Tbilisi Rd7: Crucial Mistakes

by Alejandro Ramirez
2/22/2015 – Decisive mistakes in Tbilisi! Grischuk missed an unusual tactic from Mamedyarov, leaving him in a position down two pawns for very little instead of having great compensation for only one. Dominguez blundered in the dreaded move 39 while Giri was unable to hold an endgame that required precision against Jakovenko, who is now only half a point away from Tomashevsky.
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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 Seven

Round 07 –February 22, 2015 - 15:00
Kasimdzhanov, Rustam 2705
½-½
 Radjabov, Teimour 2731
Andreikin, Dmitry 2737
½-½
 Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime 2775
Tomashevsky, Evgeny 2716
½-½
 Svidler, Peter 2739
Jobava, Baadur 2696
1-0
 Dominguez, Leinier 2726
Jakovenko, Dmitry 2733
1-0
 Giri, Anish 2797
Grischuk, Alexander 2810
0-1
 Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar 2759

Kasimdzhanov, Rustam ½-½ Radjabov, Teimour
Kasimdzhanov again tried his 5.Bd2 Grunfeld, but this time it was much less successful than it was against Svidler. Radjabov was able to liquidate the central tension and started trading pieces and pawns. The board was barren by move 28, when the players agreed to a draw in a 3v3 rook endgame.

Kasimdzhanov seems to be adopting this 5.Bd2 line as his pet variation against the Grunfeld

Radjabov was his usual solid self with black

Andreikin, Dmitry ½-½ Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime
The real drama in this game occurred when both players were already low on time, and both were fighting too and nail for their initiative!

Every Russian schoolboy knows that in opposite colored bishop positions, king safety is key!

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21.fxe4 Bxh3!? 22.c5! 22.gxh3 e5 23.Ba7 23.Bf2 Qg5+ 24.Kf1 Rxf2+-+ 23...Rf3 with a very strong initiative. 22...Bg4 23.Qb3+ e6 24.Rf1 Rxf1+ 25.Rxf1 dxc5 26.Bxc5 Qd2?! Too ambitious. 26...Qd7 is probably holdable. Even though Black is up a pawn his king is weaker than his opponent's, and with the bishops of opposite color that is usually the most important factor of a position. 27.Qg3 h5 forced 27...Bh5 28.Qe5+- 28.Qe5 Qh6 Black is barely holding on 29.Bd4 29.Rf6! b6! Isn't clear cut, but White should be better 29...h4! MVL understands how important it is to create counterplay! 30.Rf6 h3 31.Rxg6+ Qxg6 32.Qh8+ Kf7 33.Qxc8 Qxe4 Black is threatening checkmate, so White has to force the perpetual. 34.Qd7+ Kg6 35.Qg7+ Kh5 36.Qh8+ Kg6 37.Qf6+ Kh5 38.Qh8+ Kg6 39.Qg7+ Kh5 40.Qh8+ ½–½
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Andreikin,D2737Vachier Lagrave,M2775½–½2015B53Tbilisi FIDE Grand Prix7

Tomashevsky, Evgeny ½-½ Svidler, Peter
Svidler showed again that even when Black is down a pawn in many Grunfeld variations, he retains an initiative and strong compensation for the material deficit. He was able to regain his pawn and threaten White's center, so Tomashevsky pulled the brakes and forced a perpetual.

Jobava, Baadur 1-0 Dominguez, Leinier
The Georgian star used his patented Jobava Variation (it sounds way cooler than "reversed Philidor Defense"), which for one reason or another has brought him considerable success. Dominguez was holding his own until time pressure cost him half a point:

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38...Rxc5 39.Ra4 A complicated position. White has a powerful passed pawn on the a-file, but at the same time he has to be careful since his knight on c4 is pinned and the a-pawn might fall. Nc7? Time trouble costs the Cuban player half a point, at least. 39...Nd6 40.Qb3 40.Rxd6 Looks somewhat dangerous at first, but a quick calculation reveals that White has no way of pushing his pawn past a7, where it will perish. Qxd6 41.Nxd6 Rxc2 42.a7 42.Nc4 Rxa6 42...Rd2 43.Nc4 Rd7 40...Nxc4 41.a7 Rb5 42.Qxc4 Qxc4 43.Rxc4 Rxa7 44.Rxc6 with a dead draw. 40.a7 Nb5 41.Qd3 Rxa7 42.Rxa7 Rxc4 42...Nxa7 must have been Dominguez's original intention, but it does not work: 43.Qd8+ Kh7 44.Ne3 and Black is too uncoordinated. The main threat is Qf8 followed by Nf5 or Rd8, wich a mating attack. 43.Qd8+ Kh7 44.Re7 Qf6 45.Qd7 If black could hold his f7 pawn he might have a chance of holding the position, but it is not possible and the rest is trivial for Jobava. Rd4 45...Rc2 46.Qf5+ Qxf5 47.exf5 still leaves the f7 pawn hanging. 46.Rxd4 Nxd4 47.Rxf7 Qg6 48.f3 c5 49.h4 h5 50.Kh3 Qh6 51.g4 hxg4+ 52.Qxg4 Kg8 53.Rc7 Ne6 54.Rc8+ Kf7 55.Qf5+ Ke7 56.Qxe5 Kd7 57.Ra8 Nf4+ 58.Kg4 Qxh4+ 59.Kxh4 Ng6+ 60.Kg3 Nxe5 61.Kf4 Kd6 62.Rd8+ Nd7 63.Rg8 c4 64.Rxg7 Ne5 65.Ke3 c3 66.f4 1–0
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Jobava,B2696Dominguez Perez,L27261–02015C44Tbilisi FIDE Grand Prix7

Dominguez was unable to cope with the dreaded Jobava variation

Jakovenko, Dmitry 1-0 Giri, Anish
A Dutch! Black's weaknesses on the kingside were compensated by weakness on the queenside from his opponent. The endgame they entered gave chances to both sides, but Jakovenko always seemed to be just a tad better. When it was time for Giri to find the drawing line, he was unable to do so.

Giri, metaphorically, cut his own string today

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45...Rxa3 46.h4 Ra2+? 46...Nf3! 47.g7 47.Re4!? Kf8! 47...Nxh4+ 48.Rxh4 Kxg7 and White cannot avoid the b5 break, trading off White's last pawn. 47.Kg3 Ra3+ 48.Kg2? Ra2+? 49.Kg3 Ra3+ 50.Kf4! Nh3+ 51.Ke5 The penetration with the king is decisive. Kg7 52.Rg2 Nice, the knight is controlled on h3 and the rook is swinging over to the d-file. Rf3 52...Re3+ 53.Be4+- 53.Rd2 Nf4 54.Rd7+ Kg8 55.Rxb7 Black has no counterplay, his king is getting checkmated and he is not even up material any more. Nh5 56.Be6+ Kf8 57.Ke4 1–0
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Jakovenko,D2733Giri,A27971–02015A88Tbilisi FIDE Grand Prix7

Jakovenko's second victory on this tournament puts him at only half a point from Tomashevsky

Grischuk, Alexander 0-1 Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar
Grischuk was playing a great game and had fantastic compensation for his pawn when he missed an important resource from his opponent!

Shakhriyar Mamedyarov, the new Joseph Blackburne, who was nicknamed
"the Black Death" due to his prowess with those pieces?

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1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Nf3 c6 5.Bg5 Nbd7 6.e3 Bb4 7.Rc1 Qa5 8.Nd2 Ne4 9.Ncxe4 dxe4 10.Bh4 Sacrificing the pawn on a2 is a common idea in the Cambridge-Springs. The development advantage and central control gives White plenty of compensation. Qxa2 11.Be2 Qa5 12.0-0! What a nice move! The knight on d2 is hanging, but White will be able to recover it without problems and keep his compensation. Bxd2 13.Ra1 Qb4 14.Qc2 c5 14...Bxe3 15.fxe3 opens up the f-file, which is very dangerous for Black. 15.Ra4 Qb6 16.Qxd2 The minor piece is recovered and Black's development is sub-par. He is up a pawn, but clearly on the defensive side. e5 17.Ra5? Overlooking or underestimating Black's next move! Qh6 An unusual tactic. The bishop is hanging on h4, but also important is that the e-pawn is now pinned. 18.Bg3 exd4 19.Bf4 19.f3 was probably the only way to fight for compensation, but it should be insufficient. 19...g5 20.Bg3 d3 21.Bd1 White is not dead, for his two missing pawns he has the pair of bishops and Black's king will always feel uncomfortable, but Black should win with good play. Mamedyarov made his life pretty hard at different junctures, but the win was never in question. b6 22.Ra1 f5 23.Ba4 0-0 24.f3 Qe6 25.fxe4 fxe4 26.Bxd7 Rxf1+ 27.Rxf1 Bxd7 28.Qc3 Qe7 29.b3 Re8 30.Qa1 a5 31.Be1 Rd8 32.Rf2 h6 33.Bd2 Rf8 34.Rxf8+ Qxf8 35.Qe5 Qe8 36.Qf6 Qe6 37.Qd8+ Kf7 38.Bc3 Qd6 39.Bd2 Qe6 40.Bc3 a4 41.bxa4 Bxa4 42.Qc7+ Ke8 43.Bd2 Bd7 44.h3 Ke7 45.Qb8 h5 46.Qh8 Qxc4 47.Qe5+ Qe6 48.Qxg5+ Kd6 49.Qxh5 b5 50.Qh8 b4 51.h4 Qa2 52.Qf6+ Kc7 53.Qf2 b3 54.Bc3 Qxf2+ 55.Kxf2 Kc6 56.Ke1 Kb5 57.h5 Ka4 58.Bb2 Kb4 59.Kd2 c4 60.g3 Bg4 61.h6 Bf5 62.g4 Bg6 63.Bf6 Ka3 0–1
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Grischuk,A2810Mamedyarov,S27590–12015D52Tbilisi FIDE Grand Prix7

Standings

Round Seven 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
½-½
 Radjabov, Teimour 2731
Kasimdzhanov, Rustam 2705
1-0
 Svidler, Peter 2739
Andreikin, Dmitry 2737
0-1
 Dominguez, Leinier 2726
Tomashevsky, Evgeny 2716
½-½
 Giri, Anish 2797
Jobava, Baadur 2696
1-0
 Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar 2759
Jakovenko, Dmitry 2733
½-½
 Grischuk, Alexander 2810
Round 06 –February 21, 2015 - 15:00
Radjabov, Teimour 2731
1-0
 Grischuk, Alexander 2810
Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar 2759
½-½
 Jakovenko, Dmitry 2733
Giri, Anish 2797
½-½
 Jobava, Baadur 2696
Dominguez, Leinier 2726
½-½
 Tomashevsky, Evgeny 2716
Svidler, Peter 2739
1-0
 Andreikin, Dmitry 2737
Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime 2775
½-½
 Kasimdzhanov, Rustam 2705
Round 07 –February 22, 2015 - 15:00
Kasimdzhanov, Rustam 2705
½-½
 Radjabov, Teimour 2731
Andreikin, Dmitry 2737
½-½
 Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime 2775
Tomashevsky, Evgeny 2716
½-½
 Svidler, Peter 2739
Jobava, Baadur 2696
1-0
 Dominguez, Leinier 2726
Jakovenko, Dmitry 2733
1-0
 Giri, Anish 2797
Grischuk, Alexander 2810
0-1
 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

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 13 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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