Sigeman: Caruana wins Sigeman with 2852 performance

by ChessBase
5/16/2012 – He is the hottest chess talent – still a junior but number eight in the world. Italian/American GM Fabiano Caruana won his last two games in the Hipp Theater in Malmo, Sweden. His 2852 performance should contribute seven points to his FIDE rating. Hungarian GM Peter Leko celebrated his "comeback" with the second place and a respectable 2792 performance. Big closing report.

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The Limhamn Chess Club has staged the 20-year jubilee of the annual Sigeman Chess Tournament. It took place in the classical Hipp Theater in central Malmo, Sweden, and was an eight-player round robin. The rate of play was 40 moves/2hours + 20 moves/1 hour + 30 minutes for the rest of the game.

Round 4 – May 13th
GM Fabiano Caruana
1/2
 GM Emanuel Berg
GM Hans Tikkanen
0-1
 GM Peter Leko
GM Jonny Hector
0-1
 GM Chao Li
GM Anish Giri
1/2
 GM Nils Grandelius

[Event "20th Sigeman & Co"] [Site "Malmo SWE"] [Date "2012.05.13"] [Round "4"] [White "Hector, J."] [Black "Li Chao2"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "B56"] [WhiteElo "2560"] [BlackElo "2703"] [PlyCount "80"] [EventDate "2012.05.09"] 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 Nc6 6. Be3 e5 7. Nxc6 bxc6 8. Be2 Be7 9. O-O O-O 10. f4 exf4 11. Rxf4 Be6 12. Qd2 Nd7 13. Rd1 Ne5 14. b3 Re8 15. Na4 Qc7 16. c4 Rad8 17. Rf2 d5 18. cxd5 cxd5 19. Rc1 Qb8 20. Qd4 dxe4 21. Qxe4 Bd5 22. Qf5 Bh4 23. g3 Ng6 24. gxh4 Rxe3 25. Qg5 Re5 26. Qg3 Rde8 27. h5 Nf8 28. h6 Ne6 29. Bg4 Ng5 30. Rf5 gxh6 31. Rxe5 Qxe5 32. Qxe5 Rxe5 33. Nc3 Bb7 34. Kf2 h5 35. Be2 Nh3+ 36. Kg3 $2 {The decisive error in a probably still defensible position.} Re3+ 37. Kh4 Nf4 38. Bxh5 Ng2+ 39. Kg5 Kg7 40. Bg4 f6+ 0-1


With this win Chinese GM Chao Li advanced to second place (with Grandelius and Leko)

Round 5 – May 14th
GM Chao Li
1/2
 GM Fabiano Caruana
GM Emanuel Berg
0-1
 GM Hans Tikkanen
GM Peter Leko
1/2
 GM Anish Giri
GM Nils Grandelius
1-0
 GM Jonny Hector

[Event "20th Sigeman & Co"] [Site "Malmo SWE"] [Date "2012.05.14"] [Round "5"] [White "Grandelius, N."] [Black "Hector, J."] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D17"] [WhiteElo "2556"] [BlackElo "2560"] [PlyCount "101"] [EventDate "2012.05.09"] 1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. Nc3 dxc4 5. a4 Bf5 6. Ne5 e6 7. f3 Bb4 8. Nxc4 O-O 9. Kf2 c5 10. e4 Bg6 11. Na2 Nc6 12. Nxb4 Nxb4 13. Qb3 Nxe4+ (13... Bxe4 14. fxe4 Nxe4+ 15. Kg1 Qxd4+ {was a viable option.}) 14. fxe4 Bxe4 15. Bd2 Nc2 16. Rc1 Nxd4 {Black has three pawns for the sacrificed piece.} 17. Qe3 Qd5 18. Qf4 Rad8 19. Ne3 Qc6 20. Bc3 e5 21. Qxe5 Rfe8 22. Qg3 Qf6+ 23. Kg1 Qh6 24. Re1 f5 25. Qf2 f4 26. Bxd4 cxd4 27. Nc4 d3 28. h4 Bf5 $6 (28... f3 {was itching to be played.}) 29. Rxe8+ Rxe8 30. Qd4 Qh5 $2 (30... Qc6 {was the better option.}) 31. Nd6 Rf8 32. Qd5+ Kh8 33. Nxf5 d2 34. Qxd2 Qxf5 {White has a piece for a pawn and a simply way to unravel the knot on the kingside.} 35. Rh3 Qc5+ 36. Qf2 Qb4 37. b3 h6 38. Rf3 a6 39. g3 b5 40. axb5 axb5 41. Rxf4 Rxf4 42. Qxf4 Qxb3 43. Qf8+ Kh7 44. Qf5+ Kg8 45. Qd3 Qe6 46. Qxb5 {This is over, Black has no chance to save the game.} Qe3+ 47. Kh2 g5 48. Bc4+ Kf8 49. Qf5+ Ke7 50. Qh7+ Ke8 51. Bb5+ 1-0


After this win Nils Grandelius was in the lead with Fabiano Caruana, both at 3.5/5

Round 6 – May 15th
GM Fabiano Caruana
1-0
 GM Nils Grandelius
GM Hans Tikkanen
1-0
 GM Chao Li
GM Peter Leko
1-0
 GM Emanuel Berg
GM Anish Giri
1/2
 GM Jonny Hector

[Event "20th Sigeman & Co"] [Site "Malmo SWE"] [Date "2012.05.15"] [Round "6"] [White "Caruana, F."] [Black "Grandelius, N."] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B52"] [WhiteElo "2770"] [BlackElo "2556"] [PlyCount "83"] [EventDate "2012.05.09"] 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. Bb5+ Bd7 4. Bxd7+ Qxd7 5. O-O Nf6 6. Qe2 Nc6 7. c3 e6 8. d3 Be7 9. Rd1 O-O 10. Nbd2 Ng4 11. d4 cxd4 12. cxd4 d5 13. e5 Nh6 14. Nb3 Nf5 15. Bf4 Qd8 16. Rac1 Rc8 17. Rc3 Bb4 18. Rcd3 Be7 19. a3 a5 20. Nbd2 a4 21. Nb1 b5 22. g4 Nh4 23. Nxh4 Bxh4 24. Nc3 Rb8 25. Rh3 Bg5 26. Bg3 b4 27. Nxa4 bxa3 28. Qc2 h6 29. Qxc6 axb2 $2 ({Black misses a golden opportunity:} 29... Qa5 { and now} 30. Bh4 (30. Qc2 Rfc8 31. Qe2 Qxa4 32. bxa3 Rb2 $1 $19) 30... Rfc8 31. Qd7 Rc7 32. Qd6 Qxa4 {is winning.}) 30. Qc2 Qa5 31. f4 Rfc8 32. Nc5 Qb4 33. Qb1 Qc3 34. Kg2 Rxc5 35. dxc5 Rb3 36. Rf1 Ra3 $2 (36... Be7 {would have probably held the draw.}) 37. Rf2 Ra1 {Desperation.} 38. Qxb2 Qe1 39. Rh5 g6 40. fxg5 gxh5 {Now it is mate to follow.} 41. Qb8+ Kg7 42. Rxf7+ ({Or as Fritz would say:} 42. gxh6+ Kxh6 43. Qh8+ Kg6 44. Qg8+ Kh6 45. Rf6#) 1-0


After six rounds Fabiano was back in the sole lead, with 4.5/6, ahead of Leko with 4.0/6

Round 7 – May 16th
GM Jonny Hector
0-1
 GM Fabiano Caruana
GM Nils Grandelius
1/2
 GM Hans Tikkanen
GM Chao Li
0-1
 GM Peter Leko
GM Emanuel Berg
0-1
 GM Anish Giri


Final round, with Tikkanen, Chao, Leko, Hector, Caruana an Berg at the tables


Chao Li vs Peter Leko, as seen by a passing bird

[Event "20th Sigeman & Co"] [Site "Malmo SWE"] [Date "2012.05.16"] [Round "7"] [White "Li Chao2"] [Black "Leko, P."] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "E06"] [WhiteElo "2703"] [BlackElo "2723"] [PlyCount "150"] [EventDate "2012.05.09"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 e6 3. g3 d5 4. Bg2 Be7 5. c4 O-O 6. Bg5 Nbd7 7. O-O c6 8. Nc3 b6 9. Bxf6 Nxf6 10. e4 dxe4 11. Ne5 Bb7 12. Nxe4 Qc7 13. Nxf6+ Bxf6 14. Ng4 Be7 15. Qf3 Rab8 16. Rfe1 c5 17. d5 exd5 18. cxd5 Bd6 19. Ne3 Rbe8 20. h4 Bc8 21. Bf1 a6 22. a4 Be5 23. Rad1 Bd4 24. b3 g6 25. h5 Qd8 26. h6 Re5 27. Bc4 Rh5 28. Re2 Qd6 29. Nc2 Bf6 30. Ne3 Rxh6 31. Qf4 Qxf4 32. gxf4 Bd4 33. Red2 Bb7 34. Kg2 Kg7 35. Kg3 Rd8 36. Nc2 Bf6 37. Ne3 Bd4 38. Nc2 Bc3 39. Rd3 Bf6 40. Ne3 Rh5 41. R3d2 Bd4 42. Nc2 Bc3 43. Rd3 Bf6 44. b4 Bh4+ 45. Kf3 b5 46. axb5 axb5 47. Bxb5 Rdxd5 48. Ke3 Be7 49. Rxd5 Bxd5 50. Be2 Rh3+ 51. f3 Bb3 52. Rd7 Kf6 53. Ne1 Be6 54. Rb7 cxb4 55. Nd3 Rh4 56. Bd1 h6 57. Ba4 g5 58. Bd7 Bd6 59. Bxe6 Kxe6 60. Rb6 Ke7 61. Rb7+ Ke6 62. Rb6 Kd7 63. Rb7+ Kc6 64. Rxf7 Bxf4+ 65. Kd4 Bd6+ 66. f4 gxf4 67. Rf6 f3+ 68. Ke3 Kd5 69. Kxf3 b3 70. Ke2 Rh2+ 71. Ke3 Bc5+ 72. Kf4 Bd4 73. Rf8 Kc4 74. Rb8 Rh3 75. Ne1 {and Peter Leko plays the cute} Be5+ ({Get it?} 75... Be5+ 76. Kxe5 Re3+ {and Black simply has two extra pawns.}) 0-1

[Event "20th Sigeman & Co"] [Site "Malmo SWE"] [Date "2012.05.16"] [Round "7"] [White "Hector, J."] [Black "Caruana, F."] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "C29"] [WhiteElo "2560"] [BlackElo "2770"] [PlyCount "60"] [EventDate "2012.05.09"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. f4 d5 4. fxe5 Nxe4 5. Nf3 Nc6 6. Bb5 Bb4 7. O-O O-O 8. Ne2 Bg4 9. Bxc6 bxc6 10. Kh1 Ng5 11. d3 f6 12. Bxg5 fxg5 13. c3 Be7 14. Qa4 Bd7 15. Nd2 c5 16. Rxf8+ Bxf8 17. Qb3 Bf5 18. c4 Rb8 19. Qc3 d4 20. Qc2 Qe8 21. Ng3 Bg6 22. Re1 g4 23. h3 $2 {[#]} Qe6 24. hxg4 Qxg4 25. Ndf1 Be7 26. b3 Bh4 27. Qd1 Qxd1 28. Rxd1 Re8 29. Ne2 Bh5 30. Rd2 Bg5 0-1

Final standings

As our table shows this 2852 performance will win Fabiano Caruana seven additional rating points, the same as Peter Leko, who will hopefully return to the international tournament circuit with renewed vigor after this lossless performance.

Photos by Calle Erlandsson

Schedule and results

Round 1 – May 9th
GM Fabiano Caruana
1-0
 GM Anish Giri
GM Hans Tikkanen
0-1
 GM Jonny Hector
GM Peter Leko
1/2
 GM Nils Grandelius
GM Emanuel Berg
1/2
 GM Chao Li
Round 2 – May 10th
GM Fabiano Caruana
1-0
 GM Hans Tikkanen
GM Jonny Hector
1/2
 GM Peter Leko
GM Nils Grandelius
1-0
 GM Emanuel Berg
GM Anish Giri
1/2
 GM Chao Li
Round 3 – May 11th
GM Peter Leko
1/2
 GM Fabiano Caruana
GM Hans Tikkanen
0-1
 GM Anish Giri
GM Emanuel Berg
1-0
 GM Jonny Hector
GM Chao Li
1/2
 GM Nils Grandelius

Rest day – May 12th
 
Round 4 – May 13th
GM Fabiano Caruana
1/2
 GM Emanuel Berg
GM Hans Tikkanen
0-1
 GM Peter Leko
GM Jonny Hector
0-1
 GM Chao Li
GM Anish Giri
1/2
 GM Nils Grandelius
Round 5 – May 14th
GM Chao Li
1/2
 GM Fabiano Caruana
GM Emanuel Berg
0-1
 GM Hans Tikkanen
GM Peter Leko
1/2
 GM Anish Giri
GM Nils Grandelius
1-0
 GM Jonny Hector
Round 6 – May 15th
GM Fabiano Caruana
1-0
 GM Nils Grandelius
GM Hans Tikkanen
1-0
 GM Chao Li
GM Peter Leko
1-0
 GM Emanuel Berg
GM Anish Giri
1/2
 GM Jonny Hector
Round 7 – May 16th
GM Jonny Hector
0-1
 GM Fabiano Caruana
GM Nils Grandelius
1/2
 GM Hans Tikkanen
GM Chao Li
0-1
 GM Peter Leko
GM Emanuel Berg
0-1
 GM Anish Giri

Links

The games are being 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 11 or any of our Fritz compatible chess programs.

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