Artwork © Drawn By Bryan (@drawnbybryan)
Sunday, January 21, 2024
Hearts and Spades
The All-Russian Family Forum “Dear — Loved Ones” kicked off on January 19, 2024 at VDNKh (All-Russia Exhibition Centre) ìn Moscow, thus officially opening the Year of Family in Russia. Stands representing all regions were there to welcome families and other visitors as well as to provide spaces and resources for people to share experiences and feelings.
Three-time Russian Women’s Chess Champion Aleksandra Yuryevna Goryachkina (pictured above, dressed in black and white), did not go unnoticed as she welcomed wandering souls to her temple in the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug’s Pavilion. Photos: Regina Safiullina/Yamal Media. |
Saturday, January 20, 2024
A Matter of Minutes
Here is how, in his autobiography, “Do You See What I See?: Memoirs of a Blind Biker”, Hampton Roads Publishing Company, Newburyport, Massachusetts, 2010, p. 237, Russell Targ, a world-renowned physicist and parapsychologist, recalled his first chess experience with his brother-in-law-to-be Bobby Fischer:
“I played my first game of chess with Bobby Fischer more than fifty years ago. I was courting his sister, Joan, and he was fourteen. He beat me, even though he was playing blindfolded, eating a bowl of chicken soup in the kitchen, and I had the pieces and the board right in front of me. But it took him more than five minutes”. |
Fischer (centre) with his sister Joan, his niece Elisabeth, and his brother-in-law Targ in 1962. Photo: Carl Mydans/Life magazine. |
Deadlock
Alexander Anatolyevich Donchenko – 居文君 (Jū Wénjūn)
86th Tata Steel Chess Tournament; Wijk aan Zee, January 20, 2024
Queen’s Gambit Declined D36
86th Tata Steel Chess Tournament; Wijk aan Zee, January 20, 2024
Queen’s Gambit Declined D36
1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. cxd5 exd5 5. Bg5 c6 6. Qc2 h6 7. Bh4 g6 8. e3 Bf5 9. Bd3 Bxd3 10. Qxd3 Nbd7 11. Nge2 Bg7 12. 0-0 0-0 13. f3 Re8 14. Rad1 Qe7 15. Bf2
15. ... Rad8. 15. ... Nb6 16. b3 Nc8 followed by ... Nc8-d6 seems also interesting. Nevertheless, 居文君 (Jū Wénjūn) shows herself well prepared to counter White’s inevitable minority attack, and has no trouble at all in pursuing her goal, that is, to get a draw.
16. Rfe1 Nf8 17. h3 a6 18. a3 Ne6 19. Qc2 Nh5 20. b4 a5 21. Qb3 axb4 22. axb4 b5 23. Na2 Nf6 24. Nac3 Nd7 25. e4 Nb6 26. exd5 Nxd5 27. Nxd5 cxd5 28. Nf4 Qd6 29. Nxe6 Rxe6 30. Rxe6 Qxe6 31. Rc1 Bf8 32. Qd3 Qd7 33. Bg3 Bxb4 34. Rc7 Qe8 35. Rb7 Bd6 36. Bxd6 Rxd6 37. Rxb5 Rd8 38. Kf2 h5 39. Qe2 ½ : ½.
16. Rfe1 Nf8 17. h3 a6 18. a3 Ne6 19. Qc2 Nh5 20. b4 a5 21. Qb3 axb4 22. axb4 b5 23. Na2 Nf6 24. Nac3 Nd7 25. e4 Nb6 26. exd5 Nxd5 27. Nxd5 cxd5 28. Nf4 Qd6 29. Nxe6 Rxe6 30. Rxe6 Qxe6 31. Rc1 Bf8 32. Qd3 Qd7 33. Bg3 Bxb4 34. Rc7 Qe8 35. Rb7 Bd6 36. Bxd6 Rxd6 37. Rxb5 Rd8 38. Kf2 h5 39. Qe2 ½ : ½.
Another very dead draw by agreement for 居文君 (Jū Wénjūn) today against Donchenko. Photo © Jurriaan Hoefsmit. |
Friday, January 19, 2024
Canovaccio
居文君 (Jū Wénjūn) – Santosh Gujrathi Vidit
86th Tata Steel Chess Tournament; Wijk aan Zee, January 19, 2024
Queen’s Indian Defence E15
86th Tata Steel Chess Tournament; Wijk aan Zee, January 19, 2024
Queen’s Indian Defence E15
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4. g3 Ba6 5. b3 Bb4+ 6. Bd2 Be7 7. Bg2 0-0 8. 0-0 c6 9. Bc3 d5 10. Nbd2 Nbd7 11. Qc2 c5 12. dxc5 bxc5 13. e3 Qb6 14. Rfd1 Bb7 15. Rac1 Rfd8 16. cxd5 exd5 17. Ne5 Nxe5 18. Bxe5 Rac8 19. Qf5 g6
20. Qf3. After yesterday’s success, 居文君 (Jū Wénjūn) followed a line of maximum prudence, with the explicit purpose of securing a draw as soon as possible. It gives one to think that the canovaccio comes out from the very same Dutch windmill: 20. Qf4 Nh5 21. Qg4
Nf6 22. Qf4 Nh5 23. Qf3 Qe6 24. Bb2 Rd7 25. Qe2 Bf6 26. Bxf6 Nxf6 27. Qb5 Rdc7 28. Qa4 Kg7 29. Qf4 h6 30. h4 Nh5 31. Qa4
Nf6 32. Qf4 Nh5 33. Qa4 ½ : ½ Wojtaszek – Karjakin, 79th Tata Steel Chess Tournament, Wijk aan Zee 2017.
20. ... Nd7 21. Ba1 Qe6 22. Qf4 Bd6. Being not convinced of 22. ... f6 — which would weaken Black’s King’s position without posing any danger to White — Vidit resolves himself to allow a draw by repetition.
23. Qh6 Bf8 24. Qh4 Be7 25. Qh6 Bf8 26. Qh4 Be7 27. Qh6 ½ : ½.
20. ... Nd7 21. Ba1 Qe6 22. Qf4 Bd6. Being not convinced of 22. ... f6 — which would weaken Black’s King’s position without posing any danger to White — Vidit resolves himself to allow a draw by repetition.
23. Qh6 Bf8 24. Qh4 Be7 25. Qh6 Bf8 26. Qh4 Be7 27. Qh6 ½ : ½.
Success hasn’t gone to 居文君 (Jū Wénjūn)’s head at all. Photo © Jurriaan Hoefsmit. |
Thursday, January 18, 2024
上海粗炒 (Shànghǎi fried noodles)
居文君 (Jū Wénjūn) – Alireza Firouzja
86th Tata Steel Chess Tournament; Wijk aan Zee, January 18, 2024
French Defence C01
86th Tata Steel Chess Tournament; Wijk aan Zee, January 18, 2024
French Defence C01
1. d4 e6 2. e4 d5 3. exd5. 居文君 (Jū Wénjūn) disguises herself as the most humble of opponents, aiming at avoiding any opening surprises.
3. ... exd5 4. Nf3 Bd6 5. c4 Nf6 6. c5!? Be7 7. Bd3 0-0. An important reference is 8. ... b6 8. cxb6 axb6 9. 0-0 0-0 10. Nc3 Bg4 11. h3 Bh5 12. g4 Bg6 13. Ne5 Bxd3 14. Qxd3 c6 15. Bg5 Nxg4 with a complex struggle, Tartakower – Botvinnik, 1st Staunton Memorial Tournament, Groningen 1946.
8. 0-0 Bg4 9. h3 Bh5 10. Be3 Nc6 11. Nbd2 Re8 12. Bb5 Ne4 13. Qa4 Nxd2 14. Nxd2 Bg5 15. Bxc6 bxc6 16. Rae1 Bxe3 17. Rxe3 Rxe3 18. fxe3 Qe8 19. Re1 f5 20. Qa6 f4 21. Qf1 fxe3 22. Qd3
3. ... exd5 4. Nf3 Bd6 5. c4 Nf6 6. c5!? Be7 7. Bd3 0-0. An important reference is 8. ... b6 8. cxb6 axb6 9. 0-0 0-0 10. Nc3 Bg4 11. h3 Bh5 12. g4 Bg6 13. Ne5 Bxd3 14. Qxd3 c6 15. Bg5 Nxg4 with a complex struggle, Tartakower – Botvinnik, 1st Staunton Memorial Tournament, Groningen 1946.
8. 0-0 Bg4 9. h3 Bh5 10. Be3 Nc6 11. Nbd2 Re8 12. Bb5 Ne4 13. Qa4 Nxd2 14. Nxd2 Bg5 15. Bxc6 bxc6 16. Rae1 Bxe3 17. Rxe3 Rxe3 18. fxe3 Qe8 19. Re1 f5 20. Qa6 f4 21. Qf1 fxe3 22. Qd3
22. ... e2? Firouzya falls victim of his own optimism and ends up trapped in a positional nightmare. After 22. ... Qb8! 23. Rxe3 Qxb2 play would be fairly balanced.
23. Nf3!? 23. g4 Bg6 24. Qxe2 is the basic continuation given by the engines, with an assessment of “±” (at least).
23. ... Qf7? Firouzya’s reiterated apathy will soon have unpleasant consequences. Black should prefer, as suggested afterwards by (居文君 (Jū Wénjūn), 23. ... Bxf3 with chances to hold.
23. Nf3!? 23. g4 Bg6 24. Qxe2 is the basic continuation given by the engines, with an assessment of “±” (at least).
23. ... Qf7? Firouzya’s reiterated apathy will soon have unpleasant consequences. Black should prefer, as suggested afterwards by (居文君 (Jū Wénjūn), 23. ... Bxf3 with chances to hold.
24. Ng5! 居文君 (Jū Wénjūn) then called this her turning point, as Black will have to exchange Queens being left with a very bad Pawn position.
24. ... Qg6. An eloquent fact is that it took more than 20 minutes for Firouzja to respond.
25. Qxg6 Bxg6 26. Rxe2 h6 27. Nf3! Heading for e5. White enjoys a manifest advantage as her mighty Knight is much superior to Black’s Bishop.
27. ... Be4. The c6-Pawn is doomed anyway, so Firouzja gives it up right away, searching for coordination opportunities.
28. Ne5 a5 29. Nxc6 a4 30. Re3 Ra6 31. Nb4 Rg6 32. g3 h5 33. Ra3 Kf8 34. Kf2 Rf6+ 35. Ke2 Rg6 36. h4 Ke8 37. Re3 Kd7 38. a3 Re6 39. Kd2 Kf6 40. Ke2 Rf8
24. ... Qg6. An eloquent fact is that it took more than 20 minutes for Firouzja to respond.
25. Qxg6 Bxg6 26. Rxe2 h6 27. Nf3! Heading for e5. White enjoys a manifest advantage as her mighty Knight is much superior to Black’s Bishop.
27. ... Be4. The c6-Pawn is doomed anyway, so Firouzja gives it up right away, searching for coordination opportunities.
28. Ne5 a5 29. Nxc6 a4 30. Re3 Ra6 31. Nb4 Rg6 32. g3 h5 33. Ra3 Kf8 34. Kf2 Rf6+ 35. Ke2 Rg6 36. h4 Ke8 37. Re3 Kd7 38. a3 Re6 39. Kd2 Kf6 40. Ke2 Rf8
Time control is reached. 居文君 (Jū Wénjūn) has clear ideas on how to proceed; she simply starts out with creating a distant passed a-Pawn.
41. b3! axb3 42. Rxb3 Bg2 43. Re3 Be4 44. Na2 Rb8 45. Nc3 Rb2+ 46. Ke1 Rb3 47. Kf2 Bh1. Of course, Black cannot play 47. ... Rxa3 because of 48. Nxe4 winning easily.
48. Nd1 Rb8 49. Re5 g6 50. Re1 Be4 51. Nc3 Rf8+ 52. Kg1 Rf3? The transition to a Rook ending makes White’s victory only more certain. Instead, after 52. ... Kc6 it’s not clear how White should continue (the point is that 53. Nxe4? is answered by 53. ... Re8 followed by ... d5xe4).
53. Nxe4 dxe4 54. Kg2 Rxa3 55. Rxe4 Rd3 56. Kf2! c6 57. Kg2! Rd1 58. Kf3 Rf1+ 59. Ke3 Rf7 60. Rf4 Rg7 61. Kd3 Ke6 62. Rf8 Ra7 63. Ke4 Ra1 64. Rd8 1 : 0.
41. b3! axb3 42. Rxb3 Bg2 43. Re3 Be4 44. Na2 Rb8 45. Nc3 Rb2+ 46. Ke1 Rb3 47. Kf2 Bh1. Of course, Black cannot play 47. ... Rxa3 because of 48. Nxe4 winning easily.
48. Nd1 Rb8 49. Re5 g6 50. Re1 Be4 51. Nc3 Rf8+ 52. Kg1 Rf3? The transition to a Rook ending makes White’s victory only more certain. Instead, after 52. ... Kc6 it’s not clear how White should continue (the point is that 53. Nxe4? is answered by 53. ... Re8 followed by ... d5xe4).
53. Nxe4 dxe4 54. Kg2 Rxa3 55. Rxe4 Rd3 56. Kf2! c6 57. Kg2! Rd1 58. Kf3 Rf1+ 59. Ke3 Rf7 60. Rf4 Rg7 61. Kd3 Ke6 62. Rf8 Ra7 63. Ke4 Ra1 64. Rd8 1 : 0.
居文君 (Jū Wénjūn) declared this the greatest win of her career so far. Photo © Jurriaan Hoefsmit. |
Non-property system
Sovereign states and protectorates
Giorgio Agamben, Quodlibet, January 17, 2024
The discourses of those who speak in the media about foreign policy issues in Italy are devoid of any foundations, because they pretend to ignore that Italy is not a sovereign nation, but a protectorate. According to international law, a nation that hosts on its territory a number of bases (some of which are secret and full of atomic bombs) equal to that which the United States holds in Italy, does not have sovereignty over its foreign policy, but only over its internal policy; it is, i.e., technically a protectorate.
This explains why the new government, which, calling itself right-wing, should first of all have claimed a status of full sovereignty, simply conformed, with respect to the war in Ukraine, to the directives of the protector State. Let us leave to whoever wants to imagine what would happen, in fact, to a head of state who opened a dispute over the presence of United States bases on our territory. Yet the issue goes well far beyond a problem of sovereignty, since it implies that, in the case of a new world war, Italy would be the first country to suffer a nuclear bombardment that would destroy it entirely. Alas! It is useless to hope that journalists paid by the so far still dominant power pose to themselves this kind of problems.
Giorgio Agamben, Quodlibet, January 17, 2024
The discourses of those who speak in the media about foreign policy issues in Italy are devoid of any foundations, because they pretend to ignore that Italy is not a sovereign nation, but a protectorate. According to international law, a nation that hosts on its territory a number of bases (some of which are secret and full of atomic bombs) equal to that which the United States holds in Italy, does not have sovereignty over its foreign policy, but only over its internal policy; it is, i.e., technically a protectorate.
This explains why the new government, which, calling itself right-wing, should first of all have claimed a status of full sovereignty, simply conformed, with respect to the war in Ukraine, to the directives of the protector State. Let us leave to whoever wants to imagine what would happen, in fact, to a head of state who opened a dispute over the presence of United States bases on our territory. Yet the issue goes well far beyond a problem of sovereignty, since it implies that, in the case of a new world war, Italy would be the first country to suffer a nuclear bombardment that would destroy it entirely. Alas! It is useless to hope that journalists paid by the so far still dominant power pose to themselves this kind of problems.
(English translation by I, Robot)
Sliman Mansour, Absent Presence, 2018. Courtesy of WikiArt.
Wednesday, January 17, 2024
Because the Night
Also, on the subject of good reading, four-time Women’s World Chess Champion and most admirable teacher 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) endorsed and recommended — through her 新浪微博 (Sina Wēibó) microblogging account — a book written by 吴雪军 (Wú Xuějūn) and published by 中山大学 (Sun Yat-sen University Press) entitled 《睡眠之道》 (“How to Sleep”), in which the author offers his own scientific advice for sleepless souls to fall asleep and lay in the arms of Morpheus.
Plays of the Thirties
The Thirties are still before us
Giorgio Agamben, Quodlibet, January 15, 2024
In November 1990, Gérard Granel, one of the most lucid minds in the European philosophy of those years, held a lecture at The New School for Social Research in New York whose title, certainly meaningful, did not fail to provoke some scandalised reactions from right-thinking people: The Thirties are still before us. If the analysis conducted by Granel was genuinely philosophical, its political implications were indeed immediately perceptible, since what was in question in the apparently anodyne chronological syntagma were purely and simply fascism in Italy, nazism in Germany and stalinism in Soviet Union, i.e. the three radical political attempts to “destroy the economic, political and spiritual order by which Europe recognised itself and replace it with a ‘new order’”. Granel had an easy play in showing how the European intellectual and political class had been just as blind to this triple novelty as it had — in the Nineties as now — to its disquieting, although changed, resurgence. It’s hard to believe that Léon Blum, leader of French Socialists, may have declared, commenting on the German elections of July 1932, that, compared to the representatives of the old Germany, “Hitler is the symbol of the spirit of change, renewal and revolution” and that, therefore, von Schleicher’s victory would have appeared to him “even more desolating than Hitler’s one”. And how should we judge the political sensitvity of Georges Bataille and André Breton, who, in the face of protests over the German occupation of the Rhineland, dared write without shame: “we prefer, at any rate, Hitler’s anti-diplomatic brutality that is more pacific, in fact, than the politicians’ and diplomats’ slobbering excitation”? The thesis of this essay, which I highly recommend reading, is that what defines the historical process underway, in the Thirties as well as in the Nineties when he was writing, is the same primacy of the infinite over the finite, which, in the name of an unfolding that is intended to be absolutely without limits, seeks to abolish in all spheres — economic, scientific, cultural — the ethical, political, and religious barriers that, somehow, had contained it until then. And, at the same time, also through the examples of fascism, nazism and stalinism, Granel showed how such a process of infinitisation and total mobilisation of any aspects of social life can only lead to self-destruction.
Without going into the merits of this certainly persuasive analysis, I am rather interested here in highlighting the analogies with the situation we are going through today. The fact that the Thirties of the twentieth century are still before us does not mean that we see the aberrant events in question repeating themselves in exactly the same way; rather it means what Bordiga intended to express by writing, after the end of World War II, that the victors would be the testamentary executors of the vanquished. Governments everywhere, whatever their colour and position, act as executors of a same will, accepted without benefit of inventory. On all sides we see the blind continuation of the very same unlimited process of productive increase and technological development that Granel had been denouncing, in which human life, reduced to its biological basis, seems to renounce any other inspiration other than bare life and shows itself willing, as we have seen in the last three years, to sacrifice, unreservedly, its own political existence. With the difference, perhaps, that the signs of blindness, of absence of thought, and of a probable, imminent self-destruction, which Granel had been evoking, have multiplied dramatically. Everything suggests that we are entering — at least in the post-industrial societies of the West — the extreme stage of a process whose end cannot be predicted with certainty, but whose consequences, if awareness of limits does not awaken again, could be catastrophic.
Giorgio Agamben, Quodlibet, January 15, 2024
In November 1990, Gérard Granel, one of the most lucid minds in the European philosophy of those years, held a lecture at The New School for Social Research in New York whose title, certainly meaningful, did not fail to provoke some scandalised reactions from right-thinking people: The Thirties are still before us. If the analysis conducted by Granel was genuinely philosophical, its political implications were indeed immediately perceptible, since what was in question in the apparently anodyne chronological syntagma were purely and simply fascism in Italy, nazism in Germany and stalinism in Soviet Union, i.e. the three radical political attempts to “destroy the economic, political and spiritual order by which Europe recognised itself and replace it with a ‘new order’”. Granel had an easy play in showing how the European intellectual and political class had been just as blind to this triple novelty as it had — in the Nineties as now — to its disquieting, although changed, resurgence. It’s hard to believe that Léon Blum, leader of French Socialists, may have declared, commenting on the German elections of July 1932, that, compared to the representatives of the old Germany, “Hitler is the symbol of the spirit of change, renewal and revolution” and that, therefore, von Schleicher’s victory would have appeared to him “even more desolating than Hitler’s one”. And how should we judge the political sensitvity of Georges Bataille and André Breton, who, in the face of protests over the German occupation of the Rhineland, dared write without shame: “we prefer, at any rate, Hitler’s anti-diplomatic brutality that is more pacific, in fact, than the politicians’ and diplomats’ slobbering excitation”? The thesis of this essay, which I highly recommend reading, is that what defines the historical process underway, in the Thirties as well as in the Nineties when he was writing, is the same primacy of the infinite over the finite, which, in the name of an unfolding that is intended to be absolutely without limits, seeks to abolish in all spheres — economic, scientific, cultural — the ethical, political, and religious barriers that, somehow, had contained it until then. And, at the same time, also through the examples of fascism, nazism and stalinism, Granel showed how such a process of infinitisation and total mobilisation of any aspects of social life can only lead to self-destruction.
Without going into the merits of this certainly persuasive analysis, I am rather interested here in highlighting the analogies with the situation we are going through today. The fact that the Thirties of the twentieth century are still before us does not mean that we see the aberrant events in question repeating themselves in exactly the same way; rather it means what Bordiga intended to express by writing, after the end of World War II, that the victors would be the testamentary executors of the vanquished. Governments everywhere, whatever their colour and position, act as executors of a same will, accepted without benefit of inventory. On all sides we see the blind continuation of the very same unlimited process of productive increase and technological development that Granel had been denouncing, in which human life, reduced to its biological basis, seems to renounce any other inspiration other than bare life and shows itself willing, as we have seen in the last three years, to sacrifice, unreservedly, its own political existence. With the difference, perhaps, that the signs of blindness, of absence of thought, and of a probable, imminent self-destruction, which Granel had been evoking, have multiplied dramatically. Everything suggests that we are entering — at least in the post-industrial societies of the West — the extreme stage of a process whose end cannot be predicted with certainty, but whose consequences, if awareness of limits does not awaken again, could be catastrophic.
(English translation by I, Robot)
Wassily Wassilyevich Kandinsky, Thirty, 1937. Courtesy of WikiArt.
Tuesday, January 16, 2024
Twice Upon a Time
丁立人 (Dīng Lìrén) – Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa
86th Tata Steel Chess Tournament; Wijk aan Zee, January 16, 2024
Spanish Game C77
86th Tata Steel Chess Tournament; Wijk aan Zee, January 16, 2024
Spanish Game C77
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. d3 Bc5 6. 0-0 b5 7. Bb3 d6 8. c3 h6 9. Re1 0-0 10. Nbd2 Bb6 11. Nf1 Ne7 12. a4 Rb8 13. h3 Ng6 14. Ng3 c5 15. Be3
15. ... c4! 16. Bxb6 Rxb6 17. Ba2 Qc7 18. axb5 axb5 19. Bb1 cxd3 20. Bxd3 Nf4 21. Ne2 Nxd3 22. Qxd3 Be6 23. Ng3 b4 24. cxb4 Rxb4
25. Rad1?! 丁立人 (Dīng Lìrén) got the worst from his Ruy López and struggles to conveniently place his Rooks. Deserving consideration was 25. Ra6 Ne8 26. Qa3 Rb3 27. Qa1 Bxh3.
25. ... Rb6 26. Qa3 Rfb8 27. Rd2 Ne8 28. Nh2 Rb3 29. Qa1 Qb6! Threatening both ... Rb3xg3 and ... Rb3xb2.
30. Nhf1 Rxb2 31. Rxb2 Qxb2 32. Qxb2 Rxb2. Black has gained a Pawn, but will find it problematic to convert.
33. Ne3 g6 34. Ra1 Ba2 35. Nd1 Rb1 36. Rxa2 Rxd1+ 37. Kh2 h5 36. f3 Rb1+ 37. Rxb1 Bxb1 38. Ne2 Ba2 39. Kf2 Kf8 40. Nc3 Bb3 41. Ned5. Praggnanandhaa then said that, after this, he felt closer to victory, perhaps thinking about Botvinnik’s axiom that a Knight endgame is like a Pawn endgame.
41. ... Bxd5 42. Nxd5 f5
25. ... Rb6 26. Qa3 Rfb8 27. Rd2 Ne8 28. Nh2 Rb3 29. Qa1 Qb6! Threatening both ... Rb3xg3 and ... Rb3xb2.
30. Nhf1 Rxb2 31. Rxb2 Qxb2 32. Qxb2 Rxb2. Black has gained a Pawn, but will find it problematic to convert.
33. Ne3 g6 34. Ra1 Ba2 35. Nd1 Rb1 36. Rxa2 Rxd1+ 37. Kh2 h5 36. f3 Rb1+ 37. Rxb1 Bxb1 38. Ne2 Ba2 39. Kf2 Kf8 40. Nc3 Bb3 41. Ned5. Praggnanandhaa then said that, after this, he felt closer to victory, perhaps thinking about Botvinnik’s axiom that a Knight endgame is like a Pawn endgame.
41. ... Bxd5 42. Nxd5 f5
43. f4? A dramatic error that loses the game. 43. g3 Kf7 44. Ke3 was called for, defending to the bitter end.
43. ... Kf7! 丁立人 (Dīng Lìrén) must have hoped for 43. ... fxe4? 44. Ke3 with a draw in prospect.
44. exf5 gxf5 45. fxe5. 45. Ne3 Kf6 is also hopeless. What follows is a superb display of technique by Praggnanandhaa.
45. ... dxe5 46. g3 Ke6 47. Ne3 Nf6 48. Ke2 (48. Kf3 Ng4−+)
48. ... Ne4 49. Nf1 f4 50. gxf4 exf4 51. Kf3 Kf5 52. Kg2 Nd6 53. Nd2 Nf7 54. Nc4 Kg4 55. Kf2 Kxh4 56. Kf3 Kg5 57. Nb2 Kf5 58. Nd1 Ng5+ 59. Kg2 h4 60. Nf2 f3+ 61. Kg1 Kf4 62. Kf1 Ne4 0 : 1.
43. ... Kf7! 丁立人 (Dīng Lìrén) must have hoped for 43. ... fxe4? 44. Ke3 with a draw in prospect.
44. exf5 gxf5 45. fxe5. 45. Ne3 Kf6 is also hopeless. What follows is a superb display of technique by Praggnanandhaa.
45. ... dxe5 46. g3 Ke6 47. Ne3 Nf6 48. Ke2 (48. Kf3 Ng4−+)
48. ... Ne4 49. Nf1 f4 50. gxf4 exf4 51. Kf3 Kf5 52. Kg2 Nd6 53. Nd2 Nf7 54. Nc4 Kg4 55. Kf2 Kxh4 56. Kf3 Kg5 57. Nb2 Kf5 58. Nd1 Ng5+ 59. Kg2 h4 60. Nf2 f3+ 61. Kg1 Kf4 62. Kf1 Ne4 0 : 1.
Just like last year: same round, same opponents, and... same result. Photo © Lennart Ootes. |
A Day in Catalonia
Max Warmerdam – 居文君 (Jū Wénjūn)
86th Tata Steel Chess Tournament; Wijk aan Zee, January 16, 2024
Catalan Opening E05
86th Tata Steel Chess Tournament; Wijk aan Zee, January 16, 2024
Catalan Opening E05
1. c4 e6 2. g3 d5 3. Bg2 Nf6 4. Nf3 Be7 5. d4 0-0 6. 0-0 dxc4 7. Qc2 a6 8. a4 Bd7 9. Qxc4 Bc6 10. Bg5 Bd5 11. Qc2 Be4 12. Qc1 Nc6 13. e3 Bb4 14. Nc3 Bxc3 15. bxc3 h6 16. Bxf6 Qxf6 17. Nd2 Bxg2 18. Kxg2 Na5
19. Qa3. Warmerdam finally innovates in a long theoretical line, but without any effect on the assessment of the position. Likewise after 19. Qb1 e5 20. Qe4 Rfe8 21. Qd5 b6 22. Qf3 Qxf3+ 23. Kxf3 Rad8= the game is equal, Nepomniachtchi – Firouzja, 9th Sinquefield Cup, Saint Louis 2022, tie-break game 1 (time control: 15 minutes plus 10 seconds per move).
19. ... Qd8 20. Kg1 b6 21. Rab1 c5 22. Rb2 Rc8 23. Qa2 cxd4 24. cxd4 Rc6 25. Qb1 Qc7 26. Qd3 Ra8 27. Kg2 Rc3 28. Qe4 Rb8 29. Rfb1 Nc4 30. Nxc4 Rxc4 31. Rb4 ½ : ½.
19. ... Qd8 20. Kg1 b6 21. Rab1 c5 22. Rb2 Rc8 23. Qa2 cxd4 24. cxd4 Rc6 25. Qb1 Qc7 26. Qd3 Ra8 27. Kg2 Rc3 28. Qe4 Rb8 29. Rfb1 Nc4 30. Nxc4 Rxc4 31. Rb4 ½ : ½.
After yesterday’s unlucky setback, 居文君 (Jū Wénjūn) took a day’s rest in Catalonia. Photo © Jurriaan Hoefsmit. |
Monday, January 15, 2024
Taking a Gamble
居文君 (Jū Wénjūn) – Jorden van Foreest
86th Tata Steel Chess Tournament; Wijk aan Zee, January 15, 2024
Modern Defence B06
86th Tata Steel Chess Tournament; Wijk aan Zee, January 15, 2024
Modern Defence B06
1. d4 g6 2. e4 Bg7 3. Nf3 d6 4. Bc4 Nf6 5. Qe2 Nc6 6. h3 0-0 7. 0-0 Nh5 (7. ... e5 8. dxe5 Nxe5 9. Nxe5 dxe5 10. Rd1 Qe7 11. Nc3 c6 12. Bg5 Be6 13. a4 h6 ½ : ½ Espig – Adorján, 1st “Tungsram” International Tournament, Budapest 1975)
8. Rd1 (8. e5 dxe5 9. dxe5 Nd4 10. Nxd4 Qxd4 11. Re1 Ng3 12. Qd3 Nf5 13. c3 Qxd3 14. Bxd3 Rd8 15. Bc2 Be6= Tekeyev – Ponkratov, 23rd Russian Team Chess Championship Higher League, Sochi 2016)
8. ... e5 9. dxe5 (9. c3 Kh8 10. Bd5⩲)
9. ... Nxe5 10. Nxe5 Bxe5 11. Nc3 c6 12. Bh6 Re8 13. Qf3 Qf6 14. Qxf6 Nxf6 15. Bd3 b5 16. Rab1 Nd7 17. f4 Bd4+ 18. Kh2 Bb6 19. b4 a5 20. a3 (20. a4 axb4 21. axb5 c5 22. Nd5 Bb7=)
20. ... Bc7 21. Kh1 Nf6 22. Bg5 Nd7 23. e5 d5
8. Rd1 (8. e5 dxe5 9. dxe5 Nd4 10. Nxd4 Qxd4 11. Re1 Ng3 12. Qd3 Nf5 13. c3 Qxd3 14. Bxd3 Rd8 15. Bc2 Be6= Tekeyev – Ponkratov, 23rd Russian Team Chess Championship Higher League, Sochi 2016)
8. ... e5 9. dxe5 (9. c3 Kh8 10. Bd5⩲)
9. ... Nxe5 10. Nxe5 Bxe5 11. Nc3 c6 12. Bh6 Re8 13. Qf3 Qf6 14. Qxf6 Nxf6 15. Bd3 b5 16. Rab1 Nd7 17. f4 Bd4+ 18. Kh2 Bb6 19. b4 a5 20. a3 (20. a4 axb4 21. axb5 c5 22. Nd5 Bb7=)
20. ... Bc7 21. Kh1 Nf6 22. Bg5 Nd7 23. e5 d5
24. Nxd5!? (24. Bxb5!? cxb5 25. Nxd5)
24. ... cxd5 25. Bxb5 axb4 26. axb4 Re6 27. Rxd5 Nf8 28. c4 Rb6 29. Rbd1 Bb7 30. R5d2 Ne6 31. Bh6 (31. Be7!)
24. ... cxd5 25. Bxb5 axb4 26. axb4 Re6 27. Rxd5 Nf8 28. c4 Rb6 29. Rbd1 Bb7 30. R5d2 Ne6 31. Bh6 (31. Be7!)
31. ... g5! 32. f5 Nd4
33. f6?⊕ (33. e6! Nxf5 34. exf7+ Kxf7 35. Rd7+ Kg6 36. Rxc7 Kxh6 37. Rxb7! Rxb7 38. Bc6 Raa7 39. Bxb7 Rxb7 40. b5)
33. ... Bxe5 34. Bxg5 (34. Rxd4 Bxd4 35. Rxd4 Rxf6 36. Bxg5 Rg6 37. Rg4 Ra3−+)
34. ... Re6! 35. Rxd4?⊕ (35. Bd7 Rd6 36. Bg4 h5! 37. Bxh5 Nf5)
35. ... Bxd4 36. Rxd4 Re2 37. c5?⊕ Ra1+ 0 : 1.
33. ... Bxe5 34. Bxg5 (34. Rxd4 Bxd4 35. Rxd4 Rxf6 36. Bxg5 Rg6 37. Rg4 Ra3−+)
34. ... Re6! 35. Rxd4?⊕ (35. Bd7 Rd6 36. Bg4 h5! 37. Bxh5 Nf5)
35. ... Bxd4 36. Rxd4 Re2 37. c5?⊕ Ra1+ 0 : 1.
After a dull opening, 居文君 (Jū Wénjūn) became confident of victory and broke the equilibrium, but her gamble went wrong. Photo © Lennart Ootes. |
Mind Two
Dommaraju Gukesh – 丁立人 (Dīng Lìrén)
86th Tata Steel Chess Tournament; Wijk aan Zee, January 15, 2024
Giuoco Piano C54
86th Tata Steel Chess Tournament; Wijk aan Zee, January 15, 2024
Giuoco Piano C54
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. d3 Bc5 5. c3 d6 6. a4 a5 7. Bg5 h6 8. Bh4 Ba7 9. Na3 Qe7. Online databases contemplate 9. ... g5 10. Bg3 Ne7 11. Qb3 0-0 12. 0-0-0 c6 13. Rhe1 Ng6 14. d4 Qe7 15. Nc2 Rb8 16. Ne3 Nxe4? (16. ... b5!) 17. Qc2! with White winning material, Rakhmangulova – Makropoulou, 11th Maria Albuleț Memorial, Brăila 2018.
10. Nb5 Bb6 11. Qb3 g5 12. Bg3 0-0. 丁立人 (Dīng Lìrén)’s first intention — ipse dixit — was 12. ... Nh5? only to realise at last that 13. Nxd6+! would have gained a Pawn.
13. 0-0-0 Nh5 14. d4. White sacrifices a Pawn, in order to gain the initiative.
14. ... exd4. 丁立人 (Dīng Lìrén) picks up the gauntlet.
15. Nbxd4 g4 16. Nh4 Bxd4 17. cxd4 Qxe4 18. Rhe1 Qh7
10. Nb5 Bb6 11. Qb3 g5 12. Bg3 0-0. 丁立人 (Dīng Lìrén)’s first intention — ipse dixit — was 12. ... Nh5? only to realise at last that 13. Nxd6+! would have gained a Pawn.
13. 0-0-0 Nh5 14. d4. White sacrifices a Pawn, in order to gain the initiative.
14. ... exd4. 丁立人 (Dīng Lìrén) picks up the gauntlet.
15. Nbxd4 g4 16. Nh4 Bxd4 17. cxd4 Qxe4 18. Rhe1 Qh7
19. Rd2? 19. Bd3! Qg7 20. Ng6 was White’s only way to cope with the situation.
19. ... Bd7 20. Bd3 Qg7 21. Bf5 Bxf5 22. Nxf5 Qg5 23. Qb5. If 23. Qxb7 then 23. ... Rab8 24. Qxc6 Qxf5 with preference to Black.
23. ... Rfe8
19. ... Bd7 20. Bd3 Qg7 21. Bf5 Bxf5 22. Nxf5 Qg5 23. Qb5. If 23. Qxb7 then 23. ... Rab8 24. Qxc6 Qxf5 with preference to Black.
23. ... Rfe8
24. Re3? This leaves Black with a free hand to take advantage of his initiative. 24. Rxe8+ Rxe8 25. Ne3 offered much more resistance.
24. ... Ng7! 25. Nxg7 Kxg7 26. d5 Rxe3 27. fxe3 Nb4! 28. Qxb7 Re8 29. Bf4 Qf5 30. Qb5 Na2+ 31. Kd1 Qb1+ 32. Ke2
24. ... Ng7! 25. Nxg7 Kxg7 26. d5 Rxe3 27. fxe3 Nb4! 28. Qxb7 Re8 29. Bf4 Qf5 30. Qb5 Na2+ 31. Kd1 Qb1+ 32. Ke2
32. ... Qg1! 33. Kd3. The Rook is taboo: 33. Qxe8 Nc1#.
33. ... Nb4+ 34. Kd4 Qe1 35. Rd3 Qe2 36. Rc3 Qd2+ 37. Kc4 Re4+ 0 : 1.
33. ... Nb4+ 34. Kd4 Qe1 35. Rd3 Qe2 36. Rc3 Qd2+ 37. Kc4 Re4+ 0 : 1.
Thus, finally, 丁立人 (Dīng Lìrén) appeared to be alive and well, notwithstanding rumours to the contrary. Photo © Jurriaan Hoefsmit. |
Sunday, January 14, 2024
Old Times
韦奕 (Wéi Yì) – Dommaraju Gukesh
86th Tata Steel Chess Tournament; Wijk aan Zee, January 14, 2024
Giuoco Piano C54
86th Tata Steel Chess Tournament; Wijk aan Zee, January 14, 2024
Giuoco Piano C54
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. c3 Nf6 5. d3 d6 6. Bg5 h6 7. Bh4 a6 8. Nbd2 Ba7 9. 0-0
9. ... g5! Nihil sub sole novum, but most of the nineteenth century Romantic exponents would pick Black for sure.
10. Bg3 Bg4 11. h3 Bh5 12. b4 Qc8!? A recent Indian game continued 12. ... Rg8 13. Kh1 Qd7 14. b5 axb5 15. Bxb5 g4 16. hxg4 Qxg4 17. d4 Kf8 18. Qa4 Nxe4 19. Nxe4 Qxe4 20. Rae1 Qd5 21. c4 Qe6 22. Bxc6 bxc6 23. Qxc6 Re8 24. dxe5 dxe5 25. Nxe5 Qxc6 26. Nxc6 Bb6 27. Rxe8+ Kxe8 28. Nb4 Kd7 29. Nd5 Bd4 30. Rb1 Be2 31. Nf4 Re8 32. f3 c5? (⌓ 32. ... Bf6) 33. Nd5+− Rh8?? 34. Rb7+ Kd8 35. Bh4+ Kc8 36. Re7 Bf1 37. Nb6+ with mate in two moves, Praggnanandhaa – Vidit, 5th Tata Steel India Rapid Tournament, Kolkata 2023 (time control: 25 minutes plus 10 seconds per move).
13. b5 axb5 14. Bxb5 0-0 15. Re1 Bg6 16. Rc1 Nh5 17. Bh2 Ng7 18. d4 f6. Of course 18. ... exd4? 19. cxd4 Nxd4? 20. Nxd4 Bxd4 21. Bxd6 would be quite disastrous for Black.
19. Nf1 Ne7 20. Ne3 h5. More controversial is 20. ... Bxe4 on account of 21. Ng4 Bxf3 22. Qxf3 f5 23. Nxe5! with plenty of compensation.
21. c4?! White’s best policy seems to be 21. Bd3! whereupon 21. ... Kh8!? may follow, with a complex game.
21. ... exd4 22. Nd5 Qd8
10. Bg3 Bg4 11. h3 Bh5 12. b4 Qc8!? A recent Indian game continued 12. ... Rg8 13. Kh1 Qd7 14. b5 axb5 15. Bxb5 g4 16. hxg4 Qxg4 17. d4 Kf8 18. Qa4 Nxe4 19. Nxe4 Qxe4 20. Rae1 Qd5 21. c4 Qe6 22. Bxc6 bxc6 23. Qxc6 Re8 24. dxe5 dxe5 25. Nxe5 Qxc6 26. Nxc6 Bb6 27. Rxe8+ Kxe8 28. Nb4 Kd7 29. Nd5 Bd4 30. Rb1 Be2 31. Nf4 Re8 32. f3 c5? (⌓ 32. ... Bf6) 33. Nd5+− Rh8?? 34. Rb7+ Kd8 35. Bh4+ Kc8 36. Re7 Bf1 37. Nb6+ with mate in two moves, Praggnanandhaa – Vidit, 5th Tata Steel India Rapid Tournament, Kolkata 2023 (time control: 25 minutes plus 10 seconds per move).
13. b5 axb5 14. Bxb5 0-0 15. Re1 Bg6 16. Rc1 Nh5 17. Bh2 Ng7 18. d4 f6. Of course 18. ... exd4? 19. cxd4 Nxd4? 20. Nxd4 Bxd4 21. Bxd6 would be quite disastrous for Black.
19. Nf1 Ne7 20. Ne3 h5. More controversial is 20. ... Bxe4 on account of 21. Ng4 Bxf3 22. Qxf3 f5 23. Nxe5! with plenty of compensation.
21. c4?! White’s best policy seems to be 21. Bd3! whereupon 21. ... Kh8!? may follow, with a complex game.
21. ... exd4 22. Nd5 Qd8
23. Nxd4? This leads to big trouble. White had to take the bull by the horns with 23. Nxe7+! Qxe7 24. c5! Bxc5 25. e5! dxe5 (or 25. ... fxe5 26. Rxc5! Rxf3! 27. Qxf3 dxc5 28. Qxb7 followed by Bh2xe5) 26. Nxe5! fxe5 27. Rxe5 recovering his material with near equality.
23. ... Bc5 24. Nb3 Ba3
23. ... Bc5 24. Nb3 Ba3
25. Nxc7? White quickly disintegrates, but other moves are hardly less costly; for example: 25. c5!? Nxd5 (25. ... Bxc1? 26. Nxe7+ Qxe7 27. cxd6 would make White’s dreams come true) 26. exd5 Bxc1 27. Qxc1 f5 28. Nd4 f4 with manifest advantage to Black.
25. ... Qxc7 26. c5 Nxc1 27. cxd6 Qb6 28. dxe7 Rfc8 29. e8=Q+ Nxe8 30. Bxe8 Rxa2 31. Qxd5+ Kh8 32. Nd4 Bxe8 33. Bd6 (33. Qxa2 Qxd4 34. Qe6 Qc3−+)
34. ... Qa5 0 : 1.
25. ... Qxc7 26. c5 Nxc1 27. cxd6 Qb6 28. dxe7 Rfc8 29. e8=Q+ Nxe8 30. Bxe8 Rxa2 31. Qxd5+ Kh8 32. Nd4 Bxe8 33. Bd6 (33. Qxa2 Qxd4 34. Qe6 Qc3−+)
34. ... Qa5 0 : 1.
Between romanticism and computerism, 韦奕 (Wéi Yì) ended up feeling like a fish out of water. Photo: Juriaan Hoefsmit. |
One Day After Another
Ian Alexandrovich Nepomniachtchi – 居文君 (Jū Wénjūn)
86th Tata Steel Chess Tournament; Wijk aan Zee, January 14, 2024
Catalan Opening E05
86th Tata Steel Chess Tournament; Wijk aan Zee, January 14, 2024
Catalan Opening E05
1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. g3 Be7 5. Bg2 0-0 6. 0-0 dxc4 7. Qa4 a6 8. Qxc4 b5 9. Qc2 Bb7 10. Bd2 Ra7 11. Rc1 Be4 12. Qb3 Nc6 13. e3 Qa8 14. Qd1 b4 15. Be1 Bd5 16. Nbd2 Nb8 17. Nh4 Bxg2 18. Nxg2 Nbd7. Also playable is 18. ... c5 19. dxc5 (19. Qf3 Nbd7 transposes to the game) 19. ... Rc8 20. Qf3 Rxc5 21. Qxa8
Rxa8 22. Nb3 Rxc1 23. Rxc1 Nbd7 24. Kf1 a5 25. f3 g5 26. g4 h5
27. h3 hxg4 28. hxg4 Bd6 29. Nd2 Be5 30. Nc4 Bc7 31. b3 Kg7= with a draw agreed after another four moves, Suba – Vaganian, 1st Kings Tournament, Bazna 2007.
19. Qf3 c5 Likewise 19. ... Qxf3 20. Nxf3 c5 21. Nf4 a5 22. Nd3 Ne4 23. Rc2 Rc8 24. Rac1 Rac7 shouldn’t be anything special to White, Damljanović – Efimenko, 1st Serbian Team Chess Championship, Zlatibor 2007.
20. Qxa8 Raxa8 21. Nb3 Rfc8 22. dxc5 Nxc5 23. Nxc5 Rxc5 24. Rxc5 Bxc5 25. Rc1 Be7 26. f3 Kf8 27. Kf2 Nd7 28. Ke2 a5 29. e4 Ke8 30. Ne3 g5 31. Nc4 Ra6 32. Bd2 f6 33. g4 Bd8 34. b3 Bc7
19. Qf3 c5 Likewise 19. ... Qxf3 20. Nxf3 c5 21. Nf4 a5 22. Nd3 Ne4 23. Rc2 Rc8 24. Rac1 Rac7 shouldn’t be anything special to White, Damljanović – Efimenko, 1st Serbian Team Chess Championship, Zlatibor 2007.
20. Qxa8 Raxa8 21. Nb3 Rfc8 22. dxc5 Nxc5 23. Nxc5 Rxc5 24. Rxc5 Bxc5 25. Rc1 Be7 26. f3 Kf8 27. Kf2 Nd7 28. Ke2 a5 29. e4 Ke8 30. Ne3 g5 31. Nc4 Ra6 32. Bd2 f6 33. g4 Bd8 34. b3 Bc7
35. Nb2. Nepomniachtchi is in the unpleasant position of having to get blood out of a stone. On the other hand, 35. h3 Bf4 wouldn’t promise anything at all.
35. ... Kd8 36. Nd3 Bxh2 37. Rh1 Bd6 38. Rxh7 Ne5 39. Nxe5 Bxe5 40. Rb7 Rc6
35. ... Kd8 36. Nd3 Bxh2 37. Rh1 Bd6 38. Rxh7 Ne5 39. Nxe5 Bxe5 40. Rb7 Rc6
Time control reached. The endgame is completely equal, but Nepomniachtchi is more than motivated to bring it to exhaustion, in the hope to make 居文君 (Jū Wénjūn)’s yesterday’s nightmare come back to her.
41. Ra7 Rc5 42. Kd3 Ke8 43. Rh7 Kf8 44. Rb7 Ke8 45. Ra7 Bc7 46. Ke2 Be5 47. Kd3 Bc7 48. Ra8+ Kd7 49. Ra6 Be5 50. Ra7+ Ke8. Three-fold repetition of position. But the show must go on anyway:
51. Rh7 Kf8 52. Rh1
41. Ra7 Rc5 42. Kd3 Ke8 43. Rh7 Kf8 44. Rb7 Ke8 45. Ra7 Bc7 46. Ke2 Be5 47. Kd3 Bc7 48. Ra8+ Kd7 49. Ra6 Be5 50. Ra7+ Ke8. Three-fold repetition of position. But the show must go on anyway:
51. Rh7 Kf8 52. Rh1
52. ... Bf4! Alea iacta est.
53. Kd4 Rc2 54. Bxf4 gxf4 55. e5 Rd2+ 56. Ke4 Re2+ 57. Kxf4 Rxe5 58. Rh8+ Kf7 59. Ra8 Kg6 60. Ra6 Kf7 61. Kg3 Rd5 62. f4 Rd3+ 63. Kf2 Rd2+ 64. Kf3 Rxa2 65. f5 exf5 66. gxf5 Ra3 67. Ra7+ Ke8 68. Ke4 Kd8 69. Kd4 Rxb3 70. Rxa5 Rf3 71. Ke4 Rf1 72. Rb5 Rb1 73. Kd5 Kc7 74. Ke6 Kc6 75. Rb8 b3 76. Kxf6 b2 77. Kf7 Rf1 78. Rxb2 Rxf5+ 79. Ke6 Rc5 80. Rd2 ½ : ½.
53. Kd4 Rc2 54. Bxf4 gxf4 55. e5 Rd2+ 56. Ke4 Re2+ 57. Kxf4 Rxe5 58. Rh8+ Kf7 59. Ra8 Kg6 60. Ra6 Kf7 61. Kg3 Rd5 62. f4 Rd3+ 63. Kf2 Rd2+ 64. Kf3 Rxa2 65. f5 exf5 66. gxf5 Ra3 67. Ra7+ Ke8 68. Ke4 Kd8 69. Kd4 Rxb3 70. Rxa5 Rf3 71. Ke4 Rf1 72. Rb5 Rb1 73. Kd5 Kc7 74. Ke6 Kc6 75. Rb8 b3 76. Kxf6 b2 77. Kf7 Rf1 78. Rxb2 Rxf5+ 79. Ke6 Rc5 80. Rd2 ½ : ½.
Today 居文君 (Jū Wénjūn) needed all her nervous strength and resilience to recover from yesterday’s débâcle. Photo: Juriaan Hoefsmit. |
Saturday, January 13, 2024
Chads
居文君 (Jū Wénjūn) – Anish Giri
86th Tata Steel Chess Tournament; Wijk aan Zee, January 13, 2024
Sicilian Defence B40
86th Tata Steel Chess Tournament; Wijk aan Zee, January 13, 2024
Sicilian Defence B40
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. g3 Nc6 4. Bg2 Nf6 5. d3 Be7 6. 0-0 d5 7. Qe2 0-0 8. a4. A vintage classic is 8. Nc3 a6 (Tartakower recommended 8. ... Nd4) 9. Bg5 h6 10. Bf4 b5 11. Rfe1 d4 12. Nd1 Nd7 13. Kh1 Re8 14. Rg1 e5 15. Bd2 Nf8 16. Ne1 Ne6 17. f4 with attack, Chigorin – Tarrasch, Saint Petersburg 1893, match game 4.
8. ... dxe4 9. dxe4 e5 10. c3 h6. Of course, it’s very strange that 居文君 (Jū Wénjūn) based her theoretical approach on his opponent’s colour-reversed experience without bringing anything new: 10. ... Qc7 11. Na3 Na5 12. Nd2 Rd8 13. Nac4 Bg4 14. f3 Bh5 15. Rf2 Nd7 16. Bf1 Nxc4 17. Nxc4 Nb6 18. Qc2 f6 19. Ne3 a5 20. c4 Bf8 21. Nd5 Nxd5 22. exd5 Bg6 23. Bd3 Bxd3 24. Qxd3 Bd6 25. Bd2 Rf8 26. f4 exf4 27. Bxf4 Rae8 28. Bxd6 Qxd6 29. Re2 Rxe2 30. Qxe2 Qd7 31. Re1 Qxa4 32. Qe6+ Rf7 33. d6 g5 34. Qc8+ Kg7 35. Qxc5 b6 36. Qd5 Rd7 37. Qe6 Rf7 38. Qd5 Rd7 39. Rd1 Qb3 40. Rd2 Qe3+ 41. Kf1 a4 ½ : ½ Giri – Bacrot, 3rd FIDE Grand Swiss Tournament, Douglas 2023.
11. Na3 Qc7 12. Nd2. 12. Nc4 b6 13. Ne3 Na5! can give rise to wild and sharp flavours (which should be suitable to Black’s taste), Keymer – 丁立人 (Dīng Lìrén), 2nd Champions Chess Tour, 1st stage, Airthings Masters, Prelims Tournament, chess24.com, February 19, 2022 (time control: 15 minutes plus 10 seconds per move).
12. ... Bg4 13. f3 Be6 14. f4 a6 15. Nac4 b5 16. Ne3 c4 17. f5 Bd7 18. Nd5 Qd8 19. Kh1 Na5 20. axb5 axb5
8. ... dxe4 9. dxe4 e5 10. c3 h6. Of course, it’s very strange that 居文君 (Jū Wénjūn) based her theoretical approach on his opponent’s colour-reversed experience without bringing anything new: 10. ... Qc7 11. Na3 Na5 12. Nd2 Rd8 13. Nac4 Bg4 14. f3 Bh5 15. Rf2 Nd7 16. Bf1 Nxc4 17. Nxc4 Nb6 18. Qc2 f6 19. Ne3 a5 20. c4 Bf8 21. Nd5 Nxd5 22. exd5 Bg6 23. Bd3 Bxd3 24. Qxd3 Bd6 25. Bd2 Rf8 26. f4 exf4 27. Bxf4 Rae8 28. Bxd6 Qxd6 29. Re2 Rxe2 30. Qxe2 Qd7 31. Re1 Qxa4 32. Qe6+ Rf7 33. d6 g5 34. Qc8+ Kg7 35. Qxc5 b6 36. Qd5 Rd7 37. Qe6 Rf7 38. Qd5 Rd7 39. Rd1 Qb3 40. Rd2 Qe3+ 41. Kf1 a4 ½ : ½ Giri – Bacrot, 3rd FIDE Grand Swiss Tournament, Douglas 2023.
11. Na3 Qc7 12. Nd2. 12. Nc4 b6 13. Ne3 Na5! can give rise to wild and sharp flavours (which should be suitable to Black’s taste), Keymer – 丁立人 (Dīng Lìrén), 2nd Champions Chess Tour, 1st stage, Airthings Masters, Prelims Tournament, chess24.com, February 19, 2022 (time control: 15 minutes plus 10 seconds per move).
12. ... Bg4 13. f3 Be6 14. f4 a6 15. Nac4 b5 16. Ne3 c4 17. f5 Bd7 18. Nd5 Qd8 19. Kh1 Na5 20. axb5 axb5
21. b4 cxb3. Black does not fear to give up the Exchange as he gets enough for it.
22. Nxe7+ Qxe7 23. Ba3 Qd8 24. Bxf8 Qxf8 25. Rfb1 Bc6 26. h3 Qc5 27. Qd3 Qf2 28. Rb2 Kh7 29. Rab1 Qb6 30. Kh2 Rd8 31. Qe2 Rd6 32. Nxb3 Nc4 33. Ra2 Qe3? Strategically obvious, but contingently questionable. 33. ... Ne3 would be consistent, leaving Black with gratifying compensation.
34. Qxe3 Nxe3
22. Nxe7+ Qxe7 23. Ba3 Qd8 24. Bxf8 Qxf8 25. Rfb1 Bc6 26. h3 Qc5 27. Qd3 Qf2 28. Rb2 Kh7 29. Rab1 Qb6 30. Kh2 Rd8 31. Qe2 Rd6 32. Nxb3 Nc4 33. Ra2 Qe3? Strategically obvious, but contingently questionable. 33. ... Ne3 would be consistent, leaving Black with gratifying compensation.
34. Qxe3 Nxe3
35. Re2? 居文君 (Jū Wénjūn) misses here a unique opportunity to claim the upper hand: 35. Nc5! Nxg2 36. Re2! traps the Black Knight (which will be won by the White King) while defending the e-Pawn.
35. ... Rd3 36. Nc5 Rxc3 37. Rb3 Neg4+ 38. hxg4 Rxc5 39. Kh3 Rc4 40. Rbb2 Nxe4 41. Bxe4 Bxe4 42. Rxb5 f6 43. Rb3 Bc2. Recovering the Exchange and entering a (drawish) Rook ending with a Pawn up.
44. Rxc2 Rxc2 45. Rb8 Rf2 46. Re8 Rd2 47. Rf8 Ra2 48. Re8 Rf2 49. Rf8 Rd2 50. Re8 Rd7 51. Kg2 h5!
35. ... Rd3 36. Nc5 Rxc3 37. Rb3 Neg4+ 38. hxg4 Rxc5 39. Kh3 Rc4 40. Rbb2 Nxe4 41. Bxe4 Bxe4 42. Rxb5 f6 43. Rb3 Bc2. Recovering the Exchange and entering a (drawish) Rook ending with a Pawn up.
44. Rxc2 Rxc2 45. Rb8 Rf2 46. Re8 Rd2 47. Rf8 Ra2 48. Re8 Rf2 49. Rf8 Rd2 50. Re8 Rd7 51. Kg2 h5!
52. g5!? Apparently playable, but 52. Kh3 was much simpler.
52. ... Rd2+ 53. Kf3? This is in fact the losing move. Correct is 53. Kh3! fxg5 54. Rxe5 g6!? 55. g4! and White should draw without too much trouble.
53. ... Rd3+ 54. Kg2 fxg5 55. Rxe5 g4! The ending is now won by technique.
56. Re8 Rd6 57. Rc8 Rf6 58. Rc5 Rf8 59. Rd5 Ra8 60. Rc5 Ra2+ 61. Kg1 Ra3 62. Kg2 Rf3 63. Rd5 Kg8 64. Rd8+ Kf7 65. Rh8 Rxf5 66. Kg1 Ra5 67. Kg2 g6 68. Rh7+ Kf6 69. Kg1 Ra6 70. Kg2 Rd6 71. Kf2 Ke5 72. Kg2 Rd2+ 73. Kg1 Ke4 74. Ra7 g5 75. Ra5 Rd5 76. Ra4+ Ke3 77. Kg2 Rd2+ 78. Kg1 Re2 79. Ra3+ Ke4 80. Ra5 Kf3 0 : 1. What a disaster for 居文君 (Jū Wénjūn)!
52. ... Rd2+ 53. Kf3? This is in fact the losing move. Correct is 53. Kh3! fxg5 54. Rxe5 g6!? 55. g4! and White should draw without too much trouble.
53. ... Rd3+ 54. Kg2 fxg5 55. Rxe5 g4! The ending is now won by technique.
56. Re8 Rd6 57. Rc8 Rf6 58. Rc5 Rf8 59. Rd5 Ra8 60. Rc5 Ra2+ 61. Kg1 Ra3 62. Kg2 Rf3 63. Rd5 Kg8 64. Rd8+ Kf7 65. Rh8 Rxf5 66. Kg1 Ra5 67. Kg2 g6 68. Rh7+ Kf6 69. Kg1 Ra6 70. Kg2 Rd6 71. Kf2 Ke5 72. Kg2 Rd2+ 73. Kg1 Ke4 74. Ra7 g5 75. Ra5 Rd5 76. Ra4+ Ke3 77. Kg2 Rd2+ 78. Kg1 Re2 79. Ra3+ Ke4 80. Ra5 Kf3 0 : 1. What a disaster for 居文君 (Jū Wénjūn)!
居文君 (Jū Wénjūn) ended up being tricked by the illusion that “all Rook endgames are drawn” and lost control. Photo © Lennart Ootes. |
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