Round 8: change of power

Weekly Citizen, 4th of May 1895

The Saavedra position, named after the Spanish priest Fernando Saavedra who lived in Scotland, is without doubt one of the most famous chess studies in history. White wins after 1… Rd6+ 2. Kb5 Rd5+ 3. Kb4 Rd4+ 4. Kb3 Rd3+ 5. Kc2 Rd4! 6. c8=R!! After 6. c8=Q Rc4+! 7. Qxc4 it’s a stalemate. 6… Ra4 7. Kb3 1-0

There are several stories about how the study came into being. Even in the least romantic — and probably most accurate — version, it took nearly two weeks before Saavedra discovered that White could still win with the surprising 6. c8=R!!. The study initially appeared in a newspaper in May 1895 as a puzzle with the task: “Black to play and draw.” Almost two weeks!

What does a newspaper article from 1895 have to do with the HZ Tournament 130 years later? Absolutely nothing, of course! But it did cross my mind when I saw Erwin L’Ami and the leader after 7 rounds, Pavel Eljanov, bent over a laptop right after their game. Who had actually been better during most of the game? Neither of them had a clue… Stockfish in the role of Cleric 2.0.

Despite their doubts about the correct evaluation of the position, L’Ami and Eljanov both played the right moves for a long time.

Erwin L'Ami - Pavel Eljanov

Earlier this week I already wrote that Pavel builds up his games in exemplary fashion, but seems a bit vulnerable in time trouble. That was also the case in round 8. After 34… Rg7? the balance was truly broken for the first time in the game. The rook is very awkwardly placed on g7 because it will later give White an extra tempo in his attack on the black king. 34… Rg7 35. Qa3+ — the computer also slightly prefers this move over the immediate 35. Qg3, no idea why. Whoever can explain the undoubtedly subtle difference to me within two weeks: send an email. The address can surely be found somewhere on our site. 35… Bc5 36. Qa5? — mild panic among the L’Ami fans, as Black now has time to repair the damage with 36… Rg8. With little time left on the clock, Pavel missed this chance.
36… Bb6? 37. Qa3+ Bc5 38. Qg3!! — Erwin finds the right plan! 38… Qxa6 39. Qh4+ Ke8 40. Nh5 Rg6 41. Nf6+ Rxf6 42. exf6 Kd8 43. Qxg4 Qd3 44. Qg3 — the queen now attacks both the pawn on h3 and the queen on d3, and also threatens a little something on b8. Black resigned. 1-0 A new leader, then!

Yes, in Vlissingen most rounds are played in the evening

Later in the evening, another leader emerged when Thomas Beerdsen defeated Daniel Hausrath in a long game. This means that in the final round Thomas Beerdsen and Erwin L’Ami, in their game on board 1, can decide the tournament winner. Four players are half a point behind and also have a chance at a shared tournament victory if Thomas and Erwin draw. On board 2, Eljanov faces Schuricht; on board 3, the young Dutch players De Boer and De Winter, who both fought their way back up after earlier losses to Eljanov in the tournament.

Saturday from 11:30 — live coverage!!

And don’t forget to take a few minutes before the games start, or during the traditional short outage on Lichess, to read Koen Leenhouts’ blog (in Dutch), which also seems to be gaining more and more followers in real life.

Influencer Koen Leenhouts playing the white pieces