Tradewise Gibraltar Chess Festival 2014 Monday 27 January - Friday 6 February 2014 Round 4 Report: 1 February by John Saunders RODSHTEIN, LI CHAO B AND MARECO LEAD The leader board at the Tradewise Gibraltar Masters, played at the Caleta Hotel, was whittled down from ten to three by the end of round four on 31 January. The three leaders with 4/4 are Maxim Rodshtein (Israel), Li Chao B (China) and Sandro Mareco (Argentina), who are the 13th, 14th and 30th highest rated players in the tournament respectively. The leading female competitors are Jovana Vojinovic (Serbia), Tan Zhongyi (China), Zhu Chen (Qatar), Viktorija Cmilyte (Lithuania), Mariya Muzychuk (Ukraine), Guo Qi (China), Batkhuyag Munguntuul (Mongolia), Zhansaya Abdumalik (Kazakhstan) and Marie Sebag (France), a point back on 3/4. There are some remarkable things about the leader board: one is the fact that as many as ten countries are represented, with only one country having more than one representative (China, with three); two, that major world powers Russia, India and USA are as yet unrepresented; and, three, there is only one player from western Europe amongst them. There are clear signs that the centre of gravity of chess is moving further into Asia. Of course, these are early days in the tournament and by the end it is quite possible that the traditional power bases of chess may have reasserted themselves. But interesting nonetheless: I suppose the thing that it demonstrates beyond question is that the popularity of this ancient game has never been higher: it stretches right across the globe. Sandro Mareco is a new name on me. This is perhaps not surprising as South American chess, though very strong for many decades, has traditionally existed in a Southern hemispherical bubble of its own, with relatively little travel between Europe and South America amongst professional players (except for some South American chessplayers who have plied their trade in Spain). Sandro is a 26-year-old Argentinian who became a GM in 2010 and whose peak rating was 2628 in January 2011. He has twice qualified for the FIDE World Cup but was eliminated in round one on both occasions, losing to Ferenc Berkes in 2011 and David Navara in 2013. Hence his pairing with the latter in Gibraltar brought him the chance to take his revenge. Gibraltar Masters 2014, Round 4 S.Mareco (2582) - D.Navara (2702) 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nf3 Bg7 4.g3 d5 5.cxd5 Nxd5 6.Bg2 Nb6 7.Nc3 Nc6 8.e3 0-0 9.0-0 Re8 10.Nh4 A relatively new idea, with the idea of making it hard for Black to develop his light-squared bishop. 10...e5 11.d5 Na5 11...Nb4 12.a3 Na6 13.Qc2 Qe7 has also been played here. 12.Rb1 h6 13.Qc2 Bg4 This looks doubtful. Maybe Black should play 13...Nac4 while he can. 14.b3! Now the future of the black knight becomes problematic as it has no squares and no obvious way of securing one. 14...Rc8 15.h3 Bd7 16.Bd2 c6 17.d6! White threatens 18.Ne2 and 19.Bxa5. 17...c5 18.Nd5 Nc6 18...Nxd5 19.Bxd5 Nc6 20.Qxg6 Be6 21.Bxe6 Rxe6 22.Qg4 Rxd6 23.Bc3 also looks quite strong for White. 19.Nc7 Rf8 19...Rxc7 20.dxc7 Qxc7 was worth thinking about: 21.Rfd1 Qc8 22.Kh2 g5 23.Nf3 e4 and at least Black has some play. 20.Qxc5 g5 21.Nf3 Bf5 21...Na8 22.Nxa8 Rxa8 23.Rfd1 is another way to play for Black but he will remain a pawn down with a difficult game. 22.Rbc1 Qd7 23.Bc3 Bxh3 Another difficult decision for Black. The alternative was 23...f6 but it would leave the dark- squared bishop on a bad square, particularly after 24.g4,etc. 24.Nxe5 Bxe5 25.Bxe5 Bxg2 26.Kxg2 Qf5 27.Ba1 Exchanging queens improves White's position, but keeping them on increases the risk of something nasty happening on the a1-h8 diagonal if the white queen comes to c3. 27...Qxc5 28.Rxc5 Rfd8 29.Rh1! White finally surrenders the d-pawn to set up a winning finish on the king's flank. 29...Rxd6 30.Rxg5+! Kf8 31.Nb5 A very handy exit move for the knight. 31...Re6 32.Bg7+ Ke7 33.Rxh6 A second pawn drops: the end is nigh. 33...f6 33...Rxh6 34.Bxh6 a6 35.Nc3 Nb4 36.Ne4 Nxa2 37.Re5+ Kd7 38.Rf5 Ke6 39.Rf6+ Ke5 40.Kf3 is simply another way of losing. 34.Rgg6 Nd7 35.Rh7 Kf7 36.Rg4 1-0 The threat is 37.Bh6+ Ke8 38.Rg8+ Nf8 39.Rxf8 mate and there is little to done about it. A poor result for David Navara but he is a classy player and will no doubt bounce back. Maxim Rodshtein is an Israeli GM, born in St Petersburg when it was still called Leningrad (he turned 25 a few days ago). His peak FIDE rating was 2683 in December 2013 and he is a former Israel Champion and was board five on the Israeli team which won silver at the 2008 Olympiad. At the Tradewise Gibraltar Masters he is ranked 13th. In the fourth round he was White against 23-year-old Danyyil Dvirniyy (sometimes known as Danilo Dvirni) of Italy, who is an IM but rated 2574 so I am guessing can't be too far away from a GM title. The game followed a long line of Spanish theory before coming to life as Rodshtein punished a couple of inaccuracies by his opponent. Gibraltar Masters 2014, Round 4 M.Rodshtein (2682) - D.Dvirnyy (2574) 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0-0 b5 6.Bb3 Bc5 7.a4 Rb8 8.c3 d6 9.d4 Bb6 10.axb5 axb5 11.Na3 Bg4 We're still well in the book, of course. One of the snags with this line for Black is that the b5 pawn drops off. The trick is not to worry too much and seek positional compensation elsewhere. Black cannot push 11...b4? because after 12.Nc4 White has major pressure against the e5 pawn. 12.Nxb5 0-0 13.Bc2 Bxf3 13...exd4 14.Nbxd4 Nxd4 15.cxd4 Bxf3; and 13...d5!? are both reasonable alternatives for Black. 14.gxf3 14.Qxf3 exd4 15.Bg5 h6 16.Bxf6 Qxf6 17.Qxf6 gxf6 is also playable. 14...Nh5 Such is the power of opening fashion that I find this is the only move in position to be found on my database and yet it occurs 66 times. You would have thought someone might have given another move a try. 15.f4 Giving back the pawn. It's probably best if White wants to retain his initiative. Other moves allow Black to go on the counterattack with moves such as ...Qh4. 15...Nxf4 15...Qh4 16.Qf3 Nxf4 17.Bxf4 exf4 18.Kh1 Ne7 19.Rg1 Ng6 20.b4 retains a small edge for White. 16.Bxf4 exf4 17.Qg4 Qf6 18.Ra6 This has been played a few times before. There is a glimmer of a threat of Nxc7 though in practice it doesn't work until White has played b4, and in the meantime the c6 knight tends to relocate anyway. The move 18.b4 has been played more often, usually proceeding 18...g6 19.Kh1 Nd8 20.Rfe1 or 20.Rfb1. 18...g6 19.Kh1 19.Nxc7!? Bxc7 20.Rxc6 Rxb2 21.Bd3 Bb8 22.h4 was played in Sutovsky-Bok, in the Euro Club Cup last October. White went on to win. 19...Nd8 20.b4 Ne6 21.Bb3 This game is a pretty good example of what is often known as 'the Spanish torture'. White's opening edge persists well into the middlegame. Here White has established a solid grip on the queenside, the centre and the kingside, tying up most prospective inroads into his position. 21...h5 22.Qg2 Kg7 23.Rg1 f3 Staying solid with 23...Qe7 is another option. 24.Qg3 Ra8 25.Rxa8 Rxa8 26.Re1 h4 This could be a serious positional error. This was Black's last chance to get in 26...Qf4 when a queen exchange relieves his position somewhat, e.g. 27.h4 Qxg3 28.fxg3 g5! with a reasonable game for Black. 27.Qg4 Qg5 Now 27...Qf4 is off the agenda as 28.Bxe6 wins a piece. 28.Bxe6 Qxb5 29.Rg1!? White could (and probably should) win a pawn here with 29.Bd5, e.g. 29...Ra3 30.Qxf3 Qd7 31.Rd1 c6 32.Bc4 Qe7 though Black has a degree of compensation for it. 29...Qe8! After 29...fxe6?? White mates in four. 30.Bd7 30.Bc4 Ra3 31.Qxf3 Bxd4 32.Bxf7 Qxf7 33.Qxf7+ Kxf7 34.cxd4 Rb3 leads to a level rook and pawn endgame. 30...Qe7 31.Bf5 31...Qf6?? Black used 15 of his remaining 21 minutes in playing this but I'm afraid it wasn't time well spent as it gives White a key tempo to spark his kingside attack. 31...Qe8! holds. If 32.Qxf3 Ra3! and something has to give in White's position, while 32.Qxh4 is met in the same way. 32.e5! dxe5 33.dxe5 Qxe5 Black has no choice but to take on e5. 33...Qc6 loses to 34.Be4 34.Bxg6! Bxf2 After 34...fxg6 35.Qxg6+ Kf8, the prosaic 36.Qg8+ Ke7 37.Qxa8 wins, much as in the game. 35.Be4+ Kf8 36.Qg8+ Ke7 37.Bxa8 37.Qxa8? Bxg1 38.Kxg1 Qg5+ would throw away the win.