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After a couple of years hiatus the Aeroflot Open is back!
The classic event has been more than just a massive super-strong series of opens, it has been the proving grounds for the players on the rise, a rich source of norms, and competition for all levels divided into three opens. It also has a richly doted blitz tournament at the end, free of entry for those registered in tournaments A and B.
What a strong round! Almost no one survived without giving up at least a draw. Only in the Aeroflot Open can we see such results!
On the top board Ildar Khairullin massacred the top seed:
[Event "Aeroflot Open A 2015"] [Site "Moscow RUS"] [Date "2015.03.28"] [Round "2.1"] [White "Khairullin, Ildar"] [Black "Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D85"] [WhiteElo "2630"] [BlackElo "2756"] [Annotator "Ramirez Alvarez, Alejandro"] [PlyCount "61"] [EventDate "2015.03.27"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 4. cxd5 Nxd5 5. e4 Nxc3 6. bxc3 Bg7 7. Nf3 O-O 8. Be2 c5 9. O-O b6 (9... Nc6 {is still the main line, but b6 is trending.}) 10. Bg5 Bb7 11. Qd3 Qc7 {an old line, to put it mildly but to be fair nothing is main line theory any more. The players are on their own in a typical Grunfeld position, the crown jewel of hypermodernism, the position that makes Reti smile from his grave: White has a big pawn center, Black counter-attacks with a double fianchetto.} 12. Rad1 (12. Qe3 $5) 12... e6 13. d5 $1 {The decision to push or not to push d5 is so complicated that it deserves its own book. Or ChessBase DVD. It is good in this case because it is difficult for Black to finish development without giving up the e7 square.} e5 $2 {This is an understandable decision in most cases, but that is when Black can blockade on d6. Since he is far away from this, e5 cannot be recommended.} 14. Qe3 Nd7 15. Be7 Rfe8 16. d6 Qc6 17. Bc4 {Of course. The weaknesses of the d5 square and the f7 pawn cannot be underestimated.} b5 (17... Qxe4 18. Bxf7+ Kxf7 19. Ng5+ {is unplayable.}) 18. Bd5 Qc8 19. h4 $5 {Weakening the kingside.} (19. Ng5 Bxd5 20. exd5 $5 {is not exactly the human solution, but the computer seems to think it is excellent because of} c4 21. Ne6 {but let's disregard this.}) 19... Bf6 20. Bxf6 Nxf6 21. Bxb7 Qxb7 22. Rfe1 c4 23. Qg5 Re6 24. Nxe5 Nxe4 25. Qf4 f5 $2 {The decisive mistake. Normally in open tournaments grandmasters can play several decisive mistakes and they will go unpunished in round two, but Mamedyarov is playing Khairullin, not a fish by any stretch of the imagination.} (25... Nxd6 26. Ng4 Rxe1+ 27. Rxe1 { is scary as Black's king is very weak.} Nf5 $8 28. Nf6+ Kh8 $1 29. Re5 $1 { with a very strong initiative, but Black isn't dead yet.}) 26. d7 $1 Rd8 27. Re3 $5 (27. g4 $1 {Was much stronger right away, but Re3 is also good.}) 27... Re7 28. f3 Nf6 29. Rd6 $1 {A killer move. Black has no good way of defending his knight.} Nd5 (29... Nxd7 30. Nxg6 $1 Rxe3 31. Qxe3 hxg6 {what else?} 32. Rxg6+ {and Black gets promptly mated.}) 30. Qg5 Rdxd7 31. Nxd7 (31. Nxd7 Rxd7 32. Rxg6+ $1 hxg6 33. Qxg6+ {with mate next move. What a demolition!}) 1-0
Sasikirian was able to beat yesterday's featured game hero, Potkin, with a brilliant game of his own. His pawn sacrifices on the queenside were perfectly timed to rip apart the position and allow deadly penetration. In a complex endgame the Indian player fabulously outplayed his opponent and won. A nice comeback so far from his poor play in the India-China summit.
Two underdogs were also able to take the full point, Ponkratov beating Petrosian and Van Foreest, who is not yet a GM, edging Kobalia.
An impressive series of GMs, but these are not the top boards
Paco Vallejo, Spain's #1 but living in Moscow. A local, if you will.
Potkin was yesterday's hero, but today he fell hard against Sasikirian
Man of the hour: Khairullin beat Mamedyarov
If you wonder how grandmasters think, its like this.
Glek vs. Danielian is a Group B game in an open. Wrap your head around that.
Round Two Standings
| Rk. | SNo | Name | FED | Rtg | Pts. | |
| 1 | 8 | GM | Sasikiran Krishnan | IND | 2682 | 2.0 |
| 30 | GM | Ponkratov Pavel | RUS | 2613 | 2.0 | |
| 61 | IM | Van Foreest Jorden | NED | 2493 | 2.0 | |
| 21 | GM | Khairullin Ildar | RUS | 2630 | 2.0 | |
| 5 | 2 | GM | Nepomniachtchi Ian | RUS | 2714 | 1.5 |
| 3 | GM | Rapport Richard | HUN | 2709 | 1.5 | |
| 5 | GM | Inarkiev Ernesto | RUS | 2706 | 1.5 | |
| 6 | GM | Korobov Anton | UKR | 2694 | 1.5 | |
| 9 | GM | Fedoseev Vladimir | RUS | 2674 | 1.5 | |
| 10 | GM | Grachev Boris | RUS | 2673 | 1.5 | |
| 13 | GM | Kovalenko Igor | LAT | 2661 | 1.5 | |
| 14 | GM | Mamedov Rauf | AZE | 2658 | 1.5 | |
| 15 | GM | Zvjaginsev Vadim | RUS | 2658 | 1.5 | |
| 16 | GM | Motylev Alexander | RUS | 2653 | 1.5 | |
| 17 | GM | Khismatullin Denis | RUS | 2650 | 1.5 | |
| 18 | GM | Adhiban B. | IND | 2646 | 1.5 | |
| 22 | GM | Dubov Daniil | RUS | 2627 | 1.5 | |
| 24 | GM | Vidit Santosh Gujrathi | IND | 2625 | 1.5 | |
| 26 | GM | Bukavshin Ivan | RUS | 2618 | 1.5 | |
| 29 | GM | Khalifman Alexander | RUS | 2613 | 1.5 | |
| 32 | GM | Salem A.R. Saleh | UAE | 2603 | 1.5 | |
| 34 | GM | Shimanov Aleksandr | RUS | 2594 | 1.5 | |
| 35 | GM | Svetushkin Dmitry | MDA | 2592 | 1.5 | |
| 36 | GM | Bok Benjamin | NED | 2587 | 1.5 | |
| 43 | GM | Lu Shanglei | CHN | 2570 | 1.5 | |
| 69 | IM | Kovalevskaya Ekaterina | RUS | 2438 | 1.5 | |
| 23 | GM | Salgado Lopez Ivan | ESP | 2627 | 1.5 |
Only four remain with 2.0/2, and the games will be epic. The big question of the day: will Van Foreest, a lowly IM, be able to top Aeroflot with a perfect 3.0/3? Stay tuned and find out!
Photos Boris Dolmatovski
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