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13th Monarch Assurance Isle of Man International
25 Sept - 3 Oct 2004
Last updated: Monday, August 21, 2017 5:47 PM
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Round 3 - 27 September 2004 - "Draws - But Good Draws"
Round 3: Li Ruofan vs Rowson and (right) Korchnoi vs Wells
John Saunders reports: After three rounds, the list of leaders has swelled to seven: Nakamura, Wells, Baklan, Chandler, Ghaem Maghami, Kulaots and, of course, Viktor Korchnoi. Round three was a grim attritional struggle as the big names locked horns for the first time, and only one of the top 12 boards was decisive. But that is no criticism of the players since only one of those could be termed a 'grandmaster draw' - the game between Nakamura and Ghaem Maghami. All the others were played out to the bitter end.
Two of the English players on the higher boards had to fight hard to gain the half point. Stuart Conquest looked to be a 'dead man walking' for some of his game against Milov but finally won a reprieve. Peter Wells also had to work hard: from his body language Viktor clearly thought he should have won. One spectator thought he heard him mutter something about '44 Qc2 [being] better than 42 Ka2 (and then I am winning' at the end of the game, but it is not entirely clear how this would have made a difference. However it looks like he missed a trick (or two) on move 39, so he had every reason to be displeased with himself.
Stephen
Gordon had what looked like the better game against Vladimir Baklan for
some time, but his attempts to stave off a kingside attack resulted in
a weakening of his position.
Gordon,S (2338) - Baklan,V (2595) [B31]
Monarch Assurance Isle of Man Port Erin IOM (3.10), 27.09.2004
1 e4 c5 2 Nf3 Nc6 3 Bb5 g6 4 0-0 Bg7 5 c3 Nf6 6 e5 Nd5 7 d4 Nc7 8 Ba4 cxd4 9 cxd4 0-0 10 Bf4 Nd5 11 Bg3 d6 12 Nbd2 Nb6!? [12 ..dxe5 is a safer option for Black but Baklan wants to provoke his opponent] 13 Bxc6 bxc6 14 exd6 exd6 15 Ne4 f5!? [Once again Black chooses the sharpest move, which sacrifices a pawn. He probably feels that, after 15 ..d5 the position is too easy to play for White] 16 Nxd6 f4 17 Nxc8 fxg3 18 Nxb6 gxh2+ 19 Kxh2 axb6 20 Qb3+ Kh8
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21
Ne5?! [White should play more conservatively with something like 21
Rac1 . Objectively Black has insufficient compensation for the pawn although
he does have some play.] 21 ..Qh4+ 22 Kg1 Bxe5 23 dxe5 Rf5 24 g3 Qg4
25 Rac1? [It's always easy to say these things after the event, but
maybe White should be brave and play 25 Qxb6 instead of trying to neutralise
Black's kingside attack. Then 25 ..Rh5? 26 Qxc6 and the queen goes back
to g2 to cover all the threats.] 25 ..Rh5 26 Rc4 Qh3 27 Rh4 Rxh4 28 gxh4
Qxh4 (Black has his pawn back now and there is still a threat to White's
king) 29 Qg3 Qxg3+ 30 fxg3 Rxa2 31 e6 Ra8 32 e7 Kg7 33 Rd1 [33 b4!
is better, threatening to play Rc1 and take the c-pawn: 33 ..Re8 34 Rc1
Rxe7 35 Rxc6 b5 36 Rc5 Rb7 gives White a sporting chance of a draw] 33
..Kf7 34 Rd6 Ra1+ 35 Kg2 Rc1 36 Re6 Ke8 37 Kh3 b5 38 Kg4 c5 39 Re5 h6 40
Kf4 [40 Re6 Rc2 41 Rxg6 Rxb2 42 Rxh6 Kxe7 wins for Black] 40 ..Rc4+
41 Kf3 b4 42 g4 Rc2 43 b3 Rc3+ 44 Ke4 Rxb3 45 Kd5 Rc3 46 Ke6 b3 47 Rd5 Re3+
48 Kf6 Rxe7 49 Rxc5 Rb7 50 Rc1 b2 51 Re1+ Kf8 0-1
Murray Chandler does not play much chess these days, but he proved to be well up to the task of grinding out a smooth win against Harmen Jonkman's Berlin Defence. It is of course mandatory for chess journalists to publish all Black losses in this opening, in the hope that we can discourage people from playing it.
Chandler,M (2531) - Jonkman,H (2425) [C67]
Monarch Assurance Isle of Man Port Erin IOM (3.13), 27.09.2004
1 e4 e5 2 Nf3 Nc6 3 Bb5 Nf6 4 0-0 Nxe4 5 d4 Nd6 6 Bxc6 dxc6 7 dxe5 Nf5 8 Qxd8+ Kxd8 9 Nc3 Bd7 10 Rd1 Kc8 11 Ng5 Be8 12 b3 b6 13 Bb2 Be7 14 Nge4 Kb7 15 Rd3 Rd8 16 Rad1 Kc8 17 g3 [17 h3 was played in Rowson-Miles, British Championship 2001, and ended in a draw] 17 ..h5 18 f3 a5 19 Bc1 Rxd3 20 Rxd3 Bd7 21 Ne2 c5 22 c4 a4 23 Kf2 axb3 24 axb3 Bc6 25 Bb2 Rd8 26 Rxd8+ Kxd8 27 Nf4 g6 28 Nd5 Ng7 29 h3 Ne6 30 Ke3
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(You have to have nerves of steel to play this defence. The suffering starts early on, and persists right through to the endgame, where White's simple plan is to win with the extra pawn on the kingside. Only rarely does Black realise his queenside majority. He has to concentrate all his energies on not letting those kingside pawns walk all over him. It might be OK for Kramnik but for ordinary mortals it is too stressful) 30 ..Bf8 31 f4 Bh6 32 Nef6 Bg7 33 g4 hxg4 34 hxg4 Bh6 (Black switches back to h6 to put pressure on the f4 pawn, in the hope that it will advance to g5. After that it would be much harder for White to win. But he has a better move) 35 Ng8! Bf8 [35 ..Bxd5? is impossible because of 36 cxd5 Bxf4+ 37 Ke4 winning a piece. Now the pawn advance continues.] 36 f5 gxf5 37 gxf5 Ng7 38 Kf4 Ne8 [38 ..Bd7 39 Ne3 Bc8 40 Kg5 c6 looks harder to break down but is still very difficult] 39 Kg5 b5 40 Nh6 Bxh6+ [An unfortunate necessity. After this the c5 pawn will ultimately be left without a defender. If 40 ..f6+ 41 Nxf6 Nxf6 42 exf6 bxc4 43 bxc4 Be8 44 f7! Bxh6+ 45 Kg6! cleverly dodges an opposite bishop scenario and ensures a win] 41 Kxh6 Bd7 42 Kg5 c6 43 Ne3 Ke7 44 Ba3 b4 (Inviting Black to lock up the queenside pawns, so that after relocating the bishop to e3, he will be ready to gobble up not one but two pawns on dark squares) 45 Bb2 Kf8 46 Ng4 Ng7 47 Nh6 Ne8 48 Bc1 Kg7 49 Ng4! [Not falling for Black's little trick: 49 Be3? f6+! 50 exf6+ Nxf6 when 51 Bxc5? cannot be played because of 51 ..Ne4+] 49 ..Nc7 50 Be3 (Now it is easy) 50 ..Na6 51 Nf6 Bc8 52 Ne8+ Kf8 53 Nd6 Bd7 54 Kf6 Nc7 55 Bh6+ Kg8 56 Ke7 1-0
Incidentally,
it was very remiss of me not to mention Dermot Murtagh's splendid win
against IM Steve Mannion in round two. Dermot's FIDE rating is only 1889,
having made 3/9 at last year's Monarch, and this was his best performance
by far. Well done to him. Here's the game.
Murtagh,D (1889) - Mannion,S (2333) [C28]
Monarch Assurance Isle of Man Port Erin IOM (2.37), 26.09.2004
1 e4 e5 2 Bc4 Nf6 3 d3 Nc6 4 Nc3 Na5 5 Qf3 c6 6 Nge2 d6 7 h3 Be7 8 0-0 Nxc4 (White is not unhappy at this capture which gives him a solid set-up in the centre and restrains a d5 advance for Black) 9 dxc4 Be6 10 b3 0-0 11 Rd1 Qc7 12 a4 Ne8 13 Ng3 [13 g4 g6 14 Bh6 Ng7 15 Ng3 f6 16 Kh1 was played in Philippe-Kuzmin, Biel 2002, and Black won] 13 ..g6 14 Bh6 Ng7 15 Nf5!? (A bold idea)
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15 ..Nxf5? [Black chickens out of 15 ..gxf5 but was there really anything much to fear? Fritz doesn't think so: 16 Bxg7 (16 Qg3 Bf6 holds comfortably) 16 ..Kxg7 17 exf5 Bd7 18 Ne4 f6 19 Rd3 and White doesn't seem to have much for his piece] 16 exf5 Bxf5 17 Bxf8 Rxf8 (Given the rating disparity, Black probably thinks an exchange for pawn sacrifice is a reasonable price to pay to buy off the kingside attack and keep things relatively simple. But it is not so easy) 18 Rd2 Be6 19 Re1 f5 20 Qe3 b6 21 f4 Bf6 22 Ne2 Re8 23 Red1 exf4 24 Nxf4 Bf7 25 Qf3 Be5 26 Kh1 Kg7 27 Re2 Rd8 28 Nd3 Bf6 29 Nf4 Qc8 [Not 29 ..Be5 because Black is still playing for a win] 30 Rde1 Be5 31 Nd3 Bc3 32 Rd1 Re8 33 Nf4 Be5 34 Nd3 Bf6 35 Rxe8 Qxe8 36 Re1 Qd7 37 Nf4 Be5 38 Nd3 Bc3? [A blunder. Black is fine after 38 ..Bf6 ] 39 Nc5! dxc5 [39 ..bxc5 is worse: 40 Qxc3+ Kg8 41 Qf6 Kf8 42 a5 and White has a winning advantage] 40 Qxc3+ Qd4 [40 ..Kg8 makes White work harder] 41 Qxd4+ cxd4 42 Re7 a6 43 Rc7 b5 44 Rxc6 bxc4 45 bxc4 (There's nothing more to say) 45 ..a5 46 c5 Be8 47 Rd6 Kf7 48 c6 Ke7 49 c7 Bd7 50 Rxd4 g5 51 c4 g4 52 hxg4 fxg4 53 c5 h5 54 c6 1-0
Grrrrrrr!
It's been a bit blowy here in the Isle of Man these last few days, but I've noticed the sun shining in through the window as I pen these lines. It's obviously time for me to take my morning constitutional. Talking of 'walkies', I haven't introduced you to the tournament mascot yet, have I? Hotel manager Jean Depin (himself a very good chess player, by the way) acquired a little dog last April called Scamp. He's a friendly, fluffy little guy (Scamp, not Jean... not that Jean isn't friendly too... oh, you know what I mean) and he seems to enjoy the company of all the top grandmasters. The only thing not to do with Scamp is to mention the name of a well-known English grandmaster, or he will savagely attack you and attempt to tear off your leg. I wonder who trained him to do that?
Round 3 Bd WHITE Result BLACK 1 NAKAMURA,Hikaru 2601 (2) ½ - ½ GHAEM MAGHAMI,Eh 2552 (2) 2 KORCHNOI,Viktor 2568 (2) ½ - ½ WELLS,Peter 2494 (2) 3 KULAOTS,Kaido 2593 (2) ½ - ½ SPEELMAN,Jon 2555 (1½) 4 CONQUEST,Stuart 2488 (1½) ½ - ½ MILOV,Vadim 2683 (1½) 5 SMIRIN,Ilya 2671 (1½) ½ - ½ HOLZKE,Frank 2492 (1½) 6 MOISEENKO,Alexan 2640 (1½) ½ - ½ PAVLOVIC,Milos 2498 (1½) 7 SPRENGER,Jan Mic 2477 (1½) ½ - ½ IORDACHESCU,Vior 2633 (1½) 8 ZHANG Zhong 2603 (1½) ½ - ½ RAMESH,Ramachadr 2484 (1½) 9 SKRIPCHENKO,Almi 2453 (1½) ½ - ½ AGREST,Evgenij 2602 (1½) 10 GORDON,Stephen 2338 (1½) 0 - 1 BAKLAN,Vladimir 2595 (1½) 11 LI Ruofan 2414 (1½) ½ - ½ ROWSON,Jonathan 2558 (1½) 12 KIRIAKOV,Petr 2555 (1½) ½ - ½ HANDKE,Florian 2461 (1½) 13 CHANDLER,Murray 2531 (1½) 1 - 0 JONKMAN,Harmen 2425 (1½) 14 AFEK,Yochanan 2325 (1½) 0 - 1 ROGERS,Ian 2588 (1) 15 VOLKOV,Sergey 2625 (1) 1 - 0 PLANT,Paul R 2107 (1½) 16 KOTRONIAS,Vassil 2608 (1) 1 - 0 MURTAGH,Dermot 1889 (1½) 17 GALLAGHER,Joseph 2541 (1) ½ - ½ RENDLE,Thomas 2258 (1) 18 ASHTON,Adam 2270 (1) 0 - 1 BERZINSH,Roland 2455 (1) 19 GROFFEN,Hans 2244 (1) 0 - 1 SCHNEIDER,Dmitry 2454 (1) 20 SARAKAUSKAS,Gedi 2442 (1) 1 - 0 ALLEN,Keith 2241 (1) 21 SPENCE,David 2236 (1) 0 - 1 MCNAB,Colin 2427 (1) 22 SMITH,Andrew P 2205 (1) 0 - 1 WILLIAMS,Simon K 2427 (1) 23 GRANT,Alan 2193 (1) 0 - 1 GRAFL,Florian 2411 (1) 24 HUTCHINSON,Norma 2176 (1) 0 - 1 PERT,Richard 2407 (1) 25 PEEK,Marcel 2406 (1) 1 - 0 MCPHILLIPS,Karl 2172 (1) 26 COLLIER,David O. 2168 (1) 0 - 1 GOTTSCHLICH,Cars 2382 (1) 27 HOUSKA,Jovanka 2375 (1) 1 - 0 LUTTON,J Ezra 2134 (1) 28 ADAMS,Phil 2124 (1) 0 - 1 BOSBOOM-LANCHAVA 2370 (1) 29 ARMBRUSTER,Alexa 2351 (1) 1 - 0 FOX,Anthony 2123 (1) 30 PIMMINGSTORFER,C 2116 (1) 0 - 1 HOWELL,David W 2334 (1) 31 COX,John 2314 (1) 1 - 0 VAN KEMENADE,Rud 2107 (1) 32 GREET,Andrew N 2310 (1) 1 - 0 NOORDHOEK,Henk 2095 (1) 33 MILLIGAN,Helen 2077 (1) 0 - 1 KOLBUS,Dietmar 2303 (1) 34 RAMASWAMY,Aarthi 2299 (1) 1 - 0 HORTON,Justin 2091 (1) 35 TRUMAN,Richard G 2023 (1) ½ - ½ BANNINK,Bernard 2280 (1) 36 BIGG,Andrew J 2275 (1) 1 - 0 PYM,Thomas W 2059 (1) 37 TWITCHELL,Nevill 2003 (1) 0 - 1 ZAWADZKA,Jolanta 2272 (1) 38 WERNER,Gert 2085 (½) 0 - 1 ARAKHAMIA-GRANT, 2446 (½) 39 CANNON,Richard 2060 (½) 0 - 1 HUTCHINSON,Paul 2216 (½) 40 WALTON,Alan J 2208 (½) 1 - 0 BENNION,David A. 2052 (½) 41 MARKS,Ian 1884 (½) 0 - 1 DUNN,Andrew 2192 (½) 42 DOSSETT,Christop 1886 (½) 0 - 1 ALMOND,Richard J 2158 (½) 43 GOODGER,Martyn 2136 (½) 1 - 0 HENRICHSEN,Jens 2084 (½) 44 HAGESAETHER,Arne 2101 (½) ½ - ½ WEBSTER,Richard 2008 (½) 45 MANNION,Steve R. 2333 (0) 1 - 0 DE LAGONTRIE,Jea 1968 (0) 46 FRASER-MITCHELL, 2082 (0) ½ - ½ WAUGH,Jonathan C 1885 (0) 47 FAIRBAIRN,Steve 2057 (0) 1 - 0 PEMBERTON,Clive 1883 (0) 48 SPANTON,Tim 2004 (0) 1 - 0 NICHOLSON,John 1880 (0) 49 GORKA,Carl 1882 (0) 1 - 0 Bye