Beijing Rd3: Three black wins

by ChessBase
7/6/2013 – After two rounds of meager pickings, chess fans were served three decisive games and remarkably all by Black, bucking the age-old wisdom of ‘win with white, hold with black’. In fact, the round was so tense that even the three draws could have ended in wins. The winners were Mamedyarov, Giri, and above all, Karjakin on a perfect 3.0/3 start. Illustrated report and GM analysis.

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The fifth stage of the FIDE Grand Prix Series is taking place between the 3rd and 17th of July 2013 on the premises of the Chinese Chess Association in Beijing. The time controls are 120 minutes for the first 40 moves, 60 minutes for the next 20 moves and 15 minutes for the rest of the game, with an increment of 30 seconds per move from move 61 onwards. The games start at 3 p.m. local time, except the last round. The Grand Prix Series consists of six tournaments to be held over two years (2012-2013). 18 top players participate in four of these six tournaments. The winner and second placed player overall of the Grand Prix Series will qualify for the Candidates Tournament to be held in March 2014.

Round 03 – July 06 2013, 15:00h
Morozevich Alexander 2736
0-1
Karjakin Sergey 2776
Gelfand Boris 2773
0-1
Giri Anish 2734
Leko Peter 2737
½-½
Wang Yue 2705
Kamsky Gata 2763
½-½
Topalov Veselin 2767
Ivanchuk Vassily 2733
0-1
Mamedyarov Shakhriyar 2761
Wang Hao 2752
½-½
Grischuk Alexander 2780

After two rounds of meager pickings, chess fans were served three decisive games and remarkably all by Black. In fact this trend of black wins, bucking the age-old wisdom of ‘win with white, hold with black’ seems to be a reflection of opening preparation overall. It isn’t that Black is suddenly finding new resources to win more often that it used to, but rather that with Black equalizing so often nowadays, both colors come out with equivalent chances to bring the point. The biggest barrier is probably psychological for most older generation players. The new ones ‘just play chess’.

Wang Hao tries to see what the others are playing

In round three, the two Chinese players got into trouble, and both managed to stave off disaster. In a Gruenfeld Exchange against Alexander Grischuk, Wang Hao had a poor opening as White and found himself prevented from castling whilst facing a powerful pair of bishops. Things got worse since although he succeeded in entering an opposite-colored endgame, it was one where he faced two connected passers on the queenside. Whether or not the Russian misplayed it, or whether it was objectively drawn only analysis will tell, but Hao must have mentally wiped his brow in relief as they shook hands.

"Oh no! Not 1...Nf6!"

Wang Yue also got the worse of the opening against Peter Leko, as his Semi-Tarrasch never quite equalized. Instead a weak pawn on b6 fell and he found himself defending an endgame with four pawns against three on the kingside, as the pieces and some pawns were eliminated, the chances of conversion dropped and a draw was agreed on move 59

Even the third draw of the round was not without danger. Gata Kamsky chose the Open Catalan against Vesselin Topalov and despite considerable tension throughout the opening and middlegame, the balance was not broken. An unexpected 32.d6! shot changed this as White took the upperhand, but although Kamsky did manage to win a pawn for his efforts, it was at the cost of a fractured pawn structure, which was unwinnable in the rook endgame that ensued.

With both Morozevich and Ivanchuk losing due to distractions, perhaps there is a
lesson to be learned here: 'win first, look later'.

The game between Vassily Ivanchuk and Shakhriyar Mamedyarov was a tragedy on the board. The brilliant Ukrainian built an opening advantage into a winning position, and after desperado tactics by the Azeri as black, Ivanchuk emerged with three pieces for the queen and a monster bishop pair to boot.  Instead he completely misplayed the imbalanced position and fell into a tactic that lost his rook and the game.

Here is the game with comments by GM Alexander Ipatov:

[Event "FIDE GP Beijing 2013"] [Site "Beijing"] [Date "2013.07.06"] [Round "3"] [White "Ivanchuk, Vassily"] [Black "Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "E02"] [WhiteElo "2733"] [BlackElo "2761"] [Annotator "Alexander Ipatov"] [PlyCount "86"] [EventDate "2013.??.??"] [EventCountry "CHN"] [TimeControl "40/7200:20/3600:900+30"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. g3 dxc4 5. Qa4+ Nc6 6. Bg2 Bd7 {A relatively rare move. Black wants to avoid exchanges.} ({The main move according to theory is considered to be} 6... Bb4+ {,for example :} 7. Bd2 Nd5 8. Bxb4 Ndxb4 9. O-O Rb8 10. Na3 O-O 11. Qb5 b6 12. Qxc4 Ba6 13. Nb5 Qd5 {and Black equalized in the game Lupulescu,C - Berkes,F , 2013}) 7. Qxc4 Bd6 8. Nc3 O-O 9. O-O Rb8 {Black is preparing b7-b5, trying to use the unstable position of White's queen.} ({The typical} 9... e5 $2 {doesn't work properly in this situation.} 10. dxe5 Nxe5 11. Nxe5 Bxe5 12. Bxb7 Rb8 13. Bf3 {and Black lacks sufficient compensation.}) 10. Rd1 h6 {Just a prophylactic move. Black prevents a possible pin after Bc1-g5.} 11. e4 b5 $1 {Just in time!} 12. Qd3 ( 12. Nxb5 $6 Na5 13. Qc2 Bxb5 14. e5 Nd5 15. exd6 cxd6 {and Black is better.}) 12... b4 13. Ne2 e5 {Black is fighting for the centre, trying to use the fact that White's queenside pieces are still undeveloped.} 14. dxe5 Nxe5 15. Nxe5 Bxe5 16. Qc2 Qe8 $1 {A very good move. Black moves the queen away from the pin and threatens Bd7-a4 on the next move.} 17. Rb1 c5 $5 {Black has to play agressively, otherwise White would complete the development and stay much better.} (17... Ba4 {is not logical since White has moved his Rook from a1.} 18. b3 Bc6 19. Be3 {with a big advantage.}) 18. Qxc5 (18. f4 $5 {was a fair alternative, gaining a space advantage in the centre. However, Black could have obtained some counterplay with} Bc7 19. e5 g6 $1 {threatening Bd7-f5.}) 18... Bc6 19. f3 Bc7 20. Qf2 $2 (20. Be3 {Completing development and liberating the c1-square for the queen.} Bb6 21. Qc1 Ba4 22. b3 Bb5 23. Nd4 Rc8 24. Qd2 {and Black's compensation doesn't look sufficient.}) 20... Bb6 {Now Black gets good counter chances.} 21. Be3 Bxe4 $1 22. fxe4 Ng4 23. Bxb6 Nxf2 24. Bxf2 Qa4 {The position is dynamically equal but I assume that White has slightly easier play.} 25. Nd4 Qxa2 26. Nc6 Rb7 27. e5 Rd7 $1 28. Bc5 Rxd1+ 29. Rxd1 Re8 30. Bxb4 Qxb2 31. Bd5 Re6 $1 {Mamedyarov is defending very creatively. } 32. Bd6 a5 33. Rf1 Qd2 34. Bxe6 fxe6 35. Ne7+ Kh7 36. Rf3 a4 37. Ra3 $2 {Now White won't have the f3-square for his Rook so zugzwang motives now materialize.} (37. h4 {would lead to an easy draw since niether side can improve his position. White has a fortress.} Qb2 38. Kf1 Qc1+ 39. Kg2) 37... Qe1+ 38. Kg2 Qe2+ 39. Kg1 g5 $1 {Gaining a space advantage on the kingside. White can hardly move his pieces as they could be lost with a check due to the opened position of White's king.} 40. Ra1 $2 {A decisive mistake.} (40. h4 gxh4 (40... g4 41. h5 $1) 41. gxh4 Qg4+ 42. Kf2 Qxh4+ 43. Rg3 {and White can hold.}) 40... Qe3+ 41. Kg2 Qe4+ 42. Kh3 (42. Kg1 Qd4+ $19) 42... g4+ 43. Kh4 Qe3 { Conclusion : Mamedyarov took too many risks in the game and didn't get enough compensation. Later Vassily was not able to secure his advantage and a drawish endgame was reached, but lost after a few mistakes before the time control.} 0-1

The young Dutch player was true to his nation's namesake and played the Dutch

Boris Gelfand has been experiencing a second wind this year after great victories at the Alekhine and Tal Memorials, but the Beijing Grand Prix has not been going his way so far. Anish Giri chose to face 1.d4 with his country’s namesake, the Dutch opening, Leningrad variation. It was a good struggle by both players and Black equalized after a tense opening and middlegame. The endgame promised to be no less fascinating with with Black holding four connected passed pawns on the kingside, against White’s two connected on both the kingside and queenside when the Israeli player lost control of his clock and fell on move 37.

Considering his approach to chess, Morozevich is the one who should be wearing
the t-shirt 'Born to Be Wild'.

Alexander Morozevich and Sergey Karjakin played a Queen’s Indian with 4.g3 that led to fascinating complications. Morozevich’s firebrand chess fell short this time as he saw his younger compatriot be the one to build up attacking chances against his king rather than the other way around. He reacted badly and after blundering a pawn, the game went downhill quickly. He tried to complicate things but Karjakin was up to the task and brought home his third straight win.

Another sizzling start by Sergey Karjakin who is on 3.0/3

[Event "FIDE GP Beijing"] [Site "Beijing CHN"] [Date "2013.07.06"] [Round "3"] [White "Morozevich, A."] [Black "Karjakin, Sergey"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "E15"] [WhiteElo "2736"] [BlackElo "2776"] [PlyCount "70"] [EventDate "2013.07.04"] 1. Nf3 Nf6 2. c4 b6 3. d4 e6 4. g3 Ba6 5. Qb3 Nc6 6. Nbd2 Na5 7. Qc3 c5 8. dxc5 bxc5 9. e4 Bb7 10. Bd3 Nc6 11. e5 Ng4 12. O-O Qc7 13. Re1 Be7 14. h3 $2 {An oversight that allows a tactic that Black also misses.} (14. Nb3 {was a better option.} Ngxe5 15. Nxe5 Bf6 16. f4 d6 {does not have the same bite as the line below, since White can neutralize Black's Bb7 with} 17. Be4 dxe5 18. Nxc5 {and White may suffer a bit but should be ok.}) 14... Nh6 $2 ({Black had the tactical resource} 14... Ngxe5 $1 {that is made possible due to the eventual pin against the queen.} 15. Nxe5 Bf6 $1 {even if White protects with} 16. f4 d6 {ensures the piece is coming back with interest.} 17. Ndf3 dxe5 18. fxe5 {The 'interest' in question is not an extra pawn or material, but a wide open king position and powerful attacking potential to reap his rewards.}) 15. Nb3 f5 16. Be3 Nd8 17. Be2 a5 18. a4 Nhf7 19. Nfd2 $2 {a blunder and a decisive one.} (19. Rad1 g5 {would still promise Black a good attack, but nothing is decided yet.}) 19... Nxe5 20. Bf4 Qc6 21. f3 Ng6 {White's position is collapsing very quickly here.} 22. Qxg7 Nf7 23. Bd3 Bf8 24. Qc3 Nxf4 25. Bxf5 Rg8 26. Ne4 {White is desperately trying to mix it up, but to no avail. Karjakin shows he is quite up to the task.} O-O-O ({The engines suggest} 26... Nd6 {but even if Karjakin saw this, he preferred to avoid further unnecessary complications.} 27. Nf6+ Kf7 28. Nxg8 Nxf5 $19) 27. Bg4 h5 28. gxf4 hxg4 29. hxg4 Qc7 30. Nxa5 Ba8 31. Qd2 Bh6 32. b4 Bxf4 33. Qf2 Bxe4 34. Rxe4 Ng5 35. Qe2 Rh8 0-1

Information and pictures by FIDE press chief WGM Anastasiya Karlovich

Games of round three. Click on the dropdown menu to change games:

Current Standings after three rounds

Schedule and pairings

The games start at 9:00h European time, 11:00h Moscow, 3 a.m. New York. You can find your regional starting time hereThe commentary on Playchess begins one hour after the start of the games and is free for premium members. Time listed is the local round time in Beijing.

Round 01 – July 04 2013, 15:00h
Giri Anish 2734
0-1
Karjakin Sergey 2776
Morozevich Alexander 2736
½-½
Wang Yue 2705
Gelfand Boris 2773
0-1
Topalov Veselin 2767
Leko Peter 2737
½-½
Mamedyarov Shakhriyar 2761
Kamsky Gata 2763
0-1
Grischuk Alexander 2780
Ivanchuk Vassily 2733
½-½
Wang Hao 2752
Round 02 – July 05 2013, 15:00h
Karjakin Sergey 2776
1-0
Wang Hao 2752
Grischuk Alexander 2780
½-½
Ivanchuk Vassily 2733
Mamedyarov Shakhriyar 2761
½-½
Kamsky Gata 2763
Topalov Veselin 2767
½-½
Leko Peter 2737
Wang Yue 2705
½-½
Gelfand Boris 2773
Giri Anish 2734
½-½
Morozevich Alexander 2736
Round 03 – July 06 2013, 15:00h
Morozevich Alexander 2736
0-1
Karjakin Sergey 2776
Gelfand Boris 2773
0-1
Giri Anish 2734
Leko Peter 2737
½-½
Wang Yue 2705
Kamsky Gata 2763
½-½
Topalov Veselin 2767
Ivanchuk Vassily 2733
0-1
Mamedyarov Shakhriyar 2761
Wang Hao 2752
½-½
Grischuk Alexander 2780
Round 04 – July 07 2013, 15:00h
Karjakin Sergey 2776
-
Grischuk Alexander 2780
Mamedyarov Shakhriyar 2761
-
Wang Hao 2752
Topalov Veselin 2767
-
Ivanchuk Vassily 2733
Wang Yue 2705
-
Kamsky Gata 2763
Giri Anish 2734
-
Leko Peter 2737
Morozevich Alexander 2736
-
Gelfand Boris 2773
Round 05 – July 09 2013, 15:00h
Gelfand Boris 2773
-
Karjakin Sergey 2776
Leko Peter 2737
-
Morozevich Alexander 2736
Kamsky Gata 2763
-
Giri Anish 2734
Ivanchuk Vassily 2733
-
Wang Yue 2705
Wang Hao 2752
-
Topalov Veselin 2767
Grischuk Alexander 2780
-
Mamedyarov Shakhriyar 2761
Round 06 – July 10 2013, 15:00h
Karjakin Sergey 2776
-
Mamedyarov Shakhriyar 2761
Topalov Veselin 2767
-
Grischuk Alexander 2780
Wang Yue 2705
-
Wang Hao 2752
Giri Anish 2734
-
Ivanchuk Vassily 2733
Morozevich Alexander 2736
-
Kamsky Gata 2763
Gelfand Boris 2773
-
Leko Peter 2737
Round 07 – July 11 2013, 15:00h
Leko Peter 2737
-
Karjakin Sergey 2776
Kamsky Gata 2763
-
Gelfand Boris 2773
Ivanchuk Vassily 2733
-
Morozevich Alexander 2736
Wang Hao 2752
-
Giri Anish 2734
Grischuk Alexander 2780
-
Wang Yue 2705
Mamedyarov Shakhriyar 2761
-
Topalov Veselin 2767
Round 08 – July 12 2013, 15:00h
Karjakin Sergey 2776
-
Topalov Veselin 2767
Wang Yue 2705
-
Mamedyarov Shakhriyar 2761
Giri Anish 2734
-
Grischuk Alexander 2780
Morozevich Alexander 2736
-
Wang Hao 2752
Gelfand Boris 2773
-
Ivanchuk Vassily 2733
Leko Peter 2737
-
Kamsky Gata 2763
Round 09 – July 14 2013, 15:00h
Kamsky Gata 2763
-
Karjakin Sergey 2776
Ivanchuk Vassily 2733
-
Leko Peter 2737
Wang Hao 2752
-
Gelfand Boris 2773
Grischuk Alexander 2780
-
Morozevich Alexander 2736
Mamedyarov Shakhriyar 2761
-
Giri Anish 2734
Topalov Veselin 2767
-
Wang Yue 2705
Round 10 – July 15 2013, 15:00h
Karjakin Sergey 2776
-
Wang Yue 2705
Giri Anish 2734
-
Topalov Veselin 2767
Morozevich Alexander 2736
-
Mamedyarov Shakhriyar 2761
Gelfand Boris 2773
-
Grischuk Alexander 2780
Leko Peter 2737
-
Wang Hao 2752
Kamsky Gata 2763
-
Ivanchuk Vassily 2733
Round 11 – July 16 2013, 15:00h
Ivanchuk Vassily 2733
-
Karjakin Sergey 2776
Wang Hao 2752
-
Kamsky Gata 2763
Grischuk Alexander 2780
-
Leko Peter 2737
Mamedyarov Shakhriyar 2761
-
Gelfand Boris 2773
Topalov Veselin 2767
-
Morozevich Alexander 2736
Wang Yue 2705
-
Giri Anish 2734

Links

The games will be 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 12 or any of our Fritz compatible chess programs.


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