Anand’s heirs show future bright for Indian chess

Sometimes a single supernova can inspire a whole constellation of stars.

India was not exactly a chess superpower when the great Viswanathan Anand burst on to the scene in the early 1980s. His storied career included a six-year reign as undisputed classical world champion starting in 2007. Known for his lightning-quick play as a youth, Anand also racked up a number of rapid and blitz world titles as well.

At 51, Anand is easing back on his tournament schedule, though he still ranks 17th on the FIDE world rankings. But the chess boom he inspired in his native land continues to reverberate: India now has 67 grandmasters, took home its first medal (a bronze) in the 2014 Olympiad, and boasts the world’s No. 3 female player and a possible future women’s world champ in GM Humpy Koneru.

And a new generation of Indian stars looms on the horizon, to judge from the just-concluded Gelfand Challenge, an online rapid event featuring 20 of the world’s strong players under 18. Indian prodigy GM Dommaraju Gukesh, 15, took top honors in the event, edging on tiebreaks compatriot GM Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa.

The top two U.S. entries, IM Christopher Woojin Yoo and GM Awonder Liang, acquitted themselves well in the event, finishing in a tie for fifth and eighth, respectively. Yoo even managed to take a point off the tournament winner, defeating Gukesh in a tight Dutch Defense battle in which Black gets an early positional push with a pawn sacrifice but Yoo manages to turn the tables.

Strategy gives way to tactics on 21. Rb1 Rfd8 22. Bxe4!? Nxd4! (fxe4 23. Nxe4 leaves the Black knight on d3 in bad shape) 23. exd4 Nxf2!? (sharp, but perhaps a stronger line was 23…fxe4 24. Nxe4 Qxd4 25. Rxb7 Qxc3 26. Nxc3 Bxc4) 24. Bxb7 (and here White could have tried 24. Kxf2 fxe4+ 25. Kg1 Qxd4+ 26. Qxd4 Rxd4 27. Nb3 Rxd1+ 28. Rxd1 Bxc4 29. Kf2, and Black’s scattered pawns offer good drawing chances) Nxd1 25. Rxd1 Rab8 26. c6 Rxd4?, walking into a pin that will prove highly painful for Black.

White gets back into the game with 27. Re1 Kf7 28. Rxe6! Kxe6 (Qxe6 hangs the rook on d4) 29. c7 Rf8 30. c8=Q+ Rxc8 31. Bxc8+ Kf7 32 Bxf5?! (32. Bb7! Qe5 33. Nf1 Qc5 34. Ne3 would have given White a nice edge) Qe5?, when 32…Rd8! 33. Qxf6+ Kxf6 34. Bxg4 Rxd2 would have given Gukesh a clear endgame edge.

In a still-tricky position, it is Black who makes the last, fatal mistake: 34. Kf2 Qc5?? (Rxe4! 35. Nxe4 Qxe4 36. c5 Qf5+ 37. Ke3 Qe6+ is still very much a game) 35. Ke2 Ke7 (White threatened 36. Qe3, with the dual threats of 37. Nb3 and 37. Bd5+) 36. Qe3 Kd8 37. Bd5 Qb6 38. Nb3, and Black’s unfortunate rook is trapped; Gukesh resigned.

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Gukesh bounced back from a slow start with a strong finishing kick in the event, winning his final five games. Key to that streak was a nice win over Praggnanandhaa in their individual encounter in Round 17. This QGD battle illustrates the old chess maxim: If your king rook doesn’t get off its original square until Move 44, your development scheme probably needs work.

Curiously, the shape of the game is basically set after 16. Rg3 Bf8!? — Black’s bishop retreats to protect the g-pawn, the Black rook is locked in, and all the play for the next two dozen moves comes on the queenside.

White’s edge becomes apparent after a queen trade, as Black’s severely underdeveloped kingside starts to tell: 31. Bc1 Nd5 32. Rb3 Nb6 (Be7? 33. Rb8+ Bd8 34. Bb5+ Ke7 35. Ba3+, with mate to come) 33. Bb5+ Kd8 34. Rf3, and Gukesh establishes a severe bind.
When Black’s rook is finally freed, it is immediately dominated by White’s powerful bishop pair after 41. Ra7 Be7 (Nd5 42. Bc6 Be7 43. Bxd5 Bxh4 44. Rxc7+ Be7 45. Bc4 Rd8 46. Rc6 Rxd4 47. Bxe6+ Ke8 48. Bxf5 keeps White on top) 42. Bxe7 Nc8!? (a clever try, but not enough) 43. Bc5! Nxa7 44. Bxa7 (see diagram) Ra8 (finally getting a little exercise!) 45. Bc5, and the rusty rook can’t keep up.
White forces through a passed pawn with 52. d5 Ra1 53. d6, and in the final position, after 58. Bd6!, the bishops bottle up the Black king while shielding the d-pawn from the rook; Praggnanandhaa resigned.

Yoo-Gukesh, Gelfand Online Challenge, June 2021

1. d4 f5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. c4 e6 4. g3 Bb4+ 5. Bd2 Qe7 6. Bg2 O-O 7. O-O Bxd2 8. Nbxd2 d6 9. b4 e5 10. dxe5 dxe5 11. Qb3 c5 12. bxc5 Nc6 13. e3 Nd7 14. Qa3 g5 15. Nb3 g4 16. Nfd2 e4 17. Rfd1 Nde5 18. Nd4 Be6 19. Qc3 Qf6 20. Rac1 Nd3 21. Rb1 Rfd8 22. Bxe4 Nxd4 23. exd4 Nxf2 24. Bxb7 Nxd1 25. Rxd1 Rab8 26. c6 Rxd4 27. Re1 Kf7 28. Rxe6 Kxe6 29. c7 Rf8 30. c8=Q+ Rxc8 31. Bxc8+ Kf7 32. Bxf5 Qe5 33. Be4 h5 34. Kf2 Qc5 35. Ke2 Ke7 36. Qe3 Kd8 37. Bd5 Qb6 38. Nb3 Black resigns.

Gukesh-Praggnanandhaa, Gelfand Online Challenge, June 2021

1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 d5 3. c4 e6 4. Nc3 dxc4 5. e4 b5 6. e5 Nd5 7. Nxb5 Nb6 8. Be2 Nc6 9. Be3 Be7 10. h4 Nb4 11. Nc3 N4d5 12. Bd2 Nxc3 13. bxc3 Bb7 14. h5 h6 15. Rh3 Qd7 16. Rg3 Bf8 17. Be3 Bd5 18. a4 a5 19. Nd2 Rb8 20. Rb1 Ra8 21. Ra1 Qc6 22. Kf1 Nc8 23. Qb1 Nb6 24. Ra2 Nxa4 25. Qa1 Nb6 26. Rxa5 Rxa5 27. Qxa5 Qa4 28. Nxc4 Bxc4 29. Qxa4+ Nxa4 30. Bxc4 Nxc3 31. Bc1 Nd5 32. Rb3 Nb6 33. Bb5+ Kd8 34. Rf3 Ke7 35. Rc3 Kd8 36. Rf3 Ke7 37. Bf4 Nd5 38. Bg3 f5 39. Ra3 Nb6 40. Bh4+ Kf7 41. Ra7 Be7 42. Bxe7 Nc8 43. Bc5 Nxa7 44. Bxa7 Ra8 45. Bc5 Ra1+ 46. Ke2 Rh1 47. Bc4 c6 48. Ba6 Rxh5 49. Bb7 Rh1 50. Bxc6 Rc1 51. Kd2 Rf1 52. d5 Ra1 53. d6 Ra2+ 54. Kc3 Ra5 55. Kb4 Ra1 56. d7 Rb1+ 57. Ka5 Rd1 58. Bd6 Black resigns.

• David R. Sands can be reached at 202/636-3178 or by email at dsands@washingtontimes.com.