Highlights from Budva

My hotel room in Montenegro enjoys a picturesque view of the Adriatic sea. It’s a 15 minute drive to Sveti Stefan, the island where Fischer faced Spassky in their 1992 rematch, 20 years after Fischer won the world title in Reykjavik. I am here playing for England in the biennial European Team Championship, where we have just finished in 6th place in the Open event, and 13th in the Women’s event. More on that to follow, but for now, some highlights from the event.

In the following game, a young Greek grandmaster defeated his elite Azeri opponent in ferocious style. In a Petroff defence (2…Nf6), Radjabov’s gambled with the rare and risky move 4…Bc5, presumably counting on the move’s surprise value, where 4…d5 is the more popular and safer choice. But Theodorou, who used only around ten minutes for the whole game, charged straight down the critical line.

Nikolas Theodorou–Teimour Radjabov

European Team Ch, Budva, November 2023 (see left diagram)

1 e4 e5 2 Nf3 Nf6 3 d4 Nxe4 4 dxe5 Bc5 5 Bc4 Nxf2 6 Bxf7+ Kxf7 7 Qd5+ Kg6 Black would like to play 7…Ke8 but after 8 Bg5 Be7 9 Bxe7 Qxe7 10 Kxf2 White’s easy development promises an advantage. 8 Qxc5 Nxh1 9 Nc3 h6  Radjabov is a whole rook up, but he is not so naive as to have given no thought to his king safety. It is likely he expected a draw by repetition, as has occurred a few times after 10 Qc4 Kh7 11 Qe4+ Kg8 12 Qd5+. But he was clearly unprepared for Theodorou’s next move, which asks more questions to the defender. 10 Nd5 Re8 11 Qd4 Kh7 (see diagram) 12 Bxh6!  Played instantly, so Theodorou was almost certainly still following his pre-game analysis. Radjabov’s next move seems to be the decisive mistake. Instead, 12…Nc6 probably survives, though Black must walk a tightrope right to the end, e.g.