ODT150901

=**Otago Junior Championship shared**=




 * Problem:** Black to play and mate in 4.

The Otago Junior (under 20) Championship was held at the Otago Chess Club last month and drew 23 players. Defending champion from the previous two years, Leighton Nicholls (17) started as clear favourite, but in round three Nicholls lost a close game to Riley Jellyman (15, OBHS). In the fifth round Jellyman lost to OBHS teammate Naser Tamimi (17), who took the sole lead. But losses to Nicholls and Ryan Lau (14, OBHS) in the final two rounds left Tamimi tied for third with Lau on 5/7, behind Nicholls and Jellyman on 6 points, who share the J.J. Marlow Trophy as joint Otago Junior Champions for 2015. The under 16 prize went to Lau, while the under 13 prize was shared by Zishen Fu (12, Balmacewen) and Martin Brook (10, Maori Hill) on 4½ points. Today's game is from second round of the Russian Championship Superfinal in Chita, won last month by GM Evgeny Tomashevsky. GM Nikita Vitiugov is playing with the white pieces against GM Ivan Bukavshin. media type="custom" key="27773047" **1.d4 d5** **2.c4 e6** **3.Nc3 c6** **4.e3 Nf6** **5.b3** Avoiding the complex main lines of the Queen's Gambit Declined Semi-Slav after 5.Nf3 Nbd7 6.Bd3 dxc4 7.Bxc4 b5 etc. White's move supporting the c4 pawn aims for harmonious development rather than an opening advantage. **5...Bd6** **6.Bb2 O-O** **7.Bd3 e5!?** Taking advantage of White's delayed development of his knight to make an early central breakout. **8.dxe5 Bxe5** **9.Nf3 Bg4** **10.Qc2 Bxf3** **11.gxf3 d4?** Black is tempted to overplay his hand, missing the power of White's response. He needed to bring his knight into the game 11... Na6 12.a3 (preventing 12... Nb4) 12... Nc5 with an equal game. **12.Ne2! Qa5+** **13.b4! Qxb4+** **14.Kf1 c5** The point of White's pawn sacrifice is that the d4 pawn is pinned and will be lost, giving White an unstoppable kingside attack. The text attempts to weaken the doubled white f-pawns by forcing the removal of the e3 pawn and prevent the knight coming to the centre e.g. 14... Nbd7 15.f4 Bc7 16.Nxd4 when an attack similar to the game would develop. **15.f4 Bd6** <span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif;">**16.exd4 Nbd7** <span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif;">**17.Rg1 g6** <span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif;">**18.Rb1!** Also good is the immediate 18.f5, but since Black can't do anything to stop it, White sees no harm in bringing his final piece into the game first. <span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif;">**18... Qa5** <span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif;">**19.f5! g5!?** Trying to keep the b1-h7 diagonal closed. Other moves lose to a breakthrough on g6: 19... Qc7 (19... Bxh2 20.Rg2 doesn't help Black) 20.fxg6 fxg6 21.Bxg6! and the bishop is taboo. <span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif;">**20.Qc1!** Redirecting the queen to the kingside as quickly as possible. <span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif;">**20... Kh8** If 20... h6 21.h4 opening the h-file as well. The text runs into a killer pin down the long diagonal. <span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif;">**21.dxc5! Be7** <span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif;">**22.Bd4 Qc7** <span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif;">**23.Be4 Rab8** <span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif;">**24.Nc3** Passing up the first of several spectacular denouements: 24.Rxb7! Qxb7 (24... Rxb7?? 25.Qxg5 mates) 25.Bxb7 Rxb7 26.Qxg5 Rb1+ 27.Nc1 Rxc1+ 28.Qxc1 etc. Black is more or less helpless, so White need not hurry. <span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif;">**24... h6** <span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif;">**25.Nd5 Qd8** <span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif;">**26.h4** Again 26.Rxg5! also wins as 26... Re8 (26... hxg5 27.Qxg5 Re8 28. Rb3! forces mate) 27.Rh5 Bf8 28.Rxh6+! Kg8 (28... Bxh6 29.Qxh6 Kg8 30.Rb3 mates) 31.Qg5+ Bg7 32.Nxf6+ etc. <span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif;">**26... Bxc5** Even unpinning the knight loses: 26... Kh7 27.hxg5 Nxe4 28.g6+ fxg6 29.fxg6+ Kg8 30.Qxh6 Rxf2+ 31.Bxf2 Nf8 32.g7 etc. <span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif;">**27.hxg5! Bxd4** <span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif;">**28.gxf6 Resigns** Mate is inevitable, e.g: 28... Nxf6 29.Qxh6 Nh7 30.f6 and 31.Qxh7#.

<span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif;">**1-0**


 * Solution:** 1... Qa2+ 2.Kc1 Qa1+! 3.Bxa1 Rxa1+ 4.Kb2 Nc4#