Karjakin wins ACP World Rapid Cup

The Fourth ACP World Rapid Cup took place from May 27th-29th, 2010 in Odessa, Ukraine. The time controls were 20 minutes per game with an increment of five seconds per move. The two-game matches were followed, if necessary, by two blitz games with a time control of three minutes and an increment of two seconds per move. A final Armageddon blitz game could also decide the winner.

Quarter-final matches

Grischuk,A (2760) - Movsesian,S (2717) [D15]
4th ACP World Rapid Cup Odessa UKR (2.1), 28.05.2010
1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Nc3 a6 5.c5 Bf5 6.Bf4 Nbd7 7.e3 e6 8.Nd2 Be7 9.Be2 Bg6 10.0-0 0-0 11.b4 Qc8 12.a4 b6 13.cxb6 Nxb6 14.a5 Nbd7 15.Qa4 Qb7 16.Na2 Nh5 17.Rfc1 Nxf4 18.exf4 Rfc8 19.Rc3 Rc7 20.Rac1 Rac8 21.Nb3 h6 22.Bd1 Be4 23.g3 g5 24.Nc5 Nxc5 25.bxc5 Qb2 26.Rb3 Qd2 27.Qb4

27...Qxa2? Oops, how long does it take you to spot the problem with this capture? 28.Rb2 Qxb2 29.Qxb2 gxf4 30.Be2 fxg3 31.hxg3 Ra8 32.Rc3 Rcc8 33.Rb3 Bd8 34.Rb6 Kg7 35.Qb4 h5 36.f3 Bf5 37.Rxa6 Rab8

38.Rb6! Interesting move. Black is lost. 38...Bc7 39.Kf2 h4 40.gxh4 Rh8 41.Qd2 Rbg8 42.Qg5+ Bg6 43.a6 Bd8 44.Qf4 Rxh4 45.Qd6 Bf6 46.Rb4 Rgh8 47.a7 Rh2+

48.Qxh2 Rxh2+ 49.Kg3 Rxe2 50.a8Q Rd2 51.Qxc6 Bxd4 52.Rxd4 Rxd4 53.Qd7 Bd3 54.c6 Bb5 55.Qd6 Rc4 56.c7 Rc2 57.f4 Rc3+ 58.Kf2 Rc2+ 59.Ke3 Rc3+ 60.Kd2 Rc4 61.Qe5+ Kh7 62.Qh5+ Kg7 63.Qg5+ Kh7 64.f5 1-0. Grischuk was easily winning the second game with the black pieces, but muddled up (or simply played pragmatically) on move 66 to force a repetition – enough to get him into the semi-finals.

Sergei Movsesian and Alexander Grischuk in the press conference after their match

Karjakin,Sergey (2739) - Shirov,A (2742) [C69]
4th ACP World Rapid Cup Odessa UKR (2.2), 28.05.2010
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Bxc6 dxc6 5.0-0 Bg4 6.h3 h5 7.d3 Qf6 8.Nbd2 Ne7 9.Re1 Ng6 10.d4 Nf4 11.hxg4 hxg4 12.g3 gxf3 13.Qxf3 Ne6 14.dxe5 Qxe5 15.Nb3 g6 16.Bd2 c5 17.Rad1 Rd8 18.Kg2 Bg7 19.c3 c4 20.Nd4 Nxd4 21.cxd4 Rxd4 22.Bc3 c5 23.b3 b5 24.bxc4 bxc4 25.Rh1 0-0 26.Rh4 Qf6 27.Qe2 Qc6 28.Qe3 Rfd8 29.Rdh1 Re8 30.f3 Qa4 31.Qe2 Red8 32.Rh7 Qa3 33.Qc2 Bf6 34.e5 Bxe5 35.Bxd4 Rxd4 36.Qe2

Alexei Shirov had won the first game very nicely and had a draw in hand to move into the final. However, instead of 36...Qa4 37.Qxe5 Qxa2+ 38.Kh3 Kxh7= he played 36...Qc3?? allowing mate in three: 37.Rh8+ 1-0 because of 37...Kg7 38.Qxe5+ f6 39.Qe7 mate.

Shirov and Karjakin each won the tiebreak blitz game with white and young Sergey then went on to win the Armageddon final with the black pieces and proceed to the semifinals.

Gashimov,V (2734) - Gurevich,M (2614) [C11]
4th ACP World Rapid Cup Odessa UKR (2.1), 28.05.2010
1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bg5 dxe4 5.Nxe4 Nbd7 6.Nf3 h6 7.Bh4 Be7 8.Nxf6+ Bxf6 9.Bxf6 Nxf6 10.Qe2 Qd5 11.Qe5 Bd7 12.Bd3 Qd6 13.0-0-0 Bc6 14.Bb5 0-0 15.Bxc6 Qxc6 16.Kb1 Rfd8 17.Rhe1 a5 18.Qe2 a4 19.a3 Rab8 20.Rd3 b5 21.Ne5 Qb6 22.c3 c5 23.Red1 cxd4 24.Rxd4 Rxd4 25.Rxd4 Qc7 26.f4 g6 27.g3 Kg7 28.h4 Qb7 29.Ka2 h5 30.Nf3 Rc8 31.Rb4 Qd5+ 32.Ka1 Rc5 33.Nd4 Qh1+ 34.Ka2 Qd5+ 35.Kb1 Qh1+ 36.Kc2 Qg1 37.Nxb5 Nd5 38.Rxa4 Qxg3 39.Qe5+ Kh7

Our hero, 51-year-old GM (and trainer of the Turkish team) Mikhail Gurevich, who had knocked out Vassily Ivanchuk in the first round, was putting the pressure on Vugar Gashimov with the black pieces. And in the above position the 2734-GM cracked: 40.Ra7?? Qf2+ (good enough, though 40...Ne3 and 41.Rxe5 was an even faster win) 41.Kb1 Nxc3+ 42.Qxc3 Rxc3 43.bxc3 Qf1+ 44.Kc2 Qe2+ 45.Kc1 Qxb5 46.Rxf7+ Kh6 47.Kc2 e5 48.fxe5 Qxe5 49.Ra7 Qc5 50.Ra4 g5 51.hxg5+ Kxg5 52.Rb4 h4 53.a4 h3 0-1. The second game was drawn and Mihail Gurevich was in the semis.

Semi-final matches

In their first game Alexander Grischuk ground down Sergey Karjakin with the black pieces (in 62 moves). In the second game Grischuk was again on the path to victory when the following transpired.

Grischuk,A (2760) - Karjakin,Sergey (2739) [D13]
4th ACP World Rapid Cup Odessa UKR (3.2), 28.05.2010
1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.cxd5 cxd5 5.Nc3 Nc6 6.Bf4 a6 7.Rc1 Bf5 8.e3 e6 9.Qb3 Ra7 10.Be2 Be7 11.0-0 0-0 12.Ne5 Na5 13.Qd1 b5 14.g4 Bg6 15.h4 h6 16.Nxg6 fxg6 17.Bd3 Qe8 18.f3 h5 19.g5 Nd7 20.Qc2

Black has a terrible position, but the 20-year-old Ukrainian is if anything resourceful: 20...Rxf4!? 21.exf4 Kh7 22.Rce1 Nf8 23.Ne2 Nc4 24.Bxc4 bxc4 25.b3 Rc7 26.Qb1 Bd6 27.Rc1 Nd7 28.bxc4 dxc4 29.Kg2 Rc6 30.Qe4 Nb6 31.Nc3 Qd7 32.d5 exd5 33.Nxd5 Nxd5 34.Qxd5 Rc5 35.Qd4 Qc7 36.f5 gxf5 37.Rfe1 Be5 38.Qf2 c3 39.Rc2 Bf4 40.Re6 Rd5 41.Ree2 Qc4 42.Qa7

Serge has worked himself back into the game, but there is hardly a chance of winning it. But now in time trouble both players start to blunder: 42...Bd6?? 43.Re6? (43.Qf7 wins instantly) 43...Bc7 44.Qf2?? (44.Qe3, Alex!) 44...Qf4 45.Qe3 (now it is too late, Black is going to mate) 45...Qh2+ 46.Kf1 Rd1+ 0-1.

Karjakin won the first blitz tiebreak game with the white piece and drew the second, a piece down, in 112 moves to proceed to the finals.

Meanwhile Dmitry Jakovenko put an end to the Mikhail Gurevich Magic Wonder Tour when the Turkish national trainer tried to pull a Dutch/Leningrad on him. Jakovenko won in 62 moves, and drew the second quite easily to join Karjakin in the final.

Final match

Dmitry Jakovenko executing his 11th move in game two against Sergey Karjakin

The final was a match over four (instead of two) games, with the same tiebreak system. All four rapid games were drawn, then both the blitz games too, so that it came down to the Armageddon. Sergey Karjakin had white and a minute more on the clock, but he had to win. He fought bravely and had a rook and bishop ending a pawn up. But one that was very difficult to win. However, it was a blitz game where anything can happen.

Karjakin,Sergey (2739) - Jakovenko,D (2725) [C65]
4th ACP World Rapid Cup Odessa UKR (4.7), 29.05.2010
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.d3 Bc5 5.c3 0-0 6.0-0 d6 7.Nbd2 a6 8.Ba4 Ba7 9.h3 Ne7 10.d4 Ng6 11.Re1 b5 12.Bc2 Bb7 13.Nf1 Re8 14.Ng3 d5 15.exd5 exd4 16.Rxe8+ Qxe8 17.Nxd4 Nxd5 18.Bd2 Ndf4 19.Bxg6 Nxg6 20.Qh5 Qd7 21.Ngf5 c5 22.Nf3 Re8 23.Be3 h6 24.Qg4 Bc8 25.N3h4 Re5 26.Rd1 Qe8 27.Qf3 Nxh4 28.Nxh4 Bb8 29.g4 g5 30.Nf5 Bxf5 31.gxf5 Bc7 32.h4 Qe7 33.hxg5 hxg5 34.Kg2 Qf6 35.Rh1 Rxf5 36.Qa8+ Qd8 37.Qe4 Qd5 38.f3 Qxe4 39.fxe4 Re5 40.Kf3 f5 41.exf5 Rxf5+ 42.Kg4 Re5 43.Bxg5 Kg7 44.Rd1 Kg6 45.Bc1 Re2 46.Rd7 Bh2 47.Ra7 Rg2+ 48.Kf3 Rc2 49.Rxa6+ Kf5 50.Be3 Rxb2 51.Bxc5 Be5 52.Bb4 Rc2 53.Ke3 Bf4+ 54.Kd4 Be5+ 55.Kd3 Rg2 56.a3 Rg8 57.Rb6 Rb8 58.Rc6 Rd8+ 59.Kc2 Ke4 60.Kb3 Rb8 61.Rc5. 61.Bd6 would have exchanged the bishops and got White two winning pawns. 61...Rb7 62.Ba5

62...Rb8?? 63.Rxe5+! 1-0. There is a bishop fork on c7, Dimitry! Sergey Karjakin had won the Fourth ACP World Rapid Cup.

You did good, man! A kiss from his wife Kateryna

With the sponsors of the ACP World Rapid Cups, the Pivdennyi Bank in Ukraine

Happy Serge with his recently wedded wife WIM Kateryna Dolzhikova

Spotted in the audience: Natalia and Alexander Grischuk, Etienne Bacrot

Photos by Boris Buchman

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