The Best Day

Magnus Carlsen
Photo: Maria Alekseevna Emelianova

Magnus Carlsen (@MagnusCarlsen)

The Last Round-Up

李荻 (Lǐ Dí) – 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán)
2nd Qatar Masters Open; Doha, December 29, 2015
Queen’s Indian Defence A50

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 b6 3. Nf3 Bb7 4. g3 g6 5. Bg2 Bg7 6. 0-0 0-0 7. d5 Qe8!? 8. Nc3 e5 9. e4 d6 10. h3 a5 11. Be3 Na6 12. b3 Nh5 13. Nh4 Bc8 14. Nb5 Bd7 15. Bf3 Nf6 16. g4 h6 17. Nc3 Qe7 18. Ng2 Nh7 19. h4 Nc5 20. Qd2 f5! Black got the upper hand, thanks to his opponent’s irresolute opening strategy. 21. gxf5 gxf5 22. Bxc5. Not 22. Bxh6? on account of 22. ... f4! 23. Bxg7 Kxg7 followed by ... Rf8-g8 and ... Kg7-h8, which would give Black a very powerful attack. 22. ... bxc5 23. exf5 Bxf5 24. Be4 Bg4 25. Rae1 Nf6 26. f3 Bh3 27. Kh2 Bd7 28. Bg6 Kh8 29. Ne4 Ng8 30. Ng3 Bf6 31. Re4 Bg7 32. Re2 a4. Black is keeping her opponent under pressure on both wings. Now she must find a way to penetrate the walls. 33. Bb1

33. ... h5!? Black’s idea is to sacrifice a Pawn for bringing her King’s Bishop more effectively into play. 34. Qd3. A little better seems 34. Qg5, though even then 34. ... Bh6 35. Qxh5 axb3 36. axb3 Ra3 should give Black a good initiative for the Pawn. 34. ... Bh6 35. Nxh5. This was imprudent, but 李荻 (Lǐ Dí) probably underestimated Black’s strong rejoinder. 35. ... Bf5 36. Qd1. It’s probably not the best idea, but after 36. Qc3 axb3 37. axb3 Bxb1 38. Rxb1 Rf5! 39. Ng3 Bf4! Black also has a very strong attack. 36. ... axb3 37. Qxb3. Very comical – in all its dramaticity – is 37. axb3?? Ra1 38. Rb2 Bxb1 39. Rxb1 Ra2 with an irresistible attack. 37. ... Rab8 38. Qxb8 Rxb8 39. Bxf5 Qf7 40. Bg4 Rb4. White has some material compensation for the Queen, but his scattered and uncoordinated forces make the pendulum of opinion swing decisively in Black’s favour. 41.Re4 Rb2 42. a4 Qe8 43. a5 Qa4 44. Be6 Ne7 45. Rg4 Qxa5 46. Nf6 Qa2 47. Kh3 Rf2 48. Rxf2 Qxf2 49. f4 exf4 50. h5 Qf3+ 51. Kh2 Qe2 52. Kh3 Qd3+ 53. Kh4 Qf1 0 : 1. Thus 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) won the best women’s prize of $8,000 dollars.

侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán)
Photo: Katerina Savina

The Great Gatsby

余泱漪 (Yú Yāngyī) – Magnus Carlsen
2nd Qatar Masters Open; playoff tie-break game 2 (5+3); Doha, December 29, 2015
Nimzo-Indian Defence E43

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Nf3 b6 5. e3 Bb7 6. Bd3 0-0 7. 0-0 c5 8. Na4 cxd4 9. exd4 Re8 10. a3 Bf8 11. Bf4 Bxf3!? If there’s no improvisation it’s not chess. For 11. ... d6 12. Re1 Nbd7 13. Rc1 e5 see Carlsen – Karjakin, 5th Kings Tournament, Mediaș 2011. 12. Qxf3 Nc6 13. d5!? A bold advance which is probably a bit premature. 13. Qh3 deserves consideration. 13. ... exd5 14. cxd5 Ne5

15. Qd1?? 余泱漪 (Yú Yāngyī) doesn’t hold the tension and committs a colossal blunder. Or maybe the Qatari Emir would not have appreciated any loss of innocence. Whatever it is, now Black wins a clear piece. 15. ... Nxd3 16. Qxd3 Re4 0 : 1.

Qatar Masters Open (@Qatar_Masters)

A Woman in the Middle East

侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) – 卢尚磊 (Lú Shànglěi)
2nd Qatar Masters Open; Doha, December 28, 2015
Giuoco Piano C54

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. d3 Nf6 5. Nbd2 d6 6. c3 0-0 7. h3 Bb6 8. Bb3 Ne7 9. Nf1 Ng6 10. Ng3 h6 11. 0-0 Re8. If 11. ... Nh7 then 12. d4 c6 13. Be3 Ng5 14. Kh1 Qf6 15. Nh2 Re8 16. Ng4 Qd8 17. f4 exf4 18. Bxf4 d5 19. e5 Nxf4 20. Rxf4 c5 21. Qf1 cxd4 22. cxd4 Be6 23. Bc2 Rc8 24. Ne3 Qd7 25. Bd3 a6 26. Nh5 Rc6 27. Nf5 Bxf5 28. Bxf5 Qe7 29. h4 Nh7 30. Nxg7 Kxg7 31. Bxh7 Bxd4 32. Rxd4 Kxh7 33. Qf5+ Kh8 34. Rf1 Qxe5 35. Qxf7 Rce6 36. Rdf4 Qxb2 37. Qh5 Qg7 38. Qxd5 Re1 39. Rxe1 Rxe1+ 40. Kh2 Qc7 41. Qd4+ Kg8 42. g3 Re2+ 43. Kh3 Re7 44. Qd5+ Kh7 45. Qf5+ Kh8 46. Qf8+ Kh7 47. Qf5+ Kh8 48. Qg6 Qc8+ 49. Kg2 Re6 50. Qd3 Qc6+ 51. Kh2 Qe8 52. Qc3+ Kh7 53. Qc2+ Kh8 54. Qb2+ Kh7 55. Qxb7+ Kh8 56. Qb2+ Kh7 57. Qc2+ Kh8 58. Qc3+ Kh7 59. Qd3+ Kh8 60. Rf2 h5 61. Qf3 Kh7 62. Qf5+ Kh8 63. Kh3 Re1 64. Qf6+ Kh7 65. Qf5+ Kh8 66. Qd5 Re5 67. Rf8+ Qxf8 68. Qxe5+ Kg8 69. Qg5+ Kh7 70. Qxh5+ Kg7 71. Qe5+ Kh7 72. Kg4 Qg8+ 73. Kf5 Qxa2 74. Qe7+ Kh8 75. Qf6+ Kh7 76. Qg6+ Kh8 77. Qh6+ Kg8 78. Qe6+ 1 : 0 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) – Stefanova, Women’s Grand Prix 2009–2011, 1st stage, Instanbul 2009. 12. Re1 Be6 13. a4 a5 14. d4 Bxb3 15. Qxb3 d5 16. exd5 exd4 17. Rxe8+ Qxe8. International Master Georgios Souleidis also considers 17. ... Nxe8 18. c4 Nd6 (18. ... Nf6 19. Nf5⩲) 19. Qc2 Qf6 20. Nh5 Qf5 21. Qxf5 Nxf5 22. Kf1⩲ with a slightly favourable endgame.

18. Bd2. The most promising is probably Souleidis’ suggestion: 18. c4! Qd8 19. Nf5 c6 20. d6 (20. Bxh6!? gxh6 21. Nxh6+ Kg7 22. Nxf7 Kxf7 23. Ng5+ Kg8 24. Ne6 Qe7 25. Qxb6 cxd5 26. Nc7 Rf8 27. Nxd5=) 20. ... Nd7 21. g4! Nc5 22. Qc2 Ne6 23. h4 Bc5 24. h5 Ngf4 25. Bxf4 Nxf4 26. Ne7+ Kh8 27. Ne5 Nh3+ 28. Kg2 Ng5 29. Qf5 Bxd6 30. Qxg5 Qxe7 (or 30. ... Qe8 31. Qf4 Bxe7 32. Qxf7⩲) 31. Qxe7 Bxe7 32. Nxf7+ Kh7 33. Ne5⩲ with a little better ending for White. 18. ... dxc3 19. Bxc3 Ne4 20. Nxe4 Qxe4 21. Re1 Qf4 22. Bd2 Qd6 23. Qb5 Kh7 24. b4 axb4 25. Bxb4 c5 26. dxc6 Qxc6 27. Qxc6 bxc6 28. a5 Bc7 29. Kf1 Nf4 30. Ra1 Ra6 31. Bd2 Kg6 32. Nd4 c5 33. Nb5 Be5 34. Ra4 Ne6 35. Ke2 Kf6 36. Kd3 Ke7 37. g3 Kd7 38. f4 Kc6 39. Kc4 Bf6 40. Ra3 Nd8 41. Nc3 Nb7 42. Ne4 Bd8 43. f5 Nxa5+ ½ : ½.

The Wall

Magnus Carlsen – Vladimir Borisovich Kramnik
2nd Qatar Masters Open; Doha, December 29, 2015
Spanish C67

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6. Kramnik’s deadlock. 4. 0-0 Nxe4 5. Re1 Nd6 6. Nxe5 Be7 7. Bf1 Nxe5 8. Rxe5 0-0 9. d4 Bf6 10. Re1 Re8 11. c3 Rxe1 12. Qxe1 Ne8 13. Bf4 d5 14. Bd3 g6 15. Nd2 Ng7 16. Nf3 Bf5 17. Bxf5 Nxf5 18. Qe2 c6 19. Re1 Ng7 20. Be5 Bxe5. Kramnik’s personal touch, departing from 20. ... Ne6 21. Bxf6 Qxf6 22. Ne5 Re8 23. Ng4 Qd8 24. Qe5 Ng7 25. Qxe8+ Nxe8 26. Rxe8+ Qxe8 27. Nf6+ Kf8 28. Nxe8 Kxe8 29. f4 f5 30. Kf2 b5 31. b4 Kf7 32. h3 (or 32. g3 Kf6 33. Kf3 Ke6 34. Ke3 Kf6 35. Kf3 Ke6 ½ : ½ Carlsen – Anand, 3rd Zürich Chess Challenge, Zürich 2014) 32. ... h6 33. h4 h5 ½ : ½ Carlsen – Anand, World Chess Championship, Chennai 2013, match game 8. 21. Nxe5 Qd6 22. Qf3 f6 23. Nd3 Re8. The position is dead equal.

24. Rxe8+ Nxe8 25. Qe3 Ng7 26. h3 Kf7 27. Qh6 Kg8 28. Qe3 Kf7 29. Qh6 Kg8 30. Qe3 Kf7 ½ : ½. “Unlike in a match a draw for Kramnik isn’t nothing – it’ll probably be 2nd or 3rd”, then Carlsen said.

Photo © adrianismyname

Revival

Luca Moroni – Johan-Sebastian Christiansen
2nd Qatar Masters Open; Doha, December 26, 2015
Queen’s Gambit Accepted D20

1. d4 d5 2. c4 dxc4 3. e3 e5 4. Bxc4 exd4 5. exd4 Nf6 6. Nf3 Bd6. “The correct move; in subsequent games, however, M’Donnell almost invariably committed the error of playing the Bishop to e7”, writes Paul Charles Morphy in his commentary to de la Bourdonnais – McDonnell, London 1834, match game 12. 7. Qe2+ Qe7 8. Qxe7+ Bxe7 9. 0-0 Nbd7 10. Re1 Nb6 11. Bb3 Nfd5 12. Nc3 c6 13. h3 a5 14. Re2 Be6 15. Bg5 Bb4 16. Bd2 0-0 17. Ng5 Bd7 18. a3 Nxc3 19. bxc3 Bd6 20. a4! Luca energetically exploits his initiative. 20. ... c5 21. Rb1 Ra6? Not 21. ... Nxa4? because of 22. Nxf7 Rxf7 23. Bxf7+ Kxf7 24. Rxb7 and wins. It deserved consideration, however, 21. ... Bxa4 since after 22. Bxf7+ Rxf7 23. Nxf7 Kxf7 24. Rxb6 Bc6 25. d5! Bc7 26. dxc6 Bxb6 27. cxb7 Rb8 28. Be3 Rxb7 29. Rb2 White stands better, but not enough to be sure of winning the game. 22. Bc2! Bxa4. If 22. ... Nxa4? then 23. Rxb7 Bc6 24. Rxf7 Rxf7 25. Bb3 Ra7 26. Nxf7 Rxf7 27. Re6 c4 (what else?) 28. Bxc4 Nb6 29. Ba2 Nc8 30. Bf4! with a huge advantage. 23. Bxh7+ Kh8 24. dxc5 Bxc5 25. Bd3 Ra7 26. Re4! Threatening Re4-h4+. 26. ... Bc6 27. Rh4+ Kg8 28. Bh7+ Kh8 29. Re1! a4 30. Re5 a3. It looks like Black just won the lottery, but Luca has everything under his control. 31. Ne4! Moroni plays to win. After 31. Rxc5 a2 32. Bb1+ Kg8 33. Bxa2 Rxa2 Black should be able to hold his own despite the Pawn disadvantage. 31. ... a2? This allows a forced mate. Black could have prolonged the game with 31. ... Be7! 32. Rxe7 Nd5, although after 33. Re5 a2 34. Reh5 a1=Q+ 35. Kh2 Qd1 36. Bg6+! Qxh5 37. Rxh5+ Kg8 38. Bh7+ Kh8 39. c4! eventually followed by Bd2-b4 White would have conserved excellent winning chances.

32. Bg8+! Kxg8 33. Nf6+! gxf6 34. Rg4+ Kh7 35. Rh5 mate.

Luca Moroni (right) vs. Johan-Sebastian Christiansen (left). Photo © David Llada (@lladini).

Road roller

Shakhriyar Mamedyarov – Magnus Carlsen
2nd Qatar Masters Open; Doha, December 28, 2015
Queen’s Gambit Declined D38

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Bb4. 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán)’s specialty. 5. Bg5 h6 6. Bxf6. “6. Bxf6 loses the Bishop pair and the game, a wise man said after watching [Jon Ludvig Nilssen Hammer]’s play”, then Magnus joked. 6. ... Qxf6 7. e3 0-0 8. Rc1 dxc4 9. Bxc4 c5 10. 0-0 cxd4 11. Ne4 Qe7 12. exd4 Rd8 13. Qe2 Nc6 14. Rfd1 Ba5 15. Ng3. For 15. Nc3 Bd7 16. Bd3 Be8 17. Qe4 f5 18. Qe3 Bh5 see Vachier-Lagrave – 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán), 47th International Chess Festival, Biel/Bienne 2014, while for 15. Bb5 (probably best) 15. ... Bd7 16. Nc5 Be8 17. d5 Rxd5 18. Rxd5 exd5 19. Qxe7 Nxe7 20. Nxb7 Bb6 21. Nd6 Bxb5 22. Nxb5 Nf5 23. Kf1 h5 24. Rd1 Rd8 25. Nc3 Ne7 26. Ne5 see Ruck – 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán), 18th Corsican Circuit, Bastia 2014. 15. ... Bb6 16. Qe4 Bd7 17. h4!? Mamedyarov’s sharp novelty. Also 17. Nh5 Be8 18. Qg4 g6 19. Ng3 Rac8 leads nowhere for White, Shimanov – Matlakov, 10th Ugra Governor’s Cup, Khanty-Mansiysk 2014. 17. ... Be8. Magnus defends his position Steinitz-like. 18. a3 Rd6! 19. Qg4? Very unsound. Mamedyarov probably got a little depressed when he realized that the immediate 19. d5 would have given him nothing but a slightly worse position (after 19. ... exd5). 19. ... Rad8 20. d5. Consistently consistent.

20. ... Qf8! The pointe. 21. Qe4 Ne7! 22. Bd3 f5 23. Qe5 Nxd5. Cashing in! 24. Bxf5? Mamedyarov eventually self-destructs, but after 24. Bc4 Bf7 White has no compensation at all for the Pawn minus. 24. ... exf5 25. Nxf5 Rc6! 0 : 1. The triumph of defence.

Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (R.) vs. Magnus Carlsen (L.)
Photo: Katerina Savina

Qatar Masters Open (@Qatar_Masters)

It may not be good, but it’s not so bad

Sanan Vyacheslavovich Sjugirov – Dmitry Olegovich Jakovenko
2nd Qatar Masters Open; Doha, December 27, 2015
Réti Opening A07

1. Nf3 d5 2. g3 Bg4 3. Bg2 c6 4. 0-0 e6 5. h3 Bh5 6. d3 Nd7 7. e4 Bd6 8. exd5 cxd5 9. c4 Ne7 10. Nc3 0-0 11. cxd5 exd5 12. g4 Bg6 13. Nh4 Nb6? This is probably not a good choice. For 13. ... d4 14. Nb5 Bc5 15. b4 Bxb4 16. Rb1 Bc5 17. Bf4 Nc6 see Kovalev – Moroz, 72nd Ukrainian Chess Championship, Simferopol 2003, while for 13. ... Nc5 14. d4 Ne6 see U. Andersson – G. Flear, Interzonal Tournament, Szirak 1987. 14. Bg5 Qd7 15. a4! Rae8? Black could have tried 15. ... d4 16. Nb5 Bb4 – it may not be good, but it’s not so bad. 16. a5 Na8 17. Nxg6 Nxg6 18. Qa4! Qe6

19. Bd2! Qe5? This leads to disaster. Anyway, after 19. ... Nc7 20. Rae1 White stands much better. 20. f4 Bc5+ 21. Kh1 Qb8 22. Nxd5 Bd6. No better is 22. ... Re2 23. Qc2 followed by Bg2-f3. 23. Qd4. White’s attack will soon become overwhelming. 23. ... Rd8 24. Bc3 f6 25. g5 Ne7 26. gxf6 Nf5 27. Qc4 Rf7 28. fxg7 Rc8 29. Nf6+ Kxg7 30. Nd7+ Kg8 31. Nxb8 Rxc4 32. dxc4 Ng3+ 33. Kg1 Ne2+ 34. Kh2 Nxf4 35. Kh1 1 : 0. Jakovenko literally disintegrated.

Tarjei J. Svensen (@TarjeiJS)

Almost Like They Wanted It

Magnus Carlsen – Anish Giri
2nd Qatar Masters Open; Doha, December 27, 2015
Sicilian Defence B92

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 Nf6 4. Nc3 cxd4 5. Nxd4 a6 6. Be2 e5 7. Nb3 Be7 8. Bg5. It is worth remembering the following, exemplary game: 8. 0-0 0-0 9. Bg5 Be6 10. Bxf6 Bxf6 11. Nd5 Nd7 12. Qd3 Rc8 13. c3 Bg5 14. Rad1 Kh8 15. Bf3 g6 16. Ne3 Rc6 17. Rfe1 Nf6 18. Qe2 b5 19. Ra1 Qb6 20. Nd2 a5 21. Ndf1 Rfc8 22. a3 b4 23. cxb4 axb4 24. a4 Qa7 25. Red1 Ra6 26. Rd3 b3 27. a5 Rcc6 28. Qd1 Qc7 29. Nd5 Bxd5 30. exd5 Rc5 31. Rxb3 Raxa5 32. Rxa5 Rxa5 33. Rc3 Qb6 34. Rb3 Qa7 35. Rb4 Kg7 36. h4 Bh6 37. b3 Ra2 38. Qe1 Qa5 39. Qb1 Ra1 40. Rb5 Qc3 0 : 1 Averbakh – T. V. Petrossiàn, 26th USSR Chess Championship, Tbilisi 1959. 8. ... Be6 9. Bxf6 Bxf6 10. Qd3 Be7 11. Nd5 Nd7 12. Rd1 Bxd5 13. Qxd5 Qc7 14. Nd2. Theoretical novelty. The Knight starts one of the typical Karpovian routes to d5. For 14. Qc4 Qxc4 15. Bxc4 Nf6 see Vachier-Lagrave – Wojtaszek, 47th International Chess Festival, Biel/Bienne 2014. 14. ... 0-0. After 14. ... Qxc2 15. Nc4 White stands better. 15. 0-0 b5 16. c3 g6 17. a3 Rab8 18. Rfe1. Intending Nd2-f1-e3. 18. ... Rfd8 19. Qa2. It prevents ... Nd7-f6 followed by ... d6-d5. 19. ... Nc5 20. Bf1 Bg5 21. Nb3 Qc6 24. Rd5 Nd7. If, instead, 22. ... Nxe4 then 23. Na5 Qc7 24. Rxe4 Qxa5 25. a4 with the prospect of a volatile initiative. 25. Rd3 Nc5 26. Rf3. Magnus is obviously not interested in a draw. 26. ... Rd7 27. Na5 Qa8 28. Qd5. “After this move, very interesting endgame appears on the board. Black will have a massive Pawn centre after ... f7-f5, on the other hand White will have a wonderful c6-square for the Knight and Pawn majority on the Queenside after b2-b4 and c3-c4”, Grandmaster Petar G. Arnaudov said. 28. ... Qxd5 29. exd5 e4 30. Rh3 f5 31. Nc6 Rb6 32. b4 Na4 33. c4 Rc7 34. Rb3 Bd2 35. Rd1 Bg5 36. g3 Bf6. “Now Rd1-d2-c2 looks like a good idea”, suggests Arnaudov. Instead... 37. Rc1

37. ... Rbxc6! 38. dxc6 Rxc6. Black’s extra Pawn and initiative more than compensate for the sacrificed Exchange. 39. Rbb1 Bg5 40. Rc2 d5 41. c5 d4 42. Rd1 Bf6. Not 42. ... d3? on account of 43. Bxd3! exd3 44. Rxd3 with advantage to White. 42. ... Bf6 43. Rcd2. Carlsen decides to give back the Exchange just for saving the day. 43. ... Nc3 44. Rxd4 Nxd1 45. Rxd1 Bb2 46. Rd8+ Kf7 47. Ra8 Bxa3 48. Bxb5 Rc7 49. Rxa6 Bxb4 50. c6 Ke7 51. Rb6 Bd6 52. Rb7 ½ : ½. Well, it’s not so easy to play like Karpov.

Magnus Carlsen
Photo: Francesco Guidicini/The Sunday Times

Unnumbered Champions

Mohamad Naser Al Sayed – Ruslan Olegovich Ponomariov
2nd Qatar Masters Open; Doha, December 26, 2015
Queen’s Pawn Game A40

1. d4 e6 2. c4 b6 3. Nc3 Bb7 4. e4 Bb4 5. Qd3 Qh4 6. e5!? For 6. d5 Nf6 7. e5 Qe4+ see Ovod – Nabaty, Albena 2012. 6. ... f6!? 7. a3!? Qe4+ 8. Qxe4 Bxc3+. Ruslan Olegovich succeeded in spoiling White’s Pawn formation, even at the cost of sacrificing a Pawn. 9. bxc3 Bxe4 10. Bf4 Nc6 11. exf6 Nxf6 12. Bxc7 Rc8. White’s weaknesses more than compensate Black for his Pawn minus. 13. Be5 Na5 14. f3 Bg6 15. h4 Ke7. Black decides to ignore the c4-Pawn and keeps developing his forces effectively. 16. g4 d6 17. Bxf6+ gxf6 18. Nh3 e5 19. c5 bxc5 20. dxe5 dxe5 21. f4 h5 22. fxe5. The alternative 22. g5 e4 probably would have been more balanced. 22. ... hxg4 23. Nf4 Be4 24. Rh2? Miraculously, White can stay on his feet after 24. exf6+ Kxf6 25. Bg2 Ke5 26. 0-0! (it’s never too late to do the right thing!). Ponomariov now takes the initiative.

24. ... fxe5! 25. Re2 Bf3! 26. Rxe5+ Kf6 27. Rh5? The losing move. Comparatively best was 27. Re3, though after 27. ... Nb3 28. Ra2 Kf5! 29. Ng2 Rce8 Black still stands better. 27. ... g3 28. Rxh8 Rxh8 29. Bg2 Kf5 30. Bxf3 Kxf4 31. Bg2 Nc4 32. Kf1 Ne3+ 33. Kg1 Rxh4 34. a4 Rh2 35. Bc6 a5 0 : 1. A beautiful positional game by “unnumbered” World Chess Champion Ruslan Olegovich Ponomariov.

Mohamad Naser Al Sayed vs. Ruslan Olegovich Ponomariov
Photo: Alla Oborina

Morphy-style

韦奕 (Wéi Yì) – Stefan Bromberger
2nd Qatar Masters Open; Doha, December 26, 2015
Russian Defence C42

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 c6 10. c4 Nc5. This novelty is nothing special theoretically speaking, but it doesn’t look so bad. For 10. ... Re8 11. h4 Nf6 12. Bd3 see Hamdouchi – Neiman, French Team Chess Championship Top 12, Saint-Quentin 2014. 11. Bxc5 dxc5 12. Qf4 Qa5 13. Bd3 Bf6 14. a3 Be6 15. Ng5 Bxg5 16. Qxg5 Rad8 17. Rhe1 Rfe8 18. f4 h6 19. Qh5 f6? This implies a fatal weakening of the light squares. A better move would have been 19. ... Bc8 when White would have probably played 20. Re5! eventually doubling the Rooks, quite in Morphy’s style. 20. Bg6 Rxd1+ 21. Qxd1 Rd8

22. Rxe6!! A fantastic positional Queen sacrifice! 22. ... Rxd1+ 23. Kxd1. Black is absolutely tied down to defend against the impending threat of Re6-e8 mate. 23. ... Qd8+ 24. Ke2. The plan is amazingly simple: White will bring his King to h5, in order then to advance the Kingside Pawns, finally forcing either a won King and Pawn ending or a Zugzwang position. 24. ... Kf8 25. Kf3 Qd7 26. Re1 Qd8 27. Kg4 Qd7+ 28. Kh5 Qd8 29. a4 a5 30. g4 Qd7 31. h4 Qd8 32. Re8+ Qxe8 33. Bxe8 Kxe8 34. Kg6 Kf8 35. Kh7 Kf7 36. g5 1 : 0. 韦奕 (Wéi Yì) went on to win a game of Morphy-like simplicity and elegance.

韦奕 (Wéi Yì)
Photo: sports.sina.com.cn

Spassky-style

Wesley So – Magnus Carlsen
2nd Qatar Masters Open; Doha, December 26, 2015
Spanish C97

1. e4 e5. Carlsen decides on the Ruy Lopez (as Black), just to confirm the universalization of his chess style. 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. 0-0 Be7 6. Re1 b5 7. Bb3 0-0 8. c3 d6 9. h3 Na5 10. Bc2 c5 11. d4 Qc7 12. Nbd2 Bd7 13. Nf1 Nc4 14. b3 Nb6 15. Ne3 c4 16. Ba3 Rfe8 17. Qd2 Bf8 18. bxc4 Nxc4 19. Nxc4 bxc4 20. Rab1 Rab8! Far more convincing than 20. ... Bc6 21. Qe3 exd4 22. Qxd4 Qa5 23. Qxc4 Qxa3 24. Qxc6 Rac8 25. Qb7 Qxc3 26. Bb3 Rc7 27. Qxa6 Rxe4 28. Bxf7+ Rxf7 29. Rec1 Rb4 30. Rxc3 Rxb1+ 31. Kh2 Rb2 32. Rc8 h6 33. Qxd6 1 : 0 Timofeev – Krylov, 17th Russian Team Chess Championship, Dagomys 2010. 21. Rxb8 Rxb8 22. Bb4 h6 23. Rd1 a5 24. Ba3 Bc6. The position seems fairly equal. 25. Qe2 exd4 26. Qxc4 dxc3 27. Qxc3 Rc8 28. Qd4 Bd5. Carlsen elegantly repositions his Bishop. 29. Bb1 Be6 30. Qe3 Rb8 31. Nd4 Bd7 32. Rc1 Qb6 33. Qd2 Re8 34. Re1 a4 35. Bc2 Qb7 36. Qd3 Qc7 37. Qd2 Qb7 38. Qd3 Qc7 39. Qd2 ½ : ½.

Wesley So vs. Magnus Carlsen
Photo: Katerina Savina

Breaking news

David Llada (‏@lladini)

The Wild East

侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) – Baris Esen
2nd Qatar Masters Open; Doha, December 23, 2015
Sicilian Defence B90

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. h3 e6 7. g4 Nfd7 8. g5 b5 9. a3 Bb7 10. Be3 Nc6 11. h4 Be7 12. Qd2 0-0 13. 0-0-0 Rc8. Another continuation is 13. ... Nxd4 14. Bxd4 Bc6 as in Demchenko – Gabrielian, 2nd International Chess Festival, Iasi 2015. 14. Kb1 Nde5 15. Nxc6 Nxc6 16. h5. As they say, dark clouds gathering. 16. ... b4 17. axb4 Nxb4 18. h6 gxh6 19. Rxh6 Qa5 20. Bd3 Rc7 21. Rdh1. It’s not obvious why White didn’t play the spontaneous 21. e5 — apparently very strong. 21. ... Rfc8

22. Bb6! A pretty deviation sacrifice, even though it may not win. If, instead, 22. Rxh7 then 22. ... Rxc3! and White has nothing better than perpetual check. 22. ... Qxb6 23. Rxh7 Nxd3 24. Qxd3 Rxc3 25. Rh8+ Kg7 26. R8h7+ Kg8 27. Rh8+ Kg7 28. R1h7+ Kg6 29. Qd1 Bxe4. Turkish Grandmaster misses 29. ... Rxc2+! 30. Kxb2 Rxc2+ 31. Qxc2 Rxc2+ 32. Kxc2 Bxe4+ 33. Kd1 Bxg5 and, although being two Exchanges ahead, White can only lose such a position. 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) could have avoided such variation by 31. Kb3 R8c3+ 32. Kb4 d5+ 33. Ka5 Ra2+ 34. Kb6 Rb2+ 35. Ka7 Bc5+ 36. Kb8 Bc8+! 37. Ka8! Bb7+ with an amazing perpetual check. 30. Qh5+ Kf5 31. g6+!? After 31. Rxf7+ Ke5 32. f4+ Kd5 33. Qd1+ Qd4 34. Qxd4+ Kxd4 35. bxc3+ Rxc3 36. Rxe7 Bxc2+ White’s plus would also be virtually impossible to convert into a win. 31. ... Bg5? Esen misses his last saving possibility: 31. ... Kf4! 32. Qh2+ Kf3 and, quite incredibly, White must content herself with a perpetual. 32. Rxf7+. Now it’s over. The game concludes with a merciless King hunt: 32. ... Ke5 33. Qxg5+ Bf5 34. f4+ Ke4 35. Qg2+ Kxf4 36. Rh4+ Ke5 37. Qh2+! (37. Qe2+ Qe3) 37. ... Kd5 38. Qd2+! Bd3!? Pretty but useless. By the way, both 38. ... Ke5 39. Qf4+ Kd5 40. Rxf5+ exf5 41. Qxf5+ Kc6 42. Qxc8++− and 38. ... Kc6 39. Qxc3++− would lose at once. 39. Qg2+! Ke5 40. Qg3+ Kd5 41. Qf3+ Kc5 (41. ... Ke5 42. Rh5+ Kd4 43. Rf4++−) 42. cxd3 Qb5 43. Qe3+ Kc6 44. Qe4+ 1 : 0.

侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) vs. Baris Esen. Photo: Alla Oborina.

Sunflower Galaxy

Magnus Carlsen – 李超 (Lǐ Chāo)
2nd Qatar Masters Open; Doha, December 24, 2015
Grünfeld Defence D70

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. f3 d5 4. cxd5 Nxd5 5. e4 Nb6 6. Nc3 Bg7 7. Be3 0-0 8. Qd2 Nc6 9. 0-0-0 f5 10. e5 Nb4 11. Nh3 Qe8? A fairly uninspired novelty. For 11. ... a5 12. a3 N4d5 see Lê Quang Liêm – 李超 (Lǐ Chāo), 5th HD Bank Cup, Hồ Chí Minh City 2015. 12. Kb1 a5 13. Be2 c6 14. Rc1 Kh8

15. Ka1!! A stunning concept which synthesizes “computer-like-human” as anti-stereotyped prophylaxis. 15. ... Be6 16. Nf4 Qf7 17. h4! Bad news for 李超 (Lǐ Chāo): Magnus launches the attack against the enemy King! 17. ... Bxa2 18. h5 Kg8. It takes so much imagination for believing that after 18. ... gxh5 19. Rxh5 Black can survive White’s attack 19. hxg6 hxg6 20. g4! Carlsen keeps hitting his opponent hard. 20. ... Bb3 21. Bd1! Inhuman accuracy. 21. ... a4 22. Qh2 Rfd8 23. Qh7+ Kf8 24. d5! A pretty interference! 24. ... Nc4! Very clever. The deadly threat is ... a4-a3. Black’s desperate counter-attack is reminiscent of the vintage classic de la Bourdonnais – McDonnell, London 1834, match game 21. 25. Nxg6+ Ke8 26. e6 a3. 李超 (Lǐ Chāo) sets up one last trap to “get” Magnus. If, instead, 26. ... Qf6 then 27. Qg8+ Bf8 28. Rh8 and mate in three moves. 27. exf7+ Kd7 28. Ne5+! Of course, Carlsen doesn’t rise to the bait: 28. f8=N+?? Ke8! and White could resign. 28. ... Bxe5 29. Qxf5+ Kc7 30. Qxe5+! Clearly not 30. bxa3?? on account of 30. ... Rxa3+ 31. Kb1 Ba2+! 32. Nxa2 Rb3+!! 33. Bxb3 Na3 mate. 30. ... Nxe5 31. Bxb3 axb2+ 32. Kxb2 Nbd3+ 33. Kb1 Nxc1 34. Rxc1 Kc8 35. dxc6 bxc6 36. f4 1 : 0. What a wonderful game!

Magnus Carlsen
Photo: Alla Oborina

Blackbird

Jan-Krzysztof Duda – Magnus Carlsen
2nd Qatar Masters Open; Doha, December 23, 2015
Sicilian Defence B92

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Be2. Who do you think you are, Karpov? – Dr. Mauro Bonacci used to ask his opponents every time they played 6. Be2. It happened in Florence many years ago. 6. ... e5 7. Nb3 Be7 8. Bg5 Nc6 9. Qd3 Nb4. For 9. ... Be6 10. Bxf6 Bxf6 11. 0-0-0 Be7 12. Kb1 0-0 13. Nd5 Bxd5 14. Qxd5 Qc8 15. c3 Qe6 see Gallagher – Benitah, 27th Mitropa Cup, Olbia 2008. 10. Qd2 h6 11. Bxf6 Bxf6 12. Nd5 Nxd5 13. Qxd5 Qc7 14. 0-0-0 Be7 15. Kb1 Be6 16. Qd3 0-0 17. f4 exf4 18. Nd4 Bd7 19. Rhf1 Bf6 20. Rxf4 Be5 21. Rff1 Rac8 22. c3 b5 23. Nf3 Be6 24. Nd4 Bc4 25. Qf3 b4 26. cxb4 Qb6 27. Bxc4 Rxc4 28. Nc2 Rfc8 29. Rd2 Qc6 30. Qxf7+ Kh8 31. Qf2 a5 32. a3. If 32. bxa5 then 32. ... Ra4 and Black should manage to find fuel for his initiative. 32. ... axb4 33. Nxb4 Qxe4+ 34. Ka2. Or 34. Nd3 Bc3! with a terrific attack.

34. ... Rxb4! The bombshell comes with a brilliant Exchange sacrifice! 35. axb4 Ra8+ 36. Kb3 Rb8 37. Ka2 Qxb4 38. Rc1 Qa4+ 39. Kb1 Qe4+ 40. Rcc2. Not 40. Rdc2 Rxb2+ 41. Ka1 Qa4 mate. 40. ... Bxb2! 41. Qf3 Qe1+ 42. Rd1 Bd4+ 0 : 1. Magnus was again brilliant!

Jan-Krzysztof Duda (R.) vs. Magnus Carlsen (L.)
Photo: Katerina Savina

Easy As Life

Magnus Carlsen – Daniil Aleksandrovich Yuffa
2nd Qatar Masters Open; Doha, December 22, 2015
King’s Indian Defence E62

1. c4 Nf6 2. Nf3 g6 3. g3 Bg7 4. Bg2 0-0 5. 0-0 d6 6. Nc3 Nc6 7. d4 Bf5 8. Bg5 Ne4 9. Nxe4 Bxe4 10. d5 Bxf3 11. exf3 Nd4 12. Re1 Re8 13. Re4. Instead of 13. Be3 Nf5 as in P. H. Nielsen – Ivanchuk, 1st SportAccord World Mind Games; Blindfold Event; 北京 (Beijīng) 2011. 13. ... c5 14. dxc6 Nxc6 15. h4! Very brilliant! 15. ... Qb6 16. Rb1 a5 17. Be3 Qc7 18. h5 e5 19. Qd2 Nd4 20. h6 f5

21. Rxd4! Another brilliant solution! The diagonal a1-h8 suddenly becomes the Road to Death for Black’s King. 21. ... exd4 22. Bxd4 Bf8? This is tantamount to resignation. The lesser evil was 22. ... Bxd4, although after 23. Qxd4 White retains a manifest advantage. 23. Bc3! Qxc4 24. f4. With the trivial threat of Bg2-d5+. 24. ... Re4!? Sheer desperation! 25. b3! Qc5 26. Ba1! d5. Or 26. ... Bxh6 27. Bxe4 fxe4 28. Rc1 and wins. 27. Rc1 1 : 0. A superb display of skill.

Carlsen vs. Yuffa. Photo: Katerina Savina.

Click

Daniele Vocaturo – Vladimir Borisovich Kramnik
2nd Qatar Masters Open; Doha, December 22, 2015
Giuoco Piano C53

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. c3 Nf6 5. d3 d6 6. Bb3 a6 7. 0-0 h6 8. Nbd2 0-0 9. Re1 Be6 10. Bxe6 fxe6 11. b4 Ba7 12. Nf1. Another try is 12. a4 Qd7 13. Nb3 Rf7 14. b5 Ne7 15. bxa6 bxa6 16. d4 Nc6 17. h3 Rb8 ½ : ½ Bok – Vishnu Prasanna, 13th Aeroflot Open, Moscow 2015. 12. ... Qe8 13. a4 Ne7 14. Be3 Bxe3 15. Nxe3 Ng6 16. Ra2 Rd8 17. Rd2 Qf7 18. Kh1 b5 19. Qc2 Nf4 20. axb5 axb5 21. Ng1 d5 22. f3 Qd7 23. Nf1 d4 24. g3 Ng6 25. Rc1 Ra8 26. cxd4 Qxd4 27. Qc5 Qxc5 28. Rxc5 Rfb8 29. Rxc7 Ra4 30. Rb2 Ra3 31. Nd2 Rxd3 32. Nb3 Nf8 33. Nc5 Rd1 34. Re7 Re8? Kramnik gets into serious trouble after this. Comparatively best was 34. ... N6d7 35. Nxe6 Nxe6 36. Rxe6 Rb6 37. Re8+ Kf7 38. Ra8 Rb7 39. Ra5 Nb8! and Black should get sufficient compensation for the Pawn. 35. Rb7 Ra8 36. Kg2 g5 37. Rxb5 Rad8 38. Nb3 g4 39. Rxe5 Ng6 40. Rxe6 Kf7 41. Nc5 h5 42. e5 Nd5

White is three Pawns ahead with a totally won game, but – quite incredibly – Daniele lets the win slip away! 43. Kf2? 43. Ra2 would have left Black with no resource. 43. ... Ra8 44. Ra6. Not 44. f4? Ra1! and, although Black is three Pawns minus, he seizes the initiative! 44. ... Rxa6 45. Nxa6 Nxe5 46. Nc5 Nc4 47. Re2 Nce3 48. Re1 Rd2+ 49. Re2 Rd1 50. Re1 Rd2+ 51. Re2 ½ : ½.

Daniele Vocaturo
Photo: Katerina Savina

Les enfants terribles

Aleksandra Yuryevna Goryachkina – 韦奕 (Wéi Yì)
2nd Qatar Masters Open; Doha, December 22, 2015
Grünfeld Defence D85

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 4. cxd5 Nxd5 5. e4 Nxc3 6. bxc3 Bg7 7. Qa4+ Qd7 8. Bb5 c6 9. Be2 c5 10. Bb5 Nc6 11. Nf3. Or 11. Ne2 cxd4 12. cxd4 a6 13. Bxc6 Qxc6 14. Qxc6+ bxc6 15. Ba3 a5 16. 0-0 Ba6 ½ : ½ Bluebaum – Wagner, World Chess Rapid Championship, Berlin 2015. 11. ... 0-0 12. 0-0 Qc7 13. Bxc6 bxc6

14. Ba3 cxd4 15. cxd4 Bg4 16. Ne5 Bxe5 17. dxe5 Qxe5 18. Qxc6 Rfd8 19. Qc5 Qxc5 20. Bxc5 Rd7 21. f3 Rc8 22. Rac1 Be6 23. Be3 Rxc1 24. Rxc1 Bxa2 25. Ra1 Bb3 26. Rxa7 Rxa7 27. Bxa7. It’s manifestly a dead draw. 27. ... f5 28. exf5 gxf5 29. f4 e6 30. Kf2 Bd5 ½ : ½.

Aleksandra Yuryevna Goryachkina
Photo: ks-yanao.ru

Шәк-шәк (Çäkçäk)

Stefan Bromberger – Zhansaya Daniyarqyzy Abdumalik
2nd Qatar Masters Open; Doha, December 21, 2015
Giuoco Piano C53

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. c3 Nf6 5. d3 a6 6. 0-0 0-0 7. Bb3 d6 8. Re1 Bb6 9. h3 Be6 10. Bc2 h6 11 d4. This seems a bit committal. 11. Nbd2 Ne7 12. Nf1 Ng6 transposes into the game Yankovsky – 居文君 (Jū Wénjūn), Chigorin Memorial Open, Saint Petersburg 2009. 11. ... exd4 12. cxd4 Nb4 13. d5. Herr Bromberger decides to give up his Bishop pair in order to gain a space advantage in the centre. It’s difficult to approve for someone born in the twentieth century! In any event, after 13. Bb3 Bxb3 14. Qxb3 Nc6 White doesn’t seem to have any significant advantage. 13. ... Nxc2 14. Qxc2 Bd7 15. Bf4 Re8 16. Nc3 Qc8 17. Rad1

17. ... Bxh3! Bold play on the part of the young Abdumalik, who sacrifices her Bishop on purely intuitive grounds. 18. gxh3 Qxh3 19. Nd4 Nh5. With two Pawns for the Bishop and a vehement attack on the enemy King, Zhansaya Daniyarqyzy can look to the future with optimism. 20. Re3 Qg4+ 21. Bg3 f5 22. Qe2. It is probably not the best move. After 22. Nxf5 Rf8 Black should have to demonstrate the correctness of her speculation. 22. ... Qg5 23. Nxf5 Bxe3 24. Qxe3 Qxf5 25. exf5 Rxe3 26. fxe3 Nxg3. After all, Black emerged from the scuffle a clear Pawn ahead and still with a definite dynamic advantage. Miss Abdumalik confidently converts it into a win. 27. e4 Nh5 28. Rd4 Nf6 29. Rb4 Rb8 30. Ne2 a5 31. Rc4 c5 32. dxc6 bxc6 33. Rxc6 Nxe4 34. Nc3 Nxc3 35. bxc3 Rf8 36. Rxd6 Rxf5 37. Rd2 Rc5 38. Rc2 Kf7 39. c4 Ke6 40. Kf2 g5 41. Ke3 Ke5 42. Rh2 Rxc4 43. Rxh6 Rc3+ 44. Kf2 Ra3 45. Rc6 Rxa2+ 46. Kf3 Ra4 47. Rc5+ Kf6 48. Kg3 Kg6 49. Rc8 Rb4 50. Rg8+ Kh6 51. Rh8+ Kg7 52. Ra8 a4 53. Ra6 Kf7 54. Kf3 g4+ 55. Ke2 Ke7 56. Rg6 a3 0 : 1.

Zhansaya Daniyarqyzy Abdumalik in Reykjavík last March
Photo: Tengrinews.kz