3 June 2016
You will not Believe it even if you See it
Round seven of the Shamkir supertournament in the review of Eteri Kublashvili.
Round seven of the Vugar Gashimov Memorial brought no drastic changes into the tournament's top standings.
The tournament leaders Caruana and Giri opened their game into the open Ruy Lopez, in which both demonstrated deep level of home preparation. On move 31 Caruana offered his opponent a poisoned pawn to taste, which Anish had no dread of accepting. Giri said at the press conference, "I am a very good defender, just trust me."
Caruana - Giri
White has just advanced 31. e6, and Black swallowed the bait: 31…Rxe6?
In the game the American player failed to discover the strongest continuation and preferred forcing a draw by perpetual: 32. Rc8+ Kh7 33. Qd3+? Re4 34. Qf1 Re5 35. Qd3+ Re4 36. Qf1 Re5 37. Qd3+ Re4 38. Qf1 Draw.
However, at the press conference the grandmasters spent time analyzing the line that could have landed White victorious. Instead of giving the d3-check, Fabiano should have played 35. Qf7! with a substantial edge based on the zugzwang idea. Should Black, for example, play 35…Qa4 to take control over the c6-square, there follows a waiting move with the king:
36. Kh2!! – the whole point of White's combination.
36…Qb5 (36…Rg5 37. b4!) 37. Qg8+ Kg6 38. Rc7 with an edge.
The American expressed his regrets about not having been able to discover this winning idea. According to him, the combination would have been very beautiful should he have succeeded in finding it.
Shakhriyar Mamedyarov outplayed his compatriot Eltaj Safarli in the 4.g3 line of the Nimzowitsch Defense. White emerged superior out of the opening, whereas Black's cluster of pieces in the center proved a steady aim for a tactical shot, although even without this shot it was unclear how Black was supposed to untangle himself.
Mamedyarov – Safarli
19. Rb5! resulted in White's winning material after 19…Bxb5 20. Rxb5 Nxf2 21. Kxf2 Qd6 22. Bxb7, etc.
In the game that followed White managed to bring his advantage home, although not without a certain amount of adventures along the way.
When answering the question about his opinion of his own performance in this tournament, Shakhriyar told that giving assessments at mid-distance is not a good idea in general. "I used to be in the lead in the Qatar Open up to round eight, but lost two final games and ended up falling even out of the first twenty, therefore I recommend no one coming up with premature assessments," highlighted the grandmaster.
Eltaj, however, was not especially happy about his performance. "I must have played a great deal recently, therefore I feel somewhat tired. However, there are as many as two rounds ahead of us, so let us wait and see," he summed up the question.
A peace agreement in the French Defense was signed in the game between Sergey Karjakin and Teimour Radjabov. The opponents were challenging each other in the closed type of position with a slight advantage for White; therefore, a draw by repetition seemed like the most logic outcome of the encounter.
Rauf Mamedov, playing Black against Pentala Harikrishna, was well prepared in the opening: he seized the initiative in the Rossolimo system and won a pawn. When the opponents were deep in mutual time trouble, the Indian grandmaster played inaccurately and his counterpart could have used it to achieve a decisive advantage, but went by the strongest continuation and the position leveled out. A draw was agreed in the rook and opposite-colored bishops ending. The Azeri grandmaster considered the game to be his best achievement at this tournament so far.
The first stubborn victory in this event was scored by Pavel Eljanov, who "did wrong" to Hou Yifan to land her to the bottom of the table. It seemed as if Black successfully solved his problems in the Reti opening, but then the World Champion lashed out with some active moves, advancing her central pawns as far as d3 and c4. However, the advanced infantrymen turned into a vulnerable liability, whereas the black knight on f5 fell an easy victim to White's infantry. Despite being down material, Hou Yifan went on to put up stubborn resistance and acknowledged her defeat only after having played for more than six hours.
The leaders' standings have undergone virtually no changes since Fabiano Caruana continues to occupy the top line with 5.5 points. Trailing half a point behind is Anish Giri. Shakhriyar Mamedyarov has caught up with Sergey Karjakin to share third place with 4 points under each player's belt.
Round eight will see the following pairings:
Anish Giri - Hou Yifan, Rauf Mamedov - Paul Eljanov, Teimour Radjabov - Pentala Harikrishna, Eltaj Safarli - Sergey Karjakin, and Fabiano Caruana - Shakhriyar Mamedyarov
***
When the battles were still in their prime and it became obvious that the players would not finish the games within a short while, the organizers kindly offered that the interpreter Parvana and I paid a visit to the Intellectual Youth Center Zeka, which is located in close proximity to the Flag Square and the Flag Museum.
The Center gives the children an opportunity to immerse themselves in such activities as painting, sculpting, assembling dolls, playing chess, competing in the "What? Where? When?" or the "Brain Ring" programs. Here they even shoot the Azeri version of the "Clever boys and clever girls" program. The lessons given are free of charge.
Do we really need to commit to words that the spacious and modern building of glass and stone, coupled with such a careful and systematic approach to teaching children made a profound impression on us?
