Biel: MVL clinches, Wojtaszek second

by Alejandro Ramirez
7/25/2014 – It's all said and done. Despite a before-last round scare against Giri, MVL was able to play solid chess against Wojtaszek, who finished second, and hoping Hou Yifan didn't win so as to not split first. Hou Yifan indeed did not win and actually lost to Harikrishna. Meanwhile Giri and Motylev made a quick draw as they had little to play for. Last round report.
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International Chess Festival in Biel

Round Ten

Round 10 – July 24, 2014
Pentala Harikrishna 2726
1-0
 Hou Yifan 2629
Alexander Motylev 2698
½-½
 Anish Giri 2750
Maxime Vachier-Lagrave 2766
½-½
 Radoslaw Wojtaszek 2733

Video Recap

The last round of Biel was, as usual, hard fought. Pentala Harikrishna continued his use of unusual set-ups against the Najdorf and again got no advantage from the opening. However, he managed to outplay Hou Yifan in a very long game. The Chinese player missed a couple of important moments to equalize, and once these were gone she had to sacrifice an exchange and that was sufficient advantage for the Indian player to take home the full point and tie for third with Hou Yifan herself and Anish Giri.

The Women's World Champion can be happy despite her last round loss; she raked a full 15 rating points!

Pentala Harikrishna shared third with his last round win

Speaking of Giri, he played a Classical Sicilian against Alexander Motylev who used the Rauzer Attack against it. Despite the fancy sounding name of this opening somehow it petered out to a quick repetition.

Anish Giri made a comeback to tie for third in the last few games

Final round and final analysis!

Last but not least Maxime Vachier-Lagrave had to draw to secure at least a share of first (in case that Hou Yifan won) and he had almost no problems doing so after he traded off all the pieces in a Najdorf and, despite losing a pawn, his good knight against bad bishop allowed him to draw the endgame comfortably.

Replay Round Ten Games

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MoveNResultEloPlayers
Position not in LiveBook
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Bc4 e6 7.0-0 Nc6 8.Nxc6 Unusual but it has been played. bxc6 9.Qe2 d5 10.Bb3 Be7 11.Ba4 Bd7 12.e5 Ng8 13.Qg4 g6 14.Ne2 h5 15.Qf3 Nh6 16.Bxh6 Rxh6 Although unorthodox, the placement on the rook on h6 is not devastating to Black's position. The closed nature of the game and the pair of bishop's potential power compensates. 17.c4 Kf8 18.Nd4 Rc8 19.Rac1 c5 20.Bxd7 Qxd7 21.Ne2 d4 22.b4 h4!? Bringing the rook in through the 5th rank. 23.bxc5 Rh5 24.Rfd1 Rxe5?! 24...Bxc5 was important to keep d4 under protection. 25.Nf4 Rf5= 25.Nxd4 Qe8 25...Bxc5 26.Qf6!± may have been what Hou Yifan missed. 26.Qf4 Rcxc5 26...Rexc5 27.Nxe6+± 27.Nb3 Rf5 27...Bg5 28.Qd4 Bf6 29.Nxc5 Re1+ 30.Rxe1 Bxd4 28.Qh6+ Kg8 29.Nxc5 Bxc5? 29...Bg5 30.Qxg5 Rxg5 31.Ne4 and the rook on g5 cannot defend f6 and itself, because of the fork on d6. Qe7! 31...Rf5 32.Nd6+- 32.Nxg5 Qxg5 33.c5! h3 34.g3 Qg4 35.Kf1! Qf3! Black's counterplay seems just enough to draw. 30.Rc2 Be7 31.Qe3 Qc6 32.Kh1 Kh7 33.Rd4 Kg7 34.Qe4 Qb6 35.Rd1 Bf6 36.Qe3 The conversion isn't quick, but Harikrishna proves that it does come eventually. Qc6 37.c5 Kh7 38.h3 Be7 39.Rd4 Kg8 40.Rdc4 a5 41.Qc3 Rd5 42.Qf3 Qd7 43.Rc1 Rf5 44.c6 Rxf3 45.cxd7 Rd3 46.Rc7 Bd8 47.Rb7 Kf8 48.Kg1 Ke7 White will lose d7 but the endgame is winning. 49.Kf1 Rd2 50.Rc8 g5 51.Ke1 Rd5 52.Ke2 f5 53.Ke3 Rd1 54.Ke2 Rd4 55.Rbb8 Rxd7 56.Rc3 Rd4 57.Rd3 Re4+ 58.Kd2 Rf4 59.f3 Bc7 60.Rb7 Rc4 61.Rc3 Rxc3 62.Kxc3 Kd6 63.Kc4 Kc6 64.Ra7 Bb6 65.Ra8 Bc7 66.Ra7 Kb6 67.Ra8 Kc6 68.a4 Kd7 69.Ra6 Bd8 70.Kb5 Bc7 71.Kc5 Bd8 72.Ra7+ Bc7 73.Rb7 1–0
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Harikrishna,P2726Hou,Y26291–02014B90Hans Suri Mem 201410.1
Motylev,A2698Giri,A2750½–½2014B67Hans Suri Mem 201410.2
Vachier-Lagrave,M2766Wojtaszek,R2733½–½2014B92Hans Suri Mem 201410.3

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Standings

Schedule

Round 01 – July 14, 2014
Maxime Vachier-Lagrave 2766
½-½
 Pentala Harikrishna 2726
Alexander Motylev 2698
0-1
 Radoslaw Wojtaszek 2733
Hou Yifan 2629
1-0
 Anish Giri 2750
Round 02 – July 15, 2014
Pentala Harikrishna 2726
1-0
 Anish Giri 2750
Radoslaw Wojtaszek 2733
½-½
 Hou Yifan 2629
Maxime Vachier-Lagrave 2766
½-½
 Alexander Motylev 2698
Round 03 – July 16, 2014
Alexander Motylev 2698
1-0
 Pentala Harikrishna 2726
Hou Yifan 2629
0-1
 Maxime Vachier-Lagrave 2766
Anish Giri 2750
1-0
 Radoslaw Wojtaszek 2733
Round 04 –July 17, 2014
Hou Yifan 2629
½-½
 Pentala Harikrishna 2726
Anish Giri 2750
1-0
 Alexander Motylev 2698
Radoslaw Wojtaszek 2733
½-½
 Maxime Vachier-Lagrave 2766
Round 05 – July 18, 2014
Pentala Harikrishna 2726
½-½
 Radoslaw Wojtaszek 2733
Maxime Vachier-Lagrave 2766
1-0
 Anish Giri 2750
Alexander Motylev 2698
½-½
 Hou Yifan 2629
Round 06 – July 19, 2014
Pentala Harikrishna 2726
½-½
 Maxime Vachier-Lagrave 2766
Radoslaw Wojtaszek 2733
½-½
 Alexander Motylev 2698
Anish Giri 2750
½-½
 Hou Yifan 2629
Round 07 – July 21, 2014
Anish Giri 2750
½-½
 Pentala Harikrishna 2726
Hou Yifan 2629
½-½
 Radoslaw Wojtaszek 2733
Alexander Motylev 2698
0-1
 Maxime Vachier-Lagrave 2766
Round 08 – July 22, 2014
Pentala Harikrishna 2726
½-½
 Alexander Motylev 2698
Maxime Vachier-Lagrave 2766
½-½
 Hou Yifan 2629
Radoslaw Wojtaszek 2733
½-½
 Anish Giri 2750
Round 09 – July 23, 2014
Radoslaw Wojtaszek 2733
1-0
 Pentala Harikrishna 2726
Anish Giri 2750
1-0
 Maxime Vachier-Lagrave 2766
Hou Yifan 2629
1-0
 Alexander Motylev 2698
Round 10 – July 24, 2014
Pentala Harikrishna 2726
1-0
 Hou Yifan 2629
Alexander Motylev 2698
½-½
 Anish Giri 2750
Maxime Vachier-Lagrave 2766
½-½
 Radoslaw Wojtaszek 2733

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.
Grandmaster Alejandro Ramirez has been playing tournament chess since 1998. His accomplishments include qualifying for the 2004 and 2013 World Cups as well as playing for Costa Rica in the 2002, 2004 and 2008 Olympiads. He currently has a rating of 2583 and is author of a number of popular and critically acclaimed ChessBase-DVDs.

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