|
(875558) Lugo - Van Wely [B80]
1996 New York Open
[Rohde]
GM Loek Van Wely of Holland can now add the1996 New York Open to his list of big open tournament victories. In his critical penultimate-round game against the fierce attacking player IM Blas Lugo of Miami, Van Wely walked a tightrope, but did not misstep. Lugo put a new twist on a known Sicilian sacrifice, and had the spectators glued to their seats. But Van Wely's accurate mix of defense and counterattack negated the pressure on his wandering king. After his success here, American chess fans can expectantly await the return of Loek "Skywalker" to the next big event. 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Be3 e6 As in many other Najdorf lines, the question is whether to play 6 ... e6 with a Scheveningen formation, albeit with a unique Najdorf move order, or 6 ... e5. After 6 Be3 e5 7 Nf3 is generally thought to give White comfortable chances for the advantage. 7.f3 This line was popularized by the English stars Nigel Short and John Nunn. White forces a Keres Attack type of setup with g2-g4. 7...b5 8.g4 h6 This subvariation has gained preeminence over the lines where Black plays an eventual ... Nb8-c6, saving d7 for the king's knight. 9.Qd2 Nbd7 10.0-0-0 Bb7 11.Bd3 This move is now heavily out of fashion. The modern way, favored by Anand and Timman, is the immediate 11 h4, with the bishop going to h3 instead of d3. For example, the famous game Anand - Beliavsky, Groningen 1993, at the start of Anand's run for the PCA world championship, continued (after 11 h4) 11 ... b4 12 Nce2 d5 13 Bh3!! dxe4 14 g5 hxg5 15 hxg5 exf3 16 Nf4 Ne4 17 Qe1 f2 18 Bxf2 Qxg5 19 Be3 Qh4 20 Ndxe6! Qxe1 21 Nxg7+ Kd8 22 Rhxe1 with a big edge. 11...b4 The approved remedy is 11 ... Ne5! with the following major division: 12 Rhe1 and the important game Hjartarson - Kasparov, Thessaloniki 1988 featured 12 ... b4 (at Brussels 1986, Garry lost to Short with the slower 12 ... Rc8 13 Kb1 Be7 14 h4) 13 Na4 d5 14 exd5 Nxd5 [the same maneuver as in our game, except that Nd4xe6 is not "on" because g6 is covered by the knight on e5] 15 Bf2 Bd6 16 Bf5 (recommended by Nunn - thus players of the Black pieces had started to play 12 ... Be7 instead of 12 ... b4), and Kasparov executed the deep combination 16 ... O-O! 17 Nxe6 fxe6 18 Bxe6+ Kh8 19 Bxd5 Nxf3!! 20 Bxf3 Bxf3 21 Bb6 Bxd1! (the point) sacrificing the queen, but getting a nice initiative for a small material deficit; amazingly, 12 h4 is untested, but to me this seems more incisive than 12 Rhe1. 12.Na4 This is a new move. History suggests that a more efficacious way for this knight to join the attack is 12 Nce2. Then Solozhenkin - Wojtkiewicz, Naleczow 1988 continued similarly to the main game: 12 ... d5?! (In Ceitlin - Slutzkin, Israel 1991, Black played the more circumspect 12 ... Qa5! although after 13 Kb1 one could easily conclude that White has the more dangerous attack brewing, but the central break 12 ... d5 does not work well with the knight on e2) 13 exd5 Nxd5 14 Nxe6! (In Buelen - Arbakov, Cappele la Grande 1996, White tried to build up with 14 Nf4?!, but after 14 ... Nxf4! 15 Bxf4 Nc5 the pressure against e6 had evaporated, and Black had a good game) fxe6 15.Bg6+ Ke7 16.Nf4 Ne5 (probably the only move - White was threatening simply 17 Rhe1 with intolerable pressure against e6) and now: 17.Rhe1 Kf6 and White went crazy with 18.Bh5 Nxf4 19.Bd4 Nxh5 20.Bxe5+ Kf7 21.Qxd8 Rxd8 22.Rxd8 Nf6 23.f4 Rg8! and Black emerged with the better chances; Solozhenkin gives "18.Nxe6 Qd6! unclear", but I think White is doing very well with 18.Bd4 Nxf4 (if 18 ... Bd6 19 Be4 g5 20 Ng6 Rg8 21 f4 is crushing) 19.Bxe5+ (much better than Rxe5 Kxg6 20.Qxf4 Bd5) Kxg6 20 Qxd8 Qxd8 21 Rxd8 Nd5 22 Bd6. 12...d5 13.exd5 Nxd5 14.Nxe6 Lugo is not the type of player to back away from such an opportunity. I first observed him at the Orlando tournament one week before the N.Y. Open; in every game, Lugo was sacrificing pieces and causing his opponents major headaches. 14...fxe6 15.Bg6+ Ke7 16.Rhe1 Qa5! In contrast to the line where White's remaining knight is on e2, here Black could not have played 16 ... Ne5 because of 17 Bg5+! (clearer than 17 Bc5+ Kf6 18 Rxe5 Kxg6!) hxg5 18 Qxg5+ with a very strong attack. Van Wely's move was difficult because it does not directly defend anything, but aside from poking at the loose knight on a4, the move makes available a much needed extra square for Black's king. 17.Bf4 N7f6! Avoiding the nasty trap 17 ... Qxa4? 18 Rxe6+!! Kxe6 19 Re1+ Kf6 20 Qd3 with winning threats. 18.Qd4 Rc8! Lugo's 18th was a neat move, working the queen in, while not allowing 18 ... Nxf4?? 19 Qd6 mate. Meanwhile, 18 ... Qxa4? would lose to 19 Rxe6+! Kxe6 20 Qe5+ Kd7 21 Qc7+. Thus, Van Wely defends c7, while finally devising a reliable defence of e6 - by swinging the rook up to the third rank. 19.Qe5 Rc6 20.g5 Lugo is running out of wood to throw into the fire, and he would rather have played 20 b3 followed by h2-h4 and g4-g5. The porblem is that Black is also threatening the vicious simplification 20 ... Qc7! Therefore, immediate threats are needed, and the bishop on f4 deserts its post. Also, there was no time for 20 Bg3 Qxa4 21 Rxd5 Nxd5 22 Qxd5 (menacing 23 Bh4 mate) due to 22 ... Rxc2+! 23 Bxc2 Qxc2+ 24 Kxc2 Bxd5 and Black is still up a piece. A frustrating situation. 20...hxg5 21.Bxg5 Kd7 22.Qb8 Bc8! Another fine defensive riposte. Not the over-hasty 22 ... Qc7? as 23 Rxd5+! would be a nasty shock, winning immediately after 23 ... Nxd5 24 Qe8+ or 23 ... exd5 24 Bf5+ 23.Qa7+ A significantly better try than 23 b3 Qc7 24 Qa8 Rxh2. 23...Qc7 24.Qe3 Rd6 White was threatening to undermine d5, starting with 25 Bxf6. 25.Nc5+ Kd8 26.Bxf6+ gxf6 27.Rxd5 This does not work, but on 27 Qd4 e5 followed by ... Nd5-f4 Black emerges. If White had played 26 Qd4 instead of 26 Bxf6+, then 26 ... Be7 would have consolidated. 27...Rxd5 28.Nxe6+ Bxe6 29.Qxe6 Qd6 0-1
|
