Tapani Sammalvuo
tapani@sammalvuo.fi
The third round saw some excellent chess and tough fights on the top boards. Whereas after the second round whole twenty-two players had won both of their games, now only six players continue to have a perfect score.
Top-rated GM Sergei Fedorchuk slowly suffocated IM Toivo Keinänen in a quiet French Tarrasch .
On the second board, IM Mikael Agopov got a revenge for his recent Finnish League loss to GM Bartłomiej Heberla in a Ruy Lopez that started as a slow manoeuvring game but sharpened towards the end.
[Event "XXX Heart of Finland Open / Nordic Cham"]
[Site "Jyvaskyla, Finland"]
[Date "2022.07.19"]
[Round "3"]
[White "Agopov, Mikael"]
[Black "Heberla, Bartlomiej"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C78"]
[WhiteElo "2455"]
[BlackElo "2577"]
[Annotator "Sammalvuo,Tapani"]
[PlyCount "115"]
[EventDate "2022.??.??"]
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O b5 6. Bb3 Bc5 {The Neo-Møller
Variation. Compared to its older brother Arkhangelsk Variation, Black doesn’t
yet develop his queen’s bishop, which allows him some extra possibilities in
the sharp lines after 7.c3.} 7. a4 Bb7 {Now White has committed to an early a4
so Black develops his bishop to b7 all the same.} 8. Nc3 (8. d3 O-O 9. Bg5 {
is another logical continuation.}) (8. c3 d6 9. d4 Bb6 10. Re1 {would
transpose to Arkhangelsk.}) 8... O-O 9. d3 b4 ({The most popular move and
typical for these days (Black sacrifices a pawn for a bishop pair) is} 9... Na5
10. axb5 Nxb3 11. cxb3 axb5 12. Rxa8 Bxa8 13. Nxe5 d5 {. Black has held his
own at the top, an example being the 11th game of the world championship match
between Kasparov and Kramnik.}) 10. Nd5 h6 ({I am not sure if Black needs to
spend a tempo preventing the pin. To me, more natural looks} 10... Nxd5 11.
Bxd5 d6 {. However, White does have a pull after} 12. a5 $1 {.}) 11. a5 d6 12.
Bd2 ({More accurate was} 12. Be3 {immediately.}) 12... Rb8 13. Be3 {N Black’s
rook is slightly better placed on b8 than a8, so here I would try to find
something else for White.} Nd7 $6 {Now Black drifts into a passive position.} (
{He could have equalized immediately with help of a little tactics:} 13... Nxd5
14. Bxd5 (14. Bxc5 Nc3 $5 15. bxc3 dxc5 {is also equal}) 14... Bxe3 15. fxe3
Nxa5 $1 {with the idea} 16. Rxa5 c6 {and Black regains his piece.}) 14. Qd2 {
Hinting at Bxh6.} Kh7 15. Bc4 {Targeting the a6-pawn.} Ne7 {Black finally
decides to get rid of the annoying knight on d5. The drawback is that this
gives White the chance to advance in the centre.} (15... Nd4 {might have been
slightly better.}) 16. d4 $1 exd4 17. Bxd4 Bxd4 18. Qxd4 {White has an edge,
thanks to his slight space advantage.} Nc5 $6 {The knight is not doing much
here since the e4-pawn is sufficiently defended. Black also loses some control
over the e5-square.} (18... Ng6 {would have been more careful.}) 19. Rfe1 Kh8
20. h3 Nc6 21. Qe3 Re8 22. Qf4 Rf8 23. Re3 {White has managed to activate his
pieces, but it is not so easy to find a concrete plan.} Ne6 24. Qg3 Ncd4 25.
Nxd4 Nxd4 {[#]} 26. Bd3 $6 {I’m sure Mikael would have liked to keep his
bishop on the more active diagonal, but couldn’t find a way to do so.} (26.
Nxb4 $2 f5 $1 {would suddenly give Black a strong initiative.}) (26. Rd1 $1 {
was the most accurate move, the idea being} Nxc2 27. Re2 {and the knight is in
trouble.}) 26... c5 $2 (26... b3 $1 27. c3 Nc2 28. Bxc2 bxc2 {looks rather
desperate at first sight, but Black is threatening 29…Bxd5 30.exd5 Rxb2 and}
29. Nb4 f5 $1 30. exf5 Rxf5 {also gives him enough tricks to keep the balance.
His threats include 31…Rg5 and 31…Rxa5.}) 27. Nb6 {Now White’s positional
advantage is in no doubt. Black has weaknesses on a6 and d6 and the light
squares.} Qe7 28. Nc4 Rbd8 {[#]} 29. b3 $6 {Now the d4-knight becomes
untouchable.} (29. c3 bxc3 30. bxc3 Nb5 31. Bf1 {was preferable. Here White’s
plan could be Rae1, Rb6 and Bc4 and perhaps Dg4, Rg3 or Bd5 and e5. Black
would have been doomed to passivity.}) 29... Qg5 30. Qxg5 hxg5 31. e5 $1 {
With this move White still manages to ask questions.} dxe5 32. Rxe5 f6 $1 33.
Re7 (33. Rxc5 $2 Ne6 34. Rf5 g6 {elegantly traps the errant rook.}) 33... Bc8 (
{I like} 33... Bc6 $1 {followed by …Bb5, when a6-pawn will be defended and
Black always has the option of exchanging the c4-knight.}) 34. Rd1 Be6 (34...
Bf5 {looks more natural and is probably better.} 35. Bxf5 Nxf5 36. Rxd8 Rxd8
37. Ra7 Rd1+ 38. Kh2 Rc1 39. Rxa6 Rxc2 {is still complicated but should
eventually peter out in a draw.}) 35. Ne3 Bc8 $2 {This is a clear mistake,
possibly caused by time trouble.} (35... Rd7 $1 36. Rxd7 Bxd7 {would have
likely let to a draw since} 37. Bxa6 Ra8 {regains the pawn for Black.}) 36. Rc7
Ne6 37. Ra7 (37. Rc6 $1 {was more exact. Here White simply wins a crucial pawn.
I guess the time trouble was mutual.}) 37... Nd4 (37... Rd6 38. Nf5) 38. Bxa6
$6 {Now things get complicated.} (38. Rc7 Ne6 39. Rc6 $1 {was still possible.})
38... Bxa6 39. Rxa6 f5 $1 {Suddenly there is no way to defend the c2-pawn.} 40.
Kf1 (40. Rd2 $4 Nf3+) 40... f4 41. Nc4 Nxc2 42. Rxd8 Rxd8 43. Rc6 $6 ({White
could have activated his knight with} 43. Nd6 $1 {(threatening a fork on f7)}
Rd7 44. Ne4 {and White is winning.}) 43... Re8 (43... Nd4 44. Rxc5 Nxb3 45. Rb5
Rd4 46. Nb2 Nxa5 $1 47. Rxa5 Rd2 48. Nc4 Rc2 49. Ne5 b3 $1 {and 50…b2 with a
draw is what my rusty steel box suggests. Good luck finding this in a
practical game!}) 44. f3 Re1+ 45. Kf2 Ra1 {Rook behind the passed pawn!} 46.
Rxc5 Ra2 (46... Nd4 $1 47. Rxg5 Ra2+ {was the correct move order.}) 47. Rxg5 ({
White could have activated his king with} 47. Ke2 $1 Nd4+ 48. Kd3 Nxb3 49. Rxg5
{and the strong passed a-pawn should decide the outcome.}) 47... Nd4+ 48. Ke1
Nxb3 49. Rd5 {[#]} Rc2 $4 {Black should have just waited. This move is a
tactical mistake, which Agopov exploits crisply.} 50. a6 $1 {”A passed pawn is
a criminal which should be kept under lock and key. Mild measures, such as
police surveillance, are not sufficient.” – Nimzowitsch.} Ra2 (50... Rxc4 51.
a7 Rc1+ 52. Kf2 Rc8 53. Rb5 $1 {allows White to queen the a-pawn.}) 51. Na5 $1
{Nice interference!} Ra1+ (51... Nxa5 52. Rd8+ Kh7 53. a7 {wins}) ({as does}
51... Rxa5 52. Rxa5 Nxa5 53. a7 {.}) 52. Ke2 Ra2+ 53. Kd3 Nc1+ 54. Kc4 b3 55.
a7 Rc2+ 56. Kb4 Rc8 57. Nxb3 Na2+ (57... Nxb3 58. Kxb3 Ra8 59. Rd7 {and the
white king arrives at b7.}) 58. Ka5 1-0
You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess game visualization.
GM Lucas van Foreest (the younger brother of the top-GM Jorden van Foreest) convincingly exploited Black’s weaknesses IM Vilka Sipilä created in a non-theoretical Maróczy Bind.
FM Kalle Niemi got into some trouble early on against GM Robby Kevlishvili’s ”Dragadorf”.
GM Gábor Nagy stoved off FM Timo Pääkkönen’s attack and converted his extra pawn into a win in a Panno King’s Indian.
IM Mika Karttunen grabbed all the space he could against Samu Ristoja’s Nimzo-Indian and this proved enough to win the game.