Solo

Jorden van Foreest – Aryan Tari
56th World Junior Chess Championship; Tarvisio, November 25, 2017
8/2prn1pk/1p5p/p2q4/P2N2Q1/2P5/1P4PP/5RK1 w - - 5 29

Position after 28. ... Kg8-h7

Norway celebrated today his second World Chess Champion as Aryan Tari convincingly won the 56th edition of the World Junior Chess Championship held in Tarvisio, Italy. It’s a good news for the World “senior” Chess Champion Magnus Carlsen too, as he finally has a worthy rival even in chess matters! Today Tari needed only a draw to win solo, but his opponent, Jorden van Foreest from Netherlands, was not in the mood of gift giving: 29. Rf7! Qxf7 30. Qxd7 c5 31. Nc6 Qd5! 32. Qxd5 Nxd5 33. Ne5 Kg8 34. Kf2 Kf8 35. Kf3 Ke7 36. Nc4 Ke6 37. Ke4 Nf6+ 38. Kd3 Nd7 39. Ne3 Ne5+ 40. Ke4 g6 41. Nd5 Nc4 42. Nf4+ Kd6 43. b3 Nd2+ 44. Kd3 g5 45. Kxd2 gxf4 46. g3 fxg3 47. hxg3 h5 48. c4 Ke5 49. Ke3 Kf5 50. Kf3 Kg5 51. Kf2 Kg4 52. Kg2 Kf5 53. Kf3 Kg5 54. Kf2 ½ : ½.

One Day at a Time

Aryan Tari – Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa
56th World Junior Chess Championship; Tarvisio, November 22, 2017
Spanish Game C78

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. 0-0 b5 6. Bb3 Bc5 7. c3 d6 8. d4 Bb6 9. a4 Rb8 10. a5!? Ba7. Not 10. ... Nxa5? because of 11. Rxa5! Bxa5 12. dxe5 Ng4 13. Bg5 f6 14. exf6 gxf6 15. Bh4 with crushing consequences, Dolmatov – Sivokho, 8th Chigorin Memorial, Saint Petersburg 2000. 11. h3 0-0 12. Be3 exd4. The alternative is 12. ... Ra8 13. Nbd2 (for 13. Re1 h6 14. Nbd2 Re8 15. g4!? Qe7 16. Nf1 Nd8(!) 17. Ng3 c5 see Caruana – Carlsen, 4th Isle of Man International Chess Tournament, Douglas 2017) 13. ... Bb7 14. Re1 h6 15. Nf1 Re8 (15. ... exd4 seems much more to the point) 16. d5 (and here 16. Ng3 appears to be decidedly better) 16. ... Ne7 17. Bc2 c6 with quite a balanced game, Tari – Ochsner, 3rd Visma Chess Tournament, Växjö 2015. 13. cxd4 Nxe4 14. Qc2 Qe8 15. Nc3 Nf6 16. Rfe1 Qd7 17. Qd1!? A new move which, however, does not seem as good as 17. Ne4 Nxe4 18. Qxe4 Ne7 (but the Pawn sacrifice by 18. ... d5!? was well worth considering) 19. Ng5 Ng6 20. Bd5 c5 21. Bf4 with great play for White, Timofeev – Halkias, 8th Individual European Chess Championship, Dresden 2007. 17. ... Nb4 18. Bg5 Qf5 19. Bxf6 Qxf6 20. Ne4 Qf4 21. Rc1

21. ... d5!? Weakening both the c5 and e5 squares. It would seem a very uncomfortable position for Black to sustain, instead he will demonstrate the contrary, in spite of his dramatic shortage of time. 22. Nc5 Qd6 23. Qd2 Nc6 24. Ne5 Ne7 25. Ned3 Nc6 26. Nf4 Nxa5! What a courage! Taking such a Pawn with only one minute left! 27. Bxd5 c6 28. Qxa5 Qxf4 29. Bxc6 Bb6 30. Qc3 Qd6 31. Bf3 Rd8 32. b4 h6 33. d5. The only regret Tari might have is that he was blitzing his moves very speedily in order to exploit Praggnanandhaa’s lack of time. That was possibly the last opportunity he had for planting his Rook at e5, which, at least from an emotional perspective, might have impressed his very young opponent (only 12 years old!) just a little more. 33. ... Bb7 34. Qd3 a5 35. Nxb7 Rxb7 36. bxa5 Bxa5 37. Red1 Bc7! 38. g3 Bb6! Praggnanandhaa can even afford himself the luxury of counterattacking! 39. Kg2 ½ : ½. A hard-fought draw.

Snow in the Desert

Grigoriy Alekseyevich Oparin – Aryan Tari
56th World Junior Chess Championship; Tarvisio, November 21, 2017
Caro-Kann Defence B12

1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. e5 Bf5 4. g4 Bg6 5. e6!? It’s not a novelty, but certainly a rebrand of a minor line. 5. ... Qd6. The alternative was 5. ... fxe6 6. Nf3 Qd6 7. Ne5 Nd7 8. f4 Be4 9. Rg1 g5 10. Nc3 Bg7 with quite an unclear game (but certainly not unfavourable to Black), 丁亦昕 (Dīng Yìxīn) – 宁春红 (Níng Chūnhóng), 7th “天津弈诚杯” (“Tiānjīn Yìchéng Cup”) Chinese Chess League, 成都 (Chéngdū) 2011. It’s likely, however, that Oparin were ready to try something different. 6. exf7+ Bxf7 7. f4!? Here is Oparin’s new move, aimed to improve on 7. Nf3 Nd7 8. Bd3 0-0-0 9. Qe2 Bg6 with approximate equality, Ryzhov – Solovjova, 17th Czech Open, Pardubice 2006. 7. ... Nf6 8. Nc3 Nbd7 9. Bh3 g5!? A very interesting positional Pawn sacrifice which, in fact, seems to dismantle White’s opening preparation. 10. fxg5 Ne4 11. Nge2 Bg7 12. 0-0 0-0 13. Be3. After the immediate 13. Bf4 there may follow both 13. ... e5!? and 13. ... Nxc3 14. bxc3 e5 with satisfactory play for Black in any event. 13. ... Nb6 14. Bf4? After this Black will get the upper hand immediately: 14. ... Nxc3 15. bxc3 e5! 16. Bg3 Nc4∓ 17. Rf5!? By now, White barely cares of what he might lose. 17. ... Bg6. Not 17. ... Ne3? 18. dxe5 Qe7 19. Qd3 Nxf5? 20. gxf5 which was probably what White was hoping for. 18. Qd3?! White insists in sacrificing the Exchange. Nothing good can come from that, but it’s hard to blame him as he stands badly anyway. 18. ... Qe7! 19. dxe5 Nxe5 20. Qe3 Bxf5 21. gxf5

21. ... Qxg5! Elegant and easy. The end is crude: 22. Nf4 Rae8 23. Qe2 Ng6 24. Ne6 Nf4 25. Qg4 Nxh3+ 26. Qxh3 Qxf5 0 : 1.

Tarvisio Boscoverde railway station

朱锦尔 (Zhū Jǐn’ěr) – 于润荷 (Jennifer Yú)
35th World Junior Chess Championship Girls U-20; Tarvisio, November 19, 2017
Modern Defence B06

“It was an important round for me, because it was right after the rest day and I played against her three years ago in the World Youth in South Africa”, 于 (Yú) said afterwards.

1. e4 g6 2. d4 Bg7 3. Nc3 d5 4. e5 f6 5. exf6!? “It was quite a different style for me, and I learned the Modern in a few hours”, says 于 (Yú).
5. ... Nxf6 6. Bf4 0-0 7. f3 c5 8. dxc5 Nc6 9. Qd2 Qa5 10. Nb5 Qxd2+ 11. Bxd2 Bf5 12. c3 Rac8 13. Nd4 Nd7 14. Nxf5 gxf5 15. Be3 e5

16. Rd1 (16. 0-0-0!?)
16. ... d4 17. Bc4+ Kh8 18. Be6

18. ... Nxc5! “The game ended up being drawish but I liked my practical choice of giving up an Exchange for massive compensation in the endgame”, says 于 (Yú).
19. Bxc8 Rxc8 20. Bf2 (20. Bc1 e4 21. Ne2 Nd3+ 22. Kf1 Nxc1 23. Nxc1 d3 24. f4 Rd8)
20. ... e4 21. Bxd4? (21. cxd4 Nd3+ 22. Kf1 Nxd4)
21. ... Nxd4 22. cxd4 Nd3+ 23. Kf1 Bxd4 24. Ne2 Bb6

25. Rd2? (25. Rb1 Nf2 26. Rg1 Rc2∓)
25. ... Be3−+ 26. Rxd3 (26. Rd1 Nf2−+)
26. ... exd3 27. Nc3 Bc1 28. Kf2 Bxb2 29. Nb1 Bd4+ 30. Kg3 Be3 31. f4 d2 0 : 1.

Bridge to Terabithia

熊奕韬 (Jeffery Xióng) – Chithambaram V.R. Aravindh
55th World Junior Chess Championship U-20; Bhubaneswar, August 15, 2016
Sicilian Defence B31

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 g6 4. Bxc6 dxc6 5. d3 Bg7 6. h3 b6 7. Nc3 Nf6 8. Be3 0-0 9. Qd2 Re8 10. Nh2 e5 11. 0-0-0 a5 12. Na4. For 12. g4 a4 13. Rdg1 Nd7 14. g5 Nf8 15. h4 Ne6 16. Ng4 Nd4 see Semenova – Prudnikova, 50th USSR Women’s Chess Championship, Podolsk 1990. 12. ... Be6 13. Kb1 Nd7 14. Ng4 Qe7 15. Nh6+ Kh8 16. h4 b5 17. Nc3 f6 18. h5 Bxh6 19. Bxh6 g5 20. Rdf1 Qf7. The game is tremendously double-edged, and Black might look even better than his renowned opponent. Here Stockfish likes 20. ... a4 eventually followed by ... c5-c4, which is also very interesting. 21. g3 b4 22. Na4 Bxa2+ 23. Ka1 c4 24. f4 exf4. 24. ... cxd3 appears more suitable for Black since 25. b3 Bxb3 26. cxb3 Qxb3 leaves him with four Pawns for the Bishop and very good play. 25. gxf4 cxd3 26. fxg5 d2 27. gxf6 Bb1 28. Bg7+ Kg8 29. b3!

29. ... Nc5!? A very clever Knight sacrifice for giving strength to his own attack. 30. Nxc5 a4 31. Kb2 axb3 32. Nxb3? Black’s speculation worked! The cool 32. Nd3 would have left Black without resource. 32. ... c1=Q+? But Black misses 32. ... Red8! after which White has nothing better than a draw by 33. Rhg1 (not 33. Qg5?? because of 33. ... Ra2+ 34. Kc1 Rd1+! 35. Rxd1 cxd1=Q+ 36. Kxd1 Qxb3+ 37. Ke1 Qc3+ 38. Kf1 Qf3+ 39. Kg1 Qd1 mate) 33. ... Rxd2 34. Bh6+ Kh8 35. Bg7+ with perpetual check. 33. Nxc1 Bxe4 34. Rhg1. It’s all over now. 34. ... Ra5 35. Rg5 c5 36. Rfg1 c4 37. Qxb4 c3+ 38. Qxc3 Rb8+ 39. Nb3 Rxg5 40. Rxg5 Bd5 41. Bh6+ Kh8 42. Rxd5 Rxb3+ 43. Qxb3 1 : 0. “I wouldn’t say I was as lucky in this game as I was against Murali Karthikeyan, but Aravindh certainly made things easier for me in what was a sharp game that could have gone either way”, 熊奕韬 (Jeffery Xióng) finally said.

熊奕韬 (Jeffery Xióng) vs. Chithambaram V.R. Aravindh. Photo: wjcc2016india.com.

One Foot Wrong

Paul Robert Evangelista – Davaaochir Nyamdorj
55th World Junior Chess Championship U-20; Bhubaneswar, August 20, 2016
Bishop’s Opening C24

1. e4 e5 2. Bc4 Nf6 3. d3 c6 4. Nf3 d5 5. Bb3 Bb4+ 6. Bd2 Bd6 7. Nc3 dxe4 8. Ng5 0-0 9. Ngxe4 Nxe4 10. Nxe4 Be7? A wrong step which gives White the opportunity for a dangerous initiative. The right reply is 10. ... Bf5, e.g. 11. Qf3 Bxe4 12. dxe4 Na6 13. 0-0 Nc5 14. Rad1 Nxb3 15. Qxb3 Qb6 16. Ba5 Qxb3 17. axb3 Bc5 18. Rd7 b6 19. Bc3 Rfd8 20. Rfd1 Bd4 21. Rxd8+ Rxd8 22. Kf1 Kf8 23. Bxd4 exd4 24. c3 c5 25. Ke2 Re8 26. cxd4 ½ : ½ D. K. Johansen – Liew Chee Meng, Zonal Tournament, Jakarta 1987. 11. Qh5! Nd7 12. 0-0 a5 13. a4 Bf6? This second mistake leads to a quick collapse. Black should have been content with 13. ... Nf6 14. Qxe5 Nxe4 15. Qxe4 Bf6 which leaves him with only a Pawn less. 14. Bg5 Qe7. If 14. ... Bxg5 then 15. Nxg5 Nf6 16. Bxf7+ Kh8 17. Qh4 with a huge advantage.

15. f4! The End: White forces the opening of the f-file. 15. ... Bxg5. No better is 15. ... h6 16. Rae1! followed by f4xe5. 16. fxg5 c5. As bad as any other move. Black could well resign here. 17. Rf3. Of course 17. Rxf7! wasn’t bad at all. 17. ... c4 18. Bxc4 b5 19. Rh3 h6 20. gxh6 Nf6 21. Qg6! 1 : 0. For if 21. ... Ne8 then 22. Ng5 finis.

Варенье (Varenye)

Grand Finale at the World Junior Chess Championships in Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia, September 16, 2015. They are the Champions: Mikhail Al. Antipov, Nataliya Buksa, Alina Bivol, Jan-Krzysztof Duda, Francesco Rambaldi &c.

E più d’onore ancora assai mi fenno

Closing ceremony of the World Junior Chess Championships in Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia, September 16, 2015. The Queen, Nataliya Buksa from Ukraine, and the King, Mikhail Al. Antipov from Russia, waiting for the golden medals as they are airily talking each other. Photo: Maria Alekseevna Emelianova.

“E più d’onore ancora assai mi fenno; Ch’ei sì mi fecer della loro schiera, Sì ch’io fui sesto tra cotanto senno”. Congratulations to Italian superstar Francesco Rambaldi (second from right) on his splendid if not lucky performance! Photo: Maria Alekseevna Emelianova.

Lose to Win

Today Francesco Rambaldi is the image of a very gifted player who, incidentally, after two weeks of wonderful chess, is not a winner. Photo: Maria Alekseevna Emelianova.

Frontier Girl

Nataliya Buksa – Alina Bivol
33rd World Girls Junior Championship; Khanty-Mansiysk, September 6, 2015
Sicilian Defence B80

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Be3 e6 7. f3 Be7 8. Qd2 0-0 9. 0-0-0 b5 10. g4 Bb7 11. g5 Nfd7 12. h4 Nc6 13. Nxc6 Bxc6 14. Ne2 Ne5. For 14. ... Qc7 15. Nd4 Rfc8 16. g6 hxg6 17. h5 see Feygin – Savchenko, Helmut-Kohls-Turnier, Dortmund 2013, while for 14. ... d5 15. Nd4 Bb7 16. Bh3 Ne5 17. Qe1 Nc4 see Short – Ljubojević, Reykjavík 1987. 15. Nd4 Bd7 16. h5 Rc8 17. Kb1 Qc7 18. Rg1 Nc4 19. Bxc4 Qxc4 20. f4 e5? “White got a formidable position out of the opening, but after a typical Scheveningen move such as 20. ... Rfe8 the whole struggle still lies ahead. How to start? 21. g6 fxg6 22. hxg6 h6 23. Qh2 Bf8, or 21. Qh2, or even 21. Qf2?“, wonders International Master Vladimir Barsky. 21. Nf5 Rfe8. No better is 21. ... Bxf5 22. exf5 with a “rollerball” coming. 22. Nxe7+ Rxe7 23. Qxd6 Qxc2+ 24. Ka1 Rce8 25. f5. Threatening f5-f6. 25. ... Bc8? A final blunder, but Black has no good moves left. After 25. ... Qxe4? 26. f6 White’s dream have come true, while if 25. ... Bc6 then 26. Rc1 Qxe4 27. Bb6 with an overwhelming advantage.

26. Qxe7! 1 : 0.

chess24.com (@chess24com)

Myths of the Near Future

Mikhail Al. Antipov – Francesco Rambaldi
54th World Junior Chess Championship; Khanty-Mansiysk, September 15, 2015
Caro-Kann Defence B12

1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. e5 Bf5 4. Nd2 e6 5. Nb3 Nd7 6. Nf3 h6 7. Be2 Ne7 8. 0-0 g5 9. Ne1 Qc7 10. Nd3 Ng6 11. Bd2. Another try is 11. Ne1 Ne7 12. f4 0-0-0 13. Nd3 Ng6 14. Bg4 Bxd3 15. cxd3 gxf4 16. Bxf4 Nxf4 17. Rxf4 f5 18. Bh5 Nf6 19. Kh1 Nxh5 20. Qxh5 Qg7 21. Rf3 Rg8 22. Rg3 Qh7 23. Rxg8 Qxg8 24. Rf1 Qg5 25. Qxg5 hxg5 26. g4 fxg4 27. Rf7 Re8 28. Kg2 Be7 29. Kg3 b6 30. Kxg4 Kd7 31. Rf3 ½ : ½ Nakamura – Shankland, 59th U.S. Chess Championship, Saint Louis 2015. 11. ... 0-0-0 12. a4 f6! Rambaldi plays to win! 13. exf6 Bd6 14. g3 Rdf8 15. Ndc5 Bxc5 16. Nxc5 Nxc5 17. dxc5 Bh3 18. Re1 Rxf6 19. Bg4 Bxg4 20. Qxg4 h5! 21. Qxg5 Qf7 22. Qe3 e5 23. b4 Rf8 24. Rf1 h4! 25. Qe2 e4 26. Bc3 Rf3 27. Bd4 Qd7 28. Kh1 Qg4 29. Rfe1

29. ... e3! Francesco conducts the attack with glaring élan! 30. Bxe3 hxg3 31. hxg3. Sad, but understandable, as 31. fxg3 Rf1+! wins the Queen. 31. ... Nh4! Threatening ... Qg4-h3+ and mate next move. 32. Kh2. Obviously the Black Knight is taboo: 32. gxh4?? Rh3 mate. 32. ... d4?? Oh, no, the Italian flight remains stunned in the ruins of a broken dream! Instead 32. ... Qh5!! wins on the spot, threatening 33. ... Nf5+ 34. Kg2 Nxg3! 35. fxg3 Rxg3+! 36. Kxg3 Rg8+ 37. Kf2 Qh2+ 38. Kf1 Qh3+ 39. Kf2 Qg2 mate. 33. Bf4 Rxf2+ 34. Qxf2 Nf3+ 35. Kg2 Rxf4 36. Re8+ Kd7 37. Rae1. Alas, what a turnaround! 37. ... Nxe1+ 38. Qxe1 Rf7 39. Rb8 Qf3+ 40. Kg1 Rf8 41. Rxb7+ Kc8 42. Rxa7 Kb8 43. Re7 Rd8 44. b5 d3 45. Qe5+ Ka8 46. Ra7+ Kxa7 47. Qc7+ Ka8 48. Qxd8+ Kb7 49. Qd7+ Kb8 50. Qxd3 1 : 0.

Mikhail Al. Antipov (R.) vs. Francesco Rambaldi (L.)
Photo: Vladimir Barsky

Stop and Stare

Jan-Krzysztof Duda – Francesco Rambaldi
54th World Junior Chess Championship; Khanty-Mansiysk, September 14, 2015
Pirc Defence B07

1. e4 d6 2. d4 Nf6 3. Bd3 e5 4. c3 Nc6 5. Nf3 Bg4 6. d5 Ne7 7. h3 Bd7 8. Bg5 Ng6 9. Nbd2. For 9. c4 Be7 10. Nc3 h6 11. Be3 0-0 12. Qd2 Nh5 see Abu Sufian – Mohammed Abdul, 32nd Bangladesh Chess Championship, Dhaka 2006. 9. ... Be7 10. h4 Ng4 11. g3 c6 12. Nc4 Qc7

13. h5 Bxg5? This is bad judgment if not bad luck. First 13. ... cxd5 14. exd5 (14. hxg6 is answered by 14. ... dxc4 15. Rxh7 Rf8 16. Bxe7 Kxe7 17. Bf1 fxg6! 18. Rxg7+ Kf6! 19. Rh7 Rh8!) 14. ... Bxg5 15. Nxg5 Ne7 was more to the point, although after 16. h6! Nxh6 17. Ne4 White keeps the initiative. 14. dxc6. Rambaldi evidently underestimated the strenght of this zwischenzug. 14. ... Qxc6 15. Nxg5 Ne7 16. Be2 Nc8 17. Bxg4. Very tempting – and apparently more energetic – is 17. Na5!, e.g. 17. ... Qb6 18. Bxg4 Bxg4 19. Qxg4 Qxa5 20. h6! with crushing effect. 17. ... Bxg4 18. Nxe5. Duda doesn’t want to take any risks and plays safely for staying inside his own “comfort zone”. Here 18. Qxg4 Qxc4 19. h6! was probably stronger. 18. ... Bxd1 19. Nxc6 Bxh5 20. Nd4 Bg6 21. 0-0-0 0-0. Francesco is already in serious time trouble, but he keeps defending stubbornly. 22. f3 Rd8 23. Rh2 h6. “Black miraculously maintained the material balance, and now he misses the last chance to put up a stubborn resistance: 23 ... Nb6! 24. Nb5 h6 25. Nh3 Nc4!. He chose instead to assume a passive defence, and Jan-Krzysztof gradually tightened the noose”, writes International Master Vladimir Barsky. 24. Nh3 f6 25. Nf4 Bf7 26. Nf5. Meanwhile Duda also got into grave time trouble. 26. ... Kf8 27. b3 a5 28. Kb2 Ra6 29. Nd4 Rd7 30. Rhd2 Rb6 31. c4 Na7 32. c5 Ra6 33. Nf5 Nc8 34. cxd6 Rc6 35. g4 a4 36. Nh5 axb3 37. axb3 g6. This hastens the end, but Black’s game was already past recovery. 38. Nxf6 Rd8 39. Nh7+ Kg8 40. Nxh6+ Kg7 41. Nxf7 Kxf7 42. Ng5+ Kf6 43. f4 1 : 0.

Jan-Krzysztof Duda vs. Francesco Rambaldi
Photo: Vladimir Barsky

Invincible

Francesco Rambaldi – Ulvi Bajarani
54th World Junior Chess Championship; Khanty-Mansiysk, September 13, 2015
French Defence C03

1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nd2 Be7 4. e5 c5 5. Qg4 Kf8 6. Ndf3 Nc6 7. Bd3 h5 8. Qf4 cxd4 9. Ne2 Bb4+ 10. Kf1 Be7 11. Nexd4 h4? Over-hazardous play, since Black has no attacking prospects along the open h-file. The immediate 11. ... Nh6 12. Bd2 Qb6 deserves consideration. 12. Bd2 Nh6 13. g4 Nxd4 14. Qxd4 g5? With this “coherent” move Black makes matters even worse. 15. h3 a5 16. Qe3 Rg8 17. Rg1 Qc7. White now wins a Pawn, cashing in on his manifest superiority: 18. Nxh4 Bc5 19. Qe2 Bd4 20. Nf3 Bxb2 21. Rb1 Bc3 22. Bxg5 Rxg5. Evidently forced, as 22. ... Rh8 is refuted by 23. Bf6. 23. Nxg5 Bxe5 24. Nf3 Bc3 25. Qe3 Ng8 26. Nd4 Bb4 27. Nf3 Bd7 28. Ne5 Be8 29. g5. Black has no compensation at all for his sacrificed Exchange and his game appears already irremediably lost. 29. ... Ba4 30. Qf4 Kg7 31. g6 f6 32. Qh4. The Knight is taboo, since 32. ... Qxe5 is met by 33. Qh7+ Kf8 34. Qf7 mate, while 32. ... fxe5 33. Qh7+ leads to the win of the Queen. 32. ... Kf8 33. Qh7. Here Rambaldi misses a very elegant way to win: 33. Rxb4! axb4 34. g7+ Ke8 35. Qxb4 Qe7 36. Qb6! fxe5 37. Bg6+ Kd7 38. Qxb7+. 33. ... Qg7 34. Nf3 b6 35. Rg4 Bd7 36. Rh4 Rd8 37. Nd4. Another winning method is 37. Qxg7+ Kxg7 38. Rh7+ Kf8 39. Nd4. 37. ... f5 38. Bb5 Bxb5+ 39. Nxb5 Rd7 40. Nd4 Rd6 41. c3 Bc5 42. Re1 Bxd4 43. cxd4 Rc6 44. Qh5 Ne7 45. Qg5 Qxg6 46. Qf4. Again Francesco misses the coup de grâce: 46. Rh8+ Kg7 47. Qh4 f4 48. Rh6! Qxh6 49. Qxe7+ Kg6 50. Qe8+. 46. ... Qg7 47. Rh5 Kf7 48. Qh4 Ng6 49. Qg3 Nf8? “Azerbaijani Grandmaster ingeniously defended, and after 49. ... b5! 50. Qb8 Kf6 got real chances for a draw [since] White cannot take the Pawn (51. Qxb5? Nf4) [...]”, writes International Master Vladimir Barsky.

50. Rxf5+! Very pretty solution! 50. ... exf5 51. Re7+ Kxe7 52. Qxg7+ Ke8 53. Qe5+ Ne6 54. h4 Kf7 55. Qxf5+ Kg7 56. h5 Rc1+ 57. Kg2 Re1 58. Qg6+ Kh8 59. Qf6+ Kh7 60. Qf7+ Kh8 61. h6 Re4 62. f3 1 : 0.

Francesco Rambaldi
Photo: Maria Alekseevna Emelianova

Formidable

Trần Tuấn Minh – Francesco Rambaldi
54th World Junior Chess Championship; Khanty-Mansiysk, September 12, 2015
Neo-Old Indian Defence A41

1. d4 d6 2. Bf4 g6 3. e3 Bg7 4. Nf3 Nd7 5. h3 e5 6. Bh2 Nh6 7. Be2 0-0 8. 0-0 Qe7 9. c4 f5 10. Nc3 c6 11. b4 g5 12. c5. No better at all is 12. dxe5 dxe5 13. c5 Nf7 14. Qb3 Kh8 15. Rad1 h5 as occurred in the game Lenz – Szenetra, Baden-Baden 1990. 12. c5 d5 13. Nxe5 Nxe5 14. Bxe5 Bxe5 15. dxe5 f4

16. Nxd5? A mirage! Theoretically, three Pawns compensate for a Knight, but here Black has more dynamic positional pluses, while White only static ones. The right way was 16. exf4 gxf4 17. Bf3 Qxe5 18. Ne2 Nf5 with rough equality. 16. ... cxd5 17. Qxd5+ Be6 18. Qd6 Qf7 19. Bh5 Qxh5 20. Qxe6+ Kh8 21. exf4 gxf4 22. f3 Nf5. Rambaldi concludes the game with restless energy. 23. Rf2 Rad8 24. Re1 Qg5 25. Qc4 Ne3 26. Qe4 Rg8 27. g4 Rge8 28. h4 Qxe5 29. Qxb7 Rd1 30. Rxd1 Nxd1 0 : 1.

Trần Tuấn Minh vs. Francesco Rambaldi
Photo: Vladimir Barsky

Everything’s Eventual

Francesco Rambaldi – G. Akash
54th World Junior Chess Championship; Khanty-Mansiysk, September 11, 2015
Réti Opening A05
 

1. Nf3 Nf6 2. g3 g6 3. b3 Bg7 4. Bb2 0-0 5. Bg2 d5 6. 0-0 c6 7. c4 Bg4 8. d3 Nbd7 9. Nbd2 Re8 10. h3 Bxf3 11. Nxf3 e5 12. e3. No better at all is 12. cxd5 cxd5 13. Bg2 Rc8 as occurred in Jongsma – Cortlever, 31st Hoogovens-B International Chess Tournament, Wijk aan Zee 1969.

12. ... e4. Even if not everyone knows him, G. Akash is a highly gifted player. Here he doesn’t hesitate to play the sharpest continuation, foreseeing all the outcomes of his next Pawn sacrifice. 13. dxe4 dxe4 14. Nd2 h5 15. Qc2 Qe7 16. Rad1 Rad8 17. Bxf6 Nxf6 18. Nxe4 Nxe4 19. Rxd8 Rxd8 20. Bxe4 Qd7. The domination along the d-file and the opposite colour Bishops fully compensates Black for his Pawn deficit. 21. Kg2 Qd2 22. Qb1 Qb2. After the exchange of Queens, White’s extra Pawn is virtually nullified by the presence of Bishops of opposite colour. A long, very drawish endgame now follows: 23. Qxb2 Bxb2 24. b4 Ba3 25. b5 cxb5 26. cxb5 b6 27. Bc2 Rd5 28. Rb1 Rd2 29. Bb3 Kg7 30. Kf3 f6 31. Rg1 Kh6 32. Rf1 Kg7 33. g4 h4 34. Be6 Rd6 35. Bc4 Rd2 36. Rb1 Bb2 37. Rf1 Ba3 38. Bb3 Kh6 39. Ke4 Kg7 40. Kf3 Kh6 41. Rd1 Rxd1 42. Bxd1 Bb4 43. Ke4 Be1 44. f4 Bd2 45. Kd3 Bc1 46. Kd4 Bd2 47. a4 Bc1 48. Bc2 Bd2 49. Kd3 Bc1 50. Ke2 g5 51. Kf3 Kg7 52. fxg5 fxg5 53. Ke4 Kf6 54. Kd4 Ke6 55. Bb3+ Kd6 56. Bd1 Ke6 57. Bf3 Kd6 58. Bb7 Bd2 59. Bc8 Bc1 60. Bf5 Bd2 61. Ke4 ½ : ½.

Francesco Rambaldi (R.) vs. G. Akash (L.)
Photo: Maria Alekseevna Emelianova

Monolith

Benjamin Bok – Francesco Rambaldi
54th World Junior Chess Championship; Khanty-Mansiysk, September 10, 2015
Caro-Kann B12

1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. e5 Bf5 4. Nf3 e6 5. Be2 Nd7 6. 0-0 h6 7. c3 a6 8. Nbd2 Ne7 9. b4 Nc8. For 9. ... a5 10. a4 Ng6 see Vishnu Prasanna – Lupulescu, 3rd Chess Classic, Al-’Ain 2014. 10. Nb3 Be7 11. Bd3 Bxd3 12. Qxd3 b6 13. Be3 Qc7 14. Rfc1 0-0 15. a4 Qb7 16. Rab1 a5 16. Rab1 a5 17. bxa5 bxa5 18. Nxa5 Qc7 19. Nb3 Ncb6 20. a5. Here Bok was already in very serious time trouble. 20. ... Nc4 21. Nfd2 Nxa5 22. c4 Nxb3 23. Rxb3 Qa7 24. c5 Rfb8 25. Rcb1 Rxb3 26. Rxb3 f5 27. exf6 Bxf6 28. Nf3 e5 29. dxe5 Nxe5 30. Nxe5 Qa1+ 31. Rb1 Qxe5 32. g3 d4 33. Qc4+ Kh7 34. Bd2 Qf5 35. Rb3 Ra1+ 36. Kg2 Rd1 37. Rf3 Qe4 38. Qd3 Qxd3 39. Rxd3 Bg5 40. f4 Be7. Time control is reached just when Francesco is going to win a Pawn, even if under the actual circumstances it will be very hard for White to exploit his Pawn advantage. 41. Kf3 Bxc5 42. Ke4 Bb6 43. f5 c5 44. Bf4 Rh1 45. Rb3 Bd8 46. Be5? Bok is in time trouble again! Correct was 46. Kd5 Rxh2 47. Be5 Rh5 48. Rb7 Rg5 49. Rd7 Ba5 50. f6 Kg8 51. f7+ Kf8 52. Ke6 Rg6+ 53. Kd5 Rg5 with a draw by repetition.

46. ... Bf6? Rambaldi misses his chance! Instead, 46. ... Re1+! 47. Kd5 c4 48. Rb7 (else 48. Rf3 d3 49. Bc3 d2! 50. Bxd2 Rd1 is a more prosaic win) 48. ... Rxe5+ 49. Kxe5 c3 50. f6 c2 51. f7 Bf6+! would, in fact, win in all variations, as originally demonstrated by Edo. 47. Bxf6 gxf6 48. Kd5 Re1 ½ : ½.

Benjamin Bok vs. Francesco Rambaldi
Photo: Vladimir Barsky

Sometimes a Great Notion

Jan-Krzysztof Duda – Karen H. Grigoryan
54th World Junior Chess Championship; Khanty-Mansiysk, September 7, 2015
Four Knights Game C48

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Bb5 Nd4 5. Ba4 Bc5 6. Nxe5 0-0 7. Nd3 Bb6 8. e5 Ne8 9. 0-0 d5 10. Kh1. No better is 10. exd6 Nxd6 (Grandmaster Jan Gustafsson recommends 10. ... Nf6! 11. dxc7 Bxc7 with a decisive initiative for Black) 11. Kh1 c6 as occurred in the game Tylor – Vlagsma, England – Netherlands, London 1948. 10. ... c6 11. Ne2 Qh4 12. Ng3 Bg4 13. f3 Be6 14. c3 Nf5 15. Ne2 d4 16. Bc2 Rd8 17. c4 f6 18. b3 fxe5 19. Ba3 Rf6 20. Qe1 Qh6

21. Nxe5!? A very human-like way of playing: sharp and speculative. 21. ... d3! 22. Ng4. Obviously the Pawn is taboo: 22. Bxd3?? Qxh2+! 23. Kxh2 Rh6+ and mate next move. 22. ... dxe2 23. Nxh6+ Rxh6 24. Rf2. Initiative is more important than material here. If 24. Rg1 then 24. ... Bc7 25. g3 Nd4 26. Be4 Nf6 and Black has more than sufficient dynamic compensation for his material deficit. 24. ... Bxf2 25. Qxf2 Rxd2 26. Qc5. With the brutal threat of Qc5-f8 mate. Not 26. Rc1 Nd4 and the Bc2 is doomed. 26. ... Ned6. The alternative was 26. ... Rf6 27. Bb2 Rxc2 (or, less ambitiously, 27. ... Rh6 28. Ba3 Rf6=) 28. Bxf6 Nxf6 with a very unclear position. The text move looks more natural. 27. Qa5 Rxc2 28. Qd8+ Kf7 29. Qc7+ Ke8 30. Re1. Not 30. Bxd6? because of 30. ... Rd2! with overwhelming effect. 30. ... Rd2 31. Kg1. Theoretically, Black has more than sufficient material compensation for the Queen, but Her Majesty alone virtually paralyzes the whole Black’s army. 31. ... Rd1? A grave error of judgment. The comparatively best is 31. ... Bd7 32. Kf2 Rxa2 33. Rxe2+ Rxe2+ 34. Kxe2 b6 35. Qxa7 Nc8 when Black apparently builds up a rock-solid defence. 32. Kf2 Rxe1 33. Kxe1 Nc8. On 33. ... Bd7 34. g4 White wins a Knight. 34. Kxe2 Bd7 35. Qxb7 Rxh2 36. Kf2 Rh6 37. Bc5 Nfd6 38. Qb8! Gradually but inexorably, White penetrates into the enemy’s camp and very soon a second Black Pawn will fall. 38. ... a6 39. Qa8 Rf6 40. Kg1 a5 41. Bd4 Rg6 42. Qxa5 Nf5 43. Bf2 Rd6 44. Qe1+ Kf7 45. Bc5 Re6 46. Qd2 Ke8 47. a4 Nfd6 48. Ba3 1 : 0. The resignation might appear to be a bit premature, but actually Black is quite helpless.

Jan-Krzysztof Duda vs. Karen H. Grigoryan
Photo: Vladimir Barsky

The Shimmer

Francesco Rambaldi – Dmitry Gordievsky
54th World Junior Chess Championship; Khanty-Mansiysk, September 8, 2015
Réti Opening A07

1. Nf3 Nf6 2. g3 d5 3. Bg2 c6 4. 0-0 Bg4 5. d3 Nbd7 6. Qe1 e5 7. e4 dxe4 8. dxe4 Be7 9. Nbd2 0-0 10. h3 Bh5 11. Nh4 Re8 12. Nf5 Bf8 13. Nc4 Qc7 14. Bd2 b5. For 17. ... Nc5 15. f3 Nfd7 see Vaganian – van den Doel, Belgian Team Chess Championship 2003/2004, December 8, 2003. 15. Na5 Nb6 16. c4 Nxc4 17. Nxc4 bxc4 18. Ne3 Bc5 19. Nxc4 Bd4 20. Rc1 c5 21. b3 Qc6 22. Bc3 Bg6 23. Bxd4 exd4 24. f3. 24. e5 Be4 25. f3 Bd5 is nothing special for White. 25. ... Rad8 25. Qf2 Nd7 26. Rfd1 f6 27. b4 Bf7 28. Bf1

28. ... Ne5 29. Nxe5 Rxe5? Probably the decisive mistake. A little better was 29. ... fxe5 30. bxc5 Re6 and if 31. Bc4 then 31. ... Rf6 32. Qe2 Qc7 followed by ... Rf6-c6 retaining some drawing chances. 30. Rxd4! Just a petite combinaison, as José Raúl Capablanca would put it. 30. ... Rxd4 31. Qxd4 cxd4 32. Rxc6 Bxa2 33. Ra6. Now White wins the a-Pawn under the most favourable circumstances for a win. 33. ... Bb1 34. Bc4+ Kf8 35. Rxa7 f5 36. b5 d3 37. b6 d2 38. Rd7 fxe4 39. Rxd2. Of course 39. b7 wins on the spot, but Rambaldi was apprehensive about the impending time control. 39. ... Re8 40. Rb2 Bd3 41. Bxd3 exd3 42. b7 Rb8 43. Kf2 Ke7 44. Ke3 Kd6 45. Kxd3 Kc7 46. Kc4 Kc6 47. f4 Kd6 48. Rb6+ Kc7 49. Kc5 Kd7 50. Kb5 Kc7 51. Ka6 Rd8 52. Ka7 1 : 0.

Francesco Rambaldi vs. Dmitry Gordievsky
Photo: Vladimir Barsky

Приключения пчёлки Майи (Maya the Bee)

Shamsiddin Vokhidov – Aleksandra Yuryevna Goryachkina
54th World Junior Chess Championship; Khanty-Mansiysk, September 7, 2015
Spanish C67

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. 0-0 Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. dxe5 Nxb5 7. a4 Nbd4 8. Nxd4 Nxd4 9. Qxd4 d5 10. exd6 Qxd6 11. Qe3+ Be7 12. Nc3 c6 13. Re1 Be6 14. Ne4 Qe5 15. Bd2 0-0 16. Bc3 Qf5 17. Qg3 Qg6 18. Qc7 Bd5 19. Qxe7 Rfe8. The peaceful alternative is 19. ... Rae8 20. Qg5 ½ : ½ Shirov – Ki. Georgiev, 32nd Bosnia Chess Tournament, Sarajevo 2002.

20. Qg5. If, instead, 20. Nf6+ then 20. ... gxf6 21. Qxe8+ Rxe8 22. Rxe8+ Kg7 23. g3 h5 and, although the position is materially balanced, Black can rely on a volatile initiative, Caspi – Erenburg, Israeli Team Chess Championship 2008/2009, January 9, 2009. A critical line is 20. Qxb7 Bxe4 21. g3, but after 21. ... c5 22. Qb5 Qf5 23. Re3 a6 24. Qe2 Bc6 there will be further simplification, after which – thanks to the opposite coloured Bishops – White’s extra Pawn is quite meaningless. 20. ... Bxe4 21. Qxg6 Bxg6 22. Rac1 f6 23. f3 Kf7 24. Kf2 c5 25. Rxe8 Rxe8 26. Bd2 Re6 27. Be3 Rb6 28. b3 Rd6 29. c3 b6 30. b4 c4 31. Bd4 a6 32. Ra1 Bf5 33. a5 b5 34. Re1 h5 35. h4 Rd8 36. Kg3 Rd5 37. Kf4 Bd7 38. Kg3 Be6 39. Re2 Rd7 40. Kf4 Rd5 41. Kg3 Bd7 ½ : ½.

Shamsiddin Vokhidov vs. Aleksandra Yuryevna Goryachkina
Photo: FIDE World Junior U20 Championships 2015

The Unvanquished

Francesco Rambaldi – Giuseppe Leiva
54th World Junior Chess Championship; Khanty-Mansiysk, September 6, 2015
English Opening A28

1. c4 Nf6 2. Nc3 e5 3. Nf3 Nc6 4. a3 d5 5. cxd5 Nxd5 6. Qc2 Be7 7. e3 Nxc3 8. bxc3 Bd6 9. d4 0-0 10. Be2 Re8. 10. ... f5 11. 0-0 Kh8 12. Rd1 Qf6 13. c4 see Malakhatko – Socko, Najdorf Memorial Festival, Warsaw 2010. 11. Bb2 e4 12. Nd2 Qg5 13. g3 Qg6 14. c4 Bf8 15. Bf1 Nd8 16. Bg2 f5

17. 0-0-0. Francesco decides to adopt the sharpest mode of castling. 17. ... c5 18. Rhe1. To prepare for f2-f3. 18. ... Ne6 19. f3 Ng5 20. Kb1 Bd7 21. fxe4 fxe4 22. h4 Nf7. Also after 22. ... Nf3 23. Nxf3 Ba4 24. Qxa4 exf3+ 25. Qc2 fxg2 the game would tend towards a draw. 23. Ka2 Bf5 ½ : ½.

Artwork: KiraCreator21