2/1/2017 – The erstwhile leaders decided that this was the perfect time to recharge their batteries and take an unofficial timeout, settling for draws. Topalov sensed opportunity and dared Sutovsky to grab a winning advantage, which the latter did not take allowing the former to sneak into the lead as well. Ju Wenjun celebrated her birthday by creating history.
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The Tradewise Gibraltar Open is one of the strongest and best organised events of its kind in the world. Anyone who knows the moves (and pays the entry fee) can take part, and perhaps face top participants like Fabiano Caruana, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave or Hikaru Nakamura. The tournament lasts from January 23 (opening) to February 4. The location is very balmy: ten hours of daylight, average day temperature 16° C, warm sea temperatures, beautiful scenery. Paradise!
Gibraltar 08: The Lull before the Storm
An American, a Frenchman, a Chinese and a Spaniard led the standings after seven rounds of play in this ten-round tourney. A number of times, you comes across a situation of unusual tranquility, so stable that you are sure something is wrong.
At the Tradewise Gibraltar Masters, the eighth and the antepenultimate round saw as many as ten draws in the top twelve boards. Maybe this is natural as most of the higher seeds were playing against the in-form lot among the 72 grandmasters in the fray. In addition, black won the only two games that did produce results in the top-twelve.
David Anton Guijarro
Maxime Vachier-Lagrave defended with the Gruenfeld against David Anton Guijarro where he gave up a pawn but there never really was anything of note.
Hikaru Nakamura defended with the Queen’s Gambit Declined against Yu Yangyi. Nakamura solved the problems quite easily and after some mass exchanges in the middlegame, the players just repeated the position.
Emil Sutovsky faced Veselin Topalov’s Caro-Kann with a pawn sacrifice on the rim of the kingside.
Veselin declined and continued to make the usual Caro-Kann moves. But after a few moves, when Sutovsky castled kingside, the Bulgarian must have believed that he has lulled the Israeli into leaving the pawn en prise for too long. Topalov saw no reason to be generous and picked the pawn. Sutovsky generated tons of pressure on the queenside but Topalov had everything covered.
That is until he blundered on the 23rd move. His agony, though, was short-lived as Sutovsky failed to take advantage of his position and moved his knight to b3 instead of continuing milking the queenside immediately. However, Sutovsky still had the pressure and a draw in hand. The following critical position arose:
Sutovsky, with white, has to make a life-and-death decision. He is a pawn down but has more space on the queenside. How best to use it? Playing with the space advantage is a truly enjoyable approach to chess as you get to just crush your opponents as Daniel King explains in Power Play 13. The correct move would mean Sutovsky goes home with a draw despite being a pawn down, but an incorrect one should lead to a negative result, which is what transpired in the game.
[Event "Gibraltar Masters 2017"] [Site "Caleta"] [Date "2017.01.31"] [Round "?"] [White "Sutovsky, Emil"] [Black "Topalov, Veselin"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "B12"] [WhiteElo "2628"] [BlackElo "2739"] [Annotator "Sadorra, Julio"] [PlyCount "84"] [EventDate "2017.01.31"] [EventCountry "ENG"] [SourceDate "2017.01.31"] {Hello chess lovers and fans! Now that Tata Steel Super-tournament is over, we can now focus more on following the fighting and exciting chess happening in Gibraltar :-D. In round 8, the only desicive game at the top boards that also affected the leaderboard is the game between the imaginative Israeli GM Sutovsky and former-World Champ GM Topalov.} 1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. e5 Bf5 4. h4 h5 5. Bd3 $5 {this line sharp line only started becoming popular in high-level practice in 2014, thanks to the efforts of GMs Morozevich and Saric.} Bxd3 6. Qxd3 e6 7. Bg5 Be7 ({The most frequently played line here is} 7... Qb6 8. Nd2 Qa6 9. c4 Bb4 10. b3 {which was tested in the 4th round between Vocaturo and Caruana.}) 8. Nf3 Nh6 9. Bxh6 Rxh6 10. Nbd2 {the position that we have has been played by Sutovsky 3 months ago, which he nicely won.} Nd7 {I'm sure Topalov is still in his prep as revealed by his time consumption.} ({ Sutovsky's previous game went:} 10... Na6 $6 {the knight has no future here.} 11. c3 c5 12. a3 Rc8 13. b4 cxd4 14. cxd4 Kf8 15. Ke2 g6 16. Qb5 Rc7 17. Rac1 Nb8 18. Nb3 a6 19. Qd3 Kg7 20. Rxc7 Qxc7 21. Rc1 Qd7 22. Nc5 Bxc5 23. bxc5 Nc6 24. Rb1 Rh8 25. Qd2 $1 $16 {and White eventually converted his positional advantages into a win. 1-0 (59) Sutovsky,E (2625)-David,A (2574) Novi Sad SRB 2016}) 11. c3 {This normal move can lead to the same middlegame structure as in the previously mentioned game. It is also the new deviation according to the databases.} ({The only game played here before was} 11. g3 c5 12. c4 cxd4 13. cxd5 Qa5 $1 $13 {with a complex game. ½-½ (26) Potapov,P (2485) -Alekseenko,K (2570) Sochi 2016}) 11... c5 12. a3 Rc8 13. b4 cxd4 14. cxd4 Nb6 $1 {Black has a better version of the middlegame Sutovsky vs. David owing to the better placement of the knight.} 15. O-O $5 {Invitation from Emil: "Would you like to play a sharp, imbalanced game with me?"} ({Playing in a similar fashion as Sutovsky did in his previous game will not be as effective here:} 15. Ke2 Nc4 16. Rhc1 b5 17. a4 a6 {and Black has no problems.}) ({More circumspect is} 15. g3 Nc4 16. Kf1 (16. O-O) 16... Kf8 {but it's probably not in Sutovsky's style.}) 15... Bxh4 $1 {"Are you asking me?" replied the brave fighter from Bulgaria. Ladies & gentlemen, it is showtime! :-)} 16. Nxh4 Qxh4 17. Rac1 {"Let me 'show' you what I've got," Emil calmly and confidently said.} Qd8 {to which Veselin answered "OK, show me!"} 18. Qb5+ Qd7 19. Rxc8+ Nxc8 20. Qa5 b6 21. Qa6 {The fighters exchanged a series forcing blows, and when the smoke has cleared a little, the verbal fight ensues:} Ne7 {"You're not taking or threatening anything yet, so lemme just play a natural move here."} 22. Rc1 {"It's coming, just you wait..."} Kd8 $6 {"C'mon, I still don't see it," Veselin tauntingly said. Unfortunately for him, Veselin didn't sense that he is already drifting into a dangerous territory...} ({Objectively, it was safer to get the king out of the danger zone with} 22... f6 $5 23. Nf3 Kf7 {followed by transferring his rook to c8.}) 23. b5 $1 {"Almost there!" said Emil who craftily played a prohpylactic-attacking move.} ({The hasty} 23. a4 $2 { fails to} Nc6 24. a5 Nxb4 {and Black successfully kicks out White's annoying queen.}) 23... Nf5 {[#] White to play} 24. Nb3 $6 {This solid move was played after a 4-minute thought.} ({Unfortunately for the Israeli fighter, he missed here a great opportunity to show something real for the sacrificed pawn that he courageously initiated on move 15:} 24. a4 $3 Nxd4 {Then what?} 25. Kh1 $1 { Ofcourse this calm, cool move has to be foreseen & planned before venturing into sac-ing another pawn!} Rg6 (25... Rh8 26. a5 $40 {and White's attack crashes through!} Nxb5 (26... bxa5 27. b6 $1) 27. axb6 Ke7 28. Rb1 $18) 26. a5 Rg4 27. g3 $1 {Another calm, patient move that allows White to stop enemy counterplay and move forward his attack.} Nxb5 {the only way to try to hold on} 28. axb6 axb6 29. Qa8+ Ke7 30. Rc8 $18 {and Black would have been helpless to White's incoming decisive threats.}) 24... Rh8 {Veselin hurries to bring his rook to the defense of his impudent king.} 25. a4 Ke7 26. a5 Rb8 {"I made it!" Veselin said with a huge sigh of relief. The situation is still complex, and Emil still has compensation owing to his active pieces. However, now that the queenside is safely secured Emil has to play more accurately as his compensation will be questioned move by move.} 27. axb6 $2 {The only clear mistake in the game as it limits White's resources or allows Black to defend easily. But without enough concrete analysis (and time of course!), it's difficult to make the right choice here.} (27. Rc6 $1 Qb7 28. Qxb7+ Rxb7 29. a6 $1 {This is the resource that allows White to keep the balance.} Rd7 30. Rc8 { and Black cannot make progress:} Rd8 (30... g6 31. Kf1 $11) (30... g5 31. g3 $11 (31. Nc5 $5)) (30... f6 $2 {if Black is ambitious, White can even get more! } 31. Nc5 bxc5 32. dxc5 d4 33. c6 Rd5 34. b6 d3 35. bxa7 d2 36. Rc7+ $1 Ke8 ( 36... Kd8 37. a8=Q+ Kxc7 38. Qb7+ Kd8 39. c7+ $18) 37. a8=Q+ Rd8 38. Qxd8+ Kxd8 39. Rd7+ $18) 31. Rc7+ Rd7 32. Rc8 $11) 27... axb6 28. Rc6 Qb7 29. Qa3+ Kd7 { The position has stabilized, and in the next moves it is Veselin that executes his plan and controls the game.} 30. g3 Ke8 31. Qc1 Qe7 (31... Qd7 $5 { preventing rook to c7, but Veselin was probably concerned about} 32. Qg5 g6 $17 {[%cal Gd7d8,Gd8g5] but White only has ghost threats.}) 32. Rc7 Qd8 33. Qc6+ Kf8 34. Rd7 Qc8 $1 {Trading active pieces and simplifying when up in material--simple chess!} ({A kingside attack doesn't work as it allows White enough counterplay after} 34... Qg5 35. Qc7 Ra8 36. Rxf7+ Kg8 37. Qxb6 $1 Kxf7 38. Qb7+ $132) 35. Na5 $2 {Hastens the end. It is either a result of frustration with losing control of his initiative earlier, or discouragement for not seeing anything good coming from this position.} ({While it is true that White is much worse due to lack of compensatio, I think Black should nevertheless still have tried to resist and make Black do some technical work after} 35. Rc7 Qe8 $1 36. Kg2 (36. Rd7 Rc8 37. Qb7 Rc3 38. Rc7 Rxc7 39. Qxc7 Qxb5 $19) 36... Qxc6 37. bxc6 (37. Rxc6 g5 $19) 37... Ne7 38. Kh3 $17 {[%cal Gb8c8,Gb8a8,Gf8e8] Black still needs to make a few more important decisions to convert the advantage, but Veselin will most probably be up to the task!}) 35... bxa5 36. Rc7 Qd8 37. b6 Ne7 38. Qc5 a4 $19 {Black is a piece up for nothing and has a clear plan of trading his a-pawn for White's b-pawn.} 39. b7 a3 40. Qd6 a2 41. Rc1 Qxd6 42. exd6 Rxb7 {the rook ending is dead lost, so White resigned. A valiant effort from both players! I am looking forward to more enterprising battles in round 9 especially from "Top"-alov who has now made his way back to the Top!} 0-1
Topalov talks about his game. Note the fit of giggles — he had been discussing the term 'premature' with another well-known grandmaster, but that conversation apparently had some hidden meaning!
Women’s world no. 1 took on women’s world no. 2 in the Chinese derby played in French territory on the rock of Gibraltar.
Ju Wenjun was celebrating her 26th birthday. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she must have known that a win here takes her across the 2600 barrier.
It was a razor-sharp game with both players punching each other in turns, both fighters holding equality until near the time control when Yifan blundered decisively:
White has an opportunity to force a draw in this position. In time trouble, the world champion missed her chance and played 32.Qd6-d5 instead. Ju rang the bell to Yifan's castle and delivered a delicious mate. She became the fifth woman after Judit Polgar, Koneru Humpy, Anna Muzychuck, and Hou Yifan herself, to cross the 2600 mark.
World's youngest grandmaster Deac Bogdan-Daniel managed to hold Peter Svidler to a draw.
Fabiano Caruana won from the black side of a Ruy Lopez by employing the Deferred Steinitz set up. Caruana got easy and dynamic play with pawn breaks on the queenside and center to win against Indian GM G.N. Gopal.
When asked before the tournament who he would like to play in the tourney, Hikaru Nakamura did not think twice before naming his rival Fabiano Caruana. Dreams do come true — the ninth round will witness an American derby on the third board. Veselin Topalov has joined the erstwhile leaders and has a not-so-difficult task of beating David Anton Guijarro with white, while MVL is playing Yu Yangyi on the first board.
Only two rounds of play remain. The eighth round was too tranquil to be the end. You do know what is coming, don’t you?
The games will be broadcast live on the official web site and on the 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 or any of our Fritz compatible chess programs.
Priyadarshan BanjanPriyadarshan Banjan is a 23-year-old club player from India. He works as an editor for ChessBase News and ChessBase India. He is a chess fanatic and an avid fan of Vishy Anand. He also maintains a blog on a variety of topics.
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