Speelman's Agony #59

by Jonathan Speelman
8/20/2017 – This week's column comes from the game of San Francisco bay area computer scientist Dr. Shivaji Shivkumar (pictured), a FIDE Master, with experience on open source chess projects. He sent in two games: a win over GM Anna Zatonskih, and a loss against GM Georg Meier.
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"Sacrifices and hair-raising complications!"

Over the last month or two, this column has appeared somewhat irregularly and we're now going to have a new schedule with two a month on the first and third Sundays. Today's features Dr. Shivaji Shivkumar, a computer scientist and strong FM who lives in Northern California. His hobbies include hiking and ping pong.

Dr. Shivkumar writes:

“I am a 37 year old tech entrepreneur, CEO of TuringEye, a product for financial market managers. I have built and grown data analytics teams at a few large firms before that.

I have a PhD in Computer science [which] fuelled by my interests in computer chess, though my thesis topic has nothing to do with chess. I have contributed to several open source chess projects. A notable example is picochess which is now sold as the DGT Pi. It allows a full blown chess computer to be enjoyed from a chess clock without a computer screen.

I reached FM level more than a decade ago. I have not played tournament chess for a few years now. For the last decade, even when active, I played just one or two tournaments a year. Not playing in many events hampers your chess progress. My current rating is 2300+ USCF, but only 2263 FIDE. 

I am enclosing two of my interesting games. A win against GM Anna Zatonskih, and a loss against GM Georg Meier. I am a part-time chess player my whole life. I never truly studied the game but preferred to play or analyze with peers. The two games I have chosen showcase attacking play. I like playing with the initiative. Against stronger players, I feel my calculation skill in time pressure is far better than my positional ability. Both games feature many sacrifices and hair-raising complications! I have beaten many strong players in complicated positions. With the initiative, I can be dangerous. However, my positional skills are not yet at the next level."

The two games Shiv sent were certainly full of excitement and we start with the “Agony” against Georg Meier — though that's surely much too negative a characterisation of a battle royal against a German grandmaster who's currently only just outside the top hundred.

The notes to both games are mostly Shiv's, and as usual I've added my thoughts as 'JS'.

 
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1.Nf3 I was not ready for theoritical lines in this event. d5 2.c4 d4 3.g3 Nc6 4.Bg2 e5 5.0-0 Nf6 6.d3 Bd6 7.Na3 0-0 8.Nc2 Re8 9.Rb1 a5 10.b3 Nb4!? I recall this move was new to me. 11.a3 Nxc2 11...Na2 JS 12.Bb2 Nc3 13.Bxc3 dxc3 14.Ng5 h6 15.Ne4 Nxe4 16.Bxe4 c6 17.Qe1 Bg4 and Black can create a lot of toruble while White is rounding up the c-pawn. 12.Qxc2 Qe7 13.b4 axb4 14.axb4 Bxb4 15.Nxe5 Bc5
16.f4?! People around me commented that I could have drawn a strong player if I just played Nf3. However, I wanted to try to play agressively and strive for a win. For a part-time chess player, a draw with a strong GM does not really mean that much. It's more fun to try for more. Though I ended up losing, I don't regret the decision. 16.Nf3 is just equal Qxe2 17.Qxe2 Rxe2 18.Bb2 c6 18...Bf5?! 19.Bxd4 Black can't recapture due to the fork. 19.Bxd4 Bxd4 20.Nxd4 Rea2= 16...c6 17.h3 g6 17...Bd6 I was worried about ...Bd6 this move and a few moves later. I hoped there was enough practical compensation. 18.Kh2
18...Nh5 18...Nd7 JS: was a fairly simple way to get an edge. 19.Nf3 19.Nxd7 Qxd7 must be at least a tad better for Black. If 20.f5 Qe7 doesn't help White at all. 19...Qxe2 20.Bd2 Qe7 19.g4 Ng7 20.Rf2 Ne6 21.Kh1 Qd6 21...Bd6 22.Qb2 f6 23.Nf3 Nxf4 24.c5 Bb8 25.Nxd4 Nxg2 26.Kxg2 Qxc5 27.e4 JS: is an interesting line. White gets the pawn back after Qe7 28.Qb3+ Kh8 28...Qf7 29.Rxf6 Qxb3 30.Nxb3 Be5 31.Rf2 Rd8 is also extremely messy. Both sides are very loose. 29.Nf3 with good attacking chances. 22.g5 Ng7 22...Nxg5 23.Ng4 Bxg4 24.hxg4 I thought White has enough here. 23.Ng4 Nh5 24.Bf3 Kg7
JS: In such a very complicated position, even a strong grandmaster like Meier can easily go wrong and by now White is absolutely fine. 25.Nh6 Ra7 26.Bxh5 gxh5 27.f5? Quite brash. While White has practical chances after this, it's better to not allow so much counterplay. JS: f5 was very tempting but engines are unequivocal that it was a mistake since if Black plays accurately now, he should win. 27.Rf3 JS: If now f5 28.gxf6+ Kxh6 29.f5+ Re3 there is a very pretty computer line. 30.Bd2 b6 31.Rg1 Qxf6 32.Qb2 Rf7 33.Rxe3 dxe3 34.Qxf6+ Rxf6 35.Bc3 Rf7 36.Be5 Bd6 37.Bxd6 Rxf5 38.Rg8 Be6 39.Bf8+ Rxf8 40.Rxf8 Bxh3 41.Rf3 which must surely be winning. 27...Qg3 28.e4 JS: Of course this was Shiv's intention when playing f5 but it doesn't quite work. dxe3 29.Qc3+
29...Re5? Black returns the favor. 29...Kf8 30.Qh8+ 30.Rg2 Qxh3+ 31.Kg1 e2+-+ The point! 30...Ke7 31.Qf6+ Kd7-+ JS: Black's king has run away form danger and White is about to be mated. 30.Bb2 It's about equal again! Bd6 31.Rg2 Qxh3+ 32.Kg1 Ra2??
Can you spot the win for White now? I could see that George Meier was feeling nervous around these moves, but to his credit, he maintained a relative poker face now. After the game, he said he saw my refutation and was quite concerned. 32...e2 33.Qd4 Ra2 33...Bc5? 34.Qxc5 A geometrically pretty refutation 34.Qxd6 Qe3+ 35.Rf2 Qg3+ 36.Rg2 Qe3+ 37.Kh2= All paths lead to a draw. 33.d4?? 33.Qxe5+ Bxe5 34.Bxe5+ Kf8 35.Rxa2 And White easily wins. One suggestion in such positions is to investigate ALL checks and captures first. Captures with checks should especially be analyzed to a conclusion. 33...Rxb2 34.Qxb2 Re4 35.d5+ Be5 36.f6+ Kg6 37.Qc2 Bf5 JS: Engines point out that 37...Qf3 was stronger since if 38.Rf1 e2 39.Rxf3 e1Q+ but it's very hard to self-pin at the best of times, let alone in time trouble 38.Nxf5 Qxf5 39.Rf1 Bf4 JS: 39...e2! 40.Rxf5 e1Q+ won immediately. 40.dxc6 JS: Presumably this was to reach the time control. 40.d6 looks like a better way to try to create chaos but after e2 41.Rxe2 Qg4+ 42.Kh1 42.Rg2 Be3+ 43.Rff2 Bxf2+ 44.Kxf2 Qf5+ 45.Kg1 c5 or even better b6. Black can now round up the d-pawn and should win a rook ending. 40...bxc6 41.Qd3 e2 42.Rxe2 Bh2+ After the game, Georg felt he was positionally winning in the middlegame but lost control. Interestingly, as the engine shows, White is indeed doing well before 27.f5? After Black returned the favor, the game is still equal. Very interestingly, and counterintuitively, if 32.. Ra2?? had not been played, it's still a draw! JS: A massive battle against a very strong grandmaster. Shiv lost in the end but certainly had plenty of fun on the way. 0–1
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Shivkumar Shivaji2295George Meier26710–12012A09Northern California International
Shivaji-Anna Zatonskih-1–02004B01World Open

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Jonathan Speelman, born in 1956, studied mathematics but became a professional chess player in 1977. He was a member of the English Olympic team from 1980–2006 and three times British Champion. He played twice in Candidates Tournaments, reaching the semi-final in 1989. He twice seconded a World Championship challenger: Nigel Short and then Viswanathan Anand against Garry Kasparov in London 1993 and New York 1995.

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