Malcolm Pein on…Haria’s Endgame Heroics

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Malcolm Pein returns to the subject of hybrid chess in today’s Daily Telegraph column and presents an exciting game from a high-profile event.

Malcolm Pein on…Haria’s Endgame Heroics

In my capacity as Director of International Chess for the English Chess Federation, I organised a hybrid chess qualifier for the FIDE World Cup at the Hilton Hotel in Elstree. The event was staged by the European Chess Union and qualified 36 players for the first stage of the world chess championship cycle which begins in Sochi on the Black Sea coast on July 10.

GM Simon Williams, IM Andrew Horton, IM Ameet Ghasi, IM Ravi Haria and Marcus Harvey were all out-rated by their GM round one opponents. Harvey scored a fine win over the Croatian chess legend Zdenko Kozul but was outplayed in the tie-break. Only Haria, who defeated German GM Falko Bindrich 2-0, made it to the second round where he lost to the Russian GM Ernesto Inarkiev.

Haria won the first game with this spectacular rook sacrifice in the endgame.

F. Bindrich – R. Haria
Reti Opening

1.c4 e6 2.g3 d5 3.Bg2 Nf6 4.Nf3 Be7 5.0–0 0–0 6.b3 b6 7.Bb2 Bb7 8.e3 c5 9.d3 Qc8!? 10.Nbd2 Nc6 11.Qe2 Qc7 12.a3 (Better 12.d4 and not 12.cxd5 exd5 13.d4 Nb4 threat Ba6) 12…Rad8 13.Rad1 (13.cxd5 exd5 14.b4!?) 13…Rfe8 14.Ne1?! (This plan is effective after …d5xc4 b3xc4 when White has a central pawn mass. Here it is just dithering) 14…e5! 15.f4 exf4 16.gxf4 d4! 17.e4 Bd6! 18.e5 (18.Qf3 Ne7 heading for g6)

F. Bindrich – R. Haria

18…Nxe5!! 19.fxe5 Rxe5 20.Ne4 (White offered a draw) 20…Nxe4 21.Bxe4 Qe7 (21…Rde8 was even better and if 22.Qg2 Bxe4 23.dxe4) R5e6 24.Kh1 Rg6 25.Qf2 Bxh2! 22.Nf3 f5!? (22…Re6) 23.Nxe5 fxe4 24.Rf7 Qg5+ 25.Qg2 Qxg2+ 26.Kxg2 Ba8! 27.Rf5 (27.Rd7 e3+ 28.Kg1 Rxd7 29.Nxd7 Bc6 traps the knight, although 30.Nxc5 bxc5 31.b4! is far from clear, despite Black’s enormous passer on e3) 27…g6 28.Rg5 (The computer insists that 28.Nf7! gxf5 29.Nxd8 e3+ 30.Kg1 f4 was survivable. It must have looked lost at the board) 28…e3+ 29.Kg1 Re8 30.Ng4 (30.Nxg6 hxg6 31.Rxg6+ Kf7 32.Rxd6 Rg8+ 33.Kf1 Rg2 34.Bxd4 e2+ 35.Ke1 exd1Q+ 36.Kxd1 cxd4 37.Rxd4 Ke6 should be winning although a1 being a dark square makes it harder) 30…Bf4! 31.Nf6+ Kf7 32.Nxe8

Test Your Strength

Haria’s Endgame Heroics

Black to play and win

Highlight the space beneath this line to reveal the answer.

32…e2!! (Threat Be3 mate) 33.Rf1 exf1Q+ 34.Kxf1 Bxg5 35.Nc7 Bc6 36.Nb5 a6 0–1

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