Feeding the flames

by Jonathan Speelman
3/7/2021 – In this week’s column, Jon Speelman looks deeply into “a real fire fight” in which 18-year-old Arseniy Nesterov came out on top after a terrific battle. In the game, the aggression was mutual and included extended hand-to-hand fighting!

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A real fire fight

[Note that Jon Speelman also looks at the content of the article in video format, here embedded at the end of the article.]

When things kick off in a game of chess, the explosion generally lasts for just a few moves — or at least, without any real evidence, that’s my impression. But there are occasional games in which the violence runs and runs.

When this does occur, the most common scenario is probably a long attacking battle in which one player aims blows at the other’s head and the other finds heroic ways to defend.

But sometimes the aggression is mutual with extended hand-to-hand fighting, and today’s game is very much in this mould. It comes from the final round a week ago of the Moscow Open, which was won on tiebreak by Ivan Rozum ahead of six others.

One of the six was 18-year-old Arseniy Nesterov, who came out on top after a real fire fight!

 
Nesterov, A. vs Kukhmazov, A (2021)
Position after 15...Na4

16.d5! This and the next move scream out to be played to destabilise Black before his queenaside attack lands — 16...exd5 17.e6!

 
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1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.Nc3 dxc4 5.e4 b5!? 6.e5 Nd5 7.Nxb5 Nb6
In this line, Black accepts a poor queenside pawn structure in return for a lovely square on d5 and the b-file. The c4-pawn is weak, but for the moment prevents Bd3 which would otherwise make kingside castling extremely hazardous. 8.Be2 Nc6 9.Be3 White can castle, but then wants to find a way to attack the black king... The manoeuvre Qd1-d2-f4 was introduced by Ding Liren in this well-known game form the Batumi Olympiad: 9.0-0 Be7 10.Qd2 0-0 11.Qf4 Rb8 12.Nc3 f5 13.Qg3 Kh8 14.Rd1 Nb4 15.b3 cxb3 16.axb3 a6 17.Bc4 Nc2 18.Ra2 Nb4 19.Ra1 Nc2 20.Ra2 Nb4 21.Re2 a5 22.d5 exd5 23.e6 Bd6 24.Qh3 Qf6 25.Nb5 dxc4 26.Nxd6 cxd6 27.e7 Re8 28.Ng5 Qg6 29.Rxd6 f4 30.Qh4 Qb1 31.Re1 Bf5 32.Rd8 Bg6 33.Rxb8 Rxb8 34.Qxf4 Rg8 35.Nf7+ Bxf7 36.Qxf7 Nd7 37.e8Q Nf6 38.Bg5 1-0 (38) Ding Liren (2804)-Duda,J (2739) Batumi GEO 2018 9...Be7 10.a3
10...Na5 By delaying (and in this game actually foregoing) castling, White retains the option of Qc2, h4 and Ng5 should Black go short. In principle, this is obviously pretty scary. What the actual theoretical status is is another matter, and my enigne suggests that Black will get enough counterplay if he plays accurately. 10...0-0 11.Qc2 Na5 11...Rb8 12.h4 f5 This stops mate but is pretty weakening. 12...Nd5 13.Bxc4 13.Ng5 g6 14.Nxh7 Nxe3 15.fxe3 Kxh7 16.h5 Kg7 doesn't work 13...Nxe3 13...Na5 14.Bd3 Ba6 14.fxe3 Na5 15.Bd3 h6 16.b4 Bd7 17.Nc3 Nc6 18.Ne4 Qe8 19.Qf2 a5 20.Nf6+ Bxf6 21.exf6 gxf6 22.Qg3+ Kh8 23.Qf4 Kg7 24.Rh3 f5 25.Rg3+ Kf6 26.b5 1-0 (26) Checa,N (2527)-Carlo,E (2288) Villorba ITA 2020 12...Na5 13.Ng5 g6 14.Rd1 Nd5 13.exf6 gxf6 14.Nc3 Rf7 15.Rd1 Na5 16.Ne4 Bb7 17.Rg1 Nd5 18.Bd2 Nb3 19.Bh6 Ba6 20.Bxc4 Bxc4 21.Qxc4 Bf8 22.Bxf8 Qxf8 23.Rd3 Na5 24.Qc2 Rb6 25.g3 Qe8 26.Nc5 Qb5 27.b3 Nb7 28.Nd2 Rc6 29.Qc4 Qb6 30.b4 a5 31.Rb3 axb4 32.axb4 Nd6 33.Qd3 Re7
White now took the exchange, which may well be a "good" move but strikes me as putting a lot of pressure on himself - of course he is a very strong young player, so he can still calculate really well. 34.b5 Rxc5 35.dxc5 Qxc5 No doubt this is good for White, but now every single black piece is working. 36.Ke2 e5 37.Ne4 Nxe4 38.Qxe4 Nc3+ 39.Rxc3 Qxc3 40.Rd1 Qb2+ 41.Kf3 Qxb5 42.Rd8+ Re8 43.Qg4+ Kh8 44.Rd7 Qc6+ 45.Ke2 Rg8 46.Qf5 Rg7 47.Rd8+ Rg8 48.Rd7 Rg7 49.Rd8+ Rg8 50.Rd7 1/2-1/2 (50) Vidit,S (2726)-Bluebaum,M (2670) chess24.com INT 2021 12.h4 Nd5 13.Ng5 g6 which Houdini gives as a tad better for Black. 11.Qc2 Bb7 12.Rd1 Bc6 12...Qd7 13.Nc3 Rb8 14.h4 Qd7 15.Rh3
The critical position. Black needs to do something before Whtie increases the kingside pressure. He chose a maximalist move which may actually not be too bad but requires a lot of calcualtion to back it up. Since he didn't see or at least believe his second move after White's fairly obvious riposte, I guess the move derves a ? even if engines show that really it's no worse than ?!. 15...Na4?! 15...Nd5 was my first thought but after 16.Bd2 the loose knight on a5 causes a problem. Nb3 16...0-0 17.Nxd5 Qxd5 18.Rg3 Kh8 19.Kf1 The c4-pawn will drop off in a moment leaving White at least a bit better. 17.Bxc4 Nxc3 18.Bxc3 Bd5 White is a pawn up but the game continues, though after Bd3 I definitely instinctively prefer White. 19.Bd3 15...Ba4! was suggested by Houdini. I'd find this hard to see because it's hard for me to give up such a splendid bishop, but after 16.Nxa4 Qxa4 17.Rc1 Qxc2 Engines suggest 17...Nb3 but i think in a game you'd be very pleased to get the queens off given that it's not too bad afterwards. 18.Rxc2 0-0 19.Bd2 Nb3 20.Bxc4
Line with Ba4 rather than Na4 20...Na1! 21.Rc1 Nxc4 22.Rxc4 Rxb2 23.Rxc7 Bxa3 24.Bc3 24.Rxa7 Nc2+ 25.Kd1 Rc8 26.h5 Bf8 24...Bb4 25.Bxb4 Rxb4 26.Nd2 Rb2 26...Rxd4?! 27.Ra3 Rfd8 28.Ra2! h6 29.Rc1 R8d5 30.Rcxa1 Rxe5+ 31.Kf1 Rxh4 32.Kg1 with some winning chances. 27.d5 exd5 28.Kd1 Ra2 29.Rd3 Rb8 30.Rxd5 h6 is perhaps += 16.d5! This and the next move scream out to be played to destabilise Black before his queenaside attack lands. exd5 Of course if 16...Nxc3 17.dxc6 or 16...Rxb2 17.dxc6 both win immediately while if 16...Bxd5 17.Nxa4 simply wins a piece. 17.e6!
17.Nd4 loses to Rxb2 17...fxe6?! 17...Qxe6! looks like it loses to Nxa4, but there is a nice trick then 18.Nxa4 18.Nd4 Rxb2 19.Nxe6 Rxc2 20.Nxg7+ Kf8 21.Nxd5 21.Nxa4 Kxg7 21...Bxd5 22.Bh6! The engine line now trundles on not 22.Rxd5? Rxe2+! 22...Nc3 23.Ne6+ Ke8 24.Nxc7+ Kd8 25.Rxc3 Rxc3 26.Nxd5 Rxa3 27.Bc1 Rb3 28.Bd2 c3 29.Bxc3 Rxc3 30.Nxc3+ Ke8
Line starting Qxe6 Nd4, when White is clearly better but Black should presumably be able to hold. 18...Qe4‼ Not at all an easy move to see. My engine pointed it out to me before I started thinking, so I don't know how long it would have taken me (or indeed whether I'd have seen it at all), though I suspect I would have found it fairly quickly because I always look for tricky moves. But when I've shown it to students they've found it very difficult. 19.Qc3 Btw Bd3 would work if Na5 didn't protect c6 19.Qxe4 dxe4 is already better for Black. 19...Bxa4 20.Qxg7 20.Qxa5 Bxd1 21.Bxd1 0-0 is better for Black who has approximate material equality and the safer king. 20...Rf8 21.Ng5
Houdini tells me that White is a bit better, but in a game you'd assess it as a real mess and not be too sure until you'd looked at some sample variations. 18.Ne5 Rxb2 19.Bh5+! In a position like this, you look first at checks and captures. This drives the black king to a worse square, so it's likely to be a good move unless g6 is a strong answer. Kd8 19...g6 20.Bxg6+ Kd8 21.Qc1 Nb3 22.Nxa4! Nxc1 23.Nxb2 hxg6 24.Nxd7 Bxd7 25.Rxc1 e5
Line after Bh5+ g6. Black has decent practical chances, but is presumably lost "with best play". 20.Qc1! Clearly stronger than winnign a piece with 20.Nxc6+ Qxc6 21.Qxa4 Qxa4 22.Nxa4 Rb3 when Black has enough material and the battle continues. 20...Nb3
21.Nxa4! This excellent move takes much of the sting out of the position. Nxc1 22.Nxb2! c3! Finding a way to keep on slugging. If 22...Qc8 23.Nxc6+ Kd7 24.Ne5+ 24.Nxe7 Kxe7 25.Bg5+ Kd7 26.Nxc4 is another way to win. 24...Kd8 24...Kd6 25.Nbxc4#
is a very pretty mate 25.Nf7+ Kd7 26.Nxc4 Qa6 27.Nce5+ Kc8 28.Nxh8
Line starting Qc8. With two rooks and two pieces (!) for a quen and a few rag-taggle pawns, this is completely over. 22...Qd6 is totally hopeless of course. 23.Nf7+ 23.Nbc4! Nb3 24.Nxd7 c2! 25.Nce5
25...cxd1Q+? A little sad since it now simplifies. I wondered whether Black could continues to feed the fames with 25...Bxd7 26.Nf7+ Kc8 27.Nxh8 Bxa3 28.Bd2 Ba4
Black avoids cxd1=Q+ when of course White should win, but he could get confused after Ra1 for example. But of course there are lots of ways to win, though perhaps not 29.Ra1 29.Nf7 ia probably better 29...Bb2! 30.Rxb3 30.Rxa4?? Nxd2 30...Bxb3 31.Rc1 31.Rxa7? Bc3! 31...a5 32.Bg4 Kd7 33.Bf4 a4 34.Nf7 a3 35.Ne5+ Ke7 36.Nd3 and although it looks scary for White, he is winning c5 36...d4 37.Bd2 Bc4 38.Nb4 d3 39.Bg5+ Kd6 40.Kd2 Kc5 41.Nxc2 Bxc1+ 42.Kxc1 dxc2 43.Kxc2 37.Be5 d4 38.Nxc5 Bxc1 39.Nxb3 Bb2 40.Kd2 26.Bxd1 Na5 27.Nf7+ Kxd7 28.Nxh8 Ke8 trying to trap the knight, but after 29.Bc2
Black resigned since the horse is escaping easily, and of course g6-h5 doesn't help. A terrific battle! 29.Bc2 g6 30.h5 1–0
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Nesterov,A2476Kukhmazov,A24421–02021D3717th Moscow Open A 20209.5

Arseniy Nesterov, Christian Rios

Arseniy Nesterov (right) at the 2019 Voronezh Masters — here facing IM Christian Rios

To finish up, a small tactical position I thought of earlier in the week. It’s fairly banal, but carries a small twist.

 
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1.Qf6 1.Qxh6+?! is an obvious try, but in fact it turns out that after Kxh6 2.Rh1+ Kg5! 3.f4+ Kf6 Black survives. One line then goes: 3...Kg4 4.f3# Also not 3...Qxf4 4.gxf4+ Kxf4 5.Rde1 Nf5 6.Bc1+ 4.Nxc6+ Ke6 5.Rhe1+ Kd6 6.Nxe7 Qxe7 7.Rxd5+ Kxd5 8.Rxe7 Rxc2 9.Bg7 Rfc8 10.Be5 1.Rxe7 also wins, but less prettily: Qxe7 2.Rh1! 2.Qxh6+ Kxh6 3.Rh1+ Kg5 4.f4+ Kf6 5.Nxc6+ Ke6 6.Re1+ Kd7 7.Nxe7 Rxc2 8.Bf6 2...g5 3.Qf5+ alos 3.Rxh6+ Kxh6 3...Kg8 4.Nxc6 4.Nf5+ Kh7 5.Qg4 3...Kg8 4.Rxh6 f6 5.Ne6 1...Ng8 2.Qg7+! The point of this fairly banal position is to arrange the standrad queen sacrifice, but then for the knight to unleash the double check on an unusual square rather than the normal f5++-h6 or e7 mate. Kxg7 3.Ne6+ Kh7 4.Ng5+! hxg5 5.Rh1+ Nh6 6.Rxh6+ Kxh6 7.Rh1#
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JS idea--2021White to play and win

How to play the Ruy Lopez with Qe2

To avoid theory battles in well-known lines against Ruy Lopez (Berlin, Open Variation or the Marshall Attack), Sergey Tiviakov invites you into the world of an extraordinary early queen move for White: Qe2 – elegant, effective and easy to learn!

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Jonathan Speelman, born in 1956, studied mathematics but became a professional chess player in 1977. He was a member of the English Olympic team from 1980–2006 and three times British Champion. He played twice in Candidates Tournaments, reaching the semi-final in 1989. He twice seconded a World Championship challenger: Nigel Short and then Viswanathan Anand against Garry Kasparov in London 1993 and New York 1995.

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