My young students crush strong GMs Part 1

[Event "San Marino op 2nd"] [Site "San Marino"] [Date "2006.06.09"] [Round "6"] [White "Negi, Parimarjan"] [Black "Efimenko, Zahar"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B99"] [WhiteElo "2445"] [BlackElo "2648"] [Annotator "Alex"] [PlyCount "51"] [EventDate "2006.06.03"] [EventType "swiss"] [EventRounds "9"] [EventCountry "SMR"] [SourceTitle "CBM 112 Extra"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "2006.07.14"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2006.07.14"] [SourceQuality "1"] {Young Parimarjan was very famous for his tactical sharpness and this game illustrates his aggressive approach to the game. You can see how dangerous he was for everyone, including strong GMs, already at the age of 13!} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Bg5 $1 {The most aggressive! The young talent acceps the challenge.} e6 7. f4 Be7 8. Qf3 Nbd7 9. O-O-O Qc7 10. g4 h6 $6 ({Most popular is the developing} 10... b5 $1 11. Bxf6 Nxf6 12. g5 Nd7 13. f5 Bxg5+ 14. Kb1 {with a complex game}) 11. Bxf6 $1 {For the bishop, White gets an important tempo and initiative.} Bxf6 12. h4 Qb6 $5 {Driving the knight off the center.} (12... b5 $2 {Diagram [#]} 13. Bxb5 $1 axb5 14. Ndxb5 Qc6 (14... Qa5 15. Nxd6+ Kf8 16. e5 Be7 17. Nxc8 Rxc8 18. Rxd7) 15. Rxd6 Qc5 ( 15... Qb7 16. Rxe6+ $1) 16. e5) ({The game may become very exciting after} 12... g5 $2 {a very ambitious move in the fight for the dark squares but... Diagram [#]} 13. e5 $1 {Having a development advantage one should try to play as energetic as possible!} dxe5 {Diagram [#]} 14. Nxe6 $3 {The main point! With this knight sacrifice, White dramatically weakens the light squares in opponent's camp.} fxe6 15. hxg5 $1 $146 {a strong novelty that gives White the decisive attack!} (15. f5 $2 O-O $1 16. fxe6 Nb6) 15... hxg5 16. fxg5 Bxg5+ 17. Kb1 Rf8 (17... Rg8 18. Rh7 {[%cal Gc3e4]}) (17... Rxh1 18. Qxh1 {[%csl Rg5] [%cal Gh1h5]}) 18. Qe4 {[%csl Re8,Rg5,Rg6]} Kd8 19. Qg6 Be7 20. Rh7 {an amazing position - Black is absolutely pinned and hardly able to move...} Qc6 { White's advantage is so big that he has a few pleasant options to finish the game} 21. Bg2 ({also good the positional} 21. Qg7 Re8 22. Qxe5 {[%cal Gc3e4, Gg4g5,Gf1g2]}) 21... Qxg2 22. Qxe6 Kc7 23. Qxe7 Kb8 24. Qd6+ Ka7 25. Rxd7 $1 $18 Bxd7 $140 26. Qc5+ $1) ({Clear consession is} 12... Bxd4 $6 13. Rxd4 b5 14. Be2 Bb7 15. Rhd1 {[%csl Rd6] with the initiative and advantage for White}) 13. Nb3 Nc5 $2 {Carelessly played... Diagram [#]} ({More prudent choise is} 13... Be7 $1 {Black retreats with his bishop in advance, preparing for g4-g5} 14. Kb1 $1 (14. g5 $2 hxg5 15. hxg5 Rxh1 16. Qxh1 Qe3+ 17. Kb1 Qxf4) 14... Nc5 15. g5 Bd7 16. f5 $1 {with the initiative for White} hxg5 (16... O-O-O 17. g6 $1) 17. hxg5 O-O-O 18. g6 $1 {the light squared strategy!} fxg6 19. fxe6 Bxe6 20. Bh3 $1 {[%cal Gc3d5] gaining full control over the important d5-square White gets clear intiative and advantage}) 14. Nxc5 Qxc5 (14... dxc5 15. e5 Be7 16. Bg2 { [%csl Rb7][%cal Gc3e4] with a big advantage for White}) 15. e5 $1 {A strong center break that punishes Black for breaking general development principles: his queen developed too early and king stuck in the center...} dxe5 16. Ne4 Qa5 (16... Qc7 17. Nd6+ Kf8 18. g5 e4 $1 19. Qxe4 Be7 20. Nc4 Bd7 21. Rxd7 Qxd7 22. Nb6 Qd8 23. Nxa8 Qxa8 24. Bc4 hxg5 25. fxg5 $1 {[%csl Gc4,Rf8][%cal Gh1f1, Gg5g6] with the strong initiative for White due to the opposite colored bishops } g6 $140 26. Bxe6) (16... Qc6 17. Bg2 Be7 18. fxe5 {[%csl Re8,Rf7][%cal Gh1f1] with the decisive initiative}) 17. Nd6+ Kf8 18. g5 $1 e4 (18... Be7 19. fxe5 Bxd6 20. g6 $1 {[%csl Rh8] with the crushing attack} f5 (20... Qc7 21. Rxd6) 21. exf6 $1) 19. Qxe4 Be7 20. Bc4 $1 {An ideal move to combine attack and defense!} Qc7 {Diagram [#]} 21. Nxf7 $1 {Of course! All White's pieces are perfectly placed and it is time to act energetically and make use of the development advantage.} Kxf7 22. f5 {[%csl Ra8,Rc8] White gets great superiority in force... Black is absolutely helpless.} hxg5 23. fxe6+ Kg8 24. hxg5 Bxg5+ 25. Kb1 Qe7 26. Rd8+ $1 {A final touch at the end!} 1-0

[Event "Politiken Cup"] [Site "Helsingor DEN"] [Date "2009.07.25"] [Round "9"] [White "Sethuraman, S."] [Black "Dreev, A."] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B51"] [WhiteElo "2455"] [BlackElo "2660"] [Annotator "Alex"] [PlyCount "75"] [EventDate "2009.07.18"] {The first big win over a great GM that gave Sethu a big boost of confidence.} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 $5 {A smart opening choice against an expert in the Rauzer.} d6 4. O-O Bd7 5. c3 a6 6. Ba4 c4 $6 {A very rare and risky non-developing pawn move in a well-known position. Playing against low-rated players, GMs sometimes break general principles and take some risks to confuse less experienced players... That's a real chance to beat a GM!} ({The common would be} 6... Nf6 7. Re1 b5 8. Bc2 Bg4 (8... e5 $5) 9. h3 Bxf3 10. Qxf3 g6) 7. Bc2 Bg4 8. h3 Bh5 9. Na3 b5 10. Qe2 e5 $6 {Another very commiting pawn move that unneccessarily weakens the light squares... Diagram [#]} ({Black should have been more cautious} 10... e6 11. b3 $1 (11. d3) 11... cxb3 (11... Ne5 12. g4 $1) 12. axb3 Nf6 13. d4 Be7 14. Bb2 {with an edge for White due to his strong center}) 11. d3 $1 {The most energetic!} ({Less accurate is} 11. b3 cxb3 12. axb3 Nf6 {with a decent game for Black}) 11... cxd3 12. Bxd3 Nf6 13. Nc2 Be7 {Feeling danger, the GM offers a draw and most of young players would agree but...} 14. a4 $1 {Not this time!} bxa4 15. Rxa4 Bxf3 ({Hardly better} 15... a5 16. Bb5 Rc8 17. Rd1 {with a big advantage for White} O-O (17... Qc7 18. Rc4 $1) 18. g4 $1 (18. Ne3 $5) 18... Bg6 19. Bxc6 Rxc6 20. Nxe5) 16. Qxf3 a5 17. Ne3 g6 (17... O-O 18. Nf5 {[%csl Gf5]}) 18. Nd5 $1 Nxd5 19. exd5 Na7 ( 19... Nb8 20. Bb5+ Kf8 21. Bh6+ Kg8 22. b4 {[%cal Gf1a1]}) 20. Bh6 $1 {In addition to his queenside problems, Black is not able to comfortably castle either...} Rb8 (20... Bf8 21. Be3 $1 Bg7 22. Rfa1 Nc8 23. Bb5+) 21. b4 Bg5 22. Bxg5 Qxg5 23. Rxa5 Nc8 {Diagram [#]} 24. Qe3 $1 {A strong technical decision against an endgame expert!} Qxe3 25. fxe3 {[%cal Ge3e4]} f5 {Otherwise e4 is coming and White would get the connected passed pawns on the queenside after c4-c5 Diagram [#]} 26. g4 $1 fxg4 27. hxg4 Ke7 28. g5 $1 {[%csl Rg6,Rh7] Another strong pawn move that fixes the h7 and g6 pawns. The game is strategically decided and the rest looks simple and strong.} Rd8 (28... Nb6 29. Ra7+) 29. Ra2 $1 Rf8 ({Does not help} 29... Nb6 30. Raf2 $1 Rf8 (30... Nxd5 31. Be4 $1 {[%cal Gf2f7]}) 31. Rxf8 Rxf8 32. Rxf8 Kxf8 33. e4 {[%csl Gg5][%cal Gc3c4] with an easy win}) 30. Rh2 Rxf1+ 31. Kxf1 h5 32. gxh6 Nb6 33. h7 Rh8 34. Be4 Na4 35. c4 Nb6 36. Bxg6 Nxc4 37. Ke2 Nb6 38. e4 {A very smooth win over an experienced GM that illustrates the universal style and strong fighting spirit of the young talent!} 1-0

[Event "Lille Luc Open 2012"] [Site "?"] [Date "2012.04.27"] [Round "7"] [White "Maxim Turov"] [Black "Vaibhav Suri"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "A19"] [WhiteElo "2658"] [BlackElo "2494"] [Annotator "Alex"] [PlyCount "86"] {27th April 2012 is no doubt one of the most memorable and happiest days in my coaching career. Leading the tournament with 4 out of 5 (with two wins over GMs!), my 15-year-old student had a very challenging day ahead. He was facing two strong Russian GMs: Oleg Korneev (2597) in the morning and Maxim Turov (2648) in the evening. Vaibhav managed to beat both of them practically securing his final GM norm!!} 1. c4 e6 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. e4 c5 $5 {A tricky move that leads to a double edged and objectively speaking dangerous game for Black. } ({More reliable is} 3... d5 4. e5 d4 5. exf6 dxc3 6. bxc3 Qxf6 7. d4 { with some initiative for White}) 4. e5 $1 Ng8 5. Nf3 Nc6 6. d4 $1 {Having a development advantage White plays energetically.} cxd4 7. Nxd4 Nxe5 $1 { "Take any central pawn if it can be done without too much danger!" Nimzovich} 8. Ndb5 a6 9. Nd6+ Bxd6 10. Qxd6 f6 11. Be3 {For a pawn White gets a lead in development and two bishops - Black should be very very careful... Diagram [#]} Ne7 $1 {A little trick that makes natural development possible!} 12. Bb6 Nf5 13. Qc5 (13. Qb4 Nc6 $1 14. Qc5 Qe7) 13... d6 14. Qa5 Qd7 $1 {Looks artificial, but the best. It is important to keep the e7-square for the knights.} 15. f4 Nc6 16. Qa3 {Diagram [#]} Nce7 $1 {Another important move that is a part of Black's regrouping plan.} 17. O-O-O Qc6 18. c5 $6 {A very dubious decision since White makes a big concession from the center point of view.} (18. Qb3 $1 O-O 19. Rg1 d5 20. g4 Nd6 21. c5 Nf7 22. Bg2 {with compensation for the pawn and initiative for White}) 18... d5 $1 19. Bd3 {Diagram [#]} ({Does not work the temping} 19. Bb5 $2 axb5 20. Qxa8 d4 $1 {[%csl Rc1][%cal Ge6e5,Ge8g8] with great compensation for the exchange}) 19... Ne3 $1 {A very important move in the fight for initiative.} ({After} 19... O-O 20. Rhe1 d4 $140 21. Be4 $1 Qe8 22. g4 $1 dxc3 23. gxf5 cxb2+ 24. Kxb2 {[%csl Gb6,Ge4] White is better}) 20. Rd2 (20. Rde1 Nxg2 $1) 20... O-O 21. Nb5 $2 {Probably being not able to find any real compensation for the central pawn, White decides to grab an exchange, which turns out a serious mistake.} (21. Re1 d4 $1 22. Be4 $140 $2 {Diagram [#] } (22. Ne4 N7d5) 22... dxc3 $3 {simple but very beautiful!} 23. Bxc6 cxd2+ 24. Kxd2 Nc4+) ({Better was to improve the queen} 21. Qb3 $1 e5 (21... Bd7 $5 22. Re1 N7f5) 22. Re1 exf4 23. Qb4 g5 24. g3 {with compensation for the pawns}) 21... axb5 $1 22. Qxa8 d4 {Black's advantage in the center becomes really dominating.} 23. Qb8 {The poor queen cannot find itself...} N7d5 $1 24. Be4 e5 25. Qa7 (25. fxe5 Bf5) 25... Be6 26. fxe5 fxe5 27. b3 Bf5 28. Bxd5+ Qxd5 29. Qa5 Bd7 (29... Bg6 30. Qxb5 Qe4 31. Kb2) 30. Rg1 {A draw offer from the GM is parried by the cold-blooded} h6 $1 {No rush! The game is under Black's total control.} 31. Kb2 Bc6 32. Bc7 {Diagram [#]} Nf1 $1 33. Rd1 (33. Re2 d3 $1) 33... Rf2+ 34. Ka1 Ne3 35. Rd2 {Diagram [#]} Nc2+ $6 {The only real inaccuracy in the game.} ({It would have been really great to finish the game in such a brilliant style like} 35... d3 $1 36. Rxf2 Qd4+ 37. Kb1 (37. Rb2 Nc2+ 38. Kb1 Qxg1+) 37... d2 $3 {[%cal Gc6e4] amazing domination of the Black pieces!} 38. Qxd2 Be4+) 36. Kb1 Rxd2 37. Qxd2 d3 38. Qc3 ({White should have tried to give an exchange back as soon as possible} 38. Rc1 $1 Qd4 $1 39. Rxc2 dxc2+ 40. Kxc2 Be4+ 41. Kd1 Qg1+ 42. Qe1 Qxg2 {and Black should convert his big advantage into a win, although not without technical difficulties}) 38... e4 {The central pawn general advance is unstoppable now.} 39. Qe5 ({Too late} 39. Rc1 e3 40. Rxc2 d2 $3) 39... Qf7 $1 40. Qf4 Qe6 41. Be5 e3 42. Rc1 Qg6 43. Rxc2 d2 $1 {In two days after this game, at the age of 15, Vaibhav completed his final GM norm and became the youngest GM in India at that time. The distance from 2100 player until the GM title was covered in just 3.5 years, which can be rarely seen. Such a big achievement became possible due to Vaibhav's talent to work hard with great concentration. His ability to grasp and apply all the knowledge never failed to impress me.} (43... d2 $1 44. Qf1 Be4 $1) 0-1