Blindfold King Sees His Way to Victory at the 49th Annual Atlantic Open

GM Timur Gareyev, Photo: Lennart Ootes

GM Timur Gareyev, the Blindfold King, won the Atlantic Open held August 25-27 at the Washington DC Crystal City Hilton with a score of 4 ½ - ½. While he didn’t have to play blindfolded, he did play an unintentional Swiss gambit. He drew the first round against expert Kenneth Thomas. He then had to play from behind in a field that included five GMs. The only GM vs. GM matchup occurred on board one in the last round when Gareyev had white against GM Sergey Erenburg. The winner would at least tie for first. On board two, GM Julio Sadorra had white versus FM Andrew Samuelson. Given the 300 point rating difference, one would have expected Sadorra to win and at least tie for first. However, Sadorra drew and had to settle for a tie for second. So, Gareyev achieved clear first with his last round win and won the $3000 first prize and the $100 bonus for clear first. Gareyev's mixed double team also finished in a five way tie for the second mixed double team, so he was able to add another $80 to his winnings. Gareyev didn’t play in the blitz, so he couldn’t get the triple crown hat trick! Sadorra and GM Akshayraj Kore finished at 4-0, and each won $1150. Sadorra gave up two draws while Kore took two half point byes. Gareyev was kind enough to provide all of his games with some light annotations. They are presented in round order. You can also check out Gareyev’s blog at http://www.blindfoldking.com. He provides more comments in his adventures link.

[pgn][Event "Atlantic Open"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2017.08.25"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Gareyev, Timur"]
[Black "Thomas, Kenneth"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "B20"]
[WhiteElo "2697"]
[BlackElo "2100"]
[Annotator "Gareyev,Timur"]
[PlyCount "135"]
[EventDate "2017.??.??"]1. e4 c5 2. b4 cxb4 3. Nf3 d5 4. exd5 Qxd5 5. c4 bxc3 6. Nxc3 Qa5 7. Bb5+ Bd7
8. Rb1 Nc6 9. O-O e6 10. Ba4 (10. Ne4 Be7 (10... Qc7 11. Bb2 Nge7 12. Ne5 Nxe5
(12... Ng6 13. Nxd7 Qxd7 14. Qf3) 13. Bxe5 Qxe5 14. Bxd7+ Kxd7 15. Qa4+ Kd8 16.
Rxb7 Qd5 17. Rfb1 Nc6 18. Ng5) 11. d4 Nf6 12. Nxf6+ Bxf6 13. d5 exd5 14. Qxd5)
10... Qc7 11. Qb3 (11. d4 Nf6 12. d5 Nxd5 13. Nxd5 exd5 14. Re1+ Be7 15. Bxc6
bxc6 16. Qd4 $18) 11... Nf6 12. Qxb7 Qxb7 13. Rxb7 Na5 14. Rxd7 (14. Bxd7+ Nxd7
) 14... Nxd7 15. Ne5 Rd8 16. Ne4 f6 17. Nxd7 Rxd7 18. d3 Kd8 19. Bxd7 Kxd7 20.
Be3 Nc6 21. Rb1 Bb4 22. Bxa7 (22. a3 Bxa3 (22... Be7 23. Bxa7 f5) 23. Rb7+ Kc8
24. Rxg7 f5 25. Ng5 Bb2 26. Rf7 Re8 27. Bxa7) 22... Ra8 23. Bc5 Rxa2 24. Bxb4
Nxb4 25. h4 Nd5 26. Rb7+ Nc7 27. h5 h6 28. Rb6 Ra5 29. g4 f5 30. gxf5 exf5 31.
Ng3 f4 32. Ne2 Rxh5 (32... Ne6 33. Rb7+ Kd6 34. Rb6+ Ke5 35. Kg2) 33. Nxf4 Rg5+
34. Kf1 Nd5 35. Nxd5 Rxd5 36. Ke2 Ke7 37. Ke3 h5 38. Ke4 Rd6 39. Rb7+ Kf6 40.
d4 h4 41. f4 g5 42. f5 Ra6 43. Rh7 Ra3 44. Rh6+ Kf7 45. d5 h3 46. d6 Ra4+ 47.
Kd5 (47. Ke5 Ra5+ 48. Ke4 Ra4+) 47... Rh4 48. d7 Ke7 49. Rd6 Kd8 50. Ke6 h2 51.
Rc6 Re4+ (51... Rh6+ 52. f6 Rxf6+ 53. Kxf6) 52. Kd6 Rd4+ 53. Ke6 Rxd7 54. Rc1
Rh7 55. Rd1+ Kc7 (55... Ke8 56. f6) 56. Rc1+ (56. Rh1 g4 57. f6 g3 58. f7 Rh8
59. Kf6) 56... Kb6 57. Rh1 g4 58. f6 g3 59. f7 Rh8 60. Kf6 g2 (60... Kc6 61.
Kg7) 61. Rxh2 Rxh2 (61... g1=Q 62. Rxh8 Qd4+ 63. Ke7 Qe5+ 64. Kd8 Qxh8+ 65. Ke7
Qg7 66. Ke8) 62. f8=Q g1=Q 63. Qb4+ $11 Kc6 64. Qa4+ Kd5 65. Qb3+ Ke4 66. Qe6+
Kd3 67. Qb3+ Kd2 68. Qb2+ 1/2-1/2[/pgn]

[pgn][Event "Atlantic Open"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2017.08.26"]
[Round "2"]
[White "Hutchinson, Antoine"]
[Black "Gareyev, Timur"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "D05"]
[WhiteElo "2123"]
[BlackElo "2697"]
[Annotator "Gareyev,Timur"]
[PlyCount "102"]
[EventDate "2017.??.??"]1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 b6 3. e3 Bb7 (3... g6) 4. Bd3 e6 5. Nbd2 d5 6. O-O (6. Ne5)
6... Nbd7 7. Qe2 c5 (7... Ne4 8. Ba6 Bxa6 9. Qxa6 Bd6 10. Nxe4 dxe4 11. Nd2 O-O
12. Nc4) 8. c3 (8. c4 Be7 (8... cxd4 9. Nxd4 (9. exd4 dxc4 10. Nxc4 Be7) 9...
e5 10. N4b3 a5 (10... e4) 11. a4 e4 12. Bc2 Bd6 13. cxd5 Ba6 14. Nc4 Qc7) 9.
cxd5 Nxd5 10. dxc5 Nxc5 11. Bb5+ Kf8 12. e4 Nf4 13. Qe3 g5 14. b4 Ncd3 15. Rd1)
(8. dxc5 Nxc5 9. Bb5+ Nfd7 10. b4 a6) 8... Bd6 (8... Ne4 9. Ba6 Bxa6 10. Qxa6
Bd6 11. Nxe4 dxe4 12. Nd2 f5 13. Nc4 (13. dxc5) 13... Bc7 14. b3) 9. e4 dxe4
10. Nxe4 Nxe4 11. Bxe4 Bxe4 12. Qxe4 O-O 13. Qc6 Nf6 14. dxc5 Bxc5 15. Bg5 Rc8
16. Qa4 Qc7 17. Bxf6 gxf6 18. Rad1 Rfd8 19. Rxd8+ Rxd8 20. Rd1 Rxd1+ 21. Qxd1
Qf4 22. g3 Qc4 23. b4 Be7 24. Qd2 (24. Qd7 Kf8 25. Qd2 a5) 24... a5 25. a3 Qb3
26. Qc1 (26. Qd7 Bf8 27. Qd4 Be7) 26... axb4 27. axb4 Bxb4 28. cxb4 Qxf3 29.
Qd2 Kg7 30. Qd4 b5 31. Kf1 h5 (31... Kg6 32. h4) 32. Ke1 Qg4 33. Qc5 Qg5 34. h4
Qe5+ 35. Kf1 (35. Kd2 Kg6 36. Qf8 (36. Qc2+ f5 (36... Qf5 37. Qc5) 37. Qc8 Qd4+
(37... f4 38. Qg8+ Qg7) 38. Ke2) 36... Kf5 (36... f5 37. Qg8+ Qg7 38. Qd8) 37.
Qxf7 Kg4) 35... Kg6 36. Qc2+ (36. Qf8 f5 37. Qg8+ Qg7 38. Qd8) 36... f5 37. Qc8
f4 38. Qg8+ Qg7 (38... Kf5 39. Qxf7+ Ke4) 39. Qd8 Qf6 40. Qg8+ (40. Qb8 f3 41.
Kg1) 40... Kf5 41. Qb8 (41. gxf4 Ke4 (41... Kxf4 42. Qg3+ Ke4 43. Qe3+ Kf5 44.
Qd3+)) 41... Qe5 42. Qg8 Ke4 43. Qxf7 (43. gxf4 Qxf4) 43... Kf3 44. Qb7+ Qd5
45. Qxd5+ exd5 46. gxf4 Kxf4 47. Ke2 Kg4 48. Ke3 Kxh4 49. Kf4 d4 50. Ke4 Kg4
51. f3+ Kg3 0-1[/pgn]

[pgn][Event "Atlantic Open"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2017.08.26"]
[Round "3"]
[White "Gareyev, Timur"]
[Black "Samuelson, Andrew"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "A04"]
[WhiteElo "2697"]
[BlackElo "2331"]
[Annotator "Gareyev,Timur"]
[PlyCount "75"]
[EventDate "2017.??.??"]1. Nf3 c5 2. b3 Nc6 3. Bb2 d6 4. d4 cxd4 5. Nxd4 Nf6 6. e3 e6 (6... g6 7. Nxc6
(7. Be2 Bg7 8. c4 O-O 9. O-O Bd7 10. Nc3) 7... bxc6 8. Bxf6 exf6) (6... e5 7.
Nxc6 bxc6 8. c4 Be7) 7. c4 Be7 8. Nc3 (8. Be2 O-O) 8... O-O 9. Be2 Bd7 10. O-O
a6 11. Qd2 Qa5 12. Rfd1 Rfc8 13. Nd5 (13. Nxc6 Bxc6 14. Nd5 Qxd2 15. Nxe7+ Kf8
16. Rxd2 Kxe7 17. f3 d5 18. cxd5 Nxd5 19. e4 Nf4 20. Bf1 f6 21. g3) 13... Qxd2
14. Nxe7+ Nxe7 15. Rxd2 d5 16. f3 dxc4 17. Bxc4 (17. bxc4) 17... b5 18. Bf1 Rc7
19. e4 Rac8 20. a4 e5 21. axb5 exd4 22. bxa6 (22. b6 Rc5 (22... Rc2 23. Rxc2
Rxc2 24. b7 Nc6 25. Bxd4) 23. Bxd4) 22... Nc6 (22... Rb8 23. Ba3 Nc8 24. Bc4)
23. Bxd4 Nxd4 24. Rxd4 Be6 25. b4 Nd7 26. b5 Kf8 27. Rxd7 Rxd7 28. b6 Rb8 29.
a7 Ra8 30. Bb5 Rb7 31. Bc6 Bc8 32. Bxb7 Bxb7 33. Rc1 (33. Rd1) 33... g5 34. Rc7
Ba6 35. e5 (35. b7 Bxb7 36. Rxb7 Kg7 37. Kf2 Kf6 38. Ke3 h5 39. Kd4 Rd8+ 40.
Kc5 Rc8+ 41. Kb6 Re8 42. Rb8 Re6+ 43. Kb5 Re5+ 44. Kb4) 35... Kg7 36. e6 Kf6
37. exf7 Ke6 38. b7 1-0[/pgn]

[pgn][Event "Atlantic Open"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2017.08.27"]
[Round "4"]
[White "Yu, Junnifer"]
[Black "Gareyev, Timur"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "D11"]
[WhiteElo "2353"]
[BlackElo "2697"]
[Annotator "Gareyev,Timur"]
[PlyCount "104"]
[EventDate "2017.??.??"]1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. e3 g5 5. cxd5 (5. Nxg5 dxc4 6. Bxc4 Qa5+ 7. Bd2
Qxg5) 5... Bg7 (5... cxd5 6. Nxg5 Nc6 7. Nc3) 6. Nxg5 (6. dxc6 O-O) 6... O-O 7.
Nc3 b5 8. a3 (8. dxc6 b4 9. Nce4 Nxe4 10. Nxe4 Nxc6 11. Qc2 Qd5 (11... Bf5 12.
Qxc6 Rc8 13. Qb7 Rc7 14. Qxb4 Bxe4) 12. Bc4 Qh5) 8... Qb6 9. dxc6 (9. e4 h6 (
9... Bg4 10. f3 Bh5 11. g4 Bg6 12. h4 h5) 10. Nf3) 9... Nxc6 10. Bxb5 Bb7 11.
O-O Rad8 12. Qc2 Rd6 13. Bd3 Qa5 14. Bxh7+ Kh8 15. h4 e5 16. b4 Qd8 17. b5 (17.
dxe5 Nxe5) 17... exd4 18. bxc6 Rxc6 19. exd4 Qxd4 20. Bd2 Qxh4 21. Bf5 Rc5 22.
Qd3 Nh5 (22... Ng4 23. Bxg4 Rxg5 (23... Qxg4) 24. Bxg5 Qxg4 25. Qg3 (25. g3
Qxg3+) 25... Qxg3 26. fxg3 Bxc3 27. Bf6+) 23. Rac1 Bh6 24. Be3 (24. Qd6 Rc6 25.
Qe7) 24... Ra5 25. Qd4+ Qxd4 26. Bxd4+ Ng7 27. Be4 Ba6 28. Rfe1 (28. Nf3) 28...
Bxg5 29. Ra1 (29. Rb1 Rc8 30. g3 Bd2 31. Red1 Bxc3 32. Bxc3 Rxc3 33. Rd8+ Ne8
34. Rxe8+ Kg7 35. Re7 Bb5 (35... Bc8) 36. Re5 a6 37. Bb7 Kf6 38. Rh5) 29... Rc8
30. g3 Bd2 31. Red1 Bxc3 32. Bxc3 Rxc3 33. Rd8+ Ne8 34. Rxe8+ Kg7 35. a4 Bb5
36. Re5 a6 37. Bb7 Kf6 38. Rh5 Rxa4 39. Rxa4 Rc1+ 40. Kg2 Bxa4 41. Ra5 (41.
Bxa6 Bc6+ 42. f3 (42. Kh3 Bf3 43. Rh6+ (43. Kh4 Rh1#)) 42... Rc2+ 43. Kf1 (43.
Kh3) (43. Kg1 Bxf3 44. Rh4) 43... Bxf3 44. Ra5) 41... Bb5 42. g4 Rc5 43. f3 (
43. Ra3) (43. Ba8 Bc6+ 44. Bxc6 Rxa5) (43. Kg3 Rc3+ 44. f3) 43... Bf1+ 44. Kxf1
Rxa5 45. Ke2 Ke5 46. Ke3 Ra3+ 47. Kd2 Kf4 48. Kc2 a5 49. Kb2 Rxf3 50. Bxf3 Kxf3
51. Ka3 Kxg4 52. Ka4 f5 0-1[/pgn]

[pgn][Event "Atlantic Open"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2017.08.27"]
[Round "5"]
[White "Gareyev, Yimur"]
[Black "Erenburg, Sergey"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D31"]
[WhiteElo "2697"]
[BlackElo "2658"]
[Annotator "Gareyev,Timur"]
[PlyCount "71"]
[EventDate "2017.??.??"]1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Nf3 dxc4 5. a4 e6 6. e4 Bb4 7. Bxc4 Nxe4 8. O-O
Nf6 (8... Nxc3 9. bxc3 Bxc3 10. Ba3 (10. Ra3) 10... Bxa1 11. Qxa1 Nd7 12. d5
cxd5 13. Bxd5 Qf6 14. Qc1 exd5 15. Re1+ Kd8 16. Be7+ (16. Qe3 Kc7 (16... Qe6
17. Qc3 Qf6 18. Qe3) 17. Be7) 16... Qxe7 17. Rxe7 Kxe7) 9. a5 O-O (9... Bxa5
10. Bg5 Nbd7 11. Ne4 Bc7 12. Qb3 O-O 13. Rae1 h6 14. Bh4 g5 15. Nfxg5 Nxe4 16.
Rxe4 hxg5 17. Rg4 f6 18. f4 Nb6 19. Qd3 Qe7 20. Bxg5 Qg7 21. h3 fxg5 22. Rxg5
Nxc4) 10. Qb3 Be7 (10... Bxa5 11. Bg5) 11. Re1 Nd5 (11... Nbd7 12. Bxe6 Ne5 13.
dxe5 Bxe6 14. exf6) 12. h4 Nd7 (12... Bxh4 13. Nxh4 Qxh4 14. Re4 Qd8 15. Rg4 f5
16. Rg3 Rf7 (16... Rf6) 17. Bg5 Qf8 18. Re1 Na6 19. Bxd5 exd5 20. Rge3 Bd7 21.
Qxb7 Qc8) 13. Bg5 Re8 14. Ne4 (14. Nxd5 exd5 15. a6 b6 16. Bxd5 cxd5 17. Qxd5
Rb8 18. Bf4) 14... f6 (14... h6 15. Bd2 Bxh4 16. Nd6) 15. Bd2 Nf8 16. h5 Rb8
17. h6 g6 (17... g5 18. Nfxg5 fxg5 19. Qg3 Qc7 20. Qg4 Ng6) 18. Nc3 Bd6 19. Ne4
Be7 (19... Bc7 20. Ne5) 20. Nc5 b6 21. axb6 axb6 (21... Qxb6 22. Qa4 Bxc5 23.
Ba5 (23. Bxd5)) 22. Ra7 Kh8 23. Bxd5 cxd5 (23... Qxd5 24. Qxd5 cxd5 25. Bf4
bxc5 26. Bxb8 cxd4 27. Rc1 Bd7 28. Bg3) 24. Bf4 Bd6 25. Bxd6 Qxd6 26. Ne5 fxe5
(26... Re7 27. Nf7+ Rxf7 28. Rxf7 e5 29. Qa3 Bf5 30. Qa7) 27. Qf3 Nd7 28. Rxd7
(28. Nxd7 Qe7 29. Qf6+ Kg8 30. Qxe7 Rxe7 31. Nf6+ Kf7 32. Rxe7+ Kxe7 33. dxe5
Bb7 34. Nxh7 Rh8 35. Rc1) 28... Qf8 29. Rf7 Qxh6 30. Qf6+ (30. Nd3 g5 31. Nxe5
Ba6 32. Ra7 Rf8 33. Nf7+) 30... Kg8 31. Nd3 Rf8 32. Nxe5 Rxf7 33. Qxf7+ Kh8 34.
Qe8+ Kg7 35. Qe7+ Kg8 36. Ng4 1-0[/pgn]

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