Annotated highlights from the World Senior Championships

by Adrian Mikhalchishin
12/3/2018 – Grandmaster ADRIAN MIKHALCHISHIN takes a look at some of the key games from the World Senior Championships recently concluded in Bled, Slovenia. Featured are the games of 65+ runner-up Yuri Balashov and third place Nukhim Rashkovsky, Women 65+ winner Nona Gaprindashvili, best 50+ woman Elvira Berend, Open 50+ champ Karen Movsziszian and runner-up Giorgi Bagaturov | Photo: Tadej Sakelšek
Fischer liked to play aggressive but basically sound lines against the Sicilian and many of his variations are still very much alive and a good choice for players of all levels.

The 28th World Senior Chess Championship was played in Bled (Slovenia) from November 17th to 29th, 2018. The championship was divided into 4 categories: Open 50+, Open 65+, Women 50+ and Women 65+. In total 330 players from 57 countries and all the continents came to enjoy the event. Among them were 20 Grandmasters and 10 Women Grandmasters.

Read the report on the results. Below find selected highlights from GM Mikhalchishin. 

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Highlights annotated by GM Mikhalchishin

 
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1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.Nc3 Nc6 4.d4 cxd4 5.Nxd4 a6 6.Be3 Qc7 7.Qf3 This move now is the most fashionable weapon against Paulsen variation. Nf6 8.0-0-0 d6 9.Be2 Rb8 A bit slow move-more logical are 9...Be7 10.Qg3 0-0 11.f4 Kh8 12.Rhf1 Bd7 13.e5 dxe5 14.fxe5 Qxe5 15.Bf4 Qc5 16.Nb3 Qa7 17.Be3 b6 17...Qb8 18.Rxf6 18.Qf2 Rab8 19.g4 Be8 20.g5 Nd7 21.h4 with full compensation for the pawn,Vallejo Pons,F (2694)-Spraggett,K (2577) Catalunya 2013 9...Nxd4 10.Rxd4 b5 11.Kb1 Bb7 12.Rhd1 Rc8 13.Bg5 Be7 14.Qe3 0-0 15.Bxf6 Bxf6 16.Rxd6 Be5 17.Rd7 Qb8 18.Bg4 Bc6 19.R7d3 Bf4 with comfortable play,Oparin,G (2575)-Timofeev,A (2598) Sochi 2016 9...b5 10.e5 Bb7 11.Bxb5 11.Ndxb5 axb5 12.exf6 Nd4 13.Bxb5+ Nxb5 14.Nxb5 11...axb5 12.Ndxb5 Qb8 13.exf6 10.g4 Some players prefer 10.Qg3 Nxd4 11.Bxd4 e5 12.Ba7 Ra8 13.Be3 b5 14.f4 Bb7 15.fxe5 Nxe4 16.Nxe4 Bxe4 17.Bd3 Bxd3 18.Rxd3 dxe5 19.Rhd1 White created serious threats, Nepomniachtchi,I (2767)-Adhiban,B (2666) Doha 2016 10...Ne5 Does not promise full equality 10...Nxd4 11.Bxd4 b5 12.g5 Nd7 13.a3 Qb7 14.b4 Qc7 15.Qh3 Ne5 16.f4 Nc6 17.Bf2 11.Qg3 b5 12.g5 Nfd7 Wrong was immediate 12...b4 13.gxf6 bxc3 14.fxg7 13.f4 b4 Not sufficient counterplay was after 13...Nc4 14.Bf2 Nc5 15.Rhe1 Bd7 16.Nb3 Na4 17.Nxa4 bxa4 18.Qc3! Rc8 19.Nc5 14.Na4 Very tempting was typical 14.Nd5!? exd5 15.fxe5 Nxe5 16.exd5 Be7 17.Kb1 0-0 18.h4 14...Nc4 15.Bxc4 Not bad was 15.Kb1 15...Qxc4 16.b3 Qc7 17.Rhe1 Equally strong was 17.Rhf1 Nc5 18.Nxc5 dxc5 19.Ne2 Bb7 20.f5 Qxg3 21.Nxg3 17...Nc5 Another idea was 17...Be7 18.f5 Ne5 18...e5!? 19.Bf4 Bd7 20.Nb2 0-0 21.f6 18.Nxc5 dxc5 19.Nf3 Be7 20.f5!? Very tempting was continuation of attack 20.Ne5 Rb5 21.h4 0-0 22.h5 20...Qxg3 21.hxg3 f6 Any of two other continuations promised better defence than move in the game 21...Bb7 22.Ne5 Rc8 23.Nc4 Bxe4 24.f6 gxf6 25.gxf6 Bf8 26.Bf4 21...exf5 22.exf5 Bxf5 23.Bxc5 Be6 24.Bxe7 Kxe7 25.Nd4 Rhc8 26.Nxe6 fxe6 27.Re5 22.gxf6 gxf6 23.Bf4 Rb6 Typical double attack on both Rook we could see after 23...e5 24.Nxe5 fxe5 25.Bxe5 24.Nd2! exf5 25.Nc4 Re6 26.exf5 Rxe1 27.Rxe1 Kf7 28.Bd6 Bf8 29.g4 h5 30.Bxf8 Kxf8 31.Nb6
31...Bb7? Best chances for survival promised 31...Kg7 32.Re7+ Kh6 32.Nd7+ Kf7 33.Nxc5 Bf3 Better was 33...Bc8 34.gxh5 a5 35.Rf1 Bxh5? Still better was 35...Bc6 36.Ne6 Bd7 36.Rh1! This pin is very unpleasant Rc8 37.Ne4 Rc7 37...Bf3 38.Nd6+ Kg7 39.Rg1+ 38.Rxh5 1–0
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Balashov,Y2445Tunik,G23651–02018B4628th WSCC2018 - Open 65+
Gaprindashvili,N2301Titorenko,N21581–02018D8528th WSCC2018 - Women 65+
Berend,E2332Lauterbach,I20271–02018B4228th WSCC2018 - Women 50+
Berend,F2369Movsziszian,K25130–12018A6128th WSCC2018 - Open 50+
Bagaturov,G2417Danielsen,H25041–02018A5428th WSCC2018 - Open 50+
Rashkovsky,N2482Maryasin,B22841–02018E1428th WSCC2018 - Open 65+4.2

Victor Kupreichik award winner

Victor Kupreichik's award for the best-attacking player went to Per Ofstad from Norway | Photo: Tadej Sakelšek

Born in 1954 in Lvov and a Grandmaster since 1978, Mikhalchishin is currently among the top 5 world trainers and the Chairman of the FIDE Trainers' Commission. The Ukrainian trained the team of USSR in 1980s, national teams of Slovenia, Poland and the Netherlands, and was the trainer of Anatoly Karpov (1980-1986), he trained Zsuzsa Polgar, Alexander Beliavsky, Maja Chiburdanidze, Arkadij Naiditsch and Vassily Ivanchuk.

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