Gashimov Memorial 2017: Crushing wins

by Albert Silver
4/26/2017 – It seems as if everyone will enjoy the taste of victory at the Gashimov Memorial, and round five saw two new names added to the list of victors. Wesley So’s fans will be heaving a big sigh of relief as he breaks from his funk and scores a powerful win over Vladimir Kramnik. Sergey Karjakin showed he is not just the ‘Minister of Defense’ as he completely demolished Topalov’s king in the center. Here is the illustrated report with extensive analysis by GM Tiger Hillarp-Persson.

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Now in its 4th edition, the Gashimov Memorial brings an attractive lineup of top players such as Wesley So, winner of pretty much anything he entered in the last many months, then Vladimir Kramnik who has been sitting pretty with his 2811 Elo since the London Classic, Sergey Karjakin, and of course last year’s winner, local hero Shakhriyar Mamedyarov.  

Vugar Gashimov (1986 - 2014)

Participants

Player
Rating
Wesley So 2822
Vladimir Kramnik 2811
Sergey Karjakin 2783
Shakhriyar Mamedyarov 2772
Michael Adams 2761
Pentala Harikrishna 2758
Pavel Eljanov 2751
Radoslaw Wojtaszek 2745
Veselin Topalov 2741
Teimour Radjabov 2710

Michael Adams has performed very well so far, with a plus one score, leaving him tied 2nd-3rd with Pavel Eljanov at 3.0/5. In round five he drew against Teimour Radjabov.

Radoslaw Wojtaszek has been struggling a bit with the field, having scored 2.0/5

Needless to say, Shakhriyar Mamedyarov leads with 3.5/5, with two wins and three draws. In the last couple of rounds, he has benefitted from the wins not being from his nearest rivals, but he will need to protect his top spot with more wins if he wishes to repeat his 2016 result (he won).

The biggest result of the day was clearly the game between the two 2800+ players in the field. Not only is this crucial for their tournament standings, but there is the matter of rating average to earn a free berth into the next Candidates tournament.

Wesley So vs Vladimir Kramnik (annotated by GM Tiger Hillarp-Persson)

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1.c4 e6 2.g3 d5 3.Bg2 Nf6 3...dxc4 here or on the next move, is the other direction the game can take. 4.Nf3 Be7 5.0-0 5.cxd5?! is a strategical mistake before Black has committed to b6. After exd5 6.0-0 0-0 7.d4 c6 8.Nc3 Bf5 is hard for White achieve e4, while the Carlsbad minority attack, with b2-b4-b5 is almost impossible to get working. Black is already a bit better. 5...0-0 6.d4 6.b3 b6 After this move cxd5 becomes a possibility. The point is that light squares has been weakened and if Black answers with exd5, then after Nf3-e5 Black will have little choice but to play c5 at some stage and accept a couple of hanging pawns. 6...d4 7.e3 c5 8.exd4 cxd4 9.d3 Nc6 10.Re1 leads to a Benoni set-up with colours reversed, which would be a formidable weapon in the hands of someone who wants to create an unbalanced game. 6...c5 7.e3 7.Bb2!? d4 8.e3 Nc6 9.exd4 cxd4 10.Re1! is another Benoni inspired line where the drawing tendencies are low. 10.d3 e5 and the bishop makes no sense on b2. 7...b6 7.Bb2 7.Nc3 Bb7 8.d4 Nbd7 9.Bb2 Rc8 10.cxd5 Nxd5 11.Nxd5 Bxd5 12.Qd3 c5 13.e4 Bb7 14.Rad1 14.Rfd1 14...cxd4 15.Nxd4 Nf6 16.Qe2 Qe8 as in Kramnik,V (2805)-Aronian,L (2785) 8th London Classic 2016, was not without complications. 7...Bb7 8.cxd5 Nxd5 8...exd5 9.d4 Nbd7 10.Nc3 Re8 11.Rc1 scores quite well for White, perhaps not because White's position is better, but since it is harder to handle Black's structure for a human. 9.d4 Nd7 9...c5 was played by Aronian and could be the better move. 10.Re1 c5 11.e4 N5f6 12.Nc3 (Ever noticed how few really strong GM:s there are who place their knight on d2 when c3 is an option?) cxd4 13.Nxd4 Ne5 14.Qe2! Bc5 14...Qxd4 15.Nd5 Qc5 16.Rac1 Qd6 17.Nxe7+ 17.Bxe5!? might be even stronger. 17...Qxe7 18.Bxe5 Rac8 19.Bb2 and White will continue with f3 and enjoy the bishop pair in an endgame with pawns on both sides. 15.Red1 Qe7 16.Na4 Bxd4 17.Bxd4 Nc6 18.Be3 Rfd8 19.Nc3 Qb4 20.Qb2 Ng4 21.Bf4 Nce5 22.a3 Qc5 23.Na4 Qb5 24.Nc3 Qc5 25.Na4 Qb5 26.h3 Nd3 27.Rxd3 Rxd3 28.hxg4 Qxb3 29.Bf1 and White went on to win, in So,W (2820)-Onischuk,A (2665) ch-USA 2017. 6...dxc4 I dare say that noone understands the Catalan better than Kramnik, so it is well worth noting which line he chooses with the black side. 7.Qc2 The other main line goes 7.Ne5 , when Black most reliable counter was seen today on a adjacent board: Nc6 8.Bxc6 8.Nxc6 bxc6 9.Na3 has also been played a lot, but it leads to terribly forced variations where it seems to me that Black is not doing worse. 8...bxc6 9.Nxc6 Qe8 10.Nxe7+ Qxe7 11.Qc2 c5 12.Qxc4 cxd4 13.Qxd4 e5 14.Qh4 Qb7 15.Nc3 Be6 16.Bg5 Nd5 17.Nxd5 Qxd5 18.b3 f6 19.Be3 Qb5 20.Rfe1 a5 21.f3 Rfc8 22.Kf2 a4 23.Qe4 axb3 24.axb3 Rxa1 25.Rxa1 Qxb3 26.Ra8 Rxa8 27.Qxa8+ and draw was soon agreed. 7...a6 8.a4 8.Qxc4 b5 9.Qc2 Bb7 10.Bd2 was a line that attracted a lot of attention for many years. However Black came up with a very solid anti-dote with Be4 11.Qc1 Bb7! when White has been unable to set Black any real problems. 11...c6 is a new continuation for those who shun draws before move 15. 8...Bd7 9.Qxc4 Bc6 10.Bf4 10.Bg5 has been more popular. A recent game went Bd5 11.Qc2 Be4 12.Qc1 h6 13.Bxf6 Bxf6 14.Nbd2 Bxf3 15.Nxf3 a5 16.Qc3 Nc6 17.Rad1 Nb4 18.Ne5 c6 19.e4 Rc8 20.Ng4 c5 21.Nxf6+ Qxf6 22.e5 22.d5!? 22...Qe7 23.d5 exd5 24.Bxd5 Rcd8 with a balanced game; Adams,M (2760)-Harikrishna,P (2755) Du Te Cup 2017 (although White soon went wrong and lost). 10...a5 This has gone for main- to sub-line in a short time. Black is planning to exchange Bc6 for Nf3 at an opportune moment and then argue the bishop pair is of little use when the opponent has such a wonderfully harmonious pawn structure. 10...Bd6 has taken over as the most common. Aronian played two games on the black side lately: 11.Qc1 Bxf4 11...a5 12.Nc3 Na6 13.Bd2 Nb4 14.Qb1 Bxf3 15.Bxf3 c6 16.Rd1 Qe7 17.Ne4 Nxe4 18.Qxe4 Rfd8 19.Bc3 Rd7 20.Rd2 Qd8 21.Rad1 Be7 22.h4 Rb8 23.e3 Nd5 24.Qc2 Qc7 25.Kg2 g6 26.h5 and White had managed to ge an initiative, in Ding Liren (2760)-Aronian,L (2785) Sharjah Grand Prix 2017. 12.Qxf4 Qd6 13.Qc1 Bd5 14.Nc3 Nc6 15.e3 Nb4 16.Qb1 16.a5!? Qe7 17.Nxd5 Nbxd5 18.Ne5 16...Qe7 17.a5 c5 18.Nxd5 Nfxd5 19.e4 Nc7 20.dxc5 Qxc5 21.e5 Qe7 Eljanov,P (2755)-Aronian,L (2780) 79th Tata Steel GpA 2017. Black had solved the opening problems and went on to win. 11.Nc3 Nbd7 12.Qd3 In this part of the game, play is all about whether White gets to play e2-e4. White threatens to play e4. Bb4 Black stops e2-e4. 13.Rfe1 White threatens to play e4. Re8 Black can answer e2-e4 with Nc5, so he takes a moment to prepare some activity of his own (e6-e5). 14.Qc2 Now e2-e4 is in the making, again. 14.e4? Bxc3 15.bxc3 Bxe4! 16.Rxe4? Nc5 14...Bxf3 Black finally decides to exchange the bishop. There was no good way to stop e4 anymore. 14...Bxc3?! 15.bxc3 Be4 16.Qb2 h6 16...c5 17.Ng5 and Black regrets the insertion of a4 and a5 since his queenside is quite weak. 17.Bf1 b6 18.Red1 Bb7 19.Ne5 and White has been able to keep the bishop pair without compromising the pawn structure, so White is better. 15.Bxf3 c6 This structure arise in most of the games in this line. White has more space and the bishop pair, but Black lacks weaknesses and has a nice outpost on b4. Some might find this position to be boring, but at this stage I was basically jumping up and down from the excitement of seeing two such great players dealing with it. 16.Red1! Black has exchanged the bishop on c6, so White no longer needs the rook on e1 in order to play e4. Now White plans to improve the knight... 16.Na2? Bxe1 16...Qe7 17.Na2 Bd6 18.Bxd6 Qxd6 19.Nc1 Around this point in the game something goes wrong, but I really struggle to see what it is. Kramnik's moves all seem reasonable. Nd5 20.e4 Nb4 21.Qc3 e5 21...f5?! aims to wrestle control of d5 from White, but it is a double edged victory. After 22.Nb3 a5 remains weak and e6 is a new target. If Black tries to ride out the game in passive manner with 21...Qe7 , then White will play 22.Nb3 and follow up with Bg2 and f4 before deciding on how to continue. Black has no good way to solve the problem with the weak a5-pawn (apart from keeping the rook on a8 and the queen on e7), since b6 just creates a new set of weaknesses (White will immediately re-route the knight on b3 to d3 or e3). Perhaps the whole set-up with queen on e7 and rook on a8 is too passive and Black should try 21...Rad8 22.Nb3 Qc7!? The advantage of such a set-up is that Black only needs one piece to keep an eye on a5. White keeps a slight advantage, but needs to come up with an active plan. 22.Nb3 Qe7 23.Bg2 exd4 24.Rxd4 As I'm watching this game live, I'm prone to exclaim the opening to be a slight success for White, so it will be very exciting to see if I'm right. How will Kramnik deal with the a5-weakness and the Bg2/f4/e5-plan? Nf8!? Here the knight is out of harms way when White starts throwing the f- and e-pawns forward and it can also challenge the rook on d4. Black's dream scenario is to be able to exchange a couple of knights and enter a N+Q vs. B+Q endgame. The N+Q has a tendency to be quite good here, especially if White has weakened his queenside. Black would like to solve his problems with 24...b6 , but then, after 25.Rad1 Nf6 26.f3 c5 27.R4d2 Red8 28.Bf1 White is basically a pawn up, since the pawns on the queenside are immobile. Also, the knight on b4 is out of play, the bishop will find an excellent square on c4 and later on in the endgame c4 is a juicy square for the white knight. Considering how the game continues, Black could try something drastic, like: 24...Nf6 25.f3! h5!? 26.Rad1 h4 Hard to believe in though. 27.Qc5!? 25.Rad1 Red8 26.R1d2!? A very tricky move. So simply threatens to take on d8 and then a5 and perhaps he guessed the Kramnik would be reluctant to touch the b-pawn. 26.e5 is more forceful and leads to some initiative for White after b6 27.f4 26...Ne6? Such a move means that Kramnik is not in good shape. 26...g6 would prepare exchanges on d4, so as not to invite the knight to f5. However, after 27.Rxd8 Rxd8 28.Nxa5 Ra8 29.Nc4 Rxa4 30.Rd1 White is still much better. 26...b6! After 27.e5 White has some initiative still, but Black is close to equality. 27.Rxd8+ Rxd8 28.Nxa5 Ra8 29.Nc4 Rxa4 30.Nd6 Now Black is in trouble. White's pieces could not be better placed, while the knight on b4 is suddenly without support. Ra1+ 31.Bf1 Na6! A persistent move. If instead 31...c5 , then 32.Kg2 Nc6 33.Bc4 b6 34.b4! Ra8 35.Nf5 Qc7 36.bxc5 bxc5 37.Bd5 looks hopeless for Black. For instance: Re8 38.Nxg7 Nxg7 39.Qxc5 Rc8 40.Rc2 wins two pawns for White. 32.Kg2 Nac7 I often meet players who think that there is some inherent value in pieces protecting one another. Indeed, it might seem like strong players have a tendency to keep everything connected. "Seem" is the operative word here. Harmony and mutual protection is not the same thing. But, if there is a weak square somewhere and one side directs the knights towards that square, it is not uncommon for these knights to protect one another. It is a consequence of another factor; of coordination. Here the knights protect each other because the knight on e6 is a pillar in the defence and if you try to protect it from c5, then the knight can be kicked with b4. 33.Nf5 Qe8 34.Bc4 White's pieces are all one great squares. It is unlikely that Black can defend this. Ra8 35.Rd6!? 35.Nd6 Qe7 36.Nxb7 wins a pawn, but So prefers to keep the pressure. 35...Qf8 36.Rd7 Re8 37.Qe5! A very strong move, since it forces Black to enter a position that is lost. The engine likes a number of move better, but from a human point of view this is just the best; not allowing any curved balls from Black. b5 The best defence was 37...g6 , when 38.Nd6 is good, but 38.Qf6 gxf5 39.exf5 Qg7 40.Qxg7+ Kxg7 41.fxe6 Nxe6 42.Rxb7 looks like a sure road to victory. This is probably why So played Qe5. 38.Ba2 g6 This should lose immediately. However, the alternative 38...Na6 39.Ra7 Nac5 is not much better: 40.b4 Na4 41.Rxf7 Qxf7 42.Nd6 Qf6 43.Qxf6 gxf6 44.Nxe8 Kf8 45.Nxf6+-
White missed a chance to end the game right now, though he did win the game eventually. What did he miss? White to play and win.
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
So,W-Kramnik,V-1–02017E05Gashimov Memorial5

A setback for the former world champion, but nothing he cannot overcome

The other big win of the day was Sergey Karjakin's crushing win over...

...Veselin Topalov, leaving both players at 50%.

Sergey Karjakin vs Veselin Topalov

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1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.e5 c5 4.dxc5 e6 5.a3 Bxc5 6.Nf3 Ne7 7.Bd3 Ng6 8.0-0 Nc6 9.b4 Bb6 10.Bb2 Nf4 11.c4 Nxd3 12.Qxd3 dxc4 13.Qxc4 Ne7N 13...0-0 14.Nc3 Ne7 15.Rad1 Nd5 16.Qg4 f5 17.exf6 Nxf6 18.Qh4 Nd5 19.Qe4 Qe8 20.Nxd5 exd5 21.Qxd5+ Qf7 22.Qg5 Bf5 23.Ne5 Qf6 24.Qxf6 Rxf6 25.Nc4 Rc6 26.Nxb6 Rxb6 27.h3 a5 28.Bd4 Rg6 29.Kh2 axb4 30.axb4 Be4 31.f3 Bc6 1/2-1/2 (69) Istratescu,A (2654)-Grachev,B (2688) Basel 2013 14.Nc3 Bd7 15.Qg4 Bc6 16.Rad1 16.Qxg7? would be everything Black could wish for. Rg8 17.Qf6 Nf5 18.Qxd8+ Rxd8 16...Qc7 17.Ng5 17.Qxg7? ... See note above. 17...Qxe5 18.b5! 'Poisoned' doesn't begin to describe the pawn. h5 18...Bxb5? would just lose. 19.Nxb5 If Black takes the knight with Qxb5 then White continues Taking the bishop with 19...Qxb2 20.Nd6+ Kf8 21.Ngxf7 is also deadly 20.Bxg7 Rg8 21.Ne4 and Nf6+ is fatal 19.Qh4! Bxb5
20.Rfe1!+- AKA 'inviting everyone to the party'. Qf5 21.Nxb5 Qxb5 The computer complains about this, and suggests 0-0 as best. But of course, if Black is going to openly accept the piece is lost, then he would just resign. At least here White can still conceivably go wrong. 22.Bxg7 With the idea of Ne4 and Nf6+ Nf5 23.Nxe6‼ Qf4 was also winning, but you can't fault Karjakin's sense of style! fxe6 24.Rxe6+ Kf7 25.Qf6+ Kg8 26.Bxh8 Threatening mate with Re7. Bxf2+ 27.Kh1 Qa4 28.Red6 28.Rd8+ was mate in 8, but the move played is also crushing. Rxd8 29.Qxd8+ Kh7 30.Be5 Ng3+ 31.hxg3 Qd1+ 32.Qxd1 Bc5 33.Qxh5+ Kg8 34.Qh8+ Kf7 35.Qe8# 28...Rf8 29.Qg6+ Kxh8 30.Rd7
1–0
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Karjakin,S2783Topalov,V27411–02017B124th Shamkir Chess 20175

Standings after five rounds

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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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