Cat in the Castle

Russian chess Grandmaster Dmitry Olegovich Jakovenko won on tie-break over Levon Grigori Aronian the fourth and last stage of the Grand Prix 2017 held in Palma de Mallorca, Spain from 16 to 25 November 2017. Photo: Francisco Javier Ochoa de Echagüen (@echaguen).

Form and Object

Maxime Vachier-Lagrave – Dmitry Olegovich Jakovenko
Agon Grand Prix; fourth stage; Palma de Mallorca, November 24, 2017
Giuoco Piano C54

So Maxime Vachier-Lagrave did not succeed in conquering a chair for the next Candidates Tournament, in spite of his desire to fight for it till the very end. 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. c3 Nf6 5. d3 a6 6. 0-0 d6 7. a4 Ba7 8. Re1 0-0 9. h3 h6 10. Nbd2. For 10. b4 Ne7 11. Nbd2 Ng6 12. Nf1 c6 13. Bb3 Re8 14. Ra2 d5 15. Ng3 Be6 16. Rd2 Qc7 see Vachier-Lagrave – Giri, 2017 “Your Next Move” Grand Chess Tour Rapid, Leuven 2017. 10. ... Re8 11. b4 Ne7. The alternative 11. ... Be6 12. Bxe6 Rxe6 13. Nf1 Ne7 14. Ng3 Ng6 15. d4 Qd7 16. d5 Ree8 17. a5 c6 also seems to be okay for Black, Vachier-Lagrave – Carlsen, Grand Chess Tour Blitz Paris 2017, Paris 2017. 12. Qb3 Rf8 13. d4 exd4 14. cxd4 d5 15. exd5 Nexd5 16. b5 Be6 17. bxa6 bxa6 18. Ba3 Re8 19. Ne5. White seems to have seized the initiative, but Jakovenko defends strenuously his “uncomfortability”. 19. ... Nf4 20. Ndf3 Bxc4 21. Qxc4 Qd5 22. Qxd5 N6xd5 23. Nc6 Rxe1+ 24. Rxe1 a5 25. g3 Ng6 26. Nxa7 Rxa7 27. Re8+ Kh7 28. h4 Rb7 29. Nd2 Nc3 30. h5 Nh8 31. Nc4 Nxa4 32. Ne5. White desperately pushes for a win. On the other hand, if 32. Nxa5 Black might answer 32. ... Rb5 33. Re5 c5! with almost equality. 32. ... Nb6 33. Bc5 a4. Black’s passer more than compensates for the sad position in which the h8-Knight is placed. 34. d5!? When you should play for a draw it’s hard to play for a win. Stockfish gives 34. Nc6 Nd7 35. Ra8 Nxc5 36. dxc5 Rb5 37. Ne5 Rxc5 38. Nd7 Rxh5 39. Nf8+ with a draw by perpetual check. But it was obviously not enough for Vachier-Lagrave. 34. ... f6! 35. Nc6 Nd7 36. Bd4 Rb5

Objectively speaking, White has now nothing better than 37. Ra8 Rxd5 38. Rxa4 Rxh5 39. Ra7 Rd5 40. Rxc7 playing for a draw in an ending a Pawn down. Understandably, Vachier-Lagrave keeps looking for something more that he won’t find. 37. Nd8?? It looks like a broken dream. 37. Re7 was also not good, but not that bad: after 37. ... Rxd5 38. Bb2 Nb6! 39. Rxc7 (or 39. Bxf6 Rd7) 39. ... Rd7 Black successfully consolidates his plusses. 37. ... Rb8! 38. Bb2. White goes even deeper into his drama. 38. ... Rxb2 39. Ne6 a3 40. Re7 Nf7! Sic et simpliciter. 41. Rxf7 a2 42. Rxg7+ Kh8 43. Rxd7 a1=Q+ 44. Kg2 Qe1 0 : 1.

“I’ll Do It All Tomorrow”

Boris Abramovich Gelfand – Teimour Boris oghlu Radjabov
Grand Prix 2017; 4th stage; Palma de Mallorca, November 24, 2017
Queen’s Indian Defence E18

Also Teimour Radjabov will play all out tomorrow, thanks to his remarkable victory in today’s game against Israeli Grandmaster Boris Abramovich Gelfand. 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4. g3 Bb7 5. Bg2 Be7 6. 0-0 0-0 7. Nc3 Ne4 8. Bd2 Nxd2 9. Qxd2 d6 10. Rad1 Nd7 11. Rfe1 c5 12. e4 a6 13. d5. Playing for space. 13. e5 Bxf3 14. Bxf3 cxd4 15. Qxd4 Nxe5 was the (quite complex) alternative, Moroni – Romanov, 6th International Open, Llucmajor 2017. 13. ... e5 14. b3 g6 15. Rf1 Bc8 16. Ne1 Rb8 17. a4 f5 18. f4 exf4 19. gxf4 fxe4 20. Nxe4 b5 21. a5 bxc4 22. bxc4 Rb4 23. Rc1 Nf6 24. Ng5 Qxa5 25. Nd3 Ra4 26. Qe3 Qd8 27. Rce1 Bf5 28. Bh3. I have not much to say except that such a game could well have ended in a draw.

28. ... Nxd5! Bravo, Radjabov! In a must-win situation, and without particular certainties, he does the only thing he has to do: so he sacrifices the Knight for three Pawns, hoping to get more possibilities from such an unclear balance of powers. 29. cxd5 Bxg5 30. Bxf5. 30. fxg5 Re4 31. Qg3 Rxe1 32. Nxe1 Bxh3 33. Rxf8+ Kxf8 34. Qxh3 Qxg5+ 35. Qg2 Qe5 was another version of the same story. White should not lose such and endgame, but he is definitely the only one who may lose it. 30. ... Rxf5 31. Qe6+ Kg7 32. fxg5 Qxg5+ 33. Kh1 Ra2 34. Qe7+? This might be Gelfand’s crucial mistake (if not the only one), who wrongly thought that without Queens the ending might have been more easily drawable. On the contrary, without the help of Her Majesty, the White Rook and Knight won’t succeed in stopping (all) the enemy Pawns. Stockfish gives here 34. Qe4(!) Qd2 35. Qe7+ with a likely perpetual check – and if it were right (and if it had happened), it might have been all another story to tell. 34. ... Qxe7 35. Rxe7+ Kf8 36. Ree1 Rxf1+ 37. Rxf1+ Ke7 38. Re1+? According to Grandmaster Dejan Bojkov, who analysed the game in detail for the chess.com website, here White in time trouble misses the not easy to see 38. Nf2! which should eventually ensure him a draw. Just take a look at his analysis. 38. ... Kd7 39. Re3 a5! 40. Rh3 h5! 41. Nf4 a4 42. Nxg6 a3 43. Rf3. 43. Rc3 is probably less complacent, but after 43. ... Ra1+ 44. Kg2 a2 45. Ra3 c4 it’s hard to imagine that White will survive. 43. ... c4! 44. Nf4. 44. Rc3 Ra1+ 45. Kg2 a2 46. Ra3 c3! is just a preview of what is to come. 44. ... Ra1+ 45. Kg2 a2 46. Ra3 c3! 47. Ne2 c2 48. Kf2 Rh1! 0 : 1. For if 49. Rxa2 then 49. ... Rxh2+ 50. K~ Rxe2+ 51. Kxe2 c1=N+ with a didactic win.

Still Another Day

Ernesto Kazbekovich Inarkiev – Maxime Vachier-Lagrave
Grand Prix 2017; 4th stage; Palma de Mallorca, November 24, 2017
Grünfeld Defence D84

With today’s draw against Ernesto Kazbekovich Inarkiev, French Grandmaster Maxime Vachier-Lagrave has delayed his final audition for the Candidates until tomorrow, when he will have to play all out for the win. 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 4. Bf4 Bg7 5. e3 0-0 6. cxd5 Nxd5 7. Nxd5 Qxd5 8. Bxc7 Na6 9. Bxa6 Qxg2 10. Qf3 Qxf3 11. Nxf3 bxa6 12. Rc1 f6 13. Rg1 Rf7 14. b3 Bd7!? Vachier-Lagrave changes his way. 14. ... Bf8 15. Nd2 Bb7 16. Ke2 Re8 17. f3 e5!? proved to be quite unclear (but substantially balanced) in Giri – Vachier-Lagrave, 2017 “Your Next Move” Grand Chess Tour Blitz, Leuven 2017, whilst for 14. ... Bb7 15. Ke2 Bf8 16. Ba5 e6 see 李超 (Lǐ Chāo) – Giri, 4th Norway Chess 2016, Stavanger 2016. 15. Ba5 e6 16. Nd2 Rc8 17. Rxc8+ Bxc8 18. Ne4 Bf8 19. Ke2 Bb7 20. f3 Kg7 21. Rc1 g5 22. Nc5 Bxc5 23. dxc5 Bc6 24. Rd1 Bb5+ 25. Kf2 Rd7. Certainly Vachier-Lagrave was not unfamiliar with what having Bishops of opposite colour would have meant. 26. Rxd7+ Bxd7 27. Bc7 e5 28. Bb8 Kg6 29. Bxa7 Kf5

30. Kg3. If 30. e4+ Black’s answer would equally have been 30. ... Ke6 (and certainly not 30. ... Kf4?? 31. c6! ~ 32. Be3 mate). 30. ... h5 31. e4+ Ke6 32. h4 gxh4+ 33. Kxh4 f5 34. Kxh5 fxe4 35. fxe4 Bc6 36. Kg4 Bxe4 37. Kg3 Bb1 38. a3 Bc2 39. b4 Ba4 40. Kf3 Kd5 41. Ke3 ½ : ½.

Another virtuality to be real

Teimour Boris oghlu Radjabov – 李超 (Lǐ Chāo)
FIDE Grand Prix 2017; 4th stage; Palma de Mallorca, November 23, 2017
English Opening A10

Azerbaijani Grandmaster Teimour Boris oghlu Radjabov has today bounced back from yesterday’s débâcle, slowly outplaying 李超 (Lǐ Chāo) in a vintage 1980s English Opening, and thus still hoping for a pyrotechnic réentrée into the Candidates. 1. c4 g6 2. e4 e5 3. d4 Nf6 4. Nf3 exd4 5. e5 Bb4+ 6. Bd2 Qe7 7. Bxb4 Qxb4+ 8. Qd2 Qxd2+ 9. Nbxd2 Nh5 10. Nxd4 Nc6 11. N2f3!? An unsubstantial novelty. For 11. Nxc6 dxc6 12. 0-0-0 Bf5 13. f3 Ng7 14. g4 Be6 15. Ne4 h5 see Polugaevsky – Timman, 2nd International Tournament, Bugojno 1980. 11. ... b6 12. Nb5 Kd8 13. 0-0-0 Re8 14. g3 a6 15. Nbd4 Bb7 16. Nxc6+ Bxc6 17. Bh3 f5 18. Bg2 b5 19. Rhe1

19. ... bxc4? This really seems to be a bad positional error, after which Black’s position gets scattered, eventually causing him to lose first a Pawn and then also the (end)game. Black should rather have consolidated by ... Nh5-g7-e6 with reasonable chances to hold. 20. Nh4 Bxg2 21. Nxg2 Rb8 22. Rd4 g5 23. Red1 Rxe5 24. Rxd7+ Kc8 25. Rxh7 Nf6 26. Rh8+ Kb7 27. Rxb8+ Kxb8 28. Ne3 f4 29. Nxc4 Re2 30. Rd2 Re1+ 31. Kc2 Kb7 32. Kd3 Rh1 33. gxf4 gxf4 34. f3 Rf1 35. Ne5 Re1 36. Ng4 Nd5 37. h4 c5 38. h5 Nb4+ 39. Kc4 Rc1+ 40. Kb3 Nc6 41. h6 Nd4+ 42. Ka3 Nxf3 43. h7 Nxd2 44. h8=Q Nc4+ 45. Ka4 Nb6+ 46. Kb3 a5 47. Qf6 a4+ 48. Ka3 Ka6 49. Qxf4 Nc4+ 50. Kxa4 Nxb2+ 51. Kb3 Nd3 52. Qd6+ Kb5 53. a4+ 1 : 0.

The Half Hour

Maxime Vachier-Lagrave – Evgeny Yurievich Tomashevsky
Grand Prix 2017; 4th stage; Palma de Mallorca, November 23, 2017
Spanish Game C84

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. 0-0 Be7 6. d3 b5 7. Bb3 d6 8. a3 0-0 9. Nc3 Bg4 10. Be3 Nd4 11. Bxd4 exd4 12. Nd5 Nd7. If 12. ... Nxd5 there might follow 13. Bxd5 Rc8 14. Bc6 (14. h3 Bd7 15. Nxd4 c6 16. Bb3 Bf6 17. c3 Bxd4 18. cxd4 Qf6 19. Qd2 ½ : ½ Vachier-Lagrave – Aronian, 7th Chess World Cup, Tbilisi 2017, match game 2) 14. ... Bf6 15. a4 Bd7 16. Bxd7 Qxd7 17. Qd2 Qc6 18. b3 Rfe8 19. Rfe1 Qc5 20. g4! with the initiative, Vachier-Lagrave – Aronian, 7th Chess World Cup, Tbilisi 2017, tie-break game 1 (25+10). 13. h3 Bxf3 14. Qxf3 a5 15. Nxe7+. The alternative was 15. c3 dxc3 16. bxc3 c6 17. Nxe7+ Qxe7 18. d4 c5 19. Rfe1 Rab8 20. Re3 b4 21. axb4 axb4 22. dxc5 Ne5 23. Qg3 dxc5 24. Bd5 Rb6 25. f4 which after 25. ... Nd7? (25. ... Nc6) 26. e5! ended badly for Black, Naiditsch – Ponomariov, 8th 海南 (Hǎinán) 儋州 (Dānzhōu) Super Grandmaster Chess Tournament “人民网 (People’s Daily Online) Cup”, 儋州 (Dānzhōu) 2017. 15. ... Qxe7 16. Qg3 a4 17. Ba2 Qe5 18. f4 Qc5 19. Rfe1!? Vachier-Lagrave presents his novelty Pawn sacrifice. In any event, it cannot be worse than 19. Qf2 which after 19. ... Rab8 20. c3 dxc3 21. d4 Qc6 22. e5 cxb2 23. Qxb2 Nb6 24. Rab1 Nc4 gave Black a more than satisfactory position, A. Mista – D. Wagner, 37th Schachbundesliga, Griesheim 2017. Aesthetically speaking, however, it seems to me that the most natural move would be 20. Rf2, but Vachier-Lagrave apparently needs something more to accomplish his mission impossible.

19. ... Rae8. Tomashevsky does not dare to grab the Pawn for fear of drowning into a computer-based flood. After 19. ... Qxc2 20. e5! White has plenty of compensation, but a conclusive assessment requires further analysis. The rest is foreseeable. 20. Re2 Re7 21. b4 axb3 22. Bxb3 Qb6 23. Rb1 Qa6 24. Qg5 Rfe8 25. Qd5 Qxa3 26. Qxb5 Qc5 27. Bd5 Qxb5 28. Rxb5 Rc8 29. Bb7 Rb8 30. Re1 Nc5 31. Bc6 Rxb5 32. Bxb5 f5 33. e5 dxe5 34. fxe5 g6 35. Kf2 Kg7 36. Kf3 g5 37. h4 Kg6 38. Bc4 Nd7 39. e6 Nf8 40. g4 fxg4+ 41. Kxg4 gxh4 42. Re4 ½ : ½.

A Shortcut in Time

Levon Grigori Aronian – Anish Giri
Grand Prix 2017; fourth stage; Palma de Mallorca, November 19, 2017
English Opening A16

1. Nf3 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 4. cxd5 Nxd5 5. d3 Bg7 6. Bd2 0-0 7. g3 c5 8. h4!? Nc6. 8. ... h5 9. Bg2 Nc6 may transpose into Bacrot – Lékó, 4th SportAccord World Mind Games, Blitz Event, 北京 (Beijīng) 2014. 9. h5 Nxc3 10. bxc3 c4 11. hxg6. Not 11. d4 because of 11. ... e5! with a very comfortable game for Black. 11. ... hxg6 12. Qa4 Na5? This leads Black to a sad situation. Giri probably didn’t like Stockfish’s line 12. ... cxd3 13. Qh4 f6, which, however, seems quite sustainable; for instance: 14. Bh6 Qa5 15. Qc4+ Rf7 16. Bxg7 Kxg7 17. Rh7+ Kxh7 18. Qxf7+ and draw by perpetual check. 13. d4 b6 14. Bg2 Bb7 15. Qc2 Qd5 16. Nh4 Qd7 17. e4! White finally breaks through the wall and prepares for the assault on the Kingside. 17. ... e5 18. d5 Bc8 19. f4! Qe7 20. f5 g5

21. Qd1! Maybe not necessary, but brilliantly correct! 21. ... gxh4 22. Rxh4 Rd8 23. Qh5 Kf8 24. Rg4!? 24. Bh6 was possibly simpler, but Aronian is following his aesthetic plots, or maybe only his own computer preparation. 24. ... Bf6? A tough, tougher and toughest defence was 24. ... Qd6, but after 25. Rxg7! Kxg7 26. Qg5+ Kf8 27. Kf2! (Δ Ra1-h1) 27. ... Ke8 28. Qg7! Qf8 29. Qxe5+ Qe7 30. Qg7 Qf8 31. Qxf8+ Kxf8 32. Bg5! (Stockfish’s analysis) Giri would have found out that, even without Queens, White’s attack was strong enough to force him to give back (too) much of his extra material. 25. Bh6+ Ke8 26. Rg8+ Kd7 27. d6! A most romantic pointe. 1 : 0.