FIDE Trainers Surveys 2011 01 20 Efstratios Grivas WTC

FIDE Surveys 2011 - Efstratios Grivas

Efstratios Grivas:

World Team

Championship

2009

Bursa 3-14.01.2010

The Championship

The 7th World Team Chess Championship was held in the Turkish city of Bursa
(around 100 km south-east of Istanbul).
The over-energetic Turkish Chess Federation (

www.tsf.org.tr

) and its President

and FIDE Vice-President Ali Nihat Yazici is doing an excellent job in promoting
chess into the country and at the same time they do not ignore their international
status as unfortunately it is quite common in most of the other FIDE affiliated
federations.
So, it was a ‘natural’ decision for TCF to host the event, which was actually
planned for 2009 but due to lack of appropriated dates it was moved to early 2010.
In this event ten teams were officially invited; the three 2008 Olympic winners
(Armenia, Israel and USA), the four Continental Champions (Brazil, Egypt, India
-replacing China, which withdrew at the very last week- and Russia), the host
country (Turkey) and two ‘wild cards’ (Azerbaijan and Greece) proposed by the
organizers and approved by the FIDE President Kirsan Ilyumzhinov.
One might have missed the participation of Ukraine, but this is another story!

History

As I did mention above, this was the 7th WTCC, a four-year cycle event which
started in 1985. The table of honour is as follows:

N YEAR

TOWN

COU WIN

1985

Lucerne

SWZ URS

1989

Lucerne

SWZ URS

1993

Lucerne

SWZ USA

1997

Lucerne

SWZ RUS

2001

Yerevan

ARM UKR

2005

Beer
Sheva

ISR

RUS

2009

Bursa

TUR

RUS

FIDE Surveys 2011 - Efstratios Grivas

Technical

The host country Turkey was the organiser and the event was mainly sponsored
by the TCF, the Bursa Metropolitan Municipality, the Bursa Province and the
luxurious 5-star Hotel Almira - Bursa, where all participants and technical staff
was having Board & Lodging (

http://www.almira.com.tr/en-US/

The event (and the spectacular opening ceremony) took place in the excellent
‘Bursa Merinos Atatürk Congress and Culture Center’, (playing hall) according to
the following:
The Tournament Organizer was TCF Vice-President Sanli Kuvay and the
Tournament Director was Melih Sagit. The arbitration was taken up by Panagiotis
Nikolopoulos (IA & Chairman of FIDE Arbiters Commission - Greece), Faik
Gashanov (IA - Azerbaijan), Tahsin Aktar (IA - Turkey) and Selcuk Buyukvural
(IA - Turkey).
The system of the tournament was the round-robin -a 9-round perfect joy- I
couldn’t really love any Swiss-system tournament, during all my chess-life!
Scoring system was 2-1-0 match points (MP) and each match was played over
four-boards. Each team had a line-up of six players, recruiting each time four of
them. All teams’ line-ups were as follows (teams according to the drawing of lots
order):

1 : AZERBAIJAN

2718

Captain: GM Azmaiparashvili Zurab
(GEO)
1

GM Gashimov Vugar

2759

GM Radjabov Teimour

2733

GM Guseinov Gadir

2614

Mamedyarov
Shakhriyar

2741

GM Mamedov Rauf

2640

GM Mamedov Nidjat

2610

2 : TURKEY

2501

Captain: GM Grivas Efstratios (GRE)

Haznedaroglu
Kivanc

2498

Erdogdu Mert

2513

Yilmaz Mustafa

2478

Can Emre

2442

Esen Baris

2513

FM Firat Burak

2413

FIDE Surveys 2011 - Efstratios Grivas

3 : INDIA

2641

Captain: GM Psakhis Lev (ISR)
1

GM Sasikiran Krishnan

2653

GM Harikrishna Pentala

2672

Ganguly Surya
Shekhar

2654

Geetha Narayanan
Gopal

2584

Arun Prasad
Subramanian

2567

Adhiban Baskaran

2511

4 : RUSSIA

2729

Captain: GM Motylev Alexander
(RUS)
1

GM Grischuk Alexander

2736

GM Jakovenko Dmitry

2730

Morozevich
Alexander

2732

Tomashevsky
Evgeny

2705

GM Malakhov Vladimir

2716

GM Vitiugov Nikita

2692

5 : EGYPT

2519

Captain: FM Mohamed Faraq Amrou
(EGY)
1

GM Adly Ahmed

2591

GM Amin Bassem

2544

Ezat Mohamed

2471

Abdel Razik Khaled

2468

Abdelnabbi Imed

2448

Sarwat Walaa

2386

6 : ISRAEL

2686

Captain: GM Greenfeld Alon (ISR)
1

GM Gelfand Boris

2761

GM Roiz Michael

2657

GM Smirin Ilia

2668

GM Sutovsky Emil

2657

GM Postny Evgeny

2648

GM Rodshtein Maxim

2622

FIDE Surveys 2011 - Efstratios Grivas

7 : BRAZIL

2625

Captain: GM Lima Darcy (BRA)
1

GM Vescovi Giovanni

2660

GM Leitao Rafael

2620

GM Fier Alexandr

2601

GM Milos Gilberto

2618

GM Diamant Andre

2497

GM Lima Darcy

2481

8 : GREECE

2601

Captain: GM Nikolaidis Ioannis (GRE)
1

GM Kotronias Vasilios

2599

GM Papaioannou Ioannis

2625

GM Banikas Hristos

2608

GM Halkias Stelios

2566

Mastrovasilis
Dimitrios

2571

Mastrovasilis
Athanasios

2510

9 : UNITED STATES of
AMERICA

2658

Captain: IM Donaldson John (USA)
1

GM Nakamura Hikaru

2708

GM Onischuk Alexander

2670

GM Shulman Yuri

2624

GM Akobian Varuzhan

2628

GM Hess Robert

2572

GM Robson Ray

2570

10 : ARMENIA

2697

Captain: GM Petrosian Arshak (ARM)
1

GM Aronian Levon

2781

GM Akopian Vladimir

2678

GM Sargissian Gabriel

2680

GM Pashikian Arman

2647

GM Petrosian Tigran L

2627

GM Kotanjian Tigran

2537

FIDE Surveys 2011 - Efstratios Grivas

Final Standings

Before we go on for the round-per-round analysis, some more tables and general
statistics must be presented. The final standings, medals and statistics are of a
primary interest for nearly everybody in our chess world!
Starting with, here is the teams’ final standings and the teams’ medals
distribution:

World
Team Chess
Championship
2009

10 Teams

1
0

atc

Boar

ijan

Egyp

tan

Azerbaijan

1,5

12 22

Turkey

1½

India

2,5

2½

13 21

Russia

2,5

2½

3½

1½

15 24

1.5

Egypt

1½

2½

Israel

1½

2½

Brazil

0,5

2½

Greece

1½

US America

2½

½ 13

Armenia

1,5

Individual Medals

Following are the lists of Board Medals. In order for a player to be eligible for a
medal, minimum 6 games were required for boards 1-4 and 4 games for the
reserve boards:

FIDE Surveys 2011 - Efstratios Grivas

Board 1

Medal

Player

Country

Gold

Nakamura
Hikaru

USA

Silver

Aronian Levon

ARM

Bronze Grischuk

Alexander

RUS

Board 2

Medal

Player

Country

Gold

Onischuk
Alexander

USA

Silver

Radjabov Teimour AZE

Bronze Akopian Vladimir ARM

Board 3

Medal

Player

Country

Gold

Ganguly Surya

IND

Silver

Banikas Hristos

GRE

Bronze Sargissian

Gabriel

ARM

Board 4

Medal

Player

Country

Gold

Mamedyarov
Shakhri

AZE

Silver

Sutovsky Emil

ISR

Bronze Pashikian Arman

ARM

Board 1st Reserve

Medal

Player

Country

Gold

Malakhov
Vladimir

RUS

Silver

Mamedov Rauf

AZE

Bronze

Arun Prasad S

IND

Postny Evgeny

ISR

Board 2nd Reserve

Medal

Player

Country

Gold

Vitiugov Nikita

RUS

Silver

Mastrovasilis
Athanasi

GRE

Firat Burak

TUR

FIDE Surveys 2011 - Efstratios Grivas

Individual Results

The individual results of each team’s players were as follows:

Russia

Captain

GM Motylev

Alexander

Gam

oin

tage

for

Rat

raz

Gre

ica

aij

gyp

rae

Grischuk
Alexander

½ 1

½ ½ ½ ½ 7

64.

2
7
9
7

+
0

2 Jakovenko Dmitry

½ ½ ½

70.

2
7
4
4

+
0

Morozevich
Alexander

½ 0 ½ 0 1

33.

2
5
1
6

Tomashevsky
Evgeny

½ 0

70.

2
7
5
4

+
0

Malakhov
Vladimir

½ ½ 1 ½ 7 5

71.

2
7
7
1

+
0

6 Vitiugov Nikita

½ 1

91.

2
9
3
9

+
1



Board Points

3
6

2
4

66.



+
1

Match Points

1
5

83.

FIDE Surveys 2011 - Efstratios Grivas

US America

Captain

IM Donaldson John

Gam

oin

tage

for

Rat

Rus

sia

gyp

rae

raz

Gre

aij

1 Nakamura Hikaru

½ 8 6

75.

2
8
5
1

+
1

Onischuk
Alexander

½ 1 1 ½ ½ ½ ½ 9

72.

2
8
0
9

+
1

3 Shulman Yuri

½ 0

½ ½ ½ ½ 7

35.

2
5
1
6

4 Akobian Varuzhan

½ 0 ½

½ ½ ½ 8

56.

2
6
2
0

5 Hess Robert

50.

2
5
6
4

6 Robson Ray

½ ½

50.

2
5
4
8



Board Points

3
6

2
1

59.



+
1

Match Points

1
3

72.

FIDE Surveys 2011 - Efstratios Grivas

India

Captain

GM Psakhis Lev

Gam

oin

tage

for

Rat

Gre

ica

aij

Rus

sia

gyp

rae

raz

1 Sasikiran Krishnan ½

½ ½ ½ ½ 9

61.

2
7
5
3

+
1

Harikrishna
Pentala

½ 1 0 ½ ½ ½ 1 8 4

50.

2
6
4
1

Ganguly Surya
Shekhar

½ ½ 1

½ ½

71.

2
8
0
4

+
1

Geetha Narayanan
Gopal

60.

2
6
6
0

+
0

Arun Prasad
Subramanian

50.

2
6
0
4

+
0

6 Adhiban Baskaran

50.

2
4
0
0



Board Points

½ 3

2
1

58.



+
2

Match Points

1
3

72.

FIDE Surveys 2011 - Efstratios Grivas

Azerbaijan

Captain

GM Azmaiparashvili

Zurab

Gam

oin

tage

for

Rat

Rus

sia

gyp

rae

raz

Gre

ica

1 Gashimov Vugar

½ 1 0 0 0 ½

35.

2
5
6
0

2 Radjabov Teimour

½ ½ 1 ½ 1 1

71.

2
8
0
8

+
0

3 Guseinov Gadir

½ 0

½ 4

37.

2
5
2
3

Mamedyarov
Shakhriyar

½ 1 1 ½ 9 8

88.

2
9
5
0

+
1

5 Mamedov Rauf

½ 1 ½ ½ 6 3

50.

2
5
9
9

6 Mamedov Nidjat

½ 3 2

66.

2
6
0
1

=
0



Board Points

3
6

2
2

61.



Match Points

1
2

66.

FIDE Surveys 2011 - Efstratios Grivas

Armenia

Captain

GM Petrosian Arshak

Gam

oin

tage

for

Rat

aij

rae

raz

Gre

Rus

sia

ica

gyp

1 Aronian Levon

½ 1 ½ 1 0 ½ ½ 1 1 9 6

66.

2
7
8
9

+
0

2 Akopian Vladimir

½ ½ 1 ½ 1 0 1 ½ 1 9 6

66.

2
7
6
2

+
1

3 Sargissian Gabriel

½ 1 ½ ½ ½ 0

50.

2
6
1
3

4 Pashikian Arman

½ ½ 1 6

58.

2
6
7
1

+
0

5 Petrosian Tigran L

½ ½

½ 0

½ 0 6 2

33.

2
4
6
0

6 Kotanjian Tigran

00.

0
0
0
0

=
0



Board Points

3
6

2
0

56.



Match Points

1
2

66.

FIDE Surveys 2011 - Efstratios Grivas

Greece

Captain

GM Nikolaidis

Ioannis

Gam

oin

tage

for

Rat

Rus

sia

gyp

rae

raz

ica

aij

1 Kotronias Vasilios

½ 0 0

½ ½ 0 ½

28.

2
5
3
9

Papaioannou
Ioannis

½ 1 0

½ 1 ½

½ 7 4

57.

2
6
7
8

+
0

3 Banikas Hristos

½ 1 ½ ½ 1 ½ ½ 0

56.

2
6
8
8

+
0

4 Halkias Stelios

½ 1 1 ½ 0 ½ 7

50.

2
6
1
1

+
0

Mastrovasilis
Dimitrios

½ 3 2

66.

2
6
4
7

+
0

Mastrovasilis
Athanasios

½ 1 4 2

50.

2
6
0
1

+
0



Board Points

½ 3

1
8

50.



+
2

Match Points

44.

FIDE Surveys 2011 - Efstratios Grivas

Israel

Captain

GM Greenfeld Alon

Gam

oin

tage

for

Rat

gyp

raz

Gre

ica

aij

Rus

sia

1 Gelfand Boris

½ 0 ½

½ ½ 7 3

42.

2
6
5
1

2 Roiz Michael

½ ½

½ 0 6

41.

2
6
0
1

3 Smirin Ilia

½ ½

½ 0

50.

2
5
9
6

4 Sutovsky Emil

½ 1 1 ½ 0

½ 7

64.

2
6
8
9

+
0

5 Postny Evgeny

½ 0

50.

2
5
4
7

6 Rodshtein Maxim

½ ½

½ 0 ½ 0 6 2

33.

2
4
8
5



Board Points

3
6

1
7

47.



Match Points

38.

FIDE Surveys 2011 - Efstratios Grivas

Brazil

Captain

GM Lima Darcy

Gam

oin

tage

for

Rat

Rus

sia

gyp

rae

Gre

ica

aij

1 Vescovi Giovanni

½ 0 0 ½

14.

2
3
6
2

2 Leitao Rafael

½ 1 ½ ½ ½ 0

½ 8

56.

2
6
7
7

+
0

3 Fier Alexandr

½ ½ ½ ½ 0 ½ ½ ½ 0 9

38.

2
5
3
2

4 Milos Gilberto

½ ½ 0 ½ 0

28.

2
4
9
5

5 Diamant Andre

4 ½

12.

2
2
5
3

6 Lima Darcy

0.0

3
3
1
3

+
0



Board Points

3
6

1
2

34.



Match Points

22.

FIDE Surveys 2011 - Efstratios Grivas

Egypt

Captain

FM Mohamed Faraq

Amrou

Gam

oin

tage

for

Rat

rae

raz

Gre

ica

aij

Rus

sia

1 Adly Ahmed

½ ½ 1 0 1 1 ½

56.

2
7
0
3

+
1

2 Amin Bassem

½ 0 1 ½ 0 1 ½ ½ 0 9 4

44.

2
6
1
0

+
0

3 Ezat Mohamed

00.

1
8
6
9

Abdel Razik
Khaled

½ ½

33.

2
4
6
0

5 Abdelnabbi Imed

25.

2
3
5
6

6 Sarwat Walaa

½ 0

4 ½

12.

2
2
7
4



Board Points

½ 1

3
6

1
2

33.



Match Points

16.

FIDE Surveys 2011 - Efstratios Grivas

Turkey

Captain

GM Grivas Efstratios

Gam

oin

tage

for

Rat

ica

aij

Rus

sia

gyp

rae

raz

Gre

Haznedaroglu
Kivanc

½ 0

½ 6 2

33.

2
5
3
6

+
0

2 Erdogdu Mert

½ 0 0 0 0

6 ½

08.

2
2
9
2

2
0

3 Yilmaz Mustafa

½ 0

25.

2
4
6
4

0
0

4 Can Emre

½ ½ ½ 7

50.

2
6
1
8

+
1

5 Esen Baris

½ 0

½ 7 2

28.

2
4
4
3

6 Firat Burak

50.

2
5
2
0

+
0



Board Points

½ 1 ½ 2

½ 3

1
1

31.



+
0

Match Points

16.

FIDE Surveys 2011 - Efstratios Grivas

A Diary

On January 3rd nearly all the teams
arrived at Istanbul airport and then
they were transported to the Almira
Hotel in Bursa by small buses,
provided by the TCF. It must be
noted that the 1st Quarter of the
FIDE

Presidential

Board

was

designed to be held on 4-5 January in
Bursa, so there were also many FIDE
officials who took the same direction
with the teams.
On January 4th a spectacular
Opening Ceremony took place in the
playing

hall.

The

Municipal

Marching Band greeted the guests
and then the President of the
Turkish Chess Federation Mr. Ali
Nihat Yazici, thanked and expressed
his appreciation to the Mayor in
behalf of the Municipality of Bursa,
for hosting this important event.
The President of FIDE Mr. Kirsan
Ilyumzhinov presented a memorial
plate

the

Mayor

the

Municipality of Bursa Mr. Recep
Altepe for his contribution. TCF
President Ali Nihat Yazici presented
memorial plates to the Sales and
Marketing Manager of The Sponsor
Almira Otel Aylin Isikogullari, the
Mayor of the Municipality of Bursa
Mr. Recep Altepe and the Deputy
Governor of Bursa Mr. İsmail
Demirhan.
The drawing of lots was a nice story
and it was held with the participation
and help of the Bursaspor Football
Team. Each Team-Captain picked a
player who in his turns under-
covered his t-shirt, showing the

number of the team! To my
knowledge a unique and interesting
concept!
The Opening Ceremony concluded
with some nice performance by the
Ottoman Military Band, Mehteran.
Then the FIDE Officials returned to
the hotel and started their meeting,
till late afternoon.
In the night the Governor and the
Mayor of Bursa Mr. Sahabettin
Harput and Mr. Recep Altepe
attended to the official dinner given
in honour of the FIDE Presidential
Board.
The day was concluded with the
traditional Captains’ Meeting where,
more

less,

all

potentional

problems were solved.
The first round was held on January
5th. Before-hand the FIDE PB was
concluded in full harmony. The big
match was between the 2008
Olympic Champions Armenia and
the 2009 European Champions
Azerbaijan. The later won with the
minimum

score,

thanks

convincing with of Mamedyarov,
‘achieving’ an important advantage
for the final standings.
In the other matches Greece unlucky
lost against India (should the result
be reversed) and Lev Psakhis (Indian
Captain) commented: ‘this is the best
that a trainer can offer to his team:
luck!’. Hot favourites Russia, US
America and Israel won respectively
versus Brazil, Turkey and Egypt,
after some real fight. Emre Can of
Turkey played a nice game (see
analysis) crushing Yuri Shulman.

FIDE Surveys 2011 - Efstratios Grivas

The second round brought a big
surprise; Greece won against Russia!
And this was a fair result; actually it
could have been even 3½:½! In the
past Greece had once more upset the
then Soviet Union team with a 3:3
result in the Haifa European Team
Championship in 1989, where I lost a
big chance to beat Gelfand and give
the win to my team (only drew).
Armenia beat Israel when Aronian
played an excellent game and
outplayed

Gelfand,

while

America convincingly beat India
with 3:1. Brazil and Azerbaijan beat
their weaker opponents, Egypt and
Turkey respectively.
The third round brought the
absolute

mess!

While

Russia,

Armenia and Israel fulfilled their
expectations by beating US America,
Turkey and Brazil respectively,
Greece lost to Egypt and Azerbaijan
to

India

(!),

continuing

the

unexpected results series!
So, after the third round no less than
six teams were sharing the first place
with 4 match points out of possible 6.
Then three teams were following
with 2 MP, leaving the host country
in the last position with no points!
In the fourth round the match
between Russia and Azerbaijan took
place and everybody was expecting
that it would ‘solve’ matters on the
top. Russia was the lucky one, as
Grischuk’s king had to travel all the
way from e8 to b1 (!), facing the
opponents army in its step! The other
favourites, Armenia, Israel, India and
US America beat their opponents,
Brazil, Greece, Turkey and Egypt

respectively, without facing too
many problems. These facts changed
little at the top, leaving five teams
with 6/8 MP.
The fact that in the first twenty
matches we saw no 2:2 results is
rather paradoxical but also proves the
fighting spirit of all teams. Finally,
Turkey’s National Teams manager
Ozgur Solakoglu asked why I am not
that often inside the playing hall. I
answered that there are not many
reasons as I am not allowed as a
Captain to offer any draw before the
30th move (it was forbidden) and
after the 30th move it is already too
late! Well, it was just a joke!
Russia and Azerbaijan easily won
versus

Turkey

and

Egypt

respectively, in the fifth round. But
the Egyptian GM Adly Ahmed upset
Gashimov forcing him to his third
consecutive defeat! Greece beat the
solid Brazil and US America won the
first derby of the round versus Israel,
when Nakamura crushed Gelfand
with Black, thinking for less than
half hour for his efforts! Finally,
Armenia and India split the MP (first
2:2 in the tournament) after a long
fight and an unfortunate moment for
Aronian. The later lost a theoretically
draw rook ending!
So, Russia and US America are
leading the tournament after the 5th
round, with 8/10 MP.
The sixth round ended Armenia’s
hopes for the gold medal, as Greece
crushed them with a fine 3:1 result,
making 2/2 with the ‘golden’ teams
of Russia and Armenia! Russia won
versus India thanks to a win on the

FIDE Surveys 2011 - Efstratios Grivas

4th board but it was joined in first
position not only in MP (8/10) but
also in board points (15½) by US
America, who beat Brazil 3:1.
Azerbaijan and Israel split the points
with four hard-fought draws, which
ended Mamedyarov’s perfect score.
Finally, the big derby for the last
place between Egypt and Turkey
ended in a fighting 2:2 draw, with
four decisive results.
In the 7th round the long-awaited
match between Russia and Armenia
took place. After a hard battle and a
missing chance for the Armenians in
the 4th board, the match ended in a
2:2 draw - Morozevich is helplessly
out of form …
US America grabbed its chance and
beat Greece but only after Kotronias
who had a won position against
Nakamura,

badly

blundered.

Azerbaijan gave a rest to a tired
Gashimov and demolished Brazil,
while Egypt fought well against
India and only went down in the last
minute. But the big surprise of the
round was the win of Turkey versus
Israel

(!),

probably

the

most

unexpected result of the event.
So, after the 7th round US America
is leading with a 1 MP over Russia
and the two last rounds became more
or less dramatic, as also the silver
and the bronze medals are yet to be
distributed and many teams are
fought over them! Another fight, to
avoid the last position, is still open!
The 8th round wasn’t a lucky one
for the US America team, as they
narrowly lost to Armenia, when
Aronian won a nice game versus

Nakamura. This result gave the
chance to Russia (who demolished
Egypt) to climb on top with a round
to go. Azerbaijan beat Greece and
India beat Israel - the later having a
really bad tournament. Finally, Brazil
beat Turkey after a tight fight -
Vescovi once more lost a game
showing very poor performance and
certainly

that

not

his

tournament…
In the 9th and last round Azerbaijan
unexpectedly decided to play without
its two first boards, in its most
critical match against US America!
Rumours indicated that there was an
internal night fight between the top
players, were the captain and the
federation involved. Well, the stories
are interesting and spicy but I do not
like to get further inside the very
personal stuff of a team (and a
country after all), so I will stop here,
keep my mouth shut and I will only
comment that in such situations the
team spirit must be the decisive
factor and captain’s orders must be
followed.
After two hours of play, four draws
were agreed in a short period, giving
the silver medal to US America and
allowing Azerbaijan (4th) to finish
over Armenia (5th), which is a nice
target if you consider the political
situation between Azerbaijan and
Armenia… To me this result was
looking mostly as a before-hand
package-draw agreement but of
course this is my only my personal
speculation.
At the same time, the above result
guaranteed Russia the gold medal.

FIDE Surveys 2011 - Efstratios Grivas

Rumours also indicated that the night
before Russia offered to Israel a 2:2
package draw but the later refused as
they were after the 6th position…
But the in end Israel (7th) could
consider itself lucky that escaped
with just a 1:3 result!
India crushed Brazil, winning the
bronze medal and Greece won the
valuable 6th position by winning
against Turkey with the minimum
score, when Firat Burak resigned in a
just slightly worst position - he
thought that he could not avoid mate!
In the last match of the day Egypt
won a valuable point versus Armenia
which and avoided the last position.
The event was concluded with a
simple and well-performed Closing
Ceremony, which took place in the
ball-room of the ‘Almira’ hotel.
Some quick and simple speeches by
Ali Nihat Yazici (FIDE Vice-
President

TSF

President),

Georgios

Makropoulos

(FIDE

Deputy-President & GCF President)
plus the distribution of medals and a
nice meal, concluded a tiring day.
So, that was the short story of an
extremely strong event, where 50
GM, 9 IM and 1 FM participated and
the average rating of these 60
participants was 2608,42 (!!). One
should also think about the Captains
of the teams: 8 GM, 1 IM and 1 FM!
And to end with, we must surely pay
tribute to Turkish Chess Federation
(TSF) for its professional and high
standards organization. Also, it must
be noted that it was decided that this
event will be held every two years
from now on and TSF and Bursa

decided to bid again! So, most
probably we will see this prestigious
event in a shorter time but at the
same place!

Teams’ Performance

1. Russia

: Although Vladimir

Kramnik and Peter Svidler were
missing from the Russian team, it
never looked like that they were not
in the driver’s seat. The team had just
one upset when lost to Greece but it
only allowed a draw with the rest of
the teams. Morozevich was in a quite
bad form but all the rest played well
and also added three more individual
medals in their suitcases. They fully
deserved the gold medal.

2. US America

: For me this was a

real surprise, as I thought that this
team will fight just for the 5th
position. But when your top two
boards are in fine shape and they can
win the gold individual medals in
their board, then you are on the right
path. A solid team, a bit of luck in
decisive games, good team strategy
and here is the silver medal!
3.

India

The

last-minute

participants, as they had to replace
China just a week before the start of
the tournament. They played good
and fighting chess but they seemed to
have a bit of luck or a bit a will over
their opponents’ wills! The team won
decisive points when needed and
added two more individual medals in
its

collection

successful

participation after all!

FIDE Surveys 2011 - Efstratios Grivas

Azerbaijan

: As the recent

European Champion, the team of the
Azeri were expected to play a
decisive

role

the

medals,

especially when in the first round
won vs Armenia. But an-out-of-form
Gashimov

and

various

internal

problems stopped the team from its
targets. It is a really difficult task to
captain and run a team of stars…
Three individual medals and the
absolute

star

the

event

(Mamedyarov) were the brightest
moments of the team.
5.

Armenia

The

Olympic

Champions

was

the

big

disappointment of the event. They
did not just have been out of the
medals - they even were far away of
them! Well, this time nothing worked
well for the Armenians and they even
lost 1:3 to Greeks (!), among others.
But at least they won four individual
medals.
6.

Greece

: The surprise of the event

and the most unstable team were the
boys from Greece! They won against
Russia and Armenia but they lost to
Egypt and just beat Turkey. I am sure
that they made the betting companies
happier and richer as nobody could
predict their results. They lost a
golden chance vs USA and they
could even beat India if they were a
bit more careful. Two individual
medals were added in their cards.
7.

Israel

: Who could believe that

Israel would play so badly? A team
of stars, with the recent WC winner
as its leader (Boris Gelfand) and still
no fight, no hope, no points… The
only one who gave a positive

performance was Sutovsky, who won
the only individual medal of the team
- but he was so alone.
8.

Brazil

: The second biggest

disappointmed of the event, as the
Brazilians lost no less than 42 rating
points in total (!). I was expecting
something more appealing by a
2600+ team than beating with just
with the minimum score the two
weakest teams of the event and I do
not really know the causes of their
bad performance. I am sure that they
have seen and they will see better
days and this event should soon be
forgotten…
9.

Egypt

: The Egyptians mostly

were depended on their first two
boards, which performed very well
and won most of the points. A solid
team that fought in every match and
to its credit it’s the win vs Greece. I
think that they succeeded in their
initial target - not to finish in the last
position, although some luck was in
need in the last round.
10.

Turkey

: The host country was

‘designed’ to finish last, as it was the
lowest rated one. The Turkish
youngsters fought well, won some
valuable scalps, won an individual
medal, a GM-norm (third for Emre
Can - soon to be named GM) and
unexpectedly beat Israel! Still, the
bitter taste of the last position was
not easy to swallow. But the team is
on the right path and is expected to
go even better in the very short
future - TSF can quarantine that!

FIDE Surveys 2011 - Efstratios Grivas

Games Department

Mamedyarov S. : Pashikian A.
D43 Bursa 2010

1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Nf3 e6
5.Bg5 h6 6.Bh4 dxc4 7.e4 g5 8.Bg3
b5 9.Be2 Bb7 10.0-0 Nbd7 11.Ne5
Bg7 12.Qc2 0-0
A novelty. Previously 12...Nxe5 has
been tried: 13.Bxe5 0-0 14.Rad1 Nd7
15.Bd6 +=, Porper E. : Kotanjian T.,
Dresden 2007.
13.Rad1 Qe7 14.h4 Rad8 15.hxg5
hxg5 16.Rfe1 a6 17.Qc1 Nxe5
18.Bxe5 Nh7 19.Bxg7 Kxg7 20.Bg4
c5
White's compensation is notable due
to his strong centre, his centralized
pieces and the weak black king. But
of course, White has to ‘prove’ his
sacrifice sooner or later, otherwise
this material deficit will be enough
for Black to triumph in a potential
endgame - but before that the Gods
have ‘created’ the middlegame!
21.d5! Qf6 22.e5! Qh6?
22...Qf4 23.Qxf4 gxf4 24.dxe6 fxe6
25.Bxe6 Ng5 26.Bd5 += was Black's
best chance.
23.dxe6 fxe6

XIIIIIIIIY
9-+-tr-tr-+0
9+l+-+-mkn0
9p+-+p+-wq0
9+pzp-zP-zp-0
9-+p+-+L+0
9+-sN-+-+-0
9PzP-+-zPP+0
9+-wQRtR-mK-0
xiiiiiiiiy

24.Qe3! +/- Qh4?! 25.Bxe6 Rd4
26.Ne2 Rfd8

XIIIIIIIIY
9-+-tr-+-+0
9+l+-+-mkn0
9p+-+L+-+0
9+pzp-zP-zp-0
9-+ptr-+-wq0
9+-+-wQ-+-0
9PzP-+NzPP+0
9+-+RtR-mK-0
xiiiiiiiiy

27.Rxd4
27.Nxd4 cxd4 28.Qa3 was good
enough.
27...cxd4 28.Qa3!
The invasion via the dark squares
decides the game...
28...g4 29.Qc5! Ng5 30.Qe7+ Kh6
31.Qf6+
1:0.

Can E. : Shulman Y.
C03 Bursa 2010

1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nd2 Be7 4.Bd3 c5
5.dxc5 Nf6 6.Qe2 0-0 7.Ngf3

XIIIIIIIIY
9rsnlwq-trk+0
9zpp+-vlpzpp0
9-+-+psn-+0
9+-zPp+-+-0
9-+-+P+-+0
9+-+L+N+-0
9PzPPsNQzPPzP0
9tR-vL-mK-+R0
xiiiiiiiiy

7...a5
Black has many options in this

FIDE Surveys 2011 - Efstratios Grivas

particular position, as:
a) 7...Nfd7 8.Nb3 a5 9.e5 a4
10.Nbd4 Nxc5 11.0-0 a3 12.bxa3
Nc6 13.Rb1 Bd7 14.Nb5 Ra4 15.Be3
+=, Durarbeyli V. : Shimanov A.,
Vung Tau 2008,
b) 7...Nc6 8.0-0 Nd7 9.exd5 exd5
10.Nb3 Nxc5 11.Nxc5 Bxc5 12.Bg5
Qb6 13.c3 +=, Popovic D. : Mira H.,
Internet 2006,
c) 7...Bxc5 8.e5 Nfd7 9.0-0 Nc6
10.Nb3 Be7 11.c3 Re8 12.Nbd4 Nf8
13.Bf4 +=, Levushkina E. : Zach A.,
Bayern 2006,
d) 7...dxe4 8.Nxe4 Nbd7 9.0-0 Nxc5
10.Nxc5 Bxc5 11.Bg5 Be7 12.Rfe1
Qc7 13.Ne5 +=, Brodsky M. :
Malykin V., Polanica Zdroj 1999.
8.0-0
8.a4 Na6 9.Bxa6 Rxa6 10.0-0 Bxc5
11.e5 Nd7 12.Nb3 Ba7 13.Be3 +=,
Schneider I. : Ramirez A., Dallas
2006, is the main alternative but Can
had something more dynamic in his
mind...
8...Na6
8...Nc6 9.c3 Nd7 10.exd5 exd5
11.Nb3 a4 12.Nbd4 +=, Socko B. :
Pert N., Hastings 2004 and 8...Nfd7
9.exd5 exd5 10.Re1 Nc6 11.Bb5 Bf6
12.c3 Nxc5 13.Nb3 +=, Lakos N. :
Richards H., Bled 2002 are fair
possibilities that should be taken into
account.
9.e5
In my opinion best by test!
9...Nd7

XIIIIIIIIY
9r+lwq-trk+0
9+p+nvlpzpp0
9n+-+p+-+0
9zp-zPpzP-+-0
9-+-+-+-+0
9+-+L+N+-0
9PzPPsNQzPPzP0
9tR-vL-+RmK-0
xiiiiiiiiy

10.c4!
I think that White should go for it, as
alternatives as 10.c3 Naxc5 11.Bc2
b6 12.Qe3 a4 13.Nd4 Qc7 14.Re1
Bb7 oo, Lima D. : Santos Filho T.,
Rio de Janeiro 2007, promises little.
10...Ndxc5
The other option is the capture with
the other knight: 10...Naxc5 11.Bc2
b6 (11...dxc4 12.a4! +=) 12.b3 Ba6
(12...Bb7 13.Bb2 f5 14.Nd4 +=,
Vachier Lagrave M. : Sprenger J.,
Germany 2008) 13.Rd1 Qc7 14.Bb2
Rac8 15.Rac1 +=, Jayaram A. :
Praveen Kumar C., Dubai 2008.
White's spatial advantage and more
active plans in the kingside, ensures
a more pleasant middlegame.
11.Bb1
11.cxd5?!

Nxd3

12.Qxd3

Nb4

13.Qe2 Qxd5, Buchenau F. : Renner
K., Germany 2005, would only
favour Black.
11...Nb4
White also felled happy after 11...b6
12.cxd5 exd5 (12...Qxd5?! 13.Nc4
+/-) 13.Nd4 Nb4 14.Rd1 +=, White I.
: Buckley M., Torquay 2002.
12.Rd1!
Accurate, as after 12.Nb3 Nxb3!
(12...b6?! 13.Nxc5 bxc5 14.a3 Nc6

FIDE Surveys 2011 - Efstratios Grivas

15.Rd1 +/-, Mogranzini R. : Amato
A., Arvier 2008) 13.axb3 b6 14.Rd1,
Ba6 Black should be OK.
12...Qb6

XIIIIIIIIY
9r+l+-trk+0
9+p+-vlpzpp0
9-wq-+p+-+0
9zp-snpzP-+-0
9-snP+-+-+0
9+-+-+N+-0
9PzP-sNQzPPzP0
9tRLvLR+-mK-0
xiiiiiiiiy

A novelty that has been predicted in
the analysis! Previously 12...b6 had
been played: 13.a3! (13.Nd4 Qc7
(13...Bb7 14.N2f3 Qc8 15.Ng5 with
an attack, Lauk U. : Kunitson N.,
Tallinn 2007) 14.a3 Nc6 15.Nxc6
Qxc6 16.cxd5 exd5 17.Nf3 +=,
Sebag M. : Paehtz E., Novi Sad
2009) 13...Nc6 14.Ne4! and White is
on the top. But Black should think
about 12...Qc7!? 13.cxd5 Nxd5
14.Ne4 +=, due to White's attacking
possibilities on the kingside.
13.Nb3!
Our morning preparation was deep
enough to include this certain
position. We came to the conclusion
that White is holding a very pleasant
advantage and we decided to dig
even further...
13...dxc4?
It looks like 13...Nxb3 14.axb3 Bd7?
(14...h6! is forced: 15.Be3 Bc5
16.Bxc5 Qxc5 17.Nd4 +=) is OK for
Black, but suddenly a bolt from blue
comes:

15.Ng5!

Bxg5

(15...h6

16.Nh7! Rfe8 17.Nf6+ +/- and

15...g6 16.Nxh7! Kxh7 17.Be3! Qd8
[17...Bc5 18.Qh5+ Kg7 19.Qh6+
Kg8 20.Bg5 +-] 18.Qh5+ Kg7
19.Qh6+

Kg8

20.Bxg6

fxg6

21.Qxg6+ Kh8 22.Qh6+ Kg8 23.Rd4
+- are losing for Black) 16.Bxg5
Rfe8 17.Qh5 g6 18.Qh6 Qc5 19.Bf6
+/-. Black cannot afford to open the
centre, as his un-development will
tell...
14.Qxc4
14.Bg5 is also strong: 14...f6
(14...Bxg5?

15.Bxh7+!

Kxh7

16.Nxg5+ Kg6 17.Qg4 f5 18.Qg3 +-)
15.exf6 Bxf6 (15...gxf6 16.Nxc5
Bxc5 17.Bh6 +/-) 16.Bxf6 Rxf6
17.Qxc4 (17.Nxc5 Qxc5 18.Rd8+
Rf8 19.Rxf8+ Qxf8 20.Qxc4 +/-)
17...Nxb3 18.axb3 +/-.
14...Nxb3 15.axb3 Rd8?!
Good or bad Black's hand was
forced: 15...Nd5 16.Ng5 g6 17.Qh4
h5 18.Qg3 +/-.

XIIIIIIIIY
9r+ltr-+k+0
9+p+-vlpzpp0
9-wq-+p+-+0
9zp-+-zP-+-0
9-snQ+-+-+0
9+P+-+N+-0
9-zP-+-zPPzP0
9tRLvLR+-mK-0
xiiiiiiiiy

16.Bd2?

16.Bxh7+! Kxh7 17.Bg5 is a killer:
17...f6 (17...Rxd1+ 18.Rxd1 +-)
18.Qh4+ Kg8 (18...Kg6 19.g4! Kf7
20.exf6 Bxf6 21.Qh5+ +-) 19.exf6
Bxf6 20.Bxf6 gxf6 21.Qxf6 +-.
16...Bd7?
16...Bc5! was the main alternative.

FIDE Surveys 2011 - Efstratios Grivas

After 17.Qh4 h6 18.Be4! Bd7
(18...Nc6 19.Bxh6 Rxd1+ 20.Rxd1
Bxf2+ [20...gxh6? 21.Qxh6 Bxf2+
22.Kf1 Be3 23.Ng5 +-] 21.Qxf2
Qxf2+ 22.Kxf2 gxh6 23.Rd6 +/-)
19.Bxh6 Bxf2+ (19...gxh6? 20.Qxh6
Bxf2+ 21.Kh1 Be3 22.Qh7+ Kf8
23.Nh4! +-) 20.Qxf2 Qxf2+ 21.Kxf2
gxh6 22.Bxb7 Rab8 23.Be4 Bc6
24.Rxd8+ Rxd8 25.Bxc6 Nxc6
26.Rc1 Nb4 27.Ke2 White has good
winning chances but Black is still
alive and kicking.
17.Bg5?
17.Ng5! would do the job: 17...h6 (it
looks like Black can survive after
17...g6 18.Qh4 h5 19.Qg3 Be8 but
this is not the case: 20.Nxf7! Bxf7
21.Bxg6 h4 [21...Rxd2 22.Rxd2 Rf8
23.Rd6! Qc5 24.Bxh5+ Kh7 25.Bxf7
Rxf7 26.Rxe6 +-] 22.Qg4 Rd4
[22...Bxg6 23.Qxg6+ Kh8 24.Bh6
Bf8 25.Bxf8 Rxf8 26.Qh6+ Kg8
27.Qg5+ Kh8 28.Qxh4+ Kg8 29.Rd7
+-] 23.Be4+ Kf8 24.Be3 Rxe4
[24...Rxd1+ 25.Rxd1 Qb5 26.Bh6+
Ke8 27.Qg7 +-] 25.Qxe4 Qb5
26.Bh6+ Ke8 27.Qh7 Qxe5 28.Re1
Qc5 29.Qh8+ Bf8 30.Rac1 Qd6
31.Rc7 +-) 18.Bh7+ Kh8 (18...Kf8?!
19.Nxf7!

+-)

19.Nxf7+

Kxh7

20.Qe4+ Kg8 21.Nxh6+ Kh8 (D)
(21...gxh6 22.Qg6+ Kh8 23.Qxh6+
Kg8 24.Qg6+ Kh8 25.Be3 +-)
22.Bg5! (22.Bxb4? axb4 23.Nf7+
Kg8 24.Nxd8 Rxd8 oo) 22...Bc6
(22...Bxg5 23.Nf7+ Kg8 24.Nxg5 +-)
23.Rxd8+

Rxd8

(23...Bxd8?!

24.Nf7+ Kg8 25.Qg6 Be4 [25...Nd3
26.Rf1! Be4 27.Nh6+ Kh8 28.Qxe4
gxh6 29.Bxh6 Nb4 30.Qg6 Qc7
31.Rd1 +-] 26.Nh6+ Kh8 27.Qe8+

Kh7 28.Qg8+ Kg6 29.Be3! Qc7
30.Qxe6+ Kh7 31.Qg8+ Kg6 32.h4!
and White wins!) 24.Qh4 Rd4
25.Ng4+ (25.Qh5 Nd5 26.Bxe7 Nf4
27.Qf7 Kh7 28.h4 +/-) 25...Kg8
26.Bxe7 Nd3 27.h3 Nxe5 28.b4 +/-.
17...Bxg5?
Another question mark in a row.
Black

should

have

opted

for

17...Bc6! when after 18.Bxh7+ Kxh7
19.Bxe7

Rxd1+

20.Rxd1

Bxf3

21.gxf3 Nd5 22.Bg5 Qb4 he would
have achieved a perfectly playable
position, despite his small material
deficit.
18.Bxh7+?
Spectacular but unnecessary! The
natural

18.Nxg5

was

winning:

18...h6 (18...g6 19.Qh4 h5 20.Nxf7
+-) 19.Rd6! Nc6 (19...Qb5 20.Bh7+
Kf8 21.Nxe6+ fxe6 22.Qf4+ Ke7
23.Bg6 Rf8 24.Qh4+ +-) 20.Bh7+
Kf8

(20...Kh8

21.Nxf7+

Kxh7

22.Rad1 +-) 21.Nxf7! Kxf7 22.Rad1
+-.
18...Kxh7 19.Nxg5+ Kg8
Not of course 19...Kg6? 20.Qg4 f5
21.exf6 Kxf6 22.Rd6 Qb5 23.Nxe6
+-.
20.Rd6
20.Qh4 Be8 21.Qh7+ Kf8 22.Qh8+
Ke7 23.Qxg7 Rxd1+ 24.Rxd1 Nd5 is
nothing but clear...
20...Qb5!
Black has to be careful: 20...Nc6?
21.Qd3 +/-.
21.Qe4 f5?!
21...Nc6!

looks

viable

alternative: 22.Rad1 (22.Qh7+ Kf8
23.Rxd7?

Rxd7

24.Qh8+

Ke7

25.Qxa8 Rd8 -+) 22...Qxe5 23.Qxe5
Nxe5 24.f4 Rdc8 25.fxe5 Bc6 =.

FIDE Surveys 2011 - Efstratios Grivas

22.Qh4! Qxe5 23.f4
Not bad but 23.Qh5 would have been
'simpler':

23...Nd5

(23...Qxd6?

24.Qh7+

Kf8

25.Qh8+

Ke7

26.Qxg7+) 24.Qf7+ Kh8 25.Rxd7
Rxd7 26.Qxd7 Qxb2 27.Re1 Nf6
28.Qxe6 +/-.
23...Qxb2?
The pressure is too much and Black
crumbles. He should have played
23...Qe3+! 24.Kh1 Nd3 25.Rxd3
Qxd3 26.Qh7+ Kf8 27.Qh8+ Ke7
28.Qxg7+

Kd6

29.Nf7+

Kc7

30.Qe5+ Kb6 31.Nxd8 Qd5 32.Qe3+
Kc7 33.Nf7 Bc6 34.Rg1 Qe4 35.Qf2
and although White is a pawn up, the
fight would have been prolonged to
the good. Even 23...Qf6 would allow
Black to play on 24.Rad1 Qh6
25.Qe1 +/-.
24.Rad1 Nd5?!
Although Black is lost anyway, he
should have tried 24...Qf6 25.Qh7+
Kf8 26.Rxd7 Rxd7 27.Rxd7 Ke8
28.Rd6 +-.

XIIIIIIIIY
9r+-tr-+k+0
9+p+l+-zp-0
9-+-tRp+-+0
9zp-+n+psN-0
9-+-+-zP-wQ0
9+P+-+-+-0
9-wq-+-+PzP0
9+-+R+-mK-0
xiiiiiiiiy

25.R6xd5! exd5 26.Re1 Qd4+
26...Be6 does not save the day:
27.Qh7+

Kf8

28.Nxe6+

Ke7

29.Nxd8+

Kxd8

30.Qg8+

Kc7

31.Qxa8 +-.
27.Kh1 Qe4

The only way to avoid mate (for the
time being).
28.Qh7+
28.Nxe4? is impossible: 28...fxe4
29.Qe7 a4 30.bxa4 Bxa4 31.Qe6+
Kf8 =+.
28...Kf8 29.Qh8+ Ke7 30.Qxg7+
Kd6 31.Nxe4+ fxe4
31...dxe4 32.Qe5+ Kc6 33.Rc1+ Kb6
34.b4! +-.
32.Qe5+ Kc6
32...Kc5 is no salvation 33.Rc1+
Kb5 34.b4! +-.
33.b4!
Accurate and decisive! Of course
White is sufficient material up but
some 'technique' is still required.
33...Kb6
33...axb4 34.Rc1+ Kb6 35.Qc7+ Ka6
36.Ra1+ +-.
34.Qd6+
34.bxa5+ keeps an even firmer grip:
34...Ka7 35.Qd4+ Kb8 36.Qxd5 +-.
34...Ka7
34...Bc6 does not solve anything
35.Qc5+ Kc7 36.b5 +-.
35.Ra1
35.Qxd5 and White can already
relax: 35...Rac8 36.Qxa5+ Kb8 37.b5
Bxb5 38.Qxb5 +-.
35...Bc6
35...a4 36.b5 Bxb5 37.Qc5+ Ka6
38.Rb1 and mate follows and
35...Ba4 doesn't get the cat off the
tree: 36.Qc5+ b6 37.Qd4 +-.
36.Qc5+
36.Qc7 was even faster: 36...a4
37.Qa5+

Kb8

38.Qxd8+

Ka7

39.Qa5+ Kb8 40.Qc5 +-.
36...Kb8 37.b5 Bxb5
37...Be8 38.b6 Rd7 39.Rc1 +-.
38.Qxb5 a4

FIDE Surveys 2011 - Efstratios Grivas

38...Ra7 +- and praying for a
miracle, was 'forced'.
39.Qb6! Rd7 40.Qe6 Rc7 41.Qe8+
Rc8 42.Qe5+ Ka7
42...Rc7 43.Rc1 +-.
43.Qxd5
43...Rc6 44.Qd4+ Kb8 45.Qe5+ Kc8
46.Qh8+ Kc7 47.Qxa8 +-.
1:0.

Aronian L. : Gelfand B.
D46 Bursa 2010

1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Nc3 e6
5.e3 Nbd7 6.Qc2 Bd6 7.Bd3 0-0
8.0-0 dxc4 9.Bxc4 a6 10.Rd1 b5
11.Bf1 c5 12.a4 b4 13.Ne4 Nxe4
14.Qxe4 Rb8

XIIIIIIIIY
9-trlwq-trk+0
9+-+n+pzpp0
9p+-vlp+-+0
9+-zp-+-+-0
9Pzp-zPQ+-+0
9+-+-zPN+-0
9-zP-+-zPPzP0
9tR-vLR+LmK-0
xiiiiiiiiy

15.Qd3!
A good novelty. 15.b3?! Bb7 16.Qd3
cxd4 17.exd4 Qa5 18.Bb2 Rfd8 =+,
Saladen R. : Abreu Delgado A., Cali
2001.
15...cxd4 16.Qxd4 Be7 17.Qf4! Bf6
18.a5 Qe7 19.e4 e5 20.Qe3
White's position is preferable as his
pieces can coordinated and compared
to Black's can create more plans and
threats.
20...Nc5 21.Rd5 Ne6 22.Nxe5 Bb7
23.Nd7 Bxd5 24.Nxf8 Ba8 25.Nxe6

Qxe6 26.Qa7
26.e5 looks attractive but Black can
get sufficient compensation after
26...Bxe5!

(26...Qxe5?!

27.Qxe5

Bxe5 28.Bxa6 +/-) 27.f4 Bf6
28.Qxe6 fxe6 29.Bxa6 Rd8 =/oo.
26...Rd8 27.Be3 Bxe4 28.Re1 Bxb2
29.Qb6! Rc8 30.Bf4 g5 31.Bg3 b3
Black's only practical chance.

XIIIIIIIIY
9-+r+-+k+0
9+-+-+p+p0
9pwQ-+q+-+0
9zP-+-+-zp-0
9-+-+l+-+0
9+p+-+-vL-0
9-vl-+-zPPzP0
9+-+-tRLmK-0
xiiiiiiiiy

32.Re3?
32.Qxe6 fxe6 33.Rxe4 Bf6 seems to
'offer'

Black

'unnecessary

complications'

but

White

has

excellent winning chances after
34.Re1 b2 35.Bd3 Rc1 36.Rf1 Bc3
37.Bc7 h6 (37...Be1? 38.Be5 b1Q
39.Bxb1 Rxb1 40.Bc3 +-) 38.Bb6 e5
39.Be3 Be1 40.g3.
32...Bf6?
A blunder in time trouble. 32...Bg7!
seems to hold: 33.Rxb3 h6 34.Qxe6
fxe6 35.Rb8 (35.Bxa6? Rc1+ 36.Bf1
Bd5 -/+) 35...Rxb8 36.Bxb8 Bb7
37.Bc4 Kf7 =.
33.Rxe4! Qxe4 34.Qxf6
Black is plain lost - the bishop-pair is
unstoppable.
34...Qg6 35.Qd4 h6 36.Be5 Re8
37.h4 Qf5

FIDE Surveys 2011 - Efstratios Grivas

XIIIIIIIIY
9-+-+r+k+0
9+-+-+p+-0
9p+-+-+-zp0
9zP-+-vLqzp-0
9-+-wQ-+-zP0
9+p+-+-+-0
9-+-+-zPP+0
9+-+-+LmK-0
xiiiiiiiiy

38.Bh8! Qh7 39.Qd7 Qe4 40.Bc3
gxh4 41.Bd3 1:0.

Morozevich A. : Papaioannou I.
A17 Bursa 2010

1.Nf3 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.g4
This creative move has become
popular recently. White aims to
harass the knight and if 4...Nxg4 then
5.Rg1 wins back the pawn. Also, we
must keep in mind that the idea of
this move is similar to that of the
Shabalov-Shirov attack in the Anti-
Meran:

White

combines

his

development with an early attack,
which disturbs Black's development
plans.

This

move

was

first

discovered by GM V.Zvjagintsev
and applied by him in a rapid game
against M.Gurevich (Moscow 1996).
4...0-0
Of course here Black has many
options:
a) 4...h6 is more solid: 5.Rg1
(5.h3!?) 5...b6 (5...d6 6.h4 [6.g5
hxg5 7.Rxg5 g6 8.a3?! Bxc3 9.bxc3
e5 =+ 10.c5?! e4 11.Nd4 dxc5 -/+,
Jimenez P. : Benjamin J., New York
1998] 6...e5 7.g5 hxg5 8.hxg5 Ng4
9.Nd5 Bc5 10.d4 Bb6!? 11.Nxb6

axb6 oo, Zvjagintsev V. : Benjamin
J., Groningen 1997) seems to be an
automatic choice of today’s experts
of this opening with black: 6.Qc2
(6.d3!? Bb7 7.e4 d5 8.e5 Nfd7
[8...d4!?] 9.a3 Bxc3+ 10.bxc3 dxc4
11.d4 b5 12.Rb1 a6 13.Bxc4 bxc4
14.Rxb7 Nb6 15.Qe2 oo, Pelletier Y.
: Huss A., Cannes 1998; 6.Qb3 Nc6
7.h4 Bb7 8.g5 hxg5 9.hxg5 Ng8
10.d4 a5 11.Bd2 a4 12.Nxa4 Bxd2+
13.Kxd2 Na5 14.Qc2 Bxf3 15.exf3
Rh4 16.Re1 Rxd4+ 17.Kc1 Qe7
18.a3 Nc6 19.Nc3 oo Rf4? 20.Nd5,
1:0, Miroshnichenko E. : Kuzmenko
Y., Kharkov 2000) 6...Bb7 7.a3 Be7
8.g5 hxg5 9.Nxg5 Nh5 10.d4 Nc6
11.Nf3 Bf6 oo,
b) 4...d6!? 5.g5 (5.Qa4+?! Nc6
6.Nd4 Bd7 7.Nxc6? Bxc6 -/+)
5...Nfd7 (5...Bxc3 6.bxc3 Nfd7 7.d3
[7.Bg2 e5 8.d3 Nc6 9.h4 0-0
{9...Nb6?! 10.Be3 Qe7 11.Nd2 Bd7
12.a4 Na5 13.Nb3 +/-, Nakamura H.
: Sokolov A., Mainz 2009} 10.h5
Ne7 11.Rb1 Rb8 12.d4 b6 13.g6
fxg6 14.hxg6 Nxg6 15.Ng5 =/oo,
Nakamura H. : Pogorelov R.,
Reykjavik 2004; 7.d4 b6 8.a4 {8.h4
Nc6 9.e4 Na5 10.Be3 Qe7 11.Nd2 e5
12.h5 Bb7 13.Qg4 oo, Mellado
Trivino J. : Tallo Dominguez I.,
Sabadell 2009; 8.e4 Bb7 9.Bd3 Nc6
10.Be3 Qe7 11.Nd2 oo, Gurevich M.
: Istratescu A., Antalya 2004}
8...Nc6 9.e4 Qe7 10.Be3 f5 oo,
Dobrov V. : Carlsen M., Gausdal
2005] 7...b6 8.Bg2 [8.h4 Bb7 9.Rh3
Nc6 10.Nd4 Ne7 11.f4 c5 oo,
Milanovic D. : Drasko M., Vogosca
2007] 8...Bb7 9.Rg1 c5 10.Nd2 Bxg2
11.Rxg2 Nc6 oo, Kehrel E. :

FIDE Surveys 2011 - Efstratios Grivas

Smikalla R., Dortmund 2001) 6.Qc2
Nc6 7.a3 Bxc3 8.Qxc3 e5 oo,
Krasenkow M. : Bogdanovski V.,
Elista 1998,
c) 4...Bxc3 5.dxc3 d6 6.g5 Nfd7
7.Bg2 +=,
d) 4...d5 5.g5 Bxc3 6.bxc3 Ne4 7.d3
Nxc3 8.Qb3 =+, Popov V. : Orlov
V., St Petersburg 1999.
5.g5
5.Qb3 Be7 6.g5 Ne8 7.d4 b6 8.h4
Bb7 9.Rh3 f5 10.Bf4 Nc6 11.e3 Na5
12.Qc2 Nd6 13.Ne5 oo was tried in
Miroshnichenko E. : Jedynak R.,
Swidnica 2000.
5...Ne8

XIIIIIIIIY
9rsnlwqntrk+0
9zppzpp+pzpp0
9-+-+p+-+0
9+-+-+-zP-0
9-vlP+-+-+0
9+-sN-+N+-0
9PzP-zPPzP-zP0
9tR-vLQmKL+R0
xiiiiiiiiy

Better than 5...Bxc3?! 6.bxc3 Ne8
(6...Ne4?! 7.d3 +/-) 7.Ba3 d6 8.Rb1
+=, Wright N. : Hacche D.,
Canberra 2003.
6.Rg1
A plethora of other options has been
played in that position. A sample:
a) 6.Qc2 d5 7.e3 c5 (7...Nc6 8.d4 e5
9.Nxe5 Nxe5 10.dxe5 d4 11.exd4
Qxd4 12.Be3 Qxe5 13.0-0-0 Bxc3
14.Qxc3 Qxc3+ 15.bxc3 Nd6 16.c5
Nf5 17.Bf4 Be6 18.Bh3 c6 =,
Grachev B. : Riazantsev A., Sochi
2004)

8.Rg1

Nc6

9.Bd3

oo,

Berresheim H. : Dauenheimer T.,

Germany 1999,
b) 6.Qb3 c5 7.a3 Ba5 8.Ne4 b6
9.Qe3 d5 10.cxd5 exd5 11.Ng3 Nc6
12.Bg2 Nc7 13.0-0 Bg4 14.Qf4 Bxf3
15.Qxf3 Qxg5 16.d4 =/oo, Huzman
A. : Nikolic P., Neum 2000,
c) 6.h4 d5 7.Qb3 Nc6 8.cxd5 exd5
9.Qxd5 Qe7 10.e3 Nd6 11.Qb3 Bxc3
12.Qxc3 Ne4 oo, Xu Hanbing :
Szabo Z., Budapest 2000.
6...d5
The main alternative is 6...b6 7.Qc2
Bb7 8.a3 Bxc3 (8...Be7?! 9.d4 d5
10.cxd5 exd5 11.Bf4 c5 12.0-0-0 +/-,
Najer E. : Berg E., Moscow 2004)
9.Qxc3 c5 10.Bg2 (10.Rg3?! d5
11.cxd5 exd5 12.d4 Nd6 13.Qc2 Ne4
14.Rg1 Nc6 15.Be3 Qe7 16.Bh3
Rfe8 oo, Sales J. : Akobian V.,
Canberra 2008) 10...d5 11.d3 d4
12.Qc2 Qc7 13.Bd2 Nd7 14.0-0-0
oo, Agrest E. : Ivanchuk V., Sweden
2004.
7.Qb3
7.a3!? Be7 8.d4 dxc4 9.e4 c5 10.d5
oo, Muse D. : Kurajica B., Sibenik
2005, is interesting.
7...c5

XIIIIIIIIY
9rsnlwqntrk+0
9zpp+-+pzpp0
9-+-+p+-+0
9+-zpp+-zP-0
9-vlP+-+-+0
9+QsN-+N+-0
9PzP-zPPzP-zP0
9tR-vL-mKLtR-0
xiiiiiiiiy

early

novelty.

The

usual

continuation was 7...Bxc3 8.Qxc3
Nd6 9.b3 Ne4 10.Qc2 c5 11.Bb2

FIDE Surveys 2011 - Efstratios Grivas

Nc6 =, Vaisser A. : Sokolov A., Val
d'Isere 2002. Also, it must be noted
that 7...Nc6?! fails to 8.Nxd5! exd5
9.cxd5 +/-.
8.cxd5 Nd6
8...Bxc3 9.Qxc3 Qxd5 10.b4 Na6
11.bxc5 was what White had wished
for and 8...Nc7 9.dxe6 Bxe6 10.Qc2
Nc6 =/oo is a fair alternative. But
Black could also proceed with
8...exd5 9.Qxd5 (9.Nxd5? Be6 10.e4
Nd6 -/+) 9...Qb6 10.Qd3 Be6 =/oo.
9.Bh3 Na6 10.g6?!
Too optimistic. White should opt for
10.dxe6 c4! 11.Qc2 Bxe6 12.Bxe6
fxe6 =/oo which it’s the natural
continuation, but this is not the style
of Moro.
10...c4?!
Black continues to sacrifice material
in exchange for the initiative. But
perfectly playable was 10...fxg6!
11.dxe6 c4 12.Qc2 Nc5! (12...Nc7
oo) 13.Nd5 Rxf3! 14.exf3 (14.Bg4
Rxf2! -/+ ; 14.Bg2 Nxe6 15.Bxf3
Nd4 -/+) 14...Nd3+ 15.Kf1 Bc5 -/+.
11.gxh7+ Kh8 12.Qc2 exd5 13.Bxc8
Rxc8 14.Nxd5 Re8

XIIIIIIIIY
9-+rwqr+-mk0
9zpp+-+pzpP0
9n+-sn-+-+0
9+-+N+-+-0
9-vlp+-+-+0
9+-+-+N+-0
9PzPQzPPzP-zP0
9tR-vL-mK-tR-0
xiiiiiiiiy

15.Kf1?!
Here is the critical moment of the
game. White should have played

15.b3! c3 (15...cxb3 16.Qxb3 Nc4
17.Bb2!) 16.d4 Ne4 17.Ne3 Bd6
18.a3 oo.
15...Ne4! 16.Ne3 Qd7 17.Ng5
Maybe 17.Rg4 f5 18.Rh4 g5 19.Rh5
f4 20.Nxc4 Qf7 21.Nce5 Qxh5
(21...Qf5!? 22.Qxc8! Rxc8 23.d3
=/oo) 22.Qxe4 was White’s last
chance.
17...Nac5! 18.Qxc4 Nxg5 19.Rxg5
19.Qxb4 Re4 20.Qc3 Nce6 -/+.
19...Ne4 20.Qb5

XIIIIIIIIY
9-+r+r+-mk0
9zpp+q+pzpP0
9-+-+-+-+0
9+Q+-+-tR-0
9-vl-+n+-+0
9+-+-sN-+-0
9PzP-zPPzP-zP0
9tR-vL-+K+-0
xiiiiiiiiy

Or 20.Qxb4 Nxg5 21.d3 Qh3+
22.Ke1 Qxh2 -/+. Now, White's lack
of development and bad placed king
will tell, as Black is really too active
to fail.
20...Rc6! 21.Rf5?
The last mistake, although after the
'correct' 21.Rh5 g6 22.Re5 Kxh7 -/+
White's position is not attractive
either.
21...Nd6 22.Qd3 Rxe3
White's position is so bad that even
22...Qc8 was curtains.
23.dxe3 Qxf5 24.a3?!
White's position is of course lost but
the text loses instantly. 24.Qxf5 Nxf5
25.e4 was the only way to prolong
the fight.
24...Qh3+ 25.Kg1 Nf5!

FIDE Surveys 2011 - Efstratios Grivas

And White resigned as mate is near...
0:1.

Banikas H. : Tomashevsky E.
E17 Bursa 2010

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 b6 4.g3 Bb7
5.Bg2 Be7 6.Nc3 0-0 7.Qc2 c5 8.d5
exd5 9.Nh4 b5 10.cxd5 b4

XIIIIIIIIY
9rsn-wq-trk+0
9zpl+pvlpzpp0
9-+-+-sn-+0
9+-zpP+-+-0
9-zp-+-+-sN0
9+-sN-+-zP-0
9PzPQ+PzPLzP0
9tR-vL-mK-+R0
xiiiiiiiiy

11.Nf5!!
A very strong novelty prepared by
Banikas

before-hand.

Previously

11.d6?!

was

played:

11...Bxg2

12.dxe7 Qxe7 13.Nxg2 bxc3 14.0-0
cxb2 15.Bxb2 d6 16.Ne3 Nbd7
17.Rfd1 Rfe8 18.Qd3 d5 19.Nxd5
Qxe2 20.Qc3 Rab8 21.Rd2 Qh5
22.Rad1 Qh6 23.Nxf6+ Nxf6 =+
24.Rd6? Ne4 0-1, Agaragimov D. :
Aroshidze L., Baku 2007.
11...d6
11...bxc3 12.Nxe7+! (12.d6? Bxg2
13.dxe7 Qa5! 14.exf8Q+ Kxf8 -+)
12...Qxe7 13.d6 Qe4 14.Bxe4 Bxe4
15.Qxc3 Bxh1 16.f3 +/-.
12.Ne4 Nxd5 13.0-0 Na6 14.Rd1
Nac7 15.Nxc5! dxc5 16.e4 Nb5
17.exd5 +/-
White's advantage is already great -
the d-pawn is a killer.
17...Bd6 18.Be3 Rc8 19.Rac1 c4

20.Qe2 Qf6 21.Nxd6 Nxd6 22.Bxa7

XIIIIIIIIY
9-+r+-trk+0
9vLl+-+pzpp0
9-+-sn-wq-+0
9+-+P+-+-0
9-zpp+-+-+0
9+-+-+-zP-0
9PzP-+QzPLzP0
9+-tRR+-mK-0
xiiiiiiiiy

White even won a pawn, preserving
the bishop-pair. The end should be
not far way.
22...Rfe8 23.Qc2 Qd8 24.Bh3 f5
25.Be3 Qd7 26.Bf4 g6 27.Bf1 Ba6
28.b3! cxb3 29.Qxb3 Bxf1 30.Rxf1
Nf7 31.d6! +- g5 32.Bxg5 Qxd6
33.Bf4 Qa6 34.Rxc8 Rxc8 35.Re1
Ra8 36.Qd5 Rd8 37.Qxf5 Qxa2
38.Bg5 Ra8 39.Bf6 Qc4 40.Re4
Qc1+ 41.Kg2 1:0.

Gelfand B. : Vescovi G.
E07 Bursa 2010

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.g3
Bb4+ 5.Bd2 Be7 6.Bg2 0-0 7.0-0 c6
8.Bf4 Nbd7 9.Nc3 Nh5 10.Bc1 Nhf6
11.b3 b6 12.Nd2 Bb7 13.e4 Bb4
14.Bb2 c5 15.exd5 cxd4 16.Nb5!
This looks better than 16.Nce4?!
exd5 17.Nxf6+ Qxf6 18.cxd5 Nc5
19.Ne4 (19.Nf3 Bc3 20.Bxc3 dxc3
21.Qd4 Rac8 22.Qxf6 gxf6 23.Nd4
Rfd8 24.Nf5 Kf8 25.Ne3 b5 =+, Lieb
H. : Straeter T., Germany 2006)
19...Nxe4 20.Bxe4 Bc3 21.Bxc3
dxc3 22.Qd3 g6 23.Rac1 Rac8
24.Rfd1

½-½,

Vaulin

Milovanovic R., Djakovo 1994.

FIDE Surveys 2011 - Efstratios Grivas

16...e5?
A bad mistake. Black should have
opted for 16...exd5 17.Nxd4 +=
Re8?! (17...Nc5!) 18.cxd5 Nxd5
19.Nf5 N7f6 20.Nxg7 Kxg7 21.Bxd5
Qxd5 22.Qg4+ +/-, Korchnoi V. :
Kuijf M., Tilburg 1992.

XIIIIIIIIY
9r+-wq-trk+0
9zpl+n+pzpp0
9-zp-+-sn-+0
9+N+Pzp-+-0
9-vlPzp-+-+0
9+P+-+-zP-0
9PvL-sN-zPLzP0
9tR-+Q+RmK-0
xiiiiiiiiy

17.f4!
Now Black's central pawn chain is
being destroyed.
17...a6 18.fxe5 Nxd5
18...axb5 19.exf6 Nxf6 20.Bxd4 +-.
19.cxd5 axb5 20.Bxd4
White won a pawn, preserving his
strong central pawns - game is over.
20...Bc5 21.Ne4 Re8
21...Bxd5 22.Bxc5 Nxc5 23.Nf6+!
gxf6 24.Bxd5 +-.
22.Bxc5 Nxc5 23.Nd6 1:0.

Gashimov V. : Grischuk A.
B97 Bursa 2010

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4
Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Bg5 e6 7.f4 Qb6
8.Qd3 Qxb2 9.Rb1 Qa3 10.f5 Be7
11.fxe6 fxe6 12.Be2 Qa5 13.Bd2
Qc7 14.g4 h6

XIIIIIIIIY
9rsnl+k+-tr0
9+pwq-vl-zp-0
9p+-zppsn-zp0
9+-+-+-+-0
9-+-sNP+P+0
9+-sNQ+-+-0
9P+PvLL+-zP0
9+R+-mK-+R0
xiiiiiiiiy

15.Qh3
A prepared novelty which made
Black to fall in deep thought... 15.e5
was the old continuation: 15...dxe5
16.Qg6+ Kf8 (16...Kd8 17.Nf3 Nc6
18.g5 Ne8 19.0-0 Nd4 20.gxh6
Nxe2+ 21.Nxe2 gxh6 22.Bc3 Bd6
23.Rbd1

Bd7

24.Rxd6

Qxd6

25.Bxe5 Qf8 26.Bxh8 Qxh8 27.Nfd4
Qg7 ½-½, Mamedov N. : Safarli E.,
Baku 2009) 17.Nf3 Bd7 18.g5 Be8
19.Qd3 hxg5 20.Nxg5 Kg8 (20...Bf7
21.Nxf7 Kxf7 22.Rg1 Bd8 23.Ne4
Nxe4 24.Qxe4 Nc6 25.Qg6+ Kf8
26.Rf1+

Bf6

27.Rxf6+

gxf6

28.Qxf6+ Kg8 29.Rb3 Rh7 30.Bh6
Qa5+ 31.Kf1 1:0, Radjabov T. :
Rowson J., Mallorca 2004) 21.Rg1
Qd7 22.Qg3 Nh5 23.Qxe5 Bd6
24.Qe4 Bxh2 25.Bc4 Nf6 26.Qg2
Qd4 27.Bxe6+ Kf8 28.Nf3 1:0,
Mamedov R. : Cernousek L.,
Pardubice 2009. As all White players
involved

are

coming

form

Azerbaijan, we could easily call this
variation as the Baku one!
15...Rh7?!
15...Nc6 is the critical continuation.
Probably White should opt for
16.Nxc6 Qxc6 17.g5 Nxe4 18.Qh5+
Kd7 19.Bf3 d5 20.Bxe4 dxe4 21.Rd1

FIDE Surveys 2011 - Efstratios Grivas

=/oo. I am sure that the Azerbaijani
squad had made its homework
properly!
16.Rf1
16.g5!? hxg5 17.Nxe6 Qc6 18.Qf5
looks nice for White.
16...Nc6 17.Nxc6 Qxc6 18.e5 dxe5
19.Bd3

20.Nxe4!

Nxe4

21.Qh5+?!
Attractive but the other option with
21.Qe3! seems to give White what he
had wished for: 21...Nxd2 (21...Bh4+
22.Kd1 Nf6 23.Bg6+ Ke7 24.Rb6 +-
; 21...Nf6 22.Bg6+ Kd8 23.Qd3+
Bd7 24.Bxh7 +/-) 22.Bg6+ Kd8
23.Qxd2+ Bd7 24.Bxh7 Rc8 25.Kf2.
21...Kd7 22.Rd1 Rh8! 23.Bf4?
23.Rf7 Nd6 24.Bb4 =/oo was forced.
A sample line could be 24...Rf8
25.Bxd6 Rxf7 26.Qxf7 Qc3+ 27.Kf2
Kxd6 28.Bg6+ Kc7 29.Qxe7+ Kb6
30.Rd6+ Ka7 31.Bd3 Qd2+ =.
23...Bb4+! 24.c3 Nxc3 25.Bd2 Qd5!
Black is winning - his only problem
is his extreme time-trouble.
26.Rf7+ Kc6 27.Rc1 Kb6?!
27...Qxd3! 28.Qe5 a5! 29.Bxc3 Kb6
wins.
28.Be3+?!
White should have tried 28.Rxc3
Bxc3 29.Bxc3 Rd8! (29...Qxh5?!
30.gxh5 Rd8 31.Be4 Rd7 32.Rxg7
Rxg7 33.Bxg7 Bd7 34.Bxh6 =/oo)
30.Qxd5 exd5 -/+. But from a
practical point of view no-one can
blame White's choice.
28...Ka5! 29.a3 Ka4! 30.axb4 Qxd3
31.Qa5+ Kb3
Black's king is perfectly safe on
White's queenside!
32.Rxc3+ Qxc3+
32...Kxc3? 33.Qa3+ Kc2 34.Rc7+

Kb1 35.Rc1 #.
33.Bd2 b6! 34.Qxb6 Qe5+ 35.Kd1

XIIIIIIIIY
9r+l+-+-tr0
9+-+-+Rzp-0
9pwQ-+p+-zp0
9+-+-wq-+-0
9-zP-+-+P+0
9+k+-+-+-0
9-+-vL-+-zP0
9+-+K+-+-0
xiiiiiiiiy

35...Bb7!
Returning some material in order to
activate the pieces - a lesson to be
learned!
36.Qxb7 Rhd8 37.Rf3+ Ka2 38.Rf2
Kb1 39.Qf3 Rac8
Threatening 40...Rc1 #!
40.Qb3+
There is no hope anymore for White.
If 40.Qa3 then 40...Rc3.
40...Qb2 41.Qxb2+ Kxb2 0:1.

Sasikiran K. : Aronian L.
D15 Bursa 2010

1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Nc3 a6
5.g3 dxc4 6.a4 e6 7.Bg2 c5 8.dxc5
Qxd1+ 9.Nxd1 Bd7 10.Ne5 Bc6
11.Nxc6 Nxc6 12.Bd2 Nd5 13.Rc1
Bxc5 14.Rxc4 Be7 15.Ne3 0-0-0
16.0-0 Kb8 17.Nxd5 exd5 18.Rc3
Rhe8 19.Re3 Bf6 20.Rxe8 Rxe8
21.e3 d4 22.Rc1 Bg5 23.Bxc6 bxc6
24.Rxc6 dxe3 25.Bxe3 Bxe3 26.fxe3
Rxe3 27.Rxa6 Rb3 28.Rd6 Kc7
29.Rd2 Rb4 30.Rc2+ Kd7 31.Rd2+
Kc7 32.Rc2+ Kd7 33.a5 Rb5
34.Rd2+ Kc7 35.Rc2+ Kd7 36.b4
Rxb4 37.Ra2 Kc7 38.a6 Kb8

FIDE Surveys 2011 - Efstratios Grivas

39.Rf2 f6 40.Re2 h5 41.Re8+ Ka7
42.Re7+ Kxa6 43.Rxg7 Kb6 44.Rf7
h4 45.Rxf6+ Kc7 46.Rf4 Rb1+
47.Kg2 hxg3 48.hxg3 Kd7 49.Re4
Rb8 50.Re3 Rh8 51.Kf3 Rf8+
52.Kg4 Kd6 53.Kg5

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53...Rg8+?
53...Kd5! 54.g4 Rg8+ is a theoretical
drawn position.
54.Kf6 Kd5 55.Re5+ Kd6 56.Re3
Kd5 57.Re5+ Kd6 58.Rg5! Rf8+
59.Kg7 Rf3 60.g4 Rf4 61.Kh6 Ke7
62.Rg7+ Kf8 63.g5 Rf1 64.Ra7 Rg1
64...Kg8 65.Ra8+ (65.Kg6? Rf8! =)
65...Rf8 66.Rxf8+ Kxf8 67.Kh7 +-.
65.Kg6 Rg2 66.Ra8+ Ke7 67.Ra5
Kf8 68.Ra8+ Ke7 69.Rg8!

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Black resigned as White will be able
to bring the 'Lucena Position' and
win with the 'bridge' method:

69...Rg1 70.Kh7 Rg2 71.g6 Rg1
72.Ra8 Rg2 73.g7 Rh2+ 74.Kg8 Rg2
75.Ra4 Rh2 76.Re4+ Kd6 77.Kf7
Rf2+ 78.Kg6 Rg2+ 79.Kf6 Rf2+
80.Kg5 Rg2+ 81.Rg4 1:0.

Fier A. : Banikas H.
C92 Bursa 2010

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 Bb7 10.d4 Re8
11.Nbd2 Bf8 12.a4 h6 13.Bc2 exd4
14.cxd4 Nb4 15.Bb1 c5 16.d5 Nd7
17.Ra3 c4 18.axb5 axb5 19.Nd4
Rxa3 20.bxa3 Nd3 21.Bxd3 cxd3
22.Nxb5
22.Bb2 Qa5 23.Nf5!, Kasparov G. :
Karpov A., London/Leningrad 1986,
is a well-known game but of course
much analysis has been done by that
time... 22.N2b3 Nc5 23.Nxc5 dxc5
24.Nxb5 Qa5 25.a4 Ra8 26.Bd2
Qxa4 27.Qxa4 Rxa4 28.Nc3 Rb4
29.Rb1 Rxb1+ 30.Nxb1 f6 31.f3 c4
32.Kf2 Kf7 33.Be3 Bb4 34.Bd4 g5
35.Ke3 Bc8 36.Nc3 Bd7 37.g4 ½-½,
Wu Xibin : Xu Jun, China 1987, was
another try.
22...Qa5
It seems that Black can also try
22...Ba6 23.a4 Bxb5 24.axb5 Qb6
25.Nc4 Qxb5 26.Qxd3 f5 =/oo,
Doran C. : Fox A., Liverpool 2008 or
22...Qb8 23.a4 Ba6 24.Bb2 Bxb5
25.axb5 Qxb5 26.Bd4 Ra8 oo,
Hoshad : Rino, Internet 2007.
23.Nd4 Qc3 24.Nb5
Or 24.Nf5 Nc5 25.f3 Bxd5 26.exd5
Rxe1+ 27.Qxe1 Nb3 28.Qe8 Qxc1+
29.Kh2 Nxd2 30.Ne7+ Kh7 31.Qxf8
Nf1+ 32.Kh1 Ng3+ 33.Kh2 Nf1+

FIDE Surveys 2011 - Efstratios Grivas

34.Kh1 ½-½, Shirov A. : Karjakin S.,
Bilbao 2009.
24...Qa5 25.Nd4 Qc3

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26.Qa4?
After repeating moves White 'found'
a dubious novelty over the board.
26...Rxe4! 27.Rxe4
27.Rf1 Rxd4 28.Qxd7 Bxd5 -+.
27...Qxc1+ 28.Kh2 Qxd2?
Returning the favour! After the
simple 28...Bxd5 White will not
survive.
29.Qxd7 Bxd5 30.Re8?
The intermediate 30.Nf3! would
have saved the half point: 30...Qc1
31.Re8

Qf4+

32.Kg1

Qc1+

(32...Bxf3? 33.Rxf8+! Kh7 34.Rxf7
Qe5 35.Rxf3 d2 36.Rd3 Qe1+
37.Kh2 d1Q 38.Rxd1 Qxd1 39.a4 +-)
33.Kh2 Qf4+.

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30...Qf4+ 31.Kg1 d2! 32.Qa4
Or 32.Rxf8+ Kh7! 33.Qa4 Qe4 34.f3
Qe1+ 35.Kh2 d1Q -+.

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32...Bc6!!
Brilliant but what comes is even
more brilliant!
33.Rxf8+ Kxf8 34.Ne6+ Kg8!
White resigned due to 35.Nxf4 Bxa4
and a new queen arrives ... 0:1.

Gelfand B. : Nakamura H.
E97 Bursa 2010

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6
5.Nf3 0-0 6.Be2 e5 7.0-0 Nc6 8.d5
Ne7 9.Nd2 Ne8 10.b4 f5 11.c5 Nf6
12.f3 f4 13.Nc4 g5 14.a4 Ng6
15.Ba3 Rf7 16.b5 dxc5 17.Bxc5 h5
18.a5 g4 19.b6 g3 20.Kh1 Bf8

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21.d6

FIDE Surveys 2011 - Efstratios Grivas

Here comes a novelty. Older games
continued

with

21.Bg1

Nh4

(21...axb6 22.axb6 Rxa1 23.Qxa1 h4
24.h3 Bxh3 25.gxh3 Qc8 26.Kg2
Nh7 27.Nxe5 Nxe5 28.Bd4 Ng5
29.Rh1 Nd7 30.Nb5 Nxb6 31.Qa5
Nd7 32.Qc3 c6 33.dxc6 bxc6 34.Na7
Qc7 35.Bc4 c5 36.Bf6 Nxf3 37.Kxf3
Qxa7 38.Ra1 Qb7 39.Qb2 Qc6
40.Ra6 Qxa6 41.Bxa6 Rxf6 42.Bc4+
Kh8 43.Be6 1:0, Arbakov V. :
Gufeld E., Soviet Union 1986)
22.Re1 Nxg2 23.Kxg2 Rg7 24.Nxe5
gxh2+ 25.Kh1 Nxe4! 0:1, Roussel-
Roozmon T. : Charbonneau P.,
Montreal 2008.
21...axb6 22.Bg1
22.axb6 Rxa1 23.Qxa1 cxd6 24.Rd1
Rd7 25.Bg1 d5 is fine for Black.
22...Nh4 23.Re1

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23...Nxg2!!
Like a previous game - see notes on
the 21st move!
24.dxc7?
White had to opt for 24.Kxg2 Rg7!
25.dxc7 (25.hxg3 Qd7!) 25...gxh2+
26.Kh1 (26.Kxh2? Ng4+ 27.fxg4
Qh4+ 28.Kg2 hxg4 -+) 26...hxg1Q+
27.Rxg1 Qxc7 oo and pray ...
24...Nxe1! 25.Qxe1

25.cxd8Q? g2 # is the dream picture
of a KID player!

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25...g2+! 26.Kxg2 Rg7+ 27.Kh1
Bh3! 28.Bf1
28.cxd8Q? Bg2 #.
28...Qd3!!
Gelfand should have felt fed-up with
so many mating threats...
29.Nxe5
29.Bxd3 Bg2 # or 29.Bxh3 Qxf3+
30.Bg2 Qxg2 # justifies the previous
note and 29.Ne3 Bxf1 30.Qxf1 Qxf1
31.Nxf1 Rxc7 is just curtains.
29...Bxf1 30.Qxf1 Qxc3 31.Rc1
Qxe5 32.c8Q Rxc8 33.Rxc8 Qe6
And White, a full knight down,
called it a day... A crushing win by
the talented American super-player!
0:1.

Vitiugov N. : Arun P.
B13 Bursa 2010

1.c4 c6 2.e4 d5 3.exd5 cxd5 4.d4
Nf6 5.Nc3 Nc6 6.Bf4 Be6 7.c5 g6
8.Bb5 Bg7 9.Nf3 0-0 10.h3 Ne4
11.Bxc6 bxc6 12.Qa4 Qc8 13.0-0
Nxc3 14.bxc3 f6 15.Rfe1 Re8
16.Re3 Qd7 17.Rae1 Bf7 18.h4
Rac8 19.Qc2 Rcd8 20.Qe2 Bf8
21.Nh2 Qf5 22.Rf3 Qc8 23.Qd2

FIDE Surveys 2011 - Efstratios Grivas

Bg7 24.Bh6 Bh8 25.h5 e5 26.dxe5
fxe5 27.Qg5 Re6 28.Ng4 Rde8
29.Nf6+ Bxf6 30.Rxf6 Qc7 31.f4
Qe7 32.Rxe6 Bxe6 33.Qxe5 Qf7
34.Qd6 Bd7 35.Rf1 Qe7 36.hxg6
Qxd6 37.cxd6 hxg6 38.Rb1 Kf7
39.Rb7 Ke6 40.Bg7 Bc8 41.Rxa7
Kxd6 42.Kf2 Bf5 43.a4 Kc5 44.Rb7
Ra8

45.Rb4 Bc2

46.a5 Kd6

47.Be5+ Ke6 48.Bc7 Kf5 49.Ke3
Be4 50.g3 Kg4 51.Kd4 Ra6 52.Kc5
Bg2 53.Rb8 Bf1 54.Rg8 Bd3

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White's advantage does not lay only
on his extra pawn but also on his
superior placed pieces - mainly the
offside black rook on a6.
55.Re8! Bf5 56.Bb6 Kxg3 57.Kxc6
Kxf4 58.Kxd5?!
58.Rf8! Ke5 59.c4! dxc4 60.Kb5
wins.
58...g5 59.c4 g4 60.Kc6?!
60.c5! g3 61.Bc7+ Kf3 62.Rf8 was
again a simple win.
60...Be4+ 61.Kb5 Ra8 62.Bc7+ Kf5
63.Re5+ Kf4 64.a6 Ke3
64...Kf3 65.Re7 Bd3 66.Rf7+ Ke2
67.Rf4 +-.
65.Re7 Kd3 66.c5 Rg8 67.a7 Ba8
68.Bg3 Rc8 69.Re6 Kd4 70.c6 Kd5
71.Rd6+ Ke4 72.Kb6 Kf3 73.Bh4
Black resigned due to 73...g3

74.Bxg3 Kxg3 75.c7 and Rd8.
1:0.

Esen B. : Rodshtein M.
E62 Bursa 2010

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nf3 Bg7 4.g3 0-0
5.Bg2 d6 6.0-0 Nc6 7.Nc3 Bf5 8.d5
Na5 9.Nd4 Bd7 10.Qd3 Ng4 11.f4
c5 12.Nc2 a6 13.Rb1 b5 14.b3 Rb8
15.Bd2 f5 16.h3 Nf6 17.Kh2 Re8
18.Bf3 Kh8 19.Ne3 b4 20.Ncd1 e5
21.dxe6 Bxe6 22.Nf2 Qd7 23.g4
Nc6 24.g5 Ng8 25.Rfe1 Nge7
26.Rbd1 Rbd8 27.Bc1 Nd4 28.Bg2
d5 29.cxd5 Nxd5 30.Nxd5 Bxd5
31.e3 Bxg2 32.Kxg2 Qc6+ 33.Kf1
Ne6 34.Qc2 Nc7 35.Rxd8 Rxd8
36.Rd1 Re8 37.Qc4 Nb5 38.Rd5
Rc8 39.Qd3 Qa8 40.Bd2 Nc3
41.Bxc3 bxc3 42.Rd7 Re8 43.Rxg7
Kxg7 44.Qxc3+ Kf7 45.Qc4+ Re6
46.Qxc5 Qc6 47.Qd4 Qf3 48.Qa7+
Re7 49.Qxa6 Qxe3 50.Qc4+ Kg7
51.a4 h6 52.h4 Qb6 53.b4 Rc7
54.Qd5 Kh7 55.Nd3 Re7 56.h5
hxg5 57.fxg5 Qe3 58.hxg6+ Kxg6
59.Nf2 f4 60.b5 f3 61.Qd3+ Kxg5
62.Qd5+

Kg6

63.Qd3+

Kg5

64.Qd5+ Kg6 65.Qd3+ Qxd3+
66.Nxd3

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FIDE Surveys 2011 - Efstratios Grivas

This is objectively a drawn position
but both players were down on their
last seconds.
66...Kf5
66...Re3 67.Nc5 Re5 68.Nd3 Re4
69.Kf2 Rxa4 70.Kxf3 Ra5 = was the
simplest line.
67.b6 Ke4 68.b7 Re8 69.Kf2!
Of course 69.Nc5+? Ke3 70.Nd7
Rh8! -+ had to be avoided but
leading to draw was also 69.a5 Kd5
(69...Ke3? 70.a6 Rh8 71.Nf2 +-)
70.a6 Kc6.
69...Kxd3?
Unexpected but welcomed! Black
could draw with 69...Kd5 70.a5 Kc6
71.a6 Kb6.
70.a5
The

white

pawn-phalanx

unstoppable.
70...Ke4 71.a6 Rd8 72.a7 Rd2+
73.Kg3 f2 74.b8Q
74.Kg2 f1Q+ 75.Kxf1 Kf3 76.Ke1
trivially wins.
74...f1Q 75.a8Q+ Rd5 76.Qb4+
Ke3 77.Qe8+
Black resigned due to 77...Kd3
78.Qee4 #. 1:0.