46th Dortmund Sparkassen
Chess Meeting
Dortmund, Germany
July 14-22, 2018
Ian Nepomniachtchi was born July 14, 1990 in Bryansk, a city located 380 kilometers southwest of Moscow. He learned chess at a very young age and at five years old was already attending chess classes.
In Russia there are five categories of their rating pyramid. In most chess schools there are two theory courses of two hours each week, and on Sunday the students played separate tournaments according to their category. There were no open tournaments, only closed 10-12 player round-robins. Each player had to achieve the equivalent of a norm and repeat the performance at least once to pass to the next level. There were beginners, then 5th category, 4th, 3rd, 2nd and by the time they reach 1st category their strength would more or less be equivalent to ELO 2000. After that one becomes a Russian Candidate Master (around ELO 2200) and then a Master, around ELO 2400.
The time control for these tournaments is 15 minutes for each player per game. Only when a player reaches the second category does the time allotment increase. It doesn’t make sense for very young players or beginners to spend two or more hours for a single game.
At the age of seven Nepom won the Under-10 Regional Championship with a 100% score and stopped playing in regional events. In the years 2002-2003 he won several national, European and world championship titles in his age group and, starting 2004 he set his sights a bit higher and concentrated on playing adult events.
Ian’s quantum leap was in 2010. Only 20 years old then, he won the European Individual Championship with a gigantic score of 9/11 in March of that year and then come December he earned a mighty feather in his cap by topping the Russian Super Final after defeating Sergey Karjakin in a playoff. The minor irritant in 2010 is the Russia Junior Championship held in April, the soon-to-be Russian Champion failed to win the tournament for Under-20s and could only come second behind Dmitry Andreikin.
By Jan. 1, 2011 Ian Nepomniachtchi became the no. 15 highest-rated player in the world.
He nearly accomplished the same feat in 2013. In that year the European Individual Chess Championship was held in Legnica, Poland. It was an 11-round Swiss and there was a massive 10-player tie for 1st place between Evgeny Romanov, Evgeny Alekseev, Constantin Lupulescu, Francisco Vallejo Pons, Alexander Beliavsky, Alexey Dreev, Alexander Moiseenko, Sergei Movsesian, Ian Nepomniachtchi and Hrant Melkumyan. Moiseenko was awarded the gold medal after the application of tie-breaks. He was actually leading the tournament for most of the way but lost in the last round (to Nepomniachtchi!) and this allowed his pursuers to catch up with him. In the Russian Super Finals held in October 2013, Nepom tied for 1st once more and again he was not favored by the god of tie-breaks — Peter Svidler got the gold medal.
Anyway it is now 2018 and apparently Nepomniachtchi is making another surge. He finished second in the Poikovsky tournament (an annual event always with a strong lineup) and won the Gideon Japhet Cup in Jerusalem (against Ivanchuk, Gelfand, Svidler and two others). His victory in Dortmund allowed him to overtake Aronian, Grischuk and Yu Yangyi in the ratings list and he is now the 12th highest rated in the world.
In an interview several years ago Ian characterized his style as “I always aim to play for a win and keep fighting until all the resources are depleted. However, there are also last-round situations. If a last-round draw guarantees success, then it is wise to secure a draw.”
In Dortmund’s last round he needed a win to ensure solo first, and he really fought for it until his opponent slipped up.
Nepomniachtchi, Ian (2757) —
Meier, Georg (2628) [C10]
46th Sparkassen Chess Meeting
Dortmund (7), 22.07.2018
1.e4 e6
Many years ago I used to meet up with a group of players every Sunday and spend the afternoon playing blitz or rapid chess. We would have a few guest masters, sometimes it was Efren Bagamasbad, a few times it was Erwin and Elmer Carag, I remember once or twice Carlo Lorena and Stewart Manaog, who both worked in Magnolia, would come over.
Anyway in the course of the many many games we played Efren Bagamasbad, at that time working at Quality Control in the Coke Plant, taught me that the f7 square is a weakness for Black even before the game starts, and the point of the French with 1…e6 is to protect f7. Black should try to keep the position closed and then start maneuvering on the side where he is strongest, either kingside or queenside. The slow development, however, requires that Black must be careful as he might fall to a lightning attack. For example Evgeny Bareev, one of the best French players ever, was also known to have a tendency for losing miniatures — it is an occupational hazard when you play the French.
2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 dxe4
After 1.e4 LGeorg Meier almost always responds with the French Defense Rubinstein Variation. So this is no surprise at all.
4.Nxe4 Nd7 5.Nf3 Ngf6 6.Nxf6+
I will show you what I mean by Black needing to be careful. In the 2007 World Cup this game happened: 6.Bd3!? (one of those simple developing moves which carry some poison) 6…Nxe4 7.Bxe4 Nf6 8.Bg5 Qd6!? (The queen move is logical as it breaks the pin and forces White to decide what to do about his hanging bishop on e4) 9.Bd3!? Qb4+ 10.Qd2 Qxb2 11.0–0 (black has won a pawn but now White’s attack comes swiftly) 11…Be7 12.Qf4 Qb6 13.Qg3 c5 14.Rab1 Qd8 15.dxc5 Bxc5 16.Rfd1 Qe7 17.Bb5+ Kf8 18.Ne5 h6 19.Rd7! Bxd7 20.Bxf6 Bxf2+ (20…gxf6 21.Nxd7+ Ke8 22.Nxc5+ wins easily) 21.Qxf2 gxf6 22.Nxd7+ Kg7 23.Rb3 Rhd8 24.Rg3+ Kh8 25.Qf4 1–0 Alekseev,E (2716)-Ismagambetov,A (2479) Khanty-Mansiysk World Cup 2007.
6…Nxf6 7.Ne5!?
Let’s have another example of Black needing to be careful. Ruslan Ponomariov became FIDE World Champion by beating Vassily Ivanchuk in the finals of the Moscow KO World Championship in January 2002. The next month he was invited to play in the super GM tournament in Linares, which was accepted without hesitation. Garry Kasparov of course wanted very much to beat Ruslan and put him in his place. This is what happened: 7.c3 c5 8.Ne5!? (this move was a rarity but after Kasparov played this game it became the no. 1 choice) 8…Nd7? (Ponomariov was not careful! The critical move here is 8…a6 , ruling out Bb5) 9.Bb5! Bd6 10.Qg4! Kf8 (Black is already in difficulties. He can’t castle because of 10…0–0 11.Bxd7 Bxd7 12.Bh6 he loses the exchange) 11.0–0!? Nxe5 12.dxe5 Bxe5 (Ponomariov is a clear pawn up and feeling good about himself, but the initiative in Kasparov’s hands is a dangerous thing) 13.Bg5 Bf6 14.Rad1 Qc7 15.Qh4 Bxg5 16.Qxg5 f6 17.Qh5 g6 18.Qh6+ Kf7 19.Rd3! a6 20.Rh3 Qe7 (Not 20…axb5 White wins with 21.Qxh7+! Rxh7 22.Rxh7+ Kg8 23.Rxc7) 21.Bd3 f5 22.g4! Qf6 23.Rd1 b5 24.Be2 e5 25.Rhd3 Ra7 26.Rd6 Qg7 27.Qe3 Rc7 28.a4 e4 29.axb5 axb5 30.Bxb5 Qe5 31.Qg5 Qe7 32.Qh6 Be6 33.Qf4 Bc8 34.Qh6 Be6 35.gxf5! gxf5 36.Be2! Qf6 37.Bh5+ Ke7 38.Rxe6+! Black resigned as 38…Qxe6 39.Qg7+ mates next move. 1–0 (38) Kasparov,G (2838)-Ponomariov,R (2727) Linares ESP 2002.
7…Bd6 8.Bg5 h6 9.Bh4 0–0 10.Bd3 c5 11.Qe2!?
Nepom is still pushing aggressively.
11…Qa5+
This is Meier being careful. It appears that he can win a pawn by 11…cxd4 12.0–0 Be7! 13.Rad1 Qc7 14.f4 b6 but of course White has compensation because of his initiative. Also this was obviously prepared by Nepom so Meier avoids the main line.
12.c3 cxd4 13.Nc4!
This enables White to destroy Black’s kingside pawns.
13…Qc5 14.Bxf6 gxf6 15.Qg4+ Kh8
Another reason why 13.Nc4 is a good move. Black can’t interpose 15…Qg5 because of 16.Qxg5+ hxg5 17.Nxd6.
16.cxd4 Qb4+ 17.Kf1?! Bc7 18.Qe4 f5 19.Qh4
POSITION AFTER 19.QH4
19…Kg7?
A mistake. I couldn’t believe it but 19…Kh7! seems to hold. After 20.g4 b5! 21.gxf5 (21.g5 Bf4! (this is an incredible move which is very hard to find) 22.Qxf4 bxc4 23.Qh4 Qd2! (another incredible move) 24.Qxh6+ Kg8 White doesn’t have a forced win) 21…bxc4 (and now because the Black king is on h7 instead of g7 White does not have the in-between move f5–f6+) 22.Rg1 Rg8 23.f6+ cxd3 24.Rxg8 Kxg8 25.Qxh6 Qf8 just in the nick of time. White has to content himself with perpetual check.
20.g4!
The difference between Black’s king being on the g-file rather than the h-file is now it is vulnerable to a rook check from g1.
20…f4
For example if we try to follow the previous note then 20…b5 21.gxf5 bxc4 22.f6+ Kh8 23.Qxh6+ Kg8 and White has the choice of various checkmates.
21.Rg1! Bd7 22.Qh5!
An important move. 22.g5? immediately does not work because of 22…h5! 23.g6 (23.Qxh5 Rh8 the tables are turned and it is Black who is willing) 23…f6 and now White cannot play 24.Qxh5 because of 24…Rh8.
22…Rh8 23.g5 hxg5 24.Qxg5+ Kf8 25.Qf6! Rxh2 26.Rg7 Be8 27.Bh7 1–0
Shortly after the Dortmund tournament started the head coach of the Russian national men’s chess team, Russian Chess Federation President Andrey Filatov announced the team composition for the forthcoming World Chess Olympiad to be held in Batumi, Georgia later this year: Vladimir Kramnik, Sergey Karjakin, Ian Nepomniachtchi, Dmitry Jakovenko, and Nikita Vitiugov. It looks like Nepom is really building up for a tremendous performance representing his country.
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
