Snowdrops and Oldhands 2013

The Uniform Advance of the Snowdrops

[04.12.2013 00:00:00] - The Snowdrops' team was leading over the Oldhands by three points, but on Tuesday the legends played with White pieces and they were expected to try and change the adverse course of the match. The fourth round has therefore also provided interesting encounters.

The game Dorfman – Kashlinskaya followed a hot theoretical dispute. Czech grandmaster Smejkal revealed that the French GM had been preparing mostly for the King's Indian Defence. Alina Kashlinskaya instead opted for 1...d5 and there appeared a razor sharp line of Slav gambit, where the theory has been developing dramatically. Both sides spent a lot of time in the opening, trying to recall the lines. (By the way, yours truly failed to do so.) Grandmaster Dorfman failed to recall the best continuation on move 16 and Black managed to equalize by means of active play (18...e5!). The piece negotiations followed soon afterwards.

The game Ivkov – M. Muzychuk has also been a rather calm one. Black managed to execute the important push d6-d5 in the English Opening and equalized. Then she sharpened the position by means of a brave advance e5-e4. However, the subsequent complications resulted in a mass simplification and a subsequent draw agreement. The Serbian grandmaster could have played on for a while, as Black would still need to demonstrate certain accuracy.

The encounter Gulko – Cmilyte was filled with interesting ideas. The American grandmaster opted for a fashionable line 5.h4 in the Gruenfeld Indian Defence. This allowed him to bring the game on an unexplored territory. Black sacrificed a pawn but did not receive a sufficient compensation. White then returned material in order to achieve an advantage of a bishop pair. Still, Latvian GM confirmed her strength and saved a dangerous position through by means of a precise play. You can learn more about the game from my comments.

The encounter between German grandmaster Uhlmann and Belarusian hope Nastassia Ziaziulkina was the longest one. The German grandmaster soon gained a bishop pair and gradually eliminated his opponent's lead in development. The subsequently transformation led into an endgame with a pair of rooks and opposite-squared bishops on the board. The German legend maintained certain iniciative and increased it after some inaccuracies of his opponent. He could have played 42.Rb6, thus winning a pawn without allowing any counterplay. Later on his tiredness took his toll and White lost his advantage. He rejected a draw offer in an equal position, then lost a pawn and finally also the game. One has to regret the respectable German grandmaster who has achieved so many good positions and so few points so far. On the other hand, Nastassia Ziaziulkina showed an admirable cool-headedness and very good technics in her time trouble. After the first half the Snowdrops are leading with a score 10 – 6. It is remarkable that all female players have scored one win and three draws, which amounts to two and half points. It will be interesting to follow the further course of the match. Will the Oldhands manage to change the course of the match? Or will the Snowdrops increase or maintain the lead and thereby reach a convincing match victory?

Gulko,Boris F - Cmilyte,Viktorija [D90]

Vrsanska Uhelna chess match 2013 Podebrady (4.1), 03.12.2013
[Navara,David]

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 d5 4.Nf3 Bg7 5.h4 White indirectly attacks the centre with his move, as he wants to deflect Black's knight from d5 by playing h4-h5. 5...c6 Black therefore fortifies her centre. 6.cxd5 cxd5 7.Bf4 Nc6 8.e3 Now we can see some modification of the Exchange Line in the Slav Defence. On the one hand, the advance h2-h4 might weaken the square g4. On the other hands, Black has to reckon with h4-h5 and the placement of her king's bishop might also contain some drawbacks. 8...0-0 9.Ne5 White is playing with the idea of h4-h5. 9...h5 [The alternative 9...Nxe5 deserved serious attention, as the careless 10.dxe5?! Ne4 11.Qxd5 (No better is 11.Nxd5 Be6 with Black's initiative.) 11...Nxc3 12.Qxd8 Rxd8 13.bxc3 Be6 would cause White problems with his weak pawns a2, c3 and e5.] 10.Be2 [10.Qb3 with a positional play on the queenside was worth attention.] 10...Nd7?! Black found an interesting pawn sacrifice, which nevertheless does not promise full equality. Instead, she could have again considered taking on e5 or simply developing her c8-bishop. 11.Nxd7 Bxd7 [The other move 11...Qxd7 looks too clumsy.] 12.Nxd5 [The advance 12.g4 would have allowed Black to achieve a sufficient counterplay through the advance e7-e5.] 12...Qa5+ 13.Nc3 e5 14.dxe5 Nxe5 15.0-0 Bc6 Black should have deprived White's queen of the b3-square. [After 15...Be6 there was no need to fear of 16.Qa4?! Qxa4 17.Nxa4 , as 17...Rac8 would have ensured Black a sufficient compensation due to the pressure along the diagonal a1-h8.] 16.Qb3+/-

Black does not have sufficient compensation for the pawn, as White can easily defend his h4-pawn and has no other weaknesses. 16...Bf6 17.Bg3 [17.Nb5!?] 17...Rad8 18.Rad1 Rxd1 19.Rxd1 Rd8 20.e4 White intends to gain control of the d5-square. [The move 20.Rd4!? was worth trying, as 20...Nd7?! 21.Bc4 Bxd4?! 22.Bxf7+ Kh7 23.exd4+/- favours White, whose king is much safer than his counterpart.] 20...Rxd1+ 21.Qxd1

21...Nd7! Black correctly looks for counterplay. White's pawns are vulnerable. [After 21...Qb4 22.Qb3 Qxb3 23.axb3 Nd7 White could try 24.b4!? Bxc3 25.bxc3 Bxe4 26.f3 with a palpable advantage due to the bishop pair.] 22.Nd5 Qxa2 [Solidnějsí bylo 22...Bxd5 More solid was 23.Qxd5 Qxd5 24.exd5 Bxb2 , but over the board it is not easy to evaluate the consequences of the continuation 25.Bb5?! (25.Bc7!? Be5 26.d6+/=) 25...Ne5 26.d6 Kf8= .] 23.Nxf6+ Nxf6

24.Be5! White's bishop re-enters the fray. 24...Qe6 [The alternative 24...Nd7 25.Bc3 Qa4 26.Qxa4 Bxa4+/= would have led to an unpleasant endgame.] 25.Qd8+?! [Grandmaster Gulko later came up with an improvement 25.Qd4! . Both moves 25...Nd7 and 25...Nxe4? can be met with 26.Bh8! Kf8 27.Bc4 . White develops a strong initiative in the former case and achieves a big edge in the latter.] 25...Ne8 26.Qd4 Qe7! This is a very strong defensive idea. 27.g3 [It is very difficult for us humans to decide on 27.Bd3 Qxh4 28.Qxa7 , which might have been slightly more accurate.] 27...f6! 28.Bb8 Qxe4 29.Qxe4 Bxe4 30.Bxa7 Kf7

Black went on tu hold this endgame easily by means of a precise play. White would like to build up a passed pawn, but that is not easy to achieve. Moreover, further pawn exchanges would have simplified Black's defensive task. 31.f3 Bd5 32.Kf2 Nd6 33.Ke3 Ke6! 34.Kf4 Nf7 35.Bb6 g5+ 36.hxg5 fxg5+ 37.Ke3 Ne5 38.Bd8 Kf5 39.Be7 Bc6 40.b4 Bd5 41.Bd1 Nf7 Now both sides centralized their kings(42.Ke4 Ke5), as the game had finished in a draw. It was an interesting encounter with both sides displaying strong play and remarkable ideas. 1/2-1/2

| David Navara | visits(6051x)