2010 Chess Olympiad: Jobava beats Carlsen in round four

The 2010 Chess Olympiad takes place from September 21st to October 3rd in Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia. It is an 11-round Swiss System team event, in which each team has four players with one reserve. Time control: 90 minutes/40 moves + 30 minutes + 30 seconds/move as of move one. Game start: rounds 1-10 at 9 AM UTC (5 AM New York / 2 AM Pacific daylight), and round 11 at 5 AM UTC (1 AM New York / 10 PM Pacific daylight) Rest day: September 26th (after round 5) and October 2nd (after round 10).

2010 Chess Olympiad Khanty-Mansiysk

Round 4

The playing hall during the fourth round.

The first major clashes between the top contenders took place and did not disappoint. The classic high-profile match between Russia 1 and the US was the source of significant interest, even it no longer has quite the same impact as it did during the cold war. The Americans lost the encounter 3-1 with wins by Grischuk over Kamsky and Karjakin over Onischuk. Nakamura boldly played a King’s Indian against renowned expert Kramnik, who had demoralized Kasparov in this opening. The game was a fascinating and extremely complex one, that eventually ended in a draw. The younger Russia 2 team, led by Nepomniachtchi on board one, beat India 3-1, who are playing without Anand in the event. One of the key matches had to be that between Hungary and China, both of whom are serious contenders for the top honors, and Judit Polgar once again proved to be the decisive factor as she clinched the match 2.5-1.5 for her team with a nice win over GM Bu Xiangzhi.

Polgar,Judit (2682) - Bu,Xiangzhi (2695)
39th Olympiad Khanty-Mansiysk 2010 (4), 24.09.2010

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 exd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 Be7 6.g3 0-0 7.Bg2 Nc6 8.Nxc6 bxc6 9.0-0 Nd7 10.b3 Bf6 11.Bb2 Rb8 12.Qd2 Re8 13.Rad1 c5 14.Bc1 Nb6 15.Rfe1 Bg4 16.Ne2 a5 17.h3 Bxe2 18.Rxe2 a4 19.Kh2 Qc8 20.f4 axb3 21.cxb3 Qa6 22.Qc2 Bd4 23.Be3 Bxe3 24.Rxe3 Re7 25.e5 c4 26.bxc4 dxe5 27.c5 Nd7 28.c6 Nf8 29.fxe5 Qa7 30.Re2 Rbe8 31.Rd5 Qa6 32.a4 Ng6 33.e6 fxe6 34.Rd7 Nf8 35.Rxe7 Rxe7 36.Rf2 Qa5 37.Qd2 Qxd2 38.Rxd2 Re8.

39.Rd7! Brilliant and winning. 39...Nxd7. Trying to hold on passively with 39...Rc8 fails to 40.a5; Or 39...Ra8 40.Rxc7 Rxa4 41.Re7 Rc4 42.c7 Rc2 43.Kg1 and Bb7 is decisive. 40.cxd7 Rd8 41.Bc6 Kf7 42.a5 Ke7 43.a6 Kd6 44.Bb7 Kxd7 45.a7 Kd6 46.a8Q Rxa8 47.Bxa8 Ke5 48.Kg2 Kd4 49.Kf3 c5 50.Be4 h6 51.Bg6 c4 52.Kf4 Kc3 53.Bf7 g5+ 54.Ke3 Kb2 55.Bxe6 c3 56.Bf5 c2 57.Bxc2 Kxc2 58.g4 1-0 [Click to replay]

Armenia, the winners of the previous two Olympiads, have not been the focus of the spotlight, yet chalked up their fourth win, this time over Russia 3, by 2.5-1.5. Lev Aronian again came through as well for his team with his third win, this time over Dimitry Jakovenko (2726) and is on 100% at the moment.

Aronian,Levon (2783) - Jakovenko,Dmitry (2726)
39th Olympiad Khanty-Mansiysk 2010 (4), 24.09.2010

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.g3 d5 4.Nf3 Be7 5.Bg2 0-0 6.0-0 dxc4 7.Qc2 a6 8.a4 Bd7 9.Qxc4 Bc6 10.Bg5 h6 11.Bxf6 Bxf6 12.Nc3 Bxf3 13.Bxf3 c6 14.Qb3 Qc7 15.Rfd1 a5 16.Rac1 Bg5 17.e3 Qe7 18.Be2 Qb4 19.Qxb4 axb4 20.Ne4 Be7 21.Ra1 Nd7 22.a5 Ra7 23.a6 bxa6 24.Rxa6 Rxa6 25.Bxa6 Rb8 26.Rc1 Rb6 27.Be2 Bf8 28.Kf1 g6 29.Ke1 Kg7 30.Kd1 Be7 31.f4 Kf8 32.Bf3 Ra6 33.Nf2 c5.

34.Nd3! Ra5. The pawn cannot be taken with 34...cxd4 because of 35.Rc8+ Kg7 36.Rc7 Rd6 37.e4! and e5 will win material. 35.Ke2 Kg7 36.Rc2 Bf8 37.Bc6 Nb8 38.Be8 Na6 39.Ne5 cxd4 40.exd4 g5.

41.Bxf7! Brilliant. It may seem that Black wins two pieces for the rook, but Aronian has seen that the knight will be boxed in and cannot be saved. 41...Rxe5+ 42.fxe5 Kxf7 43.Rc6 Nb8 44.Rc7+ Be7 45.b3 Na6 46.Rb7. 46.Rb7 If 46...Ke8 47.Ra7 Nb8 48.Ra8 1-0 [Click to replay]

Georgian Baadur Jobava surprised Magnus Carlsen right from the opening, after
which the world number one never seemed to recover his equanamity.

In terms of individual encounters, the biggest news was Magnus Carlsen’s loss against Georgian Baadur Jobava, after the latter surprised the Norwegian wunderkind with a highly unusual 6th move in a Nimzo-Indian Saemisch. This seemed to leave his opponent somewhat out of sorts throughout the game, and the Georgians took the match by a decisive 3.5-0.5 score.

Jobava,Baadur (2710) - Carlsen,Magnus (2826)
39th Olympiad Khanty-Mansiysk 2010 (4), 24.09.2010

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.a3 Bxc3+ 5.bxc3 Nc6 6.e4!?

Not a novelty per se, but there isn't even a single player over 2000 Elo on record with it. Jobava has clearly decided to sidestep any preparation Carlsen might have. 6...Nxe4 7.Qg4 f5 8.Qxg7 Qf6 9.Qxf6 Nxf6 10.Nf3 b6 So far, so normal, and the position is quite balanced. Carlsen decides to approach it in classic fashion, attacking the c-pawn weakness. 11.d5 White wants to keep his opponent off-balance. 11...Na5 12.Nd4 Kf7 13.dxe6+ dxe6 14.Bf4 Ba6 15.Nf3 Ne4 16.Ne5+ Kf6 17.f3 Nd6 18.0-0-0 Rhd8.

19.h4! Nf7. 19...Rg8?! 20.Bg5+! Illustrating the dangers involved. 20...Kg7 (20...Kxe5? 21.f4+ Ke4 22.Re1#; 20...Rxg5 21.hxg5+ Kxe5 22.g3! and black is in serious trouble with the h-pawn falling and the king surrounded by mate threats.) 21.Rg1 h6 22.Bf4 Kh7 23.g4 and white is better. 20.Nd7+ Kg7 21.Rh3 Kh8 22.Bg5! Nxg5 23.hxg5 Kg7 24.Rh6 Bxc4 25.Bxc4 Nxc4 26.Rdh1 Rh8 27.f4? This move, which seems calm and logical is in fact a mistake that might have allowed the number one to save the game. Best was 27.Rxe6 Rae8 28.Rc6 Nd6 29.Nf6 (29.Rxc7? Nb5 30.Rb7 Re7) 29...Rc8 30.Nd5 27...c5? 27...Rad8! would have restored the delicate balance. 28.Nf6 c5 29.Rxh7+ Rxh7 30.Rxh7+ Kg6 31.Rh6+ Kf7 32.Rh7+ Kg6 33.Rxa7 e5! 34.g3 e4! 35.Nd7 e3 36.Kd1 Rh8 37.Rc7 Rh1+ 38.Kc2 Kh5 (38...Rh2+? 39.Kb3 e2 40.Kxc4! e1Q 41.Ne5+ Qxe5 42.Rc6+ Qe6+ 43.Rxe6+) 39.Kd3 b5 and it is equal. 28.Rxe6 Rae8.

29.Rxh7+! Rxh7. 29...Kxh7 30.Nf6+ Kg7 31.Nxe8+ Kf7 32.Nc7 30.Rxe8 Kf7 31.Ra8 Rh1+ 32.Kc2 a5 33.Ra7 Nxa3+ 34.Kd2 Rh2 35.Nxb6+ Kg6 36.Rxa5 Rxg2+ 37.Kd1 Nb1 38.Rxc5 Nd2 39.Nd5 Ne4 40.Rc6+ Kf7 41.Ne3 Rg3 42.Ke2 Ke8 43.Re6+ Kf7 44.Re5 Nxc3+ 45.Kf2 Rh3 46.Rxf5+ Kg6 47.Rf6+ Kg7 48.Nf5+ Kg8 49.Kg2 Rd3 50.Rd6 Ne2 51.Rg6+ Kh8 52.Rh6+ Kg8 53.Ne7+ Kf7 54.Ng6 Kg7 55.Kf2 Nc3 56.Ne7 Ne4+ 57.Ke2 Ra3 58.Nf5+ Kg8 59.Re6 Nc3+ 60.Kf3 Nd5+ 61.Kg4 Ra1 62.Re5 Rg1+ 63.Kf3 Rf1+ 1-0 [Click to replay]

The young Vietnamese team also continued their impressive run, and despite being ranked 27th in the initial standings, are still undefeated after a convincing 3.5-0.5 win over Estonia.

In the women’s event, the news of the round was Russia 1’s victory over title-holders Georgia, with Alisa Galliamova (2482) vindicating her almost embarrassing loss from the previous round by winning the match for her team with her victory over IM Khotenashvili (2464).

Tomorrow’s pairings include fascinating matchups between Armenia and Russia 2, Vietnam against Georgia, and Hungary against Russia 1. The women’s event features decisive encounters between the four undefeated teams, Ukraine against Bulgaria, and especially China versus Russia 1.

Men's team pairings for round 5
Women's team pairings for round 5

Photographs by FIDE, Turkish Chess Federation, and CNC.

Watching the games

It goes without saying that the options to watch the games live are wide and varied. You can watch them at no cost on Playchess, enjoying the software's new options to display multiple boards at the same time, and if you are a Premium member, live grandmaster commentary will be provided on Playchess for every round by GM Daniel King, author of the best-selling Power Play series, and GM Yasser Seirawan. If you miss the live games, you can always watch the commentary after the fact, or get an abridged tale via the Daily Roundup show also hosted on Playchess at 6 PM UTC (2 PM New York). Again, if you miss the show, it remains available on the server at your disposal.

Video reports

We received video reports by both Elmira Mirzoeva and Europe Echecs which we are sharing with their kind permission.

 
The fourth round reports include interviews of GM Jon Hammer and Baadur Jobava as well as
dramatic images of the Jobava-Carlsen duel.

 
The fourth round report gives the results as well as interviews with Susan Polgar and Fabiano Caruana.

Top men's results

Top women's results

Sponsors

Links Official tournament site Men's games in PGN Women's games in PGN The games are being broadcast live on the official web site and on the chess server Playchess.com. If you are not a member you can download the free PGN reader ChessBase Light, which gives you immediate access. You can also use the program to read, replay and analyse PGN games. New and enhanced: CB Light 2009!