Squares and Shapes

Garry Kimovich Kasparov – Samuel L. Shankland

4th Champions Showdown: Chess 9LX; time control: 20 minutes plus 5 seconds per move; Saint Louis, September 9, 2021

nbrknqbr/pppppppp/8/8/8/8/PPPPPPPP/NBRKNQBR w HChc - 0 1

Position #268

1. d4 d5 2. f3 Nd6 3. c3 f5?! (⌓ 4. ... c6 5. e4 f6) 4. Nd3 Nb6 5. Nb3 Nbc4 6. Nbc5 Qe8 7. b3 Na3 8. Be3 0-0-0 9. Qf2. Unlike his opponent, Kasparov has solved his development issues quite satisfactorily, but Black’s next Queen sortie will provide him with more than he could have expected: 9. ... Qb5? 10. Ne5! Nxb1. Otherwise White follows up with Bb1-d3. 11. Rxb1 Nc4?! 12. a4 Qb6

13. 0-0! A very choreographic h-side castling, which suddenly leaves Black stuck in his clumsy drama. 13. ... Nxe5 14. dxe5 Qc6 15. b4 Bf7. 15. ... a6 16. b5 axb5 17. axb5 Qg6 18. b6 is just another descent into hell. 16. b5 Qg6 17. Nd3

17. ... a5. It is as bad a move as another, as actually there was no way Shankland could prevent a4-a5. 18. bxa6 Qxa6 19. Nc5 Qa8 20. Nxb7 Rd7 21. Nc5 Rdd8 22. Rb4 Ba7. And finally Black’s dark-square Bishop enters the stage before the curtain is drawn. 23. Nd3 Bxe3 24. Qxe3 1 : 0.

Neither by chance nor chaos: Kasparov strikes back. Photo © Austin Fuller/Saint Louis Chess Club.

A Second Time

Sergey Alexandrovich Karjakin – Samuel L. Shankland
9th Chess World Cup; match game 2; Krasnaya Polyana, July 29, 2021
King’s Indian Attack A08

1. e4 e6 2. d3 d5 3. Nd2 Nf6 4. Ngf3 Be7 5. g3 a5 6. Bg2 a4 7. a3 c5 8. 0-0 Nc6 9. Re1 0-0 10. e5 (10. h4?! dxe4 11. Nxe4 Nxe4 12. Rxe4 b5 13. Ng5 Ra6 14. Qh5 h6 15. Nf3 f5 16. Re1 Bd7 17. Ne5 Nxe5 18. Rxe5 Bd6 19. Re1 Qf6 20. Rb1 f4?! 21. Bxf4 Bxf4 22. gxf4 Qxf4 23. Qxc5 Rf5 24. Qe3 Qxh4 25. Qg3 Qh5 26. Qc7 Qf7 27. Qb7 Rd6 28. Qb8+ Qf8 29. Qxf8+ Kxf8 30. Re3 Bc6 31. Rbe1 ½ : ½ Karjakin – Aronian, Candidates Tournament 2016, Moscow 2016) 10. ... Nd7 11. Nf1 b5 12. h4 Bb7 (12. ... b4 13. N1h2 bxa3 14. bxa3 Rb8 15. Ng4 Re8 16. h5 h6 17. Bf4 Nb6 18. Qd2 Nd7 19. c4 dxc4 20. dxc4 Nb6 21. Qc1 Qd3 22. Bxh6 Qxc4 23. Qxc4 Nxc4 24. Bg5 N6a5 25. h6 Nb3 26. Ra2 Bb7 27. Bxe7 Rxe7 28. Ng5 gxh6 29. Nxh6+ Kg7 30. Ng4 Kh8 31. Rd1 Bxg2 32. Kxg2 Nb6 33. Rd6 Nd5 34. Rc2 Rc7 35. Rc4 Nd2 36. Rc2 Nb3 37. Rc4 Nd2 38. Rc2 ½ : ½ Ciocâltea – Šahović, International Tournament, Timișoara 1977) 13. h5 h6 14. Bf4 Qb6 15. Qd2 Rfc8 16. g4 Qd8 17. N1h2 Ra6 18. Kh1 b4. A typical King’s Indian Attack position, in which White attacks on the Kingside and Black on the Queenside, and only one question really matters: who comes first? 19. Rg1 Nf8 20. axb4 cxb4 21. d4 Na5? After this loss of time, White gets the upper hand and keeps it to the end. 21. ... a3!∞ was called for.

22. g5!→ Nc4 23. Qc1 hxg5 24. Bxg5 b3. In order to push ... a4-a3 without allowing b2-b3. If, instead, 24. ... Bxg5 then 25. Nxg5 f6 26. exf6 Qxf6 27. Ng4! Qxd4 28. Bh3 e5 29. Rxa4! (Δ 29. ... Rxa4? 30. Nh6+!+−).25. Bxe7 Qxe7 26. Bf1! a3? Black’s only threat in the whole game, but just too late!

27. Rxg7+! Kxg7 28. Ng4 f5 29. exf6+ Qxf6 30. Nxf6 axb2 31. Qg5+ Kf7 32. h6 Ng6 33. Nh4! bxa1=Q. Shankland chivalrously allows his opponent to give checkmate on the board: 34. Qxg6+ Ke7 35. Qg7+ Kd6 36. Qd7# 1 : 0.

Karjakin won a brilliant game, culminating in checkmate, eventually pushing the match to a tie-breaker. Photo © Eric Rosen.

Once Upon a Summertime

Samuel L. Shankland – Sergey Alexandrovich Karjakin
9th Chess World Cup; match game 1; Krasnaya Polyana, July 28, 2021
r7/1pb5/1p1nkpp1/1Pp4p/P3PP2/2BK2P1/3N3P/R7 b - - 0 38

Position after 38. e3-e4

In the position of the diagram, Black should play 38. ... g5! with roughly balanced chances, but time shortage causes Karjakin to make a serious mistake: 38. ... f5? French Grandmaster Romain Édouard calls it a “move that looks taken from a horror movie!”. 39. e5 Nf7 40. Kc4 Ke7 41. Nf1 Nd8 42. Ne3 Ne6

43. a5 bxa5 44. b6 Bd8 45. Rd1 Nd4 46. Nd5+ Kf7 47. Bxd4. Well calculated as the ensuing Pawn ending is an easy win for White after 47. ... cxd4 48. Rxd4 Rc8+ 49. Nc7! Bxc7 50. Rd7+ Ke6 51. Rxc7 Rxc7+ 52. bxc7 Kd7 53. Kb5 Kxc7 [53. ... b6 54. Kxb6 a4 (54. ... Kc8 55. Kc6!+−) 55. Kb7+−] 54. Kxa5 Kc6 55. Kb4 Kb6 56. Kc4 Kc6 57. Kd4 b5 (57. ... Kd7 58. Kc5 Kc7 59. Kb5 Kd7 60. Kb6 Kc8 61. h4 Kb8 62. e6 Kc8 63. e7 Kd7 64. Kxb7 Kxe7 65. Kc7+−) 58. h3 1 : 0.

Barely one month after handily winning the 3rd Prague Masters Tournament, Shankland, the only American left in the Chess World Cup, still keeps winning game after game. Photo © Anastasia Korolkova.

Wild West

Samuel L. Shankland – 熊奕韬 (Jeffery Xióng)
63rd U.S. Open Chess Championship; Saint Louis, March 22, 2019
Scotch Game C45

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 exd4 4. Nxd4 Qf6 5. Nb3 Qg6 6. f3 Nf6 7. Bf4 Bb4+ 8. Kf2!? An interesting novelty in place of 8. c3 Be7 9. Qe2? (but 9. Qd2 was called for) 9. ... d5! 10. e5 Nh5 11. Bc1 Bh4+ 12. Kd1 Bg5 with an overwhelming bind, Mousavi – Safarli, 18th International Chess Open, Nakhchivan 2018. 8. ... 0-0 9. a3 Be7 10. Bd3 Nh5! 11. Bxc7 d6 12. e5 Bh4+! 13. Kf1 Qh6 14. exd6 Re8 15. Nc3 Ne5 16. Nc5? Also bad was 16. Bb5? on account of 16. ... Be6! so as to meet 17. Bxe8?? with 17. ... Bc4+ 18. Ne2 Qe3 winning right off. Comparatively best seems to be 16. Ne4, though after 16. ... Nf4 Black would have nothing to complain of.

16. ... Nxf3! This plain refutation, however strange it may appear, might well have been overlooked by Shankland. 17. N3e4. Clearly not 17. gxf3?? on account of 17. ... Bh3+ 18. Kg1 Qe3 mate. 17. ... Bg4? 熊奕韬 (Jeffery Xióng) much complicates the picture. Simply 17. ... f5! would have posed White insurmountable problems. 18. d7! Re5! Of course, after 18. ... Nxh2+?? 19. Rxh2 Bxd1 20. dxe8=Q+ Rxe8 21. Rxh4 Black pays too much for Her Majesty. 19. Bxe5. Black’s Exchange sacrifice must be accepted due to the threat of ... Re5-f5, as the Knight was still taboo: 19. gxf3?? Bh3+ 20. Ke2 (or 20. Kg1 Qe3+ and mate next move) 20. ... Nf4+ 21. Ke3 Ne6+ 22. Ke2 Nd4 mate. 19. ... Nxe5 20. Qd2 Qc6 21. h3 Bxd7 22. Nxd7 Nxd7 23. Qc3 Qh6. White is the Exchange up; Black has no material compensation, but he does have all the initiative. Furthermore, they both are very short of time already! 24. g4? Probably best is 24. g3!? Nxg3+ 25. Nxg3 Qf4+ 26. Ke2 Re8+ 27. Kd1 Qxg3 28. Kc1 Qg2 followed by ... Bh4-f6 with fine play for Black. 24. ... f5? 24. ... Qf4+! followed by ... Nd7-f6 seems much stronger. 25. gxf5 Re8 26. Qc4+?? This is a catastrophic mistake! 26. Rh2! Kh8 27. Qd2! Qc6 28. Rg2 Ndf6 was unclear but quite balanced, though easier for Black. 26. ... Kh8 27. Rg1. Now it’s too late for 27. Rh2 on account of 27. ... Qf4+ 28. Kg2 Ne5 with irresistible attack. 27. ... Qe3! Threatening Qe3-f3+. White has no decent defence, and 熊奕韬 (Jeffery Xióng) finishes in style. 28. Rg2 Nf4 29. Rh2 Nxh3 30. Kg2 Nf4+ 31. Kh1 Qf3+ 32. Kg1 Qg4+ 33. Kh1 Qf3+ 34. Kg1 Bd8! 35. Rf1 Bb6+ 36. Nf2 Qg3+ 37. Kh1 Qf3+ 38. Kg1 Nh3+ 39. Rxh3 Qxh3 40. Qf4 Nf6 41. Bb5. It is as bad a way as another to surrender. 41. ... Re4! 0 : 1.

Samuel L. Shankland looking at Black’s Knight on f3 as if he had missed something. Photo © Lennart Ootes/Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis.

Animorphs

Maxime Vachier-Lagrave – Samuel L. Shankland

Champions Showdown Chess960 2018; blitz match game 2 (5+5); Saint Louis, September 11, 2018

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Position 309

1. e4 c5 2. Ng3 Ng6 3. 0-0 0-0 4. c3 b5 5. d4 b4. 5. ... cxd4 6. cxd4 Bb6 was probably more advisable, but, after all, a Fischerandom blitz game has really little to do with opening philosophy. 6. dxc5 bxc3 7. Nb3 cxb2 8. Bxb2 a5 9. Nd4 Ba6 10. Ndf5!? Bxf1

11. Rxf1!? Vachier-Lagrave goes for the trickier and more speculative move order, though objectively much more unclear than 11. Nh5! f6! (Black cannot save the Bishop because of Bb2xg7 followed by Nf5-h6 mate) 12. Nfxg7 (12. Rxf1 Bc7) 12. ... Bc4 which yet could mean anything special to White. 11. ... f6? The trap worked very well! After 11. ... Bc7! it would have been quite harder for White to justify his material deficit. 12. Nxg7! And now, instead, this is simply devastating. 12. ... Bc7. Of course, 12. ... Kxg7?? loses the Queen to 13. Bxf6+. The rest is a glorious run to mate: 13. Nxe8 Qxe8 14. Bh5 Qb8 15. Rd1 Be5 16. Ba3 Nc7 17. Nf5 Nb5 18. Qb3+ e6 19. Rxd7 Nxa3 20. Qxe6+ Kh8 21. Rxh7+! 1 : 0. For after 21. ... Kxh7 22. Qd7+ mate in three moves follows.

Short track

Samuel L. Shankland – Maxime Vachier-Lagrave

Champions Showdown Chess960 2018; blitz match game 1 (5+5); Saint Louis, September 11, 2018

nqbbrkrn/pppppppp/8/8/8/8/PPPPPPPP/NQBBRKRN w KQkq - 0 1

Position 309

1. d4 d5 2. c3 Ng6 3. Bc2!? c6 4. Ng3 0-0 5. h4!? f5 6. h5 f4 7. Nf5 e6? Time is too precious to waste in games that end with only one winner! Best seems the immediate 7. ... e5! as after 8. Nxg7!? Kxg7 9. hxg6? (White should rather content himself with 9. Bxg6 hxg6 10. Qxg6+ Kh8 11. Qh6+ drawing by perpetual check) Black can advantageously reply with 9. ... e4 — now, instead, the extra tempo makes White’s script a lot more pleasant. 8. Nxg7! Kxg7 9. hxg6 e5 10. dxe5 h6 11. Nb3 Qxe5 12. Bd2? Now 12. Nd4(!) seemed obvious, strong, and natural, leaving White with a powerful positional compensation for the Pawn. One might think that Shankland completely forgot he could still castle on the a-side. 12. ... Nb6 13. Qd1? And this leads to a quick breakdown. White had probably nothing better than to set himself to give back his extra Pawn after 16. Bd3 Nc4 17. Bxc4 dxc4 18. Nd4 Qh5, eventually having to be content with getting only a slightly inferior endgame. 13. ... Nc4 14. Nd4. Just too late! Of course, 14. Bc1 Ne3+! would lead to a similar catastrophe.

14. ... Ne3+! 15. Bxe3 fxe3 16. Nf3 exf2! The most elegant solution. 17. Nxe5 Bh4 18. g3 Bh3+ 19. Rg2 Bxg3! 0 : 1.

Consolation Prize

And here are the winners of the 62th U.S. Open Chess Championship and 58th U.S. Women’s Chess Championship, which took place from 18–30 April in Saint Louis, Missouri. Pictured, from left, are: Nazí Nodarovna Paikidze and Samuel L. Shankland. Photo: Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis (@STLChessClub).

USDX

Samuel L. Shankland – 梁世奇 (Awonder Liáng)
62th U.S. Chess Championship; Saint Louis, April 29, 2018
Caro-Kann Defence B13

1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. exd5 cxd5 4. Bd3 Nc6 5. c3 Nf6 6. Bf4 Bg4 7. Qb3 e5!? The usually rock-solid 梁世奇 (Awonder Liáng) suddenly feels in the mood to go for adventures in the South. Good luck. 8. h3. If 8. dxe5 then 8. ... Nh5 9. Be3 Nxe5 10. Bb5+ Nc6 11. h3 Be6 12. Qd1 Nf6 13. Nf3 Bd6 14. 0-0 0-0 15. Nbd2 Qd7 16. Re1 a6 17. Bf1 Rac8 18. Nb3 Ne4 19. Nbd4 Bb8∞ 韦奕 (Wéi Yì) – David Navara, 2017 “恒大杯” (“Héngdà Cup”) Chess Grandmaster Summit Match, 盐城 (Yánchéng) 2018, tie-break game 2 (5+3). 8. ... exf4 9. hxg4 Qe7+ 10. Kf1 0-0-0!? It may be an improvement over 10. ... Ne4 11. Qc2 0-0-0 12. Nd2 Re8? 13. Bxe4 dxe4 14. Re1 f5 15. gxf5 e3 16. fxe3 fxe3 17. Rh3 Qc7 18. Rexe3 Rxe3 19. Rxe3 Bd6 20. Ne2 Rf8 21. Rf3 Re8 22. Ne4 Bf8 23. Qd3 Qf7 24. b3 h6 25. Nf4 1 : 0 Demchenko – Yurtseven, 2nd Portugal Open, Lisbon 2018. 11. Nd2 g6 12. Re1 Qc7 13. g5 Nh5 14. Be2 Ng7 15. Ngf3 Ne6 16. Bb5 Bg7 17. Qa4 Rd6 18. Nb3

18. ... b6? A gross mistake that delivers the U.S. Championship title in Shankland’s hands. Black should have played 18. ... a6 19. Bxc6 Rxc6 20. Nc5 Nxc5 21. dxc5 Re6(!) and then invent something to compensate for his weak Pawns on d5, f4 and h7. 19. Nc1 Nb8 20. Nd3 Kb7 21. Nb4 Qd8 22. Ne5 Qc7 23. Qb3! Black is virtually in Zugzwang, and the rest is nothing but a formality. 23. ... Rhd8 24. Rxh7 a6 25. Bd3 Ka7 26. Qa4 a5 27. Bb5 Kb7 28. Nbd3 Rg8 29. Nf3 Rh8 30. Rxh8 Bxh8 31. a3 Nc6 32. Bxc6+ Rxc6 33. Nde5 Bxe5 34. Nxe5 Rd6 35. Qe8 Rd8 36. Qxf7 Nxg5 37. Qxc7+ Kxc7 38. Nxg6 f3 39. Nf4 Kc6 40. gxf3 Nxf3 41. Re6+ Kb5 42. Ke2 Ng1+ 43. Kd3 1 : 0. “Pretty surprised +5 didn’t cut it. Congrats to Sam, excellent play throughout”, Fabiano Caruana tweeted.

Samuel L. Shankland. Photo: Lennart Ootes.

Homœopathy

Samuel L. Shankland – Fabiano Caruana
62th U.S. Chess Championship; Saint Louis, April 22, 2018
Queen’s Gambit Accepted D27

1. d4 d5 2. c4 dxc4 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. e3 e6 5. Bxc4 c5 6. 0-0 a6 7. a4 cxd4 8. exd4 g6?! A new but not particularly impressive idea. For 8. ... Nc6 9. Nc3 Be7 10. Re1 0-0 11. h4 Nb4 12. Ne5 Nc6 13. Be3 Qc7 take a look at Jobava – Ivanchuk, 38th Chess Olympiad, Dresden 2008. Just crazy stuff. 9. Nc3 Bg7

10. d5! exd5 11. Re1+ Be6 12. Nxd5 Nxd5 13. Bxd5 0-0 14. Bxe6 fxe6 15. Qe2. Thus White wins a Pawn. Therefore, the most Caruana can hope to obtain from his theoretical novelty is hopefully to be a 2 vs. 3 Pawns on the same side Rook and Knight or Rook endgame. After his endgame technique display in the previous round’s game against Zviad Izoria, maybe he thought this was the best way to raise his own mood. 15. ... Qd5 16. Rd1 Qf5 17. Ng5 Nc6 18. Qxe6+ Kh8 19. Qxf5 Rxf5 20. Ne6 Be5 21. Be3 Re8 22. Nc5 Bf4 23. Bxf4 Rxf4 24. f3 Rb4 25. Rd2 Re7 26. Kf1 a5 27. Re1 Rxe1+ 28. Kxe1 Kg8 29. b3 b6 30. Rd6 Ne7 31. Nd7 Rxb3 32. Rxb6 Ra3 33. Nc5 Ra2 34. Re6 Nd5 35. Re2 Ra1+ 36. Kf2 Nc3 37. Re8+ Kf7 38. Ra8 Ra2+ 39. Kg3 g5 40. Kg4. 40. Kh3 Ne2 41. Kg4 (41. Rxa5 h5!=) 41. ... Nd4 42. g3 Rxh2 43. Rxa5 h5+ 44. Kxg5 Nxf3+. 45. Kf4 Nd4 should hold for Black anyway. 40. ... Rxg2+ 41. Kf5 Rxh2. 41. ... Nd5! 42. Ra7+ Ne7+ 43. Ke5 Rd2! is another drawing line spotted by computer analysis. 42. Ra7+ Ke8 43. Rxa5 Rf2 44. Kxg5 ½ : ½.

Samuel L. Shankland (right) vs. Fabiano Caruana (left). Photo: Lennart Ootes/Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis (@STLChessClub).

Exchange rate

Ian Aleksandrovich Nepomniachtchi – Samuel L. Shankland
11th World Team Chess Championship; Khanty-Mansyisk, June 25, 2017
Caro-Kann Defence B12

1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. e5 Bf5 4. g4!? Be4 5. f3 Bg6 6. e6!? fxe6 7. h4 Nd7 8. h5 Bf7 9. f4 e5 10. fxe5 e6 11. Nf3 c5 12. c3 Ne7 13. Bd3 Nc6 14. 0-0 Qb6 15. Kg2 Rc8 16. a3 cxd4! Shankland adds fuel to an already wild game with a pseudo-Bishop sacrifice. 17. cxd4 Nxd4 18. Nxd4 Qxd4 19. Bg6! Not 19. Rxf7? Rxc1! (Leitão’s analysis). 19. ... Qxd1 20. Bxf7+ Kd8 21. Rxd1 Ke7 22. Rf1 Rc2+ 23. Kh1 Nxe5 24. Bg5+ Kd7 25. Nc3 Nxg4. Black’s position looks very threatening, but Nepomniachtchi is keeping everything under strict control. 26. Bxe6+! Kxe6 27. Rae1+ Kd6

28. Rxf8! Nf2+. Maybe it’s not so wrong as it looks, but simpler seems 28. ... Rxf8 29. Be7+ Kd7 30. Bxf8 Nf2+ 31. Kh2 d4 32. Re2 d3 33. Rxc2 dxc2 34. Ne2 Nd3 25. Bxg7 c1=Q 36. Nxc1 Nxc1 with a probably drawish ending. 29. Rxf2 Rxf2 30. Nb5+ Kc6 31. Nxa7+ Kc7 32. Nb5+ Kb8 33. b4 Rf5 34. Be7 Rxh5+ 35. Kg2 d4 36. Nxd4 Rd5 37. Bc5 Rhd8 38. Re4 h5 39. a4 g5 40. a5 g4 41. a6 bxa6 42. Nc6+ Kc7 43. Nxd8 Kxd8 44. Kg3 Rf5 45. Kh4 Rd5 46. Re3 Kc7 47. Re7+ Kb8 48. Bb6 Rb5 49. Bc7+ Ka8 50. Ba5 Rf5 51. Re6 Kb7 52. Rg6 Ka7 53. Rb6 Rd5 54. Rf6 Kb7 55. Rf4 Ka7 56. Kg3 Rd3+ 57. Kf2 Rd5 58. Ke3 Re5+ 59. Kf2 Kb7 60. Rf7+ Ka8? After strenuously fighting for survival in such an unbalanced ending, Shankland finally puts his foot (King) in the wrong spot. Apparently after 60. ... Kc6 Black would have retained excellent drawing chances; for instance: 61. Rf6+ Kb5 62. Rb6+ Kc4 63. Rxa6 h4 64. Rh6 g3+ 65. Kf1 Rf5+ 66. Kg1 Rf4 and White doesn’t seem to have any way to make progress. 61. Rg7 Re4 62. Kg3 Re5 63. Kf4 Rd5 64. Ke4 Rb5 65. Kd4 Rf5 66. Bb6 Rb5 67. Rg8+ Kb7 68. Bc5 Kc7 69. Ke4 1 : 0.

Ian Aleksandrovich Nepomniachtchi
Photo: Anastasiya Balakhontseva/Ugra Chess Academy

Samuel L. Shankland
Photo: Anastasiya Balakhontseva/Ugra Chess Academy

In the House of Giants

Samuel L. Shankland – 熊奕韬 (Jeffery Xióng)
61th U.S. Chess Championship; Saint Louis, April 6, 2017
Réti Opening A06

1. Nf3 d5 2. e3 Nf6 3. c4 e6 4. b3 b6 5. Bb2 Bb7 6. Nc3 Nbd7 7. Qc2 a6 8. cxd5. If White wanted to play d2-d4, I think it were better for him to play it now. 8. ... exd5 9. d4 Bd6 10. g3 Ne4 11. Bg2 Nxc3 12. Qxc3 Nf6 13. 0-0 a5 14. a4 0-0 15. Ba3 c5 16. Rfd1 Rc8 17. dxc5 bxc5 18. Qd3 Qb6 19. Nd2 Rfd8 20. Rac1 Ba6 21. Qb1 Bf8 22. Bb2

22. ... d4! Jeffery finally shows his muscles. 23. exd4 cxd4 24. Rxc8 Rxc8 25. Ne4 d3. Threatening ... Nf6xe4 followed by ... Rc8-c2. 26. Bxf6. I think 26. Nxf6+ gxf6 27. Rxd3 Bxd3 28. Qxd3 Bc5 29. Bd5 Bxf2+ 30. Kg2 Bg1 31. Qf5 was a better version of White’s exchange sacrifice, which, even at the cost of the f2-Pawn, would have allowed Shankland to maintain two Bishops. 26. ... gxf6 27. Rxd3 Bxd3 28. Qxd3 f5. Now Black stands much better, both materially and dynamically. The conversion into a win is all but easy, but Jeffery will manage somehow to win his first game in the U.S. Championship: 29. Nd2 Qf6 30. Nc4 Rd8 31. Bd5 Bc5 32. Kg2 f4 33. Qf3 Qg5 34. Be4 fxg3 35. hxg3 h5 36. Bf5 Kg7 37. Kh3 Qf6 38. Kg2 Qg5 39. Kh3 Rd4 40. Kg2 h4 41. Kh3 hxg3 42. fxg3 Qc1 43. Be4 Qh6+ 44. Kg2 Qe6 45. Bc6 Qg6 46. Bb5 Rd3 47. Qf4 Rxb3 48. Qe5+ Kg8 49. Nxa5 Rb1. “Xióng displayed better understanding throughout the entire game”, Canadian Grandmaster Eric Hansen said. 50. Nc4 Qc2+ 51. Kh3 Rh1+ 52. Kg4 Qd1+ 0 : 1. Bravo!

熊奕韬 (Jeffery Xióng)
Photo: Lennart Ootes (@CCSCSL)

Live Another Day

Samuel L. Shankland – Wesley So
61th U.S. Chess Championship; Saint Louis, March 30, 2017
Spanish Game C67

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. 0-0 Nxe4 5. Re1 Nd6 6. Nxe5 Be7 7. Bf1 Nf5 8. Nf3 0-0 9. d4 d5 10. c3 Bd6 11. Bd3 Re8 12. Rxe8+ Qxe8 13. Qc2 Nce7 14. Nbd2 f6. Similar consequences arise from 14. ... c6 15. Nf1 f6 16. Ng3 g6 17. Bd2 Qf7 18. Re1 Ng7 19. h3 Bxg3 20. fxg3 Bf5 21. Bxf5 Nexf5 22. g4 Nd6 23. g5 Re8 24. gxf6 Rxe1+ 25. Bxe1 Qxf6 26. Bg3 Ngf5 27. Be5 Qe7 28. Qe2 Ng3 29. Qc2 Ngf5 30. Qe2 Ng3 ½ : ½ Robson – Nakamura, 60th U.S. Chess Championship, Saint Louis 2016. 15. Nf1 g6 16. Bd2 Be6!? A new half move. For 16. ... b6 17. Re1 c5 see Shomoev – Pridorozhni, 38th Nezhmetdinov Memorial, Kazan 2016. 17. Re1 Qd7 18. Ng3 Ng7 19. Nh4 c6 20. Bh6 Re8 21. Re3 Kf7 22. Kf1 Bxg3 23. hxg3 Ngf5 24. Nxf5 Nxf5. 24. ... Bxf5 might be better from a strategic viewpoint, but hardly implementable. 25. Bxf5 Bxf5 26. Qe2 Rg8 27. f3 g5 28. g4 Bb1

29. Qd1! Bxa2 30. Kf2! After b2-b3 both Bishops would be trapped, and very likely that was another way to draw. However, Shankland did it much more neatly (and prettily as well). 30. ... Rg6 31. Qh1! Intending Bh6xg5 followed by Qh1xh7+ with a perpetual check. 31. ... Qd6. Alternatively, 31. ... Kg8 32. Qe1! Rxh6 33. Re7 Qd6 34. Re6 Qd7 35. Re7 draws by repetition. 32. g3 Qd7. Now Black cannot avoid perpetual check: 33. Bxg5 Rxg5 34. Qxh7+ Rg7 35. Qh5+ Rg6 36. Qh7+ Rg7 37. Qh5+ ½ : ½. Wesley lived another day, thus compiling a 58-game unbeaten streak.

Samuel L. Shankland vs. Wesley So
Photo: Lennart Ootes (Flickr)