Mamedyarov wins Biel
51st Biel ACCENTUS GM 2018
Biel, Switzerland
July 22-Aug. 1, 2018 Final Standings (all GMs)
1. Shakhriyar Mamedyarov AZE 2801, 7.5/10
2. Magnus Carlsen NOR 2842, 6.0/10 3-4. Maxime Vachier-Lagrave FRA 2779, Peter Svidler RUS 2753, 5.5/10
5. David Navara CZE 2741, 4.0/10
6. Nico Georgiadis SUI 2526, 1.5/10 Double Round-Robin Tournament with Ave ELO 2740 Category 20
Time Control: 100 minutes for the first 40 moves, then 50 minutes for the next 20 moves, followed by 15 minutes for the rest of the game. 30 seconds are added after every move starting move 1.
Great victory for Mamedyarov in the category 20
Biel tournament. He was undefeated with five wins and five draws, clinched the victory with a round to spare and defeated Magnus Carlsen in their individual game. The tournament finished on August 1 and so the games were not on time for the August rating list, but if we impute the gains and losses from this tournament the FIDE Top 5 list would read:
1. Magnus Carlsen NOR 2836
2. Fabiano Caruana USA 2822
3. Shakhriyar Mamedyarov AZE 2817
4. Ding Liren CHN 2797
5-6. Anish Giri NED 2780
5-6. Wesley So USA 2780
The gap between the world champion Magnus Carlsen and the world no. 2 and 3 is no longer as wide as before and it is no longer inconceivable that he can be unseated as chess king in the immediate future.
How do you beat the world champion? Perhaps we can find some hints in the following game.
The Fianchetto King’s Indian. A quick theoretical review from Colin McNab’s book on this line: “The development of the bishop on g2 has several features which result in the subsequent play being quite different from other lines of the King’s Indian. In White’s favor is the fact that his king’s position is very solid, hence a black onslaught on the kingside does not have high chances of success. Furthermore, the bishop exerts pressure on the center and in particular may provide useful support to a pawn on e4.
“The principal drawback of White’s fianchetto is that the absence of the bishop from the f1–a6 diagonal is often felt. Black finds it easier to prepare the advance ...b5, while the undefended state of White’s c-pawn is central to lines such as 6...Nc6 7.d5 Na5. Also White’s set-up is not immediately threatening and so Black is permitted a wide range of responses, which allows him to shape the future course of the game.”
6...c5 7.0–0 Nc6 8.e3
First Mamedyarov chooses one of the less aggressive lines of the King’s Indian and now plays a very conservative move which I find to be not in keeping with the spirit of the King’s Indian. I like GM Igor Stohl’s comment here (from a different game but this same positon) :This gives Black a very comfortable position. For example, nobody plays 7.d4 d6 and then 8.e3?!’
Why not go for the main line Yugoslav Attack 8.d5 Na5 9.Nd2 a6 10.Rb1 Rb8 11.b3 b5 which has been scoring very well for White? The answer to that is that Mamedyarov didn’t mind a draw – he just wanted a playable middlegame.
8...d5!
After the game both players remarked that this was a very good move. In fact, Carlsen went so far as to say that White has to look for equality here.
9.cxd5 Nxd5 10.Nxd5
The typical Gruenfeld move 10.e4 simply loses a pawn: 10...Nxc3 11.bxc3 cxd4 12.cxd4 Nxd4 . White’s loss of tempo with 8.e3 and then 10.e4 has allowed Black to put extra pressure on d4 with ...Nc6.
10...Qxd5 11.Ne5 Qd6 12.Nc4 Qc7 13.d5
Better than 13.dxc5 Rd8 14.Qa4 Bf5 when Black’s two bishops get really good positions.
13...Rd8
Mamedyarov: Here and on the next move Black could have played Nc6–e5 if he “wanted draw” but Carlsen, of course, “wanted win.”
14.Bd2 Nb4 15.Bxb4
GM Golubev pointed out in the Chessbase website that 15.e4! b5 16.Bf4! Qb7 (if 16...e5 17.d6! Qc6 18.Nxe5 Qxd6 19.Qxd6 Rxd6 20.Nxf7! leaves White up.) 17.Ne5! would have been strong for White.
15...cxb4 16.Rc1 a5 17.a3 bxa3 18.bxa3 a4 19.Qd3 Bf5?
Magnus Carlsen calls this move a “massive massive oversight.” Now it is really not as bad as he makes it sound, but it is a mistake nevertheless. The point is that after the moves ...
20.e4 Bd7 21.Qe3!
Carlsen: “I missed Qe3 and that tilted me a bit.” The threat of Nb6 with an attack on the a8–rook and the black queen is not so easy to parry.
21...Ra6 22.e5!
Now that White’s central pawn mass starting moving up the board. White is clearly ahead.
22...b5 23.d6 Qb8 24.dxe7 Re8 25.Rfd1 Rxe7 26.Qc5 Qf8?
It looks like Black’s only move to hold the position together is 26...Bf8. Other moves lose:
26...Rae6 27.Bd5 Rxe5 28.Nxe5 Rxe5 29.Bxf7+! Kxf7 30.Rxd7+ Kg8 31.Qc6 White is clearly winning; 26...Qd8 27.Qxb5!
27.Ne3!
Carlsen: “Then I am completely busted.” The threat Ne3–d5 forces Black to give up a pawn.
27...Be6
What else?
27...Bxe5? 28.Rxd7! Rxd7 29.Qxb5 Rad6 30.Qxe5 White’s two pieces ate more than a match for Black’s rook;
And 27...Qe8 28.Bb7 Rae6 29.Nd5 Rxe5 30.Nxe7+ Rxe7 31.Bc8! Bxc8 32.Qxc8 is just bad for Black
28.Qxb5 Raa7 29.Nd5 Bxd5 30.Rxd5 Reb7 31.Qd3 Rb8 32.h4 Qe8 33.Qd4 Qe7 34.f4 Bf8 35.Kh2 Rab7 36.Qxa4?!
Objectively speaking White should keep the queens on, as the remaining bishops are of opposite colors and as
BW readers know while in the endgame they give rise to drawish tendencies when it comes to the middlegame the opposite colors give the advantage to the attacking side. But this is in keeping with Shakh’s conservative approach to the game — he does not mind the game ending in a draw - he just doesn’t want to lose, and exchanging queens ensures that.
36...Qxa3 37.Qxa3 Bxa3 38.Rcd1
This endgame is not easy to win at all. Black’s plan should be to exchange off the rooks for with bishops remaining on the board it is a dead draw.
38...Be7 39.Kh3 Rc7 40.h5! gxh5 41.f5 f6 42.e6 Rb3 43.Rd7 Rbc3 44.Ra1 Kg7
Why didn’t Black exchange rooks? Because then he would have a forced loss with 44...Rxd7 45.exd7 Rd3 46.Ra8+ Kg7 47.Bc6 Rd6 48.Ba4 Rd4 49.Re8 Kf7 50.Bb3+.
45.Ra8 Kh6 46.Re8 Bb4 47.Rb8 Be7 48.Be4 R3c4 49.Bd5 R4c5 50.Be4 Rc4 51.Bd5 R4c5 52.Rb7 Rxd7 53.Rxd7 Ra5 54.Bc6 Ba3 55.Rf7
[55.e7? Re5 is a draw]
55...Re5 POSITION AFTER 55...RE5
56.Kh4!
Carlsen expected 56.Rxf6+ Kg5 57.Rf7 Bd6 when White can’t push through. The text move removes the important g5 square from Black’s king and now Black is in desperation mode.
56...Bc1?
Carlsen plays for a last-ditch trick which Mamedyarov does not fall for.
In reality the game is not yet lost and 56...Bc5! 57.Rxf6+ Kg7 58.Rf7+ Kh6 59.Bf3 Be3 followed by Bg5+
57.e7! 1–0
If Mamedyarov was careless and took the pawn then 57.Rxf6+? Kg7 58.Rf7+ Kh6 59.e7 Bg5+ and captures the pawn on e7.
Mamedyarov reined in his usual aggressive tendencies and played conservatively in the opening. Carlsen was playing for a win and over-reached after which Shak won a pawn. After that followed a complex middlegame and Shakh liquidated into a pawn-up endgame. It was not yet over though because Shakh had to show incredible endgame technique to push home the win. To win over the world champion you have to beat him thrice – in the opening, middlegame and then endgame.
That is the only way to do it.