Zviad Izoria vs Hikaru Nakamura, Zukertort Opening, Kingside Fianchetto (A04)
2018 US Chess Championship, Round 7, St. Louis, 04/25/18
What’s going on with Hikaru? After drawing in the first six rounds he got absolutely dominated by Zviad “The Kingslayer” Izoria! He made a mistake in the opening, relinquished too much space in the center, and all his pieces were useless throughout the game. Zviad Izoria has become a force to be reckoned with at the US Championship. He drew Akobian and So, and he won against Caruana and Nakamura, thus surviving against four toughest in the field! Too bad he had less than ideal results against the weaker players.
After the fianchetto Zukertort they entered a position which suits Nakamura. Less space but great chances to destroy white’s central control and gain the initiative. The only problem was that it never happened. He didn’t even push for equality, let alone an advantage. A very disappointing performance by Nakamura. He still has four rounds to go and I hope he can get some wins in.
Another astonishing thing about this game is that he managed to flag! He lost on time despite being the strongest bullet player of all time. The game is 90’ + 30’ + a 30’’ increment per move, meaning you get 30 seconds after each move which should be an abundance of time for a fast player as Nakamura. He got a worse king and rook endgame, though, and flagged!
Standings after round 7:
Samuel Shankland 5/7
Fabiano Caruana 5/7
Wesley So 4.5/7
Zviad Izoria 3.5/7
Varuzhan Eduardovich Akobian 3.5/7
Yaroslav Zherebukh 3.5/7
Aleksandr Lenderman 3.5/7
Hikaru Nakamura 3/7
Awonder Liang 3/7
Jeffery Xiong 3/7
Ray Robson 2.5/7
Alexander Vasilyevich Onischuk 2/7
Game Moves:
1. Nf3 g6 2. e4 Bg7 3. d4 d6 4. Bc4 Nf6 5. Qe2 O-O 6. O-O Nc6
7. e5 Ng4 8. h3 Nh6 9. Nc3 Kh8 10. Rd1 a6 11. a3 b5 12. Bd5
Bb7 13. Bf4 Qc8 14. Be4 Rb8 15. Re1 dxe5 16. dxe5 Nd8 17. Rad1
Ne6 18. Bc1 Ng8 19. Bxb7 Rxb7 20. Qe4 c5 21. Nd5 c4 22. Ng5
Nxg5 23. Bxg5 Qf5 24. Nc3 Rfb8 25. Bc1 a5 26. g4 Qc8 27. Qf3
e6 28. Bf4 Ne7 29. Ne4 Rc7 30. Bg3 Qf8 31. Nf6 Rbc8 32. Rd6 g5
33. Nd7 Qe8 34. Nf6 Qf8 35. Red1 h6 36. Nd7 Qe8 37. Nf6 Bxf6
38. exf6 Ng6 39. Qe4 c3 40. b3 a4 41. bxa4 bxa4 42. Ra6 e5
43. Qxa4 Qxa4 44. Rxa4 Rc6 45. Ra5 Re8 46. Rdd5 Rxf6 47. Rxe5
Nxe5 48. Bxe5 Rxe5 49. Rxe5 Ra6 50. Rc5 Rxa3 51. Kf1 Kg7
52. Ke2 Kf6 53. Kd3 Ra6 54. Rxc3 Ke6 55. Ke4 Ra4+ 56. Ke3 f6
57. f3 Ra1 58. f4 gxf4+ 59. Kxf4 Ra4+ 60. Kg3 Kf7 61. Rc5 Ra3+
62. c3 Ra1 63. Kf4 Rh1 64. Kg3 Rg1+ 65. Kf2 Rh1 66. Kg2 Rc1
67. h4 Ke6 68. h5 Kd6 69. Rf5 Ke6 70. Rf3 Ke5 71. Kf2 Rc2+