Kostya's Game of the Day - August 6th

Robert Shlyakhtenko (photo Hartmann)

The game of the day comes from the Barber Tournament, and follows a storyline that is probably familiar to many players. NM Robert Shlyakhtenko got a small edge in the opening against his opponent's King's Indian Defense, but misplayed things quickly after, allowing Black huge counterplay. Given a choice between losing the exchange and destroying his own pawn structure, Shlyakhtenko decides to sacrifice the exchange, angling for compensation. His opponent, likely realizing his advantage, immediately goes wrong, allowing White to launch an attack seemingly out of nowhere. Even though Black still had a concrete way to defend, the psychological war had been lost, and instead Black's collapse was imminent. A common tale!

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[Event "2019 Barber"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2019.08.05"]
[Round "5.6"]
[White "Shlyakhtenko, Robert"]
[Black "Luo, Terry"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "E90"]
[WhiteElo "2394"]
[BlackElo "2208"]
[Annotator "Kostya"]
[PlyCount "51"]
[EventDate "2019.??.??"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6 5. h3 O-O 6. Be3 {This treatment of the
Makagonov System, with Be3 instead of the usual Nf3, has become quite popular
in the past year. The main point is to develop the knight to e2 in certain
variations.} c5 {A natural reaction and one of the main lines.} 7. Nf3 {
With Black having committed to c5, White's knight now has no better square
than f3.} Nbd7 $6 {This allows White to push d5 under favorable circumstances,
as Black won't be able to play the typical break e7-e6.} (7... cxd4 8. Nxd4 $14
{is the main line, leading to a Maroczy Bind structure where White has already
committed to h3 rather than f3. I believe this is considered a small
achievement for Black, but White still has good chances for an edge, thanks to
the extra space in the center.}) (7... Qa5 $5 {was played in a recent
brilliancy from the Asian Continental Championship:} 8. Nd2 cxd4 9. Nb3 Qxc3+
$5 {A fantastic queen sacrifice for two minor pieces.} 10. bxc3 dxe3 11. f3 Nh5
12. Qc1 Bh6 13. g4 Nf4 14. Kd1 Ne6 15. Kc2 Nc6 16. h4 Bf4 17. Qd1 Ne5 $44 {
Black had full compensation and went on to win in Firouzja,A (2682)
-Karthikeyan,M (2593) Xingtai 2019}) 8. d5 {Now since Black can't play e6, he
gets a bad type of Benoni, with no counterplay along the e-file.} Qa5 (8... e6
9. dxe6 fxe6 10. Qxd6 $18 {is just a pawn for White.}) 9. Bd3 $6 {Natural, but
flawed.} ({Correct was} 9. Nd2 $1 {which is a common reaction against Qa5,
preparing Nb3 if needed.} b5 10. cxb5 a6 11. Nc4 Qc7 12. a4 $16 {would be
excellent for White. Black has almost zero play on the queenside.}) 9... b5 $1
{A great decision, looking for Benko-style counterplay. One more move and
Black would simply get squeezed to death.} ({Stockfish suggests} 9... Nxe4 $5
10. Bxe4 Bxc3+ 11. bxc3 Qxc3+ 12. Bd2 Qxc4 13. Bc2 {with a very double-edged
position after} Nf6 $132) (9... a6 10. Bd2 $1 $14 {and Black can no longer
play b5.}) (9... e6 10. O-O exd5 11. exd5 $16 {would also be considerably
worse for Black.}) 10. cxb5 a6 11. O-O {This gives Black too easy of a game.} (
11. bxa6 Bxa6 12. O-O Rfb8 {would be unpleasant for White, as Black gets all
of their pieces to their best squares.}) ({A better way to give back the pawn
would be} 11. b6 $1 Qxb6 12. Qc2 $14 {keeping the a-file closed and the
c4-square under control.}) 11... axb5 12. a4 $6 {Ambitious but very risky. I
think the solid a3 should have been played.} b4 ({After} 12... c4 $1 $36 {
Black would take over. Next is b4, with a ton of queenside pressure.}) 13. Nb5
c4 $6 {Choosing the wrong move-order. Black should have started with c4.} 14.
Bxc4 Nxe4 15. Bd4 {A good move, if Black trades bishops one of White's knights
will hop into d4.} (15. Nfd4 $5 {was also worth strong consideration.} Ne5 16.
Qc2 $14 {and White's knight might soon show up on c6.}) 15... Ne5 $1 {A good
response, Black needs to trade off this knight to free his development.} 16.
Bd3 $2 {Oof, a lemon. But it was far from easy to find White's best reply.} (
16. Nxe5 dxe5 17. Be3 $14 {would be a safe choice for White.}) ({The powerful}
16. Re1 $3 {was best.} Nxf3+ (16... Nxc4 17. Bxg7 Kxg7 18. Rxe4 $18) 17. gxf3
$1 (17. Qxf3 Nd2 18. Qd3 Nxc4 19. Qxc4 $14 {is good for White but not as much.}
) 17... Ng5 (17... Bxd4 18. Qxd4 Ng5 19. Qe3 $1 Nxh3+ 20. Kh2 $16 {and Black's
heavy pieces in particular are really misplaced.}) 18. Bxg7 Kxg7 19. h4 $1 Nh3+
20. Kh2 $18 {and Nxf2 is not possible due to Qd4+. A very tough line to
calculate accurately.}) 16... Nxf3+ 17. Qxf3 {Rather than ruining his
structure, Shlyakhtenko decides to sacrifice the exchange. This is a common
attitude nowadays, as it's more enjoyable to play down the exchange than with
weak pawns!} ({Here} 17. gxf3 Bxd4 18. Nxd4 Ng5 {is much worse for White, with
no dynamic compensation for the ruined structure.}) 17... Nd2 18. Qe3 Nxf1 19.
Rxf1 $5 {It wasn't necessary to offer the a4-pawn up as well, but since White
is objectively worse I can certainly understand the urge to try to confuse the
opponent in such a situation.} Bxd4 20. Nxd4 Bb7 $2 {The key moment of the
game. It's likely that Luo simply missed his opponent's next move, because had
he seen that White's reply is even possible, there'd be no way he'd let his
bishop leave the c8-h3 diagonal.} ({Stockfish says there was nothing wrong with
} 20... Qxa4 $1 $19 {just grabbing more stuff, but it's not always practical
to do this when you're already up the exchange. That said, if Black doesn't
take this pawn, White can consolidate the queenside with b2-b3, making it
harder for Black to eventually break through.}) ({I think} 20... Bd7 {would be
a natural way to play.} 21. b3 Qb6 $17 {and in order to try to win Black
should slowly prepare e7-e5 with moves like Rfe8, etc.}) 21. Nf5 $1 {
Immediately seizing the granted chance. The situation has turned completely
and it's now Black who's on the verge of losing.} Kh8 $2 {Defending against an
attack is already one of the hardest aspects in chess, but it's even worse
when it comes with such a quick turnaround. Two moves ago, Black had won the
exchange and was living comfortably. Now, he's getting mated if he doesn't
find the right move.} (21... gxf5 {taking the knight would get Black mated
after} 22. Qg5+ Kh8 23. Qxf5 $18 {and Black's king doesn't get out:} Kg7 24.
Qxh7+ Kf6 25. Qf5+ $1 Kg7 26. Qg5+ Kh8 27. Qh6+) ({The only defense was} 21...
e6 $1 22. dxe6 {and if Black wants to force a draw, he can play} gxf5 (22...
fxe6 {is also possible, where Black's king will remain under pressure.} 23.
Nxd6 Bd5 24. Nc4 $44) 23. Qg5+ Kh8 {and since f5 is no longer hanging White
will soon be forced to give a perpetual.} 24. Qf6+ (24. Bxf5 $2 fxe6 $19) 24...
Kg8 25. e7 Qd5 $11) 22. Nxe7 $18 {White's attack is now winning. The main
threat is Qd4+ f6 Bxg6!} Qc7 {Not the best defense, but again, this is one of
the toughest situations in chess.} (22... Rab8 {illustrates the potential of
White's attack:} 23. Qd4+ (23. Bxg6 Qc5 $1 24. Qh6 fxg6 25. Nxg6+ Kg8 $13)
23... f6 24. Bxg6 $1 hxg6 25. Qh4+ Kg7 26. Qg4 $1 Kf7 27. Qxg6+ Kxe7 28. Qg7+ {
with Re1+ if needed} Kd8 29. Qxf8+ Kc7 30. Rc1+ Kb6 31. Qxb8 $18) (22... Ba6 {
seems like the most stubborn defense, forcing White to find} 23. Qd4+ f6 24.
Bxg6 hxg6 (24... Bxf1 25. Qh4 $18) 25. Nxg6+ Kg7 26. Re1 $1 Rae8 27. Ne7 $1 Bc8
28. Qd3 Rxe7 29. Rxe7+ Rf7 30. Re8 Rf8 31. Re3 $18) 23. Rc1 Qd7 24. Bxg6 $1 {
Nicely executed.} f6 (24... hxg6 25. Qh6#) (24... fxg6 25. Qd4+ $18) 25. Rc4 $1
{Using the final piece in the attack. My favorite piece in the position though
is White's knight on e7--it looks so strange, and yet controls everything!}
Bxd5 26. Nxd5 {Black resigned here, as hxg6 would lose to either Rc7 or Rh4+.}
1-0

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