Mona Lisa Smile

David Navara – Bassem Amin

56th Biel International Chess Festival; ACCENTUS Chess960 Tournament; time control: 15 minutes plus 5 seconds per move; Biel/Bienne, July 15, 2023

rkrnqbbn/pppppppp/8/8/8/8/PPPPPPPP/RKRNQBBN w CAca - 0 1

Position #942

1. f4 f6 2. e4 e5 3. f5 d5 4. exd5 Bxd5 5. Nc3

5. ... Bc6. With the benefit of hindsight, it is easy to suggest 5. ... Bg8 as a wiser move.
6. Qh4 h6. Necessary to save the Pawn, but at the cost of permanently weakening the white squares on the h-side.
7. Ng3 Nhf7 8. Re1 Qd7 9. d4!

9. ... Bb4? With venomous intentions, but the whole sequence has a serious tactical flaw. Black should have played 9. ... exd4, but even then White would still have the upper hand with 10. 0-0-0! recovering the Pawn with interest.
10. d5! Bxc3 11. dxc6 Qd2. The move on which Black relied, but a devilish surprise is awaiting him.

12. Ne4!! 1 : 0. For after 12. ... Qxe1+ 13. Qxe1 Bxe1 White would force mate by 14. Nc5! (Δ Nc5-d7#) 14. ... bxc6 15. Ba6 ~ 16. Nd7#.

Circling the Square

David Navara – Lê Quang Liêm

56th Biel International Chess Festival; ACCENTUS Chess960 Tournament; time control: 15 minutes plus 5 seconds per move; Biel/Bienne, July 15, 2023

nrqkbbrn/pppppppp/8/8/8/8/PPPPPPPP/NRQKBBRN w GBgb - 0 1

Position #330

1. d4 d5 2. Nb3 Ng6 3. f4 Bb5 4. g4 e6 5. h4 Bd6 6. h5 Ne7 7. Bh4 c6 8. e4 Bxf1? In a Pavlovian loop, Black captures the Bishop, completely overlooking White’s zwischenzug. 8. ... dxe4 was called for, when there might follow 9. c4 Ba4 10. c5 Bc7 11. Qe3 Qd7 12. Qxe4 f6 with more or less equality.

9. e5! In fact, a refutation of Black’s 8th move.
11. ... Bxe5 10. fxe5 Bb5 11. Qg5 Qc7

12. h6 Nb6. Black’s position is inexorably falling apart. Of course, Black could not play 12. ... gxh6?? because of 13. Qxg8+ Kd7 14. Nc5#, whilst if 12. ... g6 then 13. Nf2 to be followed by Nf2-h3, Qg5-f6 and Nh3-g5.
13. hxg7 Nc4 14. Ng3 c5 15. Nh5 cxd4 16. Nxd4 0-0-0. Desperation, as Black was virtually in zugzwang.
17. Qxe7 Qb6 18. c3 Nxe5 19. Qb4 a6 20. Bxd8 Rxd8 21. 0-0-0 1 : 0.

The Reorder of Things

David Navara – Matthias Blübaum

2nd World Fischerandom Chess Championship Qualifier 2; Final match game 4; time control: 15 minutes plus 2 seconds per move; chess.com, August 31, 2022

rnkrbqnb/pppppppp/8/8/8/8/PPPPPPPP/RNKRBQNB w DAda - 0 1

Position #651

1. f4 f5 2. g3 g6 3. Nc3 Nc6 4. Nf3 Nf6 5. e3 e6 6. d4 d5 7. Ne5 Ne4 8. Bxe4. Finally breaking the symmetry, but no initiative will come from it. 8. ... dxe4. 8. ... fxe4 9. Qh3 Qe7 is also perfectly playable. 9. Qc4 Qe7 10. a3 Nxe5 11. dxe5 Rxd1+ 12. Nxd1 0-0-0 13. Nf2 b6

14. a4! White goes for the attack, thus signaling that he won’t castle. On the other hand, 14. 0-0-0 Rxd1+ 15. Nxd1 Bg7 is nothing special for White. 14. ... Rd5?! 15. b4 Kb8 16. h4?! This is cryptic and useless. White could and should consolidate his bind on the position with Nf2-d1-c3-e2-d4. 16. ... Bg7 17. Kb2 Qd8 18. Qb3 Bf8 19. Bc3 Be7 20. Qc4? White achieved very little so far, and again he would probably have done better to recycle his Knight to the centre via h3, g1 and e2.

20. ... Qc8? Much better seems 20. ... Bxa4! 21. Qa6 b5 22. Qxe6 c5 with an overwhelming advantage for Black. 21. Be1 Qd8 22. Qe2 Qc8 23. Qc4 a6 24. Nd1 b5 25. axb5 (25. Qa2! c5 26. axb5 cxb4∞) 25. ... Rxb5 26. Kc1 c5

27. Nc3? 27. bxc5 Bxc5 28. Qa2 Rb6= was apparently good enough to hold balance. 27. ... Rb6! 28. Na4? Tantamount to capitulation. However, if 28. bxc5 Bxc5 29. Qe2 then 29. ... a5! 30. Rxa5 Bb4 winning the Exchange. 28. ... Bxa4 29. Rxa4 cxb4 30. Qxc8+ Kxc8. Now, with a Pawn ahead and the much better Bishop, the ending is easily won. 31. Ra5 Kb7 32. Kb2 Rc6 33. Ra4 Bc5 34. Bxb4. Or 34. Bd2 Rc8 35. Kb3 Rd8−+ sooner or later forcing the White Bishop to take on b4. 34. ... Bxe3 35. Bd6 Bf2 36. c4 e3 37. c5 e2 38. Rb4+ Ka7 39. Bb8+ Ka8 0 : 1.

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).

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).

Salt City

韦奕 (Wéi Yì) – David Navara

2017 “恒大杯” (“Héngdà Cup”) Chess Grandmaster Summit Match; match game 3; 盐城 (Yánchéng), January 2, 2018

Queen’s Gambit Accepted D27

Chinese star 韦奕 (Wéi Yì) is playing a four-game match against Czech No. 1 David Navara in 盐城 (Yánchéng), 江苏省 (Jiāngsū province), China from December 31, 2017 to January 3, 2018. After losing the first game and drawing the second, the Chinese Grandmaster eventually won the third. 1. Nf3 d5 2. d4 Nf6 3. c4 dxc4 4. e3 e6 5. Bxc4 c5 6. 0-0 a6 7. Nc3 b5 8. Be2 Bb7 9. dxc5 Nc6 10. Qc2. 10. Nd2!? Bxc5 11. Nde4 Nxe4 12. Nxe4 Be7 23. b3 Nb4 is a little more pleasant for Black, Karjakin – Carlsen, New York 2016, World Chess Championship match game 7. If, instead, 10. a3 there might follow 10. ... Bxc5 11. b4 Bd6 12. Bb2 0-0 13. Rc1 Rc8 with equality, Colle – Tartakower, Paris 1925. 10. ... Nb4 11. Qb3 Bxc5 12. Rd1 Qb8!? Probably an improvement on 12. ... Qe7 that after 13. a4(!) gave White the initiative, Wojtaszek – Ponomariov, 61st Spanish Team Chess Championship (División de Honor), Linares 2017. 13. a4 bxa4 14. Qxa4+ Bc6 15. Qa5 Be7 16. Ra3 Nc2? This proves to be Navara’s decisive mistake. Black should have played 16. ... 0-0(!) 17. Rb3 Ra7(!) eventually followed by ... Ra7-b7, holding everything together.

17. Ne5! A powerful refutation. White will win two pieces for a Rook remaining with a decisive advantage, also due to the indefensibility of the a6-Pawn. 17. ... Bb4 18. Rb3 0-0 19. Nxc6 Bxa5 20. Rxb8 Raxb8 21. Nxa5 Nb4 22. f3 Rfd8 23. e4 Rxd1+ 24. Nxd1 Nd7 25. Be3 Ne5 26. Bf4 f6 27. Ne3 Rc8 28. Bxe5 fxe5 29. Nec4 Rc5 30. Nb7 Rc8 31. Nba5 Rc5 32. Kf2 Nc2 33. Bd3 Nb4 34. Ke3 g5 35. Kd2 Kg7 36. Bb1 Kf6 37. Kc3 Rb5 38. Na3 Rb8 39. g4 h6 40. b3 Nc6 41. Nxc6 Rc8 42. Nc4 Rxc6 43. b4 Rc8 44. Bd3 h5 45. gxh5 Rh8 46. Ne3 1 : 0.

韦奕 (Wéi Yì) (L.) vs. David Navara (R.)
Photo: qipai.org.cn

Shark attack

Shakhriyar Mamedyarov – David Navara
21st European Team Chess Championship; Hersonissos, November 1, 2017
Queen’s Gambit Accepted D28

1. d4 d5 2. c4 dxc4 3. e3 Nf6 4. Bxc4 e6 5. Nf3 c5 6. 0-0 a6 7. Qe2 b5 8. Bd3 cxd4 9. Rd1 Be7 10. a4 bxa4 11. Rxa4 dxe3 12. Bxe3 Nbd7. After 12. ... Bd7 13. Bc2!? Qc7 14. Nc3 0-0 15. Rh4 Nc6 16. Bf4 Qb7 Black could look forward to a comfortable game (but very likely White might have played better), Ibragimov – Baburin, 3rd Mind Sports Olympiad (MSO), London 1999. 13. Nc3 0-0 14. Bg5 Bb7 15. Rd4 Bxf3 16. Qxf3 Ne5 17. Qe3 Qb8 18. Bf4 Neg4 19. Qe2 e5 20. Bg3 h5 21. Nd5 Re8? Navara played quite risky so far, but the text is definitely his final bravery, allowing White an ideal attacking position. Black ought to take the White Knight with his Knight. 22. h3! h4 23. Nxf6+ Bxf6 24. Qe4 g6 25. Bc4! Kg7 26. Rd7 Re7 27. Bxh4 Bxh4 28. Qxg4 Bf6

29. R7d6! Stockfish’s 29. Bxf7! Kxf7 30. R1d6! might have been even more ferocious, but, of course, Mamedyarov’s pseudo-inversion is not so bad either. 29. ... Rc7 30. Qf3 Bh4 31. Rd7 Rxd7 32. Rxd7 Qb4 33. Qxf7+ Kh6 34. Qh7+ Kg5 35. f4+! Kf5 36. Qf7+ Ke4 37. Qxg6+ 1 : 0. Mate in two follows.

Coin flipping

Alexander Igorevich Grischuk – David Navara
7th Chess World Cup; match game 1; Tbilisi, September 9, 2017
8/8/3K2k1/4P2p/5n2/8/6P1/4N3 w - - 0 58

Position after 57. ... h6-h5

58. e6. The only winning try. Nevertheless Grischuk is perfectly aware that the game will end as a draw. 58. ... Nxe6! 59. Kxe6 Kg5 60. Ke5 Kg4 61. Nd3 h4 62. Nf4 Kg5 63. Nd3 Kg4 64. Ke4 Kg3 65. Nf4 Kg4 66. Ke5 Kg5 67. Ke4 Kg4 68. Ng6! One last trick. 68. ... h3! Not 68. ... Kg3?? 69. Nxh4! Kxh4 70. Kf4 and White wins. 69. Ne5+ Kg3 70. gxh3 Kxh3 ½ : ½.

Mario Baldanello – Giorgio Porreca
2nd International Festival (Section A), Imperia 1960
5k2/7p/1n2P3/4KNP1/8/8/8/8 w - - 6 1

White to move and win

In the above diagram is illustrated a much more favourable version of the same ending. Curiously enough, however, Mario Baldanello, under severe time pressure, did not succeed in finding the right way and a draw was soon agreed. Instead, the solution was 1. e7+ Kf7 (1. ... Ke8?? 2. Ke6 and mate next move) 2. Kd6 Nc4+ 3. Kc6! Ne5+ (or 3. ... Ke8 4. Kd5) 4. Kd5 winning easily.

The Witch of Prague

Under the patronage of the Czech National Bank governor Jiří Rusnok, the Bank Chess Festival featuring blitz, rapid, and Fischerandom tournaments will be held in Prague, Czech Republic from November 28 to December 3, 2017. Among invited guests are 12th World Chess Champion Anatoly Yevgenyevich Karpov, Vlastimil Hort, David Navara, the current James Tobin Professor of Economics at Yale University John Geanakoplos, and the former Chairman of Grandmasters Association (GMA) Bessel Kok. For further information, please visit the Pražská šachová společnost website.

Prague Chivalry

侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) – David Navara
50th International Chess Festival; Biel/Bienne, July 28, 2017
Sicilian Defence B90

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Be3 Ng4 7. Bg5 h6 8. Bc1 Nc6 9. Nxc6 bxc6 10. Bc4 e5 11. b3 Be7 12. Bb2 0-0 13. Qe2 Nf6!? A very recent game went 13. ... Qb6 14. 0-0 Nf6 15. Kh1 a5 16. Na4 Qc7 17. Rae1 Nd7 18. Qd3 Bb7 19. Qg3 Bg5 20. Rd1 Nf6 21. f3 Rfe8 22. Rfe1 Rad8 23. Bf1 Nh5 24. Qf2 Re6 25. g3 Ree8 26. Qb6 Qb8 27. Bc3 Rc8 28. Bh3 d5 29. Nc5 Ba8 30. Qxb8 Rxb8 31. exd5 cxd5 32. Bxe5 d4 33. Bxb8 Rxb8 34. Rxd4 Bxf3+ 35. Bg2 Bxg2+ 36. Kxg2 Rc8 37. Rc4 Rd8 38. Nd3 1 : 0 M. Adams – Salem, Grand Prix 2017, 3rd stage, Geneva 2017. 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) should not have been caught unprepared, however, since she too was present there! 14. 0-0-0 Be6!? It may well be arguable that Black’s strategy is the most sound, but certainly it is thematic. 15. Bxe6 fxe6

16. f4! Nd7. After intensely thinking for awhile, Navara opted for the text move. If, instead, 16. ... exf4 there might follow 17. e5 Nd5 18. exd6 (18. Ne4? dxe5! 19. c4? does not gain anything for White as there is 19. ... Qc7!) 18. ... Qxd6 19. Kb1 with excellent compensation for the Pawn. 17. f5 Nb6? Black has not all this time to wrap around the centre! Imperative was 17. ... exf5 18. Qc4+ Rf7 19. Qxc6 Qc8 heading for a slightly inferior, but still defensible endgame. 18. Rhf1 Qd7?! A little better is 18. ... exf5 although now, after 19. exf5 Qc7 20. Ne4 White stands much better.

19. g4! Black’s got into a hopeless position with no prospects for counterplay. 19. ... a5 20. a4 Rab8 21. Kb1 d5. A desperate bid for freedom. 22. fxe6 Qxe6 23. Rxf8+ Bxf8 24. exd5 cxd5 25. Nb5 e4 26. Qe3 Rb7. Also after 26. ... Qxg4 27. Rg1 Qe6 28. Qc3 followed by Qc3xa5 the ending would be hopeless for Black. 27. h3 Rf7 28. Nd4 Bc5 29. Qd2. Sic et simpliciter. The a5-Pawn is lost, and with it, the game. 29. ... Bxd4 30. Bxd4 Nd7 31. Qxa5 Rf3 32. Qb5 e3 33. Re1 Rxh3 34. a5 Qxg4 35. Qxd5+ Kh7 36. a6 Rh5 37. Qd6 e2 38. a7 Ra5 39. Kb2 Qh4 (39. ... h5 40. b4 Ka4 41. Kb3+−) 40. Qxd7 1 : 0.

侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) hit hard against Black’s Sicilian, with no apparent effort made to move from a powerful middlegame to a won endgame. Photo © Biel Chess Festival.

The Guns of Navarone

David Navara – Jacek Tomczak
8th International Grandmasters’ Tournament; Lublin, June 15, 2016
Nimzo-Indian Defence E42

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e3 c5 5. Ne2 cxd4 6. exd4 0-0 7. a3 Be7 8. Nf4 Re8 9. Be3 d5. The strategic alternative is 9. ... d6, e.g. 10. Be2 Nbd7 11. 0-0 Nf8 12. b4 Ng6 13. Qb3 Nh4 14. Rad1 Bd7 15. f3 b6 16. Bf2 Ng6 17. Nxg6 hxg6 18. a4 Qb8 19. b5 Qc7 20. Rc1 Bc8 21. a5 bxa5 22. Na4 Bb7 23. c5 Bd5 24. Qb2 Nh5 25. Rfd1 dxc5 ½ : ½ 卜祥志 (Bǔ Xiángzhì) – Short, 19th International Open, Reykjavík 2000. 10. cxd5 Nxd5. For 10. ... exd5 11. Be2 Nc6 12. Bf3 Be6 13. 0-0 Bd6 14. Qd3 Rc8 see Machycek – Sasvari, 22nd World Correspondence Chess Championship (Final), 2007. 11. Ncxd5 exd5 12. Bd3 Bf6 13. 0-0 Nc6 14. Rc1 Be6 15. Rc5 Qd6 16. Bb1 b6? Tomczak misses a subtle point. Of course neither 16. ... Bxd4? 17. Rxc6! nor 16. ... Nxd4?! 17. Nxe6 Nxe6 18. Rxd5± would be any better at all, but Grandmaster Rafael Duailibe Leitão rightly recommends 16. ... g6 and Black’s position appears to be quite sound.

17. Bxh7+! Kh8 18. Nxe6. Leitão gives 18. Qh5 bxc5 19. Nxe6 fxe6 20. Bg6+ Kg8 21. Bxe8 Nxd4 22. Bg6 with a crushing advantage for White. 18. ... bxc5 19. Bf4? 19. Qh5 fxe6 20. Bg6+ transposes into the above variation. 19. ... Qxe6 20. Qh5 g6 21. Bxg6+ Kg8 22. Bf5 Qe2 23. Qh6! Bg7 24. Qh7+ Kf8 25. Bh6! Bxh6 26. Qxh6+ Ke7 27. dxc5! Rad8 28. Qxc6 Qe5? Black’s best chance was 28. ... d4! (Leitão), hoping to fish in muddy waters. 29. Qb7+ Kf6 30. Bd7! Rh8 31. h3 Kg7 32. c6. It’s all over now. 32. ... Rb8 33. Qxa7 Rxb2 34. Qc5 Rb3 35. Rc1 Qc7 36. Qxd5 Qf4 37. Qc4 Qd2 38. c7 Rb2 39. Qc3+ 1 : 0.

David Navara vs. Jacek Tomczak
Photo: szachy.lublin.pl

Painting with a comet’s tail

Jacek Tomczak – David Navara
8th International Grandmasters’ Tournament; Lublin, June 18, 2016
Caro-Kann Defence B12

1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. e5 Bf5 4. Nf3 e6 5. Be2 Nd7 6. 0-0 Bg6 7. Nbd2 Nh6 8. Nb3 Be7 9. c3 0-0 10. Bxh6 gxh6 11. Ne1. Another try was 11. Qd2 Kg7 12. Ne1 c5 13. f4 Qb6 14. Kh1 c4 15. Nc1 f6 16. exf6+ Nxf6 17. Bf3 Bd6 18. g3 Qc7 19. Ng2 b5 20. Nh4 a5 21. Re1 Rfe8 22. a3 ½ : ½ Inarkiev – Malakhatko, 7th European Individual Chess Championship, Kusadasi 2006. 11. ... c5 12. Qd2 c4 13. Nc1 f6 14. exf6 Nxf6 15. Bf3. Not 15. Qxh6? on account of 15. ... Qb6 followed by ... Nf6-e4. 15. ... h5 16. Ne2 Ng4 17. g3 Bg5 18. Qd1 Qb6 19. b3 Qc7 20. h3 Nf6 21. Bg2 Ne4 22. Bxe4? A very serious mistake that spreads the wings of Navara’s colourful imagination. On 22. Nf3 Rxf3 23. Bxf3 Nd2 Black wins back the Exchange, without any concrete interest. 22. ... dxe4 23. h4 Bh6 24. Ng2 Rf3! Black’s Rook penetrates quite decisively into White’s position. 25. bxc4. Both 25. Nef4 and 25. Ngf4 are strongly met by 25. ... Bf5. 25. ... Raf8 26. Qb3 Qf7 27. c5

27. ... e3! David quickly demolishes Tomczak’s weakened Kingside. 28. Nef4 Bxf4 29. Nxf4 Rxf4! 30. gxf4 e2 31. Rfe1 Bc2!! A fantastic finish, worth the punctuation. 32. Qxc2 Qg7+ 33. Kh2 Rxf4 0 : 1. For if 34. Kh3 then 34. ... Rxh4+! 35. Kxh4 Qg4 mate.

Jacek Tomczak vs. David Navara
Photo: szachy.lublin.pl

From a Terrace in Prague

David Navara – Richárd Rapport
ČEZ Chess Trophy 2016; match game 4; Prague, June 8, 2016
Alekhine Defence B05

1. e4 Nf6 2. e5 Nd5 3. d4 d6 4. Nf3 Bg4 5. Be2 e6 6. 0-0 Be7 7. h3 Bh5 8. c4 Nb6 9. Nc3 0-0 10. Be3 d5 11. cxd5 exd5 12. Ne1 Bxe2 13. Qxe2 c6 14. Nd3!? A novelty, as far as I know. For 14. f4 f5 15. g4 see M. D. Tseitlin – Vasiukov, Almaty 1979. 14. ... Na6 15. Rae1 Nc7 16. Nf4. Navara’s looking for luck on the Kingside, but, contrary to any appearances, the strategic key of White’s position is (or better should be) more positional than tactical. 16. ... Qd7 17. Nh5 Rae8 18. Qf3 Kh8 19. Ne2 Nc4 20. Bc1 f6! A cool defence. 21. Qg3 Bb4 22. exf6 g6

23. Bh6!? Regardless of the result, I think it’s a very interesting idea, which maybe deserved better luck. 23. ... Bxe1! But Rapport doesn’t fear anyone and anything. 24. Bxf8? Too hasty! White should have played 24. Rxe1 Rf7 25. Ng7 Ref8 26. Nf4! with good chances to complicate matters; for instance: 26. ... Rxf6 27. b3 Nd6 28. Nd3 Ne4 29. Qe5 Kg8 30. f3 Nd6 31. Nh5! gxh5 32. Bxf8 Rxf8 33. Qg3+ finally winning back the Knight with definite drawing chances. Of course, it’s all but forced, but it was better than the text. 24. ... Rxf8 25. Rxe1 gxh5 26. Nf4 Rxf6 27. Nxh5 Rg6. That’s all. There’s nothing for White. 28. Qh4 Re6 29. Rxe6 Qxe6 30. Nf4 Qf7 31. Qd8+ Ne8 32. Nd3 h6 33. b3 Nd6 34. Ne5 Qc7 35. Qh4 Qg7 36. Qd8 Kh7 37. f4 Qf6 38. Qd7+ Ng7 0 : 1.

Richárd Rapport
Photo: praguechess.cz

David Navara
Photo: praguechess.cz

Prague astronomical clock

Chess-News.ru ‏(@Chess__News)

David Navara and Richárd Rapport play each other using real people in Prague, Czech Republic. Video by Evgeny Surov. See http://chess-news.ru/node/21579 (Russian language) as well as http://chess-news.ru/en/node/21582 (English language).

The Cobweb

David Navara – Baadur Jobava
17th European Individual Chess Championship; Gjakova, May 19, 2016
Sicilian Defence B65

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 Nc6 6. Bg5 e6 7. Qd2 Be7 8. 0-0-0 0-0 9. f4 Nxd4 10. Qxd4 Bd7 11. Bxf6 Bxf6 12. Qxd6. For 12. e5 Be7 13. exd6 Bf6 14. Qe3 Qb6 15. Qxb6 axb6 16. Ne4 Rxa2 17. Nxf6+ gxf6 18. Bc4 Ra5 see Pruijssers – Abasov, 20th Cultural Village Chess Tournament, Wijk aan Zee 2015. 12. ... Bc6 13. Qxd8 Rfxd8 14. Bb5. White immediately returns the extra Pawn for consolidating a slight edge. On 14. e5 Bh4 Black wins back the Pawn under more favourable circumstances. 14. ... Bxc3 15. Bxc6 Bxb2+ 16. Kxb2 bxc6 17. Rxd8+ Rxd8 18. Kc3 Kf8 19. Rb1. Intending Rb1-b7. White’s endgame is undoubtedly more pleasant, but still far from being won. 19. ... Ke7 20. e5 h5 21. a4 Rd5 22. Rb7+ Rd7 23. Rb8 Rd8 24. Rb4 Rd5 25. g3 Rc5+ 26. Kb3 Rd5

27. c4! Rd2? Black should have played 27. ... Rd3+! (keeping at distance the enemy King) 28. Kc2 Kd7 in order to answer 29. a5 by 29. ... c5 when Black’s ending is slightly inferior but probably tenable. 28. a5! Kd8. Not 28. ... Rxh2? 29. Rb7+ Ke8 30. Rxa7 and White must win. 29. Rb8+ Kc7 30. Rf8 Rd7 31. Kb4 a6 32. Kc5. With such a powerful King, White can now regard the game as won. 32. ... g6 33. Ra8 Kb7 34. Rf8 Kc7 35. h3 Kb7 36. g4 hxg4 37. hxg4 Kc7 38. Ra8 Kb7 39. Rh8 Kc7 40. Rh1 Rd2 41. Rh7 Rd7 42. g5! 1 : 0. Black has no defence against the invasion by the White Rook: Rh7-h2-b2-b6. On 42. ... Kb7 43. f5! wins immediately.

The Footnotes

Radosław Wojtaszek – David Navara
17th European Individual Chess Championship; Gjakova, May 17, 2016
Queen’s Gambit Declined D52

1. Nf3 d5 2. d4 Nf6 3. c4 c6 4. Nc3 e6 5. Bg5 Nbd7 6. e3 Qa5 7. Nd2 Bb4 8. Rc1 Ne4 9. Ncxe4 dxe4 10. Bh4 Qxa2 11. Be2 Qxb2. Navara dares to grab the second, “poisoned” Pawn. The previous try was 11. ... Qa5 12. 0-0 Bxd2 13. Ra1 Qb4 14. Qc2 c5 15. Ra4 Qb6 16. Qxd2 e5 17. Ra5?? (a very serious blind spot by Grischuk; after 17. dxe5 White’s two Bishops surely compensate for the Pawn) 17. ... Qh6! 18. Bg3 exd4 19. Bf4 g5 20. Bg3 d3 with an overwhelming advantage for Black, Grischuk – Mamedyarov, Grand Prix 2014/2015, third stage, Tbilisi 2015. 12. Rc2 Bxd2+ 13. Qxd2 Qa3 14. 0-0 0-0 15. c5. With the threat of Rf1-b1 followed by Rc2-a2 trapping Black’s Queen.

15. ... b5. Black wisely returns a Pawn for making a way out. 16. cxb6. Now 16. Rb1 is answered by 16. ... Qa6 17. Ra2 Qb7 and, however funny-looking Her Majesty’s spot might appear, Black’s game is quite safe. 16. ... axb6 17. Rxc6 Ba6 18. Bxa6 Qxa6 19. Qc2 Qd3. Black returns also the second Pawn, implicitly agreeing to a draw. 20. Qxd3 exd3 21. Rc3 Rfc8 22. Rxd3 Rc2 23. Rb3 h6 24. h3 ½ : ½.

Radosław Wojtaszek vs. David Navara
Photo: European Chess Union (‏@ECUonline)

Baadur Jobava – Ernesto Kazbekovich Inarkiev
17th European Individual Chess Championship; Gjakova, May 17, 2016
Ponziani Opening C44

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. c3 d5 4. d3 Nf6 5. Nbd2 a5 6. exd5. Stepping out from 6. Be2 Bc5 7. Qa4 0-0 8. b4 Bd6 9. 0-0 b5 10. Qxb5 axb4 11. exd5 Na5 12. cxb4 Bd7 13. Qxa5 Rxa5 14. bxa5 Nxd5 15. Ne4 Qa8 as occurred (by transposition) into Jobava – Caruana, Grand Prix 2014/2015, second stage, Tashkent 2014. 6. ... Nxd5 7. g3 g6 8. Bg2 Bg7 9. 0-0 0-0 10. a4 Nb6 11. Nb3 Bf5 12. Ne1 Nd5 13. Kh1. Jobava has achieved less than nothing out of the opening, but rather than play for a draw, he goes for a bold attack that looks like a block bet. 13. ... b6 14. f4 Qd7 15. fxe5 Nxe5 16. d4 Ng4 17. Qf3. White is obviously undeveloped and uncoordinated, but luckily for him, Inarkiev plays the only move which allow Jobava to escape to a draw. 17. ... Rae8

18. Qxd5 Nf2+ 19. Kg1. 19. Rxf2?? Rxe1+ loses both the Queen and the Knight. 19. ... Nh3+ ½ : ½.

Baadur Jobava vs. Ernesto Kazbekovich Inarkiev
Photo: European Chess Union (‏@ECUonline)

Knockout

韦奕 (Wéi Yì) – David Navara
78th Tata Steel Chess Tournament; Wijk aan Zee, January 26, 2016
Spanish C67

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. d3 Bc5 5. Bxc6 dxc6 6. Nbd2 0-0 7. Nc4 Nd7 8. Qe2. Thus played Wilhelm Steinitz. 8. ... Re8 9. Bd2 Bd6 10. h4! 韦奕 (Wéi Yì) goes straight and direct to the King. For 10. 0-0-0 c5 11. Kb1 Nb8 12. c3 Nc6 13. Ne3 b5 14. g4 see Pérez Candelario – Sargissian, 4th Ruy López Masters, Villafranca de los Barros 2010. 10. ... c5 11. h5 h6 12. 0-0-0 Nb8 13. Rdg1 Nc6? Totally oblivious to the danger. Comparatively best was 13. ... Bg4 14. Ne3 Qd7 trying to hold. 14. g4 f6

15. g5! fxg5. 15. ... hxg5 16. h6 is even worse. 16. Nxg5! A decisive break-through sacrifice. 16. ... Nd4. If 16. ... hxg5 there might follow 17. Bxg5 Be7 18. Bh6 Bf6 19. Bxg7! Bg5+ 20. f4! exf4 21. Bh6 and wins. If, instead, 16. ... b5 then 17. Nxd6 Qxd6 17. Nf3 with an overwhelming advantage. 17. Qd1 hxg5 18. Bxg5 Be7 19. Be3 Bf6 20. h6 Re7. This loses outright, but 20. ... g5 21. Bxg5 Bxg5+ 22. f4 is equally hopeless, e.g. 22. ... exf4 23. Qh5 Ne6 24. Rxg5+! with mate in short order. 21. hxg7 Rxg7 22. Qh5 Be6 23. Bh6 Bf7 24. Bxg7 Bxh5 25. Bxf6+ Kf8 26. Bxd8 Ne2+ 27. Kb1 Nxg1 28. Bxc7 1 : 0. Finally and forever.

韦奕 (Wéi Yì) vs. David Navara
Photo: Tata Steel Chess (Facebook)

An Army of Davids

David Navara – Fabiano Caruana
78th Tata Steel Chess Tournament; Wijk aan Zee, January 24, 2016
Nimzo-Indian Defence E32

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Qc2 0-0 5. Nf3 c5 6. dxc5 Na6 7. g3 Nxc5 8. Bg2 Nce4 9. 0-0 Nxc3 10. bxc3 Be7 11. e4 d6 12. e5 dxe5 13. Nxe5 Qc7 14. Qe2 Nd7 15. Bf4 Nxe5 16. Bxe5 Bd6 17. Rfe1 Rb8 18. Rad1 Bxe5 19. Qxe5 Qxe5 20. Rxe5 b6 21. c5 f6. So far it was all theory. Now Caruana finally departed from 21. ... bxc5 22. Rxc5 Bb7 23. Rd7 Bxg2 24. Kxg2 a6 25. Ra7 Rfc8 26. Rxc8+ Rxc8 27. Rxa6 g5 28. Ra3 Kg7 29. Kf3 f5 30. Ke3 Kf6 31. Kd3 Rd8+ 32. Kc2 f4 33. c4 e5 34. c5 e4 35. gxf4 gxf4 36. c6 Rc8 37. Rc3 Rc7 38. a4 Ke5 39. Kd2 Kd5 40. h4 h5 41. a5 Kd4 42. a6 e3+ 43. fxe3+ fxe3+ 44. Rxe3 Rxc6 45. Ra3 Rc8 46. a7 Ra8 47. Ra4+ Kc5 48. Ke3 Kb5 49. Ra1 Kb6 50. Kf4 Kb7 51. Kg5 Rg8+ 52. Kxh5 Ka8 53. Ra4 Rc8 54. Kg6 Rg8+ 55. Kh7 Rc8 56. h5 Rc7+ 57. Kg6 Rc6+ 58. Kg5 Rc5+ 59. Kg4 Rc6 60. Ra5 1 : 0 Dreev – Azarov, 5th Chess World Cup, Tromsø 2013, match game 3. 22. cxb6 axb6. Not 22. ... fxe5 23. bxa7 and White regains the Rook with interest. 23. Re2 Kf7 24. f4 e5

25. fxe5!?? No clear way to an advantage, so Navara decides to offer a very controversial Exchange sacrifice. 2nd World Chess Champion Emanuel Lasker would have approved of him. 25. ... Bg4 26. e6+ Kg6 27. Be4+ f5? After 27. ... Kh6 would have been much more difficult for Navara to justify his adventure on earth. 28. e7 Bxe2 29. Rd6+ Kg5. After 29. ... Rf6 30. Rd8 Bb5 31. Bd5 Black must give back the Exchange. 30. exf8=R Rxf8 31. Bd5 Rf6 32. Rd7 Kh6 33. Kf2 Bb5 34. Rc7 Rd6. Navara afterwards recommended the more enterprising 34. ... f4. 35. c4. Now White gradually improves his own position. 35. ... Be8 36. Rc8 Bd7. Comparatively best was 36. ... Ba4 in order to answer 37. Ke3 by 37. ... Kg5 intending ... Rd6-h6 (Navara’s analysis). 37. Rd8 Kg6 38. Ke3 Kf6 39. Kd4 Ke7 40. Rg8 Rg6 41. Ke5. In spite of the material equality White appears to dominate the board. 41. ... Rg5 42. Rb8 Rg6 43. Rh8 Rh6 44. h4 Be6 45. Ra8 Bd7 46. Rh8 Be6 47. a4 Bd7 48. Ra8 Rg6 49. Ra7 Rxg3?? And this is very bad judgement, in spite of long reflection. The Rook should have remained on the 6th rank: after 49. ... Kd8 50. h5 Rh6 51. Bf3 Re6+ 52. Kf4 White stands better, but Black can still defend (Navara’s analysis). 50. a5! The End. Instead, after 50. Bc6 Rd3 Black would survive. 50. ... bxa5 51. c5 Kd8 52. h5! Prevents ... Rg3-g6. 52. ... f4. Also 52. ... Rd3 is met by 53. Kd6+-. 53. Kd6 Bc8 54. c6 Rg5. If 54. ... Rd3 then 55. Rxg7 finis. 55. Bf7! 1 : 0. One of David’s most inspired game in Wijk aan Zee.

David Navara vs. Fabiano Caruana
Photo: Tata Steel Chess (Facebook)

Symphony No. 8

David Navara – Anish Giri
78th Tata Steel Chess Tournament; Wijk aan Zee, January 18, 2016
Grünfeld Defence D97

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 4. Nf3 Bg7 5. Qb3 dxc4 6. Qxc4 0-0 7. e4 a6 8. Be2 b5 9. Qb3 c5 10. dxc5 Bb7 11. e5 Nfd7 12. Be3 e6 13. 0-0 Qc7 14. Rad1 Nxc5 15. Qa3 Ne4!? Maybe a new idea. For 15. ... Ncd7 16. Qe7 Rc8 see Onischuk – Domínguez Pérez, 41st International Chess Festival, Biel 2008. 16. Nxe4 Bxe4 17. Ng5 Bc6 18. f4 Qb7. “Here I could have played 18. ... h6 for the purpose of avoiding any trouble – my position would have probably been quite reasonable. But I decided it was not necessary – everything was apparently protected... I was too optimistic”, then Giri said. 19. Bc5 Re8

And here comes the bombshell: 20. f5!! exf5 21. Rxf5! gxf5 22. Bh5 Bd5. The most resilient defence, maybe the only one left on board. 23. Rxd5! Qxd5 24. Bxf7+ Qxf7 25. Nxf7 Kxf7 26. Qb3+ Kg6. “At first, I foresaw a draw in the line 26. ... Re6 27. Qd5 Nc6 28. Qd7+ Ne7 29. Bxe7 Rxe7, but suddenly I noticed the deadly check 30. Qd5+”, Giri said. 27. Qg3+ Kf7 28. Qb3+ Kg6 29. Qg3+ Kf7 30. Qf3 Nd7 31. Qd5+ Kg6 32. Qc6+ Nf6? According to HAL 9000 Black could have reduced damage to a minimum by 32. ... Bxf6. 33. exf6 Rac8 34. Qxa6 Ra8 35. f7+! Kxf7 36. Qxb5. The two united passed Pawns on the Queenside don’t leave any hope to Giri. 36. ... Rad8 37. Qb3+ Kg6 38. Qg3+ Kf7 39. Qb3+ Kg6 40. Bd6? Last move before the time control and the Czech artist paints this kind of cupio dissolvi. 40. ... Bxb2. Naturally! 41. Qxb2 Rxd6 42. h3 Ra6 ½ : ½. Just like Franz Schubert’s “Unfinished Symphony”.

David Navara vs. Anish Giri
Photo: Tata Steel Chess (Facebook)

Touchscreen

David Navara – Maxime Vachier-Lagrave
48th International Chess Festival; Biel/Bienne, July 29, 2015
English Opening A37

1. Nf3 c5 2. c4 Nc6 3. Nc3 e5 4. g3 g6 5. Bg2 Bg7 6. 0-0 Nge7 7. Ne1 a6 8. d3 Rb8 9. a4 d6 10. Nc2 0-0 11. Rb1 a5 12. Bg5 f6 13. Bd2 f5 14. f4 Be6 15. Nd5 Nb4!? Theoretical novelty. The older reference was 15. ... b6 16. Na3 Nb4 17. Qb3 Qd7 18. Rbe1 Kh8 19. Nb5 Bg8 20. Kh1 h6 21. fxe5 dxe5 22. e4 Nec6 23. Bh3 Be6 24. Bxb4 axb4 25. Qd1 Rb7 26. Rf2 Qd8 27. Ref1 Rbf7 28. Kg1 Ne7 29. Nbc7 Bxd5 30. Nxd5 Nxd5 31. exd5 f4 32. Be6 Rf6 33. Qg4 fxg3 34. hxg3 Rxf2 35. Rxf2 Rxf2 36. Kxf2 Qf6+ 37. Ke2 h5 38. Qf3 Qxf3+ 39. Kxf3 Bf8 40. Ke2 Kg7 41. Kd2 Kf6 42. Kc2 Ke7 43. Kb3 g5 44. Kc2 Kd6 45. Bf7 h4 46. gxh4 gxh4 47. Be6 Kc7 48. Bh3 Bd6 ½ : ½ Botvinnik – Bobotsov, 16th Chess Olympiad, Tel Aviv 1964. 16. fxe5?! We guess Mikhail Moiseyevich Botvinnik would never have played such a move! After 16. Ncxb4 axb4 17. fxe5 Bxe5 18. Bh6 Bxd5 19. cxd5 Rf7 the position appears quite even. 16. ... Nbxd5 17. cxd5 Nxd5 18. exd6 Qxd6

19. Bxa5? White should not have taken this Pawn, since thus he allows Black a terrific attack. 19. ... f4! 20. Qe1. Also 20. Be1 can be answered by 20. ... Be5. 20. ... Be5 21. e4 fxe3 22. Bc3 Rxf1+ 23. Bxf1 Re8 24. Na3 Nxc3 25. bxc3 Bd5. White’s position is a nightmare. 26. Nc4 Bxc4 27. dxc4 Qd2 28. Qe2 Rf8 29. Rxb7 Bxc3 30. Rb1 Qxe2 31. Bxe2 Rf2 32. Bd3 Rd2 33. Be4 e2 34. Kf2 Ra2! 0 : 1. Maxime’s finishing touch is very elegant.

David Navara vs. Maxime Vachier-Lagrave
Photo: Biel International Chess Festival