International GMs dominate Washington Masters

by ChessBase
9/3/2018 – GM Hovhannes Gabuzyan (pictured left) outpaced the competition in the Masters Section of the Washington International, held in Rockville, Maryland, adjacent to the US capital city from August 11-15, 2018. A full point behind him in the nine-round Swiss open tournament was a trio of international grandmasters including NICLAS HUSCHENBETH (pictured right) who annotated two games for our report. The top American player was US number ten and the sixth best Junior player in the world, GM Sam Sevian, who finished with 6 points. | Photos: Maryland Chess Association
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Gabuzyan leads the pack

The Masters section attracted a total of 71 players, including 22 GMS and 15 IMs. Gabuzyan moved into sole first place after winning his first four games. After that, no one could catch him, and he finished with a final score of 7½ out of 9, earning the first place prize of USD $4,500.

Russian GM Andrey Stukopin, who studies at the University of Texas at Brownsville, finished second with 6½ alongside GMs Niclas Huschenbeth (GER) and Evgeny Postny (ISR). Each took home $1,400 for the week.

Stukopin and Postny

Andrey Stukopin and Evgeny Postny rounded out the top four | Photo: Maryland Chess Association

Gabuzyan's most interesting game was his third round win over GM Gil Popilski. You don't often see a player sacrifice a queen twice in one game and win!

 
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1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.Be2 0-0 6.Bg5 Nbd7 7.Qd2 e5 8.d5 a5 9.Bd1 Nc5 10.Bc2 c6 11.Nge2 cxd5 12.exd5 Bd7 12...Qb6 13.Ng3 Bd7 14.Rb1 Ng4 15.h3 f6 16.hxg4 fxg5 17.f3 Qb4 18.Nge4 Qxc4 19.Nxd6 Qf4 20.Nce4 Nxe4 21.Nxe4 Rac8 22.Bd3 Rfd8 23.Nxg5 Be8 24.Be4 Qxd2+ 25.Kxd2 Bc6 26.Rbc1 Rb8 27.Ne6 Rd6 28.Ke3 Bd7 29.Nxg7 Kxg7 30.Rc7 b5 31.Rhc1 Kf6 32.Ra7 a4 33.Rh1 Rh8 34.g3 h6 35.Rc7 Rh7 36.f4 exf4+ 37.gxf4 Re7 38.Kd4 Kg7 39.f5 Rf6 40.g5 hxg5 41.fxg6 g4 42.Rh7+ 1-0 Gajewski, Grzegorz vs Perez Mitjans, Orelvis, Barcelona Sants Open, 2012 13.Ng3 Qb6 14.Rb1 Ng4 15.h3 f6 16.hxg4 fxg5 17.f3 e4 An improvement over the 2012 game of Viswanathan Anand's second Gajewski vs Perez Mitjan 18.Ngxe4 Rae8 19.Kd1 Rf4 20.Re1 Be5 21.b3 Rc8 22.Nxc5 Qxc5 23.Ne4 Qa3 24.Bd3 a4 25.b4 h5 26.gxh5 26.Bf1! right away is the surprising winning move, threatening to trap the queen with Re3! Rxf3 26...hxg4 27.Re3 27.gxf3 Qxf3+ 28.Qe2 is of course not enough compensation for a rook. 26...g4 27.Bf1 One move too late! gxf3 28.Re3 Bg4! The only move, but a good one. 29.Rxa3? 29.gxf3 Bxf3+ 30.Be2 Qxe3 31.Nf6+ Rxf6 32.Qxe3 Rxc4 33.Bxf3 Rc3 re-capturing the bishop with dynamic equality. 29...fxg2+ and Gabuzyan suddenly gets a new queen with a crushing attack. 30.Kc2 g1Q 31.Rg3 Qh1 32.Bd3 Qxe4 33.Bxe4 Rxc4+ 34.Kd3 Rd4+ 0–1
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Popilski,G2491Gabuzyan,H25560–12018Washington International3

Nico ChecaDespite there being five players in the running for Grandmaster norms going into the last round, only Nico Checa (pictured) earned a norm. In fact, he didn't need to score any points going into the last round, having already reached the required score threshold, but still drew his last game.

Checa also went over 2500 during the tournament, leaving him just one norm short of the GM title. Nico showed signs of being in good form from the start when he won the blitz event by a full point ahead of seven GMs. One of his best games was his win against the top-seeded player in the tournament, GM Sam Sevian, which came already in the first round in a Queens Gambit Declined exchange variation.

 
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1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.Nc3 Nbd7 5.cxd5 exd5 6.Bg5 Be7 7.e3 0-0 8.Bd3 c6 9.Qc2 h6 10.Bh4 Re8 11.0-0 Nf8 12.Ne5 N6d7 13.Bxe7 Qxe7 14.Nf3 D36: Damengambit (Abtauschvariante) Nf6 15.Ne5N Vorgänger: 15.Rfc1 Bg4 16.Ne5 Be6 17.f4 Ng4 18.Qe2 Nxe5 19.fxe5 f6 20.exf6 Qxf6 21.Rf1 Qg5 1/2-1/2 (32) Vekelis,G (2295)-Raijmaekers,C (2227) ICCF email 2010 15...c5 16.Rfe1 Weiß hat minimalen Vorteil. a6 17.f4 c4 18.Be2 b5 19.Bf3 Bb7 20.a3 Rac8 21.b4 cxb3 22.Qxb3 Qd6 23.Rac1 Rc7 24.Qb4 Weiss kämpft um Vorteil. Qxb4 25.axb4 Rce7 26.Kf2 N8d7 27.Nxd7 Rxd7 28.g4 g5
29.Ne2! Kh7 30.h3 Re6 31.Ng3 Ne8 32.Rc5 Ng7 33.Rec1 Re8 34.f5 Red8 35.Rh1 Ne8 36.h4 Kg8 36...f6± 37.hxg5 fxg5 37.hxg5+- hxg5 38.Rh6 f6? 38...Rd6 kämpft weiter. 39.Rh5 f6 39.Nh5 Rd6 40.Bd1 R8d7 41.Bb3 Re7 42.Rc1 Rh7 43.Rxh7 Kxh7 44.Rh1 jetzt Sxf6+ und aus. Kg8 45.e4! Kf8 46.e5 Rc6?
46...Rb6 47.Ng3 Kg7 47.Nf4! gxf4 48.Rh8+ Kf7 48...Ke7 49.Rh7+ Kd8 49.Rh7+ Ng7 Und ...Kg8 würde nun gewinnen. 50.Bxd5+ Weiß setzt Matt. Kf8 51.Rh8+ Ke7 52.Bxc6 Bxc6 53.exf6+ Kxf6 54.Rh6+ Precision: Weiß = 73%, Schwarz = 34%. 1–0
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Checa,N2478Sevian,S26451–020187th Washington Open 20182.1

Sam Sevian

Sam Sevian, with 6 points, had to settle for fifth place | Photo: Maryland Chess Association

A total of 142 players competed in the Masters, Experts, and Contenders sections combined. The Experts section (under 2201 USCF national rating) ended with a five-way tie at 6½/9 between Akshay Indusekar, Noah Thomforde-Toates, Richard Tan, David Siamon and Daniel Pomerantz, while the Contenders section (Under 1800 USCF) ended in a three-way tie between Barzin Badiee, Duane Smith, and Ariel Joshi.

The tournament was organized by the Maryland Chess Association, and the Chief Arbiter was Michael Regan.

Annotated games by GM Niclas Huschenbeth
 
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1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0-0 d6 The Delayed Steinitz variation. Black is quite solid in this line and the positions often have a Kings Indian character. In my preparation, I decided to change the nature of the game early on and play an open position. 6.Bxc6+!? Note that 6.d4 would not be a good idea due to the typical trap b5 7.Bb3 exd4 8.Nxd4? Nxd4 9.Qxd4 c5 10.Qd1 c4-+ 6...bxc6 7.d4 exd4 8.Nxd4 c5 is the other move in the position but I believe after 8...Bd7 9.Qf3 c5 10.Nf5 Bxf5 11.exf5 Be7 12.c4 White enjoys a slight edge due to his nice grip on the light squares. 9.Nc6! This leads to some awkwardness in the Black position as the development is exacerbated. Qd7 10.Na5 Qa4! 10...Be7 11.Nc3 0-0 12.Bf4 is simply unpleasant for Black as the knight on a5 prevents the development of the bishop on c8. 11.Bd2 Up until now, my opponent had played this position in a previous game. Now he improves over his former play with Be7 12.Re1 A typical maneuver to provoke the slight weakening of the g1-a7 diagonal. Bg4 13.f3 Be6 14.Qe2 The queen moves out of the way to prepare c4. Immediately playing c4 would allow Black to trade queens. 0-0 14...Qxc2? 15.Nc3 and the Black queen may not find her way out again. 15.c4 Rae8! The only move in the position to maintain equality. It is important to move this rook, so that the bishops can retreat to c8 and d8 in a harmonious fashion. 15...Rfe8 16.f4 Bd8 17.Qd3 Bc8 would be just awkward for Black. 16.f4
Here my preparation ended. I knew the position was equal but for one I hoped my opponent would not find the correct moves until here, especially 15...Rae8 and for the other, the position is quite complex and now we simply play chess. During my opponent's long think, I was pondering how I could continue the game if he retreated his bishops from the e-file to put pressure on my centre pawn. Fortunately, and to my great surprise, my opponent had other plans in mind... 16...Qc2? A suicidal move. The queen moves deep inside the White camp and Black has to go to great lengths in the next moves to make sure it does not become trapped. 16...Bc8 17.Qf3 17.b3 Qd7 18.Nc3 is not what I wanted as after Bd8 followed by c6 the knight on a5 needs constant protection and is more a weakness than a strength. 17...Bd8 18.h3 Qc2 19.Qc3 Qa4 20.Qf3 was a move repetition I had looked at prior to the game. Obviously not what I had in mind with White but it is not easy to deviate from it. 17.Nc3 Bg4 17...Qxb2 will not lead to salvation: 18.Rab1 Qa3 19.Nc6 and Rb3 next move will trap the queen. 18.Qe3 Bd7 19.h3! A practical move to not allow Black's knight appearing on g4. Next, I can go after the Black queen without being bothered. 19.Rab1 to play Rec1 next was another idea, but simply looked too suspicious: Ng4 20.Qe2 Bf6 21.Rec1 Bd4+ 22.Kf1 Nxh2+ 23.Ke1 The Black queen is indeed trapped but Black can give it for a mere pawn and develop a dangerous initiative as the White pieces are all off-side. Qxe4‼ 24.Nxe4 Bg4 25.Qd3 Bf5 Black is even clearly better here. 19...Bd8 20.Rac1! It is important to use this rook so that the other can keep protecting the e4-pawn. Qxb2 21.Rb1 Qa3 21...Qc2 22.Rec1+- 22.Nb7 Now Rb3 is a strong threat which forces Black to give material. Nxe4 23.Nxe4 23.Rb3 does not give White anything as after Nxc3 24.Rxa3 24.Qxe8 does not work due to Qxa2-+ 24...Rxe3 25.Rxe3 Nb1 Black definitely has enough compensation for the exchange. 23...Qxa2? 23...Qxe3+ puts up the most resistance even though White should win eventually with his extra piece. 24.Rxe3 Bc6 25.Nc3 Bf6 26.Rxe8 Rxe8 27.Na5± 24.Nxd8 Bf5!
Black is still hanging on! Currently two pieces down, he is about to win back one and has a bunch of pawns. As they say, winning positions still need to be won... 24...Rxd8 loses right away to this petite combination: 25.Nf6+! Kh8 25...gxf6 26.Qg3+ Kh8 27.Bc3+- 26.Nxd7 Rxd7 27.Rb8! would have been a finish to my liking. Rxb8 28.Qe8+ Rxe8 29.Rxe8# 25.Nf6+! gxf6 26.Qg3+ Bg6 26...Kh8 27.Bc3 would be again immediately deadly. 27.Bc3 Rxd8 What happened in the last few moves? I gave back my extra piece and am now a few pawns down. This is called transformation of advantages. From a material plus I went to an advantage in king safety which is particularly important in middlegames with opposite colored bishops. Well, we shall not forget as well that I can win a piece yet again with f5 if I want to. 28.Bxf6! 28.Qh4 was my intention when I played 25.Nf6+. Fortunately, and there is an important point here, I took my time to look for any defenses and did not play it right away. After d5 White is still winning but it becomes suddenly much more difficult 29.cxd5 29.Qxf6? d4 29...Rd6 30.Rbd1 and White is still on top but Black can put up resistance. 30.Bxf6? Bxb1-+ 28...Rde8 29.f5 Qc2 30.Rf1! I am especially proud of this move. There is no rush to take the bishop on g6 and I will only take it after I have improved my position some more. My opponent was also in time trouble and I did not want to give him any easy choices. Qd2 31.Rf3! Stopping a potential queen trade on e3 and preparing the doubling of the rooks on the f-file. Re4 32.Rbf1 Rfe8 33.fxg6 fxg6 34.Kh2! The calm before the storm. I am preparing Bg5-h6 without running into Qd4+. With the seconds ticking down, my opponent did not notice my threat. Rxc4 34...Qh6 still defends but the position is completely hopeless for Black. The bishop retreats and soon the White attack will be irresistible. Here is a sample line: 35.Ba1 R4e7 36.Rf6 Re3 37.Qf2 Re2 38.Qf3 R2e4 39.Re6!+- 35.Bg5
My opponent resigned as with the bishop on h6 mate will be inevitable. In terms of quality, this is likely to be one of the best games I have ever played. Yes, I am patting myself on the back right now ;) After we reached an equal position out of the opening, my opponent went astray with his queen and was never able to recover from this lapsus. 1–0
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Huschenbeth,N2590Tang,A24901–02018C79Washington International7
Gabuzyan,H2556Huschenbeth,N2590½–½2018A09Washington International9

Niclas also analysed his game against GM Tang for his YouTube Channel

Final standings

Top 10 standings

Michael Regan contributed reporting for this story.

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