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13th Monarch Assurance Isle of Man International
25 Sept - 3 Oct 2004
Last updated: Monday, August 21, 2017 5:50 PM
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Round 8 - 2 October 2004 - "Chandler Pounces..."
John
Saunders reports: Well might the 44-year-old former British Chess
Magazine editor look pleased with himself in the photo (which I
took just before today's game). There was an early shock in round
eight, not the result so much as the length of game... Chandler 1, Korchnoi
0 - 23 moves. Korchnoi made a mistake (15...Qc7) when he was scarcely
out of the opening and Chandler unleashed a vicious tactic. It might not
have been quite so bad had Korchnoi played 17...Qxf4 but this would cost
him a pawn and Chandler would have a won position anyway.
Perhaps in shock at his earlier error, Korchnoi played another poor move and was soon obliterated after Chandler sacrificed a further exchange. It was a sad blow for Korchnoi, as he had been doing so well here, but a major fillip for English chess to have one its own players leading the field at the Monarch. That hasn't happened too often here in recent years.
Both young and old were put to the sword on this bloodthirsty day. Vasilios Kotronias, now Greek again after a brief flirtation with being a Cypriot, axed Hikaru Nakamura from the leader board. The American played the Marshall Attack but it fizzled out and Kotronias was left with the extra pawn. Two of yesterday's surprise winners won again today: Florian Handke of Germany claimed another good scalp (Volkov) while Petr Kiriakov was gifted a pawn by Holzke. Leaders: Chandler 6½/8; Handke, Kiriakov, Kotronias, Zhang Zhong, Ghaem Maghami 6.
Norms: congratulations to Andrew Greet (England) and Tea Bosboom-Lanchava (Netherlands), who have achieved IM norms (so long as they turn up to play in round nine). Three other players can achieve norms if they win their round nine games: Simon Williams (GM norm), Stephen Gordon (IM), Carsten Gottslich (IM norm).
Chandler,M (2531) - Korchnoi,V (2568) [C11]
Monarch Assurance Isle of Man Port Erin IOM (8.1), 02.10.2004
1 e4 e6 2 d4 d5 3 Nc3 Nf6 4 e5 Nfd7 5 Nf3 c5 6 dxc5 Nc6 7 Bf4 Be7 8 Bg3 Nxc5 9 Bd3 Qb6 [9 ..a6 has been played before; 9 ..0-0 10 0-0 a6 11 Re1 f6 12 exf6 Bxf6 13 Qd2 Nxd3 14 Qxd3 Bd7 was A.Ledger-S.Buckley, British Championship 1999 and was won by Black.] 10 0-0 Nxd3 [10 ..Qxb2 doesn't look very grandmasterly: 11 Nb5 gives the queen a headache. White can get at least a draw by giving 'perpetual check' to the queen, i.e. 11 ..0-0 12 Rb1 Qxa2 13 Ra1 etc.] 11 Qxd3 Bd7 12 a3 0-0 13 Rfe1 Rfc8 14 Bf4 (It is not entirely obvious at first sight what the intention is behind this move. It turns out that White is going to play b3, when he will need to play Bd2 to support the knight on c3.) 14 ..Na5 15 b3
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15 ..Qc7?? [A cataclysmic error. It is the right idea (to put pressure on the c3 knight), but the wrong square from which to do it. Either 15 ..Qc5 or 15...Qc6 would have been better.] 16 Nxd5!! (The initial idea is relatively easy to see, but it needs to be followed up precisely) 16 ..exd5 17 e6 Qd8 [In view of what happens now, you have to say that 17 ..Qxf4 would have been better. However, after 18 exd7 Rd8 19 Rxe7 Nc6 20 Re8+ Rxe8 21 dxe8Q+ Rxe8 22 Qxd5 White would be a clear pawn ahead with extremely good prospects of winning the endgame. Korchnoi undoubtedly saw this but probably reckoned his chances of holding it against a cool-headed, meticulous grandmaster of Chandler's experience as being negligible.] 18 exf7+! [A lesser player might have settled for 18 exd7 Qxd7 19 c4 which is also promising, but White has seen the combination through to the end.] 18 ..Kh8 [18 ..Kxf7 19 Ne5+ Kf6 20 Qxd5 is hopeless for Black] 19 Rxe7! (Another crushing blow) 19 ..Qxe7 20 Ng5 Qxg5 [20 ..g6 21 Qd4+ and mate next move.] 21 Bxg5 Be6 [The crisis is far from over for Black. He must do something about the threat of Be7 and f8Q winning the exchange. If 21 ..Nc6 22 Qxd5 Bg4 23 Bh4! with the threat of f3/h3 winning the bishop.] 22 Qf3 Rf8 23 Re1! [23 Re1 Bxf7 (23 ..Rxf7 24 Qc3 and two black pieces are attacked) 24 Be7 wins the exchange] 1-0
Kotronias,V (2608) - Nakamura,H (2601) [C89]
Monarch Assurance Isle of Man Port Erin IOM (8.2), 02.10.2004
1 e4 e5 2 Nf3 Nc6 3 Bb5 a6 4 Ba4 Nf6 5 0-0 Be7 6 Re1 b5 7 Bb3 0-0 8 c3 d5 9 exd5 Nxd5 10 Nxe5 Nxe5 11 Rxe5 c6 12 d3 (Less ambitious, but safer, than the usual counter to the Marshall) 12 ..Bd6 13 Re1 Bf5 14 Qf3 Qh4 [14 ..Qd7 and; 14 ..Re8 have also been played here.] 15 g3 Qh3 16 Nd2 [16 Bxd5 cxd5 17 Bf4 Bxf4 18 Qxf4 Bxd3 19 Nd2 has been played before, and is preferred by Patrick Wolff in some notes on the Mega Database.] 16 ..Rae8 17 Ne4!? (This looks like a risky self-pin, but in fact White has it all under control) 17 ..Bg4 18 Qg2
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18 ..f5? [An error. Black must first play 18 ..Qxg2+ 19 Kxg2 and only now 19 ..f5 , when Patrick Wolff recommends 20 Bf4 with a roughly equal game.] 19 Qxh3 Bxh3 20 Bd2! (The difference between this line and the one after 18...Qxg2+, etc, is that the h3 bishop is now out of play and has no dangerous check on f3 to defuse White's little counter-tactic) 20 ..fxe4 21 dxe4 Bc5 [All played before to here. 21 ..Be6 22 exd5 Bxd5 23 Rxe8 Rxe8 24 Be3 Kf7 25 Bxd5+ cxd5 26 Rd1 Ke6 27 Bd4 and White went on to win in Pariente Lopez-Rubio Doblas, Malaga 1995.] 22 Be3 Rxe4 23 Bxc5 Rfe8 24 Rxe4 Rxe4 25 Be3 Kf8 26 Re1 Nxe3 27 fxe3 (White is a comfortable pawn up and goes on to win) 27 ..h6 28 Kf2 Bd7 29 h4 Re8 30 e4 Ke7 31 Ke3 Rf8 32 a4 Rb8 33 Re2 b4 34 Bc4 bxc3 35 bxc3 Rb1 36 Kd4 Ra1 37 Ra2 Rg1 38 Bxa6 Rxg3 39 c4 Rb3 40 c5 Rb4+ 41 Ke5 Be6 42 Ra1 Bb3 43 Rb1 g5 44 hxg5 hxg5 45 Be2 g4 46 Bd1 g3 47 Bxb3 1-0
Handke,F (2461) - Volkov,S (2625) [D15]
Monarch Assurance Isle of Man Port Erin IOM (8.4), 02.10.2004
1 d4 d5 2 c4 c6 3 Nf3 Nf6 4 Nc3 a6 5 h3 e6 6 Bg5 h6 (The theory on this line is relatively recent and this seems to be a new move) 7 Bh4 g5 8 Bg3 Ne4 9 Be5 f6 10 Bxb8 (It is surprising that White should surrender bishop for knight so easily, but it works out well) 10 ..Rxb8 11 e3 Qa5 12 Qb3 Bd6 13 Bd3 f5 (Weakening e5. White immediately puts the brakes on any further kingside pawn advances) 14 g4 b5 15 cxd5 exd5 16 Rc1 Rf8 17 Bxe4 fxe4 18 Ne5! Bxe5 19 dxe5 (Now the d6 bishop is gone, Black's dark squares are vulnerable to infiltration) 19 ..Rb7 20 0-0 (Now White threatens Nxd5, and if Be6? Nxe4) 20 ..Rc7 [It is surprisingly difficult to deal with the immediate threats. 20 ..Bd7? fails to 21 e6! Bxe6 22 Nxe4 with wonderful scope for the knight.] 21 Rfd1 Qb6? [21 ..h5!? is interesting, though it runs into 22 Nxd5!? cxd5 23 Qxd5 Rxc1 24 Rxc1 Qd8 25 Qxe4 which gives White three pawns compensation for the sacrificed piece. But now White's queen gets some excellent play on the dark squares.] 22 Qb4!
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Round 8 Bd WHITE Result BLACK 1 CHANDLER,Murray 2531 (5½) 1 - 0 KORCHNOI,Viktor 2568 (5½) 2 KOTRONIAS,Vassil 2608 (5) 1 - 0 NAKAMURA,Hikaru 2601 (5½) 3 BAKLAN,Vladimir 2595 (5) ½ - ½ MOISEENKO,Alexan 2640 (5) 4 HANDKE,Florian 2461 (5) 1 - 0 VOLKOV,Sergey 2625 (5) 5 PAVLOVIC,Milos 2498 (5) 0 - 1 ZHONG,Zhang 2603 (5) 6 GHAEM MAGHAMI,Eh 2552 (5) 1 - 0 CONQUEST,Stuart 2488 (5) 7 HOLZKE,Frank 2492 (4½) 0 - 1 KIRIAKOV,Petr 2555 (5) 8 AGREST,Evgenij 2602 (4½) 1 - 0 SCHNEIDER,Dmitry 2454 (4½) 9 ROGERS,Ian 2588 (4½) 1 - 0 SPRENGER,Jan Mic 2477 (4½) 10 ROWSON,Jonathan 2558 (4½) 1 - 0 SARAKAUSKAS,Gedi 2442 (4½) 11 GALLAGHER,Joseph 2541 (4½) 1 - 0 BOSBOOM-LANCHAVA 2370 (4½) 12 MILOV,Vadim 2683 (4) ½ - ½ PEEK,Marcel 2406 (4) 13 PERT,Richard 2407 (4) 0 - 1 SMIRIN,Ilya 2671 (4) 14 IORDACHESCU,Vior 2633 (4) 1 - 0 MANNION,Steve R. 2333 (4) 15 GRAFL,Florian 2411 (4) 0 - 1 KULAOTS,Kaido 2593 (4) 16 SPEELMAN,Jon 2555 (4) ½ - ½ GORDON,Stephen 2338 (4) 17 ARMBRUSTER,Alexa 2351 (4) 0 - 1 WELLS,Peter 2494 (4) 18 RAMESH,Ramachadr 2484 (4) 1 - 0 RENDLE,Thomas 2258 (4) 19 ARAKHAMIA-GRANT, 2446 (4) ½ - ½ GREET,Andrew N 2310 (4) 20 MCNAB,Colin 2427 (4) 1 - 0 HUTCHINSON,Paul 2216 (4) 21 BANNINK,Bernard 2280 (4) 0 - 1 WILLIAMS,Simon K 2427 (4) 22 ASHTON,Adam 2270 (3½) 1 - 0 SKRIPCHENKO,Almi 2453 (3½) 23 ZAWADZKA,Jolanta 2272 (3½) 0 - 1 RUOFAN,Li 2414 (3½) 24 GOTTSCHLICH,Cars 2382 (3½) 1 - 0 SPENCE,David 2236 (3½) 25 HOUSKA,Jovanka 2375 (3½) 1 - 0 GROFFEN,Hans 2244 (3½) 26 WALTON,Alan J 2208 (3½) 0 - 1 HOWELL,David W 2334 (3½) 27 FOX,Anthony 2123 (3½) 0 - 1 AFEK,Yochanan 2325 (3½) 28 MCPHILLIPS,Karl 2172 (3½) ½ - ½ COX,John 2314 (3½) 29 KOLBUS,Dietmar 2303 (3½) 1 - 0 FRASER-MITCHELL, 2082 (3½) 30 CANNON,Richard 2060 (3½) ½ - ½ BIGG,Andrew J 2275 (3½) 31 BERZINSH,Roland 2455 (3) 1 - 0 SPANTON,Tim 2004 (3) 32 LUTTON,J Ezra 2134 (3) ½ - ½ RAMASWAMY,Aarthi 2299 (3) 33 HAGESAETHER,Arne 2101 (3) ½ - ½ GRANT,Alan 2193 (3) 34 DUNN,Andrew 2192 (3) 1 - 0 HENRICHSEN,Jens 2084 (3) 35 BENNION,David A. 2052 (3) 0 - 1 HUTCHINSON,Norma 2176 (3) 36 ALMOND,Richard J 2158 (3) ½ - ½ TWITCHELL,Nevill 2003 (3) 37 MURTAGH,Dermot 1889 (3) 0 - 1 GOODGER,Martyn 2136 (3) 38 VAN KEMENADE,Rud 2107 (2½) 0 - 1 JONKMAN,Harmen 2425 (2½) 39 ALLEN,Keith 2241 (2½) 0 - 1 MILLIGAN,Helen 2077 (2½) 40 SMITH,Andrew P 2205 (2½) ½ - ½ HORTON,Justin 2091 (2½) 41 PYM,Thomas W 2059 (2½) ½ - ½ ADAMS,Phil 2124 (2½) 42 NICHOLSON,John 1834 (2½) 0 - 1 PLANT,Paul R 2107 (2½) 43 WEBSTER,Richard 2008 (2) ½ - ½ COLLIER,David O. 2168 (2) 44 GORKA,Carl 1882 (2) 1 - 0 PIMMINGSTORFER,C 2116 (2) 45 NOORDHOEK,Henk 2095 (2) 1 - 0 DOSSETT,Christop 1886 (2) 46 MARKS,Ian 1910 (2) ½ - ½ WERNER,Gert 2085 (2) 47 FAIRBAIRN,Steve 2057 (2) 1 - 0 WAUGH,Jonathan C 1885 (2) 48 DE LAGONTRIE,Jea 1968 (½) ½ - ½ TRUMAN,Richard G 2023 (1½)