7/30/2017 – Leader Etienne Bacrot drew against Peter Leko to remain on top with 4.5 / 6. The closest pursuers are now Pentala Harikrishna and Ruslan Ponomariov. The Ukrainian former FIDE World Champion overcame of David Navara's Najdorf, as the Czech's slide continues. Rafael Vaganian got a win to pull himself out of the cellar. | Photos: Pascal Simon
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50th Biel International Festival
Round 6
Bacrot 1/2 Leko
The game of tournament leader league Etienne Bacrot proved to be less than exciting. Playing the white side of a Spanish game with 6.d3 against Peter Leko, he followed his own game against Ernesto Inarkiev from the 2016 European Team Championship, through move 15. The always well-prepared Leko had to play a few precise moves, but generally had no trouble holding the balance.
Ponomariov 1-0 Navara
David Navara had to lick his wounds after yesterday's defeat against Hou Hifan, standing at a disapointing 50% score, but instead Ponomariov poured salt in them:
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1.e4c52.Nf3d63.d4cxd44.Nxd4Nf65.Nc3a6Najdorf!
Although he has an extremely broad repertoire, Navarahas mostly trusted this sharp system of the
Sicilian. Yesterday's defeat in the Najdorf against Hou
Yifan did not scare him off.6.f3with this move order White prevents ...Ng4, which would follow 6.Be36.Be3Ng4which Navara selected in the previous round against Hou6...e57.Nb3Be68.Be3Be79.Qd29.g4?is premature, as Black gains counterplay in the centerd510.g5d411.gxf6Bxf6
0-1 (32) Hossain,E (2495)-Ghaem Maghami,E (2599) Dhaka 20079...0-010.0-0-0 ...d5 now prevented White
Can start his attack on the kingsideb511.g4Nbd712.g5b4here White has a choice of three interesting options.13.gxf613.Ne2is the old main line. Both sides pawn storm and a sharp game ensues.Ne814.f4a515.f5a416.fxe6axb3∞1-0 (71) Saric,I (2666)-Wojtaszek,R (2744) Wijk aan Zee 2015 CBM 165
[Havasi,G]13.Na4is a rarely played, but complex and interesting alternativeNh514.Qxb4d515.Qa5Qxa516.Nxa5d4∞1/2-1/2
(41) Inarkiev,E (2686)-Wojtaszek,R (2722) Gjakova 2016 CBM 173 [Baldauf,M]13.Nd5?!is, however, too cooperative. Black is happy to exchange off his f6-knight
and bring the Be6 to the important b1-h7 diagonal.Nxd514.exd5Bf513...bxc314.Qxc3Nxf615.Na5Rc816.Nc6Qd717.Nxe7+Qxe718.Qa5Rc6Up to this point both players rapidly followed
previous games. White has the advantage of the bishop pair, but Black has
the more active rooks, the Be6 is well placed and his king is
safe. Because of the pawn weaknesses, both sides have opportunities for attack and the position is double-edged.19.Rg1Rfc820.Kb1Nh520...Rxc2?!N21.Bxa6R8c622.Bb7Bxa2+22...Rxb2+23.Kxb2Qxb7+24.Ka1Ne8But here black is fighting only for a draw. In the medium term
the a-pawn will be dangerous, so that Black should play against the
white king22...Rc723.Bb623.Ka123.Kxa2?Rxb2+24.Kxb2Qxb7+25.Ka1Ra6-+23...Be624.Bxc6Rxc625.Rc120...d5thus Grischuk ran off the rails in 2011 against Topalov:21.Bg5d4?21...dxe422.fxe4Kh8∞the pin against the knight on f6 is unpleasant22.f4!h623.Bxh6Ng424.Bxg7!+-
1-0 (70) Topalov,V (2775)-Grischuk,A (2747) Monte Carlo 201121.Rg2Qf6N21...Bh322.Rgd2Bxf123.Rxf1h624.Rfd1Qf625.Rf2Qg626.Rfd2Qf627.Rf2Nf428.Bxf4Qxf429.Qd2Qf630.Qe30-1 (66) Khanin,S
(2434)-Kokarev,D (2640) Kazan 201722.Rf2h623.b3Kh724.c4! Since Black does not have any levers on the queenside
Ponomariov improves his position. His only problem remains the
f3 pawn, however, the Navara has no way to seriously threaten it.Nf425.Qb4Nh3(?)25...Rd826.Rfd2Ng6 And the counter-play
against f3 is sufficient for the time being. Yet Navara is not out of the woods yet, and Ponomariov can try to find chinks in the armour at will.27.Be227.Bg2Nf428.Bh1ist zu passivQe7=27...Nf4!26.Bxh3Bxh3I have the feeling that the exchange of
the knight for White's light-squared bishop is not a good strategy.
On the one hand the Bf1 was very passive, but on the other hand
Navaras Springer ensured a control of the dark squares and served
(on g6 or f4) as a bulwark for his king.27.Kb2Qd828.Qd2
Ponomariov now aims his queen towards the kingside. Pressure against the
d6 pawn is of lesser importance after the exchange of minor pieces.
More important is now activity and a mating attack.Rb8?too slow!
By 28...a5, Navara could have taken the initiative28...a5!29.f429.c5!?is undoubtedly critical.f5!?29...Qf6?And the difference is now that the pawn on a5 hangs30.cxd6Rd831.Qxa5Rcxd632.Rxd6Rxd633.Qc3±30.exf530.cxd6f4-+30...Bxf531.cxd6a429...a430.fxe530.f5axb331.axb3Ra830...axb331.axb3Be632.exd6Rb8-+ and the white
king position falls completely apart29.f4!29.c5?Qf6!30.cxd6Rd829...Qc7?Navara's position at this point can no longer be saved.29...Rxc430.fxe5Rxe431.exd629...exf4?!30.Rxf4Be631.e5!±30.Rg1Rxc431.Rg3d5A last attempt to muddy the waters, but
Ponomariov is not confused31...Bc832.Rfg2g633.f5+-
And the attack hits, Black is completely powerless in the face of the threat of fxg632.f5!32.Rxh3?d432...d433.Bxh6Rc334.Bxg7!Re335.Rxe3dxe336.Qxe3Kxg737.f6+Kf838.Qxh3Ke839.Rd21–0
When choosing an opening repertoire, there are days when you want to play for a win with Black, when you want to bear down on your opponent’s position with a potentially crushing attack. The Najdorf is perfect for just such occasions. Strategy, combinations, attack and defence, sacrifices and marvellous manoeuvres — exciting chess is all about the Najdorf!
Ponomariov dispatched Navara's Najdorf and moves into the upper tier of Bacrot's pursuers | Photo: Pascal Simon
Harikrishna 1-0 Hou
The India vs. China matchup ended in favor of the former as Harikrishna leapfrogged Yifan to keep pace with Pono.
Unleashing complications with 37.g4
Harikrishna's timing was perfect, as the Chinese had to calculate some difficult variations just as the time control approached. After the sequence 37...hxg4 38.Qxg4 Ra8 39.h5 Kg7 40.hxg6 Hou was under pressure:
Position after 40.hxg6
At this point both 40...Rf8 and 40...Rg8 hold the balance, but after the obvious move 40...fxg6, Harikrishna came up with 41.Qd7. The black king was now much more vulnerable than White's monarch, the and once Harikrishna's rook was able to join the attack, there was no hope for Hou.
Position after 45...Qc8: Harikrishna's 46.e5! activates the rook and combined with the potential advance of the d-pawn here was no longer any way to defend.
Hari moves to 2nd place after today's win | Photo: Pascal Simon
Georgiadis 1/2 Morozevich
Nico Georgiadis has played an outstanding tournament. Undefeated with one win, is an unexpected position for the young Swiss facing such tough opposition. Today he even had Alexander Morozevich under pressure. Morozevich sacrificed a pawn for some compensation but had to fight his way to a drawn queen ending.
Alexander Morozevich looking a bit flumoxed | Photo: Pascal Simon
Vaganian 1-0 Studer
An exciting game was played by Rafael Vaganian and Noel Studer. Vaganian sacrificed an exchange for positional compensation in the center. In a confusing endgame, Vaganian's connected passed c- and d-pawns raced against Studer's passed h-pawn, and in the end, as often happens in these games, a single move decided:
Here Studer could have drawn with the surprising 51...Rxc5+ as after 52.Bxc5 Rh4+ 53.Kd5 Rh5+ White has nothing better than to repeat.
A hard defeat for Studer, his third straight loss as he fades to clear last place.
Marco BaldaufMarco Baldauf, born 1990, has been playing since he was eight. In 2000 and 2002 he became German Junior Champion, in 2014 he became International Master. He plays for SF Berlin in the Bundesliga.
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