb3 bxc5 19. bxc5 d5? So far Romaldoni’s managed to elude particular trouble, but now his decision to create a light-square fortress will prove to be wrong. Sounder was 19. ... Qe7 with a tenable position. 20. Qd3 c6. If 20. ... e5 then 21. c6 e4 22. Qc3 followed by Nb3-c5 with advantage to White. 21. Bd6 Rf7 22. Bh5 Bb5 23. Bxf7+ Kxf7 24. Qc3 Bxf1 25. Rxf1! A superb display of chess understanding! It will become soon clear why the retake with the King would have been out of place. 25. ... Ra4? This runs into an inexorable refutation. 26. Ra1 Qa8 27. Rxa4 Qxa4

28. Qa5! An elegant and decisive Knight pseudo-sacrifice which crowns Eugene’s day. 28. ... Qxb3. It should be noted that had the White King been on f1, now the effect of this move would be more than satisfactory due to the threat of mate on d1! The text loses outright, but Black must not regret as after 28. ... Qxa5 29. Nxa5 the c6-Pawn falls, and with it the game. 29. Qc7! The coup de grâce. 29. ... Qb1+ 30. Kh2 Qe4 31. Qxd7+ Kg6 32. Qxc6 f4 33. Qe8+ Kh7 34. Qf7 fxe3 35. fxe3 1 : 0. I’ll say it once again: not bad for an old boy who was playing his 23rd Olympiad!

Eugene Torre
Photo by Josh Albelda/Rappler

An Enduring Gift

Zsuzsa Polgár (@SusanPolgar)

Filipino Grandmaster Eugene Torre on the front cover of the 9 May 1974 issue of Chess in Australia. Image courtesy of closetgrandmaster.blogspot.com.

Playing it Straight with Youth

Eugene Torre – Iván Salgado López
42nd Chess Olympiad; Baku, September 10, 2016
Trompowsky Attack A45

1. d4 Nf6 2. Bg5 g6 3. Bxf6 exf6 4. e3 Bg7 5. Ne2 f5 6. g3 d5 7. Bg2 c6 8. 0-0 h5. This looks a bit too velleitary. For 8. ... 0-0 9. Nd2 Nd7 10. c4 dxc4 11. 11. Nxc4 c5 see Hort – Liptay, 11th World Student Team Chess Championship, Cracow 1964. 9. c4 dxc4 10. Na3 h4 11. Nxc4 hxg3 12. hxg3 Be6 13. Qd3 Bd5 14. Rfe1 Na6 15. Rac1 Bxg2 16. Kxg2 Qd5+ 17. f3 0-0. Something’s gone wrong, since after the “consistent” 17. ... 0-0-0 18. Nf4 Qd7 19. Na5 White’s attack would roll on quite easily. 18. Nf4 Qb5 19. a3 c5? This seems a mistake. Black ought to have played 19. ... Nc7! with a quite solid position. 20. d5! Qd7 21. d6 b5 22. Na5 Rab8 23. Rcd1 Rfd8 24. e4! White opens up the game with devastating effect. 24. ... fxe4 25. Qxe4 Rb6. Dooming the d6-Pawn.

White to move and win: 26. Nd5! Rxd6 27. Ne7+ Kf8 28. Rxd6 Qxd6 29. Nb7 Qd2+ 30. Re2. The End. The rest is pure amusement. 30. ... Rd4 31. Nxg6+ Kg8 32. Qe8+ Kh7 33. Rxd2 Rxd2+ 34. Kh3 fxg6 35. Qxb5 Rxb2 36. Qxa6 c4 37. Nc5 c3 38. Qxa7 Re2 39. Qc7 c2 40. Nd3 1 : 0. Not bad for an old boy who is playing his 23rd Olympiad!

Eugene Torre
Photo: Lilibeth Lee-Barcenilla

Please, Before You Go

Four-time Women’s World Chess Champion 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) enjoying wild dances in the outdoor backstage of the 42nd Chess Olympiad’s “Bermuda Party” on September 6, 2016 in Baku, Azerbaijan. Photo: Aleksandar Čolović.

Unisex Restroom

This restroom on the rubbly flanks of Jonsknuten in Norway looks up at the peak of the 904m mountain. You have to leave the door open to enjoy the view but the chances of being disturbed are minimal. Photo: Olaf Menz/500px.

The climb of your life and the toilet is occupied!

Toilet at the base of 6,812m Ama Dablam, on the trek to Everest base camp. This photo was taken from Chukhung, a lodge village at 4,730m serving trekkers and climbers in the Khumbu Region of Nepal, south of Everest. Photo: David Ruiz Luna/500px.

Red carpet

Dubai Chess & Culture Club (@dubaichess)

Photo by David Llada

Orandum est ut sit mens sana in corpore sano

Japanese chamber pot from the 江戸時代 (Edo period)
Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

“Chess in Toilets”

Ian Rogers (‏@GMIanRogers)