Sinquefield 07: Aronian's day

by Alejandro Ramirez
8/31/2015 – What a day for the Armenian celebrity, former number two in the world: Levon Aronian was the biggest winner today with a fine positional victory against Hikaru Nakamura. In the meantime, Magnus Carlsen saw his dreams of a comeback hamstrung as he lost a dramatic game against Alexander Grischuk in a long endgame that went down to the final seconds!
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2015 Sinquefield Cup

This super-GM single Round Robin brings together some of the best players in the world. This is the second leg of the Grand Chess Tour.

The players – Magnus Carlsen (Norway), Levon Aronian (Armenia), Fabiano Caruana (USA), Hikaru Nakamura (USA), Veselin Topalov (Bulgaria), Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (France), Alexander Grischuk (Russia), Anish Giri (Netherlands), Viswanathan Anand (India), Wesley So (USA).

The venue is the Chess Club and Scholastic Center at 4657 Maryland Avenue, Saint Louis, MO 63108. Tickets can be purchased at the Saint Louis Chess Club.

Round Seven

Round Seven
Name
Rtg
Res.
Name
Rtg
Carlsen, Magnus 2853
0-1
 Grischuk, Alexander 2771
Nakamura, Hikaru 2814
0-1
 Aronian, Levon 2765
Anand, Viswanathan 2816
½-½
 So, Wesley 2779
Topalov, Veselin 2816
½-½
 Giri, Anish 2793
Caruana, Fabiano 2808
½-½
 Vachier-Lagr, Maxime 2731

Daniel King shows the highlights from round 7: Nakamura vs Aronian and Carlsen vs Grischuk

After a great start, followed by two unexpected losses, Topalov came into today’s game against Giri with very little fighting spirit. It is hard to blame the Bulgarian, who was now forced to reassess his tournament and expectations - always a difficult position to be in psychologically. Playing it safe he chose an old line of the anti-Grunfeld, but it led to nothing for either side. A very dry endgame arose and it was swiftly drawn.

Giri revealed his secret to dressing well: his wife shops while he stays home!

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1.Nf3 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 d5 4.cxd5 Nxd5 5.e4 Nxc3 6.dxc3 This endgame had only a couple of years of popularity a long time ago. It is very slightly better for White, but at some point people realized that if Black goes f6 and e5 he should equalize. Qxd1+ 7.Kxd1 f6 8.Be3 e5 9.Nd2 Be6 9...Nd7 was Bogner-Li Chao from 2014. The Chinese player won that game. 10.Bc4 Kf7 11.Kc2 Be7 12.Rad1 Technically the novelty of the game, though the last time any other move was played was back in 1991... Rd8 13.Bxe6+ Kxe6 14.Nc4 Rxd1 15.Rxd1 Nc6 16.a4 White has very little in this endgame... perhaps not even that. It seems that Topalov was ok with playing a position without any kind of advantage, perhaps even heading to a draw after two consecutive losses. a5 17.f4 h5 18.Rf1 exf4 19.Bxf4 Ne5 20.Bxe5 fxe5 The knight has no advantage over the bishop, and vice versa. The game is bound to be drawn in this position as there is nothing to attack. 21.Rf3 b6 22.Rg3 Rg8 23.Kd3 Bh4 24.Rf3 Be7 25.Ke2 Rb8 26.Rg3 Kf6 27.Ne3 c6 28.Nc4 Bc5 29.h3 Ra8 30.Rf3+ Ke6 31.Rg3 Kf6 32.Rf3+ Ke6 33.Rg3 ½–½
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Topalov,V2816Giri,A2793½–½2015A163rd Sinquefield Cup 20157

Caruana decided to use yet another Bb5+ Sicilian in this tournament, and the game quickly turned into a Spanish type of position. The usual strategical concepts of the closed Spanish were seen, including pressure on both sides of the board and the slight space advantage in the center being relatively important. But, as in the Spanish, Black’s position was simply too solid. Caruana was unable to create any danger for his opponent and when all of the major pieces were swapped, the draw was agreed.

MVL was too solid for Caruana today

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1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.Bb5+ Another bb5+ Sicilian! Nd7 4.c3 Ngf6 5.Qe2 a6 6.Ba4 e5 7.0-0 Be7 8.d4 b5 9.Bc2 0-0 Clearly this structure resembles a Spanish more than anything else. Black has already expanded on the queenside, and has his knight on d7, which has always made me think that his position is superior to a normal Spanish. 10.Rd1 Qc7 11.a4 Rb8 11...Bb7 was also possible, after 12.d5 c4 Black has some kind of Breyer type of counterplay after Nc5. 12.axb5 axb5 13.Na3 Ba6 Apparently MVL missed the idea of d5 followed by b4, which perhaps gives White a minimal advantage, but it isn't anything exciting. 14.d5 Qb7 15.b4 Bd8! Remaneuvering the bishop is Black's best bet in keeping equality. 16.Bd3 Ra8 17.Bg5 c4 18.Bc2 Nh5 19.Bxd8 19.Nxe5!? Wins a pawn, but definitely not the game: Bxg5 20.Qxh5 Bf6 21.Nc6 21.Nxd7 Qxd7 22.Qf3 with plenty of compensation thanks to the strong dark squared bishop. 21...Bxc3 22.Ne7+ Kh8 23.e5 g6 24.Bxg6 fxg6 25.Nxg6+ Kg7 26.Nxf8 Is something the Frenchman considered, and it gets quite crazy, but Black should be better in this material balance. 19...Rfxd8 20.Nh4 g6 21.Qe3 Qb6 22.Qxb6 Nxb6 White's space advantage doesn't matter much here. It's too difficult to create any kind of play. The game is eventually drawn after this. 23.g3 Nf6 24.Ng2 Ne8 25.Ra2 Bc8 26.Rda1 Bd7 27.Nb1 Rxa2 28.Rxa2 Ra8 29.Rxa8 Nxa8 30.Nd2 Nb6 ½–½
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Caruana,F2808Vachier-Lagrave,M2731½–½2015B513rd Sinquefield Cup 20157

Anand saw himself in problems early in the opening against So. The Indian player mentioned that he must have done "something stupid" in the opening to get such a position, but was unable to pinpoint exactly what went awry. He was rather resourceful later on though, sacrificing a queen for a rook and a bishop after he had lost a pawn to obtain a situation in which Black’s king was somewhat uncomfortable, So’s pawns were weak and unable to advance. Anand took advantage of this to create a nice fortress, securing a draw.

So couldn't break Anand's fortress

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1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.d3 Bc5 5.Bxc6 dxc6 6.Nbd2 0-0 7.0-0 Re8 8.Nc4 Nd7 9.b3 a5 10.a4 f6 This typical exchange Ruy Lopez type of structure has become more common as people are trying to avoid the endgame. However, it's hard to say what White has in this position. He has no real pressure and Black has the pair of bishops. The awkward pawn structure is too vague to be exploited. 11.Be3 Bb4 12.Rc1 b5 13.c3 Bf8 14.Nb2 Somehow I'm not convinced about putting a knight on b2. Nc5 15.Qc2 Bg4 16.d4 exd4 17.Nxd4 bxa4 18.Nxa4 Nxe4 Anand figured he had compensation at this point, but the position went south quickly. 19.f3 Nd6 20.Bf2 20.fxg4 Rxe3 21.g5!? looks like some kind of aggressive try, but I don't believe in it completely. 20...Bd7 21.c4 Qc8 22.Qc3 Nf5 23.Nc2 Nd6 24.Nd4 Nb7 24...Re5!? 25.Bg3 Rh5 26.c5 Nb5 27.Qc4+ Kh8 28.Rfe1 Nxd4 29.Qxd4 was a suggestion by Anand. Still difficult for Black to win since the bishop on f8 is so bad. 25.c5! An important move, killing the bishop on f8 and making it hard for the knight on b7 to rejoin the game. Nd8 26.Nb2 Ne6 27.Nc4 Bxc5 27...a4!? 28.bxa4 Rxa4 29.Nb2 Nxd4 30.Bxd4 is hard to make progress, but White just needs to defend and hope his fortress holds. 28.Nxe6 A queen sacrifice. Bb4 29.Nxg7 Bxc3 30.Nxe8 Bxe8 30...Qxe8 31.Rxc3 Be6 32.Nd2 Bd5 33.Ne4 Bxe4 34.Re1 is still unclear, though the engines prefer Black. 31.Rxc3 The computers like Black a lot, but White is surprisingly close to a full fortress. Actually, if he gets his knight to c5, he will even be able to play for an advantage. Bf7 32.Nd2 f5 33.Rxc6 Anand didn't want to play this, but he figured every pawn he took was a good thing. 33.Nc4 Bxc4 34.Rxc4 Qb7 35.Rc3 is also close to a fortress. 33...Qd7 34.Rc2 Re8 35.Nc4 Bxc4 36.Rxc4 Re2 37.h3 Rd2 38.Re1 Rd1 39.Kh2 c6 your engine might say that this is better for Black, but the position is a dead draw after 39...c6 40.Rxd1 Qxd1 41.Rc5! Qxb3 42.Rxa5 and there is no way the pawn on c6 ever makes it to c5. ½–½
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Anand,V2816So,W2779½–½2015C653rd Sinquefield Cup 20157

Something went wrong for Anand in the opening

Aronian must have been rather pleased with Nakamura’s strange preparation. Somewhat reminiscent of yesterday’s game which Nakamura won, the white player came in and played quickly only to land in a somewhat dubious position. Vachier-Lagrave even commented at some point that he was baffled why anyone would willingly go into this line with White. Aronian displayed excellent judgment on where to put his pieces, while Nakamura didn’t so much. A decisive mistake on move 40 gave the Armenian a perfect opportunity to break through.

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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.a4 b4 9.d4 d6 10.dxe5 dxe5 11.Qxd8 Rxd8 12.Nbd2 h6 13.Bc4 Bd6 A system that Aronian is very experienced with, having played against Carlsen and Nakamura himself in the past. 14.a5 Re8 14...Kf8 was Karjakin-Aronian, 2009. 15.Bd3 15.Nb3 was less than nothing for White in Carlsen-Leko, 2009. 15.b3 was maybe better than the game continuation, as in Negi-Sargissian, 2011. 15...Nd7 Aronian first long think makes sense. The knight reroutes to c5 where it will pressure e4 after kicking out the bishop on d3. Also the a6 pawn will get another defender. 16.b3 Nc5 17.Bc4 Be6 18.Bb2 f6 19.Bxe6+ Rxe6 20.Nc4 Rb8 21.Nfd2 Rb5! Black starts maneuvering his pieces in order to attack a5. 22.Ra2 22.Nf1 Nb7 23.Nfe3 Ncxa5 24.Nxa5 Rxa5 24...Nxa5 25.Red1 is fine for White, the knight can't ever move from a5. 25.Rxa5 Nxa5 26.Ra1= 22...Nb7 23.Rea1 Bc5 24.Kf1 Re7 Black has real pressure on a5, but it's hard to make progress. Of course it is Black that is better, as White's pieces are all tied up. 25.Ke2 Rd7 26.Nf1 Bd4 trading off the bishops weakens some of White's light squares. 27.Nfe3 Bxe3 28.Nxe3 Kf7 29.f3 Ke6 30.g4 MVL looked at this position and simply asked "Why do White players go into this... better to just make a draw!" Nc5 31.Nc4 Ke7 32.Bc1 Ne6 33.Be3 Ncd4+ 34.Kf2 Ng5 35.Bxg5 somehow it looks unnatural to weaken the f3 pawn. It's true that e5 loses protection, but that seems less relevant. fxg5 36.Rd1 Ke6 37.Rd3 Rf7 Black still needs to prove some kind of breakthrough, but it's still much more pleasant for Aronian. 38.Ra1 Rb8 39.Rad1? A move that is almost incomprehensible. 39.Rf1 Rbf8 and now most king moves defend the pawn on f3. 39...Nxc2 40.Rc1 Nd4 41.Nxe5!= 40.Kg3 Nxc2? doesn't work because of 41.Rd5+- 39...Rbf8 40.Nxe5 Nakamura chooses to go for this move, but it is hopeless. 40.Nd2 Nxc2 41.Rc1 Nd4 is a clean extra pawn, but this offered much better resistance... 40...Kxe5 41.Rxd4 Rxf3+ 42.Ke2 Rf2+ 43.Ke1 Rf1+ 44.Ke2 R8f2+ 45.Ke3 Rf3+ 46.Ke2 R1f2+ 47.Ke1 Rxh2 This is just winning. The rooks and king are too active. 48.Rd5+ Kf4 49.R1d4 Kxg4 50.Rc5 Rg3 51.Kf1 Rc3 All those passed pawns are not going to be stopped. 0–1
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Nakamura,H2814Aronian,L27650–12015C883rd Sinquefield Cup 20157

A point ahead of the field! Levon Aronian with Rex Sinquefield. The Armenian has unwittingly
been the bane of the American players, having defeated all three to take the lead.

Lastly, Carlsen’s game was rather strange. He didn’t like his position from the opening, but at some point it seemed clear that the game would end in a draw. An endgame with equal pawns and opposite colored bishops seemed to seal the deal. However, the World Champion was rather careless and lost a pawn. Grischuk tortured Carlsen for a long time, until eventually Carlsen, in the bitter end, blundered.

Other games are interesting too! Grischuk won after almost six hours and a half...

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1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Be2 e5 7.Nb3 Be7 8.Be3 Be6 9.Qd3 repeating the line that Anand played against MVL earlier in the tournament. Nbd7 Grischuk was having none of that endgame, instead he decided to allow a knight to d5, changing the pawn structure. 10.Nd5 0-0 11.0-0 Bxd5 12.exd5 Rc8 As is typical in the Najdorf, White exchanged a piece on d5 and now his structure has a majority on the queenside. However Black has good dark-square control and the b3 knight is very bad, it will take some time to regroup it. 13.c4 Ne8 14.Qd2 b6 Around here Carlsen mentioned that he didn't like his position, but to be fair there is nothing immediately wrong with it. In the long-term, however, Black's plan seems more obvious than White's. 15.Rac1 a5 16.Na1 No one wants to play this move, but it has a sneaky idea. Also it causes Grischuk to start thinking heavily. g6 17.b4!? Ng7 17...axb4 18.Nc2 is the point, as the knight quickly heads to c6. Grischuk declines from taking in order to keep control of b4. 18.bxa5 bxa5 19.Bd3 Nc5 20.Bc2 a4 21.Rb1 White's knight on a1 is awful, but he has control of the b-file, pressure on a4 and the pair of bishops. It is hard to say who is better. e4!? Changing the position. White is happy to trade his c4 pawn for the e5 one though. 22.Bxc5 Rxc5 23.Bxa4 23.Qe2!? is a little more ambitious Qc7 23...f5!? 24.Bxa4 Rxc4 25.Bc6± 23.Bxe4 Rxc4 24.Qd3= 23...Rxc4 24.Bc6 Nf5 25.Qe2 Rc3 26.Qxe4 Ra3 White wins the pawn on e4, but thanks to this strong rook the a2 pawn is doomed. The position looks rather drawish. 27.Qe2 Bf6 28.Nb3 Qe7 29.Qxe7 Nxe7 30.Nd2 Rxa2 31.Nc4 Rd8 I was expecting the players to sign the scoresheets around here, but Carlsen started playing very strange moves. 32.g4? 32.Rbd1= 32...Bd4 33.Rbd1 Bc5 Suddenly White is just worse. He has problems with his d5 pawn and the pressure on f2. 34.Rd2 Rxd2 35.Nxd2 Nxc6 36.dxc6 Rc8 37.Ne4 Rxc6 38.Rd1 The extra pawn is hard to convert, but from here on out Grischuk will torture the World Champion. h6 39.h4 Kf8 40.Kg2 Ke7 41.Rc1 The endgame is unpleasant, though surely a computer would hold it. Rc8 42.Kf3 Ke6 43.Rc2 Rc7 44.h5!? Commital. Some grandmasters analyzing the game didn't like this move. gxh5 45.gxh5 Bb6 46.Re2 Bd4 47.Kg3 d5 48.Nd2+ Kf5 49.Kg2 Be5 50.Nf3 Bf6 51.Ra2 Rd7 52.Ne1 Rc7 53.Kf3 Bg5 54.Ra5 Ke5 White is suffering, but it's not so easy to make progress. The blockade on d3 will hold on strong. 55.Ke2 Ke4 56.Ra4+ d4 57.f3+ Kd5 58.Ra5+ Kc4 59.Nd3 Re7+ 60.Re5 Re6 60...Kc3 was winning, according to Komodo, but the truth of the position is still not clear to me. 61.f4 Bf6 62.Rxe6 fxe6 63.Nf2?? 63.Kd2! was the only way to hold the position. There seems to be no way to break down the position. 63...Be7! White will soon be zugzwanged. 64.Ng4 Kc3 65.f5 65.Kd1 Bf8 66.Nf2 d3 is winning. 65.Nf2 Kc2 66.Nd3 Ba3 67.Nf2 Bd6 68.Nd3 Kc3 with a zugzwang. 65...exf5! Only move. 66.Nxh6 Kc2! The pawn is unstoppable. 0–1
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Carlsen,M2853Grischuk,A27710–12015B923rd Sinquefield Cup 20157

Carlsen was ground down in a long endgame

The World Champion could hardly bear to look at the scoresheets as he signed them. It was
a very disappointing day as he saw his chances of completing his comeback hamstrung. On a
curious note, four of the five 2800 players are in the bottom half of the crosstable, and none lead.

Standings

Round Seven Games

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Select from the dropdown menu to replay the games

Photos by Lennart Ootes

Pairings

Round One
Name
Rtg
Res.
Name
Rtg
Giri, Anish 2793
1-0
 Grischuk, Alexander 2771
So, Wesley 2779
0-1
 Vachier-Lagr, Maxime 2731
Aronian, Levon 2765
1-0
 Caruana, Fabiano 2808
Carlsen, Magnus 2853
0-1
 Topalov, Veselin 2816
Nakamura, Hikaru 2814
1-0
 Anand, Viswanathan 2816
Round Two
Name
Rtg
Res.
Name
Rtg
Grischuk, Alexander 2771
1-0
 Anand, Viswanathan 2816
Topalov, Veselin 2816
1-0
 Nakamura, Hikaru 2814
Vachier-Lagr, Maxime 2731
½-½
 Aronian, Levon 2765
Giri, Anish 2793
½-½
 So, Wesley 2779
Caruana, Fabiano 2808
0-1
 Carlsen, Magnus 2853
Round Three
Name
Rtg
Res.
Name
Rtg
So, Wesley 2779
1-0
 Grischuk, Alexander 2771
Aronian, Levon 2765
½-½
 Giri, Anish 2793
Carlsen, Magnus 2853
1-0
 Vachier-Lagr, Maxime 2731
Nakamura, Hikaru 2814
½-½
 Caruana, Fabiano 2808
Anand, Viswanathan 2816
½-½
 Topalov, Veselin 2816
Round Four
Name
Rtg
Res.
Name
Rtg
Grischuk, Alexander 2771
½-½
 Topalov, Veselin 2816
Caruana, Fabiano 2808
½-½
 Anand, Viswanathan 2816
Vachier-Lagr, Maxime 2731
½-½
 Nakamura, Hikaru 2814
Giri, Anish 2793
½-½
 Carlsen, Magnus 2853
So, Wesley 2779
0-1
 Aronian, Levon 2765
Round Five
Name
Rtg
Res.
Name
Rtg
Aronian, Levon 2765
½-½
 Grischuk, Alexander 2771
Carlsen, Magnus 2853
1-0
 So, Wesley 2779
Nakamura, Hikaru 2814
½-½
 Giri, Anish 2793
Anand, Viswanathan 2816
½-½
 Vachier-Lagr, Maxime 2731
Topalov, Veselin 2816
0-1
 Caruana, Fabiano 2808
Round Six
Name
Rtg
Res.
Name
Rtg
Grischuk, Alexander 2771
1-0
 Caruana, Fabiano 2808
Vachier-Lagr, Maxime 2731
1-0
 Topalov, Veselin 2816
Giri, Anish 2793
½-½
 Anand, Viswanathan 2816
So, Wesley 2779
0-1
 Nakamura, Hikaru 2814
Aronian, Levon 2765
½-½
 Carlsen, Magnus 2853
Round Seven
Name
Rtg
Res.
Name
Rtg
Carlsen, Magnus 2853
0-1
 Grischuk, Alexander 2771
Nakamura, Hikaru 2814
0-1
 Aronian, Levon 2765
Anand, Viswanathan 2816
½-½
 So, Wesley 2779
Topalov, Veselin 2816
½-½
 Giri, Anish 2793
Caruana, Fabiano 2808
½-½
 Vachier-Lagr, Maxime 2731
Round Eight
Name
Rtg
Res.
Name
Rtg
Grischuk, Alexander 2771   Vachier-Lagr, Maxime 2731
Giri, Anish 2793   Caruana, Fabiano 2808
So, Wesley 2779   Topalov, Veselin 2816
Aronian, Levon 2765   Anand, Viswanathan 2816
Carlsen, Magnus 2853   Nakamura, Hikaru 2814
Round Nine
Name
Rtg
Res.
Name
Rtg
Nakamura, Hikaru 2814   Grischuk, Alexander 2771
Anand, Viswanathan 2816   Carlsen, Magnus 2853
Topalov, Veselin 2816   Aronian, Levon 2765
Caruana, Fabiano 2808   So, Wesley 2779
Vachier-Lagr, Maxime 2731   Giri, Anish 2793

Games start at 1 p.m. local time (20:00h CEST, 22:00h Moscow, Thursday 12:30 New Delhi, 03:00h Tokyo, 04:00 Canberra – check your location here).

Playoffs, if necessary, will be on the 2nd at 1pm.

The games will be broadcast live on Playchess, with expert analysis (see schedule below).

Broadcast Schedule

Day Date Time Event German
English
Sunday Aug. 23 1 PM Round 1 Thomas Luther   
Mihail Marin
Monday Aug. 24 1 PM Round 2 Calrstedt/Pähtz
Mihail Marin
Tuesday Aug. 25 1 PM Round 3 S. Siebrecht  
Simon Williams
Wednesday Aug. 26 1 PM Round 4 S. Siebrecht  
Simon Williams
Thursday Aug. 27 1 PM Round 5 S. Siebrecht  
Simon Williams
Friday Aug. 28 Rest Day
Saturday Aug. 29 1 PM Round 6 Reeh/Breutigam
Y. Pelletier
Sunday Aug. 30 1 PM Round 7 Reeh/Breutigam
Y. Pelletier
Monday Aug. 31 1 PM Round 8 S. Siebrecht  
Daniel King
Tuesday Sept. 1 1 PM Round 9 Y. Pelletier
Daniel King
Wednesday Sept. 2 1 PM Playoffs  
 

Links

The games are being 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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