Andreikin defeated Nepomniatchi in a friendly match: 3.5-2.5 |
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| Tuesday, 06 November 2012 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 Dmitry Andreikin (left) and Ian Nepomniatchi Two young super grandmasters clashed in a friendly match of the young champions in Moscow, Russia from October 30 to November 5. Dmitry Andreikin (born in 1990) is rated 2723 and won the Top League and Russian Superfinal in 2012. Ian Nepomniatchi (born in 1990) is rated 2707 and is known as an European Champion'10 and Champion of Russia'10. Dmitry won the match 3.5-2.5, and Ian has published day-by-day commentaries (translated from Russian and brought to you by Pogonina.com): Game 1 Today in the International Centre of Chess Education a match of 6 classical time control games between me and Dmitry Andreikin started. In the first game I had White and played very blankly. I had practical chances to draw the game, but failed to do so. Tomorrow I will have the Black pieces. Game 2 In the second game Andreikin chose a poisonous variation 4.Bf4 in the Gruenfeld and had a slight edge. However, until a certain moment I had been playing quite enterprisingly and managed to equalize. When my position was quite safe, I relaxed and made a move 24...Re8 from general considerations. This could have cost me the game: White regrouped well and obtained a decisive positional advantage (with equal material). In time trouble Dmitry played inaccurately and was distracted by a billboard that fell behind his back. After having made a series of precise moves, I equalized, and the game ended in a draw. The score is 0.5-1.5. I will have White in game 3 tomorrow. Game 3 On day 3 I had White and was in the mood to strike back. My opponent tried to cool my temper down with a fireproof Caro-Cann defense and a solid continuation 3...c5. I was out of book rather quickly and employed a novelty on move 10 by having developed the bishop to b2. It can hardly be called successful, because Black reached equality with natural developing moves. Later I played adventuruously and castled long, but Dmitry reacted rather well (although not in the best way). A position of dynamic equality with a material imbalance occurred. Alas, the White king became too exposed. I underestimated this factor, avoided a line leading to a draw after a nearly force sequance of moves. Being in trouble, I blundered, although in a relatively lucky way. In the endgame Black had excellent winning chances, but I managed to hold the game in a study-like fashion. Tomorrow is a rest day, and the fourth game will be played on November 3rd. Game 4 In game 4 I have surprised my opponent with a Slav Defense - it got him thinking after move 3 (!). As a result, Dmitry opted for a rare setup with Qb3, and the game transferred into one of the more or less equal lines in the Carlsbad. By 9.Bg3 White deviated from the well-known variations, after which I equalized and even got a slight edge. In the endgame I had an extra pawn, but my pieces were somewhat passive. My advantage quickly became menacing, but then I started making mediocre moves instead of the strong and natural ones, blundered a pawn, and the game ended in move repetition. Nevertheless, I am glad that most of the game was played by me in a sensible way, which can't be said about the previous games. Maybe the rest day helped me after all. Tomorrow is Game 5, and I will have White. Game 5 Today in a relatively harmless (for Black) variation of the Queen's gambit I wasn't able to pose any problems before Andreikin: I had a bishop vs. knight, but wasn't able to make use of this advantage. Tomorrow is the final (6th) game, and I will be playing Black. Game 6 In the final game I was in a must-win situation to avoid losing the match. I decided to choose an offbeat line and provoke my opponent into playing creatively. I have succeeded only partially. Indeed, both of us started improvising rather soon, but White's moves very easier to find due to being very intuitively natural. Also, I couldn't handle the pressure myself: there were no familiar elements in the position by far. Andreikin quickly obtained an advantage and placed his pieces harmoniously and solidly, thus preventing any active plans on my side. White decided not to press too hard (and Black didn't have any choice), so soon an equal endgame was forced. For the first time in the match the game finished earlier than three hours after the start, so, according to the Regulations, we got to play an extra rapid game. I won it rather easily, but the sports significance of this game should not be overestimated. This twist of events reminded me of a quote by Vishy Anand dedicated to a well-known grandmaster: "...he starts to play well, when the tournament is already over...". That's the best way to describe the situation :) Finally, I would like to congratulate Dmitry Andreikin with interesting games and a well-deserved victory in the match! :) Replay the classical time control games Rapid game Videos by Eugene Potemkin 
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