O C TO BER 2015

50MOVESM AG A ZIN E . C O M

I came
here to win
Paw n En d gam e St u d i e s

The Petrof f

Rules of Thumb?

I M Jun t a Iked a

IM Max Illi ngworth

F M Chr i s Walli s

MASTERCLASS

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CONTENTS
EDITORS
Moulthun Ly
Fedja Zulfic

MAIN CONTRIBUTORS
Ian Rogers
Max Illingworth
Junta Ikeda
Chris Wallis
Guy West

PHOTOGRAPHY
Cover: Cathy Rogers
Cathy Rogers
Maria Emelianova

SINQUEFIELD CUP - ARONIAN BACK ON TOP IN ST LOUIS

Ian Rogers covers a most remarkable super-GM tournament.

24

LEVON ARONIAN

Ian Rogers interviewed the charismatic Armenian after his

tournament victory.

32

STUDIES

Junta Ikeda takes us back to basics with pawn endgame studies.

34

CHESS HUNGER GAMES

Sergey Karjakin outlasted 127 players and won a crazy final.

42

MAX ILLINGWORTH - LIFE OF A CHESS PLAYER

We spoke to Max about his life since turning pro following his first
appearance at a World Cup.

78

ROOKIES CORNER - KNIGHT FORKS

Learn about one of the most common chess tactics, sure to win you
some more games!

80

BOOK REVIEW: SAMUEL LIPSCHUTZ - A LIFE IN CHESS

Guy West reviews the new book by Australian chessplayer Stephen

Davies.
50 Moves Magazine
New issues are released in early

86

OPENINGS COLUMN

February, April, June, August, October

Max Illingworth looks at a popular antidote to 1.e4 for Black - the

and December.

Petroff Defence.

Email:
support@[Link]
Website:
[Link]
ABN: 90822679591

94

ENDGAMES COLUMN - RULES OF THUMB

Chris Wallis looks at some examples of the mistaken use of rules of

thumb in situations where they do not strictly apply.

98

SOLUTIONS

See how you went with the studies and knight fork problems!

Topalov Tops,
Aronian
Back on
Carlsen
Flops
in
Top in St Louis
Norway Chess
Report by Ian Rogers
Photos by Cathy Rogers

He leafy streets of the Central West End in Saint Louis

seem an
unlikely place to be one of the chess centres of the
There is a tide in the affairs
of men.
Which, taken at the flood,
leads
to fortune;
world,
buton
after
the third Sinquefield Cup such claims may
Omitted, all the voyagenot
of be
their
as life
far-fetched as they sounded when first made a few
Is bound in shallows and in miseries.
years ago.
Shakespeare Julius Caesar

An affluent suburb about 10 kilometres from the Saint Louis

city centre, the Central West End features the three storey Saint Louis Chess
Club and Scholastic Centre, an adjoining chess-themed restaurant - the Kingside
Diner, the World Chess Hall of Fame across the road and a house for visiting
450 MOVES MAGAZINE

Article by Ian Rogers

Photography by Cathy Rogers

Grandmaster lecturers nearby all courtesy of extensive private funding from

Rex and Jeanne Sinquefield.
Having hosted multiple US Championships and two previous Sinquefield Cups,
the most recent tournament at the Saint Louis CCSC, the second leg of the
Grand Chess Tour, was the icing on the cake. The chess world may have been
spoilt for super-tournaments in recent years, but the 2015 Sinquefield Cup, with
9 of the top 11 players in the world, pushes it into a category of historic tournaments with no tail, alongside Left:
AVRO
1938 and Las Palmas 1996.
Carlsen arrives with Hammer
OCTOBER 20155

Sinquefield CuP
After his psychological collapse at the first Grand

Aronian had prepared for the tournament by joining

Chess Tour event, Norway Chess, Magnus Carlsen was

Carlsen in a training camp in Long Island, New York,

expected to resume his run of successes but it was

and the World Champion was one of many who greeted

Levon Aronian who stole the show.

Aronians win with pleasure, saying Im very happy

18 months ago Aronian was seen as Carlsens likely

for him - he hasnt played this well for a while and Im

challenger for the world title, but a disastrous 2014

happy he is getting his game together.

Candidates tournament saw Aronians hopes dashed

Kasparov was even more enthusiastic, tweeting The

and a gradual fall from grace for the affable Armenian.

chess world is a better place when Aronian is playing

well!

Aronians low point was reached recently when he

dropped out of the worlds top ten for the first time in a

For Carlsen the tournament, while not a disaster like

decade.

the first Grand Chess Tour tournament in Stavanger,

was a source of endless frustration. A repeat first

When Aronian began the 2015 Sinquefield Cup he was

round loss to Topalov - This time I was beaten fair and

ranked ninth of the ten competitors and when Aronian

square, said Carlsen was followed by a desperately

gave a pre-tournament interview saying that he had

lucky win against Fabiano Caruana; a game where both

come to Saint Louis to win, it was viewed as good-

players reached move 40 with seconds to spare but it

humoured braggadocio.

was Caruana who managed to throw away a likely win

with his final move of the time control.

Yet, adopting a new persona of chess caveman, Aronian

beat Fabiano Caruana and Wesley So with violent attacks

A come-back seemed likely as Carlsen reached a tie for

to share the tournament lead as early as Round 4 with

first with Aronian after five rounds, but a second loss

early pace-setter Veselin Topalov, who had beaten

with White, this time to Grischuk after faltering in a long

Magnus Carlsen and Hikaru Nakamura in the first two

defensive task, left Carlsen unable to recover.

rounds. Most of all, Aronian appeared happy; it seemed

that his profession was no longer a chore for him.

Last year at the Sinquefield Cup Veselin Topalov had

lost his first two games but fought back to reach 50%. In

Topalov faded, as did Carlsens mid-tournament

2015 the Grand Chess Tour leader suffered the reverse

challenge, leaving Aronian a comfortable winner of the

fate, winning the first two rounds but still eventually

third Sinquefield Cup, a point clear of the field.

finishing on 50%.

Asked to explain his success, Aronian said that his

Three other players joined Carlsen in the tie for second.

hangover from the 2014 Candidates tournament had

Anish Giri won his first game but then drew

lasted long enough and after so many setbacks, I

eight without going close to winning a game. The

needed to show to myself that I was still capable of

tournaments youngest player is becoming one of the

something.

hardest players in the world to beat but has yet to

seriously threaten for a major tournament title.

The 32-year-old netted $US 75,000 for the win, saying

that he had not changed his game significantly but

Maxime Vachier-Lagrave belied his low ranking he

merely sought to be more aggressive when the

was world number 16 when the tournament started

opportunity arose.

to cause problems for many opponents and beat

650 MOVES MAGAZINE

The players refreshments room

Topalov convincingly. Vachier-Lagrave felt that Saint

However it was his final round marathon against

Louis together with his solid result in Stavanger showed

Grischuk that earned Nakamura the most kudos; the

that he was comfortable among the worlds elite;

American took great risks but ultimately prevailed after

true enough, but his sharp style also leaves room for

more than six hours. The last few games have probably

disappointments (such as Vachier-Lagraves last place in

taken a few years off my life, said a relieved Nakamura

the Khanty-Mansiysk Grand Prix tournament earlier in

after his last game. I didnt deserve plus one.

2015).
The rest of the field suffered various degrees of
Hikaru Nakamura can claim to be the most consistent

disappointment.

player of 2015 following wins in Gibraltar, Zurich, Khanty

Mansiysk and the US Championship, plus second place

Grischuk dropped from second to sixth with his final

finishes in Stavanger and the Sinquefield Cup.

round loss, while Anand and Caruana never recovered

from losing their first two games. Wesley So, 21, has

Nakamuras 5/9 score was achieved the hard way,

only begun competing in elite tournaments recently and

playing 100 more moves than any other competitor.

his inexperience showed when he lost three consecutive

Tough endgame losses to Topalov and Aronian were

games mid-tournament, two of them with White.

counterbalanced by wins against Anand and So the

latter game being the tournament brilliancy.

For all the games please refer to the PGN file.

OCTOBER 20157

Above: The entrance to the St Louis chess club

Below: Spectators in the video viewing room

850 MOVES MAGAZINE

Sinquefield CuP

Aronian, Levon 2808

10...Nf6 11.a3 a5 12.Bd3 Ne4

13.Rc2

16.Bxd6 Nxd6 Diagram

I considered 13.Rc1 but am quite

On 16...Qxd6 I was considering

happy to follow the young people,

17.Nd2 Nxd2 18.Rxd2!? Qxc6 19.f4!

said Aronian, emulating the retreat

, said Aronian, though I would

played by Giri in a game against

probably only have played this if I

Caruana.

worked out the attack to mate!

Be7 5.Bf4 O-O 6.e3 Nbd7 7.c5 Ne4

13...f6!? The first new idea. Of

17.Re1!? Aronian was extremely

I was not so much expecting this

course 13...Ba6 is playable but after

happy with this move. White wants

line as hoping for it, admitted

14.Bxa6 Rxa6 15.Ne5 Bd6 16.Nd7

to play Nd2 and f4, explained

Aronian. 7...Ne4 is, I think, an idea

the knight on d7 is very annoying,

Aronian, but if 17.Nd2 Black will

of Kasimdzhanov [Caruanas second

explained Aronian. Giri only drew

reply 17...e5 and after 18.e4 my rook

IR] and Fabiano has played it twice.

from this position against Caruana

is not useful on f1. So I play 17.Re1

but I had some ideas how to

and ask Black to find a useful

improve.

move.

if White has a pawn on c3, said

14.Qe2! Now if I can prevent him

17...a4 18.Nd2 e5 He must play

Aronian.

from playing ...e5 his bishop on c8

this, said Aronian. If he lets

will be dead, explained Aronian.

me play f4 his bishop will be

Caruana, Fabiano 2765

Sinquefield Cup 2015 (1)

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.Nc3

8.Rc1 Blacks idea is to take on

c3 and play b6, which will be fine

8...Nxc3 9.Rxc3 b6

dead for the rest of the game. For

14...Bd6 15.O-O g5!? Played quickly,

example after 18...f5 19.f4 g4 the

as had been all Caruanas moves up

position is blocked but really Black is

to this point.

effectively a piece down and White

will eventually win on the kingside.

15...Qe7 was more natural but

Caruana had probably seen some

19.e4! Diagram

deep problem with it, said Aronian.

10.c6 I really like this position for

White, said Aronian, but
maybe that is because I dont
understand all the subtleties of the
position!

OCTOBER 20159

SINQUEFIELD CUP

Left:
Aronian got off to
a fast start, beating
last years sensation
Caruana in front of a
large crowd.

probably lead to something similar.

21.fxe4 Ra5 22.exf5!
19...f5!? I dont trust this move.,

I thought that 25...Nd6 was the best

defence but after 26.Nxd6 Qxd6

said Aronian. I was expecting 19...

22.dxe5 Rxe5 23.Nf3 is probably

27.Rf1! Black lacks the single tempo

exd4 when I analysed 20.exd5!?

also good but I wanted to open up

he needs to finally develop his

Re8 21.Qd1 Rxe1+ 22.Qxe1 Ra5

against Blacks king, said Aronian.

bishop, said Aronian.

23.Nc4 Rxd5 24.Nxd6 Rxd6 25.Re2

By now I had the feeling that

26.Qh5! Nxc2 Based on a

Kf8 26.Qb4 and thought that I might

I would win within another 10

miscalculation but it is too late to

still have some pressure. Then I

moves.

go back. I thought that 26...Bf5 was

wondered whether I have time for

20.Rcc1! when I couldnt see

the best chance, said Aronian, but

22...Nxf5 23.Bc4+!

a good way for Black to respond.

after 27.Rf2 Bg6 28.Qh3 I would be

very happy.

23.dxe5 Nd4 24.Qh5 Bf5 was not

20.f3! dxe4?!

convincing enough for Aronian.

27.Nxg5 Bf5 Diagram

23...Kg7 24.d5! Re8? Played after

27...Nxe1 walks into the pretty

This must be wrong, said Aronian.

only 7 seconds thought and soon

finish. 28.Qxh7+ Kf6 29.Ne4#!

Certainly 20...exd4 21.exd5 ( 21.e5!?

regretted.

) 21...Re8 22.Qd1 Rxe1+ 23.Qxe1 Ra5

28.Rf1 The point behind Whites

24.Nc4 Rxd5 25.Nxd6 Rxd6 26.Re2

24...Nd6! 25.Qxe5+ Qf6 was the

sacrifice - temporarily staying a rook

Kf8 27.Qb4 is more difficult for Black

most persistent and would have

down.

than the previous line, because the

spoiled my plan of winning in 10

f5-pawn gets in the way.

moves, admitted Aronian.

28.Qf7+ Kh6 29.Qxf5 Qxg5 30.Qxc2

was certainly not Whites idea.

However 20...Re8 21.Qf2 will

1050 MOVES MAGAZINE

25.Ne4! Nd4 Diagram

SINQUEFIELD CUP

28...Qf6 Fabiano said that after 28...

Bg6 29.Rf7+ Kg8 he missed 30.Qh6!
, explained Aronian, Though I also
thought that 30.d6 Bxh5 31.Rxc7+
Bf7! 32.Nxf7 might be winning.
On that small point Aronian was
wrong - after 32...Qh4! Black turns
the tables. Anyway, added Aronian,
you dont need a queen sacrifice
when you can mate in two.
29.Ne6+ I saw I had a million
wins, but as my mother says, A

35.Re4! Nf5

7...g5!

dance when hes approaching

35...Nxc6 36.Bb5 is similarly

7...g5 is a very interesting move - I

a bridge over water, explained

disastrous for Black.

couldnt find a clear way to play

caravan camel gets the urge to

Aronian.

after that, admitted Carlsen.

36.Be6! Nd6

29.Rxf5 Qxf5 30.Ne6+ Kf6 31.Qxe8

was also crushing.

7...g5 was first suggested by David

On 36...Nxe7 37.Bd7 wins.

Smerdon in February 2014 when

analysing a Carlsen-Nakamura

29...Rxe6 30.Rxf5 Qg6 31.dxe6

37.Bd7! Nxe4 38.Bxe8 Kf6 39.Bg6!

Qxh5 32.Rxh5 Nd4 33.e7

and that article had been noted by

1-0

Here I saw a beautiful geometrical

win, said Aronian, though almost
anything wins, for example 33.Bd3
h6 34.e7 Ra8 35.Rxe5 Re8 36.Re4
when the knight cannot go to f5.

33...Ra8 34.Rxe5 Re8 #

Topalovs seconds at the time while

preparing for the 2014 Candidates

Carlsen, Magnus 2853

Topalov, Veselin 2816
Sinquefield Cup 2015 (1)

If 36...Nf5 37.Rg4+ Kf6 38.Rf4 wins.

I.R.

game for [Link],

tournament. The only other high

level game after 7.c4 had seen
Nakamura play 7...Ne5 but after
8.Bf1 Nxc4 ( 8...Bg4 ?! 9.cxb5! ) 9.a4!
White had considerable pressure for

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.Bb5+ Nd7 4.O-O

Nf6 5.Re1 a6 6.Bd3 b5 7.c4!?

the pawn.
8.Nxg5 Ne5 9.Be2 bxc4 10.Na3
10.f4 Nd3 11.Bxd3 cxd3 gives Black
good play because a forcing attempt
such as 12.e5?! dxe5 13.fxe5 Qd4+
14.Kh1 Ng4 15.Qf3 does not force
Black to take a perpetual check

OCTOBER 201511

Carlsen had another tough tournament following his poor performance at Norway Chess

because 15...Rb8! 16.Qxf7+ Kd8

very practically, said Carlsen. I

leaves White in trouble.

suspected that it might not be good

but I thought that I wouldnt be

10.Nf3 was the most sober

much worse even in the worst case.

response, though Black retains

I was also taking my opponents

compensation after 10...Nd3

style into account. However I

11.Bxd3 cxd3 I couldnt decide

should have played it quickly to

whether to go for the normal option

have more time at critical junctures

or sacrifice a piece, admitted

later.

Carlsen, who spent almost half an

hour on this move.

Topalov was more sceptical; Its

not what Whites supposed to do

10...Rg8

11.Nxc4!?

on move 10, be a piece down and

fighting for equality.

A fantastic idea, prepared by a long

think on the previous move. I knew

11...Nxc4 12.d4 Nb6 13.Bh5!

I was going to sacrifice a piece when

I played 10.Na3 but I wasnt playing

1250 MOVES MAGAZINE

13.dxc5! dxc5 14.Bh5 is a more

SINQUEFIELD CUP

annoying move order but will likely

transpose to the game.
13...Nxh5 14.Qxh5 Rg7 15.Nxh7

As soon as I played this I saw that

his answer would be 15...Qd7!,
not threatening 16...Qg4 as I had
expected but 16...Qh3 which is
much stronger, explained Carlsen.
15...Qd7! The most testing
continuation for White.
15...Rxh7 16.Qxh7 cxd4 is fine
for Black but White retains some
trumps in Blacks weak king and the
passed h-pawn.
16.dxc5 dxc5 17.e5?

Attempting to set up Nf6+ tricks,

19...Kd8! Suddenly the queens must

but Topalov handles the threats

be exchanged, Whites attack is over

perfectly. I needed to accept that

and he must defend a near hopeless

I was not better and play more

endgame.

solidly, admitted Carlsen. Most

humans would be very reluctant

20.Qxg6 Rxg6 21.Ne4 Bb7 22.h4

to play 17.Nxf8! allowing 17...Qh3!

Rc8 23.h5 Rg8 24.Bd2 Nc4 25.Bc3

18.Qxh3 Bxh3 19.g3 but, despite the

Bh6 26.Rad1+ Ke8 27.Rd3 Bf4

semi-trapped knight, I think I would

28.Nf2 Bc6 29.Nh3 Bg3 30.Re2 Bb5

still be perfectly fine then, said

31.Rd1 Bc6

Carlsen.
17...Qc6! Missed by Carlsen.
17...Qh3? would allow a Carlsen
trick via 18.Nf6+! Kd8 19.Rd1+ Kc7
20.Ne8+ while on 17...Qg4 18.Nf6+!
exf6 19.exf6+ Be6 20.fxg7 Qxh5
21.g8=Q O-O-O 22.Qg5! holds the
balance.
18.f3 Qg6 19.Nf6+
32.Nf2?! I still should have had
chances to resist but a couple of
stupid blunders made it easy for
him , sad Carlsen.

OCTOBER 201513

Nakamura won the battle against his new compatriot

32.Rd3 would at least force Toplaov

Carlsen decides to play on until the

I havent played the Kings Indian

to find a new winning plan.

time control.

very often recently, said Nakamura.

My former coach Kasparov decided

32...Bxe5! In time trouble he let me

35...Rh8 36.Ne5 Nxe5 37.Rxe5 Be8

long ago that it wins for White

do everything, said Topalov.

38.g4 f6 39.Re6 Bb5 40.Rde1 Rc7

thanks to all his brutal losses to

Kramnik!

33.Ng4

0-1
5.Nf3 O-O 6.Be2 e5 7.O-O Nc6 8.d5

33.Bxe5 Bxf3 and 33.Rxe5 Nxe5

34.Bxe5 Bxf3 are both hopeless for
White

So, Wesley 2779

Nakamura, Hikaru 2814

33...Bxc3 34.bxc3 Kf8 35.Kf2 With

Sinquefield Cup 2015

only one pawn for the piece there

is little reason to play on but both
players were in time trouble so

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6

1450 MOVES MAGAZINE

Ne7 9.Ne1 Nd7 10.f3!? f5

Above: Nakamura with his girlfriend Mariagrazia De Rosa

Below: Anish Giri with his wife Sopiko Guramishvili

OCTOBER 201515

STAVAnGeR nORWAY CHeSS

The St Louis chess museum

1650 MOVES MAGAZINE

STAVAnGeR nORWAY CHeSS

Autograph signing with the players.

OCTOBER 201517

SINQUEFIELD CUP

confessed Nakamura, but if he

14.c5 Nf6 15.Rc1 Rf7

keeps thinking I think I am going to

do very well. But anyway, I am going
to try to mate him! (Nakamura
will have been well pleased that So
spent 7 minutes on his next move
and an hour on the next four.)
21.Qc2 Qf8!? 22.Rc1 Bd7

11.Be3!? When choosing the Kings

Indian I expected Wesley to go for
something more calm, confessed
Nakamura. It is already too late
for 11.Nd3 ?! as 11...f4 leads to a
superior version of the main line for
Black.
However 11.g4 is more popular than
Korchnois favourite plan with 10 or
11.Be3.
11...f4 12.Bf2 g5 13.Nd3 A small
surprise for Nakamura.
13.a4 is the main line, but So had
scored well in the recent past with
both 13.Rc1 and 13.g4!?.
13...Ng6 The original game with
this line, an Averbakh v Bronstein
encounter from the 1952 Soviet
Championship, saw the
cruder 13...Rf6 14.c5 Rh6. While
dangerous, the ...Qe8-h5 plan is
considered insufficient for Black and
Bronstein lost the aforementioned
game.

1850 MOVES MAGAZINE

16.Kh1 A waiting move; Nakamura

had already faced 16.a4 which
also hopes Black will play ...h5. The
problem for White is that the direct
16.cxd6 cxd6 17.Nb5 allows Black
to play 17...g4! without ...h5, and
that means that ...g3 will come with
extra effect because the h5-square

23.Rc7? I think that Wesley

is available to the f6-knight.

just needs to learn to prepare

better. There are a lot of lines like

16...h5 17.cxd6 cxd6 18.Nb5 a6

this in the Kings Indian where the

19.Na3

computer will say something like

+2, but in such a position it is very

19.Na7!? is the sort of move

easy to go wrong, said Nakamura

Korchnoi used to get away with, but

after the game. In fact I didnt see

here after 19...Bd7 20.Qb3 g4 Blacks

much play for him after 21.Qc2 and

attack proceeds quickly.

22.Rc1.

19...b5 20.Rc6 The first new move;

23.Nb4! is the critical choice after

by now So had used only 3 minutes

which 23...Bxc6 24.dxc6 gives White

while Nakamura had started

considerable play, so it is more

thinking two moves earlier.

likely that Nakamura would have

gonefor 23...g3!? 24.Bg1 ( 24.hxg3

20...g4 If Wesley keeps playing

fxg3 25.Bxg3 h4 26.Bf2 h3! gets very

quickly I think I will be in trouble,

scary for White. )

SINQUEFIELD CUP

insufficient after 27...Rxf3! 28.Qxe4

24...gxh2 25.Bf2 when the outcome

Rf1+ 29.Kg2 h3+! 30.Kxh3 Nf4+

of the kingside v queenside race is

31.Kg3 Rg1+ and White will soon be

still up in the air.

mated.

23...Bh6! 24.Be1 h4! 25.fxg4

It should be noted that 27.fxe4

loses directly to 27...Rf1+ 28.Kg2
Be3! threatening ...h3+ and...Qh6+.
27...Rxf3 28.Rxd7 Rf1+ 29.Kg2

34...Nhf3!
Now the threat of 35...Qh3+ forces
a quick mate, which So sportingly
allows.
35.Nf2 Qh4+ 36.Kf5 Rf8+ 37.Kg6

25...f3! 26.gxf3 Nxe4! 27.Rd1 ?! An

Rf6+! 38.Kxf6 Ne4+ 39.Kg6 Qg5

inconsequential move which took

So 30 minutes, but it seems that
nothing is sufficient any more.
I was shocked that he played this

29...Be3! Missed by So, yet there are

after thinking for so long.

plenty of alternative wins, the most

beautiful being 29...h3+ 30.Kxh3 Rf2

27.Rxd7 was the only try, but after

(Or) 30...Rg1! or 30...Rxe1! 31.Rxe1

27...Rxf3 28.Bxf3 Qxf3+ 29.Qg2

Qf2 (31.Bxf2 Qxf2 ).

Qxd3 30.Rd1 and now the computer

said 30...Bd2 but I had looked at

I saw s ome ideas like this but I

30...h3! [The same move Anand

couldnt make it work, admitted

had suggested in the commentary

Nakamura, a little annoyed that he

room. IR] and I think Black wins,

had not found this line and finished

said Nakamura. Play could continue

off the game with 32.Nxf2 Nf4+

31.Rxd3 hxg2+ 32.Kg1 Nc5 winning

33.Kh4 Bg5#!

0-1

back the exchange with advantage.

30.Bg3 hxg3! 31.Rxf1 Nh4+ 32.Kh3
27.Nb4 suggested by Vachier-

Qh6! 33.g5 Nxg5+ 34.Kg4

Lagrave, trying to set up a skewer

along the c2-g6 diagonal, is also

OCTOBER 201519

SINQUEFIELD CUP

Crowds
Aronian, like many other players in Saint Louis,
expressed his pleasure at playing in front of an
enthusiastic crowd a rarity when so many top events
are held more for the internet audience than for local
fans.
The autograph signing days attracted more than 300
fans with memorabilia of all kinds. Though signing
autographs was not what most of the players would
have preferred to be doing the day before a big
tournament, it was a small price to pay for generating
an atmosphere of enthusiasm and interest, an
atmosphere which permeated the playing hall and the
nearby commentary venues.

2050 MOVES MAGAZINE

SINQUEFIELD CUP

GRAND CHESS TOUR

At the closing press conference, Garry Kasparov
admitted that the Grand Chess Tour had suffered some
teething troubles in its first year.
However with two of the three Tour events held so far,
it seems clear that the benefits of bringing the world
elite together outweigh any technical flaws in the Tour
concept.
The scoring system, especially breaking ties in favour of
the player with most losses, needs some improvement

still alive, a boon for the London organisers and the

Norwegian television broadcasters.
Plans for expansion of the Grand Tour to four or even
six tournaments are on hold because the 2016 calendar
is so crowded, with a Candidates tournament, Olympiad
and world title match in the same year.
The 2016 Grand Tour will invite the top three finishers
from the 2015 Tour plus the next six highest rated
players for the 2016 tour. In 2015 only Vladimir Kramnik
declined his invitation, but in a busy 2016 there is a risk
of more top players sitting out the Grand Tour.

. Having Topalov (first and sixth in the first two Tour

events) leading the Tour standings ahead of Nakamura
(two ties for second) is weird. However using a system

Below:

which favours inconsistency has had the side-effect

that Carlsens chances of winning the 2015 Tour are

The World Chess Hall of Fame is worth a visit

OCTOBER 201521

Sinquefield CuP

Pawn Sacrifice
At the end of the tournament a special screening of
the Hollywood film Pawn Sacrifice was arranged at the
players hotel, the Chase Park Plaza. Guests included
Garry Kasparov and the films producer Gail Katz, who
also answered questions at the end of the film.
For most of the Sinquefield Cup players Bobby Fischer
and Boris Spassky are merely historical figures like
Capablanca and Morphy; Anand is the only one of the
Sinquefield 10 who has played Spassky, and he also met
Fischer in Iceland.
Rather than document the milestones of Fischers
journey to the top of world chess as the documentary

Sacrifice centres around the development of Fischers

mental illness; paranoia in particular.
When asked if he liked the film or not, Garry Kasparovs
short comment was Could be worse. He explained My
main worry is if the film promotes chess or not, clearly
fearing that the answer was not.
Kasparov also took issue with the screenwriters choice
of game 6 of the 1972 Fischer-Spassky match as pivotal
and, according to the film still regarded as the greatest
game of all time.
There were two great games in the 1972 match
games 10 and 13 which could have been the climax of
the film, said Kasparov.

Bobby Fischer Against the World had done, Pawn

Left:
A screenshot from the
film Pawn Sacrafice,
starting Liev Schreiber
as Boris Spassky and
Toby Maguire as
Bobby Fischer.

2250 MOVES MAGAZINE

Sinquefield CuP

Ultimate Moves
As soon as the tournament finished the younger players
relaxed with late nights of lightning and bughouse
chess, and all joined in for the organised mayhem of
Ultimate Moves.
The 10 GMs were split into teams, with Yasser Seirawan
and Rex Sinquefield added to one side, and Kasparov
and Rexs son Randy to the other.

Tandem chess is notoriously difficult and here doubly

so with so many GMs generating ideas and the certainty
that everything would be ruined when Rex Sinquefield
and Randy took over each side at a critical moment.
While the purists groaned, the games were entertaining
and the players could be seen at their most relaxed
with the Saint Louis Chess Club alive with chess clock
assaults and laughter. With all the work required to
become a world class player, it was great to see that the
worlds best GMs have not forgotten how much fun it is
to just play chess.

Top left: Maurice Ashley clearly enjoyed commentating Top right: Seirawan battles Kasparov
OCTOBER 201523
Bottom: Even the worlds best play transfer

inTeRVieW

LEVON ARONIAN SPEAKS

I AM JUST A GOOD PLAYER

fter his win of the 2105 Sinquefield Cup, Levon Aronian

spoke to Ian Rogers about his career, from his youth as
the Soviet Union collapsed to recovering from failure at
the 2014 Candidates tournament.

Early Years Checkers and Chess

I was born in Yerevan and thats where I live now.
I learned chess at eight and a half. I was a sick child
not too sick ; flu, small things. My older sister taught me
because I was really bored.
My maternal grandpa had tried to teach me earlier but
I never liked chess because it was too complex. I liked
checkers. There are pictures of me at chessboards when I
was four or five, playing checkers. I would keep on asking
guests to come and play checkers with me and anybody
who would visit colleagues of my dad or mum they
would have to play me.
So in 1991 I started to play; these were Soviet times, just,
and I went to the House of Pioneers. It was normal in
Soviet times to be in a Pioneer Palace. Teachers would
get paid by the government, though the salary wasnt
exciting.

At the Pioneer Palace there was a teacher who taught

me how the pieces move properly. From this lady I got
to know how to castle properly and the en passant rule.
I came up with these puzzles mates in 1 - and I really
thought I am so brilliant. I didnt know anybody else who
could create such brilliancies. Not that anybody was
impressed, but the kids in the group were very kind to me.

The end of the USSR

The daughter of my teacher was about to get married to a
guy who was a refugee from Baku he was a very strong
player. At that time he didnt have any titles but he was
regularly playing in the highest league of Armenia. His
name was Melik Khachiyan, he was 10 years older than
me and he was my trainer at the time. Then something
happened and they never got married. He graduated so
he couldnt stay in the university dorm. When the collapse of the Soviet Union started my parents told him
if you want you can stay in our house. My parents had
been paying him as my trainer but now he stayed in the
house and they didnt pay him. Melik lived with us for 5
years and he was like a brother to me.

2450 MOVES MAGAZINE

Interview by Ian Rogers

Photos by Cathy Rogers

leVOn AROniAn

When the Soviet Union collapsed,

I stopped going to school.
My dad is from Belarus and didnt speak good Armenian,
so we spoke Russian at home and I was going to Russian
school. My Armenian was pretty bad. Armenia needed to
build a national movement but unfortunately this national
movement was anti-Russian, as everywhere [in the exSoviet states]. All the Russian schools were closed - there
were only two Russian language schools that were open
and they were in the centre. We lived in a poor area
quite far from the centre of Yerevan; in the winter public

Union were going nuts. I was drinking so much Sprite and

Fanta I think I exceeded my limits.
I improved a lot over the two years because I was training with a very strong coach and in 1994 I won the World
U/12 Championship in Szeged.
Two years later I was in a youth team at the Yerevan
Olympiad. There was Asrian, Mirumian and me; it was a
pretty good team. I never had doubts that I should make
it as a chessplayer I didnt really have any choice. I had
no other profession so I had to make it. My parents, especially my mother dedicated all of her

transport was very bad and the

trip to school was killing. So I
never went to school after the
break up of the Soviet Union.
I wasnt home schooled; I was
just playing chess. I am a bookworm but I cant really say this
was home schooling.

time to find help like getting me spon-

I was always
ignoring material...
sacrificing things
and not caring

So mostly Melik and I were just

working together. He had no
title but from day one I had an IM level player for training. In the USSR every city had its chess school; it comes
from generations of teachers teaching students, students
becoming teachers, etc, etc. You have the Moscow school,
[the Baku school]. What they call the Soviet Chess School
doesnt really exist. Because of the war we had many
Armenian chessplayers from Baku coming to Yerevan,
Shakarovs students. Melik was one; he became a GM
and now lives in the US.

Playing Internationally
In 1992 I played in the first Armenian Championship for
10 year olds and by winning that I qualified to play in
Duisburg at the World Youth Championships. I played
badly but it was insane, like going to a different planet;
having soft drinks and chocolate. People from the Soviet
2650 MOVES MAGAZINE

sors and coaches.

Melik got married so he moved out
but by then we were training only
a little together. We trained intensively for 3 years but from the age
of 13 to 15 I was just stagnating. not
really improving. Then I had some
time training with Arsen Yegiazarian.
He was responsible for many many

Armenian players. We had three main coaches in Armenia

in the 1990s: Nadanian, Yegiazarian and Khachian.
Everyone was their student at some time in their life.
From a very early age I had very good calculation, pretty
good tactical vision, fantasy, but I was always ignoring
material I was always sacrificing things and not caring.
Then I was lucky enough to have the chance to train with
Arshak Petrosian; just a month but it had a great impact
on me. Arshak taught me to appreciate the games of
players who played positionally, and added some subtlety
to my play. But one month of course was not that much
but I could feel that this was also a type of chess school.

Aronian was understandably relaxed after winning the tournament

That change in attitude caused me to ask Gabriel Sargissian

spoke German and she got into negotiations and found

to start training with me; he became my coach and best

me a team. She rooted for me because I was Arshaks

friend. He is younger than me and was much lower rated

student and Arshaks family treated me like a son.

but I started understanding that he is a very strong player,

his positional understanding is on a world class level .

Moving to Germany

He is strategically very talented; he feels where pieces

should be placed, whether pieces should be exchanged

I moved to Germany in 2001 because I got upset with

or not. Most of the things I have learned from the age of

my national federation for not including me in our

16 until even now, I learned from him. I kept my tactical

national team. I had an agreement with the head of the

skills and I took his positional knowledge from him. He

Federation; if I win the Armenian Championship I will be

was my biggest influence.

in the team. Then Gabriel and I shared first place and he

said one of you cannot go. Gabriel played in the 2002 Bled

In 1999 I joined a Bundesliga team, Wattenscheid; this

Olympiad. However even in Istanbul 2000 I should have

was a big deal for me. The pay wasnt great but I played

been included, so this was a long-standing complaint. I

on board one so this was a chance to play against people

was on the outer with the Federation and I felt that no

whom I would never dream of playing, like Kasimdzhanov

matter how strongly I played I would never get into the

very strong players. Arshak Petrosians daughter Sophie

Armenian team.

OCTOBER 201527

leVOn AROniAn
Around the same time I lost one of my sponsors. He was

after I won the World Cup.

a businessman giving money so I could survive playing

chess, about !?00 per month. Then something happened.

I changed Bundesliga teams when I became a stronger

I believe his son passed away and he said he couldnt

player, over 2700. Then I decided to play for a Berlin team.

help me any more. However, he did so in a very frustrat-

First it was Kreuzberg, playing for fun - I didnt get paid.

ing way. He said I will help you and we said Ok, great,

Then I moved to Schachfreunde Berlin.

thank you. Then he wrote a message that said I will help

you by telling you that you cannot get help from me any

I was always trying to fight against Baden Baden, to find

more because you are a strong player and you have to

a team which could play against them but I waited and

help yourself.

waited and when none came along I just joined them! I

am happy at Baden Baden I like playing in the team and

I was getting $500 a month and I have to support my

Mr Grenke is a great guy. He is always very happy and he

family. At that time to fly to a tour-

loves chess.

nament from Armenia I had to

take a loan from somebody. After
the fall of the Soviet Union it had
been impossible for my parents
to get jobs as scientists. In the last
round of a tournament I would be

In the last round

of a tournament I
would be shaking

shaking I could never just control

That is what I really love in people

who sponsor a tournament when
they just can sit there, watch the
game, they are not intrusive its
just respect and love towards the
games.

my emotions. But in Germany you

could just take a train everywhere -

I always believed that Armenia

it was really easy.

could win the Olympiad in Turin in

2006; I never had any illusions about how good we were.

So my whole family moved to Berlin. My father is Jewish;

Most of our players were underrated; at that time Gabriel

a big part of Belarus was populated by Jewish people

was barely 2600. It also wasnt a surprise that we won two

and most of my fathers family were killed [in WWII] so

more Olympiads, though it was a slightly different team

Germany accepted them. My father is a very adventur-

because unfortunately Karen [Asrian] passed away. The

ous man, he took work as an electrician, then he tried all

core of the team hadnt changed much and it still hasnt

kinds of things to earn money in Yerevan but it just wasnt

changed much. We won with every scoring system - 2006

stable. Germany was better for my parents. Even there it

was still a [game] points system.

was very difficult to find work as they were already over

German but they learnt quickly.

The 2014 Candidates tournament,

from favourite to also-ran

Based in Berlin, I started playing in lots of open tourna-

The fact is that I didnt manage to play well in the most

ments and I started winning them without big problems.

important tournament. At the 2014 Candidates tour-

I didnt get any invitations to elite tournament during this

nament in Khanty Mansiysk I believe I underestimated

time I made my way up through my rating. My first invi-

Anand. I said to myself, OK, I will slowly win this tour-

tation to a super-tournament, Wijk aan Zee 2006, came

nament. Then at one moment when we were equal he

55, but they could get State help. They didnt have any

2850 MOVES MAGAZINE

inTeRVieW
started winning and I think pressure got me and I started
playing my worst chess. It was really unpleasant losing
the last round even when I wasnt fighting for anything.
It felt really bad.

Arianne Caoili
[My fiancee] Arianne [Caoili] is good for me because she
is ambitious and I think we understand each other very

At that time I had a whole lot of people working for me

and I was trying to accomplish a lot but I have learned it
doesnt really work this way. This was a mistake and I rely
much less on seconds nowadays. You have to control
things yourself more. Now I have only one person who
is a permanent second Ashot Nadanian

well. Very early on she told me I am too relaxed, that I

shouldnt be fighting for the top 10, I should be trying to
be number one. It was good to be with someone as ambitious as that.
Arianne works in Yerevan now. Her official job is consulting
a big government project and also she has a consultancy.
She will eventually work for herself in the private sector.

The rest of the year I did feel like

Her previous job was in Australia

playing and I was trying to give my

best but something was dragging
me back. It happens.
However the Tromso Olympiad was
dreadful [for Armenia]. Some of
the guys are becoming less ambitious. They are getting satisfied
though that doesnt include me;
I am never satisfied. Fortunately

It would be much
harder for me if she
was just following
me to every
tournament

On Working With Alex Wohl in

2009/10
Alex is a good friend of mine. Hes jovial. Ive always liked
him as a person. He made me happy and he made me
fight. He was not just a second but also a psychologist.
Actually some of the variations we worked on I still use

her to move from that very good

job with a very good salary to
Armenia. Before then she was
studying in a European business
school in Germany.
Of course it is difficult to spend
a lot of time apart but it would
be much harder for me if she

there are some young players

coming through. Karen Gregoryan is a good player.

and it was a difficult decision for

was just following me to every

tournament, looking me in the eye and saying you play
well or you play badly. I come from a family where both
parents are very independent very motivation driven,
very active so it was kind of natural for me to look for
a partner like her.
Two years ago we moved back to Yerevan. My family is still
in Berlin and I try to navigate to get back there regularly.

to this day. I analysed a lot with him and did some valuable chess with him. Sometimes I would tell him, OK Alex
I am not going to teach you about this position. I know
you have a different opinion. We had some fights sometimes but we had a really good relationship. I enjoyed his
company. And the road trips were fantastic. Alex loves
nature as much as I do.

OCTOBER 201529

INTERVIEW

Left:
Levon was accompanied in St Louis by his
fiancee, Australian
chessplayer Arianne
Caoilli

The Sinquefield Cup

you have different players then I think there is more

excitement and we had lots of blood, which is good. Guys

Saint Louis is great and its fantastic to have chess at such

like Wesley [So] play not so many super tournaments so

a level in the US. Generally the public is very excited. I

this is a big chance. I was fighting from the first game to

can see that chess is popular in the US and social media

the last. I enjoyed my tournament because of that; I love

is much more active here than in Europe. Every tourna-

watching top games but I love to play much more.

ment in the United States gets much more coverage in my

opinion than anywhere else - people watching on Twitter.

Before the Sinquefield Cup I trained with Ashot and I also

had a good training session with Magnus. My Wattenscheid

I also prefer a tournament with crowds, like the Sinquefield

and now Baden Baden team-mate Peter Nielsen invited

Cup not one just for internet, though when you play chess

me. We share a long history as team-mates. Magnus and

you dont really see the atmosphere much because you

I did physical sports, played some blitz, things like this.

are concentrating. In Armenia we have huge crowds

You dont really need to go crazy before a tournament.

watching chess whenever there is a super-tournament.

My match against Kramnik in 2007 was insane I have

They were asking me questions before the tournament

never seen so many people watching chess. We had about

and I told them honestly that I came here to win. So I

4000 people watching and there were people outside the

didnt have huge excitement after winning my first game;

opera house waiting to get in.

I thought +4 would be needed to win the tournament.

The field here this year was very strong, of course, though

I barely survived this game against Grischuk but I feel I

a year ago also it was a very strong event. However when

should have won against Giri because the position was

3050 MOVES MAGAZINE

LEVON ARONIAN
heavenly. That game really made me sad. Some players
are brilliant defenders and maybe Giri is of that breed.
I am definitely not - I dont like to defend, starting from
move number one!
It always felt that I had a huge advantage against Hikaru
[Aronians key Round 7 win IR]. I know all the computers assessments but during the game it didnt feel like
I was making mistakes. So even if he exchanges pieces,
the time will come when my king will come to the queenside and his a5-pawn is going to feel very uncomfortable.
I only was fairly sure that I would win the tournament
after the [penultimate] round. Before that game, against
Vishy, I thought if I make a draw somebody can win two
games in a row you never know. Against Vishy I went
for a fight; it was an interesting game and he played well.
After I saw that everyone else had drawn I was confident
I would win the tournament.

World Championship Hopes

At the World Cup in Baku I will try my best to qualify for
the Candidates tournament. This is a very different story
to the 2013 Tromso World Cup because there I was already
qualified by rating.
The openings play a big role in a knock-out tournament.
There are very few people that you can beat in the classical phase. With guys of 2650 you may win with White but
its not guaranteed and with Black if they want to make a
draw theyll definitely do it.
I dont mind playing rapids if I have to.
So you are a good rapid player?
I am just a good player!

Right:
A big smile as he
poses for a shot with
his fans

OCTOBER 201531

Pawn
Endgames

By IM Junta Ikeda

The theme for the studies in this issue is Back to Basics Pawn Endgames,
studies where there are only the kings and pawns in the starting position.
Many of you are bound to be acquainted with the ideas of opposition,
outflanking and corresponding squares but this is only the tip of the iceberg
in the fertile, all-encompassing world of pawn endgames. While theoretical
endgame knowledge is a plus here, often it is all about concrete calculation
who will win the pawn race, how can I put my opponent in zugzwang, what
is the right path for the king to follow, should I push my pawn two squares or
only one here? In this issue, the stipulation is White to play and win in Studies
#1-#4, and White to play and draw in Studies #5 and #6. The first couple are a
warm-up for the experienced solvers; #1 (2P vs. 1P) is by Ukrainian composer
Mikhail Zinar, widely considered as the greatest expert in pawn endgames.
#2 by Adamson sees 1P vs. 1P, and the difficulty is cranked up a notch in #3
by Weenink (2P vs. 2P). #4 by Grigoriev, who specialised and pawn and rookand-pawn endgames, also sees a 1P vs. 1P situation but one that is much
more difficult to crack than #2. The final two studies are challenging Wotawa
and Chekhover have set complex battles with multiple pawns on both sides
in motion, where White must be resourceful and find the narrow path to a
draw. Tackling these studies, one is reminded of Philidors saying Pawns are
the soul of chess. Enjoy!

3250 MOVES MAGAZINE

Back to Basics - Pawn Endgames

Solutions page 98

1. [Link]

2. H. Adamson

3. H. Weenink

Shakhmaty vs. SSSR, 1987

Chess Amatuer 1915

Tijdschrift v.d. KNSB, 1924

4. N. Gregoriev

5. A. Wotawa

6. V. Chekhover

Shakhmaty vs. SSSR, 1932

Deutsche Schachzeitung,
1962

Sovjetskaja Rossija, 1956

OCTOBER 201533

INTERNATIONAL CHESS

Karjakin Wins
Chess Hunger
Games in
Baku
If every tournament was like the World
Cup, I think I would be dead within 10
years. Hikaru Nakamura
Report by GM Ian Rogers, Photography by Cathy Rogers

3450 MOVES MAGAZINE

WORLD CUP - BAKU

t f irst sight, the FIDE

compete in an unforgiving World Championship

World Cup is a replica

qualifier with only one prize higher than their

of Wimbledon, with 128

typical appearance fee.

players competing for a

major prize through seven

However, although players from 45 countries

knock-out rounds (though

were present in Baku, plenty of chess strong-

without the strawberries and cream for

holds did not manage a single qualifier, includ-

spectators).

ing Scandinavia and Georgia, while Italy and the

Philippines had seen their top players defect to

The reality is much darker. The FIDE World Cup is

the USA since the last World Cup and were now

much closer in spirit to a chess Hunger Games,

unrepresented in Baku.

where 128 individuals battle their way through

a month of combat involving chessboard and,

The playing hall, the ballroom of the Flame

almost as importantly, chess clock. In tennis,

Towers Hotel, offered perfect playing condi-

a player can make 50 unforced errors and still

tions, and indeed all the accompanying facilities

win a match. In the chess Hunger Games, one

surrounding the tournament were outstand-

mistake may end your tournament.

ing. A large picture of independent Azerbaijans

first President Heydar Aliyev in the centre of the

Within three World Cup rounds, almost 90% of

playing room reminded the players that victory

players have made a mistake and been elimi-

at any cost was what was demanded.

nated. This, after all, is a tournament with only

one winner and 127 losers. One day you are

Each round of the World Cup involves matches

eating with friends, the next day they (or you)

with two classical games, and if the match is

are flying home and you eat alone. (Admittedly,

tied 1-1 then pairs of tiebreakers at faster and

first round losers take home $4,800 to soften

faster time limits are completed. Should the

the blow, but all expenses travel to Baku, hotel

match score reach 4-4 then one Armageddon

and food - must be borne by the players so

game is played; White has five minutes, Black

some players from non-European countries

four, but if the Armageddon game is drawn,

finish only marginally ahead financially.)

White is eliminated from the tournament.

The 2015 Chess Hunger Games took place in the

With most of the worlds best players com-

Azeri capital Baku, in the iconic and luxurious

peting in Baku there was some quality chess

Flame Towers, which sits on a hill high above

played, but the knowledge that one poor deci-

the city and has become a symbol of the citys

sion could result in a ticket home meant that

oil-fuelled development since independence

tension was high and blunders outnumbered

from the USSR.

brilliancies. Here are some of the highlights and

lowlights of the fight for survival in Baku.

There were some notable absentees from

the tournament, not just Magnus Carlsen and

[Ed: See the PGN file for a selection of puzzles

Viswanathan Anand who do not feel the need to

from the games of each round.]

OCTOBER 201535

WORLD CUP

Round 1

Black should achieve from this 4

v 3 endgame. However, feeling no
danger, the 22-year-old Argentinian

With seed 1 playing seed 128, seed 2

carelessly played 34...Kf8 35.Rb4!

against seed 127, etc, upsets on the

Ke7?? and was shocked to discover

top boards were highly unlikely and

that his bishop was trapped on an

a bloodbath of seeds 65-128 ensued.

open board after 36.Ke1!.

Yet a few of the underdogs fought

bravely and a handful triumphed.

Perez pulled himself together enough

to find 36...Bxg4 37.Rxg4 Kf6 when

The biggest name to fall in the first

the position is objectively drawn but

round was Boris Gelfand, the immaculately dressed former world title
challenger outplayed in a rapid tiebreaker by a teenager from Chile in
jeans and a t-shirt, physically shaking
through nerves.
At least Gelfand, a former World Cup
winner, could afford himself a rueful
smile as he resigned his fourth and
final game to Cristobal Henriquez
Villagra.

38...Nf4??? 39.Ng4 mate!

The next game, pressing for a win
with an extra pawn, Vidit walked
into another mate and was soon on
an aeroplane to Qatar and then India.
One player was within touching distance of the second round (and a
huge upset win) when a moment of
inattention cost him everything.

to swing in the Cuban GMs favour

and Dominguez ground down his
opponent in 101 moves. After such
disappointment, the tiebreak was just
a formality and Perez Ponsa was soon
flying home.
Max Illingworth, the sole Oceania
representative in the World Cup,
was another who fought hard but
lacked the consistency of the 14th
seed, Indian number two Pentala

There was no smiling for World Cup

Harikrishna.

debutant Santosh Vidit after the

following disaster against Lazaro

Immediately after his loss, Illingworth

Bruzon.

admitted being slightly overawed:

Physically Im fine but I was cer-

The 21-year-old Indian, after drawing

tainly nervous and spent too much

1-1 in the classical part of his match

time in the first game double and

against the higher rated Cuban was

triple-checking my calculations.

pushing for advantage in the first

Nonetheless, I didnt feel like an

tiebreaker, until he found the worst

outcast among these top players,

move on the board...

though I probably read a bit too much

Federico Perez Ponsa had already convincingly beaten Lenier Dominguez
Perez in their first encounter and
a draw seems like the minimum

3650 MOVES MAGAZINE

the gradient of the game had begun

into the top guys such as Nakamura

watching my game [midway through
game 1].
Illingworths annotations to his games

WORLD CUP

can be seen after his interview.

Missing chances in both classical

games, the first tiebreaker against

Round 2
After the second round it was already
clear that the winner of the chess
Hunger Games would not be a new
Katniss Everdeen, as the final female
player was eliminated, Hou Yifan
losing in rapid tiebreakers to home

Areshchenko turned out to be the

end of Aronians Candidates dreams.
Misplaying a good attack, Aronian
found himself a pawn down and was
ground down by Areshchenko.

Aronian-Areshchenko
Game 3, after Whites 62nd move

66...Nxg3 67.Nd5+
and now Black missed the stylish 67...
Ka4! 68.Nc3+ Ka5! 69.Kxa3 h4 when
the pawn queens. He played instead
67...Kc4 68.Nf4 h4
when Blacks advantage was still
enough to win in 101 moves.

favourite Shakhriyar Mamedyarov.

Playing Black in the return game,

(The other two female players,

Aronian never looked like winning

Mariya Muzychuk and Deysi Cori

and in fact lost again.

had gone out in the first round to

Michael Adams and Vladimir Kramnik

Round 3

respectively.

After round 3 the field was down to

The biggest shock of the second

just 16 players and some more big

round was the ejection of one of

names were not among them, includ-

the tournament favourites, Levon

ing the only Russians among the top

Aronian at the hands of Alexander

Areshchenko. Aronian had been the
triumphant winner of the Sinquefield
Cup in Saint Louis little more than
a week before the World Cup and
needed to reach the World Cup final
to qualify for the 2016 Candidates
Tournament.
Areshchenko 29, was far from a soft
pairing; at one time he was placed
above Sergey Karjakin in Ukraines
Youth Olympiad team. However
Areshchenko had dropped dramatically from his 2700+ peak, having
been forced to relocate his family
from the war-torn east of Ukraine to
the safer city of Lviv.

Black had been trying to bring his

king safely to b3 without success for
some time but finally Areshchenko
found the correct path...
62...Nc3! 63.Nd4 Kc4 64.Nf5 Ne2!
65.Ka2 Kb4 66.Ne3
The only hope since 66.Kb1 Kb3!
67.Ka1 a2 leads to mate after 68...
Nd4, while 66.Ka1 merely delays the
inevitable in view of 66...Kb3 67.Kb1
a2+ 68.Ka1 Ka3 69.Ne3 Nd4 70.Nc4+
Kb4! And now 71.Nd2 loses to 71...
Nb3+ so Black cannot be prevented

eight seeds, Vladimir Kramnik and

Alexander Grischuk.
One third round match went to
Armageddon, the dramatic encounter
between Nakamura and the Russian
who performed so well at the 2014
World Rapid and Blitz Championship
in Dubai, Ian Nepomniachtchi.
The Nakamura-Nepomniachtchi
match was a classic, both players
fighting back to level the contests
when one game down with one to
play.

from playing 71...Kb3 and 72...Nc2

mate.

OCTOBER 201537

WORLD CUP

Left:
Aronian fights an
uphill battle against
Areshchenko

Nepomniachtchi-Nakamura

Instead Nakamura played

Game 6, after Whites 40th move

after losing the first, which meant

Armageddon!

40...e4?
Nakamura was Black in the deciding
Missing that after

Armageddon game and won comfortably, but controversy broke out when

41.Rd2!!

commentator Sergei Shipovs observation that Nakamura had castled

Black has just opened the d-file to his

with two hands was conveyed to

own cost. The game continued

Nepomniachtchi.

41...Rxd1 42.Rxd1 Nxe3+ 43.Kb1!

Desperate to avoid elimination,

Nepomniachtchi submitted an official

Nepomniachtchi needs to win this

game to stay in the match but had
Nakamura played 40...N8b6! then
most likely the American would go
through to the fourth round within
a few moves.

3850 MOVES MAGAZINE

But now it turned out to be the open

protest, asking for Nakamura to be

c-file which was fatal for Black and

penalised for his illegal act. All moves

Nakamura was forced to resign after

must be made with one hand and

this turned out be to be not the first

43...Qd6 44.Rdc1 Nd5 45.Rc6 Qh2

time in the match that Nakamura had

46.R6c2 Qf4 47.dxe4 Qxe4 48.Ka1

castled two-handedly.

Nce7 49.Qb7 Re3 50.b6 Re1 51.bxc7

Rxc1+ 52.Rxc1 Nc8 53.Rd1 1-0

Moreover, it was subsequently noted

by the Appeals Committee though

Two blitz games followed, shared

only through a less than clear slow-

1-1 with Nakamura bouncing back

motion replay - that Nakamura in the

WORLD CUP

Armageddon game had moved his

dismissed because he had not com-

The match of the round was between

rook first, also illegal under FIDE laws.

plained at the time, yet the Russian

the two remaining Chinese players,

The infringement was so marginal

reasonably pointed out that with four

Ding Liren and Wei Yi, with 16-year-

that it was hardly visible at normal

(!) arbiters watching the game, one of

old Wei needing all his Houdini skills

speed, so to blame Nepomniachtchi

them should have noticed, stopped

to progress to the next round.

or the arbiters for not seeing this, or

the clocks and applied a penalty.

Nakamura for cheating would be

ridiculous. It should be noted that
USCF rules, upon which Nakamura
would have been brought up, state
When castling, the player may touch
either the king or the rook first.
Nepomniachtchi also claimed that
Nakamura had also touched pieces
and then moved other pieces, but this
was a misapprehension Nakamura
has the annoying habit of adjusting
a piece after he had moved, usually
before pressing the clock, though
occasionally afterwards (which is
poor etiquette).
Nepomniachtchi s appeal was

Ding, the first Chinese player to reach

Round 4
The two oldest players in the last 16,
Veselin Topalov and Peter Svidler,
were paired together and soon the
top seed found himself heading back
home.

the top 10 since Wang Yue in 2010,

won the first classical game but his
teenage opponent bounced back
but only just - to level the match.

Ding Liren - Wei Yi

Game 2, after Whites 48th move

Topalov was only one of three top

10 players to fail to survive the
fourth round. Caruana lost badly
to the only home player left in the
field, Mamedyarov, while Wesley So
blundered material against Maxime
Vachier-Lagrave and narrowly failed
to survive.

Left:
Castling as stated
in the rules of chess
should be done with one
hand not two, explains
Nepomniachtchi against
Nakamura

OCTOBER 201539

WORLD CUP

If Black sits tight with, e.g. ...Qe8-e7, it

After 61...Ke8! Blacks king will block

is unlikely that White can make prog-

the d pawn and a draw is likely.

ress. Instead Ding looks for further

options for the queen, was necessary.

73.Qb1! Kg5 74.Kc4! Rb8 75.Qg1+

liquidation, but this allows Yi to free

62.Kg4 Kf6 63.Kf4 b4 64.Ke4 Rb8

his rook.

65.Kd5?!

Now the rook is lost and, though it

takes quite a few checks to prove this,

48...g5?! 49.hxg5 Qxg5 50.Rf3! Re7

65.Rb3 is the computer win, with

51.Rf4 Qg6 52.Rf6 Qg5 53.Qf2 Kg7

the point that 65...Rb5 can be met

54.Rxd6 h4 55.Kh3?!

by 66.d7! Ke7 67.Rd3 Kd8 68.f6 and

75...Kf5 76.Qc5+ Kg4 77.Qd4+ Kf3

Whites pawns are just fast enough.

78.Qf6+ Ke4 79.Qe6+ Kf3 80.Qf5+

55.gxh4 reaches a similar rook

Wei is up to the task.

1-0

endgame after 55...Qe5+ 56.Qg3+,

65...b3 66.d7 b2 67.Rb3! R xb3

but one where Whites pawns are

68.d8Q+ Kxf5

more widely separated, offering

The pair of 10 minute tiebreak games

between Wei and Ding were decisive.

superior winning chances.

The first saw the prettiest move of
55...hxg3 56.Qf5

the tournament sadly not original

and even more sadly not decisive.

In choosing between 56.Qxg3 and

the text move, Wei seemed to forget

Wei Yi - Ding Liren

about his clock and played this move

Game 5

with one second to spare!

1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Nf6 3.d3 c6 4.Nf3 d5
56...Qxf5+ 57.exf5 Re4 58.Rg6+ Kf7

5.Bb3 Bb4+ 6.Bd2 Bxd2+ 7.Qxd2

59.Rxg3 Rxb4

dxe4 8.Nxe5 0-0 9.dxe4 Qe7 10.Qf4!

Suddenly the win is not so simple;

Nh5 11.Bxf7+ Kh8 (D)

in fact tablebases say that Black can

now draw with best play. However
at 30 seconds per move White is
near certain to win eventually as it
is almost impossible to ensure that
the rook will have a safe square on
the b-file.
69.Qd7+ Kg5 70.Qe7+ Kg4 71.Qe4+
Kg3 72.Qg6+ Kh4?
60.Rd3! Rc4 61.d6 Rc8?

This turns out to be a fatal square.

72...Kf3!, reducing the checking

4050 MOVES MAGAZINE

12.Qg3!!

Top: Playing hall for the tournament

Below: Fabiano chatting with Ian after this game

OCTOBER 201541

WORLD CUP

The idea behind 10.Qf4 with the point

that 12...Nxg3? loses to 13.Ng6+! hxg6
14.hxg3+. This idea has twice been
played by Willy Hendrik, the Dutch
IM author of the controversial book
Move First, Think Later.
Ding used only 9 seconds on his reply,
so presumably the idea was known to
him as well.
12...Rxf7 13.Nxf7+ Qxf7 14.Qd6 Be6
15.Nc3 Nd7
The upshot of Whites opening trick is
that he has a minimal material advantage but Blacks active pieces ensure

Quarter-finals
With players just two matches from
a place in the 2016 Candidates tournament, caution began to dominate
the classical games.
The pre-tournament favourite and
second seed, Hikaru Nakamura,
played an uninspired match against
the World Cups most in-form player
Pavel Eljanov and was the first to fall
in the Quarter Quells.

Eljanov - Nakamura
Game 1, after Whites 19th move

If Black avoids the swap of queens

via 21...Qa7 he will lose his a5 pawn
(though this may have been a better
practical chance).
22.Bxa8 Qxc3 23.bxc3 Rxa8 24.Nc6
Bd8 25.Nxd8 Rxd8 26.f3
Materially Black is not doing badly at
all; in many positions a bishop and
knight can hold their own against a
rook and two pawns.
However here Blacks minor pieces
are misplaced and Eljanov judged that
Whites position is close to winning.
26...Rc8 27.Ra3 Bg6 28.Kf2 Rb8

that Ding can maintain the balance.

29.Rd2 f6
16.0-0-0 Re8 17.Rhf1 Bc4 18.Rfe1
Ne5 19.b3 Ba6 20.Kb1 h6 21.f3 Nf4

Accompanied by a draw offer, which

22.Rd2 Kh7 23.Red1 Re6 24.Qb8 Qf6

certainly surprised Eljanov.

25.Na4 Be2 26.Rc1 b6 27.Nc3 Ba6

28.Rcd1 Nc4 29.bxc4 Qxc3 30.Qxf4

30.Raa2 Rb3 31.Rab2! Rxc3 32.Rb5

Qb4+ 31.Ka1 Qc3+ Draw

Bc2 33.Rxa5 Nc7 34.Ra7 f5 35.a5

The match concluded with a crazy 10

and Nakamura had no defence

minute game where Wei stood on the

against the advance of the a-pawn

brink of defeat for most of the game

and resigned 23 moves later.

- as well as frequently being down to

his final seconds - but the teenager
refused to give Ding any easy wins.
Eventually Ding over-pressed and
managed to lose, perhaps the unluckiest victim of the Hunger Games
lottery.
Refer to Round 4 Baku puzzles PGN

Black is solid, if passive, and after 19...

Rd8 20.Rac1 Bxc5 21.dxc5 (21.Qxc5
meets the same reply) Na6 any White
advantage would be minimal.
Nakamura preferred to hang on to his
bishop pair but after
19...Na6?! he was hit by 20.Nxb7!
Qxb7 21.Bxc6 Qc7

4250 MOVES MAGAZINE

Nakamura never looked like winning

the return encounter and the
American was soon leaving Baku.
Maxime Vachier-Lagrave was a semifinalist at the previous World Cup in
Tromso 2013 but here he he meekly
fell to the top seed remaining in the
tournament, Anish Giri.

Top: Lu Shanglai put up tremendous resistance against Topalov

Below: Wei Yi beats his Chinese counter part Ding Liren to advance

OCTOBER 201543

WORLD CUP

Giri - Vachier-Lagrave
Game 2
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nf3 Bg7 4.e3!?
Giri is not interested in seeing VachierLagraves Grunfeld Defence.
4...0-0 5.Be2 b6 6.0-0 Bb7 7.Nc3 d5
8.cxd5 Nxd5
So far the players have followed the
game Dubov-Vachier-Lagrave from
the Qatar Open in 2014. There White
played 9.Qb3 but achieved nothing
after 9...e6 followed by ...Nd7 and
...c5.
9.Bd2!? c5?!
Too impetuous, but Giri was confident
Vachier-Lagrave would play this way,
explaining Maxime is a very strong
player with a great sense of dynamics, but he often likes giving away
pawns without any real compensation. He pushes ...c5 in all Grunfeld

compensation! Well, as you can see

At first sight Whites win is not so easy

we found such a position!

because 68.Ra6 Kg2 69.Ke7? allows

69...Rxf7+! 70.Kxf7 Kxh2 with a draw.

10.dxc5! Nxc3 11.Bxc3 Bxc3 12.bxc3

Nd7

68.Rb2!!

Giving up a pawn is necessar y

Suddenly it turns out that Black is in

because after 12...bxc5 13.Qa4 Black

zugzwang, unable to both keep his

has serious problems, with Rfd1,

king close to the h2 pawn and keep

Rab1 and Qh4 in the air.

his rook on the f-file (since 68...Rf5

loses to 69.Kg7).

13.cxb6 axb6 14.Qd4 Qc7

68...Ra4 69.Rb6 1-0
In a typical Grunfeld, Blacks pawn
sacrifice would be good enough for

Only the next day did the players

rough equality but here, without a

realise that Whites win was not as

dark squared bishop on g7, Black

smooth as they had thought.

has no real hope of winning one of

Whites isolated queenside pawns

(Diagram of position after Whites

and must simply defend.

50th move)

15.Rfb1 Ra5 16.Qb4 e6 17.Qe7 Qd8

18.Qxd8 Rxd8
40 moves later Vachier-Lagrave was
still fighting hard but the extra pawn
was by now on the seventh rank.

positions, wherever he can. Thats

typical for him, though he usually
manages to hold afterwards.
While discussing with one of my
seconds what I was going to play
today, I pointed out a position I
wouldnt wish to play. In that position
he would have compensation for the
pawn, but he likes giving away pawns
even without compensation. Then
we thought - lets look for the positions where he wouldnt have such
4450 MOVES MAGAZINE

Here Vachier-Lagrave played the

obvious
50...Kd3 and after 51.Kf3 Kc2 52.Ra1
Rxb4 53.Ra5 the Black king could not
get back in time, leading eventually to
the previous diagram.

WORLD CUP

What Vachier-Lagrave only realised

as he began the process of rebooking his air ticket back to Paris was that

Svidler-Wei Yi
Game 3, after Blacks 22nd move

the remarkable

advance, but again Wei finds a way

to stay in the game.
38...b4! 39.f5+ Kxf5! 40.Rxd7 Kxe5
41.Kd3 Kf6 42.Rd5 Ke6 43.Rb5 Kf6

50...Ke3!! would have held the game.

44.Ke4 Be7 45.Kf4 Bd6+ 46.Ke4 Be7

47.Kf4 Bd6+ 48.Kg4 Ke6

The point is that after 51.Re1+ Kd3!

(51...Kd4 loses to 52.Kf3! f5 53.Kg3!!,
headed for g5) 52.Kf3 Rxb4 53.Rd1+
(otherwise the Black king will return
in time) 53...Kc2 54.Rd5 Rb3+ 55.Kg2
h4 56.Rh5 Kd3! and once again the
Black king saves the day.
A tiny difference, but one which might

Svidler had sacrificed the exchange

have seen Vachier-Lagrave into the

and now calculates a clever forcing

semi-finals rather than Giri. As Svidler

sequence w hich clar i f ies his

commented People start to lose

advantage.

their minds.
23.Nxa7! Nxe3 24.Nxc8 Nxg2
Svidler himself finally ended the won-

25.Ne7+ Kf7 26.Nxg6! Kxg6 27.Rg1

derful run of Wei Yi, though it took

Rxa2 28.Rxg2+ Kf7 29.Ne5+ Kf8

the Russian six games to finally kill

30.Ng6+ Kf7 31.Nf4! Rxb2+

off the challenge from the Chinese

teenager.

Even Weis tactical vision was not

quite enough to see 31...b5! with the

After his tiebreak victories against

point that 32.Nxe6 is met by 32...

Vovk and Ding, Wei had seemed like

Nh5!!.

49.Kh5 Now Black draws immediately but it turns out that even the
more sophisticated 49.Kf3 Be7 50.Kf4
Bd6+ 51.Ke4 Kd7 52.Kd5 Kc7 53.Kc4
Kc6 54.Rh5 Bf8 55.Rf5 Be7 56.Rf7 Kd6
57.Rh7 (D) which seems to win a pawn
is not good enough because after

an indestructible Terminator in tiebreakers, capable of surviving impos-

32.Ke3 Bf8

sible adversity on the board or the

clock.

The best chance as now 32...b5

33.Nxe6 is good for White.

Although Svidler did a wonderful

job of shutting down Weis tactical

33.Bc4 Rb6 34.Nxe6 Rxe6 35.e5 Nd7

strength - Wei barely surviving the

36.f4 b5 37.Bxe6+ Kxe6 38.Rd2!

opening in many games somehow

Svidler could never turn his advan-

This looks grim for Black, with the

tages into a full point.

connected passed pawns ready to

57...Bg5! 58.Kxb4 Ke5! 59.Rf7 Ke4

OCTOBER 201545

WORLD CUP

White can make no progress, e.g.

60.Kc5 Bf4 61.Kc6 Kf3 62.Kd5 Kg3
63.Ke4 Bd2 64.Rf3+ Kh4 and the draw

Chess
in Azerbaijan

Azerbaijan is quite good at womens

g ymnas tics. One problem for
womens chess in Azerbaijan is that
women who play reach a certain age

is secure.
Taking time out from putting players

and then they start a family. Women

49...Kd7! 50.Kxh6 Kc6 51.Rf5 b3

on planes back to their home coun-

in Azerbaijan are not very sporty but

52.Rf1 Kc5 53.h4 b2 54.Rb1 Be5

tries and finding hotel rooms for

it will come. Society is changing.

55.Kg6 Kc4 56.Rxb2 Draw

others staying longer than expected,

the organising committee directors

Most of the people in Azerbaijan

After five hard-fought draws, came

Murad Isgandarli and Joanna Golas

like chess and they respect it. People

the decisive sixth and final game of

sat down with Ian Rogers to explain

from the hotel, especially the man-

the match. Svidler explained, As the

the position of chess in Azerbaijan.

agement, respected chess; thats

why they were ready to help us to

match progressed, it became more

evident that we were not in control

The mos t popular spor t s in

organise the World Cup. The Flame

of what was going on. People are

Azerbaijan are wrestling, football,

Towers is an iconic building so we

tired and the quality dropped signifi-

chess, then boxing. We are in third

wanted to hold it here and for the

cantly. Its kind of ironic that the game

place it is not bad.

hotel also hosting the World Cup is a

great honour, not some minor event

I won, strategically the position was

just awful. I got very lucky in the final

If you talk with our locals, even take

one.

some people from the street, basi-

or congress.

cally everybody plays chess or played

In 2009 the President of Azerbaijan

The final semi-finalist was Sergey

chess. Often my close friends tell me

signed a decree, starting a chess

Karjakin who, in front of a large crowd

Yes, I played chess when I was young

development programme for the

hoping for a home success, stopped

but then I had to choose if I want to go

whole country. It is a special pro-

Mamedyarovs run.

to the university or play chess. In our

gramme for developing chess in

IT department for the tournament we

the regions we have a network of

After a shaky first game and a short

have former chessplayers; one who

chess schools, more than 70 based

draw in the second, Karjakin was

was the last USSR Youth Champion

in the city centres of the regions and

always in control of the tiebreakers,

for his age group.

under the protection of the Minister

for Education. We have a lot of people

the first two being drawn but then

the Russian winning both of the 10

You can walk around the city, espe-

in the regions who have played and

minute games for a 4-2 victory.

cially on the boulevard, and can find

are qualified to teach chess.

people sitting on the sides of the

fountains playing chess chess or

We will star t working on the

backgammon.

Olympiad as soon as we finish with

the World Cup. We have the venue

4650 MOVES MAGAZINE

Women dont play sports so much in

already, the Crystal Hall which is a

Azerbaijan; fitness, gym, aerobics

great place. If you realise that we

the types of sports to keep you fit.

have only 128 players at the World

Gymnastics is also quite popular

Cup yet there are so many difficulties,

WORLD CUP

so many organisational issues. Its

to bring peace to the region, showing

Armageddon finish. Sargissian won,

scaring us but we will manage [the

that I respect the neighbouring

and the celebrations among his sup-

Olympiad in 2016]. We need more

country.

porters were apparent.

us, more chess lovers, more volun-

Shortly before the World Cup began,

Within a few days some of the

teers. Most of the volunteers here

relations between Azerbaijan and

Armenian players had enough con-

were also volunteers for the recent

Armenia became more tense, with

fidence to take walks in the park

European Games. We have a lot of

the Azerbaijan government declaring

nearby the hotel. The park was not a

ideas and are planning some crazy

that negotiations over the disputed

complete escape from the worries of

events for the Olympiad.

territory of Nagorno-Karabakh have

the world it contained hundreds of

failed and they may need to turn to

plaques commemorating the (mostly)

military force.

young Azeri soldiers who died in

people, more professionals to help

The Armenians
That players from Armenia competed in Baku at all was a tribute
to the sincere efforts of the World
Cup organisers as well as the willingness of the Armenian players to
reciprocate.
Citizens from Armenia or of Armenian
origin are normally not granted visas
for Azerbaijan but the Azeris when
agreeing to host the World Cup (and
the Olympiad in 2016) agreed to make
it possible for Armenians to compete.
The organisers declared that the visiting Armenians would be completely
secure, though Aronian took no
chances, bringing his own bodyguard.
Speaking before the tournament
Aronian had said, Surely its not very
easy for we chess players to do our
best, because our countries are in
conflict. However I get along well with
Azeri players and Armenian artists
and musicians also go to Azerbaijan.
I will perform as a person who wants

1992 fighting against Armenia over

Add to that travelling to a city which

Nagorno-Karabakh.

saw pogroms against Armenians little

more than a quarter of a century

The Baku World Cup turned out to

ago and there was reason for the

be a disaster (chess-wise) for the

Armenian players to be nervous.

Armenian contingent including

the US players of Armenian origin,

The organisers had expended plenty

who also required a special visa to

of effort assuring the Armenian Chess

be allowed to participate. All the

Federation that their Grandmasters

Armenians were knocked out by the

would be safe in Baku and were true

second round, perhaps showing that,

to their word, with security screening

despite the best efforts of the Azeri

for all World Cup audience members

organisers, it was possible to feel

and positioning of the Armenian

safe in Baku and yet not comfort-

tables as far from any spectators

able enough to perform at maximum

as possible. More than that, the

strength.

World Cup organisers attempted, as

much as was possible, to make the

Nonetheless, on his final day in

Armenians feel welcome.

Baku, Aronian went for a tour along

the waterfront and into the old

Before the event, the Armenian

town of Baku. When your World

players had expected to confine

Championship chances have been

themselves to the Flame Towers Hotel

lost for two years, why not live dan-

for the duration of the tournament.

The players stuck together, creating a

gerously and have some fun?

mini cheer squad to support Gabriel

Sargissian when his first round match
against Mateusz Bartel went to an

OCTOBER 201547

WORLD CUP

Top: The Armenian team before their starting games.

Below: The teams arrive for the opening ceremony

4850 MOVES MAGAZINE

WORLD CUP

Anti-cheating
At the Baku World Cup, the FIDE
Anti-Cheating Commission introduced what were correctly described
as unprecedented anti-cheating
measures.
While ACP President and tournament commentator Emil Sutovsky
described the measures as sensible
and not draconian, some players, and
many spectators wondered if they
had been properly thought through.
At the World Cup, watches, as well as
mobile phones, were treated as electronic devices and banned from the
playing hall. Pens could be inspected
and the organisers requested that
players use the official pens provided. (As usual at World Cups nowadays, players and spectators were
scanned electronically before entering the playing hall.)
Any player who left the playing hall,
to use the toilet or to smoke, could be
subject to scanning on their return
and 5 players each round were randomly chosen for scans at the end of
their games.
Most controversially, several games
each round had their transmission
delayed by 15 minutes. While an
anti-cheating measure also used
at Dortmund, here it was rendered

feed televising those games was not

Whether they are necessary or effec-

delayed.

tive is another question; no doubt

when another lower rated player like

So spectators could watch moves via

Sandu starts scoring well, they will be

the live television feed and even see

deemed insufficient and new mea-

a game finishing, while the commen-

sures introduced.

tators were explaining moves from

15 minutes earlier. It was amateur-

As Nakamura tweeted: Its a sad day

ish at best, enormously frustrating

for chess when cheating has reached

for spectators at worst.

the point of no watches and pens

being allowed.

Just to confuse the picture further,

players who suspected their oppo-

Giri was more practical. If they

nent of cheating could no longer

remove one way of cheating, they

quietly ask the arbiter to keep an eye

will allow another one. I am not

on their opponent. Any accusation

worried and dont suspect anyone.

had now to be made in writing an

At a tournament like Dortmund it is

enormous distraction during a game

very easy to listen to the commen-

- and to further discourage any alle-

tators backstage or bring your own

gations, two false accusations would

device. But I dont think any one of

mean a ban for the accuser.

the top players does that we dont

live on anti-cheating regulations, we

These new measures are a direct

live on trust.

response to the Sandu case from

the 2015 European Women s
Championship in Georgia, where
Natalia Zhukova, without any evidence, made cheating allegations
against the tournament leader
Mihaela Sandu. Despite the continuing absence of any evidence
apart from Sandus 5/5 start to the
tournament, Zhukova - and surprisingly many others - still maintain that Sandu must have cheated
somehow, and that paranoia has
manifested itself in the new anticheating measures.

ineffective by the fact that the video

OCTOBER 201549

WORLD CUP

Semi-finals
For three of the four players, these
were the real finals, since the winners
would qualify for the 2016 Candidates
tournament. Only Anish Giri had prequalified (thanks to his high average
rating throughout 2015).
The Svidler-Giri semi-final was matching two players undefeated so far in
the tournament in fact Giri was on
a non-losing streak of over 40 games
but one bad day meant elimination
for the Dutchman.

Giri - Svidler
Game 2
A surprise for Svidler. Giri has usually
played the closed openings against
me, so after 1.e4 I was sitting there
wishing I had at least made a plan for
1.e4, admitted Svidler.

11...exd4!? 12.cxd4 Nd7

immediately 20.Ng4 I have the

typical idea 20...Bc3! gaining a tempo

Svidler seems to have adopted

and after 21.Bd2 Bxd2 22.Qxd2 Nf6

this unusual version of the Zaitsev

23.Nxf6+ Qxf6 24.b4, maybe I am

system after it was used against

slightly worse but it is playable, said

him in Gibraltar in January by the

Svidler.

young Icelandic player Gudmundur

Kjartansson and he subsequently

Meanwhile on Twitter, Radjabov was

used it without troubles against Yu

commenting, Its funny that so far

Yangyi and Motylev. I have spent a

Giri is following my own preparation

lot of time on this line and I am not

for my first game against Svidler [in

convinced that it equalises but [under

round 3]!

the circumstances] it seemed better

than the alternatives, said Svidler.

20...Nb6

13.Nf1 Na5 14.Bc2 Bf6 15.Rb1

By now I realised that I would have

to give up one of my bishops, said

The most dangerous move for

Svidler, but I felt that if I have to give

Black, said Svidler. In fact the whole

up my dark-squared bishop I will be

system is strategically very danger-

more or less lost because his bishop

ous for Black.

will come to b2 and I will get mated.

15...c5 16.d5 Nc4 17.b3 Nce5

21.Ng4 Bxg4

18.N3h2 Ng6 19.Ng3 Bc8

By now I had only 45 minutes left,
said Svidler. I have spent [a lot of

1...e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6

time] analysing this line but it would

5.0-0 Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 0-0 8.c3 d6

have been nice to remember what I

9.h3 Bb7 10.d4 Re8 11.Nbd2

had written in my notes!

In contrast, Giri had his first serious
pause for thought only on 21.Ng4,
and even then for only eight minutes.
22.hxg4 h6 23.Nf5

20.Rf1
Played more or less instantly. If

5050 MOVES MAGAZINE

This looks tremendous for White

as Blacks counterplay is a long way
away, admitted Svidler.

WORLD CUP

23...Ne7! 24.Ne3!?
He decided to keep the knights on

32.Bd2 when the b-pawn can be a

Rxa2 then after 32.g5 hxg5 33.Qf3-

weakness. This was a way to make

h5-h7-h8! is a real threat.

sure that White is never worse.

32.g5

the board, but 24.g3 Nxf5 25.gxf5

was also possible, said Svidler.

28...Ng6
Played after only a minute and a half;
I guess he missed something, said

24...b4! 25.g3 a5 26.Kg2!?

Svidler. If 32.Bxh6!? Nxf5 33.gxf5

He has a tremendous amount of

Ra3! 34.Rb3 Rxb3 35.axb3 gxh6

choice, said Svidler, so he began

36.Rxh6 Qe7! and the attack stops,

to use a lot of time. If he had played

although the win may take some

26.a4!? I was not sure how I was sup-

time.

posed to react. Anish feared 26...bxa3

32...hxg5

but after 27.Bxa3 I think this would be

much easier for White to control than
the position he reached in the game.
26...a4
Here he had another long think,
said Svidler. If he allows my rook to
reach a2 it will be difficult for him to
give mate, which will probably require
playing f4.
27.bxa4!? Qd7 28.Qd3?!
After this it will be hard to go back.
Anish said he was thinking about
28.g5!? Bxg5 29.f4 Bf6 30.e5 but he
couldnt make it work, explained
Svidler. My big advantage was that
for the remainder of the game,
almost every move I make will be
an only move, whereas White has 5
options at every turn!
If he wants to limit the damage he
can play 28.a3! e.g. 28...Nxa4 29.Bxa4
Rxa4 30.axb4 Rxb4 31.Rxb4 cxb4

29.Nf5?
If 29.a3! I have the tremendous move
29...c4! 30.Nxc4 Nxc4 31.Qxc4 Qxg4
but then 32.Bd1! is enough to force
a draw after 32...Nh4+ 33.Kh2 Nf3+
34.Kg2, said Svidler.
29...Nxa4 30.Bxa4

33.Ne3

He offered a draw here, said Svidler,

Perhaps he thought he could give

but this is obviously the best position

mate with 33.Nxe7+ Qxe7 34.e5 but

I have had in this game so far and if

after 34...Qxe5! I just collect all the

I dont see [a mate for him] I should

[pawns], said Svidler.

continue!
33...Rxa2 34.Bd2 Ng6 35.Nf5 Ne5!
30...Rxa4 31.Rh1 Ne7!
My original plan was to play 35...c4!
The last important moment of the

36.Qf3 Rxd2 37.Qh5 Nh4+! 38.gxh4

game, said Svidler. Once the knights

Rxe4 (I looked at 38...g6! 39.Nh6+

come off it will be much easier for me

Kg7 40.Qf3 but now I see that 40...

to defend the kingside. If I play 31...

Rd3! wins on the spot.) 39.hxg5 Rxf2+

OCTOBER 201551

WORLD CUP

but then I saw 40.Kg1!!, explained

...Nf3 and all of my pieces come in.

Svidler. Though probably here even

40...Rg4+! wins.

for tragedy to strike in an extraordinary manner.

38...Kg8 39.Nh6+ Kg7 40.Nf5+ gxf5

Karjakin - Eljanov

41.Qh5 Ng6 0-1

Svidlers calculations were not quite

Game 6, after Whites 64th move

correct - in this line 41.Ng3!! mirac-

I have reached the time control and

ulously holds the game and forces

he has just one check, said Svidler.

Black to take a perpetual check after

41...Rxg3+ 42.Kxf2 Qf5+ 43.Kxg3

The rematch the next day was a non-

Be5+ 44.Kg2 Qc2+.

event; Svidler succeeded in taking

queens off the board by move ten

36.Qe2 g6

and did nothing until Giri offered a

draw on move 51. Giris final tweet
summed up most players World Cup
experience; Was getting lucky, until I
no longer was...
The second semi-final was a heartbreaker for the player of the World
Cup, Pavel Eljanov.
Using the same tactics employed by
Rustam Kasimdzhanov to stop the

37.Nh6+
I was in a state of blind panic when
I saw that he could play 37.Bxg5!!??,
admitted Svidler, because if 37...Bxg5
38.Qxa2 gxf5 39.f4 and the fight continues. However then I spotted 37...
Rxe2! 38.Bxf6 Rxf2+! 39.Kg1 Rh2!!
After I found ...Rh2 I took a deep
breath!.
37...Kg7 38.Nf5+
There is nothing else he can do, said
Svidler. If 38.Rh2 he has no threats;
I can even play 38...g4 followed by

5250 MOVES MAGAZINE

Topalov freight train in Libya 2004 a

KO event where Topalov had started
with 9.5/10 Karjakin hung on to draw
with Black and took a quick draw with
White in the classical games, to force
a rapid tiebreaker.
Eljanov still held the upper hand
after winning the first rapid game but
Karjakin bounced back immediately,
as he had done against Onischuk
earlier in the World Cup.
A one move blunder cost Eljanov the
first 10 minute game with White, but
he then comprehensively outplayed
Karjakin in the return match-up, only

Black first task is to create a passed

pawn on the queenside and he did
so with
64...a5! 65.Be1 Ke6?!
Not spoiling anything but Black had
a straightforward win with the direct
65...Bb3! 66.Kxd3 Bxa4 67.Bf2 and
now 67...Bb5+! when White can only
choose between 68.Kc3 Ke4! followed
by ...Kf3xg3 and 68.Ke3 a4 69.Be1 a3
70.Bc3 a2 when Black will win slowly
but surely by pushing his b-pawn,
bringing his king over to the queenside and then distracting Whites
pieces with a well-timed ...h4.
66.Bc3 Kf5 67.Be1 Kf6 68.Bd2 Kg6
69.Bc3 Kf5??

WORLD CUP

Final
Those whom the Gods
wish to destroy, they
first make mad.

with the White pieces where he

needed only a draw. Once again
the player leading the match failed
to hold. Svidlers distress and tiredness was becoming more and more
evident while Karjakin, at least externally, appeared to be calmer and
more able to concentrate.

The four game final proved to be the

epitome of a Hunger Games finale,

The first blitz game was a new disas-

with exhaustion and blunders prev-

ter for Svidler. Having found a cre-

alent. Peter Svidler seemed to have

ative attack in a Marshall Gambit,

Having gained some 10 second incre-

the final in his keeping by outplay-

the older man was up an exchange

ments, Eljanov is now ready to play

ing Karjakin in the first game and

and with 41 seconds to 4 when he

70...Bb3 and win as in the previous

then exploiting a terrible blunder by

blundered a rook for nothing and

note.

Karjakin in the second.

resigned immediately.

Unfor tunately at this moment

Seems like I used the limit of all the

The next game saw a dispirited

Karjakin called over the arbiter and

luck I had! was Karjakins summary

Svidler create some chances but

indicated that he would play 70.Be1

after falling behind 0-2. FIDE officials,

Karjakin held firm and won when

after which the position will have

including the FIDE President Kirsan

Svidler pushed too hard. The final

appeared three times with the same

Iljumzhinov began arriving in Baku,

score of 6-4 was very harsh on Svidler

person to move.

looking to witness the last rites.

but the winner of the 2015 World Cup

turned out to be the come-back kid

After the players and the arbiter

However Karjakin and the match

replayed the game on an adja-

wasnt finished yet Svidler, just

cent board, a devastated Eljanov

moves away from a 3-0 victory, blun-

Svidler- Karjakin

had to accept the draw, ending his

dered in the third game and was

Game 1

Candidates hopes. Nonetheless, the

then ground down in a depressing

Ukrainian still found the strength

endgame in the fourth and final clas-

1.Nf3 Nf6 2.g3 d5 3.Bg2 e6 4.0-0 Be7

to tweet, Its untrue to call Sergey

sical game.

5.d3 0-0 6.Nbd2 c5 7.e4 Nc6 8.Re1

Karjakins victory undeserved. Chess

is the most fair sport.

Sergey Karjakin.

b5 9.exd5 Nxd5!?
Having survived his fourth must-win
game for the tournament, Karjakin

Most were more inclined to agree

won the first tiebreaker and was then

with Nakamuras opinion, contradict-

in a position to need only to draw to

ing Carlsen, that, It would be insane

take the title.

to consider this [sort of KO tournament] as a World Championship.

He failed, Svidler winning the next

two games to have another game

OCTOBER 201553

5450 MOVES MAGAZINE

A fairytale event for Eljanov but tragically cut short in dramatic style

WORLD CUP

13.Bg5 f6

play 16.d4! said Svidler. 16...bxc3?!

Based on a miscalculation, said

Passed over without comment by

Svidler.

Svidler, but after 13...h6! 14.Bxe7

Qxe7 it is unlikely that White can make

16...cxd4 17.cxd4 exd4, keeping the b

anything of the weakened c5 square,

file closed, was far stronger.

so the position remains equal. Later

Black will begin to regret the weaken-

17.bxc3 cxd4 18.cxd4 Nxd4

ing involved in playing ...f6.

Played extremely quickly by Karjakin,
14.Bd2 e5 15.Rc1

who thought for 11 minutes on 15...

Rf7, 4 on 16...bxc3 and then used only

A perfectly healthy option. Sergey

seconds for his next three moves,

has played a number of games after

believing that he had found a forced

9...exd5 which is a different kettle of

draw .

fish, said Svidler.

However on 18...exd4 19.Qb3! is again
10.Ne4

very strong, e.g. 19...Rb8 20.Nfg5!!

fxg5 21.Nc5! and Black is losing

White is supposed to play 10.a4 b4

material.

11.Nc4, said Svidler, but both sides

are very solid and I honestly dont

19.Nxd4 exd4

know what White is supposed to be

doing here. In playing 10.Ne4 I was
hoping for something sharper.
10...Bb7 11.c3 a6
I thought that the easiest way for
for Black to play 11...h6!, to cut out
Bg5 said Svidler. I wasnt sure
what I would do because if 12.d4
cxd4 13.Nxd4 Nxd4 14.Qxd4 Qc7 I
think Black has a small but tangible
advantage.
12.a4 b4
12...h6 was still playable, whereas
now I started to become interested.

15...Rf7?!
A subtle move, protecting the bishop
on b7 in some lines, but the rook
proves to be awkwardly placed when
the position blows open. 15...Rc8,
taking the c5 square under control,
was worrying me a great deal, said
Svidler. I am not sure what to do
next. If I play 16.d4 then after 16...
cxd4 17.cxd4 Nxd4 18.Nxd4 exd4 I
never have Nc5.

20.Qb3!

16.d4!

He thought I had to play 20.Nc5,

said Svidler, and then 20...Bxc5

There are other options but its clear

21.Rxc5 Nc3! and we can go home, -

that if I can play 16.d4 then I should

all the pieces will come off and it will

OCTOBER 201555

WORLD CUP

be a four rook endgame with equal

Rd6

material.

Karjakin-Svidler
Game 5, after Blacks 66th move

20...Rb8?!
Sergey thought he was better now,
said Svidler. The alternative 20...
Qd7 may have been better but after
21.Ba5! Black is under huge pressure.
21.Rb1!
Suddenly he is almost in zugzwang,
said Svidler. He cant connect the
rooks because 21...Rf8 runs into
22.Bf4!.
21...Qd7 22.Rec1!
I can win the exchange with
22.Ng5!?, said Svidler, but after 22...
fxg5 23.Bxd5 Bxd5 24.Qxb8+ Rf8, I
might even be worse.
22...Qe6?
I couldnt find a forced win after 22...
h6, admitted Svidler, even though
af ter 23.Nc5 Bxc5 24.Rxc5 Nc3
25.Bxc3 dxc3 26.Rxc3 he is completely
tied up. At some point he might be
able to play ...Bxg2, though of course
I should be winning somehow.
For Karjakin, the thought of a permanent pin on the b file was too horrible
to contemplate so after 10 minutes
he prefers to allow a quick death.
23.Nc5 Bxc5 24.Rxc5 Rd8 25.Ba5!

5650 MOVES MAGAZINE

If 25...Rdd7, 26.Qc4 wins also,

though I was thinking about 26.Re1
Qd6 27.Qxb7!? (27.Bb4! is the clearest win I.R.) 27...Rxb7 28.Re8+ Rf8
29.Bxd5+ Rbf7 30.Rxf8+ Kxf8 31.Bb4!
and maybe White is winning anyway,
said Svidler.
Svidlers final conclusion was true,
but he was fortunate he did not have
to choose which line to play as he had
missed 29...Kh8! after which Black
turns the tables.
26.Qc4!
Karjakin admitted to overlooking this
when he played 22...Qe6.
26...Nc3 27.Rxb7 Qe1+ 28.Bf1 Ne2+
29.Qxe2 1-0
There is no hope after 29.Qxe2 Qxe2
30.Rc8+! Rf8 31.Rxf8+ Kxf8 32.Bxe2.

Black, who had held the upper hard

for much of the game before allowing Karjakin to win a pawn, seems to
have set up an unbreakable blockade.
However Karjakin finds one last way
for White to play for a win...
67.Kb2 Be6 68.Ka3 Bd5
Here or next move Svidler could force
a draw with 68...g5! when White must
back-pedal with 69.Bd8 f4 70.Bxg5
fxg3 71.Be3 g2 when the passed g
pawn prevents any winning attempts
by White.
69.Kb4 Be6 70.Bd8! Bd5 71.Ka5 Be6
72.Ka6 Bc8+ 73.Ka7 Be6 74.Bg5 Bd7
75.Bf4 Be6 76.Kb8 Bd7 77.Bg5 Be6
78.Bh6 Bd7 79.Bf4 Be6

WORLD CUP

Sergey Karjakin secures a spot in the next Candidates tournament

Svidler spent most of his remaining
time on this decision but there may
be no way to save the game. After 80...
Kxd5!? 81.Kc7 Bf7 82.Kd7 Be6+ 83.Ke7
Bc8 84.Kf7 Bd7! 85.Kxg6 Be8+! then
86.Kf6!! (and not 86.Kxf5 Bd7+ 87.Kf6
Bg4 which probably holds) leads to
zugzwang after 86...Bd7 87.Kf7!.
81.Kc8 Bb3 82.Kd8 Bc4 83.Ke7 Bb3
84.e6 Bc4 85.Kf6 Bb3
Has Karjakin run out of ideas? Not

Black wants to answer 86.e7 with 86...

yet!

Kd7 87.Bd6 Ke8 88.Kxg6 Bd1, though

perhaps even this does not hold if

80.d5+!! Bxd5

White manoeuvres his king to c5 and

follows with g4.

OCTOBER 201557

WORLD CUP

In any case Karjakin finds a far supe-

Karjakin-Svidler

rior win.

Game 9, after Whites 42nd move

The first of the blitz games. Svidler

has played well and has 40 seconds to
his opponents 4 (plus 3 second incre-

86.Bc1! Bc4 87.Ba3 Bb3 88.e7 Kd7

ments). Any normal move - 42...Qe8

89.Kxg6 1-0

or 42...Re8 - would win without difficulty but Svidler played 42...Kg8??

Now the h pawn is lost because

43.Qxb8+ 1-0

89.Kxg6 Bd1 is impossible because

of 90.Kf7.

Karjakin-Svidler
Game 9, after Whites 42nd move

id Sergey Karjakin deserve to win the 2015 edition of chess

Hunger Games? Of course; he survived and none of the other
127 contenders did. Even Svidler admitted, If I dont use so
many opportunities to finish the match, I dont deserve to
win.
There were plenty of What if?s for Karjakin, starting with

his second round match against Onischuk but in the end the 25-year-old, the
youngest Grandmaster in history, not only qualified for his first Candidates tournament but become the only player to survive 5 must-win games in a World
Cup. Many players - even Karjakin - will probably be happy that the next FIDE
knock-out tournament is two full years away; otherwise Nakamuras prediction
of players dying of stress might come true.

5850 MOVES MAGAZINE

WORLD CUP

O C youre
T O B E Rwinning
201559
Peter Svidler when

WORLD CUP

Above: When youre not

Below: The chess taxi

6050 MOVES MAGAZINE

WORLD CUP

Above: The closing ceremony awards

Below: Final press conference for the two players
Photos by Maria Emelianova

OCTOBER 201561

OCTOBER 2015

INTERVIEW

MAX ILLINGWORTH:
LIFE OF A CHESS PLAYER
2015 has been another great year for young Sydney
chessplayer Max Illingworth, who has closed in on the
Grandmaster title and won the Oceania Zonal at his
home club Norths in July to qualify for the World Cup in
Baku. We spoke to him after his match against Indian
Grandmaster Pentala Harikrishna.

IntErvIEw By fEdja zulfIc and Moulthun ly

6250 MOVES MAGAZINE

Interview by Fedja Zulfic

andMoutlhun Ly

Photos By cathy rogErs

inTeRVieW

Road to the

World Cup

ell us a bit about yourself, some

interesting things people might
not know - your early life, how
you started playing chess, some
of your other hobbies etc.

As some of you already know, I am a chess

professional, which means I make my living
from chess coaching, playing and writing
about chess. When I was very young I played
a lot of games and had a knack for them
(usually beating my parents quite quickly). My
introduction to chess came as a six year old
travelling around Europe, where I saw two old
men playing on a giant chess set in Salzburg,
Austria, and I was immediately transfixed to
the game. When I returned to Australia, my
mum taught me how to play, I joined a local
junior chess club and things went from there.
I should point out that I didnt treat chess
competitively at all for the first couple of years
I played, then when I was eight years old I
played in a tournament and saw Raymond
Song picket-fence the tournament I was
playing in, which motivated me to start
working towards becoming a stronger player.
I dont have that many hobbies as my chess

life and work keeps me pretty busy, however

I like to run and jog, listen to music, read and
watch good films. I view myself as a passionate
person able to find pleasure in many things,
and it happens that chess is the most
pleasurable activity for me.
Who have been the major influences in
your chess career, and what role have they
played?
I feel the most substantial influences have
come from my former coaches I worked with
for a long period of time namely John-Paul
Wallace (before he moved to Europe), Brett
Tindall and Ian Rogers. I think my current style
is to a large extent the result of John-Pauls
emphasis on having a good understanding
of the position (which I also emphasise in
my work with my students), Brett helped a
lot in giving my play the dynamism it needed
to develop past a club level, and Ian was
instrumental in bringing pragmatism and
trickiness into my play, as well as contributing
heavily to my chess understanding and
knowledge. My work with Laszlo Hazai was
also quite important in evolving my overall
approach to the opening phase.
OCTOBER 201563

 My first ever published contribution

was in the New in
Chess Yearbook in
2005

In terms of favourite
players, I really liked the
games of Peter Leko as a
young junior, but once I
gained a little experience
I realized I could learn a
lot from the games of any
strong player and since
then I tend to most closely
follow those players who are playing the best
at any given time. And as far as authors go, the
first chess books I studied seriously were an
old series by Seirawan, which provided a solid
framework for my overall chess understanding
as I was starting out.
Youre well known for playing a wide
variety of opening variations (just about
every one in the book!) and now regularly
write about opening theory for this
magazine and a number of other top
publications. Is there something that you
find particularly interesting about the
first phase of the game that has led to you
becoming a specialist?

Indeed, Im familiar with

virtually every major
opening variation and have
experience in many of
them although with the
machine and databases as
they are, its become a lot
easier to get the necessary
knowledge and feel for a certain variation.
On the subject of my writing, my first ever
published contribution was in the New In
Chess Yearbook in 2005, when I noticed
an important omission in a survey on the
Sveshnikov Sicilian (my main defence to 1.e4 at
the time) and sent a letter correcting it. At the
time I probably set a record for the youngest
person to contribute to the Yearbook! Then
in mid-2009 the Australasian Chess Magazine
was looking for a replacement Games
Columnist to analyse recent high-level games,
and I fulfilled this role until the magazines
cessation at the end of 2013.

Left:
Two Australians in
Baku - and a third
behind the camera!
Ian talks to Max after
his game.

6450 MOVES MAGAZINE

MAX illinGWORTH

In the meantime I started writing surveys on a

regular basis for the New In Chess Yearbook,
then from late 2013 I started contributing
opening articles to ChessBase Magazine,
and Ive been writing the 1.d4 d5 section of
ChessPublishing (a major opening theory
website) for a year now, as well as analyzing
high-level games for ChessBase Magazine and
writing some blog posts when I have spare
time (which is not as often as I would like!).
As for my interest in the opening phase, its
quite logical to put a lot of work into this
area of the game as it is quite easy to apply
such work (and to be clear, by opening work
I include study of typical middlegame and
endgame positions) in your games you will
get the Najdorf Sicilian more often than rook
and f+h pawn vs. rook if your repertoire is so
inclined.
I think my original fascination with the opening
phase stemmed from a general curiosity,
of wondering what happens after various
continuations and wanting to try different
ideas, then I figured that I may as well learn
some theory rather than reinvent the wheel all
the time. I remember as a young kid I would
sometimes analyse by playing out some game
and then looking for improvements for both
sides from there. I think the New In Chess
magazine and Yearbook were also major
inspirations for me in this respect.
Do you feel that playing such a wide variety
of openings has helped develop your chess?
If yes, how? Were there times you feel you
may have struggled with
such a wide repertoire as a
junior?
Absolutely, to become a
very strong player you have
to understand every major
type of position and once I
realized this in late 2008 (Im
not sure how it clicked but I

probably read it somewhere) I figured that the

best way to do so would be to study different
variations and assimilate the knowledge into
understanding through practical play.
I can think of some players who were
definitely held back by having too narrow a
repertoire they still play the same openings
they did when they started playing serious
tournaments and it means they lack the
flexibility in thinking and recognition of ideas
from different openings to apply to their
openings to reach their full potential. At the
same time, its very important to be strong in a
narrow repertoire before you branch out too
much, otherwise your knowledge will be too
superficial and you wont specialize in certain
middlegame positions (which is essentially our
goal with playing the same openings over a
large number of games).
In my case I started out experimenting with a
lot of different openings as a beginner to find
what I liked, then with the help of my coach at
the time I settled on a narrow repertoire I was
passionate about and played those lines (with
some small adjustments as I become stronger)
from 2002-2007 before realizing I was getting
jaded with some of my current choices and
needed something fresh. I remember the
first big change I made of my own accord
was ditching the Kings Indian after some bad
losses in favour of the Nimzo and Bogo-Indian,
and I quickly jumped ahead 100 rating points.
At some point if you dont broaden your
repertoire you become a still target for the
opponents preparation, especially nowadays
with computers being so
strong.

You will get the

Najdorf Sicilian
more often than
rook and f+h pawn
vs. rook...

In 2012 you started

studying economics
at university before
dropping out to focus
on chess full-time. At
what point did you start
considering playing
OCTOBER 201565

MAX illinGWORTH

chess professionally and what gave you the

belief that you could do it?
Right, I wasnt enjoying economics (among
other things it was too dry for my liking),
whereas chess is something Ive been
consistently passionate about. In fact I was
already seriously thinking about being involved
in chess on a professional level for my gap
year in 2011, however at this time I did not
have a deep knowledge of the chess world and
hence I had to find out some things for myself.
But in early 2012, when I both understood
that it was possible to make a good living as
a chess coach and fully appreciated what a
full-time job as an employee would entail,
I became a lot more
motivated to make
chess work for me
(rather than assuming/
believing it could not be
done) and by working
hard on my own
game and helping my
students Ive succeeded
in doing so.

of moving overseas. However, I wouldnt really

like to be in a situation where I am relying
on having a good tournament to be able to
support myself. I value the independence that
comes from being primarily a chess coach,
and it allows me to play tournaments without
financial pressure, which would seriously
affect the enjoyment element for me.
My current plan is to have at least one specific
overseas trip each year as my holiday and
work hard between tournaments to maximize
my chances of success. If you stay overseas
for a long time just playing, it can be easy
to lose focus and momentum. However, if I
was offered a job as a head national coach or
something, obviously I would
have to take it quite seriously.

A significant factor in my decision

was seeing Ian
Rogers make a life
for himself out of
chess

A significant factor in
my decision was seeing
Ian Rogers make a life
for himself out of chess
so I knew that what I
was aiming for was possible. In my case Skype
has been a huge help in allowing me to coach
students all around the world (although my
clients are primarily in Australia).
Theres obviously a number of challenges
playing chess professionally in Australia
- would you consider moving overseas to
further your career?
Yes, its obvious that one cant make a living
solely from playing Australian tournaments,
due to the relative lack of sponsorship for
tournaments and the absence of government
support. I have thought about the possibility
6650 MOVES MAGAZINE

Since turning pro youve

achieved quite a few
milestones - playing two
Olympiads, winning the
Australian Championships in
2014 and the Oceania Zonal in
July to qualify for the World
Cup, crossing 2500-ELO along
the way. It seems youve
been able to deal with high
pressure situations much
better than before - the
crucial last-round win against
Nisipeanu at the 2014 Olympiad and your
recovery from a potentially devastating
final-round loss against Brodie McClymont
to win the Zonal in the playoff are perhaps
the best examples. Would you agree with
this observation? Is mental resilience
something youve been working on?
Yes, I am fairly happy with my progress
in the last two years, and Ive definitely
been working on my mental toughness
this year. Having some experience with
big games in tournaments makes it easier
to handle those situations and not repeat
psychological mistakes made in the past. Ive

The first game of the match, which proved to be decisive

found exercising much more regularly and
intensively this year has made my play a lot
more consistent, and I think my coaching
business becoming a lot more successful has
also contributed to my tournament successes
in giving me a good financial basis with any
earnings from tournaments being a handy
bonus.
The Zonal win qualified you for the World
Cup in Baku, where it seemed like you
would initially play Gelfand until a late
change to the players list just before the
pairings were finalised meant you would
play Harikrishna. How did you prepare and
what were your expectations heading in to
the match?
Indeed, it transpired that I was somewhat
unlucky with this change of pairing obviously

both players are super-GMs, however Gelfand

lost his Round 1 match to a Chilean IM, so
it is fair to say that in hindsight, my odds
would have been better against Gelfand than
Harikrishna (although Harikrishna was also
knocked out early, in Round 2).
There wasnt a lot of time for me to prepare
for this match, as I only knew the pairing a few
weeks beforehand, and I was also quite busy
with coaching and writing before leaving to
play the World Cup. I had worked on specific
openings to play against Harikrishna, and I
understood that because he plays so many
openings, this match would probably be
decided not so much on opening knowledge
but on who is more comfortable in the arising
position. So I decided to stick to systems
where I felt I could target my opponent and
where he would feel uncomfortable, without
OCTOBER 201567

INTERVIEW

compromising too much

on my own comfort level
with the position.

The main problem for me was that

I played way too
slowly

I also played practice

matches (in the style of
the World Cup) against
two strong Grandmasters
and was happy with how
those matches went and
while that didnt translate into success at the
World Cup, I learned a lot from the games and
I think the work Ive done for this event will
contribute to better results in the near future.

I felt that for this match, it would be important

to try and hold the draw with Black, and
exert some light but constant pressure with
White, and that my odds would improve quite
significantly in a tiebreak, as my opponent is
generally a bit stronger in classical chess.
Can you give us a short summary of how
your games went?
Sure, in the first game I surprised my
opponent with a Flank Openings system I
hadnt played much in the database, and my
opponent played a counter-surprise. When
I play in Australia I find that generally when
someone plays a surprise they are bluffing
to some extent and havent ironed out the
details, but when you are playing a 2600+
GM and they surprise you, they usually have
looked at the lines at home already. In any
case, we followed theory, but I hadnt looked
at this Double Fianchetto system for a while,
however my opponent was also struggling to
remember his home analysis (which proved to
be more detailed than mine).
However the main problem for me was that
I played way too slowly playing my first
tournament game ever with this format and
participating in the World Championship cycle,
along with playing a higher-rated player, led
me to constantly second-guess myself instead
6850 MOVES MAGAZINE

of playing the obvious moves

quickly based on my initial
calculations. Then when I
did get a better position,
I made another mistake I
know to avoid looking for
a way to totally prove that I
was much better rather than
playing an obvious and good
move that would preserve
my advantage. When I saw several of the top
players looking closely at my game, I took it
as a confirmation that I had a big opportunity
and after using way too much time, I played
a bad move, made a lot more mistakes in the
endgame (some the result of time pressure)
and lost.
With these two classical games, if you lose with
White against a super-GM you are more or less
a goner unless they choke, so I decided my
best chance for the second game was to play
a normal opening that I was comfortable with
and had prepared (rather than going crazy
trying to attack), and play quickly so I would
not doubt my calculations. Unfortunately
I made a quite simple oversight in one key
variation which led me to make a desperate
and incorrect exchange sacrifice instead, but
I got away with a draw by finding some good
defensive moves to liquidate all the pawns on
one side of the board after he missed a win.
In any case, I learned a lot from these two
games and I think that the next time I play in
the World Cup I will be a lot more confident
and not allow the magnitude of the event to
cloud my objectivity over the board.
What were your impressions of Baku and
the organisation of the World Cup?
Baku is a very nice city, the architecture is
quite impressive and there is a deep culture
in the country. The organization of the World
Cup meanwhile has been great, the players
were taken care of well in the official hotel

MAX ILLINGWORTH

and during the games. It was also very nice to

briefly communicate with some of the worlds
strongest players its a particularly good
feeling when they initiate the conversation! It
shows that the top players in general are very
good people and not elitist as such.
What are your upcoming tournaments
plans? Have you set yourself some goals
youd like to achieve now that youve
won perhaps the biggest tournaments in
Australia?
I will be playing the Malaysian Open in late
September and then travelling to the Isle of
Man Open in early October before returning
to Sydney. Then I have the MCC Hjorth Open
in November, the Australasian Masters in
December and the Australian Championship
in January, all in Melbourne. We will see after

that although if I do exceptionally well in the

Malaysian Open and Isle of Man Open I may
consider a second trip this year, possibly to the
London Chess Classic and Al Ain Open.
As far as goals go, my main aim is to become
as strong a chess player as possible. However
I think the logical steps from here would be
to start winning some of the strong open
tournaments in Asia and to get my FIDE rating
over 2600. At the time that happens I should
have a pretty good idea of what direction to
go next. My long-term goal as a coach is to
attain the FIDE Senior Trainer title (which is
even more exclusive than the Grandmaster
title), and it would be nice to write a very highquality book at some stage.
Thanks for talking to us and good luck for your
next tournaments!

OCTOBER 201569

Illingoworth, Max 2517

Harikrishna, Pentala 2743

Game Annotated
by IM Illingworth

World Cup 2015 Baku R1.1

I didnt have a great deal of time to

ready for this. Personally I think this

get me out of my preparation, but it

prepare for this Round 1 match as the

Nimzo-English version is a bit better

turns out he was fairly well prepared!

pairings were only confirmed a few

for White than the pure Nimzo as

weeks before the start of the World

in many cases White benefits from

5...e6 and playing the Hedgehog

Cup, and my opponent has a very

having the pawn on d3 instead of

setup is the alternative.

broad repertoire so it wasnt easy to

d4 (covering the e4 square and not

guess what he would play. However

blocking the long diagonal for the

Id done some preparations and

queens bishop).

decided to go with what I was

6.Nc3 Bg7 7.d4 cxd4

( 7...Ne4 8.Nxe4 Bxe4 9.d5 O-O 10.Bh3

comfortable with, and hope to take

3.g3 c5 However this was a bit of a

Bxf3 11.exf3 is quite promising for

him to tiebreaks where I felt my

surprise as my opponent had never

White, based on his space advantage

chances would be greater. One

played the Double Fianchetto or

and pair of bishops.)

unique feature of matches compared

Hedgehog before. Of course allowing

to open tournaments is that you are

the Symmetrical is the price you pay

quite happy to draw as Black, as it

for starting with 1.Nf3! ( 3...Bb7 4.Bg2

neutralises the opponents White

g6 is what he had done in two games

(8.Nxd4 Bxg2 9.K xg2 deser ves

pieces and gives you the chance to

in 2014, but I think White can obtain a

attention as an interesting alternative,

press in the next game.

slight pull with ( 4...e6 5.O-O Be7 6.d4

playing for a space advantage with a

move orders Black out of certain QID

later e4, however the direct

8.Qxd4

1.Nf3 I couldnt see a hole in my

variations.) 5.d4 Bg7 6.O-O O-O 7.Re1,

opponents Nimzo/Queens Indian

staying flexible in turn, as Blacks

9...O-O 10.e4 Qc7 11.b3 Nxe4! looks

repertoire, and he played too many

system is dependent on meeting Nc3

fine for Black after the semi-forced

systems against 1.e4 for that move

with ...Ne4 to trade the knight and

sequence 12.Nxe4 Qe5 13.Qf3 Qxd4

to be practical, so I went for 1.Nf3 to

take control of e4. Without the knight

14.Rb1 f5 15.Ng5 Nc6 16.Rd1 Qc5

move order him out of certain Nimzo/

on c3 though, ...Ne4 does nothing

17.Rxd7 Ne5 18.Qd5+ Qxd5+ 19.Rxd5

QID lines. I also figured it would have

and its not that easy to find a good

Rfd8 )

a nice surprise factor.

pawn break for Black otherwise. )

8...d6

1...Nf6 2.c4 b6 This wasnt really a

4.Bg2 Bb7 5.O-O g6 This came as

surprise, as in a very recent game

a pleasant surprise as Id surmised

Many years ago I had a very nice win

against Mamedyarov he went for

before the match that I would have the

with 8...Nc6 9.Qf4 h6?! 10.Rd1 g5?!

2...e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Qc2 c5 and it was

best chances for success in relatively

11.Qd2 Na5?! 12.b3 ! Ne4 13.Nxe4

logical that I would be

tense positions. I thought this decision

Bxa1 14.Nd4 Bxd4 15.Qxd4 Rg8 ?

by him was spontaneous to try and

16.Ba3 f5 17.Bxe7! , which helped me

7050 MOVES MAGAZINE

BAKu WORld CuP

win an Australian weekender back in

actually the main line in my opening

my junior days.)

file and I still deem it the strongest

move. It looks funny to retreat the

Naturally Black should avoid the

bishop like this, but first it serves as

common mistake 8...O-O?! 9.Qh4! as

a waiting move (for White to play g4,

now White achieves the favourable

this will make more sense a couple of

Bh6 swap in one go (compared to the

moves down the track) and second,

game when Black castled only after

in some lines the bishop will be safer

White plays Be3, so that Bh6 would

on a8 than b7.

take a second tempo).

A recent super-GM game went 14...
9.Rd1

Rc7 instead, but after 15.g4! Qa8

13...Re8 A natural prophylactic move

16.Bd4 h6?! 17.g5 hxg5 18.Nxg5 e6

9.Qh4?! is pointless when Black can

to counter Bh6 with ...Bh8 and thereby

19.Be3 Qb8 20.Bf4 White had a huge

reply 9...h6! crossing the Bh6 plan

keep Blacks king relatively safe. The

advantage already and should have

and leaving the White queen rather

disadvantage is that after g4-g5

won in - (50) Caruana,F (2808) -

offside.

Black doesnt have the e8-square as

So,W (2779) Saint Louis 2015

a retreat for his knight.

9...Nbd7 10.Be3 Rc8 11.Rac1 I quickly

15.g4 Once again, I couldnt see

checked to make sure Rac1 was the

13...Rc7 is more common to clear the

another way to exert pressure on the

right move order and not b3 first.

way for Blacks queen to move, when

opponents position.

White can play 14.Bh3 and the game

11...O-O

goes on.

15.Ne1 is possible, but hardly an ideal

move as in general it helps to keep

11...a6 12.b3 leaves Black with nothing

14.g4!? is also quite logical, and maybe

the option of Ng5 for the kingside

better than 12...O-O regardless.

even the better move given that Bh3

attack, and Black isnt threatening

doesnt pin the knight anymore.

Bxf3 at all.

was threatened, and now Im almost

14.Bh3 Only this move makes sense,

15...b5! 16.cxb5 This seemed the

ready to play Bh6 and start an attack

to limit Blacks options and prepare

only logical move during the game,

on the Black king.

Ng5 without allowing the exchange

but actually its also possible to opt

of light-squared bishops. Generally

for 16.g5 Nh5 17.c5! using the pins

12...a6 13.b3 Typical moves in the

speaking Black dreams of playing

on the knight, although after 17...Rc7

White attacking sequence are Bh6,

...b5 in these structures to eliminate

( 17...Nxc5?! 18.Bxc8 Qxc8 19.b4 +/=

Bh3, g4-g5 and Ng5. In fact Black has

Whites space advantage, and usually

) 18.b4 dxc5 19.bxc5 e6 20.Ne4 Qe7

to be quite precise to not face a very

White cant stop him from achieving

21.Nd6 Rd8 22.Bg4 Nxc5 ! 23.Bxc5 Nf4

strong White initiative.

it, but hopes that his kingside threats

24.Ne1 Rxc5 25.Rxc5 Bb7! 26.Nc8 Rxc8

will be more important.

27.Rxc8+ Bxc8 Blacks bishop pair and

12.Qh4 ...Ne4 among other things

Whites unsafe king gave Black full

14...Ba8!? This curious move is

compensation for the exchange in

OCTOBER 201571

feATuRe AnAlYSiS
- (45) Bu,X (2699) - Sethuraman,S

worse version for White of the game

with the queens on the board.) 22...

(2576) Sharjah 2014

as a2 is under fire, and if 20.b6 Nd5!

Rf8 23.Bh6 Qxa2 24.Bxg7 Kxg7 25.Qa4

takes care of the White queenside,

Qxa4 26.Bxa4 the machine indicates

and only Black can be better.

that the position is equal. White has

16...Qa5

a nice-looking passed a-pawn but no

Greediness would be most imprudent

real way to make use of it, however

after 20...Qxa2?! 21.Bc8 Bd5 22.b7

it does tie up Blacks pieces enough.

Qxb3 23.Nd2 + 18...Qxc3 19.gxf6

Nxf6 20.bxa6 Qc2 21.Re1 This is a

21...Ne4?! doesnt work because

key position for the entire Double

there are extra possibilities with Ng5

Fianchetto system and when the

compared to after ...Nd5:

match was over my opponent

explained that he had completely

22.Bd7 Rd8 23.Ng5! Nxg5 24.Qxg5

forgotten his home analysis at this

and now Black cant take on d7

point.

because of Rc1, however 24...Bf6

25.Qg4 Rxd7 26.Rc1 Qe4 27.Rc8+ Kg7

21...Qxa2 ? Regaining the pawn at

28.Qxe4 Bxe4 29.a7 and a8=Q also

the earliest opportunity loses the

favours White, due to his outside

initiative and makes Whites passed

passed pawns supported quite well

17.g5! I think this novelty (which I

a-pawn the most important factor in

by the e3-bishop.

found over the board quite quickly,

the position.

( 16...Bxf3 17.exf3 Ne5 18.Bg2 )

though it took a while for me to play

22.Qa4! Qxa4 23.bxa4 Now my king

it) is an improvement over 17.Bd2

safety is not an issue, and White has

Bxf3 18.g5 or 18.exf3 Ne5 19.Kg2

the advantage. However during the

axb5 20.g5 Nfd7 with equal chances

game I vastly overestimated the

and one look at Whites structure

extent of my advantage and on the

should convince you he is not better.

next move used most of my time

looking for an extremely strong

18...Nd5 19.Bxd7 Rxc3 20.Bxc3 Nxc3

continuation that wasnt there.

21.Rxc3 Qxc3 22.Bxe8 Bxe2 23.Qf4

Bxd1 24.Qxf7+ Kh8 25.Bc6 Bxb3

23...Nd5 24.Nd4? This is a totally

26.axb3 Qc1+ with perpetual check

wrong decision - I wanted to play

in - (37) Mamedyarov,S (2760) -

Nb5 to support my passed pawns

Karjakin,S (2772) Shamkir 2014

but it is too slow and in the meantime

21...Nd5! was the right move, when

my h3-bishop will end up out of the

17...R xc3 18.R xc3 This move is

after 22.Bd7! ( 22.Bd2?! Nc3! threatens

game.

correct, but I spent far too long on it

the awkward ...Nxe2. ) ( 22.Bh6 Nc3

- time I could have used later.

23.Nd4 Qxa2 24.Bxg7 Kxg7 25.Bd7

Qd2! 26.Kf1 Rf8 =/+ is also good for

18.gxf6 Rxc1 19.Rxc1 Nxf6 is clearly a

7250 MOVES MAGAZINE

Black, as Whites king is much weaker

BAKu WORld CuP

opening ideas of Rb1 or Rc1 now that

draw.

Nc3 is not a big problem anymore:

27.Kf2 Rc8 By this stage I was already
24...Nc3 Black would end up in hot

starting to get low on time, even

water after 24...e6?! 25.Rc1 h6 26.Bg2

keeping in mind that the players gain

Kf8 27.a7 g5 28.e3 and the a7-pawn

half an hour on the clock once move

is a major headache for Black, and

40 is completed.

White can play moves like Nd4 to help

support it.

28.Rb1 This is the only option I could

see during the game. The point of

25.Bxc3 Bxc3 26.Rc1 Bb4 27.Bc8! Bc5

26...Bh6 can be seen after 28.Bg2?

28.Bb7 and White is much better as

Bxg2 29.Kxg2 Bxe3.

24.Rb1 is what I spent some time

the a8-bishop is paralysed and the

calculating among other things.

e8-rook is stuck defending it, while

28.Rg1 and Bg2 is an alternative

White can bring his knight over to

pointed out by the machine, however

help support the pawns. I had seen

after 28...Kf7 29.Bg2 d5 30.a7 Bf8 the

this Bc8-b7 idea but I felt I deserved

g2-bishop is completely out of the

24...Nc3 was my reason for rejecting

more than this because I couldnt

game, and Black is simply better.

Rb1, but White can play 25.Rb2 Nxe2+

prove this was winning. Which is quite

26.Rxe2 Bxf3 27.Re1 f5 28.a7 Ba8

irrational really.

28...Kf7!

24...f5! This move hadnt occurred

29.a7 Rc4! This is very consistent

to me, but once my opponent played

play, as a slow move like 29...Ke8

it I realised I was now in real danger

gives White time to go for 30.Nd4 and

and had to look for a way to draw the

Rb8 to establish a queenside bind.

24...Nxe3

29.Rb1 d5 30.Rb8 Kf7 31.Bb6! and

Bd8 will finish Black.
25.fxe3 e6
25...Bxf3 ? 26.exf3 Ra8 27.Bf1 is a line

game.

I saw to be good for me during the

30.a5 Ra4

game, but then somehow I forgot I

25.Nb5 Dealing with the threat of

had Bf1 in this line when thinking for

...f4.

too long over my move.

25...Nxe3 26.fxe3 Bh6! This move
26.a7 Kf8 27.Kf2 Ke7 28.Rb8 d5 with

is more unpleasant to counter as it

equal chances and I dont see how

avoids 26...Rc8 27.e4! , a trick I had

White can make progress as his

ready to save myself. The point is that

bishop is incapable of joining the

after 27...Bxe4 28.Bg2 the a7-pawn

action.

will severely tie up Blacks pieces now

that the light-squared bishops are

24.Bd2! is obviously the right move,

coming off, and after 28...Ba8 29.Bxa8

not allowing Black to kill Whites

Rxa8 30.a7 with equal chances White

dynamism with a trade on e3, and

should have any problems making a

OCTOBER 201573

feATuRe AnAlYSiS
31.Nc7?! Grabbing the piece was

White to draw in practice.

totally impractical as Black gets a

lot of pawns in return and White will

38...Rc2 39.Kf2 Bxh2 40.Nd4 Rc3

41.Nf3 Be5

33...Rxa5 34.Rb7

have serious problems with his piece

coordination in the resulting position.

I could still have corrected my mistake

Actually during the game I thought

with 34.Nc7 Rxa7 35.Nb5 Ra4 36.Kf3.

my opponent had just blundered the

However I had no time on the clock

piece away and didnt think too much

but the 30 second increment and was

of the move.

playing active moves.

34...Bxa7 35.Nc7 Bd4! A ver y
unpleasant move, keeping my knight

31.Rb3 Rxa5 32.Bg2 d5 33.Nc7 e6

dominated by the bishop.

34.Nxa8 Rxa7 is also not so easy for

White to draw, as after 35.Nb6 Rb7

36.Rb3? I was quite worried about

he is unable to free the knight from

Ra3, leaving my king on g2 stuck

After this game I thought the ending

the pin.

defending the h3-bishop, however

was losing for me, but now I think I

the right way to cover that was

can draw it with best play - but not

31.e4! was the right way, deflecting

36.Nb5 Be5 37.Kg1, when my bishop

with what I did in the game.

one of Blacks pieces: 31...Rxe4

reenters the game with Bf1, although

of course Black is still better after

( 31...Bxe4 32.Rb3 with equal chances

42.Nxe5+?

37...Kf6 38.Bf1 g5

and Bg2 will hold the draw. )

42.e4! offered better chances of

36...Rc5! 37.Nb5 Be5 Now my

defending and after 42...Rc2+ 43.Kf1

32.Rb3 Rf4+ 33.Rf3 Ra4 34.Bg2! Bxf3

problems are increased as ...Rc2 is

Kf6 ( The problem with 43...f4 is that

35.Bxf3 Rxa5 36.a8=Q Rxa8 37.Bxa8

threatened, simply taking away one

following 44.Ng5+ Kg7 45.Ne6+ Kh6

and this endgame is just a draw. I had

of my pawns.

46.Bg4 Blacks king and pawns are

looked into e4 ideas when the Black

rook was on c8, but it didnt enter my

stuck, so White can probably stilll

38.Rb4

hang on to the draw. )

38.Rb1 Rc2 39.Kf2 Bxh2 40.Bg2 Be5

44.Nxe5 dxe5 45.Rb6+ e6 46.Bg2 and

31...Ra3! 32.Nxa8 Bxe3+ 33.Kg2?!

is a better version of what happens

the key difference here compared to

This is a mistake, as my bishop on h3

in the game, but I still think with four

the game is that White threatens exf5

will remain out of play for a long time.

pawns for a not very useful knight,

and Bd5, and by getting rid of one of

Black should win.

Blacks pawns quickly, he will be able

mind at all here.

33.Kf1 Rxa5 34.Nc7 Rxa7 35.Nb5 Ra4

to save the game.

36.Bg2 was correct, although Blacks

38.Na3 might be best to stop Rc2

pawns are still quite strong and with

and plan Nb1-d2-f3 at some point,

42...dxe5 Now the ending is just a win

the better opposite-coloured bishop

without giving up the h2-pawn.

for Black because he will play ...e4,

to boot so its still not so easy for

7450 MOVES MAGAZINE

charge the g- and h-pawns down

BAKu WORld CuP

the board and leave White without a

0-1

with the arising position at first.

defence while the king backs up. Its

remarkable how useless the bishop

This game will have much briefer

is in fighting back against the pawns.

annotations as I ended up with

a fairly self-explanatory fortress

43.Bf1 h5 44.e3

position quite quickly. Which doesnt

help much for a must-win game, but

44.e4 was probably still the best try,

it sure beats losing!

though Black should still win after

44...e6! keeping the pawns united.

1.e4 I was a bit surprised by my

opponent s opening choice, as I

44...Rc2+ 45.Be2

thought he would just kill the game

with the Torre. However I think my

or 45.Ke1 Rc1+ 46.Kf2 e4 and Black

opponent was keen to win the match

will play ...e6, ...Kf6, ...g5 and ...h4,

2-0!

and White will not be able to stop

everything at once.
45...g5 46.Ke1 g4! Now after my

10.f4 Qc7 11.Kh1 transposes to

the main line of the Classical

1...c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4

Scheveningen, with far more nuances

Nc6 5.Nc3 a6 While many players

than can possibly be explained in a

would go for something very sharp

few lines.

in such a must-win game, I figured

my best chances would lie in playing
Harikrishna, Pentala 2743
Illingworth, Max 2517
World Cup, Baku 2015 R1.2

10...bxc6 11.a5

something I felt fairly comfortable

with and knowledgeable about,

If White doesnt fix the queenside, the

and my move order also served to

trade on c6 would have no point.

surprise my opponent.
11...c5?!

failure to activate my pieces, Black

just wins,.
47.Bc4+
I had missed that after 47.Bd3 Rc1+
48.Kd2 Black wins with 48...!
47...Kf6 48.Rb6+ Kg5 [Link] 7 g3
50.Rg6+ Kh4 51.Bd5 Rf2 52.Rh6 Kg4
53.Bc4 Kf3 54.Rxh5 Kxe3 55.Rg5 f4
56.Bd5 e4 57.Re5 Re2+ 58.Kd1 Kf2
59.Rg5 f3

5...Qc7 is the standard Taimanov

move order.

I played this move quite quickly,

having surmised that because I

6.Be2 d6 7.O-O Nf6 8.Be3 Be7 My

played far too slowly in the first

opponent started thinking for a while,

game (doubting myself and second-

realising that we would soon be in a

guessing my calculations all the time,

sharp main line Scheveningen (which

I should play fast and confidently in

suited me just fine) and looking

this game. Theres nothing objectively

for a way out to make the position

wrong with this move, but it allows

relatively simple.

White to greatly simplify the position.

9.a4 O-O 10.Nxc6 I saw this idea over

11...Bb7 12.Qd3 c5 was the correct

the board despite not considering it in

move order, to eliminate the option

my preparation, but I was quite happy

of e5.

OCTOBER 201575

feATuRe AnAlYSiS
12.e5! I saw this idea the instant I

I thought I was clearly worse if I lost

17.c3! At this point I was disgusted

played 11...c5, however it was too late

the c5-pawn as then the a6-pawn

with myself for playing so woefully

to go back.

also becomes a target, and second

over the last few moves and was

because I had miscalculated the

basically looking for moves that

following important variation:

meant I didnt have to resign from

12...dxe5 13.Qxd8 Rxd8 14.Na4 Rb8

15.Rfd1?!

this point on.

My original intention (when I first

During the game we both thought this

saw the option 15.Rfd1) 15...Rxd1+!

17...Bd8! Swapping of f Whites

move was quite strong, but actually

16.Rxd1 Nd5 is actually working for

queenside pawns and holding the

it has a tactical issue we both missed

Black! 17.Bc4

position with pawns all on one side is

(or at least I missed).

the only drawing chances. Everything

I thought I was losing a piece after

else will lose quite prosaically.

17.Bxc5 Bxc5 18.Nxc5 Rxb2 19.c4,

overlooking that the bishop on e2 is

18.cxd4 Immediately after the game

hanging! Black is simply much better

Nakamura indicated that White

after 19...Rxe2 20.cxd5 Rc2 21.dxe6

should play 18.Nc5! to preserve the

fxe6

a-pawn, and indeed this just wins

after 18...Rxb2 19.Bxa6 Bxa6 20.Nxa6

17...Nxe3 18.fxe3 g6 and with an extra

Nd5 21.cxd4 Nc3 22.Re1 exd4 23.Nc5

pawn and the bishop pair, only Black

and the passed a-pawn is decisive.

can win from this position.

However my opponent played the
16.Bxd4 cxd4? Another mistake,

automatic capture quite quickly,

although fortunately I am not fully

probably believing he would win the

punished for this one. I cant really

a6-pawn by force.

explain why I went for this recapture

over exd4, since as soon as I

18...exd4 19.Rxd4 ?

recaptured (and I did so very quickly)

15.b3 is best, although here the

I realised that c3 was horrible for me

exchange sack I played in the game

as I cant avoid the position opening

with 15...Rd4! actually works well,

for his rooks.

19.Nc5 would still be easily winning.

19...Bxa5 Now, despite the engines

as c2-c3 would turn the b3-pawn

extremely optimistic evaluation, I

into a weakness, but 16.Bxd4 cxd4!

16 ...e xd 4

gi ves

Black

par tial

dont think White can win as he cant

gives Black great compensation as

compensation for the exchange

take my a-pawn without trading

he can place a knight on c3 soon and

based on the bishop pair and strong

off the b-pawn in the process, and

a bishop on b4 to freeze the whole

centre, however White will keep an

if I can play ...Nd5 and improve my

position.

advantage by opening files quickly

a5-bishops placement, I will be very

with 17.Nb6 Bb7 18.c3 e5 19.Rac1

solid.

15...Rd4? This move is just bad of

followed by cxd4 or b4, with an

course, but I played it first because

indisputable advantage.

7650 MOVES MAGAZINE

20.Nc5

BAKu WORld CuP

20.Rc1! would preserve good winning

23...Bd8 Another key defensive

54.Kg3 Ne7 55.Be4 Be5+ 56.f4 Bc3

chances for White.

move.

57.Kf3 Kf8 58.Rc2 Be1 59.Rc1 Bd2

60.Rd1 Ba5 61.Ra1 Bc3 62.Ra8+ Kg7

20...Bb6 21.b4

24.Nxa6 This might look like giving

63.Ke2 Bb4 64.Re8 Bd6 65.Kf3 Bb4

up, but after 24.Rb1 Be7 it is very

66.Rd8 Ba5 67.Rd7 Kf8 68.Ke2 Bb4

21.Rc1 a5 makes further progress on

hard for White to untangle, especially

69.Rd8+ Kg7 70.Rd7 Kf8 71.Rd8+ Kg7

Whites part far from obvious, as the

as 25.Nd3?! allows Black to activate

72.Rd7

b2-pawn is blockaded and Black has

his other bishop with 25...Bd7

no weaknesses.

threatening ...Bb5.

I offered a draw and my opponent

accepted. All in all, there are many

21...Nd5 22.Rc4 White prepares

24...Bxa6 25.Rxa6 Nxb4 26.Ra1 Nd5

lessons for me to take away from this

immediately: 22.Bxa6? Bxc5 23.bxc5

Now I draw pretty easily by placing

match, and I hope to do a lot better

Bxa6

my pawns on light squares, keeping

in my next World Cup!

to take on a6 as he cant do so

my knight around e7/g8/f6 and using

my bishop to tie at least one of his

1/2 - 1/2

pieces to the defence of his pawns.

White cant make any progress.

22...Kf8! This is a quite important

defensive move, avoiding any back
rank issues.
23.Kf1 My idea was that af ter

27.Bf3 Bf6 28.Rac1 Ne7 29.Ra4 g6

23.Nxa6 Bxa6 24.Rxa6 Nxb4 25.Rxb4

30.Ra8 Rxa8 31.Bxa8 h5 32.Be4 Ng8

Bxf2+ 26.Kxf2 Rxb4 Black has a draw

33.Rc8+ Kg7 34.Rc7 Be5 35.Rb7 Nf6

as White is unable to attack the sole

36.Bc6 Kf8 37.h3 Bd4 38.Ke2 Bc5

weakness on f7 with three pieces.

39.g3 Kg7 40.f3 Bd6 41.Kf2 Bc5+

Black can play ...g6/...Kg7/...h5/rook

42.Kg2 Bd6 43.h4 Kf8 44.Kh3 Bc5

on the f-file and theres nothing White

45.g4 Bf2 46.Rb8+ Kg7 47.Rb2 Be1

can do.

48.Rb7 Kf8 49.g5 Ng8 50.Rb8+ Kg7

51.Rb1 Bf2 52.Rb2 Be1 53.Re2 Bc3

OCTOBER 201577

ROOKieS CORneR

the Knight fork

Solutions page 101

The Knight Fork occurs when a knight attacks two or more pieces at once. It is
one of the most commonly used tactical themes - because of the way the knight
moves, it can attack other pieces without being threatened by them. Often,
the knight fork involves attacking the opponents king and another one of their
pieces - the king is forced to move out of the check and then the knight can take
the other attacked piece.
The position below is a good example of a knight fork. Blacks last move was
Bf6-Bb2. With the e7-square now unprotected, White can play 1. Ne7+ Kf8 2.
Nxf5 winning a piece and a decisive advantage.

To solve the puzzles on the next page, youll need to use a knight fork to win
material. Remember - a knight is worth 3 points, so you can try and trade it for a
more valuable piece such as a queen (9 points) or rook (5 points).
The puzzles are arranged to get increasingly difficult as you solve each one - the
bottom three are particuarly tricky. Happy solving!

1. White to move

2. White to move

3. White to move

4. White to move

5. White to move

6. Black to move

7. White to move

8. White to move

9. White to move

OCTOBER 201579

guy wEst

a lIfE In chEss

BooK rEvIEw

SAMUEL LIPSCHTZ
A LIFE IN CHESS
a BooK rEvIEw By IM guy wEst

Stephen Davies 2015 - McFarland and

Co. Hardback - 399 pages.
RRP US ?!5
(Also available as an E-Book)

in the games history, the 1880s and 90s.

he joined the Manhatten chess club in
1883, only two years after the death of Billy
the Kid and a year after the death of jesse

tephen davies is a tournament chessplayer who lives in

the picturesque dandenong
ranges east of Melbourne.
we are acquainted through

chess but coincidentally he and his wife

also happen to know my mother-in-law.
stephen was kind enough to give me a copy
of his new book to review, and given the
rarity of australian authored chess books
I was intrigued enough to accept the task.
why on earth though, would anyone want
to read a book about an obscure american
chessmaster from the 19th century? a
valid question, but there is an equally valid
answer.
lipschtz entered the stage of world chess
during an exceptionally interesting period

8050 MOVES MAGAZINE

james. doc holliday still lived in the wild

country west of the Mississippi and harry
longabaugh (the sundance Kid) would
have been just 20 years old. stephen davies
could just as well have chosen any new york
based chessmaster from the same period as
his main protagonist, and it was by accident
really that he became fascinated by the life
of samuel lipschtz. I wont spoil the story
of how this happened, as he explains it in
the preface to the book.
for those of you who are not students of
chess history, the american chess genius
Paul Morphy retired from the game in 1859,
only about 25 years before the period that
davies book deals with. obviously Morphys
dominance of the chess world, underlined
by his triumphant tour abroad where he
crushed many of the renowned European

guy wEst

a lIfE In chEss

BooK rEvIEw

masters and was hailed as the

various parties of the day, most

succumbed to steinitzs Modern

worlds best player, must have

notably steinitz, who is some-

school. If you want to feel good

been writ large over the chess

what given to entertaining pontifi-

about your chess just look at any

culture of the time. the new

cation. this commentary is some-

of the many diagrams in this book

World was riding high on confi-

times mischievously refuted with

and spot the often simple refuta-

dence and, especially post-Mor-

the help of modern computer

tion to the mistakes of famous

phy, began producing some very

analysis by the author.

players.

inently in the book. not only were

one of the most fascinating

davies style is very understated

strong home-grown heroes like

aspects of the book is the per-

and he doesnt intrude into the

captain george MacKenzie, Max

spective it gives you on the evolu-

narrative much at all, relating facts

judd, jackson showalter, frank

tion of the game. the best players

painstakingly garnered from his-

strong players who feature prom-

Marshall and others coming

torical books and newspaper

to the fore, immigration from

records of the time. Its a vast

Europe, of which lipschtz

(from hungary) was an example,
gifted the united states some
superb players, most notably
the man who was to be recognised as the first official World
chess champion, wilhelm
steinitz himself.
The first chapter of the book
starts slowly, spending a lot of
time establishing the somewhat
shaky fact that lipschtz given
name was in fact samuel, rather
than solomon, salomon or various
other unsamuelish possibilities.
after that, however, the author
starts to hit his stride.
let me say at the outset that this
book epitomises the expression
labour of love. It contains 399
pages of meticulously researched
material, including 249 games,
frequently with annotations by

Let me say at
the outset that this
book epitomises the
expression labour
of love
in the world, although prodigiously talented and possessing
great combinative flair, can be
seen to make trivial blunders, both
tactical and positional, in almost
every game. Its an obvious fact,
but perhaps not widely appreciated, that the journeyman grandmaster of today would effortlessly
crush the worlds best players of
the late 19th century. the level of
tactical discipline these days cant
be compared to what it was in a
time when the so called romantic
era of chess had still not entirely

body of historical information,

quite detailed and academic,
but seduces you more and more
as you continue.
there are many entertaining references, en passant, to famous
icons of the times like ajeeb, the
american version of the chess
automaton which was of course
operated by a small statured but
skilful chessplayer hidden in the
cramped confines of the contraption. a section about the great
new york blizzard of 1888, which
brought the city to a standstill for
several days, makes very interesting reading.
The reader is like a fly on the wall,
observing the goings on of the
Manhattan and new york chess
clubs and various venues around
the us and the unique personalities who lived and played there,

OCTOBER 201581

guy wEst

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BooK rEvIEw

or visited americas thriving chess

steinitzs writings are a great

journal published an irreverent

scene from abroad. and visitors

source of amusement too, as he

summary of the two contestants,

there are many such famous

was a notoriously prickly character,

with the kind of endearing pen-

names as joseph the Black

in no doubt as to his own impor-

manship already referred to. the

death Blackburne from England

tance. he was continually feuding

description of lipschtz, after

and Mikhail Ivanovich chigorin,

with one rival or another, espe-

mentioning his various credentials

the great russian master, do

cially dr zukertort, whose defeat

which culminate in losing (by an

battle with our hero. dr johannes

in match play earned steinitz the

honourable score) a match against

zukertort of Poland and later the

title of official World Champion.

the gallant captain MacKenzie,

uK seems to be hanging around

steinitz once accused the famous

included the following line:

a lot in the early part of the book.

problemist sam loyd of misappro-

If you want to read an hilarious

priating funds, which caused quite

account of zukertorts embel-

lip is of a quiet disposition, not

given to wind.

lishments of his own biography, the paragraph on that

subject in wikipedia makes
very amusing reading. after a
panoply of dashing deeds and
long-winded achievements it
concludes with the priceless
words, there is some truth in
the last sentence
certainly what I loved most

What I loved most

about this book was
this wonderful menagerie of colourful
characters that inhabit its pages

about the book was this wonderful menagerie of colourful

characters that inhabit its pages.
of course we all know that chessplayers can be marvellous caricatures of humanity, kaleidoscopes
of human frailties and noble qualities fighting for ascendancy in the
one person. add to this the focus
on elegant phraseology and gentlemanly discourse of that era
and you find some truly hilarious
descriptions of players and events,
mostly from the newspaper correspondents of the day.

8250 MOVES MAGAZINE

what a nicely crafted description. no doubt if lip had emigrated to australia he would
have transformed into lippo.
later in the book lipschtz is
described in a pen portrait in
the new york times as having,
a good forehead and prominent
nose, possibly an oblique reference to his semitic origins.
Indeed, writers of the time

a bunfight for a while. steinitz

became a naturalised us citizen
in 1888, shortly after lipschtz in
the same year.
there appears to have been
n ot h i n g

remarkable

about

lipschtzs personality, but the

reader tends to identify with him
as the book progresses and he is
certainly not unlikeable in any way.
during his match with Eugene
delmar, one of the leading new
york masters, the albany Evening

seem to have something of an

unnatural obsession with noses, as
the correspondent from the sun
described him as follows:
Mr lipschtz is a slim, round
shouldered gentleman, with a
rather pale, striking face and a
prominent nose that would have
made him a captain in the days
of napoleon Bonaparte, who
favoured men with large noses.
I must pay more attention to my
opponents noses in future. lev

guy wEst

a lIfE In chEss

BooK rEvIEw

Polugaevsky had an impressive

which the writer diverges from

davies book also gives a fasci-

proboscis, I recall.

a rambling review of a seminal

nating insight into the peren-

work by George Hatfield Dingley

nial obsession that chessplay-

the correspondent from the

gossip into a criticism of steinitz

ers have with the status of their

albany Evening journal who so

for asserting that he was a better

sport. It appears that chess ben-

appreciated his lack of bluster, or

player than Morphy. this dubious

efitted at the time from being

flatulence as the case may be, is

claim was based on the notion that

regarded as something of an aris-

clearly parochial, as shown by his

he had benefited from advances

tocratic game, played by gentle-

barely concealed lampooning of

in chess theory since Morphys

men. (women hardly feature in

lipschtzs opponent.

playing days and was no doubt

the book at all, as their brains were

emboldened by Morphys prema-

probably not considered suitable

Mr delmar the delightful and

ture death by stroke four years

at the time to such a complex

dashing delmar, is also well known

earlier.

task. fast forward to 2015 and

to all american chessplayers.

nigel shorts provocative com-

In fact, he has been in a chronic

steinitz has been commonly

ments about female chessplay-

state of well-knownness for the

depicted in literature as a can-

ers!) we know that Morphy was

last quarter of a century or there-

tankerous old curmudgeon who

mortified at being described as

abouts. Mr delmar is a player of the

may have possibly been a bit mad,

a chess professional, but by the

most wonderful abilities and he

but his unsurpassed skill at the

1880s and the rise of the Modern

could easily down all adversaries,

time, prodigious writings on the

school, it appears that prizemoney

both living and dead, and even Mr

game and total immersion in the

was becoming more acceptable

steinitz is not of much account in

chess scene made him the grand

and the notion of professional

his precious opinion. fortunately,

fromage of the day, so many

involvement in what some viewed

however, for steinitz, MacKenzie

of the disputes and personality

as an essentially trivial pastime,

and the other small fry, delmars

clashes seem to have coalesced

was losing its stigma. one para-

play is characterised by the great-

around him and his supporters

graph I found amusing came from

est forbearance, and never during

and detractors. Mind you, steinitz

a review in the new york Evening

his long career has the terrible

did graciously concede as early as

Post of gossips aforementioned

force of his secret strength ever

1887 that he was somewhat over

the chess Players Manual, to

been displayed against an adver-

the hill and no longer deserved the

which lipschtz had written an

sary and his scores, therefore, do

title of world champion. Its pos-

american appendix.

not bear the faintest semblance

sible that negative depictions of

of what he could do some other

steinitz may have been exagger-

In this age we have chess writers,

time. ouch!

ated by the so called Ink war that

chess players, chess champions,

erupted in print between afficio-

and chess clubs, and there is no

a typical example of the amusing

nados of the old romantic style

danger that the noble game will

little feuds of the time is given

and his new Modern school of

die or even decay, but it is to be

when mention is made of an article

chess.

regretted that it has not a stron-

in the new york times in 1888 in

ger hold at the fireside. Properly

OCTOBER 201583

guy wEst

a lIfE In chEss

BooK rEvIEw

speaking it has no rival, but there

congress, jointly won by Mikhail

the french? the Master from

are amusements, some of them

chigorin and the underappreci-

Kentucky replied, yes I do, but

evil, which to a great extent sup-

ated Max weiss of austria, was

I cant help it. this retort could

plant it. of the young people of

james Mason. a funny incident is

equally well have come from our

the present day probably ten know

detailed in the book where Mason

modern day friend across the

the value of a flush or full (sic full

unwisely visits a bar before a game

ditch, new zealand fM Michael

house), and know it for stamps as

and comes to the board inebri-

steadman.

they say where only one knows

ated, lasting only 8 wobbly moves

the difference between a bishop

before being bundled out of the

one of my favourite paragraphs

and a knight.

playing area by miffed committee

in the book is a description of the

members. nowadays he would be

colourful ghd gossip, a person-

described as tired and emotional,

ality eerily familiar to all chess-

current chessplayers, dabbling

on the dark side with poker,

players. from the new

would do well to note that

york times pen portraits

evil lurks in such seductions!

a possible reason why professionalism might have
started becoming more
acceptable can be found in
some extraordinary tournament structures of the
day. for example, the 6th

Current chessplayers,
dabbling on the dark
side with poker, would
do well to note that evil
lurks in such seductions!

american chess congress

in 1889
gossip, with his long
flowing beard, looks
like one of the old time
monks. he has a good
shaped cranium, bald
at the top, and is a little
above medium height.
he believes himself to

was a 38 round event with play

but the descriptions of the com-

be one of the greatest chess-

on almost every day for two

mentators at the time were even

players in the world, and thinks

months! (Many games were either

more poetic. It reminded me of a

that if everything had gone to his

replayed or adjourned and contin-

more recent incident when Eddy

liking he could have beaten all the

ued another day, and the record

levi found himself confronted by

champions at the tournament.

number of games for one contes-

an under-the-weather Paul dozsa,

he complained that his chair was

tant was 49.) Mind you, the bizarre

who proceeded to fall asleep at

too low, and he once attributed

Karpov Kasparov match of 1984/5

the board and ultimately met the

a defeat to that. finally, he got a

was abandoned only after 48

same fate as Mason.

large ledger and sat upon it. he

games and 5 months of play, when

did, in fact, seem to derive some

it was allegedly feared Karpov was

there is a funny report of an inci-

inspiration from its contents, for

close to blowing a head gasket.

dent where a spectator, obviously

he played two or three excellent

an afficionado of the romantic

games afterward.

one of the Masters who con-

school, asked jackson showalter,

tested the 6th american chess

dont you feel ashamed to play

8450 MOVES MAGAZINE

apparently gossip was beset with

guy wEst

a lIfE In chEss

BooK rEvIEw

problems in new york, including

on his ear. It was a great event in

aside, I recall that the american IM

mistakenly thinking that food and

his life.

jay whitehead was quite pleased

beverages were free of charge.

when it was pointed out to him

the retelling of his trials and trib-

our chess forebears were credit-

that his surname was the angli-

ulations and how they prevented

ably interested in conducting sci-

cised version of capablanca.)

him taking his rightful place at the

entific experiments to see which

head of the field makes delight-

characteristics might confer an

I heartily recommend this book

ful reading and left me chuckling

advantage on a chessplayer. first

for the historical perspective it

to myself for quite some time.

there was a celebrated married

provides, the humour and truths

apparently the reason for his 15

versus single match, won by the

about chessplayers that remain

move loss to chigorin was due

bachelors and, in 1891, a fiercely

unchanged over the long sweep

to drinking bad coffee, despite

contested baldies versus hirsute

of history, and I congratulate one

the fact that chigorin had par-

match. due to some lairising by

of our own for such a remarkably

taken of exactly the same brew.

the full headed lipschtz, the fol-

detailed work and for producing a

his bed gets buried under several

licly challenged bonces carried

book that makes a valuable contri-

feet of snow due to his brute of a

the day and their victory was

bution to the worldwide body of

chambermaid leaving the window

enshrined in the match report with

historical chess knowledge.

open and he has the misfortune

these words:

to impale his posterior on some

lastly, I take from this book an

sharp tacks, left butter side up on

at the end, the laural crowns of

excellent phrase, attributed to

his chair by a careless workman.

victory concealed the absence of

various culprits but most proba-

only his contemporary, Mr delmar,

hair on the shining craniums of the

bly Isidor gunsberg, to use next

could perhaps rival gossip in

bald-heads. well put, one must

time I lose to a more senior player

bearing such a terrible burden of

concede.

than myself der alte goniff hat

bad luck.

mir geschwindelt. (the old crook

space prevents me from saying

the amusing peccadilloes of

more about this lovingly compiled

chessplayers seem to have

book, which carries the reader right

changed little throughout history.

up to the appearance of the swash-

the new york times described

buckling harry nelson Pillsbury

an upset victory by hanham over

and finally Dr Emmanual Lasker,

Blackburne, thus:

who would hold the chess crown

has swindled me!)

for a record 27 years. towards the

Major hanhams hat was tilted

end of his playing days lipschtz

to one side in the evening as his

even participates in a consultation

chances for beating Blackburne

game against a team from havana

grew brighter and brighter, and

which includes a young player by

when the great london champion

the grandiose name of jos ral

resigned, hanhams hat was tilting

capablanca y graupera. (as an

OCTOBER 201585

Neutralising 1.e4
with the Petroff Part 1
By IM Max Illingworth

Jussupow, and in correspondence

demonstrated in the following game:

chess it is a favourite of corr-GM

9.Re1 Bf5 10.Qb3 Qd7 11.Nc3 Nxc3

Morgado. I will begin our coverage

12.Bxf5 Qxf5 13.bxc3 b6 14.h3 +/= h6

with the old main line.

? 15.cxd5 cxd5 16.Ne5 Bxe5 17.Rxe5

Qd3 18.Rxd5 1-0 (32) Najer,E (2634)

Najer, Evgeniy 2634

Wang, Yue 2726
Rus-chT Sochi 2015 (4)

There are many situations where

a draw with Black is a good result such as an individual match, team
tournament or round robin. If we
take a team event, usually the
tournament standings are decided by
match points (2 points for a match
win, regardless of the margin, 1 for a
drawn match and 0 for a lost match),
and in this case a draw with Black
usually brings the team closer to
the desired result as the other team
members can press with the White
pieces.
Naturally, a draw with Black is also
desirable against a higher-rated

8...Nb4 9.Be2 O-O 10.Nc3 Bf5

3.Nc3 is a common response at the
club level, when the Four Knights

10...Be6 is the old main line, but

transposition 3...Nc6 would be my

it ran into major problems in the

recommendation, but those wanting

early 2000s, such as in 11.Ne5 f6

to stay in Petroff waters can look into

12.Nf3 Kh8 13.a3 Nxc3 14.bxc3 Nc6

( 3...Bb4 )

15.Nd2 Na5 16.cxd5 Bxd5 17.c4 Bf7

18.Bb2 f5 19.Bc3 c5 20.d5 Bf6 21.Qc2

3...d6 4.Nf3 Nxe4 5.d4

5.Nc3 is the modern trend, and will be

(2731) Tripoli 2004 )

examined in the second part.

11.a3 Nxc3 12.bxc3 Nc6 13.Re1
5...d5 6.Bd3 Nc6!
13.Bf4 is harmless as it facilitates
exchanges with 13...dxc4 14.Bxc4
Bd6 15.Bg3 Qd7 16.a4 Na5 17.Bd3 f6
18.Nh4 1/2 - 1/2 (18) Zupe,M (2373) -

playing to hold the draw, we can

Haba,P (2516) Austria 2003 18...Bxd3

make our opponent overpress and

19.Qxd3 g6 with equal chances

then even win the game. When

looking up recent games, I noticed

In general, minor piece trades favour

the Petroff was played by many of the

Black here due to his slight space

top Chinese players (especially Wang

disadvantage.

Yue) and therefore I have centred

my article on their approach to this

13.cxd5 Qxd5 is likely to transpose

opening.

8650 MOVES MAGAZINE

b6 22.Bd3 Bxc3 23.Qxc3 1-0 (55)

Kasimdzhanov,R (2652) - Adams,M

this result. Sometimes, by obviously

as Gelfand, Kramnik, Ivanchuk and

8.Nc3 is another major trend that will

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nxe5

solid position is a good step toward

other great Petroff exponents such

7.O-O Be7 8.c4

be examined later.

player, and obtaining an extremely

Of course we shouldnt neglect

- Nisipeanu,L (2654) Jerusalem 2015)

to the main game. One exception is

This Jaenisch system is the main line

if White charged forward with 14.c4

as the alternative 6...Bd6 7.O-O O-O

( 14. Re1 Rfe8 transposes to the game,

8.c4 c6 gives White the initiative, as

as does 14.Bf4 Rac8 15.Re1 Rfe8 )

14...Qd6 15.d5, however it is hard to

vulnerable queenside pawns.

believe this can be effective when

on Whites centre, and after 20.Ra2

Bg4 Black was entirely fine in -

White is behind in development, and

16.Bd3 This move may look strange,

(25)Serradimigni,R (2526) - Velilla

the 15...Ne5 16.Nd4 Bd7 17.a4 Rfe8

but it prepares Rb1, and prevents the

Velasco,F (2524) ICCF email 2007, a

18.Nb5 Bxb5 19.axb5 Nd7 20.Ra2 Nc5

thematic ...Na5 because of Re5.

key point being 21.d5 Bxf3 22.gxf3

21.g3 a5 22.bxa6 Rxa6 23.Qc2 Rxa2

Nd4! 23.Bxe8 Nxf3+ 24.Kh1 Qxe1+

24.Qxa2 Qa6 25.Qxa6 Nxa6 26.Bf3

16.Qc1!? has been trendy, preparing

Bd6 27.Be3 Nc5 with equal chances

Qb2 to attack the b7-pawn followed

of - (32) Radjabov,T (2751) -

by c4, but Black can play 16...Bf6!

18...Na5 19.Nd4 Qxd1 20.Raxd1 Bd7

Jakovenko,D (2737) Elista 2008 is

17.Qb2 Na5 18.Rad1

21.Nb5 Bxb5 22.cxb5 b6 23.Bg4 Rcd8

a typical example of what Black is

aiming for in this

25.Qxe1 Nxe1 with equal chances

24.Bf4 and now an improvement

Blacks solid grip on the light squares

over the Greeks old analysis is 24...

ensured he avoided danger after

Bxa3! 25.Bxc7 Rxe1+ 26.Rxe1 Rxd5

variation - to blockade Whites pawns

18.Ne5 Qb3! 19.Qd2 Bxe5 20.Bxe5

27.Re8+ Bf8 with equal chances and

and hold the position, relying on the

Qe6 21.Qb2 Qb3 22.Qxb3 Nxb3

White cannot make progress, as

fact he has no weaknesses. Obviously

23.Ra2 c5 1/2 - 1/2 (30) Hicdoenmez,

the 28.g3 f5 29.Bf3 Rd7 30.Ra8 Kf7

with the pawns so fixed here, Whites

H (1940) - Kubasky,A (2108) LSS email

31.Rxa7 Bc5 32.Bd5+ Rxd5 of -

bishop pair cant be considered an

2008

(32) Lowrance,W (2537) - Schuster,P

advantage.

(2506) FICGS email 2010 shows.

18...Qb3 19.Qxb3 Nxb3 20.Bc4 Na5

13...Re8 14.cxd5
14.Bf4 will be seen in the next game.
14...Qxd5 15.Bf4 Rac8

21.Ba2 c6 22.h3 was agreed drawn

16.h3!? is the main alternative, when

in two games by the correspondence

after the correct 16...h6 ! White again

player Serban, as Black will simply

has a wide choice, but only two

blockade the light squares with 22...

serious attempts to pose problems:

b5 with equal chances and make

further progress impossible.

17.Nd2 ( 17.Qc1 Qd7 18.Qb2 Bd6

19.Bxd6 cxd6 has proven even easier

16.c4 Qe4 17.Be3 has some historical

to play for Black in some OTB games;

significance, having been played in

Nedev of fers the improvement

one of the Kramnik-Leko World

20.Nd2!? to reroute the knight to e3,

Championship games, but Black

but I dont see why White should be

experiences no difficulties once the

at all better after 20...d5 21.Bf3 Na5

queens come off:

22.Rxe8+ Rxe8 23.Qa2 Be6 with equal

chances

or 17.Qd2 Bf6 18.Bf1 Qc2 19.Rxe8+

Rxe8 20.Qxc2 Bxc2 21.Rc1 Bf5 22.Rd1

17...Na5 18.Bf3 Qd7 19.Ne4 White

Bc2 23.Rc1 1/2 - 1/2 (23) Brkic,A (2607)

needs to keep his pieces active as

- Saric,A (2577) Split 2015

19.Nb3 Nxb3 20.Qxb3 c6 21.Be5 b5

This is the tabiya position of the

22.a4 a6 23.axb5 axb5 24.c4 bxc4

8.c4 variation. White has a very

17...Qc2! 18.d5 ( 18.c5 was suggested

25.Qxc4 1/2 - 1/2 (33) Ni,H (2646) -

broad choice, but Black is relying on

by Tzermiadianos/Kotronias back in

Wang,Y (2706) China 2013 25...Be6

the absence of weaknesses in his

2004, but they didnt consider 18...

26.Qc3 Bf8 with equal chances is a

position, along with Whites slightly

Bf6 19.Bb5 Qc3! keeping the pressure

totally dead position.

OCTOBER 201587

neuTRAliSinG e4 WiTH THe PeTROff - P1

19...Rcd8 20.Ra2 b6 21.Rae2 Bxa3

26.a4 b4 27.Rc1 bxc3 28.Qxc3 Qxa4

Equivalent is 22...h5 23.Nd4 Rcd8

22.Bg4

29.Ra1 Nd5 30.Qb2 Qc4 31.Rxa7 Nc3

24.Red1 h4 25.Bh2 Be5 26.Bxe5

32.Rxc7 Ne2+ 33.Kh2 Nxd4 34.Nxd4

Nxe5 27.Qc2 Qe7 28.a4 Qg5 29.Re1

Bxd4 35.Rxc4 Bxb2 1/2-1/2 (35)

c5 30.R xe5 R xe5 31.Nc6 Rde8

Joao,N (2573) - Kunzelmann,F (2464)

32.Nxe5 Qxe5 33.Rd1 f6 34.d6 Rd8

ICCF email 2009

35.d7 1/2-1/2 (35) Petrolo,M (2603) Yefremov,Y (2558) ICCF email 2012

18...Bxd3 19.Qxd3 Bf6 The riskylooking 19...Bxa3 has been the

23.Nd4 Be5

preference in correspondence,
intending

20. Ng 5

g6

21. Ne 4

23...Rcd8 with equal chances 24.Nc6

Qf5! 22.Bxc7 Rxc7 23.Nf6+ Qxf6

Bxg3 25.Qxg3 a6 Once again, White

24.Rxe8+ Kg7 25.dxc6 Bc5 26.Rb2

is unable to make use of his space

and in 1-0 (47) Anand,V (2780) -

Rxc6 27.Qd8 Qxd8 28.Rxd8 a5 !

advantage when the position is so

Fridman,D (2667) Baden-Baden 2013

with equal chances and Black had

simplified, and while the computer

CBM 153, Andreikin demonstrates

no trouble holding the draw in -

keeps giving +/=, in reality Black

that the cold-blooded 22...Be6! ,

(44) Leko,P (2752)-Gelfand,B (2758)

wasnt in any danger at all.

preparing ...f5, would be fine for

Moscow 2009 CBM 133, or numerous

Black, as demonstrated by the forcing

correspondence games following it.

sequence 23.Bxh6 Bxg4 24.Nf6+ gxf6

25.Rxe8+ Rxe8 26.Rxe8+ Kh7 27.Qe1

26.Rbd1 Ne7 27.Ne5 Qd6 28.Qf3 f6

29.Nd3 Ng6 30.Qg4 Ne5 31.Nxe5

20.c4 Ne7

fxe5 32.Rd3 Rcd8 33.Re4

fxg4 31.Rh8 Nc4 32.Qg8+ Kf6 33.Rh7

This position is well known to be

33.a4 would permit 33...Re7 34.Rde3

Qd5 34.Qxg4 Bc1 with equal chances,

a dead end for White despite the

Qb4 with equal chances 33...b5 !

played in - (41) Halldorsson,H -

computers favourable evaluation,

Just in time, otherwise Black may

Costachi,M ICCF email 2014

and this game did nothing to affect

experience real pressure based on

that.

his vulnerable e5-pawn.

21.h3

34.Rc3 Also equal is the quiet 34.Ree3

Kxh6 28.Qe4 Kg7 29.Qa8 f5 30.hxg4

16...Qd7
It is important to anticipate c4 and
Rb1-b5 ideas.

Re7 35.cxb5 axb5 36.Qe2 b4 37.axb4

21.Ne5 Bxe5 22.Bxe5 f6 23.Bf4

Qxb4 with equal chances

Nf5 with equal chances was rock

17.Rb1 b6 18.d5

solid for Black in - (39) Svidler,P

34...Re7 35.Qe2 bxc4 36.Qxc4

(2742) - Kramnik,V (2743) Dortmund

Rf7 37.Rce3 Qxd5 38.Qxd5 Rxd5

18.Bb5 Bxb1 19.Qxb1 Bf6 ( 19...

2006 CBM 114 and indeed all

39.Rxe5 Rd1+ 40.Re1 Rd2 41.R1e2

Bxa3? 20.Re3! ) 20.Rd1 Qd5 21.Bg3

correspondence games from this

Rxe2 42.Rxe2 Rf4 43.Rc2 Ra4 44.Rc3

Ne7 22.Bxe8 Rxe8 is an entirely safe

position were drawn.

c5 45.Rxc5

21...Ng6 22.Bg3 h6

Conclusion: White can only hope for

position for Black, who can tie White

up by fixing the queenside pawns,
as in 23.Re1 Qc6 24.Qc2 b5 25.h3 g6

8850 MOVES MAGAZINE

a symbolic edge at best in this line,

OPeninGS
and as long as Black knows a few key

Bxc6 25.Bd4 a6 26.Re5 Rfe8 27.Rxe8+

28.a4 a6 29.axb5 axb5 30.Ra5 Re8+

moves, he will achieve a draw without

Rxe8 28.Be3 Rd8 29.f3 f6 30.Kf2 Kf7

31.Kd3 c6 32.Ra6 Re6 33.g4 Kf7 34.g5

much difficulty.

31.h4 1/2-1/2 (31) Naiditsch,A (2678) -

Nc7 35.Ra7 Re7 with equal chances

Kramnik,V (2772) Dresden 2008 )

1/2-1/2 (41) Winckelmann,T (2584) -

1/2 - 1/2

Cinca,D (2376) ICCF email 2010 )

14.Bh6 Rg8

Zhou, Weiqi 2590

Bu, Xiangzhi 2662

17.Ng5 Bg6 18.Bxd6 cxd6 transposes

or 14...gxh6 15.Re5 Qd7 16.Rae1 Be6
17.d5 ! O-O-O 18.dxe6 fxe6 19.Rxe6
17...cxd6 18.Ng5 If White wants to

Danzhou 4th 2013

Here we will wrap up the other

options after 8.c4, to further elucidate
our general objective in playing the
Petroff.
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nxe5 d6 4.Nf3
Nxe4 5.d4 d5 6.Bd3 Be7 7.O-O Nc6
8.c4 Nb4 9.Be2
9.cxd5 is the Browne variation, made
famous by the following spectacular
game: 9...Nxd3 10.Qxd3 Qxd5 11.Re1
Bf5 12.Nc3
Alternatively, the sharp and forcing
line 12.g4 Bg6 13.Nc3 Nxc3 14.Qxc3 f6
15.Qxc7 O-O 16.Rxe7 Qxf3 17.Rxg7+
Kh8 18.Bh6 Qxg4+ 19.Qg3 Qxd4
20.Rxg6 hxg6 21.Bxf8 Rxf8 22.Rc1
Qxb2 results in this equal position,
which was drawn in a number of
correspondence games.
12...Nxc3 13.Qxc3 c6 ?
Correct is 13...Be6 14.Re5 Qc6 15.Qa5
Rd8 16.Bf4 O-O 17.Rc1 Qb6 18.Rb5
Qxa5 19.Rxa5 Ra8 20.d5 Bd7 21.Ne5
Bd6 22.Bg3 Bxe5 23.Bxe5 c6 24.dxc6

to the game.

15.Re5 Qd7 16.Rae1 Be6 17.Ng5

fight for an edge, he needs to play

O-O-O 18.Nxf7 Bxf7 19.Rxe7 Qxd4

forcefully before Black brings his

20.Rxf7 Qxc3 21.bxc3 gxh6 22.Rb1

rook into play; for instance, 18.Qd2

+ and White was just winning this

Qd7 19.Re1 d5 20.Ba2 Rd8 21.g3 Be6

endgame in 1-0 (40) Browne,W (2575)

22.Nh4 f6 23.Bb1 Bf7 24.Nf5 Re8

- Bisguier,A (2435) Chicago 1974

25.Rxe8+ Bxe8 with equal chances

was soon drawn in - (30) Keuter,K

9...O-O 10.Nc3 Bf5 11.a3 Nxc3

(2494) - Joppich,U (2472) ICCF email

12.bxc3 Nc6 13.Re1 Re8 14.Bf4 dxc4

2014

This is important, to avoid 14...Rc8

18...Bg6 19.h4 Qe7 20.Qg4 h6

?! 15.c5 ! +/= with a bind as Blacks

queenside pawns are vir tually
immobilised.
15.Bxc4 Bd6 16.Rxe8+ Qxe8 As
usual, every exchange of pieces
generally makes it easier for Black to
hold the draw.
17.Bxd6
17.Nh4 Na5 18.Nxf5 Nxc4 19.Qf3 Rb8
20.Bh6 g6 21.Nxd6 Nxd6 22.Qf6 Nf5
23.Bf4 Qe7 24.Qxe7 Nxe7 is just a

21.Nh3

completely equal endgame, especially

as Whites light squares are a bit soft.

21.h5 has been known to lead to a

draw from some games by Wang Yue:

To give one correspondence game:

21...Bxh5 22.Qxh5 hxg5 23.Rd1 Rf8

25.Kf1 f6 26.Ke2 Nd5 27.Bd2 b5

24.Rd3 Qe1+ 25.Kh2 Qxf2 26.Qxg5

OCTOBER 201589

neuTRAliSinG e4 WiTH THe PeTROff - P1

Qf6 27.Qxf6 gxf6 28.Rg3+ Kh8

- Nataf,I (2434) ICCF email 2010 )

29.Rh3+ Kg7 30.Rg3+ Kh8 31.Rh3+

This exchange is the modern way to

approach 5.d4 and I used to think it

Kg7 32.Rg3+ - (32) Radjabov,T

23.Ba2 Qc2 24.Bd5 Qd3 25.Qxd6

offered pretty good chances of an

(2740) - Wang,Y (2752) Medias 2010

Qxc3 This had already been seen in

advantage.

CBM 137 )

a correspondence game and once

again White doesnt have a great way

8.Nbd2 Nxd2 9.Bxd2 Bg4 10.c3 O-O

21...Qe4 22.Qg3

to avoid a draw.

11.Re1 Bd6 is totally fine for Black.

22.Nf4 was another recent tr y,

26.Rf1 Bd3 27.Rd1 Bc2 28.Rf1

8.Re1 Bg4 9.c4 Nf6 10.Nc3 is another

however Black was fine after the

major line, which featured in a couple

forcing sequence 22...Ne5 23.dxe5

33...Qb2 34.Rd1 Qc2 35.Rf1 Qd2 36.g3

of GM games this year, but it has been

Qxc4 24.e6

Re1 with equal chances will end in a

effectively neutralised: 10...Nxd4!

likely draw by perpetual check.

24.exd6 Rd8 ( Black could also take on
c3 ) 25.Rd1 Bc2 26.Rd2 Qxc3 27.Qe2

( 10...Bxf3 11.Qxf3 Nxd4 12.Qd1 is also

28...Bd3 29.Rd1 Bc2 30.Rf1 Bd3

Ba4 with equal chances and while the

d-pawn looks scary, correspondence

fine for Black, as long as he rejects

Gelfands old 12...Ne6 in favour of

1/2 - 1/2

the machines 12...dxc4! 13.Bxc4 c5

games such as - (43) Gonzalez

14.Qa4+ Qd7 15.Qxd7+ Kxd7 16.Be3

Freixas,A (2530) - Bross,H (2589)

Rhd8 17.Bxd4 cxd4 18.Bb5+ Kd6

ICCF email 2007 have demonstrated

that Black experiences no objective
problems here.

Sweircz, Dariusz 2614

Li, Chao B 2711
Bundesliga 2015

19.Rad1 Kc5 20.Re5+ Kd6 with either

a draw by repetition with 21.Re1, or
total equality after 21.f4 Bf8 22.Rxd4+
Kc7 with equal chances )

24...fxe6 25.Qxg6 Qxf4 26.Qxe6+ Kh8

27.Rd1 Rf8 28.f3 Qxh4 29.Rxd6 Qg5
30.Rd7 Qc5+ 31.Kh2 Qh5+ 32.Kg1
Re8 33.Qg4 Qxg4 34.fxg4 b6 35.Rxa7
Rc8 with equal chances and the
rook endgame was just a draw in -

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nxe5 d6 4.Nf3

Nxe4 5.d4 d5 6.Bd3 Nc6 7.O-O Be7
8.Nc3!

11.cxd5 Bxf 3 [Link] 3 c5 13.d6

Playing to exploit the Black kings
central position, however it proves
pretty safe on f8 due to Whites own
development/king safety issues.

(53) Radjabov,T (2731) - Giri,A (2797)

Tbilisi 2015 )

13.dxc6 Nxc6 14.Bb5 O-O 15.Qxd8

Bxd8 with equal chances has been

22...Na5

the main choice in engine games, but

naturally Black is not in real danger in

Also good for equality is 22...Rc8

such a position.

23.Bf1 Ne7 24.Qxd6 Nf5 25.Qb4 a5!?

(stopping d5 in response to Nh4)

13...Qxd6 14.Nb5 Nxb5 15.Bxb5+ Kf8

26.Qxa5 Nxh4 27.Qe5 Qxe5 28.dxe5

16.Qe2 Qc7! Not the only move, but

Rxc3 29.Nf4 Be4 30.Rd1 with equal

the most logical, preparing ...Bd6

chances 1/2-1/2 (30) Vohl,G (2446)

and intending 17.Bf4 Bd6 18.Bxd6+

9050 MOVES MAGAZINE

OPeninGS
Qxd6 19.Rad1 Qc7 20.Qe3 ( Brenjos

- 1/2 (30) Efimenko,Z (2701) - Li, C

novelty 20.Bd7!? g6 21.Qe7+ Kg7

(2649) Wijk aan Zee 2011

22.Rd6 Nxd7 23.Rxd7 Qf4 is entirely

11.h3
11.Bf4 is the main line, and here Black

safe for Black, who will play a rook to

27.f3 Rc8 28.Rd4 g5 29.Rxa6 Rcxc2

must avoid a few landmines to reach

e8 on the next move. Perpetual check

30.Rg4 Rxa2 31.Rxa2 Rxa2 32.Rxg5

equality: 11...Bd6 12.Bxd6 Bxf3 ! ( 12...

is an extremely likely result. ) 20...

g6 with equal chances and of course

Qxd6 ? 13.Bxh7+ Kxh7 14.Ng5+ Kg6

a6 21.Ba4 0-1 (49) Bruzon Batista,L

this is a basic draw.

15.Qxg4 f5 16.Qh4 Rh8 17.Re6+ Qxe6

(2669)-Wang,Y (2716) Danzhou 2015

18.Qxh8 Rxh8 19.Nxe6 Ne7 20.Re1

21...b5 22.Bc2 h5 ! and Black will

15.Qxf5 b5 16.Bf4 Rb6 17.Re2 Bf6

c6 21.Nf4+ + as occurred in 1-0

activate his rook via. ...h4 and ...Rh5,

18.Rbe1 and in - (48) Swiercz,D

(21) Durarbayli,V (2501) - Zeynalov,F

while the king is quite secure on f8.

(2614)-Landa, K (2647) Germany 2014,

(2328) Baku 2010 really should be

8...Nxc3 9.bxc3 O-O

Black could have kept an impregnable

avoided.

position with 18...Ne7 19.Qd3 Ng6

I used to think this move order was

20.Bg3 Qd7 with equal chances

13.Qxf3 Qxd6

10.Re1

Once Black gets to here, he is pretty

less accurate than the more common

9...Bg4, but now I think it s an
equivalent move order as you avoid

safe, with White unable to make

10.Rb1 ( 10.Re1 O-O transposes to

10 . h 3

was

considered

the

the game. ) 10...Rb8 11.h3 Bh5 12.Bf5!

disadvantage of 9...0-0, however the

Diagram [#]

light-squared bishop can find other

anything of his momentary initiative.

14.Re3

good squares: 10...Re8 11.Rb1 or

11.Re1 Be6 12.Rb1 Rb8 13.Bf4 Bd6

14.Rab1 b6 doesnt change much.

with equal chances ) 11...b6 12.Re1

14...Rae8 15.Rae1 Re7 16.Rxe7 Nxe7

Bd6 with equal chances and Black

17.h4 Rd8 17...c6!? also makes sense,

had no problems coordinating in

to limit the White bishops scope.

0-1 (67) Nepomniachtchi,I (2714) Mamedyarov,S (2757) Sochi 2014

18.c4 b6 19.c3 h6 20.cxd5 Nxd5 with

equal chances

10...Bg4
We are quite intimate with this
This makes sense in conjunction

structure already.

with h3 Bh5, but Im a bit puzzled

as to why Li Chao didnt play 10...

21.Bc4 c6 22.Re5 Nf6 23.Qf4 Qd7

which disrupts Black s natural

Be6 if he wanted his bishop on this

24.g3 Kf8 25.Bb3 1/2-1/2 (25)

development, e.g. 12...O-O 13.Re1

square, especially since h3 is a pretty

Grischuk,A (2747) - Kramnik,V (2785)

Bg6 14.Qd3 Bxf5 ( 14...a6 is also fine,

normal move for these positions.

Kazan 2011

as demonstrated by 15.Bxg6 hxg6

Maybe this was his preparation and

16.c4 dxc4 17.Qxc4 Bf6 18.Bf4 Nxd4

he played ...Bg4 out of habit? Anyway,

It s worth pointing out that the

19.Nxd4 Qxd4 20.Qxd4 Bxd4 21.Bxc7

after 11.h3 Re8 we transpose to the

insertion of 11.Rb1 Rb8

Rbe8 22.Red1 Bc5 23.Rd5 b6 24.Bxb6

previous note.

Black, as after 12.Bf4 Bd6 13.Bxd6

Bxb6 25.Rxb6 Re1+ 26.Kh2 Re2 1/2

favours

Qxd6 with equal chances there is

OCTOBER 201591

neuTRAliSinG e4 WiTH THe PeTROff - P1

no Bxh7 tactic now: 14.Bxh7+ ? Kxh7

19.Rb5 Qxa2 20.Bd2 Nc4 21.Bc3 a6

15.Ng5+ Kg6 16.Qxg4 f5 17.Qh4 Rh8

22.Rb3 Na5 23.Ra1 Nxb3 24.Rxa2

18.Re6+ Qxe6 19.Qxh8 Qe7 ! and we

Nc1 25.Qc4 b5 26.Qxc7 Nxa2 with

can appreciate the difference - the

equal chances 19...Bd6 with equal

rook on b8 is defended!

chances 1/2 - 1/2 (19) Mary,P (2505) Kunzelmann,F (2498) ICCF email 2011

11...Be6
12.Bf4
12.Rb1 Rb8 13.Nh2! intending Qh5 is
a critical try and I dont see how Black
fully equalises here, for instance:
Now Black has consolidated his
13...Qd7 14.Qh5 g6 15.Qf3 b5 or 15...

position and will equalise with normal

Rfe8 16.Ng4 Bxg4 17.hxg4 a6 18.Bf4

developing moves.

b5 19.g5 +/= and I would rather be

White because of the possibility of

15.Ne5 Nxe5 16.Rxe5 Qd6 17.Qe3

h-file play.

Rac8 18.Re1 c5 19.g4 Bd7 20.Re7

c4 21.Bf5 Bxf5 22.gxf5 Rc7 23.Rxc7

16.Bh6 Rfe8 17.Ng4 Bxg4 18.Qxg4

Qxc7 24.f6 Rd8 25.Kh1 Qc6 26.fxg7

11...Bh5 12.Rb1 Rb8 transposes to a

Qxg4 19.hxg4 a6 20.Bf4 Bd6 21.Rxe8+

Rd6 27.Qe7 K xg7 28.Qe5+ Rf6

major line where after 13.Bf5

Rxe8 22.Bxd6 cxd6 23.a4 bxa4 24.Ra1

29.Rg1+ Kh7 30.Qb8 Rg6 31.Rxg6

a5 25.Bb5 Rc8 26.Bxa4 Ne7 27.Bb3

Kxg6 32.Qxa7 Qe6 33.Qxb7 Qxh3+

Ra8 28.Kf1 +/=

34.Kg1 Qg4+ 35.Kf1 Qh3+ 36.Kg1

13.c4 dxc4 14.Bxc4 b5!? 15.Rxb5

Rxb5 16.Bxb5 Bxf3 17.Qxf3 Nxd4

Qxc3 37.Qc6+ Kg7 38.Qxd5 Qxc2

18.Qe4 Nxb5 19.Qxe7 Nd4 with equal

and White has the better minor piece

39.Qe5+ Kh7 40.d5 c3 41.d6 Qd1+

chances and ...Ne6 is nothing tangible

and pawn structure, so this is not

42.Kg2 Qg4+ 43.Qg3 Qxg3+ 44.fxg3

for White.

drawn yet.

c2 45.d7 c1=Q 46.d8=Q Qc2+ 47.Kh3

Qxa2 48.Qd3+ Kg7 49.Qd4+ f6

13...Bg6 White might also consider

12...Bd6 13.Qd2

14.Bxg6!? ( 14.Qd3 was addressed in

50.Qg4+ Kf8 51.Qg6 Qe6+ 52.Kh2

Qe2+ 53.Kh3 Qf1+ 54.Kh2

the note to move 9. ) 14...hxg6 15.c4 ,

13.Ne5 Nxe5 14.dxe5 Be7 changes

as played in numerous Solak games,

the position, but not to Whites

This wraps up our 5.d4 coverage,

however all of them ended in draws.

advantage.

and we can conclude that Black is

extremely safe in these positions,

One good continuation is 15...Bb4!?

13...Bxf4 14.Qxf4 h6

and White cannot hope for an

16.Rf1 Be7 asking White to find a

advantage if Black is prepared. Also,

more useful move.

from a practical perspective it is quite

easy for Black to memorise certain

17.Qd3 Na5 18.cxd5 Qxd5 19.Re1 or

defensive setups that White will not

manage to break down.

9250 MOVES MAGAZINE

OPeninGS
1/2 - 1/2

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OCTOBER 201593

Endgame Lessons
with FM Chris Wallis
In this column, we will look at exam-

on the correct diagonal, restraining,

ples of the mistaken use of rules of

with assistance from the king, one of

thumb in situations where they do

the pawns, and attacking the other

not strictly apply.

[a typical setup of this nature would

be: W Kg4, Pf4, Pe4 - B Kf6, Bd6]. This

This mistake appears in a variety of

should not be taken to be a general

forms; on the one hand, there exist

assessment of the ending, and there

many highly detailed theorems (for

are many, many positions where the

example, Bahrs Rule and Centurinis

defender gets into trouble with this-

Line) which hold only for a given del-

material balance - it will be relevant

icate configuration of pieces; also,

later that the same configuration, but

there are more general statements

shifted forward, with the pawns on

and notions (activate the king in

I had been trying to win this ending

the 6th rank, is losing for Black (see

the endgame, rooks belong behind

for a very long time, but failing mis-

any general endgame text for the

passed pawns, exchange when ahead

erably; in fact, so long as Black main-

theory of these situations).

on material, etc.) which we are in the

tains the status quo, it shouldnt be

habit of following, but which can lead

possible.

80...Nxf4??

79...Ng6

Thus, this is a mistake. 80...Bf8 still

one astray in subtle situations. It is

true that nobody disputes the usefulness of such ideas, in general - but

draws.

although they can be taken as the

79...Bf8 is safest - then, 80.Kh4 Bd6

default position, we should retain the

81.Kh5 runs into 81...Nf3 , intending

flexibility to interpret the position dif-

all sorts of mischief (eg Ke5, Nd2-f1).

ferently, as the need arises.

81...Bf8 is more critical - the

80.Kg4

Game 1
Wallis, Christopher
Brown, Andrew
Australian Young Masters, 2010

9450 MOVES MAGAZINE

81.gxf4 Bg7

bishop needs to come around

to

d6

as

soon

as

pos sible.

Here we have one of the theorems

Even here, it shouldnt be on time,

alluded to above - that, under spe-

in view of 82.e5+ when the pawns

cific circumstances, the ending B

cannot be properly restrained and

+ 2Ps (connected) vs. B (opposite

will reach the 6th rank; 82...Ke7 This

colour) is drawn. The rule, however,

is the best practical chance; Black

only applies if the bishop is already

allows an immediate f4-f5, but it

AUGUST 201594

endGAMe leSSOn

Rules of Thumb?
would be a mistake.
82...Kg7 83.Bc4 Be7 84.f5 Bd8 85.Kf4
and the king will come aroulnd to e6
to support f6+.
83.Bc4

Game 2
Mukhin, Evgeny
Tal, Mikhail
USSR Championship 1972

to confirm Tals view. The trouble is

that it can feel very foolish to castle
in such a situation, when the ending
seems near - often such evacuations are paid for later with back rank
difficulties and a loss of time!
16...Rac8 17.Bd3

83.f5 Bg7 is in fact drawn, in accordance with the rule stated above.

The most natural move; probably

Tals criticism of it was influenced

83...Bg7

by the course of the game, since his

annotations miss the computers

83...Bh6 84.Bd5 and Black is in zugz-

improvement at move 19.

wang, since the king needs to control

f6 (to prevent a an f5-f6 run), while

17...Bc6 18.f3 Nd7 19.Ne4?!

if the bishop retreats Whites king

enters via h5.

19.Rhc1! Bf6 ( Or 19...Ne5 20.Bb5 )

20.Rab1 was perhaps the best way

84.Kh5 Bh8 85.Kg6 and Black is threat-

to arrange the rooks - 20...Ne5 21.Bb5

ened with the loss of his bishop; in

Bxb5+ 22.Nxb5 Rxc1 23.Bxc1 a6

fact this is unavoidable due to zugz-

Diagram Above: Tal (in his classic

24.Nd4 seems to be holding on well

wang, eg 85...Kf8 86.Kh7 Bg7 87.Bb3.

The Life and Games of Mikhail Tal)

enouugh, though the position is more

: But here 16. 0-0 should have

pleasant for Black.

82.Kh5??

been given preference. The point is

that, although the queens have dis-

19...f5 20.Nd2 ?

82.e5+ Ke7 83.Kh5 wins as after 81...

appeared, there are still sufficient

Bf8.

pieces on the board for the position

20.Nf2 was necessary, to avoid the

to have a middlegame character.

tactical difficulties of the game.

Thus the position of the king in the

20...Nb6 Surprisingly, Tal is probably

centre, which is certainly favourable

winning already as a result of 19.Nd2!

82...Bf8 83.Bd5 Clearly 83.e5+ Kf5 is

out of the question.
83...Bd6 As the standard draw has

in endings, turns out to be double-

been reached, White has nothing

edged. This is an impressively deep

better than 84.e5+ Bxe5 85.fxe5+

evaluation; detailed analysis and

Kxe5 1/2 - 1/2

the course of the game both seem

21.Bd4
21.b5 Be8 22.a4 Rxd3! 23.Kxd3 Bb4
OCTOBER 201595

endGAMe leSSSOn
with various threats (...Nxa4, ...Rd8+)

Game 3

is an interesting sideline. )
21...e5 Tal seems to be one step
ahead of his opponent, at each turn...
22.Bc5 ( Tal points out the following

Fischer, Robert James

Taimanov, Mark
Candidates Tournament 1971

82.Kf5 Nf2 83.h4 Nxg4 84.Kxg4 Ke6

82...Nf4 83.Kf5 Ne6 is easily drawn as
the king and knight have to go back
and forth.
82.Bc8 Kf4

spectacular variation: 22.Bxe5 Rxd3

23.Kxd3 Bb5+ 24.Kd4 Na4 25.Kd5 Kf7

But now 82...Nd3 would lose to

26.Bd4 Bf6 27.Bxf6 gxf6 28.Kd6 Rc6+

83.Bf5+, so there is nothing to be

29.Kd5 Rc7 30.Ne4 Rd7+ 31.Nd6+ Ke7

(D)

done.

with mate to follow. Mating attacks in

the ending are uncommon, but quite

83.h4 Nf3 84.h5 Ng5 85.Bf5 Nf3

possible!

86.h6 Ng5 87.Kg6 Nf3 88.h7 Ne5+

89.Kf6

22...Rxd3! 23.Kxd3 Bb5+ 24.Kc2 Na4

The loss of this concretely drawn

25.Kb3

ending, understandable though

25.Kd1 loses in any case to 25...Bf6 ,

it may be at the end of a long

due to the embarrassment of Whites

session (of course, knight endings

bishop, which has taken up too great

This is an excellent example of over-

can be somewhat counter-intui-

a burden.

generalising the rule when in doubt,

tive) was a most unfortunateoc-

activate the king!. Of course the most

currence for Taimanov, given the

natural thing is to march towards

final score of the match (6-0! ). 1-0

25...b6! 26.Nc4

Whites pawn, but due to a subtle tacNot 26.Bxe7 Rc3+ 27.Ka2 Rc2+ 28.Kb1

tical issue this was actually the only

( 28.Kb3 Rb2# ) 28...Bd3 and ...Nc3+

way to lose: 81...Ke4 ?

- Blacks three pieces work very

efficiently!

It was necessary to move the knight

to d3, either here or after a prelimi-

26...bxc5 27.Nxe5 cxb4 28.Rac1

nary king move: 81...Nd3 82.h4

Nc5+ 29.Kxb4 a6 A cautionary tale.

An especially interesting line occurs
0-1

following 82.Kg5 Ke5 83.h4 Nf4

84.Bf5 (all very natural) - of course,
whereupon 84...Kd6 !? would take
advantage of another feature of the
position.

9650 MOVES MAGAZINE

Game 4
Jussupow, Artur
Timman, Jan
Candidates Tournament 1992

White can prepare the advance of

Despite the favourable stance of the

the a-pawn.

rooks, its not possible to win this

position as Whites g-pawn is too

28...Ra8 29.Rc7 Bf5 30.h4 Be6

vulnerable.

31.Rc6 Rfc8 32.Rxc8 Rxc8 33.Bxe6

fxe6 34.a4 Ra8 (D)

38...Ke6 39.Ke4
39.Re1+ Kf6 40.Re4 was a better
winning attempt. 40...g5+
41.hxg5+ does contain a simple trick,
but so long as Black responds 41...Kg6
( 41...Rxg5 42.Re6+ Kxe6 43.Kxg5 is a
loss.) 42.Rd4 Rf5+ 43.Ke4 Rxg5 this
is no problem.
41.Ke3 however can, for instance,
be met with 41...gxh4 42.gxh4 Kf5
whereupon White will be unable to

23. Rc7 Of course not 23.Rc4? Ba6

23...Bxe4 24.Re1 Rae8 25.Rxa7 Kg7
As Dvoretsky observes, Jussupows

A critical moment is reached. Of

make progress, eg 43.Rc4 Ke5 44.Kd3

course, every Russian schoolboy

Kd5 45.Kc3 Ra8 46.Rf4 Ke5 etc.

knows that the rook belongs behind

the passed pawn,but 35.Ra1 here

39...g5 40.hxg5 Rxg5 41.Kf3 Ra5

costs White half a point!

42.Re1+ Kf5 43.Re4 Rc5 44.Re3 Ra5

45.Ra3 Ke5 46.Ke3 Ke6 47.Ke2 Kd6

next move is inaccurate:

26.Kf2

35.Re4 is necessary - for one thing,

48.Kf2 Ke6 49.Re3+ Kd5 50.Ra3

maintaining the existence of Blacks

Ke6 51.Ke3 h4 52.g4 Kf6 53.Kf4 Kg6

wretched e6-pawn. The situation on

54.Kf3 Kg5 55.Ra2 h3

26.g4, restraining Blacks possibilities

the kingside remains heavily favour-

should be preferred, but White lets

able and White will be able to properly

So, while its good to know about

the chance slip.

support his a-pawn, with the king; the

these rules - in fact, without some

position is winning for White.

general notions, or that default position which was alluded to, a lot of

26...h5 27.g3 Kf6 28.h3?

35...Ra5

time mayneedlessly be wasted reinventing the wheel. However, keep in

A serious mistake; Black now gets the

chance to unwind, especially by the

Black may as well stop the pawn

mind the limitations of these ideas

manoeuvre ...Bf5-e6 to trade Whites

advancing any fur ther before

- they dont necessarily to apply in

nuisance bishop.

exchanging the e- and f-pawns.

every situation! Routine thinking is

often punished severely, as we have

28.Rd7 is good prophylaxis; Blacks

36.Ke3 e5 37.Ke4 exf4 38.Kxf4

seen in these four examples.

position is effectively frozen, so

OCTOBER 201597

SOluTiOnS

SOLuTION 1

SOLuTION 2

SOLuTION 3

White is a pawn up, but must be

This time it is one pawn each, and

White must execute a delicate opera-

accurate.

since White is closer to the kingside,

tion - Blacks king will try and keep the

the question is when the king should

opposition (close and distant), so if

go for the h-pawn - Blacks king must

White carelessly goes towards Blacks

not be allowed to reach the g-pawn.

b-pawn, Black will gobble up Whites

1.Kg4!
1.Kh5? Kf4! 2.h3 Kg3 3.Kh6 Kh4!

g-pawn and both sides will queen.

1.Kc7

1.h3? Kf4 is the same.

1...Ke6

The win involves approaching the

b-pawn, forcing Blacks king to step

1.Kd7 ? Kb6 2.Ke6 Kc5 3.Kf5 Kd4 4.Kg6

on a square where White can take the

Ke4 with equal chances

distant opposition and return to the

kingside to outflank.

1...Ke4 2.h4! Ke5 3.Kh5!

1...Ka6 2.Kc6 Ka5 3.Kc5 Ka4 4.Kc4

Ka3 5.Kc3 Ka2 6.Kc2 Ka3 7.g3!

1.Ke4 Kg4 2.Kd5 Kh5

7.g4 ? Kb4 8.Kd3 Kc5 9.Ke4 Kd6 10.Kf5

2...Kf5 3.Kd4 Kg5 4.Ke5 Kg4 5.Kf6 Kh4

2...Kf5 3.h4 +

h5! with equal chances

6.Kf5 Kg3 7.Kg5

3.Kh6 Kg8 4.h3!

7...Kb4

2...Kg3 3.Ke5 Kg4 4.Kf6 +

4.h4 Kh8 with equal chances

7...Ka2 8.g4 Ka3 9.Kd3 Kb3 10.Ke4 Kc4

2...Kh4 3.Kd4 Kh5 4.Kd5 +

2.Kh5! Kf7

11.Kf5 Kd5 12.Kg6 +

4...Kh8 5.h4 Kg8 6.h5 Kh8 7.g6 hxg6
8.hxg6 +

3.Kc6! Kg5
8.Kd3 Kc5 9.Ke4 Kd6 10.Kf5 Kd5
11.g4 +

3...Kh4 4.Kd6! Kg3 ( 4...Kg4 5.Ke6 ! )

5.Ke5 Kg4 6.Kf6 +

9850 MOVES MAGAZINE

3...Kg6 keeps the distant opposition,

SOluTiOnS

but strays too far from the g-pawn.

1...c5 2.Ke5 Ke3 3.Kd5 Kd3 4.Kxc5 +

4.Kxb5 Kf5 5.Kc6 Kg4 6.Kd5! Kg3

2.Ke5 c6

7.Ke4 Kxg2 8.Kxf4 +

2...Kd3 3.Kd5 c6+ 4.Kc5 Kc3 5.a4 +
4.Kc5!
3.a4 Kd3 4.a5 c5
( 4.Kxb5 ? Kg4 )
Blacks pawn will reach the 7th rank
4...Kg4

- how can White utilise the queen to

win?

( 4...Kh4 5.Kd4 Kh5 6.Kd5 )

5.a6 c4 6.a7 c3 7.a8=Q c2 8.Qd5+!
5.Kd6 Outflanking.

The only move to win.

5...Kh5 6.Kd5 Kh4

8.Qe4+ ? Kd2 9.Qd4+ Ke2 10.Qc3 Kd1

11.Qd3+ Kc1 12.Kd4 Kb2 13.Qd2 Kb1

6...Kg6 7.Ke4 Kg5 8.Ke5 7.Ke6 Kg5

with equal chances

8.Ke5 Kg4 9.Kf6 Kg3 10.Kf5 + *

8...Ke3
8...Kc3 9.Qd4+ Kb3 10.Qa1 +
8...Ke2 9.Qa2! Kd1 10.Kd4 c1=Q 11.Kd3
+
9.Qg2! Kd3
9...c1=Q 10.Qg5+ +
10.Qg5 +
SOLuTION 4
White would like to push his a-pawn
and stop the c-pawn:
1.Kf5 Ke3

SOLuTION 5
We can expect a tactical study from
Wotawa, even with pawns only.
1.axb3!
1.f4+ ? Ke6 2.axb3 h6+ 3.Kh5 Ke7
Blacks idea becomes clear. 4.c5 Kf8
5.c6 Kg8 6.c7 Kh7 7.c8=Q g6#
1.cxb3 ? h6+ 2.Kh5 Kd6 3.c5+ Kxc5
4.b4+ Kd6 5.b5 Ke7 6.b6 Kf8 7.b7
Kg8 8.b8=Q+ Kh7 and the same plan
triumphs.
1...h6+ 2.Kh5 Kd6!
2...Ke6 ? 3.c5 Ke7 4.c6 Kd6 5.c4 Kxc6
6.b4 is even losing for Black.
3.c5+! There is no time to waste. 3...
Kxc5 4.c4 Kd6 5.c5+ Kxc5 6.c4 Kd6
7.c5+ Kxc5 8.b4+ Kd6
If 8...Kxb4 , 9.f4 with equal chances
and Black must accept a draw by
stalemate.

OCTOBER 201599

SOluTiOnS
1.Ke4

9.Kc2 ? Kxh5 +

9.b5 Ke7 10.b6 Kf8 11.b7 Kg8

( 1.Kc3 ? Kg7 2.Kb3 Kg6 3.Ka4 c6

9.Ka4 ? d3 10.Ka5 d2 11.a4 Kg5 12.h6

12.b8=Q+ Kh7 13.Qh8+

4.Ka5 Kh5 5.a4 sets up a stalemate

d1=Q +

but Black can release it with 5...d5!

( 13.Qg8+ = also draws. )

6.cxd5 cxd5 7.Kb5 c4 + )

9...Kg7 10.Kc2

13...Kxh8 14.f4 f6

1...c6 2.Kf5! d5 3.Ke5 d4 4.Ke4 Kg7

10.Ka4? Kh7 11.Ka5 ( 11.h6 d3 12.Kb3

5.Kd3!

Kxh6 13.Kc3 Kg5 14.Kxd3 Kf4 + ) 11...

( 14...g6+ 15.Kxh6 Kg8 16.h5 with

equal chances )

d3 12.a4 d2 13.h6 Kg6 ! 14.h7 d1=Q

5.Kf4 ? Kg6 6.Kg4 Kh6 7.a3 ( 7.h5 d3

8.Kf3 Kxh5 9.Ke3 Kg4 10.Kxd3 Kf3

15.Kg6 Kg8 16.Kxf5 Kf7 17.h5 g6+

+ ) 7...Kg6 8.h5+ Kh6 9.a4 d3 10.Kf3

10.h6+? Kh7! +

Kxh5 11.Ke3 Kg4 12.Kxd3 Kf3 +

( 17...Ke8 18.Kg6 Kf8 19.f5 Kg8 )

10...Kh7
5...Kg6 6.Kc2 Kf5

18.hxg6+ Kg7 19.Kg4 Kxg6 20.f5+

Kf7 21.Kh5 Kg7 22.Kg4 =

10...Kf6 11.h6 ( 11.Kb2 ? Kg5 12.Kb3

6...Kh5 7.Kb3 ( 7.Kb2 ? Kxh4 8.Kb3 d3

Kh6 )

9.Kc3 Kg4 10.Kxd3 Kf3 + )

11...Kg6 12.h7! Kxh7 13.Kb3 d3 14.Kc3
7...Kxh4 ( 7...Kg4 8.h5 Kf3 9.h6 d3

Kg6 15.Kxd3 Kf5 16.Ke3 Ke5 17.a4

10.Kc3! ( 10.h7 ? d2 11.h8=Q d1=Q+

with equal chances

12.Kb2 Qd4+ ) 10...Ke2 11.h7 with

equal chances )

11.Kb2 Kh6 12.Kb3

7...d3 8.Kc3 Kxh4 9.Kxd3 Kg5 10.Ke4

Black has no more waiting moves:

Kf6 with equal chances ) 8.Ka4!

12...K xh5 13.Ka4! and now the

d3! 9.Ka5! ( 9.Kb3 ? Kg4 10.Kc3 Kf4

s t alemate idea is success ful.

11.Kxd3 Kf3 + ) 9...d2 10.a4 d1=Q )

13...d3 14.Ka5! d2 15.a4 d1=Q

SOLuTION 6

7.h5!

A complex situation - the number of

( 7.Kb3 ? Ke4 8.h5 d3 9.h6 Ke3 10.h7

pawns are equal, but Whites a-pawns

d2 11.h8=Q d1=Q+ 12.Ka3 Qd3+

are blocked, and Black seems to have

13.Kb2 Qd4+ + )

the advantage after 1...c6, since White

cant save the h-pawn - how is the

7...Kg5 8.Kb3!

draw accomplished?
( 8.h6 ? Kxh6 9.Kb3 d3 10.Kc3 Kg5
11.Kxd3 Kf4 + )

10050 MOVES MAGAZINE

8...Kh6! 9.a3!

SOluTiOnS

1. Nxf6+ Ke7 2. Nxd7

1. Ne7+ Kh8 2. Nxc8

1. Ne6+ Kf7 2. Nxd8+

1. Ng6+ Kh7 2. Nxe7

1. Nh6+ Kf8 2. Nxf7 Kxf7

3. Bg4

1. Nf2+ Kg1 2. Nd3 Qg3 3.

Nxc1

1. Ne7+ Kh7 2. Nxg6 Kxg6

3. Bxe4+

1. Qxf8+! Bxf8 2. Nf7+ Kg8

3. Nxg5 Bxc6+ 4. Kg1

1. Nxg6+ Kg8 2. Nxf8

OCTOBER 2015101

SOluTiOnS

GET CONNECTED

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OCTOBER 2015102