CHESSBASE: CORUS 2009

Sergey Karjakin wins Wijk aan Zee

A very dramatic final round saw the Ukrainian star Sergey Karjakin defeat Leinier Dominguez with black to go into the lead. Magnus Carlsen had chances against Wang Yue, but threw away the game. With that Karjakin had the sole victory in his pocket. In Group B it was Fabiano Caruana and in Group C Wesley So who took first place.

Dominguez Perez,L (2717) - Karjakin,Sergey (2706) [B90]Corus A Wijk aan Zee NED (13), 01.02.2009Commentary by Sergey Shipov, translation by Steve Giddins

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Be3 Ng4. A raid, designed to prevent White's planned set-up with f2-f3, Qd1–d2, 0–0–0, etc. 7.Bc1. A change of plan? The main line is 7.Bg5. 7...Nf6. Black has nothing better. Let's hope the players are not just going to repeat moves. 8.Be3 Ng4 9.Bg5. Yes! 9...h6 10.Bh4 g5 11.Bg3 Bg7. With active, tempo-gaining play, Black has solved the problem of his kingside development, and created a counterattack in the centre. But in so doing, he has seriously weakened his kingside. 12.h3. On 12.Be2 there is the reply 12...h5 with the idea of 13.h3 h4! 12...Nf6 13.Qe2. This is what is often called an ultramodern scheme of development. Only in our day, one might think, can one even consider shutting in the bishop on f1 in such a fashion, for the sake of long castling. Yet the truth is that the young Karpov played the same way in the early 1970s, and if you go further back, you can even find other pioneers. 13...Nc6. A serious challenge. 14.Nxc6. Forced, in view of 14.0–0–0? Nxd4 15.Rxd4 Nh5. 14...bxc6 15.e5. White takes up the challenge. 15...dxe5 16.Bxe5. So White has the better structure, with two pawn islands against Black's three. 16...0–0. But Black also cause to be proud. He has managed to evacuate his king from the centre, whilst White has not yet done so.

17.g4. The bishop seeks a new diagonal. In the game Ponomariev-Polgar, Benidorm 2002, the line 17.h4 g4 was tested. There followed 18.g3 Qb6 19.0–0–0 Be6 20.Bg2 Rfd8 21.Rhe1 h5 22.b3 (22.f3!) 22...Rac8 23.Na4 Rxd1+ 24.Rxd1 Qb5 25.Bf1? Bc4! and Black obtained the advantage. 17...a5. A logical response. Black's light-squared bishop has also found itself a good diagonal. 18.h4. Naked aggression! Dominguez sacrifices a pawn to open lines on the kingside. Now we see that the point os the move g2-g4 was to fix the enemy pawn on g5, as an object of attack. I suspect that the line 18.Bg2 Ba6 19.Qe3 Qd7 20.Qd4 Qxd4 21.Bxd4 struck Lenier as not amounting to much. And indeed, after 21...Rfd8! White ahs no advantage. After 22.0–0–0 there is even the interesting tactical blow 22...Nxg4! 23.Bxg7 Nxf2. 18...Bxg4. The most principled reply. After 18...Ba6 there is 19.Qf3. 19.f3 Bf5 20.hxg5 hxg5. The first reult is clear – the h-file is open. For Tal, this would have enough to give mate. The young Cuban GM does not yet command quite such authority... But he has his future before him. 21.Qe3. Seeking to combine attack and development. Another interesting try was 21.Qg2 Nh7 22.Bxg7 Kxg7 23.Bd3 Bxd3 24.0–0–0! with a fierce initiative. 21...a4. The most accurate reply, but it needs a microscope to discern its finer points. The a5 square is freed for the queen, and the advance a4-a3 may later undermine the knight on c3. In the meantime, though, it is White's move, and he has excellent attacking prospects. In my analysis, capturing on c2 led to a line where the black king was mated on move 35! Here it is: 21...Bxc2 22.Qxg5 Bg6 23.Rd1 Qc8 24.Bh3 Qb7 25.Be6! fxe6 26.Qxg6 Qxb2 27.f4!! (Premature is 27.Rd2? Qa1+!) 27...Rf7 28.Rd2 Qc1+ 29.Nd1 Kf8 30.Rdh2 Ng8 31.Rh8 Rd8 32.Rxg8+ Kxg8 33.Qh7+ Kf8 34.Qh8+ Bxh8 35.Rxh8#; In any event, Black could not defend the g5 pawn: 21...Nh7? 22.Bxg7 Kxg7 23.Qe5+ Kg6 24.Rxh7! 22.Qxg5 Bg6. It seems clear that Sergey has not even considered taking on c2. 23.Bd3. Advancing the f-pawn does not work: 23.f4 e6 24.Bd3 Nd7! 25.Bxg6 (There is an improvement in 25.Qxd8! Raxd8 26.Bd6 Rfe8 27.0–0–0 and White is still a bit better.) 25...Qxg5 26.Bh7+ Kh8 and White has no more than perpetual check. 23...a3! An excellent move. Now the idea of a3-a4 is clear. 23...Bxd3? is just bad after 24.0–0–0 with an overwhelming attack.; Trying to follow the game plan by another move-order is also inferior: 23...Qa5 24.0–0–0 a3 25.Bc4! axb2+ 26.Kb1 ensuring his king a quiet life, and creating serious threats against the enemy monarch. 24.b4. 24.0–0–0 axb2+ 25.Kb1 looks very strong. I have not found anything better than 25...Qa5 26.Bc4 as given above. Let us continue the line: 26...e6 How else to defend the bishop on g6? 27.f4 Nd5 (27...Nh7 28.Rxh7!) 28.Nxd5 cxd5 29.Bxg7 dxc4 30.Qxa5 Rxa5 31.Bc3 and wins.; After 24.b3 Qa5 25.Bxg6 fxg6 26.f4 Nd7! Black saves himself by exchanges. 24...Qb6. On the edge of the precipice, Black defends himself with only moves.

25.Rh4. Maybe played too fast. What has he seen against 25...Nh7! - ? I analysed it to a forced draw, which can hardly be regarded as a success for White... I believe a better move was 25.Ke2! eg. 25...Qxb4 26.Rab1 Qc5 27.f4 Rad8 28.Bxf6 Qxg5 29.Bxg5 and the threat of f4-f5 forces Black to part with the exchange: 29...Rxd3 30.cxd3 Bxc3 but White should still win. 25...Nh7! Correct. Kariakin immediately exploits a temporary lack of harmony in the white camp. 26.Rxh7. What else? 26.Qf4 Bxe5 27.Qxe5 Qg1+ 28.Bf1 Rad8 makes no sense – what does White have to attack? 26...Kxh7. Perpetual check results from 26...Bxe5 27.Qxe5 Qg1+ 28.Kd2 Qg2+ 29.Ne2 Kxh7 30.Rg1 Qxf3 31.Qh2+ Kg7 32.Nd4 Qf6 33.Nf5+ Kg8 34.Nh6+ Kg7 35.Nf5+ (White can of course, not return the knight to f5, but after 35.Nxf7 Kxf7 36.Rf1 Bxd3 37.Rxf6+ Kxf6 38.cxd3 chances are still only equal.) 27.0–0–0. 27.Kd2 Bxe5 28.Rh1+ Kg7 29.Bxg6 Bxc3+ 30.Kxc3 fxg6 31.Qe5+ Rf6 32.Qxe7+ Rf7 33.Qe5+ is again perpetual check. 27...Qxb4. Sergey continues to find the most accurate moves, without spending much time. 28.Rh1+ Kg8 29.Bxg7? I suspect the Cuban GM may have missed, after 29.Bxg6 fxg6 30.Qxg6 Rf6 31.Bxf6? the reply (So he must instead play 31.Qh7+ Kf8 32.Ne4 but even here Black has 32...Rd8 33.f4 (33.Nxf6? Qd2+ 34.Kb1 Qd1+; 33.Bxf6 exf6!) 33...Bh6 34.Qh8+ Kf7 35.Ng5+ Bxg5 36.Qh5+ Rg6 37.fxg5 Qd2+ 38.Kb1 Qxg5 winning) 31...Qf4+! winning for Black: 32.Kb1 (32.Kd1 Qxf3+ 33.Kd2 Rd8+–+) 32...Rb8+ 33.Ka1 Qxf6. 29...Kxg7 30.Qh6+ Kf6 31.Ne4+ Ke6. The black king easily escapes the enemy fire. 32.Rd1. On 32.Qh3+ f5 there follows 33.Qg3 Rg8 34.Ng5+ Kd7 35.Qe5 Qb2+! exchanging queens. 32...Qb2+ 33.Kd2 Kd7 34.Qf4. Also hopeless is 34.Nc5+ Ke8 35.Bxg6 Qb4+ 36.Kc1 Qxc5. 34...Rfd8 35.Ke2 Ke8 36.Rh1 Ra5 37.Qc7 Rad5 38.Ke3 Kf8 39.c3 Rxd3+ 40.Kf4 f6 41.Rh8+ Kf7
and mate to follow (e.g. 42.Rxd8 Qh2+ 43.Kg4 Bf5+ 44.Kxf5 Qh3+ 45.Kf4 Qxf3# or 42.Qxd8 Qc1+ 43.Nd2 e5+ 44.Kg3 Qg1+ 45.Kh3 Bf5+ 46.Kh4 Qh2#. 0–1