Familiar traditions survive into the new chess year

​We start the new year with a little society-page news and an obituary.

Former world champion Magnus Carlsen is no longer an isolated pawn. Fresh from “Jeans-gate” and a controversial decision to share his latest world blitz title with Russian rival GM Ian Nepomniachtchi, the Norwegian superstar played the biggest gambit of all, marrying girlfriend Ella Victoria Malone in an Oslo ceremony Saturday. According to reports, the 26-year-old bride is the daughter of a Norwegian mother and an American father, grew up partly in Oslo and is now a permanent resident of Singapore.

And in sad news breaking just as we go to print, longtime German great GM Robert Huebner has passed away after a long illness at the age of 76. The best German player since longtime world champ Emmanuel Lasker, Huebner was one of the most accomplished Western grandmasters in the 1960s and 1970s. We’ll have a fuller appreciation in columns to come.

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It is indeed a new year and a chance for a fresh start, but it’s also nice to see that some familiar traditions still endure.

The English seaside town of Hastings has been on the chess map since the fabled first tournament in 1895 won by a then-unknown American upstart named Harry Nelson Pillsbury. An annual Christmas season tournament has been held there since 1920, and Chinese master Xue Haowen just claimed the 99th Hastings Premier Tournament with a fine 7-2 score.

The critical battle this year was Xue’s Round 8 win over French GM Pierre Laurent-Paoli, a doubled-edged struggle in which White’s final attack carries the day. Black does reasonably well out of this Cambridge Springs QGD after 13. Rxe2 0-0 (Qxc3!? 14. Rc2 Qa5 15. Rxc6 0-0 16. Rc7, with pressure) 14.Qc2 Rfe8 15. c4 Bf8 16. Rd1 Rac8 17. h3, but 17…h6?! (it’s usually not advisable to move the pawns in front of your own king without good reason) 18. Bh4 Be7 19. Bg3 Bf6 20. Re2 Qb4 21. Rb1 hands White a nice initiative.

Laurent-Paoli tries to meet the pressure with a very modern exchange sacrifice — 24. Ne4 cxd4?! (Be7 is less risky, though White keeps an edge on 25. d5 exd5 26. cxd5 Bf8 27. d6) 25. Nd6 e5 26. Nxe8 Rxe8 27. Qf5 — but never gets quite enough compensation.

The material imbalance may have led Black into a much more serious mistake: 33. f4 Qxa2? (the pawn has been hanging forever, but taking it allows White’s pieces to spring to life, while Xue’s queen on the long diagonal proves a potent defender against Black’s threats) 34. f4 Qd2 35. Bg3 Nf4 (see diagram; on 35…Nd8 36. Re8+ Kh7 37. Bc7 d3, White keeps things under control with 38. Qd6 Bg5 39. Kh2 Nb7 40. Qd4 Bf6 41. Qd7 Qg5 42. Qxd3) 36. Qf3!, meeting 36…Nd3 with 37. Re8+ Kh7 38. Qa8! Kg7 40. Bd6 Qf2+ 41. Kh2 Ne5 42. Rxe5 Bxe5+ 43. Bxe5+ f6 44. Qd7+ Kf8 45. Bd6+ and mate in a few more moves.

Black’s desperado attack is easily repulsed, and it is Black king that ends up mated after 36…Bg5 37. h4! Nxg2 38. Re8+ Kh7 39. hxg5 Ne3 40. g6+! fxg6 41. fxg6+ Kxg6 42. Re6+ Kh7 (Kg5 42. Qf4+ Kh5 43. Qh4 mate) 43. Qe4+ Kg8 44. Re8+ Kf7 45. Qe6 mate.

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It’s just a bit younger, but it’s even more heartening to know that Ukraine’s national chess championships are still being held in that troubled land with such a rich chess legacy. FM Roman Dehtiarov, all of 17 years old, just captured the 92nd Ukrainian national championship last week, while expert Yevheniia Toroptseva is this year’s women’s champ.

Dehtiarov’s 7½-1½ winning score included a doubled-edged Round 8 win over fellow master Semen Grebeniuk from the Black side of a Trompowsky Attack. White makes an early central push forcing Dehtiarov to counterattack strongly if he doesn’t want to get run off the board. Things sharpen considerably after 13.Bd3 h6 14. Qh4 f5!? (on 14…Bxf3 15. gxf3 f5 16. Rg1 Kf7 17. Bxe7 Qxe7 18. Qxe7+ Kxe7 19. Rxg6 Rag8, Black eases the pressure and gets decent counterplay for the lost pawn) 15. d5! e5 16. 0-0 e4 17. Nd4 Kf7 (exd3? 18. Ne6 Qc8 19. Bxe7 g5 20. Bxg5 is disastrous for Black) 18. Ne6 Qe8 — Black’s position is uncomfortable, but some stout defense and a mistake by White turn the tables.

Thus: 19. Bxh6 exd3 20. Qd4 Ne5 (Rg8?? 21. Ng5 is mate, and on 20…Qg8, White has 21. Bg7 Rh5 22. cxd3 Re8 23. Rae1 Bc8 24. f4, with a bind that more than outweighs the lost piece) 21. Bg7 N7c6! (the engine’s favorite move, too — Black offers to give back the material to ward off the attack) 22. dxc6? (and in this messy position, White’s best hope of preserving the balance was 22. Qd3 Rh4 23. cxd3 Bc8 24. Bxe5 Nxe5 25. Ng5+ Kg8 26. f4 Ng4 27. Rae1, with play for both sides) Qxc6 23. Qd5 (Bxh8?? Qxg2 mate; or 23. f3 Kxe6 24. Bxh8 Rxh8 25. cxd3 Qc5 26. Qxc6 dxc5 27. Rfe1 f4, and the two Black minor pieces outclass White’s lone rook) Qxd5 24. cxd5 Rhc8 25. cxd3 Bxd5 26. Bxe5 dxe5 27. Ng5+ Kf6 28. h4 Rc3.

The tactical smoke has cleared: Material is equal but Black’s bishop dominates the White knight, his rooks are more active, and he has a clear target in the weak White d-pawn.

The d-pawn soon falls, and Grebeniuk surrenders a second pawn on 32. f3?! Rd2 Rc5 35. Nf3 was tougher) Rh5 33. Re1+ Kf6 34. Nh3 (f4 Rc2 35. Nf3 Bxf3 36. gxf3 Rh4, and Black is winning) Bxf3! 35. Rac1 Rxc1 36. Rxc1 Be4, and now, two pawns to the good, Black’s win is a matter of technique.

The connected kingside pawns decide in the matter, and in the final position after 54. Kh1 Re3, White resigns facing bleak lines such as  55. Rc1 Kh3 56. Kg1 Re2 57. a4 Rg2+ 58. Kf1 Rb2 59. Rd1 g2+ 60. Kg1 f2 mate.

(Click on the image above for a larger view of the chessboard.)

Grebeniuk-Dehtiarov, 92nd Ukrainian Championship, Lviv, Ukraine, December 2024

1. d4 Nf6 2. Nc3 e6 3. Bf4 b6 4. e4 Bb4 5. e5 Nd5 6. Bd2 Bxc3 7. bxc3 Bb7 8. Qg4 g6 9. c4 Ne7 10. Bg5 d6 11. Nf3 Nd7 12. exd6 cxd6 13. Bd3 h6 14. Qh4 f5 15. d5 e5 16. O-O e4 17. Nd4 Kf7 18. Ne6 Qe8 19. Bxh6 exd3 20. Qd4 Ne5 21. Bg7 N7c6 22. dxc6 Qxc6 23. Qd5 Qxd5 24. cxd5 Rhc8 25. cxd3 Bxd5 26. Bxe5 dxe5 27. Ng5+ Kf6 28. h4 Rc3 29. Rfd1 Rh8 30. d4 Rxh4 31. dxe5+ Kxe5 32. f3 Rh5 33. Re1+ Kf6 34. Nh3 Bxf3 35. Rac1 Rxc1 36. Rxc1 Be4 37. Rc7 a5 38. Ra7 Rh8 39. Nf4 g5 40. Ne2 Rd8 41. Ra6 Rd6 42. Nc3 Ke5 43. g3 Rd3 44. Nxe4 Kxe4 45. Rxb6 Rxg3+ 46. Kf2 Ra3 47. Rb2 g4 48. Kg2 f4 49. Re2+ Kf5 50. Rb2 Kg5 51. Rc2 Kh4 52. Kh2 g3+ 53. Kg2 f3+ 54. Kh1 Re3 White resigns.

Xue – Laurent-Paoli, Caplin Hastings Masters 2024-2025, Hastings, England, January 2025

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 c6 5. Bg5 Nbd7 6. e3 Qa5 7. cxd5 Nxd5 8. Rc1 Nxc3 9. bxc3 Ba3 10. Rc2 b6 11. Be2 Ba6 12. O-O Bxe2 13. Rxe2 O-O 14. Qc2 Rfe8 15. c4 Bf8 16. Rd1 Rac8 17. h3 h6 18. Bh4 Be7 19. Bg3 Bf6 20. Red2 Qb4 21. Rb1 Qa5 22. Rdd1 Qa3 23. Nd2 c5 24. Ne4 cxd4 25. Nd6 e5 26. Nxe8 Rxe8 27. Qf5 Re6 28. exd4 exd4 29. Qd5 Qa4 30. Re1 Nc5 31. Bd6 Rxe1+ 32. Rxe1 Ne6 33. f4 Qxa2 34. f5 Qd2 35. Bg3 Nf4 36. Qf3 Bg5 37. h4 Nxg2 38. Re8+ Kh7 39. hxg5 Ne3 40. g6+ fxg6 41. fxg6+ Kxg6 42. Re6+ Kh7 43. Qe4+ Kg8 44. Re8+ Kf7 45. Qe6 mate.

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