Jon Speelman: Ructions in Romania

by Jonathan Speelman
4/11/2025 – The 2024 European Chess Championship in Romania drew nearly 400 players and concluded with Matthias Bluebaum claiming the title for a second time. Across eleven rounds, the tournament offered no shortage of drama and complexity. In this article, two games from the event are examined - both notable for their sharp conclusions and instructive endgame moments. Light annotations in the openings are followed by deeper analysis of the critical late-stage play. | Pictured: Mahammad Muradli from Azerbaijan (FIDE)
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[Note that Jon Speelman also looks at the content of the article in video format, here embedded at the end of the article.]

The recent European Championship in Romania, won by Matthias Bluebaum for a second time, was a massive affair with over a hundred grandmasters in a field of nearly four hundred. Over the course of the eleven rounds they contested something over two thousand games and I watched a number of these, mostly in fairly desultory fashion but taking more notice when the engine metaphorically beeped, suddenly changing value dramatically.

Today I'm going to look at two of these games, which near their conclusion throw up some very interesting analysis. I've put some light notes in the openings (neither of which is in my repertoire) and then concentrated on melees which arose at the end. I'm taking them in chronological order.

Aydin Suleymanli

Aydin Suleymanli

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MoveNResultEloPlayers
1.e41,186,70654%2421---
1.d4960,56055%2434---
1.Nf3286,91356%2440---
1.c4185,11556%2442---
1.g319,90256%2427---
1.b314,60954%2428---
1.f45,95948%2376---
1.Nc33,91950%2383---
1.b41,79148%2379---
1.a31,25254%2406---
1.e31,08149%2409---
1.d396950%2378---
1.g467046%2361---
1.h446654%2382---
1.c343951%2425---
1.h328956%2420---
1.a411860%2461---
1.f310047%2427---
1.Nh39366%2506---
1.Na34762%2476---
1.Nf3       g6 2.c4 Bg7 3.d4 Nf6 4.Nc3 d5 5.cxd5 Nxd5 6.e4 Nxc3 7.bxc3 c5 8.h3 0-0 9.Be2 Nc6 10.Be3 cxd4 11.cxd4 Qa5+ 12.Bd2 Qa3 13.d5
There are numerous similar lines in the exchange Grunfeld, all slightly different - which may or may not lead to radically different tactical outcomes. This isn't my area of expertise, but I can say that this position has occurred over 150 times in my database of fairly recent games with the vast majority continuing as Navara did with Ne5. 13...Ne5 13...Bxa1 14.Qxa1 Nb4 15.0-0 is obviously enormously dangerous, and my engine just says nearly +2 so +-. f6 14.0-0 Nxf3+ 15.Bxf3 Bd7 With the knights exchanged it is much more plausible that Black could take the exchange and apparently this is playable after 15...Bxa1 16.Qxa1 f6 17.Rb1 Rf7 when e5 looks like the human move to me, though my engine slightly prefers the restrained 17...a5 18.e5 18.Rb3 Qd6 19.a4 18...Qd3 19.Bc3 fxe5 20.Bxe5 Rxf3 21.Rb3! 16.Rb1 Qxa2 17.Rxb7 Ba4 18.Qe1 Rfb8 19.Rxb8+ 19.Rxe7 Bf6 20.d6 Bb5 21.Be2 Bxe2 22.Qxe2 Bxe7 23.dxe7 Re8 This is still a mess, but the a-pawn looks like it could become a big factor later on. 19...Rxb8 20.Bf4 Re8 21.Qa5 Bb3 22.Qc7 22.Qc5 Qa4 23.Rb1 keeps Black's bishop from d4. 22...Bd4 23.Be3 Bxe3 24.fxe3 a5 25.Bg4 Qd2 26.Qc5 Bc2 27.Rf4 a4 27...h5 28.Bd7 Rb8 made a lot of sense when White can't capture on e7 29.Qa7 29.Qxe7?? Qxe3+ 30.Rf2 Rb1+ 29...Rb1+ 30.Kh2 Bxe4! 31.Qa8+ 31.Rxe4 Rb2 31...Kg7 32.Rxf7+ Kxf7 33.Be6+ Kg7 34.Qg8+ Kh6 35.Qh8+ 35.Qf8+ Kh7 36.Bg8+ Kh8 and since g6 is protected White still has nothing better than perpetual check. 35...Kg5 36.Qe5+ Kh6 28.Kh2 g5?
This is the sort of move that you play to wind the enemy up. Since it "should" lose I suppose I should give it a "?". But in practice if Navara was getting nervous then it was a very decent idea, for the win is not at all easy to see. 28...Rf8 29.h4 29.Rf5 29.Qc6! Rf8 29...gxf4 30.Qxe8+ Kg7 31.Bh5 Qxe3 32.Qxf7+ Kh6 33.Bf3!+- Bxe4 34.Qf8+ 34.Qh5+ Kg7 35.Qe5+ Kf7 36.Qe6+ Ke8 37.Qxe4 37.d6 Bxf3 37...Qxe4 38.Bxe4 a3 39.Bb1 Kd7 40.Kg1 Kd6 41.Ba2 Ke5 42.Kf2 Ke4 42...Kd4 43.Kf3 Kc3 44.Kxf4 Kb2 45.d6 exd6 46.Bd5 a2 47.Bxa2 Kxa2 48.Ke4 Kb3 49.Kd4 Kc2 50.g4 Kd2 51.g5 Ke2 52.h4 43.Ke2 h5 44.Kf2 h4 45.Ke2 Kd4 46.Kf3 Kc3 47.Kxf4 Kb2 48.d6 34...Kg6 35.Qg8+ Kf6 36.Qe6+ Kg7 37.Qxe7+ Kg8 38.Qxe4 a3 39.d6 29...Rb8 30.Qh6! still works. 30.Qh6‼ Qxe3!
Even after the engine told me that this was completely winning I spare I failed to spot the short poisonous sequence which proves this. If you'd like a clue, then I'll give it after the next pair of moves. 30...gxf4 31.Bf5 31.Qxg5+ 31.Rf5 f6 32.Rf3 Qxe4 33.Be6+ Rf7 defends adequately. 31...Kh8
The question that White now needs to ask himself is what colour squares he is attacking on - if you realise this, the solution perhaps shouldn't be too difficult to find. 32.d6‼ Destroying Black's dark squared defences and getting the pawn far enough advanced that in one crucial line it queens. exd6 32...Rg8 33.dxe7! Rxg5 34.e8Q+ Rg8 35.Qe5+ Rg7 36.Rxf7 Qg5 37.Rf8# 33.Qf6+ Kg8 34.Bf3 and mates. 29.Rxf7 Bxe4 30.Bf3 Kxf7 31.Bxe4 Qb2 32.Bf3 32.Qc7 Qf6 32...Qe5+ 29...Bxe4 30.Rxg5+
30...Bg6 This "looks" normal but the bishop is passive on g6, and instead Kh8 was correct. 30...Kh8! 31.Bd7 Rg8 32.Qxe7 Qxg2+ 32...Rxg5 Is also sufficient but much less pretty 33.Rxg2 Rxg2+ 34.Kh1 Rg4+= 35.Kh2 Rg2+= 31.Bd7 Ra8 31...Rb8 32.Qxe7 was no better. 32.Bc6 Qa5?!
This allows an immediate clean kill, though other moves also lost 32...Rb8 33.Qxe7 a3 33...Qc3 34.Bxa4 33...Rb2 34.d6 34.Qxa3 Rb4 35.Qa8+ Kg7 36.Qe8 Rb3 37.Qe5+ Kg8 38.Rg3 32...a3 33.Bxa8 a2 34.Qa3+- 32...Ra6 33.Qxe7 a3 34.Be8 Qf2 35.d6 a2 35...Rxd6 36.Qxd6 a2 37.Qd4 Qf1 38.Ra5 36.d7 a1Q 37.Bxf7+ Qxf7 38.d8Q+ Kg7 39.Qdf8# 33.Qxa5 Rxa5 34.d6! Rxg5 35.d7 Kg7 36.d8Q Re5 36...a3 37.Qd4+ f6 38.Qa7 37.Bxa4 f6 38.Qd4 Be4?! Inaccuracy. Re4 was best. 38...Re4 39.Qa7 Re5 40.Bd1 h6 41.Be2 Be4 42.Bc4 Bg6 43.Qd4 Bf7 44.Be2 39.Bb3 Bg6 40.Qc4 Rxe3 41.Qg8+ Kh6 42.Qf8+ Kg5 43.h4+ Kf5 44.Bc2+ Ke6
45.Qg8+ Personally I would have played 45.Qh6 but of course it doesn't matter a lot. 1–0
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Muradli,M2584Navara,D26631–02025D8525th ch-EUR Indiv 20255.2
Petkov,M2547Suleymanli,A26330–12025C5025th ch-EUR Indiv 20259.16

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In this video course, experts including Dorian Rogozenco, Mihail Marin, Karsten Müller and Oliver Reeh, examine the games of Boris Spassky. Let them show you which openings Spassky chose to play, where his strength in middlegames were and much more.

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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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