Biel: Vachier-Lagrave wins match against Svidler

by Klaus Besenthal
7/29/2016 – As so often before it was the Najdorf that brought Maxime Vachier-Lagrave an important victory. The French Grandmaster had Black in the third game of his match against Peter Svidler, and Svidler, who had to win the game to stay in the match, tried an unusual, sharp line of the Najdorf. But while Vachier-Lagrave at one point in the game was worse he managed to win with a surprising counterattack. Including rapid and classical games Vachier-Lagrave now leads 7.5-2.5 and won the match with one round to go.
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The 49th International Chess Festival Biel is taking place from Saturday, July 23 until Wednesday, August 3 2016. The exact schedule and further information are now published on the official website. Here are the main links:

 

Peter Svidler (left, with White) needed to win and is going for Maxime Vachier-Lagrave's favorite Najdorf.

 
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1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.h3 e6 7.g4 h6 8.Bg2 Be7 9.h4 9.Be3 or 9.f4 are the most popular moves here. 9...Nc6 10.g5 hxg5 11.hxg5 Rxh1+ 12.Bxh1 Nh7 13.Nxc6 bxc6 14.g6 fxg6 15.Qd3 e5 16.Qc4 Bd7 17.Bd2 Bg5 18.0-0-0 Qf6 19.Na4 Rb8 20.Bxg5 Qxg5+ 21.Kb1 (#) The position is double-edged and complicated but perhaps more or less equal. Black has a lot of pawn weaknesses and a terribly exposed king but the white pieces do not cooperate well. The bishop on h1 makes a sad impression and the knight on a4, too, needs time to come back into the game. Nf6 It might have been better to play 21...Qf6 with the idea to bring the knight to g5 and perhaps later to f7. 22.a3 Making some "luft". Qh4?! Now Black gets into trouble. Better was 22...Ke7 23.Qd3 Ne8 e.g. 24.Qxa6 Qf4 25.Qa7 Rc8 and the engines give White only a slight edge. 23.Qd3 d5 24.Nc5 d4 25.Qxa6 Qxf2 26.Rf1 Qg3 (#) 27.Bf3?! With the idea to activate the white rook. In the game White wins an exchange but the textmove still does not seem to be aggressive enough. The engines recommend 27.Qa7 Rd8 28.Nb7 Bh3 29.Rc1 Rd7 30.Qb8+ Ke7 31.Na5 c5 32.Nc6+ Ke6 33.a4! with a clear advantage for White. 27...Qh3 28.Rh1 Qxf3 29.Rh8+ Ke7 30.Rxb8 Nxe4 (#) Black now has two pawns for the exchange and White's a-pawn might become dangerous. Moreover, Black's king seems to be vulnerable. But in the game it is the white king that gets mated! 31.Nxd7? On first sight this looks rather promising and seems to be the logical consequence of White's play. However, the move backfires. Correct was 31.Nxe4 Qh1+ 32.Ka2 Qxe4 and now White has nothing better than 33.Kb1 Qh1+ 34.Ka2 Qe4 with a draw. 31...Nd2+! (#) But not 31...Kxd7?? 32.Qb7+ and White wins, e.g. Kd6 33.Rd8+ Ke6 34.Qxc6+ etc. 32.Ka2 Or 32.Kc1 Qe3 33.c3 33.Kd1 Nf3 34.Qa5 Qg1+ 35.Ke2 Qg2+ 36.Kd3 Qf1+ 37.Ke4 Qe2# 33...d3 34.Qa4 Nb3+ 35.Kb1 Qg1+ 36.Ka2 Nc1+ 37.Ka1 Ne2+ 38.Ka2 d2 39.Qb4+ c5+- 32...Qd5+ 33.b3 Weakening the king's position. But 33.Rb3 Kxd7 34.Qb7+ Ke6 35.Qxg7 Kf5 36.Qf8+ Kg4 37.Qh6 Nxb3 38.Qxg6+ Kf4 does not offer much joy for White, either. 33...Qh1 Suddenly Black has a winning attack. 34.a4 Qb1+ 35.Ka3 Qa1+ 36.Kb4 Qc3+ 37.Ka3 Nb1+ White resigned. After 38.Ka2 Qxc2+ 39.Ka1 Nc3 White is lost. A fascinating game with a surprising turnaround. 0–1
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Svidler,P2759Vachier-Lagrave,M27980–12016B8149th Biel Masters Match3

May Maxime Vachier-Lagrave likes the Najdorf because the
opening offers so many resources?

Peter Svidler missed a chance in a good position

Analysis with Daniel King

 Peter Svidler still wondering about the game

Games

 
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1.Nf3 c5 2.e4 d6 3.Bb5+ Nd7 4.0-0 a6 5.Bd3 Ngf6 6.Re1 b5 7.c4 Rb8 8.cxb5 axb5 9.a3 Ne5 10.Nxe5 dxe5 11.Qe2 Ba6 12.b4 e6 13.Nc3 Nd7 14.Nxb5 Be7 15.Bc4 0-0 16.bxc5 Nxc5 17.a4 Qd7 18.Ba3 Rfc8 19.Reb1 Bd8 20.Bxc5 Rxc5 21.d3 g6 22.g3 Be7 23.Rd1 Bxb5 24.Bxb5 Qc7 25.Bc4 Qa5 26.Qc2 Rcc8 27.Kg2 Bc5 28.Rab1 Bd4 29.Rxb8 Rxb8 30.Bb5 Kg7 31.Qd2 Bc3 32.Qc2 Bd4 33.Qd2 Bc3 34.Qc2 ½–½
  • Start an analysis engine:
  • Try maximizing the board:
  • Use the four cursor keys to replay the game. Make moves to analyse yourself.
  • Press Ctrl-B to rotate the board.
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  • Download&Clip PGN/GIF/FEN/QR Codes. Share the game.
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Svidler,P2759Vachier-Lagrave,M2798½–½2016B5149th Biel Masters Match1
Vachier-Lagrave,M2798Svidler,P27591–02016C8949th Biel Masters Match2
Svidler,P2759Vachier-Lagrave,M27980–12016B9049th Biel Masters Match3

 

Daniel King interviews the players

 

"Juniors Challenge":

Parallel to the "Masters Challenge", the duel between Svidler and Vachier-Lagrave, Dutch GM Benjamin Bok plays a match against Swiss IM Nico Georgiadis and GM Francesco Rambaldi from Italy faces Swiss IM Noel Studer - these two matches are the "Juniors Challenge".

Benjamin Bok (left) won the match against Nico Georgiadis:
he leads with 7.5-2.5.

The match between Francesco Rambaldi (left) and Noel Studer
is still open though Rambaldi leads 6-4.

The Masters Tournament

The Masters Tournament is a strong open full of grandmasters, experienced players and rising talents. After four rounds five players share the lead with 3.5/4.

German GM Martin Krämer

Standings after four rounds

1. Bachmann,Axel GM 2649 M PAR 3 1 0 3.5 9.0 25.5
2. Kovchan,Alexander GM 2576 M UKR 3 1 0 3.5 9.0 24.5
3. Shankland,Samuel L GM 2661 M USA 3 1 0 3.5 9.0 23.5
4. Kraemer,Martin GM 2567 M GER 3 1 0 3.5 9.0 23.0
5. Aravindh,Chithambaram VR GM 2543 M IND 3 1 0 3.5 7.5 23.0
6. Saric,Ivan GM 2660 M CRO 3 0 1 3.0 8.0 24.5
7. Vitiugov,Nikita GM 2728 M RUS 2 2 0 3.0 8.0 24.0
7. Mroziak,Maciej   2306 M POL 2 2 0 3.0 8.0 24.0
9. Gaehwiler,Gabriel FM 2392 M SUI 2 2 0 3.0 8.0 23.5
10. Safarli,Eltaj GM 2678 M AZE 2 2 0 3.0 8.0 23.0
11. Sasikiran,Krishnan GM 2639 M IND 3 0 1 3.0 8.0 22.5
12. Kunin,Vitaly GM 2592 M GER 2 2 0 3.0 8.0 22.5
13. Balogh,Csaba GM 2635 M HUN 2 2 0 3.0 8.0 22.0
13. Shyam,Sundar M GM 2526 M IND 2 2 0 3.0 8.0 22.0
15. Bartel,Mateusz GM 2649 M POL 3 0 1 3.0 7.5 25.0
16. Swayams,Mishra IM 2457 M IND 3 0 1 3.0 7.5 24.5
17. Sethuraman,S P. GM 2656 M IND 2 2 0 3.0 7.5 24.0
18. Baklan,Vladimir GM 2618 M UKR 2 2 0 3.0 7.5 23.0
19. Gozzoli,Yannick GM 2571 M FRA 3 0 1 3.0 7.5 22.5
20. Meier,Georg GM 2657 M GER 2 2 0 3.0 7.5 21.0
21. Salem,A R. Saleh GM 2608 M UAE 2 2 0 3.0 7.0 24.0
22. Brkic,Ante GM 2585 M CRO 2 2 0 3.0 7.0 23.5
22. Karthikeyan,Murali GM 2513 M IND 2 2 0 3.0 7.0 23.5
24. Khairullin,Ildar GM 2629 M RUS 2 2 0 3.0 7.0 23.0
24. Erdos,Viktor GM 2578 M HUN 2 2 0 3.0 7.0 23.0
26. Edouard,Romain GM 2639 M FRA 2 2 0 3.0 7.0 22.5
27. Donchenko,Alexander GM 2583 M GER 2 2 0 3.0 6.5 24.5
28. Nezad,Husein Aziz IM 2419 M QAT 1 3 0 2.5 8.5 21.5
29. Horvath,Adam GM 2498 M HUN 2 1 1 2.5 8.0 24.0
30. Rodshtein,Maxim GM 2698 M ISR 1 3 0 2.5 8.0 24.0
31. Bartel,Marta WGM 2260 W POL 2 1 1 2.5 8.0 23.0
32. Vernay,Clovis IM 2507 M FRA 2 1 1 2.5 7.5 23.0
32. Stany,G A. IM 2476 M IND 2 1 1 2.5 7.5 23.0
34. AL-Sayed,Mohammed GM 2524 M QAT 2 1 1 2.5 7.5 22.5
34. Masse,Hugues   2204 M CAN 2 1 1 2.5 7.5 22.5
36. Haimovich,Tal IM 2383 M ISR 2 1 1 2.5 7.5 22.0
36. Beckhuis,Gernod FM 2295 M GER 2 1 1 2.5 7.5 22.0
38. Bellahcene,Bilel IM 2498 M FRA 2 1 1 2.5 6.5 25.0
39. Jumabayev,Rinat GM 2613 M KAZ 2 1 1 2.5 6.5 23.5
40. Galdunts,Sergey GM 2415 M ARM 2 1 1 2.5 6.5 23.0
41. Baenziger,Fabian FM 2318 M SUI 2 1 1 2.5 6.5 22.5
42. Das,Arghyadip IM 2457 M IND 1 3 0 2.5 6.5 22.0
43. Tabatabaei,M amin IM 2481 M IRI 1 3 0 2.5 6.5 21.5
44. Bellaiche,Anthony IM 2499 M FRA 2 1 1 2.5 5.5 22.5
44. Wallace,John Paul IM 2367 M AUS 2 1 1 2.5 5.5 22.5
46. Henrichs,Thomas IM 2471 M GER 2 1 1 2.5 4.0 23.5

 

Photos and video: Pascal Simon

Tournament page Biel...

Klaus Besenthal is computer scientist, has followed and still follows the chess scene avidly since 1972 and since then has also regularly played in tournaments.

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