Nine years of history

by Alina l'Ami
11/11/2015 – The Romanian Kings Tournament has a long tradition. The first edition was played in 2007. After nine years of prestige and a string of changes, the 2015 event faced rather challenging times from an international perspective. Alina l'Ami is stepping in and brings you an inspiring retrospective with annotations by Carlsen, Caruana, puzzles, photos and more.
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Nine years of history

There is no secret I love talking, thinking or writing about Romania and it is with great enthusiasm that I come to you now with a chronology from the very heart of...Transylvania! As much as some would be thrilled to hear frightening spooky stories with vampires & co, from the misty Romanian pristine forests, I'm afraid I will have to leave that into the hands of Hotel Transylvania's director and focus on something more tangible: chess.

Not only wild tales and mysteries emerged from our beautiful region (as if this horse-shoe of the Carpathians became some sort of imaginative vortex), but also important resources, particularly natural gas. This is directly connected to what interest us most, since without “Romgaz” (the largest natural gas producer and the main supplier in Romania) there would be no “Kings Tournament”, of which I am sure you heard about during its nine years of history.

Medias is the headquarters of Romgaz and one of the main locations to host the traditional chess tournament, with the first edition dating back to 2007 and the latest having just finished a week ago.

It is far from easy these days to have your ducks in a row but through effort and a series of changes, the Romanian grounds welcomed year after year a large number of top players, in spite of the inevitable challenges. So before jumping to any rash conclusions, according to which the prosperous event downgraded to a tournament interesting only for the local audience, allow me to bring you a quick retrospective first and we'll wrap things up at a later stage.

The first two editions, 2007 and 2008, were held in Bazna, which is not far away from Medias, and had an incredibly strong line-up: 11 renowned players fighting in a Round Robin format.

As far as the eye can reach, one can discover one strong player after another,
so no wonder that the public was glued to the monitors.

In 2008, the youngest participant (I am sorry Nigel, but I cannot repress a smile) won the tournament and had a great time too, as Erwin l'Ami and yours truly can confirm :)

First and second place – this time the chess read prevailed...

Young and restless visitors:)

Unfortunately for Timman, the Romanian escapades left a bitter taste behind, but only from a chess point of view, as our wines are simply out of this world! For one of our best players though, Mihai Suba, the 4th place in the 2008 edition was a great result, which gives me the opportunity to bring you a very nice example from his book “Dynamic Chess Strategy”.

The 'counter-check man'! Explanation in the game below (photo Alina l'Ami)

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"Dynamic Chess Strategy" by Mihai Suba - "Making his last move (8.Bf6+), instead of probably winning 8.Bxd1!, my opponent euphorically yelled 'check' and this nearly induced me to play 8...Qxg1+ ('counter-check!') 9. Rxg1+ Kf7 10.Bh5 mate. After the better-pondered 1...Ng3+ I yelled back 'counter-check!' An ordinary chair could not resist the shock of our hero, who by no means could be considered a lightweight; the two broke down with a terrific noise and I became the 'counter-check man'. 0–1
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Chesca-Suba-0–11968Bucharest Club Tournament

The 2009, 2010 and 2011 editions were held in Bazna (2009) and in Medias, respectively, but the number of players were reduced from 11 to 6, in order for the organizers to be able to invite “la crème de la crème” of chess.

A typical working pose for Ivanchuk (photo Alina l'Ami)

The next two years were very attractive for the Romanian media and for the international public alike, as the greatest Carlsen was present too, grabbing along the way nothing less than two times the first place.

 

 
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1.e4 This was my best game in the tournament. After an interesting tactical skirmish in the middlegame I kept the pressure on in the endgame, and it paid off, as it often does :) c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Nc3 g6 Not really surprising, as Radjabov has frequently used the Dragon over the past few years. 4.d4 cxd4 5.Nxd4 Bg7 6.Be3 Nf6 7.Bc4 Qa5 This one, however, was rather unexpected. He refuses to transpose to the Dragon after all. 8.0-0 0-0 9.Bb3 d6 10.h3 Bd7 11.Re1 The other main line here is 11.f4. Rfc8 12.Qe2 Not the most usual move, but I recalled the game Akopian-Bacrot from last year, where White was held convincingly and thought it would make sense to deviate early on. Qh5 A normal manoeuvre in this line. After the queen swap Black would obviously be fine with his extremely solid structure. 13.Nf3 h6 This, in connection with his next move, is also a well established plan. 14.Rad1 g5 15.Nd5 There really wasn't much else to do, as Black's plan of... g5-g4 had to be countered somehow, and Nd4 clearly wasn't an option. Nxd5 15...g4 is now well met by 16. Nh2. 15...Nxe4 16.Bd4! is also inadvisable. 15...Qg6 also deserves to be mentioned, not for its merits, but for the refutation: 16.Ne5! 16.Bxd5! Clearly the best practical decision. I checked it for a while to make sure, that I am not worse in any of the main lines. The move does not lead to an advantage for White, but it is much more challenging for Black than 16.exd5 Ne5 17.Nxe5 Qxe2 18.Rxe2 Bxe5 which was actually played in an earlier game Bologan-Malakhov. In fact, Black might even have a slight initiative here, as he has a clear plan of pushing the queenside pawns, and 19. Bd4 can even be met by 19... f6!?, 16...Bxb2 Clearly the best move, but as he spent quite a bit of time on it, his first real think in the game, I felt quite good about my chances nevertheless. 16...e6 17.Bxc6 17.Bb3 Bxb2 18.Rxd6 Be8 is probably okay for Black. 17...Bxc6 18.Bd4 e5 18...Bf8 19.c4 19.Bc3 should leave White with some advantage, as the many weaknesses in the black position should be worth the price of giving Black the bishop pair. 17.Rb1 17.Qb5 is harmless, as Black has the pleasant choice of Be5 17...Bf6 18.Qxb7 Be8 is the other decent option, when Black should have a good game due to my relatively misplaced queen. 18.Qxb7 Bxh3 19.gxh3 Qxf3 20.Bxc6 Qxh3 21.Qd7 g4 22.f4! with a perpetual. 17...Bc3! Once again the sharpest move is also the best. 17...Bf6 18.Rxb7 Be8 19.Qa6 gives White the initative due to the neat trick e6 20.Rxa7! 20.Bb3 is probably better for White as well. 20...Nxa7 21.Bxa8 Rxa8 22.Bxa7 18.Rxb7 Bxh3 18...Bxe1 was the obvious alternative, and naturally what I had calculated the most, as it at least temporarily wins an exchange. In the end, it should probably lead to a draw. 19.Rxd7 Bc3 20.Qb5 a6 A useful zwischenzug 20...Ne5 gives White the extra option of 21.Rxe7 Rab8 22.Qf1! retaining my active rook and clearly better chances. 21.Qb6 Ne5 22.Rxe7 Rab8 23.Rb7 Rxb7 24.Qxb7 Rf8 25.Qc7 and here I concluded that White would at least not be worse after 25... Nxf3+ 26. gxf3 Be5 27.Kg2. In fact, White might be a bit better here, as my bishops are really powerful. g4! However, as pointed out by the engines, ruins things a bit. 26.hxg4 Qxg4 27.Kf1 27.Nh2 Qd1+ 28.Nf1 Qg4 leads to the same result führt zu dem gleichen Resultat. 27...Bb4! 28.c3 Nxf3 29.gxf3 Qxf3 and as often happens in chess, perpetual check is the logical result in the end. 19.Nxg5 I spent quite a bit of time on this one, as I really wanted to make the tempting 19.gxh3 Bxe1 20.e5 work. Unfortunately, it leads nowhere after the simple Nxe5 20...e6 21.Bxe6 was my main point, which would lead to an elegant draw: Nxe5 21...fxe6 22.Qd3 and wins. und gewinnt. 22.Nxe5 Qxe2 23.Bxf7+ Kh8 The only move that doesn't lose immediately, but enough to force me to give perpetual check. 24.Ng6+ Kh7 24...Kg7 25.Bd4+ Qe5 26.Nxe5 dxe5 27.Bxe5+ Kf8 28.Be6 and the white attacking forces are way too strong: Rxc2 29.Bd6+ Ke8 30.Rg7 Bxf2+ 31.Kf1 and mates! 25.Be8+ Kg8 26.Bf7+= 21.Rxe7 Bc3! and White has already run out of steam. 19...Qxe2 20.Rxe2 I still had hopes of retaining an initiative here, but following his next move, made after a considerable amount of thought, those hopes were more or less dashed. In general, I felt that we both handled the complications that started on move 16 very well. Bg4! 20...hxg5 21.gxh3 Bf6 22.f4 Nd4 23.Rf2!? is what I was counting on. Even though Black should still make a draw here, White has some chances as 23.Rg2 also forces some accurate play from Black: Nxc2 24.Bd2 e6 25.Bb3 Nd4 26.fxg5 Bd8! 26...Be5 27.g6 f6 28.h4 is not a good idea for Black. 27.g6 Rc7 28.Rxc7 Bxc7 29.gxf7+ Kxf7 and Black is relatively safe. 23...Nxc2 24.fxg5 Nxe3 25.gxf6 Nxd5 26.exd5 does not seem to be a 100% draw yet, although a few more good moves will probably do the job for Black. 21.Nf3 Retreating is the only way to continue the fight, though with limited hope of success. 21.Nxf7 is why I thought that 20...Bg4 wouldn't work Bxe2 22.Ne5+ and now every move but one would lead to the complete collapse of the black position. Check for yourselves! 22.Nxd6+ Kh8 23.Nxc8 Rxc8 is obviously not a very bright winning attempt 22...Kh8! is once again the only move, and once again entirely sufficient. I had missed this little detail in my preliminary calculations. 23.Nxc6 e6 This is the (relatively obvious) point, which would not have been possible after any other king move. Now White is lucky to have a bailout with 24.Ne7 exd5 25.Ng6+= 21...e6 22.Bxc6 Rxc6 23.Bxh6 Bxf3 24.gxf3 Ra6 A very reasonable approach, steering the game towards a rook ending that is almost certainly drawn. 24...a5 preparing ...Rac8 would also have been a decent idea, as 25.f4 Bg7 looks like slightly improved version of the game. 25.Rc7 Bg7 26.Bxg7 Kxg7 On the other hand, I felt obliged to try at least a little with my extra pawn and therefore nominal advantage. I was encouraged by the fact that he had spent quite a bit of time on the preceding complication, and had about 15 min left here. Even though that is not really time trouble, it is not completely comfortable either if the position is just a little complicated. Additionally, Gelfand looked set to beat Nisipeanu already, and the prospect of a one-point lead instead of half a point was in no way discouraging. 27.c3!? It might look weird to move the pawn one square instead of two, but I thought I was being quite clever as I would probably play f4 at some point anyway. Then it might be a good thing that once the c-pawn is captured in some lines, the e4-f4 pawn pair will not be in danger as well. Rb8 28.f4 The only way to play for a win is to create some threats to his king at some point. The text prepares Re3-g3, as well as e4-e5. Rbb6 Preparing a rook exchange with ...Rc6, when it would be a 100% certain draw. 28...Rb1+ 29.Kg2 Ra1 30.Rb2 Rb6 31.Rd2 Ra6 32.Rd3 would be very similar to the game. 29.Rd7 The only way to continue playing for a win. Rc6 30.Re3 Rxa2 31.e5 dxe5 32.fxe5 Rc5?! Falling right in with my plans. 32...Kg6! 33.Rf3 Rc5 34.Rfxf7 Rxe5 35.Rxa7 Rxa7 36.Rxa7 Rc5 37.Ra3 Kf5 would have brought the game to its logical conclusion. 33.Rg3+! Now Black is forced to the eight rank, Kf8 as 33...Kh6?? 34.Rd8 Kh7 35.Rd4 would have been an inglorious end for Black. 34.Rf3 Rxe5 35.Rfxf7+ Ke8 However, it's still a draw. 36.Rfe7+ Kf8 37.Rh7 Kg8 38.Rdg7+ Kf8 39.Rb7 Kg8?! Now Black's task is very complicated indeed. 39...Rg5+ 40.Kf1 Kg8 41.Rxa7 41.Rhe7 Rf5! 41...Rxa7 42.Rxa7 Rc5 43.Ra3 Kf7 44.Ke2 Kf6 45.Kd3 Rd5+ was still a relatively straightforward draw. 40.Rhg7+ Kh8 41.Rge7 Rg5+ 42.Kf1 Rc2 43.Rbc7 a5? This seems to me to be the decisive mistake. He could probably still have held the position with 43...Rg6! 44.Re8+ Rg8 45.Rxe6 Rf8 which is the big difference compared to the game. 46.Re2 Rc1+ 47.Kg2 Rg8+ 48.Kf3 Rg7 It is hard to say whether this is winning for White or not, but my feeling is that it is closer to a draw than a win for White. 44.Rxe6 a4 45.Ra6 Rg4 45...Rg7 is probably what he had been counting on, but after the accurate 46.Rh6+! Kg8 47.Rc8+ Kf7 48.Ra6 now Black is still in a real bind, as the g7-rook cannot move due to Rc7+ and Ra8 with mate. Ra2 49.c4 a3 50.c5 Ra1+ 51.Ke2 a2 52.Kf3 and White should win. 46.c4 This pawn naturally cannot be taken by either rook due to the check on a8. Rg7 47.Rxg7 Kxg7 48.Rxa4 This is a technical win. Kf6 49.Kg2 Ke5 50.Ra5+! My only problem was the passive rook on a4. Now it will be activated either in front of, or the other side of the c4-pawn. Ke6 50...Kf4 51.Rc5+- 50...Kd4 51.Rd5+! Kxc4 52.Rd8 cuts off the king and wins easily: Ra2 53.Kg3 Ra7 54.f4 Rg7+ 55.Kf3 Rf7 56.Kg4 Rg7+ 57.Kf5+- 51.Rc5 Kd6 52.Rd5+ Ke6 53.Rd4 Ke5 54.Rh4 Rc3 55.c5 Exploiting the opportunity to advance the pawn. The pawn endings are always won. Kf5 56.Rh8! The most accurate. Kf4 57.Rc8 Ke5 58.c6 Kd6 59.f3 Preparing Kg3 and Kg4 followed by f4 and so forth. Rc5 60.Kg3 Rg5+ 61.Kh4 Rg1 62.f4 Ke7 63.c7 Rc1 Sets a final trap. 63...Kd7 64.Rd8+ Kxc7 65.Rd2 wins easily. 64.Kg5 64.Rh8 or Rg8 was not to be recommended! 1–0
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Carlsen,M2813Radjabov,T27401–02010B35Bazna Kings 4th7

No doubt that one of the advantages Magnus has is an enviable physical shape, acquired through...

...football, where he is very good at! (Wijk aan Zee 2015, photo Alina l'Ami)

 

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1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.Nc3 Bb4 5.Bg5 Nbd7 6.cxd5 exd5 7.Qc2 c5 8.dxc5 h6 9.Bd2 This variation is naturally not especially dangerous for Black. However, as the game shows, White has some chances for a small, stable edge. 0-0 10.e3 Bxc5 11.Rc1 Qe7 12.Be2 a6 13.Qd3 An important move; Black should not be allowed to play ...b5 and ...Bb7 with easy play. Qb3 with the same idea was also possible, but I felt that the queen would be better on d3. Nb6 14.0-0 Bg4 Frankly, I didn't understand why he wanted to provoke Nd4, as in general exchanges favour White here. 14...Be6 was perfectly sensible. 15.Nd4 Bd7 I don't think it was necessary to withdraw the bishop immediately as after 15...Rac8 16.Bxg4 16.b3 is probably more accurate, but should hardly trouble Black much either 16...Nxg4 17.Nf3 Ne5 18.Nxe5 Qxe5 Black is fine: 19.b3 d4 20.f4 dxe3! 21.fxe5 exd2+ 22.Kh1 dxc1Q 23.Rxc1 Rfd8 24.Qf3 Bd4 25.Ne2 Rxc1+ 26.Nxc1 Bxe5= 16.Bf3 Rfe8 17.b3 Ba3 17...Ne4 18.Nxd5 just loses a pawn. 18.Rc2 Rac8 18...Ne4 19.Nce2 does not change too much. 19.Nce2 Now White is definitely better. However, it is still difficult to make any substantial progress. Rxc2 20.Qxc2 Be6 Very sensible, as Ba5 was an annoying threat. The text gives the knight a square on d7. 21.Bc1 Rc8 21...Bd6 would be desirable, but gives White some time to regroup: 22.Bb2 Rc8 23.Qb1 Nbd7 24.Nf4 Ne5 25.Be2 with a very pleasant position. 22.Bxa3 Qxa3 23.Qd2 Bg4! An important move. After the bishops are gone, White will not have too many resources left, and the temporary lack of coordination in the black camp (the knights on b6 and g4 are loose, and even the rook might be hanging in some lines) cannot be exploited. 23...Nbd7 24.Nf4 Qe7 25.Rc1 Rxc1+ 26.Qxc1 Ne5 27.Be2 would give White the kind of position he's aiming for. 24.Bxg4 Nxg4 25.Nf5 Nf6 26.h3 I spent a lot of time on this and the next few moves, looking for a way to increase my advantage, but everywhere Black defends easily enough. Kh7 27.Qd4 Nbd7 28.Qf4 Nf8 The most natural. 28...Qxa2 29.Ned4 Qa3 looks risky, but is probably also playable: 30.g4 30.Nd6 Rc1 31.Rxc1 Qxc1+ 32.Kh2 Qc7= 30.Nxg7 Kxg7 31.Nf5+ Kg6 32.b4 Qc3 leads nowhere 30...Rc1 31.Rxc1 Qxc1+ 32.Kg2 g5 33.Qd6 Qc5 and Black is ok. 29.Neg3 29.Nxh6? was tempting, but doesn't quite work: Ne6 30.Qf5+ 30.Qh4 g5 31.Qg3 Ne4! 31...Kxh6 32.f4 is actually quite dangerous 32.Qf3 Kxh6 33.Qxf7 Qd6 34.Ng3 Ng7 35.Nxe4 dxe4 36.Qxb7 Rc6 and only Black can be better 30...Kxh6 31.g4 Qb2 32.Ng3 g5! 32...g6 is what I calculated, and is also quite sufficient: 33.g5+ Kg7 33...Nxg5 34.Qxc8 34.gxf6+ Qxf6 35.Qxd5 Rc2= 33.f4 Rc1 and White is busted 33...gxf4 34.g5+ Nxg5 35.Qxf4 Rc1 36.h4 Rxf1+ 37.Kxf1 might be enough for a draw 29.Ned4 Ng6 30.Qd6 Qxd6 31.Nxd6 Rc7 and it's unclear what the knight is doing on d6. 29...Ng6 29...Ne6 was possibly even more precise. It looks weird to give the white queen such a nice post on e5 for free, but after the cool 30.Qe5 Rc6! White has nothing 31.Nxg7 Nxg7 shows the point of ...Rc6. 30.Qd4 Qc5 The only move (the threath of Nxg7 was very unpleasant). Now White has to exchange queens. 31.f3 Qxd4 32.Nxd4 Ne5 33.Rd1 g6 34.Kf2 Kg7 35.Nge2 Kf8 36.g4 White is still a little better here, but since the only black weakness is well defended and Black is active enough, there are no real winning chances. Nc6 37.Rc1 Ke7 37...Ne7 was quite possible. Short on time, I was intending to repeat moves once, and then think about whether to exchange rooks or knights. I would probably have chosen the first option. 38.h4 Kd6 39.h5 There is not really anything else. In order to have any chances for a win, I need to create a weakness on the kingside, and there h6 is the target. Ne7 39...gxh5 40.Nf5+! 40.gxh5 Nxh5 41.Rh1 Nxd4 42.Nxd4 Ng7 43.Rxh6+ Ne6= 40...Kd7 41.gxh5 Nxh5 42.Rh1 Nf6 43.Rxh6 would be unpleasant for Black. 40.Rh1 gxh5 41.gxh5 Rg8 Since the exchange of queens Ivanchuk had been playing more or less at blitz speed, and I was wondering whether he considered the position an easy draw, or was simply not in the mood for a painstaking defence. Anyway, White certainly has something to play for here, even though there is no doubt that Black should hold with sensible play. 42.Ng3 Rg5 43.b4 43.f4 Rg8 44.Kf3 Kd7 leads nowhere. I thought it would be useful to postpone f4, as one of my knights or even the rook might want to use that square. 43...Kd7 44.Rh4 Ne8 45.Rf4 Nd6 46.a4 b6 This was not necessary. 46...Re5 was quite ok. I don't see any serious was to play for a win here 47.Rg4 Nef5! 47.a5 Naturally, I should not let the opportunity to create a potential weakness on a6 go, even though my own pawn on a5 might also be weak in some lines. bxa5 48.bxa5 f5?! I thought this was a serious inaccuracy during the game. There is no real need to leave this pawn as a target for both my knights. Staying put with ...Re5 was probably still fine. 49.Rh4 Nc4? 49...Rg8 50.Nge2 Rb8 51.Rh1 Rb2 52.Kg3 Ra2 53.Nf4 Rxa5 54.Ng6 gives White a serious initative, as the king suddenly has a square on f4, and the black king might start to feel uncomfortable after a timely Ne5. 50.f4 Rg4 51.Rh3 An ugly move, but I didn't want to allow 51.Rh1 Nxe3 52.Kf3 Rg8 53.Rb1 Nc4 which did not look clear to me at the board. Probably though, the position after 54.Rb7+ Kd6 55.Ndxf5+ Nxf5 56.Nxf5+ Kc5 57.Rc7+! Kb4 58.Ne7 still offers winning chances, but it looked really messy. 51...Nd6 52.Rh1 Rg8 52...Ne4+ 53.Nxe4 dxe4 54.Rb1 just helps White, who is dominating. 53.Rb1 Ra8 54.Kf3 Kc7 55.Ne6+ Once again, I was a little short of time, and wanted to repeat moves before going for Rb6. 55.Rb6 wins, as the following instructive variation shows: Kd7 55...Nec8 56.Ne6+ Kd7 57.Nc5+ Kc7 58.Rxa6 Rb8 59.Ne2+- 56.Nb3 Kc7 57.Nc5 Nc6 58.Nxa6+ Kd7 59.Nc5+ Kc7 60.Ne6+ Kd7 61.a6! Kxe6 62.Rxc6 Kd7 63.Rc5 Rxa6 64.Ne2! and with Nd4 and Rxd5 to come, White should win. 55...Kc8 I was a little upset that I allowed him this extra option, but White is still winning. 56.Nc5 Rb8 56...Nc6 57.Rb6 Kc7 would transpose to the variations after 55.Rb6, and 56...Nc4 57.Rb7 loses trivially. 57.Rxb8+ Kxb8 58.Nxa6+ Kb7 59.Nb4 White is winning here, as Black doesn't have enough time to gobble up the a-pawn. Nc4 60.a6+ Kb6 61.Ke2 Nd6 62.Kd3 Nb5 63.Ne2 Ka5 63...Nc7 64.Nd4 Nxa6 65.Nxa6 Kxa6 66.Ne2 with Kd4 and an easy win to come. 64.Nc3 Nc7 65.Nbxd5! A nice finishing touch. The king invasion is completely decisive, even a knight down! Nexd5 66.Nxd5 Nxd5 67.a7 Nc7 68.Kd4 Kb6 69.Ke5 Kxa7 70.Kxf5 Nd5 71.Kg6 Nxe3 72.Kxh6 Black is several tempi short here, so he resigned. I am happy with the way I conducted this endgame, although some of Ivanchuk's decisions and especially his time management left something to be desired. 1–0
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Carlsen,M2815Ivanchuk,V27761–02011D38Bazna Kings 5th7

 

Chess means a lot of work but one reaches nowhere without having fun too!
Dorian Rogozenco is a constant presence in the tournament, known for his multitasking abilities!

We move on to the years 2012 and 2013, when we witnessed another downsize in the number of participants, but without having any compromises on the quality of the games. Moreover, to draw more awareness on the chess event, the organizers decided to move their whereabouts into the capital, to Bucharest.

The more inspiring, the better – Bucharest Academy of Economic Studies

It is true that Topalov appears to be occupying the 1st place but the rules required a Rapid tie-break to be played in case of equality, which was won with 1.5-0.5 by Ivanchuk, making him the overall winner.

The secret of the two times winner (2009 and 2012) in the Kings Tournament:
is to find the right balance between work and rest. (photo Alina l'Ami)

With such line-ups, success is almost guaranteed.

The 2013 winner (photo Alina l'Ami)

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1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.g3 Nc6 4.Bg2 Nf6 5.Qe2 e5!? An interesting new concept. Usually 5...d6 or 5...d5 is played. 6.0-0 Be7 7.c3 7.d3 0-0 , and Black will prepare ...d5 while it's not clear what White is doing. 7...0-0 8.d4 Ruslan instinctively went for the most critical line. 8.Rd1 d5 9.exd5 Qxd5 is very fine for Black. 8...cxd4 9.cxd4 d5!? Enterprising, but not required. 9...exd4 10.e5 Ne8 seems fine for Black, but it seemed a bit awkward to me. 10.exd5 10.dxe5 dxe4 11.exf6 exf3 liquidates everything with complete equality. 10...Nxd4 11.Nxd4 exd4 12.Qe5 d3 This pawn looks like it's ready to fall off the board, but it's surprisingly difficult to get rid of! 13.Nc3 During the game I was more concerned by 13.Bf4 Re8 14.Qd4 Bf5 15.d6 , but as I mentioned during the press conference, Black is doing well after Qd7 , and next ...Rad8. 13...Re8 14.Bf4? A terrible blunder. After 14.Qd4 Bf5 15.Bf4 Qd7 the position is balanced. 14...Ba3 I imagine Ruslan completely overlooked this move. Suddenly White is on the verge of losing. 15.Qd4 Bxb2 16.Qxd3 Correctly sacrificing the exchange, and keeping some practical chances to hold on. 16.Rab1 Bxc3 17.Qxc3 Nxd5 is simply hopeless for White, two pawns down. 16...Bxa1 17.Rxa1 Bd7 18.h3 Rc8 19.Be3 Bf5 A difficult decision. I chose well, but there were other attractive options. 20.Qxf5 Rxc3 21.Bd4 Rc4?! A ridiculous move. Now White gets an extra tempo to play Bf1. 21...Rc7! 22.Rd1 22.Bxa7 Rd7 wins the d-pawn because 23.Rd1? b6 traps the bishop 22...b6 , and Black has an advantage which I feel will be sufficient to win. 22.Rd1 Qd6? Another strange mistake. I had begun to drift and almost lost all my advantage. Prophylaxis was required: 22...a6! 23.Bf1 Rc7 , and now White doesn't have Bb5. 24.Bb6 is met by Qd7 23.Bf1 Rb4 23...Rcc8 24.Bd3 is starting to look very unclear. 23...Rc7 24.Bb5! is what I had missed, although Black still keeps a significant advantage after Nd7 24.Bc3 I was most concerned by 24.Qc2!? , which nearly traps my rook! I can fight on with Qd7 , but White has very good chances to defend by now. 24...Rbe4! This took a fair amount of calculation. I saw I could more or less take a draw with 24...Rb6, or play this risky but principled move. In the end I realized it would be such a shame to spoil an advantage like I had from the opening, so I pulled myself together and finally calculated a line or two. 24...Rb6 25.Bd4 just repeats. Qxd5 26.Qxd5 Nxd5 27.Bxb6 Nxb6 28.Bg2 is absolutely equal. 25.Bb5 25.Bd3? Qxd5 26.Qxd5 Nxd5 27.Bxe4 Nxc3 wins. 25...Qc5 Forced or I'm worse. 26.Bxf6? This loses. The alternative wasn't great but White would have chances to survive. 26.Bxe8 Qxc3 27.Bb5 g6 28.Qg5 Re1+ 29.Rxe1 Qxe1+ 30.Kg2 30.Bf1 Ne4 31.Qe3 Qxe3 32.fxe3 Nxg3 seems winning. 30...Qe4+ 31.Kg1 Nxd5 , with an extra pawn and chances to win, but the outcome is far from certain. 26...Re1+ 26...Qxb5?? 27.Qg5 Re1+ 28.Kh2 g6 29.Qh6 mates. 27.Kh2 27.Kg2 Qxb5 , and now after Qg5 I have a crucial check on f1. 27.Rxe1 Rxe1+ 28.Kh2 gxf6 is also winning. 27...Rxd1 28.Bxe8 Rxd5! I imagine Ruslan missed this move when he took on f6. 29.Be5 29.Bxf7+ Kxf7 30.Be5+ Ke7 31.Qg5+ Ke6-+ 29...Rxe5 29...f6! is even more clinical, but this was too much to ask from me. 30.Qxf7+ Kh8 White is simply an exchange down with no compensation. I could have been more accurate finishing the game, but it was enough. 31.Bd7 Qe7 32.Qf4 Qf6 33.Qd2 b5 34.Bg4 h5 35.Bd1 h4 36.Bg4 Re8 37.gxh4 Qxh4 38.Kg2 Qe7 39.Bf3 Rd8 40.Qf4 Qf6 41.Qg4 g6 42.Qe4 Qg5+ 43.Kf1 a5 44.h4 Qf5 45.Qc6 Rf8 46.Qc3+ Kh7 0–1
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Ponomariov,R2751Caruana,F27790–12013B40Kings Tournament 7th8

As for the editions played in 2014 and this year, the tournament went through another make-over, changing from closed events into matches, played against China and Germany, respectively, in a format called the Scheveningen system (each player of one team plays each player of the other team). Then according to the standings, the best players of each team (those who scored the most points in their team) will play a match consisting of two rapid games. The winner of this match will be announced the winner of the Kings Tournament.

Unfortunately for the Romanians, the Olympic Champions in 2014 – the Chinese team – crushed ours without any sign of mercy. All four rounds were lost and in the end, the overall winner was Wang Yue.

A valuable collectable

When life gives you lemons, make lemonade.
A lesson learned the hard way for our team but a good experience, nonetheless!

And now I reach the core of the saying: “better an egg today than a hen tomorrow”. It is indeed spectacular to see Carlsen at work but it doesn't mean that less “strong” GMs will not be able to make your chess day. Besides, if before usually only one Romanian player was invited to take part, in the past two years the entire Romanian Olympic team was able to participate, making it very useful in the long run for our players.

Energy with the power of human brain (playing in the Gas Museum)

To illustrate the fact one will not regret following our games (the Romanians are known for their fighting and intrepid spirits), I bring you two beautiful examples from this year's match against Germany (some of you know the solutions already from my FB or TW posts but if you haven't seen them yet, do give it a try!):

1. Parligras – Bluebaum, Medias 2015

White to play and win!

Solution

2. Donchenko – Marin, Medias 2015

Black to play and win!

Solution

Unfortunately, one swallow (or two or three) does not make a summer and in the end the German team won the match but the overall winner was our player, the 14 y.o. talented Deac Bogdan-Daniel!

The winner of Kings Tournament 2015 (photo Alina l'Ami)

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MoveNResultEloPlayers
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1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.g3 d5 4.Bg2 dxc4 5.Nf3 Bb4+ 6.Bd2 a5 7.0-0 0-0 8.Bg5 h6 9.Bxf6 Qxf6 10.Qc2 Nc6 11.Qxc4 e5 12.d5 Nb8 13.Nc3 Na6 14.a3 Bd6 15.Nd2 Bd7 16.Nce4 Qe7 17.Qc3 a4 18.f4 exf4 19.gxf4 f5 20.Nxd6 cxd6 21.e4 Rac8 22.Qd4 fxe4 23.Nxe4 Nc5 24.Rae1 Nxe4 25.Rxe4 Qf6 26.Qxf6 Rxf6 27.Rb4 b5 28.Be4 Rc5 29.f5 Rf8 30.Rd4 Kf7 31.Kf2 Re8 32.h4 Re5 33.Kg3 Kf6 34.h5 Bxf5 35.Rb4 g6 36.hxg6 Kxg6 37.Bf3 Bd3 38.Rg4+ Rg5 39.Re1 Bf5 40.Rxg5+ hxg5 41.Re3 Kf6 42.b3 axb3 43.Rxb3 Ke5 44.Kf2 Kd4 45.Rb4+ Kc3 46.Ke3 Bd7 47.Be4 Rc8 48.Rb1 Ra8 49.Rc1+ Kb2 50.Rc7 Be8 51.Re7 Kxa3 52.Rg7 b4 53.Rxg5 b3 54.Rg7 Ba4 55.Kd2 b2 56.Rb7 Re8 57.Bd3 Re5 58.Bc4 Re4 59.Kc3 Re1 60.Bd3 Rc1+ 61.Kd2 Rc5 62.Be4 Rb5 63.Ra7 Rxd5+ 64.Kc3 Rc5+ 65.Kd4 Rc1 66.Ra6 Kb4 67.Bd3 Rc6 68.Ra8 Rb6 69.Bb1 Bb3 70.Rh8 d5 71.Rg8 Bc4 72.Bc2 Ba2 73.Ra8 Bc4 74.Rg8 Ra6 75.Rb8+ Ka3 76.Rg8 Ka2 77.Rg1 Rh6 78.Kc3 Rf6 79.Rh1 Rf1 80.Rh8 Rf3+ 81.Kd4 b1Q 82.Bxb1+ Kxb1 83.Rh2 Kc1 84.Rg2 Rd3+ 85.Kc5 Rd2 0–1
  • 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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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Fridman,D2649Deac,B24550–12015E04Kings Tournament ROU-GER2.4

 

Elisabeta Polihroniade, the driving force behind the Kings Tournament(s)

Romanians are hard workers, no doubt about it; to enter the chess zone for the European Team Championship, the men team had their workout against Germany, whereas our women team had a training session in this beautiful mountains...we shall see how the final results will look like in Reykjavik :)

To finish on a good note: each edition of the Kings Tournament had its special moments but in the end, beauty is in the eyes of the beholder. After various changes and nine years of history, I can only speculate how the jubilee will look like next year. I just know I will be watching and I trust you will be too!

Photos: Facebook page of the Kings Tournament and Alina l'Ami

Alina is an International Master and a very enthusiastic person in everything she does. She loves travelling to the world's most remote places in order to play chess tournaments and report about them here on ChessBase! As chance would have it Alina is also an excellent photographer.

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