Aldama-Akobian: An Amazing Finish from the North American Open
In the recently-completed North American Open (won by Hikaru Nakamura for the second straight year), one game from the penultimate round really caught my eye - at least the finish did.
This is the position after 29...Rc1-c6 in the game Aldama-Akobian.
White's rook is active on the 7th rank, but he's down a pawn and that pawn is ready to roll. Black's last move defangs Ra7, now powerfully met by ...Ra6, so White must either crawl into a defensive shell to stop the a-pawn, or else find some way to make a kingside counterattack work.
But how? Suppose White plays the obvious 30.Ng5. Black can simply ignore the threat: 30...a4 31.Nxf7 a3 and now what?
So how did IM Degurnay Aldama pull off a draw against his young GM rival, Varuzhan Akobian? I heartily recommend trying to work this out on your own, and when you're ready to confirm (or see, if you haven't worked it out) the solution, click here.
This is the position after 29...Rc1-c6 in the game Aldama-Akobian.
White's rook is active on the 7th rank, but he's down a pawn and that pawn is ready to roll. Black's last move defangs Ra7, now powerfully met by ...Ra6, so White must either crawl into a defensive shell to stop the a-pawn, or else find some way to make a kingside counterattack work.
But how? Suppose White plays the obvious 30.Ng5. Black can simply ignore the threat: 30...a4 31.Nxf7 a3 and now what?
So how did IM Degurnay Aldama pull off a draw against his young GM rival, Varuzhan Akobian? I heartily recommend trying to work this out on your own, and when you're ready to confirm (or see, if you haven't worked it out) the solution, click here.