日正當中 (High Noon)

Fabiano Caruana – 王皓 (Wáng Hào)
1st Online Nations Cup; India – China (25+10); chess.com, May 9, 2020
Russian Defence C42

By virtue of its half a point difference over Europe, United States will face China in tomorrow’s final. Fabiano Caruana has much merit, having scored, so far, 6½ points out of 8. 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nxe5 d6 4. Nf3 Nxe4 5. Nc3 Nxc3 6. dxc3 Be7 7. Be3 0-0 8. Qd2 Nd7 9. 0-0-0 Nf6 10. Bd3 c5 11. Rhe1 Be6 12. Bf4. Varying from their game at the recent Candidates (half)-Tournament: 12. Kb1 Qa5 13. c4 Qxd2 14. Nxd2 Rad8 15. f3 b6 16. g4 d5 17. g5 Nh5 18. cxd5 Bxd5 19. Ne4 f5 20. gxf6 Nxf6 21. Bg5 Kf7 22. Ng3 c4 23. Bf1 b5 24. a4 a6 25. axb5 axb5 26. Nf5 Bc5 27. Re5 Bxf3 28. Rxd8 Rxd8 29. Rxc5 Rd1+ 30. Ka2 Rxf1 31. Rxb5 c3 32. Bxf6 Kxf6 33. Ne3 Rf2 34. Rf5+ Ke6 35. Ka3 cxb2 36. Kxb2 h5 37. h4 Rxc2+ 38. Kxc2 Be4+ 39. Kd2 Bxf5 40. Ke2 Ke5 41. Kf3 Bd3 ½ : ½ Caruana – 王皓 (Wáng Hào), Candidates Tournament 2020, Yekaterinburg 2020. 12. ... d5 13. Ng5 Bg4? An unfortunate novelty. A recent correspondence game continued: 13. ... c4 14. Bf1 Bg4 15. f3 Bd7 16. Nh3 b5 17. Kb1 Bxh3 18. gxh3 a5 19. Be5 Qb6 20. Qg5 Rad8 21. Bd4 Bc5 22. Bxf6 Qxf6 23. Qxf6 gxf6 24. h4 Kg7 25. Re2 Rd6 26. Re7 Rfd8 27. Rb7 d4 28. Rxb5 dxc3 29. Rxd6 Bxd6 30. Bxc4 Ba3 31. Bd5 Re8 32. Be4 Rd8 33. Rd5 Rxd5 ½ : ½ Broadway – Sneddon, European Server Championship 2018, Preliminary 25, by correspondence, 2018. 14. f3 Bd7?! One misfortune calls another. 14. ... Bc8 15. c4! was not pleasant at all, but at least would have avoided immediate catastrophe.

15. c4?! Black’s Bishop on d7 allows White to immediately pseudo-sacrifice his Bishop at h7: 15. Bxh7+! with devastating effect. Quite paradoxically, however, Caruana’s move, allowing Black to close the d-file, is not as bad as to definitively compromise his Kingside attacking prospects. 15. ... d4 16. h4 Re8. The immediate 16. ... Bc6 may be a little safer (so as to reply to 17. g4 with 17. ... Bd6). 17. g4 Bc6 18. Qh2 Qa5 19. a3 Bf8. If 19. ... b5 there may follow 20. Nxf7! Kxf7 21. g5 with a crushing attack. 20. Bd2 Qb6 21. Qf4 (Δ Bd3xh7+) 21. ... Bd7. Straight into the fire, but 21. ... h6 22. Nxf7! Kxf7 23. g5+− was hopeless as well.

22. Bxh7+! Repetita iuvant. 22. ... Kh8 (22. ... Nxh7 23. Qxf7+ Kh8 24. Qh5+−) 23. Bf5 Bxf5 24. Qxf5 Kg8 25. h5 Qc6 26. Nxf7 Kxf7 27. g5 Qd7 28. Qg6+ 1 : 0.

Monday Starts on Saturday

侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) – Dronavalli Harika
1st Online Nations Cup; India – China (25+10); chess.com, May 9, 2020
Sicilian Defence B23

1. e4 c5 2. Nc3 Nc6 3. Nge2 Nd4 4. d3 e6 5. Be3 e5. The text (quite possibly a novelty) is more solid than 5. ... Nxe2 6. Bxe2 d6 7. d4 cxd4 8. Qxd4 Ne7 9. Bg5 when an old game continued 9. ... Nc6 10. Qd2 Qc7 11. Nb5 Qb8 12. 0-0-0 h6 13. Bh4 e5 14. Bc4 Be6 15. Bxe6 fxe6 16. Nxd6+ Bxd6 17. Qxd6 Qxd6 18. Rxd6 g5 19. Bg3 Ke7 20. Rhd1 Rhd8 21. Rxd8 Rxd8 22. Rxd8 Kxd8 23. f3 Ke7 24. Bf2 Kd6 25. Be3 a6 26. h4 gxh4 27. Bxh6 Nd4 28. Be3 1 : 0 Tukmakov – Klovsky, 6th Spartakiad of the Peoples of the USSR, Riga 1975. 6. Nd5 Ne7 7. Nec3 d6 8. g3 Nxd5 9. Nxd5 Be6 10. c3 Nc6 11. Bg2 Be7 12. 0-0 0-0 13. f4 exf4 14. Nxf4 Bg5 15. Kh1 Bxf4 16. Rxf4 Ne5

17. Qh5 Ng6. Taking the Pawn by 17. ... Nxd3 can hardly be good since after 18. Rh4 f6 (not 18. ... h6? on account of 19. Bxh6!) 19. Qxh7+ Kf7 20. Bf3! White enjoys a powerful initiative. 18. Rf2 Qd7 19. h3 f5 20. exf5 Rxf5 21. Rxf5 Bxf5 22. Rf1 Rf8 23. Kh2 b6 24. Bd5+ Kh8 25. d4 Be6 26. Rxf8+ Nxf8 27. Qf3 Bxd5 28. Qxd5 Qe6 29. Qxe6 Nxe6 30. d5 Nc7 31. c4 b5. This natural move is probably wrong. Black ought to continue 31. ... Kg8 in order to reply to 32. Bf4 with 32. ... Ne8 similarly to the game.

32. b3. On her turn, White could have missed here her hidden chance for victory! After 32. cxb5! Nxb5 (32. ... Nxd5 33. Bf4! is even worse) 33. Bf4 c4 34. Bd2! (34. a4? c3!= would lead only to a draw) 34. ... Nc7 35. Kg2 Nxd5 36. Kf3 White, in spite of being temporarily a Pawn down, has a nearly winning endgame, thus confirming the validity of Steinitz’s saying: “The King is a strong piece”. 32. ... bxc4 33. bxc4 Kg8 34. Bf4 Ne8 35. Kg2 Kf7 36. Kf3 Ke7 37. g4 Nc7 38. Ke4 Na8 39. Kd3 Nb6 40. Bg5+ Ke8 41. Kc3 a6 42. Kb3 Kd7 43. a4 Ke8 44. a5 Nd7 45. Kc3 Ne5 46. Bf4 Nf7 47. Kd3 g6 48. Ke4 Ke7 49. h4 Kd7 50. h5 Ke7 51. hxg6 hxg6 52. Bg3 Kd7 53. Ke3 Ke8 54. Bf4 Kd7 55. Kd3 Ke8 56. Ke4 Kd7 57. Kd3 Ke8 58. Ke4 Kd7 59. Kd3 ½ : ½.

The Tiffany touch

Ian Alexandrovich Nepomniachtchi – Maxime Vachier-Lagrave
1st Online Nations Cup; Russia – Europe (25+10); chess.com, May 7, 2020
8/8/8/4q3/kp3p2/5R2/5K2/3R4 w - - 16 80

Position after 79. ... Qg5-e5

Even today, old Europe is the only team which has kept pace with China, mostly thanks to the irreducible will of French Grandmaster Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, who somehow succeeded in turning a draw into a win against Russian Grandmaster Ian Alexandrovich Nepomniachtchi. 80. Rf1? White misses the thematic defence consisting in doubling the Rooks on the third rank by 80. Rdd3! with a theoretical draw. 80. ... b3−+ 81. Kg1 Qd4+? 81. ... Qc5+−+ is a tablebases win. 82. Kh2 Qh8+ 83. Kg1 Qg7+ 84. Kh2 Qh7+ 85. Kg1 Qg6+ 86. Kh2 b2 87. Rxf4+ Kb3 88. R4f3+ Ka2 89. R3f2 Qh7+ 90. Kg1 Qd3

91. Kh2? And it was Nepomniachtchi who made the last mistake! 91. Kg2 would have assured a draw. 91. ... Ka3 92. Rf7 Qd6+ 93. Kg2 Qd5+ 94. R7f3+ Ka2 95. Rf2 Ka1 96. Kg3 Qd6+ 97. Kg2 b1=Q 98. Rf1 Qxf1+ 99. Kxf1 Kb2 100. Ke2 Kc2 101. Re3 Qd5 102. Kf2 Qf5+ 103. Ke2 Qg4+ 104. Rf3 Qe4+ 105. Kf2 Kd2 106. Ra3 Qd5 107. Rg3 Qe5 108. Kf3 Qf5+ 109. Kg2 Ke2 110. Kg1 Qf2+ 111. Kh1 Kf1 0 : 1.

In White Ink

侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) – Irina Borisivna Krush
1st Online Nations Cup; United States – China (25+10); chess.com, May 7, 2020
Sicilian Defence B52

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. Bb5+ Bd7 4. c4. This used to be Ukrainian Grandmaster Oleg Mikhailovich Romanishin’s favourite in the 1970s and ’80s. 4. ... Bxb5. After 4. ... Nf6 5. Nc3 g6 6. d4 cxd4 7. Nxd4 Bg7 8. Be3 Nc6 9. f3 0-0 10. 0-0 Nxd4 11. Bxd4 Bxb5 12. cxb5 Qa5 13. Qd3 Qb4 14. Rfd1 Rfc8 15. a3 Qb3 16. Qe2 e6 17. Rd3 White put a lot of pressure on the d-file ending up winning at move 48, 侯逸凡 (Hóu​ Yì​fán) – Ushenina, Women’s Grand Prix 2013–2014, 4st stage, Khanty-Mansiysk 2014. 5. cxb5 Nf6 6. Nc3 g6 7. d4 cxd4 8. Nxd4 Bg7 9. 0-0 0-0 10. Be3 Nbd7 11. Qe2 Rc8. 11. ... d5 was worth considering here: 12. exd5 Nb6 13. Rfd1 Nfxd5 14. Nxd5 Nxd5 15. Bg5 Qd7 16. a4 ½ : ½ Sjugirov – Khegay, 1st European Universities Championships, Yerevan 2015. 12. Rfd1 Re8 13. Rac1 e6!? This is a novelty and also an improvement on 13. ... Rc7?! 14. a4! Qb8 15. a5 Rec8? 16. a6! Nxe4?! (16. ... bxa6 17. Nc6 is not pleasant either) 17. Nd5+− David – Ki. Georgiev, 18th Festival “Città di Padova”, Padua 2015. 14. Nb3 Nb6 15. Na5

15. ... d5? A grave error that leads to an immediate débâcle, but Krush’s been pursuing a mirage — otherwise 15. ... Rc7 was solid enough. 16. e5 Nfd7 17. Nxb7. Black not only loses an Exchange, but her whole position falls apart as well. 17. ... Qh4 18. Nd6 Bxe5 19. g3 Qf6 20. Nxc8 Rxc8 21. f4 Bb8 22. Bxb6 Nxb6

23. Nxd5! exd5 24. Rxc8+ Nxc8 25. Qe8+ Kg7 26. Qxc8 Qb6+ 27. Kg2 Qxb5 28. Qc3+ Kg8 29. Rd2 Bd6 30. Qb3 Qa6 31. Qxd5 Be7 32. f5 Bf6 33. fxg6 hxg6 34. Rf2 Kg7 35. Qf3 Qe6 36. Qxf6+! 1 : 0. The King and Pawn ending is an easy win for White.

Alice in Euroland

Levon Grigori Aronian – Santosh Gujrathi Vidit
1st Online Nations Cup; India – Europe (25+10); chess.com, May 6, 2020
8/6pk/6qp/4Q3/p5P1/PbBp3P/1P1K4/8 w - - 9 46

Position after 45. ... Bc2-b3

Europe was the only team to win both its matches today, especially thanks to Levon Grigori Aronian, who got the most from his games. In the position of the diagram, White continued 46. Qe7, and now, after, let’s say, 46. ... Qf7 (among others) there was little to do rather than sit and settle for a draw. Instead, something happened: 46. ... Bc2? 47. b4!+− axb3 48. Bb2! The pointe. Now the a-Pawn is unstoppable. 48. ... h5 49. g5! h4 50. a4 Kg8 51. a5 Kh7 52. a6! Bd1 53. Kxd1 d2 54. Qxg7+ Qxg7 55. Bxg7 Kxg7 56. Kxd2 1 : 0.

立体主义 (Cubism)

Humpy Koneru – 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán)
1st Online Nations Cup; China – India (25+10); chess.com, May 6, 2020
Queen’s Gambit Declined D35

As 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) and 居文君 (Jū Wénjūn) alternate on China’s fourth board, it happened today that two old acquaintances met again: 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Nbd7 5. cxd5 exd5 6. Bg5 c6 7. e3 Be7 8. Bd3 Ne4 9. Bxe7 Qxe7 10. Qc2 Ndf6 11. 0-0 0-0 12. Ne5 Re8 13. Rfe1 Bf5 14. Rac1 Nxc3!?TN (14. ... g6 ½ : ½ Riazantsev – M. Adams, Grand Prix 2017, 3rd stage, Geneva 2017) 15. Qxc3 Bxd3 16. Qxd3 Ne4. Even thus, it’s a more or less equal game balance. 17. Nf3 a5 18. Nd2 Nd6 19. a4 g6 20. h3 Kg7 21. Rc5 Qd8 22. Rcc1 Qb6 23. Qc3 Ne4 24. Nxe4 Rxe4 25. Rb1 Qb4 26. Qxb4 axb4 27. b3 f5 28. f3 Re6 29. Kf2 Kf6 30. h4 Ke7 31. Rbd1 Kd6 32. Rd3 b6 33. g3 Rae8 34. Red1 Rf8 35. R3d2 Rfe8 36. Rd3 Rf8 37. R3d2

37. ... Rfe8 38. Rd3 ½ : ½.

Games Without Losers

The drawing of lots for the inaugural Online Nations Cup, a six-team tournament held May 5–10, just went live at https://www.chess.com/. The pairings for round one are as follows: Europe vs. Russia China vs. Rest of the World India vs. United States Among the many features of interest are the royal comeback on the worldwide broadcast of four-time Women’s World Chess Champion and world woman No. 1 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán), and the behind-the scenes rivalry between FIDE President Arkady Vladimirovich Dvorkovich and 13th World Chess Champion Garry Kimovich Kasparov as captains of two “meta-nations”, Rest of the World and Europe, respectively. Furthermore, the plot includes a family subrivalry between Anna Olehivna Muzychuk and Mariya Olehivna Muzychuk, whose hearts beat for the Old Europe and the Whole rest of the World, respectively. Last but not least, three-time Women’s World Champion 居文君 (Jū Wénjūn) (China’s reserve team), and two-time Russian Women’s Chess Champion Aleksandra Yuryevna Goryachkina (Russia’s fourth board) can finally give free vent to their pride and prejudice as they enjoy the spotlight of such a gender quota success story.

A Long Short Story

Long Story Short: FIDE announces the Online Nations Cup 文匯報 (Wen Wei Po), April 28, 2020 The Fédération Internationale des Échecs (FIDE) and the Internet chess server Chess.com announce the Online Nations Cup, a team tournament with $180,000 prize fund held May 5–10. Six teams are to take part in it: China, Europe, India, Russia, United States, and Rest of the World. China’s team will be lead by 丁立人 (Dīng Lìrén) and 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) (pictured). Time control is 25 minutes per player plus 10 seconds per move. The first stage, a double round-robin with all teams, will take place May 5–9. On Sunday, May 10, the top two teams will meet in the final to crown a champion team. ■ 新華社 (Xīnhuá News Agency).

The Eighth Dwarf

• Leonard Barden, Chess: FIDE plans controversial online new anti-cheating measures, Financial Times, April 27, 2020

On May 5–10 the global chess body FIDE stages the [Online] Nations Cup of four-player teams, with China the top seeds ahead of Russia, United States, India, Europe, and Rest of the World. FIDE wants all participants in its events to sign a contract accepting expulsion from a tournament if their play shows a high overlap with computer moves. Such a rule could cause problems in the Nations Cup, where world class players are well capable of preparing an opening in advance for 20 moves or more. [Read more].

Banksy, Shower Lady, 2015. Courtesy of StreetArtNews.net.

Schindler’s List

The Fédération Internationale des Échecs (FIDE) has announced the composition of the six teams participating in the inaugural Online Nations Cup, to be held online May 5–10 at chess.com. CHINA Captain: 叶江川 (Yè Jiāngchuān); 1. 丁立人 (Dīng Lìrén); 2. 王皓 (Wáng Hào); 3. 韦奕 (Wéi Yì); 4. 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán); Reserves: 居文君 (Jū Wénjūn) and 余泱漪 (Yú Yāngyī). EUROPE Captain: Garry Kimovich Kasparov; 1. Maxime Vachier-Lagrave; 2. Levon Grigori Aronian; 3. Anish Giri; 4. Anna Olehivna Muzychuk; Reserves: Nana Dzagnidze ans Jan-Krzysztof Duda. INDIA Advisor: Vladimir Borisovich Kramnik; 1. Viswanathan Anand; 2. Pentala Harikrishna; 3. Vidit Gujrathi; 4. Humpy Koneru; Reserves: Dronavalli Harika and Baskaran Adhiban. RUSSIA Captain: Alexander Anatolyevich Motylev; 1. Ian Alexandrovich Nepomniachtchi; 2. Vladislav Mikhailovich Artemiev; 3. Sergey Alexandrovich Karjakin; 4. Aleksandra Yuryevna Goryachkina; Reserves: Olga Alexandrovna Girya and Dmitry Vladimirovich Andreikin. UNITED STATES Captain: William John Donaldson; 1. Fabiano Caruana; 2. Hikaru Nakamura; 3. Wesley So; 4. Irina Borisivna Krush; Reserves: Anna Vitalievna Zatonskih and Leinier Domínguez Pérez. REST OF THE WORLD Captain: Arkady Vladimirovich Dvorkovich; 1. Teimour Boris oghlu Radjabov; 2. Alireza Firouzja; 3. Bassem Amin; 4. Mariya Olehivna Muzychuk; Reserves: Dinara Saduakassova and Jorge Moisés Cori Tello.

Windows on the World

The Fédération Internationale des Échecs (FIDE) announced the Online Nations Cup, a six-team tournament to be held online via the chess.com website from May 5–10, 2020. The participating teams are (in alphaberical order): China, Europe, India, Russia, United States, plus a team representing the “Rest of the World”. At least two former World Chess Champions are due to show up: 13th World Chess Champion Garry Kimovich Kasparov will captain Europe, while 15th World Chess Champion Viswanathan Anand will play first board for India. A remarkable $180,000 prize fund and the rapid time control of 25 minutes each per game plus 10 seconds per move might, or might not, be enough to enchant the audience. A most notable feature of the “Six Nations” may rather be the gender quota imposed by regulation, which requires each team to field at least one female player.