The Sound of Silence

Dinara Ramazanovna Saduakassova – Gawain Christopher B. Jones
34th GAMMA Reykjavík Open; Reykjavík, April 9, 2019
King’s Indian Defence E62

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. g3 Bg7 4. Bg2 0-0 5. Nc3 d6 6. Nf3 Nc6 7. 0-0 e5 8. dxe5 dxe5 9. Bg5 Be6 10. Nd5 Bxd5 11. Bxf6 Bxf6 12. cxd5 Ne7 13. e4 Qd7 (13. ... c6 14. dxc6 Nxc6 ½ : ½ Adorjan – Kupreichik, 10th European Team Chess Championship, Debrecen 1992) 14. Qb3 c6 15. Rfd1!?TN (15. dxc6 Nxc6 ½ : ½ Berkes – Naiditsch, 16th Hungarian Team Chess Championship, Budapest 2016) 15. ... cxd5 16. exd5 Nf5

17. d6 Nxd6 18. Qd5 Rad8 19. Nxe5 Qf5 20. Nd3 Qxd5 21. Bxd5 Rfe8 22. Rac1 Re7 23. Kf1 Nf5 24. Bb3 Nd4 25. h4!? Probably in order to prevent a future ... Bf6-g5, but saving the Bishop by 25. Ne1 followed by Bb3-c4 (and Bc4-d3 in case of ... b7-b5) seems safer. 25. ... Nxb3 26. axb3 a5!? Who knows, perhaps Black could put up some sort of an initiative with 26. ... Rd6!? 27. b4 Kg7 — now, in any case, White draws quite easily. 27. Rc5 b6 28. Rc6 Bd4 29. Nf4 Red7 30. Ne2 Bxb2 31. Rxd7 Rxd7 32. Rxb6 Ba3 33. Rb5 Rd1+ 34. Kg2 Bb4 35. Nf4 Rb1 36. Nd5 Rxb3 37. Ne7+ Kg7 38. Nc6 Rc3 39. Nxb4 axb4 40. Rxb4 h5 ½ : ½. A honourable result for Kazakhstani International Master against the top seed in the GAMMA Open.

Saduakassova in Reykjavík’s magnificent Harpa Concert Hall and Conference Centre. Photo: szacharnia.blogspot.com.

Saduakassova is one of the only two female chess players named in the “Entertainment & Sports” category of this year’s Forbes “30 Under 30 Asia” list. Screenshot: Forbes.

One hundred one dalmatians

Gawain Christopher B. Jones – 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán)
80th Tata Steel Chess Tournament; Wijk aan Zee, January 23, 2018
Catalan Opening E06

1. c4 e6 2. g3 Nf6 3. Bg2 d5 4. Nf3 Be7 5. 0-0 0-0 6. d4 dxc4 7. Ne5 Nc6. Karl Robatsch’s move. 8. Nxc6 bxc6 9. Na3 Bxa3 10. bxa3 Ba6 11. a4. If 11. Qd2 there might follow 11. ... Rb8 12. Rd1 [or 12. Qa5 Qc8 13. a4 Rd8 14. Qc5 (after 14. Ba3 Rxd4 15. Rab1 Black defended with a spectacular double Exchange sacrifice in Efimenko – Sakaev, 4th Serbian Team Chess Championship 1st League, Vrnjačka Banja 2010: 15. ... Rb6! 16. Bc5 Rd5! 17. Bxd5 cxd5 18. Bxb6 axb6 19. Qb4 Nd7 20. a5 b5 21. Qe7 c5 22. f4 d4 23. f5 e5 24. f6 gxf6 25. g4 h6 26. Rf5 ½ : ½) 14. ... Nd5 15. e4? Nc3 16. Be3 Nxa4 17. Qh5 c3−+ 赵骏 (Zhào Jùn) – 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán), 43rd Chinese Chess Championship, 兴化 (Xīnghuà) 2012] 12. ... Qc8 13. Qc2 h6 14. Bd2 Nd5 15. e4 Nb6 16. Bb4 Rd8 17. a4 Nd5! with a comfortable game for Black, Inarkiev – 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán), FIDE Grand Prix 2017, 3rd stage, Geneva 2017. 11. ... Qc8!? A very interesting novelty, preparing for a thematic sacrifice of the Exchange. 11. ... Qd6 12. Qd2 Rab8 13. Qa5 Rb6 was the already read book (with approximate equality), Hammer – Elsness, 93rd Norwegian Chess Campionship, Stavanger 2017. 12. Ba3 Rd8 13. Be7 Rd5!? Who knows, maybe 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) saved 13. ... Rd6!? for next time. 14. Bxf6 gxf6 15. Bxd5 cxd5 16. e4! dxe4 17. Qg4+ Kf8 18. Qxe4 Bb7 19. Qxh7. The passed h-Pawn is the only potential White’s winner in an otherwise unclear situation. However, White should first manage to exchange Queens in order to exploit it. 19. ... Qd7 20. Qh6+ Ke7 21. Qe3 Qxa4 22. Rab1 Bd5 23. Rb2 Rh8 24. Qc3 a5. Otherwise Qc3-b4+ follows. 25. f3 Kd7 26. Rc1 Ra8 27. Qe3 Rg8 28. Kg2 f5 29. Kf2 Rh8 30. Ke1 Qc6 31. Rc3 Qa8 32. Qe2 Qa7! 32. ... f4!? was another interesting possibility, as after 33. g4 Qd8 White doesn’t seem to have nothing better than returning the Exchange, with an unclear but basically even game. 33. Qd1

33. ... e5! 34. Qa4+ Kc8 35. Rxc4. White can no longer do anything but give back the Exchange. 35. ... Bxc4 36. Qxc4 Rd8. Not 36. ... Qxd4?? on account of 37. Qa6+ winning the Queen. 37. Kf1. Making possible the capture of the d4-Pawn. 37. Qxf7 Qxd4 38. Qxf5+ Rd7 39. Qf8+ was the most direct way to a draw – which Jones, in his psychological condition, might have well considered. 37. ... Qxd4 38. Qa6+ Kd7 39. Qb5+ Ke7 40. Kg2. Jones reached time control in a drastically changed situation, just to realise that the most he can hope for is to hardly strive for a draw. 40. ... Rd5 41. Qe2 Kf6 42. Rc2 Qb4. 42. ... c5(!) suggested itself, as 43. Qa6+ Kg7 44. Qxa5 e4 seems to be a little more troublesome for White. 43. Qe3 c5. 43. ... Kg6 44. h4 (not 44. Rxc7?? because of 44. ... Rd2+ 45. Kh3 Qb2−+) 44. ... f6 seems a little more persistent. 44. Qh6+ Ke7 45. Re2 Rb5 46. Rf2 Qb8 47. Qg5+ Ke6 48. g4 f4 49. Qf5+ Ke7 50. Re2 Kf8 51. Qf6 Qd6 52. Qxd6+ Rxd6 53. Rxe5 Rd2+ 54. Kh3 Rxa2 55. Rxc5 Ra3 56. Kh4 Rxf3 57. Rxa5 Rf2 58. h3 Rf3 59. Rh5 Ra3 60. Rf5 Rf3 61. Rf6 Kg7 62. g5 Kg8 63. Ra6 Kg7 64. Rf6 Kg8 65. Rh6 Rg3 ½ : ½.

Gambling for Fun

Magnus Carlsen – Gawain Christopher B. Jones
80th Tata Steel Chess Tournament; Wijk aan Zee, January 21, 2018
Sicilian Defence B76

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 g6 6. Be3 Bg7 7. f3 Nc6 8. Qd2 0-0 9. 0-0-0 d5 10. Qe1 e5 11. Nxc6 bxc6 12. exd5 Nxd5 13. Bc4 Be6 14. Kb1 Re8. It’s just a reculer pour mieux sauter. Jones usually plays ...Ra8-b8; for instance: 14. ... Rb8 15. Ne4 f5 16. Ng5 Bc8 17. h4 h6 18. Ne4 fxe4 19. fxe4 Rf4(!) with typical Dragon pride, Lampert – Jones, 9th International Open 2015, Wunsiedel 2015. 15. Ne4 f5. If 15. ... Qc7 there might follow 16. Bc5 h6 17. g4 Nf4 18. Bd6 Qb6 19. Bxe6 Rxe6 20. Bc5 Qb5 21. b3 Ree8 22. h4 Qe2 23. Qxe2 Nxe2 24. g5 h5 25. Rd6 a5 26. Rxc6 a4 27. Re1 Nf4 28. b4 a3 29. c3 Red8 30. Kc2 Ng2 31. Rh1 Bf8 32. Bb6 Rdb8 33. Bf2 Rd8 34. b5 Nf4 35. b6 Nd3 36. Rd1 1 : 0 Lékó – Trent, 3rd Isle of Man International Chess Tournament, Douglas 2016. 16. Ng5 Bc8 17. g4? “It’s quite difficult to understand Carlsen’s blunder, but 17. g4 is a good move if Black plays 16. ... a5 (instead of 16. ... Bc8 what Jones did), so maybe Magnus mixed things up. (?)”, Ukrainian Grandmaster Mikhail Vladimirovich Golubev said. “I think he wanted to play h2-h4 and later g2-g4. And suddenly, he had the ‘brilliant’ idea not to lose time, forgetting about ... f5-f4. That kind of accident happen in the best families :-)”, Spanish Grandmaster Miguel Illescas Córdoba argued. 17. ... f4. “17. ... f4 would be positionally catastrophic for Black if it didn’t win a piece”, Scottish Grandmaster Jonathan Rowson said. After all, it’s something that looks like a compensation! 18. h4 fxe3 19. Qxe3 h6 20. Qc5 Bb7 21. Ne4 Re6!? Well, maybe it’s a nervous move, but it was not easy not to be a little nervous. 21. ... Bf8 was also worth considering. 22. h5! Qb6? Jones would need the help of Wilhelm Steinitz to survive the storm. Now 22. ... Bf8 followed by ... g6-g5 was, according to the computer, Black’s best way to play for a win. 23. g5! hxg5? Not 23. ... Qxc5? because of 24. Nxc5 Re7 25. Nxb7 Rxb7 26. Rxd5!+−, but 23. ... Bf8 was still called for. And it was probably last call. 24. Qa3! Carlsen has already turned the tables, at least from an emotional standpoint. 24. ... Rb8

25. b3! “I can’t be sure, but 25. b3 looks like one of those classy moves that makes Magnus the best. Most punters, even Grandmaster punters like me, would probably have taken on g5, but then after 25. ... Bf8 26. Qd3 Ba6 Black fights back. Now Black has more to think about”, Rowson said. 25. ... Qd8!? 26. Qxa7(!) gxh5? By now Jones is too demoralized to put up a more stubborn resistance with 26. ... Re7! eventually followed by ... Rb8-a8. 27. Rxh5 Rg6 28. Rxg5! Rxg5 29. Nxg5 Qc8 30. Rg1. The rest is easy. 30. ... Ra8 31. Qb6 Ra6 32. Qc5 Qd7 33. Ne4 Kh8 34. Qf2 Qe7 35. Bxa6 Bxa6 36. Qh2+ Kg8 37. Qh6 Qa7 38. Qe6+ Kf8 39. Rg5 Ne3 40. Qd6+ Kf7 41. Nc5 Bc8 42. Rxg7+ 1 : 0.

Artwork © Willum Morsch

Generally Speaking

Mikhail Moiseyevich Botvinnik – Robert James Fischer
15th Chess Olympiad; Varna, October 7, 1962
8/8/3k4/pR3P2/8/r6p/7K/8 w - - 3 61

Position after 60. ... Kc7-d6

“Generally speaking, this ending would be drawn even without the f-Pawn – any tetbook on the endgame will tell you this”, Botvinnik writes (quoted in Fischer’s “My 60 Memorable Games”). 61. f6 Ke6 62. Rb6+ Kf7 63. Ra6 Kg6 64. Rc6 a4 65. Ra6 Kf7 66. Rc6 Rd3 67. Ra6 a3 68. Kg1 ½ : ½.

And somehow Fabiano Caruana, in today’s game against Gawain Christopher B. Jones wanted to experience Fischer’s sense of frustration when he “played right into [Botvinnik’s] hands”, by realising that was just true – Rook Pawns don’t win.

A Study in Scarlet

Fabiano Caruana – Gawain Christopher B. Jones
4th Isle of Man International Chess Tournament; Douglas, September 29, 2017
Spanish Game C78

Finally, most things in Douglas have been “normalized”, even without the help of Harry Potter’s magic. 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. 0-0 b5 6. Bb3 Bc5 7. c3 d6 8. a4 Rb8 9. d4 Bb6 10. a5 Ba7 11. h3 0-0 12. Be3 Ra8 13. Re1 h6 14. Nbd2 exd4 15. cxd4 Nb4 16. e5! Jones must have felt a powerful blow on his front teeth! Caruana’s novelty decisively improves on 16. d5 Bxe3 17. Rxe3 c5 18. dxc6 Nxc6 19. e5 Nxe5 20. Nxe5 dxe5 21. Rxe5 Ra7 and Black laboriously managed to consolidate, Grandelius – Jones, 61st Spanish Team Chess Championship (División de Honor), Linares 2017. 16. ... Nfd5 17. Ne4 Nxe3 18. Rxe3 Bb7 19. e6! Nd5 20. exf7+ Kh8 21. Re1 Rxf7 22. Rc1 Rc8

23. Nfg5! Another deadly blow! 23. ... Rf5? Clearly not 23. ... hxg5?? because of 24. Qh5+ Kg8 25. Nxg5 and wins. 23. ... Re7 seems to be the most critical defence, but Jones obviously ran into a prepared variation, and I think Caruana was well ready to give mate! Whatever it is, it seems to me that after 23. ... Re7 24. Qg4! White’s attack is awesome enough. 24. Ne6! Qd7 25. Qg4 Qf7 26. Rxc7! Rxc7 27. Nxd6 Rxf2 28. Nxc7! Qf6 29. Nxd5 Qxd4 30. Qxd4 Bxd4 31. Re4! Ba7 32. Nb6! 1 : 0. What a massacre.

The Spider King

Gawain Christopher B. Jones – Michael Adams
103rd British Chess Championship; Bournemouth, August 3, 2016
English Opening A14

1. c4 e6 2. g3 d5 3. Bg2 Nf6 4. Nf3 Be7 5. 0-0 0-0 6. b3 c5 7. e3 Nc6 8. Bb2 d4 9. exd4 cxd4 10. Re1 Re8 11. d3 Bc5 12. Ne5 Nxe5 13. Rxe5 Bd6 14. Re1 e5 15. Qc2. Jones is playing by ear and with no originality. Here 15. Ba3 appears to be sounder, e.g. 15. ... Bg4 16. Qd2 Rb8 17. Bxd6 Qxd6 18. Qc2 Nd7 19. Nd2 f5 20. a3 ½ : ½ Székely – Makropoulos, Plovdiv 1981. 15. ... Qc7 16. Nd2 Bf5 17. Re2 Re7 18. Rae1 Rae8 19. a3 a5! Siegbert Tarrasch would greatly appreciate Black’s dynamic crescendo. 20. Qb1. “One badly placed piece – the whole game is bad”, as Tarrasch put it. 20. ... Bc5 21. h3 h6 22. Nf3 Bh7 23. Qd1. East or west, home is best. 23. ... Qd6 24. Bc1

24. ... e4! To say it with David Ionovich Bronstein, the Spider finally crosses the middle line – the “chess equator” – and launches his grand attack. 25. dxe4. 25. Nd2 e3 is no better. 25. ... Nxe4 26. Bf4 Qd8 27. Nd2. 27. Bd2 prevents ... Ne4-c3, but after 27. ... d3 does not save the Exchange anyway. 27. ... Nc3 28. Rxe7 Rxe7 29. Rxe7. A desperate Queen sacrifice. If, however, 29. Qa1 then 29. ... Ne2+ and White must give up the Exchange for less than nothing, in order to avoid worse injuries. 29. ... Nxd1 30. Rxb7 Bd6 31. Bxd6 Qxd6 32. c5 Qe5 33. c6 Qe1+ 34. Kh2 Bf5 35. Ne4. Jones does not still have the courage to resign. 35. ... Bxe4 36. Rb8+. Or 36. Re7 Qxf2! 37. Rxe4 Ne3 winning immediately. 36. ... Kh7 37. Bxe4+ Qxe4 38. c7 Nxf2 39. Kg1 Nxh3+ 40. Kh2 Qc2+ 0 : 1. A lectio magistralis by Michael Adams.

Michael Adams. Photo: Brendan O’Gorman.

Down to Earth

Gawain Christopher B. Jones – 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán)
800th Anniversary Summit Chess Match UK–China; Liverpool, September 5, 2007
French Defence C03

1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nd2 Be7 4. Ngf3 Nf6 5. e5 Nfd7 6. Bd3 c5 7. c3 b6 8. Qe2 a5 9. 0-0 Ba6 10. c4 Nc6 11. cxd5 Bxd3 12. Qxd3 Nb4. If 12. ... exd5 then 13. Re1 0–0 14. Qf5 cxd4 15. Nb3 Nc5 16. Nbxd4⩲ Jones – Grigoryan, 46th World Junior Chess Championship, Yerevan 2007 — “[...] White is slightly better although I overpressed and went on to lose”, Jones wrote on New Zealand Chess Magazine, Volume 36, No. 1, January 2009, p. 9. 13. Qe4 exd5 14. Qg4 0-0 15. Rd1 Kh8 16. Nf1 Nc2 17. Rb1 Nxd4 18. Nxd4 cxd4 19. Qxd4 Bc5 20. Qxd5 Nxe5 21. Be3 Qxd5 22. Rxd5 Bxe3 23. Nxe3

23. ... f6 (23. ... Rfe8!? 24. Rd6 b5 25. Rc1⩲) 24. f4. “[...] and I was left in a very favourable ending due to more active pieces and the weakness of Black’s Queenside Pawns”, Jones writes (ibidem). 24. ... Ng6 25. g3 Rab8 26. Rc1 Kg8 27. Rc7 Rfc8 28. Rdd7 Rxc7 29. Rxc7 Rd8 30. Rb7 Rd3 31. Nc4 Rd4 32. b3

32. ... Rd1+ 33. Kg2 Rc1 34. a4 Rc2+ 35. Kg1 Rc1+ 36. Kf2 Rc2+ 37. Kf3 Rc3+ 38. Ke4 Rxb3 39. Rxb6 Rc3 40. Kd4 Rc1 41. Nxa5 Rc2 42. Nc4 Rxh2 43. Rb2 Rh1 44. Ra2 Ne7 45. a5 Nc6+ 46. Kc5 Nxa5 47. Rxa5 h5 48. Ne3 h4 49. gxh4 Rxh4 50. Nd5 Kf7 51. Kd6 Rh1 52. Ra7+ Kg6 53. Ne7+ Kh5 54. f5 Re1 55. Ra2 Re5 56. Rh2+ Kg5 57. Rh7 1 : 0.