Aeroflot tactics

(1) Aleksandrov,A (2633) - Lugovoi,A (2540) [E49] Aeroflot Open Moscow RUS (6), 16.02.2003 [easy] 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.e3 0-0 5.Bd3 d5 6.cxd5 exd5 7.Nge2 c6 8.0-0 Re8 9.f3 c5 10.a3 Bxc3 11.bxc3 Nc6 12.Ra2 Qc7 13.Ng3 Be6 14.Bb1 Rac8 15.Raf2 Qd7 16.Qd3 h6 17.Rd1 Rc7 18.Bb2 Na5 19.e4 dxe4 20.fxe4 Bc4 21.Qf3 Ng4 22.Rfd2 Bb3 23.Nf5 Bxd1 24.Rxd1 h5 25.h3 Nf6 26.e5 Nh7 27.Nd6 Rf8 28.d5 b5 29.c4 Nxc4 30.Nxc4 bxc4 31.e6 fxe6 32.Bxh7+ Kxh7 33.Qxf8 exd5 34.Be5 Rc8 Diagram White to play This is a tactical shot you should see in a second. White picks up two pawns and the game. 35.Rxd5 [ 35.Rxd5 Rxf8 ( 35...Qxd5 36.Qxg7# ) 36.Rxd7 ] 1-0

(2) Gagunashvili,M (2563) - Sutovsky,E (2651) [D76] Aeroflot Open Moscow RUS (6), 16.02.2003 [easy] 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nf3 Bg7 4.g3 d5 5.cxd5 Nxd5 6.Bg2 Nb6 7.Nc3 Nc6 8.e3 0-0 9.0-0 Re8 10.Re1 e5 11.d5 Ne7 12.e4 Bg4 13.h3 Bxf3 14.Bxf3 c6 15.Bg5 h6 16.Bxe7 Qxe7 17.Qb3 cxd5 18.exd5 Qd7 19.h4 f5 20.Be2 Red8 21.a4 Nc8 22.a5 Nd6 23.Na4 Rac8 24.Qe3 f4 25.gxf4 exf4 26.Qxf4 Rf8 27.Qe3 Rce8 28.Nc5 Qf5 29.Ne6 Qxd5 30.Nc7 Rxe3 31.Nxd5 Re4 32.f3 Bd4+ 33.Kg2 Re5 34.Nc3 Nf5 35.Bc4+ Kg7 36.Rxe5 Bxe5 37.Kh3 Diagram Black to play How does Black pick up a pawn - and incidentally the game? 37...Nxh4 38.Bd5 [ 38.Kxh4 Rf4+ 39.Kh3 Rxc4 ] 38...Nxf3 39.Bxb7 g5 40.Rd1 h5 41.Rd7+ Kh6 42.Ne4 g4+ 43.Kg2 h4 44.Nf2 h3+ 45.Kh1 Nh2 46.Rd2 Kh5 47.b4 Kh4 48.b5 Nf1 49.Ra2 Ng3+ 50.Kg1 Bd4 51.b6 Re8 52.Kh2 Nf1+ 53.Kh1 Re1 0-1

(3) Kaidanov,G (2629) - Lerner,K (2507) [E59] Aeroflot Open Moscow RUS (8), 18.02.2003 [easy] 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.e3 0-0 5.Bd3 d5 6.Nf3 c5 7.0-0 Nc6 8.a3 Bxc3 9.bxc3 dxc4 10.Bxc4 Qc7 11.Bb2 e5 12.h3 Bf5 13.Qe2 Rad8 14.Bb5 e4 15.Nd2 Na5 16.c4 cxd4 17.exd4 Nd7 18.Qe3 a6 19.Bxd7 Rxd7 20.Rac1 Qb6 21.Bc3 Nc6 22.d5 Qxe3 23.fxe3 Ne7 24.Nb3 Bg6 25.Bb4 Rb8 26.Nc5 Rdd8 Diagram White to play The short-range tactical shot by White is easy to see, but can you work out the refutation of the Black counterplay? 27.Nxa6 Nxd5 [ 27...bxa6 28.Bxe7 ] 28.Nxb8 Nxe3 29.Rfe1 Nf5 30.Rxe4 Rxb8 31.g4 Nh6 32.Re7 f5 33.Rd1 fxg4 34.hxg4 Be8 35.Rde1 Bc6 36.Rc7 Rd8 37.Ree7 Rd1+ 38.Kf2 Nxg4+ 39.Ke2 1-0

(4) Sutovsky,E (2651) - Goloshchapov,A (2523) [C18] Aeroflot Open Moscow RUS (2), 12.02.2003 [medium] 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.e5 c5 5.a3 Bxc3+ 6.bxc3 Ne7 7.Qg4 0-0 8.Bd3 Qa5 9.Bd2 Nbc6 10.Nf3 f5 11.exf6 Rxf6 12.c4 Qa4 13.Qh5 Nf5 14.cxd5 Ncxd4 15.Ng5 h6 16.Ne4 Rf8 17.0-0 b6 18.Rae1 exd5 19.Ng3 c4 20.Bxf5 Nxf5 21.Re5 Qxc2 22.Bb4 Rf6 23.Qe8+ Kh7 24.Re2 Qb3 25.Nxf5 Rxf5 26.Re3 Qc2 27.Rg3 Rf6 28.Bc3 Rg6 29.Bxg7 Rxg7 30.Re1 Bg4 31.Qxa8 Qd2 32.Qe8 c3 Diagram White to play The Israeli GM (and baritone singer) played a decisive combination to finish off this game quickly. 33.Rxg4 Rxg4 34.Qf7+! Rg7 35.Qf5+ Rg6 36.Re7+ Kh8 37.Qf8+ 1-0

(5) Sadvakasov,D (2523) - Korotylev,A (2586) [B66] Aeroflot Open Moscow RUS (2), 12.02.2003 [medium] 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 d6 6.Bg5 e6 7.Qd2 a6 8.0-0-0 h6 9.Be3 Bd7 10.f4 b5 11.Bd3 Qc7 12.Kb1 Be7 13.h3 0-0 14.g4 Nxd4 15.Bxd4 b4 16.Ne2 e5 17.Bf2 Bc6 18.Ng3 d5 19.exd5 Nxd5 20.fxe5 Nc3+ 21.bxc3 Bxh1 22.c4 Bf3 23.Rg1 Rad8 24.Qf4 Bb7 25.Nf5 Bg5 26.Qg3 Bd2 27.g5 hxg5 28.Be3 Bxe3 29.Qxe3 Rfe8 30.Rxg5 g6 Diagram White to play You can feel the coming annihilation of the black king. But there is one precise move which White must find to actually execute it. 31.Rh5 f6 [ 31...gxh5 32.Qg3+ Kh8 33.Qg7# ; 31...Qxe5 32.Nh6+ Kg7 33.Rxe5 ] 32.Qg1 g5 33.exf6 1-0

(6) Bu Xiangzhi (2569) - Chuchelov,V (2592) [E46] Aeroflot Open Moscow RUS (3), 13.02.2003 [medium] 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.e3 0-0 5.Nge2 d5 6.a3 Be7 7.cxd5 exd5 8.b4 c6 9.Ng3 Re8 10.Bd3 Nbd7 11.0-0 Nb6 12.b5 c5 13.dxc5 Bxc5 14.Na4 Nxa4 15.Qxa4 d4 16.e4 Ng4 17.Bf4 Nxh2 18.Rfc1 b6 19.f3 Qh4 20.Ne2 Nxf3+ 21.gxf3 Re6 22.Rxc5 bxc5 23.e5 Bb7 24.Rf1 Bd5 25.Bg3 Qg5 26.Qc2 c4 27.Bxh7+ Kh8 28.Kg2 d3 29.Bxd3 cxd3 30.Qxd3 Rxe5 31.Rh1+ Kg8 32.Qh7+ Kf8 33.Nf4 Bxf3+ 34.Kxf3 Diagram Black to play Black is in a fix, but the Belgien GM found a forced draw against his young Chinese opponent. 34...Re3+ 35.Kxe3 Qxg3+ 36.Ke2 Re8+ 37.Kd1 Qb3+ 38.Kd2 Qe3+ 39.Kc2 Rc8+ 40.Kb2 Qc3+ 41.Ka2 Qc4+ 42.Ka1 Qc3+ 1/2-1/2

(7) Sutovsky,E (2651) - Dvoirys,S (2562) [B86] Aeroflot Open Moscow RUS (3), 13.02.2003 [medium] 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Bc4 e6 7.Bb3 Nbd7 8.Bg5 Nc5 9.f4 Be7 10.Qf3 Qc7 11.0-0 Nxb3 12.axb3 Qc5 13.Rad1 e5 14.b4 Qa7 15.Bxf6 Bxf6 16.fxe5 dxe5 17.Nd5 Rf8 18.Nc7+ Ke7 19.Nd5+ Ke8 20.Qg3 Be6 21.Rxf6 gxf6 22.Nxf6+ Kd8 23.Qxe5 Kc8 24.Kh1 Rd8 25.Rd3 Bc4 Diagram White to play White has a number of winning continuations, but our Israeli baritone played the one that leads to a forced mate. 26.Ne6 [ 26.Ne6 Threat: Qc7 or Rxd8 mate. 26...fxe6 ( 26...Qb6 27.Rxd8+ Qxd8 28.Qc5+ Kb8 29.Nxd8 Bb5 30.Qb6 Kc8 31.Nxb7 a5 32.Nd6# ) 27.Rxd8+ Kxd8 28.Qd6+ Kc8 29.Qd7+ Kb8 30.Qd8# ] 1-0

(8) Sakaev,K (2645) - Izoria,Z (2565) [D45] Aeroflot Open Moscow RUS (5), 15.02.2003 [medium] 1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 c6 4.e3 Nf6 5.Nf3 a6 6.Qc2 c5 7.dxc5 Bxc5 8.a3 dxc4 9.Bxc4 b5 10.Bd3 Nbd7 11.b4 Be7 12.Bb2 Bb7 13.Rd1 0-0 14.0-0 Qc7 Diagram White to play Chess is often just about calculating: takes, takes, takes, takes and I'm better. How did White gain a decisive advantage in this position? 15.Nd5 Nxd5 [ 15...Qxc2 16.Nxe7+ Kh8 17.Bxc2 ] 16.Bxh7+ Kh8 17.Qxc7 Nxc7 18.Rxd7 Bxf3 19.gxf3 Kxh7 20.Rxc7 Bd6 21.Rd7 Rad8 22.Rxd8 Rxd8 23.Rc1 Ra8 24.Rc6 Bf8 25.Rb6 Kg6 26.Kg2 Be7 27.Bd4 Bd8 28.Rb7 Bh4 29.f4 Rc8 30.Rb6 Rc2 31.e4 Rc4 32.Be3 Rxe4 33.Rxa6 Rc4 34.Rb6 Rc3 35.f5+ Kh7 36.fxe6 1-0

(9) Avrukh,B (2584) - Vlassov,N (2454) [E11] Aeroflot Open Moscow RUS (6), 16.02.2003 [medium] 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 Nc6 3.Nf3 e6 4.g3 Bb4+ 5.Bd2 Qe7 6.Nc3 Bxc3 7.Bxc3 Ne4 8.Rc1 0-0 9.Bg2 d6 10.d5 Nxc3 11.Rxc3 Nd8 12.Nd2 e5 13.c5 f5 14.0-0 Nf7 15.cxd6 cxd6 16.Qb3 Qg5 17.f4 Qh5 18.Nf3 Qh6 19.e3 Qf6 20.Rc7 g5 21.Qc3 g4 22.Nh4 Qd8 23.Rc1 Rb8 24.Bf1 Bd7 25.Bd3 e4 26.Bb1 Bc8 27.Qd4 Ra8 28.Kg2 a6 Diagram White to play This is one of those positions in which you must calculate very carefully. Very simple for a player like Fritz, but how about us humans? 29.Rxc8 Rxc8 30.Nxf5 Threat: Qg7# 30...Ne5 31.Rxc8 Qa5 32.Rxf8+ Kxf8 33.fxe5 And White has enough material to feed an army. 33...Qb5 34.Kf2 dxe5 35.Qxe5 Qb4 36.Qd6+ 1-0

(10) Bologan,V (2630) - Smirnov,P (2572) [C88] Aeroflot Open Moscow RUS (3), 13.02.2003 [hard] 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0-0 Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 0-0 8.h3 Bb7 9.d3 d6 10.a3 Nb8 11.Nbd2 Nbd7 12.Nf1 Nc5 13.Ba2 Ne6 14.Ng3 Re8 15.Ng5 Bc8 16.Nf5 Bf8 17.f4 g6 18.Qf3 Rb8 19.fxe5 dxe5 20.Nh6+ Bxh6 21.Nxe6 Bxe6 22.Bxh6 Bxa2 23.Rxa2 Nd7 24.Rf1 Qe7 25.b4 Rb6 26.Bg5 Qe6 27.Raa1 c5 28.c3 Rc6 29.Bd2 Rd6 30.Bh6 Rc8 31.a4 bxa4 32.Rxa4 cxb4 33.cxb4 Rc3 34.Qf2 Rb6 35.b5 Nc5 Diagram White to play White is on the attack. Can you find the somewhat unexpected combination that leads to quick victory? 36.Ra3 Nxd3 [ 36...Rxa3 37.Qxc5 forking both rooks] 37.Qh4 [ 37.Qh4 Threats: Rxc3, as well as Qd8+ and mate to follow. 37...Rc8 38.Rxd3 and White is a piece up.] 1-0