GM Nikola Mitkov vs GM Vladimir Georgiev
8th Annual Gulf Coast New Year’s Open Rd 5
Sicilian Defense: Kan Variation, Wing Attack
- e4 c5 2. Nc3 e6 3. Nf3 a6 4. d4 cxd4 5. Nxd4 b5 6. Bd3 Bb7 7. O-O Qb6 8. Nb3 Qc7 9. Qe1
To these eyes the move 9 Qe1 looks strange, but then again these daze these eyes see all kind of moves produced by AI that may look strange, but are strong enough to bring the house down… After watching the game I used the analysis program at lichess.com while checking out the moves contained at 365Chess.com, where it was surprising to see the most often played move has been 9 Qe2! OK, I put the exclam there and regular readers know why. Frankly, the Queen looks better placed on e2 than e1 to these eyes, but I was attracted to the move 9 f3, not because it is the move I would make, but in watching, and replaying myriad games recently the move f3 has featured prominently in many different Sicilian openings. Only one game with 9 f3 was found at 365Chess and it did not turn out well, making 9 Qe2! look even better:
Martin Ludwig (1395) vs Alexander Foermes (1885)
Event: Bad Zwesten op 7th
Site: Bad Zwesten Date: ??/??/2003
Round: 3
ECO: B40 Sicilian defence
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Qb6 5.Nb3 Qc7 6.Nc3 a6 7.Bd3 b5 8.O-O Bb7 9.f3 d6 10.Bf4 Nd7 11.Qd2 Ngf6 12.Ne2 Rc8 13.a4 e5 14.Bg5 b4 15.Qxb4 d5 16.Qa5 dxe4 17.Qxc7 Rxc7 18.fxe4 Nxe4 19.Be3 Nd6 20.c3 e4 21.Bc2 Nc4 22.Bf4 Rc8 23.Ra2 Be7 24.Nd2 Nxd2 25.Bxd2 Bc5+ 26.Kh1 O-O 27.b4 Bd5 28.Rb2 Bb6 29.b5 axb5 30.axb5 Ne5 31.h3 Nc4 32.Bxe4 Bxe4 33.Ra2 Nxd2 34.Rxd2 Rfd8 35.Rfd1 Rxd2 36.Rxd2 Rd8 37.Rxd8+ Bxd8 38.Kg1 Bb6+ 39.Kf1 Bd3 40.Ke1 Bxb5 41.Kd2 Bxe2 42.Kxe2 Kf8 43.Kd3 Ke7 44.Kc4 Kd6 45.Kb5 Bf2 46.c4 f5 47.Kb4 g5 48.Kc3 Kc5 49.Kd3 h5 50.Ke2 Bd4 51.Kf3 Kxc4 52.Ke2 Be5 53.Kf3 Kd3 54.Kf2 g4 55.hxg4 hxg4 56.Kf1 Ke3 57.Kg1 Ke2 58.Kh1 Kf1 59.g3 Ke2 60.Kg2 Bxg3 0-1
https://www.365chess.com/game.php?back=1&gid=18456&m=18
Only one game was found with 9 Qe1:
Fabrice Wantiez (2315) vs Vladimir Chuchelov (2545)
Event: BEL-chA
Site: Gent Date: 07/??/2000
Round: 3 Score: ½-½
ECO: B43 Sicilian, Kan, 5.Nc3
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 a6 5.Nc3 b5 6.Bd3 Bb7 7.O-O Qb6 8.Nb3 Qc7 9.Qe1 Nc6 10.Bd2 Nf6 11.a4 b4 12.Ne2 d5 13.exd5 Nxd5 14.f4 Be7 15.f5 exf5 16.Rxf5 Ne5 17.Nf4 f6 18.Qg3 O-O-O 19.Nxd5 Bxd5 20.Bxa6+ Kb8 21.Be3 Bd6 22.Qf2 Ng4 23.Qe2 Nxe3 24.Qxe3 Bxh2+ 25.Kh1 Be5 26.Qe2 Ka7 27.Bd3 Rhe8 28.Qf2+ Ka8 29.Nc5 Qb6 30.Be4 Bxe4 31.Nxe4 Qxf2 32.Nxf2 Rd2 33.Nd3 b3 34.Nxe5 Rxe5 35.Rxe5 fxe5 36.cxb3 Rxb2 37.Re1 Rxb3 38.Rxe5 Rg3 39.Re7 h5 40.Kh2 Rg5 41.Kh3 g6 42.Rg7 ½-½
https://www.365chess.com/game.php?back=1&gid=616725&m=18
According to SF the best move is 9 f4, and it is second on the list with 118 games showing. The most often played move has been 9 Qe2.
The GM answered with 9…d6 and I wondered why…
White has developed three pieces, castled, and moved his Queen in a sort of sideways development, shall we say. Black has only two pieces developed. Although it is difficult to question a Grandmaster, if the GM plays weak moves he must be questioned. ‘Back in the day’ the moves made by Grandmasters were all we had and they were considered the final word. As Bob Dylan sang, things have changed… If the game were shown by a student it would be incumbent upon any teacher to question the lack of development, would it not? The numbers, or titles, matter not if you do not develop your pieces. Later SF agreed, showing 9…Be7 best. 10 Bd2 is a really strange looking move, versus a Sicilian. SF plays 10 a4, and so should you. The Fish agrees with all the moves played until 12…Nbd7, when it would develop the knight to c6. Most Chess coaches teach their students to develop their knights to the third rank unless there is a good reason to not do so. Although it does look inviting to play the knight to d7, because it leaves the Queen and Bishop unblocked, the knight is usually better placed at c6.
After replaying myriad games using the Stockfish program at lichess.com if there is one thing learned from the experience it is that the SF program will attack, and as IM Boris Kogan was fond of saying, “He attack, you defend. You attack, he better defend!” After seeing the move move 13 Na5 I ‘just knew’ SF would have played 13 Ba5 to attack the Queen. SF rarely misses a chance to attack the opponent’s Lady… GM Mitkov then takes the Bishop on b7 which is what, given the chance, I would have played. Not StockFish! It plays 14 f4. After 14 Nxb7 Qxb7 15 f4 we reach this position:
What move would you make? Although a case could be made for castling the best move is 15…e5 to counter the previous thrust by White. The GM played 15…g6, which only looks weakening to these eyes.
Could it be the GM wanted to stop, or at least impede 16 f5? Frankly, it is difficult to believe any GM would play such a weakening move as 15…g6. The next move, 16 Qe2, could, and may have been played by this writer, given the chance. I liked how it seemed to ‘fit’ behind the Bishop and took control of the g4 square while possibly preparing the move g4! with an attack. The move advocated by SF is a move I have noticed the program playing regularly. It is the consummate ‘positional’ move of simply tucking your King safely away by sliding the sovereign into the corner with 16 Kh1, the kind of move I should have played more often, but was usually reluctant to ‘waste’ a move. Do not let this happen to you! King safety is PARAMOUNT! After 16…0-0 17 c4, Georgiev played 17…Rab8, and the SF program shows white up by +1.4. Since +1.5 is considered to be ‘winning’ GM Georgiev is on the precipice, with another weak move causing him to fall into the abyss. SF would play 17…Nb8 to reposition the steed after 18 b4 Nc6. Think about it, that is the knight that should have been developed to c6 when it went to d7. After the Rook moved to b8 GM Mitkov then tucked his King into the corner with 18 Kh1. SF would have played 18 b4, taking away squares from the black Queen. If he had played the b4 move how would you reply? After 18 Kh1 GM Georgiev played 18…Nh5, the move that SF would have made if 18 b4 had been played. SF played 18…Rfe8. Then comes the SF approved sequence of 19 b4 e5.
After 19…e5 SF shows an advantage for White of +1.7, so in the above position White has a winning advantage. What’s that said about having a won game?! With his next move GM Mitkov jettisoned his advantage and we again have a game.
It is difficult to understand Mitkov’s 20 c5, which is given a ? by SF. What makes it even more interesting is much time, about 15 minutes, was used to make the questionable move. Thematic would have been 20 fxe5. I expected black to play 20…Nxf4, which seems logical, but GM Georgiev decided to protect the a-pawn by playing 20…Ra8, which is given not one, but two question marks by SF, as Georgiev went down by +2.3, meaning the GM completely let of the rope, and it was all over but the shouting.
GM Nikola Mitkov vs GM Vladimir Georgiev
8th Annual Gulf Coast New Year’s Open Rd 5
Sicilian Defense: Kan Variation, Wing Attack
- e4 c5 2. Nc3 e6 3. Nf3 a6 4. d4 cxd4 5. Nxd4 b5 6. Bd3 Bb7 7. O-O Qb6 8. Nb3 Qc7 9. Qe1 d6 10. Bd2 Nf6 11. a4 bxa4 12. Nxa4 Nbd7 13. Na5 Be7 14. Nxb7 Qxb7 15. f4 g6 16. Qe2 O-O 17. c4 Rab8 18. Kh1 Nh5 19. b4 e5 20. c5 Ra8 21. Nc3 Nxf4 22. Bxf4 exf4 23. Nd5 Rfe8 24. Bxa6 Rxa6 25. Qxa6 Qxa6 26. Rxa6 dxc5 27. Ra7 1-0
The game was followed in real time, sans analysis. It is not often one sees two Grandmasters paired in the last round and not draw the game. Both players had previously won two, and drawn two games heading into the final round, meaning a draw would bring them little, if anything. This caused me to recall the story told by one legendary Georgia player of the time he bellied up to the bar after the last round and noticed GM X, a player from the Soviet Union, who had emigrated to the USA along with many other former Soviet players. He took a seat next to the GM and asked what had happened in his last round game, which had ended decisively in favor of GM X’s opponent. “It looked like a sure draw,” said the legendary one. After downing another shot the GM said, “Someone needed to have accident,” and grinned like the cat who had eaten the canary. Then his last round opponent, another ex-Soviet player, smiled and said, “Today he have an accident; next time it is me has accident!” Uproarious laughter ensued. Then it was, “Hey bartender… How ’bout another round!”
Armchair Warrior 