[chessmind] Dennis Monokroussos: Round 6: A great battle between Experience and the Rising Stars

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Posted by Dennis Monokroussos:
Round 6: A great battle between Experience and the Rising Stars
http://chessmind.powerblogs.com/posts/1188368830.shtml


   A great battle indeed - one that ended in a tie, thanks largely to the
   youngsters' self-destruction. Smeets-Nikolic was an interesting draw,
   but Karjakin won easily against Ljubojevic and the previously hot
   Jussupow was attractively defeated by Cheparinov. That's +2 for the
   juniors, and it could have been even better.
   First, Khalifman was up to his usual tricks, encouraging a repetition
   draw with his 18th move. Unfortunately for Stellwagen but happily for
   the spectators and the old guys, he decided to play on, and fell for a
   very nice, well-hidden tactical trick, and lost rapidly.
   Even with that half-point given away, the youngsters still could have
   won the round by two points, as Negi had outplayed Beliavsky in a
   Closed Ruy and could have concluded the game with a nice tactic just
   before the time control. Unfortunately, he found another tactical idea
   instead:
   [negi_beliavsky_young_old_2007_1.jpg]
   The right move is the one the computer does not select until depth 18,
   surprisingly: 39.Ne7+ Kg7 40.Nxg6! when Black gets mated in most
   lines. There are many little tactics to find there, however, and it's
   not too surprising that Negi either didn't see it, didn't trust it, or
   rejected it for what seemed like an easy win - especially if he was in
   time trouble.
   His choice was 39.Qf6, which looks crushing. There are two major
   threats, 40.Rxf8+ Kxf8 41.Qh8# and 40.Ne7+ followed by 41.Rxf8 or
   41.Qxf7+, so Black's next is forced: 40...Rc8, and now comes the
   punchline:41.Nc7. Black is faced with an apparently horrible trilemma:
   (1) Move the queen and lose the rook, (2) move the rook anywhere but
   c7 and lose the queen, or (3) play 40...Rxc7 and lose tons of material
   after 41.Qd8. There is a solution though - option (2):
   40...Rxb8 41.Nxa6 Rb1+ 42.Kh2 a3
   [negi_beliavsky_young_old_2007_2.jpg]
   White's queen can't get back in time, but the adventures aren't over
   yet!
   43.Nb4 Rxb4 44.cxb4 a2 45.b5 a1Q 46.Qd8!
   [negi_beliavsky_young_old_2007_3.jpg]
   This is better than the immediate 46.b6, which would allow 46...Qa8.
   Meanwhile, everything looks unclear now, as White's threat is simple
   but very dangerous: b6, Qc7 (if necessary), b7-b8Q. It's funny how the
   initiative swings back in forth in this ending, but Black can handle
   this last problem.
   46...Kg7
   The computer's preference is for 46...d5, but it's a more complex
   line.
   47.b6 Qb2 48.Qc7 Be7!
   This is the key, with the brilliant idea that 49.b7 is met by
   49...Bg5, when 50.b8Q gets mated after 50...Bf4+ 51.g3 Qxf2+ 52.Kh1
   Qf3+ 53.Kg1 Be3+ 54.Kh2 Qf2+ 55.Kh1 Qg1#. White need not queen on move
   50, but the coordinated attack of the queen and bishop win in all
   cases, e.g. 50.Kg1 Qa1+ 51.Kh2 Qa7! 52.Kg1 Bh4 53.g3 Bxg3 54.Qc2 Bxf2+
   55.Qxf2 Qxb7 with a completely won position. Therefore:
   49.Qxe7 Qxb6
   [negi_beliavsky_young_old_2007_4.jpg]
   Win or a draw? The computer gives Black an approximate +1 advantage
   after 51.f3 (the move in the game), but that's not really very
   interesting. What matters now is finding a plan and working out if it
   can be stopped. At this point, I'll leave consideration of the
   position to the reader, and you can find my comments in the replayable
   game link, where you'll also find some comments on the
   Stellwagen-Khalifman game.
   Here's the [1]link; for the other games, crosstables, etc., browse the
   excellent [2]tournament site.
   Round 6 results:
   Negi - Beliavsky 0-1
   Smeets - Nikolic 1/2-1/2
   Stellwagen - Khalifman 0-1
   Cheparinov - Jussupow 1-0
   Karjakin - Ljubojevic 1-0
   Standings after round 6: Rising Stars lead 15.5-14.5

References

   1. http://chessmind.powerblogs.com/files/young_old_2007_rd6.htm
   2. http://www.nhchess2007.nl/