The Reorder of Things

David Navara – Matthias Blübaum

2nd World Fischerandom Chess Championship Qualifier 2; Final match game 4; time control: 15 minutes plus 2 seconds per move; chess.com, August 31, 2022

rnkrbqnb/pppppppp/8/8/8/8/PPPPPPPP/RNKRBQNB w DAda - 0 1

Position #651

1. f4 f5 2. g3 g6 3. Nc3 Nc6 4. Nf3 Nf6 5. e3 e6 6. d4 d5 7. Ne5 Ne4 8. Bxe4. Finally breaking the symmetry, but no initiative will come from it. 8. ... dxe4. 8. ... fxe4 9. Qh3 Qe7 is also perfectly playable. 9. Qc4 Qe7 10. a3 Nxe5 11. dxe5 Rxd1+ 12. Nxd1 0-0-0 13. Nf2 b6

14. a4! White goes for the attack, thus signaling that he won’t castle. On the other hand, 14. 0-0-0 Rxd1+ 15. Nxd1 Bg7 is nothing special for White. 14. ... Rd5?! 15. b4 Kb8 16. h4?! This is cryptic and useless. White could and should consolidate his bind on the position with Nf2-d1-c3-e2-d4. 16. ... Bg7 17. Kb2 Qd8 18. Qb3 Bf8 19. Bc3 Be7 20. Qc4? White achieved very little so far, and again he would probably have done better to recycle his Knight to the centre via h3, g1 and e2.

20. ... Qc8? Much better seems 20. ... Bxa4! 21. Qa6 b5 22. Qxe6 c5 with an overwhelming advantage for Black. 21. Be1 Qd8 22. Qe2 Qc8 23. Qc4 a6 24. Nd1 b5 25. axb5 (25. Qa2! c5 26. axb5 cxb4∞) 25. ... Rxb5 26. Kc1 c5

27. Nc3? 27. bxc5 Bxc5 28. Qa2 Rb6= was apparently good enough to hold balance. 27. ... Rb6! 28. Na4? Tantamount to capitulation. However, if 28. bxc5 Bxc5 29. Qe2 then 29. ... a5! 30. Rxa5 Bb4 winning the Exchange. 28. ... Bxa4 29. Rxa4 cxb4 30. Qxc8+ Kxc8. Now, with a Pawn ahead and the much better Bishop, the ending is easily won. 31. Ra5 Kb7 32. Kb2 Rc6 33. Ra4 Bc5 34. Bxb4. Or 34. Bd2 Rc8 35. Kb3 Rd8−+ sooner or later forcing the White Bishop to take on b4. 34. ... Bxe3 35. Bd6 Bf2 36. c4 e3 37. c5 e2 38. Rb4+ Ka7 39. Bb8+ Ka8 0 : 1.

The Bavarian Gate

Matthias Blübaum – Pier Luigi Basso
Tegernsee Masters 2020; Bad Wiessee, October 31, 2020
Semi-Slav Defence D45

Italian Grandmaster Pier Luigi Basso debuted in the Tegernsee Masters 2020 with a draw against the top seeded Matthias Blübaum. 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 c6 3. Nc3 d5 4. e3 e6 5. Nf3 Nbd7 6. Qc2 b6 7. b3 Bb7 8. Bb2 Bd6 9. Bd3 0-0 10. 0-0 Re8 11. Rad1 Qc7 12. e4 dxc4 13. bxc4!?TN (13. Bxc4 b5 14. Bd3 e5 15. Ne2 g6 16. dxe5 Nxe5 17. Ng3 Rad8 18. Ng5 Qe7 19. Be2 Bc7 20. f4 Neg4 21. Rxd8 Qxd8 22. Qc3 Ba5 23. b4 Bb6+ 24. Kh1 Nf2+ 25. Rxf2 Bxf2 26. Qxf6 Qxf6 27. Bxf6 Bxg3 28. hxg3 h6 29. Nf3 Rxe4 30. Nd4 a5 31. Bf3 Re1+ 32. Kh2 axb4 33. Nxb5 ½ : ½ Helbich – Dolgov, Vilnis Strautins Memorial, by correspondence, 2018) 13. ... e5 14. d5 Nc5 15. Be2 a6 16. Nd2 cxd5 17. Nxd5 Bxd5 18. exd5

18. ... e4 19. Kh1 Nfd7 20. Nb3 Nxb3 21. Qxb3 Nc5 22. Qh3 Be5 23. Bc1 Bf4 24. Bb2 Be5 25. Bc1 Bf4 26. Bb2 Be5 ½ : ½.

Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb. Photo: schach-tegernsee.de.

Спёртый мат (Smothered mate)

Matthias Blübaum – Nikita Kirillovich Vitiugov
5th GRENKE Chess Classic; Karlsruhe, March 31, 2018
3q2k1/Q4pp1/5np1/8/8/2r2B2/P4KPP/R7 b - - 0 24

Position after 24. Qa4xa7

24. ... Ne4+! 25. Kg1. If 25. Ke1 then 25. ... Rc2 finis. If, instead 25. Bxe4 then 25. ... Rc7!! forcing a won endgame in all variations. 25. ... Ra3!! 0 : 1. For if 26. Qxa3 then 26. ... Qd4+ 27. Kh1 Nf2+ 28. Kg1 Nh3++ 29. Kh1 Qg1+ 30. Rxg1 Nf2 mate.

Matthias Blübaum (right) vs. Nikita Kirillovich Vitiugov (left). Photo: Georgios Souleidis/GRENKE Chess Classic.

Behind Stage

Matthias Blübaum – Olga Alexandrovna Girya
80th Tata Steel Challengers Chess Tournament; Wijk aan Zee, January 14, 2018
Réti Opening A07

“Speaking of endgame technique, what about the following game. WGM Olga Girya’s win over GM Matthias Blübaum could easily have been one of ‘Capablanca’s Best Chess Endings’, the old book by Irving Chernev”, writes Peter Doggers in his Chess.com report. 1. Nf3 d5 2. g3 Bg4 3. Bg2 c6 4. 0-0 Nd7 5. h3 Bxf3 6. Bxf3 e5 7. d3 Ngf6 8. e4 Bc5 9. Nc3 dxe4 10. Nxe4 Nxe4 11. dxe4 0-0 12. Qe2 a5. Or 12. ... Qe7 13. h4 a5 14. Bg5 Nf6 15. a4 Rfd8 16. Rfd1 Bd4 17. c3 Bb6 18. Rxd8+ Rxd8 19. Rd1 Rxd1+ 20. Qxd1 h6 21. Bc1 Qe6 22. Kg2 Qa2 23. Qd6 Qxa4 24. Bxh6 gxh6 25. Qxf6 Qc2= Świercz – 居文君 (Jū Wénjūn), 1st Fall Chess Classic, Saint Louis 2017. 13. a4 Qe7 14. Kg2 Rfd8 15. Bd2 Nf8 16. Rfd1 Ne6 17. c3 Rd6 18. Bg4 Rad8 19. Be1 g6 20. h4 h5 21. Bf3 Ba7 22. Qc2 Nc5 23. Be2 Qe6 24. Rxd6 Rxd6 25. Ra3. Artificially striving for an advantage. After all, 25. Rd1 might have been better. 25. ... Qd7 26. b4 Nd3 27. Bxd3 Rxd3 28. bxa5 c5! 29. Qe2 c4 30. Ra2 Kg7 31. Rd2. 31. Rb2 Qxa4 32. Rxb7 Qxa5 33. Qb2 Rd1 34. Qe2 Rd3= could be a simpler way of equalising. 31. ... Rxd2 32. Qxd2 Qc6! 33. Qc2 Bb8! 34. f3 Bc7 35. Qb2 Bxa5 36. Qa3 Bb6 37. Qe7? White should not have allowed his opponent to trade Queens, so maybe something like 37. Qa2 was worth trying.

37. ... Qc5! Forcing the exchange of Queens (38. Qxb7?? Qg1+ 39. Kh3 Qh1 mate) and a virtually won ending, as White won’t be able to cope with his weak Pawns on a4 and c3. A very elegant King’s walk to the Queenside seals a well deserved win for Girya, at her début in Wijk aan Zee. 38. Qxc5 Bxc5 39. Bf2 Ba3! 40. f4 Kf6 41. Kf3 Ke6 42. Be3 Be7 43. Bf2 Bd8 44. Be1 Bc7 45. Bf2 Kd7 46. Be3 Kc6 47. Ke2 b6 48. Kd2 Kb7 49. fxe5 Bxe5 50. Bf4 Bg7 51. Bd6 Kc6 52. Bf4 Kb7 53. Bd6 Ka6 54. e5 Ka5 55. Ke3 Kxa4 56. Kd4 Kb3 57. Bc7 b5 58. Ba5 Bh6 59. Kc5 Bd2 60. Kd6 Bxc3 61. Bxc3 Kxc3 62. Ke7 Kd4 0 : 1.

Pia Sprong’s drawing of Olga Alexandrovna Girya’s and Dmitry Gordievsky’s first round game. Artwork © Pia Sprong.

Mirrors and Windows

侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) – Matthias Blübaum
4th GRENKE Chess Classic; Baden-Baden, April 20, 2017
Queen’s Gambit Declined D38

1. d4!? It must have been a surprise to Matthias... The Queen’s immediately fortressing herself. 1. ... Nf6 2. Nf3 d5 3. c4 e6 4. Nc3 Bb4! Matthias quite cleverly puts his opponent facing the dilemma of how to play into the mirror. 5. cxd5 exd5 6. Bg5 0-0 7. e3 h6 8. Bh4 Bf5 9. Qb3 Bxc3+ 10. bxc3 Nbd7 11. Be2 c5 12. dxc5!? 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) knows very well all secrets of the Ragozin as she herself favours it when playing Black. The text is apparently a new idea, aiming for something more than 12. 0-0 c4 13. Qb2 (after 13. Qxb7 Rb8 14. Qa6 Rb2 15. Bd1 Qb6 16. Qxb6 axb6 17. Bxf6 Nxf6 18. Ne5 Ne4 19. Rc1 Ra8 Black wins back his Pawn with satisfactory play, Cori – Hammer, 42nd Chess Olympiad, Baku 2016) 13. ... Qb6 14. Qc1 Ne4= 丁立人 (Dīng Lìrén) – Lékó, 7th 海南 (Hǎinán) 儋州 (Dānzhōu) Super Grandmaster Chess Tournament “人民网 (People’s Daily Online) Cup”, 儋州 (Dānzhōu) 2016. 12. ... g5 13. Bg3 Nxc5 14. Qb5 Nfe4 15. Rc1 Qe7. White achieved almost nothing from the opening. Of course it is not a tragedy, but sometimes such an awareness may be enough to get discouraged and start playing worse. 16. Be5! After a long time thinking, 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) finds the key — founded on the idea Bc5-d4 — for consolidating her own position before Matthias can get too daring. 16. ... Rac8 17. Bd4 a6 18. Qa5 Qc7 19. Qb4 Ne6 20. h4 Nxd4 21. Nxd4 Bg6 22. hxg5 hxg5 23. Nf3 Qc5 24. Qxb7

24. ... Nxc3. Stockfish casts its preference for ... g5-g4-g3, which, even if not so dangerous itself, appears to be a little more audacious. 25. Qb2 Qa5 26. 0-0 Qxa2 27. Qxa2 Nxa2 28. Rxc8 Rxc8 29. Bxa6 Rc5 30. Ra1 Nb4 31. Ra4 Nc2 32. Be2 f6 33. Nh2 Rc7 34. Bf3 Bf7 35. Ng4 Kg7 36. Ra6 d4 37. e4 d3 38. Rd6 Nb4. 38. ... Ne1 was a clearer way of achieving a draw, but, strangely, even after the text — a kind of atypical dual — Black somehow manages to save his skin. 39. Nxf6 Rc6 40. Rxc6 Nxc6 41. Ng4 Nd4 42. Ne3 Nxf3+ 43. gxf3 d2 44. Kg2 Bb3 45. Kg3 d1=Q 46. Nxd1 Bxd1 47. f4 gxf4+ 48. Kxf4 ½ : ½

侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) vs. Matthias Blübaum. Photo: Georgios Souleidis/GRENKE Chess Classic.

The Thought

Matthias Blübaum – Evgeniy Yuryevich Najer
15th Aeroflot Open; Moscow, February 24, 2017
Réti Opening A07

1. Nf3 d5 2. g3 Bg4 3. Bg2 c6 4. 0-0 Nf6 5. h3 Bxf3 6. Bxf3 e5 7. d3 a5 8. a4. In Erdos – Navara, Schachbundesliga 2013/2014, Eppingen 2014 was seen 8. Nd2 Bc5 9. e4 0-0 10. Nb3 Bb6 11. a4 Nbd7 12. c3 h6 13. Qc2 Re8 14. Kh2 Nc5 15. Nxc5 Bxc5 16. Bd2 Qb6 17. Kg2 Rad8 18. Rad1 Rd7 19. Bc1 Red8 20. Rfe1 dxe4 21. dxe4 ½ : ½. 8. ... Bc5 9. Nd2 0-0 10. e4 Re8 11. c3 Nbd7 12. Bg2 Ba7 13. exd5 cxd5 14. Nb1. It seems a bit convoluted. “The idea, after 16. Nb1-a3, was probably Na3-b5”, but then it won’t happen”, writes Thomas Richter in his commentary for chess-international.de. 14. ... e4 15. d4 h6 16. Na3 Bb8 17. Be3 Ra6 18. b4. White continues his Queenside mobilisation without paying any attention to the whole board. 18. ... axb4 19. cxb4 Nf8 20. Qb3. 20. Nb5 is also answered by 20. ... h5! taking the upper hand. 20. ... h5! A brilliant way to claim the initiative! 21. Bg5 N8h7 22. Bd2. “Even more loss of time”, says Richter. 22. ... h4. Black’s attack looks powerful enough to seize its target. 23. g4 Qd6 24. Rfc1 Qh2+ 25. Kf1

25. ... Bg3!! Of course, something like ... Nh7-f8-e6 was very good and nearly winning, but Najer concludes in a much more spectacular way. 26. g5. If 26. fxg3 then 26. ... Nxg4! 27. hxg4 Rf6+ finis. 26. ... Bxf2! 27. Kxf2 e3+ 28. Bxe3 Nxg5 29. Kf1. Or 29. Bxg5 Ne4+ and wins. 29. ... Nh5 30. Ra2 Ng3+ 31. Ke1 Qg1+ 0 : 1.

Matthias Blübaum vs. Evgeniy Yuryevich Najer
Photo: ruchess.ru