Editor "Mat"eusz Bartel first on tie-break at Aeroflot Open

Mateusz Bartel won the Aeroflot Open in Moscow, Russia. The Polish grandmaster edged out Ukrainians Anton Korobov and Pavel Eljanov on tie-break (most games with Black) after all three had finished on 6.5/9. Bartel is also the editor-in-chief of the Polish Chess Magazine Mat.

Mateusz Bartel of Poland in his last round game against Anton Korobov of Ukraine | Photo © Russian Chess Federation

We'll pick up the tournament with round 7, when Anton Korobov was in sole lead with 5/6. The 26-year-old Ukrainian had to play his two years older compatriot Pavel Eljanov with Black in round 7, and lost:

[Event "11th Aeroflot Open A"]
[Site "Moscow RUS"]
[Date "2012.02.13"]
[Round "7.1"]
[White "Eljanov, Pavel"]
[Black "Korobov, Anton"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D45"]
[WhiteElo "2690"]
[BlackElo "2660"]
[Annotator "ChessVibes"]
[PlyCount "79"]
[EventDate "2012.02.07"]

1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. e3 e6 5. Nf3 Nbd7 6. Qc2 Bd6 7. Bd3 O-O 8. O-O
dxc4 9. Bxc4 b5 10. Bd3 Bb7 11. e4 e5 12. h3 a6 (12... exd4 13. Nxd4 Nc5 14.
Rd1 b4 15. Na4 Nxd3 16. Rxd3 c5 17. Nxc5 Bxc5 18. Qxc5 Bxe4 19. Rd1 Qd5 20.
Qxd5 Nxd5 21. Nb3 Rfd8 {Ivanchuk,V (2775)-Gelfand,B (2744)/Moscow 2011}) 13.
dxe5 Nxe5 14. Nxe5 Bxe5 15. Be3 c5 {A pawn sacrifice that was tried by Alexei
Shirov last year.} 16. Bxc5 Re8 17. Rad1 Nd7 $146 (17... Qc7 18. Nd5 Nxd5 19.
exd5 g6 20. Be2 Rad8 21. Bf3 a5 22. Qc1 Qb8 23. b4 axb4 24. Bxb4 Bh2+ 25. Kh1
Bf4 26. Qa3 Rd7 {Sasikiran,K (2676)-Shirov,A (2709)/Lublin 2011}) 18. Be3 Qc7 {
Black hopes that his pressure will provide enough compensation - at some point
he might just win back the pawn on e4.} 19. Nxb5 $5 {Giving two pieces for a
rook, but keeping two passed pawns on the queenside.} axb5 ({Black could play
the same ending with the white king on h1:} 19... Bh2+ $5 20. Kh1 axb5) 20.
Qxc7 Bxc7 21. Bxb5 Nf6 22. Bxe8 Nxe8 23. a3 (23. b4 Rxa2 24. b5 {was also
interesting.}) 23... Bxe4 24. Rd4 f5 25. f3 f4 26. Bf2 Bf5 27. Rc1 Rb8 28. Rd2
Ra8 29. Re2 Bd6 30. Bc5 Bc7 31. Bd4 Bd6 32. Be5 $1 {Now Black cannot avoid the
exchange of bishops.} Bg6 33. Bxd6 Nxd6 34. Rd2 Nf5 35. Rc4 h5 36. Rxf4 Rc8 37.
h4 Rc1+ 38. Kf2 Ne7 39. b4 Nc6 40. b5 1-0

A small surprise was seen on board 2, where Mateusz Bartel of Poland not only managed to beat Fabiano Caruana, but only needed a mere 22 moves!

[Event "11th Aeroflot Open A"]
[Site "Moscow RUS"]
[Date "2012.02.13"]
[Round "7.2"]
[White "Bartel, Mateusz"]
[Black "Caruana, Fabiano"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D11"]
[WhiteElo "2658"]
[BlackElo "2736"]
[PlyCount "43"]
[EventDate "2012.02.07"]

1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. e3 Bg4 5. Nc3 e6 6. h3 Bh5 7. Qb3 Qc7 8. Nh4 $5
$146 (8. Bd2 Nbd7 9. Rc1 Bxf3 10. gxf3 dxc4 11. Bxc4 Be7 12. f4 {Ftacnik,L
(2578)-Vitiugov,N (2709)/Czechia 2011}) 8... Nbd7 9. Bd2 Nb6 10. cxd5 exd5 11.
Rc1 Bg6 12. Nxg6 hxg6 13. Bd3 Be7 14. O-O Kf8 (14... g5 {was interesting, but
probably good for White after} 15. e4 $5) 15. a4 a5 16. e4 $1 dxe4 17. Nxe4 Rh5
$6 (17... Nbd5) 18. Rfe1 Nxe4 $6 (18... Rd8) 19. Bxe4 Bd6 20. Qf3 Nxa4 $6 ({
Black should have tried} 20... Kg8 $1 {even though White has} 21. Bxc6 $1 bxc6
22. Rxc6 {because} Rf5 $1 {might complicate things a bit:} 23. Qe4 $1 (23. Rxc7
$2 Rxf3 24. Rc6 Rb3 $1 25. Rxd6 Nc4) 23... Bh2+ 24. Kh1 Qb7 25. Kxh2 Rxf2 26.
Rxb6 Qxe4 27. Rxe4 Rxd2 {and Black still has some drawing chances.}) 21. Bxg6
Rh8 (21... Rb5 22. Bd3 Rd5 23. Be4 Rb5 24. d5 $18) 22. Bg5 $1 1-0

In the penultimate round Bartel used the Dutch Defence to hold Pavel Eljanov to a draw. Korobov recovered with a black win versus Viorel Iordachescu of Moldavia.

[Event "11th Aeroflot Open A"]
[Site "Moscow RUS"]
[Date "2012.02.14"]
[Round "8.2"]
[White "Iordachescu, Viorel"]
[Black "Korobov, Anton"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B51"]
[WhiteElo "2651"]
[BlackElo "2660"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "rr4k1/2q1bp1p/b2p1np1/p2Pp1NP/4P3/2Bp1QN1/PP3PP1/R2R2K1 b - - 0 23"]
[PlyCount "21"]
[EventDate "2012.02.07"]

23... Bd8 $1 {A great, multi-purpose move.} 24. hxg6 hxg6 25. Nf1 Qe7 $1 {
Threatening 26...Nxd5.} 26. Nh3 Bb6 27. Nd2 Kg7 $1 {Black is going to take
over the attack.} 28. Nb3 Bc8 29. Qxd3 Bxh3 30. gxh3 Rh8 31. Bd2 Qd7 32. Kg2
Nxe4 33. Rf1 a4 0-1

Caruana won another white game, against Bartosz Soćko of Poland.

[Event "11th Aeroflot Open A"]
[Site "Moscow RUS"]
[Date "2012.02.14"]
[Round "8.4"]
[White "Caruana, Fabiano"]
[Black "Socko, Bartosz"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B48"]
[WhiteElo "2736"]
[BlackElo "2636"]
[PlyCount "127"]
[EventDate "2012.02.07"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nc6 5. Nc3 Qc7 6. Be3 a6 7. Qd2 Nf6 8.
O-O-O Bb4 9. f3 O-O 10. g4 b5 11. g5 Ne8 12. Kb1 Bb7 13. Nxc6 Bxc6 14. h4 f5 $5
$146 ({Predecessor (3):} 14... Ba5 15. Qh2 Qxh2 16. Rxh2 f5 17. gxf6 Rxf6 18.
Rh3 Rc8 19. Ne2 e5 20. Rg3 Rd6 {Michielsen,J (2365)-Ivanisevic,I (2658)/
Kallithea 2008}) 15. gxf6 Nxf6 16. Rg1 Rf7 17. Bd3 Raf8 18. a3 Be7 19. Ne2 Nh5
20. Nd4 Ba8 21. Rc1 Qb8 22. Rg4 Bd6 23. Rg5 Nf4 24. h5 h6 25. Rg4 Be5 26. Rcg1
Kh8 27. Ne2 Nxe2 28. Bxe2 Qd6 29. Bd3 Bc6 30. Rg6 Bf4 31. R1g4 Qe5 32. Bxf4
Rxf4 33. Rxg7 Qxg7 34. Rxg7 Kxg7 35. Qg2+ Kh8 36. e5 Rg8 37. Qd2 Rgf8 38. Bg6
Bd5 39. b3 Kg7 40. Qa5 Bxf3 41. Qc7 Bc6 42. Qd6 a5 43. Kb2 Rf3 44. Qe7+ R3f7
45. Bxf7 Rxf7 46. Qd8 a4 47. Kc3 Bf3 48. Kb4 axb3 49. cxb3 Bxh5 50. Kxb5 Bf3
51. b4 h5 52. Kc5 Rf5 53. Qxd7+ Kg6 54. Qxe6+ Kg5 55. Kd6 h4 56. Qg8+ Kf4 57.
e6 Rd5+ 58. Kc7 h3 59. e7 h2 60. Qf8+ Kg3 61. Qg7+ Kh3 62. e8=Q h1=Q 63. Qe6+
Kh2 64. Qeh6+ 1-0

In the final round on Wednesday all games on the top boards ended in draws. Bartel again managed to draw his game with Black on board one.

[Event "11th Aeroflot Open A"]
[Site "Moscow RUS"]
[Date "2012.02.15"]
[Round "9.1"]
[White "Korobov, Anton"]
[Black "Bartel, Mateusz"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "E11"]
[WhiteElo "2660"]
[BlackElo "2658"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "r1r3k1/1bq2pp1/1p1ppn1p/pP6/2PPP3/Q4N2/3N1PPP/2R1R1K1 b - - 0 19"]
[PlyCount "46"]
[EventDate "2012.02.07"]

19... e5 $5 {A slightly risky decision.} 20. d5 (20. c5 $5) 20... Rf8 {
Intending ...Nd7 and ...f5.} 21. c5 $5 dxc5 22. Nc4 Nd7 23. d6 Qd8 24. Qc3 Re8
25. Rcd1 Qf6 26. g3 Qe6 27. Nh4 g6 28. f3 a4 29. Ng2 f5 30. exf5 Qxf5 31. Nh4
Qf6 32. f4 exf4 33. Qxf6 Rxe1+ 34. Rxe1 Nxf6 35. Nxb6 Rd8 36. Nxa4 Ne4 37. Nxg6
fxg3 38. Ne7+ Kf7 39. Nc6 gxh2+ 40. Kxh2 Bxc6 41. bxc6 Nxd6 42. Nxc5 1/2-1/2

Eljanov drew with Dmitry Andreikin on two, and Caruana with Baadur Jobava on three. That game saw some nice tactics.

[Event "11th Aeroflot Open A"]
[Site "Moscow RUS"]
[Date "2012.02.15"]
[Round "9.4"]
[White "Jobava, Baadur"]
[Black "Caruana, Fabiano"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "D70"]
[WhiteElo "2704"]
[BlackElo "2736"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "2rr2k1/p3ppbp/q1n3p1/1p2P3/2n2P2/PNN5/1PQ2BPP/1K1R3R b - - 0 21"]
[PlyCount "33"]
[EventDate "2012.02.07"]

21... b4 22. Nc5 Qxa3 $5 ({The alternative was} 22... Qb6 23. Nd5 Rxd5 24. Rxd5
bxa3) 23. Nb5 (23. bxa3 $2 Nxa3+ 24. Kb2 Nxc2 25. Kxc2 bxc3 26. Kxc3 f6 {and
Black is just a pawn up.}) 23... b3 $5 24. Nxa3 (24. Qxb3 Qxb3 25. Nxb3 Bh6 26.
g3 Rxd1+ 27. Rxd1 g5) 24... Nxa3+ 25. bxa3 bxc2+ 26. Kxc2 g5 27. g3 Bh6 28.
Rxd8+ Nxd8 29. fxg5 Bxg5 30. Kd3 e6 31. Ne4 Be7 32. Nd6 Rc7 33. g4 f6 34. Bh4
Rd7 35. Ke2 Nc6 36. Ne4 fxe5 37. Bxe7 Rxe7 1/2-1/2

This meant that Mateusz Bartel, Anton Korobov and Pavel Elljanov finished on 6.5/9. Bartel won the tournament on the first tie-break rule: number of games with Black - he was the only one with 5 Blacks and 4 Whites.

Mateusz Bartel | Photo: School of Agriculture, Warsaw

Interestingly, the Polish grandmaster told us that he's not only a chess player, but likes to write about chess as well.

Yes, I am chief editor of "Mat", a Polish chess magazine. GM Grzegorz Gajewski, IM Stanislaw Zawadzki and I created the magazine in 2009 and through 2009 and 2010 we were doing it by ourselves. Then we gave the magazine to the Polish Chess Federation, which is now the owner of "Mat". So, since January 2010 I am only chief editor. However, I mainly write articles that don't require so much time. For me it's like a hobby.

Bartel is a professional, but in the sense of a professional chess player, because he doesn't earn money being a chess journalist. He is the reigning Polish Champion, a title he won three times (2006, 2010 and 2011). He won several open and closed tournaments, but finishing first at the Aeroflot Open is obviously his biggest result so far.

The crucial moment of the tournament was my game versus Krishnan Sasikiran in round 6. Before that I was playing modestly, and Sasi had simply overplayed me. I was very lucky to avoid getting crushed and then eventually I managed to win. After that game my friend Bartosz Soćko told me that with such big amount of luck, I must win the tournament! It inspired me in the crucial rounds :-)

Bartel lives in Warsaw. For six years now, WGM Marta Przeździecka has been his girflriend. With his victory in Moscow, the Polish grandmaster qualified for the 40th Sparkassen Chess Meeting in Dortmund.

Well, it seems that yes, I have a place in Dortmund. It will be something special to me, to play such a strong tournament. Of course, I will be an underdog, but I hope I can show some good chess.

The prizes (1st € 20,000; 2nd € 10,000; 3rd € 7,000) were divived according to the 'Hort System'. This meant that the total amount of € 37,000 was first split into two equal parts of € 18,500. The first part was split equally, so each of the players received € 6166,67. The second part was split according to the ranking after tie-break: € 10,000, € 5,000 and € 3,500.

1. Mateusz Bartel: € 10,000 + € 6,166.67 = € 16,166.67
2. Anton Korobov: € 5,000 + € 6,166.67 =  € 11,166.67
3. Pavel Eljanov: € 3,500 + € 6,166.67 = € 9,666.67 

Turkish grandmaster Emre Can dominated the B group. He started with 6/6 and three draws in the final rounds was enough to finish a full point ahead of a group of seven, and to claim the € 10,000 first prize.

Aeroflot Open 2012 | Group A | Round 9 (final) standings