Tal Memorial Rd1 – A feeling of déjà vu

Sixth Tal Memorial in Moscow This event is a ten-player round robin event, is taking place from November 16th to 25th in Moscow, Russia. Time control: 100 minutes for the first 40 moves, 50 minutes for the next 20 moves, and 15 minutes for the rest of the game, with an increment of 30 seconds per move starting from move one.

Round one

The stage as filmed by the Russian Federation's high-definition coverage.

Showing some unexpected diversity in their shots, the camera crew are no longer
just focused on just 45 degree angles of the board with the occasional close-up.

This year includes camera shots from all sides, including straight above! We love it.

The sixth Tal Memorial has just started and is remarkable in more ways than one. The foremost and most obvious is the presence of all four 2800 players: Magnus Carlsen, Viswanathan Anand, Levon Aronian, and Vladimir Kramnik, accompanied by an all-star field with Vassily Ivanchuk, Sergey Karjakin, Hikaru Nakamura, Peter Svidler, and Ian Nepomniachtchi. The presence of both Anand and Gelfand is also noteworthy considering they will meet each other in a match for the world championship quite soon, and as such one would have expected them to avoid playing in the same tournaments until then.

In the gorgeous playing hall, recently renovated, the audience fills in

As things settle down, so do the players, sinking into deep concentration

With such an illustrious field, and so many remarkable players all renowned for their fighting spirit, it is anyone's guess who will be at the top of the leaderboard when the dust settles after the final round. That said, the start of the tournament bears an uncanny resemblance to the start of the Grand Slam Masters in São Paulo one month ago. Just as in the start of the that same event, none of the top seeds were able to stamp their authority. And just as then, it was an ‘underdog’ who drew first blood.

Vishy Anand may not have been displaying his greatest chess, but this is to be
expected as he maintains some playing rhythm prior to his title defense.

The World Champion and Karjakin played a quiet and unremarkable game that ended in an equally quiet and unremarkable draw. Nakamura and Gelfand also drew after an uneventful game, and though Nakamura is hardly the kind of player to draw without attempting to shake things up first, he was unable to break the equilibrium.

Last year Hikaru came in close second. One better this time?

Gelfand also staying active while he prepares for his first world championship challenge

The first game to end with a decisive result was between Kramnik, until now displaying great form and great ambition, and Nepomniachtchi, fresh from a breakthrough year in 2010. Kramnik wasn't himself and seemed to lose his focus.

Admittedly difficult to stay completely focused with so many distractions...

Ian Nepomniachtchi couldn't ask for a better start than a black win over Kramnik

Ian was only too happy to exploit the ex-world champion’s lackadaisical play, posing difficulties possibly when Vladimir felt he clear of any possible danger. The young Russian proceeded to exploit his advantage and not only started the tournament with a win, but one against his country's greatest player.

GM Daniel King provides commentary on Kramnik-Nepomniachtchi on Playchess

Ivanchuk overlooks Carlsen's game. Will he avenge his Grand Slam Masters loss?

Aronian and Carlsen played a juicy affair which had chess fans on the edges of their seats until the very end. Both players played ambitiously and energetically yet after the first skirmishes it was the Armenian who held the edge. The young Norwegian teetered on the edge of the cliff but was spared a dastardly end when Levon blundered, missing a chance to open his account with a win over the world number one.

Svidler finally lost, but being only the first round, has plenty of time to recover

Ivanchuk is showing he has an uncanny ability to deliver when no one is looking his way

The last game of the round to end was between Vassily Ivanchuk, the greatest chess junkie in the elite, and the reigning six-time Russian champion, Peter Svidler, also enjoying an incredible run of undefeated games. The Ukrainian played a brilliant game against Svidler and it only took a miniscule mistake for him to wield his extraordinary technique and squeeze out yet another win worthy of inclusion in future textbooks.

Pictures by Yana Melnikova and the Russian Chess Federation

Playchess commentator schedule

Schedule and Results

Links Official tournament site All games in PGN 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 11 or any of our Fritz compatible chess programs.

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