Sinquefield 03: Carlsen recovering

[Event "3rd Sinquefield Cup 2015"] [Site "Saint Louis"] [Date "2015.08.25"] [Round "3"] [White "Anand, Viswanathan"] [Black "Topalov, Veselin"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "B51"] [WhiteElo "2816"] [BlackElo "2816"] [Annotator "Ramirez Alvarez,Alejandro"] [PlyCount "62"] [EventDate "2015.??.??"] [EventCountry "USA"] 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. Bb5+ Nd7 4. d4 {no 7...g5 like in Carlsen-Topalov!} cxd4 5. Qxd4 a6 6. Bxd7+ Bxd7 7. O-O Nf6 8. Nc3 e5 9. Qd3 h6 10. Nd2 {a rare plan, but it's been seen before. White tries to remaneuver his pieces to exploit the weaknesses on d6 and d5. Black on the other hand is quite solid, with good development, not to mention a potentially strong pair of bishops.} b5 {makes plenty of sense to avoid the knight from coming to c4. White must justify his play by attacking on the queenside aggressively.} 11. a4 Rb8 12. Rd1 Be7 13. axb5 axb5 14. Nf1 {The knight heads to d5 anyway, but this seems to be too slow. Black forces the hand of the knight on c3 before White can install his knight on e3.} b4 $1 15. Nd5 Nxd5 16. Qxd5 (16. exd5 O-O {is already even worse for White. His isolated pawn on d5 will be weak in the long run.}) 16... O-O 17. Ne3 Be6 18. Qd3 Qc7 19. Bd2 Rfc8 {Black has more than sufficient pressure on the queenside. He isn't better, but White has no hopes for an advantage. Because of White's control of d5 he is still ok.} 20. c3 bxc3 21. Bxc3 Qb7 22. Nd5 {Now it is just a matter of time until White wins one of the bishops for his knight, leading towards a drawish endgame. It is safer for Black to exchange his dark square bishop than his light square bishop to retain opposite colored bishops.} Bg5 23. h3 Ra8 24. Ne3 Bxe3 25. Qxe3 Rxa1 26. Rxa1 Ra8 27. Rxa8+ Qxa8 28. f3 {Clearly, this game isn't going anywhere. The draw is in sight.} Qc6 29. Kf2 f6 30. Kg1 Qc5 31. Qxc5 dxc5 1/2-1/2

[Event "3rd Sinquefield Cup 2015"] [Site "Saint Louis"] [Date "2015.08.25"] [Round "3"] [White "So, Wesley"] [Black "Grischuk, Alexander"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "E60"] [WhiteElo "2779"] [BlackElo "2771"] [Annotator "Ramirez Alvarez,Alejandro"] [PlyCount "81"] [EventDate "2015.??.??"] [EventCountry "USA"] 1. c4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. g3 g6 5. Bg2 d6 6. O-O Bg7 7. d4 cxd4 8. Nxd4 Bd7 9. b3 (9. Nc2 {is another possibility. Trying to avoid the exchange of pieces.}) 9... Nxd4 10. Qxd4 Bc6 11. Bb2 O-O 12. Nd5 Bxd5 13. cxd5 {The symmetrical pawn structure favors White very slightly. At some point he will install a bishop on h3 and take control over the c-file. However, things are not that bad for Black yet.} Qa5 14. Bc3 Qa6 15. Qd2 Rfc8 16. Rfc1 Qb5 17. Rab1 a5 18. e4 {This move is a little commital. Some of the lightsquares suffer because of this.} Nd7 19. Bxg7 Kxg7 20. Qd4+ Kg8 21. Bf1 Rxc1 22. Rxc1 Qb4 23. Rc4 $1 (23. Qxb4 axb4 24. Rc2 {should be an endgame in which neither side can realistically make progress.}) 23... Qe1 24. Rc7 Ne5 25. Kg2 Qb4 $1 {Seeking counterplay - a very smart practical decision.} 26. Qxb4 axb4 27. Rc2 Kg7 28. f4 Nd7 29. Kf3 {As usual, Grischuk was already in time troubule by this point.} f5 $2 {It's hard to understand this decision.} (29... Nc5 {first seemed natural. Black can always play f5 later.}) 30. exf5 gxf5 31. Rc7 Nc5 32. Rxe7+ Kf6 33. Re2 {White simply took a pawn.} h5 34. Ke3 h4 35. Kd4 hxg3 36. hxg3 { White's bishop is bad, but a pawn is a pawn. Black will have trouble defending this position. His b4 pawn also feels uncomfortable.} Rg8 37. Re3 Ra8 38. Kc4 Rxa2 39. Kxb4 Rf2 40. Bc4 Ne4 41. Kb5 {Apparently, the b4 pawn was not the only b-pawn that was fealing the heat! White is winning in this position, Black can't do anything about the plan Kb6 and b4 when the knight defends c5. Even so, it seems a little premature to resign.} (41. Kb5 Rh2 42. Kb6 Nc5 43. b4 Rb2 44. b5 Rh2 {and at least Black could make So find a winning plan.}) 1-0

[Event "3rd Sinquefield Cup 2015"] [Site "Saint Louis"] [Date "2015.08.25"] [Round "3"] [White "Carlsen, Magnus"] [Black "Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "E60"] [WhiteElo "2853"] [BlackElo "2731"] [Annotator "Ramirez Alvarez,Alejandro"] [PlyCount "85"] [EventDate "2015.??.??"] [EventCountry "USA"] 1. Nf3 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. g3 Bg7 4. Bg2 c5 5. d4 cxd4 6. Nxd4 O-O 7. Nc3 Qc7 8. Nd5 {A position that has been played many times. Wang Hao has had it more than three times with white.} Qxc4 $5 {Perhaps surprised by the opening, MVL goes for a strategically dubious move.} (8... Nxd5 9. cxd5 Qa5+ 10. Bd2 Qb6 11. Bc3 e5 $5 {Wang Hao - Grischuk, 2014. Grischuk eventually won that game.}) 9. Nxe7+ Kh8 10. Nxc8 Rxc8 11. O-O {pair of bishops and a problem with the isolated pawn on d7. White has a slight edge, no doubt about it.} Nc6 12. Be3 Ng4 13. Nc2 {Of course, White retains his advantages.} Nxe3 14. Nxe3 Qe6 15. Nd5 Bxb2 { releasing somre tension. Black's best bet is to reach some kind of opposite colored bishop endgame. His position is uncomfortable, but very far from lost.} 16. Rb1 Be5 17. Rxb7 Rab8 18. Rxb8 Rxb8 19. e3 Rb2 20. a4 Ne7 $6 (20... Qd6 $1 {with close to equality.}) 21. Nf4 Bxf4 $5 {Resourceful! Black gives up his bishop to try to create weaknesses in the opponent's position. Taking with the g-pawn weakens the kingside, taking with the e-pawn exposes f2.} 22. exf4 Qb6 23. a5 $1 Qc5 (23... Qxa5 24. Qd4+ {is no bueno.}) 24. Qxd7 (24. a6 d6) 24... Ra2 25. Qd3 {surprisingly, it isn't easy to take on a5.} (25. Qb7 Kg7 26. a6 h5 ) 25... Kg7 (25... Qxa5 26. Qd6 $1 Ng8 27. Qd4+ {is very uncomfortable.}) ( 25... Rxa5 26. Qd2 Rb5 {Carlsen thought that this was the best way for Black. White will eventually take on a7, but the 4v3 on the kingside is not necessarily won.}) 26. a6 h5 {also somewhat surprisingly, Black doesn't have to take the a-pawn! With the weakness on f2 it isn't easy to make progress.} 27. Bb7 Nf5 28. Qe4 Nd6 29. Qb1 Rd2 30. Qa1+ Kg8 31. Bg2 Nf5 32. Qe5 $1 {Black really doesn't want to trade queens, but on the other hand the remaining pieces would be more active than White's... a tough choice in practical play.} Qxe5 33. fxe5 Re2 34. Rb1 $1 {The a7 pawn is now very weak. This variation is the reason I don't believe Black should have traded queens.} Rxe5 35. Rb7 Re1+ 36. Bf1 h4 37. Rxa7 h3 {Black tries to create random complications, but there is nothing here.} 38. Rd7 $1 Ra1 39. g4 (39. a7 $1 Kg7 40. g4 Nh4 41. f4 Ng2 42. Kf2 Nxf4 43. g5 {finishes the game. Black is basically in zugzwang:} Ra2+ 44. Kg3 Ne6 45. Bc4 {with a winning position.}) 39... Nh4 40. Rd3 Ng2 {Time trouble is over and White is up two pawns for no compensation.} 41. Rxh3 Nf4 42. Rf3 g5 43. Rb3 {after some thought, MVL decided that two pawns was too much. Two victories in a row for the World Champion.} 1-0

[Event "3rd Sinquefield Cup 2015"] [Site "Saint Louis"] [Date "2015.08.25"] [Round "3"] [White "Aronian, Levon"] [Black "Giri, Anish"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "A29"] [WhiteElo "2765"] [BlackElo "2793"] [Annotator "Ramirez Alvarez,Alejandro"] [PlyCount "84"] [EventDate "2015.??.??"] [EventCountry "USA"] 1. c4 e5 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. Nf3 Nc6 4. g3 d5 5. cxd5 Nxd5 6. Bg2 Nb6 7. O-O Be7 8. d3 O-O 9. Be3 Re8 10. Qd2 {A relatively rare move in a very well known position. Aronian wants to swing his f1-rook to c1 rather than the a1 rook.} Bf8 11. Rfc1 h6 12. a3 Bg4 13. Ne4 Nd4 (13... Bxf3 14. Bxf3) (13... a5) 14. Bxd4 exd4 15. Qf4 Bxf3 16. exf3 $5 {Aronian went in to the confessional booth explaining that he thought this move "was cool, just to have some fun". The change of structure allows him to ram the f-pawn forward and eliminates his weakness on e2.} Nd5 17. Qg4 c6 18. f4 a5 {Aronian thought he had a large advantage, but Giri and the engines think that White is better, but its nothing special at all.} 19. Nd2 a4 20. Qd1 Nb6 21. h4 Ra5 {A strange placement for the rook, but it does control the fifth rank.} 22. Rc2 Nd7 23. Ne4 Nc5 (23... Rb5 {was probably better than trading the knights.}) 24. Nxc5 Bxc5 25. Qd2 Bf8 {Giri thought he messed up with this move. Komodo thinks its fine. From a human point of view it is clear that playing with White is more comfortable, but breaking through is very difficult.} 26. Re1 Rxe1+ 27. Qxe1 Ra8 28. Qe4 Qb6 29. Re2 $14 {White is better, but it isn't clear how much.} Qc5 30. Bf3 Rd8 31. Kg2 Bd6 32. f5 Bf8 33. f6 (33. Kh2 Qd6 34. Rc2) (33. g4 {was Carlsen's suggestion, trying to improve the position slowly. It might have been the strongest options. Aronian seemed to agree after the game.}) 33... gxf6 34. Qf4 Qd6 35. Qf5 Ra8 36. Rc2 (36. Re4 Bg7 37. Rf4 Qe6 38. Qc5 f5 {is still better for White, but the endgames should be sustainable for Black.}) 36... Bg7 37. Rc4 Qe6 38. Qf4 Qe5 39. Rb4 Qxf4 40. gxf4 Ra7 41. f5 Bf8 42. Rxd4 Ra5 {White has nothing in this endgame.} 1/2-1/2

[Event "3rd Sinquefield Cup 2015"] [Site "Saint Louis"] [Date "2015.08.25"] [Round "3"] [White "Nakamura, Hikaru"] [Black "Caruana, Fabiano"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D81"] [WhiteElo "2814"] [BlackElo "2808"] [Annotator "Ramirez Alvarez,Alejandro"] [PlyCount "115"] [EventDate "2015.??.??"] [EventCountry "USA"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 4. Qb3 dxc4 5. Qxc4 Be6 6. Qa4+ Bd7 7. Qb3 c5 8. d5 b5 9. Nxb5 Bxb5 $5 (9... Qa5+ 10. Nc3 Na6 11. f3 c4 12. Qd1 e6 {gave Black some compensation in Svidler-Gelfand, 2014. Black ended up winning that game.}) 10. Qxb5+ Nbd7 {For the missing pawn, it is clear that Black has a lot of development. It is difficult to coordinate all of White's pieces.} 11. g3 { After a few minutes think. The Fianchetto seems natural as the d5 has good chances to simply fall here.} Rb8 (11... Nxd5 12. Bg2 e6 {looks to be ok for Black.}) 12. Qa4 Bg7 {Caruana decides not to take the pawn, but simply continue his development. A bold decision.} 13. Bg2 O-O 14. Nh3 Nb6 15. Qxa7 { Ambitious} (15. Qc2 Nfxd5 16. O-O $11 {Black has enough activity here for equality.} (16. Qxc5 Rc8 {looks risky for White.})) 15... Nfxd5 16. O-O Qc8 { The trap is set on the queen, it must retreat.} 17. Qa3 Nb4 (17... e6 {is what all the computers wanted, simply improving the position.}) 18. Qb3 Nc6 $5 { rerouting to d4.} 19. Bf4 (19. e3 c4 20. Qb5 Ne5 {reroutes yet again, this time to d3.}) 19... Nd4 20. Qd1 e5 21. Be3 Rd8 22. Bxd4 Rxd4 (22... cxd4 {also made a lot of sense, going for a spacial advantage to compensate for the pawn.}) 23. Qc2 Rc4 24. Qd2 Rd4 25. Qc1 e4 $5 {Ambitious} (25... Rc4 26. Qe3 e4 {was also possible if White wanted to decline the repetitions.}) 26. e3 Rc4 27. Qd2 Rb4 $1 {The pressure on b2 is very real.} 28. Rac1 Rxb2 29. Qd6 c4 30. Ng5 Rxa2 $6 (30... c3 $1 31. Bxe4 (31. Nxe4 c2 {is very different, the pawn has already reached c2 and squashes the White position.}) 31... Qe8 $5 {and Black holds all the trumps in this position.}) 31. Nxe4 {now the pawn on c4 is stuck, and it becomes somewhat of a weakness.} Qf8 32. Rfd1 Qxd6 33. Rxd6 Ra1 $6 (33... Rb2 $11) 34. Rxa1 Bxa1 35. Rc6 {Suddenly Black is in serious danger of losing the c4 pawn.} Rc8 {A nice practical decision. the opposite-colored bishops make it very hard to to anything. However Caruana will be tortured from here on.} 36. Rxb6 c3 37. Nxc3 Bxc3 38. Bd5 Rc7 39. h4 Kg7 40. g4 h6 41. g5 hxg5 42. hxg5 Rc5 43. Rd6 Kf8 44. e4 Be5 45. Rd8+ Ke7 46. Ra8 Rc7 47. Kg2 Bf4 48. Ra5 Kf8 49. Bb3 Rc3 50. Rb5 Kg7 51. Bd1 Rd3 52. Be2 Rc3 53. Rd5 Kf8 54. Bb5 Ke7 55. Kf1 Rc2 56. Be2 Rd2 57. Ra5 Rd4 58. Bf3 1/2-1/2