Peasants’ revolt

The German word for pawn, ‘bauer’, can also be translated as peasant, or farmer. There are many spectacular games in which the pawns pick up their pitchforks and overrun the landed gentry. A historic example, played in 1834, is the game McDonnell–de La Bourdonnais, in which the Frenchman playing Black advanced his pawns to d2, e2 and f2, overwhelming White’s rook and queen. A modern example is the game Saric–Suleymanli, which I wrote about in December last year. Aydin Suleymanli, just 14 years old from Azerbaijan, acquitted himself well but eventually succumbed to the advancing horde.

Much less gets written about failed uprisings, but in this week’s game Suleymanli found himself yet again facing down an angry mob. Events hung in the balance, but on this occasion the mob was quashed, amid spectacular complications.

The Aeroflot Open is a tremendously strong tournament played annually in Moscow, and Suleymanli’s performance was the sensation of the event. He took first place on tiebreak with an unbeaten 6.5/9, and earns an invitation to his first super-tournament in Dortmund later this year.

Vasif Durarbayli–Aydin Suleymanli
Aeroflot Open, Moscow, February 2020

1 e4 c6 2 d4 d5 3 e5 Bf5 4 Nf3 e6 5 Be2 c5 6 Be3 Qb6 7 Nc3 Nc6 8 Na4 Qa5+ 9 c3 c4 10 Nh4 b5 11 Nxf5 exf5 12 Nc5 Bxc5 13 dxc5 Nge7 14 b4 Qa3 15 Qc2 d4 A good breakthrough, though the game soon becomes wildly complex. 16 cxd4 Qxb4+ 17 Qd2 a5 17… f4! was best played immediately. 18 a4!  An excellent move, breaking down Black’s queenside pawn mass. 18 …f4 This wins a piece, but now White’s own pawns become a force to be reckoned with. 19 axb5 c3 20 Qd3 fxe3 21 fxe3 Qb2 22 O-O Nb4 23 Qe4 O-O 24 Bc4 c2 25 Rac1 Rad8 Presumably Black felt it necessary to restrain d4-d5-d6, but in fact it was possible to press on, as 25… a4 26 d5 Ng6! 27 d6 Nxe5 keeps everything under control.