Five Minutes Alone

Sergey Alexandrovich Karjakin – Péter Lékó
World Blitz Chess Championship; Doha, December 30, 2016
Giuoco Piano C54

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. 0-0 Nf6 5. d3 d6 6. a4 a6 7. c3 0-0 8. h3 Ba7 9. Nbd2 Ne7 10. Re1 c6 11. b4 Ng6 12. d4 exd4 13. cxd4 d5!? More reserved than 13. ... Nxe4 14. Bxf7+!? Rxf7 15. Nxe4 d5 16. Nc5 h6 17. Ra3 Bf5 18. Ne5 Nxe5 19. dxe5 Qh4! which, however, gave Black a satisfactory play, Carlsen – Karjakin, New York 2016, World Chess Championship match game 5. 14. exd5 Nxd5 15. Qb3 Be6 16. b5 axb5 17. axb5 Ndf4 18. Bxe6 Nxe6 19. Ba3!? Quite unusually, Karjakin opts for a bold play and chooses a sharp Pawn sacrifice for the aim of the initiative. 19. ... Nxd4 20. Nxd4 Bxd4 21. Rad1 Re8 22. Ne4 Qb6 23. Nd6! Rxe1+ 24. Rxe1 Bxf2+ 25. Kh1 Bxe1?? The first and fatal blunder, but Lékó totally overlooks the Damocle’s sword hanging over his King’s crown. Correct was 25. ... Qc7 in order to answer 26. Rf1 by 26. ... Qe7! holding everything together.

26. Qxf7+ Kh8 27. Bb2 Rg8 28. Nf5 1 : 0. Mate is unavoidable. “I played the whole tournament excellently, and my game against Lékó in Round 19 was decidedly brilliant”, then Karjakin said.

Sergey Alexandrovich Karjakin was finally happy after winning the World Blitz Chess Championship. “This means a lot... after the match in New York”, he said. Photo: Chess-News.ru (‏@Chess__News).

Hyperbolic trajectory

Péter Lékó – Ian Aleksandrovich Nepomniachtchi

7th 海南 (Hǎinán) 儋州 (Dānzhōu) Super Grandmaster Chess Tournament “人民网 (People’s Daily Online) Cup”; 儋州 (Dānzhōu), July 11, 2016

Sicilian Defence B90

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. f3 e5 7. Nb3 Be6 8. Be3 Be7 9. Qd2 h5 10. Be2 Nbd7 11. Nd5 Bxd5 12. exd5 0-0 13. 0-0 Qb8 14. Kh1 Bd8 15. f4. Deviating from the reference book: 15. c4 Bb6 16. Bxb6 Nxb6 17. f4 e4 18. Nd4 Qc8 19. Rac1 Re8 20. b4 Qd7 21. Nc2 Nc8 22. Ne3 Ne7 23. f5 Rec8 24. Rf4 b5 25. g4 bxc4 26. g5 c3 27. Qd4 Nh7 28. Bxh5 Nxg5 29. h4 Nh7 30. Rg1 f6 31. Qxe4 Kh8 32. Bf7 Qa7 33. Be6 Rc7 34. Nc4 Rd8 35. Rc1 Qb7 36. Rxc3 Qxb4 37. Rb3 Qc5 38. Rg3 Ng8 39. Qd4 Qb4 40. a3 Qb1+ 41. Kh2 Nh6 42. Qb6 Qxb6 43. Nxb6 Rb8 44. Rc4 Rcb7 45. Nc8 Rb2+ 46. Rg2 R2b3 47. Nxd6 Rxa3 48. Rc7 Ra4 49. Nc4 Nf8 50. d6 Rd8 51. Rgxg7 Ra2+ 52. Kh3 Re2 53. Rge7 Rb8 54. Rb7 Rxb7 55. Rxb7 Nxe6 56. fxe6 Rxe6 57. Re7 1 : 0 Šarić – Nepomniachtchi, 15th Poikovsky Karpov Chess Tournament, Poikovsky 2014. “Amazingly poor play level from both sides, but the biggest idiot prize has (expectedly) gone to me...”, then Nepomniachtchi tweeted. 15. ... Re8 16. c4 b5 17. fxe5 Nxe5 18. cxb5 axb5 19. Nd4 Nc4 20. Bxc4 bxc4 21. Bg1 Qb7 22. Qc2. 22. Nc6 is also answered by 22. ... Ne4 with better prospects for Black. On the other hand, the text – that implies the sacrifice of a Pawn – is far from satisfactory. 22. ... Ne4 23. Rae1 Qxd5 24. Rf5 Qb7 25. Rb5 Qe7. With the threat of ... Ne4-f2+. 26. Rf1 g6 27. Nf3 Qe6 28. a4 h4 29. Nd4 Qd7 30. Qxc4. White finally won back the Pawn, at the cost, however, of giving his opponent a clear initiative. 30. ... h3 31. Rf4 Nc5 32. b3? Maybe it is not so serious, but after this move Black’s attack will mount inexorably. 32. ... hxg2+ 33. Kxg2 Rc8 34. Qf1 Bg5 35. Rf3 Ne4 36. Rd3. 36. Kh1 Rc1 37. Qg2 Bf6 is somewhat better, but not enough to survive. 36. ... Qg4+ 37. Kh1 Rc1 38. Qg2 Qh4 39. Rf3. Unluckily for Lékó, 39. Rh3? is met by 39. ... Nf2+! winning on the spot. 39. ... Be3 40. Ne2 Nf2+ 41. Rxf2 Bxf2 42. Nxc1 Bxg1 43. Qg3

43. ... Qd4! 44. Qxg1 Qd2! 45. Nd3 Qxd3 46. Rg5 Re2! 0 : 1. A pretty game.

Ian Aleksandrovich Nepomniachtchi
Photo: 李昕 (Lǐ Xīn)/sports.sina.com.cn

Ash and Fire

Péter Lékó – 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán)

7th 海南 (Hǎinán) 儋州 (Dānzhōu) Super Grandmaster Chess Tournament “人民网 (People’s Daily Online) Cup”; 儋州 (Dānzhōu), July 10, 2016

Queen’s Gambit Declined D38

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Bb4 5. cxd5 exd5 6. Bg5 h6 7. Bh4 c5 8. e3 c4 9. Be2 Nc6 10. 0-0 g5 11. Bg3 0-0 12. Ne5 Bxc3 13. bxc3 Ne4 14. Bf3 Nxg3 15. hxg3 Bf5 16. Bg4. A dry move (and perhaps a new one) in the style of Lékó, who is as gifted as he is peace-oriented. For 16. e4 Nxe5 17. exf5 Nxf3+ 18. Qxf3 Qd6 19. a4 Rfe8 20. Rae1 Rad8 see Hammer – Movsesian, 5th Chess World Cup, Tromsø 2013, match game 1. 16. ... Be4 17. f4 Nxe5 18. dxe5 f6!? A sign of good mood! 19. Qd4 fxe5 20. fxe5 Qb6 21. Bf3 Qg6 22. Rad1 Rae8 23. Qxa7! Lékó avoids the liquidation into what he thought to be a drawn Rook ending (even though a Pawn ahead), aiming to consolidate his slight but lasting positional edge. 23. ... Bxf3 24. Rxf3 Rxf3 25. gxf3

25. ... Qc2! Whetever it is, for now Black satisfies herself with winning back the Pawn. 26. Qd4 Rxe5 27. Rd2 Qc1+ 28. Kf2 Rf5 29. g4 Rf7 30. Kg2 Qe1 31. a4 Qa1 32. Qe5 Qe1 33. Qd4 Qa1 34. Rf2. Lékó maneuvered skillfully to overload her opponent’s defence, but it’s not clear at all that his structural advantage is sufficient to win such a double-edged Queen and Rook endgame. 34. ... Qc1 35. Re2 Qa3 36. Qe5 Qc5. Clearly not 36. ... Qxa4?? on account of 37. Rd2! followed by Rd2xd5 with devastating effect. With the (controversial) text move, 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) put her opponent upon a crucial dilemma, rather than allowing him to gradually tighten his hold upon the board. Deserving consideration, however, was 36. ... Qc1 (idem to say 36. ... Qa1) 37. Rf2 Qd1 in order to answer 38. Qd6 (the immediate 38. e4 dxe4 39. Qxe4 Qd3 40. Qxd3 cxd3 41. Rd2 Rf4! 42. Rxd3 Rxa4 43. Rd8+ Kf7 44. Rd7+ Kg6 45. Rxb7 Rc4 leads to a drawn Rook endgame) by 38. ... Kg7 39. e4 Qe1 stubbornly keeping hold of her own. 37. Kf2. Stockfish evaluates 37. e4 Re7 38. Qf6 as far more profitable here, but such “risks” aren’t in the style of the sober Péter. 37. ... Qc6 38. Qd4 Rd7 39. a5 Qc7 40. Kg2 Qxa5 41. e4 Qd8 42. Rd2 Qf8 43. exd5 Qf4! 44. Qf2 Qe5 45. Qc5 Kg7 46. Qxc4 Rc7 47. Qa2 Rxc3! 48. Qb2 Qf6 49. Qxb7+ Qf7 50. Qxf7+ Kxf7. And now it’s a dead draw (with or without Rooks), even if Lékó takes more than a while for getting convinced. 51. d6 Rc8 52. d7 Rd8 53. Rd6 Ke7 54. Rxh6 Rxd7 55. Rh7+ Ke6 56. Rxd7 Kxd7. White’s extra Pawn is meaningless, but Péter pretends he does not know it. 57. Kf2 Kd6 58. Ke2 Ke6 59. Kd2 Kd6 60. Kc3 Ke5 61. Kd3 Kd5 62. Ke2 Ke6 63. Kd2 Kd6 64. Ke3 Ke5 65. f4+ gxf4+ 66. Kf3 Ke6 67. Kxf4 Kf6 68. g5+ Kg6 69. Kg4 Kg7 70. Kf5 Kf7 71. g6+ Kg7 72. Kg5 Kg8 73. Kf6 Kf8 74. g7+ Kg8 75. Kg6 ½ : ½. Until the stalemate.

Péter Lékó vs. 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán)
Photo: 李昕 (Lǐ Xīn)/sports.sina.com.cn

Technological determinism

Péter Lékó – Anish Giri
6th Chess World Cup; match game 1; Baku, September 17, 2015
Sicilian Defence B90

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Be3 Ng4 7. Bc1 Nf6 8. f3 e6 9. Be3 b5 10. Qd2 Nbd7 11. g4 h6 12. 0-0-0 b4 13. Nce2 Qc7 14. h4 d5 15. Bf4 e5 16. Bh2 dxe4 17. g5 hxg5 18. hxg5 Rxh2! A very timely Exchange sacrifice “patented” by Russian Grandmaster Alexander Valeryevich Khalifman. 19. Rxh2 exd4 20. Rh4 Ng4! 21. Rxg4. After 21. Nxd4 Nge5 22. Rxe4 Bb7 Black’s forces were well coordinated, Akopian – Khalifman, 13th European Individual Championship, Plovdiv 2012. 21. ... Nc5 22. Rh4. On 22. Rxe4+ Nxe4 23. fxe4 Bg4 Black stands well. 22. ... d3 23. Nd4 Bb7 24. Rh8. Equally after 24. fxe4 0-0-0 Black is fine. 24. ... 0-0-0. Nihil sub sole novum.

25. g6!? Theoretical novelty. Instead 23. Kb1 dxc2+ 24. Qxc2 exf3 leads to a very double-edged situation, Jakovenko – Artemiev, 66th Russian Chess Championship, Yekaterinburg 2013. 25. ... fxg6 26. fxe4 Bxe4 27. Nb3 Nxb3+ 28. axb3 Be7 29. Bxd3 Rxh8 ½ : ½. Chess in the time of computers.

Péter Lékó vs. Anish Giri. Photo: Eteri Kublashvili.

分形

Péter Lékó – Michael Adams
1st Fischerandom Chess World Championship; match game 5; Mainz, June 27, 2001
bnqrkbnr/pppppppp/8/8/8/8/PPPPPPPP/BNQRKBNR w KQkq - 0 1

SP210 BNQRKBNR

1. c4 c5 2. Nf3 b6 3. b3 Nf6 4. e3 Bxf3. Black unnecessarily gives up the Bishop-pair, just to inflict a little damage on White’s Pawn structure. A normal course as 4. ... e6 5. Be2 Be7 looks more reasonable. 5. gxf3 g6 6. Nc3 Bg7 7. Nd5 d6 8. Nxf6+ Bxf6 9. Bxf6 exf6 10. Qc3 Qf5. “Commentators called this a ‘typical Fischerandom move’. Not a naturaò move, but 10. ... Nd7 would fail to 11. Bh3”, Grandmaster Svetozar Gligorić wrote in his book “Shall We Play Fischerandom Chess?”, London, Batsford, 2002, page 117. 11. f4 0-0 12. Bg2 Na6. Nobody could tell it is a game of Fischerandom Chess! 13. 0-0 Nc7 14. d4. “White is first to make the Pawn break in the centre, and it offers him a lasting initiative”, Gligorić wrote (op. cit., p. 118). 14. ... Ne6 15. dxc5 dxc5 16. Rd5 Rxd5 17. cxd5 Nc7 18. Qc4 Ne8. “The absence of Black’s Queen on the sensitive a-side is felt. So Black should have tried 18. ... Qd7!, despite the possibility of the unpleasant break b3-b4”, Gligorić wrote (op. cit., p. 118). 19. Qa4. Now one of the Black’s Pawn on the a-side immediately falls, since 19. ... a5 would fail to 20. Qc6. 19. ... Qc8 20. Qxa7 Qd8 21. a4 f5 22. a5 bxa5 23. Qxc5 Nd6 24. Ra1 Qb8 25. Qxa5. There is no choice because 25. Rxa5 Nb7 would cost the Exchange. 25. ... Qxb3 26. Qc5 Qb8 27. Bf3 Rc8 28. Qd4 Qc7 29. Ra6 Qd8 30. Qb4. “30. Qe5 Nc4 would be ineffective in breaking the blockade. An attractive but unclear alternative was 30. Rc6”, Gligorić wrote (op. cit., p. 119). 30. ... Ne8

31. d6. The sharpest continuation! 31. ... Qd7 32. Be2. This seems to be a careless move which dissipates a skillfully earned superiority. The correct route is 32. Bd1! Rd8 33. Ba4 Qc8 34. Rb6! with Black being squeezed out of the game. 32. ... Rd8 33. Bb5 Qb7. This is the saving clause. 34. Qc5. On 34. Qa5 Rxd6 35. Ra8? (both 35. Rxd6 Nxd6 and 35. Qa4 Qd5 would lead to a draw) 35. ... Rd1+ 36. Bf1 Qf3! 37. Rxe8+ Kg7 38. Qa6 Rd2 39. Qa1+ Kh6 40. Qe1 Qg4+ 41. Kh1 Rd1 42. Qxd1 Qxd1 43. Kg2 Qg4+ 44. Kh1 Qf3+ 45. Kg1 Kg7 Black gets a significantly better position. Another try is 34. d7 Rxd7 35. Qa4 Rd6 36. Ra7 Qf3 37. Be2 Qc6 38. Qxc6 Rxc6 39. Ra8 Kf8 40. Bb5 Re6 and Black’s fortress looks secure. 34. ... Rxd6 35. Rxd6 Nxd6 36. Qxd6 ½ : ½.

国际象棋幻想

Michael Adams – Péter Lékó
1st Fischerandom Chess World Championship; match game 6; Mainz, June 28, 2001
rkqnbrnb/pppppppp/8/8/8/8/PPPPPPPP/RKQNBRNB w KQkq - 0 1

SP811 RKQNBRNB

1. e4. Far from match game 2, when, after 1. c4!? g6! 2. d3 f5 3. Bc3 e5! Black obtained a satisfactory position. 1. ... g6 2. f4 d6 3. Nf3 Nc6 4. d3 f5. Black’s strategy is very similar to that of match game 2. 5. exf5 gxf5 6. Bh4 e6 7. Qd2 Nge7 8. Nc3 Ng6 9. Bf2 Qd7 10. d4 d5 11. g3 0-0-0 12. 0-0-0 Kb8 13. Rde1 Bf7 14. b3 Nge7 15. Na4 b6. In such a position the tendency is towards a mutual blockade. 16. Nb2 Nc8 17. Ne5 Qe8. On 17. ... Nxe5 18. fxe5 is in White’s favour. 18. Qc3 Kb7 19. Qe3 Bg8 20. Nxc6 Qxc6 21. Nc4 Nd6 22. Nxd6+ Qxd6 23. Kb1 Bf6 24. c4 c6 25. Rc1 Bf7 26. Rfe1 h5 27. h4 Rc8 28. c5 Qd7 29. a4 Rb8 30. Re2 Kc7. “White has some initiative, but only 3 minutes left on the clock, whereas Black had more than 6 minutes to the time control on move 40”, Grandmaster Svetozar Gligorić wrote in his book “Shall We Play Fischerandom Chess?”, London, Batsford, 2002, page 122. 31. cxb6+. Otherwise Black could keep the a-side closed by the reply ... b6-b5. 31. ... Rxb6 32. Ka2 Rfb8 33. Rc3 Rb4 34. Qc1 R8b6. After 34. ... Bxd4 35. Bxd4 Rxd4 36. Qe3 the a7-Pawn is hanging. 35. Rec2 Qd6. If 35. ... Bxd4 then 36. Bxd4 Rxd4 37. Qe3 Rdb4 38. a5 Ra6 39. Rc5 “and the Rook on a6 could be trapped after Bh1-f3-e2”, Gligorić wrote (op. cit., p. 122). Better was, however, 35. ... Be8 in order to answer 36. Qd1 by 36. ... Kb8 with roughly even chances. 36. Qd1. The straightforward 36. a5 Ra6 37. Rc5 looks much more promising. 36. .. Kd7 37. Bf3 Qb8 38. Rd2 Qh8 39. Rdd3 a5. 39. ... Kc7 seems a safer course – as Steinitz says: “My King likes to go for a walk”. 40. Rc5 Ra6 41. Be2 Be7 42. Rc1 Bf6 43. Be1 Rb7 44. Bc3 Be8 45. Bb2 Ra8 46. Qe1 Ke7 47. Bd1 Qg8 48. Rc5 Rba7 49. Bc3 Qh8 50. Bb2 Kf7 51. Qe2. “Black has a greater number of weak spots than White, i.e. a5, c6, e6, h5”, Gligorić wrote (op. cit., p. 122). 51. ... Ke7 52. Re3 Qg8 53. Qc2 Kd8 54. Qe2 Kd7. “Finally, Lékó has to make a ‘wrong move’, giving White the chance for a decisive break. Anyway it was impossible to find a good defence with four weak Pawns on a5, c6, e6 and h5. After 54. ... Re7 White could continue 55. Qe1 and the a5-Pawn is under irresistible pressure too”, Gligorić wrote (op. cit., pp. 122-123).

55. Rxc6! A delightfully elegant Rook sacrifice! 55. ... Kxc6 56. Rxe6+ Kd7 57. Rxf6 Rc8 58. Qe5 Rc6 59. Qxf5+ Kc7 60. Qe5+ Kb7 61. Rxc6 Bxc6 62. f5 Qh7 63. f6 Ra8 64. Bxh5 Rh8 65. Bf3 Re8 66. Qg5 Qc2 67. f7 1 : 0.

Sine ira et studio

Péter Lékó – Fabiano Caruana
41st Sparkassen Chess Meeting; Dortmund, July 16, 2012
French Defence C18

1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e5 c5 5. a3 Bxc3+ 6. bxc3 Ne7 7. Qg4 cxd4 8. Qxg7 Rg8 9. Qxh7 Qc7 10. Ne2 Nbc6 11. f4 dxc3 12. Qd3 d4 13. Nxd4 Nxd4 14. Qxd4 Bd7 15. Rg1 Nf5 16. Qf2 Qc6 17. Bd3 Qd5 18. Rb1 Bc6 19. Rb3 0-0-0 20. Rxc3 Kb8. An unbalanced situation: White is two Pawns up, but Black has plenty of compensation. 21. g4. The alternative is 21. Rc5 Qa2 22. Rxc6 bxc6 23. Qc5 Rxd3 24. cxd3 Rxg2 25. Rxg2 Qxg2 26. Be3 Nxe3 27. Qxe3 Qh1+ 28. Ke2 Qxh2+ 29. Qf2 Qh1 30. Qd4 Qg2+ 31. Ke1 Kb7 32. a4 a5 33. Kd1 Qf1+ 34. Kd2 Qg2+ 35. Kc3 Qf1 36. Qd7+ Kb6 37. Qd8+ Kb7 38. Qd7+ Kb6 39. Qd8+ Kb7 40. Qd7+ ½ : ½ Ganguly – Shulman, World Chess Team Championship, 宁波市 (Níngbō) 2011. Shall we play Fischerandom chess? 21. ... Nd4 22. Rg3 Qh1+ 23. Bf1 b6. International Master John Watson writes: “After 23 moves, several of which Lékó says he needed to find over-the-board, White played the innovation”: 24. Bb2! “This led to a brutal slugfest, with White defending successfully in several improbable lines. The correct result seems to be a draw, but Caruana played a dreadful move and should have lost. In the end, Lékó himself missed an easy consolidation and it’s unclear whether he had any good further chances to win. I’ve inserted an interesting game Shyam – Papasimakopoulos [World Junior Championship, Athens 2012] in the notes”. (Watson). 24. ... Be4 25. a4 Rd5 26. Ba3 Rc8 27. Bd6+ Kb7 28. Rxc8

28. ... Nf3+? Caruana is playing with fire! The proper move was 28. ... Kxc8; for example: 29. c4 Nc2+ 30. Ke2 Rd4 31. a5 Kd7 32. f5 Bxf5 33. Qg2 Qxg2+ 34. Bxg2 Bxg4+ 35. Bf3 Bf5 36. axb6 axb6 with roughly equal chances. 29. Ke2! Rd2+ 30. Ke3 Kxc8. A rude awakening, since Her Majesty is taboo: 30. ... Rxf2 31. Rb8+ Kc6 32. Bb5+ Kd5 33. c4 mate. 31. Rg1? White should have played 31. Ba6+! Kd8 32. Qf1, as after the forced exchange of Queens 32. ... Qxf1 33. Bxf1 Rxh2 34. Rxf3 Bxf3 35. Kxf3 the endgame looks hopeless for Black. 31. ... Nxg1 32. Kxd2 Nf3+ 33. Kc3 Nxh2 34. Be2 Qa1+ 35. Kd2 Qh1 36. Qg3? Lifeless. The sharp 36. a5! was more promising; for example: 36. ... Kb7 37. f5 exf5 38. a6+ Kc8 39. e6 Nf3+ 40. Bxf3 Bxf3 41. exf7 Qh6+ 42. Kc3 Qf6+ 43. Be5! Qxe5+ 44. Qd4 Qa5+ 45. Kb2 Qb5+ 46. Kc1 Qf1+ 47. Kd2 Qd1+ 48. Ke3 Qg1+ 49. Kxf3 Qxd4 50. f8=Q+ Kc7 51. Qe7+ Kc6 52. Qe6+ Kc7 53. gxf5+- – obviously anything but a forced variation! 36. ... Nf1+ 37. Bxf1 Qxf1 38. Qe3 Qg2+ 39. Qe2 Qxe2+ 40. Kxe2 Bxc2 41. a5 bxa5 42. Kd2 Bg6 ½ : ½.

马歇尔计划 (Marshall Plan)

侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) – Péter Lékó
75th Tata Steel Chess Tournament; Wijk aan Zee, January 27, 2013
Spanish Game C89

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. 0-0 Be7 6. Re1 b5 7. Bb3 0-0 8. c3 d5 9. exd5 Nxd5 10. Nxe5 Nxe5 11. Rxe5 c6 12. d4 Bd6 13. Re1 Qh4 14. g3 Qh3 15. Qe2 Bg4 16. Qf1 Qh5 17. Nd2 Rae8. 17. ... Nf4!? 18. gxf4 Bxf4 seems quite interesting, but after 19. h4! (19. Qg2 Bh3 20. Qxc6 Bxh2+! 21. Kh1 Bg3! 22. Kg1 Bh2+=) 19. ... Qxh4 20. Qg2 Bh3 21. Nf3! Qh5 22. Bxf4 Bxg2 23. Kxg2 White remains with a Knight and two Bishops against Queen and Pawn – actually an appealing compensation. 18. f3 Bh3 19. Qf2 Rxe1+. If, instead, 19. ... f5 there might follow 20. Rxe8 Rxe8 21. Nf1 [21. c4 Nf4!? 22. c5+!? Kf8 23. cxd6? (23. gxf4! Qg6+ 24. Qg3 Re1+ 25. Kf2 Qe8 26. Ne4 Rf1+ 27. Ke2 fxe4 28. Qxh3! exf3+ 29. Kd3 Qe2+ 30. Kc3 Qe1+ 31. Bd2 b4+ 32. Kc4 Qe2+ 33. Kxb4 Qxd2+ 34. Ka3 Bxc5+ 35. dxc5 Qa5+ 36. Ba4 Qxc5+ 37. b4 Qc3+ 38. Bb3 Rxa1 39. Qc8+ Ke7 40. Qc7+ Ke8=) 23. ... Re2−+ Kapengut – Malaniuk, 14th “Alexey Pavlovich Sokolsky Menorial”, Minsk 1985] 21. ... f4 22. Bxf4 Bxf4 23. gxf4 Qg6+ 24. Ng3 h5 25. Re1 h4 26. Rxe8+ Qxe8 27. Qe2 Qf7 28. Nf1 Qg6+ 29. Kf2 Kf8 30. Bxd5 cxd5 31. Ne3 Qd6 32. Ng2 Bxg2 33. Kxg2 Qxf4 34. Qe5 Qd2+ 35. Kh3 Qxb2 36. Qd6+ Ke8 37. Qxa6 Ke7 38. Qb7+ Kd6 39. Qb6+ Kd7 40. Qb7+ Kd6 41. Qxg7 Qxa2 42. Qe5+ Kc6 43. Qe8+ Kb6 44. Qb8+ Kc6 45. Qc8+ Kd6 46. Qc5+ Ke6 47. Qxb5 1 : 0 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) – A. O. Muzychuk, FIDE Women’s Grand Prix 2011–12, 1st stage, Rostov-on-Don 2011. 20. Qxe1 Bf4!?

21. Bxd5. The critical line could be 21. gxf4 Nxf4 22. Bd1! Nd3 23. f4 (23. Qg3 f5! followed by ... f5-f4 is roughly equal as well) 23. ... Bg4 24. Qg3 Bxd1 25. Qxd3 Re8 26. Qg3 where Black had to prove his compensation for the sacrificed Bishop; for instance: 26. ... f5 27. d5 cxd5 28. Nf1 Re6 29. Qd3 Rg6+ 30. Ng3 Bf3 “is at least equal for Black. White must worry about ideas like ... Qh5-g4 followed by the march of the h-Pawn”, Dennis Monokroussos writes. 21. ... Bxd2 22. Bxd2 Qxd5 23. Qe4 Qd7 24. Re1 Be6 25. a3!? This seems no more promising than 25. Bf4 Re8 26. Qe5 f6 27. Qd6 Qxd6 28. Bxd6 Kf7 29. b3 Bf5 30. Kf2 Rxe1 31. Kxe1 a5 32. Kd2 Be6 33. Kd3 Nf5+ ½ : ½ Karjakin – Aronian, 5th Final Masters, São Paulo 2012. 25. ... Re8 26. g4 f6 27. h3 Bf7 28. Qf4 Rxe1+ 29. Bxe1 h6 30. Qe4 Bd5 31. Qe3 Qe6 32. Kf2 Qxe3+ 33. Kxe3 Kf7 34. h4 g6 35. Bg3 h5 36. gxh5 gxh5 37. Bd6 ½ : ½.

侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) (left) vs. Péter Lékó (right). Photo: Tata Steel Chess.

Lékó ricorda Fischer

Intervistato da Janis Nisii all’indomani del successo allo Sparkassen Chess Meeting di Dortmund (Torre & Cavallo Scacco!, n. 9, settembre 2008, pp. 3-6 e p. 30), il Grande Maestro ungherese Péter Lékó, già enfant terrible degli scacchi negli anni ’90, ha ricordato le sue ormai remote frequentazioni con Bobby Fischer:

– Mi puoi parlare delle tue lezioni con Fischer?
– Non ho mai fatto lezioni con Fischer, questa cosa che si dice è frutto di un fraintendimento. No, ho avuto una relazione molto stretta con lui negli ultimi anni in cui ha vissuto in Ungheria. Ci siamo avvicinati molto e siamo diventati amici, ma non credo sia bello parlare di questa amicizia proprio perché era così forte.
– C’era una grossa differenza di età...
– Sì, ma è stato splendido. Abbiamo passato dei momenti magnifici insieme tra il 1998 e il 1999.
– Quindi non prendevi lezioni da lui. Però parlavate di scacchi, immagino, puoi dirci qualcosa?
– No, non prendevo lezioni da lui innanzitutto perché lui non ne dava proprio di lezioni! Ma per me è stato veramente incredibile conoscere la sua visione degli scacchi. Anche se non era tra i top da più di 20 anni, era sorprendente il modo in cui parlava del gioco. Il modo in cui pensa e vede gli scacchi è assolutamente fenomenale [qui, e in altre frasi successive, Peter usa i verbi al presente, come se Fischer fosse ancora vivo... N.d.R.]. Era facile comprendere perché fosse il numero uno in assoluto e perché è diventato una simile leggenda, cosa che prima di incontrarlo non capivo. Credo che la generazione più giovane sia fuorviata dai computer e così tende a pensare che Fischer non giocasse con avversari così bravi, che all’epoca non fossero poi così preparati e cose simili. Poi, quando lo vedi, quando lo incontri, ed è chiaro che non è nel momento del suo fulgore, e ti accorgi di quanto sia ancora così brillante, beh allora inizi a nutrire un tale rispetto... Sono felice di aver avuto quel periodo con lui, perché sono arrivato a conoscerlo bene e ho capito che dentro è un’ottima persona.
– Ti ha ispirato?
– Sì, senza dubbio.
– Ti spingeva ad andare avanti?
– No, lui non spingeva nessuno. Stava spesso da solo, voglio dire, per lo più. Ma per me è stato un periodo molto bello e mi ha ispirato tantissimo.
– Già, non stento a crederlo.

Lékó onorò comunque in vita il “maestro”, allorché a Magonza nel 2001 si consacrò primo Campione del Mondo di scacchi Fischerandom della storia di specialità. Un idillio cominciato in verità nel 1996 a Kanjiza, cittadina serba al confine con l’Ungheria, già covo del “latitante” Fischer nei primi anni ’90, e dove l’allora giovanissimo Péter si impose con 9½ su 11 nel primo torneo di Fischerandom della storia eterodossa.

P. Lékó – L. Abel
Kanjiza, 1996
[FEN "nnrqbkrb/pppppppp/8/8/8/8/PPPPPPPP/NNRQBKRB"]
P59

1. d4 g6 2. Cb3 d6 3. 0-0 Cd7 4. g3 c6 5. c4 0-0 6. Cc3 Cf6 Se 6. ... Cc7 allora 7. Ca5 è spiacevole. 7. Ag2 Ad7 8. h3 Cb6 9. c5 Cbd5 10. e4 Cc7 11. Ad2 Ae6 12. Ah6 Ag7 13. Axg7 Rxg7 14. d5 Iniziativa e vantaggio di spazio son tutti per il Bianco. 14. ... Ad7 15. cxd6 exd6 16. dxc6 Axc6 17. Dd4 Ce6 L’ignava 17. ... b6 è confutata da 18. e5!. 18. Dxa7 b6 19. Da6 Cc5 20. Cxc5 dxc5 21. Tfe1 Con un decisivo Pedone in più al centro. 21. ... Cd7 22. Tcd1 Df6 23. f4 Ta8 24. De2 De7 25. a3 Tfe8 26. Dd2 Cf8 27. e5 Tad8 28. Df2 Db7 29. Axc6 Dxc6 30. Dg2 Dc8 31. Cb5 Txd1 32. Txd1 Td8 33. Cd6 Db8 34. f5! Rintoccano le campane dell’attacco! 34. ... gxf5+ 35. Cxf5+ Rh8 Oppure 35. ... Rg8 36. Ch6+ Rg7 37. Td6. 36. Cd6 Td7 37. Df3 Da7 38. Tf1 Rg8 39. Df6 Da4 40. Cf5 Ce6 41. Ch6+ Rh8 42. Dh8+ 1 : 0. Appena prima di 42. ... Re7 43. Cf5 matto (duale: 43. Txf7 matto).