Wild Times in Sharjah

by Efstratios Grivas
5/20/2024 – In any sport, the win can be the result of a mistake, and a player's exploitation of it! The time has come to cut out the funny business, quit over-thinking, and go mate your opponent. There's no better way to claim a quick victory than an efficient, well-executed attack. But then you need to have a sharp tactical eye and a will to go all-in! In the Sharjah Masters two wild games drew the attention of the public. Analysis by Efstratios Grivas.
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Hans Niemann (USA) facing Olympiad Gold medallist Jakhongir Vakhidov (UZB)

Niemann, Hans Moke26891–0Vakhidov, Jahongir2599
Sharjah Masters
15.05.2024[Efstratios Grivas]
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 d6 5.c3 f5 6.exf5 Bxf5 7.0-0 Bd3 8.Re1 Be7 9.Qb3 b5 10.Qd5 (D)
10...Bf5? A dubious novelty to 10...Qd7 11.Qxd3 bxa4 12.Qc2 Nf6 13.d3 Grandelius,N-Adhiban,B Doha 2016. 11.Bb3! (D)
Intending Qf7+ and mate. White is clearly better. Less convincing is 11.Qxc6+ Bd7 12.Qb7 Rb8 13.Qxa6 Ra8! 14.Qxb5 Bxb5 15.Bxb5+ Kf7 16.Bc4+ Kf8 17.d4± . 11...Kd7 (D)
There is little to hope after 11...Qd7 12.a4 Rb8 13.axb5 axb5 14.d4 Bf6 15.Bf4 Nge7 16.Qf7+ Kd8 17.dxe5 Bg6 18.Qe6 Qxe6 19.Bxe6 dxe5 20.Nxe5 Nxe5 21.Bxe5 Bxe5 22.Rxe5± , so Black tries to 'complicate' the game... 12.Nd4?! 12.Rxe5! , was a killer: Bg4 mate follows after 12...Nxe5? 13.Nxe5+ 13.Re1 Nf6 14.Qd3± . 12...Nxd4 13.cxd4 (D)
White has strong attack with the black king in the centre, but nothing concrete and clear yet. 13...Nf6 14.Qf3 Really sharp! Bg4! 15.Qg3! 15.Qd3 e4! , can only be helpful to Black. White has to ‘built’ his position in the next few moves and the black king will not escape… Development and piece cooperation is are the secrets! 15...exd4 16.h3 Bf5 (D)
17.Qf3! White plays with accuracy in the last moves. When all his pieces will develop, the bad position of the black king will tell. g6? (D)
The text doesn't help Black to improve his position. A better try was 17...Bg6 18.Be6+ Ke8 19.d3 Bf7 20.Qc6+ Kf8 21.Nd2± . 18.d3! White has strong compensation for the pawn and now g4 is the strong threat, but not the immediate 18.g4?! Be4! 19.Rxe4 Nxe4 20.Qxe4 c6± . 18...h5 (D)
There is nothing else to do, as Black has to stop the g4 threat. 18...d5 19.g4 Be6 20.g5! , is losing on the spot. But anyway, the continuation played by Black will not help him to service as well. 19.Bg5! c6 20.Nd2 Development! The greedy 20.Bxf6? Bxf6 21.g4? hxg4 22.hxg4 Bh4! 23.gxf5 Qg5+ 24.Kf1 (D)
24...Bxf2!-+ , would turn the tables! 20...Qf8 (D)
The development is completed and now lines should be opened. 20...Re8 , looks like a better try, but fails to satisfy as well after 21.a4 d5 22.Bxf6 Bxf6 23.axb5 axb5 24.Bxd5!+- . 21.a4! Qg7 22.Rec1 There was an equally good alternative here: 22.Qf4 Rhe8 23.axb5 axb5 24.Qxd4+- , which looks also great for White. Two options means that Black is simply lost… 22...d5 (D)
23.Qf4 Planning Nf3-e5. 23.Rxc6! Kxc6 24.Bxf6 Qxf6 25.Bxd5+ Kc7 26.Bxa8+- , should win as well. 23...c5 24.Nf3 Bd6 25.Ne5+ (D)
25...Kc7 (D)
Not better is 25...Bxe5 26.Qxe5 Qe7 27.Bxf6 Qxe5 28.Bxe5 Rhe8 29.Bxd5+- . 26.Rxc5+! A great way to enter the pantheon of the king hunt theme... There is nothing in chess more exciting than going all-in for a king hunt. Modern chess is all about stubborn defence and precise calculation, and such lop-sided displays of attacking mastery are exceedingly rare. This is not to say, however, that brilliant king hunts are just a thing of the past. 'To me, the term king hunt invariably conjures up an image of a bygone era, when chess was played over coffee and cigars at the Café de la Régence. With defensive tenacity largely considered a hindrance to the game's beauty, spectacular combinations and sacrificial king hunts abounded - GM Daniel Naroditsky'. Bxc5 27.Rc1 Kb6 28.Bxf6 Qh6 (D)
28...Qxf6?! 29.Nd7+ , is of course too easy. 29.Nd7+! The turn of the knight to be sacrificed, but for a good reason; Black is mated! Bxd7 30.a5+! The point of White's attack and sacrifices... Kxa5 30...Kc6 , is simply losing to 31.Rxc5+! Kxc5 32.Be7+ Kc6 33.Qd6+ 33.Bxd5+ Kxd5 34.Qe4# 33...Kb7 34.Qxd7+ Kb8 35.Bd6# . 31.Qc7+ Bb6 (D)
Or the alternative 31...Kb4 32.Qxc5+ Kxb3 33.Qa3# . 32.Ra1+ Kb4 33.Qxb6 33.Be7+ Kxb3 34.Ra3+ Kxb2 35.Ra2+! , mates as well: Kxa2 36.Qc2+ Ka1 37.Ba3 . 33...Kxb3 34.Qxd4 (D)
A nice picture by the way. Black is a rook-up, but a king down! 34...Rhc8 35.Qxd5+ Kc2 (D)
36.b4 36.Qa2 , was an alternative and quicker mate. 36...Kd2 37.Bg5+ (D)
And Black decided to throw the towel in... There was a mate in 5 by the way: 37.Qa2+ Rc2 38.Qb1 Kxd3 39.Qb3+ Rc3 40.Qxc3+ Ke4 41.Qf3# . Of course, the king hunt is a result of a clear overside or simply a blunder, which the opponent takes advantage of it. 1–0

In the second game you might want to find the killer blow that Salem Saleh executed:

Black to play

White has just played 28.Kc1-d1? to which Salem finds a killer blow – one that will find its way into the tactical libraries

Fedoseev, Vladimir127020–1Salem, AR Saleh2629
Sharjah Masters
16.05.2024[Efstratios Grivas]
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.h4 (D)
A highly aggressive move, which cannot be entirely sound... But netherless, it is dangerous! 3...d6 4.Nc3 Nbd7 5.Qc2 c5 6.d5 a6 (D)
7.e4 In general, I would rather go for 7.a4 , stopping any queenside activity by Black. But probably it is a matter of taste... 7...b5! (D)
Black goes for a 'Benko Gambit' structure. 8.cxb5 Bg7 9.bxa6 0-0 (D)
10.h5? White returns the extra pawn, hoping for an attack on the black king, but probably it is a bit slow. True to his nature, V.Fedoseev goes for it on the kingside. Alternatives are 10.Nf3 Qa5 11.Bd2 Bxa6 , or 10.a4 Ne5 11.Bf4 Nfd7 12.Be2 Bxa6 , or, finally, 10.Bb5 Bxa6 11.Bxa6 Rxa6 12.Nge2 e6 . 10...Nxh5 11.g4 11.Be2 Nhf6 12.a4 Qa5 13.Ra3 Bxa6 14.Bxa6 Qxa6 15.Nf3 Rfc8 , might be a better try. 11...Nhf6 12.g5 Nh5! (D)
Wisely closing the h-file for a while at least, as White will need some tempos to open it. 13.Be2 Bxa6?! 13...f5! , seems to be more aggressive: 14.exf5 Ne5 15.fxg6 Nf4 16.Bxf4 Rxf4 17.Rxh7 17.gxh7+ Kh8 17...Bf5 18.Qc1 Nxg6 . Black is two pawns down, but his better development and the centralised white king offers him more than able compensation. 14.Bxh5 gxh5 15.f4! (D)
Controlling the centre, while planning Qh2-xh5, with a strong attack. 15...e6 Logical, but the interesting alternative 15...f5! 16.gxf6 Nxf6 17.Nf3 Qe8! 18.f5 Ng4 19.Bf4 , looks like a mess. 16.Nge2 Qe8 Opposing the queen to the white king and 'protecting' the h5-pawn. 17.dxe6 17.Rxh5 f5 18.Rh2 Bxe2 19.Nxe2 Qg6 , is rather unclear, but Black should feel happy. 17...fxe6 18.Ng3 (D)
The stage is set for a double-edged struggle. Engines give equal chances(?!), but playing this over the board is all about nerves and calculation. V.Fedoseev had 57 minutes to S.Salem's 41 here. 18...Ne5?! A brave choice by S.Salem, who wants to make the most of the fact that White has not castled yet. The move is not exactly a mistake, though engines prefer two alternative continuations: 18...Bd4 19.Nxh5 Qg6∞ (D)
Improving Black's pieces before going forward. 19...Ne5!? 20.fxe5 Rf1+ 21.Rxf1 Qxh5 18...d5 19.Nxh5 Bd4 , saving the all-important bishop, though after 20.e5 , Black can give-up the minor piece to open-up lines on the kingside: Bxe5 21.fxe5 Rf1+ 22.Rxf1 Qxh5 . Perhaps S.Salem analysed lines connected to these ideas, and decided to give-up the knight on e5 at once - keeping the bishop alive... 19.fxe5 Bxe5 20.Qg2 A piece down for Black but compensation do exist, as long as the white king doesn't feel safe. Rb8 (D)
Again, a brave choice! 20...h4 21.Rxh4 Bxg3+ 22.Qxg3 Rf1+ 23.Kd2 , forces the white king to escape, but at the cost of giving up the strong darksquared bishop. Play might go Qf8 24.Rh3 d5 . 21.Nxh5! Not so much for the pawn, but for the important check on f6. Qg6 22.Be3 (D)
22...d5? Focusing on opening lines, while threatening ...d4-d3. But stronger is 22...Bd3! 23.0-0-0 Bxc3 24.Rxd3 Rxb2 25.Bd2 Be5 . Engines prefer White here, with his extra piece, though the white monarch is still very vulnerable. It is understandable that S.Salem went for the most complicated continuation, keeping more pieces on the board. 23.0-0-0! d4 (D)
24.Rdg1? White puts his hopes on creating counterplay with a potential Nh5-f6+. The position is still incredibly complicated, but he could gain a safe advantage by 24.Qh3! dxc3 25.b3 Be2 26.Nf6+! Bxf6 27.gxf6 Bg4 27...Bxd1? 28.Rg1!+- 28.Qh4 h5 29.Rdg1± . 24...dxc3? This is a mistake by S.Salem - one that makes sense in practice, though. Again, S.Salem's choice on move 24 makes sense from a pragmatic point of view, but objectively, it was better to grab the bishop on e3: 24...dxe3 25.Nf6+ (D)
25...Rxf6! 25...Bxf6? 26.gxf6 Qxg2 27.Rxg2+ Kf7 28.e5+- 26.gxf6 Qxg2 27.Rxg2+ Kf7 . Well, this doesn't look too pleasant for Black, however, despite having the bishop pair. 25.b3! Bd3 (D)
What to do? After 25...Kh8 26.Nf6 Rxf6 27.gxf6 Qxg2 28.Rxg2 Bxf6 29.Bxc5+- , Black wouldn't last long... 26.Qh3? (D)
Already in a much better position, V.Fedoseev errs with this over-ambitious idea. Better was to simplify into an endgame with 26.Nf6+! Bxf6 26...Rxf6 27.gxf6 Qxg2 28.Rxg2+ Kf7 29.Rxh7+ Kxf6 30.Rf2+ Kg6 31.Rh6++- 27.gxf6 Qxg2 28.Rxg2+ Kf7 29.e5+- . The conversion is trivial for White, while it is impossible to picture Black winning from this position. 26...Rxb3! S.Salem finds the refutation! Apparently, V.Fedoseev missed this move, or failed to evaluate it correctly... 27.axb3 Ra8 Threatening mate-in-1. 28.Kd1? (D)
The decisive mistake. Granted, the variation that would have kept the battle going was incredibly difficult to calculate: 28.Nf6+! Bxf6 29.Qxe6+ Qf7 30.gxf6+ Kh8 (D)
31.Qc8+ (a saving recourse which is difficult to foresee! - 31.Rg8+ Qxg8 32.Qxg8+ Kxg8 33.Kd1 Bxe4-+ 31...Rxc8 32.Rg7 Qxg7 33.fxg7+ Kg8! . 33...Kxg7? 34.Bf4! c2 35.Be5+ Kg6 36.Rg1+ Kf7 37.Re1! Rg8! 38.Bd6 28...Qxh5+! S.Salem finds the killer blow, creating an exercise that will find its way to the tactic books for years! 29.Qxh5 Ra1+ 30.Bc1 (D)
30...Rxc1+! 30...Rxc1+ A remarkable finish, which 'forced' White to resign, due to 31.Kxc1 Bf4+ 32.Kd1 c2+ 33.Ke1 c1Q+ 34.Kf2 34.Qd1 Qe3+ 35.Qe2 Qxe2# 34...Qe3+ 35.Kg2 Qg3# . Wild things, typical for the nature of the today top-players, who are willing to take greatest risks. 0–1

Efstratios (30.03.1966) is a highly experienced chess trainer and chess author. He has been awarded by the International Chess Federation (FIDE) the titles of International Chess Grandmaster, FIDE Senior Trainer, International Chess Arbiter and International Chess Organiser.
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