LAYLO IS CHAMP AGAIN

[Bobby Ang]

Twenty-six year old IM Darwin Laylo got himself a seat in the Philippine team to the 2006 Turin Olympiad (to start on the 20th of this month) by topping the 2006 National Chess Open Championship held in the Marketplace Shopping Mall in Mandaluyong City with a score of 10.5/13.

The attentive BW reader might recall that Darwin first became national champion two years ago which in turn qualified him for his maiden appearance as a member of our national squad to the 2004 Calvia de Mallorca Olympiad.

This year three Olympiad slots were up for grabs in this national championship. FM Oliver Dimakiling defeated IM Richard Bitoon in the last round to finish solo second with 10.0/13. There was a multiple tie for the 3rd and last seat between FM Wesley So (the 12-year old sensation), IM Petronio Roca, and National Masters John Paul Gomez, Roderick Nava, Rolando Nolte, and veteran Mirabeau Maga. A double round-robin elimination event was held after the Holy Week in Tagaytay and So, by scoring 2 wins and 3 draws, made chess history by becoming the youngest ever player to represent our country in a chess Olympiad.

The three qualifiers IM Darwin Laylo, FM Oliver Dimakiling and FM Wesley So will join the seeded GMs Mark Paragua, Eugene Torre and Joey Antonio in Turin for the Olympiad.

Today we will introduce Darwin Laylo to our readers. Oliver and Wesley will be discussed on Friday.

Darwin was born to a poor family in San Roque, Marikina. His father was a tricycle driver and there was not much to do at home until one day his uncle brought a chess set and taught him the moves. It soon became apparent that Darwin and the game were a magical match, and pretty soon he was defeating everyone in sight.

I first heard about him in 1993. GM Joey Antonio had just gotten his International Grandmaster title and was invited to play in a giant Quezon City Open. He won it all right but had to endure an upset loss to a 13-year old in an exciting game.

Laylo,Darwin - Antonio,Rogelio Jr [E39]
Quezon City op, 1993
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Qc2 c5 5.dxc5 0–0 6.Nf3 Na6 7.a3 Bxc3+ 8.Qxc3 Nxc5 9.Bg5 Nce4 10.Bxf6 Nxf6 11.e3 b6 12.Be2 Bb7 13.0–0 Rc8 14.Rfd1 Qc7 15.Rac1 Rfd8 16.Nd4 Qb8 17.b4 d5 18.Qb3 dxc4 19.Bxc4 Ng4!
White wants to sacrifice a piece on e6, but Joey counters against h2.
20.g3 Ne5
A trap. 20...Qe5 might be even stronger but GM Joey was playing a kid who must might be enticed to sacrifice unsoundly with 21.Nxe6? when 21...Rxd1! wins the bishop on c4.
21.Be2 Qa8 22.Rxc8 Rxc8 23.Nxe6! Bh1?
Naturally Black cannot play 23...fxe6 24.Qxe6+ Nf7 25.Rd7 Rf8 26.Bc4, but the correct response would have been 23...Nf3+! 24.Bxf3 Bxf3 and both white's rook on d1 and knight on e6 are hanging.
24.Nf4 Be4 25.Qb2 f6 26.Qb3+ Kh8 27.Qe6 Re8 28.Qd6 Qc8 29.h4 Ba8 30.h5 h6 31.Kh2 Qb7 32.Nd5 Rc8 33.Qe7 Qc6 34.b5 Qc2 35.Nxf6! gxf6 36.Qxf6+ Kg8 37.Qxe5 Qe4 38.Qxe4 Bxe4 39.Rd4 Bf5 40.g4 1–0

Darwin finished 10th in the tournament and defeated several of our top players in the process - aside from GM Joey there was also Bong Villamayor and Luis Chiong – not bad for an unknown 13-year old.

Shortly after this brilliant performance he was recruited by NM Bong Cunanan into the San Sebastian chess team. This was one of the best moves that Bong ever made, for Laylo teamed up with Ronald Dableo to establish the San Sebastian dynasty in NCAA chess.

In 1999 Darwin won the National Junior (Under-20) Championship with a terrific score of 10.5/11, including a win over a soon-to-be-famous player:

Paragua,Mark - Laylo,Darwin [A08]
PHI-ChJr Greenhills (7), 22.05.1999

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d3 Nc6 4.g3 d5 5.Nbd2 Nge7 6.Bg2 g6 7.0–0 Bg7 8.Re1 Qc7 9.exd5 exd5 10.d4 cxd4 11.Nb3 Bg4 12.Bf4 Qd7 13.Nc5 Qc8 14.Bd6 Bf6 15.Qd2 0–0 16.Qf4 Qf5 17.Nxb7 g5?! 18.Qxf5 Bxf5 19.Ne5 Bxc2 20.Nd7 Kg7 21.Nxf6?
Too much subtlety - he should have simply taken the rook with 21.Nxf8.
21...Kxf6 22.Na5 Rfd8 23.Bc5 d3
Now the tables have turned.
24.Nb3 Nf5 25.Nd2 Nfd4 26.Bf1 Re8 27.f3 Re6 28.Kf2 Rae8 29.Rxe6+ fxe6 30.b4 e5 31.Bh3 Ba4 32.Rc1 Ne2 33.Re1 Ncd4 34.Bxd4 Nxd4 35.Bf1 Bb5 36.a4 Bc4 37.b5 g4 38.Rb1 gxf3 39.Nxf3 Nxf3 40.Kxf3 e4+ 41.Ke3 Ke5 0–1

Next stop was the Asian Junior Championships to be held a few months later in Vung Tau, Vietnam. Bong Cunanan took Darwin to the Philippine Chess Society and asked for help in his training. He did not want the business-as-usual “training” prevalent in these times where you get some money from the Sports Commission for training in Baguio, and then spend your time there eating strawberries and flirting with girls.

The Chess Society through Sportsman Jerry Acuzar, Horace Templo and Rey Sarmiento managed to come up with the funding for serious training. I worked with Darwin for several days on his opening preparation and then arranged for a series of mini-matches with players of different styles using the time controls which will be in force in Vung Tau. The results were heartening as you can almost feel his confidence growing and strength increasing with every day. He even managed to beat GM Joey again:

Laylo,Darwin - Antonio,Rogelio Jr [A60]
Training Match Timog (2.2), 02.09.1999
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.g3 0–0 5.Bg2 d6 6.e4 c5 7.d5 e6 8.Nge2 exd5 9.cxd5 Re8 10.a4 Na6 11.0–0 Nb4 12.h3 a6 13.f4 Nd7 14.g4 c4 15.Be3 Qa5 16.g5 Nc5 17.Bd4 Nbd3 18.Bxg7 Kxg7 19.f5 Nb3 20.Ng3 Ne5?
A mistake. 20...Qb6+ followed by 21...Nxa1 wins material.
21.Nh5+! gxh5 22.Qxh5 Nxa1?
[22...Rg8! holds]
23.Qh6+ Kh8 24.g6
Black will be mated. 1–0

When the time came for the Junior tournament Darwin was in fighting shape – he started off in the first round by upsetting the heavy favorite to win, China’s Liang Chong. This is no mean feat – Liang had represented China in the 1999 World Championship and had even won their zonal championship.

Liang Chong (2415) - Laylo,Darwin [D85]
ASIA-ChJr Vung Tao (1), 12.09.1999
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 d5 4.cxd5 Nxd5 5.e4 Nxc3 6.bxc3 Bg7 7.Bb5+ Bd7 8.Bxd7+ Nxd7 9.Ne2 0–0 10.0–0 c5 11.Rb1 Qc7 12.Qb3 Rab8 13.Bf4 e5 14.Bg3 Qc6 15.d5 Qd6 16.c4 a6 17.a4 f5 18.exf5 gxf5 19.f3 b6 20.Qd3 Rbe8 21.Nc3 Qh6 22.Rbe1 e4 23.fxe4 f4 24.Bf2 Ne5 25.Qd1 Rf6 26.Kh1 Rg6 27.Bg1 Qg5 28.Qc2 Ng4 29.Rf3 Bd4
The threat is ...Qh4, threatening the rook on e1 as well as ...Bxg1
30.Re2 Ne5 31.Ref2
[31.Rf1 f3 32.Rd2 Nxc4 33.Bxd4 Nxd2 is hopeless for White]
31...Nxf3 32.Rxf3 Qe5 0–1

Liang Chong was not able to recover from this loss. All throughout the tournament it was Darwin, Malaysia’s Hafizulhelmi Mas and India’s Krishnan Sasikiran (now a super GM) who fought for the lead. Even Iran’s highly-touted Ehsan Ghaem Maghami (now also a super GM) could not catch up with the scorching pace and was a non-factor.

Although Laylo lost to both his co-leaders he defeated everybody else and his do-or-die stance greatly impressed the public. At the end he became Vice Junior Champion of Asia by finishing solo second to Sasikiran.

When he came home to the Philippines Darwin had arrived, both literally and figuratively – he was already considered among the top players in the country. And that is where we have to cut this story of his early years up to the time he became an international campaigner.

A few years ago during a training session I noted to Darwin that his Black openings were not impressive, and suggested a switch to more open positions with the Scandinavian. I then handed him my “secret weapon”, a CD containing secret analyses prepared over several years on the Scandinavian including a complete repertoire against White’s possible replies. This also included every known/existing game on the Scandinavian in chess history with all games catalogued per variation. Darwin took this up quite seriously and is now probably the country’s greatest expert on the Scandinavian.

And this is where I will end the Darwin Laylo story, with his latest Scandinavian conquest in the tournament just concluded.

Milagrosa,Alex (2223) - Laylo,Darwin (2406) [B01]
2006 National Chess Open Ch Mens (4.1),
1.e4 d5 2.exd5 Nf6 3.c4 e6 4.dxe6 Bxe6 5.d4
It looks like White is doing fine, with an extra pawn and a strong center. In reality he has to be very careful in order to survive into the middlegame.
5...Bb4+ 6.Nc3 Ne4
Now Milagring realized the gravity of his situation and thought for a long time here. At the end he just decides to give up a pawn without, however, improving his prospects.
7.a3
[7.Qd3 Bf5! 8.Qf3 a) 8.Bd2? 0–0 9.Nxe4 (9.0–0–0 is refuted by 9...Nxc3 10.Qxf5 Nxd1 11.Bxb4 Qxd4) 9...Bxe4 10.Qe3 Re8 wins the queen; b) 8.a3 Bxc3+ 9.bxc3 0–0 10.Qf3 Re8 11.Be2 Qd7 12.Bb2 Nc6 13.g4 Bg6 14.0–0–0 Na5 15.Rd3 Nxc4 16.Re3 Ned2 17.Qxb7 Reb8 18.Qg2 Qb5 19.Ba1 Qb1# 0–1 Bilalic,M-Vescovi,G (2490)/ WJuCh, Medellin COL 1996; 8...Qxd4!]
7...Nxc3 8.Qd3 Qe7
Only on the 7th move, and White is already critical.
9.Be3 Ne4+ 10.axb4 Qxb4+ 11.Kd1
[11.Bd2 Qxb2 12.Rd1 Nxd2 13.Rxd2 Qa1+ 14.Rd1 Qa5+ 15.Rd2 0–0 16.Be2 Bf5! 17.Qb3 Nc6 18.Nf3 Be4 19.0–0 Bxf3 20.Ra2 Nxd4 0–1 Paaske,A (2038)-Simonsen,O (2183)/ Copenhagen 2000]
11...Qxb2 12.Qa3 Qxa3?
Black overlooks 12...Nxf2+
] 13.Rxa3 c6 14.Nf3 Nd7 15.Kc2 0–0 16.Bd3 Nd6 17.Nd2 Rfc8 18.Bf4 Nf5 19.Nf3 Nf6 20.h3 Rd8 21.Kc3 b5! 22.Bg5 bxc4 23.Bxf6³ gxf6 24.Bxf5 Bxf5 25.Ra5 Rd5 26.Rha1 Re8 27.Rxa7 Kg7 28.Re1 Rxe1
White has to be careful here otherwise he will be mated.
29.Nxe1 Rb5 30.Ra1 Be6 31.Ra3 Rb1 32.Kd2 Rb2+ 33.Nc2 Bf5 34.Rc3 Bd3 35.Kc1 Rb8 36.Na3 Rb4 37.Nc2 Ra4 38.Ne1 Ra1+ 39.Kd2 Ra2+ 40.Nc2 f5 41.Kc1 f4 42.Kb1?
The pressure was too much - White crumbles.
42...Rxc2 43.Rxc2 Kf6 44.Kb2 Bxc2 45.Kxc2 Ke6 0–1

Reader comments/suggestions are urgently solicited. Email address is bobby@cpamd.net

"This article first appeared in Bobby Ang's column in Businessworld (Philippines) on 01 May 2006"

MERALCO vs TRANSCO

MERALCO, Pasig City
W: EDIZER AQUINO, TRANSCO
B: RICKY TAN, MERALCO
[0-1]



The opening used is the FRENCH DEFENSE. It was named for the players of pris led by La Bourdonnnais who adopted the move 1... e6 in 1834.

Lasker in Manual of Chess
A very logical move, developing, and at the same time preparatory to 2... d5 which engages the White K pawn and forces White to a far-reaching decision.

Kasparov and Keene in Batsford Chess Openings
It is a defense in the truest sense of the word, appealing to players who are content to endure cramped or passive positions in the hope of emerging with a superior pawn structure or an eventual counter-attack.

It's first Finals appearance was in the Steinitz vs Lasker World Championship Match in 1894 that was won by the latter.

CHESS WORKSHOP

Kiko MERALCO Chess Workshop

Summer Chess Workshop

NM Cabellon vs FM Wesley So 2006

NM Wesley So Simul 2006

G2: CABELLON vs SO

MERALCO 103rd ANNIVERSARY EXHIBITION
W: NM Gerry CABELLON
B: FM Wesley SO
Rapid Play, Game 2, 1/2-1/2
MERALCO, Pasig City



The opening is the Symmetrical Variation of the English and according to de Firmian's Modern Chess Openings (MCO14), "The Symmetrical Variatiion is perhaps the most exciting defense to the English. In the main variations, one or both players will disrupt the center almost immediately by pushing the d-pawn two squares, and an intense struggle for control of d4 and d5 will develop."

Incidentally, the Symmetrical Variation's first Finals appearance was in the Botvinnik vs Tal World Championship in 1960. Other World Championship Finals where the English Symmetrical was played were in Botvinnik vs Petrosian in 1963, Petrosian vs Spassky in 1966, Fischer vs Spassky in 1972, and Karpov vs Kasparov in 1987.

CHESS PIECE: SICILIAN THEORY

[Bobby Ang]

AEROFLOT OPEN
Moscow, 8-17 February 2006

Final Top Standings

1-4 GM Baadur Jobava GEO 2614, GM Viorel Bologan MDA 2661, GM Krishnan Sasikiran IND 2670, GM Shakhriyar Mamedyarov AZE 2707, 6.5/9
5-11 GM Pavel Eljanov UKR 2655, GM Maxime Vachier-Lagrave FRA 2542, GM Tigran L. Petrosian ARM 2558, GM Vladimir Akopian ARM 2704, GM Kiril Georgiev BUL 2645, GM Arkadij Naiditsch GER 2657, GM Dmitry Jakovenko RUS 2662, 6.0/9
12-23 GM Zahar Efimenko UKR 2666, GM Evgeniy Najer RUS 2652, GM Alexei Fedorov BLR 2608, GM Karen Asrian ARM 2646, GM Csaba Balogh HUN 2561, GM Yuri Yakovich RUS 2551, GM Nikola Sedlak SCG 2518, GM Vladimir Malakhov RUS 2694, GM Alexey Korotylev RUS 2609, GM Evgeny Alekseev RUS 2634, GM Zviad Izoria GEO 2652, GM Alexander Motylev RUS 2638, 5.5/9

Total of 93 players

Two years ago in the Calvia de Mallorca chess Olympiad Mark Paragua played a brilliant game vs Singapore’s Jason Goh. I annotated it at that time and so now present it with minimal notes.

Paragua,Mark (2534) - Goh Koong Jong,Jason (2419) [B85]
Calvia ol (Men) Mallorca (12), 27.10.2004

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Be2 e6 7.0–0 Qc7 8.a4 Be7 9.Be3 0–0 10.f4 Nc6 11.Kh1 Re8 12.a5

A nice little pawn sacrifice thought up by Ukrainian's Gennady Kuzmin, in the late 70s one of USSR's top players but now concentrating on coaching.

12...Nxa5

Black has to accept the pawn sacrifice, otherwise he will still fall under an attack but this time without any material compensation.

13.e5 Nd5?

This is a mistake. In this game Paragua shows why Black is obligated to accept the second pawn sacrifice with 13...dxe5 14.fxe5 Qxe5.

14.Nxe6! Bxe6

[14...fxe6 15.Nxd5 exd5 16.Qxd5+ Kh8 17.Rxa5 Qxc2?! 18.Bb5!]

15.Nxd5 Bxd5 16.Qxd5 Nc6 17.Bc4 Rf8 18.e6 fxe6 19.Qxe6+ Kh8 20.Bd3 Nb4?

White's position is favorable but this move loses to a direct attack. Black's best is probably 20...Rf6.

21.Bxh7! Kxh7

[21...Rf6 22.Qb3 escapes with an extra pawn]

22.Rf3 g5 23.Bd4 Rxf4 24.Rh3+ Rh4 25.Qf7+ Kh6 26.Bg7+ Kh7 27.Bf8+ 1–0

Almost immediately after the Olympiad Mark went to Kochin, India and made his final attempt (he has already reached the maximum allowable age) at the World Junior Championship title. He was ultimately unsuccessful, but had the consolation of the following attractive win in the same Scheveningen line.

Paragua,Mark (2534) - Das,Arghyadip (2353) [B85]
Wch U20 Kochin (3), 21.11.2004

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Be2 e6 7.0–0 Be7 8.a4 Nc6 9.Be3 0–0 10.Kh1 Qc7 11.f4 Re8 12.a5 Nxa5 13.e5 dxe5

OK, so Das knows his theory and takes the second pawn.

14.fxe5 Qxe5 15.Bf4 Qc5 16.Na4 Qa7 17.Bc7

In my 2004 column I pointed out that Jason's 13...Nd5 was a mistake and suggested 13...dxe5 14.fxe5 Qxe5 15.Bf4 Qc5 16.Na4 Qa7 17.Bc7 with "a wild tactical game". Well, now we have exactly this position on the board! Let us follow the "wild tactics".

17...b5 18.Nb6!? Rb8

There are two main alternatives here, the text and 18...Qxc7 where after 19.Nxa8 Black has recently found the excellent shot 19...Qc5! the latest in this line is 20.Rxa5 Rd8 21.Nb3 (21.c3 e5 and it is the white pieces who are uncoordinated) 21...Qe5 22.Qe1 Bd6 23.g3 Bb7+ 24.Kg1 Qe4 25.Bf3 Qxe1 26.Rxe1 Bxf3 27.Rxa6 Bxa8 28.c3 Bd5 29.Nd4 e5 30.Rxd6 Rxd6 31.Rxe5 Ra6 0–1 Mekhitarian,K (2218)-Leitao,R (2590)/ Americana 2005.

19.Bxb8 Qxb6 20.Be5 Bb7 21.Qd2 Nc4 22.Bxc4 bxc4 23.Qf4 Bd5

[23...Qxb2?? 24.Rfb1 wins]

24.Rae1 Kh8 25.Nf3 Qb7 26.Re2 Bd8 27.Nd2 Qc6 28.b3 c3 29.Nb1 Qb7 30.Nxc3 Bc6 31.Rd1 Be7 32.h3 Rc8 33.Rdd2 Nd7 34.Bd6 Nf6 35.Bxe7 Qxe7 36.Re3 h6 37.Qd4 Qb7 38.Rf2 Qe7 39.Rd2 Qb7 40.Na4 Nd5 41.Rg3 f6 42.Nc5 Qe7 43.c4 e5 44.Qg4 Nb6 45.b4 Ra8? 46.Rd6!

The final assault begins.

46...f5

[46...Rc8 is the only move to avoid immediate loss, but 47.Rgd3 followed by Re6 and the other rook to d6 wins material just the same]

47.Rxh6+! gxh6 48.Qg6 Qf8 49.Qxc6 Nxc4 50.Nd7 Rc8 51.Qg6 Nd2 52.Nxf8 Rc1+ 53.Kh2 1–0

The generation of Mark Paragua (21 yrs old) is slowly coming to the fore in international competition. The clearest indication of this is that the 4 finalists in the 2005 World Cup were all from this age group (Aronian, Ponomariov, Bacrot and Grischuk). The latter is the leader of the Russian “new generation” which counts among its number Dmitrij Jakovenko , Evgeny Alekseev and Artyom Timofeev.

Jakovenko has lately shown good results. He qualified for the Russian Super-Finals where he finished with the silver medal on three wins (although this included the famous default win where his opponent, Alexander Morozevich, overslept) 7 draws and 1 loss.

From the just-concluded Moscow Aeroflot Open, here is Jakovenko’s interpretation of the Sicilian Scheveningen line we were discussing.

Jakovenko,Dmitrij (2662) - Shchekachev,Andrei (2570) [B85]
Aeroflot Open Moscow (5), 12.02.2006

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Be3 Nc6 7.Be2 e6 8.a4 Be7 9.0–0 0–0 10.f4 Qc7 11.Kh1 Re8 12.a5 Nxa5 13.e5 dxe5 14.fxe5 Qxe5 15.Bf4 Qc5 16.Na4 Qa7 17.Be3

Instead of Mark's 17.Bc7 Jakovenko prefers an invention of Israeli GM Ilia Smirin. It appears that Black is obligated to sacrifice the exchange in order to hold the balance. I can hear you saying "huh? what exchange?" Heh heh, patience.

17...Nd5

The other move 17...b6 is currently holding. However, it all looks very dangerous. A short sampling:

a) 18.Nxe6 Bxe6 19.Bxb6 Qb7 20.Bxa5 Bd5 21.Bf3 Bxf3 22.Qxf3 Rab8 23.Qxb7 Rxb7 24.b3 Ne4 25.Rfe1 f5 26.Re2 Rc8 27.g4 g6 28.gxf5 gxf5 29.Rd1 Bf6 30.Rd5 Rb5 is equal. Mikhalchishin-Zheliandinov, Lvov 2001 1/2 30.

b) 18.b4 Bxb4 19.Rxf6!? gxf6 20.Bd3 f5 21.Qf3 f6 22.Nxb6 Qxb6 23.Nxf5 Qc7 24.Bb6 (24.Nh6+ Kg7 25.Bd4 should also be considered) 24...Qd7 25.Nh6+ Kh8! (25...Kg7? 26.Rf1! Rf8 27.Qg3+ Kh8 28.Rxf6! wins) 26.Qxf6+ Qg7 27.Nf7+ Kg8 28.Nh6+ Kh8 29.Nf7+ ½–½ Carlsson,P (2400)-Rytshagov,M (2503)/ Stockholm 2002

18.Bg1 b5?!

Black is not scared of the discovered attack against his queen. However it should be said that he cannot prevent it anyway. If 18...b6 19.c4 Nf6 20.b4! Bxb4 21.Nc2 because of the weak b6-pawn and the awkward knight position on a5 White will get a piece.

19.Nxb5

At the same time that this game was being played the identical position was on the board of Petrosian vs Smirnov from the same tournament. The player of the white pieces, which we call Petrosian the Tal because of his attacking tendencies, continued 19.Bd3 Bf6? (19...Qd7! 20.Bxh7+ Kxh7 21.Qh5+ Kg8 22.Qxf7+ Kh7 23.Rf3 Bg5 and there is no win for White in sight) 20.Nxb5 Qd7 21.Nbc3 Bd8? 22.Nc5 Qc7 23.Nxd5 exd5 24.Rxa5! Qxa5 25.Bxh7+ Kf8 26.Qxd5 Ra7 27.b4 Qb5 28.c4 Qxb4 29.Qd6+ Be7 30.Rxf7+! Kxf7 31.Qd5+ Black resigns because of 31...Kf8 32.Qg8 mate, or 31...Kf6 32.Bd4 mate. 1–0 T.Petrosian-Smirnov, Aeroflot Open (5) Moscow 2006.

19...Qb8?

Same as in the previous comment. Black's only move was 19...Qd7.

20.Nbc3 Bd8

Jakovenko was threatening to exchange knights on d5. Black cannot move it because the steed is the only one preventing Nb6 with simultaneous attacks against the a8-rook and a5-knight. That is why Shchekachev retreats the bishop - it is one additional soldier keeping tabs on the b6-square.

21.Bf3

A pity white missed 21.Nxd5! exd5 22.Rxf7! Kxf7 (22...Be6 23.Rf1 material equality is restored and White has much the better game) 23.Qxd5+ Be6 24.Qh5+ Kf8 25.Bc5+ Be7 26.Rf1+ Kg8 27.Bd3 leads to mate.

21...Bb7 22.Nc5 Nxc3 23.bxc3 Bxf3 24.Qxf3

Black might want to safeguard his f7 pawn with either ...Rf8 or ...Rd7. In either case it is refuted by Nxe6!

24...f6 25.Nxe6! 1–0

See diagram
caption: final position

Black resigns after analyzing 25...Rxe6 26.Qd5 Qc8 (26...Kf7 27.Rae1 Qc8 28.Rxe6 Qxe6 29.Qxa8) 27.Rfe1 Qc6 (27...Kf7 28.Rxe6 Qxe6 29.Qxa8) 28.Qxe6+ Qxe6 29.Rxe6 Kf7 30.Rd6 Nc4 31.Raxa6 Rxa6 32.Rxa6 the position is hopeless.

Reader comments/suggestions are urgently solicited. Email address is bobby@cpamd.net

"This article first appeared in Bobby Ang's column in Businessworld (Philippines) on 03 March 2006"

Ponomariov Wins Pamplona

The Pamplona International was held from December 23-29 2005 in Pamplona, Spain. It was won by Ruslan Ponomariov with 5/7, followed by Pentala Harikrishna and Ivan Cheparinov half a point behind. Veteran Dutch GM Jan Timman came in an out-of-form seventh. Games and results.

CHESS PIECE: PARAGUA BOWS TO DREEV

[Bobby Ang]

The FIDE World Chess Cup is being staged from 26 November to 18 December 2005, in Khanty-Mansyisk, Russia. This the 128-player event replaces what was known as the "FIDE Knockout World Championship" and serves as a qualifier for the Candidates stage of the world championship. The prize fund is US $1.5 million, with FIDE’s President Kirsan Ilyumzhinov providing $300,000 for organizational costs.
The World Cup consists of 7 rounds of knock-out matches to determine the top 10 who will proceed to the candidates’ matches for the next world championship. 128 players representing their respective continents or zones answered the starting bell for round one, and from that number only 64, Mark Paragua included, proceeded to round two.
In round 2 the games were even more hard fought than previously. Many matches went to speed chess tie breaks and some to the "Armageddon" where a game of blitz is contested with white having more time but Black needing only a draw. In the first round tie-breaks three matches went to the final sudden-death blitz game. Black, with draw odds, moved on in every case. In the current round, white won three out of four armageddon battles.
When the clocks had stopped the 64 player field was reduced to 32. Here they are:
Armenia. GM Levon Aronian 2724
Azerbaijan. GM Teimour Radjabov 2704
Bulgaria. GM Ivan Cheparinov 2618
China. GM Xu Jun 2582
Cuba. GM Lazaro Bruzon 2677
France. GM Etienne Bacrot 2725, GM Joel Lautier 2679
Georgia. GM Baadur Jobava 2601, GM Levan Pantsulaia 2578
India. GM Penteala Harikrishna 2673
Israel. GM Boris Gelfand 2717, GM Ilia Smirin 2673, GM Emil Sutovsky 2654
Netherlands. GM Sergei Tiviakov 2699, GM Ivan Sokolov 2696, GM Loek Van Wely 2648
Norway. GM Magnus Carlsen 2570
Russia. GM Alexander Grischuk 2720, GM Alexey Dreev 2694, GM Evgeny Bareev 2675, GM Evgeniy Najer 2641, GM Vladimir Malakhov 2670, GM Konstantin Sakaev 2668, GM Sergei Rublevsky 2652
Spain. GM Alexei Shirov 2710, GM Francisco Vallejo Pons 2674
Ukraine. GM Ruslan Ponomariov 2704, GM Zahar Efimenko 2637, GM Pavel Eljanov 2663, GM Alexander Areshchenko 2653
USA. GM Gata Kamsky 2690, GM Yuri Shulman 2565
Some statistics:
highest rated: GM Etienne Bacrot FRA 2725
lowest rated: GM Yuri Shulman USA 2565
oldest: GM Xu Jun (43 yrs old). He is also the only one above 40 years of age.
youngest: GM Magnus Carlsen (15 yrs old)
trivia: there was a time when the world was dominated by “B” (Botvinnik, Bronstein, Boleslavsky, Bondarevsky) and then we had the “K” (Karpov, Kasparov, Kramnik, Korchnoi, Kamsky). In fact, Khalifman used to spell his name “Halifman” and only shot into the top echelons of chess after adding the “K” to his name. So what’s going to be the new letter? It is still unclear, but maybe “S”
Only two Asians are left to carry the colors of the East, that is Harikrishna of India and Xu Jun of China.
Mark Paragua entered the round fresh from an upset win over the highly-fancied superGM Sergei Movsesian, the champion of Slovakia. He was given little chance against Alexey Dreev, who last April was rated 2705 (!). But Mark has been making slow but sure progress in his chess development, and what might have seemed impossible before was now only improbable. With black in the first game he surprised Dreev with a Queen’s Gambit Accepted and maintained the balance to simplify into an equal rook and pawn endgame, which he held with ease.
Dreev,A (2694) - Paragua,M (2596) [D20]
WCC Khanty Mansyisk (2.1), 30.11.2005
1.d4 d5 2.c4 dxc4 3.e4 e5 4.Nf3 exd4 5.Bxc4 Bb4+ 6.Nbd2 Nc6 7.0–0 Nf6 8.e5 Nd5 9.Nb3 Nb6 10.Bb5 Qd5 11.Nbxd4 Bd7 12.Bxc6 Bxc6 13.Nxc6 Qxc6 14.Bg5 h6 15.Rc1 Qd5 16.a3 hxg5 17.axb4 g4 18.Ng5 Qxd1 19.Rfxd1 Rh5 20.f4 gxf3 21.Nxf3 Rc8 22.b5 Nd7 23.Re1 Kf8 24.Re4 Rh6 25.Nd4 Rh5 26.Nf3 Rh6 27.Rd1 Ke8 28.Rg4 Rg6 29.e6 Rxe6 30.Rxg7 Rg6 31.Rh7 Nf6 32.Rh8+ Rg8 33.Rxg8+ Nxg8 34.Ra1 Ra8 35.Kf2 Nf6 36.Ke3 Ke7 37.h3 Ne8 38.Kf4 Nd6 39.Nd4 Kf6 40.Re1 a6 41.Ra1 Re8 42.bxa6 bxa6 43.Kf3 Rb8 44.Rxa6 Rxb2 45.g4 Rb4 46.Ke3 Rc4 47.Nf3 Rc3+ 48.Kf4 Rc4+ 49.Kg3 Kg7 50.Ra2 Ne4+ 51.Kg2 c5 52.h4 Rc1 53.Re2 Nf6 54.Ne5 Nd5 55.Rd2 Nf4+ 56.Kg3 Ng6 57.Nxg6 Kxg6 58.Rd6+ Kg7 59.Rc6 c4 60.g5 c3 61.Kg4 c2 62.Kh5 Kf8 63.Rc7 Ke8 64.Kh6 Rh1 65.Rxc2 Rxh4+ 66.Kg7 Rf4 67.Re2+ Kd7 68.g6 fxg6 ½–½
In the second game Mark decided that he wanted to go into the rapid tie-breaks and played a short draw. This might have to do with some financial considerations. Anyone who loses in the second round would receive US $9,000, but if he draws the standard 2-game match then he is entitled to half of the difference between the 2nd and 3rd round purse. This means that even if he now loses the tie-breaks he will be receiving an extra US $2,500 (3rd round losers get $14,000).
Now for the big surprise. The next day was dedicated to tie-breaks, and the two combatants played at an active time control (25 minutes for the whole game with a 10 second increment added after every move). Dreev played well and had the initiative but overreached and the Filipino rushed down the board with rook and pawn to turn the tables and win. The Russian was now against the ropes!

Paragua,Mark (2596) - Dreev,Alexey (2694) [D45]
WCC Khanty Mansyisk (2.3), 02.12.2005

1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Nc3 e6 5.e3 a6
The first surprise. Dreev, a former Wch-quarter finalist and arguably the world's greatest authority on the Semi-Slav, has gotten this position hundreds of times in his practice, but always continued here 5...Nbd7.
The position we have on the board was popularized by the Russian-turned-Belgian GM Mikhail Gurevich. His treatment of this system is to play 6...dc4 in response to 6. Bd3, and after 7.Bxc4 b5 8.Bd3 c5 and we have a favorable version of the Queen's Gambit Accepted.

6.a3
The critical continuation is 6.c5 which was what Kasparov used to defeat Fritz in their famous match 2 years ago. 6...Nbd7 7.b4 a5 8.b5 e5 9.Qa4 Qc7 10.Ba3 e4 11.Nd2 Be7 12.b6 Qd8 13.h3 0–0 14.Nb3 Bd6 15.Rb1 Be7 16.Nxa5 Nb8 17.Bb4 Qd7 18.Rb2 Qe6 19.Qd1 with a pawn extra and black suffocating. Kasparov,G (2830)-Comp Fritz X3D/ New York 2003 1–0 (45).

6...Nbd7 7.b4 g6
Now we see Dreev's idea, he puts his bishop on the long diagonal rather than Gurevich's treatment of putting it on d6.

8.Bd3 Bg7 9.0–0 0–0 10.Bb2 b5 11.cxd5 exd5 12.e4 Nb6 13.Ne5 Bb7 14.exd5 Nfxd5 15.Rc1 Nxc3 16.Bxc3 f6 17.Ng4 Qd6 18.h4 Bc8 19.Nh2 Be6 20.Re1 Bc4 21.Bb1 Rfe8 22.Qf3
This move doesn't seem quite so correct, as he is putting the queen on a spot where it can be harassed. Perhaps better is 22.h5 Rxe1+ 23.Qxe1 Bf7 and both sides have chances.

22...Bd5 23.Qh3 Be6 24.Qf3 Bd5 25.Qh3 Bh6 26.Rcd1 Be6
[26...Bb3 27.Ng4!? complicates things too much]

27.Ng4 Bg7 28.h5 Bxg4 29.Qxg4 f5 30.Qf3 Nd5 31.Bb2 Qf4
White's attacking attempts have been parried and Black sets his sights on the isolated d4-pawn.

32.Qxf4 Nxf4 33.hxg6 hxg6 34.g3 Nd5 35.Ba2 Kf8 36.Rxe8+ Rxe8 37.Kf1 Rd8 38.Ke2 Ke7 39.Rc1 Kd6 40.Bxd5 Kxd5 41.Kd3 Rh8 42.Rc5+ Kd6 43.Bc1 Rh1 44.Bf4+ Kd7 45.Bd2 Ra1 46.Bc1 Ra2 47.f3 Bf8 48.Rc2 Ra1?
Black should have agreed to the exchange of rooks. Now his rook is cornered.

49.g4 Bd6 50.gxf5 gxf5 51.d5! cxd5 52.Kd4 Rb1
Sets a trap which white doesn't fall into. Instead, 52...Ke6 53.Rc6 Kd7 54.Rc2 will result in a handshake.
See diagram
caption: position after 52...Rb1

53.Rc3!
Dreev’s idea was that 53.Kxd5? is met by 53...Rb3! (threatening mate via ...Rd3) 54.Kd4 (54.Rd2? Bf4 55.Rd1 Rb1 white's bishop is lost) 54...Rxf3 the f5-pawn becomes a monster.

53...Bg3 54.Kxd5 a5?
This move is good only if Black's bishop were on c7 or d6.

55.bxa5 b4 56.axb4 Rxb4 57.Rd3 Rb5+ 58.Kc4+ Kc6 59.f4 Rc5+ 60.Kb4 Rxc1 61.Rxg3
The endgame is winning for white.

61...Rf1 62.Rc3+ Kb7 63.Rc4 Ka6 64.Rd4 Re1 65.Rd6+ Kb7 66.Kc5 Ra1 67.a6+ Kc7 68.Rc6+ Kd7 69.Rg6 Ra4 70.a7! Kc7
[70...Rxa7 71.Rg7+]

71.Rg8 1–0
Black will be forced to exchange rooks, after which it would be an easy matter for White to go after the f5-pawn and win with his remaining pawn.

Mark needed only to draw the next game to advance to the 3rd round, but he could not contain the sheer strength of Dreev. We had the same opening as in game 1, and a queenless middlegame arose where Dreev outplayed the Filipino. With two knights running roughshod against his rooks Mark cracked under the pressure the blundered on the 39th move.

Dreev,A (2694) - Paragua,M (2596) [D20]
WCC Khanty Mansyisk (2.4), 02.12.2005

1.d4 d5 2.c4 dxc4 3.e4 e5 4.Nf3 exd4 5.Bxc4 Bb4+ 6.Nbd2 Nc6 7.0–0 Nf6 8.e5 Nd5 9.Nb3 Nb6 10.Bb5 Qd5 11.Nbxd4 0–0
In game 1 Mark had played 11..Bd7 to avoid the doubling of his pawns.

12.Bxc6 bxc6 13.Qc2 c5 14.Ne2 c4 15.Nf4 Qb5 16.a3 Be7 17.a4 Qc6 18.Be3 Bb7 19.Nd4 Qe4 20.Qxe4 Bxe4 21.Nb5 Rfc8 22.Nc3 Bc6 23.a5 Nd7 24.Nfd5 Bf8 25.Bd4 Rab8 26.Bxa7 Rxb2 27.Bd4 Nc5 28.a6 Rd2 29.Bxc5 Bxc5 30.Ra5 Bb6 31.Ne7+ Kf8 32.Nxc6 Bxa5 33.Nxa5 Ra8 34.Nb5 Rxa6 35.Nxc4 Rc2 36.Ne3 Rc5 37.Nd4 Rxe5 38.Rb1 g6 39.g3 Rd6? 40.Nc4 1–0
The rest was an anti-climax, as Paragua was clearly dispirited by how close he came to eliminating his famous opponent. In the two blitz tie-breaks (5 minutes for the game plus 10 second increment after every move) that followed Dreev won the first and easily drew the second to advance.

Mark Paragua gave a good account of himself. Despite being outrated in both of his matches he scored 3 draws and a win, which adds up to an additional 9 ELO points. This, together with the points gained from tying for first in the Zonals would definitely put him past the ELO 2600 mark, what we generally call the Super-GMs, the first Filipino ever to achieve that distinction.

We should also mention Mr. Hector Tagaysay of Filway Marketing, who I believe sponsored Mark’s trip from his own pocket.

If you are reading this Mark, text me when you come home to the Philippines. I feel a great need to buy dinner for you and your dad.

Reader comments/suggestions are urgently solicited. Email address is bang@bworldonline.com
"This article first appeared in Bobby Ang's column in Businessworld (Philippines) on 05 Desember 2005"

SEMI-SLAV: PARAGUA vs DREEV