Translated material
From peace to battle
But one of the games lasted 128 moves. The reason for this is the queen endgame with a flank passed pawn that happened in the game Alexander Ryazantsev - Nikita Vitiugov. After the pawn reached the promotion square to promote it to a queen, Alexander Ryazantsev failed to meet the 50 moves required by the rules. There are obvious costs of computer training for chess players who are concerned about the quality of opening preparation, but do not find time to study the endgame, the ability to play which is considered an indicator of the class of a chess player.
It is worth noting that in pre-computer times it was unthinkable to achieve mastery without studying technically won positions set out in endgame manuals, which are often now not implemented even by strong grandmasters. Such unprofessionalism can be compared, for example, to a missed football penalty.
In the fifth round, after a rest, the participants in the super final, as they say, burst into tears. Peter Svidler strengthened his leadership, as Alexander Lastin unexpectedly quickly lost his game to Vitiugov. In a poorly played opening, Lastin had to learn the power of the “Catalan” bishop, which cost him a pawn already on the 28th move of the game. By this point, Svidler had completely outplayed Konstantin Maslak and seemed to be heading into the lead. But when he formed a passed pawn, Black reacted with a pawn breakthrough in the center, and the passed pawn fell. Draw on move 62.
Alexander Morozevich won an important game. After Dmitry Jakovenko overestimated the threats to the enemy king and decided to sacrifice a pawn, the national champion “cooled down” White’s threats and calmly realized the pawn. Ryazantsev, with Black, sacrificed a pawn to Artem Timofeev for the sake of an attack, but it was only enough to restore balance, and the opening of lines on the king's side turned into a boomerang, and Black could not withstand pinning his king.
Ernesto Inarkiev suffered another defeat. In the Volga Gambit, he did not receive compensation for the pawn, and Evgeniy Alekseev quickly decided the game with a breakthrough in the center. After massive exchanges, Konstantin Sakaev spent 25 moves tormenting Evgeniy Tomashevsky in vain. The result is a draw on the 53rd move.
Results. Superfinal of the Russian Championship. 4th round. Lastin - Svidler - draw, Ryazantsev - Vitiugov - draw, Inarkiev - Yakovenko - draw, Morozevich - Timofeev - draw, Tomashevsky - Alekseev - draw, Maslak - Sakaev - draw. 5th round. Vitiugov - Lastin - 1:0, Yakovenko - Morozevich - 0:1, Timofeev - Ryazantsev - 1:0, Alekseev - Inarkiev - 1:0, Svidler - Maslak - draw, Sakaev - - Tomashevsky - draw. Position of participants: 1. Svidler - 4.0 points. 2. Vitiugov - 3.5. 3--6. Alekseev, Morozevich, Timofeev, Lastin - 3.0 each. 7. Yakovenko - 2.5. 8--10. Ryazantsev, Sakaev, Tomashevsky - 2.0 each. 11. Maslak - 1.5. 12. Inarkiev - 0.5.