Batumi Olympiad Round 2: Improve your chess with the Olympians

by Sagar Shah
9/26/2018 – There was a proposal of marriage before Round 2 at the Olympiad but, of course, it is also a hotbed of high-quality chess. We could produce an entire book with interesting tactical and strategic positions for your improvement., but instead we have given a few positions for you to train and improve your chess. At the same time you get all the updates of the big news of round two, the main one being Uzbek women getting the better of Russia!
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Some training positions

Before we move to the actual news of what happened in the tournament, there are two things to share with you. First, are some training positions for you to flex your mind and improve your game. All of these have been taken from the 2nd round of the Olympiad. Not many hints have been given as we want your task to be as close to a game of chess that you are playing. 

 
(1) A. Greet vs A. Giri (part 1)
White to move
 
(2) A. Greet vs A. Giri (part 2)
Black to move
 
(3) A. Tari vs M. Mchedlishvili
White to move
 
(4) L. Aronian vs R. Jumabayev
White to move
 
(5) N. Vitiugov vs C. O'Donnell
White to move
 
(6) N. Petriashvili vs S. Shankland
Should White play Kg2 or Kf2?
 

An Indian and Colombian Engagement!

This is the second thing to share with all of you. Niklesh Jain of India proposed to Angela Franco of Colombia minutes before the start of 2nd round of the Batumi Olympiad 2018! Niklesh is the editor-in-chief of ChessBase India Hindi and he is present at the Olympiad as a journalist. Angela is a member of the Colombian national team. It was a surprise for Angela, while Niklesh had planned it all! It was an amazing moment not just for Niklesh and Angela but the chess community in general. A Colombian got engaged to an Indian at the biggest possible event in chess where people from 189 countries are taking part! Gens Una Sumus! PS: Don't miss the expressions of the Chinese players in the background who couldn't believe that they were seeing this!

Niklesh Jain proposes to Angela Franco. Exclusive video!

Women's section

The real big news of the second round was Russia losing to Uzbekistan in round two. The first three boards ended in draws and the decisive win was scored by Nodira Nadirjanova on the fourth board.

Bo. 31
 
  Uzbekistan (UZB)		 Rtg - 1
 
  Russia (RUS)		 Rtg 2½:1½
19.1 WGM
 
 Tokhirjonova, Gulrukhbegim
 2369 - GM
 
 Kosteniuk, Alexandra
 2559 ½ - ½
19.2 WGM
 
 Kurbonboeva, Sarvinoz
 2202 - GM
 
 Goryachkina, Aleksandra
 2535 ½ - ½
19.3 WIM
 
 Gevorgyan, Irina
 2265 - GM
 
 Gunina, Valentina
 2528 ½ - ½
19.4 WIM
 
 Nadirjanova, Nodira
 2167 - WGM
 
 Pogonina, Natalija
 2469 1 - 0

Nodira Nadirjanova proved to be the hero for the Uzbek team as she scored the critical win to help her team win by a score of 2½-1½ over the mighty Russians | Photo: Niklesh Jain

 
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1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.e3 Bg4 5.h3 Bxf3 6.Qxf3 e6 7.Nc3 Nbd7 8.Bd3 Bd6 9.0-0 0-0 10.e4 dxe4 11.Nxe4 Nxe4 12.Qxe4 g6 13.Bh6 Re8 14.Rad1 Qa5 15.a3 Bf8 16.Bxf8 16.Bc1 It would have made more sense to keep the bishop pair. 16...Kxf8 17.Bc2 Kg7 18.Rfe1 Rad8 19.Qf3 Qc7 20.b4 Nf6 21.Qc3 Re7 22.Re3 Red7 23.Qa1 b5! From here on the position is just much easier for Black to play. 24.Re5? I think Pogonina already was flustered. Rxd4! 25.Rc5 25.Rxd4 Qxe5-+ 25...Rxc4 26.Rxc4 bxc4 27.Qc3 Rxd1+ 28.Bxd1 Qf4 29.Bf3 e5 30.Bxc6 Ne4 30...Qd4 was also very strong. 31.Qe3 Nd2! 32.Qxa7 Desperation. c3 33.Ba4 Qd4 34.Qxd4 exd4 35.Bc2 Nc4 36.b5 Kf6 37.Kf1 Ke5 Once the king comes in it's all over. 38.b6 38.a4 Kd6 39.Ke2 Kc5 40.Kd3 Nb2+ 41.Ke2 h5-+ sooner or later White wil be under zugzwang. 42.h4 f5 43.g3 Kb6 44.f3 Ka5 45.Bd1 d3+-+ 38...Kd6 39.Ke2 Nxb6 40.Kd3 Kc5 41.Bb3 Nd7 42.f4 f6 43.g3 Nb8 44.Bg8 h6 45.Bf7 g5 46.Be6 Na6 47.Bb3 Nc7 48.fxg5 fxg5 49.Ke4 Nb5 50.a4 Nd6+ 51.Kd3 Nb7 52.Bd1 Na5 53.Kc2 Kb4 54.Kd3 Nc6 55.h4 55.Bf3 Ne5+-+ 55...g4 56.Ke4 Kc4 57.Bc2 57.Be2+ Kb3-+ 57...Nb4 58.a5 d3 Nodira was not very ambitious out of the opening, but once she got a good position, she was ruthless. 0–1
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Pogonina,N2469Nadirjanova,N21670–12018D11Olympiad Women 20182.4

Ukraine very nearly survived from the jaws of defeat against Turkmenistan | Photo: Niklesh Jain

Zhukova scored the important win on board three and rest of the games ended in a draw. But Anna Muzychuk and Anna Ushenina were lost in their games!

There was one game in the women's section which is important to be mentioned here. It was Shen Yang with the white pieces against Colombian Melissa Gomez.

 
Position after 27.Ke2

White has just played the king to e2. What should be the result of the game? Mind you, think deep!

The solution is just unbelievable! Have a look at how you can weave a mating net even with much less material on the board.

 
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1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 c5 3.d5 b5 4.cxb5 a6 5.bxa6 g6 6.Nc3 Bg7 7.Nf3 0-0 8.e4 Qa5 9.Nd2 Bxa6 10.Bxa6 Qxa6 11.a4 Ra7 12.Qe2 d6 13.Nb5 Rb7 14.0-0 Ne8 15.Re1 Nc7 16.Nxc7 Rxc7 17.Ra3 Rb7 18.Nc4 Nd7 19.Bg5 Nb6 20.b3 h6 21.Bd2 Nxc4 22.Qxc4 Qxc4 23.bxc4 Rb2 24.Rd1 Rfb8 25.Kf1 Rc2 26.a5 Rbb2 27.Ke2 looks very normal, but turns out that there is a deep idea here. 27.Be1!? White is just winning here. 27...Bc3! 28.Kd3 This is what Shen Yang had prepared. Bxd2 28...Rxd2+ 29.Rxd2 Bxd2 30.a6+- And White wins. 29.a6 Stopping the a-pawn will cost Black his piece is what Shen Yang had thought. Ra2? 29...Bf4‼ 30.a7 30.g3? Rxf2 31.gxf4 Rf3# 30...Rxf2 31.a8Q+ Kg7 Black's idea is simple - Rfe2 or Rbe2 and a mate on e3. Can that be stopped? 32.Qa5 Rbe2 33.Qc3+ 33.Re1 Rd2+ 34.Kc3 Rc2+ 35.Kb3 35.Kd3 Rfd2+ 36.Qxd2 Rxd2+ 37.Kc3 Rxg2-+ 35...Rb2+ 36.Ka4 36.Kc3 Bd2+-+ 36...Bd2-+ 33...f6 34.Re1 Rd2+ 35.Qxd2 Rxd2+ 36.Kc3 Rxg2-+ is a trivial win. 29...Bg5 will also do but Bf4 is just more accurate. 30.Ra1 Rc3+ 31.Rxc3 Rxa1 32.Kxd2 Rxa6 The game ended in a peaceful draw, but both the players would be sad with the result as both had a chance to win! 33.Ke3 ½–½
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Shen,Y2464Castrillon Gomez,M2248½–½2018A58Olympiad Women 20182.1

Results of round two (women)

Team Team Pts. MP Res. : Res. MP Pts. Team Team
TKM Turkmenistan 4 2 1½ : 2½ 2 4 Ukraine UKR
IND India 4 2 4 : 0 2 4 Venezuela VEN
GER Germany 4 2 2 : 2 2 4 Georgia 3 GEO3
AZE Azerbaijan 4 2 4 : 0 2 4 Belgium BEL
HUN Hungary 4 2 2½ : 1½ 2 4 FYROM MKD
SWE Sweden 4 2 ½ : 3½ 2 4 Georgia 2 GEO2
ESP Spain 4 2 2½ : 1½ 2 4 Bangladesh BAN
ISL Iceland 4 2 1 : 3 2 4 Netherlands NED
MGL Mongolia 4 2 3 : 1 2 4 Bosnia & Herzegovina BIH
VIE Vietnam 4 2 4 : 0 2 4 ICCD ICCD
BOL Bolivia 4 2 0 : 4 2 4 Romania ROU
POR Portugal 4 2 0 : 4 2 4 Cuba CUB
SRB Serbia 4 2 3 : 1 2 4 Algeria ALG
MAS Malaysia 4 2 0 : 4 2 4 Turkey TUR
ENG England 4 2 3 : 1 2 4 Scotland SCO
MNE Montenegro 4 2 ½ : 3½ 2 4 Czech Republic CZE
GRE Greece 4 2 4 : 0 2 4 Wales WLS
FIN Finland 4 2 ½ : 3½ 2 4 Iran IRI
UZB Uzbekistan 4 2 2½ : 1½ 2 3½ Russia RUS
CHN China 3½ 2 3 : 1 2 4 Colombia COL

Results of round two (open)

Team Team Pts. MP Res. : Res. MP Pts. Team Team
GEO3 Georgia 3 4 2 1½ : 2½ 2 4 United States of America USA
RUS Russia 4 2 3 : 1 2 4 Ireland IRL
URU Uruguay 4 2 0 : 4 2 4 France FRA
ISR Israel 4 2 3½ : ½ 2 4 Costa Rica CRC
INA Indonesia 4 2 0 : 4 2 4 Poland POL
SCO Scotland 4 2 0 : 4 2 4 Netherlands NED
TJK Tajikistan 4 2 1 : 3 2 4 Czech Republic CZE
GER Germany 4 2 3½ : ½ 2 4 Myanmar MYA
CRO Croatia 4 2 3½ : ½ 2 4 Monaco MNC
JOR Jordan 4 2 0 : 4 2 4 Peru PER
ARG Argentina 4 2 3½ : ½ 2 4 Mexico MEX
SGP Singapore 4 2 ½ : 3½ 2 4 Romania ROU
TUR Turkey 4 2 3½ : ½ 2 4 Kosovo KOS
LUX Luxembourg 4 2 ½ : 3½ 2 4 Iran IRI
ESP Spain 4 2 3½ : ½ 2 4 Dominican Republic DOM
KGZ Kyrgyzstan 4 2 ½ : 3½ 2 4 Greece GRE
SLO Slovenia 4 2 4 : 0 2 4 South Africa RSA
IRQ Iraq 4 2 1½ : 2½ 2 4 Vietnam VIE
AND Andorra 4 2 0 : 4 2 4 Brazil BRA
SWE Sweden 4 2 3½ : ½ 2 4 Tunisia TUN

Solutions to the problems

Solution 1 and 2

The first two training positions at the start of the article are from the game between Andrew Greet and Anish Giri. This game has been analyzed in depth by GM Surya Sekhar Ganguly. We will let you enjoy the annotations below, but first the solutions.

 
Solution 1
b4 was an extremely strong move
 
Solution 2
Bh4!! Once you see the move, everything becomes obvious. But to see it is not easy!
 
 
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1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 Nd7 With his already huge opening repertoire Anish still managed to find something that he never played before as early as move 3! Judging by Andrew Greet's opening repertoire which is largely based on Catalan probably Anish most likely just wanted to find a way to make sure that white doesn't get normal Catalan that easily. It’s an old line played by many strong players and goes back all the way when players like Lasker and Capablanca used it followed by many strong players. Nevertheless, it is not as common as other main moves here. 4.Nbd2 It paid off. Andrew after 15 min of thought decided to stick to Catalan setup anyways but here black will not have any issues with equality. 4.Nc3 most principled of course but then a player who plays mainly Catalan would be reluctant to test this while facing with somewhat better prepared player :) Ngf6 transposes to a completely different big line and at least it won’t be easy to get normal Catalan setup here which was probably Anish's genius idea of playing 3...Nd7. 4.g3 It is certain that Andrew didn't want to test Anish's preparation and thus started with Nbd2 before g3. Nothing wrong to play g3 just that it gets to some less analysed position rather quickly. dxc4 I guess this is what bothered white 5.Bg2 and now there are many fresh areas like 5...Rb8/Nb6/ Bb4/c6 etc and it would be a tough call to predict what Anish had in mind 4...Ngf6 5.g3 Finally bishop came to g2 but white is committed to Nbd2 and black didn't even have to compromise anywhere. Opening problem is solved to start with b6 6.Bg2 Bb7 7.0-0 Be7 8.b3 0-0 9.Bb2 Re8 10.Rc1 c5 11.dxc5 I don't understand the need of releasing the central tension so quickly. It just gives away the central battle rather too easily 11.e3 is a normal move with not so complicated position :) 11...bxc5 12.Ne5 Also, didn't make much sense to change the knight volunteered and losing a few tempo. Nxe5 13.Bxe5 Qb6 14.e3 Rad8 I am pretty much sure that Anish would not have played this move had he seen white's little trick here which only works with the rook on d8 15.cxd5 exd5 16.Qc2 16.b4! a sudden chance to nullify the center and get a good square at d4. I actually like white after this move Ba6 16...cxb4 17.Bc7 16...Qxb4 17.Rb1 16...c4 17.a3 16...Nd7 17.bxc5 Bxc5 18.Rb1 17.bxc5 Bxc5 18.Bxf6 gxf6 19.Nb3 some random line of comps but would have never happened in the actual game 16...Ng4! 17.Bf4?! bishop definitely doesn't belong to this diagonal. 17.Ba1 was called for 17...h6 18.h3 18.e4 engine says this but it’s understandable that one can get unhappy to play Be3 after g5. g5 19.Be3 d4 20.Nc4 Qg6 21.Bd2 Bf8 18...Nf6 19.e4?! 19.Be5 it was not too late to get the bishop where it belongs 19...Nh5! I guess by now Anish has seen the brilliant idea 19...dxe4 leads to some forced lines which was not that clear 20.Nxe4 Nxe4 21.Bxe4 Bd6 22.Bxb7 Bxf4 23.gxf4 Qxb7 24.Rfe1 also better for black but the game continuation is much stronger 20.Be3 d4 21.Nc4 Qg6 22.Bd2 Bh4‼ and here comes the 19th century move! Anish is a peaceful guy but today he decided to have the 'beast mode' on for a change ;-) 23.Rce1 23.Ba5 It would be interesting to know what Anish saw here. With so many tempting possibilities it is not clear which one is best. I feel he probably would have just played Rd7 with his huge understanding which is also practically the best. However, the lines here are quite pretty after d3. d3!? 23...Nf4 looks super cool but doesn't work 24.gxf4 Bxe4 25.Qxe4 Rxe4 26.f5!= spoils the show 23...Rd7! I think this is what he would have opted for eventually which in my opinion is most practical and strong enough. 24.Qd1 Rxe4 just because it looks really tempting 24...Rd4 25.Nd2 Bxg3 also good enough 25.Bxd8 Nxg3 26.fxg3 26.Bxh4 Ne2+ 27.Kh1 Qxg2+ 28.Kxg2 Rg4+ 29.Kh2 Rg2+ 30.Kh1 Rxf2# wouldn't it feel nice to mate like this! 26...Re2 27.Qxe2 dxe2 28.Bxh4 exf1Q+ 29.Rxf1 Bxg2 30.Kxg2 Qe4+! 31.Rf3 g5 32.Bxg5 hxg5 33.g4 but the question is why to get here and bother if its fortress or not when black could simply play Rd7 without having to calculate too many lines :P 23...Nxg3! Crushing and brilliant. 24.fxg3 Bxg3 25.Ba5 Rd7 He surely would have played Rd7 in the other line too :) 26.Qd3 26.Rd1 Rxe4 26...Bxe1 27.Rxe1 f5! cleanest 28.Kh2 fxe4 29.Qg3 Qxg3+ 30.Kxg3 Anish has excellent technique and with +5 evaluation he plays even better chess Re6 31.Rc1 Bd5 32.Bf1 Rf7 33.Be2 Rg6+ 34.Kh4 Rg2 35.Bg4 Rxa2 No rush 36.Be1 Rf1 37.Ne5 Bxb3 if the game goes for few more moves he would not leave the h3 pawn either 38.Rxc5 Rxe1 39.Rc8+ Kh7 40.Bf5+ g6 41.Rc7+ Kg8 42.Bxg6 Rg2 Good to see a nice attacking game by Anish for a change :) 0–1
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Greet,A2441Giri,A27800–12018E17Batumi Chess Olympiad | Open2.1

Aryan Tari played the move Nd4 and Mchedlishvili had no option but to resign. I was very surprised that Baadur Jobava didn't play on board one for the team of Georgia. This resulted in a 2:2 draw against Norway.

 
Solution 3
The e7 pawn is where the gold is!
 
Solution 4
The move Bf4 is very accurate because after Rd7+ there is no square on h6 available for the black king
 
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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 d6 9.0-0 Nd7 10.a4 b6 11.Na3 Bb7 12.Nc4 Qc7 13.a5 b5 14.Nb6 Rb8 15.c4 bxc4 16.Bxc4 Ngf6 17.Be3 Nxe4 18.Bxa6 Bxa6 19.Qxa6 0-0 20.Qb5 Rfd8 21.Qa4 Nec5 22.Nxc5 dxc5 23.Bf4 Bd6 24.Nxd7 Rxd7 25.Rfd1 Rb4 26.Qxd7 Qxd7 27.Bxd6 Ra4 28.Be5 Rxa5 29.Rac1 Qe7 30.b4 Ra8 31.bxc5 f6 32.Bd6 Qa7 33.c6 Rc8 34.c7 Kg7 35.Bf4! This is the only way to win. Why not bishop g3? 35.Bg3 e5 36.Rd7+ Kh6 That's the reason why! The bishop on f4 controls the all important square on h6. 35...Qa4 36.Be3! Qa5 37.Rd7+ Kg8 38.h3! Very calm. No backrank worries now. g5 39.Rb1 Qa8 40.Ba7! Qxa7 41.Rd8++- Great finish by Levon. These guys really know how to win a winning game. 1–0
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Aronian,L2780Jumabayev,R26051–02018B4243rd Olympiad 20182.1
 
Solution 5
The right move is Bf4! closing the door of the queen on g4.

The idea to trap the queen with Bf4 and Be2 reminds us of a battlefield where a warrior goes too deep into enemy territory finding no way to go back!

 
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1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.e5 c5 4.dxc5 e6 5.Bd3!? A very rare line. Above 2500+ players it was seen only once when Volokitin used this in 2014. Idea is to keep Qg4 option open in case of Bc5 which is what happened in the game Bxc5 5...Nd7 I feel this will be more to the point as white is committed to Bd3 it makes sense to put the knight on c5 now 6.Qg4 Ne7 natural response 7.b4 7.Qxg7 Rg8 8.Qxh7 Qb6 can get very complicated soon 7...Bb6 8.Nf3 8.Qxg7 Now that there is no more Qb6 but still it doesn't work Rg8 9.Qxh7 Bd4! and black is better 8...a5?! 8...Ng6 would have been better than the move played in the game 9.b5 nothing wrong but white could have gone for something much direct and stronger 9.Qxg7! Now was the time to take it. Rg8 10.Qxh7 Rxg2 It does look scary at first sight but closer inspection reveals that black has no threats and white can simply ignore the f2 pawn 11.Nc3! axb4 11...Rxf2 12.Rf1 changing the active piece and white is winning here 12.Nb5 Nbc6 13.Bf4 Rxf2 14.Rf1+- 9...Ng6 10.h4 10.Nc3!? anticipating Nd7 this this also makes sense Nd7 11.Na4 Bc7 12.Bxg6 hxg6 13.Bg5 10...f5 10...Nd7!? 11.Bb2! 11.h5 Ngxe5 12.Nxe5 Qf6! 13.Nxd7 Bxd7 14.c3 Bxf2+ 15.Kd1 e5 black gets decent compensation for the whole piece! 11...Qc7 11...0-0 12.h5 f5 13.exf6 Nxf6 14.Bxf6 Qxf6 15.hxg6+- 12.h5 Ndxe5 13.Nxe5 Nxe5 14.Qxg7 Nxd3+ 15.cxd3 Rf8 16.0-0 there were other ways too but here as well white keeps the pressure 11.Qg3 0-0 12.h5 Nh8 12...Ne7 runs into 13.Bh6 Rf7 14.Ng5 13.Bh6 Qe7 14.Bg5 14.c4! Nd7 15.Nc3 Nc5 16.Rd1 With the bishop sitting on h6 black's kingside got totally fixed and its not clear how black will be able to untangle himself. 14...Qb4+ aiming for a wrong plan 14...Qc7 is safer 15.Nbd2 15.Bd2 Qe7 15...Qg4 16.Qh2! similar to the game 16.Nc3 15...Qg4? 15...Nd7 16.0-0 Nf7 is still ok for black 16.Qh2! A fine move. Now the queen will face serious trouble at enemy camp. Nd7 17.Bf4! Living no room to return Nc5 18.Be2 Ne4 19.Rf1 Nc3 20.Ng1! 20.Nd4! Also equally strong but why to even spend one second on seeing calculating Bd4. 20...Nxe2 21.Nxe2 g6 21...Bd8 22.Rh1! 22.hxg6 Qxg6 23.a4! One of the good qualities of stronger players are that they can see the board in broader perspective. Everything is happening right now on kingside but Nikita figures out that the rooks have to join the attack and a1 rook is not doing much at the moment so he decided to bring that resource too hence a calm looking move on queenside. Bd7 24.Ra3 Qf7 25.Rh1! Rfe8 26.Rh3 finally, everyone is involved in the attack. Re7 27.Nf3 Knight joins the feast too Qg7 28.Ng5 1–0
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Vitiugov,N2726O`Donnell,C23601–02018B12Batumi Chess Olympiad | Open2.3
 
Solution 6
Kf2 was the correct move because White would want his knight on e2 to be defended after ...Qd3.

If Nikoloz Petriashvili would have found the best move, it could have been possible for the young Georgians to hold or beat USA. The young Georgians played in a very spirited manner with Noe Tutisani holding Fabiano Caruana on board one and Nikolozi Kacharava having a better position against Ray Robson.

 
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1.c4 c5 2.Nc3 g6 3.g3 Bg7 4.Bg2 Nc6 5.e3 Nh6 6.Nge2 Nf5 7.b3 b6 8.Bb2 Bb7 9.0-0 h5 10.h3 0-0 11.Qb1 e6 12.Rd1 Rb8 13.Nb5 d5 14.Bxg7 Kxg7 15.cxd5 exd5 16.d4 Qf6 17.Nbc3 Nce7 18.dxc5 bxc5 19.Nxd5 Nxd5 20.Bxd5 Bxd5 21.Rxd5 Rfd8 22.Rxd8 Rxd8 23.Qe1 h4 24.g4 Nd6 25.Rd1 Ne4 26.Rxd8 Qxd8 27.f3 Nd2 28.Kg2? 28.Kf2 was the correct move. Qd3 Now the knight on e2 is not protected and hence 28...Qd6 29.Nf4± 29.Qa1+ Kg8 30.Qc3+- White is just winning. 28...Qd3! The undefended nature of the e2 knight doesn't let White's queen to move freely. 29.Kf2 Qc2 30.Qa1+ Kg8 31.e4 a5 32.g5 c4 33.bxc4 Nxc4 34.Qd4 Qxa2 35.Qd8+ Kh7 36.Qd5 Kg8 37.Qd8+ Kh7 38.Qd5 ½–½
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Petriashvili,N2343Shankland,S2722½–½2018A3643rd Olympiad 20182.3

Alexandr Fier is going to find his name in many tactics books in the years to come because of this position.

 
The main idea is to clear the h-file.

Once Black takes back on e6, do you see the finishing tactic?

 
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1.Nf3 d5 2.c4 dxc4 3.Na3 a6 4.Nxc4 b5 5.Ne3 Bb7 6.g3 Nf6 7.Bg2 e6 8.0-0 Be7 9.b3 0-0 10.Bb2 c5 11.Qc2 Nbd7 12.Rac1 h6 13.Rfd1 Rc8 14.Qb1 Qb6 15.Qa1 Rfd8 16.h3 Bf8 17.d3 Bc6 18.Ng4 Nxg4 19.hxg4 Qb7 20.e4 a5 21.g5 hxg5 22.Nxg5 a4 23.Bh3 Re8 24.Kg2 axb3 25.Rh1 c4 26.Bxe6! All that White needs is to clear the h-file! 26.Bf5 will also do! 26...Rxe6 27.Rh8+‼ It doesn't always happen in books! 27.Rh8+ Kxh8 28.Rh1+ Kg8 29.Rh8+ Kxh8 30.Qh1+ Kg8 30...Rh6 31.Qxh6+ 31.Qh7# 1–0
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Fier,A2558Aloma Vidal,R24281–02018A0943rd Olympiad 20182.2

It was Wesley So who provided the much-needed win for the Americans | Photo: Niklesh Jain

Anand's first Olympiad victory at the after 12 years

Vishy Anand's last Olympiad was in Turin in 2006. He played his first Olympiad game after twelve years against GM Markus Ragger and won it in excellent style. Check out this brilliant game with the help of Ganguly's analysis and then enjoy Anand's interview after the game.

 
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2006 Turin was the last Olympiad where Anand played for India. After a huge gap finally the Tiger is back which is a tremendous boost for the team. 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Italian nowadays is as popular as Spanish specially at top level. Bc5 4.c3 Nf6 5.d3 0-0 6.Bg5 Although this was first played in 1841 but only got huge popularity after MVL recently started using this idea heavily in this position as well as in some other similar position. I personally had this position few times as white with a4-a5 included. h6 7.Bh4 Be7 This was the old conception that after this black has no issues hence Bg5 ideas were not that popular. Thanks to MVL's effort it is now clear that though black is still fine here white does have many interesting tries. 8.Nbd2 d6 9.a4 Nh5 10.g3!? A rare and very interesting idea from my good friend Sethu. He used this idea to beat Inarkiev in last World Rapid at Saudi. The point is white simply protects the bishop and asks black to show his plans. 10.Bg3 MVL played this against Kramnik which is when this whole Bg5 line started picking up rapidly. Since then many games have been played with tries from both sides. Nxg3 10...g6 is the latest trend from black side which was seen in Hari - Inarkiev and Sethu - Giri 11.hxg3 Nb8 12.Nf1 c6 13.Ne3 Na6 14.g4 was the MVL - Kramnik game from where it all started 10...Nf6 a natural response. Now black threatens g5. Another interesting move is Bh3 which I am sure was prepared too. 11.Bxf6 Bxf6 12.h4 That is the idea of this whole g3 business! White gives up the bishop and tries to launch a kingside attack. Ne7 12...h5 was the Sethuraman - Inarkiev game 13.Nh2 g6 14.g4 hxg4 15.Nxg4 Bxh4 16.Qf3 and white had good compensation: 1-0 (69) Sethuraman,S (2646)-Inarkiev,E (2689) Riadh 2017 13.Nh2 the most natural way to follow. White has pretty much straightforward plan in this line d5 14.Bb3 From human point of view this is most natural. However, engine insist taking on d5 14.exd5 Nxd5 15.Qf3 Be6 is dynamically balanced. I like Anand's choice more as it has better practical value. 14...c6 14...d4 a counter intuitive suggestion from machine. Why would anyone give up the center and open the diagonal for the bishop! Practically it could be easier to play from white side irrespective of the computer evaluation 15.Qe2 15.Ng4 Qd6 16.Qf3 Bxg4 17.Qxg4 Both sides are playing very logically. White's bishop is clearly stronger than its counterpart but black holds the center very strongly and there is no kingside attack coming either. g6 Not sure if this was needed right away 17...Rad8 Black could play g6 later at anytime 18.h5 after 10min of thought Anand decides to close the kingside and make the black bishop further passive. g5 a committal decision but fairly justified one. Black agrees to lock the dark square bishop totally but makes sure kingside is completely closed. His solidity in center always compensates the passiveness of his minor pieces. 18...Bg7 would have changed the charactastic of the position completely 19.hxg6 fxg6 20.0-0-0 can get wild soon 19.Qf3 19.Qe2 with similar idea as in the game is also doable 19...Bg7 20.g4 now the position is completely closed at kingside. both f4 and f5 squares are weak but white will get his knight faster towards f5 as compared to black knight getting to f4. Thus, black's knight must not jump and rather stay at e7 from where it controls both f5 and d5. White's bishop is also stronger than its counterpart. However black still has a solid control over center which compensate all other things. As long as he can maintain that there is nothing to be worried about. Rad8 21.Ke2!? Its debatable where the king would be ideal. It does look safe at e2 as of now a5 22.Rhd1 Rd7 23.Nf1 Rfd8 23...Qc7!? now that white moved the knight black perhaps could have gone for harassing the b3 bishop. 24.Qe3 24.Ne3 Qb6 24...Rfd8 with a balanced position 24.Ne3 24.Ng3!? its not clear how to break further but if I had to pick a colour I would pick white 24...Qf6? A strategical error. Only way for white to make some progress is to open up the game but with queens on board it would have been very difficult to do so. Now it would be much easier to create play on queenside and suddenly the king on e2 becomes so much active. 24...Qc7 just keeping the queen on b6 would suffice to stop white from opening another front. For the moment its not clear how white will breakthrough. The position remains balanced. 25.Qxf6! of course! Bxf6 26.Ba2 26.Bc2 with the same idea of b4 but this time unstoppable 26...Bg7 26...Ra8!? would have been more tenacious. Stopping b4 for the moment. Although white has all the time to regroup and play b4 eventually 26...dxe4 changing further major pieces doesn't solve the problem of passive minor pieces that black has. 27.dxe4 Rxd1 now both Nd1 and Rd1 are good for white 28.Rxd1 28.Nxd1 and no need to calculate any furher variation Nc8 29.f3 28...Rxd1 29.Kxd1 white still keeps some pressure 27.b4 Anand goes for the straightforward plan 27.Rdb1 in order not to give black a chance to swap rooks Nc8 27...Ra8 28.Bb3 White can still slowly transfer the bishop to c2 and eventually break on queenside 28.b4 dxe4 29.dxe4 axb4 30.cxb4 Rd4 27...axb4 27...d4 28.Nc4 28.cxb4 dxe4 29.dxe4 Rd4?! 29...Rxd1 Good or bad this was the last chance to swap both rooks and black had to opt for it. 30.Rxd1 30.Nxd1 Rd4 30...Rxd1 31.Nxd1 it is psychologically difficult to take the call from black side if he should aim for this position but judging by the alternative black had this is clearly better choice. Nc8 32.b5! cxb5 33.a5! is one of the typical idea when white will take on b7 no matter what Kf8 33...Ne7 34.Bd5! 34.Bd5 Ke7 34...Nd6?? 35.Bxb7+- 35.Bxb7 Na7 36.Ne3± White is clearly better. If he can win or not that is not important from practical point of view. Nevertheless, this is still much better than what happened in the game. 30.b5 Rxd1 31.Nxd1! Subtle. Now that there is no more Rd4 trick Anand refuses to exchange rooks. 31.Rxd1 Rxd1 32.Kxd1 cxb5 33.axb5 Nc8 34.Nf5 Bf8 Here black can just escape 31...Bf8 31...Rd4 32.Ne3! is a nice way to finish Rxe4 32...Rxa4 33.Bxf7+ 33.bxc6 Nxc6 33...bxc6 34.Bc4+- 34.Bd5 Rb4 35.Bxc6 bxc6 36.a5+- 32.Ne3 cxb5 33.axb5 Nc8 34.Bd5 Nd6 35.b6! giving no chance to escape. Anand at ease. Once he gets initiative somehow, he makes it look so simple and easy. Rc8 36.Ra7 Rb8 37.Kd3! most direct way once again 37.Ra5 also equally strong 37...Nc8 38.Bxb7 Nxb6 39.Bd5! the final touch Rd8 39...Nxd5 40.exd5+- 40.Rb7 Nc8 41.Rb8! Now black is competely stuck Re8 42.Bc6 Bd6 42...Rd8+ 43.Nd5 43.Ra8 Rf8 44.Nf5 Ne7 45.Nxd6 Nxc6 46.Rxf8+ Kxf8 47.Nf5 A fine positional masterpiece by Anand. 1–0
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Anand,V2771Ragger,M26861–02018C54Batumi Chess Olympiad | Open2.1

Vishy Anand on his win over Markus Ragger

Round 3 team pairings for open (all teams on 4 match points)

Team Team Pts. MP Res. : Res. MP Pts. Team Team
FRA France 8 4   :   4 7 Algeria ALG
POR Portugal 7 4   :   4 8 Poland POL
NED Netherlands 8 4   :   4 6½ United States of America USA
PER Peru 8 4   :   4 6½ China CHN
AZE Azerbaijan 6½ 4   :   4 8 Slovenia SLO
BRA Brazil 8 4   :   4 6½ England ENG
VIE Vietnam 6½ 4   :   4 8 Bangladesh BAN
ISL Iceland 6½ 4   :   4 7½ Israel ISR
GER Germany 7½ 4   :   4 6½ Serbia SRB
PHI Philippines 6½ 4   :   4 7½ Croatia CRO
BIH Bosnia & Herzegovina 6½ 4   :   4 7½ Argentina ARG
UKR Ukraine 6 4   :   4 7½ Romania ROU
ARM Armenia 6 4   :   4 7½ Turkey TUR
IRI Iran 7½ 4   :   4 6 Belarus BLR
MDA Moldova 6 4   :   4 7½ Spain ESP
GRE Greece 7½ 4   :   4 6 Switzerland SUI
EGY Egypt 6 4   :   4 7½ Sweden SWE
GEO2 Georgia 2 6 4   :   4 7 Russia RUS
CZE Czech Republic 7 4   :   4 6 Chile CHI
CAN Canada 5½ 4   :   4 7 India IND

Complete list

The most interesting match is surely the Netherlands versus the USA. Anish Giri will take on Fabiano Caruana on board one. When we interviewed Anish Giri after round two, he gave his opinion about the US team. Here is what he said:

Anish Giri speaks about his round two game, his approach towards the Olympiad, the strength of Netherlands team. He speaks about the US team at 11 minutes 30 seconds.

Other interesting matches are between the young Iranian team that will take on a strong Belarus team. Also, Brazil against England would be an interesting fight.

Round 3 team pairings for women (all teams on 4 match points)

Team Team Pts. MP Res. : Res. MP Pts. Team Team
SRB Serbia 7 4   :   4 8 India IND
ENG England 7 4   :   4 8 Azerbaijan AZE
LTU Lithuania 7 4   :   4 8 Vietnam VIE
ROU Romania 8 4   :   4 6½ Ukraine UKR
CUB Cuba 8 4   :   4 6½ China CHN
TUR Turkey 8 4   :   4 6½ Poland POL
GRE Greece 8 4   :   4 6½ Armenia ARM
ARG Argentina 8 4   :   4 6½ Hungary HUN
GEO2 Georgia 2 7½ 4   :   4 6½ Spain ESP
CZE Czech Republic 7½ 4   :   4 6½ Italy ITA
SVK Slovakia 6½ 4   :   4 7½ Iran IRI
FRA France 6 4   :   4 7 Georgia 1 GEO1
USA United States of America 7 4   :   4 6½ Canada CAN
SLO Slovenia 6 4   :   4 7 Netherlands NED
MGL Mongolia 7 4   :   4 6 Belarus BLR
UZB Uzbekistan 6½ 4   :   4 7½ Indonesia INA
GER Germany 6 3   :   4 5½ Israel ISR

Complete list

Spain versus Georgia 2 is going to be a close fight. Other matches of interest are England against Azerbaijan and India takes on Serbia.

Two of the games in this report have been annotated by GM Surya Sekhar Ganguly and he has helped us tremendously in finding the training positions. He is six-time National Champion for India, Asian Champion and has been Anand's second in numerous World Championship matches.

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Sagar is an International Master from India with two GM norms. He loves to cover chess tournaments, as that helps him understand and improve at the game he loves so much. He is the co-founder and CEO of ChessBase India, the biggest chess news portal in the country. His YouTube channel has over a million subscribers, and to date close to a billion views. ChessBase India is the sole distributor of ChessBase products in India and seven adjoining countries, where the software is available at a 60% discount. compared to International prices.

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