The Half Hour

Maxime Vachier-Lagrave – Evgeny Yurievich Tomashevsky
Grand Prix 2017; 4th stage; Palma de Mallorca, November 23, 2017
Spanish Game C84

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. 0-0 Be7 6. d3 b5 7. Bb3 d6 8. a3 0-0 9. Nc3 Bg4 10. Be3 Nd4 11. Bxd4 exd4 12. Nd5 Nd7. If 12. ... Nxd5 there might follow 13. Bxd5 Rc8 14. Bc6 (14. h3 Bd7 15. Nxd4 c6 16. Bb3 Bf6 17. c3 Bxd4 18. cxd4 Qf6 19. Qd2 ½ : ½ Vachier-Lagrave – Aronian, 7th Chess World Cup, Tbilisi 2017, match game 2) 14. ... Bf6 15. a4 Bd7 16. Bxd7 Qxd7 17. Qd2 Qc6 18. b3 Rfe8 19. Rfe1 Qc5 20. g4! with the initiative, Vachier-Lagrave – Aronian, 7th Chess World Cup, Tbilisi 2017, tie-break game 1 (25+10). 13. h3 Bxf3 14. Qxf3 a5 15. Nxe7+. The alternative was 15. c3 dxc3 16. bxc3 c6 17. Nxe7+ Qxe7 18. d4 c5 19. Rfe1 Rab8 20. Re3 b4 21. axb4 axb4 22. dxc5 Ne5 23. Qg3 dxc5 24. Bd5 Rb6 25. f4 which after 25. ... Nd7? (25. ... Nc6) 26. e5! ended badly for Black, Naiditsch – Ponomariov, 8th 海南 (Hǎinán) 儋州 (Dānzhōu) Super Grandmaster Chess Tournament “人民网 (People’s Daily Online) Cup”, 儋州 (Dānzhōu) 2017. 15. ... Qxe7 16. Qg3 a4 17. Ba2 Qe5 18. f4 Qc5 19. Rfe1!? Vachier-Lagrave presents his novelty Pawn sacrifice. In any event, it cannot be worse than 19. Qf2 which after 19. ... Rab8 20. c3 dxc3 21. d4 Qc6 22. e5 cxb2 23. Qxb2 Nb6 24. Rab1 Nc4 gave Black a more than satisfactory position, A. Mista – D. Wagner, 37th Schachbundesliga, Griesheim 2017. Aesthetically speaking, however, it seems to me that the most natural move would be 20. Rf2, but Vachier-Lagrave apparently needs something more to accomplish his mission impossible.

19. ... Rae8. Tomashevsky does not dare to grab the Pawn for fear of drowning into a computer-based flood. After 19. ... Qxc2 20. e5! White has plenty of compensation, but a conclusive assessment requires further analysis. The rest is foreseeable. 20. Re2 Re7 21. b4 axb3 22. Bxb3 Qb6 23. Rb1 Qa6 24. Qg5 Rfe8 25. Qd5 Qxa3 26. Qxb5 Qc5 27. Bd5 Qxb5 28. Rxb5 Rc8 29. Bb7 Rb8 30. Re1 Nc5 31. Bc6 Rxb5 32. Bxb5 f5 33. e5 dxe5 34. fxe5 g6 35. Kf2 Kg7 36. Kf3 g5 37. h4 Kg6 38. Bc4 Nd7 39. e6 Nf8 40. g4 fxg4+ 41. Kxg4 gxh4 42. Re4 ½ : ½.

Two on an island

Shakhriyar Mamedyarov – Evgeny Yurievich Tomashevsky
World Chess Federation Grand Prix 2017; first stage; Sharjah, February 19, 2017
Queen’s Indian Defence E12

“[Mamedyarov] showed his strength in the Grand Prix’s round two. From the position shown in the diagram, he used a typical strategy for playing against hanging Pawns. How does White play?”, Grandmaster Rafael Duailibe Leitão says and asks. 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4. a3 Bb7 5. Nc3 d5 6. Qc2 Nbd7 7. cxd5 exd5 8. Bf4 a6 9. g3 Be7 10. Bg2 0-0 11. 0-0 Re8 12. Rac1. For 12. Rfd1 Nf8 13. Rac1 Ne6 14. Ng5 Nxf4 15. gxf4 g6 16. e3 Bd6 17. Qb3 Bf8 18. Nf3 Rb8 19. Ne5 Re6 20. Qa2 Rd6 21. b4 c6 22. Rd2 Kg7 23. Rdc2 Ng8 24. Na4 see Polugaevsky – Short, Interzonal Tournament, Biel 1985. 12. ... c5 13. dxc5 bxc5 14. Ne5 Bf8 15. Qb3 Qb6 16. Qxb6 Nxb6 17. Rfd1. Black has not the most dynamic version of hanging Pawns and White can claim a slight but lasting edge. 17. ... Ra7 18. e3 h6 19. h4 Ba8 20. Nd3! Rd7 21. Bh3 Rb7

22. b4!± cxb4. 22. ... c4 23. Nc5 is no better. 23. axb4 d4 24. exd4 Nbd5 25. Be5 Nxc3 26. Rxc3 Nd5 27. Rc4 Nxb4 28. Nc5 Bxc5 29. dxc5 Nc6 30. Bc3 Rbe7 31. Rd6 Rc7 32. Rg4 f5 33. Rgg6 Ne5 34. Bxe5 Rxe5 35. c6 Kh7 36. h5 Rc5 37. Bg2 1 : 0.

Shakhriyar Mamedyarov
Photo: Day.az

Коробушка (Korobeiniki)

Evgeny Yurievich Tomashevsky – Fabiano Caruana
78th Tata Steel Chess Tournament; Wijk aan Zee, January 31, 2016
Nimzo-Indian Defence E44

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e3 b6 5. Ne2 c5 6. a3 Ba5 7. Rb1 Na6 8. Ng3 Bb7 9. f3 0-0 10. Bd3 d5 11. 0-0 cxd4? Careless. The right way is 11. ... dxc4! 12. Bxc4 Bxc3 13. bxc3 Rc8 14. Qe2 Nb8 15. Bb2 Nd5 16. Rfc1 Qg5 17. f4 Qe7 18. f5 Qg5 19. fxe6 fxe6 20. Rf1 Kh8 21. Rxf8+ Rxf8 22. Rf1 Nd7 23. Rxf8+ Nxf8 24. e4 Nf6 25. Qe1 cxd4 26. cxd4 h5 ½ : ½ Hawkins – M. Adams, 20th Four Nations Chess League, Hinckley 2014. 12. Nb5! Much stronger than 12. exd4 dxc4 13. Bxc4 Rc8 14. Qd3 Bxc3 15. bxc3 Nc7 as occurred in the game S. S. Popov – Jeremić, 1st Serbian Team Chess Championship, Zlatibor 2006. 12. ... dxc4 13. Bxc4 Rc8 14. Qe2 Bd5 15. Bxd5 Qxd5

16. e4!? That’s shocking! Of course White still cannot play 16. b4?? (on account of 16. ... d3), but the smooth 16. exd4(!) would have left Black without perspectives. 16. ... Qa2? Caruana plays very nervously. Comparatively better is 16. ... d3! which simplifies the game very much. 17. Bg5 Rc4. A bad-looking move in a very bad position. 18. Rbd1. Tomashevsky is a little excited, because yet he has not won a single game out of the 12 played. All chess engines list on top 13. Bxf6! gxf6 14. Qf2 launching a direct assault. 18. ... d3 19. Qxd3 Rc5 20. Be3. And here 20. Bxf6 gxf6 21. Nd4 looks much stronger. 20. ... Qxb2 21. Bxc5 Nxc5 22. Qe2. After all, White is up the Exchange, and Tomashevsky laboriously gets ready to convert his advantages into a win. 22. ... Qxe2 23. Nxe2 a6 24. Nd6 b5 25. Nd4 Bb6 26. Kh1 g5 27. Nc6 Kg7 28. g3 h5 29. Rfe1 Na4 30. Rd3 Nc5 31. Rd2 Nb3 32. Rc2 Nc5 33. Kg2 Na4 34. Rd1 g4 35. Rd3 Nc5 36. Rd1 Na4 37. h3 gxf3+ 38. Kxf3 Nh7 39. e5 Bc5 40. Rd3 f6 41. Kg2 Bb6 42. exf6+ Nxf6 43. Nd4 Bxd4 44. Rxd4 Nd5 45. Re4 Rd8 46. Nb7 Rd7 47. Na5 Rd6 48. Rc6 Rxc6 49. Nxc6 Nc5 50. Re5! Nd3 51. Rg5+ Kh6 52. Rg8 Ne3+ 53. Kf3 Nc4 54. Nb4 Nde5+ 55. Ke2 a5 56. Nc2 Nd7 57. Rc8 Kg6 58. Rc7 Nf6 59. Rc6 Kf7. 59. ... a4 60. Rxe6 Kf7 61. Rc6 is equally hopeless. 60. a4! Nd5 61. axb5 Ne5 62. Ra6 Nc3+ 63. Kf1 1 : 0. Bravo!

Evgeny Yurievich Tomashevsky. Photo: Alina l’Ami.

Long before we were born

Evgeny Yurievich Tomashevsky – 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán)
78th Tata Steel Chess Tournament; Wijk aan Zee, January 26, 2016
Nimzo-Indian Defence E54

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e3 0-0 5. Bd3 d5 6. Nf3 c5 7. 0-0 cxd4 8. exd4 dxc4 9. Bxc4 b6 10. Bg5 Bb7 11. Qe2 Bxc3. Understandably enough, 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) improves on 11. ... h6 as 12. d5! turned out to be very unpleasant for Black, Mamedyarov – 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán), 6th Chess World Cup, Baku 2015, tie-break game 1. 12. bxc3 Nbd7 13. Nd2 Qc7 14. Rac1 Nd5. For 14. ... Rfe8 15. Rfe1 Rac8 16. f3 Nd5 17. Bh4 Nf4 18. Qe3 Nd5 19. Qd3 Nf4 20. Qc2 Bd5 21. Ba6 Bb7 22. Bf1 see Tomashevsky – Lenderman, 1st Qatar Masters Open, Doha 2014. 15. f3 e5!? A very unstabilizing decision, but if not now, maybe never. For 15. ... Rac8 16. Rfe1 see Sanzhaev – Fakhrutdinov, 5th Polugaevsky Memorial, Samara 2015. 16. Rfe1 Rae8 17. Bxd5. Tomashevsky, too, decides to commit himself into Caïssa’s hands. White voluntarily gives up the Bishop pair in order to establish what appears to be a firm grip on the centre. 17. ... Bxd5 18. c4 Bb7 19. d5 f5 19. Be3 Rc8 20. a4 a5. Of course Black cannot permit a4-a5. 22. Qd3 Rf6 23. Qa3 Ba6 24. Bf2 Rh6 25. h3 Rg6 26. Qe7 h5 27. h4. Tomashevsky contented himself with a slight but lasting initiative, evidently relying on his virtuoso technique. But his resilient opponent has learned a long time ago to endure. Possibly, a long time before Evgeny Yurievich was born. 27. ... Qd8 28. Qxd8+ Rxd8 29. Kh2 Kf7 30. Rc3 Re8 31. Bg3 Nc5 32. Rxe5 Rxe5 33. Bxe5 Nxa4 34. Ra3 Nc5 35. Bd4 Nd7 36. Kg1 Rh6 37. Kf2 Rh8 38. Re3? Virtually forcing Black to give up a Pawn – due to the threat of d5-d6 followed by Re3-e7+ – but losing valuable time as well. White should have probably moved his King toward the Queenside. 38. ... Rc8 39. d6 Re8 40. Rxe8 Kxe8 41. Bxg7 Kf7. Black’s passed a4-Pawn more than compensate 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) for her temporary deficit. Black stands better, even if symbolically, as she is the only one who can win the game.

42. Bb2 f4! 43. Ke2 b5! Playing to win is often the best way to play for a draw. 44. cxb5 Bxb5+ 45. Kd1 Ke6 46. Ne4 Nb6 47. Bc1 Ke5 ½ : ½.

Evgeny Yurievich Tomashevsky vs. 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán). Photo: Tata Steel Chess.

Богатыри (Bogatyr)

Association of Chess Professionals (‏@ACP_Chess)

Evgeny Yurievich Tomashevsky
Photo: Europe Échecs (@EuropeEchecs)

Vu du pont

Evgeny Yurievich Tomashevsky – Ivan Aleksandrovich Bukavshin
68th Russian Chess Championship; Chita, August 18, 2015
Queen’s Gambit Declined D44

Notes by Grandmaster Andrey Alekseevich Deviatkin.

1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. Nc3 c6 5. Bg5 h6 6. Bh4 dxc4 7. e4 g5 8. Bg3 b5 9. Be2 Bb7 10. Qc2. Tomashevsky (at the press conference with Sergey Rublevsky): “I’ve already played 10. Qc2, meeting 10. ... Nbd7 with 11. Nd2 [he meant his win against Matlakov in the Russian Championship Higher League in Vladivostok 2014 – Ed.]. Ivan has prepared a novelty suggested by all engines”. 10. ... Nh5 11. Be5 Rg8 12. h4 Nf4? “Vanya’s preparation was strange, because if I don’t react this way, White is perhaps just worse... Maybe he thought I’d play 10. Rd1 transposing to a theoretical line known to be drawish. It’s clear that 12. ... Nf4 shouldn’t be the main move here. I think Black has to play 12. ... g4, and this is just the beginning”. 13. hxg5 hxg5 14. Bxf4 gxf4

15. d5! Tomashevsky: “I remembered for sure that this is almost the end for Black... Okay, maybe I’m overoptimistic, but I had analysed this line for about two weeks two years ago. The only problem was that I didn’t repeat exactly this sideline before the game, paying more attention to other tricky variations – in the Anti-Moscow, there are quite a few. But I remembered this position to be extremely dangerous for Black, and also that I had to break through at once. If 15. 0-0-0 then Black is in time with 15. ... Na6, and 16. d5 already doesn’t work because of 16. ... Nb4”. 15. ... Nd7. If 15. ... Na6 then 16. dxe6 fxe6 17. e5 Qe7 18. 0-0-0 (Tomashevsky). 16. 0-0-0. The winner isn’t sure it was the best. In his opinion, the King might be better situated in the center than on the Queenside, since it could hide on f1 in some lines – 16. Rd1!?. 16. ... Qb6 17. dxe6 fxe6 18. Nd4 Nc5. In turn, Black should try to evacuate his King, but he doesn’t have time for that due to the following important line shown by Tomashevsky: 18. ... 0-0-0 19. Nxe6 Re8 20. Qd2! Ne5 [the same idea follows after 20. ... Nf6, while 20. ... Nc5 is no good because of 21. Nxc5 Bxc5 22. Qxf4 Bxf2 (the point is 22. ... Qc7 23. Qf5+ with the double attack] 23. Bxg4+ winning the Exchange] 21. Qxf4! Rxe6 22. Qf5 c5 23. Nd5 Qc6 24. Nf4, and the e6-Rook is lost. The move chosen by Bukavshin holds everything, but now his King is condemned to stay in the center forever. 19. Bh5+ Ke7 20. Be2!? White didn’t find any forcing ways, so he decided to switch to calm play, retaining strong initiative for a Pawn. His plan is to play e4-e5, Kc1-b1, and then “to look for something decisive” (Tomashevsky). In fact, Evgeny was reproaching himself during the press conference for not making best use of the Black’s 12. ... Nf4. According to him, Black should hold this position if he plays with mathematic precision. At the same time, Tomashevsky realized that “the e7-King is a very long-term factor” and Black had to solve many difficult practical problems. For instance, the attempt to simplify the game – 20. ... Nd3+ 21. Bхd3 Qxd4 – would be refuted by 22. Bxc4! Qxc4 23. Qd2 followed by the Queen’s invasion with enormous attack. 18 moves later, the leader’s strategy proved to be successful – Black wasn’t able to repel White’s numerous threats without big material losses. 20. ... Rd8 21. e5 Rg7 22. Nf3 b4 23. Ne4 Rxd1+ 24. Rxd1 c3 25. Nd6 b3 26. axb3 Nxb3+ 27. Kb1 cxb2 28. Bc4 Nc5 29. Nh4 Nd7 30. Ng6+ Kd8 31. Nxb7+ Kc7 32. Nd6 Qa5 33. Ba2 Rxg6 34. Qxg6 Qxe5 35. Ne8+ Kb6 36. Qxe6 Qxe6 37. Bxe6 Nc5 38. Ba2 1 : 0.

Evgeny Yurievich Tomashevsky has become the Russian Champion for the first time in his life. Photo: Суперфинал Чита (‏@SuperfinalChita).

Halfway There

Evgeny Yurievich Tomashevsky – Igor Lysyj
68th Russian Chess Championship; Chita, August 11, 2015
Queen’s Gambit Declined D41

“Evgeny Tomashevsky demonstrated once again the depth of his home preparation. In an Improved Tarrasch Defense, White chose a fairly rare plan, and the Russian champion, Igor Lysyj, failed to respond in the best way. White made a breakthrough in the center and on the Kingside, weakening his opponent’s King seriously. A major piece endgame ensued on the board, and Lysyj found it very difficult to defend it given his time trouble. By skillfully combining various threats, the Saratov grandmaster secured his second win in a row and became the tournament’s only leader”, the editor-in-chief of ruchess.ru said.

1. c4 Nf6 2. Nc3 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. d4 c5 5. cxd5 Nxd5 6. e4 Nxc3 7. bxc3 cxd4 8. cxd4 Bb4+ 9. Bd2 Bxd2+ 10. Qxd2 0-0 11. Bc4 Nc6 12. 0-0 b6 13. Rad1 Na5 14. Bd3 Bb7 15. h4 Rc8 16. h5 h6 17. Rfe1 Qe7. For 17. ... Qc7 18. Rc1 Qd6 19. d5 see Naiditsch – Vallin, French Team Chess Championship, Clichy 2007. 18. d5 Nc4 19. Bxc4 Rxc4 20. Ne5 Rc5 21. d6 Qd8. After 21. ... Qh4 22. d7 (22. Nd7?? fails to 22. ... Rxh5) 22. ... Rd8 23. Qd6 Qf6 24. f4! White stands much better. 22. Qf4 f6 23. Ng6 Rf7

24. e5 fxe5 25. Ne7+ Kf8 26. Ng6+ Kg8 27. Ne7+ Kf8 28. Qg4 Bd5 29. Nxd5 exd5 30. Rxe5 Qxd6 31. Rde1 Rf6! A most ingenious defensive resource. 32. Re8+ Kf7 33. Qa4 Rc7 34. Qb5. “"In seconds, I managed to find 34. Qb5, which luckily turned out to be brilliant”, then Tomashevsky joked. 34. ... Qc6 35. Qe2 Qc5 36. g3 Rd7? Here 36. ... g5 37. hxg6+ Kg7 offers the best prospect of defence. 37. Re6 Rd8. Another questionable move due to serious time trouble. However, after 37. ... Qc8 38. Rxf6+ gxf6 39. Qe6+ Kg7 40. Qf5 Qd8 41. Re6 Kf7 42. Rc6 Rd6 43. Rc7+! White equally wins. 38. Rxf6+ gxf6 39. Qg4. It is now clear even to Lysyj that Black King is in serious trouble! 39. ... Rg8?? In sheer desperation Black self-mates, but the game was lost anyway. 40. Qd7+ 1 : 0.

Evgeny Yurievich Tomashevsky (left) vs. Igor Lysyj (right)
Photo: ruchess.ru

Red prawn

Fabiano Caruana – Evgeny Yurievich Tomashevsky
Grand Prix 2014–2015; 4th stage; Khanty-Mansiysk, May 16, 2015
Queen’s Gambit Declined D15

1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. Nc3 a6 5. a4 e6 6. Bf4 a5 7. e3 Be7 8. g4! “I have not looked at this variation for a long time and such an aggressive idea came as a surprise, of course. In such a situation, it is not easy to find the right decision...”, then Tomashevsky said. A popular line is 8. Bd3 Nh5 9. 0-0 Nxf4 10. exf4 Na6 as played in the game Nakamura – Tomashevsky, 12th World Blitz Championship, Dubai 2014.

8. ... Na6 9. g5 Nd7 10. h4 Nb4 11. Be2 b6 12. h5 Bb7 13. cxd5 exd5 14. Qd2! “I missed this idea. I calculated more direct variations, where I had some sort of counterplay. But after this move, the position is very dangerous strategically”, Tomashevsky said. 14. ... f5. Black’s reply is virtually forced. 15. gxf6 Bxf6 16. h6 g6 17. e4!? It is time to open up the position! 17. ... dxe4 18. Nxe4 0-0 19. 0-0-0!? Caruana keeps on playing very aggressively. 19. ... Nd5? Very probably, 19. ... b5! was Black’s best hope of counterplay. 20. Bg3 Ba6? 21. Bxa6 Rxa6 22. Rhe1 Ra8. “It’s not terrible for Black but very unpleasant to hold in time trouble”, Tomashevsky said. 23. Kb1 Be7 24. Qd3 Rf5 25. Ne5 Qc8 26. Nc3 Nxc3+ 27. Qxc3 Nxe5 28. Qb3+ Rf7 29. dxe5 Qf5+ 30. Ka2. “I think the Pawn is just running”, then Caruana said. 30. ... Bb4?! A little better is 30. ... Qg4 (intending ... Qg4-b4), although after 31. e6 Rf3 32. Qc2 White retains more than significant winning chances. 31. e6! Re7 32. Bh4 Ree8 33. e7+ Qf7 34. Re6 b5 35. Rd8. A more elegant solution was 35. Rd7 bxa4 36. Rxg6+! hxg6 37. h7+ Kg7 38. h8=Q+! Rxh8 39. e8=N+! and mate in four moves. 35. ... bxa4 36. Qe3 Bxe7 37. Rxa8 Rxa8 38. Bxe7 Re8 39. Ka1 a3 40. bxa3 Qf5 41. Qc3! 1 : 0. A masterly game on the part of Caruana.

Fabiano Caruana (right) vs. Evgeny Yurievich Tomashevsky (left). Photo: Kirill Merkurev

Low-level programming language

Baadur Jobava – Evgeny Yurievich Tomashevsky
FIDE Grand Prix; Khanty-Mansiysk, May 13, 2015
Queen’s Gambit Declined D45

1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Nf3 a6 5. e3 e6 6. b3 c5 7. Bb2 cxd4 8. exd4 Be7. For 8. ... b6 9. cxd5 exd5 10. Ne5 see Sasikiran – Erdos, 17th Croatian Team Chess Championship, Sibenik 2008. 9. Bd3 Nc6 10. 0-0 0-0 11. Rc1 Bd7 12. Re1 Re8 13. c5 Qc7. Tomashevsky afterwards suggested 13. ... b5!? 14. cxb6 Qxb6 15. Na4 Qa7 16. Ne5 Rec8 – it’s interesting! 14. a3 Bf8 15. b4 Rad8 16. h3 g6 17. Rb1 Bg7 18. b5 Na5. If 18. ... axb5 might follow 19. Nxb5 Qb8 20. Nd6 Re7 21. Bc1 (Tomashevsky’s analysis). 19. a4! “White is just technically winning”, then Tomashevsky said. 19. ... Bc8 20. Bc1 h6 21. Qc2. Then Tomashevsky admitted he had a deathly fear of 21. Ne5 Nd7 22. Bf4. 21. ... Nc4. “[...] Jobava has almost winning position, practically, with or without engine, against Tomashevsky”, Grandmaster Teimour Radjabov said.

22. Bxc4?! More consistent would be 22. Qb3! maintaining a strong pressure. 22. ... dxc4 23. Rb4? Baadur evidently underestimates the strength of Black’s rejoinder. After 23. Qa2 e5 24. b6 Qb8 25. dxe5 Bf5 (no better is 25. ... Nd7 26. e6!) 26. exf6 Rxe1+ 27. Nxe1 Bxf6 28. Bd2 Bxb1 29. Nxb1 White still stands better. 23. ... e5! Black turns the tables by this central push. 24. b6 Qb8 25. Rxe5?! As Jobava pointed out, White’s last chance was 25. c6! bxc6 and only then 26. Rxe5 Rxe5 27. Nxe5. 25. ... Rxe5 26. dxe5 Bf5! A powerful “zwischenzug”! 27. Qe2 Bd3 28. Qe3?! Here 28. Qe1! (Tomashevsky) 28. ... Nd7 29. c6! bxc6 30. Bf4 was a little better. 28. ... Nd7 29. Nd5. If 29. e6 then 29. ... Bxc3 30. exf7+ Kxf7 31. Rxc4 Bxc4 32. Qxc3 Be6 33. Bxh6 Nf6 (Jobava’s analysis). 29. ... Nxe5. “Jobava spoiled his position probably miscalculating the consequences of ... e6-e5 by Black. Was certainly close to winning”, Radjabov said. 30. Ne7+ Kh7 31. c6 Nxf3+ 32. gxf3 Qd6 33. Ba3 bxc6. Another way to win is 33. ... Bd4 34. Rxc4 Qg3+. 34. b7 Rb8 35. Nc8 Qd7 36. Qe7 Qxh3 37. Qxf7 Qf1+. Or, even more peremptorily, 37. ... Bf1! and mate in three moves. 38. Kh2 Qxf2+ 39. Kh1 Be2 0 : 1.

Baadur Jobava
Photo: Kirill Merkurev

chess24.com (@chess24com)

The Final Countdown

Khanty-Mansiysk, May 13, 2015: Opening ceremony
Photo: sport-hmao.ru

The final stage of the 2014-2015 FIDE Grand Prix Series begins tomorrow in Khanty-Mansiysk (Russia). Evgeny Yurievich Tomashevsky, Fabiano Caruana and Hikaru Nakamura compete for two spots to the next Candidates Tournament. For further details please visit: FIDE Grand Prix: Khanty-Mansiysk (13-27 May 2015).