Abu Dhabi Masters: Six players lead

by Aditya Pai
8/10/2018 – The first three rounds of the Abu Dhabi Masters saw quite a few upsets, miscalculations and opening debacles. In fact, the top seed of the tournament, Le Quang Liem had to taste defeat at the hands of 17-year-old VS Rathanvel in the very first round. By the end of three rounds only two out of the five grandmasters rated above 2700 have been able to maintain an unblemished score of 3/3. Richard Rapport (2719) is the highest rated among them. | Photos: adchessfestival.ae

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Six GMs are three for three

The third round of the Abu Dhabi masters came to a close on Thursday evening, heading into the tournament's only rest day Friday with six players managing to remain at the top of the leaderboard. Out of the five grandmasters rated above 2700, only two — Richard Rapport and Wang Hao — were able to retain their perfect score. Daniil Dubov, Amin Bassem, Martyn Kravtsiv and Daniele Vocaturo also won their third consecutive games to join Rapport and Wang at the top.

Round 1

The initial rounds of strong open tournaments like this one are always exciting. Norm-hungry title aspirants fight to their fullest and, many a time succeed in knocking their high rated opponents off their pedestals.

In that regard, the inaugural round was quite a spectacle. The top seed of the tournament, GM Le Quang Liem was thoroughly outplayed by V S Rathanvel, a 17-year-old FIDE Master from India. With an Elo of 2348, Rathanvel was rated almost 400 points below the Vietnamese number one.

Le has been in top form lately. He has come to Abu Dhabi after a very successful outing in Dangzhou where he finished clear second in an all 2700+ rated eight-player round-robin, winning back to back games in the last two rounds. But this game painted a completely different picture. 

 
VS Rathanvel vs Le Quang Liem
Position after 17.Qb3

If one were asked to guess who was playing white in the game, one might easily fall prey to thinking it was Le Quang Liem. In a Caro-Kann Advanced, Le had established a menacing pawn on d3. In the position above, it is black to play and taking on a1 with the queen or on e5 with the knight were decent options.

However, Black played 17…Bg4, perhaps, trying to dislocate the d1 rook. If White moves the rook to e1, Qxa1 just wins. White does not have Bb2 in this case as the rook on e1 remains en prise. But Rathanvel never intended to defend the rook. He simply responded with 18.Bb2 and after 18…Bxd1 19.Rxd1 Qg4 20.Rxd3 Rd8, planted his knight in the heart of black’s position with 21.Nd6. Play turned extremely sharp after this and Rathanvel proved that his tactical skills are absolutely world class!

 
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1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.e5 Bf5 4.Nf3 e6 5.Be2 Ne7 6.0-0 c5 7.c4 Nbc6 8.Na3 a6 9.dxc5 d4 10.Qa4 Ng6 11.Rd1 Bxc5 12.b4 Ba7 13.c5 This is all well known and has been seen in many games. 0-0 14.Nc4 d3 14...Be4 is something that shold be explored. 15.Nd6 Bxf3 16.Bxf3 Ngxe5 17.Be4 f5 18.Bxc6 Nxc6 19.Bb2 with an interesting position. 15.Bf1 15.Bg5 has been seen in 12 games. Qd7 16.Nb2 h6 17.Bxd3 Bxd3 18.Rxd3 Qc7= 15...Nd4 15...Be4!? 16.Nxd4 Qxd4 17.Qb3 Bg4? 17...Nxe5 18.Nxe5 Qxe5 19.Bb2 Qf4 20.Bxd3± 17...Qxa1 18.Bb2 18.Re1 18...Bxd1 19.Rxd1! 19.Bxd4 19...Qg4 20.Rxd3 Rad8 21.Nd6 White has full compensation for the exchange. Rd7 22.Rg3 Qf4 23.Rf3 Qg5 24.Rg3 Qe7 25.Bc4 Bb8 26.Rf3 Kh8 27.g3 Qg5 28.Qc3 Qg4 29.Bf1 Kg8 30.a3 Ne7 31.Rf4 Qg5 32.h4 Qh5 33.Qd2 Qh6 34.Qc2 Nd5 35.Rg4 f5 The fireworks begin from here and Rathanvel is just so accurate. 36.exf6 Bxd6 37.fxg7 Rc8 38.Qa4! This has to be seen. Rf7 39.cxd6 Qd2 40.Bd4! The bishop defends everything. h5 40...e5!? 41.Bc5± 41.d7 Rd8 42.Qa5 Rfxd7 43.Bc5∞ 43.Bxe5 Qe1 44.Rg5 Ne3= 41.Re4 Nc3 42.d7! The key move. Rd8 43.Qa5! Rfxd7 44.Qxh5 Brilliant vision on the board. The queen which was on a4 is suddenly in the thick of action and landing on h8. Nxe4 45.Qh8+ Kf7 46.g8Q+ Rxg8 47.Qh7+ Ke8 48.Qxg8+ Ke7 49.Qh7+ Ke8 50.Qg8+ Ke7 51.Qh7+ Ke8 52.Qg6+ Ke7 53.Be3 Qd5 54.Bg2 Qd1+ 55.Kh2 Nd2 56.Bc5+ Kd8 57.Qxe6 Kc8 58.Bxb7+ Kb8 59.Qe8+ What a game. 1–0
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Rathanvel,V2348Le,Q27271–02018B1225th Abu Dhabi Master 20181

VS Rathanvel and Le Quang Liem during their first round game at the Abu Dhabi Masters

17-year-old VS Rathanvel managed to upset the top seed of the tournament, Le Quang Liem, in the inaugural round | Photo: Abu Dhabi Masters Twitter

Another astounding development took place in the game between Salem Saleh and Sankalp Gupta. Saleh had dominated all through the game and by the 36th move, he was merely giving finishing touches to his well-deserved victory when an unfortunate mishap ruined it all.

 
Salem Saleh vs Sankalp Gupta
Position after 35...Kh5

Black is very passive here. The bishop has no future and the rook is stuck defending it. Saleh simply gave up an exchange here with 36.Rxb7 and was just completely winning. But then the Emirati grandmaster began to move back and forth with his queen. At first, it looked like Saleh was just playing cat and mouse with his opponent but, as it turned out, he had lost the thread of the position and ended up being held to a draw!

Salem Saleh at the Abu Dhabi Masters

GM Salem Saleh shockingly drew a winning game against Sankalp Gupta| Photo: Abu Dhabi Masters Twitter 

 
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1.Nf3 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.d4 Bb4+ 4.Nbd2 b6 5.a3 Bxd2+ 6.Qxd2 Bb7 7.e3 0-0 8.Be2 d6 9.0-0 Nbd7 10.b4 Ne4 11.Qc2 f5 12.d5 E14: Damenindisch (Zentralsystem) e5 12...exd5 13.Bb2 c5 14.cxd5 Bxd5 15.Rad1 Bb7 16.Bc4+ Kh8 17.Be6 Qe7 18.Qb3 b5 19.Bxd7 Qxd7 20.bxc5 Nxc5 1-0 (34) Bok,B (2598) -Moiseenko,A (2657) Doha 2016 13.Nd2 Nxd2 14.Bxd2 Qe7 15.f3 Rf6 LiveBook: 4 Partien 16.Bd3 Raf8 17.a4 Qf7N Vorgänger: 17...c6 18.e4 f4 19.a5 c5 20.axb6 axb6 1-0 (27) Filip,L (2444)-Todorov,O (2219) Albena 2015 18.a5 e4 19.Be2 exf3 20.Rxf3 Doch nicht 20.gxf3 b5= 20...Ne5 21.Rg3 h5 22.Rg5 zielt auf axb6 ab. h4 23.b5 23.a6 Bc8 24.Rh5 23...Rg6 23...g6= 24.Rxg6!± Qxg6 25.axb6 axb6 26.Ra7! Schwarz muss aufpassen. Rb8 27.Bc3 Ng4 28.Bd4 Nf6 28...Qg5± war einen Versuch wert. 29.Bf3 29.Bd3+- 29...Ne4 29...Qg5± 30.h3 Nd7 30.Bxe4!+- fxe4 31.h3 Qf5 32.Qe2 Kh7 33.Qe1 g5 34.Bb2 34.Qa1!+- ist viel giftiger. Kg6 35.Bc3 34...Kg6± 35.Qc3 Kh5?
35...Qf8± 36.Qd4 Qe7 36.Rxb7!+- Rxb7 Endspiel KDT-KDL 37.Qh8+ Kg6 38.Qg7+? 38.Qg8++- Kh5 39.Bg7 Ra7 38...Kh5= 39.Qh8+? 39.Qg8= 39...Kg6+- beabsichtigt ...Ta7. 40.Qa8 40.Qg8+ Kh5 41.Qe8+ 40...g4 41.Qg8+ 41.Qxb7? ist ein Selbstmatt. g3 42.Qxc7 Qf2+ 43.Kh1 Qf1# 41...Kh5 42.Qh8+ Kg6 43.Qg8+ Kh5 44.hxg4+ Qxg4 45.Qh7+ Kg5 46.Qg8+? 46.Bg7!+- Droht Matt per Dh6+. Qh5 47.Bf6+! Kxf6 48.Qxh5 46...Kh5= 47.Qh8+ Kg6 48.Qg7+? 48.Qg8+= Kf5 49.Qf7+ Kg5 50.Bf6+ Kh6 51.Qf8+ Kh7 52.Qh8+ Kg6 53.Qg7+ Kf5 54.Qf7 48...Kh5+- 49.Qh7+ Kg5
50.Bg7! Weiss will mit Dh6+ Matt setzen. Qf5 51.Bh6+? 51.Qh6+ setzt Matt Kg4 52.Bf6 Qxf6 53.Qxf6 Kh5 54.Qh8+ Kg5 55.Qa8 c6 56.Qxb7 cxd5 57.Qg7+ Kh5 58.cxd5 h3 59.gxh3 Kh4 60.Qg4# 51...Kg4= Die Stellung ist ausgeglichen. 52.Qg7+ Kh5 Droht stark ...Dg6. 53.Bf4 Und weiter mit Dh8+ wäre nett. Ra7 54.Qh6+ Kg4 55.Qg7+ Kh5 56.Qh6+ Kg4 57.Qg7+ Precision: Weiß = 45%, Schwarz = 37%.
½–½
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Salem,A2636Gupta,S2304½–½2018E1425th Abu Dhabi Master 20181

Something equally stunning and surprisingly similar was seen in the game between Koustav Chatterjee and GM Sanan Sjugirov. Just like in the game between Saleh and Gupta, an exchange was sacrificed on the 36th move. But this time it was black who had played the sac.

 
Koustav Chaterjee vs Sanan Sjugirov
Position after 36.Rxf3

Sjugirov plunged in here with 36…Rxf3 37.gxf3 and 37…Qh2+. After this, White was completely winning. It’s not clear whether this was time pressure or something else but both players missed several opportunities after this. Within six moves, White, from being completely lost, was in a totally winning position. But surprise, surprise… a draw was agreed!!

Koustav Chatterjee

Koustav Chatterjee held GM Sanan Sjuigirov to a draw in a topsy-turvy battle | Photo: Amruta Mokal

 
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1.Nf3 b6 2.c4 Bb7 3.Nc3 e6 4.d4 Bb4 5.e3 Nf6 6.Bd2 0-0 7.Bd3 d5 8.cxd5 exd5 9.0-0 Bd6 10.Rc1 a6 11.a3 E52: Nimzo-Indian: Rubinstein: 4...0-0 5 Nf3 d5 6 Bd3 b6 11.Ne5 c5 12.f4 Nc6 13.Ne2 Ne7 14.Be1 Ne4 15.Ng3 cxd4 16.exd4 b5 17.Kh1 f6 18.Ng4 Qd7 0-1 (38) Duda,J (2717)-Zhigalko,S (2641) Katowice 2017 11...Nbd7 LiveBook: 3 Games 12.Ne2 Ne4 13.Be1N Black is slightly better. Predecessor: 13.Ng3 f5 14.Qb3 Kh8 15.Bb4 c5 16.dxc5 bxc5 17.Be1 Rb8 18.Qc2 1/2-1/2 (58) Takac,Z (2094)-Brinck Claussen, B (2286) Pula 2012 13...Re8 14.b4 Qe7 15.Qb3 g6 16.a4 Ndf6 17.Bb1 Rab8 18.Nf4 c6 19.Nd3 Nd7 20.Qa2 Bc7 21.a5 b5 22.Nc5 Nexc5 23.dxc5 Ne5 aiming for ...Nxf3+. 24.Nd4 Rbd8 25.h3 Bb8 26.Bc3 Qc7 27.Rfe1 Nc4 Strongly threatening ...Qh2+. 28.Nf3 Re6 29.Rcd1 Rde8 30.Qa1 Bc8 31.Bd4 Qe7 32.Bc3 Qc7! 33.Bd4 33.Bf6± 33...f6 33...Qe7!= 34.Bxf6? 34.Bc2 keeps the upper hand. 34...Rf8-+ 35.Bd4 Re7 36.e4
And not 36.Bf6 Ref7-+ 36.Bd3 Bxh3 37.Be2 36...Rxf3! 37.gxf3 37.e5-+ Ra3 38.Ba2 37...Qh2+ 37...Qf4 38.h4 Bh3 39.e5 Qxf3 40.Be4 dxe4 41.Kh2 Qg2# 38.Kf1 next Ke2 is good for White. Qf4? 38...Qxh3+-+ 39.Ke2 dxe4 40.Bxe4 Rxe4+! 41.Be3 Rxe3+! 42.fxe3 Qg2+ 43.Kd3 Be5 44.Qxe5 Nxe5+ 45.Kc3 Qa2 46.Rd8+ Kg7 39.Qc3? 39.Ke2 39...Bxh3+ 40.Ke2 Bg2? Black should try 40...dxe4-+ 41.Rc1 Bf5 41.Ba2?
41.Rg1= dxe4 42.fxe4 Rxe4+ 43.Bxe4 Qxe4+ 44.Be3 Bf3+ 45.Ke1 Bxd1 46.Kxd1 41...Rf7? Black should play 41...Rxe4+!-+ 42.exd5? 42.Rd3= 42...cxd5?? 42...Re7+-+ avoids the disaster. 43.Kd3 Qf5+ 44.Re4 Rxe4 43.Rd3+- Kf8? Precision: White = 36%, Black = 29%. . An unexpected result. 43...h5
½–½
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Koustav,C2325Sjugirov,S2677½–½2018E5225th Abu Dhabi Master 20181

Round 2

In round two, Richard Rapport won in his trademark style against Dinara Saduakassova on the top board. From the white side of a Classical Nimzo-Indian Defence, the Kazakhstani WGM came up with a novelty early in the game and then castled on the queen’s wing signalling a full-blooded fight. And Richard being Richard, was only glad to oblige. On his 13th turn, he simply offered a bishop to castle short. 

 
Dinara Saduakassova vs Richard Rapport
Position after 12.a3

This position is simply beyond muggle comprehension. It’s not quite clear how black will achieve anything tangible in this position if the bishop is captured. Sure, he has the initiative and white is passive but fact remains that black is a piece down. The computer also calls it even for several moves after the sac but nothing concrete is reached. Saduakassova declined the sacrifice, however, and tucked her king into safety with 13.Kb1. A few tricks later, the following position was reached.

 
Dinara Saduakassova vs Richard Rapport
Position after 20...Nxh1

Twenty moves had been played so far and both players had gone wild to their heart’s content. At the moment, White is a full rook down. Of course, White can collect the h1 knight and keep a decent position. But quite apparently, that’s not Dinara’s style. She played 21.Qc5 here, with a very specific trick in mind. Black rescued his knight with 21…Nf2 and white went 22.Qe7

 
Dinara Saduakassova vs Richard Rapport
Position after 22.Qe7

On the surface, it looks like black can’t avoid a queen exchange since if he moves his queen away 23.Qxf8 leads to an instant mate. Richard agreed with this evaluation and exchanged queens here, missing the strong refutation, 22…Bf5+! Nevertheless, he was still better after the game continuation 22…Qxe7 23.Nxe7+ Kh8 24.Rd2 Rb8.

 
Dinara Saduakassova vs Richard Rapport
Position after 24...Rb8

It’s time for white to take the f2 knight now, either directly or after 25.Nc6 Rb6. In either case, white is worse. Instead, Saduakassova decided to seek counterplay here with c6-c6-c7. But this was a bit too far-fetched. Rapport wrapped the game up soon after this.

Dinara Saduakassova and Richard Rapport During their second round game at the Abu Dhabi Masters

Dinara Saduakassova decided to take the bull by the horns and played a sharp line against Richard Rapport | Photo: Abu Dhabi Chess Festival Twitter

 
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1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Qc2 d6 5.Nf3 Nbd7 6.Bd2 e5 LiveBook: 12 Games. E32: Nimzo-Indian: Classical (4 Qc2): 4...0-0 7.dxe5N Predecessor: 7.e3 0-0 8.a3 Bxc3 9.Bxc3 exd4 10.Bxd4 b6 11.b4 1/2-1/2 (11) Hansen,S (2578) -Hansen,C (2600) Svendborg 2016 7...dxe5 8.0-0-0 c6 The position is equal. 9.h3 Qe7 10.g4 Nc5 11.e3 11.Be3 11...a5 12.a3 0-0 13.Kb1 13.Rg1= 13.axb4 13...b5! 14.Be1 Bxc3 15.Bxc3 Nfe4 15...b4!? 16.Bxe5 Nfe4 16.Nxe5 Don't play 16.cxb5 Be6 16...Nxc3+ 17.Qxc3 Ne4 18.Qd4 Nxf2 And now ...Bb7 would win. 19.Nxc6 Qh4 19...Qg5= remains equal. 20.Bg2 Bb7 20.Bg2± Nxh1 21.Qc5 21.Bxh1± Qd6 is the strong threat. Bb7 22.cxb5 21...Nf2= 22.Qe7?
22.Ne7+= Kh8 23.Rd4 23.Ng6+? hxg6 24.Qxf8+ Kh7-+ 22...Qxe7? 22...Bf5+!-+ is more deadly. 23.gxf5 Qg3 24.Rg1 Qh2 23.Nxe7+ Kh8 24.Rd2
24...Rb8! White must now prevent ...Nxh3! Inferior is 24...bxc4 25.Bxa8 Nxh3 26.Nxc8 25.c5
25.Nc6 Nxg4 25...Rb6 26.Rxf2 26.hxg4 25.Rxf2 bxc4 25...Nxg4!-+ 26.c6 26.hxg4 Bxg4 26...Nxe3 27.c7
27...Be6! Strongly threatening ...Rbe8. Don't blunder 27...Rb6? 28.Rd8+- 28.cxb8Q Rxb8 29.Be4 g6 Black has a decisive advantage. 30.Nc6 Nc4 31.Rd4 Rb6 Precision: White = 58%, Black = 39%.
0–1
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Saduakassova,D2495Rapport,R27190–12018E3225th Abu Dhabi Master 20182

The game on board 16 in round two featured quite a surprising blunder. GM Abhijeet Gupta was pitted against the Uzbek IM Gunay Mammadzada and was caught by shock in the middle game. 

Mammadzada had a slight edge in the game having sacrificed a pawn in the Tarrasch variation of the French when Abhijeet made a fatal error. On his 21st turn, he went with his knight to a5 and that spelt doom for the Delhi based GM.

 
Gunay Mammadzada vs Abhijeet Gupta
Position after 21...Na5

Mammadzada responded with the refutation 22.Nb3. After black took the rook with 22…Nxb7, white simply recaptured with 23.Bxb7, leaving Black with both his rook and bishop en prise. Gupta tried the desperado 23…Bxf2 but soon White’s extra material made itself count.

GM Abhijeet Gupta

GM Abhijeet Gupta's miscalculation lost him the full point | Photo: Niklesh Jain

 
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1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nd2 c5 4.exd5 Qxd5 5.Ngf3 cxd4 6.Bc4 Qd7 C07: French Tarrasch: 3...c5, 4 Ngf3 and 4 exd5 Qxd5 6...Qd6 7.0-0 Nf6 8.Nb3 Nc6 9.Nbxd4 Nxd4 10.Nxd4 a6 11.Re1 Qc7 12.Qe2 Bc5 13.c3 0-0 14.Bg5 b5 15.Bd3 Nd5 16.Qh5 g6 17.Qh4 Bb7 18.a4 bxa4 19.Rxa4 Rfe8 20.Nf3 1-0 (29) Wei,Y (2729)-So,W (2780) chess.com INT 2018 7.0-0 Nc6 8.Nb3 a6 9.Nbxd4 Nxd4 10.Nxd4 Qc7 11.Bd3 LiveBook: 15 Games Bd6 12.Qh5 Nf6 13.Qh4 Bd7 14.Rb1N Predecessor: 14.Bg5 0-0-0 15.Nf3 Bc6 16.Bxf6 gxf6 17.Qxf6 Rhg8 18.h3 Rxg2+ 19.Kxg2 Rg8+ 20.Kh1 Be5 0-1 (20) Dolana,A (2379) -Gavrilescu,D (2361) Baile Govora 2017 14...h6 15.b4 Be7 16.Re1 Nd5 17.Qh5 Nxb4 17...Qd6= keeps the balance. 18.Be4 White should try 18.Bg6± fxg6 19.Qxg6+ Kf8 20.Rb3 18...Qc5 19.Qxc5 Bxc5 20.c3 Hoping for Nb3. Nc6 21.Rxb7 Na5
21...Nxd4 22.cxd4 Bxd4 22.Nb3! Keeping Black busy. Nxb7 22...Nxb3± keeps fighting. 23.axb3 g5 23.Bxb7+- Bxf2+ 24.Kxf2 Rb8 25.Na5 25.Bxa6?! Bb5± 25...Bc8 26.Bc6+ Ke7 27.Ba3+ Kf6 28.Rd1 Kg6 29.Ke3 f5 30.Nc4 Kh7 31.Bd6 Rd8 32.Ke2 Rb5 33.Bxb5 axb5 34.Ne3 Rd7 35.Rd4 g5 36.g3 Kg6 37.Rd2 Bb7 38.Be5 Bf3+ 39.Ke1 Ra7 40.Kf2 Be4 41.Rb2 f4 41...Ra5 42.Rd2 Bb1 42.gxf4 gxf4 43.Ng2 43.Bxf4?! Rf7± 43...Kf5 44.Bd4 Resist 44.Bxf4?! Bxg2 45.Be3 45.Bxh6 Bd5= 45...Rg7± Worse is 44.Nxf4 Kxe5 45.Ke3 Bc6= 44...Ra8 44...Ra5 was worth a try. 45.Re2 e5 45.Rxb5+ Bd5?
45...Kg4 46.c4 White is clearly winning. Rxa2+ 47.Bb2 Kg4 48.cxd5 exd5 49.Rb3 f3 50.Ne1 d4 51.Nxf3 d3 52.Rb4+ Precision: White = 70%, Black = 44%.
1–0
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Mammadzada,G2426Gupta,A26141–0201825th Abu Dhabi Master 20182

Round 3

The third round saw Richard Rapport pull a rabbit out of the hat yet again. For the second time in the tournament, he had put his faith in the closed Sicilian with the white pieces in his game against Mads Andersen. Rapport tried hard to get something to bite on in the game but Andersen ensured that the position never went out of control. After the smoke had cleared, the players found themselves in a rook endgame where it was, in fact, Rapport who was a pawn down. 

 
Richard Rapport vs Mads Andersen
Position after 36...Rxa7

The endgame is just dead equal. Play continued 37.Kf2 g5 38.Rc6 gxh4 39.gxh4 Kh7. Now, 39…Kg7 would have kept equality but in moving the king to h7, black had an ambitious plan.

 
Richard Rapport vs Mads Andersen
Position after 40.Kf3

After 40.Kf3, black went Rg7 and Rg4, trying to create an outside passer. As it turned out, this was a bit too ambitious. White sought counterplay in his own central passer and white's e-pawn was much faster.

Richard Rapport

Richard Rapport benefitted from his opponent's over-ambitious play | Photo: Lennart Ootes

 
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1.e4 c5 2.Nc3 d6 3.Nge2 Nf6 4.g3 g6 5.Bg2 Bg7 6.0-0 0-0 7.d3 Nc6 8.Bg5 Rb8 LiveBook: 7 Partien. B25: Sizilianisch (Geschlossenes System) 9.a3 9.Nd5 Re8 10.a4 e6 11.Nxf6+ Bxf6 12.Bxf6 Qxf6 13.c3 d5 14.f4 dxe4 15.dxe4 e5 16.f5 0-1 (41) Aronian,L (2764)-Vachier Lagrave,M (2789) Leuven 2018 9...b5 10.Rb1N Vorgänger: 10.Nd5 Nd7 11.Rb1 h6 0-1 (36) Gilberd,G (1736)-Hernaez Fernandez,C (2331) ICCF email 2015 10...a5 Die Stellung ist ausgeglichen. 11.a4 b4 12.Nb5 Ne8 13.c4 Nc7 14.Be3 Ne6 15.f4 Ned4 16.Nexd4 Nxd4 17.b3 e6 18.Qd2 Qb6 19.Rfe1 f5 20.e5 dxe5 21.fxe5 Rd8 21...Bb7= hält das Gleichgewicht. 22.Nxd4 cxd4 23.Bg5 Und c5 würde nun gewinnen. Rd7
24.h4 Lieber 24.g4!± 24...h5= 25.c5 Qxc5 26.Rbc1 Qa7 27.Bc6 Rc7 ...La6 ist eine echte Drohung. 28.Bd8 Rf7 Und weiter mit ...La6 wäre nett. 29.Be8! Rf8 30.Rc7 Rb7 31.Rxc8 Rxe8 32.Rec1 Droht Lb6! und aus. Kh7 33.Bb6 Rxc8 34.Bxa7 Bh6 35.Qxh6+ 35.Rxc8 Bxd2 36.Bb8 35...Kxh6 36.Rxc8 Rxa7 Endspiel KT-KT 37.Kf2 g5 38.Rc6 gxh4 39.gxh4 Kh7 39...Kg7!= 40.Kf3± Rg7 40...Re7± 41.Rxe6+- Rg4? 41...Rc7 war nötig. 42.Rf6 Rxh4 43.Rxf5 Kg6 44.Rf8 Kg7 45.Rf5 Kg6 46.Rf4 Rh1 47.Ke4 h4 47...Kg5 48.Rf8 Re1+ 49.Kxd4 h4 48.Rg4+ Kf7
49.Kd5! h3 50.Rh4 h2 51.Kd6 Kg6 52.e6 Kf6 53.Rf4+ Kg5 54.Rf2 Weiß steht klar auf Gewinn. Kg4 55.e7 Kg3
56.Rxh2! Precision: Weiß = 72%, Schwarz = 51%.
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Rapport,R2719Andersen,M26011–0201825th Abu Dhabi Master 20183

On board three Wang Hao had the white pieces against SL Narayanan of India. The two discussed the Archangelsk variation of the Ruy Lopez in which Narayanan managed to bury White’s light-squared bishop completely out of play in b1. However, in doing so, he had also weakened his queenside pawns.

 
Wang Hao vs SL Narayanan
Position after 21.Ra5

Here, Wang went to grab the b5 pawn with 21.Ra5. In response, Narayanan correct countered in the centre with 21…d5. But after 22.Rxb5, the Indian GM faltered and played 22…fxe4 and remained down a pawn after 23.Bc5 Qe8 24.Rxb8 Rxb8 25.fxe4.

 
Wang Hao vs SL Narayanan
Position after 25.fxe4

Narayanan could have kept things under control had he gone straight for the rook exchange with 22…Rxb5 23.Nxb5 and 23…Qb7. The game continuation, however, gave white a strong edge. White was eventually able to collect the c4 pawn as well and his queenside majority soon decided the day.

 
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1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0-0 b5 6.Bb3 Bc5 7.a4 Rb8 C78: Ruy Lopez: Archangelsk and Möller Defences 8.Nxe5 Nxe5 9.d4 Bxd4 10.Qxd4 d6 11.f3 0-0 12.Bf4 LiveBook: 6 Games c5 13.Qd2 c4 14.Ba2 Be6
15.axb5N Predecessor: 15.Nc3 15...axb5 With the idea ...b4. 16.b4 Qe7 16...Qb6+= 17.Be3 Qc7 17.Nc3± Rfd8 18.Rfd1 h6 19.Bb1 Nh5 20.Be3! Nf6 21.Ra5 d5! Strongly threatening ...dxe4. 22.Rxb5 dxe4 22...Rxb5= 23.Nxb5 Qb7 23.Bc5 White is on the roll. Not 23.fxe4? Rxd2 24.Rxb8+ Kh7-+ Avoid the trap 23.Nxe4? Nxe4 24.fxe4 Rxd2-+ 23...Qe8 24.Rxb8 Rxb8 25.fxe4 Bg4 26.Rf1 Black must now prevent Rxf6! Rd8 27.Qe3 Bh5 28.h3 Qe6 29.Ba2 Bg6 30.b5 Ned7 30...Ra8± was worth a try. 31.Bd4 Nxe4 31...Ra8± is a better defense. 32.Qf4 Nxe4 32.Nxe4+- Bxe4
33.Qg3! Qg6 34.Qxg6 Bxg6 35.Bxc4 Rc8 36.Bb3 Nc5 36...Kf8 37.Ra1 Be4 37.Bd5 Ne6 38.Bxe6 38.Be5 38...fxe6 Endgame KRB-KRB 39.b6 aiming for Re1. Be4 40.c3 Bd5 41.Rf4 Rf8
42.Rg4! g5 43.h4 Rf5 44.Be3 Re5 45.Rg3 And not 45.hxg5 Rxe3 46.gxh6+ Kh7= 45...Kf7 46.hxg5 hxg5 47.Bxg5 Re2 48.Be3 e5 49.Bf2 Rc2 50.Re3 Ke6 51.g4 Rb2 52.Re1 Kd6 52...Bf3± keeps fighting. 53.Rc1 Bc4 54.Kg2 Ke6 55.Kg3 Rb3 56.Be3 Rb2 57.Kh4 Rb3 58.Kg5 Rb2 59.Re1 Kf7? 59...Rb5 60.Ra1 Bd5 60.Bc5 Ke6 61.Bd4 Kd5 Precision: White = 69%, Black = 46%.
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Wang,H2711Narayanan S L25741–0201825th Abu Dhabi Master 20183

Standings after round 3 (top 20)

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Aditya Pai is an ardent chess fan, avid reader, and a film lover. He holds a Master's in English Literature and used to work as an advertising copywriter before joining the ChessBase India team.

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savantKing99 savantKing99 8/13/2018 08:44
Oke, yes, now there is just standing Qh2 :)
macauley macauley 8/11/2018 01:35
@savantKing99 I don't see that. Just ...Qh2. Must have been some temporary glitch.
savantKing99 savantKing99 8/11/2018 12:34
Eh, in the game: Koustav Chaterjee vs Sanan Sjugirov there is written: Qxh2??? The Queen doesn't take anything. it is just check. Sorry don't understand that.
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