Knights and Castles

Radosław Wojtaszek – Fabiano Caruana
83rd Tata Steel Chess Tournament; Wijk aan Zee, January 26, 2021
King’s Indian Defence E94

1. c4 Nf6 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 g6 4. Nc3 Bg7 5. e4 0-0 6. Be2 e5 7. 0-0 Bg4 8. Be3 Bxf3 9. Bxf3 exd4 10. Bxd4 Nc6 11. Be3 Re8 12. Qd2 Nd7 13. Rad1

13. ... Bxc3!? The beginning of an epic East Side story, in the most unthematic King’s Indian style. Whatever Caruana’s good reasons, one can only say that such a move would have made Chigorin happy! 14. Qxc3 Qf6 15. Qc1. Wojtaszek goes for an unclear Pawn sacrifice, preferring it to 15. Qc2 Nc5 16. b3 a5 which he assessed as exceedingly comfortable for Black. 15. ... Nc5 16. Qb1 Qe6 17. Rfe1. 17. b4 Nxe4 18. Rc1 is an alternative version of the Pawn sacrifice that might have its own claims for compensation. 17. ... Qxc4 18. b3 Qc3 19. Bd2 Qf6 20. Bc1 h5 21. Bb2 Ne5 22. Be2 h4 23. Qc1 g5 24. Bb5 Re7 25. Re3 Qg6 26. Be2 Rae8 27. Qc2 Ne6 28. f3? 28. h3 f6 was probably White’s best chance. 28. ... Nf4 29. Bf1 c6 30. Qf2 Re6 31. Rc3

32. ... d5! 32. g3 hxg3 33. hxg3 dxe4. 33. ... g4! was also very strong — which can be an euphemism not to say “stronger”. 34. gxf4. A little better was 34. fxe4 Nh5 35. Qf5, but after 35. ... Qh6 Black’s initiative continues. 34. ... gxf4+ 35. Qg2 exf3! 36. Qxg6+ Rxg6+ 37. Kh1 f2 38. Bh3

38. ... Nc4! Elegant to the end. 39. Rxc4 Re1+ 0 : 1.

Deep thoughts, long ponderings, beats, raps, and in the end Caruana sacrificed both his Knights to get here. Photo © Jurriaan Hoefsmit/Tata Steel Chess Tournament 2021.

Vacation on Earth

Radosław Wojtaszek – Noël Oliver Studer

53rd Biel International Chess Festival; Grandmaster Triathlon — Classical; Biel/Bienne, July 29, 2020

Bogo-Indian Defence E11

The Biel International Chess Festival concluded today its 53rd anniversary and, no matter who won and who came close, it will go down to history as a bold human achievement in times of unreality. 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. g3 Bb4+ 4. Bd2 Be7 5. Bg2 d5 6. Nf3 0-0 7. 0-0 Nbd7 8. a4 a5 9. Qc2 c6 10. Na3 Bd6 11. Rfd1!? The most recent theory is 11. Ne1 Re8 12. Nd3 e5 13. cxd5 e4 14. Nf4 cxd5 15. Nb5 Bb8 16. Rac1 Ra6! which gave Black good play in 丁立人 (Dīng Lìrén) – Anand, 7th Sinquefield Cup, Saint Louis 2019. 11. ... Ne4 12. Be3 f5. Transposing to a Dutch Defence. 13. Qc1 h6 14. Ne1 g5 15. f3 Nef6 16. Nd3 Qe7 17. Bf2 Qg7 18. Re1 h5 19. cxd5 (19. Be3⩲) 19. ... exd5 20. Nb1 Kh8 21. Nc3 h4 22. gxh4 gxh4 23. Kh1

23. ... h3! 24. Bxh3. Very risky, but if 24. Bf1 there might follow 24. ... Rg8 with the threat of ... Qg7-g7 followed by ... Rg8-g2. 24. ... Qh7 25. Nf4 Nh5?! Sound and peaceful is 25. ... Bxf4 26. Qxf4 Qxh3 27. Bh4 Ng4! 28. Bg3 Ngf6 with a likely draw by repetition, but even better is 25. ... Qh6! 26. Bg3 Rg8 with powerful compensation for the Pawn. Instead, as often happens, one mistake gives birth to another: 26. Ne6 Re8? (26. ... Ng7!∞) 27. Ng5 Qg6

28. Nf7+! Qxf7 (28. ... Kh7 29. Bxf5!+−) 29. Qh6+ Qh7 30. Qxd6 Ndf6 31. Bh4. That’s all. Within a few moves, White will force a liquidation to a won ending. 31. ... Qf7 32. Rg1 f4 33. Bxc8 Raxc8 34. Bxf6+ Qxf6 35. Qxf6+ Nxf6 36. Rg6 Nh7 37. Rag1 Rc7 38. R1g4 Rf7 39. Kg1 Nf8 40. Rh6+ Nh7 41. Kf2 Rg8 42. Rgh4 Rg5 43. Na2 Kg8 44. Nc1 Nf8 45. Nd3 Ng6 46. Rg4 Kg7 47. Rxg5 Kxh6 48. Rxg6+! Kxg6 49. Ne5+ Kf6 50. Nxf7 Kxf7 51. e4 fxe3+ 52. Kxe3 b6 53. h4 c5 54. f4 Kg7 55. Kf3 Kg6 56. Kg4 Kg7 57. h5 Kf6 58. f5 cxd4 59. h6 1 : 0.

Thus, in the end, all the glory went to Wojtaszek, who, by winning his last round game with Studer, succeeded in keeping Harikrishna and Adams (both winning their games as well) at a distance, finally securing the first prize. Photo: Simon Bohnenblust.

Behind the Panel

Radosław Wojtaszek – Pentala Harikrishna

53rd Biel International Chess Festival; Grandmaster Triathlon — Classical; Biel/Bienne, July 27, 2020

Slav Defence D12

1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. e3 Bf5 5. Nc3 e6 6. Nh4 Be4 7. f3 Bg6 8. Qb3 Qc7 9. Bd2 Be7 10. 0-0-0 dxc4 11. Bxc4 b5 12. Be2 a6 13. Nxg6 hxg6 14. Ne4 Nxe4 15. fxe4 c5 16. Kb1 Nc6 17. Bc3!? Very interesting is 17. e5! cxd4? (17. ... Rc8 18. Bf3 0-0 seems fine for Black) 18. Bf3 Rc8 19. Rc1 Qd7? (19. ... Qb6!? 20. exd4 0-0) 20. Qc2! Na7 21. Qxc8+! Nxc8 22. Bc6 Nb6 23. Bxd7+ Kxd7 24. exd4 Nd5 25. h4! Rxh4?! 26. Rxh4 Bxh4 27. Rh1 Be7 28. Rh7 Bf8 29. Rh8 Ke7 30. Kc2 f6 31. exf6+ gxf6 32. Rh7+ 1 : 0 Carlsen – Vachier-Lagrave, The Magnus Carlsen Invitational, chess24.com, April 24, 2020, match game 3 (15+10). 17. ... 0-0 18. h4 c4 19. Qc2 b4 20. Be1 c3. Who knows, maybe the “dual” 20. ... b3!? 21. axb3 cxb3 22. Qc4 Qb7 23. h5 g5 might have offered better counterattacking chances. 21. h5 g5 22. e5 (22. h6!?↑) 22. ... b3 23. Qxc3 bxa2+ 24. Ka1 Bb4 25. Qc2 Bxe1

26. h6? This tempting zwischenzug will turn out to be a cruel illusion. Simply 26. Rdxe1 Rfc8 27. Rc1± gave White a manifest superiority and excellent Kingside attacking prospects. 26. ... Rfc8! Supposedly White was only expecting 26. ... Bxh4? 27. g3! Qb6! 28. gxh4 Na5∞ with unclear play. 27. Rdxe1 Nb4 28. Qxc7 Rxc7 29. hxg7?! This is certainly not good, but otherwise Black would play ... g7-g6 with great advantage. 29. ... Nc2+ 30. Kxa2 Nxe1 31. Rh8+ (31. Rxe1 Kxg7−+) 31. ... Kxg7 32. Rxa8 Nxg2 33. Rxa6 Nxe3. Material equality is restored, but the ending is hopeless for White. 34. Ra3 Nf5 35. Rd3 Rd7 36. d5 Rxd5 37. Rxd5 exd5 38. b4 Nd4 39. Bg4 Nc6 40. b5 Nxe5 41. b6 Kf6 42. b7 Nc6 43. Ka3 Ke5 44. Ka4 Kd6 45. Kb5 Kc7 46. Kc5 Ne7 47. b8=Q+ Kxb8 48. Kd6

48. ... f5! 49. Bd1 g4! 0 : 1. For after 50. Kxe7 g3 51. Bf3 d4 one of Black’s Pawns promotes.

After his Sunday débâcle in the Blitz Tournament, Harikrishna scored a much-needed “Classical” win against Wojtaszek, thus reducing the gap to three points with two rounds to go. Photo: Simon Bohnenblust.

Roll of Thunder

Magnus Carlsen – Radosław Wojtaszek
5th Gashimov Memorial; Şəmkir, April 23, 2018
Sicilian Defence B23

1. e4 c5 2. Nc3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Qxd4 Nc6 5. Qd2!? Carlsen avoids to eventually transpose into the Chekhover Variation by 5. Bb5, preferring instead a more creative and personal approach as usual. 5. ... Nf6 6. b3 e6 7. Bb2 a6 8. 0-0-0 b5!? Theoretical novelty? The Alhambra’s book mentions a brief reference: 8. ... Qa5 9. Kb1 Be7 10. f4 ½ : ½ J. Fernández de Bobadilla – G. Fernández de Bobadilla, 2nd Nazarí Chess Festival “Hotel Corona”, Granada 2015. 9. f3! h5? Wojtaszek’s whole idea to... open the h-file seems totally unsound, and the main cause of his impending trouble. He should have played 9. ... Be7 at once. 10. Nh3 Be7 11. Ng5 h4? 12. f4! Bb7 13. Kb1 Rc8 14. Be2 Qc7 15. Rhe1. Black’s King does not look at home in the centre. 15. ... Nh7? 15. ... Nd7? 16. Nd5! is an even more didactic representation of Black’s nightmares. On the other hand, if Black were compelled to move his King to f8, then anyone could draw his own conclusions on the opening’s outcome. 16. Nxh7 Rxh7

17. g4!? Not only intuition, but also his chess culture should have moved Carlsen to dare the thematic pseudo-sac 17. Nd5! which secured White a crushing advantage; for instance: 17. ... exd5 18. exd5 Kf8 19. dxc6 Bxc6 20. Bg4 Re8 21. Qc3 and Black is tied like a knot. That said, however, I should say that the text is also good, because, as Aron Nimzowitsch wrote, “A position that is healthy has at least two ‘only’ moves”. 17. ... hxg3 18. hxg3 Bf6 19. Bd3 Rh8 20. g4 Nd4 21. Re3 Kf8 22. Ne2. 22. g5? Nxb3! would have made Black’s dreams come true. 22. ... Nxe2 23. Rxe2 Bc3 24. Bxc3 Qxc3 25. Qe3 Rc5. After a long and vain struggle, and with shortage of time dominating the finale, Wojtaszek ended up precipitating his defeat, which, however, even after 25. ... e5 26. fxe5 dxe5 27. Rf2 would have been almost inevitable. 26. e5! dxe5 27. fxe5 Rh1? This loses almost immediately, but, objectively speaking, 27. ... Rc7 28. g5 (Δ g5-g6) cannot last much longer either. 28. Rxh1 Bxh1 29. Rh2. Threatening both Rh2-h8+ and Rh2xh1. 29. ... Rxe5 30. Rh8+ Ke7 31. Qa7+ 1 : 0.

Magnus Carlsen (right) vs. Radosław Wojtaszek (left). Photo: Shamkir Chess (@ShamkirChess).

Something for the Weekend

Jan-Krzysztof Duda (Hamburger SK) – Radosław Wojtaszek (OSG Baden-Baden)
43rd Schachbundesliga; Hamburg, March 19, 2017
Sicilian Defence B90

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. d4 cxd4 5. Nxd4 a6 6. Be3 e5 7. Nb3 Be6 8. f3 Be7 9. Qd2 0-0 10. 0-0-0 Nbd7 11. g4 b5 12. g5 b4 13. Ne2 Ne8 14. f4 a5 15. f5 a4 16. fxe6 axb3 17. exf7+ Rxf7 18. Kb1 bxc2+ 19. Qxc2. The alternative – which might be regarded as a kind of theoretical tabiya – is 19. Kxc2 Nb6 20. Nc1 d5 21. exd5 Nd6 22. Kb1 Rf3 23. h4 Na4 24. Qe2 Rg3? 25. Bf2 Rc3 26. Qxe5 Nxb2 27. Bd4 Bf8 28. Kxb2 Rf3 29. Bd3 Kh8 30. Qe2 Rf4 31. Qh5 Nf5 32. g6 1 : 0 Topalov – Vallejo Pons, 22nd Torneo Internacional de Ajedrez Ciudad de Linares, Linares 2005. 19. ... Bxg5 20. Bxg5 Qxg5 21. Ng3 Kh8 22. Bc4 Rf8 23. Nf5 Ndf6. In his commentary to the game, Brazilian Grandmaster Rafael Duailibe Leitão recommends 23. ... Rc8! which indeed seems to guarantee a more dynamic balance. 24. h4 Qh5 25. Be6 Ra7 26. Qf2 Rc7 27. Ng3 Qh6 28. Rdf1 g6?! Punctuation by Leitão. What does he not like about this? It is probably the fact that Black invites White to do what he wants. 29. h5 Ng7 30. hxg6 Qxg6 31. Bb3 Rcc8 32. Ka1 Qg5 33. Qe1 Ng4 34. Nf5 Nxf5 35. exf5 Rc5? The decisive mistake in time trouble. Correct was 35. ... Ne3! 36. Rfg1 (after 36. Rhg1 Qh6 White probably has nothing better than repeating moves) 36. ... Qf4 with a very unclear (but probably dynamically balanced) game. 36. Qxb4 Rfc8 37. a3 Ne3 38. Rfg1 Qxf5 39. Qb7 Ng4

40. Be6! 1 : 0.

Jan-Krzysztof Duda
Photo: Georgios Souleidis

Code Simplicity

Wesley So – Radosław Wojtaszek
79th Tata Steel Chess Tournament; Haarlem, January 25, 2017
Catalan Opening E06

1. c4 Nf6 2. Nf3 e6 3. g3 d5 4. d4 Be7 5. Bg2 0-0 6. Qc2 c5 7. 0-0 Nc6 8. dxc5 d4 9. a3 a5 10. Rd1 e5 11. Nc3 Bxc5 12. Nd5 h6 13. Bd2. This is apparently a new idea. It is clear that Wesley is not afraid of allowing his opponent to advance ... a5-a4. 13. ... a4. So it is worth wondering if the Black Pawn on a4 is more useful than weak. 14. Bb4! Nxb4 15. axb4 Nxd5 16. bxc5 Nb4 17. Qd2 Nc6 18. b4! Qe7. Wesley afterwards said he thought 18. ... Be6 was more suitable for keeping the balance. 19. Qb2 Bg4 20. Re1! Rfd8. Stockfish disapproves Wojtaszek’s decision, but also its recipe 20. ... f5 after 21. Nh4 Kh7 22. Bd5 sounds very encouraging for White. 21. Nd2 Be6. If 21. ... d3 then 22. e3 followed by b4-b5 would soon put Black into a very unpleasant situation. 22. b5 Nb8 23. Qb4 f5

24. Nb3! Very, very elegant and simple. Now the a4-Pawn is doomed, and with it the whole Black’s Queenside. 24. ... Nd7. This hurries the end, but nothing could have avoided it. 25. Bxb7 Rab8 26. Rxa4! Rxb7 27. c6 Qxb4 28. Rxb4 Rc7 29. cxd7 Rxc4 30. Rxc4 Bxc4 31. Rc1! Be6 32. Rc8! Rxc8 33. dxc8=Q+ Bxc8 34. b6 1 : 0. A superb game Wesley made look easy.

Wesley So
Photo: Renée Jones Schneider/StarTribune

Squaring the circle

Magnus Carlsen – Radosław Wojtaszek
79th Tata Steel Chess Tournament; Wijk aan Zee, January 15, 2017
Sicilian Defence B90

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. a3!? Curiously enough, Carlsen shares Karjakin’s theoretical paradoxes. 7. ... e5 7. Nf5!? Yesterday we saw 7. Nf3 Be7 8. Bc4 Be6 9. Ba2 0-0 10. 0-0 b5 11. Re1 Re8 12. Bg5 Nbd7 13. Nd2 Rb8 14. Bxf6 Nxf6 15. Nf1 b4 16. Nd5 bxa3 17. bxa3 Nxd5 18. Bxd5 Bg5 19. g3 Qd7 20. Qd3 Rb6 21. h4 Bh6 22. Reb1 Reb8 23. Rb3 Bxd5 24. Qxd5 g6 25. Rab1 Rxb3 26. Rxb3 Qc7 27. a4 Bc1 28. Kg2 h5 29. Nh2 Rxb3 30. cxb3 Qc2 31. Nf1 a5 32. Kf3 Qc3+ 33. Ke2 Qc2+ 34. Kf3 Qc3+ 35. Ke2 ½ : ½ Karjakin – Giri, 79th Tata Steel Chess Tournament, Wijk aan Zee 2017. 7. ... d5. Thematic. 8. Bg5 d4 9. Bxf6 Qxf6? Quite an unfortunate (possibly new) idea. Correct was 9. ... gxf6(!) which seems to offer Black a perfectly playable game – even if a bit unbalanced. 10. Nd5 Qd8 11. Qg4 Bxf5. On 11. ... g6 12. Qg3! may be very unpleasant. 12. Qxf5 Bd6 13. h4. White has a clear initiative. 13. ... Nc6 14. Bc4! Carlsen is in no hurry to castle. 14. ... b5. 14. ... Qa5+ 15. Kf1 doesn’t make much difference with the actual game. 15. Bb3 Ne7. After long thought Black decides to remove the Knight from d5. 16. Qg4 0-0 17. Rh3 Nxd5 18. Bxd5. But now the d5-Bishop dominates the board. 18. ... Ra7 19. Rg3 Qf6 20. a4! If 20. 0-0-0 then 20. ... a5 eventually followed by ... a5-a4 and ... b5-b4 could offer some counterplay. 20. ... Bb4+ 21. Kf1! bxa4 22. Rxa4 a5

23. Ra1! The Rook is eventually heading for f3 via d1 and d3. 23. ... Rc7 24. Bb3 Ra8 25. Kg1. White has finally castled! 25. ... Bf8 26. Qh5 g6 27. Qg4 Ra6 28. h5 Qf4. With less than 5 minutes left, it’s no wonder that sooner or later Wojtaszek will fall down. 29. Qe2 Qf6 30. Qb5 Qc6? That’s the crisis: Black trivially drops a Pawn. Here 30. ... Rc5 31. hxg6 hxg6 (31. ... Rxb5?? 32. gxf7++ Kh8 33. Rg8 mate) 32. Qe2±/+- appeared to be the lesser worst. 31. Qxe5. Down a Pawn and with no time left, Black is hopeless. 31. ... Re7 32. Qf4 a4 33. Bd5 Qc7. If 33. ... Qxc2 then 34. Rc1 Qxb2 35. Rc8 winning easily. 34. Qd2 Qb6 35. Ra2 Rc7 36. Rf3 Qb4 37. Qe2 Rb6 38. hxg6 hxg6 39. g3 Kg7 40. Kg2 Rd7. The time control is finally reached, but just for celebrating an unhappy ending. 41. Qd1! Rf6 42. Rxf6 Kxf6 43. c3! dxc3 44. Rxa4 1 : 0. Faced with the loss of a second Pawn (at least), Black resigned.

Magnus Carlsen
Photo: Tata Steel Chess (Facebook)

Taxicab stand

The 17th Poikovsky Tournament in honour of 12th World Chess Champion Anatoly Yevgenyevich Karpov takes place from July 23 to August 2 in Poikovsky, Russia. The tournament is a 10-player single round robin with the following lineup: Dmitry Vladimirovich Andreikin, Radosław Wojtaszek, Dmitry Olegovich Jakovenko, Maxim Sergeevich Matlakov, Ilya Yulievich Smirin, Igor Viktorovich Kovalenko, Alexander Anatolyevich Motylev, Anton Sergeyevich Korobov, Viorel Antonovich Bologan, and Emil Davidovich Sutovsky.
For further details, see http://ермак-инфо.рф/mezhdunarodnyiy-shahmatnyiy-turnir-im-a-karpova/.

Poikovsky, Russia
Photo: @filipe

The Footnotes

Radosław Wojtaszek – David Navara
17th European Individual Chess Championship; Gjakova, May 17, 2016
Queen’s Gambit Declined D52

1. Nf3 d5 2. d4 Nf6 3. c4 c6 4. Nc3 e6 5. Bg5 Nbd7 6. e3 Qa5 7. Nd2 Bb4 8. Rc1 Ne4 9. Ncxe4 dxe4 10. Bh4 Qxa2 11. Be2 Qxb2. Navara dares to grab the second, “poisoned” Pawn. The previous try was 11. ... Qa5 12. 0-0 Bxd2 13. Ra1 Qb4 14. Qc2 c5 15. Ra4 Qb6 16. Qxd2 e5 17. Ra5?? (a very serious blind spot by Grischuk; after 17. dxe5 White’s two Bishops surely compensate for the Pawn) 17. ... Qh6! 18. Bg3 exd4 19. Bf4 g5 20. Bg3 d3 with an overwhelming advantage for Black, Grischuk – Mamedyarov, Grand Prix 2014/2015, third stage, Tbilisi 2015. 12. Rc2 Bxd2+ 13. Qxd2 Qa3 14. 0-0 0-0 15. c5. With the threat of Rf1-b1 followed by Rc2-a2 trapping Black’s Queen.

15. ... b5. Black wisely returns a Pawn for making a way out. 16. cxb6. Now 16. Rb1 is answered by 16. ... Qa6 17. Ra2 Qb7 and, however funny-looking Her Majesty’s spot might appear, Black’s game is quite safe. 16. ... axb6 17. Rxc6 Ba6 18. Bxa6 Qxa6 19. Qc2 Qd3. Black returns also the second Pawn, implicitly agreeing to a draw. 20. Qxd3 exd3 21. Rc3 Rfc8 22. Rxd3 Rc2 23. Rb3 h6 24. h3 ½ : ½.

Radosław Wojtaszek vs. David Navara
Photo: European Chess Union (‏@ECUonline)

Baadur Jobava – Ernesto Kazbekovich Inarkiev
17th European Individual Chess Championship; Gjakova, May 17, 2016
Ponziani Opening C44

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. c3 d5 4. d3 Nf6 5. Nbd2 a5 6. exd5. Stepping out from 6. Be2 Bc5 7. Qa4 0-0 8. b4 Bd6 9. 0-0 b5 10. Qxb5 axb4 11. exd5 Na5 12. cxb4 Bd7 13. Qxa5 Rxa5 14. bxa5 Nxd5 15. Ne4 Qa8 as occurred (by transposition) into Jobava – Caruana, Grand Prix 2014/2015, second stage, Tashkent 2014. 6. ... Nxd5 7. g3 g6 8. Bg2 Bg7 9. 0-0 0-0 10. a4 Nb6 11. Nb3 Bf5 12. Ne1 Nd5 13. Kh1. Jobava has achieved less than nothing out of the opening, but rather than play for a draw, he goes for a bold attack that looks like a block bet. 13. ... b6 14. f4 Qd7 15. fxe5 Nxe5 16. d4 Ng4 17. Qf3. White is obviously undeveloped and uncoordinated, but luckily for him, Inarkiev plays the only move which allow Jobava to escape to a draw. 17. ... Rae8

18. Qxd5 Nf2+ 19. Kg1. 19. Rxf2?? Rxe1+ loses both the Queen and the Knight. 19. ... Nh3+ ½ : ½.

Baadur Jobava vs. Ernesto Kazbekovich Inarkiev
Photo: European Chess Union (‏@ECUonline)

Mazurek

Mateusz Bartel – Radosław Wojtaszek
73rd Polish Chess Championship; Poznań, April 3, 2016
Sicilian Defence B90

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Nb3 e6 7. g4!? b5!? 8. Bg2 Bb7 9. g5 b4 10. Nd5! Most likely, it was a surprise that Bartel especially cooked up for the taste of his opponent.

10. ... Nxd5. If 10. ... exd5 there might follow 11. gxf6 dxe4 12. Rg1 gxf6 13. Qh5 with powerful compensation for the two minus Pawns. 11. exd5 e5 12. a3 Be7 13. axb4 Bxg5 14. Na5. White’s position appears to be quite impressive, but Wojtaszek somehow manages to hold together his goods as well as his bads. 14. ... Bc8 15. Bxg5 Qxg5 16. Qf3 0-0 17. Qg3 Qe7 18. 0-0-0 f5 19. f4 e4 20. h4 Nd7 21. Bf1 Nf6 22. Qe3 Bd7 23. Be2 Be8 24. h5 h6 25. Rh3 Kh7 26. Qd4 Bf7 27. c4 Qd7 28. Kb1 Qe8 29. Rdh1 Rg8 30. Nc6 Qd7 31. Rg1 Qb7 32. Qd2 Be8 33. Nd4 Rb8 34. Rhg3. Clearly not 34. Nxf5?? because of 34. ... Qd7 winning material. 34. ... Qxb4? A very serious mistake, which in fact loses the game. 34. ... Bd7 was mandatory, in order to answer 35. Nc2 by 35. ... Qb6. 35. Qxb4 Rxb4 36. Nxf5 Nxh5. If, instead, 36. ... Bxh5 then 37. Rxg7+ Rxg7 38. Rxg7+ Kh8 39. Bxh5 Nxh5 40. Rc7 Nxf4 41. Kc2 h5 42. Kc3 Rb6 43. b4 with decisive preponderance for White. 37. Bxh5 Bxh5 38. Rxg7+ Rxg7 39. Rxg7+ Kh8 40. Rc7 Be2 41. Nxd6 Bd3+ 42. Ka2 e3 43. b3 Bc2 44. Re7 Bxb3+ 45. Ka3 a5 46. Nb7 Bd1. Also after 46. ... Bxc4 47. Nxa5 Rb5 48. Nxc4 Rxd5 49. Nxe3 White must win. 47. d6 Ra4+ 48. Kb2 Bg4 49. c5 e2 50. c6 Rd4 51. f5 Bxf5 52. Rxe2 Kg7 53. d7 Bxd7 54. Re7+ Kf6 55. Rxd7 Rc4 56. Rd6+ Ke5 57. Rxh6 a4 58. Na5 Kd5 1 : 0.

Mateusz Bartel
Photo: mp2016.pzszach.pl

Passer-by

Radosław Wojtaszek – Grzegorz Gajewski
73rd Polish Chess Championship; Poznań, April 2, 2016
Nimzo-Indian Defence E32

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Nf3 b6 5. Qc2 Bb7 6. a3 Bxc3+ 7. Qxc3 0-0 8. Bg5 d6 9. Nd2 Nbd7 10. f3 h6 11. Bh4 c5 12. e3. For 12. e4 Qc7 13. Be2 Nh5 see Wojtaszek – Abasov, 1st Vugar Gashimov Memorial, Shamkir 2014. 12. ... Re8. For 12. ... Rc8 13. dxc5 Nxc5 14. b4 Ncd7 15. Qd4 Qc7 16. Be2 d5 17. 0-0 Qe5 see V. A. Chekhov – Wojtkiewicz, Polish Team Chess Championship, Lubniewice 1995. 13. dxc5 dxc5 14. Qc2 e5 15. Be2 Nf8 16. 0-0-0 Ng6 17. Bf2 Qc7 18. Bg3 Rad8 19. Nb1 Nh5 20. Nc3 Nxg3 21. hxg3 Qe7 22. Qf5 Rxd1+ 23. Rxd1 Rd8 24. Nd5 Bxd5? A grave error of judgment, which gives White a very dangerous passed Pawn in the centre. Instead 24. ... Qe8 seems to give Black a tenable position. 25. Rxd5 Rxd5 26. cxd5 Qg5? Another very questionable decision. Better looks 26. ... Qd8 in order to answer 27. Bc4 by 27. ... b5.

27. Qd3! Here 27. Qxg5 hxg5 28. d6 was also very tempting, since after 28. ... Kf8 29. Kd2 f5 30. Kc3 the ending looks very sad for Black. 27. ... Qxg3 28. d6 e4. After 28. ... Qh4 29. d7 Qd8 30. Qd6 Nf8 31. Bb5 Black finds himself in a kind of strategic Zugzwang, and giving back the extra Pawn by 31. ... Ne6 (31. ... a6 32. Bc6 makes no difference) 32. Qxe5 a6 33. Bc6 doesn’t seem to be going anywhere. 29. Qd1 Nf8. Thus resigning himself to play a Piece down. However, if 29. ... Qh4 then 30. d7 Qd8 31. fxe4 with an overwhelming position for White, e.g. 31. ... Ne5? 32. Qd5! (not 32. Bb5 a6!) 32. ... Nxd7 33. Bb5 and wins. 30. d7 Nxd7 31. Qxd7 Qe1+ 32. Qd1 Qf2 33. fxe4 Qxg2 34. Bc4 Qf2 35. Qd2. The safest way to exploit his material advantage. Wojtaszek demonstrates the technique to bring home the point. 35. ... Qxd2+ 36. Kxd2 Kf8 37. e5 Ke7 38. Kd3 h5 39. Ke4 h4 40. Kf4 f6 41. Kg4 g5 42. Bd5 b5 43. Kf5 fxe5 44. Kxg5 h3 45. Kg4 Kd6 46. Be4 h2 47. Kg3 c4 48. Kxh2 Kc5 49. Kg3 b4 50. axb4+ Kxb4 51. Kf3 Kb3 52. Bd5 Kxb2 53. Bxc4 a5 54. Bb5 Kc3 55. Ke4 Kd2 56. Ba4 Ke2 57. Bc6 Kd2 58. Bb5 1 : 0.

Radosław Wojtaszek
Photo: mp2016.pzszach.pl

Once Upon a Time in the West

Radoslaw Wojtaszek – Julio Ernesto Granda Zúñiga
6th Chess World Cup; match game 2; Baku, September 18, 2015
Queen’s Gambit Declined D37

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Be7 5. Bf4 0-0 6. e3 Nbd7 7. Be2 dxc4 8. 0-0 a6 9. a4 Nh5. For 9. ... c5 10. d5 Nxd5 11. Nxd5 exd5 12. Qxd5 Nf6 13. Qe5 Qe8 14. Bxc4 Bd7 15. a5 Bc6 16. b3 see Gelfand – Kasimdzhanov, Grand Prix 2014/2015, Baku 2014. 10. Bxc4 Nxf4 11. exf4 c6 12. Qe2 Qa5 13. Bb3 Rd8 14. Rfd1 g6 15. Ne4 Nf6 16. Neg5 Nd5 17. g3 Bd7 18. h4 h5 19. Ne5 Be8. The Peruvian Grandmaster is a highly skilled defender, as yesterday’s game demonstrated. 20. Qf3 Bf8

21. g4! The most difficult move of the game! Wojtaszek launches a wild attack against the enemy King! 21. ... hxg4 22. Nxg4 Bg7 23. h5! gxh5 24. Ne5 Nf6 25. f5! Rxd4. Black tries a desperate Exchange sacrifice in a last ditch attempt to upset his opponent’s bloody attack. 26. Rxd4? White is too greedy and “[...] maybe he missed 26. fxe6 Rg4+ 27. Qxg4! and a sweet mate next”, Grandmaster Jon Ludvig Nilssen Hammer said. Another pretty variation is 26. fxe6 Qxe5 27. exf7+ Bxf7 28. Nxf7 Qf4 29. Ne5+! Kh7 30. Rxd4 Qxd4 31. Qf5+ Kh8 32. Ng6+ Kh7 33. Nf8++ Kh8 34. Qh7+! Nxh7 35. Ng6 mate. 26. ... Qxe5 27. Rad1 Nd5 28. Bc2 exf5 29. Qxh5 Nf4? But here Granda Zúñiga goes astray: after 29. ... Qf6 30. Bb3 Qh6 Black still can defend. 30. Qh7+ Kf8 31. Nf3 Qe2? Black should have resigned himself to 31. ... Qc7 32. R4d2 when White stands much better. 32. Rxf4? Here 32. Qxf5 was much stronger, e.g. 32. ... Bxd4 33. Rxd4! Ng6 34. Re4! with an easy win. 32. ... Qxc2 33. Rd2 Qb1+? Her Majesty checks at the wrong square! Black’s last chance was 33. ... Qc1+! 34. Kg2 Rd8, although after 35. Rxd8 Qxf4 36. Rxe8+ Kxe8 37. Qxg7 Qxa4 38. Qe5+ White should win in the long run anyway. 34. Kg2 c5 35. Rxf5 1 : 0.

Julio Ernesto Granda Zúñiga
Photo: Eteri Kublashvili

Mateusz Bartel (@MateuszBartel)

Una joya inexpugnable

Julio Ernesto Granda Zúñiga – Radosław Wojtaszek
6th Chess World Cup; match game 1; Baku, September 17, 2015
Sicilian Defence B26

1. e4 c5 2. Nc3 d6 3. d3 Nc6 4. g3 g6 5. Be3 Bg7 6. Qd2 e5 7. Bg2 Nge7 8. h4 h5 9. f4 Nd4 10. Nd1. 10. Nh3 Bg4 11. 0-0 exf4 12. Nxf4 0-0 13. Rf2 Kh7 14. Raf1 transposes into the game Hort - L. Portisch, 30th Hoogovens International Chess Tournament, Wijk aan Zee 1968. 10. ... d5 11. c3 Ne6 12. Nf3 d4 13. Bg1 Nc6 14. c4 f6 15. Nf2 Bh6 16. Nh3 Qd6 17. Bh2 Bd7 18. 0-0 0-0-0 19. a3 a5 20. Kh1 b6 21. b3 Kc7 22. Rab1 Rb8 23. Qe2 Rbg8 24. Ne1 Ned8 25. Nc2 g5 26. f5 g4 27. Nf2 a4 28. b4 Nb7 29. b5. An impressive mutual Pawn blockade! 29. ... Nca5 30. Na1 Qe7 31. Qc2 Ra8 32. Nd1. The Peruvian Grandmaster doesn’t dare to take the Pawn, for if 32. Qxa4? then 32. ... Nd6! 33. Qd1 Qf7 followed by 34. ... Naxc4! 35. dxc4 Qxc4 and White’s position falls apart. 32. ... Nd6 33. Re1. The silly 33. Nxa4?? now or in the next few moves is always met by 33. ... Naxc4 with an easy win for Black. 33. ... Qf7 34. Bf1 Ra7 35. Bg1 Rha8 36. Bf2 Nb3 37. Re2. “The position in Granda Zúñiga – Wojtaszek is quite funny. How to break through? :)”, Tarjei J. Svensen wondered.

37. ... Nxb5!? “Granda Zúñiga vs. Wojtaszek is special. The first piece/Pawn exchange at move 37 is an intriguing sacrifice”, Olimpiu G. Urcan said. 38. cxb5 Bxb5 39. Nb2 Bc6 40. Be1 b5 41. Nd1 Bf8 42. Rg2 Kd7 43. Kh2 Nxa1 44. Rxa1 b4 45. Nb2 b3 46. Qd1 Bb5 47. Nc4 Bxc4 48. dxc4 Bh6 49. Bd3 Rb7 50. Rb1 Kc6 51. Bd2 Qf8 52. Kg1 Bxd2 53. Qxd2 Rab8 54. Kf1 Ra8 55. Ke1 Rh7 56. Rb2 Qh6 57. Qxh6 Rxh6 ½ : ½.

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Julio Ernesto Granda Zúñiga
Photo: Eteri Kublashvili