Streaks are made to be broken. For many years, the German Bundesliga, the strongest national league in the world, has been dominated by the team from Baden-Baden. Their lineups include the likes of Viswanathan Anand and Richard Rapport as well as England Olympiad players Michael Adams and Nikita Vitiugov. Before this season, they had won 16 of the last 17 league titles, with just one hiccup in 2015/16, when the team from Solingen took the title. This season proved to be a second bump on the road, when they were beaten by the team from Viernheim. This was no David and Goliath moment. At the crucial showdown in February, Viernheim, who are sponsored by the consulting firm d-fine, fielded such a strong side – including Hikaru Nakamura on top board – that they were even slight favourites on paper. In a thrilling match, they beat Baden-Baden by a 5-3 margin. At the final weekend in April, a couple of further match wins sealed their victory.
One of their victims was my own team, Werder Bremen. I lost a bewildering game against Azerbaijan’s top player Shakhriyar Mamedyarov, and a couple of hours later we were both watching the final moments of our teammates’ game. A few moves earlier, I struggled even to grasp who stood better, and I suspect both players were relieved that the queens had just vanished from the board.
Zahar Efimenko (SV Werder Bremen)-
Parham Maghsoodloo (SC Viernheim)
German Chess Bundesliga, April 2024 (see left diagram)
56 Ra8 d2 57 Rxc8+ Kf7 58 Bf3 Ke7 A huge error, as shown by Mamedyarov after the draw was agreed. 58…d1=Q led to a simple draw. 59 Kf2 59 Rc7+! wins. At first sight Black has a strong response in 59…Kd8 60 Rxh7 Rb3, but then 61 Kf2! Rxf3+ 62 Ke2 Rf2+! 63 Kd1 Rh2 64 Rh8+ Kc7 65 h7 Kb7 (else Ra8!) 66 c5! and wins with c5-c6+ followed by Rh8-c8+. Or 59…Kd6 60 Rxh7 Rb3 61 c5+ Kxc5 62 Rd7 wins as well. d1=Q Draw agreed
The next day, we faced a tense match against our rivals for third place. Only a win in the game below would suffice, but since my Czech teammate was a pawn down in the endgame against a strong German grandmaster, I had discounted the possibility almost entirely.
Rustem Dautov (Schachfreunde Deizisau)-
Vlastimil Babula (SV Werder Bremen)
German Chess Bundesliga, April 2024 (see right diagram)
47…Rxb2 48 Kxb2 Kf3 A shocking but brilliant decision. White’s apparent lead in the race to promote a pawn is illusory. 49 a5 This natural move loses. Retreating the bishop was essential, e.g. 49 Kb3! Kg2 50 Bb4 Kxh2 51 Be1 Kg2 52 Kc2 Kf1 53 Kd2 is awkward but good enough for a draw. Kg2 50 a6 Kxh2 51 a7 Nb6 52 Bc5 Na8 53 Bf2 Kg2 54 Be1 Kf1 55 Bd2 Kf2 56 Bf4 Kf3 h5-h4 cannot be stopped. White resigns
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