Two beautiful games from Round -2 of Aeroflot
It is common knowledge that, exchanges and pawn breaks are the fulcrum of Chess struggle! They are the most important and most difficult aspect to grasp....especially in practice, with the clock ticking! Sitting in a cozy couch in one's study, a analyst can write....."such and such exchange did not go well..." and yet.....! A player may have spotted something and planned a particular manoeuvre in the pre-game preparation and yet an unexpected exchange throws one off-guard!
This is what happened in both the games that we consider today.
Petrosian Tigran - Moiseenko Alexander, Aeroflot, 2016
Position after Black played 12.....Nb6
13.Bc6!
Not sure if Black had expected this! This opens up new possibilities in the game, as we shall see subsequently.
It should be noted that, the practice of dogmatically weighing the relative value of pieces will never lead one towards proper understanding of Chess. It is a highly subjective matter and is under constant state of flux, changing move to move....moment to moment! No piece is equal or superior or inferior to any other piece....be it the opponent's or one's own! Their relative value keeps changing during the progress of a game: both over the board and in one's mind's eye!
This Bishop removes one of the defender of dark squares in the center, 'd4' in particular, and it looks as though it was making a 'phantom presence' enabling the White Knights to cover the light squares both for defense and attack!
13......bc6; 14.Ne4 Bh3; 15.Re1 f5; 16.Nc5 f4; 17.Nf1 OO; 18.Ne4 h5; 19.Nfd2! h4
Black was probably banking on this pawn thrust on the kingside and must have hoped for.....
But the two White Knights on e4 and f3 (shortly), fix Black pawns where they are and depriving black of those squares, which belonged to his Bishop and Knight. The dark squared Bishop in particular is rendered inactive and as we can see later, it could not even defend his King from the onslaught.
20.gh4 Qh4; 21.Kh1 Nd5; 22.Nf3!
22.....Qh5; 23.Rg1 Bg4; 24.Bd2 a5; 25.Rc1 Rfb8
Perhaps, now or a move before, Black could have done better to exchange off the f3 Knight for his light squared Bishop. Though that might not still alleviate his problem...especially the dark square Bishop, it would have atleast removed one galloping Knight, in addition to rupturing White's pawn structure.
26.Rg4!!
An exchange sacrifice which his great namesake - who was an acclaimed master of exchange sacrifices - would have approved instantly!
It weakens the light squares around Black King, as his pawn cover had long gone and exposes it to White's pieces, except the dark squared Bishop on d2, ofcourse, which will perform a different function....a most important one....in the end!!
26......Qg4; 27.Qc2! Qd7; 28.Rg1 Kh7; 29.d4!!
This, for me is the proper indicator of good play....the moves should play themselves flowingly! The move played opens up the vital b1-h7 diagonal and now White pieces will pounce upon Black King one by one like angry dogs!
29.....ed4; 30.Rg6!! Kh8
What else can a hapless King do!?
31.Neg5 Nf6; 32.Ne5 Qd5; 33.f3! Qb3; 34.Nef7 Kg8; 35.Nh6 Kh8; 36.Ngf7 Kh7; 37.Qb1!
37....Qb2; 38.Ng5 Kh8; 39.Qg1! Nh5; 40.Rc6 Nf6; 41.Ngf7 Kh7; 42.Ne5 Kh8; 43.Nhf7 Kg8; 44.Rf6 Qb1; 45.Be1!! 1 - 0
This move was what I meant in the comment to 26.Rg4!!
By the way, what was those Rooks....especially the one lying still borne on a8-square doing!? Possibly, Black could have brought them to play somewhere in the middlegame.....plausibly before embarking on that pawn offensive.....
But that is how a Chess game would appear in the rear-view mirror....and there is no place for "if's and buts" in actual play!
Wen Yang - Artemiev Vladislav, Aeroflot, 2016
10.e5!
A typical break in the center! Possibly, Black could have also considered 10.....Nfd7
10.....de5; 11.fe4 Nd7; 12.Qg4! g6?
Very strange for a strong Grandmaster to commit to such a weak move and overlook White's retort which was written all over the move .....g6?
12.....OO, parting with the exchange was a lesser evil
13.Rf7!
Geoffrey Boycott would have commented...."even my Granny would have played this with her left hand"!! (he used to say while commentating that his granny would have hit that ball with her broomstick!!). I have digressed into Cricket, ofcourse!
13.....Kf7; 14.Rf1 Ke8;
This loses fast and exquisitely! But, 14.....Kg7 will not bring respite as White will play 15.Nf4! Nf8; 16.Nh5 Kg8; 17.Qf4 Qe8; 18.Nf6! and Black will soon run out of defensive moves as White's other Knight will come pouncing once this one puts a pawn on f6!
15.Qe6 Nde5; 16.Ne4 Qc7; 17.Nf4 Bc8; 18.Nf6 Kd8
18.....Kg8 gives us another beautiful mate after 19.Ng6! hg6; 20.Bh6!! Rh6; 21.Qg8! #
19.Qd5 Qd6; 20.Bc5!! 1 - 0
20.....Qd5 gives another problem like mate with 21.Bb6!!
This is what happened in both the games that we consider today.
Petrosian Tigran - Moiseenko Alexander, Aeroflot, 2016
Position after Black played 12.....Nb6
13.Bc6!
Not sure if Black had expected this! This opens up new possibilities in the game, as we shall see subsequently.
It should be noted that, the practice of dogmatically weighing the relative value of pieces will never lead one towards proper understanding of Chess. It is a highly subjective matter and is under constant state of flux, changing move to move....moment to moment! No piece is equal or superior or inferior to any other piece....be it the opponent's or one's own! Their relative value keeps changing during the progress of a game: both over the board and in one's mind's eye!
This Bishop removes one of the defender of dark squares in the center, 'd4' in particular, and it looks as though it was making a 'phantom presence' enabling the White Knights to cover the light squares both for defense and attack!
13......bc6; 14.Ne4 Bh3; 15.Re1 f5; 16.Nc5 f4; 17.Nf1 OO; 18.Ne4 h5; 19.Nfd2! h4
Black was probably banking on this pawn thrust on the kingside and must have hoped for.....
But the two White Knights on e4 and f3 (shortly), fix Black pawns where they are and depriving black of those squares, which belonged to his Bishop and Knight. The dark squared Bishop in particular is rendered inactive and as we can see later, it could not even defend his King from the onslaught.
20.gh4 Qh4; 21.Kh1 Nd5; 22.Nf3!
22.....Qh5; 23.Rg1 Bg4; 24.Bd2 a5; 25.Rc1 Rfb8
Perhaps, now or a move before, Black could have done better to exchange off the f3 Knight for his light squared Bishop. Though that might not still alleviate his problem...especially the dark square Bishop, it would have atleast removed one galloping Knight, in addition to rupturing White's pawn structure.
26.Rg4!!
An exchange sacrifice which his great namesake - who was an acclaimed master of exchange sacrifices - would have approved instantly!
It weakens the light squares around Black King, as his pawn cover had long gone and exposes it to White's pieces, except the dark squared Bishop on d2, ofcourse, which will perform a different function....a most important one....in the end!!
26......Qg4; 27.Qc2! Qd7; 28.Rg1 Kh7; 29.d4!!
This, for me is the proper indicator of good play....the moves should play themselves flowingly! The move played opens up the vital b1-h7 diagonal and now White pieces will pounce upon Black King one by one like angry dogs!
29.....ed4; 30.Rg6!! Kh8
What else can a hapless King do!?
31.Neg5 Nf6; 32.Ne5 Qd5; 33.f3! Qb3; 34.Nef7 Kg8; 35.Nh6 Kh8; 36.Ngf7 Kh7; 37.Qb1!
37....Qb2; 38.Ng5 Kh8; 39.Qg1! Nh5; 40.Rc6 Nf6; 41.Ngf7 Kh7; 42.Ne5 Kh8; 43.Nhf7 Kg8; 44.Rf6 Qb1; 45.Be1!! 1 - 0
This move was what I meant in the comment to 26.Rg4!!
By the way, what was those Rooks....especially the one lying still borne on a8-square doing!? Possibly, Black could have brought them to play somewhere in the middlegame.....plausibly before embarking on that pawn offensive.....
But that is how a Chess game would appear in the rear-view mirror....and there is no place for "if's and buts" in actual play!
Wen Yang - Artemiev Vladislav, Aeroflot, 2016
10.e5!
A typical break in the center! Possibly, Black could have also considered 10.....Nfd7
10.....de5; 11.fe4 Nd7; 12.Qg4! g6?
Very strange for a strong Grandmaster to commit to such a weak move and overlook White's retort which was written all over the move .....g6?
12.....OO, parting with the exchange was a lesser evil
13.Rf7!
Geoffrey Boycott would have commented...."even my Granny would have played this with her left hand"!! (he used to say while commentating that his granny would have hit that ball with her broomstick!!). I have digressed into Cricket, ofcourse!
13.....Kf7; 14.Rf1 Ke8;
This loses fast and exquisitely! But, 14.....Kg7 will not bring respite as White will play 15.Nf4! Nf8; 16.Nh5 Kg8; 17.Qf4 Qe8; 18.Nf6! and Black will soon run out of defensive moves as White's other Knight will come pouncing once this one puts a pawn on f6!
15.Qe6 Nde5; 16.Ne4 Qc7; 17.Nf4 Bc8; 18.Nf6 Kd8
18.....Kg8 gives us another beautiful mate after 19.Ng6! hg6; 20.Bh6!! Rh6; 21.Qg8! #
19.Qd5 Qd6; 20.Bc5!! 1 - 0
20.....Qd5 gives another problem like mate with 21.Bb6!!
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