European Individual Chess Championship 2015 (Jerusalem)

[Tim Harding]

"Very disappointing performance by David Howell" says GM Alon Greenfeld just now. He was discussing the game with Har-Zvi.
Howell played a passive Slav, allowed e4-e5 without compensation.
White (GM Yuri Vovk, 2588) struck with Nxf7! and will win if he plays properly.

Now Howell will need to win in the final round.

[John McKenna]

Najer 1-0 Korobov on board 1 is only the 2nd decisive result so far on the top 20 boards with 8 draws.
Can't see a result for Vovk,Y-Howell,D as yet.

Edit Sjugirov-Navara on board 2 also drawn.

[Roger de Coverly]

White (GM Yuri Vovk, 2588) struck with Nxf7! and will win if he plays properly.

It's all simplified down to a Rook and pawn ending (move 43) but where the chances for a draw now look good. White had been two pawns up, but has sacrificed or lost the most important one.

[Christopher Kreuzer]

Still going to be tough to hold. If they both get down to increments, I wonder if that will help?

[Andrew Bak]

Why didn't Howell play 58...Kxb5 and try and get to a rook vs pawn ending? I haven't calculated it out but when White eventually plays Kx rook on f7, White's king seems awfully far away.

[Tim Harding]

Why didn't Howell play 58...Kxb5 and try and get to a rook vs pawn ending? I haven't calculated it out but when White eventually plays Kx rook on f7, White's king seems awfully far away.

Tablebase shows that 58...Kxb5 59 f6 Rf1 60 f7 Rxf7 61 Kxf7 b5 62 Kf6 wins. Look it up in the books or try it for yourself at http://www.k4it.de/index.php?topic=egtb&lang=en

Khismatullin played an amazing winning combination on board 3 starting 44 Kg1!! but he must have calculated this was probably winning when he played Nxd3. The mating method after Black had to return the rook was precisely calculated though he had only 1-2 minutes for most of it.

[Christopher Kreuzer]

Khismatullin played an amazing winning combination on board 3 starting 44 Kg1!! but he must have calculated this was probably winning when he played Nxd3. The mating method after Black had to return the rook was precisely calculated though he had only 1-2 minutes for most of it.

Khismatullin, Denis (RUS) - Eljanov, Pavel (UKR)
European Individual Chess Championship 2015 round 10
1-0
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e3 O-O 5. Ne2 Re8 6. a3 Bf8 7. Ng3 d5 8. Be2 a6 9. O-O c5 10. dxc5 Bxc5 11. cxd5 exd5 12. Bf3 Be6 13. b4 Bd6 14. Bb2 Be5 15. Na4 Bxb2 16. Nxb2 Nc6 17. Nd3 Qb6 18. Rc1 a5 19. Rb1 axb4 20. axb4 Rad8 21. b5 Na5 22. Ne2 Ne4 23. Ndf4 Nc4 24. Bxe4 dxe4 25. Nd4 Bc8 26. Rc1 Ne5 27. Qb3 Qh6 28. Rc5 b6 29. Rd5 Bb7 30. Rxd8 Rxd8 31. Rd1 Qg5 32. Kf1 g6 33. h3 Nd3 34. Nc6 Bxc6 35. bxc6 Qc5 36. Qa4 Kg7 37. Qa1+ Kg8 38. Qa4 Rd6 39. Qa8+ Kg7 40. Qa1+ Kh6 41. Nxd3 exd3 42. Qh8 Qc2 43. Qf8+ Kg5 44. Kg1 Qxd1+ 45. Kh2 Rxc6 46. Qe7+ Kh6 47. Qf8+ Kg5 48. Qxf7 Rf6 49. f4+ Kh6 50. Qxf6 Qe2 51. Qf8+ Kh5 52. Qg7 h6 53. Qe5+ Kh4 54. Qf6+ Kh5 55. f5 gxf5 56. Qxf5+ Kh4 57. Qg6

[David Robertson]

Now that's a cracker. I have absolutely nothing between my ears that would enable me to contemplate, never mind embark upon, a mating sequence like that. Remarkable

[Matt Mackenzie]

Yes, a modern immortal?

[NickFaulks]

I have absolutely nothing between my ears that would enable me to contemplate, never mind embark upon, a mating sequence like that.

It's funny you should say that, because I do. I regularly have such flights of fancy and, as my teammates will certify, am not frightened to act upon them. The trouble is that in my case they usually have a hole in them, which oppo sometimes notices. Such is the sliver of difference between a GM and a club hacker.

[Chris Rice]

Today is a rest day and Round 11 is on Sunday starting at 11am GMT. The top pairings are:

1 Khismatullin (7½) - Najer (8)
2 Navara (7½) - Cheparinov (7)
3 Bartel (7) - Nepomniachtchi (7)
4 Matlakov (7) - Rodshtein (7)
5 Korobov (7) - Volokitin (7)
6 Popov (7) - Sjugirov (7)
7 Laznicka (7) - Y.Vovk (7)
8 Sargissian (7) - Can (7)
9 Motylev (7) - Iljiushenok (7)

David Howell is now back in 54th place and will clearly have to win in the last round to have any chance. If he does win he'll likely be close to one of the last of those 23 places but it'll depend on some of those 14 who were already pre-qualified and favourable tie-breaks. But first he's got to win, nothing else will do. He's White on Board 27 against Israeli GM Alexander Huzman (2582). Fingers crossed.

[Chris Rice]

As the EU web site puts it, the last battle of Jerusalem has begun. C'mon David. Currently we're 10 moves in and the queens are off, dare I say he has a small edge...

[Jonathan Rogers]

He then got a bigger edge but just a couple of inaccurate moves and it had gone. A risk that one takes when playing c4 and g3 against a very experienced GM, but perhaps it was not meant to be anyway. It is a shame because on the basis of his results over the last seven months or so - not to mention the first seven rounds of this event - he certainly deserved to qualify for the World Cup.

Very tough at this level!

[David Blower]

David Howell has drawn his final match.

[Mike Truran]

perhaps it was not meant to be anyway. It is a shame because on the basis of his results over the last seven months or so - not to mention the first seven rounds of this event - he certainly deserved to qualify for the World Cup.

Jonathan

You almost always talk good sense, but just how (a) does predestination come into it? (b) do David's previous results make him deserving of a qualification place if he couldn't do the business on the day?

Mike