8th HDBank International
Army Hotel, Hanoi, Vietnam
March 10-15, 2018
Final Top Standings
1. GM Sandro Mareco ARG 2635, 7.5/9
2-4. GM Murali Karthikeyan IND 2592, GM Alan Pichot ARG 2558, IM Le Tuan Minh 2489, 7.0/9
5-8. GM Wang Hao CHN 2713, GM Le Quang Liem VIE 2736, GM Tran Tuan Minh VIE 2522, GM Wen Yang CHN 2608, 6.5/9
Total Participants: 129 players
Time Control: 90 minutes for the entire game with 30 seconds added to your time after every move starting move 1
The HD Bank International is the largest annual GM tournament in Vietnam. Its previous seven editions were held in Ho Chi Minh City but this year it was moved to Hanoi. The total prize fund is $55,000, with $15,000 for first place.
This year a total of 29 International Grandmasters, 11 Woman Grandmasters, 33 International Masters and five Woman International Masters took part. The top seeds were GM Le Quang Liem VIE 2736, GM Wang Hao CHN 2713, GM S.P. Sethuraman IND 2649 and GM Sandro Mareco ARG 2635.
The Argentinian GM Sandro Mareco rode on his four-game win streak in the middle of the event and a last round victory vs GM Leandro Krysa to finish solo first half a point ahead of his closest pursuers.
Santiago, Yago De Moura (2473) — Mareco, Sandro (2635) [E11]
8th HD Bank Cup 2018 Hanoi VIE (5.5), 12.03.2018
Sandro Mareco is the type of player who has a deep style — I find him similar to Russia’s Peter Svidler. You think he is behind in the position but as the game wears in it turns out he knows the nuances of the position very well and starts taking over. Before long it occurs to you that you are losing and there is nothing you can do about it.
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 Bb4+ 4.Nbd2 0–0 5.a3 Be7 6.e4 d6 7.Qc2 Nbd7 8.Be2 c5 9.d5 exd5
Black goes for a Benoni formation without having fianchettoed his king bishop. Anyway, no matter as Black has an “improved Benoni” in mind — the bishop will be going to the a1–h8 diagonal with Bf6 and with his g-pawn still on g7 this gives one of his knights the opportunity to go to g6.
10.cxd5 Ng4 11.0–0 Bf6 12.Nb1 Re8 13.Nc3 a6 14.Nd2 Nge5 15.f4 Ng6 16.Nc4 Bd4+ 17.Kh1
This bishop becomes very powerful on d4. White can’t get rid of it with 17.Be3 because Black’s pieces then explode into action with 17…b5! 18.Bxd4 cxd4 19.Nxd6 Qb6 20.Nxc8 Raxc8 White is losing a piece.
17…Nf6 18.f5
[18.Be3 still doesn’t work for the same reason: 18…b5]
18…Ne5 19.Nxe5 Bxe5 20.Bf3 b5 21.Ne2 h6 22.Bd2 a5
White has lost the queenside battle and now goes all-in for a kingside attack.
23.Rf2 Ba6 24.Rg1 b4 25.g4 Nh7 26.Be3
[26.g5 Nxg5 27.Bxg5 hxg5 28.Rfg2 doesn’t work because the dark-squared bishop protects g7. White needs more wood behind the attack]
26…Rb8 27.a4 Ng5 28.Bg2 b3 29.Qb1 Bxe2 30.Rxe2 Rb4 31.Bd2 Rxa4 32.Qe1 Nh7 33.h4 Bxb2 34.g5 Ra1 35.Qg3 Rxg1+ 36.Kxg1 Bd4+ 37.Kh1 b2 38.Re1 Be5 39.Qe3 a4 40.f6 hxg5 41.hxg5 Qb8 0–1
The next game is the most exciting one in the tournament. White is 16-year-old IM Nguyen Anh Khoi who has won world championship titles in the Under-10 (2012) and Under-12 (2014) categories. He is currently the most promising young player of Vietnam. Stanislav Bogdanovich is a 25-year-old International Grandmaster from Ukraine. He is known as an aggressive tactician as the following game will demonstrate.
Nguyen, Anh Khoi (2435) — Bogdanovich, Stanislav (2560) [A54]
8th HDBank Masters, Hanoi (3.5), 11.03.2018
The line used by Bogdanovich first came up in 1953, in a Candidates’ Tournament no less. I will show you the Keres vs Boleslavsky game in the notes.
1.d4 d6 2.c4 e5 3.Nc3 Nd7 4.Nf3 Ngf6 5.Bg5
In David Bronstein’s famous book on the 1953 Candidates he remarks that “with this move White prevents Black from obtaining the modern form of the King’s Indian (he means the main line now where Black fianchettoes his king bishop) since 5…g6 6.dxe5 dxe5 7.Nxe5 costs a pawn. He continues “Black, of course, could play 5…Be7 but that sort of development for this bishop grates on a King’s Indian player.” How true!
5…h6 6.Bh4 g5
Bronstein: If the bishop retreats again the e-pawn rushes to the third rank, with the well-known idea of retarding White’s kingside development: 7.Bg3 e4 8.Nd2 e3.
7.dxe5 dxe5
Keres vs Boleslavsky continued 7…gxh4 8.exf6 Qxf6 9.Nd5 Qxb2 (Bronstein: Some pieces in the King’s Indian appear on a ‘special price’ list; the darksquare bishops are at the top of that list. This means that Black has achieved something, in removing White’s bishop while retaining his own, even at the cost of shattering his own pawns. With his last move, Black initiates his previously prepared sharp attacking line, sacrificing a rook for the attack) 10.Rb1 (Bronstein: “Boleslavsky had mainly considered the following line: 10.Nxc7+ Kd8 11.Nxa8 d5 12.Rc1 Bb4+ 13.Nd2 Nc5 14.Rc2 Qe5” etc. etc., Black is already better. By the way, there is a flaw in this analysis as instead of 12.Rc1 White has 12.Qc1 which basically refutes the whole line) 10…Qxa2 11.Nxc7+ Kd8 12.Nxa8 Nc5 (Keres is already clearly better and dutifully reeled in the whole point) 13.Ra1 Qb2 14.Qd4 Qxd4 15.Nxd4 Bg7 16.e3 Re8 17.Be2 Bxd4 18.exd4 Nb3 19.Rxa7 Nxd4 20.Ra2 h3 21.Rg1 Rg8 22.g4 1–0 (22) Keres,P-Boleslavsky,I Zuerich 1953.
8.Bg3 e4 9.Nd4 Bb4
The maneuver Bronstein described on move 6 with 9…e3 works here as well but Bogdanovich had something in mind.
10.Qb3?!
The critical line is 10.Ndb5! and after 10…0–0 11.Nxc7 e3! 12.Nxa8 Ne4 13.Rc1 Qa5 14.fxe3 Ndf6 Black is a rook and two pawns behind but has a strong attack. Nguyen Anh Khoi avoids this as obviously it is a prepared line.
10…Qe7 11.a3 Nc5!? 12.Qxb4
If White does not take then he has to contend with 12.Qc2 Nd3+ etc. But why shouldn’t he take the bishop on b4?
12…a5 13.Qb5+ Bd7
Surprisingly the queen is trapped. Or is it?
14.Nf5 Qf8 15.Nd6+ cxd6 16.Qb6 Ra6 17.Qc7 Rc6 18.Qxa5?
Objectively the best continuation is 18.Qb8+ Ke7 19.Qxf8+ Rxf8 20.e3 with an equal position. But who wants equality after all those tactics?
18…Nb3 19.Qa8+ Rc8 20.Qxb7 Nxa1 21.Nb5 <D>
POSITION AFTER 21.NB5
With the killing threat of Nxd6+ which was the idea behind the whole 18.Qxa5 thing. Problem is that Black had seen deeper. White should have played 21.e3 to secure his king position and finally start bringing out his kingside pieces.
21…e3!! 22.Nxd6+ Qxd6! 23.Bxd6 Rxc4
Threatening 24…Rc1 mate.
24.fxe3 Ne4 25.Qb8+ Rc8 26.Rg1
[26.Qxc8+ Bxc8 leaves Black a piece ahead but also White’s kingside is so undeveloped that he cannot hope to save the game. For example 27.Be5 f6 28.Bd4 Rh7 (with the same idea Rh7–c7–c1 checkmate) 29.Kd1 Nf2+ 30.Ke1 Nxh1 White should resign]
26…Rxb8 27.Bxb8 0–0 0–1
White did not want to suffer the indignity of 27…0–0 28.Be5 Ba4 29.g3 Rd8 30.Bd4 Nc2+ 31.Kd1 Nxd4+ 32.Kc1 Nb3+ 33.Kc2 Rd2+ 34.Kb1 Rd1+ 35.Ka2 Ra1#
I always look up the games of Wang Hao. No sophisticated maneuvering games for him — He is a 2700+ player whose style is simple, strong and aggressive. Try not to get a passive position against him.
Wang, Hao (2713) — Saduakassova, Dinara (2479) [A18]
8th HD Bank Cup 2018 Hanoi VIE (4.5), 12.03.2018
Here we see another Flohr-Mikenas Attack. Black needs to play actively in this system or get crushed.
1.c4 Nf6 2.Nc3 e6 3.e4 d5 4.e5 d4 5.exf6 dxc3 6.bxc3 Qxf6 7.d4 c5 8.Nf3 cxd4 9.Bg5 Qf5 10.cxd4 Bb4+
The BW reader should be familiar with this idea: 10…Nc6 is bad because of 11.Bd2! Nb4 12.Rc1 Nd3+ 13.Bxd3 Qxd3 14.Rc3 Qe4+ 15.Re3 Qc6 16.Ne5 Qc7 17.0–0 Bd6 18.Qg4 0–0 19.Rh3 White has a very strong attack. Nachon Menendez,G-Acebal Muniz,A (2280) Asturias 1996 1–0 32.
11.Bd2 Qa5
[11…Bxd2+ 12.Qxd2 Nc6 13.Bd3! Qf6 14.Be4 leaves White much better]
12.Bd3 Nc6 13.Rb1 Bxd2+ 14.Qxd2 Rb8 15.Rb5 Qxd2+ 16.Kxd2
Queens are off the board but White’s better developed pieces are still a problem for the second player.
16…b6 17.d5 Nd8 18.Rhb1 Bd7 19.Ra5 Rb7 20.Ra3 Ke7 21.Ng5 f6 22.Ne4 exd5 23.cxd5 Nf7 24.Re1 Rc7 25.Ng5+ Ne5
[25…Kf8 26.Nxf7 Kxf7 27.d6 Rb7 28.Re7+ Kf8 29.Ba6 is hopeless]
26.f4 fxg5 27.fxe5 1–0
Bobby Ang is a founding member of the National Chess Federation of the Philippines and its first Executive Director. A Certified Public Accountant, he taught accounting in the University of Santo Tomas for 25 years and is currently Chief Audit Executive of the Equicom Group of Companies.
bobby@cpamd.net
