NC Masters in Dortmund: Anand starts with a win

by André Schulz
7/15/2021 – Wednesday afternoon "No Castling" chess premiered at the highest level in Dortmund's Westfalenhalle. In the first game of their "No Castling" match Vishy Anand and Vladimir Kramnik engaged in an uncompromising fight in which Anand eventually had the better of it. In the Deutschland Grand Prix Dmitrij Kollars and Pavel Eljanov share the lead with 2.5/3 each, but the big news of the day was the torrential rain that currently is causing havoc in large parts of Germany and also affected the players in the Westfalenhalle.
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No castling, but entertaining chess

Vishy Anand and Vladimir Kramnik started the "NC Masters", the "No Castling" match in Dortmund. With this match the two world champions want to promote a change in the rules of chess. They hope that the games become more entertaining and exciting if castling is not allowed.

If all the games of the match will be as exciting as the first, then the experiment will be a success.

 
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1.c4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.e3 d5 4.d4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.dxc5 Bxc5 7.a3 Nc6 8.b4 Ba7 9.Bb2 World premiere: This is the first serious top level No Castling game. The position is well-known and in 560 games Black castled here. However, in this game this move is forbidden. h5 To bring the rook into play. 10.Qc2 h4 11.Rd1 Kf8 12.Rg1 Both sides come up with rook moves that in a classical game would considered to be highly original. Ne7 13.g4 hxg3 14.hxg3 Bd7 15.g4 Qc7 16.g5 Ne8 17.Qd3 Bc6 18.cxd5 exd5 18...Nxd5 19.Nxd5 Bxd5 would have avoided getting an isolated pawn. 19.Ne2 Bb5 20.Qb1 Ng6 21.Nc3 Bxf1 22.Rxf1 Rd8 23.Rxd5 Rxd5 24.Nxd5 Qd7 25.Nc3 Rh3 26.Qe4 Nd6 27.Qd5 Kg8 Black castled by hand. 28.Ne4 A strong exchange sacrifice. Rxf3 29.Nxd6 Qh3 Threatening ...Bxe3. 29...Rh3 30.Qxb7 Qxd6 31.Qc8+ 30.Nc4 Qg2 30...b5 31.Ne5 Rxf2 32.Qa8+ Kh7 33.Rxf2 Bxe3 33...Qxe3+ 34.Re2 Qg3+ 35.Kd2 Qxg5+ 36.Kd1 Qg1+ 37.Re1 31.Qd8+ Kh7 32.Qa8 The queen catches the bishop on a7 - the bishop has no flight square and cannot be defended. Nf4 33.Qxa7 Nd3+ 34.Ke2 Nxf2 Threatening to start a mating attack with a discovered check. 35.Rg1! The only defense. Qxg1 36.Qd4 White also attacks. Kxf3 immediately also won. Qxg5 37.Kxf3 Nh3 38.Nd6 Black is a piece down and lost. Ng1+ 39.Kf2 Nh3+ 40.Ke1 Qg3+ 41.Kd1 f6 42.Qe4+ Kh8 43.Qe8+ Kh7 44.Qh5+ Kg8 45.Qf7+ Kh8 46.Qh5+ Kg8 47.Qd5+ Kh8 48.Nxb7 Qxe3 49.Nc5 Nf2+ 50.Kc2 Qe2+ 51.Kb3 a5 52.bxa5 Qb5+ 53.Ka2 Qxa5 54.Bxf6 Qe1 55.Bb2 Nd1 56.Qa8+ Kh7 57.Qe4+ Qxe4 58.Nxe4 Kg6 59.Bd4 Kf5 60.Nc5 g5 61.a4 g4 62.a5 g3 63.a6 g2 64.Kb3 Kf4 65.a7 Ne3 66.Ne6+ 1–0
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Anand,V2753Kramnik,V27531–02021D40NC World Masters 20211

Sagar Shah and Amruta Mokal commented the game live

Here's what the players had to say after the game:

The ten participants of the Deutschland Grand Prix, in which castling is allowed, have a tight schedule. On three of the six days they have to play double rounds - one game in the morning at 10 am, one game in the afternoon at 4 pm. Knowing the endgame and the opening well might not be enough when you lack stamina. After the kick-off on Tuesday, 13 July, the first double round followed on Wednesday.

After three rounds Pavel Eljanov and Dmitrij Kollars lead with 2.5/3. After winning against Keymer in round 1, Kollars drew against Georg Meier in round 2, and then won again in round 3, this time against Mateusz Bartel. Pavel Eljanov won against Andreas Heimann in round 1 and against Vincent Keymer in round 2 but then slowed down with a draw against Meier.

After starting with two losses, Keymer had to play against Rustam Kasimdzhanov on Wednesday afternoon. However, the game lasted only 16 moves – then Kasimdzhanov apparently resigned in a slightly worse position.

Currently, large parts of Germany suffer from torrential rain and were declared as disaster areas. Dortmund is also affected. 

Rain also leaked through the wall of the Westfalenhalle and then started to drip down on the floor, which irritated some of the players. Kasimdzhanov first turned to the arbiter Andrzej Filipowicz and then to tournament director Andreas Jagodzinsky to complain about the constant noise. When the arbiter declared that the noise would be "acceptable" Kasimdzhanov apparently decided to resign his game against Keymer and to leave the hall. However, he did not leave the tournament but was back at the board for round 4.

Standings after round 3

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Videos

Dmitrij Kollars after winning against Vincent Keymer

Ruslan Ponomariov after his game against Georg Meier

Translation from German: Johannes Fischer

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André Schulz started working for ChessBase in 1991 and is an editor of ChessBase News.

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