1/28/2017 – Again, despite only one decisive game in the top section, it was a day in which much more blood should have been spilled. Giri was clearly winning against Harikrishna, while Adhiban had a winning shot against Carlsen, but it was Wei Yi that simply demolished Karjakin, putting him just half a point behind So. In the Challenger's section, the Texan Jeffery Xiong is unstoppable. Full report with GM commentary.
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The elite Tata Steel tournaments in Wijk aan Zee are underway and take place from January 13-29, with two main tournaments, the Masters with both Magnus Carlsen and Sergey Karjakin as headliners, as well as Wesley So, Levon Aronian, Anish Giri, Baskaran Adhiban, Radoslaw Wojtaszek, Ian Nepomniachtchi, Richard Rapport, Dmitri Andreikin, Wei Yi, Pavel Eljanov, and Loek van Wely. All rounds in Wijk aan Zee begin at 1.30pm, except for the last round on 29 January 2017, which begins at 12.00pm. Both rounds on the Chess On Tour days start at 2.00pm.
All Photos by Alina l'Ami for the official website
Masters tournament
Round 11 - Friday, January 27
Wojtaszek, R.
½-½
Aronian, L.
Andreikin, D.
½-½
So, W.
Wei, Y.
1-0
Karjakin, S.
Nepomniachtchi, I.
½-½
Eljanov, P.
Carlsen, M.
½-½
Adhiban, B.
Giri, A.
½-½
Harikrishna, P.
Rapport, R.
½-½
Van Wely, L.
Quick Impressions from Round 11
This cute store has had a chess tradition dating back fourteen years!
Only one decisive result, but, yet again, the round was full of drama. And what a game to have the decisive result in! Wei Yi's victory against Sergey Karjakin was crushing, and this catapults the Chinese teenager into second place in the competition, just a half point behind Wesley So... his opponent for tomorrow!
Breakthrough event for the Chinese prodigy
Wei Yi - Sergey Karjakin (annotated by GM Tiger Hillarp-Persson)
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1.e4
1,165,570
54%
2421
---
1.d4
946,474
55%
2434
---
1.Nf3
281,312
56%
2441
---
1.c4
181,937
56%
2442
---
1.g3
19,688
56%
2427
---
1.b3
14,236
54%
2427
---
1.f4
5,886
48%
2377
---
1.Nc3
3,796
51%
2384
---
1.b4
1,753
48%
2380
---
1.a3
1,197
54%
2403
---
1.e3
1,068
48%
2408
---
1.d3
948
50%
2378
---
1.g4
662
46%
2361
---
1.h4
446
53%
2374
---
1.c3
426
51%
2425
---
1.h3
279
56%
2416
---
1.a4
108
60%
2468
---
1.f3
91
47%
2431
---
1.Nh3
89
66%
2508
---
1.Na3
42
62%
2482
---
Please, wait...
Last time Wei Yi played against Karjakin, he started out with 1.b3 and it didn't go well. Now he seems to have gained more confindence and his preparation today was surely impressive.1.e4e52.Nf3Nc63.Bb5The Scotch is not for everyone and somewhat harsh against mistakes. The Giuoco Piano is like an amarone, in that it is hard to go wrong with it. The Ruy Lopez is more complex with oaky notes. A full bodied opening.Nf64.d3 Avoiding the Berlin defence main lines is the dish of the day for those rated above 2600.Last years clash continued4.0-0Nxe45.Re1Nd66.Nxe5Be77.Bf1Nxe58.Rxe50-09.Nc3Ne810.Nd5Bd611.Re1c612.Ne3Be713.c4Nc714.d4and here Karjakin playedd6and ended up in a worse position. Wei Yi (2705)-Karjakin,S (2765) 78th Tata Steel GpA 2016Instead14...d515.cxd5Bb416.Bd2Bxd217.Qxd2Nxd5has been proved to draw with ease for Black (in about twenty games).4...Bc55.c35.Bxc6dxc66.h3was played by Magnus Carlsen in a number of blitz games last year.However, his 6.Qe2against Wesley So in the Masters Final, indicates that White is scraping the bottom of the bucket for ideas here.Qe77.Nbd2Bg48.h3Bh59.a3Nd710.b4Bd611.Nc4f612.Ne3a513.Nf5Qf814.bxa5Rxa515.0-0Qf716.a4Nc517.Qe1b618.Nd2Rxa419.Nc4Bf820.Be3Kd721.Qc3Nxe422.Nxb6+cxb623.dxe4Qc424.Qd2+Kc725.g4Bg626.Rfd11-0, Carlsen,M (2855) -So,W (2770) 9th Masters Final 2016It seems the reason why White often prefers 5.c3 over5.0-0is thatNd46.Nxd4Bxd4gives Black an easier game. Still, White has been able to squeeze a few wins here too, even on a high level.5...0-0Black has also tried5...d5, which seems very principled.6.exd5Qxd57.Bc4Qd68.Qe20-09.Nbd2a510.Ng5Bf510...Qe711.Nde4Bd612.a4h613.h4!Nd814.Qf3Ng415.Qe2Kh816.f3Nf617.Nxf6Qxf618.g4Ne619.Qe4!gave White a winning advantage, in Svidler,P (2745)-Inarkiev,E (2730) 69th ch-RUS 2016.11.Nde4Nxe412.Nxe4Bxe413.dxe4Nd814.Bd2c615.a4Ne616.Rd1Qe717.g3and the bishop pair (especially the strong light-squared bishop) gave White some edge, in Topalov, V (2760)-Aronian,L (2790) 4th Sinquefield Cup 2016. The game Rozentalis - Smith, Gothenburg 2013, is an excellent example of the challenges that Black faces here.5...d6is a please-don't-take-my-pawn move, that leads to a position that very much resembles the Giuoco Piano, but where the bishop is somewhat more annoying on b5. After6.0-00-07.Nbd2Ne78.d4exd49.cxd4Bb610.Re1Bg411.h3Bh5White has been doing well with12.a4lately.6.Bxc6bxc67.Nxe5An incredibly prosaic sequence; to stop Nd4, not castle and then just snatch a pawn. Two decades ago most GMs would have shunned such simplistic (although possibly efficient) moves. Perhaps the change is due to the engines, but also because the Kasparov era was all about keeping the tension.d58.d4White must stay clear of8.Nxc6?Qe89.Nd4dxe410.0-0Ba68...Bb6This is the main line, but Black has tried some alternatives:8...Qe79.0-0dxe410.Nxc6Qe611.dxc5Qxc612.Bg5 was rather balanced, in Safarli,E (2644)-Fedorchuk,S (2653) Kocaeli 2015, but I'm curious as to what Black would have replied to a set-up similar to Wei Yi's.8...Qe89.0-0Again and again we come to this crossroad, where Black has to decide whether to take with the pawn or the knight on e4. Taking with the knight is usually more solid, but leads to positions where Black lacks dynamic play. It's more challenging to take with the pawn.dxe49...Nxe410.Nd2Nxd211.Bxd2Bd612.Re1f613.Nc4Be614.Nxd6cxd6looks pretty dull to me, but Black will suffer a bit due to the messed up pawn structure.10.Nd210.Qa4!?10.Re1Bd611.Nc410...Bd611.Ndc4Be612.Re1c513.Be3Nd5was unconvincing for White, in Tari,A (2520)-Fressinet, L (2712) Oslo 2015. I don't understand much of this structure, so my recommendations on move 10 are pretty much 100% silicon based.8...Bd69.Nxc6Qe810.e5Qxc611.0-0Ba612.Re1Rfe813.Bf4Qb514.Nd214.b314...Qxb215.Qb3Reb8=Tari,A (2520)-Hammer,J (2665) Oslo 20159.0-0dxe49...Nxe410.Nxc610.Nd2Nxd211.Bxd2c512.dxc5Bxc513.Qf3Be614.Rfe1was microscopically better for White, in Xu,X (2445)-Malakhov,V (2695) TCh-CHN 2016, since the knight can dream of out-witting the light squared bishop at some point.10...Qf610...Qd6is the older line, which also seems good enough for Black.11.Nb4Be612.Nd2c513.dxc5Bxc514.Nxe4dxe415.Nd5Qe516.Be3Bxe317.Nxe3f5left Black with decent compensation, in So,W (2770)-Caruana,F (2795) Ultimate Blitz Challenge 2016.10.Bg5White has a clear plan: to use the bind on Nf6 to attack the pawn on e4. Black needs to undermine White's center as fast as possible.After10.Nxc6Qe811.Ne5c512.Re1Qe613.Be3Nd513...Rd8!?13...cxd414.cxd4Nd514.Nd2f515.Ndc4Bb716.dxc5The silicon monster indicates that16.Qb3is very good for White, so something have gone wrong for Black in the last four moves. Perhaps 13...Nd5 was a mistake.16...Nxe317.fxe3Bxc5 Black had enough compensation for the pawn, Sokolov,I (2640)-Lorparizangeneh,S (2465) 1st Stars Cup 2016.10...c5!11.Nd2cxd4?!This does look natural, but seems to be a serious mistake.I presume Wei Yi had something prepared against11...Bb7!, which has been seen in two games.12.dxc512.Ng4cxd413.Nxf6+gxf614.Bh6Qd7∞12...Bxc513.Nb3Bb613...Bd614.Ng4Be715.Qxd8Raxd816.Nxf6+Bxf6was seen in Pogonina,N (2448) -Olsarova,K (2267) Istanbul 2012, where instead of17.Be3White should have exchanged the bishops17.Bxf6gxf6and kept some pressure. The knight can access the weak squares on the queenside, and the light squared bishop is playing in parallell dimension where there's nothing to attack.14.c414.Qxd8!?Rfxd815.a414...Qd614...e3!?15.Qxd8exf2+16.Kh1Rfxd817.c5Rd518.Bxf6gxf619.Ng4Rxc520.Nxc5Bxc521.Rfc1!Bb622.Rc2f523.Nxf2f4is possibly balanced, but quite hard to handle for both sides.15.Qxd6cxd616.Bxf6gxf617.Ng4Rfc818.Rac1Kf819.Ne3Ba620.Nd2Bd421.b3with an advantage for White, in Balogh,C (2601)-Naiditsch,A (2684) Aix les Bains 2011. Both sides could have played better here and if I was to enter these positions with any colour, then this is where I would be looking for improvements.12.Nxe4This sets a forced sequence in motion...dxc313.Qf3Bb713...cxb2?14.Nxf6+gxf615.Bxf6+-14.Bxf6Bxe415.Qxe4Qxf6?!An accident rarely comes alone.15...gxf616.Nc6Qd217.bxc3 was the better way to fight on. In the game Black gets no chance.16.Nd7Qg616...Qd417.Qxd4Bxd418.Rad1+-17.Qxg6hxg618.Nxf8cxb219.Rab1Kxf820.Rfd1!With an extra couple of pawns on - let's say - e3 and e5, Black would have some chances of holding the position (K...e6), but with so many open lines, Black's king is stuck on the kingside where it becomes vulnerable to attack. Black is also unable to launch the c-pawn any further than c5, without losing it, so it is better to keep it in the starting position where it doesn't obstruct the bishop.Ke7It looks like Karjakin had resigned himself to losing, or otherwise he might chosen something more active, like20...Re821.Kf1Re422.Rxb2Rc4Still, the final result is in little doubt.21.Rxb2It's hardly even clear where Black made his mistake, but suddenly he is lost.g522.Rbd2Rh822...f523.Re2+Kf624.Rd7g425.g3Rf826.Kg2Rh827.Rde7Kg628.R2e6+Kh729.Rf7and the f-pawn is lost. Generally speaking, Black's hope in such a positon as this, it to keep his weaknesses to a minimum and thus not move the pawns to far (unless they can be used to attack something).23.g3Rh5This looks weird. Perhaps Karjakin was trying to keep his rook from being exchanged. Three rooks on the board or one single; it doesn't matter since White is winning in both scenarios.24.Kg2Kf624...Rh625.Rd7+Ke626.R7d5Rf627.f3g428.f4+-25.h3Rh626.Rd8Ke727.R1d7+Ke628.Rd2Rf6This makes it easy for White, but the fight was hopeless anyway.29.Rg8Rg630.Re8+Kf631.Rd7 There is no defence against Rf8, so Black resigned.1–0
Another game that was full of excitement was the game between the World Champion and Adhiban Baskaran. The Indian essayed a very unusual opening,
"1. e4 d5 2. exd5 Nf6... you serious dude?"
"Yeah, brah"
The World Champion tried to put in the pressure, but he actually got in hot water. Danny King chose this as his game of the day, and explains how Carlsen was even losing had Adhiban found the crushing 34... Qg4.
Skip to 10:17 if you want to see the crushing tactic, or enjoy the full video to learn a lot!
Another exciting game was the Giri-Harikrishna duel. The Dutch player came out guns blazing, and sacrificed a piece straight from the opening. Unfortunately his killer instinct was not up to par, and he gave his opponent some chances to come back... so many, in fact, that Harikrishna was winning at some point! A fascinating struggle with many turns, and despite the big number of mistakes in time trouble, one can appreciate the fighting spirit and willingness to sharpen the struggle that these players had:
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1.Nf3(0:00)Nf6(0:12)2.c4(0:00)c5(00:08)3.Nc3(0:00)d5 (0:07)4.cxd5( 00:00)Nxd5(0:09)5.e4(0:00)Nb4(0:10)6.Bc4 (0:00)Nd3+(1:35)7.Ke2(0:00)Nxc1+(00:07)7...Nf4+8.Kf1Nd3 was So's choice against Aronian in the London Classic.8.Rxc1(0:11)a6 Not the most popular, but in my view more logical than Nc6, which allows Bb5.9.d4(0:10)b5(0:07)10.Bd5(0:03)Ra7(0:06)11.dxc5(0:46)e6 (0:07)12.c6!A novelty, an improvement over Jakovenko-Nepomniachtchi. The sacrifice of the piece is logical in a sense, as Black is very underdeveloped and theh c6 pawn is worth quite a bit.b4(28:23] Played after a 30 minute think.12...exd513.Nxd5forces Black to find some ugly, forced moves.Rc714.Qd4Rxc614...Nxc615.Qb6!+-15.Qe5+Be616.Rhd1!Nd717.Nc7+Qxc718.Qxc7Rxc719.Rxc7and the endgame is just horrible for Black due to his lack of development.13.Qd4(13:28)Rc7 (4:31)14.Na4!(4:35)exd5(01:07)15.exd5(2:13)Be7(3:05)16.Qxg7(04:44)Bf6(1:50)17.Qh6±(5:05) White's three pawns, especially those on the center, easily compensate for the piece.Re7+(24:31) 18.Kf1(0:19)Qxd5(6:06) Giving back material seems like a practical chance.19.Qxf6(1:47)Rg8(1:03)20.h3?!(25:09)20.g3! was cleaner, seeking to develop as rapidly as possible.20...Re6(13:30)21.Qf4(00:54)Nxc6(0:40)22.Nc5(4:28)Re7(1:49)23.g3(7:46)Rg6(7:42)24.Kg2(6:56)Qd6(9:14)25.Qc4(3:21)Qf6(1:12)26.Rce1(04:16)Qxb2(1:08)27.Na4(3:51)27.Qf4!+-27...Qa3 (3:31)28.Nb6??(0:36) In time trouble, Giri goes very wrong.28.Nc5 still keeps some pressure on the game.Qb229.Qf4is winning, as it was last time they had this position.28...Bb7!(0:05)29.Nd5(0:07)Rge6?(0:08) Returning the favor, but that's what happens when you have no time!29...Rd6‼30.Nxe7what else?Ne5!And Black is crashing through on the long diagonal.31.Qb3Nxf332.Qxa3Nxe1+33.Kh2bxa3and Black is just winning, for example:34.Rxe1Rd230.Qc5(8:47)Rxe1?(0:56)31.Rxe1(02:31)Rxe1(0:04)32.Nxe1?(0:44)32.Qd6!a surprisingly powerful move, threatening mate on f6 or c7.Ne733.Qb8+Bc834.Nxe1± and Black's king is still very weak.32...Qxa2( 02:04)33.Nf3(2:48)Kd7(0:01)34.Kh2(1:02)Qe2(0:23)35.Nf6+(5:15)Kc7(0:15)36.Nd5+(00:05) peace was agreed before someone blundered something again.½–½
Wojtaszek tried to outplay Aronian in a classical Slav, but it was not to be. The Armenian was simply too solid.
Hard to crack the solid Armenian
Wesley So continued his strategy that, when ahead in the tournament, take no risks, and Dmitry Andreikin saw no reason to push him too far. The Re1 Berlin reared its head and the draw was never in doubt.
Ian Nepomniachtchi and Pavel Eljanov played another very long game, going to move 53 and spending hours in it, but at no point did either side have a clear advantage. The resulting endgame was more or less balanced, and the bishop had nothing on the knight, which hopped around the board.
The last game had a crazy opening, White sacrificed a piece, Black was underdeveloped, and both sides were getting mated. Obviously, it was a Rapport game. The Hungarian was a bit overzealous in his will to sacrifice, and instead of taking a perpetual he handed his opponent a clear win, but Loek Van Wely in heavy time trouble did not find it and allowed the perpetual again.
It was another big day in Wijk aan Zee Challenders, as Jeffery Xiong simply keeps winning. Today he checked his opponent's preparation in the symmetrical fianchetto Grunfeld, and he came out ahead. Xiong has scored 4.5/5 in the last five rounds, and this catapults him to sole first place. Not only that, Xiong's massive rating games currently put him as #4 in America, behind the giant trio if Caruana, So and Nakamura. His closest rival and former #4, Sam Shankland, lost his game today against Ju Wenjun in Gibraltar.
On fire
Smirin is now a point behind the leader
The other tournament leader before the round started, Markus Ragger, tried his best to beat Nils Grandelius, but rook and knight vs. rook is an easy draw for a grandmaster of this caliber.
Nils Grandelius had to suffer for a while, but he got his half point
Eric Hansen had a tough day at the office as he was simply outplayed by Gawain Jones, who keeps his eyes on the prize: both him and Ragger are only half a point behind Xiong.
Lu Shanglei gained some ground as he, very luckily, beat Dobrov
Dobrov had a clear win in the following position, can you find it?
White to move and win.
Here is the explanation:
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26...f627.Ne3?And eventually Black won27.Nxf6!exf628.Rxf5Qxf528...gxf529.Qg1+29.Qd7+Kg630.Qf7+Kg531.Qg7+Kf432.Qxh8 also works, so full points for that.29...Kf830.Qg6!And Black cannot prevent losing the rook on h8.29.Qxa7+Kf830.Qf7#27...Bxh328.Qxe4Qc529.Rg1g530.Rh1Bd731.Bd3h532.Ke2h433.Qg6+Kf834.Bc4Be835.Qe4Bf736.Bxf7Kxf737.Kd3Qb5+38.Nc4h339.Ke3Rh40–1
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