19 May 2015

The Luck of the Luckiest

Round One Review of the FIDE Grand Prix by GM Sergei Shipov.

So, it has finally begun!

This competition, which we have been looking forward to for so long, is about to determine the owners of the two entry tickets into the Candidates Tournament. Many participants who were interviewed before noted that it was this important event that they had been preparing for. Let’s take Nakamura, for example. He has won a lot of tournaments and earned a lot of money. What else does he strive for in chess? There is only one little thing left to be done by Hikaru yet as he needs to attain the ultimate goal of conquering the title of the World Champion.

A special charm to the tournament in Khanty-Mansiysk is lent by the fact that all immediate competitors will sort things out in the course of their face-to-face struggle as there is no such thing as rivalry in absentia, because those players who do not participate in the last stage have so far failed to qualify to future events.

I believe that before the start of the tournament many players constructed their line of reasoning approximately as follows, "Suppose I take the clear first, so what next?" In fact, Tomashevsky, Nakamura and Caruana in principle can achieve the goal even without taking the first place. They will suffice with a small plus. Gelfand, Karjakin, Grischuk and Jakovenko, however, must be guided by the principle "all or nothing!" They have to chase the top position only.

This inherent sporting maximalism offers us prospects of an entertaining competition.

The first round had an unfortunate effect of pouring a certain amount of cold water on my ardent zest of a chess fan and a commentator. It turned out that some players either lacked faith in own strength or otherwise counted on slow starting at first and fast driving at last.

Grischuk-Svidler has, in fact, seen no fight. Friends and rivals have followed a very well-known variation of the Queen's Gambit Accepted, in which Black temporarily sacrifices a pawn and then wins it back to equalize the game completely. Apparently, Sasha was not in for a serious battle as he arrived too late for the game.

Yet another game had an equally disappointing effect.

Karjakin – Nakamura 


28.c4! bxc3 29.Kc2 

This is an ideal way to activate the king. In future White will be able to create a passed pawn on the queenside, if there is future, of course... 

29...Kf8 

Safer for Black is probably 29...gxh5 30.Bxh5 Kg7 with the idea to swap another pair of pawns after h7-h6. 

30.Bg4 

30.h6 deserved attention in this position already. 

30...R8c7 

At this very moment the fans and commentators were unhappily surprised by the peace agreement that the opponents signed. 

Why did Karjakin refrain from further fighting? I am quite sure that neither Carlsen nor Nakamura would have done like that if they were playing White. 

How could White continue to play for a win? So far the breakthrough 31.f5 fails in view of 31...gxf5 32.Bxf5 e5!. Instead, White could have tried to squeeze his opponent’s position in the style of Shereshevsky. 

31.h6! 



In this position the h7-pawn has turned into a critical weakness of the strategical nature, while the h6-pawn has become a potential passer. 

Now, a whole bunch of continuations can be chosen from. For example, 31...Ke8 32.f5! gxf5 33.Bxf5 e5 34.Rh4 Nxd5 35.Bxh7 Nb4+ 36.Rxb4 axb4 37.Bf5 Ke7 38.h7 Rc8 39.Bxc8 Rxc8 40.Rh3 Rh8 41.a5 Kd7 42.Rh4 




42...Kc6! (42...Kc7? 43.a6 d5 44.g6! fxg6 45.Rxb4 Rxh7 46.Rb7+, and White is winning) 43.a6 d5! (43...Kb6? 44.Rxb4+ Kxa6 45.Rh4 with an advantage for White)44.a7 Kb7 45.Rxb4+ Kxa7 46.Rh4 d4 47.Rh6 Kb7, and Black manages to hold his position together. 

Obviously safer is 31...f5!, when further complications would result in sharp game with mutual chances: 

32.Be2 

or 32.Bf3 Kf7 33.Re3 Rc8 34.Rdd3 Nd7!, and the black knight is ready to settle comfortably on с5. 

32...Kf7 33.Rd1 Rc8 34.Bb5 Kf8 35.R4d3 R8c7 36.Bc6!? e6 



37.Re1 
or 37.Re3 e5! 38.fxe5 dxe5 39.Rxc3 (39.Rxe5? R7xc6) 39...Rxc3+ 40.Kxc3 f4 with counterplay. 

37...e5 38.Rb1 exf4 39.b4 axb4 40.Rxb4 Re7 41.Rxc3 Re2+ 42.Kd1 Rxc3 43.Kxe2 Nc4 44.Rb8+ Ke7 45.Rb7+ Kf8 46.Rxh7 f3+ 47.Kf2 Nd2 



In order to avoid the worse fate Black is forced to resort to perpetual check: 48.Rh8+ Kf7 49.Be8+ Ke7. 

So, Black was keeping his position together in all continuation. It is true that they are not worse from the analytical point of view. In the practical game, however, nothing can be ruled out. A lot of fight could have ensued, of which we were deprived, however. 

The rating favorite of the tournament was fighting the best he could, but was stopped by the powerful defensive lines and a strong novelty.

Caruana – Dominguez 

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.0–0 Nxe4 5.d4 Nd6 6.Bxc6 dxc6 7.dxe5 Nf5 8.Qxd8+ Kxd8 9.h3 h6 10.Rd1+ Ke8 11.Nc3 Ne7 12.Bf4 Ng6 13.Bh2 


  
13...Be7 

It is quite appropriate to recall the predecessor game at this moment: 13...Bb4 14.Ne2 Be7 15.Nfd4 Nf8! 16.g4 h5 17.Nf5 Ne6 18.Kg2 b6 19.f3 c5 20.Bg3 Bg5 21.h4 hxg4 22.hxg5 gxf3+ 23.Kxf3 Nxg5+ 24.Kf4 Nh3+ 25.Ke4 Ng5+ 26.Kf4 Nh3+ and a draw was agreed, Caruana-Carlsen, Baden-Baden 2015. 

14.Nd4 Nf8! 

This is a novelty and a new interpretation of the maneuver employed by Carlsen previously. Maintaining stiff blockade on the e6-square gives Black reasonable chances for equalizing. 

The previous game continued 14...Bd7 15.Re1, and now a typical 15...Bb4? (once again, 15...Nf8! would be stronger) allowed White to lift the blockade via: 16.e6! fxe6 17.Nxe6 Kf7 18.Nxc7 Rad8 (more stubborn is 18...Rac8!) 19.Re4 Bxc3 20.bxc3 Bf5 21.Ra4 a6 22.Rb4 Bc8 23.Rd4; and in the game  Piorun-Miton, Warsaw 2011 Black did not manage to save the game. 

15.Rd3! 

15.Re1 is answered with 15...Ne6 16.Nf5 Bb4! 17.Re3 g6 18.Nh4 Bxc3 19.Rxc3 c5 with equality. 

15...h5! 

When analyzing this game I arrived at the definite conclusion that this was Dominguez’s home preparation. I think it would be unnecessary to give a detailed explanation about how he managed to come up with it ... 

16.Re1 

White threatens a direct attack via Nc3-e4-d6(f6). It is high time Black consolidated his position. 

16...Ne6! 17.Nce2 

17.Nf5 was intended to be met with 17...Nc5!, and this position deserves a dedicated analysis: 




I wonder if the opponents saw the continuation 18.e6! that lead to a very sharp game: 18...Nxd3 19.exf7+ Kxf7 20.Rxe7+ Kf8 (or 20...Kf6 21.Ne4+ Kxf5 22.cxd3 with initiative for White) 21.cxd3 Bxf5 22.Rxc7 Bxd3 (22...Rh6!? 23.Be5 Rg6 24.Ne2!) 23.Rxb7 g5 24.Rc7 Rh6, and Black succeeds in gradual neutralizing of his opponent’s initiative. 

17...c5 

In case of 17...Bd7 18.Nxe6 Bxe6 19.Nd4 it would be necessary to calculate the bold continuation 19...Bxa2, which is not so difficult, by the way: 20.b3 Rd8 21.Ra1 Bc5 22.c3 Bb6!, and after the c6-c5 advance Black will achieve a comfortable game. 

18.Nf5 h4 (18...b6!?) 19.c4 

Also not dangerous is 19.Nc3 g6! 20.Nxe7 Kxe7 21.Nd5+ Kf8 with equality. 

19...b6 20.Red1 Rh5 21.Ne3 Bb7 22.Nd5 




This is a typical position for the Berlin Defense where the seeming superiority of the first player is compensated by the lack of any constructive plan.

22...Bg5 23.f3 (23.f4 Bh6!) 23...Rd8 24.Kf2 

24.f4 should be answered with 24...Be7! (24...Bh6? 25.Nxc7+) and it turned out that we, the commentators, managed in a live online broadcast to exactly calculate the continuation with 25.g4 hxg3 26.Nxg3 Rxh3 27.Nxe7 Rxd3 28.Rxd3 Nxf4, and White fails to gain any dividends: 29.Re3 Rh7! 30.Nd5 (30.Nef5 g6; 30.Ngf5 Nh3+ 31.Kf1 Ng5 32.Bg1 Nf3!) 30...Nxd5 31.cxd5 Bxd5 with a better position for Black. 

24...Bc6! 25.Nef4 

It leads to multiple trading of pieces and a draw. In case of 25.Bf4 White would need to reckon with a simple continuation 25...Be7 as well as with sharp complications that followed after 25...Bxd5 26.Bxg5 Rxg5 27.cxd5 (27.Rxd5? Rxe5) 27...c4 28.Re3 Nc5 etc. 

25...Bxf4 26.Nxf4 Rxd3 27.Rxd3 Rf5 28.Nxe6 (28.Nd5 Rh5=) 28...fxe6 




29. Ke1 a5 30.Re3 Kf7 31.Kd2 Kg6 32.Kc3 Rf7 33.Rd3 Rd7 34.Rxd7 Bxd7 35.Bg1 Kh5 36.Be3 Be8 37.b3 Bg6 38.a4 Bf5 39.Bd2 Bg6 40.Be3 Bf5 Draw. 

There was yet another player who dashed from the shipboard straight into the chess ball. However, unlike Grischuk, he was in a belligerent mood. He also managed to survive. 


Vachier-Lagrave – Gelfand 

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 e6 4.0–0 Nge7 5.d4 cxd4 6.Nxd4 Ng6 7.Be3 Be7 8.Be2 0–0 9.Nc3 a6 10.a4 Qc7 11.Nb3 b6 12.f4 Bb7 13.Qd2 Rad8 14.Bd3 



White handled the opening part of the game rather unpretentiously and allowed Black to obtain an excellent counterplay. 
  
14...d5! 15.exd5 exd5?! 

This continuation is reliable, but not aggressive enough.  A lot more problems for White could have been posed after 15...Nb4!. The idea of the move is that after 16.dxe6 Nh4! Black develops a strong pressure along the central light-squared diagonal. For example, 17.Rf2 Nxd3 18.cxd3 Bxg2! 

The point was to correctly calculate the consequences of 16.Qf2! In this case Black opens up the game with the exchange sacrifice: 16...Nxd3 17.cxd3 Qb8!! 18.Bxb6 Rxd5! 19.Nxd5 Bxd5 20.Nd2 (20.Na5 Nxf4 21.Ba7 Nxd3!) 20...Nxf4 21.Qxf4 Qxb6+ 22.Kh1 Qxb2 with the initiative. Or 18.f5 exf5 19.Bxb6 Ne5!? 20.Bxd8 Ng4 21.Qg3 Qxd8 22.Rxf5 Qb6+ 23.Kh1 Qxb3, and again, Black manages to pose dangerous threats to his opponent. 

16.f5 

Maxime goes in for the attack right then and there. White could have first taken control over the d4-square, but not so with 16.Ne2 in view of 16...d4! 17.Nexd4 Nxd4 18.Nxd4 Nh4 19.Nf3 Nxf3+ 20.gxf3 Bc5 when Black obtains an excellent compensation for the missing pawn.

16.Nd4! would have been a more solid option to set up an almost deadly central blockade. In the post-game discussion Boris mentioned that he intended to play 16...Bc5 17.Nce2 Rfe8, which, however, was not a means of depriving White of his comfortable situation, as can be seen after 18.Rad1 etc. 

The idea of lunging the black knight on с4 is stronger – 16...Na5!, and White cannot prevent it with the b2-b3 move in view of Be7-b4. White can hardly be pleased with the modest 17.Nce2 Nc4 18.Qc1, because the black pieces are deployed actively: 18...Rfe8 19.Bf2 Nf8 with the idea of Nf8-d7-f6-e4. 

Black has to reckon with White’s attacking possibilities 17.f5 Ne5 18.f6 Bxf6 19.Rxf6, and now let’s take a closer look at the position: 


 
Extremely dangerous for Black would be 19...gxf6?! 20.Qf2!. However, 19...Nac4! is a saver, after which the position opens up to a countless number of brain-taxing variations: 20.Bxh7+ Kxh7 21.Qf2 Bc8! (21...Nxe3 22.Qxe3 Rfe8! 23.Rf5 Kg8) 22.Bg5! Qc5! 23.Rb1 Kg8 24.b4 Qe7 25.Qh4 gxf6 26.Bxf6 Ng6! 27.Bxe7 Nxh4 28.Bxh4 Rd7 29.Rd1 and White has the initiative for the exchanged sacrifice. 

16...Nge5 17.f6 Bxf6 18.Rxf6 



And, again, Black is up against a choice whether to accept or decline the exchange sacrifice. 

18...d4! 

This is a reliable practical decision. 18...gxf6 was not losing either, but you have to calculate a lot of forced lines with checks. Here is the result of the analysis: 19.Qf2 Nxd3 20.cxd3 d4! 21.Ne4! dxe3 22.Nxf6+ Kg7 (22...Kh8? 23.Qf5) 23.Nh5+ Kg8 24.Nf6+ Kg7, when the perpetual check cannot be avoided – 25.Nh5+ Kg6 26.Qf6+ Kxh5 27.Rf1 Bc8 28.Rf5+ Bxf5 29.Qxf5+ Kh6 30.Qf6+ Kh5=. 

19.Rxc6 Nxc6 20.Nxd4 Nxd4 21.Bxd4 Rxd4 22.Bxh7+ Kxh7 23.Qxd4 

Multiple piece trades resulted in a position where the black long-range bishop’s superiority over the white knight is clearly visible. 

23...Re8 24.Rd1 Re6 25.Rd3 Rg6 



26.Rg3 

In the course of the online broadcasting Sergei Rublevsky and I were apprehensive about the continuation 26.Rh3+ Kg8 27.Nd5, but Boris later explained that Black defended by counterattacking via 27...Bxd5! 28.Qxd5 Rd6, and Black is OK in all continuations. 
The first continuation is 29. Rc3 Qd8 30.Qf3 Rd1+ 31.Kf2 Qh4+ 32.Qg3 Qd4+ 33.Qe3 Qh4+ 34.Qg3=. The second continuation is 29.Qe4 Qc5+ 30.Kf1 Rf6+ 31.Rf3 Qg5 32.b3 Qc1+ 33.Kf2 Re6 34.Qa8+ Kh7 35.Rh3+ Kg6 36.Rg3+ Kh7 with equality. 

26...Rxg3 27.Qh4+ Kg8 28.hxg3 (or 28.Qxg3 Qc5+ 29.Kh1 Bc6=) 28...Qc6 29.Qd8+ Kh7 30.Qh4+ Kg8 31.Qd8+ Kh7 32.Qd3+ Kg8 33.Qd8+ Draw. 


The home player won the game in a good technical manner by capitalizing on the mistakes made by his opponent who did not manage to get enough sleep.

Jakovenko – Giri 

1.Nf3 d5 2.d4 Nf6 3.c4 e6 4.Nc3 Bb4 5.Qa4+ Nc6 6.Ne5 Bd7 7.Nxd7 Qxd7 8.e3 0–0 9.a3 Bxc3+ 10.bxc3 e5 11.Be2 Rfe8 12.Bb2 dxc4 13.Qxc4 Na5 14.Qb4 b6 15.dxe5 Nc6 16.Qf4 Nxe5 17.Rd1 Qc6 18.0–0 Ne4 19.c4 



White has the dangerous bishop pair advantage that was underestimated by Anish. 

19...Nxc4? 

This is too optimistic. Black should have consolidated his position and tried to restrict the activity of his opponent’s pieces. This could have been achieved, for example, via 19...f6! 20.Rd5 Ng6 21.Qg4 Qe6 with only a slight advantage for White. 

20.Rc1! 

Giri might have counted only on 20.Bxc4 Qxc4 21.f3 Nd6 22.Qg5, which is answered with 22...f6! 23.Bxf6 Qf7, when the subsequent retreat of the white bishop is followed by h7-h6 with good game for Black. 

20...b5 21.Bxc4 bxc4 22.f3 

It has become clear that 22...Nd6 is not a good option in view of 23.Qg5 f6 (23...g6 24.Qf6) 24.Bxf6 Qd7 25.Bc3 with subsequent e3-e4. Therefore, Black had to concede to a rather grim-looking continuation:

22...Nf6 23.Rxc4 Qe6 24.Bxf6 Qxf6 25.Qxf6 gxf6 26.Kf2 



The resulting rook endgame features a sizeable advantage for White. 

26...Rab8 27.Rfc1 Rb3 28.R1c3 Reb8 29.Rxc7 a5 30.g4 a4 31.Ke2 h5 32.gxh5 Rb2+ 33.Kd3 Rd8+ 34.Ke4 Rxh2 35.Rc8 Rxc8 36.Rxc8+ Kg7 37.Ra8 Rxh5 38.Rxa4 f5+ 39.Kd3 Rh1 40.Rc4 Kf6 41.f4 Ke6 42.Rc6+ Ke7 43.Kc2 Re1 44.Rc3 Kd6 45.a4 Ra1 46.Kb3 


  
46...Rb1+ 47.Ka2 

This is too soft. 47.Ka3 or 47.Kc4 would have been a lot more precise. 

47...Rb8 48.Ka3 Ra8 

Black managed to regroup his rook and put it in front of the passed pawn to hamper White’s progress in attaining his ultimate goal.

49.Rb3 Re8 

It looks like Anish no longer believed in the possibility of surviving. Therefore, he chose the path of least resistance. Active counterplay could have created problems for White 49 ... Kc5! 50.Rb5 + Kc4 51.Rxf5 Rd8, and this position was the cause of grandmasters’ disputes both during and after the game.



The domination of black pieces is not to be underestimated in this position.  The naive 52.Rxf7? would result in a draw after: 52...Rd3+ 53.Kb2 Rxe3 54.f5 Re2+ 55.Kc1 Ra2 56.Rc7+ Kd4 57.Ra7 Kc3 58.Kd1 Kd3 59.Kc1 Kc3 60.Kb1 Rf2 61.Ra5 Kb4 with equality. 

Instead, the white king’s marching over to the kingside decides the fate of the game: 52.Re5! Rd3+ 53.Kb2 Rd2+ 54.Kc1 Ra2 55.Kd1! Kd3 (55...Rxa4? 56.Re4+) 56.Ke1 Rxa4 (56...Rh2 57.a5) 57.Kf2! (rather than 57.Re7 Ra2!=) 57...Ra6 58.Kf3 which decisively cuts the black king off from further assisting in protecting his pawn and White is going to gradually win this position. 

50.Rc3 Ra8 51.Kb4! 

It is all very clear now. White places his rook behind the passed pawn to deprive Black of any counterplay. 

51...Rb8+ 52.Kc4 Rc8+ 53.Kd4 Ra8 



54.Ra3! Ra5 55.Kc4 Kc6 56.Kb4 Rd5 57.Rc3+ Kb6 58.Rc8 Rd3 59.a5+ Kb7 60.Rc3 Rd1 61.Rc5 Black resigns. 


However, the game played by the leader of the Grand Prix series, stands out as the most impressive and dramatic encounter of the round. 

Jobava – Tomashevsky 

1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Nf3 a6 5.e3 e6 6.b3 c5 7.Bb2 



The fact that Evgeny became immersed in deep thinking in this well-known theoretical position was the first unmistakable signal of alarm. 

7...cxd4 

More natural is 7...Nc6!, causing additional pressure on d4. Now White does not come off with 8.Bd3, as Black is prepared to accept the sacrificed gift after: 8...cxd4 9.exd4 dxc4 10.bxc4 Nxd4! 11.Nxd4 Qxd4 12.0–0, and here again the move 12...Bd7! is of utmost importance as it allows Black to fend off White’s attack in a decent way – 13.Nd5 Qxb2 14.Nc7+ Kd8 15.Nxa8 Bd6!, and even to start counterattacking after 16.Rb1 Qe5 17.g3 Bc6 18.Re1 Qc5 19.Nb6 h5! 20.Na4 Bxa4 21.Qxa4 h4, etc. 

That is why the move 7...Nc6 is usually answered with more modest 8.Be2 or 8.Rc1. 

8.exd4 Be7 

This is rather passive. Once again, 8...Nc6! would have been stronger especially now that 9.Rc1 is adequately met with 9...g6!, and the bishop will be developed on g7. 

9.Bd3! 

This time White manages to deploy his pieces to ideal squares. 

9...Nc6 10.0–0 0–0 

In this set-up with the moves Bf8-e7 and White’s long castle included the d4-pawn is not so tasty: 10...dxc4 11.bxc4 Nxd4?! 12.Nxd4 Qxd4. Please be you own judge: 



13.Nd5! Qxb2 14.Nc7+, when the natural response 14...Kf8 ends up in strong pressure by White after: 15.Nxa8 Bc5 16.Rb1 Qxa2 17.Nb6 Bxb6 18.Rxb6 Ke7 19.Qe1! Qa3 20.Qe5! Rd8 21.Be2 Kf8 22.Bf3 Qe7 23.Rb2 with a clear advantage. 
Here the computer insists that the picturesque 14...Kd7!! be somewhat stronger. But then, everyone has his own path... 

11.Rc1 

Now Black experiences problems with developing his queenside. 

11...Bd7 

In case of 11...b6 12.cxd5 the unprotected с6-knight becomes a headache for Black in all variations: 12...exd5 13.Ne5 Bb7 14.Na4! etc. 

The Great and Terrible recommends 11...dxc4! 12.bxc4 b5!, but then, again, it cannot be done by any one man: 13.cxb5 axb5 14.Bxb5 Qb6 15.a4 Rd8 16.Qe2 (16.Ne2 Na7!) 16...Nxd4 (or 16...Bb7) 17.Nxd4 Qxd4 18.Rfd1 Qb4, and White does not have any advantage any more. 

12.Re1 

Perhaps the immediate 12.c5! would be more precise. 

12...Re8 

The regrouping of pieces after 12...Bd6!? 13.c5 Bc7 14.a3 Nh5 15.b4 f5 with subsequent Nh5-f6-e4 was an interesting alternative. 

13.c5! Qc7 14.a3 Bf8 15.b4 



White has grabbed a lot of space, while Black lacks real counterplay. The position can be definitely evaluated as “White has the upper hand”. 

15...Rad8 16.h3 g6 17.Rb1! 

White carries out a fine regrouping. The rook will be useful on the b-file, whereas the bishop will enter the game via с1. 

17...Bg7!? 18.b5 Na5 

Black cannot allow White’s knight on d6. 

19.a4! 

Baadur could have grabbed the pawn by19.bxa6 bxa6 20.Bxa6 with subsequent a3-a4 and Ba6-b5. However, he quite reasonably believed that maintaining the initiative would be of more value. 

19...Bc8 20.Bc1! h6 

White threatened to maneuver his bishop along the Bc1–g5-h4-g3 route. 

21.Qc2 Nc4 



This is the critical moment of the game. White’s position is nearly winning. In addition to that the grandmaster from Georgia had 40 minutes more on his clock than the Russian GM. 

The gradual consolidation of White’s position suggests itself in order not to allow any potential counterplay to the opponent. The most precise decision in this respect would be to continue 22.b6! Qb8 23.Ne2! (the computer insists on White having a decisive attack after 23.Bxg6 fxg6 24.Qxg6, which, by the way, was not at all a bad option for such a brilliant attacking player as Jobava). In this position Black achieves nothing by playing 23...e5 in view of 24.Nxe5 Nxe5 25.dxe5 Qxe5 (25...Rxe5 26.Bf4) 26.Bf4 Qe7 27.Bc7 Rd7 28.c6 and White is going to win before long. 

However, there followed a risky continuation 22.Bxc4?! dxc4 23.Rb4? 

This is already a blunder. The pawn should be captured with the queen via 23. Qa2!. Now the 23...e5 breakthrough does not achieve much because after 24.b6 Qb8 25.dxe5 the black bishop lands on f5 without attacking the white queen. 
Further variations are rather complicated, but I failed to find any consolation for Black in this position. 

23...e5! 



The picture of the game changes drastically as Black’s bishops enter the game. It is no wonder that Jobava lost his bearings and failed to take the situation under control. 

24.b6 Qb8 25.Rxe5?! 

In the case of 25.Rxc4 exd4 26.Rxe8+ Nxe8! the strong passed pawn on d4 and the stingy light-squared bishop secured a positional edge for Black. Perhaps stronger is 25.c6! bxc6 26.dxe5 Bf5 27.Qb2 Nd7 28.Rxc4 with a reasonable game for White. 

25...Rxe5 26.dxe5 Bf5 27.Qe2 

27.Qb2 Nd7 28.c6 bxc6 29.Bf4 (29.Rxc4 Nxe5) is no picnic for White either in view of 29...Nc5 and the knight’s subsequent landing on d3. 

27...Bd3 28.Qe3 

More surviving chances offers 28.Qe1! with the intention of developing the bishop to f4. 

28...Nd7 



29.Nd5 

As Baadur was nearing the time trouble he could not refrain himself from plunging into an attack. It is in his blood. It should be noted, however, that there are no good solutions in this position available for White any longer. For example, 29.c6 bxc6 30.Bd2 Nxe5 31.Nxe5 Bxe5 32.b7 Re8! etc. 

29...Nxe5 30.Ne7+ Kh7 31.c6 

In the case of 31.Nxe5 Qxe5 32.Qxe5 Bxe5 33.c6 Bd6 34.c7 Re8 35.Rxc4 Bxc4 36.c8Q Rxc8 37.Nxc8 Bb4 the resulting endgame features two extremely powerful black bishops. 

31...Nxf3+! 

This is more precise than 31...Nxc6 32.Nxc6 bxc6 33.b7 with counterplay for White. 

32.gxf3 (32.Qxf3 Qd6 33.c7 Re8–+) 32...Qd6 

It is this clumsily-placed b4-rook that fails White. 

33.Ba3 bxc6 (33...Bd4 would have reached the goal much faster) 34.b7 Rb8 35.Nc8 Qd7 36.Qe7 Qxh3! 37.Qxf7 



37...Qf1+ (37...Bf1!?) 38.Kh2 Qxf2+ 39.Kh1 Be2! White resigns. 

One may observe that Tomashevsky had a rare stroke of luck, hadn’t he? Of course he had! 

But everyone understands who gets lucky in this life...