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ZemGems!
Alex Yermolinsky annotates the best game of each round of the 2000 Val Zemitis IM Norm Invitational.
Round One
Bhat, V - Reizniece,
D
1.e4
c5 2.Nc3Vinay has had
a lot of success with the Closed Sicilian lately.2...Nc6 3.g3 g6 4.Bg2 Bg7 5.d3 d6 6.f4
e6 7.Nf3 Nge7 8.O-O O-O 9.Be3 Nd4 10.e5!?It was considered a crushing novelty
back in 1987, but since then Black has figured out how to deal with it.10...Nef5 11.Bf2 Nxf3+ 12.Qxf3 Nd4
13.Qd1 dxe5 14.fxe5 Bxe5 15.Ne4 f5 16.Nxc5White intends to regain space with
c2-c3 and d3-d4 that would give him an edge thanks to a better pawn structure
and pressure against Black's queenside.
This is it! Black manages to weaken White's King just in time to avoid the positional bind. This kind of change was the most unpleasant for the young Bay Area player who had a hard time adjusting to the new situation. One can only guess how Vinay Bhat would have handled this situation had it appeared in the later rounds when he hit his stride.17.gxf417.c3 f3! 18.cxd4 fxg2 19.Kxg2 Bxd4 20.Bxd4 Rxf1 21.Qxf1 Qxd4 22.Qf2 gives Black a slightly better ending.17...Bxf4 18.h3?This mistake shows that White has difficulties adjusting. Both 18.Ne4 and 18. c3 Nf5 19.Qb3 were better.18...Nf5 19.Qe2 Bb8!Suddenly White has to deal with a direct threat to his king.20. d4Of course not20.Nxe6? Qd6 and Black wins, but the amazing move 20.Na6! would have kept White in the game. The problem was to find it!
In this extremely adverse situation Vinay was hoping that Black's firepower would reduce with every exchange. Indeed, Black is attacking only with her Queen while the queenside pieces are still on the sidelines. Nevertheless, it worked!26...Rf4+ 27.Rxf4 Qxf4+ 28.Qg4 Qf2+Now 29.Qg3 would cost the Lady after the deflecting shots 29...g5 30.Kg4 h5!
Threatening to checkmate with a pawn move, h7-h6. Vinay finds the way to bring his king back, but his position remains hopeless.30.Qf3 h6+ 31.Kf4 g5+ 32.Ke5 Qc5+ 33.Ke4 Bd7The rest of the black army joins the hunt. 34.Qg4 Bc6+ 35.Kd3 Rd8+ 36.Ke2 Bb5+ 37.Kf3 Rf8+ 0-1This brilliant game set a tone for the tournament, but it's interesting how the players' fortunes changed. Dana Reizniece played very well in the first half of the event, but got tired towards the end. On the other hand, Vinay was able to overcome this crushing defeat and finished with four consecutive victories, taking first place and the IM title!
Round Two
Reizniece, D - Rey, G
1.Nf3 f5 2.c4 Nf6 3.Nc3 g6
4.g3 Bg7 5.Bg2 O-O 6.O-O d6 7.d4 c6 8.d5 e5For a critical second round game Guillermo
chooses a solid continuation favored by GM Dolmatov.
9.dxe6 Bxe6 10.b3 Na6Black is not advised to accept the
gift: 10...Ne4 11.Nxe4 Bxa1 12.Nxd6 hands White a strong initiative.
For example, 12...Qd7 13.Ba3 Bf6 14.e411.Bb2Dana Reizniece opts for a solid developing
move.Yet 11.Ng5 seems better. Black is practically forced to part with
the bishop, since 11...Bc8 12.Bb2 Qe7 13.Qc2 Nc5 14.Rad1 h6?! 15.Nf3 leads
to a kingside weakening. It continues 11...Qe7 12.Nxe6 Qxe6 13.Bb2 Rad8
14.Qc2 Nc5 15.e3 with a slight edge to White.11...Qe7 12.Qd2I'm not sure that's the best square
for the queen.
Black achieves an all-important liberating move and reaches equality.14. Nd4Interesting, but a tad too ambitious.We all know that 14.cxd5 Nxd5 15.Nxd5 Bxd5 16.Bxg7 Qxg7 17.Qd4 would be a prudent decision.14...dxc4 15.Qe3 Nc7 16.Nxe6 Nxe6 17.bxc4White keeps control over the d5-square, but his queenside has been compromised. It takes a good move to take advantage of it, and IM Guillermo Rey is up to the task.17...Ng4! 18. Qxa718.Qc1 Qb4 19.h3 Nh6, and White can't save his c-pawn.18...Qb4Same move is even stronger now.19. Ba3Who knows, maybe White would have gotten better defensive chances in a grim ending after 19.Qa3 Qxa3 20.Bxa3 Bxc3 21.Bxf8 Kxf8 22.Rxd8+ Nxd8 23.Rd1, but that would be a sad choice.19...Qxc3 20.Bxf8 Rxd1The Latvian WIM knew she could count on 20...Rxf8? 21.Qxb7 as more than OK for White.21.Rxd1Unfortunately for White Black doesn't have to recapture...
22.Rxd4? loses on the spot: 22...Qe1+ 23.Bf1 Qxf2+;
22.Qxb7 is a relatively better choice, but Black keeps a strong attack going after 22...Nxf2 23.Rf1 Nxf8 24.Bxc6 Ne4+ 25.Kg2 Qd2;
And finally,
22.Qa3 falls in a spectacular fashion: 22... Bxf2+ ( but not 22...Nxf2 23.Qxc3 Nxd1+ 24.Qxd4 Nxd4 25.Bc5, and White should escape ) 23. Kh1 Bb6!! , with the deadly knight check on f2 to follow. 22...Kxg7 23.Qxb7+ Kh6Now Black enjoys a n edge in material along with his positional plusses. Dana's best efforts to save the game are not enough today.24.Qe7 Bxf2+ 25.Kh1 Bc5 26.Qh4+ Kg7 27.Rb1 Nf2+ 28.Kg1 Nd1+ 29.Kf1 Ne3+ 30.Kg1 Nd1+ 31.Kf1 Nb2 32.Bf3 Qe3 33.Kg2 Qf2+ 34.Kh3 h6 35.Rxb2 Ng5+ 36.Qxg5 hxg5 37.g4 fxg4+ 38.Kxg4 Qh4# 0-1
Round
Three
Cela,
A - Lobo, R
1.e4 e6 2 d4 d5
3.Nd2 dxe4The Rubenstein
French has been a solid choice for decades. Recently it attracted a new
group of aficionados including top GMs Morozevich, Bareev and Ivanchuk4.Nxe4 Nd7 5.Nf3
Ngf6 6.Bd3 Be7 7.Nxf6+ Nxf6 8.Qe2 O-ORichard Lobo
fearlessly castles right into White's attack. Now Black is ready to take
action in the center. Other alternatives are:
8... b6?! known
to lead Black into trouble after 9.Bb5+.
8... c5 could
be premature: 9.Bf4!? cxd4 10.O-O-O O-O 11 Nxd4, and White enjoys
greater freedom for his pieces
8... a6!? is
a new idea in this type of position championed by Super-GM's Bareev and
Morozevich.9.Bd2?9 Bg5 is more
active. In this new situation it's too late for 9... h6? which now will
be answered by 10.h4 with a strong kingside attack.
Round Four
Pruess,
D - Akopyan, H
1 d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3.Nf3 b6 4.g3 Bb7 5.Bg2 Be7 6.O-O O-O 7.d5 exd5 8.Nh4I admire David Pruess. He's young and fearless, and he's willing to enter the most aggressive opening lines. This pawn sacrifice has been known since the 1970's and still remains a fruitful field for research.
Round
Five
Akopyan,
H - Reizniece, D
1.e4 d6 2.d4 Nf6 3.Nc3 g6 4.g3 Bg7 5.Bg2 O-O 6.Nge2 e5 7.h3 c6 8.a4 a5 9.O-O Na6 10.Be3 Nb4 11.Re1Slightly unusual move order on the part of Akopyan. Normally we get to see 11.Qd2 Be6 12. Rad1.11...Be6 12.f4 Re8 13.Qd2 Qc7No harm's done to White's position yet.14. Nd1?This move does look a bit artificial, but can you spot a refutation? He had to play 14. Rad1 with a reasonable game.
24... f4 25.Rg2! h6 26.Bg4 would allow some sort of blockade.24...Bf6 25.Ng3 Qh6 26.Qf1For a moment it seemed that 26.Kg2 f4 27.Rh1 represented White's best practical chance, but the cool 26...Qf8 would keep things under control. Black easily beats off a desperado attack with an offense of his own after 27.Bf5?! fxg3 28.Bxh7+ Kg7 29.Kg3 Qd6+ 30.Kg2 Qd5+ 31.Kg1, or else his rooks land on the second rank with devastating effect: 27.Nf5 Re2 28.Qf1 Rdd2.26... f4 27.Nf5 Qg6 28.c3 Nd5 29.Re1 Kh8 30.Rxe8+ Rxe8 31.Qd3?Bad error here. Instead he had to try something like 31.c4 Nb4 32.Bb6. In a mutual time scramble things could have gone either way.31... Qh5Now the threat of cutting across the third rank with 32...Re3 is killing.32.Bd4 c5 33. Bxf6+ Nxf6 34.Kg2 f3+ 35.Kf2 Re2+ 0-1
Round
Six
Pruess,
D - Baginskaite, C
1.e2-e4 c7-c5 2.Ng1-f3 d7-d6 3.d2-d4 c5xd4 4.Nf3xd4 Ng8-f6 5.Nb1-c3 a7-a6 6.Bf1-c4The Fischer Attack against the Najdorf - an uncompromising choice by both players. 6...e7-e6 7.0-0This multi-purpose developing move is gradually replacing the old plan with 7. f4, followed by f4-f5 or e4-e5.7...b7-b5 8.Bc4-b3 Bc8-b7 9.Rf1-e1!This rook does more than just defensive duties, you just wait and see...9...Nb8-d7How else can Black develop his pieces? 9...Bf8-e7 is severely punished by 10.Bb3xe6!; while 9...Nb8-c6 walks into 10.a2-a4 b5-b4 11.Nd4xc6 Bb7xc6 12.Nc3-d5!
By the way, there's another line that illustrates the fine points of White's strategy: 10...h7-h6 11.Bg5xf6! White breaks all the rules: first the rook abandons the f-file, then the dark-squared bishop is "sacrificed" for a knight... 11...Nd7xf6 12.Qd1-d3! Strong innovation by GM Nick DeFirmian. Now Black must worry about 12...Bf8-e7 13.Bb3xe6 f7xe6 14.Nd4xe6 Qd8-c8 15.e4-e5 with a raging attack.11.a2-a4 b5-b4 12.Nc3-d5!This oh-so-typical sac reveals the true purpose of the 9.Re1 move.12...e6xd5 13.e4xd5+ Nd7-e5The alternative, 13...Ke8-d8 leads Black to the Gates of Hell after 14.Nd4-c6+ Kd8-c7 15.a4-a5 Qb6-b5 16.Nc6-d4 Qb5-c5 17.Bg5-e3.14.a4-a5 Qb6-c5 15.Bg5-e3!?David Pruess waves off a chance to restore material equality with the natural-looking 15.f2-f4 After 15...Bf8-e7 16.f4xe5 d6xe5 17.Re1xe5 he would even get a bonus pawn, but lose the initiative: 17...0-0 18.Kg1-h1 Ra8-e8 19.Nd4-f5 Be7-d8. 15...Qc5-c8 16.Bb3-a4+ Ke8-d8Amazingly enough, this was the first independent move of the game even if both players were not aware of the game Adams-Sadler, 1993 ( such players! ) that saw [16...Ke8-e7 17.f2-f4 with a big edge to White.17.f2-f4 Ne5-c4Black has nowhere to run after 17...Ne5-d7 18.Nd4-c6+ Kd8-c7 19.c2-c3! Nd7-c5 20.c3xb4 Nc5xa4 21.Qd1xa4 Nf6xd5 22.Ra1-c1.18.Nd4-c6+ Bb7xc6Not 18...Kd8-c7 19.Qd1-d419.Ba4xc6 Nc4xe3 20.Re1xe3 Ra8-a720...Ra8-b8 21.Qd1-d4 followed by 22.Rae1 is curtains.
Round Seven
Baginskaite,
C - Akopyan, H
1.d2-d4 e7-e6 2.c2-c4 Ng8-f6 3.Ng1-f3 b7-b6 4.g2-g3 Bc8-b7 5.Bf1-g2 Bf8-e7 6.Nb1-c3It's very well known that if White wants to play the Bd2 variation it has to be done before castling.6...Nf6-e4An interesting line begins with 6...0-0 7.d4-d5 Be7-b4 as in Yermolinsky-Gulko, US Champiohship 1997. White gains some extra space, but his pawn structure will be compromised.7.Bc1-d2If Black now chooses 7...d7-d5 8.c4xd5 e6xd5 he will run into a disruptive check, 9.Qd1-a4+!, which is very unpleasant to meet, e.g. 9...Qd8-d7 10.Qa4xd7+ Nb8xd7 11.Nc3-b5!, and there's nothing better than 11...Ke8-d8.7...f7-f5 8.Qd1-c2 Be7-f6Many players prefer the solid 8...Ne4xc3 9.Bd2xc3 Bb7-e4 here.
Harry Akopyan was playing fast ever since he got into a lost position - a good practical decision. Beginning with Move 28 his position has seen nothing but improvement thanks to Camilla's time trouble. Who knows, maybe he took White's last move as another blunder, so in a way, Camilla was lucky to be low on time!35...Qe5xf4?The only way to continue the game was 35...Qe5-f6 36.Qd7xc7 Qf6-h4 37.Qc7xa7, but of course, in that position White successfully defends keeping bundles of material.36.Qd7xg7+!with checkmate to follow. 1-0
Round Eight
Bhat,
V - Ilic, Z
1.e2-e4 c7-c5 2.Ng1-f3
d7-d6 3.Bf1-b5+Vinay is very
proficient in the off-beat lines against the Sicilian.3...Nb8-d7 4.d2-d4
Ng8-f6 5.0-0!?An enterprising
pawn sac which Vinay worked on the very morning of the game. The reality
exceeded his expectations as he was able to follow his analysis almost
to the end of the game!
5...Nf6xe4Daring move.
I'm afraid in view of the latest developments Black should turn his attention
back to 5...a7-a6.6.Qd1-e2 Ne4-f6
7.d4xc5 e7-e6 8.Rf1-d1I had a first-hand
experience with this position against Igor Shliperman who played 8.c5xd6
and Black felt comfortable with the bishop pair after 8...Bf8xd6 9.Rf1-d1
Qd8-c7 10.Nb1-c3 a7-a6 11.Bc1-g5 Bd6-e7 12.Bg5xf6 g7xf6.8...Qd8-c7 9.Nb1-c3White's entire
attacking concept was introduced in the game Andreev-Popov, St.Petersburg
1998, published in Chess Informant 74. Zoran Ilic had missed the analysis,
so it wasn't a fair fight.9...Qc7xc5?Considered a
decisive ( that early? ) error by Andreev who gives 9...a7-a6 as a better
try.10.Bc1-g5 Bf8-e7An attempt to
improve with 10...a7-a6 11.Bg5xf6 a6xb5 runs into 12.Rd1-d5! Qc5-c6 13.Nf3-d4
Qc6-b6 14.Nd4xe6! , and White wins.
Round Nine
Altounian,L - Akopyan,H
1.Nf3 d5 2.c4 d4 3.e3 c53...Nc6 is known to be safe for Black, but, understandably, by playing a sharper line Harry Akopyan goes for a last chance to improve his tournament position.4.exd4 cxd4 5.g3 Nc6 6.Bg2 e5 7.0Ð0 f6 8.Re1 Bg4 9.d3 Bd6In my opinion, this move is wrong. Being up a tempo White needs to generate some play quick, otherwise he'd be playing on the Black side of the Benoni. The ...Bd6 move only encourages c4-c5, the move White might have to play anyway. I'd prefer 9...Nge7 10.a3 a5 11.Nbd2 Ng6 followed by ...Be7.10.a3 a5 11.Nbd2 Nge711...Nh6 is an interesting alternative, as Black keeps the e7-square open for the bishop retreat. Say, after 12.Ne4 he can play 12...Nf7 - I wonder if White would be willing to trade off his initiative for the bishop pair advantage: 13.Nxd6+ Qxd6 with mutual chances - or try the more ambitious 12...Be7. 12.Rb1 0Ð0 13.Ne4
