Today’s winning 5-second tactics

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gm  Shirov,A

 gm  Giri,A

Unive Giri-Shirov m Hoogeveen 2014.10.13  Position after 33 moves.  No doubt the spectators were having fun watching this totally wild encounter. Black has 4-pawns for Knight, but White’s pieces are very actively placed…it is Giri’s good fortune that Shirov has not yet been able to get one of his Rooks into play as the White King is badly exposed on the first rank.

What should White do now?  If 34.Rxc4 Rce8! 35.Qd1 (what else?) 35…Qxd1+ 36.Bxd1 Re1+ 37.Kg2 Rxd1 38.Rxc3 and it is unlikely that White has any chances in this ending as he only has one pawn himself!  More interesting is 34.Be4!? Qc1+35.Kg2 h6! ( 35…g6?? 36.Bxg6! wins) though Black has reasonable chances to hold.

 

WHITE CAN WIN!  HOW?

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gm  Timman,J

gm  Jobava,B

Unive Timman-Jobava m Hoogeveen 2014.10.13  Position before Black’s 29th move.  Here Black should play 29…Rd6! with a perfectly reasonable game.  White will lose his c-pawn but remain with enough ‘tricks’ to keep the game roughly balanced.  INSTEAD, Timman lost his sense of danger for one move…

29…Rd5?

WHITE TO PLAY AND WIN!

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Unive Giri-Shirov m Hoogeveen 2014.10.13 Giri, Anish–Shirov, Alexei: 34.Rxh7+! Qxh7 35.Rh5 By winning the Queen for two Rooks, Giri will have Queen, Bishop and Knight versus two passive Rooks and an opposite colour-Bishop; White must win. The game continued 35…Qxh5 36.Bxh5 g6 37.Be2 Kg7 38.Bxc4  1-0 in 75 moves (Shirov defended stubbornly and then some. But the result was never in doubt.)

Unive Timman-Jobava m Hoogeveen 2014.10.13 Jobava, Baadur–Timman, Jan H: 30.Nxf7!! Rxa5 31.Qxe6 Kf8  and now the best way to conclude the game is  32.Qd7! Rxa3 ( 32…Rc7 33.Rxe8+ Qxe8 34.Qxc7 Rxa3 35.Nd6 etc. 33.Rb1 Qa8 34.Rb7 etc. Instead , in the game the players played less precisely: 32.Rcd1?!) Qc7?? ( 32…Qa8! is unclear ) 33.Nd8! Rxd8 34.Rd7 1-0