Лещата (Vise)

Mariya Muzychuk – Mateo Ivić
14th European Individual Chess Championship; Legnica, May 9, 2013
Scotch Game C45

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 exd4 4. Nxd4 Bc5 5. Nb3 Bb6 6. Nc3 Qf6 7. Qe2 Nge7 8. h4 Nd4. The alternative was 8. ... h6 9. Be3 d6 as in the game Messa – Rupeni, 40th Italian Chess Championship, Naples 1981. 9. Nxd4 Qxd4? Not a happy new idea, as Her Majesty loses too much time walking over the board. Correct was 9. ... Bxd4 10. Rh3 0-0 as in the game Vishnu – Kuderinov, 10th Parsvnath Open, New Delhi 2012. 10. Be3 Qb4? Errare humanum est, perseverare autem diabolicum. Less committal is 10. ... Qf6, though after 11. 0-0-0 d6 12. Kb1 White stands better. 11. 0-0-0 0-0 12. h5 d5? Objectively speaking, there is no reason for sacrificing a Pawn, if not that Black’s position already was difficult. For instance, after 12. ... d6 13. a3 Bxe3+ 14. Qxe3 Qc5 15. Qxc5 dxc5 16. Nb5 c6 17. Nd6 White has a dominant position. If, instead, 12. ... h6 then 13. a3 Qa5 14. g4 with excellent attacking prospects. 13. a3 Qd6 14. exd5 Nf5 15. Bxb6 axb6 16. Nb5 Qd8 17. Qd2. Black has no compensation at all for his sacrificed Pawn and, furthermore, White has increased her initiative. 17. ... Bd7 18. g4 Bxb5 19. Bxb5 Nd6

20. h6! g6. Of course 20. ... Nxb5 is refuted by 21. hxg7. 21. Qd4 f6 22. Bd3 Qd7 23. f3 Ra4 24. Qf2 b5 25. c3 Nf7 26. Qc5 Nd6 27. Rhe1 b6 28. Qc6. White forces the exchange of Queens, since then will fall the b5-Pawn as well. 28. ... Qxc6 29. dxc6 Rf4 30. Re3 Re8. Or 30. ... Kf7 31. Bxb5! for if 31. ... Nxb5?? then 32. Rd7+ Kg8 33. Ree7 and mate is unavoidable. 31. Rxe8+ Nxe8 32. Bxb5 1 : 0.

Mariya Muzychuk in Legnica
Maria Boyard

Paths of Glory

Denis Khismatullin – Pavel Eljanov
16th European Individual Championship; Jerusalem, March 6, 2015
Nimzo-Indian Defence E46

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e3 0-0 5. Ne2 Re8 6. a3 Bf8 7. Ng3 d5 8. Be2 a6 9. 0-0 c5 10. dxc5 Bxc5 11. cxd5. For 11. b4 Ba7 12. Qc2 dxc4 13. Bxc4 Qc7 14. Bd3 Nbd7 15. Bb2 Ne5 see El Debs – Henríquez Villagra, Pipa Beach 2014. 11. ... exd5 12. Bf3 Be6 13. b4 Bd6 14. Bb2 Be5 15. Na4 Bxb2 16. Nxb2 Nc6 17. Nd3 Qb6 18. Rc1 a5 19. Rb1 axb4 20. axb4 Rad8 21. b5 Na5 22. Ne2 Ne4 23. Ndf4 Nc4 24. Bxe4 dxe4 25. Nd4 Bc8 26. Rc1 Ne5 27. Qb3 Qh6 28. Rc5 b6 29. Rd5 Bb7 30. Rxd8 Rxd8 31. Rd1 Qg5 32. Kf1 g6 33. h3 Nd3 34. Nc6 Bxc6 35. bxc6 Qc5 36. Qa4 Kg7 37. Qa1+ Kg8 38. Qa4 Rd6 39. Qa8+ Kg7 40. Qa1+ Kh6 41. Nxd3 exd3 42. Qh8 Qc2? This is a very natural move but a grave mistake! Correct was 42. ... Rxc6 43. Rxd3 Qc1+ 44. Ke2 Qc2+ 45. Kf3 Rxf2+! 46. Kxf2 Qc2+ 47. Kf3 Qxd3 48. Qf8+ Kg5 49. Qe7+ Kh6 drawing by perpetual check. 43. Qf8+ Kg5

44. Kg1!! A most aesthetic problem-like move! White sacrifices a whole Rook (with check)! Eljanov was probably expecting 44. f4+ Kh4! 45. Qxd6 (clearly not 45. Qh6+? Kg3 46. Qg5+ Kh2 with a win for Black) 45. ... Qxd1+ 46. Kf2 Qe2+ 47. Kg1 Qxe3+ 48. Kh2 Qg3+ 49. Kg1 Qe1+ drawing by perpetual check. 44. ... Qxd1+? Black has failed – but who can blame him? – to fully appreciate the surreal idea behind White’s last move. He should have played 44. ... Rd5!, after which there would have followed as in the game 45. Kh2!! Kf6 (of course 45. ... Qxd1?? loses to 46. c7+-) 46. e4 Rc5 47. Qd6+ Kg7 48. Rxd3 Rxc6 49. Qe5+ Rf6 50. Rf3 Qc6 “and though White has a terrific bind, there is no clear win. Even so, it would be a very tough defense for Black”, Grandmaster Alejandro Tadeo Ramírez Álvarez summed up. 45. Kh2 Rxc6 46. Qe7+. White repeated just to save time on the clock. 46. ... Kh6 47. Qf8+ Kg5 48. Qxf7! The pointe. Black’s King is caught in a mating net! The threat is 49. Qf4+ Kh5 50. g4+ Kh4 51. Qh6 mate. 48. ... Rf6. Although he has an extra Rook, Black is without resource! If 48. ... Kh6 then 49. Qf8+ Kg5 (or 49. ... Kh5 50. g4+ winning) 50. Qf4+ Kh5 51. g4+ and wins. Else 48. ... Rc5 49. Qf4+! Kh5 50. g3! g5 51. Qf7+ Kh6 52. Qf6+ Kh5 53. g4+ winning. 49. f4+ Kh6 (49. ... Kf5 50. Qd5 mate) 50. Qxf6 Qe2 51. Qf8+ Kh5 52. Qg7. Threatening Qg7xh7 mate. 52. ... h6 53. Qe5+ Kh4. Or – as a “dual” – 53. ... g5 54. Qe8+ Kh4 55. Qg6 gxf4 (or 55. ... d2 56. Qxh6+ Qh5 57. g3 mate) 56. Qxh6+ Qh5 57. Qxf4+ and mate next move. 54. Qf6+ Kh5 55. f5! gxf5. If 55. ... d2 then 56. Qxg6+ Kh4 57. Qxh6+ Qh5 58. g3 mate. 56. Qxf5+ Kh4 57. Qg6 1 : 0.

Denis Khismatullin vs. Pavel Eljanov
Photo: ChessVibes (@ChessVibes)

Spartacus

Daniele Vocaturo – Zbyněk Hráček
16th European Individual Championship; Jerusalem, March 8, 2015
King’s Indian Defence E61

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. g3 Bg7 4. Bg2 0-0 5. Nc3 c6 6. e4 d6 7. Nge2 e5 8. 0-0 Re8 9. h3 Qa5. For 9. ... a6 10. dxe5 dxe5 11. Na4 see Goldin – M. Tseitlin, Moscow 1989. 10. d5 cxd5 11. cxd5 Bd7 12. a3 Na6 13. Be3 Rec8 14. b4 Qd8 15. Qd3. White’s position looks already preferable. 15. ... Qe8 16. Rfb1 b5. A committal reply. 17. Nc1 Nh5 18. Nb3 f5 19. Na5 f4 20. Bd2 Nb8 21. a4 a6 22. g4 f3. A positional Pawn sacrifice, as after 22. ... Nf6 23. Bf1 White has a large advantage.

23. gxh5. White doesn’t take on f3, probably fearing the effects of ... Nh5-f4. 23. ... fxg2 24. Nb7 Bf8. Equally after 24. ... Rc7 25. Nxd6 Qf8 26. Be3 Qxd6 27. Bc5 Qf6 28. d6 Black stands very badly. 25. axb5 Ra7 26. bxa6 Nxa6 27. Qg3 Rxb7 28. Rxa6 Bb5 29. Nxb5 Qxb5 30. Raa1 Qe2 31. Be3 Qxh5 32. b5 Bh6 33. Bxh6 Qxh6 34. Qg4 Rc2 35. b6 Qd2 36. Qf3. Else 36. Ra8+ Kg7 37. Qf3 Rf7 38. Ra7 transposes to the game. 36. ... Rf7 37. Ra8+ Kg7 38. Ra7 Rxa7 39. bxa7 Ra2 40. Rb7+ Kh6 41. Qf8+ Kg5 42. Qd8+ 1 : 0.

汉明码

Yuriy Hryhorovych Kryvoruchko – Danyyil Dvirnyy
16th European Individual Championship; Jerusalem, March 3, 2015
Giuoco Piano C54

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. c3 Nf6 5. d3 0-0 6. 0-0 d5 7. exd5 Nxd5 8. a4 a5. The alternative is 8. ... a6 9. a5 Nf6 (else 9. ... Nb6 10. Ba2 Bg4 as in the game Demchenko – Tomashevsky, 67th Russian Championship Higher League, Vladivostok 2014) 10. Nbd2 h6 11. Qe2 Re8 12. Ne4 Bf8 13. Bb3 Be6 as in the game Ivanchuk – Vallejo Pons, 49th Capablanca Memorial, Havana 2014. 9. Re1 Nb6 10. Bb5 f6 11. Nbd2 Na7 12. d4 exd4 13. Ne4 Be7 14. Nxd4 Nxb5 15. axb5 Rf7 16. Bf4 a4 17. h3 Bd7 18. Qe2 Qc8 19. c4. White’s advantage is apparently symbolic: it is a superiority in space, a somewhat freer game. 19. ... c6? Very thoughtlessly played. Dvirnyy cedes the square d6. 20. Bd6! Qf8? Two mistakes in a row, the second one being irreparable. Comparatively best was 20. ... f5 although after 21. Bxe7 fxe4 22. Bd6 White retains a clear edge.

21. Nxf6+! The decisive coup. 21. ... Bxf6. Both 21. ... gxf6 and 21. ... Rxf6 are refuted by 22. Bxe7. 22. Bxf8 Bxd4 23. Bb4 Rxf2. Black wins back his Queen, but his game is, however, past redemption. 24. Qxf2 Bxf2+ 25. Kxf2 cxb5 26. Re7 Rf8+ 27. Kg1 Rf7 28. Rae1 h6 29. Rxf7 Kxf7 30. Re7+ Kf6 31. cxb5 1 : 0.

Marcus Antonius

Rauf Mamedov – Daniele Vocaturo
16th European Individual Championship; Jerusalem, March 6, 2015
Spanish C65

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. d3 Bc5 5. Bxc6 dxc6 6. 0-0 Bd6 7. Nbd2 Be6 8. b3 0-0 9. Bb2. For 9. Nc4 Bxc4 10. bxc4 Nd7 11. Rb1 b6 12. g3 f5 see Anand – Aronian, FIDE World Rapid Championship, Dubai 2014. 9. ... Nd7 10. Qe2 c5 11. Qe3 f6 12. a4 a5 13. Nh4 Nb8 14. Nc4 Nc6 15. Nf5 Nd4 16. Bxd4 cxd4 17. Qg3 Bxf5 18. exf5 Bb4 19. f4 exf4 20. Rxf4 c6 21. Qf2 Re8 22. Nd2 Bxd2 23. Qxd2 Qd6 24. Re4 Rxe4 25. dxe4 Qe5 26. Qd3 Re8 27. Re1 g6 29. Qxd4 Qxg4+ 30. Kh1 Qf3+ 31. Kg1 Qg4+ 32. Kh1 Qf3+ 33. Kg1 Kf7

34. e5 Qxf5 35. e6+ Kg8 (35. ... Rxe6?? 36. Qd7++-) 36. c4 Qg5+ 37. Kh1 f5 38. Qe5 Qe7 39. Qxa5 Qd6 40. Qa7 Qd2 41. Qg1 Qc3 42. Re3 Qf6 43. Qe1 f4 44. Re4 f3 45. Qf2 g5 46. Kg1 Qf5 47. Qe3 h6 48. e7 Qh3 49. Qf2 Qf5 50. Qe3 Qh3 51. Qf2 Qf5 52. Qe3 Qh3 53. Qf2 Qf5 54. Qe3 ½ : ½.

Serpent of the Nile

Daniele Vocaturo – Evgeny Postny
16th European Individual Championship; Jerusalem, March 5, 2015
Queen’s Gambit Declined D15

1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. Nc3 a6 5. e3 Bf5 6. Bd3 Bg6 7. 0-0 e6 8. Qe2 Bb4. Far more convincing than 8. ... Nbd7 9. e4 as in the game Neiksans – M. Yilmaz, 41st Chess Olympiad, Tromsø 2014. 9. Bd2 Bxc3 10. Bxc3 0-0 11. a4 Nbd7 12. Bxg6 hxg6 13. Nd2 Re8 14. a5 Qc7 15. Rfd1 Rad8 16. h3 Qb8 17. b3 Qc7 18. Bb2 Qb8 19. e4 dxe4 20. Nxe4 Qf4 21. Ng3 Qh4 22. Rd3 Nh5 23. Nxh5 Qxh5 24. Qd2 Nf8 25. Re1 g5 26. Rg3 f6 27. f4 gxf4 28. Qxf4 Kf7 29. Bc3 Rd7 30. Rf1 Ng6 31. Qe4 Nh4 32. Re3 Qg5. Threatening ... Nh4xg2. 33. g4 Qg6 34. Qf4 Nf5 35. Rd3 Nd6 36. Re3 Nf5 37. Rd3 Nd6 38. Rdf3. Daniele Vocaturo, rightly or wrongly, avoids a draw by repetition. 38. ... Ne4 39. Ba1 Ng5 40. Re3 Rh8 41. Kg2 Rh4. With the threat of 42. ... Nxh3 43. Rxh3 Rxg4+. 42. Qf2! Qh7! Both sides are playing finely. 43. Rh1 Kg8 44. Qe2 Rf7. Also 44. ... f5 is met by 45. d5! fxg4 46. dxe6 gxh3+ 47. Kh2 Re7 with a roughly balanced position. 45. d5! cxd5 46. cxd5 exd5 47. Re8+ Rf8 48. Rc1. “A difficult fight for both players! White’s last move (48. Rc1) envisions 48. ... Rxh3 49. Rxf8+, 50. Rc1-c8+ and 51. Qe2-e8 mate. Probably White was waiting for his opponent to stop the clock... but he is in for a surprise!”, Grandmaster Kevin Spraggett writes.

48. ... Rxg4+! Evgeny found a pretty way to sacrifice a Rook to force a perpetual. 49. hxg4. “49. Qxg4? Rxe8 and Black must win!”, Spraggett writes. 49. ... Qh3+ 50. Kf2. “Or 50. Kg1 Qg3+ 51. Kh1 (51. Kf1?? Qf4+) 51. ... Qh3+ 52. Kg1 Qg3+ as in the game”, Spraggett writes. 50. ... Qh4+! “Black must not allow the King to escape to the Queenside”, Spraggett writes. 51. Kg1 (51. Kg2 Qh3+) 51. ... Qg3+ 52. Kh1 Qh3+ 53. Kg1 Qg3+ 54. Kh1 Qh3+ 55. Kg1 ½ : ½.

Julius Caesar

Alexey Sarana – Daniele Vocaturo
16th European Individual Championship; Jerusalem, March 4, 2015
King’s Indian Defence E92

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6 5. Nf3 0-0 6. Be2 e5 7. Be3 exd4 8. Nxd4 Re8 9. f3 c6 10. Bf2 d5 11. exd5 cxd5 12. c5 Nc6 13. 0-0 Nh5 14. Qd2 Be5 15. g3. Despite his young age, Sarana shows an encyclopedic knowledge of chess openings. 15. ... Ng7 16. Rad1. The alternative 16. Rfe1 doesn’t offer much opportunity for an advantage: 16. ... Ne6 17. Nxe6 Bxe6 18. f4 Bxc3 19. bxc3 Bf5 20. Rad1 ½ : ½ Hort – Gligorić, Tilburg 1977. 16. ... Nxd4. For 16. ... Be6 17. Rfe1 Bxd4 18. Bxd4 Nf5 see 周健超 (Zhōu Jiànchāo) – Volokitin, World Chess Cup, Khanty-Mansiysk, 2007 17. Bxd4 Bxd4+ 18. Qxd4 Nf5 19. Qa4. Alexey loses time here. 19. Qf4 seems to be more to the point; for example: 19. ... Ne3 (19. ... g5 looks better) 20. Bb5 Nxd1 21. Bxe8 Qxe8 22. Rxd1 Be6 23. Qd4 Qe7 24. Re1 Qg5 25. Kf2 a6 26. h4 Qd8 27. b4 Qd7 28. h5 h6 29. Ne2 g5 30. Qf6 Kh7 31. Nd4 Re8 32. a3 Qe7 33. Qe5 Qf8 34. Qf6 Qe7 35. Qxe7 Rxe7 36. a4 a5 37. b5 Rc7 38. c6 bxc6 39. bxc6 Bc8 40. Rb1 Kg7 41. Rb5 1 : 0 Javakhishvili – Nemcova, 8th European Team Chess Championship (Women), Novi Sad 2009. 19. ... Bd7 20. Qf4 g5 21. Qd2 Ne3 22. Nxd5 Nxd1 23. Qd4? This is a bad mistake, leading to a lost position. After 23. Rxd1 Bc6 24. Bc4 Bxd5 25. Bxd5 Qf6 White has hardly an adequate compensation for the Exchange. However, it would have been the lesser evil. 23. ... Bc6 24. Nf6+ Kh8. Sic et simpliciter. 25. Qxd8 Rexd8 26. Bxd1 Rd2

27. Bb3 Rxb2 28. Rd1 Bxf3 29. Rd7 Rf8 30. h4 gxh4 31. gxh4 Bc6 32. Rd6. Clearly not 32. Rxf7?? because of 32. ... Rxf7 33. Bxf7 Kg7 winning a piece. 32. ... a5 33. h5 a4 34. Bc4 Rc2 35. Rd4 Kg7 36. Ng4. As bad as anything else. 36. ... Re8 37. h6+ Kf8 0 : 1. A well-played game by the eight King of Rome.

A Heart in Winter

Daniele Vocaturo – Omer Reshef
16th European Individual Championship; Jerusalem, March 3, 2015
Giuoco Piano C54

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. c3 Nf6 5. d3. The so-called “Giuoco Piano”. 5. ... d6 6. Bb3 Bb6 7. Nbd2 Ne7 8. Nc4 Ng6 9. Nxb6 axb6 10. h3 0-0 11. 0-0 Be6 12. Re1 Bxb3 13. Qxb3 Re8 14. g3. After 14. Bd2 h6 15. Rad1 Qd7 Black doesn’t have to be worried, T. Kosinsteva – 沈陽 (Shěn Yáng), Sochi 2009. 14. ... h6 15. Kg2 Qd7 16. Bd2 d5 17. Qc2 b5 18. a3 dxe4 19. dxe4 Qc6 20. Nh2 Nf8 21. f3 Ne6 22. Rad1 h5 23. h4 Nd7 24. Bc1 Rad8 25. Nf1 Nd4 26. Qf2 Nb3 27. Bg5 f6 28. Be3 Ndc5 29. Qe2 Ne6 30. Bf2 Qc4 31. Qc2 Nbc5 32. Ne3 Qb3 33. Qe2 c6 34. Rxd8 Rxd8 35. Rd1 Rxd1 36. Nxd1 Qc4 37. Qd2 Qd3 38. Qxd3 Nxd3 39. Be3 c5 40. b4 c4 41. Bd2 Kf7 42. Ne3 Nc7 43. Kf1

43. ... Ne8! In the present position Black’s Knight proves more agile than White’s Bishop, yet it is no significant advantage for the second player. 44. Nd5 Ke6 45. Ke2 f5 46. Ke3 g6 47. Ke2 fxe4 48. fxe4 Nd6 49. Kf3 Nf2 50. Nc7+ Kd7 51. Kxf2 Kxc7 52. Kf3 Kd7 53. Bg5 Ke6 54. Ke3 Nf7 55. Kf3 Nd6 56. Ke3 Nc8 57. Bd8 Na7 58. Bg5 Nc6 59. Ke2 Nb8 ½ : ½. As they say, an empty chest means a minor disappointment. My apologies.

Lunar Caustic

Alexander Vladimirovich Riazantsev – Daniele Vocaturo
16th European Individual Championship; Jerusalem, February 25, 2015
Bogo-Indian Defence E 11

1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 e6 3. c4 Bb4+ 4. Nbd2 0-0 5. a3 Be7 6. e4 d5 7. e5 Nfd7 8. Bd3 c5 9. Qc2 g6 10. cxd5. Two days later the board one game in Jerusalem run as follows: 10. h4 cxd4 11. h5 Nc5 12. Bf1 a5 13. Nxd4 dxc4 14. N2f3 g5 15. Bxc4 g4 16. Ba2 Nbd7 17. Ng5 Bxg5 18. Bb1 f5 19. exf6 Nxf6 20. Bxg5 Qxd4 21. Be3 Qe4 22. Qxc5 Qxg2 23. Rf1 Qd5 24. f3 b6 25. Qxd5 Nxd5 26. Bh6 Rf6 27. Bg5 Rxf3 28. Rxf3 gxf3 ½ : ½ Navara – Najer, 16th European Individual Championship, Jerusalem 2015. 10. ... exd5

11. e6! The grand beginning of a very powerful attack. 11. ... fxe6 12. Bxg6! hxg6 13. Qxg6+ Kh8 14. Qh6+ Kg8 15. Qg6+ Kh8 16. Ne4! Qe8. If 16. ... dxe4 then 17. Qh5+! (but not 17. Bh6?? because of 17. ... Rg8! 18. Qh5 Nf6 and Black wins!) 17. ... Kg8 18. Bh6! Rf6 (or 18. ... Bf6 19. Qg6+ Kh8 20. Ng5 and wins) 19. Qg4+ Kf7 20. Ng5+ Kg8 (else 20. ... Ke8 21. Qh5+ and mate in two moves) 21. Nxe6+ finis. 17. Qh6+ Kg8 18. Nfg5 Bxg5 19. Qxg5+ Kh7 20. Qh6+ Kg8 21. Qg5+ Kh7 22. Qh6+ Kg8 23. a4! A “Rook lift” to g3. 23. ... Qe7 24. Ra3 Rf7 25. Nd6! A deflecting sacrifice. 25. ... Rg7. On 25. ... Qxd6 26. Rg3+ wins at once. 26. Rg3 Qf6 27. Rxg7+. Here the silent move 27. Qh5! would have been even stronger; for example: 27. ... cxd4 28. Kd1! Nc6 29. Ne8! winning easily for White. 27. ... Qxg7 28. Qxe6+ Kh7 29. Qh3+ Kg8 30. Qe6+ Kh7 31. 0-0 Nc6 32. Qh3+ Kg8 33. Qe6+ Kh7 34. Qh3+ Kg8 35. Bh6? After the straightforward 35. Re1! Black would have had no resource left (since 35. ... Nf8 is met by 36. Nxc8). 35. ... Qg6 36. Re1? Here 36. dxc5! is probably best; for example: 36. ... Nb6!? 37. Nxc8 Nxc8 38. f4 intending f4-f5 and Rf1-f3 with an easy win. Furthemore, 36. Nxc8 Rxc8 37. Qxd7 Rd8 39. Qh3 Nxd4 40. Re1 was another (simpler) way to achieve a clear advantage. 36. ... Nb6. Now matters are decidedly unclear. Slowly but surely Vocaturo will succeed in turning the tables. 37. Nxc8 Nxc8 38. Bc1 N8e7 39. dxc5 Rf8 40. b4 Nf5 41. Qb3 Qf7 42. b5 Ncd4 43. Qd3 Qc7 44. Be3 Re8 45. Rc1 Re4 46. c6 bxc6 47. bxc6 Nxe3 48. fxe3 Ne6 49. Qxd5 Rxe3 50. Rb1 Re5 51. Qc4 Qa5 52. Qg4+ Kf8 53. Rf1+ Ke7 54. Kh1 Kd6 55. h3 Qc5 56. Qf3 Qxc6 57. Rd1+ Rd5 58. Re1 Qxa4 59. Qg3+ Kd7 60. Qg8 Re5 61. Rc1 Qd4 62. Qf7+ Kd6 63. Qb7 Rd5 64. Re1 Nc7 65. Rc1 Rc5 66. Rb1 Kd7 67. Rf1 Rc6 68. Qb3 Qc4 69. Qf3 Kc8 70. Rb1 Rb6 71. Ra1 Kb8 72. Qe3 Qd5 73. Qa3 a6 74. Rc1 Kb7 75. Qe7 Rc6 76. Rb1+ Ka7 77. Qb4 Nb5 78. Re1 Kb6 79. Qf8 Kb7 80. Qe7+ Rc7 81. Qf6 Rh7 82. Re6 Rxh3+ 83. Kg1 Qc5+ 84. Kf1 Rh1+ 85. Ke2 Nd4+ 0 : 1. “At some point, I was completely lost. The opponent was more or less doing a masterpiece, but in time trouble I managed to survive. Eventually I won. I have to say I was really lucky...”, then Vocaturo said.

Daniele Vocaturo

Castle Crashers

Daniele Vocaturo – Yair Parkhov
16th European Individual Championship; Jerusalem, February 24, 2015
Nimzo-Indian Defence E37

1. d4 e6 2. c4 Nf6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Qc2 d5 5. a3 Bxc3+ 6. Qxc3 Ne4 7. Qc2 c5 8. dxc5 Nc6 9. cxd5 exd5 10. e3 Bf5 11. Bd3 Qa5+. It’s probably less committal 11. ... 0-0 12. Nf3 Qa5+ 13. Nd2 Nxd2 14. Bxd2 Bxd3 15. Qxd3 Qxc5 with roughly even chances, Morozevich – Carlsen, 71st Corus Chess Tournament, Wijk aan Zee 2009. 12. b4 Nxb4 13. axb4 Qxa1 14. Ne2 Bg6 15. 0-0 Nf6 16. Bb5+ Ke7? A very unfortunate novelty! The correct move was 16. ... Kf8, e.g. 17. Qb3 Qe5 18. Bb2 Qe7 19. Nd4 a6 20. Ra1 Kg8 21. c6 Rb8 22. Be2 h6 23. Bc3 Kh7 24. cxb7 Qxb7 25. Bxa6 Qc7 26. Nf3 Ra8 27. b5 Rhc8 28. Bxf6 gxf6 29. Rf1 Qc2 30. Qxc2 Rxc2 31. Nd4 Rc5 32. Rd1 Rb8 33. Kf1 Kg7 34. Ke2 Kf8 35. Rd2 Rb6 36. Ra2 Ke7 37. Kd2 Kd6 38. Nb3 Rc4 39. Na5 Rc7 40. Nb3 Bf5 41. Nd4 Ke5 ½ : ½ Kasimdzhanov – Durarbayli, Konya 2012. 17. Qb3 Qe5. Also after 17. ... Qb1 18. Bb2 Qe4 (18. ... Qf5 transposes to the game) 19. Nf4 White’s position is imposing. 18. Bb2 Qf5 19. c6! The demolition begins. 19. ... a6. Both 19. ... Qc2 20. Qa3! and 19. ... bxc6 20. Nd4 would be absolutely hopeless. 20. Nd4 Qc8 21. cxb7 Qxb7 22. Bc6 Qb6

23. b5! The coup de grâce. 23. ... Ne4. If, instead, 23. ... Ra7 then 24. Qa3+ Kd8 25. Qd6+ Nd7 (25. ... Rd7 is met by 26. Ne6+!) 26. Bc3! winning easily, due to the deadly threat of Bc3-a5. 24. Qxd5 Rhd8 25. Qe5+ Kf8 26. Ne6+! 1 : 0. A beautiful attacking game.