Battle of Berlin continues in Zagreb
The Zagreb leg of Rex Sinquefield’s ‘Grand Chess Tour’ is proving to be the most exciting of the events up to now. The players are being serious and fighting in every game.
It is encouraging that one does not need to sink to artificial ‘Armageddon’ tie-breaks or extravagent ‘3-1-0’ Ponzi-type point schemes to attract the public interest. All that is necessary is for the professional players to behave professionally…and play real chess!
The Battle of Berlin
Yesterday’s 6th round saw Berlin-heavyweight Levon Aronian playing White against fellow Berlin-heavyweight Sergey Karjakin’s Berlin. Both are arguably the world’s leading experts on the Berlin Defense from either side: Aronian has some 158 games in this opening, with 43 of these games featuring the Queenless ending.
Karjakin, for his part, has 192 games of which 67 feature the Queenless ending. Yesterday’s game was the 4th such ending between these two giants, and the record is that none of these games have ended in a draw! Aronian’s win yesterday puts the score 3 to 1 in his favour…
gm Aronian,L – gm Karjakin,S Zagreb 1.7.2019 (1-0)
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.O-O Nxe4 5.d4 Nd6 6.Bxc6 dxc6 7.dxe5
Nf5 8.Qxd8+ Kxd8{[#] <strong style="color:red;">A position known since the 19th century, but it never really caught on until only recently when Kramnik used it neutralize Kasparov’s 1.e4 in the World Championship match in London in 2000.Today it is extremely popular.</strong>} 9.h3!?
({<strong style="color:black;"> Varying from previous encounters between these same players which saw</strong> } 9.Nc3 Ke8 10.h3 h5 11.Bg5
( 11.Bf4$5 Be7
12.Rad1 Nh4 13.Nd4 Nf5 14.Nce2 g5 15.Bh2 Rh6 16.Rfe1 a6 17.Nxf5
Bxf5 18.Nd4 Be6 19.Nxe6 Rxe6 20.g4 hxg4 21.hxg4 c5 22.c3 c4 23.Kg2
b5 24.Kf3 Rb8 25.Bg3 Rh6 26.Ke4 b4 27.Rd4 bxc3 28.bxc3 Rb2 29.Rxc4
c5 30.Ra4 Kd7 31.Rd1+ Kc8 32.Ke3 Rc2 33.Kd3 Rb2 34.Rd2 Rxd2+
35.Kxd2 Rb6 36.Kc2 Kd7 37.Re4 Ke6 38.Re1 Rb5 39.a4 Ra5 40.Re4
Kd5 41.f3 c4 42.Rd4+ Kc5 43.Bf2 Kc6 44.Rxc4+ Kd5 45.Re4 Ke6 46.Kb3
Rxe5 47.Bd4 Rxe4 48.fxe4 Kd6 49.c4 Kc6 50.e5 Bd8 51.Kc3 Kd7 52.Kb4
Kc6 53.Kc3 Kd7 54.Kd3 Ke6 55.Ke4 Bc7 56.c5 Bb8 57.c6 Bc7 58.Bc3
Bb6 59.Bd2 Bd8 60.Be3 Bc7 61.Bxg5 Bxe5 62.Bf4 Bc3 63.c7 Kd7 64.Kf5
Bd4 65.Be5 {<strong style="color:black;"> 1-0, Karjakin,Sergey 2775 – Aronian,L 2815 , Beijing CHN 17/12/2012 SportAccord Blitz Men 2012</strong> }
)
Be6 12.Rfd1 Be7 13.Rd2 Rd8 14.Rxd8+ Kxd8 15.Rd1+ Ke8 16.b3
h4 17.Bc1 a5 18.Ne2 Bd5 19.Ne1 Be6 20.Nf4 Bc8 21.Nf3 Rh6 22.Nh2
Rh8 23.Ng4 Nh6 24.Ne3 Nf5 25.Nc4 g5 26.Ne2 b6 27.Nd2 Ng7 28.Ne4
Ne6 29.Nf6+ Bxf6 30.exf6 Rg8 31.f3 Rg6 32.Bb2 Bd7 33.Nc1 c5 34.Be5
Kd8 35.Nd3 Kc8 36.Bb2 Be8 37.Re1 Rg8 38.Re4 Kd8 39.Kf2 Nf8 40.Ne5
Nh7 41.f4 Rh8 42.Nf3 gxf4 43.Rxf4 Nf8 44.Rxh4 Rxh4 45.Nxh4 Bc6
46.Ke3 Kd7 47.g4 Ng6 48.Nxg6 fxg6 49.Be5 b5 50.Bxc7 a4 51.Bb6
axb3 52.cxb3 g5 53.Bxc5 Ke6 54.Bd4 Bg2 55.h4 gxh4 56.Kf4 Kf7
57.g5 h3 58.Kg3 Kg6 59.Be3 Kf7 60.Bd2 Kg6 61.a4 bxa4 62.bxa4
Kf7 63.a5 Bf1 64.Bf4 Kg6 65.Kg4 Kf7 66.Kf5 Bd3+ 67.Ke5 Be2 68.Kd6
Bd3 69.Kc5 {<strong style="color:black;"> 1-0, Aronian,L 2767 – Karjakin,Sergey 2773 , Saint Louis USA 18/ 8/2018 6th Sinquefield Cup 2018</strong> }
)
Be7{[#]} 10.Nc3 Nh4 11.Nxh4 Bxh4{[#] <strong style="color:red;">This position arises often amongst elite players. Black tries to simplify by exchanging while White tries to advance his Kingside pawn majority. The final verdict is still far from given. </strong>} 12.f4!?{[#] <strong style="color:red;">A new move, and very direct: White begins is pawn advance. No doubt home preparation by Aronian. I am not convinced that it is best, but it does succeed in bamboozling Karjakin, who does not play the critical line. ALTERNATIVE TRIES:</strong>}
( {<strong style="color:black;">A </strong> }12.Re1!? b6 13.g4 Be7
( 13...h5 14.g5 ) 14.Be3 Bd7 15.Rad1 Kc8 16.Ne2 Re8 17.Nf4 Bf8
18.Bc1 g6 19.Re2 Bg7 20.Rde1 Kb7 21.e6 fxe6 22.Nxe6 Bf6 23.c3
c5 24.Bf4 Bxe6 25.Rxe6 Rf8 26.R1e4 Rf7 27.g5 Bd8 28.h4 b5 29.c4
bxc4 30.Be3 Rb8 31.Bxc5 Kc8 32.Bd4 Rb5 33.Rc6 Kd7 34.Rxc4 c6
35.a4 Rb3 36.Bxa7 Rxb2 37.Bd4 Rd2 38.Be3 Rd5 39.Rb4 Bc7 40.Kg2
Rf8 41.Rb7 c5 42.a5 Kc6 43.a6 Ra8 44.Re6+ Bd6 45.Rxh7 Rxa6 46.Rxg6
c4 47.Rg8 Rf5 48.g6 Be5 49.g7 {<strong style="color:black;"> 1-0, Vachier Lagrave,M 2781 – Aronian,L 2765 , London ENG 13/12/2018 10th London Classic 2018</strong> }
)
({<strong style="color:black;">B </strong> } 12.g4!? {<strong style="color:black;">Similar to Aronian’s idea, but not allowing Bf5. </strong> } Be7 13.Be3 h5 14.f3 b6 15.Kg2 Ke8 16.Rfd1 a5 17.a4
Be6 18.Ne2 c5 19.Nf4 hxg4 20.hxg4 Bd7 21.b3 Bg5 22.Nd5 Bxe3 23.Nxc7+
Ke7 24.Nd5+ Kd8 25.Nxe3 Re8 26.Nc4 Rb8 27.Rd6 Kc7 28.Rad1 Bc6
29.Kg3 Re7 30.f4 Rh8 31.g5 f6 32.exf6 gxf6 33.Rxf6 Reh7 34.Ne5
Be4 35.g6 Rh3+ 36.Kf2 Rc3 37.Rd7+ Kc8 38.Rh7 Rd8 39.Nc4 Bxc2
40.Rc6+ Kb8 41.Rxb6+ Ka8 42.Ra6+ Kb8 43.Rb6+ Ka8 44.Rbb7 {<strong style="color:black;"> 1-0, Caruana,F 2767 – Garcia Palermo,C 2479 , Arvier ITA 29/ 4/2012 TCh-ITA 2012</strong> }
)
( {<strong style="color:black;">C </strong> }12.Be3!?{<strong style="color:black;">is the most popular move in praxis</strong> } )
Bd7{[#] <strong style="color:red;">Passive, as it allows White to build a pleasant position without any real effort.</strong>}
( {<strong style="color:black;">Karjakin must be asking himself today why he did not play the natural </strong> } 12...Bf5! {<strong style="color:black;">when I don’t see anything to worry about </strong> } {<strong style="color:black;">After the immediate </strong> } 13.Rd1+
({<strong style="color:black;">Or if instead </strong> } 13.Nd1 Ke8 ( 13...Bxc2
14.Ne3 Be4 15.Rd1+ Kc8 16.Rd4 Bd5 17.Nxd5 cxd5 ( 17...Rd8 {?}
18.f5 ) 18.Rxd5 c6 19.Rd3 Kc7 20.g3 Be7 21.Be3 {<strong style="color:black;">with a slight plus for White. If he can get his King to e4 then he might have something tangible. </strong> } ) 14.Ne3 Be4!{<strong style="color:black;">Best, and annoying to White. </strong> } 15.Kh2
( 15.f5 Bg3! ) f5! {<strong style="color:black;"> and Black is doing fine.</strong> } )
Kc8 ( 13...Ke8!? 14.g4 Bd7 15.Kg2 h5 16.f5?! g6! )
14.g4 Bd7 15.Ne4 b6 16.f5 Re8 17.Bf4 c5 {<strong style="color:black;"> and Black has nothing to complain about</strong> } )
13.Bd2{[#] <strong style="color:red;">With the idea of playing Be1 to chase away the Black Bishop and only then continue to advance on the Kingside</strong>}
({<strong style="color:black;">Also worth further investigation is </strong> } 13.Kh2 Kc8 14.f5$5 )
Kc8{[#] <strong style="color:red;">In the Berlin Black either plays Ke8 or Kc8. Nobody really knows which is best.</strong>} 14.Be1 Be7 15.f5{[#]} Bc5+
({<strong style="color:black;">Black has to exercise caution: </strong> } 15...b6 16.Rd1
Rd8 17.Ne4 Kb7 18.f6!{<strong style="color:black;">with initiative </strong> } )
16.Bf2 Bb4 17.g4! Re8{[#] <strong style="color:red;">Another mystery in this game is why Karjakin did not exchange his Bishop for White’s Knight, here or at multiple opportunities in the following moves. Of course White will maintain the more active position with a mobile 4-3 majority on the Kingside, but atleast Black will have simplified the game. It seems to me that Karjakin was having a bad day at the office: probably he did not see anything really wrong with this exchange but his sense of danger was ‘turned off’. In the next moves Karjakin does not take any concrete decisions and as a result he drifts into an almost (probably) lost position.</strong>}
( 17...Bxc3$5 18.bxc3
b6 19.Bg3 c5!? )
18.Bg3 Bc5+ ( 18...Bxc3$5 19.bxc3 b6 20.c4 c5 21.Rad1
Bc6 22.e6 fxe6 23.fxe6 Rxe6 24.Rf7 Kb7!$13 ) 19.Kh2 Bd4 20.Rae1 b6
21.Nd1 Kb7 22.c3 Bc5 23.Nf2{[#] <strong style="color:red;">Aronian has been steadily improving his pieces and is now ready to take the game to another phase.</strong>} Be7 24.e6!{[#] <strong style="color:red;">This gives White a huge advantage. Black’s pieces are forced backwards.</strong>} fxe6 25.fxe6 Bc8 26.Nd3
Bf6{[#] <strong style="color:red;">Now comes Aronian’s signature exchange sacrifice!</strong>} 27.Rxf6! gxf6 28.Nf4!{[#] <strong style="color:red;">Not just securing his passed pawn, but in many lines threatening either Nh5 to f6 or Bh4 with the same idea. Probably Black is helpless to prevent White’s plans.</strong>} Rd8
( 28...c5? 29.e7 Kc6 30.Nh5! ) 29.Re2!{[#] <strong style="color:red;">Necessary to prevent counterplay</strong>}
( 29.e7$6 Rd2+ 30.Kg1 Bd7$13 )
Rd1 30.Bh4$6{[#] <strong style="color:red;">I think that up to now Aronian has played a classy game and completely outplayed his opponent. But now he misses the strongest continuation.</strong>}
({<strong style="color:black;">I don’t see how Black can resist after </strong> } 30.e7! Bd7 31.Nh5! Rh8
( 31...c5 32.Nxf6 Bc6 33.Be1 ) 32.Nxf6 Be8 33.Bf4 {<strong style="color:black;"> and Black is completely paralyzed. The Knight on f6 is God.</strong> } )
c5 31.Bxf6
Kc6!{[#] <strong style="color:red;">Black is no longer lost. His pieces now begin to become coordinated and soon he even gets a good position. The White Bishop on f6 is not nearly as effective as a Knight on f6, and in the meantime Aronian’s Knight struggles to find a useful role. The game is unclear!</strong>} 32.e7 Bd7 33.g5 Be8 34.Ne6 Bh5 35.Rf2 Bg6 36.h4 Kd7 37.Nf4
Bb1 ( 37...Bf7$5 38.a3 Rg8 39.h5 Rd6 {<strong style="color:black;">with a reasonable position. White’s pawns are not dangerous anymore. </strong> } ) 38.a3 Rg8 39.Ng2 Re8{[#] <strong style="color:red;"></strong>}
({<strong style="color:black;">Probably Black is quite ok after the logical </strong> } 39...Bd3! 40.Ne3 Re1 41.Ng4 Ke6! {<strong style="color:black;">Instead, probably because of time problems, Karjakin drifts into a lost game. </strong> } ) 40.Ne3 Rd3 41.Re2 Ke6 42.Kg3!
Kf7 43.Kf4!{[#] <strong style="color:red;">Now Aronian is better again.</strong>} h6?{[#] <strong style="color:red;">And this weak move loses virtually by force.</strong>} 44.Re1! hxg5+ 45.hxg5 Ba2 46.Ng4 Rh3 47.Ne5+
Ke6 48.Kg4 Rh7 49.Nf3+ Kf7 50.Kf5 Kg8 51.g6{[#] <strong style="color:red;"></strong>} Rh5+ 52.Kg4 Rh6 53.Nh4
Bf7 54.gxf7+ Kxf7 55.Bg5{[#] <strong style="color:red;">Karjakin has had enough and throws in the towel. </strong>} 1-0
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Aronian’s first victory in the Zagreb tournament! Hardly a perfect game, but sometimes a win is worth more than 1 point.
