Tata Steel Rd8: Carlsen storms into sole lead

by Alejandro Ramirez
1/18/2015 – After a disappointing start, Magnus Carlsen has put his foot on the accelerator and has now overtaken the lead with his fifth straight win in a row. There was still the question of Ivanchuk, but Wesley So beat him with a fantastic piece sacrifice and attack from preparation he later explained, "I saw this in a ChessBase article". Round eight report with GM analysis.

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The Tata Steel Chess Tournament has two main tournaments. They are played according to the 'round robin' system, whereby each competitor plays in turn against every other during the tournament. The Tata Steel Masters has 14 participants and the Tata Steel Challengers has 14 participants. Both groups start on January 10th 2015 and the last round is on January 25th. All rounds in Wijk aan Zee begin at 13.30 hours, except for the last round on January 25th, which begins at 12.00 hours. The time control is 100 minutes for 40 moves, followed by 50 minutes for 20 moves, then 15 minutes for the remaining moves with 30 seconds cumulative increment for each move starting from the first move.

Admission to the playing hall in Wijk aan Zee, Rotterdam and The Hague is free of charge

Round eight - Masters

Round 8 - Sunday Jan. 18
Van Wely, L. - Caruana, F.
0-1
Hou, Y. - Aronian, L.
½-½
Jobava, B. - Carlsen, M.
0-1
Radjabov, T. - Wojtaszek, R.
1-0
Ivanchuk, V. - So, W.
0-1
Vachier-Lagrave - Giri, A.
1-0
Ding, L. - Saric, I.
1-0

Daniel King shows the highlights of round 8

Hou Yifan ½-½ Aronian, Levon
The only draw of the day was a long endgame between Hou Yifan and Levon Aronian. The Chinese player simplified into an endgame rather quickly, but she seemed to outplay Aronian step by step. At some point, Hou Yifan had very real pressure on the position, but she had to be incredibly precise in order to not lose her advantage. Aronian was given one opportunity to simplify the situation into a R+N vs. R endgame which Hou Yifan did not bother to try winning.

Ding Liren 1-0 Saric, Ivan
Saric's handling of the Slav left something to be desired. His position was already losing when Ding Liren finished with style:

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23.Qb3 f3 Saric's tactical operations don't work, but to be fair he was already lost as d5 could not be protected. 24.Bxf3 Ng5 25.Bg2 Nxh3+ 26.Bxh3 Rxh3 27.Nxd5! The important point. Without this move White is actually losing. Now the queen on b3 cannot be taken, and there are two threats: Qxh3 and Nxe7. Qxd5 27...Rxb3 28.Nxe7+ Kf8 29.Nxc6+- 27...Qh6 28.Nxe7+ Kh8 29.Nf5 Rh1+ 29...Qh7 30.Ng3+- 30.Kg2 Qh2+ 31.Kf3 and the tking is actually very safe on h3. 28.Qxh3 The material difference is too big now. Qe4 29.Rac1 Bg5 30.Rc3 Bf4 31.Qd3 Qd5 32.Qf5 Bxe5 33.Rc8 f6 34.Rdc1 1–0
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Ding Liren2732Saric,I26661–02015D1177th Tata Steel GpA8

Ivanchuk, Vassily 0-1 So, Wesley
Ivanchuk fell for some nasty opening preparation:

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1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0-0 Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 0-0 8.h3 Bb7 9.d3 d5 10.exd5 Nxd5 11.Nbd2 Qd7 12.Nxe5 Nxe5 13.Rxe5 Nf4 14.Nf3 Nxg2 As spectacular as this move is, along with the idea that follows it, it was already known. Gustafsson had employed two months ago against Guliyev. Before that, there was also a game Jolly-Gozzoli in July. 15.Kxg2 a5 This is the point of the position. Black wants to swing over the rook via a6 to g6, but he is also threatening a4 trapping the White bishop. This is very uncomfortable to meet over the board. 16.Rxe7 16.a4 Ra6 17.Qe2 Rg6+ 18.Kh2 Bd6 19.Nh4 Bxe5+ 20.Qxe5 Re8 21.Qf4 Rf6 22.Qg3 Re1 23.Bh6 Rxf2+! 24.Qxf2 Rxa1 25.Nf5 Rh1+ 26.Kg3 Bc8 27.Qg2 Qxf5 28.Qxh1 Qg6+ 29.Kf2 and here Black, for some reason, had to first place the strong intermezzo 29...bxa4 before taking on h6 to keep his advantage. Gulyiev-Gustafsson, 2014. 16...Qxe7 17.c3 Ra6 White isn't up much material. Black's game kind of plays itself, bring the pieces over to the kingside, while White has no development. Ivanchuk is already lost at this point. 18.d4 Rf6 19.d5 a4 20.Bc2 Rd8 21.Qe1 Qd7 22.Ng5 h6 23.Ne4 Rg6+ 24.Kh2 f5 25.Ng3 Qxd5 26.Qg1 Qf3 26...Qf3 Black is threatening to take on g3 and, if White recaptures with the f2 pawn, to play Qe2 followed by mate. 27.Be3 Qxe3! fails just the same. 28.fxe3 Rd2+ 0–1
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Ivanchuk,V2715So,W27620–12015C8877th Tata Steel GpA8

Good opening prep from the number six player in the World, according to the live ratings

Wesley So explains his surprise that Ivanchuk fell for this preparation, "I saw this in a ChessBase article"

Jobava, Baadur 0-1 Carlsen, Magnus
Jobava's opening choice was, predictably, bizarre. He obtained a fine position at some point, somehow, against Carlsen and was slowly pushing him back. Carlsen fought back and obtained just a slight initiative after Jobava made the mistake of allowing too much activity, and then time trouble claimed its victim on the 40th move:

Carlsen with his fifth (!) victory in a row and now the sole lead of the tournament

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39...Qe7 After having a slightly better position we have reached this situation. Carlsen has a slight initiative as White's king is a little exposed, but so far it is nothing special. Jobava needs to make his 40th move, get to time control and resolve the situation. 40.Qc1? 40.Qb8! Gives White enough activity to draw the game. 40.Nxc4 dxc4 41.Kf3 is a little unpleasant but should also be a draw. 40...Qe4 Now the queen's position is too strong. White is quickly getting zugzwanged and his pawns are all weak. 41.f5 Qf4+ 42.Kg1 gxf5 43.gxf5 Bd3 44.Qe1 Bxf5 45.Nxf5 45.Qf2 was a better chance at holding as the bishop vs. knight endgame is not easy to convert, to say the very least. 45...Qxf5 46.Qg3 Kh6 47.Qb8 Qf3 48.Qh8+ Kg6 49.Qg8+ Kf6 50.Qd8+ Ke5 The queen will only push the king to take all th e pawns while his majesty on g1 will perish. 0–1
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Jobava,B2727Carlsen,M28620–12015A0177th Tata Steel GpA8

Vachier Lagrave, Maxime 1-0 Giri, Anish
MVL very soundly outplayed Giri from a 4.d3 Spanish. After obtaining a small initiative with the pair of bishops MVL cashed it in for an attack on the king that yielded him a winning rook endgame. A nice positional game.

Giri was again outplayed in an anti-berlin by MVL, the previous time it was in Biel last year

Van Wely, Loek 0-1 Caruana, Fabiano
Van Wely had a good position in a hedgehog style structure. Caruana seemed planless until, at one point, Van Wely simply blundered a pawn. There was some compensation for it, but it was not enough. Eventually Caruana converted.

Fabiano Caruana found a free pawn and a point to go with it

Radjabov, Teimour 1-0 Wojtaszek, Radoslaw
Radjabov chose a Najdorf variation that won him a pawn, but gave Wojtaszek some serious compensation. Slowly but surely Radjabov neutralized the enemy initiative, making the game go into an opposite colored bishop endgame that was very, very unpleasant for Wojtaszek. The combination of the passed a-pawn and the weak king was too much for Black to handle.

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1.b3 0 g6 27 2.Bb2 0 Nf6 5 3.Nc3 7 Bg7 237 4.d4 40 c5 116 5.e3 17 cxd4 112 6.exd4 6 d5 42 7.Qd2 13 Nc6 39 8.f3 37 h5 48 9.Bb5 501 Qd6 271 10.Nge2 860 Bh6 197 11.Qd1 5 Bf5 386 12.Bc1 21 Bxc1 34 13.Rxc1 37 Rc8 73 14.Qd2 26 0-0 672 15.Bxc6 103 bxc6 935 16.Na4 9 Rfe8 55 17.0-0 77 e5 42 18.c3 32 h4 153 19.dxe5 258 Rxe5 271 20.b4 3 Rce8 348 21.Nd4 8 h3 372 22.g3 580 Bc8 97 23.Nc5 71 Nd7 69 24.Nd3 83 R5e7 40 25.Rfe1 109 c5 412 26.bxc5 10 Nxc5 7 27.Nf4 460 Rxe1+ 134 28.Rxe1 5 Rxe1+ 9 29.Qxe1 5 Ne6 8 30.Nfxe6 525 Bxe6 14 31.Kf2 9 Bd7 34 32.Qb1 131 Qc7 289 33.Qb3 71 Bc8 84 34.a3 335 a5 70 35.Qb2 75 Ba6 30 36.Nc2 328 Qa7+ 644 37.Ne3 16 Bc4 37 38.f4 78 Kh7 209 39.g4 303 Qe7 113 40.Qc1 0 Qe4 0 41.f5 562 Qf4+ 353 42.Kg1 3 gxf5 376 43.gxf5 3 Bd3 200 44.Qe1 490 Bxf5 27 45.Nxf5 771 Qxf5 8 46.Qg3 26 Kh6 34 47.Qb8 4 Qf3 213 48.Qh8+ 5 Kg6 49 49.Qg8+ 6 Kf6 60 50.Qd8+ 18 0–1
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Jobava,B2727Carlsen,M28620–12015A0177th Tata Steel Chess Masters8

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Masters standings after eight rounds

Round eight - Challengers

Round 8 - Sunday Jan. 18
Wei, Y. - Klein, D.
1-0
l' Ami, E. - Sevian, S.
½-½
Haast, A. - Gunina, V.
1-0
Shankland, S. - Potkin, V.
½-½
Dale, A. - Saleh, S.
0-1
Navara, D. - Michiels, B.
1-0
Timman, J. - Van Kampen, R.
0-1

The Challengers group saw more draws than usual... two! A big win by Wei Yi puts him at 2688 live rating... at only 15 years of age! However, Navara is keeping pace as he beat Michiels. Timman lost one of the Dutch duels of this tournament against Van Kampen.

Dale lost again and is in last place by a full point,
but still somehow performing above his rating

The Dutch Women's team came to support Anne Haast!
And it worked! A big upset as Haast defeated Gunina.

Potkin is having an alright tournament with 4.5/8, but that is two points less than the leaders

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1.d4 0 Nf6 0 2.c4 10 g6 0 3.Nc3 88 d5 8 4.cxd5 162 Nxd5 12 5.Bd2 14 Bg7 76 6.Nf3 63 0-0 43 7.Rc1 164 Nb6 67 8.Bf4 397 c5 341 9.dxc5 273 Bxc3+ 58 10.Rxc3 383 Qxd1+ 136 11.Kxd1 49 Nd5 89 12.Rc4 97 Nxf4 414 13.Rxf4 23 Be6 11 14.e3 507 Rd8+ 357 15.Kc2 680 Rc8 89 16.b4 993 a5 225 17.Bc4 27 Bxc4 204 18.Rxc4 8 b5 29 19.Re4 308 axb4 173 20.Kb1 312 Na6 204 21.c6 268 Rxc6 1428 22.Rxe7 28 b3 83 23.axb3 474 Nb4 63 24.Rd1 188 Na2 448 25.Kb2 304 Nc3 74 26.Ra1 7 Rxa1 82 27.Kxa1 4 b4 65 28.Ra7 192 Nd1 50 29.Kb1 100 Nc3+ 198 30.Kb2 40 Nd1+ 7 31.Kb1 4 Nxf2 355 32.Rxf7 86 Nd3 233 33.Rd7 110 Rc1+ 13 34.Ka2 4 Rc2+ 5 35.Ka1 362 Nc5 196 36.Rd8+ 52 Kg7 29 37.Rb8 50 Nxb3+ 725 38.Kb1 4 Rxg2 13 39.Rxb4 6 Nd2+ 284 40.Nxd2 0 Rxd2 0 41.Rb2 300 Rd3 679 42.Re2 32 Kf6 26 43.Kc2 36 Ra3 5 44.Kd2 606 Kf5 136 45.Ke1 35 Kg4 34 46.Kf2 28 Kh3 54 47.Kf3 154 g5 102 48.Ke4 289 g4 226 49.Kf5 104 Ra5+ 29 50.Kf6 174 h5 10 51.e4 6 h4 3 52.e5 7 g3 4 53.hxg3 6 hxg3 4 54.e6 11 g2 4 55.Rxg2 5 Kxg2 5 56.e7 2 Ra8 6 57.Kf7 4 Kf3 7 58.e8Q 3 Rxe8 9 59.Kxe8 4 Ke4 ½–½
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L'Ami,E2613Sevian,S2511½–½2015D8577th Tata Steel Chess8

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Challengers standings after eight rounds

Photos by Alina l'Ami for the official website

Schedule and results - Masters group

Round 1 - Saturday Jan. 10
Radjabov, T. - Van Wely, L.
½-½
Ivanchuk, V. - Jobava, B.
1-0
Vachier-Lagrave - Hou, Y.
1-0
Ding, L. - Caruana, F.
0-1
Saric, I. - Aronian, L.
½-½
Giri, A. - Carlsen, M.
½-½
So, W. - Wojtaszek, R.
½-½
Round 2 - Sunday Jan. 11
Van Wely, L. - Wojtaszek, R.
½-½
Carlsen, M. - So, W.
½-½
Aronian, L. - Giri, A.
½-½
Caruana, F. - Saric, I.
1-0
Hou, Y. - Ding, L.
0-1
Jobava, B. - Vachier-Lagrave
½-½
Radjabov, T. - Ivanchuk, V.
½-½
Round 3 - Monday Jan. 12
Ivanchuk, V. - Van Wely, L.
1-0
Vachier-Lagrave - Radjabov, T.
½-½
Ding, L. - Jobava, B.
1-0
Saric, I. - Hou, Y.
½-½
Giri, A. - Caruana, F.
½-½
So, W. - Aronian, L.
1-0
Wojtaszek, R. - Carlsen, M.
1-0
Round 4 - Tuesday Jan. 13
Van Wely, L. - Carlsen, M.
0-1
Aronian, L. - Wojtaszek, R.
½-½
Caruana, F. - So, W.
½-½
Hou, Y. - Giri, A.
½-½
Jobava, B. - Saric, I.
0-1
Radjabov, T. - Ding, L.
0-1
Ivanchuk, V. - Vachier-Lagrave
1-0
Round 5 - Thursday Jan. 15
Vachier-Lagrave - Van Wely, L.
½-½
Ding, L. - Ivanchuk, V.
½-½
Saric, I. - Radjabov, T.
0-1
Giri, A. - Jobava, B.
1-0
So, W. - Hou, Y.
½-½
Wojtaszek, R. - Caruana, F.
1-0
Carlsen, M. - Aronian, L.
1-0
Round 6 - Friday Jan. 16
Van Wely, L. - Aronian, L.
½-½
Caruana, F. - Carlsen, M.
0-1
Hou, Y. - Wojtaszek, R.
½-½
Jobava, B. - So, W.
0-1
Radjabov, T. - Giri, A.
½-½
Ivanchuk, V. - Saric, I.
½-½
Vachier-Lagrave - Ding, L.
1-0
Round 7 - Saturday Jan. 17
Ding, L. - Van Wely, L.
1-0
Saric, I. - Vachier-Lagrave
0-1
Giri, A. - Ivanchuk, V.
½-½
So, W. - Radjabov, T.
½-½
Wojtaszek, R. - Jobava, B.
0-1
Carlsen, M. - Hou, Y.
1-0
Aronian, L. - Caruana, F.
½-½
Round 8 - Sunday Jan. 18
Van Wely, L. - Caruana, F.
0-1
Hou, Y. - Aronian, L.
½-½
Jobava, B. - Carlsen, M.
0-1
Radjabov, T. - Wojtaszek, R.
1-0
Ivanchuk, V. - So, W.
0-1
Vachier-Lagrave - Giri, A.
1-0
Ding, L. - Saric, I.
1-0
Round 9 - Tuesday Jan. 20
Saric, I. - Van Wely, L.  
Giri, A. - Ding, L.  
So, W. - Vachier-Lagrave  
Wojtaszek, R. - Ivanchuk, V.  
Carlsen, M. - Radjabov, T.  
Aronian, L. - Jobava, B.  
Caruana, F. - Hou, Y.  
Round 10 - Wednesday Jan. 21
Van Wely, L. - Hou, Y.  
Jobava, B. - Caruana, F.  
Radjabov, T. - Aronian, L.  
Ivanchuk, V. - Carlsen, M.  
Vachier-Lagrave - Wojtaszek  
Ding, L. - So, W.  
Saric, I. - Giri, A.  
Round 11 - Friday Jan. 23
Giri, A. - Van Wely, L.  
So, W. - Saric, I.  
Wojtaszek, R. - Ding, L.  
Carlsen, M. - Vachier-Lagrave  
Aronian, L. - Ivanchuk, V.  
Caruana, F. - Radjabov, T.  
Hou, Y. - Jobava, B.  
Round 12 - Saturday Jan. 24
Van Wely, L. - Jobava, B.  
Radjabov, T. - Hou, Y.  
Ivanchuk, V. - Caruana, F.  
Vachier-Lagrave - Aronian, L.  
Ding, L. - Carlsen, M.  
Saric, I. - Wojtaszek, R.  
Giri, A. - So, W.  
Round 13 - Sunday Jan. 25
So, W. - Van Wely, L.  
Wojtaszek, R. - Giri, A.  
Carlsen, M. - Saric, I.  
Aronian, L. - Ding, L.  
Caruana, F. - Vachier-Lagrave  
Hou, Y. - Ivanchuk, V.  
Jobava, B. - Radjabov, T.  

Schedule and results - Challengers group

Round 1 - Saturday Jan. 10
Shankland, S. - Wei, Y.
½-½
Dale, A. - Haast, A.
½-½
Navara, D. - l' Ami, E.
½-½
Timman, J. - Klein, D.
½-½
Van Kampen, R. - Sevian, S.
1-0
Michiels, B. - Gunina, V.
½-½
Saleh, S. - Potkin, V.
½-½
Round 2 - Sunday Jan. 11
Wei, Y. - Potkin, V.
1-0
Gunina, V. - Saleh, S.
1-0
Sevian, S. - Michiels, B.
0-1
Klein, D. - Van Kampen, R.
½-½
l' Ami, E. - Timman, J.
½-½
Haast, A. - Navara, D.
0-1
Shankland, S. - Dale, A.
½-½
Round 3 - Monday Jan. 12
Dale, A. - Wei, Y.
½-½
Navara, D. - Shankland, S.
½-½
Timman, J. - Haast, A.
0-1
Van Kampen, R. - l' Ami, E.
½-½
Michiels, B. - Klein, D.
0-1
Saleh, S. - Sevian, S.
½-½
Potkin, V. - Gunina, V.
1-0
Round 4 - Tuesday Jan. 13
Wei, Y. - Gunina, V.
1-0
Sevian, S. - Potkin, V.
1-0
Klein, D. - Saleh, S.
0-1
l' Ami, E. - Michiels, B.
1-0
Haast, A. - Van Kampen, R.
0-1
Shankland, S. - Timman, J.
½-½
Dale, A. - Navara, D.
0-1
Round 5 - Thursday Jan. 15
Navara, D. - Wei, Y.
½-½
Timman, J. - Dale, A.
1-0
Van Kampen - Shankland, S.
0-1
Michiels, B. - Haast, A.
1-0
Saleh, S. - l' Ami, E.
0-1
Potkin, V. - Klein, D.
1-0
Gunina, V. - Sevian, S.
0-1
Round 6 - Friday Jan. 16
Wei, Y. - Sevian, S.
1-0
Klein, D. - Gunina, V.
1-0
l' Ami, E. - Potkin, V.
½-½
Haast, A. - Saleh, S.
½-½
Shankland, S. - Michiels, B.
1-0
Dale, A. - Van Kampen, R.
0-1
Navara, D. - Timman, J.
1-0
Round 7 - Saturday Jan. 17
Timman, J. - Wei, Y.
0-1
Van Kampen, R. - Navara, D.
0-1
Michiels, B. - Dale, A.
1-0
Saleh, S. - Shankland, S.
½-½
Potkin, V. - Haast, A.
1-0
Gunina, V. - l' Ami, E.
1-0
Sevian, S. - Klein, D.
1-0
Round 8 - Sunday Jan. 18
Wei, Y. - Klein, D.
1-0
l' Ami, E. - Sevian, S.
½-½
Haast, A. - Gunina, V.
1-0
Shankland, S. - Potkin, V.
½-½
Dale, A. - Saleh, S.
0-1
Navara, D. - Michiels, B.
1-0
Timman, J. - Van Kampen, R.
0-1
Round 9 - Tuesday Jan. 20
Van Kampen, R. - Wei, Y.  
Michiels, B. - Timman, J.  
Saleh, S. - Navara, D.  
Potkin, V. - Dale, A.  
Gunina, V. - Shankland, S.  
Sevian, S. - Haast, A.  
Klein, D. - l' Ami, E.  
Round 10 - Wednesday Jan. 21
Wei, Y. - l' Ami, E.  
Haast, A. - Klein, D.  
Shankland, S. - Sevian, S.  
Dale, A. - Gunina, V.  
Navara, D. - Potkin, V.  
Timman, J. - Saleh, S.  
Van Kampen, R. - Michiels, B.  
Round 11 - Friday Jan. 23
Michiels, B. - Wei, Y.  
Saleh, S. - Van Kampen, R.  
Potkin, V. - Timman, J.  
Gunina, V. - Navara, D.  
Sevian, S. - Dale, A.  
Klein, D. - Shankland, S.  
l' Ami, E. - Haast, A.  
Round 12 - Saturday Jan. 24
Wei, Y. - Haast, A.  
Shankland, S. - l' Ami, E.  
Dale, A. - Klein, D.  
Navara, D. - Sevian, S.  
Timman, J. - Gunina, V.  
Van Kampen, R. - Potkin, V.  
Michiels, B. - Saleh, S.  
Round 13 - Sunday Jan. 25
Saleh, S. - Wei, Y.  
Potkin, V. - Michiels, B.  
Gunina, V. - Van Kampen, R.  
Sevian, S. - Timman, J.  
Klein, D. - Navara, D.  
l' Ami, E. - Dale, A.  
Haast, A. - Shankland, S.  

Venues

The tournament has a slight change this year. Most of the rounds will be played in the traditional De Moriaan Community Centre in Wijk aan Zee, but two of the rounds will be played elsewhere. Last year the tournament traveled to the National Museum in Amsterdam and the High Tech Campus in Eindhoven.

This year the fifth round will be held in De Rotterdam. De Rotterdam is a building on the Wilhelminapier in Rotterdam, designed by Rem Koolhaas in 1998.

Rotterdam is ready to host Tata Steel!

The tenth round will be played in the International Press Cnetre Niewuspoort in the Hague. Councillor Karsten Klein of The Hague had this to say: "The Hague is honored to be able to host the Tata Steel Chess Tournament 2015 at the heart of the Dutch parliamentary democracy. Our city has a long history of international chess tournaments, a tradition which is continued in this manner. "

Commentary on Playchess

This being the first major event of the year, it is clear that we will be bringing you live commentary on our server www.playchess.com!

Day Date Round English
Sunday January 18 Round 8 GM Simon Williams
Monday January 19 Free  
Tuesday January 20 Round 9 GM Daniel King
Wednesday January 21 Round 10 GM Simon Williams
Thursday January 22 Free  
Friday January 23 Round 11 GM Daniel King 
Saturday January 24 Round 12 GM Simon Williams
Sunday January 25 Round 13 GM Daniel King

Links

The games will be 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 12 or any of our Fritz compatible chess programs.


Grandmaster Alejandro Ramirez has been playing tournament chess since 1998. His accomplishments include qualifying for the 2004 and 2013 World Cups as well as playing for Costa Rica in the 2002, 2004 and 2008 Olympiads. He currently has a rating of 2583 and is author of a number of popular and critically acclaimed ChessBase-DVDs.

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