

Olympia Casino
We already reported earlier that St.Petersburg celebrates a
visit of V. Korchnoi and his 70th birthday. First
round-robin of the tournament is over now. K. Sakaev who has just
became father plays like a real terminator. 5 of 5! An excellent
result and a fine way to celebrate the birth of a son. Korchnoi
and Rublevsky have 3 point each. Popov scored 2. Both the
distinguished grandmaster Taimanov and the beating boy
Chepukaitis managed to make only two draws each.
However Sakaev also took chances on his way to the 100%
result. The following game should teach you what to do and what
not when playing chess. We give only one duel, though the strain
of other games was no less.
Chepukaitis - Sakaev
Round 2
1. d4 d5 2. Bg5 c6 3. c4 dxc4 4. a4 Qa5+ 5. Bd2 Qc7 6. Nc3
e5 7. dxe5 Be6 8. e4 Na6 9. f4 Rd8 10. f5 Bc8

Well, after the opening Sakaev’s position looks most
unhappy. But the grandmaster keeps looking for his chance.
11. Nf3 Bc5 12. Bxc4 Nb4 13. Qb3 Nh6 14. h3 O-O 15. O-O-O
Nxf5

The sacrifice is forced. Black parts with a piece which was of
no use anyway.
16. exf5 Bxf5 17. Ne4 Rxd2

Again, Black uses the best chance to muddle the things up. He
stands a rook down, and it’s obvious that the game can’t be
saved unless White makes a blunder.
18. Nfxd2 Qxe5 19. Qc3 Qe7 20. Nxc5 Qxc5

A trap. The queen can’t be captured: in case of 21. Bxf7
there is Rxf7 22. Qxc5 Na2#! White missed the opportunity to win
immediately with 21. Ne4.
21. Rdf1 a5 22. g4 Bg6 23. Rf3 Qe7 24. h4 Re8 25. Kd1 b5

Doesn’t matter. White could have won with a double capture
on b5. Instead, he made an incredibly bad move, and Sakaev’s
persistent defence gave the result: the grandmaster mated.
26. Bb3 Qe2+ 27. Kc1 Na2+
0-1
You must see 28... Qe1+ 29. Rxe1 Rxe1#.
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