Editorial Preface

Table of Contents
First of all we once again want to wish you a Happy New Year
2015!
 Editorial Preface 2 Our weekly newsletter is going to experience some changes
that we hope will make every issue even more enjoyable:
 2 best games of the past week 3 1) Peter Zhdanov (the husband of Natalia Pogonina and
redactor of pogonina.com ) will be in charge of the weekly
 David vs. Goliath 10 ”David vs Goliath” game, which will feature the biggest upset
of the week. Chess is a game of pieces and not of ”names”, so
 Puzzle section 12 anyone can beat anyone.
2) We are very happy to announce that Alexander Khalifman
 Endgame section 15 (former World Champion, fantastic writer, chess books
publisher, chess coach, owner of ”The Grandmaster Chess
 Clash of the Titans 20 School” in St.Petersburg, etc.) is going to share his thoughts
on opening theory with us! The new column titled the ”The
K-Files” are coming up, starting next week.
 Surprise section / study 22
With all this new material, Csaba and Arkadij are only going to
 Solutions 23 comment the best game of the week instead of the previous
two.
Now let’s come to the chess:
There were a lot of New Year’s opens, but the chess elite was
resting, with the exception of Wesley So, who crushed the
North American Open with the fantastic score of 8/9.
Your commentator Arkadij also won the Zurich Open with
6.5/7.
Another great result was shown by the young German player
Donchenko, who won the strong Groningen Open with 8/9.

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Already in 10 days from now we will see the best chess players 2 best games of the past week
battle it out in Wijk aan Zee and the line-up includes Carlsen,
Caruana, etc...
Until then, we hope you enjoy our comments from the less
prestigious events- but not less interesting games! (1) Kurmann, Oliver(2426)
- Naiditsch, Arkadij(2731) [C58]
Arkadij Naiditsch & Csaba Balogh 38th Zurich Christmas(4.1),
2014.12.28 GM Arkadij Naiditsch
Best rating: 2737

We are in the 4th round (out of 7) of the Zurich Open, and

both my opponent and I are on 3/3. Oliver is a very solid
player and has been an IM for many years, but he will probably
never become a GM because of his law studies which went
successfully and now he is working as a lawyer. To win against
a solid IM with the black pieces is always a difficult task, but
in the current game I was lucky to get a very complicated
position right out of the opening, where my opponent was
a full 2 pawns up, but my pieces clearly had the better
development and I managed to finish the game with a nice
mating attack.
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 I decided to play a slightly
more complicated line than 3...Bc5, which often leads to very
boring positions.
4.Ng5 Kurmann surprised me with this move, as he usually
plays the 4.d3 line. Of course 4. Ng5 is one of the main moves,
but now things are very quickly getting complicated.
4...d5 5.exd5 Na5 This is also the main move. [After
5...Nxd5? 6.Nxf7! Kxf7 7.Qf3+ Ke6 8.Nc3 White gets a
deadly attack.]
6.Bb5+ c6 This is also clearly the main move. In a couple
of my games I tried 6...Bd7, but I was not too happy with the

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outcome of these games.
7.dxc6 bxc6 Now White has the choice between 3 moves:
8.Be2 has been the main line for many years, 8.Qf3 is a very
risky decision, but a possible try and 8.Bd3 is the new fashion,
which was already played in a couple of games on the highest
level.
8.Bd3 This move looks a bit strange because White doesn’t
have the d3 move with the usual development, but we should
not forget that White is a full pawn up.
8...Nd5 9.Nf3 Bd6 10.O-O There is nothing new until here.
10...O-O [I didn’t want to play 10...Nf4 because it is just a line
where Black can at most equalize: 11.Nc3 Nxd3 12.cxd3 O-O
13.Ne4 and White might be a bit better.]
11.Re1 Black wants to play f5, so White attacks the e5 pawn.
11...Bg4 After some thought, I decided to play this move
because it looked very interesting to me. More usual is
11....Re8.
12.h3 A forced move, since Black wanted to play f5 again.
12...Bxf3! It is usually a bad decision to give up the light
squared bishop, but I found quite a forced line which I want
to play next. [in case of 12...Bh5 13.Bf5 I believe that White’s
postion can be a bit better here.]
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13.Qxf3 and here comes the key move behind 12... Bxf3:
13...f5 Of course I can’t give White any rest and need to play
aggressively, trying to use the bad development of the white
pieces.
14.Bxf5 This move is probably a must. [After a passive move
like 14.Bf1 14...e4 15.Qd1 I have the nice 15...Bc7! with the
idea of playing Qd6 and f4 next. White is under heavy attack.]
14...Qe7! Before playing this move, I had a 30 minutes
thought. Black really had a lot of choices and the position is
very complicated. [14...g6? was clearly a mistake. 15.Be6+
Kg7 and now White has the strong 16.Bxd5! sacrificing the
queen! 16...cxd5 (If Black takes the queen, his position is
probably close to lost: 16...Rxf3 17.Bxf3 followed by Nc3-d3
and I don’t see how Black should survive here.) 17.Qxd5
Things are still not that clear but Black probably doesn’t have
enough compensation here. 17...e4 doesn’t lead anywhere
after the cool 18.Nc3 and White is close to winning.; And after
14...Qf6?! 15.Be4 I couldn’t really find a way to continue my
attack, maybe just with 15...Qe6, but I was not sure at all if I
would have enough compensation here, when White has such
a great bishop on e4.; 14...Bc5!? This was the other move I
liked during the game. It is hard to say what to do now for
4
White... Black’s threat is simple, to play g6 and put maximum
pressure on the f2 square. 15.Rf1 is maybe the best try for
White and now Black has a very wide choice of moves, such
as 15...Nf4 or 15...Qe7. It is a very complicated position that
needs deep analysis.; White will also be better after 14...Qg5?!
15.Be6+ Kh8 White wins a tempo with 16.d3 Qe7 followed by
the ”usual” queen sacrifice 17.Bxd5 Rxf3 18.Bxf3 with a much
better position for White.]
15.Qe4 My opponent spent almost 45 minutes on this move,
but it seems like it is almost losing by force. The question
is, does White has anything better?! Black’s threat is to play
g6 and win a full piece. [15.Nc3 is a possible try. 15...Nxc3
16.Qxc3 Rxf5 17.Qxa5 but here as well Black’s play looks very
dangerous.
17...Raf8 How to protect the f2 pawn?! 18.Rf1 doesn’t solve
the problems. Black has a lot of very nice continuations and
one of them is 18...Qf7 19.f3 e4 with probably a mating attack
for Black.; Another possibility for White is to play 15.Qg4
but now Black is gets direct play with 15...Qf6 16.Be6+ Kh8
17.Rf1 And after a simple move like 17...Nf4 once again White’s
position just looks close to lost. All the black pieces are in the
attack and White’s development of the queenside is still on
”pause”.]
15...g6 I of course have to open the f-file.
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16.Bg4 [16.Bxg6 is not much better. 16...hxg6 (Black can
also continue with 16...Rf4 17.Bxh7+ Kh8 18.Qg6 Rf6 19.Qh5
Qxh7 20.Qxh7+ Kxh7 and in this endgame Black is clearly
better because of White’s horrible development.) 17.Qxg6+
Qg7 18.Qxg7+ (White can’t win the piece back with 18.Qxd6?
because after 18...Nf4 it is not possible to defend from Qxg2
next.) 18...Kxg7 and we are in an endgame where White has 4
pawns for a piece, which is good, but on the other hand all the
pieces are still on the 1st rank, which gives Black enough time
to create strong play. Black should be clearly better here.]
16...Rf4 17.Qe2
17...Raf8 I am just playing the most natural moves and it
seems like I am already close to winning.
18.Bf3? This move loses by force. [White should have
tried 18.d4! and things are still not that simple. 18...Rxf2
19.Qxf2 Rxf2 20.Kxf2 Now Black has quite a few different
ways to continue: 20...h5 (20...e4?! 21.Kg1! and the position
is very unclear.) 21.Bf3 Qh4+ 22.Kf1 exd4 and I think White’s
position should be very dangerous, but the fight still goes on.]
18...Rxf3! Of course! This move is just impossible to miss.
19.gxf3 Nf4 20.Qf1 Qg5+ 21.Kh1 [21.Kh2 leads to the same
result. 21...e4 and the bishop on d6 joins the attack. 22.Rxe4
Nxh3+ 23.Kxh3 Rxf3#]
5

21...Qh5 The most simple. The pawns on f3 and h3 are
hanging.
22.Re3 Nxh3 23.Nc3 White is trying to develop the pieces,
but it is too late...
23...e4 Once again am choosing the most direct way to finish
the game. The threat is to mate with Nxf2 and Qh2.
24.f4 Nxf4+ 25.Kg1 The fight is over, mate in 3 is on the
board.
25...Ne2+ 26.Qxe2 Qh2+ and my opponent lets me mate
him! :)
27.Kf1 Qh1# I was very happy to win this game and I actually
don’t know where exactly White went wrong. Clearly the most
critical position is after 14...Qe7!, but it still seems to be very
hard to play during a practical game. 0-1
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(2) Vitiugov, Nikita(2738)
- Kosyrev, Vladimir(2520) [D37]
European Rapid 2014(9.13), GM Csaba Balogh
2014.12.21 Best rating: 2672
Nikita Vitiugov wins a very nice attacking game despite the
shortened time control.
1.d4 e6 2.c4 Nf6 3.Nc3 d5 4.Nf3 dxc4 We have reached the
Vienna gambit from a slightly unusual move order. It used to
be a very popular opening not so long ago, but recently it has
gone out of fashion a bit.
5.e4 Bb4
6.Bxc4!? This pawn sacrifice is considered to be one of the
most critical tests of the opening and probably the reason
why it disappeared from the highest level. [The main line
continues with 6.Bg5 6...c5]
6...Nxe4 7.O-O! Another pawn sacrifice! It is already the
logical follow-up after the previous move. White gives up
some material for a quick development and active piece play.
7...Nxc3 8.bxc3 Be7 Black should be satisfied with only one
6
extra pawn and he should aim to consolidate. [It is better not
to be too greedy with 8...Bxc3 9.Rb1 White wants to deprive
Black from castling with Ba3 and if he castles now Rb3 might
be very dangerous with the idea of switching the rook to the
kingside after playing Ne5.]
9.Ne5 The main and the most dangerous move, activating
the knight and opening the route for the queen to develop to
g4.
9...O-O 10.Re1 This is basically the novelty. I don’t know if it
was a prepared one or just played over the board, but in any
case I don’t believe that it improves the main line. [Theory
goes with 10.Qg4 10...Nc6 11.Re1 f5! (Entering the structure
11...Nxe5 12.dxe5 is very risky for Black! The e5 pawn reduces
the movement of the black pieces and it gives very strong
attacking potential against the king. White is threatening with
Bh6 and also intends to bring his pieces to the attack with
Re3-g3 or Rh3, followed by Bd3 and sacrifices in front of the
king. ) 12.Qf3 Nxe5 13.Rxe5! (13.dxe5 Having the pawn on f5
is a huge difference compared to 11...Nxe5 12.dxe5. White is
very far from a succesful attack, as the f5 pawn prevents the
main threats.) ]
10...Nc6 11.Qf3 This is the real novelty, as there were some
games where White transposed to the main lines with 11.Qg4.
11...Bd7 [Black was familiar with the structure 11...Nxe5!?
12.dxe5 that it is very dangerous for him, however the
placement of the queen on f3 allows the following defensive
resource: 12...f5 13.exf6 Bxf6 14.Ba3 Be7! This is the
difference to the 10.Qg4 line. Now the queen is under attack
and White cannot play Rad1 with a significant tempo! White
still has very strong compensation, but I am not sure if it is
going to be enough for more than a draw... 15.Bxe7 Qxe7
16.Qe3
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16...Bd7 Black is ready to give back the e6 pawn and simplify
to a balanced endgame, although White can still press a
bitwith 17.Rad1 threatening to sacrifice on d7 and Black
cannot bring his a8 rook to the game because the a7 pawn
is hanging. However after some move like 17...Rf6, I don’t
believe that Black should lose this game...]
12.Qg3 Kh8 Leaving from the pin and the Bh6 threat.
13.Bf4! Developments with a tempo are always welcome.
The c7 is under attack and White wants to bring his a1 rook
into the game.
13...Bd6 [In case of 13...Nxe5 White can already recapture
with the bishop, creating a double attack. 14.Bxe5 Bf6
15.Bxc7 Qc8 16.Re3! White has leveled the material and
keeps a very strong initiative. He still has good attacking
potentials with Bd3, Qf4 and Rh3.]
14.Rad1! All pieces are playing now! White also prepares for
the capture on e5 with the pawn, after which the rook will stay
perfectly on the d-file. Nevertheless, there is a potential idea
to lift the rook to the 3rd rank.
14...Ne7! A clever move! Black drives a piece to the kingside
around his king.
15.Bd3! The bishop stands the best and creates the biggest
7
threats along the b1-h7 diagonal!
15...Ng6 Black goes for the bishop on f4. [15...f5 leaves Black
with a cramped position and deprives him from the chance of
exchanging some minor pieces with Ng6.
There is no need to hurry for White, he can slowly improve his
position with 16.c4! taking ground and restricting the mobility
of the black pieces. Black is obliged to suffer in such positions
despite his extra pawn.]
16.Nxg6+ hxg6 In many cases, this kind of doubled g-pawns
are strengthening the king. The g-file is closed and there are
much less potential sacrifices, unless we don’t count Bxg6,
but it looks also less dangerous. However, there is a very
important factor which didn’t exist before and that is that the
h-file is opened and White has the possibility of driving two of
his heavy pieces over there.
17.Be5! Very well played! Vitiugov feels that keeping the
initiative has a bigger importance than restoring the material
balance! White is ready to transfer his rook to the h-file
through e4 or e3. [After 17.Bxd6 17...cxd6 18.Qxd6 Black
forces the trade of the queens with 18...Ba4 19.Qxd8 Rfxd8=
and equalizes.]
17...Kg8 It is understandable that Black wanted to leave
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the h-file, but at the same time it allows Re4. [I was trying
to improve Black’s play with 17...Bc6 but White has a nice
attacking position here as well: 18.h4! Exploding the kingside
with the use of the h-pawn! 18...Kg8 19.h5 g5
20.h6! The attack is rolling. 20...Bxe5 (20...g6? loses right
away to 21.h7+! Kxh7 22.Qh3+ Kg8 23.Qh8#; 20...gxh6 is
also bad because of 21.Qh3! and Black cannot protect the h6
pawn. 21...Bxe5 22.Qxh6) 21.Rxe5 gxh6 22.f4! and the black
king is terribly weak and vulnerable!]
18.Re4 [18.h4!? was also possible, but I prefer the rook
transfer to the h-file.]
18...Rc8 An ugly move, but it is not easy to defend such
positions, especially in a rapid game. Black protects the
c7 pawn in order to be able to neutralize the threats on
the h-file with Be7 and at the same time he prepares to
create counterplay with c5! In general this is the right
approach against an attack on a side, Black should search for
counterplay in the center. [18...Bxe5 19.dxe5 Bc6 20.Rh4 is
also very suspicious.]
19.Rh4 Be7 20.Rh3 Seemingly there is nothing on the
h-file, because White cannot put another heavy piece there,
however this assessment is completely wrong...
8
20...Bf6 Black parries the sacrifice on g6 by protecting the g7
pawn. [If Black starts his counterplay with 20...c5?
21.Bxg6! leads to a forced win: 21...fxg6 22.Qxg6 Rf6 (On
22...Bf6 the strongest is the known motif of changing the rook
with the queen on the h-file. White executes it by playing
23.Rh7! threatening with Rxg7 and after 23...Bxe5 24.Qh5!h
mate is coming next.) 23.Qh7+ Kf7 24.dxc5! The best!
Suddenly the rook on d1 joins the game and decides the
outcome. 24...Rxc5 25.Qh5+! Kg8 26.Qh8+ Kf7 27.Qxd8
Bxd8 White has different wins here, one of them is 28.Rxd7+
Ke8 29.Bxf6 Kxd7 30.Rd3+ Rd5 31.Rxd5+ exd5 32.Bxg7h]
21.Re1! Very subtle and strong! Vitiugov brings his second
rook into the attack.
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21...c5 Too late! [The only move was 21...Bc6 preventing Re4,
but it also deprives Black from his counterplay with c5. White
can increase the pressure with 22.Bxf6 Qxf6 23.Rh4! with
the idea of playing Qh3. The only move is 23...Rfd8 24.Qh3
Kf8 25.Bc4! and the game goes on, but White has a very
serious initiative. A mistake by Black could be fatal with such
a weak king. A sacrifice on e6 is also hanging in the air. Black’s
position is very dangerous, for instance trading the strong
bishop with 25...Bd5 loses, because after 26. Bxd5, Rh8 is
coming next either with mate or it wins the c8 rook.]
22.Re4! The rook arrives to h4 and decides the game.
22...g5 [22...cxd4 23.Bxf6 Qxf6 24.Reh4h; Freeing the
king’s route toward the center with 22...Re8 does not
work anymore because of 23.Bxf6 Qxf6 24.Reh4 Kf8
25.Qd6+!h and the king does not reach the e7 square. Rh8
mates next.]
23.Qf3 Other moves were also winning. White creates the
threat of Qh5 and prepares for a very nice finish after Bxe5...
23...Bxe5
24.Rh8+!! finishes the game in style! [24.Qh5 24...f5 remains
unclear.]
9
24...Kxh8 25.Rh4+!! Another rook sacrifice to open the
bishop’s diagonal! [25.Qh5+?? is wrong because after
25...Kg8 26.Rh4 f5 suddenly Black wins!; Black resigned in
view of 25.Rh4+ 25...Kg8 (25...gxh4 26.Qh5+ Kg8 27.Qh7#)
26.Rh8+! The desperado rook! It forces the king to move to
the wrong square. 26...Kxh8 27.Qh5+ Kg8 28.Qh7#] 1-0
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David vs. Goliath
In this special weekly column we will be looking at the
most unexpected results that occurred last week. Players
usually face opponents of a similar level. Considerably
less frequent are situations when a significantly lower-rated
player succeeds in beating a much stronger adversary.
If you have ever won a game against someone rated
300 points or above yourself, please send it to
peter@pogonina.com for publication. Any additional
information (a photo, annotations, etc.) will be appreciated.
(3) Salzgeber, Frank(2175)
- Rapport, Richard(2716) [A65]
2014.12.26
Peter Zhdanov
Chief Editor
of Pogonina.com
The biggest upset of the week was definitely the loss of
the young chess prodigy GM Richard Rapport (2716), who
succumbed to Frank Salzbeger (2175)!
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 d6 3.Nc3 g6 The Pirc Defence is a popular
choice among rating favorites who wish to play for a win
against a lower-rated opponent with Black. The opening is
risky in the strategic sense though and often backfires.
4.e4 Bg7 5.f3 O-O 6.Bg5 c5 7.d5 h6 8.Be3 e6 9.Nge2 exd5
10.cxd5 Black has a reasonably comfortable game here and
can play either a6 or Nbd7 as in the game.
10
10...Nbd7 11.Ng3 h5 12.Be2 h4 13.Nf1 Nh7 14.Nd2 f5
15.exf5N Surprisingly, this natural move is a novelty. [15.g3
15...a6 16.a4 Bd4CBraun (2537) - Thiede (2511), 2007, 1/2-1/2;
15.O-O 15...f4 16.Bf2 Ne5 17.Kh1 (17.a4 17...Ng5 18.Kh1
Ngf7A and Black’s attack prevailed in Lapiccirella (2212) -
Chetalbashev (2613), 2010, 0-1) 17...a6 18.a4 Bd7 19.a5 Rc8
20.Na4 Bxa4 21.Qxa4 Nf6? 22.Bxh4h Black gave up a
pawn for no apparent reason, but White didn’t manage to
convert it in yet another David vs. Goliath encounter: Djukic
(2157) - Nikolov (2552), 2014, 1/2-1/2]
15...gxf5 16.O-O Ne5 17.Kh1 Qe7 18.Bf2 Ng6 19.Rg1 Bd7
20.a4 Nf4 21.Bf1
Nh5? [21...Bd4! This move is extremely hard to make
for a human since it trades the amazing g7 bishop for a
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relatively modest colleague on f2 and creates a weak double
pawn on d4. However, this bold exchange seems to be the
only good option for Black. 22.Bxd4 cxd4 23.g3 (23.Nb5?!
23...Nh5A; 23.Ne2?? 23...Nd3 0-1) 23...hxg3 24.Rxg3+Vwith
a complicated struggle ahead]
22.Qe1 Qf7 23.Nc4?! [23.Bxh4 23...Rae8 24.Qc1c Black’s
compensation for the pawn looks insufficient.]
23...Rae8 [23...Rfe8 24.Qd1 Qf6c Black is clearly worse
here. The Black queenside is becoming a target.]
24.Qd2
Bxc3? The decisive mistake. [24...Qf6 and if 25.Nb5
(25.Bd3!? ) 25...Bxb5 26.axb5 then 26...f4! was Black’s last
chance to try to confuse White and to spice up the game, for
example, 27.Rxa7 Ng3+ 28.Bxg3 hxg3 29.h3 Re7 and Black,
although down a pawn, is still in the game.]
25.Qxc3h Ng3+ desperation
26.hxg3 hxg3 27.Bxg3 Qh5+ 28.Bh2 Rf6 If it was Black’s
move, the position would be a mate in 3. One tempo is worth
the entire kingdom here!
29.g4 Qh4 30.gxf5+ Kf7 31.Nxd6+ Black resigned in view
of the upcoming mate on g7! 1-0
11
Puzzle section
(4) Hawkins, J(2552)-Brustkern, J(2236) (6) Ma Qun(2621)-Raznikov, D(2494)
Hastings Open, 2014.12.29 Groningen Open, 2014.12.27

1. h 1... i

(5) Tiviakov, S(2677)-Senders, M(2380) (7) Romanov, E(2638)-Martynov, P(2400)

Groningen Open, 2014.12.22 Rilton Cup, 2014.12.28

1. h 1. h

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(8) Krasenkow, M(2614)-Bellon Lopez, J(2381) (10) Navara, D(2727)-Grossmann, R(2124)
Rilton Cup, 2014.12.28 European Rapid Championship, 2014.12.20

1. h 1. h

(9) Zherebukh, Y(2631)-Shen, V(2410) (11) Riazantsev, A(2684)-Girya, O(2457)

Intercollegiate, 2014.12.28 European Rapid Championship, 2014.12.20

1. h 1. h

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(12) Fedorchuk, S(2669)-Socko, M(2470)
European Rapid Championship, 2014.12.20

1. h

(13) Piorun, K(2517)-Navara, D(2727)

European Rapid Championship, 2014.12.20

1... i

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Endgame section 53.Kc3 Kf6 The king returns to its ideal place and Black
continues waiting with his bishop.
54.Kb4 Bh3 55.Kc5 Bf5 56.Kd6
(14) Morozevich, Alexander(2712)
- Artemiev, Vladislav(2662)

Nutcracker rapid, GM Csaba Balogh

2014.12.24 Best rating: 2672

56...Bh3! It is important to wait on the h3-g4-f5 squares

to avoid the g4 break. [56...Bd3? allows 57.g4! hxg4
58.Bxg4h and the e6 pawn is lost.]
57.e4 [The attempt to get 3 pawns for the bishop is rather
dangerous: 57.Bxd5? 57...exd5 58.Kxd5 Bg2+! 59.Kc5
(White gets into zugzwang after 59.e4? 59...Bf3i and the
47...Rxe2+! 48.Bxe2 g6! White is a pawn up, but he has
e4 pawn falls.) 59...Ke6! The white pawns are excellently
a very bad pawn structure because it is fixed. He can only
blockaded. 60.Kc4 otherwise Black goes Kd5. 60...Bd5+! It
create a passed pawn by trading pawns, but reducing the
is important to transfer the bishop to f3 before invading with
material brings the draw closer for the defending side. The
the king. (The direct 60...Kf5? runs into 61.d5 Ke4
black pawns are fixed on the light squares, which mates the
color of the white bishop, but the black king safely protects
them. Black holds the draw rather comfortably...
49.g3 Bb1 50.Ke1 White invades with his king on the
queenside. Black cannot avoid it by transferring his own king
to d6, because it is forced to guard the pawn on g6 against the
potential Bd3 threat, aiming to exchange the bishops.
50...Be4 51.Kd2 Bf5 Black patiently waits.
52.Bf3 Ke7 This move is unneccesary but possible, because
White cannot trade the bishops with Bd3 now. Everything seems to be under control as the bishop stops the

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d-pawn from h3, but suddenly 62.g4!! Bf3 (62...Bh3 63.f5!)
63.f5! keeping the h3-c8 diagonal closed! 63...Ke5! The only
move, otherwise Black even loses.
64.d6! An only move also for White! The bishop was
threatening to take on d5 with check. 64...Kxd6 65.gxh5 gxh5
66.Kd4= followed by e4-e5 and driving the king to f4-g5. The
game ends in a draw!) 61.Kc5 Bf3 62.Kc4 Kf5! 63.d5 Ke4!
already works as g4 makes no sense for White. Black wins.
64.d6 Bg4i]
57...dxe4 58.Bxe4 A pair of pawns has been traded, but
White is still very far from creating a passed pawn.
58...Bg4 59.Bc6 Morozevich plays out all his cards! Black
must be very careful.
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59...Bd1! Artemiev realizes the danger and continues
defending precisely! Black must change the diagonal of his
bishop. [59...Bh3? Or 59...Bf5 was wrong in view of 60.Bd7!
Bf5 61.Bc8! An important waiting move and after both
Bg4 and Bh3, d5 wins! 61...Bg4 62.d5! exd5 63.Bxg4 hxg4
64.Kxd5h]
60.Be4 [60.Bd7 60...Bb3!= Black holds!]
60...Bb3 In comparison to the positions when the d5 and e3
pawns were still on the board, Black had to be careful to not
allow g4. However without the pawn on d5, the e6 pawn is
safe!
61.Kd7 Ba4+ 62.Kd8 Bb5! Black prevents the king’s march
to h7!
63.Bc2 Bc6 64.Kc7 Bb5 65.Bb3 Ke7 66.Bd1 Bc4 Black
has already showed the right defensive ideas against all the
dangerous attempts. It is time to wait for White to make some
progress.
67.Bf3 Bd3 68.Kc6 Bc2 69.Kc5 Bd3 70.d5 Morozevich
decides to trade one more pawn, but the material is getting
reduced again. There was no good way anyway to make some
progress.
70...exd5 71.Kd4 Bb1 72.Ke5 Kf7 73.Bxd5+ Kg7 The
problem remains the same for White! He is still lacking a
passed pawn and the only way to create on is by trading even
more pawns...
16

74.Be6 Bc2 75.f5 gxf5 76.Bxf5 Bd1! Of course Black must
keep the bishops until the end! White is still missing a passed
pawn and after playing g4, Black just takes everything and the
pawn endgame is a theoretical draw.
77.Be4 Kh6! It is important to protect the h6 pawn in order
to avoid the last trick of Kf4 followed by Bf3!
78.Kf4 Ba4 79.Bf3 Be8 80.Ke5 Bd7 81.Kf6 Bc8 82.Be4
Bd7 83.Bf5 Bb5 Draw agreed! Nice defense by Black!
1/2-1/2
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(15) Shimanov, Aleksandr(2591)
- Martynov, Pavel(2400)
44th Rilton Cup 2014-15(4.8),
2014.12.30 GM Arkadij Naiditsch
Best rating: 2737
We are in a very interesting rook endgame. White’s position
feels like it should be winning, but on the other hand in case
the black king manages to escape from the h-file, it could just
be a draw. Let us take a look at how things will develop.
66.Kf3! A good move! The white king will disturb the black
king from coming back into the game now and White also
has many mating ideas. [66.Rb5? of course doesn’t lead
anywhere, since after 66...Kg4! the black king is on the way
back to e8, when the position is an easytheoretica l draw.]
66...Kh2?! A very strange move. Black is waiting for the
e-pawn to start moving, which can’t be good. [Black had an
amazing way of making a draw: 66...Rb4! This kind of move
is very hard to find, because now the h-pawn is free to move.
67.Rg1 is the best try for White. (67.h6 also leads to a draw.
67...b2 68.Rh5+ (68.h7 is not better:
17
 69.e5? What a miscalculation by White! [69.Ke3! was
leading to an easy win. White just wants to play Kd4 next.
69...Kg3 70.Rxb3 Rxh5 and now White needs to play the
strong 71.Rb8! with the idea of Rg8+ to cut the black king by 2
squares from the pawn and in case of 71...Rg5 72.Kd4 followed
by Rf8, e5 finishes the game.]
69...Rxh5! Black doesn’t miss his chance.
70.Ke4 Rh3 Of course the b3 pawn has to be protected.
68...Rh4 69.Rb5 Rxh7 70.Rxb2 Rf7+ 71.Ke4 Kg4 and again
the black king is in time to go back.) 68...Rh4 69.Rb5 Rxh6 71.e6 Kg2 The black king starts his march to the c2 square!
70.Rxb2 and Black is in time to free his king. 70...Rf6+ 71.Ke4
Kg4 with a not too difficult draw.) 67...Kh4! The black king
starts to run back. 68.h6 Now Black needs to find another only
move: 68...Rb8! The black rook has to be in time to be placed
on h8! 69.h7 Rh8 70.Kf4 threatening mate on h1. 70...Kh5
71.Kf5 and Black saves the game with 71...Kh6 72.Kf6 Rf8+
73.Ke7 Rb8 with a clear draw.]
67.e4! White is not only preventing Black’s idea of playing
Rb4, but in many lines it could also be important for the
e-pawn to be as advanced as possible. 72.Kd4?! Another unlucky move, after which things are
67...Kh1 This move looks strange again, but there was getting easy for Black. [The best try was 72.e7 72...Kf2 73.Kd5
already nothing better Black could do. Now the best Black can do is to get the white king to e8.
73...Re3 74.Kd6 Rd3+ 75.Ke6 Re3+ 76.Kd7 Rd3+ 77.Ke8 In
68.Rb5 Kh2 Black’s position looks really lost now, but White
this very complicated position White’s idea is to play Re5+
still needs to be careful!
in many lines, so Black should not cross the e-file with his
king and needs to keep on waiting. 77...Rf3 78.Rb8 (Another
interesting try for White is 78.Re5 and Black needs to find

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78...Kf1! 79.Kd7 b2 80.e8=Q (80.Rb5 80...Rd3+ 81.Ke8 Rd2)
80...b1=Q and White has no checks, so the position is equal.)
78...Ke2 Now the black king has to start running to the
b-pawn to be just in time! 79.Kd7 Rd3+ 80.Kc6 Re3 81.Kd6
Rd3+ 82.Kc5 Re3
75.Kd6 Kd2 76.e7 Kc2 The king has reached its final
destination and the position is a draw!
77.Rc5+ Kd2 78.Rd5+ Kc2 79.Rc5+ Kd2 We just saw a
very interesting endgame with many funny draw ideas and of
course this was another great example of how easy it is to miss
a winning continuation in a rook endgame! 1/2-1/2

83.e8=Q White can’t improve the position any more.

83...Rxe8 84.Rxe8+ Kd2 85.Kc4 b2 86.Rb8 Kc1 Wow, the
black king reaches c1 just in time!]
72...Kf2 e7 never works any longer because of Re3.
73.Kc4 Re3 forcing the white king to defend the e-pawn.
74.Kd5 Ke2 and the black king comfortably reaches the c2
square.

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Clash of the Titans
(16) Tal, Mihail
- Brinck Claussen, Bjorn[D40]
Havana ol (Men) fin-A(4),
1966
GM Kamil Miton
Best rating: 2655
1.Nf3 Nf6 2.c4 c5 3.Nc3 Nc6 4.e3 e6 5.d4 d5 6.a3 cxd4
Black can also choose not to hurry with any concrete action
in the center and simply play a waiting move like [6...a6 ]
7.exd4 Be7 8.Bd3 [8.c5 with the idea to take space on the
queenside and improve the position by playing b4. 8...Ne4
Otherwise white will play Bd3. Black should play 0-0-f5-Bf6
next, with counterplay over the center.]
8...O-O 9.O-O dxc4 10.Bxc4
10...b6 and we have a structure with ab isolated pawn, where
White has a few different setups.
11.Qd3 [11.d5 This break in the center doesn’t bring White any
advantage here: 11...exd5 12.Nxd5 Nxd5 13.Bxd5 Bb7 with
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Bf6 next and an equal position.]
11...Bb7 12.Rd1 Rc8 [12...Na5 13.Ba2 Nd5 14.Ne4 White
keeps more pieces for the attack and thanks to the bad knight
on a5 he has a stable advantage.]
13.Ba2 Qc7 14.Bg5 Rfd8
15.Qe2 White had to lose some time to play this move.
15...Nd5!? Black is going to change the structure to avoid
the d5 break. [15...Nh5? 16.d5h; 15...Ng4 is a very
interesting idea, based on the tactical trick that White cannot
play 16.Bxe7 or 16.Bxe6 because of 16...Nxd4! 16.d5 (16.Nb5
16...Nxd4 (16...Qb8 17.Bxe6! works now because the d4 pawn
is protected.) 17.Rxd4 Bxf3 18.Nxc7 Bxe2 19.Rxd8+ Bxd8
20.Nxe6 Bf6 21.Bxf6 Nxf6 22.Ng5 Bh5=) 16...Bxg5 17.h3 Not
an easy move to see in one’s calculation. 17...exd5 18.Nxd5
Qb8 19.hxg4 Re8 20.Qf1 h6 with equal play.]
16.Nxd5 exd5 17.Qd3 Qd6 18.Bxe7 Nxe7 19.Re1 White
keeps a symbolic advantage thanks to the bad bishop on b7.
19...Ng6 20.g3 Re8 21.h4 Tal is slowly looking for some
improvements.
21...Qf6 22.h5 Nf8 23.Rxe8 Rxe8 24.Ne5 The first step is
done, now White has an active place for his knight.
24...Qg5?! Black wants to get rid of the knight by playing
20
f6, but this move will create weaknesses around the black 32.Rxa7 Ng6
king. More solid was for example 24...Re7 with the idea to play
Nd7or [24...Ne6!? threatening Nxd4. 25.Re1]
25.Qf3 f6

33.Nxd5! h Not the only winning move, but a very nice one
and typical for Tal’s style.
33...Bxd5 34.Ra8 Bxa2 35.Rxd8+ Kf7 36.Qc6! An easy
26.Nc4! White creates pressure against the d5 pawn. but yet very important move, not allowing the black king to
[26.Bxd5+?! leads to equal play after the forced 26...Bxd5 escape to a safe place.
27.Qxd5+ Re6 28.Qd8 Qxh5 and Black is fine.] 36...Ne7 37.Qe8+ Ke6 38.Rc8 Qd5 39.Rc3 Qd7 40.Re3+
26...Rd8 27.Re1! is the most accurate move. [27.Ne3 Kd6 41.Qb8+ Kc6 42.a4 Nd5 43.Re1 Qd6 44.Rc1+ Kd7
27...Ne6V] 45.Qc8+ 1-0
27...Bc8 [27...dxc4 28.Qxb7 Rxd4 29.Qxa7 Qxh5 30.Qxb6
White has a huge advantage because of the weak black king
and pawn on c4.]
28.Ne3 Be6 29.Rc1C And the next step is done. White
improved his pieces as much as he could and took control of
the c-file.
29...Bf7 30.h6 The h-pawn has no meaning, it is more
important to have active pieces and get the rook to the 7th
rank. [30.Rc7 30...Ne6 31.Rxa7 Nxd4 32.Qd1 Nc6 33.Rb7
Ne5 34.Rxb6 d4 with some chances for counterplay.]
30...Qxh6 31.Rc7 Qg5 [31...Ne6 32.Rxa7 Nxd4 33.Qg4
Nc6 and in case of Rxf7 Black would answer Ne5!]

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Surprise section / study Solutions
(17) Kubbel (18) Shirov, A(2675)-Dubov, D(2629)
1. h Nutcracker rapid, 2014.12.24

47.Ne3+? [47.Ng3+! 47...Kg5 (47...Kf4 48.Rf6+h)

48.Qxd5+!! Rxd5 49.Nxe4+ Kf4 50.Nxf2h] 47...Kg5i
(19) Dreev, A(2649)-Dubov, D(2629)
Nutcracker rapid, 2014.12.25

30.Rxh5! Rxe3 31.Rxh6 Rxg3 [31...Re2+ 32.Kc1h]

32.Rd6 [32.Rg1c ]
32...Rxg2+ 33.Kc3c

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(20) Oleksienko, M(2621)-Sameir, R(2128) (22) Shankland, S(2642)-Petrosyan, M(2407)
Al Ain Open, 2014.12.19 Al Ain Open, 2014.12.20

33.Nb5!! dxc5 [33...axb5 34.Bxb5h]

31.Re1! 1-0 [31.Re1 31...Qxc4 32.Rxe8#]
34.Na7 cxd4 [34...Qd7 35.Bc3 Bd6 36.Nxc8 Rxc8 37.e5h]
35.Nxc6h
(21) Sagar, S(2468)-Kryvoruchko, Y(2671)
(23) Mammadov, Z(2505)-Abdulla, K(2299)
Al Ain Open, 2014.12.20
Al Ain Open, 2014.12.20

24...Bxa3! 25.bxa3 [25.Ra1 25...Bc5e] 36.Rxc6!! Qxf2 [36...bxc6 37.e8=Q! Rxe8 (37...Rxc7
38.Qg6+ Kh8 39.Bxf5h) 38.Qxf7 Re1+ 39.Kg2h]
25...Rxc3e
37.Rcc3! Re8 [37...Qf1+ 38.Rg1h]
38.Rcf3 Qe1+ 39.Rg1h

www.chess-newsletter.com 23
(24) Gopal, G(2580)-Gagare, S(2411)
Al Ain Open, 2014.12.21
25.Bxh6! gxh6 26.Qxh6h Nxb3 [26...Qb4 27.Bxf7+ Rxf7
28.Qg5+ Kh8 (28...Kf8 29.Rc8#) 29.Rxf7h]
27.axb3h
(25) Kryvoruchko, Y(2671)-Onischuk, V(2614)
Al Ain Open, 2014.12.22
28...Rxf3+! 29.Kxf3 [29.gxf3 29...Bxb5]
29...Qe4+ 30.Kf2 Qe2+= [30...Qe2+ 31.Kg3 Qe3+ 32.Kh2
Qf4+ 33.Kh1 Qf1+=]
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(26) Volkov, S(2599)-Mammadov, Z(2505)
Al Ain Open, 2014.12.22
44.Qb6! Qxb6 45.Bxb6h 1-0
(27) Parligras, M(2580)-Mosadeghpour, M(2337)
Al Ain Open, 2014.12.24
44...Ke5? [44...Ke4!! 45.Nc6 Ba7! 46.Nxa7 Kd5! = 47.Nb5
(47.Nc8 47...Kc6 48.Kf3 Kc7! 49.a7 Kb7 50.Ke4 Ka8 51.Kd5
Kb7=; 47.Kf3 47...Kc5=) 47...Kc6 48.Kf3 Kb6 49.a7 Kb7=
50.Ke4 Ka8 51.Kd5 Kb7=]
45.Nc6+ Kd6 46.Nxb8 Kc7 47.Nd7! 1-0
24
(28) Kubbel

1.b5! Rb4! [1...Re5 2.a6 Rxb5 3.a7 Ra5 4.Ke7 Kf3 5.Kd6
Ke4 6.Kc7 Kd5 7.Kxb7 Kc5=]
2.Ke7! [2.a6? 2...bxa6i]
2...Rxb5 3.Kd6! [3.Kd7? 3...Rc5!i]
3...Rf5 [3...Kf3 4.Kc7=; 3...Rxa5 4.Kc7 Kf3 5.Kxb7 Ke4
6.Kc6=]
4.Kc7! Rf7+ 5.Kb8! Kf3 6.Ka7! Ke4 7.a6! Kd5 [7...bxa6+
8.Kxa6 Kd5 9.b7=]
8.axb7 Kc6 9.Ka8! Rxb7=

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