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.

A Month by the Lake

Mariya Muzychuk – Emilio Milko Fućak
25th Chess Festival; Bled, February 26, 2008
French Defence C16

1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e5 b6 5. Qg4 Bf8 6. Bg5 Qd7 7. Bb5 c6 8. Be2 Ba6 9. Nf3 h6. For 9. ... Ne7 10. a4 Nf5 11. 0-0 Bxe2 12. Nxe2 c5 13. c3 Nc6 see Tseshkovsky – Erendzhenov, 48th Russian Chess Championship, Elista 1995. 10. Bd2 Ne7 11. a4 Nf5 12. 0-0 Be7 13. Qh3 Bb4 14. Bxa6 Nxa6 15. Ne2 Bxd2 16. Nxd2 c5 17. Nf3 Nb4 18. c3 Nc6 19. g4 Nfe7 20. Nd2 0-0-0 21. a5 cxd4 22. axb6 axb6 23. cxd4 Kb7 24. Ra3 Ra8 25. Rfa1 Rhb8 26. b4. A bit of tactics to try to get something out of little. 26. ... Qe8. The Pawn is obviously immune since after 26. .. Nxb4?? 27. Rxa8 Rxa8 28. Rxa8 Kxa8 29. Qa3+ White wins the Knight. 27. b5 Na5 28. Nc3 Rc8 29. Qd3 g6 30. Na4 Nc4 31. Nxc4 dxc4 32. Qf3+ Nd5 33. Nc3 Rxa3 34. Rxa3 Qd7 35. Ne4 Kb8 36. Qd1 Rc7 37. Nd6 c3. White will soon be forced by Black’s dangerous passed c-Pawn to sacrifice the Exchange. 38. Qc2 Ra7 39. Rxc3 Nxc3 40. Qxc3. The extra Pawn and a crystal-clear superiority of position certainly compensate for the Exchange, but probably nothing more. 40. ... Ra4 41. Qe3 g5 42. h4 Qa7? Fućak fatally pursues the mirage of an attack. The right way was 42. ... gxh4 43. Qxh6 Rxd4 44. Qf8+ Kc7 45. Ne8+ Kb7 46. Nd6+ and White has nothing more than perpetual check. 43. hxg5 Qa8? The consistency of an announced catastrophe. The lesser evil would have been 43. ... hxg5, although after 44. Qxg5 Qd7 45. Qf4 Ra7 46. Kg2 White picks up a second Pawn and she’s the only one that can win. 44. Kh2 Ra1. No better is 44. ... Ra3 because of 45. Qc1! Qf3 46. Qc8+ Ka7 47. Qd7+ Kb8 48. Qe8+ Ka7 49. Qxf7+ Qxf7 50. Nxf7 hxg5 51. Nxg5 and Black’s ending is hopeless.

45. d5!! A delightful pointe. 1 : 0. For if 45. ... Qxd5 then 46. Qxb6+ Kb8 47. Qc6+ Qxc6 48. bxc6 finis.

Mariya Muzychuk
Photo: karpidis