[Event "EU-ch 25th"] [White "Velten,Paul"] [Black "Ivanchuk,Vassily"] [Site "Eforie Nord"] [Round "5"] [Annotator "Velten,Paul"] [Result "1-0"] [Date "2025.03.19"] [WhiteElo "2515"] [BlackElo "2604"] [PlyCount "57"] {[%evp 0,57,80,5,58,-36,-29,-14,-16,-26,46,25,17,17,26,11,11,14,105,26,48,22,60,35,62,47,79,-16,121,77,65,-14,97,-10,4,4,57,33,27,-2,-27,-38,31,17,-9,-9,20,-5,21,-33,-33,-73,51,-98,10,-22,45,-59,59,26]} 1. d4 {I had met Vasyl Ivanchuk in Djerba in February and I had noticed that he came to the games even earlier than me. He often walked 100 steps. That's why I was surprised: in this Round 5 of the European Championship, he was one minute late, as can happen even to the best. The arbiter didn't start the clock and out of respect for my opponent I didn't either. Vasyl doesn't understand why the clock isn't on. The slight discomfort quickly disappears after the first moves are played.} Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 c6 {I had prepared a bit of everything between 10am and 1pm: Gruenfeld, Ragozin, Queen's Gambit Decline, Slav Defense, Pawn Triangle e6, d5, c6. So far there have been no surprises on either side, nobody has deviated from their opening and the moves have been played relatively quickly.} 5. Bg5 Nbd7 6. e3 {The first move where I really take my time, about four minutes. My opponent could expect 6.cxd5, which I had played several times. Prepared to the teeth or surprised by the opening, I try to keep the timing relatively similar. This is partly to avoid giving my opponent too much information and partly to get into the game well and start calculating before the first critical moment. If I know my way around well, I also take the time to eliminate lines that I no longer need. After ...e6 I thought: 'Okay, there's no more Gruenfeld, what's left, do I still remember the lines?' I remember the variations I saw before the position appeared in front of me, and I try not to procrastinate. If I take four minutes to play a move like e3, the only thing I leave my opponent with is doubt: did I still go through the variation or did I not have time to prepare the opening in the morning. Everything remains possible.} Qa5 {The Cambridge Springs Defence.} 7. cxd5 {I prepared this move, a deviation from my games in the online database. I'm pretty sure my opponent didn't go through this Cambridge Springs line in the morning. He doesn't show any emotion and continues playing after just a few seconds. .} Nxd5 $5 { A move that may seem surprising, as White immediately gets the center majority, stable space advantage in the center and the outpost on c5. However, Black is quite active. He can disrupt White's play and, for example, change the central pawn structure with ...c5.} (7... exd5 {This is also possible,} 8. Nd2 $1 { Anticipates the idea 8...Ne4.} Bb4 9. Qc2 $14 )(7... cxd5 $2 {However, this is not very good.} 8. Bd3 $1 $16 {[%csl Ra5,Rd7][%cal Ga1c1,Gc1c7] . This position looks like a bad version of the Slav exchange variation: The black queen and knight on d7 are wrongly positioned. Normally the knight is better placed on c6 to free the bishop on c8 and let the rook on the c-file. White has excellent prospects on the queenside and can later use the c-file to penetrate successfully.} )8. Qd2 N7b6 {Up to this point, my opponent had played all the moves in less than 30 seconds. Maybe it was the survival instinct or the desire not to have to play against the computer, Vasyl took 11 minutes and chose this variation. I didn't expect this move, as there are several interesting and not so often played options, like 8. ..c5 or 8...b6.} (8... Bb4 9. Rc1 $14 {This variation was the most likely, he had played like this several times before.} )9. Bd3 Nxc3 {He immediately plays a tempo again, he knows the opening! With a few moves he gets two more minutes out of it. Only after the game do I understand why he needed 10 minutes to play 8...N7b6. In fact, he needed time for this decision because it gives White the chance to repeat the moves and get a bit closer to a draw.} 10. bxc3 Na4 {In my preparation I stopped here: White can simply castle and that's the kind of position I really like. The king is safe, all the pieces are active, White has better control over the center... The only cost is a pawn, which will open an extra line for the white rooks.} 11. O-O {Even if the moves for White seem forced to me, I took 1-2 minutes to think each time to check everything carefully. My opponent scares me when he plays all a tempo. I even ask myself the question: “Have I perhaps already made a mistake?”. It's a mixture of feelings like: “Why is he playing so fast, am I going to walk into a trap? And: “I like my position, I don't understand why he's playing this opening, which seems harder for Black in practice”. To be honest, I find my opponent's choice of opening surprising, as most players try to play positions that their opponents don't like. You can see in the online database that I don't feel comfortable playing a certain type of position: when I can't activate my pieces properly and or when I overestimate the safety of my king, like in my game against Benjamin Defromont in 2022 or the game against Murali Karthikeyan in 2024. There are others, but these are the ones I have in mind that really impressed me. Conversely, in these positions where I have active pieces and a safe king, even if I'm one or two pawns behind but have compensation, things go very well at first. Like in my game against Daniel-Bogdan Deac in the same tournament in round 3 or against Pentala Harikrishna in 2023 or in my future game against Mahhamad Muradli. So I was expecting more of a quick triangle opening with e6, c6, d5 before moving the knights. But again, I ended up in the kind of positions that inspire me.} Qxc3 12. Qe2 $1 {In view of the imbalances, it would be completely illogical to go into an endgame: Black is behind in development, still has the king in the center, the black pieces are poorly placed, White is a pawn down but has the space advantage in the center as well as the central majority, the rooks can be activated on the b- and c-files, Black has a bad passed bishop on c8. Alpha Zero has shown that the side that controls the center better tends to have an easier time attacking the enemy king. White therefore keeps the queens to continue the attack and exploit the poor position of the black queen on c3.} Qb2 13. Bc2 Qb5 {The moment the move repetition comes I can't help but smile, I was pretty sure the draw would be signed.} 14. Bd3 Qb2 15. Bc2 Qb5 {At this moment he takes 2 minutes, perhaps to give the information that he doesn't want the draw but has no choice, to get me to repeat and take half a point with 16.Bd3 or not. Now comes the most important moment of the tournament for me, the trigger. I'm really close to accepting the repetition and the draw. I give myself all sorts of excuses, it gives me an elo point, I can rest, if we play it will be difficult to win the game anyway, and I can also lose. Finally, in a burst of clarity, I remembered that one of my main mistakes was accepting a draw when my higher-rated opponents offered me a draw and my position was slightly better. I struggled with myself and said, “I'm sorry, Paul, but if you prefer your position, there's no discussion - you have to play. If you lose, you lose, but to get stronger you have to try to make the best of the situation depending on the situation and have the right attitude. I don't want the result, I want to reach a level to get results”. From then on, I overcame my fear of playing with the uncertainty that the result could tip to one side or the other, that's the way it is, you can't control the result. However, I try to focus my energy on preparing well in the morning, looking for good moves, for the little things that I can work on, where I can improve and make an effort ...} 16. Qd1 $3 {It took me 20 minutes before I managed to refuse to repeat the move. I really wanted to repeat, but at a certain point you have to make progress, you have to move on. I hesitated for so long, my opponent thought it was okay for me to accept the draw. In the end, I decided to play on, even though I had 30 minutes less on the clock. My opponent is so shocked that he takes 36 minutes to think, even though the move 16...Nc3 is the only possible answer.} Nc3 17. Qd2 Nd5 $4 {This move supports one of my theories: 'Even a top player, if he hasn't played an opening for a long time and hasn't just gone through it in the morning, can make a mistake at the beginning'. I'm pretty sure Vasyl Ivanchuk has already seen how to play this line correctly, and yet he makes a mistake here. Garry Kasparov has commented on this variation in the book 'My Great Predecessors' Volume 2.} (17... Ne2+ $1 {The right line!} 18. Kh1 Bb4 $1 {Black defends himself before it's too late.} 19. Qd1 $2 {That's what I wanted to do from a distance, and if the position had been on the board I would have thought again. But I didn't understand that Black was gaining an advantage with moves like ...f6. It seemed to me that the knight on e2 was strange and the bishop on c8 was too passive. I liked the white compensation, but I'm probably too optimistic and I didn't understand how strong the move 20...f6 was.} (19. a4 $1 Bxd2 20. axb5 $11 {I thought White couldn't be worse, but at the same time it's harder to cause problems for the black king, the game is heading towards an equal endgame.} )Nc3 20. Qc1 f6 $1 $15 {I didn't really appreciate this possibility, it's very strong: it makes it possible to hinder the bishop and 'cut off the knight's ears' on f3. Now that the black king is better protected, Black keeps his pawn advantage and has time to solve problems: Development backlog, strange positioning of the pieces, safety of the king.} )18. e4 (18. a3 $142 $18 {[%csl Re8][%cal Ge3e4,Ge4e5,Gf1b1,Gb1b3,Gb3h3,Gg5f6] I blame myself for not playing this important, quiet move even though I had thought of it, but the mistake I made was not comparing the two variations and not taking the time to evaluate them clearly. You often regret it and say to yourself: 'I saw the moves but didn't play them'. You have to finish the set and complete the evaluation. If I had spent even five seconds comparing the two candidate moves 18.a3 and 18.e4, I would have immediately chosen 18.a3. I just thought: 'Aha, that's interesting, over, 18.e4 has to be'. When you think a move is obligatory, you often miss good opportunities. Maybe I also slacked off because I was so happy when I saw 17... Nd5? on the board instead of 17... Ne2+! In this position White has many options, preserving pawn advances with tempo attacks on the minor pieces (Nd5 and perhaps Bd6). The white pawn structure divides the board in two and prevents Black from organizing his defence. It is easy for White to switch from one wing to the other.} )Bb4 19. Qc1 Nc3 20. Kh1 c5 (20... e5 $5 {Vasyl and I intensively analyzed this variation after the game, which seemed critical. Bringing out the c8-bishop is crucial.} 21. Nxe5 $5 {White doesn't want to wait with this king in the center and allows the one-move fork, which at least costs Black a tempo. White leaves his pieces in play to attack as quickly as possible and try to win something back before the initiative disappears.} (21. dxe5 Bg4 $1 {The bishop finally sees the light of day!} 22. Qf4 Bxf3 23. Qxf3 Qxe5 24. Bf4 Qc5 $14 {White has the initiative and the bishop pair in an open position, but Black keeps his pawn advantage, he has managed to simplify the position. In the end he brings his king to safety.} )f6 22. a3 Ba5 23. a4 Qb4 24. Nd3 Qxd4 $4 (24... Qe7 $1 {If I remember correctly, we overlooked this move in the analysis, it allows Black to stay in the game.} 25. Bd2 $16 )25. Be3 Qxe4 26. Bd2 $18 {[%csl Ra5,Rc3][%cal Gf1e1,Ge1e8,Gd2a5] Despite two extra pawns, Black is on the verge of losing material in view of all the threats, and the pin of the knight on c3 is also very unpleasant.} )21. a3 Ba5 22. dxc5 $2 {In principle this looks good, White wants to open up the position in order to attack his opponent's pieces on the queenside more quickly.} (22. Re1 $1 {There are several good moves for White, I'll just leave some illustrative variations: different ways to profit from a weak king and poorly placed pieces on the other side.} O-O $4 (22... Bd7 {If you ask yourself how Black can offer maximum resistance from this position:} 23. a4 $1 {[%csl Ga4,Rc3,Ge4] This theme is quite rare, the knight on c3 cannot go back.} Qc4 24. Nd2 $1 Qb4 (24... Qxd4 $4 {White exploits this with the fork to eliminate a crucial defender of the knight on c3.} 25. Nb3 Qb4 26. Nxa5 Qxa5 27. Bd2 $19 {[%csl Ra5,Rc3] The jumper will fall.} )25. dxc5 $1 f6 26. Be3 Bc6 27. f3 $1 O-O-O $1 28. Ra3 $1 Nxa4 29. Rb3 Qxd2 30. Bxd2 Bxd2 31. Qa1 Bxe1 32. Qxe1 Nxc5 33. Ra3 $16 {Well, after a slightly longer variation, White retains a decent advantage, but it's not so easy to realize. After all, Black has a rook, a knight and two pawns for the queen.} )(22... Ne2 $4 {It looks like it would win the exchange, but White is happy to sacrifice it to lure the queen to e2 and attack the black king on the other side.} 23. Rxe2 $1 Qxe2 24. Ba4+ Kf8 25. Qxc5+ {[%csl Ra5,Rf8] } Kg8 26. Qxa5 $18 )23. e5 Nd5 24. Re4 $1 {All the white pieces go for the king, the position doesn't hold.} f6 25. exf6 Nxf6 26. Rh4 $18 {[%csl Gc1,Gc2,Gf3,Gf6,Gf8,Gg5,Rg8,Gh4] Far too many attackers and too few defenders for the king. Material losses are unavoidable.} )(22. d5 $5 {The first move I thought of was thematic, to open up the position and take advantage of the king still in the center.} exd5 23. exd5 O-O 24. Qf4 $1 $16 {[%csl Ra5,Ra8,Rb5,Gc2,Rc3,Rc8,Gf3,Gf4,Gg5,Rg8,Gh1][%cal Gd5d6] I didn't force the variation at all, as Black manages to castle quickly. However, White can now juggle between attacking the king and accompanying the d-pawn to overload the defense.} Nxd5 $4 25. Qe4 $1 $18 {[%csl Rd5,Rh7]} )(22. a4 $5 {This pawn on a4 really puts a lot of pressure on the knight. It's a bit like swimming too far out from the beach and then realizing you're having trouble getting back to shore.} Qc4 23. Nd2 $1 Qb4 (23... Qxd4 $4 24. Nb3 {Still the same problem with the fork, followed by the pin.} Qb4 25. Bd2 $18 {[%csl Ra5,Rb4,Rc3]} )24. dxc5 $1 $16 Qxc5 $4 25. Nb3 $1 Qc7 26. Nxa5 Qxa5 27. Bd2 {As in the game, the knight on c3 is cornered by the pawns a4 and e4.} Qc5 {[%csl Ga4,Rc3,Ge4]} 28. Qb2 $18 )Bd7 $2 (22... Qxc5 $1 {The best continuation for Black, and you're still playing an equal game.} 23. Be3 $1 $14 {Black wanders around a bit with his queen. From a distance it's not easy to assess how high the risk is of losing one of the poorly placed minor pieces, the black king is still not safe. Even if it objectively holds for Black, it's not easy to play.} )23. Be3 O-O $4 {That's the fatal mistake. We took our time at the beginning, each of us is under 30 minutes. The position is unconventional, with fewer clues it's quite easy not to make the best moves.} 24. a4 $1 {The knight will not be leaving any time soon.} Qb4 25. Ra3 $1 {White targets the weak point and tries to win the badly placed pieces.} f6 26. Nd2 {The knight robs the queen of her last retreat square.} Ne2 (26... Bxa4 {doesn't help much.} 27. Bxa4 Nxa4 28. Rb3 $18 {The queen is trapped.} )27. Qa1 Nd4 28. Bb3 $6 (28. Bd3 $142 e5 29. Rc1 $1 b6 30. Rc4 $18 )b6 (28... Kh8 $142 {This variation forces White to find more difficult moves to end the game.} 29. Rc1 $1 Bc7 30. Bc4 $1 e5 31. Bd3 $1 Rfd8 32. a5 $1 Bc6 33. Rc4 Qb5 34. Rxd4 $18 {And White finally realizes his advantage.} )29. Rb1 {The queen or the knight on d4 will be lost with the coming discovered attack. My opponent, who is playing very fairly, resigns. That's an enormous relief. I had a winning position against Daniel-Bogdan Deac and didn't manage to win. Because of the bad experience in round 3, I didn't consider myself a winner, I still had work to do... His resignation didn't surprise me, but removed all my doubts about the final result of this game. Very happy with the game and with the fact that I refused the repetition of moves in the opening, which wasn't easy. After that I used the same method: concentrate on the preparation, "didn't my opponent make a mistake with his last move, and then this time?" . I was more alert and started to say and think to myself "If my higher-ranked opponent now offers me a draw, even though he has no reason to, I refuse, I play." The idea behind this is that you stop racking your brains and losing concentration with: I offer a draw or not, and if he offers me a draw, I accept it or not. You should focus all your energy on looking for your opponent's potential mistakes: looking for move candidates, calculating and evaluating the possibilities. At the base, you play to play. At this European Championship, I had a lot of fun playing against higher-ranked opponents. I was absolutely not playing to qualify for the FIDE World Cup, I didn't have that extra pressure, I told myself if I qualify it's a bonus. I concentrate on the little things where I can make an effort and try hard: Playing the tournament alone and not in a group, having a good routine, preparing myself well, plenty of rest time between the end of the preparation and the match, not playing too fast when I'm on a winning streak, not repeating the same mistakes I made at the International Open in Sitges... In the end, I narrowly qualified for the FIDE World Cup and I hope that I can show good games at this major event.} 1-0