Russian GM Mikhail Antipov and rising Ohio junior IM Jason Wang shared top honors at the 10th Washington International held earlier this month in Rockville, Maryland. The event reliably boasts among the strongest and most competitive fields on the DMV summer chess calendar.
With the better tiebreaks, Antipov took home the trophy after both players notched undefeated 6½-2½ scores, but the 17-year-old Wang turned in an impressive performance, drawing his game with Antipov and using a last-round upset of GM Fidel Corrales Jimenez to vault past several rivals into the winners’ circle.
Even more impressive may have been Wang’s Round 5 dismantling of another veteran grandmaster, former three-time Uzbek national champion Djurabek Khamrakulov, to set up his strong finishing kick. Play is mostly even in the opening phase of this Alapin Sicilian, but some carelessness by White allows Wang to offer an early and unexpected queen sacrifice.
On 13. Qc1 Nd5 (possibly a new move, as 13 … Bb7 has been played here before) 14. Nxd5 (passing on the chance to stir things up with 14. Bxh6!? Bb7 [gxh6?? 15. Qxh6 f5 16. Qg6+ Kh8 17. g4 with an overwhelming attack] 15. Bd2 e5, with play for both sides) exd5 15. Bf4 Qe6+ 16. Kf1 Qf6, the loss of castling is not a huge blow to White’s position, but Khamrakulov fails to appreciate the dangers lurking in the position.
White is rocked by 17. Re1?! (perhaps missing Wang’s 18th move; definitely safer was 17. Be5 Nxe5 18. dxe5 Qe6 19. h4, with a lot of chess left to play) Nxd4! 18. Be5 (see diagram; Black appears to have miscalculated, as moves like 18 … Bf5? 19. Bxf5 Qxf5 20. Bxd4 just lose a piece) Qxf3!!, and now, of course, accepting with 19. gxf3?? Bh3+ 20. Kg1 Nxf3 mate is out of the question.
After 19. Re3 Nb3! 20. Qc2 (Rxf3 Nxc1 21. Bc2 Ba6+ 22. Ke1 Rac8 23. Kd2 Ne2 24. Bd3 Bxd3 25. Rxd3 f6! and the Black knight survives) Na1! 21. Qc3 (21. Rxf3 Nxc2 22. Bxc2 Re8 23. Bc3 Bb7 24. Rg3 g6 25. h4 Rac8, and Black has a clear edge to go with an extra pawn) Qd1+, Black’s piratical knight escapes with his booty after 22. Re1 Qb3 23. Bxg7? (better survival chances were on offer with just 23. Rxa1 Qxc3 24. Bxc3 Bd7 25. h4) Qxc3 24. Bxc3 d4! 25. Bd2 Nb3.
Khamrakulov’s two bishops can still harass the Black rooks, but a fatal new problem emerges just as White finally restores nominal material equality: 27. Bb5 Be6! 28. Bxe8 Rxe8 29. f3 (White has two minor pieces for a rook and pawn, but now the Black d-pawn reclaims center stage) d3!, and White resigned as the passer is too strong in lines like 30. Kf2 (Black’s threats included 30 … d2 31. Rd1 Bc4+ 32. Kf2 Bh4+ 33. g3 Re2+ 34. Kg1 Nd4! 35. Rf1 d1=Q! 36. Rxd1 Nxf3+ 37. Kf1 Rd2 mate) Bc5+ 31. Kg3 Nd4 32. Bd2 Ne2+ 33. Kh4 Bf2+, winning.
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In chess as in life, when you put yourself in a hole, the first rule is to stop digging.
At the just-concluded FIDE World Cup and Women’s World Cup knockout tournaments in Baku, Azerbaijan, veteran Spanish GM Francisco Vallejo Pons appeared to forget that venerable bit of strategic insight in his rapid playoff game against Russian GM Andrey Esipenko. The result: The hole became a grave for Vallejo Pons’ hopes and he was soon out of the tournament.
The headache for White in this Two Knights Defense comes on early after 11. dxc7 Qxc7 12. Qd3?! (Bxe6 Bxe6 13. 0-0 Rfe8 14. Be3 leaves White with a perfectly playable game) Nexd4! 13. Nxd4 Ne5. White should take his medicine now with 14. Qe2, ceding Black the advantage after 14 … Qxc4 (also interesting is 14. Bg4!? 15. f3 Rfe8, and White’s best now might be the bleak 16. 0-0 Nxf3+ 17. Nxf3 Rxe2 18. Bxe2 Re8 19. Bb5, with a long defense ahead) 15. Qxc4 Nxc4 16. 0-0 Rd8.
Instead, disastrously, Vallejo Pons doubles down with 14. Bxf7+? Qxf7 15. Qe3 — given White’s uncastled king, his undeveloped queenside and the half-open f-file, it’s virtually guaranteed there’s some tactics to be found. Esipenko doesn’t disappoint.
Thus: 15 … Nd3+! (exploiting the overworked White queen) 16. Kd2 (Qxd3 Qxf2+ 17. Kd1 Bg4+ 18. Nf3 Rad8 is no better) Nxf2 17. Re1 Bg4, and now Black has threats like 18 … Rfd8 19. h3 Bc5 20. Ncb5 Rxd4+! 21. Nxd4 Bb4+ 22. Kc2 Bf5+! 23. Nxf5 Rac8+, with mate on tap.
There’s nowhere to hide for the White king in the mercifully quick finale: 18. Kc2 Rfe8 19. Qd2 Bh5 (also fun was 19 … Rxe1 20. Qxe1 Bd1+! 21. Kb1 Qg6+, winning as well) 20. Rxe8+ Rxe8 21. Qg5 (a diversion that diverts nothing) Bg6+ 22. Kd2 Ne4+, and White resigned as the knight fork wins not only the queen but the king: 23. Kc2 (Ke3 Nxc3+ 24. Kd2 Nxa2+ 25. Kd1 Re1 mate) Nxg5+ 24. Kd1 Qf1+ 25. Kd2 Qe1 mate.
Former world champion Magnus Carlsen and Russian GM Aleksandra Goryachkina took the overall World Cup and Women’s World Cup honors. With his overtime defeat of Indian phenom GM Ramesh Praggnanandhaa in the finals, Carlsen finally claimed the one major international chess prize that had eluded him in his incomparable career.
By finishing third in the Baku knockout event, GM Fabiano Caruana guaranteed at least one American will be in the field in the next Candidates Tournament to determine the challenger to Carlsen’s successor as world champ, Chinese GM Ding Liren.
(Click on the image above for a larger view of the chessboard.)
Khamrakulov-Wang, 10th Washington International, Rockville, Maryland, August 2023
1. e4 c5 2. c3 d5 3. exd5 Qxd5 4. d4 Nf6 5. Nf3 e6 6. Be3 cxd4 7. cxd4 Nc6 8. a3 Be7 9. Nc3 Qd6 10. Bd3 O-O 11. Qc2 h6 12. Rd1 b6 13. Qc1 Nd5 14. Nxd5 exd5 15. Bf4 Qe6+ 16. Kf1 Qf6 17. Re1 Nxd4 18. Be5 Qxf3 19. Re3 Nb3 20. Qc2 Na1 21. Qc3 Qd1+ 22. Re1 Qb3 23. Bxg7 Qxc3 24. Bxc3 d4 25. Bd2 Nb3 26. Bxh6 Re8 27. Bb5 Be6 28. Bxe8 Rxe8 29. f3 d3 White resigns.
Vallejo Pons-Esipenko, FIDE World Cup, Baku, Azerbaijan, August 2023
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. d4 exd4 5. e5 Ne4 6. Qe2 Nc5 7. c3 Ne6 8. cxd4 Bb4+ 9. Nc3 d5 10. exd6 O-O 11. dxc7 Qxc7 12. Qd3 Nexd4 13. Nxd4 Ne5 14. Bxf7+ Qxf7 15. Qe3 Nd3+ 16. Kd2 Nxf2 17. Re1 Bg4 18. Kc2 Rfe8 19. Qd2 Bh5 20. Rxe8+ Rxe8 21. Qg5 Bg6+ 22. Kd2 Ne4+ White resigns.
• David R. Sands can be reached at 202/636-3178 or by email at dsands@washingtontimes.com.
• David R. Sands can be reached at dsands@washingtontimes.com.
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