Malcolm Pein continues his coverage of the European Online Club Cup in today’s Daily Telegraph chess column, with the prevailing youth well to the fore. There is also an opportunity to test your strength on a position with an historical echo.
Malcolm Pein on…Prevailing Youth
Internet chess is the domain of the young and so it was not a complete surprise when SF Deizisau e.V, a relatively youthful team from Germany, won the European Online Club Cup. The victors were seeded 10th overall and seventh in the final pool, but won six matches, drew two and lost only one.
The more established German club Baden Baden, the Bundesliga champions, had struggled in the group stage and did not make it to the final, losing two matches in the play-offs, including one to Guildford.
For the victors, Georg Meier, 33, a relative veteran, who was also in the winning Grenke Bank team that captured the FIDE Corporate Championship earlier this year, scored 5/6. The prodigy Vincent Keymer, 16, was unbeaten on 5.5/7, which included a long grind in the endgame with black to defeat Artom Timofeev of Ladya Kazan in the final round.
Clichy Echecs 92 of Paris, the top seeds, ended runners-up with Mednyi Vsadnik taking the bronze medals. Guildford finished a disappointing seventh, although David Howell and Gawain Jones both justified their strong reputations in online play. The 4NCL champions got through their qualifying group and a tough play-off, but could not maintain their good form in the final, winning three, drawing two and losing four matches.
The Nimzo-Indian Under Pressure
A. Donchenko – P. Maghsoodloo
European Online CC Final
SF Deizisau e.V vs Clichy Echecs 92
Nimzo Indian 15+5
1.c4 e6 2.Nc3 d5 3.d4 Bb4 4.e3 Ne7 5.a3 Bxc3+ 6.bxc3 b6 7.cxd5 exd5 8.Bd3 Bf5 (One of the points of putting the knight on e7 and not f6. Black succeeds in obstructing e3–e4; a strategic success. Now 9.Ne2 looks fine) 9.Be2!? c5 10.Nf3 Nbc6 11.0–0 0–0 12.a4 Na5 13.Ne5 Qc7 14.f3 Rfd8 15.Kh1 c4 16.Ba3 (16.e4!? dxe4 17.fxe4 Bxe4 18.Rxf7 Qxe5! wins but 18.Nxf7 is best; Black might go 16.e4 Be6) 16…f6 17.Ng4 Bxg4?! (White’s position acquires some hidden dynamic potential thanks to the two bishops. Black is doing well after 17…Ng6 followed by Nb3 and Bd7 with Re8 pressuring the semi-open file) 18.fxg4 Ng6 (If 18…h6 19.g5!) 19.g5! fxg5 20.Bg4 Re8 21.Qf3 Rad8 22.Rae1 (22.Ra2! Nb7 23.Raf2 was the most direct) 22…Nb3 23.Rf2! Kh8 24.Qf5 Qc6 25.Ref1 Qxa4
Test Your Strength
White to Play
White’s next move was a bolt from the blue. What was it and what was the idea?
Highlight the space below this line to reveal the answer.
Shades of Botvinnik vs Capablanca 1938. 26.Bf8!! Nf4 (26…Rxf8 27.Qxf8+ Nxf8 28.Rxf8+ Rxf8 29.Rxf8#; 26…Qc6 27.Qf7) 27.Bxg7+! Kxg7 28.Qxg5+ Kh8 29.Qf6+ Kg8 30.Rxf4 1–0
