7/29/2015 – Just before the start of the British Championship GM David Howell proved to be in splendid form. He smoothly won an open in Leiden in the Netherlands that took place from 18th to 26th July with 8.5/9. With this result Howell for the first time in his career has more than 2700 elo in the live rating list. But at the start of the tournament he really had to sweat.
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David Howell receives the winner's check
Howell dominated the tournament from beginning to end. He started by winning his first five games and then slowed down with a draw against GM Evgeny Postny from Israel. However, after this draw he played with renewed energy and in round six he countered the entertaining gambit play of Indian IM Arghyadip Das with a surprising bishop sacrifice and a fine tactical display.
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1.e4
1,184,215
54%
2421
---
1.d4
958,932
55%
2434
---
1.Nf3
286,327
56%
2441
---
1.c4
184,722
56%
2443
---
1.g3
19,884
56%
2427
---
1.b3
14,598
54%
2428
---
1.f4
5,953
48%
2377
---
1.Nc3
3,906
50%
2384
---
1.b4
1,790
48%
2378
---
1.a3
1,250
54%
2406
---
1.e3
1,081
49%
2409
---
1.d3
969
50%
2378
---
1.g4
670
46%
2361
---
1.h4
466
54%
2382
---
1.c3
439
51%
2425
---
1.h3
289
56%
2420
---
1.a4
118
60%
2461
---
1.f3
100
47%
2427
---
1.Nh3
92
67%
2511
---
1.Na3
47
62%
2476
---
Please, wait...
1.d4d52.c4dxc43.e4b54.a4c65.Nc3a66.axb5cxb57.Nxb5axb58.Rxa8Bb79.Ra1e610.Be2Nf611.Nf3Nxe412.0-0Nc613.b3A novelty in
this sharp line.Na514.Bxc4!?Definitely a surprising move. White is an
exchange up but gives the bishop for two pawns. In the arising position Black
has two pieces for rook and pawn but the knight on a5 has trouble to come back
into the game.bxc415.bxc4Nc3?!Black sacrificed an exchange in the
opening and is still in "fast forward mode". However, his knights find no
targets in White's camp and lack coordination. More circumspect was15...Be7or15...Nc6though White in both cases has nothing to complain about.16.Qd3Bb416...Bxf3?17.Qxc3Be218.Re1+-17.d5Interrupts the
diagonal of the bishop on b7 to have time to exploit the precarious position
of the black pieces on the queenside.Nb3?!This knight attack is more than
Black's position can bear.Safer was17...Ba618.Ba3!Nc519.Qe3Qa520.Bb2N3a421.Bxg7Rg822.Bd4Rg423.Rfb1Emphasizing the bad position
of Black's pieces.Re424.Qg5Rxd4Black gives the exchange but that does
not really help.25.Nxd4Bc326.Qg8+Ke727.Rxb7+1–0
In round eight he continued in similar style and after one slight inaccuracy by his opponent Boris Chatalbashev he overran the Bulgarian GM with a vigorous attack:
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Replay and check the LiveBook here
Please, wait...
1.d4Nf62.c4e63.Nc3Bb44.Nf3b65.e3Ne46.Qc2Bb77.Bd3f58.0-0Bxc39.bxc30-010.Nd2Qh411.f3Nxd212.Bxd2d613.Rae1Nd714.e4f415.Qa4Qe716.g3A new attempt in a well-known variation that soon leads to a
curious and rarely seen pawn formation.g517.h4gxh418.gxf4Kh819.Kf2h320.Ke2Rg821.Rh1Rg322.Be3Nf623.Bf2?!This attempt to drive out the
black rook backfires.Komodo recommends23.d5with an equal position.23...Nh5!24.Bxg3Nxg3+25.Ke3Qh4!Black refrains from winning back
the exchange immediately and prefers to increase the pressure. The main threat
is ...Rf8.26.Qb5Hopes to transfer the queen to the kingside, but...e5!Black prevents such ideas and now has a winning position.27.Qd7After27.dxe5Rf8Black is winning, e.g.28.Be2Qxf4+29.Kd3Nxe230.Rxe2Qxf3+27...Qxf4+28.Kf2Qd2+!29.Be2After29.Kxg3Rg8+White has to
give his queen to avoid mate.29...Nxe4+30.fxe4Rf8+31.Kg3Bc8!0–1
With this victory Howell had won the tournament with one round to spare. But he finished with a technical defensive win against Marian Petrov in round nine.
However, not everything in Leiden was easy for Howell. As part of the opening ceremony Howell and Loek van Wely played a blitz match while simulating bike-riding. On top of that they had to answer questions by Dutch GM John van der Wiel. Loek van Wely, who is notorious for his physical fitness, was much better at this kind of multi-tasking than the eventual tournament winner.
Johannes FischerJohannes Fischer was born in 1963 in Hamburg and studied English and German literature in Frankfurt. He now lives as a writer and translator in Nürnberg. He is a FIDE-Master and regularly writes for KARL, a German chess magazine focusing on the links between culture and chess. On his own blog he regularly publishes notes on "Film, Literature and Chess".
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