Artemiev edges Harutyunian to win Nezhmetdinov Memorial

by Klaus Besenthal
9/23/2018 – Rashid Nezhmetdinov (1912-1974) was one of the most famous chess players in the world during his lifetime — a few decades ago, it was almost impossible not to find his name while studying or following chess. In the early sixties, the International Master even worked as a coach of World Champion Mikhail Tal. The city of Kazan, Nezhmetdinov's hometown, hosts a memorial tournament in his honour every year. The 40th edition of the event finished Friday with a narrow victory by Russian Grandmaster Vladislav Artemiev. | Photos: Official website
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Youngsters finish ahead in Kazan

The city of Kazan is located about 800 km east of Moscow, at the confluence of the Volga and Kazanka Rivers — thus, still in the European side of Russia. Rashid Neszhmetdinov lived and died in the "Third Capital of Russia", although he was born in Aktiubinsk (currently in Kazakhstan). The eminent chess writer also played checkers and was one of the most important personalities in Soviet chess for many years. It is no wonder that a memorial tournament is played in his honour, and one that has taken place already forty times!

Kazan has previously hosted high-profile events like the Women's World Championship and the Russian Championship

The 20-year-old Russian grandmaster Vladislav Artemiev arrived in Kazan as the rating favourite by a margin of over a hundred Elo points. In the end, he lived up to his role as first seed and won the tournament with 7/9 points. Armenian IM Tigran Harutyunian also amassed seven points, but ended up second on tiebreaks criteria. The direct clash between the two players in round seven, however, clearly favoured Artemiev:

 
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1.c4 e6 2.Nf3 d5 3.e3 Nf6 4.b3 b6 5.Bb2 Bb7 6.Nc3 a6 7.cxd5 exd5 8.d4 Bd6 9.g3 0-0 10.Bg2 Nbd7 11.0-0 Re8 12.Rc1 Qe7 13.Ne2 Rac8 14.Nf4 Ne4 15.Re1 a5 16.Re2 Ra8 17.a4 Rac8 18.Rec2 Nb8 19.Bf1
After a tenacious fight, neither player could take advantage in the opening phase. 19...g5?! This thrust is not completely outlandish, considering that Black has more space on the kingside, while White cannot do anything for now on the other flank. However, White reacts correctly by threatening to lock himself on the strong central square e5 with a knight, which would neutralise Black's action. Black can prevent this only with another pawn move - in the long run, the weakening of his own king's position will cost him dearly. 20.Nd3! f6 21.Bh3! Rcd8 22.Nfe1 White prepares to threaten the e4-knight with f2-f3. c5?! Within a few moves Black set the whole board on fire, but the conditions were not really there for him to do so. Playing against a super grandmaster like Artemiev, this is not a good strategy. 23.f3 Nxg3 Now the knight must be sacrificed. 24.hxg3 Qxe3+ 25.Nf2 Bxg3 26.Ng2 Qxb3 27.Ng4
Black got four pawns for the knight, which would normally be more than enough. His pieces, however, are pretty scattered, so the open position of his king is now a huge problem. 27...Kf7 28.Nh6+ Also possible was 28.f4! This move would have opened the d1-h5 diagonal for the white queen and possibly also the f-line for one of the rooks. 28...Kg6 29.Nf5 Bc8 30.Bc3! It's hard to say if this would have been a win against Black's best play, but the idea is brilliant: besides the obvious possibility of Qd3 (which Black immediately stops), the black queen's connection to the kingside is cut off. Black suffers from the "Bad Queen Syndrome". 30.Nxg3 Bxh3 was probably best here. It would have been met with 31.Bc3 winning. 30...c4 30...Bxf5 31.Bxf5+ Kxf5 32.f4 The computers rate this move significantly better than the one played, but in a practical game Black's position is still hard to hold. 31.Nxg3 Bxh3 32.f4 g4 33.f5+ Kf7 34.Qd2 Nd7 35.Qh6 Ke7 36.Nf4 Kd6 37.Ngh5 Qxa4 38.Nxf6
By now it is obvious that White will win this game. 38...Nxf6 39.Qxf6+ Kd7 40.Qxb6 Rb8 41.Qa7+ Kc8 42.Qc5+ Kb7 43.Nxd5 1–0
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Artemiev,V2703Harutyunian,T25041–0201840th Nezhmetdinov Memorial 20187

Vladislav Artemiev met his opponent's attack with a cool head | Photo: Official site

Final standings

Rg. Snr   Name Land Elo Pkt.  Wtg1   Wtg2   Wtg3 
1 1 GM Artemiev, Vladislav RUS 2703 7,0 55,5 50,0 5
2 18 IM Harutyunian, Tigran K. ARM 2504 7,0 49,5 45,5 6
3 2 GM Kokarev, Dmitry RUS 2595 6,5 54,0 49,5 4
4 10 GM Korneev, Oleg ESP 2547 6,5 53,0 49,0 4
5 3 GM Chigaev, Maksim RUS 2593 6,5 50,5 46,0 5
6 9 GM Volkov, Sergey RUS 2547 6,5 50,0 45,5 4
7 13 GM Yudin, Sergei RUS 2525 6,5 48,5 45,0 4
8 15 GM Levin, Evgeny A. RUS 2516 6,5 47,5 43,5 5
9 23 IM Drygalov, Andrey RUS 2465 6,5 47,0 43,0 5
10 17 IM Khanin, Semen RUS 2507 6,5 47,0 42,5 5

...108 participants

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1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 a6 5.Bd3 Bc5 6.Nb3 Be7 7.Qg4 g6 8.Qe2 White is slightly better. d6 B42: Sicilian: Kan Variation: 5 Bd3 9.0-0 Nd7 10.a4 b6 11.Na3 Ne5 Predecessor: 12.Nc4N Nxc4 13.Bxc4 Qc7 14.Rd1 Bb7 15.Bd3 h5 16.h3 0-1 (59) Yu,Y (2760)-Hansen,E (2629) chess.com INT 2018
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Kokarev,D2595Kalegin,E24332018B4240th Nezhmetdinov Memorial 20182
Timofeev,A2588Makhmutov,R24072018C9540th Nezhmetdinov Memorial 20182
Pridorozhni,A2573Baghdasaryan,V24042018A0440th Nezhmetdinov Memorial 20182
Bocharov,D2562Yeletsky,I23882018B5240th Nezhmetdinov Memorial 20182
Korneev,O2547Sadykov,R23642018B9040th Nezhmetdinov Memorial 20182
Mokshanov,A2439Artemiev,V27032018B5140th Nezhmetdinov Memorial 20182
Tsoi,D2422Chigaev,M25932018A0540th Nezhmetdinov Memorial 20182
Faizrakhmanov,R2414Rozum,I25762018D3740th Nezhmetdinov Memorial 20182
Palachev,P2405Bocharov,I25652018D0040th Nezhmetdinov Memorial 20182
Salemgareev,T2394Volkov,S25472018D1540th Nezhmetdinov Memorial 20182
Artemiev,V2703Levin,E25161–02018B5040th Nezhmetdinov Memorial 20183
Chigaev,M2593Faizrakhmanov,R24141–02018B1340th Nezhmetdinov Memorial 20183
Bocharov,I2565Maiorov,N25121–02018C4540th Nezhmetdinov Memorial 20183
Frolyanov,D2532Harutyunian,T2504½–½2018C9540th Nezhmetdinov Memorial 20183
Yudin,S2525Gaifullin,A24542018B1340th Nezhmetdinov Memorial 20183
Khanin,S2507Kokarev,D25950–12018B3340th Nezhmetdinov Memorial 20183
Gabrielian,A2503Pridorozhni,A25730–12018C5540th Nezhmetdinov Memorial 20183
Drygalov,A2465Korneev,O2547½–½2018C5440th Nezhmetdinov Memorial 20183
Samusenko,M2442Lintchevski,D2519½–½2018A4540th Nezhmetdinov Memorial 20183
Yeletsky,I2388Timofeev,A25881–02018B0040th Nezhmetdinov Memorial 20183
Kokarev,D2595Yeletsky,I23881–02018A3440th Nezhmetdinov Memorial 20184
Chigaev,M2593Bocharov,I25651–02018C5040th Nezhmetdinov Memorial 20184
Pridorozhni,A2573Artemiev,V27030–12018B5140th Nezhmetdinov Memorial 20184
Korneev,O2547Kabanov,N24841–02018B0540th Nezhmetdinov Memorial 20184
Iljiushenok,I2532Drygalov,A24651–02018C4540th Nezhmetdinov Memorial 20184
Lintchevski,D2519Rozum,I2576½–½2018B5240th Nezhmetdinov Memorial 20184
Levin,E2516Makoveev,I22711–02018E1540th Nezhmetdinov Memorial 20184
Harutyunian,T2504Volkov,S2547½–½2018A0740th Nezhmetdinov Memorial 20184
Gaifullin,A2454Frolyanov,D2532½–½2018A1340th Nezhmetdinov Memorial 20184
Samusenko,M2442Yudin,S25250–12018C0340th Nezhmetdinov Memorial 20184
Artemiev,V2703Kokarev,D25951–02018B5040th Nezhmetdinov Memorial 20185
Rozum,I2576Hasangatin,R24901–02018B4540th Nezhmetdinov Memorial 20185
Bocharov,I2565Usmanov,V2470½–½2018C0740th Nezhmetdinov Memorial 20185
Bocharov,D2562Gaifullin,A24541–02018A0640th Nezhmetdinov Memorial 20185
Volkov,S2547Shoboev,D22371–02018D3640th Nezhmetdinov Memorial 20185
Frolyanov,D2532Markelova,L21690–12018C1140th Nezhmetdinov Memorial 20185
Iljiushenok,I2532Chigaev,M25931–02018B4840th Nezhmetdinov Memorial 20185
Yudin,S2525Korneev,O2547½–½2018B4040th Nezhmetdinov Memorial 20185
Gabrielian,A2503Lintchevski,D25191–02018C4240th Nezhmetdinov Memorial 20185
Yeletsky,I2388Pridorozhni,A25730–12018E8540th Nezhmetdinov Memorial 20185
Kokarev,D2595Iljiushenok,I2532½–½2018C6740th Nezhmetdinov Memorial 20186
Timofeev,A2588Samusenko,M24421–02018A4540th Nezhmetdinov Memorial 20186
Rozum,I2576Artemiev,V2703½–½2018D9040th Nezhmetdinov Memorial 20186
Pridorozhni,A2573Yudin,S2525½–½2018A1340th Nezhmetdinov Memorial 20186
Korneev,O2547Gabrielian,A25031–02018B2240th Nezhmetdinov Memorial 20186
Levin,E2516Tsoi,D24221–02018A5340th Nezhmetdinov Memorial 20186
Harutyunian,T2504Bocharov,D25621–02018A4840th Nezhmetdinov Memorial 20186
Mokshanov,A2439Chigaev,M2593½–½2018C4440th Nezhmetdinov Memorial 20186
Yankelevich,L2431Bocharov,I2565½–½2018D1740th Nezhmetdinov Memorial 20186
Markelova,L2169Volkov,S25470–12018D0240th Nezhmetdinov Memorial 20186
Artemiev,V2703Harutyunian,T25041–02018A1340th Nezhmetdinov Memorial 20187
Chigaev,M2593Usmanov,V24701–02018C1340th Nezhmetdinov Memorial 20187
Bocharov,I2565Gaifullin,A2454½–½2018B1240th Nezhmetdinov Memorial 20187
Bocharov,D2562Mokshanov,A2439½–½2018A0540th Nezhmetdinov Memorial 20187
Volkov,S2547Kokarev,D2595½–½2018D9740th Nezhmetdinov Memorial 20187
Iljiushenok,I2532Korneev,O2547½–½2018C4540th Nezhmetdinov Memorial 20187
Yudin,S2525Timofeev,A2588½–½2018C1040th Nezhmetdinov Memorial 20187
Levin,E2516Rozum,I2576½–½2018E3240th Nezhmetdinov Memorial 20187
Yankelevich,L2431Lintchevski,D2519½–½2018A4040th Nezhmetdinov Memorial 20187
Faizrakhmanov,R2414Pridorozhni,A2573½–½2018A4140th Nezhmetdinov Memorial 20187
Kokarev,D2595Yudin,S2525½–½2018C7040th Nezhmetdinov Memorial 20188
Timofeev,A2588Kabanov,N2484½–½2018C6540th Nezhmetdinov Memorial 20188
Pridorozhni,A2573Chigaev,M25930–12018B4840th Nezhmetdinov Memorial 20188
Korneev,O2547Artemiev,V2703½–½2018B9040th Nezhmetdinov Memorial 20188
Volkov,S2547Iljiushenok,I2532½–½2018D9640th Nezhmetdinov Memorial 20188
Lintchevski,D2519Baghdasaryan,V24041–02018A0640th Nezhmetdinov Memorial 20188
Harutyunian,T2504Rozum,I25761–02018A5340th Nezhmetdinov Memorial 20188
Samusenko,M2442Bocharov,I2565½–½2018C7740th Nezhmetdinov Memorial 20188
Faizrakhmanov,R2414Levin,E2516½–½2018E1540th Nezhmetdinov Memorial 20188
Palachev,P2405Bocharov,D25620–12018E7340th Nezhmetdinov Memorial 20188
Artemiev,V2703Volkov,S2547½–½2018A2040th Nezhmetdinov Memorial 20189
Chigaev,M2593Kokarev,D2595½–½2018B9040th Nezhmetdinov Memorial 20189
Bocharov,D2562Korneev,O2547½–½2018A0640th Nezhmetdinov Memorial 20189
Iljiushenok,I2532Harutyunian,T25040–12018C4540th Nezhmetdinov Memorial 20189
Yudin,S2525Kabanov,N24841–02018A0540th Nezhmetdinov Memorial 20189
Levin,E2516Mokshanov,A24391–02018D3140th Nezhmetdinov Memorial 20189
Khanin,S2507Faizrakhmanov,R24141–02018B1940th Nezhmetdinov Memorial 20189
Hasangatin,R2490Timofeev,A2588½–½2018D2040th Nezhmetdinov Memorial 20189
Drygalov,A2465Lintchevski,D25191–02018B4040th Nezhmetdinov Memorial 20189
Sadykov,R2364Maiorov,N2512½–½2018C6840th Nezhmetdinov Memorial 20189

Translation from German: Antonio Pereira

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Klaus Besenthal is computer scientist, has followed and still follows the chess scene avidly since 1972 and since then has also regularly played in tournaments.

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