1/20/2017 – It isn’t every day that so many astonishing things happen in a single round, but such was the case in round five. The news came on several fronts, notably Eljanov losing to Aronian, and thus relinquishing his top position. Carlsen wasn’t the one to snatch it after a draw by Nepomniachtchi, but rather Wesley So, who defeated Harikrishna. Bottom seed Adhiban smashed Karjakin in a French Defense. Today’s report includes a Masters thesis by Alex Lenderman on the French Defense.
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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 site
Rest Day
On the night before the rest day, there was the traditional simul, held once again by Jorden Van Foreest, though his opponents had some GM help as can be seen with Erwin L'Ami and Anish Giri at the rear.
Jorden enjoyed the help of his little brother Pieter Van Foreest
It might be awfully cold there now, but Wijk aan Zee is not lacking on gorgeous sunsets
The official rest day would hardly be complete without Ye Olde Football Game. Loek Van Wely and the other players got the full shebang with young wannabes accompanying them on to the pitch.
Still, what a place to play: a full-fledged professional stadium!
And the game is afoot, with a showdown between Jorden Van Foreest and Magnus Carlsen
Chaos ensues
A small video of the some of the Grandmasters playing a friendly game of football at the Telstar stadium in IJmuiden. They were accompanied by some of Telstar's finest.
Indoors children were treated to a number of activities including...
... a simul
Round five
Masters tournament
Round 5 - Thursday, January 19
Eljanov, P.
0-1
Aronian, L.
Karjakin, S.
0-1
Adhiban, B.
So, W.
1-0
Harikrishna, P.
Wojtaszek, R.
1-0
Van Wely, L.
Andreikin, D.
½-½
Rapport, R.
Wei, Y.
½-½
Giri, A.
Nepomniachtchi, I.
½-½
Carlsen, M.
Video impressions of round five
Quick recap of round five by Daniel King
The opening wasn't exactly typical fare for Magnus as he gave a pawn for piece activity. He used his development to keep White at bay, and drew against Nepomniachtchi.
Levon Aronian not only scored his first win, but did so at the expense of leader, and man-in-form Pavel Eljanov
Levon Aronian speaks to Anna Rudolf about his win over former leader Pavel Eljanov
This round was held in Rotterdam, as part of the Chess on Tour initiative. Note that only the Masters group toured, while the Challengers remained in Wij aan Zee.
Wesley So played a very fine game against Pentala Harikirshna, and took the sole lead. Will he repeat his fantastic 2016 now in 2017?
It was a tough blow for the very likable Pentala Harikrishna, but he was avenged in a way by his compatriot...
... Baskaran Adhiban who brought in the cavalry and smashed...
... Sergey Karjakin with Black using the French Defense!
Our guest analyst Aleksandr Lenderman, a specialist in the French Defense sent in notes so detailed they could constitute a book on the line. Well worth the time invested though you can also just play through the powerful game by the Indian.
Aleksandr Lenderman analyzes Sergey Karjakin vs Baskaran Adhiban
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Move
N
Result
Elo
Players
1.e4
1,170,319
54%
2421
---
1.d4
949,867
55%
2434
---
1.Nf3
282,628
56%
2440
---
1.c4
182,731
56%
2442
---
1.g3
19,745
56%
2427
---
1.b3
14,347
54%
2427
---
1.f4
5,917
48%
2377
---
1.Nc3
3,816
51%
2384
---
1.b4
1,759
48%
2379
---
1.a3
1,222
54%
2404
---
1.e3
1,073
49%
2409
---
1.d3
955
50%
2378
---
1.g4
666
46%
2361
---
1.h4
449
53%
2374
---
1.c3
435
51%
2426
---
1.h3
283
56%
2419
---
1.a4
114
60%
2465
---
1.f3
93
46%
2435
---
1.Nh3
90
66%
2505
---
1.Na3
42
62%
2482
---
Please, wait...
Welcome everyone! This is GM Aleksandr Lenderman with the analysis of the
round 5 Game of the Day from the 2017 Tata Steel tournament. This round there
were many interesting games, and also a big shake up in the standings, as the
leader after 4 rounds, GM Pavel Eljanov got ambitious against Levon Aronian
and ended up getting outplayed and lost, while GM Wesley So continued his
great form, with a nice win against GM Pentala Harikrishna. However, for Game
of the Day, I decided to choose Adhiban's win against GM Sergey Karjakin
because very rarely do we see a player as strong as Sergey Karjakin lose with
white in such a convincing matter, and I also thought the game had theoretical
significance.1.e4e62.d4d53.Nc3Nf64.e5Nfd75.f4c56.Nf3Nc67.Be3Be78.Qd2a6!?Even though in the last 3 years I've been almost
primarily a French player, somehow this move order involving Be7 followed by
a6 or vise versa slipped out of my view. I always thought that normally after
White plays 7. Be3, and then Black either plays a6 followed by b5, or Be7
followed by 0-0. But this move order, while used less often, has been used by
great players, in particular Hikaru Nakamura with black a few times, and more
recently GM Anton Korobov and one of the biggest French specialists that I
know, GM Matthias Bluebaum.8...0-0This is more standard and leads to
sharp games often and has been seen quite often in practice9.a3This
seems like the most popular move now in this position, possibly because
Kramnik played it against Meier in the 2016 Baku Olympiad. However, other
moves are certainly possible and deserve separate analysis.9.Bd3!?
was used by Fabiano against Hikaru in the St Louis Showdown 2015.b510.0-0Qb610...c4!?Maybe it was better to gain a tempo and close the structure,
though of course this type of position requires deep analysis as it's not a
type of position that the computer has a good grasp on right away in terms of
evaluating its long term prospects.11.Be2Nb611.dxc511.Qf2!?
Perhaps this is more precise to try to induce c4.0-0?!12.f5!11...Bxc512.Bxc5Nxc513.Qf2Nd7?!I already don't like this decision, I feel like
the endgame will be better for White.13...b414.Ne2a5Possibly this is
an important to try to trade off the bishop on a6.14.a3Ke715.Qxb6Nxb616.Ne2Bd7Here we can clearly see the endgame is better for White because
Black did not solve the problem of his typical bad French bishop on d7.17.b3f618.Ned4Nxd419.Nxd4fxe520.fxe5h621.Kf2Rhf8+22.Ke3Rxf123.Rxf1Be824.Bh7Bf725.Nc6+Ke826.Bd3Rc827.Nb4Nd728.Kd4Nb829.Nxa6Nc6+30.Kc530.Ke330...Ke731.Kxb5Nxe532.Kb6Be833.a4Kd634.Rf2Nxd334...Nd7+35.cxd3Bg636.d4e537.dxe5+Kxe538.b4d439.b5d340.Nb4Kd441.Nc6+Ke342.Rf3+Ke243.Nd4+Ke144.Rg3Be445.Re3+Kf146.Rxe4d247.Nf5Rc348.Rd4Ke149.a5g650.Nd61-0 (50) Caruana,F (2787)
-Nakamura,H (2793) Saint Louis USA 20159.Be2was played by Maxime
Vachier Lagraveb510.0-0b410...0-0Maybe something has to be said
about starting with 0-011.Nd111.Na4Possibly this is an improvement
for White11...0-012.c3a513.Bf2a413...f6!?This was tried by
Bluebaum and he got a good position against a theoretician, Ragger14.Ne3fxe515.fxe5Ba616.Nc2Qc817.Bxa6Qxa618.Be3bxc319.bxc3cxd420.cxd4Nb421.Bg5Bxg522.Nxg5h623.Rxf8+Nxf824.Nf3Nxc225.Qxc2Rc826.Qd2Qb627.h4Rc428.h5Rb429.Kh2Rb230.Qe1a431.Qc3Qb532.Nh4Qe233.Qf3Qxf334.Nxf3a335.Nh4Kf736.Rc1Rxa237.Rc7+Ke838.Ng6Nxg639.hxg6Rd240.Rxg7Kf841.Ra7Rxd442.Rxa3Re443.Ra7Rxe544.g7+Kg845.Rd7Rg546.Re7e547.Kg1h548.Kf2h449.Rd7d450.Re7d351.Kf1Kh752.Kf2Kg853.Kf1Kh754.Kf2d255.Rd7Rxg756.Rxd2Kg657.Rd8Kf558.Rh8Rg459.Kf3Rf4+60.Ke3Re4+61.Kf3Rf4+62.Ke3Ra463.Rf8+Ke664.Rh8Ra3+65.Ke4Ra4+66.Ke3Kf667.Rf8+Kg668.Re8Kf669.Rf8+Kg770.Re8Ra3+71.Ke4Kf672.Rf8+Kg773.Rf5Ra274.Rxe5Rxg275.Rh5Ra276.Kf3h377.Rxh3Ra3+78.Kg2Rxh379.Kxh31/2 (79) Kryvoruchko,Y (2693)-Bluebaum,M
(2626) Baku AZE 201614.cxb4Nxb415.Ne3Qa5I think here Black more
than solved his opening problems, and even though he later lost, it had
nothing to do with the opening.16.Rfc1Nc617.Qxa5Rxa518.dxc5Nxc519.Nd1Bd720.Nd4Rc821.Nc3g522.g3Nb423.Ncb5gxf424.gxf4Rb825.Nd6a326.bxa3Nbd327.Bxd3Nxd328.Rc7Nxf229.Kxf2Rb2+30.Kg1Bh431.Rf1Bd832.Rxd7Bb633.Kh1Bxd434.f5Rxa335.f6h536.Rd8+Kh737.Nxf7Raxa238.Ng5+Kh639.Nf3Bc540.Rh8+Kg641.Rg8+Kf742.Rg7+Kf843.Rh7Rf244.Rg1Rxh2+45.Nxh2Bxg146.Kxg11-0 (46) Vachier Lagrave,M (2811)-Korobov,A
(2687) Bastia FRA 20169.g3Seems also interesting0-010.Bh3f5?!10...b5Perhaps after simply b5 though Black is fine.11.exf6Nxf612.dxc5Kh8?!12...e5Perhaps this should be tried but here also the
compensation for Black is not clear13.Bxc8Rxc814.Nxe5d415.Nxc6dxc316.Qxd8Bxd817.Nxd8Rfxd818.bxc3Re819.Kd2Ne4+20.Ke2Nxc521.Kf3
And white is pressing in the endgame13.0-0-0Qa514.Kb114.Rhe1!
White was clearly better here.14...Bxc515.Bxc5Qxc516.Rhe1Re817.g4Rf818.Ng5Qd619.f5exf520.gxf5d421.Nf3Bd722.Nxd4Nxd423.Qxd4Qxh224.Rh1Qc725.a3Rad826.Qh4Bc627.Rhg1Rxd1+28.Rxd1Qh229.Rd3Re830.Qg5h631.Qg6Re1+32.Ka2Be833.Qg3Bf7+0-1 (33) Hou Yifan (2649)
-Korobov,A (2687) Bastia FRA 20169.dxc5Nxc510.0-0-0has also been
tried by a few strong players. Here though Black should have good counterplay
with Qa5Qa511.Kb1b512.Bd3Bd713.Bxc5Bxc514.f5Bb4From here on it
looks like it's white who has to be careful not to be worse15.Qg5Bxc316.Qxg70-0-017.bxc3d418.Nxd4Nxd419.cxd4Qb4+20.Kc1Rhg821.Qxf7Rxg222.fxe6Qa3+23.Kb1Qb4+24.Kc1Qa3+25.Kb1Qb4+1/2 (25) Nepomniachtchi,
I (2720)-Meier,G (2654) Dortmund GER 20159...0-010.dxc5Nxc511.Qf2Nd7!?NAccording to my database, this is the first novelty of the game and
quite interesting. Before this game, White seemed to have the upper hand in
all the games. Also Adhiban played it almost instantly which almost certainly
means it is still his opening preparation. After Nd7!?, Sergey Karjakin
thought for about 10 minutes, so he was probably surprised.11...b6
This move seems like the most logical but now we see the whole point of the
move 9. a3!?12.b4In fact I faced this idea once also in a slightly
different variation of the classical French against an Indian GM and I ended
up getting a very unpleasant position and was very lucky not to lose. Vishnu,
Prasanna-Lenderman London 2015Nd712...f6!?Bluebaum, perhaps knowing
about the Meier game (after all they play for the same team at the Olympiad,
Germany), might've analyzed Nd7 not to be satisfactory and came up with the
very interesting piece sacrifice.13.bxc5bxc513...fxe5!?According to
stockfish this also has to be analyzed.14.Bxc5Qa5The next few moves are
nearly forced according to the computer15.Bd4fxe515...Bd7!?Comp says
this might be playable too16.Nxe5Nxd417.Qxd4Rxf418.Nc6Bc519.Qe5Bd620.Qxg7+Kxg721.Nxa5Be522.Kd2So the dust settled, white remained
up a piece but Black has tremendous compensation due to very active pieces,
two strong bishops and a very strong central control. Very deep analysis of
this position requires to know if this is enough for Black. It's possible both
Karjakin and Adhiban knew about the Kramnik-Meier and Ragger-Bluebaum games,
and possibly this is good for White, and therefore Adhiban decided to take an
independent route.Rf2+23.Kd3Bf424.Ne2Bh625.c4Kg826.Rd1Bd727.Nc3Rc828.Be2Rc529.cxd5Rxa530.dxe6Bxe631.Rdf1Rxf132.Rxf1Rxa333.Rf6Rxc3+34.Kxc3Bg735.Bxa6Bxf6+36.Kd3Kg737.Ke4Bc338.Be2Kf639.Kf3Bd5+40.Kf2Bd4+41.Kg3Be5+42.Kf2Kg543.Kg1Bd4+44.Kh1Kf445.Bf3Be646.Bc6Ke347.Bb7Bf548.Bc6Bd349.Bb7h550.g3Kf251.Bc6Be252.Bb7Bf3+53.Bxf3Kxf354.h3Kxg355.h4Kh31/2 (55) Ragger,M (2694)-Bluebaum,M
(2641) Novi Sad SRB 201613.Bd3Now White develops comfortable while Black
finds his pieces to be a bit restricted. Therefore, he tries to free them all
up with...f614.Qg3!But White doesn't oblige, and Black is in a
difficult situation here already.d415.0-0-0!?Possibly not the only way
to play but it's definitely the most ambitious!dxe315...dxc316.Bxh7+Kxh717.Qh3+would also lead to a dangerous attack for White16.Bxh7+Kxh717.Qh3+Kg818.Qxe6+Kh819.Qxc6Ra720.Nh4!I wouldn't be
surprised if this is all Kramnik's preparation but either way, brilliant,
whether brilliant preparation or brilliant play over the board.Qe821.Nd521.e6!?21...Kh722.Nxe7Qxe723.Nf5Nxe523...Qe8!?24.Nxe7Nxc625.Nxc6Rc726.Nd4Re827.Rd3Bb728.Re1Bxg229.Rdxe3Rxe330.Rxe3
and White quickly converted this into a win.Bd531.Nf5g532.fxg5fxg533.Re5Bf734.Kb2b535.Nd4Kg636.Nf3g437.Rg5+Kf638.Rxg41-0 (38)
Kramnik,V (2808)-Meier,G (2654) Baku AZE 201611...Qa5!?is also a very
logical move which has been tried before, and also computer likes it, at least
at first. As far as I can see after brief analysis there is nothing
particularly wrong with it and it should lead to interesting play.12.0-0-0Bd712...Nd7!?Maybe this strange move here is possible, in order to
prepare b5 b4, also deserves attention13.Bd3b514.Nd4Qc7?!But this
move I don't like because I think after this move White gets free initiative.14...Nxd415.Bxd4b4I think Black should play more directly here and now
it's anyone's game, and in fact computer at a lower depth prefers Black.16.axb4Bxb417.f5exf517...Nc518.f6Nxd3+19.cxd3Bd7Is very unclear15.Nf5exf516.Nxd5Qa517.Bd2Bc518.Nf6+Nxf619.Qxc5Qc720.exf6Be621.g4Rfd822.gxf5Rd523.Qg1g624.fxe6Rxd325.Qc5Qd626.Qg5Rh327.exf7+Kxf728.Bc3Qe629.Rhe1Re330.f51-0 (30) Salem, A (2650)-Svane,R
(2552) Douglas ENG 201613.f5d4Otherwise White gets a free initiative.14.Bxd414.f6!?It's possible that this is the problem move for Black.dxe314...dxc315.fxe7cxb2+16.Kxb2Na4+17.Kc1Nxe718.Rxd7Qc319.Bd3And it's not clear right away whether Black gets enough initiative for the
piece or not.15.Qg3g616.Qh414...exf515.Bc4Be616.Bxe6fxe6
Here Black solved his opening problems.17.Qe2b518.Kb1Rab819.Bxc5Bxc520.Na2Qc721.Nc1Be722.Rd3Rfd823.Rhd1Rxd324.Nxd3b425.a4b326.cxb3Rxb327.Qc2Qb628.Nd2Nd429.Qc8+Kf730.Nxb3Qxb331.Rd2Qxa432.Qc3Nb533.Qc2Qe434.Re2Qd435.Re1g636.g3h537.Qb3g538.Rc1Qe339.Qc4h440.gxh4gxh441.Rf1Ke842.Re1Qb643.Qb3Bg544.Qb4Kf745.Ka2h346.Qb3Qa5+47.Kb1Qd248.Qd1Qxd1+49.Rxd1Kg650.Rg1Kh551.Rg3Kh452.Nf2Bf453.Rxh3+Kg554.Nd3Nd455.Rh8Be356.h4+Kg457.h5Kg558.b4f459.h6f360.h7Kg661.Kb2Kg762.Rf8Kxh763.Kc3Kg664.Nc5f265.Rf6+Kh566.Kd3Nf567.Ke2Bg568.Rf8Be769.Ra8Nd4+70.Kxf2Nc671.Re8a572.Rxe7Nxe773.bxa5Kg574.a6Nd575.a7Nb676.Ke3Kf577.Kd4Na878.Nd71-0 (78) Sethuraman,S (2633)-Korobov,A (2687) Czech Republic CZE 201612.Nd4Logical move, trying to control the d4 outpost square and trying to
steer the game to positional waters.Nxd413.Bxd4f6This is almost a must.
Otherwise White will simply play Bd3, 0-0 and slowly apply an unpleasant
positional squeeze.13...b514.Bd3Bb715.0-0Qc716.b4!And
thanks to this useful b4 move, Black doesn't even get a chance to get the
knight to c5 and dislodge the bishop from d4. His bishop on b7 is dead, and
Black might be borderline strategically lost here.14.exf6Bxf6!It's
important to continue playing dynamically, and threaten ideas like Bg5 and e5
and make it uncomfortable for White. At least now White is forced to calculate
concrete lines and he can't apply the positional squeeze for free.15.Bxf6
An underestandable decision by Sergey, to try to play a simpler and safer move
to avoid playing against very strong Adhiban's preparation15.0-0-0
This move might be a critical test to the line though after all. Possibly
Sergey didn't want to allow extra possibilities like Bg5 or e5, or even just
b5 with a straight forward attacking plan for Black, but possibly they are not
as scary as they seem objectively.b515...e516.Bc5!The only move for
White but a good once. Ideally he doesn't want to give up a bishop pair to
Black but here the d5 square weakens quite a bit.Nxc517.Qxc5exf418.Nxd518.Bc4!?18.Qxd5+!?18...Bg419.Nxf6+Qxf620.Rd6Qe721.Bd3
And perhaps White can play for some advantage here in this line.15...Bg5
This move seems pretty harmless because White can just go back16.Be3Bf617.Qd2And Black has nothing better than to go back and now white has at least a
more pleasant position and he can go Bd4 next move once his queen got out of
the pin.16.Be2Here the top computer choice by far for White is Be2,
trying to simply play Rhe1 and Bg4 and pressure on Black's weakness on e6, and
still Black doesn't have anything convincing it seems.Rb816...e517.Bc517.Rhe1b418.axb4Rxb419.Bg4Bxd420.Bxe6+Kh821.Rxd4Qb622.Rd2Nc523.Bxd5Rxb224.Qg3!It's very hard to evaluate this position. The
computer gives White some edge, but from a practical standpoint of view it is
probably easier to play Black because he has the initiative. Also in between
there are many pitfalls and White has to find lots of accurate moves just to
get to this position. So it seems like it's very good practical preparation by
Adhiban. But now that it's been played, it's unclear whether there will be too
many followers of this interesting idea, now that there is less surprise value
now, and professionals will be able to analyze this position now deeply with
their engines which are more powerful than mine.15...Qxf616.g3g5!
The whole point of Black's play. Black continues to not let White consolidate.
Now White is forced to play a sharp game.17.0-0-0This seems fine,
sacrifising the pawn for initiative but it had to be followed up correctly.17.Bh317.Qg2were also alternatives but they don't seems very promising
for White.17...gxf418.Kb1Played after about a 7-minute think. This
move still is not a mistake according to the computer, getting the king out of
checks along the c1-h6 diagonal. But perhaps White had an interesting
alternative here.18.Rd4!?Of course now if f3, White doesn't have to
play Kb1 anymore.fxg318...f319.Rf4Qh620.Kb1And with the strong
defensive rook on f8 traded, White will have more initiative than he did in
the game.Rxf421.gxf4Qxf422.Rg1+Kh823.Ne2!Is an example of how
White develops a very strong attack.Qf724.Rg3Ne525.Qd4Qf626.Ng1!+-Is a nice sample variation19.Qxg3+Possibly even this isn't
completely forced.Kh820.Rh4!Rg821.Qh3Nf822.Bd3Qg723.Rh5
And according to the engine White's initiative is still more than enough for
the pawn. Black has to play very precisely here to hold the balance.Bd7!
Possibly the only move.24.Re1Be825.Rhe5d426.Nb1Qg427.Qxg4Rxg428.Be4Should be close to equal.18...f3Still played instantly by black!19.g4?And this is already White's first real mistake of the game, after
which White's initiative really loses steam and Black takes over the momentum.
Rd4 was seemingly forced now. He tries to go for a sort of desperate attack,
but it doesn't work well for him, in particular because his knight on c3 is
really not being utilized to its maximum, and you can basically say that about
almost all of White's pieces. White's best plans involved at some point to
activate his knight on c3.19.Rd4!Ne520.Rf4Qg721.Na4
Perhaps Sergey missed this unusual positional resource, which is easy to miss
when seemingly play goes around Black's king. However, here the white knights
finds a nice way to penetrate into Black's position and White still has enough
compensation.Bd722.Nc5Rae823.Bh319...Ne5This was the first
real think for Adhiban.20.g5Qg721.g6?!Objectively probably not the
best but at this point it's already hard to find an active plan for White.21.Na4This move again probably should've been tried to try to activate the
knight on c3 at least, which right now is just not doing anything.21.h4
This was also possible and here white still has a little bit of compensation
for the pawn.21...hxg622.Bd3Bd7-+Now Black just completely
consolidated and he's up two pawns. White would have compensation if his
knight on c3 was somewhere on the kingside, but in this position White can't
hope for much since his pieces are not being utilized to the maximum.23.Rdg1Nxd3Removing the last semi-dangerous pieces for white24.cxd3Rf525.Rg4Raf826.Rhg1Be827.Nd1A little too late now.Rh528.h4Re529.Ne3Bb5!Nice tactical point to try to activate his bishop.30.Rd4Now the white
rook is in less than an ideal position30.Rxg6Bxd3+30...Re4?!It's
hard for me to criticize a move which led to a win the very next move, but
objectively I feel like it allowed unnecessary chances.30...Kh7was maybe
more solid.31.Rxg6?!Basically resigning.31.dxe4White had a slight
faint hope of survival with dxe4 and trying to create a mess near Black's king.
Qxd432.Rxg6+Kf7Suddenly the only move.32...Kh7??33.Rh6+Kxh634.Ng4+±And suddenly it's White who is better.33.h5And surprisingly
even though Black should be winning, he still has to be careful.Qxe4+34.Ka1Ke7!And already here this move is by far the best, which honestly speaking
to me, is far from obvious.35.Ng4d436.Rg7+Kd6-+If Adhiban
calculated to this position and saw he's winning by force, then it's brilliant,
but to me from a human standpoint of view, I would be a bit afraid to put my
king like this all the way to d6, since in a position like this, a single
misstep can suddenly change the evaluation of the position. But I will give
him the benefit of the doubt here.31...Bxd3+And White loses more
material and is completely lost so he resigned. As a regular French player
myself, I cannot help but wonder why the French defence is not played more
often at the elite level. And it seems like when it does get played, more
often than not Black seems to get very interesting games, and very often the
opening is a success for Black. That's why I was very happy to see a game like
this where the French defence proved to be alive and kicking, and what's more:
against a super-elite player, one of the best 1. e4 players of the current
generation, and a player who just played for the World Championship match and
must've prepared deeply for every opening. If even someone as strong and
well-prepared as Sergey Karjakin can be humbled like this in this French maze,
I still wonder why the French is not a more frequent guest at the top level.
Possibly games like this will make it more popular!0–1
If this game, and the extensive notes by Lenderman inspired you to take up the French, then do not miss the great DVD by GM Nicholas Pert, himself a lifelong practitioner, who crammed seven hours of material into it, highlighting the choice of 'fighting lines'.
The French Defence for the Tournament Player
by Nicholas Pert
Languages: English ISBN: 978-3-86681-392-2 Delivery: Download, Post Level: Tournament player, Professional €29.90 or €25.13 without VAT (for Customers outside the EU) $28.39 (without VAT)
This French Defence DVD is a complete attacking opening repertoire for Black after 1.e4 e6. GM Nick Pert has played the French Defence his whole life and provides all his latest and most up-to-date analysis crammed into a single DVD. Nick has spent thousands of hours studying the best French lines, and he explains the pick of the bunch – all for the cost of a DVD. It almost seems like daylight robbery! In addition to the usual video explanations of the French there are some interactive clips where the viewer is tested on a range of theoretical questions and tactics arising from French Defence games.
• Video running time: seven hours • With interactive training including video feedback • Exclusive database with 100 essential games • Including CB 12 Reader
No less inspired, GM Daniel King also named it his Game of the Day, and brings in his own analysis. Enjoy!
Game of the day: Karjakin v Adhiban
A delighted Adhiban shares his impressions after his victory
Anish Giri had another promising game, though not quite as crushing as in round four, but was unable to convert it. It must be said Wei Yi's play had been incredibly sharp.
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 a free Playchess client there and get immediate access. You can also use ChessBase 14 or any of our Fritz compatible chess programs.
Albert SilverBorn in the US, he grew up in Paris, France, where he completed his Baccalaureat, and after college moved to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. He had a peak rating of 2240 FIDE, and was a key designer of Chess Assistant 6. In 2010 he joined the ChessBase family as an editor and writer at ChessBase News. He is also a passionate photographer with work appearing in numerous publications, and the content creator of the YouTube channel, Chess & Tech.
Chess Festival Prague 2025 with analyses by Aravindh, Giri, Gurel, Navara and others. ‘Special’: 27 highly entertaining miniatures. Opening videos by Werle, King and Ris. 10 opening articles with new repertoire ideas and much more.
Experts examine the games of Max Euwe. Let them show you which openings Euwe chose to play, where his strength in middlegames were, which tactical abilities he had or how he outplayed his opponents in the endgame.
This interactive video course of over 8 hours, provides an in-depth exploration of the Pirc Defence, a favoured opening for people looking to play for the win with the black pieces.
Pirc Defence Powerbase 2025 is a database and contains a total of 10027 games from Mega 2025 or the Correspondence Database 2024; of these 874 are annotated.
The Pirc Defence Powerbook 2025 consists for a greater part of engine games (168 000), to which has been added high value material from Mega and the Correspondence Database (115 000).
The free app from ChessBase! ChessBase Mobile has everything you need as a chess player on the go:
access your chess data in cloud databases - and 13 million games.
€0.00
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