Shenzhen Masters: The ice broke...

by Alex Yermolinsky
11/8/2018 – Finally! After four rounds with a total of 12 games without a decision, today the damn burst, the knot burst (or choose your own idiom). GM ALEX YERMOLINSKY explains how the two Chinese grandmasters, Ding and Yu, both won, against Radoslaw Wojtaszek and Nikita Vitiugov respectively. Ding extends the streak to 99 games without a defeat. Can he make it 100? | Photos: Quipai.org.cn

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"99 bottles of undefeated on the wall..."

Ding Liren has already broken Mikhail Tal's old record of 95 tournament games without a defeat and has increased the record number today to 99, but this time with a victory, not a draw, over Radoslaw Wojtaszek.

In fact, both Chinese players scored wins in resolute fashion in Round 5. The significance of Ding's and Yu's success is best viewed in the live rating list. Ding Liren has come within the smallest of margins of catching Mamedyarov for third place. It increasingly seems that both Mamedyarov and Ding are going to be seeded into the next Candidates tournament. 

Ding - Wojtaszek

His win over Wojtaszek illustrates Ding's quality of play in all stages of the game.

 
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1.Nf3 d5 2.g3 c5 3.Bg2 Nc6 4.d4 An interesting ploy. Ding enters a Reversed Gruenfeld, despite Wojtaszek's obvious familiarity with this line. Nf6 One wonders if Black, despite being down a tempo, can enter the main line 4...cxd4 5.Nxd4 e5 6.Nxc6 bxc6 7.c4 Be6 8.0-0 Nf6 and get away with it. Anand seems to be able to do so, as his record in this position stands at three wins and two draws with Black. One would think Radoslaw, the man behind Vishy's opening preparation, would be very much up to date with all that. 5.0-0 e6 No go. Now the game transposes into a Catalan, which in itself is OK. I'm just not sure Woitaszek plays this system against a regular Catalan move order. 6.c4 dxc4 7.Qa4 Bd7 8.Qxc4 cxd4 First sign of trouble for Rado. Much more aggressive is 8...b5 Both contestants have had this position with White, and both chose the modern line which starts with 9.Qc3 b4 10.Qd3 Rc8 11.dxc5 11.Bf4 cxd4 12.Nbd2 Nd5 13.Be5 Wojtaszek-Harikrishna, 2018 11...Bxc5 12.Be3 Bxe3 13.Qxe3 0-0 14.Nbd2 Qe7 Ding-Naiditsch, 2017 9.Nxd4 Rc8 10.Nc3 Nxd4 11.Qxd4 Bc5 12.Qh4
This position used to be considered safe for Black until Kramnik got into the act. 12...h6!? The latest attempt to refine the move order. The stem game Kramnik-Naiditsch, 2010 went 12...0-0 13.Bxb7 Rb8 14.Bf3 Rb4 14...h6 15.Qf4 Fedoseev-Vidit, 2017 15.Qg5 Bd4 16.Qd2 Qc7 17.Nd1‼ Rfb8 18.a3 It turns out that White who has wisely brought his queen back, is now able to maintain his material advantage with good chances of converting it into a win. This whole line is no fun for Black. What is wrong with the obvious move 12...Bc6 one might ask. The answer lies in 13.Rd1 Qb6 14.Bxc6+ Rxc6 15.Bh6! the move discovered by Portisch back in 1978! 13.Bxb7 Rb8 14.Ne4! Officially, a novelty. 14.Bf3 Rb4 15.Qh3 sees the white queen remain a passive spectator: e5 16.Qg2 Qc8 Sargissian-Harikrishna, 2018 14...Be7 15.Ba6 The bishop must abandon its usual diagonal, but Dings sees it as no problem at all. 0-0 16.Rd1 16.Nxf6+ Bxf6 17.Qe4 Bb5 18.Bxb5 Rxb5 19.a4 16...Nd5 17.Qh5 Bc6 According to the engines Black could have tried 17...Qc7 as the piece sac 18.Bxh6 gxh6 19.Rac1 Qb6 20.Qxh6 gives White no more than a draw. I can understand, however, how stuff like this can make a player nervous during the game. 18.Bc4 Now 18.Bxh6 gxh6 19.Qxh6 gets turned away by Re8 as White doesn't have the Ng5 idea. 18...Qc8? A rather strange choice. What did Radoslaw see in this queen placement?
18...Qb6 appeared more natural. 19.b3 Ding chooses to consolidate his gains. Perhaps, this was finally the moment to consider 19.Bxh6 gxh6 20.Qxh6 After Rd8 21.Ng5 Bxg5 22.Qxg5+ Kf8 23.Rd4 Qb7 24.Bb3 Qe7 25.Qh6+ Ke8 26.Rc1 White has a fearsome initiative. 19...f5 20.Nd2 Bf6 21.Ba3 Qe8 Likely, 21...Bxa1 22.Bxf8 Qxf8 23.Rxa1 Qf6 was a better choice. 22.Qxe8 Rfxe8 23.Bxd5 Bxd5 24.Rac1
Black has a bishop pair to compensate for the missing pawn. The chances between him making a draw and White converting are about evenly split. A classic case of "playing for two results" though, and Ding was happy to have it. 24...a5 An understandable decision. Nobody likes a passive defense. This whole concept is eerily similar to an earlier game Vachier Lagrave-Wojtaszek from Round Three, where Radoslaw was able to escape with a draw. 25.Nc4 a4 26.bxa4 Rec8 27.Bd6 Rb7 28.Ne3 Rxc1 29.Rxc1 Bxa2 30.a5 Bd4 31.Rc8+ Kh7 31...Kf7 32.Bc5 Rb1+ 33.Kg2 Bxe3 34.fxe3± 32.Nc2 Very accurate play. Now the same move 32.Bc5 runs into Rb1+ 33.Kg2 Rc1 32...Bd5 33.Nb4 Be4 34.Rc4
Black's problem is that every exchange makes it more difficult for him to contain White's passed pawn. 34...Ba7 This allows Ding to get the rooks off and that means the end of Black's counterplay. Alternatively, 34...e5 35.Kf1 Rd7 36.f3 Bxf3 37.exf3 Rxd6 38.Nc6 was far from pleasamt for Wojtaszek 35.Rc7 Kg6 36.Kf1 Kf6 37.f3 Rxc7 38.Bxc7 Bb7 39.Nd3 Bd4 40.f4 Kf7 41.Bb6 Bf6 Black must avoid a bishop trade in hope to swap his DSB for the white knight. Easier said than done, though. 42.Kf2 g5 43.Ke3 gxf4+ 44.gxf4 Be7 45.Kd4 Bd6 46.e3 Ke8 47.Bc5 Bc7 48.Bb4 Bb8 49.h4 h5 50.Nf2 50.Nc5 Ba7 51.Kc4 Bxc5 52.Kxc5 Kd7 53.Kb6 Bd5 54.a6 Be4 55.Ka7 Kc8 is a classic scenario of a drawn opposite color bishop endgame. 50...Kd7 51.Nh3
51...Kc6 Perhaps, Black should have stayed put: 51...Bc7 52.Ng5 Bd5 53.a6 Kc6 54.a7 Kb7 55.Bc5 Ba2 It's not clear how White makes his next step forward. 52.Ng5 Ba7+? Letting the king through was Rado's big mistake. 53.Ke5 Bxe3 54.Nxe6 Bc8 55.Ng7 Bf2 56.Nxf5 Kb5 Perhaps he counted on 56...Bxf5 57.Kxf5 Bxh4 58.Kg6 Bg3 59.f5 h4 59...Be5 60.Kxh5 is a technical win for Whitre, as he will easily prevent Black for sacrifing his bishop for the f-pawn. Kb5 61.Bd2 Ka6 62.Kg6 Kb5 63.Kf7 Ka6 63...Bg3 64.Ke6 Bh4 65.Bb4 Bg5 66.Be7 64.Ke6 Bd4 65.Bf4 Kxa5 66.Be5 etc. 60.f6 h3 61.f7 h2 62.f8Q h1Q and forgot about the skewer, 63.Qa8+ 57.Be7 Kxa5 The black king wanders in no man's land. 58.Kf6 Kb6 59.Kg6 Kc6 60.Ng7 Kd5 61.f5 Ke5 62.Bg5 Bc5 63.f6 Ba6 64.Nxh5 1–0
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Ding,L2816Wojtaszek,R27491–02018E042nd Dute Cup Longgang Masters5

Behind him, Yu Yangyi celebrates his ascension to Top Ten for the first time in his career. I can't help but wonder what else does he need to do to earn invitations to big events in Europe and the United States. Ignoring the accomplishments of Chinese chess players is no longer possible.

Yu took full advantage today of Vitiugov's passive play in the opening. Once he won a pawn and maintained the integrity of his pawn front, the win was never in doubt.

 
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1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0-0 Nxe4 6.d4 b5 7.Bb3 d5 8.dxe5 Be6 9.c3 Be7 10.Re1 0-0 11.Nbd2 Nc5 12.Nd4
12...Qd7?! An old-fashioned choice from Vitiugov. Modern efforts are focused on 12...Nxd4 13.cxd4 Nd3 14.Re3 Nf4! which first appeared in Flamberg-Alekhine, 1914, and a century later received its stamp of approval from Vachier Lagrave-Anand, 2018. 14...Nxc1 15.Rxc1 c5 16.dxc5 Rc8 didn't work for Black in Shirov-Carlsen, 2007 13.Bc2 Bg4 14.f3 Bh5 15.Bf5 The blockade on d4 must be maintained in all times! Black found counterplay after 15.Nf5?! Bg6 16.g4 d4 in Shirov-Ivanchuk, 2007. 15...Ne6 16.N2b3 Rfd8 So passive. 16...Ncxd4 17.cxd4 a5 18.Be3 a4 19.Nc1 Bg6 was a better try in Kamsky-Korchnoi, 2008, although the old man eventually succumbed. 17.Be3 Bf8 Not even 17...a5 Nikita? 18.h4 Re8 19.Bf2 Bg6 20.Bg4 h5 21.Bh3 Ncxd4 22.cxd4 Bb4 23.Re2 Qd8 24.a3 Bf8 25.g3
If you ever wanted to see things could go wrong for Black in the Open Spanish, this is the sight you should take. No c7-c5 has happened yet, and the threat of f3-f4-f5 is looming large. 25...a5 26.f4 a4 27.Nc1 f5 Black has to shed that pawn to slow White down just a bit. 28.Qd3 c5 29.Bxf5 c4 30.Qc2 Bxf5 31.Qxf5 Qb6 32.Qg6 Qa7
33.Rd2 This is Yu's only error in the game, or maybe just an inaccuracy that somewhat prolonged the fight. Best was 33.Na2! Nxd4 33...Qf7 34.Qxf7+ Kxf7 35.f5 Nc7 36.Be3 Kg8 37.Bd2 and Black doesn't even get b5-b4 in. 34.Kg2 Bc5 35.Bxd4 Bxd4 36.Rd1 Rad8 37.Nb4 and once the pawn on d5 falls it's over. 33...Qf7 34.Qxf7+ Kxf7 35.f5 Nc7 36.Ne2 36.Na2 b4 36...b4 37.axb4 Bxb4 38.Rdd1 Nb5 39.Nf4 Red8 40.Kf1 a3 Perhaps, more chances were offered by 40...c3 41.bxc3 Bxc3 42.Ra2 a3 but White should prevail by means of sacrificing the exchange on b2. 43.Rb1 etc. 41.bxa3 Rxa3 42.Rxa3 Nxa3 43.Ra1! Accuracy to the end. 43.Nxh5?? c3 43...c3 44.Ke2 c2 45.Be3 Nb5 46.Kd3 Rc8 47.Nxd5 Ba3 48.Bc1 Bxc1 49.Rxc1 Rd8 50.Kc4 Na3+ 51.Kc5 Rb8 52.Nb6 Rb7 53.Kc6 1–0
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Yu,Y2764Vitiugov,N27091–02018C832nd Dute Cup Longgang Masters5

Yu Yangyi

The Russian's poor form in this tournament surprises me. Nikita played well for his winning team of “Bronze Horseman” at the European Club Cup, but nothing has gone right for him in Shenzhen so far. Still, there are enough games left for a comeback.

The tournament would have become completely unrecognisable if it wasn't for a draw du jour in the following game. Today's elite players seem very proficient in creating symmetrical pawn structures.

 
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1.Nf3 c5 2.c4 Nf6 3.Nc3 d5 4.cxd5 Nxd5 5.e3 Nxc3 6.dxc3 A34: Symmetrical English: 2 Nc3, lines with ...d5 Qc7 7.e4 Nc6 LiveBook: 7 Games 8.Be3 White has an edge. e6 9.Nd2N Predecessor: 9.Be2 Bd6 10.0-0 0-0 11.Qc2 b6 12.h3 Bb7 13.Rad1 0-1 (28) Wojtaszek,R (2736)-Tari,A (2593) Katowice 2017 9...Bd6 10.Nc4 Be7 11.Qg4
Bf4 is the strong threat. 11...0-0 12.Qg3 Qxg3 13.hxg3 b5 14.Nd2 Rb8 15.Be2 Rd8 16.f4 f6 17.0-0-0 c4 The position is equal. 18.Nf3 Rxd1+ 19.Rxd1 Bb7 20.g4 Rd8 21.Rxd8+ Bxd8 22.g5 fxg5 23.Nxg5 Bxg5 24.fxg5= Endgame KBB-KBN a6 25.Kd2 Ne5 26.Bf4 Nf7 27.Ke3 e5 28.Bg3 Bc8 29.b4 g6 30.a4 Kf8 31.a5 Precision: White = 83%, Black = 90%. ½–½
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Giri,A2780Vachier-Lagrave,M2778½–½20182nd Dute Cup Longgang Masters5

Giri vs MVL

The 2018 edition of Dute Cup has reached its mid-point,and we can hope that the players will take it from there, and won't get too distracted by the big show in London. I'm afraid I will.

All games Rounds 1-5

 
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1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0-0 Be7 6.d3 b5 7.Bb3 d6 8.a3 0-0 9.Nc3 Bg4 10.Be3 Nd4 C84: Spanische Partie (Mittelgambit) 11.Bxd4 exd4 12.Nd5 c5 13.a4 Be6 14.Nxf6+ Bxf6 LiveBook: 7 Partien 15.Bxe6 fxe6
16.g3N Vorgänger: 16.Re1 Qc7 17.e5 dxe5 18.Nd2 1/2-1/2 (35) Anand,V (2760)-Ding,L (2791) Stavanger 2018 16...Qd7 17.axb5 axb5 18.Kg2 Qc6 19.Qe2 c4 20.h4 c3 zielt auf ...Txa1 ab. 21.b3 e5 22.Ng1 b4 23.Rxa8 Rxa8 24.f4 exf4 25.gxf4 Bxh4 26.Qg4 d5
27.e5! Qg6 28.Qxg6 28.Kh3 Be7 29.Nf3 28...hxg6 Endspiel KTL-KTS 29.Nf3 Be7 30.Kg3 Kf7 31.Kg4 Ra2 32.Rf2 Ra1 33.Re2 Rf1
33...Bc5= 34.Rh2 34.Re1!± Rxe1 35.Nxe1 34...Rc1= Die Stellung ist ausgeglichen. 35.Rg2 Bc5 36.Ng5+ Ke7 37.Nf3 Kf7 38.Ng5+ Ke7 39.Nf3 Precision: Weiß = 60%, Schwarz = 39%. ½–½
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Giri,A2780Ding,L2816½–½20182nd Dute Cup Longgang Masters1
Yu,Y2764Wojtaszek,R2749½–½20182nd Dute Cup Longgang Masters1
Vitiugov,N2709Vachier-Lagrave,M2778½–½20182nd Dute Cup Longgang Masters1
Ding,L2816Vachier-Lagrave,M2778½–½20182nd Dute Cup Longgang Masters2
Giri,A2780Yu,Y2764½–½20182nd Dute Cup Longgang Masters2
Wojtaszek,R2749Vitiugov,N2709½–½20182nd Dute Cup Longgang Masters2
Vachier-Lagrave,M2778Wojtaszek,R2749½–½20182nd Dute Cup Longgang Masters3
Yu,Y2764Ding,L2816½–½20182nd Dute Cup Longgang Masters3
Vitiugov,N2709Giri,A2780½–½20182nd Dute Cup Longgang Masters3
Vachier-Lagrave,M2778Yu,Y2764½–½20182nd Dute Cup Longgang Masters4
Wojtaszek,R2749Giri,A2780½–½20182nd Dute Cup Longgang Masters4
Vitiugov,N2709Ding,L2816½–½20182nd Dute Cup Longgang Masters4
Ding,L2816Wojtaszek,R27491–020182nd Dute Cup Longgang Masters5
Giri,A2780Vachier-Lagrave,M2778½–½20182nd Dute Cup Longgang Masters5
Yu,Y2764Vitiugov,N27091–020182nd Dute Cup Longgang Masters5

Standings after Round 5

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Yermo is enjoying his fifties. Lives in South Dakota, 600 miles way from the nearest grandmaster. Between his chess work online he plays snooker and spends time outdoors - happy as a clam.

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