Shkapenko, Pavel (2404) - Kalvaitis, Sigitas (2245) [D20] Cracovia op 18th Krakow (8),

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1 Shkapenko, Pavel (2404) - Kalvaitis, Sigitas (2245) [D20] Cracovia op 18th Krakow (8), e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 Black goes for the Russian Defense which gives him good chances to leveli the game in the early stages. The main drawback of this opening is that black has few chances in fighting for the advantage without white s contribution. So, in general we can say that the main message that such an opening choice delivers is, I am satisfied with a draw. 3.Nxe5 d6 4.Nf3 Nxe4 5.d3 From a psychological point of view white s decision is quite interesting; he intends to avoid the main theoretical lines and moves the game in one of the main lines that occurs in the exchange variation of French Opening. So, although this line gives white small chances of gaining an advantage, black will be on rather uncharted territory. Of course the main alternative is 5.d4 5...Nf6 6.d4 d5 7.c4 This is the ambitious line; white puts early pressure on the center. Slowly but surely we will head to a typical position with an isolated pawn. The solid approach is 7.Bd3 Bd Bg5 but this hardly disrupts black ability to fully equalize. 7...Be7 This is the first sign that black isn t that familiar with the subtleties of this line. Theory regards the following line as better: 7...Bb4+ which leads after 8.Nc Be2 dxc4 10.Bxc4 Bg Nc6 12.Be3 to a complicated position. 8.Nc Be2 dxc4 Since the bishop moved black can take the pawn so white loses a tempo. 10.Bxc4 c6 The fight to control the d5 square has started. Another possibility was to finish the development as soon as possible with 10...Bg4 leading after 11.Be3 Nbd7 12.h3 Bh to a complicated game. 11.h3 White takes control over the g4 square securing the f3 knight, thereby releasing the pressure on d4. The main advantage is that the dark squares bishop can be developed on a better square than e3. 11 Bf5 This is another inaccuracy that is quite understandable. Since in the Russian Opening the bishop is often developed here, it is no surprise that black is doing the same. Still, in this position the bishop is rather exposed and has no purpose here. A better alternative was to 1

2 play 11...Nbd Nb6 13.Bb3 Nbd5 14.Re1. The point is that black will develop the bishop on e6 later on in order to increase control over the d5 square Nbd7 13.Bb3 Nb6 14.Ne5 White places the knight on a better square and makes room for the queen which will be developed on f3 later increasing the pressure on d5. 14 Nbd5 15.Re1 Before going to any active operations, white simply improves his piece s position. 15 Qd6 Black simply finishes his development by connecting the rooks. Still, he is doing so without any particular plan or consideration of his opponent s plans. Such careless play surely leads to a worse position. We should try to avoid playing without a plan. White s main idea for getting an advantage is to increase the pressure on d5 combined with a kingside attack; therefore black has to take defensive measures in advance. Since the bishop does nothing on f5 it looks good to withdraw it in order to increase its influence over d5 and close the e file. Note that black is unable to develop the queen on the more natural squares a5 or b6 due to the constant threat of Nxc6. After 15...Be6 16.Bg5 Re8 17.Qf3 Qa5 18.Rad1 Rad8 the game remains complicated but balanced. 16.Bg5 Nxc3 This is another poor decision; there is no point in releasing the pressure in the center and opening white s pieces. We should try keeping the tension in the center as long as we can. Black should reinforce control over the d5 square with 16...Rfe8 17.Qf3 Be6. The game remains balanced. 17.bxc3 Nd5 From a general point of view this move is quite good since it tries to trade pieces but it fails on accurate calculation. Better would have been 17...Rae8 18.Qf3 Be6 19.Bxe6 fxe6 20.Rab1 and although white retains an edge, at least black holds on to the material balance. 2

3 18.Bd2 We are quite sure that white made this move without thinking too much since it is in his best interest to avoid trading pieces. Still, white could take advantage of the hanging bishop along the e file in order to gain a pawn. After 18.Bxd5 Bxg5 Even worse is 18...cxd5 19.Nc4 dxc4 20.Bxe7 and white wins the exchange getting a decisive advantage. 19.Bxf7+ Rxf7 20.Qh5 the point is that the double attack allows white to recover the piece. 20 Re7 21.Qxg5 black has no compensation for the missing pawn Rad8 19.Qf3 Qf6 Black allows white to gain the pair of bishops; white will have a small but lasting advantage afterwards. Better would have been 19...Be6 20.Bc2 and although white has some pressure on the kingside, his initiative is not of a permanent nature. If black takes some defensive measures the initiative will fade. 20.Ng4 Bxg4 This is forced due to the hanging of the e7 bishop. 21.Qxg4 Rfe8 Another alternative was to keep the queen in the center with 21...Qd6 although after 22.Re2 Bf6 23.Rae1 white retains a small advantage. 22.Re5 22 Qg6 This is an inaccuracy that allows white to increases his advantage due to the pin along the e file. Instead black should fight for the open file at once with 22...Bd6 not fearing that white can win a pawn after 23.Bg5 Qg6 24.Rxd5. Nothing is gained with 24.Rxe8+ Rxe8 since it is black who takes control over the e file. 3

4 24...cxd5 25.Bxd8 Qxg4 26.hxg4 Rxd8 27.Bxd5 Ba3 28.Bxb7 Bb2 29.Rd1 Bxc3 30.d5 Bb4. Although white emerges with a pawn advantage, the presence of opposite color bishops gives black greater chances to hold than white s to increase his advantage. This is quite a typical way to get out of dangerous situations. When we are under pressure a good way of solving the problems is to liquidate into endgames with a material deficit but that offer good drawing chances. The endgames that give such chances are mainly rook s and opposite color bishops endgames. 23.Qe2 Kf8 24.Re1 f6 25.Re6 Another way to keep the pressure was with 25.Qf3 Qf7 26.R5e2. The point is that black is unable to easily liquidate the tension since trading rooks isn t possible Bd6 This is the right call; by trading the heavy pieces black releases some of the tension although white retains a long-term advantage due to the pair of bishops. Still, since black has no weaknesses, the chances of keeping the game under control are great. 26.Qf3 For the moment white keeps the queens on the board intending to take advantage of black s exposed king. This has a drawback too since with the queens on the board black can get counter play more easily. Liquidating into the same endgame that occurs later in this game was another solution that leaves black without counter play. After 26.Rxe8+ Rxe8 27.Qxe8+ Qxe8 28.Rxe8+ Kxe8 white has a lasting advantage Nc7 This is the point: in contrast to the sideline from the 25 th move, black is able to trade both rooks since the knight isn t pinned. 27.Rxe8+ Rxe8 28.Rxe8+ Kxe8 Also after 28...Nxe8 29.g3 Be7 30.h4 Nd6 31.Bf4 white retains a large advantage. 29.g3 This move shows that white is well acquainted with the general principles that apply in the positions with a pair of bishops against a bishop and knight. In endgames with pair of bishops against bishop and knight we should place the pawns on the same color as the opponent s bishop. 29 Kd7 30.Bc4 A good move is followed by an inaccuracy. There is no point in allowing black s queen to get active. Better would have been to continue placing the pawns on dark squares with 30.h Qc2 31.Be1 Kd8 Now it is black s turn to play less accurately since he fails to get counter play. The only side where black can get active is the queenside since here white has the less solid 4

5 structure. In order to increases his influence over the queenside, black has to advance the pawns. After 31...b5 this move not only gains space on queenside but also increases black s control over the d5 square since a c4 advance is longer a threat 32.Bb3 Qb1 33.Kf1 g6 black gets good counter play. His main idea is to advance the queenside pawns further with a5-a4 trying to get a passed pawn. 32.Kg2 Qa4 Black goes back with the queen but there is no point in doing so. A better alternative was to simply harass white by keeping the queen active with 32...Qb1 33.Bd2 Qb2. 33.Bb3 Qa5 34.Qe4 h6 Also after 34...Qh5 35.Bd2 Qg6 36.Qf3 white keeps the advantage. 35.Bd2 Qh5 36.c4 Finally white decides to play a little more actively. He gains space in the center and by taking control over the d5 square he can relocate the light squares bishop on the long diagonal where it is better placed. 36 Qe8 37.Qf3 Entering the endgame with 37.Qxe8+ Kxe8 38.h4 was also good enough. Keeping the queens was better with 37.Qb1 in order to prepare Bd1-f3 since the bishop is better placed there Ne6 38.Be3 Ng5 39.Qf5 Nothing is gained with 39.Bxg5 hxg5 40.c5 Bf8 since a d5 advance isn t dangerous at all; black simply takes on c Qd7 Black decides to enter the endgame by force since the trade of queens cannot be avoided because of the h3 pawn. 40.Bc2 Qxf5 41.Bxf5 b6 Since white s next move is quite obvious, the better play was 41...Bb4 42.h4 Nf7. The point is that after any c5 advance the black bishop is more active. 42.c5 White increases the space advantage and leaves black s bishop passive. 42 bxc5 43.dxc5 Be7 Also after 43...Bc7 44.f4 Nf7 45.Kf3 white retains a big advantage. 44.f4 White takes control over the e5 square minimizing the activity of black s pieces. 5

6 44 Nf7 45.Kf3 Ke8 Going to the queenside with the king 45...Kc7 allows white to penetrate on the kingside after 46.Kg4 46.Bg6 Kf8 47.Ke2 White anticipates black s idea of attacking the c pawn and moves the king to the queenside in order to protect it. 47 Nd8 48.Kd3 Nb7 49.Kc4 Bd8 50.Bf5 Starting from the 42 nd move white was doing everything right and now it is time to collect the fruits but he fails to do so. This move allows black to organize his defense by keeping the knight on a protected square. In order to get a decisive advantage white has to spoil the coordination between black s pieces by forcing the knight to the edge of the board. When we can force the opponent to place his pieces at the edge of the board we should do so. This is quite logical since the pieces are better placed in the center covering more ground. After 50.Be4 Na5+ this is forced; otherwise black simply loses the pawn. 51.Kb4 Ke7 Neither would 51...Bc7 save black since after 52.f5 Ke7 53.Bf4 Bd8 54.Bd3 we reached the same type of position as in the main sideline. 52.Bd3 Bc7 53.Ba6 white has a decisive advantage since there is no defense against the Ka4-Bd2 threat that wins the knight Bc7 On the other hand black makes no mistake and vacates the d8 square for the knight. 51.Bc8 Nd8 52.Kd4 Ke7 53.Ke4 Ba5 Another defensive idea was to keep the kingside entry points with the knight. 6

7 Still, after 53...Ne6 54.Kf5 Nf8 55.g4 white retains a large advantage; therefore black s idea is better since it gives him the opportunity to improve the kingside structure. 54.Kf5 Kf7 55.Ba6 White fails to spot black s positional threat. In order to keep the advantage it was necessary to play 55.g4 so that after 55 g6+ 56.Ke4 black is not able to play f Bb4 Black loses the opportunity to even the game. As a matter of fact the right line isn t that hard to find if we apply one of the main defensive ideas in these types of positions. When facing the pair of bishops we should place our pawns on square of the opposite in color to our bishop. So all black had to do was to place the kingside pawns on light squares. After 55...g6+ 56.Ke4 f5+ 57.Kd3 h5 black has everything under control since white king is unable to penetrate into black s camp. 56.g4 Ke7 Black loses another opportunity to clarify things. After the forced line 56...g6+ 57.Ke4 Ne6 58.Bc4 Ke7 59.f5 otherwise black simply wins the c pawn 59 Nxc5+ 60.Bxc5+ Bxc5 61.fxg6 Kf8 the position is dead draw. Black will place the king on g7 and afterwards moves the bishop along the a7-g1 diagonal; white has no chance of making further progress. 57.Kg6 Kf8 58.Bc8 Nf7 59.Be6 White is losing valuable time; since advancing the pawn on h5 is part of his plan to increase his advantage by preparing a g5 breakthrough, he should head for it at once. After 59.h4 Bc3 60.h5 the pawn has reached the destination while black hasn t done anything to strengthen his defense Nd8 60.Bd7 Ba3 Black is waiting to see how white intends to make further progress. This isn t such a great decision since white can make a breakthrough on the kingside based on a g5 advance. Therefore it would have been better for black to strengthen his defense by activating the knight. After 60...Nb7 61.Bxc6 Bxc5 62.Bd2 Trading the bishops 62.Bxc5+ Nxc5 63.Kf5 Ke7 gives white nothing; the position is equal Nd6 although white is still better, at least black has activated the knight and traded a pair of pawns. 61.h4 Bb4 62.Bd4 Ke7 After placing the bishop on d4 white is already threatening g5 since the g7 pawn will hang. So there is no time for the waiting tactic. Black has to defend against the threat; otherwise he is lost. The only way to have kept things under control was with 62...Be1 63.h5 63.g5 leads after 63 Bxh4 64.gxh6 gxh6 65.Bxf6 7

8 Worse are 65.Kxh6 Ke7 66.Bf5 Ne6 and the game is equal since white has to give up the light squares bishop in order to avoid losing a pawn Bxf6 66.Kxf6 Nb7 67.Bxc6 Nxc5 to a position were white has an edge but it is hardly sufficient for a win; the material is too reduced Bd2 64.Kf5 Ke7 65.Bc8 Bc1. White still has an edge but making further improvements is quite hard since a g5 advance is controlled. 63.Bc8 Kf8 64.g5 Finally white manages to make this breakthrough with decisive effect 64 hxg5 65.fxg5 After 65.hxg5 Bd2 66.gxf6 gxf6 67.f5 black loses the f pawn; the position is lost fxg5 66.Bxg7+ Ke8 67.h5 This is better than winning the pawn since the h pawn is unstoppable. 67 g4 68.Bxg4 White takes the safer route avoiding any unexpected complications. The fastest way into win was with 68.h6 g3 69.h7 Nf7 70.Bd7+ Kxd7 71.Kxf7 since white promotes the pawn. Note that on 71 g2 white simply promotes followed by mate in a few moves Bd2 69.h6 Bxh6 70.Bxh6 White wins a piece; black could already resign. 70 Nb7 71.Be3 Kd8 72.Kf6 Na5 73.Be6 Kc7 74.Bf4+ Kd8 75.Bd6 Nb7 76.Ke5 Na5 77.Bb8 a6 78.Bd6 Nb7 79.Bc4 In this hopeless position black resigned. 1 0 CONCLUSIONS: 1. Try to avoid playing without a plan. 2. When under pressure, a good way of solving the problem is to liquidate into an endgame with a material deficit but that offers good drawing chances. 3. In endgames with a pair of bishops against a bishop and knight, place the pawns on the same color as the opponent s bishop. 4. If you can force the opponent to move his pieces to the edge of the board, do so. 5. When facing a pair of bishops, place the pawns on squares of the opposite color to your own bishop. 8