Robinson Crusoe economy

Anish Giri – Igor-Alexandre Nataf
French Team Championship Top 12; Port-Camargue, June 8, 2015
English Opening A15

1. Nf3 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. g3 Bg7 4. Bg2 c6 5. b3 0-0 6. Bb2 d6 7. d4 Qa5+ 8. Qd2 Qxd2+ 9. Nfxd2. Apparently, 9. Nbxd2 is no better, e.g. 9. ... a5 10. a3 e5 11. dxe5 Nfd7 12. 0-0 dxe5 ½ : ½ Caposciutti – Levacic, Cannes 2001. 9. ... d5 10. Nc3 Rd8 11. e3 Na6 12. 0-0 Be6 13. Rfd1 Rac8 14. a3 b6 15. Rac1 Nb8 16. Ba1 Bg4 17. Re1 Be6 18. Ne2 Bf5 19. Nc3 Be6 20. h3 h5 21. Red1 Kf8 22. Bf1 c5. This seems rather committal, but, indeed, there’s probably nothing wrong. 23. dxc5 Rxc5. If 23. ... bxc5 there follows 24. cxd5 Nxd5 25. Ne4 with an edge. The text, on the other hand, is any better. 24. Nf3 Rdc8 25. Na4 R5c7 26. Be5 Rb7 27. Nd4 Bd7

28. Nc3. Peter Doggers suggests 28. Bg2 Bxa4 29. cxd5! which results in White’s winning a valuable Pawn. 28. ... e6? Here 28. ... dxc4 29. Bg2 Nc6 seems more reliable. 29. Bg2 Nc6. Also after 29. ... Ne8 30. cxd5! Bxe5 31. dxe6 White gains a decisive advantage. 30. Bd6+ Kg8 31. cxd5 Nxd4 32. exd4 Ne8 33. dxe6 Nxd6 34. Bxb7 1 : 0.

Anish Giri
Photo: Fédération Française des Échecs

Ghost goal

Wesley So – Sergey Fedorchuk
French Team Championship Top 12; Port-Camargue, June 8, 2015
English Opening A27

1. c4 e5 2. Nc3 Nc6 3. Nf3 Bc5 4. a3!? d6 5. b4 Bb6 6. e3 Bg4 7. h3 Bh5 8. g4!? Bg6 9. d4! exd4. Not 9. ... e4? 10. Nd2 and Black cannot hold the e4-Pawn. 10. exd4 a6 11. Bg2 h5 12. 0-0 hxg4 13. hxg4 Qd7 14. Re1+ Kf8 15. c5 Ba7 16. d5 Nce7 17. Qd4 Rd8 18. Bb2. With the threat of Nc3-b5. 18. ... f6 19. Qf4. Another move order – definitely more forcing than the text – was 19. Ng5! dxc5 (on 19. ... fxg5 20. Ne4 would be too strong) 20. Qf4 and White’s position looks imposing. 19. ... Nh6. On 19. ... dxc5 20. Ng5! transposes to the above-mentioned line. 20. g5. Another intriguing possibility was 20. Re6! in order to met 20. ... Bf7 by 21. Rxf6! gxf6 22. Qxf6 with a very powerful attack. 20. ... Qg4 21. Qd2. The most logical way to exploit the weakness of Black’s position was 21. Nd4! Bf7 22. Qe4 forcing the exchange of Queens and securing a clear edge. 21. ... Nf7 22. gxf6 gxf6 23. Qd4 Ne5 24. Qxg4 Nxg4 25. Nd4 Kf7 26. Ne6 Rdg8! White’s position is not so good anymore. Black has just taken the initiative. 27. Nxc7 Ne5 28. cxd6 Nc8 29. d7?? Wesley’s move is suicidal. Possibly his best practical chance was to give back the Exchange with 29. Rxe5! fxe5 30. d7, although after 30. ... Nb6 31. Ne6 Nxd7 Black standa better.

29. ... Nf3+! 30. Kf1. Equally after 30. Bxf3 Be4+! 31. Kf1 Bxf3 Black wins. 30. ... Bd3+ 31. Re2 Rh1+ 0 : 1. Because of 32. Bxh1 Rg1 mate. Cool defence by Fedorchuk!

Sergey Fedorchuk
Photo: Sergey Fedorchuk

Don’t ya tell Henry, Apple’s got your fly

Laurent Fressinet – Sébastien Tranchant
French Team Championship Top 12; Port-Camargue, June 6, 2015
Sicilian Defence B27

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 g6 3. c3 d5 4. exd5 Qxd5 5. d4 Bg7 6. Na3 cxd4 7. Nb5 Na6 8. Nbxd4 Nf6 9. Bb5+ Bd7 10. Qe2 Bxb5 11. Nxb5 0-0 12. 0-0 b6 13. Re1! In my opinion this is more direct and to the point than 13. Rd1 Qb7 14. Bf4 Nc5 as in the game Leniart – Babula, Banska Stiavnica 2012. 13. ... Rfe8 14. Bf4 Qb7 15. Rad1 Rad8 16. Bg3 Kf8?? A colossal blunder. Correct was 16. ... Rxd1 17. Rxd1 Ne4 18. Ng5 Nac5 (clearly not 18. ... Nxg5?? on account of 19. Nd6+-) and Black’s position is tenable.

17. Rxd8! 1 : 0. For after 17. ... Rxd8 18. Nc7! – the interference Monsieur Tranchant overlooked! – White attacks both a6-Knight and e7-Pawn.

Laurent Fressinet
Photo: paperblog

Jaw crusher

Wesley So – Krishnan Sasikiran
French Team Championship Top 12; Port-Camargue, June 7, 2015
Queen’s Gambit Declined D37

1. Nf3 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 d5 4. d4 Be7 5. Bf4 0-0 6. e3 Nbd7 7. a3 a6. The alternative is 7. ... c6, e.g. 8. h3 a6 9. c5 b6 10. b4 a5 11. Bd3 Ba6 12. 0-0 Qc8 13. Qc2 Bxd3 14. Qxd3 Qb7 15. Rfb1 axb4 ½ : ½ B. Larsen – Spassky, Palma de Mallorca 1968. 8. c5 Ne4 9. Rc1 f5 10. h3 c6 11. Bd3 Bf6 12. Na4 Ng5 13. Nxg5 Bxg5 14. b4 Bf6. A sharper and more convincing strategy would be 14. ... Bxf4 15. exf4 g5 since after the text Black will inexorably squeezed out. 15. Bd6 Be7 16. Bh2 Rf7 17. 0-0 g6 18. Kh1 Bf6 19. f3 Bg7 20. Qd2 e5 21. e4 f4 22. exd5 cxd5 23. Bc2 exd4 24. Bb3 Ne5 25. Nb6! Obviously, this move is not hard to find, but its effects are surprisingly crushing. 25. ... Be6 26. Nxa8 Qxa8 27. Qxd4 Nxf3 28. Qd3 Nxh2 29. Kxh2 Rf5 30. Rcd1 Bf7 31. Qf3 Qd8 32. Rd3 Qd7 33. Kh1 h5 34. Rfd1 d4 35. Re1 Bxb3 36. Rxb3 Kh7 37. Re4 Qf7 38. Rb1 g5 39. Rbe1 g4 40. Qd3 Kh6 41. Re6+ Kg5 42. Re7 Qf8 43. Re8 Qf7 44. R1e7 Qf6 45. Re6 Qf7 46. R8e7 Qf8

47. Rxg7+! Qxg7 48. h4+ Kxh4 49. Qxf5 Kg3 1 : 0. For after 50. Qxh5 mate is unavoidable.

Wesley So
Photo: Fédération Française des Échecs

Runner, Runner

Jan-Krzysztof Duda – Borya Ider
French Team Championship Top 12; Port-Camargue, June 1, 2015
French Defence C10

1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 h6? Dr. Siegbert Tarrasch would surely condemn this parody of “waiting move”. 4. Bd3 Nc6 5. Nf3 Nb4 6. Bb5+ c6 7. Be2 Nf6 8. e5 Ne4 9. a3 Nxc3 10. bxc3 Na6 11. c4 Be7 12. 0-0 0-0 13. c3 Nc7. Black is very cramped while White is about to regroup his forces for the attack. 14. Bd3 b6 15. Bb1 h5. This move is not, probably, Black’s best. 16. Qd3 g6 17. Qe3 Re8

18. Bxg6! The decisive blow, whereas Ider was hoping for 18. Qh6? Bf8 with some chances to survive the attack. 18. ... fxg6 19. Qh6 Rf8 20. Qxg6+ Kh8 21. Qxh5+ Kg8 22. Bh6 1 : 0.

Jan-Krzysztof Duda
Photo: Sztuka Kadru

Screenwriter

Jean-Pierre Le Roux – Gabriel Battaglini
French Team Championship Top 12; Port-Camargue, June 5, 2015
Torre Attack A48

1. d4 Nf6 2. Bg5 Ne4 3. Bf4 d5 4. e3 g6 5. Bd3 Nd6 6. Nf3 Bg7 7. Nbd2 Nc6 8. 0-0. For 8. c3 0-0 9. 0-0 Re8 see Gomez Fontal – Cori, 44th Capablanca Memorial Open, Havana 2009. 8. ... 0-0 9. h3 Nb4 10. Be2 Bf5 11. c4 c5 12. Bxd6 exd6 13. cxd5 cxd4 14. e4 Bxh3?! A doubtful Bishop sacrifice. After 14. ... Bd7! 15. Qb3 a5 16. a3 Na6 Black holds his own since 17. Qxb7?? is refuted by 17. ... Nc5 trapping Her Majesty. 15. Qb3. Obviously, 15. gxh3 d3 would justify Black’s previous move. 15. ... d3 16. Bd1 Na6 17. gxh3 Nc5 18. Qa3 a5 19. Rc1 Rc8 20. e5 Bh6? Bad judgment, after which Black’s position falls apart. The most stubborn reply was probably 20. ... b5!, although after 21. b4! White should gradually exploit his material superiority. 21. Rxc5! Rxc5 22. Ne4 Rc1 23. Qxd6 Qc8 24. Nf6+ Kh8 25. Nd7 Re8 26. Qf6+ Bg7 27. Qxf7 Qd8 28. d6 d2 29. Nf6 Rf8. “Something has gone terribly wrong for Black, his passed d-Pawn completely blockaded while White’s center advances unchecked. Black’s last move (29. ... Rf8) hopes to break the centre (... Bg7xf6). White, no doubt, can keep a large edge by simply taking the b-Pawn, but he sees better. Do you see it?”, Grandmaster Kevin Spraggett asked.

30. Ng5!! “Forced mate. The threat is 31. Qf7-g8+! and mate next move. Of course, taking the Queen with 30. ... Rxf7 allows mate in one. The best line of defence will also end in mate, but in about 12 moves, after 30. ... Qxf6 31. exf6 Rxf7 32. Nxf7+ Kg8 33. Nh6+ Bxh6 34. d7 etc. Better to just throw in the towel and have a cold beer!”, Spraggett said”. 1 : 0.

104 Degrees Under the Sheets

Sebastian Pucher – Maxime Vachier-Lagrave
French Team Championship Top 12; Port-Camargue, June 6, 2015
King’s Indian Defence E80

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. f3 c5 4. d5 d6 5. e4 e6 6. Bg5 Bg7 7. Qd2 0-0 8. Nc3 exd5 9. cxd5 a6 10. Nge2 b5 11. Ng3 Nbd7 12. Be2 Qc7. For 12. ... b4 13. Nd1 a5 14. 0-0 Ba6 see Dreev – Mecking, 11th Interpolis Chess Tournament, Tlburg 1994. 13. 0-0 Bb7 14. Bh6 c4 15. Bxg7 Kxg7 16. b4 cxb3 17. axb3 h5 18. Nh1. Aron Nimzowitsch’s Romantische Straße. 18. ... Rac8 19. Rfc1 Qb6+ 20. Nf2 Rc7 21. Nd1 Rfc8 22. Rxc7 Qxc7 23. Nd3 Qb6+ 24. N3f2 Qc5 25. Kf1 Ne5 26. Qb2 Kg8 27. Nd3 Nxd3 28. Bxd3 Nd7 29. b4 Qb6 30. Rc1 Rxc1 31. Qxc1

31. ... a5! Striving for the initiative. 32. bxa5? Much better was 32. Qc3! a4!? with a more balanced game. 32. ... Qxa5 33. Qb2 Ba6 34. Ne3 Nc5 35. Be2 b4 36. Kf2 Bxe2 37. Qxe2 b3 38. Nc4. Or 38. Nd1 Qa7! 39. Kg3 Qa2 40. Kf2 Na4 and Black wins. 38. ... Qc3 0 : 1. For if 39. Nb2 then 39. ... Qxb2! and wins.

Maxime Vachier-Lagrave
Le Point.fr

Crazy Beautiful You

Alexandr Fier – Igor-Alexandre Nataf
French Team Championship Top 12; Port-Camargue, June 5, 2015
King’s Indian Defence E75

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6 5. Be2 0-0 6. Bg5 c5 7. d5 h6 8. Bf4 e6 9. dxe6 Bxe6 10. Bxd6 Re8 11. e5. For 11. Nf3 Nc6 12. 0-0 Nd4 see Polugaevsky – Kasparov, Bugojno 1982. 11. ... Nfd7 12. f4 Nc6 13. Nf3 f6 14. 0-0. White decides to give back the Pawn and fight for the initiative. 14. ... fxe5 15. Bd3 Bf7 16. f5 gxf5 17. Bxf5 Nb6 18. Bxc5 Qxd1 19. Rfxd1 Nxc4 20. b3. 20. Rd7 b6 doesn’t look much more promising.

20. ... Nd4 21. Be4 Rac8 22. bxc4 Rxc5 23. Bxb7 Rxc4 24. Ne4 Rd8 ½ : ½.

Teimour Radjabov (@rajachess)

Pain au chocolat

Wesley So – Renier Vázquez Igarza
French Team Championship Top 12; Port-Camargue, June 1, 2015
Russian Defence C42

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nxe5 d6 4. Nf3 Nxe4 5. d4 d5 6. Bd3 Bd6 7. 0-0 0-0 8. c4 c6 9. Re1 Bf5 10. Qc2 Nd7 11. Nc3 Ndf6 12. Ne5 Bg6. The “old” move 12. ... Be6 might be sounder, e.g. 13. c5 Bc7 14. f3 h6 15. Ne2 Ng5 16. h4 Ngh7 17. g4 Re8 18. Ng3 Nf8 19. g5 N6d7 20. f4 f6 as in the game Hráček – Haba, Czech Team Chess Championship, Pardubice 2003-2004. 13. Nxg6 Bxh2+. Black decides to launches a wild attack – dangerous but not sound – by a Bishop sacrifice rather than give up a Pawn. Such an attack – although speculative – may not be so easy to parry at the board. 14. Kxh2 Ng4+ 15. Kg1 fxg6 16. Bxe4. Obviously, 16. f3?? Qh4 loses on the spot. 16. ... Qh4. Maybe here Vázquez Igarza committs himself irretrievably. The comparatively sounder 16. ... dxe4 17. Rxe4 Qh4 18. Rxg4 Qxg4 19. Be3 Rae8 would have minimized Black’s material disadvantage. 17. Bf3 Qh2+ 18. Kf1 Rae8 19. Rxe8 Rxe8

20. Ne4. The resource that Black probably overlooked. 20. ... Qh1+ 21. Ke2 Qg1. Perhaps the best last ditch try was 21. ... dxe4 22. Bxg4 Qxg2 when Black has only two Pawns for two Bishops, but he can still hope for a panic attack of his adversary. 22. cxd5 cxd5. Or 22. ... Nxf2 23. Bg5! Qxa1 24. Kxf2 cxd5 (other moves lose as well) 25. Nf6+! gxf6 26. Bxd5+ Kf8 27. Bh6+ Ke7 28. Qc7 mate. 23. Bxg4 Rxe4+ 24. Kf3 h5 25. Be6+ Kh7 26. Qc8 1 : 0.

Wesley So
Photo: Fédération Française des Échecs

Resourcefulness

Anish Giri – Viorel Iordăchescu
French Team Championship Top 12; Port-Camargue, May 30, 2015
King’s Indian Defence E90

1. e4 g6 2. d4 Bg7 3. c4 d6 4. Nf3 Nf6 5. Nc3 0-0 6. h3 c6 7. Be3 Na6 8. Be2 e5 9. d5 Bd7 10. Nd2 Rc8 11. g4 cxd5 12. cxd5 Nc5 13. a3 a5 14. a4 Ne8 15. g5 f5 16. h4 Rf7 17. Nb3 Na6 18. Bb5 Nb4 19. f3 Bf8 20. Kd2 Ng7 21. Qg1 Nh5 22. Bb6 Qe8 23. Bxa5. “Anish Giri played Viorel Iordăchescu, who had commentated on the Dutchman’s games over the two weeks of the recent Khanty-Mansisyk Grand Prix. Things soon became creative, as Viorel decided to try and exploit the White King’s position in the middle of the board:”, Colin McGourty said.

23. ... Nc6!? Iordăchescu’s resourceful play is reminiscent of a celebrated game from the 1956 USSR Championship, when after 1. c4 Nf6 2. Nc3 g6 3. e4 d6 4. d4 Bg7 5. Be2 0-0 6. Bg5 c5 7. d5 Qa5 8. Bd2 a6 9. a4 e5 10. g4 Ne8 11. h4 f5 12. h5 f4 13. g5 Qd8 14. Bg4 Nc7 15. Bxc8 Qxc8 16. Nf3 Boris Vasilievich Spassky got out of trouble with the fantastic 16. ... Nc6!!? – see Averbakh – Spassky, 23rd USSR Chess Championship, Leningrad 1956. “Eventually [Spassky] drew, though Iordăchescu couldn’t pull off the same feat”, McGourty said. 24. dxc6 bxc6 25. Bc4 d5 26. exd5 cxd5 27. Bxd5 Be6 28. Bxe6 Qxe6 29. Qb6 Qc4 30. Qb5 Qf4+ 31. Kc2 Ng3 32. Rhd1 Qxf3 33. Qxe5 Ne4 34. Qe6 Qg2+ 35. Kb1 Rc6 36. Qe5 Rc4 37. Qd5 Rc8 38. Nxe4 fxe4 39. Ka2 Bg7 40. Rd2 Qf3 41. Re1 1 : 0.

Anish Giri
Photo: Fédération Française des Échecs

Anish Giri (‏@anishgiri)