World Juniors 2018 Round 5: Maghsoodloo and Khomeriki are sole leaders

by Sagar Shah
9/9/2018 – Five rounds have been completed at the World Junior Championships 2018 in Gebze, Turkey and we have sole leaders in each of the sections. In the Girls, WIM Nino Khomeriki from Georgia displayed fierce attacking skills to beat Alicja Sliwicka, move to 5.0/5 and become the sole leader. In the open section Parham Maghsoodloo, once again emerged unscathed from a tense fight and with 5.0/5 is half a point ahead of three players — Firouzja, Christiansen and Sindarov. We have a detailed report from Turkey by IM Sagar Shah and Amruta Mokal with photos, videos, analysis and more.
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Your experiences shape you and your decisions. It was the year 2017 — World Junior Championships held in Tarvisio, Italy. Nino Khomeriki from Georgia was doing extremely well after round 6. She had just beaten the fourth seed Alexandra Obolentseva (2320) and was on 5.0/6, playing against the top seed of the tournament Zhansaya Abdumalik. That's when things went downhill for the Georgian. She lost her seventh round against the Kazakh player and in the next five rounds, she could only manage to score 1½/5.

Of course, such results are painful. You are thinking about a medal but finally end on the 18th spot. However, failure breaks many, and it strengthens the resolve of few. Nino seems to be one in the latter category. Born in 1998, the ongoing World Junior Championships in Gebze, Turkey is the last chance for the girl to win the coveted title of the best Junior in the world. And she is dead serious about it. After winning the fifth round and taking the sole lead with 5.0/5, the girl said, "This year I feel more self-confident, I feel myself better and I am in shape. The things that I will do on the rest day are a good sleep, pool, walking, spend time with my father, who is also my coach, my Georgian friends and just concentrate on the tournament, no shopping." It goes without saying that Nino has realized that this is her big chance. With 5.0/5, she is the sole leader, but she has two players right on her toes — Aleksandra Maltsevskaya from Russia and Gabriela Antonva from Bulgaria.

Totally focused and committed to the job — Nino Khomeriki | Photo: Amruta Mokal

Khomeriki is putting a lot of thought behind her play on the board. In the fifth round, she was surprised in the opening by her opponent Alicja Sliwicka. Instead of buckling under pressure she found a new way to play over the board!

 
Sliwicka vs Khomeriki
Position after 9.Nc3

Instead of going for the usual plan with ...Ng8 and ...f5, Nino played the move ...h6 and prepared f5 with ...Nh7. The position became extremely exciting as the Georgian player sacrificed her pawn for compensation and attack.

 
Position after 18.Ba3
How should Black react?

Of course, Nino went for the pawn sacrifice with 18...f3!

Even Parham Maghsoodloo's attention is attracted towards the strong attack that Khomeriki has launched! | Photo: Amruta Mokal

 
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1.e4 30 e5 30 2.Nf3 0 Nc6 0 3.Bc4 0 Nf6 0 4.d3 0 Be7 30 5.0-0 30 0-0 30 6.Re1 0 d6 0 Khomeriki keeps it simple. She develops her pieces and starts to plan offensive ideas related with ...f5 break. 7.a4 0 Kh8 7:00 8.a5 0 a6 0 9.Nc3 0 ..Ng8 is something that Khomeriki had already played against Melia and lost, and so she went for the new idea which was to play h6 and put her knight on h7. This was something that she had already tried in her game against Eric Jovanka. 9.h3 h6 9...Ng8 10.Nc3 f5 11.Nd5 Bf6 12.c3 Nce7 13.Nxe7 Bxe7 14.Qe2 c6 15.Bb3 Qe8 16.Bc2 fxe4 17.dxe4 Qg6 18.Kh1 Be6 1-0 (69) Melia,S (2394)-Khomeriki,N (2317) Tbilisi 2017 10.c3 Nh7 11.d4 f5 12.exf5 d5 13.f6 Rxf6 14.Bb3 e4 15.Ne5 Be6 16.Be3 Nxe5 17.dxe5 Rf5 18.Nd2 Qd7 19.f4 g5 20.fxg5 Bxg5 21.c4 c6 0-1 (44) Eric,J (2262)-Khomeriki,N (2305) Konya 2017 9...h6 5:00 10.h3 30 Nh7 30 11.Nd5 1:30 f5 30 12.c3 0 White plays logically and prepares to meet f4 with d4. f4 0 13.d4 30 Ng5 30 14.Nh2 23:30 Bd7 14:30 15.b4 10:30 Be8 6:30 16.Bb3 0 Bg6 3:30 17.Bc2 30 17.f3 17...Bf7 4:30 18.Ba3? 6:30 It was much more important to keep the bishop on c1 where it has an influence over the game. f3! 0 A powerful pawn sacrifice. 19.h4 5:30 Nh7 3:30 20.Nxe7 9:30 20.Nxf3 Bh5 20.Qxf3? Bxd5-+ 20...Qxe7 1:30 21.dxe5? 6:30 Sometimes we capture something thinking that the opponent would recapture. But Nino had something else planned. 21.d5 Nb8 22.Nxf3 Bh5 23.Re3 Nd7 The fact that Black has compensation here, is not in doubt. But White is much better than what she was in the game. 21...Bh5! 5:55 22.exd6 3:30 Qxh4 41 With four pieces in the attack this is already decisive. 23.Re3 4:22 fxg2 2:22 24.Qe1 10 Ng5 57 25.Kxg2 2:04 Bf3+ 4:35 26.Rxf3 7:00 Nxf3 1:08 27.Nxf3 34 Qg4+ 0 28.Kf1 0 Qh3+ 8 29.Kg1 1:51 Rxf3 2:25 30.e5 5:09 Rf4 1:51 31.Bd1 35 Rh4 37 A great show of attacking chess by Nino Khomeriki. 0–1
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Sliwicka,A2272Khomeriki,N23130–12018C55World Junior U20 Girls 20185

When asked about the rich heritage of Georgian women players becoming the best players in the world, Nino replied in an instant, "Georgian women are fighters!"

Sunday, 9th of September is a rest day. In the sixth round, Khomeriki will take on Gabriela Antova.

Gabriela Antova hails from Bulgaria, but currently is playing in the tournament under the FIDE banner. She is on 4½/5 and beat Chinese Chu Ruotong (2199) in the fifth round | Photo: Amruta Mokal

 
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1.d4 30 d5 5:30 2.Nf3 0 Nf6 30 3.c4 0 dxc4 30 4.Nc3 0 Bg4 30 5.Ne5 8:00 Bh5 9:30 6.f3 30 Nbd7 11:30 7.Nxc4 30 7.g4 Bg6 8.h4± seems quite dangerous for Black. 7...Nb6 30 8.Ne5 1:30 Nfd5? 5:30 8...Nfd7 9.e4 9:30 Nxc3 30 10.bxc3 0 Nd7 11:30 11.Nd3 2:00 11.Qb3! Nxe5 12.dxe5+- b7 is hanging and the bishop on h5 is completely offside. White is winning. 11...e6 1:30 12.Nf4 7:30 Bd6 6:30 12...Bg6 13.h4+- is no fun. 13.e5 3:30 Nxe5 30 14.dxe5 2:30 Bxe5 0 15.Qxd8+ 15:30 Rxd8 1:00 16.Ne2 0 16.Rb1+- not being passive and giving up the c3 pawn seems like the right way. 16...0-0 0 White is a piece up and it is surprising that the game lasted another 80 moves, but eventually Gabriela won her game. 17.Bf4 6:00 Bf6 2:00 18.Bxc7 2:30 Rc8 0 19.Bd6 30 Rfd8 0 20.Rd1 1:30 Bxc3+ 1:30 21.Nxc3 0 Rxc3 0 22.Bb4 6:00 Rxd1+ 1:00 23.Kxd1 0 Rxf3 0 24.Ke1 4:00 Rf4 0 25.a3 0 b6 1:30 26.Bd3 0 Rd4 30 27.Bc2 30 Rd5 30 28.Bc3 2:30 Rg5 3:30 29.Be4 4:30 Rg4 30 30.Bb7 30 Ra4 5:30 31.Bb4 0 b5 0 32.Bc6 4:55 Ra6 0 33.Bxb5 3:08 Rb6 0 34.a4 1:21 a6 0 35.Bc5 6 Rb7 30 36.Bd3 27 Rb2 5:30 37.Rf1 1:25 Ra2 4:30 38.Rf4 55 g5 30 39.Rb4 5:45 a5 30 40.Rb8+ 41 Kg7 0 41.Bd4+ 7:05 f6 1:00 42.Rb7+ 30 Bf7 0 43.Bb5 30 Kg6 0 44.Kf1 30 Ra3 0 45.Bb2 4:30 Rb3 30 46.Bc1 40 f5 2:30 47.Bd2 6:38 Rb1+ 0 48.Ke2 2 Rb2 0 49.Ra7 1:00 e5 0 50.g4 1:54 f4 1:30 51.Bd3+ 30 Kf6 0 52.Ra6+ 24 Ke7 0 53.Rxa5 1:37 Kd6 30 54.Rb5 2:42 Ra2 0 55.Rb4 1:26 Bd5 5:30 56.a5 2:52 Kc5 30 57.Rb5+ 1:34 Kd4 1:30 58.Rb4+ 1:29 Kc5 0 59.Rb8 54 e4 0 60.Bb1 20 Ra4 4:30 61.Rc8+ 25 Kd6 30 62.Bc2 33 Ra1 6:30 63.Bb4+ 14 Kd7 0 64.Rc5 27 Ke6 0 65.Rc8 4 Kd7 30 66.Rh8 45 Ra2 30 67.Kd1 1:06 e3 2:30 68.Rxh7+ 30 Kc6 0 69.Re7 2:16 f3 0 70.Rxe3 6 f2 23 71.Bd3 42 Ra1+ 27 72.Kd2 24 f1Q 59 73.Bxf1 30 Rxf1 3 74.Be7 1:07 Rh1 0 75.Rh3 25 Rg1 52 76.Rh6+ 41 Kb5 39 77.h3 17 Kxa5 3:02 78.Bxg5 8 Kb5 1:31 79.Bf6 35 Kc5 0 80.g5 38 Rg2+ 23 81.Ke3 38 Kd6 6 82.Bd4+ 3 Ke7 39 83.h4 23 Bf7 17 84.Bc5+ 1:04 Ke8 0 85.Kf4 22 Rh2 39 86.Ke5 28 Rc2 1:55 87.Rh8+ 37 Kd7 4 88.Kf6 10 Bd5 1:01 89.Bd4 34 Rd2 0 90.Bc3 1:34 Rd3 4 91.Ba1 4 Rf3+ 5 92.Kg7 45 Rf5 1:40 93.Bf6 13 Bc6 18 94.h5 24 Ke6 0 95.Rc8 13 Be4 1:21 96.Re8+ 11 Kd5 2 97.h6 54 1–0
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Antova,G2292Chu,R21991–02018D24World Junior U20 Girls 20185

In a tense struggle, Aleksandra Maltsevskaya managed to outplay the Greek top seed Stavroula Tsolakidou | Photo: Amruta Mokal

 
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1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 c5 4.e3 a6 5.Nc3 d5 6.cxd5 exd5 7.Bd3 Nc6 8.0-0 Bg4 9.h3 Bh5 10.Be2 Bd6 Black should be quite happy with the position she has out of the opening, especially because White has wasted time by moving her bishop from d3 to e2. 11.dxc5 Bxc5 12.b3 0-0 13.Bb2 Ba7 14.Nd4 Bxd4!? An interesting decision. 15.Bxh5 15.exd4 Bxe2 16.Nxe2 Re8 should give Black chances to play for an advantage, especially because the bishop on b2 is not so great. 15...Be5 16.Bf3 Qd6 17.Rb1 Rfd8 18.Ne2 Rac8 19.Nd4 Ne7 19...Nxd4 20.Bxd4 Ne4= Black's activity should compensate for the isolated pawn. 20.Qe2 Ng6 21.Rfd1 White has managed to arrange her forces in the best possible way and now has pressure on the position. Re8 21...Nh4!? 22.Bg4 Nxg4 23.Qxg4 Ng6 24.Rd2 22.Rd2 22.g3 preventing Nh4 was already a good idea. 22...Rcd8 23.Rbd1 Nh4 24.Kh1 Qd7 24...Nxf3 25.Nxf3 25.Bg4 Qe7 26.Bf3 Qd7 27.Bg4 Qe7 28.Bf3 g6 Perhaps playing on for a win competitively was the right decision, but objectively Black should have no reason to continue playing. 29.Qd3 Qd7 30.Qf1 h5 31.Ne2!? A bold decision by Maltsevskaya who agrees to weaken her kingside in order to ensure that the situation is clarified. Bxb2 32.Rxb2 Nxf3 33.gxf3 Qf5 34.Qg2 Rc8 35.Rbd2 Rc5 36.Nf4 Rec8 37.Qg3 Rc1 38.Ne2 Rxd1+ 39.Rxd1 h4 40.Qg2 Kg7 41.Nd4 Qh5 42.Rg1± White is perfectly coordinated now. Rc3 43.Qh2 Rd3 44.Qf4 Nh7 45.Nf5+! Kg8 46.Nh6+ Kg7 47.Nxf7 Rd2 48.Ne5 g5 49.Qb4 Rxf2 50.Qxb7+ Kf8 51.Rc1 Nf6 52.Rc8+ Ne8 53.Qb4+ Kg8 54.Qe7 A very interesting game and a tense struggle that was well converted by Maltevskaya. 1–0
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Maltsevskaya,A2234Tsolakidou,S23931–02018D40World Junior U20 Girls 20185

Before we move to the open section, here is one position to polish you calculating and decision-making abilities.

 
Akshita Gorti vs M. Mahalakshmi
Position after 39.Qf6

White has just played her queen to f6. How should Black play for a win?

 
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1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 e6 3.e3 b6 4.Bd3 Bb7 5.0-0 d5 6.c4 Bd6 7.b3 0-0 8.Nc3 Nbd7 9.Bb2 a6 10.Rc1 Qe7 11.Na4 dxc4 12.bxc4 Rad8 13.Ne5 Bxe5 14.dxe5 Ne4 15.Qc2 Qh4 16.Bd4 Nec5 17.Bxc5 Nxc5 18.Nxc5 bxc5 19.f4 Rd7 20.Rcd1 Rfd8 21.Be2 g6 22.Rxd7 Rxd7 23.Rd1 Be4 24.Qa4 Rd2 25.Rxd2 Qe1+ 26.Bf1 Qxd2 27.Qa3 Qe1 28.Qb3 Kg7 29.a3 a5 30.a4 h5 31.Qa3 Bc2 32.h3 h4 33.Qxc5! I would like to give this move an exclamation mark because it is the best practical try in the position. Bd3 Black is winning a piece. 34.Qe7! White now sets up a perpetual check pattern. The threat also is to pick up the loose bishop on d3 by Qf6 and Qd8+ if Black is not careful. Bxf1! Mahalakshmi clears the first hurdle. Taking on f1 with the bishop is the best. 34...Qxf1+ 35.Kh2= is already a draw because Qf6-d8 is a perpetual and the bishop has to be defended by the queen on f1. 35.Qf6+ Kg8 36.Qd8+ Kg7 37.Qf6+ Kg8 38.Qd8+ Good decision by Black to repeat the moves once in order to gain time. Kh7 39.Qf6 The key moment of the game. Only one move wins for Black. Rest all draw. Bxc4+? Mahalakshmi gets it wrong. But one cannot blame her. After all it was the 39th move. 39...Bxg2+‼ is the correct move. 40.Kxg2 Qe2+! White king has two squares to go to g1 and h1. 41.Kh1 41.Kg1 Qxe3+ Wherever the king goes, the h3 pawn will fall with a check. 42.Kg2 Qg3+ 43.Kf1 Qxh3+ 44.Ke1 44.Ke2 Qf5! Black is two pawns up and clearly on course towards victory. 45.Qxh4+ Qh5+-+ 44...Qg3+ 45.Kf1 h3! This is tricky because you have give up a pawn, take a few checks in order to promote the pawn. 46.Qxf7+ Kh6 47.Qf8+ Kh5-+ The checks end and Black wins. 41...Qf3+ 42.Kg1 42.Kh2 Qg3+ 43.Kh1 Qxh3+ 44.Kg1 Qxe3+ 45.Kf1 Qh3+ 46.Kf2 Qg3+ 47.Ke2 h3-+ 42...Qxe3+ 43.Kg2 Qg3+ 44.Kf1 Qxh3+ 45.Kf2 45.Ke2 Qf5-+ 45...Qg3+ 46.Kf1 h3-+ 40.Kh2 Qg3+ 41.Kh1 Kg8 42.Qd8+ Kh7 43.Qf6 There is no way to stop this Qf6-d8 idea. Qe1+ 44.Kh2 Qb4 Mahalakshmi tries hard. 45.Qxf7+ Kh8 46.Qf6+ Kg8 47.Qxg6+ 47.Qd8+ Qf8 48.Qxc7= was much more accurate. 47...Kf8 48.Qh7 Qxa4 48...Qc5 49.Qxh4 Ke8 Black had the best chance here to keep playing for a win. 49.Qxc7 Bd5 50.Qd8+ Qe8 51.Qxa5 Qg6 52.Qd2 Qg3+ 53.Kg1 Kg7 54.Qe2 Be4 55.Qd2 Kh6 56.Qe2 Kg7 57.Qd2 Kh6 58.Qe2 ½–½
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Gorti,A2315Mahalakshmi,M2213½–½2018E14World Junior U20 Girls 20185

Gorti

Mahalakshmi tried her best, but couldn't find all the intricacies in converting the game into a full point | Photo: Amruta Mokal

Open Section: Maghsoodloo is the sole leader with 5.0/5

Parham Maghsoodloo continued with his excellent form and is now on 100% score with 5.0/5. He is the sole leader right now after beating IM Harsha Bharathakoti with the black. One of the biggest qualities of Parham is that his ambitious attitude backed by concrete calculations and a high level of self-confidence.

 
Bharathakoti vs Maghsoodloo
Black to move

Black already seems to be in a lot of trouble. But Parham found the most accurate defence in this position. What should Black play?

Maghsoodloo began with ...Ra7! An excellent move. Black would like to kick away the knight from e5 with the move f6. However, f6 is always met with Qh4! Hence, Parham played ...Ra7 so that when the queen comes to h4 after f6, he can go for the move ...g5! Having all your pieces on the last rank and still being able to play ambitiously is a hallmark of an extremely resourceful player.

An important position must be discussed from the talented Indian IM's point of view as well.

 

Black has just undeveloped his knight with Nd7-b8, what should White play?

It is quite natural to go for the move Rf3 and start with the kingside attack. But Harsha made a move which maybe difficult for even seasoned GMs. He played the move 16.Rd1! Now it's not so easy to prove whether this move is objectively the best or not. But it's very difficult to play such an ultra-prophylactic move when you have some other active ideas at your disposal. As Harsha said after the game, "I saw that my rook is not doing much on a1. At the same time, Black will at some point put his knight on e4. When I take on e4 and he goes ...dxe4, my rook would be perfectly placed behind the passed pawn." In the game, this did happen and Harsha's move Rd1 was extremely useful.

 

Black has just moved his rook to d7 in this position. White can move his rook, but Harsha took the bold decision of sacrificing an entire rook!

White played gxh6 which was a very interesting move. After Rxd1+ Kg2 there are some great threats against the black king and perhaps any player who was not as good as Parham would have erred at this point. But the Iranian kept his cool, kept the balance in the position and wriggled out. The final position was a draw, but the Indian IM made the final mistake.

 

In this position, White made the move Bc3, which was a blunder. Do you see why?

Parham was quick to spot the checkmate and played the move Bh3+! If White would have played Qh7+ followed by Bc3, the position would have been equal. Heartbreak for Harsha, but it meant that the top seed moved to the sole lead with 5.0/5.

"I just defend very well", says Parham Maghsoodloo in an interview with ChessBase India after the game

 
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1.d4 30 Nf6 30 2.c4 30 e6 0 3.Nc3 30 Bb4 0 4.e3 30 0-0 30 5.Bd2 30 b6 8:30 6.Nf3 0 Bb7 6:30 7.Bd3 1:30 a5 30 8.0-0 3:30 d5 0 9.cxd5 2:30 exd5 0 10.Ne5 6:30 Nbd7 4:30 11.f4 9:30 c5 5:30 12.a3 13:30 Bxc3 1:30 13.Bxc3 2:30 13.bxc3 was also possible, but after Ba6= Black equalizes. 13...c4 30 14.Bf5 30 b5 0 15.Qe1 11:30 Nb8!? 1:30 The knight would like to come to c6. 16.Rd1! 15:30 I would like to put special emphasis on this move. This move looks like a waste of time. But in fact it is a deep prophylactic move. As Harsha said after the game, "The rook is not doing much on a1, so I bring it to d1. This stops Black from jumping into e4 with his knight because Bxe4 dxe4 d5 makes the perfect use of the rook on d1. Ne8?! 10:30 16...Nc6 was more accurate with round about even chances. 17.Rf3 4:30 Nd6 1:30 18.Bc2 1:30 Ne4 10:30 With the bishop pushed back to c2, it kind of forces Bxe4, but still spending so many moves to get the knight to e4 when it could do so directly was not the best idea. 19.Rh3 3:46 19.Bxe4 dxe4 20.Rh3 Also looks pretty tempting. Suddenly the rook on d1 is perfectly placed with the idea to go d5. Bc8 21.Rh5 f6 22.f5! fxe5 23.dxe5 Qe8 24.Qh4 Bxf5 25.Rxf5 Rxf5 26.Rd8+- This variation is not at all easy to see, but it shows the capacity in White's position. 19...Bc8 1:30 20.g4 2:48 Ra7! 11:30 Parham was extremely proud of this move and it truly is a fine move in a difficult position. The idea is that f6 when met with Qh4 can be met with...g5 when the rook from a7 defends the pawn on h7. 20...f6 21.Qh4± 21.Bxe4 7:06 dxe4 30 22.d5 13 22.f5 would have made more sense. f6 23.Qh4 h6 23...fxe5 24.Qxh7+ Kf7 25.Qg6+ Kg8 26.Rf1+- dxe5 is the next idea and White is just winning. 24.Ng6± This should be clearly better for White. 22...f6 0 23.Nc6 3:08 23.Qh4 g5 24.Qh6!? 24.fxg5 fxe5 24...gxf4 24...fxe5 25.Bxe5! Ba6 26.Rh5+- 25.Qxf4 25.exf4 Rg7 25...Rg7∞ The position remains complex. 23...Nxc6 0 24.dxc6 4 Qe8?! 2:36 24...Qc7= was perhaps the better way. 25.Qh4 31 25.Rd6! was much better as after Qe7 26.Qd1 Bxg4 27.Qd5+ Kh8 28.Rg3± White has everything working for him. 25...h6 8 26.Rg3 2:12 Qxc6 14:04 27.g5! 11 Throwing caution to the winds. fxg5 38 28.fxg5 5 Rd7! 4:02 Maghsoodloo is very resourceful when it comes to defending. 29.gxh6! 3:10 What a brave way to play. Harsha sacrifices an entire rook to make sure that his attack breaks through. 29.Bd4 Rf3∞ 29...Rxd1+ 30 30.Kg2 0 g6 0 31.h7+ 0 31.Qh5 was another possible idea but after Kh7 31...Rd6 32.h7+ Kf7 33.h8Q Rxh8 34.Qxh8 is a better version than what happened in the game because the rook is not on d1, but on d6. 32.Qxd1 Qc5 Black should be doing ok. 31...Kf7 0 32.h8Q 1:31 Rxh8 0 33.Qxh8 0 Bf5 0 Black has defended his weaknesses and the position should be around even. 34.Qg7+ 45 Ke8 25 35.Qg8+ 34 Kd7 43 36.Bxa5 4 Qf6 1:09 37.Bc3? 40 A terrible mistake to end a well played game. 37.Qh7+! Qe7 38.Qxe7+ Kxe7 39.Bc3= The resulting endgame with a bishop on d4 should be a draw. 37...Bh3+! 57 Of course Parham doesn't miss his chance. 38.Kxh3 0 Qf5+! 1 And accurate check to end the game. 38...Qf5+ 39.Kh4 39.Kg2 Qf1# 39.Rg4 Qh5+ 40.Kg3 Rg1+-+ 39...Qh5# 38...Qf1+? 39.Kh4+- 0–1
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Harsha Bharathakoti2474Maghsoodloo,P26490–12018E11World Junior U20 Open 20185.1

After his victory, Maghsoodloo was extremely interested in knowing the truth of the position. He first discussed the moves with his friend Amin Tabatabaei.

When you see these Iranian youngsters the only thing that comes to your mind is - they truly love chess!

And later Maghsoodloo also joined the Indian players who were trying to find the truth in the position. Yes, winning is important for Parham, but more important is to find out how he could have played better.

It's usually the case where Alireza is able to outplay his opponents in complicated positions, but today he met his match in the form of... | Photo: Amruta Mokal

...12-year-old Javokhir Sindarov. The young Uzbek was clearly losing, but managed to save the game by resourceful play. | Photo: Amruta Mokal

 
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1.e4 30 e5 30 2.Nf3 30 Nc6 30 3.Bb5 30 a6 30 4.Ba4 0 Nf6 0 5.0-0 0 Be7 0 6.Re1 0 b5 0 7.Bb3 0 d6 0 8.c3 0 0-0 0 9.h3 0 Bb7 0 10.d4 30 Re8 30 It's nice to see two youngsters fighting it out in a classical line that has been played by many of the World Champions and top players of the world. 11.Nbd2 0 Bf8 0 12.a4 0 h6 0 13.Bc2 0 exd4 30 14.cxd4 30 Nb4 0 15.Bb1 0 This line is very famous for Kasparov having played it. He has played nine games in this line with 4 wins and 5 draws. c5 0 16.d5 0 We now see a Benoni structure which is quite an ambitious strategy by Black. In a way he is well placed for it, but in some ways White's pieces have the pent up energy in them for a strong kingside attack if he can get his rook to a3, followed by engineering the e5 push in some way. Nd7 30 17.Ra3 0 c4 4:30 18.Ree3 0 Of course this was all Alireza's preparation. g6 10:30 19.axb5 30 axb5 30 20.b3 30 Ba6 11:30 20...c3 is an interesting pawn sacrifice. 21.Rxc3 Bg7 22.Re3 Rxa3 23.Bxa3 Qa5 24.Bxb4 Qxb4∞ It seems as if Black has sufficient compensation for the pawn. 21.Bb2 12:30 White bishop comes on the diagonal before Black's and this is a big succcess for White. Bg7 13:30 22.Bxg7 0 Kxg7 0 23.bxc4 8:30 bxc4 0 24.Nxc4! 1:30 Of course Alireza is tactically very alert. Qf6 2:30 24...Bxc4 25.Rxa8 Qxa8 26.Qd4+ Kg8 27.Qxc4± 25.Ncd2 6:30 Nc5 3:30 White is a pawn up and clearly on track to win the game. 26.Rac3 6:30 Rac8 1:30 27.Nb3 2:30 Na4 8:30 28.Rxc8 1:30 Rxc8 0 29.Qd2 1:30 Rb8 2:30 30.e5 3:30 dxe5 30 31.Nxe5 30 Rb5 11:30 Until now Firouzja has played a model game in the Zaitsev, but here he settles for not the best move. 32.Re4 11:30 32.Nxf7! Qxf7 33.Qd4+ Kh7 33...Qf6 34.Re7++- 33...Kg8 34.Bxg6! Qxg6 35.Rg3+- 34.Rf3 Qg7 35.Bxg6+ Qxg6 36.Rf8 Qg7 37.Qe4+ Qg6 38.Rf7++- 32...Rxd5 3:30 33.Qxb4 30 Rd1+ 30 34.Kh2 4:30 Qxf2 1:30 White is completely winning. Black has nothing more than a check on g1. So White should have made use of this opportunity and attacked Black's king. 35.Qxa4 6:30 35.Nxg6! with a threat of Qf8#. fxg6 35...Qg1+ 36.Kg3+- 36.Re7++- Kg8 36...Kf6 37.Re8 Qg1+ 38.Kg3+- 36...Kf8 37.Re2++- 37.Re8+ Kg7 38.Qe7+ Qf7 39.Qe5+ Qf6 40.Re7++- 35...Bb7! 30 Javokhir doesn't let the Iranian run away. 36.Ng4 13:30 Qg1+ 4:30 37.Kg3 0 Rxb1 2:30 37...Bxe4 38.Bxe4 Qe1+ 39.Nf2+- 38.Re2 1:00 Bxg2 30 39.Qd4+ 5:04 39.Rxg2! Qe1+ 40.Rf2 Qc3+ 40...Qg1+ 41.Kh4+- 41.Rf3 Qe1+ 42.Nf2 Qg1+ 43.Kf4 Qg5+ 44.Ke4+- This is not at all easy to see that White is winning here. If you miss something in your calculations, you might well be easily losing! 39...Qxd4 30 40.Nxd4 0 Bd5 0 The resulting position is very difficult, if not impossible for White to win. 41.Re5 1:26 Ba2 2:00 42.Ra5 1:30 Rb4 0 43.Nc6 5:30 Rb3+ 1:00 44.Kf2 30 Rb2+ 1:30 45.Ke3 30 Be6 30 46.Nd4 0 Bxg4 1:30 47.hxg4 0 f5 0 48.gxf5 1:30 gxf5 0 49.Kf4 30 Kf6 30 50.Ra6+ 30 Ke7 30 51.Ke5 0 Kd7 0 52.Ra7+ 0 Kc8 0 53.Kd6 0 Rb7 30 54.Ra8+ 1:00 Rb8 0 55.Ra1 30 Rb2 0 56.Ra7 2:30 Rb7 30 57.Ra8+ 30 Rb8 0 58.Ra5 0 Rb1 0 59.Rxf5 0 Rd1 0 60.Kd5 30 Kb7 30 61.Rf6 0 h5 30 62.Rh6 0 h4 30 63.Rxh4 30 Kb6 0 64.Rh6+ 30 Kb7 0 65.Ke4 1:30 Firouzja didn't want to check his opponent's technique in this theoretically drawn endgame. ½–½
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Firouzja,A2582Sindarov,J2484½–½2018C92World Junior U20 Open 20185.2

Johan-Sebastien Christiansen won a fine game against GM Abhimanyu Puranik from the white side of Fianchetto Grunfeld | Photo: Amruta Mokal

Top players of Norway often work in close association with each other and this is clearly seen when Johan-Sebastien played the same opening idea that was essayed by John Ludwig Hammer against Abhimanyu in an online game.

 
The little move a3 in this well known position of the Grunfeld has been played by Hammer many times
 
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1.Nf3 30 Nf6 30 2.c4 30 g6 30 3.d4 30 Bg7 30 4.g3 0 d5 0 5.cxd5 0 Nxd5 0 6.Bg2 0 Nb6 0 7.0-0 0 Nc6 0 8.e3 0 0-0 0 9.Nc3 0 Re8 0 10.a3!? 0 A move that has become popular recently and was played by Johan-Sebastien country mate Jon Ludvig Hammer against Abhimanyu at the online speed chess tournament. a5 1:30 Abhimanyu's improvement over his game against Hammer. 10...e5 11.d5 Na5 12.Qc2 e4 13.Nd4 Nxd5 14.Nxe4 Bxd4 15.exd4 Bf5 16.b4 Nb3 17.Nf6+ Nxf6 18.Qxb3 Be4 19.Bh3 Qd5 20.Qxd5 Nxd5 21.Bd2 c6 22.Rfe1 Nb6 23.Bf1 Bd5 24.Rxe8+ Rxe8 25.Re1 Rxe1 26.Bxe1 Bc4 27.Bh3 Be6 28.Bf1 Bc4 29.Bh3 Be6 30.Bf1 Bc4 1/2-1/2 (30) Hammer,J (2621)-Puranik,A (2520) chess.com INT 2018 11.d5 0 Ne5 30 12.Nxe5 0 Bxe5 30 13.Qc2 0 Bd7 9:30 13...Bxc3 14.bxc3 Nxd5 15.Rd1+- 14.Rb1 0 A curious move. I would say a move like Rd1 or e4 surely look more natural. Qc8 6:30 14...Rc8 15.f4 Bxc3 16.bxc3 15.f4 0 Bg7 30 15...Bxc3 16.bxc3 The rook on b1 suddenly becomes active. 16.e4 0 e6 3:30 17.dxe6 5:30 Bxe6 0 18.Be3 0 Nc4 5:00 19.Bf2 1:00 c6 0 20.a4 23:30 Bh3? 12:30 The critical error. After this White gets in the move e5 and Ne4 and his pieces are all over Black. Also the knight on c4 is in danger of being trapped by b3. 20...b5!? 21.Bxh3 4:30 Qxh3 30 22.e5 30 Rad8 0 23.Rbd1 4:30 Qf5 13:30 24.Qe2 8:30 Qe6 1:30 25.b3 16:30 Nxe5 30 26.fxe5 1:30 Qxb3 30 27.Rxd8 5:30 Rxd8 0 28.Ne4 1:30 Bxe5 6:00 29.Nc5 30 Qd5 0 30.Nxb7 1:30 Rb8 0 31.Rd1 30 Qe6 2:39 32.Nxa5 6:30 c5 0 33.Nc4 4:24 Bxg3 41 34.Qxe6 30 Bxf2+ 0 35.Kxf2 7 fxe6 8 36.a5 0 Rb4 0 37.Rd8+ 3:52 Kg7 0 38.a6 38.a6 42 Ra4 39.Rd7+ Kf6 40.a7+- 1–0
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Christiansen,J2525Puranik,A25241–02018D76World Junior U20 Open 20185.4

In other notable results of the day, Andrey Esipenko is back on track with his third win on a trot. He beat GM Andrew Tang with the white pieces. Indian IM (who recently completed all his formalities for GM title) Karthik Venkatraman also played a fine game to beat Armenian top player Haik Martirosyan.

Interview with Karthik Venkatraman after his win over Haik Martirosyan

On 3.0/5 is Katarzyna Dwilewicz from Poland | Photo: Amruta Mokal

He is the youngest participant in the event. Can our readers guess who he is? | Photo: Amruta Mokal

On 3.0/5 is Nazerke Nurgali from Kazakhstan | Photo: Amruta Mokal

Thybo Jesper Sondergaard from Denmark on 3½/5 | Photo: Amruta Mokal

Platon Galperin and Nadezhda Salah from Ukraine pose for a nice picture before the start of the game | Photo: Amruta Mokal

They are friends off the board, but indulged in a full blooded fight over it. Sakshi Chitlange and Meenal Gupta from India. The game ended in a draw. | Photo: Amruta Mokal

The tournament director Ozgur Solakoglu with some of the best Turkish junior players | Photo: Amruta Mokal

How can any tournament be successful without these hard working individuals - the team of arbiters! | Photo: Amruta Mokal

A Georgian wedding took place on the 8th of September at the hotel Ramada and it was quite interesting to see how they celebrated the event! | Photo: Amruta Mokal

The hotel Ramada Plaza where all the action is taking place. 9th of September is a rest day. The sixth round action will begin on 10th of September 2018 at 15.00 hours Turkish time. Stay tuned. | Photo: Amruta Mokal

Turkish chess is doing live commentary on a daily basis and they can be followed on the Turkish Chess Channel on Youtube. 

Interview with IM Sagar Shah and Amruta Mokal, the people responsible for ChessBase coverage of World Juniors from Turkey

Standings after Round 5 (Open - top 20)

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Standings after Round 5 (Girls - top 20)

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All games from Round 5

 
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Sagar is an International Master from India with two GM norms. He loves to cover chess tournaments, as that helps him understand and improve at the game he loves so much. He is the co-founder and CEO of ChessBase India, the biggest chess news portal in the country. His YouTube channel has over a million subscribers, and to date close to a billion views. ChessBase India is the sole distributor of ChessBase products in India and seven adjoining countries, where the software is available at a 60% discount. compared to International prices.

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