ATTENTION CHESS FANS!

Over Labor Day weekend, the 133rd Annual New York State Chess Championship is happening at the Marriott Hotel on Wolf Rd in Albany. It is the premier chess event for New York State and the venue is top notch. And there will be chess materials for sale - books, DVDs, sets, clocks, and all sorts of other goodies.

Visitors are quite welcome - come check it out! Or come play! There are different schedules - 4 day, 3 day or 2 day options. Go to http://www.chesstour.com/ for all the information and to register if you like.

There will be games with start times of Friday 9/2 at 7pm, and on Sat 9/3 at 11am and 6pm. The most activity will be all day Sunday and Monday all all schedules come together. Enjoy!

Looking Back on CDCL Play

Last season’s Capital District Chess League competition had eight teams. With four boards making up each team and substitutions probably upwards of forty-five people took part. The first board players always get the bulk of the coverage it seems. Today we will take a look at a lower board game that was crucial to the outcome of the match between the Uncle Sam Chess Club of Troy and the Schenectady A team. The “Phils“, Ferguson and Thomas of Uncle Sam managed draws with Philip Sells and John Barnes, and Sylvester Canty of Troy defeated the rising scholastic player Dilip Aaron from the Schenectady team. To rescue a result Bill Townsend had to win his game from Elihue Hill. Both of these guys qualify as veterans, both have risen to Expert ratings in past years, and both have not played as often as they did in their salad days. Nevertheless, they still can make a fight when the opportunity presents itself.

Hill, Elihue - Townsend, William [A45]

CDCL Match Uncle Sam v Schenectady A, Troy, NY , 03.2011

1.d4 c5 2.c3 Nf6 3.e3 e6 4.Bd3,..

Rybka calls this the Trompowsky Attack, A45. I am not that familiar with the nomenclature of the off-beat lines to argue the point.

4..., b6 5.f4 Ba6 6.Bxa6 Nxa6 7.Qe2 Qc8 8.Nf3 Be7 9.Nbd2 0–0

Now the game seems to be some kind of Bird’s Opening. Black has equalized so it can’t be said White’s opening scheme was particularly successful.

10.Ne5?!,..

Straightaway castling is better. The text gives Black a chance to obtain an advantage.

10..., d6 11.Ng4?!,..

Better 11 Nd3, leading to a more rational layout of the White forces. Mr. Hill may have been motivated by a wish to make things as difficult as possible for his opponent in hopes of causing a mistake.

11..., Nc7!?

Too cautious. With 11..., Nxg4; and 12..., Qc6; retraining the e3-e4 push Black could have increased his edge.

12.Nxf6+ Bxf6 13.Ne4?,..

Ignoring the principle of development before maneuvering is incorrect. Better 13 0-0 d5 14 b3, keeping any disadvantage to a minimum.

13..., Be7 14.0–0 Nd5!?

The move 14..., f5; strongly suggests itself. I am not certain it is better than the text regardless of Rybka’s recommendation. The computer lines is; 14..., f5 15 Ng5 Bxg5 16 fxg5 e5; keeping a solid edge for Black. In a serious game, the Black dark squared Bishop looks to have some potential. Giving it up for the Ng5, even though some damage is done to the White pawn formation, takes careful consideration.

15.a3..,

By playing 15 c4, White could have tried to equalized after 15... Nf6 16 Nxf6 Bxf6, but 17 Rd1 d5; leaves Black with his advantage.

15..., Nf6 16.Ng3?!,..

White has consistently avoided simplification. He wants this Knight at hand to work with his Queen in making an attack on the Black King I guess. The logic of the position tells us such an attack is most unlikely to work, Black has too many defensive resources available. Best here is 16 Nxf6+, and aiming for equality.

16..., Qc7 17.Bd2 e5?!

Now Black is bitten by the bug of aggression in his turn. With the natural sequence 17..., d5; 18 Rac1 Qb7 19 c4 cxd4 20 exd4 dxc4; Black hangs on to his slight advantage even against 21 f5. To which Black answers coolly with 21..., Qd7; and then 22 fxe6 fxe6 23 Qxc4 Rac8. The advantage is not close to a winning one, but it is persistent. The game move could have allowed White to justify his maneuvering idea with the Knight after; 18 fxe5 dxe5 19 Nf5! Rae8 20 Qf3, and although there is no violent attack going to burst through on the Black King, the threat of such limits the choices for Black permitting White claim full equality and maybe a bit more.

18.fxe5 dxe5 19.dxe5? Qxe5

The upshot is Black has hung on to the edge which consists mostly of a sounder pawn formation.

20.e4 Qe6

Leaving before being pushed by 21 Rf5, or 21 Bf4. It is not clear that moving the Queen before she is attacked is entirely right. A case can be made for 20..., Rfe8; as a better use of this tempo.

21.Rae1 Rad8 22.Bf4?,..

This move is not tactically flawed, it is wrong on positional grounds. White has wanted to carry out an attack by pieces on the Black King for a long time. At least that is what his moves have indicated. Now when he has done much to achieve that end, his attention swings to other targets. The natural continuation is; 22 Nf5, then if 22..., Nd7 23 e5 Rfe8 24 Qf2, and if 24..., Nxe5 fearlessly 25 Nxg7 Kxg7 26 Qg3+ Qg6 27 Qxe5+ Bf6 28 Qxe8, Rxe8 29 Rxe8, and the two Rooks are as good as the Black Queen. Using the principle that two pieces are often more dangerous than is one piece, if the two pieces are coordinated, we can say that White has the better chances by playing as suggested.

22.., Nd7

Possibly better is 22..., g6; denying f5 to the White pieces.

23.Nf5 Ne5 24.Rd1 Rfe8 25.h3?..,

I don’t get this move at all. Capturing on e7, or on e5 are the principled tries. White apparently did not care for any endgame positions with his weak e-pawn on the board. The text seems to be a “pass” in hopes that something will develop. Such moves all too often make things worse.

25..., Bf8 26.Ne3 Ng6 27.Bc7 Rxd1 28.Nxd1 Qxe4 29.Qxe4 Rxe4

The weak e-pawn is gone leaving Black with all the winning chances. His Rook is far more active than its counterpart and the Bd7 is not entirely safe.

30.Nf2 Re2 31.b3 Re3 32.Nd1 Rd3 33.Re1 Bd6?

Much better is the logical 33..., f6; making a “luft” for his King and opening a path for the monarch to contribute to the game. Also useful is 33..., c4; weakening the White Q-side pawns, or 33..., b5; with the same intention. And finally, 33..., Rd2; putting the Rook on the natural square is sensible. All the alternative keep the winning edge. The text does not do so.

34.Re8+?!,..

Missing the opportunity. With 34 Nf2 Rd5 35 Re8+ Bf8 36 Ra8, White would have generated quite a lot of counter-play, maybe even enough to hold the game. The rush to check on e8 is understandable but wrong.

34..., Bf8 35.Rd8?,..

Compounding the error. White has nothing better than 35 Re1, when Black still has the options outlined above. The text leads to a bad position.

35..., Rxd8 36.Bxd8 Bd6

Setting up a nasty threat to the survival of the Bd8.

37.Kf2?,..

White misses it. He had to play 36 Bg5, then 36..., f6 37 Be3 Kf7; and Black is near winning but there are many moves to play. Now a piece is lost.

37..., f6 38.Ne3 Kf7

It is now clear to both players the Bd8 is doomed. Perhaps Mr. Hill thought going into this position he had something tricky with 39 Nf5. That turns out not to be the case. The one possibility of obtaining some compensation is 39 Nc4, planning to obtain two extra pawns on the distant Q-side for the piece by capturing on b6. Play could go; 39 Nc4 Bb8 40 Nxb6 axb6 41 Bxb6 Ne5 42 Ke3 (to avoid the fork at d3 if the Bishop captures at c5) 42..., Nd7. Black has a some technical problems to solve, but he should be able to keep the White Q-side pawns from becoming dangerous without too much difficulty and eventually will win.

39.Nf5 Be5

The threat to the pawn on c3 puts paid to all White’s hopes.

40.c4 Ke8 41.Bxb6 axb6 42.Nxg7+,..

White has his two pawns for the piece this way, but they are on opposite sides of the board and not passed. The technical problems are not great and the extra piece can easily deal with the pawns.

42..., Kf7 43.Nf5 Nf4 44.Kf3 Nd3 45.Ke4 Nf4 46.Ne3 Ke6 47.Kf3 f5 0–1

The game score after this move is unclear. The game went on to move 55 when Hill’s clock fell. The win leveled the match at 2 -2. The drawn result was an excellent accomplishment for the Uncle Sam team considering the rating difference between the teams. Holding the draw was not as terrible as a defeat would have been for the Schenectady team. Had they lost, it is possible they would not have come back to win the title this year.

More soon.

Some Upcoming Events

In response to some discussions at the Albany Club last night I am setting out some information on the early activities of the upcoming chess season.

The following chess events are scheduled:

29 August - Chess in the City special blitz event will be held under the marquee at Proctors in downtown Schenectady. It is a five round Swiss System event, game in five minutes. Entry is free. Many prizes offered. Registration begins at 11:00am. Play begins soon after. This is a fun event and I have had a great time every time I have played in it.

Of course the NYS Championship comes 2 - 5 September at the Albany Marriott, 189 Wolf Road. Registration begins 6:30pm on 2 Sept. for the early rounds. Details in Chess Life.

15 September - The Schenectady Chess Club Blitz Championship played at the club's rooms at the Niskayuna Rec Center, 2682 Aqueduct Road. It will be a multiple player round robin, gamer in five minutes event. The entry fee is five dollars with all fees being returned as prizes. Registration starts at 7:30pm. Play begins at 8:00pm.

The League MVP

Last Wednesday I had the honor of presenting to Dean Howard of the Albany Area chess Club the Most Valuable Player trophy for this year’s Capital District Chess League competition. I did this pleasurable task representing Bill Townsend and the CDCL to aid the League in getting all the awards delivered in a timely manner. The trophy goes to the player who scores the highest number of points on the highest average board in League play. Dean won scoring 6 - 1 playing board 1 for the AACC A Team in all matches. As it happened, Mr. Howard was assured of the MVP award before the final match was played and even a loss in that game could not effect the outcome.

An important step in his march to the trophy was this win from Jonathan Feinberg of the Saratoga A Team. Coming out of the opening White was ahead in development. Dean, with the Black pieces, found a way to overcome this deficit and reached a near equal position as the opening phase ended. The initial middle game maneuvering gave Black a slight edge. An ill-advised pawn hunt by White resulted in Black owning a passed pawn. Howard exploited that to win a pawn and the game.

Feinberg, Jonathan - Howard, Dean [A13]

CDCL Match Saratoga A v Albany A, Saratoga Springs, NY, 06.05.2011

Board 1

1.c4 e6 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.g3 d5 4.Bg2 c6 5.0–0 Nbd7 6.b3 Bd6 7.Ba3,..

This is not totally unknown to theory. For example here is a game from the 1950’s:

Szily, Jozsef - Kapu, Jeno [A13]

HUN-ch 07th Budapest, 1951

1.Nf3 Nf6 2.g3 d5 3.Bg2 c6 4.c4 e6 5.0–0 Nbd7 6.b3 Bd6 7.Ba3 Qe7 8.Qc1 0–0 9.Bxd6 Qxd6 10.Qa3 Qxa3 11.Nxa3 b6 12.Rfc1 Bb7 13.cxd5 exd5 14.Nd4 Rfe8 15.Kf1 Rac8 16.Nf5 Re6 17.Rc2 Nb8 18.Rac1 Rd8 19.b4 g6 20.Nd4 Re7 21.d3 Ng4 22.h3 Nh6 23.Nb1 f5 24.Nd2 Nf7 25.N2b3 Rde8 26.a3 Kg7 27.Nd2 Nd8 28.N2f3 Nd7 29.Rb2 Rf8 30.Kg1 f4 31.g4 Ne5 32.Nxe5 Rxe5 33.Bf3 Kf7 34.a4 Ke7 35.a5 b5 36.a6 Ba8 37.Rbc2 Kd6 38.h4 h6 39.Kg2 h5 40.g5 Re7 41.Rc5 Ne6 42.Nxc6 Nxc5 43.Nxe7 Nb3 44.Nxg6 Nxc1 45.Nxf8 Na2 46.g6 Ke7 47.Nd7 Nxb4 48.Bxh5 d4+ 49.Bf3 Bxf3+ 50.Kxf3 Nxa6 51.h5 b4 52.g7 Kf7 53.h6 b3 54.Nf6 1–0

7...,Bxa3 8.Nxa3 0–0 9.d4 Qe7 10.Qc1,..

The path taken by White, keeping the Queens on the board, does not seem to be any more promising than Szily’s choice of heading for an endgame right out of the opening.

10..., e5

Black could have just as well played 10..., b6; taking the game into positions similar to those of the Tartakower variations that have been favored by Dean. He has had success with that kind of play this year. Maybe he just wanted something a little different here, and maybe he was concerned that Mr. Feinberg had prepared for the Tartakower type positions.

11.cxd5 Nxd5

Black could here try 11..., e4; leading to complications that are not unfavorable, but it is an important match versus a strong opponent, and Dean aims to keep things under control.

12.Nc4 exd4 13.Nxd4 N7f6 14.Qb2 Bd7

Both sides have proceeded carefully. White has some advantage. It lies primarily in that this Bishop really has no decent square from which to operate while its White counterpart is effectively posted.

15.Rae1!?,..

In chess we are very often “waiting or breaking”. That is waiting to get everything in order before making a game changing move, or breaking the pattern of maneuvering with a threat. Many times the breaking move is a pawn push in or around the center. Here it maybe time for 15 e4!?, dislodging the Nd5 and taking more control in the center. If 15 e4 Nxe4?! 16 Rfe1, favors White because it will be hard for Black to get away without a loss of material. But if, 15 e4 Nb6 16 e5 Nd5 17 Rac1 c5 18 Ne2 Bc6 19 Na5 Rae8 20 Nxc6 bxc6 21 Rfe1 Qxe5; White has some advantage in theory while Black has chances for counter-play. After the game move, Black breaks first.

15..., b5 16.Nd2 Rac8 17.a3 c5 18.e4 Nb6 19.Ne2 Bc6!?

It is possible that 19..., c4; is better.

20.Nc3 c4 21.bxc4 Nxc4 22.Nxc4 bxc4 23.Qb4?!,..

White is not entirely pleased with how things have gone. His Rook at f1 is not participating right now, and shifting his Rooks over to open files will take time. The Black Rooks are not particularly well placed, but it will take less time to improve their positions than their White counterparts. So the question arises, why take off on a pawn hunt that allows his opponent to make both Rooks active? It could be Mr. Feinberg believed Mr. Howard would agree to the removal of the Queens, and if not, the resulting activity of the White Queen might gain enough time to activate the White Rooks. A judgment call that turns out to be incorrect.

23..., Qe6 24.Qa5?!,..

Somewhat better is 24 Rd1. White hunts pawns and Black activates his Rooks

24..., Rfd8 25.Qxa7 Ra8 26.Qc5 Nd7 27.Qg5 f6 28.Qh5?,..

With 28 Qe3, White keeps his cause alive. The complicated play going; 28 Qe3 Rxa3 29 Qd4 Raa8 30 Nd5 Ne5 31 f4 Nd3 32 Ra1 Rac8; when 33 Qxc4 loses to 33..., Bxd5 34 exd5 Qe6+; or 34 Qxd3 Bc4; winning. It is much easier to measure this stuff in the quiet of my study with a computer cranking out variations than to do so over the board

28..., Rxa3 29.Nd5,..

Losing patience. More stubborn is 29 Rc1. In the long run, however, the passed pawn is too far along to be successfully stopped.

29...,Ne5 30.f4 Nd3 31.Bh3?,..

Weakening e4 and d5. This may be a sign of discouragement overtaking Mr. Feinberg, or time pressure perhaps.

31..., Qf7 32.Qxf7+ Kxf7 33.Rd1 Bxd5 34.exd5 Rxd5 35.Bg2 Rd4 36.Rb1,..

Trading off a pair of Rooks with 36 Ra1, does not offer much stiffer resistance after 36..., Rxa1 37 Rxa1 c3 38 Ra7+ Ke6 39 Rc7 Nc1; with the fork at e2 indirectly protecting the pawn.

36..., Ra2 37.Rfd1 c3 38.Ra1 Rxa1 39.Rxa1 c2 0–1

A nice win over the long time Expert Feinberg, and a worthy contributor to Dean Howard’s Most Valuable Player title.

Next Monday is the annual speed chess tourney at Proctors in Schenectady. Details and times can be found in Bill Townsend’s Gazette column on Sunday. I plan to be there. If we are lucky perhaps Deepak Aaron, just returned from his participation in the 50th World Junior Championship event will be there also. I hope so.

More soon.

Five Minute Chess at Schenectady

Thursday last the Game in Five Minute Warm-up tourney took place at the Schenectady Chess Club. John Barnes directed. The turn out was a bit thin, six players, including Barnes took part. The upside of having few entrants was the event could be run as a double round-robin so quite a lot of chess was played.

The results were:

1st Place - Jon Leisner 9 - 1. He defeated all of his opponents 2 - 0 except Little who broke even 1 - 1.

2d and 3d Place (tie) - Tim Wright and Bill Little 6 ½ - 3 ½. Wright defeated Chu and Laccetti 2 - 0, and Little 1 ½ - ½, broke even with Barnes 1 - 1 and lost to Leisner 0 - 2. Little defeated Chu and Laccetti 2 - 0, was equal with Barnes and Leisner 1 - 1 and lost to Wright ½ - 1 ½.

4th Place - John Barnes 6 - 4. He won from Chu and Laccetti 2 - 0, drew with Little and Wright 1 - 1 and lost to Leisner 0 - 2.

5th Place - Richard Chu 2 - 8. His win was from Laccetti 2 - 0

6th Place - Mike Laccetti 0 - 10. Mr. Laccetti had the toughest assignment by far. He was heavily out rated in every match up but made a fight of it in all his games.

In sum; an excellent result for Jon Leisner besting the field by 2 ½ points, and not so promising results for Wright, Barnes and Little not being able to stay close.

The small number of players who showed up was a bit of a surprise. I expected more. Still it is the tail-end of summer and nice weather does tempt one away from the chessboard. Mr. Barnes has plans for the annual Schenectady Chess Club Five Minute Championship for September. It is hoped for a much better turn out then. Also in the works is the annual “Big” match between Albany and Schenectady. This is the event where both clubs round up as many players as they can for the match. In past years we have had more than twenty a side. The last few years the sides have been smaller with a dozen or so players per side.

More soon.

Wrapping Up the 50th World Junior Championship

So much for prognostication, Dariusz Swiercz, the Polish GM, nosed out GM Robert Hovhannisyan of Armenia on tie-breaks after winning his game against FM Vladislav Kovalev. Swiercz finishes first, Hovhannisyan second, both with 10 ½ points and the Indian IM Sahaj Grover third with 9 ½ points. GM Ray Robson won his last round game against IM Kacper Piorun of Poland. This result had him finish in a bunch with GM Salgado, GM Durabeyli GM Sethuraman and IM Goganov all at 9 points. Robson was placed fourth on tie-breaks. That is slightly better than his rating predicted at the beginning but not all he wanted I am sure.

Here is the game that did it for Swiercz. There can be no question about determination for these guys, 90+ moves in the last round! The patient, solid and technically accurate work the young Polish GM put in belies the notion that all youngsters live only for tactics and attack.

Kovalev made an ill-considered pawn offer on move 16. Swiercz took what was given and made his opponent suffer long for the gift. He then demonstrated with moves 33 to 38 how to use a passed pawn to bring about simplification. The final phase, a Queen and minor piece ending was full of opportunities to make a hasty mistake. Swiercz avoided all the pitfalls and ground down Kovalev’s stubborn defense. A worthy game by which to take the title.

Swiercz, Dariusz (2553) - Kovalev, Vladislav (2439) [C88]

50th World Junior Ch Chennai, India, 15.08.2011

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0–0 Be7 6.d3 b5 7.Bb3 d6 8.a4 Bb7 9.Re1 0–0 10.Nbd2 Na5 11.Ba2 c5 12.Nf1 Re8 13.Ne3 h6 14.Bd2 Nc6 15.h3 Bf8 16.Nh2 Bc8 17.axb5 Nd4 18.bxa6 Rxa6 19.Nhg4 Nxg4 20.hxg4 Qb6 21.Bc4 Rxa1 22.Qxa1 Be6 23.Bc3 Be7 24.Qa4 Rb8 25.Qa2 Kh8 26.Bxe6 fxe6 27.Nc4 Qb7 28.b3 Ra8 29.Qb1 Qc7 30.Qd1 Ra2 31.Bxd4 cxd4 32.Qb1 Ra8 [32...Ra7] 33.b4 Bf6 34.b5 d5 35.b6 Qb8 36.exd5 exd5 37.b7 Ra7 38.Nd6 Be7 39.Nf7+ Kh7 40.Nxe5 Rxb7 41.Qd1 Bf6 42.Qf3 Re7 43.Qf5+ Kg8 44.Nf3 Rxe1+ 45.Nxe1 Qb7 46.g3 Kh8 47.Kg2 Qc6 48.Qh5 Kh7 49.Qf5+ Kh8 50.Qf3 Qe6 51.Kf1 Qc6 52.Qe2 Qb7 53.Nf3 Qc8 54.Ng1 g5 55.Kg2 Kg7 56.Qd1 Qd7 57.Qb1 Kg6 58.Qb3 Qc6 59.Nf3 Kg7 60.Qa2 Kg6 61.Kg1 Qe6 62.Qa8 Kg7 63.Kg2 Qd7 64.Qa5 Qxg4 65.Qxd5 h5 66.Qb7+ Kg6 67.Qe4+ Qf5 68.Nd2 g4 69.Nc4 Bg7 70.Nd6 Qxe4+ 71.dxe4 Bf8 72.Nc4 Kg5 73.Ne5 Bg7 74.Nd3 Bh8 75.Kf1 h4 76.gxh4+ Kxh4 77.Kg2 Kg5 78.Kg3 Bg7 79.f4+ gxf3 80.Kxf3 Bh8 81.Ke2 Kf6 82.Nb4 Ke6 83.Kd3 Kd6 84.Na2 Bg7 85.Nc1 Bh6 86.Nb3 Bf4 87.Nxd4 Bh2 88.Nf3 Bg3 89.Kc4 Bf2 90.e5+ Ke6 91.Kd3 Ba7 92.Ke4 1–0

Deepak played to a draw with Manigandan of India Monday. It was not a pro forma last-round-let’s-make-a-few-moves-and-go-home affair. They kept at it for nearly sixty moves.

Aaron, Deepak (2288) - Manigandan, SS (2109) [C15]

50th World Junior Ch Chennai, India, 15.08.2011

1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Nge2,..

A favorite of Matt Katrine’s when he wanted to test a lower rated player’s understanding.

4..., dxe4 5.a3 Be7

Also possible is 5..., Bxc3+ 6 Nxc3 Nc6; then 7 d5, 7 Be3, and even 7 Bf4, are worth trying.

6.Nxe4 Nf6

The position now is very like a Rubinstein Variation but where White has developed a Knight to e2 rather than f3. According to GM Neil MacDonald and FM Andrew Harley this leaves White’s pieces tangled up and with little control of e5. For that temporary inconvenience he can bolster the Ne4 with either N2c3 or N2g3. The move played by Black gives White a bit more freedom of choice than necessary. Perhaps 6..., Nc6; should be considered. The text is however the most common choice by the Grandmasters.

7.Qd3 b6 8.Bf4,..

White wants to make things complicated as is his habit and is not rushing to straighten out the coordination of his pieces just yet.

8..., Bb7 9.f3 Ba6?!

And he is rewarded for the effort. Many other moves are available; 8..., 0-0; 8..., Nd5; and 8..., Nc6; all are reasonable. Why move a developed piece a second time?

10.Nxf6+ Bxf6 11.Qe4 c6 12.Bxb8 Rxb8 13.Qxc6+ Kf8 14.0–0–0 Bb7 15.Qa4 a6

So we see the idea behind the second move of the Bishop; a tempo or two used and a pawn given in return for which Black has an open c-file and the chance to make the White Queen, and eventually the King uncomfortable. That is probably not enough compensation.

16.Nc3,..

A thought should be given 16 Qb4+, bringing the Queen back towards home. Deepak is fearless of complications. Here he chooses to play in the front of his King’s home opening lines he believes he can cover one way or another.

16..., b5 17.Qb3 Qc7 18.a4?!,..

Safer is 18 Kb1. Mr. Aaron enjoys dragging his opponent into difficult positions, it his style. He is not afraid to take the game into situations requiring calculation. Such an approach works often in his favor.

18..., bxa4 19.Qxa4 Qb6 20.b3 Rd8 21.Na2?,..

Black is set to recover the invested pawn. On balance the awkward situation of the Black King and Rook at h8 is offset by the loosened fortress around the White King. Better 21 Bc4, then 21..., Rxd4 22 Rxd4 Bxd4 23 Ne4, leaves White with his pieces more coordinated than in the game.

21..., Rxd4 22.Bc4 g6

An improvement would be 22..., a5; keeping the Knight on the sideline for awhile. After the text White has a slightly inferior game; Bishop and Knight versus two Bishops, but the development problems for both sides are cleared up in the simplification coming.

23.Qb4+ Qxb4 24.Nxb4 a5 25.Rxd4 Bxd4 26.Nd3 Ke7 27.Kd2 Ra8 28.c3 Bb6 29.Ra1 Kd6 30.Nb2 Bc6 31.Bd3 Bc7 32.Be4 Bxe4 33.fxe4 Kc6 34.h3 Kb5 35.Kc2 Rd8 36.Rd1 Rxd1 37.Kxd1 Bg3

My guess both players concluded over the last several moves that keeping a draw in hand was necessary. There just does not seem to be enough in the position for either side to try for a win. The last phase of the game is a series of small operations by both sides testing the opponent’s alertness.

38.Kc2 Kc5 39.Kd3 Bf4 40.Nc4 Bc7 41.Nd2 Bf4 42.Nf3 h6 43.Nd4 Bh2 44.Nc2 Be5 45.Ne3 Bf4 46.Nc4 Bc7 47.Nb2 Be5 48.Kc2 Bf6 49.Nd3+ Kd6 50.b4,..

White makes an outside passed pawn. It is his only chance to advance his cause.

50..., axb4 51 cxb4 Kc6

Black moves immediately to hold back the “passer”.

52.Kb3 Kb5 53.Nf2 Be7

Black signals he is ready to end hostilities and White agrees.

54.Ng4 f5 55.Nxh6 Bxb4 56.Nf7 fxe4 57.Ng5 Bd2

If 57..., e3 58 Nxe6 e2? 59 Nd4+, leaves White with an advantage. Peace is now concluded.

58.Nxe4 Be1 ½–½

Deepak gained experience in this tournament even if he did not advance his rating. His final score, 6/13, was maybe less than he expected and he did not get to face very many titled players. Nevertheless, playing against his international contemporaries is an invaluable chance to measure his skill. If Mr. Aaron continues pursue his chess career, such experiences are necessary to advancing those skills.

I hope somewhere along the line to get Deepak to publish something about this tournament, maybe lessons learned. After looking closely at his play, albeit superficially in a hurry to get something online in a timely manner, hearing his insights about any of the games would be interesting and educational.

More soon.

The Penultimate Round at Chennai

GM Hovhannisyan got to 10 points with a win from GM Robson of the US. It was a battle from early on with Robson sacrificing the Exchange on move 17. Hovhannisyan returned the material soon enough taking the game into a Rook and Bishops ending where his scattered pawns look a bit suspicious. The Armenian GM saw the possibilities in his passed, isolated and doubled c-pawns turning them into to an effective counter-balance to Robson’s slightly slower connected passers on the K-side. Accurate play by Hovhannisyan forced Robson’s resignation on move 46. GM Hovhannisyan is favored to take first place with just one round to go and a lead over Polish GM Swiercz at 9 ½ points. There are four players tied for third with 8 ½ points.
Hovhannisyan, Robert (2556) - Robson, Ray (2560) [B66]
50th World Junior Ch Chennai, India, 14.08.2011
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 Nc6 6.Bg5 e6 7.Qd2 a6 8.0–0–0 h6 9.Nxc6 bxc6 10.Bf4 d5 11.Qe3 Bb4 12.a3 Ba5 13.exd5 cxd5 14.Be2 0–0 15.g4 Bb7 16.Rhg1 Rc8 17.g5 Rxc3 18.bxc3 Ne4 19.Qxe4 dxe4 20.Rxd8 Rxd8 21.gxh6 g6 22.c4 Bb6 23.Be3 Bxe3+ 24.fxe3 Kh7 25.Rd1 Rxd1+ 26.Kxd1 Kxh6 27.h4 f5 28.c5 e5 29.Bc4 Kh5 30.Be6 Bc6 31.c4 Kxh4 32.Bd5 Ba4+ 33.Ke2 Kg3 34.c6 g5 35.c7 Bd7 36.Bb7 f4 37.c8Q Bxc8 38.Bxc8 Kg2 39.c5 f3+ 40.Kd2 f2 41.Bxa6 g4 42.c6 g3 43.c7 Kh2 44.c8Q g2 45.Qh8+ Kg1 46.Qh3 1–0
GM Ray Robson plays Black against IM Piorun of Poland tomorrow. They both are in a mob of players at 8 points. Even a win will probably not push Robson high enough to garner one of the top three medals, but there is some small chance if all goes just so he could tie for third.
Deepak Aaron won a second game in row today. This score sets the stage for reaching a pretty good 50% result for what may be the toughest junior event Deepak has participated in so far in his career. Of course a great deal depends on tomorrow’s outcome.
There is a moment in the game when the play becomes irrational. I don’t know if there was some error in recording the moves or oversights by the players. It occurred at about the mid-point of the game making hard to believe it was caused by time trouble, but that is possible.
Aaron, Deepak (2288) - Karma, Pandya (2136) [C11]
50th World Junior Ch Chennai, India, 14.08.2011
1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.e5 Nfd7 5.f4 c5 6.Nf3 Nc6 7.Be3 a6
The French Defense, Classical Variation often continues 7..., Qb6. The text is aimed at discouraging White from castling on the Q-side by using the Q-side pawns to make that uncomfortable.
8.Qd2 cxd4 9.Nxd4 Bc5 10.0–0–0 0–0 11.h4 Nxd4 12.Bxd4 b5 13.Rh3 Qc7
Everything up to here is well known theory. Three alternatives have been tried by Black; 13..., b4; in pursuit of the idea mentioned earlier - using the Q-side pawns to discomfort the White King - 13..., Bb7; developing pieces before deciding about how to proceed and 13..., Qb6; preparing exchanges at d4 before attacking the White center with .., f7-f6. The text seems to have some ideas behind it for action down the c-file.
14.Rg3!?,..
Deepak is already plotting to create complications. More common, but not better is; 14 Qe3 b4 15 Na4 Bxd4 16 Qxd4 a5 17 h5 h6; and I like Black’s position. No claim can be made that it is winning, or nearly so, but it looks easier to play than is White’s game. Probably better is 14 h5.
14..., b4 15.Nxd5?!,..
Very creative and the point of the Rook move. Black handles the flurry of tactics well. Sounder is 15 Na4, but I refer you back to the previous note. Our young man does not care to be on the defensive, and so he opts for mixing things up.
15..., exd5 16.e6 Bxd4 17.Qxd4 Nf6 18.Qxf6 fxe6 19.Qe5 Qxe5 20.fxe5 Rf4 21.h5 a5!?
Slow. There is no immediate threat to the b-pawn and no reason to defend it. Black still has an advantage but not much of one.
22.h6,..
Creating a potential weakness on h7 that plays an important part in the ending.
23..., g6 23.Rf3 Rxf3 24.gxf3 Kf7 25.Rd4 Bd7 26.Rf4+ Ke7 27.Kd2 Rb8 28.c3 bxc3+ 29.Kxc3 Rb5??
Based on move count it seems unlikely time trouble is present, but it is possible this is so. No time to think is the only justification for such a move, or a massive sudden failure of chess sense.
30.Kd2?,..
Mutual time trouble? There is no good reason I can find not to take the Rook. After doing so White will have no problem getting his King in among the Black pawns via d4 and c5 as well as creating an outside “passer” on the Q-side. That is more than enough to win the game.
30..., Rc5?
And why not 30..., Rxb2+? With time trouble unlikely, the suspicion is there has been some error in entering the moves. I have not the skill that Bill Townsend has mastered over his years of deciphering score sheets to find the other moves that might bring the game to this position. After the interlude of strangeness, the game returns to logical and level play.
31.Rd4 Rc8 32.Bd3 Rf8 33.Ke3 Re8 34.Kd2 Rf8 35.f4 Rg8 36.b4 axb4 37.Rxb4 g5?
The final mistake. Black had defended well up to here. He has however been worrying about the White Bishop capturing on g6 at any point when his Rook is otherwise occupied. Unfortunately, trying to fix that worry causes far greater problems. Black can still hold with 37..., Ra8 38 a4 Kd8 (Of course not 38..., Rxa4? 39 Rxa4 Bxa4 40 Bxg6, winning. Or, 38..., Bxa5 39 Rb7+ Bd7 40 Bb5 Rd8 41 Ke3 Ke8 42 Kd4 Bxb5 43 Rxh7, also wins.) 39 Bb5 Bxb5 40 Rxb5 Kc7 41 a5 Ra6. Black seems to have just enough counter-play to get the draw.
38.Bxh7 Rh8 39.fxg5!,..
Either Black did not see this move, or he undervalued it. White is now winning.
39..., Rxh7 40.Rb7,..
White treats us to a fine illustration of the power of the pin and skewer.
40..., Kd8 41.a4 Rh8 42.a5 Kc8 43.a6 Rh7 44.Rxd7,..
Cashing in and changing the theme to the strength of two connected passed pawns on the 6th rank.
44..., Kxd7 45.a7 Rh8 46.g6 Rxh6 47.g7 1–0
The last round is tomorrow. Mr. Aaron began the event ranked just about the middle of the field. He is now ranked 85th after 12 rounds of play. A win tomorrow can well leave him near his placing at the beginning of play. That would be not a bad result after gaining much experience on the international stage. Deepak’s opponent then is Manigandan, S, 2109, another strong under 16 player from India. Manigandan is ranked 21st in the country and stands just ahead of Deepak after the 12th round. Should be one more interesting battle.
More soon.
　
　

The Penultimate Round at the WJCC

GM Hovhannisyan got to 10 points with a win from GM Robson of the US. It was a battle from early on with Robson sacrificing the Exchange on move 17. Hovhannisyan returned the material soon enough taking the game into a Rook and Bishops ending where his scattered pawns look a bit suspicious. The Armenian GM saw the possibilities in his passed, isolated and doubled c-pawns turning them into to an effective counter-balance to Robson’s slightly slower connected passers on the K-side. Accurate play by Hovhannisyan forced Robson’s resignation on move 46. GM Hovhannisyan is favored to take first place with just one round to go and a lead over Polish GM Swiercz at 9 ½ points. There are four players tied for third with 8 ½ points.

Hovhannisyan, Robert (2556) - Robson, Ray (2560) [B66]

50th World Junior Ch Chennai, India, 14.08.2011

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 Nc6 6.Bg5 e6 7.Qd2 a6 8.0–0–0 h6 9.Nxc6 bxc6 10.Bf4 d5 11.Qe3 Bb4 12.a3 Ba5 13.exd5 cxd5 14.Be2 0–0 15.g4 Bb7 16.Rhg1 Rc8 17.g5 Rxc3 18.bxc3 Ne4 19.Qxe4 dxe4 20.Rxd8 Rxd8 21.gxh6 g6 22.c4 Bb6 23.Be3 Bxe3+ 24.fxe3 Kh7 25.Rd1 Rxd1+ 26.Kxd1 Kxh6 27.h4 f5 28.c5 e5 29.Bc4 Kh5 30.Be6 Bc6 31.c4 Kxh4 32.Bd5 Ba4+ 33.Ke2 Kg3 34.c6 g5 35.c7 Bd7 36.Bb7 f4 37.c8Q Bxc8 38.Bxc8 Kg2 39.c5 f3+ 40.Kd2 f2 41.Bxa6 g4 42.c6 g3 43.c7 Kh2 44.c8Q g2 45.Qh8+ Kg1 46.Qh3 1–0

GM Ray Robson plays Black against IM Piorun of Poland tomorrow. They both are in a mob of players at 8 points. Even a win will probably not push Robson high enough to garner one of the top three medals, but there is some small chance if all goes just so he could tie for third.

Deepak Aaron won a second game in row today. This score sets the stage for reaching a pretty good 50% result for what may be the toughest junior event Deepak has participated in so far in his career. Of course a great deal depends on tomorrow’s outcome.

There is a moment in the game when the play becomes irrational. I don’t know if there was some error in recording the moves or oversights by the players. It occurred at about the mid-point of the game making hard to believe it was caused by time trouble, but that is possible.

Aaron, Deepak (2288) - Karma, Pandya (2136) [C11]

50th World Junior Ch Chennai, India, 14.08.2011

1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.e5 Nfd7 5.f4 c5 6.Nf3 Nc6 7.Be3 a6

The French Defense, Classical Variation often continues 7..., Qb6. The text is aimed at discouraging White from castling on the Q-side by using the Q-side pawns to make that uncomfortable.

8.Qd2 cxd4 9.Nxd4 Bc5 10.0–0–0 0–0 11.h4 Nxd4 12.Bxd4 b5 13.Rh3 Qc7

Everything up to here is well known theory. Three alternatives have been tried by Black; 13..., b4; in pursuit of the idea mentioned earlier - using the Q-side pawns to discomfort the White King - 13..., Bb7; developing pieces before deciding about how to proceed and 13..., Qb6; preparing exchanges at d4 before attacking the White center with .., f7-f6. The text seems to have some ideas behind it for action down the c-file.

14.Rg3!?,..

Deepak is already plotting to create complications. More common, but not better is; 14 Qe3 b4 15 Na4 Bxd4 16 Qxd4 a5 17 h5 h6; and I like Black’s position. No claim can be made that it is winning, or nearly so, but it looks easier to play than is White’s game. Probably better is 14 h5.

14..., b4 15.Nxd5?!,..

Very creative and the point of the Rook move. Black handles the flurry of tactics well. Sounder is 15 Na4, but I refer you back to the previous note. Our young man does not care to be on the defensive, and so he opts for mixing things up.

15..., exd5 16.e6 Bxd4 17.Qxd4 Nf6 18.Qxf6 fxe6 19.Qe5 Qxe5 20.fxe5 Rf4 21.h5 a5!?

Slow. There is no immediate threat to the b-pawn and no reason to defend it. Black still has an advantage but not much of one.

22.h6,..

Creating a potential weakness on h7 that plays an important part in the ending.

23..., g6 23.Rf3 Rxf3 24.gxf3 Kf7 25.Rd4 Bd7 26.Rf4+ Ke7 27.Kd2 Rb8 28.c3 bxc3+ 29.Kxc3 Rb5??

Based on move count it seems unlikely time trouble is present, but it is possible this is so. No time to think is the only justification for such a move, or a massive sudden failure of chess sense.

30.Kd2?,..

Mutual time trouble? There is no good reason I can find not to take the Rook. After doing so White will have no problem getting his King in among the Black pawns via d4 and c5 as well as creating an outside “passer” on the Q-side. That is more than enough to win the game.

30..., Rc5?

And why not 30..., Rxb2+? With time trouble unlikely, the suspicion is there has been some error in entering the moves. I have not the skill that Bill Townsend has mastered over his years of deciphering score sheets to find the other moves that might bring the game to this position. After the interlude of strangeness, the game returns to logical and level play.

31.Rd4 Rc8 32.Bd3 Rf8 33.Ke3 Re8 34.Kd2 Rf8 35.f4 Rg8 36.b4 axb4 37.Rxb4 g5?

The final mistake. Black had defended well up to here. He has however been worrying about the White Bishop capturing on g6 at any point when his Rook is otherwise occupied. Unfortunately, trying to fix that worry causes far greater problems. Black can still hold with 37..., Ra8 38 a4 Kd8 (Of course not 38..., Rxa4? 39 Rxa4 Bxa4 40 Bxg6, winning. Or, 38..., Bxa5 39 Rb7+ Bd7 40 Bb5 Rd8 41 Ke3 Ke8 42 Kd4 Bxb5 43 Rxh7, also wins.) 39 Bb5 Bxb5 40 Rxb5 Kc7 41 a5 Ra6. Black seems to have just enough counter-play to get the draw.

38.Bxh7 Rh8 39.fxg5!,..

Either Black did not see this move, or he undervalued it. White is now winning.

39..., Rxh7 40.Rb7,..

White treats us to a fine illustration of the power of the pin and skewer.

40..., Kd8 41.a4 Rh8 42.a5 Kc8 43.a6 Rh7 44.Rxd7,..

Cashing in and changing the theme to the strength of two connected passed pawns on the 6th rank.

44..., Kxd7 45.a7 Rh8 46.g6 Rxh6 47.g7 1–0

The last round is tomorrow. Mr. Aaron began the event ranked just about the middle of the field. He is now ranked 85th after 12 rounds of play. A win tomorrow can well leave him near his placing at the beginning of play. That would be not a bad result after gaining much experience on the international stage. Deepak’s opponent then is Manigandan, S, 2109, another strong under 16 player from India. Manigandan is ranked 21st in the country and stands just ahead of Deepak after the 12th round. Should be one more interesting battle.

More soon.

Saturday's Report from Indai

On line problems today have prevented me from getting all of the games of interest to me. We will have to settle for just the results from Saturday’s play.

At the top: Grandmasters Hovhannisyan and Swiercz drew on board one. Hovhannisyan maintains his lead at 9 points. Swiercz and Ter-Sahakyan, who also drew, are in second place at 8 ½ points. GM Ray Robson of the US drew a long battle with GM Sethuraman of India in 71 moves. Robson, FM Kovalev, BLR, GM Durabeyli, AZE and GM Adhiban, IND are tied for 4th through 7th places.

Tomorrow’s pairings are:

Board one; Hovhannisyan - Robson

Board two; Ter-Sahakyan - Swiercz

Board three; Kovalev - Durabeyli

Board four; Adhiban - Grover (7½)

Farther down the list, Deepak won his game against the Indian player Yashas, 2184 to reach 4 ½ points. Tomorrow he plays White against Pandya Karma (2136) of India. He is the 19th ranked under 16 in the country. It should be an interesting game.

Friday's News From the 50th World Junior

This post is actually yesterday’s news. Lawn mowing to beat the possible rain and other errands got in the way of meeting my ambitious plan of putting out an annotated game each day. This was begun on Friday but not finished until Saturday afternoon.

On the top boards at the 50th World Junior Championship the

Grandmasters are taking over. GM Hovhannisyan drew with his fellow Armenian GM Ter-Shahakyan on first board. GM Sweircz of Poland sent Indian FM Girish down to his third defeat in a row on board two. Board three saw GM Martinovic of Croatia lose to GM Ray Robson of the US.

Hovhannisyan has the sole lead at 8 ½ points, in second is Ter-Sahakyan at 8 points, and Robson has pulled up to tie for third with GM Adhiban of India both with 7 ½ points. Robson’s loss to the Russian IM Goganov, 2489, hurts his tiebreak situation, but he will have the chance against one of the leaders in the next round to tighten the race even further. Today the round ten results have been slow in coming to the ’net and with them the pairings for round eleven. We will have to wait until later tonight (Friday) to see the pairings I guess.

Other news: The early leader IM Axel Rombaldoni of Italy, like Girish of India, suffered his third successive loss in this round. He lost to GM Adhiban of India. Rombaldoni remains at 6 ½ points.

Deepak Aaron played an interesting game. It was very much in his style, lots of tactics. He obtained a significant advantage and seemed to be rolling on to a neat win. Based solely on the number of moves played, I think time trouble had a role in the error that spoiled the potential victory that eventually turned into a loss.

Aaron, Deepak (2288) - Vasli, Aref (2181) [C45]

50th World Junior Ch Chennai, India, 12.08.2011

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 exd4 4.Nxd4 Qh4!?

In the 1890s (!) this was all the rage. First Steinitz tried it out as Black against Chigorin in their 1892 match and lost. Then Chigorin gave a spin with Black in 1895 versus Mieses at Hastings and got a draw. Here are those games:

Chigorin, Mikhail - Steinitz, William [C45]

World Championship 4th Havana (19), 16.02.1892

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 exd4 4.Nxd4 Qh4 5.Nb5 Qxe4+ 6.Be3 Kd8 7.N1c3 Qe5 8.Nd5 Nf6 9.Nbxc7 Bd6 10.f4 Qe4 11.Bd3 Qxg2 12.Rg1 Qxh2 13.Qf3 Nxd5 14.Nxd5 Qh6 15.0–0–0 f5 16.Bxf5 g6 17.Nf6 Qf8 18.Bxd7 Qxf6 19.Bxc6 Kc7 20.Be4 Rf8 21.Rgf1 Bd7 22.Rd3 Bc6 23.Bxc6 bxc6 24.Bd2 Bc5 25.Bc3 Qf7 26.Be5+ Kb7 27.Rfd1 Qc4 28.Rc3 Qb5 29.Rb3 Bb4 30.Rd7+ Kb6 31.Bc7+ Ka6 32.Rxb4 1–0

Mieses, Jacques - Chigorin, Mikhail [C45]

Hastings Hastings (18), 1895

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 exd4 4.Nxd4 Qh4 5.Nb5 Qxe4+ 6.Be2 Bb4+ 7.Bd2 Kd8 8.0–0 Bxd2 9.Nxd2 Qf4 10.g3 Qh6 11.Nc4 Nge7 12.Qd3 a6 13.Nd4 Nxd4 14.Qxd4 Nc6 15.Qc3 Re8 16.Bf3 Qf6 17.Qxf6+ gxf6 18.Bd5 Re7 19.Rfe1 d6 20.Rxe7 Kxe7 21.Re1+ Kf8 22.Be4 Be6 23.Ne3 Kg7 24.Nd5 Bxd5 25.Bxd5 Nb4 26.Bb3 Kf8 27.Re4 Nc6 28.Rh4 Kg7 29.Rg4+ Kh8 30.Rf4 Ne5 31.Rxf6 Kg7 32.Rf4 Re8 33.Kg2 c6 34.Re4 d5 35.Re1 Re6 36.f4 Ng4 37.Rxe6 fxe6 38.c3 c5 39.h3 Ne3+ 40.Kf2 Nf5 41.g4 Nd6 42.Ke3 b6 43.f5 exf5 44.Bxd5 fxg4 45.hxg4 Kf6 46.Kf4 h6 47.a3 a5 48.b3 Ne8 49.b4 cxb4 50.cxb4 axb4 51.axb4 Nc7 52.Bc6 Ke6 ½–½

Since those ancient days the move has made only infrequent appearances in high level games. Here is one that shows current theory:

Azmaiparashvili, Zurab (2585) - Hector, Jonny (2465) [C45]

San Sebastian op San Sebastian (7), 1991

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 exd4 4.Nxd4 Qh4 5.Nc3 Bb4 6.Be2 Qxe4 7.Ndb5 Nf6 8.0–0 Bxc3 9.bxc3 Kd8 10.Be3 Re8 11.Re1 Qd5 12.Qc1 Qf5 13.Qa3 d6 14.Rad1 Re7 15.c4 Be6 16.Bf3 Rd7 17.Bxc6 bxc6 18.Nd4 Qh5 19.Bg5 c5 20.Bxf6+ gxf6 21.Nc6+ Ke8 22.Qb2 Qh4 23.Qb7 Rad8 24.Rd3 1–0

Probably the Queen sortie is good enough for the occasional surprise, but it maybe just a tad risky. Gary Lane said in his book Winning with the Scotch, Henry Holt and Co., NYC, 1993; “By far the most aggressive Black defense against the Scotch..” and “Black’s move is surprisingly hard to refute..”. Lane closes his short comments on this line with; “Whilst the Steinitz Varation can be dangerous for White if he reacts carelessly, accurate play should enable him to claim an advantage with 5 Nc3.”

5.Nc3 Bb4 6.Be2 Qxe4 7.Ndb5 Bxc3+

Very dangerous is 7..., Qxg2? 8 Bf3 Qh3 9 Nxc8+, White wins the Exchange. More important than the material is White can get his pieces into play effectively while Black has a hard time coordinating his.

8.bxc3 Kd8 9.0–0 a6 10.Nd4 Nge7

All theory so far. There were errands to be run early this morning (Friday), and I glanced at this game while finishing my second cup of coffer. With no time to dig into the game, and the play was outside of my experience, which left me doubting Deepak’s choices. The ideas were puzzling at first sight but the suspicion niggled at my mind that this must be a line somewhere in theory. It didn’t take more than a glance at Lane’s book to find the Steinitz Variation in the next to the last chapter just in front of the inevitable Other Black Defenses chapter.

11.Bg5 Nxd4 12.cxd4 Qg6

Also good are 12..., f3; and 12..., Re8.

13.Bf4 d6 14.Re1 Nd5 15.Bd2 Nf6 16.c4 Bg4 17.Qb3 Rb8

It is possible that Black should have tried 17..., Bxe2 18 Rxe2, when the game differs from the text but is no better for Black in my opinion. White now has a substantial plus.

18.c5 Be6 19.Qa3 Bd5 20.f3 Nd7 21.Bd3 Qf6 22.cxd6 Qxd6

Worse is 22..., Qxd4+ 23 Be3 Qe5 24 Bb6.

23.Bb4 Qf4 24.Be7+!?,..

Deepak prefers active piece play when he can get it. More principled and stronger are; 24 Rc1, or 24 Kh1. The text and the alternatives all increase the edge for White.

24..., Kc8 25.Rac1 Re8

A little more stubborn is 25..., c6 26 Bd6 Qxd4+; but White retains a big advantage.

26.Be4 Qd2

Black has no choice but to gamble. The straight forward line illustrates the tactical nastiness that awaits Black; 26..., Bxe4 27 Rxe4 Qf5 28 Bd6 Rxe4 29 fxe4 Qxe4 30 Bxc7, and decisive material will be lost by Black, or he will be mated.

27.Red1 Qxa2 28.Rxc7+ Kxc7 29.Rc1+?,..

A transposing of moves makes all the difference. With 29 Qd6+, the game is won; 29..., Kc8 30 Rc1+ Bc4 31 Bf5 Rxe7 32 Bf5 Kc7 33 Bxd7 Rh8 34 Be4 Bd5 35 Qd6+ and 36 Bxd5, leaving Black down a piece for a pawn. The more important factor is White’s attack is still raging. Black can not hold out for long. The error gives Black not only the opportunity to save his King, but because of the material White invested, Black suddenly has a big edge. White should recognize the changed situation and take the draw by checking with the Bishop on d6. Black then has nothing better than to repeat moves.

29..., Kb6 30.Bc5+ Kc7 31.Ba7+?,..

A stubborn streak shows itself in Mr. Aaron’s chess character. It is understandable and regrettable. Another slip just when he could have forced the draw puts White in a very bad position.

31..., Kd8 32.Qd6 Re6 33.Qc7+,..

Not good for White is;33.Bxd5 Rxd6 34.Bxa2 Rc8 35.Ra1 Rdc6.

33...Ke8

Better is 33..., Ke7; but Black retains a considerable advantage.

34.Bxb8 Bxe4?

Black in turn falters. After having suffered under a fierce assault for nearly thirty moves, it is hard to blame Black for grabbing material. Keeping the advantage with 34..., Qd2; is best. Black’s advantage has dwindled, it is still there but is no longer winning.

35.Qc8+ Ke7 36.Bc7 Kf6 37.fxe4 Qa4 38.Bd8+ Kg6 39.Qc3 h6 40.e5 Kh7 41.Rf1 Kg8 42.Kh1 Re8 43.Bc7?!,..

Played to maybe tempt the Rook to pin. I suspect the clock was a problem for both players hereabouts. Safer is 43 Ba5, then 43..., f6 44 Re1 Qb5 45 Bc7 fxe5 46 dxe5 Nc5 47 h3 Ne6 48 Bd6, and the ending is far from appetizing for White, but the game is by no means lost yet.

43..., Rc8 44.d5?,..

Missing a tactic. Better are ideas such as 44 Rb1 b5 45 Qc6 Qc4 46 Qxc4 bxc4 47 Ba5 c3 48 Kg1,making a some kind of defense against the now slightly devalued Black pawns. After the text Black simplifies to a won ending.

44..., Nxe5 45.Qxe5 Qc4 46.Qf5 Qxc7

The lone central passed pawn is not sufficient to hold against the connected and distant “passers” according to theory, but precise play is required.

47.d6 g6 48.Qf6 Qd7 49.Re1 Rd8?

The game now swings towards equality. Black misses 49..., Qe6!; taking advantage of the first rank weakness in the White camp to nail down the point after 50 Qxe6 fxe6 51 g3 Kf7 52 Rf1+ Ke8 53 Rf6 Kd7 54 Rf7+ Kxd6 55 Rxb7 a5 56 Ra7 Rc1+ 57 Kg2 Ra1; and with two passed pawns Black is winning.

50.h4,..

Black has a defense to 50 Re7 Qf5 51 Rxf7 Qb1+; wins. Otherwise, 51 Qxf5 gxf5 52 Rxb7 Rxd6 53 Kg1 a5 54 Rb5 a4 55 Ra5 Rd4, and the game enters the technical world of Rook and pawn endings where Black has a winning advantage according to the text books. White’s game is looking better than it has for awhile.

50..., h5 51.Re4?,..

An oversight that indicates to me that Deepak was in some time trouble. If 51 Re5, threatening 52 Rxh5, White draws the game. And if, 51 Re5 Qxd6? 52 Re8+ wins.

51..., b5 52.g4?,..

Losing. There was still time for 52 Re5, drawing. Now Black wins.

52..., Rc8 53.Kg2 Rc2+ 54.Kf1 Qc6 55.Qd4 Rc1+ 56.Kf2 Rc4 57.d7 Rxd4 58.Rxd4 Qf6+

This is the resource that keeps the win in hand.

59.Ke3 Qd8 60.gxh5 gxh5 61.Ke4 Qxh4+ 62.Kd5 Qd8 63.Kc6 Kf8 64.Rd5 Qa8+ 65.Kd6 Qxd5+ 1–0

The pawn will not become a Queen, the Black King is just in time to cover d8. A disappointment no doubt for Deepak. He had a well deserved win in hand, then transposing the move order let the win slip away. It was just then our young friend became unnecessarily stubborn about trying for victory. Objectivity, as the Russian School goes on and on about, has to have a role chess at a high level. It is very hard even for so talented a young man as Deepak to shift gears and bail out to a draw when he had a winning edge for so long as in this game. Nevertheless, that was what was required in this game.

More soon.

Round Nine sees Hovhannisyan Take the Lead

Earlier in this saga of the 50th World Junior Championship I wrote about the GM title holders not doing so well in the early going and wondered about if the title meant much here. The Grandmaster title does have validity however. It is won through competition, and whether or not you agree the title has been diluted in recent decades, the title does mark out the top class of players. In today’s round the GM title holders made a statement with their results. The surprising Indian FM Girish was defeated by GM Hovhannisyan allowing the Armenian to take sole possession of first place. Tomorrow Hovhannisyan has the White pieces versus his countryman GM Ter-Shakyan.

The recent tournament leader, IM Rombaldoni of Italy lost for the second round in succession, this time to the Polish GM Swiercz

The official US representative, GM Ray Robson won his game this round against Indian IM Sundar Shyam climbing back to the group just behind the leading contenders. He has the chance to play for a top spot over the next few rounds. Here’s wishing him good luck!

The Girish - Hovhannisyan game is quite entertaining full of sharp tactics and excitement. Enjoy.

Girish, Koushik (2309) - Hovhannisyan, Robert (2556) [E04]

50th World Junior Ch Chennai, India, 11.08.2011

1.d4 d5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.c4 e6 4.Nc3 c6 5.g3 dxc4 6.Bg2 b5 7.0–0 Bb7 8.e4 Be7 9.Qe2 a6 10.Rd1 0–0 11.a4 Nbd7 12.h3 h6 13.Nh2 Re8 14.e5 Nd5 15.Qg4 Bg5 16.f4 Nxc3 17.bxc3 f5 18.Qh5 Be7 19.g4 Rf8 20.g5 Qe8 21.g6 Kh8 22.Nf3 Rg8 23.Ba3 c5 24.Ng5 Bxg5 [24...Bxg5; 24...Bxg2] 25.fxg5 Bxg2 26.gxh6 Nf8 27.h7 Bb7 28.hxg8Q+ Kxg8 29.Kh2 b4 30.cxb4 Qxa4 31.Qe2 cxb4 32.Qxc4 a5 33.Bb2 Qd7 34.Rg1 Rc8 35.Qe2 a4 36.Rad1 a3 37.Bc1 Qa4 38.Rd2 b3 39.Qf2 Bd5 40.Re1 Rc3 41.Qh4 b2 42.Bxb2 axb2 43.Rxb2 Rc2+ 44.Re2 Rxb2 45.Rxb2 Qa1 46.Qf2 f4 0–1

These young competitors, born in the last decade of the 20th century, have a taste for the openings of one hundred years ago. Today we see their take on the Scotch Four Knights in Santos - Aarpn. This opening was very much in the arsenals of the famous players from the 1800s right through the 1950s. From Paulsen, Tarrasch, Steinitz, Zukertort and their contemporaries to Alekhine and Spielmann in the 20s and 30s and on to Rossolimo, Smyslov, Bronstein and Bolgoljubov in the 40s and 50s. It appeared steadily if not frequently at the top level. It has fallen out of favor at the top but still shows up lower down the pecking order.

Santos, Hugo Lima (2078) - Aaron, Deepak (2288) [C47]

50th World Junior Ch Chennai, India, 11.08.2011

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.d4 exd4 5.Nxd4 Bb4 6.Nxc6 bxc6

Here is a selection of games over the years illustrating some of the ideas really good players have had in the Scotch Four Knights and a few bad ideas too.

Tarrasch, Siegbert - Schallopp, Emil [C47]

DSB–05.Kongress Frankfurt (2), 1887

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.d4 exd4 5.Nxd4 Bb4 6.Nxc6 bxc6 7.Qd4 Qe7 8.f3 c5 9.Qf2 Nd5 10.Bd2 Nxc3 11.Bxc3 Bxc3+ 12.bxc3 f5 13.Bc4 fxe4 14.0–0 e3 15.Qg3 Kd8 16.Rfe1 Re8 17.Rad1 Qf6 18.Rd3 e2 19.Rd2 Qxc3 20.Rdxe2 Rxe2 21.Rxe2 Rb8 22.Qg5+ Qf6 23.Qxc5 Rb1+ 24.Kf2 Qh4+ 25.Ke3 d6 26.Qd5 Bb7 27.Qg8+ Kd7 28.Qxg7+ Kc6 29.Qd4 Qxd4+ 30.Kxd4 Rb4 31.Re7 Ba6 32.Rxh7 Rxc4+ 33.Ke3 Rxc2 34.g4 Rxa2 35.g5 Rg2 36.h4 Bc4 37.f4 a5 38.f5 a4 39.f6 a3 40.f7 Bxf7 41.Rxf7 Rg4 42.Rf8 Rxh4 43.Kf3 Ra4 44.g6 a2 45.g7 a1Q 46.g8Q Qf1+ 47.Kg3 Rf4 0–1

Spielmann, Rudolf - Marshall, Frank James [C47]

New York New York (3), 1927

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.d4 exd4 5.Nxd4 Bb4 6.Nxc6 bxc6 7.Bd3 0–0 8.0–0 Re8 9.Qf3 h6 10.Bf4 d6 11.h3 Bb7 12.Ne2 c5 13.Ng3 c4 14.Bxc4 Bxe4 15.Qb3 d5 16.Bb5 Bd6 17.Bxd6 Rb8 18.Qa4 Rxb5 19.Qxb5 Qxd6 20.Nxe4 Rxe4 21.Qb8+ Kh7 22.Qxa7 Qe5 23.Qa5 Qxb2 24.Qxc7 Rc4 25.Qxf7 Rxc2 26.Rab1 Qe5 27.Rb7 Qg5 28.h4 Qg4 29.Qxf6 1–0

Alekhine, Alexander - Alexander, Conel Hughes [C47]

Margate Margate (1), 1937

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nc3 Nc6 4.d4 exd4 5.Nxd4 Bb4 6.Nxc6 bxc6 7.Bd2 0–0 8.Bd3 d5 9.f3 dxe4 10.Nxe4 Nxe4 11.fxe4 Bc5 12.Qf3 Rb8 13.Bc3 Qg5 14.h4 Qh6 15.g4 Qe6 16.g5 Bb4 17.Bxb4 Rxb4 18.b3 Qe5 19.0–0 c5 20.Rad1 Be6 21.Qf4 Qxf4 22.Rxf4 Rd8 23.Kf2 Rbd4 24.Ke3 c4 25.bxc4 Bxc4 26.Rf5 Bxa2 27.Rc5 Bc4 28.Rxc7 a6 29.h5 Bb5 30.g6 hxg6 31.hxg6 R4d7 32.Rxd7 Rxd7 33.Ra1 Bxd3 34.cxd3 Rd6 35.gxf7+ Kxf7 36.Ra5 Rb6 37.d4 Rb3+ 38.Kf4 Rb4 39.d5 Rb6 40.Rc5 Rb4 41.Rc7+ Kf8 42.Ra7 1–0

Ravinsky, Grigory Ionovich - Estrin, Yacov [C47]

Moscow-ch Moscow (14), 1952

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.d4 exd4 5.Nxd4 Bb4 6.Nxc6 bxc6 7.Bd3 d5 8.exd5 cxd5 9.0–0 0–0 10.Bg5 Be7 11.Bxf6 Bxf6 12.Nxd5 Bxb2 13.Rb1 c6 14.Nb4 Bf6 15.Nxc6 Qc7 16.Qf3 Be6 17.Be4 Rae8 18.a4 Ba2 19.Rbd1 Re6 20.Nd4 Re5 21.Nf5 Rfe8 22.Bd3 Be6 23.Nh6+ Kh8 24.Rde1 Rg5 25.Re3 Rf8 26.Rfe1 Qd8 27.h4 Rc5 28.Qe4 g6 29.Qf4 Kg7 30.Ng4 Bxh4 31.Qh6+ Kg8 32.Rh3 Rh5 33.Qf4 Bg5 34.Qg3 Rxh3 35.gxh3 Bf6 36.Qf4 Bg7 37.Re3 Qh4 38.Qg3 Qd8 39.Qf4 Qh4 40.Qg3 Qg5 41.Kh2 h5 42.Ne5 Qxg3+ 43.fxg3 Re8 44.Bb5 Re7 45.Nf3 Rc7 46.Bd3 Bd5 47.Re8+ Kh7 48.Ng5+ Kh6 49.h4 Bc6 50.Re2 Bxa4 51.Rf2 f6 52.Ne6 Re7 53.Nxg7 Kxg7 54.Kg2 Bc6+ 55.Kf1 a5 56.Rf4 f5 57.Rd4 Ra7 58.Bc4 a4 59.Ke1 Be8 60.Kd2 Bf7 61.Kc1 a3 62.Bxf7 Kxf7 63.Kb1 a2+ 64.Ka1 Ra3 65.Rd3 Rxd3 66.cxd3 g5 0–1

Just to show all examples are not from long ago days, here is now-GM Ter-Sahakyan trying it out in a past World Junior event.

Ter Sahakyan, Samvel (2389) - Howell, David (2527) [C47]

Wch U20 Yerevan (12), 15.10.2007

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.d4 exd4 5.Nxd4 Bb4 6.Nxc6 bxc6 7.Bd3 d5 8.exd5 cxd5 9.0–0 0–0 10.Bg5 c6 11.Qf3 Be7 12.h3 h6 13.Bf4 Nh7 14.Rfe1 Ng5 15.Qg3 Ne6 16.Bxh6 Bd6 17.Qg4 Qf6 18.Bd2 Nf4 19.Qd1 Bxh3 20.Bxf4 Qxf4 21.g3 Qh6 22.Qf3 Rab8 23.Rab1 f5 24.Nxd5 Bg4 25.Qg2 cxd5 26.Qxd5+ Kh8 27.Re6 Qh5 28.Kg2 Qh3+ 29.Kg1 f4 30.Rxd6 fxg3 31.Qg2 gxf2+ 32.Kf1 Rbe8 0–1

7.Bd3 0–0 8.0–0 Qe7 9.Bg5 Bxc3 10.bxc3 Qe5 11.Bd2!?,..

Theory and Rybka says 11 Bxf6, is slightly better than the text, but I am not so sure I can see a big difference.

11..., Re8 12.Re1 d6 13.h3 Qc5 14.Qf3?!,..

This is second best however. With 14 Rab1, White would have had all pieces working.

14..., Be6 15.Qe3 Nd7 16.f4 f6

The game is entirely equal.

17.Qxc5 Nxc5 18.e5 fxe5 19.fxe5 d5!?

Logically 19..., Nxd3; takes the game to a level Bishops of opposite color ending. Deepak does not like to opt out of a fight in that fashion so he heads for complications. The position begins to slightly tilt in White’s favor.

20.Rab1 a5 21.Be3 Na4

Here Black could have varied with 21..., Nxd3 22 cxd3 Bf5; pulling game back to level.

22.Rb7 Nxc3 23.Rxc7 Rac8 24.Ra7 c5 25.Bd2 Nxa2 26.Rxa5 d4

Black is determined to make the game difficult. With 26..., Nb4; he could have equalized matters.

27.Ba6?!,..

White misses a chance to play 27 Rb1 Nc3 28 Bxc3 dxc3 29 Rb7, obtaining a clear advantage.

27..., Rc7 28.Ra1 Nb4 29.Bxb4 cxb4 30.Bd3 Rc3 31.R5a4,..

A more reliable continuation is 31 Ra8, getting off a pair of Rooks.

31..., Rb8?

Black now misses a chance to take over a clear advantage with 31..., b3; then 32 Rxd4 bxc2 33 Rc1 Bb3; gives White a very far advanced pawn to worry about. After 34 Kf2 Rxe5; the active Black Rooks make the White position hard to hold and not much fun to play. The text gives some small advantage to White.

32.Be4 Rc5 33.Ra8,..

White undertakes a simplifying operation that wrings play out of the position. It probably was a good decision from a practical viewpoint; a draw with a higher rated opponent is important in this tough contest.

33..., Rxa8 34.Rxa8+ Kf7 35.Bxh7 Rxe5 36.Bg8+ Kf6 37.Bxe6 Rxe6 38.Rb8 Re1+ 39.Kf2 Rc1 40.Rxb4 Rxc2+ 41.Kf1 Ke5

A Rook and two pawn ending where one side has a isolated passed pawn is a classic endgame problem. Fine, Devenish & Smyslov and Dvoretsky don’t address this specific endgame directly. The ending however includes many of themes they all cover very well. It all boils down to White slowing down the passed pawn as much as possible, winning the g-pawn, giving up the Rook for the passed d-pawn when required while advancing the connected passed pawns

42.Rb7,..

He fails to find the finesse 42 Rb3, then 42..., Rc3 43 Rb8, White has made some progress.

42..., g5 43.Rb5+ Kf4 44.g3+ Ke3 45.Re5+ Kd2 46.Kf2?,..

Straightaway capturing on g5 draws quickly after 46 Rxg5 d3 47 Kf2 Kd1+ 48 Ke3 d2 49 Rd5 Ke1 50 h4, and the White pawns have just enough of a head start to draw.

46..., d3

For a moment Rybka sees opportunity for Black because White neglected to take off the g-pawn at the correct moment, but when the position is “ccoked” for a bit longer the evaluation drifts back to near level. The wrap up is more or less routine.

47.Kf3 Kd1 48.Rd5 d2 49.Kg4 Kc1 50.Kxg5 d1Q 51.Rxd1+ Kxd1 52.h4 Ke2 53.h5 Kf3 54.h6 Rc7 55.Kg6 Kg4 56.h7 Rxh7 57.Kxh7 Kxg3 ½–½

Tomorrow Deepak plays White versus Aref Vasli of Iran, 2181, and Robson plays Black against GM Sasa Martinovic of Croatia. Deepak’s opponent has had nearly equally mediocre results as has Deepak. This looks to be a even match up. There is enough rounds for Mr. Aaron to get back to a fifty percent record. Let us hope he can do so. Good luck to him tomorrow!

More soon.

Rombaldoni Loses the Lead

Rombaldoni dropped out of the lead today at the 50th World Junior Championship. GM Hovhannisyan defeated Rombaldoni and shares that spot today with the Indian FM Girish. It was a short, sharp contest where Hovhannisyan played a fairly new move that may have been outside of Rombaldoni’s experience. It was either that, or the Italian IM just disagreed with the evaluation that master practice indicates about the position. The game, both play and result, supports the evaluation; White is better. Here is the game. What do you think?

Hovhannisyan, Robert (2556) - Rombaldoni, Axel (2459) [B66]

50th World Junior Ch Chennai, India, 10.08.2011

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 Nc6 6.Bg5 e6 7.Qd2 a6 8.0–0–0 Nxd4 9.Qxd4 Be7 10.h4!,..

This is the improvement. It first surfaced in master play 2000, and since has led to excellent results for White. Previously White has tried 10 f4, 10 f3, 10 Kb1, and a few other moves here with varying degrees of success but nothing out of the ordinary. The text moves shows up in sixteen games in my databases. White won 12, drew 2 and lost two! That is a significant edge for White. It is more impressive considering all of these games were among titled players 2350 and above. Here is an example from the early days of the line:

Luther, Thomas (2544) - Aleksieva, Silvia (2364) [B66]

Cappelle op 17th Cappelle la Grande (2), 25.02.2001

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 d6 6.Bg5 e6 7.Qd2 a6 8.0–0–0 Nxd4 9.Qxd4 Be7 10.h4 b5 11.e5 dxe5 12.Qxe5 Bd7 13.Ne4 Nxe4 14.Qxe4 Bxg5+ 15.hxg5 Rc8 16.Qd4 Qc7 17.Bd3 Kf8 18.Rxh7 Rxh7 19.Bxh7 g6 20.c3 Bc6 21.Qh8+ Ke7 22.Qf6+ Ke8 23.Bxg6 fxg6 24.Rh1 Qe7 25.Rh8+ 1–0

10..., b5 11.e5 dxe5 12.Qxe5 Qb6 13.Ne4 Nxe4 14.Bxe7,..

This may be the only way for White to maintain the edge, but it is sufficient. If 14.Qxe4 Bb7 15 Qe5 f6 16 Be3 fxe5 17 Bxb6 Bd5; looks good for Black.

14...Bb7

The obvious 14..., Nxf2?; is answered by 15 Bc5.

15.Bb4 f6

Rombaldoni may have thought earlier that 15..., Nxf2; might be possible here, but if 15..., Nxf2 16 Qxg7 Nxd1 17 Bxb5+! Qxb5 18 Qxh8+ Kd7 19 Rxd1+ Bd5; and White is winning.

16.Qh5+ g6 17.Qh6 Bd5

Once more capturing on f2 with the Knight can’t be done; 17..., Nxf2 18 Qg7, making a powerful mate threat on e7, then 18... Nd3+ 19 Rxd3, wins.

18.Bd3 0–0–0

And again capturing on f2 with the Knight meets problems; 18..., Nxf2 19 Bxg6+, winning. I have the feeling Hovhannisyan may have had this whole line worked out at home.

19.Bxe4 Bxe4 20.f3 Bd5 21.Be7 Rd7 22.Bxf6 Rg8 23.Rd3 Kb7 24.Qe3 Qa5

After all the fireworks, White has a sound pawn in the bag, and the Black King is still not entirely safe. Black avoids the Queen exchange understandably, but it might have best to go into the ending.

25.a3 Rc8 26.Be5 b4?

Struggling to create counter-play losses a pawn. Playing 26..., Qd8; right away may be better. Also 26..., Rc6; or even 26..., Qb6; could be played.

27.Qd2 Qd8 28.Qxb4+ Ka8 29.Qa4 a5 30.Bf6,..

A little tactical finesse that illustrates the unfortunate state of the Black forces.

30..., Qc7 31.Bc3 Bc6 32.Rxd7,..

A final finesse leading to a simply won ending.

32..., Bxa4 33.Rxc7 Rxc7 34.Re1 1–0

An impressive win by the Armenian GM and an entertaining game.

My prediction re: today’s Deepak game was wrong. He lost the fight with his youthful opponent.

Aaron, Deepak (2288) - Akash, Pc Iyer (2069) [C77]

50th Junior World Ch Chennai, India, 10.08.2011

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.Bxc6 dxc6 6.d3 Bd6

The Deferred Exchange Variation of the Ruy Lopez is often dismissed as a way for White to get a draw if he does not feel like playing on the day. It can lead to an early peace treaty, but it also can be the venue for serious fighting. Here is an example:

Markovic, Miroslav (2504) - Ivanisevic, Ivan (2569) [C77]

Serbia/Montenegro-chT Budva (5), 22.05.2003

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.Bxc6 dxc6 6.d3 Bd6 7.Nbd2 Qe7 8.0–0 Bg4 9.h3 Bh5 10.Re1 Nd7 11.Nf1 0–0–0 12.Ng3 Bxf3 13.Qxf3 g6 14.c3 c5 15.Nf1 Nb8 16.Ne3 Nc6 17.Nd5 Qe6 18.Bg5 Rd7 19.Bf6 Rg8 20.a3 Bf8 21.Bg5 h6 22.Be3 f5 23.b4 Rf7 24.Rab1 cxb4 25.axb4 f4 26.Bd2 Na7 27.c4 c6 28.d4 exd4 [28...cxd5 29.exd5 Qf5 30.dxe5] 29.b5 axb5 30.cxb5 g5 31.Qb3 Rg6 32.Qa4 cxd5 33.Qxa7 dxe4 34.Qa8+ Kc7 35.Rbc1+ Kd6 36.Bb4+ Ke5 37.Bxf8 Rd7 38.Rxe4+ Kxe4 39.Re1+ Kf5 40.Rxe6 Rxe6 41.Qc8 Rf7 42.Bb4 b6 43.Qd8 Ke4 44.Qg8 Rff6 45.Qa8+ Kd3 46.Qa4 Ke4 47.Qc2+ Kd5 48.Kh2 h5 49.Qa2+ Ke5 50.Qe2+ Kd5 51.Qxh5 Kc4 52.Bd2 Rf5 53.Qd1 Rxb5 54.h4 Rh6 55.h5 Rb2 56.Kh3 Rxh5+ 57.Qxh5 Rxd2 58.Qf7+ Kc3 59.f3 b5 60.Qd5 b4 61.Qc5+ Kb3 62.Qxg5 d3 63.Qxf4 Rc2 64.g4 Kc3 65.Qe5+ Kc4 66.g5 d2 67.Qd6 Kc3 68.g6 Rc1 69.g7 d1Q 70.Qxd1 Rxd1 71.g8Q b3 72.Qc8+ Kd2 73.Qd7+ Kc2 74.Qc6+ Kb2 75.f4 Rc1 76.Qa4 Rc3+ 77.Kg4 Kc1 78.Qd4 Kc2 79.Qf2+ Kc1 80.Qe1+ Kc2 81.Qf2+ Kc1 82.Qe1+ Kc2 83.Qe4+ Kc1 84.Qd4 Kc2 85.f5 b2 86.f6 b1Q 87.f7 Rg3+ ½–½

7.Nbd2 Qe7 8.b3,..

Maybe this approach is equally valid as Markovic’s in the game above but more common is 8 0-0.

8..., Bg4 9.Bb2 Nd7 10.h3 Bh5 11.Nc4 f6 12.Ne3 Bf7 13.Qe2 g6 14.c3 a5!

A nice creative move from Akash. The notion behind it seems to be to make something out of the Bishop on b2. It is an awkward posting because there is no way to crack the solid e5 rock that Black has established.

15.0–0 a4 16.b4 0–0 17.a3 c5 18.Nd2 b5

Also possible is 18..., cxb4 19 cxb4 c5; and open d-file foreshadows pressure on the backward pawn on d3.

19.Ng4 Be6 20.bxc5?!,..

Safer is 20 Ne3, recognizing Black has the advantage and White has to wait some longer for a chance to open the game.

20..., Nxc5 21.f4?,..

Deepak is forcing the issue, but Black is better developed, and it leads to disaster.

21..., exf4 22.d4 Nb3 23.Nxb3?,..

An oversight in a bad position. Better 23 Rae1, however the position still is lost after 23..., Bxa3 24 Bxa3 Qxa3 25 Rxf4 Bxg4 26 hxg4 27 Nxb3 Qxb3.

23..., Bc4 24.Qf2 axb3 25.Rfe1 h5 26.Nxf6+,..

There is not much else to do. If 26 Nh2 Bxa3; wins.

26..., Qxf6 27.e5 Qg5 28.exd6 cxd6 29.Bc1 Qf5 30.d5,..

Despair I guess. More stubborn is 30 h4, but equally hopeless after 30.., Rae8 31 Bb2 Re3 32 Rxe3 fxe3 33 Qxe3 Qc2.

30..., Rae8 31.Re6 Rxe6 32.dxe6 Qxe6 33.Bxf4 b2 34.Re1,..

The piece is also lost after 34 Rb1 Qe4, because the attempt at counter-play, 35 Qxb2 Rxf4 36 a4, is met with 36..., Qe3+ 37 Kh2 Rf2 38 Qc1 Qe5+ 39 Kh1 Qg3 40 Qg1 Bd5.

34..., Rxf4 35.Qd2 Qxe1+ 0–1

Youth was served again.

GM Roy Robson drew his game today with IM Vidit of India. He plays another Indian IM, Sundar Shyam tomorrow.

Also on tomorrow is a game between the Indian surprise of the tournament, FM Koushik Girish and GM Hovhannisyan. Girish has the White pieces.

Deepak plays Santos Hugo Lima of Portugal with Black tomorrow. Santos had a big jump in rating in 2008, from under 1700 to just over 2000. Since then he seems to have hit a plateau. I hesitate to make a prediction, everyone in this event is quite capable of winning on a given day. I do hope for the best from Deepak tomorrow.

Rombaldoni Keeps the Lead and Deepak Drops a Point

The second half of the 50th World Junior Championship got underway today, and IM Rombaldoni held on to first place by drawing with GM Ter-Sahakyan is 63 moves. Rombaldoni used the Sicilian against 1 e4. The game became a very closed maneuvering battle and not at all typical of a Sicilian played by young tigers.

The surprising Indian FM Girish and the not so surprising GM Hovhannisyan of Armenia won from GM Sjugirov and IM Huschenbeth respectively to haul with a half point of the leader and a tie for second place. Rombaldoni faces Hovhannisyan in the next round in another test that will see if he can keep up the pace.

The official US entry, GM Ray Robson drew with GM Vugar Rasulov to reach 5 - 2 and 11th place in the standings. Robson plays IM Vidit OF India in the next round.

FIDE titled players get their titles in the rough and tumble competition on the international stage. By definition they are resourceful and dangerous all the time even in such well known openings as the Giuoco Piano. Today’s game illustrates this:

Ramnath, Bhuvanesh (2422) - Aaron, Deepak (2288) [C54]

50th World Junior Ch Chennai, India, 09.08.2011

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.0–0 Nf6 5.d3 d6 6.c3 Bb6 7.Bb3 0–0

By no means is this line the most popular, but it is certainly known theory. Here is an example from GM practice of not so long ago:

Wolff, Patrick G (2565) - Sokolov, Ivan (2665) [C54]

New York CITS New York (3), 1996

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.d3 Bc5 5.c3 Bb6 6.Nbd2 0–0 7.0–0 d6 8.Bb3 Ne7 9.Nc4 Ng6 10.Re1 c6 11.Nxb6 axb6 12.d4 Qe7 13.h3 h6 14.a3 b5 15.c4 bxc4 16.Bxc4 b5 17.Bf1 Bd7 18.dxe5 dxe5 19.b4 c5 20.bxc5 Qxc5 21.Bb2 Rfe8 22.Rc1 Qb6 23.Qc2 Rac8 24.Qb3 Rxc1 25.Bxc1 Bc6 26.Be3 Qb7 27.Nd2 Ra8 28.f3 Nh5 29.Rc1 Be8 30.Rc5 Qe7 31.Qc3 Kh7 32.Nb1 Ng3 33.Bd3 Rd8 34.Kh2 Nh5 35.Rd5 Ngf4 36.Rxd8 Qxd8 37.Bf1 Qh4 38.Qd2 Qg3+ 39.Kh1 Qg6 40.Kh2 Qg3+ 41.Kh1 Qg6 ½–½

8.Nbd2 Ne7 9.h3 Ng6 10.Nc4 Be6 11.Re1 Re8

Maybe 11..., h6; would keep things more in balance.

12.Ng5 Bxc4 13.Bxc4 Re7 14.Nf3,..

The direct approach with 14 Qb3, does not promise much after 14..., Qd7 15 a4 a5; and Black will push back the Ng5 with .., h7-h6; soon.

14..., h6 15.Bb3 c6

In exchange for giving up the Bishop for a Knight, Black will get to push his d-pawn to the 5th rank if he wants to do so. Is this a good thing? If the position opens up the Bishop pair White has can become very active. This kind of choice always turns on will the Knights have safe and effective posts, preferably somewhere in the center. If they do not find such spots, the side with the Knights is forced to cede the initiative.

16.Nh2 d5 17.Qf3 Qd6 18.Nf1 Nh4 19.Qe2 Nd7 20.Ne3 Bxe3

I am not sure Black can not not take the Ne3, and neither is Rybka. The program sees the text and 20..., d4 21 Nc4, as about equal and better than any alternative. Either way Black’s last Bishop goes off.

21.Bxe3 d4 22.cxd4 exd4 23.Bd2 Qg6?!

Deepak is unwilling to over to the defensive and chooses to mix things up. This is, however, the moment to maybe begin to think about defense. Black does not have any obvious long term safe squares in the center for the Knights, but he may get to use some for a moment or two. That could be enough to keep things level for the time being. Here is a suggestion: 23..., Ng6; if then 24 Qg4 Nc5 25 Bb4 Ne5 26 Qg3 a5 27 Ba3 b5; 28 Bxc5 Qxc5 29 Rec1 Qb6 30 f4 Nd7 31 Qg6 Nc5 32 Qd6 Nxb3 33 axb3 Re6 34 Qc5 Qd8 35 f5 Rd6; and so on. This is a computer generated line, a series of easy to see tactical threats leading to the analysis position that favors White only slightly. All along the line there are opportunities for one side or the other to vary. Calculating such a line is very hard. The obvious core line may be seen reasonable clearly, but the numerous alternatives and sidelines are another matter entirely. Could it be that Deepak dug into the position but found no clear advantage? Finding no advantage, he decides to take a risk rather than settle for pushing off the decisive moment.

24.f4 Qg3

Otherwise his previous move makes no sense.

25.Rf1,..

Threatening 26 Be1.

25..., Ng6 26.Rf3 Qh4 27.Qf1,..

Apparently sharper are 27 e5, taking away squares from the Black Queen, and 27 Rc5. The text gives Black a glimmer of hope. To fan that glimmer into a brighter flame will require some daring-do.

27...,Ree8 28.Re1 Qd8

Black is not willing to dance along the precipice and hurries the Queen away from potential danger. Worthwhile trying is 28..., a5, threatening to push the Bishop off the annoying diagonal. If White maintains the Bishop on the diagonal with 29 a3, then 29..., a4 30 Ba2 Nc5 31 Rc1, and White retains the initiative with advantage but not so great an advantage as after the text.

29.Rg3 Nc5 30.Bd1 Qc7 31.Qf2 Kh7 32.b4,..

If 32 Qxd4?! Ne6 33 Qf2 Ngxf4; recovering the pawn. White remains objective. Capturing the sickly d-pawn is not as important as increasing his control of the board and prosecuting the attack on the Black King.

32..., Nd7 33.e5 Rad8 34.Bf3 f5 35.Bh5 Ndf8 36.Rf3 Re7 37.g4 fxg4

More stubborn is 37..., Rf7; but White has a very strong attack building.

38.Bxg4,..

Also good is 38.hxg4.

38...c5 39.Bf5 c4

Black tries to generate counter-play on the opposite side of the board. Unfortunately, direct threats to the King trump opposite side threats this time.

40.Rg3 cxd3

The situation is very bad for Black. Critical comment about this move is of no use. The slightly better 40..., c3; is different but does no better in the end.

41.Qg2 Qc6 42.Qxc6 bxc6 43.Kh1,..

Calm objectivity. The pinned Ng6 is a goner in every event as White piles on the target. Black tries his best to distract the opponent from the pinned piece but to no avail.

43..., a5 44.Reg1 axb4 45.Bxb4 Rf7 46.Rxg6 Nxg6

Not 46..., Rxf6; because 47 Rxg7+, and mate in two.

47.Bxg6+ Kg8 48.e6,..

Good technique! There is no reason to hurry to grab material when the pawns have both Bishops convoying them towards the Queening squares.

48..., Rb7 49.e7 Ra8 50.Bd6 Rd7 51.Ba3 Rda7 52.Bc5 Rxa2 53.e8Q+ Rxe8 54.Bxe8 Rc2 55.Bxd4 d2 56.Rd1 Rc1 57.Bh5 c5

A last forlorn hope.

58.Be3 Rc3 59.Rxd2 Rxe3 60.Kg2 g5 61.f5 Re4 62.f6 Rf4 63.Rd8+ 1–0

If 63..., Kh7 64 f7 Kg7 65 Rg8+, ends the affair. Resourceful and aggressive play has carried the day for Deepak many times. Against titled players it may be he needs more. That might be a dash of objectivity and the willingness to go on the defensive when it is the safer choice. Still, he is a young man who loves cut and thrust tactics, and it is not easy to go contrary to your instincts.

In the round tomorrow Deepak plays White against Akash, Pc Iyer of India, 2069. Akash is the 13th ranked under 14 in India. Akash has performed above expectations so far. This 8th round game will likely be no easy one for Deepak, but I think he just might win it.

Catching Up on Round One in India

Some troubles on the tournament web site prevented me from posting Deepak Aaron’s game from round one. Bill Townsend told me he ran into similar problems with Deepak’s first round game. We both found some short game fragment that did not make much sense when played over.

For the first week of the event a promised download of the games in PGN format did not materialize. On the rest day today the games download came through, and I obtained the contest with Salgaldo Lopez this morning. This actual score does not resemble the game fragment found earlier, but it is logical. Here it is:

Aaron, Deepak (2288) - Salgado Lopez, Ivan (2626) [B86]

50th World Junior Championship, Chennai, India, 02.08.2011

Round 1

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 d6 6.Bc4 Be7 7.Bb3 0–0 8.Be3,..

Known to theory but not exactly mainstream, nonetheless it is position full of complicated chances for both sides. Here is an example from a couple of solid internationalists of how this opening may be played:

Martin Gonzalez, Angel (2405) - Veingold, Aleksandr (2465) [B86]

Benasque op Benasque (6), 1993

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 e6 6.Bc4 Be7 7.Bb3 0–0 8.Qe2 Na6 9.g4 d5 10.e5 Nd7 11.f4 Nac5 12.g5 a5 13.a3 Nxb3 14.cxb3 Bc5 15.Be3 b6 16.0–0–0 Ba6 17.Qh5 Qc7 18.Kb1 Rfc8 19.Ka2 Qb7 20.Rhg1 b5 21.Rg3 Bxd4 22.Bxd4 b4 23.Na4 Rc2 24.Rh3 Nf8 25.Nc5 Qc7 26.Nxa6 Rxa6 27.a4 Rac6 28.Rhd3 Rc1 29.Qe2 Ng6 30.Qf2 Rxd1 31.Rxd1 Ne7 32.h4 Rc2 33.Qf3 Nf5 34.h5 h6 35.gxh6 Nxh6 36.Qd3 Nf5 37.Kb1 Nxd4 38.Qxd4 Qc5 39.Qd3 Rg2 40.Rc1 Rg1 41.Rxg1 Qxg1+ 42.Ka2 d4 43.Qb5 g6 44.Qe8+ Kg7 45.h6+ Kh7 1–0

8..., Na6 9.f3 Nc5 10.Qd2 a6 11.g4,..

The game is at a crossroads of the Scheveningen/Najdorf variations with opposite side castling and mutual attacks on the Kings. In other words plenty of excitement. The position is dynamically balanced at the moment.

11..., Qc7 12.g5 Nfd7 13.0–0–0,..

We begin to see that White has a position that is a bit looser than is Black’s. One thought is White might delay castling on the Q-side and try pushing forward on the K-side; 13 h4 Ne5 14 h5 b5 15 h6 g6; and it is hard to see how White can proceed quickly enough to cause Black problems making progress on the Q-side. The threats White can make are real, but the unstable situation of the White King likely means Black’s threats will take priority.

13..., b5 14.h4 Ne5 15.g6?,..

Offering a pawn that garners nothing significant. Maybe Deepak hoped for 15..., hxg6 16 h5? Black ignores the attempt at muddy the waters and continues his Q-side operation.

15..., b4 16.Nce2 a5 17.gxf7+ Rxf7

Black now has some advantage.

18.Nb5,..

Since 18 Nf4, fails after 18..., Nxb3+; this is what is left for White to do. The advantage for Black has increased. White now has to go all out on the K-side.

18..., Qb8 19.Bxc5 dxc5 20.a4 Rxf3

Black pockets a pawn, but that is not so important as getting the f-Rook into active play. Black has a material edge, but he needs to speed up his lagging development.

21.Rhg1 Rxb3

At first glance this a pseudo-sacrifice of the Exchange; really it is an operation eliminating some active White pieces serving to increase the importance of the extra pawn as well as solving the problem of developing the Black Q-side.

22.cxb3 Nf3 23.Qh6 Nxg1 24.Rxg1 Qe5

With some pieces off the White attack is not quite so fearsome.

25.Nf4 Bf6 26.Nd3 Qh2

A resource that had to be foreseen when making the capture on move 21. The attacking chances for White are fast disappearing leaving him the difficult prospect of conducting the late middle game with Knights versus Bishops while a pawn down.

27.Qe3 c4?!

Even Grandmasters, especially when they are still teenagers, can get carried away with tactics. The line 27..., Bb7 28 Nxc5? Qxb2+ 29 Kd1 Rd8+; promises only death and destruction for White. Stronger for White is 28 e5 Bxh4 29 Rf1 h6 30 Kb1 Bg5; but not enough to give White much hope in the ending after 31 Qf2 Qxf2.

28.bxc4 b3

The GM sets up mating threats, one more problem to keep White busy. The trouble is after the next move, the best Black can do is trade Queens and go into the ending. It is won for White, but 27..., Bb7; would have been a much shorter route to the same goal.

29.Qf2 Qxf2 30.Nxf2 Bxh4 31.Nd3 Bb7 32.Rg4,..

The two connected passed pawns Black has in hand likely win no matter what. More resourceful is 32 Kd2, then 32..., Bxe4 33 Rg4 Bxd3 34 Rxh4 Rd8 35 Ke3 Bf5 36 Nd4 Kf7 37 c5, offers some hope, but is probably still lost after 37..., g5. The “passers” are too big a problem to overcome in the long run.

32..., Be7 33.Nc7 Rc8 34.Nxe6 Rxc4+

With the Black Rook going to the 2d rank further resistance is becoming hopeless.

35.Kd2 g6 36.Rg1 Bxe4 37.Ne5 Rc2+ 38.Ke3 Bd5 39.Nd4 Rxb2 0–1

There are too many passed pawns now, and Deepak resigned.

Play resumes tomorrow, more then.

Deepak Gets to 3-3 and Rombaldoni Extends his Lead

Deepak Aaron got to a fifty percent score with a win from Soares of Angola today. Once again there were moments in the game when Mr. Aaron was in some trouble. Resourceful play in a poor position, and with some help from his opponent, Deepak was able to prevail. Reaching a 3 - 3 score won for him his first titled opposition since round one, IM Bhuvanesh R Ramnath, 2422 of India in round seven. Tomorrow, Monday is a rest day. Round seven will take place on Tuesday.

Soares, Erikson R M (2181) - Aaron, Deepak (2288) [D11]

50th World Junior Championship, Chennai, India, 07.08.2011

1.d4 d5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.g3 c6 4.Bg2 Bf5 5.c4 e6 6.Nc3,..

A position that can arise from the English or the Catalan as well as the Slav.

6..., Bb4?!

Not a completely new move but one not found in many games. More usual are; 6..., Be7; and h6.

7.Qb3 a5 8.c5!?,..

As for Black in some variations of the French, pushing the c-pawn does not always work out well. Rybka suggests 8 0-0, 8 a3, and 8 Nh4, as better alternatives for White.

8..., Nbd7 9.0–0 b6 10.cxb6 c5?

Too risky by far. Better 10..., Qxb6 11 Bf4 0-0; equalizing.

11.Nh4 c4 12.Qa4 Bxc3 13.bxc3 Qxb6

Standard in this kind of position is 13..., Bg4; threatening to capture on c3 and then on e2. The text leads to a game with two Knights battling the Bishop pair. Worse is the lack of aggressive, safe posts for the Knights and things are made more difficult by the inability of Black to castle soon.

14.Nxf5 exf5 15.Ba3 Rb8 16.Qc2?!,..

Not outright bad but the move shows a that some doubts have crept into Soares’ mind. The natural continuation is; 16 Rfb1, then 16..., Qc7 17 Rxb8+ Qxb8 18 Qxa5, collects a pawn and cements a plus close to winning. If Black tries to vary with say 16..., Qxb1+; White obtains an overwhelming position after; 17 Rxb1+ Rxb1+ 18 Bf1 Rg8 19 Qc6 Rb8 20 Bd6 Rd8 21 Bg2.

16..., g6 17.Rab1 Qc6

Black is still worse, but he has begun to get things organized for defense.

18.Rxb8+ Nxb8 19.Rb1 Na6 20.Bc5?!,..

One more doubtful move lets pass an opportunity. Taking command of the b-file with 20 Rb2, and 21 Qb1, better. Exposing the Bishop keeping the Black King in difficulties to a trade is poor technique.

20..., Nd7 21.Qb2 Naxc5 22.dxc5 0–0

The Black King is away and safe from sudden shocks. White certainly still has some advantage but not nearly as much as he could have had.

23.Qb5 Qc7 24.Qb7 Qxb7 25.Rxb7 Nxc5 26.Rc7 Ne6 27.Rc6 Rd8

Resourceful as always Deepak has equalized.

28.e3 a4 29.Ra6 Nc5 30.Ra5 Nd3!?

Going into the Rook and pawn endings with 30..., Ne4; might be the best objective choice. Here typically our young master prefers to keep material on the board to increase the chances winning. White goes for the standard tactics when a Rook and light squared Bishop are in the White forces; counter-play against f7.

31.Bxd5 Nb2 32.Rb5 Nd1 33.Bxc4 Nxc3 34.Rb7 Kg7 35.Rxf7+ Kh6

White has an extra pawn for the moment. Black has the chance for active piece play.

36.Rc7,..

Either 36 Ra7, or 36 h4, may be better choices.

36..., Ne4 37.f3?,..

Too routine. Black is now thinking of setting up the mechanism of a Rook on the second and a Knight on the third, something that can make the White King extremely uncomfortable. White should try 37 g4, a slightly unusual looking thrust that has good chances to keep things equal.

37..., Rd1+ 38.Kg2 Rd2+ 39.Kg1 Ng5 40.f4 Nf3+ 41.Kf1 Nxh2+ 42.Kg1 Nf3+ 43.Kf1 Rc2!

Alertness to tactical possibilities pays off

44.Rc6 Nd2+

Also possible is 44..., Rxc4 45 Rxc4 Nd2+; winning a piece.

45.Ke2 0–1

And White resigns because 45..., Nxc4+ 46 Kd3 Ne5+; wins a Rook. A couple of times Mr. Aaron has gotten himself into trouble only to rescue a result by being tactically alert. If he continues the pattern the titled players he will be facing are less likely to offer opportunities to claw back from the brink of defeat. That may mean a result poorer than it might be for this event.

On the top board, the Italian IM Axel Rombaldoni with the Black pieces continued his winning ways defeating the Polish IM Kacper Piorun 2514. This puts him in clear first place at 6 - 0. Following a point back are; German IM Niclas Huschenbeth, 2521, Armenian GM Samuel Ter-Sahakyan, 2558, and the surprise of the event so far; Indian FM Koushik Girish, 2309. Rombaldoni plays Ter-Sahakyan in round seven.

GM Ray Robson won his sixth round game from Indian IM Nitin, 2365 bringing him to 4 ½ - 1 ½. This result puts Robson in a tie for 6th through 11th place. He is paired with GM Rasulov of Armenia in the next round.

Here is Rombaldoni’s win from round six:

Piorun, Kacper (2514) - Rombaldoni, Axel (2459) [D91]

50th Workd Junior Ch Chennai, India, 07.08.2011

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 d5 4.Bg5 Ne4 5.Bh4 Nxc3 6.bxc3 Bg7 7.e3 c5 8.cxd5 cxd4 9.cxd4 Qxd5

One of the many variations of the Grunfeld Defense. It has the basic traits of the Grunfeld; Black has a two to one pawn majority on the Q-side and pressure down the long a1-h8 diagonal. White has a lead in development.

10.Nf3 Nc6 11.Be2 e5!?

A bold decision to open the game up before his King is safely away from the middle of the board. The safer alternative is 11..., 0-0; but it is less enterprising.

12.dxe5 Qa5+ 13.Nd2 Nxe5 14.0–0 0–0 15.Nb3 Qa3 16.Nd4 a6 17.Qc1 Qa5

The balance has been maintained so far, but White is not out of the woods yet. Defending the a-pawn and securing the Ra1 from nasty shocks arising out of some discovered attack occupy the attention of White leaving Black with the initiative.

18.Qb2 Re8 19.a4 Be6

The Bishop is immune to capture because 20 Nxe6, is fatally answered by 20..., Nf6+. The b-pawn is on offer. There seems to be no better choice for White than to take it.

20.Qxb7 Bd5 21.Nb3 Bxb3 22.Qxb3 Rab8 23.Qa3 Rb4

The last operation by Black has a point; converting the two to one pawn majority to a single outside passed pawn.

24.Bg3 Nc4 25.Bc7?!,..

GM Piorun elects to play for the advantage. The position after; 25 Bxc4 Rxc4 26 Qd3 Rxa4 27 Rab1, is level for the moment. In this position Black will try to mobilize his a-pawn by getting his Queen and Rook out of the way and advance the pawn with the Bg7 in support. White will have to find some way to blockade the a-pawn while also finding threats to slow Black’s reorganization of his forces. GM Piorun must not care for such methods and tries a a more active approach. It loses material. Piorun may have thought it possible to find a blockade for the a-pawn even when down the Exchange reasoning reduced material will help him to do so.

25..., Nxa3 26.Bxa5 Rxa4 27.Bd2 Bxa1 28.Rxa1 Rb8 29.Bd1 Rc4 30.Kf1 Nb1 31.Ke1 Nxd2 32.Kxd2 Rb2+ 33.Ke1 Rc6 34.Be2 Rcc2

Doing what endgame theory tells us to do; extra material, or passed pawns that are not yet too far advanced can be offered up to convert one kind of advantage to another more telling advantage. In this case Black will massacre the White K-side leaving the makings of a trivial sort of win in a pure pawn endgame

35.Bxa6,..

The threat on e2 leaves no other choice.

35..., Rxf2 0–1

If White looks for a standard kind of counter-play with 36 Bc4, then 36..., Rxg2 37 h3 Rg3 38 h4 Rg1+ 39 Bf1 Rh1; and all Black needs to do is engineer the trade of his two Rooks for the White Bishop and Rook. That is not hard to do in such an open position. If White attempts a purely defensive approach with 36 Bf1, Black simply takes what offered with 36..., Rfc2; and White has few active moves left to play. After 37 Kd1 Kg7 38 h3 Rc3 39 Be2 Rxe3 40 Bf3 Re7 41 Ra8 Rd7+ 42 Kc1 Rf2 43 Ra5 Rdd2 44 Ra7 Ra2; forces the Bishop versus Rook endgame where Black has no problem bringing up his King to enter on the dark squares on the K-side and wins the game.

More in a day or two.

There is a New Leader and the Continuing Adventures of Deepak

Today on the top board at the 50th World Junior Championship IM Alex Rombaldoni of Italy defeated GM Salgado Lopez of Spain. The Italian junior is having one hell of a tournament. He stands in clear first place with a 5 - 0 score. Salgado Lopez falls to 3 ½ - 1 ½. IM Kacper Piorun of Poland defeated IM Sahart Grover of India to reach second place all alone. Tomorrow the top two, Rombaldoni and Poirun face each other on board one.

Further down the line, US GM Ray Robson defeated IM Priyadharshan, 2376 of India to reach a 3 ½ - 1 ½ score. Robson needs to avoid losses and to achieve a couple more wins to salvage rating points at this event.

Here’s the game with which Rombaldoni took first:

Rombaldoni, Axel (2459) - Salgado Lopez, Ivan (2626) [B81]

50th World Junior Ch Chennai, India, 06.08.2011

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 d6 6.g4,..

The Keres Attack, and in the spirit of the late great Estonian GM the game becomes complex and tactical.

6..., a6 7.Bg2 Nc6 8.Nxc6 bxc6 9.e5 dxe5 10.Qxd8+,..

Rbyka says 10 Bxc6+, is much better.

10..., Kxd8 11.Bxc6 Rb8 12.g5 Nd7 13.b3 Kc7 14.Bg2 h6 15.g6 f5 16.Bb2 h5 17.Rg1 Rh6 18.Bf1 Bc5 19.Na4 Bb4+ 20.Kd1 Bb7 21.a3 Bd6

These young men are not adverse to piling on tension. Whatever way you turn in this game careful accurate calculation is demanded.

22.Bc3 Rf8 23.Ke1 h4 24.Rd1 Bf3 25.Be2 Bxe2 26.Kxe2 Rb8

It obvious with a computer to help; if 26..., Rf6 27 Rd2, and the doubling of the White rooks on the d-file along with pressure on e5 will give White a winning advantage. This theme runs through the next operations.

27.Rd3 Nf6 28.Rgd1 Nd5 29.Bd2 Rxg6 30.c4 e4 31.Rd4 Nf4+ 32.Bxf4 Bxf4

Black is somewhat better here. Unless White finds counter-play, the weakness of his K-side bodes ill for his chances. The next few moves create dangers for the Black King - that is counter-play!

33.Nc5 Ra8 34.b4 h3?

A critical mistake. Black had to play 34..., Kc6; avoiding the coming check on d7, giving Black time for .., a6-a5; making breathing room for his King. Opening the a-file also creates serious threats on the White King. The game move does not pay enough attention to White’s plans costing a heavy price.

35.Rd7+ Kc6 36.Nb3,..

The White pieces threaten serious harm to the Black King.

36..., Bc7

This move allows a tactical finish. Another longer way beginning 36..., a5; leads to the same result, a win for White after; 37 Nxa5+ Rxa5 38 bxa5 Bxh2 39 a6 Bb8 40 Rb7 Bf4 41 Rdb1 h2 42 a7 Rg1 43 a8 (Q) h1 (Q) 44 Qc8+, and mate the next.

37.Na5+ Kb6 38.R1d6+ 1–0

Continuing to follow the adventures of Schenectady’s Deepak Aaron gives us this rather technical draw with the young Sidhant of India:

Aaron, Deepak (2288) - Sidhant, Mohapatra (2155) [B45]

50th World Junior Ch Chennai, India, 06.08.2011

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 Nc6 6.Ndb5 Bb4 7.a3 Bxc3+ 8.Nxc3 d5 9.exd5 exd5 10.Bd3 0–0 11.0–0 d4 12.Ne2 Qd5 13.Nf4 Qd6 14.Nh5 Nxh5 15.Qxh5 h6 16.Re1 Bd7 17.Qh4 Rfe8 18.Bf4 Qd5

All this is theory from the Open Sicilian Four Knights. The databases have plenty of material in them for searching and comparison of similar positions. There was, however, only one game with exactly the same moves:

Balcerak, Philipp (2202) - Frackowiak, Oliver (2083) [B45]

GER-chT U20 Greifswald (4.3), 28.12.2002

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 e6 6.Ndb5 Bb4 7.a3 Bxc3+ 8.Nxc3 d5 9.exd5 exd5 10.Bd3 0–0 11.0–0 d4 12.Ne2 Qd5 13.Nf4 Qd6 14.Nh5 Nxh5 15.Qxh5 h6 16.Re1 Bd7 17.Qh4 Rfe8 18.Bf4 Qd5 19.Bxh6 gxh6 20.Qxh6 f5 21.Qg6+ ½–½

White took advantage of the opportunity in this other under 20 event to force a draw. Deepak is more combative. He has the Bishop pair and Black has an isolated d-pawn to play against. It may be Deepak’s nature, or it may be GM Ronen Har-Zvi’s teaching, but just because there is a draw for the taking he sees no reason to so. As Ronen is fond of saying; “if you think you have some advantage, play it out!”

19.Qg3 Kh8 20.f3,..

The more tactical alternative; 20 b4, creates a different endgame picture after; 20..., Bf5 21 b5 Bxd3 22 Qxd3 Na5 23 Rxe8+ Rxe8 24 Be3 Nc4 25 Bxd4 Qxb5 26 Bxa7, but it does not offer any immediate advantage. Neither does the text move.

20..., Bf5 21.Rad1,..

Black obtains some initiative after this move. 21 Qf2, is perhaps a little better.

21..., Bxd3 22.Rxd3 Qc5 23.Rxe8+ Rxe8 24.Qf2 Qb5 25.Bc1 Qe5

If Black wanted to try to build on his Q-side pressure, then 25..., a5; suggests itself.

26.Rd1 Re6 27.b3 Qb5 28.Rd3 Qa5 29.Kf1 Qb5 30.Kg1 Qa5 31.Kf1 Qb5 32.Kg1 Qa5 33.b4 Qb5 ½–½

Both sides took care in the final half-dozen moves to keep the balance neither wishing to take unnecessary risks.

Tomorrow Deepak faces a player older than himself, Erikson Roberto Maurici Soares of Angola, 2181. Early in his career Soares had quick success and posted a 2262 rating in 2007. Since then his results have fallen off drifting down some 80 points. In the event so far, Soares began well drawing two IM’s before losing to another IM. He won from the unrated Ugandan Emojing Elijah and lost in the last round to the Australian FM Junta Ikeda. Soares has faced a somewhat stronger opposition so far. Tomorrow’s game may well be a interesting test for Deepak.

More soon.