Today’s biggest surprise in the Open was the defeat of the top-seed, Abhijeet Gupta, against his fellow countryman Ankit Rajpara. And with white, too – Gupta went down in a sideline of the Queen’s Gambit gone wrong. With the Dutch contingent things went better; Erwin l’Ami and Benjamin Bok won their games, as did the other three GMs Sipke Ernst, Jan Werle and Roeland Pruijssers. Things seemed to get even better for the Netherlands when Migchiel de Jong overplayed the strong grandmaster Deep Sengupta.
De Jong - Sengupta
1.Nf3 d5 2.d4 Nf6 3.c4 dxc4 4.Na3 c5 5.Nxc4 Nc6 6.Be3
6...Nd5!?
You won’t believe it, but the above position had occurred one time before, in a game Giri-Van Kampen, in a tournament in Hamburg last year. That game is so funny that I will give it in its entirety here: 6...cxd4 7.Nxd4 Nxd4 8.Bxd4 e6 9.a3 b5 10.Ne5 Bb7 11.e4 a6 12.f3 Bd6 13.Nd3 Bxh2 14.Bc3 Bg3+ 15.Ke2 Rc8 16.Rh3 Bb8 17.Qe1 Rc4 18.Nf2 Ba7 19.Rd1 Qb6 20.Rd3 a5 21.Bxa5 Rc2+ 22.Kd1 Qc6 23.Rc3 Rxc3 24.Bxc3 0–0 25.Nd3 Rc8 26.Qd2 Qc4 27.Bxf6 gxf6 28.Be2 Qd4 29.Rg3+ Kh8 30.Qh6 Rg8 31.Rxg8+ Kxg8 32.Qf4 Bc6 33.Qc7 Be8 34.Kc2 Qe3 35.Bd1 Qd4 36.Be2 Qe3 37.Bd1 Qd4 38.Qe7 Bc6 39.Qc7 ½–½.
7.Bg5 h6 8.Bh4 Bf5 9.dxc5 g5 10.Bg3 Bg7 11.a3 b5 12.Nce5 Qa5+ 13.b4
13...Ndxb4
Of course this was Black’s intention, but it looks hardly correct.
14.axb4 Qxb4+ 15.Qd2 Qxd2+ 16.Kxd2 Rd8+ 17.Ke1
17.Kc3? or 17.Kc1 is no good on account of 17...Rd5.
17...Nb4 18.e4!
This is the way out for White. The weakness of b5 offers him sufficient chances.
18...Nc2+ 19.Ke2 Nxa1 20.exf5 Rd5 21.c6
This pawn will become a nail in Black’s coffin.
21...0–0
Also after 21...Rc5 Black still has enormous problems, for example: 22.Ke3 Nc2+ 23.Ke4 a6 24.c7 Rxc7 (24...0–0 25.Nd7 is even more miserable) 25.Nxf7 Kxf7 26.Bxc7.
22.c7 Rd6
A creative little move. Black prevents 23.Nc6, but eases the pressure on the e5-knight.
23.h4 Rc8 24.Nd3!?
Stronger was 24.Nxf7! Kxf7 25.Bxd6 exd6 26.hxg5 hxg5 27.Nxg5+ and 28.Ne6, and the c-pawn keeps irritating Black.
24...Rd5
More tenacious was 24...g4 25.Nh2 Rd7 26.Nxg4 Nb3 and now Black has possibilities like ...Nd4+xf5 and ...a7-a5.
25.Nb4 Rc5 26.hxg5 hxg5 27.Nxg5 Nb3 28.Ke3
Earlier on, White’s pieces were rather stumbling over each other, but after this king push, commentator Gert Ligterink thought things were pretty ‘harmonious’ again.
28...Nd4 29.Bd3 a5
30.Na6
Here White could win already with 30.f6! Bxf6 31.Bh7+ Kg7 32.Ne4 R8xc7 33.Bxc7 Rxc7 34.Nxf6 exf6 35.Bd3.
30...Rc3 31.f6!
Also here this move is very strong, even though the d3-bishop is pinned now.
31...Nf5+ 32.Kd2 Nxg3 33.Bh7+!
With this and the next zwischenschach White wins a piece.
33...Kf8 34.fxg7+ Kxg7 35.Kxc3 Nxh1 36.Be4 Nxf2 37.Bb7 Rh8
Books could be written about all the strange things that a won chess position can do to a man’s brain. De Jong wants to prevent Black giving the rook for his beautiful pawn, after which he would of course be completely winning, but perhaps the endgame of bishop+knight versus lone king was looming up before his mind’s eye. Therefore he now starts the knight manoeuvre Na6-b8-c6-d8.
38.Nb8 b4+ 39.Kc4 a4 40.Nc6
It’s really unbelievable that White doesn’t just take on b4 here.
40...b3 41.Nxf7?
After 41.Nd8 b2 42.c8Q White has no checks, and so there is time for 42...b1Q, and Black wins.
41.c8Q Rxc8 42.Bxc8 e6 43.Nxe6+ fxe6 44.Bxe6 was still a draw, because the bishop and king will stop the pawns.
41...Rh4+ 42.Kc3
42.Kd5 would have made things more difficult for Black. After 42...b2 43.c8Q b1Q 44.Nxe7 a totally bizarre position arises.
42...Nd1+ 43.Kd2 b2
And again, White has no check after the promotion. Black wins in the attack.
44.c8Q b1Q 45.Nce5 Rd4+ 46.Ke1 Ne3+
And De Jong resigned. He must have seriously considered quitting chess altogether. Please don’t, Migchiel, your games bring us so much joy!
Lucas van Foreest - Ehlvest
Ehlvest has overplayed his opponent in time-trouble, and here he has two ways to win: 47...Qf4+ 48.Kg1 (48.Kh1 Qf1+ 49.Kh2 Bg3#), or also 47...Ba5! 48.Qf3 (after 48...Bc7+ he has to prevent the follow-up ...Qg3, and on 48.Nxa5, 48...Qf4+ wins) 48...Bc7+ 49.Kh1 Qxf3 50.gxf3 Rxb3. However, he sees a fork on f4 and plays:
47...Rxb3
A curious moment. Van Foreest the Younger was pacing up and down in the playing hall, but as soon as Ehlvest had placed this move, he dived behind the board like a hawk and played à tempo:
48.Qa8+! Kh7 49.Qe4+
As if he had counted on the mistake! White wins his piece back, and now he has two dangerous passed pawns.
49...f5 50.Qxe1 Qxe1 51.Rxe1 Ra3 52.Rc1RTxa4 53.c6 Ra8
And this endgame was eventually drawn.
One player obeyed our appeal to nominate games for the daily brilliance prize today. 15-year-old Marijn den Hartog concluded his game with Talitha Munnik with a beautiful combination.
Munnik - Den Hartog
21...Rxg2+! 22.Kh1
22.Kxg2 Bxf3+ 23.Qxf3 Rg8+ is faster.
22...Rg4! 23.Qxg4
The best try here.
23...Bxf3+ 24.Kg1 Bxg4 25.Nxb7 Rg8
25...Kxb7 was perhaps better, but the text is more stylish.
26.Nd6+ Bxd6 27.Rfc1?!
But after 27.f3 or 27.f4 Black will be a piece down.
27...Be2+ 0–1
