7 September 2015

Mind the closing doors

IM Vladimir Barsky reviews the second round of the World U20 Championships.

A special treat of the second round was Jorge Cori's game. The Peruvian - one of the rating favorites of the championship - lost to the Brazilian Vitor Carneiro at the start, and in the second round he created a small positional masterpiece. His opponent was Tagir Taalaibekov, a chess player from Kyrgyzstan.

Cori - Taalaibekov


Black just played 23…Bh3 to prevent rooks doubling on the open file. But Jorge rightly thinks that opponent's weak white squares will be more than a sufficient compensation for a sacrificed exchange.

24.Rbg1! Bxg2+

It is not easy to decline a gift: after 24...Rg8 follows 25.Rg4! Bxg4 26.Rxg4, and White gets both bishop for a rook.

25.Qxg2 Re7 26.Qg6

Here the bishop cannot be caught: 26.Qg4 Qxg4 27.Rxg4 Be1, and the bishop escapes. But White has set another goal.

26...Rf8


27.Nxd6!?

Cori plays full scale and spectacular chess: first he sacrificed an exchange, and now he parts with the knight too. Objectively stronger is 27.Qh5, but then after 27…Bf2! one should find 28.Rg6! (after 28.Nxf2 Qxe3 Black got a good counterplay). Now Black's position is desperate – too many white pieces are involved into attack. For example, 28...Bxe3 29.Rxh6+ gxh6 30.Qxh6+ Kg8 31.Bxf6, and White wins.

27...Qxd6

Black chooses the path of least resistance, at the same time contributing to the neat ending. More persistent is 27...Bf2, though after 28.Be4 Qg8 29.Rg4 Bxe3 30.Nf5 it is hard to believe that Black can last it out.

28.Be4 Kg8 29.Qxh6 Bg5

An effort for temporary blocking a g-file at the cost of the bishop. If 29...Bf2, White is mating on white squares without a hitch: 30.Qh7+ Kf7 31.Qh5+ Kg8 (31...Ke6 32.Bf5#) 32.Bh7+ Kh8 33.Bg6+ Kg8 34.Qh7#.

30.Qh7+ Kf7 31.Qg6+ Ke6

On the path of least resistance again. Black had to retreat 31...Kg8, and then White would be obliged to run the same queen-bishop battery, as in the previous comment: 32.Qh7+ Kf7 33.Bg6+ Ke6 34.Bf5+ Kf7 35.Qh5+ Kg8 36.Rxg5 fxg5 37.Bh7+ Kh8 38.Bg6+ Kg8 39.Qh7#.

32.Bf5#.

In the next game dark-squared bishop helps the queen with checkmate threats. 

Arat Ufuk - Grigoryan


Mind the closing doors: first of all a door, through which the white king can run away on the king side, should be closed.

38…e2+! 39.Bxe2 Qb3+ 40.Kc1

After 40.Kd2 decisive is 40…Bf4+.

40...Bb2+

White resigned because of 41.Kb1 Ba3+ 42.Ka1 Qb2# или 41.Kd2 Qc3+ 42.Kd1 Qc1#.

In this game White resigned two moves before the checkmate, and in the next one allowed the opponent to give mate on the board. 

Ratkovic - Bajarani


White wants to checkmate on a8, but now it's Black's move.

39…Rxb2!+ 40.Rxb2 Qxa3+ 41.Kb1 Qxb2#.

Van Foreest – Menezes


One more example of a full scale attack.

20.Nh6+ Kh8 21.Bxg7+! Nxg7 22.Bxe4 d5 23.Bxh7 Kxh7 24.Qh3 d4 25.Nxf7+

Honestly speaking, White doesn't really need this pawn; easier is 25.Nf5+ Kg8 26.Nxg7 Kxg7 27.Qg4+ Kh6 28.Rf3 etc.

25...Kg8 26.Nh6+ Kh7 27.Nf5+

Returning to the previous plan.

27…Kg8 28.Nxg7 Kxg7 29.Qg4+

Black resigned, because his king has no escape: 29…Kf7 30.Qh5+ Kg8 (if 30...Kf6, then 31.f5) 31.Qg6+ Kh8 32.Rxe6 etc.

El Fazari – Popov


A small attention test: if you are given a pawn, it doesn't mean that it was the opponent's blunder.

9…b5 10.cxb5 axb5 11.Bxb5? Nb3!, and the extra exchange eventually helped Black to win. 

Milosevic – Khomeriki

An example of an opening failure. White lagged in development and forgot to castle. As the result she got under various pins and lost quickly. 


13…Qa5! 14.Bb2 Rd8 15.Qc2 Bb4

Increasing pressure on the poor knight on d2 with every move.

16.Bc1 e5

With this pawn sacrifice Black puts the second bishop into attack. 

17.cxd5

More persistent is 17.Bd3, though after 17…Nxd2 18.Nxd2 (18.Bxd2 e4, and Black wins the piece) 18...e4 19.Be2 dxc4 its not clear how White can take the pin away.

17...Bf5 18.Qd1 Qa1!

The most accurate: there is no defense from 19…Nc3. White resigned.

Bivol - Garifullina


22.Nc8!?

White had other good moves, but this is the most creative one. The white knight feels just like home on foreign territory!

22…Re6 23.h4 Ne8

23...Ng4 is better. If White plays similarly to the game – 24.Bh3 f5 25.Bg2 Kh8 26.Qd5 Bd6 27.Nb6 (27.Qc6!?) 27...Qf7 28.Rc6, then at least the black knight has here a better location. 

24.Bh3 f5 25.Bg2! Kh8 26.Qd5! Nd6?

A blunder in a bad position. 26...Bd6 could help to oppose somehow.

27.Nb6! Qd8 28.Qxe6, and Black resigned in a few moves.