To Be Continued

Dronavalli Harika – Nigel David Short
23rd TePe Sigeman & Co. Chess Tournament; Malmö, May 14, 2017
Two Knights Defence C55

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. d3 Be7 5. 0-0 0-0 6. Re1 d6 7. a4 Be6 8. Nbd2 a5 9. c3 Qc8!? Another try is 9. ... Nd7 10. Nf1 Bf6 11. Ng3 Bxc4 12. dxc4 Nc5 13. Be3 b6 14. Qc2 g6 15. Reb1 Bg7 16. b4 Ne6 17. Qb3 axb4 18. cxb4 Ncd4 19. Nxd4 exd4 20. Bd2 Qh4 21. Rf1 Be5 ½ : ½ Korneev – Romanishin, 3rd International Open, Forni di Sopra 2012. 10. Qb3 Kh8!? 11. Nf1 Bxc4 12. Qxc4 Qe6 13. Ne3. If 13. Qb5 there might follow 13. ... Ra6, indirectly defending the b7-Pawn (for after 14. Qxb7?? Rb6 15. Qxc7 Bd8 Black wins at least a piece). 13. ... Qxc4 14. Nxc4 Nd7 15. d4 exd4 16. Nxd4 Nce5 17. Nxe5 dxe5 18. Nb3 Nc5 19. Nxc5 Bxc5 20. Rd1 Rfd8. Black has a slight development advantage, which, however, Harika promptly nullifies through her clever covered deployment manoeuvre, equalising easily.

21. Bd2 Kg8 22. Kf1 f6 23. Ke2 Kf7 24. Be1 Ke6 25. Rxd8 Rxd8 26. Rd1 Rb8 27. f3 c6 28. Bd2 h5 29. Ra1 g6 30. h3 Rf8 31. Be3 Bxe3 32. Kxe3 f5 33. b4 axb4 34. cxb4 Rd8 35. a5 f4+ 36. Ke2 g5 37. b5 cxb5 38. Rb1 Rc8 39. Rxb5 Rc2+ 40. Kf1 Rc1+ 41. Kf2 Rc2+ 42. Kg1 Rc7 43. Rb6+ Kf7 44. Kf2 Rc2+ ½ : ½. “A Giuoco Comatoso against Harika to finish a disappointing tournament”, finally tweeted Short.

Dronavalli Harika (@HarikaDronavali)

The third half

Baadur Jobava – Dronavalli Harika
23rd TePe Sigeman & Co. Chess Tournament; Malmö, May 13, 2017
Semi-Slav Defence D31

Today Harika skillfully succeeded in restraining Jobava’s notorious tactical liveliness, putting her pink carriage on a ground quite suitable to her taste. 1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 c6 4. cxd5 exd5 5. Bf4 Nf6 6. e3 Bd6 7. Bxd6 Qxd6 8. Bd3 g6!? A new move that appears to be perfectly sound. 9. Nge2 Nbd7 10. Qd2 Nb6 11. f3 Be6 12. e4 Qe7 13. 0-0 0-0 14. Qg5 Rae8 15. e5 Nh5 16. Qxe7 Rxe7 17. a4 a6 18. b4 Ng7

19. b5. Jobava, who obtained very little from the opening, clings himself to a (last) strategic classic motif: a minority attack on the Queenside. Harika, however, proves to have sufficient resources to defend herself. 19. ... Bf5 20. Bxf5 Nxf5 21. f4 axb5 22. axb5 h5 23. bxc6 bxc6 24. Ra6 Rb7 25. Rb1 Rfb8 26. Kf2 Ne7 27. g3 Nbc8 28. Rxb7 Rxb7 29. h3 Ra7. The exchange of the last pair of Rooks means that Black won’t lose the game. 30. Rxa7 Nxa7 31. g4 hxg4 32. hxg4 Kg7 33. Na4 Nb5 34. Nc5 Kf8 35. Ke3 Ke8 36. Ng3 Ng8 37. Nd3 Na3 38. Ne2 Nc4+ 39. Kf3 Nd2+ 40. Ke3 ½ : ½.

On Emotion

Dronavalli Harika – Erik Blomqvist
23rd TePe Sigeman & Co. Chess Tournament; Malmö, May 12, 2017
Sicilian Defence B65

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 Nc6 6. Bg5 e6 7. Qd2 Be7 8. 0-0-0 0-0 9. f4 Nxd4 10. Qxd4 Qa5 11. Bc4 h6 12. Bh4 Qh5 13. Bg3 Rd8 14. Rhe1 Bd7 15. e5 dxe5 16. Rxe5 Bc6 17. Qg1? I don’t like this move (from a theoretical viewpoint), even though it doesn’t turn out bad. Maybe White should look for something better by 17. Nd5 exd5 18. Bd3 as occurred in the game Janošević – Csom, IBM International Chess Tournament, Amsterdam 1970. 17. ... Rxd1+ 18. Nxd1 Qg6 19. Nc3 Nd7 20. Bd3 Qf6 21. Ne4 Bxe4 22. Rxe4 Rc8 23. Kb1 Nc5 24. Rd4 Bd8 25. Qe3 Bb6 26. Rc4 Rc6 27. Be2 Qd8

28. Rd4?? As usual Harika – a very strong strategic player – pays (more than due) for her lack of tactical coolness. Here White stood well and maybe even better, and she might have long tormented her opponent by 28. Bf3! Nd7! 29. Qe2. 28. ... Nd7! Winning a neat Exchange which Blomqvist will convert into a win without too difficulty. 29. Bb5 Bxd4 30. Qxd4 Qb6 31. Qxb6 Rxb6 32. c4 Rd6 33. f5 e5 34. Kc2 a6 35. Bxd7 Rxd7 36. Bxe5 Re7 37. Bg3 Re2+ 38. Kc3 Rxg2 39. a4 Kf8 40. b4 Ke7 41. b5 a5 42. c5 Kd7 43. Kc4 Ra2 44. c6+ bxc6 45. Kc5 Rxa4 46. bxc6+ Kc8 47. Kb5 Ra2 48. Bd6 a4 49. h4 a3 50. Ka4 Rf2 0 : 1.

Dronavalli Harika (@HarikaDronavali)

Peace at the Last

Nils Axel Grandelius – Dronavalli Harika
23rd TePe Sigeman & Co. Chess Tournament; Malmö, May 11, 2017
Sicilian Defence B23

1. e4 c5 2. Nc3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nd4 4. Nf3 a6 5. Bd3 Nc6 6. e5 e6 7. Be4? A silly (new) move which is not only useless, but even deleterious. For 7. 0-0 d5 8. exd6 Bxd6 9. Ne4 Be7 10. b3 f5 11. Ng3 Bf6 12. Rb1 g6 see Grischuk – Vachier-Lagrave, 3rd Norway Blitz 2015, Stavanger 2015. 7. ... d5 8. exd6 Qxd6 9. Bxc6+. One should not make such a concession, but White didn’t know where to put the Bishop after an eventual ... Ng8-f6. 9. ... Qxc6 10. 0-0 Nf6 11. d4 cxd4 12. Qxd4 b5! Black stands already well, despite her slight delay in development – both her Bishops are eager to plant themselves on important diagonals. 13. Ne5 Qc5. This modest move surprised me a bit, but maybe even Morphy would have done so – and, in any event, it denotes Harika’s great confidence in her own judgment. 14. Rd1?! Here’s another cryptic loss of something ineffable. Since White stands worse, I think he would have done better to play 14. Qxc5 Bxc5 15. Be3 trying to keep his discomfort to the (best) minimum (possible). 14. ... Qxd4 15. Rxd4 Bc5 16. Rd3 Bb7 17. Bg5 Be7! 18. Rad1 Rc8! 19. R1d2 h6! Harika is playing with timely dynamism, and by simple means she totally overwhelmed – even in a strategic sense – her opponent. 20. Bh4. Of course, Grandelius is not in the mood to expose himself voluntarily to an unnecessary danger such as 20. Bxf6 gxf6 soonly followed by ... Rh8-g8. 20. ... g5! 21. Bg3 Nd5. 21. ... Ne4 might have been even stronger, but Black would have to withstand some complications, which Harika usually tries to avoid. Alas, it’s not always possible! 22. Nxd5 Bxd5 23. Ng4 h5 24. Ne3 Be4 25. Rd4 Bc6 26. Be5 f6 27. Bd6

27. ... Bd8! Harika’s synchronization in the background is really in the style of Wilhelm Steinitz. 28. Bc5 Kf7! 29. c4 Bc7? A strange circumlocution. 29. ... f5! followed by ... Bd8-f6 appears to be much stronger and hugely advantageous. 30. Bd6! The tenacious Swedish Grandmaster finds the way to climb up to the surface. 30. ... e5 31. R4d3 bxc4 32. Nxc4 Bb5 33. Bxc7 Bxc4 34. Rd7+ Kg6 35. R2d6?? A comical blunder made under time pressure, when by now White was safe. After 35. b3 Bb5 36. Re7 Rhe8 (or 36. ... Rh7) the game was pretty balanced. 35. ... Rhe8? Harika was also short of time and, very unluckily for women’s cause, missed 35. ... Bb5! 36. Re7 Rhe8! (37. Rxe8 Bxe8) with decisive material gains due to White’s back rank abyss. 36. g4! hxg4 37. Rd8? Zeitnot! The immediate 37. a4 was a “must”. 37. ... Rcxd8? The drama of Zeitnot. 37. ... Rexd8 38. Bxd8 Be2! would have retained much greater winning chances. 38. Bxd8 Re6 39. Rxe6 Bxe6. Now the endgame is probably a draw (however not yet so easy to draw for White), thanks to the opposite-colour Bishops. 40. a4 Bb3 41. a5 f5 42. Bc7 e4 43. Bd8 f4 44. Be7 Bc4 45. Bd8 Kf5 46. Be7 e3 47. fxe3 fxe3 48. Kg2 Kf4 49. Bf6 Bd5+ 50. Kf1 Bc4+ 51. Ke1 Bb5 ½ : ½.

Life Begins After Coffee

Nigel David Short – Erik Blomqvist
23rd TePe Sigeman & Co. Chess Tournament; Malmö, May 10, 2017
Spanish Game C92

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5. Given his experience as an élite player, Short – who is living a shining second (chess) life – must have felt happy to play the Spanish Game. 3. ... a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. 0-0 Be7 6. Re1 b5 7. Bb3 d6 8. c3 0-0 9. h3 Bb7 10. d4 Re8 11. Nbd2 Bf8 12. d5 Nb8 13. Nf1 Nbd7 14. Bg5 Nc5 15. Bc2 c6 16. Ne3 a5 17. b4! Ncd7 18. a4! Qc7 19. dxc6 Qxc6 20. axb5 Qxc3 21. bxa5 Rxa5 22. Rc1! Gently smiling at the Queen. 22. ... Qb4 23. Ng4! A powerful move – very far from obvious – which brutally threatens Bg5-d2. Presumably Blomqvist was only expecting 23. Nf5, that was quite good for White but not so psychologically strong. 23. ... Qxb5? And Blomqvist goes in confusion. Black had nothing better than 23. ... Nxg4! 25. Bd2 Qxb5 and then 26. Bxa5 Qxa5 27. hxg4 leaves White with a definite material advantage, but not so easily convertible into a win. 24. Rb1 Qa6 25. Bxf6 Nxf6 26. Nxf6+ gxf6 27. Nh4! No one can give Short such an attacking position without being doomed to a flashy finish. 27. ... Bc8 28. Bb3 Be6 29. Qh5 Rc8 30. Nf5 Ra3 31. Re3 Rxb3 32. Rexb3 Bxb3 33. Rxb3 Rc1+ 34. Kh2 Qf1

35. Qg4+ Kh8 36. Qg7+! 1 : 0. For after 36. ... Bxg7 37. Rb8+ there follows mate in two.

When the Wind Blows

Pavel Eljanov – Dronavalli Harika
23rd TePe Sigeman & Co. Chess Tournament; Malmö, May 10, 2017
Réti Opening A05

“I have not been to Sweden before but I am confident of doing well here. I will just try to do routine stuff, play quality games and give tough fight to all my opponents”, Harika said on the eve of her début in the invitational élite TePe Sigeman & Co. Chess Tournament. 1. Nf3 Nf6 2. b3 d6 3. d4 g6 4. Bb2 Bg7 5. g3 Bd7 6. Bg2. The (vintage) alternative was 6. Nc3 c5 7. Bg2 cxd4 8. Nxd4 Nc6 9. 0-0 0-0 10. Nd5 ½ : ½ U. Andersson – Najdorf, 1st Clarín International Tournament, Buenos Aires 1978. 6. ... Qc8. 6. ... 0-0 after 7. 0-0 Qc8 8. Re1 Bh3 9. e4 Bxg2 10. Kxg2 e5 11. dxe5 Nfd7 would transpose into Reshevsky – Kagan, 7th International Tournament, Netanya 1973. 7. h4 0-0 8. c4 c5 9. Nc3 Nc6 10. d5 Ne5 11. Nxe5 dxe5 12. Qd2 Rb8 13. a4 a6 14. 0-0 Ne8 15. a5. 15. h5 Nd6 (15. ... gxh5 16. Qg5) 16. h6 Bh8 17. e4 is Stockfish’s recipe to keep fighting for a (very unlikely) White’s edge. After the text Black won’t ever have any more worries. 15. ... Nd6 16. Qc2 Qc7 17. e4. Eljanov’s purpose was probably to prevent ... f7-f5, but I think he very unwilling made such a move. 17. ... b5! 18. axb6 Qxb6 19. Ra3

19. ... Nxc4! Harika will end up a Pawn ahead, but no real winning chances, due to White’s Rook on the seventh rank and the Bishops of opposite colour. 20. bxc4 Qxb2 21. Qxb2 Rxb2 22. Na4 Bxa4 23. Rxa4 Bh6! 24. Rxa6 Rb4 25. Ra7 Re8 26. Rc7 Rxc4 27. Ra1 Rc1+ 28. Rxc1 Bxc1 29. Bf1 Kf8 30. Bc4 Rd8 31. g4 Bb2 32. Kg2 h6 33. Rb7 Bc3 34. Kg3 Bd2 35. Rc7 Bc1 36. Kf3 Bd2 37. Ke2 Bc1 38. Kd3 Bb2 39. Rb7 Bd4 40. Ke2 Bc3 41. Rc7 ½ : ½.

Dronavalli Harika contemplating Malmö’s sea
Photo: Dronavalli Harika (@HarikaDronavali)