Also crucial to Triverni’s victory was China’s Yangyi Yu doing the “double” on Board 2 over Russian Alexander Grischuk by winning both rapid games - the first being all the more crucial and remarkable, as somehow Grischuk managed to self-destruct in his habitual time-trouble. 

GM Alexander Grischuk - GM Yangyi Yu

Global Chess League Final, (1.2)


B90: Sicilian Najdorf, English Attack

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Be3 The English Attack, as popularised by John Nunn, Nigel Short, Mickey Adams, and Murray Chandler et al. - but long before the top English players were hammering people to bits with it, to have it re-christened, Robert Byrne, the New York Times columnist and former US champion was really the first to deploy this easy-to-play and more positional system in praxis, as it avoided all the tricky big Sicilian Najdorf mainlines. 6...e6 7.f3 b5 8.Qd2 b4 9.Nce2 e5 10.Nb3 Nc6 11.c4 Be6 12.Ng3 h5 An important little move, as it not only prevents a future g4 from White, but it also grabs a little space on the kingside by harassing the Ng3 that has no good retreating square to land on. 13.Bd3 h4 14.Ne2 Be7 15.h3 Grischuk over-worries about Black playing ...h3 - but in preventing this, he creates holes in his own kingside position and weakens his own dark-squares. 15...a5 16.f4?! Maybe now was the time to think about "hunkering down" first with 16.a4!? and then follow up later with Nbc1 and b3. But by lashing out now, Grishcuk just gifts his opponent the initiative. 16...a4 17.Nbc1 Qa5 18.Rb1 Bd8 With the idea of ...Bb6 trading bishops and a grip on the dark squares. 19.b3 Bb6 20.O-O O-O 21.Kh1 Bxe3 22.Qxe3 Qc5 More accurate, according to the ever-present oracle of Mr Engine, was 22...axb3 23.axb3 Qa7! 24.Qd2 Qe7 25.Na2 (No better is 25.f5 Bc8 26.Na2 Bb7! and Black's hit on the e4-pawn is potentially more dangerous than White's b4-pawn) 25...Rfb8 26.f5 Bc8 and Black will be following up with ...Bb7 and ...Rbd8 for the easier and better game. 23.Qd2 Ra7 More in the spirit of the Sicilian Najdorf is 23...exf4!? 24.Qxf4 Qe5 25.Qxh4 axb3 26.axb3 Rfe8 with long-term and lasting pressure on e4. 24.f5 Bd7 25.Qg5 Grischuk is now beginning to take the initiative - but to snatch the loose h4-pawn comes with risks, as Black's pieces spring to life. 25...axb3 26.axb3 Rfa8 27.Qxh4?!

The pawn was never going to be defended and not going anywhere anytime soon - and, as we previously said, snatching the pawn comes with inherent risks for White. And for this reason, Mr Engine is a little bit more wary and instead wants to play 27.Kh2 Ra1 28.Rb2 Nd4 29.Qxh4 Bc6 30.Rd2 R8a3 31.Re1 with a dynamic and intriguing struggle ahead for both sides. 27...Ra1 28.Qg3?! Grischuk really starts to lose the plot around here and pays the penalty. As explained in the above note, what was needed was 28.Rb2 but this time it is met by 28...Qe3! (Most likely the reason why Grischuk played 28.Qg3, trying to stop the queen infiltration) 29.Rf3 Qh6! 30.Qxh6 gxh6 31.Kh2 Na5 where, despite being sans a pawn, Black has a good position with White's pieces all awkwardly placed trying to defend the twin pawn weaknesses on b3 and e4. 28...Rxb1 29.Bxb1 Ra1 30.Bc2? Awkward is as awkward gets, and trying to untangle, Grischuk walks into a big blunder. The only move in town to stay in the game was 30.Qd3 Nd4 31.Kh2 Bc6 32.Ng3 Qa7! 33.Nce2 but White can never realise his extra pawn, as Black has 33...Ra3 34.Nc1 Ra1 forcing a repetition, if he so wishes. 30...Nd4 31.Qd3 Bc6! Black's active pieces now ultimately prove decisive in the outcome of the game. 32.Nxd4 exd4 33.Qf3 Qa7 The coming ...Qa3 is going to be hard to meet. 34.Bd3 Qa3 35.Ne2??

Under pressure both on the board and on his clock, Grischuk blunders big-time - but he momentarily gets away with it in the ensuing time-scramble mayhem. Simpler was 35.Qf4! which keeps White in the game due to the hit on d6. And if 35...Nh5 36.Qg5 (This time bad is 36.Qxd6? Kh7! and White can't take on c6 due to ...Ng3+ with a big loss of material) 36...f6 37.Qxh5 Rxc1 38.Rxc1 Qxc1+ 39.Kh2 Qf4+ 40.Kh1 Qc1+ and a mutual bailout repetition. But then again, for habitual time-trouble freak Grischuk, there's the little matter of the tick-tock issue. 35...Rxf1+?

Of course, with a cold unbeating heart, Mr Engine finds the knockout blow with 35...Bxe4! 36.Bxe4 Rxf1+ 37.Qxf1 Nxe4 38.Qf3 Qa1+ 39.Ng1 (If 39.Kh2 Nd2 40.Qd3 Qe1! effectively putting White in Zugzwang with no good moves left, and 41.Ng3 Qe3 easily wins for Black) 39...Qe1 40.Kh2 f6 and White is basically sitting in Death's Waiting Room, the most likely scenario to losing being 41.Qd3 Nc5! 42.Qg3 (White can never take the d4-pawn, as 42.Qxd4 Qe5+ 43.Qxe5 fxe5 44.Nf3 Nxb3 and no way to stop the b-pawn running nor protect c4) 42...Qe3 etc. 36.Qxf1 Qb2 37.Qf2??

This should have been the final, fatal mistake from Grischuk. The only move to stay in the game was 37.Qb1 Qd2

(Not 37...Qxb1+? 38.Bxb1 Bxe4 39.Bxe4 Nxe4 40.Nxd4 and White has easy pickings on b4 or d6) 38.Nxd4 Bb7 39.Nf3 Qf4 40.Qe1 Nxe4 41.Bxe4 Bxe4 42.Qxb4 Bxf3 43.Qb8+ Kh7 44.gxf3 Qxf3+ and a forced draw as White can't stop the queen check repetition. 37...Bxe4? The mutual time-trouble blunders from the players had to be giving both team captains heart palpitations! Obviously, Yangyi Yu's focus of attention has been on e4, and he captures, unaware that the simple win was 37...Qxb3! 38.Qxd4 Qd1+ 39.Kh2 and now 39...Bxe4! 40.Bxe4 Qxd4 41.Nxd4 Nxe4 as Black wins with no way for White to stop the b-pawn from running nor defend his c4-pawn. 38.Bxe4 Nxe4 39.Qf3?? This time it is game over for Grischuk, as he tragically blunders by walking right into a big ...Ng3+ knight fork. The draw-saving move was 39.Qh4! Qxe2 40.Qd8+ Kh7 41.Qh4+ and a repetition. 39...Qxe2 0-1