Circling the Square

David Navara – Lê Quang Liêm

56th Biel International Chess Festival; ACCENTUS Chess960 Tournament; time control: 15 minutes plus 5 seconds per move; Biel/Bienne, July 15, 2023

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Position #330

1. d4 d5 2. Nb3 Ng6 3. f4 Bb5 4. g4 e6 5. h4 Bd6 6. h5 Ne7 7. Bh4 c6 8. e4 Bxf1? In a Pavlovian loop, Black captures the Bishop, completely overlooking White’s zwischenzug. 8. ... dxe4 was called for, when there might follow 9. c4 Ba4 10. c5 Bc7 11. Qe3 Qd7 12. Qxe4 f6 with more or less equality.

9. e5! In fact, a refutation of Black’s 8th move.
11. ... Bxe5 10. fxe5 Bb5 11. Qg5 Qc7

12. h6 Nb6. Black’s position is inexorably falling apart. Of course, Black could not play 12. ... gxh6?? because of 13. Qxg8+ Kd7 14. Nc5#, whilst if 12. ... g6 then 13. Nf2 to be followed by Nf2-h3, Qg5-f6 and Nh3-g5.
13. hxg7 Nc4 14. Ng3 c5 15. Nh5 cxd4 16. Nxd4 0-0-0. Desperation, as Black was virtually in zugzwang.
17. Qxe7 Qb6 18. c3 Nxe5 19. Qb4 a6 20. Bxd8 Rxd8 21. 0-0-0 1 : 0.

Between a Rock and a Hard Place

Lê Quang Liêm – Sarasadat Khademalsharieh
17th Gibraltar Chess Festival; Catalan Bay, January 27, 2019
Spanish Game C88

After two lucky escapes in a row, Iranian International Master Sarasadat Khademalsharieh looked a bit too tired today to be repeating herself in her game with Vietnamese Grandmaster Lê Quang Liêm. 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. 0-0 b5 6. Bb3 Bb7 7. d3 Be7 8. Re1 0-0 9. Nbd2 d6 10. a4 Na5 11. Ba2 c5 12. Nf1 Rb8? The book move is 12. ... b4(!) that, in a recent game, gave raise to 13. Bd2 Bc8 14. Ne3 Be6 with reasonable play for Black, Anand – Praggnanandhaa, 1st Tata Steel Chess India Blitz, Kolkata 2018. 13. axb5 axb5 14. Ne3 Bc8 15. c3! 15. b4 Nc6 16. bxc5 dxc5 17. Bb2 Bd6 doesn’t seem to offer anything special for White, A. Ivanov – G. Golovchenko, Saint Petersburg 2002. 15. ... b4? After this, White easily gets a considerable strategic advantage, so maybe Black should have preferred 15. ... Nc6(!) eventually followed by ... Bc8-e6. 16. cxb4 cxb4 17. Bd2 Bd7 18. Nd5 Nxd5 19. Bxd5 Rb5 20. h3 Be6 21. Qa4 Qb8 22. Bxe6 fxe6 23. Rec1 d5 24. Be3 Bd6 25. Ng5 d4 26. Bd2 Re8 27. Rc2 h6 28. Nf3 Qb7 29. Rac1

29. ... Ra8? This allows White to decisively infiltrate into the enemy position, and can certainly be regarded as Black’s fatal mistake. If nothing else, 29. ... Kh7(!) would still have offered some defence. 30. Rc8+! Rxc8 31. Rxc8+ Qxc8 32. Qxb5 Nc6 33. Be1! Qc7 34. Nd2. The rest is a cat-mouse play. 34. ... Be7 35. Nc4 Bf8 36. h4 h5 37. Bd2 Be7 38. g3 Bd6 39. Kg2 Kf8 40. Qa6 Kf7 41. Qa8 Nb8 42. Nxd6+ Qxd6 43. Qb7+ 1 : 0.

Lê Quang Liêm vs. Sarasadat Khademalsharieh. Photo © John Saunders.

Mind Games

The 2nd IMSA Élite Mind Games is taking place in 淮安 (Huái’ān), 江苏省 (Jiāngsū province), China from 10 to 15 December 2017, featuring contests in bridge, chess, draughts, go, and 象棋 (Xiàngqí) (idem to say Chinese chess). As for chess, twelve players compete in distinct and separate unisex and women’s sections in Rapid, Blitz and Basque chess. A very interesting format show which, however, should distinguish itself as neatly as possible from the money-oriented aims of a “sports federation”, especially given that neither chess nor all other noble “mind games” are a sport at all. If nothing else because, as Siegbert Tarrasch said, “Chess, like love, like music, has the power to make men happy”. In the meanwhile, two Champions have been crowned already. In women’s Rapid contest, Antoaneta Stefanova from Bulgaria won gold, while the Muzychuk sisters from Ukraine took silver (Anna Muzychuk) and bronze (Mariya Muzychuk). In the unisex Rapid section, instead, Andrey Deviatkin from Russia won gold, while Shakhriyar Mamedyarov from Azerbaijan and Lê Quang Liêm from Vietnam respectively took silver and bronze.

Here is the podium of the 2nd IMSA Élite Mind Games women’s Rapid contest; from left: Anna Muzychuk (silver), Antoaneta Stefanova (gold), and Mariya Muzychuk (bronze). Photo: cca.imsa.cn.

And here is the podium of the 2nd IMSA Élite Mind Games unisex Rapid contest; from left: Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (silver), Andrey Deviatkin (gold), and Lê Quang Liêm (bronze). Photo: cca.imsa.cn.

Change Room

Lê Quang Liêm – Võ Thành Ninh
7th HDBank International Open Chess Tournament; Ho Chi Minh City, March 12, 2017
Queen’s Gambit Declined D37

“Vietnamese Lê Quang Liêm relies upon a sound positional style. He is among the favourites to gain the HDBank Cup, held in his home country. From the position shown in the diagram, how does White win?”, Grandmaster Rafael Duailibe Leitão says and asks, showing the game on his website. 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 d5 4. Nf3 Be7 5. Bf4 0-0 6. e3 b6 7. Rc1 Bb7 8. cxd5 exd5 9. Be2 c6 10. Ne5 Nfd7. A novelty that won’t bring good fortune. For 10. ... Nbd7 11. 0-0 Nxe5 12. dxe5 Ne8 13. Qc2 Nc7 14. Rfd1 Ne6 15. Bg3 Rb8 16. Qb1 Ba8 17. b4 c5 see Dizdar – Pigusov, 5th International Open, Dubai 2003. 11. Nd3 a5 12. 0-0 Bg5 13. Bg3 Bh4 14. e4! Bxg3 15. hxg3 dxe4 16. Nxe4 Ra7 17. Re1± c5 18. Nd6 cxd4 19. Nf4 Nc5 20. Qxd4 Nc6 21. Qd2 Ba6 22. Bxa6 Rxa6 23. Nh5 Ra7 24. Rcd1 Rd7 25. Qc3 f6? It undoubtedly hastens the end, but also 25. ... Qg5 26. Rd5 Qg6 (on 26. ... Qg4? 27. Ne8! wins very heavy material) 27. Nf4 is totally hopeless. 26. Qc4+ Kh8

27. Nf7+! Rfxf7. 27. ... Rdxf7 is equally met by 28. Qxf7! with an immediate catastrophe. 28. Qxf7! Rxf7 29. Rxd8+ 1 : 0.

Lê Quang Liêm vs. Võ Thành Ninh
Photo: vietnamchess.vn

Hard Rock Epic

侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) – Lê Quang Liêm
10th Tradewise Gibraltar Chess Festival; Catalan Bay, January 31, 2012
Sicilian Defence B85

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. f4 e6 7. Be2 Qc7 8. 0-0 Be7 9. Kh1 0-0 10. a4 Nc6 11. Be3 Re8 12. Bf3 Na5 13. Bf2 Nd7 14. Qe1 b6 15. e5 Bb7 16. Bg3 dxe5 17. fxe5 Rac8 18. Rd1 Bb4 19. Qf2 Rf8 20. Ne4! Giving up a Pawn for a lively play. 20. ... Nxe5 21. Bf4 Bxe4 22. Bxe4 Bd6 23. Nf3 f5 24. Bxe5 Bxe5 25. Bd3 Bxb2 26. Rb1 Bc3 27. Ng5 Qe7 28. Qe3 Nc4 29. Bxc4 Rxc4 30. Rxb6 Bd4 31. Qd3 Rxa4 32. Rxe6 Qa3 33. Qe2 h6

34. Rxh6! 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán)’s elegant pointe, which even in the worst of cases guarantees White at least a draw. 34. ... gxh6 35. Qe6+ Kg7 36. Qd7+ Kg6 37. Ne6 Bc5?? A melodramatic blunder that loses on the spot. The “fair” outcome would have been 37. ... Rf7! 38. Nf4+ Kg7 39. Nh5+ Kg8 40. Qe8+ Kf8 41. Qg6+ Kh8 42. Rxh6+ with perpetual check. 38. Qg7+! Instead, now Black gets mated. 38. ... Kh5 39. Nxf8 Bxf8 40. Qf7+ 1 : 0. Because of 40. ... Kg4 41. Qg6+ Kh4 42. g3+ Kh3 43. Qh5+ followed by mate.

侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán)’s virtuoso performance at Tradewise Gibraltar set new standards for women’s chess. Photo: Gibraltar International Chess Festival.