Welcome back! This month we are examining the life and games of GM Sergei Tiviakov. Tiviakov has been a staple of high level tournaments for the last 20 or 30 years. I learned a lot about Tiviakov in doing my research for this post. I remember when I was weaker I saw a lot of his Scandinavian games and that inspired me to play it. There was a brief period like five or six years ago when the 3. … Qd6 variation was in vogue and played at the top levels. I have to imagine that Tiviakov played no small part in that trend. Currently Tiviakov has a rating of 2611. He’s the eighth highest rated player in the Netherlands. He earned the IM title in 1990 and the GM title in 1991. He still plays in high level tournaments. Recently Tiviakov was the joint runner-up in the 2014 PokerStars IoM Masters tournament. I found an awesome interview that he did for kingpinchess.net. Some highlights include:

What do you consider your most important contribution to opening theory? First Sicilian Dragon variation (Maroczy), then the Scandinavian Defence with 3…Qd6). Also Queen’s Indian Defence and Catalan (development of the knight to a6). Also Qe2 in Italian Game and Ruy Lopez structures. And not to forget 2.c3 in Sicilian.

And:

Who is the most irritating opponent you have faced? Once I played a person who after losing to me smashed his head with a piece and started bleeding. His blood was all over the table.

When Tiviakov was a child he took lessons with Vassily Smyslov. There are some obvious similarities in their play. Both players made great contributions to opening theory. And, both players were/are masters at exploiting small mistakes made by their opponents.

Tiviakov is an innovator who champions some odd lines including the Scandinavian the c3 Sicilian. A classic example of his unique opening play was against a former GM Spotlight player; Emil Sutovsky. Tiviakov annotated this game is for chessbase:

[Event "European Individual Championship"][Site "Plovdiv BUL"][Date "2008.05.02"] [EventDate "2008.04.21"][Round "11"][Result "1-0"][White "Sergei Tiviakov"][Black "Emil Sutovsky"][ECO "B22"][WhiteElo "2635"][BlackElo "2630"][PlyCount "117"]1. e4 c5 2. c3 {The choice of this move in this game was completely motivated by the answers of Emil to it since 2000. Otherwise I could have chosen other lines of the Sicilian Defence.} d5 {Objectively speaking this move is worse than 2...Nf6. After 2..d5 White gets a slightly better position in all lines no matter what Black plays.} 3. exd5 Qxd5 4. d4 Nf6 5. Nf3 e6 6. Na3 Nc6 [{Emil continues to play this dubious move with a regularity. Solid} (6...Qd8){ is normal.}] 7. Be3 cxd4 8. Nb5 Qd8 9. Nbxd4 Nd5 {A critical position of the whole line with 6...Nc6 where White has a difficult choice out of two good moves 10.Nc6 and 10.Bg5.} 10. Bg5!? Qb6 {The best reaction. Other moves are worse!} 11. Bc4 {White has to play energetically to fight for advantage! } Nxd4!? [(11. ... Nf6{is too passive.}12.0-0 ( 12.Qe2$14)(12.Bxf6 gxf6 13.Qe2$14)12...Be7 13.Qe2 0-0 14.Rad1 a6 15.Rd2 Qc7 16.a4 Bd7 17.Nb3){1/2-1/2 David,P-Bernal Moro,L/Odessa 1990/EXT 97 (17)}(11. ... Qxb2? {is a mistake almost losing on a spot after} 12. Nb5 $16{Trapping the Queen on b2 e.g.}12...f6 (12...Bc5 13.0-0 Nxc3 14.Nc7+ Kf8 15.Qc1+-) 13.Rb1 Qxc3+ 14.Nxc3 Nxc3 15.Qb3 Nxb1 16.Qxb1 fxg5 17.Nxg5 $16)] 12. Nxd4 Bc5 [{Here again}(12...Qxb2? 13.Nb5 $18){loses; But intermediate}(12...h6!?){deserved the most serious attention.}]13. Bxd5 [{After}(13.0-0 h6 14.Bh4 Bxd4){the position is equal.}] Bxd4 [{Here my opening preparation stopped. I only looked at the computer move}(13. ... exd5{after which White is slightly better after}14.Qe2+ Be6 15.Be3 $14)] 14. O-O!? [(14.Qxd4 Qxd4 15.cxd4 exd5 16.Rc1 $14){followed by Rc1-c7 with a very pleasant safe position was a worthy alternative to the text. }] Bc5?! {Here Emil finally makes a serious mistake. Well, solving an opening problem after 10.Bg5 was obviously not an easy task... }15. Qe2 {Now I get my favorable type of position which I get very often from the various openings and feel very well.} h6 16. Bf4 O-O 17. Bc4 Bd7 18. Rad1 Rad8 $16 {Until here I was making all natural simple moves rather quickly and at this point I realized that Black without doing anything specially wrong stands on the edge of losing. I was looking at the board and saw no defense for Black. White just plays Rd1-d3-g3, followed by Qe2-g4, and/or Bf4-e5, and the mating attack comes...} 19. Rd3 Bc8 20. Rg3 Bd6 [(20...Kh7 21.Qh5 e5 22.Qxe5 $18){is lost for Black}] 21. Qg4 g6 22. Bxh6 Bxg3 [(22...Rfe8 23.Rh3 $18){loses}] 23. Qxg3 Qc5 [(23...Rfe8{is impossible because of} 24.Qe5 f6 25.Qxf6 Qc7 26.Qxg6+ $18)] 24. Bxf8 [{The natural move, but not the strongest move in the position. Here White bishop h6 is stronger than the black rook.}(24.Qf4 Qf5 25.Qxf5 exf5 26.Bxf8 Kxf8 $16){Only computer engine can offer the following line}(24.Bd3 Qd6 25.Qh4 Qe5 (25...e5 26.Re1 Rfe8 27.Bg5 Kg7 $18) 26.Bxf8 Rxd3 (26...Rxf8 27.Rd1$18) 27.Qc4 Rd8 28.Be7 $18){with a winning position.}] Kxf8 {Although White has managed to win a pawn his task to convert his material advantage into a full point is far from easy. First of all, White should try to exchange some pieces and/or try to seize the control of the 'd' line. } 25. Bb3?! [{Allowing unnecessary complications. It was better to choose 1 line from the following 2:}(25.Qf4 g5 26.Qf6 Rd2 27.Bb3 Ke8 $16){or}(25.Bd3 Qd5 26.Bb1 Qd2 27.Qc7 Ke8 28.b3 Qe2 29.h3 $16)] Kg7?! [{We both during the game thought that}(25...Rd2 26.Rd1 Rxb2 27.Qh4 Kg7{is impossible for Black, but actually because of the weakness of the 1st rank White cannot win directly. Nevertheless after} 28.h3 {White keeps the upper hand.}(28.Rd8 Rb1+ 29.Bd1 Qh5 30.Qd4+ e5 31.Qd6 Be6 {is unclear.}))] 26. Qf4 {Now White is back on track to win this game safely!}b6 27. Rd1 [(27.Re1 $16){was also possible, but my aim was to make it as simply as possible.}] Rxd1+ 28. Bxd1 e5 29. Qd2 Be6 {Objectively speaking this ending is technically won for White!} 30. a3 [(30.b3 $16){was possible but I didn't want to put my pawn on the square of the same color as my bishop, as was taught during the childhood.}] Bd5 31. Bc2 Qc4 32. Bd3 Qc6 (32...Qa2 33.h3 $16) 33. Qg5 e4 (33...Qd6 34.Qe3 $16) 34. Qe5+ Kh7 35. Be2 Bc4 36. Bd1 (36.Bxc4 Qxc4 $16) f5 (36...Qd7 37.Qd4 $16) 37. Qd4 Bf7 38. g3 Qe6 (38...Qb5 39.b4 $16) 39. b3 g5 40. Qd2 Qf6 41. Qd4 {Here the time control was over! And White has not spoiled anything, keeping all his advantage intact.} Qe7 42. b4 f4 43. Bg4 $18 {Now the game is basically over. White has a compete domination by his pieces, also Black king is not safe anymore from the possible white checks.} e3 44. fxe3 fxe3 45. Kf1 b5 46. Ke1 Bc4 [(46...Kg8 $18){was more stubborn.}] 47. Qd7! {The arising bishop ending is won for White easily. } Qxd7 48. Bxd7 Kg6 49. Bg4 Kf6 50. Be2 Bd5 51. Bxb5 Bf3 52. h4 gxh4 53. gxh4 Ke5 54. Be2 Be4 55. h5 Kf4 56. c4 Ke5 57. c5 Kd4 58. h6 Ke5 59. b5 {Black Resigned} 1-0 your web browser and/or your host do not support iframes as required to display the chessboard; alternatively your wordpress theme might suppress the html iframe tag from articles or excerpts

There were at least 24 games that I found that I felt could have made this list. Tiviakov has had a long and illustrious career. He’s beaten almost every top player from the early 90’s through today. I found a nice recent game of his against Anand that demonstrates a nice exploitation of a weak square (d5). Once again Tiviakov shares some of his thoughts on the game for chessbase:

[Event "Schachbundesliga 2011-12"][Site "Baden Baden GER"][Date "2012.04.14"] [Round "14.1"][White "Tiviakov, Sergei"][Black "Anand, Viswanathan"][Result "1-0"][ECO "B51"][WhiteElo "2647"][BlackElo "2817"][PlyCount "99"][EventDate "2011.10.14"][WhiteTeam "SC Eppingen"][BlackTeam "OSG Baden-Baden"]1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. Bb5+ Nd7 4. d4 cxd4 5. Qxd4 a6 6. Bxd7+ Bxd7 7. c4 e5 8. Qd3 h6 9. Nc3 Nf6 10. O-O Be7 11. a4 b6 {A highly dubious choice according to Tiviakov.} 12. b3 Ra7 (12... Bc6 13. Ba3 Ra7 14. Nd5 Nxd5 15. cxd5 Bd7 16. Nd2 b5 17. axb5 Bxb5 18. Nc4 O-O 19. f4 exf4 20. Rxf4 Bf6 21. Raf1 Be5 22. Rf5 Re7 23. Qe3 Rfe8 24. Nxe5 Rxe5 25. Rxe5 Rxe5 26. Bb2 Bxf1 27. Bxe5 Bb5 28. Bg3 Qe7 29. Qd4 Qg5 30. Qc3 Qg6 31. Qf3 Bd7 32. Qd3 Bb5 33. Qf3 Bd7 34. Qd3 Bb5 35. Qc2 Qf6 36. h3 Qd4+ 37. Kh2 Bd3 38. Qc8+ Kh7 39. Qf5+ Kg8 40. Qc8+ Kh7 41. Qf5+ {1/2-1/2 (41) Gdanski,J (2400)-Koch,J (2270) Arnhem 1987}) 13. Rd1 Bc8 14. Ba3 Rd7 {The postion is very unpleasant for Black, and while he is in no immediate danger, nor does he have any active prospects. It is curious that this type of closed passive position should fall precisely after Tkachiev's comments with Kramnik in their interview.} 15. Nd2 O-O 16. Nf1 Bb7 17. Ne3 Re8 18. Ncd5 Nxd5 19. Nxd5 Bxd5 20. Qxd5 Qa8 21. Qxa8 Rxa8 22. Rd5 f6 23. Rad1 Rad8 24. g3 g5 25. f4 gxf4 $2 {Impatience? Frustration? The problem is that this not only doesn't solve any of Black's problems, but it opens up the g-file for White. Black's serious lack of space and mobility means that he cannot switch from one side to the next as quickly as his opponent. Had he left it to White to exchange, then it would have been the f-file opened, and would be far easier to keep control of both.} 26. gxf4 Kf7 27. Kf2 exf4 28. Kf3 Ke6 29. Bc1 Rc8 30. Bxf4 Bf8 31. h4 Rc6 32. h5 Rb7 33. Be3 Rb8 34. Bd4 Rc7 35. Rg1 Bg7 36. Rg6 Rf7 37. Be3 Rd7 $2 {Missing a shot that Tiviakov also missed with the time control approaching.} 38. Rf5 ({The spectacular} 38. e5 $3 {would have won on the spot, but fortunately for the Dutch GM, this does not squander his game.} Kf7 (38... dxe5 39. Rxd7 Kxd7 40. Rxg7+ $18) 39. exf6 Bf8 (39... Bxf6 $2 40. Rf5 $1) {and the end is near.} 40. Bxh6) 38... Rf7 39. Kg4 Bf8 40. Bxh6 Bxh6 41. Rxh6 Rg7+ 42. Kf4 $1 (42. Rg6 $4 {would be a blunder.} Rxg6+ 43. hxg6 Rg8 44. Kh5 Rh8+ 45. Kg4 Rg8 $11) 42... Rf8 43. a5 $1 {Opening up further weaknesses to overwhelm Black's pieces.} Rg1 (43... bxa5 {is no help.} 44. e5 $3 dxe5+ 45. Rxe5+ $1 Kf7 46. Rf5 $1 Ke6 47. Rxa5 Ra8 48. Re5+ Kf7 49. Rf5 $18) 44. axb6 Rb1 45. b7 Rxb3 46. e5 $1 dxe5+ 47. Rxe5+ Kd6 48. Rf5 Ke6 49. Rh7 Rd8 50. Rd5 {Not the World Champion's brightest moment, but one must give credit to Tiviakov for playing it as well as he did.} 1-0 your web browser and/or your host do not support iframes as required to display the chessboard; alternatively your wordpress theme might suppress the html iframe tag from articles or excerpts

With any luck, you all saw Wei Yi’s “immortal” against Bruzon-Batista. In case you read this blog and somehow didn’t see this game:

[Event "6th Hainan Danzhou"][Site "Danzhou CHN"][Date "2015.07.03"][EventDate "2015.07.02"][Round "2.4"][Result "1-0"][White "Wei Yi"][Black "Lazaro Bruzon Batista"][ECO "B40"][WhiteElo "2724"][BlackElo "2669"][PlyCount "71"]1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. Nc3 a6 4. Be2 Nc6 5. d4 cxd4 6. Nxd4 Qc7 7. O-O Nf6 8. Be3 Be7 9. f4 d6 10. Kh1 O-O 11. Qe1 Nxd4 12. Bxd4 b5 13. Qg3 Bb7 14. a3 Rad8 15. Rae1 Rd7 16. Bd3 Qd8 17. Qh3 g6 18. f5 e5 19. Be3 Re8 20. fxg6 hxg6 21. Nd5 Nxd5 22. Rxf7 Kxf7 23. Qh7+ Ke6 24. exd5+ Kxd5 25. Be4+ Kxe4 26. Qf7 Bf6 27. Bd2+ Kd4 28. Be3+ Ke4 29. Qb3 Kf5 30. Rf1+ Kg4 31. Qd3 Bxg2+ 32. Kxg2 Qa8+ 33. Kg1 Bg5 34. Qe2+ Kh4 35. Bf2+ Kh3 36. Be1 1-0 your web browser and/or your host do not support iframes as required to display the chessboard; alternatively your wordpress theme might suppress the html iframe tag from articles or excerpts

Yi’s sacrifice is just like the sacrifice executed by Tiviakov in 1995 against Loek Van Wely:

[Event "Groningen"][Site "Groningen"][Date "1995.??.??"][EventDate "?"][Round "9"] [Result "1-0"][White "Sergei Tiviakov"][Black "Loek van Wely"][ECO "B84"][WhiteElo "2655"][BlackElo "2585"][PlyCount "55"]1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Be2 e6 7. a4 Nc6 8. O-O Be7 9. Be3 O-O 10. f4 Qc7 11. Kh1 Re8 12. Bf3 Bd7 13. Nb3 b6 14. g4 Bc8 15. g5 Nd7 16. Bg2 Bb7 17. Qh5 g6 18. Qh3 Nb4 19. f5 Nxc2 20. fxg6 fxg6 21. Rf7 Nf8 22. Raf1 Qc4 23. Bd2 e5 24. Nd5 Bxd5 25. exd5 h5 26. gxh6 Kh8 27. Rg7 Nh7 28. Qe6 1-0 your web browser and/or your host do not support iframes as required to display the chessboard; alternatively your wordpress theme might suppress the html iframe tag from articles or excerpts

The next game I found was a tactical melee in the Caro-Kann. His opponent was Michael Adams in the 1994 PCA World Championship Qualifier.

[Event "PCA-WchQual4 New York"][Site "PCA-WchQual4 New York"][Date "1994.06.??"] [EventDate "?"][Round "3"][Result "1-0"][White "Sergei Tiviakov"][Black "Michael Adams"][ECO "B17"][WhiteElo "?"][BlackElo "?"][PlyCount "55"]1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.Nd2 dxe4 4.Nxe4 Nd7 5.Bc4 Ngf6 6.Nxf6+ Nxf6 7.Nf3 Bf5 8.Qe2 e6 9.Bg5 Be7 10.O-O-O Bg4 11.Kb1 O-O 12.h3 Bxf3 13.Qxf3 b5 14.Bd3 Qd5 15.Qe3 Rac8 16.g4 Rfd8 17.f4 Kf8 18.f5 h6 19.Bxh6 Qxd4 20.Bxg7+ Kxg7 21.Qg5+ Kf8 22.Qh6+ Ke8 23.fxe6 Bf8 24.exf7+ Ke7 25.Qg6 Rd5 26.c3 Qf4 27.Rhe1+ Re5 28.Qf5 1-0 your web browser and/or your host do not support iframes as required to display the chessboard; alternatively your wordpress theme might suppress the html iframe tag from articles or excerpts

The final game I chose occurred in 2006 against Timman. Tiviakov said that “this game was one of the best games of his life”. Annotations by the ever loquacious Nigel Short for the Guardian: