Dzagnidze Leads Cairns Cup after Three Rounds

Nana Dzagnidze leads the 2020 Cairns Cup at 2.5/3 after three rounds of play. Three players – Harika Dronavalli, Kateryna Lagno, and Mariya Muzychuk – are half a point behind the leader as today’s Round 4 action kicks off at 1pm CST. Round 2

It is said that spectators “showered the board” with gold coins after Frank Marshall’s 23. … Qg3 in his 1912 victory over Stefen Levitsky.

[pgn] [Event "DSB Kongress-18 Meisterturnier"] [Site "Breslau"] [Date "1912.??.??"] [Round "6"] [White "Levitsky, Stepan M"] [Black "Marshall, Frank James"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "C10"] [Annotator "Hartmann,John"] [SetUp "1"] [FEN "5rk1/pp4pp/4p3/2R3Q1/3n4/2q4r/P1P2PPP/5RK1 b - - 0 23"] [PlyCount "1"] [EventDate "1912.07.14"] [EventType "tourn"] [EventRounds "17"] [EventCountry "GER"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2010.06.14"] [SourceQuality "1"] {[#]} 23... Qg3 $3 {"The most elegant move I have ever played!" (Marshall)} ( 23... Ne2+ 24. Kh1 Ng3+) (23... Qg3 24. hxg3 (24. fxg3 Ne2+ 25. Kh1 Rxf1#) (24. Qxg3 Ne2+ 25. Kh1 Nxg3+ 26. Kg1 (26. fxg3 Rxf1#) 26... Nxf1) 24... Ne2#) 0-1 [/pgn]

Were modern day spectators prone to carrying gold, and were they not restrained by the rope line at the Saint Louis Chess Club, they might well have done the same after Valentina Gunina’s 13th move against Alexandra Kosteniuk.

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[pgn] [Event "2nd Cairns Cup 2020"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2020.02.08"] [Round "2.4"] [White "Gunina, Valentina"] [Black "Kosteniuk, Alexandra"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "C77"] [WhiteElo "2461"] [BlackElo "2504"] [Annotator "Hartmann,John"] [PlyCount "80"] [EventDate "2020.02.07"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. d3 d6 6. c4 {The Duras Variation, named not for the Klingon, but for Oldrich Duras, who played 6. c4 in dozens of games.} Bg4 7. Be3 Nd7 8. h3 Bh5 9. Nc3 Qb8 $2 {I have to admit that the logic of this move is completely beyond me. The ...b5 break is not possible, so what is the queen doing there?} 10. Nd5 Qc8 {Admitting the error of her ways, but two tempi are wasted in the process.} 11. g4 Bg6 12. Nh4 Nd8 $2 { [#] Now Gunina plays a move that will be remembered long after this tournament is over.} (12... Be7 {at least continues develoment. White has a serious edge after} 13. Nf5 Bxf5 14. gxf5 Nd4 15. Qg4 $16) 13. Bb6 $3 {Where are my gold pieces when I need them? What a move by last year's champ!} (13. Bxd7+ Qxd7 14. Qb3 Rb8 15. f4 $16) 13... Ne6 (13... cxb6 $2 {is verboten due to} 14. Nxb6 { when everything is hanging.}) 14. Bxc7 b5 $5 {A great practical decision by Kosteniuk, giving the queen for three minor pieces. White retains a huge edge, but it's messy and Black lives to fight.} (14... Be7 {is less of a challenge, i.e.} 15. Bxd6 Bxd6 16. Nb6 $18) 15. cxb5 axb5 16. Bxb5 Nxc7 17. Rc1 $2 { Inaccurate. Black accumulates more material for the queen.} (17. Nb6 $1 { is thematic. After} Nxb5 18. Nxc8 Rxc8 19. Rc1 {White is winning, but there is still work to do.}) 17... Nxb5 18. Rxc8+ Rxc8 {White has a queen and two pawns for a rook and two bishops.} 19. Qa4 (19. O-O $5) 19... Rb8 20. O-O Be7 21. Nxg6 $2 {Exchanging a useful knight for a bad bishop, while also opening the h-file for the h8-rook.} hxg6 22. Rc1 Bd8 (22... Rxh3 23. Nc7+ Nxc7 24. Rxc7 Rd8 25. Qb5 $11) 23. Qa6 O-O (23... Nd4 24. Kg2 Rxb2 25. Qxd6 Nb5) 24. b4 Nf6 25. Rc8 Rxc8 26. Qxc8 Nxd5 27. exd5 Nd4 28. a4 f5 29. g5 e4 30. dxe4 Bxg5 31. Qc4 Nf3+ 32. Kg2 Ne5 33. Qc2 fxe4 34. Qxe4 Rf4 35. Qe1 Bh4 36. b5 Nd3 37. Qe8+ (37. Qe3 Rxf2+ 38. Kh1 Rf1+ 39. Kh2 Rf2+ 40. Kh1) 37... Kh7 38. f3 Rxa4 39. f4 Ra2+ 40. Kf3 Ne1+ 0-1 [/pgn]

While Kosteniuk eventually won the game, with Gunina’s 21. Nxg6? being one of the chief culprits in her defeat, 13. Bb6!! is for me already the move of the tournament… although I’ll be glad to revise my words if future brilliancies warrant it! There were two other decisive results in Round 2. Mariya Muzychuk won a lovely attacking game over Humpy Koneru.

[pgn] [Event "2nd Cairns Cup 2020"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2020.02.08"] [Round "2.1"] [White "Muzychuk, Mariya"] [Black "Koneru, Humpy"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C43"] [WhiteElo "2552"] [BlackElo "2580"] [Annotator "Hartmann,John"] [PlyCount "67"] [EventDate "2020.02.07"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. d4 Nxe4 4. Bd3 d5 5. Nxe5 Nd7 6. Nc3 Nxc3 7. bxc3 Bd6 8. O-O O-O 9. Re1 Bxe5 10. dxe5 Nc5 11. Rb1 $1 {The start of a brilliant rook lift plan, heading to the kingside.} Nxd3 12. cxd3 b6 13. Rb4 Bf5 14. Qf3 c5 15. Rf4 Bg6 16. h4 h5 17. g4 $5 Qxh4 {Risky, but probably forced.} 18. Qg2 Qe7 19. gxh5 Bxh5 20. Re3 Rfe8 21. Qh2 g6 22. Rf5 $1 (22. e6 $1 {also works here, as we see after a few repeated moves.}) 22... Bg4 (22... gxf5 23. Qxh5 f4 24. Qg4+ $18) 23. Rf4 Bh5 24. e6 fxe6 25. Rg3 Kh7 (25... Qh7 26. Rh4 Kf7 27. Rg5 $18) 26. Rh4 Qf7 27. Rg5 Rg8 28. Kf1 Qf3 29. Rhxh5+ $1 gxh5 30. Qc7+ Kh8 31. Qe5+ Kh7 32. Rxh5+ Kg6 33. Qg5+ Kf7 34. Rh7+ 1-0 [/pgn]

Kateryna Lagno defeated Carissa Yip after the young American lost the thread in the early middlegame.

[pgn] [Event "2nd Cairns Cup 2020"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2020.02.08"] [Round "2.5"] [White "Yip, Carissa"] [Black "Lagno, Kateryna"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "C45"] [WhiteElo "2412"] [BlackElo "2552"] [Annotator "Hartmann,John"] [PlyCount "62"] [EventDate "2020.02.07"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 exd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nxc6 bxc6 6. Bd3 d5 7. exd5 cxd5 8. O-O Be7 9. c4 O-O 10. cxd5 Bb7 11. Nc3 Nxd5 12. Bd2 Qd7 (12... Nxc3 13. Bxc3 Bf6 14. Bxf6 Qxf6 15. Qc2 g6 16. Qxc7 Qxb2 17. Rab1 Qd4 18. Rfd1 Bd5 19. Bxg6 Qc4 20. Bxh7+ Kxh7 21. Qe5 Be6 22. Rd4 Qc2 23. Re1 Kg6 24. h3 Rae8 25. Rh4 Bf5 26. Qg3+ Kf6 27. Qd6+ Be6 28. Re3 {1-0 (28) Xiong,J (2712)-Sethuraman,S (2634) Saint Louis 2019}) 13. Qe2 (13. Qf3) (13. Re1) 13... Rfe8 14. Rfd1 Bd6 15. Qh5 Nf6 16. Qb5 Bc6 17. Qf5 Qxf5 18. Bxf5 Rab8 19. b3 $6 {Afterwards Lagno criticized this move, feeling it unneccesarily weakened the dark squares.} (19. Rab1) 19... Rbd8 20. Be1 g6 21. Bc2 a5 22. Rd3 Nh5 23. g3 $6 (23. Bd2 { improves, but White's pieces are still poorly coordinated.}) 23... Nf6 24. Rad1 Ng4 25. Nd5 Re2 26. Bb1 Rde8 27. Bxa5 Bc5 28. h3 Bxf2+ 29. Kf1 Nh2+ 30. Kg2 Be3+ 31. Kh1 Nf3 0-1 [/pgn]

Irina Krush, the second American in the field, continued her solid start with a draw against World Champion Ju Wenjun. It looked like Krush could grab a serious edge after Ju’s mistaken 19. Rxc4, but she missed the strongest continuation, and while both players did their best to complicate things, the game was eventually drawn in 74 moves.

[pgn] [Event "2nd Cairns Cup 2020"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2020.02.08"] [Round "2.3"] [White "Ju, Wenjun"] [Black "Krush, Irina"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D26"] [WhiteElo "2583"] [BlackElo "2422"] [Annotator "Hartmann,John"] [PlyCount "147"] [EventDate "2020.02.07"] 1. d4 d5 2. c4 dxc4 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. e3 e6 5. Bxc4 c5 6. O-O Nc6 7. Nc3 a6 8. Qe2 b5 9. Bb3 Bb7 10. Rd1 Be7 11. d5 exd5 12. Bxd5 (12. Nxd5 Nxd5 13. Bxd5 Qb6 { 1/2-1/2 (48) Brown,M (2506)-Gurevich,D (2483) chess.com INT 2018}) 12... Qc8 ( 12... Nxd5 13. Nxd5 O-O 14. b4 $5 Bf6 15. Nxf6+ Qxf6 16. Bb2 Qe7 {½-½ (24) Bareev,E-Dlugy,M (2450) Belfort 1983}) 13. e4 O-O 14. Be3 Re8 15. Rac1 c4 16. a4 (16. b3 {tries to undermine the pawn chain, but play gets very sharp after} Ba3 17. bxc4 Bxc1 18. Rxc1 b4 19. Na4 $44) 16... Nb4 $1 17. axb5 axb5 18. Nxb5 ({Krush correctly saw that} 18. Bxf7+ {failed to} Kxf7 19. Nxb5 Ba6 $1 {and if} 20. Rxc4 Bxb5 $1) (18. b3 Nd3 19. Rc2 Nxd5 20. Nxd5 Bxd5 21. exd5 Bc5 22. d6 $5 $13) 18... Nfxd5 19. Rxc4 $2 (19. exd5 {is required, when play continues} Bxd5 20. Ne1 {(trying to stop ...Nd3)} Qc6 21. Nc3 Be6 {and Black has the upper hand.}) 19... Qb8 $6 ({The key alternative was} 19... Bc6 $1 {(a move that Leela does not initially see; the threat is ... Bxb5 with a horrible skewer) and now:} {(a)} 20. Na7 $2 {but afterwards Krush admitted that she missed} ({ (b)} 20. Rxc6 Qxc6 21. exd5 Nxd5 22. Nbd4 Qb6 {and a pawn is not enough for the exchange}) 20... Nf4 $1 (20... Rxa7 $2 21. exd5 $1)) (19... Qd7 20. Rc7 Qxc7 21. Nxc7 Nxc7 $17) 20. exd5 Nxd5 21. Nc3 Nxe3 22. Qxe3 Bf6 23. Qf4 Bxf3 24. Qxf3 Qxb2 25. Nd5 Ra1 26. g3 Rxd1+ 27. Qxd1 h6 {After a blazing opening and early middlegame, the position peters out to a fairly drawish situation. The players probed each other for many moves to no avail.} 28. Qf3 Qe5 29. Rf4 Re6 30. Kg2 Rd6 31. Ne3 Qe6 32. Nf5 Ra6 33. h4 Kh8 34. h5 Kg8 35. Re4 Qc6 36. Re1 Qxf3+ 37. Kxf3 Ra8 38. Rb1 Bg5 39. Rb6 Rd8 40. Kg4 Bd2 41. f4 Bc3 42. Kf3 Kh7 43. Rb7 Kg8 44. Ra7 Bb2 45. Rc7 Bf6 46. Ke4 Kf8 47. Rc6 Be7 48. Ne3 Ba3 49. Rc7 Re8+ 50. Kf3 Rd8 51. Nc4 Bd6 52. Rb7 Kg8 53. Ke4 Kf8 54. Nb6 Ke8 55. g4 Rb8 56. Nc4 Rd8 57. f5 Kf8 58. Ne3 Be7 59. Nd5 Bg5 60. Nb6 Ke8 61. Rc7 Bf6 62. Rc8 Rxc8 63. Nxc8 Bb2 64. Kd5 f6 65. Ke6 Kf8 66. Kd7 Ba3 67. Nb6 Bc5 68. Nd5 Ba3 69. Nf4 Kf7 70. Ne6 Bb2 71. Nd8+ Kf8 72. Ne6+ Kf7 73. Nd8+ Kf8 74. Ne6+ 1/2-1/2 [/pgn]

Round 3

After a tepid draw with Harika Dronavalli in Round 2, Nana Dzagnidze jumped to the top of the leaderboard with a crushing win over Carissa Yip. The “Hippo” is one of those openings that can quickly turn sour for Black, and here Yip was already under significant pressure after 15 moves. While Dzagnidze’s time pressure made things tricky, with Yip finding many practical defensive ideas, the result was never really in doubt.

[pgn] [Event "2nd Cairns Cup 2020"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2020.02.09"] [Round "3.3"] [White "Dzagnidze, Nana"] [Black "Yip, Carissa"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B06"] [WhiteElo "2515"] [BlackElo "2412"] [PlyCount "89"] [EventDate "2020.02.07"] 1. e4 g6 2. d4 Bg7 3. Nf3 d6 4. Bc4 e6 5. O-O Ne7 6. Bb3 O-O 7. c3 Nd7 8. Bf4 h6 9. h4 Nf6 10. Nbd2 Nc6 11. e5 dxe5 12. dxe5 Nd7 13. Qe2 b6 14. Rad1 Qe7 15. Bc2 a5 16. Rfe1 Ba6 17. Qe3 h5 18. Bg5 Qc5 19. Qf4 Ncxe5 20. Ne4 Qc6 21. Nxe5 Bxe5 22. Qd2 Bc8 23. Ng3 Rb8 24. Bh6 Bf6 25. Bxf8 Nxf8 26. Ne4 Bxh4 27. Qf4 Be7 28. Nf6+ Bxf6 29. Qxf6 Ba6 30. Re3 Bc4 31. Be4 Qe8 32. b3 Ba6 33. Rh3 Nh7 34. Qh4 Be2 35. Rd2 Bg4 36. Rhd3 Kg7 37. Rd8 Rxd8 38. Qxd8 Qxd8 39. Rxd8 e5 40. Re8 Be6 41. Re7 c5 42. c4 Ng5 43. Bd5 Bf5 44. Rb7 Bb1 45. a3 1-0 [/pgn]

Team America took another one on the chin in this round, with Irina Krush falling to Valentina Gunina. Here too time trouble took its toll, with Krush going from better to significantly worse as she worked to reach move 40.

[pgn] [Event "2nd Cairns Cup 2020"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2020.02.09"] [Round "3.5"] [White "Krush, Irina"] [Black "Gunina, Valentina"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "E32"] [WhiteElo "2422"] [BlackElo "2461"] [Annotator "Hartmann,John"] [PlyCount "104"] [EventDate "2020.02.07"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Qc2 O-O 5. a3 Bxc3+ 6. Qxc3 Qe8 7. g3 d6 8. Bg2 a5 9. b3 Ra7 10. e4 e5 11. d5 {Locking the center with the bishop pair in hand is a big decision. Now Gunina, who leads in development, tries to break on the queenside.} b5 12. Be3 Rb7 13. Ne2 (13. c5 $5 b4 14. axb4 axb4 15. Qc2 c6 $5 $132) 13... bxc4 14. bxc4 Qa4 15. O-O c6 (15... Na6 16. Rfb1 Ng4) 16. dxc6 (16. Rfc1 cxd5 17. cxd5 Bd7 18. f3 $5 {wti Bg2-f1}) 16... Nxc6 17. Rfd1 Bg4 $5 {Gunina gives a pawn for activity. (I feel like I write this in every game I look at!)} (17... Rd8) 18. f3 Be6 19. Rxd6 Rb3 20. Qc2 Rc8 21. Bf1 (21. Nc1 $5 Rb4 22. Qxa4 Rxa4 23. Bf1) 21... Qxc4 22. Qxc4 Bxc4 23. Kf2 h6 24. Rc1 { White seems to have a slight advantage here, but Krush soon finds herself in serious and persistent time trouble, sapping her ability to find the best moves.} Ne7 25. Bh3 Rc7 26. Rc2 Kh7 27. a4 $2 {Pawns begin to fall.} (27. Nc1 $1) 27... Rb4 28. Bf1 Rc8 29. Bh3 Rc6 30. Rxc6 Nxc6 31. Bc5 Rxa4 32. Bf1 Bd3 33. Rd2 Rc4 34. Ba3 $2 Bxe4 $1 35. Ra2 (35. fxe4 {loses to} Nxe4+ 36. Ke1 Nxd2 37. Kxd2 Nb4) 35... Bd3 36. Ke3 e4 37. fxe4 Ne5 38. h3 Rxe4+ 39. Kf2 Bc4 40. Ra1 Nd3+ 41. Kg1 Re3 42. Bd6 Ne4 43. Bc7 Nd2 44. Nd4 Nxf1 45. Kxf1 Re4 46. Bb6 a4 47. Kg2 Bd5 48. Kf1 a3 49. Ne2 Rb4 50. Ba5 Rb2 51. Bc3 Rc2 52. Rxa3 Bf3 0-1 [/pgn]

Harika Dronavalli got her first win of the tournament, downing Alexandra Kosteniuk in a strategic Ruy Lopez.

[pgn] [Event "2nd Cairns Cup 2020"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2020.02.09"] [Round "3.2"] [White "Kosteniuk, Alexandra"] [Black "Harika, Dronavalli"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "C84"] [WhiteElo "2504"] [BlackElo "2518"] [Annotator "Hartmann,John"] [PlyCount "92"] [EventDate "2020.02.07"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. d3 b5 7. Bb3 O-O 8. Nc3 d6 9. a3 Na5 10. Ba2 Be6 11. b4 Bxa2 12. Nxa2 Nc6 13. Re1 (13. c4 Nd4 14. Nc3 c6 15. Be3 Nxf3+ 16. Qxf3 Qc8 17. h3 Qe6 18. Rfc1 {1/2-1/2 (18) Nepomniachtchi, I (2767)-So,W (2760) Jerusalem 2019}) 13... Qd7 14. c4 Rab8 15. Nc3 Nd4 16. Nxd4 exd4 17. Ne2 {Already Dronavailli thought that the position was easier for her, giving her more direct play.} c5 18. bxc5 dxc5 19. Nf4 Ne8 20. Bd2 ( 20. Nd5 Nf6) 20... Bg5 $1 21. Qh5 $6 (21. Nd5 Bxd2 22. Qxd2 Nc7 {Dronavalli thought that getting rid of the minor pieces was to her advantage.}) 21... h6 22. Rec1 ({If} 22. h4 Nf6 $1 {and the g4 square is weakened.}) 22... Rc8 23. g3 Rc6 (23... bxc4 $5 24. Rxc4 Nd6 25. Rc2 c4 26. Nd5 Bxd2 27. Rxd2 c3) 24. Rab1 bxc4 $1 {Now the e-pawn becomes weak.} 25. dxc4 {From here Black relentlessly increases the pressure on the White position.} (25. Rxc4 Nd6 26. Rcc1 Rfc8 { and ...c5-c4 is looming.} (26... c4 $5)) 25... Nf6 26. Qf3 Re8 27. Re1 Ng4 $1 28. Rb3 Ne5 29. Qe2 Rd6 30. Nd3 Nxd3 31. Rxd3 Bxd2 32. Qxd2 Rde6 33. Qa5 (33. f3 f5 (33... Rb6 $5)) 33... Qc6 34. f3 f5 35. e5 Rxe5 36. Rxe5 Rxe5 37. Rb3 Kh7 38. Qd8 Qe6 39. Kg2 Re2+ 40. Kh3 f4+ 41. g4 Re3 42. Qb8 Qc6 43. Rxe3 fxe3 44. Kg3 d3 45. Qd8 d2 46. h4 Qg6 0-1 [/pgn]

The two remaining games of the round were drawn. Humpy Koneru and Ju Wenjun repeated moves fairly early, while Kateryna Lagno passed up a promising continuation to force a draw against Mariya Muzychuk.

[pgn] [Event "2nd Cairns Cup 2020"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2020.02.09"] [Round "3.1"] [White "Lagno, Kateryna"] [Black "Muzychuk, Mariya"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C42"] [WhiteElo "2552"] [BlackElo "2552"] [Annotator "Hartmann,John"] [PlyCount "60"] [EventDate "2020.02.07"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nxe5 d6 4. Nf3 Nxe4 5. d4 d5 6. Bd3 Bd6 7. O-O O-O 8. c4 c6 9. Re1 Bf5 10. Qb3 Nd7 (10... Na6) 11. cxd5 Ndc5 12. dxc5 Nxc5 13. Bxf5 Nxb3 14. axb3 cxd5 {An interesting position has arisen, one known to theory. White has three minor pieces for the queen, and while the engine only gives White a slight edge, database statistics are much more optimistic.} 15. Nc3 Qb6 16. Be3 Qxb3 17. Nd4 Qc4 18. Ra4 Qc7 19. g3 Qd8 20. Rd1 Re8 21. Nf3 Qf6 22. Rxd5 Be5 23. Nxe5 Qxf5 24. Rf4 Qc2 25. Nxf7 $6 (25. Rd2 $142 Qc1+ 26. Kg2 Rxe5 27. Rd8+ Rxd8 28. Bxc1) 25... Qxb2 $2 26. Nh6+ $6 {After burning a lot of time and feeling "that something was already going wrong," Lagno decides to force the draw.} ({Lagno analyzed} 26. Bd4 $1 Qc1+ 27. Kg2 Qxf4 28. gxf4 Kxf7 {but was worried about the queenside pawn duo giving Black adequate counterplay for the slight material disadvantage.}) 26... gxh6 27. Rg4+ Kf7 28. Rf4+ Kg8 29. Rg4+ Kf7 30. Rf4+ Kg8 1/2-1/2 [/pgn]

Pairings for Round 4

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