Carnage Continues in Round 6 of the Cairns Cup

The carnage continued yesterday in the 6th Round of the Cairns Cup, with three decisive games and fighting chess across all boards. Fresh off her brilliancy in Round 5 – come back to CLO tomorrow for more on that game! – GM Valentina Gunina defeated IM Elisabeth Paehtz in a long, difficult rook ending, grinding her opponent down in 88 moves. After the game Gunina admitted that the position was completely drawn, but she capitalized on Paehtz’s erroneous 63. … Rd5+ and soon her three connected passed pawns were too strong to overcome.

[pgn]

[Event "1st Cairns Cup 2019"]
[Site "Saint Louis USA"]
[Date "2019.02.12"]
[White "Gunina, Valentina"]
[Black "Paehtz, Elisabeth"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "A40"]
[WhiteElo "2501"]
[BlackElo "2466"]
[Annotator "Hartmann,John"]
[PlyCount "175"]
[EventDate "2019.02.06"]

1. d4 e6 2. c4 Bb4+ 3. Bd2 a5 4. Nf3 d6 5. g3 Nc6 6. Bg2 e5 7. O-O exd4 8. Bg5
f6 9. Bc1 Bc5 10. b3 Nge7 11. Bb2 Nf5 12. Na3 O-O 13. Nb5 Re8 14. Nfxd4 Nfxd4
15. Nxd4 Nxd4 16. Bxd4 Bxd4 17. Qxd4 Qe7 18. e3 Qe5 19. Qd2 Ra7 20. Rfe1 Be6
21. Rac1 Qc5 22. Bd5 c6 23. Bxe6+ Rxe6 24. Red1 Ra8 25. Qc3 Qe5 26. Qc2 Qc5 27.
Rd4 Rd8 28. Rcd1 Rd7 29. Rh4 g6 30. Rhd4 Kg7 31. Qc3 Rde7 32. h4 h5 33. Qd2 Rd7
34. Qb2 Rde7 35. Qc2 Rd7 36. Kh1 f5 37. Qc3 Kh7 38. Kg2 Kg8 39. a3 Kh7 40. R4d3
Qa7 41. Qd4 Qxd4 42. Rxd4 b6 43. Kf3 Kg7 44. b4 axb4 45. axb4 c5 46. bxc5 bxc5
47. Rd5 Re4 48. Rxc5 dxc5 49. Rxd7+ Kf6 50. Rd6+ Kf7 51. Ke2 Rxc4 52. Rd2 Ke6
53. Ra2 Rc1 54. Kd2 Rf1 55. Kd3 Rc1 56. Ra6+ Kf7 57. e4 fxe4+ 58. Kxe4 Re1+ 59.
Kf4 Re2 60. f3 Rd2 61. Kg5 c4 (61... Rd5+ 62. Kf4 Rd3) 62. Rf6+ (62. Rxg6 Rd5+
63. Kh6 Rc5 {with counterplay}) 62... Ke7 63. Rxg6 {[#]} Rd5+ $4 {Black tries
to hold the h-pawn, but there is a tactical problem.} (63... Kd7 $1 64. Rg7+ (
64. Kxh5 $4 Rd5+ 65. Kg4 c3) 64... Kd6 65. Ra7 Rd5+ 66. Kf4 c3 $11 {and Black
has enough counterplay with the c-pawn to hold the draw.}) 64. Kf4 Rc5 65. Rg5
$1 Rc8 (65... Rxg5 66. hxg5 Kf7 67. Ke3 Kg6 68. f4 $18) 66. Rxh5 $18 c3 67.
Re5+ Kf6 68. Re1 c2 69. Rc1 Rc4+ 70. Ke3 Rc3+ 71. Ke4 Kg6 72. g4 Kh6 73. f4
Rc4+ 74. Ke5 Rc3 75. f5 Rc4 76. g5+ Kh5 77. f6 Kg6 78. h5+ Kxg5 79. f7 Rc5+ 80.
Kd6 Rf5 81. Ke6 Rf2 82. Rxc2 Rxc2 83. f8=Q Re2+ 84. Kd5 Rd2+ 85. Ke4 Re2+ 86.
Kd3 Re6 87. Qg8+ Kf5 88. Qc8 1-0

[/pgn]

Gunina’s victory jumped her to the head of the tournament table, where she is tied with GM Alexandra Kosteniuk at 5/6 going into Round 7. Kosteniuk held GM Irina Krush to a complex draw with the Black pieces, leaving Krush half a point behind the co-leaders.

[pgn]

[Event "1st Cairns Cup 2019"]
[Site "Saint Louis USA"]
[Date "2019.02.12"]
[White "Krush, Irina"]
[Black "Kosteniuk, Alexandra"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "E39"]
[WhiteElo "2435"]
[BlackElo "2532"]
[Annotator "Hartmann,John"]
[PlyCount "66"]
[EventDate "2019.02.06"]

{Notes are based on the player interviews from the STLCC stream.} 1. d4 Nf6 2.
c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Qc2 c5 5. dxc5 O-O 6. a3 Bxc5 7. Nf3 b6 8. Bf4 Bb7 9. Rd1
Nc6 10. e3 {Krush: "I was really comfortable coming out of the opening,
especially when she played the move ...Re8. That move certainly has some ideas
because it's not very standard for this position, [but] ...Nh5 is the main
move.... Black has to be pretty precise to equalize and if you make even one
wrong step White should have a good position." Kosteniuk: "I didn't know the
opening as well as I should."} (10. b4 Nh5 11. Bc1 Be7 12. e4 Qc7 13. Nb5 Qb8
14. Rxd7 Nf6 15. Rd1 a5 16. bxa5 Rxa5 17. Bd3 {1/2 (40)-1/2 (40) Krush,I (2458)
-Adams,M (2699) Edmonton 2009}) (10. e4 Ne7 11. Be2 Ng6 12. Bc1 a6 13. O-O Qc7
{1/2 (57)-1/2 (57) Krush,I (2433)-Serper,G (2556) Seattle 2003}) 10... Re8 {
Kosteniuk: "I was mostly preparing for 10.b4 and 10. e4, which are the main
moves in that position and that's what Irina has played before... I decided
not to play ... Nh5, although it felt like the most critical way to continue,
and decided to make a waiting move."} 11. Be2 Rc8 12. O-O h6 {Krush: "After ...
h6 it's clear Black really wants to play ...e5, shut down the bishop, and play
that structure with the pawn on d6."} 13. Bd6 {This took Kosteniuk by surprise.
Krush thought it was necessary to short-circuit ...e6-e5.} (13. Rd2 e5) 13...
Bxd6 14. Rxd6 Ne7 (14... Na5 {"looked very interesting" (Kosteniuk)}) 15. e4
Ng6 16. Rfd1 Qc7 17. e5 {Krush: "A critical move... but when I played it I was
missing ...Ng4."} (17. h3 ) 17... Ng4 {Kosteniuk's dislike of 17...Bxf3
is why she played 17... Nxg4: "even though it looked a bit scary because you
need to calculate all those intermediate moves connected with Nb5, instead of
Rd7"} ({Kosteniuk also spent "a very long time" calculating} 17... Bxf3 18.
exf6 Bxe2 19. Qxe2 Qxc4 20. Qxc4 Rxc4 {and said that "probably this position
is holdable, but for some reason I didn't like it so much... she can start
with"} 21. Rxd7 {"[and here] I need to suffer a bit."} (21. fxg7 {Kosteniuk
thought during the game that this was stronger})) 18. Rxd7 {Kosteniuk: "It
surprised me a bit because it seems like this position is critical for the
whole line."} (18. Nb5 Qb8 {"it's not that dangerous... because I think I have
something, I don't remember exactly what!"} (18... Qc5 {and there are a lot of
ideas about trapping the queen; for example,} 19. Nfd4 N4xe5 20. b4)) 18... Qb8
{Kosteniuk: "[Here] I started to enjoy my position."} ({Krush thought the
point of Black's play was} 18... Qc5 {when after} 19. Rxb7 $2 (19. R7d4 {
was her intended reply}) (19. Nd4 $1 {Kosteniuk}) 19... Qxf2+ 20. Kh1 Ne3 {
Black is winning}) 19. R7d4 $6 {Krush felt like this is where she lost the
thread.} (19. Ne4 {(Krush)} N4xe5 ({Kosteniuk wanted to play} 19... N6xe5 20.
Nxe5 Nxe5 21. Rxb7 Qxb7 22. Nd6 Qc7 (22... Qc6) 23. Nxe8 Rxe8 24. Qe4 f5 {
"and this position is better than the endgame [where] I take ...Bxf3"}) 20.
Nxe5 Nxe5 21. R7d4 $14 {with the idea Nd6 and if} Rcd8 22. Nd6) 19... N4xe5 20.
Ne4 {Perhaps inaccurate.} (20. Nxe5 {might be preferable, i.e.} Qxe5 21. Bf1 ({
but not} 21. Nb5 $2 Qxb5 $1)) 20... Rcd8 21. Nd6 {Krush: "I was floundering...
not really feeling good about what I was doing [here]... and I think
thankfully I kept it together, realized that I should take with the queen on
d2, and still the control of the d-file even with this very ugly pawn
structure is giving White enough not to have problems."} Nxf3+ 22. gxf3 e5 {
Kosteniuk: "I couldn't believe she went into this line with such an open king.
Luckily for her she was able to exchange the queens."} 23. R4d2 Re6 24. Nxb7
Rxd2 25. Qxd2 Qxb7 26. Qd7 {Krush: "After 26.Qd7 White is fine."} Qxd7 (26...
Qa6 {"and the queen is too far away"}) 27. Rxd7 Nf4 28. Kf1 Kf8 ({Kosteniuk's
husband, GM Pavel Tregubov, asked her why she didn't continue the game (and
avoid the perpetual) with} 28... a5 {when she was "somehow afraid of this
c-pawn" but after} 29. Rd8+ Kh7 30. b4 {(when "my knight on f4 is so strong")}
axb4 31. axb4 Re7 {the position is "double-edged."}) 29. Rxa7 Rd6 30. Ke1 Ng2+
31. Kf1 Nf4 32. Ke1 Ng2+ 33. Kf1 Nf4 1/2-1/2

[/pgn]

IM Anna Zatonskih fell to GM Nana Dzagnidze when, deep in mutual time pressure, both players misses chances to win. Dzagnidze was able to consolidate after the time control and bring home the full point.

[pgn]

[Event "1st Cairns Cup 2019"]
[Site "Saint Louis USA"]
[Date "2019.02.12"]
[White "Dzagnidze, Nana"]
[Black "Zatonskih, Anna"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D00"]
[WhiteElo "2513"]
[BlackElo "2428"]
[Annotator "Hartmann,John"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "1rr5/1R1nkpp1/4p2p/1N1pP3/3P4/q1p5/P1Q2PPP/1R4K1 b - - 0 34"]
[PlyCount "76"]
[EventDate "2019.02.06"]

{Let's pick things up after White's 34th move. Both players are under a
minute on the clock, and essentially playing on the increment.} 34... Qa5 $2 (
34... Qa6 {seems forced:} 35. Rxb8 (35. Nd6 Rxb7 36. Rxb7 Ra8) 35... Rxb8 36.
Nxc3 Qc4 $1) 35. Nd6 $1 {with threats of Nxc8, Nxf7, and Qh7!} Rh8 {[#]} 36.
Qe2 $2 (36. Nxf7 $2 {fails here due to} Rxb7 $1 37. Rxb7 Ra8 $15) (36. h3 {
, making luft, might be best.}) 36... Rxb7 (36... c2 $2 {straightaway fails
after} 37. Qxc2 Rxb7 38. Nxb7) 37. Rxb7 (37. Nxb7 Qa7 38. Qb5 Qxd4) 37... Qa3
$2 ({In the throes of time pressure Anna missed the killer} 37... c2 $1 {
when White cannot stop the c-pawn promotion and the back-rank mate at the same
time.} 38. Qf1 (38. Qxc2 Qe1#) 38... Rb8 39. Rxb8 Nxb8 {and ...Qd2 to follow})
38. g3 {White is winning once more, but passes up a mating attack.} (38. Rxd7+
$1 Kxd7 39. Qb5+ {leads to mate.}) 38... Rb8 39. Rxb8 Nxb8 40. Qh5 $2 (40. Qf3
$1 {and White will win in short order.}) 40... Qc1+ 41. Kg2 g6 42. Qf3 f5 43.
Nb5 (43. exf6+ {is only a draw after} Kxd6 44. f7 Nd7 $11) 43... Nc6 44. Nxc3
Nxd4 45. Qd3 Nc2 46. Nxd5+ exd5 47. Qxd5 Ne1+ 48. Kh3 Qg5 $2 (48... Qc7 {
stops Qd6}) (48... Qc2 {is also sufficient:} 49. Qd6+ Ke8 50. Qxg6+ Kd8 51.
Qf6+ (51. Qb6+ Kc8) 51... Kc8 52. Qf8+ Kc7 53. Qf7+ Kb8 54. Qf8+ Kc7 $11) 49.
Qd6+ $1 Ke8 (49... Kf7 50. Qd5+ Kg7 51. Qd7+ Kf8 52. Qd1 $18) 50. Qd1 f4 ({
Trying to save the knight with} 50... Qg4+ 51. Qxg4 fxg4+ 52. Kxg4 Nc2 {
is futile after} 53. a4 Nd4 54. f4 $18) 51. Qxe1 $18 Qh5+ 52. Kg2 f3+ 53. Kg1
Qh3 54. Qf1 Qd7 55. Qb1 Qc6 56. a4 Kf7 57. a5 h5 58. h4 Qc5 59. Qb7+ Kg8 60.
Qa8+ Kh7 61. Qxf3 Qxa5 62. Qf7+ Kh6 63. e6 g5 64. Qf6+ Kh7 65. hxg5 Qe1+ 66.
Kh2 h4 67. Qf5+ Kg7 68. gxh4 Qe2 69. Qf6+ Kh7 70. e7 Qh5 71. g6+ Kh6 72. Qf4+
1-0

[/pgn]

In other games, GM Harika Dronavalli notched her first victory in the tournament when her rampaging rooks were too much for IM Zhansaya Abdumalik to counter, and GM Marie Sebag and GM Bela Kotenashvili played to a draw in 32 moves. Kosteniuk has White against Dronavalli in Round 7, and Gunina takes the Black pieces against Zatonskih. Krush will be looking to make up the half-point gap when she plays Black against Khotenashvili. Tune in to uschesschamps.com at 12:50pm CST to follow all the action!