16/09/2018
Στο πανίσχυρο τουρνουά του Biel στην Ελβετία συμμετείχε ο αθλητής της ΕΣΘ GM Nico Georgiadis και μέλος της Εθνικής Ελβετίας .
Μάλιστα στο Πρωτάθλημα Ελβετίας του 2018 τερμάτισε στην 2η θέση εξασφαλίζοντας τη συμμετοχή του με την Εθνική ομάδα στην Ολυμπιάδα που θα πραγματοποιηθεί στο Μπατούμι της Γεωργίας (Batumi Georgia )
Στο τουρνουά του Biel λοιπόν η τελική βαθμολογία ήταν :
Ο Georgiadis Ν συγκέντρωσε 1,5/10 απέναντι στην σκακιστική ελίτ χάνοντας αρκετές ευκαιρίες για καλύτερη συγκομιδή . Παρόλα αυτά ο Νίκο κατάφερε να αποσπάσει μαχητική ισοπαλία με αντίπαλο τον Παγκόσμιο Πρωταθλητή : Magnus Carlsen που θα την παρουσιάσουμε παρακάτω με σχόλια του ίδιου !
[pgn_compat]
[Event “Biel GMT”]
[Date “2018.07.25”]
[Round “4”]
[White “Georgiadis, Nico”]
[Black “Carlsen, Magnus”]
[Result “1/2-1/2”]
[ECO “C18”]
[WhiteElo “2526”]
[BlackElo “2842”]
[Annotator “Nico Georgiadis”]
[PlyCount “116”]
[EventDate “2018.??.??”]
[SourceDate “2018.05.01”]
{After a very bad start with 0/3 and missing chances in rounds 2 and 3, I
naturally didn’t really expect a positive result in this game, as my opponent
had started with a convincing 2.5/3. Nevertheless, I felt quite confident
before the game. You don’t get the opportunity to play against the World
Champion every day! Therefore, I was very motivated and wanted to show my
absolute best level of chess.} 1. e4 e6 {A first surprise, but an expected
one! As I was sure to get surprised within the first 5 moves, I hadn’t
prepared too much for this game anyway.} 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e5 c5 5. a3 Ba5
$5 {Another surprise! I’ve almost never had this line on the board in a
classical game before. For this reason, Magnus chose the so called “Armenian
Variation”, hoping to catch me flatfooted. Luckily, I had just looked at this
line in detail around one month before the tournament, as my good friend GM
Francisco Vallejo used it in several blitz games against me and most of the
times beat me convincingly…} 6. b4 cxd4 (6… cxb4 $6 {Has been tried a few
times by Swiss IM Werner Hug and some of his students. In the meantime, the
line has been basically refuted and therefore, people stopped playing it
completely because of} 7. Nb5 b3+ 8. c3 $16) 7. Qg4 {The critical move} ({
The alternative} 7. Nb5 {would lead to a calmer position, where White can
fight for a small, but stable edge.}) 7… Kf8 $5 {This is a modern idea,
which has been introduced to GM praxis quite recently by GMs Edouard and
Vallejo. The old main line starts with} (7… Ne7 {, but after} 8. bxa5 dxc3 9.
Qxg7 Rg8 10. Qxh7 {White should be able to maintain quite a big edge, as it
was seen, for instance, in Bacrot – Vaganian, Biel 2017.}) 8. Nb5 Bc7 $6 {
This move which my opponent had played instantly has been tried recently by
Mamedjarov in a blitz game against Fedoseev. Nevertheless, it is an inferior
move that should lead to an easy and pleasant advantage for White. I knew
about the objective value of this move, hence I was quite surprised about his
opening choice.} (8… Bb6 {Is the better move which has been played by
Edouard, Vallejo and other GMs. Here, Black can at least fight for equality,
even though, according to my analysis, he shouldn’t quite reach it.}) 9. Qxd4
$1 (9. Qg3 {Was played by Fedoseev in the above mentioned blitz game. Even
though White won that game convincingly, the move played in our game is even
stronger.}) 9… Nc6 (9… Ne7 {is possible in order to avoid the check on c5.
However, White can simply play} 10. Nxc7 Qxc7 11. Nf3 {and Black can’t really
capture the pawn on c2 due to his lack of development.}) 10. Qc5+ Nge7 11. Nxc7
Qxc7 12. Nf3 b6 {[#] Until here I could remember my analysis, but at this
moment, my memory unfortunately let me down. I was convinced that the line I
had looked at started with the move Qd6 and and after a forced sequence of
moves White ended up being clearly better. Therefore, I was trying for more
than half an hour to make this move work. Even though I saw that after Qd6 the
position was anything but clear, I consequently decided to give it a try after
spending so much time on its calculation. It’s probably a correct decision, as
the other move, Qc3, which I obviously saw, could/should have been played
after 2 minutes.} 13. Qd6 $6 (13. Qc3 {was the move given in my analysis. After
} d4 14. Qc4 $1 (14. Nxd4 $6 Qxe5+ 15. Ne2 Ba6 {is OK for Black.}) 14… Ng6 (
14… Nd5 15. Be2 $1 $16) 15. Be2 $1 Qd7 16. Bb2 $16 {White has a very
comfortable position.}) 13… Qxd6 14. exd6 Nf5 15. Bf4 f6 16. g4 $1 (16. Bb5 {
is useless after} Bb7) 16… Nfd4 17. Nxd4 Nxd4 18. O-O-O e5 19. Rxd4 $5 {
Objectively not entirely correct, but that was the idea behind my 13th move.
Magnus correctly mentioned} (19. h3 $1 {in the post-mortem, which could
possibly delay the exchange-sacrifice. On the other hand, it allows} Ne6 $5 (
19… Bb7 20. Rxd4 $1 exd4 21. Bb5 $13) 20. Bg3 Bb7 21. Bg2 Ke8 $1 {and the
position seems to be a touch more pleasant for Black.}) 19… exd4 20. Bb5 Bxg4
$1 {Fearless and strong. During the game, I had expected} (20… Be6 {when
White could continue with either} 21. Rd1 {or} (21. Re1 $5 Kf7 22. Bd7)) 21.
Re1 g5 22. Bg3 Rd8 $1 {I had missed this move in my previous calculations. I
had only seen} (22… h5 23. d7 Kf7 24. Re8 $1 (24. Bd6 Be6 $1) 24… Raxe8 25.
dxe8=Q+ Rxe8 26. Bxe8+ Kxe8 {when a draw would be the likely outcome.}) 23. Re7
h5 24. h4 $6 (24. f4 {was much stronger and would have given White very
interesting compensation for the exchange.} h4 (24… Rxd6 25. Re8+ Kg7 26.
Re7+ $11) 25. Bf2 Bf5 $1 (25… Rxd6 26. Rxa7 {And despite being an exchange
and a pawn down, White has excellent compensation due to his active pieces and
the superb dark-squared bishop.}) 26. Bxd4 Rxd6 27. Re8+ Kg7 28. Rxh8 Kxh8 29.
fxg5 Kh7 30. gxf6 Rd8 31. a4 $1 {And with accurate play, White should be
holding.}) 24… gxh4 25. Bf4 (25. Bxh4 Rxd6 26. Rxa7 Rg8 {seemed hopeless to
me during the game.}) 25… Bf5 (25… a5 $1 {Was probably the easiest way for
Black in order to obtain a big advantage as Magnus correctly pointed out after
the game.} 26. Bc6 axb4 27. axb4 Bf5 28. Rb7 Rh7 29. Rxb6 Rg7 30. Bxd5 Rg4 31.
Bh2 d3 $5 32. cxd3 Rd4 {And Black’s position looks close to winning.}) 26. Rxa7
Rh7 ({We both disregarded} 26… Rc8 $1 {during the game, which would have
given Black a better version than in the game after} 27. Rc7 (27. d7 $2 Rxc2+
28. Kd1 Ke7 $19) 27… Rxc7 28. dxc7 Ke7 29. a4 Rg8 {, as black can activate
his rook immediately.} 30. a5 bxa5 31. bxa5 d3 $1 (31… Rg1+ 32. Kb2 {is no
good for Black}) 32. c3 (32. cxd3 $2 Bd7 $19) 32… Rg1+ 33. Kd2 (33. Kb2 Rb1+
$1 $19) 33… Ra1 34. Bxd3 Ra2+ $1 35. Kc1 Be6 36. a6 Kd7 {And according to
the engine, Black has a winning advantage, although there is still some work
to be done.}) 27. Rc7 {[#]} Bd7 $6 {With this move Black loses almost his
whole advantage. Carlsen had simply missed my next move. A logical
continuation would have been} (27… Kg8 $1 {With the idea of Rg7 and good
winning chances for Black. Nevertheless, the position is still far from
trivial and White might even be able to hold with perfect defence. For
instance:} 28. Bc6 $1 Rg7 29. a4 Rg1+ 30. Kd2 h3 31. Bxd5+ Kh8 32. Rf7 $5 (32.
a5 bxa5 33. bxa5 Rf1 $1 ({but not} 33… Ra1 34. Rc5 {because of} Kg7 $6 35. a6
$1 Rxa6 36. Bc4 Ra4 37. Bb3 $11) 34. Ke2 Ra1 35. Rc5 Kg7 36. a6 Rxa6 37. Bc4
Ra4 38. Bb3 d3+ $1 {and Black wins}) 32… Rc8 $1 33. Rc7 Rf1 $1 34. Ke2 Rb1
35. Be4 $1 Bg4+ 36. Bf3 Rd8 (36… Rxc7 37. Bxg4 $1 (37. dxc7 Bc8 $19) 37…
Rxc2+ 38. Kd3 Rc3+ 39. Ke4 Re1+ 40. Kxd4 Rcc1 (40… hxg4 41. Kxc3 $11) 41. Kd3
$3 {And according to the engines, White can hold the position.}) 37. Bxg4 hxg4
38. Re7 d3+ $1 39. Kxd3 Rxd6+ $1 ({after} 39… Rxb4 40. Bg3 {the strong
passer on d6 secures White sufficient counterplay.}) 40. Bxd6 Rd1+ 41. Ke4 (41.
Kc4 Rxd6 $19) 41… Re1+ $1 42. Kf4 Rxe7 43. Kxg4 Rh7 44. Bh2 Ra7 45. a5 $1
bxa5 46. bxa5 Rxa5 47. Kxh3 {This position is a draw according to the engines
and tablebases.} Rc5 48. f3 Rxc2 49. Bf4 Kg7 50. Kg4 $11 {with a fortress.}) ({
If} 27… Rxc7 $6 28. dxc7 Ra8 {White is in time to get serious counterplay
with} 29. a4 Ke7 30. Bc6 $1 {and if} Rg8 {White has} 31. a5 bxa5 32. b5 $1 {
In the post-mortem, we concluded that White was winning here, but Black can
still hold with precise play:} Bd7 33. Bxd5 Rg1+ 34. Kb2 Rg5 $1 35. Bxg5 fxg5
36. b6 Kd6 37. f4 $1 gxf4 38. Bf3 {and here, the engines predict a draw.}) 28.
Bc6 $1 h3 29. Kd2 Rg7 $6 {This move is based on an oversight by Carlsen and
leads to a forced draw. A better try was} (29… Ke8 30. Bxd5 Rg7 31. Kd3 (31.
a4 Rg4 32. Bh2 Rg5 33. Be4 h4 34. Rb7 Rg2 35. Bxg2 hxg2 36. Rxb6 Bxa4 37. Rb7
Rxd6 38. Rg7 Rc6 39. Rxg2 Rxc2+ 40. Kd3 h3 41. Rg8+ Kf7 42. Rh8 Kg7 43. Rh4 Rb2
44. Bd6 Bd7 45. Kxd4 Rxf2) 31… Rg4 32. Bh2 b5 $1 {and the engine likes Black
here as he always has the idea of giving back the exchange with Rg2. However,
I don’t think that in a practical game Black is so much better here.}) 30. Bh6
Bxc6 (30… h2 $2 31. Bxd5 {And White wins, as Black finds himself in Zugzwang.
}) 31. Rxg7 Rxd6 {[#]} 32. Rg5+ $1 {Fortunately, I managed to find this strong
move despite being low on time already.} (32. Rg3+ $6 Kf7 33. Rxh3 Kg6 34. Bf4
Re6 {Here, Black keeps an extra pawn and serious winning chances.}) 32… Kf7 (
32… Ke7 33. Rxh5 Bd7 34. Bf4 Rc6 35. Rh7+ $1 {This is what Carlsen had
overlooked.} ({after} 35. Rxd5 $6 Rc4 {Black is pressing}) 35… Ke8 36. Rh8+
Kf7 37. Rh7+ {and Black can’t escape the perpetual check without giving up the
h3-pawn.}) 33. Rxh5 Bb5 (33… Bd7 34. Bf4 Rc6 35. Rh7+ {or even} (35. Rxd5 {
with a draw.})) 34. Rxh3 Re6 35. Rf3 Kg6 (35… Re5 $5 {was an interesting try,
but White could even render the f2-pawn by playing} 36. Rg3 $5 Re2+ 37. Kc1
Rxf2 38. Rg7+ Ke8 39. Rg4 d3 40. cxd3 Bxd3 41. Rf4 {with a draw.}) 36. Bf4 Rc6
37. Bg3 Rc4 38. Rd3 Kf5 39. Rf3+ Ke6 40. Rd3 f5 41. f3 f4 42. Bf2 (42. Bxf4 Ba4
({oder} 42… Be8 $5) 43. Ke1 Bxc2 44. Rd2 d3 45. Bg3 Rc8 {could still be
troublesome for White, even if his position is objectively fine.}) 42… Ke5
43. c3 {[#] At this moment, I expected the scoresheets to be signed within a
few minutes.} Rc6 $1 {Far wrong! Carlsen still found a way to make me suffer a
bit more.} (43… dxc3+ 44. Rxc3 d4 45. Rxc4 Bxc4 46. a4 {And the draw would
be official.}) 44. Rxd4 Rh6 45. Kc1 (45. Ke1 $6 {is less precise due to} Rh1+
46. Kd2 Rh3) 45… Rh3 46. Rd2 Rxf3 47. Bd4+ $1 ({I guess that after} 47. Kb2 {
Carlsen wanted to try} Rxf2 $5 48. Rxf2 Ke4 {And White must defend accurately.
For example:} 49. a4 $1 (49. Rh2 $6 f3 50. a4 $1 (50. Kc1 $2 Ke3 {And White
must resign.}) 50… Bxa4 51. Kc1 Bb5 52. Kd2 Kf4 53. c4 $1 Bxc4 54. Ke1 Kg3
55. Rb2 {and White scratches along.}) 49… Bxa4 50. Re2+ $1 Kd3 51. Re5 f3 52.
Rxd5+ Ke3 53. Rd6 f2 54. Re6+ Kd2 55. Rf6 $11) 47… Ke4 48. Kb2 Rd3 49. Rxd3 (
49. Re2+ Re3 50. Rd2 {was also sufficient, but the text move just ends the
game.}) 49… Kxd3 50. Bxb6 Ba4 51. Ba7 f3 52. Bg1 Kd2 53. Ba7 Bd1 54. Bc5 Ba4
55. Ba7 Ke2 56. c4 $1 d4 (56… dxc4 57. Kc3 Bb5 58. a4 Bxa4 59. Kxc4 $11) 57.
Bxd4 Kd3 58. Ba7 Kxc4 {A veritable thriller with several ups and downs!
Needless to say that after my bad start I was very pleased with a draw just
against the World Champion! Compared with the two previous games, it was a
rather lucky half point for me this time. Even though I lost the next three
games, this draw psychologically helped me a lot, as the worst case scenario
of scoring 0/10 was no longer possible!} 1/2-1/2
[/pgn_compat]
