Batumi Olympiad Round 9: Poland stuns USA

by Sagar Shah
10/4/2018 – Being the sole leader at the Olympiad is not an easy task. USA was the sole leader with 15.0/16 going into the ninth round. They were the clear favourites facing the Polish team. But the inspired Poles played out of their skins and beat the US with three draws and the decisive result being Piorun beating Nakamura. In the women's section China has taken the sole lead by beating Kazakhstan 3-1. We have round 9 report from Batumi by Sagar Shah and Amruta Mokal with GM analysis by Surya Sekhar Ganguly.
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Initial moments of round 9 along with explanations of different openings that were played 

Results of Round 9 (Open)

Team Team Pts. MP Res. : Res. MP Pts. Team Team
POL Poland 22½ 14 2½ : 1½ 15 23 United States of America USA
AZE Azerbaijan 22½ 13 1½ : 2½ 13 21 China CHN
IND India 22½ 13 1½ : 2½ 13 21½ Armenia ARM
GER Germany 21 13 2 : 2 13 22½ France FRA
ENG England 19½ 13 3 : 1 12 23 Norway NOR
ITA Italy 20½ 12 1 : 3 12 21 Russia RUS
AUT Austria 20½ 12 1 : 3 12 20½ Croatia CRO
NED Netherlands 22½ 11 3 : 1 12 19½ Moldova MDA
ISR Israel 21½ 11 3 : 1 11 19 Hungary HUN
ESP Spain 22 11 3½ : ½ 11 20 Bangladesh BAN

Complete list

Round nine saw the clash of two of the best performing teams at the Batumi Olympiad 2018 — Team USA and Poland. Although players from both the sides are playing really well, there is a big difference in the way both the teams are made up. Team Poland has team spirit and unity which would be difficult to match for just about any team. They spend time together. They go to the swimming pool in the evening and have their meals together. USA on the other hand is powering ahead on the basis of individual brilliance. All of their players are big stars and team unity doesn't mean much when each one can do his best on the board. Yet, in team events sometimes it is this synergy which is developed from team bonding, the fact that the player sitting next to you gives you energy and encouragement to fight harder helps ordinary teams achieve extraordinary things.

Poland is by no means ordinary, but in front of USA they are clearly weak. Jan-Krzysztof Duda is young and talented but falls short of the World Championship Challenger Fabiano Caruana. Wojtaszek has played many super tournaments and has beaten the best, but when it comes to consistency Wesley So is miles ahead. The biggest mismatch was perhaps on board three where one of the finest players in the world Hikaru Nakamura was going to fight it out against Kacper Piorun. On the fourth board Jacek Tomczak, although has been having a great tournament, is weaker when compared to Sam Shankland.

Team spirit versus individual brilliance. Which one would triumph? | Photo: Niklesh Jain

The match became interesting in the first hour itself when Sam Shankland made a move to sacrifice his queen in the opening!

 
The knight jumped to e5 leaving the queen on d1 hanging!

Tomczak was surprised and he had to move his bishop back to d7 as taking the queen would lose to Nxc6 with big threats. To Jacek's credit he didn't give up. He brought his bishop back to d7 and continued the fight as if nothing had happened. The game later ended in a draw. 

Nakamura tried the Scandinavian against Kacper Piorun, retreating his queen back to d8, and was in a slightly inferior position out of the opening. There were a few equalizing chances like the one below, but Naka wanted to win the game at all costs and that's the reason why he made certain poor decisions.

 
Piorun has just retreated the bishop back to e4. How should Black continue?

Black should have taken on d4 with his rook. After Bxf5 Rxd1! Qxd1 exf5 the position is round about even. Instead of Rxd4 Nakamura took Bxe4 and after Rxe4 White was better. Kacper managed to keep his cool and calmly converted the rook endgame where he had two extra pawns.

It must be reminded to our readers that Piorun is five-time World problem-solving champion!

Radoslaw Wojtaszek playing on board two had a very comfortable opening position out of the opening with the black pieces. However, towards the endgame, he didn't really play so well and soon landed in a difficult opposite coloured bishop endgame. Wojtaszek defended this very well and finally, the game was drawn after nearly five hours of play.

The focus of the entire match shifted to the top board clash between Fabiano Caruana and Jan-Krzysztof Duda. Out of the opening things progressed normally, but at some point, Duda moved into a tough position. Rather than defending passively he decided to sacrifice a piece and go for an active defence.

 
Duda has sacrificed a piece but has good drawing chances
 
With some good play and help from the opponent, Duda was able to liquidate the pawns and reach an endgame that looks drawn.

But the position is not at all drawn. 

 
It was here that Caruana had to find the only winning move. Can you do it?

Caruana had to play ...Be4!! and put his king on e3. He instead went for ...Bg4 and put his king on g3 which was incorrect. After that Duda defended really well and a draw was agreed.

 
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1.c4 e5 2.Nc3 Nf6 3.Nf3 Nc6 4.e3 Bb4 5.Qc2 Bxc3 6.Qxc3 Qe7 7.d4 Ne4 8.Qd3 exd4 9.Nxd4 0-0 10.Be2 Qb4+ 11.Kf1 Qe7 12.f3 Nc5 13.Qc3 d6 14.Nxc6 bxc6 15.b3 a5 16.Bb2 f5 17.Rd1 Be6 18.Kf2 a4 19.b4 Nd7 20.Rd2 f4 21.Rc1 Rae8 22.Rd4 fxe3+ 23.Qxe3 c5 24.bxc5 Nxc5 25.Kg1 Qf7 26.Qf2 Bf5 27.Bf1 Re7 28.Ba3 Re5 29.Qd2 Rfe8 30.Rd5 h6 31.Bxc5 dxc5 32.Qa5 Qe7 33.Rdd1 Qg5 34.Kh1 Qe3 35.Qxc7 Qf2 36.Qa5 Qxa2 37.Ra1 Qb3 38.h3 Kh7 39.Rd5 Bc2 40.Qd2 Bg6 41.Qa5 Qb4 42.Rxa4!? An interesting decision because after the forced exchanges, White will be down a piece. Qxa5 43.Rxa5 Rxd5 44.cxd5 Re1 45.Kg1 Bd3 46.Rxc5 Rxf1+ 47.Kh2 Rd1 48.Kg3 Bf1?! 48...Ba6! 49.Kf4 49.Ra5 Bb7-+ 49...Bf1 50.g4 Bxh3 49.Kf2 Kg6 50.h4 Bd3 51.h5+! Kf5 51...Kxh5 52.d6+ Kg6 53.Rc1‼ Rxc1 54.d7± 52.Rc7 Kf6 53.Rc6+ Kg5 54.Rc7 g6 55.hxg6 Bxg6 56.Rd7 Rd2+ 57.Kg3 Bd3 58.Re7 Bf5 59.Kh2 h5 60.d6 h4 61.Rg7+ Kf4 62.Rg8 Rxd6 63.g3+ Kxf3 64.gxh4 This endgame is drawn! Rd2+ 65.Kg1 Bg4? 65...Be4‼ 66.Rf8+ Ke3 67.h5 Rg2+ 68.Kf1 Rg5 69.Ke1 Ra5 70.Rd8 Bc6 71.Rd6 Bd5 72.Kd1 Be4 73.Ke1 Rxh5 74.Rf6 Rc5 75.Rd6 Bd5 76.Kd1 Bf3+ 77.Ke1 Rc1+ 66.Rf8+ Kg3 This setup is drawn because there is too little space on the other side for the rook to deliver a checkmate! 67.h5! Bxh5 68.Rg8+ Bg4 After this the game is just drawn. 69.Rf8 Rd6 70.Rf2 Rd1+ 71.Rf1 Rd2 72.Rf8 Re2 73.Rf7 Re1+ 74.Rf1 Re2 75.Rf8 Be6 76.Rf6 Bh3 77.Rg6+ Bg4 78.Rf6 Rg2+ 79.Kf1 Rh2 80.Kg1 Re2 81.Rf8 Re5 82.Rf2 Bf3 83.Rg2+ Kf4 84.Ra2 Re1+ 85.Kf2 Rh1 86.Ra7 Rh2+ 87.Kg1 Rg2+ 88.Kf1 Be4 89.Ra3 Rb2 90.Kg1 Bf3 91.Ra7 Kg3 92.Rg7+ Bg4 93.Rf7 Rb8 94.Rf2 Bf3 95.Rg2+ Kf4 96.Ra2 Be4 97.Ra3 Rb2 98.Rh3 Rg2+ 99.Kf1 Bf3 100.Rh8 Ra2 101.Rb8 Kg3 102.Rg8+ Bg4 103.Re8 Ra1+ 104.Re1 Ra5 105.Re8 Rd5 106.Re7 Rd8 107.Re3+ Bf3 108.Re7 Kf4 109.Kf2 Rd2+ 110.Ke1 Rh2 111.Ra7 Re2+ 112.Kf1 Rd2 113.Rc7 Kg3 114.Rg7+ Bg4 115.Re7 Rf2+ 116.Kg1 Rd2 117.Kf1 Re2 118.Rxe2 Bxe2+ ½–½
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Duda,J2739Caruana,F2827½–½2018A2843rd Olympiad 20189.1

With this draw, the Polish team managed to beat USA with a score of 2½-1½.

Jan-Krzysztof Duda speaks to ChessBase India after his historic draw

Final moments of the Polish team beating USA

The man who provided China with the win against Azerbaijan was Bu Xiangzhi on the last board against Eltaj Safarli | Photo: Amruta Mokal

If you want to learn what chess preparation is at the highest level, you must pay close attention to the game between Shakhriyar Mamedyarov and Ding Liren | Photo: Amruta Mokal

This video gives you a flow of the entire game and also has a post game interview with Ding Liren at the end

Naiditsch had a completely better position against Wei Yi but messed it up towards the end | Photo: Amruta Mokal

 

Vishy failed to fire with the white pieces against Aronian. It was a quick draw under an hour. | Photo: Niklesh Jain

The key game that sealed India's fate at this event. Haik Martirosyan managed to beat GM Krishnan Sasikiran to give Armenia a 2.5-1.5 win over India. | Photo: Niklesh Jain

Analysis by GM Surya Sekhar Ganguly
 
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1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 d5 3.c4 e6 4.Nc3 Bb4 Sasi added Ragozin to his already broad opening arsenal very recently in 2018. 5.Bg5 h6 6.Bxf6 Qxf6 7.Qa4+ Nc6 8.e3 0-0 9.Be2 A well known setup in Ragozin. White plays for black's c8 bishop and misplaced knight on c6. Black has many ways to play here and different players have tried different plans from black side. Usually black is doing fine here as per the current theory. Bd7 9...dxc4 This move is Aronian's favorite. He tried it four times as black. 10.0-0 Bd7 11.Bxc4 Bxc3 12.bxc3 Rfd8 Last time he played this was against Karjakin in 2018. 13.Qa3 Qe7 14.Qxe7 Nxe7 the game was drawn eventually ½-½ (39) Karjakin,S (2782) -Aronian,L (2764) Stavanger 2018 10.Qb3 dxc4 11.Qxc4 Qe7 11...Qg6 12.0-0 Bd6 This is Chinese style. Many top Chinese player are doing this. Mainly Yu Yangi has played this a lot. Idea is to simply play Na5 next and change queens. 13.Rfd1 Na5 14.Qd3 Qxd3 15.Bxd3 Yu Yangi tried this from black side number of times with good result. It was also played twice successfully by Eesha when she drew against Diptayan and Vidit. 11...Bd6 12.0-0 Qg6 Another move order to get the same position discussed above. 12.0-0 Bd6 I am not sure if Sasi mixed up his preparation or willingly opted for this setup. Somehow, I don't like this idea. It’s a bit too late and little passive to play for Bd6-e5 now. White will be in time to create some pressure in the meantime. 12...Na5! Wojtaszek played this move thrice which in my opinion is the most critical in this position. 13.Qxc7 otherwise c5 was coming Rac8 14.Qe5 Bxc3 15.bxc3 Qa3 16.Nd2 16.Rac1 Rxc3 17.Rxc3 Qxc3 18.d5 Qc2 Soon it will fizzle down to a drawn endgame. 16...Qxc3 17.Ne4 Qa3 18.Bf3 Nc4 19.Qg3 Bc6 20.Nf6+ Kh8 21.Nh5 Rg8 was fine for black in 1/2 (52)-1/2 (52) Vachier Lagrave,M (2758)-Wojtaszek,R (2724) Saint-Quentin 2014 13.Ne4 I already like white's position. Rfc8 13...e5 14.d5 Nb8 with the bishop on d7 black now will have to waste few more moves to get the knight into game. Clearly this is not the way black wants to play. 13...a5 14.Rfc1 14.Rfc1N 14.Rac1 was seen previously: 1/2 (73)-1/2 (73) Moiseenko,A (2677)-Michalik,P (2558) Minsk 2017 14...e5 15.d5 Nd8 It already looks like something has gone wrong for black. The knight clearly doesn't belong to d8. 16.Nxd6 16.Qb3! would have been stronger 16...cxd6 16...Qxd6 17.Qe4± 17.Qb4 b6 18.Nd2 18.Ba6 Rc5 but then where will the d8 knight go? 19.Nd2 As black is not able to take on d5 yet Bc8 19...Rxd5 20.Qe4 Be6 21.Bc4 Qb7 22.Bxd5 Bxd5 23.Qg4 Ne6 24.Rc2± 20.Bc4 Nb7 21.Qa3! b5 22.Be2 Rxd5 23.Ne4 18...Nb7 Sasi thought for quite some time here so I assume he was probably considering if to play Nb7 directly or after taking on c1. 18...Rxc1+ 19.Rxc1 Nb7 20.Rc7 Just a temporary placement for the rook 20.Qa3 Qd8 not fun to play like this but white is not able to put immediate pressure. 21.Ba6 Nc5 22.b4 Nxa6 23.Qxa6 Bc8 24.Qd3 Bd7 20...Nc5 21.Qa3 a5 22.b4 Qd8! 23.bxc5 Qxc7 24.c6 Bxc6 25.dxc6 Qxc6 the position remains dynamically balanced. 19.Rxc8+ Bxc8 19...Rxc8 20.Ba6 Rc7 21.Bxb7 Rxb7 22.Rc1 Doesn't look very appealing with the rook on c7 and no control on 'c' file but engine holds without much trouble. 20.Rc1 Nc5?! 20...Bd7 would have been better to play this which transpose to a line we just saw before. 21.Qa3! now b4 is unstoppable. Bf5 21...a5 22.b4± 21...Bd7 22.b4 Na4 23.Ba6± 22.b4 Ne4 Both Nd7 or Nb7 was bad as well. At least this will create some complications. 23.Bd3! Nxd2 24.Bxf5 Qg5 24...b5 25.Qa6+- 24...e4 25.Bc8! b5 26.Qc3 Nc4 27.Ba6+- 25.Qxa7! I am absolutely certain that Sasi didn't miss this. Under the given circumstances this is all he could do to make things messy in order to provoke white to make some mistakes. He even succeeded in doing so by changing the nature of the position but unfortunately couldn't encash on opponents mistake when it actually came. Rf8 26.Bh3?! 26.Bd7! simply would not have allowed the tactics which occurred in the game. Nf3+ 27.Kh1 Nh4 28.Bh3+- 26...Nf3+ 27.Kh1 Qh4! Thanks to the bishop on 'h3' this move is possible and black will also gain few more tempos due to Ng5 28.Qxb6 Ng5! 29.Kg1 Nxh3+? It was understandably very tempting to shatter white's kingside in order to fish for some perpetual but this was the precise moment where it was possible to launch a concrete attack. 29...Ne4! 30.Rc2 This must be the move which bothered Sasi. Now black had two ways to create counter attack but both needed very precise calculation. 30.Rf1 Nd2 31.Re1 Ne4 32.Re2 Nc3 32...f5 33.Rd2 Qc4 30...Qh5 This is very direct but easy to miss the nice geometry here. 30...f5 I would think this is very human. As normal play will surely lose why not to just throw everything on kingside? 31.Qc7 31.b5 g5 at least creats a mess. For what it is worth. ..engine calls it 0.00. 31...Ng5 32.Qxd6 Qe4 31.f3 Ng5 32.Bd7 32.Bg4 Qg6 32...Nxf3+! Not at all easy to spot! Specially while having the option of 29...Nh3 which can shatter the kingside at one shot. 33.gxf3 Qg6+ 34.Rg2 Qb1+ 35.Kf2 Qc2+ 36.Kg3 Qg6+ 37.Bg4 f5= 30.gxh3 Qxh3 31.Qxd6 Qg4+ 32.Kf1 Qe4 32...Qh3+ 33.Ke1 Qxh2 34.Qc5+- 33.Qc6?! 33.Qc5 Ra8 the only reason why white must not have played this move 34.Qc4 simplest 34.a4!? Rxa4 35.Qc8+ Kh7 36.Qc4 +3 as per my engine! 34...Qxc4+ 34...Qh1+ 35.Ke2 Qxh2 36.Rc2+- 35.Rxc4 Rxa2 36.d6+- 33...Qxb4 34.d6 Qd2? 34...Rd8! would have still given black tremendous chance to escape with a draw. 35.Rd1 35.d7 Qd2 35...Qg4! 36.Qd5 36.f3 Qe6 36...Qh3+ 37.Ke1 Qxh2 38.d7 Qg1+ 35.Qc7!+- Now its all over. Black rook will not come into game again. g6 35...Ra8 36.d7 35...Kh7 36.Qc2+ Qxc2 37.Rxc2 would just prolong the game but white will win anyways 36.d7 h5 37.Qc8 Kh7 38.Rc4 Qd1+ 39.Kg2 e4 40.Rc1 Qg4+ 41.Kf1 Qh3+ 42.Ke1 Qxh2 43.Qxf8 Qg1+ 44.Ke2 Qg4+ 45.Kd2 Qxd7+ 46.Ke1 Qd5 47.Rc8 g5 48.Qc5 1–0
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Martirosyan,H2597Sasikiran,K26721–02018D38Batumi Chess Olympiad | Open9.4

Germany managed to hold France to a 2-2 draw thanks to Liviu Dieter Nisipeanu beating Maxime Vachier Lagrave on board one. The equalizing win for France came from Christian Bauer on board four against Rasmus Svane. | Photo: Niklesh Jain

Analysis by GM Surya Sekhar Ganguly
 
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1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Be3 Ng4 MVL mainly plays this move nowadays against English attack. It is not a difficult task to predict what MVL might play in the opening but it is challenging to out prepare him. Things get more difficult to actually win the game even after out preparing him as he is very tricky and able to swindle from difficult situations. In this game Dieter managed to do both. First out prepared him and then once he got advantage he kept control over the game throughout. 7.Bg5 h6 8.Bc1 Nf6 That is modern chess nowadays! After playing three consecutive moves with same piece and getting it back to its initial square all white has achieve is now the black pawn is placed on h6 instead of h7. In pre-computer era such moves would have been considered as coffeehouse chess but thanks to strong computers our perspective has changed a lot and we now see such lines at top level. Is h6 is a weakness or a useful move? That depends on which setup white is going to take next. For instance, if he plays now Be2 then black will play e5 and surely then h6 will be useful as it stops Bg5. Basically, now if black can play e5 without concession then h6 is useful. If he has to play e6 then the debate will be on if h6 can be called as a potential weakness in future for kingside attack. 9.Bc4 The most popular follow up which makes a lot of sense as it practically forces black to opt for e6 setup. White can now try to prove that h6 can be a target. 9.Bd3 Grischuk played this twice. Once against Duda in online blitz and and once against MVL at Moscow GP 2017. e5 9...Nc6 10.Nxc6 bxc6 11.0-0 0-1 (45) Grischuk,A (2766)-Duda,J (2737) chess.com INT 2018 10.Nde2 Be7 11.0-0 0-0 12.Ng3 1/2-1/2 (66) Grischuk,A (2750)-Vachier Lagrave,M (2795) Moscow 2017 9...e6 10.Bb3 Be7 11.Be3 11.0-0 Magnus tried this against Grischuk in online blitz. This time Grischuk was on the black side. 0-0 12.f4 b5 1/2-1/2 (38) Carlsen,M (2857)-Grischuk,A (2754) chess.com INT 2016 11...Nc6 12.Nxc6!?N Completely new direction. All the games that reached this position saw 12.f4. Judging by the time consumed I would guess this was cooked over the board. bxc6 13.Qf3 Such things would not have worked with the pawn on h7 as then black can simply castle without fearing any kind of kingside attack. Qc7?! A natural reaction for stopping e5 but it is due to this innocent looking move black king will now lack a safe place for rest of the game. It was time to bite the bullet and simply castle on kingside. 13...0-0! It does look a bit like inviting white for a quick kingside attack and hence so not easy to take this decision over the board. Even with the engines on I feel a bit skeptical about this whole process. 14.g4 14.0-0-0 d5 Black has his own way to create a quick counter play. 14...d5! 15.h4 15.0-0-0 Bb4 Gets very complicated very fast and would require much depth to draw any conclusion. Numbers are 0.00 which doesn't mean much in a practical game but at least it shows that black is not getting crushed through. 15...Bb4 16.exd5 exd5 17.g5 Bg4 17...Ng4!? also doable 18.Qg2 Bh5! 19.gxf6 Qxf6 gives black great compensation 14.Qg3! A very nice move which will start a never-ending problem for black from now on. Where to put the king? Bb7 14...Kf8 Top choice of machine but for sure no one would like to play like this 15.0-0-0 Dieter plays most natural move. Black is unable to run to queenside now as then white can take on g7 and f7 will be hanging next. Computer insists that white could actually have just started to collect some pawns without fearing any counter attack by black. 15.Qxg7! Rg8 16.Qxh6 0-0-0 17.0-0-0 c5 17...d5 18.Bf4± 18.Qf4!± 15...g5?! This just weakens the position further. It was already a tough position for black and now it just gets further worse. 15...0-0-0 16.Qxg7 15...Rg8 16.f4 d5 Black remains worse but not as worse as it became after g5 16.h4! Charging immediately on the weakness. gxh4 16...g4 17.f3 gxf3 18.Qxf3± 17.Rxh4 0-0-0 17...h5 18.Na4! Rg8 18...c5 19.Nxc5 19.Qh2! Ng4 20.Rxg4! hxg4 20...Rxg4 21.Bxe6!+- 21.Bb6± followed by Qh7 would be crushing 18.Rxh6 White is not only a pawn up but also better from every other aspect. Rxh6 19.Bxh6 c5 20.e5 Dieter switches his play from direct attack to slow strategic play. There were faster and stronger ways than this. 20.Bc4! Nxe4 21.Nxe4 Bxe4 22.Bxa6+ Bb7 23.Bb5± 20.f3!? 20...dxe5 20...Rg8 21.exd6 21.exf6 Rxg3 22.fxe7 Qxe7 23.fxg3 d5 21...Rxg3 22.dxc7 Rxg2 23.Bf8‼ a nice little trick to keep the advantage. Ng8 24.Na4!± 21.Rxd8+ Bxd8 21...Qxd8 22.Qg7 22.Bc4± Material balance is even now. White in return enjoys a much better structure and with black's center broken there are no more pawn rolling ideas to be worried about. Nd5 23.Bd2 Once again Dieter choses the most solid approach. Not to create any weakness and play simply for black's weaknesses 23.Qg8 Engine way Nxc3 24.bxc3 Qe7 25.Be3 I personally would also have not opted for this line even though it gives huge advantage. 23...Kb8 24.Qg8 24.Na4 Ka7 25.Qg7! Queen on g7 is better than on g8 as it stops black's counter with e4 e4? 26.Bxd5 exd5 27.Nxc5 Qxc5 28.Be3 is the point of keeping the queen on g7 instead of g8 24...Ka7 25.Na4 25.g3± 25...Qe7 25...e4 This was the chance to create little counter 26.b3!? is more human and still strong 26.Bxd5! This counter intuitive move by computer would have been difficult to find. exd5 27.g3! d4 28.Bf4 Qe7 29.Nxc5 e3 30.fxe3 dxe3 31.Nd3± 26...e3 26...Bf6 27.Qf8 27.fxe3 Nf6 28.Qf8 Ne4 29.Bd3 Nxd2 30.Kxd2 Be7 black is still clearly worse but the openness of white's king and having double bishop could have given some practical chance to swindle 26.b3! Keeps everything under control Nb6 27.Nxb6 Bxb6 28.Qg7 e4 29.g4! Now that both bishops are locked it is time to advance on kingside and aim for the f7 pawn. Bd5 30.g5! A nice little tactics. Qb7 30...Bxc4 31.g6!+- being the point 31.Be3 Bxc4 32.bxc4 a5 33.a4 Just being professional. Qc7 34.Qh7 Black has too many weaknesses to cover. Qb7 35.Kd1 Bringing the king to a safer place before attacking further. Qd7+ 36.Ke1 Qxa4 36...Qb7 37.Ke2 would slowly lead to some sort of a zugzwang. 37.Qxf7+ 37.g6+- 37...Ka6 38.Qxe6 Once again the most human and safe choice. 38.g6 This is the strongest but can be played only if white sees a concrete way to stop black's perpetual. Qxc2 39.Qd7! Only move. White takes away two very important square 'd3' and 'd1' which were essential to give any kind of perpetual. Now white keeping the queen on d7 white will simply queen his pawn. a4 40.g7 Ba5+ 41.Kf1 Qxc4+ 42.Kg2+- 38...Qxc2 39.Qc8+ Ka7 40.Qd7+ The key file. Once again d3 and d1 square are taken away from black leaving with no hope of perpetual. Ka6 41.Qd5 41.g6 Qxc4 42.g7 was also winning 41...Ka7 42.g6 a4 43.Kf1 43.g7?? Qc3+ 43...a3 44.g7 a2 45.g8Q Qd3+ 45...a1Q+ 46.Kg2 leads to mate. 46.Kg2 Qxd5 47.Qxd5 a1Q 48.Qd7+! first takes care of Qg7+ Ka6 49.Bxc5 Bxc5 50.Qb5+ Ka7 51.Qxc5+ Kb7 52.Qd5+ Kb6 53.Qxe4 Qg7+ 54.Kf3 Qf6+ 55.Qf4 Qc6+ 1–0
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Nisipeanu,L2661Vachier-Lagrave,M27801–02018B90Batumi Chess Olympiad | Open9.1

The English team beat Norway and with 15.0/18 have moved to fifth position | Photo: Amruta Mokal

The Russians have won their last two matches and are now on seventh position with 14.0/18. Are we looking at a strong comeback?

Ranking in the Open section (top 20)

Rk. Team Team
1 Poland POL
2 United States of America USA
3 China CHN
4 Armenia ARM
5 England ENG
6 France FRA
7 Russia RUS
8 Germany GER
9 Croatia CRO
10 Azerbaijan AZE
11 India IND
12 Vietnam VIE
13 Israel ISR
14 Netherlands NED
15 Spain ESP
16 Ukraine UKR
17 Czech Republic CZE
18 Kazakhstan KAZ
19 Serbia SRB
20 Georgia 1 GEO1

Complete list

Women's section

China is now the sole leader in the women's section with 16.0/18. They beat Kazakhstan. They are followed closely by USA and Armenia who are on 15.0/18.

Results of Round 9 (Women)

Team Team Pts. MP Res. : Res. MP Pts. Team Team
KAZ Kazakhstan 23 13 1 : 3 14 23½ China CHN
AZE Azerbaijan 22½ 13 2 : 2 14 23 Ukraine UKR
USA United States of America 22 13 2½ : 1½ 13 22½ Hungary HUN
ARM Armenia 21 13 3 : 1 12 22 Iran IRI
RUS Russia 23½ 12 3 : 1 12 20 Romania ROU
MGL Mongolia 21½ 12 1 : 3 12 20 Georgia 1 *) GEO1
GEO2 Georgia 2 21½ 11 2 : 2 11 20 Serbia SRB
ITA Italy 20 11 2 : 2 11 21½ India IND
UZB Uzbekistan 20 11 2 : 2 11 21 France FRA
GEO3 Georgia 3 20½ 11 ½ : 3½ 11 23 Vietnam VIE

Complete list

The Kazakh women proved to be no match for the Chinese team as China won 3-1 | Photo: Niklesh Jain

Ukraine versus Azerbaijan was a hard fought match that ended in a 2-2 draw. Anna Muzychuk's win on top board was balanced by Gulnar Mammadova's win on board three! | Photo: Amruta Mokal

The match between USA and Hungary was moving towards a draw, but Irina Krush showed some unparalleled tenacity to hold Ticia Gara and score a 2½-1½ win for America. | Photo: Amruta Mokal

 
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1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 a6 5.c4 Qc7 6.Nc3 Nf6 7.Be2 Bb4 8.Nc2 Be7 9.0-0 b6 10.f4 Bb7 11.Qd3 d6 12.b4 0-0 13.Bb2 Nc6 14.a3 Rfd8 15.Rac1 b5 16.cxb5 axb5 17.Qe3 Na7 18.Nxb5 Nxb5 19.Bxb5 Bxe4 20.Nd4 Qb6 21.Bc6 Bxc6 22.Rxc6 Qa7 23.Kh1 d5 24.Rfc1 Bd6 25.Qf3 Qb7 26.b5 Ne4 27.R1c2 Qe7 28.b6 h6 29.Nb5 Qb7 30.Nxd6 Nxd6 31.h3 Ra6 32.Qc3 Nf5 33.Rc8 Qxb6 34.Rxd8+ Qxd8 35.g4 d4 36.Qc8 Ra8 37.Qxd8+ Rxd8 38.gxf5 exf5 39.Kg2 d3 40.Rd2 g5 41.Kf3 Kh7 42.Bf6 Rg8 43.Rxd3 Kg6 44.Rd6 Kh5 45.Bd4 Rb8 46.Rb6 Ra8 47.Bc5 Rc8 48.Bb4 Rc4 49.Bd2 Rd4 50.Be3 Ra4 51.Rb3 Kh4 52.Kg2 Kh5 53.Kg3 Re4 54.Rc3 Ra4 55.Bc1 Rd4 56.Rf3 Kg6 57.Rb3 Rc4 58.Bd2 Rd4 59.Bb4 Rxf4 60.a4 Rc4 61.a5 Rc6 62.Be7 f4+ 63.Kf3 Kh5 64.Bd8 Kh4 65.Ke4 Rc4+ 66.Kf5 Rd4 67.Bb6 Ra4 68.Bf2+ Kh5 69.Bb6 Kh4 70.Rd3 Ra2 71.Bd8 Kh5 72.Rf3 Rd2 73.Bb6 Ra2 74.Rd3 Kh4 75.Bc7 Ra4 76.Bd8 Kh5 77.Ke5 Ra2 78.Bb6 Kh4 79.Kd5 Ra1 80.Kc4 f5 81.Kd5 g4 82.Bd8+ Kh5 83.Ke5 g3 84.Kxf4 g2 85.Bb6 Rf1+ 86.Ke5 g1Q 87.Bxg1 Rxg1 88.Ra3! Rook behind the passed pawn! White is just winning. Kg5 89.a6 Re1+ 90.Kd5 Rd1+ 91.Ke5 Re1+ 92.Kd4 Re8 93.a7 Ra8 94.Ke3 94.Kc5 straight away was just winning. Kh4 95.Kb6 Rg8 96.a8Q Rxa8 97.Rxa8 Kxh3 98.Kc5 f4 99.Kd4 f3 100.Ke3+- White is just winning! 94...Kh4 95.Kf4 h5 96.Kxf5 Rf8+ 97.Kg6 Rg8+ 98.Kf7 Ra8 99.Kf6 Rf8+ 100.Ke7 Ra8 101.Kd6 Rd8+ 102.Kc7 Rg8 103.Ra5 103.a8Q Rxa8 104.Rxa8 Kxh3 105.Rg8!+- 103...Rh8 104.a8Q Rxa8 105.Rxa8 Kxh3 106.Kd6 h4 107.Ke5? 107.Rg8!+- was the only way to win. Kh2 108.Ke5 h3 109.Kf4 Kh1 110.Kg3 h2 111.Ra8 Kg1 112.Ra1# 107...Kg3 108.Rg8+ 108.Ra3+ Kg4! 108...Kg2 109.Kf4 h3 110.Ra2+ Kg1 111.Kg3+- 109.Ke4 h3= 108...Kf3 109.Rh8 Kg3 110.Ke4 h3 111.Ke3 Kg2 112.Rg8+ Kf1 113.Rf8+ Kg1 114.Ke2 h2 115.Rg8+ Kh1 116.Ra8 Kg2 117.Rg8+ Kh1 118.Kf2 ½–½
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Gara,A2370Krush,I2423½–½2018B41Olympiad Women 20189.2

Lilit Mkrtchian and the Armenian women lost to Ukraine yesterday but came back strongly to beat Iran with a score of 3-1 and keep their medal chances alive | Photo: Amruta Mokal

Ranking in the Women section (top 20)

Rk. Team Team
1 China CHN
2 Ukraine UKR
3 Armenia ARM
4 United States of America USA
5 Russia RUS
6 Azerbaijan AZE
7 Georgia 1 GEO1
8 Hungary HUN
9 Kazakhstan KAZ
10 Vietnam VIE
11 Spain ESP
12 Czech Republic CZE
13 Slovenia SLO
14 India IND
15 Georgia 2 GEO2
16 Iran IRI
17 Italy ITA
18 Mongolia MGL
19 Poland POL
20 Uzbekistan UZB

Complete list

Photo Gallery by Amruta Mokal

Can you guess who this famous chess personality is? | Photo: Amruta Mokal

The art gallery at the expo is definitely worth your time! | Photo: Amruta Mokal

Some very nice chess themed paintings | Photo: Amruta Mokal

It was a pleasure to be invited to the commentary room to replace GM Ivan Sokolov for a few hours and commentate with IM Sopiko Guramishvili | Photo: Amruta Mokal

The live commentary by IM Sagar Shah begins at 4 hours and 30 minutes.

That's the dining table at the Hilton hotel and of course, it is chess-themed! | Photo: Amruta Mokal

GM Maurice Ashley with Tania Sachdev. Can you give it a nice caption? | Photo: Amruta Mokal

New in Chess publishing director Remmelt Otten, DGT CEO Hans Pees and New in Chess Magazine Editor-in-Chief Dirk Jan Ten Geuzendam | Photo: Amruta Mokal

 

Team from Gabon! | Photo: Amruta Mokal

There is Gambia everywhere in that picture! | Photo: Amruta Mokal

That's Jamaica! | Photo: Amruta Mokal

In a team competition, you are quite often distracted by what is going on in your teammate's game! | Photo: Amruta Mokal

The passage that connects hall one to two has Georgian chess history on both its walls. It is really well done and a walk through the passage looking at the posters can give you all the information you need about Georgian chess history. | Photo: Amruta Mokal

A video that takes you back in time, into the Georgian chess history

Replay all the games from round 9 (Open)

 
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Replay all the games from round 10 (women)

 
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Pairings for Round 10 (Open)

Team Team Pts. MP Res. : Res. MP Pts. Team Team
CHN China 23½ 15   :   16 25 Poland POL
ARM Armenia 24 15   :   15 24½ United States of America USA
RUS Russia 24 14   :   15 22½ England ENG
FRA France 24½ 14   :   14 23½ Croatia CRO
VIE Vietnam 25½ 13   :   14 23 Germany GER
AZE Azerbaijan 24 13   :   13 21½ Ukraine UKR
NED Netherlands 25½ 13   :   13 24 India IND
KAZ Kazakhstan 23 13   :   13 24½ Israel ISR
CZE Czech Republic 23 13   :   13 25½ Spain ESP
NOR Norway 24 12   :   13 21½ Serbia SRB

Pairings for Round 10 (Women)

Team Team Pts. MP Res. : Res. MP Pts. Team Team
CHN China 26½ 16   :   15 24½ United States of America USA
UKR Ukraine 25 15   :   14 26½ Russia RUS
AZE Azerbaijan 24½ 14   :   15 24 Armenia ARM
VIE Vietnam 26½ 13   :   13 24 Hungary HUN
ESP Spain 23½ 13   :   13 24 Kazakhstan KAZ
GEO1 Georgia 1 *) 23 14   :   13 25½ Czech Republic CZE
BLR Belarus 24 12   :   13 21 Slovenia SLO
IND India 23½ 12   :   12 22½ Peru PER
ITA Italy 22 12   :   12 23½ Georgia 2 GEO2
ROU Romania 21 12   :   12 23 Iran IRI
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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