SUED ola oa Ua a eo ee CML el Seno) AMERICAN CHESS MAGAZINE DO Le Cee rd aT Ad ree ne Lee A ay Go ae a Sam Shankland Catapulted Us BysY NW UN cs ee) MTN EXCLUSIVE Mim ME MUSINGS OF AN pil Aol ate AL ea REAT PSTN GETS TOUGH TY eg EXPECTATIONS! Cl Sere tg WHOISKARIAKIN? Boris Gulko iy ci Aifel eke ely CHALLENGER rears pt oe Parag Per Ghee Be CO aD TA ENE PS aA Sc ARC ER RH SocCHILDREN OF THE INFORMANT THE BIGGEST NAMES IN CHESS, GARRY KASPAROV AMONG OTHERS, USED TO SAY: “WE ARE CHILDREN OF THE INFORMANT.” AND NEW GENERATIONS OF WORLD CLASS PLAYERS ARE KEEPING THAT TRADITION ALIVE TODAY. WE HAVE BEEN REACHING OUT TO THE ENTIRE CHESS WORLD FOR HALF A CENTURY. www.chessinformant.orgCHESS INFORMANT THE PERIODICAL THE PROS USE 129 BIG CAT CHESS INFORMANT @ EST. 1966oe IT'S COOL TO BE SMART AMERICAN CHESS MAGAZINE Baye SUBSCRIBE 4 ISSUES PER YEAR Saveby choosing annual subscription. 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Features Editor PETER LONG: Chess Editor GORAN ARSOVIC CChess Production Director NENAD VUKMIROVIC ‘Administration Manager ZORICAMISIC Editorial Assistant ‘ANA MANDIC Contributing Editors and Writers BORIS GULKO, JOEL BENJAMIN, IRINA KRUSH, MACKENZIE MOLNER, NIKOLA MITKOV, JON EDWARDS, DANNY RENSCH, \ASSILY IVANCHUK, BAADUR JOBAVA, RAFAEL LEITAO, CARSTEN HANSEN, PENTALA HARIKRISHNA, DAVID SMERDON, ANDREI VOLOKITIN, ‘SAM SHANKLAND, JULIO CATALINO SADORRA, ERIC HANSEN, VLADIMIR GEORGIEV, PONTUS CARLSSON, JAKOV GELLER, ALEJANDRO RAMIREZ, TIMUR GAREYEV, JEFFERY XIONG, (MIKHEIL MCHEDLISHVILI SARUNAS SULSKIS, JOHN SPEELMAN, ‘SLOBODAN MIRKOVIC, PIOTR MURDZIA, IVAN SOKOLOY, SURYA GANGULY, JOHN HILBERT Contributing Artists and Photographers DAVID LLADA, ANDREAS KONTOKANIS, MARIA EMELIANOVA, MIHAJLO ANTIC, LENNART OOTES, PAUL TRUONG, DIANA MATISONE, HARALD FIETZ, MARTIN CHRZ, LANA AFANDIYEVA, [ANTONIO AHEL, JOVAN PROKOPLEVIC, DENISE MEDVE, FRANK BORDONARO Editorial Advisory Board Members ALISA MARIC, DAVID S. BUTLER JR, JOHN HARTMANN, VINH PHAT, STEPHEN LOWE Coveeghato The oldenS.tsm From ft Coch Ales Lenderman aru Nokanara opti Jo Dnaléson Sameel shankar, FayRabson Wesley Sandan Cavae( Chess Oyplod ks20 Photo by MARIA EMELIANOVA Viebsite: wwwaemehess.com Correspondence: ffice@acmchess.com Letters to the evitor:editor@acmchess.com Letters to: American Chess Magazine, 2028 E Ben White Blvd Ste 240-2969, ‘Austin. TX78741; Or cal: 512-910-2107 Nopartof this magazine maybe reproduced without the written consent ofthe publisher. The views included herein are those of theauthors, and donot necessarily reflec the opinions of the publisher. SBN 978-86-7297-084-5 (CHESS MEDIANETWORK CCHess INFORMANT ED ens _——————— |PLAY A GAME AT YOUR LEVEL Satan Co hee Ble Bee ee Ree el SMe a Rea Reem CoM CS) ROU E-Ce Nae co a alam Chess.om 4 | ee- CONTENTS 66 THE WORLDTITLE MATCH Carlsen vs Karjakin, New York 2016 Se By FM Josip Asik WHEN THE GOING GETS TOUGH... by GM Vassily lvanchuk ma °° NOVELTY ON MOVE 2! by GM Baadur Jobava JEFFERY XIONG WINS WORLD UNDER 20 CHAMPIONSHIP - AT THE AGE OF 15! by GM Viadimir Georgiev U 4 68 GREAT EXPECTATIONS by GM Boris Gulko 72 CARLSEN & KARJAKIN IN 2016, A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS by GM Mauricio Flores Rios 84 A DAY WITH THE CHALLENGER IN MOSCOW 108 ENOGAME TRENCH WARFARE by GM Jonathan Speeiman 12 MUSINGS OF AN AMERICAN GRANDMASTER by GM Joel Benjamin IG FRESH LEAVES FROM THE BOOKSHELF By FM Carsten Hansen 120 CHESS TECH: THE FUTURE IS HERE By Jon Edwards 123 CHESS.COM: BEHIND THE SCENES by IM Danny Rensch 126 CHESS NBA LEAGUE!” Q&A With IM Greg Shahade 127 BEAUTY OF CHESS COMPOSITION by Solving GM Piotr Murdzia, seven-times World Solving Champion 19] MILLIONAIRE CHESS by GM Mackenzie Molner 137 TOURNAMENT REVIEW AUGUST - OCTOBER 2016 152 WHERE GRANDMASTERS ADVISE YOUNG PLAYERS Twice US Champion, GM Patrick WolffHESS OLYMPIAD, US GOLDEN Dea MMe Ue USA WINS GOLD CHINA’S WOMEN AFTER NAIL-BITING RETURN TO THE TOP FINISH! AFTER 12 YEARS 12 TROPHY FOR COACH D 44 A BITTERSWEET FINAL ROUND Q8A with IM John Donaldson by GM Eric Hansen Captain of the US team 48 NEXT TIME I'LL TAKE ON H7! 14 TOP THREE US GAMES by GM David Smerdon by GM Ivan Sokolov 52 | SPRUNG A TRAP FOR NAKAMURA. 26 MY OLYMPIAD DIARY by GM Mikheil Mchedlishvili by GM Sam Shankland 54 THE BEST RESULT OF MY CAREER 34 | AM SO PROUD OF TEAM USA! by GM Andrei Volokitin by IM Jeffery Xiong, 2016 World Junior Champion 5G OUR VICTORY OVER RUSSIA CATAPULTED US TO THE TOP, BUT. 42 4™ DIMENSION by GM Irina Krush by GM Pentala Harikrishna64 SQUARES CARUANA TIES FOR 1* PLACE “ With a last round. win over Michael Adams, Fabiano Caruana achieved a first place tie at the ‘Chess.com Isle of Man Intemational Open (UK, October 1-9), However Ukrainian GM Pavel BRONZE FOR USA'S ANNIE WANG! American Annie Wang eamed a Bronze medal at the World U-14 Girls Chess Championship, held in Khanty- Mansiysk, Russia (September 20 to October 4, 2016), ‘Wang, who was only the 14% seed, scored 8/11, just half a point behind that of winner Zhu Jiner from China whom she beatin their personal encounter. She lost out on the silver medal on tie-break to Russian Aleksandra Maltsevskaya The extraordinary chess talent of the girl from Los Angeles was already confirmed as early as 2014, when at the National Junior Chess Congress, at 11 years of age she became the youngest American in history to hold the master tile. Eljanov was declared the overall winner on tiebreak— he maintained his lead with a final-round fighting draw against Wesley So who fished the 1 of Kate TWO WINS AT BAKU ‘tournament in 4* place, a point behind the winners. ‘TeamUSAmenber HitariNalomuraand(coxc) OLYMPIAD Alex Lenderman were 8 and 17 respectively, ‘each scoring 6 points from 9 rounds. ‘The sensation from the last round was the following quick win by 11-year-old. Indian IM R. Praggnanandhaa, who tore apart a 2600 grandmaster opponent ~ in just 18 moves! Axel Bachmann 2645- Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa 2442 Isle of Man International 2016 1.04 Of6 2.8.64 96 3.03 d5 4.82 297 5.Rh6 0-0 6.2.xg7 sbxg7 7.0-0-0 c5 8.3 Dc6 51 e4 10.04 BS tl end Oba 12.0405 Oxad™ 13.2b1 Wxd5! 14.043 c3 15.bxe3 Bb8+ 16.81 Wa5! 17.hxa2 Ad5 18.De2 Le6 0-1 ‘Uganda’s Phiona Mutesi played and won the two ames she played in the Baku Chess Olympiad = but then she had to leave Baku to attend the Toronto Film Festival for the world premiere ‘of Queen of Katwe. ‘The blockbuster movie, produced by Walt Disney and ESPN Films, is about a young girl from ihe slums of Katwe, in Uganda's capital Kampala, It was released across the USA on. Sepiember 30 to more than 1,000 cinemas and reached over $2.5 million s70ss after only the first week! Queen of Katwe is a biographical sports drama film, directed by Mira Nair and written by William Wheeler. The character of Phiona is played by Lupita Nyong’o. This is a must-see movie for every chess fan! M ial: NEPOMNIACHTCHI CLEAR FIRST Russian Jan Nepomniachtchi achieved the biggest success of his career by winning the 10th Tal Memorial in Moscow (September 26 to October 6). 26-year-old Nepomniachtchi was only seeded ninth among the ten participants but the odds didn’t stop him demonstrating convincing play with three wins and six draws. Second-place Dutch GM Anish Giri missed his chance to realize a winning position in the last round against Li Chao — and qualify for a blitz tie-break with Nepomniachtchi forthe ttle. At the bottom end of the scoreboard, Boris Gelfand will probably try to forget this tournament as one of the worst results of his long and suceessfl career ~ he made just four draws and five losses. <> 6M FALL-wnrer cose/207LETTER fromthe EDITOR —ooooaooeaaww ses MAKING AMERICAN CHESS GREAT AGAIN he American Chess Magazine comes to you ‘on the crest of a wave that has provided tho biggest boost to the US chess since the early 1970s, when Bobby Fischer claimed the world title from Boris Spasshy. ‘A few weeks ago, a dream team of US {grandmasters won the gold medal at the World Chess Olympiad, ahead of Ukraine, Russia, India, and over 160 other nations, while 15-year-old Texan, Jeffery Xiong, ‘became the new World Under-20 Champion! And now the ACM has been launched to help American readers, keep in touch with all the most significant happenings in the exciting word of present day chess, both at home and abroad, This quarterly magazine is designed to record rot only the exploits of those men and women who fulfil their varied roles as star players, trainers and sponsors, but also the endeavors of the many unsung heroes who work behind the scenes in national organizations, clubs and institutions supportive of chess. Such a broad-based ‘movement will surely play its part in “making American chess great again,” and the ACM will be committed to ‘promoting even wider recognition and greater popularity of our beloved game. “Two distinctive results came out of a recent survey we conducted among chess enthusiasts in the USA. First, thay were overjoyed with the recent successes of American chess but, second, they had serious doubts as to whether the achievements of ‘American chess players would ever be recognized at their tue worth by the general public in the USA, ‘Therefore, our goal is simple; itis also one which has been amply proven in other fields of sport: We want to make chess attractive In terms of both Its creative Content and visual presentation. We can then hope that ‘mainstream channels will ecognize its inherent qualities ‘and untapped potential. Let's make chess a game that ccan be understood by everyone, yet without sacrificing either substance or quality! For my part, the ACM represents the greatest challenge of a 25 year career in sports journalism. tis quite simply the desire to fulfl an American dream. The Intemational team that has inthe last six years restored the legendary Chess Informant to its former glory, and more recently revamped the 135- year-old British Chess Magazine, has now been ‘encouraged to celebrate the resurgence of US chess with the help of some of the finest American authors and editors. We hasten to add that we also welcome readers’ contributions and letters, whether they are cttcal or supportive! Naturally, the success of the USA team at the ‘Chess Olympiad comes under the spotight in our frst Issue, as does Jeffery Xiong's capture ofthe wort junior tive. There is also an in-depth preview of the forthcoming ‘world championship match between Magnus Carisen ‘and Sergey Karjakin to be staged in New York during November. Nevertheless, readers might be surprised at the number of contributed articles by writers from foreign lands. But here the ACM is only mirroring how dynamic. ‘and how global the chess scene is today. At this point, | cannot resist quoting the following lines, written by William Borsodi of New York, a publisher fof the ACM way back in 1897! “While the frst issue of the American Chess Magazine does not in any degree approach the ‘excellence which will mark future Issues, you will admit that itis far superior fo any chess periodical ever offered bofore, yet neither the reading matter nor the illustrations are satisfying to the high ambitions ofthe editor and publisher. A vast improvement in the future numbers is assured. Aready we have on hand such excollont ‘materia for the next issue that we no longer regard our tundertaking as an experiment.” ‘So, to conclude, our new magazine has arrived and is here to stay. And we will consider it a great ‘compliment if readers find it worthy to share the ACM with both their chess and non-chess friends, exhibiting the ‘same pride they fee! in being members of the American — ‘and indeed worldwide ~ chess community! Josip Asik, Euitorin-ChiefIn what was perhaps the most exciting last round in an Olympiad since Dubai TSIEN eens NSS a te first Olympic gold medals CHINAS WOMEN RETURN Halato76 However ime ke the | TO THE TOP AFTER 12 YEARS. listo! countries boyeoting that particular event, which included the abstention of blown Olympiad actually extended all the way back to Stockholm 1937, aving entered the 2016 event cherishing H particularly high hopes and fielding three of the world’s top seven players, the American team performed consistently throughout and, with only minor hiccups, fended off the challenge of perennial favorites Russia, beat Ukraine in what would prove to be the decisive clash for gold, and went through the whole event undefeated. All this would have made their eventual victory appear smooth and seamless in most other events, but in Baku they had to contend with a fierce challenge from an inspired Ukrainian team, which bounced back from their loss against the USA and won all their other matches, including a politically significant ‘one against principal rivals Russia, keeping up the pressure on the Americans until the very end. ‘The complicated te-break system of the Olympiad rendered any last-round predictions futile, and even after both teams had concluded their matches it was still unclear on which side of the Atlantic the gold ‘medal would eventually reside, It was only after the last moves of the Olympiad had been played, the last scoresheets signed, the last results accounted for, that the Americans’ victory was finally confirmed —by the nartowest of margins but also fully deserved. ‘The US team led the Olympiad from start to finish and, though their march towards the gold medals was not always plain sailing, having three elite players in their team provided the necessary stability and firepower to overcome most opponents. Moreover, it should not be overlooked that the other two members of the team, Ray Robson and Sam Shankland, also contributed significant points in crucial matches,- 2016 CHESS OLYMPIAD a ‘There was some criticism, not least by the World Champion, about the inclusion of Caruana and So in the US team, although one can certainly argue that it wasn't wholly justified, as Fabiano was, afer all, bom and raised in the US (a country which he had represented in the past as well), while Wesley had been resident in the States for a numberof years and in fact, developed into an elite player while on US soil. In any case, the significant growth of chess in the USA is clearly evident in all departments, including the very top level. Whereas Nakamura used to be the only home-grown, world class American player, nowadays the US can boast several really strong indigenous Grandmasters (Robson and. Shankland being two of them) and a very promising generation, ‘of young talents hard on their heels, of whom Samuel Sevian and World Junior Champion Jeffery Xiong are currently the ‘most prominent examples. The future of American chess looks very bright indeed; it would hardly bea surprise to see the USA dominating the Olympiads for some ‘years to come. NO GOLD MEDAL FOR THE RUSSIAN TEAM When it came to _pre-tournament predictions, the US team, fielding Fabiano Caruana, Hikaru Nakamura and Wesley So, could justly entertain hopes of winning the Olympiad. But the same applied to the Russians, who have consistently been the number one rating favorites but have nevertheless failed to win an Olympiad since Bled 2002, which was also the last time they were headed by Garry Kasparov. Experiencing mounting pressure and increasing frustration, year after year, it was understandable that this time the Russians were taking the event more seriously than ever, with Russian Chess Federation president Andrey Filatov personally responsible for captaining the _ team. Nevertheless, once again, they ‘would not be taking home any gold medals... ‘Already in their first heavyweight contest, against Ukraine in the 4” round, Russia faltered badly and lost. The tension of the match mirrored that of the real life conflict, between the two nations over the Crimean Peninsula, and indeed the Ukrainian expressions of sheer joy after claiming, victory contrasted starkly with the dejected faces of the Russians. Despite this initial disappointment, the Russian team. did recover to win several matches and keep up with the pace Of the leaders, but two further drawn matches in the closing stages of the Olympiad ended all their hopes of an admittedly unlikely tiumph, Instead they had to be content with third place and the bronze medals, a result that can hardly be called. a failure for any other team, but for the Russians that elusive Psy egy Peta ad gold will continue to haunt them for the next two years. Former World Champion Vladimir Kramnik putin a strong performance inthe second half to win the individual gold medal, ‘on board two, and fan Nepomniachich’s remarkable string of seven consecutive wins at the start, when his teammates did not seem to be in particularly good form, helped keep Russia near the top. However, ironically, it was Tan’s loss against ‘Wesley So in the crucial match against the USA that eventually Put paid to Russia’s ambitions. As for World Championship challenger Sergey Karjakin, perhaps the forthcoming match in New York weighed too heavily on his mind; his performance was hardly sub-standard, but it was also nothing special. The wait for gold continues... THE RISE OF UKRAINE In place of a rather lackluster Russia, it was Ukraine that, provided the tournament intrigue. Despite the absence of their natural leader for many years, Vassily Ivanchuk, who decided to skip the Olympiad and went off to a draughts tourmament in Poland instead, all the other stalwaris of the team were in Baku and in good shape. Pavel Eljanoy deserves commendation for the way he handled the responsibility of playing on top board, but the brightest star of the team was Ivanchuk’s replacement, Andrei Volokitin. Already an Olympiad gold medalist since Calvia 2004, Volokitin returned to action with a bang, winning all his games but one and registering the highest rating performance of any player in Baku; his contribution to the success of the Ukrainian team was immense, although it should also be emphasized that none of his teammates balked under the pressure and each made his own significant contribution, Particularly impressive was the determination the Ukrainians displayed in the ast round, Needing a big win against Slovenia any hope of overtaking the Americans, to have they dug in and eventually conceded only one draw. Indeed, for a moment, right after Eljanov's distinguished opponent Alexander Beliavsky resigned, it seemed that they had ‘actually won the Olympiad again. But itturned out that, due to the complicated tie-break system, an otherwise unimportant individual win in the Germany-Estonia match had sealed. their fate and condemned them to ‘only’ second place. While nobody could conceivably say that the Americans’ victory ‘was in any way undeserved, particularly since they did beat Ukraine in their individual encounter, a Ukrainian Olympiad, ‘win would have felt no less justified. om FALL-WINTER 2016/2017HERO! Naturally, there were quite a few success stories in this huge event, certainly too many to mention in a single article, But in an attempt to single out the most inspiring of them, one might start with the very successful performances of the young Indian team, which claimed fourth place, one lower than their bronze medal performance in Tromso 2014. It seems that the non- participation of chess legend, Vishy Anand, does not hamper their team too much, and it only remains to be seen how much ‘more they could achieve with him on board too. The even younger team of Iran was also a pleasant surprise. They fielded a bunch of very young playersalongside experienced Grandmaster Elshan Ghaem Maghami, who jokingly described them as “my sons". This delegation included the youngest player of the Olympiad in the Open section, 13-year old Aliveza Firouzja, who has already been awarded the Intemational Master title and is well on his way to greater heights, Peru, another youthful team, finished in 10® place, despite the absence of the legendary Julio Granda Zuniga, Meanwhile Canada scored their best ever result by finishing 11® and got to play on the first table in the last round, against the US, while even greater was the achievement of the Turkish team, with an unprecedented 6* place, Another team that outdid all its previous outings was Norway. Carlsen, who in recent years has performed rather weakly (by his colossal standards, of course!) when playing for his national team, put in a very decent effort and led his home country to a remarkable 5* place. And one could certainly not overlook the remarkable feat of the admittedly underrated Greek team: with only four won matches, but seven drawn, they were the only other team in the Open section, apart from the US, to go through the Olympiad undefeated! And finally, what shall we make ofthe Filipino Grandmaster Eugenio Torre? Playing in his 26" Olympiad (an incredible record!) he scored perhaps his best ever result: ten points from leven games! It seems as if his career is only just beginning, IN THE SHADOWS Naturally, there were some not-so-successful stories as well One could only be amazed to see defending champions China play the Faroe Islands somewhere in the hall, as late as the 9° round, The Chinese had an uncharacterstically poor tournament, by no means a reflection of their vue strength and standing, strewn with erors and misfortunes, and only a strong finish allowed them to salvage some pride and finish 13 Poland, an ambitious and very talented team, had a similar fate - though to a lesser extent, falling behind early on and never challenging for the medals they surely had at the back of their minds. However, both these countries have a steady of young and very talented players striving for a place national team, which practically ensures that they will bounce back inthe immediate future. ‘The same applies to hosts Azerbaijan, a very strong team with lots of ambition, but never seeming fully at ease with the responsibility of representing the host country. While they appeared to handle it efficiently inthe frsthaf, they eventually buckled under the pressure in the second, with Mamedyarov alternating between his brilliant and his erratic self, Radjabov somewhat out-of-sorts due o inactivity, and the recent addition Naiditsch following a series of four wins with four consecutive losses, the last one in a crucial match against England that sealed the Aze's fate, Though their 12" place cannot be called an outright failure, they would surely have been justified in ‘expecting so much more- a 4 a = Er fo) rm) ra) TT be G © © fe) io 2 opt * COACH D = The US players and coach Alexander Lenderman are all young in years, yet it was the vast experience of their veteran captain that they valued so highly in Baku. What popular Mike “Coach kK" Krzyzewski is for US basketball, so John Donaldson is for US chess. “Coach D” has captained the national team for twelve Chess Olympiads, since Dubai in 1986, also six World Team events (Gold, 1993) and one Pan American tournament (Gold, 2013)! But receiving the Olympiad trophy was surely the high point in the career of the modest IM from San Francisco and its Mechanics Institute Chess Club, the nation’s oldest, founded in 1854. Q@A with IM John Donaldson, Captain of the US team The US team with Caruana and So was certainly stronger than in Tromso 2014, Buthow confident were you that the team could win the gold medal? ‘The US team selected for the Baku Olympiad was significantly stronger than the one that played in Tromso, Not only were Fabiano Caruana and Wesley So playing for the United States forthe first time, but Sam Shankland and Ray Robson both improved a great deal the past two years. However there were no guarantees of success. There were several other very strong teams with average ratings over 2700 — Russia, China, Azerbaijan and Ukraine. Also keep in mind the Olympiad is shorter than it used to be — only 11 rounds — and the number of teams taking part is constantly increasing. All this means there i litle room for eror. We ‘were optimistic going in, but took nothing for granted. Was there a particular moment during the event when you realized the gold medal was within your grasp? ‘We played consistently well throughout and were never in serious danger of losing a match, but it was only after we beat Ukraine and India and drew with Russia in rounds 6-8 that things started looking really good. What were the biggest strengths that Team USA showed in Baku and to what extent were these a result of team spirit? Al players were in decent form and the team didn't lose a single individual game through the first seven rounds. Fabiano, Hikaru and Wesley are, of course, serious Competitors most ofthe time; but, in Baku they were all ‘on the same page. They are professionals who have a lot of respect for each other. How tough was it for youpersonally to follow the critical ‘moments in USAS matches, eg, with Canada? ‘My biggest worry before the match with Canada was whether Hikaru and Wesley would be healthy enough to play well. Both had colds the last few days of the tournament, but battled through it. Wesley and Fabiano won their games in the last round fairly quickly, and wwe were up 2-0, Not long after, Hikaru drew and Sam ran into amazing preparation and lost. ‘Things happened so quickly there wasn't much chance to set nervous during the match, but the tie-break was something else! There is something to be said about using head to head as the firs tiebreak. Can youidentify any particularly outstanding contributions and characteristics ofthe US team members? The results ofthe frst three speak for themselves. Collectively they lost only a single game among them. Sam and Ray were in an awkward situation in that they were both strong players nearing 2700 FLDE — frst board ‘material for most countries, They understood going in they would not play so much, but it was still hard for them to find a rhythm, Sam and Ray never complained and supported each other throughout the event. Could yougive a brief comment about the play of other pre Olympiad favorites:Russia, Ukraine, China, and india? Ukraine played fantastically, and it was unfortunate that only one team could win. This was the first Olympiad since the change from game to match points in 2008 that a team reached 20 points. Going in I would have thought itextremely unlikely that one let alone two teams would have scored 20 out of a possible 22 points. FALL-WINTER 2016/2017pied Hamitton-Russell Cup: xd Wesley So, Photo by Minajlo Anti A Ba stage with the hn Donalds Its true that Russia was seeded number one and finished third but | would not characterize their performance as a failure. Look at their result closely and you will see they gained 12 rating points collectively, performing close to 2800 as a team. CChina’s failure was perhaps the biggest surprise of the Olympiad, but, after back to back wins in the 2014 Olympiad and the 2015 World Team Championship, maybe a letdown was inevitable. I'm sure they will be back at the top soon, Azerbaijan was another top seed that failed to meet expectations, They started out great but losing to India in round 5 by 3-1 slowed them down and later they had to face Russia when the latter was playing really well Sometimes playing at home is not so easy India showed their performance in 2014 (bronze) was no fluke, and one might argue their result in Baku was even better. Keep in mind they did this with only four players, as their reserve didn't see action after the first two rounds. Things have never looked better for American chess. Currently we not only have three players in the top ten, but also the two highest-rated players in the world under 16, Jeffery Xiong and Samuel Sevian. One challenge is for more American players to cross 2700 FIDE. Sam and Ray are getting close, and Xiong might be there in two years. We should have the nucleus for success for the next decade, if not longer. : Leading Final Scores (OPEN) += - Tet TB2 753 1USA 9:20 20 4135 315 2 Ukraine 1001 20 4045 310 3 Russia 821 18 4190 320 4 india 722 16 3505 275 SNoway 722 16 3445 265 6 Turkey 722 16 3415 300 T Poland 722 16 3310 295 BFrance 641 16 3265 300 Q England 722 16 3230 265 toPeru 9722 16 2060 25 411-23. Canada, Azerbaijan 1, China, Belarus, Hungary, Iran, Latvia, Greece, Paraguay, Slovenia, Croatia, taly, Brazil 15; 24-34. Georgia, Cuba, Azerbaijan 2, \srael, Kazakhstan, Czech Republic, ‘Australia, Spain, Argentina, Romania, Bosnia & Herzegovina 14, etcteam's performance in the Olympiad 2016 CHESS OLYMPIAD 1 by GM Ivan Sokolov TOP | REE US GAMES As an outsider who was nevertheless following the games inside the playing hall in Baku, | am able to provide some first hand and objective observations on the US Beforehand, in common with many athers, | had tipped the US team as a favorite to win the gold medal, based on the following considerations: A\ Their top three boards had the highest average Elo rating, B) Their players had all showed themselves to be in excellent form recently, and C} When it came to the crunch, | believed these top three American players would be able to perform better than any other team including myself, expected more from Nakamura. In some respects, Olympiad playing conditions resemble a big US Open — something Hikaru grew up with and would make him feel quite at home. Being hardened by the nerve racking street fighting of American Opens, | certainly did not expect Hikaru to lose with the white pieces, or indeed either colo, in the penultimate round against Mchedlishvili of Georgi "Nevertheless Nakamura still delivered an overall 2762 Elo performance. Wesley So had an amazing 814/10 result, with a tournament performance rating of 2896, winning make-or-break games in matches against Russia and also in the last two rounds. Excellent opening, preparation anda steady hand was Wesley’s trademark atthe Olympiad. ‘Caruana was a true team leader, performing at 2838 and not losing a single game. Keeping your head when the chips are down is the trademark of a true champion in any sport and we saw that clearly in Fabiano’s last round game versus Bareev. T hese factors proved tobe valid. However, the majority of observers, Grandmaster Ivan Sokolov has been a regular participant in. Chess Olympiads since 1988, In Moscow 1994, he won the silver medal as a member of the Bosnian team, while in Bled 2002 he represented his adopted country of the Netherlands for the first time. In the latest two Olympiads, at Tromso 2014 and Baku 2016, Ivan, a FIDE senior trainer, attended as team captain for, respectively, UAE and Iran. As a player, he has won many top tournaments, his most notable success on US soil being a win in the World Open in Philadelphia 2012. He has authored a number of best selling chess books: Winning Chess Middlegames, Sacrifice & Initiative and the latest one, Ivan's Chess Journey. At the present time Ivan resides in the Netherlands. Sam Shankland and Ray Robson alternated (on board 4, where they each had their ups and downs. But for this article, I have selected two games by Wesley So, demonstrating his excellent opening preparation and proficiency in execution, and also the impressive last round win by Fabiano Caruana who not only displayed fine play but also most definitely the steely nerves of an elite grandmaster. V4 FaLcwnrer 2oie/20.7cs4 Round, Russia-USA Led &5 2.5f3 Bc6 3.204 2c5 4.0-0 Bf6 5.43 0-0 =z 2W ke 4244 244 ‘The Giuoco been very popular of late. One reason is White’s desire to avoid the massive theory attached to the different Ruy Lopez variations, while the other is simply that it achieves good practical results for White, Objectively, White has very litle, although in most games he has obtained some pull at very litle risk. In keeping with his general approach to openings, Wesley So has his favorite lines in the Italian Game and usually sticks to them. 6.a4 This is a more recent attempt. White seizes space on the queenside, While ensuring he has a retreat for his bishop. He also remains flexible, which is why he is not yet willing t0 place his knight on d2 or a pawn on 3. In fact White is waiting for Black to push <67-€6 before playing c2-c3 himself. USA vs Russia, Photo by Mihailo Antic Black cannot then successfully carry out his projected ..45, ‘The main reason White has chosen the text lately is that after 6.c3 d5 7.exdS 4 xd5 he had not been able to prove any advantage. However, Black had initially been under pressure after 8.24, xX 2W ke aad aad That is, until Jon Ludwig Hammer showed the way and Wesley So6 2016 CHESS OLYMPIAD —__. successfully copied and pasted it into his game against Anand: 8..b6 9.8b5 Be7! 10.a5 6! 1.axb6 cxb5. 12.8xa7 xa? 13.bxa7 Sxa7 14,2xe5 Of W iv maabd ae je & a. & AAs aya ‘This position reveals Hammer's opening Idea, Forthe price of asingle pawn, Black obiains the bishop pair and a harmonious development. In certain respects, this sacrifice bears some similarity to the Marshall gambit: A) 15.23 brought White success in the Azerbaijan - Hungary match in Baku; however, Black’s play can be improved 15..b4! (15...8b8 16.04 (6 17.Dd3% R.Mamedov (2666) - C.Balogh (2614), Baku (01) 2016) 16.cxb4 £617.13 #xd3 18,8%xd3 &xd3e. With an active bishop pair, Black obviously has compensation for a minimal material investment here: 198d] £e2 20.207 cb ke jee 5 aa a sb a RA AA ‘White should not push to0 hard: AL) 21.05? De5 22.8xb7 (22.xe5?? feS-+) 22...8d8%; A2) 21.Exb7 BdB 22.Bd2 “dam; A3) 21.863 Axe3 22 fxe3 Bf7=; B) The stem game, played some months before Anand - So, went 15.263 28 16d4 Dg6 (16... 17.0d3 d5%) 17Oxg6 hxg6 18.Dd2 Wd 19.93 Wd5= S.Milliet (2346) - J. Hammer (2689) Drancy 2016; ©) 15.2e1 £08 16.£)a3 b4 17,cxb4 #5 18.Dec £xd3 (18...2)06) 19.2xe7 Bxcd 20.Wxd5 2xd5 21.207 £c6= V.Anand Se = AAT (2770) - WSo (2771), Saint Louis 2016 = C1 129/110. 6..d6 6.26, tying to remain flexible in readiness for the ..d5 pawn push, did not end well for Black after 7.225! h6 8.ih4 S07 9.893 d6 10.c3 Be6 11 fxe6 fxe6 12b4 eB 13.0bd2 b6 14.203 Wd? 15.d4 exes 16.exd4 ©dB 17.Bacl ADemchenko (2600) - V.Fedoseev (2670), Abu Dhabi 2016. In the case of S..d5, the situation Is indeed clifferent, as after 7.exd5 2xd5 8.Dbd2 the white pawn issfillonc2 and hence d3 isnota weakness, although perhaps White will later play €2-c3 ata moment of his choosing, 7.03.06 A Best players on board 3: Zoltan j ‘Almasi (silver), Wesley So (gold), and Eugenio Torre (bronze) > Wesley So, Baku 2016. Photos by Andreas Kontokanis Yyou are not really inclined to weaken your kingside by chasing it away! In the cited game, Leko, playing the black pieces, went for the chase with 8..n6 9.ahd g5 10.863 2a7 11.Abd2 bg7 123et Oh7 (2..94 13.Dh4 Bhs 14.21 Wo5 15.2032) 8.h3 Less than a month after this game ‘we saw 8.8351? at the Isle of Man Open. This pin, as I know from my own experience, is always unpleasant for Black in practical play. You cannot let the bishop remain there, but then again Now 13.44! A) 1B..exd4 14,0xd4 Oxd4_ 15.cxd4 Axdd 16.213 Sxb2 (16.86 17.05 dxe5 18.1924) 17.Bb1 £3 18.5¢3 and ‘White has great compensation in return for the two pawns. FALLWNTER 2 6/207B) 13..g4 14.0h4 exdd 15.cxd4 xd 16.21 266 17.015+ Sxf5 18.ext5 h5 19.8141 895 20.293 h6 z= WF ak ok a ab DiBeltt Axcl 22.5xcl Be 23.822 Bie 24,04d2+ sth? 25.8 —5 gh 26.Htha Afd7? (26.897! is arguably Black's best. However, White has a nice exchange sacrifice idea here: 27.8b3!, preparing Edi after an exchange sacrifice on e5, eg. 27...22g8 28 Exe5! dye5 29.81 247 30.8 ahs M07 31.504 Wd 32.205.) 27.8xh5 + ig7 28.16 Wx16 29.8xc7 1B 30.8xb7 winning in J.van Forest (2615) - PLLeko (2709), Isle of Man 2016, 8...8a7 9.Bel xX 2W ke ited aaa a ht A a AP 2a KAD EALWE & ‘This position was the subject of serious theoretical discussions in Baku and the very next day Wesley So tried it~ from. the White side! 9.807 9.806 was the reply of Wesley’s opponent, Aryan Tari. Wesley then gained some advantage after 10.2)bd2 De7 11.206 fxe6 12.061 Dg6 13,0g3 Yd7 14.d4# Such positions are by definition better for White, but after I4..exd4 15.cxd4 b5 16.263 (16.b4!2) 16..c5.17axbS axb5 1B.dxcSAxcS 19.83. &xe3_20.Hxe3 €5 21.Eadl (21-Bed!) 21...8#h8 the game was later drawn, WSo (2782) - A.Tari (2570), Baku (ol) 2016. 10.44 Another possibility is 10.4bd2 g6 11.44 x 2W te cee aad) a a4 aA a Swe © This was played the very next day by Nepomniachtchi’s Russian teammate Kramnik against Radjabov in the Russia- Azerbaijan match. [have no idea whether Nepo shared any information with Kramnik because after the Olympiad they became rivals again! However itis interesting to see with your own eyes the speed of development and. importance of opening preparation. As will be apparent, Kramnik has a rather different ‘middlegame concept from Nepo: 11.6: A) It makes sense for White to remove his bishop from the threat of a potential gain of tempo by ..d5. An alternative to Kramnik’s bishop retreat, 12.21 is 12.£a2 when 12..c5 gives up control of the light squares on c4 and 5 while 12..c6 just looks like an ugly patzer move, even though Houdini evaluates it a5 0.0010 after 13.dxe5 dxe5; B) Anyway Kramnik chose 12.8f1!? 28 13.05 x 2Wr we fed ad a 2am8 2016 CHESS OLYMPIAD It seems quite clear to. me that Black’s counterplay should be linked to the central ...d6-d5 pawn break However, Radjaboy refrains from this and I think that is what cost him the game: B1) In case of an immediate 13..5 Radjabov probably did not like the position arising from 14.exd5 4 (14.,.exd4 15.2xe8+ Wed 16.c42) Ths Wade Ioked (16-bed) 16..¥d8 17.Ohf1; B2) However, 13...6, preparing the ..d5 push, should equalize for Black, e.g. B2a) 14,82 d5 (14...£.¢6); B2b) 14.b4 d5; B3) 13...247 14.b4 B3a) Now, with the white c-pawn unprotected, was definitely the moment for 14.451, when Black is fine.15.dxe5 (iS.exd5 ed 16.2h2 Oxa5*) B3al) 15...xe4 seems to equalise, eg. 16.2xe4 dxed 17.Exe4 SG 18.3e1 Wrdl (18..2xe519.2xe5 xd 20Exd1 Bxe5 21.04 B08 22.c5t) 19.5xd1 Bxf3 20,gx13 OxeS=; B3a2) 15...xe5 16.exd5 Now Black has a flashy solution with 16...¢24! (The boring 16..xf3+ 17.Oxf3 Bes looks equal too: 18.8¢3 Dxc3 19.83 Sixe3 20.2xe3 Bxe3 21.fre3 Db5=) B3a2l) 17.c4 Oxf3 18.ODxf3 (18. yx(32? Dxd5 19.cxd5 Wg5+ 20.892 Pipe andxp Sa3e—s) 18. Date 19.exf3 Yed62 20.c5 Wd 21.8#xd5, @xd5 22.802 c6-; B3a22) 17.hxgd Atxgs ea B3a221) 18.e4 Dxf2 19.Dxf2 Dxf3+ 20.gxf3 (20.!xf3 Fixe! 21.2b2 Be31) 20..8xf2+ 21bxf2 Whar 22.ti—2 Sxel 23.Wd4 Wxd4 24.cxd4 Edl 25.chf2 fixd4?; B3a222) 18.He2 Dxf2 leads to a peaceful end (by perpetual check): 19.8x2 Qgd 20.0d4 Wh4 21.g3 Wxg3+ 22.2—2 We3+ 23ch1 ‘Wh3+=; B3b) But not 14., Radjabov. .c6? as in Kramnik a8 this invites Kramnik t0 do something he probably wants to do anyway: grab more space for White! — and why not?! 15.45! £47 16.c4 f4 17.c5! and now: B3b1) Your computer may suggest 17. dxc5; however, human grandmasters ‘woud instinctively prefer White after 1B.£b2 (or 18.2c4 cxb4 19.cxe5) 18..cxb4 19.2xe51; B3b2)_ 17.25 inuation in the ‘game but Radjabo was getting rather short of time and his position quickly 1e7 19.863 (19.exd6 9.865 20.8c1 Axed exd6 20.234) 22.214 extd (22..2x04 23.2x05 Sxl 2a-donfts) 23.Bexe5+— Axil 2asbeti ‘Dips 25.88d2 116 26.504 Wg? 27.Exi4 Bxe5 28.84 Hh 29.Sxg7+ xg? 30.94 Bxh3 31.00g2 Sxf3 32shxf3 208 33.85 Bd6 SM.gxhG+ 1-0 V.Kramnik (2808) TRadjabov (2722), Baku (ol) 2016. Incidentally, Azerbaijan’s defeat against Russia dashed any hopes of medals for the host country. 10...g6 11.243 11.2bd2 transposes to the Kramnik game. 11...c6 12.863 DhS 13,.Dbd2 Obed 14.811 exd4 A ctitical moment. How should White recapture on d4?! Well, more or less 4@ tempo, just like he played the whole opening, Nepo blitzed out. 15.2xd4 15.cxd4 has its merits, since after 15..d5 16b4 White can maintain the central tension, for example, 16. dxed 17.Dxe4 dS 18.8422" with 19.2c5 to follow, White appears to have a small plus 15..8xd4 16exd4 d5 The other strategic way for Black was 16...{5!? 17.c4+ HB 18.5 5 (18..dxe5? 19.dxe5 B06 20.2x06 Dxe6 21. Ded with 2d6 to follow) 19.6f1 a5, 17.05 £6 18.143 fxeS This is the critical moment which demands an important strategic decision but, true to form, Nepo blitzed out his next move too. FALL-WINTER 2016/201719.dxe5?! However here White takes a huge strategic risk! Black now has four pawns vs. two on the queenside, and the black pawns will at some stage roll. On the other hand, White’s four vs. two on the kingside face a strong light square blockade on e6 and £5 and will not roll that easily = oF not roll at all! ‘The speed with which Nepo made such important decisions can only be explained by his complete lack of nerves. during this crucial match, On_the other hand 20.5xe5 looks equal: 20... 21Bel 265. 19.2xe5_ Dxe5 126 (20.05) 19..a5 Wesley decides to fix the white a-pawn on a light square ~ which is a good strategic decision from which he ‘can benefit later. In case of an immediate 19..c5, it is ‘quite possible that Wesley did not like the consequences of 20.b4! b6 (20... exbd 21.8ae3 with &b3 and S/d to follow, looks like compensation, though your computer engine may cell you otherwise) 21.22c3 226 22.03 (or 22.83), 20.1 Me7 21.8b3 2f5 22.044 Deb ‘This is the third and final critical moment! Yet Nepo continues to play very fast. 23.2xf5? In a higher sense this is the losing blunder, after which White's game can no longer be saved, especially against someone like Wesley So. Instead DBAxe6 Sxe6 24.g3, with 12-f4 to follow, was very much needed here. 23.85 24.003 Bf4 25.0x86 xg ‘The smoke is starting to clear. Black has a strategically won game, while ‘White has plenty of time on his clock! ‘The pawn on ais @ weakness, the four black queenside pawns are mobile and ready to roll, and the Knight on e6 is a fantastic blockading piece. All this adds up simply to a strategically won position for Black. 26.Wd1 26.593 Hxad 27.8c2 Bb4 28.xg6 BiS* 26..Baf8_ 27.813 What 28.Exf4 Sxf4 29.23 Black has various ways to win this position; Wesley chooses the ‘one that gives White the least possible counterplay. 29.1Wxad —29,..!xb2F was also Possible, but So prefers to keep the b- file closed. 30.Wd3 265 31.8b1 Wha 32.2 Gh7 33.83 Wed 34,.Wdl 34.5c3 is met by 34...Hed, 34,..2f4, 35.83 Wb4 36,Wel ad 37-h4 chg8 38.Wb1 Wed 39.88d1 dd 40.He3 40,2 xd4 #xdd is winning for Black. 40,..Ax13+ 41.gxf3 WES 42.06 42,,,22xh4! Execution is always tactical! 43.2e4 43,67 runs into mate, After 43.173 44.0884 bh7 even an extra ques does not ep White: 45:8xg6+ xg 46.24 ct xed A4.fxed Wxed 45.Hd2 Wxe6 46.8a5 Wade 47.0F1 bS 48.47 g5 49.4b8~ sh7 50.1446 ba 0-4 Round 11, USA-Canada Led 06 2.04 d5 3.05 £65 4.063 6 5.e2 Bd7 6.0-0 z Weta a2 A&A bah a4 add & AKA Ba Sw BAAR Ee 6...0g6 6...6 and 6,..8e7 had been the most frequently played moves here. This bishop retreat, favored by David Navara, is not considered to be the main line here. The general idea behind Black’s move is to vacate the {5 square for his g8-knight. For readers who are interested in new theoretical ideas for Black in. this position, I would advise investigating 6....8b4!2, played in the Baku Olympiad by Mamedyarov. This move actually stems from Caro-Kann expert Alexey Dreev, team captain of the Azeri side at the Baku Olympiad! Black’s idea is very logical. He develops his bishop and does not mind if itis eventually chased to c7, as from there it will be well placed to support ...f6, trying to open the center in Black’s favor. Then might follow 7.2bd2 £a5 8.c3 @™ 9A), The original game went 8...0c7 Sel h6 10.41 Sg6 11 4ig3.c5 12.843 Be? 13,8xg6 2xg6 14.0h5 0-0 i Wie Adda a8 La “a8 7) A 4 A se awe & 1542! (creating a deadly threat of xg?!) 15.4 16.84 Dxf3+ 17.213 (179x312) 17...” M.Adams (2738) - $.Mamedyarov (2761), Baku (o) 2016; B) 8..h6 is Dreev’s improvement on Mamedyarov’s play and which he tried immediately after the Olympiad. Black makes a useful move, while waiting for White to spend time on b2-b4 which will only help him by sending the bishop to ¢7, where it wants to go anyway. 9.b4 This helps Black. Playing like Adams with 9, Bel, and Sifl, looks more logical to me. 9..8¢7 10.04 Oe? B1) When it comes to modern chess theory, news travels fast, and at the Isle of Man Open, just two weeks after the Olympiad, the new ...b4 idea had already been picked up: 11Zel_ 0-0 T2DFl {6 13.exf6 Exf6 (13.246 FALL-WINTER 2016/2017 O16 CHESS OLYMPIAD —__. se a Fabiano Caruana, Baku 2016. Photo by David Llada, 14,293 Dem) 14.093 24 15.0h4 Bxe2 16Uxe2 OS 17.0hx15 exfS 18.0813 im e a a De Briel i bh as Be Black needed to play 18.4! (18.14) 19.0h5 2/7 20.84 J. van Foreest (2615) - PBasso (2428), Isle of Man 2016) with a likely draw by perpetual check after 19.0h5 217 20.8xf4 2xf 21Axf4 Ws 22.93 95 230es OG 2AWNS extd 25.8 g6+ this 26.8xh6+ ha 27.964; BQ) 11.03 0-0 12.04 h7 13.64 a5 14,83 Ged 15.403 {5 16.bxa5 87 17.ab4 17..g5! 18.fxg5 hxgS 19.013 Og6 20Md2 Sxd3 21xd3 gd 22.002Wg5t and Black had an excellent game in A.Kosteniuk (2537) - A.Dreev (2660), Sochi 2016. Tad x a A AA BAAR ACW Be 1 would not be surprised if readers were wondering: “Is this advance of the a- pawn really the most useful move for ‘White here?” Well, initially, 1 wondered the same thing! In. such Caro-Kann positions, White often advances his a- pawn, grabbing space on the queenside, and the merits of this strategy will definitely be revealed in this game! Black is notin the frame of mind to play a move like 7...a5 because that would ‘weaken his control of the bS square, since later he will want to push ..c So Bareev will allow the white pawn to advance to a5 and, as a consequence, the space Caruana seizes on the queenside will prove advantageous for him. Caruana has huge experience as White in this line and until now had chosen 7.Dbd2 Hh6 8.03, usually obtaining an opening advantage. A) Previous Caruana games went 8...f5 after which White indeed had an opening advantage: 9.242 (9.04 Bc8 10.05 h5 1193 Le7 12.8f4 a6 13.04 ded 14.Bxc4 0-0 15:8e2% F.Carvana (2779) - E-Tomashevsky (2703), Paris 2013. Or 9.c3 Se7 10.94 Bhd 11.2xhd Soxha 12 f4 f5 13.exf6 Wxf6 14.Dd2 847 15.2)(3 e7 16.263 0-0-0 17.b4 WS 18 95 S268 19.04 cB 20.h4e F.Caruana (2767) - $.Sjugirov (2610), Sochi 2012) 9...f0e7 10.g4 @h4 11.@xh4 Oxh4 12.64 5 13.exf6 Axf6 14.95 Be7 15.894 215 16.He1 0-0 17.8xe6 SxeG 18.2xe6+ Dhe 19.8g4 OG 20.2f1 Bcd 21.2c1 Dd6 22.05 g6 23.047 25 24.0e5¢ F.Caruana (2721) - E.Fernandez Romero (2453), Gibraltar 2011, B) But 8...2e7! is the latest Navara idea here and was probably Bareev's ‘war plan. Black is quite happy to let White damage hispawn structure with &:xh6 and thereby part with his bishop pair. In reality, the black kingside pawn structure will prove to be quite all right, whereas White will ‘miss his bishop pair! Navara’s idea of keeping his knight on h6 is to prevent ‘any g2-g4 pawn push by White, as seen in Caruana’s games against Sjugirov and Femandez. 5:c3 (Onkxh6 giho 10.802 WG U3 a5 12.Bc1 cS 13.Dd3 5 Tadxe5 Oxc5 15.Dxe5 xe 16.04 0-0 17.4b5 ©2h8F A.Areshchenko (2661) ~ D.Navara (2728), Muelheim 2016) 9.00 10.2:xh6 gxh6 11.2el c5 12.842 cd 13.21 {6F J-Tomezak (2588) - D.Navara (2744), Lublin 2016, 7.04867 Less convincing now is7...26, compared to the Navara games given above, as after 8.05 a6 9.84 £67 x We «=tlve black knights cannoteasily come to the d5~square, if itis vacated, so White has an advantage after 10.c4! (the white knight can now develop to c3) 10...215 11,h3 0-0 12.23% as in M.Vachier- Lagrave (2719) - AShabalov (2546), Tromso (m1) 2013, though this is much better for Black than what Bareev got himself into! 8.a5 If Black does not stop White's a- pawn advance, then the pawn will push fon to a; then later on, Black will be saddled with a weak bS-square if he advances ..c6-C5. 8...a6 9.b4 For the time being Caruana prevents Black’s ..c5 pawn push and seizes more space on the queenside Black’s counterplay is now centered on first of all pushing ..f6, challenging the white center. 9..f5 10.¢3 £6 Bareev is using a standard plan of counterplay in such positions. It is quite impressive how convincingly and quickly Caruana achieves a great advantage here 1B E4 fxe5 (x Wee & a 4 aa a 2 bh O as saa & 8 & & a BAAR awe This is an important moment. Caruana correctly jucdges that he should create a kingside pawn majority, setting the stage for a later kingside pawn advance. A2dxe5! 12.Dxe5 Axe5 13.8xe5 26 14.8xd6 Sxd6 15.2d2 0-0 16.213 17 is at least acceptable for Black, 12.7 Black has covered the g5- square and is ready to push ...7-h5, ensuring along life for his f5-knight, but itis White to move! An immediate 12.. 1, preventing the g2-g4 push, does not work because of 13,0352 We? 14,0d2 ©™a 2016 CHESS OLYMPIAD 0-0-0 15.043, 13.g4! Dha 14.2d4 B67 15.223 5 Bareev is hoping to open the h-file and gain counterplay against the white king. 15..c5, searching for counterplay on the other side, will not really work for Black, as after 16bxc5 @xc5 17.0442 0-0 (17...81e4? 18,2xe4 dred 19.8a4+ Yd7 20.2/o1+-) 18.64 with 19.65 to follow and White has a clear advantage. 16.gxh5 Wc7 17.284 Bh6 multi-purpose move. It protects the e5-pawn, prepares the £4-f5 push, and creates the very unpleasant threat of Wel. White already has a very large and probably winning advantage, and Caruana exploits it with computer-like precision. 18..c3 19.bxc5 Wxe5.19..Axc5 does not help, as after 20.65 Black does not have a good move: for example, 20..0-0-0 2L.Exe6 2xe6 22.547 wins, 20.2h1 0-0-0 By 21.8d2 Caruana is in no hurry and calmly develops his last minor piece, safely building on his already huge advantage. Black has been totally Se outplayed and has no good moves here, The hefile related counterplay is Black's only hope. The direct 21. el also wins, as Black loses significant material without any compensation: 21Bdh8 (21.5 228x153 _exfS 23.e6+-; QaaLixhS 22.8xh5 BxhS 23.Oxe6 “We6 —24.\xd8_ BxdB 25.2d2+~) 22.8xh4 Sxh4 23.8xh4 AxhS 24.812. 21...8dhB 21...518, protecting the e6- pawn, loses to 22.8xhd (22. Wel?! &xhS Blves Black hopes) 22...ixh4 23.65+~ ‘The black pieces lack any coordination and White has different ways to exploit that here. Here are just a few sample lines: 23.e? (or 23...e7 24 fre6 g8 25.25 fhe 26.063 We? 27 Abda+-) 2Afxe6 2x06 (24..2xe6 25.2)f5+-) 25.5x18 8x18 26.8ne6+ Zxe6 27.Med Hed 28.2xe6 Wxe6 29.8xhd winning. 22,Wel Sxh5 23.2xe6 £68 bsg We 2445 The g3-bishop is a monster ~ it protects the white h-pawn against any counterplay along the h-file, while atthe same time serving as an attacker. 24...d8 25.8f4! g5 25..Wie7 26.84 £85 27.205 is winning for White 26.82 wee z White is a pawn up, has two mobile connected passed pawns on f5 and e5, and total domination. The black pieces piled up on the h-file cannot create any threats. Total annihilation! Bareev plays a few more moves. 26...c7 27.8e3 &b8 The white pawns now simply march on, 28.16 Af8 29.24 Dhg6 30.23 ‘a7 31.17 The black e8-bishop needs to move, whereupon White will push €5-e6, so Black decided to put an end to his agony, 1-0 Impressive play by Caruana! In team competitions, wins on Board 1 (the benefit of having a strong team leader!) are always important and this one would also prove decisive for the USA's gold ‘medal win. E99 Round 3, USA-Argentina 1.O13 D6 2.04 g6 3.4c3 2g7 4.e4 d6 5.d4 0-0 As we saw in his game versus Nepomniachtchi, Wesley is usually eager to follow his own lines and either try to improve on his previous play or find something new further down the road. Here we see him reviving an old idea of Croatian Grandmaster Zdenko Kozul. Against the King’s Indian Defense Wesley normally goes for the Mar del Plata set-up, arguably the sharpest KID of them all, and this game is no exception. 6.f2e2 €5 7.0-0 Dc6 8.45 De7 9.De1 Ba7 10.863 £5 11.63 £4 12.202 gs FALL-WINTER 2016/2017Oe bat be je i Fe » + re me jour be Ck 8 AAD ware White is at something of a crossroads here. But Wesley heads for the same continuation he had already. played previously in his games. against Nakamura and Ding Liren. a AA a 13.Hcl This is the second time Wesley cchose this move. I wonder whether a ‘year ago, while playing Ding Liren (see the following comments on 13...2g6), he already wanted to play the text continuation. 13.943 2g6 14.3 was seen in another very well-known Wesley game: 14.,.2f6 15.81 27 16.8h1 hS x 20 “ aad xs a aA Sl bb oa Bwok 17.cxd6 (If my memory does not deceive me, the suggested improvement for White was 17.2b5 a6 18.223 in order to deny Black an immediate ..b5 push as Nakamura played on his 19° move) 17..cxd6 18.565 a6 19.4.3 5! 20.56 gd WSo (2779) ~ H.Nakamura (2814), Saint Louis 2015 ~ Cl 125/201, and Biack later won with a brilliant attack. T suggest readers locate. this beautiful game and play it over. 13.g4 is another approach by White, aimed at first stopping Black’s advances on the kingside. Wesley tried this two years ago and after 13..h5 14,h3 216 15.243 3h6 16,c5 Bxc5 17.Bixe5 dxc5 18.8xc5 gb 19.31 2f8 20.55 S46 he went on to win a messy game, W.So (2719) - L.van Wely (2672), Wijk aan Zee 2014 13.887 x 2W 6f@e aaa aan 2 13,..2.g6 was Ding Liren’s choice versus Wesley. 14.c5 Oxc5 15:b4 2a6 16.2143 is a standard type of sacrifice for White here. For the sacrificed pawn White has displaced the black knight on a6, and also has pressure on the c-file. Black’s kingside attack is not that dangerous, because he is missing an extra attacking piece (his misplaced knight on a6). 16..h5 17.005 D6 18.801 317 19.842 ‘246 20.612 and White went on to win in WSo (2760) - Ding Linen (2782), Bilbao 2015. 414.c51 This pawn sacrifice is the point behind 13.81. Black needs to take the pawn, otherwise, White's queenside attack develops too quickly after 15.cxd6 exd6 16.065. 14...xc5 Black correctly goes for the white bishop pair. 14,.dxc5? is inferior, as after 15.46 cxd6 16.2:¢4* White’s f2- bishop isa useful piece, whereas Black's 7-knight obviously gets in the way of the protection of the d-pawn, zx ow ef eee a Bsh ab Sa a A BBA EWARS 15.8xc5!? An idea devised 26 years ago at the Novi Sad 1990 Olympiad by the then Yugoslav, now Croatian grandmaster Zdenko ' Kozul. White was not successful and the result of the game obviously played a role in it being. overlooked. However, Wesley dug deeper into it and found Kozul’s idea was worth repeating! After 15.b4 a6 (15...8d7? 16.255 shows the aw Learn chess books quickly with our science based training tools. @ Chessable.com B Role tT [AMERICAN C @™MPIA advantage of having the white rook already developed on c1) 16.065 was another possibility for White and is a standard type of pawn sacrifice here, also seen in So ~ Ding Liren, given above. 15..dxe5.16...¢4 White'sideabecomes cleat. He wants to push 17.46 next and win the exchange thanks to the pin on the a2-8 diagonal. However, Black will gain the bishop pair and also have an extra pawn or two. The position looks very unclear to me and there are two critical moments I will point out, both of which would be interesting to sneak into Wesley So's laptop for reference! 16..8@f8 The first critical. moment Here, with 16...a6!, Black could prevent the Knight jump t0 bS, and threaten .. Wd6, blocking the a2-g8 diagonal and forcing White to push 17.46 cxad6 Now Black will lose the exchang however he has the bishop pair and also two extra pawns. Should White decide to recover one of the pawns with 18.03 Wi8 19.801, then, after 19..0¢6 20.8xf7+ xt? 21.8xi7+ stxi7 22.8xd6 28, the position looks fine for Black. A’ bishop pair plus @ pawn majority, an extra pawn on the queenside, provides Black with excellent play. I like Black here and this is definitely not what Wesley would ‘want! So, the question remains: “What did he want?” 17.06 cxd6 17..,8%xd6 Is better for White, as Black’s pieces are poorly coordinated after 18.263, 18.2xf7 Bxf7 19.Db5 d5?1 In our stem game (from 26 years ago!), Black reacted betier with 19...‘%e6! and so this is the second critical moment. assume that Wesley analyzed 20.2xc5! (Kozul went wrong and got the worse position after 20.Wb3+ 8/6 21.2d1 Be6 22.83 Ac8 23.243 04 24.22 6 25.Wa3 87. For the exchange, Black has the bishop pair, two extra pawns, good piece coordination, and ‘went on to win in Z.Kozul (2560) ‘M.Wahls (2525), Novi Sad (ol) 1990) 20.86 21.0¢7+ 6 She dream team’s dream carne trUet Photo by Andreas Kontoxanis.fe (x a a5 mee wa oe * - ewan Here, however, I assume that Wesley found a White advantage in: A) 22.b4 dxc5 (22... 287? 23.2e8++-) 23.2)xa8 Wxb4 24.02; or B) 22.0)xa8 Wxc5+ 23.212 6 24,82, From the perspective of theoretical research, I think that 16..a6, which ‘would have been a novelty, and the stem game move 19..2e6!, are ideas that KID aficionados need to focus on. 20.8xc3 Now White is better 20...2e6 21.0c7 dxed 22.Wc2! Wad+ 22..b6!, sacrificing a second exchange, was probably Black's only and indeed last chance (0 stay in the game: 23.214 e31 24.0ixa8 WxaB a a Auta - a a a & a as BES 25.7 sb with 26...2d5 10 follow and Black is still in the game, but not 25... cof 26,d3+ 2d5? 27.Wa3+ which wins for White. 23,doh1 Bd8 Now 23...b6 is no longer the same with the black queen on d4 since then 24.2xe6 ©xe6 25.5c4 #47 26.8/xe4 wins, 24,fxe4 Another way for White to win js 24.0\xe6 cixe6 25.fxe4 gd 26.53 (or 26.%c7 like in the game) 26. £3. 27.0xf3!+- gxf3_ 28.8b3+ chd6 (28.556 29.8xf3+) 29.Bea, 24.34 25,Exe6 dexeG The black king js too exposed. White has many tactical ‘motifs, and Wesley So executes with a steady hand! 26.8c7 bS 27.84b3+ z 4 5 @ $4 “ WOODEN CHESS SETS = #2 THE BEST CHESS SET IS RIGHT HERE ‘With precise play, White takes advantage of Black’s exposed king and the overall poor coordination of the black pieces. 27.8206 Or 27..<866 288 g3! Ed? 29.Whd+ 17 30.3xd7 Wxd7 31.8xh7 winning. 2B.De2 After 28.2c1 the black king finds himself in a mating net: 28...¥xed (28..Wad 20,87) 29.03!" gxf3 3o.Hfd1+ Qd5 31.gx63. 28...a4 29,We3 she6 30.Bel Ha6 30...807 31.3xd7 xd7 32.0b4+~, 31.0b4 Wa6 32.045 BA7 4 Hew O22 We a Db Saba w AA A& & S] As stated earlier, an execution in chess is always tactical! 330x441 exfd 34.0b3+ 3A..cb16 35,05+ Wxes 36.205. shes 35.8xb5+1 After first collecting an extra pawn, So liquidates into a won endgame. 35...che6 36.b3+ shes. 24 HRM Sh w & Abe & 37.8¢3+! This is the most human-like ‘way to win the game, Your computer will show you 37.2xd7 Wxd7 38.7 216 39.8h5+! eG 40.8544 winning, but that is not how the human brain works. Ie 37..d0e6 38.8xd7 Axc3 39.Bxd6+ ‘Sbxd6 40.bxc3 a a 6 e aa & Ze ; 24 ‘The stormisover and White has managed to liquidate into a won endgame. 40.,8e5 41.8b1 De6 42.867 £3 43.gxf3 gxf3 44.87 10 This game was an early signal that it ‘was going to be a great Olympiad for Wesley So! ‘AMERICAN C1 @™OLYMPIA | GM Sam Shankland The last few Olympiads have proved to be very different experiences for the winning teams. Sometimes, a team just cruises straight through with clean chess the whole way. This was definitely the case for China in 2014. when they only lost one individual game over the course of the entire tournament Other times, teams have much more up and down swings. as was the case for me and the rest of Team America at this year’s Olympiad in Baku Right from the get-go, we had a tougher time than expected, For instance, I got into serious ‘rouble in our Round 2 match with Scotland: A34 Round 2, Scotland-USA wk 2 x 4 AW aa 24 a a13...d5? A terrible move, based ‘on an elementary oversight. Black has a very pleasant position and only hhas to watch out for one thing ~ the b3-b4 advance, And I blundered right into it! Black is pleasantly better after a simple move like 13...2b8. 14.b4! and here T realized that my intended ..e4 fails. 14...exb4 Nota good move, but it’s hard to suggest anything else. I thought Black was completely winning, here, by 14.04? 15.dxe4 Ddxba 16.axb4 Oxb4 17.Wb3 £e6 since Wa3 falls to c+, and otherwise the a4 knight cannot be saved. But 1 missed that after the rather simple 18.¥xb4! it's time to resign. 14..c2b8 might have been the lesser ‘evi, but after 15.bxc5 b5 16.0c3 x13 17.exf3 Dixc3 18.8xc3 2xc5 19.0-0 1 thought White would easily deliver mate along the hi-a8 diagonal 15.Wxc6+ Wxc6 16.2xc6+ bb7 17.84) £xf3 18.2x63 b5 gs i aa a ae & ws a) & AW ae 19.axb4! I missed this when I went for exb4, 19..bxa4 By some miracle I held this position, 19...bxc4 20.dxe4 would win for White, 20,8202 aG 21,8xd5 Bxd5 22.83 bs 23.8c7 Bd6 24.8c5+ Lb6 25.Bal @b7 26.2xa4 Bb6 27.245 Bd6 28.05 BdB 29.21c4 29.d4! would hhave been decisive 29..f¢7 30.2xd8 fxd8 31.845 Bd6 32.8xd8 Bxd8 33,22c3 b6 34.24 3d6 35.h4 h5 a a a *& © a A a ry ea a A é FF a 36.g4? 36.{4 should still win, 36...xgd37.Bxgd Bd5 _38.8xg7 Bd4+39.coc3 Beha 40.817 84 41.63 DQxbS 42.8xa7 heb 43.2g7 ds 44.2g4 Bf5 45.2a4 h5 46.64 Bh2 47.BaG+ e7 48.fxe5 fxe5 49.e4 BhB 50,84 8d851.2h6 Draw Luckily, my teammates played much better than I did that day and we won 3M, In Round 3 we met Argentina, and once again we had a very lucky escape in one game, AO9 ed pia fener a) Round 3, USA-Argentina 64.072 Hikaru was suffering and basically lost from an early stage, but finally he got his chance to save half point. Correct was 64,5!, a5 White needed to make an escape square for his king. IF then 64..exf5, 65.07! does ‘work as 65...ic1 can be met by 66.Exc1 Exe2+ 67.50g31 64.1! 65.Bxcl 65.c8!? Axd3+ 016 CHESS OLYMPIAD 6,sbg3 Axel and Black even wins! And after 65, e3 c2! Black takes the c7 pawn and holds easily. 65...2xe2+ 66.0211 Bh2 and Black has 4 perpetual, ust in time to save the day. 67.sbg Hag?+ 68.261 B12+ 69.bg1 Bhg2*70.8h1 Bh2+ Draw Once again, an American drew a hopelessly lost position, and the rest of his team bailed him out. We won the ‘match 3-1, spearheaded by fine victories by Wesley’So and Fabiano Caruana. Moving on to Round 4, we ceded our first match point. The Czech Republic played an excellent match, holding level on all four boards throughout. 1 ‘was particularly frustrated never to get anything going on board 4 with Black against a 2500 player, but my opponent essentially played a perfect gam In Round 5, we dispatched Serbia. This time Hikaru was the hero of the match, ‘winning quickly against Robert Markus when the latter overlooked a tactical strike: B42 enero Ey fren Round 5, Serbia-USA Xie 2a 42 22 2 a a AB wy A a - AA e 21,..¥d8?? Alter 21...2h6 Black seems ‘o be absolutely fine as he has no major weaknesses and his pieces are very active and well placed. 22.@xg6! and Black resigned on the spot, sinceif the knight is taken 22..%86 then 22.843, whereupon 23..0de5 is met by 24.265, and 23...th7 by 24.05! a2016 CHESS OLYMPIAD \Weclinched the matchby 2¥4-¥sreasonably ey, but the last game realy dragged on for @ long time. This time, it was Fabiano ‘who made a miraculous escape. A40 Sa OB & x 44..88a7? This is asking for trouble Afier 44..21a7! 45.8b5 2a2+ 46.23 'Sh8 Black israther passive buthis position should hold together prety easily. 45.8xh7! Bxh7 46,2xal_ White is winning here, but he misses his chances. —— ee {b7 47.b2 Hb8 48.2c2 Bb7 49.\b1 bd5 50.2d2 Bc7+ 51.203 Bb7 52.hc3 Be7+ 53.0c4 Bb7 x a a we 88 5 & ag # 54.Qd2 54.c4+! would have ended things rather quickly: 54...cbe6 (54...fxed 55,f5 oxf5 56.96 tre6 57:h7 88 58.97) SSexf5+ gxf (65..af5 56.Dxd6+ tbxfa 57.2ixb7) 56.06 6 57.97 Ebs 58.Dxd6 Shg6 59. x65 — S4nic7+ 55.bd3 Bel 56.b4 Bdl 57.e2 Bhi 58.0f1 ced 59.012 sbxbd 60.chg2 Bhs a acd a5k “ A & & &) 61.02? Missing the last chance for a full point, 61.253 Bh4 62.08! fred 63.5 axf5 G4Oxt5 BhS (64... 94+ 65 293!) (65.253! Bhs (65...Ex05 66.47) 66.2xe4! and White wins. However this is very hard to find when playing on the time increment. 61.25 62.03 kds 63.%g3 hes 64.ad4+ G7 65.Db5 he7 66.092 Bhd 67.2c7 7 68.0d5 Bed= 69.0843 Bgl 70.che2 Bal 71.03 HaS 72.shd3 Bc5 73.22d4 Bas 74.204 Draw ‘Next up in Round 6 was Ukraine. While Caruana won the only decisive game of the match [Page 34], I think itwas really ‘won on boards 2 and 4, where Hikaru and 1 each saved unpleasant positions. ‘My game in particular looked really bad at some point, but 1 managed to find a precise sequence to hold on, D87 Round 6, USA-Ukraine & A b> 33,2b7! Black seems to be in serious trouble here. The b6 paven is about to fall and the d-pawn is ready to advance. However, 1 was able to find a precise ‘way to fight back and hold a draw. 33...Bg5+! 33.005 34.06 Had5.35.Exd5 28M FALL-wareR enie/e017‘Bxd5 36.2xb6 looked lost to me. 34,0h3 Bh5+1 And it’s not so easy to find a hiding place for the king. 35,93 35 lig a5! and here we see the Aifference—the king will be vulnerable on g4. 36.06 Had 37-Hxd5 ExdS 38.2xb6 d4+! An important resource. Black wins the ad pawn and holds easily. 35..Hg5+ 36,013 36:82 BhS+ 37.e1 a5 38.06 Zad5 39.xd5 Exd5 40,Exb6 f6 and here the white king is alittle t00 far away so Black should not loose. 36...2f5+ 37,he2 Hes+ z bee » e 38.11 38, 13 was the last chance to Wesley So (b. 1993) Board 3 / Rtg: 2782 / Rp: 2896 Score: 8's out of 10 (+7=3-0) play for a win, but it was definitely very risky. 38...{ixf2 39.d6 Sxp2 40,Zixb6 h5 and things get very messy. Whose pawns are better of faster? I have no idea, 38...8fe5! And White cannot stop ‘ed, saving the game. 39.g3 White would be relly asking fort after 39.8 Set 40,2 2802+ 41.43 Figl. Black's position looks far easier to play, but the computer still manages to hold on. 39..Bed! 40,843 Bxad 41.863 B68 42.2xb6 Bd4 43,8d6 h5 44.8292 Draw After six rounds, there was only one team left on a perfect score of 12 match points ~ India, We got our chance to take a crack at them in Round 7, and realistically it should have been a tied match, Fablano and 1 both got into massive trouble, and Hikaru and Wesley both won clean games, But this is where resilience and tenacious defense paid off — in two lost positions, Fabiano and I scored 1/2! A match that should have been drawn turned into a blowout. C83 fencae ered 21.4)d2?! A step in the wrong direction 21.@)h4! would have been extremely strong, Black looks basically lost after 21..dxhd 22.8xhd B45 23.2021 Exes 2ABxeS EineS 25.14 Ded 26,5 2xf5 27.gxf5 Hxf5 28.2xc4 bred 29.84 g4 as the piece should easily win the game. Ray Robson (b. 1994) Board 5 / Rtg: 2674 / Rp: 2585 Score: 3 out of 5 (+2=2-1) 21.05 22.bxa5 BxaS 22...b4 looks like a better move to me. Also it stops White playing b2-b4. 23.Bxa5 Das 24.64 £5 25.exf6 Sxf6 26.82! Qed Perhaps 26..b4 27.5 £8 28.2e4 3! and Black is fighting back. 27.8xc4! bx Wk a 2 a a ae a") 28.g51 Seemingly out of nowhere, the 16 bishop is lost 28..Hxh3 29.813 hs 30 WA2 S02 31 gaf6 gxf632 We? Be6 33.00h2 eB 34.Bal 34.473 looks winning to me. 34.86 35.e4? Leting Black off the hook. Chess tough game in time trouble,30 1016 CHESS 35...lxed! 36,0xe4 36...2£31 And now the d-pawn becomes ‘ problem. 37.012 3% 39.sbf2 Exal @d2 Bh6+ 38.teg1 hie 37..d2 38.a7 Bh6+ 39.ah4 die 40.xd1 Bxd1 41.cg3 Lge 42.65 Led 43.8xc7 203 44.805 BhS 45.0x16 Bxf5 46.815 Draw In Round 8, we faced the top-seeded Russia. Our charmed life finally ended, and our undefeated streak came 10 close as we finally lost a game, Ray Round 4 Bo 2 United States of America 4 GM __ Nakamura, Hikaru - Git I So, Wesiey zi GM Shankland, Samuel = GM J Robson, Ray = Round 2 Bo 63. Scotland 5 1 IM Greet, Anew i 5 2. GM Bil show doin 3 3 GM. MeNab, Calin A z 4 FW BB Gouroy, en 5 Round 3 Bo 2 United States of America — 41GM) (Caruana, Fabiano = GM MM Nakamura Hikars GM ‘So, Wesley = GM I Robson, Ray = 5 OLYMPIAD Sg misplayed a level ending against Alexander Grischuk, and the former 2800 player was merciless in his execution. C67 eee Grischuk Round8, USA-Russia 34.401? White must notallow his queen to become passive 34.He5! should just bea draw. 34..@e41 Already White’s position Tooks very difficult. 88 Andorra 40 1 ll Aoma vide Rober 1-0 GM ‘De La Riva Aguado, Oscar 1-0 [il Ferande: Lopez, loan 1-0 FM Garcia Paci, Reul 1-0 2 United states of america %:3%4 GM [I coniana, Fabiano Ot GM Nakamura, Hikaru O-t GM [I shankand, samuolk 4% GM Robson, Ray on 25-Argentina on GM [Perain.Femando 1-0 GM Mareco, andro we OM [Perez Ponsa, Federico 1-0 GM Flores, ego wh 35.04 shg7 36.05 36...gxf4! White has to allow the black (queen to invade, 37.gxf4 37.xtd Wedd is even worse. 37.<8ha! 38,2xe4? Losing immediately, but the position was already very tough to defend, White can struggle on with 38,3, but Ido not envy his situation. 38..fxed 39.812 Hxf2+ 40.cxf2 Sbf6, 41.93 IS 42.h3 h5 43.h4 e3 44.13 2 45.xe2 xf 46.243 bea White resigned ‘This was our first loss, but definitely not our last. Each time one of us came up shor, his teammates picked up the slack. This time, Wesley was the hero, scoring a fine win over Ian Nepomniachtchi. Atthis point, our confidence wasnotatits highest. We had been in trouble so many times over the course of the event and somehow emerged unscathed, that it felt Tike we were holding on to a thread just before finally crashing down. But this despair was short-lived, as our shakiest spotso far, board 4, rapidly turned things around the next day. | won a fine game over Frode Urkedal in Round 9 to help usreach a 3-1 win over Norway. B94 Round 9, Norway-USA ed A bit of a surprise. Urkedal has been a 1.d4 player all his life, and while he had experimented with Led in this FALL-WINTER 2016/2017event, somehow I did not think he would play it against me. 1..c5 2.03 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.0xd4 Bi6 5.23 a6 6.g5 Qbd71? A double-edged move, trying to retain more play on the board with less forcing Tine. 6.6 is far more common. 7. e2 h6 8.2h4 g61? x sWee & & BDhe a & BAe a AR AT WAAR a Sa 2 An interesting move. Surprisingly, the point is not to develop the bishop to 7, but rather to control the £5 square and prepare eS, 9.0-0-071 This is inaccurate. 9.f4! — now and only now! If White does not play this here, he will never be able to do so, Following 9..5! (9...2g7? 10.e5 Jeaves Black in a bad way) 10.fxe5! dxe5 11.0-0. x 2Wee © a & a a aba the position is very complicated, but 1 believe White can fight for an advantage 1 actually won a nice game here with colors reversed in Biel just last month, Black can continue 11...%¢7 but not Hwexdd? 12.054, 9.051 10.463 11's to0 late for 10.642, eg. 10..exd4 11.e5 dxc3! and since White has not been able to get in fxe5, Black has an additional resource: 2exi6+ e5!, This would not be possible in the 8.4 line. Then after 13,fxe5 &e6F White is in big trouble. 10...8e7 =z fhe z 4 Ase a & BAe Now we have a reasonably. standard looking English Atack, butwitha couple ‘of exceptions. Firstly, White's. pieces look a bit strange ~the &h4 and We2 are not realy effectively placed if compared to their normal positions on the e3 and 2 squares. Secondly, Black still has his bishop on cB instead of e6. Normally this would mean White can play a4, to freeze the queenside and castle short, but since he has already castled long, this is not possible. The position is about equal but I would prefer to be Black. Round 4 Bo 2 United States of America 1 GM Canene, Fabiano = 2 GM MM Nakamura. Hkarw = 3 GM 8, Wesley 3 4 GM BMJ Shantiond, Samuelk Round 5 Bo 24 Serbia = 1 GM ___Wwanisevie, van - 2. GM fi Markus, Robert : 3. GM Sadak, Nola z 4 GM MB nj, Noksandor Round 6 Bo 2 United States of America 1TCGM) (Gavia Fabiano = 2 GM [MM Nakamura, Hkay 3 GM 0, Wesley 2 4 GM BM Sharkiand, samuel — © 11,21 11.44 would be the strategically desirable move, greatly restricting the & bishop by preventing ..b7-b5. But since White has already committed his king to 1, Black can happily go ...b7~ 5 anyway, sacrificing a pawn: 11.05! Taxb5 axbS 13 ixb5 (13.UXxb5 0-0 14.Me6 Ba7 with fine compensation for the pawn) 13..85 14.£¢3 cS and ‘White's position is coming under ire. 11.bS 12.03 12.,.84e7! Black was not yet ready 10 develop the bishop, 12...267? 13.8xf6! Dxi6 14.05! 206 15.843 and White has solved the problem of the b3 knight, ‘which will soon come to b4 and di, 17 Czech Republic 22 GM [BB Navara, David eh GM __Laznicka, Viktor ‘% GM [BB Hracek, Zbynek th IM Plat, Votech eh 2 United States of America 1:3 GM [Bll cavane, Fabino 1435 GM Nakamura, Hikaru oa GM [I s0, Wesley oa GM Robson, Ray Yeh 5 Ukraine GM [BM Elianov, Pavel GM Ponomatiov, Ruslan 4% OM Bi Kryoruchko, Yury 46 GM Korobov, Anton ar ".2 2016 13.£3 22f8! The king will be best placed on g7, and the rook on hi. After 13..0-0 would have to play 287 anyway, and the rook will not be 50 well placed to stop moves like g4, hd, 95 14.82 &g7 15.h4 This was my first move out of preparation, andthe first critical moment of the game. I had to decide where to put my pieces. 15...b6! Once I played this move 1 knew ..2b7 would always be met by Bas. So, it was quite committal! But ultimately it seems e6 will be a betier square for the bishop. 15...2b7 16.24 Sad8 looked less effective to me. I don’t think it will be easy to carry out the ..d6-d5 advance, and I'm not really pressuring the queenside. 16.g3? This feels way too slow. White wants to play 2h3 and trade the light- squared bishops, but in concrete terms Black is too fast. 16.g4! is best. Of course White has to fight on the kingside, although I don’t envy his position after A) 16..2c4!, Beier is 17.43! (If I7.Lel Be6 18.843 Dd7! stopping 85, and Black is much better) 17...8e6 18Od5 xd5 19.exd5 247 when 1 ‘would take Black, although there isa lot of play left. ‘B) Upon 16...806 17.8h3 B1) 17...0f07 White is definitely fighting since if B2) 17..2a4!?, which [wanted to make work during the game but did not quite ‘manage, then 18.2e1! and White holds everything together. (However other moves fail, e.g, 18.204? bad 19,2d2 EabB and it looks like death for White; or 18.,d52 £xd5 19.exd5 3! winning.) 16...2b81 HESS OLYMPIAD since Black is ready to start pouncing, with moves like .. a4 or .. ed, 17.xb6 17.8h3 Hed and 18...2x03 is a serious threat, 18.21 is then met by 18...a5!, the point of ..2b8. The pawns are rolling and White’s king will soon perish, 17...84xb6 ze 18.8h3 18:He1 is a lithe more resilient, but White is still much worse, e2,18..b4 19.axb4 Wxbd 20.245 Zixd5 21 exc5 WOOF. 18...a5! Now White is absolutely Round 7 8. 8 India GM Harsha, Pertala Gm [| Achibon,Baskaron GM Vit, Saniosh Guat Gm [lf sethuoman,sP. Round 8 Bo 1 Russia zi GM) Karjakn, Sergey = Gm [Kramnik Viadimr GM Nepomniaehchi, lan = GM MM Gischuk Alexander — crushed. Black's queenside attack plays itself, 19.0xc8 Ehxc8 20.045 Dxd5 21.Bxd5a422.0c1 b423.axb4 Bxbs 24.243 Bc3 25.che1 Wed 26,8h2 a3 27.bxa3 Wa2 28.d1 Eb1+ 29.Acl ‘Bxa3 30 Wid2 Wxf3+ 31.262 Bxg3 White resigned In the penultimate round against Georgia, we stumbled again, Hikaru lost 2 United States of America 14:3% GM [| consane,Fationo 4% GM Nakamura, Hikaru o4 GoM BB So, Wesley on GM Shankland, Samuel 0-1 2 United States of America 2:2 GM [Ml canana.Fetiono 4% GM Nakamura, Hikaru hh GM [IIE So, Wesley ot GM Robson, Ray +0 FALL-WINTER 2016/2017a tough game to the much lower-rated Mchedlishvili, and with the white pieces [Page 52]. But, once again we were able to pick up the slack when one of our teammates lost. 1 won almost straight ‘out ofthe opening, and Wesley clinched the match for us with a victory almost as trivial AO9 Meer Round 10, USA-Georgia x WwW fe aa BAe mM & bb 4 a & ARAMARK A ABBA sw 22 12..f6 13.8442? Black already had a very comfortable position, but this is a ound 9 Bo 2 United States of America — 4 GM) canvane,Fableno |= 2 GM MM Nakamura, ikaw = 3 GM So, Wesley = 4° GM MJ Shaniiand, Samuel ound 10 80 20 Georgia E 1 GM. dobava, Badr = 2 GM Mf Menedisnvi Mikot = 2) See 4 GM MM Soniszo, 1. ound 11 Bo 2 United States of America — eM) (Ganuana Fabiana = 2 GM MJ Nskamua ttkaw 3 GM So, Wesley 5 4 GM BI Sharkiand, Samuel = e We did not play perfectly and everyone stumbled at some point, but this just inspired others to work even harder to make up for the deficit.” big step in the wrong direction. 13..a41 14.862? 144? ed! is the point. White could instead play 14.e4! with a view to following up with d2-d4, T would sill prefer Black but objectively it's close to equal 14...axb3 15.axb3 b5! 16.2e3 12. Norway 3A GM [I carisen, Magnus, ‘A GM Hammer, Jon Ludvig 1-0 GM J Teri, Aryan hh GM Urkedal, Frode 10 2 United States of America 1%:2% Gut [lf coruana, Fabiano 14 GM Nakamura, Hikaru 10 Gt I so, Wesiey 4 GM Shankland, SamuelL 0-1 25 Canada 21% GM Bl Barcev, Evgeny 10 GM Kovalyov, Anton %% GM JIBP Lesiege, Alexandre 10 GM Hansen, Eric o 16,..a5! and White loses a pawn for absolutely nothing. Wesley’s conversion ‘was clean and merciless: 17.8fb4 Dxb3 18.085 hxgs 19.2.xa8 5 20.8xc5 Wxa8 21.8xb5 Océ 22, d6 \bd423.2xd4Dxd424.8b2 8d8 25.Wb6 £5 26.8fb1 £4 27.2c4 e4 28.e3 fxe3 29.fxe3 exd3 30 exd4 xed 31.896 Was 32 112 Badd 33.8bb2 Wes 34.8bd2 8d6 35.815. Wes 36.811 Wad2 37.We8+ £h7 White resigned ‘The final round was very stressful for us, With a massive score of 18 match points from 20 possible, in any other year we ‘would easily have been clear frst, going into the final game. But this year was different, After losing to us, Ukraine had really stayed focused on the gold medal throughout and won match after match to reach the same 18 points as us ~ and a tie for first. Our tiebreaks were better, but this can change in the blinking of an eye. lost to Eric Hansen in a dreadful ‘game which will give me nightmares for a long time 0 come and in fact ended my 17-game undefeated streak at two Olympiads [Page 45]. While I had more than pulled my weight before, often carrying the team through tough rounds, this time it was my turn to be carried. ‘Wesley and Fabiano both won excellent ‘games, and Hikaru’s heroic defense on board 2 clinched a 2/:-1¥ victory for us. When all was said and done, we were finally true World Champions after a 79 year hiatus. We did not play perfectly and everyone stumbled at some point, but this just inspired others to work even harder to make up for the deficit, Ultimately every individual member fon the team came through when it was requited of them, and I think we got the medal we deserved. .2016 CHESS OLYMPIAD fi I 1 Round 6, USA faced Ukraine, who were in a three way tie with India and the Netherlands, all ona perfect score of 10110 match points. Ukraine had already beaten both Russia and China and proved to the chess world that they were unquestionably serious contenders. If Ukraine could hold off the Americans, their hopes of a gold medal would be bright as they had already played the top three seeded teams. It was dificult to predict atthe time, but this sixth round showdown tumed out to be the most import B31 eae ed Pavel Eljanov ] Round 6, USA-Ukraine re 1.e4 5 Perhaps this surprised Caruana, a8 Eljanov had opted for 1..€5 oF 1..c8 in recent practice. 2.213 De6 3.805 g6 4.Bxe6 bre6 atch of the Olympiad. More popular nowadays than 4,.xc6, 5.0-0 297 6Rel DhG There was a debate regarding this position in an Inarkiev - Gelfand match game. On the other hand, 6...f6 was chosen by Kasparov in blitz. 7.25 0d5 8.c4 c7 9.4 cexd4 10.8xd4 De6 11.Wh4 d6 12.2c3 (12.exd6 Wxd6 13.23 And White's game is preferable in view of Black's poor bishop on cB.) 12..dxe5 13.2ixe5 M6 14,03 h6 15.263 g5 16.€ed 0-0 17.82 | AM SO PROUD o- TEAM “In an almost fully representative world class field, the American team has made a major historical breakthrough by winning the gold medal at the Chess Olympics. Our grandmasters performed extraordinarily well in key matches and topped the table despite meetingsome extremely tough opposition, | am so proud of Team USA and it has been so inspiring to have had the opportunity of interacting with these great players and learning from them. | know how hard it was for the Americans to win in Baku, even though they were one of the favourites, but their Olympiad triumph has now sent a powerful message that US Chess is destined for a most promising future” {5 18.Bad1 Me7 19,044 Oxd4 20,0xd4 5 21.85 Be8 22.806 WET 23.c5 edo FCanuana (2795) - G.Kasparov (2812), Saint Louis (blitz) 2016. 7430-0 x 2W a we B.h3 8.d4 cxdd 9.cxd4 d5 1005 16 11.exf6 (White might have more hopesby GM Jeffery Xiong, 2016 World Junior 0 Do you see yourself as a member of the US Olympiad team in two years? [followed every round of the Olympiad toumament closely and have certainly fantasized about representing ‘Team USA myself ~ and scoring points in every game! Each place in the team has to be eared and with Ray Robson and Sam Shankland being so strong, as well as other possible contenders, the competition will be fierce. But tis is a good thing as we are pushing each other to become better and better and anybody who eventually ‘makes the team will inevitably be extremely strong, Anyway I will do my best to achieve my ambition, What steps do you intend to take to achieve your goal of becoming one of the very top rated players in the world? am in the Young Star Program that former world champion Garty Kasparov and his team developed and which is managed under the sponsorship of the St. Louis Chess Club and Scholastic Genter. GM Babak Annakov has been coaching me since I was seven years old and there are several other GMs and very capable chess people who have always been there to help me. So I am in good hands and all I need to do is to bear down and consistently work hard, then good things will happen. To what extent do you think all these latest successes will impact on US chess in general? What expectations for the future do you and your chess community have? ‘These successes have certainly generated new momentum for American chess. But this isthe result of many ‘years effort by many people. Jean and Rex Sinquefield have made a huge difference, Also Bill Goichberg and all the universities have been instrumental in the development of the game in the US. Of my 31M norms and 3. GM norms, I got 4 from Continental Chess Association tournaments and 2 from UT Dallas. This is a very different situation from that of many years ago when American players felt they had to go to Europe for norm opportunities, However, American chess is still lagging behind. There is a lot of work to be done. If mote people with Vision, like the Sinquetields, invest in chess, a sport with outstanding educational benefits, then I think it wll play its part in making America a better society. of achieving something here with 10.d3 10.44 allows Black to open up 11,0bd2!?) “U1..exi6 12Dbd2_Ze8 13.3 O17 14S Bed 15.Exe8+ Wxe8 16h3 Qxf3_ 17.813 | Wel+ 18,22 2g5 19,¥e3 He 20.202 We2 + was E.lnarkiev (2730) - B.Gelfand (2734), Magas (im/1-rapid) 2016. 8.65 9.05 O47 x 2W kw a aeaca a a a Ra the b7-g2 diagonal, after which White's light-squared bishop will suddenly be dearly missed: 10..cxd4 LL.oxd4. 867 12.803 5 13.dxc5 We7 14,814 xcs 15. Wxd7 &xf3 16.gxt3 Hod 17.6 Wad 1G.exf7+ Ext? 19.005 Was+ 20.f1 e5 21.We6 BafB 22.2acl hat LNepomniachtchi (2703) - G.Kamsky (2670), Sochi 2016, 10..8b8 Upon 10.86, 11.c4 blocks the bishop but also creates weaknesses. (However, Caruana was probably intending the same approach, 11.43, as he adopts in the game after 11..@a6,) Then 11.06 (if 11.46 12.06 8e5 13.@xe5 Gres 14.042) is a very clever idea by Mamedov who was going for a kingside attack after 12.23 95 13.263 13.96 (13.5 14.h4 94 15.095 DxeS 16.2xc5 Ag6 17.93 Be8 18.404 &b7 19.864 2a6 20.¥4a3 &b7 21.8b4 Sas 22.8103, 2b7 23.8b4 4-4 Inarkiev - Gelfand) “I4bxg4 fxg 15.Qh2 g3 16.fxg3 @xe5 17.2xcS dG 18.2e3 EB 19.8d2 c5® R Kasimdzhanov (2703) - R.Mamedov (2655), Almaty (blitz) 2016,