Two Lines

韦奕 (Wéi Yì) – 徐英伦 (Xú Yīnglún)
7th HDBank International Open Chess Tournament; Ho Chi Minh City, March 15, 2017
Sicilian Defence B94

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Bg5 Nbd7 7. Bc4 Qb6 8. 0-0 Qxb2. The alternative 8. ... Qc5 would have evoked in 韦奕 (Wéi Yì) a sweet memory: 9. Bd5 e6 10. Re1 Be7 11. Be3 Qa5 12. Bxe6! fxe6 13. Nxe6 Nc5? 14. b4!+− 韦奕 (Wéi Yì) – van Wely, 79th Tata Steel Chess Tournament, Wijk aan Zee 2017. 9. Nd5 Nxd5 10. Rb1 Qc3 11. Bxd5 Qc7. 徐英伦 (Xú Yīnglún), perhaps fearing something new from his opponent, departs from 11. ... g6 12. Rb3 Qc7 13. Qa1 Rg8 14. Rfb1 Nc5 15. Qc3 Ra7 16. Rb6 Bg7 17. a4 Ne6 18. Qxc7 Nxc7 19. Be3 Nxd5 20. exd5 Ra8 21. c4 Bxd4 22. Bxd4 f6 23. c5 dxc5 24. Bxc5 Kf7 25. Re1 Re8 26. a5 Rb8 27. h3 Bd7 28. Bb4 h5 29. f3 h4 30. f4 Bf5 31. Re3 Rbd8 32. Rxb7 ½ : ½ Azarov – 徐英伦 (Xú Yīnglún), 14th Aeroflot Open, Moscow 2016. 12. f4 e6 13. Re1 Nc5? An unfortunate novelty, giving White a straightforward target for his initiative. Best was 13. ... Nf6 14. Bxf6 gxf6 with an unclear but quite sound game. 14. f5! Be7? Not 14. ... exd5?? on account of 15. exd5+ Kd7 16. Qh5 winning immediately. If, instead, 14. ... f6 there might follow 15. Qh5+ Kd8 16. fxe6! hxg5 17. Qxg5+ Be7 (also after 17. ... Qe7 18. Qd2 the threat of Rf1-e1-f7 looks overwhelming) 18. Qxg7 Re8 19. Rf1 with an imposing grip. Possibly best was, however, the line suggested by Leontxo García on his El País column: 14. ... h6 15. Bh4 g5 16. fxg6 fxg6 17. Qg4 h5! 18. Qxg6+ Qf7 which seems to offer Black the best chances of surviving. 15. Bxe7 Qxe7 16. fxe6 fxe6

Now 韦奕 (Wéi Yì) demolishes Black’s position with an impressive succession of tactical blows: 17. Nf5! Qc7 18. Bc6+!! The pointe. 18. ... Qxc6 19. Nxd6+ Ke7 20. Qg4! Nd7. It is not a way out at all, but neither 20. ... Kxd6? 21. Red1+ nor 20. ... Qxd6 21. Qxg7+ Ke8 23. Qxh8+ Qf8 24. Qe5! would have saved the day. 21. e5! 1 : 0.

韦奕 (Wéi Yì) vs. 徐英伦 (Xú Yīnglún)
Photo: vietnamchess.vn

He Got Game

Eduardo Patricio Iturrizaga Bonelli – John Paul Gomez
7th HDBank International Open Chess Tournament; Ho Chi Minh City, March 15, 2017
Queen’s Pawn Game D02

Evaluation symbols and punctuation marks are by Brazilian Grandmaster Rafael Duailibe Leitão. 1. d4 Nf6 2. Bf4 c5 3. e3 cxd4 4. exd4 d5 5. c3 Nc6 6. Nd2 Bf5 7. Qb3 Qc8 8. Ngf3 e6 9. Nh4 Bg6 10. Nxg6 hxg6 11. Bd3 Be7. The same position can be reached through 1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. exd5 cxd5 4. c3 Nc6 5. Bf4 Nf6 6. Nd2 Bf5 7. Qb3 Qc8 8. Ngf3 e6 9. Nh4 Bg6 10. Nxg6 hxg6 11. Bd3 Be7 – Caro-Kann Defence (B13). 12. 0-0 0-0. For 12. ... Nh5 13. Be5 0-0 14. Rfe1 Qd7 15. Nf3 g5 16. Rad1 g4 17. Nd2 g5 18. Be2 f6 19. Bxg4 Ng7 20. Nf3 fxe5 21. Nxe5 Nxe5 22. Rxe5 Bf6 23. Re2 Qf7 24. Rde1 Rae8 25. h3 Re7 26. Re3 Nf5 see Honfi – Barcza, KS Jubilæum, Copenaghen 1965. 13. Rae1 a6 14. Qd1 b5 15. a3 Na5 16. Nf3 Nc4 17. Qe2 Ra7 18. Ne5 Nd6 19. g4!± Nfe4?! 19. ... Nc4 20. h4 Nd7 seems to give much better survival chances as after 21. Nxg6 fxg6 22. Qxe6+ Kh8 23. Qxg6 Nf6 24. g5 Qe8 Black appears to have limited damages to the best possible worst. 20. f3 Nf6 21. h4. Now White’s attack spreads itself smoothly. 21. ... a5 22. h5! gxh5 23. Qh2 g6

24. Nxg6! fxg6 25. Bxd6+− hxg4 26. Be5 g3 27. Qh6 Bd8 28. Bd6 Rff7 29. Bxg6 Rg7 30. Kg2 Rxg6 31. Qf8+ 1 : 0. For if 31. ... Kh7 then 32. Rh1+ and mate in two moves.

Minus One

韦奕 (Wéi Yì) – Jan Emmanuel Garcia
7th HDBank International Open Chess Tournament; Ho Chi Minh City, March 14, 2017
Giuoco Piano C53

“The win of the wonder boy 韦奕 (Wéi Yì) in round five of HDBank Cup featured a remarkable tactical turn. In the position of the diagram White found an extraordinary idea for gaining a decisive advantage. How shall he play?”, Grandmaster Rafael Duailibe Leitão says and asks, in the introduction to the commentary on the game for his website. 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. d3 Nf6 5. 0-0 a6 6. c3 d6 7. Nbd2 Ba7 8. Bb3 0-0 9. Re1 Be6 10. Bc2? There is obviously a reason why White now usually prefers 10. h3; for instance: 10. ... Bxb3 11. axb3 d5 12. Qe2 Qd7 13. Nf1 d4 14. b4 Rad8 15. Rd1 Ne8 16. Ng3 f6 17. Qe1 Kh8 18. c4 Bb8 19. h4 Nd6 20. h5 Rde8 21. c5 Nc8 22. Nh4 N8e7 23. Bd2 Qg4 24. Nhf5 Nxf5 25. exf5 Ne7 26. Qe4 Qxe4 27. Nxe4 c6 28. g4 Nd5 29. Kf1 h6 30. Ke2 Kg8 ½ : ½ 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) – Ivanchuk, 77th Tata Steel Chess Tournament, Wijk aan Zee 2015. 10. ... h6? Much stronger is 10. ... Ng4! 11. Rf1 (11. d4 exd4) 11. ... Bxf2+! 12. Rxf2 Ne3 13. Qe2 Nxc2 14. Rb1 Bxa2 15. b3 Bxb1 16. Nxb1 (Nordenbæk – V. Nielsen, 10th Copenhagen Chess Challenge, Ballerup 2014) 16. ... Na1! 17. Qb2 Nxb3 18. Qxb3 b5∓ (Leitão’s analysis). 11. h3 Re8 12. Nf1 d5 13. exd5 Qxd5 14. Ng3 Bc5 15. b4 Bf8 16. a4 b5 17. Re2!? g6 18. Qe1 Nd7 19. d4! exd4 20. Be4 Qd6 21. Bxc6 Qxc6 22. Nxd4 Qd5 23. Nxe6 fxe6 24. Rd2 Qe5

25. Qe4!! Qg7. If 25. ... Qxe4 then 26. Nxe4 Red8 (or 26. ... Bd6 27. Nxd6 cxd6 28. Rxd6 with a more prosaic win) 27. Rxd7 Rxd7 28. Nf6+ finis. 26. axb5 Nf6 27. Qc6 Nd5 28. Bb2 Rad8 29. bxa6 1 : 0.

韦奕 (Wéi Yì)
Photo: sports.sohu.com

Flashcard

卜祥志 (Bǔ Xiángzhì) – Trần Tuấn Minh
7th HDBank International Open Chess Tournament; Ho Chi Minh City, March 14, 2017
English Opening A20

1. c4 e5 2. g3 c6 3. Nf3 e4 4. Nd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 Qb6 6. e3 Na6!? It does not seem an improvement on 6. ... d5 7. Qc2 Bd7 (after 7. ... Nbd7 Mark Evgenievich Taimanov regards 8. cxd5 cxd5 9. Ncb5 as a strong continuation) 8. a3 Be7 9. b4 0-0 10. Bb2 with a slight edge for White, Najdorf – Rossetto, Buenos Aires 1968. 7. d3 Bb4 8. Bg2 Nc5 9. dxe4 Ncxe4 10. 0-0 Bxc3. 10. ... Nxc3 looks hardly better than the text, as after 11. bxc3 Bxc3?! 12. Ba3! White gets a (very) powerful initiative. 11. bxc3 d6 12. Qc2 Nc5 13. e4 Be6? Stockfish does not like this move – and rightly so. I think Black should have castled.

14. Bf4! 0-0-0. If 14. ... Bxc4 there might follow 15. Bxd6! Bxf1 16. Rxf1 and, in spite of the lack of any material compensation, White carries too many overwhelming threats. 15. Rfd1 Qa6 16. Nxe6. Securing the whole Bishop pair. 16. ... Nxe6 17. Bxd6 Qxc4 18. Rab1 Nc7. It loses outright, but 18. ... Qa6 19. Rb4 could not have saved Black anyway. 19. Bh3+ 1 : 0. For after 19. ... Ne6 (or 19. ... Kb8 20. Rd4 Qa6 21. Ra4+−) 20. Rd4 Qa6 21. Ra4+− the curtain falls.

Change Room

Lê Quang Liêm – Võ Thành Ninh
7th HDBank International Open Chess Tournament; Ho Chi Minh City, March 12, 2017
Queen’s Gambit Declined D37

“Vietnamese Lê Quang Liêm relies upon a sound positional style. He is among the favourites to gain the HDBank Cup, held in his home country. From the position shown in the diagram, how does White win?”, Grandmaster Rafael Duailibe Leitão says and asks, showing the game on his website. 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 d5 4. Nf3 Be7 5. Bf4 0-0 6. e3 b6 7. Rc1 Bb7 8. cxd5 exd5 9. Be2 c6 10. Ne5 Nfd7. A novelty that won’t bring good fortune. For 10. ... Nbd7 11. 0-0 Nxe5 12. dxe5 Ne8 13. Qc2 Nc7 14. Rfd1 Ne6 15. Bg3 Rb8 16. Qb1 Ba8 17. b4 c5 see Dizdar – Pigusov, 5th International Open, Dubai 2003. 11. Nd3 a5 12. 0-0 Bg5 13. Bg3 Bh4 14. e4! Bxg3 15. hxg3 dxe4 16. Nxe4 Ra7 17. Re1± c5 18. Nd6 cxd4 19. Nf4 Nc5 20. Qxd4 Nc6 21. Qd2 Ba6 22. Bxa6 Rxa6 23. Nh5 Ra7 24. Rcd1 Rd7 25. Qc3 f6? It undoubtedly hastens the end, but also 25. ... Qg5 26. Rd5 Qg6 (on 26. ... Qg4? 27. Ne8! wins very heavy material) 27. Nf4 is totally hopeless. 26. Qc4+ Kh8

27. Nf7+! Rfxf7. 27. ... Rdxf7 is equally met by 28. Qxf7! with an immediate catastrophe. 28. Qxf7! Rxf7 29. Rxd8+ 1 : 0.

Lê Quang Liêm vs. Võ Thành Ninh
Photo: vietnamchess.vn

In the Mood

韦奕 (Wéi Yì) – Lê Hữu Thái
7th HDBank International Open Chess Tournament; Ho Chi Minh City, March 13, 2017
Four Knights Game C48

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Bb5 Bc5 5. Nxe5 Qe7!? A responsible decision, which, if not properly followed, may easily turn into a serious loss of time. 5. ... 0-0 6. 0-0 Re8 may transpose into 7. Nf3 (if 7. Nxc6!? there might follow 7. ... dxc6 8. Bc4!? b5!? 9. Be2 Nxe4 10. Nxe4 Rxe4 11. Bf3 Re6 12. c3 Qd3! with a Black’s crescendo, L. Paulsen – P. C. Morphy, 1st American Chess Congress, New York 1857) 7. ... Nxe4 8. Nxe4 Rxe4 9. d3! Re8 10. d4! Be7 (10. ... Bf8 might be better, reserving the e7-square for the Knight) 11. d5! a6 12. Bd3 Nb4 13. Bc4 b5 14. Bb3 with an edge for White, 韦奕 (Wéi Yì) – 居文君 (Jū Wénjūn), 13th Tradewise Gibraltar Chess Festival, Catalan Bay 2015. 6. Nf3 Nxe4?? Here the e4-Pawn turns out to be a tragically poisoned gift. I guess Black ought to re-enter into Rubinstein’s counter-gambit by 6. ... Nd4, after which might follow 7. Bc4 d5 8. Bxd5 Bg4 9. d3 0-0-0 10. Be3 Nxd5 11. Nxd5 Rxd5 12. exd5 Re8 13. c3 Nxf3+ 14. gxf3 Qh4 15. Kd2 Rxe3 16. fxe3 Qf2+ 17. Kc1 Bxf3 18. Qe1 Bxe3+ 19. Kb1 Bxh1 20. Qxh1 Qe2 21. a4 Qxd3+ 22. Ka2 Qc4+ 23. Kb1 Qd3+ 24. Ka2 Qc4+ 25. Kb1 Qd3+ 26. Ka2 Qc4+ 27. Kb1 Qd3+ 28. Ka2 Qc4+ 29. Kb1 Qd3+ 30. Ka2 Qc4+ ½ : ½ 韦奕 (Wéi Yì) – M. Adams, 12th Tradewise Gibraltar Chess Festival, Catalan Bay 2014. 7. 0-0 Nxc3. 7. ... 0-0 8. d4 Nxc3 9. bxc3 transposes into the game. 8. bxc3 0-0 9. d4 Bb6. Stockfish also considers 9. ... Ba3 10. Re1 Qd6, but after 11. Bd2! White stands very much better anyway. 10. Re1 Qd8

11. Ng5! d6. 11. ... h6 12. Qh5! equally exposes Black to an overwhelming attack. 12. Bd3 g6. 12. ... h6 13. Qh5 is no better at all, as White would be expected to make any kind of sacrifices. 13. Nxh7! 1 : 0. For after 13. ... Kxh7 14. Qh5+ Kg8 (14. ... Kg7 15. Qh6+ Kg8 16. Bg5+−) 15. Bxg6 fxg6 16. Qxg6+ Kh8 17. Bg5 Qd7 18. Bf6+ Rxf6 19. Qxf6+ Kh7 20. Qh4+ Kg8 21. Re3 it’s all over.

韦奕 (Wéi Yì)
Photo: vietnamchess.vn

The Bad Mood

Viacheslav Diu – 韦奕 (Wéi Yì)
7th HDBank International Open Chess Tournament; Ho Chi Minh City, March 12, 2017
Queen’s Gambit Declined D44

“The most dramatic surprise of round two was the top seed 韦奕 (Wéi Yì) (China, Elo 2725)’s defeat to Viacheslav Diu (Russia, Elo 2421), which pushed Chinese Grandmaster down to 38th place with only 1 point”, reads today’s vietnamchess.vn report. 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 c6 5. Bg5 h6 6. Bh4 dxc4 7. e4 g5 8. Bg3 b5 9. Be2 Bb7 10. 0-0 a6 11. Ne5 b4?? An unfortunate novelty, giving White both time and squares. For 11. ... Bg7 12. f4 0-0 see Lputian – Sveshnikov, European Chess Club Cup, Yerevan–Chelyabinsk, Chelyabinsk 1991. 12. Na4 h5. A questionable corollary to the previous (bad) idea, evidently aimed to prevent Be2-h5. Black, however, does not seem to have particularly better moves; for instance: 12. ... Nxe4?? 13. Bh5 Rh7 14. Re1 with a devastating attack. 13. f4!+− Black is in a very serious mess, just to put it euphemistically. 13. ... h4 14. fxg5 Nxe4. 14. ... hxg3 15. Rxf6 would equally lead to a disaster. 15. Bf4! Bg7 16. Bxc4 0-0

17. g6! fxg6 18. Bxe6+ Kh7 19. Qg4 1 : 0. 韦奕 (Wéi Yì) must have been in a bad mood.

Viacheslav Diu vs. 韦奕 (Wéi Yì)
Photo: vietnamchess.vn