Pawn Storms: Ivanchuk - Radjabov

Wijk aan Zee: Corus Chess 2009, Round 3

Vassily Ivanchuk is storming Teymour Radjabov's King's Indian Defense with every available pawn.

Ivanchuk,V-Radjabov,T
Corus Chess (3), Wijk aan Zee 2009

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.Be2 O-O 6.Nf3 e5 7.O-O Nc6 8.d5 Ne7 9.b4

Black to move


This position is common enough to lead chapter four in Joe Gallagher, Starting Out: The King's Indian (2002), where he writes:

Over the last six or seven years the Bayonet Attack has been one of White's main success stories in the King's Indian.
Gallagher, Starting Out: KID, 61

I'm not certain that in the six years since Gallagher made that statement it has continued as White's most successful line, but we see that the top rated competitor at Wijk aan Zee thinks it is good enough. It appears as the most popular move in my database of master level games since 2003.

9...Ne8 10.a4 f5 11.a5 Nf6 12.Bg5

Black to move


This move appears to be the novelty. 12.Nd2, a6, and exf5 appear in the ChessBase online database. 12.Nd2 was played in the only high level game among these four: Miroshnichenko-Nataf, Kapuskasing 2004. White won.

12...Nh5 13.exf5 gxf5 14.Qd2 Nf6 15.c5 Bd7 16.b5

Black to move


16...Be8 17.c6 b6 18.Nh4 Bf7 19.Bd3 Bg6 20.f3 Qe8 21.Kh1 Kh8 22.Bc2

I started following three other games, but this one has absorbed my interest (and my weak typing skills creates certain limitations for multi-tasking). Two of the other games were drawn, and Kamsky defeated Morozevich.

Carlsen - Movsesian [D11]
Corus Chess (3), Wijk aan Zee 2009

1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.e3 Bg4 5.Qb3 Qb6 6.Nc3 e6 7.Nh4 Bh5 8.h3 Nbd7 9.g4 Bg6 10.g5 Ng8 11.Nxg6 hxg6 12.Qc2 Ne7 13.Bd2 Nf5 14.cxd5 cxd5 15.Nb5 Bd6 16.Qa4 a6 17.Rc1 Ke7 18.Nxd6 Nxd6 19.Bd3 Rhc8 20.Ke2 e5 21.Qb4 e4 22.Bc2 Qxb4 23.Bxb4 a5 24.Bxd6+ Kxd6 25.f3 exf3+ 26.Kxf3 Nf8 27.Bd3 Ne6 28.h4 Rxc1 29.Rxc1 Rh8 30.Kg4 Re8 31.Bb5 Rg8 32.Rc3 f5+ 33.Kg3 Rf8 34.Bd3 f4+ 35.exf4 Nxf4 36.Kg4 Nxd3 37.Rxd3 Rf2 38.Rb3 Kc6 39.Rc3+ Kd6 ½–½

Aronian - Stellwagen [B13]
Corus Chess (3), Wijk aan Zee 2009

1.c4 c6 2.e4 d5 3.exd5 cxd5 4.d4 Nf6 5.Nc3 Nc6 6.Bg5 dxc4 7.Bxc4 h6 8.Bh4 Qxd4 9.Qxd4 Nxd4 10.0–0–0 e5 11.Nf3 Nxf3 12.Bxf6 gxf6 13.Bb5+ Ke7 14.Nd5+ Kd8 15.gxf3 Bd6 16.Rd2 Be6 17.Rhd1 Bc5 18.Nb6+ Ke7 19.Nxa8 Rxa8 20.Bd7 Bxa2 21.Bg4 Bd4 22.f4 ½–½

Kamsky - Morozevich [C78]
Corus Chess (3), Wijk aan Zee 2009

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0–0 b5 6.Bb3 Bc5 7.c3 d6 8.a4 Rb8 9.axb5 axb5 10.d3 0–0 11.h3 Ne7 12.Na3 Ng6 13.Nc2 h6 14.Re1 Bb6 15.Ne3 c6 16.Nh2 Kh8 17.Nhg4 Nxg4 18.hxg4 Qh4 19.d4 exd4 20.cxd4 Qf6 21.Nf5 Kg8 22.Be3 Bxf5 23.gxf5 Ne7 24.Bc2 Rfd8 25.b4 c5 26.bxc5 dxc5 27.Qg4 Rxd4 28.Bxd4 Qxd4 29.Qg3 Nc6 30.e5 c4 31.Rad1 Qb2 32.f6 g5 33.Re2 Qb4 34.Qh3 1–0


7:42am PST

Back to Ivanchuk - Radjabov

22...Qf7

White to move


23.g4 Nfg8 24.Ra4

In the other games in the Corus A group, the two Dutchmen, Van Wely - Smeets, drew in thirty moves. Adams - Dominguez, and Karjakin - Wang Yue are still in progress. My kibitzer, Fritz 9, thinks Karjakin might be gaining a slight edge, but is more confident that Adams has winning chances. It also likes Ivanchuk's position in our main game.

24...Rae8 25.axb6 axb6 26.Ra7 Rc8 27.Nxg6+ Qxg6 28.Rg1

Black to move


It is 8:04am PST, and I really should get some breakfast. I also need to decide whether I'll blog to the end of the game, or go downtown and join the Martin Luther King, Jr. Day parade. My son is meeting a bunch of his school friends for the parade, and asked me yesterday if I was going, too.

28...Qf7 29.Rg3 e4 30.Ne2 Nf6 31.Nf4

8:21am PST. Breakfast is ready.

31...exf3 32.gxf3 Nfxd5 33.Rxf3 Nxf4 24.Qxf4 Bf6

White to move


35.Bb3 Qh5 36.Bxf6+ Rxf6 37.Be6

Black to move

37...Rcf8 38.Rxc7??

Ivanchuk's game from the early moves has been leading to this point, but 38.Rg3 must be played first. Time pressure provoked an error again, as it did in round 1. Bad day for Chucky.

Black to move


38... Rxe6 39.fxe6 Rxf4 40.Rxf4 Qd5+ 41.Kg1 Qg5+ 0-1

Time for me to go to a parade.