Gareyev Annotates a Victorious Pacific Coast Open

GM Timur Gareyev scored a perfect 6-0 in the 2019 Pacific Coast Open (July 18-20, Van Nuys, CA), earning $3,100 for his sterling performance.  Curiously, Gareyev probably could have made a draw (or two) on the last day and still taken clear first (and the same amount of money).  When I raised this possibility with Gareyev, he said he was feeling good and simply wanted to play some good chess.  Gareyev has annotated his two critical fifth and sixth round wins exclusively for CLO. The tournament started off with several upsets. Interestingly the upsets occurred in the slow time control three-day schedule, where four masters did not survive the first round.  NM Paris Prestia lost to Bernard Bednarz and NM Leo Creger lost to Chang Xu while NM Teddie Wen drew with Shawnaak Shivakumar and NM Vyom Vidarthi drew with Sebastian Prestia. There were not as many upsets in round two, but there was one big surprise on board one of the three day schedule where GM Gergely Antal drew with Tommy Wen.

[pgn]

[Event "Pacific Coast Open"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2019.07.18"]
[Round "2.2"]
[White "Wen, Tommy"]
[Black "Antal, Gergely"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "B19"]
[WhiteElo "2154"]
[BlackElo "2608"]
[PlyCount "61"]
[EventDate "2019.??.??"]
[SourceVersionDate "2019.07.26"]

1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 dxe4 4. Nxe4 Bf5 5. Ng3 Bg6 6. h4 h6 7. Nf3 Nd7 8. h5
Bh7 9. Bd3 Bxd3 10. Qxd3 e6 11. O-O Ngf6 12. Re1 Be7 13. Bf4 O-O 14. Ne5 c5 15.
Rad1 Nd5 16. dxc5 Nxc5 17. Qf3 Qc8 18. Nf5 exf5 19. Qxd5 Bf6 20. Ng6 Rd8 21.
Qxd8+ Qxd8 22. Rxd8+ Rxd8 23. Ne7+ Kh7 24. Nxf5 Bxb2 25. Re7 Bf6 26. Rxf7 Rd1+
27. Kh2 Ne6 28. Be3 Nd8 29. Rf8 Ne6 30. Rf7 Nd8 31. Rf8 1/2-1/2

[/pgn]

With this being a six round event, the merge would not occur until after round three, when the top players were already meeting.  There were only three players at 2-0 in the two-day schedule:  GM Gareyev, IM John Bryant and NM Gabriel Sam.  GM Gareyev defeated Bryant to emerge as the only 3-0 as Gabriel lost to NM Ming Lu. In the three day schedule, there were only two perfect scores after two rounds:  NMs Vijay Krishnamoorthy and Gabriel Edelman.  Krishnamoorthy won to get to 3-0 and would face Gareyev after the merge.  On board two of the section, Antal did better against the Wen family as he defeated NM Teddie Wen. This meant that at the merge, there were only two perfect scores: Gareyev and Krishnamoorthy.  Four players were half a point back: GM Antal, and NMs Nicky Korba, Ming Lu, and Ilya Stern.  Gareyev won to emerge in clear first at 4-0.  Antal defeated Sterin and Korba defeated Lu.  Going into Sunday’s money rounds Gareyev stood at 4-0 and was being chased by Antal and Korba at 3.5. With a half point lead and playing the only other GM in the event, Gareyev could have certainly afforded a draw.  However, he had white and he wanted to play, defeating Antal to get to 5-0.

[pgn]

[Event "Pacific Coast Open"]
[Site "Sochi"]
[Date "2019.07.20"]
[Round "5.1"]
[White "Gareyev, Timur"]
[Black "Antal, Gergely"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "A20"]
[WhiteElo "2677"]
[BlackElo "2608"]
[Annotator "Blindfoldking"]
[PlyCount "67"]
[EventDate "2014.11.13"]

1. c4 e5 2. d3 Nf6 3. a3 (3. Nf3) 3... Nc6 4. Nf3 d5 (4... g6) 5. cxd5 Nxd5 6.
e4 Nb6 7. Be2 Qd6 8. O-O (8. b4) 8... Be7 9. Be3 Bg4 10. Nbd2 Nd4 11. Bxd4 (11.
Nxd4 exd4 12. Bxg4 dxe3 13. Nb3 exf2+ 14. Rxf2 O-O 15. d4) 11... exd4 12. Rc1 (
12. Nb3) 12... Be6 13. Nb3 Bxb3 14. Qxb3 c6 15. e5 Qd7 16. Rfe1 Rd8 17. Bd1 c5
$2 {Even though black has already made a few inaccurate moves, his position is
still solid.} (17... Qd5 18. Re4 Qxb3 19. Bxb3 c5 20. Nd2 {with long lasting
positional pressure for white}) 18. e6 fxe6 19. Ne5 $1 Qd6 20. Bg4 Nd5 21. Qxb7
(21. Nc4 Qc6 (21... Qc7 22. Bxe6 Nf4 23. Ne5) 22. Bxe6 Nc7 (22... b6 23. Re4
Kf8 24. Rce1 Nf6 25. Ne5 Qc7 26. Nf7 Nxe4 27. Rxe4 g6 28. Nxh8 Bd6 29. g3 Kg7
30. Nf7 Rf8 31. Nxd6 Qxd6 32. Qa4 Qc7 33. Bc4) (22... Nf4 23. Re4 Qc7 24. Rce1
Rf8 25. Bg4 Nd5 26. Na5 Rf4 27. Rxf4 Qxf4 28. Nxb7 Qc7 29. Nxd8 Qxd8 30. Be6
Nb6 31. Qd1 Qd6 32. Qh5+ Kd8 33. Qxh7 Kc7 34. Qxg7 Kb8 35. Bg4) (22... Kf8 23.
Na5 Qb6 24. Bxd5 Qxb3 25. Bxb3 b6 26. Nc6 Re8 27. Ne5 g5 28. Nf7 Rg8 29. Nd6
Bxd6 30. Rxe8+ Kxe8 31. Bxg8 h5 32. Re1+ Kd8 33. Re6 Bf4 34. g3 Bd2 35. Re2 Ba5
36. Bf7 h4 37. Re8+ Kc7 38. Kg2) (22... Qa6 23. Re5 Nc7 24. Rce1 Bf6 25. Bg4+
Bxe5 26. Nxe5 Rd5 27. Ng6+ Kf7 28. Nxh8+ Kf8 29. Be6 Qc6 30. Bxd5 Qxd5 31. Qxd5
Nxd5 32. Re5 Nb6 33. Rxc5 Kg8 34. Rc7 Kxh8 35. Rxb7 g6 36. Rxa7 Nd5 37. Rd7 Nf4
38. b4) 23. Bf7+ Kf8 24. Ne5 Qb6 25. Qa4 Qd6 26. Qxa7 Qa6 27. Qxa6 Nxa6 28. Bc4
Ke8 29. Nf7 Rf8 30. Nxd8 Kxd8 31. Bxa6 bxa6 32. Re6 Kd7 33. Rb6 a5 34. Rb7+ Kd6
35. Rb5 Kc7 36. Rxa5 Kb7 37. Ra4 Rf5 38. Rac4 Kc6 39. b4 Re5 40. bxc5) 21...
Qb6 22. Qc6+ Qxc6 23. Nxc6 Rd6 24. Rxc5 Nf4 25. Ne5 h5 26. Bd1 O-O 27. g3 Nh3+
28. Kg2 Nxf2 29. Bxh5 Bf6 30. Be2 Bxe5 31. Rxe5 Rd7 32. Rf1 (32. Rxe6 Rdf7)
32... Rdf7 33. Rxe6 Kh7 34. Bh5 1-0

[/pgn]

Korba was paired “down” to IM Bryant, and while he was outrated by 200 points, Korba pulled off the upset to stay within striking distance of the leader Gareyev.

[pgn]

[Event "Pacific Coast Open"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2019.07.20"]
[Round "5.2"]
[White "Bryant, John"]
[Black "Korba, Nicky"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C10"]
[WhiteElo "2494"]
[BlackElo "2296"]
[Annotator "Hater,David"]
[PlyCount "122"]
[EventDate "2019.??.??"]

1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nd2 dxe4 4. Nxe4 Nd7 5. Nf3 Ngf6 6. Bd3 Be7 7. Qe2 Nxe4 8.
Bxe4 O-O 9. c3 c5 10. Be3 Qc7 11. O-O-O e5 12. dxe5 Nxe5 13. Kb1 Ng4 14. Bc1
Re8 15. Rhe1 Be6 16. h3 Nf6 17. Ng5 Nxe4 18. Nxe6 Nxc3+ 19. bxc3 Qb6+ 20. Qb2
Qxb2+ 21. Kxb2 fxe6 22. Rd7 Bf6 23. Rxb7 Rab8 24. Rxb8 Rxb8+ 25. Kc2 Kf7 26.
Re4 Rb6 27. Ra4 a6 28. Be3 Rc6 29. Kd3 Be7 30. Kc4 Kf6 31. Ra3 h6 32. Rb3 Bd6
33. Rb7 g5 34. g4 Bf4 35. Bxf4 gxf4 36. Kd3 Ke5 37. Rh7 c4+ 38. Ke2 Rd6 39.
Rxh6 Rd3 40. Rh5+ Kd6 41. h4 f3+ 42. Ke1 Rxc3 43. Kd1 Rd3+ 44. Kc1 Rc3+ 45. Kd1
Rd3+ 46. Kc1 Re3 47. Rh7 Re1+ 48. Kd2 Re2+ 49. Kc3 Rxf2 50. Rf7 Rf1 51. Kxc4
Rg1 52. g5 Rg4+ 53. Kd3 Rxh4 54. Rxf3 Rg4 55. Ke2 Rxg5 56. Ra3 a5 57. Ra4 Rd5
58. Rc4 Rc5 59. Rd4+ Ke5 60. Rh4 Rc2+ 61. Ke3 Rxa2 {Black went on to win} 0-1

[/pgn]

Going into the last round Gareyev was alone at 5-0.  Korba was the only 4.5.  There was also only one player at 4-1: NM Gabriel Sam.  GM Antal led a group of six players at 3.5–1.5. Gareyev could have just given a quick draw to take first place.  He also had black so a short draw would not be surprising.  Timur had other plans, and he defeated Korba to finish at 6-0, a full 1.5 points clear of second place.

[pgn]

[Event "Pacific Coast Open"]
[Site "Sochi"]
[Date "2019.07.20"]
[Round "6.1"]
[White "Korba, Nicky"]
[Black "Gareyev, Timur"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "D77"]
[WhiteElo "2296"]
[BlackElo "2677"]
[Annotator "Blindfoldking"]
[PlyCount "64"]
[EventDate "2014.11.13"]

1. Nf3 Nf6 2. g3 d5 3. Bg2 g6 4. O-O Bg7 5. d4 O-O 6. c4 dxc4 7. Na3 Nc6 8.
Nxc4 Be6 9. Nce5 (9. b3 Bd5 (9... Qc8) 10. Bb2 a5 11. Rc1 a4 (11... Qb8) 12.
bxa4 Ra6) 9... Nxe5 (9... Bd5) 10. Nxe5 (10. dxe5 Qxd1 11. Rxd1 Nd7 12. Nd4
Nxe5 13. Bxb7 (13. Nxe6 fxe6 14. Bxb7 Rad8 15. Re1 Nc4) 13... Rad8) 10... Bd5
11. f3 Nd7 12. f4 Bxg2 13. Kxg2 c5 (13... Nf6) 14. Nxd7 (14. dxc5 Nxe5 15. Qxd8
Rfxd8 16. fxe5 Rd5 (16... Bxe5)) 14... Qxd7 15. dxc5 Qc6+ 16. e4 (16. Rf3 Qxc5
17. Qb3 Rfc8 (17... a5)) 16... Qxe4+ 17. Qf3 Qb4 18. Be3 (18. Rf2 Qxc5 19. Qxb7
Rab8 20. Qf3 (20. Qe4 Rb4) 20... Rfd8 $17) 18... Qxb2+ 19. Kh1 Rab8 (19... b6
20. c6 Rac8 21. Rac1) 20. Rab1 Qxa2 21. Rxb7 Rxb7 22. Qxb7 a5 $1 (22... Qe2 23.
Qf3 Qxf3+ 24. Rxf3 a5) 23. Rc1 a4 (23... Qe2 24. Bg1 a4 (24... Bb2 25. Rb1 Bf6
26. Qg2 Qc4 27. Qb7 Bg7 28. h3 Bf6 29. g4 Qxf4 30. Re1 a4 31. Qe4 Qxe4+ 32.
Rxe4 Ra8 33. Re2 a3 34. Ra2 Kf8) (24... Qd3 25. Qg2 a4 26. c6 Rc8 27. c7 Qb3
28. Qc2 Qd5+ 29. Qg2 Qxg2+ 30. Kxg2 a3 31. Rd1 Rxc7 32. Rd8+ Bf8 33. Ra8 Rc2+
34. Kf3 a2 35. Bd4) (24... Qe6 25. Qg2 a4 26. c6 a3 27. c7 Rc8 28. Rc2 Qa6 29.
Rc6 Qb7 30. Rc2 Qxg2+ 31. Kxg2 Bb2 32. Rd2 Rxc7 33. Rd8+ Kg7 34. Ra8 Rc1 35.
Bf2 Rc2 36. Kf3) (24... Rd8 25. Qg2 Qe6 26. Rc2 a4 27. c6 a3 28. c7 Rc8 29. Qb7
Bb2 30. Rd2 Kg7 31. Rxb2 axb2 32. Qxb2+ f6 33. Bb6 Qd5+ 34. Kg1 Ra8 35. Qe2)
25. Qg2 Qxg2+ 26. Kxg2 a3 27. Be3 a2 28. g4 Ra8 29. h3 a1=Q 30. Rxa1 Rxa1 31.
f5 gxf5 32. gxf5 Ra3 33. Kf2 Be5 34. Ke2 Ra4 35. Kd1 Bd4 36. Bxd4 Rxd4+ 37. Kc2
) 24. Qe4 a3 25. c6 Bb2 (25... Qe6 26. Qxe6 fxe6 27. Rc2 Bb2 28. Bc1) 26. Rc4
Qb3 27. c7 a2 28. c8=Q a1=Q+ 29. Kg2 Rxc8 (29... Qbd1) 30. Rxc8+ Kg7 31. Qxe7
Qd5+ 32. Kf2 Ba3 0-1

[/pgn]

Gareyev also paced his team to the first place mixed doubles so Timur added another $500 to his winnings. Antal defeated Sam to secure part of second place along with Korba.  NM Lernik Manukyan defeated Matthew Shuben and NM Ilya Sterin defeated Caleb Wan to join them, with the four players winning  $1075 each.  Since Korba and Sterin were Under 2300, they pulled up the class prize leaving 4th place to be split six ways among the players who finished at 4-2.  IM John Bryant, NMs Gabriel Sam, Vijay Krishnamoorthy, Gabriel Eidelman, and Daniel Erlikhman and Tommy Wen each won $83.34. Section winners were: U2100 Kian Patel, 5.5-0.5  $2000 U1900 Carlos Varela, Corlan Chinn, Christopher Sheu, & Benjamin Bankhead, 5-1, $950 U1700 Artiom Ambartsoumian, 6-0, $1600 U1500 Benjamin Levy, Nicholas Paetsch, & Sadhana Arivoli, 5-1, $933.34 U1250 Brian Lantz & Neville Linden, 5.5-0.5, $600 Mixed Doubles GM Timur Gareyev and Vanessa Zhou, 9.5 points, $500 to each player Blitz Daniel Lee & Mick Bighamian, 7-1, $105 NTD Steve Immitt directed for Continental Chess assisted by Randy Hough and Dylan Quercia. Previous Continental Chess tournaments can be found at the Continental Chess website at  http://www.chesstour.com/cross.html.