Chess

Peter Svidler won the Seventh Gibtelecom Chess Festival in Gibraltar last week. The five-time champion of Russia shared first place with GM Vadim Milov of Switzerland, but won both playoff games. Both players scored eight points in 10 games, edging grandmasters Vugar Gashimov of Azerbaijan, Emanuel Berg of Sweden, and two Americans, Hikaru Nakamura and Varuzhan Akobian, by a half point.

A Spanish Surprise

Svidler played entertaining chess throughout the competition. Against the former women's world champion Antoaneta Stefanova of Bulgaria, the Russian GM created an important theoretical novelty in the Spanish against the Moller defense.

Svidler-Stefanova

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0-0 Bc5 (The Moller defense is Stefanova's exclusive line.) 6.c3 b5 7.Bc2 d5 8.d4!? (White is better prepared for a fierce collision in the center.) 8...dxe4 9.dxe5!? exf3 (It is not clear how white can get the advantage after 9...Qxd1 10.Rxd1 Bxf2+! 11.Kf1 and now 11...exf3? is a mistake, because of 12.exf6 Bh4 13.fxg7 fxg2+ 14.Kxg2 Rg8 15.Bh6 Bg5 16.Re1+ Be6 17.Bxg5 Rxg7 18.h4 h6 19.Be4 Kd7 20.Rd1+ and black resigned in the game Topalov-Shirov, Monaco 2001. But black can try 11...Ng4!? 12.Bxe4 Bb7 13.h3 Ne3+ with a playable game either after 14.Kxf2 Nxd1+ 15.Ke2 0-0-0 16.Nbd2 Rhe8 17.Kxd1 Nxe5; or after 14.Bxe3 Bxe3 15.a4 0-0 16.Na3 Rab8 17.axb5 axb5 18.Re1 Bf4 19.Nxb5 Bg3 20.Re2 Nxe5 21.Bxb7 with equal chances. Perhaps Svidler can solve the mystery in his future games.) 10.exf6! (In the game Hracek-Onischuk, Turin 2006, after 10.Qxd8+ Nxd8 11.exf6 gxf6 12.Re1+ Be7 13.g3 Bb7 14.Nd2 Ne6 15.Bd1 0-0-0 black equalized.) 10...Qxf6 (After 10...Qxd1 11.Rxd1 0-0 12.Be4 Bb7 13.Bxf3 gxf6 14.Bf4 Bb6 15.Nd2 white's better pawn structure gives him an advantage.)

11.Nd2! (Svidler's improvement on his game against Alexander Onischuk, Beersheba 2005, where he played 11.Re1+ Be6 12.Nd2, allowing 12...0-0-0 with a reasonable game for black. The idea is too subtle to make it to Gary Lane's highly entertaining book "The Greatest Ever Chess Tricks and Traps," recently published by Everyman Chess.) 11...0-0 (After 11...fxg2 12.Re1+ black has problems either after 12...Be7 13.Ne4 Qe514.Ng3 Bg4 15.Rxe5 Bxd1 16.Rxe7+ Nxe7 17.Bxd1 with white's advantage; or after 12...Be6 13.Ne4 Qe5 14.Qf3 0-0 15.Bf4 Qf5 16.Nxc5 Qxc5 17.Be4 Bd7 18.Rad1 with decisive pressure.) 12.Ne4 Qg6 13.Ng3 Qf6 14.Qd3! (Tempting is 14.Nh5 Qh4 15.Qxf3, but after 15...Ne5 16.Qxa8 Bf5 black has a dangerous initiative, for example 17.Qd5 Ng4!) 14...g6? (Fatally weakening the dark squares. Black should have played 14...Qg6 15.Qxf3 Bg4! 16.Qd5 Qxc2, but after 17.Qxc5 white still has a small edge.) 15.Ne4 Qf5 16.Nxc5 fxg2 (After 16...Qxc5 17.Qxf3 Bb7 18.Bh6 Rfe8 19.Rfe1, threatening 20.Qf6, white wins.) 17.Re1 Qxc5 18.Qf3 Kg7 (Desperately trying to cover the dark squares, but after 18...Bb7 19.Bh6; or after 18...Ne5 19.Qxa8 Bf5 20.Qxg2 Bxc2 21.Be3, black is an exchange down and white should win.) 19.Be3! (The black queen is overworked, and black must lose material.) 19...Qc4 (After 19...Qd6 20.Rad1 wins.) 20.Bb3 Ne5 21.Qg3! (Winning simply, although 21.Qxa8 Qg4 22.Bd4 f6 23.Rxe5 fxe5 24.Bxe5+ Kh6 25.Qa7 wins, too.) 21...Qh4 22.Qxe5+ Black resigned.

Solution to today's two-mover by S. Loyd (White: Kc3,Qg5,Re4; Black: Kf2,Bf1,P:f3): 1.Re1! Kxe1 2.Qd2 mate; or 1...Be2 2.Qg1 mate; or 1...Bg2 2.Qh4 mate.