Tal Final: Gelfand wins, Carlsen clear second

by ChessBase
6/23/2013 – The Tal Memorial has come to an end with a series of draws. Gelfand easily equalized against Kramnik, who just wanted the tournament to be over. Carlsen needed a win against Mamedyarov to emerge victorious in the event, but instead he could consider himself very lucky for holding the half point. Morozevich beat Nakamura with black in a strange game. Last round report with key game analysis.

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The Eighth International Tal Memorial Chess Tournament is being held from June, 13 to 24, 2013, with a rest day on June 16. The rounds generally start at 15:00h (=3 p.m.) Moscow time, with the first round starting at 6 p.m. and the final round at 1 p.m. Accommodation is in the Ritz-Carlton, Moscow, Tverskaya str. 3, while the event takes place in the in New Technologies Center Digital October, Bersenevskaya Embankment 6, in Moscow. The tournament has ten invited players and is a round robin with time controls of one hour and 40 minutes for the first 40 moves, followed by 50 minutes for next 20 moves and then 15 minutes for the rest of the game, with an increment of 30 seconds for each move starting from move one. Full information on special rules, regulation, prize money, etc. can be found in our initial report.

Round nine report

Round 09 – June 23 2013, 13:00h
Hikaru Nakamura 2784
0-1
Alexander Morozevich 2760
Shakhriyar Mamedyarov 2753 ½-½ Magnus Carlsen 2864
Vladimir Kramnik 2803
½-½
Boris Gelfand 2755
Sergey Karjakin 2782 ½-½ Vishy Anand 2786
Fabiano Caruana 2774
½-½
Dmitry Andreikin 2713

The Chief Arbiter Andjey Filipovich taking his own pictures before the tournament finishes.

Caruana, Fabiano - Andreikin, Dmitry ½-½
Andreikin chose a very solid version of the Spanish, but he did not relegate himself to simple passive defense. His 18...Nh5!? opened the structure in front of his own king, but allowed hi to quickly achieve f5 and obtain counterplay with the now open g-file. Caruana's maneuvers were slow and rather ineffective, but he was definitely never worse. The players agreed to a draw in a position in which both sides were hard to breach.

Andreiking was Russia's best player, with eight draws and one win.

Karjakin also had eight draws, but one defeat instead of a win against Nakamura.

Karjakin, Sergey - Anand, Vishy ½-½
Anand knew everything there was to know in this variation of the poisoned pawn Najdorf, and was able to hold Karjakin to an uneventful draw as neither player really consumed much time on their clocks. The resulting endgame was very drawn but its hard to suggest a moment in which White could have improved.

"Kramnik with black...?"

"...I got this!" Gelfand had almost no trouble holding Kramnik to a draw.

Kramnik, Vladimir - Gelfand, Boris ½-½
Kramnik's opening play was not the most ambitious. After only a few moves Gelfand had equalized and the symmetrical pawn structure didn't allow the Russian to create many threats or utilize his slight lead in development. After further simplification both sides had a bishop and two rooks with a symmetrical structure, enough for a very drawish position, which was also enhanced by the fact that the remaining bishops were of different color diagonals.

"Ahh, Carlsen, Carlsen... :)" Mamedyarov's Facebook status immediately after the game.

Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar - Carlsen, Magnus ½-½
The King's Indian has always been seen as a risky opening suitable for players that need to win with black. This is precisely what Magnus needed as a win would not only give him a share of first place, it would mean that he surpassed Gelfand by virtue of better tiebreaks. Mamedyarov was not partaking in any nonsense however and chose the ultra solid Fianchetto variation, against which Carlsen was simply not well prepared. White early on obtained the pair of bishops and a pleasant initiative. It was due to Carlsen's cunning and some luck as Mamedyarov kept missing the most powerful moves (namely 17.Bb2!) that the Norwegian was able to survive by the skin of his teeth.

Morozevich escaped being last by virtue of a last round win.

Nakamura, Hikaru - Morozevich, Alexander 0-1
A very complex game spawned from Nakamura's unusual opening. In what resembled an anti-Moscow variation, White sacrifice his c4 pawn for intiative and quick development. Morozevich soon after the opening gave back his material advantage to secure a passed pawn on c3, but nevertheless because of White's blockade and kingside pressure he stood better. Nakamura made a key mistake with 29.e5?! a move that closed the a1-h8 diagonal and allowed Morozevich to quickly route his rooks to the open h-file, creating major problems for the enemy king. Nakamura found no defense, lost too much material and had to resign.

Despite his three last round lossses, Nakamura maintained his rating and won more games than any other player in the tournament.

Kramnik finished last, but that doesn't make him any less of a Russian hero.

The tournament held a packed commentator room every round.

The top three finishers: Gelfand, Carlsen and Caruana (on tiebreaks: most blacks, followed by most wins)

Someone tell Fabiano he won a trophy.

With a magnificent showing, being rewarded with the first place trophy and €30,000.

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Final Results

Schedule

Round 01 – June 13 2013, 15:00h
Dmitry Andreikin 2713
½-½
Alexander Morozevich 2760
Vishy Anand 2786
0-1
Fabiano Caruana 2774
Boris Gelfand 2755
½-½
Sergey Karjakin 2782
Magnus Carlsen 2864
1-0
Vladimir Kramnik 2803
Hikaru Nakamura 2784
0-1
Shakhriyar Mamedyarov 2753
Round 02 –June 14 2013, 15:00h
Alexander Morozevich 2760
½-½
Shakhriyar Mamedyarov 2753
Boris Gelfand 2755
0-1
Hikaru Nakamura 2784
Sergey Karjakin 2782
½-½
Magnus Carlsen 2864
Fabiano Caruana 2774
0-1
Boris Gelfand 2755
Dmitry Andreikin 2713
½-½
Vishy Anand 2786
Round 03 – June 15 2013, 15:00h
Vishy Anand 2786
1-0
Alexander Morozevich 2760
Boris Gelfand 2755
½-½
Dmitry Andreikin 2713
Magnus Carlsen 2864
0-1
Fabiano Caruana 2774
Hikaru Nakamura 2784
1-0
Sergey Karjakin 2782
Shakhriyar Mamedyarov 2753
½-½
Vladimir Kramnik 2803
Round 04 – June 17 2013, 15:00h
Alexander Morozevich 2760
½-½
Vladimir Kramnik 2803
Sergey Karjakin 2782
½-½
Shakhriyar Mamedyarov 2753
Fabiano Caruana 2774
0-1
Hikaru Nakamura 2784
Dmitry Andreikin 2713
½-½
Magnus Carlsen 2864
Vishy Anand 2786
½-½
Boris Gelfand 2755
Round 05 – June 18 2013, 15:00h
Boris Gelfand 2755
1-0
Alexander Morozevich 2760
Magnus Carlsen 2864
1-0
Vishy Anand 2786
Hikaru Nakamura 2784
½-½
Dmitry Andreikin 2713
Shakhriyar Mamedyarov 2753
½-½
Fabiano Caruana 2774
Vladimir Kramnik 2727
½-½
Sergey Karjakin 2782
Round 06 – June 19 2013, 15:00h
Alexander Morozevich 2760
½-½
Sergey Karjakin 2782
Fabiano Caruana 2774
½-½
Vladimir Kramnik 2803
Dmitry Andreikin 2713
½-½
Shakhriyar Mamedyarov 2753
Vishy Anand 2786
0-1
Hikaru Nakamura 2784
Boris Gelfand 2755
½-½
Magnus Carlsen 2864
Round 07 – June 21 2013, 15:00h
Magnus Carlsen 2864
½-½
Alexander Morozevich 2760
Hikaru Nakamura 2784
0-1
Boris Gelfand 2755
Shakhriyar Mamedyarov 2753
½-½
Vishy Anand 2786
Vladimir Kramnik 2803
0-1
Dmitry Andreikin 2713
Sergey Karjakin 2782
½-½
Fabiano Caruana 2774
Round 08 – June 22 2013, 15:00h
Alexander Morozevich 2760
0-1
Fabiano Caruana 2774
Dmitry Andreikin 2713
½-½
Sergey Karjakin 2782
Vishy Anand 2786
½-½
Vladimir Kramnik 2803
Boris Gelfand 2755
½-½
Shakhriyar Mamedyarov 2753
Magnus Carlsen 2864
1-0
Hikaru Nakamura 2784
Round 09 – June 23 2013, 13:00h
Hikaru Nakamura 2784
0-1
Alexander Morozevich 2760
Shakhriyar Mamedyarov 2753 ½-½ Magnus Carlsen 2864
Vladimir Kramnik 2803
½-½
Boris Gelfand 2755
Sergey Karjakin 2782 ½-½ Vishy Anand 2786
Fabiano Caruana 2774
½-½
Dmitry Andreikin 2713

All pictures by Etery Kublashvili

Links

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