The Jack Rabbit Chess Report (June 15): Magnus magnificent in Foros

[Jack Rabbit]

Magnus leads in Foros by 2 points



Seventeen-year-old grandmaster Magnus Carlsen of Norway is dominating the field of the third annual Aerosvit International Tournament in Foros, Crimea (Ukraine) with 6 points after seven rounds. two points ahead of his nearest rival.

There are only four rounds remaining in the eleven-round event. Were Magnus to draw all of his remaining games, one of three players currently tied for second place -- Sergey Karjakin, Andrei Volokitin and Pavel Eljanov, all from Ukraine -- would have to win three and draw one to surpass him on the table. Only Eljanov has played his game against Magnus, losing to Norwegian lad in the fourth round.

Magnus will play Volokitin in round 10 and Karjakin in round 11. The tournament concludes Thursday.


Reigning Armenian Champion Asrian Dies


ChessBase.com

Karen Asrian, the reigning Armenian national champion, died suddenly Monday morning at the age of 28 in the Armenian capital, Yerevan.

The cause of death is a heart attack. Asian was stricken in his car while driving to the opening ceremononies of the Yerevan Giants rapid tournament.

The annual tournament was renamed the Keren Asrian Memorial Tournament in his honor.


Calendar

Sparkassen Chess Meeting, Dortmund June 28-July 6. Competitors are former world champion Vladimir Kramnik, Shakhriyar Mamedyarov, Vassily Ivanchuk, Peter Leko, Loek van Wely, Ian Nepomniachtchi, Arkadij Naiditsch and Jan Gustafsson.

World Open, Philadelphia June 30-July 6.

Biel Chess Festival 19 July-1 August. This year's GM tournament features Magnus Carlsen, Evgeny Alekseev, Lenier Domínguez, Etienne Bacrot, Alex Onischuk and Yannick Pelletier.

Politiken Cup, Copenhagen 19-27 July.

Canadian Open, Montreal 19-28 July.

Mainz Chess Festival 28 July-3 August

FIDE Women's Knock Out (World Women's Chess Championship), Nalchik, Kabardino-Balkaria (Russia) 28 August-18 September.

Anand-Kramnik World Championship Semifinal Match, Bonn October 14-November 2. Twelve rounds.

Chess Olympiad, Dresden 12-25 November.

[Jack Rabbit]

1. This week's games

Your humble hare acknowledges the assistance of Fritz 6.0 on analysis.

Diagrams on the Jack Rabbit Chess Report are made with Chess Mérida, a true type font that can be downlaoded free here.

BLACK
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WHITE
White to move
(This position is a theoretical draw)

[Jack Rabbit]

2. Altounian - Kamsky, National Open, Las Vegas, Round 1

Gata Kamsky
Photo: ajedrez.com.ar (Argentina)


Levon Altounian - Gata Kamsky
National Open, Round 4
Las Vegas, Nevada, 7 June 2008

German Exchange Game: Panov Opening (Caro-Kann Defense)

1.e4 c6 2.c4 d5 3.exd5 cxd5 4.d4 Nf6 5.Nc3 g6

• If 5...e6 6.Nf3 then:
• If 6...Bb4 7.cxd5 Nxd5 then:
• If 8.Bd2 Nc6 9.Bd3 0-0 10.0-0 Be7 then:
• If 11.a3 Bf6 12.Qc2 h6 13.Be3 then:
• 13...Nxc3 14.bxc3 e5 15.Rad1 exd4 16.cxd4 Bg4 17.Be4 Rc8 18.Qb1 Na5 19.h3 Bxf3 20.Bxf3 b6 21.d5 Qd6 22.Qf5 Nc4 23.Bc1 Bb2 24.Bxb2 Nxb2 25.Rc1 draw (Moiseenko-A. Volokitin, Russian ChT, Sochi, 2005).
• 13...Nce7 14.Ne4 b6 15.Rad1 Bb7 16.Qd2 Nf5 17.Bb1 Ba6 18.Rfe1 Rc8 19.Bf4 Nxf4 draw (Cobb-Wells, IT, Hereford, 2006).
• 11.Qe2 Nf6 12.Ne4 Qb6 13.a3 Bd7 14.Rfd1 Rad8 15.b4 a6 16.Rac1 Bc8 17.Nxf6+ Bxf6 18.Be3 Qc7 19.Be4 gives White the advantage in space (¥aron-Svetushkin, Op. La Roda, 2005).
• If 8.Qc2 Nc6 then:
• If 9.Be2 0-0 10.0-0 then:
• If 10...Be7 11.Rd1 Bf6 12.Ne4 then:
• 12...h6 13.Bc4 Bd7 14.Qe2 Rc8 15.b3 Rc7 16.Bb2 Be7 17.Rac1 Ncb4 18.a3 Nf4 19.Qd2 Nbd5 20.Ne5 Bg5 21.Nxg5 Qxg5 22.Bxd5 exd5 23.g3 Rxc1 24.Bxc1 Nh3+ 25.Kg2 Be6 draw (Oll-Adianto, Keres Mem, Tallinn, 1998).
• 12...Nce7 13.Nxf6+ Nxf6 14.Bg5 Ned5 15.Ne5 b6 16.Bf3 Bb7 17.Qa4 Qe8 18.Qa3 Qb5 19.Rac1 a5 20.Bxf6 gxf6 21.Ng4 Kg7 22.Bxd5 Qxd5 23.Qh3 h5 24.Ne3 Qg5 25.d5 Bxd5 26.Nxd5 exd5 27.Rc3 gives White better mobility (Christiansen-Sadykov, Ol, Bled, 2002).
• 10...Re8 11.Rd1 Bf8 12.Qe4 Bd7 13.Bd3 f5 14.Qe2 Bd6 15.Bc4 Nxc3 16.bxc3 Na5 17.Bd3 Bc6 18.Rb1 Qc7 19.c4 is equal (Adams-Asrian, FIDE Knock Out, Tripoli, 2004).
• 9.Bd3 Ba5 10.a3 Nxc3 11.bxc3 Nxd4 12.Nxd4 Qxd4 13.Bb5+ Bd7 14.0-0 Qd5 15.c4 Qf5 16.Bxd7+ Kxd7 17.Qb3 b6 18.Rd1+ Ke7 19.a4 Rhd8 20.Ba3+ Kf6 21.Bd6 g5 22.Qb2+ Kg6 23.Ra3 e5 24.Qe2 f6 25.h4 g4 26.Rg3 h5 27.f3 Qf4 28.Kh2 Rac8 29.fxg4 Rxc4 30.Bxe5 Qxe5 31.gxh5+ Black resigns (Napomniachtchi-Sulashvili, Euro Ch, Plovdiv, 2008).
• If 6...Be7 7.cxd5 Nxd5 8.Bd3 Nc6 9.0-0 0-0 then:
• If 10.Re1 then:
• If 10...Bf6 11.Be4 Nce7 12.Ne5 then:
• 12...Bd7 13.Qd3 g6 14.Bh6 Bg7 15.Bxg7 Kxg7 16.Bxd5 exd5 17.Re2 f6 18.Nxd7 Qxd7 19.Rae1 Nc6 20.h3 Rae8 21.Rxe8 Rxe8 22.Rxe8 Qxe8 23.Nxd5 Qe1+ 24.Qf1 Qxf1+ 25.Kxf1 Nxd4 draw (Lahno-Efimenko, IT, Montreal, 2004).
• 12...g6 13.Bh6 Bg7 14.Bxg7 Kxg7 15.Qf3 b6 16.Bxd5 Nxd5 17.Nxd5 Qxd5 18.Qxd5 exd5 19.Rac1 Be6 20.Rc7 Rfc8 21.Rec1 Rxc7 22.Rxc7 Rc8 draw (Frolyanov-Sakaev, Russian ChT, Sochi, 2006).
• If 10...Nf6 11.a3 b6 then:
• If 12.Bc2 Ba6 then:
• 13.Bg5 Rc8 14.Qd2 Nd5 15.h4 Nxc3 16.bxc3 Qc7 17.Qe3 Bc4 18.Nd2 Na5 19.Bf4 Bd6 20.Bxd6 Qxd6 21.h5 Bd5 22.h6 g6 23.Be4 Nc4 is equal (Sulskis-Wu Shaobin, Ol, Calvia, 2004).
• 13.b4 Bc4 14.b5 Na5 15.Ne5 Rc8 16.Re3 a6 17.Rh3 g6 18.bxa6 Bxa6 19.Bh6 Re8 20.Ba4 b5 21.Nxb5 Qb6 22.Rb1 Red8 23.Bg5 Nc4 24.Qf3 Bxb5 25.Bxb5 Nxa3 26.Rf1 Nxb5 27.Bxf6 Nxd4 28.Qe3 Bxf6 29.Nxf7 White resigns (Oral-Zenklusen, Op, Bern, 1998).
• 12.Bg5 Bb7 13.Bc2 Rc8 14.Qd3 g6 15.Bh6 Re8 16.Rad1 Nd5 17.Ba4 a6 18.Nxd5 Qxd5 19.Bb3 Qh5 20.Qe3 Na5 21.Bf4 Bxf3 22.gxf3 Nxb3 23.Qxb3 Qf5 24.Bg3 Bf6 is equal (Maric-Ciuksyte, Ol, Calvia, 2004).
• If 10.a3 Bf6 11.Be4 Nce7 12.Qd3 then:
• 12...g6 13.Bh6 Bg7 14.Bxg7 Kxg7 15.Rfe1 b6 16.Bxd5 Nxd5 17.Nxd5 Qxd5 18.Re5 Qd6 19.d5 Bb7 20.Qc3 f6 21.Rxe6 Qxd5 22.Rae1 Rf7 23.Rxf6 Black resigns (Hübner-Portisch, IT, Frankfurt, 1998).
• 12...h6 13.Ne5 Nxc3 14.Qxc3 Nf5 15.Be3 Nd6 16.Bf3 gives White a substantial advantage in space (Karpov-Timman, IT, Moscow, 1981).

6.Qb3 Bg7 7.Nge2 0-0 8.cxd5 Na6

• If 8...Nbd7 then:
• If 9.g3 Nb6 10.Bg2 Bf5 11.Nf4 Qd7 then:
• 12.a4 Rac8 13.0-0 Rfd8 14.a5 Nc4 15.Rd1 is equal (Kobalia-Turov, Euro ChU18, Rimavska Sobota, 1996).
• 12.0-0 g5 13.Nfe2 h6 14.Rd1 Rfd8 15.d6 Qxd6 16.Bxb7 Rab8 17.Bg2 is equal (Potkin-Turov, Russian Cup Qual, Cyberspace, 2004).
• 9.Nf4 Nb6 10.Be2 a5 11.a4 Qd6 12.0-0 Rd8 13.Bf3 Qb4 14.Qd1 Bf5 15.g4 g5 is equal (Amonatov-Davila, Ol. Turino, 2006).

9.g3 Qb6

• 9...b5 10.a3 Nc7 11.Bg2 Bb7 12.Nf4 Rb8 13.0-0 a5 14.Re1 Re8 15.Bd2 Ba8 16.h4 b4 17.axb4 axb4 18.Nce2 Bxd5 19.Nxd5 Nfxd5 is equal (Meier-al-Sayed, Areoflot Op, Moscow, 2008).

10.Bg2

• 10.Qxb6 axb6 11.Bg2 Nb4 12.0-0 Rd8 13.d6 Rxd6 14.Bf4 Rd7 15.Rfd1 Nbd5 16.Be5 gives White a small advantage in space (Spassky-Petrosian, World Ch Rd 5, Moscow, 1966).

10...Rd8 11.0-0 Qxb3 12.axb3 Nb4 13.d6!?

• If 13.Ra5 a6 14.Bf4 then:
• If 14...b6?! 15.Bc7 Rd7 16.Bxb6 Rb8 17.Rc5 then:
• 17...Bb7 18.Bh3 Nfxd5 19.Bxd7 Nxb6 20.Bh3 leaves White up by an exchange (Sorsa-Dolgov, Op, Jyvaskyla (Finland), 2000).
• 17...Nd3 18.Rd1 Nxc5 19.dxc5 Rxb6 20.cxb6 leaves White with two extra pawns.
• 14...Nd3 15.Bc7 Rd7 16.Be5 b6 is equal

13...exd6 14.Bf4

• 14.Nb5 a6 15.Bf4 Bg4 16.f3 Bf5 17.Nxd6 Bd3 favors Black.

14...a6 15.Rfd1 Nc6

• 15...d5 16.Bc7 Re8 17.Nf4 Bg4 18.Rd2 Ne4 19.Bxe4 dxe4 is equal.

16.h3

• 16.d5 Ne5 17.Bxe5 dxe5 18.b4 Bf5 19.d6 e4 20.b5 Bf8 gives Black more activity.

16...h6 17.g4 Rb8 18.d5 Ne7

• If 18...Ne5 19.Be3 Rd7 20.f4 Nexg4 21.hxg4 Re7 22.g5 Rxe3 23.gxf6 Bxf6 24.Kf2 Re8 gives White a material advantage
• If 20.Bb6 g5 21.Nd4 Re7 22.Bd8 Rd7 23.Bxf6 Bxf6 24.Ne4 gives White the advantage in space and the initiative.

19.Ng3 b5 20.Nge4 Ne8 21.b4 g5 22.Be3 Bb7 23.f4 gxf4 24.Bxf4 Rbc8 25.g5

• If 25.Rd2 f5 then:
• 26.gxf5 26...Nxf5 27.Rf1 Bd4+ 28.Kh2 Rc4 is equal.
• 26.Nf2 Rc4 27.Re2 Ng6 28.Bxh6 Bxh6 29.Re6 Nf4 is favorable to Black owing to White's weak queenside pawns.

25...Ng6 26.Be3 h5

• After 26...hxg5 27.Bxg5 Rd7 28.Re1 Rdc7 29.Re2 Rc4 Black begins working on White's weakened queenside.

27.Bf3 Rc4!

• This move was inevitable.

28.Bxh5 Rxb4 29.Rab1?!

• The text is passive.
• Better is 29.Rd2 leaving the Rook at a1 in an active position: after 29...Ra8 30.Be2 Ne7 31.Bf3 White is slightly better.

29...Rd7 30.Ng3?!

• 30.Re1 Re7 31.Bf2 Nf4 32.Bg4 Bxd5 33.Nxd5 Nxd5 gives Black an extra pawn.

30...Re7

• Also good is 30...Bxc3 31.bxc3 Rxb1 32.Rxb1 Rc7 33.Bd4 Nf4 winning a pawn.

31.Bd2?

• This allows Black play in the center.
• White is slightly better after 31.Nf5 Re5 32.Rf1 Bf8 33.Bd2 Rc4 34.Rbe1.

31...Bc8!

• Black's Bishops are well positioned to dominate the board.

32.Re1 Bd4+ 33.Kh1

• 33.Kg2 Nh4+ 34.Kh2 Be5 35.Na2 Rd4 36.Bc3 Rxd5 37.Nb4 Rc5 leaves Black with an extra pawn.

33...Be5 34.Nce4

• If 34.Re4 Rxe4 then:
• If 35.Ngxe4 Bxh3 36.b4 Nh4 37.Rg1 Bd4 Black is a pawn to the good.
• 35.Ncxe4 Bxh3 36.b4 Nc7 37.Kh2 Bd7 Black is also a pawn up.

BLACK: Gata Kamsky
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WHITE: Levon Altounian
Position after 34.Nc3e4

34...Rd4!

• Black's attack is devastating. White has a Bishop and two pawns en prise.

35.Bc3 Rxd5 36.Nf6+

• White is down a pawn, but also down in space. He relieves his cramps with exchanges, but that only digs his hole deeper.
• No better is 36.Bxg6 fxg6 37.h4 Bg7 38.Nf6+ Bxf6 39.gxf6 Rxe1+ 40.Rxe1 Kf8.
• 36.Bxe5 Rdxe5 37.Bxg6 fxg6 38.Nf6+ Nxf6 39.Rxe5 Bb7+ 40.Kg1 Rxe5 41.gxf6 Re3 keeps Black a pawn up.

36...Nxf6 37.gxf6 Rc7

• Also good is 37...Re6 38.Bxg6 fxg6 39.Ne4 Bb7 40.Kg1 Rd3 41.Ra1 Bxc3 leaving Black a pawn up in a winning position.

38.Bxe5 Nxe5 39.Ne4

• 39.Kh2 Rd2+ 40.Re2 Rcc2 41.Rc1 Rxe2+ 42.Nxe2 Rxc1 43.Nxc1 leaves Black a pawn to the good in a minor piece ending.

39...Bb7 40.Kh2 Rc2+ 41.Kg3

• If 41.Re2 Rxe2+ 42.Bxe2 Rd4 then:
• If 43.Ng3 Kh7 44.Kg1 Rb4 45.Kf2 Rf4+ 46.Ke1 Rxf6 leaves Black two pawns to the good.
• After 45.h4 Kg6 46.Rd1 Rb3 47.Kf2 Nc4 48.Bxc4 bxc4 49.Ne2 Rf3+ Black is a pawn up.


• After 43.Nc3 b4 44.Rg1+ Kh7 45.Nb1 Rf4 46.Kg3 Rxf6 Black is two pawns up.

41...Rd3+ 42.Kf4 Bxe4

• 42...Rc4 43.b3 Rcd4 44.Rbd1 Rxd1 45.Rxd1 Rxe4+ leaves Black a piece to the good.

43.Kxe4

• White is crushed after 43.Rxe4 Rxh3 44.Rg1+ Kf8 45.Rxe5 dxe5+ 46.Kg5 Rxb2.

43...Rc4+ 44.Kf5 Rd5 45.Kg5

• White can avoid mate by 45.Re4 Ng6+ 46.Kg4 Rxe4+ 47.Kg3 Rxh5, bur that would be embarrassing.

45...Nf3+ 46.Kh6 Rxh5+ 0-1

• Black mates on the next move.
• Mr. Altounian resigns.

[Jack Rabbit]

3. Carlsen - Ivanchuk, IT, Foros, Round 1

Magnus Carlsen
Photo: ChessBase.com


Magnus Carlsen - Vassily Ivanchuk
Aerosvit International Tournament, Round 1
Foros, Crimea (Ukraine), 8 June 2008

West India Game: King's Indian Defense (Aronin Variation)

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.Nf3 O-O 6.Be2 e5 7.O-O Nc6

• If 7...Nbd7 8.Be3 c6 then:
• If 9.d5 c5 10.Ne1 Ne8 11.Nd3 f5 then:
• 12.f4 b6 13.Qd2 Qe7 14.Bf3 g5 15.fxg5 f4 16.Bf2 Qxg5 17.b4 is equal (Batchuluun-Li Shilong, Asian Ch, Cebu, 2007).
• 12.exf5 gxf5 13.f4 e4 14.Nf2 Bxc3 15.bxc3 Ndf6 16.h3 Kh8 17.Kh2 Rg8 18.g3 Qe7 19.Rg1 Qg7 20.Rg2 Qh6 gives Black an advantage in space (Tisdall-Sutkovsky, IT, Guasdal (Norway), 1995).
• 9.Qc2 Ng4 10.Bg5 f6 11.Bd2 f5 12.exf5 gxf5 13.dxe5 dxe5 14.Ng5 Ndf6 15.Rad1 Qe7 16.c5 Kh8 17.b4 Nh6 18.Bc4 f4 19.Rfe1 Bf5 20.Qc1 gives White a small advantage in space (Uhlmann-Knaak, IT, Halle, 1981).

8.d5

• If 8.Be3 Ng4 9.Bg5 f6 10.Bc1 then:
• If 10...f5 11.Bg5 then:
• If 11...Bf6 12.Bxf6 Nxf6 then:
• 13.exf5 Bxf5 14.d5 Ne7 15.Ng5 Qc8 16.Bd3 Bxd3 17.Qxd3 Qf5 18.Qd2 c6 19.f4 e4 20.dxc6 Nxc6 21.Qxd6leaves White up by a pawn (Movsesian-Kasimdzhanov, Dordrecht, 1999).
• 13.dxe5 dxe5 14.c5 Nxe4 15.Qxd8 Rxd8 16.Nxe4 fxe4 17.Ng5 Rd2 18.Rfe1 Rxb2 19.Bc4+ Kg7 20.Bd5 Bf5(Le Quang Liem-Sandipan, Asian ChT, Esfahan (Iran), 2005).
• 11...Qe8 12.dxe5 dxe5 13.Nd5 Qf7 14.Bd2 Nf6 15.Ng5 Qd7 16.exf5 gxf5 17.f4 e4 18.Bc3 h6 19.Nxf6+ Bxf6 20.Qxd7 Bxd7 21.Bxf6 Rxf6 22.Rad1 Rd8 23.Nh3 Be8 24.Rxd8 Nxd8 25.Rd1 Ne6 leaves Black better poised for a King-and-pawn ending.().
• 10...Kh8 11.d5 Ne7 12.Ne1 f5 13.Bxg4 fxg4 14.f3 gxf3 15.Nxf3 h6 16.Be3 Ng8 17.Qe1 Bg4 18.Qg3 Bxf3 19.Rxf3 Rxf3 20.Qxf3 gives White domination of the board (Reshevsky-Najdorf, Match, Buenos Aires, 1953).

8...Ne7 9.b4

• if 9.Ne1 Nd7 then:
• If 10.Nd3 f5 rojo 11.Bd2 Nf6 12.f3 f4 13.c5 g5 14.Rc1 then:
• If 14...Ng6 15.cxd6 cxd6 16.Nb5 Rf7 17.Qc2 then:
• 17...Ne8 18.Nf2 h5 19.a4 Bf8 20.h3 Rg7 21.Qb3 Nh4 22.Rc2 g4 23.fxg4 Nf6 24.Be1 hxg4 25.hxg4 gives White an extra pawn and an advantage in space (Ivanchuk-Cheparinov, IT, Sofia, 2008).
• 17...g4 18.Nc7 gxf3 19.gxf3 Bh3 20.Ne6 Qb6+ 21.Rf2 Bh6 22.Qa4 Nf8 23.Nxf8 Raxf8 24.Qb4 Rg7+ 25.Kh1 Qxf2 26.Nxf2 Bg2+ 27.Kg1 Bh3+ 28.Kh1 Bg2+ 29.Kg1 draw (Sosonko-Keene, Barcelona, 1975).
• 14...h5 15.Nb5 Ne8 16.Qc2 Bd7 17.Qb3 Kh8 18.Nf2 Ng8 19.Rc2 Nh6 20.cxd6 cxd6 21.h3 a6 22.Nc7 Nxc7 23.Ba5 leaves White better (W. Schmidt-Mukhin, Decin, 1974).
• If 10.Be3 f5 11.f3 f4 12.Bf2 g5 13.a4 then:
• 13...Ng6 14.a5 h5 15.Nb5 Nf6 16.Nxa7 Bd7 17.c5 g4 18.c6 g3 19.hxg3 fxg3 20.Bxg3 Rxa7 21.cxd7 h4 22.Bf2 Ra8 23.Nc2 Bh6 24.Ne3 and White won (Korchnoi-Xie Jun, Prague, 1995).
• If 13...a5 14.Nd3 b6 then:
• 15.Be1 Nf6 16.Nf2 h5 17.h3 Kh8 18.Nb5 Neg8 19.b4 Nh6 20.bxa5 Rg8 21.axb6 cxb6 22.a5 gives White an extra pawn (Stull-Schrancz, Cyberspace, 2001).
• 15.b4 axb4 16.Nxb4 Nf6 17.Nd3 h5 18.Nb5 g4 19.Bh4 Qd7 20.fxg4 Nxe4 21.Bf3 gives White a robust advantage in space (Noomen-Hotting, Cyberspace, 2004).

9...Nh5

• If 9...a5 10.Ba3 axb4 11.Bxb4 then:
• If 11...Nd7 12.a4 Bh6 13.a5 f5 14.Nd2 then:
• 14...Nf6 15.c5 Bxd2 16.Qxd2 fxe4 17.cxd6 cxd6 18.Nb5 Nf5 19.Rac1 Rf7 20.g4 Nd4 21.Nxd4 exd4 22.Qxd4 Bxg4 23.Bxg4 Nxg4 24.Qxe4 Nxf2 25.Qe3 Qg5+ 26.Qxg5 Nh3+ is equal (Kobalia-Ulko, Areoflot Op, Moscow, 2002).
• 14...Kh8 15.Bd3 Ng8 16.Qc2 Rf7 17.Na4 fxe4 18.Nxe4 Ndf6 19.Nac3 Bf5 20.Ng3 Bxd3 21.Qxd3 Qf8 22.Rab1 Qc8 23.Rb3 Qg4 24.f3 Qd4+ 25.Qxd4 exd4 26.Nd1 Bg7 27.Bd2 gives White more activity (Pelletier-Renet, Euro ChT, Pula, 1997).
• 11...b6 12.a4 Re8 13.Re1 Bf8 14.h3 Bb7 15.Bf1 c5 16.Ba3 Bg7 17.Rb1 Bc8 18.Bc1 Bd7 19.Nb5 Nc8 20.g3 Rf8 21.Bg5 Kh8 22.Kh2 Ne7 23.Bd3 Ne8 24.Bc2 f6 25.Bd2 f5 is equal; White has more space, but can make little progress against Black's solid defense (van Wely-Ye Jiangchuan, FIDE Knock Out, Moscow, 2001).

10.Re1 f5 11.Ng5 Nf6 12.f3

• If 12.Bf3 c6 13.Be3 then:
• If 13...cxd5 14.cxd5 h6 15.Ne6 Bxe6 16.dxe6 fxe4 17.Nxe4 Nxe4 18.Bxe4 d5 19.Bc2 b6 20.Qg4 then:
• 20...Rf6 21.Rad1 Qd6 22.Bb3 Rd8 23.b5 Qxe6 24.Qxe6+ Rxe6 is unclear: Black has an extra pawn and White a little more space (Mikhalevski-Klinova, Op, Gibraltar, 2008).
• 20...e4 21.Rad1 Qc7 22.Bb3 Rf5 23.Re2 h5 24.Qh4 Bf6 25.Qg3 Be5 26.Qh4 Bf6 27.Qg3 Be5 28.Qh4 Bf6 draw (Xu Jun-Ponomariov, FIDE Knock Out, Shenyang, 2000).
• 13...Kh8 14.Qb3 h6 15.Ne6 Bxe6 16.dxe6 fxe4 17.Nxe4 Nxe4 18.Bxe4 Qc8 19.b5 Qxe6 20.Red1 a6 21.bxc6 bxc6 22.Rd2 Rfb8 23.Qd3 d5 24.cxd5 cxd5 25.Bxd5 Nxd5 26.Qxd5 Qxd5 27.Rxd5 Rb2 28.Ra5 Rb5 29.Ra4 a5 30.g3 Rb4 draw (Schandorff-Blehm, Ol, Istanbul, 2000).

12...Kh8

• Judging by statistics, this appears to be Black best. Two other more frequently played moves are less promising.
• 12...Nh5 13.c5 Nf4 14.Bc4 Kh8 15.Rb1 fxe4 16.Ngxe4 Nf5 17.Rb2 Nd4 18.Kh1 g5 19.Be3 Bf5 20.g3 Nh3 21.Bf1 h6 22.cxd6 cxd6 23.Nb5 Nxb5 24.Bxb5 leaves White slightly better (Gustafsson-Nedev, Euro Ch, Plodiv, 2008).
• If 12...c6 13.Be3 Bh6 14.h4 cxd5 15.cxd5 Bd7 16.Qd2 f4 17.Bf2 Bxg5 18.hxg5 Nh5 19.Rec1 a6 20.b5 Nc8 21.bxa6 bxa6 22.Rab1 Qxg5 23.Rb7 Rf7 24.Bf1 Qd8 is unclear: Black has an extra pawn and White a little more space (van Wely-Nijboer, Dutch Ch, Leeuwarden, 2001).

13.b5!?

• If 13.Ne6 Bxe6 14.dxe6 Nh5 15.g3 Bf6 then:
• 16.exf5 Nxf5 17.g4 e4 18.Nxe4 Bxa1 19.Bg5 Bd4+ 20.Kh1 Qe8 21.e7 Nxe7 22.Qxd4+ Ng7 23.b5 is unclear as White's extra space makes up for his material deficit (Cheparinov-Radjabov, IT, Sofia, 2008)/
• 16.c5 f4 17.Kg2 Nc6 18.cxd6 cxd6 19.Nd5 Nd4 20.Bb2 Nxe6 21.g4 Nhg7 22.Nxf6 Rxf6 23.Qd5 Qe7 24.Red1 Rd8 gives Black a solid position to meet White's space advantage (Shirov-Radjabov, Corus A, Wijk aan Zee, 2007).
• If 13.Be3 then:
• 13...Ne8 14.Rc1 c6 15.c5 Ng8 16.exf5 gxf5 17.f4 Ne7 18.cxd6 Nxd6 19.dxc6 Nxc6 20.Bc5 exf4 21.Bxd6 Qxg5 22.Bxf8 Bxf8 23.Bf3 Black resigns in the face of material loss (Kramnik-Ivanchuk, Amber Blind, Monte Carlo, 2000).
• 13...Bh6 14.Nf7+ Rxf7 15.Bxh6 f4 16.c5 Neg8 17.Bg5 h6 18.Bh4 Rg7 19.Bf2 g5 20.g4 fxg3 21.hxg3 Nh5 22.Kh2 g4 23.Rh1 Qg5 24.fxg4 Nhf6 25.Qc1 Nxg4+ 26.Kg2 Qg6 is equal (Pogorelov-Nataf, Op, Reykjavik, 2004).

13...Ne8

• 13...h6 14.Ne6 Bxe6 15.dxe6 fxe4 16.fxe4 is equal.

14.Be3

• After 14.exf5 Nxf5 15.Bd3 Nd4 16.Nge4 Nf6 17.Bg5 White has more space, but Black's defense is solid.

14...Bf6 15.Ne6 Bxe6 16.dxe6 Ng7?!

• 16...f4 17.Bf2 Ng7 18.Nd5 Nxe6 19.Bd3 Nc5 20.Bc2 gives Black an extra pawn.

BLACK: Vassily Ivanchuk
!""""""""#
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WHITE: Magnus Carlsen
Position after 16...Ne8g7

17.Bh6!

• White sacrifices a pawn for the exchange.

17...Nxe6 18.Bxf8 Qxf8 19.c5?!

• White sacrifices a second pawn in an attempt to gain command of the a2/g8 diagonal. He would have done better to preserve the advantage he had and build on it.
• If 19.Nd5 Bg5 20.a4 then:
• If 20...Nxd5 21.Qxd5 Be3+ 22.Kh1 Nc5 23.exf5 Qxf5 24.Bd3 is slightly adventageous to White.
• If 20...Re8 then:
• 21.a5 c6 22.Nxe7 Qxe7 23.exf5 gxf5 24.a6 gives White more activity.
• 21.Nxe7?! Be3+ 22.Kh1 Rxe7 23.a5 Bd4 24.Rc1 is less clear as Black has a small advantage in space to compensate for White's theoretical advantage in material.

19...Nxc5 20.Bc4 Bg5

• 20...Bh4 21.Re2 Qh6 is worth consideration.

21.Qe2 Qh6

• Black has equalized.

22.Rad1 Rf8 23.a4!?

• This move appears inconsistant with White's previous. A minority attack is usually conducted with with a Rook behind the advancing pawns.

23...b6 24.g3

• The natural 24.Bd5 allows Black counterplay on the kingside: 24...Bf4 25.g3 Bg5 26.Kg2 Qh5 remains equal.

24...Qh3 25.Qg2 Qh6 26.Qe2 Qh3

• Black invites a draw by repetition.

27.Kh1 Nd7

• 27...f4 28.g4 Bf6 29.Rc1 Kg7 30.Red1 Rh8 31.Nd5 is equal.

28.Ra1 Qh6 29.Ra2 Nf6

• If 29...Nc5 30.Bd5 then:
• 30...f4 31.g4 a5 32.bxa6 c6 33.Bc4 Ra8 remains equal.
• 30...Nxd5 31.Nxd5 fxe4 32.fxe4 Rf7 remains equal.

30.Kg2 Nh5!?

• Black's plan is to work the kingside, but White is solid there.
• 30...fxe4 31.fxe4 Nd7 32.Rf1 Be3 33.Rxf8+ Nxf8 34.Nd5 allows White to dominate the center.

31.Nd5 Nxd5 32.Bxd5 Bf4?

• After this, there's no saving Black's game.
• 32...f4 33.g4 Nf6 34.Qc2 Qh4 35.Raa1 Nxd5 36.exd5 remains equal.

BLACK: Vassily Ivanchuk
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WHITE: Magnus Carlsen
Position after 32...Bg5f4

33.Qf2!

• White eliminates the possible Knight fork and threatens to take the Bishop.
• 33.exf5?! Qg5 34.Qc4 Bxg3 35.hxg3 Qxg3+ 36.Kf1 Nf4 is level.

33...fxe4

• If 33...Qg5 34.exf5 gxf5 then:
• If 35.Bb3 Qg7 36.a5 Bh6 37.Qc2 exploits Black's pawn weaknesses.
• 35.a5? Bxg3 36.hxg3 Nf4+ 37.Kf1 Nxd5 is not what White has in mind at all.

34.Bxe4 Qg5 35.Rc2 d5

• If 35...Rf7 36.Bc6 h6 then:
• White is clearly better after 37.Re4 Kh7 38.Qe1 Nf6 39.Ree2.
• 37.Kf1? Bxg3 38.hxg3 Nxg3+ is equal.

36.Bxd5

• White's task is now simple.

36...Bxg3 37.hxg3 Nf4+ 38.Kf1 Nxd5 39.Rce2 Qf6

• If 39...Re8 then 40.f4 Qh5 41.Kg2 Kg7 42.Rxe5 puts out the lights.

40.Rxe5 Qxf3 41.Qxf3 Rxf3+ 42.Ke2 Rf5 43.Rxf5

• Also good is 43.Kd3 c5 44.bxc6 Nb4+ 45.Kc3 Nxc6 46.Rxf5 gxf5 47.Re6.

43...gxf5 44.Kd3 c5 45.Re5 Nb4+ 46.Kd2 1-0

• A Black pawn must fall.
• Vassily Mikhailovich resigns.

[Jack Rabbit]

4. Karjakin - Jakovenko, IT, Foros, Round 4

Sergey Karjakin
Image: ChessBase.com


Sergey Karjakin - Dmitry Jakovenko
Aerosvit International Tournament, Round 4
Foros, Crimea (Ukraine), 11 June 2008

Epine Dorsal: Horseman Defense (Petroff Defense)

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6

• This defense (also called the Russian Defense) has a reputation as a safe, symmetrical game played by those looking for a draw. Nevertheless, in addition to solid, positional players like Vladimir Kramnik and Mickey Adams, it has attracted romantic adherants such as Frank Marshall and Alexei Shirov.

3.Nxe5 d6 4.Nf3 Nxe4 5.Nc3

• More common are lines stemming from 5.d4 d5 6.Bd3 Bd6 7.Nbd2.
• If 5.Qe2 Qe7 6.d3 Nf6 7.Bg5 then:
• 7...Qxe2+ 8.Bxe2 Be7 9.Nc3 c6 10.0-0-0 Na6 11.Rhe1 Nc7 12.Ne4 Nxe4 13.dxe4 Bxg5+ 14.Nxg5 Ke7 is drawish.
• If 7...Be6 8.Nc3 Nbd7 then:
• 9.0-0-0 h6 10.Bh4 g5 11.Bg3 Nh5 12.d4 Nxg3 13.hxg3 g4 14.Nh4 d5 15.Qb5 0-0-0 16.Qa5 gives White an edge in space (Dr. Lasker-Marshall, IT, St. Petersburg, 1914).
• If 9.d4 h6 10.Bh4 g5 11.Bg3 0-0-0 12.0-0-0 Nb6 13.Qb5 a6 14.Qa5 Bc4 15.Nd2 Bxf1 16.Rhxf1 Qd7 17.Rfe1 Nh5 18.Nd5 then:
• 18...f5?! 19.Qxb6 cxb6 20.Nxb6+ Kc7 21.Nxd7 Kxd7 22.f3 gives White an extra pawn and more flexibility (von Holzhausen-Richter, IT, Berlin, 1928).
• 18...Nxd5 19.Qxd5 Nxg3 20.hxg3 c6 21.Qa5 d5 is equal.
• If 5.c4 Be7 6.d4 0-0 7.Bd3 then:
• 7...Ng5 8.Nxg5 Bxg5 9.Qh5 Re8+ 10.Kd1 h6 11.Bxg5 Qxg5 12.Qxg5 hxg5 13.Nc3 Bd7 14.h4 g4 15.Nd5 Na6 16.Kd2 c6 17.Ne3 c5 18.d5 Re5 is equal (Kupreichik-J. Howell, Op, Bad Woerishofen, 1995).
• If 7...d5 8.0-0 Nf6 9.Nc3 Nc6 10.h3 Nb4 11.Be2 dxc4 12.Bxc4 c6 13.Re1 Nbd5 14.Bg5 Be6 15.Qb3 Rb8 16.Bh4 h6 17.Bg3 Bd6 18.Be5 Nc7 19.Bxe6 Nxe6 20.Rad1 Nf4 21.Bxf4 Bxf4 22.Ne5 Qc7 23.Qc2 Rbd8 24.Qf5 Bxe5 25.dxe5 Nd5 26.Nxd5 Rxd5 27.Rxd5 cxd5 28.e6 Rd8 29.e7 Re8 30.Qxd5 draw (Kramnik-Dautov, Simx, Brissago, 2004).

5...Nxc3 6.dxc3 Be7 7.Bf4

• If 7.Be3 Nc6 8.Qd2 then:
• If 8...0-0 9.0-0-0 Ne5 then:
• If 10.h4 Bg4 11.Be2 Qc8 then:
• If 12.h5 Re8 13.Kb1 then:
• 13...h6 14.Rde1 a6 15.Nxe5 dxe5 16.f3 Be6 17.Bd3 Bf5 18.g4 Bxd3 19.Qxd3 Qe6 20.Bc1 Bf6 21.Re4 Rad8 22.Qe2 Qd7 is equal (Jakovenko-Wang Hao, Team M, Nizhniy Novgorod, 2007).
• 13...a6 14.Rde1 Bf8 15.Rh4 Be7 16.Rhh1 Bf8 17.Rh4 draw (Inarkiev-Motylev, Russian Ch HL, 2005).
• 12.b3 Re8 13.Kb1 Bf8 14.h5 a6 15.Rde1 b5 16.Bf4 Nd7 is equal (Topalov-Kramnik, IT, Sofia, 2005).
• 10.Kb1 Be6 11.Nd4 Nc4 12.Qd3 Nxe3 13.Nxe6 fxe6 14.Qxe3 e5 15.Bd3 c6 16.h4 Qe8 17.h5 Rf6 18.Qe4 Rh6 19.f4 Bf6 20.g4 exf4 21.Qxf4 Qe5 22.Qb4 b5 23.Rhe1 Qc5 24.Qe4 Rf8 25.Qe6+ Kh8 26.Qf7 d5 27.Re8 Black resigns (Arakhamia-Levushkina, Euro Ch, Dresden, 2007).
• 8...Be6 9.0-0-0 Qd7 10.Kb1 a6 11.h3 h6 12.g4 0-0-0 13.Bg2 g5 14.Nd4 Nxd4 15.Qxd4 c5 16.Qd2 Bf6 17.f4 gxf4 18.Bxf4 Qa4 19.b3 Qa5 20.c4 Qxd2 21.Rxd2 Bg5 22.Rf1 Bxf4 23.Rxf4 gives White a comfortable advantage in space (Bologan-Belov, Russian ChT, Sochi, 2007).

7...0-0 8.Qd2 Nd7 9.0-0-0 Nc5 10.Be3

• 10.Nd4 Re8 11.f3 Ne6 12.Be3 Bg5 13.Bxg5 Qxg5 14.Qxg5 Nxg5 15.Bc4 Ne6 16.Rhe1 Kf8 17.Nxe6+ Bxe6 18.Bxe6 Rxe6 19.Rxe6 fxe6 20.Kd2 Ke7 21.Ke3 Rf8 22.Rd4 Rf5 23.h4 a5 24.a4 Rh5 25.g3 Re5+ 26.Re4 Rd5 27.Rd4 Re5+ 28.Re4 Rd5 draw (Pentala-Mamedyarov, YM, Lausanne, 2005).

10...Re8 11.Bc4 Be6 12.Bxe6 Nxe6 13.h4 Qd7 14.Qd3 Qc6 15.Qf5 Qc4

• 15...Nf8 16.h5 Qd7 17.Qd5 Qe6 18.c4 Qxd5 19.cxd5 Nd7 20.Nd4 Nf6 21.Nf5 Bf8 22.Bd4 Nxd5 23.Bxg7 Ne7 24.Nxe7+ Rxe7 draw (Svidler-Gelfand, World Ch Trmt, Mexico City, 2007).

16.Kb1 g6 17.Qh3

• 17.Qd3 Qxd3 18.cxd3 d5 19.Rde1 Bd6 is equal.

17...h5 18.Nd2

• If 18.Nd4 Ng7 19.Bg5 Bf8 20.Qd7 a6 21.Rhe1 d5 then:
• 22.Rxe8 Rxe8 23.Bf6 Re4 24.Nf3 is equal.
• White is clearly better after 22.f3 Rxe1 23.Rxe1 Bd6 24.g4 Bg3 25.Re7.

18...Qe2

• If 18...Qg4 19.Qxg4 hxg4 20.h5 gxh5 21.Rxh5 then:
• 21...Ng7 22.Rhh1 Bf6 23.Nf1 a6 24.Nh2 Re4 gives Black a small advantage.
• 21...Kg7 22.Rdh1 a6 23.f3 gxf3 24.gxf3 gives White more mobility.

19.Rde1 Qg4 20.Qh2 d5 21.f3 Qa4

• Black thinks the Queen may stir up some action here, but in fact nothing is happening.
• Better is 21...Qf5 22.Qg1 Qe5 23.g4 Qh8, although it gives White a tactical edge.

22.g4

• 22.Qe5 Qc6 23.c4 dxc4 24.Ne4 Rad8 25.g4 Rd5 26.Qg3 a6 is equal.

22...Bd6 23.Qg1!?

• If 23.Qf2 then:
• 23...hxg4 24.fxg4 Qxg4 25.Reg1 Qh5 26.Nf3 gives Black an extra pawn for the moment (Anand-Kramnik, Corus A, Wijk aan Zee, 2008).
• 23...Ng7 24.c4 dxc4 25.Bd4 Qc6 26.Bc3 Bc5 27.Qg3 Bd6 28.Qf2 Bc5 29.Qg3 Bd6 draw (Svidler-Kramnik, World Ch Trmt, Mexico City, 2007).

23...Ng7 24.Nb3

• The game is equal.
• 24.c4 dxc4 25.Ne4 Be5 26.Bd4 is also equal.

24...Qd7!?

• 24...c6 25.gxh5 Nxh5 26.Nc5 Qb5 27.Nd3 Qc4 28.Qg5 remains equal.

25.Rd1 hxg4

• Inferior is 25...Qe6 26.Bd4?! Bf8 27.Bxg7 Bxg7 28.gxh5 gxh5 29.Qg3 when White has threeats on both wings.

26.fxg4 Re4 27.Rd4!

• If 27.Rxd5?! Qxg4 28.Qc1 Nf5 29.Bf2 then:
• If 29...c6 30.Rd3 then:
• 30...Bf4 31.Qf1 Ng3 32.Bxg3 Bxg3 gives Black the initiative.
• 30...Rae8 31.Nd2 Re2 32.Bxa7 gives Black enough extra space to more than compensate for the pawn..
• 29...Bf4 30.Qf1 Be3 31.Nd4 Nxd4 32.Bxe3 Nxc2 gives Black an extra pawn.

27...Rae8 28.Bc1

• Whate's position is safe thank to some fine defensive maneuvering.

28...Be5?!

• This leaves the d-pawn en prise.
• If 28...Re1 29.Qxe1 Rxe1 30.Rxe1 then:
• 30...Bg3 31.Red1 c6 32.c4 Bf2 33.Re4 Bxh4 is equal.
• 30...c6 31.g5 Nf5 is equal.
• 28...c6 is a risk worth taking for Black::
• If 29.Qd1 f5 30.h5 fxg4 31.hxg6 then:
• 31...Qf5 32.c4 (
• If 32.Rxe4?! Rxe4 33.Qg1 g3 34.Qg2 Nh5 then:
• 35.Bd2 Qxg6 gives Black an extra pawn.
dxc4 33.Rxe4 Qxe4 34.Na5 Qf3 35.Nxb7 Qxd1 36.Rxd1 is equal.
• 35.Nd2? Rg4 36.Nf3 Qxg6 37.Be3 Nf4 38.Bxf4 Rxf4 gives Black an extra pawn and more activity.
• 29.h5?! Re1 30.Qg2 R8e2 31.Qf3 gxh5 32.Rxe1 Rxe1 33.Qf2 Rh1 gives Black an extra pawn.

BLACK: Dmitry Jakovenko
!""""""""#
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WHITE: Sergey Karjakin
Position after 28...Bd6e5

29.Rxe4!

• White finds the right move. This forces the pawn to recapture on a square where it can expect little protection..
• 29.Rb4 Bd6 then:
• If 30.Rxe4 Rxe4 31.Qxa7 Qxg4 32.Qxb7 Qf3 33.Rg1 Rxh4 gives Black the advantage in space.
• 30.Nc5 Bxc5 31.Qxc5 b6 32.Qg1 Rxb4 33.cxb4 Re4! gives Black a small advantage.

29...dxe4 30.h5 gxh5?

• White has weaknesses on both wings and need to repair them immediately,
• Better is 30...a6 31.Nc5 Qc6 32.Be3 Ne6 33.Nxe6 Rxe6 34.Qf2 giving White only a slight advantage.

31.gxh5!

• 31.Qxa7? throws the game away: after 31...hxg4 32.Qxb7 f5 Black's kingside is moble.

31...Kh8 32.Qg5

• 32.Qxa7 is now playable: after 32...b6 33.Nd4 Bxd4 34.cxd4 Ne6 35.Be3 Qd5 36.Rf1 gives White an extra pawn.

32...f6 33.Qh6+ Kg8
BLACK: Dmitry Jakovenko
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WHITE: Sergey Karjakin
Position after 33...Kh8g8

34.Rg1!

• White goes for a direct kill.
• The text is better than 34.Qe3 f5 35.Qxa7 b6 36.Qa6 Kh7 37.Qc4 Ne6 38.Qf1 Rf8 when White still has some defensive resources.

34...Qf7 35.Nd4 f5

• 35...Bxd4 36.cxd4 gives White a queenside majority.

36.Bf4 Bxf4

• If 36...c5 37.Bxe5 cxd4 38.Qf4 Rxe5 39.Qxe5 wins the exchange for White.
• After 38...d3 39.Rxg7+ Qxg7 40.Bxg7 Kxg7 it's time to turn out the lights.

37.Qxf4 Kh7

• If 37...Kf8 38.h6 then:
• If 38...Nh5 39.Qh2 e3 40.Rg5 Nf6 41.Rxf5 then:
• After 41...Qg6 42.h7 Kg7 43.h8Q+ Rxh8 44.Qxc7+ White wins easily,
• 41...Kg8 42.Qh4 e2 43.Nxe2 then:
• After 43...Rxe2 44.Rxf6 Qxf6 45.h7+ Black must lose the Queen.
• 43...Re6 44.Nd4 Rd6 45.Rf1 Kh7 46.Qg5 gives White two extra pawns and an atack on the exposed King.
• 41...e2 42.Nxe2 Kg8 43.Qf2 Re6 44.Nd4 gives White two extra pawns


38.Rg6 Re7 39.Qh6+!


• This nails down the win.

39...Kg8 40.Qg5 Kh7
BLACK: Dmitry Jakovenko
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WHITE: Sergey Karjakin
Position after 40...Kg8h7

41.Nxf5!!


• White must win the Queen after this piece sacrifice.

41...Nxf5


• No better is 41...Rd7 42.Kc1 Nxf5 43.Rf6.

42.Rf6 1-0


• Seeing he's in a pickle, Grandmaster Jakovenko resigns.

[Jack Rabbit]

5. Volokitin - Karjakin, IT, Foros, Round 5

Andrei Volokitin
Photo: Website of the 2005 Bermuda Chess Festival


Andrei Volokitin - Sergey Karjakin
Aerosvit International Tournament, Round 5
Foros, Crimea (Ukraine), 12 June 2008

East India Game: Nimzo-Indeian Defense (Noa Variation)

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Qc2 d5 5.a3 Bxc3+ 6.Qxc3 Ne4

• 6...dxc4 7.Qxc4 b6 8.Nf3 0-0 9.Bg5 Ba6 10.Qc2 Nbd7 11.e4 Bxf1 12.Rxf1 h6 13.Bxf6 Nxf6 14.0-0-0 Rc8 is equal (Kramnik-Kasparov, Blitz, Moscow, 1998).

7.Qc2 c5 8.dxc5 Nc6 9.e3

• If 9.cxd5 exd5 10.Nf3 then:
• 10...Bf5 11.b4 0-0 12.Bb2 b6 13.b5 bxc5 14.bxc6 Qa5+ 15.Nd2 Rab8 16.Rd1 d4 17.c7 Qxc7 18.Nxe4 Bxe4 19.Qd2 Rfe8 20.h4 Rb6 21.Rh3 Qb7 is equal (Grigorian-Gulko, Zonal, Vilnius, 1975).
• 10...Qa5+ 11.Bd2 Qxc5 12.Qxc5 Nxc5 13.Be3 Nb3 14.Rd1 Be6 15.Rd3 Nba5 16.g3 0-0 17.Bg2 Rfd8 18.Nd4 Nxd4 19.Bxd4 Bf5 is equal (S. Ivanov-Balashov, Russian Ch, Elista, 1995).

9...Qa5+ 10.Bd2 Nxd2

• If 10...Qxc5 then:
• 11.b4 Qe7 12.Bc1 a5 13.b5 Ne5 14.Bb2 Ng4 15.Nh3 0-0 16.Be2 e5 17.cxd5 Ngf6 18.Bd3 Nd6 19.0-0 Bxh3 20.gxh3 Rac8 21.Qe2 e4 22.Bc2 Nxd5 23.Rad1 Nc3 24.Bxc3 Rxc3 25.a4 Nf5 26.Qg4 Nh4 is equal (Drozdovskij-Z. Almasi, Euro Ch, Dresden, 2007).
• 11.Nf3 Nxd2 12.Nxd2 dxc4 13.Bxc4 0-0 14.Rc1 Rd8 15.0-0 Qe7 draw (Schlosser-Prusikin, Euro ChT, Fügen, 2006).

11.Qxd2 dxc4 12.Qxa5

• 12.Bxc4 Qxc5 13.Rc1 Qg5 14.f4 Qh4+ 15.Qf2 Qxf2+ 16.Kxf2 Ke7 17.Nf3 Bd7 18.Rhd1 Rhd8 19.e4 Be8 20.Rxd8 Rxd8 21.Ke3 Rc8 22.Ba2 Bd7 23.Rc3 Nd8 24.Rxc8 Bxc8 25.e5 Bd7 26.g4 Bc6 27.Nd4 Bg2 28.h4 h6 29.g5 hxg5 30.fxg5 g6 31.Bc4 Nc6 32.Nxc6+ Bxc6 33.Be2 b6 34.Kd4 Bd5 draw (Daschian-Landa, Geller Mem, Moscow, 1999).

12...Nxa5 13.Rc1

• 13.Nf3 Nb3 14.Rd1 c3 15.Bb5+ Ke7 16.Nd4 Nxd4 17.Rxd4 cxb2 18.Rb4 Rd8 19.Rxb2 Bd7 is equal (Gómez-Del Río, Spanish Ch, León, 2006).

13...b5 14.cxb6 Bb7 15.bxa7

• If 15.Nf3 Ke7 16.bxa7 Bxf3 17.gxf3 Rxa7 18.Rg1 Rb8 then:
• 19.Rc2 Rab7 20.Bxc4 Rxb2 21.Rxb2 Rxb2 22.Bd3 Rb3 23.Ke2 Rb2+ 24.Ke1 Rb3 25.Bc2 Rc3 26.Kd1 g6 27.a4 Nc4 28.f4 Na3 29.Be4 Rc4 30.Bd3 Rxa4 31.Ke2 Nc4 32.Bxc4 Rxc4 33.Kf3 h6 34.Ra1 g5 35.fxg5 hxg5 36.h3 Kf6 37.Ra5 Rb4 draw (Mchedlishvili-Petrik, Euro Ch, Dresden, 2007).
• 19.Rxg7 Rxb2 20.Bxc4 Rc7 21.Rxf7+ Kxf7 22.Bxe6+ Kxe6 23.Rxc7 h5 24.Kf1 Nb3 25.Kg2 Nd2 26.h4 Rb5 27.Rc6+ Kf7 28.Rc2 Nb1 29.a4 Ra5 30.Rc4 Nd2 31.Rb4 Ra6 32.Rb5 Kg6 33.Rd5 Nb3 34.Rb5 Nd2 35.Rd5 Nb3 36.Rb5 is drawn by repetition (Baburin-Emms, Politiken Cup, Copenhagen, 1996).

15...Ke7 16.Ne2 Rxa7 17.Nc3 Bc6 18.Na2 Rd7!?

• If 18...Ba4 then:
• 19.Nb4 Rd8 20.Be2 Rad7 21.0-0 Bb3 is unclear: White has an extra pawn and Black has more space (A. Volokitin-S. Zhigalko, Areoflot Op, Moscow, 2008).
• 19.h4 Rd8 20.Nc3 Bc6 21.Rb1 Rb7 22.h5 Rdb8 23.Nd1 maintains White's material advantage.

19.Nb4

• If 19.Rd1 Rxd1+ 20.Kxd1 Rd8+ 21.Kc2 then:
• After 21...Kd6 22.Nb4 Bb7 23.Be2 Kc5 24.f3 White is still a pawn to the good.
• After 21...Bb7 22.f3 Kd6 23.Kc3 Kc5 24.Be2 White remains a pawn up.

19...Ba4 20.Be2

• 20.Bxc4 is a beginner's mistake: 20...Nxc4 21.Rxc4 Rd1+ wins for Black.

20...Bb3 21.Bf3 f5
BLACK: Sergey Karjakin
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WHITE: Andrei Volokitin
Position after 21...f7f5

22.e4!?

• If 22.Nc2 then 22...Rb8 23.Rf1 Rd6 24.Nb4 Rbd8 equalizes.

22...f4?!

• If 22...Rhd8!? 23.g4 f4 24.Bg2 Bd1 25.Nd5+ exd5 26.Rxd1 dxe4 27.Rxd7+ Rxd7 28.Bxe4 White retains his extra pawn but Black has the more active Rook.
• 23...fxg4 24.Bxg4 Kf7 25.Rg1 Rd2 muddles the picture as Black takes the advantage in space and White still has an extra pawn.

23.g3

• After 23.Rg1 Rhd8 24.g3 fxg3 25.hxg3 Kf6 26.Rh1 White retains his extra pawn and has fewer pawn weaknesses.

23...Rf8 24.gxf4 Rxf4 25.Ke2 Kd6

• If 25...g5 26.Rhg1 h6 then:
• 27.Bg2 Kf6 28.Rc3 Rh4 29.h3 gives White much better mobility.
• 27.Ke3?! Rh4 28.Rg2 Kf6 29.Bg4 c3 is unclear: White has an extra pawn and Black more space.

26.h4

• If 26.Rc3 Nc6 27.Nxc6 Kxc6 28.e5+ then:
• If 28...Kb5!? creates complications: after 29.Rhc1 Rdf7 30.h3 g5 31.Re3 neither side is particularly moble.
• After 28...Kb6 White holds on to his material advantage by 29.Rg1 g5 30.h3 h6 31.Bg4.

26...Rdf7 27.Rh3 g6 28.Ke3 Nb7?

• If 28...Rf8!? then:
• If 29.Rg1? c3!! then:
• If 30.Nd3 Nc4+ 31.Ke2 cxb2 then:
• 32.e5+ Nxe5 33.Nxf4 Rxf4 34.Bb7 Bc2 makes the queening at b1 decisive.
• 32.Nxf4 Rxf4 33.h5 Nxa3! leaves Black an exchange up with an overwhelming position.
• If 30.e5+ Ke7 31.Nd3 Nc4+ 32.Ke2 cxb2 33.Nxf4 Rxf4 then:
• 34.Bd5 exd5 35.Rxb3 Rxh4 leaves Black a pawn up.
• 34.Bc6 Bc2 35.Rc3 b1Q 36.Rxb1 Bxb1 37.Rb3 Be4 gives Black an extra piece.
• White's royal road to victory is 29.h5! gxh5 30.Be2 h4 31.Rch1 Nc6 32.Nxc6 Kxc6 33.R1h2.

BLACK: Sergey Karjakin
!""""""""#
$ + + + +%
$+m+ +t+o%
$ + Lo+o+%
$+ + + + %
$ No+pT P%
$Pv+ Kb+r%
$ P + P +%
$+ R + + %
/(((((((()
WHITE: Andrei Volokitin
Position after 28...Na5b7

29.Bd1!

• The text is stronger than 29.Be2 Rxf2 30.Bxc4 Bxc4 31.Rxc4 Rxb2 32.e5+.

29...Rxf2

• If 29...Bxd1 30.Rxd1+ Kc5 31.f3 Kb5 32.Na2 then:
• 32...Ka4 33.Nc3+ Kb3 34.Ne2 e5 35.Rd5 White is assured of remaining a pawn up.
• After 32...R4f6 33.Nc3+ Kc5 34.Ne2 Na5 35.f4 White's extra pawn is the difference/

30.e5+ Kd7 31.Bf3 Rxb2 32.Bxb7

• White is now a piece to the good.

32...Rf5 33.Bc6+ Kc7 34.Be4 Rxe5 35.Nd3 Rc2

• If 35...Rxe4+ then 36.Kxe4 Rc2 37.Rhh1 cxd3 38.Kxd3 Rxc1 39.Rxc1+ is lights out.

36.Nxe5 Rxc1 37.Rh1 Rc3+ 38.Kd4 Rg3 39.Rf1 c3 40.Rf7+ Kc8

• After 40...Kb6 41.Rb7+ Ka6 42.Kc5 Ba4 43.Rb8 Black cannot avoid mate on a8.

41.Kc5 c2 42.Kd6 Bd5 43.Bxd5 exd5 44.Nc6 1-0

• White does not need to stop the pawn from queening as 45.Rc7 is checkmate.
• Grandmaster Karjakin resigns.

[Jack Rabbit]

6. Bonus Game: Anand-Svidler, Mexico City, 2007

From the Tournament in Mexico City last Fall by winning which Vishy Anand become world champion.



Vishy Anand
Photo: ChessBase.com


Vishy Anand - Peter Svidler
World Championship Tournament, Round 4
Mexico City, 18 September 2007

Spanish Grand Royal Game: Marshall Gambit

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0-0 Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 0-0 8.c3

• There are several ways to avoid the Marshall:
• If 8.a4 Bb7 9.d3 d6 then:
• 10.Nbd2 Nd7 11.c3 Nc5 12.axb5 axb5 13.Rxa8 Bxa8 14.Bc2 is equal (Kasparov-Short, World Ch, London, 1993).
• 10.Nc3 Na5 11.Ba2 b4 12.Ne2 c5 13.Ng3 is equal.
• If 8.h3 Bb7 then:
• 9.d3 d6 10.a3 Na5 11.Ba2 c5 is equal.
• 9.c3 d6 10.d4 Re8 11.Nbd2 Bf8 transposes into the Zaitsev Defense.
• 8.d4 d6 9.c3 Bg4 transposes to the Yates Opening.

8...d5 9.exd5 Nxd5 10.Nxe5 Nxe5 11.Rxe5 c6

• After 11...Nf6 12.d4 Bd6 13.Re1 Ng4 14.h3 Qh4 15.Qf3 Nxf2 16.Re2 Bg4 17.hxg4 Bh2+ 18.Kf1 White will escape if he is careful (Capablanca-Marshall, match, New York, 1918).

12.Re1 Bd6 13.g3!?

• 13.d4 Qh4 14.g3 Qh3 15.Be3 Bg4 16.Qd3 Rae8 17.Nd2 Re6 18.a4 Qh5 19.axb5 axb5 20.Qf1 Bh3 21.Qe2 Bg4 22.Qf1 Bh3 23.Qe2 Bg4 draw agreed (J. Polgar-Nunn, Munich, 1991).

13...Bf5 14.d4 Qd7 15.Be3 Rae8

• As is typical of the Marshall Gambit, White has an extra pawn and Black has more than enough of an advantage in space to compensate for it.
Black is still better after
• 15...Rfe8 16.Nd2 Rad8 17.Qf3 Bg4 18.Qg2 Qf5 19.a4.

16.Nd2

• If 16.a4 b4 17.Qe2 Qb7 18.Bc4 a5 then:
• 19.Bxd5 cxd5 20.Nd2 bxc3 21.bxc3 Be6 22.Rac1 Bd7 23.Qd1 Black continues to have enough space to compensate for the pawn minus.
• After 19.Bd3 Qd7 20.c4 Nxe3 21.fxe3 c5 22.Bxf5 Qxf5 23.Qf2 Qd3 Black has more space and pressure on the e-pawn.

16...Bg4

• If 16...Nxe3 17.fxe3 c5 then:
• 18.e4 Bg4 19.Nf3 cxd4 20.cxd4 Bb4 21.Re3 Bxf3
• 18.a4 cxd4 19.exd4 Bg4 20.Qc2 Bf5 21.Ne4

17.Qc2

• The position is unclear as Black continues to have a spatial edge which is pitted agains White's extra pawn.
• After 17.Qb1! Bf5 18.Bc2 Bxc2 19.Qxc2 f5 20.c4 bxc4 21.Nxc4 White has eliminated Black's spatial plus and still has an extra pawn.

17...Bf5 18.Qc1 Re7 19.Nf3

• 19.a4 Rfe8 20.axb5 axb5 21.Bxd5 cxd5 22.Qd1 b4 23.c4 remains unclear.

19...Bg4 20.Nh4 Rfe8 21.Qd2 h6

• If 21...a5 22.Bc2 a4 23.Ng2 a3 24.bxa3 then:
• 24...Bxa3 25.Bg5 Rxe1+ 26.Rxe1 Rxe1+ 27.Qxe1 Bf5 28.Bb3 is unclear.
• 24...Bf5 25.a4 Bxc2 26.Qxc2 bxa4 27.c4 Nxe3 28.Rxe3 White retains his pawn while Black's advatage in space vanishes.

22.Qd3 g6 23.Bd1 Bh3

• 23...Bxd1 24.Raxd1 Nxe3 25.fxe3 Re4 26.Ng2 f5 27.Rf1 is unclear.

24.Bf3 g5 25.Ng2 Bf5 26.Qd1 Nf6?!

• This redeployment of the Knight is ill-advised, as will soon be demonstrated.
• After 26...Kg7 27.a4 g4 28.Be2 Re4 29.axb5 axb5 30.Bd2 Black continues to enjoy enough space to more than compensate for the pawn.

27.a4

• This move was coming in any event. White seeks to break up Black's dominace of the queenside.

27...Ne4?

• Black allows White to open the a-file, which White will use as a route into Black's camp.
• If 27...b4 28.a5 Nd5 29.Qe2 Qc8 30.Qd2 then:
• After 30...b3 31.h4 Nxe3 32.Rxe3 Rxe3 33.Nxe3 gxh4 34.Nxf5 Qxf5 35.Bxc6 remains unclear.
• 30...Bh3 31.c4 Nxe3 32.Nxe3 then:
• 32...c5 33.dxc5 Qxc5 34.Nd5 then:
• 34...Rxe1+ 35.Rxe1 Rxe1+ 36.Qxe1 Qxc4 37.Nf6+ White begins a direct attack on Black's King.
• 34...Re6 35.Nf6+ Rxf6 36.Rxe8+ Kg7 37.Qe2 Bd7 38.Re3 White emerges an exchange to the good and Black does not have enough extra space in compensation.
• 32...Qd7 33.Rad1 g4 34.Be2 b3 35.c5 Bc7 36.Bc4 White wins at least another pawn.

28.axb5!

• White seizes his moment.

28...axb5 29.Ra6 Qb7 30.Qa1 Bc8

• A more stubborn defense is 30...Qd7 31.b4 Kh7 32.Be2 Bg6 33.Qb2 Nf6 34.Qd2 Nd5 35.Rea1 but White will still penetrate on the a-file.

31.Ra8 Bb8 32.Bc1 Nf6

• Black weakens his hold on the e-file.
• Better is 32...b4 33.Ne3 Nf6 34.c4 when:
• 34...Re6 35.b3 g4 36.Bg2 White has a small edge in space to go with his extra pawn.
• 34...Ne4 35.b3 f5 36.Bh5 the Balck Rook is forced away from the e-file.

BLACK: Peter Svidler
!""""""""#
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/(((((((()
WHITE: Vishy Anand
Position after 32...Ne4f6

33.Rxe7!!

• White times the exhange of Rooks perfectly.

33...Rxe7 34.Qa3 Rd7

• After 34...Re6 35.Ne3 Qc7 36.h3 Bb7 37.Ra5 White has a small edge in space and an extra pawn.

35.Ra5 Ba7

• If 35...g4 36.Bd1 Bd6 37.b4 then:
• 37...Kg7 38.Bd2 Rd8 39.f3 Bc7 40.Ra7Black's queenside is completely tied up.
• 37...h5 38.Bc2 Nd5 39.Bg5 Bf8 40.Qa1 White has an impressive edge in space and an extra pawn.

36.Ne3 Qc7

• 36...b4 37.cxb4 Bb6 38.Nf5 Bxa5 39.bxa5 Qb5 40.Ne7+ wins the Bishop.

37.Nf5 c5

• After 37...Nh7 38.Nxh6+ Kg7 39.Nf5+ Kf6 40.Ne3 Bb6 41.Ra8 White has a second extra pawn.

38.Nxh6+ Kh7 39.Bxg5 1-0

• Black has no good moves remaining.
• Mr. Svidler resigns.

[Jack Rabbit]

7. Update (Wednesday): Magnus wins the Aerosvit

Magnus Carlsen, the 17-year-old grandmaster from Norway and the world's fifth ranked chess player, drew a hard fought game against Ukrainian GM Andrei Volokitin in 79 moves to win the third annual Aerosvit International Tournament in Foros, Crimea (Ukraine) with one round to spare.

Magnus has a point and a half lead over his nearest rivals, Ukrainian GMs Vassily Ivanchuk and Pavel Eljanov.

Magnus will have Black in tomorrow's final round against Sergey Karjakin of Ukraine. In a game that will decide second place, Ivanchuk will have White against Eljanov.

[Jack Rabbit]

8. Update (Thursday): Foros Tournament Ends

Unofficial Cross Table
Aerosvit International Tournament
Foros, Crimea (Ukraine)

Participants. . . . . . .1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 T. (W)
.1 Magnus Carlsen. . . . .* 1 1 ½ 1 ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ 1 ½ 8. (5)
.2 Vassily Ivanchuk. . . .0 * 1 ½ 1 ½ ½ 1 ½ ½ 1 ½ 7. (4)
.3 Pavel Eljanov . . . . .0 0 * ½ 1 1 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 6. (3)
.4 Sergey Karjakin . . . .½ ½ ½ * ½ 0 1 ½ 1 ½ ½ ½ 6. (2)
.5 Alexei Shirov . . . . .0 0 0 ½ * ½ 1 ½ 0 1 1 1 5½ (4)
.6 Andrei Volokitin. . . .½ ½ 0 1 0 * 0 1 ½ ½ 0 1 5½ (3)
.7 Dmitry Jakovenko. . . .½ ½ ½ 0 0 1 * ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ 5½ (2)
.8 Evgeny Alekseev . . . .½ 0 ½ ½ ½ 0 ½ * 1 1 0 ½ 5. (2)
.9 Liviu-Dieter Nisipeanu 0 ½ ½ 0 1 ½ ½ 0 * ½ 1 ½ 5, (2)
10 Peter Svidler . . . . .½ ½ ½ ½ 0 ½ ½ 0 ½ * ½ 1 5. (1)
11 Loek van Wely . . . . .0 0 ½ ½ 0 1 0 1 0 ½ * ½ 4. (2)
12 Alex Onischuk . . . . .½ ½ 0 ½ 0 0 ½ ½ ½ 0 ½ * 3½ (0)