Wesley So vs Nils Grandelius (2011)

Wesley So vs Nils Grandelius
19th Sigeman & Co Chess Tournament (2011) · Nimzo-Indian, Classical, Noa Variation, 5.cd ed (E35) · 0-1

To move:

Last move:

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Jun-12-11		waustad: Nice win today for Grandelius. Maybe this one won't end up all in Taglish.

Jun-12-11		Gilmoy: I thought that Ne4 was too strong to tolerate, but White never had a good time to remove it. <20..Qa4+!> is a subtle defensive fork of d7. It reminds me of the old Avalon Hill Third Reich boardgame Eastern front trick (ironically called the "hedgehog", haha) of exploiting your armor <behind> your own lines to prevent your opponent from breaking through and surrounding you on his move. After that, White is naked on too many lines. The Bb4 <bodes ill>, taking a flight square and preventing Rd2 defenses. 22.Bxe4? dxe4+ 23.Ke2 Qd3#. <22.Ke2 Qe6> 23.Bxe4 dxe4 <the Q can't leave f7> 24.f3 <24.Rhd1?? Qa6+> <24.Kf1 looks suicidal> Rc2+ 25.Kf1 exf3 26.gxf3 Qf6 27.Rd1 Rxe3. <22.Ke2 Qe6 23.Rac1 Qf6> 24.Bxe4 dxe4 <prevents Kf3, and supports Qd3#> 25.Rb1 Qa6+ 26.Kd1 Qd3#, or 25.Rxc4 Qb2+ 26.Kf1 Qb1+ 27.Ke2 Qd3#. After <25.Kf3> the Ne4 is so strong that Black sacs <both> Rooks, and mates anyways.

Jun-12-11		IskolBulakbol: Ne4 is an Exocet/Tomahawk missile.

Jun-12-11		luzhin: So paid a very high price for failing to eject the monster Knight on e4 with 18.f3. But Grandelius exploited it brilliantly by a Knight manoeuvre with his Queen: Qd7-e6-f6!

Jun-12-11		sevenseaman: <SO> never got the <Nd4> thorn out of his flesh and the Black Q ran merry circles around it. <Gilmoy>, your comment about <20...Qa4+> with a throwback to military history/tactics <exploiting your armor <behind> your own lines to prevent your opponent from breaking through > is apt; Black Q never lost the essential contact. 'hedgehog'? Was it termed that in the military context too, I wonder.

Jun-12-11		wordfunph: <waustad: Nice win today for Grandelius. Maybe this one won't end up all in Taglish.> lol! :)

Jun-12-11		pulsar: In retrospect, the pawn-grab 17.Nxh6 looks very bad and maybe White should have played Bd3 instead. Then 17...Rbc8 18.Ke2 trying to connect the Rooks. With the Knight on f5 instead of h6, d4 is guarded and there seems to be no forcing lines favoring Black.

Jun-13-11		iking: annotation by IM Glenn Bordonada: A s requested. So, Wesley - Grandelius, Nils Rd. 4 Nimzo-Indian Classical Noa 1. c4 e6 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. d4 Bb4 4. Qc2 d5 5. cxd5 exd5 6. Bg5 First of all, the line is popular not because it gives White an opening advantage but because it leads to very sharp play where one misstep can lose. 6... c5 Very sharp opening play by Black. Grandelius is also very young and as can be seen in this game, must have burnt the midnight oil for this encounter. 7. dxc5 Surprisingly, this is the best move. 7... h6 8. Bh4 g5 9. Bg3 Ne4 10. e3 Qa5 11. Nge2 Bf5 Despite appearances, White is actually enjoying a slight plus in this position. 12. Be5 O-O 13. Nd4 Re8 14. Bxb8 Here, 14. Nxf5! is stronger. 14... Rxe5 15. Nxh6+ Kg7 (15... Kf8! 16. Bd3 Nxc3 17. O-O Ne4 18. Bxe4 dxe4 19. f4 and White has a winning attack against the King.) 16. Ng4 Re8 17. Bd3 Nxc3 18. O-O Ne4 19. a3 Qxc5 20. Qd1 Bd2 21. Bxe4 Rxe4 22. h3 Ba5 23. b4 Bxb4 24. axb4 Rxb4 25. Rc1 Rc4 26. Rxc4 dxc4 (26... Qxc4 27. f4 with a strong attack) 27. Qd8 and Black is unable to develop his pieces and the White Rook will soon join the attack. 14... Nxc3 15. Nxf5 Ne4+ 16. Kd1 Raxb8 17. Nxh6+? Either White is not familiar with the variation or he might have mixed up the moves. 17. f3! is enough for a draw. 17... Rbc8! 18. fxe4 Rxc5 19. Nxh6+ Kh7 20. Qf2 dxe4 (20... Kxh6? 21. Qf6+ Kh7 (21... Kh5 22. g4+ Kxg4 23. Rg1+ Kh5 24. Qxg5#) 22. Qxf7+ Kh6 23. h4 and White wins.) 21. Qxf7+ Kxh6 22. Qxe8 Rd5+ 23. Kc2 Qc5+ 24. Kb3 Qxe3+ 25. Ka4 Ra5+ 26. Kxb4 Qc5+ 27. Kb3 =. 17... Kf8! Tucking in the King from a possible check. 18. Bd3 From the frying pan into the fire. The alternative 18. f3 is only slightly less worse. White still has a difficult game. 18... Rbc8! 19. fxe4 dxe4! and White is a piece up but his King is dancing in the center. 18... Rbc8 19. Qe2 Rxc5?! Missing a faster way to win: 19... Qa4+! 20. Bc2 (20. b3 Qc6!) 20... Qd7 21. f3 Rxc5 and if now 22. fxe4 dxe4+ 23. Kc1 Rec8 24. Rd1 Qc7 with mate to follow soon. 20. Qh5 Qa4+ 21. b3? The only chance lies in 21. Ke2! Understandably, the long walk by the King is not for the timid. 21... Rc2+ 22. Kf1 (The only move.) 22... Rxf2+ 23. Kg1 Bc5 24. Ng4 Re6 25. h3 Rf4 and Black's attack continues. But compared to the actual game continuation, it is easier here for Black to make a mistake. 21... Qd7 22. Ke2 Qe6 23. Rac1 Qf6 24. Ng4 Qb2+ 25. Kf3 Re6 26. Rxc5 Rf6+ 27. Nxf6 Qxf6+ 28. Kg4 Qe6+ 29. Kf3 Qf5+ 30. Ke2 Qxf2+ 31. Kd1 Qd2# Of course, Wesley saw the mate coming - Wesley So kibitzed in Wesley So's page June 13, 2011

Nov-25-11		serenpidity.ejd: WESLEY STILL HAS A LOT TO LEARN ABOUT BASICS Wes has been exposed. He does not know how to play the NID. Assuming that he does, he committed the greatest mistake by falling prey to the PIN. Whoever is your opening coach deserves to be fired. This game is included in your book-to-be "MY WORST GAMES"by W. So.

Nov-25-11		wordfunph: <serenpidity> don't be to harsh on Wesley, no one is perfect..

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