Fantastic endgame lesson

Lasker defense
Posted on February 26, 2012 08:07:38 PM
February 26, 2012 | MANILA, PHILIPPINES
By Bobby Ang

I wrote this column several weeks ago but for various reasons publication date just kept getting pushed back. Anyway, this game is just too good to ignore.

Dmitrij Jakovenko is recognized as among the world’s best endgame players, which is interesting because he is still in his 20s. The World U18 Champion in 2001, he already has an outstanding international career and in July 2009 overtook Vladimir Kramnik as the number one Russian chess player (Kramnik took back the distinction in the next rating period).

Boris Gelfand, of course, needs no introduction. He will be playing a match for the world chess championship in May of this year against the titleholder Viswanathan Anand.

In the following game Jakovenko demonstrates fantastic opening preparation. Mirroring a high profile game between Teimour Radjabov and Vladimir Kramnik in their 2011 Candidates match, he introduced a new move on move 37 (!) at that point when Radjabov and Kramnik agreed to a draw. Due to the forcing nature of the continuation it is safe to say that he probably analysed the ensuing rook endgame up to move 50 or even further. Black appeared to be doing ok in the endgame but it turned out that his connected queenside passed pawns can be overrun by White’s doubled center pawns.

This is a great game. Watch!

Jakovenko, Dmitrij (2716) — Gelfand, Boris (2746) [D56]
European Club Ch Rogaska Slatina (4.1), 28.09.2011

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.Nc3 Be7 5.Bg5 h6
The insertion of the moves …h6 and Bh4 is a recent thing. There are several advantages to this, and I will show you one later.

6.Bh4 0–0 7.e3 Ne4
Back in 1985 chess legend Lev Polugaevsky wrote a book on the Queen’s Gambit Declined (QGD). He is a great analyst and author and I tend to believe everything that he says. Anyway, his comment in this position is: “This line, introduced by Lasker, should simplify the situation. Black’s position is secure, although he needs a lot of time to bring his knight into the game and lags behind in development. If he plays correctly the most he can expect is to get a level position.”

Clearly Polugaevsky is not a fan of this line! This same Lasker Defense became very popular after Anand’s win with Black in the final game of his 2010 world title match vs Topalov in Sofia.

8.Bxe7 Qxe7
Matthew Sadler in his award-winning book on the QGD: “By moving the knight twice in the opening, Black gives White an extra tempo for his own development. Moreover, …Nf6–e4 exchanges the only minor pieces that Black has developed! Consequently, this manoeuvre does not further Black’s development in the short-term. Also, with his central pawns on light squares, Black exchanges off his ‘good’ dark-squared bishop. Consequently, Black may suffer from weak central dark squares.”

Another non-fan!
White’s choices now are 9.Qc2, 9.Rc1 and 9.cxd5.]

9.Rc1
Polugaevsky: “A logical move. White continues his development, covers his knight and prevents …c5”. This move was also Topalov’s choice in the decisive game in Sofia.

9…c6 10.Bd3
During the 2011 World Team Championship in Ningbo, China, Aronian uncorked an all-out attack here with 10.h4!? This move has become the latest fad. In the stem game Harikrishna was able to block the attack but at the cost of an inferior endgame. 10…Nd7 11.g4 e5?! (by the book. Black meets a kingside demonstration with a central blow) 12.cxd5 Nxc3 13.Rxc3 cxd5 14.g5 h5 15.Bb5 exd4 16.Qxd4 Qe4 17.Qxe4 dxe4 18.Nd2 White has a very irritating pull. Aronian,L (2805)-Harikrishna,P (2669) Ningbo 2011 1–0 (35).

10…Nxc3 11.Rxc3 dxc4
This is the typical Lasker maneuver for Black: …dxc4, then …Nd7 then …e6–e5.

12.Bxc4 Nd7 13.Qc2 b6 14.Bd3
In relation to my note after Black’s 5th move, I will point out that with the pawn on h6 it is not attacked by the bishop after 14.Bd3 and so he saves a tempo.

14…Nf6!?
Previously Black automatically played 14…c5 here. The text move is the modern approach — he allows White to take the pawn on c6 but then shows that this cannot be held.

15.Rxc6 Nd5!
The threats of …Nb4 and also …Qb4+ have to be addressed.

16.Qb3 Nb4 17.Rc1 Nxd3+ 18.Qxd3 Bb7 19.0–0
White has to give back the pawn:

The most obvious move is 19.e4?! but then 19…Qb4+ 20.Qd2 Qb5 White is in difficulties; while 19.a3!? is met by 19…a5! with the idea of …Ba6

19…Bxf3 20.gxf3 Qg5+ 21.Kh1
This position first arose in the 2010 Khanty-Mansiysk Olympiad game between Loek Van Wely and Rustam Kasimdzhanov (Holland vs Uzbekistan). Since after 21…Qd5 Black wins back his pawn the two players agreed to a draw here. There is still plenty of play left in the position, as you will see.

21…Qd5 22.Qe4 Qxa2 23.Rg1 Rfc8
This is forced.

After 23…Rac8? White wins by 24.Rxg7+ Kxg7 25.Rg1+ Kh8 26.Qe5+ f6 27.Qh5; and a neutral move like 23…Rfd8 runs into 24.Qe5 g6 25.Rc7]

24.Qb7 Rf8 25.Qe4 Rfc8 26.Qb7 Rf8 27.Rc7 Qxb2
[27…Rad8?! is a mistake: 28.Qe4 (threatening Qe5) 28…Qxb2 (28…Qd5 29.Rxa7) 29.Qh4! (29.Qxe6?! Qxf2!) 29…Kh8 30.Qg3 and Black has to weaken his king by 30…g5 Black’s king position is getting too loose]

28.Rxf7 Rxf7 29.Qxa8+ Kh7 30.Qe4+ Kg8 31.Qa8+ Kh7 32.Qe8 Rc7 33.Qg6+ Kh8 34.Qe8+ Kh7 35.Qxe6 Qxf2 36.Qe4+ Kg8
Position after 36…Kf8
And now Radjabov vs Kramnik from the 2011 Candidates’ matches was agreed drawn after 37.Qe8+. The position had obviously been studied very deeply by Jakovenko, for now he uncorks a strong novelty …

37.h3!?
This is the sort of move which is hard to decide on during over the board play. White gives his own king breathing room on h2.]

37…Qc2
Black wants to swap queens since passed pawns on the side away from the king are usually more dangerous than central ones.

Not 37…Rc2?? 38.Qe8+ Kh7 39.Qg6+ Kg8 40.Qxg7#

38.Qe8+ Kh7 39.d5 Qf5
Because of the triple attack on d5, f3 and h3 White has no choice but to exchange queens.

40.Qe4 Qxe4 41.fxe4
Black’s chances in the endgame look OK, as the central white pawns can be stopped by the Black king, especially since two of them are doubled. In the meantime Black’s passers on the queenside can become dangerous.

41…Kg8?
Hard to believe, but this “obvious” move, bringing his king closer to the center is the decisive mistake. After the game it was determined that the correct maneuver for Black to draw was 41…Re7! which would force the d-pawn to move forward before it was ready and after 42.d6 Re8! the white pawns are stopped. Play can continue 43.Rf1 (43.Rd1 Kg6 the king gets there just in time) 43…Kg8 44.Kg2 Rf8 45.Ra1 Kf7 46.Rxa7+ Ke6 47.Rxg7 (47.d7 Rd8 48.Rb7 Ke5) 47…Kxd6 48.Rg6+ Kc5 49.Rxh6 b5 this endgame is drawn as Black’s b-pawn is worth all of White’s three pawns.

42.e5
See? Now the d- and e- pawns are side-by-side, ready to protect each other.

42…Kf7 43.Rf1+ Ke8 44.e6 Ke7 45.e4 Kd6 46.Rf8 Rb7
Obviously intending to push his b-pawn forward.

47.Rd8+ Ke7
[47…Ke5? 48.Rd7! Rb8 49.e7 Re8 50.d6 Ke6 51.Rd8 Kf7 52.e5 White’s threats of either 53.e6 or even 53.d7 win the game for him]

48.Rc8!
If Black pushes the pawn then White has a nice maneuver: 48…b5? 49.e5 b4 50.Rg8 Rb5 51.Rxg7+ Kf8 52.d6 wins easily. So that means Black must stop White’s e4–e5 followed by Rc8–g8, but White has calculated that he has just enough tempo to get his king to e5. A very accurately calculated line! Several commentators have suggested that White had seen all the way to the end of the game in his home analysis.

48…Kd6
[48…b5? 49.e5 b4 50.Rg8 Rb5 51.Rxg7+ Kf8 52.d6]

49.Kg2! b5
[49…Ke5 50.Rd8 does not work. There will follow 50…Kf6 (of course 50…Kxe4 51.d6 is hopeless) 51.Rf8+ Ke5 52.Rf7 Rb8 53.Rd7 followed by 54.e7]

50.Kf3 b4 51.Kf4! b3 52.Rc6+ Ke7 53.Ke5
Right in the nick of time!

53…b2 54.d6+ Kd8 55.e7+ Kd7 56.Rc8! Rb5+ 57.Kd4 Rb4+ 58.Kc3 Kxc8
[58…Rxe4 59.Rd8+ Kc6 60.Kc2 wins]

59.e8Q+ Kb7 60.Qd7+ Ka6 61.Qc8+ Rb7 62.Qc4+ Rb5 63.Qa2+ Kb6 64.d7 1-0
Black resigned. If 64…Kc7 65.Qc4+ Kxd7 66.Qxb5+.