Three miniatures

IM Malcolm Pein October 8, 2023

 

In Soviet times, there was a hierarchy of tournaments that led to qualification for the Soviet Championship.
The competition was ferocious and it remains the case, that in a winner-takes-all format, players often have to take risks.
In 2020, the Dutch IM Stefan Kuipers tweeted: This is what a very hard winner-takes-all format in the Tata Steel chess qualifiers does to the players.
These three miniatures are not even the first this tournament.
Here they are:

T Beerdsen – A Pijpers
Tata Steel Qualifier 2020
French Defence Classical

1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bg5 dxe4 5.Nxe4 Nbd7 6.Nf3 h6 7.Bxf6 Nxf6 8.Bd3 Nxe4 9.Bxe4 c5 10.Qe2 Qa5+ 11.c3 cxd4 12.Nxd4 Be7 13.0–0–0 Qxa2 14.Qb5+ Bd7 15.Qxb7 Rc8 16.g3 Qa1+ 17.Kc2 Qa4+ 18.Kb1 Rd8

19.Nxe6!! fxe6 20.Rd4! (Even stronger than 20.Rxd7 Rxd7 21.Bc6 Qe4+! escaping to a bad endgame)
20...Qa5 (20...Qb5 21.Rxd7 Qxb7 22.Rxb7 Kf7 23.Kc2 a6 24.Ra1 wins a second pawn)
21.Bg6+ Kf8 22.Rxd7 1–0

N Zwirs – F Slingerland
Sicilian Najdorf

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 Nc6 6.f3 e5 7.Nb3 Be6 8.Nd5 h6?!
(8...Be7 or 8...Bxd5 9.exd5 Nb8)
9.Be3 Nb8!? 10.Qd2 Nxd5 11.exd5 Bf5 12.g4 Bg6 13.0–0–0 Be7 14.f4 (14.h4 was good and if 14...Bxh4 15.Na5! Be7 16.Nxb7)
14...exf4 15.Bxf4 Nd7 (15...0–0 was playable, surprisingly) 16.h4 Ne5
17.Bxe5 dxe5 18.d6 Bf6 (18...Bxh4 19.d7+ Kf8 20.Rxh4)

White to play and win:

R Vogel – S Beukema
Dutch Defence

1.d4 f5 2.g3 Nf6 3.Bg2 d6 4.Nc3 c6 5.e4 e5? 6.dxe5 dxe5 7.Qe2 h6 8.Nf3
(Better than 8.exf5 Bxf5 9.Qxe5+ Qe7 10.Qxe7+ Bxe7 when c2 falls)
Bd6 9.Nh4 fxe4 10.Ng6 Bg4 11.Qc4 Rg8 12.0–0 Kd7 (Eccentric, but it’s lost anyway. If 12...Nbd7 13.Nxe4 Qc7 14.Rd1 wins material)
13.Nxe4 Nxe4 14.Qxe4 Be6 15.Nxe5+ Kc7 16.Nxc6 1-0
If 16…Nxc6 17.Qxe6.

 

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