Speelman's Agony #74

by Jonathan Speelman
4/15/2018 – Before this week's games I'd like to request more material from readers which can be sent either to the Dropbox mentioned below or directly to me at jonathan@speelman.demon.co.uk — If your games are selected for the Agony column, not only will you get free detailed commentary of your games by one of chess’s great authors and instructors, and former world no. 4 player, but you also win a free three-month ChessBase Premium Account! | Pictured: Clement Lelievre (right) with Maxime Vachier-Lagrave and Laurent Fressinet in 2015
Fritz 16 is looking forward to playing with you, and you're certain to have a great deal of fun with him too. Tense games and even well-fought victories await you with "Easy play" and "Assisted analysis" modes.

Agonie et extase

If you'd prefer to use the Dropbox (below) then please, please include a return email address. I need this to check with you and perhaps request a photo. Sometimes people send the wrong files — ideally, it should be either a .pgn or a .cbv (ChessBase archive) file  — and without an address, I can't help you. If you have used the Dropbox in the past, but didn't include your email, please contact me again.

This week's games are by Clement Lelievre, a 27-year-old Frenchman who writes:

I took up chess 5 years ago so my profile is similar to that of Romain Bernard that you featured in one of your columns.I studied financial mathematics, am married and work in Paris.Since I started chess, the passion is growing with each day and I strive to absorb as much material as possible and play as many instructive games as possible, with a rather sharp style.

Clement very modestly sent me a loss and a draw but no win. I asked for one and was rewarded with a nice victory against Marie Sebag in a simultaneous display. We start though with the Agony.

 
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1h30 + 30"/coup 1.d4 40 This game was played in a team match on 1st board; 1h30+30"/move + 30' at move Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 d5 4.cxd5 Nxd5 5.e4 Nxc3 6.bxc3 Bg7 7.Be3 not the move order white usually plays 7.Bc4 c5 8.Ne2 0-0 9.0-0 Nc6 10.Be3 Bg4 11.f3 Na5 is more common 7...c5 8.Qd2 0-0 somewhat gives the impression that black "castles into it" 9.Bc4 9.h4 looks scary but should not be too dangerous 9...Nc6 10.Rd1 usually the Ra1 goes rather to c1 10.Rc1 10...Qa5 11.Ne2 Rd8 12.0-0 1st critical moment b5 perhaps too aggressive? JS No it looks fine to me. 12...b6 13.Bb3 13.Bd5 Bb7 14.Bh6 Bh8 15.f4 e6 16.Bxc6 16.Bb3 c4 16...cxd4? 17.f5! and White is crashing through. 17.Bc2 b4 18.f5 exf5 19.exf5 bxc3 20.Qf4 Rd7 with a very complicated position. 16...Bxc6 17.f5 exf5 18.exf5 13...Rb8 I wanted to play a waiting move to see whether he goes f4 right away; at the same time the Rb8 will likely be useful on this file 14.Bd5 14.f4?! is premature and gets punished with Bg4! JS Actually this is far from clear. 15.d5 c4 16.Bc2 e6 17.h3 Bxe2 18.Qxe2 exd5 19.exd5 Ne7 20.d6 14.h3 is a necessary precaution if white is to play f2-f4 14...Bb7 15.f4?! now that my bishop left the h3-c8 diagonal he no longer needs to go h3 first 15.Bh6 was much better and similar to the previous note. 15...e6
16.Bb3 Clement - CRITICAL MOMENT JS White needs to use the centre to attack or he will get pinned down so I looked at 16.Bxc6 Bxc6 17.f5 but after cxd4 18.Nxd4 Bxe4 19.fxe6 fxe6 20.Bh6 Bxh6 20...Bxd4+ 21.cxd4 does give White black squares and certainly not 20...Rxd4?? 21.Qf4 21.Qxh6 Bd5 engines are unconvinced since crucially 22.Rf7 fails to or 22.Rf6 Qc7 23.Rdf1 e5 22...Kxf7 23.Qxh7+ Ke8 24.Rf1 Rb7 16...c4 I know this sounds anti-Grunfeld because it gives up central tension on d4. But my goal is to later go ...f7-f5, preventing f4-f5 17.Bc2 f5 my reference game was Gligoric-Smyslov 0-1 JS Unless White can generate play then he will be in big trouble. obviously, 17...Qxa2?? loses on the spot to 18.Ra1 Qb2 19.Rfb1+- 18.Qc1 my opponent took about 20 minutes on this move. The choice in the center is not easy to make 18.exf5 exf5 and my e6 weakness vanishes, play will occur on the e-file and the e4 and d5 squares are mine 18.e5 and I will reroute my Bg7 on f8, and my Nc6 to the beautiful d5 square, in addition my Bb7 becomes powerful JS I wondered about something like 18.g4 fxg4 19.Ng3 but b4 comes far too quickly 20.f5 bxc3 21.Qf2 exf5 22.exf5 Rf8 18...Ne7 19.d5 fxe4 19...exd5 20.exf5 and I'd rather gave my d5 pawn! 20.dxe6 40 keep in mind at this point I have about 5 minutes left until the end Qa6 simple chess: targeting the weakness 21.Rxd8+ Rxd8 a trade I never expected 22.Rd1 Rd3!? a pretty "colinear" exchange sac JS I'd defintiely give this a ! I hesitated with the more straightforward line: 22...Rxd1+ 23.Qxd1 Qxe6 24.Qd8+ Kf7 25.Qb8 where my king will not have to bear the pressure it suffered in the game 23.Bxd3 exd3 monster Bb7 plus far advanced, supported d-pawn and clumsy white pieces should be enough compensation? 24.Nd4
24...Qxa2?! JS Giving White some time to get organised. 24...Bxd4 25.Bxd4 Qxe6 would have avoided the strong attack White got afterwards, by removing e6, but OTB I didn't want to part with my Bg7; perhaps I should have 24...Nf5! JS is suggested by engines. In principle I'd be very loathe to break the blockade but in fact it rounds up the e6 pawn because the obvious 25.Re1 loses to 25.Nxf5 gxf5 26.e7 Qe6 25...Nxd4 26.Bxd4 26.cxd4 Qxe6 26...Bxd4+ 27.cxd4 Qxa2 25.Rd2 Qa6 25...Qa5 tempted me too, kind of limiting the Qc1 JS This doesn't look right because the queen wants to keep pressure on the e6 pawn and to be able to jump to c6 at some moment. 26.Qe1 and here I clearly start to go astray 26.Rb2! would have exploited the time lost by taking on a2. 26...Nd5? JS As in the above note when Nf5 looked dangerous but in fact was winning, you shoudn't move the blockader without very good reason. Instead the thematic 26...b4 would have undermined the d4 knight and even more important liberated the c4 pawn. 27.cxb4 27.Rf2 bxc3 28.Qxc3 Nd5 29.Qe1 if 29.e7 simply Nxe7 29...Qd6 27...Qd6 28.Qf2 Be4 with almost total control. 27.Bf2 Ne7 showing that 26...Nd5 was pointless JS Much more than that it lost two crucial tempi. 28.f5?! 28.Rb2! prevents b4. 28...gxf5 Even after Ne7-d5-e7 28...b4! was still in time 29.Nxf5 Bf6? right after playing ...Bb6? I thought I should have gone 29...Nxf5 30.e7 Nxe7 31.Qxe7
31...Qc6?! JS Now this is too slow. 31...h6 31...Qa1+ 32.Be1 Bxc3 JS makes a lot of sense since White is attacking only with the queen. 32.Bd4 32.Bc5 32...Bxd4+ 33.cxd4 Qe4 33...c3 34.Rf2 34.Qg5+ Kh8 35.Qf6+ Kg8 36.Rf2 Qe8 37.Qg5+ Kh8 Of course in a game you wouldn't know whether White was winning - which in fact he is after d5 - but it's obvious that there is at least perpetual check. 38.d5 30.Nxe7+ Bxe7 31.Bd4 Qd6 32.Qe3 Qd5? 33.Qg3+ JS A sad end to what for the most part was an excellent game by Clement in which he blockaded White's centre on the white squares and then played a very nice thematic exchange sacrifice 1–0
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Barchilon,J1898Lelièvre,C18381–02018D86Critérium
Badii,M2248Lelièvre,C1838½–½2018B87NIV 1er échiquier7
Sebag,M2488Lelièvre,C18460–12017C82Simultanée Marie Sebag mairie 3ème
Speelman,J2490Brito,L22550–11980B92Hastings 80814

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The Gruenfeld Defense is an active and dynamic reply to 1.d4 which can lead to complex and extremely sharp positions. So it’s no wonder that also Alexei Shirov included this opening into his repertoire. At the candidates’ final against Vladimir Kramnik in Cazorla in 1998, he exclusively – and successfully – trusted the Gruenfeld Indian with Black; the victory over Kramnik gave him the right to play a WCh match versus Kasparov.

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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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