Fagernes GM 2022 | CHESS AT THE BAG OF CATS

I had not played a tournament since just before Christmas when I arrived in Fagernes mid April, and feelings of have-I-forgotten-how-play(?) kept me company, and were enhanced by the fact that I had a terrible form-dip around the beginning of the year. Last year’s edition of the tournament was slightly weaker than usual, due to the covid restrictions, and I played well enough to win it. This year the line-up was much stronger, with names the like of Sasikiran and Donchenko, and my main ambition was to get to a place where I would get to play the top of the field. In the first round I had to fight hard to win against much lower rated, very young, and obviously talented German player, Bennet Hagner, and I got so immersed in the game that I never got the time to walk around and see other games. But next to us another strong youngster, who I had only heard of before, played a game that I did like:

   [Event "Fagernes Chess International 2022"]  [Site "Scandic Hotel Fagernes"]  [Date "2022.04.10"]  [Round "1"]  [White "Dolzhykova, Olga"]  [Black "Abdumalik, Zhansaya"]  [Result "0-1"]  [ECO "C24"]  [WhiteElo "2131"]  [BlackElo "2496"]   1. e4 e5 2. Bc4 {This is a good way to avoid the main bulk of theory that  arise if you develop in standard manner with 2.Nf3.} Nf6 3. d3 c6 4. f4 $5 {  A rare continuation which in line with the King's Gambit, aims to exchange a  flank pawn for a central one.} (4. Nf3 {The main line goes} d5 5. Bb3 {, when  the strange} Bb4+ $5 {has become fashionable. The idea is to force White to  either play a move that she would like to avoid, or to get a favourable  exchange:} 6. c3 (6. Nc3 $2 d4 {wins a piece.}) (6. Nbd2 Nbd7 7. O-O O-O {  and eventually White will have to play c3 anyway.}) (6. Bd2 Bxd2+ 7. Nbxd2 a5  8. a4 Bg4 {and Black has a harmonious position.}) 6... Bd6 {and White might  have preferred to place a knight on c3.}) (4. Bb3 $5) 4... exf4 (4... d5 {  Black could also consider} 5. exd5 exf4 6. dxc6 Nxc6 7. Bxf4 Bc5 {, with good  compensation for the pawn.}) 5. Bxf4 d5 6. exd5 Nxd5 7. Bxd5 Qxd5 {I would  also take with the queen, although the engine prefers the alternative. I  guess I am attracted to the playing out of an ancient conflict; that between  church and horse. And I do not want an isolated pawn to spoil the clarity of  the conflict.} (7... cxd5 8. Nf3 Nc6 9. Nc3 (9. O-O Qb6+) 9... Be7 10. O-O Bg4  11. h3 Bh5 {is also very, very comfortable for Black, but the d5-pawn might  come under attack in the future, which might be just the detail that keeps  White from being worse.}) 8. Nf3 (8. Qf3 $5 Qxf3 9. Nxf3 Be7 10. Kd2 {aiming  for a fast development (and forcing the exchange of a knight for a bishop),  seems like a good alternative.}) 8... Bc5 9. d4 $6 {This move "wins a tempo"  on the bishop, but it also gives Black the option to exchange queens:} Qe4+ $1  10. Qe2 Qxe2+ 11. Kxe2 Bb6 {You might ask why this position is any worse than  the position that ends the line after 9.Qf3. The difference is that White has  little grip of the light squares here, and that the d4-pawn can become a  target.} 12. Nbd2 Be6 {Stopping Nc4} 13. c3 ({After} 13. Ne4 O-O 14. Nd6 Bc7  15. Bg3 Na6 {Black is ahead in development, and has the better chances. It is  not uncommon to exchange one advantage for another in this way. One of the  best things about the bishop pair is that, with such long ranging pieces, you  can chose the right moment to exchange them for something else.}) (13. a4 {  is a good move here, because if Black answers with} a5 {, then a future c6-c5  will leave Black with a static queenside (and thus it will be hard to  construct a successful minority attack).}) 13... O-O 14. Ne5 $6 {Strategically  speaking, it would be good for White to get to play Ne5-c4-d6, but before  strategy comes tactics...} (14. a4 $1 a5 15. Rhe1 {and although Black has a  solid advantage on the kingside, it is hard to create a second weakness (on  the queenside) of the kind that would give Black proper winning chances.})  14... Re8 $1 15. Kf2 c5 $1 {The tactics.} 16. Be3 $2 ({White should continue  on the beaten track with} 16. Nec4 cxd4 17. Nxb6 axb6 18. cxd4 Nc6 {although  Black is clearly better here. Black's double pawn is a small price to pay for  what it going on on the rest of the board.}) 16... cxd4 17. Bxd4 Bc7 {Another  move that feels right to someone who likes the bishop pair. However, this was  a very good moment to give up the couple for something better:} (17... Bxd4+ $1  18. cxd4 f6 19. Nef3 Nc6 {and when Black continues with Bd5, Rad8 and g5, then  White's position is quite awful.}) 18. Rhe1 f6 19. Nef3 Nc6 20. Bc5 Rad8 21.  Nb3 Bd5 22. Nbd4 Nxd4 23. Bxd4 a5 $5 {I like this move. Either White has to  suffer the consequences of a5-a4, or she has to play a4 herself, in which case  the a4-pawn can be targeted with either Bc6 or Bb3.} 24. Rxe8+ Rxe8 25. b3 $1 {  The best move under the circumstances.} Kf7 26. h3 g5 27. c4 Bc6 28. Re1 Rxe1  29. Nxe1 h5 {White has decent chances of holding this kind of position if she  can exchange Black's two pawns on the queenside, but if she cannot, then Black  can combine threats on the kingside with threats of picking off the queenside  pawns (when the spare Black pawn on the queenside becomes important). It is  one of those things which are obvious to a strong chess player; that Black is  mostly likely to win by winning a pawn on the queenside, rather than by  queening a pawn on the kingside. But, the key is to combine both treats.} 30.  Nc2 f5 31. a3 $2 {White was in time trouble, and it would have been quite  difficult to defend the position even with lots of time.} Be4 {The knight is  forced to a miserable square.} 32. Ne1 h4 (32... g4 {, taking the f3-square  away from the knight, is even more cruel:} 33. hxg4 fxg4 34. g3 Ke6 35. Bc3  Bb6+ 36. Kf1 Kf5 37. Ke2 Bb1 38. b4 a4 39. c5 Bc7 40. Kf2 Be4 41. Ng2 Bxg2 42.  Kxg2 Ke4 43. Bg7 Kd3 44. Bh6 Be5 45. Bf4 Bd4 46. Bc1 Kc2 47. Bg5 Kb2 48. Be7  Kxa3 49. b5 Kb3 50. c6 Be5 51. Bg5 a3 52. Bf4 Bd4 53. cxb7 a2 54. b8=Q a1=Q 55.  Qg8+ Kc3 56. Qc8+ Kb2 {and White is about to be mated.}) 33. Nf3 Kg6 ({Once  again, it is worth considering a good way to give up the bishop pair:} 33...  Bg3+ 34. Kf1 Bf4 35. Ke2 Kg6 36. Be3 $1 Bxe3 37. Kxe3 b6 38. b4 Kf6 {and White  is facing a big problem since he cannot do anything on the queenside without  giving Black the chance to go into a winning pawn endgame:} 39. c5 $6 bxc5 40.  bxc5 (40. bxa5 $5 {loses more slowly.}) 40... Bxf3 41. gxf3 Ke6 $1 42. f4 (42.  Kd4 g4 $1) 42... g4 43. hxg4 fxg4 44. c6 Kd6 $19) 34. b4 Kh5 $2 (34... Bg3+ 35.  Kf1 (35. Ke2 g4) 35... axb4 (35... a4 36. Be5 Bxf3 37. Bxg3 hxg3 38. gxf3 f4  39. Ke2 Kf5 40. c5 Ke5 41. Ke1 Kd5 42. Kf1 {is a draw:} Kc4 43. Ke2 Kb3 $2 44.  b5) 36. axb4 g4 37. Ne5+ Kh5 38. c5 gxh3 39. gxh3 f4 40. Kg1 f3 {and White is  fighting to draw it.}) 35. Bf6 $2 (35. Ne5 {would make the position almost  equal again.}) 35... Bg3+ 36. Ke3 $2 {This helps accelerate the bishops road  to c1.} Bf4+ 37. Kf2 a4 $1 38. b5 (38. Bb2 g4 39. Ne5 Bg3+ 40. Kg1 gxh3 41.  gxh3 f4 42. Ng4 Bf5 43. Nf2 f3 44. Bd4 Kg6 {and Black will win by breaking  through on the queenside and pick up the a-pawn.}) 38... Bd6 39. Bb2 Bc5+ 40.  Ke2 g4 41. Ne1 f4 (41... Bxg2 42. Nxg2 gxh3 43. Nf4+ Kg4) 42. Bc1 f3+ 43. gxf3  gxh3 44. Bf4 Bf5 45. Nd3 Bxd3+ 46. Kxd3 Bxa3 0-1

I believe Dvoretsky would have enjoyed seeing such a game, where the bishop pair eventually emerge victorious. But, perhaps he would have preferred to see one of them exchanged, “at the right moment”. 🙂