Blitz boys’ battle
WHAT happens when two GMs with big personalities and even bigger egos meet over the chessboard? Great spectator chess. This is the summary of an encounter between the two strong GMs: Norwegian Jon Ludvig Hammer (2631) and Canadian Eric Hansen (2629). Hammer acted as Magnus Carlsen’s main second for his 2013 World Chess Championship match against Anand, which Carlsen won 6.53.5. Hansen is well known for his blitz and especially bullet chess prowess, sitting among the world’s best. This rapid game was played on June 26 last year, as part of the qualifiers for the 2018 Chess.com Speed Chess Championship.
1 d4 Nf6
2 c4g6
Hansen goes into the King’s Indian Defence (KID).
3 g3 Bg7
4 Nf3 d5
Hansen transposing into a NeoGrunfeld Defence.
5 cxd5 Nxd5
Hammer chooses the Exchange Variation.
6 Bg2 OO
7 OO
From 2477 Master’s games in the Chess.com database, the move 7 OO offers 40% White wins,
38% draw, 21% Black wins.
7 —Nc6
8 Nc3 Nb6
9 e3
Defending d4 and adopting a calm flexible setup. This is better than 9 d5 Na5, 10 Qc2 (10 b4? Bxc3) c6, 11 dxc6 (11 b4? Nd5! where the tactics are working for Black) Nxc6, where Black is very comfortable. 9 —Re8
10 a3 a5
11 Qc2
Planning Rd1 and to expand in the centre.
11 —a4
Trying to clamp down on White and with ideas of Na5—>b3.
12 Rd1 Be6??
Hansen, clearly out of his preparation, makes an uncharacteristically basic tactical error.
13 d5!
Exploiting the resulting pin against the queen on the dfile!
13 — Nxd5
14 Ng5
Also good was the simple
14 e4 Ndb4, 15 axb4 Nxb4 (15 — Bb3, 16 Rxd8 Raxd8, 17 Qe2, crushing for White), 16 Qe2. Maybe Hammer didn’t go for this out of complications surrounding Bxc3 bxc3, where Black gets counterplay with the passed apawn.
14 — Bf5
15 e4! Nxc3
Hansen can’t simply trade down into a losing endgame. He takes a more practical approach and complicates matters by sacrificing his queen for a rook.
16 Rxd8 Rexd8
17 bxc3 Bd7
18 Bf4 e5
Hammer does a great job of provoking Hansen to close the centre by threatening the c7 pawn. 19 Be3 h6
20 Nf3 Be6
21 Nd2 Na5
22 Rb1 b6
23 Bf1 Bf8
24 Rb4! Nb3
If 24 — Bxb4 then 25 cxb4 Nb3, 26 Nf3 and Black will break down with no more fuel in the tank.
25 Nf3 f6
26 Bb5 c5
27 Rxa4 c4
Threatening 28 — Rxa4, 29 Bxa4 Ra8, 30 Bb5 Rxa3 with activity. 28 Rxa8! Rxa8
29 a4
10
Sadly, neither player qualified for the 2018 SCC, of which Hikaru Nakamura was the clear winner.
Solution: 1 Qxe5+! Kd8
(1 — Nxe5, 2 Nf6#! Also, 1 . . . Qe6, 2 Qh8+ Nf8, 3 Qxf8#), 2 Be7+ Ke8, 3 Nd6#. This is one of my favourite mateinthree problems. Each piece in the white camp works in tremendous harmony with the others, converging on and covering important attacking and escaping squares respectively.