Tbilisi Rd4: Tomashevsky extends lead

by Alejandro Ramirez
2/18/2015 – Tomashevsky won again, this time with black against Mamedyarov (in an unusual note, Black has won in all of the Azerbaijani's games in this tournament!). This puts him a full point ahead of Giri, Jakovenko and now Grischuk. Grischuk was able to best Jobava, who only has 0.5/4 and seems to be in a free fall after an already disastrous Wijk aan Zee. Round four report.
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The third stage of the 2014-2015 FIDE Grand Prix is taking place in Tbilisi, Georgia. The tournament will run from February 14th to February 28, 2014. Some of the strongest players in the world will compete in a Round Robin event. The winner and runner-up of the Grand Prix series will earn their spot at the 2016 Candidate's Tournament.

Round Four

Round 04 –February 18, 2015 - 15:00
Radjabov, Teimour 2731
½-½
 Jakovenko, Dmitry 2733
Grischuk, Alexander 2810
1-0
 Jobava, Baadur 2696
Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar 2759
0-1
 Tomashevsky, Evgeny 2716
Giri, Anish 2797
½-½
 Andreikin, Dmitry 2737
Dominguez, Leinier 2726
½-½
 Kasimdzhanov, Rustam 2705
Svidler, Peter 2739
½-½
 Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime 2775

Radjabov, Teimour ½-½ Jakovenko, Dmitry
Can't blame Radjabov for not trying! His positional pressure that he obtained from the Queen's Indian translated into an extra pawn in the queen endgame; unfortunately for him all the remaining pawns were on the same side of the board, a detail that always favors the defender. This time Jakovenko suffered for many, many moves, but at the end he was able to retain his half point.

Radjabov and Jakovenko played for more than an hour after everyone else was finished

Grischuk, Alexander 1-0 Jobava, Baadur
Alexander Grischuk recovers from his loss against Tomashevsky, while Jobava continues his free fall.

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1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.e5 Bf5 4.Nf3 e6 5.Be2 Nd7 6.0-0 Bg6 7.Nbd2 Nh6 8.Nb3 Nf5 9.a4 Rc8 10.a5 A new move, though it is unclear if it is one that will be repeated often. Bh5 10...h5 was played in Caruana-Tomashevsky from the 2013 Grand Prix in Paris. The Italian won a fantastic game there. 11.h3 Bxf3 12.Bxf3 g6 13.Re1 h5 14.Qd3 Bh6 15.Bxh6 Rxh6 Black's awkward rook placement on h6 means that he will have to spend time to castle artificially. Grischuk will try to use this time to create threats on the queenside/center. 16.c4 dxc4 16...Kf8 17.cxd5 cxd5 18.Rac1 was not to Jobava's liking; it does seem that giving up the c-file and allowing Qb5 is dangerous. 17.Qxc4 Kf8 18.Rac1 Ne7 18...Kg7 allows a nice breakthrough. 19.d5 exd5 20.Bxd5! The bishop is taboo because of the pin down the c-file. White has the big threats of Bxf7 and e6, and Black simply does not have an answer. 19.Qc3 Kg7 20.Nd2! Now that Jobava has no pawn on d5, Grischuk can try to exploit this by transfering his knight from the mediocre position on b3 to the powerful d6 square. Black must be careful of this, but already his defenses are running thin. His rook on h6 is still not helping out, and even if it was his position would be uncomfortable. Rh8 21.Nc4 Rb8 21...Nf5 22.Be4 is not much of an improvement. Once White takes on f5 Black doesn't want to recapture with the g-pawn, because it opens up his king, nor with the e-pawn, because it allows e6 and d5 breaks. 22.Be4 a6 23.Red1 Nc8 24.d5! The right time. If this works, it is clear that Black's position cannot be held together. cxd5 25.Bxd5 b5 25...exd5 26.Rxd5 Black is helpless. The threat is the immediate Rxd7, as a recapture will be met with e6+ and a discovery down the c3-g7 diagonal as well as attacking the queen. If the king retreats White simply has to double rooks on the d-file to regain his knight. 26.Bc6 bxc4 27.Rxd7 Qg5 28.Bb7 Ne7 29.Qe3 The position domination is such that it extends into the endgame. The weakness on the a6 square makes Black's position hopeless, though this is not the only winning continuation. Qxe3 30.fxe3 Nf5 31.Rxc4 Nxe3 32.Rc6 32.Rcc7! 32...Rhd8 33.Rxd8 Rxd8 34.Rxa6 Rd1+ 35.Kf2 Nc4 36.b3! Nxe5 37.Rb6 Ra1 38.a6 Kf6 39.Rb5 Ra3 40.Ke2 h4 With time control reached it is rather obvious that Whtie is winning. He has a bunch of ideas to choose from, including bringing the king to the queenside to kick out the rook from the a-file or simply playing 41.Rb4. 1–0
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Grischuk,A2810Jobava,B26961–02015B12Tbilisi FIDE Grand Prix4

Grischuk and Jobava...

are actually very good friends!

Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar 0-1 Tomashevsky, Evgeny

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1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Nc3 a6 Tomashevsky's systems with Black are very solid; the Stonewall is one of his favorite openings, but he is also known for his ...a6 Slav (also known as the Chebanenko Slav). 5.e3 Bf5 One of the many replies that are possible. Bg4, b5 and e6 have all also been seen. 6.Be2 h6 7.Bd3 This very strange move order has, somewhat surprisingly, happened at a high level game already. Carlsen beat Nakamura with this move order before, but it still makes me wonder if "provoking" h6 is beneficial for White. Bxd3 8.Qxd3 e6 9.0-0 Bb4 10.Bd2 0-0 11.b3 11.Rfd1 Carlsen-Nakamura, Shamkir 2014. 11.Nxd5 Nxd5 12.cxd5 Bxd2 13.Nxd2 cxd5= 11...a5 12.a3 Bxc3 13.Bxc3 Ne4 14.Bb2 Re8 15.Ne5 Nd7 16.Nxd7 Qxd7 A familiar situation. Black's knight on e4 is not stable because White will always have the f3 push, but even when this happens it is not clear what White's overarching plan is. He does enjoy a little bit of space and in certain cases the bishop on b2 can become active in different diagonals. White's edge is small but rather permanent. 17.f3 Ng5 18.a4 f6 19.Bc3 Nf7 20.Rad1 b5!? An interesting way of changing the character of the game. Black is threatening to play dxc4 bxc4 b4, so White has to react. 21.axb5 cxb5 22.c5 White creates his own passed pawn, but it gives Black a beautiful blockading square for his knight. b4 23.Be1 Nd8 24.Bg3 Nc6 25.Bd6 25.Ra1! was better, preventing the counterplay seen in the game. 25...a4 26.bxa4 Rxa4 27.e4 Ra3 28.Qb5 Rea8 29.Rfe1 R8a7 30.f4 f5! An excellent idea. Even though this gives up the e5 square, it is not relevant as the powerful bishop on e5 will not be able to coordinate with the other White pieces. It is more important to keep the position closed. 31.exf5 exf5 32.h3 Kh7 33.Kh2 Rb7 34.Qe2 Qf7 35.Rd3 Qg6 36.Red1 Rba7 37.Be5 Na5 Jumping to c4 always comes with some risk as the c-pawn might become a problem, but for now the queen is keeping an eye on it. 38.Qe1?! 38.Qf3 Nc4 39.Rb1= 38...Qa6 39.Rxa3 bxa3 40.Bd6 Qc8 41.Rb1?? simply put, a blunder. cMamedyarvo overestimates the damage this rook can cause on the eight rank. a2 42.Rb8 Qd7 Now the pawn is rolling and there is nothing to stop it. 42...Qxb8 43.Bxb8 doesn't quite work. Ra6 44.Be5 Nb3 45.Qg3! Rg6 46.Qxb3 a1Q 47.Qxd5 43.Qa1 White resigned before Black could execute Qa4 or Nc4, both completely winning. 0–1
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Mamedyarov,S2759Tomashevsky,E27160–12015D15Tbilisi FIDE Grand Prix4

The most unusual of scores! Mamedyarov has 0.0/2 with White and 2.0/2 with Black.

Tomashevsky strengthens his lead to a full point over Giri, Jakovenko and Grischuk

Giri, Anish ½-½ Andreikin, Dmitry
Something went wrong for Giri; Andreikin was able to equalize too easily and in a symmetrical position with trade after trade it was clear the game was headed towards a draw.

Oops! Giri's opening today was not impressive.

Dominguez, Leinier ½-½ Kasimdzhanov, Rustam
It's rare that the French defense leads to a position in which White has minor pressure on the queenside thanks to his fianchetto bishop, but that is precisely what happened today. That being said, the pressure was quite minimal. Once Kasimdzhanov defended his position here and there the draw was inevitable.

Leinier Dominguez is known as a very solid player, and his four draws here are a sign of it

Svidler, Peter ½-½ Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime
What can you expect from the two greatest Grunfeld experts in the World (arguably, Giri and Caruana also come to mind) when they face each other? Well a sharp Grunfeld, what else? Svidler won an exchange quickly, but MVL's compensation was two pawns and a beautifully placed knight on d4. Svidler was relatively planless, and the most disappointing part of the game was probably that MVL agreed to a repetition in the final position instead of trying to push for a win; it seemed that only Black could be better in that situation.

Svidler and MVL have advanced Grunfeld theory in every direction

Standings

Round Four Games

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Photos from the official website by Maria Emelianova

Schedule

Round 01 – February 15, 2015 - 15:00
Dominguez, Leinier 2726
½-½
 Radjabov, Teimour 2731
Svidler, Peter 2739
0-1
 Giri, Anish 2797
Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime 2775
0-1
 Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar 2759
Kasimdzhanov, Rustam 2705
0-1
 Grischuk, Alexander 2810
Andreikin, Dmitry 2737
½-½
 Jakovenko, Dmitry 2733
Tomashevsky, Evgeny 2716
1-0
 Jobava, Baadur 2696
Round 02 –February 16, 2015 - 15:00
Radjabov, Teimour 2731
½-½
 Jobava, Baadur 2696
Jakovenko, Dmitry 2733
½-½
 Tomashevsky, Evgeny 2716
Grischuk, Alexander 2810
½-½
 Andreikin, Dmitry 2737
Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar 2759
0-1
 Kasimdzhanov, Rustam 2705
Giri, Anish 2797
½-½
 Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime 2775
Dominguez, Leinier 2726
½-½
 Svidler, Peter 2739
Round 03 –February 17, 2015 - 15:00
Svidler, Peter 2739
½-½
 Radjabov, Teimour 2731
Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime 2775
½-½
 Dominguez, Leinier 2726
Kasimdzhanov, Rustam 2705
½-½
 Giri, Anish 2797
Andreikin, Dmitry 2737
0-1
 Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar 2759
Tomashevsky, Evgeny 2716
1-0
 Grischuk, Alexander 2810
Jobava, Baadur 2696
0-1
 Jakovenko, Dmitry 2733
Round 04 –February 18, 2015 - 15:00
Radjabov, Teimour 2731
½-½
 Jakovenko, Dmitry 2733
Grischuk, Alexander 2810
1-0
 Jobava, Baadur 2696
Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar 2759
0-1
 Tomashevsky, Evgeny 2716
Giri, Anish 2797
½-½
 Andreikin, Dmitry 2737
Dominguez, Leinier 2726
½-½
 Kasimdzhanov, Rustam 2705
Svidler, Peter 2739
½-½
 Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime 2775
Round 05 –February 20, 2015 - 15:00
Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime 2775   Radjabov, Teimour 2731
Kasimdzhanov, Rustam 2705   Svidler, Peter 2739
Andreikin, Dmitry 2737   Dominguez, Leinier 2726
Tomashevsky, Evgeny 2716   Giri, Anish 2797
Jobava, Baadur 2696   Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar 2759
Jakovenko, Dmitry 2733   Grischuk, Alexander 2810
Round 06 –February 21, 2015 - 15:00
Radjabov, Teimour 2731   Grischuk, Alexander 2810
Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar 2759   Jakovenko, Dmitry 2733
Giri, Anish 2797   Jobava, Baadur 2696
Dominguez, Leinier 2726   Tomashevsky, Evgeny 2716
Svidler, Peter 2739   Andreikin, Dmitry 2737
Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime 2775   Kasimdzhanov, Rustam 2705
Round 07 –February 22, 2015 - 15:00
Kasimdzhanov, Rustam 2705   Radjabov, Teimour 2731
Andreikin, Dmitry 2737   Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime 2775
Tomashevsky, Evgeny 2716   Svidler, Peter 2739
Jobava, Baadur 2696   Dominguez, Leinier 2726
Jakovenko, Dmitry 2733   Giri, Anish 2797
Grischuk, Alexander 2810   Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar 2759
Round 08 –February 23, 2015 - 15:00
Radjabov, Teimour 2731   Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar 2759
Giri, Anish 2797   Grischuk, Alexander 2810
Dominguez, Leinier 2726   Jakovenko, Dmitry 2733
Svidler, Peter 2739   Jobava, Baadur 2696
Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime 2775   Tomashevsky, Evgeny 2716
Kasimdzhanov, Rustam 2705   Andreikin, Dmitry 2737
Round 09 –February 25, 2015 - 15:00
Andreikin, Dmitry 2737   Radjabov, Teimour 2731
Tomashevsky, Evgeny 2716   Kasimdzhanov, Rustam 2705
Jobava, Baadur 2696   Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime 2775
Jakovenko, Dmitry 2733   Svidler, Peter 2739
Grischuk, Alexander 2810   Dominguez, Leinier 2726
Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar 2759   Giri, Anish 2797
Round 10 –February 26, 2015 - 15:00
Radjabov, Teimour 2731   Giri, Anish 2797
Dominguez, Leinier 2726   Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar 2759
Svidler, Peter 2739   Grischuk, Alexander 2810
Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime 2775   Jakovenko, Dmitry 2733
Kasimdzhanov, Rustam 2705   Jobava, Baadur 2696
Andreikin, Dmitry 2737   Tomashevsky, Evgeny 2716
Round 11 –February 27, 2015 - 13:00
Tomashevsky, Evgeny 2716   Radjabov, Teimour 2731
Jobava, Baadur 2696   Andreikin, Dmitry 2737
Jakovenko, Dmitry 2733   Kasimdzhanov, Rustam 2705
Grischuk, Alexander 2810   Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime 2775
Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar 2759   Svidler, Peter 2739
Giri, Anish 2797   Dominguez, Leinier 2726

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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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