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The Dortmund 2009 live commentary is brought to you thanks to Chess Cube and the Ikaros Chess Festival. Do not forget to check out the news of the day, for the first time in the world there will be a FIDE rated tournament online, the SA Open 2009. Good day everyone, IM Miodrag Perunovic and Goran Urosevic will be commenting the game between Jakovenko and Naiditsch. The top rated Russian player didn't start well in his first super-tournament, having lost against Carlsen in round one. He will be trying to recover against the best German player and former Dortmund winner. Naiditsch is playing sharp and aggressive chess and we can look forward to an exciting match. The game is starting at 15:00 CET and we will receive the moves with 15 minutes delay. Enjoy!
1.e4 Jakovenko is equally using both 1.e4 and 1.d4. Clearly, he would prefer something sharper compared to Bogo-Indian which was seen in the World Rapid Cup match between these two. By the way, Jakovenko won that match 3-2.
1... c5 Naiditsch is mostly playing 1...e5, but Sicilian is not a stranger for him.
2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 Sicilian Naidorf, something that Naiditsch didn't try before against the elite players.
6.Be3!? Small surprise, Jakovenko usually played the "quiet" 6. Be2, but here he goes for the sharp English Attack.
6... e5 Slightly more popular than the sheveningen-like 6...e6, probably because it is safer to take a claim on the central space.
7.Nb3 French prodigy Maxime Vachier-Lagrave likes to play 7. Nb3 here.
7... Be6 8.Qd2 This move order usually prepares f4 instead of the "classical" f3-g4 avalanche, but White can still switch back to that plan on his next move. Of course 8. Be2 and 8. f4 are always solid alternatives, moving the game back into quiet waters with short castle.
8... Nbd7 8...Ng4 is premature because White continues 9. Bg5, and after possible Bishop exchange on e7, pawn d6 will come under immediate attack.
9.f4 9.0-0-0 is popular modern battleground, while 9.f3 takes it back to the main lines of the English Attack.
9... exf4 Rc8, Qc7 and b5 are all equally popular moves at this point, but 9...Ng4 is bad because it allows White to take a firm grip on the important d5-square with 10.f5.
10.Bxf4 Ne5 11.O-O-O Be7 12.Nd4 O-O 13.Nf5 The Knight was allowed to come back to the center, but exchange on e6 would give anything to White, 13.Nxe6 fxe6 14.Bxe5 dxe5 and despite having isolated doubled pawns, Black has excellent control of the central squares and those pawns are difficult to target. On the other hand, the Knight on f5 is an intruder and should be eliminated before making damage with Nxe7.
13... Bxf5 14.exf5 b5 Black should definitely hurry to dislodge the Nc3 before White pushes g4-g5, which would allow Nd5 jump. g4 pawn would be en-price, but either way of taking it allows benefits for White (the sensible pawn d6 and outpost d5).
15.Kb1 15. g4 b4! 16. Nd5 Nxd5 17. Qxd5 Bg5! and the pin allows Black to reduce the pressure. That is why Jakovenko is inserting Kb1 before advancing his g-pawn.
15... b4 16.Nd5 Nxd5 17.Qxd5 Qc7 18.g4 Naiditsch will probably attack c2-pawn once again and then advance his a-pawn to create a counterplay. Taking the g4-pawn is very dangerous, 18...Nxg4 19. Rg1! (But not 19. Bxd6 Bxd6! 20. Qxd6 Rad8!! with back rank problems and White loses. An possibility presented to Black after moving the Queen to c7.) 19...Nf6 20. Qg2! with strong attack along the files and diagonals.
18... Rfc8 This tempo might allow Black to grab the g4-pawn after all, and then regroup along Ng4-f6-e8 and Bf6. Black Rooks are then connected. Still, it looks dangerous to open that file for White and I like the plan with a5-a4 better.
19.Bd3 Nxd3 This was an important crossroad for Naiditsch. He probably looked at a5-a4 first, and then discarded it as too risky because White also advances his pawns and Qd5 is exerting an annoying pin on f7 pawn. Also interesting was 19...Bf6!? which apparently jumps into lion's mouth, but 20. g5 Nxd3 21. Qxd3 Be5 clears the immediate danger. Still, having an option to trade the Queens looks like the safest road to walk on.
20.Qxd3 Qc4 21.Rhf1 h6 Naiditsch is securing f6-square for his Bishop. d6-pawn is not of crucial importance as Black will have a good counterplay on the queenside.
22.h3 d5 Black managed to weather the storm and White is only slightly better. 23. Be5, which frees Rf1 from guarding duty and also threatens f5-f6, looks like a sensible continuation.
23.Be5 Rc6 Jakovenko is spending some time, probably evaluating the consequences of 24. f6!? But he also has safer options at hand.
24.b3 After a very long thought! Jakovenko wants to clarify the relation between the Queens before proceeding further. But maybe preserving the Queen from the exchange would have offered more?
24... Qxd3 25.Rxd3 Rac8 26.Rf2 Bh4 Taking the opportunity to find some scope for the Bishop. Pressure against White's weakness on c2 almost compensates for the weak d5-pawn, which will be guarded by Rc5 or Rd8.
27.Rg2 f6 Probably attempting to kick the Bishop back and then play Rc5, defending the d5-pawn without worrying about White's Bd6. Example 28. Bb2 Rc5 29. a3!? a5. 28. Bf4 allows Rc3 with counterplay on h3-pawn.
28.Bb2 Rc5 29.Re2 One of the benefits of Bb2 is that e-file is now available for White Rook. a2-a3 will come in probably on next move. It adds pressure on b4 and eliminates potential danger on the back rank.
29... Bg5 30.a3 The main question is whether White can create enough pressure against Black pawns b4 and d5. It looks like Rb5 covers it all, because White also has to be careful about c2. The second question is how much can White benefit from the e-file. Will Re7 and possible assault down the 7th rank bring some result?
30... bxa3 31.Bxa3 Rc3 32. Rxd5 might be looking scary, but 32...Rxh3, when 33. Rd7 and 34. Ree7 will be answered by Rg1+ and Rxc2+
32.Bb2 Instead of calculating those wild variations, Jakovenko takes a more positional route.
32... Rxd3 33.cxd3 Kf7 34.Re6 a5 34...Re8 at once deserved serious attention...
35.Rd6 Re8 As expected, Jakovenko is built his way to a small advantage. He might directly take the pawn or opt for a check on d7 and then complete the take or exchange rooks if Naiditsch protects with (Rd7+ Re7 37.Rxe7+ Kxe7). Clock readings: 8 minutes for Jakovenko, 14 for Naiditsch
36.Rd7 Kg8 Logically, Naiditsch wants to keep the rook on the board, increasing the possibilities for the counterplay.
37.Bc3 Problems for black will come from both the pawn structure on the queen side and the activity of the White Rook.
37... Re3 38.Rxd5 Rxh3 39.Bxa5 This is already dangerous position for Black. His pieces are occupied on the kingside and White is ready to advance his b-pawn. 39...h5 40. gxh5 doesn't help much, and 39...Rh4!? is met by 40. Rd4!, then 40...h5 41. Rd8+ and 42. gxh5
39... Rh4 40.b4 Speeds up the advance, but also gives a chance to Black to push his own h-pawn.
40... Rxg4 41.b5 Be3 looks like the only move, winning some time to bring pieces back into play. Then 42. b6 runs into Bxb6 and Rb4+
41... Be3 42.Kc2 Rg2+ 43.Kb3 Rg1 Still maintaining the obstacle for the b-pawn movement. White's 44. d4 looks good, or he can insist on 44. Ka2 Rg2+ 45. Ka3! Bc1+, the point is that Bishop is driven away from b6, 46. Kb3 and White pawn runs really fast.
44.Ka2! Rg2+ 45.Ka3 Bc1+ 46.Kb3 h5 47. b6 comes in strong...
47.b6! It looks like the pawn race after 47...h4 ends in White's favour, so Naiditsch will probably play 47...Rb2+
47... h4 (47... Rb2+ 48.Kc3 h4 49.Bb4 Rb1 50.b7 Bf4 51.Rd8+ Kh7) and still technical problems for White.
48.Bc3! The point is to have Be5! cover should Black attempt Bf4.
48... h3 49.b7 There are still some tricky lines, 49...Bf4 50. Be5 h2 (50... Bxe5 51. Rxe5 fxe5 52. b8=Q+ Kh7 53. Qe8 h2 54. Qh5+ Kg8 55. Kc4 is easy.) 51. b8=Q+ Kh7 52. Bxf4 (52. Rd8? Rb2+!! turns the tables!) 52... h1=Q 53. Rd8 Qd1+ 54. Kc4 Rc2+ 55. Kd4 Qg1+ 56. Be3 Qg4+ 57. Qf4 looks like a win for White.
49... Bf4 50.Be5 h2 51.b8Q+ Kh7 52.Bxf4! Jakovenko avoided the trap.
52... h1Q 53.Rd8 Qd1+ 54.Kc4 Rc2+ 55.Kd4 Besides the above given 55...Qg1+, also possible is 55...Qa1+ 56. Kd5 Qa5+ 57. Ke4 Qe1+ 58. Be3 and on further checks White triangulates the King back to e4 when Black doesn't have another Qe1+
55... Qa1+ 56.Kd5 Qa5+ 57.Ke4 Qe1+ 58.Be3 Qh1+ 59.Kd4 Qa1+ 60.Kd5 60...Qa5+ 61. Ke4 as mentioned above, or 60...Qh1+ 61. Ke6.
60... Qa5+ 61.Ke4 Qa4+ 62.d4 And Naiditsch resigned! Jakovenko bounced back after the first round loss and regained his confidence. Thank you everyone for following Chessdom live commentary, see you again tomorrow at 15:15 CET, when NM Peter Karagianis joins us for live action! 1-0