SICILIAN SOZIN - PENANG ATTACK

Bordonada,Glenn - Haruyama [B89]
Penang, 1974

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 d6 6.Bc4

The SOZIN ATTACK that was popularized by World Champion Fischer.

6 ... e6 7.Be3

[Site "Amsterdam (Netherlands)"][Date "1996"][Round "1"]
[White "Veselin Topalov"]
[Black "Garry Kasparov"]
[ECO "B90"]
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Bc4 e6 7.Bb3
Nbd7 8.f4 Nc5 9.O-O Ncxe4 10.Nxe4 Nxe4 11.f5 e5 12.Qh5 Qe7
13.Qf3 Nc5 14.Nc6 Qc7 15.Bd5 a5 16.Bg5 Ra6 17.Nd8 f6 18.Nf7
Rg8 19.Be3 g6 20.Ng5 Rg7 21.fxg6 Rxg6 22.Bf7+ Qxf7 23.Nxf7
Kxf7 24.Bxc5 dxc5 25.Rad1 Be7 26.Rd5 Bg4 27.Qe4 Kg7 28.Rfd1
Bxd1 29.Rxd1 Re6 30.Qf5 Kf7 31.Re1 b6 32.h4 Rg7 33.Kf1 Bd6
34.Kf2 Bc7 35.Kf3 Ke7 36.Re4 Kf7 37.Rg4 Re7 38.Ke4 Rxg4+
39.Qxg4 Bd8 40.a4 Kf8 41.c3 Rg7 42.Qc8 Ke8 43.Qe6+ Kf8 44.g4
Rf7 45.h5 Rg7 46.h6 Rg6 47.Qd5 Be7 48.Kf5 Rxh6 49.Qb7 e4
50.Qb8+ Kf7 51.Qxb6 e3 52.Qe6+ Ke8 53.Qxe3 Rg6 54.Qe4 Rg5+
55.Kf4 Kd7 56.Qb7+ Ke6 57.Qc8+ Kf7 58.Qc7 h5 59.gxh5 Rxh5
60.Qxa5 Bd6+ 61.Ke4 f5 62.Kd5 Be7 63.Qc7 Rh6 64.a5 Rd6+ 65.Ke5
Rf6 66.Qc8 1-0

[Event "Denver Candidates Match"][Date "1971"][Round "5"]
[White "Robert James Fischer"]
[Black "Bent Larsen"]
[ECO "B88"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 Nc6 6. Bc4 e6
7. Bb3 Be7 8. Be3 O-O 9. O-O Bd7 10. f4 Qc8 11. f5 Nxd4
12. Bxd4 exf5 13. Qd3 fxe4 14. Nxe4 Nxe4 15. Qxe4 Be6 16. Rf3
Qc6 17. Re1 Qxe4 18. Rxe4 d5 19. Rg3 g6 20. Bxd5 Bd6 21. Rxe6
Bxg3 22. Re7 Bd6 23. Rxb7 Rac8 24. c4 a5 25. Ra7 Bc7 26. g3
Rfe8 27. Kf1 Re7 28. Bf6 Re3 29. Bc3 h5 30. Ra6 Be5 31. Bd2
Rd3 32. Ke2 Rd4 33. Bc3 Rcxc4 34. Bxc4 Rxc4 35. Kd3 Rc5
36. Rxa5 Rxa5 37. Bxa5 Bxb2 38. a4 Kf8 39. Bc3 Bxc3 40. Kxc3
Ke7 41. Kd4 Kd6 42. a5 f6 43. a6 Kc6 44. a7 Kb7 45. Kd5 h4
46. Ke6 1-0

[Event "Denver m  Rd: 3"][Date "1971"]
[White "Robert James Fischer"]
[Black "Bent Larsen"]
[ECO "B88"]
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 Nc6 6. Bc4 e6
7. Bb3 Be7 8. Be3 O-O 9. f4 Bd7 10. O-O a6 11. f5 Qc8 12. fxe6
Bxe6 13. Nxe6 fxe6 14. Na4 Rb8 15. Nb6 Qe8 16. Bxe6+ Kh8
17. Bf5 Ne5 18. Qd4 Qh5 19. Nd5 Nxd5 20. Qxd5 Qe2 21. Ba7 Rbe8
22. Rf2 Qb5 23. c3 Bh4 24. g3 Qxd5 25. exd5 Bf6 26. Raf1 Nc4
27. Be6 Ra8 28. Bd4 Bxd4 29. cxd4 Rxf2 30. Rxf2 b5 31. Kf1 g6
32. b3 Na3 33. Ke2 Ra7 34. Rf8+ Kg7 35. Rd8 b4 36. Rxd6 Nb5
37. Rb6 Nxd4+ 38. Kd3 Nxe6 39. Rxe6 a5 40. Kd4 Kf7 41. Re2 1-0

[Event "Palma de Mallorca iz  Rd: 9"][Date "1970"]
[White "Robert James Fischer"]
[Black "Bent Larsen"]
[ECO "B88"]
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 Nc6 6. Bc4 e6
7. Bb3 Be7 8. Be3 O-O 9. Qe2 a6 10. O-O-O Qc7 11. g4 Nd7
12. h4 Nc5 13. g5 b5 14. f3 Bd7 15. Qg2 b4 16. Nce2 Nxb3+
17. axb3 a5 18. g6 fxg6 19. h5 Nxd4 20. Nxd4 g5 21. Bxg5 Bxg5+
22. Qxg5 h6 23. Qg4 Rf7 24. Rhg1 a4 25. bxa4 e5 26. Ne6 Qc4
27. b3 Qxe6 28. Qxe6 Bxe6 29. Rxd6 Re8 30. Rb6 Rxf3 31. Rxb4
Rc8 32. Kb2 Rf2 33. Rc1 Bf7 34. a5 Ra8 35. Rb5 Bxh5 36. Rxe5
Be2 37. Rc5 h5 38. e5 Bf3 39. Kc3 h4 40. Kd3 Re2 41. Rf1 Rd8+
42. Kc3 Be4 43. Kb4 Rb8+ 44. Ka3 h3 45. e6 Bxc2 46. b4 Re3+
47. Kb2 Bd3 48. Ra1 Ba6 49. Rc6 Rxb4+ 50. Kc2 Bb7 51. Rc3 Re2+
52. Kd1 Rg2 0-1

[Event "Skopje  Rd: 4"][Date "1967"]
[White "Robert James Fischer"]
[Black "Peter Dely"]
[ECO "B88"]
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 Nc6 6. Bc4 e6
7. Bb3 a6 8. f4 Qa5 9. O-O Nxd4 10. Qxd4 d5 11. Be3 Nxe4
12. Nxe4 dxe4 13. f5 Qb4 14. fxe6 Bxe6 15. Bxe6 fxe6 16. Rxf8+
Qxf8 17. Qa4+ 1-0

[Event "Stockholm izt  Rd: 15"][Date "1962"]
[White "Robert James Fischer"]
[Black "Fridrik Olafsson"]
[ECO "B88"]
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 Nc6 6. Bc4 e6
7. Bb3 Be7 8. f4 O-O 9. Be3 Nxd4 10. Bxd4 b5 11. e5 dxe5
12. fxe5 Nd7 13. O-O b4 14. Ne4 Bb7 15. Nd6 Bxd6 16. exd6 Qg5
17. Qe2 Bd5 18. Rad1 Bxb3 19. axb3 e5 20. Qb5 a6 21. Qxd7 exd4
22. Qf5 Qxf5 23. Rxf5 Rfd8 24. Rxd4 Rac8 25. Rf2 a5 26. Rfd2
f6 27. Rc4 Kf7 28. Rc7+ Kg6 29. Re7 h5 30. d7 Rc7 31. c4 Kh7
32. h4 Kg6 33. Rd5 1-0

[Beograd Candidates Tournament][1959]
[White "Robert James Fischer"]
[Black "Mikhail Tal"]
[ECO "B87"]
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Bc4 e6
7. Bb3 b5 8. f4 b4 9. Na4 Nxe4 10. O-O g6 11. f5 gxf5 12. Nxf5
Rg8 13. Bd5 Ra7 14. Bxe4 exf5 15. Bxf5 Re7 16. Bxc8 Qxc8
17. Bf4 Qc6 18. Qf3 Qxa4 19. Bxd6 Qc6 20. Bxb8 Qb6+ 21. Kh1
Qxb8 22. Qc6+ Rd7 23. Rae1+ Be7 24. Rxf7 Kxf7 25. Qe6+ Kf8
26. Qxd7 Qd6 27. Qb7 Rg6 28. c3 a5 29. Qc8+ Kg7 30. Qc4 Bd8
31. cxb4 axb4 32. g3 Qc6+ 33. Re4 Qxc4 34. Rxc4 Rb6 35. Kg2
Kf6 36. Kf3 Ke5 37. Ke3 Bg5+ 38. Ke2 Kd5 39. Kd3 Bf6 40. Rc2
Be5 41. Re2 Rf6 42. Rc2 Rf3+ 43. Ke2 Rf7 44. Kd3 Bd4 45. a3 b3
46. Rc8 Bxb2 47. Rd8+ Kc6 48. Rb8 Rf3+ 49. Kc4 Rc3+ 50. Kb4
Kc7 51. Rb5 Ba1 52. a4 b2 0-1

[Event "Zurich"][Date "1959"][Round "4"]
[White "Robert James Fischer"]
[Black "Josef Kupper"]
[ECO "B88"]
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 d6 6. Bc4 e6
7. Bb3 Be7 8. O-O Nxd4 9. Qxd4 O-O 10. Kh1 b6 11. f4 Bb7
12. f5 e5 13. Qd3 h6 14. Rf3 Rc8 15. Rh3 Kh7 16. Be3 Qd7
17. Nd5 Bxd5 18. Bxd5 Nxd5 19. exd5 Bf6 20. Bxh6 gxh6 21. Qe3
Bg7 22. f6 Rh8 23. Rf1 Qb5 24. Qf3 Rc4 25. Qf5+ 1-0

7 ... Be7 8.Qe2

[Event "Corsica Masters"][Site "Bastia"][Date "2007.10.29"][Round "2.2"]
[White "Hikaru Nakamura"]
[Black "Loek Van Wely"]
[ECO "B89"]
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 d6 6. Bc4 Nc6
7. Be3 Be7 8. Bb3 O-O 9. Qe2 a6 10. O-O-O Qc7 11. g4 Na5
12. g5 Nd7 13. h4 b5 14. g6 Nc5 15. gxf7+ Rxf7 16. Kb1 Naxb3
17. Nxb3 b4 18. Nxc5 bxc3 19. Nb3 a5 20. Nd4 Qb7 21. Bc1 cxb2
22. Bg5 Bf8 23. Rhg1 a4 24. f4 Ra5 25. h5 a3 26. e5 dxe5
27. fxe5 Qa6 28. Qe3 Qc4 29. Bf6 Rd5 30. Rg4 Rfd7 31. c3 Ba6
32. Rg2 Rb7 33. Rdg1 Qd3+ 34. Qxd3 Bxd3+ 35. Nc2 Be4 36. Re2
Bf5 37. c4 Rc5 38. Rf2 Rxc4 39. Rxf5 exf5 40. e6 Rg4 0-1

[Event "2nd Governor's Cup"][Site "Kramatorsk UKR"][Date "2001.11.21"][Round "10"]
[White "Sergey Karjakin"]
[Black "Anton Korobov"]
[ECO "B89"]
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 d6 6. Bc4 e6
7. Be3 Be7 8. O-O O-O 9. f4 Bd7 10. Bb3 Qc7 11. Ndb5 Qb8
12. a4 a6 13. Na3 Na5 14. Ba2 b5 15. b4 Nc6 16. axb5 axb5
17. Naxb5 Nxb4 18. Nd4 Nxa2 19. Nxa2 Nxe4 20. Qf3 d5 21. c4
Ra3 22. Qe2 Bc5 23. cxd5 Qa7 24. Rfd1 Ra8 0-1

[Site "Dos Hermanas (Spain)"][Date "1997"][Round "5"]
[White "Viswanathan Anand"]
[Black "Valery Salov"]
[ECO "B89"]
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 e6 5.Nc3 d6 6.Be3 Nf6 7.Bc4
Be7 8.Bb3 O-O 9.Qe2 a6 10.O-O-O Qc7 11.g4 Nd7 12.Nf5 Nc5
13.Nxe7+ Nxe7 14.Qd2 Rd8 15.Bf4 Ng6 16.Bxd6 Qc6 17.f4 b5 18.e5
b4 19.Ne2 a5 20.Nd4 Nxb3+ 21.axb3 Qe4 22.f5 Nxe5 23.Bxe5 Qxe5
24.Rhe1 Qd6 25.fxe6 fxe6 26.Nxe6 Qxd2+ 27.Rxd2 Rxd2 28.Kxd2
Kf7 29.Nd4 Bxg4 30.Nc6 Bf5 31.Re5 Kf6 32.Rxa5 Rxa5 33.Nxa5 Be4
34.c3 g5 35.Ke3 Bh1 36.Nc4 h5 37.Nd2 Bb7 38.Ne4+ Kg6 39.cxb4
h4 40.Nd6 Bd5 41.b5 g4 42.Kf2 1-0

8 ... a6 9.0-0-0

[Event "Advanced Chess"][Site "Leon ESP"][Date "1998.06.12"][Round "07"]
[White "Veselin Topalov"]
[Black "Garry Kasparov"]
[ECO "B89"]
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nc6 5.Nc3 d6 6.Be3 Nf6 7.Bc4
Be7 8.Qe2 a6 9.Bb3 Qc7 10.O-O-O O-O 11.Rhg1 Nd7 12.Kb1 Nc5
13.Qh5 Nxb3 14.axb3 Qa5 15.g4 Qxh5 16.gxh5 Re8 17.Bh6 g6
18.Na4 Nxd4 19.Rxd4 b5 20.Nb6 Rb8 21.Nxc8 Rexc8 22.Rd3 Rc5
23.hxg6 hxg6 24.Bf4 Rh5 25.Bxd6 Bxd6 26.Rxd6 Rxh2 27.Rf1 Ra8
28.Rb6 Kg7 29.c4 bxc4 30.bxc4 a5 31.Ka2 Rh3 32.f3 g5 33.Rb5
Kf6 34.b3 a4 35.b4 Rh2+ 36.Ka3 Rc2 37.c5 Rc3+ 38.Kb2 Re3
39.Rf2 Ke5 40.c6+ Kd6 41.Rc5 Rb3+ 42.Ka2 Rxb4 43.Rc3 Kc7
44.Rd2 Rd8 45.Rxd8 Kxd8 46.Rd3+ Kc7 47.Rd7+ Kxc6 48.Rxf7 g4
49.fxg4 Rxe4 50.Rg7 Re3 51.Rg8 Rg3 52.g5 Kd5 53.g6 Ke5 54.g7
Kf6 55.Ra8 Rxg7 56.Rxa4 Rb7 57.Rf4+ Kg5 58.Rf1 e5 59.Rg1+ Kf5
60.Rf1+ Ke4 61.Re1+ Kd4 62.Rd1+ Kc3 63.Re1 Re7 64.Rh1 e4
65.Kb1 e3 0-1

9 ... Qc7 10.Rhg1

This is the so-called PENANG ATTACK. Actually, Bordonada launched it in the international scene in the 1974 Nice Olympiad with wins over Sanz of Spain and Pavlov of Romania. BTW, it was in this tournament that Eugene Torre got his GM title.

10 ... 0-0 11.g4 b5 12.Bb3 Nxd4

[Event "2008 Women's Olympiad"][Site "Dresden GER"][Date "2008.11.22"][Round "9"]
[White "L Zepeda"]
[Black "Zehra Topel"]
[ECO "B89"]
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 d6 6. Bc4 e6
7. Be3 Be7 8. Qe2 a6 9. O-O-O Qc7 10. Rhg1 O-O 11. g4 b5
12. Bb3 Na5 13. g5 Nxb3+ 14. axb3 Nd7 15. Nf5 exf5 16. Nd5 Qd8
17. exf5 Bb7 18. f6 Bxd5 19. fxe7 Qxe7 20. Rxd5 Rac8 21. Rgd1
Nc5 22. Kb1 Nb7 23. Qg4 Rfe8 24. R5d4 Qe6 25. Qf3 Re7 26. h4
a5 27. h5 a4 28. bxa4 bxa4 29. Rxa4 Qd7 30. Ra3 Qb5 31. h6
Rec7 32. Rc1 Na5 33. Qe4 Rc4 34. Qd3 Rb8 35. b3 d5 36. hxg7
Rg4 37. Qf5 Rh4 38. Qf6 Qb4 39. Rxa5 Qxa5 40. g6 fxg6 41. Qxh4
Ra8 42. Kb2 Qa3+ 43. Kc3 Qa5+ 44. Kd3 d4 45. Bxd4 Qb5+ 46. Kd2
Qb4+ 47. Ke2 Re8+ 48. Kf3 Qd2 49. Qf4 Qe2+ 50. Kg2 g5 51. Qf3
Qe6 52. Ra1 g4 53. Qb7 Qf5 54. Qc6 Rc8 55. Ra5 1-0

13.Bxd4 Nd7 14.g5 Nc5 15.Qh5 Bb7

[Event "Nice ol (Men)"][Site "Nice"][Date "1974.06.16"][Round "2"]
[White "Glenn Bordonada"]
[Black "F J Sanz Alonso"]
[ECO "B89"]
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 d6 6.Bc4 e6 7.Be3
Be7 8.Qe2 a6 9.O-O-O Qc7 10.Rhg1 O-O 11.g4 Nxd4 12.Bxd4 b5
13.Bb3 Nd7 14.g5 Nc5 15.Qh5 b4 16.Bf6 Rd8 17.Rg3 bxc3 18.Rh3
h6 19.Qxh6 Nd3 20.cxd3 cxb2 21.Kxb2 1-0

16.Rg4!

[Event "Nice ol (Men)"][Site "Nice"][Date "1974"][Round "?"]
[White "Glenn Bordonada"]
[Black "Mircea Pavlov"]
[ECO "B89"]
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 d6 6.Bc4 e6 7.Be3
Be7 8.Qe2 a6 9.O-O-O Qc7 10.Rhg1 O-O 11.g4 b5 12.Bb3 Nxd4
13.Bxd4 Nd7 14.g5 Nc5 15.Qh5 Bb7 16.Bf6 Rfc8 17.Rg4 b4 18.Rh4
Bxe4 19.Rxe4 bxc3 20.Rh4 Nxb3 21.Kb1 Nd2 22.Rxd2 h6 23.Rd1
Rab8 24.b3 Qc5 25.Rh3 Bxf6 26.gxf6 Qxh5 27.Rxh5 gxf6 28.Rxd6
Rd8 29.Rd3 Rbc8 30.Rxh6 f5 31.Rg3 Kf8 32.Rh8 Ke7 33.Rxd8 Rxd8
34.Rxc3 Rd2 35. Rf3 Kf6 36.Kc1 Rd8 37.c4 e5 38.c5 Ke6 39.c6 e4
40.c7 Rc8 41.Rc3 f4 42.Kd2 f5 43.h4 a5 44.a3 Ke5 45.h5 a4
46.b4 Kd4 47.Rc6 f3 48.b5 f4 49.b6 e3 50.Ke1 1-0

16 ... Rfc8 17.Rh4 Bxe4?! 18.Rxe4 Nxb3+ 19.axb3 b4

Winning a piece because of the threat of mate on c2. Or so he thought.

20.Bxg7! bxc3

[20...Kxg7 21.Qh6+ Kg8 22.Rh4 Bxg5+ 23.Qxg5+ Kf8 24.Rc4]

21.Bxc3 Qc5 22.Rf4! f6 23.Rg1 Kf8 24.Qxh7 1-0

KASPAROV's SICILIAN NAJDORF

Shirov,Alexei (2700) - Kasparov,Garry (2820) [B90]
Tilburg Fontys Tilburg (5), 02.10.1997

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Be3 e5 7.Nb3 Be6 8.f3 Be7 9.Qd2

The move 9.g4? used to be played a lot, but nowadays it is known that after 9...d5! 10.g5 (10.exd5? Nxd5 11.Nxd5 Bh4+ 12.Bf2 Bxf2+ 13.Kxf2 Bxd5 material is equal but White is obviously in trouble) 10...d4 11.gxf6 Bxf6 Black has a big advantage.

9...Nbd7

[9...d5 does not work so well now because the intervening check on h4 is easily blocked by g2-g3]

10.g4 h6 11.0–0–0 b5 12.h4 Nb6 13.Kb1 b4 14.Bxb6 Qxb6 15.Nd5 Bxd5 16.exd5 a5 17.Qd3

Making way for the knight hop to d2 and either c4 or e4.

17...0–0! 18.Nd2

The immediate threat is g4-g5 followed by Ne4.

18...a4 19.Ne4

[19.g5 Nh5 20.gxh6 g6]

19...Rfc8! 20.Nxf6+ Bxf6

Kasparov's counterthreat is ...e5-e4, opening up the long diagonal for a bishop sacrifice on b2.

21.Qe4

[21.g5? e4! 22.Qxe4 b3 23.cxb3 axb3 24.a3 Bxb2! wins]

21...Qc5 22.Bd3 Kf8! 23.g5 hxg5 24.hxg5 Bxg5 25.Qf5 Bh6 26.Rh4

This move prepares Rc4, attacking the Black Queen. Here is Kasparov's narration of his thought processes:

"I obviously had to get my queen out of the way, and I sat looking at the few possible retreats. All the options would leave the position dynamically balanced, but I was disappointed there wasn't the opportunity for more.

"Before I resigned myself to the seemingly inevitable queen move, I took a deep breath and surveyed the rest of the board. As with so many fantasy moves, this one started with a mental 'wouldn't it be nice if ...' If you daydream a little about what you'd like to see happen, sometimes you find that it is really possible. What is I ignored his threat to my queen? he would have extra material, but my pieces, while technically outgunned by his queen, would be active and he'd be under pressure."

26...Ke7!!

Kasparov: "Too often we quickly discard apparently outlandish ideas and solutions, especially in areas where the known methods have been in place for a long time. The failure to think creatively is as much self-imposed as it is imposed by the parameters of our jobs and of our lives. 'What if?' often leads to 'why not?' and at that point we must summon our courage and find out."

27.Rc4 Qxc4 28.Bxc4 Rxc4 29.Qd3 Rac8 30.Re1 Bf4 31.Re4?
After 31.b3 it is still a game.

31...Rxe4 32.fxe4 g5! 33.a3 bxa3 34.Qa6 Rd8 35.Qb6 g4 36.c4 g3 37.c5 g2 38.cxd6+ Rxd6 39.Qc7+ Kf6! 40.Qxd6+ Kg7 0–1


[Analysis by Bobby Ang, Chess Piece - Business World]

BATTLE of GMs

CHESS PIECE: WESLEY IS TOP GM
[Bobby Ang]

Battle of the GMs
25 April-3 May 2008
Citystate Tower Hotel

Final Standings

1 GM Wesley So 2540, 8.5/11
2-3 GM Eugene Torre 2519, IM Richard Bitoon 2420, 7.5/11
4 IM John Paul Gomez 2464,7.0/11
5 GM Rogelio Antonio Jr 2529, 6.5/11
6 NM Rolando Nolte 2420, 5.5/11
7 IM Julio Catalino Sadorra 2455, 5.0/11
8-9 FM Fernie Donguines 2362, NM Oliver Barbosa 2403, 4.5/11
10-11 NM Hamed Nouri 2392, GM Buenaventura Villamayor 2425, 3.5/11
12 IM Jayson Gonzales 2468, 2.5/11


caption: GM Wesley So

GM Wesley So has just confirmed what the ratings table suggest – that he is the top player of the Philippines. He emerged unscathed after 11 grueling rounds and topped the field by scoring 6 wins and 5 draws for 8.5/11. Living legend Eugene Torre, the only other undefeated player, finished a point behind, tied for 2nd-3rd places with Richard Bitoon at 7.5/11.

With the end of publication of Manny Benitez’ “The Chess Plaza Weekender” and its hard-hitting commentary “From my Swivel Chair” I thought to take up the slack and bit and do a bit of commentary myself. So here they are:

1. There is, of course, no such animal as a super-grandmaster, as Hon. Florencio Campomanes loves to say. The truth is that the only international titles for over-the-board play (men) are Candidate Master (abbreviated as CM, for those players with ratings of at least 2200), FIDE Master (FM, rating of at least 2300), International Master (IM, rating of at least 2400), and International Grandmaster (GM rating of at least 2500). A super-Grandmaster is simply an adjective to denote a grandmaster who is really very strong and regularly beats other grandmasters. Usually the demarcation line for this is the attainment of a FIDE rating in excess of 2600 pts.

2. The reason I bring up this thing about the super-GM is because some ignorant reporters (take note that I make a point not to call them journalists) have written that Wesley’s next goal is to attain the title of super-grandmaster, and that he already scored one super-GM norm by winning the Dubai Open.

3. Well, of course that thing about attaining the super-GM title and the norm is just plain stupid, but on the other hand it is true that Wesley’s next goal is to bring his rating up to 2600. How is he doing in this regard? Well, he gained 18.7 points by winning in Dubai, and a further 11.8 points with his victory in his 6-game match with Indonesian Champion Susanto Megaranto. This latest Battle of the GMs triumph is an additional 15.7 pts. Add all of this up to his current rating of 2540 and we come up with a new rating of 2586.

4. Wesley still has two big tournaments coming up this month. The 2nd Philippine Open International Tournament is scheduled May 6-15 at the La Legenda Hotel in Subic Bay Freeport followed immediately by the 3rd Philippine Open from May 15-24 in Pampanga. Both tournaments are 11-round Swiss system events. Hopefully, Wesley So can keep up his strength, sustain the fine form, and bring home the bacon.

5. It was announced that the result of this tournament will determine the Philippine team to the Dresden Chess Olympiad which will start November 12. If that information is correct then our representatives will consist of GM Wesley So, GM Eugene Torre, IM Richard Bitoon, IM John Paul Gomez and GM Rogelio Antonio Jr. (starting Dresden, each team will have 5 players instead of the 6 of previous Olympiads). My assessment of this squad is that it is quite strong and should do well in Dresden.

6. Hopefully, they get a real team captain to whip them into shape and lead the Filipino charge, and then my confidence level is high that they can land in the top 20. Please, no more junkets for politicians or hangers-on. A team captain is not a ceremonial position. The team captain has to attend to the accommodations of the players, see to it that they are psyched and ready for battle during the games. He also has to look around the tournament hall at the potential opponents and keep track of who is hot and who is not. Also, he has to go over the tournament bulletins and take note of the openings that are being played and the latest theoretical trends. A very important role which is completely overlooked in many cases.

7. GM Mark Paragua did not take part because he had gone to the States to campaign. I am not sure whether Cong. Pichay intends to bring him home to beef up the team. We will postpone discussion of this nagging question for another column.

8. I was wondering about the participation of Fernie Donguines in this tournament. If you do a bit of research, it becomes obvious that he has no business participating. It is true that Fernie has one GM norm, but he got that way back in 1994 – 14 years ago! Donguines is currently rated no. 42 in the country. Some of the players who were bypassed are GM Darwin Laylo, IM Ronald Dableo (2 GM norms), and IM Oliver Dimakiling (2 GM norms). Who can explain this to us?

9. I wish that the chess reporters would stop calling Jayson Gonzales an International Grandmaster, he isn’t one. True, he has obtained the three GM norms required, but he still has to attain a minimum rating of 2500 to get the title. This is not an easy requirement, and there are a heck of a lot of players who never reach this milestone.

10. Jayson’s current rating is 2468 and he just lost 33 rating points by finishing last in the “Battle of GMs” – points that he has to make up for. Outstanding players like Wesley get 18.7 pts in one tournament, but he had to win the Dubai Open to do that. Jayson has never gotten close to such a performance. For most players a good result in an international tournament will get you an additional 10 rating pts. Equating that with IM Jayson Gonzales’ soon-to-be rating of 2435, that means he has to get good results in 6-7 tournaments, without the ratings catastrophe similar to what he experienced in the Battle of GMs. I am afraid it will take another 2 years before he gets the grandmaster title.

Here is Wesley’s win in the 9th round over Richard Bitoon to virtually guarantee himself the top prize of P200,000.

So,Wesley (2540) - Bitoon,Richard (2420) [B99]
Battle of Grandmasters CITYSTATE Hotel (9.5), 01.05.2008

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Bg5 e6 7.f4 h6 8.Bh4 Nbd7 9.Qf3 Be7 10.0–0–0 Qc7 11.Bd3 g5 12.fxg5 Ne5

The same line as So vs Adly from the Dubai Open, which we annotated here a week or so ago.

13.Qe2 Nfg4 14.Nf3 Nxf3

[14...hxg5 is the move with the best theoretical reputation]

15.Qxf3 Ne5 16.Qh5 Ng6 17.Bg3 hxg5 18.Qf3 Bd7

Adly played 18...Ne5 19.Bxe5 dxe5 20.Rdf1 Rh7 21.h4 gxh4 22.Qg4 Rh6 (So,W (2540)-Adly,A (2578) /Dubai 2008 1–0 37), but on looking at this position again I realize that Wesley had an easier win with 23.Qg8+ Kd7 24.Rxf7 White has too many threats, not the least of which is 25.Bb5+! axb5 26.Rxe7+ Kxe7 27.Qg7+ Kd8 28.Rd1+ Bd7 29.Qf8#.

19.Rhf1 Rf8 20.Qe3 0–0–0 21.Qa7 Ne5 22.Be2 Nc6 23.Qa8+ Nb8

[23...Qb8 24.Qxb8+ Kxb8 25.Rxd6 wins a pawn]

24.a4 Bc6 25.Qa7 Nd7 26.Qa8+ Nb8 27.Qa7 Nd7 28.Bh5 Nf6?


caption: position after 28...Nf6

29.Rxf6! Bxf6 30.Rxd6! Rxd6 31.Qa8+ Kd7 32.Qxf8 Be7 33.Qxf7 Qd8 34.Bxd6 Kxd6 35.Bg4 Bd7 36.e5+ Kxe5 37.Qf2 Qf8 38.Qe3+ Kd6 39.Qd4+ Kc7 40.Qc4+ Kd8 41.Bf3

[41.Bxe6? Bxe6 42.Qxe6 Qf1+ 43.Kd2 Qxg2+ considerably complicates White's task]

41...Bc8 42.Kb1 Bd6 43.Ne4 Be7

[43...Bxh2 44.Nxg5]

44.Qd4+ Kc7 45.Qe5+ Kb6

[45...Bd6 46.Qc3+ Kb8 47.h3 holds out longer]

46.Nxg5 Qf5 47.a5+ Ka7 48.Qc7 Qc5 49.Qxc5+ Bxc5 50.Bg4 Be3 51.Bxe6 Bxg5 52.Bxc8 Bd2 53.c3 Bf4 54.h4 Bc7 55.b4 b6 56.axb6+ Kxb6 57.Kc2 a5 58.bxa5+ Kxa5 59.Kd3 Kb5 60.h5 Be5 61.g4 Kc5 62.c4 Kd6 63.Ke4 Bf6 64.Kf5 Bd4 65.g5 Ke7 66.Kg6 Be3 67.h6 Bf4 68.c5 1–0

Reader comments/suggestions are urgently solicited. Email address is bangcpa@gmail.com

"This article first appeared in Bobby Ang's column in Business World on 09 May 2008"

KINGS & KNIGHTS

NM Gerry Cabellon returns to chess competition at GM Torre's Gathering of Kings & Knights last Dec 27. He landed tied for 3rd with IM Richard Bitoon. IM Nolte topped the event by beating GM Villamayor in the Finals.

SICILIAN - RICHTER RAUZER VARIATION

This game was tagged as the TOP FAVORITE by Chessbase.com on December 2008. Tal, known as the Magician of Riga, became World Champion in 1961.

[Event "Riga"][Date "1957"]
[White "Mikhail Tal"]
[Black "Alexander Koblents"]
[ECO "B63"]

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 Nc6 6.Bg5

This constitutes the Richter-Rauzer Variation.

6 ... e6 7.Qd2 Be7

[Event "Russian Team Championship"][Site "Dagomys RUS"][Date "2008.04.09"][Round "7"]
[White "Alexander Lastin"]
[Black "Alexander Motylev"]
[ECO "B65"]
[WhiteElo "2621"]
[BlackElo "2666"]
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 Nc6 6. Bg5 e6
7. Qd2 Nxd4 8. Qxd4 Be7 9. O-O-O O-O 10. f4 Qa5 11. h4 Rd8
12. Bd3 e5 13. Qf2 Be6 14. Kb1 exf4 15. Qxf4 Kf8 16. Rhf1 Rac8
17. Nd5 Nxd5 18. exd5 Bxg5 19. hxg5 Qxd5 20. b3 Qxg2 21. Bxh7
Qg4 22. Qd2 Rc5 23. Rde1 Ke7 24. Rg1 Qh4 25. Be4 b6 26. g6 Re5
27. gxf7 Bxf7 28. Rxg7 Rf8 29. Rh7 Qg3 30. Rhh1 Rg8 31. Bc6
Rxe1+ 32. Rxe1+ Kd8 33. Re3 Qg1+ 34. Kb2 Qg7+ 35. Ka3 Qf8
36. Bd5 Bxd5 37. Qxd5 Kc7 1-0

8.O-O-O O-O

[Event "Tal Memorial Blitz"][Site "Moscow RUS"][Date "2008.08.29"][Round "9"]
[White "Sergey Karjakin"]
[Black "Vassily Ivanchuk"]
[ECO "B66"]
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 Nc6 6. Bg5 e6
7. Qd2 a6 8. O-O-O Be7 9. f4 Nxd4 10. Qxd4 b5 11. Bxf6 gxf6
12. e5 d5 13. f5 fxe5 14. Qxe5 Bf6 15. Qg3 Bh4 16. Qh3 O-O
17. Bd3 Ra7 18. Kb1 Bf6 19. Rhf1 Kh8 20. g4 Rg8 21. fxe6 fxe6
22. Ne2 Rag7 23. Nf4 Be5 24. Nh5 Rc7 25. Rde1 Qg5 26. Qf3 Bg7
27. h4 Qe7 28. g5 Rf8 29. Qg3 Rxf1 30. Rxf1 e5 31. Nxg7 Kxg7
32. h5 e4 33. Be2 d4 34. h6+ Kg8 35. g6 d3 36. cxd3 Qc5 37. a3
Be6 38. dxe4 Qc2+ 39. Ka1 Qc1+ 0-1

[Event "Casino de Barcelona"][Date "2008.11.02"][Round "4"]
[White "Baadur Jobava"]
[Black "Alexey Dreev"]
[ECO "B66"]
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 d6 6. Bg5 e6
7. Qd2 a6 8. O-O-O Be7 9. f4 Nxd4 10. Qxd4 b5 11. Bxf6 gxf6
12. Be2 Rb8 13. Bh5 b4 14. Ne2 Qa5 15. f5 Qxa2 16. fxe6 Bxe6
17. Nf4 O-O 18. Kd2 Qa5 19. Nd5 Bxd5 20. exd5 f5 21. h4 Qd8
22. Qd3 Bf6 23. Kc1 Bg7 24. Qxf5 Qa5 25. Kd2 Rbe8 0-1

[Event "2008 Olympiad"][Site "Dresden GER"][Date "2008.11.19"][Round "6"]
[White "Vladimir Akopian"]
[Black "Shakhriyar Mamedyarov"]
[ECO "B66"]
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 Nc6 6. Bg5 e6
7. Qd2 Be7 8. O-O-O a6 9. f4 Nxd4 10. Qxd4 b5 11. Bxf6 gxf6
12. e5 d5 13. Kb1 Bb7 14. f5 fxe5 15. Qxe5 Bf6 16. Qg3 Qe7
17. fxe6 fxe6 18. Be2 h5 19. a4 h4 20. Qg6+ Qf7 21. Qg4 Rg8
22. Qh3 Rg5 23. Bg4 Ke7 24. Rhe1 Be5 25. Qe3 Rag8 26. Qa7 1-0

[Event "ASEAN Masters Circuit GMA"][Site "Tarakan INA"][Date "2008.01.16"][Round "8"]
[White "Wesley So"]
[Black "Nasib Ginting"]
[ECO "B65"]
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 Nc6 6. Bg5 e6
7. Qd2 Be7 8. O-O-O Nxd4 9. Qxd4 O-O 10. f4 Qa5 11. h4 Rd8
12. Qe3 h6 13. Be2 Bd7 14. Qg3 Kh8 15. e5 dxe5 16. fxe5 Ng8
17. Qf4 Be8 18. Bd3 f6 19. exf6 Bxf6 20. Bxf6 Nxf6 21. g4 e5
22. Qf1 Bc6 23. g5 Ng8 24. Rg1 e4 25. gxh6 Nxh6 26. Qg2 Nf5
27. Bxe4 Rxd1+ 28. Rxd1 Ne3 29. Qg6 Bxe4 30. Nxe4 Rc8 31. c3
Nxd1 32. Ng5 Rxc3+ 33. Kb1 Rc1+ 34. Kxc1 Qc5+ 35. Kb1 Nc3+
36. bxc3 Qb5+ 37. Ka1 1-0

9.Nb3 Qb6 10.f3 a6 11.g4 Rd8 12.Be3 Qc7 13.h4
b5 14.g5 Nd7 15.g6 hxg6 16.h5 gxh5 17.Rxh5 Nf6 18.Rh1 d5 19.e5
Nxe5 20.Bf4 Bd6 21.Qh2 Kf8 22.Qh8+ Ng8 23.Rh7 f5 24.Bh6 Rd7















25.Bxb5 Rf7 26.Rg1 Ra7 27.Nd4 Ng4 28.fxg4 Be5 29.Nc6 Bxc3
30.Be3 d4 31.Rgh1 Rd7 32.Bg5 axb5 33.R1h6 d3 34.bxc3 d2 35.Kd1
Qxc6 36.Rf6+ Rf7 37.Qxg7+ 1-0

CHESSCAFE: The MOST IMPORTANT NOVELTY of CHESS INFORMANT 102

by Milan Bjelajac

Early this year, at the traditional tournament in Wijk aan Zee, the Bulgarian grandmaster Veselin Topalov played the very attractive novelty 12.Nf7!? against Vladimir Kramnik. Obviously, other chess players found this sacrifice appealing as well, and the same position appeared in the encounter between Timman and Ljubojevic, where an improvement was found for Black.

The first impression was that this novelty would be short-lived. However, after the game Shirov – Karjakin, which was published in Informant 103, Karjakin reaffirmed the value of 12.Nf7 in his annotations. The Chess Informant jury would seem to agree as they voted this the best theoretical novelty of Volume 102.

1. V.TOPALOV 2780 – KRAMNIK 2799
Wijk aan Zee 2008 — 102/333 [D43]

1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Nc3 e6 5.Bg5 h6 6.Bh4 dc4 7.e4 g5 8.Bg3 b5 9.Be2 Bb7 10.0-0 Nbd7 11.Ne5 Bg7

12.Nf7!? (a novelty) Kf7 13.e5 Nd5 [13...Rf8!? 14.ef6 Nf6 15.Be5 Kg8 16.Qc2 Qe7 17.Rae1 with compensation] 14.Ne4 Ke7 15.Nd6 Qb6 16.Bg4 Raf8 [16...Rhg8!? 17.Qc2 Nf8] 17.Qc2 Qd4? 18.Qg6 Qg4 19.Qg7 Kd8 20.Nb7 Kc8 21.a4! (with initiative) b4 22.Rac1 c3 [22...Rfg8!? 23.Qf7 Rf8 24.Nd6 Kc7 25.Qg6 Rhg8 26.Qb1 and White is slightly better] 23.bc3 b3? [23...Rfg8 and White is slightly better; 23...bc3!? with the idea 24.Rb1 c2] 24.c4! Rfg8 25.Nd6 Kc7 26.Qf7 Rf8 27.cd5? [27.h3! Rf7 28.hg4 Nf4 29.Nf7 Ne2 30.Kh2 Nc1 31.Rc1 b2 (31...Rb8 32.Rb1 Nc5 33.f4 gf4 34.Bf4 Rf8 35.Be3 and White is winning) 32.Rb1 Rb8 33.f4! gf4 34.Bf4 Rf8 (34...Nc5 35.Nh6 Na4 36.g5 and White is winning) 35.Rb2 Rf7 36.Kg3 and White is winning] Rf7 28.Rc6 Kb8 29.Nf7

29...Re8? [29...Qe2!! 30.Rc3! (30.Nh8? Qf1! 31.Kf1 b2; 30.Rb1? Qa2) b2 31.Rb3 Ka8 32.Nh8 Nc5! 33.Rb5! (33.Rb4?! a5!; 33.Rb2 Qb2 34.de6 Ne6) Na4 (33...a6 34.Rc5 Qf1 35.Kf1 b1Q 36.Ke2 Qe4 37.Kf1 equal) 34.Rb2 Qb2 35.de6 Qb6 36.e7 Qe6 unclear] 30.Nd6 Rh8 31.Rc4! (and White is winning) Qe2 32.de6 Nb6 33.Rb4 Ka8 34.e7 [34.Rb3 Qg4 35.e7 Qe6 36.Rc3 Qe7 37.Rfc1 and White is winning] Nd5 35.Rb3 Ne7 36.Rfb1 Nd5 37.h3 h5 [37...Nf4 38.Bf4 gf4 39.Nb5! Qe5 40.Rc1 Rb8 (40...a6 41.Nc7 Ka7 42.Rc6; 40...Kb7 41.Nc7 Kc8 42.Na6 Kd7 43.Rb7 Kd6 44.Nb4) 41.Nc7 Qc7 42.Rc7 Rb3 43.Rc4 f3 44.g4! and White is winning] 38.Nf7 Rc8 39.e6 a6 [39...Nf4 40.Ng5] 40.Ng5 h4 41.Bd6 Rg8 42.R3b2 Qd3 43.e7 Nf6 44.Be5 Nd7 45.Ne6 1-0 [Krasenkow]

2. IVANCHUK 2751 – SERGEY KARJAKIN 2732
Nice (rapid) 2008 — 102/180 [B87]

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cd4 4.Nd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Bc4 e6 7.Bb3 b5 8.Bg5 Be7 9.Qf3 Qc7 10.e5 Bb7 11.ed6 Bd6 12.Qe3 Bc5 13.0-0-0 Nc6

14.Qe6!? [a novelty; 14.Bf6 see 98/(169)] fe6 15.Ne6 Qe5 [15...Qb6 16.Ng7 Kf8 17.Ne6 Kf7 (17...Ke8 18.Nc5 Qc5 19.Rhe1 Ne7 20.Bf6 Rd8 21.Nd5 Bd5 22.Be7 Qe7 23.Bd5 and White is winning) 18.Nc5 Kg6 19.Rd6!! Qc5 (19...Kg5 20.Rf6!! Kf6 21.Nd5 Kg7 22.Nb6 and White is winning) 20.Rf6 Kg7 21.Bh6 Kf6 22.Ne4 Kg6 23.Nc5 and White is superior; 15...Bb6 16.Rhe1 a) 16...Qb8 17.Nc7 Kf8 18.Ne6 Ke7 19.Ng7 Kf8 20.Bh6 (20.Bf6 Qf4 21.Kb1 Qf6 22.Ne6 Kf7 23.Nf4 equal) Ng4 21.Ne6 Ke7 22.Bg5 Ke8 23.Nd5!! and White is superior; b) 16...Qh2 17.Ng7 (17.Nc7 Kf8 18.Ne6 equal) Kf8 18.Bf6 Qf4 (18...Na5 19.Ne6 Kf7 20.Bh8 Nb3 21.ab3 Rh8 22.Rd7 Kg6 23.Rb7 with initiative) 19.Kb1 Qf6 20.Ne6 Kf7 (20...Qe6 21.Re6 with compensation) 21.Nf4 Kf8 22.Ne6 equal; 15...Bd6 16.Rhe1 (16.Nc7 Bc7 17.Rhe1 Ne7 18.Bd5 Ra7 19.Bb7 Rb7 20.Bf6 gf6 21.Nd5 Be5 22.f4 Bb8 23.Nf6 Kf7 24.Nh5 Rg8 25.g3 unclear) a) 16...Qb8 17.Ng7 Kf8 18.Ne6 (18.Bf6 Na5 19.Re8 Qe8 20.Ne8 Bf4 21.Kb1 Nb3 22.ab3 Rg8 23.Ng7 Bg2 24.Rd7 unclear) Kf7 19.Bf6 Kf6 20.Ne4 Ke7 21.Nd6 and White is superior; b) 16...Kd7!! 17.Nc7 (17.Bf6 gf6 18.Nc7 Kc7 19.Nd5 Kb8 20.Nb6 Bf4 21.Kb1 Ra7 22.Nd7 Kc7 23.Nf6 unclear) Kc7 18.Rd6! Kd6 19.Bf4 Kd7 20.Rd1 Ke7 21.Re1 equal; 15...Qe7 16.Rhe1 Qe6! 17.Re6 (17.Be6 Ne7 18.f3 Rd8 and Black is superior) Ne7 a) 18.Bf6 gf6 19.Bd5 Bd5 20.Nd5 Rd8 21.Ne7 Kf7! (21...Be7 22.Rd8 Kd8 23.Ra6 Kd7 and Black is slightly better) 22.Rde1 Rde8 and Black is superior; b) 18.f3 Rd8 and Black is slightly better; c) 18.Rde1! Kd7 (18...Rd8 19.a4 b4 20.Bf6 gf6 21.Ne4 Be4 22.R1e4 f5 23.Re2 with compensation) 19.Rd1 Kc8 20.Re5! Bb4 21.a3 Ng6! (21...Bc3 22.Re7 and White is winning) 22.Be6 Kc7 23.ab4 Ne5 24.Bf4 Bg2 25.Be5 Kb6 26.Ne2 with compensation] 16.Ng7 [16.Rhe1!? Qe1 17.Re1 Be7 18.Ng7 Kd8 19.Re7 (19.Nf5 Rf8 20.Bh6 unclear; 19.f3!?) Ke7 (19...Ne7 20.Bf6 Kd7 21.g4 Rhf8 22.g5 Kd6 23.Ne6 unclear) 20.Nh5 Kd6 21.Bf4 (21.Nf6 Na5 and Black is slightly better; 21.Bf6 Rhe8 22.Ng7 Re1 23.Kd2 Rh1 and Black is slightly better) Ke7 (21...Kc5 22.Nf6î) 22.Bg5 equal] Kf8 17.Ne6 Kf7 [17...Ke8 18.Rhe1 Qg5 (18...Qe1 19.Nc7 Kf8 20.Re1 and White is winning) 19.Ng5 Ne7 20.Re6 Bf2 21.Re2 Bc5 22.Rf1 Bd4 23.Nf7 Rf8 24.Nd6 and White is winning; 17...Ke7 18.Rhe1 Bf2 19.Re5 Ne5 20.Ng7 Nc4 21.Bc4 bc4 22.Rf1 Raf8 23.Rf2 Rhg8 24.Nf5 Kd7 25.Bh6 unclear] 18.Rhe1 Qe1? [18...Bf2! 19.Re5 Ne5 20.Nd8 Kg6 21.Bf6 Kf6 22.Nb7 Rhf8 23.Ne4 Kg7 24.h3!? with compensation; 24.Kb1 with compensation; 18...Qg5 19.Ng5 Kg6 20.Nce4 Be7 (20...Ne4 21.Ne4 Bb4 22.c3 Be7 23.Bc2 and White is superior) 21.Nf7! a) 21...Rhf8 22.Ned6 Bd6 23.Nd6 Bc8 (23...Na5 24.Be6 Bc6 25.f4 Nh5 26.b4 and White is superior) 24.Re3 with attack, with the idea Rg3; b) 21...Rhe8 22.Rd3 (22.Ned6 Bd6 23.Nd6 Re1 24.Re1 Bc8 25.c3 Bd7 26.Bc2 Kg7 27.a4 equal; 22.Nfd6 Ne4 23.Bf7 Kf6 24.Re4 Red8 25.Rf4 Kg7 26.Rg4 equal) Ne4 23.Re4 Bg5 24.Ng5 Kg5 25.Rd5 Kg6 26.Rg4 Kf6 27.Rf4 Ke7 (27...Kg6 28.Rd6 and White is winning) 28.Rh5 and White is superior] 19.Nc5 Kg6 20.Re1 Kg5 21.Nb7 Nd4 22.Nd6 Rhf8 23.f3 [23.Re7!] b4 [23...Ra7!] 24.Nce4 Ne4 25.Re4 Nb3 26.ab3 [R 9/n] a5 27.Rg4 Kf6 28.Ne4 Ke5 29.Rh4 a4 30.ba4 Ra4 31.Nc5! and White is winning [31.Rh7?! Rd8 32.Re7 Kf5 33.Nd2 Ra1 34.Nb1 b3! 35.Re1 (35.c3?? Rb1 36.Kb1 Rd1 mate) bc2 36.Kc2 Rc8 37.Kd3 Rd8 equal] Ra1 32.Kd2 Rg8 33.g3 Rf1 34.Ke2 Rb1 35.Rb4 Kd5 36.Ne4 Kc6 37.h4 Rh1 38.Rc4 Kb6 39.b4 Rd8 40.Rc5 Ra8 41.c3 Ra2 42.Ke3 Re1 43.Kf4 Rf1 44.Rh5 Ra8 45.Rh6 Kb5 46.Nd6 Ka4 47.Rh7 Kb3 48.Rc7 Rd8 49.Nf5 1-0 [Ivanchuk]

3. B.GELFAND 2737 – V.ANAND 2799
Nice (blindfold) 2008 — 102/346 [D47]

1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Nc3 e6 5.e3 Nbd7 6.Bd3 dc4 7.Bc4 b5 8.Bd3 Bb7 9.a3 Bd6 10.0-0 0-0 11.Qc2 a6 12.b4 a5 13.Rb1 ab4 14.ab4 Qe7 15.e4 e5 16.de5 Ne5 17.Ne5 Be5 18.Ne2 Qe6 [18...Rfd8 see 99/302] 19.f4 Ra2 20.Qd1

20...Ba1!! [a novelty; 20...Bc7 21.Nc3 and White is slightly better] 21.e5? c5! 22.ef6 [22.Ra1 Ra1 23.ef6 Qd5! 24.Rf3 c4 and Black is superior] Bd4 23.Rf2 only move [23.Kh1 Qh3! 24.Rg1 Bg1 25.Qg1 Qd3 and Black is winning] Bf2 [23...Qg4 24.Qf1 Bf2 25.Qf2 c4 26.h3 Qh5 27.Qg3 g6 and Black is superior] 24.Kf2 Qd5 25.Bb2 [25.Bh7 Kh7 26.Qd5 Bd5 27.bc5 Rc8! (27...Bc4 28.Rb2 Rfa8 29.Nc3 Rb2 30.Bb2 b4 and Black is winning) 28.Rb2 Rb2 29.Bb2 Rc5 and Black is winning] Qg2 26.Ke1 c4 27.Bc2 Bf3 [27...Re8 28.Be5 gf6 29.Qd7 Bc6] 28.fg7 Re8 29.Be5 f6 30.Bh7 Kh7 31.g8Q Kg8 0-1 [V.Anand]

4. RUBLEVSKY 2695 – EFIMENKO 2660
Russia 2008 — 102/179 [B86]

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cd4 4.Nd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Bc4 e6 7.Bb3 Nbd7 8.Bg5 Qa5 9.Qd2 Be7 10.0-0-0 Nc5 11.Rhe1 h6? 12.Bf6 Bf6

13.Nf5! [a novelty; 13.f4 see 100/163, 164] 0-0 [13...Nb3 14.cb3 a) 14...ef5 15.ef5 Kf8 16.Qd6 Kg8 17.Re8 Kh7 18.Rh8 Kh8 19.Rd5 Bc3 (19...b5 20.b4 and White is winning) 20.Qf8 Kh7 21.Ra5 Ba5 22.f6 gf6 23.Qf7 Kh8 24.Qf6 Kh7 25.Qf7 Kh8 26.Qh5 and White is winning; b) 14...0-0 15.Nd6 Rd8 (15...Bc3 16.bc3 and White is superior) 16.e5? Be5 17.b4 Bc3 18.ba5 Bd2 19.Rd2 Rb8 20.Red1 e5 equal; 16.f4 and White is superior see 13...0-0; 13...ef5 14.ef5 a) 14...Kf8? 15.Qd6 Kg8 16.Re8 Kh7 17.Rh8 Kh8 18.Qf8 Kh7 19.Bf7 and White is winning; b) 14...Kd8? 15.Qd6 Bd7 16.Nd5 Rc8 (16...Nb3 17.ab3 Qa1 18.Kd2 Qa5 19.b4 and White is winning) 17.Nf6 gf6 18.Qf6 Kc7 19.Qd6 Kd8 20.Ba4 b5 21.Re5 and White is winning; c) 14...Be6 (only move) 15.fe6 Nb3 16.cb3 0-0 17.Qd6 and White is slightly better] 14.Nd6 Rd8 15.f4 Nb3 [15...Be7 16.e5 and White is superior; 15...Bc3 16.Qc3 Qc3 17.bc3 Bd7 18.f5 Bc6 19.g4 and White is superior] 16.cb3 Be7 [16...e5 17.Qf2 ef4 (17...Bg4 18.Nc4 Qc7 19.Nd5 and White is superior) 18.e5 Be7 19.h4!? (19.Kb1 Bd6 20.ed6 Qf5 21.Ka1 Be6 22.Rd4 g5 23.Ne4 and White is slightly better) Be6 20.Qf4 Rd7 21.Kb1 Rad8 22.b4 Qc7 23.Nce4 and White is superior] 17.e5 Bd6 18.ed6 b5 19.Qd4!? Rb8 [19...b4? 20.Re5!] 20.b4 Qb6 21.Qc5 (and White is superior) Bd7 22.Re5 Bc6 [22...Rdc8 23.Qb6 Rb6 24.Rc5 Rbc6 25.Ne4 and White is superior] 23.g3 Bf3 24.Rd2 Bg4 25.d7 Qb7 26.Qd6 Bf5 [26...f6 27.Rc5 e5 28.Rc7 Qh1 29.Kc2 Bf5 30.Kb3 and White is superior] 27.b3 Kh7 28.Kb2 Ra8 29.Qe7 f6 30.Rc5 Qh1 31.Rf5! ef5 32.Nd5 Kg6 33.Nc7 Rac8 [33...Rab8 34.Ne6 Qe1 35.Nf8 and White is winning] 34.Rc2 (and White is winning) Rc7 35.Rc7 Qg2 36.Rc2 Qa8 37.Re2 a5 38.ba5 Qa5 39.g4! fg4 [39...Ra8 40.Qe8 Kh7 41.a4 ba4 42.gf5 ab3 43.Qg6 Kh8 44.Re8] 40.Qe8 Kh7 [40...Kf5 41.Qe4 mate] 41.f5 1-0 [Rublevsky]

5. KRAMNIK 2799 – ARONIAN 2739
Wijk aan Zee 2008 — 102/330 [D43]

1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Nc3 e6 5.Bg5 h6 6.Bh4 dc4 7.e4 g5 8.Bg3 b5 9.Be2 Bb7 10.0-0 Nbd7 11.Ne5 Bg7 12.Nd7 Nd7 13.Bd6 a6 14.a4 e5 15.Bg4 ed4 16.e5 c5 17.Re1 Ne5 18.Be5 0-0 19.Bg7 Kg7 20.Ne2 f5 21.Bh5 f4 22.b4 cb3 23.Qb3 Qd5 24.Qh3 Bc8

25.Nc3! [a novelty; 25.Qd3 see 97/318] dc3 [25...Qb7 26.Qd3 Bf5 27.Qe2 dc3 28.Qe5 Kh7 29.Bf3 Qf7 30.Ba8 Ra8 31.ab5 and White is winning; 25...Qc6 26.Bf3! Qg6 27.g4! Ra7 28.Nd5 Raf7 29.Qf1 and White is superior; 25...Qd6 26.Qf3 and White is superior; 25...Qf7 26.Qf3 Bb7 27.Qe2 Qc7 28.Qe7 Qe7 29.Re7 and White is superior; 25...Bh3 26.Nd5 Bf5 27.Re7 Kh8 28.Nc7 and White is superior] 26.Qc3 Qd4 27.Qf3 Ra7 [27...Rb8 28.Qc6 Kg8 (only move) 29.Rad1 Qg7 (only move) 30.Re8 Re8 31.Qe8 Qf8 32.Bf7 Kg7 33.Qe5 Kf7 34.Qb8 and White is superior] 28.ab5 [28.Qc6?! Bf5 29.ab5 Rf6] Qf6 [28...Rf6 29.Rad1 Qc4 (only move) 30.Rd8 and White is superior] 29.Qa3! Qb6 [29...Rb7 30.ba6 Ra7 31.Be2 and White is superior Ba6 32.Bc4! Rfa8 33.Qc5] 30.Qc3 Kg8 31.Re5! Qf6 [31...ab5 32.Ra7 Qa7 33.Rc5 and White is winning; 31...Qb5 32.Rc5 Qb8 33.Re1 Rg7 34.Rc6 and White is winning] 32.Qc5 Rd7 only move [32...Rg7 33.ba6 Ba6 34.Ra6! Qa6 35.Qf8!] 33.h4 [33.Bg4 Rdd8 34.Bc8 Rc8 35.Qd5 Kh8 36.ba6 Qa6!; 33.b6 Rd6 34.Rb1 and White is superior] gh4 34.Bg4? [34.ba6! Ba6 (34...f3 35.Bf3 Ba6 36.Bd5 Kg7 37.Qd4 and White is winning) 35.Bg4 Rd6 (only move) 36.Rae1! and White is winning] Rdd8 [34...Qg7 35.Be6! Kh8 (only move) 36.Bd7 Bd7 37.Kh2 f3 38.Rg1 ab5 39.gf3 and White is superior] 35.Bc8 Rc8 time 36.Qd5 Qf7 (only move) 37.ba6 [37.Re6 a5 38.Ra5 Rcd8 39.Rg6 Kh7 40.Qf7 Rf7 41.Raa6 and White is superior] Qd5 38.Rd5 Rf7 [R 9/s] 39.a7 [better is 39.Rh5 Kg7 40.Rh4 Ra8 41.Rh5 and White is superior] Ra8 40.Rda5 Kh7 [40...h3 41.g3!? (41.gh3 Kh7 42.R1a3 f3) fg3 42.fg3 Kh7 43.Kh2] 41.R1a3 [41.Kh2!? f3 (only move) 42.gf3 Rf3 43.Kg2 Rb3 44.R1a3 Rb2] h3! [41...Kg7? 42.Kh2 Kh7 43.Kh3] 42.gh3 [42.g3!? fg3 43.fg3] f3 43.Kh2 Rg7! 44.h4 Rg2 45.Kh3 Rg7! [45...Rf2 46.Rb3 Rg2 47.Rb8 Rg8 48.Ra8 Ra8 49.Kg3 and White is winning] 46.Ra6 Rf7 47.R3a5 [47.Kg4 Rg8 48.Kh3 (48.Kh5? Rf5 mate) Ra8] Rg7 48.h5 Rf7 49.Kg4 Rg8 50.Kh3 Ra8 51.Kg4 Rg8 52.Rg6 Ra8 53.Raa6 Raa7 54.Rh6 Kg8 55.Rag6 Rg7 56.Kf3 Rg6 57.Rg6 [57.hg6? Ra3 58.Kg2 Ra6 (58...Kg7 59.Rh3) 59.Rh3 Rg6 60.Rg3 Kf7 61.Rg6 Kg6 equal] Kf7 58.Rg4 Ra1 59.Kg3 Rh1 60.Rh4 Ra1 61.Rb4 Kg7 62.Rb6 Rg1 63.Kf4 Rh1 64.Kg5 Rg1 65.Kf5 Rh1 66.h6 Kh7 67.Ra6 Rf1 68.f4 Rb1 69.Re6 Ra1 70.Rf6 Re1 71.Kg4 Ra1 72.f5 Rg1 73.Kf4 Rf1 74.Ke5 Re1 75.Kd6 Rf1 76.Ke7 Rf2 77.Rf8 Re2 [77...Kh6! 78.f6 (78.Kf6 Kh7 79.Ra8 Rf1 equal) Ra2 equal] 78.Kf7 Ra2 79.Rd8 Ra7 80.Kf6 Ra1 81.Rd2 Rb1 82.Ra2 Rb3 83.Rh2 Rb1 84.Rh4 Rb8 85.Kg5 Rg8 86.Kf4 Ra8 87.Kg5 Rg8 88.Kf6 Ra8 89.Re4 Ra1 90.Re8 Ra2 91.Re1 Ra3 92.Rh1 Ra2 93.Kg5 Rg2 94.Kf4 Rf2 95.Ke4 Re2 96.Kf3 Ra2 97.Ke4 Re2 98.Kd4 Rd2 99.Ke3 Ra2 100.f6 Ra7 [100...Ra3 101.Kd4 Ra4 102.Kc5 Ra5 103.Kd6 Ra6 equal] 101.Rf1 Kg6 102.Ke4 Ra4 103.Kd5 Kf7? time [103...Ra5 104.Kc6 Ra7! (104...Ra6 105.Kb7 Rd6 106.Kc7 Rf6 107.h7) 105.Kd6 Ra6 equal] 104.Rh1 and White is winning Ra5 105.Kc4 Ra4 106.Kb5 Ra8 107.h7 Rh8 108.Rh6 Rb8 109.Kc6 Rc8 110.Kd6 1-0 [Kramnik]

6. V.TOPALOV 2780 – IVANCHUK 2751
Morelia/Linares 2008 — 102/(188) [B90]

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cd4 4.Nd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Be3 e5 7.Nb3 Be6 8.f3 Nbd7 9.g4 b5 10.g5 b4 11.Nd5 Nd5 12.ed5 Bf5 13.Bd3 Bd3 14.Qd3 Be7 15.h4 a5 [15...0-0 see 86/247]

16.a3! [a novelty; 16.Rg1; 16.a4; 16.Nd2] a4 17.Nd2 [17...ba3 18.Ra3 and White is slightly better, weak point a4]

7. V.ANAND 2799 – KRAMNIK 2799
Wijk aan Zee 2008 — 102/221 [C42]

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Ne5 d6 4.Nf3 Ne4 5.Nc3 Nc3 6.dc3 Be7 7.Bf4 0-0 8.Qd2 Nd7 9.0-0-0 Nc5 10.Be3 Re8 11.Bc4 Be6 12.Be6 Ne6 13.h4 Qd7 14.Qd5 Qc6 15.Qf5 Qc4 16.Kb1 g6 17.Qh3 h5 18.Nd2 Qe2 19.Rde1 Qg4 20.Qh2 d5 21.f3 Qa4 22.g4 Bd6 23.Qf2

23...hg4! [a novelty; 23...Ng7 see 101/(209)] 24.fg4 [24.h5 g3 and Black is slightly better] Qg4 25.Reg1 [25.h5 Bg3 26.Qg2 unclear; 25.Ref1 Re7 26.h5 (26.Rhg1 Qh5 unclear) Qg3 equal] Qh5 26.Nf3 Re7! 27.Bg5 [27.Ng5 Ng7; 27.Nd4 Nd4 28.cd4 Rae8 29.Rg5 Qh6 and Black is slightly better; 27.Bc1 Bc5 28.Nd4 Rae8 and Black is slightly better] Ree8 [27...Bc5!? 28.Nd4 (28.Qf1 Bg1 29.Be7 Re8 30.Bg5 Bc5 31.Ne5 Ng5 32.hg5 Qh1 33.Qh1 Re5 and Black is slightly better) Ree8 unclear] 28.Be3! [28.Rf1 Nc5 (28...f5) 29.Nd2 f5 and Black is slightly better; 28.Nd4 Nd4 29.Qd4 (29.cd4 Re2 and Black is superior) Re5 and Black is slightly better] Re7 29.Bg5 Rd7!? [29...Ree8 equal; 29...Bc5 unclear] 30.Nd4 Nd4 [30...Nc5!? 31.Qe3 (31.Nf5 Ne4 32.Qd4 Bf8 33.Ng3 Qf3) Bf8 unclear] 31.Qd4 [31.cd4 Re8 and Black is slightly better, with the idea 32.Re1 Re4 33.Rhf1 f5] Bf8 [31...c6 unclear] 32.Qe3 [32.Re1 Bg7 33.Bf6 c5 34.Qa4 Rd6 35.Bg7 Kg7 36.Rhf1 d4 37.Qb3 Rd7 38.cd4 cd4 unclear] c6 [32...Rd6 33.Rf1 (33.Qf4) c6 34.Rhg1 with initiative; 32...Bg7 33.Qh3 (33.Re1 unclear) Rd6 34.Bf4 (34.Re1 d4) Rf6 (34...Re6? 35.Rg5 Qe2 36.h5 and White is superior) 35.Bc7 Qf5 36.Qh2 Re8 (36...Qf2 equal) 37.h5 Qh5 38.Qh5 gh5 39.Rh5 Rg6 equal] 33.Qh3 Rd6 34.Bf4 [34.Re1!? (Aronian) d4 35.c4; 34...b5!? with the idea d4] Re6 [34...Rf6!? 35.Rg5 Qh7 (35...Qe2? 36.h5 Rf4 37.hg6 Bh6 38.a3 f6 39.Qh6 and White is winning) 36.Bc1 (36.Be5 Re6 37.h5 Rae8) Bh6 37.Re5 Bc1 38.Rc1 unclear] 35.Rg5 Qh8 36.h5 Rae8 37.Bd2 [37.Bc1? Re1 38.Re1 Re1 39.Qg3 Rc1 40.Kc1 Bh6 41.hg6 fg6 and Black is superior] Bc5 [with the idea Be3] 38.Rg3 Re2 39.Kc1! [39.hg6 Qh3 40.Rgh3 fg6 41.Rh8 Kg7 42.R1h7 Kf6 43.Re8 Re8 44.Rb7 g5 45.Rh7 Kg6 and Black is superior; 39.Bc1 Re1 and Black is slightly better; 39.Qf1 Rf2 40.Qc1 Qe5 41.Rgh3 Re6 and Black is slightly better] Qg7 [39...Rf2!? 40.hg6 (40.b4 Bb4 41.hg6 Ba3 42.Kd1 Qh3 43.Rgh3 Ree2 equal) Qh3 41.Rgh3 Ree2 equal] 40.a3!? [40.Rf3?! g5! 41.h6 Qg6; 40.Rf1 Rf2 41.Rf2 Bf2 42.Rf3 Bc5 unclear; 40.Qd7 R2e7 41.Qg4 Re4 equal] Bd6? [40...R8e6 41.hg6 fg6 42.Rg2 R2e4 43.Kb1 Be3; 40...a6 41.hg6 fg6; 40...a5 41.hg6 fg6 42.Qg4 R8e6 unclear] 41.Rgg1 [41.Rg4!] Bc5 [41...R2e6 42.Kb1; 41...Rd2 42.Kd2 Bf4 43.Kd1 g5 44.Qd7 Qf8 45.Qf5] 42.Rg3 Bd6 43.Rg4! [43.Rf3 gh5 and Black is slightly better; 43.Rgg1 equal] R8e6? [43...Rd2 44.Kd2 g5 45.Rf1 and White is superior; better is 43...R2e6 44.Kb1 Be5 45.Qd3; 45.Ka2 and White is slightly better] 44.hg6 Rg6 45.Rg6 fg6 46.Be3! [46.Qc8?! Bf8 47.Bh6 Qe7! 48.Kd1 (48.Bf8? Re1) Rf2 49.Re1 Qh7] Qe5 (only move) 47.Qh7 Kf8 48.Bd2! [48.Rf1 Ke8 49.Qg6 (49.Bd2 Be7 50.Qg6 Kd7 51.Qg8 a6 equal) Kd8 50.Qg8 Qe8 51.Qe8 Ke8 52.Ba7 and White is slightly better] Qf6 only move [48...Be7 49.Qg6 Bf6 50.Rf1 Ke7 51.Qh7 Bg7 52.Qh4 Ke8 53.Qg4 Rd2 54.Kd2 and White is winning] 49.Qb7 [49.Bh6 Ke8 50.Qb7 and White is superior] Rh2 50.Re1 [50.Qa8 Kg7 51.Qa7 Qf7 52.Qd4 Qf6 53.Rh2 Bh2 54.Bg5 and White is superior] Qf2! [50...Bg3 51.Qc8 Kg7 52.Qd7 Qf7 53.Bh6! Rh6 54.Re7 and White is winning; 50...Bf4 51.Bf4 Qf4 52.Kb1 Qf2 53.Rc1 Qb6 54.Qd7 and White is winning] 51.Kb1? [51.Qc8? Kg7 52.Qd7 Kg8 53.Qe6 Kg7 54.Qd7 Kg8 equal; 51.Rd1! Qf6 52.Qa8 (52.Qc6? Rd2 53.Qa8 Kf7 54.Qa7 Kg8 55.Kd2 Qg5 56.Ke2 Qg4 equal) Kg7 53.Qa7 Kg8 54.Qa6 and White is superior] Qd2 52.Rf1 Kg8! [52...Bf4 53.Qb8 Kg7 54.Rf4 Qe1! (54...Qc2 55.Ka2 Kh6 56.Qh8 Kg5 57.Qe5 Kh6 58.Rb4 g5 59.Rb8 and White is winning) 55.Ka2 Qe7! 56.Ra4 Rh8 and White is superior] 53.Qf7 Kh8 54.Qg6 [54.Qe8? Kg7 55.Rf7 Kh6 56.Qh8 Kg5 57.Qf6 Kh5! (57...Kh6 equal) 58.Rh7 Kg4 59.Qg6 Kf3 and Black is superior] Qg2 (only move) 55.Qe8 Qg8 56.Qc6 Bf8! [56...Rh6 57.Rd1 and White is slightly better; 56...Be5 57.Rf5 and White is slightly better] 57.Qa8 [57.a4 unclear] Bc5 58.Qg8 [58.Qc6 Bf8 59.Qa8 equal] Kg8 59.Rf5 Rd2 [59...Bb6 60.Rd5 Kf7 61.c4 Ke6 equal] 60.c4 Kg7 61.b4 Be7 equal ½-½ [Kramnik]

8. SUTOVSKY 2642 – M.PARLIGRAS 2574
Moscow 2008 — 102/136 [B45]

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cd4 4.Nd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 Nc6 6.Nc6 bc6 7.e5 Nd5 8.Ne4 Bb7 9.c4 Nb4 10.c5 Qb8 11.Bf4 Ba6 [11...f5!? 12.Nd6 (12.Qh5 g6 13.Nf6 Kf7 14.Qd1 Nd5 and Black is slightly better) Bd6 13.ed6 Ba6 14.Be5 0-0 15.Ba6 Na6 16.Qd4 Qb5 unclear] 12.Ba6 Na6 13.0-0! [13.Qd4 Qb4 14.Qb4 Nb4 15.Ke2 Nd5 equal] Nb4! [13...Nc5 14.Nc5 Bc5 15.Rc1 Be7 16.b3 with compensation Qc7 17.Rc3 0-0 18.Qh5 with attack; 13...Qb4 14.Re1 Nc5 15.Qc2! a) 15...Be7 16.Rad1 Rd8 17.Bd2! Qa4 18.b3 Qa3 19.Bc3 Ne4 (19...0-0 20.Nf6 and White is winning) 20.Re4 Qc5 21.Qd2! with the idea Bb4 and White is superior; b) 15...Ne4 16.Re4 Qb5 17.Rd1 with compensation Be7 18.Re3! Rd8 (18...Qb4 19.Rf3! Rd8 20.a3 Qb7 21.Rg3 g6 22.Bh6 and White is superior) 19.Rg3 g6 20.Rgd3 0-0 21.b3! (21.Rd7 Rd7 22.Rd7 Rd8! equal 23.Re7?? Qb2 and Black is winning) c5 22.Bh6 Rfe8 23.Qc3! and White is superior]

14.Nc3!! [a novelty; 14.Qg4!? Nd5 15.Bg3 h5! 16.Qg5 Qb2 unclear 17.Rab1 Qc2 18.Rfe1 Rh6! 19.Rb7 (19.Nd6 Bd6 20.ed6 Kf8 unclear) h4 20.Bh4! Rg6 21.Ra7 Rb8 22.Rb7 Ra8 23.Ra7 Rb8 equal; 14.Qh5 see 101/(111)] Bc5 15.Qg4 Kf8 [15...Bf8 16.Qg3 h5 17.h4 Nd5 18.Nd5 cd5 19.Rac1 with attack] 16.Ne4 h5 [16...Be7 17.Nf6!] 17.Qd1 Be7 18.Qd7 Nd5 19.Bg5! Qe5 20.Be7 Ne7 21.Rfe1 [21.Nd6 Qa5! 22.Rfd1 Qd8 equal] Qb8! 22.Rad1 h4 23.Ng5 Rh6 [23...Qe8! 24.Qb7 Qb8 25.Rd7 Qb7 26.Rb7 Rh5 27.f4 a6! 28.Kf2 Rd8 29.Re5 and White is slightly better] 24.Re3! Qe8 25.Rf3 Qd7 [25...Nf5 26.Rfd3! and White is superior] 26.Rd7 Ke8 27.Rb7 Rf6 [27...Rd8 28.Kf1 Rf6 29.Ra7 and White is superior] 28.Rd3 Rd8 [28...Rf5 29.Rdd7 and White is superior] 29.Rd8 Kd8 30.Ra7 (and White is superior) Rf5 31.Ne4 Rf4 [better is 31...Nc8 32.Rb7 Rd5 33.Kf1 Rd7 34.Rd7 Kd7 35.a4 and White is superior] 32.Ra8 time [32.f3!] Kc7 33.f3 h3 [33...Nd5!? 34.Kf2! Nf6 35.Ke3 Rf5 (35...e5 36.g3; 35...Nd5 36.Ke2) 36.Nf6 Rf6 37.Ra4 and White is superior] 34.Ra7 Kd8 35.Ra8 Kc7 36.Ra7 Kd8 37.a4 hg2 38.Kg2 Rf5 [better is 38...Nf5 39.Ng5 Nd6 40.b3 and White is superior] 39.Ra8 Kc7 40.Ra7 Kd8 41.b4 Rd5 42.Nc5 Rd2 43.Kg3! Ke8 [43...Nf5 44.Kh3 and White is winning] 44.a5 Nd5 [44...Nf5 45.Kh3 Rf2 46.a6 a) 46...Rf3 47.Kg4 Ra3 48.Rc7 (48.Rb7 Nd6 49.Rc7 Nb5 50.Rc6 and White is winning) Ne3 49.Kg5 Nd5 50.Rb7 and White is winning; b) 46...g5! 47.Ne4! (47.Ra8 Ke7 48.a7 Rf3 49.Kg4 Ra3 unclear) Rf3 48.Kg4! Rf4 49.Kg5 Re4 50.Rb7 Nh4! 51.h3!! (51.a7 Nf3 52.Kh6 Rh4 53.Kg7 Rg4 54.Kh8 Rh4 55.Kg7 equal) Kf8 52.Kf6! (52.a7?? Nf3 53.Kf6 Rf4 mate) Rf4 53.Ke5 Ng6 54.Kd6 Rd4 55.Kc7 Rd3 56.a7 Ra3 57.Rb8 Ke7 58.a8Q Ra8 59.Ra8 Ne5 60.h4 and White is winning] 45.Rb7 g5 46.Ne4 (and White is winning) Ra2 47.Ng5 Ra4 48.Nf7 Nb4 49.h4 Nd5 50.h5 Ra5 51.h6 Ne7 52.Nd6 Kd8 53.Nf7 time Ke8 54.h7 Ng6 55.Nd6 Kd8 56.Nf7 Ke8 57.Nd6 Kd8 58.Kg4 Rd5 59.Rg7 1-0 [Sutovsky]

9. LEKO 2753 – T.RADJABOV 2735
Morelia/Linares 2008 — 102/115 [B33]

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cd4 4.Nd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 e5 6.Ndb5 d6 7.Bg5 a6 8.Na3 b5 9.Nd5 Be7 10.Bf6 Bf6 11.c3 0-0 12.Nc2 Bg5 13.a4 ba4 14.Ra4 a5 15.Bc4 Rb8 16.b3 Kh8 17.Nce3 Be3 18.Ne3 Ne7 19.0-0 f5 20.ef5 Bf5 21.Ra2 Be4 22.Rd2 Rb6

23.Re1! [a novelty, and White is slightly better, with the idea Bf1, Nc4 weak point d6, Be4; 23.Be6] Qb8! [23...Qc7 24.Bf1! and White is slightly better, with the idea Nc4] 24.Qa1 Qc7! [24...d5 25.Nd5 Bd5 26.Bd5 Nd5 27.Rd5 Rb3 28.Ra5 Qb6 29.Ra2] 25.Red1 [25.Qa3!? Rd8 26.Red1 h6 and White is slightly better] h6 [25...Rd8? 26.Qa5! Ra8 27.Rd6! and White is winning; 25...d5!? 26.Nd5 (26.Qa3 Rbf6 27.Bd5 Nd5 28.Nd5 Bd5 29.Rd5 Rf2 equal) Bd5 27.Bd5 Nd5 28.Rd5 Rb3] 26.h3!? Bb7? [26...d5! 27.Nd5 Nd5 28.Bd5 Bd5 29.Rd5 Rb3 30.Qa5 Qa5 31.Ra5 Rc3 32.Re5 Rc2] 27.Qa3 Rd8 28.Be6! Qc3 [28...d5 29.Bd5 Rd5 30.Nd5 Nd5 31.Rd5 Bd5 32.Rd5 Qc3 33.Qf8 Kh7 34.Qf5 Rg6 35.g3! and White is winning; 28...Rc6 29.Nc4! (29.c4 Rc5 and White is slightly better) d5 30.Bd5 (30.Qa5? Rc4!) Rd5 31.Rd5 Nd5 32.Rd5 Rg6 33.Qf8 Kh7 34.Rd8 Rg2 35.Kf1 and White is winning] 29.Rd6 Rbd6 [29...Rdd6? 30.Rd6 Qb4 31.Qb4 Rb4 32.Rd8 Kh7 33.Re8 and White is winning] 30.Rd6 Qe1? [30...Qc7 31.Rd8 (31.Nc4 Rd6 32.Qd6 Qd6 33.Nd6 Bd5 34.Bd5 Nd5 35.Nf7 Kg8 36.Ne5 and White is superior) Qd8 32.Qc5 Ng6 33.Bf5 Nh4 34.Bc2 and White is superior] 31.Kh2 Re8 32.Rd7 and White is winning [32.Rd8? Rd8 33.Qe7 Qd2! and White is superior] Nc6 [32...Qf2 33.Re7 Qf4 34.Kh1 Re7 35.Qe7 Qe3 36.Qe8 Kh7 37.Bg8; 32...Ng6 33.Bf7 Qf2 34.Bg6 Qe3 35.Rb7 Qf4 36.Kg1 Qe3 37.Kh1] 33.Bf7 [33.Rb7 Nd4 34.Re7 and White is winning] Ra8 [33...Rb8 34.Rb7; 33...Qf2 34.Be8 Nd4 35.Rf7 Nf3 36.Rf3 Bf3 37.Qf8 and White is winning] 34.Rb7 [34.Bg6 Qf2 35.Rf7] Qf2 35.Bd5 Rc8 [35...Qf4 36.g3 (36.Kh1 Qe3 37.Bc6 Rd8 38.Rd7 Rd7 39.Bd7 and White is winning) Qe3 37.Bc6 e4 38.Qb2 and White is winning] 36.Rf7 Qe3 37.Bc6 1-0 [Leko]

10. B.GELFAND 2723 – SHIROV 2740
Russia 2008 — 102/352 [D85]

1.Nf3 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 d5 4.cd5 Nd5 5.Qa4 Bd7 6.Qb3 Nb6 7.d4 Be6? [7...Bg7 see 102/356] 8.Qc2 Bg7 9.e4 Bg4 [9...0-0 see 74/13] 10.Ne5! Be5 [10...Be6 11.Be3] 11.de5 Nc6 12.Bb5 [12.Bh6 Nb4 13.Qb1 Qd4 unclear] Bd7 [12...0-0 13.Bc6 bc6 14.Bh6 Re8 15.h3 Be6 16.Ne2 and White is superior]

13.Bc6! [a novelty; 13.e6; 13.Be3 Ne5 14.0-0-0 c6 15.Be2 Qc7 unclear] Bc6 14.Be3 Qd7 15.Rd1 Qe6 16.0-0 0-0 17.f4 Rad8? [17...f6 a) 18.f5 gf5 (18...Qe5 19.b4 and White is winning) 19.Rf5 (19.Bh6 fe4 20.Bf8 Rf8 with compensation) Nc4 (19...fe5 20.Rg5 Kh8 21.Re5) 20.Qb3 fe5 21.Rg5 Kh8 22.Re5 Qe5 23.Bd4 Qd4 24.Rd4 Ne3|; b) 18.ef6 ef6 19.f5 gf5 20.Rf5 and White is superior] 18.Bd4 f5 [18...Qc4 19.b3 (19.Qf2) Qb4 20.Ne2 and White is superior] 19.ef6 ef6 20.f5 gf5 21.Rf5 [21.Qf2?! Be4 22.Qg3 Kf7 equal] Be8 [21...Nc4 22.Qf2] 22.Qf2 [22.Nd5? Nd5 23.ed5 Rd5 24.Rd5 Qd5 25.Bc5 Qc6! equal; 22.Bc5! Rd1 23.Qd1 Bg6 (23...Rf7 24.Qg4 Rg7 25.Qf4 Nd7 26.Ba7 and White is winning) 24.Bf8 Bf5 25.Bh6 Bg6 (25...Be4 26.Qd8 Kf7 27.Qf8 Kg6 28.Qg7 Kh5 29.Be3) 26.Qd8 Be8 27.Qc7 and White is winning] Bg6 23.Rf4 Nd7 24.Rf1 Ne5 [better is 24...c6 25.Ba7] 25.Nd5 Nd3 26.Rf6 [26.Nf6? Qf6 and White is superior] Rf6 [26...Nf2 27.Re6] 27.Nf6 Kf7 28.Qe3 c5 29.Nh7 Ke8 30.Nf6 Ke7 31.Bc5 Nc5 32.Qc5 Qd6 33.Qg5 Qd4 34.Kh1 1-0 [B.Gelfand]

CHESSBASE: ITALIAN CHAMPIONSHIP

Fabiano Caruana wins the 2008 Italian Championship
16.12.2008 – The strongest under 16 player in the world has done it again. Fabiano Caruana has won the Italian Championship in Martina Franca for the second time in a row, half a point ahead of his perennial national rival, the 41-year-old GM Michele Godena, who drew his final round game against the young player and finished half a point behind him. Report by Dario Mione.

Fabiano Caruana's encore at the Italian Chess Championship

By Dario Mione

Fabiano Caruana, the strongest under 16 chess player in the world, won the 68th Italian Chess Championship, held in Martina Franca (Taranto, Southern Italy) from 3rd to 14th December. This is his second consecutive title.

This year Fabiano had to fight harder than in 2007 to gain the title: after a flying start with four wins and one draw, he lost in round six against FM Alessio Valsecchi, a promising 16-year-old player from Bergamo. The next day, in round seven, Fabiano ran into another unexpected loss, against IM Daniele Genocchio.

Let the hostilities commence...

At this stage, Fabiano reacted and played like a real champion, beating Luca Shytaj, rated 2472, with White, and then Denis Rombaldoni (2418) and Pierluigi Piscopo (2389), both with the black pieces. That put him back on top of the table, but his task was still not over. In the final round he had to face the 41-year-old GM Michele Godena, who was just half a point behind him.

The decisive final round battle between GMs Caruana and Godena

Godena tried to win the game and the title, using for the very first time in his career the Dragon Variation in the Sicilian Defence. It was a very hard fight, which ended in a draw by repetition. That meant that Fabiano Caruana had won the title. His final result was 8.0/11, with 7 wins, 2 losses and 2 draws; Godena was placed 2nd with 7.5 (4 wins, 7 draws and no losses). They were followed by IM Fabio Bruno with 7, IM Sabino Brunello and IM Pierluigi Piscopo with 6, IM Daniele Genocchio and IM Denis Rombaldoni with 5.5, FM Alessio Valsecchi and GM Carlos Garcia Palermo with 5, FM Daniel Dvirnyy and IM Luca Shitaj with 4 and IM Daniel Contin with 2.5.

Italian Champion for the second time in a row: Fabiano Caruana

Final standings

Now Caruana is a world-famous chess player. That is why he, a member of the Torre & Cavallo Chess School of Brescia, has been invited to take part in some of the most important upcoming chess tournaments: he will be in Pamplona, Spain, from 22nd to 29th December. Then from 16th January to 1st February he will play in the Corus B tournament in Wijk Aan Zee, the Netherlands, where early this year he won the Corus C tournament.

CHRISTMAS CUP 2008

CHESSBASE: UKRANIAN CHAMPIONSHIP

Miroshnichenko wins Ukrainian Championship 2008
14.12.2008 – Evgenij Miroshnichenko, the 2003 Champion, has done it again: he took the 77th Ukrainian title on tiebreak points, ahead of Yuri Drozdovskij. Twelfth was 12-year-old IM Illya Nyzhnyk, who produced a stunning 2600 performance. Anastasiya Karlovich interviewed "Miro", who, it turns out, is planning to break the world blindfold simul record, "even if it drives me mad." Report and interview.

Ukrainian Championship 2008

The 77th Chess Championship of Ukraine took place from December 2nd to 12th in the city of Poltava, located between Kharkiv and Kyiv in Ukraine. There were 26 participants, including 17 GMs. The top seed were Evgenij Miroshnichenko (2632), Yuriy Kryvoruchko (2627), Vladimir Baklan (2625), Yuriy Kuzubov (2622). Also taking part was the 12-year-old youngster Illya Nyzhnyk.

Top seed and new Ukrainian Champion GM Evgenij Miroshnichenko, 2627

Tied for first, lost on tiebreak points: GM Yuri Drozdowskiy, 2587

CHRISTMAS CUP: MATA

Junior vs Darryl MATA
Christmas Cup R3
MERALCP, Pasig City

1e4 c5 2 Nf3 Nc6 3 Bb5
This set-up is known as the ROSSOLIMO VARIATIONof the SICILIAN DEFENSE.

MODERN CHESS OPENINGS, "3 Bb5 is White's best theoretical alternative to the open variations. This logical developing move allows white to castle and retains options for various plans."

3 ... a6
Usual moves are 3 ... g6, 3 ... e6, 3 ... Nf6, and 3 ... Qb6.

4 BxN
This was played by former World Champions Kasparov vs Salov in Dortmund 1994 and Smyslov vs Polgar in Monaco 1994.

4 ... dxc6 5 Nc3 Qc7 6 O-O

6 ... e5 7 d3 Be7 8 b3 Bg4 9 Bb2 Bf6 10 h3 BxN 11 QxB Ne7 12 Ne2 O-O-O 13 Ng3 Rde8 14 Nf5 Qd7 15 NxN RxN 16 c4
THE GAME OF CHESS, "In the dispostion of pawns, which forms the skeleton of the position, we must as the game progresses, take care, as far as possible, that no pawn becomes backward, especially if it is in a file open to the opponent, for backward pawn in an open file constitues a grave positional weakness."

16 ... Qe6 17 Rad1 Rd7 18 Bc3 h6 19 Ba5 Re8 20 bb6 Qd6 21 a3 Bd8 22 Ba7???
THE COMPLETE CHESS PLAYER, "Beginners are all too fond of one-piece attacks. Merely to make a threatening gestures, or to advance in a sporadic or thoughtless sally, is not to attack."

CHRISTMAS CUP: SANTIAGO

Jonas SANTIAGO vs Junior SOL CRUZ
Christmas Cup, R2
MERALCO, Pasig City

1 d4 d5 2 Nc3 e6 3 a3 Nc6 4 g3 Nf6 5 Bg2 g6 6 Bg5 Bg7 7 Nf3 O-O
MASTERING THE CHESS OPENINGS, "One of the most important guidelines in chess is to protect your King from harm."

8 O-O a6 9 Qd2 Qd6 10 Bh6

d

10 ... e5?
BETTER CHESS, "When you don't know what to do, move a piece that you haven't move for a long time."

11 dxe5 Nxe5 12 NxN QxN 13 BxB KxB 14 Rad1 Be6?
THE IDEAS BEHIND THE CHESS OPENINGS, "Always try to maintain at least one pawn in the center."

15 b4 Rad8 16 e3 Ne4 17 NxN dxN 18 Qe2 Qf5

19 h4 Qg4 20 QxQ BxQ 21 RxR RxR 22 Bxe4
Junior lost a pawn.

22 ... Be2 23 re1 Rd1? 24 RxR BxR 25 Bxb7 Bxc2 26 Bxa6
Junior lost another pawn.

26 ... Kf6
THINK LIKE A GRANDMASTER, "Bring the King as quickly as possible to the center of the board."

27 f4 Ke6 28 Bb5 Kd5 29 Be8 f6 30 Kf2 Kc4 31 Ke2 Kb3 32 Kd2 Bf5 33 Bf7+ Kxa3 34 Kc3

34 ... Bd7???

CHESSCAFE: EXTRA PAWN on the SIDE

by MARK DVORETSKY, The Instructor

Extra Pawn on the Side The ending with material equality on one side, and an extra pawn on the other, is one of the most important, and also one of the most difficult segments of the general rook endgame. You will find a systematic exposition of the theory in my Endgame Manual. What I would like to bring to your attention here are two instructive examples of this theme, which will also be included in my forthcoming book, Endgame Tragicomedies. Kashtanov – Inarkiev St. Petersburg, 2004 W About a year before this game was played, some revolutionary changes occurred in the theory of rook endings with an extra pawn on the opposite wing. I acquainted my pupil, Ernesto Inarkiev, with these new discoveries, which his opponent in this game knew nothing about (the Russian-language version of the Endgame Manual would not be published until two years later). Inarkiev’s advantage in knowledge and understanding of this position proved effective: he won an objectively drawn ending. To be sure, the defense was not of the highest quality, even considering what we used to think about this ending. 42 Ra8? 42 Ke3 would have been much better. In such situations, the rook should keep an eye on the f7-pawn, and be ready to capture it as soon as the black king moves toward the opposite wing. But mainly, the text move allows Black to drive back the white king. 42…Kf5! 43 Ra7 Ra3+ 44 Kg2 Ke6 W? 45 Ra8? White will eventually have to advance his kingside pawns, and every tempo could prove decisive. This is why it makes sense to start active operations there as soon as possible. The standard plan in such positions would be 45 f3!, followed by 46 g4. 45…a5 46 Ra7! The obvious 46 Ra6+? Kd5 leads to a position from the game Akopian – Kir. Georgiev, Las Vegas Wch 1999, with colors reversed (Diagram 9-166 in the Endgame Manual). The complicated analysis given in the book shows that White’s counterplay comes too late, so his position is lost. 46…a4 47 Ra5? How many times can White make the same double blunder? Again, he takes his rook off the seventh rank, and postpones his kingside counterplay. After 47 f3!, it appears that the position would still have been drawn. 47…Ra2?! The advance of the black king, sacrificing the f7-pawn, is very dangerous for White, either with the rook on a3 and White’s king on g2 (as in the above-cited endgame Akopian – Georgiev), or with the rook on a2 and the pawn on a3. Ernesto decided to play the second of these lines. Objectively speaking, 47…Kd6! was stronger, and should have won. 48 Kf3 a3 W? 49 Ra7? The concluding error, although a most excusable one. According to prior theory, the text move assures White an easy draw. Only recently was it discovered that White’s only chance to save himself is 49 g4!!. You may find out all the rest in the detailed analysis of the Kantorovich/Steckner position from my Endgame Manual (Diagram 9-144). 49…Kd5! 50 Ke3 The main line is 50 Rxf7 Rc2 51 Ra7 a2 52 Kf4 B? The Swiss player Johannes Steckner discovered that after 52…Kc5!!, Black wins by a single tempo. For example, 53 Kg5 Kb6! 54 Ra3 Rc5+ 55 Kxg6 Ra5 56 Rxa2 Rxa2 57 Kxh5 Kc6!-+. 50…Kc4 51 Rxf7 Rc2 52 Rc7+ Kb3 53 Rb7+ Kc3 54 Ra7 a2 55 f3 Kb3 56 Rb7+ Ka3 57 Ra7+ Kb2 58 Rb7+ Kc1 59 Ra7 Kb1 0-1 Sometimes, the stronger side is able to place his rook on the same rank as his passed pawn, in order to defend both it and his pawns on the other wing. Such a setup is exceptionally dangerous for the defender, since the king is then free to jump over and support its passed pawn. Let’s examine an instructive endgame, badly played by Adrian Mikhalchishin, and poorly annotated by him in his book, Modern Endgame Practice. Some considerably deeper and more accurate notes were given by Boris Gelfand (first in Informant #80, and later in his book, My Most Memorable Games) – I shall rely on these. Gelfand – Mikhalchishin Istanbul Ol 2000 B White’s rook cannot guarantee the protection of his kingside pawns, so one might suppose that the position is drawn. The guiding principle in defending such situations is generate counterplay on the kingside after White’s king has gone to the queenside. Well, such general advice is easily given. It is much harder to choose the only correct concrete way to do it. Let’s examine the different possibilities. A) 54…Kh7?! The passive defence I rejected – White will sacrifice the g4 pawn to control the a-pawn with his king. It is too late for Black’s counterplay …g7-g6 (Mikhalchishin). This note makes no sense: he does not explain under exactly what circumstances White would be justified in sacrificing the g4-pawn for nothing (when in fact, it should not be given up at all). Since Mikhalchishin’s “analysis” stops here, while Gelfand did not examine moving his king to h7, I had to study it for myself. The results were pretty interesting. 55 Ke3? Rxg4 56 a6 (56 Kd3 Ra4 57 Kc3 g6 =) 56…Ra4 57 Rb6 Ra5 =, or 55 g5? hg 56 Rxg5 Kh6 57 Kc5 g6 are useless. It is more logical for White to play for zugzwang: 55 Rc5!. Now 55…g6 leads to a position that we will examine later on (cf. 54…g6?!). Here we shall test a continuation of Black’s waiting tactics by 55…Kg8, and the move 55…g5. A1) 55…g5 56 Rc7+ Kg8 57 Ra7 B Black cannot just jog in place: White would continue 58 a6, and send his king after the a-pawn. 57…Rf4+ 58 Kg3 Re4 might look tempting, with the idea 59 a6? Re6! 60 Kf3 Kh8, when Black has a guaranteed draw, because his rook simultaneously locks White’s king up on the kingside, while tying White’s rook to the pawn’s defense. However, White has the winning 59 Ra6!, allowing the rook to get off the a-file and move the pawn up to a6. For example, 59…Kh7 60 Rb6 Ra4 61 a6 Kg7 62 Rb7+ Kf6 63 Rh7 Ra3+ 64 Kf2 Ke5 65 Rxh6+-. We must also check 57…Kf8 58 a6 Ke8 59 Ke3 (59 Ra8+ Kf7 60 Ke3 Kg7 = would be premature – with his next move, Black intends to snap off the g4-pawn) 59…Kd8 60 Ra8+! Kc7 (60…Ke7 61 a7 Kf7 62 Rh8+-). W? After Black’s king moves to the queenside, White should plan on securing the g4-pawn with his king. 61 Kf3! wins; for example, 61…Rf4+ 62 Kg3 Rf6 63 a7 Kb7 64 Rg8 Kxa7 65 Rg6+-. An instructive draw occurs after the mistaken 61 Kd3? Rxg4 62 Rh8 Kb6 63 Rxh6+ Ka7. W After 64 Rg6 Rh4 65 h6 (65 Rxg5 Kxa6 =) 65…Ka8, the white king, permanently cut off on the fourth rank, cannot get close to its pawns; and without its help, they can never queen. But if White leaves the rook at h6, then a position of mutual zugzwang inevitably arises, with the rook on h4 and the king on g3, and White cannot obtain this position with Black to move. For example, 64 Ke3 Rh4 65 Kf3 Rf4+ 66 Kg2 Rg4+! (but not 66…Rh4? 67 Kg3+- zugzwang) 67 Kh3 Rf4 68 Kg3 Rh4 = zugzwang. A2) 55…Kg8 W? Once again, the pawn sacrifice does not work: 56 Ke3? Rxg4 57 a6 Ra4 58 Rc6 Kf7 59 Kd3 Ke7 60 Kc3 Kd7 61 Rg6 Kc8 62 Kb3 Ra5, and draws. Therefore, White continues 56 Rc8+!. After 56…Kh7 57 Ra8, the attempt to attack the a-pawn from the flank by 57…Rc4 58 a6 Rc6 (generally speaking, this is a typical method of defense against a rook pawn) fails to achieve its aim, in view of the rook’s inability to operate freely on the f-file (without the important square f5); and on the e-file, it is too close to the pawn. W Here’s a sample variation: 59 Ke4 Rb6 60 Kd5 Rf6 61 Kc5 (threatening 62 Kb5) 61…Re6 62 Kb5 Re5+ 63 Kc6 Re6+ 64 Kc7+-. And if 56…Kf7, then 57 Ra8? Kf6 58 Ra6+ Kf7 = no longer works. White plays 57 Rc7+! Kf6 (57…Kg8 58 Ra7) 58 Rc6+ instead, with 59 a6 to follow, reaching the same winning position as in the game. We shall analyze that later on. B) At first, Gelfand thought that Black could draw by playing 54…g6?!; but while preparing his book for publication, he found the winning method for White. W? 55 hg? Kg7 56 Kg3 Kxg6 57 Kh4 Ra1 58 Rb6+ Kg7 59 Ra6 Rh1+ 60 Kg3 h5 = is not a problem. After 55 Ke3?! gh (but not 55…Rxg4? 56 Rb8+ Kg7 57 Rb7+ Kf6 58 Rb6+ Ke5 59 Rxg6+-) 56 gh Kf7 57 Kd3 Ke6 58 Kc3 (58 Rb6+ Kf5) 58…Kd6 59 Kb3 Ra1, the a-pawn is no longer a threat: White will have to trade it for the pawn at h6. The game might continue as follows: 60 Kb4 (60 Rb6+ Kc5 61 Ra6 Kb5 62 Rxh6 Rxa5 63 Rh8 Kb6 64 h6 Kb7 65 Kc4 Ra6 = changes nothing) 60…Rb1+ 61 Kc4 Rc1+ (but not 61…Ra1? 62 Rb6+ Kc7 63 Kb5+-) 62 Kd4 Ra1 63 Rb6+ Kc7 64 Rxh6 Rxa5 65 Rh8 Kb7 66 h6 Ra6 =. W On the board, we have the so-called “Vancura Position,” which every chessplayer will find useful to include in his briefcase of endgame knowledge. The rook attacks the pawn from the side, keeping the opposing rook tied to the h-file, and checking the king away from the pawn when it goes to the kingside. 55 Rb8+! Kg7 56 Rb7+ is considerably stronger. The king cannot move forward and remain cut off on the eighth rank. Let us examine 56…Kg8 57 Ra7 gh 58 gh Kf8 59 a6 Ke8. W? As in the similar situation from the 54…Kg8 variation (where the pawns at g4 and g5 were still on the board), the major subtlety of the position is that White must give check with the rook at a8 at exactly the right moment – not to early, nor too late. B1) The immediate 60 Ra8+? leads to a draw: 60…Kf7 61 Ke3 Kg7! (just not 61…Kf6? 62 Rg8!+-) 62 Kd3 Ra5 63 Kc4 Rxh5 64 Kb4 (64 Rc8 Ra5 65 Rc6 h5 66 Kb4 Ra1 67 Kb5 h4 =) 64…Rh1 65 Rc8 Ra1 66 Kb5 B? 66…Rb1+! A standard technique: to avoid interference, the king is checked into a less favorable position. 66…h5? loses to 67 Rc5! Kg6 68 Kb6. 67 Kc6 Ra1 68 Kb7 Rb1+ 69 Ka8 Kg6 = B2) 60 Ke3 Kd8 Waiting tactics do not make much sense here: 60…Kf8 61 Kd3 Ke8, and White does not play 62 Kc3 Kd8 63 Kb3 Ra1 64 Kc4 Kc8 65 Ra8+ Kc7 66 a7 Kb7 =, but 62 Ra8+!. Wherever the king goes, White wins easily: 62…Kf7 63 Kc3 Kg7 64 Kb3 Ra1 65 Kb4+-, or 62…Kd7 63 a7 Kc7 64 Rh8 Rxa7 65 Rh7+ Kb6 66 Rxa7 Kxa7 67 Ke4+-. W? The rook check must be given now, since 61 Kd3? Kc8 62 Kc3 Ra5 leads only to a draw. As in the analogous situation from the 54…Kh7 variation, after the black king arrives on the queen’s wing, White changes his plan, and sends his own king after the pawns on the opposite side. 61 Ra8+! Kc7 (61…Ke7 62 a7 Kf7 63 Rh8) 62 Kf3! Ra5 (62…Rh4 63 Rh8 Kb6 64 Rxh6+; 62…Kb6 63 Rh8 Kxa6 64 Ra8+) 63 Kg4 Rg5+ 64 Kh4 Ra5 65 a7 Kb7 66 Rh8 Ra4+ 67 Kg3 Kxa7 68 Rxh6 Ra5 (68…Kb7 69 Rg6+-) W If the black rook were on c5, we would have the drawn Vancura position. We would inevitably arrive at the same situation, if the white king stood a little farther away from the pawn. But here, it stands ready to support the pawn, and it cannot be driven away by checks, since the black king interferes with its own rook. Here’s a sample line: 69 Rh7+ Ka8 70 Kg4 (70 h6?? Ra6! 71 Kg4 Rc6 =) 70…Ra4+ 71 Kg5 Ra5+ 72 Kg6 Ra6+ 73 Kf7 Ra7+ 74 Kg8 Ra5 75 h6 Ra6 76 Rh8! Ra7 (White threatened 77 Kg7, discovered check) 77 Kf8+-, as 78 Rg8 is coming next. For a full picture, recall that at the very beginning of this variation, the black king could have immediately gone over to the queenside: 56…Kf8 (instead of 56…Kg8) 57 Ra7 gh 58 gh Ke8 59 a6 Kd8. But this would have changed little: 60 Ra8+ Kc7 61 a7 (61 Kg3? would be a mistake: 61…Ra5 62 a7 Kb7 63 Rh8 Kxa7 64 Rxh6 Rc5 – this is the Vancura position) 61…Kb7 62 Rh8 Kxa7 63 Rxh6 B We already know what happens after 63…Ra5 64 Rh7+ and 65 Kg4. And 63…Kb7 should be answered, not by 64 Rg6? Rh4 65 h6 Kc7 66 Kg3 Rh1 =, nor by 64 Rh8? Rc4! =, intending 65…Rc5, but by 64 Rh7+! Kc6 (64…Kb8 65 Kg3 Ra5 66 Kg4+-) 65 h6 Rh4 (Black can no longer attack the pawn from the side; and the rook behind the pawn is known to be lost for Black) 66 Rh8+-. C) Mikhalchishin rightly considers 54…g5! to be the correct move here. He examined the variation 55 Rb6 (55 Rb8+ Kf7 56 Ra8 Kf6 57 a6 Kg7 =, or 56 Rb7+ Kf6 57 Rb6+ Ke5 58 a6 Ra3+ 59 Ke2 Kf4 60 Rxh6 Kxg4 61 Kd2 Kh4 = Gelfand) 55…Rxa5 56 Rxh6 Kf7 57 Rd6. B It seemed to me that after a subsequent march of the king and the move Rd6-d5, the endgame could not be held, but I did not notice that Black keeps the rook on e5 and makes a draw – this also shows poor knowledge of a theoretical position (Mikhalchishin). Well, let’s just say that “poor knowledge of theoretical positions” does not mean much here, since the position is not a theoretical one. What we should be talking about here is a theoretical technique – cutting off the king. In fact, 57…Re5! gives Black an uncomplicated draw: 58 Rg6 Ke7 59 h6 Kf7 60 h7 (60 Rg7+ Kf6) 60…Re8 61 Rxg5 Rh8 62 Rh5 Kg7 63 Kf4 Rf8+, and White cannot make progress. On the other hand, it is not clear how he was going to win after 57…Ke7 58 Rd4 Kf6 (59 Ke4 is met by 59…Re5+), either. As you may see, the only correct path turned out not to be so complex, after all. Now, the refutation of the alternative possibilities required a great deal of hard analysis – but that way, you do not have to do it during play! D) Black’s mistaken choice of 54…Kf7? in the actual game (which Mikhalchishin awarded a “!?”) would only have justified itself if White had played 55 g5? hg 56 Rxg5 Kf6 57 Rb5 g6! (or 57…g5! – as long as Black does not play 57…Ke6 58 Ke3 Kd6? 59 Kd3 Kc6 60 Rg5 and 61 Rg6+, when White wins) 58 h6 (58 Rb6+ Kg5 =) 58…Rh4 59 a6 Rxh6 60 Ra5 (60 a7 Rh3+) 60…Rh8 61 a7 Ra8 =. 55 Rb7+! Kf6 (55…Kg8 56 Ra7 is no fun for Black either) 56 Rb6+ Ke5 57 a6 B This is the ideal layout of White’s forces that we spoke of when we introduced this example. The rook defends the passed pawn from the side, while simultaneously protecting, from g6, his own kingside. Such situations are won, as a rule: marching the king over to the passed pawn is decisive. And if Black’s king comes and stands in the way, then the king’s wing will be left undefended. 57…Ra3+ 58 Ke2 Kd4 59 Rd6+ Ke4 60 Kd2 Ke5 61 Rg6 Ke5 62 Kc2 On 62 Rxg7? Rxa6 63 Rg6, Mikhalchishin gives 63…Ra4 =, although of course 63…Rxg6 64 hg Ke6 = would do equally well. B 62…Kc4? 62…Ra4? 63 g5 hg 64 Rxg5+ Kc6 65 Rxg7 loses at once (Mikhalchishin), but the text move was no better. There followed 63 Kb2 Ra5 64 Rxg7 Rxa6 65 Rg6 Ra4 66 Rxh6 Kd5 67 Rg6 and Black resigned. He could have held out far longer after 62…Kc5!. The grandmaster believes Black could have saved the game. He gives the line 63 Rxg7 Rxa6 64 Rg6 Rd6! 65 Kc3 (65 g5 Rd5! =) 65…Rd4! (all exclamation marks are Mikhalchishin’s). But, in fact, as the following analysis will make clear, the final position of his variation is lost. However, Black can in fact save himself by 64…Ra4! (instead of 64…Rd6?) 65 Kd3 Kd5 66 Ke3 Ke5 67 Kf3 Ra3+ (67…Rf4+ 68 Kg3 Rf6 = is not bad, either) 68 Kg2 Kf4 =. And yet, as Gelfand demonstrated, 62…Kc5 would not have saved Black. Before capturing on g7, White would need to improve his king’s position, and take away the a4-square from Black’s rook. This can be done by 63 Kb2! Ra4 64 Kb3 Ra1, and only now playing 65 Rxg7 Rxa6 66 Rg6 Rd6! (here indeed, Black has nothing better). W 67 Kc3 (of course not 67 Rxd6? Kxd6 68 g5 Ke6 69 g6 Kf6 =) 67...Rd4! (67…Kd5 68 g5!+-) 68 g5! (Mikhalchishin only looks at 68 Rc6+? Kxc6 69 Kxd4 Kd6 =) 68…Rd5 69 Ra6! Kb5 (69…Rxg5 70 Ra5+ Kd6 71 Rxg5+-) 70 Rxh6 Rxg5 W? 71 Kd4! (71 Rh8? Kc6 72 h6 Kb7! lets slip the win) 71…Ka5 72 Ke4! Getting the king closer to the pawn is important. The hasty 72 Rh8? would be a mistake: 72…Kb6 73 h6 Kb7 (threatening 74…Rg6, with the “Vancura Position”) 74 Rf8 Rh5 75 Rf6, and Black’s king gets back to the kingside in time: 75…Kc7 76 Ke4 (76 Ra6 Kb7!) 76…Kd7 77 Kf4 Ke7 =. 72…Rb5 73 Rh8! Rb4+ (73…Ka6 74 h6 Rb4+ 75 Kd5 Rb5+ 76 Kc4 Rh5 77 Kd4+-) 74 Kd5 Rb5+ 75 Kc6 Rb6+ 76 Kc7+-. I will add one tiny note to Gelfand’s analysis: instead of 71…Ka5, let’s try 71…Rf5 72 Ke4 Rc5 73 Rh8 (otherwise, Black starts checking from the side) 73…Kb6 74 h6 Kb7. W? In order to prevent Vancura Position (with 75…Rc7), White wants to play 75 Rg8 (or 75 Rf8), but after 75…Rh5 76 Rg6? (76 Rh8!) 76…Kc7 77 Kf4 Kd7 78 Kg4 Rh1, Black’s king gets back just in time to the kingside. The clever check 75 Rh7+! attains our goal. On 75…Kc6, White can reply either with 76 Kf4 (the rook cannot use the c6-square now), or with 76 Ra7 Rh5 77 h7 Kd6 78 Ra6+! Ke7 79 Ra8!. And after 75…Kb6 76 Rg7! Rh5 77 h7 Kc6 78 Kf4 Kd6 79 Kg4 Rh1 80 Kf5, White’s king will win the king race.

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