Game of the day. Grandmaster Alexander Kalinin makes comments

Russia Chess Cup Stage 2013

Round 2

Svetushkin D. - Yandemirov V.

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 d6 5. c3 g6 6. d4 Bd7 7. O-O Bg7

8. d5 Up comes one if the key positions of the modern Steinitz Defense in the Ruy Lopez. White is at a crossroad: either closing the center with d4-d5, giving it an Old Indian type feel; or keeping the tension with 8.¦e1, or exchanging on e5. The latter option has long been considered the most unpleasant for black.

[In the pawn structure arising after 8. de de 9.Be3, the prospects of the bishop on g7 are severely limited, and white has play opening up on the queen-side taking advantage of the weak c5 square for posting a minor piece. At the same time, the line 8... Ne5 9. Ne5 de 10. f4! had little reputation for black after the game Fine–Alekhine, AVRO 1938. It took nearly half a century until the line was rehabilitated by Smyslov - 10... Ba4 11. Qa4 b5! (А.Аlekhine played 11...Qd7) 12. Qb3 ef 13. Bf4 Nf6 . For instance: 14. Nd2 O-O 15. Rae1 Ng4! 16. Nf3 Qe7 17. e5 Qc5 18. Kh1 Rae8 19. e6 fe 20. Re6 Kh8 with equal chances , [Tal – Mukhametov, Moscow 1991. It is no coincidence that I have cited this game. In it, black was played by Eldar Mukhametov – the irreplaceable leader of the press center for the Moscow Open Festival. I hope my friend will enjoy remembering the young days of his chess career in his encounter with the great Mikhail Tal.]

8... Nce7 9. Bd7 Qd7 10. c4 h6 11. Ne1 f5 12. f3 Nf6 13. Nc3 O-O 14. Nd3

We have reached a position characteristic of the Old Indian. The exchange of the light-squared bishops is undoubtedly advantageous for white. At the same time, the black forces are well mobilized, which foretells a complicated battle with chances for both sides. 14... c5 Popular alternatives are 14...с6, holding the maximum pressure on the center, or 14...g5, counting on creating counter play on the king-side. 15. Qe2 b5 16. b3

[In the game Smykovsky – Nepomniachtchi, Novokuznetsk 2008 there was 16. cb ab 17. b4 fe 18. fe c4 19. Nf2 with slightly better chances for white. But black could have continued 17...cb! The point being that if white tries 18.Nb4 се, he has serious problems after 18...Qс8.]

16... b4 Black decides to stir things up on the queen-side.

[In the game  Fressine - Le Ruks (Belfor 2003) it was 16... g5 17. a3 Nh5 18. Be3 Rab8 19. cb ab 20. b4 c4 21. Nf2 Nf4 22. Qc2 good for white]

17. Na4! It seems that at the edge of the board the white knight is cramped, but as we shall see it is on the a4 square that he exercises the greatest influence on the continuing struggle. 17... Qc7 18. a3 a5 19. Bb2 It turns out black should be looking for a devastating piece sacrifice on c5 or e5. 19... Nd7 20. Rae1

[Nothing was to be gained by the immediate 20. f4 in light of 20... fe 21. Qe4 Nf6 22. Qe2 e4 23. Nf2 Nf5 with excellent play for black.]

20... f4 Locking up the pawn structure on the king-side as well, black is preventing himself having to worry about a possible f3-f4 advance.

The intricate pawn chains have blockaded the entire board, making the position, it would seem, impenetrable even with a board filled with pieces. However, the Moldavian grandmaster is able to conjure up the hidden possibilities. The basis is that the potential sacrificial threats on c5 and e5 significantly impairs the mobility of the black pieces. Capitalizing on the aforementioned situation, white opens the "second front" on the king-side! 21. g3! g5 22. gf

22... gf

[The attempt to free the g7 bishop with 22... ef continues 23. Bg7 Kg7 24. ab ab 25. e5 with a white break in the center.]

23. Kh1 Kh7 24. Rg1

24... Rf6 By placing his rook on f6, black intends to defend the e6 square from a post by the white queen when it gets on the h3-c8 diagonal. As we shall see, the stubborn pursuit of this idea eventually destroyed black.

[More accurate was 24... Bf6 25. Qg2 Rg8 26. Qh3 Bg5 27. Rg2 (or 27. Qe6 Rg6 28. Qf7 Rg7) 27... Rg6 28. Reg1 Rag8 , setting up a solid defense.]

25. ab ab 26. Qg2 Rg6 27. Qh3 Rf8

[and now 27... Bf6 is possible]

28. Rg6 Ng6 29. Rg1 Rf6?

[Now 29... Bf6 followed by Bg5 was absolutely necessary. The text move turns out to be practically the only, yet decisive, mistake..]

30. Qg4! Unexpectedly it turns out that black with have difficulty withstanding his opponent’s threats on the g-file, supported by the march of white pawns to h5. 30... Ndf8 31. h4 Rf7 32. h5 Nh8

[Bad is 32... Ne7 in light of 33. Nf4!]

33. Nac5! The piece sacrifice, long looming over black, completely destroys the black defensive structure. 33... dc 34. Ne5 Re7

[34... Be5 35. Qg8X]

35. d6! Not the only, but undoubtedly the most elegant continuation of the attack. 35... Bd6 36. Nf7!

[...]

[After 36... Rf7 37. Bg7! Rg7 38. Rg7X white announces a solved mate! And excellent brilliancy by Dimitry Svetushkin. P.S. If any chess fans were following the game with a chess engine, then you likely found a faint "scratch" on the canvas of the Moldavian grandmaster. After

22.gf black could have obtained a comfortable position, declining from the "automatic" 22...gf in favor of the "antipositional" zwitschenzug 22...ba! followed by 23...ef! So white should have more cautiously achieved his aim with, for example, 22.ab ab 23.g3. In the main text I chose to decline bringing up this detail in order to not detract from the general aesthetic impression from the outstanding play of white. The mentioned oversight did, in my opinion, little to discredit the work, and serves as a reminder that humans are bound to err... and on occasion filter out moves which seem illogical at first glance.]

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