The JR Chess Report (August 23): Chuckie Takes Jermuk

Chuckie wins Jermuk Grand Prix



Ukraininan grandmaster Vassily Ivanchuk, known to his many, many fans as "Chuckie", scored 8½ points in 13 rounds to take first place in the fifth leg of the FIDE Grand Prix completed just hours ago in the health resort Mecca of Jermuk, Armenia.

Vassily Mikhailovich spent most of the tournament tied for the lead with Hungarian grandmaster Peter Leko and Rustam Kasimdzhanov of Uzbekistan. For Kasidzhanov, it was his most impressive finish in an elite grandmaster tournament since being prematurely raised to that level of competition by winning the 2003 FIDE Knock Out Tournament in Tripoli, Libya, the last Knock Out tournament on which FIDE foolishly insisted calling the winner world champion.

When the final round started today, six out fourteen players still had a shot at winning or sharing first prize with Leko and Ivanchuk sharing the lead with 7½ points each. Chuckie, playing Black, defeated Armenian GM Vladimir Akipian in 62 moves to assure himself at least a share of the tournament title, while Leko lost to Israeli GM Boris Gelfand in 78 moves. Gelfand, with 8 points, finshed tied with Armenia's Levon Aronian, who beat Russian GM Ernesto Inarkiev today. Leko, with 7½ points, finished tied for fourth with Kasimdzhanov and former Russian national champion Evgeny Alekseev, both of whom played draws today.


Old Timers Short, Timman and Korchnoi Shine in Staunton Memorial



Former world championship challenger Nigel Short, 44, rejoined the 2700 club after an absence of many years by scoring 8 points in ten rounds in the Scheveningen team match while Jan Timman, 57, also a former world title competitor, won the round robin competition in which Viktor Korchnoi, 78, who nearly won the world championship from Anatoly Karpov 31 years ago, finshed a strong third at the seventh annual Howard Stauton Tournament with finished in London at the historic chess haunt Simpson's Divan Monday.

In the round robin event, Mh. Timman scored 7 points in nine rounds while Viktor Lvovich scored 6. Russian grandmaster Alexander Cherniaev was second with 6½ points. Timman won 6 games and lost one, that to Viktor Lvovich.

In the ten-round-by-five-board Scheveningen team match, the British players, led by Short, defeated a Dutch team led by national champion Jan Smeets, 26½-23½. Mr. Short's dominance in this event is demonstrated by the fact that the British team won with Mr. Short being its only player to score better than 50%.

Viktor Lvovich Korchnoi was born in Leningrad, the once and future St. Petersburg, on March 23, 1931. He was in the world championship cycle by the late fifties and was four times Soviet Champion. In 1974, he narrowly lost the final candidates' match to Karpov, who went on to take the title when then-champion Bobby Fischer defaulted in a dispute with FIDE over conditions for the title match. Viktor Lvovich defected to the West in 1976, finally settling in Switzerland. Although still stateless in 1978, he won the right to challenge Karpov for the world title. The match was held in Baguio City in the Philippines and was won by Karpov, 6 wins to 5 with draws not counting, in 32 games. Korchnoi also played Karpov for the world title in 1981, but was soundly beaten by Karpov in a match held in Merano, Italy. Viktor Lvovich is considered one of the greatest players never to win the world championship. Since 1996, he has earned the reputation of being the greatest senior citizen player of all time.


Keti Arakhamia-Grant Takes Baltic Queen Crown



Grandmaster Ketevan Arakahmia-Grant of Scotland by way of Georgia won the Baltic Queen Women's Tournament in St. Petersburg Thursday with 6 points in nine rounds.

International master Ekaterina Atalik of Turkey by way of Russia, who led much of the way until faletering in the final rounds, finished second with 5½ points. Grandmaster Pia Cramling of Sweeden, German IM ELisabeth Pähtz and IM Viktorija Cmilyte of Lithuania tied for third with 5 points each.

Ms. Arakhamia-Grant started the tournament badly, scoring only 1½ points in the first four rounds. She then won her next four game, culminating with an eighth round win over Mrs. Atalik to secure the tournament title.

Ms. Arakhamia-Grant became a full grandmaster earlier this year and switched her federation from her native Georgia to Scotland. She has lived in Edinburgh since her marriage to grandmaster Jonathan Grant in 1996. The couple have one child. Ms. Arakahmia-Grant was the overall Scottish national champion in 2003 and runner up in the British national championship in 2006.



Four Share First Prize in Acropolis Open



Four players shared the top honors in the Acropolis Open completed Tuesday in Chalkida, about 30 miles from Athens.

Borki Predojevic (Bosnia), Hristos Banikas (Greece), Ioannis Papaioannou (Greece) and Atanas Kolev (Bulgaria) scored 6½ points each in nine rounds. Predojevich is first among equals with the superior tiebreak score.

The tournament got off to a tragic start when Greek master Nikolaos Karapanos suffered a heart attack while planning his final moves against Dan Zoler of Israel in the first round. Zoler, a doctor, immediately jumped into action in an attempt to revive Karapanos, but to no avail. Karapanos was taken to a hospital where he was pronouced dead.

Dr. Zoler, who was in a completely lost position, resigned the game and, understandably shaken, withdrew from the tournament.

One hundred players started the event.




Calendar

Russia-China Team Match, SOchi 14-24 August.

NH Experience-Rising Stars Team Match, Amsterdam 20-31 August. Greybeards: Beliavsky, Ljubojovic, Nielsen, Svidler, van Wely. Brats: Caruana, Hou Yifan, Nakamura, Smeets, Stellwagen.

International Festival d'échecs, Montreal 27 August-7 September. Grandmaster Tournament will include Bacrot, Onischuk, Shulman, Naiditsch and Maze; more to be added.

Grand Slam Final, Bilbao 2-15 September. Topalov, Karjakin, Grischuk and Shirov qualify. Topalov dropped and will be replaced by Aronian.

Second Pearl Spring Tournament, Nanjing 27 September-9 October. Topalov, Anand, Carlsen, Radjabov, Jakovenko and Wang Yue.

World Junior Championship, Mar del Plata (Argentina) 16-29 October.

European Club Cup (Team Championship), Novi Sad (Serbia) 21-31 October.

World Cup, Khanty Mansiysk 28 November-15 December.

London Chess Classic 7-16 December.

Corus Chess Tournament, Wijk aan Zee 15-31 January 2010. Nakamura has been invited to play in group A.

Anand-Topalov Match for the World Title, Site TBA c. April 2010.



Games will be posted later.

Rather than provide an important game or two for Jermuk this week, my staff* and I have decided to provide one good game between two players who had no chance at first prize by the end of the tournament and provide some late-round games critical to the prizes next week.



Ernesto Inarkiev
Photo: ChessBase.de (Germany)


Dmitry Jakovenko - Ernesto Inarkiev
FIDE Grand Prix, Round 11
Jermuk, 21 August 2009

Spanish Grand Royal Game: Zaitsev Defense

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0-0 Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 d6 8.c3 0-0 9.h3 Re8 10.d4 Bb7 11.Nbd2 Bf8 12.Bc2

• If 12.d5 Nb8 13.Nf1 Nbd7 then:
• If 14.N3h2 then:
• If Rc8 then:
• 15.Bg5 h5 16.a4 g6 17.Nf3 Nc5 18.axb5 axb5 19.Bc2 gives White the advantage in space (Ni Hua-León Hoyos, IT, Reggio Emilia, 2008-09).
• 15.Ng4 Nxg4 16.Qxg4 Nc5 17.Bc2 c6 18.dxc6 Bxc6 19.Ne3 g6 20.Rd1 Bh6 21.b4 Ne6 22.Bb3 Kh8 23.Nd5 Bxc1 24.Raxc1 Rf8 25.Rc2 f5 is equal (Leko-Ivanchuk, Tal Mem, Moscow, 2008).
• If 14...Nc5 15.Bc2 c6 16.b4 Ncd7 17.dxc6 Bxc6 18.Bg5 then:
• 18...h6 19.Bxf6 Nxf6 20.Ng4 Nxg4 21.Qxg4 Bd7 22.Qf3 Rc8 23.Bb3 Be6 24.Red1 Re7 25.Qd3 Rec7 26.Rac1 Qg5 27.Rc2 d5 28.Ng3 draw (Gashimov-Inarkiev, IT, Poikovsky, 2008).
• 18...Qc7 19.Bxf6 Nxf6 20.Ng4 Nxg4 21.hxg4 Bb7 22.Re3 Be7 23.Bb3 Bg5 24.Rf3 Rf8 25.Qe2 Bc8 26.Rd1 Be6 27.Ne3 Bxe3 28.Rxe3 a5 29.Bxe6 fxe6 is equal (Carlsen-Navara, Grand Prix, Baku, 2008).
• 14.Ng3 g6 15.Be3 Nc5 16.Bc2 c6 17.b4 Ncd7 18.dxc6 Bxc6 19.Bb3 Nb6 20.Qd3 Rb8 21.Rad1 Rb7 22.Nh2 Bd7 23.Bxb6 Rxb6 24.Ngf1 Bh6 25.Ne3 Bxe3 26.Qxe3 Be6 27.Nf3 Kg7 28.Rd3 Qc7 is equal (Short-Ivanchuk, Euwe Mem, Amsterdam, 1994).
• If 12.a3 g6 then:
• If 13.Ba2 Bg7 14.b4 a5 15.d5 Ne7 then:
• 16.Bb2 Nh5 17.Nb3 axb4 18.axb4 Bc8 19.Na5 Nf4 20.c4 g5 21.cxb5 g4 22.Nh2 gxh3 23.g3 Neg6 24.Bb1 Qg5 25.Bc1 is equal (Adams-Grischuk, Corus A, Wijk aan Zee, 2002).
• If 16.Nb3 axb4 17.cxb4 Nxe4 18.Rxe4 Bxd5 19.Nfd2 then:
• 19...Bxe4 20.Nxe4 h6 21.Bb2 Kh7 22.g4 Rf8 23.Rc1 f5 24.gxf5 Nxf5 is equal (Iordachescu-Nikolic, IT, Valjevo, 2007).
• 19...f5 20.Re1 e4 21.Na5 Qd7 22.Bxd5+ Nxd5 is equal (T. Kosintseva-Shen Yang, TMatch, Ningbo, 2008).
• 13.Bc2 Bg7 14.d5 Nb8 15.c4 c6 16.b4 Qc7 17.Bb2 bxc4 18.dxc6 Nxc6 19.Nxc4 Rad8 20.Ba4 Nxe4 21.Qc2 d5 draw (Sax-Short, Intrznl, Biel, 1985).
• If 12.Bc2 g6 13.d5 Nb8 14.b3 c6 15.c4 then:
• 15...Nbd7 16.a4 Qc7 17.Ba3 Rec8 18.Bd3 cxd5 19.cxd5 Qb6 20.b4 Rc3 21.Nb1 Rcc8 22.Bc1 bxa4 23.Qxa4 Qd8 24.Bg5 gives White the advantage in space (Smyslov-Gligoric, IT, Bugojno, 1984).
• 15...a5 16.dxc6 Bxc6 17.cxb5 Bxb5 18.Nc4 Na6 19.Bg5 Nb4 20.Bb1 Bxc4 21.bxc4 h6 22.Be3 Qc7 23.a3 Na6 24.Nd2 Nc5 25.Bc2 Reb8 26.Rb1 Qc6 27.Qf3 Bg7 28.Rec1 Nfd7 29.Qd1 is equal (Ljubojevic-Karpov, Euwe Mem, Amsterdam, 1991).

12...g6

• If 12...h6 then:
• 13.d5 Ne7 14.b3 c6 15.c4 cxd5 16.cxd5 Nd7 17.a4 f5 18.axb5 axb5 19.Rxa8 Qxa8 20.Bd3 is equal (Nisipeanu-Ivanchuk, IT, Banza, 2009).
• If 13.a4 exd4 14.cxd4 Nb4 15.Bb1 c5 16.d5 Nd7 17.Ra3 then:
• If 17...f5 18.Nh2 Nf6 19.Rf3 Re5 20.Rxf5 Rxf5 21.exf5 Bxd5 22.Ng4 then:
• 22...Bf7 23.Ne4 Nxg4 24.Qxg4 d5 is equal (Morozevich-Grischuk, Grand Prix, Dubai, 2002).
• 22...Ra7 23.Nxf6+ Qxf6 24.Ne4 Bxe4 25.Bxe4 Re7 is equal (Haba-Dervishi, Austrian ChT, 2003).
• 17...c4 18.axb5 axb5 19.Nd4 Qb6 20.Nf5 Ne5 21.Rg3 g6 22.Nf3 Ned3 23.Be3 Qd8 24.Nxh6+ Bxh6 25.Bxh6 Qf6 is equal (Timofeev-Inarkiev, Russian Ch HL, Novokuznetsk, 2008).

13.d5 Nb8 14.b3 c6 15.c4 Nbd7 16.Nf1 Nb6!?

• If 16...Qc7 17.Bg5 then:
• 17...h6 18.Be3 a5 19.Ng3 Ba6 20.Rc1 Rec8 21.Qd2 Kh7 22.Bd3 Qb7 23.Qe2 bxc4 24.bxc4 Rab8 25.Rb1 draw (Geller-Beliavsky, IT, Novi Sad, 1979).
• 17...Rec8 18.Rc1 cxd5 19.cxd5 Qa5 20.a4 b4 21.N3d2 Qd8 22.Nc4 gives White the advantage in space (Geller-Orlov, IT, Pancevo, 1987).

17.Rb1

• The game is equal.
• 17.Ne3 Bg7 18.Bb2 Qc7 19.dxc6 Qxc6 20.Nd2 gives White a small edge in space.

17...Qc7 18.Ne3 c5

• If 18...Bg7 then after 19.Bb2 Rac8 20.Nd2 Nbd7 21.Rc1 b4 22.a3 White continues to enjoy a small advantage in sapce.

19.g4 h5 20.Kh1!?

• Not seeing a big enough advantage for his labors, White punts.
• 20.g5! Nfd7 21.a3 Bg7 22.Bb2 then:
• 22...Rab8 23.cxb5 axb5 24.Qd3 c4 25.Qc3 White still enjoys a little more room.
• 22...bxc4 23.bxc4 Rab8 24.a4 Rf8 25.a5 Nc8 26.Qd2 gives White a little larger advantage in space.

20...Bg7

• The game is equal.

21.Rg1 hxg4 22.hxg4 Kf8

• 22...b4 23.Kg2 Qd7 24.g5 Nh5 remains equal.

23.Rg3 Ke7 24.b4

• 24.a3 Rh8+ 25.Kg1 Nfd7 26.Qe2 b4 27.axb4 cxb4 remains equal.

24...cxb4 25.Rxb4 bxc4 26.Nxe5?!

• Black now open the center with a strong advantage.
• If 26.Bd2 then Black is still quite a bit better after 26...Rh8+ 27.Kg1 Nfd7 28.Bc3 Rh7 29.a4 Rah8, but White is still able to fight back.

BLACK: Ernesto Inarkiev
!""""""""#
$t+ +t+ +%
$+vW LoV %
$oM + Mo+%
$+ +pN + %
$ Ro+p+p+%
$+ + N R %
$p+b+ P +%
$+ Bq+ +k%
/(((((((()
WHITE: Dmitry Jakovenko
Position after 26.Nf3e5:p

26...Nxe4!

• Also good is 26...dxe5! 27.d6+ Qxd6 28.Qxd6+ Kxd6 29.Rxb6+ Kc7 when Black has an extra pawn.

27.Nxg6+ Kd8

• 27...fxg6?! 28.Bxe4! Rh8+ 29.Kg1 Be5 30.f4 Bc3 31.Rb1 is equal.

28.Bxe4 Rxe4 29.Qf3 Rd4?!

• 29...Re8 30.Nf4 Be5 then:
• 31.Neg2 Qc5 32.Rb1 Bxd5 33.Nxd5 Nxd5 gives Black an extra pawn.
• 31.Rh3 Bxf4 32.Qxf4 Nxd5 33.Nxd5 Bxd5+ gives Black an extra pawn and a strong position.

30.Rxb6 fxg6 31.Rb1 c3 32.Rh3?!

• White misses his best chance in the game.
• If 32.Kg2! c2 33.Rb2 Rd3 then:
• If 34.Rh3! Qd7 35.Qe4 then:
• 35...Rxe3 36.Bxe3 Bxb2 37.Rh7 Qxh7 38.Bb6+! wins for White.
• 35...Bxb2 36.Qxd3 Bxc1 37.Rh8+ Kc7 38.Qc3+ Kb6 39.Nc4+ wins for White.
• 34.Qe4!? Bxb2 35.Bxb2 Rxe3 36.Bf6+ Kc8 37.Rxe3 Qc5 equalizes for White.

32...Qe7 33.Ba3?

• Black still stands better after 33.Rh7 Ra4 34.a3 Rc8 35.Qg3 Rc7 36.Rb6 Rd7, but White still has some possible counterplay.

BLACK: Ernesto Inarkiev
!""""""""#
$t+ L + +%
$+v+ W V %
$o+ O +o+%
$+ +p+ + %
$ + T +p+%
$B + Nq+r%
$p+ + P +%
$+r+ + +k%
/(((((((()
WHITE: Dmitry Jakovenko
Position after 33.Bc1a3

33...Kc7?

• The strongest move is 33...c2! 34.Rxb7 Qxb7 35.Rh8+ Ke7 when:
• 36.Nf5+ Kd7 37.Rxa8 Rd1+ 38.Kg2 Qxa8 gives Black the exchange.
• If 36.Rxa8 then after 36...Qxa8 37.Nxc2 Rxd5 Black wins the exchange.

34.Ng2

• White misses the saving grace and leaves three pieces unprotected.
• 34.Kg1! Rf8 35.Qe2 Rd2 36.Qc4+ Kd8 37.Qb4 is equal.

34...Ra4 35.Rb3?

• This puts pressure on the pawn, but neither the Rook nor the Queen is going to take while it is defended by the Bishop.
• Correct is 35.Bb4! Rf8 when:
• 36.Qd1 Rxa2 37.Qb3 c2 38.Rc1 Qg5 39.Bxd6+ is equal.
• If 36.Qd3 Rxf2 37.Bxc3 Rxg4 38.Rh7 Rgxg2 39.Rxg7 is equal.

35...Rc8!?

• White misses the best move, but it won't cost him as much this time.
• 35...Rf8! 36.Qd1 Ra5 37.Re3 Qd7 38.Qe1 Kd8 exhausts the last of White's initiative while Black is ready for attack.

36.Rh7 Kb8!

• 36...Rh8? then:
• 37.Rxc3+! Kd8 38.Rxh8+ Bxh8 39.Rb3 Be5 40.Kg1 is equal.
• If 37.Rxh8?! Bxh8 38.Kg1 Bc8 39.Ne3 Bd4 gives Black the more active game.

37.Bc1

• If 37.Qe3 Qxe3 38.Nxe3 Rh8 39.Rxh8+ Bxh8 then:
• 40.Kg2 Kc8 41.Bxd6 Rxa2 42.Rb4 Rd2 43.Bf4 Rd4 Black is better owing to the superiority of his Bishop pair.
• If 40.Kg1 Bd4 41.Nc2 Be5 42.Ne3 Ka7 leaves Black's position well defended and his c-pawn ready to advance.

37...Rxa2 38.Nf4 Ra1!

• The Bishop is toast. So is White.

39.Kg2 Rxc1 40.Ne6 c2 41.Rxg7

BLACK: Ernesto Inarkiev
!""""""""#
$ Lt+ + +%
$+v+ W R %
$o+ On+o+%
$+ +p+ + %
$ + + +p+%
$+r+ +q+ %
$ +p+ Pk+%
$+ R + + %
/(((((((()
WHITE: Dmitry Jakovenko
Position after 41.Rh7g7:B

41...Qxg7!!

• The Queen sacrifice puts the Knight too far away from the passed pawn to make any difference.
• The text wins faster than 41...Rg1+ 42.Kxg1 c1Q+ 43.Kg2 Qxg7 44.Nxg7.

42.Nxg7 Rb1! 0-1

• After the pawn queens at c1 and the Rooks are exchanged, Black will be a Rook to the good.
• Dmitry Vladimirovich resigns.

*Your humble hare would like to thank the staff of the JRCR: Buccaneer, Spitfire, Swashbuckler, Pancho and Robin Hood.

Jan Timman's only defeat in London came at the hands of the grand old man of chess, 78-years-young Viktor Korchnoi.



Viktor Korchnoi
Photo: Wikipedia


Jan Timman - Viktor Korchnoi
Staunton Memorial Tournament (Round Robin Group).Round 7
London, 12 August 2009

Open French Game: Tarrasch Opening

1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nd2 c5 4.Ngf3 Nc6 5.Bb5 cxd4

• If 5...dxe4 6.Nxe4 Bd7 then:
• 7.0-0 Nxd4 8.Bg5 f6 9.Nxd4 cxd4 10.Bh4 Be7 11.c3 Bxb5 12.Qh5+ Kf8 13.Qxb5 Qd5 14.Qd3 dxc3 15.Qxd5 exd5 16.Nxc3 Nh6 17.Nxd5 Nf5 18.Bg3 Nxg3 19.hxg3 draw (Tselousov-Sorensen, Corres, 1991).
• 7.Bg5 Qa5+ 8.Nc3 a6 9.Bxc6 Bxc6 10.d5 Bxd5 11.0-0 Bc6 12.Ne5 Qc7 13.Re1 Nf6 14.Bxf6 gxf6 15.Nxc6 Qxc6 16.Qh5 Be7 is unclear: White has more space and Black has an extra pawn (Nicevski-Uhlmann, IT, Skopje, 1976).

6.Nxd4 Bd7 7.Nxc6 bxc6

• If 7...Bxc6 8.Bxc6+ bxc6 9.c4 then:
• 9...Bc5 10.Qa4 Ne7 11.exd5 exd5 12.Nb3 Bb6 13.c5 Bc7 14.0-0 0-0 15.Bg5 f6 16.Bf4 Be5 17.Rae1 Qc7 18.Bc1 Bxh2+ 19.Kh1 Nf5 20.g4 Nh4 21.f4 Qd7 22.f5 Rae8 23.Nd4 is equal (Hanley-Luther, EU Ch, Liverpool, 2006).
• 9...Qa5 10.Qb3 Rd8 11.0-0 Nf6 12.e5 Nd7 13.Qg3 Qa6 14.cxd5 cxd5 15.Nb3 g6 16.Bg5 Rc8 17.Rac1 Bg7 18.Qd3 Rc4 19.Rxc4 Qxc4 20.Rc1 Nxe5 21.Qe3 Qa6 22.Qc5 f6 23.Bh6 draw (Vachier Lagrave-Malakhatko, Op, Paris, 2008).

8.Bd3 Qc7

• 8...Bd6 9.Qe2 Ne7 10.e5 Bc7 11.Nf3 Ng6 12.0-0 0-0 13.c4 Qe7 14.Bd2 f6 15.Bxg6 hxg6 16.Rfe1 g5 17.cxd5 cxd5 18.Rac1 gives White the advantage in space (Tal-Korchnoi, Blitz, Moscow, 1972).

9.Qe2 Bd6

• 9...Ne7 10.Nf3 Ng6 11.0-0 Be7 12.c4 dxe4 13.Bxe4 f5 14.Bc2 e5 15.Ng5 h6 16.Qh5 Qd6 17.Ne4 Qe6 18.Rd1 Bc8 19.h3 Rf8 20.Ng3 gives White the advantage in space and a tactical edge; Black cannot take the c-pawn (Shamkovich-Vaganian, GMT, Dubna, 1973).

10.Nf3 dxe4 11.Bxe4!?

• 11.Qxe4 Nf6 12.Qh4 h6 13.0-0 Rb8 14.Bd2 Nd5 15.c4 Nf4 16.c5 Nxd3 17.cxd6 Qxd6 18.Rad1 Rb5 19.Bc3 0-0 20.Be5 Qd5 21.Bxg7 Kxg7 22.Ne1 Qg5 23.Qd4+ e5 24.Qxd3 is equal (Yakovich-Shulman, Op, Vladivostok, 1994).

11...Nf6

• The game is equal.

12.0-0 Rb8

• 12...Nxe4 13.Qxe4 0-0 14.Re1 Rad8 15.Bg5 f6 16.Be3 remains equal.

13.Re1 Nxe4 14.Qxe4 f6

• 14...0-0 15.b3 Rfd8 16.Bb2 f6 17.Rad1 e5 18.Re2 remains equal.

15.b3 0-0 16.Bd2

• 16.Bb2 e5 17.c4 f5 18.Qh4 e4 19.Nd4 c5 remains equal.

16...c5 17.Rad1 Rf7 18.h3

• 18.c4!? Rd8 19.Be3 e5 20.Qh4 Bc6 21.Nd2 Qa5 gives Black the initiative.

BLACK: Viktor Korchnoi
!""""""""#
$ T + Vl+%
$O Wv+tOo%
$ + +oO +%
$+ O + + %
$ + +q+ +%
$+p+ +n+p%
$p+pB Pp+%
$+ +rR + %
/(((((((()
WHITE: Jan Timman
Position after 18.h2h3

18...Bf8!?

• Black goes into a line that involves a speculative exchange sacrifice.
• If 18...e5 19.Ba5 Qxa5 20.Rxd6 then:
• 20...Qxa2 21.Red1 Be8 22.Qc4 Qa3 23.R6d5 Rc8 remains equal.
• 20...Re8!? 21.Red1 Be6 22.a4 c4 23.Nd4 exd4 24.Rxe6 gives White a tactical edge.

19.Bf4 e5

• The pawn advance is part of Black's plan. He's going to have the two Bishops and wants an open center for them in compensation for sacrificed material.

20.Nxe5 fxe5 21.Bxe5 Qc8 22.Bxb8 Qxb8

• The material advantage gained by White is not as palpable as it would be in a closed center. Black's two Bishops are nearly equal to White's Rook and two pawns.

23.Re2 Qb6 24.a4 Qa6 25.c4

• If 25.Red2 Bf5 26.Qe8 Qg6 27.Rd6 then:
• 27...Qh5 28.R1d2 Qg5 29.Qd8 Qf4 30.Ra6 is equal.
• 27...Qg5 28.R6d5 Qg6 29.Rd6 Qg5 30.R6d5 draws.

25...h6 26.Re3 Bc6!?

• Black exposes his back rank to White's Rook at d1.
• Better is 26...Qf6 27.Rf3 Bf5 28.Qd5 when:
• 28...Qg6 29.Re1 Bd7 30.Rxf7 Qxf7 31.a5 gives White a modest material advantage.
• 28...Qe6? 29.Qxe6 Bxe6 30.Rxf7 Kxf7 31.Rd8 gives White excellent winning prospects.

27.Qe6 Qb7 28.Rd8 Kh7 29.Qc8 Qxc8 30.Rxc8 Bb7?!

• Black "forces" White to move the Rook to a better file.
• If 30...Rf6 then after 31.h4 h5 32.a5 a6 33.Re2 Bd7 34.Rd8 White still has a theoretical material edge and the initiative.

31.Rd8 Bc6 32.a5

• 32.Re6!? Bd7 33.Ra6 Bf5 34.Ra8 Bc2 35.Rb8 g5 is equal.

32...Be7 33.Rc8 Bh4 34.g3

• 34.Rxc6? Bxf2+ 35.Kf1 Bxe3+ 36.Ke2 Bd4 wins for Black.

34...Bb7

• 34...Bg5? 35.Rxc6 Bxe3 36.fxe3 Rf3 leaves White two pawns to the good.

35.Rxc5 Bf6 36.Rd3 Re7 37.f3?!

• White weakens his kingside.
• Better is 37.f4 Be4 38.Rd6 Bc2 when:
• 39.Rb5! Re3 40.Kf2 Rxb3 41.Rxb3 Bxb3 42.c5 White continues to enjoy a material advantage.
• If 39.b4?! Bc3 40.Rdd5 Bxb4 41.Rb5 Bc3 then:
• 42.c5 Ba4 43.Rb1 Bxa5 is equal.
• 42.a6!? Re6 43.c5 Rxa6 44.Kf2 Be4 gives Black the initiative..

BLACK: Viktor Korchnoi
!""""""""#
$ + + + +%
$Ov+ T Ol%
$ + + V O%
$P R + + %
$ +p+ + +%
$+p+r+pPp%
$ + + + +%
$+ + + K %
/(((((((()
WHITE: Jan Timman
Position after 37.f2f3

37...Bxf3!

• Black takes full advantage of the weakness and takes the f-pawn.

38.Rc8

• 38.Rxf3? Bd4+ 39.Kg2 Bxc5 is a huge mistake.

38...Bb7

• The game is equal.

39.Rcd8 Re1+ 40.Kf2 Ra1

remains equal. 40...Bxd8 41.Kxe1 Bxa5+ 42.Ke2 Bb6 43.b4 remains equal.
41.R8d7 Be4 42.R3d6

• 42.Re3 Ra2+ 43.Ke1 Bc6 44.Rxa7 Bd4 remains equal.

42...Bc3 43.Rxa7

• 43.g4 Rxa5 44.Re6 Bc2 45.Re3 Bb4 then:
• 46.Rf3 Ra3 47.Rff7 Bc3 48.c5 Bxb3 gives Black the initiative.
• 46.Kf3 Ra3 47.Rd5 a5 48.c5 Bxb3 gives Black the initiative.

43...Bb4!

• White takes advantage of the pin to attack the Rook.

44.Raa6?!

• Now White misses the opportunity to force a draw.
• If 44.Rdd7? Bc5+ 45.Ke2 Ra2+ then:
• 46.Kf1 Bxa7 47.Rxa7 Bc2 48.c5 Bxb3 gives Black enough time to stop the c-pawn.
• 46.Ke1 Bb4+ 47.Kd1 Rg2 48.Kc1 Rxg3 gives Black a strong position.
• 44.Ke3! Re1+ 45.Kf2 Ra1 46.Ke3 Re1+ draws.

44...Bxd6 45.Rxd6 Rxa5

• Black has the material advantage.

46.Ke3 Bg2 47.h4 Rf5 48.b4?

• This move costs White his kingside pawns.
• If 48.Rd3! then Black will have to take more time to take the pawns, e.g., 48...Kg6 49.b4 Rf3+ 50.Kd4 Rxd3+ 51.Kxd3 Kh5, giving White time to advance his queenside.

BLACK: Viktor Korchnoi
!""""""""#
$ + + + +%
$+ + + Ol%
$ + R + O%
$+ + +t+ %
$ Pp+ + P%
$+ + K P %
$ + + +v+%
$+ + + + %
/(((((((()
WHITE: Jan Timman
Position after 48.b3b4

48...Rf3+!

• Black wins two pawns.
• If 48...g5? 49.hxg5 Rf3+ 50.Kd2 then:
• 50...hxg5 51.Rd3 Rxd3+ 52.Kxd3 Kg6 53.c5 Kf5 is equal.
• 50...Rf2+ 51.Ke3 Rf3+ 52.Kd2 Rf2+ 53.Kc3 is equal.

49.Kd4

• 49.Ke2 Rxg3 50.Kf2 Rg4 gives Black the material advantage.

49...Rxg3

• That's one pawn.

50.b5

• 50.Kc5 Rg4 51.Rd4 Rxd4 52.Kxd4 Kg6 53.b5 Kh5 wins the h-pawn.

50...Rg4+ 51.Kc5 Rxh4

• That's the second pawn.

52.b6 Bb7

• Black misses a faster win.
• If 52...h5! 53.Rd2 then:
• 53...Bb7! 54.Rd3 Re4 55.Rd7 Ba6 wins for Black.
• 53...Be4!? 54.Kd6 g5 55.Rd4 Rf4 56.Ke5 Bg2 57.Rxf4 gives a pawn back to White.

53.Kb5 Rh1 54.c5 Rb1+ 55.Ka5

• If 55.Ka4 Ba6 56.Rd4 h5 57.Ka5 then:
• 57...Be2 58.Re4 Bf3 59.Rh4 Kg6 wins for Black.
• If 57...Bf1!? 58.Rd5 Rb5+ then:
• 59.Ka4 Kg6 60.Rd6+ Kg5 61.c6 Rxb6 62.c7 Rxd6 63.c8Q gives White some counterplay, but Black should still win.
• If 59.Ka6 then 59...Rxc5+! wins immediately.

55...Ra1+ 56.Kb4 Rc1 57.Kb5 Bg2 58.Rd2

• White puts up a more stubborn defense after 58.c6 Bf1+ 59.Ka4 Ra1+ 60.Kb4 Rb1+ 61.Ka3 Rxb6.

58...Rb1+ 59.Kc4 Bh1 0-1

• White can make no further progress with his pawns.
• Mh. Timman resigns.