Tired Chess Brains in China
By GM Lubomir Kavalek
Saved from collapse by the rich Russian sponsors, the FIDE Grand Prix moved
to China this month for its fifth leg. Some of the world class chess players
came to Beijing tired from the previous hectic schedule. They took part
in some of the six major tournaments in the last four months: the Candidates
tournament, Alekhine and Tal Memorials, Norway Classic and Grand Prix events
in Zug and Thessaloniki.
The victory in Beijing went to Shakhriyar Mamedyarov, 28, who seems to
be on a winning streak. Last month, the Azerbaijani grandmaster won the
World Rapid Championship in Russia and the Geneva Masters.
Mamadyarov with the winning trophy
The tournament began with Sergei Karjakin's breakaway, three wins in the
first three rounds, but he was pulled back after he lost three games in
a row. At that moment Mamedyarov's move to first place with a burst of 3.5/4
was closely followed by Alexander Grischuk, 29. The two leaders looked tired
at the finish, just preserving their places, each managing only one draw
in the last two rounds.
The idea of the FIDE Grand Prix was adopted from the Grandmaster Association's
World Cup, a series of six Grand Prix tournaments, played in 1988-89 with
the participation of all the strongest players at that time, including Garry
Kasparov and Anatoly Karpov.
FIDE is also using a similar complicated point system for the overall results.
Each player participates in four of six tournaments and the worst result
is discarded. Two players from the FIDE
Grand Prix will advance to the next Candidates tournament. Topalov leads
the series, Mamedyarov is second. But Alexander Grischuk and Fabiano Caruana
can mount a challenge in the last tournament in Paris in September.
The game between the two Grand Prix leaders was important for the final
classification in Beijing.
[Event "FIDE GP "] [Site "Beijing "] [Date "2013.??.??"] [Round "?"]
[White "Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar"] [Black "Topalov, Veselin"] [Result "1-0"]
[ECO "E32"] [WhiteElo "2761"] [BlackElo "2767"] [Annotator "GM Lubomir
Kavalek/The Huffington Post"] [SetUp "1"] [FEN "r5k1/pp3pp1/3n1q1p/3Q4/5B2/2P3P1/P3rP1P/R2R2K1
b - - 0 20"] [PlyCount "8"] [EventDate "2013.07.04"] [EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "11"] [EventCountry "CHN"] [EventCategory "21"] {Topalov
could have played 20...Nf5 with a good game. His choice is not surprising
since he is known for his aggressive play. But it gives Mamedyarov the
edge.} 20... Ne4 $2 21. Qd3 $1 Nxc3 22. Rac1 $1 Nxd1 $2 {Black loses by
force.} ({Topalov had to play} 22... g5 23. Rxc3 gxf4 24. Qxe2 Qxc3 25.
Qg4+ Qg7 26. Qxf4 {, although white keeps the advantage.}) 23. Qxe2 Nc3
24. Qc4 { The knight is caught. The white queen controls six escaping
squares, the rook the last two.} 1-0
On the wrong side of chess brilliancy
It seems strange that two grandmasters rated among the world's Top Ten
can lose three consecutive games. It was not Karjakin's misfortune, but
Hikaru Nakamura's losing hattrick in the last rounds of the Tal Memorial
that reminded me of a story played out nearly a half century ago during
the tournament in Belgrade in October 1965.
I came to the Yugoslav capitol with a victory in Varna, Bulgaria, and one
grandmaster norm. I needed another one. The GM norms depended in those days
on the composition of the tournament. The more grandmasters, the lower the
norm. FIDE didn't say how strong the grandmasters should be and many titled
veterans were popular invitees. Perhaps it didn't matter too much: there
were only some 60 grandmasters in the world and the title meant something.
The Belgrade tournament was different with a bunch of players in their
twenties. Like Nakamura, I was leading the event by a half point with three
rounds to go. A single point would guarantee me the first place and the
final grandmaster norm. But I lost two games and drew in the last round,
finishing a half point behind the winners, grandmasters Florin Gheorghiu
and Milan Matulovic. Everything ended well: I made my final GM norm in December
in Leipzig.
I began the downward spiral with the game against Dragoljub Velimirovic
who had a reputation of a reckless attacker. I allowed him a bishop sacrifice
in the Philidor defense for what I thought was only a slight discomfort
of my king. I was looking for some devastating punches from his side, but
he slowly and quietly developed his pieces. Suddenly, I was without a good
move. I realized I was at the wrong end of a chess brilliancy. It was the
best game of the tournament.
[Event "Belgrade"] [Site "?"] [Date "1965.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White
"Velimirovic, Draguljub"] [Black "Kavalek, Lubomir"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO
"C41"] [Annotator "GM Lubomir Kavalek/The Huffington Post"] [PlyCount
"71"] [EventDate "1965.??.??"] 1. e4 d6 2. d4 Nf6 3. Nc3 e5 4. Nf3 Nbd7
5. Bc4 Be7 6. O-O c6 7. a4 Qc7 {The Dutch psychology professor and International
Master Johan Barendregt was the main defender of this Philidor system.
Black postpones castling or can start attacking on the kingside with h7-h6
and g7-g5.} ({Still,} 7... O-O {is preferable.}) 8. Qe2 Nb6 $6 {Asking
for trouble, but I could not forsee what was Velimirovic about to do.
That's , perhaps, why he was called the Yugoslav Tal.} 9. dxe5 dxe5 10.
Bxf7+ $1 {The storm starts with a thunder. Immediately after the game,
we were not sure about the correctness of the sacrifice. Even today's
computers show the game being roughly equal.} Kxf7 {At the first glance
it is not clear how white plans to attack. Remarkably, with the black
king in the middle, Velimirovic calmly develops his pieces.} 11. a5 {Chasing
the knight back, white gains the important square c4 for his queen.} Nbd7
12. Qc4+ Ke8 ({Black can't allow a king hunt after} 12... Kg6 13. Nh4+
Kh5 14. Qf7+ Kxh4 (14... g6 15. Nf5) 15. g3+ Kh3 16. Qe6+ Ng4 17. Ne2
Ndf6 18. Kh1 Bxe6 19. Ng1#) 13. Ng5 Nf8 ({White gets the other rook after}
13... Rf8 14. Ne6 Qd6 ({ After} 14... Qb8 15. Nxg7+ Kd8 16. Rd1 {black
is playing without his queenside pieces.}) 15. Nxg7+ Kd8 16. Rd1 Qb4 17.
Ne6+ Ke8 18. Nc7+ Kd8 19. Qxb4 Bxb4 20. Nxa8 {winning.}) 14. Rd1 Bd7 ({I
missed a better defense} 14... Bd6 15. Be3 h6 16. Rxd6 hxg5 (16... Qxd6
$2 17. Qf7+ Kd8 18. Rd1 $18) 17. Rad1 (17. Nb5 Qe7 18. Rxc6 Be6) 17...
Be6 18. Rxe6+ Nxe6 19. Qxe6+ Qe7 20. Qxe7+ Kxe7 21. Bxg5 { with two pawns
for the exchange white should not worry too much, but neither should black.})
({Another way to prevent mate on f7 is} 14... Bd8 {but white keeps the
advantage with a rook sacrifice} 15. Rxd8+ $1 (15. Be3 $6 Bg4 $1 $11)
(15. Bf4 $5 Qe7 $1 $11 (15... exf4 16. Nb5 cxb5 17. Rxd8+ Kxd8 18. Nf7+
Qxf7 19. Qxf7 N6d7 $11)) 15... Kxd8 16. Be3 Ke8 17. Rd1 Be6 (17... h6
18. Nb5 $1 $18 ) 18. Nxe6 Nxe6 19. Qxe6+ Qe7 20. Qc4 {with white's edge.})
15. Be3 { Velimirovic quietly brings another piece into attack and I couldn't
found a sensible defense.} ({It was possible to strike immediately with}
15. Nb5 Qb8 16. Qf7+ Kd8 17. Nd6 Bxd6 18. Qxg7 Be7 19. Nf7+ Kc7 20. Nxe5
Qe8 21. Qxh8 $18 { Houdini 3}) 15... Qc8 $2 {An unfortunate retreat, but
other moves are only slightly better:} (15... h6 16. Nb5 Qb8 17. Qf7+
Kd8 18. Qxg7 (18. Nxa7 c5 $1) 18... hxg5 19. Qxh8 cxb5 20. Bxg5 $18 {Houdini})
(15... Kd8 16. Nf7+ Kc8 17. Rxd7 $1 (17. Nxh8 Be6) 17... Qxd7 18. a6 b6
19. Rd1 Qe6 20. Nd5 Bc5 21. Nxf6 gxf6 (21... Qxc4 22. Rd8+ Kc7 23. Ne8#)
22. Bxc5 bxc5 (22... Qxc4 23. Rd8+ Kc7 24. Bd6#) 23. Qa4 {and white's
attack is too powerful.}) 16. Qf7+ Kd8 17. Na4 $1 {An elegant finishing
touch. White has many threats: 18.Nb6 or sticking a light piece on the
square c5. There is not much black can do.} c5 (17... h6 18. Nb6 $1 $18)
18. Nxc5 $1 Bxc5 19. Qxg7 Ng6 20. Bxc5 (20. Qxf6+ $1 {appears to be stronger,
for example:} Be7 21. Ne6+ Ke8 22. Ng7+ Kd8 23. Bb6+ axb6 24. Qxb6+ Qc7
25. Rxd7+ Kxd7 26. Qe6+ Kd8 27. Rd1+ $18 {Houdini}) 20... Nh5 (20... Qxc5
21. Ne6+ $18) 21. Be7+ Kc7 ({Black gets mated after:} 21... Nxe7 22. Nf7+
Ke8 (22... Kc7 23. Qxe5+ Kc6 24. Rd6+ Kc7 25. Re6#) 23. Nd6+ Kd8 24. Qxh8+
Kc7 25. Nb5+ Kc6 (25... Bxb5 26. Qxe5+ Kc6 27. Qd6#) 26. Qxe5 b6 27. Nd4+
Kb7 28. a6#) 22. Bd6+ (22. Qf7) 22... Kc6 (22... Kd8 23. Qh6 $18) 23.
Qf7 Kb5 (23... Qg8 24. Qf3 $18) 24. a6 bxa6 25. Qd5+ ({White simply mates
after} 25. Qb3+ Kc6 26. Rxa6+ $1 Qxa6 27. Qd5+ Kb6 28. Qc5+ Kb7 29. Qc7#)
25... Kb6 26. c4 { Velimirovic prefers quiet moves.} ({But he had a forced
mate:} 26. Rxa6+ $1 Kxa6 27. Ra1+ Kb6 28. Qa5+ Kc6 29. Qc5+ Kb7 30. Qb4+
Kc6 31. Ra6+ $1 Qxa6 32. Qc5+ Kb7 33. Qc7#) 26... Qc6 27. Qa5+ Kb7 28.
Bc5 Rac8 29. b4 Rhd8 (29... Ka8 30. Rd6 Qb7 31. Rxa6 $18) 30. Nf7 (30.
Rd6 {ends it faster:} Qc7 31. Qxa6+ Ka8 32. Bxa7 $18 {mating soon.}) 30...
Rg8 31. Rd6 Ngf4 32. Rxc6 Rxg2+ 33. Kf1 Rxc6 34. Nd8+ Kc8 35. Nxc6 Bxc6
36. Bd6 1-0
The game brings us back to Beijing where the young Dutch grandmaster Anish
Giri, 19, suffered a similar fate. In the same Philidor defense, the Chinese
grandmaster Wang Hao, 23, sacrificed his bishop the same way as Velimirovic.
After Giri panicked, Wang kept increasing his attack until it attained destructive
force.
[Event "FIDE GP "] [Site "Beijing CHN"] [Date "2013.??.??"] [Round "?"]
[White "Wang Hao"] [Black "Giri, Anish"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C41"] [WhiteElo
"2752"] [BlackElo "2734"] [Annotator "GM Lubomir Kavalek/The Huffington
Post"] [PlyCount "43"] [EventDate "2013.07.04"] [EventType "tourn"] [EventRounds
"11"] [EventCountry "CHN"] [EventCategory "21"] 1. d4 d6 2. e4 Nf6 3.
Nc3 e5 4. Nf3 Nbd7 5. Bc4 exd4 6. Qxd4 Be7 7. Bxf7+ $5 { A sacrifice that
can jolt you. It may not be completely correct, but Wang Hao was not doing
particularly well in the tournament and decided to have some fun. } (7.
O-O) 7... Kxf7 8. Ng5+ Ke8 (8... Kg6 9. f4 $18) (8... Kg8 9. Qc4+ d5 10.
Nxd5 $18) 9. Ne6 c5 {The only move, opening escape road for the black
queen.} 10. Qd1 Qb6 11. Nxg7+ Kf7 12. Nf5 Bf8 ({After} 12... Ne5 13. Nxe7
Kxe7 14. Bg5 Be6 15. f4 Nf7 16. Bxf6+ Kxf6 17. O-O {the black king is
not secured.}) 13. O-O d5 $6 {A nervous reaction. Black didn't have to
give up the d-pawn.} ({Giri should have tried} 13... Rg8 14. Nd5 Qc6 {with
roughly equal chances.}) 14. Nxd5 (14. exd5 {was also playable.}) 14...
Nxd5 15. Qxd5+ Ke8 $2 {Allowing white to develop the rest of his pieces
quickly.} (15... Qe6 16. Qd3 (16. Nh6+ Bxh6 17. Qxe6+ Kxe6 18. Bxh6 Nf6
$11) 16... Nf6 17. Re1 {White has three pawns for a piece, but black is
in the game.}) 16. Bg5 Qg6 ({Computers' suggestion} 16... Qc6 {is also
inadequate. White keeps the queens on the board} 17. Qd2 { with advantage.})
17. Rad1 Rg8 (17... Qxg5 18. Nd6+ Bxd6 19. Qxg5 $18) 18. f4 a5 ({White
should win after} 18... h6 19. e5 $1 Qxf5 (19... hxg5 20. e6 Rg7 21. Nxg7+
Qxg7 22. fxg5 $18) 20. Qxg8 Qf7 21. Qxf7+ Kxf7 22. Bh4 $18) 19. e5 Qxf5
20. Qxg8 Ra6 21. Rfe1 Rg6 ({After} 21... Re6 22. Rd6 Rg6 23. e6 $1 {white
wins. }) 22. e6 $1 (22. e6 $1 Rxg8 23. exd7+ Kf7 24. d8=Q $18) 1-0
Indispensable Chess Results
I saw the 1965 crosstables from Varna, Belgrade and Leipzig in the latest
volume of Gino Di Felice's Chess Results, published by McFarland.
The Italian author arranged together 11 volumes of tournament crosstables
and match scores from 1747 till 1967. The last tome covers the years 1964-1967,
a period of my first international tournaments, and I was able to relive
some exciting moments. Sometimes Di Felice begins a crosstable on one page
and finishes it on the next page, but it is nothing major. His comprehensive
work is indispensable and essential to any chess historian, researcher and
writer, and may be enjoyable for anybody who loves to browse through older
tournaments.
Image by FIDE press chief WGM Anastasiya Karlovich
Original
column here – Copyright
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