Aronian sweeps St. Louis tilts

Right after the Sinquefield Cup (Grand Tour), a strong  tournament, the St. Louis rapid and blitz invitational, took place in chess-conscious  St. Louis, USA.

Six participants of the former  tournament– Aronian, Anand, Kariakin,  Nepomniachtchi, Caruana and Nakamura  stayed behind and were joined by Dominguez,  Navarra, Le Quang Liem and the comebacking  Kasparov.

In the all-play-all rapid event, players were given 25 minutes to finish the game with  10 seconds increment per move, and five minutes  and three seconds additional per move in the  double round robin blitz.

Armenian top gun and world No. 5 Levon Aronian,  34, had a grand time, winning both events  (clinching first with two rounds remaining),  for a combined total score of 24.5 points.

Winning St. Louis was another feather  in Aronian’s cap. He won the strong Grenke Chess Classic in Germany in April, and the Norway Super GM Classic in Stavanger, Norway last June.

Tied for second-third were American Hikaru Nakamura and Russian Sergey Kariakin, at 21.5 apiece.

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In the following game, Black’s  predilection for risky opening line, was not enough for White’s excellent  strategy.

Sinquefield Cup 2017

W) L. Aronian (Armenia)

B)  I. Nepomniachtchi (Russia)

English Opening

1. Nf3          Nf6

2. c4            c5

3. Nc3         d5

4. cxd5        Nxd5

5. e3           ...

5. e4 is more usual here and after  Nb4 6. Bb5ch N8c6 7. d4!? cxd4 8. a3 dxc3 9. Qxd8ch Kxd8 10. axb4 cxb2 11. Bxb2, White has compensation for the pawn. Or 5. e4 Nxc3 6. bxc3 (6. dxc3!?) g6 7. Qa4ch!? Nd7 8. Be2 Bg7 9. d4 0-0 10. 0-0 a6 11. Qa3, White has a slight edge.

5...               Nxc3

5...Nc6 6. Bb5 e6 7. 0-0 Bd7 8. d4 Nf6 9. a3 cxd4 10. exd4 Be7, is probably equal, according to the engine.

6. bxc3        g6

7. h4           Bg7

8. h5           Nc6

9. Ba3         ...

9. Be2 Bf6 10. Qb3 b6 11. Ng5 e6 12. f4 h6 13. Qa4 Rc8 leads to even chances. Aronian-Svidler, Rd. 8 same tournament.

9...               Qa5

10. Rh4!      ...

And here is Aronian’s novelty. The Russian is probably taken aback and fails to recover his composure in time for the middle game.

10...            Bd7

Obviously 10...Qxa3?? loses to 11. Ra4 Qb2 12. Rb1.

11. Qb3      O-O?!

A risky venture. A more natural continuation which offers chances for equality is 11...Rb8  For instance  12. Ra4 Qc7 13. Bxc5?! Na5 and  Black wins the exchange.

12. hxg6      hxg6

13. Qxb7     Rfd8

14. Qa6!      ...

Early in the opening, Black is caught  in the toils. He is a pawn down without  compensation.

14...             Bxc3

15. Qxa5     Bxa5

16. Bxc5      Be6?!

This loses more material, but after 16...Kg7 17. Bd3 Rh8 18. Rxh8 Rxh8 19. Ke2, White remains a healthy pawn up.

17. Bb5!      Ne5

After 17...Bd7 18. Ke2, White has a clear advantage.

18. Nd4       Rd5?!

A blunder which loses the exchange.  If instead 18...Kf8,  19. f4 and the game should decide in White’s favor.

19. Bxe7      Kg7

After 19...Bd8 20. Bxd8 Raxd8 21. a4, Black is helpless.

20. f4          Nd7

21. f5          Bxf5

22. Bc6        ...

It’s time for Black to hoist the white flag, as White’s material advantage is overwhelming. The rest requires no further comments.

22...             Re5

23. Nxf5ch   gxf5

24. Bg5       Kg6

25. Bf4        Rd8

26. Bxd7      Rc5

27. Rh6ch   Kg7

28. Rd6       Bc7

29. Rc6       1-0

Solution to last week’s puzzle:

White to move and win.

white=Ka8, Be5, Pa7

black=Kc8, Pb3

1. Bc3          Kc7

2. Bb2         Kc8

3. Be5         1:0

If 3...b2 4. Bxb2 Kc7 5. Bc3 Kc8 6. Be5 Kd7 7. Kb7 and wins.