In the previous part, I analyzed my first 7 games, in which I scored 3.5 points and was at the bottom of the table, claiming a position in the middle. However, the strongest opponents remained ahead of me: Nikonov, Mikhailov, Artemiev, Karasev, Makarov.

oil seals

Golomarev-Salnikov, 0-1

Round 8, the game with Pavel Salnikov, one of the two in this tournament, which I lost mediocrely, without really imposing a game. Salnikov is one of the most experienced players in the championship, having taken part in all 23 Russian championships (besides him, only one more participant, Konstantin Nikonov, can boast of such an achievement). However, my opponent was very out of shape and scored even less than me in 7 rounds. I decided to play 3B with two, with an eye on the last championship, where Salnikov took black. This time he decided to keep the whites. The 5th move in the game is considered by many to be the second most powerful move, the 9th move is not optimal, but possible. On the 14th move, a black triple is usually scored, after which a pause is formed for White from above, in response to 15-25 they played 16-15 and 18-19 receiving an attack from below. Such a development is weaker, already after the 16th move White has no activity and Black can play more boldly, even without the insertion of 17th and 18th moves. The key here for black is point A, and moves 17 or 19 should have been played there. Having given up the tempo with the 19th move, Black released White on the other flank and got a doomed position.

Nikonov

Golomarev-Nikonov, 0-1

Nikonov prepared a very interesting development for White in 5d. 8 move, although not new, but not often found. 11th move, apparently, is not the most optimal (later the same variation was in the game Karasev-Nikonov, where Black first played back the trio 11-13 12-16 13-11 14-12 15-14!, which allowed Black to get a more active position) . In my game, after the 18th move, the position turned out to be not very pleasant for Black. 36 move – a trap, when closing 37-38 38-A! and White catches a 4×4 foul. Having successfully avoided it, I nevertheless could not defend myself on the other flank. The final result – you need to look for strengthening in the opening, like the one used by Karasev later.

Mikhailov

Mikhailov-Golomarev, 0-1

This game at the end made a kind of sensation, since Alexander Mikhailov by the 10th round was in the lead and did not have a single bagel. Round 10 suddenly changed everything. Without thinking twice, I decided to test the master for knowledge of 7d. Mikhailov developed optimally up to the 15th move, then after thinking, he made a not very strong move. Moves 18 and 20 may not be the best, but they quite reliably cut off Black’s prospects in the entire right side. 21 is an important connection on the flank, which often helps Black, but became useless in this game. Moves 24 and 26 kill all the activity from below, Black has the only option left – playing on the right, however, my opponent decided not to hurry with the rally and on move 29 actually gave way to me, sluggishly fighting for the initiative. Not wanting to lose the initiative, Black plays too sharply and commits a fatal mistake – 35, which is a forced win. 7D brought me 3 points out of 3 in the tournament.

balabay

Golomarev-Balabai, 1-0

Petersburg 6 dan Viktor Balabay is also not a very convenient opponent for me, our score is 0-2 and in our last game I had a win, which I missed. However, after an unexpected victory over Mikhailov, I already had 4.5 points in my piggy bank, and I set out to try to score the 7 points I needed. If I won in this and the next round with Nastya Oborina, in the last three difficult rounds I needed to score only half a point, and the chances of scoring the required amount increased rapidly. Victor bet 4d with 6. 4d is an opening with a black color reputation, with 5-fifths it is advised to take black, but with 6 – white. However, I decided to try black. The 4th move in the game made me think about the fifth. Alternate fifths: 6,10, 22, A, B. This 5th move is rumored to win, but very difficult. 9th move – a good connection, which allowed Black to dominate on several flanks at once. 16th and 18th moves are passive, White allows himself to be surrounded rather quickly. It is difficult, however, to suggest a better game plan for White in the current position. Turn 20 is a fatal mistake. Defending himself against threats from below, White misses out on Black’s powerful attack starting from move 21. It was worth playing 20-22 and endure and fight back.

defense

Golomaryov-Oborina, 0-1

This is the second mediocre game played by me. Nastya bet 10D with 4. I decided to try with Black, up to the 12th move – a canonical play. The 13th move was made by Vladimir Filinov in a game with me in the first league. And although Black didn’t do it as well as I would like, the attack held out for quite a long time and I decided to repeat this move. However, a quick pile-up did not lead to anything good. With moves 16 and 18, White confidently controls the position, and after 20, Black has practically no good options for developing an attack in the corner. I rather unfortunately decided to transfer the attack upwards, not noticing that the pause set by move 23 is very easily intercepted by White’s pause, after move 24 there are apparently no defenses due to the threat of a 3×3 foul in paragraph 25. a very unfortunate development of the attack.

artem