Say it with Flowers

卜祥志 (Bǔ Xiángzhì) – Vadim Viktorovich Zvjaginsev
23rd Russian Team Chess Championship; Sochi, May 6, 2016
Sicilian Defence B36

1. Nf3 c5 2. c4 g6 3. e4 Nc6 4. d4 cxd4 5. Nxd4 Nf6 6. Nc3 d6 7. Be2 Nxd4 8. Qxd4 Bg7 9. Bg5 0-0 10. Qe3 Be6 11. 0-0 Qb6 12. Qd2 Rfc8 13. b3 a6 14. Rac1 Qb4!? Maybe a new idea. For 14. ... Qa5 15. f4 Rc5 see Kobalia – Zvjaginsev, 69th Moscow Blitz Chess Championship, Moscow 2015. 15. f4 b5. I feel that Black should have played 15. ... Rc5, but probably this was the idea related to the previous 14. ... Qb4. 16. f5 Bd7 17. fxg6 hxg6

18. e5! A surprisingly powerful Pawn sacrifice. 18. ... Qc5+ 19. Kh1 Qxe5. Black cannot refuse the proffered Pawn. 20. Bf3! “The threat is Rc1-e1 followed by Re1xe7 invading deep into Black’s camp”, writes Europe Échecs’ editor-in-chief Grandmaster Bachar Kouatly. 20. ... b4 21. Nd5 Nxd5 22. Bxd5 e6 23. Bf4 Qb2 24. Bxa8 Qxd2 25. Bxd2 Rxa8 26. Bxb4. White is an Exchange ahead with no compensation for his opponent. Zvjaginsev defended strenuously but vainly. 26. ... d5 27. cxd5 exd5 28. Bc3 d4 29. Bb2 Rd8 30. Rcd1 Bc6 31. Rf4 f5 32. Rf2 Be4 33. Rfd2 Rc8 34. Rc1 Rxc1+ 35. Bxc1 d3 36. Rd1 Kf7 37. Kg1 Ke6 38. Be3 Bb2 39. Kf2 Kd5 40. Rb1 Ba3 41. b4. Threatening Rb1-b3. 41. ... Kc4 42. Bd2 Kb5 43. Rb3 Ka4 44. g3 g5 45. h4 gxh4 46. gxh4 f4 47. h5 a5 48. h6 Bxb4 49. Bxb4 axb4 50. Ke1 f3 51. Rb2 Ka3 52. Rf2 Bh7 53. Rd2 b3 54. axb3 Kxb3 55. Kf2 Kc3 56. Ke3 Bf5 57. Rf2 Bh7 58. Rxf3 d2 59. Rf1 1 : 0. For if 59. ... Bc2 then 60. Rd1! finis.

July 18. 卜祥志 (Bǔ Xiángzhì) gives his wife 黄茜 (Huáng Qiàn) a bouquet of flowers on her birthday. Photo: sports.sina.com.cn.

The Surrealist Revolution

Baadur Jobava – Vadim Viktorovich Zvjaginsev
22nd Russian Team Chess Championship; Sochi, May 1, 2015
English Opening A21

1. c4 e5 2. Nc3 Bb4 3. e4 Nf6 4. Bd3!? An original development, in the style of a very particular Grandmaster! 4. ... 0-0 5. Nge2 Bc5 6. 0-0 a6 7. Bc2 Nc6 8. h3 b5 9. d3 bxc4 10. dxc4 h6 11. Rb1 Rb8 12. a3 a5 13. Bd2 d6 14. Nd5 Bd7 15. Bc3 Ra8 16. Kh1 Nh7 17. b4 axb4 18. axb4 Ba7 19. Qd3 f5 20. c5 dxc5 21. bxc5 fxe4 22. Qe3 Ng5 23. Rfd1 Bxh3 24. Ba4 Bd7? Now Zvjaginsev becomes apprehensive and goes astray. Black ought to have played 24. ... Nd4! with wild complications probably leading to quite an even game.

25. Nb6! A pretty coup. 25. ... Bxb6. Equally after 25. ... cxb6 26. Bxc6 Bxc6 27. Rxd8 Raxd8 28. cxb6 Bb8 29. Qc5 White stands much better. 26. Bxc6 Bxc5 27. Qxc5 Ne6 28. Bd5! The pointe. 28. ... Qh4+ 29. Kg1 Kh8 30. Bxe6 Bxe6 31. Bxe5 1 : 0.

Baadur Jobava – Dmitry Olegovich Jakovenko
22nd Russian Team Chess Championship; Sochi, May 5, 2015
Giuoco Piano C53

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. c3 Nf6 5. d4 exd4 6. e5 d5 7. Bb5 Ne4 8. cxd4 Bb6 9. h3 Bd7 10. Ba4. More convincing than 10. Bd3 Nb4 11. Be2 c5 as in the game Vachier-Lagrave – Eljanov, Wijk aan Zee 2007. 10. ... f6 11. 0-0 fxe5 12. dxe5 Ne7 13. Nbd2 Nxd2 14. Bxd2 0-0 15. Bc2 Bf5 16. a4 a5 17. Ra3 Nc6 18. Bxf5 Rxf5 19. Re1 Nd4 20. g4 Rf8 21. Nxd4 Bxd4 22. Be3 Bxb2 23. Rd3 Bxe5 24. Rxd5 Bd6 25. Qb3 Kh8 26. Qxb7 Qe8 27. Qb1 Rb8 28. Qc2 Rb4 29. Rxa5 Re4 30. Rb5 c5 31. Rb6 Bf4 32. Qxc5 Bxe3 33. Rxe3 Rxe3 34. fxe3. Or 34. Qxe3 Qxa4 35. Kg2 with an ending similar to the one that occurs in the game. 34. ... Qf7 35. Qf5 Qe8 36. Qd3 Qxa4 37. Rb1 Qa7 38. Rf1 Re8 39. Qd4 Qe7 40. Kg2 h6 41. Rf3 Qb7 42. h4 Rf8 43. e4 Re8 44. Rf4 Qc7 45. Kg3? It looks very strange to put his own King in a self-pin! Here a move like 45. Qe3 suggests itself. 45. ... Rd8

46. Qe3??? “I don’t understand Jobava’s style of play! It seems very good for ICC, but crashes and burns in serious competition”, Grandmaster Kevin Spraggett said. “Here Jobava has mangled an extra Pawn and is almost – but not quite – lost! His King is lined up in a pin to his Rook, amongst other things. The only defence, and one that should not be too difficult for master with a pulse, is 46. Qf2!: if now 46. ... g5 47. hxg5 hxg5 48. Qh2+! Kg7 49. Qb2+ Kg8 50. Qb3+! the game should end in a perpetual. Probably a better try is 46. ... Rf8!?, but 47. h5! and White should not lose”. 46. ... g5 0 : 1. Incredible but true.

Bogdan Belyakov – Baadur Jobava
22nd Russian Team Chess Championship; Sochi, May 6, 2015
French Defence C10

1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 dxe4 4. Nxe4 Bd7 5. Nf3 Bc6 6. Bd3 Nd7 7. 0-0 Ngf6 8. Ng3 g6 9. c4 Bg7 10. b4. Departing from 10. d5 exd5 11. Re1+ Kf8 12. cxd5 Bxd5 13. Qc2 c6 14. Ng5 Kg8 15. Bf4 Nf8 16. Rad1 Qa5 17. a3 Rd8 18. Bd2 Qb6 19. Be3 Qc7 20. h3 h6 21. N5e4 Ne6 22. Nxf6+ Bxf6 23. Be4 Kg7 24. Bxa7 b6 25. Bxd5 Nd4 26. Qa4 Rxd5 27. Qa6 Qd7 28. Rxd4 Bxd4 29. Bxb6 c5 30. Ba5 Bxb2 31. Qc4 Bd4 32. Bc3 Ra8 33. Re3 Rxa3 0 : 1 Kasimdzhanov – Jobava, FIDE Grand Prix, Tashkent 2014. 10. ... Nb6 11. Be3 Ng4 12. Rc1 0-0 13. b5 Bxf3 14. Qxf3 f5 15. Be2 e5 16. dxe5 Qh4 17. h3 Nxe3 18. Qxe3 f4 19. Qe4 Rae8 20. e6 Qf6 21. Nh1 Rxe6 22. Qc2 Nd7 23. Bg4 Re7 24. Bxd7 Rxd7 25. f3 Rfd8 26. Rfd1 Qb6+ 27. Kf1 Qe3

“Jobava has been pressing all the way, but Belyakov has hung tough and has his best position since early in the opening. If he trades Rooks and plays Rc1-e1 he’ll only be a little worse, and if plays the immediate 28. Re1 he won’t be worse at all. Instead, he makes a disastrous move, and after thinking for three minutes. Sometimes we have blind spots, and when that happens it might not matter how long we stare at the board, we might still miss something that’s normally obvious”, Dennis Monokroussos said. 28. Nf2??? Rd2 0 : 1.

Baadur Jobava
Photo: Anastasiya Karlovich