Chess with Attitude
Some clever chess was seen in Friday’s first games of the 2nd round of the World Cup in Khanty-Mansiysk. The knockout tournament is now down to 64 players. The pressure increases as each day passes, but the players must be ready to fight with full strength to avoid being knocked out.
I would like to share with you my take on 4 of yesterday’s key games.
In 2 of the games White takes absolutely no chances and, content with the smallest of edges, instead tries to steer the game into an ending, hoping to use his greater experience to his advantage, regardless of how long it takes.
In the other 2 games, White wants nothing to do with endings! Instead, White plays to win in the middlegame and is willing to take risks in the process. White wants to win quickly and decisively.
Two very different styles of play, but both leading to the same results, atleast as far as yesterday is concerned. At such times chess can definitely be a perfect mirror image of our inner strengths.
gm Karjakin – gm Sevian (Round 2, game 1) 13.9.2019 1-0
29-year old Sergei Karjakin needs no introduction to my readers, but probably the same thing can not be said for the 18-year old American Samuel Sevian . Let me limit myself to saying that Sevian is one of the most talented players in American chess today despite his youth, and no doubt much more will be heard from him in the future.
Could it be that Karjakin wanted to exploit his opponent’s lack of experience when he avoided playing his favourite 1.e4 ?. Perhaps he noticed Sevian’s penchant for playing a certain line against the Reti where, in return for giving the Bishop pair, Black gets a solid but passive game.
1.Nf3 d5{<strong style="color:black;">Sevian’s favourite reply in this position. </strong> } 2.g3 Bg4 3.Bg2 e6 4.c4 c6 5.cxd5 Bxf3 6.Bxf3 cxd5{[#] <strong style="color:red;">Sevian has atleast two published games with this line. Against GM Cordova in 2017 (a draw) and against GM Gabuzyan in 2018 (a loss). I am surprised that an 18 year old would want to play such an unambitious opening variation, but such a decision must have been made several years ago between Sevian and his coach. As a point of interest, Bobby Fischer never had any objection to playing this symmetrical pawn structure, but he refused to give up the Bishop pair just to get it.</strong>}
7.O-O
Nc6 8.d4 {[#] <strong style="color:red;">Karjakin has atleast 3 published games in this opening variation; against GM Jakovenko in 2012 (a win), against GM Vitiugov in 2014 (a draw) and finally against GM Eljanov in 2015 (a win). Surely Sevian must have noticed this in his pre-game preparation. I am just guessing, but I would think that Sevian’s decision to play this way today (despite Karjakin’s success) was influenced by Karjakin’s somewhat unconvincing handling of the middlegame in these games. </strong> } Nf6 9.Nc3 Be7 10.e3 Rc8 11.Bd2 O-O 12.Qe2 Ne8 13.Rfd1
Nd6 14.Rac1 Qd7{[#] <strong style="color:red;">There are hundreds, if not thousands, of games in master chess with a similar material configuration (White having the Bishop pair with a 7-pawn symmetrical pawn formation) arising from a variety of move orders. Praxis has shown that neither player can do little more than exchange Rooks and Queens along the c-file, resulting in a minor piece ending with 3 pieces each. The side with the Bishop pair obviously has better winning chances. It is true that most of the games end in draws, but it is also true that Black suffers in making these draws. This is not something that an 18 year old would fully appreciate, however.</strong>} 15.Be1 f5 16.Bg2 Bf6 17.Na4 b6 18.b3 Rc7 19.Nb2
Rfc8 20.Nd3 Nd8{[#] <strong style="color:red;">Preparing to chop wood.</strong>} 21.Bf1 Rxc1 22.Rxc1 Rxc1 23.Nxc1 Qc8 24.Nd3 Nc6
25.Kg2 Be7 26.h3 g6 27.Qc2 Nd8 28.Qd1 Nc6 29.a4 Kg7 30.Qc2 Nb8
31.Qxc8 Nxc8{[#] <strong style="color:red;">And finally we have the 3-piece ending that I discussed earlier. I would suspect that both players were aiming for this kind of position. No doubt Sevian felt confident, but Karjakin’s greater experience would tell him that before splitting the point Black must play much better than White.</strong>} 32.Ne5 Nd6 33.g4 Nb7 34.f3 Na5 35.b4 Nac6 36.Nd3
Nd7 37.Bc3 Kf7 38.Kf2 Bd6 39.b5 Na5 40.Nb4 Ke7 41.g5 f4$6{[#] <strong style="color:red;">Up to now Sevian’s play has been reasonable, if not very precise, but with this last move Sevian loses patience and shows that he is much younger than Karjakin. The move concedes space and squares and allows the White Bishops to begin to activate. Even capturing the Knight on b4 was a better try.</strong>} 42.e4!
dxe4 43.fxe4 e5 44.Nd5+ Kf7 45.dxe5 Bxe5 46.Bxe5 Nxe5 47.Nxf4
Nb3 48.Ke3 Nc5 49.Be2 Nxa4 50.Kd4 Nd7 51.Bc4+ Kf8 52.e5{[#] <strong style="color:red;">The beginning of the end. White is effectively a pawn up and all of his pieces occupy dominating positions. Karjakin just needs to display good technique to score the full point.</strong>} Ndc5
53.h4 Nb7 54.Nd5 Nac5 55.Nf6 Kg7 56.Kd5{[#] <strong style="color:red;">Notice how useless Black’s Knight are.</strong>} Na5 57.Bf1 Nab7 58.Bh3
Kf7{<strong style="color:black;">Desperate, but otherwise the e-pawn advances unchecked. </strong> } 59.Bc8!{<strong style="color:black;">Of course, taking the h-pawn is also good, but Karjakin’s technique is impeccable. </strong> } Nd8 60.Nxh7 Ke7 61.Nf6 Nde6 62.Ng8+ Kf7 63.Bxe6+ Nxe6
64.Kd6 Nc5 65.Nh6+ Ke8 66.e6 Nb7+ 67.Ke5 Ke7 68.h5 Nc5 69.hxg6
Nxe6 70.Nf5+ Kd7 71.g7{[#] <strong style="color:red;">Here Sevian threw in the towel, finally. </strong> } 1-0
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An important lesson for the young Samuel Sevian. In modern chess, any strategy of giving up the Bishop pair just to reach a solid position is frought with danger. It is better to get counterplay. True, with perfect play Black might be able to draw consistently. But who amongst us can defend perfectly, hour after hour?
This is a lesson that only an experienced player like Karjakin can give to a talented 18-year old such as Samuel Sevian. Believe me, at these tough knock-out championships, the elite grandmasters know how to grind down even the smallest of positional edges!
gm Vachier_Lagrave – gm Kovalenko Round 2, game 1. 13.9.2019 1-0
Vachier Lagrave’s opening strategy in this game is similar (in some senses) to the previous game (obtain the Bishop pair and then try to grind down the opponent), but what is different in this game is that the pawn structure is not symmetrical and Black has very reasonable chances of counterplay.
Photo by David Llada
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 Nc6 6.Nxc6 bxc6 7.e5
Nd5 8.Ne4 Bb7!{[#] <strong style="color:red;">Considered the best move by the theoreticians. This line by White (started with 6.Nxc6) was popular in the 1990’s but then disappeared when it was realized that the main line that follows simply too drawish for modern tastes.</strong>} 9.Be2 c5 10.O-O Qc7 11.Nd6+ Bxd6 12.exd6 Qc6 13.f3
c4 14.Qd4 O-O{[#] <strong style="color:red;">Still theory. In the past 10 years or so this line has almost completely disappeared from White’s repetoire amongst the top grandmasters. It was realized that Black would be able to trade off his Bishop, getting rid of White’s Bishop pair, leaving White’s remaining Bishop no better than Black’s Knight.</strong>} 15.Bxc4 Qxd6 16.Rd1 Rfc8 17.b3 Qb6 18.Qxb6 Nxb6
19.Bd3 d5{[#] <strong style="color:red;">Still known to the theoreticians. Black now intends to advance his a-pawn and play Ba6, exchanging his Bishop off. Vachier Lagrave tries to make this difficult to execute. </strong>} 20.a4$5 {[#] <strong style="color:red;">No doubt some idea that the French superstar found a long time ago. But it does not change the evaluation of the position.</strong>}
Nd7 {[#]}
({<strong style="color:black;"> Black’s move is best. Vachier Lagraves’ idea is that if now </strong> } 20...a5$6 21.Be3! Nd7 22.Bb5! Bc6$6 23.c4! {<strong style="color:black;">and not only White will create an annoying passed pawn but Black’s a-pawn will require some watching. </strong> })
21.a5 a6 {<strong style="color:black;">Now it will be virtually impossible for Black to exchange his Bishop off any time soon. </strong> } 22.Bb2 Nc5 23.Bf1 Bc6 24.Ra3 f6{[#] <strong style="color:red;">As White can not make any immediate headway on the Queenside, Black strengthens his game. He has a potential 5 vs 3 pawn majority on the right side of the board as well as a mobile centre that might advance should White play carelessly. The game is dynamically balanced. The question then, is why would Vachier Lagrave want to play this way in such an important game. He really has very few practical winning chances. He can not dent Black’s position.</strong>}
25.Bd4{[#] <strong style="color:red;">The answer is that Vachier Lagrave knows that he can never lose this game, while Black will have to play very attentively to secure the draw. The Frenchman just loves to play this kind of cat and mouse game for hours and hours. Just like the great Bobby Fischer, Vachier Lagrave wins more equal positions than most of his colleagues at the top.</strong>} Nb7{[#]} 26.c4 Kf7 27.Bb6 Nd6 28.Ra2 h5 29.h4 Nf5 30.Rc2 Bb7
31.Bf2 Rab8{[#] <strong style="color:red;">Both sides mark time and manoeuvre. White seeks a way to make progress, while Black does not give his opponent any real opportunity. The game evolves in interesting fashion…both players deserve much credit. The level of play is quite high. </strong>} 32.Rcd2 Ne7 33.Ba7 Ra8 34.Bb6 Bc6 35.Kf2 Rcb8 36.Rc1
Rb7 37.cxd5 Bxd5 38.b4 Bb3 39.Rd6 Bd5 40.b5 axb5 41.Bxb5 Rc8
42.Rb1 Rc2+ 43.Kg1 Nc8 44.Rd7+ Rxd7 45.Bxd7{[#] <strong style="color:red;"></strong>} Nd6?{[#] <strong style="color:red;">A serious imprecision and the opportunity that Vachier Lagrave was waiting for, once more demonstrating how incredibly effective his practical playing strength is. </strong>}
( {<strong style="color:black;">Just when Kovalenko had the draw within his reach. He had to get rid of White’s Bishop pair. Correct was the cold blooded </strong> }45...Nxb6! 46.axb6 Bb7 47.Ra1 Rd2 48.Bb5 Rd6
49.Rb1 Ke7 50.Bf1 e5{[#] <strong style="color:red;">The White passed pawn has been neutralized and Black’s mobile Kingside pawns keep White’s ambitions limited. I believe the two players would soon agree to a draw here. Of course, White has other options earlier, but his winning chances had already evaporated. Such is chess.</strong>} )
46.Ra1 Nf5 47.Bf2{[#] <strong style="color:red;">Now with the passed pawn AND the Bishop pair, White must win!</strong>}
g5 48.Ba4 {[#] <strong style="color:red;">Almost all of Vachier Lagraves moves from thi s point forward are perfect.</strong>} Rc8 49.hxg5 fxg5 50.Bd1 Rg8 51.a6 g4 52.fxg4 hxg4 53.a7{[#] <strong style="color:red;">The reader will be well advised to study the endgames of this Frenchman. His handling of the Bishop pair is unequalled amongst his colleagues.</strong>}
g3 54.Be1 Nh4 55.Bh5+ Kf6 56.Bc3+ Kg5 57.Bf7 Rc8 58.Bxe6 Bxe6
59.a8=Q Rxa8 60.Rxa8 Nf5{[#] <strong style="color:red;">Despite Black’s resistance, the outcome is a foregone conclusion. Endgame theory has already demonstrated that Rook and Bishop of opposite color almost always wins against Bishop and Knight. Here the pawn’s presence only favours White!</strong>} 61.Bd2+ Kg4 62.Ra5 Bb3 63.Rc5 Ba2 64.Kf1
Nd6 65.Rg5+ Kh4 66.Re5 Bb1 67.Ke2 Nc4 68.Rd5 Ba2 69.Rd4+ Kh5
70.Kf3 Ne5+ 71.Kxg3 Kg6 72.Kf4 Nf7 73.Ra4 Bb1 74.Ra6+ Kh7 75.g4
Bd3 76.Rb6 Bc2 77.Bc3 Bd3 78.Rb8 Bc2 79.Rf8 Bb3 80.Kf5 Nh6+ 81.Kg5
Nf7+ 82.Kf6 Nh6 83.Rc8 Bc2 84.Bd2 Nxg4+ 85.Kg5 Bd1 86.Bc3{[#] <strong style="color:red;">Black throws in the towel. A tremendous fight.</strong>} 1-0
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The next two games demonstrate an entirely different strategy of trying to win. It might be called ‘risk-management ‘. Instead of playing risk-free, hoping to grind down the opposition with near-perfect technique, here White (and/or Black!) take calculated risks in order to try to bring maximum pressure onto their opponents, hoping for a momentary lapse that might bring opportunity. Sort of conjures up memories of Mikhail Tal…
The downside, of course, is that your opponent not just sees further than you…but he plays perfectly! Fortunately for our heroes today, that did not happen.
gm Nisipeanu – gm Nakamura Round 2, game 1. 13.9.2018 1-0
1.Nf3 Nf6 2.d4 e6 3.c4 d5 4.Nc3 Be7 5.g3$5{<strong style="color:black;">Already tempting the opponent </strong> } O-O 6.Bg2 dxc4 7.Ne5
Qd6 8.O-O Qa6{[#] <strong style="color:red;">The American superstar is known for his uncompromising style of play with Black. He wants to win regardless of color!</strong>} 9.a4 Nc6 10.Nb5{[#]} Nxe5 11.dxe5 Rd8{[#]} 12.exf6!{[#]} Rxd1 13.Rxd1
Bd6 14.Bf4 e5?{[#] <strong style="color:red;">Already beginning to show signs of cracking. Better, and totally unclear, is Qa5.</strong>} 15.Nxd6{[#]} cxd6? 16.Bxe5 Qa5 17.Rxd6 Bg4 18.Bc3 Qc7
19.Rad1 g6 20.Bxb7 Rf8 21.Bf3 Bxf3 22.exf3{[#]} h5 23.Kg2 Re8 24.h4
Qc8 25.a5 a6 26.Rd7 Qa8 27.R1d6 Rc8 28.Bd4 c3 29.bxc3 Re8 30.Bb6{[#]} 1-0
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Wow! What happened? Did the sky fall? This way of playing chess is how Tal revolutionized chess in the early 1960s and brought millions of new fans to the game. Excitement. Uncertainty. Intensity. The next game is typical of the Azerbaijan genius Mamedyarov…Enjoy! I give it without notes because it is impossible to understand. That is the ART of chess!
gm Mamedyarov – gm Kasimdzhanov Round 2, game 1. 13.9.2019 1-0
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.Bg5 dxc4 5.e4 b5 6.a4 c6 7.Nc3 Qb6
8.Be2 Nbd7 9.d5{[#] <strong style="color:red;">Chaos!</strong>} exd5 10.exd5 b4 11.dxc6{[#]} Qxc6 12.Nb5 Bc5 13.O-O
Bb7 14.Nbd4 Qd5 15.Rc1 c3 16.bxc3 bxc3 17.Bxf6 Nxf6{[#]} 18.Bb5+ Kf8
19.Rxc3 g6 20.Bc4 Qd6 21.Rd3 Qf4 22.Qa1 Kg7 23.Bxf7 Kxf7 24.Ne2
Qf5 25.Ng3 Qf4 26.Ne5+ Ke6{[#]} 27.Qa2+ Bd5 28.Rxd5 Nxd5 29.Nd3 Qd4
30.Ne2 Qg4 31.Nef4+ Kf6 32.Nxd5+{[#]} 1-0
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