The Great Mysteries of Cajón

Chess-News.ru (@Chess__News)

“The great mysteries of cajón” | A photo-reportage by Evgeny Anatolyevich Surov from Şəmkir, Azerbaijan: http://chess-news.ru/node/24570.

• Evgeny Anatolyevich Surov, Великие тайны кахона | The great mysteries of cajón, Chess-News.ru, April 19, 2018

Call After Six

The American and Shak Mamedyarov lead after six of 14 rounds at the candidates with the winner to face Magnus Carlsen for the world title. [Read more].

• Leonard Barden, Chess: Fabiano Caruana takes advantage after Kramnik blows candidates lead, The Guardian, March 16, 2018

Fabiano Caruana (left) vs. Sergey Alexandrovich Karjakin (right). Photo: Cathy Rogers.

Mind Games

The 2nd IMSA Élite Mind Games is taking place in 淮安 (Huái’ān), 江苏省 (Jiāngsū province), China from 10 to 15 December 2017, featuring contests in bridge, chess, draughts, go, and 象棋 (Xiàngqí) (idem to say Chinese chess). As for chess, twelve players compete in distinct and separate unisex and women’s sections in Rapid, Blitz and Basque chess. A very interesting format show which, however, should distinguish itself as neatly as possible from the money-oriented aims of a “sports federation”, especially given that neither chess nor all other noble “mind games” are a sport at all. If nothing else because, as Siegbert Tarrasch said, “Chess, like love, like music, has the power to make men happy”. In the meanwhile, two Champions have been crowned already. In women’s Rapid contest, Antoaneta Stefanova from Bulgaria won gold, while the Muzychuk sisters from Ukraine took silver (Anna Muzychuk) and bronze (Mariya Muzychuk). In the unisex Rapid section, instead, Andrey Deviatkin from Russia won gold, while Shakhriyar Mamedyarov from Azerbaijan and Lê Quang Liêm from Vietnam respectively took silver and bronze.

Here is the podium of the 2nd IMSA Élite Mind Games women’s Rapid contest; from left: Anna Muzychuk (silver), Antoaneta Stefanova (gold), and Mariya Muzychuk (bronze). Photo: cca.imsa.cn.

And here is the podium of the 2nd IMSA Élite Mind Games unisex Rapid contest; from left: Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (silver), Andrey Deviatkin (gold), and Lê Quang Liêm (bronze). Photo: cca.imsa.cn.

Spot the Shark

Alexander Igorevich Grischuk – Shakhriyar Mamedyarov
21st European Team Chess Championship; Hersonissos, November 5, 2017
Spanish Game C72

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 d6 5. 0-0 Bd7 6. Re1 g5!? 7. Bxc6. The historical premiere went 7. d4 g4 8. Bxc6 Bxc6 9. Nfd2 Qh4 10. Nc4 Bg7 11. dxe5 dxe5 12. Nc3 Rd8 13. Nd5?? (White ought to play 13. Qe2) 13. ... Bxd5 14. exd5 g3! Black won a piece and then the game, Kortschnoi – L. Portisch, 30th Hoogovens International Chess Tournament, Wijk aan Zee 1968. 7. ... bxc6 8. d4 g4 9. Nfd2 exd4 10. Nb3 Ne7 11. Nxd4 Bg7 12. Nc3. If 12. Nf5 then 12. ... Nxf5 13. exf5+ Kf8 14. Qxg4 h5 15. Qf3 Qf6 and Black wins back his Pawn with a lead in development, 陈琪 (Chén Qí) – 戴常人 (Dài Chángrén), 上海 (Shànghǎi) Youth Gulf Cup, 上海 (Shànghǎi) 2017. 12. ... 0-0 13. Bg5 f6 14. Be3 Qe8 15. Qd3 Qf7 16. Qd2 Qg6 17. Bf4 h5 18. b4 h4 19. a4 Qh5 20. Be3 h3 21. Nce2 hxg2 22. Nf4 Qh7 23. Nfe6 Bxe6 24. Nxe6

24. ... Ng6! Black’s Exchange sacrifice shows that Mamedyarov has decided to initiate his attack. 25. Nxf8 Rxf8 26. Bf4 f5! 27. exf5 Nh4 28. Ra3 Qxf5 29. Bg5 Nf3+ 30. Rxf3. Grischuk has nothing better than to give back the Exchange with vague hopes of somehow holding on in spite of his minus Pawn. 30. ... gxf3 31. Bh6 Qd5 32. Qc1? Grischuk falls apart. 32. Qe3 was White’s only chance to keep playing. 32. ... Bc3 33. Re3 Bd4 34. Rd3 Re8 35. c3 Bxf2+ 36. Kxf2 Re2+ 0 : 1. Let’s think of how much geography can change in a short period of time.

Shark attack

Shakhriyar Mamedyarov – David Navara
21st European Team Chess Championship; Hersonissos, November 1, 2017
Queen’s Gambit Accepted D28

1. d4 d5 2. c4 dxc4 3. e3 Nf6 4. Bxc4 e6 5. Nf3 c5 6. 0-0 a6 7. Qe2 b5 8. Bd3 cxd4 9. Rd1 Be7 10. a4 bxa4 11. Rxa4 dxe3 12. Bxe3 Nbd7. After 12. ... Bd7 13. Bc2!? Qc7 14. Nc3 0-0 15. Rh4 Nc6 16. Bf4 Qb7 Black could look forward to a comfortable game (but very likely White might have played better), Ibragimov – Baburin, 3rd Mind Sports Olympiad (MSO), London 1999. 13. Nc3 0-0 14. Bg5 Bb7 15. Rd4 Bxf3 16. Qxf3 Ne5 17. Qe3 Qb8 18. Bf4 Neg4 19. Qe2 e5 20. Bg3 h5 21. Nd5 Re8? Navara played quite risky so far, but the text is definitely his final bravery, allowing White an ideal attacking position. Black ought to take the White Knight with his Knight. 22. h3! h4 23. Nxf6+ Bxf6 24. Qe4 g6 25. Bc4! Kg7 26. Rd7 Re7 27. Bxh4 Bxh4 28. Qxg4 Bf6

29. R7d6! Stockfish’s 29. Bxf7! Kxf7 30. R1d6! might have been even more ferocious, but, of course, Mamedyarov’s pseudo-inversion is not so bad either. 29. ... Rc7 30. Qf3 Bh4 31. Rd7 Rxd7 32. Rxd7 Qb4 33. Qxf7+ Kh6 34. Qh7+ Kg5 35. f4+! Kf5 36. Qf7+ Ke4 37. Qxg6+ 1 : 0. Mate in two follows.

Война и мир (War and Peace)

So the 4th Gashimov Memorial in Şəmkir, Azerbaijan ended also this year with a win of Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (seated, second from right), but the big news came from the backstage, with Veselin Aleksandrov Topalov (seated, first from left) and Vladimir Borisovich Kramnik (seated, first from right) – both former World Chess Champions – finally making peace after eleven year of small chess wars. Photo: Chess-News.ru.

Oblivious to the danger who was so close by...

Shakhriyar Mamedyarov – Michael Adams
World Chess Federation Grand Prix 2017; first stage; Sharjah, February 21, 2017
Queen’s Gambit Declined D35

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 d5 4. cxd5 exd5 5. Bg5 c6 6. e3 h6 7. Bh4 Be7 8. Bd3 Nbd7 9. Nge2 Nh5 10. Bxe7 Qxe7 11. Qd2 Nb6 12. f3. For 12. 0-0 0-0 13. f3 Be6 14. b3 Rac8 15. Rac1 c5 see Hillarp Persson – Merriman, 7th London Chess Classic Open, London 2015. 12. ... Bd7 13. 0-0 0-0 14. g4! Oblivious to the danger who was so close by... On the other hand, 14. e4 dxe4 15. fxe4 c5! (Leitão’s analysis) would not worry Black. 14. ... Nf6 15. Ng3 Ne8 16. Rae1 Nd6

17. e4! Mamedyarov daringly sacrifices the g-Pawn to start a vehement attack on the Kingside. 17. ... dxe4 18. fxe4 Ndc4. If 18. ... Bxg4 then 19. e5 Ndc4 20. Qg2 and White’s initiative more than compensates for the Pawn (Leitão’s analysis). 19. Qc1! Bxg4 20. b3 Rad8. Of course after 20. ... Nd6 21. e5 White’s attack would easily spread its wings. 21. Nf5. Alternatively, a good way to consolidate might have been 21. bxc4 Rxd4 22. Be2± (Leitão’s analysis). 21. ... Bxf5 22. exf5 Qf6 23. Bxc4 Nxc4 24. bxc4 Qxd4+ 25. Kh1 Rfe8 26. f6! Rxe1 27. Qxe1 Qxc4 28. fxg7 Rd6 29. Rg1? Very natural, but, as Stockfish argues, 29. Qe8+! Kg7 30. Qe5+ Kg8 31. Rf3! seems to promise much more. 29. ... Rg6 30. Qe5. 30. Rxg6 fxg6 31. Kg2 Kxg7 32. Qe7+ Qf7 would lead to a kind of dynamic balance. 30. ... Qe6. Better seems 30. ... Qd3! (Leitão) in order to answer 31. Rxg6 by 31. ... Qf1+ 32. Rg1 Qf3+ with perpetual check. 31. Qb8+ Kxg7 32. Qxa7 Qc4 33. Qe3 b5 34. a3 c5 35. Ne4 f5? Here is when Adams makes his true mistake. After 35. ... b4! White very probably could not have won the game. 36. Rxg6+ Kxg6 37. Nxc5+- Qd5+ 38. Kg1 Qd1+ 39. Kg2 Qd5+ 40. Kh3 Qd1 41. Qe8+ Kf6 42. Nd7+ Kg5 43. Qg8+ 1 : 0. For if 43. ... Kf4 then 44. Qg3+ Ke4 45. Nf6+ Kd4 46. Qd6+.

Shakhriyar Mamedyarov vs. Michael Adams
Photo © Maria Yassakova/Agon Limited

Two on an island

Shakhriyar Mamedyarov – Evgeny Yurievich Tomashevsky
World Chess Federation Grand Prix 2017; first stage; Sharjah, February 19, 2017
Queen’s Indian Defence E12

“[Mamedyarov] showed his strength in the Grand Prix’s round two. From the position shown in the diagram, he used a typical strategy for playing against hanging Pawns. How does White play?”, Grandmaster Rafael Duailibe Leitão says and asks. 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4. a3 Bb7 5. Nc3 d5 6. Qc2 Nbd7 7. cxd5 exd5 8. Bf4 a6 9. g3 Be7 10. Bg2 0-0 11. 0-0 Re8 12. Rac1. For 12. Rfd1 Nf8 13. Rac1 Ne6 14. Ng5 Nxf4 15. gxf4 g6 16. e3 Bd6 17. Qb3 Bf8 18. Nf3 Rb8 19. Ne5 Re6 20. Qa2 Rd6 21. b4 c6 22. Rd2 Kg7 23. Rdc2 Ng8 24. Na4 see Polugaevsky – Short, Interzonal Tournament, Biel 1985. 12. ... c5 13. dxc5 bxc5 14. Ne5 Bf8 15. Qb3 Qb6 16. Qxb6 Nxb6 17. Rfd1. Black has not the most dynamic version of hanging Pawns and White can claim a slight but lasting edge. 17. ... Ra7 18. e3 h6 19. h4 Ba8 20. Nd3! Rd7 21. Bh3 Rb7

22. b4!± cxb4. 22. ... c4 23. Nc5 is no better. 23. axb4 d4 24. exd4 Nbd5 25. Be5 Nxc3 26. Rxc3 Nd5 27. Rc4 Nxb4 28. Nc5 Bxc5 29. dxc5 Nc6 30. Bc3 Rbe7 31. Rd6 Rc7 32. Rg4 f5 33. Rgg6 Ne5 34. Bxe5 Rxe5 35. c6 Kh7 36. h5 Rc5 37. Bg2 1 : 0.

Shakhriyar Mamedyarov
Photo: Day.az

The Importance of Not Being Arcovazzi

Chess-News.ru (@Chess__News)

Vugar Gashimov passed away three years ago. Baku, Azerbaijan today. Standing from left in front of the memorial statue are Sanan Shafizadeh, Sarkhan Gashimov – Vugar’s elder brother and manager – and Grandmaster Shakhriyar Mamedyarov.

The Friendly Shark

Shakhriyar Mamedyarov – Maxime Vachier-Lagrave
32nd European Chess Club Cup; Novi Sad, November 8, 2016
Grünfeld Defence D78

1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 g6 3. g3 Bg7 4. Bg2 d5 5. 0-0 0-0 6. c4 c6 7. Qb3 Qb6 8. Nc3 Rd8 9. Rd1 Bf5 10. Ne1 dxc4 11. Qxc4 Na6 12. e4 Be6 13. Qa4 Qb4 14. Nc2. A new idea, although quite spontaneous. For 14. Qxb4 Nxb4 15. h3 Ne8 16. Be3 Nd6 17. a3 Na6 18. Nf3 Bb3 see Jumabayev – Vachier-Lagrave, World Rapid Chess Championship, Berlin 2015. 14. ... Qxa4 15. Nxa4 Nd7 16. Bg5 Re8 17. b3 Nb6 18. Nxb6 axb6 19. Rac1 Nc7? This move shows almost immediately its weak points.

20. d5! Mamedyarov won the theoretical duel as his position certainly looks more pleasant. 20. ... cxd5 21. exd5 Bg4 22. Re1 Nb5 23. h3 Bd7 24. a4 Nc3. Desperately trying to not give away a Pawn. 25. Na3! 25. Bxe7? Rac8 would lead nowhere. 25. ... Ra5 26. Bxe7. With the obvious threat of Na3-c4. 26. Bd2 was also strong. 26. ... Nxd5 27. Bd6 Rxe1+ 28. Rxe1 Nf6 29. Nc4. The demolition of Black’s Queenside is surprisingly fast. 29. ... Ra6 30. Bxb7 Ra7 31. Bg2 b5 32. Bc5 Ra6 33. Bb7 bxc4 34. Bxa6 cxb3 35. a5 Bf5 36. Bd4 1 : 0. Very elegant play by Mamedyarov.

Shakhriyar Mamedyarov vs. Maxime Vachier-Lagrave
Photo: Lennart Ootees

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)

Puliyogare

Viswanathan Anand – Shakhriyar Mamedyarov
2nd Vugar Gashimov Memorial; Shamkir, April 25, 2015
Four Knights C49

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nc3 Nc6 4. Bb5 Bb4 5. 0-0 0-0 6. d3 d6 7. Ne2. “My second [Grzegorz Gajewski – Ed. Note] showed me this line and I thought why not give it a try? It is nice, quite an unusual system. And just a few days ago, 韦奕 (Wéi Yì) played it in Armenia”, then Vishy said. 7. ... Ne7 8. c3 Ba5 9. Ng3 Ng6 10. d4 Bb6 11. Re1 c6 12. Bd3 Re8 13. h3 h6 14. Be3 Be6 15. Qc2 Qc7 16. a3 a5 17. c4 a4 18. Red1 exd4. Black should have refused to cede ground in the centre. Sounder was 18. ... c5 (Anand). 19. Bxd4 Ne5 20. Be2 Bc5. A little slow. Probably more to the point would have been 20. ... Nfd7 immediately. 21. Rd2 Nfd7 22. Rad1 Red8 23. Nh4! Threatening both f2-f4 and Nh4-f5. 24. ... Bxd4 24. Rxd4 c5. Mamedyarov ventures a Pawn sacrifice to enhance his control over the dark squares. 25. Rxd6! The ordinary 25. R4d2 Nc6 25. Nhf5 (Anand’s analysis) would have retained the upper hand, but the “Tiger of Madras” was attracted by a pretty counter-sacrifice. 25. ... Nc6 26. Nhf5 Nd4 27. Qd2 Ne5

28. Rd5!! A superb Exchange sacrifice, far from obvious. 28. ... Bxd5 29. cxd5 Qb6 30. f4!? “Possible was 30. Nxd4 cxd4 31. Qxd4 Qxd4 32. Rxd4 with a large advantage on the endgame, but Anand banks on the attack”, Grandmaster Andrey Deviatkin said. 30. ... Ng6 31. Bc4 Qa5 32. Qf2 b5! 33. Nxd4 cxd4 34. Ba2!? “Again the most ambitious continuation. The alternative was 34. Bd3, but Anand thought this was too slow”, Deviatkin said. 34. ... b4 35. Nf5 bxa3 36. bxa3 Qc3 37. e5 Rab8 38. Rd2. Suddenly Vishy realized 38. Qxd4?? would have lost to 38. ... Qc2. 38. ... Qxa3? Deviatkin recommends the brilliant 38. ... d3! 39. d6 Rb3! with sufficient counter-play. 39. Nxd4 Qc1+ 40. Kh2 Rbc8? Another false step, but Mamedyarov was in tremendous time trouble. “This kills all chance of counterplay with things like ... Rb8-b2. My reply took me some time, but eventually I realized that after 41. d6 Black can do absolutely nothing – I just play Nd4-f5 and Qf2-d4”, then Anand said. 41. d6 a3 42. Nf5 Rf8 43. d7! 1 : 0.

Viswanathan Anand vs. Shakhriyar Mamedyarov
Photo: Shamkir Chess 2015

Hikaru Nakamura (‏@GMHikaru)

Völsunga saga

Shakhriyar Mamedyarov – Hjörvar Steinn Grétarsson
International Chess Open; Reykjavík, March 13, 2015
Queen’s Gambit Declined D37

1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. Nc3 Be7 5. Bf4 0-0 6. e3 Nbd7 7. Qc2 c5 8. Rd1 Qa5 9. Nd2 cxd4 10. exd4 dxc4 11. Nxc4 Qd8 12. Bd3 Nb6 13. 0-0 Nxc4? A careless move. Correct was 13. ... Bd7! 14. Nxb6 Qxb6 15. d5! Rfd8 (or 15. ... Kh8 16. Qe2 Rae8 17. d6 ½ : ½ Svidler – Giri, 18th European Team Chess Championship 2011, Porto Carras 2011) 16. Qe2 Rac8 as in the game Nepomniachtchi – Aronian, Tal Memorial, Moscow 2011. 14. Bxc4 Qb6. If 14. ... Bd7 then 15. d5! is strong. 15. Rfe1 Re8. Again after 15. ... Bd7 the powerful 16. d5! brings matters to a crisis.

16. Nb5! That’s why it was necessary to play 13. ... Bd7. Now Black’s fate is sealed. 16. ... Nd5 17. Bxd5 Qxb5 18. Be4. Black’s King is under fire and Grétarsson can do nothing about it. 18. ... g6 19. Re3 a5 20. Be5 a4 21. Rg3 f5 22. Bd3 Qd7 23. Qe2 Bh4 24. Bb5 Qe7 25. Rc3 Bd7 26. Bxd7 1 : 0. For after 26. ... Qxd7 27. Rc7 Qd8 28. Rg7+ Kf8 29. Rxh7 Black is busted. A pretty game by Mamedyarov.

反證法

Baadur Jobava – Shakhriyar Mamedyarov
FIDE Grand Prix; Tbilisi, February 20, 2015
Larsen’s Opening A01

1. b3 Nf6 2. Bb2 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. d4 c5 5. e3 cxd4 6. exd4 d5 7. Qd2 Nc6 8. 0-0-0. For the immediate 8. f3 h5 see Jobava – Carlsen, 77th Tata Steel Chess Tournament, Wijk aan Zee 2015. 8. ... Qa5 9. f3 h5 10. Kb1 Bf5 11. Bd3 Nxd4 12. Nge2 Nxe2 13. Qxe2 Bd7 14. Rhe1 e6

15. Bxg6!?? A typically Jobava idea. 15. ... fxg6 16. Nxd5 Nxd5 17. Bxg7 Rg8 18. Qe5 Rxg7? 18. ... Qc7! (possibly followed by ... 0-0-0) would have seriously questioned Jobava’s Bishop sacrifice. 19. Rxd5! Maybe Mamedyarov was expecting only 19. Qxg7? Nc3+ 20. Kb2 Nxd1+ 21. Rxd1 0-0-0 with advantage to Black. 19. ... Qb4 20. Rd6 Kf8 21. Red1 Bc6? From bad to worse. 22. R1d4? Simply incredible! Baadur misses an easy win: 22. Rd8+ Rxd8 23. Rxd8+ Kf7 24. a3! Qe7 25. Qf4+ Qf6 26. Rf8+! and Black can resign. 22. ... Qb5 23. Rd8+ Rxd8 24. Rxd8+ Ke7 25. Qd6+ Kf6 26. Qd4+. Also after 26. Rf8+ Rf7 27. Qd8+ Kg7 28. Rg8+ Kh7 29. Rh8+ Kg7 White has no more than than a draw by perpetual check. 26. ... Kf7?? A tragicomic blunder! The obvious 26. ... Ke7 27. Qd6+ Kf6 leaves nothing but a draw. 27. Qf4+ 1 : 0. Just one move before checkmate: 27. ... Ke7 28. Qf8 mate.

Baadur Jobava
Photo: Maria Alekseevna Emelianova

Let’s Twist Again

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Just two lines by Lady Macbeth

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Shakhriyar Mamedyarov – Anish Giri
Qatar Masters; Doha, November 30, 2014
English Opening A22

1. c4 Nf6 2. Nc3 e5 3. g3 Bb4 4. Bg2 0-0 5. e4 Bxc3 6. bxc3 Re8 7. d3 c6 8. Ne2. For 8. Qb3 Na6 see Steindorsson – Bjornsson, Reykjavík 2001. 8. ... d5 9. cxd5 cxd5 10. exd5 Nxd5 11. Rb1 Nc6 12. 0-0 Bg4 13. f3. Clearly not 13. Rxb7?? on account of 13. ... Nxc3. 13. ... Bf5 14. Rxb7 Nb6. Trapping the Rook. 15. f4 e4. 15. ... Qc8 16. fxe5 is no better. 16. Qb3? The lesser evil is 16. dxe4 Bxe4 17. Qb3, although after 17. ... Qf6 Black’s development looks a little more harmonious. 16. ... Be6 17. Qb5. From bad to worse, but after 17. Qd1 Bc8 White must give up the Exchange without any compensation. 17. ... exd3! Nearly an Excelsior! 18. Rxb6 dxe2 19. Re1 Bc4! 20. Qxc6. On 20. Qxc4? Qxb6+ wins. 20. ... Qd1! 21. Kf2

21. ... Rad8! The threat is ... Qd1xe1+. 0 : 1.

Anish Giri
Photo: Dmitry Rukhletskiy