Grand Prix Events / 2015 World Open Bb4+ 49. Kc6
Akobian in the Catalan opening. Ghaem had a very pleas ant space advantage out of the open ing and Akobian had to spend most of his efforts untangling his pieces, but couldn’t fight the dual positional and clock pres sures.
1. c4 e6 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. g3 d5 4. Bg2 Be7 5. d4 0-0 6. 0-0 Nbd7 7. Qc2 c6 8. Nbd2 b6 9. e4
White had to play about another 50 moves before he could secure the draw.
I was paired against GM Gata Kamsky in a
critical game on board four. This interesting game ended in a draw, but with the notable achievement that at one point there were five pawns on the ‘e’ file!
DUTCH DEFENSE,
LENINGRAD SYSTEM (A88) GM Arun Prasad Subramanian (2655) GM Gata Kamsky (2753)
43rd Annual World Open! (5), Arlington, Virginia, 07.03.2015
1. d4 f5 2. g3 Nf6 3. Bg2 g6 4. Nf3 Bg7 5. 0 -0 0-0 6. c4 d6 7. Nc3 c6 8. b3 a5 9. Bb2 Na6 10. d5 Bd7 11. Nd4 Rc8 12. e3 Nc5 13. Rc1 Qb6 14. Ba1 Nce4 15. Nxe4 Nxe4 16. Qd3 cxd5 17. cxd5 Nc5 18. Qd2 Ne4 19. Bxe4 fxe4 20. Ne6 Bxe6 21. Bxg7 Kxg7 22. dxe6 Qb5 23. Qd4+ Qe5 24. Qxe5+ dxe5
26. Nxc4 bxc4 27. Re3 Nc6 28. Ne1 Rb8 29. Nc2 Qe7 30. Rb1?!
Better is 30. Ree1 Nxb4 31. Rb1 when Black
recovers a pawn, but the open file will be of great use to White’s rooks.
30. ... Nxa5 31. b5 White has reached a favorable version of the
closed Catalan. 9. ... Bb7 10. e5 Ne8 11. cxd5 cxd5 12. Re1 This line has been covered in Avrukh’s 1. d4
Catalan book, where interested readers can find more information.
12. ... Qc8 The move 12. ... Rc8 has been the preferred
choice for many players, but the whole setup is inferior for Black.
13. Qd1 Obviously White will avoid the exchange of
queens. The problem for Black is the lack of space and the knights are suffering without good squares.
13. ... Ba6 14. Nf1 Nb8 15. Bg5! 31. ... Nb3??
After 31. ... Nc6! White is the one who would be in danger? 32. Rexb3 cxb3 33. bxa6! Black must have missed this interme diate move.
The rook on b8 is pinned and Black is unable to capture the knight on c2.
33. ... Nxa6 34. Na1 The rest is just a matter of execution.
34. ... Qa3 35. Qc3 Qa2 36. Rxb3 Nb4 37. Bf1 a5 38. Ra3 Qb1 39. Rxa5 Na2 40. Qd2, Black resigned.
I am sure not many games have had five pawns on one file!
25. Rfd1 Kf6 26. Rxc8 Rxc8 27. Rd5 b6 28. Rb5 Rc6 29. a4 Kxe6 30. Kg2 Kf5, Draw agreed.
CLOSED CATALAN, MAIN LINE (E09) GM Ehsan Ghaem Maghami (2657) GM Varuzhan Akobian (2716) 43rd Annual World Open! (8), Arlington, Virginia, 07.05.2015
GM Maghami, who had almost completed a
comeback from a disastrous second-round loss, here wins an emphatic game against GM Varuzhan
Exchanging the dark-squared bishop will be favorable for White, as this bishop has no target. Also, the e7-bishop is useful for protecting the dark squares in Black’s camp.
15. ... Qd7 16. Bxe7 Qxe7 17. Rc1 Nc7 18. Ne3 Rc8 19. Qa4 Qd7 20. Qa3 Nb5 21. Qb4 Rc6 22. Qd2 h6 23. a4 Nc7 24. b4 b5 25. a5 Rc4!?
(see diagram top of next column) An interesting sacrifice! Black sacrifices the
Exchange in order to create some space for his pieces.
KING’S INDIAN DEFENSE, FIANCHETTO VARIATION (E65) GM Illia Nyzhnyk (2724) GM Alonso Zapata (2520)
43rd Annual World Open! (8), Arlington, Virginia, 07.05.2015
1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 g6 3. g3 Bg7 4. Bg2 0-0 5. c4 d6 6. Nc3 c5 7. 0-0 Nc6 8. dxc5
(see diagram top of next page) This looks harmless, but it is not without
venom! 8. d5 is the main line which transposes into a Benoni.
8. ... dxc5 9. Be3 Qa5 10. Qb3 Qb4 11. Na4 Na5 12. Qxb4 cxb4 13. b3
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