Van Wely Outmaneuvers Cornette in Corsican Endgame Battle

Van Wely Grinds Down Cornette in Corsican Endgame Struggle

Loek Van Wely added another full point to his campaign at the 1er Open International de Lecci, defeating French GM Matthieu Cornette in 58 moves after the game transformed from a maneuvering Sicilian into a queen endgame where the Dutch veteran's knight proved decisively superior to White's passive pieces. The win pushed Van Wely to 6.5 points, tying him for second place in the strong Corsican open.

The game began with a Moscow Variation of the Sicilian — 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.Bb5+ Nd7 — an opening that typically leads to slower, more strategic battles than the sharper Najdorf or Dragon lines. Cornette, rated 2573, was the lower-rated player against Van Wely's 2625, and the Frenchman seemed content to steer the game toward a position where both sides would have to demonstrate patience and technique.

The Maneuvering Phase

For the first 25 moves, both players engaged in the kind of piece shuffling that makes open tournament chess so different from the theoretical battles at the elite level. Van Wely moved his queen from c7 to b8 to a8 to a7 and back again, probing for weaknesses while Cornette reorganized his pieces on the kingside.

The position after 17.Kh1 saw Cornette preparing kingside operations with 18.Qh4 and 19.Qh3, but Van Wely's setup with the knight maneuvering via 18...Ne5 and 19...Ng6 proved solid. Black's pieces were coordinated, if somewhat passive, and the light-squared bishop on b7 was doing important defensive work along the long diagonal.

The repetition of moves with 22.Bd2 Qa7 23.Be3 Qa8 24.Bd2 Qa7 25.Be3 suggested both players were content to shuffle while the clock ticked down, but Van Wely had other ideas.

The Central Break

The game's character changed completely with 26...d5!, Van Wely's well-timed central break. After White's bishop retreated to b1, Black struck with the thematic pawn advance that challenged White's entire setup.

The sequence that followed — 27.exd5 exd5 28.cxd5 Rxc3 — saw Van Wely sacrifice the exchange temporarily, but the point became clear after 29.Rxc3 Nxd5. Black had regained material equality and now possessed the more active pieces. The knight on d5 was a monster, centralized and controlling key squares, while White's pieces were scattered and uncoordinated.

After 30.Bd2 Rxe1+ 31.Bxe1 Nxc3 32.Bxc3, the position had simplified to a queen and minor piece endgame where Van Wely held a slight but persistent edge. His knight was more active than White's bishop pair, and the pawn structure favored Black's long-term prospects.

The Knight's Dominance

What followed was a clinic in knight versus bishop play. Van Wely maneuvered with 32...Qc7 33.Ne2 Qe7, keeping his queen active while preparing to improve his knight's position. Cornette tried to generate counterplay with 35.Qf5 and 36.Ng3, but the French GM was fighting an uphill battle.

The critical moment came when Van Wely pushed 37...h5, gaining space on the kingside and creating potential weaknesses in White's camp. Cornette responded with 38.Be1 and 39.Bg3, but after 40.Bxc7 Qxc7, Black had traded his passive bishop for White's more active one, and the resulting position was clearly better for Van Wely.

The sequence 41.Be4 Bxe4 42.Qxe4 saw the last minor pieces come off, leaving a queen endgame where Black's knight on g6 (which had arrived via 19...Ng6) was ready to spring into action. Van Wely's 42...Qc1 put immediate pressure on White's position, and after 43.Kg1 Qc5+ 44.Qe3 Qc2, Black was clearly pressing.

The Decisive Phase

Cornette defended tenaciously, but Van Wely's technique was up to the task. After 47.Ne3 Qa1 48.Nd5 Ne5, Black's knight found its ideal square, supporting potential queen infiltrations while eyeing key squares in White's position.

The knight dance continued with 49.Nc7 h3, Van Wely pushing his h-pawn to create additional threats. Cornette tried to grab the a6 pawn with 50.Nxa6, but after 50...Qh1 51.Kg3 hxg2 52.Qxg2 Qc1, Black's queen was wreaking havoc.

The final sequence was instructive. After 53.Qe2 Ng6 54.Qe4 Qg1+ 55.Kh3 Kh6 56.Nc7 Qg5 57.Qg4 Qe5, Van Wely had maneuvered his pieces to optimal squares. Cornette's 58.f4 was a desperate attempt to create counterplay, but it backfired immediately — the pawn push weakened White's king position fatally, and Van Wely's resignation-forcing threats were impossible to parry. Cornette stopped the clocks.

Tournament Implications

The result was significant for both players' standing in the Lecci Open. Van Wely moved to 6.5 points with this win, tying him with Murali Karthikeyan for second place behind the leaders. The Dutch GM, playing for Clichy-Echecs-92, had already shown his form earlier in the tournament with wins against Francesco Bettalli, Milosz Szpar, and Luis Paulo Supi.

For Cornette, this loss dropped him to 5 points, a disappointing result in his home country's open. The French GM had started the tournament well with wins over Tristan Breuil and Thibault Fantinel, but this defeat to Van Wely was a setback in his campaign.

The game itself was a reminder of how endgame technique can decide games between grandmasters. Van Wely's patient maneuvering in the middlegame, followed by the well-timed 26...d5 break and precise endgame play, showed why the 52-year-old Dutch GM remains a dangerous opponent in open tournaments.

The position after move 48, with Black's knight landing on e5 while White's pieces scrambled to defend, captures that moment when technique meets pressure. We turned this one into a print.

The 1er Open International de Lecci continues with the final round, where Van Wely will look to secure his share of the prizes while Cornette will aim to bounce back in the remaining games. In a field featuring strong Indian contingents from Cannes Echecs and Mulhouse Philidor, plus Armenian GM Haik Martirosyan and German GM Alexander Donchenko, every point matters in the race for top honors on the beautiful island of Corsica.