Gelfand Challenge: A perfect start for Liang

by André Schulz
6/11/2021 – The Julius Baer Chess Tour brings together 20 of the world’s best male and female talented young players. The second tournament of the series, the Gelfand Challenge, started yesterday. After the first five rounds, Awonder Liang leads with a perfect score. Nodirbek Abdussatorov is currently in sole second place with 4 points. | Photo: Crystall Fuller
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The stars of tomorrow

The Play Magnus Group has launched a second online tournament series alongside the Meltwater Champions Chess Tour, sponsored by the private bank Julius Baer. In this new series, the best young players and talents in the world, male and female, play single round robin tournaments. The idea is to give young players a chance to expand their skills, and also to close the gender gap: the level of play of young girls is expected to be gradually raised.

Ten young male and ten young female top talents were invited to play the series in which they fight for cash prizes, qualification places for the Champions Chess Tour, and an invitation for the winning team to the World Championship match in Dubai. In fact, the 20 players are divided into two teams, led by legends Judit Polgar and Vladimir Kramnik.

The first tournament of the series, the Polgar Challenge, was won by Praggnanandhaa, while the Gelfand Challenge kicked off yesterday. The tournament will again be played over four days as a round-robin tournament, with rapid chess games of 10 minutes plus 5-second increments. 

Vincent Keymer off to a good start

Vincent Keymer started with two confident wins against Carissa Yip from the United States and Dinara Saduakassova from Mongolia.

 
Yip vs. Keymer

23.Rad1?! [23.Bxb6 axb6 24.Nf3=] 

23...Nd5 With strong threats.

24.Nc4? b6 The bishop does not have many squares.

25.Ba3 b5 26.h4 White ignores all the threats. [26.Nd2 b4 traps the bishop.]

26...Rxe4 [Or 26...bxc4 27.h5 Nfe3 28.fxe3 Bxe4 winning; also playable is 26...b4–+]

27.Qxe4 Nfe3 28.Qf3 [28.Qxg6 hxg6 29.Nxe3 Re8 30.Nxd5 Rxe1+ 31.Rxe1 Qxd5–+]

 

28...Nxc4 0–1

A wild battle against Nihal Sarin

In the third round, Keymer played a wild game against Nihal Sarin in a sharp variation of the Caro-Kann Defence. Nihal went for an attack, but was forced to keep his king in the centre. The game was going well for Keymer at first, but in the wild tactical struggle that followed it was the Indian who managed to score a full point.

Nihal, Sarin (2620) - Keymer, Vincent (2591)

1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.e5 Bf5 4.g4 Be4 [The alternatives are 4...Bd7; or 4...Bg6]

5.f3 Bg6 6.e6!? [6.h4 h5 7.e6 is a different move order.]

6...fxe6 [6...Qd6!? 7.exf7+ Bxf7 keeps the pawn chain intact.]

7.h4 h5 8.Bd3 Bxd3 9.Qxd3 Qd6 10.Ne2 Nd7 [In previous games, Black played 10...e5]

11.Bf4 [11.Dg6+ Kd8 Black had no fear.] 11...e5 12.dxe5 Nxe5

 

13.Qc3 d4 14.Nxd4?! [14.Qb3 0–0–0=]

14...Nxf3+ [A little trick gains Black another pawn.]

15.Qxf3 Qxd4 16.Nc3 e5 17.Bg5 hxg4?! [The queen trade with 17...Qxg4 18.Qd3 Qd7 19.0–0–0 Qxd3 20.Rxd3 Nf6 21.Re1 Ng4 secures Black’s material advantage.]

18.Qf5 Decisively threatens Rd1.

18...Ne7 19.Qe6 Qd7 20.Qxe5 White has almost restored the material balance.

20...Qf5

 

21.Qe3 0–0–0? Black seizes the opportunity to castle and has an ulterior idea, but the move proves to be overly ambitious. [21...Qf3 forces an exchange of queens and relieves Black.]

22.Rf1 

[22.Qxa7? fails because of 22...Qxg5 23.hxg5 Rxh1+ 24.Ke2 Rxa1–+; 22.Bxe7? Bxe7 only helps Black. The white queen must not take on e7. Where to go now with the black queen?]

22...Qxc2 [After 22...Qd7 23.Qxa7 the queen blocks an escape square; 22...Qa5 is not good either: 23.Rd1 Rxd1+ (23...Nd5 24.Qe6++–) 24.Kxd1 Nd5 25.Qe8+ Kc7 26.Qd8#; 22...Qg6 23.Qxa7]

23.Rf2? [Giving Black a way out. Correct was 23.Qe6+ Kb8 24.Rf2 Qh7 25.Rd1+–]

23...Qg6? Only covers the e6-square. [Black missed 23...Qd3 24.Qxa7 (24.Qe6+ Qd7) 24...Qa6=]

 

24.Qxa7 g3 25.Qa8+ Kc7 26.Nb5+ [Or 26.Bf4+ Rd6 27.Bxd6+ Qxd6 28.Rxf8 Qe5+ 29.Ne2 Rxf8 30.Qxf8+–]

26...cxb5 27.Rc1+ Kd7 [27...Nc6 28.Qxd8#]

28.Rd2+ Ke6 29.Qxd8 Kf7 30.Re2 [The game is lost. Black tries some more tricks, but to no avail...]

30...g2 31.Rxg2 Qe4+ 32.Re2 Qb4+ 33.Kf1 Rxh4 34.Rf2+ Kg6 35.Bxh4 Qxh4 36.Qd3+ Kh6 37.Qe3+ g5 38.Kg2 Qg4+ 39.Kh1 Ng6 40.Rg1 Qh5+ 41.Rh2 Nh4 42.Rxg5 Qxg5 43.Rxh4+ Kg6 44.Qe4+ Kf6 45.Rf4+ Kg7 46.Rg4 1–0

Awonder Liang completed the first day with a perfect 5 out of 5, while Nodirbek Abdussatorov from Uzbekistan is currently in sole second place with 4 points. Liang defeated Praggnanandhaa in the very first round. The Indian talent then suffered another defeat against Abdussatorov, so with 3 points after the first day of action he is not yet where he would like to be in the standings.

Things did not go well for Nihal Sarin either. He was also defeated by Abdussatorov and gave away two half points, one of them against Carissa Yip.

Endgame analysis by Karsten Müller

Grandmaster Karsten Müller presents two instructive endgames. First, he looks at a duel between a knight and a bishop, in which the leader of the tournament managed to beat Danish star Jonas Buhl Bjerre.

 
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1.e4 c5 2.Nc3 d6 3.Bb5+ Nc6 4.f4 Nf6 5.Bxc6+ bxc6 6.Nf3 g6 7.0-0 Bg7 8.d3 Ba6 9.Kh1 0-0 10.Qe1 c4 11.d4 Qa5 12.f5 gxf5 13.e5 dxe5 14.dxe5 Ng4 15.Bf4 f6 16.exf6 exf6 17.Qe6+ Kh8 18.Nd4 Qb6 19.Qxf5 Bc8 20.Qe4 f5 21.Qxc6 Qxd4 22.Qxa8 Nf2+ 23.Rxf2 Qxf2 24.Qb8 Qxc2 25.Be5 Re8 26.Bxg7+ Kxg7 27.Qc7+ Kh8 28.Qc6 Rg8 29.Re1 Be6 30.Qb7 Qf2 31.Rg1 f4 32.Qe7 Qe3 33.Qf6+ Rg7 34.Qf8+ Rg8 35.Qf6+ Rg7 36.Nb5 f3 37.Qxf3 Qxf3 38.gxf3 Rb7 39.Nd4 Bf7 40.Rg2 c3 41.bxc3 Rb1+ 42.Rg1 Rxg1+ 43.Kxg1 Bxa2 44.Kf2 Kg7 45.Ke3 Kf6 46.Kd3 Ke5 47.c4 Kd6 48.Kc3 a5 49.f4 Bb1 50.Nb3 a4 51.Nd2 Bf5 52.Kb4 The knight wants control and the bishop dynamics Duels between knight and bishop can be tricky: Bd7? The wrong way to protect the pawn. 52...Bc2 defends, e.g. 53.Nf1 Bf5 54.Kxa4 54.Ne3 Bd7= 54...Kc5 55.Kb3 Be6 56.Ne3 Kd4 57.f5 Bf7= White has lost control and it is drawn. 53.Ne4+! A deadly check. Now Black loses the pawn a4 and White keeps full control. Kc6 53...Ke7 does not defend due to 54.Nc5 Be8 55.Nxa4 Ke6 56.Nc3 Kf5 57.Nd5 Bh5 58.Kc5 Be2 59.Kd4 Kg4 60.c5 Kh3 61.c6 Kxh2 62.f5+- 54.Kxa4 Bf5 55.Ng3 Bg6 56.Kb4 h5 57.f5 Bf7 58.Ne4 Kd7 58...Bg8 59.Kc3 Bf7 60.Kd4 Bg8 61.f6 Kd7 62.Ng5 Ke8 63.f7+ Bxf7 64.Nxf7 Kxf7 65.Ke5+- 59.Kc5 Ke7 60.Kd4 Be8 61.c5 Bd7 62.Ke5 1–0
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Liang,A2592Bjerre,J25421–02021B23Gelfand Challenge2.6

In the second endgame analysed by Müller, he shows how a single spare move can make the difference when only kings and pawns are left on the board.

 
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1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.Bb5+ Bd7 4.c4 Nf6 5.Nc3 g6 6.d4 cxd4 7.Nxd4 Bg7 8.0-0 0-0 9.h3 a6 10.Bxd7 Nbxd7 11.b3 Qa5 12.Bb2 Rfc8 13.Rc1 b5 14.Nd5 Nxd5 15.exd5 Qxa2 16.Bc3 Qa3 17.Nc6 Bxc3 18.Rxc3 Re8 19.Re3 bxc4 20.Nxe7+ Kf8 21.Qd4 f6 22.Rfe1 Ne5 23.Qh4 Kg7 24.bxc4 Qc5 25.Nc6 Rf8 26.Nd4 Kg8 27.Ne6 Qxc4 28.f4 Rf7 29.Qg3 Qxd5 30.fxe5 Qxe6 31.exd6 Qd5 32.Kh1 Rd8 33.Re6 Kg7 34.Qa3 a5 35.Qg3 a4 36.Qa3 Qb3 37.Qc5 a3 38.R6e3 Qb8 39.Qxa3 Qxd6 40.Qc3 Qd4 41.Qc6 Qd6 42.Qf3 Qd5 43.Qg3 Qd6 44.Qh4 Rdd7 45.Rf1 Qd4 46.Re4 Qd3 47.Rfe1 Qc2 48.R4e2 Qb3 49.Re3 Qc2 50.R3e2 Qb3 51.Kh2 Rd1 52.Qf4 Rxe1 53.Rxe1 Qd5 54.Re8 Rd7 55.Qb8 Qd6+ 56.Qxd6 Rxd6 57.Re7+ Kh6 58.h4 g5 59.hxg5+ fxg5 60.g4 Kg6 61.Kg3 Rd3+ 62.Kg2 Rd4 63.Kf3 Rf4+ 64.Kg3 h6 Opposition and the spare move Exchanging into a pawn ending always requires great care: After 64...Rf7!? 65.Rxf7? would be a losing mistake as Black now still has the spare move with the h-pawn: Kxf7 66.Kf3 Kg6 67.Kg3 Kf6 68.Kf3 Ke5 69.Ke3 h6-+ Black has the opposition and enters one of the key square in the next move. 65.Re6+ Rf6 66.Re8 Rf4 67.Re6+ Rf6 68.Rxf6+ Now this draws indeed. Kxf6 69.Kf3 Kf7 Black has the distant opposition but here it does not matter as her king can not invade via f5. 69...Kg6 can now be met by 70.Kg3 Kf6 71.Kf3 Ke5 72.Ke3 Kd5 73.Kd3= 70.Ke4 Ke6 71.Kd4! The only defense. Now Black can not play ...Kf5 and so it is drawn. Kf6 72.Ke4 Kg6 73.Kf3 Kf7 74.Ke4 Kf6 75.Kf3 Ke5 76.Ke3 Kd5 77.Kd3 Ke5 78.Ke3 Ke6 79.Ke4 Kf6 80.Kf3 ½–½
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Abdusattorov,N2634Zhu,J2462½–½2021B52Gelfand Challenge2.9

Standings after round 5

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1.Nf3 d5 2.g3 c6 3.Bg2 Bg4 4.c4 e6 5.0-0 Nd7 6.cxd5 exd5 7.d3 Bc5 8.h3 Bh5 9.Qc2 Ne7 10.e4 0-0 11.Nc3 Bb6 12.Bg5 f6 13.Bd2 Bf7 14.Rfe1 Rc8 15.d4 dxe4 16.Nxe4 Bc7 17.Bb4 Re8 18.Nd6 Bxd6 19.Bxd6 Nb6 20.Bc5 Qd7 21.Nd2 Nf5 22.Be4 Bg6 23.Rad1 Nd5 24.Nc4 b6 25.Ba3 b5 26.h4 Rxe4 27.Qxe4 Nfe3 28.Qf3 Nxc4 0–1
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Yip,C2430Keymer,V25910–12021A07Gelfand Challenge 20211
Nihal,S2620Abdusattorov,N26340–12021B12Gelfand Challenge 20211
Zhu,J2462Murzin,V25020–12021B12Gelfand Challenge 20211
Mendonca,L2549Khademalsharieh,S24940–12021D37Gelfand Challenge 20211
Praggnanandhaa,R2608Liang,A25920–12021E46Gelfand Challenge 20211
Bjerre,J2542Salimova,N2395½–½2021B12Gelfand Challenge 20211
Lei Tingjie2505Badelka,O24181–02021B69Gelfand Challenge 20211
Abdumalik,Z2472Gukesh,D25780–12021B12Gelfand Challenge 20211
Shuvalova,P2489Yoo,C24570–12021C03Gelfand Challenge 20211
Mammadzada,G2443Saduakassova,D25000–12021E01Gelfand Challenge 20211
Keymer,V2591Saduakassova,D25001–02021E15Gelfand Challenge 20212
Yoo,C2457Mammadzada,G24430–12021D10Gelfand Challenge 20212
Gukesh,D2578Shuvalova,P24891–02021E06Gelfand Challenge 20212
Badelka,O2418Abdumalik,Z24721–02021A15Gelfand Challenge 20212
Salimova,N2395Lei Tingjie2505½–½2021E06Gelfand Challenge 20212
Liang,A2592Bjerre,J25421–02021B23Gelfand Challenge 20212
Khademalsharieh,S2494Praggnanandhaa,R26080–12021E68Gelfand Challenge 20212
Murzin,V2502Mendonca,L25490–12021B23Gelfand Challenge 20212
Abdusattorov,N2634Zhu,J2462½–½2021B52Gelfand Challenge 20212
Yip,C2430Nihal,S2620½–½2021D77Gelfand Challenge 20212
Nihal,S2620Keymer,V25911–02021B12Gelfand Challenge 20213
Zhu,J2462Yip,C24301–02021C95Gelfand Challenge 20213
Mendonca,L2549Abdusattorov,N26340–12021A56Gelfand Challenge 20213
Praggnanandhaa,R2608Murzin,V25021–02021E46Gelfand Challenge 20213
Bjerre,J2542Khademalsharieh,S24941–02021C77Gelfand Challenge 20213
Lei Tingjie2505Liang,A25920–12021B01Gelfand Challenge 20213
Abdumalik,Z2472Salimova,N23951–02021B15Gelfand Challenge 20213
Shuvalova,P2489Badelka,O24181–02021B57Gelfand Challenge 20213
Mammadzada,G2443Gukesh,D2578½–½2021B90Gelfand Challenge 20213
Saduakassova,D2500Yoo,C2457½–½2021E06Gelfand Challenge 20213
Keymer,V2591Yoo,C2457½–½2021D37Gelfand Challenge 20214
Gukesh,D2578Saduakassova,D2500½–½2021E12Gelfand Challenge 20214
Badelka,O2418Mammadzada,G24430–12021A07Gelfand Challenge 20214
Salimova,N2395Shuvalova,P24891–02021E10Gelfand Challenge 20214
Liang,A2592Abdumalik,Z24721–02021A34Gelfand Challenge 20214
Khademalsharieh,S2494Lei Tingjie2505½–½2021D38Gelfand Challenge 20214
Murzin,V2502Bjerre,J25421–02021B53Gelfand Challenge 20214
Abdusattorov,N2634Praggnanandhaa,R26081–02021E20Gelfand Challenge 20214
Yip,C2430Mendonca,L25490–12021A14Gelfand Challenge 20214
Nihal,S2620Zhu,J24621–02021A13Gelfand Challenge 20214
Zhu,J2462Keymer,V25910–12021B92Gelfand Challenge 20215
Mendonca,L2549Nihal,S2620½–½2021A06Gelfand Challenge 20215
Praggnanandhaa,R2608Yip,C24301–02021E70Gelfand Challenge 20215
Bjerre,J2542Abdusattorov,N2634½–½2021B12Gelfand Challenge 20215
Lei Tingjie2505Murzin,V25021–02021B12Gelfand Challenge 20215
Abdumalik,Z2472Khademalsharieh,S2494½–½2021C50Gelfand Challenge 20215
Shuvalova,P2489Liang,A25920–12021B01Gelfand Challenge 20215
Mammadzada,G2443Salimova,N23951–02021B15Gelfand Challenge 20215
Saduakassova,D2500Badelka,O24181–02021A46Gelfand Challenge 20215
Yoo,C2457Gukesh,D25781–02021A80Gelfand Challenge 20215

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André Schulz started working for ChessBase in 1991 and is an editor of ChessBase News.

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