Wijk aan Zee Rd13: Aronian is sole winner!

by ChessBase
1/30/2012 – It was a deserving finish to a great tournament by Levon Aronian. He takes sole first and his seven wins is the highest since Kasparov in 1999. Carlsen tried hard to crack Van Wely to no avail and shared second with Radjabov. Joining them is Fabiano Caruana who beat Gelfand in the last round. Pentala Harikrishna won Group B, and Maxim Turov took Group C. Illustrated report with videos.

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The 74th Tata Steel Chess Tournament will take place from January 13 to 29, 2012 in the sports hall Moriaan in Wijk aan Zee. There are three grandmaster tournaments with fourteen players each playing thirteen rounds at 100 minutes for 40 moves, then 50 minutes for 20 moves and finally 15 minutes for the rest of the game, with a 30 seconds/move increment starting with the first move of the game. Rest days are on January 18, 23, and 26.


Tata Steel Tournament 2012

Round thirteen


It was a race for first but eventually one took the lead


For some, it will be an event to contemplate about


The city's steel industry

Group A: Round 13 - Sun. Jan. 29th
Gata Kamsky - Veselin Topalov
1-0
Loek van Wely - Magnus Carlsen
½-½
Vugar Gashimov - Hikaru Nakamura
½-½
Vassily Ivanchuk - Sergey Karjakin
½-½
Levon Aronian - Teimour Radjabov
½-½
Fabiano Caruana - Boris Gelfand
1-0
Anish Giri - David Navara
½-½


A barbarian horde

It was a deserving end to a great tournament. There seemed to be quite a lot of questions as to how the game between Levon Aronian and Teimor Radjabov would go. With no tiebreaks in place, a win by the Azeri meant a tie for first with Aronian, whereas a draw or better simply guaranteed the Armenian an unshared first. Carlsen, who was playing Van Wely, depended on their result to see if he had a chance of a piece of first of his own. After all, If Radjabov beat Aronian, and Carlsen beat Van Wely, they would be three sharing that top step on the podium. Not long after the games started, the answer was in: a lightning draw between Teimor and Levon.


Levon Aronian drew in many fans

In the post-game interviews conducted by the Tata Steel video crew, Magnus admitted he was surprised that the Azeri didn’t even try for a win, and speculated that perhaps Radjabov was already happy with his result. This is was not without risk, since if Carlsen won his game, he would leapfrog into sole second. Even Aronian was caught offguard, clearly happy with this turn of events. In the end Radjabov himself explained his decision, which was not nearly as simple as complacency with his position.


Their fates were decided after twelve minutes (photo: Frits Agterdenbos / www.chessvista.com)

According to him, he had somehow concluded that Aronian would himself push hard for a win as it would allow him to pursue a secondary goal of the top rating (note that this was not achievable even if he won and Carlsen lost) and as he already had so many titles, would not be averse to risking his sole first win in Wijk. Although there is no reason to doubt his word for it, it seems like he over reasoned the situation and instead missed a chance. Instead of taking his fate into his own hands and pursuing his share of first, he waited for his opponent to take the risk for him, and give him a free shot at it. Wishful thinking.


Magnus Carlsen graciously congratulates Levon Aronian on his victory

In spite of this squandered opportunity, Radjabov still came in second, the only undefeated player in the tournament, and is now on the verge of a 2784 rating. As to Aronian, it marks not only a fantastic tournament victory, possibly the greatest of his career, but a mind-boggling climb to a 2824 rating, which will make him the third highest rated in Elo history. For those who thought Carlsen’s 2830+ rating placed him in untouchable regions, think again. Note that this was achieved as a much more dynamic player, with seven wins and two losses, willing to shake the boat to maximize his winning chances. Examples of these changes are eminently visible in his games against Karjakin and Giri.


Ian Rogers and Dirk Jan ten Geuzendam hunting for a quote from Magnus Carlsen
(photo: Frits Agterdenbos / www.chessvista.com)

As to Magnus Carlsen, he played for a win against Loek Van Wely with black, but was unable to get anything, and after 41 moves, with a dead drawn opposite-colored bishop ending, he threw in the towel and shook hands. It was a solid result for the number one, but somewhat disappointing after his strong start. It is a tribute to his class that he was able to do as well as he did, considering the number of ugly situations he got himself into, which he then poured all his energy and skill to get out of.


Fabiano Caruana beat Boris Gelfand in the end to share second and join the Top Ten
(photo: Frits Agterdenbos / www.chessvista.com)

The surprise addition to the group at 2nd-4th with 8.0/13 was Italian Fabiano Caruana, who once again comes second after a similar success in Reggio Emilia a few weeks ago, and is now about to enter the world Top Ten, after a gain of 50 Elo since the September 2011 list. He must also be crowned the King of the Unexpected, since none of his results seemed to correspond to their probable outcome. It was a list of missed wins, drawn losses, and won draws, but ultimately, it was a list that displayed alert opportunism and unfailing fighting spirit in all his struggles.

On the lower end of the crosstable, Giri will no doubt be tending to his wounded ego as he fell down a staircase of chess disasters, and after a promising start had a series of five losses. Time and experience will help him stop the rot in the future.


Veselin Topalov still trying to straighten his game out

Veselin Topalov was also very upset as shown in more than one interview, and though he bemoaned his loss to Carlsen, it was his overall play and unrealized chances that really grated at him. The former number one has still not been able to get his game back into gear, and his confidence seems badly shot. To this great player, we offer the following words of consolation: a king may lose his crown, but never his majesty.


The official video report of the final round (courtesy of the Tata Steel Facebook page) 

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1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 e6 3.g3 d5 4.Bg2 b5 5.c3 a5 6.0-0 Nbd7 7.Bf4 Be7 8.Qc2 c5 9.Nbd2 Bb7 10.Ne5 0-0 11.a4 bxa4 12.Qxa4 Nxe5 13.dxe5 Nd7 14.h4 Qc7 15.e4 Nb6 16.Qc2 Rfd8 17.Rfc1 h6 18.Be3 Qd7 19.exd5 Nxd5 20.Nc4 a4 21.Re1 Qb5 22.Na3 Qa6 23.Rad1 Rab8 24.c4 Nxe3 25.Rxd8+ Rxd8 26.Rxe3 Bxg2 27.Kxg2 Qb7+ 28.Kg1 Qb4 29.Rc3 Qb8 30.Re3 Qb4 31.Rc3 Rd7 32.Nb5 Qa5 33.Qe2 Qd8 34.Ra3 Rd2 35.Qf3 Rd1+ 36.Kh2 Qd2 37.Rxa4 Qe1 38.Nc3 Qg1+ 39.Kh3 Re1 40.Ra7 Qf1+ 41.Qg2 Qxg2+ 42.Kxg2 Bf8 43.f4 g5 44.h5 gxf4 45.gxf4 Kg7 46.Rd7 Re3 47.Rb7 Re1 48.b3 Re3 49.Nd1 Re2+ 50.Nf2 Rc2 51.Kf3 Rc3+ 52.Ke2 Rg3? 53.Ne4+- Rh3 54.Nf6 Rh1 55.Rd7 Rh2+ 56.Kd3 Rh3+ 57.Kc2 Rh4 58.Ne8+ Kg8 59.f5 Rh2+ 60.Rd2 Rxd2+ 61.Kxd2 exf5 62.Nf6+ Kg7 63.Ke3 Be7 64.Nd7 Bg5+ 65.Kf3 Bd2 66.Nxc5 f6 67.e6 Kf8 68.Nd3 Ke7 69.Nf4 Kd6 70.c5+ Kc6 71.Nd5 1–0
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Kamsky,G2732Topalov,V27701–02012A4674th Tata Steel13
Gashimov,V2761Nakamura,H2759½–½2012B4374th Tata Steel13
Van Wely,L2692Carlsen,M2835½–½2012A4074th Tata Steel13
Ivanchuk,V2766Karjakin,S2769½–½2012C6774th Tata Steel13
Aronian,L2805Radjabov,T2773½–½2012A1574th Tata Steel13
Caruana,F2736Gelfand,B27391–02012C4274th Tata Steel13
Giri,A2714Navara,D2712½–½2012C6574th Tata Steel13

Group A final standings


Group B: Round 13 - Sun. Jan. 29th
Jan Timman - Alexander Motylev
½-½
Vladimir Potkin - Erwin L'Ami
1-0
Sergey Tiviakov - Viktorija Cmilyte
1-0
Ilya Nyzhnik - Harika Dronavalli
1-0
Daniele Vocatura - Kateryna Lahno
½-½
Sipke Ernst - Lazaro Bruzon
0-1
Pentala Harikrishna - Dimitri Reinderman
½-½

The B tournament ended as it started, with Indian GM Pentala Harikrishna alone at the top, and deservedly so. He set the tone with a beautiful win over the top seed Lazaro Bruzon in the first round, and showed it was not a fluke, but the sign of things to come. He stormed into sole first and never let go until the very end. This was his fourth try at the B tournament, and this one was the charm. He can now look forward to his first participation in a tournament with the world’s greatest players. Bruzon who had a very rocky start, also showed great resilience by working his way back up the ladder and sharing second with Alexander Motylev, while a last round loss by Erwin L’Ami denied the Dutchman the same honors.


Indian Pentala Harikrishna on his tournament and next year (courtesy of the Tata Steel Facebook page

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1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nf3 Bg7 4.g3 c6 5.Bg2 d5 6.cxd5 cxd5 7.0-0 0-0 8.Nc3 Ne4 9.Nd2 Nxd2 10.Bxd2 e6 11.e3 Nc6 12.f4 Ne7 13.Qb3 Nf5 14.Rfc1 Bd7 15.Na4 b6 16.Bf1 g5 17.Bd3 gxf4 18.gxf4 Qf6 19.Kh1 Kh8 20.Rg1 Rg8 21.Nc3 Bh6 22.Ne2 Nh4 23.Rg3 Nf5 24.Rgg1 Nh4 25.Rg3 Nf5 26.Rh3 Rg7 27.Ng3 Rg4 28.Rc1 Rag8 29.Bxf5 exf5 30.Rc7 Be6 31.Kg2 Rh4 32.Rxh4 Qxh4 33.Qd1 a5 34.b4 Qd8 35.Rc6 axb4 36.Bxb4 Bf8 37.Bxf8 Qxf8 38.Rxb6 Qa3 39.Qe2 Qc1 40.Rb2 Rc8 41.Qd2 Qc4 42.Kh3 Ra8 43.Rc2 Qb5 44.Qe2 Qe8 45.Qh5 Bd7 46.Rc7 Ra6 47.Qe2 Rg6 48.Rc5 Kg8 49.Ra5 Bc6 50.Kg2 h5 51.Kf2 h4 52.Nxf5 Bd7 53.Qh5 Qe4 54.Ra8+ Be8 55.Nxh4 Rg7 56.Qf5 Qe7 57.Nf3 f6 58.Qxd5+ Kh7 59.Qf5+ 1–0
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Nyzhnyk,I2568Harika,D25161–02012D7974th Tata Steel GMB13
Tiviakov,S2677Cmilyte,V25031–02012B4574th Tata Steel GMB13
Potkin,V2684L'Ami,E25961–02012A2974th Tata Steel GMB13
Harikrishna,P2665Reinderman,D2581½–½2012A0474th Tata Steel GMB13
Timman,J2571Motylev,A2677½–½2012A2074th Tata Steel GMB13
Ernst,S2606Bruzon Batista,L26910–12012A0474th Tata Steel GMB13
Vocaturo,D2545Lahno,K2557½–½2012B9074th Tata Steel GMB13

Group B final standings


Group C: Round 13 - Sun. Jan. 29th
Elina Danielian - Pieter Hopman
1-0
Maxim Turov - Etienne Goudriaan
1-0
Lisa Schut - Baskaran Adhiban
0-1
Anne Haast - Daan Brandenburg
0-1
Lars Ootes - Elizabeth Paehtz
0-1
Hans Tikkanen - Tania Sachdev
½-½
Sahaj Grover - Matthew Sadler
½-½

The C group ended up working out as it had started, with a win for Russian GM Maxim Turov, however all was decided in the last round, since Hans Tikkanen had caught up with him, and had his chance as well. Indian IM Tana Sachdev turned out to be the insurmountable wall to climb, and she held him to a draw in the last round. She was actually in a position to win, but even if she had, there was no way others could have caught him.


Maxim Turov in his post-tournament interview, celebrating his victory, as well as newborn son
(courtesy of the Tata Steel Facebook page

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1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 Nc6 6.Bg5 Bd7 7.Be2 e6 8.Ndb5 Qb8 9.Bxf6 gxf6 10.a4 a6 11.Na3 Qc7 12.Bh5 Rg8 13.0-0 Rg7 14.Qf3 Qa5 15.h4 Be7 16.Rfd1 Qc5 17.Ne2 0-0-0 18.Nf4 Rdg8 19.Kf1 Ne5 20.Qe2 Bxa4 21.b3 Bc6 22.Rdb1 Qd4 23.f3 Bd8 24.Rd1 Qc5 25.c4 Bb6 26.Nh3 Rg3 0–1
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Haast,A2290Brandenburg,D25270–12012B6074th Tata Steel GMC13
Tikkanen,H2549Sachdev,T2411½–½2012A3774th Tata Steel GMC13
Turov,M2645Goudriaan,E22791–02012D3174th Tata Steel GMC13
Danielian,E2490Hopman,P23421–02012A4174th Tata Steel GMC13
Grover,S2532Sadler,M2660½–½2012A4074th Tata Steel GMC13
Schut,L2290Adhiban,B25610–12012C9574th Tata Steel GMC13
Ootes,L2326Paehtz,E24540–12012C9774th Tata Steel GMC13

Group C final standings


Pictures by Joachim Schulze and


© Frits Agterdenbos of ChessVista



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