The Budapest Gambit

Ο νεαρός Ούγγρος σκακιστής, Richard Rapport, έδειξε πρώτος το δρόμο παίζοντας το γκαμπί της Βουδαπέστης :) εναντίον του Gelfand στο δεύτερο γύρο, όταν πέτυχε μία όμορφη νίκη!

[Event "76th Tata Steel Chess"] [Site "Wijk aan Zee"] [Date "2014.01.12"] [Round "2"] [White "Gelfand, Boris"] [Black "Rapport, Richard"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "A52"] [WhiteElo "2777"] [BlackElo "2691"] [Annotator "Ramirez Alvarez, Alejandro"] [PlyCount "120"] [EventDate "2014.??.??"] [EventCountry "NED"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e5 {Not one to shy away from unusual openings, and one not dismayed by his unsucessful 1.b3 yesterday against So, Rapport decides to spice things up with a Budapest Gambit - a gambit that is not all that bad, but certainly does not enjoy top-tier reputation.} 3. dxe5 Ng4 4. Nf3 (4. Bf4 { is sharper and scores better} g5 5. Bg3 Bg7 6. Nf3 Nc6 {with a very complex game, though White does score significantly better than Black.}) 4... Bc5 5. e3 Nc6 6. Nc3 O-O 7. Be2 Ngxe5 8. Nxe5 Nxe5 9. O-O a5 {This move was supposed to be inexact.} (9... Re8 {is the usual preference of the Budapest's main exhibitor - Mamedyarov. The move is useful and it gives the bishop a nice retreat on f8.}) 10. Kh1 $6 {A hard move to explain. White will follow up with f4, its the only idea of Kh1, but that is not necessarily good as it will leave the e-pawn as a permanent weakness.} (10. Na4 $1 {Is supposed to be the correct response. The point of 9...a5 is to sometimes swing the rook from a8 to a6 and then to the kingside, creating threats on that flank. This move poses the question to the bishop on where it wants to go - a question that is not so easily answered as it is rather awkward on e7.}) 10... d6 11. f4 Nc6 12. b3 Re8 13. Rf3 Bf5 {White's position is already slightly uncomfortable. His weakness on e3 ties him down - he cannot play Bb2 as he would like to.} 14. Rg3 Re6 $1 {Swinging the rook to the kingside allows Black to stop any shenanigans on that side, not to mention that it allows for the possibility of doubling on the e-file and improving the pressure on the e-pawn.} 15. Bd3 Bxd3 16. Qxd3 Nb4 17. Qd2 Qe7 18. e4 Qh4 $1 {With a nasty threat.} 19. Rf3 $6 (19. Bb2 $4 Qxg3 $1 ) (19. f5 $1 Qxg3 20. hxg3 Rh6+ 21. Qxh6 gxh6 22. Bxh6 Bd4 23. Bd2 a4 {And Black's activity and threats outweigh White's extra pawn - but White should be ok with good defense.}) 19... Nc2 (19... f5 $1 {Was even stronger, also taking advantage of the weak back rank but now putting pressure on e4. Rapport's sequence is good enough for a slight edge.}) 20. Rb1 Qe1+ 21. Qxe1 Nxe1 22. Rg3 $6 (22. Rh3 {was better, the trade of rooks does not favor White as the rook on h3 is currently preventing the Black knight from reaching d3.}) 22... Rg6 23. Nd5 $6 (23. Rxg6 hxg6 24. Bd2 Nd3 25. g3 {was not too bad for White.}) 23... Rxg3 24. hxg3 c6 $1 25. Be3 (25. Nc3 Nd3 {is now difficult for White as the king cannot quickly go to f3, therefore the e4 pawn is running out of defenders.}) 25... Nd3 26. Bxc5 cxd5 27. Bxd6 dxe4 {Black's powerful knight on d3 and his passed pawn on e4 guarantee him an advantage. White must be careful so as to not lose immediately.} 28. Kg1 f5 29. Kf1 Ra6 30. Bc7 Kf7 31. g4 Rc6 $1 32. Bxa5 Ra6 $1 {A nice maneuver trying to activate the rook.} 33. Bc3 $2 { Letting the rook into the game is suicide.} (33. b4 b6 34. gxf5 bxa5 35. b5 { Gave White hope to retain a half point thanks to his counterplay with the pawns.}) 33... Rxa2 34. gxf5 e3 35. g3 Rc2 36. Be1 Kf6 {White is simply too passive. Black is threatening to waddle his king all the way to f3 and claim the victory. Gelfand stops this, but only temporarily.} 37. g4 h5 38. Bh4+ Kf7 39. gxh5 Rh2 $2 {Missing a much easier win.} (39... e2+ $1 40. Kg1 Rd2 {And White loses a full rook.}) 40. Be1 Kf6 41. Kg1 Re2 42. Bc3+ Kxf5 43. Bxg7 Kxf4 44. Bh6+ Kg3 {Black is still winning.} 45. Bxe3 Rxe3 {If White can eliminate the b7 pawn he should hold the draw, but with his king being so weak and his rook being so passive this is nothing but a dream. Rapport finishes off with good technique.} 46. Kf1 Kf4 47. Ra1 Rf3+ 48. Kg1 Rg3+ 49. Kf1 Rf3+ 50. Kg1 Kg4 51. h6 Nf4 52. h7 Rh3 53. Kf2 Kf5 54. b4 Nd3+ 55. Ke2 Ke4 56. Ra8 Rh2+ 57. Kd1 Rxh7 58. Kd2 Nxb4 {The extra pawn has been stabilized and Gelfand has nothing left but to resign.} 59. Kc3 Nc6 60. Re8+ Re7 {A nice bounce-back from the Hungarian prodigy.} 0-1

Στο χθεσινό πάντως γύρο ο Jobava ο οποίος προηγείται στο τουρνουά (στο Β γκρουπ) κατάφερε με το ίδιο άνοιγμα (διαφορετική βαριάντα) να νικήσει και πειστικά μάλιστα τον Πολωνό σκακιστή και αναλυτή του Anand, Wojtaszek.

Ο Jobava (στα αριστερά) συνομιλεί με τον Fressinet (το βοηθό αναλυτή του Rapport σε αυτό το τουρνουά!)

[Event "Tata Steel Challengers"] [Site "Wijk aan Zee NED"] [Date "2014.01.16"] [Round "5.6"] [White "Wojtaszek, Radoslaw"] [Black "Jobava, Baadur"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "A52"] [WhiteElo "2711"] [BlackElo "2710"] [PlyCount "62"] [EventDate "2014.01.11"] [SourceDate "2014.01.04"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e5 3. dxe5 Ng4 4. Bf4 g5 5. Bg3 Nc6 6. Nf3 Bg7 7. h4 Ngxe5 8. Nxe5 Nxe5 9. Nc3 g4 10. e3 d6 11. Be2 Be6 12. Rc1 O-O (12... Qd7 13. Nb5 h5 14. Nd4 c6 15. Qc2 f5 16. Rd1 O-O 17. O-O $16) 13. b3 c6 14. h5 (14. O-O) 14... f5 15. h6 Bf6 16. Qd2 Qe7 17. f4 $6 (17. Kf1 Rad8 18. Bd3 Nxd3 19. Qxd3 d5 20. cxd5 Bxd5 21. Qxf5 Be6 $13) 17... gxf3 18. gxf3 Kh8 {As it usually happens the position of the white king proves to be the important factor for the rest of the game} 19. f4 Rad8 20. Qc2 (20. fxe5 dxe5 21. Qc2 f4 $19) 20... Ng4 21. Bxg4 Rg8 $1 (21... fxg4 22. O-O d5) 22. Ne2 Rxg4 23. Kf2 d5 24. Rcd1 Re8 25. c5 Bf7 26. Qc1 Qe4 27. Nd4 {and white resigned since after} Rxg3 28. Kxg3 Bxd4 {white is lost!} 29. exd4 (29. Rxd4 $2 Rg8+ 30. Kf2 Qg2+ 31. Ke1 Qxh1+ 32. Kd2 Rg2+ 33. Kc3 Qxc1+) 29... Rg8+ 30. Kf2 Rg2+ 31. Kf1 Qe2# 0-1