2017 Tata Rd6: The higher they rise, the harder they fall

by Albert Silver
1/21/2017 – What a round, and what a feast for the fans. After defeating Karjakin with the French, Indian player Adhiban decided to face the man-in-form Wesley So with the King's Gambit! Though he got a great position, it was not enough to win. Anish Giri also celebrated his first win by beating Nepomniachtchi. Still, the biggest surprise was in the Challengers where all three leaders lost. Annotating Hansen's fine win over Xiong, Tiger Hillarp-Persson gives a wonderful class on the bishop pair.
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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

Masters tournament

Round 6 - Friday, January 20
Aronian, L.
½-½
 Carlsen, M.
Giri, A.
1-0
 Nepomniachtchi, I.
Rapport, R.
0-1
 Wei, Y.
Van Wely, L.
½-½
 Andreikin, D.
Harikrishna, P.
½-½
 Wojtaszek, R.
Adhiban, B.
½-½
 So, W.
Eljanov, P.
½-½
 Karjakin, S.

Quick recap of round 6

Game of the day: Rapport v Wei Yi

 

One minute of video impressions of round six

The large playing area with all the events housed together (click on image for high-res)

Once more a fascinating round, and fans can only be grateful that they are being treated to so much entertaining chess. The Masters was of course the main focus, and there were more than the fair share of surprises. The first and foremost was easily that of the previous round’s surprise winner, Baskaran Adhiban. Faced with the task of playing Wesley So, the man in form, if ever such a term applied to anyone, he was left with the question of what to play with White. Based on his success with his opening surprise against Sergey Karjakin, what did he choose? The King’s Gambit!

Giri: "Great job on your surprising opening choice yesterday"; Adhiban: "You ain't seen nothing"

IM Sagar Shah analyzes Adhiban vs So

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1.e4 0 e5 11 2.f4!? 0 When was the last time someone played the King's Gambit against Wesley So?! Well, the databases reveal that this was the first time! Adhiban has seriously made some very interesting choices at this event. Rather than going deep into some line, he has just changed the battlefield in order to make it more even. exf4 44 3.Bc4 0 3.Nf3 is by far the most popular move in the position. 3...d5 405 Played after seven minutes of thought. Wesley would have definitely prepared something against the King's Gambit but to remember all the analysis on the spot is not an easy task. 3...Qh4+ 4.Kf1 The tempo that you will gain with Nf3 is worth losing your castling rights! 4.Bxd5 0 Nf6 8 5.Nc3 0 Nxd5 566 6.Nxd5 0 Bd6 8 6...g5 is another possible move, but Wesley likes to go for simple developing moves rather than clinging on to pawns with moves like g5. 7.Nf3 0 0-0 17 8.d4 0 Adhiban was still blitzing his moves. Re8 905 15 minutes of thought! The opening is already a success for the Indian player. 9.e5 4 c6 7 9...f6 10.Bxf4 10.Nxf4 54 White has not only recovered his pawn, but is a pawn up and has a clearly preferable position. Getting such a position against Wesley after 10 moves in any major well-known opening line might be almost impossible. f6 38 11.Nd3 712 The first move where Adhiban had to think. 12 minutes for 11.Nd3. 11.0-0!? fxe5 12.dxe5 Bc5+ 13.Kh1 Qxd1 14.Rxd1 Bf5 11.Qd3!? fxe5 12.dxe5 Bc7 13.Qb3+ Kh8 14.0-0± 11...fxe5 1654 12.dxe5 2 Qb6 249 13.Qe2 901 Bf5 12 14.Be3 197 Qa5+ 25 15.c3 497 Bc7 901 16.0-0 196 Qa6 14 White is a pawn up, but Black's bishop pair and the pretty weak e5 pawn gives Black decent compensation. 16...Bxd3 17.Qxd3 Bxe5 18.Ng5! g6 19.Qc4+ Qd5 20.Qh4+- 17.Rad1 244 Nd7 7 17...Qxa2 18.Ng5 Bg6 19.Nf4+- 18.Bd4 1568 Adhiban played after 26 minutes, but this move lets Black equalize with ease. 18.b3!? Bxd3 19.Rxd3 Nxe5 20.Nxe5 Bxe5 21.c4 18...c5! 100 19.Bf2 23 Nxe5 177 20.Nfxe5 23 Bxe5 284 21.Qf3 18 Be4 27 22.Qh3 35 Bxd3 166 23.Qxd3 115 The position is just even now. Qxa2 43 24.Bxc5 621 Qxb2 40 25.Bxa7! 239 Bxc3 357 25...Rxa7 26.Qd5+ Kh8 27.Qxe5= 26.Bf2 525 Be5 251 27.Rb1 86 Qa2 5 28.Rxb7 9 The pawns are exchanged and the game ends in a draw. Rf8 33 29.Qb3+ 173 Qxb3 47 30.Rxb3 4 Ra2 3 31.Rf3 184 Rxf3 6 32.gxf3 5 Kf7 4 33.Bg3 45 Bd4+ 5 34.Kh1 14 Rd2 30 35.Bf4 43 Re2 4 36.Rd1 8 Bc3 39 37.Rd3 11 Bb4 32 38.Rd4 135 Bc5 11 39.Rd2 3 ½–½
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Adhiban,B2653So,W2808½–½2017C3379th Tata Steel Chess 2017-Masters6

Granted it had no small portion of surprise value in it, but Adhiban got a very nice position too

Feel inspired to play the King's Gambit? After all, if a top player is not afraid to unleash it against a 2800 player in the biggest tournament of his life, what could you possibly fear? GM Simon Williams produced a veritable labor of love and produced two gorgeous DVDs on the King's Gambit. Highly recommended!

King's Gambit Vol.1

by Simon Williams

Languages: English
ISBN: 978-3-86681-427-1
Delivery: Download, Post
Level: Tournament player, Professional
€29.90 or €25.13 without VAT (for Customers outside the EU) $28.39 (without VAT)

This DVD concentrates on the King’s Gambit accepted with 3 Bc4. Bronstein once said about this move, ‘You want to play the King’s Gambit? Well, Black can draw after 3. Nf3. Play 3. Bc4 if you want to win !’ Of course things have developed a lot since Bronstein’s times, and this DVD aims to bring people up to speed with all the latest developments and new ideas that are playable, with both colours in this fascinating variation. I have included a lot of novelties and interesting attacking variations that should wet the lips of any attacking player, looking for an interesting way of meeting 1...e5! With the Berlin opening now leading to dull equal positions, it may well be time to start taking a look at the King’s Gambit in more detail. The opening leads to crazy interesting positions, where Black is placed under pressure from move two.

• Video running time: 5h42 min (English)
• With interactive training including video feedback
• Exclusive training database with 50 selected games
• Including CB 12 Reader

Order Simon Williams's King''s Gambit Vol.1 DVD in the ChessBase Shop

You want fireworks? This was the board to watch, with both players daring each other to be crazier than themselves. In the end, Rapport won the dare, but lost the game...

Richard Rapport - Wei Yi

 
Wei Yi decided the game was getting boring so played 15...g5!? to spice things up. And boy did they ever...

Adhiban wasn't the only Indian player to display enterprising chess...

... and attracted more than his portion of curious onlookers.

IM Sagar Shah annotates Pentala Harikrishna vs Radoslaw Wojtaszek

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1.e4 0 e5 5 2.Nf3 0 Nc6 4 3.Bb5 6 a6 6 4.Ba4 6 Nf6 5 5.0-0 53 Be7 9 6.Re1 20 b5 6 7.Bb3 3 0-0 7 8.a3 158 d6 119 9.h3 142 Hari likes to play this move h3 in both the Ruy Lopez as well as the Guioco Piano. Na5 176 10.Ba2 63 c5 6 11.Nc3 260 Nc6 476 12.d3 524 h6 290 13.Bd2 588 Rb8 845 14.Rb1 754 a5 433 15.a4 168 b4 29 16.Nb5 245 Re8 275 17.c3 335 Bf8 126 18.Qc2 89 Qb6 349 19.Be3 93 Na7 978 20.Bc4 745 Ba6?! 418 21.Nc7! 373 Harikrishna alert as ever picks up the light squared bishop. Qxc7 288 22.Bxa6 6 With the light squared bishop in his bag, White is clearly for choice. d5 123 23.cxb4 134 23.exd5 Nxd5 24.Bc4 Nxe3 25.Rxe3 23...Nc6 190 24.Bb5 172 24.Bd2 24...Nxb4 57 25.Qd1 113 Red8 69 26.exd5 19 Nfxd5 7 26...Rxd5 27.Bc4 27.Bd2 70 Bd6 139 28.Qe2 189 Nf4 263 29.Qe4± 239 White is clearly better. Nc2 108 30.Rec1 69 30.Nxe5! Nxe1 30...Bxe5 31.Qxe5 Qxe5 32.Rxe5 Nxd3 33.Bxd3 Rxd3 34.Bxa5± 31.Bxf4+- 30...Nb4 5 31.g3 359 Ne6 99 31...Nxh3+ 32.Kg2 Ng5 33.Nxg5 hxg5 34.Rh1 g6 35.Bxg5+- 32.Bxb4 75 axb4 4 33.h4 48 Rf8 472 34.Re1 67 Qd8 251 35.Kg2 100 35.Nxe5 Bxe5 36.Qxe5 Nd4 35...Nc7 182 36.Bc4 21 Re8 3 37.Qf5 165 Qf6 29 38.Qh5 205 38.Qxf6 gxf6 39.Ra1± White has a clear advantage here because of the strong light squared bishop and the protected a-passed pawn. 38...Ne6 100 39.Nxe5 87 g6 48 40.Nxg6 0 40.Ng4! Qd4 41.Qd5 Qxg4 42.Qxd6+- 40.Qxh6 Bxe5 40...Kh7! 166 41.Qd5 1033 41.Ne5 Ng7 42.Qxf7 Bxe5 43.Qxf6 Bxf6= 41...Nc7 573 42.Qxf7+ 42 Qxf7 4 43.Bxf7 7 Rxe1 9 44.Rxe1 5 Kg7 19 45.Ne5 355 Bxe5 4 46.Rxe5 7 Kxf7 2 47.Rxc5± 10 Although White is better it is not so easy to convert this into a full point. Ne6 15 48.Rc4 362 b3 762 49.Kf3 277 Ke7 36 50.d4 331 Kd6 23 51.Ke4 7 Nc7 59 52.Rc5 247 Rb4 291 53.Rh5 169 Rxa4 231 54.Rxh6+ 22 Ne6 93 55.f4 177 Rxd4+ 102 56.Ke3 51 Rd5 4 57.g4 50 Ke7 34 58.f5 279 Re5+ 110 59.Kd3 123 Nf4+ 6 60.Kc4 0 Re4+ 118 61.Kxb3 147 Ng2 5 62.g5 625 Nxh4 34 63.Rh7+ 5 Kf8 138 64.f6 75 Rg4 41 65.Rh8+ 104 Kf7 5 66.Rh7+ 35 Kf8 5 67.Rh8+ 9 ½–½
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Harikrishna,P2766Wojtaszek,R2750½–½2017C9079th Tata Steel Chess 2017-Masters6

The author would like to thank IM Sagar Shah for sharing his analyses from ChessBase India with our readers.

Another big game of the day was between Magnus Carlsen and Levon Aronian, but not much in terms of sparks flew, and they drew

Speaking of draws or rather not draws... Anish Giri converted his huge advantage against Ian Nepomniachtchi for his first win of the tournament. In spite of the flak he often gets, it should be noted that he was winning and close to it in the previous two rounds, and it does show that the potential for a big result is waiting to be unfurled. Seven rounds to go!

 

Always with grace and wit, Anish Giri comments on his first win at Wijk

In fact, another happy result, though barely, was Loek Van Wely, who drew against Dmitri Andreikin. The affable Dutchman knew he was a heavy underdog going into it, but this year has been especially brutal.

Van Wely - Andreikin

 
Andreikin had done it perfectly, and was now dead won. Had he played 49... Kf3, the point was his, but instead he played 49...Kg3?? and let White escape. The difference is that the white king dashes over to the queenside, blockading the c-pawn with the king, and exchanges his b-pawn for the f-pawn at the right moment.

Unfortunately, like it or not, this is pretty much the way the Dutchman's remaining opponents look like. When a player, any player, shows signs of particularly bad form or results, this is a a swan song for the other players who view him (or her) as shark bait. Loek knows this as well as any, and can already hear the music: dum-dum-dum-dum-dum-dum....

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1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.e3 a6 5.Nf3 Bf5 6.Be2 h6 7.Qb3 Ra7 8.cxd5 cxd5 9.Ne5 e6 10.Bd2 Be7 11.0-0 0-0 12.Rfc1 Nfd7 13.Nxd7 Qxd7 14.Na4 Nc6 15.Qb6 Rfa8 16.Nc5 Qc8 17.a3 Bd6 18.g3 Bc7 19.Qb3 Qe8 20.Bf1 Rb8 21.Qc3 Bd8 22.Nxa6 bxa6 23.Qxc6 Qxc6 24.Rxc6 Rxb2 25.Be1 Be7 26.Rxa6 Rab7 27.Rc6 Rb1 28.Rc1 Rxc1 29.Rxc1 Bxa3 30.Ra1 Rb1 ½–½
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Aronian,L2780Carlsen,M2840½–½2017D1079th Tata Steel GpA6
Giri,A2773Nepomniachtchi,I27671–02017B9179th Tata Steel GpA6
Van Wely,L2695Andreikin,D2736½–½2017E1079th Tata Steel GpA6
Adhiban,B2653So,W2808½–½2017C3379th Tata Steel GpA6
Eljanov,P2755Karjakin,S2785½–½2017C6579th Tata Steel GpA6
Harikrishna,P2766Wojtaszek,R2750½–½2017C8879th Tata Steel GpA6
Rapport,R2702Wei Yi27060–12017C4279th Tata Steel GpA6

Current Masters standings

Challengers tournament

Round 6 - Friday, January 20
Grandelius, N.
1-0
 Tingjie, L.
Hansen, E.
1-0
 Xiong, J.
Dobrov, V.
½-½
 l'Ami, E.
Lu, S.
1-0
 van Foreest, J.
Jones, G.
1-0
 Ragger, M.
Guramishvili, S.
0-1
 Bok, B.
Smirin, I
0-1
 Tari, A.

The Challengers tournament was as thrilling as ever, and once more, six of the seven games ended in a decisive result. The curious thing was that instead of being a feeding frenzy for the leaders as they preyed on their opponents, it was precisely the leaders, all three, who fell.

Markus Ragger had been supreme as he went after his 100% score and a place in next years Masters, but fell to...

... Gawain Jones, who took advantage to make his own bid for glory and is now tied for first with Ragger with 4.5/6. There are seven rounds to go, and now the field is wide open once more.

Lu Shanglei was certainly a happy camper when his opponent decided the best way to defend his king was to remove the pieces around it

Lu Shanglei - Jorden Van Foreest

 
Black just played the unexpected Nf6-d7 and was punished for it. White to move and win.

Benjamin Bok had a good day, and won in 22 moves. However, he missed a win as early as move 14...

Sopiko Guramishvili - Benjamin Bok

 
Black had an immediate winner here. Can you see it? Black to play and win.

Jeffery Xiong was another player on the rise, closing in on the leaders, and was in third place, just waiting for them to slip. They did, but they were not alone, and the American junior fell victim to...

... Canadian GM Eric Hansen.

Our guest commentator Tiger Hillarp-Persson chose this game, which he explains was extremely instructive in the way Hansen used the bishop pair in an advantageous pawn structure. What follows is a wonderful lesson, told with clarity and verve. Enjoy!

GM Tiger Hillarp-Persson annotates Eric Hansen vs Jeffery Xiong

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I have chosen to comment on this game since it is quite instructive. Eric Hansen shows us how to use the bishop pair in an advantageous structure. 1.e4 Nf6 1...e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 dxe4 4.Nxe4 Bd7 This move is the start of an awkward but effective manoeuvre, which solves the problem of the "bad" bishop. 5.Nf3 Bc6 6.Bd3 Nd7 7.0-0 Ngf6 8.Ng3 Bxf3 9.Qxf3 c6 10.c3 g6 is similar to the game, but here White will have to spend quite a few tempi to get the knight to f3, where it belongs. If White allows the exchange of a pair of knights on e4, then White is slightly better due to the bishop pair, but where Black has no weaknesses and can look to the future with confidence. 1...d5 2.exd5 Qxd5 3.Nc3 Qa5 4.d4 c6 5.Nf3 Nf6 6.Bc4 Bg4 Black must play this or the bishop becomes a problem later. 7.h3 Bxf3 8.Qxf3 e6 and White is a bit better again, due to the bishop pair, but the knight is really not that great on c3. Jeffery Xiong has played both these systems in the last years, but didn't hurry to exchange the light squared bishop in either of those games. This time he goes for the exchange. 2.e5 Nd5 3.d4 d6 4.Nf3 g6 4...dxe5 5.Nxe5 Nd7 is a line that was favoured by Bent Larsen in the good old days. Now 6.Nxf7 6.Nf3! N7f6 7.c4! Nb6 8.Nc3 Bg4 9.h3 Bxf3 10.Qxf3 c6 11.Be3± 6...Kxf7 7.Qh5+ Ke6 is very unclear, but White can play 6.Nf3! instead, when Nd7 is misplaced. 5.Bc4 c6 If you were looking for sharp stuff, then 5...Nb6 6.Bb3 Bg7 used to be the line of choice. However, after 7.Ng5 e6 8.Qf3 Qe7 9.Ne4 dxe5 10.Bg5 Qb4+ 11.c3 Qa5 12.Bf6 Black ends up in a position that is risky and holds too little potential to play for a win. 5...dxe5 6.Nxe5 c6 leads to the Kengis variation. The move in the game keeps more options for Black. 6.0-0 Bg7 6...Bg4 7.Nbd2 dxe5 8.dxe5 Nd7 9.h3 Bxf3 10.Nxf3 e6 11.Re1 Bg7 12.Bf1! Qc7 13.c4 Ne7 14.Bf4 was somewhat better for White, in Nevednichy,V (2548)-Varga,Z (2564) Miskolc 2004. In this structure Black would rather have exchanged one more set of minor pieces. The knights have no outposts and at least one of them will be in the way of the other pieces. 14.Qe2! would have left Black even more passive. 7.exd6 Qxd6 We have arrived at a position with a pawn structure so common that there ought to be a name for it. On move one I gave some examples of the same pawn structure, where Black is somewhat better off. Here Black's bishop is well placed on g7, but I believe it is more important that White gets to keep a knight on f3. I will explain why shortly... 8.Re1 0-0 If Black can get away with 8...Bg4 , it seems the most logical, in order to avoid the option of 9.h3. 9.c3 From a positional point of view I would prefer to keep Black from exchanging his bishop with Bg4 with 9.h3 I would not like to be Black in such a position. After Bf5 (where else to put the bishop?) 10.Bb3 a5 11.c4 a4 12.Bxa4 Nb4 13.Nc3 Nd3 14.Re2 seems quite good for White. Still, there is nothing wrong with Eric's move. Although Black can count the exchange of Bc8 for Nf3 as a small gain, White gets his minor pieces to all the right squares and keeps a small but clear advantage. 9...Bg4 9...Nd7?! 10.Bb3 N7f6 11.h3 and the best thing I can say about Black's position is that it is, perhaps, not as bad as it looks. The bishop on c8 is difficult to handle: if it is placed on f5, then it is in danger of being caught with g4, later, and on e6 it is just an obstruction. Playing b6, followed by Bb7 is probably the best option. 10.Nbd2 Nd7 11.h3 White doesn't mind this exchange as it leaves him with only good minor pieces and excellent coordination. The bishop pair is cream on the top. Bxf3 12.Nxf3 Compared to similar lines in the French and the Scandinavian (see move 1), White's pieces are slighty more to the point here since the knight is in the "right" position on f3: it keeps an eye on e5, can easily get to e4 via g5/d2 and is not obstructing anyone else. e6 13.a4! a5 14.Bg5 N7b6 15.Bf1 c5 This move comes from the Sad Necessity department. If Black just stays passive, White can do just about anything until Black is no longer able to play either e5 or c5. After 15...h6 16.Bh4! Nf4 17.Bg3 g5 18.h4 Black will soon succumb to White's attack, as it is much harder for him to move his forces to the kingside (without touching the f-pawn and thus weaken the king). 16.dxc5! Qxc5 This position is no fun for Black. The queenside is weak and launching the e- and f-pawns forward equals self destruction. Black must stick to a waiting strategy. 17.Qb3 Rfc8 If Black is too single minded about counterplay, then he will end up in trouble: 17...Rfe8 18.Rad1 e5 19.Bb5 Re6 20.Nd2 and there is no good answer to Ne4 on the next move. 18.Rad1 h6 18...Nc4 19.Bc1! Ndb6 20.Nd4! The engine prefers 20.Nd2 , but the exchange of one pair of knights would improve Black chances of survival: Nxd2 21.Bxd2 Nd5 22.g3 Rab8 23.h4 White will eventually have to exchange a pair of knights, but it should be done at the right moment, when Black's pieces are in disarray. 20...Rd8 21.Nb5± Black's knights are locked in position from where there is no going forward. Qc6 22.g3 and White's pieces are moving into pole position. 19.Bc1!? is more active, but I like Eric's choice here. The bishop is tucked away on c1, where it protects b2 and cannot be reached with a knight. Now White can slowly improve the rest of his forces without worrying about the bishop being hit by a rouge knight (on c4). This handling of the bishops is quite instructive. Black's two knights must look for dynamic options, but it is hard to play dynamically when there is nothing to attack. 19.Bh4 Nc4 20.Bg3 is just as good, but less instructive. Here White must use his powers of calculation to check that Black's knights are unable to do any damage: b5! 20...Nd6 21.Ne5 21.axb5 Ndb6 22.Nd4 a4 23.Qc2 e5 24.Nc6 Re8 is somewhat better for White, but more of a mess. 19...Rd8 20.Nd4 Rd6 21.Nb5 Rd7 22.g3! The bishop is not going to g2 just yet, but to be able to go there, at some point, is in White's interest. 22.c4 is a move that turns a perfectly healthy structure into a miserable one, so unless it gains something significant, nothing less than a pawn, it should never be played. I would not even consider such a move, but the engine likes it. Nb4 23.Be3 Qc6 24.Be2 Rad8 25.Rxd7 Nxd7 26.Rd1 and now Qc8 27.Rd2 keeps some pressure. Still, now Black's pieces have hope, so I haven't changed my mind. It should not be played. 22...Rad8 23.h4!? I'm ambivalent towards this move. On the one hand it sets the scene for h4-h5, but the downside is that g3 is weakened and Black can set up some tricks with Nf5 and Qc7, aiming at Nx3. It shouldn't work if White stays focused, but the weakness is there and it gives one of Black's knights a better purpose in life. 23.Na3 23...Nc8! Headed for f5. 24.Na3 Nd6 25.Nc4 White is dominating. Black cannot move a pawn without digging a deeper hole for himself. So, White should not hurry and avoid falling for a trick... Nf5 26.Qb5?! 26.Rd3! Qc7 27.Bg2 Qc5 28.Qb5 28.Ne5 Re7 28...Bxe5 29.Rxe5 is terrible for Black. 29.Bd2 Qc7 achieves nothing. 28...Qc7 29.Kf1! Bf8 30.Be4 Nd6 31.Nxd6 Rxd6 32.Red1 and Black must defend a rather awful position. 26.Bg2? Nxg3! 26...Qc7 27.Rd3?! Rc8? Black misses his chance to turn the game around: 27...Nxc3! 28.Rxd7 Nxb5 29.Rxc7 Nxc7 30.Nxa5 Ra8 31.Nxb7 Rxa4 is all forced. Now Black's position is great. The knight are drawn to the central squares and White's bishops are not participating. It's White who has to tune in to a defensive mood. 28.Rf3 b6 29.Qb3 Nfe7 30.Rd1 Nf5 31.Na3 White seems to move aimlessly around. Perhaps the rook is soon to return to d3?! Bf8 32.Nb5 Qb8?! This allows Eric to change gear and run Black over. 32...Qe5 33.Rfd3 and White continues with Qb3-c2-e2, followed by Bg2. Black's position is worse, but within drawing limit. 33.h5! There turns out to be a tactical problem with the knights on f5 and d5, so Black is unable to move the g-pawn; his pawn structure becomes an archipelago with too many islands. Bc5 34.hxg6 fxg6 35.Bf4 Qb7 36.Bg2?! Black gets a second chance. Instead 36.Be5! , followed by Bg2 and Nd4, should win. 36...Rf8?! It is not easy to spot, but after 36...Nxf4 37.Rxf4 Rxd1+ 38.Qxd1 Qe7 , Black's miserable structure is of less importance than the dynamic factors. Only way to keep some advantage for White is 39.b4 axb4 40.cxb4 Bxb4 41.Qg4 Bc5 42.Qxg6+ Kh8 43.Kh2! 37.Rfd3! g5? This is where a commentator like me will usually write "probably time trouble". But, I'd be perfectly capable of playing such a move myself, because I didn't like the prospect of watching my position slowly fall apart. I'd think "g5 looks active" (followed by some white noise). 38.Rxd5! exd5 39.Rxd5 Rdf7 40.Rxc5 Qe7 41.Rxf5 gxf4 42.Rxf4 and Black resigned. 1–0
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Hansen,E2603Xiong,J26671–02017B0479th Tata Steel Chess 2017-Challengers6

Today also marked the start of some of the strong amateur events. Indian prodigy IM R. Praggnanandhaa is playing in the Amateur category. If he wins the section, then he gets the direct qualification for Wijk Aan Zee B category next year. He is the second seed and has good chances of succeeding.

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1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.e5 Bf5 4.Nf3 e6 5.Be2 Ne7 6.c3 Nd7 7.0-0 c5 8.dxc5 Nxc5 9.Nd4 Bg6 10.Bg5 Qc7 11.f4 Nf5 12.Nxf5 Bxf5 13.g4 h6 14.Bb5+ Nd7 15.Bxd7+ Qxd7 16.gxf5 hxg5 17.fxg5 exf5 18.Nd2 Bc5+ 19.Kh1 Be3 20.Nf3 f4 21.Qe2 0-0-0 22.Rad1 Rh3 23.Rd3 Rdh8 24.Rxe3 fxe3 25.Qxe3 Qf5 26.Rf2 Qe4 27.Qxe4 dxe4 28.Nd4 e3 29.Re2 Kd7 30.Kg1 R8h4 31.Rg2 g6 0–1
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Smirin,I2667Tari,A25840–12017B1279th Tata Steel GpB6
Jones,G2665Ragger,M26971–02017C4579th Tata Steel GpB6
Dobrov,V2499L'Ami,E2605½–½2017A8379th Tata Steel GpB6
Guramishvili,S2370Bok,B26080–12017C0379th Tata Steel GpB6
Lu Shanglei2612Van Foreest,J26121–02017B4079th Tata Steel GpB6
Grandelius,N2642Lei Tingjie24671–02017B1879th Tata Steel GpB6
Hansen,E2603Xiong,J26671–02017B0479th Tata Steel GpB6

Current Challengers standings

Schedule, pairings, and results

Tata Steel Masters 2017

Round 1 - Saturday, January 14
Harikrishna, P.
½-½
  Aronian, L.
Adhiban, B.
½-½
  Van Wely, L.
Eljanov, P.
1-0
  Rapport, R.
Karjakin, S.
½-½
  Giri, A.
So, W.
½-½
  Carlsen, M.
Wojtaszek, R.
½-½
  Nepomniachtchi, I.
Andreikin, D.
½-½
  Wei, Y.
Round 2 - Sunday, January 15
Aronian, L.
½-½
 Wei, Y.
Nepomniachtchi, I.
½-½
 Andreikin, D.
Carlsen, M.
1-0
 Wojtaszek, R.
Giri, A.
½-½
 So, W.
Rapport, R.
½-½
 Karjakin, S.
Van Wely, L.
0-1
 Eljanov, P.
Harikrishna, P.
1-0
 Adhiban, B.
Round 3 - Monday, January 16
Adhiban, B.
½-½
 Aronian, L.
Eljanov, P.
½-½
 Harikrishna, P.
Karjakin, S.
1-0
 Van Wely, L.
So, W.
1-0
 Rapport, R.
Wojtaszek, R.
½-½
 Giri, A..
Andreikin, D.
½-½
 Carlsen, M.
Wei, Y.
1-0
 Nepomniachtchi, I.
Round 4 - Tuesday, January 17
Aronian, L.
½-½
 Nepomniachtchi, I.
Carlsen, M.
1-0
 Wei, Y.
Giri, A.
½-½
 Andreikin, D.
Rapport, R.
½-½
 Wojtaszek, R.
Van Wely, L.
0-1
 So, W.
Harikrishna, P.
½-½
 Karjakin, S.
Adhiban, B.
0-1
 Eljanov, P.
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.
Round 6 - Friday, January 20
Aronian, L.
½-½
 Carlsen, M.
Giri, A.
1-0
 Nepomniachtchi, I.
Rapport, R.
0-1
 Wei, Y.
Van Wely, L.
½-½
 Andreikin, D.
Harikrishna, P.
½-½
 Wojtaszek, R.
Adhiban, B.
½-½
 So, W.
Eljanov, P.
½-½
 Karjakin, S.
Round 7 - Saturday, January 21
Karjakin, S.
 
 Aronian, L.
So, W.
 
 Eljanov, P.
Wojtaszek, R.
 
 Adhiban, B.
Andreikin, D.
 
 Harikrishna, P.
Wei, Y.
 
 Van Wely, L.
Nepomniachtchi, I.
 
 Rapport, R.
Carlsen, M.
 
 Giri, A.
Round 8 - Sunday, January 22
Aronian, L.
 
 Giri, A.
Rapport, R.
 
 Carlsen, M.
Van Wely, L.
 
 Nepomniachtchi, I.
Harikrishna, P.
 
 Wei, Y.
Adhiban, B.
 
 Andreikin, D.
Eljanov, P.
 
 Wojtaszek, R.
Karjakin, S.
 
 So, W.
Round 9 - Tuesday, January 24
So, W.
 
 Aronian, L.
Wojtaszek, R.
 
 Karjakin, S.
Andreikin, D.
 
 Eljanov, P.
Wei, Y.
 
 Adhiban, B.
Nepomniachtchi, I.
 
 Harikrishna, P.
Carlsen, M.
 
 Van Wely, L.
Giri, A.
 
 Rapport, R.
Round 10 - Wednesday, January 25
Aronian, L.
 
 Rapport, R.
Van Wely, L.
 
 Giri, A.
Harikrishna, P.
 
 Carlsen, M.
Adhiban, B.
 
 Nepomniachtchi, I.
Eljanov, P.
 
 Wei, Y.
Karjakin, S.
 
 Andreikin, D.
So, W.
 
 Wojtaszek, R.
Round 11 - Friday, January 27
Wojtaszek, R.
 
 Aronian, L.
Andreikin, D.
 
 So, W.
Wei, Y.
 
 Karjakin, S.
Nepomniachtchi, I.
 
 Eljanov, P.
Carlsen, M.
 
 Adhiban, B.
Giri, A.
 
 Harikrishna, P.
Rapport, R.
 
 Van Wely, L.
Round 12 - Saturday, January 28
Aronian, L.
 
 Van Wely, L.
Harikrishna, P.
 
 Rapport, R.
Adhiban, B.
 
 Giri, A.
Eljanov, P.
 
 Carlsen, M.
Karjakin, S.
 
 Nepomniachtchi, I.
So, W.
 
 Wei, Y.
Wojtaszek, R.
 
 Andreikin, D.
Round 13 - Sunday, January 29
Andreikin, D.
 
 Aronian, L.
Wei, Y.
 
 Wojtaszek, R.
Nepomniachtchi, I.
 
 So, W.
Carlsen, M.
 
 Karjakin, S.
Giri, A.
 
 Eljanov, P.
Rapport, R.
 
 Adhiban, B.
Van Wely, L.
 
 Harikrishna, P.
  

Tata Steel Challengers 2017

Round 1 - Saturday, January 14
Jones, G.
½-½
 Grandelius, N.
Guramishvili, S.
½-½
 Lu, S.
Smirin, I
½-½
 Dobrov, V.
Tari, A.
½-½
 Hansen, E.
Bok, B.
1-0
 Tingjie, L.
Ragger, M.
1-0
 Xiong, J.
van Foreest, J.
1-0
 l'Ami, E.
Round 2 - Sunday, January 15
Grandelius, N.
½-½
 l'Ami, E.
Xiong, J.
1-0
 van Foreest, J.
Tingjie, L.
0-1
 Ragger, M.
Hansen, E.
½-½
 Bok, B.
Dobrov, V.
½-½
 Tari, A.
Lu, S.
½-½
 Smirin, I
Jones, G.
1-0
 Guramishvili, S.
Round 3 - Monday, January 16
Guramishvili, S.
0-1
 Grandelius, N.
Smirin, I
1-0
 Jones, G.
Tari, A.
0-1
 Lu, S.
Bok, B.
0-1
 Dobrov, V.
Ragger, M.
1-0
 Hansen, E..
van Foreest, J.
0-1
 Tingjie, L.
l'Ami, E.
½-½
 Xiong, J.
Round 4 - Tuesday, January 17
Grandelius, N.
0-1
 Xiong, J.
Tingjie, L.
0-1
 l'Ami, E.
Hansen, E.
1-0
 van Foreest, J.
Dobrov, V.
0-1
 Ragger, M.
Lu, S.
1-0
 Bok, B.
Jones, G.
1-0
 Tari, A.
Guramishvili, S.
0-1
 Smirin, I
Round 5 - Thursday, January 19
Smirin, I
½-½
 Grandelius, N.
Tari, A.
1-0
 Guramishvili, S.
Bok, B.
0-1
 Jones, G.
Ragger, M.
½-½
 Lu, S.
van Foreest, J.
1-0
 Dobrov, V.
l'Ami, E.
½-½
 Hansen, E.
Xiong, J.
1-0
 Tingjie, L.
Round 6 - Friday, January 20
Grandelius, N.
1-0
 Tingjie, L.
Hansen, E.
1-0
 Xiong, J.
Dobrov, V.
½-½
 l'Ami, E.
Lu, S.
1-0
 van Foreest, J.
Jones, G.
1-0
 Ragger, M.
Guramishvili, S.
0-1
 Bok, B.
Smirin, I
0-1
 Tari, A.
Round 7 - Saturday, January 21
Tari, A.
 
 Grandelius, N.
Bok, B.
 
 Smirin, I
Ragger, M.
 
 Guramishvili, S.
van Foreest, J.
 
 Jones, G.
l'Ami, E.
 
 Lu, S.
Xiong, J.
 
 Dobrov, V.
Tingjie, L.
 
 Hansen, E.
Round 8 - Sunday, January 22
Grandelius, N.
 
 Hansen, E.
Dobrov, V.
 
 Tingjie, L.
Lu, S.
 
 Xiong, J.
Jones, G.
 
 l'Ami, E.
Guramishvili, S.
 
 van Foreest, J.
Smirin, I
 
 Ragger, M.
Tari, A.
 
 Bok, B.
Round 9 - Tuesday, January 24
Bok, B.
 
 Grandelius, N.
Ragger, M.
 
 Tari, A.
van Foreest, J.
 
 Smirin, I
l'Ami, E.
 
 Guramishvili, S.
Xiong, J.
 
 Jones, G.
Tingjie, L.
 
 Lu, S.
Hansen, E.
 
 Dobrov, V.
Round 10 - Wednesday, January 25
Grandelius, N.
 
 Dobrov, V.
Lu, S.
 
 Hansen, E.
Jones, G.
 
 Tingjie, L.
Guramishvili, S.
 
 Xiong, J.
Smirin, I
 
 l'Ami, E.
Tari, A.
 
 van Foreest, J.
Bok, B.
 
 Ragger, M.
Round 11 - Friday, January 27
Ragger, M.
 
 Grandelius, N.
van Foreest, J.
 
 Bok, B.
l'Ami, E.
 
 Tari, A.
Xiong, J.
 
 Smirin, I
Tingjie, L.
 
 Guramishvili, S.
Hansen, E.
 
 Jones, G.
Dobrov, V.
 
 Lu, S.
Round 12 - Saturday, January 28
Grandelius, N.
 
 Lu, S.
Jones, G.
 
 Dobrov, V.
Guramishvili, S.
 
 Hansen, E.
Smirin, I
 
 Tingjie, L.
Tari, A.
 
 Xiong, J.
Bok, B.
 
 l'Ami, E.
Ragger, M.
 
 van Foreest, J.
Round 13 - Sunday, January 29
van Foreest, J.
 
 Grandelius, N.
l'Ami, E.
 
 Ragger, M.
Xiong, J.
 
 Bok, B.
Tingjie, L.
 
 Tari, A.
Hansen, E.
 
 Smirin, I
Dobrov, V.
 
 Guramishvili, S.
Lu, S.
 
 Jones, G.
  

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Born 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.

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