Isle of Man 03: Vidit Gujrathi is India No. 3!

by Priyadarshan Banjan - 04/10/2016

In a large open as strong as the Isle of Man, every round is a feast, every game a meal, with no shortage of exciting positions and exotic play. Round three saw many of the top players already facing stiff grandmaster competition with few of the lopsided pairings from the first two days. This led to some exciting bouts including hard-fought draws at the top. From the Indian angle, Vidit Gujrathi played a beautiful game to walk into the lead. We have an illustrated report full of analyses.

Photos by Harry Gielen

Annotations by IM Sagar Shah

Report by Priyadarshan Banjan

Isle of Man 03: Vidit Gujrathi is India No. 3!

And World No. 47. At least in the live ratings. And along with Alexei Shirov, he is in the lead at the Isle of Man International Open 2016.

Vidit began the tournament with 2686 Elo, a couple of points behind Adhiban. Both of them had played a crucial role in propelling India to a magnificent showing at the Olympiad. Vidit has returned to the board at the Isle of Man International Tournament 2016 where he leads the Indian contingent of 26 players. And he has done a fantastic job so far.

World No. 47! Vidit entered the Top-50 for the first time.

A young talent from Nashik to India No. 3: GM Vidit Gujrathi (2686)

In the third round, he was paired against his good friend Benjamin Bok, who chose to play the Grunfeld.

Vidit began on an aggressive note with an inspired opening choice. They reached the following position where a simple tactic netted him a pawn.

White to play.

Don't get too excited -- this is all still the theory. Bok soon went wrong with a flawed novelty. Enjoy all the excitement with IM Sagar Shah in his annotated game.

Vidit Gujrathi-Benjamin Bok

[Event "chess.com IoM Masters"]
[Site "Douglas ENG"]
[Date "2016.10.03"]
[Round "3.4"]
[White "Vidit, Santosh Gujrathi"]
[Black "Bok, Benjamin"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D90"]
[WhiteElo "2686"]
[BlackElo "2594"]
[Annotator "Sagar Shah"]
[PlyCount "63"]
[EventDate "2016.10.01"]
[SourceDate "2003.06.08"]

{With this win Vidit leads the tournament with 3.0/3 along with Alexei Shirov.
} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 4. Nf3 Bg7 5. h4 {The only other time that
Vidit played the move 5.h4 was back in 2013 World Juniors against Cori Jorge.
However, Benjamin and Vidit are good friends and hence the Indian would have
wanted to surprise his opponent.} dxc4 6. e4 c5 7. d5 b5 8. h5 O-O (8... b4 9.
h6 $36) 9. hxg6 fxg6 (9... hxg6 10. Bh6 {can be quite dangerous for Black as
the h-file is open. Mamedyarov vs Kamsky was a top level game in this line.})
10. e5 Ng4 11. d6 e6 (11... exd6 12. Qd5+ $18) 12. Rxh7 $5 {This all looks
very spectacular but has been played before.} Rf5 {This has been played thrice
before, most notably by Li Chao.} (12... Kxh7 13. Ng5+ Kg8 14. Qxg4 {is
clearly better for White as shown in Vitiugov vs Ragger.}) (12... Nc6 {was
Vitiugov-Ponomariov which ended in a draw. Vidit must surely have something
prepared for this move.}) 13. Rh3 Bb7 $2 (13... Nxe5 14. Nxe5 Rxe5+ 15. Be3 b4
16. Nb5 $16) (13... Nc6 {was surely the better move and the game between Zhou
Weiqi and Li Chao continued in the following manner.} 14. Ne4 (14. a4 $5) 14...
Ngxe5 15. Nfg5 Nd4 16. g4 Rf8 17. f4 Nf7 18. Qd2 Nxg5 19. Nxg5 Qxd6 20. Qh2 Qe7
21. Be3 e5 22. Bg2 Nc2+ 23. Kf2 Be6 24. Rh1 Qxg5 25. Rh8+ Kf7 26. Rxf8+ Rxf8
27. fxg5 Ke8+ 28. Ke2 {1-0 (28) Zhou,W (2646)-Li,C (2748) Zaozhuang 2015}) 14.
Nxb5 $1 Qa5+ (14... Bxf3 15. gxf3 Nxe5 16. Nc7 $16) 15. Nc3 Nxe5 16. Nxe5 Rxe5+
17. Be3 {White is just better here - he has a superior pawn structure, decent
development and the black king looks really weak on g8.} Nd7 (17... Rd5 18. Qg4
$18) 18. Rg3 Be4 19. Bxc4 Rh5 20. Bxe6+ (20. Qg4 $3 Bxc3+ 21. Kf1 $1 $18) 20...
Kh7 21. Rh3 $1 Bxc3+ 22. bxc3 Qxc3+ 23. Kf1 Nf6 24. Rc1 Qe5 25. d7 $1 {Vidit's
play has been both logical and strong.} Rd8 (25... Qxe6 26. Rxh5+ gxh5 27. d8=Q
Rxd8 28. Qxd8 $18) 26. Rxh5+ gxh5 27. Bh3 {White is a pawn up and that monster
sits on d7!} c4 28. Rxc4 Qb5 29. Qd4 Bd5 30. Qxf6 $1 {These moves are quite
easy for a player of Vidit's stature to find.} Bxc4+ 31. Kg1 Rxd7 32. Qf5+ {
Bok messed up things in the opening with Bb7. And after that Vidit gave him
absolutely no chance to make a comeback!} (32. Bf5+ Kg8 33. Bh6 {The computer
points out that this wins faster, but who would like to calculate all this
when he can simply win a piece!}) 1-0

GM Dronavalli Harika (2528)

Harika decided to exchange queens/ Do you think this was the right decision?

Which pieces to keep and which to exchange is one of the most important questions in chess. This is true in the opening, the middlegame and the endgame. The 'feeling' for the right exchange – players like Capablanca or Karpov were unrivaled masters of this art – is something a chessplayer has to develop over time.

Harika was wrong. Do you know why? Learn from Michael Adams!

Dronavalli Harika-Michael Adams

[Event "chess.com IoM Masters"]
[Site "Douglas ENG"]
[Date "2016.10.03"]
[Round "3.9"]
[White "Harika, Dronavalli"]
[Black "Adams, Michael"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C50"]
[WhiteElo "2528"]
[BlackElo "2745"]
[Annotator "Sagar Shah"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "6k1/5pp1/7p/p4n2/4q3/6BP/P4PP1/2Q3K1 b - - 0 31"]
[PlyCount "45"]
[EventDate "2016.10.01"]
[SourceDate "2003.06.08"]

31... a4 $1 {A multi-purpose move. It moves one square closer to the queening
square, grabs space and also stays on the opposite square of the bishop.} 32.
Kh2 Kh7 33. a3 Nd4 34. Qf4 {This was uncalled for. In the bishop vs knight
endgame only Black can be better.} (34. f3 Qe2 35. Qf4 Nc2 36. Qf5+ Kg8 37.
Qc8+ Kh7 38. Qf5+ $11) 34... Qxf4 35. Bxf4 Kg6 $1 {Mickey activates his king.}
36. g4 Kf6 37. Bd6 h5 (37... Ke6 38. Bf8 $11) 38. f4 (38. gxh5 $5 Kg5 39. Bf8
Nb5 40. Kg3 Kxh5 41. Bxg7 Nxa3 42. Kf4 Kh4 43. Ke4 Kxh3 44. Kd3 Kg2 45. Kc3
Kxf2 46. Kb4 Nc2+ 47. Kxa4 f5 48. Be5 {is a theoretical draw.}) 38... Ke6 39.
Bf8 hxg4 40. hxg4 (40. Bxg7 Nf5 (40... g3+ $2 41. Kg2 Nf5 42. Bb2 Kd5 43. h4
Nxh4+ 44. Kxg3 Nf5+ 45. Kg4 Ke4 46. Kg5 $11) 41. Bb2 gxh3 42. Kxh3 Ne3 43. Bc1
Nc4 44. Kg4 f6 45. f5+ Ke5 46. Bf4+ Ke4 $17) 40... g6 41. Kg3 Kd5 42. g5 Kc4
43. Kg4 Kb3 44. f5 gxf5+ 45. Kg3 f4+ 46. Kg4 (46. Kxf4 Ne6+ $19) 46... f3 47.
Kg3 Kc4 $1 48. Kf2 Kd3 49. Bc5 Ne6 50. Be3 Ke4 {Black is a pawn up and has
everything under control.} 51. Bc1 Nf4 52. Bd2 Nh3+ 53. Kg3 f2 {Quite an
instructive endgame by Adams.} 0-1

How many times have you lost a game due to the wrong exchange of pieces? On this DVD, IM Elisabeth Paehtz teaches you:

Structural aspects of an exchange
Exchanging when attacking or defending
Exchanging to realize an advantage
The exchange of queens

To exchange or not to exchange: that is the question!

Order How to exchange pieces from the ChessBase India Shop for Rs. 999/- now!

IM Elisabeth Paehtz (2459), daughter of GM Thomas Paehtz, is on 2.5/3 herself, with a draw against Fressinet (2676), and a win over Hrant Melkumyan (2653). She surely knows how to exchange her pieces!

Melkumyan-Paehtz

[Event "chess.com IoM Masters"]
[Site "Douglas ENG"]
[Date "2016.10.03"]
[Round "3.13"]
[White "Melkumyan, Hrant"]
[Black "Paehtz, Elisabeth"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "D45"]
[WhiteElo "2653"]
[BlackElo "2459"]
[Annotator "Sagar Shah"]
[PlyCount "96"]
[EventDate "2016.10.01"]
[SourceDate "2003.06.08"]

1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. Nc3 a6 5. e3 e6 6. Bd3 Nbd7 7. O-O dxc4 8. Bxc4
c5 9. Be2 Qc7 10. d5 exd5 11. Nxd5 Nxd5 12. Qxd5 Be7 13. Ng5 Ne5 14. e4 O-O 15.
Bf4 Nf3+ 16. Nxf3 Qxf4 17. Rad1 Rb8 18. g3 Qc7 19. b3 b5 20. Qe5 Rb7 21. Rc1
Bg4 22. Qc3 Re8 23. Rfe1 Bf8 24. Qe3 Rbb8 25. Nh4 Bd7 26. Bd3 g6 27. e5 Rbc8
28. Nf3 Bg7 29. Qf4 Re7 30. Re2 Qb6 31. h4 Bc6 32. Ng5 h6 {There is no doubt
about the fact that Black is better here thanks to his bishop pair. Ne4 was
the best move and the game would go on. However, Melkumyan decided to
complicate the game by sacrificing a piece.} 33. Nxf7 $6 Rxf7 34. Qg4 Bb7 $1
35. Bxg6 (35. Qxg6 Qxg6 36. Bxg6 Re7 $17) 35... Re7 {White has almost no
attack and the light squares towards White's king are pretty weak.} 36. e6 Rf8
37. Rce1 Rf6 38. Kh2 $2 {Thoroughly dejected Melumyan loses all his pieces
from this move onwards.} (38. Be4 Bxe4 39. Rxe4 c4 $19 {is winning for Black,
but better than what happened in the game.}) 38... Bf3 39. Bf7+ Kf8 40. Qh3
Bxe2 41. Rxe2 Rfxf7 {Another piece falls! The rest of the game was played by
the Armenian out of inertia.} 42. f4 Qd6 43. Qg4 Qd3 44. Re1 Rf6 45. Re5 Qd6
46. Qh5 Rexe6 47. Rd5 Re2+ 48. Kg1 Qe7 {A great result for Elisabeth Paehtz
who now has 2.5/3 with wins over Wang Hao and Melkumyan and draw against
Fressinet!} 0-1

Eesha Karavade had superior development and sacrificed a piece. She tried her best against GM Erwin L'Ami, but he defended staunchly and won.

[Event "chess.com IoM Masters"]
[Site "Douglas ENG"]
[Date "2016.10.03"]
[Round "3.18"]
[White "L'Ami, Erwin"]
[Black "Karavade, Eesha"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D31"]
[WhiteElo "2605"]
[BlackElo "2421"]
[Annotator "Sagar Shah"]
[PlyCount "67"]
[EventDate "2016.10.01"]
[SourceDate "2003.06.08"]

1. c4 e6 2. Nc3 d5 3. d4 Bb4 4. a3 Bxc3+ 5. bxc3 Nf6 6. cxd5 exd5 7. e3 Bf5 8.
f3 O-O 9. Ne2 Re8 10. g4 {Black has castled, has a rook and two pieces
developed. White on the other hand has just developed a knight. His king is in
the centre and eight out of his ten opening moves have been with the pawn. No
wonder, Eesha decided to give up a piece. Objectively it might be dubious, but
practically it seems really tempting.} Bxg4 11. fxg4 Nxg4 12. Ng3 (12. Rg1 Nxe3
13. Bxe3 Rxe3 14. Kd2 $1 $14) 12... Nxe3 13. Bxe3 Rxe3+ 14. Kf2 Qg5 $6 (14...
Rxc3 {What was the problem with winning another pawn?} 15. Qd2 Qf6+ 16. Kg1 Rf3
17. Bg2 Rf4 {And with four pawns for a piece, Black is not worse.}) 15. Qc1
Qf4+ 16. Kg1 Nc6 17. Nf5 Qg4+ 18. Bg2 Re6 19. Ne3 Qh4 {Black has made almost
all the best moves, yet White has been able to co-ordinate well and it seems
he will consolidate his extra piece.} (19... Qf4 20. Nxd5 $18) 20. Qd2 (20.
Nxd5 Nxd4 $1 21. cxd4 Qxd4+ 22. Kf1 Rf6+ 23. Nxf6+ Qxf6+ 24. Kg1 (24. Ke2 Re8+
25. Kd3 Rd8+ 26. Ke3 Re8+ $11) 24... Qd4+ $11) 20... Rae8 21. Nxd5 Re2 (21...
Re1+ 22. Rxe1 Rxe1+ 23. Bf1 Qg4+ 24. Qg2 Qf5 $13) 22. Qf4 Re1+ 23. Rxe1 Qxe1+
24. Bf1 Re6 25. h3 Rd6 (25... Rg6+ 26. Kh2 $18) 26. Rh2 $1 h6 (26... Rxd5 27.
Re2 $18) 27. Rf2 Nd8 28. Qf3 c6 29. Nf4 Rf6 30. Re2 Qc1 31. Qe3 Qxa3 32. Rg2
Qd6 33. Qe8+ Kh7 34. Nh5 {A very interesting battle. Karavade tried her best
but L'Ami defended really well.} 1-0

Indian Pairings for Round 04

Rd.	Bo.	No.		Name	Rtg	Pts.	Result	Pts.		Name	Rtg	No.
4	1	11	GM	Shirov Alexei	2679	3		3	GM	Vidit Santosh Gujrathi	2686	9
4	8	10	GM	Naiditsch Arkadij	2684	2½		2½	GM	Gupta Abhijeet	2626	23
4	13	54	IM	Praggnanandhaa R	2442	2		2	GM	Meier Georg	2648	19
4	16	28	GM	Lalith Babu M R	2586	2		2	GM	Tarjan James E	2420	61
4	17	29	GM	Donchenko Alexander	2581	2		2	IM	Tania Sachdev	2414	62
4	18	64	IM	Das Arghyadip	2400	2		2	GM	Marin Mihail	2569	30
4	20	67	IM	Houska Jovanka	2386	2		2	GM	Aravindh Chithambaram Vr.	2564	32
4	22	35	GM	Sunilduth Lyna Narayanan	2536	2		2	IM	Kojima Shinya	2399	65
4	24	71		Hemant Sharma (del)	2371	2		2	GM	Hillarp Persson Tiger	2513	39
4	26	45	IM	Puranik Abhimanyu	2471	2		2	IM	Mannion Stephen R	2313	83
4	29	33	GM	Shyam Sundar M.	2552	1½		1½		Harsha Bharathakoti	2363	72
4	30	73	GM	Paehtz Thomas	2356	1½		1½	GM	Harika Dronavalli	2528	36
4	31	37	GM	Vishnu Prasanna. V	2522	1½		1½	IM	Wallace John Paul	2355	74
4	33	43	GM	Gagare Shardul	2480	1½		1½	FM	Karthik Venkataraman	2317	82
4	36	102		Arnold Max	2202	1½		1½	GM	Sundararajan Kidambi	2429	55
4	40	60	IM	Karavade Eesha	2421	1½		1½	FM	Lorscheid Gerhard	2238	94
4	43	97	WIM	Parnali S Dharia	2228	½		½		Gill Neville B K	2102	113
4	44	52	IM	Visakh N R	2456	1		1		Allen Keith	2236	96
4	50	84	FM	Jackson James P	2311	1		1	AGM	Vardan Nagpal	2117	110
4	53	126	WIM	Gagare Shalmali	1989	1		1		Hill Alistair	2249	92
4	54	93	FM	Rakesh Kumar Jena	2247	1		1		Johnson Paul A	1893	131
4	58	115	FM	Tiwari Ashwani	2090	½		½		Leutwyler Martin	2168	105
4	59	106		Scott Gordon W	2168	½		½	WFM	Swati Mohota	1948	127
4	63	119		Whitehead David J	2021	0		½	WFM	Kotepalli Sai Nirupama	1944	128

All games in PGN (with chosen games analyzed by IM Sagar Shah)

International Report by Manuel Weeks