Ivanchuk on a roll

Ordinarily, a draw between two 2700-plus grandmasters wouldn’t rate as big news.

However, when Azerbaijan GM Teimour Radjabov held Ukrainian star Vassily Ivanchuk to a draw at the Category 20 M-Tel Masters tournament in Bulgaria on Wednesday, he put an end to an amazing streak that saw Ivanchuk win all five games against an elite field in the first half of the double-round-robin event.

Radjabov lost his first game in Sofia against the Ukrainian, as had former Bulgarian world champ Veselin Topalov, Armenian GM Levon Aronian (ranked sixth in the world), GM Ivan Cheparinov of Bulgaria and top Chinese GM Bu Xiangzhi. At 2696, Cheparinov was the lowest-rated of Ivanchuk’s victims.

Ivanchuk’s win over Topalov was a complex, absorbing struggle between two of the game’s most uncompromising fighters. After White presses a bit too hard, Ivanchuk manages to gain the point despite having seven seconds to make his last seven moves before the time control.

Black at least holds his own in this French Defense, and with a nice repositioning — 19. Nd7! 20. Ra2 (Bxb5? Qa5+ 21. Qb4?? Qxb4 22. axb4 Rxa1+, while 20. Bd3 Nc5 is an easy game for Black) Nb8! 21. 0-0 Nc6 22. Qd2 Qb6+ 23. Kh1 Qa5 24. Qxa5 Rxa5 — can target the White a- and c-pawns along the half-open file.

With 26. Rad1!? Rxa3 27. Bxb5 Nb4 28. c4 R8a5 (worth a look was 28…Rxb3 29. cxd5 exd5 30. Rb1 Rxb1 31. Rxb1 Nc6, when Black appears to have the edge) 29. f5, Topalov wisely opts for active play at the cost of a pawn or two.

Things almost work for White until he overreaches as both players face trouble with the clock: 33. e6? (too aggressive; 33. cxd5 Nxe5 34. Rfc1 was the safer choice) d4! (with no time to calculate, Ivanchuk finds the simplest winning idea — push the passed pawn) 34. Be8 Nc5?! (better now was 34…Kf8 35. Bxf6 Ra2, with Black favored in lines like 36. Ra1 Rd2 37. f6 gxf6 38. Ra8+ Ke7 39. Re8+ Kd6 40. Rd8+ Kc5 41. Rc8+ Kb4 42. Rb1+ Kc3 43. Bh5 Rxe6) 35. Bxf7+ Kf8 36. f6 gxf6 37. Rxf6 Ke7 38. Rh6 d3! 39. Rxh7 d2! (a brave decision to allow the discovered check in such severe time trouble) 40. Rg1 Re1.

With nanoseconds to spare, Black has made the time control and achieved a winning edge to boot. The d-pawn will cost White material, and after 41. Bh5+ (Bg6+ Kd6 42. Bc2 Raa1 43. Rhg7 Nxe6) Kxe6 42. Rhg7 Ne4 43. R7g6+ Ke5, Topalov resigned facing lines such as 44. h4 Kf4 45. R6g4+ Ke3 46. Bg6 Nf2+, and Black wins.

Despite his 5½-½ start, Ivanchuk holds only a one-point lead over Topalov, who is famous for his late-round comebacks in this hometown tournament. We’ll have full results next week.

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Potomac IM Larry Kaufman, fresh from recent wins in the Maryland Open and U.S. Senior Open, stumbled out of the gate at the Frank Berry U.S. Championship tournament that got under way Tuesday in Tulsa. Kaufman, ranked 20th in the 24-player men’s field, lost a fine game in Round 1 to former U.S. titleholder GM Boris Gulko.

Another former champ, GM Alexander Yermolinsky, pulled off the biggest surprise of the first round, knocking off defending champ GM Alex Shabalov in just 18 moves after Shabalov made a one-move oversight that cost him major material.

We’ll have games and a full round-up of the action from Oklahoma next week.

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Chess being originally a game of war, wit at the chessboard tends to be of the sadistic variety. Case in point: the final position of today’s second game, taken from recent Spanish team championships in Melilla. IM Ismael Teran Alvarez is the torturer and master Sergio Navarrete Delgado the straight man as White’s final predicament is an exquisite study in frustration.

White’s pawn grab on Move 13 proves a costly waste of time, as Black builds up his attack while harassing his opponent’s queen. After 19. Ne1 (Qxb4?? Rxc2 mate, while 19. Qd3 Rd8 20. Qe2 Rc8 21. Rd2 Bxb3 is strong for Black) Bxb3 20. Rh3 Be6 21. Rd3 Bxh4, the loss of the White h-pawn will prove critical to Black’s winning design.

Teran passes up the win of the exchange for a more diabolical idea: 24. Rc3 Be2 25. Nfe3 Rxc3! 26. Qxc3 (bxc3 Rb8 27. Qa3 Be7 28. Qa2 Qd6! 29. Re1 Qa3+ 30. Qxa3 Bxa3 mate) Qxc3 27. bxc3 Bxf3!!, a final position that merits a diagram.

White resigns, as after 28. gxf3 Rd8, he will untangle his trapped trio of pieces just in time to land in a lost ending on 29. c4 Kf8! 30. c3 Ke7 31. Kc2 Rxd2+ 32. Rxd2 Bxd2 33. Kd2 h5 34. Ke2 a5, and one of the rook pawns must queen.

4th M-Tel Masters, Sofia, Bulgaria, May 2008

TopalovIvanchuk

1. e4e623. Kh1Qa5

2. d4d524. Qxa5Rxa5

3. Nc3Nf625. Raa1Rca8

4. e5Nfd726. Rad1Rxa3

5. f4c527. Bxb5Nb4

6. Nf3Nc628. c4R8a5

7. Be3a629. f5exf5

8. a3cxd430. g4Rxb3

9. Nxd4Bc531. gxf5Re3

10. Be20-032. Rb1Nd3

11. Qd2Qc733. e6d4

12. Bf3Nxd434. Be8Nc5

13. Bxd4Nb635. Bxf7+Kf8

14. Ne2Bxd436. f6gxf6

15. Qxd4Bd737. Rxf6Ke7

16. b3Bb538. Rh6d3

17. Nc3Rfc839. Rxh7d2

18. Nxb5axb540. Rg1Re1

19. Be2Nd741. Bh5+Kxe6

20. Ra2Nb842. Rhg7Ne4

21. 0-0Nc643. R7g6+Ke5

22. Qd2Qb6+White resigns

III Spanish Team Championships, Melilla, Spain, May 2008

NavarreteTeran

1. e4d615. Bc4Rc6

2. d4Nf616. Bb3Nc5

3. Nc3c617. Qd2Nxb3+

4. Bg5Nbd718. axb3Be6

5. Qd2e519. Ne1Bxb3

6. Nf3Be720. Rh3Be6

7. 0-0-00-021. Rd3Bxh4

8. h4b522. Qxb4Bg5+

9. Bxf6Bxf623. Nd2Bc4

10. d5b424. Rc3Be2

11. Nb1cxd525. Nef3Rxc3

12. Qxd5Rb826. Qxc3Qxc3

13. Qxd6Rb627. bxc3Bxf3

14. Qd5Qc7White resigns

David R. Sands can be reached at 202/636-3178 or by e-mail at dsands@washingtontimes.com.