Russian Super Final 04: Svidler wins and leads

by ChessBase
10/8/2013 – With a crushing victory over yesterday's hero, Andreikin, Svidler moves to an amazing +3 and leads the Super Final with 3.5/4. In the lady's section Kovanova and Gunina keep gaining ground as they both won today with black. The tragedy of that tournament so far is Kosintseva with a dismal 1.0/4 after losing to Kosteniuk. GM analysis of both events.

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Russian Championship Super Finals

The tournament is hosted by the Russian Chess Federation in cooperation with the Charity Foundation of Elena and Gennady Timchenko , with the support of the Government of the Nizhny Novgorod region. The Super Final will be a continuation of the program "chess in the museums", started by the match for the world title in 2012 at the Retyakov Gallery in Moscow on the initiative of businessmen Andrei Filatov and Gennady Timchenko. The venue for the prestigious tournament in Nizhny Novgorod will be the State Historical and Architectural Museum Manor Rukavishnikov. The Nizhny Novgorod State Art Museum will also take part in the organization of the tournament. The tournament is a ound robin with ten players over nine rounds. Sofia-Rules. If first place is shared than the champion will be decided through a tiebreaker match. Time Control: 90 minutes/40 moves + 30 minutes + 30 seconds/move starting with the 1st move.

Round 4: Men's

Round 04 – October 08 2013, 15:00h
Shomoev, Anton 2579
1-0
Vitiugov, Nikita 2729
Karjakin, Sergey 2762
½-½
Inarkiev, Ernesto 2695
Nepomniachtchi, Ian 2702
½-½
Motylev, Alexander 2676
Kramnik, Vladimir 2796
1-0
Goganov, Aleksey 2575
Svidler, Peter 2740
1-0
Andreikin, Dmitri 2706

Svidler in his post-game conference

Svidler, Peter 1-0 Andreikin, Dmitri

GM Josh Friedel brings us the commentary of the game of the day.

[Event "Russian Superfinal 2013"] [Site "Novgorod, Russia"] [Date "2013.10.08"] [Round "4"] [White "Svidler, P."] [Black "Andreikin, D."] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C65"] [WhiteElo "2740"] [BlackElo "2706"] [Annotator "Friedel,Joshua"] [PlyCount "73"] [EventDate "2013.??.??"] {Somehow I always end up annotating Andreikin's games.} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. d3 d6 5. O-O Bd7 6. c4 {This space grabbing system has been played quite a few times in recent years.} g6 7. Nc3 Bg7 8. Be3 O-O 9. h3 {The pieces have all developed to their logical squares, and now Black has to make a decision.} Nb8 {This move is new, but the idea is a typical one in these positions. Black offers the bishop trade in order to free up some space.} ({ Another possibility was} 9... Nh5 {trying to play in King's Indian style.}) 10. Qb3 $5 {White tries to force Black's hand on the queenside, though this move looks a bit awkward to me.} (10. Rc1 {improves White's position while keeping the tension, and would probably be my choice.}) 10... c6 (10... Bxb5 11. cxb5 { and the open c-file would favor White.}) (10... c5 11. Bxd7 Qxd7 {These positions typically give a slight edge to white, since the e3 bishop is more active than the g7 one.}) 11. Ba4 Qc8 {The queen ends up being rather misplaced here.} (11... Qc7 {looks better to me, though it is less forcing since Bxh3 isn't an idea now.}) 12. Qd1 Na6 13. d4 {White chooses the proper moment to expand in the center.} exd4 14. Bxd4 Be6 {If White can consolidate, he'll simply be better. Black's best chance is to take advantage of White's temporarily awkward pieces.} 15. Qe2 Re8 16. Rad1 Nc5 17. Bc2 {White has nearly consolidated, and if he succeeds he will have a large advantage due to the extra space and the weak d6 pawn. Black needs to act immediately.} Ncd7 $2 (17... b5 $1 {was definitely the best chance.} 18. cxb5 cxb5 19. Nxb5 (19. Qxb5 Bxh3 $1 {This shot always has to be covered.} 20. gxh3 Qxh3 21. Qe2 Ncxe4 22. Nxe4 Qg4+ 23. Kh2 Qh5+ 24. Kg2 Qg4+ $11 {with a perpetual.}) (19. b3 a6 {and black should be fine.}) 19... Ncxe4 {and now the position is a complete mess. I've given a few sample variations.} 20. Bxf6 (20. Bxe4 Bc4 $36) 20... Bc4 21. Qxe4 $1 Bxb5 (21... Rxe4 22. Nxd6 Qb8 23. Nxe4 Bxf1 (23... Bxf6 24. Nxf6+ Kg7 25. Nd7 Qxb2 26. Bd3 Bxd3 27. Rxd3 {and White has too many pieces.}) 24. Rd8+ Qxd8 25. Bxd8 Bxg2 26. Kxg2 Rxd8 27. b3 {and I think White should have good winning chances once his pieces get organized.}) 22. Qd5 Bxf6 23. Bxg6 hxg6 24. Qxb5 Rb8 25. Qa4 Rxb2 26. Rxd6 Re6 27. Rxe6 Qxe6 28. Qxa7 Rxa2 {and while White can press, Black should draw this comfortably.}) 18. Ng5 $1 {Now Black is close to lost.} Qc7 19. f4 Qa5 20. a3 h6 21. Nf3 $6 (21. Nxe6 {This is a simpler way to do it.} Rxe6 22. Qf2 {and White has too much. For example, if} Rae8 23. b4 $1 Qc7 (23... Qxa3 {Grabbing this pawn gets the queen trapped.} 24. f5 gxf5 25. exf5 R6e7 26. Ra1 Qxb4 27. Ra4 $18) 24. c5 $1 dxc5 25. bxc5 $18 { Now that the d-pawn has been swept away, a combination of e5 and f5 will crush Black.}) 21... Nh5 $6 {This active try actually frees White a bit.} (21... Rad8 {looks more resilient, and I don't see a clear way to proceed. The problem is that f5 can't be played due to the e-file pin, and the queen can't go to f2 because c4 hangs. The computer wants to play Qd3 for this reason, but you don't have to be an art critic to see why that move isn't pretty.}) 22. Bxg7 Kxg7 23. Qd2 {and now we see the problem: c4 can't be captured due to Qd4+.} Qb6+ 24. Rf2 $1 {Most accurate.} (24. Kh2 Bxc4 {is now with tempo.}) 24... Bxc4 {This loses right away, but Black was busted anyway.} (24... Qxb2 {was a good practical try, but after the accurate} 25. Qd4+ $1 (25. f5 gxf5 26. exf5 Bxc4 27. Qd4+ Nhf6 28. Qxc4 Qxa3 {and while Black should almost certainly get mated, at least White would have to do some work here.}) 25... Nhf6 (25... Kg8 26. f5 {is curtains.}) 26. e5 dxe5 27. fxe5 {and Black has to give up a piece, since if the knight moves Bf5! will be a killer.}) 25. Na4 Qc7 (25... Qa6 26. Qc3+ Kg8 27. Rxd6 {and Black can resign, since all of his pieces are bad and his king is weak.}) 26. Qc3+ Nhf6 27. Qxc4 b5 {Svidler is accurate from here on out.} 28. Qb4 bxa4 29. Rxd6 Rab8 30. Qd2 Red8 31. e5 Ne8 32. Qc3 $1 Nb6 33. Rxc6 Qb7 34. f5 Nd5 35. Qc5 Qxb2 36. fxg6 f6 37. Nd4 {and Black resigned seeing that he's in no position to stop any of White's threats, the most important of which being Ne6+.} 1-0

Andreikin is at 50% with not a single draw!

Who wouldn't want an autograph after he played such a game?

Kramnik, Vladimir 1-0 Goganov, Aleksey
Through an unusual move-order the game transposed into a fianchetto Dragon Sicilian, which is not considered to be the most dangerous variation for Black, but it is more positional than usual. Goganov lashed out with a quick e6-d5 which had never been tried before, and probably for good reason. Despite Black's slight activity, he was after all just down a pawn. Kramnik consolidated his pawn and proceeded to outplay Goganov in a technical endgame.

Kramnik is back at +1 but one point away from Svidler

Nepomniachtchi, Ian ½-½ Motylev, Alexander
Motylev was probably slightly better through most of the game. Nepomniachtchi's opening yielded nothing and Black's protected passed pawn on c4 was an asset. However White was able to trade several pieces on e4, forcing the c4 pawns support to end up in that square and that left c4 unprotected. This barely allowed White to have enough counterplay to force Black into an eventual repetition.

Nepomniachtchi, like Andreikin, is at 50%, but Nepo still has to play the highest rated people

Shomoev, Anton ½-½ Vitiugov, Nikita
An interesting game saw Vitiugov sacrifice an exchange early in the opening to obtain a powerful light-squared blockade and activity with his queen against his opponent's exposed king. Shomoev sacrificed the exchange shortly after that and found himself down a pawn, but the elimination of his opponent's queen and the open c-file gave him enough counterplay to draw the endgame.

Inarkiev held what is considered to be an endgame with good drawing chances

Karjakin, Sergey ½-½ Inarkiev, Ernesto
The first 24 moves of this game had been seen before in the game Stellwagen-Harikrishna of 2008. White ends upwith an extra pawn but its conversion is nearly impossible due to the powerful placement of Black's active bishop pair. Karajakin wasn't able to produce anything special from this endgame.

Joshua Friedel

Josh was born in 1986 in New Hampshire, USA and is currently living in Wisconsin. He obtained his international master title in 2005 and his grandmaster in 2008. He has participated in five US Championships, including a tie for fourth in 2008. Major Open tournament victories include: the 2003 Eastern Open, 2005 Berkeley Masters, 2008 National Open, 2009 Edmonton International, 2009 North American Open, 2010 Saint Louis Open, 2010 American Open, 2013 Chicago Open.

Josh is the current US Open Champion and is the first person qualified for the 2014 US Chess Championship.

Round 4: Women's

Round 04 – October 08 2013, 15:00h
Kosintseva,T 2515
0-1
Kosteniuk,A 2495
Goryachkina, A 2436
½-½
Kovalevskaya,E 2410
Kashlinskaya, A 2435
½-½
Pogonina,N 2485
Charochkina,D 2343
0-1
Kovanova, B 2396
Bodnaruk, A 2459
0-1
Gunina,V 2506

Bodnaruk, Anastasia 0-1 Gunina, Valentina
Black's Caro-Kann turned tactical quickly as Bodnaruk sacrifice some material for what looked like an initiative. Unfortunately for her Gunina "sacrificed" her queen for three minor pieces, which is usually an overwhelming amount of pieces for a queen to handle. This game was no different and the power of Black's minor pieces annihilated the opponent's position.

Kosintseva, the pre-tournament favorite, is now last in the standings

Kosintseva, Tatiana 0-1 Kosteniuk, Alexandra
A very strange game that kept going between equality and advantage for Black. The game was very complicated and positionally messy. White missed a chance to draw the game at the end, instead of removing her powerful knight from f5, taking on b5 and defending it might have given Black too many problems to solve; it's not so clear how she would have maneuvered her pieces to support the two protected passed pawns.

Kosteniuk maybe let go of her advantage in a couple of occasions, but she was never worse in this game

Despite being at -1 Charochkina is winning rating as her opponent's average rating is very high

Charochkina, Daria 0-1 Kovanova, Baira

Our talented friend, WGM Tatev Abrahamyan from California, returns to grace us with detailed analysis on how Kovanova is keeping her lead:

[Event "?"] [Site "?"] [Date "2013.10.08"] [Round "?"] [White "Charochkina"] [Black "Kovanova"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "C58"] [Annotator "Abrahamyan, Tatev"] [PlyCount "84"] [EventDate "2013.??.??"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. Ng5 {it's really nice to see all kinds of openings being tried at these events. Also nice to know I'm not the only one who likes this move} d5 5. exd5 Na5 6. Bb5+ c6 7. dxc6 bxc6 8. Bd3 Nd5 9. Nf3 Bd6 10. Nc3 {a really rare move. For the sacrificed pawn, Black gets a better center, quicker development and White's pieces are all on awkward squares. White has to quickly castle and put pressure on the e5 pawn to stop Black's center from advancing, otherwise she will never finish developing her pieces.} (10. O-O O-O (10... Nf4 11. Re1 Nxd3 12. cxd3 O-O 13. Nc3 Re8 14. b3) 11. Re1 Re8 12. Nc3 f5 13. Nxd5 cxd5 14. Bb5 Bd7 15. Bxd7 Qxd7 16. d3 {unlike what happened in the game, here White gets in Bb5 with a tempo, enabling a piece exchange and untangling with d3}) 10... O-O 11. O-O f5 12. Nxd5 cxd5 13. Be2 { I really don't like how White handled the opening. It looks like Black got in free moves, as White wasted too many tempi moving her Bishop. The king side attack looks crushing} e4 14. Nd4 f4 15. f3 Qb6 16. c3 Nc6 17. Qa4 {White is barely hanging on} Bc5 18. fxe4 Nxd4 19. cxd4 Bxd4+ 20. Kh1 f3 $2 {although winning an exchange, this moves allows White to survive} (20... dxe4 {this simple move looks winning. White simply can't finish developing. I am assuming Black didn't want to allow the queen exchange} 21. Qb3+ Be6 22. Qxb6 axb6 $17 { and it's not clear what White's next move is going to be}) 21. Rxf3 Bg4 22. d3 {this still looks tough for White, but at least now her King is safe and she has two pawns for the exchange} Bxf3 23. Bxf3 Rae8 24. Qd1 dxe4 25. dxe4 Kh8 26. a4 Qf6 {I don't like this move as much. Black needs to keep pressure both on the queen side and the king side and keep her pieces active to stop White from developing} (26... Be5 {now the queen is not tied to protecting the d4 bishop and moves like Rb8 or Rd8 are a threat}) 27. Bg5 {The prospect of finally developing that bishop is too tempting} Qe5 (27... Qxg5 28. Qxd4 Rc8 29. h3 a5 {also looks good for Black.}) 28. Bh4 Bxb2 29. Rb1 Rc8 30. Bf2 Rfd8 { if Black can exchange the dark square bishops, winning should be quite easy. White would really like to have her f3 bishop on d5} 31. Qe2 Bd4 32. Bh4 Re8 33. Rd1 Bb6 34. Bg3 Qg5 35. Qb2 Rc4 36. Qa3 $2 (36. Qb5 Qxb5 37. axb5 Rec8 38. Bf4 Rb4 {and White can try pushing her e5 pawn and utilize the pair of bishops, although it does not look too promising}) 36... Rec8 {proving that the White king is still vulnerable} 37. Rf1 Rc1 38. Bd1 Qf6 39. Qd3 Rd8 40. Rxf6 Rxd1+ 41. Qf1 gxf6 42. Be1 Bd4 {and Bc3 is unstoppable} 0-1

Kashlisnakaya, Alina ½-½ Pogonina, Natalia
Pogonina's aggressive advance of her a-pawn against her opponent's king position didn't yield much and it landed her in a situation where her lack of development quickly became problematic. White used this time to advance her central pawns and obtain a nice bind against her opponent, including targeting the weak pawn on a3. With some nice maneuvers she round up that pawn and simplified into a technically winning endgame. A move 40 mistake (40.Ra1 would have won immediately) allowed Pogonina some counterplay and after further mistakes of White she was even able to save the game.

Pogonina needs to start winning games to have a chance at the title

Goryachkina, Alexandra ½-½ Kovalevskaya, Ekaterina
Black became a little too happy with the amount of pawns she sacrificed, and she was completely lost at some point. However Goraychkina's precision in a very complicated position was not on spot and she lost her advantage with two big mistakes: the first one was 30.Ke2?! instead of the more powerful 30.Bf6! with a nearly unstoppable Qh4+ following, and trading rooks with 37.Rd1? instead of pressing forward with the attack with 37.Rf6. After that Kovalevskaya saved half a point.

Tatev Abrahamyan

Born in 1988 in Yerevan, Armenia, the Women's Grandmaster now lives in Glendale, California and is one of the strongest players in the American women's olympic team.

After graduating in 2011 from California State University, Long Beach with a double major in psychology and political science, Tatev focused on becoming a full time chess professional. She recently scored her second IM norm and is already qualified for the next Women's World Championship

 

Standings

pictures and information by Etery Kublashvili

Replay Men's Round 4 games

Replay Women's round 4 games

Schedule

Men

Round 01 – October 05 2013, 15:00h
Kramnik, Vladimir 2796
1-0
Shomoev, Anton 2579
Svidler, Peter 2740
1-0
Nepomniachtchi, Ian 2702
Andreikin, Dmitri 2706
1-0
Karjakin, Sergey 2762
Goganov, Aleksey 2575
0-1
Vitiugov, Nikita 2729
Motylev, Alexander 2676
0-1
Inarkiev, Ernesto 2695
Round 02 –October 06 2013, 15:00h
Shomoev, Anton 2579
½-½
Inarkiev, Ernesto 2695
Vitiugov, Nikita 2706
1-0
Motylev, Alexander 2676
Karjakin, Sergey 2762
½-½
Goganov, Aleksey 2575
Nepomniachtchi, Ian 2702
1-0
Andreikin, Dmitri 2706
Kramnik, Vladimir 2796
½-½
Svidler, Peter 2740
Round 03 – October 07 2013, 15:00h
Svidler, Peter 2740
1-0
Shomoev, Anton 2579
Andreikin, Dmitri 2706
1-0
Kramnik, Vladimir 2796
Goganov, Aleksey 2575
½-½
Nepomniachtchi, Ian 2702
Motylev, Alexander 2676
½-½
Karjakin, Sergey 2762
Inarkiev, Ernesto 2695
½-½
Vitiugov, Nikita 2729
Round 04 – October 08 2013, 15:00h
Shomoev, Anton 2579
1-0
Vitiugov, Nikita 2729
Karjakin, Sergey 2762
½-½
Inarkiev, Ernesto 2695
Nepomniachtchi, Ian 2702
½-½
Motylev, Alexander 2676
Kramnik, Vladimir 2796
1-0
Goganov, Aleksey 2575
Svidler, Peter 2740
1-0
Andreikin, Dmitri 2706
Round 05 – October 09 2013, 15:00h
Andreikin, Dmitri 2706   Shomoev, Anton 2579
Goganov, Aleksey 2575   Svidler, Peter 2740
Motylev, Alexander 2676   Kramnik, Vladimir 2796
Inarkiev, Ernesto 2695   Nepomniachtchi, Ian 2702
Vitiugov, Nikita 2727   Karjakin, Sergey 2762
Round 06 – October 11 2013, 15:00h
Shomoev, Anton 2579   Karjakin, Sergey 2762
Nepomniachtchi, Ian 2702   Vitiugov, Nikita 2729
Kramnik, Vladimir 2796   Inarkiev, Ernesto 2695
Svidler, Peter 2740   Motylev, Alexander 2676
Andreikin, Dmitri 2706   Goganov, Aleksey 2575
Round 07 – October 12 2013, 15:00h
Goganov, Aleksey 2575   Shomoev, Anton 2579
Motylev, Alexander 2676   Andreikin, Dmitri 2706
Inarkiev, Ernesto 2695   Svidler, Peter 2740
Vitiugov, Nikita 2729   Kramnik, Vladimir 2796
Karjakin, Sergey 2762   Nepomniachtchi, Ian 2702
Round 08 – October 13 2013, 15:00h
Shomoev, Anton 2579   Nepomniachtchi, Ian 2702
Kramnik, Vladimir 2796   Karjakin, Sergey 2762
Svidler, Peter 2740   Vitiugov, Nikita 2729
Andreikin, Dmitri 2706   Inarkiev, Ernesto 2695
Goganov, Aleksey 2575   Motylev, Alexander 2676
Round 09 – October 14 2013, 13:00h
Motylev, Alexander 2676   Shomoev, Anton 2579
Inarkiev, Ernesto 2695   Goganov, Aleksey 2575
Vitiugov, Nikita 2729   Andreikin, Dmitri 2706
Karjakin, Sergey 2762   Svidler, Peter 2740
Nepomniachtchi, Ian 2702   Kramnik, Vladimir 2796
 

Women

Round 01 – October 05 2013, 15:00h
Charochkina,D 2343
½-½
Kosintseva,T 2515
Bodnaruk, A 2459
0-1
Kashlinskaya,A 2435
Gunina,V 2506
1-0
Goryachkina,A 2436
Kovanova,B 2396
1-0
Kosteniuk,A 2495
Pogonina,N 2485
½-½
Kovalevskaya,E 2410
Round 02 –October 06 2013, 15:00h
Kosintseva,T 2515
½-½
Kovalevskaya,E 2410
Kosteniuk,A 2506
1-0
Pogonina,N 2485
Goryachkina, A 2436
½-½
Kovanova, B 2396
Kashlinskaya, A 2435
0-1
Gunina,V 2506
Charochkina,D 2343
½-½
Bodnaruk, A 2459
Round 03 – October 07 2013, 15:00h
Bodnaruk, A 2459
1-0
Kosintseva,T 2515
Gunina,V 2506
½-½
Charochkina,D 2343
Kovanova, B 2396
1-0
Kashlinskaya, A 2435
Pogonina,N 2485
½-½
Goryachkina, A 2436
Kovalevskaya,E 2410
½-½
Kosteniuk,A 2495
Round 04 – October 08 2013, 15:00h
Kosintseva,T 2515
0-1
Kosteniuk,A 2495
Goryachkina, A 2436
½-½
Kovalevskaya,E 2410
Kashlinskaya, A 2435
½-½
Pogonina,N 2485
Charochkina,D 2343
0-1
Kovanova, B 2396
Bodnaruk, A 2459
0-1
Gunina,V 2506
Round 05 – October 09 2013, 15:00h
Gunina,V 2506   Kosintseva,T 2515
Kovanova, B 2396   Bodnaruk, A 2459
Pogonina,N 2485   Charochkina,D 2343
Kovalevskaya,E 2410   Kashlinskaya, A 2435
Kosteniuk,A 2727   Goryachkina, A 2436
Round 06 – October 11 2013, 15:00h
Kosintseva,T 2515   Goryachkina, A 2436
Kashlinskaya, A 2435   Kosteniuk,A 2495
Charochkina,D 2343   Kovalevskaya,E 2410
Bodnaruk, A 2459   Pogonina,N 2485
Gunina,V 2506   Kovanova, B 2396
Round 07 – October 12 2013, 15:00h
Kovanova, B 2396   Kosintseva,T 2515
Pogonina,N 2485   Gunina,V 2506
Kovalevskaya,E 2410   Bodnaruk, A 2459
Kosteniuk,A 2495   Charochkina,D 2343
Goryachkina, A 2436   Kashlinskaya, A 2435
Round 08 – October 13 2013, 15:00h
Kosintseva,T 2515   Kashlinskaya, A 2435
Charochkina,D 2343   Goryachkina, A 2436
Bodnaruk, A 2459   Kosteniuk,A 2495
Gunina,V 2506   Kovalevskaya,E 2410
Kovanova, B 2396   Pogonina,N 2485
Round 09 – October 14 2013, 13:00h
Pogonina,N 2485   Kosintseva,T 2515
Kovalevskaya,E 2410   Kovanova, B 2396
Kosteniuk,A 2495   Gunina,V 2506
Goryachkina, A 2436   Bodnaruk, A 2459
Kashlinskaya, A 2435   Charochkina,D 2343

Links

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