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Somehow it all started with an “eight moves and eight minutes” draw between the 15 year old Norwegian FMs Sebastian Mihajlov (2257) and Lars Oskar Hauge (2322).
It was nothing unexpected and nothing wrong about that, of course. The players know each other very well from earlier games and played together for Norway III
in the Olympics some weeks ago. Probably most other players in the venue never noticed the game result.
But anyway after a firework fifth round, the sixth one started with a short draw – and continued in the same style. This round for a long time suffered from some kind of spreading draw disease.
The second board meeting between GM Eduardas Rozentalis (2615) and GM Gabor Papp (2559) suddenly was agreed draw after 24 moves, in a balanced isolani position
still offering possibilities for both players. Third board with IM Torbjørn Ringdal Hansen (2476) and GM Peter Prohaszka (2588) without too many exciting moments was
also buried after 24 moves, true enough in a very equal rook and minor pieces endgame.
The fifth board game between Miklos Galyas (2421) and GM Yuri Solodovnichenko (2566) then suddenly disappeared after 25 moves. Again the position was in balance,
but still with many possibilities left for both players.
Even two attacking players like FM Lars Hjelmås (2302) and IM Frode Elsness (2465) for some reason suddenly looked happy to draw each other
by a repetition of moves around move 20. A truly unexpected one was the 25 moves draw between Vijay Pranav (2197) and FM Richard Bjerke (2172),
suddenly agreed although black was a passed pawn up and the position apparently very unclear. In short, a draw suddenly looked acceptable for
everyone in the first hours of this round.
Someone tried however: On the fourth board GM Maxim Turov (2586) and IM Rasmus Svane (2506) played on until 51 moves, when the queen endgame would too
obviously end up with some kind of perpetual check. As black played some strange kind of Indian double fianchetto, white had a space advantage and looked
slightly better after the opening. Getting the necessary help to open up the f- and g-files, black in turn had a kingside initiative around move 17-27 –
before he exchanged down to a drawish endgame.
On the first board the start was a rather balanced Queen’s Gambit exchange line, but GM Jan Werle (2523) in an inspired mood put all the more pressure on
top rated GM Andrei Istratescu (2653) in the middle game. White looked close to winning as he for ten moves before the time control was a pawn up, with a
passed pawn at d6 and the more active pieces. As Istratescu defended well, and as Werle failed to find any of the critical continuations at move 40,
it still ended with a queen exchange and a draw offer after 43 moves.
In short, all the five first boards ended with a draw today. For the top players, this consequently became a waiting round changing very little about prize positions.
Werle, now at 5.0/6, is still running alone half a point ahead of his GM-colleagues Istratescu and Papp. Still the flying Dutchman might have missed a golden chance to
drown Istratescu and sail away from his others competitors this round.
The drawing wave reached an end, and some game winners popped up from the third hour. The first one somewhat unexpectedly became the still ambitious Swedish veteran
FM Johnny Wieweg (2140), today playing white against former start rocket Frode Lillevold (2199) in another Vienna opening line. The 66 year old played aggressively
for a win with 12.f4!?, and was rewarded as Lillevold miscalculated a critical tactical line and had to give up his e5-pawn with a clearly inferior position.
The position with two rooks and two minor pieces on each side looked close to winning for white as he was a sound pawn up, with black’s knight offside at h4 and black’s king
awkward at f8. Still 19.--- g6?? was a rather shocking blunder from Lillevold. Probably black after 20.Bh6+ realized that both 20.--- Ke8 and 20.--- Ke7 would lose a piece
for nothing; anyway the game instead ended 20.--- Kg8 21.Nf6 mate! Wieweg, by far the oldest player in this group, despite losing his first two games has reached a clear plus
result at 2.5/6. Lillevold on the other hand has gone from 1.5/2 until 1.5/6, and is around expected score despite his miracle start...
Another surprise win today came from 14 year old Eivind X. Djurhuus (2105) as white against IM Petter Haugli (2277). Playing 1.c4 to challenge Haugli’s Dutch set up with
d3 and e4, Djurhuus achieved a positional edge, and after 23 moves was about to place a dominating knight on the d5 outpost. Still the position remained interesting and
the outcome open until Haugli blundered gravely by 23.--- Bxc4??, somehow overlooking that white after 24.Rd7 would threaten the queen on f7 and the knight on b7.
While Haugli is not the usual practical and alert fighter so far this tournament, Djurhuus continues his steady improvement of the last two years.
IM Goran Djurovic (2408) needed two hours more, but playing with pawns on c5, e5 and g5 he had a large space advantage against Svetoslav Mihajlov (2154) from the third hour.
The game attracted more spectators as Djurovic at move 33 sacrificed an exchange on g4 without having anything clearcut afterwards. In reality the sacrifice however increased
white’s advantage. Playing with one pawn and an ongoing attack for the exchange white was in control, and he neatly finished off the game as he sacrificed another exchange at f6
to let his queen and bishops complete the attack. A very good game, but still only an average tournament result for Djurovic. The senior partner of Mihajlov & Mihajlov
still is undrawn – and still well above his expected score.
IM Benjamin Gledura (2414) had to play into the fifth hour in today’s Hungarian battle, as chess lioness Anita Gara (2322) again fought bravely on in a lost endgame.
Playing against some kind of Queen’s Pawn double fianchetto, black first had at least equal play. Again Gara however became to helpful when exchanging off queens,
as the endgame due to white’s active rook on b7 soon was much better for him. Gara understandable was frustrated about having wasted another promising position to
lose her third game in a row, but due to her very strong average of opponents 2.5/6 still is well above her expected score.
Gledura seems to be heading for a plus result, although he still needs at least 2.5/3 in the spurt to reach a GM-norm.
The IM-candidates overall had a fairly good round. Norwegian FM Joachim B. Nilsen (2363) came back on track in time as he defeated WIM Nagarjan Raghavi (2253) with the white
stones today. Although the idea of sacrificing the e5-pawn is well known in this English line, black’s pair of bishops and chances for a kingside attack did not compensate
for the center pawn and a wrecked pawn structure in this version. Having cashed in one more queenside pawn, white anyway was winning when black at move 28 stumbled into a
back rank mate. Raghavi is out as a WGM-candidate following this collapse, while 2.0/3 in the end probably will be sufficient for Nilsen to make an IM-norm.
Unpredictable Italian FM Pier Luigi Basso (2322) meanwhile played 1.b3 and did not get much out of the opening as white against surprise man Jens Hjort Kjølberg (2058).
In a complex and double edged middle game, white’s passed b-pawn however turned out to be the decisive factor. The game had an entertaining finish in the sixth hour as
Basso coolly promoted a second queen at b8, correctly concluding that his king helped by time and/or one of the queens would escape from the numerous checks of the black queen.
At 4.0/6 following this win, Basso probably will need 2.0/3 in the end to reach his IM-norm.
Although not yet an IM norm candidate, 14 year old Sondre Merkesvik (2179) continued his progress this round as well. Playing white against Helsio Sousa (2228) in a Sicilian
with 4.Qxd4, Merkesvik established an initiative from the opening and kept it into the rooks and bishop endgame. Maybe black should have been able to save this,
but it was definitely demanding as white had the more active rooks, the better bishop and a passed a-pawn. Exchanging one set of rooks at b6 might have been a decisive
mistake from Sousa, as white’s new passed b-pawn safely decided in the rook endgame.
The first time control today was very quiet on the top boards (naturally, as most of them had already left the playing venue), but all the more entertaining on the lowest.
Paul Wallace (2200) and Gunnar Berg Hanssen (2204) for three hours played a positionally complex Caro Kann duel, and although black had a kingside initiative nothing was
decided after 33 moves. After 37 it was all over, as Wallace short of time blundered first a pawn and then a rook. Hanssen efficiently cashed in the material and is back
on an average result following this win.
Meanwhile the neighboring board Kenneth Einarsen (2106) - Johannes Haug (2194) saw a more or less unreal position with queen, rook and five pawns on each side –
as the white king after 30 moves was walking around in the thin air at h5 and g5! Einarsen’s original kingside attack after all/of course was too creative to work out
and his king eventually went mate at g6 in move 35. Einarsen still has some ups but too many downs in his first GM group start, while Haug without playing at his best still increases his ELO.
One of the wildest time trouble situations of the tournament came in the game between Alf Roger Andersen (2170) and Christian Harstad (2002), as both suddenly had less
than two minutes left for 13 moves in a still chaotic position. Both players in this Scotch game castled long – and then went for a direct attack on the opponent’s king.
The position turned very tactical, as the board suddenly opened while both players ran short of time. Originally a pawn down, Andersen picked up one pawn at f6, a second
one at c6 and a third one at a5. As Harstad came up with a disturbing pressure in the b-file and along the diagonal h8-a1, white just before 40 moves had to give up an exchange.
The remaining endgame with queen, knight and two pawns versus queen, rook and one pawn still was difficult for white. Andersen however fought on well and about to run short of time
again, Harstad after 55 moves settled for a repetition of checks. Still improving his play, Harstad this round finally also improved his score a little –
while Andersen after all avoided another loss in an overall shaky tournament.
Franscisco Gonzalez (2130) versus WFM Hanne Goossens (2187) was another somewhat shaky but very entertaining last-board game. The start was a classical Nimzo Indian
in which black played for a win with a b5-gambit. Allowed first to win back the pawn and then to park a knight on the c4 outpost, black’s position looked healthy
from the opening. Under pressure from the clock Goossens however lost touch with the position for some critical moves, and came under pressure on the board as well.
Gonzalez played inspired at this stage, and was more or less winning after he won a pawn by a tactical hit at e6 just before 40. He in turn lost touch after 40 moves,
sacrificing both his extra e6-pawn and his f-pawn for dubious compensation. Playing with rook, bishop, knight and four pawns versus rook, bishop, knight and three pawns,
Goossens with ten minutes left for the game offered a draw. Still believing in his active pieces and/or expecting more help from Goossen’s hard working clock,
Gonzalez refused. White again appeared to have the better chances as he a few moves later on won black’s vital pawn on a6, establishing a passed pawn on a5. Having
three minutes left for the game Goossens played for her passed pawn on the kingside – and efficiently used her chances when Gonzalez, playing much too fast,
suddenly blundered his knight AND rook in one terrible move. Sportily realizing his blunder, white immediately resigned.
Losing this turbulent game obviously was a hard setback for Gonzalez, although Goossens having wasted her chances in several other
long games definitely deserved a win today. Curiously, and to illustrate the strength of this field, Goossens at 1.5/6 is still not entirely out of her run for a WIM-norm!
While this round had a slow start, it got a very exciting finish as three important games still were undecided after five hours and 45 minutes. One of them was
IM Fabrizio Bellia (2408) against FM Benjamin Arvola (2318). This was a Queen’s Indian duel in which white, through some inaccuracies from both sides, held a slight
pressure all the way from the opening into an endgame with queen, knight and five pawns versus queen, bishop and five pawns. Black probably should have been able to
save this, as he had established a dark square blockade of white’s queenside pawn majority. White’s better pieces still gave him an initiative, all the more unpleasant
as black lagged behind on the clock. Practically the game was decided as black lost his defence line along the second rank at move 56. Allowing white to play 57.Qb7!,
black suddenly had to give up both his e6 and f6 pawns. Although Bellia for some still mysterious reason later gave back one of the pawns, and although Arvola
speeded up with three minutes left on the clock, he succeeded only to postpone the end until 77 moves.
Pole out for Arvola today, meaning his result now is just above average. 51 year old Bellia hardly is a GM candidate, but he is still a very solid and strong IM
this tournament. 2.5/3 in the end can still give him a GM-norm.
Drama and tragedy in the final act came on the sixth board between GM Evgeny Romanov (2647) and IM Mads Andersen (2470). Black had no problems from this
closed Semi-Slav opening, but the struggle intensified as white after 20 moves sacrificed his f-pawn to start a kingside attack. The attack turned out be a
misunderstood plan, losing one more pawn and making white’s king more open than black’s. Black let white into the game again by unnecessary returning one of
his extra pawns at b6, but having established passed pawns at f4 and e3 he played on for a win after queens were exchanged at move 48. White’s barking bishops
still made it very difficult to win, and deeply concentrated Romanov gradually overcame the dangers. Although black still had an extra pawn at e3, white’s active
pieces balanced the position after 58 moves. With seven minutes left on the clock for both players, it was still a very exciting game to follow. That is,
until black blundered a rook in one move with 59.--- Nc7-e6??. Romanov in shock looked upon the position for a minute, but then played 60.Bf4xRb8 and wrote down the move –
after which Andersen following a minute in shock stopped the clock and signed the scoresheets.
From a Danish point of view this of course was a tragedy, as Andersen had a won position earlier in the game and would have had good chances to complete his
GM-title this week if winning. Still one of the iron laws of chess is that a one move blunder, played after a few seconds off concentration, can lose a position
built up over many hours with top concentration. In this case black’s advantage anyway was gone when the blunder came. Second seeded Romanov is still playing well
below his usual standard, but got a double reward for his stubborn defence today – and sharing fourth place at 4.0/6 he is still a heavyweight candidate for top three.
The last drama of this round still took place on the seventh board – and it lasted for five hours, 59 minutes and 55 seconds… The IM duel between Norwegian Aryan Tari (2456)
and Romanian Alexandru Manea (2368) started as an O’Kelly Sicilian opening, in which white castled long and black short. White first had an initiative and looked much better
as he started to advance his d-pawn further. Although Manea probably was too humble when considering black’s position lost, white for sure was better a long while.
Then play for some 30 moves circled slowly around white’s passed but isolated pawn on d6. Just before 60 moves the queens and the passed pawn were exchanged, leaving
a new double edged rook endgame. This one pitted white’s new passed pawn on b5 against black’s four-against-two majority on the kingside. For sure this rook endgame from
the start was a draw, but when white finally was willing to offer black was no longer willing to accept...
An exciting passed pawn race followed in the second half of the sixth hour, as black now had two passed f-pawns running. The pawn race actually was winning for black,
but still it was far from over when the f-pawn promoted at move 72. White promoted with check at b8 the next move – and although black played with two pawns against zero
in the queen endgame, demonstrating that win on the board was no way easy with two minutes left on the clock. Although the players could stop writing when having five
minutes left, they were so lost in their own world that Manea continued until his second last minute and Tari well into his last minute. After 90 moves Tari had 53
seconds and Manea 55 seconds left to complete the game. Black playing with passed pawns at f4 and h3 was obviously winning in the queen endgame, but also obviously would need
many more moves to hide his king and promote one of the pawns.
The live transmission lost control before the players, who continued to blitz all until 119 moves. Tari at move about 118 offered a draw, but both players in a hurry
did one or two more moves before Manea realized what happened and accepted. When the clock was stopped white had three seconds left to complete the game – black two seconds.
Somehow illustrating, this sixth round in the GM group this way ended with another draw – but at the same time demonstrated how exciting and interesting a drawn game of chess can be.
In a charming illustration of this tournament’s friendly atmosphere, two players previously unknown to each other immediately afterwards talked like old friends,
congratulated each other, joked about the game and concluded none of them deserved to win or lose this one. Neither Tari nor Manea will make any GM-norm this tournament;
but both still enjoys a lot to play and investigate chess…
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