In the Jane Addams Memorial tournament in January, I played a GM at classical time controls for the very first time (the previous post was from a rapid tourney). I had opted to play in the Open section rather than the U2100; surprisingly, I managed to win my first two games and was tied for 1st going into Round 3. Then I faced GM Fidel Corrales Jimenez.
1.e4c52.Nf3a63.c4e64.Nc3Qc75.d4cxd46.Nxd4Nf67.a3b6I wasn't entirely sure if7...Nxe48.Nxe4Qe5worked or not; I remembered looking at something like
this a long time ago. I decided to stick to the familiar Hedgehog.8.Bd3Nc69.Nf3d610.0-0Be711.h30-012.Be3Nb813.Rc1Nbd714.b4Bb715.Nd2Rac816.f4Rfe817.Qe2Qb818.g4g619.Qf2Bc620.Nf3Qa8He plunged
into a deep think for more than 20 minutes. At least I made him work.21.e5Ne4?After the game, he showed me an incredible variation:21...dxe522.fxe5Bxf323.exf6Ne5‼(the move I had missed)24.fxe7Nxd325.Qh4Qb7!He said that White is still better here - and Stockfish agrees - but this
is much better than what happened in the game.22.Bxe4Bxe423.Nxe4Qxe424.exd6Bxd625.Rcd1Bxf4I had been counting on25...Rc626.b5axb527.cxb5Rc228.Qe1Bc5!29.Bxc5Nxc5and somehow all the tactics have worked
out in my favor. But White shouldn't focus solely on the pin. Too late, I
realized that he can switch gears with 26.Rd4!, trapping the queen in the center of the board. And of
course 25...Qc6 26.Qd2 loses. At least the text move wins 2 pawns for the
piece.26.Bxf4Qxf427.Rxd7Rxc4Give Black a chance to breathe, and ...
Rec8 followed by ...Rc2 could be trouble. But the GM efficiently kills off any
counterplay.28.Ng5!The knight is immuneQxf2+29.Rxf2f530.Nxh7Rec831.Kg2Rc332.Rfd2Rc233.Rxc2Rxc2+34.Kg3Rc3+Is this counterplay?35.Kh4Rxa336.Nf6+Kf837.Kg5No, we're just getting matedRxh338.Kxg61–0
But let's back up a round. Dimitar Mardov is just 9 years old, but he already has a mighty 2100 rating. Future GM? When I was that age, I had recently discovered that capturing stuff was good while getting captured was bad. The prodigy and the former non-prodigy clashed in Round 2.
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1.e4c52.Nf3e63.d4cxd44.Nxd4a65.Bd3Qc76.0-0d67.Qe2Nf68.c4Be79.Nc30-010.Be3Nbd711.f4Re812.Rac1b613.b4Bb714.Nb3Rac815.a3Qb816.Rfd1Bd817.Nd2Bc718.g4g619.g5Nh520.Qf2Bc621.Be2Ng722.Rf1Qa823.Bd4Qb824.Be3I had no intention of
taking a draw by repetition. As usual in the Hedgehog, White has burned up a
lot of time on the clock. On every move you have to check long variations with
...b5 and ...d5. By repeating the position, we get closer to the time control.b5?A lot of books on the Hedgehog tell you that Black should try to play ..
.b5. What they usually forget to tell you is that the pawn can become a
weakness if the advance is played prematurely.25.cxb5axb526.Nb3
And there is no reply to the threat of 27.Nd4Bb627.Bxb6Nxb628.Bxb5Bxb529.Nxb5d530.e5Nc431.a4Nf532.N3d4Ne733.Rc3Red834.Ra1Nc635.Nxc6Rxc636.Qd4Qb737.h4Ra838.Rb3Rca639.Nc3Rb640.b5Qc741.Rb4Na542.Rc1Qe743.Na2Rab844.Qc5Qxc5+45.Rxc5Nc446.Kf2Kf847.Ke2Ke748.Nc1Kd749.Nb3Ra850.Nd2Na551.Kd3Nb752.Rc1Na553.Rc3Ra754.Nb3Nc4I saw that Nd2 ...Na5 Nb3 ...Nc4 doesn't get me anywhere. But there is an
exchange sacrifice that begs to be played.55.Rcxc4!dxc4+56.Kxc4Rb8
The sacrifice is so natural that hardly any calculation is necessary. The only
line I looked at was56...Rc7+57.Nc5+!57.b6Raa858.Kb51–0
E4stat tied for 2nd place U2300, picking up 14 ratings points along the way. In a few weeks, we will be back to posting forecasts of top tournaments; the Candidates takes place in March.