Tomashevsky leads Superfinals

by Eteri Kublashvili
8/12/2015 – With a fine mix of quiet and aggressive play Evgeny Tomashevsky won against reigning champion Igor Lysyj in round three of the Russian Superfinals. He now leads the field with 2.5/3, half-a-point ahead of four players. In the women's tournament top seed Valentina Gunina showed her tactical skills and won her second game in a row. Report and analyses.
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Tomashevsky Leads in the Men's Russian Championship Superfinal. Girya and Goriachkina ahead in the Women's Contest

The 68th Men's Russian Chess Championship and the 65th Women's Russian Chess Championship is played in Chita from 9. to 21. August. The competition is held by the Russian Chess Federation, the Elena and Gennady Timchenko Charitable Foundation and the Zabaykalsky Krai Chess Federation, with support from the government of the Zabaykalsky Krai. The competition partners are Norilsk Nickel and the Baikalsk Mining Company.

Round 3 - Results (Men)
D. Khairullin ½-½ P. Svidler
I. Bukavshin ½-½ D. Dubov
S. Karjakin ½-½ N. Vitiugov
V. Artemiev 1-0 A. Motylev
D. Jakovenko ½-½ D. Khismatullin
E. Tomashevsky 1-0 I. Lysyj

Vladislav Artemiev, the Superfinal's youngest participant, scored his first win at the Superfinal. The Omsk player was in a very combative mood and sacrificed a piece for two pawns to get an attack. Alexander Motylev thwarted the first wave of the attack but had too little time left for pondering. In a position that was objectively better for Black, but still very sharp and tense, Motylev made a blunder, overlooking a powerful tactical blow from his opponent. After a few moves Black had to acknowledge defeat.

 
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1.d4 d5 2.c4 dxc4 This is only the fourth time that Motylev has played the Queen's Gambit Accepted as Black. The last time he played it, it was against super-aggressive players like Shirov (twice) and Iordachescu. It could mean that he also considers Artemiev to be quite a dangerous attacker, something which the youngster proves in this game! 3.e3 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.e3 Bg4 is an extra option that the black player receives if the knight is developed on f3 before e3. 3...e5 4.Bxc4 4.dxe5?! Qxd1+ 5.Kxd1 Be6= is already very fine for Black. 4...exd4 5.exd4 Bd6 6.Nf3 Nf6 7.0-0 0-0 8.h3 Artemiev played this after four minutes of thought which means he was already out of his preparation. The move h3 is not the most accurate as Bg4 was not really a threat. It is better to begin with Nc3. 8.Nc3 Nc6 8...Bg4?! 9.h3 Bh5 10.g4! Bg6 11.Ne5± 9.h3 transposes to the game. 8...Nc6 9.Nc3 Bf5?! Motylev shows a lack of knowledge about this opening. It was more important to prevent the Bg5 pin by means of h6. 9...h6 10.Qc2!? This is Avrukh's suggestion in his book on 1.d4, preventing Bf5. Nb4 11.Qb1 Be6!? 12.Bxe6 fxe6 With a position which is quite tenable for Black. 10.Bg5! Now this pin is pretty irritating and there is no real good way to get out of it. h6 11.Bh4 g5 After 12 minutes of thought Motylev decides to take extreme measures to break the pin. But now Artemiev shows why he should be feared as a dangerous tactician. 12.Nxg5!? Played by Artemiev after 15 minutes of thought. Even if this sacrifice were to be objectively incorrect, it would be extremely difficult to defend it over the board. But I have a feeling that it is not at all incorrect. White has great compensation for his piece. 12.Bg3 has been played in all the previous five games that have reached this position. White retains a very pleasant edge here after Bxg3 13.fxg3 Bg6 14.d5! Ne7 15.g4 White has more space and the black kingside is pretty weak. 12...hxg5 13.Bxg5 Re8 Motylev had to decide on how he was going to defend himself and he came up with this move after 23 minutes! Just shows how difficult it is to defend in a practical game. 13...Be7 is what I considered to be the most natural move breaking the pin. After 14.Re1 Threatening a sacrifice on e7. Bg6 14...Kg7!? 15.Qf3 Nxd4 16.Qe3 Nc2 17.Qf3 Nd4= is a very curious repetition showed by the computer. Not sure if the players would have played it that way. 15.Rxe7!? Qxe7 16.Qf3 Kg7 17.Nd5 Nxd5 18.Bxe7 Ndxe7 19.Qc3! Black has two pieces and rook for the queen and two pawns. Materially things are fine but the king is exposed and the knights have no fixed squares to sit on. It is much easier to play as white here. 14.Qd2 In general White has many ways to continue. The computers prefer a move like Rc1 or Nd5 but I would not like to analyze them in too much depth because Qd2 connecting the rooks is quite natural. It turns out to be a mistake that gives Black excellent chances to defend. 14.Nd5 Be7 15.Nxf6+ 15.Nxe7+ Qxe7 15...Bxf6 16.Qh5 Rf8 17.Bh6∞ 14...Nxd4! When your back is pressed against the wall, you have no choice but to fight back. 15.Rad1 15.Nd5? seemed natural but fails to Ne4! 16.Bxd8 Nxd2-+ And White is just a piece down without any compensation. 15...c5 The knight sits in the centre of the board and controls everything for the moment. 16.b4! Artemiev plays this position not caring for the fact that he has only a pawn for the piece. This is how Mikhail Tal used to play and that was the secret behind his success. He would keep building the pressure and his opponents would sooner or later collapse. 16.Nd5? Ne4! 16...b6 This was a natural move but Motylev took 12 minutes to make it! Time trouble is slowly approaching! 17.bxc5 bxc5 18.Rfe1 .... as if nothing has happened! Rxe1+ 19.Qxe1 Now that the queen has moved away from d2, Nd5 becomes a threat. Be6? And finally Black succumbs under pressure! How many accurate moves can Motylev make? After all he too is human! 19...Be7 was natural and pretty good. 20.Qe5 Be6! 20...Bg6?! 21.h4!?∞ 21.Bxe6 fxe6 22.Rd3 Rc8 23.Rg3 Kf8 Black has the upper hand. 20.Bxe6 fxe6 20...Nxe6 21.Bxf6 Qxf6 22.Rxd6+- 21.Rxd4! This move was crying out to be played. Bh2+? This brings the game to an abrupt end. 21...cxd4 22.Qxe6+ Kg7 23.Nd5 looks completely winning but Black has the surprising resource with Nxd5! 24.Bxd8 Rxd8 25.Qg4+ Kf8 26.Qxd4± I would rate White's chances to win this position as extremely good especially because the players need to make another 14 moves to reach the time control. But objectively speaking Black has some chances to hold. 22.Kxh2 Qxd4 23.Qxe6+ Kg7 24.Ne2! A quiet little move relocating the knight to f4 where it will give the deadly check on h5. A very bold game by Artemiev who put some immense pressure on Motylev. Alexander defended well but the time pressure along with the pressure on the board became too much for him to handle at a certain point! 24.Ne2 Qd8 25.Nf4+- 1–0
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Artemiev,V2671Motylev,A26581–02015D2068th Superfinal RUS-ch Men3

After three rounds Evgeny Tomashevsky leads the field with 2.5/3.

Evgeny Tomashevsky again demonstrated the depth of his home preparation which helped him to win against reigning champion Igor Lysyj.

 
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1.c4 Nf6 2.Nc3 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.d4 c5 5.cxd5 Nxd5 6.e4 Nxc3 7.bxc3 cxd4 8.cxd4 Bb4+ 9.Bd2 Bxd2+ 10.Qxd2 0-0 11.Bc4 Nc6 12.0-0 b6 13.Rad1 Na5 14.Bd3 Bb7 15.h4 Rc8 16.h5 h6 17.Rfe1 Qe7 Let's catch the action from this position in the game between Tomashevsky and Lysyj. This game shows perfectly well how a 2750 player - Tomashevsky is able to assess the value of initiative vis-a-vis material. Something which mere mortals like us always struggle to understand. 18.d5 The central majority is White's main trump here and soon or later he has to go for this central break. Nc4 A move made after 25 minutes of thought. 19.Bxc4 And Tomashevsky played this extremely natural move after thinking for 29 minutes. He must have been really weighing the pros and cons of this exchange. 19.Qe2 exd5 20.exd5 Qxe2 21.Bxe2 Rfd8 gives Black nothing to worry about. 19.Qf4 Nb2 20.Rd2 Nxd3 21.Rxd3 This must have been surely one of the candidate positions in Tomashevsky's mind. Rfd8 22.d6 Qf6 23.Qg3 23.Qxf6 gxf6 And the pawn on d6 looks more of a weakness than a strength to me. 23...Rc4 24.e5 Qf5= And in spite of facing this protected passed pawn, Black's chances are not bad. 19...Rxc4 20.Ne5 Rc5 21.d6 Qd8 21...Qh4 looks more active but after 22.d7 Rd8 23.Qd6± White is calling the shots. 22.Qf4 White already has a completely dominating position. f6 23.Ng6± Rf7 24.e5!? 24.Qg4 was much stronger as after Qe8 24...Qd7 25.e5 f5 25...fxe5 26.Nxe5 Rxe5 27.Rxe5+- 26.Qg3+- 25.d7! Rxd7 26.Rxd7 Qxd7 27.Rd1! Qe8 28.Qxe6+‼ Qxe6 29.Rd8+ it's game over! A very pretty variation. 24...fxe5 25.Ne7+ Kf8 26.Ng6+ Kg8 27.Ne7+ Kf8 28.Qg4 Bd5 28...Rxe7 29.dxe7+ Qxe7 30.Rc1± 29.Nxd5! exd5 30.Rxe5 Qxd6 31.Rde1 This is exactly the position that I want you to have a close look at. White is a pawn down but has the initiative. His rooks are perfectly placed on the open e-file and his queen is hovering around creating dangerous threats. The weak position of the black king also adds to his woes. All in all you can understand that for the investment of a pawn, White has a clear initiative. Rf6 The only logical move. 32.Re8+ Kf7 33.Qa4! An irritating move to face. the a7 pawn is attacked. Should I play a5 or go back and defend with Rc7? Lysyj prefers the latter. Rc7 33...a5 34.Qa3!? With the idea of going to d3-h7. 34.Qb5 Planning Qd3-h7. Qc6 35.Qe2 What is the threat? Of course Qe7+ and mate in two! Qc5 35...Rf4! with the idea of Re4 was more accurate but under time pressure such moves are always very difficult to find. 36.g3‼ Two exclamations are a little bit too much but you can understand my enthusiasm right? Lysyj is under time pressure and concretely there are no threats that White can make right now. So Tomashevsky takes just 28 seconds and improves his position in a very small way. Also he has thrown back the ball in Black's court and asks him to come up with a move. Rd7? A bad blunder whose refutation is not at all easy to see. 36...Qd6 would have kept White's advantage to a minimum. 37.Re6! It's all over now. Rd8 37...Rf5 38.Rf6+‼ Not so easy to see but not too difficult for a player like Tomashevsky! gxf6 38...Rxf6 39.Qe8# 38...Kxf6 39.Qe6+ Kg5 40.Qg6# 39.Qe8+ Kg7 40.Qxd7++- 38.Rxf6+ gxf6 38...Kxf6 39.Qe6+ Kg5 40.Qg6# 39.Qg4! Rg8 40.Qd7+ followed by Re8#. I would say this was a brilliant demonstration of how having more active pieces and the initiative can be more important that material advantage. 1–0
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Tomashevsky,E2747Lysyj,I26731–02015D4168th Superfinal RUS-ch Men3

The four other games were drawn but had interested moments. Here's one example.

 
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Standings after three rounds

Women

Round 1 - Results (Women)
A. Kosteniuk ½-½ M. Guseva
K. Lagno 1-0 E. Ovod
A. Savina 0-1 V. Gunina
O. Girya ½-½ N. Pogonina
E. Kovalevskaya ½-½ A. Bodnaruk
A. Kashlinskaya ½-½ A. Goryachkina

Valentina Gunina, who played against Anastasia Savina committed a few gaffes at the end of the opening, giving White an opportunity to mount an aggressive onslaught in the center. Obviously, Valentina had underestimated her opponent's attacking possibilities but Anastasia failed to find a clear path to victory and missed a strong counterstrike by Black. The position became much sharper and led to a the tactical complications Gunina handles so well. Soon White's position became hopeless.

Valentina Gunina

 
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Ekaterina Lagno and Evgenija Ovod played a rare line of the Scotch. White secured a long-term initiative, and Lagno gradually outplayed her opponent.

Kateryna Lagno

 
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The women's tournament

Olga Girya

The other games were drawn. But some players missed good chances and Ekaterina Kovalevskays even agreed to a draw in a winning position against Anastasia Bodnaruk:

 
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Standings after three rounds

Photos: Vladimir Barsky and Eteri Kublashvili

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Eteri Kublashvili is a chessplayer and reports and photographs from all official tournaments for the Russian Chess Federation.

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