After a highly bizarre game, Victor Mikhalevski defeated Alexander Beliavsky on the top board this morning. The former elite player deserved more in this game, but after move 20 things got completely out of hand. The Israeli grandmaster thankfully accepted the present and now shares the lead with Andrey Vovk, who overcame Eric Hansen.
Mikhalevski - Beliavsky
Here Beliavsky comes up with an interesting attempt to make his way to the white king via the centre:
18...b5!? 19.cxb5 Bd5!
The point. White is stuck with a chronic weakness on d4.
20.Bxd5 Qxd5 21.Rxe7
21.b6!? Nd7 is nothing special either.
21...cxb5
22.Qf3??
A stunning move. Mikhalevski said he had simply missed that the pawn on d4 was hanging!
22...Bxd4+ 23.Bxd4 Qxd4+ 24.Kg2
24...Qxa1?!
24...Nc6! 25.Ree1 Nxb4 wins on the spot, for example 26.Rad1 Nc2 or 26.Red1 Qb2+.
25.Qxa8 Qxa2+ 26.Kh3
26...Qc4!?
Black could have decided the struggle here with the brilliant computer moves 26...Qa1!! 27.Ra7 Na6!! 28.Qf3 Qc1! and here we have the point. White cannot take on a6 in view of 29...Qc8+, with ...a3-a2 to follow. Behind the board no human player would be able to find this, of course.
27.Qxa3 Nc6 28.Rc7 Qe6+ 29.f5 Qd6 30.Rb7
30...Nd4
Here Black could take profit from the exposed white king with 30...g5!, for example 31.Nf3 Qh6+ 32.Kg2 g4 and if the knight budges, checkmate follows with queen and rook.
31.Qa7!?
A tricky little move. Not only 32.Rd7 is threatened, but also taking twice on g6.
31...Qf6
Black could keep a minimal advantage with 31...Qe5 32.Qc5 Qxc5 33.bxc5 Rc8 34.f6 h5.
32.Qc5 Nxf5 33.Nxf5 gxf5 34.Qe3!?
Preventing the check on h6.
34...Qg6
34...Qc6 35.Rb6 f4! (35...Qd5 36.Qg5+ Kh8 37.Rf6) 36.gxf4 Qd7+ and Black maintains his b-pawn, with equality.
35.Rxb5 Qg4+ 36.Kg2 Rd8 37.Re5 Kg7 38.b5 Rc8 39.Qd3 Kf6 40.Re2
And Black didn’t get any attack; the b-pawn decided.
After a laborious start, Sipke Ernst is back in the picture. In this fifth round he won comfortably after an attack on Sopiko Guramishvili’s king.
Guramishvili - Ernst
15.Bh3?!
That bishop shouldn’t have left the diagonal. Better was 15.e3.
15...d4! 16.Nb5 g5! 17.Bxc8
Now Black quickly gets a devastating attack. The lesser evil was 17.Bd6 Bxd6 18.Bxc8 Bxc8 19.Nxc5.
17...Qxc8 18.f3
Not possible is 18.Bxg5 Qh3 19.f3 Ng4!.
18...gxf4 19.Nxc5 Qh3
19...fxg3! was more forceful.
20.Rf2
A more tenacious way to defend was 20.e4! dxe3 21.Nxb7 fxg3 22.Qc2, but Black will play ...Qd7 at the right moment and wins back a knight.
20...Ng4! 21.Nxb7
21.fxg4 fxg3 22.Nxb7 gxf2+ is over and out.
21...Nxf2 22.Qxd4 fxg3 23.hxg3 Qxg3+ 24.Kf1 Bh4
Black was a piece up, and duly won.
