Adhiban: From Challenger to Master – part two

The 78th Tata Steel Chess Tournament took place from January 15 to 31, 2016, in the coastal village of Wijk aan Zee, North Holland. It was one of the most prestigious events in the international chess calendar. The tournament had two main player groups, each with 14 players: the Tata Steel Masters and the Tata Steel Challengers. The former was won by World Champion Magnus Carlsen, the latter by Indian GM Adhiban Baskaran.

Adhiban sent us a detailed account of his exploits in Wijk, with some superb game annotations. The two-part series on his victory will give you an insight into the mind of one of the best emerging talents in the world. Read part one here.

From a Challenger to a Master – part two

By GM Adhiban Baskaran

This is how the standings looked after seven rounds:

After taking over the lead comes the tricky part of maintaining it until the end, and also overcoming one obstacle after another. Definitely it was going to push my abilities to the limit, but luckily I had seen a nice quote which instantly became my desktop wallpaper: “You will only know your limits if you push yourself to them!”

R8: Erwin l’Ami - B. Adhiban

First obstacle was in the form Erwin L’Ami. I used an idea which I had already played last year and got a very decent position out of the opening, since he hadn’t checked my games (!). But when the position was around equal I got too ambitious and almost lost the game. Luckily, I managed to pull through in the end and wriggled out with a draw.

Erwin l’Ami-B. Adhiban

White to play

If it was my move I would have blocked the kingside with …f5 over here. But it is White’s turn to play. Erwin couldn’t find the right move in the game, but Moiseenko came up with the right idea in the post-game conference.

R9: Adhiban–Jorden van Foreest

Next up was Jorden van Foreest, and I had the white pieces along with a full rest day to prepare against him. But unfortunately such things give rise to too many false hopes: I ran into big trouble and couldn’t save the game. But my nearest contender Eltaj Safarli (who was trailing me by half a point) drew his encounter. So I was still in the lead with him and we were due to meet in the next round. A battle which would decide the fate of the event!

A loss in such a crucial round is never a good feeling

Overcoming the limits!

When you are playing a great event it will look like everything is going your way and a loss can seriously dampen your spirits. A defeat can be the turning point and affect your play in the remaining games. The simplest thing to do is to accept that you have lost the game and concentrate on what’s coming next. You cannot change the past but you can control your future! And for me the easiest way to forget a loss is to win the next game. As simple as that!

It had all boiled down to the crucial tenth round which also played an important role in the standings. But by now I had learnt my lesson that focusing too much on the standings does more harm than good.

R10: B. Adhiban–Eltaj Safarli

With wins over Antipov, Bok, Sevian and Haast, Eltaj Safarli was having a great tournament

My opening choice Trompowsky was quite double edged. It could have gone either way. A fighting position was all I was looking for, and that is what I was able to get. It was a long grind, and although there were many ups and downs it was one of my best games in the event. And that, my friends, is how you forget a loss!

I have annotated the game in quite some detail below, but here is a nice position to test your
calculation on the method of exclusion. What is the only way for White to win in the above diagram?

Seeing it through to the end

So the lead was back and I had to face another strong challenge in the form of Liviu-Dieter Nisipeanu (who was the top seed of the event). I lost a pawn straight out of the opening and didn’t have much compensation for it. But when you are pushed to the wall either you crumble or fight back! I chose the latter and luckily for me I was able to save a lost endgame!

Nisipeanu-Adhiban

Black to play – What exactly is White threatening? A strong prophylactic
thinker will not take too much time to find Black’s move here.

I was happy to survive such a game but little did I know, I would have defend another lost position in the very next game due to my over ambitious play!

R12: Adhiban–Nino Batsiashvili

4.Bg5!? in the footsteps of Boris Spassky! But it wasn’t a particularly good idea on that particular day

And that’s exactly what happened. Another miraculous save and I was still sharing the lead as Dreev also drew (thanks to Abasov this time – a friend in need is a friend indeed!)

Adhiban-Batsiashvili

H.O.P.E = Hold on pain ends! You are in a desperate situation. The position is completely lost
but you need to put up the maximum resistance here. What will you play as White?

So it was time to take stock, as these last two games were really not up to my standards. What exactly was happening? I can’t claim it was due to the loss, since I came back in the next round itself. I had to ask myself, “So what was the real reason?” It was always the lead and the standings which was the culprit! I just forgot about it and focused on only making the best moves in the last game of the tournament.

R13: Samuel Sevian-Adhiban

Funnily the only person whose style I didn’t understand a bit, during my preparations before the event, was Samuel Sevian. Somehow his repertoire is very misleading. Hence, my trainer and I discussed a couple of things about him when I was in Chennai. I mean out of all the 13 players why him specifically? As things turned out, those few minutes of discussion on Sevian’s playing style played the most important role in my path to winning the Tata Steel Challengers! Coincidence or Destiny? I like to think it was the latter!

Samuel Sevian is not a guy to be messed with!

Before the start of the round I was tied with the same score as Dreev and half a point ahead of Safarli. In case of equal points I had the best tiebreak, as I had beaten both of them.

Samuel tried an interesting idea in the Najdorf, 6.Bg5, but I was able to get a highly promising position. He defended tenaciously and got a defensive fortress. I was quite disappointed that it didn’t turn out the way I had wanted, but then I remembered what my coach had told me way back in 2008: ”You don’t have to do all the job, you can count on friends to deliver when it is needed and help you out!” So I got up to see the other crucial game Admiraal-Dreev, and great was my surprise when I saw that Miguoel was playing his best game of the entire event! He was clearly in the driver’s seat and it was Dreev who was fighting for a draw! I smiled to myself and returned back to my game and decided to continue until things became more clear in Dreev’s game. Soon they drew and that meant it was time to offer a draw, which Sevian immediately accepted (sparing me some anxious moments where you wait for your opponent’s reaction).

That moment when you know you have done the job but try and contain your excitement!

Receiving the winner’s trophy

Looking forward to crossing swords with Magnus in January 2017! [Click on image for high-res version]

It didn’t strike me immediately what I had achieved. Slowly the realization that I had actually qualified into the Masters next year began to sink in! Following up on the path showed by my great predecessors Harikrishna and Wei Yi I will do my best in Wijk in 2017! I look forward to your support. I would like to dedicate this victory to my father and my coach K. Visweswaran. Both of them have been my pillars of strength.

A huge thanks to Alina l’Ami, who took some amazing pictures
at the event and truly made it memorable for one and all.

Links Official tournament site Download all games in PGN: Masters – Challengers The games are being broadcast live on the official web site and on the server Playchess.com. If you are not a member you can download a free Playchess client there and get immediate access. You can also use ChessBase or any of our Fritz compatible chess programs.