15 December 2015

Occupying a Lower Bunk as a Means of Incentive

Round Three of the Russian Chess Cup in the review of Dmitry Kryakvin.

Throw away the book by Gufeld, forget the games of Gligoric and tuck away the MGP volumes by Kasparov. The modern King's Indian can be studied from the games of two players only - Ding Liren and Kokarev!

From a video blog on chess openings on YouTube

By and large, the women's final has failed to live up to expectations of the anticipated intrigue. Aleksandra Goryachkina, as befits a chess player of the highest calibre, pulled herself together for the decisive battle in which she performed both very strongly and very smartly. The grandmaster from Salekhard acted in a tenacious and technical manner and would prevent Alina from getting into the irrational type of positions, the hallmark of her style, in which Bivol would usually carry on with great imagination. Later Aleksandra would admit in an interview that she was working without any assistance at the moment; however, notwithstanding this the analytical team of the native of Dmitrov could not put her up against any opening challenges.

Goryachkina – Bivol

Game 1 



Having encountered with an unexpected 1.d4 Kf6 2.c4 d6 3.Kc3 e5, Goryachkina refrained from testing either Prizant’s or Matsenko’s analytical preparation after 4.Kf3 e4!?, but without much guile took on e5 first, then exchanged queens, having obtained the bishop pair advantage and starting to treat the position in the style of best classical players. It looked as though it were not a junior chess player before our eyes, but rather some heavyweight taken from one of the Shereshevsky’s books. Up to a certain moment Bivol succeeded in parrying all Sasha’s attempts of finding her way to a decisive advantage, but caved in at the crucial moment of the game.

52...c5? 

This move allows hobbling the black horse. After the correct sequence 52...Nf2+! 53.Ke2 (53.Kc2!? c5 54.Bg6 is perhaps a more crafty approach) 53...Bc3! 54.Bc1 Ne4 55.Bg6 Nc5 56.Bc2 e5 57.e4 (57.fxe5 Bxe5 58.e4 Ne6 is just a transposition) 57...Ne6 58.fxe5 Bxe5 59.Bxh6 Bf4 60.Bxf4+ Nxf4+ 61.Ke3 Nxh5 there would have remained a very few chess material on the board. 

53.Ke2 

Even stronger is 53.Bg6! Nf2+ (53...Nb2+ 54.Kc2 c4 55.Bxb4 doesn’t help either) 54.Ke2 Nh3 55.Bd3 Bh4 56.Kf3 Nf2 57.Bc4, and the knight is doomed.

53...Nb2 54.e4 Bc3 

More stubborn is 54...c4 55.bxc4 Nxc4 56.Bxb4; even though the knight is salvaged, two bishops and an extra pawn is more than enough to warrant victory for White.

55.Bb5! Kd6 56.Be3 c4 

This is a desperado attempt, but there is no more breaking free from Goryachkina’s vice grip.

57.bxc4 b3 58.c5+ Kc7 59.f5 exf5 60.exf5 Bg7 61.Bf4+ and White is winning.

In the return game Alina was not especially successful in handling the opening and remained with a compromised pawn structure, which left her with meagre chances of taking a revenge. Even though at one point Bivol could gobble up her opponent’s infantryman, a small amount of material on the board and a strong bishop of Goryachkina would guarantee Black with a plain sailing in the ending. White passed this last opportunity by and a draw was absolutely inevitable after that. Aleksandra became the owner of the Russian Cup and the Russian Champion at the same time, all this being coupled with an outstanding 7 of 8 in the European Team Championship! The Russia’s women chess can feel rather optimistic about the future. It is high time that Aleksandra started dealing with the individual European and World Championships!

By the way, while one of the chess rounds was underway, the author of these lines was traditionally receiving yet another private master class from Mikhail Kryukov. Mikhail Vitaljevich is a very interesting company, whom you can go on listening for hours. Thus, Kryukov shared with me his vision of the events from the Nepomniachtchi - Nakamura match. The renowned referee played back a video recording of the games and, in his opinion, an American had indeed acted in a very dirty and inappropriate style. Mikhail Vitaljevich maintains that a capable experienced judge was obliged to stop the tactic of "petty fouls" by Hikaru up to the point of not only issuing a warning to Nakamura, but also adding time to Ian’s clock, let alone the instance of castling, which is really beyond any comments. 

Mr.Kryukov is prepared to enforce chess etiquette

 

In the men's semifinals it was the Youth, represented by Vanya Bukavshin and Volodya Fedoseev that fought against the Experience, embodied by Denis Khismatullin and Dmitry Kokarev. In game one it was only due to some kind of a miracle that Ivan avoided being defeated by the mighty Dennis.

Khismatullin – Bukavshin

Game 1 



41.Nd1? 

Here is the side effect of the killer time control that goes without the 30-minute increment after move 40. There is no doubt that if it were the classical time control, a couple of minutes’ thinking would be enough for Khismatullin to come up with 41.Bxe4! Bxe4+ 42.Nxe4 Rxe4 43.R3g4! Re1+ 44.Kh2 Re2+ 45.Kg3 and to win because Black is forced to give up the knight and play the rook ending being two pawns down due to the threat of the linear mate against the Black king. Denis played less ambitiously, and after 41...Rab8 the Vanya’s perseverance earned him a half point, so much pained for.
In the return game Bukavshin squeezed his opponent in the opening and launched a devastating attack against the king, although in Khismatullin’s time trouble he committed a miscalculation and almost allowed Black to escape.

Bukavshin – Khismatullin

Game 2 



27.Ne4! 

A modest continuation 27.f3 Qg7 28.Qh3 is not bad at all, but hooking the knight up to the attack is even stronger – Bukavshin is eager forward, paying no heed to the fact that his opponent is about to restore the material balance. 

27...Qg7 28.g4 Bxf2 29.Rxd8 Rxd8 30.Rc1 Bb7 

Here the bishop falls victim to all possible invasions of the white rook to c7, but also not devoid of its own drawbacks was 30...Bd5 31.Kg2! (31.Rd1? Bxe4+) 31...Bb6 32.Kg3 with no less a powerful attack along the h-file.

31.Bxh7! Be3 32.Rc3? 

White stumbles on the verge of success. Significant edge could be secured by 32.Bg6+ Kg8 33.Re1, whereas now Dennis can escape with a draw.



32...Bh6? 

This is a return error, after which it's all over. 32...Qxh7! 33.Qxh7+ Kxh7 34.Rc7+ Kg6 35.Rxb7 f5! is a saver as it turns out that the White’s passer is doomed: 36.Nc3 (an important point being that 36.e7? runs into 36…Rh8+ and I suspect that it was this resource that escaped Black’s attention during his speedy calculations during time trouble) 36...fxg4 37.e7 Re8 38.Nd5 Bg5 39.Kg2 Kf5 40.Kg3 Bf6, with a draw.

33.Bf5 Rd4 34.Kh2 Qf8 

Or 34...Rxe4 35.Bxe4 Bxe4 36.e7. 

35.e7 Black resigns.

As of recent Ivan has started his rapid ascent: the Aeroflot, Higher League and qualification into the Super Final, and this time the Cup final. I feel that the "kings" at the New Year tournament of Oleg Skvortsov are going to have rough time when being faced off against the Togliatti hero.

Another semifinal became one of the most dramatic events of the Cup final, in which Vladimir Fedoseev – a bright, talented chess Morozevich of the new generation, who is already viewed as a potential winner of the highest level tournaments - was fighting against Dmitry Kokarev. I have known Dima for a long time, we used to be teammates and share same accommodations on numerous occasions. I am sure that had the U18 World Champion been born in one of the chess centers and had had a first class coach as a junior, he would have grown into an extremely strong grandmaster indeed. Nowadays Kokarev is a tough professional of domestic opens, who keeps up an impressive rating by playing in them (which is far from an easy task when competing against such guys as Sarana and Litvinov!) and is capable of defeating anyone.

The King's Indian Defense has turned into the main platform of confrontation between Vladimir and Dmitry. Kokarev is a classic of the popular opening, and, as was noted by Bukavshin, handles many lines in a very original style, refraining from "jumping" at the mating threats but rather outplaying his opponents in a positional manner. I thank my luck that years ago it fell upon me to repeatedly subject the old KID to analysis with Dima in preparation for the games. Many beautiful victories - both my own and those of my students Andrey Esipenko and Daniil Yuffa came into existence under the influence of creative ideas of the grandmaster from Penza (you cannot write Ding Liren off, however. Alas, sharing rooms, analysing games together, and being his teammate was never part of my fate. What a pity!).

However, Fedoseev was perfectly well prepared for the confrontation, had deeply analysed the line that happened in the game, having won a nice victory in the first King's Indian battle.

Fedoseev – Kokarev

Game 1 

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.f3 0–0 6.Be3 c5 7.Nge2 b6 8.Qd2 

The order of moves with 7...b6 is a child of the Argentinian players Panno, Pelican and Najdorf. The main idea is that after 8.d5 e6 9.Ng3 (in 1960 this line was played by no less a person than Mikhail Botvinnik, who easily dealt with Furman after 9.Nc1 exd5 10.cxd5 Ba6 11.Bxa6 Nxa6 12.0-0 Nc7 13.a4 Nd7 14.N1e2 a6) 9...exd5 10.cxd5 Ba6 Black changes bishops, play Nc7, Nd7, a6 and carries out the b5-advance. According to the database, this line has been successfully employed in the recent years by Gennady Kuzmin, Alexander Areschenko and a person called Dmitry Kryakvin. Therefore, White aims at maintaining tension in the center.

8...Ba6 

In case of following the classical pattern 8...Nc6 9.d5 Ne5 10.Ng3 e6 Black is not so easy to prove that the move b7-b6 is helpful. Developing the bishop on a6 is a rather rare idea; I must confess that the author of these lines has something to do with its development.

9.b3 e6 10.Rd1 Nc6 

After winning a tempo against the pawn, Black is poised to meet 11.g3 with 11...e5 or even 11...d5!? White is forced to begin the central operations with the purpose of isolating the impudent a6-fellow.

11.d5 exd5 12.exd5 

 
  
12...Ne5 

This novelty is a fruit of home analysis by Kokarev. Back in 2006 the author of these lines won a nice game as Black against grandmaster Aleksey Ilyushin after 12...Ne7!? 13.g4 Re8 14.Kf2 b5! 15.Ng3 (15.схb5 would be followed by 15...Bb7 and the d5-pawn drops) 15...bxc4 16.Bxc4 Bxc4 17.bxc4 Nc8!, when the weak c4-pawn forces White to switch into the defensive mode.

The review of that Aratovsky Memorial for the "64" magazine was prepared by Ilyushin’s coach Pavel Lobach. Taking into account that in the round preceding my encounter with Aleksey I succeeded in defeating Natalija Pogonina as well, Paul Vladimirovich, a very polite and tactful man, followed his detailed review on the creativity of the first two winners Boris Savchenko and Konstantin Chernyshov by a single line about the Bronze medallist as follows, "The third place is taken by Kryakvin – a chess player who does not even possess an international title" (back then I was FM, rated 2520). Now, years later, I understand that it is through such attentive and witty people as Lobach that I finally became a journalist.

For fairness' sake it should be added that the retreat of the knight to e7 was a lot more successfully met by Alexander Moiseenko after 12...Ne7 13.Ng3 Re8 14.Kf2 h5 15.h4 Qd7, and here instead of 16.Bd3 b5 strong is 16.a4! Nf5 17.Nxf5 Qxf5 18.Bf4 Nd7 19.g3 Bd4+ 20.Kg2 Ne5 21.Be2 with an edge. In our conversation with Fedoseev he confirmed that he was most likely to carry out one of the prophylactic ideas connected with a2-a4. Kokarev does not seem to hurry with b6-b5, hoping to create a kingside assault group first and then to use it as a shelter so as to reroute the bishop into the field of action via c8.

13.Ng3 Nfd7 14.Be2 f5 15.0–0 Qh4 

This is overly optimistic; therefore in his second attempt Dmitry will refrain from venturing with his queen that far. 

16.f4 Nf7 17.Bf3 Rfe8 18.Rfe1 Nh6 19.Kh1 Nf8 20.Rc1 Re7 21.Bf2 Rxe1+ 22.Rxe1 Qf6 23.Re3 Bc8

Fedoseev has finally regrouped his pieces; the native of St. Petersburg has space advantage, which is clearly against Black when all minor pieces are still on the board. Now the "engine" advocates the activation of the dark-squared bishop via h4 after 24.Qe1 Bd7 25.Nge2, but Vladimir decides to immediately mount the knight on e6.

 
  
24.Nb5 Bd7 25.Nc7 Rc8 26.Ne6 Qa1+ 27.Re1 Qb2 

Stronger is 27...Bc3! 28.Rxa1 Bxd2, taking control over the е1-square and aiming at getting rid of the pesky knight as quickly as possible. 

28.Qxb2 Bxb2 29.Nf1 Ng4? 

This is a heavy blunder that leads to the decisive weakening of the Black’s position. Correct is 29...Re8, and it remains unclear whether White is in possession of something tangible. Fedoseev followed up by playing very soundly and found his way about the arising endgame down to the smallest detail.

30.Bxg4 fxg4 31.Ng5! Rd8 32.Ne4 Bf5 33.Bh4 Rd7 34.Nfg3 

White’s pieces have become active, taking aim at the d6-pawn.

34…Bxe4 35.Nxe4 Bg7 36.Bg3 h5 

Sooner or later f4-f5 has to be played; in the meanwhile Volodya subtly works around the weakness generated as a result of the faulty 29th move.



37.h3! Bd4 

Bad is 37...gxh3 38.gxh3 Kf7 39.Kg2 Bf6 40.f5, but the waiting up to the last moment strategy is no better recipe than that either.

38.hxg4 hxg4 39.Bh4, and Black resigns. While White threatens to march his king to g3, 39…Rh7 loses to 40.g3 Rd7 41.Bf6! Nh7 42.Bxd4 cxd4 43.Rd1 and the black pawn drops. 

However, after the second game the score became equal as Fedoseev got the order of moves wrong in his analysis of the "poisoned pawn" variation of the French defence and instead of the home equality ended up in a difficult heavy piece ending with a powerful white passer, which Kokarev brought to a victory. The opponents sat down to play rapid games and the King's Indian battle broke out once again.

Fedoseev – Kokarev

Game 3 

Dmitry refined his move order for this game.

15...Nf7 16.Rfe1 Re8 17.Nf1?! 

The comfortable flow of the first game lulled White’s vigilance, who has made a couple of sluggish moves and surrendered a strong initiative to his opponent. More accurate is 17.f4 Qf6 18.Rc1 Re7 19.Bf2.

17...Qf6 18.Rc1 Re7 19.a4?! 

This is yet another inaccuracy, 19.f4 should have been preferred.

19...Rae8 20.f4? 

This is losing already. However, after 20.Kh1 g5! Black succeeded in creating a tactical assault group, allowing his bishop to join the attack via c8. Now Dmitry, strangely enough, copes without the aid of his bishop! 



20...Rxe3! 21.Nxe3 Qd4 22.Bd3 Qxf4 23.Re2 

After the only continuation 23.Kh1 Bh6 24.Ncd1 Nf6 25.Rc3 White would have had a hard time, but the struggle would have continued nonetheless.  

23...Bd4 24.Rce1 



24...Nde5! 

Kokarev masterfully bypasses the trap that Bukavshin and I overlooked while following on the game in the spectator’s hall, - 24...Qe5? 25.Ncd1 f4 26.Kh1! fxe3 27.Rxe3 Bxe3 28.Rxe3. 

25.Kh1 

25.Rf1 Qg5 changes nothing. 

25...Ng4 26.g3 

The lines are really simple: 26.Nf1 Rxe2; 26.Nxg4 Qxd2. 

26...Qf3+ 27.Ng2 Rxe2 28.Bxe2 

White cannot recapture with the rook in view of the mate on f1; another recapture loses as well: 28.Nxe2 Nf2+ 29.Kg1 Qxd3. 

28...Nf2+ 29.Kg1 Nh3+ 30.Kh1 Qxc3, and the King’s Indian proponent took the upper hand while having spent only a couple of minutes for the entire game. 

The opening of the return rapid game was handled by Volodya not in the best way, and despite his ingenious tactical rejoinders, the evaluation of the position remained not especially favourable for him.

Kokarev – Fedoseev

Game 4 

 
  
The sparkling geometry 36.Nf5+ Kg6 37.Qb4!! Kxf5? 38.Qb1+ is undoubtedly not something for the rapid game, but why not playing 36.Ne6+ Kg6 37.Nf8+ (37.Nd8!? Qxa4! 38.Qxf7+ Kh6 39.Ne6 Qe4+ 40.Kg1 Qh7 41.Nxg5 is not so clear) 37...Kg7 38.Ne6+, fixing a draw?

36.Nf3? Qxa4 37.Re1 

37.Nxg5 Qxd1 38.Qxf7+ Kh6 39.Ne6 Qxd5+ 40.Kg1 f5 41.Qxf5 Qd1+ 42.Kg2 Qh5 loses.

37...Re8 38.Qb7 Bd6 39.Rxe8 Qxe8 40.Qxa7 Bc5! 41.Qa2 Qe4 42.Qd2 Kf8 43.d6 Ke8 44.d7+ Kd8 45.Qd1 



45...Qc6?! 

The segment of the game up to this move was won by Fedoseev. Black has solidified, pinned the knight, bears down on f2, and is about to win a pawn. Now something like 45...f5! 46.Kg1 f6 47.h4 f4 would have landed the match into the Armageddon. Volodya played less tenaciously, whereas Kokarev, who seemed to have lost the thread of the game, managed to pull himself together and keep his position from falling apart.

46.g4! Qxd7 47.Qb3 Ke7 48.Kf1 Qe6 

48...Kf8 is more precise, not allowing the white queen gaining any tempos against the black king. 

49.Qd3 Qd6 50.Qe2+ Kf8 51.Qe4 b5 52.h4! b4 

In the case of 52...gxh4 53.Nxh4 the white knight is going to land on f5.

53.hxg5 b3?! 

53...fxg5! 54.Nxg5 b3 55.Qf5 Qa6+ 56.Kg2 Qc4 was the last opportunity, pinning hopes liquidating into the queen ending so as to rush the king over to render assistance to the passed pawn. 

54.gxf6 Qxf6



55.Qc4 Qb6 

Should the trade-off of minor pieces be allowed, the game would end in a perpetual check: 55...Qxf3 56.Qxc5+ Ke8 57.Qc8+ Ke7 58.Qc7+ Ke6 59.Qb6+ Ke5 60.Qb8+ Kd4 61.Qb4+.

56.Ne5 Qc7 57.Nd3, a draw that yielded Dmitry an overall 2.5-1.5 match victory.

The finalists narrated about having a special type of motivation for qualifying into the final. Bukavshin was willing to witness the international tournament in mixed marital arts, which was scheduled to start on December 11 in the capital of Ugra. As for Kokarev, should he have lost in the semi-finals, he would have ended up travelling home by train on the upper bunk! It should be added that travelling from the station located next to Khanty-Mansiysk all the way to Penza is far from being a short trip... By defeating Fedoseev, Dmitry was able to buy out a lower bunk ticket on December 13.

Which is more important: an MMA combat or a berth? Who is going to prevail: a King’s Indian proponent or a specialist in fighting against the opening, which was given a name of the Brezhnev attack in a famous story by Segal? The end of the story is approaching.