So near yet so far: Vitiugov's World Cup

by Sagar Shah
9/28/2019 – "This tournament is like life — eventually, it has a sad end. Lucky guys leave it quickly, stubborn ones, who fight on their limits — sometimes painfully." Nikita Vitiugov crashed out of the World Cup in the quarter-finals. IM SAGAR SHAH takes a look at two of Vitiugov's masterpieces at the 2019 World Cup and invites you to solve some very interesting positional decisions that were taken by the Russian GM. | Photo: FIDE webcast

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A match away from a dream

"So what colour do you prefer for the first game of your match [at the World Cup]," asked Eteri Kublashvili to Ding Liren. After some thought Ding replied, "Normally it is better to play black first like in soccer games. For example, in an event like European Championships the team that plays away first has some advantage."

Grischuk, who was standing next to Ding, chimed in, "But you know Vitiugov starts with white, wins with white every time and wins the match!" [laughter]. And it's true! Vitiugov played some of the best chess of his life at the World Cup 2019 and in rounds three and four he eliminated Sergey Karjakin and Wesley So without going into the tiebreaks. In both matches Vitiugov scored 1½-½, showing tremendous chess with the white pieces. Let's have a look at both the games and learn from the Russian GM.

Vitiugov was sublime at the World Cup 2019 with the white pieces | Photo: FIDE

 
Vitiugov - Karjakin, round 3.1
Position after 4...♝c5

In this well known Anti-Berlin position Vitiugov took on c6 with his bishop. 

 
Position after 11.h4

The move 11.h4 is a very interesting one. White gains space on the kingside. He may castle long, but right now he doesn't want to commit his king. At the same time pushing the pawn h5-h6 is bound to create some soft points in the position where Black can be attacked.

 
Position after 12.a4

Now this is a new direction. White plays his pawn to a4, in a way saying to Black — look I am not going to castle short or long. I am going to keep my king in the centre where it will be safe. While you have a problem on hand now: your a5 pawn is slightly weak.

 
Position after 16.♘xd4

When Vitiugov took the knight on d4, Black has three ways to recapture. How would you take on d4?

Definitely Karjakin's 16...♛xd4 was incorrect. Better was to play exd4 attack the knight and push it back to f1. Yes, the bishop on b6 is slightly passive, but so is the knight on f1. And this would have been the right way to continue the game.

 
Position after 18.♕f3

See how the h6 pawn comes in handy?

 
Position after 25.0-0

Vitiugov has managed to place his strong opponent in great danger. Black's e5 pawn is weak and thanks to the h6 pawn and opposite coloured bishop situation, the king on g8 is also feeling the heat.

 
Position after 29...♜6e7

Will you exchange the queens or not?

 
Position after 30.b3

30.b3! was a fine move by Vitiugov. Next he goes ♕a1, ♖1e2, a1-e1, the bishop goes to c3 and e5 will become very difficult to defend!

 
Position after 44.♕xe3

The rooks have come off the board but White is still better because his queen and bishop create quite some problems 

 
Position after 52...Qd5

After some repetition Karjakin blundered in this position. He played 52...♛d5. Can you finish off the game? 

 
Position after 53.Bc5+

53.c5+ and it is a mate in few moves. You can work out the details!

That was some high class chess by Vitiugov | Photo: FIDE

 
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1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.d3 Bc5 5.Bxc6 dxc6 6.Nbd2 0-0 7.Qe2 Nd7 8.Nc4 Re8 9.Bd2 b5 10.Ne3 Nf8 11.h4 This has been seen before in Duda-Laznicka, 2016. The question is, what is the point of this move? Well, for starters Ng6 is now longer so comfortable because I can stop Nf4 with g3 and then push the knight back with h5. But mainly the h-pawn lunge is to move ahead with h5-h6 and create weaknesses around the black king. 11.0-0-0 a5 12.Kb1 a4 13.Nf5 b4 14.g4 Be6 15.Be3 Bd6 16.d4 exd4 17.Bxd4 f6 18.Qe3 Bxf5 19.gxf5 Qe7 20.Rhe1 c5 21.e5 cxd4 22.exd6 Qxd6 23.Qxd4 Qxd4 24.Nxd4 Rxe1 25.Rxe1 c5 26.Nc6 Ra6 27.Ne7+ Kf7 28.Nc8 Rc6 29.Re7+ Kg8 30.Re8 Kf7 31.Re7+ Kg8 32.Re8 g6 33.Ne7+ Kf7 34.Rxf8+ Kxe7 35.Rh8 gxf5 36.Rxh7+ Ke6 37.Rh4 Rc8 38.a3 Rb8 39.Kc1 Ke5 40.Rc4 Kd5 41.Rf4 Ke5 42.Rc4 Kd5 43.Rf4 1/2-1/2 (43) Dominguez Perez,L (2739) -Karjakin,S (2773) Saint Louis 2017 11...a5 11...Ng6 12.g3 12.a4!? But this is already a new concept. White players have usually tried to long castle and continue with their play on the kingside which leads to double edged play. What Vitiugov is trying to do, is play on the entire board. The downside of this strategy is that he doesn't know where he should be placing his king. Bb6 Karjakin defends his a5 pawn, asking the question to White - what are you going to do with your king? 12...b4 should be considered. It doesn't seem idea to give up the c4 square but this is not a big worry for Black, he can always exchange that knight with his light squared bishop. 13.Nc4 f6 14.h5 Ne6∞ 13.h5! Let's keep moving forward. Ne6 13...h6 Judging from how the game proceeded, this might be a wiser choice, stopping White from creating weaknesses on the kingside. 14.g4!? Bxe3 15.Qxe3 Bxg4 16.Rg1 Bxf3 17.Qxf3 Qd6 Black is a pawn up, but I am pretty sure that Vitiugov analyzed this position at home and came to the conclusion that White has excellent chances. 18.0-0-0 14.Qd1 Nd4 15.h6 g6 16.Nxd4 16.axb5 cxb5 17.Nxd4 exd4 18.Nd5 Qxd5-+ is the problem! 16...Qxd4?! This seems like an error in judgement by Karjakin. 16...exd4 This looked like a serious option during the game. 17.Nf1 17.Ng4 f5-+ 17...c5 17...f5 18.Ng3 18.f3 fxe4 19.fxe4 Rf8 looks excellent for Black. 18...fxe4 19.Nxe4 Bf5 20.Qe2 This is positionally quite favourable for White. Qe7 21.f3 Bxe4 22.dxe4!± 18.axb5 c4!? We can argue about who is better here, but one thing is sure that this is much better than what happened in the game. 17.axb5 cxb5 18.Qf3! Qd8 18...Qxb2? 19.Qf6 Qxa1+ 20.Ke2+- 19.Nd5 f5 20.Nxb6 cxb6 21.exf5 Bxf5 Here we reach another critical position. White has his trumps in the position, the main one being the excellent pawn structure and the little guy on h6 which constantly creates mating threats against the black king. 22.Qb7 22.0-0 This was the risk free way of playing the position. 22...Re7 22...Qd7 23.Qxd7 23.Qxb6 e4 23...Bxd7 24.f3 23.Qc6 Bd7 23...e4 It felt that this was the right way to play in the position. However after 24.0-0! The threat of Bg5 forces Black to make some decisions. 24.Bg5? exd3+ is just what Black wants. 25.Bxe7 Qxe7+ 26.Kf1 Rc8 27.Qd5+ Be6 Black is already close to winning. 28.Qxd3? Bc4-+ 24...exd3 25.Bg5± Rc8 26.Bxe7 Qxe7 27.Qd5++- 24.Qd5+ Re6 24...Be6 25.Qxd8+ Rxd8 26.Bg5+- 25.0-0! After the White queen and other pieces have created a lot of positional weaknesses in Black's camp, it is time now to bring the king to safety! Qe8 26.Rae1 Bc6 27.Qa2 Qf7 28.Re3 Rae8 29.Rfe1 R6e7 I think such positions are Vitiugov's strength. There are weaknesses in the position, he manoeuvres with precision, putting more pressure on his opponent. 30.b3 b4 31.Qa1 Qf6 32.R1e2! Bd5 33.Qe1 Forming Alekhine's Gun! Re6 34.Bc1! The bishop makes his way to b2. The only downside is that the h6 pawn is weak, but e5 is definitely more important. Qh4 35.Bb2 Bc6 35...Qxh6 36.Rxe5± Rxe5? 37.Rxe5+- 36.Rh3 36.Rxe5 Bxg2! You can always bank on the minister of defence to come up with creative defensive ideas. 37.Kxg2 Qg4+ 38.Kf1 Qh3+= 36...Qg5 37.Rg3 Qxh6 38.Bxe5 Qh4 39.Ree3 Qe7 40.Bd4 b5 41.Bb6 41.Rxe6 Qxe6 42.Re3 Qf7 43.f3± 41...Qd6 42.Rxe6 Rxe6 43.Re3 Rxe3 44.Qxe3 This endgame is better for White on two counts: 1. The black king is weaker than White's king and 2. the black pawns are weaker than white's. The opposite coloured bishop with the queens on the board, adds to Black's worry rather than increase the drawing tendencies. a4 45.Bc5 Qd5 46.f3 axb3 46...a3 47.Bxb4 a2 48.Bc3± White has things under control. 47.cxb3 Qxb3 48.Qe5 The threat is Qb8+ followed by either winning the c6 bishop or mating the black king. Qf7 49.Bd4 Kf8 50.Bc5+ Kg8 51.Bd4 Kf8 52.Kf2!? A practical choice. Threat is to play Qc5+ now and pick up the bishop on c6. Karjakin deals with this threat but forgets about the other threat! 52.Qc5+ Qe7 53.Qxc6 Qe1+ 54.Kh2 Qh4+ 55.Kg1 Qxd4+-+ 52...Qd5? 52...Bd7 53.Bc5+ Kg8 54.Bxb4± White has his chances in this position, but Karjakin should be able to hold. 53.Bc5+! Game over! 53.Bc5+ Kg8 53...Kf7 54.Qe7+ Kg8 55.Qf8# 54.Qb8+ Kf7 55.Qf8+ Ke6 56.Qe7+ Kf5 57.g4+ Kf4 58.Be3# 1–0
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Vitiugov,N2732Karjakin,S27601–02019C65FIDE World Cup 20193.1

After beating Sergey Karjakin in round 3, it was now time for Wesley So | Photo: FIDE

 
Vitiugov vs So, round 4.1
Position after 3.d4

Wesley So has always played the Petroff when he wants a solid game with black pieces. Vitiugov went for 3.d4.

 
Position after 8.bxc3

After eight moves we reach this position. What is your assessment? Who do you think is better?

In such positions the way one would understand what's going on is through Silman's "method of imbalance". But before we go there I would like to ask you whether the pawns on c2 and c3 look weak to you? 

When you look at this 4 vs 3 rook endgame, the question that needs to be asked is — Which pawn structure do you think is better? It is natural to think that with the pawns on h7-g6-f7, Black's position is pretty good. However, having the pawns on f7 and f6 has its own benefits. If you look closely, one of the main ways in which White plays for a win in the left diagram is to try and extract a passed e-pawn, while this is very difficult in the first position, it is absolutely impossible in the second diagram because of the doubled f-pawns! If one black pawn exchanges itself with the e-pawn, there is another one still left and White doesn't get a passed pawn. Now let's come back to the Vitiugov vs So position:

 
Position after 8.bxc3

Although this is a theoretical position, I would like to take a look at it in some detail. The main reason being the interesting imbalances in this position. Let's jot down the imbalances:

  1. The first thing that strikes you is the pawn structure. Black clearly seems to have a better structure as he doesn't have any doubled pawns like White has on the c-file.
  2. Thanks to the e5 pawn, White has some space advantage.
  3. White has a majority on the kingside while Black has a majority on the queenside.
  4. White has the semi open b-file which could prove useful.

After listing the imbalances you begin to understand a few things. The pawn structure is really not the main thing in the position. It would have been if Black had knights on the board. Imagine adding a knight on d7 and a white knight on f3. Suddenly things are not so clear, because the knight gets a very nice square on c5. As there are only bishops on the board, White doesn't have to worry about his pawn weaknesses for now. Also the pawns on c2-c3 prevent Black pawns from advancing easily on the queenside.

Imagine you had a pawn on b2 instead of c3. One can easily imagine the move c5 being more powerful as then Black wants to run down White with c4, d4 and so on. With the doubled pawns, it is not so easy for Black to push on. For White on the other hand, the pawn majority on the kingside is easier to expand with f4-f5. Black can stop White pawns after f4, by playing ...f5. However, that gives White a passed pawn on e5, as we see in the game. All in all I feel that the position is slightly better for White.

 
Position after 10...f5

When White went 10.f4, Wesley decided that he cannot let these pawns keep rolling and hence met it with 10...f5. While this stopped the f-pawn in its tracks, it allows White a passed pawn on e5.

 
Position after 10.a4

White plays his pawn to 12.a4. This doesn't have a particular purpose, but it just gains space on the queenside.

 
Position after 16...♛c7

Black has just played his queen to c7. How should White continue?

Vitiugov came up with a very nice plan. Playing against opponent's weaknesses is his strength. He figured that the pawn on d5 is weak and should be pressurized systematically.

 
Position after 17.Qf2

Well done if you found the move 17.f2, with the idea of rerouteing the bishop to f3 via e2.

 
Position after 17...b6

When you put micro problems to your opponent, they are bound to go wrong! Here the pawn moves to b6, defending c5, but it gives White an additional option to create further play with the a5 breakthrough!

 
Position after 22.a6

Now there are two weaknesses for Black to take care of — b5 and d5 — while c3 which theoretically should be a bad pawn is actually the best pawn in White's position. It restrains everything in Black's position.

 
Position after 25...♛b6

White's pressure is slowly building up. How should you continue?

Vitiugov realized the importance of shifting the pieces once again. The bishop has done its role on f3, it is now time to get it to e2 to attack b5. White began with...

 
Position after 26.♖b2

26.b2! I really like this move. White will next play ♕f1 and then ♗e2. The queen can next make her way to b1 and it is not going to be easy to hold the b5 pawn.

 
Position after 30.♖a5

Look at how beautifully Vitiugov has arranged his pieces. This is pure art! All his pieces are attacking something, while all of Black's pieces are just defending!

Vitiugov managed to play accurately right until the very end and won the game!

 
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1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.d4 Nxe4 4.Bd3 d5 5.Nxe5 Nd7 6.Nc3 6.Nxd7 Bxd7 7.0-0 Bd6 8.c4 c6 9.cxd5 cxd5 10.Nc3 Nxc3 11.bxc3 0-0 is the main line with over 1000 games already having been played from this position. 6...Nxe5 7.dxe5 Nxc3 8.bxc3 Although this is a theoretical position, I would like to take a look at it in some detail. The main reason being the interesting imbalances in this position. Let's jot down the imbalances. 1. The first thing that strikes you is the pawn structure. Black clearly seems to have a better structure as he doesn't have any doubled pawns like White has on the c-file. 2. Thanks to the e5 pawn, White has some space advantage. 3. White has a majority on the kingside while Black has a majority on the queenside. 4. White has the semi open b-file which could prove useful. After listing the imbalances you begin to understand a few things. The pawn structure is really not the main thing in the position. It would have been if Black had knights on the board. Imagine adding a knight on d7 and a white knight on f3. Suddenly things are not so clear, because the knight gets a very nice square on c5 because of the pawn structure. As there are only bishops on the board, White doesn't have to worry about his pawn weaknesses for now. Also the pawns on c2-c3 prevent Black pawns from advancing. easily on the queenside. Imagine you had a pawn on b2 instead of c3. One can easily imagine the move c5 being more powerful as then Black wants to run down White with c4,d4 and so on. With the doubled pawns, it is not so easy for Black to push on. For White on the other hand, the pawn majority on the kingside is easier to expand with f4-f5. Black can stop White pawns after f4, by playing ...f5. However, that gives White a passed pawn on e5, as we see in the game. All in all I feel that the position is slightly better for White. Be7 9.0-0 9.Qh5 Be6 10.Rb1 Qd7 11.h3 0-0-0∞ 9...0-0 10.f4 f5 10...f6 should have been considered. 11.Qh5 f5 leads to a similar position as in the game. 11...g6 12.Bxg6 Bc5+ 13.Kh1 hxg6 14.Qxg6+ Kh8 15.Qh5+ Kg8 16.Rf3 Rf7 17.Rg3+ Rg7 18.Rxg7+ Kxg7 19.f5+- 11.Be3 Be6 12.a4 Qd7 13.Qf3 Rfd8 It's quite interesting to see how Vitiugov builds up this position. 14.Rfd1 c5 15.Kh1 g6 16.h3 Qc7 17.Qf2 Not only putting pressure on the c5 pawn but also to reroute the bishop to f3. b6?! Although this looks like a normal move, it might have been a good idea to not touch this pawn without any provocation. The reason being it gives White a hook to open up a line on the queenside at a later date with a5. 18.Qe1 Kh8 19.Be2! Rg8 20.Bf3 Rad8 Wesley has hinted at some kingside pawn with g5, but he is not able to execute it. 21.a5! b5 22.a6! Now the b5 pawn will also be a small weakness. Rd7 22...g5 23.fxg5 Bxg5 24.Bxg5 Rxg5 25.Rab1± It somehow feels that this entire operation with ...g5 proved more beneficial for White than Black. 23.Rdb1 Rb8 24.Bf2 Rdd8 25.Qe2 Qb6 26.Rb2! Again we see how Vitiugov is good at making these little moves. The idea is not to double on b-file as then the a6 pawn would fall, but to actually create a square on b1 for the queen. Rd7 27.Qf1! The queen makes a square on e2 for the bishop and gets ready to jog back to b1. Rc7 28.Be2 Bd7 29.Qd1! A small halt on the way to b1. Qe6 29...Be6 is impossible because b5 hangs. 29...Bc6 was perhaps a better idea as now Ra5 is not so easy, but White can just improve his position slowly. 30.Ra5! Kg7 31.Qa1 31.Bxb5 Rxb5 32.Raxb5 Bxb5 33.Rxb5 Qxa6 34.Qb1 31.Qb1 g5!? 32.Bxb5 gxf4 33.Bxd7 Rxb2 34.Qxb2 Rxd7 35.Qb5 White is definitely looking good here. 31...g5 32.Bxb5 Rxb5 32...Bxb5 33.Raxb5 Rxb5 34.Rxb5 gxf4 we reach this position in the game as well. 33.Raxb5 Bxb5 34.Rxb5 34.Qa5!? Rc6 35.Rxb5 Rxa6 36.Qc7 Rc6 37.Qxa7 Ra6 38.Qb8+- 34...gxf4 35.Qa5! Qxe5 36.Rb7 Rxb7 37.axb7 With such a pawn on b7, the win is just a matter of time. f3 38.gxf3 Bd6 39.Kg2 No ghosts! Qh2+ 40.Kf1 Qxh3+ 41.Ke2 Qh2 42.Qxa7 Kf6 43.Qb6 Ke7 44.Qc6 Kd8 45.Qc8+ Ke7 46.Qxf5 Kd8 47.Kf1 Qh1+ 48.Bg1 Bh2 49.Qg4 Bd6 50.Ke2 Ke7 51.Bxc5! Qh2+ 52.Bf2 h5 53.Qf5 Kd8 54.Qc8+ Ke7 55.Qf5 Vitiugov makes it a point to repeat the position to gain time and also show who is in control. Kd8 56.Qf7 h4 57.Qg8+ Kd7 58.Qg4+ Kc6 59.Qc8+ Kb5 60.b8Q+ A high class positional game from which we can learn a lot. 60.b8Q+ Bxb8 61.Qc5+ Ka6 61...Ka4 62.Qb4# 62.Qb6# 1–0
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Vitiugov,N2732So,W27671–02019C43FIDE World Cup 20194.1

Chess is often quite cruel!

The way Vitiugov was playin — as can be seen from the above two games — he should have made it to the finals and booked a spot for himself at the Candidates. However, look at how things turned around just within a couple of days. Vitiugov had to play a marathon encounter against Yu Yangyi in the fifth round that went all the way to Armageddon.

Armageddon spelled the end for Vitiugov | Photo: FIDE

The match went right up to the final game in the Armageddon! In the last game of the match Vitiugov with black needed a draw to qualify. He had four minutes as compared to Yu Yangyi who had five, but was in a must-win situation.

 
Yangyi - Vitiugov, Armageddon
Position after 9.Be4

Yu Yangyi blundered big time right out of the opening with 9.♗e4. Can you see how this is a huge mistake?

 
Position after 9...♞xg2+

Vitiugov took the pawn on g2 and next the one on f4 and was well on his way to victory! 

Can you believe that, from the above position, a player like Vitiugov, who was in such great form at the World Cup, couldn't win?

 
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1.e4 e6 2.f4 d5 3.e5 c5 4.Nf3 Nc6 5.c3 Nh6 6.Na3 Nf5 7.Nc2 d4 8.Bd3 Nh4 9.Be4 Nxg2+ 10.Kf2 Nxf4 11.d3 Ng6 12.cxd4 cxd4 13.Bg5 Be7 14.Bxe7 Qxe7 15.Ncxd4 Ncxe5 16.Nxe5 Nxe5 17.Qh5 Nd7 18.Rhg1 Nf6 19.Qe5 Nxe4+ 20.dxe4 f6 21.Qh5+ Qf7 22.Qc5 Qe7 23.Qxe7+ Kxe7 24.Rxg7+ Kf8 25.Rag1 e5 26.Nb5 a6 27.Nc7 Rb8 28.Nd5 f5 29.Nf6 fxe4 30.Rc7 Bf5 31.Rgg7 Bg6 32.Rgd7 b5 33.h4 h5 34.Rg7 Rc8 35.Rg8+ Rxg8 36.Rxc8+ Kf7 37.Nxg8 Ke6 38.Ke3 Kd7 39.Ra8 Bf5 40.Rxa6 1–0
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Yu,Y2763Vitiugov,N27321–02019C00FIDE World Cup 20195.9


The end of the road for the Russian GM

After the tiebreak, a dejected Vitiugov sat in his chair after the loss for 2-3 minutes reflecting on what he had done.

Later he tweeted:

This tournament is like life - eventually, it has a sad end. Lucky guys leave it quickly, stubborn ones, who fight on their limits - sometimes painfully. But what happened here also matters and I am proud of the level of chess I've showed in the tournament (not today:-).

Vitiugov is a fine chess player. He has won the Gibraltar Masters in the past, recently competed at the Grenke Classic, won the Prague Masters in 2019 and has been in the top finishers at the Russian Super League for many years. He is right up there with the best, but has not received enough invitations to play at the absolute elite tournaments. For a player like him, finishing in top two of the World Cup would mean the biggest breakthrough of his chess career — an entry into the Candidates! And how close he was! Oh well, that's how chess is! Unpredictable.

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Sagar is an International Master from India with two GM norms. He loves to cover chess tournaments, as that helps him understand and improve at the game he loves so much. He is the co-founder and CEO of ChessBase India, the biggest chess news portal in the country. His YouTube channel has over a million subscribers, and to date close to a billion views. ChessBase India is the sole distributor of ChessBase products in India and seven adjoining countries, where the software is available at a 60% discount. compared to International prices.

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