1/23/2016 – How else to describe a round in which the leaders clashed and big results came of them? Magnus Carlsen was quick to pressure Pavel Eljanov and won a fascinating game after the latter sacrificed a piece for play. Quicker still, was Baskaran Adhiban who demolished his co-leader Alexey Dreev in 24 moves, while Caruana ground down Ding to share lead with Magnus. Large illustrated report.
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The 78th Tata Steel Chess Tournament takes place from January 15 to 31, 2016, in the coastal village of Wijk aan Zee, North Holland. It is one of the most prestigious events in the international chess calendar. The "Wimbledon of Chess" attracts the very best chess grandmasters in the world, along with thousands of amateur players, live event visitors and online visitors from around the world. The tournament has two main player groups, each with 14 players. They are known as the Tata Steel Masters and the Tata Steel Challengers. You will find the schedule, starting times, pairings and results at the bottom of the page.
Round seven
Photos by Alina L'Ami
Round 7 Masters - Saturday the 23rd
Navara, D. - Karjakin, S.
½-½
Caruana, F. - Ding, L.
1-0
Wei, Y. - So, W.
½-½
Mamedyarov, S. - Hou, Y.
1-0
Van Wely, L. - Giri, A.
0-1
Tomashevsky, E. - Adams, M.
½-½
Eljanov, P. - Carlsen, M.
0-1
Round 7 Challengers - Saturday the 23rd
l'Ami, E. - van Foreest, J.
0-1
Baskaran, A. - Dreev, A.
1-0
Safarli, E. - Antipov, M.
1-0
Nisipeanu, L. - Haast, A.
0-1
Batsiashvili, N. - Ju, W.
½-½
Sevian, S. - Bok, B.
½-½
Abasov, N. - Admiraal, M.
½-½
Masters
Daniel King shows the game Eljanov vs Carlsen
Visiting Judit Polgar officially starts the tournament
Ding Liren gives his 'there can only be one' look. Unfortunately it was his monarch that was beheaded.
Some post-game comments by Fabiano Caruana
It was a thrilling and dramatic day for the Wijk aan Zee leaderboards as heads rolled in both the Masters and Challengers events. In both, the leaders squared off against each other to decide who would emerge the new sole leader.
Magnus Carlsen scored his third consecutive win
In the Masters event, there were three leaders heading into the day’s round: Magnus Carslen, resurging from a slow start with two wins, Fabiano Caruana, leading from the start but now having to fight hard to retain it, and Ding Liren.
Caruana and Ding Liren faced each other, and it turned out to be the longest game of the Masters section, with both sides refusing to throw in the towel. The American eventually emerged up material in the endgame, which he converted smoothly after 83 moves.
Pavel Eljanov fought valiantly and tried to surprise his opponent with a piece sacrifice...
... but this didn't ruffle Magnus.
The next big game, much shorter, was Magnus Carlsen’s win over Pavel Eljanov, who has had an amazing past 12 months, including a fantastic World Cup result. The Norwegian could already lay claim to a small advantage in a Closed Catalan, when the Ukrainian chose to sacrifice a piece in order to confuse the issue somewhat and give himself some practical chances. The game was highly entertaining, but eventually Carlsen emerged on top in no uncertain terms and the day was his.
A quick interview of Magnus Carlsen after his game
Pavel Eljanov - Magnus Carlsen (Analysis by IM Sagar Shah)
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. g3 Bb4+ 5. Bd2 Be7 6. Bg2 O-O 7. O-O Nbd7 {
...c6 is the more popular way to play but Carlsen had a concrete idea in mind.}
8. Qc2 Ne4 $5 {Not exactly a new idea because we will see the position that
was reached in the game after a few moves was played by some good players from
black side.} 9. Bf4 c6 (9... g5 {directly doesn't work due to} 10. cxd5 $1 $14)
10. Nc3 (10. Nbd2 g5 11. Be3 f5 {could have been another idea on Carlsen's
mind.}) 10... g5 $1 {Carlsen knows his Classics. This was played by Botvinnik
against Petrosian in their ninth game of the 1963 match!} 11. Be3 $6 (11. Bc1 {
would have been better and after} f5 12. b3 Bf6 13. Bb2 $14 {The game is
complex, with White retaining slighly preferable chances.}) 11... Nd6 $1 {
Now this causes Eljanov some fresh problems to deal with. Firstly the pawn on
c4 is hanging and secondly the knight is coming to f5.} 12. b3 (12. cxd5 $5
exd5 {Would give Black equal chances as his bishop on c8 is liberated.
Although one must agree that the pawn sticking out on g5 surely looks weird.})
12... Nf5 {Now the bishop on e3 cannot move as g5-g4 will lose the d4 pawn.} (
12... dxc4 13. Ne4 Nxe4 14. Qxe4 cxb3 15. axb3 $44) 13. g4 Nxe3 14. fxe3 b5 $3
{This is a move of a true genius! How can Carlsen come up with a move like
this? The main idea is to create some queenside play by sacrificing a pawn.
But this isn't as random as one might think it is. First of all you need to
develop your bishop on c8. But where can it go? The pawn on e6 is not going to
move in the days to come. So you would think about moving your b-pawn. ...b6
is a natural move but then Magnus must have got the idea - why not move it two
squares?!} 15. e4 (15. cxb5 cxb5 16. Nxb5 Qb6 17. Nc3 Ba6 {With a rook coming
to c8 Black seems to have excellent compensation.}) 15... b4 (15... bxc4 16.
bxc4 dxc4 $15 {Also looks strong with moves like Nb6 and c5 coming up.}) 16.
exd5 {In many ways this game reminds us of the battle between Eljanov-Nakamura
from the World Cup where the Ukrainian made a material sacrifice to get some
important queenside pawns.} bxc3 17. dxc6 Nb8 $1 18. Qe4 {Of course the pawn
on c6 coupled with the bishop on g2 does look threatening but Black has
concrete ways to deal with this.} f5 $1 19. gxf5 exf5 20. Qd5+ Qxd5 21. cxd5
Na6 $1 {Carlsen's play is highly accurate. Next he would like to blockade the
pawns on the dark squares.} 22. Rac1 Nc7 23. Ne5 f4 $5 {Preventing e3 so that
the d4 pawn can be attacked.} (23... Rd8 {is not such a great idea because of}
24. Rxc3 $1 (24. e4 $6 fxe4 25. Bxe4 Rxd5 $1 (25... Nxd5 $2 26. Rf7 $36) 26.
Bxd5+ Nxd5 $17) 24... Nxd5 $2 25. c7 Rd6 26. Rc5 Be6 27. Nc4 $18) (23... Nb5
24. e3 {keeps control to some extent.}) 24. Nc4 $6 (24. Rxc3 {seemed obvious
and now Magnus has many ways to continue.} Nb5 25. Rd3 Kg7 $15 {Black should
be slightly better for sure as the pawns are not going anywhere.}) 24... Rd8 $1
25. Rxc3 Nxd5 26. c7 Nxc7 27. Bxa8 Nxa8 {White has won back some material but
now the bishops wreck havoc on the board.} 28. e3 Bb4 29. Rc2 Bb7 $1 (29...
fxe3 {was also possible but Carlsen prefers to develop.} 30. Nxe3) 30. h4 (30.
exf4 Rxd4 31. fxg5 Rg4+ $19) 30... Be4 $1 31. Rh2 Nb6 $1 {What clarity of
thinking. Bringing back all the pieces and not really caring about the tension
on the kingside.} (31... fxe3 32. Nxe3 $17) 32. Ne5 (32. hxg5 Nxc4 33. bxc4
fxe3 $19) (32. exf4 Nxc4 33. bxc4 Bc3 34. d5 Bd4+ $19) 32... fxe3 $19 33. hxg5
Rxd4 34. Ng4 Nd5 {With moves like Rd2 coming up and no real mating threats on
the kingside, Eljanov saw no real reason to continue the game. A very accurate
game by the World Champion and particularly impressive was his move 14...b5!!}
0-1
With this win, both Carlsen and Caruana became the sole leaders with 5.0/7, but theirs were not the only tales of blood and glory.
Today was also the Clash of the Dutchmen as Loek Van Wely, who had been the top Dutch
player for many years prior to the arrival of Anish, faced his young compatriot. Youth prevailed
and Anish Giri moved up to one point behind the leaders. Giri will face Carlsen in round ten.
Expect sparks to fly!
The heroine of the event, Hou Yifan, had done her utmost but finally succumbed to Shakhriyar Mamedyarov
Replay round seven Masters games (with times per moves)
Both of them were off to a flier and were leading together with 5.0/6. But their paths had to cross each other and that happened in the seventh round. Adhiban vs Dreev - was the big clash of the round and maybe the entire Challengers event. The Indian player came amazingly prepared to the game and simply blew his experienced opponent of the board with some powerful moves! A resounding victory for Adhiban in just 24 moves! We have in-depth analysis.
The seventh round of the Tata Steel Challengers section saw the two leaders crossing swords against each other - India's B.Adhiban faced Russia's Alexey Dreev.
Both the players were having a sublime event as they were beating their opponents with absolute ease. Adhiban and Dreev were on +4 and in many ways this was the most important clash of the Challengers section.
Everyone knows what a huge expert Dreev is in the Slav, especially the Meran systems characterised by the structure e6-d5-c6. But everyone in chess world should also know that when it comes to preparation, Adhiban is one of the best in the business.
This move 6...b6 is a Dreev speciality. He has played it in 43 games before this one! Yes 43! With eleven wins and five losses. While Dreev has clear experience in this system, it also made him susceptible to Adhiban's home preparation.
The thing with young and ambitious players like Adhiban is that they do not feel intimidated by their opponent's strengths. While many of us will shy away from this line thinking that our opponent clearly has a better feel for such positions due to his experience, Adhiban felt that this gave him a clear opportunity to prepare a novelty in the opening. Easier said than done!
15.e4!? was the novelty that Adhiban had prepared. When this position is fed in the computer it doesn't shoot out with the move e4. But Adhiban dug deeper and realized that practically it would pose maximum problems to his opponent. Of course there are so many possibilities - taking the rook on a1, retreating the bishop, play the move c4 as Dreev did in the game. If you are unprepared, this can be a highly unpleasant move to face.
In four moves the king on e8 was stuck in the centre and the white pieces dominated the board. Adhiban scored an absolutely clean victory in just 24 moves!
Here's the entire game on our JavaScript player for you to play through and learn from the Indian maestro:
[Event "78th Tata Steel GpB"] [Site "Wijk aan Zee NED"] [Date "2016.01.23"] [Round "7"] [White "Adhiban, Baskaran"] [Black "Dreev, A."] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D45"] [WhiteElo "2653"] [BlackElo "2644"] [Annotator "Sagar Shah"] [PlyCount "47"] [EventDate "2016.01.15"] {The most important duel of the Challengers section was between Adhiban and Dreev in the seventh round. Both of them were leading the tournament with 5.0/ 6. The Indian player having the white pieces made full use of that fact.} 1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Nf3 e6 {Dreev is a big expert in the Meran System and has written a book on it as well.} 5. e3 Nbd7 6. Qc2 b6 {This move is a Dreev speciality and he has employed it on 43 occassions with 11 wins and 5 losses. Knowing how well Adhiban prepares, we can be sure he came to the game doing his homework.} (6... Bd6 {is the main move in the position by a overwhelming margin and nearly 19,000 games have been played with that move.}) 7. Bd3 Bb7 8. O-O Be7 9. b3 dxc4 10. bxc4 c5 {Nothing new under the sun. Everything has been played before.} 11. d5 $5 {An interesting pawn sacrifice that is aimed at taking advantage of the black king who hasn't castled yet. Of course this is not new for Dreev who has faced it against Huzman, Sargissian, Miljkovic and Zviaginsev.} exd5 12. cxd5 Nxd5 13. Nxd5 Bxd5 14. Rd1 Bf6 15. e4 $5 $146 {Adhiban made this move instantly which meant that he was completely prepared. This is a novelty and not one of engine's top suggestions. The Indian GM had prepared this position deeply and came to the conclusion that e3-e4 is an excellent practical move. But Dreev's next move must have come as a surprise to him.} c4 $5 (15... Bxa1 {Why can't this rook be taken is the logical question.} 16. exd5 $13 {And you cannot 0-0 because the h7 pawn is hanging. At the same time Re1+ is threatened. Objectively the position could be equal but practically it is extremely dangerous for Black. And trying it out against a well prepared opponent is not such a great idea.}) 16. Be2 $5 { Practically this is also a good move. Now the bishop is hanging on d5 and also e4-e5 is threatened. So the a1 rook has to be taken.} (16. Bxc4 {would have given White a clear edge. Adhiban could have been worried about} Bxc4 {And now taking on c4 is bad because of Bxa1 when the e-file has not been opened. But here White has a strong move -} 17. e5 $1 Nxe5 (17... Be6 18. exf6 Qxf6 19. Ba3 $1 $16 {Stopping 0-0}) 18. Rxd8+ Rxd8 19. Nxe5 Bxe5 20. Bg5 Bxa1 21. Bxd8 Be6 22. Bc7 $16 {When White is clearly better.}) 16... Bxa1 17. Rxd5 {There is no time to 0-0 for Black.} Qc7 (17... O-O $2 18. Qd1 $1 $16) 18. Ba3 $1 {The bishop makes a wonderful entry in to the position.} Bf6 19. Bxc4 {The threat now is to put additional pressure on d7 knight by means of Qa4 and Bb5.} Be7 20. Qa4 $1 Bxa3 $2 {The final mistake.} (20... a6 {was necessary.} 21. Re5 $1 O-O 22. Rxe7 {Looks pretty depressing for Black but he can fight on with} b5 23. Qd1 bxc4 24. Rxd7 Rfd8 $1 25. Rd5 $1 $16 {White is better but it is not clear whether the advantage is decisive.}) 21. Rxd7 $1 Qxd7 22. Bb5 Qxb5 (22... O-O-O 23. Bxd7+ Rxd7 {Could have been an option but it fails to} 24. Ne5 $1 Rd2 25. g3 $1 Bc5 26. Qc6+ Kb8 27. Nd7+ Rxd7 28. Qxd7 $18 {When the win is not at all difficult to achieve.}) 23. Qxb5+ Kf8 24. Qb3 $1 {Dreev resigned the game as the bishop moving back is met either with Ng5 or Ne5 and the f7 pawn cannot be defended. What a beautiful piece of opening preparation by Adhiban. And that was followed by some explosive middlegame chess. No wonder he is one of the best upcoming talents in the country!} 1-0
A powerpacked game, wouldn't you agree?
He made it look easy!
Adhiban is now the sole leader of the Challengers section with 6.0/7. Eltaj Safarli won his game against Mikhail Antipov and is only half a point behind the Indian player. Both of them will face each other in the tenth round.
Six rounds still to go. It's a long tournament, but there is surely no doubt that Adhiban is well and truly on his way to not only winning this tournament but also securing a spot in next year's Masters!
The two main tournaments are round robins. Both groups start on the 16th of January 2016 in Wijk aan Zee. The Masters move to Amsterdam on January 21, and to Utrecht on January 27. All rounds in Wijk aan Zee begin at 1.30 p.m., except for the last round on 31 January 2016, which begins at 12.00 p.m. Round five will take place in the Science Center NEMO in Amsterdam, and round ten in the Spoorwegmuseum in Utrecht. Both these external rounds start at 2.00 p.m.
Round
Date
English commentary
German commentary
Free
Wednesday, 20 Jan
5
Thursday, 21 Jan
GM Daniel King
GM Sebastian Siebrecht
6
Friday, 22 Jan
GM Yannick Pelletier
GM Sebastian Siebrecht
7
Saturday, 23 Jan
GM Daniel King
GM Klaus Bischoff
8
Sunday, 24 Jan
GM Yannick Pelletier
GM Klaus Bischoff
Free
Monday, 25 Jan
9
Tuesday, 26 Jan
GM Daniel King
GM Klaus Bischoff
10
Wednesday, 27 Jan
GM Yannick Pelletier
GM Sebastian Siebrecht
Free
Thursday, 28 Jan
11
Friday, 29 Jan
GM Adrian Mikhalchishin
GM Sebastian Siebrecht
12
Saturday, 30 Jan
GM Karsten Müller
GM Klaus Bischoff
13
Sunday, 31 Jan
GM Karsten Müller
GM Klaus Bischoff
Schedule and results of Tata Steel Masters 2016
Round 1 - Saturday the 16th
Hou, Y. - Karjakin, S.
½-½
So, W. - Giri, A.
1-0
Ding, L. - Adams, M.
1-0
Navara, D. - Carlsen, M.
½-½
Caruana, F. - Eljanov, P.
1-0
Wei, Y. - Tomashevsky, E.
½-½
Mamedyarov, S. - Van Wely, L.
½-½
Round 2 - Sunday the 17th
Karjakin, S. - Van Wely, L.
½-½
Tomashevsky, E. - Mamedyarov, S.
½-½
Eljanov, P. - Wei, Y.
½-½
Carlsen, M. - Caruana, F.
½-½
Adams, M. - Navara, D.
½-½
Giri, A. - Ding, L.
½-½
Hou, Y. - So, W.
½-½
Round 3 - Monday the 18th
So, W. - Karjakin, S.
½-½
Ding, L. - Hou, Y.
½-½
Navara, D. - Giri, A.
½-½
Caruana, F. - Adams, M.
1-0
Wei, Y. - Carlsen, M.
½-½
Mamedyarov, S. - Eljanov, P.
0-1
Van Wely, L. - Tomashevsky, E.
½-½
Round 4 - Tuesday the 19th
Karjakin, S. - Tomashevsky, E.
1-0
Eljanov, P. - Van Wely, L.
1-0
Carlsen, M. - Mamedyarov, S.
½-½
Adams, M. - Wei, Y.
½-½
Giri, A. - Caruana, F.
½-½
Hou, Y. - Navara, D.
1-0
So, W. - Ding, L.
½-½
Round 5 - Thursday the 21st
Ding, L. - Karjakin, S.
1-0
Navara, D. - So, W.
½-½
Caruana, F. - Hou, Y.
½-½
Wei, Y. - Giri, A.
½-½
Mamedyarov, S. - Adams, M.
1-0
Van Wely, L. - Carlsen, M.
0-1
Tomashevsky, E. - Eljanov, P.
½-½
Round 6 - Friday the 22nd
Karjakin, S. - Eljanov, P.
½-½
Carlsen, M. - Tomashevsky, E.
1-0
Adams, M. - Van Wely, L.
½-½
Giri, A. - Mamedyarov, S.
1-0
Hou, Y. - Wei, Y.
½-½
So, W. - Caruana, F.
½-½
Ding, L. - Navara, D.
½-½
Round 7 - Saturday the 23rd
Navara, D. - Karjakin, S.
½-½
Caruana, F. - Ding, L.
1-0
Wei, Y. - So, W.
½-½
Mamedyarov, S. - Hou, Y.
1-0
Van Wely, L. - Giri, A.
0-1
Tomashevsky, E. - Adams, M.
½-½
Eljanov, P. - Carlsen, M.
0-1
Round 8 - Sunday the 24th
Karjakin, S. - Carlsen, M.
Adams, M. - Eljanov, P.
Giri, A. - Tomashevsky, E.
Hou, Y. - Van Wely, L.
So, W. - Mamedyarov, S.
Ding, L. - Wei, Y.
Navara, D. - Caruana, F.
Round 9 - Tuesday the 26th
Caruana, F. - Karjakin, S.
Wei, Y. - Navara, D.
Mamedyarov, S. - Ding, L.
Van Wely, L. - So, W.
Tomashevsky, E. - Hou, Y.
Eljanov, P. - Giri, A.
Carlsen, M. - Adams, M.
Round 10 - Wednesday the 27th
Karjakin, S. - Adams, M.
Giri, A. - Carlsen, M.
Hou, Y. - Eljanov, P.
So, W. - Tomashevsky, E.
Ding, L. - Van Wely, L.
Navara, D. - Mamedyarov, S.
Caruana, F. - Wei, Y.
Round 11 - Friday the 29th
Wei, Y. - Karjakin, S.
Mamedyarov, S. - Caruana, F.
Van Wely, L. - Navara, D.
Tomashevsky, E. - Ding, L.
Eljanov, P. - So, W.
Carlsen, M. - Hou, Y.
Adams, M. - Giri, A.
Round 12 - Saturday the 30th
Karjakin, S. - Giri, A.
Hou, Y. - Adams, M.
So, W. - Carlsen, M.
Ding, L. - Eljanov, P.
Navara, D. - Tomashevsky, E.
Caruana, F. - Van Wely, L.
Wei, Y. - Mamedyarov, S.
Round 13 - Sunday the 31st
Mamedyarov, S. - Karjakin, S.
Van Wely, L. - Wei, Y.
Tomashevsky, E. - Caruana, F.
Eljanov, P. - Navara, D.
Carlsen, M. - Ding, L.
Adams, M. - So, W.
Giri, A. - Hou, Y.
Schedule and results of Tata Steel Challengers 2016
The games are being 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.
Albert SilverBorn 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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