Karthikeyan Murali: A queen sacrifice on move nine

by Johannes Fischer
6/11/2019 – Chances to sacrifice your queen after nine moves are rare. But in round five of the Asian Continental Championship in Xingtai, China, the Indian Grandmaster Karthikeyan Murali had such a chance. He used it to win a brilliancy against Alireza Firouzja and to take the lead in the tournament. | Photo: Amruta Mokal (Archive)
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A surprising queen sacrifice

Host of the Asian Continental Chess Championship 2019 is the Chinese Chess Federation. The Open Championship and the Women's Championship are played in parallel in Xingtai, a city with about 700,000 inhabitants in the Northeast of China.

Number one seed is the Indian Grandmaster Vidit Gujrathi, who is the only player in the tournament who has a rating of more than 2700. However, the field is strong and among the favourites are players like Adhiban Baskaran from India, the two Iranian talents Parham Maghsoodloo and Alireza Firouzja or Le Quang Liem from Vietnam.

First move at the board of Vidit Gujrathi (right) | Photo: Chinese Chess Federation

With 3½/4 Alireza Firouzja, the world's best player U16, had a good start and was about to cross the 2700-mark on the Live-Rating list, when he had to play against Karthikeyan Murali, World Champion U12 2011 and World Champion U16 in 2013. After nine moves Karthikeyan sacrificed his queen for two pieces to create a masterpiece – and to become sole leader with 4½/5.

 
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MoveNResultEloPlayers
1.e41,165,57054%2421---
1.d4946,47455%2434---
1.Nf3281,31256%2441---
1.c4181,93756%2442---
1.g319,68856%2427---
1.b314,23654%2427---
1.f45,88648%2377---
1.Nc33,79651%2384---
1.b41,75348%2380---
1.a31,19754%2403---
1.e31,06848%2408---
1.d394850%2378---
1.g466246%2361---
1.h444653%2374---
1.c342651%2425---
1.h327956%2416---
1.a410860%2468---
1.f39147%2431---
1.Nh38966%2508---
1.Na34262%2482---
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.h3 0-0 6.Be3 c5 7.Nf3 Qa5 8.Nd2 cxd4 9.Nb3 This line of the King's Indian is currently quite popular. White attacks the black queen and next move he wants to take on d4 to get a comfortable and pleasant Maroczy-structure. However, Black counters with a surprise: Qxc3+! Officially a novelty but there's a good chance that King's Indian aficionados analysed this move before. 10.bxc3 dxe3 11.f3 Nh5 Black has two pieces for the queen but one of these pieces is the King's Indian bishop on g7. Despite the material advantage the position is much more difficult to play for White - the engines evaluate it as about equal which usually is a bad sign for the side which is material up. 12.Qc1 Bh6 13.g4 Nf4 14.Kd1 Ne6 15.Kc2 Nc6 16.h4 Bf4 17.Qd1 Ne5 18.Nc1 Bd7 Black calmly develops and his two minor pieces seem to be much more active and stronger than White's queen. 19.a4 Rac8 20.Ne2 Bh6 21.g5 Bg7 22.Bh3 Nxf3 23.Qd3 Ne5 24.Qxe3 Nxc4 25.Qf2 Rc5 Black continues to calmly increase the pressure. 26.Rhb1 Bc6 27.Bg2 f5 28.gxf6 Bxf6 29.Rf1 Bxc3! The beginning of a tactical sequence that gives Black a better endgame. 30.Qxc5 Nxc5 31.Rxf8+ Kxf8 32.Kxc3 Ne5 Black now has three pawns and a dominating position for the exchange. 33.a5 Nxe4+ 34.Bxe4 Bxe4 35.Nd4 Bd5 36.Nb5 a6 37.Nc7 Bc6 38.Rf1+ Kg7 39.Ne6+ Kh6 40.Rf8 Kh5 41.Rh8 h6 42.Rh7 Kxh4 43.Rxh6+ Kg4 44.Nd4 Kg5 45.Rh2 Bd5 46.Re2 Kf4 47.Rf2+ Nf3 48.Re2 e5 49.Nc2 Be4 50.Ne3 d5 51.Kb4 Nd4 52.Re1 Kf3 0-1 (52) Firouzja,A (2682)-Karthikeyan,M (2593) Xingtai, China 2019 0–1
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Firouzja,A2682Karthikeyan,M25930–12019E90Asian Continental-ch Open 20195.1

Bologan: "If you study this DVD carefully and solve the interactive exercises you will also enrich your chess vocabulary, your King's Indian vocabulary, build up confidence in the King's Indian and your chess and win more games."

Results

 

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Standings

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Women's Tournament

In the women's tournament Dinara Saduakassova from Kazakhstan leads the rating-list.

Dinara Saduakossava | Photo: Chinese Chess Federation

36 players started in the tournament but a lot of well-known names are missing and even the Chinese Chess Federation, organiser and host of the event, did not send the best Chinese women to play.

After five rounds Kulkarni Bhakti from India leads with 4½/5. Dinara Saduakassova, Li Xueyi, and Irene Sukander follow half a point behind.

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Johannes 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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