Meteoropathy

Peter Veniaminovich Svidler – Baadur Jobava
FIDE Grand Prix; Khanty-Mansiysk, May 26, 2015
French Defence C10

1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 dxe4 4. Nxe4 Bd7 5. Nf3 Bc6 6. Bd3 Nd7 7. Qe2 Be7 8. Neg5 Bxg5. This move is questionable since Black unnecessarily gives up the Bishop pair. It was preferable to play the immediate 8. ... h6 in order to met the wild 9. Nxe6 by 9. ... fxe6 10. Bg6+ Kf8 11. Bd2 Bd6 12. c4 Qf6 as in the game van der Wiel – Hodgson, Harlingen 1990. 9. Nxg5 h6 10. Nf3 Qf6 11. Ne5. Very dry strategy. 11. ... Nxe5 12. Qxe5 0-0-0 13. Be3 Qe7 14. 0-0-0 Nf6 15. f3 g5 16. c4 b6 17. Bd2 Nh5

18. d5! White energetically seizes the initiative. 18. ... f6 19. Qe2 Ba4 20. b3 Bd7. Unsound is 20. ... Qa3+ 21. Kb1 Bxb3 because of 22. Bc1! Bxd1 23. Qxe6+ (Jobava’s analysis) 21. g4 Ng7 22. Kb1 h5 23. h3 Qf7 24. Bc3 Kb8 25. Be4 Bc8 26. Rhe1 hxg4 27. hxg4 Bb7 28. dxe6 Bxe4+ 29. Qxe4 Rxd1+ 30. Rxd1 Nxe6 31. Qf5 Rh6 32. Rd2 Qg6 33. Qxg6 Rxg6 34. Rd5 Rh6 35. Rf5 Rh1+ 36. Kb2 Rh2+ 37. Kb1. White marks time. 37. ... Rh1+ 38. Kb2 Rh2+ 39. Ka3 a5 40. Rxf6 Re2 41. Rf5 Rf2 42. Re5 Nf4 43. Rxg5 Rxf3 44. Kb2 Nd3+ 45. Kc2 Nb4+ 46. Bxb4 axb4 47. Rf5 Rg3 48. g5. The Rook endgame is very difficult for Black, but not necessarily lost yet. 48. ... Kc8 49. Kd2 Kd7 50. Ke2 Ke6 51. Rb5 Rg2+ 52. Kf3 Rxa2 53. Rxb4 Ra1? On the wrong track. After 53. ... Rd2! 54. Rb5 Rd4 Black has excellent drawing chances. 54. Rb5 Kf7 55. Ke4 Rd1? More stubborn was 55. ... Re1+ 56. Kd5 Re6! 57. Kd4 c5+ 58. Kd5 Ke7 and Black is still fighting for survival. Now it’s very easy for White. 56. b4 Re1+ 57. Kd5 Re6 58. Kd4 Re1 59. c5 Rd1+ 60. Ke4 Re1+ 61. Kd5 Re6 62. Kd4 Rg6 63. cxb6 cxb6 64. Re5 Rc6 65. Kd5 Rc1 66. Kd6 1 : 0.

Baadur Jobava
Photo: Kirill Merkurev

A Small, Good Thing

UGRA 2015 (@ugra2015)

Fight for Santa Clara

Baadur Jobava – Leinier Domínguez Pérez
FIDE Grand Prix; Khanty-Mansiysk, May 26, 2015
Italian Game C53

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. c3 Nf6 5. d4 exd4 6. e5 d5 7. Bb5 Ne4 8. cxd4 Bb6 9. h3 0-0 10. 0-0 f6 11. Bxc6 bxc6 12. Be3 fxe5 13. Nxe5 Bb7. Departing from 13. ... Ba6 14. Re1 Ba5!? 15. Nxc6 Qh4 16. Nxa5 Rxf2! 17. Nc3! Rxg2+! 18. Kxg2 Qg3+ 19. Kh1 Qxh3+ 20. Kg1 Qg3+ 21. Kh1 Qh3+ 22. Kg1 Qg3+ 23. Kh1 Qh3+ ½ : ½ Jobava – Grischuk, FIDE Grand Prix, Khanty-Mansiysk, May 17, 2015. 14. Nd2 c5 15. Nxe4 cxd4 16. Bxd4 dxe4 17. Qb3+ Bd5 18. Qc3 Qg5 19. Be3 Qh5. According to Jobava, here the Queen is out of play. 20. Rad1 Be6 21. Rde1 Bd5 22. a4

22. ... Ba5? A bad speculation. 23. Qxa5 Qxe5 24. Rc1! A very strong move, by which Baadur establishes a deadly tightening grip on Black’s position 24. ... Rac8. Obviously, 24. ... c6? is refuted by 25. Rxc6! and Black’s position falls apart. Equally after 24. ... Rfc8 25. Rc6! Black must lose material. 25. Rfd1! Jobava is in no hurry to capture the Pawn (25. Qxa7 Qxb2 26. Rxc7) and prefers to strengthen the position still further. 25. ... c6 26. b4 Qe6 27. b5 Bb3 28. Rd2 cxb5 29. Rxc8 Qxc8 30. axb5. After all, the a7-Pawn is doomed anyway. 30. ... Bc4 31. Rc2 Qe6 32. Qxa7 Qd5. Black cannot regain his Pawn with 32. ... Bxb5? because of 33. Rc7! with an irresistible attack. 33. Bd4 Rf7 34. Qb8+ Rf8 35. Qc7! Jobava elegantly liquidates into a winning endgame. The rest is a masterly display of technique. 35. ... Qxd4 36. Qxc4+ Qxc4 37. Rxc4 Rb8 38. Rb4 Kf7 39. Kf1 Ke6 40. Rxe4+ Kd6 41. Rd4+ Ke6 42. Rb4 Kd5 43. Rh4 h6 44. Rg4 g5 45. Rb4 Kc5 46. Rb1 Kb6 47. Re1 Kc5 48. Re6 Kd5 1 : 0.

Baadur Jobava vs. Leinier Domínguez Pérez
Photo: Kirill Merkurev

Olimpiu G. Urcan (@OlimpiuUrcan)

One Way Out

Dmitry Olegovich Jakovenko – Boris Abramovich Gelfand
Grand Prix 2014–2015; 4th stage; Khanty-Mansiysk, May 23, 2015
q6k/3Q4/3P4/5Pp1/5n2/1B5P/PP3K2/8 b - - 4 48

After having suffered during all the phases of the game, Gelfand finally unsettles his opponent with a last-ditch trick: 48. ... g4! 49. hxg4?? Jakovenko misses the point and falls into the trap! After 49. Kg3! Qf3+ 50. Kh4 Qf2+ 51. Kg5! (on 51. Kxg4?? Qg2+ 52. Kxf4 Qe4+! 53. Kg5 Qg4+! 54. Kf6 Qxf5+!! 55. Ke7 Qf6+! 56. Ke8 Qf8+! 57. Kxf8 is a pretty stalemate!) 51. ... Nxh3+ 52. Kg6 Nf4+ 53. Kf7 Black is dead lost. 49. ... Qg2+ 50. Ke3 Nd5+! 51. Kd4 Qf2+! 52. Kxd5 Qd4+! 53. Kxd4 stalemate.

Boris Abramovich Gelfand. Photo: Kirill Merkurev.

A prayer to Flora

chess24.com (@chess24com)

Quandoque bonus dormitat Homerus

Anish Giri – Baadur Jobava
FIDE Grand Prix; Khanty-Mansiysk, May 23, 2015
French Defence C10

1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Nc6 4. e5 Bd7 5. Nf3 a6 6. a3. For 6. Ne2 Na7 7. Be3 Ne7 8. Ng3 Bb5 9. Bd3 Qd7 see Stock – Bednarski, Sankt Ingbert 1989. 6. ... f6 7. Bd3 fxe5 8. dxe5 Bc5 9. 0-0 Nge7. “In Jobava’s hands, even the stable structures of the Caro-Kann and the French swiftly shapeshift into moving sands”, Olimpiu G. Urcan said. “With ever predictable results...”, Peter Long added. 10. Ne2 0-0 11. Nf4 h6. To prevent Nf3-g5; the ensuing position, however, is anything but easy for Black. More pertinent would have been 11. ... Nf5 in order to answer 12. c4 by 12. ... dxc4 13. Bxc4 Nfd4. 12. c4 Nd4 13. Nxd4 Bxd4 14. cxd5 Nxd5 15. Nxd5 exd5 16. Bc2 c5 17. Be3 Qb6 18. Bxd4 cxd4 19. Qd3

18. ... Rf5!?? Everyone here would have preferred 18. ... Bf5 with a tenable position, but, of course, Jobava is not a human being like everybody else :). 20. f4 Bb5!? Obviously. 21. Qxf5 d3+ 22. Rf2 Rf8 23. Bxd3. White most conveniently gives up the Queen for the two Rooks plus a Pawn. 23. ... Rxf5 24. Bxf5 Qe3? A grave error, which loses the valuable d-Pawn. But even after 24. ... g6 25. Bc2 either the d-Pawn or the g-Pawn appear hopelessly doomed. 25. Be6+ 1 : 0. Jobava, disgusted with himself, resigned.

Baadur Jobava: I’m only sleeping...
Photo: Kirill Merkurev

Lawrence Trent (@Lawrence Trent)

Spider-Man: One More Day

Lars Bo Hansen (@GMLars)

Bad Blood

Baadur Jobava – Hikaru Nakamura
FIDE Grand Prix; Khanty-Mansiysk, May 22, 2015
Richter–Veresov Attack D01

1. d4 Nf6 2. Nc3 d5 3. Bf4 Bf5 4. f3 e6 5. g4 Bg6 6. h4 h5 7. g5 Nfd7 8. e3 a6. For 8. ... Bd6 9. Nh3 Nc6 see Jobava – Zhigalko, FIDE World Blitz Championship, Dubai 2014. 9. Bd3 Bxd3 10. cxd3 Nc6. If, instead, 10. ... c5 might follow 11. dxc5 Bxc5 12. d4 as in the game Vojinovic – Baymuratova, 41st Women’s Chess Olympiad, Tromsø 2014.

11. g6!? The show begins! 11. ... fxg6 12. Bg5 Be7 13. f4 Nf6 14. Qb3 Qd7 15. Nf3 Ng4! Prevents White from castling Kingside and Queenside as well. 16. Ke2!? Bf6 17. Rac1 b6 18. Rc2 Ne7 19. Rhc1 0-0 20. Qa4 Qd8. Against 20. ... Qd6 White intended to play 21. Qa3 as “it is good for White to trade the Queens”, then Jobava said. 21. Nd1 Ra7 22. Nf2 Nh6 23. Rg1 Nf7 24. Qa3 Kh7 25. Nh3 Nd6 26. Ne5 Ndf5 27. b4? “A very bad move”, Jobava said. “I should have played 27. Qa4 and I think Black is in trouble here”. 27. ... Qd6 28. Qc3. “I made two stupid moves in a row”, Jobava said. 28. ... c6 29. Nf3 a5 30. bxa5 Rxa5 31. Qd2 Ra3 32. Rgc1 Rfa8 33. Nf2 c5! Black comes out a Pawn ahead with a commanding position. 34. dxc5 bxc5 35. Rxc5 Rxa2 36. R5c2 Rxc2 37. Qxc2 Ng3+ 38. Ke1 Qb4+ 39. Qd2 Qxd2+ 40. Nxd2 Nef5 41. e4 Bxg5 42. hxg5 Nd4 43. Nh3 Ra3. 43. ... Ra2! (Jobava) would perhaps have been still stronger. 44. f5 exf5. Much simpler was 44. ... dxe4 45. dxe4 gxf5 with an overwhelming advantage. The text move makes things more difficult. 45. exd5 Nge2 46. Rc8 Rxd3 47. Nc4. Baadur holds on fighting with the courage of desperation! 47. ... Rxh3 48. Ne5. With the threat of Ne5-f7 and then Rc8-h8 mate. 48. ... Nf3+ 49. Nxf3 Nf4 50. Kf2 Nxd5 51. Ne5 Rc3 52. Rd8 Ne7 53. Rd7. Now 53. Nf7 is answered by 53. ... Rc8. 53. ... Rc2+ 54. Kg3 f4+ 55. Kxf4 Nf5 56. Rd8 Rf2+ 57. Ke4 Ng3+ 58. Kd3 h4. “Nakamura seems to have blown a completely winning position. ‘It’s impossible to believe!’ Draw now?”, Tarjei J. Svensen argued. 59. Rd4 Nf5 60. Rd8 Ng3 61. Rd4 Rf5 62. Rxh4+ Nh5 63. Ke4 Rxg5 64. Kd5 Rg1 65. Ke6 Rf1 66. Rh2 Rf6+ 67. Ke7. “A key moment came on move 67, when Jobava played 67. Ke7. Given his intention to play Ne5xg6 next, he should have played 67. Kd5 instead, when the same continuation as in the game would lead to a draw: 67. Kd5 Kg8 68. Nxg6 Rxg6 69. Rxh5 Rg4 70. Ke6! g6 71. Rh1! Kg7 72. Ke5! Ra4 73. Rh2 etc., and when Black plays ... g6-g5 White plays Ke5-f5, and then it’s trivial. In the 67.Ke7(?) version, the sac failed, as there was no way to get the King back or to create a sort of mutual standoff where Black must let the King back in order to make progress. Maybe White could have held if he hadn’t played 68. Nxg6 – I’ll leave that to you guys to work out”, Dennis Monokroussos said. 67. ... Kg8 68. Nxg6?? Jobava plays his worst possible move! The ensuing endgame is definitely a “technical win” for Black. 68. ... Rxg6 69. Rxh5 Ra6 70. Rf5 g6 71. Rf6 Ra7+ 72. Ke6 Kg7 73. Rf3 Ra5 74. Rf7+ Kh6 75. Rf1 g5 76. Kf6 Ra4 77. Rh1+ Rh4 78. Rg1 Rf4+ 79. Ke5 Kg6 80. Rh1 Ra4 0 : 1.

Baadur Jobava vs. Hikaru Nakamura
Photo: Kirill Merkurev

Europe Échecs (@EuropeEchecs)

Audience award

Tarjei J. Svensen (@TarjeiJS)

Baadur Jobava
Photo: Kirill Merkurev

The Magician of Gali

Sergey Alexandrovich Karjakin – Baadur Jobava
FIDE Grand Prix; Khanty-Mansiysk, May 21, 2015
French Defence C10

1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Nc6 4. e5 Nge7 5. Nf3 Bd7. Intending to castle on the Queenside. After 5. ... Nf5 6. h4! h5 7. Bg5 White stands slightly better, Šarić – Jobava, 76th Tata Steel Chess Tournament Challengers, Wijk aan Zee 2014. 6. Ne2 Nf5 7. Ng3 Nh4 8. c3 g6 9. Bf4 f6!? This appears to be a thematic move, even though it implies a Pawn sacrifice. 10. Nxh4. If 10. Nh5 then 10. ... fxe5! 11. Nxe5 Bd6 gives Black good play. 10. ... fxe5 11. Nxg6 hxg6 12. dxe5 Qh4. Black’s compensation shines on the board! 13. Ne2 0-0-0 14. Qd2

14. ... Rh5!! The text move prepares for a most profound Exchange sac. 15. Ng3 Rxe5+ 16. Bxe5 Nxe5 17. Qe3 Nc6. Also worth considering was 17. ... Bd6 18. Qxa7 c5 with adequate compensation. 18. Bb5 Bh6 19. Qe2 e5 20. Rd1 a6 21. Bxa6 Ne7 22. Bb5. Karjakin is willing to sacrifice the Bishop in order to neutralize Black’s initiative. On 22. Bd3 Bf4! would afford Black dangerous attacking possibilities. 22. ... c6 23. Qxe5 Bf4 24. Rd4 Bxe5 25. Rxh4 cxb5 26. 0-0 Kc7 27. Re1 Kd6 28. Rh7 Nc6 29. Rd1 Ke6 30. Re1 Kd6 31. Rd1 Ke6 32. Re1 ½ : ½.

Sergey Alexandrovich Karjakin vs. Baadur Jobava
Photo: Kirill Merkurev

chess24.com (@chess24com)

心音 (Heart sounds)

UGRA 2015 (@ugra2015)

Baadur Scissorhands

Baadur Jobava – Dmitry Olegovich Jakovenko
FIDE Grand Prix; Khanty-Mansiysk, May 20, 2015
Larsen’s Opening A01

1. b3. “This harmless looking opening (1. b3) wasn’t given much respect until the great Danish Grandmaster Bent Larsen (who jokingly called it the Baby Orangutan) began winning one game after another with it in the late 1960s and early 1970s”, International Master Jeremy Silman wrote in his “The Complete Book of Chess Strategy: Grandmaster Techniques from A to Z”, Los Angeles, Siles Press, 1998, p. 55. 1. ... e5 2. Bb2 Nc6 3. e3 Nf6 4. h3!? “I found [this] before the Grand Prix. I thought I had to try it at least once. It is not such a stupid move as it seems”, then Jobava said. 4. ... d5. “I don’t think Jobava really expect to get an advantage with b2-b3, e2-e3 & h2-h3 in first 4 moves. :)”, Tarjei J. Svensen ‏said. 5. Bb5 Bd6 6. Nf3 Qe7 7. d4 exd4 8. Qxd4. Thus spoke Jobava! For the colourless 8. Nxd4 Bd7 9. Nxc6 bxc6 10. Bd3 0-0 see Bobanac – Solic, 2nd Zlatni Rat Open, Bol, 2011. 8. ... Bd7 9. Bxc6 Bxc6 10. Nbd2 0-0 11. 0-0-0! When a player such as Jobava castles on the opposite wing it is a clear indication he is out for blood! 11. ... a5 12. g4 a4 13. g5 Ne8 14. Kb1 axb3 15. axb3 Bc5 16. Qe5. White has nothing better than to propose the exchange of Queens as after 16. Qh4 Ba3 Black would get the upper hand. 16. ... Bd6 17. Qxe7 Bxe7 18. Rhg1 Nd6 19. Ne5 Be8 20. h4 f6 21. Nd3. Note that not all chess programs can understand Jobava’s play. 21. ... fxg5 22. hxg5 Nb5 23. Nf4 c6 24. c4 Na3+ 25. Kc1 dxc4

26. Ne4. A typical Jobava idea. 26. ... Bg6. Chess engines do not like this move, but who would dare to play 26. ... cxb3 27. Nf6+! now? 27. Rd7 Rf7 28. Nxg6 hxg6 29. Rxb7 cxb3 30. Rxb3 Nc4 31. Rd1 Nxb2 32. Kxb2 Ra4 33. Rb8+ Rf8 34. Rxf8+ Kxf8 35. f3 Ra3 36. Nc3 Bb4 37. Rc1 Kf7 38. f4 c5 39. e4 Ke6 40. Nd5 Rd3 41. Ra1 Rxd5. A good practical Exchange sacrifice which ensures the draw. 42. exd5+ Kxd5 43. Kc2. Or 43. Ra7 Ke4 44. Rxg7 Kxf4 45. Rxg6 Kf5 46. Rg8 Bd2 47. g6 Kf6 followed by ... Bd2-h6-g7 and then ... Kf6xg6 drawing. 43. ... Ke4 44. Ra6 Kf5 45. Kd3 Kxf4 46. Rxg6 c4+ ½ : ½.

Baadur Scissorhands
Photo: Kirill Merkurev

Carnivine

Fabiano Caruana – Baadur Jobava
FIDE Grand Prix; Khanty-Mansiysk, May 19, 2015
Caro-Kann Defence B12

1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. e5 Bf5 4. Nf3 e6 5. Be2 f6!? Baadur’s specialty. 6. 0-0 fxe5 7. Nxe5. For 7. dxe5 Bc5 8. Nbd2 Ne7 9. Nb3 Bb6 10. Nfd4 0-0 11. c4 Nd7 see Maxime Vachier-Lagrave – Baadur Jobava, FIDE Grand Prix, Khanty-Mansiysk, May 14, 2015. 7. ... Nd7 8. Bd3 Ngf6 9. Re1 Be7 10. Nf3 Ne4 11. Nc3 Ndf6 12. Bg5 0-0 13. Nxe4 dxe4 14. Bxf6 exd3 15. Bxe7 Qxe7 16. c3. “I thought White was better. I didn’t prepare it very deeply. I think I misplayed this position”, then Caruana said. 16. ... c5 17. dxc5 Qxc5 18. Qd2 Bg4. Jobava once more demonstrates his artistic genius. Here he breaks the law and initiates a powerful Pawn sacrifice! 19. Qxd3. On 19. Nd4 e5 20. Qg5? Black had prepared the following pretty refutation: 20. ... d2! 21. Rxe5 Rae8! (Jobava’s analysis). 19. ... Bxf3 20. gxf3 Qg5+ 21. Kh1 Rad8. The position is dynamically balanced, as despite Black’s Pawn minus and his isolated e-Pawn.

22. Qe4 Qf5 23. Qxf5. After 23. Qxe6+ Qxe6 24. Rxe6 Rd2 Black should hold. 23. ... Rxf5 24. Rad1 Rfd5 25. Rxd5 Rxd5 26. Re2 Kf7 27. f4 Rd1+ 28. Kg2 Rb1 29. Kf3 g6 30. b3 Rc1 31. c4 Rc3+ 32. Ke4 Ke7 33. Rd2 Rc1 34. Kf3 b6 35. Rd3 Ra1 36. a4 Ra2 37. Ke3 a5 38. Kf3 Rb2 39. h3 Rc2 40. Kg3 Rb2 41. Re3 Kf6 42. f3 Ke7 43. Kh4 h6 44. Kg3 Rb1 45. h4 h5 46. Rc3 Kd6 47. f5. Caruana makes a last-ditch attempt to win, but Baadur keeps everything under control. 47. ... gxf5 48. Kf4 Ke7 49. c5 ½ : ½.

Fabiano Caruana vs. Baadur Jobava
Photo: Kirill Merkurev

Dago Red

Maxime Vachier-Lagrave – Fabiano Caruana
FIDE Grand Prix; Khanty-Mansiysk, May 17, 2015
Queen’s Gambit Declined D38

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Bb4 5. cxd5 exd5 6. Bg5 Nbd7 7. Rc1 c6 8. e3 Qa5 9. Bd3 Ne4 10. 0-0 Nxg5 11. Nxg5 Nf6 12. Qc2 h6 13. Nf3 Bd6 14. Ne5. Just to gain time on the clock. 14. h3 0-0 15. Ne5 transposes to the game. 14. ... Ng4 15. Nf3 Nf6 16. h3 0-0 17. Ne5 a6! An inspired novelty. Less accurate is 17. ... c5?! because of 16. Nb5! with a clear edge, Gelfand – Jakovenko, World Cup, Khanty-Mansiysk 2009. 18. f4 c5 19. g4!? MVL is perhaps too ambitious. 19. ... cxd4 20. exd4 Be6 21. Qb3? Afterwards, both players agreed this move was a mistake, since Black finds a neat tactical parry. Both 21. Qf2 and 21. Kh1!? (Caruana) would have assured White a slight edge. 21. ... b5 22. f5 Qb6! 23. Nf3 Bc8 24. Kg2!? This is a strange move! The only thing that worldwide computer analysis proves is that after 24. Nxd5 Nxd5 25. Be4 Nc7 26. Rc6 Qb8 27. Rxd6 Ne8! 28. Bxa8 Qxd6 Black’s initiative more than merely compensates for the sacrificed Pawn. 24. ... Bb7 25. Na4 Qa7 26. Nc5 Rac8 27. a4. Here 27. Nxb7 Qxb7 28. a4 looks a bit better, since now Black’s light-squared Bishop is to shine on the long diagonal. 27. ... Bxc5 28. dxc5

28. ... d4! 29. axb5 axb5 30. Qxb5. White has an extra Pawn, but his King is in serious danger! 30. ... Bc6! 31. Qb6 Qd7 32. Kg1 Rfe8! Caruana has eight minutes remaining for eight moves, but his attack is overwhelming. 33. Rce1 Rxe1 34. Nxe1 Re8 35. Ng2 Nd5 36. Qb3 Ne3 37. Nxe3 dxe3 38. Qc4 Qc7 39. Qf4 Qxf4 40. Rxf4 e2 41. Bxe2 Rxe2 42. Rb4 Rg2+ 43. Kf1 Rc2 0 : 1.

Maxime Vachier-Lagrave vs. Fabiano Caruana
Photo: Kirill Merkurev

Thirty Seconds to Mars

Baadur Jobava – Alexander Igorevich Grischuk
FIDE Grand Prix; Khanty-Mansiysk, May 17, 2015
Italian Game C53

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. c3 Nf6 5. d4 exd4 6. e5 d5 7. Bb5 Ne4 8. cxd4 Bb6 9. h3 0-0 10. 0-0 f6 11. Bxc6. For 11. Nc3 fxe5 12. Bxc6 bxc6 13. Nxe5 Ba6 see Horwitz – Staunton, London 1846, match game 6. 11. ... bxc6 12. Be3 fxe5 13. Nxe5 Ba6 14. Re1 Ba5!? A novelty. A little more promising, however, was 14. ... Qh4 15. Qg4 Qxg4 16. hxg4 Rae8 as in the game Kiroski – V. Georgiev, 19th Macedonian Team Chess Championship, Struga 2010. 15. Nxc6 Qh4 16. Nxa5 Rxf2 17. Nc3! Obviously, after 17. Bxf2? Qxf2+ 18. Kh2 Qg3+ 19. Kg1 Ng5! White would get into serious trouble.

17. ... Rxg2+! An ingenious blow by which Black forces perpetual check. 18. Kxg2 Qg3+ 19. Kh1 Qxh3+ 20. Kg1 Qg3+ 21. Kh1 Qh3+ 22. Kg1 Qg3+ 23. Kh1 Qh3+ ½ : ½.

UGRA 2015 (@ugra2015)

Jet stream

UGRA 2015 (@ugra2015)

Cheval Blanc

Baadur Jobava – Boris Abramovich Gelfand
FIDE Grand Prix; Khanty-Mansiysk, May 16, 2015
Grünfeld Defence D90

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 4. Nf3 Bg7 5. Qa4+ Bd7 6. Qa3!? “Prepared especially for the Grand Prix”, then Jobava said. White sacrifices a Pawn for attacking chances on the Kingside!

7. ... dxc4. The critical line, testing the validity of White’s idea. 7. e4 b5 8. e5 Ng4 9. h3 Nh6 10. b3 a5 11. Qb2 b4 12. Ne4 c3 13. Qc2 0-0 14. Bc4. “Black needs to be very careful not to get mated!”, then Jobava said. 14. ... Bc6 15. h4 Nf5 16. Qd3 Nd7!? Gelfand is playing with fire and leaves White with a free hand to attack the Kingside. A safer course was 16. ... h5 as after 17. e6 fxe6 18. Neg5 Bd5 19. Nxe6 Bxe6 20. Bxe6+ Kh8 White still must prove compensation. 17. h5. Alea iacta est! 17. ... Nxe5!? Black meets fire with fire! Gelfand sacrifices his Knight to swap off Queens and mobilize his Pawn majority on the Queenside. 18. dxe5 Qxd3 19. Bxd3 a4 20. hxg6 hxg6 21. bxa4 Rfd8 22. Bc2 Bxa4 23. Bxa4 Rxa4 24. 0-0!? Gelfand was most worried about 24. Nc5 Raa8 25. Nb3 c5 26. Nxc5 Rd5 27. Nb3 Bxe5 28. Nxe5 Rxe5+ 29. Kf1 Rd8 30. g3 leaving Black with insufficient compensation. 24. ... Ra5 25. Rb1 c5 26. a3 bxa3 27. Nxc3 Nd4 28. Bf4 a2 29. Ra1 Rda8 30. Rfd1 g5 31. Nxg5 f6 32. Nge4 Nb3. Black is regaining his piece pushing the game towards a draw. 33. Rxa2 Rxa2 34. Nxa2 Rxa2 35. exf6 Bxf6 36. Rd7 Kf7 37. Rc7 Nd4 38. Bg3 Ne2+ 39. Kh2 Nxg3 40. fxg3 Bd4 ½ : ½.

Baadur Jobava
Photo: Kirill Merkurev

Mr. Tambourine Man

Maxime Vachier-Lagrave – Baadur Jobava
FIDE Grand Prix; Khanty-Mansiysk, May 14, 2015
Caro-Kann Defence B12

1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. e5 Bf5 4. Nf3 e6 5. Be2 f6!? 6. 0-0 fxe5. 6. ... Nd7 7. c4 fxe5 8. dxe5 Bc5 9. Nc3 transposes to Svidler – Jobava, FIDE Grand Prix, Tbilisi 2015. The text move is “[...] interesting but it shouldn’t be good”, Vachier-Lagrave said. 7. dxe5 Bc5 8. Nbd2 Ne7 9. Nb3 Bb6 10. Nfd4 0-0 11. c4 Nd7 12. g4. Maxime accepts Baadur’s challenge! 12. ... Bxd4. Less convincing was 12. ... c5 13. Nxf5 exf5 14. f4 fxg4 15. Kh1 (Jobava’s analysis). 13. Nxd4 c5 14. Nb5 Bg6 15. f4 Nb6 16. b3 Be8 17. Nd6 Bc6 18. Be3 d4 19. Bd2 Nbc8 20. Nxc8 Qxc8 21. Bd3. They now take the opposite point of view! “I only need to prepare f4-f5”, Vachier-Lagrave said. “My Knight is much stronger than your Bishop on d2. I’m not risking anyting”, Jobava said. 21. ... Be8 22. Be4 a5 23. a4

23. ... Ra7. Genius erupts against the dark wall of conformism! 24. Qe1 b6 25. Qg3 Bg6 26. Bg2 Be8 27. Be4 Bg6 28. Bg2 Bc2 29. Rae1. Another idea was 29. Rac1!? d3 30. f5 (Vachier-Lagrave’s analysis). 29. ... Qe8 30. f5!? MVL launches his attack. 30. ... exf5 31. e6 h6 32. h3 Kh7 33. Rf2 fxg4 34. Rxf8 Qxf8 35. hxg4 Qd8. “I saw non plan for White, and my plan was to win the game with the extra Pawn”, then Jobava said. 36. Rf1 Bg6 37. Qe5. If 37. Bxh6? gxh6 38. Be4 then 38. ... Ng8 (Vachier-Lagrave). 37. ... Qc7 38. Bf4 Qxe5 39. Bxe5 Ng8 40. Bd6. Here all chess engines recommend 30. Rf8!? with better prospects for White. 40. ... Nf6 41. Bc6 Nxg4 42. e7 Nf6 43. Rf4. If 43. Rxf6 gxf6 44. Be4 (after 44. e8=Q? Bxe8 45. Bxe8 d3 White cannot survive) there follows 44. ... f5! 45. Bxf5 Ra8. 43. ... d3 44. Kf2. Again, 44. Rxf6? gxf6 45. e8=Q? is met by 45. ... Bxe8 46. Bxe8 d2 47. Bh5 Rd7 and wins. 44. ... Ne8 45. Bxe8 Bxe8 46. Rf8 d2 47. Ke2 Rd7 48. Rxe8 d1=Q+ 49. Kxd1 Rxd6+ 50. Ke2 Re6+ 51. Kf3 g5 52. Rb8 Rxe7 53. Rxb6 h5 54. Rc6 Rf7+ 55. Kg2 h4. Here 55. ... Rf5 56. Kg3 g4 looks a little more promising. 56. Rxc5 Kg6 57. Rxa5 g4 58. Ra8 Rf3 59. Rg8+ Kf5 60. Rf8+ Ke4 61. Re8+ Kf4 62. Rf8+ Ke3 63. Re8+ Kd2 64. Rg8 h3+ 65. Kh2 Rf2+ 66. Kh1 Rf1+ 67. Kh2 Rf2+ 68. Kh1 ½ : ½.

Baadur Jobava
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).