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| My games of Moscow Open | 2008-06-22 18:45:32 |
Moscow Open was played at June 12-15. I had not time to write about my games during the tournament. So, I do it now.
Moscow Open was played by the Rejection system. The new certified rules - Soosorv, Taraguchi and Yamaguchi were used. If a player had not a dan then he/she had the right to demand the using of RIF (classic) rules. This demand could be made before the start of each game and related only to a current game. So, some kyu players used this right in some games and played by the rejection system in other games.
Hopefully, I played during the tournament only with dan players.
The time schedule of the tournament was nice: two rounds per day, 2 hours per game for each player.
In round 1 I played versus Nikolay Poltaratskiy. I was the player Number One. At the first step I rejected Taraguchi rules. I consider Taraguchi rules as the best of certified rules but I wished to play new positions rather than by new rules. So, in two other rules I had the possibility to put the opening as the player Number One. It was decided my choice.
Nikolay rejected Yamaguchi rules. So, the game was played by the only remained Soosorv rules. I put Direct 13 opening that guaranteed the new interesting position in the game. |
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At this photo Nikolay thinks on Direct 13 at the front table in the left row.
After some thinking Nikolay played 4-i10 and declared two 5th alternative moves. I remembered from my home preparation that this his choice gives some [significant - remark of 2009] advantage to white. Moreover, black needs to play two correct 5th moves. Therefore, I had swapped surely. |
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Nikolay was in doubts after this my decision. Definitely, if a player makes 4th moves and declares the number of 5th alternative moves under the Soosorv rules, then he/she must be ready to make the declared number of 5th moves.
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The next action of Nikolay in this game was fatal. He made the moves 5-5 and 5-6. The move 5-6 is the strongest move in this position and black must win here whereas the move 5-5 is losing as it was demonstrated in our game. Nikolay resigned after 18. The second 5th move was 5-9 with very interesting fight where white holds an initiative.
In round 2 I played versus our guest from Nizhniy Novgorod Maxim Karasyov. Maxim played in the first round with a kyu player. So, for him it was the first game by new rules.
Maxim rejected Taraguchi rules, I rejected Yamaguchi rules. So, the game was played by the only remained Soosorv rules. |
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At the photo Maxim (at the middle table) studies the tournament regulation before to put an opening. Some participants continued to read the tournament regulation until the last round.
Maxim put Indirect 4 opening. In my preparation by different opening rules I considered Indirect 4 opening as the opening which it is possible to play with six 5th alternative moves by Yamaguchi rules and which gives an advantage to black by Yamaguchi rules if the number of declared 5th alternative moves is five. It means that by Soosorv rules black can put four 5th alternative moves with their advantage after any 4th move of white. Therefore, I swapped surely and was ready to make four 5th moves after any 4th move of Maxim.
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Maxim played 4-i7. After it I played 5-h9, i6, i8, i10. The moves 5-h5, h6, h7, j8 are good for black too but, unfortunately, black can make only four 5th moves.
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| At the photo Maxim chooses one of four 5th alternative moves. He had chose 5-i10. |
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| Here I played 7-7. The move 7-h10 was perspective too as it is shown at the next diagram. |
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| Here black can play either at the top side (for example, 19-k11) and after the accurate defence at the bottom side to attack at the top flank, or simply to make the move at the bottom flank (for example, 19-i5) with an advantage at all flanks. |
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| 7-7 in the game is possible too. The move 13 takes a strong base coordinating different directions at left and top flanks. The only practical chance for white was to start an active playing beginning with 14-m6 as it is shown at the next diagram. |
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| White tries to develop an initiative although resources are restricted. |
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14 in the game is too passive. It seems that this move loses already. White resigned after 23.
At the next day in round 3 I played versus Alexander Mikhailov. Alexander said before the game that he is sure that we will play by Taraguchi rules since this is the best rule and we both understand it. I said: "Very sorry but I will play using the tactical considerations although I am completely agree that Taraguchi rules are the best rules of all rules that used here". So, I rejected Taraguchi rules. Alexander rejected Yamaguchi rules. So, the game was played by the only remained Soosorv rules.
I put Direct 13 opening again like in round 1. Alexander had swapped. |
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| I played 4-g10 and declared three 5th alternative moves. |
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| After the long thinking Alexander decided to play by black. He said: "I accept your challenge" and put 5-g9, 5-i8 and 5-i9. |
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| In this position the strongest 5th move is 5-j7. It gives a sure win for black. The second move is 5-i9. Probably it also gives a win for black. The move 5-i9 was chosen in the first game of my semifinal match of Moscow Cup 2008 versus Kazarin. Read the story on this game in my article "Moscow Cup. 1/2 vs Kazarin (1,2 games)" at these blogs. The third moves are 5-g9 and 5-i8. They have almost the same strength since in the main variants they lead to the same position. |
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Indeed, this position can be obtained also after 5-7, 6-8, 7-5, 8-6. If 5-7, 6-8, 7-j8 then 8-6 and after 9-5 we have the position after 5-5, 6-6, 7-7, 8-8, 9-j8 with nonoptimal 9th move that gives an advantage to white.
After some thinking I chose 5-5. Probably it was better to choose 5-7 since here my opponent had more possibilities to mistake. |
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| The development until 17 seems to be optimal. [In the game of the European Championship 2008 Andry Purk have found in his game versus Nikonov the probably winning move 14-e6 with a huge advantage of white.] If 10-12 then 11-10 and black has an advantage. If 11-j7 then 12-12 and white wins. If 16-e7 then 17-e9 18-d10 19-j8 and black wins. |
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| It is possible 18-20 with an interesting fight. After 18-18 the correct move 19-19 and black defends successfully whereas the base at the right side promises some perspectives for black. |
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The three 19-19 is weaker. White holds an initiative. 21-25 loses after 22-21 24-g6. The move 26-g6 is interesting but it seems that black can defend from direct threats whereas in a long perspective 26-26 is stronger. Black had different variants of 31 but white has a strong attack in all cases. It was proper for black to play the three 31-37 for the following defence at left and bottom flanks although it killed perspectives of black at the top flank. After 33-i4 34-l9 white has very strong attack. 33-33 is losing immediately. Black resigned after 42 because of the foul 4x4 in the point g4.
In round 4 I played versus Mikhail Kozhin. It was the game of leaders. We were the only two players who had 3 points in 3 games. |
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At the photo Mikhail Kozhin before our handshake at the start of round 4.
In my first action in this game I rejected Taraguchi rules like in two previous games where I was the player Number One. Mikhail saw that I put in that games Direct 13 opening. He did not want to play Direct 13. Therefore, he rejected Soosorv rules. So, the game was played by the only remained Yamaguchi rules.
I considered some variants of openings and put Indirect 8 opening declaring three 5th alternative moves. Probably it was not a good decision since Mikhail likes Indirect 8 and played it in many games. On the other hand, it was very hard to propose something unfamiliar to the author of "Bell of Stones"!
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Mikhail had kept white and played 4-g8. It was quite unexpected for me. I considered the moves 4-h9 and 4-i10 as more strong. On the other hand, Mikhail liked to play 4-g8 even with two 5th alternatives. The well known strongest moves for black are 5-j7 and 5-g9. In some games of this Moscow Open the move 5-h9 was played but I did not consider it as proper for black. By my opinion at that moment the moves 5-j8, j9 and k8 were better. I had preferred 5-k8.
In this position 6-g9 is well known losing move. It is possible to play 6-j7 as it was played in the games Gurtskis - Milevskiy (1992) and Skuridin - Mikhailov at this Moscow Open. The move 6-h9 made by Mikhail seems to be the principal continuation. It is possible to play 7-i10 as Segal played against me in 1994. The three 7-j7 is a natural continuation. |
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| It is possible to play 9-9 as at this diagram. After 17 the threats of black at the bottom flank look like terrible but white can defend after 18-i7 19-h6 20-j6 or 18-h5 19-i7 20-j6. The move 13-14 is weak because of 14-13 15-i11 16-f10. |
| I played the active move 9-9 that seemed very perspective move for me. |
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Unfortunately (for me, and hopefully for the theory) this 9 is losing that was demonstrated surely by Mikhail. I can explain the reasons that pushed me to make this move. This 9 had very good statistics in databases. For example, in the database of Stepanov supported by Sinyov black won after this 9 with the score 5:0 including two wins of Kozhin in his friendship match with Nosovskiy in 1995. Kozhin in these two games closed by the 11th move the three of white from two different sides and won these games easily. Of course, it was very naive approach from my side to repeat against Kozhin the games that Kozhin won easily in a friendship match against Nosovskiy!
At the next day in round 5 I played versus Igor Sinyov. Igor played rarely during last years but the involving of new rules has interested him. Igor was not still sure about tight formulations of new rules, so, he studied the tournament regulation during all tournament including the first minutes of our game. |
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Igor said: "It is impossible to play with Tarannikov by Taraguchi rules" and rejected Taraguchi rules. I rejected Yamaguchi rules. So, the game was played by the only remained Soosorv rules.
Igor put Direct 5 opening. I had not preparations where I could strike his imagination in this opening by Soosorv rules. Therefore, I had swapped. Igor made the standard move 4-g8 and declared four 5th alternative moves. I decided that it will be more proper for me to play by white in such situation. Therefore, I had swapped. |
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| At this photo Igor thinks on his four 5th alternative moves. Looking at the photo somebody can think that Igor sees this position for the first time in his life. This is wrong. This position is one of the most favourite position for Igor, he played it many times by different colors with different 5th moves but definitely he did not make here four 5th alternative moves before! |
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Igor made the moves 5-5,8,11,23. I preferred 5-5 since three other 5th moves give an advantage to black. It was played the old known variant. The players from the former USSR connect this variant with the name of Ukrainian player Vladimir Nazarov who played this variant frequently and was known as a grand master of this variant. The books of theory recommend 16-18 although it is known that 16-16 is stronger. It is interesting that in the parallel game Kozhin - Mikhailov the position after 16 appeared too. This 16-moves position appeared also in the game of the last round Karasyov - Mikhailov and became the most popular 16-moves position in the whole tournament. There exists even some probability that "the problem of Direct 5" will replace "the problem of Direct 11" under the using of Soosorv rules since the player Number Two can not (*probably*) avoid this position without the disadvantage and this position has quite strong draw tendencies.
Our game had quite typical development. After 35 it was unclear where to play. After the quite long thinking I played 36. Igor started to attack at the bottom flank by the moves 37 and 39. I could start the counterattack by 40-e10 but I was not sure in consequences and had played more careful. The following part of the game went by the stable scenario: Igor had objectively worse position but persistantly tried to attack. This is his typical style of a playing and it is not easy for opponents to resist against his permanent pressure.
In the last part of the game we were already in a time trouble. I tried to answer quickly to avoid the loss by time. After 79-? I had an easy win by VCF with 82-83 but I missed it. By the move 91-? Igor gave me the second chance to win and I had used it this time. Despite on win, I was after the game in hard conditions because of the Igor's pressure. Hopefully for me, all three my remained games at this tournament will be much more short.
In round 6 I played versus Pavel Makarov. Pavel rejected Yamaguchi rules. Playing as the Number Two I could control the opening with the using of Taraguchi rules. Therefore I rejected Soosorv rules. So, the game was played by the only remained Taraguchi rules.
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| Pavel put the first piece into the center of the board. I had swapped. Pavel put the second diagonal stone. After some thinking I put Indirect 11 opening. Pavel was afraid probably by the perspective of my 4-i10 that I played sometimes. Therefore, Pavel decided to make the 4th move himself and had played 4-h9. I had not chances to strike the imagination of Pavel in this famous position. So, I had swapped. Pavel preferred to play 5-i10. This is so named "Armenian variant" that was played actively by Armenian players in the last years of USSR. |
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| I guess that we both did not remember this variant quite good. Nevertheless, the moves from 6 till 8 are quite natural. |
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| At this photo (made by Alexey Skuridin) my hairs are in disaster after the long game versus Igor Sinyov. |
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| It was possible to play 11-h10. The move 11-11 is too passive for this position. After 14 the attempt to make a sharp move 15-f8 has a refutation shown at the next diagram. |
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| If 19-h6 then white wins by fours at the foul 3x3 in the point k5. |
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| In the game white kept an initiative and had connected additional resources after 26. Black can not play 27-j4 since white wins after 28-f8. |
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| The move 27-27 loses immediately. Black resigned after 36. |
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In the third day Mikhail Kozhin made two draws versus Alexander Mikhailov and Konstantin Nikonov. So, after six rounds Mikhail and me were two leaders again as well as after the round 3.
At the last day of the tournament in round 7 I played versus Konstantin Nikonov. As well as in all previous games where I was the player Number One I rejected Taraguchi rules. Konstantin rejected Yamaguchi rules. So, the game was played by the only remained Soosorv rules.
I had some reasons to think that Konstantin had prepared for Direct 13 opening which I put in previous games where I played as the player Number One under Soosorv rules. Therefore, I decided to put another opening. After some thinking I decided to put Direct 7 opening. |
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| Konstantin played 4-g8 and declared three 5th alternative moves. I had swapped. Konstantin made two standard 5th moves 5-i9, 5-i10 and also 5-f7. I played 6-f9. |
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| Here instead of the correct 7-i9 Konstantin had played 7-7. It seems that this move is losing already. After 8 white has a huge advantage. Konstantin tried to make an active move 9 but after 10 and 12 black has not an attack and can not defend too. Black resigned after 16. |
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The game of Mikhail Kozhin in round 7 versus Maxim Karasyov had a dramatic ending. Mikhail played by white and had some advantage. Moreover, Maxim was in a time trouble. Maxim proposed a draw. Mikhail declined this proposition and tried to create some threats. In some moment, for Maxim it was reasonable to make two consequent fours for the aims of his defence. Maxim played the first of them. Mikhail immediately closed the second of them which was not played yet at the adjecent point with the point that closed the played four. Maxim made five in a row and said: "Five". Mikhail was very discouraged and frustrated.
So, before the last round I appeared unexpectedly at the first place in a whole point ahead of Kozhin, Sinyov and Karasyov. The last two had not chances to exceed me because of their bad coefficients. At the same time I can not have a satisfaction from my advantage over Kozhin because of the loss in our mutual game and because of an unnatural ending of the game Karasyov - Kozhin. Therefore, I have found improper for me scenatios of the fast draw in the last round or the calm playing in the last round. I decided to play in a wild style.
I played in the last round 8 versus Victor Golosov. He had only 4.5 points but I played already with all participants who were ahead of him or at the same level of points. |
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At this photo you can see Victor Golosov before the start of the last round 8.
Victor rejected Soosorv rules. I rejected Yamaguchi rules. So, the game was played by the only remained Taraguchi rules. Victor put the first piece into the center of the board. I had swapped. Victor put the second direct stone. I decided to use Direct 13 opening again and put it. After some thinking Victor decided to make his own move 4-j9.
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I guessed that Victor was going to play something like 5-k9 with a fight in a swampy style proper for him. At the same time the move 4-j9 was not seemed quite strong and I hoped that it is possible to find five strong moves for black. So, I decided to make five 5th alternative moves.
I had made the moves 5-h6, i6, i7, i8, i9. |
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| In fact, not all of these moves are good. Thus, after 5-i8 white has very good position: |
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If 9-10 then 10-9 11-k9 12-f9 14-e10 15-d11 16-f10 and white has a big advantage.
At the same time I missed such strong moves for black as 5-k7 and 5-k6.
So, it seems that five correct 5th moves for black were: 5-k7, k6, i9, i7, i6.
Thus, I have found that my ability to make five 5th alternative moves is needed in a serious improvement!
Hopefully for me, Victor chose the 5th move 5-i6 proper for black. |
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| After Victor's 6-6 I had recognized that it was appeared the position from the variant of Direct 5 opening: 1-1 2-6 3-5 4-2 5-3 with the nonoptimal 6th move 6-4 (6-g9 is correct by the theory). This consideration gave me an additional confidence. |
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| After 6 black has a big advantage. I had demonstrated a sure win although I spent quite many time for calculations. So, after the ending of our game only one game of the tournament (Karasyov - Mikhailov) were playing still. |
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| Mikhail Kozhin in some moment had played too sharp against Igor Sinyov and lost. Thus, after the maximum result in the first half of the tournament Mikhail was very unlucky in the second half and appeared outside of the top three. |
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| In the last game Karasyov - Mikhailov the result was a draw. Thus, Igor Sinyov became second and Maxim Karasyov became third. |
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| The using of the Rejection system was acknowledged as successful. We hope that this system will be accepted for Russian Championships. This decision was really made very soon in July 2008. |
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